http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/goblin01.txt </head><body><pre>*scratches head* Uh... and here's the 1st chapter (or day). Disclaimer: X and all related are © CLAMP et.al. The Ring and all related are © Suzuki Koji et.al. This fanfic is written by Silver Wind. Warning: spoilers for vol. 15-16 of X. Spoilers for the whole story of The Ring movie. This is based on The Ring movie, not the novel or the TV series. On this fanfic, The Ring 2 doesn't exist You've been warned. Little bit of informations about The Ring: Asakawa Reiko - the main character of The Ring movie. She's a TV reporter who's investigating the rumor of a cursed video. Her curiosity makes her watch it herself, then putting her life in danger. She goes to her ex-husband for help, and he watches the video also. Takayama Ryuji - Asakawa's ex-husband, a mathematician and a psychic. His determination to calm Asakawa urges him to watch the video, thus putting his life under the curse as well. The Video - the cursed video which the theme of The Ring is based on. It's said that after you watch it, you'd get a phone call, and exactly 7 days later, you would die. No matter where you are, what you're doing, whom you're with. The victims of this video are found dead because of heart failure, and with expressions of complete fright on their faces. an X/The Ring crossover fanfiction: Goblins Will Be Thine by Silver Wind anne@silver-shining.net http://silver-shining.net/ | http://sanzo.pitas.com/ Day 1: The Curse Subaru massaged his temple, trying to ignore the growing headache forming there. He took a deep breath and once again stared at the video tape on the table. His mouth twisted up in a bitter smile. A curse, huh? So he had been cursed now. And if he didn't do anything, he would die next week. Like hell he would allow it. He stood up and went to the shower. Afterwards, absently he picked his clothes from the wardrobe. Black jeans, checked. Black turtleneck, checked. Gloves, checked. Watch, checked. Cigarette, checked. Lighter, checked. Now, where were his boots? Ah, there they were, right beside the door. He took a quick glance at the mirror and swiftly ran his fingers through his soft black hair. Vividly he remembered how Hokuto-chan used to force him to stay in front of the mirror for at least 30 minutes. Now that seemed to be a very long time ago. The onmyouji exited his room and closed the door behind him. He glanced at his watch. It was only 7 a.m. But if he wanted to stay alive, he'd better have started as early as possible. Wincing, he realized that he also would need energy today. Subaru sighed and made a U-turn to the kitchen. "Subaru-san?" Yuzuriha exclaimed in disbelief, "What are you doing here? I... I mean, good morning!" He found himself smiling a little at her, "Good morning, Yuzuriha-san. Where are the others?" "Er...," the girl popped cat ears, still staring at him weirdly, "Arashi-san is still meditating. Sorata-san is preparing the food. Kamui-san is in his room." Subaru patted Inuki's transparent body softly and went to sit on one of the chairs. Inuki followed, peering up at him in interest. "Inuki!" Yuzuriha scolded, sweatdropping, "I'm sorry, Subaru-san!" "It's all right," he patted Inuki again, "Maybe he's just curious why I'm here. That's all." "I think I heard Subaru-san's voice," Sorata entered the kitchen, eyes bulging out comically, "I did hear Subaru-san's voice. It's a miracle! Subaru-san decides to eat this morning?" An elbow swiftly connected to Sorata's ribs at the end of his words. Arashi ignored his exclamation of pain and went to sit across Subaru, nodding politely at him. "Subaru?" Kamui appeared on the doorway, lower jaw dropping when he saw him. The onmyouji raised one eyebrow, "Is my presence THAT surprising?" "Well, yeah," Sorata replied instantly, a teasing grin on his face, "Considering you never ate... ITTEE!!!" Apparently, Kamui and Arashi chose the exact same moment to whack Sorata's head, causing the monk to fall down unceremoniously on to the floor. As hard as he tried not to show it, a drop of sweat was forming on Subaru's forehead. Kamui grinned slightly, "Good to see you decide to eat this time. As insane as he might be, Sorata does make GOOD breakfast." The older teenager only laughed at that as he began serving what he had cooked. "Where are you going, Subaru-san?" Arashi quietly asked, observing his clothes. "I have to go to Kyoto," Subaru answered, "Clan business. I would be back this evening or tomorrow." Arashi nodded, satisfied with the answer. "The job you talked about yesterday?" Kamui inquired further, giving him a curious look. Subaru smiled, "One of the affairs, yes." "Be careful, okay?" he pleaded worriedly. "I would," he promised calmly, silently grateful because Kamui knew nothing about the curse. ------------------------------------------------------------------ He looked at the photograph in his hand. Asakawa Reiko had given it to him as a proof of the curse. It was a photo of her, taken with an instant camera by her ex- husband. And the photo was heavily distorted. A white mist had covered the face and twisted the figure grotesquely. "Every photograph of the victims had been distorted like this, Sumeragi-sama," she had said softly, showing a few others to him. Ryuji had smiled his crooked smile again, "It seems that the curse also shows its power through the photographs." Subaru gazed across the street. The mismatched eyes were locked onto an instant photo box. He shook his head, tucking the photo back into his coat pocket. The onmyouji entered the photo box, already contemplating what he'd do after this. A few minutes later, Subaru was looking at a photograph in his hand. Another photograph. His photoraph. His face and figure was distorted by a white mist. Subaru smiled a bitter smile, satisfied with his discovery. Time to go to Kyoto now. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Subaru looked at the huge gates thoughtfully. It'd been a long time since his last visit to the clan house. He wondered if the maids and employees were still able to recognize him, especially with the bandage over his eye. Well... he'd find out soon enough when someone answered the bell he'd rung. The gates slowly opened, revealing an elderly woman in a simple gray kimono. When she saw the lanky young man behind the gate, her eyes widened. "Subaru-sama!" the maid exclaimed in surprise. He smiled thinly, "Good afternoon, Miyako-san. Where is my grandmother?" She recovered quickly, an ability one had to master if she wanted to work in the Sumeragi clan, "Ah, welcome home Subaru-sama. The lady is resting in the back garden. Please follow--" "No need, Miyako-san," he patted the hand of his old babysitter with something close to an affection, "I suppose I can still find my way around this house." She looked at him with an endless barrage of questions in her eyes. But she knew better than to ask them. She smiled. "Very well, Subaru-sama. I do hope that you would have dinner AND breakfast here. I think you need it," her wizened eyes danced merrily, noting the blush that was creeping up Subaru's cheek. "I'd try," a shy smile appeared on his face, for once returning to the head of the clan that she knew. "Welcome home, Subaru-sama," she said again, tears starting to form in her eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------- The back garden was graced with huge trees and many flower bushes. Subaru walked through it absently, paying no attention to the beautiful view around him. He knew by heart where his grandmother would be. The same spot where he and Hokuto-chan had found her every day when they were little. Where she always had looked relaxed enough to smile at them and even asked how their day had been. Achingly, he noted that it'd seemed a very long time ago. Subaru walked closer to the wheelchair. The tree above it gave Lady Sumeragi protection from the sun. The wind blew softly around her, as if respecting one of the most powerful onmyouji in the world. The wheelchair slowly turned around at the sound of his footsteps. If his grandmother was surprised to see him, she'd done a good job in covering it. Lady Sumeragi's eyes widened when they look at Subaru. He touched the bandage over his eye self-consciously. Although he'd told her about the 'accident' with the Dark Kamui, she hadn't known how bad it was. "Subaru-san," her hand gestured slightly to the wooden bench beside her. He bowed deeply before taking a seat, respectfully incling his head, "Grandmother. Please forgive my sudden disturbance to you--" She shook her head, "Nothing like that, Subaru-san. On the contrary, I'm very glad you come." Subaru stared at her questioningly. "Subaru-san, what happened?" her voice took a sharp edge. "Grandmother?" the young man twitched slightly, "What do you mean what happened?" The lady gave him a look, "There's something crawling around you, Subaru-san." He fell silent, unknowing what to say to her. "You've been placed under a curse, haven't you?" she asked, a tinge of anger coloring her voice. "How do you know?" he returned the question quietly. She sighed, "I may be old, Subaru-san. But I haven't lost my power. I'd notice something like that." "It's a curse from a video, Grandmother," Subaru gave all pretense up and went straight to the matter. "Sadako," Lady Sumeragi hissed a name. She thought for a few moments and smiled bitterly, "How did you get the curse, Subaru-san?" The grandson winced, recalling the events happening to him the night before. "I've been investigating it for my clients," he answered a little reluctantly, "Asakawa Reiko-san and Takayama Ryuji-san." "Takayama Ryuji, I see," she looked straight at the remaining emerald eye, "How many days do you have left?" Silence. "... six days. I watched it last night," Subaru let a deep breath out. She grasped his hand and held it tightly, "Go back to Tokyo now, Subaru-san. I would try to help you with all I can. But you must not stay here." "Grandmother--" "Go back. Investigate everything about Sadako," she spat the name out in disgust, "Destroy the curse, child." "Grandmother?" he stared at her in shock. He'd never seen her this angry before... except if it was something related with the Sakurazukamori. "We should've destroyed the curse a long time ago," the ancient eyes blazed with fury. Six days left... to be continued on Day 2: The Prophecy Notes: Nyahahaha... *maniacal laugh* Our dear onmyouji only has 6 more days to save his life! v^^ Informations about The Ring can be found on my site (yes, this is a shameless plug): http://silver-shining.net/ring/ C&C, please?</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>