Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ The Light Within ❯ Dive to the Heart, Part 1 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter One: Dive to the Heart

 

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

-Edgar Allan Poe

 

~*~

 

`Okay, way too dark in here for comfort,' thought Ranma as he wandered around. His footsteps echoed into the surrounding emptiness, and his eyes darted around, searching for any sign of light—or company.

 

“Hello? Anyone here?” he asked tentatively, only to hear his voice echo. `Okay, so no one's around,' he thought as he continued his journey through nowhere.

 

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in his eyes, and Ranma found himself standing just outside the dojo, in front of the koi pond. The wind was blowing gently, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

 

“What in the world?” he muttered, a confused expression finding its way across his face. Looking in the direction of the koi pond, his confusion turned to surprise. Standing there with her back turned to him, the hem of her yellow sundress fluttering in the breeze, was Akane.

 

“A-Akane,” he managed to stutter out in shock. `What's she doing standing near the pond? Oh, man, I hope that clumsy tomboy doesn't-'

 

Akane did a quarter turn, allowing Ranma to see the half-lidded expression on her face. His eyes widened in shock as she then smirked and -willingly- fell into the koi pond.

 

“No, Akane!” Ranma ran as fast as he was able towards the koi pond, intent on saving his reluctant fiancée from drowning. He dove into the icy waters, and immediately began to sink.

 

`What the-' His eyes widened in horror as he sunk further and faster. He tried to swim up, towards the light of the surface, but was hit with another surprise. There was Akane, floating a few inches away from the surface; not drowning at all. She was looking down upon him with contempt, and she still that that odd, out of character smirk on her face. Slowly, she brought her hand up and held it out for him, beckoning him to take hold.

 

Ranma didn't waste any time in trying to do just that. However, no matter how much he tried, he simply kept sinking through the water - into the darkness. The fact that his curse didn't activate never crossed his mind.

 

`Akane!'

 

That was his last coherent thought before he blacked out.

 

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in that dark room again. “Damn it,” he muttered, irritation finding its way into his voice. “Not this place again…what the hell's goin' on here?”

 

He stood up slowly and looked around, already resigning himself to being stuck in the strange room. “Looks like I gotta find a way out…better start walkin'.”

 

The moment he took a step forward, another bright light flashed, and the tiles of the floor began to crack and get blown away by a strange whirlwind. He shielded his face to keep the shards of floor from flying into his eyes, but then found that there was no need. He lifted his eyes, and saw that the shards were not tiles at all. They had turned into white butterflies.

 

As the butterflies flew around him and away, he felt himself entranced. A single butterfly landed on his nose as the rest fluttered away, leaving behind them a small trail of gold sparks behind them. The butterfly that had landed on his nose then took off and followed the others into the darkness, leaving behind a trail of blue sparks instead of the gold left by the rest.

 

`What was that all about?' Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced down at the floor. His remarkable blue-gray eyes widened in surprise when he saw that the floor seemed to be made out of stained glass, and was arranged in the image of a beautiful young woman. Her black hair was cut short, and her skin was pale- as white as snow, some people might say. Around the image of the woman were seven circles, all but one containing the image of a small, bearded man. The last image still held a small man, but he didn't have a beard like the others.

 

“What the…”

 

“So much to do, and so little time…” said a soft, young-sounding voice. Ranma turned around in a circle, looking for the source. After making a full circle, he stopped…and saw someone.

 

It was a transparent young man: roughly his age in appearance, and dressed in a white kimono and hakama combination. He was short, maybe only 5'2” at the most, and had a lithe build. His skin was a ghostly white color, only matched by his long, snow-white hair. Long bangs fell into eyes which, though a bright red, reflected innocence - innocence hard won; this man had the eyes of a person that had seen the worst of what humans could do to each other, yet still believed that life was worth it; eyes that said that he knew that Death had moved into the house next door just to cut back on the daily commute (1).

 

The young man smiled, and then spoke again. His voice was mild, but carried hidden strength. “Take your time. You don't need to be afraid, that you don't.”

 

“The door is still shut.”

 

Ranma whirled around, surprised at the second voice. The owner of the second voice was a woman; one of the strangest-looking women he had ever seen.

 

She too was short - not much shorter than the man. She was dressed in some sort of leather armor, cut to allow maximum mobility. Her skin was the color of coal - the complete opposite of the young man. Her hair was also white, and was held up in a ponytail high on her head. She too had long bangs, though hers fell into eyes that were a startling amber color.

 

Her eyes bore holes into him, as if seeing into his very soul. Then, he noticed something about her ears.

 

They were not rounded, like a human's. They were pointed.

 

`This lady's an elf!' realized Ranma, his eyes widening with awe. `Not just any elf, either; she's a dark elf!' He vaguely remembered some of the kids in his class talking about dark elves, though he couldn't remember what they said about them, other than they could be fierce fighters. He hadn't been paying too close attention to them.

 

“Now…step forward.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I'm certain that you can do it, that I am,” said the man, the kind smile still on his face. Ranma felt himself comforted by that smile almost as easily as he would be by Kasumi's.

 

“All right…if all you two want is for me to go the center, then…I'll do it.” He wasn't sure what compelled him to listen to these two strange spirits; perhaps it was that they radiated the same sense of goodness that he associated with Kasumi. Whatever the reason, he steadily walked towards the center of the platform, where a light was shining down from the darkness.

 

When he entered the light, three pedestals magically appeared.

 

“Power sleeps within you, that it does.”

 

Above one pedestal, a sword materialized and floated in mid-air. Ranma could feel an aura of sheer power coming from the weapon, despite its appearance of being no more than a toy.

 

“If you give it form…”

 

Above a second, a magical staff topped with three blue gems arranged in what looked like a mouse head appeared. Again, Ranma felt a presence from the weapon, though this one was of wisdom.

 

“It will give you strength.”

 

Finally, a shield materialized in the space above the third pedestal. It was black, and the edges were lined with red. At the center of the shield were three circles: a large one, and two smaller ones arranged to resemble a mouse head. Instead of the other two weapons, the shield held a feeling of kindness.

 

“Choose well…”

 

The words of the spirits hung in the air with a level of importance and gravity. Ranma shuddered; to think that making the wrong (or however wrong he could get) decision would hold such weight! But…which weapon would be more beneficial in the end? Sitting down in the center of the platform, Ranma did one thing that he very seldom did.

 

He thought.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Ranma stood up - his face set in a resolved expression - and walked over to the pedestal with the shield. He jumped up and landed lightly next to the floating object, before he slowly reached out and grabbed it. Immediately, he felt warmth spread from his fingertips. It traveled up his arms and soon encompassed his entire body, leaving him feeling safe…secure…

 

“Ah…the power of the guardian,” said the ghost of the young man, his eyes on Ranma. “It is kindness to protect friends, and a shield to repel all, that it is. Is…this the power that you choose?”

 

Ranma looked at the shield in awe. It resembled a toy at best, but he could feel the quality of the workmanship. He also liked the description given to the weapon. `Kindness to protect friends, is it? I kinda like the sound of that,' he thought, a smile forming on his face. `That might be something I need in the future…besides, you gotta be able to defend yourself, ne?' “Yeah…I choose this power,” he said softly, still looking at the shield.

 

In a flash of light, the shield dissolved, and Ranma felt another surge of warmth go through his body.

 

“Your path is set,” said the female spirit, her unsettling gaze locked on Ranma. He turned to look at the young woman and cocked his head to the side in light confusion. `My path? I wish they would stop talking in riddles…' The girl looked him right in the eye and he shuddered. “Now…which do you give up in exchange?”

 

Ranma's gaze immediately turned to the staff, and he easily jumped from one pedestal to the next. He picked up the staff and was shocked by the aura of experience and wisdom that it seemed to give off.

 

“The power of the mystic; inner strength. Do you wish to give up that power?” Ranma nodded with total confidence in his decision; staves meant magic, and he didn't get along too well with magic. One look at his current track record told a person all that they needed to know about how he didn't mix well with anything magical (contrary to the belief held by many).

 

The staff disappeared in the same flash of light that the shield did, and a series of events took place. First, each pedestal tilted into the floor, causing the glass to crack. The floor began to shake due to the collapse, causing Ranma to fall to the ground, the glass to crack further and eventually shatter. For the second time, Ranma began to fall.