Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Stigmata ❯ Stigmata - Locusts part 02 ( Chapter 4 )

By ufomanne 13/06/08

 

Disclaimer: I have written this story, but I do not own the characters or anything of the work they originate from.

 

I I I

 

STIGMATA

 

Chapter 02 Locusts

Part 02

 

a tale that tells itself

of brittle bone and broken shells

 

I I I

 

Ranma chewed slowly on a toothpick as he strolled down the sidewalk of an empty street, walled in houses to the left and a construction field to the right. He had his fingers intertwined behind his head as he looked up at the overcast sky. The slightly chilly wind gently swept over him, making some equipment in the empty skeleton of a building to his right clank hollowly.

 

Having had a proper breakfast for once made Ranma feel rather content, the stress of the events that had disturbed his otherwise rather empty routine had faded to the back of his mind for a moment, leaving him to contemplate freely.

 

As he walked aimlessly he idly mused about Hotaru. They had not spoken much during their breakfast at a cafe not far from Ranma's abode, but they had both relaxed remarkably since their rather tense start of the day. Even though Ranma usually felt quite uncomfortable staying close to others for more than a few moments Hotaru's company had been quite agreeable, or at least less straining than was the norm.

 

She had been surprised to hear that he was not going to school at the moment, but had not remarked about it in any specific way. She told him about her own school, but the little she said gave him a feeling that she was not very comfortable going there. In fact, the only thing she even remotely seemed to be positive about was her walks, which she seemed to take rather regularly.

 

She usually didn't walk very far it seemed though, as even the short trip to the cafe had her pale and tired, her face when she got to sit down at the table was almost silly in its gratefulness. Of course, it might be that the damage her body had taken earlier took its toll out of her system Ranma thought with a hint of guilt.

 

What Ranma wondered about most though was why she had lied. That she had fallen down some stairs was a blatant lie as the bruise on her thigh clearly had been made with a tool. He had seen enough of that kind of bruise on his own flesh to be able to identify it at a glance.

 

It had been about a week old, yellowing at the edges and made with a bokken or some similar solid stick, it must have hurt like hell as deep as it had been. First he thought that she just wanted to hide that she was training some manner of martial art. He was not a stranger to the idea of wanting to hide potential skill in front of unknown people, or girls being embarrassed over their martial skill.

 

He could not read the slightest amount of training from her when she moved however. Such things could be false of course as he had seen amazing skill in concealment and subtlety before. Her stamina and weakness made it pretty hard to deny that she probably didn't have any training at all though, or at least not enough to warrant the kind of training that left such marks.

 

He let out a troubled sigh and kicked and empty can which lay in his path. He watched it bounce ahead of him with some satisfaction.

 

She was such a small girl, and she seemed so frail. The fact that the only place she seemed to really fear was her home made him slightly queasy with a premonition he hoped was false. Against his own better judgement he looked forward to seeing her again, if that would ever happen.

 

A mote of icy pain cut him in the side as the old scar of a broken rib suddenly made itself reminded. A slightly bitter taste spread from the tip of his tongue from his intake of air as he froze in mid step. The same feeling of unease he had yesterday crawled back like maggots over a carcass and settled in the pit of his stomach.

 

He looked around cautiously, the slowly rattling equipment to his right suddenly sounded more like rusty bells. A shiver made its way up his spine as he realized something was very wrong.

 

He continued his quick scan around him, but everything looked like it had been before. His awareness had always been rather keen, it had helped him out of many scrapes but this kind of stimulation was on a whole other level.

 

He could feel a cold sweat break out and his heartbeat speed up. There was something... tugging at him, calling him. He turned to look down the street, there was something there, on the other side of those houses and trees, a taint in the air. He was not sure how far away it was but something in that direction smelled stale and rotten, an almost intangible stench.

 

He stood there paralyzed with apprehension, unsure if he should hunt it down or avoid it. Suddenly the hairs on his neck stood up as he felt a similar kind of stench bloom a distance behind him, like something crawling up through rotten dirt. The sour taste that was not a taste amplified. He could feel it come closer, like a hot breath on his neck as if the thing was already upon him. He turned around, and there it stood further down the street, withered and terrible, with eyes of burning hate.

 

It was more or less a copy of the other two he had fought, with a rotten and twisted face, clothes dirty and in tatters. It had the same disproportionate body, large clawed hands twitching restlessly, feet with ruined remnants of shoes, dirty and warped. It was a shell where everything had burnt away in the fiery focus of its hate, leaving a monstrous parody of humanity. Only one feature remained untainted, that which carried the curse that had twisted it, those same clear and focused eyes that were trained on Ranma with an unwavering glare.

 

The remnants of his rather pleasant musings about the girl he had just met were swept away in a cold flood of memories as he met those eyes. Even though it stood well 40 meters away those eyes looked into his own as if they were close enough to touch. His heart shrank in his chest, his mouth turned dry and his breaths came rasping through his throat with difficulty.

 

The sounds of the world slowly slid away and everything slowed, the creature started moving closer sluggishly, those eyes...

 

An image flashed before him, a vision of memory rushing through him like a strobe.

Those same eyes, usually filled with anger and scorn, now looking at him from across the room with a serious gaze, those eyes. His heartbeat booming in his head, drawn out in slow motion as the unfathomable scene played out before him. The face was moving back and forth as it lay on the wooden floor but those eyes remained steady. The body twitching slightly, compelled by the form sitting above it, driving that glinting light up and down. Blood bursting forth from the mouth and nose, first a trickle, then a flood as the glinting light tore and ripped in a slow but incessant rhythm. But the gaze never left his, even as the light in it waned.

 

Suddenly he was back in his body as the memory let go, a wave of vertigo swept over him as the creature closed in, now running over the street, but no sound was heard, not even the clank of the rusty bells.

 

He was paralyzed, the memory still flitting at the edge of his consciousness, the monster came close enough to touch, rushing forward with single minded-purpose. It raised its clawed hands and lunged for his throat, as the claws closed in with blinding speed. Ranma's body finally jerked back into speed and he bent backward and rolled to the side frantically, the claws scratching his jugular. He came to his feet from the roll and immediately vaulted backwards to avoid the creature's next powerful overhead strike which gouged the asphalt he previously stood on.

 

Moving smoothly and with all the alacrity his body could muster he avoided all the creature's sweeping attacks, in his mind he steeled his will. He could do this, he had fought these creatures before and he had won. He nodded to himself in mid dodge and when he landed his muscles tensed to move against the creature. Then something caught his attention at the edge of his sight. Stepping backwards quickly to buy a second of time he threw a glance at the construction yard.

 

It crouched on the red metal lattice that would become the third floor, its tattered clothes different, similar differences were seen in facial features and the corrupted body - but the eyes a copy of its sibling in front of Ranma, bearing down on him with one emotion only.

 

Like a cold drop of condensation gliding over the curved surface of his focus Ranma recognized that he would die if he went toe-to-toe with both of them. The insight clicked in place as an obvious fact in his mind, but he didn't register it emotionally, even the peculiar discomfort these creatures gave to him was hardly noticeable anymore.

 

His slippers scraped on the asphalt as the split second of the glance ended, facts established and plans revised. He flowed forward with all the speed he had in him, taking the monster before him by surprise in its string of attacks. Ranma came in low and tried to dodge the already incoming claw strike, but the strike was too fast and sliced up his upper left arm. With a grimace he ignored the pain and slapped the creature's right arm out of alignment before it could try to defend and rose up in a powerful uppercut at its jaw which made it lift helplessly into the air with a sickening crunch.

 

With the uppercut he let the air leave his lungs in a gush, and he surged upward and forward to follow and lashed out with a torrent of strikes at its torso, feeling bones shatter and organs pulp under his assault as clumps of dark blood flew from the mouth of the creature. Ranma felt a glimpse of triumph trickle into his heart as the plan to take out the creature before the second could catch up to him seemed to bear fruition. A shadow flashing into his peripheral vision and the rising of the hairs on the back of his neck was the only warning he got, and he was vaulting away a split second later, avoiding loosing an arm to the second creature as it rushed into the fight.

 

The next second Ranma had turned and was running down the street with all the speed he could muster, his legs pumping so fast below him he barely kept from tripping himself. A glance behind him showed that the second one was in close pursuit and that the first creature was rising from its slumped position in the middle of the street to join the hunt. Ranma turned back to focus on running, a joyless grin slowly forming on his lips.

 

The wind was roaring in his ears as he rushed forward minutes later, the things that hunted him hot on his heels, ignoring all else in their pursuit. Sweat started to pearl on his brow and his breathing just getting laboured, Ranma silently muttered a curse as no good opportunity or idea had appeared yet and the street was pouring up at an end up ahead. Casting about desperately with his eyes as he pushed his body to go as fast as it could he suddenly saw a taller house tower up over the lower buildings that seemed prevalent in this area. Taking a quick turn through the small strip of greenery and some trees between the house and the road he made a great jump up on the tapered roof next to the building and then up on the taller flat roof.

 

Once up he looked around briefly to check his surroundings, it was a flat roof with a few protruding structures for ventilation and an elevator, otherwise bare. `As good a place to make a stand as any I guess' Ranma thought with a small amount of amusement. With adrenalin surging through his blood he let his breath slowly go. Then they were upon him.

 

One of them jumped vigorously and landed in a sprint toward him, the one he had already hurt more crawled like an insect around the edge of the roof to close in on him. Ranma threw himself toward the first in an aggressive flurry of attacks but was quickly driven back by the furious response and soon he was giving ground in an increasing pace to stay alive despite the efforts of the two monstrosities.

 

He realized as he swayed and dodged, trying to find an opening to exploit without losing a limb in the process, that he was lost. He was quickly tiring from wounds old and new, fighting a one sided battle where the bleeding edge of his skill kept him alive an unsteady second at a time. And it made him mad, this time he didn't feel like giving up, rage and frustration surged up inside of him and his face formed into a growl.

 

Suddenly he noticed a shining light in his peripheral vision hissing towards him straight like an arrow, forcing himself to make an impossible twist to dodge both the both creatures and the incoming attack he only partly succeeded. Claws tore the flesh of his hip as he didn't manage to fully dodge, it broke his momentum and he started to fall to the ground. Suddenly he was helpless and the damaged creature lunged low and opened its jagged jaw to rip into his throat, only to be hit by the projectile in an explosive cascade of burning light.

 

Motes of fiery energy cascaded over Ranma as he was blown flat to the roof and skidded several meters from the force. The other creature gave away a hiss bordering on a scream of pain as it was partly hit by the explosion. Ranma tried to shook the spinning sensation from his head as he staggered to his feet, gasping to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him.

 

Ranma whipped around as he heard someone land on the roof on the other side, and saw Usagi almost fall on her face as she nearly tripped from her landing and staggering a few steps. She looked up and their eyes met, and then the fray was joined again as Ranma became busy circling around the furiously renewed attacks of the remaining creature. Quickly Usagi joined in at a distance with glowing energy suffusing her hand.

 

“Look out where you aim those things! They're not little firecrackers you know!” Ranma shouted in frustration as he dodged again and again. The whole deal of trying to avoid death by monster was not made easier by Usagi trying to be helpful, as the pace of the two figures made sure that Ranma had to dodge several bolts of burning light from her tries to hit the creature. The battle dragged out, Ranma slowed down by his injuries enough that he could not get a clear opening to attack. Usagi circled the two with her hand clasped around a mote of flaming light, ready to fire away but not getting a clear shot. Suddenly Ranma got a lucky shot and snatched the clawed hand of his opponent and managed to twist the creature into a throw and send it flying into one of the air exchangers with enough force to dent it.

 

“Now!” Ranma screamed, and pointed. Usagi let out a short scream and made a light pushing movement, splaying out her both hands with the energy intensifying between them. The bolt of light zipped off with a speed that contradicted the rather slow throw, shooting through the air and leaving a thin trail of glowing mist. As the creature crawled up on its feet to renew its attack, it didn't manage to react fast enough to the incoming missile from Usagi and was torn to dust in a blast of blinding light together with a part of the air exchanger.

 

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief and slowly sat down, leaning his back on the low rail that surrounded the edge of the roof. Breathing heavily he tiredly looked at Usagi, then at the smoking husk of the ventilation system. She looked back at him with a worried frown on her face. The silence between them was heavy.

 

“I can't stop thinking that getup looks weird.” Ranma muttered, breaking the silence abruptly. Usagi blushed slightly and looked down on her white bodice and coloured skirt, with ribbons and all. She opened her mouth to speak back when she was interrupted by shouts coming from the streets around the house, the sound of someone running up the staircase that led up to the roof could also be heard.

 

“I guess that's our cue to get out of here before we get into trouble.” Said Ranma and got to his feet with one hand on the rail. Usagi nodded and ran up to his side, and then climbed over the rail and jumped down on the back side of the building, gracefully landing several meters down. Ranma raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when the door to the roof started to open, and he silently followed Usagi.

 

I I I

 

They were hiding in a secluded spot in a park a safe distance away from where they had met and beat off the things that hunted Ranma. Usagi looked out from the trees and hedges surrounding the small fountain Ranma was standing close to.

 

“Ah man why does my clothes always have to get trashed.” Ranma whined as he checked his injuries carefully. The parallel wounds in his hip still trickling blood, the dull ache in his left arm making him wonder if the bone was damaged as well as the deep claw marks to his flesh he had received there. Both his arm and his pant leg was more or less soaked in dark blood, coagulated and slowly drying.

 

“Are you all right?” Asked Usagi worriedly as she came up to him. “I think it's best to take you to the hospital, those cuts probably needs stitching.” She held one of her hands under his unscathed right arm to help him along.

 

“No.” His voice hard and cold as frozen iron, clearly hostile. Usagi looked at him surprised and opened her mouth to argument, but his determined face, with dark eyes almost sucking her in, a raging storm of chaos and madness deep within them. She tore her eyes away, stepping back and feeling dizzy. Taking a moment to stabilize herself again she abandoned that plan, not ready to face that expression in his face again.

 

“I could try to heal you again like last time.” She said instead, a hopeful tint of her voice showing her eagerness to help. Ranma eyed her suspiciously.

 

“Don't know if I want to try that, I don't have much trust for magic.” He muttered. Usagi watched his face, dirty, blood-smudged and with a claw scrape that was partially healed on his jaw. He looked tired and pale, she shook her head and put her gloved hands gently down on his hip, around the wounds and shredded cloth. Ranma frowned but didn't speak up.

 

Usagi watched closely and appeared to concentrate deeply as white light suffused her hands in a gentle glow. Just as the edges of the wounds seemed to start closing up Ranma took in a sharp breath of air and the flesh, wounded and healthy, started to bubble like it was boiling. Ranma screamed in agony and Usagi was sharply pushed away, skidding on the grass until coming to a stop a few meters away.

 

“Okay, let's never try that again.” Said Ranma between his teeth as he cradled his side and tried to stand upright, checking his wound and finding it as it was before without a sign of bubbles. “Are you ok?” he asked in a slightly strained voice, with his eyes still on his hip, as Usagi sat up. She nodded, still shocked, but then shakily got to her feet again. She looked at her hands, the white gloves smeared with his blood.

 

“I was sure that would work, I had this image in my head how it was done.” She said, a tint of frustration in her voice. Ranma looked at her for a few seconds in silence, then shook his head.

 

“I'm not saying I understand what you're talking about, but magic is fickle, maybe there's something missing, or I'm just unlucky.” Ranma stated as he gave up standing entirely straight, instead opting on gingerly sitting down on the edge of the fountain. “Why were you there?” His question came almost flippantly. Usagi froze and then looked pensive, her eyes refusing to meet his, doubt hiding in their depths.

 

“Well, you see... These last two days since we met I have vaguely known where you are. The call I felt, it's focused on you. In the back of my mind I know in what direction you are, like an extra arm or leg, although I don't know how far away.” Usagi frowned in thought as she tried to explain. “And I felt a prickling, like the beginnings of a headache, and I knew it was you. So I had to go and check, so I did.” Ranma scratched his head and tried to wrap his mind around this, strange things had happened to him before, but this was just wierd.

 

“But I fought one yesterday, and you didn't show up then, sounds kind of fishy to me.” Ranma said as he raised an eyebrow, Usagi nodded in recognition.

 

“I did feel it, but it was very brief, and I didn't quite know what it was then. But I know now. ” She smiled a little and continued. “Which is good, I helped you against, those things, we're stronger if we fight together.” Ranma still saw a glitter of fear in her eyes as she talked about the strange creatures, his enemies? But she seemed proud as well. He scoffed in irritated amusement.

 

“You call that working together? You aimed more at me than those things.” Usagi looked hurt and he almost regretted his comment, his expression turned serious and he continued. “Hey, it's better if you don't, I can handle this without your help. No need for you to get involved.” Ranma watched as Usagi's eyes darkened while he talked, developing a frown and pouting lips, he was hit by how pretty she was, even when angry. Without a word she stepped close to him, and then poked him in his wounded arm, Ranma flinched. “OW!”

 

“Don't give me that, I might not be the smartest but I'm not stupid either. You can hardly stand on your own, what would happen if one of those monsters came to attack you now?” Usagi broke into a tirade as Ranma mutely stared at her, surprised at her outbreak. “Could you have defeated the two that came for you today on your own? What if they come three or four at a time? I'm scared and I hate this, I don't understand why all this is happening. I don't know you, you seem like a jerk to me, but I'm not going to leave you to die just because you tell me to!” Usagi stared at him with tears in her eyes, breathing heavily and with an angry and flushed expression, daring him to talk back. Ranma just stared at her for a silent minute.

 

“Allright, take it easy.” Ranma muttered finally as he held up his healthy hand in a calming gesture. “Geez you don't have to bite my head off.”

 

“Good, you know you're stuck with me, at least until we know what's going on. I don't understand any of this.” Usagi said as she motioned towards her clothes with her blood smeared hand. Ranma shook his head and looked away, he didn't understand and he wasn't sure he wanted to understand either. Murky memories skittering on the horizon, wanting to ooze in and drown him, better to do something else. He eyed Usagi, that getup was silly, but she was still beautiful.

 

“Do you have any martial arts training? He asked, almost letting forth a smirk at Usagi's surprised expression. She shook her head in response, and Ranma sighed, so much for that hope.

 

“Well, I'm not sure there's any point in teaching you anything, but at least we can discuss how to coordinate our movement a bit better, all right?” He admitted and showed with his good arm for Usagi to sit down. Usagi nodded and soon they were discussing what needed to be done to at least avoid friendly fire.

 

I I I

 

Authors notes

 

Back from the dead! Hand me your brains.

Slowly crawling forward. One step at the time toward the end of the world.

 

As usual, no prereaders used, all mistakes are mine alone. Please help me to improve, give constructive criticism and tell me mistakes I make.