[Ranma][FanFic] Aftermath Prolouge & Chapter 1
Siobhan Recca
laughter and hurrying people. No longer, and never again. The shadows
stretched long against the slagged remains of lockers, bearing grim reminder
to the horrors inflicted mere months ago.
I walked down the rippled tiled floor and past shattered windows in
silence. Something compelled me to remain silent in this blasted memorial
to the several thousands who died in one searing instant. Even months later
they still seemed to accuse me of their deaths. Not that I could have
stopped it, or caused it or anything like that. No, it was more the simple
fact that I was still alive.
My foot struck a twisted hunk of metal and sent it skittering across the
hall to strike a wall with a thunderous clank. I winced as the silence was
shattered so abruptly. Crossing to the metal, I pulled up the remains of a
locker door. Number 926 to be exact. What irony. My locker.
I glance around, finally realizing where I am. Yes, there it is. The
twisted, malformed shape that I've been searching for. I slip over to the
remains of my locker and send my foot smashing through the back panel.
Pawing through the remains, I pull out a steel-lined chest. Good, it was
still there. My paranoia-stash, I remembered my best friend call these
little chests even as she helped me hide them.
I stand, tucking the chest under my bad arm, and look to the shadow beside
me. I could tell. Even when all that was left was a shadow. I caressed
the permanent reflection of my best friend even as a painful grin twisted my
features and a tear dissipated from my cheek. She accepted me even when no
one else would, and in doing so, brought me out of the shell I had crawled
into to escape my tormentors and back out into society.
I dropped my hand and returned the way I came. For a second I paused, as
the result of a glass door fusing with the steel wall behind it reflected my
image. I was fairly tall, fairly good-looking, maybe even handsome by some
standards. At least, I didn't think I was too hard to look at. That was
before, though. Now I was just a ragged parody of my former self.
But that didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. She was gone, as sure as the
tormentors were. I swore once to defend her no matter what. I failed. So
what? There was no one around to remember or care anyway. No one except
me. And I would never forget.
Aftermath
A Ranma1/2 Fanfiction
Chapter One: Flames of Retribution
The silence of a budding morning. Somewhere an early rising robin twitters
her distinctive trill greeting the rising sun. Downstairs in the kitchen of
the Tendo home, Kasumi hums softly to herself as she goes about her morning
rituals. Across the hall, Nabiki sleeps the slumber of the just, or at
least the totally secure. Akane crosses the hall to the bathroom, having
just returned from her traditional early morning jog before school.
Tendo-san rustles about in light slumber having cried himself to sleep the
previous night. Oyaji grumbles and rolls over in his sleep just like the
fat panda he so often apes.
I lie still for a moment, just staring at the ceiling and listening to the
house tell me its story of the morning. Finally, with a soft sigh, I rise
from my futon and stretch. Crossing to the window, I greet the morning with
a gentle smile as I pull on my shirt. I can hear Oyaji moving in the
background. I know he's awake and preparing to attack me, but I let him do
it anyway. He gets to be an unbelievable annoyance if I don't.
Right on cue, as if on a timed schedule. First the bucket of warm water
changing him back into the creature who claims my paternity. Now the fist.
Uh-huh. 1, 2, 3. Pond. Back up, yell at dumbass Oyaji some to keep up
appearances. Oyaji yelling his general tripe about keeping up my guard.
Uh-huh. He is so clueless sometimes its all I can do to keep from laughing
at him. I wonder if he even has the faintest clue about how on guard I am
against him in particular after the Neko-ken incident.
Oh well, back to the business at hand. Block. Block. Strike. High.
Low. Leap. Somersault. One-point landing. Back flip. Block. Dodge.
Slip. Pond. And now to knock in Oyaji. 1, 2, 3. Nope, never knew what
hit him.
"Breakfast everyone!"
Ah, Kasumi, right on time as usual. I race into the house in order to get
changed and back down to the table before the black hole known as Oyaji
manages to eat my breakfast as well as his.
"Morning, Akane." I mutter as I race down to the table with her.
"Morning, Ranma." She mutters back, with a smile. Who'd have guessed we'd
have ended up friends? We still hide it. Too young for marriage is the
reason we'll give if you ask. If you had told me two years ago that my best
friend and boon companion would be the Mallet-mistress, I would have laughed
at the very least. Of course, two years ago, I was an asshole. And an
uncultured, barbarian of one at that. Obaa-san got a hold of me after the
blasted wedding and spun my life around and upside down by making me live
with her for over a year. I will never think that the Nerima district is
strange anymore after living though a year and a half in Juuban. Senshi and
youma and princesses, oh my. At least they didn't try to make me wear a
fuku or a tux when I got involved. Though being called the Phoenix Prince
is not my idea of a good time.*
Ah, breakfast!
"Delicious as always, Kasumi-san!"
"Why thank you, Ranma-san!" She blushes even now, Tofu doesn't have any
idea what he's letting slip through his fingers here.
"Baka! Why don't you ever compliment my cooking?!" Akane smacks me upside
the head.
"One does not compliment what one must be forced to eat!" Somethings never
will change, such as Akane's cookies. However, even I must admit that she's
improved some with help. Some.
Not that I'd trade it for anything, oh no. Got to admit that she grows on a
fellow. Sure, she's still a tomboy, but I have to admit that all of the
girls I ever even remotely cared for have been. Besides, she's changed over
the year and a half I was gone, for the better I may add. She's still
uncute though. She always will be. She just doesn't have that weird
quality that makes someone cute. Kind of like me. I'm generally not
described as cute. I just don't have that ... that thing. Ukyo does. Even
Shampoo. But not Akane, and not me. We're a matched set, I guess.
Nabiki's got the radio on. I wonder why.
"zztchackrle...declared war on .. zrcgrackle...'merica today... crackle
crackle ... glory of Japan... zzt crackle..."
Hold it right there. Did that idiot just say we declared war on America?
We just declared war on the same heartless bastards that didn't hesitate to
bomb us? Not once, but twice?! What are the morons in the Diet thinking?!
We treated the day like any other though. Akane and I headed off to school
side by side again for the first time in months. And of course, my arrival
in the courtyard brought my tormentors out of hiding because I was
immediately assaulted by first Kuno then Mousse. Ryouga didn't show up for
a couple of hours, but I just knew he would. He had to, it was tradition
between us. He always found me. No matter where I went. He found me.
That was it. That's what we lived for sometimes.
Our battle carried us far from the campus. I don't know exactly were. I
think it was a some kind of parking lot. It was big and concrete whatever
it was. I don't think I'd been there before. Anyway, Ryouga and I fought
like we were against the hounds of hell.
The sirens wailed about us, loudspeakers told us to take shelter, but we
ignored it, completely absorbed in the battle. Then the whining came.
High-pitched. I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all except it was so
out of place. Ryouga must not have heard it, because he tackled me while I
was distracted and blasted us clear into the pavement.
That was the last thing I remembered before coming to a groggy sort of
half-consciousness and trying to push the heavy blanket off of me. Then I
opened my eyes.
The charred half-melted, barely recognizable countenance of my best friend
and enemy looked down upon me in shock. I think I screamed then, and
somehow managed to heave him off of me. I scrambled out of the hole and
looked franticly around for what had done this horrible thing. My eyes
didn't meet anything that I recognized as something from around the area of
original battle. Something had gone wrong, hideously wrong, and my mind was
not functioning well enough to figure out what it was. I stared at my hands
in shock, certain that it was something I did. That I had lost control.
I staggered off away from the wreckage. My shirt and pants hung in tatters
from my burned frame but I didn't care. I just killed him. I killed
Ryouga. How could I have? What did I do?! I noticed that I was heading in
the general direction of the Tendo home, screamed and ran in the opposite
direction.
How could I face them? How could I face Akane?! I just killed Ryouga! I
ran away from everything.
I don't know how long it was before I saw something even remotely
recognizable as a sign of civilization, but I finally stumbled across a
cavern that someone had set up as their home and collapsed at the gate.
Whoever it was, he took me in and bandaged my wounds. When I finally awoke
again, I learned the truth of my benefactor.
It was Kuno of all people. The deranged kendoist had just suffered to let
his greatest enemy live, and more than that, bandaged my wounds with his own
hands. I was in shock, but that was no excuse.
"Kuno? Why?"
"In times like these, all of mankind must band together, Saotome. There is
no place for petty feuds when the sky burns and man plays at god!"
"Wh-what is going on? What happened? Why are you living in a cave?!"
"Man has usurped God's rightful role and doth seek to annihilate us, God's
Chosen. Tokyo is no more. I do not know how you survived, Saotome, but at
this time, I am glad for any human companionship. These are dark times,
Saotome. I have not seen any of the oft-times allies nor enemies of the
noble House Kuno. You are the first I have seen in months."
Hold it! Back the train up! Did he say months?!
"Months? There's no way! It could've only been maybe a week at most!"
"You are delusional, Saotome. It has been months since the bombing."
I leap to my feet, though my many injuries rebuke me for that. Despite
Kuno's protests, I race from his cavernous domain back in the direction of
Tokyo.
They need me. But more than that, she needs me!
Author's notes: So, interesting so far yet? I got the idea after read a
couple Fire Brat books I found. Sorry, but I got hooked on the whole WWIII
idea. I was typing up an intro for a story that was going to be entirely
different from this, but then I realized, the ambiguous narrator could
really be anyone! However, I found that the character of Ranma seemed to
fit best. The whole intro sounded kind of like him. And if you are
wondering about why it reads so weird, that would be because it is coming
from Ranma's memories/flow of consciousness, whatever. You figure it out.
I don't know anymore.
Are you wondering why he sounds educated? Well, as I said, is mom got a
hold of him for a year and a half and did her level best to fix what Genma
had f 'ed up. Akane and him are friends. Yes, I'm a Akane/Ranma fanatic.
I firmly believe that those two are the only ones who could possibly work
out. Ranma's an overbearing jerk, and Akane's so violent that the only
people who could stand them are each other.
Any questions, donations, or comments can be sent to
ami_an...@hotmail.com. Flames will be frozen. The Dragon has spoken.
Disclaimers: You know who Ranma1/2 belongs to and it's not me. I'm just
borrowing them, honest. Now here's a toast to the hope that the events that
are causing this idea never come into being. I'd really hate to nuke Japan.
Omake:
(Kuno's Cave: Ranma is lying on the ground bandaged up like a mummy. Kuno
is wandering about the cave dressed like a big purple dinosaur.)
Ranma: *waking up* Huh? Where am I?
Kuno: *rushing over* Ah! Good! You are finally awake, Baby Boo! You're
safe here in the Dino-cave!
Ranma: *struggling to beat the hell out of Kuno despite the bandages* Who
the hell are you callin' Baby Boo?! What the hell is that stupid outfit you
got on anyway?!
Kuno: Oh no! My trusted sidekick, Baby Boo, must have gain a concussion from
the last battle! How could he possibly forget me?! I am Barney the Purple
Dinosaur!
Ranma: *looks disturbed, tries to inch away*
(air raid sirens go off in the distance.)
Kuno: Quick, Baby Boo! To the Dino-mobile! *grabs Ranma's bandages and
hauls him off.*
Ranma: AGGGHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*: The Phoenix Prince Saga is the Ranma1/2 and Sailormoon crossover I have
in the works at the moment.
--
Look not for me in bright of day
Look not in dark of night
I am but a solitary figment
Alone created of your mind.
-
Siobhan Recca
The Cybernetic Ninja