Ranma Saotome: Master of the Mystic Arts
By Brendan O'Donnell
Chapter 3
Ranma stood in a large white room eyeing the glowing blue
glyphs covering one walls. Holding his hands over them, he spoke in a
tongue mixing Latin and Egyptian with languages that were ancient
during the great melting of the ice when the sphinx was shaped. The
glow faded leaving a white wall. Ranma lowered his hands with a sigh
and nodded to himself.
"Done." Walking to the center he knelt by the box he had
carried from the Ancient one's temple. He clapped his hands together,
and rubbed them a moment before extending his right over the silver
disk in the center of the top. Chanting to himself, he brought slowly
closed the fingers of his hand. The wax holding the disk in place
evaporated, allowing it to float into Ranma's grasp.
With a contented nod, Ranma put the disk down besides the box.
Beginning a different chant he traced his right forefinger along the
edge of the lid. He spiraled the digit inward to rest in the center.
The paper charms ignited with purple flame, and were gone in an
instant.
"That's that," Ranma commented as he calmly took the lid off
the box.
"Akane, have you seen Ranma?"
"I think he went up to the attic Kasumi."
"Oh. Would you please tell him dinners ready?"
"Ok," Akane responded to her sister as she walked to the stairs
to the attic.
"Ranma, Kasumi wanted me to tell..." her voice trailed off as
she refocused all her attention on studying the enormous room that she
knew had not been there two days ago. "you..."
"Akane?" Ranma responded, turning to stare at her. "How'd you
get in here?"
"I... Kasumi... What have you done to our attic!?"
"Calm down I haven't done anything to your attic. I folded a
small pocket dimension with some help from the local spirits. A little
manipulation with the entry spell and no one'll be able to enter
without permission." He looked at her closely. "You shouldn't have
been able to find your way in anyway."
"Ah, what do you mean?"
"I'll have to check later but successfully opening the entry is
probably an indication of a fair amount of untapped magic ability in
you."
Akane blinked. "You mean I can do magic?"
"No, you can learn. If I knew more myself I might consider
offering to teach you. But the Ancient One would probably get mad if I
tried anything."
"Ranma, Akane." Kasumi's voice called up the stairs.
"Ah, just a minute!" Ranma called back. He picked up a small
paper charm. "Just need..." he commented to Akane as he reached out
and plucked a hair off her head.
"OW! What do you think you're doing!"
"Prevention." Ranma responded as he folded the charm around
the hair. He then opened a small box and dropped it in. "Just a
protective charm in case Kuno tries something else."
"Hey, what do you suppose is going on?" Ranma asked as he saw
a large group of students assembled in the courtyard before the high
school.
"Oh no not again!" Akane commented in a disgusted tone. She
glanced up at the clock tower. "It's Kuno's fault, before that spell
he told everyone that anyone who beat me in a fight could go out with
me, and so every day I had to fight this bunch of perverted jerks
before school!" She glanced at the clock again. "ARRR, their gonna
make me late!"
"Not this time." Ranma took two running steps and leaped,
crossing the remaining distance to land about fifteen feet before the
school gate. He centered his breathing, and gathered his mystic power.
"What's he doing?!" Akane asked as she ran up to his side.
Ranma raised one hand before him, his first and last fingers
outstretched.
"Wheel of Bromogden, Power of the Sage.
Entrance now this mob and silence their rage!"
As he spoke something shimmered in the air before his hand,
like a barely visible wheel, that grew with each word. The students in
the courtyard relaxed their combative stances and looked quietly at
Ranma.
"You'll be late for class," Ranma said quietly. The former mob
turned their heads in unison to look at the clock.
"OH Damn! Look at the time!"
"Ah! I don't want to have to stand in the hall!"
"The vice principal said he'd call my folks if I was late
again!"
As one they charged into the school at a run.
"I can fight my own battles you know!" Akane commented angrily
as she stalked past where Ranma stood, just lowering his hand.
Ranma glanced at her with a slightly annoyed expression on his
face. "Sorry, Next time I'll let you be late!"
Kuno stood on top of the clock tower. "The fair Akane Tendo."
He continued gazing at the front gates a moment. "Yet where is the
Pigtailed goddess?"
"Nabiki Tendo!" Kuno sat facing the middle Tendo daughter.
Nabiki looked at Kuno with an expression of distaste, then
opened her Bento and focused her attention on beginning lunch.
Kuno slammed his fist on the table. "Look at me woman! You
must tell me who that red haired girl is!"
"Must?" Nabiki looked him in the eye. "I don't value many
things, but my sisters happen to be at the top of the list. You'll
have to go somewhere else if your interested in anything that could
compromise Akane's happiness."
"How can she know happiness while she denies her love for me?"
Nabiki took a moment to look at him with an ice-cold
half-lidded glare.
"What I want from you has nothing to do with your fair sister
who I shall again date with when she is free of Saotome's foul magic.
I simply want to know about the pigtailed goddess who appeared above
the pool two days ago. Do you know anything?"
Nabiki picked up her Bento and started eating.
"Nabiki Tendo!" Kuno roared. Seeing no response, he reached
into his pocket and pulled out a thick roll of thousand yen bills. He
peeled five thousand yen off and placed it by Nabiki. She glanced at
it and continued eating. Another five thousand joined it. Nabiki took
a sip from her drink box.
Nabiki put down her chopsticks and looked at the pile of fifty
thousand yen on the table. She looked Kuno in the eye. "Money can't
buy forgiveness. But you aren't asking me about Akane." She looked at
the pile of yen again. Kuno added ten more thousand yen bills. "Ok,
Ranma and the girl you're so interested in are the same person. One
body, one soul, one mind."
"That Monster!" Kuno yelled as he stood and ran for the door.
Nabiki looked after Kuno as he left the room. Sighing she
shook her head. "Idiot's too mild a word."
"Ieyasu Tokugawa." The teacher said as he wrote the name on
the board. "Born..."
"RANMA SAOTOME!" Kuno screamed as he kicked in the door to the
classroom and charged inside.
Ranma looked at Kuno charging at him boken raised high, and
rose to his feet.
Picking up the eraser, the teacher glanced back and hurled it.
It slammed into Kuno's face, raising a cloud of dust and causing the
kendoist to stumble against the wall. "In the Hall, Kuno!"
Kuno blinked the chalk dust out of his eyes and looked at the
teacher. "Yes sir."
The teacher turned to look at the class. "Sit down Saotome,
class is in session."
"But..."
"In the hall!"
With a sigh Ranma walked into the hallway.
"Now vile sorcerer, for your crimes against the Pigtailed
Goddess, no, for your crimes against all women! The Heavens themselves
have chosen me to become the hand of divine vengeance!"
"What are you babbling about?"
Kuno raised himself to his full height and pointed his boken at
Ranma with his right hand. "Your crime is hidden no longer. Nabiki
Tendo has revealed that you have claimed the Beauteous thunder
goddess's mind and body! Now I shall make you release her!" Kuno took
a step forward, and raised his left hand to take a two handed grip on
the boken.
"Hold it Kuno, the girl your ranting about doesn't really
exist. A year ago I was accidentally cursed to turn into a girl at
times."
"Hah! You cannot stave off your defeat with unlikely stories
and vile magic this time Sorcerer!"
"You are an idiot aren't you."
"Enough talk!" Kuno charged forward, filling the air before
him with a flurry of thrusting attacks.
Ranma raised his arms, crossing his wrists before him, first
and last fingers of his fists extended.
Kuno's thrusts suddenly rebounded off an unseen barrier between
him and Ranma. The force pushed him back a step, then narrowing his
eyes, Kuno set his feet and refocused his attack against the shield
Ranma had erected. He smiled as he felt his blows begin to force the
barrier back.
Ranma extended his right hand.
"To quell this foolish raging act,
Come Crimson bands of Cytorak!"
Something looking like a large red ribbon passed through the
shield between Ranma and Kuno. Kuno had time to attempt one thrust at
it before he was snared more tightly than the time he had lost a fight
with a Martial arts Giftwraper. (Who Kuno still claimed had only
beaten him with magic powers received from selling his soul to Santa.)
"What! Vile Santaist, I shall not yield to..."
Ranma gestured and Kuno floated out the window. "Shut up
Kuno." Another gesture extended a crimson streamer to loop round
Kuno's mouth. "Now I want you to listen." Ranma looked Kuno in the
eye. "Now in point of fact I am a sorcerer, but unlike you I do not
use my magic to control other people. Now I'm going to release you in
a moment, but first let me give you a little warning. You're an
amateur, so I'll tolerate some foolishness from you, but if you push me
too far you'll force me to take action." He looked at Kuno, then with
a gesture moved him over the pool. Where the bands instantly
dissolved.
Ranma braced himself against the wall a moment, than pushed
himself upright took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "I guess I'll
have to think up something to do if he keeps this up."
Shan's astral body floated through the air above Nerima,
contemplating the city, especially the building far beneath. "That
shield looks pretty good Ranma. I could break it if I dared move
openly, but I can't let the Ancient One know of my true allegiance. I
am the unseen hand of the fourth Baron of Mordo." He drifted down and
circled a block away from the Tendo home. "A shame, I might have been
able to convince Genma to help me again." He felt the mystic aura of
the area. "A potent nexus of mystic forces. He really lucked out.
Eh?" Turning Shan redirected his attention toward a slim thread of
mystic power, which struck at the barrier around the Tendo home,
dissipating on contact.
"Ranma Saotome! I shall not rest until I have freed Akane Tendo
and the fire hared thunder goddess from your unwholesome grip!"
Tatewaki Kuno looked at the small pile of old leather bound tomes on
the table before him and laughed. "Soon Ranma Saotome, soon." He
laughed louder, then stopped closed his eyes rolled his head backward.
Shan's astral body leaned through Kuno to look at the books he was
studying.
"You should really thank me, you know. Whatever reason you
have for hating Saotome, you'll want better revenge than a half-botched
curse of dandruff. Let's see." With a gesture, Shan started the pages
slowly turning in the tome Kuno had been studying. "Not to advanced,
but there are a few good spells here." He opened and looked through
another book. "Hmm, nothing too challenging in itself, but if I could
get this guy to combine them . . ." With a quick gesture, Shan moved a
notepad and inkset onto the desk. He held his hand over Kuno's a
moment, then allowed it to sink into the arm, which then rose, picked
up the brush and began to write.
Akane sat beneath the tree, looking up at the branches. "I
wonder where Kuno is." she commented as she opened her lunch.
Glancing at Ranma and Nabiki she added, "After what he did, I'm not
sure I trust him when he's not where I can see him."
"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Ranma commented as he began
paused from devouring his own lunch. "I'm not sure where he got the
books but from what I saw I should be able to counter anything he tries
to come up with."
"A-Actually he got the books from me." A voice spoke up from
beside the tree. Pivoting their heads, the three saw a very frail
looking boy with darkly shadowed eyes and a nervous expression. "I-I'm
Hikaru Gosenkugi. Don't worry if you don't remember me, no one does."
"You mean you're responsible for the worst months of my life?!"
Akane clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking ominously.
"I-I'm very sorry, it wasn't my idea, but when he found out,
and I was sure none of them would work, the way you kept hitting
him..."
"Calm down, both of you." Ranma said raising his hand. He
looked at Gosenkugi. "You say Kuno got his spellbooks from you. Where
did you get them?"
"Well, I've sort of been picking up magic things for a few
years now. I used to hope they'd keep bigger kids from picking on me,
but I've only tried magic twice and both times it didn't work right."
"And how does this lead to Kuno?" Nabiki asked.
"Well, the second time I tried using something from the books,
it was that time you agreed to sub for the Rhythmic Gymnastics team.
You remember, Kodachi..." Looking at Akane's scowl, he continued,
"Well, I tried to use one of the spells from the book to distract her
before the fight so she wouldn't try to ambush you, but it didn't work
at all right..."
"Well she didn't try to ambush Akane," Nabiki commented.
"Well no, but the spell was supposed to... Well it's not
important. After that we started getting together from time to time.
We aren't going out, I'm not what she's looking for in a boyfriend and
she's not... We just talk." He sighed and shook his head. "Anyway,
Kuno learned that I had the books and decided that they should go to
'The chosen of the heavens' And I didn't want him to hit me so I let
him have them." He looked at Akane with an embarrassed expression.
"I'm sorry, I was thinking of telling you about what was happening when
I learned he tried something on you, but you kept hitting him, so I
thought maybe I wouldn't need to."
"And is that confession all you came here about?" Nabiki
asked.
"No, I wanted to warn you that Kodachi told me that Kuno's not
in school because last night he was doing something with the books till
he collapsed right before sunrise. I just wanted you to know."
Akane looked at him. She smiled. "Thanks, I guess I'll
forgive you for helping Kuno, but don't let it happen again!"
A smile covering his face, Gosenkugi bowed, declaring, "Thank
you, I'll be good!" *She smiled at me! I can die happy now.*
As the final class of the day ended, Ranma put his books away
and rose to his feet.
"Hey isn't that Kuno?"
Ranma stood and walked to the window. Kuno was indeed walking
through the gates, tightly griping a boken with both hands. Ranma
frowned and looked closer at the boken. The wood was discolored,
darkened to a hue similar to dried blood. And there were a series of
runes clumsily carved into the thick portion of the wood. Gathering
his magic senses, Ranma examined the jumble of spells permeating the
weapon and it's wielder. His eyes widened in surprise. "That idiot!"
"Saotome! Come out and face the wrath of the heavens!" Kuno
screamed. Raising his boken, he slashed at one of the trees, which was
shattered by an shimmering force projecting from the attack. "Where
are you sorcerer!"
"Here!" Opening the classroom window Ranma calmly hoped out
and dropped to land lightly on his feet.
Kuno looked at him and scowled, hardening his unkempt face.
"Ranma! I offer you one last chance, release the pigtailed goddess and
I shall spare your life!"
"I'm not the one who's life's in danger, Kuno. And I am not
keeping anyone a prisoner."
"Enough talk!" Kuno stepped foreword, slashing downward with
his boken. Ranma jumped aside as an unseen force smashed into the wall
he had been standing in front of. Kuno charged foreword, slashing up
toward the Descending Ranma, who halted ten feet in the air and floated
leisurely back.
"Coward!" Kuno screamed as he began to furiously attack the
sky. "Come down and face me!"
"What's wrong with Kuno?" Akane asked from the window where
she was watching the fight.
Nabiki glanced at her sister then looked back at the fight.
"What do you... mean," She trailed off as she concentrated her
attention on Kuno, who she realized was looking increasingly haggard
and worn as she watched. "Wait, Kuno doesn't get tired this quick, and
even after those time he's worked himself to exhaustion he never looked
this bad."
*Not good.* Ranma thought as he looked down at Kuno. Looping
back to avoid the latest attack, he unleashed a fast mystic bolt as he
soared downward.
"Hah!" Kuno proclaimed as he struck the mystic bolt with his
boken, shattering the attack. "Now it ends!" He drew his boken to his
side, gathering his strength.
Ranma touched the ground, then with a quick spin leaped away
from the site where he had landed. Along with two other Ranma's
jumping in three different directions. Each of the Ranma's landed,
spun and leaped away in three directions as well. One more jump
brought the nine Ranma's together.
Kuno paused, looking from Ranma to Ranma.
The Ranma's raised their arms and spoke in a single voice.
"No mystic force that man may wield,
Shall shatter Seraphim's bright shield!"
With a scream, Kuno charged at the Ranma's, lashing out with
the fast thrusts he had used against Ranma the day before. The shield
before the Ranma's became visible as blow after blow hammered into it.
One thrust penetrated the shield, and struck a Ranma who dissipated
into nothing. A second later another false Ranma faded away. "You
shall fall Ranma Saotome!"
"YAAH!" Ranma declared as he appeared to Kuno's right and
stepped in, smashing a quick palm strike into Kuno's hands. The Boken
flew through the air to imbed itself in the school wall.
Kuno pivoted, his hollow face raging. "Ranma Sao..." He
trailed off as he collapsed.
Ranma exhaled loudly as he let his illusionary doubles fade
into nothingness. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to keep his
footing as the world pivoted for a moment. Then he knelt down and
rolled Kuno onto his back. Moving his hands over the Kendoist's form,
he invoked the Mists of Morpheus to aid his final spell. Then he
collapsed onto his back.
"Are you ok?" Akane asked as she knelt by Ranma.
Ranma opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I'm fine, just
enjoying the nice weather."
"Damn it, what were you playing at! If you know that would do
that to you..."
"I couldn't see any alternative. Well, just one illusion might
have been enough, but what's done is done."
"That's not good enough." Nabiki responded as she walked over
to join her sister. "Kuno's an amateur as you said, so why didn't you
just use your professional strength magic to take him out."
Ranma sighed and closed his eyes. "Because I wanted to stop
him not kill him."
"Kill?" Akane said in a meek tone.
"The mix of spells he had linked to his boken were linked to
him and everything was powered by his life energy. If I had just used
a directed counterspell, the defensive enchantment would have drained
him into a lifeless husk fighting it. The only option was to
physically get his boken away from him. Before he depleted his life
energy flailing away looking for me or trying to hurt me."
"Will he be alright?"
"I cast a small healing spell, he'll sleep for a few days and
when he's awake again he'll have recovered the life energy he depleted
fighting me."
"I hadn't expected you to be so into Kuno's wellbeing." Nabiki
commented with a smirk.
"Hmph. Just because he's a jerk doesn't mean I want to see him
hurt." Akane responded with a scowl.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma pulled himself to his feet. The
world shifted a moment, then felt firm again. *Ok, first to put a wrap
on that boken, then I've gotta carry Kuno here home. Ah, the perils of
being a compassionate sorcerer.*
Ranma dropped the four books on an empty shelf recessed into
his sanctums walls. "Hopefully this'll make sure Kuno doesn't get in
over his head again." He took out a piece of paper, and unwrapped it
to glance at the black hairs inside. "But it doesn't hurt to make
sure." He rewrapped the hair and set it down by the books. "Well
tomorrow I'll make sure."
Turning from the shelf, Ranma walked to the center of his
sanctum and sat in a casual lotus position. He sighed tiredly. "Well,
at least I've got some motivation to use the ambient power rather than
taping myself." He closed his eyes and began breathing in a focused
controlled manner, his hands raised to cup a non-existent object at
chest level. Half a minute later his eyes snapped open.
With a fast look of concentration he floated two feet into the
air. He moved his hands slightly as he manipulated the mystical energy
to cause a set of five rubber balls on a table rise and begin orbiting
him along five different paths. A quick hand motion expanded the orbit
of two while calling the other three to dance a tight formation over
his hand. Another gesture and two balls began to circle his arm while
the third floated just over his finger and floated motionlessly.
Another gesture gathered all five balls over his open palm. A slight
twist of his wrist returned them to their original position.
With a slight grimace, he glanced toward the shelf he had built
to hold the scrolls the ancient one had given him. "Well, time for the
most exciting part of the day."
Ranma was not a scholar by nature. Or more accurately, he had
an impressive affinity for learning, but had never seen any purpose to
learning anything besides Martial Arts until the day he became the
ancient one's pupil. He had hated studying the scrolls at first, and
only pursued his studies out of a stubborn refusal to let anything stop
him from learning Magic. Over the months, his attitude changed
somewhat, though his same stubbornness prevented him from acknowledging
it.
Ranma picked up the scroll and opened it. Anticipating being
able to take a small nap before Kasumi served dinner, he began to read
as fast as he could while still reading every word.
He paused and reread a line. "Wait isn't that." Ranma read
the passage again more slowly. "Ah, so that was the Sumerian name."
He resumed reading.
"Hmm," Looking up Ranma raised a hand, and with a slight motion
levitated a second scroll to him. Opening it he scanned down the paper
till he found a section which he examined, comparing it to the first
scroll. "Yes, that could be it." He refolded the new scroll and
resumed his study of the first.
"Ranma, Dinner!"
Ranma looked to the entry to the sanctum, from which Kasumi's
voice reverberated. He glanced down at his watch. "Aw, man."
Refolding the scroll, he levitated himself a few feet higher into the
air, unfolded his legs and canceled the spell, dropping him lightly to
the floor. "Lost track of the time again."