Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Waterfalls of Blood ❯ Return to the Night ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Do you believe in things that go bump in the night?
Of hidden figures taunting the edge of your vision,
to disappear when the head is turned? You should...
If you want to live very long.

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Waterfalls of Blood
A Sera Luanma Production
Disclaimer: Don't own it, any of it.

Chapter 1 - Return to the Night

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It crept around him, seeping into corners and following
the seams of the walls, creeping across the ceiling
and dripping down in thick clumps, a grim parody of
blood. Soon, utter darkness encased the room, allowing
no light in and no light to escape. It curled in and
around itself as it slunk further into the room, soft
sliding sounds the only indication the blackness wasn't
typical twilight shadows. And then, all movement ceased,
only a small circle of pre-natural gloom surrounding the
futon and the figure in a lotus position at the center.

Ranma's eyes flicked open when his danger sense jumped
off the scale, darting around the darkened guest room
confusedly. To his memories, he had only been meditating
an hour...and only a few moments ago, his room had been
suffused with a rosy orange glow as the sun sunk low into
the horizon, golden tendrils on his pensive face as it
fell of the edge. Yet, even as he had retreated into a
Zen-like state, within a few seconds the beauty of a
Japanese sunset had been obscured. Now though, pools of
ebony ink called his name in sibilant hisses, whispering
things in a language millennia-dead on Earth. He watched
in trepidation as small tendrils of midnight felt along
the floor in a path leading directly to his being.

|A martial artist does not fear...a martial artist does
not fear...a martial artist does not fear...|The mantra
was repeated continuously in Ranma's mind as he closed
his eyes for a brief moment and tried to achieve his center
again. Thinking about the koi pond and it's warm glow of a
few minutes back, the impossibly blue orbs flew open when
one of the tendrils crept up his leg and twined around his
upper thigh. It was all Ranma could do not to cry out,
tactile memories of paws filling his conciousness and causing
a chilled sweat to cover his body. At the taste of his fear,
others began touching his legs and ankles in strangely
carressing ways...until they bit into his skin with unseen
teeth.

"Oh Kami-sama, no!" He cried as he went to grasp the one
on his thigh and fling it away. Ranma gripped it in his
right hand and tugged, wincing as the teeth held fast
into his skin. |This is going to hurt like a bitch.| He
thought as he gave a strong jerk and nearly fell to his
knees when he hurtled it back into the shadows, crushing
the ones at his heels as they too continued to bite down.
Ranma felt at the tattered mess that was left of his
black pants and the bleeding skin beneath. He took a
deep breath and pushed his chi to the top layer of skin,
sighing in relief as the glow suffused him and the shadows
drew back. The hissing intensified and then all was silent
when a figure parted from the shadows, clothed in robes
that were total absence of light.

A deeply-rooted feeling of death filled the room as his
primal instincts screamed at Ranma. He felt the tug of the
otherworld calling to him. Scared, he drew the chi back
into his body and buried it deep into his core, suffusing
it with life and trying to keep it from this dark and evil
taint. The feeling that eyes were upon him caused Ranma to
glare into the deep cavity of the robe's hood. ::Chi...So
long since I have seen that particular kind of grayness.
Even you do not know what taint lies on your soul, my Chaos
Demon::

Ranma started at the definition of his name, and the possesive,
the flash of terror causing him to give in to his mounting fury
at this thing drawing out his weaknesses. "Up yours, bakayarou.
Who in the hell are you?" Ranma spat out.

::Hell...I like it.:: A soft roll of laughter, easily mistaken
for deep thunder crawled across Ranma's skin and caused every
hair on his body to stand on end. ::I have been called many
things, but my base is darkness. *You* once called me Lord.::

"I call no one master, you asshole!"

::Oh, but I am. I could lay you bare and read your life,
your fantasies...your deepest desires. Then I could burn
you from your body, leaving an empty shell of a creature.
You would be my plaything. What could you possibly say to
that, War Horse?::

"I'd say you were full of shit." Ranma stated, for once
scared out of his mind. Even battling Saffron, he hadn't
felt this terrified. But this entity wasn't a self-proclaimed
god...He was Ruler of Darkness himself.

There was a brief flare from inside the robes and a horrible
growling filled the room. It took a moment for Ranma to
realize it was laughter. ::Spunk, just as I remember you,
Wild Devil. But be careful what you say, impudence is not
smart in my presence...even from a one as beloved as you.::

"My name is Ranma..." He ground from between clenched teeth.

"Ranma, Lucifer, Incubus, Kali, Hades, Pluto...It matters not
what you are called. You are and always will be second to
my throne. But my time is short and midnight is almost past.
I have only one last thing before you walk on His time
again.:: The figure spat at the mention of his adversary,
spittle sizzling as it hit the floor. Then, Ranma only had
time for a chocked scream when the thick shadows parted,
leaving the figure standing bare in the room. The Lord of
Darkness stood in all his filthy glory, rushing forward as
Ranma fell, heart stopped and a small trickle of blood
seeping out his nose.

The sickly-sweet scent of rotting flesh filled the room when
his breath hissed out over Ranma's neck. Eyes of reflected
flames filling Ranma's vision before things began to go hazy
as his mortal body began to slow it's functioning and thoughts.
He felt a sharp pain in his neck and tried to gasp, body
not obeying as it shut down completely. Thick sucking sounds
filled his ears as the blood was drawn out in coppery droughts
to slide down the back of the thing's throat. When it finished,
the thing's head lifted and Ranma barely comprehended the
smeared cherry colored substance on his jaws. A clawed finger
touched the wound and a thick collar banded his neck, ruby
gemstone reflecting the twin points of light drilling into
Ranma, even reaching the place where his soul drifted, a
passenger in his own dead body. Echoes of shadow danced in
his head as he struggled to make a last prayer before his
presence left the mortal coil. |Akane...Shampoo...Ukyou...
mom...momma...|

::Rise again, slave to the Master, and master of the Darkness.
Reawaken, soul of hate, fear, and rage. Let the blackness taint
the light and the life once more succumb to the beauty of the
eternal night!:: The thing split it's own ruined flesh and pushed
Ranma's unmoving mouth to the wound. As soon as the blood touched
his lips, it seared through the neural passage ways in Ranma's
brain, and lit fire to his body. His heart beat once, feebley,
and then was completely still as the cavern once again yawned
in Ranma's soul, drawing in the filthy liquid and pushing it
out, filling every particle and cell in the teen's corpse. Lips
like suckers fastened onto the wound and drew more of the un-life
back into himself.

::I said I would have you again at my side, even if you were
taken by the light once more. They tried to hide you from me and
turn you to their side...:: The Master of Filth purred as he pulled
back from the figure the mewled for more. ::The offered you many
promising warriors of the light to entice your pathetically human
horomones...But you know you are mine and Urd's...even if she
has betrayed us.::Ranma exerted himself once more before the
crawling monster inside of him took complete control.

"Bastard..."

::Ahh, Ranma...You have no idea. Let the blood work on your
body, and in seven days you will once again waken as my own.::
It was the last thing Ranma heard as he slipped into the
bliss of unconsciousness.

|...urd...|

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