Xanadu
By Kyle Emmerson
Ranma 1/2 and all characters and situations are property
of Rumiko Takahashi. I use these characters and situations
without permission.
Spawn and all characters and situations are property of
Todd McFarlane. I use these characters and situations without
permission.
Chapter One: Scars
"Even time, the father of all cannot undo what has been
done, whether right or wrong." - Pindar, Greek Poet (Circa 518-438
BC)
****
9:9:9:9
****
The keys rattled in the door loudly as Keiko unlocked the deadbolt.
Silently, she slid her hand inside and up the wall to turn the light
switch on.
After a quick check, she entered the apartment, and allowed her
visitor to follow.
"This is my humble home," she said, raising her arms as a hostess
would. "Make yourself comfortable."
As Keiko turned to face her visitor, she finally got a good look at
the person who called herself Spawn. She stood nearly a head taller than
Keiko. A pitch black suit with white designs, most notably, a gothic M on
her torso piece, and a few miniature skulls hooked up to the suit. Chains
hung lazily from her belt and arms. The blood red cloak seemed to have
shrunk away from the light and now appeared to be considerably smaller
than before.
Needless to say, Keiko found herself staring.
The woman who called herself Spawn noticed it. Striving for a change
of subject, she spoke up.
"Who were they?"
Keiko snapped out of her reverie as Spawn spoke.
"Wha?"
"Who were those men? Do you know?"
Keiko shook her head. "Don't know. The local Oyabun might not take too
kindly to them, though."
"They might try something like that again. You should be more
careful," she replied.
Keiko nodded. "I work the evening shift at a club down the road. I
usually get in with the carpool, but I felt like walking tonight. I guess
that was a bad idea, eh?"
The Spawn merely nodded and walked toward the window.
"It's only the third floor," Keiko mentioned. "You won't get that
great of a view from up here."
She received no reply.
"So," Keiko said, trying to make conversation from the awkward
silence. "You need a shower or anything? Feel free to use it. I'm sure you
don't wanna stay in that suit all night."
The Spawn looked down on herself for a moment. "Shower?" she asked.
"No... thanks."
"Well, are you gonna sleep in that? Don't those chains bother you?"
"No," she replied.
Keiko sighed. This was getting her nowhere.
"Look," Keiko said. "I'm really grateful for what you did for me back
there. And I'll respect your privacy, and whatever else you require. If
you want me to, I'll even take you to Nerima in the morning."
The Spawn looked over to her.
"For now, I just need to sleep." Keiko continued. "I'll set up a bed
roll for you, and you can have whatever you need from the kitchen."
Keiko could hear the woman sigh sadly.
"I'm sorry," the Spawn said. "I'm just having a really tough time of
things."
"Do... you wanna talk about it?" Keiko prodded.
"It's hard to talk about," the Spawn replied, shaking her head. "I
don't feel right. I can't remember anything. I... I just don't know what's
going on."
Keiko sat down in a cushioned chair, a look of concern plastered on
her face. "What do you mean you don't feel right?"
"I mean, look at me. I look like something out of a horror manga, but
it's still me."
Keiko raised one eyebrow. "Still you?"
She shrugged in reply. "I feel... different."
"How did you feel before?"
"That's even stranger. I don't know how I felt before. Only that I
didn't feel like this. There are things that just... I don't know, it's
strange."
Keiko stood up and walked over to the woman. "You can't remember
anything?"
"Besides Nerima, no," she shook her head.
Keiko narrowed her eyes in thought. "Do you have any sort of injury?
Head trauma?"
The woman looked over at Keiko for a moment. "I don't think so," she
answered.
"Do you might if I take a look at your head?"
The Spawn thought it over for a second. A moment later, she reached up
and removed her cowl.
Keiko gasped. What she had seen underneath was not what she had been
expecting.
Her face looked relatively normal, except for several scars of varying
degree. Her hair, however, was different. It flowed down her back, stained
with a mixture of grey, white and black, and had several clumps missing
from the roots.
Her scars stood out less than her hair, but were still extremely
visible. Most of them seemed like slashes made with a razor blade, or some
other sharp object, with a few exceptions at her temple and lip. The scar
above her lip seemed like a blade cut at first glance, but a closer look
revealed a more jagged shape. More like a tear than a cut.
The white scar at her temple was roughly the size of a silver dollar.
If she didn't know better, she'd say it was a scar left behind by a
gunshot wound.
And lastly, she noticed her eyes.
The woman's eyes. Though she had noticed a faint greenish glow while
she wore her cowl, now it was completely visible. The whites of her eyes
were nonexistent. Her pupils were just not there. It was as if her
eyeballs had been replaced by two luminescent globes of neon green.
And yet, she could apparently see with them.
"What's wrong?" the Spawn asked.
Keiko shook her head. "I'm sorry, it just wasn't what I was
expecting."
****
Takeshi Suzamoto leaned back in his leather chair, contemplating the
situation as he stroked the stub of the missing thumb on his right hand.
"So, they haven't been disposed of yet?" he asked the man who sat in
the wooden chair on the other side of his oak desk.
The man meekly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Suzamoto. They have
been very elusive. They are highly trained in the martial arts, it would
be impossible to capture or kill them with the team I have at my
disposal."
Takeshi motioned his two associates who stood on either side of the
man to back off for a moment. The middle aged man stood up and strode over
to the man with a friendly look on his face.
"You know I dislike excuses, right, Chen?"
Chen swallowed hard. "Yes, sir," he replied with a light Chinese
accent.
"How would your fellow Triads feel if they found were to learn that
you were working for me? Hmm?"
Keung Chen swallowed again before answering. "They would not be
pleased."
"Nor am I, Chen. Nor am I," he said, swiveling his chair around to
face his men at either side.
Without even looking back, he said, "Hold him."
Keung Chen had almost no time to do anything. He was stuck. The two
musclebound men at either side of him had him secured without having to
use so much as a tenth of their full force potential.
"Please, Mr. Suzamoto. I... I apologize for my excuse! I will find
them and kill them personally! Please!" he begged.
"You know, Chen," he said, reaching in to his desk drawer and pulling
out a pair of steel wire cutters. "I think you're right. I think you and
your men will have a problem with these two."
Keung started to sweat profusely as Suzamoto approached him.
"In fact, I think you're so right, that I'm going to give you a
break."
Keung was past the point of even false hopes. He knew what was going
to happen. All he could do was prepare.
Takeshi opened the cutters up and placed it over Keung's index finger.
"So you don't have to worry about these two any more," he said, then
applied pressure to the cutters.
Keung let out a scream of intense pain as the cutters sliced through
his flesh, going through artery and vein, eventually cutting through the
bone itself.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Keung's finger was
separated from his body. Keung couldn't take the stress, and promptly
passed out.
Takeshi grabbed a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hand
clean.
"How disappointing," he muttered. Looking towards his men, he spoke
again. "Separate his head from his body. I want the head sent to his Triad
Superiors. Send a message with it. I'm sure they'll be very interested to
see what the Joketsuzoku have done with one of their number."
"What about his fingers?" One of his men asked.
Takeshi smiled. "I'll keep the thumbs. The rest of them, send to the
Joketsuzoku message. Give those two kids a message."
The thug smiled and nodded, and dragged Keung out by the collar.
As Takeshi sat back in his chair, he noticed the blood dripping from
his desk.
"And get this mess cleaned up," he shouted. "What are we? Animals?"
****
"What the hell was that, Sango?" Shima exclaimed. "No, I mean WHAT the
HELL was it?!"
Sango rubbed his bruised throat and passed a glare toward his partner
in crime. "How the hell should I know?" he croaked.
"It spoke like a woman... but no WAY does a chick have that kind of
strength," Shima continued his rant.
"Or speed," Sango croaked out once again.
Shima pounded his fist against the brick wall of the alleyway. He had
been waiting here for Sango to show up, in hopes that he would do just
that. Thankfully he hadn't been killed, but now--
--but now what? Sango wasn't dead. They were able to run away and
fight again another day.
Shima looked over towards his injured friend.
And fight again, they would.
"You recognize that chick?" he asked.
Sango looked up. "She was in a damn suit of armour, idiot. I couldn't
have recognized her if she was my damned sister," he replied.
"Not her! The cute one," Shima shot back.
Sango looked up. "I seen her around," he said. "I think she's a
student."
"I figured that much," Shima said, then looked up for a moment,
rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But which school?"
"What does it matter?" Sango asked. "I don't want to screw around with
that... bitch from hell again."
"Why not? She hurt you, San."
"So? She didn't kill me, and she could have."
"She can't hurt us if we use the guns," Shima suggested.
Sango shot his gaze towards his friend. "WHAT?" he exclaimed. "Are you
crazy, man? I don't want to mess with that shit! It's bad mojo! Besides,
what the hell you think the Oyabun'll do to us if we're caught, let ALONE
the cops."
"Oyabun can't touch us," Shima said. "I know a place where we can get
a couple guns, and have this bitch taken care of easy. We can do it
ourselves."
"Dude, I don't want nothing to do with guns."
"So you'll let her get away with it?" Shima exclaimed, more than a
little angry. "You'll let her BRUISE you, and just shrug it off like
nothing?"
"I don't LIKE guns, man. We start using 'em, then normal folks will.
Then WE are out of business, for GOOD."
Shima narrowed his eyes angrily. "Fine, you wanna let her get away
with it, whatever. But--"
"Quit trying to lay this shit on me, Shima. I ain't doing it. Not with
guns."
Shima sighed. "Fine, then without guns?"
Sango looked up again. "With the school bitch?"
Shima nodded. "The Lady in Chains can't be around all the time.
Probably won't take us too long to find the little one."
Sango rubbed his neck once more. Yes... payback to her, without
involving the big one...
That would work... quite nicely.
"I'm listening," he said.
****
The night had taken the city in its thrall. The morning had just began
to rise over the horizon, and still, the woman who called herself Spawn
had not slept. Not even felt tired or hungry.
So instead, she had whiled the night away by watching the old
television that sat in Keiko's apartment. She flipped through the
channels, pausing from time to time to get up and adjust the antenna and
sat by herself, slumped back in an old chair.
She paid little attention to the growing light outside the window
until the sun had risen to the point where light shadows were cast along
the streets below.
It was morning, yet she hadn't yet thought to wake Keiko up. She
should be allowed to sleep.
Her thoughts drifted back to the night before. To the two thugs she
had rescued the girl from. To the... look on Keiko's face as she checked
her head for injuries.
She walked towards the vanity mirror on the wall and looked herself
over. She had not yet replaced her cowl since she had removed it earlier
in the night, though she felt an urge to.
The cowl, as strange as it sounded, made her feel more secure. It was
if it covered a part of her that she didn't want any to see. Like she was
naked without it.
Yet she was not.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Things were different. The green
glow of her eyes seemed extremely foreign to her. She looked at her face,
and reached a hand up to caress the scar at her temple.
(Bitch. You'll die for that!)
She jerked back in surprise as the memory flooded into her mind. Where
had it come from?
(Jesus Christ! She killed Hideki! She fucking KILLED him!)
Another memory. How had it happened?
She reached up and caressed it again. There was no flood of memory
this time, and she took a closer look at it.
That was it. It looked remarkably like a bullet wound. To the temple?
That would have killed her. Wouldn't it have?
She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, taking out a few
strands in the process. They had come out easily, without any resistance.
She brought the strands before her and examined them closely. The strands
were white, gray and black. Each strand a separate colour.
She furrowed her brow in thought.
She had black hair. She knew she did. She had to have.
She looked back into the mirror.
(No more. I can't let them do this.)
It was her own voice this time, she was sure of it. Even though it was
less raspy, and more... pure. Pure. That was the only description she
could come up with.
She threw the strands of hair down to the floor and turned away from
the mirror. She moved toward the kitchen, barely paying attention to the
new sounds emanating from Keiko's room.
Her alarm clock was going off.
She stood over the counter, a small vase nearby with several cooking
utensils in it.
Almost unconsciously, she reached over and pulled something out. A
small spatula.
(No is good idea to involve Ranma, Ukyou. No want danger for him or
Akane.)
She gasped and dropped the spatula as the memory came to her, making a
clattering noise as it hit the ground. It wasn't her voice this time. It
was someone else's, with heavily accented Chinese.
But the voice was speaking to her. She knew that much.
Ukyou. That was her name. It must have been, otherwise, she wouldn't
have sensed the familiarity she did for it.
It was Ukyou.
She reached down to pick up the spatula from the floor and stood up
again. She could hear Keiko's rumblings around in her room, trying to find
some clothes to wear for the day.
A moment later, Keiko appeared from her room, wearing a white blouse
and blue jeans. She looked over at Ukyou for a second and blinked.
"I know my name," Ukyou told her.
Keiko raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I remember it now. It's Ukyou."
"Ukyou?"
She nodded. "I... get these... flashbacks."
Keiko walked over to her visitor and looked into her eyes. Though
there was something about Ukyou that just bothered her, there was too much
sadness and... honesty in the strangers alien eyes to disbelieve her.
"Well," she said. "Maybe if we get to Nerima, we can work on jogging
that memory of yours. You think?" She smiled.
Ukyou looked over at her. After a moment of thought, she nodded.
"One question though," she began.
"What's that?"
"Do you plan on wearing that? Because we might get some strange looks.
That's good for sneaking around at night and all, but during the day...
well, you're more than likely gonna get more attention that you should."
Ukyou looked down on herself. At her... suit.
"It's... It's like it's a part of me. My skin. I don't know if I can
take it off," she said, tugging at the fabric on her arms.
"Well, you think you can conceal any of it? We might be able to cover
it up. I've got some make-up you can use, and a wig in the other room. If
you can do something about the suit, we might be able to make you look...
uhh... socially acceptable."
Ukyou sighed. "Perhaps."
Keiko brought her hand forth. "I might have a few things you can wear
over that, but you'll look really bulky. And the chains will have to go."
Ukyou took one of the chains into her hand and pulled on it
experimentally. She could feel it pulling at her skin.
She looked down on herself. Her suit WAS her skin.
"This might not work," she said. "Just take me to the train station
and I'll find my own way there."
"And once you're there?" Keiko frowned. "Do you have a place to stay?
Do you know anyone there? You couldn't even remember your name until a few
minutes ago. Do you even know your last name?"
Ukyou looked down towards the floor. "It's... Kuonji, I think."
Keiko sighed. "But do you know anything else? Family? Friends?"
"I see faces... and I hear voices."
"Like who? Can you name them?"
She shook her head. "There was a girl. A Chinese girl, I think. She
had a heavy accent. She said something about not involving... Ranma."
(See you tomorrow, Ucchan.)
Ukyou's hands shot up to her head in a flash, trying to cradle it from
the sudden memory surge.
"What's wrong? Another flashback?"
Ukyou nodded. "I... I think it was Ranma. He... he called me Ucchan."
Keiko's brow raised in thought.
"Ranma, eh? Do you know a family name?"
Ukyou sighed. "I... I can't think of it right now."
"Well, it's a start. Do you know what he looks like?"
Ukyou closed her eyes, trying to recall his face. What she could
recall was simply a short pigtail, tied by a short strand of hair.
She opened her eyes again.
"If I see him," she began. "I'll recognize him."
"Good. Maybe this guy will know something about what's up."
Ukyou nodded.
"So this Chinese girl and this Ranma guy. That's all you can recall?"
Ukyou shook her head. "There was something else. A threat... and a man
screaming about someone being killed."
Keiko once again raised her brow. "Really?"
Ukyou nodded again.
Keiko just shook her head. "Let's not worry about that right now," she
said. "Right now lets get you to Nerima. We'll find some way for you to
get there."
Sighing, Ukyou walked out from the kitchen, absently carrying the
small metal spatula with her.
****
The cavern tasted of stale air to any who would enter, though it was a
dangerous place, meant to be avoided by all costs to those who lived near
it.
But to Professor Charles Dexter Ward, it was mere superstition to the
locals. To him and his associates, it was a veritable museum of an ancient
culture.
"Henry," he called. "Get yer arse over 'ere with that camera!"
Henry Pickman was no more than an assistant to Professor Ward, he took
notes when he was supposed to take notes, took pictures when he was
supposed to take pictures, and took crap whenever he was supposed to take
crap.
Needless to say, Henry took crap most of the time.
"Here I am, sir," he said, standing in front of his boss.
Professor Ward stabbed his finger in the direction of a nearby wall.
"I want you to take a picture o' that wall there, 'enry," he said, his
Cockney accent leaking through. "And then get them artifacts on the far
wall. 'specially them statues."
"Give the poor kid a break, Charlie," a third man called with a light
Scottish accent. "He ain't your bloody slave."
"And 'ow would you know? 'e's me assistant, 'e is."
"Assistant is one thing, Charlie," the other man replied. "Rebel is
another. You keep orderin' 'im around like that, he's likely to explode.
Now come o'er 'ere and look at this."
The Professor abandoned his post to walk towards his associate, Howard
Phillips. "'Ere now," he muttered. "What's this?"
Howard ran his finger along the cavern wall. "Looks to me like
Aramaic, Charlie," he said. "We'll bring it back to the University and
have the linguists have themselves a look-see."
"Can't you make anything out?" Charles asked.
Howard narrowed his eyes, then fingered a particular character. "This
means... road, I think. It's obviously meant to portray a path of some
sort."
"A path? In 'ere?"
Howard shook his head. "It's hard to say, Charlie. Could be a
metaphor. But there's other bits that are confusing me."
"'ere now, you'd leave poor old Charlie out of the loop?"
"'Course not," he said. "This word here..." he pointed at another set
of characters. "obviously means a war of some sort... I can see several
similar references in here. The sharpened tooth, the rounded blade." He
paused. "However, this is what confuses me..."
"What's that?"
"It's a name, a place or thing, I have no idea. 'tsays... Mahlbohljya.
Sound familiar?"
Charles shook his head. "Not a bit. 'sprobably a name," he replied.
"This is God," he said, pointing towards another character. "But the
way it speaks of this Mahlbohljya... It would appear as though he were
Luciferian."
"A minion?"
"No, it speak as if he were Lucifer himself. Possibly even at a
stronger level."
"A lost gospel, per'aps?"
"It also speaks of Angels and... Wait, this one," he said, pointing at
another character. "It speaks of days to come. Before the revelations...
It be a prophecy, Charlie."
Charles examined the Aramaic text closely. "Can you make out any
more?"
Howard shook his head. "We'll bring it back to the university," he
said. "There's a helluva lot more to it than just this."
Charles nodded. "Oi! 'enry! Get your bleedin' carcass movin' and take
a picture of this 'ere text!"
****
The wind did nothing to affect Ukyou during her ride. As per her
suggestion, Keiko was riding in the train while she clung to the roof,
rather effortlessly.
The signs and other low-riding stationary objects were a bit more
challenging, but nothing Ukyou couldn't handle. The scenery passed by
before her unnoticed until the stop came.
Without any forethought, Ukyou leapt off of the train before it pulled
into the station. It was quite cloudy that day, and something told her
she didn't want to be noticed.
But whatever had told her to keep her cowl on was another thing
entirely.
She waited in a dark corner outside of the train station patiently.
Keiko had agreed to meet her there beforehand.
Still, on a day as cloudy as that, coupled with the level of ignorance
people usually showed. Going around unnoticed would be easy-- as long as
she didn't draw attention to herself.
She looked around the area and felt something. A simple tugging, as if
her subconscious were yanking on her conscious mind's shirt sleeve, and
saying, 'Hey! I know this place!'
And know the place she did. The area was becoming increasingly
familiar. From the yellow house on the corner, to the three story
apartment building next to the train station. In fact, if she wasn't
mistaken--
"THERE you are," Keiko exclaimed, interrupting her thought. "I thought
you would be on the other side."
Ukyou looked over to her. "Unlikely. The train would have had to pass
the station before I could jump off there."
Keiko just shook her head. "No matter. You just had me worried. I
thought you would have fallen off."
Ukyou opened her fist, then clenched it tightly, and snapped a quick
punch forward.
"Martial arts," she said. "Against the raging seas..."
Keiko blinked. "What?"
Ukyou shook her head. "Nothing, just another memory."
"Ahhh," she replied. "You know, they keep popping up! I didn't think
it could all come back so quickly."
"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?"
If Keiko had an answer for Ukyou's question, she kept it to herself.
Instead, she looked down the street. "Anything look familiar she asked."
Ukyou jabbed a gloved finger down the street. "I think... I used to
walk down this street... A lot."
Keiko looked down the street. "Well, I think that goes up in to the
commercial district..." she said. "It's as good a place to start as any, I
guess!"
Ukyou nodded and leapt up to a nearby fence, concealing herself with
the low-hanging branches of trees. Keiko looked up at her and blinked.
"I think," she began. "You should have just changed clothes back at my
apartment. A wig and a bit of make-up, and you'll be completely
presentable!"
Ukyou tugged at her suit like it was her own skin. "Don't feel right
without this on," she said.
"And you feel right with people staring at you like you're an alien?"
Keiko muttered under her breath.
If the Hellspawn had overheard her question, she made no indication
of it, and continued her travel, hopping to nearby roofs when the trees
ran thin. But soon enough, the two of them were in the commercial
district.
****
Keiko walked impatiently down the street, keeping up her habit of
glancing up at Ukyou every few seconds. She was a strange woman,
extremely... But, then, that was unfair. The woman had saved her life the
night before, or at least her virginity... As far as Keiko was concerned,
she could be as strange as she wanted, and Keiko would still bend over
backwards to help her out.
In fact, as strange as it was, and for as short a time as she's known
her... Keiko felt a mysterious kinship with her. Not something she could
explain, but almost a bond. Whether or not it made sense was beside the
point.
She passed glances at the store names as she alternated between the
street and Ukyou, who was bouncing along the rooftops, keeping a pace with
Keiko. Keiko knew that Ukyou could take off and be half a mile away the
minute she chose to, but decided not to.
It was rather nice of her, really.
'Kyousuke's Mystic Emporium' passed by beneath them. Obviously some
stage magic store. There were numerous restaurants, including a small
bistro with a sidewalk patio.
She looked up at Ukyou and froze.
Ukyou was standing on top of the bistro, looking down-- but not at
Keiko.
At a man sitting at a table, sipping his drink and reading a
newspaper. He was rather young, tall, with short, dark hair. He almost
had.. an air of arrogance surrounding him.
Keiko knew his type. She's dealt with many of them before-- probably
the heir to a noble family, back during the days when the Royal family had
REAL ruling power, rather than just being public figures and celebrities
like they are today. He was probably wealthy and lived on some big estate
in Nerima.
Without warning, the man looked up. "Can I help you?" he asked.
Keiko paused. "I... err..." she shot her gaze upward, to see Ukyou--
Hey, where WAS Ukyou?
The man followed her eyes and looked upward, but then, upon finding
nothing, returned his attention to Keiko.
"Miss?"
Keiko jerked out of her reverie quickly. "Oh... I'm... umm... sorry,
sir." She bowed, asking for forgiveness.
The man casually waved his hand with a smile. "It is no bother to me,
miss. I am quite used to beautiful women lavishing their attention upon my
person."
Keiko smiled and bowed once again. "I'm sorry again, sir. I should be
on my way now."
As she walked away, she mentally retched. She had his type pegged
down, although he was much more... formal about it--
And usually they didn't complement her beauty. That was an added
bonus. Still, he was just some guy who thought he owned the world. She'd
met a million of them, and she'd probably meet a lot more in her time.
She looked around for Ukyou, and caught a glimpse of a chain, glinting
from the sun, which was now peeking out from behind the clouds, coming
from a side alley.
Keiko quickly made her way over to it.
****
"Did you see it?" Ukyou asked.
"What the guy? You know him?" Keiko replied.
Ukyou furrowed her brow. "Guy... No-- Well, I never saw him, I was
looking at the building."
"What about it?"
"It's not supposed to be there," she said. "Everything here seems
familiar-- but what should be THERE is not."
Keiko looked over to the Bistro. "Well, the building does look new.
Especially compared to the rest of the buildings in the street."
Ukyou narrowed her eyes. "I think..." she cast her gaze down the
street. "Nekohanten... That means--"
"Whoa, you're confusing me now. What?"
"I... I need you to see if there's a small restaurant down the street.
Glass windows in front. Probably okonomiyaki."
"Okonomiyaki?" Keiko asked, then looked down the street. "Okay." She
shrugged, and walked off.
Ukyou rubbed her temples through the cloth. What she had failed to
mention to Keiko--
(Oh... err... Kazuyo Maeshima. Nice to meet you, Mr. Kuonji!)
--were that scenes from her past--
(Mr... Kuonji... Oh, my...)
--were now penetrating her conscious mind--
(Ukyou... I... I don't know how to say this, but...)
--at an incredible rate.
(I want to share my life with you, Ukyou. I don't want to live with
this-- this pain. It's down there, Ukyou. The feeling in my gut. I love
you.)
She couldn't stop them. She hadn't wanted to at first-- the memories
had burst forth from her subconscious, and brought a varying array of
emotions through. Surprise, embarrassment, anticipation and... longing.
Longing was the only way she could explain it-- mixed feelings of love,
hurt and... pity?
(Leave her out of it, Takeshi. She has nothing to do with this.)
But soon the dissolved into confusion--
(You've made one mistake too many, Maeshima.)
--fear--
(YOU SON OF A BITCH! KAZUYO!)
--hatred--
(Not wise... The Lion shall now lie with the Lamb, girl...)
--helplessness and pain...
Before she knew it, Ukyou found herself in a fetal position, rocking
back and forth on the ground, while tears streamed through her cowl.
And then--
(She's almost dead as it is. You know how to deal with it. Go bury
her.)
--Ukyou shot her gaze up as fast as she could. The world suddenly
became clearer, easier to understand. She once again heard the sounds of
the city for miles around-- the smell of the human pheromone and unwashed
masses. It was enough to make her retch, but somehow she kept it in. The
sounds of laughing in the streets, the heartbeat of two lovers locked in
the heat of passion, the cries of joy and arguments. She could see a
cockroach scuttle into a sewer grate two blocks down the street, and make
out the facial features of every single person that passed by her for up
to four hundred feet-- right down to the blemishes and scars.
Ukyou focused on a single sound-- no sight or smell yet-- and
amplified it, trying to locate its source. The vice itself struck a chord
in her conscious mind, and it pulled another memory from the subconscious.
Ukyou's eyes closed for a moment as the memory invaded her mind--
"Ranma," she said, as if the voice were the answer to everything.
Without another word-- or thought-- Ukyou took to the rooftops and
hunted the voice down.
****
Keiko looked at the restaurant in confusion. It was an okonomiyaki
restaurant... So what?
Had she been in another state of mind, she may have linked the name of
the restaurant to another aspect of her life that had become all too
noticeable since the night before.
Had she been in a clearer state of consciousness, she might have
realized that the hostess, who she shrugged off as a crossdressing woman,
was in actuality a man, with several feminine features.
"Welcome to Ucchan's!" The 'hostess' greeted. "I'm your host, Konatsu
Kenzan... may I serve you?"
But then, if Keiko was in a clearer state of mind, she would have
heard the pained screaming coming from the alley where she had left
Ukyou-- and definitely would have noticed that she had left.
It didn't take long for her to notice these things, however. But it
did take a while for her to give up looking-- and return to her downtown
apartment. Still, she tightened her resolve to return the next day and
continue her search for Ukyou--
For, as strange as it seemed to admit it, her new friend with the red
cloak.
****
Authors Notes:
Well, once again, this is turning out remarkably different from 'A Life
Once Lived'. Anyway, It's late, I'm tired. Lemme know what you guys think--
and for those who have missed it, the prologue is available at
http://www.nabiki.com/tydi-oh-ki/xan00.txt
BTW, betcha didn't expect it to be Ukyou. ^_^
-------------------------
| The TydRipper | "Tyd, you need a smaller
| | .sig. :-)"
| Master of the Tides, | - Gary Kleppe, FFiRC
| Devourer of noodles, |
| Writer of Ranma Fics, |
| Baka to the end... |
-------------------------
Questions? Comments? Flames? Email Me.
~ The TydRipper
http://www.nabiki.com/tydi-oh-ki <--- Regularly updated site!
kyle_emmerson@yahoo.com <--- My usual e-mail.
I also keep some of my stuff archives on Sofaspud's Couch at
http://www.sofaspud.org/
http://www.nabiki.com/gokami <--- Another of my many projects...
[This Space for Rent]