NeriMAn DIStortion
a Boogiepop Phantom/Ranma ½
fanfic by Zorknot
DISCLAIMER:
Boogiepop Phantom is owned by Kouhei Kadono, Mediaworks, and the Right
Stuff International. Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Fuji TV, and Kitty
Film.
~~~~~[BEGIN]~~~~~
NABIKI TENDO-a
girl on a mission
AKANE TENDO-a
girl possessed
TOFU
ONO-a man searching for himself.
~~~~~traffic~~~~~
You’re dreaming again, but not of anything in
particular. Just the city at night, the people walking from one place to
another, each with their own purpose, for the most part oblivious to what is
going on around them.
Something makes you feel uneasy though. You
feel apart from the people somehow, outside looking in...
A voice breaks through the folds of the
dream—a girl’s voice...familiar... “The
true end is a privilege for those who haven’t been born yet.”
A crowd of people passes by a bench,
revealing a man reading a newspaper. You feel drawn to the print of the
paper...
“Once a person is born, they will never feel at peace again as life goes
on.”
You can read it now, even in the night, even
in this dream. A headline reads, “High School Girl Murdered on Her Way Home.”
Another reads, “Junior High School Girl Killed. Discovered by
Classmate.” Yet another: “Serial Killer Continues Killing
Suddenly, you are looking at the black spine
of a book. The title of it is The Mood of the Slaughterer Changes. The
book lowers, revealing the face of the girl who reads from it. The face of Kuonji Ukyo.
“Your
mother, Tendo Kimiko, wrote that,” she says, looking up.
A profile of a face— Tendo Nabiki’s— replies,
“So?”
~~~~~furinkan koukou~~~~~
You wake with a start above the roof exit of
Furinkan High. It’s a very warm day for fall and you couldn’t handle having
lunch with all your classmates reminding you about Jonouchi’s
disappearance. You came up here for some peace and quiet so you could think,
but you didn’t get much sleep last night and you must have dozed off.
You sit up, looking out across the roof of
Furinkan to the city surrounding you. But you are not alone. On the roof below
you there are two girls, one with long rich brown hair tied in a pony tail,
wearing a boy’s high school uniform with a giant spatula attached to her back
and twin bandoliers of smaller versions of the same implement crossing her
chest. She is sitting Indian style as she closes a black-covered book and puts
it beside her.
The other girl is dressed in dark jeans,
heavy boots, and a black leather jacket. Her rich brown hair falls past her
shoulders as she looks out across the city leaning on the metal railing.
Just like in your dream, Ukyo and Nabiki are
talking on the roof. They don’t seem to have seen you; so you watch them and
listen.
~~~~~Scene001:
“Don’t you think it’s time to tell me?” Ukyo
asks Nabiki. “I know you know something about what happened to Ranma.”
“I told you before,” she replies, still
looking at the horizon. “That was...”
“...Boogiepop, I know, you jackass.” Ukyo
stands up. “When will you stop with that urban legend? Some people say they’ve
seen his ghost...Damn it, Nabiki, I need to know what really happened! But I
guess maybe you don’t understand that, Ice Queen.”
Nabiki turns sharply, “You shouldn’t be
reading my mother’s book, Ukyo,” she says, a tinge of anger in her voice. “She
was a woman obsessed with death. It made her weak.”
“I’m just sick of not knowing what’s going
on.”
Nabiki digs in her jacket pocket and pulls
out a vial of some clear substance and slams it on the railing. “This is what
Ranma and Kodachi were giving to people. You know what it’s called?”
Ukyo shook her head.
“Slave.”
“Slave? Dorei in Japanese?”
Nabiki nodded. “It controls people’s minds,
Ukyo. All those people that disappeared last year? They all took this drug.”
“But... that doesn’t mean...”
“Yes, Kuonji-chan.
I’m afraid it does. The Ranma we knew died long before his actual death.”
“So he is
dead then...” Ukyo mutters softly, staring at the vial.
“It’s not that simple,” Nabiki says, putting
the vial back into her jacket pocket.
“How can it not be simple,
Nabiki? Either he’s dead or he isn’t! Which one is it?”
Nabiki took a breath and sighed. “He’s dead
as far as you are concerned.”
There is a pause as Ukyo looks down through
the grating of the railing at the gym students in their jogging suits. “About a month ago. That was when I last saw Ranma. He was
practically attached to Kodachi at the hip. Then both of them disappeared. You
had something to do with that, Nabiki, I know.” Ukyo grabbed the railing with
both hands. “But...there’s something else. That day, I happened to see his
desk. There was something written on it. A list of names, about half were
crossed out.. Above it in katakana was the word
‘Problems’. He had just crossed out your
name. Mine was next.”
“He would have killed you,” Nabiki nodded.
“Why would he kill me? I’m his fiancée! I thought...”
“Just let it go,” Nabiki said, “The more you know, the worse it
will be for you.”
“I really don’t understand why you’re being such an unfeeling
bitch about this, Nabiki. Just tell me what happened!”
Nabiki glares at Ukyo for a moment before
turning away from her. Her head is down. Her arms are crossed in front of her. “A
long time ago,” she says, “I killed my mother.”
“Huh?” Ukyo exclaims, a look of surprised
confusion on her face.
“One day, I came home from school and there
was my mother, collapsed in the hallway, covered in blood. I was rushing off to
call the ambulance when she... ” Nabiki holds her own wrist as she remembers,
“she grabbed my arm and said to me: ‘Nabiki, watch close. Don’t turn your eyes
away,’ she said... So I...I watched the whole time...until she stopped
breathing...until she stopped moving. I was the first one home; so no one else
was there. I just stood over her until Daddy came back. That was five years
ago. ”
Nabiki whirls back around, “You think I don’t
understand? You think I don’t feel?
Ranma was like a little brother to me and I watched him kill himself bit by
bit. I saw him slipping and I did
nothing! Not until too late.” Nabiki’s hand clenches into a fist. “I spent
four years of my life numb, watching, trying to pretend I didn’t care...But I
do care, Kuonji-chan. I don’t want to see anyone else get killed, and right now
that’s liable to happen to anyone who gets close to me. So
back off.”
“Listen, Sugar, I can handle myself. A lot
better than you can anyway. So you can cut the Kuonji-chan crap too while
you’re at it.”
Nabiki gives Ukyo a level, half-lidded gaze.
“You might be good at fighting physically, but you need will power. And that’s
something you just don’t have.”
“I have plenty will power!”
“You almost killed someone a few days ago at
that tournament because you weren’t in control of your emotions.”
“I’m...better now.”
“You originally came here to defeat Ranma and
take back your honor, what happened to that plan, huh, Kuonji-chan? Then there
was the time you let Shampoo convince you to attack Ranma’s wedding...”
“I...she caught me at a moment of
weakness...” Ukyo fiddled with one of her spatulas as she looked away.
“Ukyo, just let it go, okay? It doesn’t
matter whether Ranma is dead or not. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”
“You know I can’t let it go.”
Nabiki sighs. “If you had any willpower,
you’d be able to.”
“How would making you tell me what’s going on
mean my will was weak?”
“I said that you’d be able to let it go if
you had willpower. Not that you would. You’re not even considering it now. And
incidentally you cannot make me do
anything. You can only do things to me.”
Ukyo is about to make a retort but then stops
herself and sighs. “You’re really not going to tell me
what happened, are you?”
“No.”
“How did you get so much willpower anyway?”
Nabiki holds out her hand, “One-thousand
yen.”
Ukyo frowns, “You know I don’t have it,
Nabiki, I’m barely making rent...”
“Which is more important, having more
willpower, or having one thousand yen.?”
“If I’m even one thousand yen behind on my
payments they’ll take Ucchan’s away from me.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“I...I just haven’t been able to work as much
because...”
“Because you can’t let go
of your grief over Ranma. Because you don’t have
enough willpower, Kuonji-chan.” Nabiki put her hand to her side. “You
have to know the value of things. You have to know what’s important and fight
for that, without letting your emotions get in the way. Ranma is dead. Feel sad
or angry about that as much as you want, but don’t forget your
responsibilities. Or is throwing a tantrum over a dead man really the most
important thing in your life?”
“You keep on skirting the issue whenever I
ask if he’s dead or not, and Ranma IS
the most important thing in my life!”
Nabiki is silent for a moment. She takes a
breath. “Then why didn’t you ever spend any time learning what he liked, what he
wanted out of life. Why didn’t you ask if he even wanted a fiancée.
Why did you hold the engagement over his head instead of being his friend when
he so desperately needed someone, anyone
to talk to who didn’t have a separate agenda? “
“The engagement was a matter of honor! And of
course I didn’t have as much time to get to know Ranma because...of...work.”
Nabiki nods. “Okonomiyaki, your honor,
Ranma....any one of these things you could have devoted your life to. But your
will, your goal, is only as strong as your ability to not be dissuaded from
it.”
A light wind picks up, rustling a few leaves and loose pieces of
paper.
“I’ve answered your question. You don’t have to pay me,” Nabiki
says. “I’ve had my own lessons to learn.”
The okonomiyaki chef frowns. Idly, she kicks
a stray stone straight into the air, unsheathes her spatula and bounces the
stone off the flat end for a while before finally whapping it off the roof. She
holds her hand across her brow, tracking its motion and nods slightly in satisfaction
when a metallic ping sounds in the distance. “Nabiki?” she asks, turning once
more to her companion.
“Hmm?”
“You could call me ‘Ucchan.’
I wouldn’t mind that. It’s just when you say ‘Kuonji-chan’ I think you’re
making fun of me.”
A hint of a smile softens Nabiki’s features
even as she continues to stare into the horizon. “Fine...Ucchan.”
Ukyo turns to look in the same direction. The
aurora that’s been in sky since a month ago is there, turning red, then green,
then blue as it wavers in the sky. “That strange rainbow...I’ve been seeing it
a lot recently.”
Nabiki turns.
She’s looking right at you as she says, “It’s
not a rainbow.”
~~~~~Vol. 3: Life Can Be So Nice~~~~~
~~~~~Scene002:
Sanjuuichi Ice Cream Shop~~~~
“I’m sure he exists”
“What?”
“The kami
of death!”
“Boogiepop?”
“You’re kidding!”
“Because I heard that senior in Furinkan
disappeared.”
“You mean Daisuke Jonouchi?
The police are looking for him.”
“I heard he lived alone with his father. I
don’t know...”
“What do you think, Kasumi-oneechan?”
I smile. “Excuse me?” I was only halfway
paying attention to what the girls were saying. I started going to the ice
cream shop every Friday as a way of rewarding myself for the week’s work. A group
of high school girls shares this tendency; so I’ve unofficially joined their
little clique. They look at me as an older sister, often calling me “oneechan” and often asking me for advice in their personal
affairs, which I’m happy to give.
We are all five of us sitting in one of those
delightful booths that are shaped like a semicircle around the table. I’ve been
enjoying a strawberry parfait and thinking about whether I should start supper
first tonight or take a risk and attempt to clean the bathroom first. I’ve
noticed the grout is turning a little brown.
Kaede, who has a
rather unfortunate hairstyle —so short and wild, and it’s dyed a color that
looks almost orange! — is a dear and repeats the question for me. “Boogiepop. Does he exist?”
“Who
knows? Boogiepop...probably exists.” I take a bite of my parfait, finding it
humorous how they all seem surprised at my answer. I give them a reassuring
look as I say, “But even if he does, he really doesn’t have any affect on this
world.”
~~~~~
They laugh a little and murmur their nervous
assent.
Akane and her friends Sayuri and Yuka are actually part of the
group most times. Yuka is here today, but Sayuri and Akane wanted to see a
movie.
Yuka is actually looking a little down right now, which is a
shame, because normally she has such a pretty face, and while normally I don’t
like curly hair on a Japanese, she pulls it off expertly.
“Yabe! Let’s hit the
arcade!” Kaede asks of her friend sitting next to her
on the edge of the booth. Yabe is a little plainer than she, with the tips of
her ears protruding from long hair and glasses covering her eyes.
She nods and starts to bring her money out
onto the table.
“Anyone else want to come?” Kaede asks, “Arisu,
Yuka...Kasumi?” She laughs a little at my name. She knows full well I don’t
much like the arcade.
Yuka simply shakes her head while Arisu says, “I’m sorry I can’t. There’s a school council
meeting...” Her ink-black hair curves stylishly around her face. Her father is
an American and she has a lovely blend of features, marrying the gracefulness
of Japanese beauty with the strength inherited from that other continent.
Unfortunately I fear she is destined for politics, which will no doubt spoil
her looks before she finds someone to marry.
“Well, see ya!” Kaede says as she and Yabe leave.
~~~~~traffic~~~~~
It behooves the rest of us to leave shortly
afterwards, and we do so, paying and parting company at the door. I turn to
head home when I realize that Yuka has returned.
“Kasumi-oneechan,
could I walk home with you?” Yuka normally takes the subway, which is faster as
her house is five or so blocks farther down the road than my own, but she
sometimes walks with Akane and me for the company.
“Of course,” I tell her and we start down the
sidewalk, the traffic of the road beside us. “So, Yuka-chan, you got the
highest grade in class again...Your parents must be very proud.”
“Daisuke Jonouchi...”
she says oddly as she stops walking.
“Hmm?”
“Jonouchi-kun...they
haven’t found him yet, have they?” She seems a little distressed over this and
I wonder if this is the cause of her dampened spirits of late.
“No, I guess not,” I say, “I’m afraid I don’t
know much about the boy. I’m worried about him though. Poor
soul.”
Yuka raises her left hand to her heart,
“I...I’ve felt this pain...ever since he disappeared.”
A car passes us and I ask, “Yuka-chan, were
you and he...?”
She’s looking down still, as if she hasn’t
heard me. I almost finish the question, but the roar of a passing bus seems to
break her from her reverie and she gives a half-hearted laugh as she explains,
“Oh, no. It’s not like that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! It wasn’t like that at all! With Jonouchi there was...I don’t know...something important.”
“It’s okay,
Yuka-chan,” I say before I walk a few steps ahead of her. I won’t be able to
help her, poor dear. I look up at the sky. There’s a magnificent shimmering
rainbow with all manner of color in its undulating form. The clouds are white
and fluffy and curve into interesting formations around the spectacle. “Oh my! The sky right now is just priceless! It’s almost winter, isn’t it?”
Yuka giggles and I look behind me. “Kasumi...you’re
a strange one.”
“How’s that?” I ask.
“You accept everything for what it is.
Talking to you, I sometimes feel stupid, worrying about little things. You’re a
person of integrity, Kasumi-oneechan.” A white car
rolls by, followed by a fruit truck and she adds, “But...Kasumi...I know from
Akane your family’s not Christian; why do you wear that cross around your
neck?”
~~~~~kousaten ~~~~~
Yuka and I part ways at an intersection just before
home. I watch her walk away. Truthfully, I’m a little embarrassed. “I’m not a
person of integrity,” I say aloud to her back, when she’s too far away to hear.
“I’m just...”
“...just loving this world.”
Across the street, under the curved surveillance
mirror stands Panuru. A head smaller than myself, she has her hair in a perfect orbicular bob around
her child-like face, that smiles over her cross necklace.
“Panuru!”
I call out to her.
~~~~~yomichi~~~~~
That’s right! I’m just
loving this world. I’m loving, affirming, and
accepting.
Some evenings after everyone’s asleep I like
to walk downtown. Just the city at night, the people walking from one place to
another, each with their own purpose, for the most part oblivious to what is
going on around them. I love all of it, and I learned all this love from...her.
I’m walking down the street with Panuru now, following a group of people that don’t know
each other but are all going in the same direction. “To accept the world,” she says looking up at me.
“Even amidst the loss and chaos,” I continue. We both ascend the
stairs to the upper level of the city where all manner of shops and kiosks
still operate. We come across a crowd of people gathering next to a black and
white police car.
One of Ranma-kun’s friends —I believe his name is Mousse? — is being detained by two police officers. One is a young
man, roughly my age; the other is much older, possessing a broad face with
rather chiseled features.
“Morita!” The
younger officer yells, “grab that side!”
“Calm down!” advises the older officer— I
gather his name is Morita—as he grabs the collar of Mousse’s voluminous robe
and pushes him down to the pavement. Mousse crumples weakly, apparently not in
possession of the great strength he held in his fights with Ranma-kun.
He reaches out to me, moaning out something
like “Rie,” and I notice he has a sparkle of saliva
sliding out of one side of his mouth and his eyes are lolling about
haphazardly.
I feel sorry for him of course, but it really
is not my place to interfere, and so I pretend not to see him as we pass by.
“In
this world everything exists,” Panuru says as we
walk along the chain link fence that Ranma-kun was so fond of practicing on, heading
toward where Tofu’s clinic used to be. “Anything
can happen,” she says, “and...”
It was right here, on this section of street
three years ago that I saw Dr. Tofu put his arm around Nabiki as he was returning
to the clinic. I had thought for a time previous that he was interested in me,
but as it turned out, he was more enamored of my younger sister. Every time I
would visit him after that he would act so odd...as if he were purposely trying
to avoid confronting me about something. I suppose my younger sister could have
picked a worse man to lose her virginity to. It’s not my place to judge.
“And everything does happen,” I say aloud.
“Even though there is
suffering you must still love and accept this world.” Panuru fades
from my vision. I was only imagining her
after all.
I smile. I’ve never lost my temper or gotten
upset, because I accept everything for what it is.
“Liar!”
I look up, startled.
Panuru stands
before me now...only she looks like she did that day five years ago... Her head
hangs at a wicked angle, bloody and broken like the rest of her rag doll body.
Her eyes open. They’re looking at me now, those eyes. Accusing.
Threatening. She raises her twisted arm, her finger
pointing directly to my breast.
“LIAR!” she
screams.
I know this is just a hallucination. A side effect of childhood trauma. It’s nothing to get upset
about. She fades away just like always.
Still, I say her name once more under my
breath. “Panuru.”
~~~~~hon-ya~~~~~
The next day, after Akane leaves for school,
I decide to visit the book store. It’s fairly quiet this time of day and the
older lady that works there is pleasant company. She asks about Akane and
Nabiki and then there’s an awkward moment when she realizes I’m not a mother. That I’m less than half her age. Before she can think to ask
of my marriage prospects, I ask if there are any new books that have come in
recently.
To my pleasure, a brand new translation of a book from that
marvelous “Chicken Soup” series has just arrived.
Chicken Soup for the
Teenage Soul it’s called. Although I’m hardly a teenager, I’m not that much
older and if nothing else I might be able to use the insights I find to help my
friends at the ice cream shop. I get two copies, and I ask Mariko-san— that’s
the name of the nice old lady that works here— to gift wrap one of them.
I’m going to visit Panuru
today.
As Mariko-san’s
wrinkled hands deftly fold the paper around the book though, I catch sight of
the clock hanging over a poster advertising a book signing. It’s almost
~~~~~tendou no doujou~~~~~
I rush into the kitchen. Father had an early
meeting with the city council today, and I was hoping to surprise him by baking
cookies, but I have to be quick if I want to get done before he gets back. I
have all the ingredients out; so I’ll go ahead and preheat the oven.
Ranma did show me one practical use of the
Art. If pressed I can cook up to ten times faster now. Of course I’d rather die
than try to use any of the more violent movements, but I try to be practical
about these things.
Just as I open the oven door, though there’s
a terrible screeching and a strange shock of electricity. I jump away from the
oven, startled. The door sticks, only partway open.
After catching my breath for a moment, I try
to move the oven door but it will not budge, and looking at the hinges, I
discover that they are rusted solid.
I look and I see rust now on the faucet, the
steel wool pad I use for cleaning, even the fittings of the hose on the wall
mounted water heater.
“Who?” I hear a male voice call out. It sounds like
Ranma-kun. “Who...?”
“Oh my!” I exclaim.
The voice sounds like its echoing inside me... Through me.
“Who
summoned me?”
~~~~~doki doki~~~~~
I sense something above me and I look up to
find that there’s a strange discoloration in the ceiling. Something is moving
up there. I see colors swirling in the growing stain, like in an oil slick.
Slowly a face begins to take shape. I can see a nose now...a mouth...eyes. the figure solidifies into a definite human form. A young man with black hair in a pigtail. He looks at me and
smiles before dropping to the floor. “Yo!” He greets
with one hand raised.
“Why hello, Ranma-kun!
I must admit you gave me quite a start!”
“Sorry ‘bout that, Kasumi.”
~~~~~unstability~~~~~
“So,” Ranma says conversationally leaning against
the kitchen counter, “You’re the one that called me? Why? How’d ya do it? What kind are you? Are you like Saotome Ranma
or...” Ranma steps closer to me. His eyes go blank for a moment as he seems to
peer into my skull. “Okay, yeah. Now I see. In your brain.
The memories you got...the structure’s there. Cool...cool.”
“Would you like to help me in the kitchen,
Ranma?” I ask, “Then maybe we can talk for a while. It’s been a long time
hasn’t it?”
Ranma smiles and morphs into her girl form.
“Sure, that would be great. You’re making cookies, huh? Sorry I ruined your
oven....”
~~~~~Scene003:
There are swing sets here... jungle gyms, and
slides. Children play oblivious to what happened here five years ago. And that
is as it should be of course. I stand over the small tree growing over where I
found Panuru’s body.
“I brought you the latest ‘Chicken Soup’
book, Panuru. Here, let me read some to you...”
I open to the first chapter “On
Relationships” and read. “Relationships—
of all kinds— are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand,
the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze
tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers.” I close the
book and smile.
“So that’s Panuru,
huh?” Ranma-chan walks out from behind a tree. At my request, she has her
beautiful hair out of its usual pigtail and she’s wearing a lovely sundress.
Strange though...she reminds me of the time
Happosai used that unfortunate “Yin Yang Thank You Ma’am” personality splitting
incense. She walks gracefully toward me as if born a woman and there’s this
eerie prismatic glow about her.
Still, it’s nice to see her again.
“You already accept me, huh? I could do
anything and it wouldn’t faze you? No matter what happens in this world, you
will always love it.”
“Yes,” I nod setting the gift wrapped book on
the ground and standing once again. I close my eyes and grasp the silver cross
dangling from my neck. “That is the wisdom of St. Panuru.”
Abruptly Ranma laughed. “You humans are
strange. You think your silly little theories are special powers or something.”
“I suppose...”
“You still wanna
enlighten people to world love? Panuru’s world love?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know what ya
gotta do.”
I nod my head. I would have never expected
Ranma-chan to be so insightful...so caring. Nabiki-chan told me she was dead
five months ago. Of course it’s Nabiki’s nature to lie
on occasion, I just have to accept that and provide her with a sister’s love.
Anything more would be like grasping sand too tightly.
I’m glad Ranma’s alive in any case, though
perhaps it really wouldn’t matter who she was. She’s simply the first person
aside from myself who understands St. Panuru.
~~~~~furinkan koukou~~~~~
I’m visiting the high school today. Earlier
this morning, I called Yuka-chan and told her I’d like to speak with her about
something. The school brings back so many happy memories. I did well in my
classes here, and I was planning on being a doctor. I remember as a first year
everyone remarked on how easily I adjusted after my mother’s death. Sometimes I
would tell them of how I met Panuru and how she made
me understand world love. They would always give me a confused look and then
smile, saying things like “I’m glad you could find some peace.”
None of them really understood, but I
couldn’t make them understand. So I just stopped trying. Tofu-kun had just
graduated with a degree in Biology two years early, already well on his way to
becoming a doctor. Back then I still thought Tofu and I were romantically
involved. He would always pick me up after class and we’d see a movie or maybe
just go to the Library. After I saw him with Nabiki I decided it wouldn’t be
proper to see him again. He started to act strangely after that. Nabiki was
probably torturing the poor dear, but there wasn’t anything I could really do.
I just accepted what was and went on with my life.
In my senior year my grades took a bit of a
slump. I discovered I really didn’t want to be a doctor like Tofu, and decided
to dedicate my life to being a homemaker. Father still had bouts of severe
depression and Akane was growing more obstinate.
Also... Nabiki had
killed my mother. If she had just called the paramedics Mother might still be
alive, but they wouldn’t put her in jail for that; so I had to watch her around
Akane and Father and try to give her what love I could. Because of these
obligations, I was already spending more and more time at home, cooking and
cleaning and watching.
Becoming a homemaker seems like a foregone
conclusion now, but back then it was a real turning point in my life. I had
spent so much energy trying to learn to be something I would never be. But
being a doctor just wasn’t in the cards for me. I just trusted in St. Panuru and that saw me through..
My life is so much better since I started
loving the world, it bothers me when I see people get
upset about little things. I want to tell them the teachings of St. Panuru. I want them to understand and not be upset anymore.
And now, thanks to Ranma, I can do that.
I remember yesterday, when Ranma-chan and I
were making cookies she started crying, the tears falling into the batter.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t breathe!” She sobbed, “The Manticore...won’t let me escape...Please Kasumi, you’ve got
to tell Nabiki and Akane that I’m sorry...all those people...You got to tell
them Kas...”
Ranma’s face became blank suddenly, and she
smiled.
“Oh my! Ranma-chan,
what was that about? Are you okay?” I asked.
“Sorry bout that, Kasumi-oneechan. That’s the part of me that’s still human.
I had to let it out for the tears.” Ranma winked, “They’re the special
ingredient!”
Ranma seemed better then; so I didn’t press
the issue. I remember how when I first started loving the world I would still
have times when I would despair. It will take Ranma-chan a while to fully
accept the world I guess.
I open the bag of cookies and smell them. So sweet, with a hint of vanilla. My best
cookies yet. They’re special. Anyone that eats them will accept the
teachings of St. Panuru with open arms.
I’m waiting in the computer room for Yuka.
They hadn’t had the computers when I was going to school here. They look a
little impersonal all lined up in rows, lit through the large window by an
overcast sky. The monitors are all dark, as if they’re asleep.
Yuka comes in the door, her pretty face
marred by worry lines and puffy eyes. Her curls are a little unkempt too. She
walks to me and we both look out the window for a while. I’m smiling at the
rainbow in the sky, still there even without sunlight. She’s frowning at some
symbol etched lightly in the ground underneath the clock tower. I noticed it
earlier. It’s circular with many different designs all around it. You can’t see
it from the ground, only here on the third floor where the slight discoloration
is noticeable. It gives me a queer feeling... It’s almost like a crop circle,
only this is lightly etched in the pavement. It’s strange, but anything can
happen in this world. It is better to focus on the positives.
“Kasumi...I just can’t.” Yuka says suddenly.
“Since that day, it’s been getting worse. I remember now what Jonouchi-kun did...Jonouchi-kun...he...”
“Yuka-chan, there’s someone I’d like you to
meet.” Just after I say this, the monitors of all the computers click to life
like thirty electronic eyes opening, their screens now emitting a baleful glow.
Yuka steps back from them, her hand in front of her face. The poor dear hasn’t
learned to accept things as they are. But Ranma says she can help. She says
that Yuka is ready to learn about St. Panuru, that
the cookies are for the others who haven’t attained a level where they can be
reached.
Ranma materializes alongside Yuka in his male
form. His compassionate eyes assessing her even as she backs away, startled
anew. “Who...?” Yuka asks.
“He’s your savior, Yuka-chan. Remember when
you told me I’m so accepting of everything? Yuka, you can be like me too.”
“Really? He’ll be able
to make me feel better...like Jonouchi-kun did?”
Ranma smiles. He
reaches out for Yuka and brings her lips to his. He seems to be drinking all
her worry and fear away...
He has his own
way of enlightening people to the world of St. Panuru...
~~~~~kurasu~~~~~
Omo-sensei hands out the daily quiz to his students. Noting the
empty desk where Daisuke used to sit all the time he shakes his head and
mutters to himself. “It’s starting again...the disappearances...”
When he sets the paper down on Sasaoka
Yuka’s desk, she seems to have a completely blank expression, like she’s
daydreaming or something. “Sasaoka, pull yourself
together,” he commands, “Your last quiz score was very disappointing. Please do
your best on this one okay?”
Yuka looks lazily up at the teacher and
smiles slightly. “Thank you...Sensei.” She says...just before collapsing.
“Sasaoka!”
Omo-sensei shakes Yuka’s shoulder but gets no
response. A string of saliva oozes out of the corner of her mouth reaching her
desk through her curls. “Tendo!” Omo-sensei
yells to Akane, “Go get the nurse, tell her to call the paramedics!”
Akane nods and runs out of the classroom.
~~~~~sirens~~~~~
Sasaoka Yuka is
already cold to the touch when they put her on the stretcher. One of them
reaches to her face to close her open eyes before pulling the sheet over her
head.
You startle awake after an eraser hits your
head. You fell asleep in class again, despite all those caffeine pills.
The dreams...they won’t stop...
~~~~~sanjuuichi ~~~~~
I’m sitting with all the girls in the ice
cream shop. They all loved the cookies. And they’re sprawled on the seat of the
booth relaxing as I talk.
“Yuka-chan died before having the chance to
experience the joy she was promised,” I explain to them
Kaede nods
sleepily, her head with its wild, orange hair almost hitting the table in the
downward motion. “That’s... so sad...”
“That’s part of the world too though, you
must remember.”
“Yes.” Arisu
agrees, her exotic features hidden by her arm as she cradles her head on the
table. “I concur...death...life...”
“Kasumi...?” Yabe asks, her glasses crooked
and her face at an odd cant.
“Yes, Yabe-chan?”
“Am I alive?...Am I
dead?”
I smile, “Well, as long as you love this
world I suppose it doesn’t really matter, hmm?”
“I...suppose not.”
“What did you do to them?” a strident alto
voice demands.
I look up to see Nabiki standing over me,
scowling. Her hair is longer now, paradoxically this
makes her look stronger somehow...less soft. “I just gave them some cookies,
Nabiki-chan. They really enjoyed them. Here...” I pull one out of the bag and
hand it to her, “would you like to try one?”
Nabiki snatches it out of my hand, breaks it
in half and brings it to her nose. She glares at me. “Slave!” she seethes. “Where did you get this, Kasumi? Were you
looking through my things?”
“I don’t see why I should answer if you’re
going to be rude about it, Nabiki-chan. Please calm down and we’ll talk about
this like mature women.”
Nabiki throws both pieces of my cookie to the
floor. I notice Nabiki’s wearing those clunky combat boots with her black pants
(they are much too baggy to be called slacks by any stretch) stuffed inside
them. She’s really let herself go. She used to at least appear feminine, even though she harbored some ideals that clashed
with how a young girl should behave. Now it’s as if she doesn’t even care about
that anymore. I am almost sure that her hair is long more from not visiting a
hair salon then from any sort of fashion statement. I notice the strap that
holds the crossbow to her back...she’s even starting to act more violent. I
fear she may have lost sight of her goals entirely.
“Kasumi, listen to me,” She says, “These
cookies have a drug in them, it destroys people’s will and puts them in a
hypnotic state. Kasumi, if they get addicted they end up in a coma! I’ve seen
it before. You’ve got to stop giving these to people. Please tell me you only
made one batch.”
“Now, Nabiki, I’m sure you’re exaggerating.
That isn’t lady-like. Besides, I didn’t put any drugs in the cookies. I’d never
do something like that. Why are you so upset, Nabiki-chan? I don’t remember
seeing you this...crazed.”
“Kasumi, there are times for composure. This
is NOT one of them. This is a time for getting pissed off, because whether she
knows it or not, my older sister is helping the same thing that killed...almost
killed me and murdered more than a hundred others.”
“Now, Nabiki-chan, it isn’t nice to fib...”
Nabiki slams her hand on the table. “Wake up,
Kasumi! Ranma’s dead, and whoever’s helping you, killed him! You can’t run away
from reality. You can’t make things better by ignoring them!” A beeping sound
emits from the pocket of Nabiki’s black pants, and she pulls out a white,
rectangular object. “It’s here!” She exclaims. She grabs the bag of cookies
from me and says “Whoever’s giving you this stuff, stop talking to them
immediately. I’m worried about you.” With that she runs out of the door of the
shop.
I see the stares of the other customers and
give them an embarrassed smile for my sister’s
behavior.
I look to my companions who look back at me
with watery eyes. Suddenly I feel a twinge...is it really a good thing that
they are in this...trance state? They appear barely conscious and...
But of course I’m forgetting myself. I’m
helping to make their lives better. I just have to accept that some sacrifices
must be made. Still...I would never have done something like this if it hadn’t
been for Ranma...I never realized how much I missed her until she came back.
I’ll have to ask her about it when I see her
again. But for right now there isn’t much I can do to change the situation.
“Can you all make it home all right?”
They all try for a nod with varying levels of
success. “We can make it home. All right!” Yabe says
with a vague giggle as her glasses fall off her face into her lap and she makes
a slapping motion to try to catch them after they’ve already landed.
“Then I’ll say good bye for now.” I get up
and leave them to their own devices.
They should be okay.
~~~~~yomichi~~~~~
It’s still fairly early in the evening.
People are just getting off work and I walk amongst large clusters of them now.
Currently I’m stopped at a light, waiting for the sign to change to
“walk.” I look behind me, but I can only
see the grim faces of people coming back home after work. No
one familiar.
“Who are ya lookin for?” Ranma asks, looking up at me. She looks very
charming in her blue jumper and green blouse. The glow around her has lessoned
somehow and she seems...not more real, of course she looks real, she is real, right? But more normal I think
is the term I’m looking for. There’s something about her eyes though...
I decide to tell her the truth. “I was
looking for Panuru. She’s usually with me when I go
out at night.”
“Aw, don’t worry Kasumi. She probably just
figures she don’t need to stick around, since I’m
here.”
“Yes but...” The music that plays so that the
blind can know when to cross echoes out of the speakers above me and I’m
startled into walking. I feel like I’m being carried by the crowd of people
behind me. Suddenly...it’s like I’m not in control.
“Tendo Nabiki.” Ranma intones seriously. “We
need to teach her world love.”
“My sister?”
“Yes. Over there.” Ranma-chan points to a
corner of the street which houses a combination convenient store and pharmacy.
The bend in one of the neon letters of its sign sizzles a little with
electricity. There is a phone booth in front of the store, covered in
incomprehensible graffiti. “That should do. It would be better if you had a
cell but...”
I walk to the booth, getting my phone card
out of my purse.
Ranma sees me do this and shakes her head.
“You don’t need that. I lured your sister away by creating a concentrated pulse
of electricity. Manipulating a pay phone should be no biggie.”
Nodding dumbly, I slide open the accordion
door of the booth and step inside. “I don’t know her cell phone number.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just tell her to
meet you on the bridge in the old city redevelopment area...and make sure to
mention that I’m with you.”
I lift the receiver off of its cradle and
Ranma-chan puts her hand on the box. There’s a faint tingling sensation, and
then I hear ringing.
~~~~~kitaguchi park~~~~~
Just yesterday this place was full of
boisterous children playing on the swings, the slide, the
jungle gym. Now...it’s abandoned. Everything is covered in rust now. It must
have happened overnight somehow. The dusty red color of it seems almost like
blood in the twilight of the sunset.
Nabiki runs into the playground a white
rectangular object in her hand before her. Suddenly, she stops.
She turns around.
“Where is it?” she asks in a frustrated tone.
She sees you sitting underneath a tree.
“You. You were on
the roof the other day, weren’t you? When I was talking to Ukyo?”
Apparently this isn’t just another one of
your visions. It doesn’t matter whether you’re awake or asleep anymore. They
just keep coming. It’s getting hard to tell whether you’re here or...there now. You nod yes to Nabiki’s
question.
“You know something about what’s going on.
Tell me.”
You shake your head. “I don’t know anything.
I just get these...dreams and...”
“Nevermind.”
Nabiki waves you off. “Did you see anything strange come through here?”
“No...just...there’s
rust everywhere now.”
Nabiki gives all of the playground equipment
a cursory glance. “Yes...it’s the Manticore. It’s
traveling through electricity now and the ionization of the air is causing the
metal to oxidize faster. I tracked it over here, but...it’s gone now.”
Just then you hear the first notes of
Madonna’s “Material Girl” played out in shrill mechanical tones. Nabiki takes
her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. “Hello?...Kasumi?...”
her eyes widen. “What?” Her face becomes grim as she straightens herself. Her
free left hand touches her neck. “Ranma.”
You can feel the vision coming now. You grit
your teeth in preparation. When it starts you realize immediately that it is
not a vision of the present or the future, but of the past.
~~~~~furinkan koukou~~~~~
The three of them were lying on the floor of the
storage shed unconscious: Sayuri Yamaguchi, Kei Niitoki,
and Ranma Saotome. Nabiki had dragged them here. They would be waking up soon,
the knock out gas only lasted a couple of hours.
Ryoga came up behind her, his clothes torn
and stained with old blood, his gait uneven. He seemed to be struggling to
breathe.
Nabiki returned her attention to the three on
the floor. “It should be one of them.” She was hoping it was Ranma. Even though it would mean he was dead, she still hoped, because it
would mean it wasn’t her fault... that there really wasn’t anything she could
have done anyway. As for the
other two, Sayuri was Akane’s friend and visited the house a lot while Akari had been nursing Ryoga back to health in the dojo.
She and Akari had become friends. Most likely when
Kei, the class leader gave the announcement for Nabiki to go to the
broadcasting room to discuss Akari’s disappearance,
she came out of curiosity.
As for Kei, she was the only student with
access to the intercom, so she was no doubt innocent as well. But Nabiki could
take no chances. It was obvious that the call on the intercom was a setup. So
instead of entering the broadcasting room she opened the door, threw a gas bomb
inside and closed it again. Later, when nearly everyone in school had left for
home, Nabiki dragged the bodies to the sports equipment shed, where they were
now.
Ranma was starting to wake up. The black sleeve of his Chinese shirt came up to his face to rub
the sleep from his eyes.
Nabiki let Ryoga in front of her. He held his
arm outstretched, toward Ranma, his palm outward. He closed his eyes. Then he
moved to Sayuri, to Kei. Finally he lowered his arm to his side turned to
Nabiki and shook his head.
“None of them is the Manticore?”
Nabiki asked.
“None,” Ryoga replied. Nabiki stood for a
minute, thinking. It just didn’t make any sense!
“What the...” Ranma said, standing
unsteadily. “Nabiki...and Ryoga.” He cracked his knuckles, smirking with his
eyes half-lidded. “It’s been a long time...Echoes.”
“It’s been a long time,” Ryoga nodded sadly.
Ranma’s eyes thinned.
Nabiki took in a breath. The last time Ranma
and Ryoga met was at the failed wedding. That was before Ryoga had become
Echoes. There was no way Ranma could know that unless...
Kei and Sayuri were just starting to stir.
Nabiki rushed to them helping them both up. “I’m sorry, I don’t have time to
explain, but...get out of here NOW!”
But they were both too dazed. Nabiki heard a footstep behind her.
She whirled around. Kodachi was standing there, a stoic expression on her face.
Suddenly it all fell into place. It was Kodachi! Kodachi was the Manticore! But Ryoga was too far away to help.
Nabiki surprised herself by making a sweeping crescent kick, which
Kodachi easily dodged. She seemed to disappear then. She was fast, but in
almost all cases when someone speeds off like that, they attack your
back...Nabiki dodged just as Kodachi’s fingers from
her outstretched arm popped in a small sonic boom where Nabiki’s neck would
have been. If she had not moved, she would have died.
It had been five years since Nabiki studied
martial arts at all and she was surprised at how easily it was coming back, but
she also knew that she couldn’t keep this up. She pulled out the stun gun from
her pocket, turned it on.
Kodachi thankfully didn’t seem to have her
propensities toward ribbons since becoming a man eater. She advanced on Nabiki
directly, and, betting on blind luck, Nabiki lunged at her face with the stun
gun.
Arcs of electricity flew out of the weapon as
it came near Kodachi, she was thrown back into a shelf of soccer balls right
next to Ryoga. Her face still crackled and popped with electricity for a moment
making branching welts across one side of her face.
Ryoga, seizing his opportunity, grabbed
Kodachi by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
A ribbon fell from her hair. Pink with little black pigs on it. Akari’s.
Seeing this, Ryoga growled in rage and
slammed Kodachi once more into the wall.
But then Ranma rushed from behind and stabbed
the side of Ryoga’s neck with a makeshift syringe made out of a pen.
Slave
Ryoga let Kodachi go and staggered backward,
making a choking sound.
“There,” Ranma said, “That stuff’s poisonous
to you, right? You might have evolved but ya ain’t immortal, pigbrains. Say
hello to Akari for me in the next life.”
Nabiki knew then that it was time to leave.
She edged toward the door hoping she could maneuver herself into a good
position before Ranma returned his attention to her. She heard a sound that
froze her though. CLICK CLICK CLICK
CLICK. The sound of an exacto knife being extended.
“Sayonara, Nabiki-chan,” Ranma saluted and spun
the blade at her.
She tried to dodge but she was too late. The
point lodged deep into her neck, slicing through the carotid artery. There was
a warm splash on her shoulder that she knew was blood. She pulled the blade
out. Already the inside of the shed looked darker and she felt dizzy. She
staggered toward Ryoga and then collapsed, her head making a loud thud against
the concrete floor.
Her vision fading, she could just make out a
pool of blood spreading from her face.
“Damn it, Nabiki,” She heard Ranma’s voice as
if from far away. “For some reason I’d thought you’d be more of a challenge.”
Oddly, there was a tremulous note of sincerity in the sarcasm.
He wants someone to stop him, Nabiki
thought...and then she was gone.
~~~~~kitaguchi park~~~~~
The vision takes only moments to see, and
when you come back to reality Nabiki is there in the park next to the rusted jungle
gym and swing set, yelling into her phone. “Kasumi get away from him! You hear
me? That’s not Ranma that’s...shit!” She mashes the end button and turns to
you. “What is it?” She asks.
“You...died.”
“How did....?” She nods, “You had a vision.
That’s an ability Echoes had...Come on.” She grabs you by the wrist. “You’re
coming with me.”
~~~~~old city
redevelopment center~~~~~~
It’s so nice that the city is always seeking
to improve itself.
That’s what I should be thinking. But I miss
the sakura blossoms. The trees that used to be
here...Now there’s only this rusted metal bridge joining two skeletal half
finished buildings together. To be fair, it probably wasn’t rusted before we
got here, but...
It’s part of the world and I love it. It may
be ugly but it has a different sort of beauty—much the way the smell of garbage
is just evidence that the microbes are doing their job and after a while the
garbage will be food for plants, trees, flowers.
“Ranma-chan, what are we doing here?”
“We’ll wait here until Nabiki comes, and then
we’ll make our move,” Ranma smiles impishly, patting my shoulder. “If she
thinks I’m here she’ll definitely come. My name’s the best bait for her.”
“’Bait,’ you say...It...it
feels like we’re doing something wrong...”
“You are
doing something wrong, but the bait isn’t Saotome...it’s you.” The voice is
strange, mechanical yet organic, it echoes through me and all around me. It’s
feminine...There’s a tingle all through my body like static electricity and I
see a shadowy figure materialize in front of me.
“May I ask your name?”
“I am what your friends call ‘the death kami.’“ She’s wearing all black. A cloak
with a strange white and black ribbon that floats above her shoulders and a cylindrical
hat of some sort. When she steps into the light and I can see her face,
I’m startled to find it’s Kodachi.
“Ranma-chan! It’s
Kodachi! She’s come to visit! ...Ranma-chan?” I turn to find my erstwhile
companion, but Ranma isn’t there.
“I am not Kodachi. That girl is dead. I am
only using her face. Similarly the entity you were talking to was not Saotome
Ranma but a man-eater. ‘Manticore’
in ancient Persian. The old personalities of Kodachi and Ranma are bound
in that creature, but it only uses them for its own ends.”
“I had to let it out for the tears...they’re the secret ingredient.” I
shake my head clear of the memory. I haven’t been doing anything wrong, only
helping people realize world love...
“You were supplying it with a source. Allowing it to materialize. You were helping the enemies of
this world.”
“Now, Death-chan,” I laugh, “I’m afraid you
got it wrong. Ranma and I aren’t the enemies of this world! It’s the other way
around we...”
“You are not the real Panuru..”
“Wha...?”
“Your world love and Panuru’s
world love are completely different. Your fate was already sealed when you took
the cross from her that day.” Her eyes are burning into me and I have to
struggle to meet them and not turn away.
“It’s not like that! When I took her cross I
took over her world love! I was respecting her memory and...and...”
“Liar!”
I turn and see her again. Panuru. Her head bent at an
odd angle, her limbs twisted, her face bloody. Her
eyes bloated in their sockets...glaring at me...
“LIAR!”
Tears come flowing from my eyes, “I’m not
lying! Please, believe me, Panuru! I...I...”
~~~~~Scene004:
Junior High School~~~~~
“Kasumi, don’t cry.” Panuru sat beside
me on the bank of the canal, she looked younger than I,
even back then. we were both sixteen, just a month
into high school. The serial killer tore apart my mother just a week before.
Nabiki had watched her die. It was wrong of me to hate my sister, but I
couldn’t help it. She was something concrete, while the serial killer was just
a vague shadow.
I was crying because the evening before, at
the funeral, Nabiki had an eulogy prepared, while
I...I had not even thought about saying anything. I just stayed in my room
looking through mothers old recipes and the books she published. Nabiki’s
speech was...it was beautiful. Anyone listening to her would know that she
loved Mother as much as any of us. And yet I still hated her. I hated her even
more I think, because she was able to do something I could not.
She said goodbye.
I met Panuru at the
funeral. She was my mother’s cousin’s daughter, but despite being related to me
and going to the same school as me, I had never met her. She made it a point to
be friendly to me for some reason and after class the next day she asked if she
could walk with me.
We talked about so many things, but I forgot
most of it. What I remember is what she told me that day at the canal and
afterwards.
“Why are we born?” I asked her, “Why do we
have to live?”
“Why do you think?” She asked me. My mother,
she used to say the true end was a privilege to those who hadn’t been born yet,
that once a person is born they will never feel peace again as long as they
live.
“That’s what I don’t understand!”
“There is no reason.” She smiled...she was so
peaceful... “Somehow, we are born, and we live. That’s about it.” She threw a
pebble idly into the canal. The orange and pink from the sunset sparkled off
the crown of water from the splash. “In this world, everything exists. No matter
how you suffer, this is still our world. Even though there is suffering, you
still have to love and accept this world. These are the words of St. Panuru.” She fingered the cross that hung around her neck.
“St. Panuru...who’s
that?” I asked. That’s right...her name wasn’t really Panuru...it was Miyazaki Shiriko,
I think.
She turned to me, beaming. “It’s a secret!”
I started calling her Panuru
at the train station as we waited for the train that would take her back home.
“Don’t call me that!” She protested.
“It’s alright! I say it out of respect!” I
said, “I want to learn more about St. Panuru.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And more about this
world, about love, about affirmation, and so much more.”
Her train came and she stepped on board. She
turned around, “Do you want to get together again tomorrow?”
“Yes!”
“After school, in
“Okay! See you!” And the train’s door slid
closed between us. Her face was so sweet, smiling kindly. Her
hair in a perfect bob. Even her school uniform, it was immaculate. I
remember her at that moment more clearly than any other, because that was the
last time I saw her alive.
After school, in
And then, in my mind I heard her words: “This is the world... No matter how you
suffer, this is still our world.”
I calmed down then.
I nodded.
“I understand, Panuru.”
And I reached down, underneath her cold neck, and gently removed her cross
necklace, fastening it so that it hung over my heart.
~~~~~old city
redevelopment area~~~~~
“I took over Panuru’s
will!” I tell Death. “I accepted the world for what it is.”
The specter in front of me with Kodachi’s
face shakes her head. “What you accepted was not the world. It was simply her
death.”
Her eyes aren’t Kodachi’s blue color, I
notice now, but a strange, glowing yellow. They pierce right through me...I
feel like I’m waking up after a long sleep.
“You didn’t take over
anything from Panuru. You’re just pretending to love
this world in order to protect yourself from it. And it was that ‘love’ that
gave that thing this chance. Your pitiful attempt to evolve allowed him to
materialize in this world.”
“Evolve?” I look away from those burning
eyes, to the rusted pipes and gratings around me. And suddenly it hits me. Ranma appearing through the ceiling, rusting the oven door.
Ranma...crying into the batter, telling me to give the
cookies to everyone, to father...Ranma...killing Yuka-chan while I watched,
smiling....
I grab the sides of my head, stumbling
backward, “No...NO!”
Boogiepop—she’s Boogiepop! She’s real!— glides in front of me. “Did the rainbow disappear?” She
asks me.
I feel something release within me, like all
this time I’ve been filled with some gas that’s kept me afloat, and now all of
it has been let out. I fall to the ground. “I had no choice,” I say, and
suddenly I realize I’ve been saying it all along, “I had to or I couldn’t
continue living. What else could I have done? In this fucked up world...how
should I have lived?”
I look up at Boogiepop, at the stoic face,
those burning eyes...I don’t even see Kodachi in there anymore...I reach up.
“Take me!” I beg her, “Take me like you took Jonouchi!”
“I can’t take you,” she says, and I think
those words would quiver in my insides even without her strange voice. “I’m
sorry, but you’re not even worth taking.” She glides back away from me, into
the shadows, and disappears.
I am alone.
“Boogiepop!” I yell
out. But no one answers.
~~~~~yomichi~~~~~~
She is stumbling down an alley way just
outside of the redevelopment center. Her long hair is in disarray, her house
dress splotched with dirt from falling on the ground. “Help me!” she pleads.
“Help me!” She screams out again. “Save me from this world!”
A voice fills her mind, a young girl in an
accusing tone: “Liar! LIAR! LIAR!”
Her hand goes to a cross hanging from her
neck. She rips it off...throws it to the ground. “Help me! Somebody...help me!”
At the end of the alley way she sees a heavyset officer with a chiseled
face...she remembers him from the night she saw Mousse. Officer Morita, is his name. “Help me officer!” And she grabs his
body like a drowning woman.
“What a nice surprise,” he says, looking down
at her.
He smiles.
You hear bones snapping, blood splattering,
inhuman laughter...
~~~~~
You are back, holding desperately to Nabiki’s
waist as she speeds through the city streets at night on the black and chrome
motorcycle. She stops at a red light. “Can you see her? Where is she?” she asks
over the idling engine.
You tell her as best you can where you saw
her after she left the unfinished bridge. You worry that it’s already too
late...
When Nabiki passes the alley you nudge her
and point to where it is. You see Morita getting out of his white and black
patrol car a little down the road. Nabiki u-turns on to the
side walk via a wheel chair ramp and speeds to the alley way and inside.
There she is, just like in your vision. Tendo
Kasumi, her hair in disarray, her dress splotched with dirt. “Somebody help
me!” She pleads.
Nabiki scrambles off the motorcycle, barely
giving you a thought as she tears your arm from her waist and runs to her
sister. Kasumi and Nabiki embrace each other tightly. Tears stream down
Kasumi’s face. “Kill me, Nabiki!” She cries, “Kill me! I deserve to die! End my
suffering! Save me from this world!”
“Easy, sis,” she
says quietly, rubbing her older sister’s back, “You’ve got some work to do
remember? I can’t make enough money for us to live on, save the world, AND take
care of Daddy and Akane, now can I?” Her voice cracks just a little at the last
part, and you realize that Nabiki is crying too.
You look out of the alley at the street.
Officer Morita pauses at the opening. He glares at you... as if he knows...and then he continues walking.
Looking back past Nabiki and Kasumi still
cradling each other...you see a glint of silver. You find the motorcycle’s
kickstand, let it down, get off the bike and walk over to what you saw.
On the dark asphalt, glinting from the light
of a streetlamp, is a silver cross
“In this world everything exists. Anything can happen, and everything
does happen...”
You see a spark of electricity sizzle across
it for a moment before it jumps up a nearby streetlamp
and in three directions along the power lines over head. You stare at it for a
few moments, then...on impulse you pick it up.
It’s a little tarnished now. You wipe off
some of the dirt. It could be polished again. It’s not worthless. You get the
impression that it is a good thing, that it was just misused.
Maybe you’ll change your mind later. For now
though, you keep it with you.
Looking at Kasumi, crying in the arms of her
sister, you find yourself muttering something under your breath...
“Liar.”
~~~~~[END]~~~~~
Love For a Pure Girl...
Next: Volume
004: My Fair Lady