(C&C welcome. Not to mention needed)
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THE FORGOTTEN GAME
By: Angela Jewell
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Based on the trilogy The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith
Ranma 1/2 is the creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi… I know some other people and/or companies own it as well, but I’m too lazy to look up who they are. So please don’t sue me… I just moved and am poor enough as it is!
*** Volume 1: Spellbound ***
Do
not stand at my grave and forever weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and forever cry.
I am not there. I did not die.
-Melinda Sue Pacho
*** Chapter 10 ***
To everyone’s surprise, they found Kasumi the moment they reached the top of the stairs. She was sitting comfortably on the floor, her dress laid out around her, hands in her lap. She smiled gently at them as they approached, and climbing gracefully to her feet, smoothed her dress with her hands as she prepared to properly greet them.
At least... she would have...
…If Akane had given her the chance.
A small cry of surprise was the only sound that managed to escape Kasumi’s lips as she suddenly found herself pushed back by the force of her sister’s affection. Tears were gathered in her little sister’s eyes as she hugged her tightly—a little too tightly, perhaps—until at last, Akane slowly pulled away.
“Good heavens! What’s come over you, Akane?”
“Nothing,” she insisted, smiling brightly. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.”
And she was. The moment she saw Kasumi was safe, it felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted right off her shoulders. For the first time since they’d entered the game, Akane felt like she could breathe normally.
Gabriel had said one of them wouldn’t make it out alive...
…She wouldn’t let it be Kasumi.
Knowing the type of things her sister feared… improperly greeted houseguests, a missing pet, a poorly made meal… she’d say the odds were greatly in their favor. After all, it was Kasumi for crying out loud! How bad could her nightmare be?
“Have you seen any doors around here?” Akane asked, glancing around the hallway.
Kasumi shook her head, looking apologetic. “I’ve been right here ever since I woke up. I thought I may get lost if I wandered too far, so I’ve been waiting for someone to pass by.”
Nabiki smiled. “My biggest fear was getting lost in a corridor that only goes in one direction too. What a coincidence, huh?”
Kasumi was either immune to Nabiki’s wry sense of humor, or she had more important things on her mind. Whatever the reason, she merely shook her head absently, and with troubled eyes, turned to look at Nabiki and Akane each in turn. “But… this…” she began uneasily, gesturing to the walls. “Doesn’t it look… familiar, somehow?”
Akane followed her gaze, curious to see what could upset her older sister... and for a moment, she forgot to breathe.
Covering the hallway as far as her eyes could see was faded yellow wallpaper, decorated with smiling, dancing bears. It wasn’t long before she felt Nabiki step up beside her, looking dispassionately at those same walls. How they managed to miss it in the first place was a mystery.
But she recognized it.
...The playroom at her grandfather’s house...
...Mother’s face, smiling, as she said it was her favorite wallpaper when she was a child...
...Staring at those same walls the night her mother disappeared...
Of course it looks familiar, Kasumi. How could it not...?
But instead, forcing a smile, she shook her head. “Not really,” she lied. That day was pretty much a blur for everyone—Kasumi wouldn’t think it strange she didn’t remember. “But listen!” she went on, trying to sound excited; anything to distract her from the wallpaper; from her sister’s haunted expression. “We found out everything in this house is somehow connected to our memories. That must be why you recognized it, Onechan.”
“Oh, so that’s why,” said Kasumi softly. “How... nice.”
It wasn’t long before Shampoo and Ukyo, tired of being left out of the conversation, quickly made their presence known.
“We go now, yes?”
Ukyo quickly nodded in agreement. “If we keep walking, odds are we’ll find the next door… and the sooner we find the door, the sooner I can see Ran-chan again!”
Akane tried her best to hide her annoyance. Here they were, practically fighting for their lives, and all she could think about was Ranma. “Are you ready, Kasumi?” she asked gently, not wanting to hurry her sister.
Kasumi nodded, albeit reluctantly. And the next moment, the small group was continuing down the hallway, silence once again becoming the preferred norm. Ukyo and Shampoo walked like seasoned warriors, surveying the battleground; hands hovering over weapons; eyes constantly roaming. Nabiki was even quieter than usual, her eyes focused and straight ahead.
But the silence didn’t last long…
Akane noticed it slowly at first… the way the hallway began to grow dimmer and dimmer; the air colder, sharper. The small flames in the gas-lanterns lining the walls began to grow weaker the farther they walked—in some cases, going out completely the moment they passed. It wasn’t long before there were only half a dozen faint yellow glows left to light their way…
…Soon, there would be nothing left. And they still hadn’t found the door…
Shampoo’s voice was the first to break the silence. “Kasumi fear dark, yes?”
The eldest Tendo daughter slowly shook her head. “I—I don’t think so,” she replied, sounding uncertain.
“What was your nightmare?” Akane asked curiously.
“Oh,” said Kasumi calmly, not breaking stride. “I drew a picture of a messy room. There’s nothing more frightening than dirty socks and half-eaten sandwiches lying around on the floor, don’t you think?” As if in response to her words, the flames in the lanterns suddenly flared to life, providing more than enough light for Kasumi to see the startled, surprised looks on all their faces. She could do nothing but stare back… genuinely confused by their reactions.
Just as suddenly, the lights dimmed once again.
Still, Akane tried her best to keep her mouth from hanging open. “You… really?” she asked, not quite able to find the words. Though part of her had suspected… the other part hadn’t really believed it!
Kasumi nodded, looking slightly affronted. “Of course, Akane. I wouldn’t joke about a thing like that. Why?” she added, suddenly sounding worried. “Is it very strange?”
Akane laughed uncomfortably. “Ah—no, no! Not at all, Oneesan.”
In fact, now that she thought about it… it fit perfectly. Having to clean up after Ranma, not to mention the added wreckage of his numerous fiancées, must have been more terrifying than she thought!
Any further discussion however, was quickly cut short as Nabiki’s voice sounded from further up the hallway.
“Hey! I think I found the door!”
Sure enough, it was there—large and dark blue, on the left side of the wall. It was flanked on both sides by two small lanterns—the last remaining ones, stubbornly holding their flames as though existing for this solitary door alone. There was nothing about the door that particularly stood out to Akane… not at first.
Then she noticed the doorknob...
Her eyes instantly widened, and for some reason she couldn’t quite fathom, it filled her with sudden, unexplainable fear. She didn’t want to look at it, and she didn’t want to touch it.
“Akane, are you alright? You look rather pale.”
Somehow, Akane managed to nod.
The light from the lanterns was faint, sending only jagged flickers across the door’s surface… and yet, even that small amount of light seemed focused entirely on the door-handle. It wasn’t the typical knob to begin with: it was circular not flat, and instead of a keyhole, the entire knob was shaped like a lion with a gapping jaw… eerie yellow glows from the flames, dancing against the shadows, only succeeded in making something that already looked malign, all the more sinister.
“We go in now, yes?” Shampoo asked, sounding impatient.
Akane didn’t say a word. There was no way she was touching that doorknob!
And yet… it appeared nobody else was willing to either. Shampoo and Ukyo, arguably the most enthusiastic of the group, seemed unwilling to open the door themselves… Nabiki and Kasumi were in much the same state… all of them standing stock still, simply staring. Despite their impatience to get the game started again, nobody seemed willing to take that first step. Even worse, they all seemed to be looking at Akane… as though they expected her to make that first move.
Honestly! Just because she happened to be the prize in this stupid game, didn’t mean she was immune: if something were to jump out of that thing, she’d bleed just like the rest of them!
“Well…” she prompted, hoping one of them would see it as an unspoken challenge, and jump into action.
Several uncomfortable minutes later, she realized none of them would—and to add insult to injury, she could feel several pairs of eyes burning into the back of her head, silently challenging her.
“Fine,” she grumbled at last, “you win. I’ll do it!”
Taking a long deep breath, Akane mentally steeled herself. Ever so slowly, heart pounding, her hand reached for the doorknob…
In silence, she prayed for the last flames in the lanterns to go out. If she didn’t have to look at it, she reasoned, then she didn’t have to be afraid of it… clinging desperately to that unlikely hope, she did the next best thing: she closed her eyes.
Soon, she felt the doorknob beneath her hands; ice cold in her palm.
Not wanting to linger on it any longer, she turned the knob, yanking the door open at last.
…That’s how she pictured it happening in her mind, anyway…
In reality, the door refused to budge.
Great, she muttered. Just great!
Honestly! As if her luck wasn’t bad enough… out of all the doors she had to open, why did they have to find the one that was stuck?! Too angry to remember her fear, she let go of the handle, and kicked the door with her foot.
“Do you need any help, sugar?” Ukyo asked, a hint of a smile on her face.
The same expression was mirrored on Shampoo as well, though she didn’t even try to hide her disdain. “Shampoo gladly kick down if Akane too weak.”
“I’m perfectly capable of opening a door,” she shot back angrily.
Again she gripped the doorknob, this time ignoring the fear and loathing that came with the direct contact; anger was always easier to handle than fear anyway. Bracing her feet against the floor, she attempted to turn the handle while simultaneously pushing the door with her other hand. She could feel whatever was blocking it on the other side slowly give way; and using all that brute strength Ranma was always going on about, she continued pushing until the door had finally opened.
Sure, she had only been able to open it a tiny crack, and they’d all have to go in one at a time, but at least the stupid thing was open! She kicked it swiftly with her foot, annoyed by the trouble it had given her, before slipping easily through the narrow gap.
Once she was completely inside, she stopped.
She was in Kasumi’s room...
…At least, she thought she was.
The furniture was the same—the bed was across the room to the left where it always was, the familiar bedspread crumpled into a heap in the center. And over to the right, next to her desk was her vanity mirror (not that she ever used it the way it was meant to be used); several books she’d borrowed from Doctor Tofu were piled high on its surface.
But the entire room itself... it seemed bigger somehow; five times its normal size, and… and dirty.
The floor and furniture were littered with junk. Half-eaten food and dirty clothes were slung everywhere… over the small garbage can next to the vanity table; Kasumi’s beloved potted plant next to her bed; her small bedside lamp. Everywhere Akane looked was trash and filth.
…It may have looked like Kasumi’s room, but it wasn’t...
And now, turning to regard the door she had entered through, Akane could see clearly what had been blocking her entrance: Kasumi’s large wardrobe had been moved directly in front of the door—the wood splintered and busted from Akane’s battle to get inside.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your investigating, ‘Sug,” came Ukyo’s voice as she poked her head in the door. “But could you move a bit? You’re blockin’ the only entrance.”
Akane nodded quickly, suddenly embarrassed. This was no time to get caught up in the moment—she had to help Kasumi any way she could! Stepping carefully over the fallen wardrobe, she moved closer to the wall and out of the way.
Ukyo gave a low whistle as she finally stepped through the door, surveying the disaster area. “Wow,” she muttered, trying to take everything in. “Kasumi wasn’t kidding. What a pigsty!”
Her reaction mirrored everyone else’s as they all slowly filed into the room, staring in wide-eyed wonder at the mess. Even though they’d expected it, there was something very strange about seeing Kasumi’s room in such a state—unnatural, somehow, and disconcerting—and yet, it was comforting at the same time.
…This was the best Gabriel could do…?
This nightmare was as good as beat!
Akane herself was feeling a lot more confident now that they’d made it inside—after all, it was just a messy room. Surely Kasumi would see it, not freak out too terribly, and their exit door would appear. What could be easier than that?!
Feeling helpful, she picked up an empty box of Pocky that was lying on the floor beside her, and shoved it quickly into the fallen wardrobe. There! The battle was halfway over!
“Oh, my,” said Kasumi, surveying the room with a mixture of discouragement, unease, and borderline dislike. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she lamented.
Akane watched as her older sister began pacing around the room, her hands clutching at her apron nervously. It was the closest she’d ever seen Kasumi to being frightened. Well, not frightened, exactly… if anything, she looked anxious and overwhelmed. Not scared…
…And for some reason, that is what really worried Akane.
Though she was trying to stay positive, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all too easy.
Stepping away from the wall, she began to walk towards her sister. Kasumi was standing by the small four-poster bed, staring sadly at the unmade comforter and wrinkled sheets, shaking her head with sorrow; she was just leaning over to pick up the large comforter and shake it out—when she stopped, startled, as a loud scream tore throughout the room.
It took Akane a few seconds to realize the scream was her own.
There, standing directly on her foot was a giant cockroach.
…Smiling up at her...
A scream froze in her throat; her mind went blank. Fear, surprise, shock—all of them held her motionless and unable to move. And then she noticed its eyes… an all too familiar shade of blue… a color Akane was quickly growing to despise.
But that brief moment was all the distraction she needed… as if by instinct, her right fist lashed out on its own... sending the unwanted insect flying across the room, its journey cut short only because a wall was there, blocking its path.
But as Akane followed its trajectory, she noticed something else as well…
…That wasn’t the only cockroach.
T * * * G
Nabiki was dealing with a cockroach of her own…
Gabriel was watching her closely; like a predator sizing its prey.
He had yet to speak a word since her imprisonment, but seemed rather content to walk back and forth in front of the mirror, silently taunting her.
It was getting old rather fast…
…But Nabiki refused to let him see her frustration; sense her impatience, or the anger which had been steadily boiling since she’d first realized she’d been tricked. Akane wasn’t the only one who knew how to use anger… but Nabiki knew how to use it well.
He may have caught her off guard once—it wouldn’t happen again.
Finally, Gabriel seemed to grow tired of his pacing and began drawing closer. He was either ready to start gloating, or make nice—Nabiki was expecting the former.
“So, how is my future sister-in-law?” he asked, leaning in towards the mirror, his unearthly eyes on her.
“I’ve been better.”
He laughed at that—a deep, unnatural sound; one that filled the entire space in the room.
“I know what you must be thinking,” he told her, his expression a perfect imitation of sympathy. “But you didn’t really think I’d give you back your mother, did you? No one’s that gullible… right? And if they are… then they deserve to be taken advantage of… wouldn’t you agree, Nabiki?”
Somehow, she managed to smile despite the giant rock in her chest.
Gabriel grinned appreciatively. “I knew you’d handle this maturely,” he went on, looking pleased with himself. “Should we renegotiate then…? I may not be able to give you back your mother, Nabiki… but what I offered you before… all of it… that I can still do.”
Nabiki kept her voice cool and collected as best she could. “Why renegotiate at all…? You got what you wanted.”
“You’re right,” he agreed, laughing good-naturedly, “I did. I don’t have to do this, but... you’ll be family soon... I’d hate for Akane to think I mistreated and lied to her dear sister. Think of this as my humble way of paying you off, so to speak.” Suddenly serious, he leaned closer to the mirror; his eyes dark. “We don’t have to be enemies, Nabiki…”
Finally, she was able to conjure a genuine smile. “Then I’m afraid we have a small problem, Gabriel. You see… I’m much better at making enemies than friends… and frankly… I don’t want you in the family.”
She could see the good-guy routine crumbling around him at her refusal—watched as the good humor drained from his face. Now—now he looked angry—an impenetrable darkness, sinister and dangerous, like the shadows he wrapped himself in. “Let me explain this to you the only way I know how, Nabiki,” he told her; voice flat; eyes hard. “This game… my game… I’ve already won. All that’s left is for your sister to come to me… to beg me to let you go. You,” he told her, his eyes growing wilder by the second, “were the last card I needed in order to win this game. And I don’t intend to lose, Nabiki…”
“Prepare to be disappointed,” she replied.
He shook his head and stepped closer, his hand on the mirror. “So stubborn…”
It happened so suddenly—his hand coming through the mirror; Nabiki frozen to the spot—cold fingers slowly wrapping themselves around her throat, choking her. She could do nothing but stand there—gasping, eyes wide, struggling to breathe.
“My game…” he whispered, his hand slowly withdrawing, “my rules…”
The pressure around her neck suddenly disappeared, and feeling dizzy, Nabiki put a shaky hand against the glass to steady herself. It took a moment for her to regain her composure… but when she did, she lifted her head bravely, meeting his eyes without fear. “Then,” she began, the words coming with difficulty, “let the games… begin.”
Gabriel nodded as he took a step back; an arrogant smile back on his face. “I’m afraid the game is well underway…” Without another word he vanished, leaving behind only shadows in his wake; and Nabiki, trapped within the mirror.
She smiled at the place where he had been standing moments before.
“I wasn’t talking… about your game...”
T * * * G
Akane’s earlier scream seemed to echo around the room.
She could hear Shampoo and Ukyo beating them with their weapons of choice, yelling battle cries with each failed and successful strike; Akane chose a more hands on approach—with bare fists, and anything lying around she could throw. Nabiki, oddly enough, didn’t seem bothered by them in the least… she was moving trash around with her foot, looking bored and unbothered by the whole thing. But Kasumi…
…Now she looked terrified.
There was nothing cute, sweet, or endearing about these.
Akane turned towards the sound of her sister’s quiet whimpering. Not only were the giant cockroaches slowly filling the room, but the trash and garbage had been steadily increasing as well. At first, the floor had been only lightly covered by dirt, grime, and filth… but now, it was piling higher and higher, slowly making its way towards the ceiling. It made movement difficult—forcing them to practically wade through the trash.
To say it was gross would be putting it mildly... Akane couldn’t even take a step without putting her foot in something slimy and disgusting—and the cockroaches were everywhere, smiling unnervingly. Several were wandering around the room, victims of Shampoo and Ukyo—headless, but still breathing as they stumbled around blindly.
It seemed Kasumi’s nightmare was quickly starting to make a lot more sense.
But still, there was no sign of any door…
And just when Akane thought things couldn’t get any worse… she heard the flapping of wings.
All around her, cockroaches were starting to fly. Their tiny wings were now large and steadily expanding, lifting them into the air. The sound was unbelievably close, and Akane was forced to dive quickly as one flew directly over her head; one of its thin, skeletal legs lightly brushing her hair as it passed. She could see Kasumi across the room, on top of her bed, hovering on a small pile of gathered trash. She was wringing her hands on her apron, staring around the room with wide, scared eyes—and three of the cockroaches were steadily moving towards her—one of them, through the air.
Akane searched desperately for the others—Ukyo was still near the door, farthest from the bed, and Shampoo was across from her, guarding a small area of her own as she lashed out with her bonborie—they were both engaging two cockroaches at once. Nabiki sat on the top of Kasumi’s desk, cockroach-less as she calmly watched everything unfold—it was definitely odd how the cockroaches were ignoring her, but then again, Akane wouldn’t put anything beneath Nabiki. And even if she could help, Nabiki wasn’t a fighter.
Which meant Akane was the closest…
“Just a minute, Kasumi,” she called, pulling herself up from her own personal pile of trash. “I’m coming! Just hang on!”
Just as she was making her way to her sister, she felt something—many something’s—suddenly falling from above. With a feeling of dread, she slowly lifted her head, looking up. Flies, maggots, ants—insects of all sorts were dropping down around her, raining from the sky. Akane screamed as she started brushing them away, shaking them from her hair and off her body. She heard Kasumi scream across the room, and glanced over at her older sister, her own heart pounding with worry: Kasumi was now sitting amidst the trash, cowering in a ball, eyes screwed tightly shut as she fought off her own rain of bugs.
“The door! Akane, the door!”
The filth in the room continued to grow from beneath her, pushing her higher and higher, an inch at a time… but as soon as she heard Ukyo’s shout, she felt some semblance of sanity return. Desperately, a hand raised to shield her eyes and face, she started looking around the room, searching for the door, praying she had been telling the truth—and true to her word, there it was—right beside Kasumi’s vanity mirror.
Nabiki, having been the closest the moment it appeared, was already there... and Akane could see Ukyo and Shampoo slowly making their way over—weapons slashing through the air, taking out cockroaches and insects alike as they moved across the room. But Kasumi hadn’t moved an inch. She was still huddled on her bed, not moving, trash slowly collecting all around her.
“Kasumi, the door’s here! Please, you have to get up!”
She still remained unresponsive… and Akane tried her best to increase her speed. But no matter how hard she pushed, it still felt like no progress was being made—she was moving at a snail’s pace.
“Kasumi-hun, please listen to Akane—you need to get up—if you don’t hurry, the door will close!”
The eldest Tendo daughter didn’t say a word. Instead she started shaking her head emphatically, her arms flying around her as she tried to push away the falling bugs—she was using her apron as a make-shift shield, and Akane could see she was starting to panic. And now, the nightmare was going at full-force—the trash building even faster.
The door was quickly becoming buried, and everyone was gathered around it, waiting on them.
“Go through!” Akane shouted to Shampoo, Ukyo, and Nabiki. “I’ll get Kasumi, you guys get out of here. We’ll be fine!”
The purple haired Amazon merely shrugged. “Is Akane’s death…” and disappeared through the door without a backward glance; Nabiki having exited moments before. Akane didn’t have time to dwell on them—turning her attention back on Kasumi, she started making her way through the trash, ignoring the falling bugs as best she could. The cockroaches had finally reached her sister, and Kasumi was simply standing before them, kicking out uselessly with her feet, her eyes full of tears—that alone was enough to make Akane furious... she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d seen Kasumi cry!
The moment she made it to the bed, she started attacking every cockroach she could reach. The garbage had piled so high that most of the cockroaches had been forced to draw back their wings—so she focused on the braver of the monsters—targeting the ones that posed the biggest threat to Kasumi; taking them out as quickly as she could. Despite the threat of being buried or crushed by the rising garbage, she was finding a lot of the junk helpful in dealing with the smiling cockroaches—the potted plant had risen along with the trash, allowing her to take out several that way; and a broken part of the bed-post helped take out several more…
After disposing of another one, she kicked it onto its back, piling it on top of several more as she used their large, rounded shells like stepping stools to reach the highest corner where her sister was...
Without wasting a moment, she grabbed Kasumi’s hand and yanked her off her personal mound of trash, leading her quickly down her unsteady, make-shift staircase—her eyes on the door. Barely any of Kasumi’s furniture was visible anymore… the trash and garbage had consumed almost everything, leaving only the top of the dresser and the vanity mirror uncovered.
And the door… but only barely…
It was over half-way closed, and the trash was still growing.
To Akane’s surprise, Ukyo was leaning through the door; half her body jutting through, her arms reaching for them. “You’re almost here,” she encouraged, though Akane could see Ukyo’s face growing paler as she watched the trash quickly building around her…
And Kasumi, most likely in shock, still hadn’t said a word. She continued to tug at her hair with her free hand, trying to shake off the collection of bugs that were caught there.
Akane’s hand on her sister tightened. “Just a little further, Kasumi,” she reassured her.
They were quickly sinking into the dregs, and even now, their heads were nearly touching the ceiling—but the door was right there, right in sight—Akane could have reached out and touched it—but they had to go through now.
Ukyo smiled in relief. “You had me worried there, ‘Sug!” Grabbing Akane’s hand, she started to pull her towards the door—a definite feat, considering the heavy piles of trash she was trying to drag them thru. Akane tightened her hold on Kasumi, pulling her along with her.
Then… everything happened so fast…
She heard Ukyo yell out something in warning… turned to see what was wrong, and heard a cry of pain from behind… she had just enough time to see a spindly leg wrapped securely around her sister’s body, pulling her away from the door; away from her.
“No!” Akane yelled, her voice breaking. “No! Let go!”
Kasumi’s frightened screams seemed to fill the room…
And all around them, trash continued to increase… the cockroach was pulling Kasumi in one direction, the garbage pulling her down deeper… and during all of this, Ukyo was still pulling Akane closer towards the exit.
Then it happened.
…Moments later, the garbage exploded all around them…
And Akane lost hold of Kasumi’s hand…
T * * * G
When she awoke, she was in the hallway.
Shampoo and Ukyo were hovering above her… concerned looks on both their faces. She could see Nabiki standing off by herself, leaning against the wall, her face an unreadable mask.
But where was Kasumi…?
Flashes of memory, hard and fast, came without warning…
…Kasumi’s terrified screams…
…A sudden, unexpected explosion of trash...
Akane quickly sat up; her heart racing as her eyes desperately searched the length of the hall. She was too scared to say her sister’s name out loud; too afraid to call out, and hear no response.
And she kept seeing Kasumi’s scared, frightened face… kept seeing her in a state of shock, pulling bugs out of her hair…
“A—Akane…”
Someone lightly touched her arm—Akane turned to see Ukyo staring at her with sad, sympathetic eyes—and her heart plummeted. She quickly looked away, shrugging off the hand.
Her eyes stung; her chest hurt.
“Kasumi… she didn’t make it out, Akane. I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head, she fought not to cry.
This couldn’t be happening…
Kasumi was fine… she was fine.
“Kasumi gone… Akane understand, yes?”
Again, she shook her head, ignoring Shampoo’s words; her eyes wildly searching the walls.
The door… she had to find the door…
If she could just get back inside, she knew she could find her again… and this time, she’d hold on tighter… she wouldn’t turn her back, even for a second... she’d hold that horrible doorknob as long as it took… kiss Gabriel as many times as he asked… just get her back inside that door!
Tears obscured her vision, making it harder to see…
Yet, everywhere she looked, she saw the same thing…
…Faded yellow wallpaper, dancing bears posing in every direction…
…The only thing remaining from her sister’s nightmare…
…But still no door.
“Akane… are you alright, hon?”
No.
No, of course she wasn’t alright!
Kasumi couldn’t be gone…
…Because if she was… it was all Akane’s fault…
As if in response to her guilt, a single piece of paper seemed to drift before her eyes—falling from the ceiling, to land neatly by her feet. With shaky hands, Akane picked it up. It was drawn in Kasumi’s pretty, expert way—a picture of a room with a single piece of trash littering the floor.
Seconds later, the unseen clock once again struck the hour, bringing reality crashing down around her.
They were still in the game…
And Kasumi was gone.
***
End of Chapter 10
***
(Really Long)
Authors Notes
___________
PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!!
…It had to be done.
Well, technically, after Nabiki got difficult, it didn’t… but this was the way it was originally planned… so what’s a girl to do? Besides, that’s how it was in the book anyway. I totally copied the nightmare… I thought, in a weird way, it sort of fit Kasumi. And seeing someone ‘dying’ from trash is definitely an interesting way to go.
And of course the whole wallpaper thing is a very obvious rip off of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman—one of the most interesting, most disturbing (and one of my favorite) short stories ever. But I added the dancing bears, lol.
Oh! And ‘onechan’—I’m just so used to hearing Akane say that in the subtitles, and it makes it less redundant than using ‘older sister’ over and over again, so that’s my excuse…
And I know I promised some Ranma in this chapter… but I’m afraid I just couldn’t fit him in… I had enough trouble handling Nabiki. But believe me, he WILL appear in the next one! Actually, one of my favorite scenes is coming up in Chapter 11—the one scene I’ve been dying to write since I started!
And in the next chapter it’s Akane’s turn! Plus, the ‘hunt’ for Ryoga begins!
Ah, and guess what else?!
This story’s almost done!! I’m guessing, perhaps 3 more chapters… maybe a short little epilogue… who knows.
And in case I haven’t mentioned this yet, I have decided to end this fanfic at Volume 1. I really have no desire to stretch this out another two volumes, and have decided continuing it past volume 1 is sort of unnecessary. Plus, I’d much rather move on to something else…
So, I’m starting to think I may actually FINISH this one!! Yay!!
Nabiki’s nightmare: I’m sorry to those of you who were disappointed with her decision, or saw it as unjustified. If it helps, just look at it as a small moment of weakness. She is human, after all. And, I mean, it is their mother... it’s apparent what a huge impact her disappearance/death had on all of them, especially Soun and Kasumi. So given the opportunity, why wouldn’t Nabiki try to get her back if she could?
If it helps, look at it this way: Akane gets to rule over some freaky, cool world with a hot guy who’s head-over-heels in love with her—and they get their mother back. Seems like an okay trade to me. ;)
And let’s be honest—if Ranma weren’t in the picture, what girl wouldn’t want to go off and be with Gabriel?! I mean, he’s hot, powerful, can give you anything—and look how far he’s willing to go to get the woman he loves?! Okay, so he’s twisted and probably has a couple screws loose… but really, they can work on that.
Besides, knowing Ranma and how much he hates to lose (not to mention how much he loves Akane) he’d get her back no matter what—regardless of any deal Nabiki made with Gabriel. So it’s kind of a win/win situation any way you look at it.
And we all know Ranma never loses. ^_^
Or maybe I’m just not depicting Gabriel as totally awesome and kick-ass as he is in the actual series. Oh, wait. That’s the third volume.
Err, either way, there’s my reasoning behind Nabiki’s decision. Feel free to disagree: just thought I’d let everyone in on the inner-workings of my mind. And don’t worry, everything will be explained: including Akane’s part in their mothers disappearance.
And REMEMBER TO REVIEW! Even if you HATED something—let me know! Heck, I’ll be happy if you just write, “I read this” or “this was dumb.”
Anyway “this is way too long” so I’m shutting up now. See you in the next chapter!
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You can't think how I depend on you, and when
you're not there the color goes out of my life."
~Virginia Woolf -- to her sister
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