Ranma slowly felt reality return to him.
As the pain seemed to follow it, he had to wonder if perhaps the tomboy had forced her cooking down his throat again. Sure, she didn’t do it that often, and she was improving ... slowly ... very, very slowly ... but it hurt like hell when the stuff tried to get free.
But his mind could only come up with one thought as he opened his eyes. “Unfamiliar ceiling...”
Damn it, no more watching Evangelion before bed.
But it wasn’t like any room he had been in before. The walls were clean and sterile, the air smelled of disinfectant, and he was on a bed, not the usual old futon he was used to waking up on. “Where am I?”
“Konoha Hospital.”
Blinking, he turned slightly, seeing a small girl standing beside his bed, a few years younger than himself. “Um ... hello?”
“Hello,” she responded.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Anko Mitarashi.”
Ranma could only blink. “Why am I in a hospital?”
“You fell from the sky, at least, that’s what the nurses say,” she responded. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No,” he said. “Why would I be? And what do you mean I fell from the sky?”
The girl blinked. “You mean you don’t know you fell?”
He leaned back a bit, staring at the ceiling. “Let’s see... I was playing with some weird box I found, everyone was wanting it and ...” He sat up quickly, eyes darting around. “Nabiki!”
“The girl who fell with you is sleeping down the hall,” said Anko.
“Okay,” said Ranma sitting back. “Is she okay?”
“She just sleeps a lot,” said Anko.
“I like you,” she said. “You aren’t mad at me.”
“Um ... why would I be?” he wondered. Didn’t I already ask that? Must have hit my head harder than I thought. I mean, I know there ain’t a toad that big in real life.
“I was taught by Orochimaru,” she said in a hushed tone.
“Who?”
“The legendary Sennin?”
“...”
“Creepy pale guy?”
“...” Wonder if he’s related to what’s-his-name from class?
“The guy who betrayed our village?”
“Sorry,” Ranma said. “Don’t know him unless he goes by something else in Nerima. Besides, so what if the jerk taught you before he screwed up. Ain’t like you are him ... are you?”
“No!” she shouted. “I am nothing like him! That bastard abandoned me!”
Ranma started to freak out a bit, as her eyes teared up. “Uh! Don’t cry! I didn’t mean anything by it! I swear!”
She stopped sniffling a bit, berating herself for showing such a weakness before him. “You ... you don’t hate me?”
“Nah,” he said. “I mean, it’s pretty stupid to hate you for something you can’t control. And since you hate the guy too, it ain’t like you’re gonna be him.”
She nodded shyly at him.
“So, you wanna be friends?” he asked. He figured it was better to not call her cute. He had enough girls after him already, and he had learned his lesson after seeing what it did to Ukyo. Besides, Akane was mad enough at him for girls his own age flirting with him. What would she do to him if a little girl did it?
She nodded happily. He was the first person aside from the Hokages, who treated her with kindness. “Thank you, Big Brother!” she squealed, as she leapt onto the bed, hugging him.
“Urk!” he cried, as she tackled him. He tried to stay calm, an easy thing since she was just ... hugging him. It wasn’t the type of hug he usually associated with his fiancées. No, this was more ... kind, sort of like the hugs he’d get from Kasumi on occasion.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, trying to keep it as innocent as possible. Man, this kid must have been in a bad place. Though he didn’t know who this Orochimaru guy was, even he was beginning to hate this guy. It wasn’t right that the guy had run away, and everyone was taking it out on her. He had been there before, having people his father had ripped off, expect him to pay for it.
“Ah, I see you made a new friend, Anko,” said an elderly man as he walked into the room, another man in medical clothes with him.
The girl turned slightly, sitting on the bed, and bowed. “Yes, Hokage-sama.”
“Please child, no need to be formal. I am retiring soon, after all,” said the man. “And how are you feeling?” he asked, looking at Ranma.
“Um ... better, I guess,” said Ranma. “Is Nabiki okay?”
“Nabiki is the girl that was with you?” he asked. Seeing Ranma’s nod, the man replied. “She is recovering slower than you. Her mind too quite a shock. May I ask what attacked you?”
Ranma’s eyes lowered a bit, his bangs hiding them from the others. “A place I never want to go again. It was like Hell itself.”
“Could you explain further,” said a man beside the Hokage. “We need to know everything in order to better treat your friend.”
Ranma slowly turned to the window. “The place ... it could reach right into your soul. It wiggled around inside you, messing with you. It tried to warp me, make me ... something. I ain’t certain what it was made of, but it was calling itself a lot of names, names I’ve never heard of before. A few I did hear of where legends, beasts of horrors that I learned about in some temples I visited.
“She ... it got to her longer than me. I was able to create a barrier against it, but Nabiki ... she ain’t been trained like me. I got to her as soon as I could, put the barrier around her as well, but...”
“I see,” said the Hokage. “It tried to rip your very essence apart.”
Ranma nodded. “Can you help her?” he asked quietly. “She shouldn’t suffer cause I couldn’t keep her safe.”
“We’ll do what we can,” said the Hokage. To him, it was obvious the boy was placing the responsibility for Nabiki’s condition on his own shoulders, whether it deserved to be there or not.
“Can I see her?” he asked.
“For a bit,” said the man beside the Hokage. “She needs her rest, no matter what.”
Ranma nodded.
“Can I come to, Big Brother?” asked Anko.
Ranma smiled, as he ruffled her hair. “Sure, squirt. I’m sure she’d be your friend too.”
The Third smiled. He knew that many didn’t like the girl, considering what his former student had ended up doing. At least Anko now knows someone who won’t reject her. “Afterwards, we’d appreciate it if you could explain a bit about how you came to be where we found you. It is our experience that people just don’t drop from the skies.”
“Sure,” said Ranma, trying to smile, trying to ignore the imagery that his time in that Void had produced. Besides, he had to go back sooner or later to Nerima. The last thing he wanted was for the usual craziness of his life to follow him here. These people were nice enough as is, and he didn’t want them upset with him for some reason
But first, he had to make sure Nabiki was okay ... and pray no one else followed him there through ... that.
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(Posted Sat, 20 Jan 2007 14:53)
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