Hi, everyone.
Finally, at long last, chapter six is completed.
That took a while, I know. Sorry. But now that it's
here, I would really appreciate any feedback you have
on the story, particularly the development of the new
character, and where the story seems to be going.
Previous chapters of LoveSpell may be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/bay/5671/
And now. . .
----------------------------
Note: Ranma 1/2 is the creation of the incomparable
Rumiko Takahashi.
----------------------------
Ranma 1/2: LoveSpell
by Anna Lvovsky
Chapter VI: Chapter VI
****************************
"Shizuka! Shizuka!"
A small, green-haired girl grinned and quickly
dodged through the crowd to her friend. "Hi, Qing-Li!
Are you going to watch the Tournament?"
"Of course! Who isn't? And it's up to the
semi-Finals, too." The young Amazon sighed. "The
warriors are so strong."
Shizuka's smile broadened. "I'll be stronger than
them someday. You just watch. A few more years, and
I'll win the Tournament."
Qing-Li smirked. "Right. In a few years you'll
still be about five years too young to compete. You
got to be sixteen, remember?"
Shizuka's smile deflated. "It's so unfair. I
can't wait another ten years!"
"And you have to earn citizenship, too. Only
citizens compete."
"Well, sometimes, so do outsiders," Shizuka
reminded her. "Just like my daddy." Her father had
beaten her mother in the tournament six years ago. He
was Japanese, but had married her mother and stayed in
the tribe of the Josekisoku. This hardly influenced
her, except for the fact that her name was Japanese
rather than Chinese.
"Shizuka, are you even watching?"
She looked up to the rope where two opponents were
mounted. It filled her with pride, seeing them
standing on the taut line. Not like the logs some
tribes used. Anybody could keep their balance on a
log, but this way...this way it took true skill and
not just strength.
She watched as the numbers of contestants were
narrowed down, until only two were left. The warriors
lingered in their places for a moment, and then
attacked. There was a blur of movement and then one
was thrown to the ground below.
Shizuka sat through the following ceremonies
quietly, paying rapt attention to the proceedings.
*I'll be the strongest one day,* she thought.
*I'll be the strongest and the fastest and the best.
I'll be the best ever.*
----------------------------
Shizuka walked down the street. She felt that
maybe she should have been nervous--after all, no one
had ever applied, let alone passed, for citizenship at
fourteen. It was unheard of, and while the Council
was curious, they were no doubt expecting her to fail.
And so, she should have been nervous. But she
wasn't. No true Amazon failed. More to the point,
she didn't fail.
It wasn't as if passing was difficult. As soon as
the Council was satisfied that she would be a good
addition to the tribe, she would be pronounced a
citizen. And then...then it was up to her convincing
the Council to let her compete. If they could be
convinced. If she could be able to.
No true Amazon failed.
She was here. Shizuka knocked on the wooden door
and entered the house. The Council sat behind a long
table at the far end of the room. It was made up of
veteran Amazons, heros of battle, elders of the tribe.
They patiently waited as she walked in and bowed.
Tsu-Ming, a promient member, spoke up first. Her
voice was formal, yet comforting. Everybody in the
tribe knew everyone else, and was at ease with them.
"Now, Shizuka, we shan't waste time. I'm sure you
know of the requirements needed to become a citizen.
We won't pretend that we aren't...surprised that you
wish to apply so soon, but if you think you can pass,
you may by all means try. The basic test is this: The
White Rock Mountain Range is infested with those
miserable demons, and the Josekisoku must protect our
fields against them. There are spirit guards placed
around the village, yes, but the infernal creatures
manage to infiltrate the area, and so human
safeguarding is necessary. If you are able to do
this, then you are worthy of citizenship."
Shizuka nodded respectfully. "If you were only to
come with me to a more susceptible region of the
range, I will be glad to demostrate my abilily as best
I can."
A number of the members raised their eyebrows.
They were probably expecting, she guessed, a private
demostration before sending me out to the demons.
Indeed, Han-Qing shook her head. "No, we cannot
risk that. We know that your skill is amazing, child,
but if you should fail, we would not like to waste
such potential. Just...show us your techniques."
Tsu-Ming rose from the table and walked out into
the room. "Attack me, Shizuka."
Shizuka nodded again and slid into a battle stance.
She eyed the older Amazon for a split-second, and
then charged forward. She swung her staff over her
shoulder and attacked with a speed the human eye
couldn't track. Tsu-Ming dodged the blows with ease
and struck with her sword. Shizuka blocked and kicked
at her stomach. The other Amazon took the blow, then
wrenched Shizuka's staff out of her hand and hit a
pressure point of her knee that caused her to
collapse. As Tsu-Ming came down on her with her
staff, she rolled out of the way and kicked up at her.
Tsu-Ming evaded the blow, but was caught in the
shoulder as Shizuka recovered her staff and struck at
her with it. She cracked a smile, and flew at the
girl, her fist seeming to blur from sight. Shizuka
avoid the bulk of the blows, but Tsu-Ming's other hand
hit her in the face and knocked her back. She rolled
unto her feet, ready for the next attack, but her
opponent landed away from her, satisfied.
"Fourteen? Astounding. I must admit that I did
not expect you to be able to land a blow on me. Is
there anything else?"
"Yes, well...I-I've been working on this for a
while. It's still giving me trouble sometimes,
but...I think I can try it."
Tsu-Ming nodded her approval. "Try it."
Shizuka took a breath and concentrated. Leaping
forward, she swung out her fist. "Aayaaaa!" Her
fist stopped completely short, but her ki burst from
her hand and rushed at the Amazon.
Tsu-Ming seemed startled for a moment, then brought
her hand in front of her. As the ki hit, her palm
absorbed the mass of energy until it had all
disappeared. She stared at her wrinkled hand, then
slowly looked up at Shizuka. "I am impressed. Wait
while I confer with the rest of the Council."
Shizuka watched her walk over to the table and
smiled slightly. She had undoubtably earned
citizenship. And though Tsu-Ming had been holding
back many of her techniques, it still pleased her that
she had been able to hold her own in their sparring
match. If this at fourteen, then in a few years...
"Shizuka."
She looked up, surprised.
"You are still a child, but...You have more than
proven your right to citizenship. Those much less
worthy than you have been awarded this honor, and it
would certainly be unjust to deny you this merely
because of your age."
She beamed. "Thank you, Council. But...I would
like to ask...for your permission to participate in
the Tournament."
Tsu-Ming wrinkled her brow. "The Tournament...is a
bit different. The minimum age is sixteen, and you
are only fourteen. If you were fifteen, maybe,
but..."
"But I will be fifteen by the time the Tournament
takes place," she countered. "Please. All of our
warriors are required to participate. Now that I have
aquired citizenship, I am a warrior as well. The only
reason no one under sixteen has ever competed in the
past is because no one had ever passed citizenship
younger than that. I have proven my abilities, so why
should I be treated differently?"
Tsu-Ming smirked. "Very well, Shizuka. You may
participate if you wish. Now then, you have other
things to do today, and we must return to other
problems. You are dismissed."
Shizuka bowed again and left the room.
Citizenship. Fourteen and she had earned citizenship.
----------------------------
Shizuka leaped to the rope and regarded her
opponent. It was Xiao-Ling, a twenty year-old
warrior. Her greatest asset: her strength. Her
greatest weakness: her speed. Over all: Shizuka could
assuredly win. But she had to be careful; this was
the final round, and Xiao-Ling had beaten everyone she
had faced.
Shizuka unsheathed her staff. Xiao-Ling's weapons
of choice were the bonbori. Their reach was lesser,
and they weren't as convenient in close-in situations,
but they were heavy, and a strike with them would be
powerful.
Shizuka didn't intend to be struck.
Suddenly, Xiao-Ling rushed at her. Shizuka ducked
her attack and twisted her staff around, knocking the
bonbori out of her opponent's hands. She kicked her
feet out from under her, and struck down with her
staff. Xiao-Ling grabbed unto the rope and swung out
of the way, landing squarely on the rope. Shizuka
flew at her with a kick. Xiao-Ling jumped over it,
but Shizuka's staff landed a forceful blow on her
stomach, and she was knocked off of the rope. Shizuka
watched her fall to the ground, then jumped down to
face the Council.
She had won. Barely fifteen, the youngest ever to
have actually participated...!
She smiled in exhilaration and walked over to where
her prize stood.
She had won.
----------------------------
Shizuka in stood front of the Council. The tribe
was gathered in the Hall of Ceremonies. Whispers ran
through the masses. Whispers of astonishment,
disbelief, of resentment and jealosy, but mostly,
whispers of admiration. After all, she was part of
the Josekisoku, and an achievement for her was an
achievement for the entire tribe.
Shizuka glanced quickly at Tsu-Ming. The five
years had weighed down on her. She was still as
strong as she had been before, but now she looked
more... wearied. She caught her glance and smiled at
her.
Shizuka smiled back, then sighed in apprehension.
She felt nervous, she noted. It made no sense. Those
years ago, when she had applied for citizenship, she
had been perfectly confident. And then, she hadn't
been assured that the Council would grant it to her.
Today, it was just the ceremony; the decision had been
made long before, and every thing was certain.
Perhaps it was because, at fourteen, she had been more
foolishly daring, and now, at twenty, she had learned
caution. But mostly, she knew, it was because
citizenship affected only her. Today was completely
different. A position in the Council would affect the
entire tribe. And she was mostly sure that she would
do a good job, but...at twenty, was she really ready?
Could she handle it?
No true Amazon failed.
She waved off her trepidation. How ridiculous.
She was worrying about how well she would preform on
the Council when she knew all of the tribe's strengths
and weaknesses, she had good strategy, never made
hasty errors, and, besides, would have all the other
members to help her with decisions. She had nothing
to worry about, nothing at all. What a shameful
lapse!
But even amid her self-reprimand, she was full of
pride. She was, after all, twenty years old, and she
was becoming a Council member. When she had gained
citizenship, she had been merely two years younger
than the norm, but to join the Council at twenty...
Even when she had been a small child, dreaming of her
future, she had never imagined that at so young an age
she would actually become part of the Council. The
greatest Amazons, the tribe's most unforgettable
martial artists--the youngest to have joined the
Council had been in her forties. And she was being
incited at age twenty. It seemed impossible, but it
was happening, and it was happening to her.
But she need to stop thinking about the distinction
in this ceremony and pay attention what was happening
around her.
The crowd had quieted down, and Han-Qing began the
traditional oratory. Shizuka listened until it was
over, the stepped up to the platform on which Han-Qing
and the rest of the Council stood. Han-Qing read her
the rites, and when she replied with the required
address, Tsu-Ming came forward and presented her with
one of the ornate swords that each member of the
Council wore by her side. She accepted it and
strapped it to her hip.
She turned to the tribe when a commotion was heard
at the back of the room. As the scene cleared up, the
forms of a group of demons appeared. Without
thinking, Shizuka leaped over to where they stood,
covering the length of the Hall in several strides.
Her sword whipped out of its sheath and lashed out at
the demons. In moments, their headless bodies dropped
to the floor and evaporated. Shizuka leaped back to
the podium with a quizical look to the rest of the
Council as the room was once again filled with
whispers. Finally, Wang-Chun stepped up and quieted
the crowd.
"It seems," she said, "that the guards around our
village have worn off. The Council must set to work
preparing new ones to replace them. Now then, it
would be best to start on this immediately, and our
village must be checked for any other signs of the
demons. Because of this, everyone is dismissed."
----------------------------
Shizuka paced the floor of the Council's hall.
Around her, the members were in a similar state.
Tsu-Ming spoke first. "It's nonsense. My
apologies, Wang-Chun, but those spirit guards couldn't
have been at blame."
The other Amazon nodded. "Of course. But I had to
calm the tribe, and it was the best reason I could
think of at the time."
Suddenly, Shizuka spoke up. "I need to go on a
trip."
The rest of the Council regarded her in surprise
and dismay.
"I know that it is not good to leave the tribe so
soon after being incited," she continued, "but I have
to. Whatever reason those demons came for, it is not
good. And above all, it will be taken as a bad omen.
I take it as a bad omen, and so do you. The time
during which the demons appeared was critical.
Because it happened during the ceremony, it leaves a
shadow over my joining the Council. I have to erase
this...terrible sign. And so I must go out into the
range and come back only with something that will make
up for this omen.
Our anscestors left many scrolls within the mountains,
and I must find one of them. If I do, my name will be
cleared."
"Those scrolls can be anywhere," protested
Tsu-Ming. "How can you hope to find one?"
"There is," she said slowly, "one scroll we know
of. If I can acquire the Scroll of Ten-sing, it will
be more than enough to make up for the appearance of
those demons."
"The Scroll of Ten..." Tsu-Ming gasped. "That's
suicide! Several attempts have already been made, and
they all resulted in the dead bodies of our best
warriors. You, Shizuka, are better than most, quite
likely the best ever to have been raised from the
Josekisoku, but that is all the more reason that we
don't want you to die at this time."
"I know it will be dangerous. But I also know that
I must do it. You must understand that not doing so
will weaken me and and Council in the eyes of the
people."
Slowly, Han-Qing nodded. "I am afraid you are
right. It would be terrible if anything were to
happen to you, but no worse than if you were to stay.
I know that my sisters agree with me."
Shizuka nodded. "I must go prepare myself for the
journey. It would be best to leave as soon as
possible." She turned and and left into the quiet
streets.
Overhead, the wind howled, and a flock of crows
fluttered across the sky. They circled above the
village, and then soared up to where the peaks of the
mountains faded into the clouds.
----------------------------
With a yell, Shizuka sliced through the last of the
demons. Glancing curtly at the decapitated forms that
lay strewn behind her, she placed her sword back into
its scabbard and continued up the mountain.
Almost there. Weeks of climbing, but she was
almost at the top. She looked up. The peak was
visible, obscured slightly by the fog surrounding the
summit.
Shizuka turned her gaze back to her footing. The
air was cold and thin, but her breathing wasn't
affected yet. Life in the White Rock Mountain Range
allowed her to be able to travel to an altitude higher
than this. And not taking that into account, the
range was rather long, yet comparatively low. She was
traveling to the highest point in the entire range,
but she doubted that she would be troubled by the
light density.
This was, she though as she carefully made her way
up the rocks, a peculiar mountain. It was more like a
large cliff than a hill. On one side the slope was
fairly gradual, but on the other it was remarkably
abrupt, almost vertical.
Still, this was all irrelevant. What she had to
worry about was retrieving the actual scroll. Legend
had it that the gods had suspended it in the clouds
above the highest mountain in the range, so that only
one capable of reaching the Heavens would be able to
obtain it. She wasn't perfectly sure how she would
secure it, but her hopes lay on one technique...
Suddenly her eyes met level ground. Finally, she
was at the top. She scrambled the rest of the way up
and glanced around. It was...beautiful. Gentle fog
slowly swirled above her, creating lazy patterns in
the sky. The mountain range stood before her in all
its grandeur, spanning as far as the eye could see.
The rocky hills unfolded across the land, lavender
against the browns and greens of the earth, mixing
hazily into the horizen.
Shizuka pulled her gaze from the scene in front of
her and walked over to the edge of the cliff. Beneath
it, the fog seemed to clear up, and she could see what
lay beneath the cragged rocks. It was the Amazon
Valley, its abundant trees forming a blanket of
foliage. Somewhere among it was the Point of Magic.
Perhaps it didn't exist, but it was said to be the
spot where magic was at its strongest.
Looking down at the tree-tops, she couldn't help
but shudder. She didn't know why, exactly. It wasn't
that the height intimidated her, but... She somehow
felt that something was wrong...
But she had other things to concern herself with.
The scroll.
She looked up, hoping to see it. It was there.
Not, she noticed absently, in the clouds, but it was
in the air, high above the valley. Perhaps it was
above the Point of Magic. That would certainly make
sense.
At the moment, however, reaching the scroll was
more important than guessing directly above which
point it was located. She studied the position of the
parchment. Everything just might work. If she were
to leap out to where it was suspended, grab it, and
then use the air manipulation technique to rebound
back to the cliff, she would be able to get the
scroll.
Shizuka closed her eyes, concentrating. She had to
focus all of her energy. It was extremely difficult
to manipulate one's ki in a way that it would treat
thin air as a solid object. And of course, she would
have to calculate the position of the scroll so that
she wouldn't lose a second inbetween catching it and
kicking off the space beneath it.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open. Something...with
the earth below her... A tremling, as if... Shizuka
tried desperately to leap away, but her legs wouldn't
obey her. It wasn't that she was frozen in fear, she
knew, but for some reason she couldn't move, and she
just stood in panic as the rocks crumbled beneath her.
Then she was falling, a scream--her own
scream--filling her ears as she descended into the
valley. She willed herself to twist and propel herself
off the fragments of stone around her, but her body
wouldn't move, and she merely watched as the jagged
rocks of the cliff pulled away from her until they
were consumed in the fog.
She looked at the ground below. The trees were
speeding toward her with frightening swiftness, closer
and closer. Finally, she plunged into the foliage,
the leaves and branches scratching her face. She shut
her eyes, awaiting to crash to the ground.
Unexpectedly, she hit water. The substance slowed her
fall, disrupting her equilibrium. Her face, her skin
were on fire, icy burns striking every pore of her
body... The harsh current pressed in on her lungs,
making it harder to breathe. Painstakingly, she
opened her eyes and tried to perceive where she was.
Her eyes stung and she could barely see, but she was
able to discern the darkness surrounding her. She was
encircled in thick, clouded water, and as she drifted
lower it became all the dimmer. Tendrils of ebony
laced around her face, obscuring her vision. Blacker
and blacker, the water curled about her. It was, she
commented in the back of her mind, beautiful in its
own strange way. Mysterious. Morbid. And acutely
frightening. Through the turbid, black veil, she
could see the traces of rocks rising from the
sea-floor, like tombstones in an underwater cemetery.
Her cemetery.
This was where she was going to die. The thought
filled her with despair. Everything--everything was
gone. She was supposed to live for decades more. She
was supposed to have an unforgettable membership in
the Council. She was supposed to fight for her tribe
in war, to defeat all its enemies. She was supposed
to have had a shrine dedicated to her upon her death,
where her people would pass and murmur a prayer in her
name. She was supposed to live on in the hearts of
the Josekisoku...
Instead, she would be forgotten, her name but a
shadow lingering over the minds of those who knew her,
a remorseful memory fading into the dark depths of
history as her body lay rotting at the bottom of the
sea.
She had wanted to make a difference in her tribe,
to know that she had been a worthy citizen, that she
helped the Josekisoku prosper. But above all...she
wanted to have been remembered after she died.
Now...now it had all been robbed of her. Her life,
her triumphs...erased by a single stroke...
Everything was growing blacker. Dimmer and dimmer,
mixing into a sheet of colorless darkness. The
undulating liquid lingered for a second, then
disappeared. And she couldn't have seen or felt the
tears that squeezed from her eyes, mixing into the
murky water that continued to dance in its obscure
pattern across the sand.
----------------------------
Shizuka's eyes blinked open. She groaned, trying
to focus on her surroundings. What had happened?
She had been drowning. Or at least, it had seemed
that way...
She was alive. Oh, by the gods, she was still
alive. She had been saved, and now she was in...a
strange room, with...
Shizuka gasped and bolted up from her prone
position. She readied herself for any need of attack.
Next to her, in a chair, sat a demon. He was
different from the akurei she had faced before; his
aspect beared no resemblance to them, but she could
have sensed his demonic aura from miles away. So
strong...
"Good," he said, smiling. "I see you are awake."
His voice seemed so...kind, so compassionate.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "And where am I?"
His smile deepened slightly. "You are in my abode.
It is in the Dimension of Magic. I'm sure you have
heard of it."
The Dimension of... Of course she had heard of it,
but only in myth and legend. To think that it
actually existed... "How did I get here?"
"I must change the dressing around your head," the
demon said, ignoring her question. He reached forward
and began to unwind the gauze binding her forehead.
Her first instinct was to block, to attack, but
something about him educed such trust that she merely
sat and watched him dumbly.
Finally, she tried again. "I asked, how did I get
here?"
He continued unwrapping the bandage in silence.
"Listen, I remember being at the mountain, falling,
and what I believed at the moment was drowning. This
was all in China. Now...how did I get from the bottom
of a sea to an inverse dimension?!"
Silence.
Shizuka sighed in frustration, but kept still. The
demon had finished unbinding the dressing, and was
applying an ointment to her wound. As he began
swathing her head again, she regarded him quietly. He
was a strange creature. He seemed elderly, civilized,
harmless, although she was sure he could have chosen
any from he wished. He was small, and didn't look
particularly powerful...but his eyes... They seemed
to hold the world within them.
The silence was becoming awkward in her ears.
"What happened to me?" she attempted delicately.
This time the demon turned to face her. "You had
suffered a severe blow to the head, as well as a
fractured wrist. You will be healed fully within a
matter of days."
"Why are you concerning yourself with me?"
He turned back and finished the dressing in
silence.
She stared at him for a moment longer before
sweeping aside her question. "Well, anyway, thank you
for helping me. My name is. . ."
"Shizuka. Correct?"
She looked at him suspiciously, but again the trust
won over. "Yes. And you are...?"
"Yasahari."
----------------------------
Later she would learn of the magic he had used on
her that day. Later she would learn to do it herself.
Over her years in the Dimension of Magic, she would
gain power greater than she had conceived possible.
She was a quick learner, and after her lessons were
over she would have magic to rival Yasahari's. She
could have had the world, had she wanted it. And she
did want it. She was, in a manner of speaking,
fighting for it. They all were. It was that one goal
that motivated her, and she could not have asked for
greater motivation.
It was enough that she hardly ever thought of...
But no. She was a Sorceress. She belonged in the
dimension where her skills would be effective.
Yasahari often told her that the magic had always been
within her. It had merely taken guidance for it to be
realized. And yet she sometimes wished he hadn't...
No, she couldn't complain. He had explained it all
from the beginning. And since then... He had trained
her. He had trained her in spells, had trained her in
incantations... Potions, amulets... Transformations,
conjurations, manipulations of every sort. He had
even trained her to forget. Oh, yes, he had taught
her well.
And now...now she would stay here forever. And she
really didn't mind, but...
She loved the Dimension of Magic, and she had
chosen to stay here, but she'd always remember how she
felt when she didn't go back to her tribe. The
homesickness, the grief, the complete loss of hope and
will and desire... It had all passed, and yet...she
couldn't stand to let it happen to anyone else.
And so, when she learned that the girl Akane was
coming to her castle for a spell, she was very
interested. Not because of what she implied, and not
because Yasahari had asked her to keep an eye out for
the girl, but because she couldn't help but draw
parallels between Akane and herself. Shizuka had
built herself a new life in Magic, but Akane...Akane
had a chance to get her old life back.
And some part of her, some small, important part of
her, wanted desperately to help. She would give her
the spell, and anything else she might need. She
would even have liked to send Akane directly to her
dimension, but she knew she couldn't. It wasn't a
possibility; there were certain lines that neither
she, nor Yashahari, for that matter, could cross, and
this was unfortunately one of them. But everything
else she would supply. It was, at the moment, all
that she could do.
----------------------------
Akane stopped at the gates and admired the castle.
It was impressive, but not in an extravagant way. The
gray stone was elegant but not inordinate, the carving
intricate without being excessive. The entire
structure seemed to be more inclined towards
practicality than beauty.
It wasn't until she had sufficiently studied the
structure that Akane realized that she was stalling.
Was she intimidated? Was she frightened of the
Sorceress because of her experience with Zangitokun?
Or was it a bit of both? The chief of the village she
had visited had told her that the Sorceress was no one
to be feared, and assured her that she had simply to
ask her for a spell to be granted it. Yet despite his
confidence, she could not imagine simply walking in
and demanding whatever she wished. What was she going
to say?
*Hello, my name is Akane Tendo. I need a spell to
cross the Chushin-no-Maho. It's that way, right?
Anyway, fork it over, I don't have much time.*
That would go over well. But still, her situation
was probably as bad as it was going to get. The worst
that could happen was her not receiving the spell, and
from what she had been told, this was an unlikely
possibility.
Akane straightened angrily. This was ridiculous.
She was wasting time, and in any case, nothing
ventured, nothing gained. She might as well just get
it over with.
With a final pause, Akane walked through the gate
and followed a small path to the entryway. She was
about to knock on the venerable wood when the doors
opened to reveal someone who could never for a second
have been anyone other than the Sorceress.
The woman was noticeably older than Akane, and
considerably taller. Her dark green hair swirled down
to her waist in curls, and a lock twisted in front of
each ear. Her eyes bordered on black with the
slightest traces of green, and displayed a fascinating
combination of interest and detachment. But what was
truly singular about her was her bearing. She did not
flaunt an arrogant pride or a false, over-drawn self
regard, but instead possessed an air of unpretentious
confidence. She seemed, indeed, to radiate of a
natural power, almost unconscious in its simplicity.
Then the woman smiled, a cordial, relieved smile,
as if Akane was a guest she had long awaited, who came
exactly at the expected time, yet still late enough to
begin to wear on the host's patience. She almost
seemed as if she anticipated her arrival.
It occured to Akane that she maybe had. Struggling
to bring herself out of her startled stupor, she began
to introduce herself. "Hi. Um, my name is. . ."
"Akane, correct?" The woman smiled strangely. "I
am Shizuka. Please come in."
----------------------------
Nabiki looked up from her reading at the sound of
her name. The others were shuffling out of the
library, and Ranma was motioning her table to follow.
Lunch. She nodded back to him and wiped her eyes
lazily. It was about time for a break. She stood
from her chair and stretched. "Cologne, Keita, let's
go eat."
The former looked at her momentarily and then made
her way to the door. The latter shook his head and
waved her away absently. Nabiki frowned, decided to
overlook the personal insult, and walked over to him.
"Let's go, Prince Charming, you can take a little time
off."
"You go ahead," he murmered, continuing his
reading. "I'm in the middle of something."
"You've been in the middle of it for days. Come
on. How can you gather your power if you don't have
any strength?"
"Nabiki, this situation is intimidating. I need to
keep focused." He still didn't look up.
She felt pity then. Somehow, burrowed in his book,
he seemed suddenly feeble. Powerless, in some way,
weak. This wouldn't do. The words that came to her
mind were alien to her, and they stripped her of her
perpetual guard, but she plunged ahead despite her
feelings of hesitation. This felt like the
appropriate moment. "C'mon, Keita," she said softly,
gently touching his shoulder, "you have to eat."
He turned to look at her in surprise. The moment
was past. "Keita, come eat or I'll stuff the food
down your throat myself."
He smiled and pushed himself to his feet. "All
right. Let's go, Biki."
Side by side, they walked out the door.
"Keita?"
"Um?"
"Don't call me �Biki.'"
"Sure."
----------------------------
The inhabitants of Keita's castle were gathered in
the dining room, duly consuming the food on the table.
The silence hung inside the walls, interrupted only
by the occasional click of glass against wood, until
the forceful thud of Ryoga's bowl against the counter
prompted everyone's eyes to turn to him. "I want to
go look for Akane."
There was a long pause. "Why?" Keita finally
asked.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A good one," Nabiki replied. "Why do you?"
"I. . .want to find her because its the right thing
to do, and Ranma here is not up to it."
"Hey!" Ranma jumped to his feet. "I --"
"Quiet!" Nabiki yelled. "Let's settle this now and
not bring it up later. Ryoga, what do you know about
my sister? Anything you can think of?"
"Yes. She likes martial arts. She's kind. She's
determined and fair. She's sweet. She likes to cook.
She's trusting. Enough?"
"Enough to know you won't find her. Ryoga, that's
not enough. You don't know Akane. You know some
basic characteristics, the most shallow traits you
could find, and some of them aren't even exactly
accurate. It's the same with almost everybody here.
I look around, and I can think of three people with a
chance of finding Akane. Me, maybe. But I wouldn't
last on my own in some strange land where anything can
happen. Keita, maybe. But we need him here, and I'm
not sure, in any case. Ranma, probably. He has a
good chance. The best we can hope for."
"That another thing," Shampoo said. "Why you think
Airen can find Akane? What �connection' you think
they have?"
"Ranma is Akane's fiancee," Nabiki answered.
"They've been through a lot together, or they've been
forced into it, anyway, and I believe he has a good
idea of what to look for. And one more thing -- and
don't even think of contradicting me on this, Ranma --
: he cares. A lot."
"No be stupid. You said self Ranma forced into
engagement. He no care for tomboy. When all over,
Ranma come back to Josetsuzoku with --"
Shampoo left off at the pronounced snap. Throwing
down her chopsticks in four pieces, Ukyo leapt to her
feet. "Give it up already, will you?! Get over it!
Ranma doesn't love you! He won't marry you! Ever!"
The Amazon rose to the level of the okanomiyaki
chef. "What, you think he marry you? You such
hypocrite. You can no see? Ranma does not love you."
"I know that, dammit! You're the only one left
under that illusion." There was a pause. Heavily,
Ukyo turned and stalked out of the room.
Several seconds passed quietly, and then Shampoo
delicately walked to and disappeared behind the doors.
In a minute, the coalescing whisper of tentative
conversation filled the room, and the inaudible creak
of the chair and retreating footsteps were tactfully
ignored.
----------------------------
Mousse slipped into the dojo, and looked at
Shampoo's hunched form on the floor. His heart nearly
drowned in tenderness at her sight, as it always had.
He yearned to reach out to her, to touch her shoulder,
to take her hand, to look into her eyes and see
anything but contempt and anger. But he resisted his
impulses. They weren't needed at this time.
I love you. You hate me, but I love you. You
scorn me, you deride me, you ridicule me, but I love
you. You have done everything that borders on the
edge of human decency to me, but I love you still, and
my love grows with each agonizing word that falls so
carelessly from your lips. And I love you enough to
know that you love another, and that you are in pain
from your own love, and that you do not need my love
right now.
And with a sign, he stepped to Shampoo, and softly
lay a hand on her small shoulder. He felt her
stiffen, but then, to his surprise, she relaxed, and
sat unmoving as he dropped to the floor beside her.
He expected at first for her to turn on him, to yell,
or at least demand why he was bothering her, yet she
seemed content to stare ahead into the smooth, wooden
walls. Finally he spoke, for the first time since he
left the tribe letting fluent Chinese syllables
replace his blocky Japanese. "I watched you, when you
came back. More intensely than I ever had before."
He paused and waited for her outraged response, but
when she didn't show any reaction, he continued. "You
can't know how much it hurt me to see you in disgrace,
and so miserable, because of the failure of your
mission; and how you were so infatuated and at the
same time so enraged at this Japanese man who had
ruined your life. The rumors spread so quickly in the
village. . . Nobody believed them, and they died out
so very soon, but I always knew they were true. I
wanted seek him out and kill him, perhaps for more
reasons than one, but the Matriarch wouldn't let me.
She said. . . she said that he was worthy of your
hand. Unlike me. It almost destroyed me, to think
that the foreigner who had caused you so much grief
would one day marry you. And she told me. . .never to
remind anyone of the rumors, and never to mention him
to the villagers. She had already assured the tribe
that there was indeed no man; only a girl who had been
too strong for you to defeat. Everyone believed her.
I don't know why she said that. Maybe she somehow
knew that he. . ." Mousse faded out in mid sentence,
and briefly studied Shampoo's face before starting
again. "To this day, it amazes me how they couldn't
see it. It was so obvious. . . You didn't mean to
show it, but your emotions shone through so clearly,
to me. I observed you each day, and I knew that you
were going back. I just didn't know when. I wanted
to follow you, when you left, so I tried to look for
any signs of your approaching departure, but you
didn't reveal any. And then, one day, I woke up, and
you were gone. I was so. . .devastated. That same
day, I took my belongings and left the village. I
tried to find your path, and it wasn't easy, I'll give
you that. Yet finally, I found the port you left
through, and hid away in a ship heading for Japan.
And then. . ." He shrugged. "You know what happened
next. I found Ranma."
Shampoo sighed with a slight frown, but she sounded
more tired than angry. "What was point of story,
Mousse?"
He noted her refusal to speak in Chinese, but he
remained adamnant. "The point was, Shampoo, that all
Ranma has ever brought you is misery. I wasn't
following you out of jealousy alone; I wished to
destroy the soure of your unhappiness. But you
wouldn't let me. You feed off it, in some strange
way, but soon it will eat you up. You haven't been
happy once since you came back to the tribe. Shampoo,
I know how much you despise me, but I care about you.
Everything I say right now if for your benefit, not
mine, and it is purely objectional. Please listen."
Shampoo snarled in indignation, and raised her
shaking fist. How dare Mousse say such things to her?
How dare he say anything to her? He wasn't her
family, he wasn't her friend, he--
Suddenly she let her hand hand fall to her lap, as
the realization forced its way upon her. It was so
ironical, so very ironical, and so obvious that she
couldn't help laughing.
"What is it, Shampoo? What's the matter?"
Swiftly, she twisted to face him and took his hand
into hers. "Because, Mousse," she replied in
Cantonese, ignoring his shocked expression, "because
despite everything that has happened between us,
despite all that may say otherwise, you are the best
friend I have in this world." It was true. What he
had said was true. He had always cared for her,
recklessly and unconditionally, more than anyone else
ever had. Her great-grandmother was more concerned
about the welfare of the tribe and the prestige of the
Council than about her. Her Amazon sisters had
respected her, certainly, and admired her techniques,
but they had never held true affection for her.
Mousse had loved her for herself, from the very
beginning, and his feelings had withstood her past
cruelty. She had never appreciated, had never even
seen it, before.
And gently, she tightened her grasp on his hand,
and leaned forward. "I do not love you, Mousse, and I
never will. I'm sorry. But your friendship I accept,
and will try to return. I hope it will be enough,
because it is all I can give you." And slowly, she put
her hands on his shoulders and drew him to her, until
her lips touched his forehead. The Kiss of
Friendship. Then she rose and strode out of the room.
And Mousse remained gazing ahead, unchanged from
his kneeling position except for the tears which ran
silently down his cheeks.
----------------------------
"Here is the scroll. It is simple hiragana; you
will have no trouble reading it." The Sorceress
pressed a roll of parchment into Akane's hands. "And
here is the tuned compass. Do you see the needle? It
will always point toward the Chushin-no-Maho. Follow
its lead, and you will have no problems."
Akane looked at the two objects in her hands
briefly before nodding and packing them into the sack
Shizuka had given her. "Thank you." She paused
momentarily. "How should I focus the spell to my
destination?"
"Do not worry about it. The specific spell I gave
you is set to transport you back to the previous
dimension you were in. You did say you wished to be
sent to your last dimension, did you not?"
"Yes, that's right."
"It will soon be dark. Would you like to stay
overnight?"
Akane looked out the window. The sun was already
low in the sky. "Umm, I'm sorry, no. I'd like to
make some progress to the forest today. I don't think
I have any time to waste. I have to go."
"Of course." Shizuka led her to the front door.
"The best of luck to you."
"Thank you for everything."
"It was nothing. Only be careful."
"I will. Again, thank you very much." With a bow
of gratitude, Akane walked out to the gates and unto
the path. Behind her, she heard the door close
quietly.
She had the spell. Everything was falling into
place. All she had left to do was walk to the
Chushin, and everything would be over. Several days
more, and she would see Ranma. Several days more, and
she would be home.
It couldn't be this simple, could it?
----------------------------
"It is here." Cologne sighed and, suppressing a
relieved laugh, turned to face the others in the room.
"You found it?" Nabiki demanded. "You found where
Akane is?"
Everyone broke away from their work and crowded
happily around the old Matriarch.
"In a manner of speaking. It is all in this book.
�In the event that a transdimensional crossing is
activated without focus or direction, the subject of
the spell is then sent to the closest of the cardinal
planes.'"
"�The closest of the cardinal planes. . .'" Keita
echoed. "And taking into consideration the location
this dimension, that would mean that. . .she's in the
dimension of Magic."
"You are positive," Cologne queried.
"Of course. The cardinal dimension are Science and
Magic, as I had said earlier, and we should be closer
to the latter."
"That's great," Ranma exclaimed. "Now we can just
go there and get Akane back. At last. . ."
"I would have to recommend," Cologne said, "Sending
only one or two of us at the moment. We need to
organize ourselves and prepare supplies."
"That's true," Keita agreed. "I suppose we should
at first send Ranma and. . ."
"That's all right. I'll go by myself. You guys
just get the spells and everything we'll need as fast
as you can. I'll find her, in the meanwhile."
"But, Keita," Ukyo asked, "Did you gather enough
power?"
Keita frowned. "That's another point. I doubt
that I have the strength needed to send all of us out
right now. Just Ranma won't be a problem, but I'll
still need a day or two before I can manage all the
rest."
"That's fine," Ranma remarked. "I'll be okay for
two days, no prob. But can you give me something to
help find Akane or something?"
"Sure. It's. . ."
"Here." Kuno stepped forward and placed a tome on
the table. "I haven't been reading through this
library for nothing, I assure you."
"Thanks, Kuno," Ranma said.
Kuno flashed him an angry glare. "Just be certain
to find her, Saotome."
"Take this, then." Keita tore out a page and
handed it to Ranma. "Do want a little time to gather
your. . ."
"No. Just send me now."
"I have to warn you: this might be a bit tough on
you. The shield might create problems."
"I can handle it."
Keita nodded and began the spell.
----------------------------
Ranma heard Keita's faint whispering and tried to
focus his concentration on the spell he had been
given. He couldn't afford for it to be lost, as his
previous supplies had been.
And then he couldn't concentrate at all. The only
thing that he was aware of was the tearing pain, the
mindless agony as he was caught in the battle of two
opposing forces.
And then one of the forces gave away, and the other
flowed over him.
Ranma's feet hit the earth suddenly. He caught a
brief glimse of the blue sky, and then the green
leaves, and then the yellow grass, and then his head
hit the ground and everything was black.
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com