-------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a beautiful day, by a seaside road... A young girl, casually dressed and carrying a small backpack, hunches over a box. A short distance away, a young man, similarly attired and equipped with a large duffel bag, calls out... Young man: (patiently) Mana, what are you up to? Come on, already. Mana looks up as a white kitten tries to climb on her shoulder... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ningyo no Mori" (Mermaid Wood) written and illustrated by Takahashi Rumiko --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Translated by The AmaTran Group from the manga compilation "Ningyo no Mori" Original story and artwork is (C) Copyright 1988 by Takahashi Rumiko "Ningyo no Mori" translation is (C) Copyright 1991 by The AmaTran Group, all rights reserved. This draft was last revised October 20, 1991. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- No portion of this translation may be used or reprinted by a commercial publication or venture without the express written permission of the translators. For non-profit ventures, please maintain the integrity of this translation, and do not abridge or rewrite without permission. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- First of two parts --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mana walks over to the young man and holds the kitten for him to see... Mana: Yuuta, what's this? Yuuta: It's called a cat. Mana: (cradling kitten) A cat... Yuuta: Aren't you going to let it go? Mana: I'm taking it along. Yuuta: No, no, it'll just going to die. Mana: Like this it'll die? Yuuta: Like that it'll die. Mana: (letting kitten lick her face) Hmmn. Poor cats. Some time later, underneath some trees beside a road... Yuuta: (putting duffel down) I'm stopping right here, I'm tired. Yuuta lies down against a tree. Mana: I'm not tired at all. Yuuta: (firmly) You get behind me and go right to sleep. As Mana sits back agains the tree beside him, Yuuta closes his eyes in weariness for a moment... Yuuta: You stay around here while I get some sleep. Mana: Hm? Yuuta: (putting a hand on Mana's hair) You aren't like normal people, that's why. Okay? Yuuta dozes off, with his duffel bag for a pillow, as Mana obediently sits with her back to the tree, holding the kitten. As Yuuta sleeps, he dreams of days gone by-- --To when he was a peasant, with only his few belongings tied to a stick... Voice: (to Yuuta) Wandering again? Yuuta: Yes, I never stay in one place very long. ...Looking over the sea... Voice: Won't you stay here, always?... Yuuta: I can't, I'm sorry. ...Watching a sunset... Voice: Are you all alone? Yuuta: Yes, completely alone. Suddenly his dreams change, and mermaids' tails swish through dark water. A nebulous, gray shape stands in the darkness... Voice: There is no way to go back to being a normal human. Many dark shapes thrash, large eyes visible through the dark... ...Mana and Yuuta, together on the beach, talk after their first battle with the mermaids... Yuuta: Will you come with me, Mana? Mana: Yes. ...Mana, running away into the darkness... Yuuta: Where are you going, Mana?! Come with me! Mana! ...and Yuuta wakes up screaming-- Yuuta: Mana! Yuuta realizes where he is, and lies back down... Yuuta: (thinking) A... dream...? Yuuta covers his eyes with his right hand. Yuuta: It's not a good omen... Looking behind him, Yuuta sees Mana's backpack, but not Mana... Yuuta: Hm? Yuuta stands up, and looks around... Yuuta: Mana? A short distance away, Mana walks through the grove of trees, kitten in hand... Mana: I should head back. I think Yuuta will be lonely if I'm not there. Suddenly, the kitten leaps out of her hands and begins to walk towards the nearby road. Mana: (to kitten) Hey, where are you going? Mana follows the kitten, climbing down the stone barrier separating the woods from the road. As she's standing in the middle of the road looking around for the kitten, a truck appears, seemingly out of nowhere, travelling at high speed. The truck driver hits the horns, loudly... Truck driver: (panicked) Ah, dumb bastard!! Mana's face is oddly calm and unconcerned as the truck driver tries to swerve around her at the last second, unsuccessfully... Nearby, Yuuta runs frantically amongst the trees... Yuuta: (calling out) Mana! Mana!! He overhears some excited voices, and sees a shopkeeper running ahead of a policeman on a bicycle on the nearby road... Shopkeeper: A girl was run over!! Officer Chuuzai, this way, this way! She was carried to Doctor Shiina's place! At Doctor Shiina's office... Officer Chuuzai: Doctor! What's her condition!? Doctor Shiina is an elderly physician, dressed in the traditional white smock of medical personnel. His white hair frames his sad eyes as he looks at Yuuta, Officer Chuuzai and the shopkeeper... Doctor Shiina: Ah, Officer Chuuzai. It's become an awkward matter... Officer Chuuzai: (aghast) An awkward matter, you say. Yuuta: (incredulous) It can't be, she can't be dead. Dr. Shiina: (looking at Yuuta) You are? Yuuta: (indignant) She's my companion, that girl. Dr. Shiina: Ah... Well, I turned away for a second, and she was gone. Officer Chuuzai: (troubled) Yes... But... Dr. Shiina: It was a slight concussion... with some scratches and bruising. Yuuta: (agitated) Well, I think you should let her lie for a while and check on her condition... Whatever happens you probably won't understand!! Dr. Shiina watches the men leave, then turns towards a door behind him. Opening it, a still form lies in the darkness. Blood has flowed from Mana's nose, ears and mouth. Dr. Shiina sadly closes Mana's still-open eyes. Some time later that evening, inside a traditional Japanese home... Female voice: (very polite and refined) ...Had she truly died then? Dr. Shiina: Yes, when she was brought to my clinic, already... Mana's clean body lies on a sleeping pallet on the tatami, with a sheet drawn up to her chest. Dr. Shiina, at her right side, is kneeling wearing a surgical gown. He continues his conversation with the unseen female... Female voice: Dr. Shiina... As always, I'm sorry to trouble you... Dr. Shiina: It's alright, Towa-san. The room has traditional pictures of family members already deceased. A picture of a beautiful young girl is situated at a small shrine for the dead, candles at either side. Towa: You are truly kind-hearted... To do this for my sake... Dr. Shiina: I'm also old already. And spent for you, this is probably the last. Mana's right arm is stretched out from her side. A drip pan has been positioned beneath her forearm and a line has been traced a short distance from the elbow towards the hand. Dr. Shiina has a scalpel in hand, and begins to cut into the forearm along the line as he speaks. An old woman in a kimono angrily thrusts a panel open... Old woman: (very refined speech) Doctor! What are you doing?!! You've brought another disgusting corpse... Dr. Shiina: Sawa-san. Mana's forearm bleeds at the slash it has received, into the pan... Sawa: This sort of practice, how much longer do you intend to keep repeating it? Towa, wearing a kimono, leans against the panel she has been hiding behind, her face obscured by shadows... Towa: Have you found a mermaid yet, Sawa-san? Mermaid's flesh... Sawa: (disgusted) That kind of thing... Towa strokes a right forearm and hand that are bandaged... Towa: Oh, Sawa-san, the pain in my limb is unbearable. I want to replace it as soon as I can... Don't interfere, please... Dr. Shiina: (determined) Sawa-san, please get out. Sawa: (aghast) Doctor! Suddenly, Mana's body convulses, and her eyes open. Dr. Shiina: (amazed) ... C... Came back to life...? Mana sits up. She notices the cut on her forearm, and wipes away the blood and trace mark with a corner of the sheet. When she has finished, her arm is whole. Dr. Shiina: And I had just cut through it with a knife... Sawa: (horrified) The wound... disappeared. Towa is also surprised by the turn of events. Mana finally turns her attention on her surprised hosts... Mana: (nonchalantly) Where's Yuuta...? Yuuta runs along the road near Dr. Shiina's office, at night... Yuuta: Mana! Mana--! (gasping for breath) Damn it, where'd he go. (incredulous) It can't be, that doctor... At the local police station... Officer Chuuzai: Dr. Shiina? Yuuta: He isn't at his office. I'd like him to listen to something I have to say... Officer Chuuzai: Let's see... Oh, today... It's the day he makes a house call on the Kannagi household. Yuuta: Where is it, this house? Officer Chuuzai: (pointing to a map) Let's see, you enter the Mermaid Wood... Yuuta: (surprised) Mermaid... Wood? Officer Chuuzai: Yes, it's by the Kannagi estate... The police officer smiles as he relates a local tale... Officer Chuuzai: It's said that somewhere in the woods there's a mermaid buried, or so legend has it. Yuuta: ...Oh?... Officer Chuuzai: Look, mermaid's flesh, it's the stuff of eternal youth and long life it's said isn't it? A long time ago, a patriarch of the Kannagi household caught a mermaid they say. The policeman pauses to light a cigarette and takes Yuuta's silence as an indication to proceed. Officer Chuuzai: If he ate of it or what I don't know but, it was buried in secret, they say... Well, it's just a children's tale. Under a moonlit sky, Yuuta runs through the Mermaid Wood, arriving at the gates of the somewhat-spooky Kannagi estate. He pounds on the gate... Yuuta: (shouting) Hey! Isn't there anyone in there?!! After looking over the walls for a minute or two, Yuuta begins to scale the wall. Yuuta: Can't be helped. As he drops safely on the other side and runs towards the house, he is stopped by a female voice behind him... Voice: Who are you...? Yuuta turns, to see a beautiful young girl wearing a kimono and walking with the aid of a cane. Her stark-white hair, as long as her waist, is bound by a black hair ribbon at the top. Girl: What is your business here? Yuuta: (thinking) Wha... White hair... Yuuta finally recovers enough to speak... Yuuta: ...Are you from this household? Girl: Yes. Yuuta: A doctor "Shiina"... came here, didn't he? Girl: Doctor Shiina...? What's wrong? Yuuta: My companion is missing, from the doctor's office. Girl: Companion... Well, then, you're the one that girl's...? Yuuta: (surprised) Is Mana here!? She's here!! He brought her here so quickly...? Yuuta notices something lurking in the bushes behind and to the right side of the girl. Leaping out suddenly is a large, ferocious creature that seems to resemble a dog. The creature takes Yuuta by surprise with its speed and viciousness. Yuuta gains a momentary respite by kicking it away from him... Yuuta: Wha... What is this?! The girl calmly walks away... Girl: It's a dog. If you look I think you'll see. The slavering dog takes a swipe at Yuuta, who barely manages to get out of the way... Yuuta: I can see that! Whoa!! The dog manages to tag Yuuta across his cheek... Yuuta: Ouch--! The dog finally clamps its jaws on Yuuta's neck. Blood drips from the dog's jaws... In the morning, Sawa finds Yuuta's body and weeps. Dr. Shiina: (examining Yuuta's body) Instantaneous death. His windpipe was crushed and severed. Sawa: (still crying) How did this happen... The white-haired girl comes up from behind... Girl: Good morning. Doctor, did you sleep well? Sawa: (angry) Towa-san, you... Towa: It wasn't me, it was the dog that did it. Dr. Shiina: This is regrettable. Let's bury him. Shovel breaks ground, as Doctor Shiina begins to dig. Towa looks at Yuuta's face... Towa: Doctor, just a second... Towa points something out to the doctor... Towa: Look, see here. Towa rubs some of the blood from Yuuta's scratched cheek, revealing almost perfectly-healed skin... Towa: This was a terrible wound, look... Yuuta's body convulses, and he suddenly begins to breathe. The three look at each other... A distorted image is the first thing that Yuuta sees as he recovers from his death. It clears as Yuuta realizes that his hands are chained to the wall behind and above his head. Yuuta: Wha... What's this!!? Towa walks in... Towa: (cheerful) Well... Haven't you regained your health. Just yesterday it would have been surprising... Yuuta: (angry) Y-You, what are you doing with Mana?! I want to be with Mana! Towa: My, both of you... You've eaten of the mermaid's flesh, haven't you. Yuuta remains silent. Towa: They really exist then, immortals... Yuuta: (upset) Why do you have Mana... Towa: I really wanted a dead body. Even though she returns to life... I'm thinking about what to do. Yuuta: (thinking) S-She... What the... Sawa comes down into the room, bearing a meal on a tray. Sawa: Here's some food. Yuuta: Rice? Stop toying with me! I'm not going to cooperate just because you feed me some rice! Towa: (smiling) So true, it's probably smarter that you don't eat. It's probably been poisoned. Towa turns to Sawa... Towa: She takes pride in serving poison, Sawa-san does. Sawa: (upset) Towa-san! What kind of person are you to keep at me... Towa: (coldly) If you shout too loudly your false teeth will fly out. Left to himself, Yuuta desperately tries to free himself by pulling on the chains as hard as he can... Yuuta: (thinking) Really... What sort are they, the people of this house? They're not the usual kind... Yuuta renews his efforts, but to no avail. Yuuta: (thinking) Mana... Elsewhere, in more pleasant surroundings... Voice: But what? Towa is sitting outside, looking out into a traditional central garden. Sawa, Dr. Shiina and Mana are all having something to eat. Despite the kimono she is wearing, Mana's table manners are atrocious, as she wolfs down her food in record time, her mouth all smeared... Mana: (handing rice bowl to Sawa) Some more please. Sawa: (resigned) You can really eat. Dr. Shiina: But Towa-san, what do you intend to do with this child? Towa: (glancing back) I've decided. I'll keep her. Mana: (calmly) You can't. I won't be able to return to Yuuta's side. Towa: Oh, is that so? Until he comes for you then... alright? Towa and Mana go for a walk on the estate's spacious grounds... Towa: Since the two of us have lived together into our old age, I had been lonely... Mana: Oh? When it's Yuuta and I are together, I'm not lonely. Towa: (impassive) Is that so... I'm envious... And this youthfulness... Towa's hand on the cane begins to shake. She falls to her knees... Towa: (strained) I'm sorry, my health isn't very good. Mana: (concerned) Oh? Towa: (still recovering) I want some mermaid flesh... Mana: (curious) Mermaid... flesh... Towa: Somewhere in these woods, a mermaid is buried. If I can just get my hands on it... I could... Until then I don't want to die... Mana: (looking around) There's a mermaid here? Towa: There is. The old woman knows but she's hiding it. Elsewhere, Sawa goes down to where Yuuta is. Yuuta is still exerting force on the chains. The wall begins to crack around the chains' foundations, encouraging him. Yuuta: Alright! Here I go--! The thick plank that both chain foundations were anchored to comes tearing out of the wall, hitting Yuuta behind his head and stunning him momentarily. He is barely aware of Sawa's approach. She has an axe in hand, an axe that she suddenly seems intent on using on Yuuta. Yuuta gasps in surprise as the axe falls. Upstairs... Mana is soaking in the bath, looking outside the small bathroom window. Towa enters, fully clothed... Towa: I'll rub your back for you. Towa draws up the sleeves of her kimono, revealing the bandage on her right hand and forearm. Towa: I can't use one arm so, please bear with me. Towa pours some water over Mana's back as Mana sits on a stool... Towa: (scrubbing Mana's back) Such a beautiful body... Not even a single blemish... Towa suddenly cups Mana's left breast with her good hand, much to Mana's surprise and displeasure. Mana slaps Towa quite soundly across the face. Towa feels the bruise on her cheek... Towa: (smiling) Don't worry. Towa quickly unravels the bandage on her right forearm and uses it to begin choking Mana. The surprised girl sees that Towa's right hand and forearm are horribly mutated, resembling those with whom the consumption of mermaid flesh did not agree. Mana claws at Towa's face in a desperate effort, but Towa merely increases the pressure... Down in the basement, Yuuta is surprised to be alive. Sawa has aimed her axe at the chain binding his left hand. Sawa: (sadly) Please get away. She is a dreadful woman. Yuuta: (picking axe up) Well, this was a little unexpected. Yuuta uses the axe on the chain still binding him. Yuuta: Who is she, that woman? Is she your grandchild? Sawa: She is... my elder twin sister. Yuuta: (surprised) Twin... you say... ...Then she's also... immortal...? Sawa: (resigned) She is different from both of you... Her body has remained youthful but, inside she's the same as I... An old woman with only a short time remaining. ...It's been sixty years ago already... Sawa thinks back to an incident of six decades ago... Sawa: (narrating) My elder sister was in serious condition, and she was already given up for dead. In the living room, the twins' parents consult with a young doctor... Mother: (concerned) Dr. Shiina, what about Towa...? Dr. Shiina: (head bowed) I'm afraid that she's already... In the next room, Sawa looks down sadly at her ailing sister... Sawa: Sister... She turns at the voice behind her... Voice: Sawa. Sawa: Yes, father. Father: Of Kannagi house's inheritors, there will be none except you. Sawa: Yes. Father: To inherit the household, you must protect the mermaid mound. Knowing the location, the mound's disclosure or breach must not be. Sawa: Yes. Sawa continues her narration... Sawa: And so at the mound where the mermaid's body was stored, numerous poisons and medicines came into my inheritance... A foolish idea occurred to me. Sawa comes to her stricken sister's side, bearing a small jug... Towa: (weakly) Sawa-san, this is... Sawa: It is some medicine stored from the mermaid mound. I'm keeping this secret from Father. Towa: (puzzled) Medicine...? Sawa: A mermaid's living blood. I couldn't take any flesh but, here is immortal mermaid's... blood. Sawa pours some of the liquid into a cup and helps Towa sit up so she can drink it. Sawa: I'm sure it will be effective. Here. Sawa encourages her sister as Towa hesistantly looks into the cup... Sawa: You musn't die, Towa-san. The two of us are sisters aren't we... Sawa: (head bowed, narrating) I... wanted my sister to live with all my heart... The cup falls from Towa's hands. Sawa: (narrating) But... Towa is doubled over from the pain... Towa: (gripping sheet) It... hurts... Towa's right hand and forearm begin to mutate and deform. Towa sees the hideous claw her limb has become and gasps. Sawa looks on in horror... Sawa: (narrating) Because of the extreme agony, her hair turned white overnight... And she has stayed in that form for many decades... Like someone who had succumbed to disease, Father confined her to a room and would not let her leave until she had passed away... Sawa is suprised by an unexpected, sardonic comment. Voice: A dear old tale, isn't it? Towa, with menace in her voice and expression, steps through a doorway from a wall of crossed wooden beams. She is dragging Mana, who is dressed in a kimono, behind her by the hair. Sawa: (surprised) To-Towa-san! Yuuta, seeing Mana, is shocked to see the severe bruise around Mana's neck. Yuuta: Mana! Mana! Yuuta makes a run for Towa, but she swiftly closes and locks the door. Yuuta: (reaching through beams) Damn it! Yuuta manages to reach through and touch Mana on the head, enough to try and shake her awake... Yuuta: Mana! Get up! Mana! Sawa: Towa-san. What are you... Towa: My arm hurts... I have to replace it soon... Yuuta: (alarmed) Replace...? Towa: That's right... If the incisions are matched, it's simple. Towa recalls other bodies, and previous attempts at grafting the forearms of dead bodies to her own... Towa: I've done it so many times. Digging up graves, the arms of freshly-dead girls... But, after so many years past, I can restore myself. Sawa: (horrified) That girl is still alive! Towa: That's right... An immortal body has fallen into my hands. Towa, kneeling, cradles Mana's head gently... Towa: (smiling) So this time, I'm replacing my whole body. Yuuta: (aghast) Wha... What are you thinking, you--!! Towa grabs a spear and deftly tosses it at Yuuta. Passing between the beams, it impales Yuuta through his midsection, just above the waist. In great pain, Yuuta collapses on the floor, trying to get the spear out. Towa: (opening door) Please come out, Sawa-san. At Towa's side is another mutated dog, large and fearsome. Towa: (smiling) My, you can't die in a place like this. Come out. The two of us are sisters aren't we... Sawa quakes with fright at the last sentence, seeing how well Towa remembers the events of six decades past. Still trembling, she steps past Yuuta, who reaches out towards her... Yuuta: (weakly) Wai... The mutated dog walks in just as Yuuta finally manages to extract the spear. It glares at Yuuta, growling... Towa: (locking door) Won't you play with my marvelous dog? As the dog leaps for Yuuta, he barely manages to block the sharp teeth with the spear. The dog persists, biting into his right shoulder instead. Yuuta glances back as Towa leaves, still pulling Mana behind her... Yuuta: Mana! Mana!! Mana--!! Mana, dead or unconscious, does not stir. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Part One -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, | Ragnarok ---- mikem@comspec.UUCP Moves on: not all thy Piety nor thy Wit |--------------------------------- Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, | Path: ...uunet!mnetor!lsuc! Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. | comspec!mikem