Those of you with long memories may recall the first part of this,
which I posted about three and a half weeks ago. I doubt very many people
remember it; Chapter One is kind of boring. Anyway, in the intervening time I
have undergone no less than four hard drive crashes <do NOT ask> had my AOL
acount canceled, for reasons unknown been unsubbed from the list twice, and
generally been mistreated by all things electronic.
The long and short of it is, I lost EVERYTHING I had put into this
story, and had to start back from scratch *every*damn*time. I finally wrote
out Chapter Two in longhand <shudder> transfered it to the computer {oh my
achin' wrist} and here it is.
It's an alpha version, but I figured I might as well not wait.
Hell of a start for my first ever fic, eh? Well, here is. ANYTHING
you have to offer is welcome. C&C, R&R, MSTing, ideas on where I can take
this {lost everything, remember, having to rrewrite} you name it. PLEASE give
me input. Except flame. No flame. I *will* retaliate. I have ways. {insert
Kodachi laugh}
This stands kinda ok on it's own, without Chapt 1, but the What has
gone before blurb helps. Enjoy!!
What has gone before....
Ranma and Co. have a completely average, utterly normal day. Action filled,
with people getting punted into orbit and numerous sex/form changes, but for
them, normal. The things that were formerly exciting and interesting are
becoming old hat. And there are, apparently, two people{?} who don't like it.
Who want things to be interesting again.
That's it in a nutshell. Now playing on a mailing list near you....
Ranma 1/2: Be Careful What You Wish For.
Chapter 2: Guys and Dolls.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to
anger."
-Gandalf the Grey.
Lost.
No, no, not him, not this time. In this particular instance that
adjective is being used to describe one Hikaru Gosunkugi, who at that moment
was sitting in his room reading.
If you weren't confused by the last paragraph, you haven't been paying
attention.
All right, enough of that. This was NOT a laughing matter. Hikaru was
not lost in the classic sense. His problem was much bigger than not being
able to tell what continent he was on.
Hikaru Gosunkugi was lost inside his own head.
Most people who knew of him would have said that this statement had
been true for quite some time. They couldn't have been more wrong. Gos may
have been eccentric, but he was far from erratic. His life was extremely
focused, with clear-cut goals and objectives to be achieved.
Specifically, these goals, objectives, and focus had two basic tenets
they could be boiled down into:
1} Win the love of the Goddess Akane Tendo,
2} and/or vanquish his rival, Ranma Saotome.
These were not the most original goals in the world, but they had for a
great deal of time given his life a sense of purpose and meaning.
That time had, apparently, run out approximately 3.5 hours ago.
*W-w-what's wrong with m-me?* Gosunkugi's thoughts were in turmoil, so
much so that they carried the same stutter which afflicted his speech.
*I-it's not me. It's the book. This damn b-b-book!!* Despite the fact that he
cursed it, Hikaru held the voluminous, leather bound tome as if it were a
lifeline, and did not avert his eyes of the pages, and their wor-... no,
that's not right, their pict-... that isn't right either.
Ah, hell. Perhaps we should begin at the beginning. You know it's a...
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FLASHBACK.
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"Curse you, Ranma Saotome!" <THWOK>
"Curse you, Ranma Saotome!" <THWOK>
"Curse you, Ranma Saotome!" <CLANG>
*Clang?* thought Hikaru Gosunkugi. He took a closer look at the surface
he had attempted to drive his nail into.
*Oh. Stainless steel.* In his exuberance, the would-be mage had not
noticed that he was attempting to voodoo the side off a tool shed. "Well,
that last doll was only for kicks anyway. Now let's see..."
Gosunkugi was rather pleased with his handiwork. Five extremely
well-made voodoo dolls, each with some piece of/ article belonging to Ranma
Saotome secured to it {mainly nail clippings and clothing threads- beggars
can't be choosers}, arranged on five trees in a precise pentagram. He counted
himself extremely lucky to find five trees of the correct spacing right on
the south lawn of his own Furinkan High. Each doll had a spike of pure
magnesium, of a length of exactly 5.2 cm, driven exactly into it's heart.
Hikaru himself stood in the center of the pentagram, a pair of candles
secured tightly to his head. Sure, the wax stung, but if he was going to do
this, he was going to do it right.
Besides, it gave his hair that natural bounce and a nice earthy aroma.
*Today is the day. Today, I FINALLY succeed!* Gos was rather proud of
himself. This arrangement, coupled with the time of year, time of day, and
the mating cycle of bullfrogs, should have that bane of his existence known
as Ranma *Cursehimcursehimcursehim* Saotome lying on the floor in agony,
his vaunted power being leeched out of him until he was nothing but a shell
of what he had once been.
Hikaru Gosunkugi was happy. No, he was ecstatic. He was jubilant even.
He was, as they say, high on life {and/or incense.}
He looked up.
There, standing in a second story window, was none other than Ranma
Saotome himself, looking as strong and healthy as ever. He was even
undergoing the standard water bucket torture with little or no effort. In
fact, he appeared to be looking straight at Hikaru and his magic emblem, with
no ill effect _at all_.
Gos immediately reverted to his natural state, that of an angst-filled,
depressed teenager with an amusing head ornament.
You can insert your own Ryoga comparison here.
"Sigh." *Oh, well, another day, another dismal failure in the wretched
existence known as my life... how typical. At least I'm used to it.* Gos
packed up his various dolls, spikes, and magical paraphernalia into his
duffel bag and began to plod toward the class he was currently cutting,
thinking rather deep thoughts. Sometimes, he wondered if it was all worth it,
if Akane was really worth the heartache, the sleepless nights, th- * What am
I saying!* He shook his head to banish the evil thoughts. * Of course she's
worth it! She's perfect, and beautiful, and kind, and* "OW!"
He momentarily snapped out of introspection mode as he bumped into
something and went down.
"Hey, watch where you're goin- oh, it's you!"
"Long time no see, 'Voodoo Spike'."
He had, apparently, stumbled into a pair of his fellow students. A pair
-one of whom'd made a clever remark- oh no.
"H-hello Hiroshi, Daisuke. If you'll ex-excuse me..." Hikaru shakily
got to his feet and attempted to navigate around his two classmates.
"Oh, no you don't. YOU are going to stay and help us clean up this
mess, isn't that right Daisuke?"
"It certainly is, Hiroshi." For the first time, Gos noticed that the
twain were loaded down with shovels, buckets, rakes, and various other
cleaning implements. They were also standing in the middle of a field of
standard Nerimean carnage.
"What h-happened here?" Gosunkugi asked.
"Hah! As if that needed to be said." Hiroshi shook his head. "Yet
another epic battle between Ranma and... I think it was Ryoga again. Standard
thing, 'cept THIS time they shattered a statue of our _benevolent_
principal." Hiroshi rolled his eyes as Daisuke cut in. "Anyway, he wasn't
happy. Since we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, he detailed US to
clean it up AND" at this point Daisuke jabbed a finger at Gos, who
instinctively flinched "he also said we could recruit anyone who happened by
to help us." The two friends immediately shoved some of their tools into the
arms of the bewildered boy. "Let's get cracking, shall we?"
Gosunkugi sighed. Physical labor was not his thing.
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A significant time later, Hikaru was staggering away from the now
spotless field of battle. *Oh man... I'm going to be extremely sore
tomorrow...* He angled away from school toward the exit, not caring that he
still had two classes. He just wanted to go home.
That's when it struck
<THUD> Gos was driven face down into the dirt as a large heavy object
contacted his cranium. He, with considerable effort, managed to raise his
head to at least catch a glimpse of whoever had done it.
Whoever was a book.
*A... book?* Hikaru dragged himself up off the ground and examined the
object. It was large, leather bound, and decorated in golden gilt around the
edges in a haunting pattern. He picked it up, not without strain, and looked
at the front.
He frowned. The title appeared to be in English. He stared at it.
Malleus Intervallum.
What in the...?
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*It LOOKS magical...* Gosunkugi sat beneath a tree just outside
Furinkan's gate examining/caressing {Gos was _very_ lonely} his discovery.
He'd managed to sound out the strange symbols on the cover, but they still
made no sense.
"Ma-lay-us In-ter-val-lum." The gaijin words flowed awkwardly off his
tongue. *Hunh. For all I know, it could mean 'Biscuit Recipes'.* {Auth
note: Not bloody likely.}
Hikaru looked closely at the volumes faded leather cover. He ran his
hands over the brightly shining golden letters of the title. He sniffed the
ancient, musty parchment that made up the pages. He flipped it over to look
at the back.
He blinked. He was staring at the front cover, but was reasonably certain
that he'd flipped the book over. A little more slowly, he turned it again.
Malleus Intervallum stared back at him, glinting in the sunlight.
Hikaru began to tremble rather violently. This wasn't just another
listing of useless *Useless? I've always believed in them* voodoo curses or a
second-rate text about shinto wards. A large, ancient looking, mysterious
book with unearthly properties had come literally dropping onto him out of
nowhere: This was the Big Time. This was Maaaaaaaagic, honest to kami magic,
and _it_ had come to _him_.
Gos took a deep breath. He steadied his nerves. He closed his eyes. He opened
{drumroll please} the book.
He sat there. The wind blew through the trees. Birds sang to each
other. Cherry blossoms drifted by. An ancient man with a huge sack streaked
,unnoticed, past, pursued by an equally unnoticed mob of schoolgirls.
Other than that, zilch.
Hikaru opened his eyes. The book was indeed lying open, but nothing had
changed. * Well, what was I expecting? To be suddenly imbued with
extraordinary magic powers? For this thing to start glowing with an eerie,
spectral light? For extradimensional beings to come down and offer me glory?*
He blinked. *Yes, I was. Isn't that what's supposed to happen with
stuff like this? Why else would I have this thing?* He shook his head. *
Maybe if I actually read it...* The idea was just nutty enough to work.
Gos looked down at the first page. Thankfully, the lettering was in
kanji. There were, however, only five words on it.
'Seek and ye shall find,' was written, quite stylistically, in black
ink. *Cryptic enough, and certainly inviting...* he turned the page.
There was nothing on it! Or the next, or the next. Gos flipped
hurriedly through the rest of the book, each page as blank and featurlessly
white as the last. "Why, of all the lousy little..." He attempted to slam
closed the back cover.
No matter how hard he tried, Gos found it impossible to shut the book.
Recalling his previous experience with the back of the tome, he attempted to
shut it the other way, bringing the front cover up. It closed easily.
*Hmm.* Gos reopened the book, turning to that first blank page. * Now
what? It looks like I'm stuck with a completely blank book that you can't
turn over. Interesting? Yes. Useful? Doubtful.* With that last thought, his
brain snapped out of it's analytical, mage mode and into it's normal,
despairing yet-somehow-filled-with-hope mode. *Oh, how will this thing ever
help me to win Akane...*
If Gosunkugi had been paying attention, he would have noticed four
other words written at the bottom of the previous page, just below 'Seek and
ye shall find.' He wouldn't have understood them anways, but he might have at
least have delayed the inevitable awhile longer.
Written in English where four additional words : Point of no Return.
It was already far too late.
Suddenly, the magic {for it was indeed} book in Gosunkugi's hands
reacted rather violently, growing cold to the touch. He stared in a mixture
of curiosity and horror as the once pristine, white page, turned black.
No, THAT was the understatement of the millennia. It wasn't just BLACK;
it was DARK. Darker than the darkest night, blacker than ink, the kind of
black that could swallow a man's soul and not leave anything at all behind,
so dark that all the literary metaphors at my disposal could not adequately
begin to describe it.
You know, THAT kind of black.
...help me to win Akane...
...win Akane...
...Akane...
...Akane...
Seek... and ye shall find.
Hikaru inhaled sharply. He could see her! Maybe it was an image that
appeared swirling out the blackness before him, or perhaps the darkness
merely allowed him to see with his own mind's eye. He did not know then, or
would ever in later years, which it was.
There she was, his one and only love, running along a road with her
long, luxurious hair streaming out behind her in waves. *Wait...her hair
hasn't been that long for awhile... this must be back before it was cut, like
when all those lovesick fools would attack her every morning...* As if on
cue, Akane entered Furinkans grounds and was lept upon by swarms of boys, who
she proceeded to pummel.
*Hmph. If I really loved her, i'd have helped her, or at least
challenged her as well... what am I saying!!!* Of course he loved her! He
just... just... was more subtle than the others, that's all! Yes, when you
happen to be small and puny and not too terribly fit, you find other ways to
express your feelings. *At least I'm not that idiot Kuno, throwing himself at
her...*
...idiot Kuno, throwing himself...
...idiot Kuno...
...Kuno...
...Kuno...
The scene in Hikaru's mind froze, then shifted, to Akane standing in
the same school yard surrounded by her fallen suitors. He got the impression
it hadn't changed so much as fast forwarded.
Tatewaki Kuno stepped from the shadows, holding a bouquet of red roses in
his hands. "Ah, the virtuous Akane Tendo, once more thou hast proven thyself
above this rabble. Your prowess is truly a thing of wonder, my love. And now,
Akane Tendo..." The roses flew from his hand at a blinding speed, to only be
caught impassively by the now very annoyed Akane, as Kuno drew his bokken
blade, "..whilst thou accept my challenge?"
*Hmph.* This was Hikaru. *That moron.* He couldn't see that she didn't
care a whit about him, could he? *Oh, like she does about me... she barely
even knows my name... I can count on one hand the times she's spoken to me.
She'll never lo-* Gos suddenly sat bolt upright, his eyes so wide the dark
strips under them were now invisible. Where were these evil thoughts coming
from? He mentally ran over his entire day, and was disturbed. He had doubted
his magic, and, more importantly, his love, so many different times. *This
isn't right. It can't be. This...this..* His fragile mind began casting
about for an explanation.
*It's all Saotome's fault!!* Hikaru had latched onto the image of his
nemesis as a convenient scapegoat.
You would think that by now he would have realized how dangerous
uncontrolled thoughts would be.
...all Saotome's...
...Saotome's...
...Saotome...
The picture of Kuno, standing in Furinkan's yard facing a long-haired
and petulant Akane, suddenly became flat and two-dimensional, perhaps because
it WAS now flat and two-dimensional; it had imprinted itself upon the page
that had prompted Gosunkugi's entire ordeal. Yet even as a mere illustration,
it appeared very hauntingly lifelike.
He had very little time to reflect upon this as his hand, of it's own
accord, reached out and turned to the next page.
*Uh-oh. It begins.* Hikaru had a pretty decent idea of what was going
to happen next. Sure enough, the unending field of black reappeared, and in
it... There _he_ was.
This time, however, the images flew at him at a blinding rate, one
after another after another.
Ranma, ignoring a ferocious assault by Kuno to get Akane out of harm's
way... him in _her_ body , leaping high in the sky with Akane in his arms to
save her from a hoard of out-of-control bandannas, and her embracing... well,
her... on a rooftop afterwards... Ranma defending her honor from a tall, good
looking man with ice skates and later, Akane weeping over his prone, broken
body in an rink... The two of them, kissing, though it only be in a play, and
later, the two exchanging gifts... shyly holding hands...
*L-look at them. It's so o-obvious what's really going on there. It's
a-almost like it was fated, really, and that means...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! NO,
DAMMIT!!! I MUST BE STRONG!! i... must..* He was far, far, beyond mere
confusion and doubt now. Hikaru Gosunkugi was having a full-blown
psychological breakdown... at least that's what he thought.
* She doesn't lo- lov- she doesn't- about me- at all!! It's him! That
d-damned, arrogant, dishonorable-*
Hikaru didn't even _need_ the book to know that it wasn't true. If
Saotome _had_ been those things, he, Kuno, and probably several others would
have been gutted like fish and hung from the flagpole as a grisly warning to
others a looooooong time ago.
But I digress.
*Why? All I ever w-wanted was for her to care about me...* Did he? He
seemed to recall, in a time he had almost forgotten, that perhaps he had
been a little less obsessive, a little less fanatical, a little bit less of a
freaky-eyed stalker with a camera.
Oh, that was it. The final straw. This... book, or whatever it was...
it had made him question his magic, his love, and now finally, himself. It
was magic, all right, some kind of sick and evil magic. * I'll not give in!!
I won't let it fill my mind with these evil thoughts!! I will be strong! I'll
do it yet, you'll see! I can make Akane love me....*
...make Akane love...
...Akane love...
...Akane love...
...Akane love...
Another image, this one of Ranma holding Akane *How dare he?* close as
they fell towards some kind of pool stopped and froze itself to the page...
and another page began it's metamorphosis from white to black.
Every man has a breaking point, both physically and mentally. Hikaru
Gosunkugi was in the very unique position of having reached them both at the
same time. The interesting dichotomy was completely lost on him.
*N-no... no more... no MORE!!!* Considering his battered, exhausted,
emotionally overwrought state, Gosunkugi did something quite remarkable.
He stood up, averted his eyes from the book, and ran off screaming into
town.
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And that brings us to where we left off.
Hikaru Gosunkugi had spent the better part of the day running about
like a gibbering fool, still clutching the offending literature, which
continued to provide for him, at the slightest thought, visions that made him
question his deepest beliefs and convictions. This alternately sent him into
paroxysms of weeping or screaming.
This was Nerima. Nobody noticed.
Hikaru eventually ended up back in his house, in his room, reading {for
want of a better term.} He had all afternoon, and was even now being,
subjected to images of what one might call the truth, the natural order of
things, the way things had been, were now, and ever would be. They say the
truth will make you free. Nothing was ever mentioned about it making you
happy, or even sane.
Hikaru leaned back and closed his eyes, attempting to clear his mind as
the latest little literary masterpiece, a heartwrenching scene of Akane and
Ranma on a mountaintop, with him cradling her prone body near the remains of
a large dragon. He attempted to clear his, to empty it of thoughts, so that
he might come to a decision. Normally, this would be difficult, but he had
received a lot of practice in attempting to empty his mind that day.
He emptied his head of conscious thought. He floated among the
veritable library of images that had been presented for him. He, slowly but
surely, came to realize something.
Hikaru opened his eyes. He leaned forward a bit, so that he was sitting
perfectly upright, his legs crossed under him, and finally said what he had
almost all day, but could not until it had been drilled mercilessly into the
very core of his psyche.
"Akane does not, nor will she ever, love me. She loves Ranma. He loves
her. And if anything were to happen to him at my hand, she would probably
kill me." He leaned back against the headboard of his bed again, once more
closing his eyes. Two tears slipped out, running down his cheeks and leaving
grimy streaks. There. It was done. He had accepted it. This did not mean he
had to be glad about it, though.
At this point, Hikaru did something very out of character {no pun
intended} for him. He opened his eyes. He stood up. Then it happened, for the
very first time ever.
Hikaru Gosunkugi got violent.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hikaru
violently flung Malleus Intervallum across the room, where it shattered a
number of rather delicate magic talismans. What did he care!!?!! It's not
like thay'd helped him avoid his fate. "NGYAHH!!!" He rather brutishly tipped
over a desk, spilling out various sized voodoo dolls, which he began to
wildly tear apart, while he began to sob uncontrollably. "It's n-not fair!! I
just wanted <rip> a little bit of <tear, stomp> happiness!! Was th-that so
<shatter> {this was a lamp} very wrong!! WAS IT??!??!"
Eventually, Gos ran out of stuff to tip over, smash, rip, kick, or
otherwise mistreat. He collapsed upon the floor, curling up in the fetal
position among the debris, both the physical and the emotional. He could
still be heard to be softly crying as he drifted of to sleep.
Nearby, a certain book lay, the golden letters of it's title
occasionally glimmering in the dark.
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YA AIN'T GONNA BELIEVE THIS.
WHAT IS IT? I'VE GOT WORK TO DO HERE.
NEVER MIND THAT, WE'VE GOT A BIGGER FISH TO SAUTE. SOMEBODY DECIDED
SOMETHING. MADE AN ACTUAL DECISION, I MEAN.
WHAT!!!??? WHO? WE TAKE DAMN GOOD CARE THAT THEY NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCE, DO THAT! WHO WAS IT?
IT WAS HIM.
NO WAY!! HE WAS FINE THIS MORNING, EVERYTHING NORMAL. ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT
IN THE SPACE OF A FEW HOURS, HE OVERCAME CLOSE TO TWO YEARS WORTH OF
CONDITIONING? AND EXTRA-STRONG ONES TOO? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!
that's what you think, my friend
...WHAT'D YOU SAY?
I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, BUT IF I _HAD_, IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT
NOTHING HERE IS IMPOSSIBLE! WE HELPED SEE TO THAT!!!!
OKAY, OKAY, LET'S BOTH CALM DOWN A LITTLE AND THINK ABOUT THIS CLEARLY. IT
ISN'T THAT BAD, RIGHT? THE OTHER IS STILL OKAY?
YES, YES, JUST FINE. STILL RUNNING ACCORDING TO PARAMETERS
WELL, THEN WE CAN PROCEED. JUST HAVE TO STEP UP THE TIMETABLE A BIT, THAT'S
ALL.
AW, COULDN'T WE JUST LEAVE? WE NEVER GO ANYWHERE ANYMORE, AND YOU KNOW I'VE
BEEN DYING TO PAY A VISIT TO THE MORE THINGS CH-
HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU TO WATCH WHAT YOU SAY IN HERE!! YOU KNOW
SPEAKING IT'S NAME ATTRACTS THE ATTENTION OF IT'S CARETAKER!! YOU MAY HAVE
SAID TOO MUCH ALREADY, AND DRAWN HIS EYES HERE. BESIDE, VISITING A MAJOR
THREAD IS BAD NEWS RIGHT NOW. WHEN WE DO LEAVE-
WHATTA YA MEAN, 'WHEN'?
HUH? I'M JUST SAYING-
YOU'VE ALWAYS SAID 'IF' BEFORE. 'IF' WE LEAVE. OUT WITH IT. YOU KNOW
SOMETHING.
WELL... IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF CASCADE FAILURE IS A WEE BIT
HIGHER THAN I ANTICIPATED.
HOW HIGH?
UM...99.99597%
AW GEEZ!! SO NOT ONLY DO WE _HAVE_ TO LEAVE, INSTEAD OF OUR OWN FREE WILL,
THESE GUYS WILL BE SCATTERED. AND I WAS KINDA ATTACHED TO'EM.
CARE TO BACK OUT?
HMMM...NAH, LET'S DO IT. GOOD FOR A LAUGH, ANYHOW. WHEN DO YOU WANT TO START?
TOMORROW. ONCE EVERY DAY AFTER THAT, AT PRECISELY TWENTY-FOUR HOUR INTERVALS.
AWRIGHT. I'LL SET IT FOR THE PREPARATORY BURST TONIGHT. BUT WHAT ABOUT HIM?
IT TAKES TWO TO BREAK THE BONDS. HE IS ONE. BESIDES, HE WILL MOST LIKELY BE
_VERY_ DISTRACTED WHEN HIS DESIRE COMES THROUGH.
OH YEAH. WELL, HERE GOES NOTHING.
EX-ACTLY.
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The day had come and gone, and once again night wrapped it's cloak
about the shoulders of Nerima. Ranma lay snoring on his futon like the
proverbial buzzsaw, visions of mallets danced in Akane's head. Kuno kissed
each full-length poster of his loves before settling into his bed. Kodachi...
well, let's not talk about that.
The night passed, as peaceful as it ever got in Nerima. Ever Furinkan,
scene of so much violence, lay calm and quiet.
Then the clock on it's tower, along with most others in town, struck
midnight.
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One of the few people still awake at this hour was Kasumi Tendo. She
had so much to do, after all. Why, cleaning up after the tirade that ensued
when Ranma had arrived home that evening took several hours in itself. She
didn't mind, of course. After all, it was her duty as the eldest female.
Besides, it was fun.
Humming softly to herself, she resettled the table and wiped a few
motes of dust of it. Then she took a second to look out into the yard, across
the koi pond and into the sleeping city.
She smiled. Kasumi loved the night. So peaceful and quiet and...
orderly. She loved order. Then she noticed something most DISorderly. Not
inside her home, of course. That would be unthinkable. But out there, in the
city...
A small pillar of light was rising into the sky, vanishing high
overhead. Kasumi frowned. That was indeed not normal. As she watched, the
pillar split apart, like a rope does, each individual thread heading in a
different direction, though they all remained together at their base, still
tethered to each other. As she watched, the lights faded away.
The tiny voice in the back of Kasumi's mind that was always telling
her to do such unladylike and improper things {"Let them make their OWN
dinner, dammit!!" "Tell Dr. Tofu you're madly in love with him!!!" "You go
out and you GET that degree in astrophysics!!"} started speaking to her with
more force than was usual, telling her that this was VERY IMPORTANT and that
she had better go tell everybody about it RIGHT NOW because BAD THINGS were
going to happen. Kasumi took a few steps toward her father's bedroom.
Then she stopped, mentally berating herself. Silly girl. She didn't
have time to go about waking everybody up and telling them abut that most
untidy pillar of light. Why, if she did that she wouldn't have time to
prepare the lunches for tomorrow, or clean the good linens....
Walling off that tiny voice, {she had been doing it for over a decade and
it came quite easily now} she headed for the kitchen.
End Chapter Two.
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