[Episode 166505] [Episode 166505]It flickered, and she thought it was coming back up for a moment. It was that dim hope still still felt even as the first of the cracks appeared in everything, splintering outwards from the Gate like sharp tendrils.
"Oh no no no--" Sailor Pluto managed to choke out a moment before she, and the space she had existed in, were lost in the ever-widening chasm of...
Chaos. It was chaos, and it consumed cities, leaving nothing and everything behind. Most people didn't see it coming upon them from everywhere at once before they were gone. The ones that did were lucky enough to go mad before they lost.
Like flower blooming, it spread throughout the universe.
And then, everything was, simply, chaos. There was no other way to describe it, because it was true chaos, without any sort of -ness at all. It lacked shape and form. It was every shape and form. It was true and false and usually and almost never and none of the above, all at once.
But even true chaos is as difficult to maintain as true order, and after eons that weren't really eons at all but milliseconds that were eons that were leap years that were newtons, patterns began to appear.
Nothing major, at first. The same instance of chaos began to happen again and again, that was all. But it was enough, and the chaotic everything wasn't chaos anymore but only realities and not-realities, mixed together like millions of melted wax candles.
And finally, a semblance of order appeared, manifested as reality.
Realities, rather. Many, many different realities that slowly separated from each other, seeking out their rightful planes of existence.
---
Usagi had been surprised when the door to her room had flown open and that boy had come running in like the devil himself was on his tail. Well, something had been chasing him, in any case. She could tell, seeing how the boy had also taken care to shut (well, slam) the door behind it.
Really, she had been half expecting something like this. It had been a bad day all around. And she didn't even want to think about what would happen once her parents learned about her failing her latest test. She was a good person, wasn't she? She'd gone a saved that cat from those kids earlier that day, hadn't she? Where was the positive karma she was supposed to have?
And now this boy was looking around her room like his life depending on it. He turned to look at her. "Sakes alive, don't you have any religious symbols around here or something?" He half-pleaded, half-yelled. He was dressed strangely, too. Seriously, who wore fedoras and trench coats?
"Hey!" Usagi demanded back angrily. "Who do you think you are, busting in my room like this and invading my privacy?"
"Well, your front door was open, and--whaaaaat?" The boy in the coat looked taken aback, I look of shock on his face. "You've never heard of me?" Then his expression facing into a wide grin. "Then allow me to introduce myself! I am Ranma Saotome, paranormal detective!"
He raised his arm into the air, pointer finger extended, posing grandly, and it might've been impressive, even, had a floating, flaming girl not suddenly broken the door down.
---
"U...sagi?"
"Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." The small girl hurried to where the other child lay, suddenly remembering the events that had taken place just moments before. That great thing had come rushing towards her, its scythe-like arms raised to strike her down where she stood, when suddenly he had come hurtling from the side, pushing her out of its path, screaming her name. "Ranma! D - don't talk! I'll f - find a grown-up!"
But even though neither of them were even teenagers, yet, they both knew that when something ripped through your stomach and out your back like that thing had done to Ranma -
It had been a miracle that Usagi had landed where she had after he'd pushed her, right next to the weapon. She'd picked up the gun, aimed carefully (Just like poor Mr. Ryoji had shown her, joking around before the whole mess had started. Poor Mr. Ryoji. He was dead now), and fired. And the thing had melted away (just like Mr. Ryoji had said it would, too).
But there wasn't any hope left in Ranma's eyes, just calm, sad acceptance (God, she would think after she had grown older, how could someone that young have had such eyes?). "Usagi...promise me somethin'..." His voice was fading now.
"Yes?" She listened closely, barely breathing.
"Promise me...that you'll do th' right thing. Not the things yer friends want you to do because of something that's suppos'd ta be or someth..." He trailed off for a second. She could tell it hurt him to speak, but he tried his best to not show any of the pain. "Promise me!" he gasped. "Promise that - if you ever have a choice b'tween becoming Empress of Japan or savin' a million people - promise me you'll save...th' people!"
Tears were in both of their eyes, now. "I - I promise." said Usagi.
"Alrigh'" said Ranma, and he turned his head to the side and died.
---
The boy's clothes were bloody, his eyes glassy.
"Boy..." he whispered, mentally praying that Rei didn't follow him out of the shrine. "Are you alright?"
"I killed him." the boy whispered back, his voice hitching as he tried not to cry. "I killed him - I killed him and I'll be reincarnated as a slug or a worm or a termite -"
"Settle down, boy." He bent down, as to not appear so tall and frightening. "Now, who are you talking about? What did you do?"
"Pop - wanted me to be strong, so it's my fault - climbed into - I tried to get him back out, I really did, but - the cat - the cat -" The child suddenly rushed forwards, burrowing his face into the old man's shoulder, repeating the same two words again and again. "The cat! The cat! The cat!"
---
The roulette wheel of reality slowed.
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(Posted Fri, 03 Nov 2006 07:55)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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