Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Days Lamenting Lost Days ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: ashez2ashes 
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Mystery / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.18.2001 | Updated On: 11.07.2004 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 341 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Mystery / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.18.2001 | Updated On: 11.07.2004 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 341 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2--
Badly disguised Girl Ranma: Yeah! Ranma! The star of the show!
Everybody knows you don't own him! 'Cause like, ya never use him
in your stories! Ranma's sooo cool! He's so manly!
ashes: ...I've gone insane.
Girl Ranma: I'm from the National Fangirl Association! All the
fangirls want to see Ranma instead of Pork Boy! Tee hee. Ranma!
Ranma! Go Ranma! Tee hee.
ashes:...
Contact Info:
http://www.geocities.com/ashez2ashes/
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
----
Lost Days Lamenting Lost Days
Chapter 12
----
The roar of the crowd deafened his ears. Their cries for bloodshed
and death seemed only echoes in the distance as Ryouga looked down
at the blood on his hands. He could still feel his chi
radiating... Crimson had taken over completely, suffocating his
entire previous blue-green aura. His vision tinted also, shading
everything in a red haze. The skin on the crowds' faces seemed to
melt away, leaving ghastly screaming skeletons.
Ryouga was sure of only one thing that he knew deep within his
heart to be the utter truth.
He was in some deep shit.
That man had just... let go. It wasn't his fault right? He didn't
kill him? But... maybe he had accidentally pushed and wasn't aware
he had done it? No! He had let go! Right? Ryouga wasn't sure...
But it was a duel! Things like that happen in a duel! But why
would someone kill themselves in a duel?
A low rumbling shook the small piece of ground Ryouga stood on.
Four metal panels slowly began to come together from different
sides of the cavern, forming a metal floor above the wreckage of
the rink. Ryouga hopped up as the last edges connected where he
was standing.
The roar of the crowd faded until all was silence.
The torches embedded within the rock walls began to systematically
snuff out like small stars fading out of existence. Soon they were
all extinguished, except for one above Ryouga's head leaving him
in a small circle of light.
"I knew you'd win."
Ryouga turned abruptly and came face to face with the man known as
'The Master'. The man's split lips turned upward in a faint smirk.
Jagged scars crisscrossed his bare chest.
While pushing his tired muscles into a fighting stance, Ryouga
glared at The Master. He tried to stand evenly, refusing to show
weakness. The red aura wrapped around his body died down slightly.
"You son of a--"
The Master stopped a few feet in front of him. "Temper Temper..."
He waved his finger back and forth like the hands of a clock.
"That was quite an interesting fight. I'm surprised Gai showed so
well. It's amazing how willing to fight a man can be when he's
pumped full of drugs. Seems he got a little lucid at the end
though... pity."
The master's smirk widened into a grin. "Quite impressive."
"Go to hell." What the hell was he "the master" of anyways?
"Getting cheeky eh?" The Master's grin turned maniacal. "Just
because you beat that weakling, doesn't mean you have a chance
with me." He tapped his index finger to his temple absently. "I
might let you live if you apologize and do what I say."
Silence stretched across the expanse of darkness as Ryouga
struggled with himself. What was that master guy rambling on
about? Damn it, when was the last time he had eaten anything? What
the hell was he doing here? He wasn't some kind of vigilante. He
didn't help people. He didn't even LIKE people! His muscles ached,
black and blue liaisons covered his chest, his hands burned from
the repeated puncture wounds, and hunger was starting to roar its
way through his senses.
To hell with this!
"Move_out_of_my_way." The red aura slithered up his legs like a
serpent.
"Oh?" The Master laughed. "Do you think that I will just--"
"Yeah." Ryouga had the slight impression it wasn't his own voice
speaking. "You will."
His bloody dragon burst forth, and bitch slapped The Master down.
It wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the side of the
rock wall. Ryouga felt a maniacal laugh bubble up into his throat
as he slammed the master against the wall again... and again...
and again... and again...
"BWHAHAHAHAHA!" His dragon picked up the master's bloodied body
and flew him to the other side of the wall... Slamming him against
it... again... and again... and again...
Finally, he dropped the mangled man. He noted distantly that he
was still breathing... even with all those little bones poking
out. How very annoying. The crimson dragon wrapped itself around
him completely. The world seemed to fade away as he stepped toward
the man who was in his way... It was time to end it.
Crimson aura flickered, reaching outward...
Ryouga smiled softly and stepped back into a puddle and--
...puddle?
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
A small, terrified black pig trotted off into the darkness as fast
as his little hooves could carry him.
The Master paused and gaped at the empty pile of clothing. That
was... different. He stared into the inky darkness looking for an
angry naked glowing man. Faintly, he thought he heard a small
clicking noise, but it was gone before he could be sure.
Two large blood spots stained the walls; fluid trickled down the
side...
The Master fell back to the ground with a thud and passed out.
----
Ryouga's heart beat loudly within his small chest. Why did his
curse always happen at the most inappropriate times?! He had been
acting really cool and intimidating!
His little piggy snout twitched... On the other hand, something
had felt... wrong. And the homicidal urges had been a little
stronger than they usually were. He gave the pig equivalent of a
shrug. Oh well.
Distant footsteps approached from the distance. Someone was
coming... He quickly hunched down into a niche in the wall as a
robed man chatting into a cell phone came into view.
The black robed man stopped inches from Ryouga's hiding spot.
"A naked glowing man sir?" The man scratched the top of his hood
and winced. "Are you ok sir? Your voice sounds slurred..." He
pulled the phone away his ear. "I'm sorry! Y-yes sir! I'm on it!"
The man rushed off in a whoosh of robes, taking a left at a side
tunnel and fading into the darkness... Ryouga squeezed out of the
niche in the wall. What to do now?
He glanced right. A dark tunnel.
He glanced left. A dark tunnel.
He glanced behind him. A dark tunnel.
And in front of him... a dark tunnel.
So much for a sense of direction.
Well, when one was backed into a corner with no way out, it was
time to trust your instincts! After all, he thought, wasn't he
psychic now? Maybe he could try to sense the way out? And hell,
why he was at it, he should try to sense some lottery tickets too!
He scrunched up his eyes and tried to calm himself. He tapped into
the feeling of when he used the Baksai Tenketsu... everything was
connected. A calm blanket filled his being. What was that feeling
when he had his visions? Like his mind was being pulled by sharp
fingernails, but also, as if there was someone whispering to him.
He caught something at the edge of his senses. He felt... he felt-
-
Hungry?
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!
Ryouga kicked the rock wall with a front hoove angrily and just
chose the right passage. His adrenalin rush was now running down
and every ache and pain he'd suffered was coming back with a
vengeance. If it wasn't the way out, at least maybe it would be a
room with soft velvety cushions...
He flattened his ears. Who was he kidding? His injuries were
starting to affect his mind...
After a few minutes of trudging in the darkness, light flickered
in the distance... He turned the corner and flattened his small
body against the wall. Eventually, he came to a large wooden
door. Slowly, he peeked into a crack in the door. His ears went up
in surprise as he saw--
A room with velvety cushions.
Well whatta ya know.
He inched his way into the room cautiously. It seemed deserted.
There were girly things strung about, like makeup, perfume,
dresses, and... Ryouga averted his eyes from the lacy bras that
hung from a vanity mirror. It looked like a woman lived here.
There were several couches and chairs. The floor was hardwood. It
was like an entire house underground. Everything was coated in the
color of red, from the curtains (why curtains if there were no
windows?), a king sized bed, and a lip-shaped couch. It looked
like a love hotel.
Ryouga felt a tickle in his nose. No! He did not just think that!
Go away thought!
He shook his head and wandered around the large room a bit. There
was a passageway further out that led away from the house area. He
started towards it.
"Ah, I'm tired." A girl's voice sighed.
Ack! Ryouga panicked and dashed toward a nearby sofa. He slipped
on a rug on his way there, and bumped into a low table. An ashtray
tipped off the table from the table and landed with a small clank.
He slipped underneath the couch just as the girl entered the room.
"Whose there?"
Seconds passed as Ryouga crouched underneath the sofa, covered in
dust bunnies.
The floor creaked. A pair of feet appeared in front of the sofa.
The feet crinkled back and forth in impatience.
Ryouga held his breathe. Little clouds of dust danced their happy
little dance around his snout. He watched a particularly large
dust bunny with trepidation as it flew inches from his nose.
Ryouga rolled his eyes. He could see what was coming next...
"Achoo!"
The skirt of the couch was lifted up and the face of a young girl
appeared. "What a cute little piggy!"
The young girl, couldn't have been more than sixteen, picked him
up. Her obviously dyed blond hair fell across her shoulders in
straight tendrils. Her skin was tanned from numerous (and
expensive) trips to the tanning bed. Her clothes were... revealing
to say the least. Ryouga's ears perked up. She was the girl he had
saved in the alley!
"Bwee!" Bwee? His snout twitched. Oh yeah, the pig thing. Can't
talk. Forgot.
"You're covered in blood and dirt!"
Ryouga braced himself, waiting for her to drop him like a sack of
rice.
The girl paused. "Aww, that's so cute!"
Cute? Ugh, it's more of the backwards Kasumi clan. He was getting
really annoyed with them. He'd be so happy when he got back to
people who thought bleeding to death was bad.
"Cutest little piggy in the whole world!"
Yep, Ryouga thought glumly. All the chicks dig the cute little
piggy...
She carried him over to her vanity mirror and sat on the bench.
Ryouga glanced at the oversized (to his piggy senses) makeup lying
on the table. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw the
cup of hot tea, sitting right beside him. Emphasis on HOT.
Hmm tea, make human.
Be naked man near girl.
Yet... tea make human.
Decisions, decisions.
"Did you escape one of the sacrifices?" The girl picked up a
curling iron from the table, and wrapped a strand of hair.
Ryouga began to shake his head, then stopped abruptly and tried to
put on one of his 'look at me I'm just a stupid pig who is in no
way really a human with a curse' faces.
"Oink... oink." There, those were nice normal pig sounds.
"Look, no more roots, eh piggy?" She flipped back a small section
of her blonde hair. "I have to look good for my master." She gazed
up to the ceiling absently. "Or is it THE Master? Oh well." She
shrugged.
Ryouga was suddenly on the alert. He might get some information
from this girl if he stayed there for a few minutes. As long as
she didn't find out he beat the hell out of her "master". But he
was just a small pig, how could he do something horrible like
that?
Smirking inwardly, Ryouga put on his look that said 'witness how
cute I am spill and your life's secrets to the cute little piggy!'
He made his eyes large and glassy. 'The little piggy would never
tell anyone! Yesirrreee!'
"I have to look nice for The Master. He's taking me out to dinner
tonight after the fight."
Ryouga's eye twitched. Nooooo he's not. Unless it was the
hospital. Someone PROBABLY found him... heh heh.
He knew he was supposed to feel bad about almost killing the guy,
but he couldn't work himself up to feel any emotion other than
supreme satisfaction.
"The master saved me ya know." She twisted a tube of lipstick and
colored her lips a deep red. "He took me from the streets. Made me
sophisticated." She spit on her finger, touched another curling
iron and then wiped her finger on her skirt.
Rrrrrright. So she was "more expensive" now... Ryouga snorted.
"Isn't this place great? I can't believe it's underground." She
held both curling irons in one hand, then applied mascara with the
other. "The organization can do almost anything." She stopped for
a moment her eyes becoming unfocused.
Ryouga titled his head. What was her problem now? He nudged her
with his snout.
She snapped out of it and looked back down. "No... they can do
anything."
"Bwee?"
She let the last two pieces of curled hair fall down to her
shoulders. "That traitor Gai found that out... They even found
that guy with the bandanna. Who knows why the higher ups wanted
us to bother him... I wonder what they want with him?"
Higher ups? That did not sound good. Why would anyone want him
for? The organization or Yakusa, or whoever the hell they were,
couldn't be that mad about a few beat up flunkies could they?
The girl flipped her hair off her shoulders. "Oh well, the
bastard's as good as dead anyways."
"BWEE!"
The girl paused and laughed absently to herself.
"Look at me." She glanced at him out of the corner of heavily
colored lids. "I'm talking about my life to a little pig."
"Bwee." Ryouga shrugged. Why girls felt the need to tell their
life stories to small black pigs was anybody's guess.
"So, I guess I should give you back to the people trying to
sacrifice you."
"Bweeeeeee!" He jumped away from her hand... Tipping over the tea
with his hind leg in the process.
"Aaaaah!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEP!" the girl screamed and jumped back from the table.
Ryouga, now in human form, ran over to the curtains and ripped a
big chunk off, wrapping the fabric around his waist.
"STAY BACK!" The girl grabbed a letter opener from a table and
held it front of her in panic. "If you touch me the master will
kill you!"
Ryouga attempted to make the fabric cover... everything. "L-Listen
lady!" Ack! Fabric slipping... "I'm just trying to get out of
here!"
"Right. Wandering around naked in a girl's bedroom and your just
"lost"! If you're trying to use me to get revenge against my
master, to hell with you!" She pointed the letter opening to her
own throat.
"I'll kill myself before you have the chance!"
"Stop that! What's with your family and trying to kill
themselves?!"
The girl's grip on the letter opening loosened and she looked up.
"What?"
"WHY DOES YOUR STUPID FAMILY KEEP BOTHERING ME?!" Ryouga held his
head in his hands and yanked at his hair. Which was a big mistake
'cause nothing was holding up his fabric then. He grabbed it
before it fell down completely. "First you in that damn ally, then
your grandfather trying to kill himself. Then I got dragged into a
death match... What's your problem?!"
Silence fell upon the two. The girl still had the letter opening
pointing to her throat, hard enough to make the skin indent, but
not draw blood.
A drop of tea ran down Ryouga's face. He wearily wiped it away.
"Don't you care about your grandfather at all?"
"Who are you to judge me?" the girl said between clenched teeth.
She finally dropped the letter opener. The thin piece of metal
clunked to the floor. "The master loves me. That's all I need. He
gives me whatever I want."
"What about your grandfather?"
The tanned girl snorted. "People die. The bastard's mind is rotted
anyways. He doesn't even remember who I am."
"But..."
"Heh, are you trying to be a hero?" The girl stared Ryouga in the
eye. "There's one thing I know about heroes... heroes die. I don't
want to die."
Ryouga glared back, loosing his temper slightly. "I'm not a hero!
I was just trying to... trying to..." He didn't know what he had
been trying to do...
"Trying to what? "Save" me? You can't save anyone."
"..." That wasn't true. He'd seen Ranma save Akane plenty of
times... from the sidelines...
"Pathetic. I should call my master and have him show you how the
world really works." She turned around unexpectedly. "But that
would ruin my night... Just leave. There's an exit over to the
right." She paused, as if making a decision. "I never saw you."
"Heh. Fine lady." He turned to leave. "Have a nice life being a
psycho's plaything. Oh, and sorry your plans are already ruined.
You might want to check up on your "master". But hey, don't worry.
The hospital food isn't that bad." Ryouga smirked while walking
away, head held high (very tight grip on the curtain) and walked
out...
His body immediately slumped as he turned the corner. He wasn't
sure which leg he wanted to limp on more, so he alternated between
the two. He dragged himself painfully through the exit, landing in
a pile of mud, though not wet enough to start his change...
He fell forward on his knees.
Above, the skies twinkled, it was nearly midnight from the
position of the moon... Ryouga took a moment to flip the stars
off. If there were someone, or someone's up there, he hoped they
were pissed. Trees shouldered in upon him on all sides... wherever
he was it was remote. Still, he felt he could still find his bag.
Now that had been an interesting experience hadn't it? He had
killed someone... or had he? Or maybe two people? He wasn't sure,
his head hurt... His hands could barely hold up the fabric. He
might actually need stitches...
Ryouga wiped stray moisture from his eyes with the back of his
muddy hand. He froze.
His hand...
He turned his hand over... it was glowing red again instead of his
usual depressed blue-green. Focusing, he tried to dampen his chi.
The red became brighter, as if pissed that someone was trying to
stifle it...
"Damn it hand! Stop it! We're done fighting now!"
Scarily enough, it did.
That stupid girl and her family... to hell with them.
And that man... Gai was his name? Heh, that girl had said had been
a traitor? He might not have been a bad guy after all... and now
he was dead. He couldn't even have a funeral...
"DAMN IT!" Ryouga punched the ground. Why couldn't he have saved
him?! Maybe the world really didn't work that way... Maybe he
couldn't save anyone.
He laughed bitterly. He couldn't even save himself.
Why did the damn man have to let go?! He didn't have to! They
could have taken the bad guys together! And now he was dead...
dead... he hated that word. Why was everyone so suicidal?!
Sure, life sucked! But if you're dead, you can't get revenge! Why
couldn't they see that?
It had been a really sucky day. Or was it days? He had no idea.
He dropped his hand to the ground. Man his life sucked. As soon as
he thought it couldn't get worse, there was a new level to the
suckyness. He growled. He should get a sign: "Ryouga Hibiki. The
universe's bitch".
His mind was overloading with all the weird new information. He
missed the days when all he had to think about was just trying to
find Ranma and kill him. It was easier when he just wandered
around lost. Akane, Ranma, Ukyou... it all seemed so distant. Man,
he missed those simple lost days.
Heh, and then that comment about his mom... He didn't remember her
ever being a professional fighter in the illegal circuit... but
Hibiki was a fairly average name, the guy could be mistaken.
Couldn't he? It'd be different if he'd said something about his
dad's wife, but he'd said THAT mom....
There was only one thing left to do.
It was time... to go home.
---
Contact Info:
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
aim: ashes chan
I suck. I took a long time again. I'm so sorry. I tried to write
it quicker this time, but to no avail.
Next chapter: Ryouga goes back to his house... well one of them
anyways. We get to see the elusive Hibiki basement, hopefully a
question or two will be answered, and some other stuff happens.
Ranma: Is Ranma in it?
Ashes: No, hahaha. ^_^
Ranma:....
Badly disguised Girl Ranma: Yeah! Ranma! The star of the show!
Everybody knows you don't own him! 'Cause like, ya never use him
in your stories! Ranma's sooo cool! He's so manly!
ashes: ...I've gone insane.
Girl Ranma: I'm from the National Fangirl Association! All the
fangirls want to see Ranma instead of Pork Boy! Tee hee. Ranma!
Ranma! Go Ranma! Tee hee.
ashes:...
Contact Info:
http://www.geocities.com/ashez2ashes/
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
----
Lost Days Lamenting Lost Days
Chapter 12
----
The roar of the crowd deafened his ears. Their cries for bloodshed
and death seemed only echoes in the distance as Ryouga looked down
at the blood on his hands. He could still feel his chi
radiating... Crimson had taken over completely, suffocating his
entire previous blue-green aura. His vision tinted also, shading
everything in a red haze. The skin on the crowds' faces seemed to
melt away, leaving ghastly screaming skeletons.
Ryouga was sure of only one thing that he knew deep within his
heart to be the utter truth.
He was in some deep shit.
That man had just... let go. It wasn't his fault right? He didn't
kill him? But... maybe he had accidentally pushed and wasn't aware
he had done it? No! He had let go! Right? Ryouga wasn't sure...
But it was a duel! Things like that happen in a duel! But why
would someone kill themselves in a duel?
A low rumbling shook the small piece of ground Ryouga stood on.
Four metal panels slowly began to come together from different
sides of the cavern, forming a metal floor above the wreckage of
the rink. Ryouga hopped up as the last edges connected where he
was standing.
The roar of the crowd faded until all was silence.
The torches embedded within the rock walls began to systematically
snuff out like small stars fading out of existence. Soon they were
all extinguished, except for one above Ryouga's head leaving him
in a small circle of light.
"I knew you'd win."
Ryouga turned abruptly and came face to face with the man known as
'The Master'. The man's split lips turned upward in a faint smirk.
Jagged scars crisscrossed his bare chest.
While pushing his tired muscles into a fighting stance, Ryouga
glared at The Master. He tried to stand evenly, refusing to show
weakness. The red aura wrapped around his body died down slightly.
"You son of a--"
The Master stopped a few feet in front of him. "Temper Temper..."
He waved his finger back and forth like the hands of a clock.
"That was quite an interesting fight. I'm surprised Gai showed so
well. It's amazing how willing to fight a man can be when he's
pumped full of drugs. Seems he got a little lucid at the end
though... pity."
The master's smirk widened into a grin. "Quite impressive."
"Go to hell." What the hell was he "the master" of anyways?
"Getting cheeky eh?" The Master's grin turned maniacal. "Just
because you beat that weakling, doesn't mean you have a chance
with me." He tapped his index finger to his temple absently. "I
might let you live if you apologize and do what I say."
Silence stretched across the expanse of darkness as Ryouga
struggled with himself. What was that master guy rambling on
about? Damn it, when was the last time he had eaten anything? What
the hell was he doing here? He wasn't some kind of vigilante. He
didn't help people. He didn't even LIKE people! His muscles ached,
black and blue liaisons covered his chest, his hands burned from
the repeated puncture wounds, and hunger was starting to roar its
way through his senses.
To hell with this!
"Move_out_of_my_way." The red aura slithered up his legs like a
serpent.
"Oh?" The Master laughed. "Do you think that I will just--"
"Yeah." Ryouga had the slight impression it wasn't his own voice
speaking. "You will."
His bloody dragon burst forth, and bitch slapped The Master down.
It wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the side of the
rock wall. Ryouga felt a maniacal laugh bubble up into his throat
as he slammed the master against the wall again... and again...
and again... and again...
"BWHAHAHAHAHA!" His dragon picked up the master's bloodied body
and flew him to the other side of the wall... Slamming him against
it... again... and again... and again...
Finally, he dropped the mangled man. He noted distantly that he
was still breathing... even with all those little bones poking
out. How very annoying. The crimson dragon wrapped itself around
him completely. The world seemed to fade away as he stepped toward
the man who was in his way... It was time to end it.
Crimson aura flickered, reaching outward...
Ryouga smiled softly and stepped back into a puddle and--
...puddle?
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
A small, terrified black pig trotted off into the darkness as fast
as his little hooves could carry him.
The Master paused and gaped at the empty pile of clothing. That
was... different. He stared into the inky darkness looking for an
angry naked glowing man. Faintly, he thought he heard a small
clicking noise, but it was gone before he could be sure.
Two large blood spots stained the walls; fluid trickled down the
side...
The Master fell back to the ground with a thud and passed out.
----
Ryouga's heart beat loudly within his small chest. Why did his
curse always happen at the most inappropriate times?! He had been
acting really cool and intimidating!
His little piggy snout twitched... On the other hand, something
had felt... wrong. And the homicidal urges had been a little
stronger than they usually were. He gave the pig equivalent of a
shrug. Oh well.
Distant footsteps approached from the distance. Someone was
coming... He quickly hunched down into a niche in the wall as a
robed man chatting into a cell phone came into view.
The black robed man stopped inches from Ryouga's hiding spot.
"A naked glowing man sir?" The man scratched the top of his hood
and winced. "Are you ok sir? Your voice sounds slurred..." He
pulled the phone away his ear. "I'm sorry! Y-yes sir! I'm on it!"
The man rushed off in a whoosh of robes, taking a left at a side
tunnel and fading into the darkness... Ryouga squeezed out of the
niche in the wall. What to do now?
He glanced right. A dark tunnel.
He glanced left. A dark tunnel.
He glanced behind him. A dark tunnel.
And in front of him... a dark tunnel.
So much for a sense of direction.
Well, when one was backed into a corner with no way out, it was
time to trust your instincts! After all, he thought, wasn't he
psychic now? Maybe he could try to sense the way out? And hell,
why he was at it, he should try to sense some lottery tickets too!
He scrunched up his eyes and tried to calm himself. He tapped into
the feeling of when he used the Baksai Tenketsu... everything was
connected. A calm blanket filled his being. What was that feeling
when he had his visions? Like his mind was being pulled by sharp
fingernails, but also, as if there was someone whispering to him.
He caught something at the edge of his senses. He felt... he felt-
-
Hungry?
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!
Ryouga kicked the rock wall with a front hoove angrily and just
chose the right passage. His adrenalin rush was now running down
and every ache and pain he'd suffered was coming back with a
vengeance. If it wasn't the way out, at least maybe it would be a
room with soft velvety cushions...
He flattened his ears. Who was he kidding? His injuries were
starting to affect his mind...
After a few minutes of trudging in the darkness, light flickered
in the distance... He turned the corner and flattened his small
body against the wall. Eventually, he came to a large wooden
door. Slowly, he peeked into a crack in the door. His ears went up
in surprise as he saw--
A room with velvety cushions.
Well whatta ya know.
He inched his way into the room cautiously. It seemed deserted.
There were girly things strung about, like makeup, perfume,
dresses, and... Ryouga averted his eyes from the lacy bras that
hung from a vanity mirror. It looked like a woman lived here.
There were several couches and chairs. The floor was hardwood. It
was like an entire house underground. Everything was coated in the
color of red, from the curtains (why curtains if there were no
windows?), a king sized bed, and a lip-shaped couch. It looked
like a love hotel.
Ryouga felt a tickle in his nose. No! He did not just think that!
Go away thought!
He shook his head and wandered around the large room a bit. There
was a passageway further out that led away from the house area. He
started towards it.
"Ah, I'm tired." A girl's voice sighed.
Ack! Ryouga panicked and dashed toward a nearby sofa. He slipped
on a rug on his way there, and bumped into a low table. An ashtray
tipped off the table from the table and landed with a small clank.
He slipped underneath the couch just as the girl entered the room.
"Whose there?"
Seconds passed as Ryouga crouched underneath the sofa, covered in
dust bunnies.
The floor creaked. A pair of feet appeared in front of the sofa.
The feet crinkled back and forth in impatience.
Ryouga held his breathe. Little clouds of dust danced their happy
little dance around his snout. He watched a particularly large
dust bunny with trepidation as it flew inches from his nose.
Ryouga rolled his eyes. He could see what was coming next...
"Achoo!"
The skirt of the couch was lifted up and the face of a young girl
appeared. "What a cute little piggy!"
The young girl, couldn't have been more than sixteen, picked him
up. Her obviously dyed blond hair fell across her shoulders in
straight tendrils. Her skin was tanned from numerous (and
expensive) trips to the tanning bed. Her clothes were... revealing
to say the least. Ryouga's ears perked up. She was the girl he had
saved in the alley!
"Bwee!" Bwee? His snout twitched. Oh yeah, the pig thing. Can't
talk. Forgot.
"You're covered in blood and dirt!"
Ryouga braced himself, waiting for her to drop him like a sack of
rice.
The girl paused. "Aww, that's so cute!"
Cute? Ugh, it's more of the backwards Kasumi clan. He was getting
really annoyed with them. He'd be so happy when he got back to
people who thought bleeding to death was bad.
"Cutest little piggy in the whole world!"
Yep, Ryouga thought glumly. All the chicks dig the cute little
piggy...
She carried him over to her vanity mirror and sat on the bench.
Ryouga glanced at the oversized (to his piggy senses) makeup lying
on the table. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw the
cup of hot tea, sitting right beside him. Emphasis on HOT.
Hmm tea, make human.
Be naked man near girl.
Yet... tea make human.
Decisions, decisions.
"Did you escape one of the sacrifices?" The girl picked up a
curling iron from the table, and wrapped a strand of hair.
Ryouga began to shake his head, then stopped abruptly and tried to
put on one of his 'look at me I'm just a stupid pig who is in no
way really a human with a curse' faces.
"Oink... oink." There, those were nice normal pig sounds.
"Look, no more roots, eh piggy?" She flipped back a small section
of her blonde hair. "I have to look good for my master." She gazed
up to the ceiling absently. "Or is it THE Master? Oh well." She
shrugged.
Ryouga was suddenly on the alert. He might get some information
from this girl if he stayed there for a few minutes. As long as
she didn't find out he beat the hell out of her "master". But he
was just a small pig, how could he do something horrible like
that?
Smirking inwardly, Ryouga put on his look that said 'witness how
cute I am spill and your life's secrets to the cute little piggy!'
He made his eyes large and glassy. 'The little piggy would never
tell anyone! Yesirrreee!'
"I have to look nice for The Master. He's taking me out to dinner
tonight after the fight."
Ryouga's eye twitched. Nooooo he's not. Unless it was the
hospital. Someone PROBABLY found him... heh heh.
He knew he was supposed to feel bad about almost killing the guy,
but he couldn't work himself up to feel any emotion other than
supreme satisfaction.
"The master saved me ya know." She twisted a tube of lipstick and
colored her lips a deep red. "He took me from the streets. Made me
sophisticated." She spit on her finger, touched another curling
iron and then wiped her finger on her skirt.
Rrrrrright. So she was "more expensive" now... Ryouga snorted.
"Isn't this place great? I can't believe it's underground." She
held both curling irons in one hand, then applied mascara with the
other. "The organization can do almost anything." She stopped for
a moment her eyes becoming unfocused.
Ryouga titled his head. What was her problem now? He nudged her
with his snout.
She snapped out of it and looked back down. "No... they can do
anything."
"Bwee?"
She let the last two pieces of curled hair fall down to her
shoulders. "That traitor Gai found that out... They even found
that guy with the bandanna. Who knows why the higher ups wanted
us to bother him... I wonder what they want with him?"
Higher ups? That did not sound good. Why would anyone want him
for? The organization or Yakusa, or whoever the hell they were,
couldn't be that mad about a few beat up flunkies could they?
The girl flipped her hair off her shoulders. "Oh well, the
bastard's as good as dead anyways."
"BWEE!"
The girl paused and laughed absently to herself.
"Look at me." She glanced at him out of the corner of heavily
colored lids. "I'm talking about my life to a little pig."
"Bwee." Ryouga shrugged. Why girls felt the need to tell their
life stories to small black pigs was anybody's guess.
"So, I guess I should give you back to the people trying to
sacrifice you."
"Bweeeeeee!" He jumped away from her hand... Tipping over the tea
with his hind leg in the process.
"Aaaaah!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEP!" the girl screamed and jumped back from the table.
Ryouga, now in human form, ran over to the curtains and ripped a
big chunk off, wrapping the fabric around his waist.
"STAY BACK!" The girl grabbed a letter opener from a table and
held it front of her in panic. "If you touch me the master will
kill you!"
Ryouga attempted to make the fabric cover... everything. "L-Listen
lady!" Ack! Fabric slipping... "I'm just trying to get out of
here!"
"Right. Wandering around naked in a girl's bedroom and your just
"lost"! If you're trying to use me to get revenge against my
master, to hell with you!" She pointed the letter opening to her
own throat.
"I'll kill myself before you have the chance!"
"Stop that! What's with your family and trying to kill
themselves?!"
The girl's grip on the letter opening loosened and she looked up.
"What?"
"WHY DOES YOUR STUPID FAMILY KEEP BOTHERING ME?!" Ryouga held his
head in his hands and yanked at his hair. Which was a big mistake
'cause nothing was holding up his fabric then. He grabbed it
before it fell down completely. "First you in that damn ally, then
your grandfather trying to kill himself. Then I got dragged into a
death match... What's your problem?!"
Silence fell upon the two. The girl still had the letter opening
pointing to her throat, hard enough to make the skin indent, but
not draw blood.
A drop of tea ran down Ryouga's face. He wearily wiped it away.
"Don't you care about your grandfather at all?"
"Who are you to judge me?" the girl said between clenched teeth.
She finally dropped the letter opener. The thin piece of metal
clunked to the floor. "The master loves me. That's all I need. He
gives me whatever I want."
"What about your grandfather?"
The tanned girl snorted. "People die. The bastard's mind is rotted
anyways. He doesn't even remember who I am."
"But..."
"Heh, are you trying to be a hero?" The girl stared Ryouga in the
eye. "There's one thing I know about heroes... heroes die. I don't
want to die."
Ryouga glared back, loosing his temper slightly. "I'm not a hero!
I was just trying to... trying to..." He didn't know what he had
been trying to do...
"Trying to what? "Save" me? You can't save anyone."
"..." That wasn't true. He'd seen Ranma save Akane plenty of
times... from the sidelines...
"Pathetic. I should call my master and have him show you how the
world really works." She turned around unexpectedly. "But that
would ruin my night... Just leave. There's an exit over to the
right." She paused, as if making a decision. "I never saw you."
"Heh. Fine lady." He turned to leave. "Have a nice life being a
psycho's plaything. Oh, and sorry your plans are already ruined.
You might want to check up on your "master". But hey, don't worry.
The hospital food isn't that bad." Ryouga smirked while walking
away, head held high (very tight grip on the curtain) and walked
out...
His body immediately slumped as he turned the corner. He wasn't
sure which leg he wanted to limp on more, so he alternated between
the two. He dragged himself painfully through the exit, landing in
a pile of mud, though not wet enough to start his change...
He fell forward on his knees.
Above, the skies twinkled, it was nearly midnight from the
position of the moon... Ryouga took a moment to flip the stars
off. If there were someone, or someone's up there, he hoped they
were pissed. Trees shouldered in upon him on all sides... wherever
he was it was remote. Still, he felt he could still find his bag.
Now that had been an interesting experience hadn't it? He had
killed someone... or had he? Or maybe two people? He wasn't sure,
his head hurt... His hands could barely hold up the fabric. He
might actually need stitches...
Ryouga wiped stray moisture from his eyes with the back of his
muddy hand. He froze.
His hand...
He turned his hand over... it was glowing red again instead of his
usual depressed blue-green. Focusing, he tried to dampen his chi.
The red became brighter, as if pissed that someone was trying to
stifle it...
"Damn it hand! Stop it! We're done fighting now!"
Scarily enough, it did.
That stupid girl and her family... to hell with them.
And that man... Gai was his name? Heh, that girl had said had been
a traitor? He might not have been a bad guy after all... and now
he was dead. He couldn't even have a funeral...
"DAMN IT!" Ryouga punched the ground. Why couldn't he have saved
him?! Maybe the world really didn't work that way... Maybe he
couldn't save anyone.
He laughed bitterly. He couldn't even save himself.
Why did the damn man have to let go?! He didn't have to! They
could have taken the bad guys together! And now he was dead...
dead... he hated that word. Why was everyone so suicidal?!
Sure, life sucked! But if you're dead, you can't get revenge! Why
couldn't they see that?
It had been a really sucky day. Or was it days? He had no idea.
He dropped his hand to the ground. Man his life sucked. As soon as
he thought it couldn't get worse, there was a new level to the
suckyness. He growled. He should get a sign: "Ryouga Hibiki. The
universe's bitch".
His mind was overloading with all the weird new information. He
missed the days when all he had to think about was just trying to
find Ranma and kill him. It was easier when he just wandered
around lost. Akane, Ranma, Ukyou... it all seemed so distant. Man,
he missed those simple lost days.
Heh, and then that comment about his mom... He didn't remember her
ever being a professional fighter in the illegal circuit... but
Hibiki was a fairly average name, the guy could be mistaken.
Couldn't he? It'd be different if he'd said something about his
dad's wife, but he'd said THAT mom....
There was only one thing left to do.
It was time... to go home.
---
Contact Info:
ashez2ashes@yahoo.com
aim: ashes chan
I suck. I took a long time again. I'm so sorry. I tried to write
it quicker this time, but to no avail.
Next chapter: Ryouga goes back to his house... well one of them
anyways. We get to see the elusive Hibiki basement, hopefully a
question or two will be answered, and some other stuff happens.
Ranma: Is Ranma in it?
Ashes: No, hahaha. ^_^
Ranma:....