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The Day I Jumped.
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Ranma growled, gnashing his teeth in frustration.
Nabiki’s eyes never moved from the television – it appeared she did not even hear a sound.
“Now, now, Ranma-kun,” Kasumi said calmly. She offered him a kind smile in vain hope to placate his mounting plateau of emotional whirlwind. “There’s no sense in becoming angry and doing something irrational.”
Ranma could not help but chortled mirthlessly at that. He tried to see things from the girl’s prospective, really, he did. But despite his best effort, it still eluded him as to how he could possibly be rational about all of this.
After all, it was no everyday that you suddenly woke up without your feet.
Thinking about the absurdity of that statement almost made his chuckle again, almost. Still though, what did that really mean? Did he got caught up in some tragic accident and has to have his legs amputated? Ha! If only it was that simple.
No, Ranma realized, as he – along with Kasumi and Nabiki – watched the chilling image of another him falling horrifically from Tokyo Tower to his death on national news broadcast, no, he had lost quite a bit more than a foot or two.
He was dead.
Well, he was.
And he was evidently going to be certifiable in a couple of hours as well – at least according to the nice lady on the screen anyway.
“At this point in time the police have yet to make any conclusive statements regarding the cause of this strident case of suicide we’ve witnessed here today,” the distinguished looking young women in her mid-twenty said. There was a hint of emotion buried within her façade of ingénue-like professionalism. It was rare for a case of suicide to get so bold, so provocative. She took a small, uneasy breath before continued reading.
“However, what we can confirm is that the jumper was of Japanese descent, male, age ranging from late teen to early twenties. He has jet black hair which was fashioned in a form of pigtail at the time of his death.”
His death – was it just him or have other people found it odd as well that the pronoun ‘his’ was used there to infer possession? Did death belong to him in that moment which with he was its prey? Did he somehow gain the tenure to death when it closed its claw about him?
“Ranma-kun?” Kasumi called out to the boy again. It seemed he has gone into shock. Rather understandable, she guessed. Still, she could not help but wonder that if he had a seizure, should she be worry about putting something in his mouth to prevent him from accidentally biting his tongue? Can a ghost actually harm himself? Did she use a wrong pronoun? Do ghosts even have genders?
Hm…, how curious, maybe she should look into it. After, if it was a purely scientific venture then she could hardly be branded a necrophiliac now, could she? Beside, it was not like things could get physical now, could it? She would just be asking questions, taking notes and looking…, and making sketches and diagrams…
Oh my…
“Kasumi!!!” Nabiki shouted, finally having enough of this weirdness. It seemed her dear sister has finally lost it. For the last minutes or so she has bear witnessed to Kasumi talking to thin-air – apparently having a rather animated conversation with the dead Ranma.
“Please, don’t do this to me…,” Nabiki tearfully pleaded. First Ranma just went and off himself and now this! She did not know how much more she could take.
“Don’t do what, Nabiki-chan?” Kasumi turned around and asked with a straight face.
Nabiki did not know what to say to that.
Seeing that she was not going to get any answer, the longhaired girl turned back to Ranma and continued to give him an inquisitive look.
“I’m not going to disappear if you just keep staring at me, Kasumi,” Ranma said irritably as he turned away from the television to glare at the said girl.
“Oh my, I’m sorry Ranma-kun,” Kasumi muttered in surprise. “I didn’t mean to be rude but I didn’t realize I was staring.”
‘Please don’t be crazy, big sis, we need you,’ Nabiki silently begged. She wished it was true but what she was seeing definitely pointed to the contrary – taking to thin air was not a good sign of someone’s mental health after all. ‘Speaking of we – where is Akane?’
Nabiki suddenly bolted from the room.
Ranma, who was half-dazed and standing in front of the door, did not have the time to react as she ran directing into him and passed straight through without the slightest bit of resistance.
“Holy sh…,” Ranma cursed – there was no use denying it now; he, Ranma Saotome, was well and truly dead.
“Oh my,” Kasumi said as she stared at the point where Nabiki was a second ago. “She should know better than to run in the house like that. Are you alright, Ranma-kun?”
Ranma gave the girl an incredulous look – was this girl for real? Did she not just see Nabiki ran through him? He was dead – how could he possibly be okay if he was dead?
“I’m alright, Kasumi. She just went straight through – I didn’t even feel a thing,” he answered with a resigned voice.
“That’s good,” Kasumi said with a nod.
Again, Ranma struggled to find how what he said can possible be classified as ‘good’. Still, he nodded along with Kasumi anyway. It made it felt slightly better – not that he could feel any worse at this point.
Meanwhile the television continued it judicious-sounding report even though no one was paying it any attention.
“In the intervening time, however, the experts are paying close attention to the massive graffiti the suicide victim, now confirmed as Ranma Saotome, age eighteen, has carved upon the side of the Tokyo Tower’s observatory deck prior to his jump. The five feet wide inscription that read simply ‘Follow me down, and I shall show you the Rabbit Hole’, seemed to have sparked of numerous debates amount many heated professionals at the University of Tokyou’s Department of Philosophy and Theology.
“How odd… I didn’t know there were any rabbit in Tokyo…,” Kasumi mused, placing a finger against her chin in contemplation. She turned to Ranma who was spacing out again. “You should’ve told me about them earlier Ranma-kun; I’ve had this recipe for a rabbit stew that I’ve been waiting to try for some time now.”
Ranma nodded dumbly – his mind going at several miles per hour.
‘What the fuck?’ he mentally swore. ‘How could I’ve written something like that and not remember it? It makes no sense…,’
“It’s called ‘subdural hematoma’ and acute ‘lesion’, Ranma-kun,” Kasumi said pleasantly. “It’s what happened when you fell from a fifty stories tall structure and hit your head against hardened concrete pavement – the jarring impact your brain have suffered when it collided with your cranium couple with oozing out from cracks in your skull is probably the cause of your memory loss.”
“…wha?!” Ranma said in confusion – he had been lost by the time Kasumi said the second syllable of ‘subdural…,’. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He suddenly thought of something else. “Hey, how did you know what I was thinking?”
“You were thinking, Ranma-kun?” Kasumi asked, clearly surprised by the fact. “Oh my, I didn’t know. Your thoughts and your vocalizations sound the same when you’re floating like that.”
“Floating?” Ranma asked, baffled. He followed her gaze down to his feet – or the lack of thereof – before finally figured out her usage of euphemism. “Oh…”
Well, that was bloody considerate of her, was it not? Ranma did not even know it was consider rude to point out to a ghost that it was dead.
“Diiiinnngggg, Diiinnnnggg,” suddenly the overpowering silence was interrupt by ringing phone.
Kasumi padded over to phone on the counter and answered it. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this the Tendo resident – the place that Ranma Saotome has been staying for the pass two years?” the man on the phone asked. He sounded kind of nervous about talking to her with regard to Ranma – he was probably feeling somewhat guilty, after all, it has not been an hour yet since he has died.
Kasumi shrugged; it bothered her none. Otherwise she would not be talking to Ranma’s ghost now, would she?
“Yes, how can we help you?” she said into the phone’s receiver.
“I’m sorry for calling at such an inconsiderate time – but do you mind if I ask you some question about Saotome-san? Now I know this may sound rather odd, but I believe this is a matter of life and deat— Hey, what are you doing back here?! Oh my god…zzzzz”
The line went dead after that.
Kasumi pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it; that was rather odd.
“Who was that?” Ranma asked her curiously.
Kasumi blinked a little at that question. “I’m sorry Ranma-kun, but he didn’t give me his name before hanging up.”
Ranma gave that train of thought a shove toward the darker recesses of his mind – really, he has a lot important things to worry about than some ‘ops-wrong-number’ callers.
BOOM!
Ranma spun around, looking alert and on the ball of his feet – metaphorically speaking, of course, because he did not have feet so he could not physically be balancing on the ball of them; that came with being dead and all, he supposed.
“Wait here,” Ranma told Kasumi before drifting purposefully over to the door. He was almost there when three figures clad in camouflaging black combat uniforms and masks burst through it. They were all holding a Heckler & Koch MP5A5 Submachine Gun – not that the pigtailed ghost knew that at the time.
Being a martial artist – it only took Ranma a split second to overcome the shock and reacted.
“Get down!” he commanded as he dashed over to Kasumi. In truth, the boy has had no more experience of firefights than Kasumi did but it hardly mattered at that point. It only takes a bit of comment sense of get down and hide when someone points a fully automatic weapon at you.
Kasumi ducked behind the sofa without a word.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ranma chanted in frustration as their three assailants flooded the room. They split, the two by the sides heading for the different parts of the room while the one in the middle stride forward, his firearm aiming straight at the Ranma’s throat.
Ranma gulped as the man simply walked through him.
He moved forward a bit and spun about. His heart sank as he realized that the masked man was heading straight for where Kasumi was hiding: just behind that ‘Lazyboy’ at the center of the room.
“Damn…,” Ranma muttered in despair.
The man took another step forward. He paused and waved his firearm about for left to right, apparently scanning the room for potential treats.
Finding none present, he took yet another step forward.
‘Shit,’ Ranma thought; this was not supposed to happen. Something should happen right about here – something random, something cliché, something stupid… something that would help them escape – to give them another chance so that they can fight back at a later time.
“Clear!” the one that went to check the kitchen chimed in.
“Clear!” the other echoed.
Ranma sweated profusely as he stared at the masked man in front of him. He paused and took another look around the room before taking a hand off his weapon. He took hold of his microphone and called in his report. “Downstairs’ all clear, Spike,”
Ranma let loose a lungful of airs he did not know he was holding – that was close, too close.
However, his brief moment of respite did not last. He froze as he heard the reply that ‘Spike’ gave the masked man.
“Good, Boots, let’s rendezvous at the stairs – we have two suspects incapacitated; two girls – both with short brown hair, consistent with the intelligent.”
…
Ranma resisted the urge to bash his head against a wall. There was enough time for that later, an eternity in fact. Besides’, he would probably passes straight through anyway.
Ah, such a wonderful example of a dichotomy in full-bloom.
Still crouching behind the sofa, Kasumi fidgeted nervously. Did she just hear the stove sizzled? Oh no, she had left the dinner on the fire for too long and all the water have boiled away!
Ranma watched on lethargically as the masked men left the room. He forced down the urge to run off to see Akane and Nabiki and instead floated over to Kasumi to see how she was doing. If he was tangible he might have done things differently but as it stood, there was no way he would risk a rescue attempt – not with Kasumi having to execute it by herself.
No, Akane and Nabiki would have to wait.
“Are you alright, Kasumi,” he called out as he rose over the sofa and looked down at the said girl.
“I’m fine, Ranma-kun,” Kasumi looked up at Ranma with unperturbed eyes and answered casually. She stood up and gained a frown as she looked over to the kitchen. “But dinner isn’t though – I believe I may have to through the lot out if it’s burnt like I think it is.”
Ranma groaned; maybe this was his after-life – maybe he was doomed to be the advocate of this oblivious angel from now till the end of time.
“Come on, Kasumi,” he said. “We don’t have the time to worry about that now. You have to get out of here before they return. Both Akane and Nabiki have already been kidnapped – I’m not going to let that happen to you as well.”
Ranma leaded Kasumi to the wall next to the window.
“Stay here for a second,” he told the longhaired girl before bracing himself and stuck his head through the wall. Ranma blanched as he saw what was outside – this was not going to be easy. There was literally dozens of them, all wearing the same midnight black uniform, standing outside, all armed to teeth.
“We can’t go out this way,” Ranma informed Kasumi after having pulled his head back through the wall.
“Okay,” Kasumi accepted.
Ranma blinked at the odd respond.
“You know,” he said suddenly. “You’re really odd. I can’t believe I haven’t noticed it before.”
“Really, Ranma-kun, ‘intriguing’ would’ve been a better word to use that,” Kasumi admonished. “I believe some people would take offense to being called ‘odd’.”
“Whatever,” Ranma muttered in reply. “Anyway, I guess our only chance is we go out through the backyard.”
Kasumi did not say anything so Ranma began making his way over to the veranda. As he had expected, Kasumi followed quietly without having to be told to.
‘That girl is rather light on her feet,’ Ranma noted absentmindedly. It was not much of a skill, as for as being a fighter went, but it would help if you were trying to run away from machinegun toting militia forces.
Ranma suddenly heard a much loudly footsteps approaching them. It was one of those men – crap!
“Run!!!” Ranma yelled at Kasumi who promptly broke into a dead-run. She almost made it into the backyard when the masked man spotted her.
“What the f…,” the man bit off his swearing. He raised the submachine gun and leveled it at her. “Stop or you’ll be shot.”
“Keep running,” Ranma yelled into Kasumi’s ear as he floated alongside her at a brisk pace. “You’re almost there.”
Bang, Bang, Bang
Bullets whizzed pass her. The loud banging sound of each shots being fired drove all other thoughts from her mind. She continued running regardless.
Suddenly something clipped her on her shoulder and threw her onto the ground. She clawed at the loose soil, trying to get up but as soon as she put her weight on her hand a sharp, blinding pain flared from her shoulder and she collapsed.
Lying there in agony, Kasumi suddenly realized what has happened; she had been shot.
Ranma stared on in horror as he watched Kasumi lay there floundering in the dirt. His mind blanked even further as the man approached her and quickly cuffed her hands together behind her back. Kasumi cried out in pain as she was roughly pulled to her feet and dragged back toward her own house.
Ranma floated alongside her helplessly as she was brought over to her sisters who were being held captive by five other men. He wanted to say something encouraging – to tell her that everything was going to alright, to tell her not to worry. But he could not.
Words simply failed him – like he has just failed Kasumi.
“Ranma-kun…,” Kasumi called out groggily gaining the attention of the masked men. They all regarded her carefully – clearly mystified as to who she was talking to. Kasumi paid them no heed and simply looked straight at him. She smiled through the pain and said soothingly. “Don’t worry – it’s going to be alright.”
Ranma smiled sadly back at her; it should have been him saying that to her – not other way around, not like this. It should not end like this.
“Ignore her,” a loud command came from one of the masked man. All the others turned to him and nodded in response.
Ranma exercised the Soul of Ice and reigned in his emotions. His best chance is to try to get a better grasp of the situation and strike when a window of success opens up.
He allowed his eyes to drift over to the other two Tendo lying side-by-side at the bottom of the stairs. They both appeared to be unconscious. Other than the split-lips on Akane, they both seemed unharmed – just knocked out. The fact that they were not dead was good, but being incapacitated means two more deadweights for him and Kasumi have to worry about.
Ranma then turned to regard Kasumi.
Kasumi was in shape but she was no fighter. She was also cuffed so even if she knew some self-defense it would be next to useless. She will not be ramming anyone either – not with that wounded shoulder of hers.
Ranma eyed the six fully armed men around him carefully and grimaced – this will not be easy.
What? Plot holes? There are no plot-holes…
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