Spring of Drowned Vampire

7. The Eternal Kiss

Author:

"You insensitive jerk! Don't you--ugh--don't you care for her at all?"

"Of course I do--umph--you bastard!"

"You don't deserve her--"

"Don't say that!"

Sunlight, mottled by cherry trees just outside, filtered in through the open window to fall on two forms rolling on the floor, locked in combat. Both experienced martial artists, they had thrown finesse and the dexterity of lifelong training to the wind and were now behaving much like a nature documentary gone wrong. They bit, they growled, they clawed, and they grunted. The only things distinguishing them from a pair of hissing, spitting tomcats were the lack of tails and the occasional hurled insult or curse.

"Hey, ya jerk! That was my hair!"

"Stop acting like such a girl--oof!"

"I've told you before--don't ever call me a girl, baka!"

"Busu!"

"Inoshishi!"

"Onabe!"

"Achike!"

Ranma-chan was infuriated. There were no two ways about it; she was livid, and Ryoga was going to pay. Not even really aware of what they were fighting about anymore, she punched and clawed her opponent savagely, wishing herself back in her male form. As a female, close battles like this (if it could be called a battle) were dangerous for those with frail bodies. Roaring as Ranma-chan violently wrenched her left arm back, an enraged Ryoga seized the redhead's throat and gripped it as hard as he could.

They continued to roll across the woven mats, fighting desperately, with Ranma-chan managing to gasp in a breath of air only once. She fought, struggled, wriggled, and strained from the steel-like grasp as instinct began to take over. 'Air!' she thought hopelessly, 'Damn you, Ryoga! I need air.' Her vision began to blur--she clawed at his wrists--but she could still see Ryoga's eyes. They were insanely jealous, but the desperation in their depths froze Ranma-chan's heart. "I'm sorry." they seemed to say.

'I need to do something,' Ranma-chan thought dizzily, her thinking process slowed to the here-and-now. 'I can't just give up like this. it's not right.'

Her eyes widened for a moment, a ridiculous grin twisting her features as she realized the one advantage she had over Ryoga--and with the last bit of energy she possessed, Ranma-chan kneed Ryoga in the groin. He went down like a felled tree, and the redhead rolled away, kneeling into something warm and wet to gasp and sputter for air, blessed, blessed air.

She looked down, seeing her own nude self reflected in a pool of red, and didn't quite comprehend what she was looking at. Her breath caught as she lifted her hand up to look at it--the small, feminine palm was covered in crimson liquid. She sniffed cautiously at it, her subconscious working overtime. She felt her heart sink for an instant. 'No, no--It was blood--'

Without thinking, Ranma-chan clamped down on the monster lurking beneath the surface of her mind. She could not, would not let the vampire take over. Not yet, not until she absolutely had to. Almost seconds later, as she continued to stare stupidly at the blood on her hand, she felt the murderous instincts begin fighting her own mind. 'Blood!' the vampire within her cried, 'BLOOD!'

Shaking her head a bit, she looked up and froze at what she saw there.

Akane--or rather Akane's body--lay sprawled across the mattress sheets. Blood was everywhere, marring her perfect skin, staining her perfect white hands. A strangled cry left Ranma-chan's lips and she rushed to her beloved's side.

"Akane! Akane, wake up." She reached out to the prone figure--a part of her shocked mind recalling a scene a few hours earlier when she had posed in front of him before their lovemaking--but snatched the hand back when she saw the damage of the wound where the belt had grazed her. It lay nearby, now limp and blood stained. Revolted at what her own vampire instincts were practically screaming at her to do, Ranma-chan looked away. It was like trying to cage a great white shark with your bare hands--the mere sight or smell of blood sent the monster into a killing rampage, and it was all Ranma-chan could do to contain herself.

Ryoga appeared suddenly at Ranma-chan's side, injuries forgotten, eyes wide and mouth agape. He fell to his knees, shaking, yet apparently unable to look away. Ranma-chan barely noticed him; in fact, her mind seemed to have ground to a halt. All she could think was, 'Not Akane, not Akane!'

As the two watched, the moment stretching impossibly long into the painful infinity of their own private Hell, the figure on the bed twitched and turned, coughing slightly. More blood trickled from her mouth.

"She's still alive!" Ranma-chan blurted, disbelieving. 'Something needs to be done! We have to do something.' Her mind was working rapidly now.

"Ryoga!" She had to grab him by the collar before he responded at all. "Ryoga, go get some help! Find a doctor, something, anything! Hurry!"

The fight long since forgotten, Ryoga leapt up and raced from the room. Ranma-chan turned back to Akane.

She moved to the side of the mattress, longing to take her beloved up in her arms, to kiss her all over and tell her it would be all right, that she was safe. But Ranma-chan knew it would be lying, because even as she sat there on the verge of tears, she was weathering an internal storm, fighting the vampire that sought only blood. Akane, lying there, helpless as a newborn babe, was no safer this moment than she had been when Ranma had been foolish enough to think the Nightshade would make him human. He had almost attacked her then. What dangers did she pose to her love now? Ranma- chan shivered, fighting for control, and hating herself for her lack of it.

Feeling helpless, she hovered over Akane's face, grasping her right hand. The glassy eyes moved, locked on her own. Tears formed, and her lips twitched as if to speak.

"Akane, no--don't speak. Just wait, just wait." Words tumbled from Ranma- chan's mouth, and she found she couldn't stop them. "Ryoga's gone to get a doctor, we'll get you some help. Just don't give up. You'll--you'll be fine!" Her voice broke here, because she knew in her heart that Akane would never be fine ever again. Somehow, Akane managed to shake her head, rocking it sadly from side to side. "No," she mouthed. She knew, too.

"Akane, please hang on. We can save you." Ranma-chan felt the tears of complete despondency, complete hopelessness well up. Suddenly tired of fighting everything, Ranma-chan let them trickle red rivulets down her cheek. She sobbed quietly into her unclothed shoulder, gripping Akane's limp hand like a lifeline.

The scarlet vampire tears--signs of deep sadness, deeper than the reaches of any human heart--fell onto Akane's breast, running down her shoulder to pool with her own blood. She had lost so much.

Akane's fingers clenched her hand spasmodically and she reached up to touch the redhead's fear-struck, tear-streaked face. Catching her breath, Ranma- chan let herself be drawn down until their faces were barely a kiss apart. Akane was clearly gathering her strength--she was shaking uncontrollably, and her blue-black hair dangled tiny ripples in the blood that had pooled in the wrinkles of her pillow. Ranma-chan, her mouth inches from the crimson liquid, forced down the vampire's bloodlust with a valiant effort. 'Just one taste!' it cried, but she forced the thought away.

Akane gasped in air, eyes full of pain, and whispered hoarsely, "Give in-- Ranma, I love you, but." Akane's body interrupted her with a wracking coughing fit, blood slipping down the corner of her mouth again.

Ranma-chan's heart broke all over again, holding her there, watching her love die in her arms. She couldn't stand to let her slip away like this, but she couldn't bring herself to damn her to the Hell she shared with Ryoga. Akane gasped again, her voice fluttering like a feather against his ear. "I need.I need you to give in, Ranma."

Ranma-chan stared down at Akane, who had fallen limp into her arms, her head lolling back like a rag doll's, her skin cold and clammy as death. 'Did she know what she asked? This was Akane, the same Akane she had seen in the nude scarcely five minutes after meeting her, the same Akane she had argued with, fought with, walked to school with, the same Akane who had saved her life countless times, and the same Akane she had saved countless times. This was the Akane she had confessed her love to, only a few nights before. Was their love to be so short?'

Ranma-chan hugged Akane's wilting body close against her own. Sunlight from the open window traced a line of creamy gold from Akane's forehead, down the profile of her cheek and chin, down over her neck and the ruby redness wrapping itself like an exotic necklace around her throat, following the curve of her skin over her collarbone--broken once last year in a training session--down past a small origin-less scar, into the soft rising fullness of her bosom, where her skin met her lover's embrace lovingly and lifelessly. They rocked back and forth. The sunlight seemed to rock with them. 'Did she know what she asked?'

"Akane, Akane, oh, my Akane." Ranma-chan began to feel the exhaustion of the day's trials weighing down on her, began to feel the pressure of the vampire's bloodlust screaming at her, began to feel the stab of the knife called pain, began to wonder if she would ever feel Akane return her embrace again. Would she just slip away? "I cannot curse you to this life. this unloving life. How could you ask this of me? To banish you to my Hell?"

A bitter, saddened voice greeted him from the doorway. "At least you would be together in Hell, Ranma. At least she would be happy with you."

Ranma-chan's arms tightened protectively around her beloved as she craned her neck to see the doorway. Ryoga stood there, with Dr. Tofu, black bag and steaming teapot in hand, waiting at his side.

An overwhelming sense of relief flooded through Ranma-chan as the good doctor rushed to her side to gently examine the unconscious Akane. Setting his bag and the pot down by his side, he gently pulled her from Ranma- chan's shoulder with strong, capable hands, and cradled her head in the crook of his arm. Blood smeared his white jacket; a deep frown smeared his usually jovial features.

"Will she live? Can you heal her?" Ranma-chan was desperate, tear-streaked, exhausted, nearly insane with her vampire-instincts, and naked. But none of that mattered at all. "Will she make it?"

Dr. Tofu's voice was profoundly sad as he looked up. "I'm sorry, Ranma."

Ranma-chan's face hardened then, resolve written across her features. She reached over to the end of the bed, removing the pair of black silk pants she knew rested there, and pulled them on.

"Could you hand me the teapot?" she asked Dr. Tofu. He appeared confused. "I want. I need to be my own self again for this." Understanding, the doctor silently freed up a hand from the young woman to hand over the kettle.

The water, which she poured over her own head, wasn't scorching, but was pleasantly warm enough to rejuvenate Ranma slightly. He didn't bother trying to wash off any of the blood on his hands, but instead set the kettle back down and knelt next to Akane.

Seeing her there, his heart twisted horribly. To damn his only love to a life like this. He looked up at Dr. Tofu, into Ryoga's face.

"You have to, Ranma," Ryoga said, looking away, his arms crossed and his hands in fists. Blood drenched his front and smeared itself across his cheek. He was obviously having a hard time denying his own instincts in the midst of this crimson bloodbath.

'Akane.'

He sobbed once, knowing what he had to do, and hating himself for it. Ryoga had been right. At least they would be together.

'Blood,' cried the ever-present vampire impulses, banging under his willpower like a battering ram. 'Blood! Blood! Blood!' They were wearing his resolve down with each blow, like they always did, until he was reduced to a gibbering wreck, helpless against the monster that inevitably rose up within him. 'Blood! Blood! Blood!' And he was just supposed to give in to them? To open up the doors of his willpower wide and plunge himself into that horrible dark tunnel of hunger willingly?

Akane's heart still beat within her, although blood continued to seep from her fatal wound. He could feel it there. beating, pulsating like a beacon... every place her body contacted his was a palpable pulse, the sign of the life he knew he had to take.

Two things can happen when a vampire makes his kill. If he takes a mere sip, a tiny taste, then the victim's blood will change forever, poisoned by the fangs of an immortal monster. This is how vampires are made; sometimes it happens by accident, but it is very rare because once a vampire begins to drink from it's victim's veins, he finds it very, very difficult to restrain himself. If he continues to drink, effectively drying up the body, then no new vampire will emerge and the victim, though poisoned, will die from the total and complete loss of blood.

"Ryoga? I need you to restrain me--If... if I can't break myself from it. I need you to restrain me. Dr. Tofu, I think it best you stay clear, just in case." Ryoga nodded understandingly and came closer, kneeling nearby. Dr. Tofu, a look of concern upon his face, went to stand near the window. 'Blood! Blood! Blood!' cried the vampire-instincts at the back of his mind. It was like a drumbeat now, as wild as his own pulse, a battering ram to beat down his resolve. 'Blood! Blood! Blood!'

'Akane.'

Ranma was so tired. Physically tired, emotionally tired, mentally tired. He gazed down at his beloved cradled in his arms for one last time.

And surrendered to the monster.

Ranma felt himself fracture like a piece of glass. In one reality, he was seated in the quiet room with a young, vulnerable, female victim in his arms. In another reality, he was tumbling, tumbling into a long dark tunnel of hunger, of bloodlust and of wanting. He felt lost, disoriented and alone. Horribly, horribly alone. Thousands of realities whirled around him until he thought there were so many selves that he might be driven mad. And yet he still felt himself falling. Alone.

'Focus! Akane.. I'm so sorry.'

He bent down as if to kiss her. He felt his fangs lengthen slightly in anticipation, felt his blood rise, clamoring for companionship as he approached his prey. His fangs brushed her skin--prepared to strike--in seconds, he would have blood!

One small part of him protested, rebelled, revolted against this horrible act. 'Not Akane! I will never taste Akane's blood!' It was the human part of Ranma, lost and twirling in the dark depths of himself. It was a very small part, but enough to make him hesitate.

Her whole body seemed to convulse, then. She gasped, her mouth full of blood, her eyes wide and afraid. "Please," was all she whispered, shaking from the effort it took to even raise her head. Seeing the hesitation in the vampire's eyes, she rose up and kissed him, forcing her tongue into his mouth to ensure contact.

Once the vampire felt the surge of blood enter his mouth, he reacted immediately. 'Blood! Blood! Blood!' his mind cried, and for once received an answer. Blood it received.

Ranma had never felt a kill quite like this one. Usually he hid himself, ashamed and revolted, into a dark corner of his own mind to wait for it to be finished, for the monster's appetite to abate. He would let himself fall into the long dark tunnel, alone, alone--seemingly twisting and falling into infinity.

But as he fell now, a lonely speck in a swirling void, he felt a presence reach out to him and embrace him in the darkness. There were no words in this place, but he felt her outpouring of love, trust, forgiveness and gratitude. She was an anchor in his own mind, a lifeline in the tempest of his own curse, now her curse, too. The storm raged on, but at least they were together.

Ranma pulled away from his victim's lips, his fangs returning to normal length as he gazed quietly at the figure in his arms. She was the picture of serenity, he thought. There was even a smile on her face, as if she were in a peaceful slumber. Even now, as the poison took effect through her bloodstream, her wound began to seal itself. Her skin took on a warm healthy glow, and he could feel her heartbeat return to normal. She would remain this way for all eternity, he realized, cradling her head in his hands. She would learn the things he had to learn--about controlling the vampire within, concealing her unusual healing abilities from mortals, about handling and directing her new supernatural strength. Yet, she would not have to experience it alone. He would be there for her, to help her, to restrain her, if need be. 'No, she will not have to be alone,' he decided. 'I will always be there for you Akane,' Ranma whispered within his mind. 'Always...'

Dr. Tofu and Ryoga closed the door as they left the room, allowing the window to remain open to circulate the air. Ranma gathered his beloved up in his hands, placing her on the side of the mattress that was relatively clean--she would be in a fragile state when she awoke from her transforming slumber in a few hours. Seeing blood on the sheets would not help. He gathered them up, pulling them gently from beneath the young woman. Wetting the corner of one with water from the teapot, he managed to clean up the worst of the blood on himself and his love.

Finally, exhausted in every way possible, Ranma Saotome lay down on the mattress and embraced his love, his life, his everything. She stirred only briefly, burrowing into the safety of his arms. Within minutes, their bodies warmed by the cherry-tree filtered sunlight, the cursed young lovers were deeply asleep--at last, they were together.

TBC?