Heart of the Immortal
Oh, good. I was hoping to see more of this soon.
Chapter 3: A Damaged Past
-------------------------
Ranma silently ate the soba noodles Aya had prepared for him and a
feeling
of d�j�
I'm wondering how well the accent grave and acute translated to
everybody.
vu hit him suddenly. A little less than a year had passed since
he
had last talked to his fianc�e and they had discussed his training
journey.
She had asked, then, if he loved her and had had no answer; not
for her, not
for himself. He felt the same discomfort in her presence as
before, but
this time, he also felt guilt.
[...]
"But you never did."
Ranma bowed his head and closed his eyes. He was not ready for
this
confrontation, nor had he expected it. "Aya. The Art is very
important to
me. It -is- the most important part of my life, and I can't
change that,
but I will marry you."
Suggest: "Aya, the Art is...
or if you want delay, try: "Aya... the Art is...
"Do you like the noodles?" She asked.
Ouch!
Ranma: Um, they're a little *cold*...
Aya: I hadn't noticed.
:P
"Uh. . . yes, they're fine." Ranma was confused by the sudden
change of
subject.
"Good. I added a special ingredient; just for you."
Ranma's hands became numb and he gently set the bowl of noodles on
the
table. "What special ingredient?"
Uh-oh.
"You don't understand. You don't love me, and you don't
understand my pain.
You don't understand!" Aya screamed.
Suggest: Aya finally screamed.
Ranma lurched back in shock and held up his hands defensively.
(What's
wrong with her? She's never lost control like this!)
"You will understand, Ranma-san. You will feel my pain." Aya
drew a short
elegant tanto from the sleeve of her kimono.
"What do you plan to do with that?" Ranma asked. (Damn. She
can't even
fight!)
"What you ate in that bowl were blood worms."
(Worms?) Ranma gagged.
"They are magical and mystical creatures, and they grant
immortality. You
will live until you understand what you have done to me. The pain
you have
inflicted on me, I return a thousand fold. You will fall in love
a thousand
times before you die, and as you lose each love, maybe you will
understand
the one woman who loved you." Aya drew the tanto out of it's
sheath and
plunged the blade into her belly. "I. . . have always. . . loved.
. . you."
Ranma jumped across the table and. . . .
Hmmm. Aya's actions seem a little unprepared. The severity of
feeding Ranma bloodworms, sticking a tanto into her gut, and then
condemning him seems really over the top. Will we be seeing more
explanation of her motivations?
**************************************
Ranma gasped and his eyes flew open. He sat up in his futon and
ran his
fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. "Hmmm. . . haven't had
that dream
in awhile,"
a while,"
he mused. Stretching his arms wide, Ranma glanced outside
through his bedroom window. (Still early. Oh well.)
Oh, well.)
He stood up, changed
into his gi and quietly walked to the dojo. Once there, he began
a kata and
thoughts of Aya drifted from his mind.
A while later, Akane entered the dojo, yawning sleepily. (I'm not
ever
going to get used to waking up this early.)
Heh! "But I'm a martial artist, too!" :)
She once again stopped and
stared as Ranma performed his kata. He glided across the floor
and through
the air, his every movement complex and intricate. (How long does
a person
have to train to do that?) Akane wondered. (How long does it take
to become
a master?)
Ranma was certainly a master; and however much he may deny it,
Akane knew
that he was close to her in age. To accomplish so much at such a
young age.
. . Akane wanted that, she realized. She wanted it more than
anything else.
I don't know why, but I always find these scenes of personal-goal
epiphany, if you will, very satisfying when Akane has them. She
doesn't understand her own feelings, desires, and personal goals
well enough to always see what needs be done to meet them, so it's
nice when she does.
Ranma stopped his kata and turned towards Akane. "So. . . how are
you
feeling this morning?"
"A litte
little
sore," she admitted, "but okay."
"Good! Ready to get started?"
"In a minute. I wanted. . . to talk to you about what happened
yesterday."
"Oh?" Ranma casually folded his arms across his chest.
"I. . . appreciate the help, but I don't want you interfering in
my fights
any more." Akane took a deep breath. "I'm a martial artist too!"
Ha! I knew she had to say it. :)
Suggest: "I'm a martial artist, too!"
"There's a lot to being a martial artist, Akane. There's a lot to
fighting
a battle with honor." Ranma paused and his voice became soft and
gentle.
"But there's also a lot to knowing when you need help, and
sometimes,
reaching out for that help is the hardest and bravest thing you
could do."
"Do you ever ask for help?" Akane retorted.
"No, but that's because I'm the best!" Ranma smirked arrogantly.
"Ready to
start now?"
Can't say it, can he? :)
[...]
"Well, since you're not busy, will you return a book to Doctor
Tofu for me?
I have so much cleaning to do, I just don't think I'll be able to
make it."
"Sure, no problem." Ranma smiled slyly. "Are you sure you'd
rather not
return it yourself? It would give you a chance to thank the nice
doctor."
Sneaky boy! ...or is that cheeky, several-hundred-year-old boy? :P
"N-No. . . I really don't have the time. . ."
"Heh. Alright,
NOOOO!!!! All right,
Kasumi. I'll take care of it."
"Thanks, Oniichan."
"I'm going to school now." Akane quickly stood up from the table,
grabbed
her book bag, and left.
"Seems to be in a rush this morning," Nabiki muttered.
*******************************************************
"Hey, Akane! Wait up!"
"What do -you- want, Ranma?" Akane's voice sounded tired.
"No need to be like that, I just need a small favor."
"I'll be late for school."
"Not for this, you left early enough," Ranma pointed out.
Akane had to admit that he was right. She just wasn't in a mood
to hear any
more about Doctor Tofu. She had been in love with the young
doctor for as
long as she could remember, and he had always loved Kasumi. "What
kind of
favor?"
Ranma held up a book. "Kasumi asked me to return this to Doctor
Tofu."
"Yeah, I heard."
"I don't know where his office happens to be. Can you take me
there?"
"I. . . I. . . "
"Please?" Ranma smiled.
"Sure." Akane sighed.
Suggest: "Sure," Akane sighed.
"Great! Thanks, Akane-chan."
Akane leveled a glare in Ranma's direction and sighed again.
"Come on,
let's go."
A few moments later they reached the front door of Doctor Tofu's
office and
Akane made ready to leave for school. "Aren't you coming inside?"
"No, I really need to. . . Ranma, what's that?" Akane pointed at
Ranma's
chest.
"What?" Ranma looked down to see a little red laser point holding
steady
near his heart. "Oh shit." He managed to push Akane out of the
way as his
chest exploded in pain. His body jolted back against the door of
the clinic
and he slumped to the ground.
O_o. Whoa! That really came out of nowhere, ruining my WAFFy
feelings. :)
Akane had fallen on the ground as well due the
due *to* the
force at which Ranma pushed
force *with* which...
her. "Hey! What's the big idea?" She heard a small snap and
watched Ranma
fall. "Ohmygod! Ranma!" She started to stand but Ranma's voice
stopped
her.
[...]
One of Ranma's eyebrows rose. "You're pretty sharp without Kasumi
around,
aren't you?"
"K-K-Kasumi? Er. . . well. . ."
"What happened? Why aren't you on the ground dying?"
Ranma glanced at Akane. "No need to sound so disappointed."
Ouch!
Akane took a deep breath. "What. . . happened."
"Aren't you going to be late for school?"
"I don't care."
Ranma ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'd like to find
out who
shot me, so I'll give you the short version; I'm immortal. Every
wound I've
ever received vanishes without a trace, not even a scar remains."
"I-I-Immortal? But that's impossible!"
Ranma opened the clinic door and stepped outside. "Then you think
of a
better explanation as to why I'm walking around right now instead
being 'on
the ground dying'. We'll talk about this later, Akane. I
promise." Ranma
ran out of the clinic, closing the door behind him.
Well-played scene. I also like how you managed to leave Tofu and
Akane hanging, although it wouldn't surprise me if Tofu knew about
the bloodworms.
[...]
*******************************
Unknowingly mirroring Akane's actions several hours earlier, Ranma
walked
into the Tendo home and sat down at the dining table. Soun and
Kasumi were
drinking and tea,
drinking tea, and Kasumi... (extra 'and')
and Kasumi immediately poured a cup for Ranma.
"Akane told me what happened," Kasumi said, eyeing Ranma's blood
stained
shirt.
blood-stained
"Yeah? She okay?"
"She's strong, Oniichan. But I suspect she'll have some questions
for you
later tonight."
Ranma lightly tapped her nose. "You Tendos. . . always so full of
curiosity."
Kasumi giggled in response and shook her head.
"Ranma, did you find the person who shot you?" Soun asked.
"No," Ranma sighed. "Whoever it was, is a professional.
Awkward sentence. Suggest: Whoever it was, they were professional.
They left no trace
of their presence and I checked all over town. I couldn't even
find a
bullet casing. I suppose I could have a doctor dig the actual
bullet outta
me, but I don't think it will give me any answers."
[...]
Umashi Ojimi was a rotund little man who spent most of his days
and nights
in his little office building in Tokyo. He also controlled the
most
influential and successful underground information network in all
of Asia.
His clientele included politicians, yakuza, police, military,
businessmen,
and just about anyone else who needed, and could afford to pay
for,
information. If it was worth knowing, Umashi knew it. . . or, at
the very
least, he could find it. From his little office he had access to
the
fastest computers, the smartest people, and, of course, the most
affluent
clientele.
Everything Nabiki wants and doesn't have yet. Kind of an ominous,
foreshadowing a possible future for Nabsy.
[...]
"What 'little adventure'?"
"The warehouse you torched and leveled?"
"Oh, you mean during my fight with the American. . . Terry
Bogard."
O_o Casual reference or a future, full-blown crossover?
"Yes, that was the one. By the way, how -did- you boys manage to
destroy
and
an
entire warehouse during a street fight?" Umashi wondered aloud.
"Ki can do amazing things," Ranma replied nonchalantly.
"Yes, well. . . the warehouse belonged the
belonged *to* the
Chinese mafia; the 108 dragons,
to be specific.
HEH! Crossoever element #2. I've always liked Crying Freeman, even
if it is rather bizarre. OH! It was Freeman who tried to kill Ranma!
NE? NE?
They stored a rather large amount of guns and assorted
weaponry there. You made them lose a bit of face, Ranma."
"So they think that Bogard and I destroyed the place on purpose?"
"Something like that."
Ranma scratched the back of his head. "That's my fault. I should
have
found the owner and offered to pay for damages, but I got too
caught up in
the fight and just forgot. Say, have they found Terry yet?"
"Bogard lives like a monk and has gone underground. -I- don't
even know
where he is. . ."
"Right." Ranma sighed. "Guess I'd better catch a plane to Hong
Kong and
clear this mess."
"You may not have to," Umashi said slyly.
"Oh?"
"The new leader of the 108 Dragons happens to be in Japan at the
moment.
His name is Crying Freeman."
YAY!!!!
"Got an address?" Ranma asked.
[...]
Freeman smiled. "In our arrogance, we felt that no one would be
stupid
enough to attack a facility on our own soil."
"Look, I just want things to be straight between us, okay?" Ranma
pointed
to the two briefcases. "There's 500 million yen there. I think
it should
be enough to cover the damage, if not, let me know."
Suggest: ...the damage. If not, let me know."
"Wait one moment." Freeman stood up, walked to a telephone in the
far end
of the room, punched in a few numbers and spoke quietly into the
handset.
After a few minutes he came back and sat down across from Ranma.
"Apparently one of my men killed you today."
"As you can see, he didn't do a very good job of it." Ranma
smiled.
"So it would seem. I will accept your money and let you go,
no comma
on one
condition."
[...]
"I look forward to it." Freeman reached into his pants pocket and
pulled
out a golden business card case. He opened it, pulled out a
business card
and handed it to Ranma. "If you are ever back in Hong Kong, give
me a
call."
"I will. You'd better train up by then, cause I'll give you one
hell of a
fight." Ranma bowed, then left.
Heh, cool. Is this tale going to be one long series of cameo
crossovers while spinning Ranma's tale and involvement with the
Tendou daughters?
*************************************
Ranma walked into the Tendo Dojo to
to?
and found Akane sitting against the
north wall, hugging her knees. "Hey, Akane. Kasumi said I could
find you
in here."
[...]
"I. . . want you to stay, Sensei."
"Oh. . . fine. I'll stay." Ranma turned towards the dojo door.
"Tomorrow
at five, Akane. See you then." He walked away from the dojo,
leaving a
smugly smiling Akane behind.
*******************************
End: Chapter 3
Notes: Yes, I added Crying Freeman. Yes, I added just a dash of
Fatal
Fury. Yes, things were relatively easy for Ranma this chapter.
That will
change. But for the immediate future, more set up, more
flashbacks, more
training, and maybe a little romance along the way.
Excellent. Couldn't ask for more.
Oh, and Happosai, Taro, and Amazons! Oh my!
Yeah, what about Happi?! Has Ranma essentially taken Happi's place
as the creator of Musabetsu Kakutou?
Thanks to Michelle Thatcher, Liath Moonshadow, Hpackrat, and John
Peasley
for ideas, suggestions, and hours of online conversation that kept
me sane
and my muse flowing.
Namaste,
Anand
Thanks for writing and sharing, Anand. I look forward to more of
this.
Ja!
Dave
************************************
D.F. Roeder
Fanfiction - http://www.flash.net/~dfroeder/index.html