Little Red Riding Ruki
By Lord Tarsisk.
Soyez influencé –Be influenced!
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(A/N:
>>>Someone’s POV<<<
Someone’s thoughts
“Someone’s speech…” As if you couldn’t tell that one. Honestly, some people are just plain stupid.
I’m going to make some… artistic stretches. Consider this to be an AU of sorts. Remember: review, and Guilmon will bake u some bread.
BTW: Takato is turning sixteen. Everyone else—unless otherwise stated—is fifteen.)
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>>>?’s POV <<<
I stand against the fierce winds and dizzying white snow that blows past me, trying but failing to knock me over. My breath comes out in jagged, raspy breaths; the steam condenses momentarily before me, until it is blown away by another burst of wind. Still I wait, knowing that soon, my prey will come.
I point my nose at the moon and howl like the beast I am. One of a kind and shunned from all others, I wait, knowing that my partner, my love—and my prey—will one day come and save me from this fate of mine, though my love knows nothing of me or my plight. The clouds part slightly, allowing some of the lunar glow to reach me, illuminating the storm around me. The break in the clouds is momentary; soon they close up again and plunge me into the freezing darkness that is Nocturnal Aurora, as my ancestors called it. Not that they matter anymore.
A branch, another victim of this accursed wind, comes whipping past at reckless speeds; though my reflexes are near perfect, I miss it, as dark as it is. The stinging pain on my cheek I do not miss, however. I take off my glove and stroke the bleeding wound as soon as I am sure that it was an accident, no more.
Still I wait, knowing that soon, my prey—and my time—will come.
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The young girl knelt down before the dinner table. She detested Rice Night—her mother could do so much better. But Mother had to deal with other things, and cooking wasn’t high on her list of priorities. Her mother—the young girl’s grandmother—was ill, and there was very little either could do about it.
“Don’t worry, dear—Grandma will be fine.”
“I know,” Ruki said for the umpteenth time. What about you? Do you know that Grandma will be fine?
>>>Ruki’s POV<<<
Honestly, does she think that I’m some kid that needs comforting? So she catches a bout with the flu—albeit a nasty bout—and my mother expects her to die?
Honestly, Ruki thought again.
There was another awkward pause like so many. Hours would be passed, sometimes—not at the dinner table, of course—where they would sit and stare at each other and be too afraid to speak a word or make a move. It was often her mother who would try to shake the feeling, but sometimes Ruki would be afraid enough to leave. She didn’t like the idea of something being out of her control, though so much was beyond her, like her Grandmother’s health. Or their relationship.
“Do you like your rice?” Mother asked, trying to make conversation and end the awkwardness between them—failing miserably, of course.
“It’s fine… mom. I’m just not very hungry. Do you mind if I go to bed early?”
“No, not at all. Have a good rest, Ruki.”
Ruki nodded, as she stood up from the table, and bowed, observing strict tradition. Ruki walked up the stairs to the top floor of the Makino Compound, and turned to the first door on the right—her room, her only sanctuary. She locked the door, and sighed, stumbling over to her bed.
It wasn’t even late yet, but the blizzard outside was making things bleak and dark like an early night. It was only six PM, yet Ruki suddenly felt very tired. Shaking it off, and deciding it was just the strangeness of it all, she sat down on her bed, and picked up a comic book. She didn’t like the characters, and the story was too far-fetched, but for some reason, it drew Ruki. Maybe because she had nothing better to do.
Maybe because some small part of her couldn’t accept the fact that her Grandmother was sick and she just wanted to forget.
Or maybe it was because it was a stupid birthday present, from one stupid kid, by the name of Takato. They went to school together, and they knew each other enough to say “Hi,” and they shared classes, and he was sort of cute, but he hung with a different crowd—hell, he hung with a crowd in the first place. Ruki could never understand why people formed “cliques”, “Gangs”, or groups of any kind, even if she somehow desperately wanted to join one.
But no, her lifestyle was too… stoic for that kind of friendship. Maybe she did know him more than to just say “Hi” in the hallways, for him to buy her a birthday present. True, he obviously didn’t know her well enough to buy her something worthwhile, but it had served its purpose, if any.
She couldn’t help thinking about him, and sometimes she wondered if that was exactly what he’d wanted.
Or he could just be an idiot not worth knowing at all. That was entirely possible as well. But for some reason, Ruki didn’t like that idea.
“The artistry is very good, I’ll give it that,” she agreed, deciding to read another chapter, lying back on the bed, her raised pillows forming a backrest for her. Ruki wasn’t even hungry after all, as she dove into another bizarre story line with floaty, girly characters whom “Oooh-ed” over every little detail. Hikaru, the main character’s name was. Ruki couldn’t tell if it was a ‘she’ or a ‘he.’
Before long, Ruki yawned. She set down the Manga, wondering how come she was suddenly so very tired. She pulled off her white shirt, and her jeans—all her clothing, but for her panties; and she donned a nightgown—one of her mothers’ that fit well and was so incredibly soft and silky—then pulled the blankets over her, looking at the clock.
Then something happened. Something incredible.
The red digital LCD’s read 9:00 PM. She watched, in a dazed, trance-like state, as the numbers swirled—indeed, that was the only way to describe it—swirled off the clock and around the walls, dancing like a dream.
Her Manga floated up and out the door, and the window burst open, sending jets of cold air blowing into the room—but Ruki felt nothing except her covers and her near-silk nightgown. A dream, she thought lazily, as the room around her morphed into a surreal landscape of snow and forest molded into one.
>>>?’s POV<<<
I see Her—indeed, it is a she. The young girl is so silent, so unafraid of what is about to befall Her—is She so naïve? Or is it merely incomprehension, a sort of defense mechanism against the unknown? Even now, She lays in bed, observing the oddity, the obscenity of it all as if She wasn’t involved in any way. If only She knew.
Her name—Her name is Ruki. Such a beautiful name, totally deserved by one so beautiful and innocent such as Herself. Not like my name, Renamon. She is the one, the one whom will save me from my own demise, my own unfaltering desire to prove myself. Perhaps, one day, in the near future, we will meet—but not today. Soon.
Chuckling, I breathe into the world before me, causing a surge of wind on the other side. It lifts Her blanket, and blows up Her nightgown—after all, who am I to deny my own emotions? I think, as Her heavenly body is exposed to the world and, more importantly, to me. I am hungry for blood, and this helps a great deal. I lust for blood, and yearn for love.
Two exclusive desires. Which one will I choose?
Closing my heart, I close the hole in the air, removing myself from the very fabric of that world. Her vision will end, and She will think it a dream, nothing more. I, however, will always know otherwise.
Ruki is Her name—the name will haunt me like a Phantom till the day I die. Or at least, till I bring Her to me.
Ruki.
Ruki.
Ruki…
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Ruki’s eyes shot open, as another weird, “messed-up” dream came to an end. Once again, she had seen her—if indeed, it was a ‘she’: A lost soul in the woods, being played and toyed with by the unforgiving winds of the late winter. Yet the creature—so inhuman as it was—seemed to be unaffected, as if it was on a mission, a… quest? If so, what—or who—was this creature’s goal?
>>> Ruki’s POV <<<
And why did it cry out my name?
Ruki shrugged off the feeling of unease, and got up, walked towards the bathroom—and stumbled into the door.
“Ouch,” she mumbled, careful not to wake Mother: she would keep the other awake for hours, trying to communicate with the adolescent—though as always, she’d fail. Ruki unlocked the door, and tiptoed into the bathroom, flicking on the light. Ruki knew her mother was just trying to give herself a place in Ruki’s life—as unwanted as that might have seemed, Ruki couldn’t deny her that.
Immediately, she cursed herself, blinking and lowering her head in the blinding light from above: the bathroom lights were bright in the darkness. Slowly, she raised her head, careful to adjust to every level before attempting the next.
Ruki stared at the reflection in the mirror—she was crying, and for a moment, the visage of sadness seemed to be of someone else. She raised a hand to her face, at least reassured that the mirror wasn’t broken. It was indeed her that was crying. Had the vision affected her so much that she would lose control of her own exterior? If something like that happened at school—she shuddered—she’d have to kill herself and anyone who saw her.
She smiled, wiping her face: she deserved the nickname she’d been given. At least “Queen Bitch” had a pleasant ring to it.
But who was the unknown soul in the hole in the air? If it had been a dream, Ruki was unnerved by the reality it had about it. And if it was real, who—or what—could have had the power to do that?
Ruki sighed, flicked off the light, and felt her way back to her room. She opened the window just a crack, just enough to let some refreshingly cold air in, yet limiting the sound from outside. Despite the weather, Ruki felt blindingly hot. She was sweaty, and felt as if she’d run a marathon, without all the glory. Somehow, she didn’t care. The vision was all that was on her mind—that, and a young boy by the name of Takato.
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Ruki sat down on a bench at the school the next day, eating her favorite lunch: a ham/Swiss sandwich. Around her, the other school children—most 15, like herself—played and laughed and let the world slip by them as they always did. There were maybe one, or two other students who spent their free time doing something productive, but Ruki was too bored today to join them.
Ruki let her eyes wander. It wasn’t so bad, really, to just veg out, and enjoy the break in the weather, because it would be a while before they had another one, according to the meteorologists. So she let her eyes wander, watching the girls over there gossip about the latest important—and fake—news; over in the other corner of the court yard stood a group of tall, dark boys, who, like herself, enjoyed the shadow life.
Ruki let her eyes rest on a particular boy; Takato soon noticed, and walked over to her.
“Hey, ‘Heartbreaker.’ How’s your grandmother? Is she doing better?”
Ruki frowned, looked at her shirt, which had a picture of a broken heart, and smiled. “Ah, yes. Uh, my grandmother? She’s… doing better, yes.” What the hell? Why can’t I think of something better to say?
“That’s good. How about you? Find any good victims lately?”
“Oh, shut up,” Ruki said, grinning. For a boy who hung with a crowd, he knew the right thing to say at just the right time.
“Anyways, I saw you checkin’ out the good stuff, and I was wondering—”
Here it comes…
“—I’m having a birthday party next weekend. Would you like to come? You don’t have to bring anything, I know we aren’t that close of friends, but I got a feeling—”
“Fine. I’ll come. When’s this party?” Ruki asked. Takato handed her a slip of paper, folded in half, and smiled. Ruki opened the paper, read it, and smiled as well. When she looked up at Takato, she found that he had left, to join a group of kids on the other side of the courtyard.
December 12th-
“That’s tomorrow,” she said to herself.
-At 7:00 PM. My place. Bring a swimsuit and a towel. Leave when you want, stay as long as you want. Parents are out all weekend. RSVP.
“Alright,” Ruki said to herself. “It’s a da—I mean, I think I’ll go.”
BRIIING! Overhead, the bell rang: a loud, shrill sound that never failed to surprise Ruki. She got up, and head indoors to class, smiling for once.
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>>>Renamon’s POV <<<
The wind howls at me, constantly, as I wait for Her. I feel as though I am losing my strength, but I must press on—though a little food couldn’t hurt anything, right? I spy a small rodent darting between burrows. I snatch it up, and soon I am partially fed, once again. I seem to live my life without much nourishment; it is a wonder how I have survived this long.
Perhaps it is my desire to prove my self. Perhaps it is my goal, goading me on.
Perhaps it is Her, this… Ruki. I shall not know.
Though on the horizon I see competition for Her Loveliness: a boy, of course, whom could end it all and ruin everything. His name—his name is unimportant. I see him clearly through the blinding snow. He sees Her as I do, a prize to be won, to be tamed and owned. And I cannot allow that.
For now, however, I must bide my time. The snow is lessening, but the winter has only begun.
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>>> Ruki’s POV <<<
Shirt? Clean. Pants? Ironed and clean. Gift? Check. Time?
Already six PM, Ruki realized.
“Oh! Mom?” Ruki called down the hall. “Is my swimsuit washed?”
“…Yes, dear. It’s just coming out of the dryer. Would you like me to bring it up for you?”
“Could you?” Ruki called back, unaware of the sarcasm lining her mother’s voice. Ms. Makino sighed, and walked up the stairs, carrying the two-piece suit with her.
She knocked on the door, knowing that Ruki hated if she didn’t.
“Come in,” came Ruki’s voice from inside. Ms. Makino opened the door, and handed Ruki the swimsuit and a towel.
“Have a good time, dear. Call me if you need a ride or anything; it’s dark out there, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Ruki held up her cell phone. “Don’t worry. You have a good time with Ishido-”
“It’s Shinto, tonight…”
An awkward pause. “Of course. I’ll be fine, mom.”
Ms. Makino smiled, and stepped out of the room. As soon as her mom had left, Ruki stood in front of the mirror, undressed and put on her swimming suit to test and see if it looked good or not.
Ruki had cherry-blonde hair, both up top and down below. The boys at school often noticed her shapely figure, accented by her tight jeans and her t-shirt, but few ventured to speak to her. Ruki’s breasts were well developed for her age, and she knew it. Satisfied, she put her shirt and jeans on overtop so she wouldn’t have to change—and risk being seen.
She then grabbed her gift, looked herself once over in the mirror, then walked out of her room, down the stairs and out the front door, locking it and arming the security system on the way out. With the card in one hand and the gift in the other, she headed down the street, following street signs.
Ruki started thinking. What if he only invited me? What if he wants to say something? What if I want to say something? Suppose he kisses me. Then what? Do I kiss back? Do I bend him over and floor him, and rub his chest with my hands?
Whoa. Like that’s going to happen. What if he doesn’t like my gift? What if my swimsuit is too revealing? What if it isn’t?
Why do I care?
Beepbeepbeep. Ruki’s cell was ringing.
“Hello?”
“Ruki, it’s mom. Where are you?”
She sounded frantic. Ruki frowned.
“Um, on the way to Takato’s. I’m at the corner of… uh… Mitshu and Dojn. Why?”
“I just got a call from the hospital. Mom’s gone into cardiac arrest. I need you to get over to the emergency room. I’m sorry, but-”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.” Ruki closed the phone, and sighed. Grandma’s timing always seemed to be perfect. She’d just have to give Takato his gift later. Ruki looked around, and sighed. The hospital’s this way, she realized, and starting walking.
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>>>Renamon’s POV <<<
The wind seems to have died down. With it, goes my prey’s last defense against me. Standing on two legs, I open the gate between us, right behind Her.
SMACK! Thud. She doesn’t even have a chance. Ruki drops like a stone, dropping her little package for the boy. I quickly pull Her into the hole I have opened; no one has seen; no one is the wiser. I lay Her down before me, on the cold, firm snow dusted with pine needles. Ruki’s breathing is shallow, and Her back, as well as Her head, is bruised. But it doesn’t matter. Soon She will awaken cold, hungry, but alive.
Behind me, the hole shrinks to nothingness, but in a fit of kindness I leave it open, just a smidgen, in case she lives. I wouldn’t want her to die at the hand of nature. I stand propped above Her, one leg at each corner and my head pointed at Her face. I face a dilemma—Do I finish Her now? Do I give into my desires and consume Her totally within me?
Or do I wait, play with Her, and draw it out?
Let Her live…
Finish it now!
Two voices, differing opinions. What now?
She groans beneath me, reminding me that I have little time to decide. Inevitably, I choose to let Her live: the thought of killing Her—without a little fun first—is deathly. In a flash, I jump into the tree, as Ruki stirs beneath me and sits up.
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Ruki looked around and blinked. She looked around again and rubbed her eyes. Something was wrong—she wasn’t on the sidewalk like she’d just been. In fact, there wasn’t a single building around—she wasn’t even in Tokyo anymore. Ruki’s jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. It was freezing cold, not like the slight shivering frost she’d felt mere moments ago—though with the nasty bruise she felt behind her head, she didn’t know exactly how long ago that had been, how long she’d been out.
“Where am I?” she slowly muttered to herself. She raised her hands to her shoulders and rubbed them, warming herself up. It was frigid there, with wisps of snow streaming by like waves on a lake. The wind was howling louder than it had been just a moment earlier. She looked around again, trying to get her bearings, to look for some sign of civilization—Ruki had always been quick to accept a situation. But this was different.
Slowly, shaking, Ruki stood up, and then felt something lurch inside of her. She collapsed to all fours, bruising her knees and the palms of her hands, and threw up, remnants of a late lunch. After she finished dry-heaving, and wiping her mouth, Ruki stood up, rubbing her temples.
This is NOT good. Where am I?
Beepbeepbeep. Ruki’s cell was ringing. She could barely hear it over the loud storm blowing through the forest. Her heart leapt with relief that it still worked; she hadn’t even remembered to check it. She flipped open the cover, and pressed the phone to her head—
“HELP!” she screamed into the mouthpiece, speaking loudly over the deafening roar of the near-blizzard around her. “I DON’T KNOW WHERE I AM, I JUST— Hold on…”
All Ruki could hear was static, mixed with jolts of high pitched wailing and low tone bass, as if someone was playing with the very stream of information she was receiving. Whatever—whomever—was doing that was probably also scrambling her output as well, so Ruki closed the device and slid it into her pocket, brushing her hand against the handles of her many knives.
Suddenly, Ruki felt as if she was being watched. Smiling a disturbed smile, she pulled out one of the knives.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice said from above. Ruki’s head snapped up to look, but she found nothing.
“Too late, I’m over here…” the voice said again from the other side of the clearing that Ruki had found herself in. Ruki whirled around, looking for the source, and shoved the knife back into her pocket, beginning to feel afraid.
“Can’t seem to find me, can you?” It seemed to come from everywhere, yet nowhere, all at once. Ruki’s lips trembled slightly, realizing the seriousness of the situation. She turned around, and again, and once more, scanning the area, looking for anything that moved—but everything was moving: the trees, their leaves, the snow drifts… everything. Feeling overwhelmed, Ruki buried her face in her hands and ran, uncomfortably, unbalanced.
THWANG! A piece of shrapnel flew past her head, barely missing her face. Ruki turned instinctively away, and kept running, opening her eyes to watch out for whatever it was, and to keep from hitting trees.
“This can’t be real!”
“Duck!” the voice cried in a nonchalant tone, toying with Ruki. She dropped to her stomach and turned over, desperate to see whatever—whomever—was doing this. Out of the corner of her field of vision came a green projectile, missing her face by mere inches. Another. And another. Each successive attack came from a different direction. Each attack whipped past her face at reckless speeds, missing her nose by inches.
Trails of green shot out from every direction, some slicing through trees, others digging into the dirt, spraying her with rocks, pine needles, and snow.
A flash of purple in the tree. Ruki jerked her head up to see her assailant better, but stayed well down, as another volley of green shot out from the trees.
One of the shots hit a tree and exploded in a ball of energy, felling the tree. Ruki whimpered, and curled into a ball, as the tree exploded in more shrapnel, and fell down to the ground, flaming, light bursting from the inside like a wild beast. The log split into slivers of wood that whipped past her. Gathering her courage, Ruki got up, and ran, the voice following her. She turned, and ducked, cowering, as a deadly green missile flew past her like a boomerang, curving around and slicing through threes like a hot knife through butter. Now totally afraid, Ruki began to cry, fearful that she might die. It was certainly very real.
Crashes exploded through her ears, and she fell once more on her stomach, hitting her face hard on the frozen ground, scratching and bruising her cheeks as well as her arms. The stinging pain was terrifyingly real. Fighting to stay conscious, she felt a pang of pain whip through her senses as a deadly piece of metal skimmed and skipped over her back, cutting into her left hand, pinning it palm down to the ground. Dazed from the terrifying pain, ignorant of the white-hot burning sensation from her hand, she looked at the projectile in awe—were they all leaves, like this one? She watched her hand, and the ground immediately surrounding it, stain with blood.
“Fox Leaf Arrowhead!” the feminine voice cried out, shooting another barrage of leaves towards Ruki.
“NOOOOO! Please, stop! I beg of you!” Ruki sobbed, reeling from the pain. She turned around, but stopped on her side, for the leaf held her hand fast to the dirt. She winced, as the leaves curved away from her at the last moment, slamming into trees and the ground. She took one last look at the pair of blood-red eyes in the tree, knowing that she was completely within the creature’s mercy, and fainted, unable to take it anymore. Her knives rolled out of their pocket, bounced around during her falls.
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There it is, Chapter 1 to the much awaited Little Red Riding Ruki (much awaited for me, anyways.) What’s going to happen? Will Renamon kill Ruki in the end? Will Takato ever get his birthday present? Why would the flu lead to a cardiac arrest? (Even I don’t know this one. J) Read and review, and Be Influenced.
© 2002 LORD TARSISK (Not the characters, or anything else Toei owns, just everything else! Don’t steal my ideas, or the insects will get you!)