Previous chapters available at http://www.sofaspud.org
Thanks to Jed Bidwell, who's co-authoring this thing with me. I dunno
about him, but I'm having fun. :)
Brian Payne
sofaspud@sofaspud.org
http://www.sofaspud.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two Parts of One
Three
Ryoga sat alone in his studio apartment, idly fingering long-remembered
chords on his axe. Almost of their own accord, his fingers began plucking
the melody of one of the first songs he'd ever learned to play. It was a
haunting melody, rising and falling over and over again, and it suited his
current mood perfectly.
His already dim mood darkened further as he played, and as he reached
what would have been the chorus had anyone been singing, he began to mouth
the words along with the music.
Don't scream about
Don't think aloud
Turn your head now baby
Just spit me out
Don't worry 'bout
Don't speak of doubt
Turn your head now baby
Just spit me out
Why follow me to higher
ground?
Lost as you swear I am.
Don't throw away your
basic needs,
Ambiance and vanity.
As he finished the second verse, a knock sounded on his door. In the
blink of an eye, he stowed his guitar and sat up straight in his armchair.
"Come in," he said, after clearing his throat.
"Ryoga?" Akane sounded uncertain as she opened the door a crack and
peered around the edge. He felt his pulse begin racing. Had she heard?
Did she know how he felt?
"Y-yes?" he replied.
She opened the door enough to slip through, and closed it behind her.
"I-I was wondering..." she began hesitantly. "Can we... that is... well...
Would you be willing to - "
"Ah... heh... um..." he stammered. He felt himself blushing. Oh,
great, you moron, he haruanged himself bitterly. Blow your cool, why don't
you? You've only been waiting for this since she joined the band, that's
all!
"- talk, maybe?" she finished, looking into his eyes pleadingly.
His blush deepened as he realized that his thoughts and her thoughts
were on wildly different tracks.
"Um... sure, Akane," he managed. "Wha-what about?"
Akane sat down on his bed - no, no, stop thinking like that! - and began
idly toying with one of the drumsticks that she always carried around. She
wasn't looking at him.
"Well... about, um... Ranma."
Ryoga blinked. "Ah... Ranma? What about him?"
"... Do you... do you know what he thinks of me?"
"Um..." Ryoga said, puzzled. "I know he thinks that you play the drums
well. Uh... why?"
Akane blushed, and looked down at the bedspread. "He, um... well..."
Her voice lowered. "He kissed me."
For a moment, Ryoga was still. Then what she'd said sunk in, and he
murmured, "Excuse me for a minute," before rising and striding out into the
hall.
Akane blinked in surprise as an inarticulate yell of rage reverberated
throughout the room, shaking everything - including her - and leaving behind
a faint ringing in her ears. There was a brief silence, then the door
opened again and Ryoga walked back through.
"Sorry about that," he babbled before she could say anything. "Stubbed
my toe on the door, yeah, that's it, don't you worry, Akane, I'll take care
of that bastard Ranma for you, he won't bother you again, okay? Bye!"
"Ryoga, wait!" Akane said, but he'd already vanished back out the door
and down the hall. "Honestly," she continued in a mildly peeved tone,
"you'd think he could at least hear me out."
She stood, dusting off her jeans and tucking the stick back in her
pocket.
"And who said he was bothering me?" she muttered to herself as she left.
"I'm tellin' ya, Mousse, it's just gettin' worse an' worse," Ranma said
morosely. He was seated at a small table in a tiny bar, slouched over and
staring at his drink, presenting the classic picture of a depressed man
getting drunk. Save for the fact that his drink was nothing more than a
glass of water with a slice of lemon floating in it, that's what he was.
Mousse nodded from across the table, his eyes hidden behind the thick
glasses that he still wore from time to time.
"I mean, Ukyo's cute an' all, but she's drivin' me nuts, ya know?"
Mousse nodded again.
"An' she's being too nice, lately, too. Really nice. It's creepy."
Mousse passed out in his chair, falling forward and spilling his drink,
along with several empties, across the table. His head struck the table
with a hollow thud. Ranma didn't even notice.
"I guess my whole plan backfired. She was supposed to get mad, or
something, and instead she's happy with me," Ranma groused, gesturing
expansively with the hand holding his drink. Water sloshed out, soaking the
knee of his pants, and a man at a nearby table yelped as the ice cold liquid
hit him.
"Hey!"
"And Akane's pretendin' that nothin' ever happened!" Ranma continued,
ignoring the shout from behind him. "But I suppose that's okay. It's not
like I'm interested in the chick, or nothin'."
Mousse snored and drooled on the table. Ranma finally took note that
his companion wasn't paying attention any more.
"Mousse?" he inquired, tapping the Chinese man on the back of the head.
The only response was a louder snore.
"Feh," Ranma said, gulping down the rest of his drink. "C'mon, Mousse.
Let's get you home."
Ranma couldn't help but smile the next morning as he walked into the old
converted warehouse that was now the band's private practice room. It had a
cozy feel, with comfortable stools and handy tables for the performers, and
an easily controlled mixing station off to one side. A pool table and
pinball machine hunched in one corner, and the opposite corner had a
refrigerator and a long couch that every one of them had sacked out on from
time to time while pulling all-nighters. This was where they gave birth to
the music that their fans loved. Later on, they'd go to the studio to
record it, but this was where it was all created.
He tossed his keys onto the low table beside the door - one disadvantage
to his preferred style of dress was that it didn't have much in the way of
pockets - and unslung his guitar case from his back. Tuning up and
adjusting the mixer didn't do much for him, but he could feel his tensions
begin to flow away as he started playing. He wasn't playing anything in
particular, but instead was just letting his fingers form the music on their
own, with little to no direction from his conscious mind.
As he played, he closed his eyes and let himself drift with the music.
Soon enough, he'd have to deal with the others, and with - gulp - Ukyo, but
until then...
He was surprised when a keyboard joined his guitar, and opened his eyes
to see Mousse, who had evidently come in and plugged in while he was
drifting. The Chinese man favored him with a grin, and Ranma grinned back
as they played. Again, it wasn't anything specific, but just music. Riffs
and runs from various songs would creep in from time to time, but it never
stayed on anything specific for long.
Ranma looked up from the music as he heard the door open, and nearly
faltered. Mousse covered for his surprise beautifully, turning the misstep
into an off-key chord that led into a haunting melody for a few moments,
until Ranma could catch up again in the friendly jam session.
Akane stood in the doorway, looking on the two of them with an odd
expression. As Ranma found his groove again, a smile quirked her lips, and
she began tapping her foot to the beat they had established. Soon, she had
shucked her jacket and taken her place behind the drums. As she joined in,
they all drifted into an old favorite that they had practiced with many
times before, as a warm-up, as a way to loosen their fingers and voices, or
just to have fun.
All their voices raised up as one without any prompting as they reached
the proper point, and they began to sing.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
As the actual melody started, a second guitar rang out, startling all
three of them. They turned, still playing, and saw Ryoga, holding his
obsidian bass and playing along with them. Ranma shifted his playing to the
higher melody line, and ignored the baleful look Ryoga tossed his way.
What was his problem?
Ranma and Akane dropped their voices out, letting Mousse sing alone,
somehow sensing that he wanted to. His keyboard was quiet, only providing
bare background chords to Ranma's and Ryoga's guitars and Akane's drums.
Mousse raised his voice to the rafters as the first verse started, and the
rest of them let their instruments fall silent for a moment.
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Their instruments sounded out again, backing Mousse as he finished the
first verse. The Chinese man was playing with his eyes closed, head thrown
back as he belted out the words.
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin',
I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Ryoga really let it rip during the bridge, as Mousse joined him with
short, quick chords from the keyboard. Ranma and Akane kept their music
under control as the other two played. They knew they'd get their turn,
soon enough, and all of them were having fun with the simple joy of
performing, even if it was only to themselves.
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely
means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but
I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more.
Ryoga and Akane picked up the melody as Ranma and Mousse dropped out
momentarily; Akane rapping out a quick, lively beat with the snares and hats
and Ryoga hammering away at his strings. Then Mousse joined back in, his
keyboard ringing out in challenge to Ryoga's guitar. Finally, Ranma jumped
back into the music with a high, plucked line that plainly said, "Oh really?
Listen to THIS!"
They all grinned at each other as Ranma finished, and, with a quick
flourish, began the next part of the song. Ranma's and Ryoga's guitars
wailed, Mousse's keyboard shouted its presence, and Akane's drums tied it
all together into a massive, heavy melody that pounded on the senses in
waves of sound.
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more.
The last note stretched out, ringing throughout the room and finally
starting to fade away slowly. The band all relaxed, and looked around at
each other quizzically.
"That was good," stated Mousse flatly into the silence. He folded his
arms across his chest and nodded firmly, just once.
Ranma smiled, and closed his eyes. "Yeah. It was."
Akane grinned down at the others from her perch behind the drums. "So
let's do another!"
Ryoga snorted, but kept silent and shifted his guitar back into a
playing grip.
"Ok, then," said Ranma, flexing his fingers. "How about next weeks
opener?"
They all nodded.
"Right. Mousse, watch your chords - you missed some last time. One,
two, three..." he called, and after a quick roll from Akane the music burst
forth once again.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD THE MUSIC:
"December", by Collective Soul, short MIDI clip available at
CollectiveSoul.Org (http://www.collectivesoul.org):
http://www.members.home.net/aruocco/audio/december.mid
"Carry On Wayward Son", by Kansas, short MP3 clip available at the
official Kansas website (http://www.kansasband.com):
http://www.kansasband.com/sounds/cows.mp3
I make no guarantees that these links will work; all I can say is, they
were up and working when I tested them.