Vermilion Concerto No. 1 – Nerima By Moonlight
1st Cadenza
Eight years ago
So much blood...
Red-stained hands, crimson shirt, darkness.
I was dying.
Somehow I survived, people told me it was a miracle I did so. I believed them, not knowing nor caring why.
But then, my eyes started acting funny, the world was full of these black lines, even people.
My head hurt... I screamed...
I was going mad...
Makihisa Tohno sat in his room in the western-style mansion, thinking to himself about the situation.
"That SHIKI..."
He covered his face with his shaking hand, pressing his fingers against his forehead, to stem the urges that were coming more frequently now.
"It failed, the only chance I had, and it failed. Akiha's also used her power, that stupid girl..." He looked at documents, involving his children. "I have no choice, I have to send him away, to the Arima branch, keep up the appearance." He paused, thinking deeper, "No, I can't do that, this is something that should not be revealed, I can't trust anyone related to the family, even if the Tohno blood is weak in them."
Thinking back, he remembered someone, a sheer coincidence it happened in the first place, but it helped the family out, until today.
"Yes, I'll leave him with Nodoka. She'll take care of him... Maybe she'll understand the irony." He glanced at his drawer, recalling what was inside, "I can rid myself of that accursed blade too..."
Suddenly, he convulsed, gritting his teeth as he saw horrid images flicker through his mind, he dug his fingers into the desk, leaving behind marks where his nails were.
A light knocking at the door brought him out of his delusions and he cleared his throat.
"Come in."
In walked a diminutive figure, a young girl with pink hair and pale yellow eyes. "You called for me Makihasa-sama?"
He smiled.
"Ah yes, Kohaku-chan... Please lock the door."
She froze inside, knowing that when he used that suffix she would go through that ordeal again. Quietly following his order, she knew what would come next.
Father hates me.
After Sensei left me these glasses, and when I was well enough to walk again, I was not allowed to stay in the mansion, just to enter once to get my things and leave.
I can't blame him, all I remember is blood-soaked hands and Akiha's crying face.
Both of those images will stay with me forever.
I'll miss them, Akiha running about skipping her lessons, that cheerful girl joining us sometimes in our fun and games. Even that quiet girl in the window, I will return her ribbon one day...
But I don't think I'll ever be welcome back there.
I wonder if I can life a normal life, with my weird eyes that see lines everywhere... Sensei told me that I could 'see the future', in the form of the death of all things. Breaking the bed like it was paper using a fruit knife, and then the tree in front of Sensei, I knew that normal people couldn't do these things.
Sensei taught me never to cut those lines out of curiosity, because I will trivialise life. However, she said there must be a reason for my having these 'Mystic Eyes of Death Perception'. I'll never forget what she said to me.
"I won't tell you to become a saint. You should just become an adult who is able to do what you believe is right."
I made a promise to her, that I would stand by those words.
Looking to the street outside the mansion, I saw two people coming toward my direction. I'm being sent to a friend of the family, they're coming to pick me up now.
I wonder what they're like, Genma and Nodoka Saotome...
Present day
Nerima
The sky was troubled, parts of it were dark, the thick grey clouds keeping inside the droplets of water that would later become rain. Other parts were clear, empty of anything that would block out the rise of the violet moon in the dusk.
At this time, there were two people walking on the quiet roads, a man wearing an off-white gi, glasses and presumably bald too, he was glancing constantly at the smiling boy on his right.
The boy was just an average schoolboy, nothing peculiar about him. His dark grey hair was a slight oddity, but nothing to make him stand out, likewise with the glasses and blue gakuran school outfit, the top button undone and showing the white shirt beneath it. Perfectly ordinary.
Except he was carrying an umbrella, despite there being no rain.
"So, dad, who are seeing?"
"Ah, that's right, we're meeting with an old friend, his name is Tendo, their house should be near here."
Genma looked up at the sky, seeing that the clouds weren't above them. "Boy, it's okay, it's not raining here any more."
He was right, the roads were still damp, but there wasn't any rain falling from the sky.
"I suppose you're right, dad, but I can't risk it, not again..." The boy's eyes were solemn.
"Shiki," Genma put his hand on his shoulder, "you'll be fine, you can control 'that', whatever it is inside you that makes you feel those emotions."
Genma had seen many things in his life, but seeing how Shiki dealt with his horrific injury just after the accident was a surprise, how he wanted to live life to the fullest.
But ever since Jusenkyo, things might have changed for the worse.
A passing car, not going too fast, managed to hit a pothole in the road, one that contained a puddle of water.
Genma saw it, but Shiki was looking the other way into the shops as they walked by.
That's why he wasn't prepared for the splash of water hitting him.
The physical change was sudden; the hair colour became red, the chest expanded, his height was shortened, and the hips became wider.
That, and the alternate gender of course.
Shiki's movements stopped, as she held a foot in the air, still in mid-stride. Closing her eyes and swallowing, the sweat built up, as her fingers loosened.
The umbrella fell to the floor with a clatter. The wind picked up and carried it away from them, but neither of them cared about it.
She saw her reflection in the shop window, the moonlight lighting it up like a mirror with the lack of lighting inside. Suddenly, Shiki was digging away at her skull, her body was roaring inside.
"No! I c-can't!" Her fingers convulsed, as she felt around her for something.
Genma ran in quick, "Shiki! I'm taking you there, I'm not going to knock you out again!"
"B-But...!" Her eyes narrowed, then grew wider to their former size, "Gyaaah!"
At this point, people were looking out of their windows, hearing the agonising sounds of someone in dire pain.
Ignoring them, Genma took Shiki in a fireman's lift and jumped the walls to get to his destination.
Meanwhile
Tendo living room
"So, what's he like, father?" Kasumi asked.
"No idea." Soun spoke with a deadpanned face. "I've never met him."
"Well, I'm too young to get married, especially to a boy!" Akane folded her arms, angry.
"Think of the schools! There's -"
Soun drifted off as a person dropped in from the neighbouring wall, landing with a loud thump on the earth. Soun wondered if the person was running fast, before he recognised Genma.
"Saotome!" He frowned, "Why didn't you knock, we -"
"No time, Tendo!" Shiki was shaking on the older man's back from involuntary jolts, "Get me some hot water now!"
"H-Hot water, Saotome-kun?"
"YES!" Genma spoke with full force, "Hurry!"
"I'll get it, father." Kasumi got up first and put the old metallic kettle to boil.
"Saotome-kun, why do you want hot water? Who is this?"
Genma laid Shiki on the tatami mat in the house, and cradled her head and had a firm hold on the left arm.
"This is my son, Shiki." The anger from the child was dissipating slowly.
"Son?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow, seeing two very distinct objects that didn't belong to a man, "But he's a girl!"
Shiki struggled harder, as Genma sent Nabiki a dirty look. "He's my son." He repeated finally.
"Must be weak if he can't get up off the ground..." Akane mumbled loudly.
"No!" The girl moaned.
Shiki felt her left arm move harder, before her look changed to a ruthless one, as the right arm joined in the fight. The electric fan nearby was snatched away by Shiki, who ripped off the front cover of it, with one hand twisting open the cage, shocking Genma with her speed.
Shiki's voice was devoid of emotion, merely calculating and analytical, "Only chance remaining, lethal electrocution should be effective for instant self termination."
The Tendos watching this backed away sharply, when they saw Shiki's eyes level on them, one by one, taking in their appearances as she proceeded to strip the plastic covering to find the wires connecting it to the mains power.
That look was not of a normal person.
"Shiki! Hang in there!" Genma was desperate, using his full force to keep the arm away, now trying to stop the other hand from continuing the job.
"The water's ready..." Kasumi came in with the kettle, "Do you want a glass, or -"
"No, that's okay, pour it on Shiki!" The kettle poured warm water over Shiki.
The reversal of the child's demeanour was sudden, as was the reverting of gender.
Shiki looked up at Genma, now a boy, and smiled. "Heh, sorry to make you worry, dad... I almost lost it this time..." He sat up looking a lot more relaxed.
"Boy, you..." Genma was holding back something, his face contorting in a bizarre fashion.
"Saotome-kun... Sorry to intrude, but you must explain this to us..."
Genma looked at the Tendo family and sighed, "I will, but we need to do something first, I need to call Nodoka."
"Nodoka?" Soun was surprised, "If you insist..." He pulled out the landline telephone from beneath the dinner table.
Genma sighed, feeling a great weight off his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Tendo-kun, everyone, for my behaviour." He bowed to the family, "My name is Genma Saotome, and this here is my son." He gestured to the blue robed child.
"I'm Shiki Tohno, sorry about all this." He bowed also, but smiled pleasantly.
As Nabiki opened her mouth at the obvious disparity, Genma starting dialling the old number.
Seven years ago
Saotome household
"Genma, you can't just leave..." Nodoka held on to the child, crying. "He's sick!"
The rotund man in the off-white gi huffed, "It's for his own good, Nodoka." He pointed at Shiki, "He needs me, only I can make him stronger. We won't need all those hospitals and doctors telling us what's good for him."
Her crying only made her hug Shiki tighter, "You don't understand, Genma! He's not just a toy to play with, he's a child who's weaker than others his age." She stood up, shielding Shiki from him, "I won't let you take him."
Genma strode up to his wife, letting his ki out, then sighed and diffused it pathetically. "Look, Nodoka, I can see you love this child, perhaps more than I do." He added in a whisper, "Despite my 'problem', we finally have a child, one I am proud of even only after a year of knowing him." He put his hands on her shoulders, "It's for the best. I won't train him too hard, not like the Master's training." He repressed a shudder unsuccessfully, "If he gets sick, I'll see a doctor, I'll even try to find some kind of cure for his anaemia. Don't worry about the boy, I won't push him."
In his mind, he added the words 'too hard'.
Mellowing slightly, the red from her anger and fear leaving her cheeks, she slumped her head forwards, onto Genma's broad chest.
"I just don't want to lose him again, husband."
Frowning at the choice of words, which confused him, he instead smiled. "I promise you, Nodoka, when we return to Nerima, I'll call you as soon as we settle in with the Tendos.
She looked up at him, eyebrow raised and pulling back slightly. "Are you sure you're still going to go through with that old vow you made to each other, the one you said you would honour only if you survived locking away your Master?"
Genma looked to one side, "I owe it to Soun, besides," He looked at Shiki watching them, and moved in closer to speak quietly into her ear, "didn't that Makihasa say 'Do whatever you like with him, but keep him alive'?"
Nodoka grinned, showing her teeth a bit menacingly, "Yes, but I think you're only agreeable to this because of the money he gives us each month."
Genma paled, backing away, before standing proud laughing to himself, whilst behind he finished stuffing wads of yen into a secret pocket in his gi.
Nodoka smiled back, knowing her husband well enough, but grew sombre, "Please take care of him, and yourself while you're at it."
"I will, Nodoka."
They both hugged, sharing the love they felt for each other, before Nodoka broke it and moved down to Shiki's level.
"Shiki, my son..." She looked into his eyes, noting for the first time the lack of distortion one would expect through the glasses he always wore. "Your father is going to take you on a journey, one which should boost your strength and make you healthier."
All of them knew their status, no one was lying to each other, or to themselves. Shiki understood that they were not his real parents, and he their real son likewise. However, that didn't stop them caring or loving one another. They still called each other by the normal family bonds, even if they thought differently.
"How long long will I be away, mum?"
"Many years..." Tears welled up in her eyes, but she willed herself not to let them fall, "But I'm sure that when you come back, you'll be a man among men."
Shiki looked up at Nodoka, not knowing what to say, so he just nodded, "I will, mum, I won't let you down."
"My son!" She pulled him into a crushing hug, Shiki returning it to an extent, before his arms fell limp.
Releasing him, Nodoka bit her lower lip, "Oops..."
Genma sighed and picked up the unconscious child, "Perhaps it's for the best, Nodoka, if I leave him here you'd probably mother him to death..."
Slapping her husband testily in back she sniffed back her tears of frustration at causing another one of Shiki's collapses.
Present Day
"Nodoka will be here in an hour, we'll explain everything then." Genma closed his eyes and immediately dozed off, a large sleep bubble inflating and deflating from one of his nostrils.
"I-Is it okay if I walk about for a bit?" Shiki smiled nervously at being in a stranger's house. "I'd like some fresh air."
"Of course, Shiki-kun, please go ahead." Soun stood up, "We'll be right here, waiting for your mother."
Bowing lightly, Shiki left from the living room entrance, putting on his shoes as he walked by the pond, avoiding it entirely.
The room was quiet, aside from the snoring of Genma. Soun looked at his daughters.
"I know what you are thinking, each of you, but we must give them a chance to explain themselves. Judging them now would be unfair, Shiki seems to have gone through a lot..."
The girls were silent, their own thoughts muddled, but each one had a different perspective on the matter.
Fed up of sitting after ten minutes, Akane got up and stormed out.
Nabiki rolled her eyes, "Great, looks like Akane's got some bad ideas already about what Shiki's up to... I'm going to check things out."
"I'll come with you Nabiki." Kasumi got up as well, but went into the kitchen first to pick up a first aid kit that Dr. Ono gave her, since Akane's mood demanded it.
Meanwhile
Tendo Dojo
Shiki had his eyes closed, and was going through a kata slowly, keeping his mind focussed and calm. He tried to block out the horrid thoughts he had about himself away, and the peace came much faster to him, pleasing him as he finished his ten part manoeuvre.
"Oh, you do martial arts, huh?" Akane was leaning against the doorway.
"Ah!" Shiki jumped slightly at her voice, "Sorry, I just saw the dojo and thought I'd clear my head with a kata, I'll leave now."
"No, no, it's okay..." Akane stepped in and cracked her knuckles, "I feel like loosening up too..." Her eyes were suspicious as she analysed what she saw. "Hey, do you want to spar?"
"Sp-Spar!" Shiki stepped back, "Umm, no, I should get back in-"
"Come on, I saw how you fought your dad just now." Shiki flinched, "You must be strong."
"Th-That's different..." Shiki turned away, "Sorry, but I can't spar with you, my body is still weak inside, I tend to faint a lot if I get overexcited."
"I promise, it'll be a light spar, I won't hit you too hard." Her smile was genuine, but the edges of it were tinged with another emotion, one to do with distrust.
"Okay then, but only for five minutes, I can barely last one with dad."
They took their positions in the centre behind the lines, and formed a stance, until Shiki laughed lightly, "Sorry, but what's your name?"
Akane let go of her frown for a moment and let loose a gentle smile, "I'm Akane Tendo, pleased to meet you, Shiki."
"Same here, Akane."
They burst from their spots and ran at each other, Shiki extended his fist and Akane aimed a kick for the leg. Both were blocked successfully. They held it there for a second, figuring out the overall strength in the other's attack.
Nabiki and Kasumi at this point had wandered in to the dojo, having heard them talking.
Not taking a breather, they leapt back again and began letting loose a barrage of quick fire strikes.
Shiki sent several kicks to her midriff, managing to get one hit in out of five attempts.
Akane threw her punches, trying to break Shiki's defence. To her surprise, he was hit by most of them, though the facial punches were all deflected. Backing away, she stopped her offence, and was mildly shocked to see Shiki wince and hold his stomach, he was trembling from the injury.
"Shiki, are you okay...? I didn't mean..."
"No, it's okay..." He smiled, albeit less brighter, "I didn't expect you to be so fast..." He took in a few breaths and stood straighter, "Let's continue."
She looked at him, thinking back to the previous round, and cocked her head to one side, "Hang on, why are you wearing glasses during a fight?"
Shiki froze, his face growing ghastly.
"I mean, it's dangerous to have them there, and you spent all your energy to protect your face because of them. Why don't you just take them off and fight freely?"
"I... I can't..." Shiki shivered as an unsavoury memory came back to him.
"Why not?" Akane growled, "Why won't you fight me at your full strength, to fight me equally?"
Her red ki built up above her, as Nabiki sighed in the background. "Great, sis has gone brutal again."
"Fine, if you won't take them off, I'll force them off."
Akane powered forwards, and was much faster than before.
Shiki gasped and dived to the left, just missing a powerful punch to his chest. Akane skidded by, not used to having her punches dodged at the last second like that.
Still mad at Shiki, she pivoted on the spot and aimed more of her full powered punches towards his stomach.
Shiki meanwhile was moving fast, his mobility increased exponentially since he began travelling with Genma. Finding any surface he could, he rebounded off the ground, the walls and even the ceiling at some points, either using them to escape or to pounce at her.
Despite overall being on the retreat from Akane, he starting punching, which were twice as fast as her own high speed attacks, not to mention more accurate, hitting her back and blind spots. He sometimes hit her lightly in the face and the stomach, avoiding the chest area entirely.
This only got Akane madder, and she piled on the pressure, getting in closer to let her heavy hits in, knowing that his hits weren't dangerous enough to warrant any frontal defence. Shiki managed to block one hit to his face, but it was swiftly followed by one incredibly forceful punch to his gut, making his eyes water.
"Ouch..."
Shiki held his stomach, trying to breathe in, as suddenly the world around him grew lines. Pawing his face, he found the lack of glasses to be strange, until he saw Akane smiling at him, showing them in her hand.
"I knew if I hit you hard enough, you'd let your guard down. Now, are you ready to fight me for real?"
Shiki stared in horror as he hand had a line from her index finger to just below her wrist, and more appeared on her body as he looked. The dojo was covered in lines, and as he saw the two new girls, they were also cracked with the black lines.
"NO!"
Shiki closed his eyes, covering them up more with his arm, not actually feeling ill yet from the lines, but he acknowledged that the more time he kept them open, more lines would appear and his headaches would increase. Unable to see now, he walked in the general direction of Akane, the other arm outstretched, to get the glasses back.
"P-Please, Akane!" His voice tugged at her in ways she didn't expect, she could feel the genuine request there, "I need my glasses! Please!"
Her bewilderment showed, as her face was gawking at Shiki's complete lack of self-awareness and of not wanting to look without them on. He wasn't protecting himself, and neither was he faking it to attack her, and she lost her will to fight. Feeling bad for taking them from him, and seeing as he looked so defenceless, her guilt made her speak up.
"Here, Shiki, sorry for taking them..." She walked closer and placed them in his hand. Thanking her, he put them back on before opening his eyes.
"Phew..."
He wiped his face from the stress, inside thanking Sensei again for those glasses. Feeling his stomach, he realised that he was feeling woozy because of the worry and fear.
"Oh..." Shiki felt his face grow colder, and before he could say anything, he fainted, recalling the last time something like this happened.
Seven years ago
I think the next few years are going to be something very different for me.
When I woke up in the hospital after that hug from Nodoka (they took me there just in case), Genma threw a rucksack at me, and we started walking.
The first stop was a small village, probably about a hundred people living there, mostly farmers and fishermen, we got there by bus.
Genma got some supplies and also made sure there was a good doctor there. We later went off into the mountains, camping, hunting whatever animals we could find. It was like that for some weeks.
The forest we were in was old, and they seemed to be dying, but I couldn't tell what from, perhaps acid rain got here, I had no idea...
Genma started training me, then noticed a problem with me.
He suggested I take off my glasses.
"Look I told you, glasses in a fight are a great disadvantage." Genma had his arms folded, "You forget that they're there. If someone were to attack your face, and that does happen often for good reason, they they might break and hurt you even more."
"And I told you, I'm not taking them off." The nine year old Shiki stood there, panting after their short exercise, already feeling the burn of his anaemia coming on. "I need to wear them all the time. Besides," He had a look of victory on his face, "you wear glasses, perhaps you should be careful."
Genma narrowed his eyes, then removed his own circular pair, moving them about in his fingers.
"Yes, you're right, my eyesight is bad, I'm short-sighted." He put back on his face, "But, I do know my own weaknesses, so I'll be able to defend my face better than most people." He pointed accusingly at Shiki. "However, I know for a fact that those glasses are not with a prescription, there's no difference with or without them."
"H-How...?" Shiki trembled with fear, wondering if Genma knew his secret.
"While you were sleeping, I looked at them closer and even tried them on. It's just normal glass, no focus whatsoever." Genma peered closely, "You don't seem like the type of person to wear glasses because they look good, why do you wear them?"
"B-Because..." Shiki paused mid-sentence, not wanting to reveal his secret.
Genma was still pointing at his face, his index finger inches away from the bridge of Shiki's nose. Smirking, he stretched forwards and plucked them away.
"Got them! Now we can train!" He grinned widely, taking a stance.
"NO!"
Shiki yelled, but instantly, everywhere, lines started appearing, rending the land into breakable pieces, the trees around them showing cobwebs of lines. Idly he wondered why the forest had so many lines.
Worst of all, lines were on Genma, one across the neck, one from under his right armpit, across the chest to the left of his stomach, one through a kneecap.
Shiki couldn't take any more, his mind freezing as the headaches pulsed harder.
"Gaaah!" He held his head as more lines slowly appeared, each one increasing his headache exponentially.
Thinking of the last thing he could do, seeing as Genma was terrified and confused at the sight of the boy in so much pain, Shiki reached into his back pocket and pulled out the blade bequeathed to him by his real father.
Flicking open the Nanatsu-yoru knife, he searched for the nearest tree to him.
"I'm sorry, Sensei..." He mumbled to himself, as he cut the horizontal line just at arm's level.
Before the world turned to black, he saw Genma rush in and pick him up, just as the tree landed where they were standing.
Thankfully, the clinic in that village was good enough for me to get better. Genma didn't ever try to take my glasses off again, and he was quiet for a long time.
We went back to that place, and he showed me what I did, telling me that cutting a tree like that was 'an impressive feat of strength', but it should be used rarely and wisely.
I think he was worried what would happen if I were to do that to people, which I'll never do anyway.
He never asked about why the glasses helped me to stay calm, personally I think he just wanted to forget that whole event ever happened. I can't say I blame him, as I don't want to remember either...
The good thing was that we started some training, he's teaching me how to punch for now, so it should be interesting to learn how to defend myself.
---
Author's Notes
Yes, a Ranma/Tsukihime crossover, as if I didn't have enough stories to finish at this time, I chose to start another hugely ambitious project. Still, I'll give it a fair go at least.
Obviously, knowledge of the Tsukihime game (not the anime, as I haven't seen it) is vital for all the plot devices, however I will mostly stick to a nice mesh of the plot in the Near and Far side paths, mingled with Ranmaverse characters and locations.
While not giving out all the necessary Tsukihime information straightaway (such as the exact meeting between Shiki and Sensei), I will give enough for those who have never played the game to understand what is going on. Naturally, those who know both the Ranma and Tsukihime plotlines will see between the lines at all the underlying events, and I highly recommend playing the game to see the richness of the characters involved and the intricate plotline.
Oh, and the Ranma canon back story has changed too, but all will be revealed later.
- J