Magical Interludes: December�s End
Fanfic by JK The Unknown
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Pertinent characters copyrighted by R. Takahashi, etc., etc., etc.. I
have no money anyway.
Author's Note:
The background I'm coming from is the Viz translations and the
Web page (as opposed to the anime which seems to be the norm).
However, this fanfic was never meant to be posted, as I wrote it
primarily to set-up background for the stories I did want to tell. But,
upon reading other fanfics, I realized that readers would get
completely lost, so I decided to post it for the sake of clarity. While
�magical� is in the title, there isn�t much in the way of �magic� in
this storyline.
I felt that the character of Ukyou had a lot of potential, so I've
decided to make the 'cut-off' at the end of Part 5 of the Viz
translation, which I will take to cover up to Japanese Volume 11
Part 7 ("Happodaikarin"). Since comic time is a very flexible
concept, I will assume that all events preceding the cut-off occur
during Ranma and Akane's Sophomore Spring and Fall semesters. I
feel that cutting the story off where I did is an advantage; it allowed
me to take the characters before they went into "status quo" mode.
It is Sunday, December 18th of Ranma and Akane's Sophomore
year...
*******************************************
Chapter 1: Lost Lives - Part I
The Tendos (Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane) and the Saotomes
(Genma [as panda] and Ranma) sat in the living room watching the
news.
Newscaster: "Our top story tonight is the explosion that destroyed
an eight of the american city of San Diego. The presumed
dead are numbered in the thousands, and estimated damage
is reportedly in the Billions of dollars. Was this connected
to the outbreak of what the experts are calling 'magic'? So
far, only minor abilities have been reported in Japan and
around most of the world. But powerful individuals have
been reported across North America, and major
metropolitan areas have degenerated into areas under
martial law as riots and looting runs rampant. The rest of
the world's governments lie worried that such anarchy will
soon come to them. The prime minister, in a statement
made just a few minutes ago, asked that all citizens 'go on
with life as normal'. The rest of the prime minister's
speech will be re-broadcast later this evening. Going on
with other news..."
Kasumi: "My, what do you think happened?"
Ranma: "Moon madness, polluted water, who cares?"
Akane: "Ranma! Stop being so stupid!"
Ranma: "Macho chick!"
Akane: "Pervert!"
Ranma: (sticks tongue out) "Nyaah!"
Akane: (sticks tongue out) "Nyaah!"
Nabiki: "How boring."
Genma: (sign) Boring?
Nabiki: "They've been engaged for almost a year and they're haven't
changed their insults yet."
Ranma and Akane both look embarrassed at the comment. Nabiki
stretched, then rose and headed upstairs.
Nabiki: "Well, it looks like tomorrow's still a school day, so I'd
better get my homework done and study for my entrance
exams."
Soun: (prodded by Genma, turns to Akane and Ranma) "And how
are you two doing in school?"
Ranma: "Fine, fine."
Akane: (glaring at Ranma) "We're both doing OK, daddy."
Soun: "Just OK?"
Akane: "We're doing fine."
Ranma: "That's what I said!"
Akane: "Well, if you're doing so fine, you can go study by yourself!"
Akane angrily got up and stomped upstairs. Genma whacks Ranma
with his sign, sending him off into the carp pond (and a quick sex
change). Soun begins to cry.
Soun: "They're fighting again. Waah!"
Ranma: "What was that for?"
Genma: (sign) Aggravating your fianc�.
Ranma: "She's been aggravated since we first met."
Genma: (sign) Go apologize.
Ranma: "No way! She should apologize to me!"
Soun: "Oh, they'll never get together now! Waah!"
Ranma and Genma quickly got into a fight, which yielded the
following consequences: 1) Kasumi left and returned with a mop,
2) Genma was covered with a mountain of signs, all saying 'ouch!',
and 3) Ranma had a sore head while walking in the upstairs bath,
and thus failed to notice the pile of clothes which should have
warned him that the bath was occupied. However, he lucked out by
hearing Akane and Nabiki talking in the bath and turned away from
the door. As soon as he got three steps away from it Akane opened
the bathroom door, saw him, and hits him out of the room,
slamming the changing room door. Ranma hits the opposite
hallway wall and a renewed wail from downstairs can be heard at
the sound of structural damage.
Nabiki: (also exiting the bath) "That was unnecessary, Akane."
Akane: "Are you taking his side, Nabiki?"
Nabiki: (sighing) "He was walking away from the door, Akane.
Maybe you should stop hitting your fiancee at the first
opportunity and give him a chance to explain."
Akane's face reddened, but she and Nabiki quickly dress while
Ranma (obviously) waited outside the door. Akane opened the door
to find a very mad Ranma.
Ranma: "Why'd you do that?"
Akane: (taking Ranma's hand) "I overreacted. I'm sorry I hit you."
Ranma: (blushing and turning his face away) "Umm... yeah... you
should be sorry."
Nabiki: "Akane, you should be ashamed of yourself. He's about to
become another Dr. Tofu."
Nabiki grabbed Akane and dragged her away before either she or
Ranma could react. Ranma stareed at them going down the
hallway, not noticing a panda slipping behind him.
Ranma: (at the retreating sisters) "I am not! Besides, Akane's not
as cute as Kasumi."
The two sisters just giggled at this as they entered their rooms.
Ranma turned and entered the bath, only to find a panda lathering
up.
Ranma: "You old goat... I was in line before you!"
Panda: "Rowrf." (sign) Losers Weepers.
Ranma answered this rebuttal by throwing him out the door, then
slamming it into his face as he tries to get back in.
Panda: (sign) Owieee!
**********************
Three days later (December 21st) the Tendos and Saotomes are
again watching the evening news.
Newscaster: "The chaos which first hit North America seems to be
moving westward. Most of the major cities have become
armed camps, and now the trouble seems to have spread to
Hawaii. With a report on an averted hostage situation, here
is Aya Miyakami."
[News report] "At 1600 local time, a lone gunman walked onto the
stage at the Ala Moana shopping center. He took six
people hostage and demanded to hold a press conference.
When negotiations with the police broke down, this is what
happened." [Recorded scene] The assailant throws a
bunch of pencils into the air, and they start to float and
rotate around his body at chest level. The assailant laughs
and starts to float in the air, yelling that he should not be
fooled with. He lowers his shotgun and muses which
hostage to kill, at which point a voice yells out, telling him
to stop. The voice comes from a oriental man wearing a
bandanna as a mask, t-shirt, jeans, and a fedora. The
assailant sends two pencils straight for the new man's body,
but they are caught at the last minute. The assailant then
lowers the shotgun at the newcomer, who warns the
assailant not to fire. The assailant does and the gun
explodes in his face. The assailant's body, the pencils, and
the shotgun then fall to the ground. The masked man then
checks the body with the police officer in charge, and he is
found to be dead. The masked man and the officer talk for
a minute, then the masked man turns to the reporters as the
police officer checks on the hostages, explaining that he
will hold a news conference in the Governor's Office the
next day. [End scene] "As you can expect, everyone here
awaits the press conference tomorrow to see if any light can
be shed on what's happening to the world. This is Aya
Miyakami, reporting from Hawaii." [End report]
Newscaster: "Officials in Japan have expressed concern and are
taking prefatory steps should the outbreak of rioting take
place here."
Everyone stares at the TV for a few moments, then starts to talk and
argue. The next day (December 22nd) at school everyone is talking
about the Hawaii event, and a TV set is set up in the school
auditorium for a live broadcast of the news conference. The
conference is not very long, but the following points are made: 1)
'Magic', or the ability to do things most people can't, has entered the
world, and some people seem to have a greater affinity for it than
others; 2) The masked man believes that the rioting that has
occurred across North America is caused by disaffected people
exploiting their new-found power; 3) The explosion at San Diego
three days earlier is believed to have been caused by a particularly
talented individual, probably deceased; 4) He doesn't know what
rules govern the power or what (in total) can be done with it; and 5)
He's masked because he wants to protect his family and friends.
**********************
The next day (December 23rd) at school Ranma suddenly became
sick with a high fever and delirium. He is taken to Dr. Tofu's clinic,
but can't find an explanation for the illness. While Dr. Tofu would
rather have Ranma remain in the clinic, Genma decides to take him
to the dojo where someone can watch him at all times. When they
reached the dojo, Dr. Tofu explained to everyone that unless Ranma
recovers on his own, he could die within the next two days. Genma
decided to risk his wife finding out about the curse, and calls to tell
her about Ranma's condition.
Throughout the night Ranma remained delirious, and he'd
occasionally call out somebody's name. Nodoka arrived the next
day, and her presence seemed to calm Ranma somewhat, though he
gave no outward sign of acknowledging her presence. As the sun
sets, Ranma started to recognize people, though he still has a high
fever. Akane watched him as Nodoka gets something to eat. Dr.
Tofu enters to check on Ranma and notices Akane crying and
holding his hand. Ranma appears to be asleep, so Dr. Tofu gently
guided Akane downstairs, into the family room. Dr. Tofu decides to
talk about Ranma's condition with everyone (Tendos, Saotomes,
Ukyou, Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne).
Dr. Tofu: "I think that the worst is over. But his chances of
survival remain uncertain. I think that if Ranma can make
it through tonight everything will be all right."
Nodoka: (hugging a crying Akane) "What's wrong, Akane?"
Akane: "Ranma..."
Nodoka: "What about Ranma?"
Akane: "He said... he told me he loved me."
Everyone: "What?"
Everyone starts arguing, particularly Cologne, Genma, Shampoo,
Ukyou, and Ryoga. They all fall silent when Nodoka unsheathes her
sword and looks very angry. There is a knock at the door to the
living room and everyone startles. Standing there is a young
japanese man (J.D.) of about twenty years of age, looking a little lost
and confused.
J.D.: "I'm sorry, have I come at a bad time?"
Nabiki: "Who are you?"
J.D.: "Perhaps you better recognize me like this." (puts on mask
and hat and everyone makes the connection) "Look, this is
important... has anyone been sick in this household?"
Everyone gasps at this and Dr. Tofu explains Ranma's sickness.
J.D. looks concerned and asks to see Ranma immediately. Nodoka
starts to lead J.D. upstairs when Ranma walks past the doorway. Dr.
Tofu moves to get Ranma, but J.D. tells him to let Ranma go.
Ranma stumbles toward the dojo, but falls in the snow in the yard.
Ranma's body starts to float and J.D. swears, telling everyone to find
cover. The living room doors suddenly blow inward and J.D. tells
everyone to get together.
J.D.: "Closer... closer! He's going to be at the center of an
incredible amount of power. I'll form a Static Air Shell
around you for protection. Don't move!"
Everyone huddles together as the lights suddenly go dark. Ranma's
body starts to glow and he appears to be floating five feet off the
ground. The wind is swirling around his body and objects are flying
through the air. J.D. shouts to be heard above the wind.
J.D.: "I know you can hear me! Listen! I was in the same situation
four days ago. Energy is going to swirl around you. You
have to draw it into yourself and let it flow out gently or
there'll be an explosion like San Diego."
J.D. steps back and joins the group under the Static Air Shell.
Genma: "What's happening to my son?"
J.D.: "He's at the center of an energy vortex."
Genma: "What does that mean?"
J.D.: "It's hard to explain. Listen, do you understand what I mean
by parallel universes?" (Some of the group nod) "Well, I
believe that for some reason, various realities are being
pulled together, with ours being the most stable one. Most
people's lives will have only minor differences, and their
abilities and memories are easily reconciled. However,
other people, like your son and me, led incredibly different
lives and are at the center of the changes, and reconciling
those realities causes a "Reality Vortex" to form, which will
either stabilize or go to critical mass."
Cologne: "How do you know your theory is correct?"
J.D.: "I don't."
Cologne: "But son-in-law was exhibiting special abilities long
before the last few days."
J.D.: "I don't know... I'm only the third vortex I know of, and
Ranma is the fifth. There aren't enough of us to start
comparing experiences. The only reason I'm here at all
was because I was trying to develop a magical 'sense' and
noticed umm...'currents' leading here. The appearance of a
vortex also seems to unlock whatever local barrier exists to
higher power abilities, though that'll happen whether he
survives or not.
Cologne: "Will we be safe here?"
J.D.: (nodding) "The Static Air Shell I'm generating is starting to
tire me, but it'll end either way in a few minutes."
The light coming from Ranma becomes so bright that no one can
look directly at him. The light suddenly winks out and everyone is
blinded for a few seconds. Everyone hears Ranma's body drop to the
ground, and J.D. drops the Static Air Shell and the room lights
come back on. J.D. tells everyone to stay where they are until they
get their eyesight back. Around Ranma stand three teenaged girls,
who quickly drop to the body to see if he's alive.
Three Girls: "Daddy?"
Everyone But J.D.: "Daddy?"
J.D.: "Incredible."
*****************************End Part I