Nerima Ghost Detectives R Us
By
Ashuri
__~*~__
Chapter
One: “It’s
Just One of Those Days”
+++
It
was a normal day in the “quaint ” town of Nerima; the sun was shining, the
birds were singing, and the local panty thief was getting his haul of his
precious silky under garments. Of course, something out of the ordinary had to
happen. Otherwise things would be boring.
Which
brings us to the story. Ranma was headed home from school that day. He was
alone; Akane went with one of her friends to see a movie after school. It was
one of those times where he could walk and contemplate his life…and how screwed
over he was.
But
then again, things always have to get worse.
This
thought crossed Ranma’s mind as he heard the smooth voice of the middle Tendou
sister carry through the air.
“Well,
how are you today, Ranma-kun?” Nabiki Tendou asked, walking along the ground
next to Ranma who strolled on the fence. Ranma raised a questioning eyebrow,
considering what hell he usually had to go through from carrying on a simple
conversation with the devious Tendou daughter. But then again, he happened to
be bored that particular day.
“Not
much,” said Ranma putting his arms behind his head as he walked,” and I
don’t have any money on me, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he added.
Nabiki
pretended to clutch her chest in mock shock,” Why Ranma, I’m hurt! Do you
honestly think my only motivation in life is money?”
“Yes,”
Ranma replied without a pause for breath.
Nabiki
smirked a little but did not say anything in response. She rather enjoyed the
power she held over Ranma; she could bend him to her will with her superior
intellect. Though she had to admit he was charming in his brute honesty. It was
rather complimenting to know that she had done her job well enough for Ranma to
answer her question without even a second thought.
“It’s
really calm today,” Ranma said absent mindedly, looking up into the deep baby
blue heavens,” in a way its almost scary!”
Nabiki
laughed,” Got that right,” she said, “of course in a place like this, something
is bound to happen soon!”
She
had no idea how right she was.
__~*~__
Half
way across town a stranger clutched a grimy box tightly within his withered
fingers. He wore a shabby brown cloak and boots coated with thick layers of
dirt and debris. He appeared to be in his late 80’s, hunched over and small.
His bright blue eyes sprang in the direction of any noise around him, as he
held the box in his hands like some ancient treasure.
“
What an awful town this is…awful,” he said in a voice that sounded like a
choked whisper.
Already
the man had been trampled by a horde of teenaged girls seeming to chase after a
midget demon carrying a large sack full of women’s under apparel. He decided
not to question it. Then not soon after, he was ran over by a girl on a bicycle
carrying what appeared to be a large crate of ramen. Once again he brushed
himself off and went on about his way. That was until he was attacked by what
appeared to be a mailbox outside of a little Okonomiyaki restaurant. So
on and so forth…it had not been a delightful day by any means.
“It’s
this horrid box,” he said, holding it up in front of him to see it better,”
it’s cursed, it is,” he said.
The
box was black with thick layers of dust. The latch was golden with what had
once been a brilliant ruby in the middle. It was lined with silver trimmings.
Written in gold under the latch was:
DO
NOT OPEN. GHOSTS INSIDE.
Call him superstitious, but he wasn’t about to open it any time soon. Nor had he even thought about it for the past ten years he had the awful thing.
The
man sat in his small cabin in the woods, roasting his stew. The aroma was
strong and fulfilling enough. Oh, how he couldn’t wait to dig into such a
delicious stew!
…He
was pleased easily.
That
was when he heard the knocking at the door. He got up and crossed the room,
pulling his shall tighter to him, ignoring the cold air that swept through the
ramshackle cabin.
“Yes?”
he asked, opening the door.
He
gasped at what he saw, before him stood a beautiful girl in her teens. He
certainly hadn’t seen one of those in the mountains lately. She was
dressed in a large black cloak, concealing whatever was underneath. Her eyes
were deep emerald, and her raven hair fell in torrents down to her waist. In
her small hands she held a delicate and beautiful box.
“Are
you Okina-san?” the girl asked, her eyes seeming to pierce right through him.
It
took him a few minutes to find his voice,” Why…yes I am,” he replied.
The
girl shoved the box with his hands,” Take this for now,” she said in a firm
tone,” I am going to trust you with this!!! Do not open it or else the
wrath of the box, and the wrath of myself, will befall you,” she said with an
edge to her voice. And with that she turned quickly on her heels and walked
briskly away from the cabin and into the forest.
The
man, Okina, blinked in surprised. What was that just now?
He
first knew the box was cursed when a raccoon scampered between his feet and
knocked down the pot that held his precious stew.
He
would never forget that day…when his poor stew was destroyed. Oh, and when he
had gotten the box as well. He had also never seen the girl again…
Okina coughed and stopped outside a large building.
“Furinkan
High?” he said aloud, looked at the building skeptically. It would have to do
as his sleeping place tonight. Creeping into the shadows Okina slid into the
building to rest for the night.
__~*~__
The
next day the Tendou residence was full of the usual hustle and bustle.
“Good
morning everyone! Breakfast is ready,” Kasumi said smiling as she set the
table.
“Get
back here you freak of nature!” a soggy Ranma-chan tore around the corner after
a wrinkled letch known as Happosai.
“Can’t
you two ever keep it down?” Akane complained as she sat down for breakfast.
Happosai
turned around suddenly, causing Ranma-chan to screech to a halt.
“Ranma…”
Happosai said in a serious tone.
Ranma
wondered what had prompted the sudden change in the old man, but nodded,” Yes,
Happosai?”
Happosai
held up the pink and white checkered brassiere,” I’m just trying to do you a
favor…you may not like it, but gravity will take effect one time or
an-oomph!”
Happosai
was cut short from a kick in the face by Ranma-chan.
“Stay
out of my bosom problems, Happosai,” she said before marching upstairs to take
a quick dunk in the hot bath. On her way up she ran into Nabiki coming down the
stairs.
“Ranma
you’re all wet!” she declared.
“State
the obvious!” Ranma snarled and marched past her.
Nabiki
rolled her eyes,” Geez, he doesn’t have to get all huffy about it,” she said
before heading downstairs for breakfast.
Ranma-chan
stomped towards the bathroom and threw open the door. Only to see a Genma in
his birthday suit perched comfortably in the bath, a book in his hand, he
looked at Ranma out of the corner of his eye.
“You
don’t look well, son,” he said matter-of-factly.
“ARGH!”
Ranma-chan shouted throwing her hands up in the air. She grabbed a bucket of
cold water and flung it in the direction of her father.
A
large panda stood before her.
Without
question the two began to grapple and throw insults at one another.
It
was yet another strangely normal day…
__~*~__
Nabiki
stood outside waiting for Ranma,” Akane went on without you,” she said and
began to walk along side Ranma.
Ranma
just grunted in reply before hopping on the fence.
Nabiki’s
lips curled into a feline like grin,” You certainly are the image of
cheerfulness today,” she said chuckling.
Ranma
rolled his eyes,” You obviously know nothing about me!” he declared.
“Every
single day, I have to deal with my dad, crazy fiancées and…”
“Rivals,
perverts, old hags, and insane teachers,” Nabiki finished for him.
“Yeah,”
Ranma said embarrassed,” what you said.”
Nabiki
laughed,” Ranma…you get yourself in a lot more trouble than other people do for
you,” she said casually.
Ranma
rolled his eyes and hopped down from the fence so that he landed in front of
Nabiki,” Oh? And why do you say that?”
Nabiki
smiled jovially,” Well because you always seem to find trouble…and looks here
comes some now,” she said before pointing and stepping back from Ranma.
“Wha?”
Was all Ranma could say before he saw the group of about three dozen angry
girls chasing an old man in a brown cloak.
__~*~__
How
was he to know that he had accidentally slept in the girl’s locker-room? It was
an innocent mistake, after all.
He
had tried to explain but before he could get a word in edgewise one girl had
declared:
“He
must be one of that panty thief’s friends!”
Thus
the chase began.
It
seemed that people didn’t like old men around these parts.
As
Okina ran ahead, trying not to look back into the face of doom, he was
surprised to see a young boy in front of him looked shocked.
“Hey,
out of the way!” Okina shouted to the boy.
__~*~__
Ranma
leapt out of the way in time to see the man trip and a box fall out of his
hands. As the girls proceeded to come down on him in a pack, Ranma bent over
and picked up the item, rolling it around in his hands.
With
danger safely out of the way, Nabiki joined his side,” What’s with the box
Ranma?” she asked.
Ranma
shrugged, looking closely, he saw the latch was open. The small crack in the
box showed a dim green light from within.
“Hey,
what’s in there…”Ranma murmured. His hands slowly began to lift the lid of the
box.
“NO!
Don’t open it!” the old man shouted from amidst the carnage.
It was too late. The second the small click could be heard from the box fully being open and powerful glow came out in a giant ball of bright hot light.
Ranma’s
mouth hung open in shock.
The
girls pounding the poor old man stopped in mid-beating, eyes locked on the
fantastic sphere of light.
Nabiki
just looked at it casually, putting a hand over her eyes to shield the blinding
brightness,” My… you don’t see that everyday,” she said smoothly.
Then
bright green skeletal figures began to emerge from the glowing ball. Their
ghoulish screams echoed off the air itself. Then the figures began to shoot off
in different directions, heading off towards the great blue yonder. Nabiki hid
behind Ranma’s broad shoulders, enjoying the supernatural light show.
When
it was all over, Ranma stood, eyes bulging and mouth open; Ranma was
smoldering, probably because he had taken the whole blast of the explosion of
light.
“What
the hell was that?” he said meekly.
“You
fool!” Okina said, leaping up from the ground,” you’ve released the ghosts!!!”
“Ghosts?”
Nabiki finally said, curiosity abundant in her voice.
Ranma
and Nabiki looked inside the box, which was now dark and empty. How could
something like that hold a spirit spectrum?
__~*~__
In
a dark clearing surrounded by gray and gnarled trees sat a girl with long raven
hair. Her green emerald eyes opened in a frightening flash.
“The
fool…” she said in a bitter voice,” I only needed to regain my power for a
short while to deal with the item…and he opened it!” she said, feeling the
pulsing evil from the box even from the far distance she was from it.
She
stood up, her eyes seeming to glow in the forest darkness,” So it begins…”
…
In
the small town of Nerima…it was just one of those days.
+++
Author’s
Notes: Reviews, comments, questions, and criticism? It’s all appreciated? Tell
me what you think of the first chapter of Nerima Ghost Detectives R Us!
Next
Chapter:
Now that Ranma and Nabiki have opened the mystical entrance to the spirit world, they’ll have to pay for it! Okina tells them that unless they find a way to get all the ghosts back into the box something terrible might happen! And thus the dynamic duo must start on their quest to keep the super natural from rampaging the already not-so-normal streets of Nerima!
***