Hello fellow FFMLers.

I wrote this fanfiction of Ranma 1/2 set during WWII Japan-- a very tricky
task.  In fact, I'm hesitant in continuing this fanfic.  I'm a bit worried
about the reception it will receive.. since it touches on very emotional
and fiercly debated subjects.

So I'm sending a prelude and a part of the first chapter of this fanfic: 
Chariots of Fire.  The prelude and the first chapter (partial)  only
offers a taste-- I reapeat, ONLY a taste of the entire plot (plot is
finished). This portion does not even delve into Ranma and his situation.. 
I'll decide to continue writing.. if people will lend me their support. 
I'd like constructive criticisms..


#1:  I'm not trying to stereotype Japan (or America).  

#2:  I'm trying to give two viewpoints of the war-- from the Japanese and
American perspectives.  Fact:  both sides used A LOT of propaganda.  In
crude terms:  Brainwashing. 

#3:  War is dirty.  Brutality is a common rule.  No matter how disciplined
soldiers are, when faced with death..  something snaps inside them, making
their experiences very.. difficult and indescribable.

For authenticity, a great deal of time and effort were spent on research. 
Books after books after books..  Too much free time..  I gave my best to
keep close to the FACTS; however, any portrayal of the past, present or
the future has its flaws.  C&C will be VERY appreciated.  Please, anyone
interested in becoming a pre-reader, contact me at the address below. 

Myungsu Suh
suh1@uiuc.edu

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

====================
||Chariots of Fire||
====================

Based on Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2

Certain characters, locations and references in this fanfiction are
copyrighted by their respective creators and/or owners.  These characters
and other associated concepts thereof  are presented in a way that may
conflict with their creators' original intentions.

The characters in this fanfiction are fictitious.  Any similarities
between characters and (non)living persons are coincidental.



+++===+++
Prelude:  The Dark Wood of Error
+++===+++

"Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood.  How shall I say

what wood that was!  I never saw so drear,
so rank, so arduous a wilderness!
Its very memory gives a shape to fear."

The Divine Comedy, Canto I (1-6)

==

Cradling the rifle in his arms, Private Second Class Hibiki Ryoga laid
flat on the frozen mud and peered cautiously at the plane wreck several
hundred meters away.  The huge plane was smoking from small fires that
illuminated the dark field with their orange glare.  He could even smell
the pungent aviation fuel from his position.  Several figures dressed in
drab flight suits scurried away from the wreck and unknowingly crawled
toward Ryoga's squad.

Ryoga felt a tug of the rope tied to his waist.  Lt. Kido, the honorable
squad leader, crept next to him and hoarsely whispered instructions.
"Stay put.  Rest of us will capture these Anglo-American pilots.  Watch
for the Chink guerrillas.  Don't wander off this time!"

Without waiting for a reply, Lt. Kido stealthily melted into the night. 
The rest of the fanatic squad followed Kido's example. 

Biting his tongue, Ryoga shifted his body and sat on the ground.  He hated
being a soldier even though the Japanese Empire needed young people like
himself.  Relying on a gun humiliated Ryoga, though it was more effective
in killing.

Adding more insult, he was tethered on a leash like a senseless dog,
receiving treatment given to the dirty Chinese and the garlic smelling
Chosenjin.  The Imperial Army passionately hated anyone or anything
lacking the correct right-wing military fervor. 

Ryoga tightened his hands till his knuckles turned white and regreted it
when the rifle cracked.  If he hadn't blundered into an army camp in
Manchukuo, he might have been protecting Akane from Ranma.  How could he
have known China was right next to Kyoto?

Ryoga tried stifling his depression and miserably failed.  He desperately
worried for Akane, knowing that Ranma would irritate her or even worse,
make her cry.  Ryoga gnashed his teeth.  He had to go back to the Tendo
Dojo, but it would mean desertion -- a taint on his honor.. and possible
capture by the Army as a traitor.  But.. Honor be damned.  Maybe he could
just leave..  As of late, Ryoga's honor as a martial artist was very
tenuous.  He committed very questionable deeds as a soldier.

Ryoga shuddered despite his winter coat.  Wails of Chinese villagers
haunted his nightly dreams.  On certain nights after 'sanitizing' Chinese
'bandits,' Ryoga would dream his first killing -- bayoneting a hapless
prisoner.  That dream would be followed by another, in which Lt. Kido cut
off heads of prisoners with his Showa sword while commenting which neck
was best for a clean cut.  Lt. Kido was drenched by the two fountains of
blood from the necks in these dreams, a far cry from his spotless uniform
in reality.

During the day, leaden eyes of the purple haired girl bore into Ryoga's
obscured conscience.  When the purple haired girl and others like her
arrived on the special train, the troops took turns with them.  The girl
didn't even whimper.  Some of the others, a mix of Chinese and Chosenjin,
though dead drunk, shrieked for hours. 

Ryoga grew faint at the images burned into his mind.  He felt the crimson
fluid trickling down his nose.  Struggling to keep conscious, Ryoga
fiercely bit his lower lip.  Pain.  Good.  It kept him from fainting.

Ryoga muttered feverishly to himself.  "No one would know back in Nerima.
It'll be the same when I go back.  No one would know.  Akane won't know.
Ukyou won't know.  Ranma-- "

Ryoga paused.  Would have Ranma done the same, if he was a soldier?  Yes,
he would have.  No one could have resisted the pressure, not even Ranma. 
Yamato damashii demanded it.  As Lt. Kido fervently lectured, the Spirit
of Japan will win the war.  Everyone must contribute and be willing for
the ultimate sacrifice. 

A loud explosion jarred Ryoga.  The plane -- Lt. Kido mentioned it as a
new enemy bomber -- vanished in a giant fireball.  The flames must have
reached the fuel tanks.

Shoving aside his thoughts, Ryoga stood up and scanned the vicinity while
tightly clutching his damaged rifle.  The wintry field was pitch dark,
only dimly lit by the bright orange flames of the wreck.  Near the smoking
debris Ryoga saw his squad surrounding the dazed Americans, most of whom
had their hands up.  Some of the troops pummeled a resisting airman with
their rifle butts.

Ryoga sickened, but hardened his heart.  Seeing defenseless people beaten,
raped and killed used to anger him.  Not anymore.  He could not spare pity
while Japan-- while Akane suffered.  Yes, he protected Akane by doing
this.. but.. Ranma.  No.  Lt. Kido said only by fighting could he save
Japan.. meaning Akane would be safe.  Only if Ranma--

A succession of sharp cracks echoed through the air.

Pain.

Ryoga dropped his rifle.

Pain.

In dazed curiosity, Ryoga felt his chest and found bloody holes. 

Pain. 

He slumped to the cold ground, blood gushing from his wounds. 

Pain. 

He struggled to stand, only to be kicked down by shadowy figures. 
Guerrillas. 

Pain. 

The muzzle of a gun pressed against his bandana.  Ryoga heard the low
rapid talk of the guerrillas. 

Pain.

Ryoga knew it was over.  He would never see Akane's face again.  It never
crossed his mind to say his death cry, as Lt. Kido forced him to practice
everyday. 

(Tenno Heika Banzai!  Tenno Heika Banzai!)

Instead, all he could think of was Akane's smiling face, hundreds of
kilometers away in Japan. 

"A-Ak-a--n-  L--ov--"

A shot answered his last words.  The Communist guerrillas spat on the
bloodied body and grinned as other guerrilla units mopped up the Japanese
devils.  The American airmen were saved.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++===+++
Chapter One:  Crushing of Jewels
+++===+++

Umi yukaba, mizuku kabane,
Yama yukaba, kusamusu kabane,
Okimi no he ni koso shiname.
Kaerimi wa seji.

Across the sea, corpses soaking in the water,
Across the mountains, corpses heaped upon the grass,
We shall die by the side of our lord.
We shall never look back.

"Umi yukaba"  Otomo Yakamochi

==

Gosunkugi looked at the ragged doll.  It took days for him to make the
doll, a crude imitation of the American soldiers overrunning Saipan.
Gosunkugi had hoped to use it to kill Americans.

It did not work.

Anything he tried with magic never worked anyway.  He glanced around the
dark, damp cave.  The women and children were silent.  Some stared at
nothing, while others fingered the grenades.  Some women seemed eager to
join the dead after the soldiers forced them to silence the once howling
bundles.  The bundles were beginning to smell.

Gosunkugi wished he had his cynaide pill, which unfortunately melted away
from his sweat.  Suicide by grenades were messy.  Those who had cynaide
pills used them long ago  when the Americans swept across the island.

Gosunkugi grabbed a stone and bashed the doll's head with it.  One more
American demon dead.  Bash the head.  One more American demon dead.  Bash
the head.  One more American demon dead.  Bash--

"Hikaru-kun, stop it."

Reiko.  Her voice.. toneless.. devoid of hope.  He was shy around her in
the past.  Not now.  She was dirty, injured and ematiated like everyone
else.  Mud and blood matted her once beautiful raven hair.

Reiko's parents were killed in a barrage of shells.  An image bubbled from
Gosunkugi's mind.  Reiko as the pretty, bubbly neighborhood girl when he
could eat three meals a day and slept on a futon beside his family.. 

Gosunkugi's mouth watered, and his eyes stung with shame.  Food.  He cared
more for food than his family.  They were probably dead anyway.  The dead
were dead; they could not be helped, so Gosunkugi thought of food.  It
seemed like years passed the last he tasted rice, even though the
Americans invaded-- how many days?  Gosunkugi could not remember.

"Hikaru-kun, are you alright?"  A whisper.

"Yes, Reiko-san."  Gosunkugi dropped the rock.  No, he was NOT alright.

Reiko sat beside him.  Gosunkugi and Reiko said nothing to each other.
Did hours pass?  Or minutes?  Or seconds?  Waiting.  Always waiting.

What was he waiting for?  Gone was any hope of victory when the lone
soldier came into the cave during the day.  The soldier relayed
information of an all out attack on the American devils during the night. 
He said the attack will be gyokusai.

The silence broke as the four soldiers roused themselves.  Only one was
equipped with a rifle.  Each had three grenades.  One of the soldiers
barked.  

"Will any of you join us?  We  will meet in the Yasukuni shrine
as kami!"

A soldier sobbed and quaked his shoulders.  The others shot disgusted
looks at the sobbing soldier then ignored him. 

One of the women got up and listlessly joined them.  She brought her
whimpering child.  The woman tightly clutched a grenade.

"For the emperor," the woman croaked. 

The soldiers and the woman, dragging her child, exited the cave into the
night.

Gosunkugi crawled to the mouth of the cave.  The night was clear and
hushed.  Minutes passed.  Hours.  Then he heard it.  A volley of rifles.
It was joined by a forceful orchestra of machine guns, artillery, mortars,
grenades and rifle shots.  He could see tracer fire.

Sometimes, the American flares lit the entire sky, showing the countless
combatants in the distance moving like ants.  Crimson orange explosions
spewed black fumes, blotting the star-lit sky.  Amid the noise of the guns
and death, Gosunkugi heard faint cries of banzai and the two syllable
replies of the Americans.

Minutes passed.  Hours. The noise of battle died.  Gun shots dwindled.  An
occasional American artillery thundered, reminding Gosunkugi the passing
of a deadly storm.. The soldiers, the woman, the child did not return.
Silence covered the night, only punctured by infrequent gun fire.
American guns.  The sky was brightening.  Twilight was near.

"Hikaru-kun."

Reiko.

She hoarsely whispered.  "Hikaru-kun, the Americans won."

Gosunkugi's throat thickened.  A wave of helplessness overwhelmed him as
his eyes watered.  He did not want to die, but there was no choice.
Surrender was impossible.  Suicide was better than torture or being run
over by American tanks.

A stretch of silence stifled their conversation.

Reiko suddenly spoke.  "Lets go back.  I saved three sugar canes.  I'll
share with you."

Gosunkugi perked.  "Thank you," he whispered.

They felt their way back to the heart of the cave and sat down on the cold
rock.  Several of the women eyed the sugar canes as Reiko took them from a
hidden crevice.  Reiko handed one to Gosunkugi.  He greedily sucked on the
cane, savoring the sweet sugary liquid.  For a moment, he was in heaven.
Soon the cane was dry.  He dropped it.  The cane only deepened his hunger.
Liquid was not filling.

Only conscious of his hunger, Gosunkugi had forgotten the children.  They
clamored over the empty stalk.  Guilt consumed him.  He should have
shared.

Through the darkness, Gosunkugi noticed one of the women had a sugar cane. 
She slowly sucked on it.  After one or two gulps, she passed the stalk to
others.  Every women got at least one swallow from the sugar cane. 

Gosunkugi looked at Reiko.  She must have given the last stalk to the
children, since they now had two sugar canes.  Reiko's head was drooping. 
Her weary eyes stared blindly to a corner of the cave.  Her night
blindness was growing worse.

"Hikaru-kun..  Is there life after death?"  Her voice was low and
cracking.

Gosunkugi licked his dry lips.  "Reiko-san...  Maybe.."

Gosunkugi truely did not know, even though he firmly believed in Shinto
with a bit of voodoo.  Gosunkugi could not know, because no one came back
alive after death.

Reiko produced a grenade and absently traced its outline.  Her voice was a
festering wound stitched by the thread of sadness.

"I want to see my mother and father.  But.. I..  I have to see the sun
before I die.  I hate this cave.  It's too dark.  I hate the dark." 

"..."

"When the sun is in the sky, lets die together, outside."

"... I..  I'll be with you."  Gosunkugi's mind cleared.  Just saying those
words seemed to lift the terrible burden off his chest.  He felt light
headed and calm.  At last he could escape from the Americans, the pain and
the gnawing hunger.

Reiko grasped his hand and squeezed it, startling Gosunkugi.  Such contact
was unthinkable in public.  Could she..

"I'm glad."  Reiko sounded calm.  Almost happy.

Gosunkugi and Reiko crawled back to the mouth of the cave.  They waited
for the first rays of the sun.  The horizon turned slowly turned from
midnight blue to purple.  Bright red saturated the high cirrus clouds,
hinting Gosunkugi of the blood spilt on Saipan.  Sky blue slowly painted
the atmosphere.  The sun was up. 

Reiko stirred as if to go out of the cave.  Gosunkugi stopped her.

"Wait a bit more..  We have time.  Lets see the sun when its bright, not
when its red like blood."  Reiko nodded. 

They were in their own isolated world, separated from the oppressive cave,
the ragged women and children.  The sky grew brighter until it was pale
blue.

The tranquility shattered when they heard sounds of approaching jeeps and
tanks.  Americans.  The Americans spoke in awkward Japanese.

"Come out.  You will be treated fairly.  We have food and water.  Cease of
arms for ten minutes.  Come out.  You will be treated fairly.."

The women and children far behind Gosunkugi and Reiko broke into wrenching
moans and fearful mutterings.  They knew the American devils were lying.
If they surrendered, the Americans would strip them of their clothes and
perform unmentionable things.  It was better to die then taint their
tattered honor.  As they resolved their minds, they grew silent and
carefully gathered their grenades.

"I want to see the sun, Hikaru-kun," said Reiko.  Her voice was calm, but
her body trembled.

"But the Ameri--!"

"It doesn't matter."  Reiko reverently held her grenade. Gosunkugi
wordlessly acquiesced.

Gosunkugi and Reiko crawled out of the cave and blinked their eyes to
adjust to the warm sunlight.  For a moment, they stared at the yellow sun
and ignored the Americans' shouting and gestures.

A cry of joy escaped from Reiko.  "I can see clearly again," she breathed.

With trembling fingers, she held her grenade and glanced expectantly at
Gosunkugi.  He nodded.  It was time to die.  Death..  Nothingness..
Eternal calm..

Her eyes closed, Reiko pulled the pin and armed it.  Gosunkugi shut his
eyes.