Hi all, ^_^
I was going through a box of old floppy disks yesterday, and I found a
teaser for a Ranma fic that I'd started about a year ago. I read
through it, and, to my surprise, it managed to rouse my writing muse
from the comatose state it's been in for the past couple of weeks. So I
ended up writing the rest of the first chapter, and outlining the rest
of the fic.
And now that my muse is awake again, maybe I can squeeze in more work on
my other fics before it slips back into a coma. ^_^;;;;
C&C is welcome and appreciated. This is rough stuff, so I expect there
to be a ton of things to work on. ^_^
Disclaimer: Ranma & co. belong to Takahashi, and a number of other
corporations, all of whom I'm grateful to, for bringing Ranma 1/2 to the
masses. Please don't sue me.
--------------------
Ranma was surprised, to say the least. The creature in
front of him was the last thing he expected to see, here of all
places. It seemed a curious mingling of various animals, with
the face of a lion, the body of a horse, and the feet and legs of
a tiger. It smiled at him in a manner that Ranma might have
considered kind, were it not for the creature's sharp teeth and
decidedly feline facial appearance.
"Wh...what the hell are you?" he managed, not relaxing a
bit from his protective ready stance.
"Baku," it replied softly. *Dream Eater.*
*Devour, oh Baku, my evil dream!* The common cry of many
Japanese as they awoke from a terrible nightmare. Ranma had
heard stories about this creature from various people while he
was growing up on the road, although he'd never taken them
seriously until this moment.
So. The Devourer of Nightmares. It wasn't so bad then,
right? Ranma eyed the beast curiously. "What do you want? It's
not like we're even asleep or nothing. You don't got any reason
to be here."
The golden lion's eyes blinked at him placidly, and Ranma
swallowed hard against the faint stirrings of feline fear within
him.
"Ah," the Baku whispered. "But... your life *is* a
nightmare, is it not?"
Ranma blinked. Then again, this didn't sound so good
after all. "Uh... did I say that?" The creature stepped towards
him, a hidden intent gleaming brightly in its eyes as its jaws
opened wide. Ranma held up his hands. "Hey, now, wait just a
min--"
And then, from deep within the beast, a bright light
flashed out from the creature's gaping maw, and Ranma screamed.
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
by Krista Perry
Dream Eater
Part I
The flower arrangement on Akane's dresser was about three
weeks dead, Nabiki noted as she entered the room without
knocking. The roses were limp, dry and brittle, and the daisies
were nearly black with decay. A few days earlier, when she had
casually inquired if Akane was ever going throw them away, her
sister had nearly bit her head off.
"Never," she had replied vehemently.
Nabiki wisely didn't broach the subject again. At least,
she mused wryly, the engagement ring on her sister's finger
wouldn't rot away.
Not that it made any difference anyway. The ring was
about as useless as the flowers. Just a visual reminder of
something that would never happen.
After all, if Ranma was anywhere to be found, at least in
Nerima, she would have tracked him down by now. On top of that,
she had called every police district in Japan, it seemed, as well
as made inquiries at every single sea port and airstrip, large or
puny, that she could find. No one matching Ranma's distinctive
description, in either form, had been seen. Anywhere.
Everyone, friends, family and even casual acquaintances
at school, had helped in the search. Even Ukyo and Shampoo
helped, which was surprising, considering their initial volatile
reaction to the gleaming band of silver that adorned Akane's
finger. But their reasons for finding Ranma were probably less
than magnanimous. After all, when they went to confront him,
seething with anger at the audacity he had to finally grow a
spine and make a choice, it was too late. He was gone.
Near as anyone could tell, he had disappeared on the way
to his mother's house - only recently rebuilt from the fiancee
fiasco that had destroyed it a year earlier. He had gone to
visit Nodoka, Akane said, because his mother was still distraught
over his decision to stay with the Tendos when she moved back
home. Genma had stayed behind as well, but that apparently
didn't bother her nearly as much as losing her son yet again.
So, after the joyous announcement that left Father weeping
copiously all over the dining table, Ranma left to visit with her
and tell her the good news. And no one had seen him since.
It had been a long month of searching. Nabiki was tired.
"I'm throwing in the towel," she said.
Akane looked up from her desk, which was strewn with
maps, scraps of paper with hastily scribbled notes, phone numbers
and contact names, and set the phone receiver back into its
cradle. Her eyes were red from crying again, no doubt, even
though they were dry now. "What?" she asked.
"I quit," Nabiki repeated. "I've done everything I can.
I'm not omniscient, you know. I don't have unlimited resources.
There's nothing more I can do."
"Fine," Akane said wearily. "Thanks for your help."
Nabiki blinked. "That's it? You're not going to try and
talk me into continuing?"
"Why? Like you said, you've done everything you can. I
believe you. And I appreciate what you have been able to do."
Nabiki eyed her narrowly. "And what are you going to do?
I can tell you've got something planned."
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
"I knew it." Nabiki sighed. "And where do you think you
can look that hasn't already been scoured by someone already?"
"Everywhere. Anywhere. I'm going to start with China."
Oh jeeze. "You think he would run off and look for a
cure without telling you? On the very night he finally
proposed?"
"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative,"
she snapped.
Damn. She didn't want to go there, but... "Akane, he
didn't even pack. All of his belongings are here."
Akane stood abruptly, toppling her chair to the floor,
and glared at her. "Are you saying I should give up, Nabiki?"
Her voice was tight and determined. "Because I won't. Not until
I find him, or at least until I find out what happened to him."
Ah, thought Nabiki. That last qualifier at the end was
new. It eased her mind a bit to know that at Akane was finally
being realistic.
But China... However unlikely it was that Ranma had run
off to China without notice, it was still someplace to look, she
supposed. After all, checking all the sea ports in the world
didn't help a whit if the guy decided to just swim.
"So, what plans have you made?"
"Cologne has agreed to help. She's staying here in Japan
to take care of the Nekohanten, but she's going to see what she
can find out through her channels of influence. Shampoo is going
to be the guide, and Ukyo is going to take care of supplies.
I've already bought the passports and tickets for our passage."
"I see." Nabiki folded her arms across her chest.
"Sounds like you've got everything taken of, although I'm not
sure how comfortable I am with you traipsing off on an expedition
with the Former Fiancee Brigade."
"We've called a truce," Akane said shortly. "Whatever
rivalries we may have had mean nothing until we find Ranma."
Nabiki wondered silently if Akane would be so willing to
call a truce if she weren't so secure in her knowledge that Ranma
had chosen *her.* She certainly hadn't showed such unwavering
confidence in the face of her rivals before now.
"Oh, and Uncle Saotome's coming too."
Nabiki blinked. Well, that wasn't much of a surprise --
or comfort, for that matter. But then Nodoka hadn't allowed the
man within 50 meters of her since Ranma's disappearance,
insisting that he spend every waking moment trying to find their
son. Nabiki got the impression that she blamed him, somehow,
which was probably just her way of dealing with the fact that
Ranma had vanished on his way to see *her.*
Ah well. If she knew Genma, he would probably ditch the
girls as soon as possible. And the girls probably wouldn't have
any complaints.
"Does Father know?" she asked.
"No. And you won't tell him, either, until I'm gone."
"Of course not." Nabiki's indignance was genuine. "What
do you take me for?"
Akane's eyes softened. "Thanks, oneechan."
"No problem. Just be careful, okay? And call if you
need help. Collect."
"On an international call?" Akane's mouth quirked up at
the corner. "My, how generous."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Come on, sis. This is you
we're talking about. This is you and Ranma. I don't charge for
family emergencies."
Which was the wrong thing to say, because Akane's firm
resolved suddenly crumbled under the onset of tears. "Hey...
hey, come on, Akane." Nabiki awkwardly put one hand on Akane's
shoulder. "It will be okay."
"I've got to find him, Nabiki," she said hoarsely, as the
tears once again streaked down her face. "I didn't even have him
for an entire evening, and he promised... he..."
"You'll find him." An easy, convenient lie. But, as she
once read somewhere, sometimes when someone tells a lie, and both
people know it's a lie, it can be more powerful than the truth.
~*~
Genma looked at his wife solemnly. She stood in the doorway
like a barricade, her slender kimono-clad figure backlit from the
warm light inside the house, leaving her face in shadow.
"So... I'm, uh, leaving for China tomorrow..."
"Good."
Genma winced at her curt tone. She had never sounded so
cold, so harsh, in all the time he had known her. Even when he
feared the threat of her katana, and had hidden in plain sight
before her, he had seen the gleam of innocence in her eyes -- the
same innocence that drew him to her in the beginning -- and he
knew that her actions were based on honor. The very code of
honor that he himself had taught her to respect. Hence, the
irony, for he knew that it was only her trust in him, and her
belief in the honor that he had taught her, that gave her the
ability to act beyond the supreme gentleness and childlike
naivete of her nature. That belief in honor alone allowed her
to have the strength to take the life of her husband and son,
should honor dictate. Not because she desired it -- for he knew
that her son's life, at least, was most precious to her above all
other things -- but because he had convinced her so thoroughly
that *he* desired it.
Death before dishonor, he had told her. You can *trust* me.
You can allow me to take our son away, because I am honorable,
and will raise him to be a man among men...
And she had believed him.
But then, he mused ruefully, there are only so many
deceptions you can feed even the most gullible child before they
stop believing in you.
"I'll... I'll find him, dearest," he croaked.
He couldn't see the expression on her shadowed face, but her
voice softened, and the sudden warmth of her tone gave him a bit
of hope, in spite of the words she spoke. "Don't come back
unless you do."
"If..." He swallowed. "When... I find him. Do you think
that perhaps I might..."
"If you find him, you will be more than welcome to return
home."
A burst of elated warmth spread through him. There was hope
then. He could make amends... perhaps, for everything...
He bowed to her. "Then I will see you soon."
She did not return the bow.
And as he turned to leave, he thought he heard her whisper
something in parting, but it was so faint, it was probably just
the wind...
"Sayonara..."
~*~
The eyes of the beast swirled with rainbow colors, like oil
on the surface of water. Like light glinting off a soap bubble.
Pretty, Ranma thought.
And then he looked deep into those eyes, and to his
surprise, he saw himself in the left eye, looking out, pressed
against the inner curve of the eye like a child pressed up
against the window of a candy store, only there was a wild
desperation on his face. And he saw himself beat on the inside
of the eye with his fists until his knuckles bled. And he saw
himself collapse from weariness and despair, and he saw himself
slowly raise his own head and he saw his own mouth move, but
couldn't hear anything because the mouth was inside the eye. But
he could see what he was saying anyway.
And the words that he saw scared him.
The beast smiled then, showing lots of teeth.
Ranma cringed away in fear. Don't eat me, he said, and the
beast laughed and bent its huge head down and licked his face
with a warm, rough tongue.
Don't be afraid, little one. I'm already full.
And Ranma was less afraid, because the voice of the beast
was gentle and kind.
But will you eat me when you are hungry again? he asked.
Oh no, the beast said with a chuckle. You do not suit my
tastes at all.
And then Ranma felt safe. But only when he didn't look at
the beast's left eye, where he could see himself. That
frightened him. More than anything. More, even, than the
beast's sharp teeth and claws.
Do you want me to close my left eye, little one? the beast
asked.
No! screamed Ranma within the eye, silently.
Yes, said Ranma on the outside. I'm scared....
And the beast slowly closed his left eye, and Ranma could
see himself screaming and screaming until the eye finally closed.
Then he felt better. And the beast licked him again, and he
laughed and bravely entwined his fingers in the beast's shaggy
mane.
Where am I? he asked, for now that the eye was closed, he
noticed that there were buildings, tall and silver, and endless
marble streets, and grass, and rock gardens, and koi ponds with
large fish colored pearl-white and orange, and scarlet bridges
stretching over rushing streams, and he had seen them all before,
but he didn't recognize anything.
You are with me, the beast answered.
Oh, said Ranma, as if he understood how that explained
everything, though he didn't understand at all.
And the winking beast smiled.
~*~
---------
To be continued.
Author's notes:
This story is dedicated to Ryan "God of Grammar" Chang, who introduced
me to Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series, and informed me of the new
illustrated Sandman novel, "The Dream Hunters," that came out a month or
so ago. Though there is no way I can claim to be anywhere close to the
level of Gaiman's brilliant storytelling, I was surprised at how similar
the themes of that story were to this one, that I had shelved so long
ago, and it may have had a lot to do with me being willing to dust off
this old thing and work on it again when I found it yesterday. ^_^
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!