Hi..
i sent this out last year and having time to finally continue
it, I have updated and added to it takeing in all the C&C I got last
time. I think it is much better now.. Let me know what you think..
thanks..
THE BOX OF DREAMS
Miriel church
0009.11 v.1.8
Prologue
It is the way of things that the world keeps moving, never
stopping, every action--every person effecting the world around them
but even the wisest can
only be aware of that small slice of the world that directly effects
their existence.
So if a butterfly in Hokido flaps its wings and causes a typhoon in the
Philippines, what can any one person do about it. All around us the
world changes by the
actions of nature or man and there is often nothing we can do about it
until to late.
In Nerima strange things do not just happen they are accepted as
the norm; here in this little area the normal rules of life seem to bend
and warp.
All the strangeness in Nerima seems to center around, or is drawn
to a small plot of land on which sits the Tendo Dojo. A family owned
training hall that once taught students from far and wide the marital
arts until a great sadnesssettled there. Now it
has only one student to carry on the school and traditions, Tendo Akane
who was
acknowledged as being among the best in the area. But then one day in
her sixteenth year a pair of wandering martial artists arrived at the
dojo. This father/son pair came to fulfill a promise made many years
before, to join the two families and
Cary on the Anything Goes School.
CHAPTER 1
"Mother is coming"
Nerima, being a suburb of Tokyo, never truly sleeps, but
occasionally
a lull seems to settle over it.
To the east a full moon crests the far horizon; to
the west the sinking sun sets the distant hills
aflame. A quiet time as birds settle to roost for the night, children
are called in from play, families sit for dinner and the world seems to
hold
it's breath for just a moment. In that timeless moment between light
and dark, the walls separating realities can be breached. In that
wondrous second the questions of the universe can be asked and answered,
beings of legend can be glimpsed and destinies can be rewritten..
On a hill top lit by the setting sun in a small forest, overlooking
the city, voices are heard where no people are seen.
�It�s almost time� A quiet voice says, �do you think this will
work?�
�It has to be..� This second voice is almost musical and seems to
float on the wind �this chaos has to stop.�
�You know you might loose him� the first voice says from the branch
he is sitting on.
�I know.. but he will still be cared for, even if not by me�
Sorrow flows with this musical voice
even the trees seem to wilt a bit at the sounds.
�Well don�t give up hope, he has surprised us before!� A bit of
laughter comes from the branches.
�Yes he has, hasn�t he.� Giggles of music perk up the trees.
�Have you seen enough? We do need to get back and prepare.�
Noiselessly the young man in the tree drops to the ground.
�Yes, enough.. We�ll know soon enough if
this plan works. I hope it does.. he has had more suffering than I care
to remember.�
�True, now it�s time for the happy ever after part� Laughter
resounds trough the woods. � At least he will still have us.. imagine if
he hadn�t found her��
�But he did, and here we are� getting ready for the biggest change
in his life yet.. **sigh** Lets go.�
In the blink of an eye the only sign of the speakers is a set of boot
prints in the ground
and one long white hair caught in a bush under the trees.
As the night awakens, bringing
its own life and action; people going to jobs, parties or strolls in
the darkened landscape where anything beyond the next
circle of light might just as well be on another world, the sound of
hooves ringing on stone is briefly heard..
On the roof of the
Tendo Dojo a young man sits in the last rays of sunlight and as the
shadows of night grow a new light shines on his face. Cupped in his
hands a blue flame that flickers, not in the breeze but with the
pulse of his own life energy, and in that flame a spinning essence of
golden light seems to hold his total attention.
{Man, I gotta finish this tonight.. Mother is
coming for my birthday party this weekend, and I still haven't been
able to get this thing done. If it's not pop wanting to train me.. like
he has anything I haven�t seen yet, it�s Ryoga wanting a fight to avenge
Akane.. HA!! All he really wants is to be her little P-CHAN! or Nabiki
wanting pictures, preferably nudes, so she can fleece Kuno some more or
one of the other fianc�es wanting-- me!! All I need now is the old goul
to
start on me again, or the freak to show up and my life will be perfect
.. NOT!! Ok.. it's warm enough, lets see if I can get this right ..
this time.}
The golden light increases as the blue flames seem to whip in
towards it.
{Now relax.. keep the speed constant and .. there we go.. its
working.. concentrate...}
Behind him, peeking over the edge
of the roof, two others watch as he focuses on his work.
Tendo Nabiki and Tendo Akane watch as Soatome Ranma draws his chi,
his life energy, and begins his work, whatever that work may be. They
watched him as he climbed out his window, a small pouch of worn leather
held in his hands, and jumped to the roof of the family dojo. This was
not an unusual occurrence. What captured their attention was that he
did this as the rest of the family was called to dinner. Ranma miss
dinner? Let Genma eat his share of the
culinary delights that
Kasumi created? Only if this was a serious situation.
" What is he doing?" Akane whispered to her sister.
"I've seen him do this a couple of times, but I still can't figure
out what he's doing -- or where he hides that pouch," Nabiki whispered
back "and believe me I've looked. When I asked him, he
told me that it was private. I even offered to cut his bill down for
the
information but he wouldn't tell."
"Well, I'm going to find out...."Akane said as she climbed on the
roof and approached Ranma "Ranma.... you�re missing dinner.. " She
said
quietly. No answer. "Ranma.. are you alright?.." No answer. "What are
you doing Ranma?" Again, no answer. "Ranma. I'm talking to you!" Still
no
answer. "RANMA!" Once more silence. "FINE!! Don't talk to me, see if I
care....�
The flame in Ranma's hands fades, and as he stands, he picks up a
small box and the "Whatcha want Akane?'
"I asked what you're doing.. You missed dinner.."
{she's upset.. oh boy..}"Just working on something, I ate earlier
at Uchans"
"Can I see?"
"Uh.. no its a gift..."
"For Me?.. "
"Uh. No I�m making it for...."
"It's for Ukyou, Isn't it!!" A reddish glow starts forming around
Akane as her anger grows.
"No... It..."
"Shampoo!!! it has to be for Shampoo then, even I know you would
never
make something for Kodachi!!"
"...but..."
"Your actually making a gift for Shampoo!! Why won't you make
anything for me!!!"
"..but...."
'You ....." as her anger flares so does her aura "BAKA...."
{here it comes} he scrambles to get away but to no avail.
"RANMA!!!!!!"
WHAMMMM!!! SPLASHHHH!!!
As Ranma-chan hauls herself out of the koi pond again she starts
muttering under her breath and stomps into the house, Akane stands
on the roof with tears forming in her eyes. at her feet is a small disk
of golden material that Ranma had dropped when the hammer fell. Akane
picking up the disk sees a slight glow on the surface , turning it to
the light from the house the partial picture of woman�s face has been
echoed in
perfect detail on the oval disk, a face that Akane knows well.
"Auntie..." {Oh no what have I done, he was making this for his
mother..}" Nabiki..
this was for his mother and I hammered him.." Now tears of sorrow are
flowing but Ranma is gone.
"Akane, you have got to learn to control your temper. You never
gave him a chance to explain. " Nabiki taking the disk from Akane�s limp
hand is amazed at the workmanship that shows in the carving {this is
incredible, every hair, every shadow, but what is it carved on?
it's to heavy for plastic and there is no wood grain. Metal this thin
would crumple, definitely not glass or crystal they would have shattered
when it was dropped... what is this stuff?}As she hands it back to Akane
"Take it to him.. apologize"
"Ranma, can I come in?" knocking on his door Akane waits "Please..
I.. want to apologize.."
**sigh** "Come in.."
"I wanted to give this back.." holding out the disk "I'm so
sorry... can you forgive me?
I just...."
"It's ok Akane I'm used to it.. thanks for returning this"
{What does he mean by that? I don�t hit him that much� Do I?}
"Will you be able to finish it?"
"No these are one use only, no corrections"
"I didn't know...."
"No one knows about these not pop, not even Nabiki, she's caught
glimpses but that�s it..."
"Can you tell me?"
"Not yet.. I promised... but when I can you will understand, I'm
sorry"
"All right."
As she leaves the room " Akane please don't mention this to pops,
OK?"
"OK Ranma, Good night.."
No one saw Ranma leave his room late that night, or return to the
Tendo Dojo hours later, but in the morning Genma found his bed unslept
in.
{Where is that boy! How will he ever learn the school if I can't
find him to train.. An early morning surprise training attack wasted!}
An angry Genma searches through the house looking for his wayward son.
{ AH ha!! The Dojo!! He had better be there or I will double-- no--
triple his training today!!}
Before he could enter the Dojo, a blur smashed him into the pond.
"Hi pop, bye pop! gotta go!" And into the house Ranma bound.
"Morning, Kasumi!"
"My, aren't you up early today Ranma." Kasumi
was startled as he swept past. "Breakfast won't be ready for a couple of
hours yet.."
"Already ate, Thanks. I left some goodies for you in the fridge.
Don't let pop get them!" heading upstairs, he stopped and asked, "Are
you done in the bathroom? I feel like a hot soak.."
"Of course Ranma-kun, enjoy yourself" {how thoughtful} She turned for
the kitchen. {What could he have cooked, the Kitchen is clean,
everything is where I left it. What kind of treat
could he have left?} As she opened the refrigerator she gasped
{Strawberries and fresh cream?!!} "Oh my." {this is a treat! Where
could he have found fresh strawberries this time of day and this cream..
Should I share? He did say it was for me.. Oh well there is enough
here for everyone to have a small bowl.}
"Wrahr grufss."
As Kasumi turned around, to see a wet panda looking into the kitchen,
she closed the door to the refrigerator before he could spot the
strawberries. "Would you like some hot water
Mr. Soatome? It will take a minute."
"Raffs korr mrass." ~ Thank you ~
"No problem at all. I'll just start breakfast while it heats up"
Soaking in the furro Ranma relaxes and starts to drift off. {I
finished mom's gift, arranged for delivery, slept, ate, practiced, ate,
finished my home work and still got back too early! It seams like the
only way I can get any peace and quiet is there. If not for that down
time I would probably snap with all the chaos that goes on around
here.. Ah well a little more rest won't hurt........}
Later as Akane enters the bathroom she hears her name mumbled and
seeing Ranma-chan asleep in the furro realizes that he must have been in
there for hours. The hot water had cooled off enough to trigger his
change.
{That inconsiderate.. Now I'll have to wait for it to reheat before
I can take my bath.. Wait, what is he saying..}
"...kane.. please.. I.... don't... I...."
{He's dreaming about me!? Oh, he's probably just trying to make an
excuse for himself..}
"Please.. Akane.. I.....you"
{Hmmm.. He does seam to be getting agitated about something, and
louder too. I better leave before he wakes up..} Closing the bathroom
door behind her she hears the sleep talking getting even louder until.
"NOOOOO!!! AKANE!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!"
As Ranma-chan sits bolt upright and screams
Akane feels a wave of something, not quite energy but more than just
emotion, pull at her deep inside. Realizing what he had been dreaming
about she runs back into the bathroom in time to see Ranma-chan go limp
and sink back into the water. Reaching into the cold furro Akane pulls
Ranma out.
{He's still out cold! And cold is right, there is ice in the
furro!! How!?} "Kasumi!!" Carrying her out of the bathroom she almost
trips over Genma and Kasumi as they come in. "He's as cold as ice, we
need blankets. There was ice in the furro.. How long has he been in
there?"
"Only an hour or so Akane. The water should still be hot."
"It's not sis. He changed while asleep
and look there is ice in his hair!"
"Dear! How could it have gotten so cold, so fast?"
"Maybe he can tell us.. When he wakes up.."
"He was having a nightmare about Jusendo, his battle with Saffron
last month.. Could he have been using his �soul of ice� technique
while asleep?"
"That could very well be the case Akane"
Genma puffed himself up with pride "I have trained him to respond to
attacks even while asleep! If the dream was vivid enough he just might
have responded.."
�Most people can�t destroy the house if they have a bad dream� Akane
mutters as she carries
the comatose girl/boy to the living room, where Kasumi has blankets
waiting. �or the neighborhood.�
Ranma, wrapped and starting to warm up, began to relax. As he did
so Akane felt a loosening of something she had not even been aware was
holding her near him. Not a physical hold, like grabbed hand or the
worry/concerned about an injured friend, more the feeling he was pulling
her to him and that the awareness that she was close and safe was all
that kept him calm. A very strange feeling she thought. Kind of like
the calm before a storm, a storm that was poised, ready to destroy
everything and anything but a safe feeling also, as though regardless of
what happened she would be safe.
{Why does he make me feel this way, I don�t love him.. do I?.. }
Looking around, she saw Genma setting up the Shoji board outside on the
porch, and heard Kasumi in the kitchen. Father and Nabiki she knew
would be getting up soon, but for now she was alone with Ranma. A state
of being that never lasted long.
Sitting there beside him, and not really focusing on anything
except her rather jumbled, fragmented, crumpled and bruised feelings
about a certain pigtailed martial artist, she was unaware that he was
laying there watching her
emotions run across her face. A fascinating sight
as each one flowed, faster than he could identify them, into the next.
�What am I going to do with you?� she whispered, not realizing that;
A: he was awake
and B: she had spoken aloud.
�Well,� Ranma whispered back �you could go for a walk with me after
breakfast.� A slight grin was fighting to evolve into a full smile on
his face.
�EEP!!�
{ok, startled to embarrassed to worried, there go her eyes looking
around, now a touch of anger.. It�s like watching a bomb count down.}
thought Ranma {The problem is that it can only be defused at certain
points in the cycle. Now before she gets really mad thinking I�m
starring at her.}
�If you want to that is.. I really need to talk to you.. alone.� He
whispered.
�And why would I want to go anywhere alone with you?� Akane replied
in a quiet growl.
{ok, time to be serious.} �It�s important Akane,
if you can�t trust me alone with you, them bring Nabiki, but we REALLY
need to talk. SOON.�
�Alright, after breakfast. This better not be a trick..� Akane
said quietly as she got up and moved away. Then in a normal voice �Are
you going to lay there all morning!? It�s almost time for breakfast.�
�Jeez! Akane, it�s not like we have school today or anything.� Ranma
spoke as he got up trying to keep the blanket wrapped around himself and
giving Akane a wink so she would not think he was serious.
After getting dressed Ranma entered the back yard by the easiest way he
knew. Out the window. Then a rousing game of �Pummel the Panda� with a
score of ;
Ranma in the pond :1
and Panda meets, tree 2, wall 4, pond 2, ground 5 and unsuspecting
pigeon 1(too low, too slow, it never knew what hit it!). he went back
to his room to get ready for an important day, oh yeah, and breakfast.
{Man, pops was really after me today. Well things will change soon..
for the better I hope. If I can get straightened out with Akane I might
have a chance to relax and live a bit rather then always trying to head
off a disaster. Or rescue a kidnapped girlfriend, fight every strange
challenger that wanders by, hide from my want to be girlfriends and mom,
battle the old freak and ghoul. One at a time it�s not so bad but it�s
always all of them at once, then at the same time I�m having to fight
Akane. That is the worst part trying to keep her far enough out of the
firing line to not get hurt, close enough to protect her and still
distant enough for her not to pound me. Man, Einstein would be
challenged by the physics of that balancing act.}
Breakfast while on time, was very quiet. Due largely to the absence of
a certain martial arts panda who was still trying to brush the taste of
the east end of a west bound pigeon out of his mouth. While Ranma did
not attack his fathers share of food, he did manage to slip pops bowl
of strawberries and cream into Kasumi�s and his into Akane�s. Nabiki
seamed to be highly amused by something, but she wasn�t talking and as
soon as she could she left. Akane left saying she was going jogging
around the school. Then Ranma headed out to meet with her, but was
stopped by Kasumi.
�Ranma, could you stop by the market for me after you see Akane?�
Souns ears seemed to swivel for a better hearing angle.
{ACK!!} �Sure Kasumi, what do you need?�
�Just some fresh vegetables, here is a list.�
�Ok, not a problem�{oh man.. Soun heard and that means he and pops are
gonna show up and blow it If I don�t get moving..}
�Be sure to take Akane with you, she knows which dealers have the best
selections.�
�Well I�d better try to catch her then. I think she said she was going
around the school , right?� {There are no secrets from Kasumi in this
house is there?} At Kasumi�s nod, Ranma turned
and ran out the door with a �see you later� that faded into the
distance.
{Whew! I hope I got out of there fast enough.
But I ain�t gonna bet on it! Bye now he and pops are on their way out
to follow me, I figure they are a block maybe two behind me.} Roofs,
streets, trees and people, all were a blur under him as he sped towards
Furinkan High at top speed. Jumping from a two story roof, over a
street and the outer wall of the school, he started looking for Akane.
{Oh, Great!! I don�t have time for this now..}
�Hold Fou��
WHHHshOOOOOOP!!
�..grrrk� the last thoughts going through Kuno Tatiwaki�s brain were
{What kind of battle cry is �boot to the head�} and {I think I�ll just
rest over here} as he flew 20 feet back into the wall Ranma had just
jumped over.
{And I thought I would never use that style outside of an exhibition!
Hehehe.. Works even better in the air than from the ground!} Ranma,
barely slowed by the application of advanced TiaQuan Leap to a proven
hard head, caught Kuno�s boken as it spun in the air before it could
fall to the ground. A quick running jump to a third floor ledge, a
bounding flip up to the roof and Ranma saw Akane sitting by the track,
one of Nabiki�s factors watching her from the trees and Soun and Genma
running down the street three blocks back {Made better time then I
thought}.
After a soft landing from a five story fall, he ran over to Akane. �Ok,
we have gotta move, our pops are about two minutes behind me� as he
scooped Akane up and jumped away � and who knows who is following them!�
�Put me DOWN!!� Akane was rapidly building a head of steam, as she
popped Ranma upside the head with her fist. �you Baka!!�
�Trust me Akane, please. I�m running out of time. If I stop now, they
will catch us, then everyone else is gonna just �show up� then all that
will get accomplished is more fighting.�
{I�ve only got a few plans left to handle the �unexpected� problems that
always follow me.}
Ranma, still carrying Akane, went to ground
about 15 minutes later, having crisscrossed Nerima several times.
Hoping he had lost, confused or just plain worn out his trackers,
he set Akane down on a bench under the branches of the largest tree in
the district. Located at the back of a small shrine park it was a
secluded place where the sight and sounds of urban living were replaced
by the dappled light of the sun through the leaves and bird song on the
breeze. The main pathways at the front of the shrine were busy as
normal, but only a small footpath lead here.
�Alright, now what is so important that you needed to carry me around
town like a sack of rice.� Akane was mad but still she remembered the
feel of his arms around her. �And what was poking me in the ribs the
whole time?!�
�Huh?.. Oh yeah.� With a grin Ranma pulled
Kuno�s boken from his belt. �here I caught this for you.� {Did that
sound as corny as I think it did?}
�Where did you.. Kuno?� Akane took the boken, and with a gasp pulled
it in two. Inside
was the hidden blade of a Katana, the water marking of the blade
proclaiming its quality. Not the classic elegance of a smooth bright
blade but a newer blending of alloys, lighter stronger and while not as
sharp as an ancient Katana still a formidable weapon in the hands of a
skilled fighter. �Wow! It weighs the same as the wood should but what
a nasty surprise. If he can cut through a tree with a wood sword
imagine what he could do with this.�
�Yeah, Now cars have to worry!� Laughing
Ranma thought {Sneeky! Most of my usual fighting styles with Kuno would
walk me right into that!}
Akane reshiethd the blade and handed it back to Ranma.
�I said it was yours. It is not my style.�
�OK. Now why are we here?�
�First, did you invite Nabiki?�
�No, she left too quick after breakfast.�
�So I figure she should be here in about 10 minutes then. I just saw
one of her cronies with a cell phone at the far end of the path.�
�Are we going to wait for her, or are you going to explain yourself?�
�Would you mind waiting? If you want I�ll start now but..� A slightly
worried look flitted over Ranma�s face. �We could feed the squirrels
while we wait, they are very friendly here.� Pulling a bag of nuts from
his sleeve he offered the to Akane with a slightly sheepish grin.
Akane looked at the nuts then at thesleeve of Ranma�s red silk shirt.
�Mousses hidden weapons techniqe?� she asked, and at Ranmas grin. �He is
not going to like you learning that!�
�Well then he shouldn�t have shown it to me so many times! You know
how I learn techniques.� He watched Akane tossing out the nuts to the
squirrels that were around them and trying to convince one to take a nut
from her fingers. After a minute or two she had a couple of the bravest
sitting on her knees stuffing small pieces of walnut into their mouths
as fast as she could hand them out. {So cute..} He thought, then he
heard the bell of doom sound.
Riding up the path at breakneck speed came one of the bane�s of his
existence. Shampoo in her usual tight dress flew off he bike bounced
off a low branch of the tree and glomped Ranma as the bike headed
straight for Akane.
�Akane, look ou�� Was all Ranma got out as Shampoo landed on him.
�Airen! Shampoo find you!! Go on date now?� As Shampoo tightened the
amazon glomp she had on Ranma she saw that the bike was right on course.
Ranma was trying desperately to free himself but a barnacle had a
weaker grip than did a husband hungry amazon. The only mean of escape
would mean marriage or death, probably both.
Akane kicked the bike up and away, stormed up to Ranma, scattering a
hoard of squirrels that had not run off for some reason and yelled
�This is why you wanted me here!! So you could tell me you were running
off with the Chinese bimbette!�
�NO! I� Shampoo Get Off Of ME!!!!� Ranma struggled to get free but
Akane just kept getting madder and no matter how he twisted Shampoo was
cutting off any chance he had to get free.
Then a large gray squirrel fell out of the tree and landed on top of
Shampoo�s head. The rodent chittered madly and scrambled down her face
and dove for the only hiding place it could see.. Down the front of
Shampoo�s dress. Time seamed to stop.
�AIYAAAA!!!!�
Then in an explosion of motion Shampoo released Ranma and began
crazily dancing around the tree trying to chase a wildly
frantic squirrel out of her dress. Akane and Ranma just stood there,
mouths hung open,
watching the scene as Shampoo screaming, squealing, laughing and
grabbing at herself ran out of the park.
�Now that was a novel way to get her off you Ranma.� They heard Nabiki
say as they collapsed in laughter.
end chapter 1