Ranma and the Defender of the Light

------------------------

Author's notes:

Any and all C&C is welcome, but please send any flames privately.

I still don't have a website, because the system administrators have 
placed a firewall around everything.  At the current time, I am unable 
to post anything--or even veiw what's there now--from my dorm room.

<thoughts>
--
Disclaimers:

Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and is published in the United 
States by Viz.

I have no legal right to use material from this series.  I am doing so 
strictly for my own amusement (and that of those who like this story).

------------------------

            Chapter 2:  Of Curses and Cures

------------------------

I had not been entirely truthful with Ranma.  I had told him that I 
would return in a few weeks with a spell to attempt to remove his curse.  
This was true.  I had, however, implied that it would take me those few 
weeks to find and memorize such a spell.  This was not true.  I knew 
what spell to use before I left him.  I could not have cast the spell at 
the time, simply because it was not one I had studied recently.  
However, I merely had to return to the library in my tower, pull the 
appropriate book off the shelf, and memorize the spell.  Since this 
particular spell involved an elaborate ritual, I would also need to 
gather certain items required to cast it.  This would not take more than 
a few hours.  Why, then, did I not return the next day?  Primarily 
because I wanted more information, both about Ranma Saotome himself, and 
the universe he lives in.  The few week time scale I had given him would 
be needed for my exploratory teams to gather that information.

My teams told me that his universe was very much like the one in which I 
had been born.  Magic was scoffed at by most of the world, but still 
practiced in certain obscure parts.  The basic history was also very 
similar.  I could have teleported just about anywhere, and, as long as 
no one saw me arrive, fit right in with the natives.

I had cast a tracking spell on Ranma, but did not think I would need it.  
One of the things my agents had learned was that he was now attending 
high school in a suburb of Tokyo, Japan.  From this, finding his listed 
address was easy, though I did not know why he would be living at the 
Tendo household when his father owned a house a few miles away, in which 
his mother still resided.  Perhaps his parents were having marital 
problems.

I was now armed with the most powerful curse-removal spell known.  It 
was also the least understood spell of any type.  No one knew when it 
had been created.  It did follow the form of other, less powerful 
curse-removal spells.  Still, it was the best one for the task at hand, 
and had never been known to fail when cast properly.

I teleported to a blind alley a few blocks away from the Tendo dojo, 
where I would be unlikely to be observed and walked the rest of the way.  
A young lady--about twenty--with long brown hair answered my knock.  She 
was wearing a pretty yellow dress and an apron.  Tendo Kasumi, I knew 
from what I had learned of Ranma's life, but I could not admit to that 
knowledge.  "I'm looking for Saotome Ranma," I told her.  "Is he here?"

"Ranma, visitor," she called into the house.  "Won't you come in?"

"Thank you," I replied and followed her, looking around.

"Who is it?" I heard Ranma call back, and the sound of bare feet running 
across a wooden floor.  "It's you!  You're here!!"

"I said I would return.  Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Of course.  You know my dad; he and Mr. Tendo are on the back porch.  
This is Kasumi..." I nodded at her. "...and Akane..." This was younger 
girl with short, black hair who had just come down the stairs. "...and 
Nabiki's still upstairs.  Can you wait a few a minutes?  Akane's lost 
parts of her memory and we're waiting for Dr. Tofu to get here with a 
cure."

Just then, an elderly man wearing wire-rim glasses knocked on the door 
and stepped in.  "Is it true Dr. Tofu?  Can you really cure Akane's 
memory?" Kasumi asked hopefully.

"Ka..Kasumi??" the man--Dr. Tofu--said, tearing and crumpling a sheet of 
paper he had been carrying.  His eyes went blank, and he left the house, 
dancing in joy.

Ranma let out an exasperated scream.  "That was the formula for the 
shampoo we need to cure Akane!" he yelled at me.

Once he had calmed down I told him that I was a telepath and might be 
able to help.  Then I turned to Akane.  "I may be able to restore your 
memory," I told her.  "To do so, however, I will need to enter your 
mind.  This would give me access to all your memories, thoughts, 
everything.  You would have no secrets from me.  I would, of course, 
consider this information to be privileged, and not reveal it.  Do you 
understand?"

"I think so...."

"Do you wish me to make the attempt?"

"Yes.  I want to remember."

"This would be easiest if you could lie down somewhere...."

"We'll go up to my room."  She led the way, and Ranma and I followed.

When she got to her room, she sat down on her bed was about to lie down 
when I stopped her.  "Put your head at the other end, please, as close 
to end as you can and still be comfortable."  Once she had done so, I 
stretched out my hand, and the chair at her desk came floating across 
the room to me.  She gaped.  "Telepathy isn't my only talent."  I put 
the chair at the end of her bed and sat down.

"What do I need to do?"

"Just relax.  It may help if you close your eyes.  I may ask you to 
concentrate on something specific later."  I placed my fingertips on her 
temples and began to make my way into her mind.  Turning to Ranma, I 
asked, "How did this happen?"

"Not long after I met you, my dad and I wandered into a village in 
China.  This was the village of the Amazon women.  They have this 
strange law that if an outside male defeats one of their warriors in 
combat, that warrior must marry the man who had defeated her....  Well, 
my dad and I had seen this table of food and were busy eating.  It 
turned out that the food was the first prize in a martial arts 
tournament.  When I learned that, I challenged the champion, and won.  
Her name was Shampoo.  Well, my father had made a previous agreement 
with Mr. Tendo that I would marry one of his daughters.  Therefore, I 
was engaged to Akane.  Once Shampoo caught up with me, she and Akane 
fought.  Shampoo used some ancient Amazon technique involving an herbal 
shampoo and pressure points to selectively cause memory loss.  Now the 
uncute girl..." at this I sensed a response from Akane, as if she was 
unconsciously fighting the block on her memory "...can't remember me.  
She remembers everything else, just not me."  I couldn't comprehend 
Ranma--or anyone else--considering Akane to 'uncute', but I would use 
whatever tools I had.

"Say that again."

"What?"

"When you called Akane uncute..." no response when I did so "...I sensed 
a brief response, as if it was sparking her memory.  Say it again!"  
This time I clearly felt Akane's memories of Ranma, and the blocks that 
had been placed over them.  "One more time."

"Clumsy, uncute tomboy!" Ranma almost shouted.  As he did so, I struck 
at those memory blocks myself.  They couldn't stand up to both Akane's 
unconscious attempts to break through and my deliberate attack.

Unfortunately, I had been somewhat less than gentle with that last 
probe.  "Oh my head," Akane moaned before passing out.

"Okay, that's that.  She should wake up in about a half hour or so with 
her memory restored.  Oh, and whoever you are, you can come in."  This 
last I addressed to the presence I now sensed listening outside the 
door.

"How did you know I was there?" the young lady who walked through asked.  
She was a little older than Akane, with short brown hair, wearing a 
t-shirt and tight cutoffs.  I knew that this must be Nabiki.

"I am a telepath.  How do you think I helped Akane?  Once I was no 
longer distracted by that, I felt your mind.  Now, we should let her 
sleep."  I got up, put the chair back (by hand this time), and ushered 
her and Ranma out of Akane's room, closing the door behind me.  We all 
went down stairs.

<A telepath!  If I could get him to work for me..we could make 
millions!! the blackmail potential alone must...> I briefly "heard" 
Nabiki's subvocalized thought before I reinforced my shields.  I had to 
put a stop to this.

"Nabiki?" I called her.

"What?  And how did you know my name?"

"To answer your second question first, Ranma introduced me to Akane and 
Kasumi, and said, quote, 'Nabiki's still upstairs.'  Logic indicates 
that you must be her."  True enough, just not the entire truth.  "There 
are specific rules concerning what is and is not permitted with 
telepathy.  Rules that I will not violate.  I take it we understand each 
other?"

"Very well, but you're missing out on a lot of cash."

"Cash I do not need nor want."  I had far better sources of income than 
her petty schemes.  And they were all perfectly legal.  But, of course, 
she had no way of knowing that.  I turned to Ranma, "Now, about your 
curse--"

"You don't know how difficult waiting for you to get back has been!  
I'll be glad to finally get rid of my girl form!!"  I wasn't quite that 
optimistic, having never liked trusting spells I didn't fully 
understand.  Still, magic is based, in part, on the participants' belief 
in it.  Perhaps his over-confidence would help.

"I'll need a fairly large open space, preferably indoors.  What's 
available?"

"We can use the dojo.  I'll show you!"  He bounded across the yard to 
the neighboring building.  I followed more slowly.

"You just restored Akane's memory, and now you plan to cure Ranma's 
curse?!?  What exactly _are_ you?"  Nabiki called after me.

"I'm an elite mage.  If you're interested in the theory and aspects of 
magic, we can talk later.  For now, Ranma's waiting."  I found him in 
the dojo, bouncing from foot to foot.  "I need you to calm down, sit in 
the center of the room, and relax.  As a martial artist, I assume you've 
practiced some meditation techniques?"

"A little."

"Good enough.  Just sit in the center of the room and relax.  It may 
also help to focus on the curse itself.  Just be sure to concentrate on 
it as something to get rid of.  Also, you need to be in your cursed form 
when I cast the spell."  I reached for my fourth-dimensional water tank 
and splashed him.  "Once the spell is cast, you should return to your 
normal form, permanently."

"Can I watch?"  Nabiki had followed me.

"As long as you stay out of the way, and remain quiet.  I would stand in 
one of the corners or by the door."

"Very well."  She went to the opposite corner, crossed her arms, and 
leaned against the wall.

"Good enough," I told her.  Then I reached into the fourth dimension for 
my 'temporary storage bin' and pulled out three plastic baggies, a small 
Rubbermaid container, and a glass vial.  "I'm ready to begin now.  Are 
you two?"  They both nodded.  "Just remember to keep quiet.  You don't 
want to distract me while I'm the middle of this."  I picked up the 
vial.  "Ranma, partway through I'm going to hand this to you.  When I 
do, you need to remove the stopper and drink the liquid.  Be warned, it 
tastes terrible.  Just toss it back in one swallow, and try not to gag 
or anything."  I set it down with the rest of the stuff, and picked up 
one of the bags. "Ready?"

"Ready," Ranma replied.  Nabiki nodded again, so I began.

The first bag held a dried herb.  I pulled a small amount out of the bag 
and placed it on the floor to the east, while chanting mystic syllables 
from a forgotten language.  A second such bundle went to the south, 
accompanied by another verse.  The west and north were also treated this 
way.  Then I stood up and spoke the fifth verse.  Each bundle began to 
glow a pale blue.  The glow spread in a circle, connecting the four, and 
across the floor to the opposite bundle, meeting beneath Ranma.  Then, I 
picked up the Rubbermaid container, which held a paste.  I dipped one 
finger in the paste and went to the point on the circle directly 
northeast of Ranma.  There, I drew a design on the floor with the paste, 
while chanting another verse.  The southeast, southwest, and northwest 
were treated similarly.  The next verse caused the designs to glow red.  
The red spread in lines toward Ranma, and the circle itself became 
purple.  I was now passed the most difficult part of this spell, and had 
not messed up yet.  The next bag held eight incense sticks and eight 
holders.  I placed one on each of the lines, three inches in from the 
circle, and spoke another verse.  They each ignited with a green flame.  
The other bag was a powder that I sprinkled over Ranma, while chanting 
another verse.  Then, I handed Ranma the vial.  He drank it down, and 
didn't even make a face.  I began the final verse of the spell.  When I 
had completed it, Ranma would be cured.

I finished the spell, and the glowing design on the floor suddenly 
flared, tripling in brightness.  "Oh, my eyes," Nabiki cried out.  Then, 
it turned black, and vanished.  The flames of the incense sticks doubled 
in size before they, too, vanished.  The bundles of herbs ignited, 
giving off an acrid smoke.  Ranma threw up and collapsed.

"Was it _supposed_ to do that?" Nabiki asked.

"No.  Apparently Jusenkyo curses are more powerful than this spell."  I 
grabbed some more water and used it to put out the fires.  "Well, 
there's already four scorch marks in floor, I suppose another one won't 
matter too much."  I incinerated Ranma's vomit, and went to check on 
him.  "He seems to be all right...."  While I was there, I also took 
time to look for magical aptitude.  He did indeed have the mage gift, 
but it was still latent.  Training could possibly enable him to use 
magic, but, since there was no danger of him accidentally killing 
someone, I would not force that training on him.  "Let's make sure he's 
not stuck as a girl permanently."  I got some more water from my 
fourth-dimensional tank, heated it, and dumped it on him, triggering his 
transformation, and awakening him.

"I take it didn't work."

I reached for more water and splashed him again.  Once again, he was an 
attractive redhead.  "Apparently not."  I heated water to change him 
back.  "I don't know what went wrong.  I want to talk to a couple people 
and look a few things up.  I'll meet you here after school tomorrow."  I 
prepared to teleport away.

"Wait!"

"Yes Ranma?"

"You're trying to cure my curse because I saved your life....  You told 
Pop that he would owe you a favor were you to cure him.  Before we came 
down here, you cured Akane's memory.  If there is any price that she 
owes you, well, I will pay it."

"Thank you for reminding me--"

"Ranma you idiot!" Nabiki interrupted.  "If you hadn't said anything you 
could have gotten it for free."

I looked up and waited for her to finish.  "No," I said.  "Akane owes me 
nothing.  From what Ranma has told me, what this Shampoo did is 
proscribed by the Rules of Ethical Telepathy.  In such a situation, they 
would require me to reverse it.  I must, however, find and speak with 
Shampoo."  I also planned to tell my agents to learn everything they 
could about these Chinese Amazons.

"I can take you to her," Ranma told me.  "But I've been trying to avoid 
her."

"This I have to see," Nabiki said.  "I'll take you.  Ranma can stay here 
if he wants."

We went back into the house, and saw Akane watching TV.  I walked over 
to her and asked, "Are you feeling better now?  Headache gone?"

"Yes, and thank you again for restoring my memory.  And as for you!"  
She had turned to glare at Ranma.  "Don't think I'm just going to ignore 
those insults you threw at me earlier!"

"Hey, I didn't do nothing!" he protested.

"Hmpph!"

"Akane," I said, trying to calm things down, "you must admit it did aid 
me in restoring your memory."

"That's no excuse!"  She turned back toward the television.

I looked at Nabiki.  "You were going to introduce me to Shampoo?  I 
really must warn her against using this 'technique' of hers again."

"Yeah, sure, I'll take you..for a price."

"I was under the impression that your 'price' was going to be the chance 
to witness the confrontation.  If you want anything other than 
that..well I'll just have to ask someone else then.  And make sure 
you're not around at the time."  I thought she would fall for that, and 
she did.

"Kasumi, I'm going out for a little while," she called into the kitchen.

Kasumi came to the doorway.  "Dinner will be ready in about a half hour.  
Oh, sir, thank you for restoring Akane's memory.  Won't you stay for 
dinner?"

"I thank you for the offer, but I have things I need to do.  I'll eat 
when I get back home.  Ranma, remember, I'll meet you in the dojo after 
school tomorrow."

"Yeah sure, right."

Nabiki led me down a few streets.  Soon, we heard a bicycle bell.  An 
attractive girl with purple hair rode by, holding a delivery case of 
some sort.  "Shampoo, wait!" Nabiki called after her.

She stopped and turned back.  "What mercenary girl want?"  An 
interesting description to say the least.  From what I had heard of her 
thoughts earlier, it was probably fairly accurate.

"This gentleman would like to speak with you."  Nabiki gestured toward 
me.

"Shampoo no know you."

"My name is Erik, but it doesn't really matter.  I do need to talk with 
you."

"Very well.  Follow Shampoo."  She dismounted from her bicycle and led 
us to a nearby park.

"I understand that both you and Tendo Akane wish to marry Saotome 
Ranma?"

"Aiya!  You take Shampoo to Ranma?"

"Just answer the question."

"Ranma Shampoo's husband.  Is Amazon law.  Shampoo defeat violent-girl."

"About this 'defeat' of Akane....  I understand that you used a 
technique to partially erase her memory?"

"If Akane no remember, Akane no have to die.  Is for best."

"Artificially causing someone to forget something is forbidden by rule 
of the Telepaths Union."

"Shampoo no understand."

I altered my language spell so that my words would come out in Mandarin 
Chinese.  Ranma had said that he had 'wandered into' Shampoo's village a 
few days after I met him.  This should be the form of Chinese spoken in 
that area.  "Would it help if used this language?"

"Yes," she said in the same tongue.  "Now, repeat what you said before."

"Artificially causing someone to forget something is forbidden by rule 
of the Telepaths Union."

"Why should I care?  I'm an Amazon Warrior!  I follow Amazon law, not 
this Telepaths Union."

"Everyone who uses any form of telepathic ability--and this counts--is 
subject to the rule of the Telepaths Union."

"Amazon Warriors are subject to no one but themselves.  Particularly no 
man."  She turned to leave.

"Shampoo--"

She turned back.  "If you're going to speak my language, pronounce my 
name correctly.  It's Xian Pu."

"Very well.  Xian Pu.  You will not use this technique again.  Do you 
understand?"  She turned to leave again.  I let her take three steps, 
then telekinetically lifted her and turned her to face me, keeping her a 
few inches off the ground.  As I did so, I conjured a mage-light into my 
hand.  "Do you understand?"

"Aiya.  I understand.  I will not use this technique again."  <ONE, two, 
three, four.  one, TWO, three, four.  one, two, THREE, four> I 'heard' 
her consciously subvocalizing.  I could, if I chose, enter her mind 
anyway to see what she was hiding, but doing so would be almost as much 
of a transgression as the one I'd reprimanded her for.

I released her and switched the language spell back to Japanese as she 
left.  "Nabiki."

"What?"

"Warn Ranma that she's planning something else."

"What's in it for me?"

"Your sister's life isn't enough?"

"She's going to kill Akane?!"

"You heard what she said.  Possibly."

"Alright, I'll tell them."  She headed back home, and I looked for a 
convenient deserted area to teleport away from.

-----------------------------

Author's notes: 

You didn't think I'd actually have it work, did you?

This would have been longer, but I decided to split it into two parts.  
Therefore, I'm almost finished with chapter 3 as well.


--
Erik

"What's more dangerous than a mage out to rule the entire world?  Why, a 
mage at play, of course...."

        -Ed Greenwood, "Elminster at the Magefair"

http://www.cs.transy.edu/ejessup/homepage.html
--



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