=-=-=-=-=
Kami-sama's Office
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The Lord of the Oni spirits barged his way past the announcing angel.
"KAMI-SAMA!!! What is going on here? Why has my righteous retribution
against the Saotome line been interfered in?"
Kami-sama turned to face him, a wide smile on his face. "No retributive
curse may last forever, son. Observe."
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Goddess Relief Office, earlier.
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Urd, happy at being allowed off Midgard (even though it meant she had to go
back to work), reached over for the Relief office phone a moment before it
began to ring. On the second ring (mortals get a bit disconcerted if the
phone was answered in the middle of the first ring), she picked it up.
"Goddess Relief Office. I'll be there to consult on your request
momentarily, MissTendo."
A second later, she stepped out of a small portable television on the
kitchen counter of the Tendo home. The Client had her back turned toward
the TV, so she was able to restore her rightful proportions in a small puff
of magic. "Hi, you lucky girl! Why don't you put the phone down, and let's
talk about how I can help you." The Client straightened, surprised, then
turned to face Urd.
The first sounds out of the domestically dressed young woman's mouth nearly
caused Urd to do something embarassing... She nearly treated a mortal like
her SISTER. "Excuse me? I'm sure you're in the wrong home, miss..." The
resemblance to Belldandy's voice and mannerisms were uncanny.
"Kasumi Tendo, eldest daughter of Soun and Hanako Tendo, right?" The other
girl nodded, hanging up the phone rather absently. "I am Urd, Goddess
Second Class, Limited, and representative of the Goddess Relief Office. I
am here, quite simply, to grant you a single wish of your own choosing,
because you have been found to be a deserving mortal." At this, Urd flexed
her power just a touch, and pulled the chair from by the table to nudge
gently at Kasumi's knees.
"Anoo, Megami-sama? How could I have been found deserving of such an
honor? I'm just a girl. Could I perhaps give the wish to someone who needs
it more than I?" Thoughts of her father, sisters, friends, and even
houseguests went through Kasumi's mind as she sat down slowly, looking at
the spectacular young woman, correct that, Goddess, standing before her.
Urd smiled, feeling even more as though she were talking to Belldandy.
"No, though the thought for another IS very nice of you. Sometimes, Father
chooses to reward mortals of rare character with wishes, knowing that the
people He rewards are good, honorable people. For just one moment, He gives
those people the power to truly change the world in a fundamental way. In
your hands, Kasumi, for just a little while, is power sufficient to destroy
the entire world. Treat it carefully."
"Oh, MY!" Kasumi brought a hand to her cheek, discovering that she could
still feel her face, even though shock was making the world seem like a very
quiet, distant place. "It's a frightful responsibility, isn't it? What
SHOULD I do?" Thoughts of escaping the insanity of her father's home leapt
to mind, and she supressed them ruthlessly. 'I'm a GOOD girl. I mustn't be
selfish.' Thoughts of the people around her came to mind, and true to her
nature, she decided to try to help one of them.
In Asgard, Kami-sami smiled at the narrowing futures. So many conflicts
disappeared that could have escalated, usually through odd coincidences and
bad luck, into true manaces to the karma of his children. Every time Kasumi
rejected a possible wish, sheafes of possibilities closed, and yet others
opened. Some of them dark, though surprisingly few. Some of them so bright
with karma that even He was tempted to push for them, though he resisted.
'I think Genma deserves most of his problems. He's caused so many for
others... With Genma-ojiisan around, Father is doing more than since before
mother died. Nabiki... She seems so selfish so often. How could I help
her? Should I? Would she still be the same person if I changed something
so basic about her? No, and I don't think changing her would be right, even
if it WAS going to turn out right. Akane's anger, perhaps? She angers so
easily. Perhaps her impatience? That would help with so many other things
for her... But wouldn't it be better for her to learn patience, and have
the other skills come naturally?'
Kami-sama smiled, watching the young girl consider so much of the insanity
around her, and how she might help those around her, without changing too
much about them. She would make a good choice. Probably not the best
choice, but certainly a good one.
Urd watched Kasumi, reflecting surprisedly at shared mannerisms between her
Client and her sister. Apparently unconsciously, Kasumi had picked up a
mixing bowl, and began preparing a meal, humming as she thought. As tempted
as she was to hurry the Wish, she had learned before not to rush a person
who was thinking intensely with that much power. The last time she had, her
Client had wished for the war to end swiftly, with the least loss of life on
both sides. Before that summer had reached its height, the Americans had
dropped bombs on two more Japanese cities, destroying them utterly. The
memory sometimes drove Urd to her alternate power source, in fond grief for
the young girl from Nagasaki. The girl didn't mind that she had died young,
once Kami-sama had shown her the possibilities that her wish had averted.
Kasumi poured the batter into a pan, still thinking. 'And what about Ranma?
So many things are centered on him, and he's really not to blame for most of
them. He cares for all of the girls, but I'm sure that Akane is deepest in
his heart. Perhaps if his curse were gone, they'd be able to take control
of their fate? Yes, this is the way to go.' She turned toward the
goddess, noticing with some surprise the small tear on her exotically dark
cheek. "Megami-sama. I'm ready."
Urd blinked, then noticing the tear, wiped it away. "Speak your wish, and
it will happen, Kasumi-chan."
Kasumi thought for just a moment longer, deciding how to phrase the wish,
then took a breath and spoke. "I wish for Ranma's curse to be lifted, never
to return."
Urd straightened violently, her hair whipping through the air as her head
snapped back. From her forehead burst the beam of Gods'fire, conveying the
wish to the Ultimate Force.
When her feet settled back to the floor, she turned to Kasumi. "Your wish
is approOOF!" A far brighter flash of Gods'fire struck the floor before
her, a plaque forming in an instant. Scrambling to see it clearly, her face
went pale. "May I use your phone, please?"
Kasumi, seeing only the glint of a sunbeam off the texture on a tile,
nodded.
Urd leapt for the phone and called Belldandy at the temple. "Bell-chan,
can you give me a conference call to Father, please?"
"Why don't you just call him from where you are, Onee-chan?"
"The message said that we both need to talk to him."
"Hai. I'll understand. The Wish you just granted. Something is keeping
it from the System? I need to talk to Father. He is expecting me." The
angel willed the call through, satisfied that Belldandy would have excellent
reason to talk to Her Father. "Father, what can we do?"
After a short conversation in Olde Norse, the decision was made. Once the
phone was hung up, Belldandy touched a mirror, stepping through into the
entry of the Tendo home. "Excuse me, please!"
"In here, sis!"
Once Belldandy and Kasumi had been introduced, much to the astonishment of
both, the matter of the wish was addressed. "Kasumi-san, there is a problem
with your wish. The Ultimate force is claiming there is a conflict in
resolution. We are going to need your help to end the conflict."
"Must I give up the wish? Ranma will be SO disappointed..." It didn't
seem to occur to Kasumi that she could have seized the chance to make the
wish for herself when there was a conflict with her wishing for another.
"No, it's something a little stranger than that, Kasumi. You see, the
little stud has more than one curse." Urd leaned forward in a way that
Happousai would have cut off a finger to see again, pointing at the message
that Kami-sama had sent back once the wish was completed. Before Kasumi's
eyes, it appeared that an old scroll unrolled from the floor to hang before
her eyes, "You see here, Ranma's great-great-grandfather was a truly evil
man, angering even the spirits of the Oni. While he was evil, he was also
largely guarded against revenge, but they managed to plant what seemed like
a harmless curse on the man. The curse did the man himself no evil, so he
thought it had failed to take. He was wrong. The basic curse is on the
sons of his blood, that every generation will gain a curse."
"Then Ranma's changing to a girl is because of THAT curse, right?" A look
of dawning comprehension lit Kasumi's features.
"No. The Jusenkyo curse is just the result of Genma's poor judgements.
Ranma's great-grandfather was the first male of the line to receive a curse
that affected him. His was the curse of arrogance. His arrogance drew such
anger from his lord that he was set down from his position, that he became
only a warrior, rather than a lord himself," Belldandy corrected. "Genma's
father gained in HIS generation the curse of misunderstanding. Genma,
before he met his wife, had, in his studying under the perverted master,
Happosai, acquired the curse of conflict. Ranma's is the curse of
attractiveness."
"Poor Ranma, having three curses like that."
After picking herself up from the floor, where she had fallen in her
surprise, Urd asked, "How do you get three curses out of that, Kasumi?"
"Well, there's the curse to pick up a curse, right?" The goddesses nodded.
"Then there's the Jusenkyo curse, and the curse of attractiveness. That's
three."
Belldandy shook her head sadly, "We didn't explain it well enough, then.
When a man in the Saotome family picks up a curse of character, that curse
will be inherited by ALL generations of the men in that family. Ranma has
SIX curses. The curse of Curses, the curse of Arrogance, the curse of
Misunderstanding, the curse of Conflict, the curse of Attractiveness, and
the Jusenkyo curse. Unfortunately, your wish was that Ranma's curse,
singular, be removed. With the existence of a complex array of curses like
his, the Ultimate Force would have to choose, and being unable to displease
the Wielder of a wish, has halted a number of critical processes in
Yggdrasil until the conflict is resolved. Kasumi, as the wisher, yours is
the choice as to which curse is to be lifted."
In his office, Kami-sama's attention on a room in Nerima increased
significantly.
Kasumi thought deeply on some of the old tales of magic, taking long enough
to make some tea and offer it to her divine guests before making her
decision. "Urd-sama, Belldandy-sama, do I need to restate the wish?" When
the goddesses both nodded, Belldandy smiling, Kasumi spoke again. "I wish
that Ranma's Curse of Conflict would be no more, never to bother him or his
children again."
Urd and Belldandy floated from the floor as one, whirling in to a position
back to back before both of their heads snapped back in the same motion,
their light hairs intermingling as Gods'fire erupted frm their markings to
form a double helix of fire reaching up to the heavens. This time Kasumi
SAW the lights of God'sfire, as well as the other magical effects. With an
audible snap, followed by a crushing silence, the fiery helix extinguished
itself, dropping both goddesses hard onto the tiled floor. "Megami-sama,
that was so PRETTY, but does magic always have to leave such a mess? I
thought miracles would be neater."
As one, Belldandy and Urd looked sharply at Kasumi, then at each other. In
unison, the words "Oh, MY." came from both of their mouths.
Belldandy looked around her, seeing the shattered china, the broken glass
and twisted utensils, then turned back to Urd, "Onee-chan, when you get to
the temple, could you have Keiichi come get me with his motorcycle? I'm
certain that I'll be too tired to use the mirror, and I really must get home
tonight. I'm going to help Kasumi-san restore her home to the way it should
be."
=-=-=-=-=
Later
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The Lord of the Oni spirits barged his way past the announcing angel.
"KAMI-SAMA!!! What is going on here? Why has my righteous retribution
against the Saotome line been interfered in?"
Kami-sama turned to face him, a wide smile on his face. "No retributive
curse may last forever, son. Observe."
Watching the events, the Oni fumed, "You ARRANGED for her to do that! You
manipulated her and violated the Free Will Agreements!"
"Nonsense. Her wish came solely from her gentle, generous soul. The
resulting stoppage in the Ultimate Force was real. At no time was she GIVEN
the answer on how to cause your curse to unravel. That she did herself.
Look." Kami-sama unfolded in his son's mind the knowledge of all that
Kasumi knew, thought, felt, dreamed and WAS, showing the truth of his
statements.
The Oni began to scream, clawing deep gashes into his own scalp, "GET HER
OUT OF ME! She BURNS me!" With a gesture, Kami-sama withdrew the full
knowledge of Kasumi from his son's mind, leaving only enough that his son
had to admit his truth. "What happens to my retribution, Father?"
"The substance of your curse was that ALL curses accumulated by the males
of the Saotome blood would be visited on each successive generation, only
accumulating in number. Genma's Jusenkyo curse would also have to be
inherited by Ranma, who has his own curse, of a completely different form,
and no person can be twice cursed by Jusenkyo. This itself was the first
weakening of your curse. The wish spoken truly breaks your curse several
ways. First in that it was an unselfish use of magic by a mortal. Since
they have magic so seldom, their uses over-ride even those of demons, youma,
devils, and angels, much less the magics worked by a spirit, even so lofty a
lord as yourself." The Oni lord choked on his words, realizing the futility
of protesting sarcasm and condescension from his Father.
"Second, when she reduced the number of curses, she broke your curse. Your
curse was that curses could ONLY accumulate. His curses now number one less
than before, and the curse of conflict is forbidden from returning. Also,
with the lessening of conflict around Ranma, his karma can begin to
stabilise. With a more balanced karma, curses will be less inclined to seek
him. Now, he'll be able to solve things peacefully, if he thinks of it."
"And what of the other curses? Do they all end with Ranma?"
"No. His ancestor poisoned the karma of his line so thoroughly that his
line has yet to attone. However, now the curses will be fewer with each
generation. Ranma is the midpoint. In five generations, perhaps fewer, the
karmic debt will be redressed. It all depends on how Ranma and his children
behave."
"Father, why did she choose THAT curse to break? I knew, but the knowledge
of HER was so painful to me..."
"She did it to bring peace. It's what she does. I expect great things of
her. She is thoughtful and perceptive. Go, my son. Your vengeance
proceeds still, but it will end some day. And rejoice. Each generation
lives longer than the one before. The line will likely still be cursed for
a couple more centuries."