Minnasan,
After a lot of delays I'm proud to finally present the next installment
of Immortality. I want to thank those who wrote me. And now, onto the
fic...
Ah my beloved wild horse, the child I never had. I learned from loyal
Felix of your pain, and I, your mother, have come to you to give you
comfort in this time of pain. Has it been three years since I gave you
new life, three years since I gave you my dark gift? Time flies so fast
my pet, especially to ones such as we, we who are destined to roam all
creation for eternity. Do you remember that night, when I asked you to
call me mother? How shocked you were of my boldness, you could not
imagine someone asking this of you, you kept insisting that you already
had a mother, that she is very much alive and that you would call no one
else as such, your face crimped in a fashion I found endearing as you
told this to my face as if daring me to force you otherwise. Yet there
was no need for force was there? Soon it penetrated to you, the cruelty
of my gift. For you, she, your mother still lives but to her the child
that she called her son is dead, how I mourn for your suffering my
little stallion. I remember the nights I spent watching you, reading
your dreams, basking in the light of your soul. So much like my beloved
Marius yet so different, your difference only making me want you more.
Each hurdle you leap made you stronger, each test making you shine
brighter. But chaos was the brew that kept your life interesting, was it
not?
I often reflect now, surely a sign of old age as you say, that perhaps I
had made a mistake in giving you the dark gift? Yet, a part of me
rebels from that thought, It screams from my very being that you are
much too precious to let death take you, that depriving the world of you
would be the unforgivable crime. I could not help but be saddened by
your grief my child, my son and my daughter. My beloved child, your
pain wounds my heart. That is the reason I come to you now, and I
implore you to wait for me, so that we may overcome your sadness
together.
Jiro Maeda presents
A Ranma � / Vampire Chronicles fanfic
Immortality
Disclaimer, The characters and situations involving vampires and their
like are owned by the infamous Anne Rice and whoever she sold them to.
The crazy bunch of martial artists living in Nerima, their quirks and
circumstances and events involving them are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
The other characters exist only in the mind of the author and is not
intended to resemble any person living , deceased or undead. No amount
of money was made in the production of this fanfic.
Act 1b: The Price of a departure
The young vampire slept after the tumulus events that occurred mere
hours ago. His mind displayed his memories to him as if his life were a
movie reel. His memory went back to that day, not so long ago when he
ceased to be human and he remembered�
�The pain of the slap as it landed on his cheek, the pain in his heart
upon hearing those words, disbelief and then utmost grief that she, of
all people wouldn't trust him. The feel of the streets as he ran
directionlessly, his mind empty. The heat of the fire and the great
rumble of the crash. People screaming, begging to be released from that
metal coffin. The exhilaration he felt upon using the Art to help those
in need. Shock upon discovering that he left a child inside the bus,
The heat almost unbearable now, the pain as his pigtail got snagged by
an overhanging part of what once was the bus floor, more pain as the
explosion rocketed his body towards who knows where. The feel of blood
flowing from numerous wounds he can't identify, the feeling of relief as
he discovered the child alive and unharmed. The darkness that nearly
claimed him. A shifting feeling, like being carried, surroundings
blurry, cold clammy skin, like that of the dead, hard and smooth as if
made of marble. Confusion, the feel of soft, grassy ground on his skin,
getting colder� darkness growing� a voice, �Do you want to live, young
one? I can grant you life�� Final thoughts of Akane, thoughts of
things he didn't get to do, saying yes in a voice that was barely a
whisper. His head being lifted, something pressed to his mouth,
�Drink�� that voice again, anxious, frightened, concerned? The feeling
of rejuvenation, then pain as he realized his body was dying. �It is
only natural young one, be steadfast and strong, this too will pass.�
The voice again, now warm and caring, dying and living again, opening
his eyes to see a world that had changed yet stayed the same. �Welcome,
my son. Welcome to eternal night.� His sire's voice� Mater� Pandora�
Ranma awoke, his mind replaying the events of last night. His head
still swam from the thoughts he had spied from Akane�s mind. His heart
broke again as he recalled her pain when thinking of him. How badly he
had wanted to take her in his arms and whisper sweet things to her,
things he never said when he was living. His temper flared as he
jealously remembered the young man she had dated that cursed night. How
he longed to tear him asunder with his bare fists. He was so confused,
these feelings more intense because of what he is, increased a hundred
fold from what a mortal usually felt. It stirred in him, coalesced till
he drowned in the varying emotions that was the core of his soul. Ranma
rose from his casket, a thing made of age-old redwood lovingly inlaid
with ivory and gold, his �mother's� gift; his movements graceful,
seemingly like a dance. �Poor misguided fledgeling, your sire should be
left burning in the morning sun for what she made you suffer.� spoke a
voice nearby. He turned and saw her, a woman seemingly made of marble,
forever encased in eternal youth, her mouth quirked in a half smile yet
mirth never reached her eyes. Her brown hair that usually framed her
face like that of a nun's hood swayed as the night wind entered through
the open windows. �Pray do not be harsh upon my sire, milady. For she
only did what any mother would have done.� he replied and was gratified
upon seeing her features soften, she always loved being called mother.
He smiled at her then, glad that she had come, not realizing how much he
had missed her until he saw her at that moment. He sketched a bow,
�Mother, I greet you this fine night, I beg you, allow me the privilege
of brushing your hand with my unworthy lips� he said as he rose from his
bow, entirely in ancient greek, perfect to the very idiom itself.
Pandora's smile blossomed at that moment, her maternal pride nearly
overpowering all other emotions save for her genuine love for her son.
She met him halfway and brought her hand forward, he stepped forward,
his movements like that of a courtier in a palace ball ,now bending down
to kiss her cold, hard hand. They embraced afterward, an embrace not of
lovers but of a reunited mother and son, tears freely falling as they
bathed in the essence of each other. �I have missed you terribly
mother�� he sniffled, holding on to her as if drawing strength from her
presence. She, his mother, who had lived this past millennia, stoically
soaked up his agony, as if a sponge soaking up water. Her fingers
gently brushed his hair, murmuring comfort in his ear. �My son, my poor
child.� She whispered, tears falling from her cheeks as if the pain in
her fledgeling was her own. He opened up his mind and his pain began to
spill out. Pandora heard it all, his pain, his love for this Akane and
most of all his confusion, his emotions spilling out of the sea that was
his heart, causing her tears to flow even more steadily, cursing herself
for changing him. �You are suffering my beloved child. This pain, it
is worse for you because of who you are, you are in more pain because
you are a vampire.� They held each other thusly as the early evening
turned late until the hour came when it was time to hunt yet again.
They talked as they hunted, now mother and daughter for Ranma found it
easier to hunt as a female, adopting the guise of helplessness that
allowed her to beguile her victims, allowing her to play with them
before sucking the blood out of their bodies and then their hearts at
her leisure, the way her sire feeds whenever she does. When morning
dawned they returned to their paradise within the teeming city and slept
in one coffin, a strange Madonna and Child, hiding from the rays of Amon
Rah. Gathering their strength for what was to come the following night.
The next evening found Ranma ghosting the roofs of Nerima once again, a
shifting shadow within the shadows of the night. He slowed upon
reaching the roof of the Tendo home. He slowly crept down the house
wall only to stop in front of Akane�s window. He looked at her, his
heart doing flip-flops in his chest, did he ever find her unattractive?
His eyes traced every contour of her body outlined by her sheets. Ever
so slowly he opened her window, his mind doing what his body could not,
and entered the sanctity of her bedroom. He sat on her bed and feather
touched her hair, caressing the softness that he might never feel
again. �I didn't mean to cause you pain Akane. You're the last person
Id want to hurt.� He began as he felt the contours of her face, so
delicate, so lovely. �I only want to make you happy, I want to protect
you and hold you close to me� I guess I really do love you. It's too
late now though, you've moved on for one thing.� He said, grimacing as
he remembered the asshole that dared to take out Akane. he decided he
would have words with the little prick, particularly about taking care
of her and treating her as she ought to be treated. �For another, I
don't think I'm worthy of you anymore, you deserve someone better, more
normal, more human, definitely not someone like me.� He held her hand
and, acting upon impulse, kissed her on the lips, the first time he ever
did so willingly. �Good bye Akane, be happy�� he got up and left the
room through the window, promising himself never to botch up her life
with his mess ever again.
He leapt off the balcony and up to the roof. Once there, he stopped and
admired the view that always greeted him whenever he went up there to
meditate or to think, he touched the shingles of the roof, feeling them
as if feeling the memories that each tile silently witnessed. It was
then that he heard a familiar whirring sound and swayed just in time to
avoid getting wounded by a razor-sharp, metal hard bandanna. Said
bandanna, ricocheted off the roof and back to it's owner's hand. �I was
right, it was you� How dare you show your face again after the pain
you've caused with your so called death.� Ryouga snarled out every
syllable his face unseeable to the mortal eyes yet to Ranma his face
clearly bore a grimace, his fangs nearly as long as that of a vampire
glistened in the moonlight. �I don't have time for this P-chan, so if
you don't mind�� Ranma�s sentence went unfinished as the Lost boy
charged, screaming in blind rage his battle umbrella in front of him
like a lance intending to turn his nemesis into shish kebob. Ranma
frowned as he blocked the umbrella , his brow creased showing his
displeasure, his muscles not even tensing from the effort of holding the
umbrella at bay. He switched his hold and twisted, turning what once
was a perfectly serviceable umbrella into scrap. He then turned towards
Ryouga and said. �Back off, you don't know what you're getting into.�
The lost boy merely growled in response and charged him. �Not going to
take me serious are you? Die Ranma!!!� he screamed as he rushed towards
his rival intending to ram him straight into next week, only to fall
into the koi pond a few moments later as the person he intended to hit
seemingly vanished. He fell, hard, scattering the frightened and
unfairly abused koi as he slammed into the water, triggering the
transformation of the curse. �Not again� not the pig�. damn you
Ranma�.� he thought as he felt his limbs shortening, his hair growing
all over, changing everything that was once human into porcine. He rose
from the koi pond and shook himself dry. He then felt his body floating
into the air, seeming of it's own volition. His eyes closed in fear as
his ascent speeded up until it was halted by a hand grabbing his
bandanna. He opened his eyes only to stare at Ranma�s malevolent face.
�I told you to back off, but you just won't listen would you P-chan? I
was willing to just back off, if you'd only listen, I told you that you
didn't know what you were dealing with.� He said, bringing the pig
closer to his mouth, each syllable sending shivers of fear into said
piglet as he felt the sharpness of the vampire's fangs. �I didn't have
the time for a snack, maybe pork teriyaki will do as an appetizer, what
do you think?� he continued, gripping harder on the pig's quivering
form, who shook his head to show his disagreement. Ranma smiled and
simply tossed the frightened pig back into the pond. �You're probably
right, you're too puny to even put a dent on my hunger.� he laughed as
he left the rooftop to join the shadows of the night.
Inside Akane�s room, she lay awake, a silent witness to what happened on
the rooftop. �No, oh Ranma, it's not true�� Akane murmured, over and
over as she cried herself to sleep.
TBC