This is a short story inspired by several fanfics I have read. I think that it's time has come. Disclaimer. All characters, settings, and situations are the copyright of their creators. I seek no profit, recompense, or credit for their ideas. This work is soley for the enjoyment of readers everywhere, and to honor the countless hours of work the creators put into their creations. Any characters I introduce I would like to claim as my own, but knowing me, I saw them somewhere else and just forgot about it. ^_^ Character's thoughts will be surrounded by '' Gosunkugi sat quietly in the clearing, watching the fight going on in front of him. It was Ranma again, of course, and a old woman on a cane. They wove, dodged, feinted, and struck at each other with a ferocity that rivaled anything he had seen before. Then the old woman did something that made him sit bolt upright. He had read those words before. He had even tried the spell, but it had never worked for him. Gosunkugi had the most extensive reference library of spells, chants, and rituals in the entire district, possibly in all of Tokyo. None of them could tell him why his spells failed, and here was an old woman casting one with ease. "For the last time, Cologne, quit trying to control me!" Ranma shouted at her, and Gosunkugi now knew exactly what he had to do. Standing up, he slid quietly away from the fight. That was the only thing that he could even call slightly mystical about himself, nobody ever seemed to notice him. Digging through his library, Gosunkugi found the scroll with the spell that Cologne had cast. Reading over it again, he noticed that there was a small discrepency between the scroll and what Cologne had done. The scroll told of an extra phrase to be said in the middle of the incantation. Quickly gathering the components for the spell, Gosunkugi chanted the ritual, and was rewarded with multiple images of himself, all of them moving exactly as he did. Shocked and estatic at the same time, he pulled several scrolls out at random, and compared them to each other. For the first time, he could _see_ the phrase that was inserted into all of the incantations. It was as if his vision was amplified, finally allowing him to see past the blocks the authors of the scrolls put in to keep magic a mystery. Back at the clearing, Ranma had overcome Cologne's spell, and was about to strike, when Cologne suddenly stopped, looked up, and said "We will finish this later, Son-in-Law. I sense a matter that I must attend to." With that, she hopped away, leaving Ranma standing there, looking confused. Gosunkugi was estatic. He had just cast four spells, and they all worked. He had chosen these four spells a long time ago, vowing that one day, he would use them. He could now sense magic, see in the dark, sense danger, and remember anything he read even once. "Now, to the task I started studying magic for, the winning of Akane's favor." Shuffling through his scrolls, looking for the proper spells to use, his newly aquired senses warned him of danger and magic. Spinning toward his window, he saw Cologne in his room, looking at him intently. "How did you manage this? How did you see past the blocks in the scrolls?" Cologne asked, studying him intently. "I witnessed you cast a spell, and when I reread the scroll, I noticed the passage that should not be there. After that, it was easy." Gosunkugi replied, backing away a little at the sheer amount of magic that Cologne radiated. "So, it is my fault. So be it. Now I am responsible for you, boy, and I must instruct you on the usage of magic, lest I bring the elders down on me." Cologne shook her head at that, muttering something about being careless in this strange land. Two days later, Gosunkugi sat in class, looking bored. He had read the textbook last night, and could recall every page. He had also been reading all of the scrolls he had again, commiting them to memory. He wished that he could cast some of them on Ranma, to get rid of him, but Cologne had made him promise not to use magic for the next week, on pain of death. She had told him that magic had to be used carefully, lest the world came to believe too strongly in magic, allowing the mystical creatures of old regain their power and rampage unchecked. One week after that fateful night, Gosunkugi sat in the Nekohanten, Cologne perched on her staff. "Now, boy, it is time to see if you have listened to anything I have said. What is the first rule of Magic?" Gosunkugi look down, and muttered, "Never use magic to force others to do things." This fist law had been a point of contention between the two, but after Cologne showed him that all of the 'mystical' attempts to get Ranma to love Shampoo were herb based, Gosunkugi reluctantly conceded the point, shattering his dreams of an Akane that loved him. "Very good. Now, what is the second law?" "Never use magic as a plaything." That had shattered his second thought, using his power to impress others. "Good. Those laws are the most important. Magic is to be used for defense, much like martial arts. Not to impress, not to control." Cologne hopped over to him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Now, let's see your control. Cast the spell of seeing on the high school. Let us see what is happening there." Gosunkugi quickly went through the ritual, his words a blur. A picture of the high school formed in the air, showing a peaceful evening. "Very good. Your spoke fast enough that noone could understand you. That was my mistake. You must never make that mistake." Cologne hopped back to the kitchen doors, turning once she reached them. "Remember, Use your spells only in defense. If you ever break the laws of magic, I will know, and I will have to kill you. That would be unfortunate, as you have been an apt pupil. Now go, and use your abilities well." With that, Cologne hopped through the doors, leaving Gosunkugi alone. The next week was one of relaxation for Gosunkugi. With his ability to memorize anything he read, he was breezing through his classes, and his teachers were already commenting on his improvement in class. His room had gone through a major change, all the pictures of Akane replaced with charts, graphs, and notes, detailing the magical processes he had been learning. He hefted the small packet in his hand, thinking of how easy it was to build. "All the components I will ever need are in here, and I can carry it easily. It was so easy to link this packet to a pocket dimension." The next day at school, however, proved to be more interesting. As he walked through the gates of the school, Gosunkugi saw Ranma standing there, waiting for someone. Wondering who the unfortunate person was, Gosunkugi started to walk past Ranma. "Hold it right there, Gosunkugi. I wanna know what you and Cologne are up to. That old ghoul has been too quiet for the last two weeks, and I know you were at the Nekohanten every night for a week!" Gosunkugi's danger sense started to perk up at this point, and Ranma moved to intercept him. "Leave me alone, Ranma. I don't want to be late for class, and contrary to your belief, the universe does not revolve around you." stated Gosunkugi, looking a little peeved. Ranma looked a little shocked at this, but recovered quickly. "Just tell me what the old ghoul is up to, and I will leave you alone." Gosunkugi, however had had enough of this, and tried to get around Ranma. Ranma, however, was not about to let him past. "Tell me, or I will beat it outta you!" Ranma yelled, grabbing the front of Gosunkugi's shirt. That was Ranma's first mistake. Gosunkugi shot out a string of words, grabbed Ranma's arm, and pushed Ranma back with the strength of the spell he had used. Ranma kept his balance, however, and still blocked Gosunkugi from getting to class. "All right, I guess we have to do this the hard way!" Ranma charged in at that, leading with a punch aimed at Gosunkugi's face. Another string of words shot out of Gosunkugi's mouth, and Ranma lept back, confronted with three Gosunkugi's, all of them feinting around him. Ranma tried to stop them, but Gosunkugi, relying on his ability to go unnoticed, had stepped back and blended into the crowd that started to form. The images faded fast, and Ranma was left standing alone in the center of a ring of students, a look of shock on his face. "Gosunkugi can actually do magic? I don't believe it!" was all Ranma could say, as the class bell rang, and the ring of students ran to their classes. All through the school day, Gosunkugi was set upon by his classmates, all of them wanting to know how he had gotten away from Ranma. "I just got lucky, and was able to get out of there. Nothing special about it." His classmates were not convinced, however, and pestered him every chance they got. That night, Gosunkugi went back to the Nekohanten. He was not suprised to see Cologne waiting for him just inside the door. "I need help, Cologne-sensei. Ranma is beginning to pester me about the time I spent here, and I had to use magic in public to avoid him." Cologne gestured to a booth, and she hopped over to the table. "I know of your trouble with Son-in-Law. I have been keeping an eye on you. The way you dissuaded your classmates made me proud. It was your first test, and you have passed." Cologne let a smile cross her face. "No not think that you are free of me yet, though. I will continue to watch over you, untill such time as I am sure that you will never abuse your power." Cologne then started back toward the kitchen. "Let me handle Son-in-Law. I will convince him that you are not involved in any of my plots." Gosunkugi stood at that, bowed to Cologne, and left the Nekohanten. True to her word, Cologne confronted Ranma the next day, taunting him with a cure for his curse in exchange for his marrying Shampoo. Ranma kept trying to get it from her, and Gosunkugi could see the magic she used to keep him from getting it. She was a master of using magic in subtle ways, and Gosunkugi knew that he had to learn to be that subtle, else his secret of magic be revealed to the world. That night, Gosunkugi was relaxing in his room. He had built a small display, putting his straw dolls, hammer and nail, and the candles he wore strapped to his head in it, all remnants of the old Gosunkugi. "Boy, those old mages sure had a sense of humor, putting these silly things into their spells to make them fail." Gosunkugi shook his head at that, chuckling under his breath. The knocking on his window shook him out of his thoughts, and looking over, saw Ranma on the window sill, looking in. Curious as to why Ranma was on his window sill, he opened his window. "Akane is missing, and Cologne told me to come to you for help." Ranma looked as if he were about to either break down or break something, and there was a look of sadness in his eyes. "Take me to where Akane disappeared." said Gosunkugi, his face stern. Akane may be beyond his reach, but he did still feel for her. At the Tendo home, there was a large crowd of people gathered in the dojo. They all looked up at Ranma and Gosunkugi's entrance, and Gosunkugi could see the look of suprise on their faces. Ranma led him up to Akane's room, and Gosunkugi could see the residual magic radiating from Akane's bed. "Akane has been taken by magic. I must study the residual traces to see if I can find where and how." Gosunkugi knelt next to Akane's bed, with just a flicker of emotion crossing his face. 'How often did I dream of being this close to Akane's bed?' Gosunkugi thought, then he shook his head to clear it for the task at hand. Running through a string of spells, Gosunkugi found that a portal magic was used to take Akane, but he could not determine where. "I know how she was taken, but not to where. I can open the portal, but do not know how long I can maintain it." Gosunkugi spoke confidently, knowing that this time, they were depending on him for help. It felt good, but he also knew that he couldn't let it get to him. Cologne was probably still watching him, and even more likely, knew what he was thinking. "Open it then." said Ranma. "We have to get Akane back." Just about everyone else looked either sad at the amount of emotion in Ranma's words, or happy to see it. "I will open the portal, but you must be aware of the risks. A powerful mage opened this portal, and I do not know how long I can keep it open. If it closes while you are elsewhere, there will be no way for you to get back." Gosunkugi knew what their response would be, but he had to warn them. "Do it. I will take that chance." Ranma stood tall, a look of confidence spreading over his face, followed by anger. "Whoever took Akane is going to pay!" sighing, Gosunkugi started the ritual to open the portal. It opened slowly, Gosunkugi straining to get it large enough for all the people that wanted to go. Finally, it was open far enough. "Go now, and hurry. This is more strenious than I thought it would be. Speed is of the essence." said Gosunkugi, the strain evident in his voice. Ranma and company wasted no time diving through, leaving Gosunkugi to maintain the portal. Three hours later, they had still not come back through, and Gosunkugi was getting tired. The strain was unlike anything he had gone through before, and he could feel his resolve failing. The portal was very slowly inching it's way closed, and Gosunkugi could do nothing to slow or stop it from happening. He just did not have the strength left. Desperately, he flung his thoughts out to Cologne, begging for the help he needed to keep the portal open. "Trust in yourself, boy. You have all the strength you need, you just have to find it." Cologne's thoughts echoed through his mind. 'I have the strength?' thought Gosunkugi. He looked down, feeling the portal close a little more. 'I cannot do it. I will let those depending on me down.' thought Gosunkugi, and he could feel the portal slide even further closed at that. "Of course! That is what she meant!" Gosunkugi yelled out, his head snapping up. "I will _not_ fail!" The portal, now shrunk to about half it's size, snapped back to full size. One hour later, his new resolve starting to fail him, there was a disturbance in the portal. Ranma, Akane, and the rest of them dropped onto Akane's bed. When all of them had returned through the portal, Gosunkugi let the portal snap closed, and nearly fell over from exhaustion. Staggering to his feet, Gosunkugi started to walk out of the room. "Wait." said Akane. "I understand that you kept the portal open for us. Thank you." Akane crossed over to Gosunkugi, and gave him a small hug. "It was the least I could do. With so many people concerned about you, could I do any less?" Gosunkugi started to leave the room at that, but his legs started to give out. Suprisingly, Ranma jumped over and caught him before he hit the floor. "Hey man, thanks for your help." Looking at Ranma's face, Gosunkugi could see relief in his eyes, knowing that Akane was safe. 'I wonder how long it will take them to admit it' thought Gosunkugi, seeing the same emotions in Akane's eyes as she looked at Ranma. Kasumi called out then, letting everyone know that the tea was ready. Ranma helped Gosunkugi down to the table, where after a couple cups of tea, Gosunkugi stood up on more stable legs, and prepared to leave. "Thank you for the tea. I must go home and rest now. I will place a spell over your home that should prevent this from happening again, if you so desire." When Gosunkugi got home, he noticed that there was one major problem with his room. Cologne was balancing in the middle of his room, waiting for him. "You did well today, boy, and I am glad to see that you are following my teachings. I think that your actions today proclaim your status, and I welcome you into our circle." Cologne hopped to the window, and left with the parting words "But do not think that I won't be watching!" Author's notes: I wrote this late at night, so grammar and spelling errors may be there. Also, if anyone is interested in writing exactly what happened when the gang stepped through the vortex, have at it. I have absolutly no ideas for that.