Death's Soft Embrace
(second installment)A little note for all of you who don't know her already- Hotaru is one of the characters from Sailormoon, a pretty little girl with dark hair who transforms into Sailorsaturn. Her name means "Firefly" -a little punning reference I use in this story. Her character is sort of like Gosunkugi's, so I've made them cousins in my stories
All heads turned to see Gosunkugi Hikaru, sitting as usual in the far corner of the class. He put on a half-smile, then opened a book on his desk, almost smugly ignoring the stares he had drawn.
"Kobeno?" Midori-sensai called out cheerily. The class was absolutely silent; you could have heard the proverbial pin drop. Everyone was staring, unbelieving, at Gosunkugi. He looked up over his book at them, then raised an eyebrow and added, "Ano.... what is it?" The book concealed his smile.
"You- you.... Weren't you dead?" Ranma exclaimed.
"Umm, I guess not." he replied quietly. Midori-sensai looked a bit confused, but continued to call out names.
Through the school day, Gosunkugi Hikaru continued to draw stares from classmates and teachers. At lunch, a message on the tannoy system requested that, if he was alive, he was to report to the principal.
There was a knock on the principal's door. "Come in," he called, putting aside the coconut he'd been meditating on. A boy with sunken eyes peered through the door.
"Oh! Hello, student! How can I help you today?" Kouchou exclaimed cheerily to the boy, gesturing for him to come in. Gosunkugi looked at the garrish batik-print and lei he was wearing with slight incredulity, but came in anyways.
"Well.... you see,... I'm Gosunkugi Hikaru, and I'm not dead."
"You're not dead? Well, that's rather odd, you see, because I was told you were! Because of that, I've taken your name off the graduation list; if you want to pass, you'll have to get me a..... what IS the opposite of a death certificate?"
Hikaru looked confused. "Graduation list?!" he exclaimed, "Well then put me back on! I'm still alive, and I don't want to fail the year!"
The principal said, "Well, I suppose I can put you back on. But next time, don't pull a stunt like that. I don't want misfit students in my school."
He nodded, fuming slightly, and walked out.
I guess I'm going to have to confirm that I'm still alive, legally..... What am I supposed to say to them, though? Oh frig...... He sighed, and went back to class. Somehow, the thrill of creeping his classmates out had worn off; now he was seriously considering his situation and it didn't seem too good. If his parents had already confirmed to the rest of the world that yes, Gosunkugi Hikaru was dead, the rest of the world would be likely to ask some questions when he told them otherwise. And what could he say? "I was reincarnated?" maybe? Even he wasn't really sure what had brought him back from the dead, and he still didn't understand what that thing had said about him being an agent of death......
Ranma scratched his forehead, in deep thought. Ever since Gosunkugi popped up again, he couldn't help but wonder how the hell he came back to life- it was too weird for words.
"Maybe it was just some kinda sick prank," he thought aloud, "But that isn't like anything he's done before. I can't even see a motive to it!"
In the past, Gosunkugi had done some strange things. When he first arrived at Furinkan school, he had made instant enemies with Ranma and Kuno, and had gone through great effort to trap and/or kill both of them; all of his plans were easily avoided, and seemed to end up the worse for him, though. Ranma had never had any real hard feelings against him, apart from the fact that he was constantly intruding on himself and Akane, but he couldn't deny (nor that he did) that the guy was totally nuts!
"The only possible explaination I can think of is.... magic..." Ranma concluded, still confused. Could it have been magic? Gosunkugi-kun had shown (sort of) magical abilities before; he was able to create a lightning storm and somehow avoid having his hair set on fire by the candles he wore, if that did count as magic. Ranma shrugged, and got up. There was a knock on his room door.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Ranma," Kasumi's voice replied, "There's someone at the door to see you."
It was Hiroshi. "Ranma," he said nervously, "There's something I've gotta ask you about."
"What?"
"Ano.... well, when you were in China, did you ever hear of any wizards who brought people back to life, or something like that?"
Ranma sighed. "No, and I can't figure out how Gosunkugi came back from the dead, either. But it's pretty weird, and I would like to know the answer."
Hiroshi half-whispered, "I did hear that he was a devil-worshipper. Why else would he have all that magic stuff?"
It is said, "That the dead should walk again defies all laws of nature and continuity" Someone coming back to life without explaination, especially someone as creepy as Gosunkugi, seemed to speak of evil and the unknown. Curiosity drove Hiroshi to find the answer, but fear followed him close behind.
"I guess it's up to us to find out," Ranma declared, "And there's only one guy who can tell us; Gosunkugi-kun himself."
Hikaru slowly entered the house. He could hear his parents talking in the living room in quiet voices, and he slowly, gingerly walked in. "Ano..." he muttered, trying to draw their attention. His father's face distorted, and he let out a gasp and fainted. His mother looked petrified, but angry.
"What are you?!" she demanded. He looked at her unhappily, and said, "I know you're not going to believe me, but I'm not dead. I don't know how, but I woke up in the morgue, and I......"
She scanned his person, then stood up and walked over to him. "You are Hikaru," she exclaimed, gripping his shoulders for a reality check, "But how?"
"I don't know. I guess I should just count my blessings...."
"And you will start seeing a counsellor. I have no intention of losing my only child, especially at his own hands. You've been lucky once, but next time you might just end up dying. You only have one life, you know."
He bowed apolagetically. "Gomenne.... Oka-san...."
She turned away from him and walked out of the room. He stood there for a few minutes, no treally knowing what to do, and sat on the couch. His father came to again, and, not appearing to notice Hikaru's presence, walked off, shaking his head. He sighed.
"So what now?" he muttered to himself, "What should I do? Get on with my life, I guess. If I've survived a twenty-story fall, then I guess I really can't be killed." Vaguely curious about this, he decided to test it.
In the kitchen, he rummaged through the drawer before coming across a long knife, probably for cutting meat. He stood up against the wall and turned it in on himself, but a knock on the door startled him, and he dropped the knife. He went to answer the door, somehow relieved at not having stabbed himself.
It was Saotome. "Konbanwa, Gosunkugi-kun," he said in a casual drawl, leaning against the doorframe. Two other boys that Hikaru recognized as classmates were there as well; both looked somewhat confused and scared. "What... what is it?" Hikaru asked, feeling suddenly threatened. Saotome-kun looked at him, grimly.
"There are some things I'd like to ask you," he explained, uncrossing his arms and standing up. Gosunkugi shivered, and meekly gestured for them to come in. Maybe this is the lynch mob or something, he thought.
"Ano.... well, what do you want to know...?"
Ranma's eyes narrowed with frustration; what else would he want to know from Gosunkugi? "You know what I'm going to ask....." he said.
Hiroshi exclaimed, "How the hell did you come back to life?"
"I- I don't know! It's...." He started shaking visibly.
Ranma exclaimed, "Hey- calm down, man, we just wanna know if something weird happened to you or something. Were you actually dead?"
He shook his head, confused. "I-I....."
"Yeah?"
"Uh....I'm...... I don't really...."
"Don't worry about it! We- we were just wonderin' how you... uh, like came back from the dead..." Ranma exclaimed. Geez, he thought, this guy's pretty spastic....
Hiroshi and Daisuke left quickly, unnerved. Ranma looked, confused, at the shivering figure in front of him. Somehow, he pitied Gosunkugi, despite his undeniable weirdness. Slowly he regained himself, and muttered, "There's something... that I think I should show you, Saotome-kun....."
"Hey!"
Ranma shot his hand out, trying to grab the boy who had jumped the rail. He wasn't fast enough, and he watched with a mix of horror and curiosity as Gosunkugi landed with an audible *thud* on the ground below. He ran back to the elevator, and hopped in before it closed. On the ground, a small crowd had gathered to look at the boy who'd just thrown himself from the Tokyo Tower. Ranma jumped out as soon as the elevator hit ground level, and ran over to his former aquaintance. "Sama..." Ranma muttered, disgusted. It was sort of unreal, seeing someone dead, like you thought they'd spring back to life again but knew that they wouldn't. A man in a business suit took out a cel-phone and said, "I'll call the police," and someone ordered the crowd to clear out. Ranma looked, from a distance, at the crushed, bleeding corpse that lay on the ground. And suddenly, it moved.
A twitch ran through it, like a current of electricity. Ranma yelled, and the people turned to watch as it moved again. Slowly, it sat up. The eyes blinked, and the head moved, then the boy lurched to his feet and walked towards Ranma. He smiled.
"See?" he said. Ranma supressed the urge to be sick, and looked at him. His neck was twisted, maybe even snapped, and blood poured out of his nose and mouth.
"You're... alive..?"
"Hai."
Horrified, Ranma swooned. Hikaru looked at him, then picked up his inert form, and with great effort, dragged it away. Eventually he tired, and deposited Ranma on a bus-stop bench. You should be all right, he thought with a morbid smile as he walked away. In a gross way, it pleased him to know that he'd brought down the great Saotome Ranma, at last.
When he got home, his parents were gone. He went to the kitchen, and put the knife back in the drawer where he'd found it. A sudden pain in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since.... well, a long time. He found some arare in the cupboard and resolved to eat them. In the back of the fridge, he noticed a bottle with english writing on the side. He opened it and smelled the contents; alchohol. He shrugged, and put that on the table too.
"Why the hell not," he said aloud, "After all I've been through, getting drunk couldn't hurt..."
Actually, he'd never tried alchohol before in his life. His parents drank occasionally, but most Japanese teenagers had enough common sense to know that it would not help them in their hectic schedule and competetive schooling. But the way he was feeling, he really couldn't care less. Confused, tired, depressed, bored.... he wasn't even sure if he'd ever even loved Akane, especially considering the trouble she'd caused him now. He'd died, woken up in a morgue, someone had told him that he was Death; did that mean he had special powers? Feh. He'd gotten over every fancy and delusion he'd ever had now, and was left with was a cold, empty feeling and the realization that he'd been living like an idiot for the past 16 years; the only thing that inspired him to carry on any further was his hunger. He sat down and ate some of the rice crackers, then looked at the bottle again. I've heard that alchohol can do weird things to you; it might just be fun to try...
He took a glass and filled it with the stuff. It had an almost pretty look to it; a sort of amberish color that seemed to radiate warmth. He took in a deep breath, still looking at the sunset colors, then chugged it.
"Gyaaak!" he exclaimed, wrapping his hands around his throat. It was like fire; it burned his mouth and throat and made him feel sick to his stomach. Choking, he tried to catch his breath, and then went to the sink and filled-up the glass with water. After drinking two glasses the pain stopped, but he could still taste the bitterness, and ate a few of the crackers to get rid of it. Feeling suddenly guilty, he put the bottle back where he'd found it, opened a window to clear the smell, and went to his room.
"Feh."
He looked out the window, and tried to figure out what had possessed him to such stupidity. He'd gotten some of it on his sleeve, and now he smelled like a sot. He was wondering if the booze would have any adverse effects on him, and how much trouble he'd be in now if his parents found out when suddenly an explosion went off in the back of his head.
Oof, he thought, What- what was that? A wave of dizziness swept over him, and he sat down on his bed and tried to think. "Baaakaaa," he grumbled to himself, "Now you're gonna get it. Didn't know that that much would actually make you... uhh..."
He suppressed a belch, and flopped over onto his side, still dizzy. It passed, and was replaced with a tingly feeling that ran through his body and made him feel warm. He smiled, feeling suddenly relaxed, and looked around the room. The last light of the sun cast soft pink shadows all over, giving it a cozy appearance. A noticeboard with pictures of Akane tacked to it seemed to glow in the pinkness, and as the photos reflected the soft light, Akane was unrecognisable and no longer important in his life. There was a pattern in the stucco on his wall that he hadn't noticed before, and he brought out a hand to trace it. Annoyed when he couldn't reach it, he stood up to go over and take a more intimate look. His legs buckled underneath him, and he fell over onto his hands and knees. It was a sort of dizzy, euphoric feeling, almost like laughing gas but more..... heady? Yeah. He stayed there for a minute, panting, then sat up and started to laugh. Off in the distance he though he heard a car and some feet, but he ignored the stupid things; Why did I come over here, now? he thought.
"By geez, I've forgotten!" he exclaimed to all and sundry with a hysterical giggle. He tried to remember, but gave up when he got bored of it. Sitting upright, he became dizzy again and leaned back against the wall. His bed looked like it was moving around the room with a sort of waving motion. He tried to get up on it again, but it was moving too much so he let it go. The people were downstairs in the kitchen, and he wondered aloud, "Do you think they're gonna notice that? I'm gonna be in trouble.... really... really..... big..."
Unhappiness brought a sudden nausea, and he doubled over with the pain and started to feel sorry for himself. "This isn't nice," he whimpered, "Why're you doin this to me?" He panted, seeing lights flash in front of his eyes, and then he heard voices. His parents had turned on the television, and it sounded like there was a conference going on in the living room now. Each voice seemed grossly amplified and distinguished as he listened, and now they seemed to distort, kind of. He thought, in a half-hearted way, how he was probably going to be sick in a minute and should go to the bathroom, and he got to his feet and made for the door and fumbled with it, then managed to get it open and ran into the hall. He took two steps, stumbled over onto all fours and was noisily sick, then passed out.
He was slowly aroused by the feeling of wetness against his face and someone hissing his name. Groaning, he turned his head to the speaker, and saw the vague form of his mother looking down at him.
"Hikaru!" she said, "Get up!" With some considerable effort, he achieved a sitting position and looked over at her. "Yuh...yeah?" he managed to croak. She looked at him critically, then helped him to his feet. He reeled, and she grabbed a firmer hold on his shoulder before leading him to his bed. He felt absolutely miserable now; his mother didn't seem to suspect anything, for which he was infinitely grateful. She looked at him again, and said, "Are you feeling all right?"
He uttered a moan, to which she replied, "I'll get you some medicine." Then she left. Hikaru felt a bit surprised; his mother rarely showed any concern for him, dismissing any of his complaints as hypochondria or weakness. Maybe she doesn't want me to die again, he thought, then added, Now I wish I'd died. Oh god..... He shut his eyes and tried to breath deeply, hoping that it would make him feel a little better.
Ranma got up about two minutes after he'd been dumped on the bench. This made him quite glad when he noticed a policeman going past on a motorbike, and he stood up, trying to clear his head. So, he thought, Gosunkugi-kun is able to come back from the dead now..... Weird. I guess he must've been pissed off when he woke up in the cold-meat locker, or maybe glad. But he sure as hell didn't have to jump off the tower just to show me..... What a freak....
Vaguely annoyed, Ranma walked home. When he got back, his frustration was mounted by the fact that he'd missed supper, but lessened by the fact that Akane had been cooking that night. He considered telling everyone else about what he'd seen, but decided that he might as well not bother; it didn't really matter, as long as Gosunkugi wasn't any stronger than him.
"Oh, hi Ranma," Nabiki said as he walked past, "So where were you?"
"None of your business," Ranma grumbled. Nabiki added, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. There was a phone call for you a while ago."
He raised an eyebrow. "Who from?"
"Daisuke, or someoneorrather..." Nabiki muttered, turning away. Ranma picked up the phone and punched in some numbers.
"Hey Daisuke, what's up?"
"Uh, what happened? Did he tell you how he did it?"
"Sort of..."
"How, then? This is really creeping me out."
"He threw himself off the Tower."
"Huh?!
"That's what he did," Ranma said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Is he dead? Again? Are you sure this time?"
"Well, after he splattered, he got up again and dusted himself off, then left."
"Man, weird..... I heard that there were guys in India like that, that could cut their arms off and put them back on, and twist into pretzels..."
Ranma sighed. "I don't think he faked it," he said, "He was still for a minute or so after landing, and after he got up his neck was all twisted."
"Ewww. I wonder if he'll get arrested."
"For what?"
"For, like causing a public disturbance. It's like flashing people or being cruel to animals in public..." You can get arrested for that? Ranma thought, suddenly nervous.
"Uh.... I dunno." He rolled his eyes, then said, "Well, I'd better get off the line. Seeya."
*click*
Daisuke waited a minute, then picked up the phone and dialled a number. "Say, Shigeru, d'you know what I heard?"
Castle Kuno was many years old. At least two-hundred, and there had been a castle before it in the same place. Consequently, it had a lengthy history, and the Kunos were constantly pestered by ghost hunters, paparazzi, and historians. It was one of the many jobs that Sasuke, the family's retainer and ninja, had to keep them off the property. The castle grounds were riddled with boobytraps and pitfalls. On this particular night though, Sasuke was paying service to his lady, Kodachi, who had wanted a tennis-partner.
"Haaah!!" Kodachi yelled as she swatted the ball, aiming it for Sasuke's head. The little ninja yelped and ducked the flying ball, then said, "Uh, Kodachi-sama?"
"What is it, Sasuke?" Kodachi replied musically.
"Might- oof!- Might I not be permitted to use a racket as well?"
He bounded to the edge of the court and caught the ball in his toes, then booted it back at Kodachi. She snorted, "When you have become a true master of the sport, you may have a racket. For now,"
The ball rocketed towards Sasuke, and ricocheted off his forehead. He fell over, unconcious, while the ball continued on its trip, and exited the room via an open door. Kodachi ran after it, not wishing to spoil the perfect opportunity of a crowning victory over Sasuke, (after all, if he was out cold he'd have NO chance of getting the ball) until she came to the equiptment room.
It had once been the bedroom of a servant, but that servant had quit very soon after taking her job, and the family had never found a replacement. The equiptment in most quantity were bokkens, although a wall was lined with Kodachi's patented Rythmic Martial Arts Gymnastics tools; spiked dumbells, exploding balls, and a ribbon with small metal hooks in the end were among Kodachi's impressive arsenal. Kodachi herself was still looking for the ball. A sudden noise made her start, and she looked over to see a crow standing in the windowsill. It was an unusually large crow, and it stared at her with cold, menacing, intelligent eyes. She shivered under its gaze, feeling petrified. Then with a croak, it was gone, flapping noisily into the distance. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she shrieked.
"Mistress?" Sasuke exclaimed, as she turned around to face him. He noticed her ashen face, and said, "Are you all right, Kodachi-sama? You look as though you've seen a ghost." Kodachi glared at Sasuke and yelled, "And where have you been? Why didn't you help me find the tennis ball?!"
"Sorry, Mistress," Sasuke whimpered. Kodachi sniffed, and stormed away.
Half-asleep, and not really better than before, Gosunkugi stared at the ceiling and muttered to himself.
"you are a silly little boy," he said dreamily, "just an ignorant, silly little boy." He mused over that for a while. That was from a book, wasn't it? Yes... about a plane and some boys. One of the boys was tormented by a beast.... a demon. It's kind of funny, he thought, Because my middle name is Simon, and I've always been haunted by demons.....
And it was true enough, at least in his mind. As a child, he'd always seemed to notice things other people didn't. Shadows, ghosts, monsters..... all had followed him, it seemed, and added to his daily torment. Of course, they weren't mocking or cynical, but their silent vigils over him had been intolerable. Where they real? They'd seemed real enough to him at the time. He never told his parents; he knew they'd just think he was crazy. Eventually, they'd drifted off and left him alone. It might have been because their work was done, and they were free to return to whatever realm from which they'd came, or maybe he simply wasn't small enough to see them anymore. But they had done an exeptional job; they had reduced him to a cowardly, neurotic, paranoid adolescent who was afraid of his own shadow and almost fanatically superstitious. But it wasn't important anymore, because now he was dead, twice. There was nothing they could dish out that he couldn't take anymore.
He turned his head sideways and wondered if he'd ever get to sleep. Eventually, he did.
Next morning, Tokyo awoke to find itself cloaked in a thick sheet of mist and fog. Akane shivered in the chill of the early morning as she walked into the house from her early morning run, and wondered if it would clear. In the house, the rest of the Tendo/Saotome family sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast.
"Geez, it's cold," Ranma said as Akane came in. Akane sat down and took an idle glance across the table at the newspaper her father was reading. One of the smaller headings caught her eye.
"Student falls from Tokyo Tower, walks away unharmed? What's that about?"
She took a closer look; there was a photograph beside the article of some people standing around the base of the tower. One she recognized immediately.
"Ranma?" she exclaimed, more surprised than angry, "What were you doing there? Why didn't you tell us about this? Who was it..........."
Ranma sighed. "Because I didn't think it was important." Akane squinted at the photo, then repeated, "Well, who was it?"
"It was that freak Gosunkugi. I think he wanted to show me that he was indestructible or somethin'."
"Gosunkugi?"
"Yeah, so leave him alone. I think the guy needs some professional help."
Hikaru was still half-asleep. He usually lay around in bed for an hour after getting up; it helped that his usual wake-up time was 5:00 am. So he'd just stare at the ceiling and let his mind wander. He was feeling better; a bit thirsty, maybe, but apart from that he was fine. He was thinking about when he was smaller.
Before the age of four, he could remember very little of his childhood. It may have been simply because he was too young at the time, or maybe because of an injury he'd sustained at that time. It had been nicer back then, mostly. His mother had been more tolerant; she'd comforted him when he was frightened or unhappy. That had been most of the time, though. But eventually, she'd tired of what she considered to be childish whims, or perhaps a way to get attention, and simply ignored him. Maybe I'm just ungrateful, he thought. He had let her down, as being a mother's son goes... he'd never make her proud, or be able to provide for her, at least not easily. She had a good job, and had done well at school, but he shared none of her interests and none of her ambitions. Or any real ambitions. He did okay at school, but never got any exeptional grades; he hated sports, had no friends, no hobbies apart from magic...... he was more like his father. A boring little introvert.
It was funny, though, Hikaru never really thought about his father; probably because he was just another benign, passive presence in the house. He rarely talked to Hikaru, and had been almost exclusively away on business during his childhood. So he just wasn't important.
Thoughts of his cousin, Hotaru, came to mind. She was four years younger than him, but surprisingly mature. She was also very pretty, with big, dark eyes and smooth hair. Not that he'd be interested in her like that, but they had always been very close; almost like sister and brother. There'd always been something sort of strange about her; the best word to describe it was "special". He hadn't seen her in a long time, not since her father was injured in an earthquake. Apparently she'd been sent away to live with relatives; he was sure she could have stayed with his family. Family....
That was funny; he rarely ever thought of his parents and him as a "family".........
Another day of school was at hand. Students chatted, played cards, and formed plans for the day, and Gosunkugi sat undisturbed in his corner of the class, as though he'd never left. He didn't really care anyways; he was daydreaming, wondering a little about Hotaru-chan, and why fate hadn't just let him die. Maybe there was something for him in store.... he decided that whatever it was, it could go through the effort of finding him.... he didn't care. Sleep sounded good to him right now......
Ranma looked over the pamphlet that had been tucked into his bookbag by some not-so-enigmatic force. The cover read "Eagle Talon School of Martial Arts Fighting Tournament" and went on to state that the famous "Eagle Talon" dojo was holding a tournament and that the winner would qualify for entry into the legendary school for training of the utmost standard. Ranma sighed.
The School of Indescriminate Grappling (AKA Anything-Goes Martial Arts) had longtime been rivals of the Eagle Talon school; Ranma's father (and father-in-law) (AND sensai) probably wanted him to enter, win, then learn the secrets of the school and bring them back. What choice do I have? he thought, and wondered why none of them couldn't do it instead. After all, exams were coming up, and even though he didn't really care about school, he knew there was more of a future to it than to being a martial artist, even if he prefered the latter. Thinking about it pissed him off; why did those dumb bastards have to spring this on him right now?! I guess I'll have to talk to them about this......
He looked over, and saw Akane glowering at an identical pamphlet.
Around the side of the school, there was a large maple tree. It was years old, and studded with small pock-marks left by nails that had been hammered into its trunk by one particular individual. That particular individual was sitting underneath it right now, staring off into space. Maybe I need to make a new start, he thought, Go to another school, take up sports or something, make friends......
He yawned, sweating under his heavy jacket, and drifted off into a state of half-asleep-half-awakedness, staring up into the tree's branches and its vibrant green leaves. He hardly noticed the group of teenagers gathering around him, until one on them shouted at him.
"Hey!"
Hikaru's eyes opened, and he sat up against the trunk. "Ano...?" he muttered sleepily, wiping his forehead with a sleeve. A tall-ish boy about his age walked up to him and said, "Say, I've heard about you. You're that kid that commited hari-kari, aren't you?"
He stood up, becoming suddenly coherent upon noticing the crowd that had encircled him. "I- uh, don't know what you're talking about." he replied, trying to seem calm, then turned to walk away. The boy blocked his path and grinned at him.
"People like you....." he leered, "Don't get second chances...."
Gosunkugi mustered his courage and said, "Excuse me, I have to get to class." through gritted teeth. He tried to elbow his way past the boy, but someone came up behind him and pulled him to the ground. He looked up into a brutish, heavy-set face. "You're not gettin' away so easy, you skinny freak." it said. Another voice snarled, "Yeah, Kurai sa!"
"Let....me....go!" Hikaru snarled, struggling to break free of the hands that pinned him on the ground. The boy who'd blocked him glared down over him now, looking smug. "You know," he smirked, "You really should've tried t-"
Hikaru planted a foot to his groin, and he shut up quickly and doubled like a pretzel. The gang tightened into a close circle around him; he caught a few glances of menacing, unfamiliar faces. A voice growled, "You little prick!" and someone landed a punch in Hikaru's gut. Someone else kicked him, a hit in the face, another kick....
Gosunkugi had the vague sensation of being tromped upon by hundreds of people, all wearing heavy boots. He couldn't see out of one eye, and something wet was coming out of his nose and running down his face. He could hear shouting, and someone laughing nastily. Suddenly, his awareness grew- there were people hurting him, and he felt a surge of anger. "Temee....." he growled, feeling his anger become material around him. The air grew denser, and he began to sweat underneath the heat of the bodies which tormented him. I...have to..... he thought, beginning to struggle again. Why were these kids doing this? He didn't need to even think of the answer; years of experience had taught him that...... His incogneti in the school was not all coincidence. But why now? All of these boys were unrecognisable to him. He had no enemies.... but they were attacking him anyways.
He felt like he would burst with anger, but he could feel it coming into focus.
There was a sudden burst of energy. The mob around him was thrown back several feet, and he lurched up and looked at them. "You lousy.... bastards.." He breathed in deeply.... tasted hot blood and felt the pain all over his body, and howled,
"Shinuuuuuu!"
Ranma felt the surge of ki. What the HELL is that?! he thought, jumping to his feet. Akane noticed him running out of the class.
"Ranma?! Where are you going?" She ran after him.
Childish thoughts...... Hikaru fantasized about killing the other kids around him. Gathering them into a comprimising situation..... the ledge of a cliff, perhaps, then..... heh...
He'd taunt them, let them know just how he felt about them.....Leering, ugly faces and thoughtless insults..... Why SHOULD I get a life, anyways? You're one to talk, always hanging around the shopping district while I study, read books, go on long walks, take pictures..... Hmph. You're the pathetic ones. Yeah, you! Always bugging me.... what did I do to you, anyways? I just wanted to be accepted, maybe have some friends for once....... I gave up on that so long ago.... Now I get to have my fun at your expenses....... whad'you think about that, huh? Not smiling anymore, are we? You've realized this is the end of the line. You too.... pathetic, inconsiderate sensai. Never kept us students in order. You didn't protect me from them, and you can't protect yourself from me...... fu fu fu fu......
He ran his tongue along his upper lip and tasted blood. It was a sweetish taste, but still hard to stomach. The other boys were getting up now. They didn't know what had hit them. The lead boy stood up and faced him. He yelled, "What the hell did you do, you freak?!" Gosunkugi twisted his face into a sneer. "It's you...." he exclaimed.
"It's always been you. You people made me so miserable. I always wanted to see you die....."
Lying on the basement floor in sleeping bags. It was too hot to sleep upstairs, so he and Hotaru-chan had gone down there. It was cold and damp, but it had an interesting smell.
"I wish I could have come, too." he told Hotaru.
"You could have helped us catch fireflies," she chirped, "Fritz and I only caught one."
He reached out and grabbed her forearm, gently. "Now I've caught one," he said. She giggled. So did he.
"I wish I had magic powers," Hotaru said quietly. He nodded. "So do I...."
"If I was magical, people would start to die...." Hikaru muttered.
"What?" Hotaru asked, sleepily. He looked over to her and said, "Oh, nothing..."
He walked slowly towards the boy. His gait was uneven, but steady. "I hate you..." he snarled, "I've always hated you. I wanted to see you die. To wither...... your little bones snapping one by one..... I think I'll kill you now, just.... for..... fun.........."
The boy edged away, nervously. "Get away from me, you weirdo!" he shouted. He put up his arms and stood his ground. "Come any closer, and I'll knock your fucking head off your fucking shoulders!"
"Sure you will. I've waited for so long...... to do this...."
Hikaru sat underneath the playground and sulked. He pointed a stick at the people who passed by, and muttered, "Die.....die......die...." at each person. One of the moniters noticed him, and said, "Okay, Hikaru-chan. Come out and play with the other children."
He jabbed his stick at her and said, "Die...."
"What did you say?" she asked, confused.
Jab. "Die..." He shook his head at her, and mumbled, "iie. Don't want to."
"Fuck you, pal!" the boy yelled, trying to scare him off.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you. I won't sink to your depths of petty insult. I think I'll make this short and sweet....." He looked at the boy with a steady glare, and focussed.
Turning the corner, Ranma stumbled over something. He looked down. It was another student, laying motionless on the ground. He bent over him and hissed, "Hey, wake up, man." There was no response. He poked the boy, who remained inert. Ranma narrowed his brow. He looked at the body and could see no injuries, but the boy's pulse was weak and erratic, and he was barely breathing. It's like he had a heart attack or something.... Ranma thought. He left the boy, and looked around. A few other students lay on the ground in a semicircle; in the center were two standing boys, and one of them was emitting an incredible battle-aura. It was like nothing Ranma had ever felt before- not even Happousai had that kind of power! The air was dense with it, and he almost hesitated to advance on the two.
As Gosunkugi stared at him, the boy could feel his pulse quicken. What the hell is happening to me?! he thought in horror as his body began to quake. His breathing became fast and ragged, and his pulse throbbed. A sudden feeling of explosive pain came to his head, and blood began pouring out of his nose, mouth and eyes. He could hear what the weird boy had been muttering now.....
"Hayaiku.... hayaiku......."
He felt like his body was on fire. The raging seemed was more and more, and he desperately wanted to scream, but couldn't. He could feel himself falling over, shaking a little... his eyes hurt like crazy, and he couldn't see from them anymore. Colors seemed to flash in them, though..... he put his hands to his face and tried to feel his eyelids..... there was a gooshing sound and he realized that his eyeballs had exploded or something. He managed a choked scream, and then his body went out of control, convulsing. He felt a dull pain in his chest, and other pains elsewhere..... they became more and more.........it hurt so much........
"What the hell?!" Ranma exclaimed, running towards the fallen student. He was convulsing and bleeding a lot. The other boy was just standing there. Ranma yelled, "What're you waiting for? Go call an ambulance!" He tried to hold the boy down, but he suddenly stopped his shaking. He made a wheezing sound, and became still. Ranma looked over to the standing boy.
"Go on, get help! What'you want, an engraved-" Suddenly, he realized who it was.
"Gosunkugi-kun? Don't tell me you...."
Gosunkugi nodded, a twisted smile on his face. Ranma started back. There was something distinctly scary about all this..... He wouldn't admit it, even to himself, but he knew that if this ended in a fight, he might not be able to defend himself against that...... thing......
"Ranma! Is that you? Eek! Oh, sorry..." Akane's voice carried from the edge of the clearing. Ranma looked over, and saw her helping one of the fallen students up. A thought struck Ranma.
If Gosunkugi's suddenly become powerful, he might...... Powerful? Gosunkugi-kun?! But a battle aura of that magnitude can't be faked, and not even Happi has one like that. I think he's totally cracked. What if he attacks me? OR Akane?
Ranma ran towards Akane, yelling, "Run, stupid! There's a...."
A WHAT? A Gosunkugi wouldn't be likely to get her running. Damn!
Akane looked over. "Huh?" Ranma ran past her, grabbing her around the waist as he did. She struggled, yelling, "What the hell is it?! Let me go! Can't you explain this, Ranma?"
Ranma glanced at her for a second, then replied, "I can't explain this. Just... um, it's for your own good. Can you trust me on that?" She looked at him, puzzled. "What happened to those students? Won't they be hurt?"
"They were attacked." Ranma tried to sound as grim as possible. Maybe Akane would just take him for face value. He hoped so......
"By what?"
"By a raving sociopath." Yeah, that was good. He remembered that word from an episode of "NYPD Blue"tm.
"Get serious, Ranma! Tell me the truth!"
"Dammit, Akane! It was Gosunkugi-kun, alright? He's been ravingly in love with you all along, and I don't know what the hell he might do to you now!"
"Huh? Are you saying that he attacked those students?"
"I think so. When I got there, he was making some kid have convulsions. It's like he's suddenly become really powerful or something!"
"But why would he attack them?" Akane exclaimed.
"I don't even wanna start guessing. That guy is seriously crazy." It was probably some sort of ego-trip..... Ranma thought.
"But what about those other students? Shouldn't we go back and help them?"
Baka, Ranma thought, And you lecture me on male recklessness... He said, "I don't think we could help them. Whatever he's got, it's like nothin' I've ever seen before.
"Well, we have to try! We can't just leave them there!"
"Don't be so stupid! He'd probably rape you or somethin'! I tell you, this guy is totally insane!"
"You.......
Bastard!"
Akane planted a foot in Ranma's face and broke free. Then she headed for the clearing. When she got there, Gosunkugi was nowhere to be seen. There was a boy lying, soaked in blood on the ground; Akane turned her eyes away from him. She heard a wheezing noise, and looked around the tree to its source.It was Gosunkugi, crouched in a fetal position. Akane wondered about him for a moment. He seemed like such a nice guy. Why would he attack those students? Wait a second..... There was something wrong about the arrangement..... A large group of male students, in a circle around him...... he must have just been defending himself! She could hear him sobbing a little, and felt genuinely sorry for him. Why can't you just be like everyone else, she thought as she looked over at him, You'd be so much happier.......
"I know what you're thinking..." he said in a cracked voice. Akane jumped a little, surprised that he noticed her. "But its okay. I don't love you anymore... don't know if I ever really loved you..... at least not like he does............."
"No....." Akane said, "It's not that.... I was just thinking how everyone is different. Those boys shouldn't have attacked you because of your.... differences. That is what they did, isn't it?"
He nodded, and she continued, saying, "No-one should. I just wish, for you, that it was "okay" to be different...... that people wouldn't treat others cruelly because they're not like them....." She reached out and gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping that he wouldn't react strangely. He calmed a little under her touch, and said, "Arigato. I'm glad you understand, Akane-san. But I don't want to trouble you...... This isn't your problem, or your fault....."
He stood up and walked away. Akane considered following him for a second, but decided that it would be wiser not to. I hope he'll be okay, she thought as she watched him leave. A few of the fallen students began to stir, and she realized that Ranma was probably waiting for her, somewhere.
Fin
(for now, at least)Notes:
I hope you enjoyed this story. I put a considerable effort into writing it, and did have quite a bit of trouble putting my thoughts into words. Gosunkugi-kun is my favorite (male) character, because he seems so outwardly frail, but is always containing a lot of rage. I couldn't help but wonder what made him the way he was, and thought of myself and others I know to find the answers. There will be continuations of this storyline, but each should be relatively self-contained. For now...There are a few words that I guess I should translate, out of courtesy to those who couldn't be bothered to spend their time flicking through japanese cartoons to learn a bit of the language, so I'll list them (and a few others) below. When there's a "(like)" beside it, it means that its a transliteration, rather than a direct translation
Ano= (like) "umm," "uh..." Hai="yes" iie="no" iyata=(like)"no way!" baka=(like) "idiot" "dummy" "fool" Shinu= "die!" nani= "what?" nan da= "what's that/it" hayai(ku)= (like) "quick "fast(er)" yorou=(like) "damn" shimata=(like) "damn" "darn" (just a general curse) kisama="you" kawaiikunee= (like) uncute (What Ranma calls Akane) temee=(like) "why you..." Ranma(or anyone) no baka= (like) "Ranma's an idiot" "That fool Ranma" onee(san/chan) (or) nee= "sister" onii(san/chan) (or) nii= "brother" Oto-san(chan)= "Father" Oka-san(chan)= "Mother" "Genma-san"= "Genma (who's respected)" *yeah right!* "Akane-chan"= "Akane (who's dear)" "Gosunkugi-kun"= "Gosunkugi (who I'm equal to and neutral about)" Gomen (nessai)= "Sorry" Kurai sa= (I'm not totally sure of the transliteration for this one. This is what Gosunkugi's classmates were calling him, and the subtitler had interpreted it as "Skinny Guy". I'd guess more towards "Gloomy" myself) Arigato! -Sniv
