The Cryptkeeper : The Hand of Goddess PT I
by Michael �Ranma13� Cerda

Revised 5/31/02

I do not take credit for the Ranma 1/2 characters. 
They are owned and created by the goddess Rumiko
Takahashi.  The rights go to her and Viz 
communication.  This is my own story and in no way
express how Rumiko wanted her story to go.  With this
at mind, enjoy.

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

Sitting down in his favorite chair, he looked over at
the cherry wood stand next to him.  The day�s mail was
lying on the silver platter.  Scanning it over one
envelope grabbed his attention.  Picking up the
envelope, he took the silver letter opener from the
stand.  Opening the envelope with it, he carefully
removed the letter.  Reading the letter over, his eyes
grew wide.  Quickly looking up at the grandfather
clock in front of him and back down at the envelope.  

�Jesus, You have to be kidding me.  Jonah!!�

Walking through the double doors, a fairly tall
gentleman dressed in a tuxedo bows, �Yes sir,�

�Will you quit calling me sir.  I�m twenty years
younger than you.�

�Of course, Mr. Saotome,�

Rolling his eyes, �Can you get four rooms ready, we�ll
be expecting guests soon.�

�Of course, when will they be arriving.�

Looking at the clock, �From what the letter says
within the hour.�

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

It�s late afternoon, everybody in the street stopped
and stared at the commotion coming from the four
people walking down the street. 

�THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!�

Waving his hands, �It�s not my fault.  I didn�t know
what the place was.�

�That�s right it�s not your fault daddy that you
couldn�t read Chinese.�

Nodding his head, �That�s right.�  Thinking about what
he just said.  �Wait!  That�s not what I meant.� 
Waving his hands frantically.

�Oh dear�

�AARRGGHH, I�m not going.  I have to go and find a
cure.�

Placing a hand on her shoulder,  �Now Akane that�s not
the way to talk to father.�

�Humph,� crossing her arms, �Fine, but the first
chance I get I�m going to find a cure.�

Walking in silence for ten more minutes, they stop in
front of an enormous gate.  Taking out a piece of
paper, he looked up at the numbers on the gate.  �This
must be the place.�

�Daddy you didn�t say this friend of yours was
loaded,�

�Well when his parents died, he inherited the family
fortune from his mothers side.�  Looking past the gate
into the vast courtyard.  They were in awe of the
enormous mansions that sat out in the distance.

Kasumi and Nabiki continued to stare, as Akane seemed
unimpressed.  �Hmph, yeah he maybe rich, but I bet he
isn�t as good of a martial artist than I am.�

�Genma said that his son showed great promise.  I
don�t know if he kept up with the art.�  Looking
around, �where should I ring the doorbell.�

Nabiki tapped on her fathers shoulder, �I think he
already knows we�re here.�  Pointing at a camera, �Why
don�t you go to the intercom over there,� Pointing to
the speaker next to the gate.

Walking over Soun pressed the red button, �Hello?�

�Yes sir.  What may I do for you today?�

Scratching the back of his head, �Uh yeah.  Can you
tell Ranma Saotome it�s the Tendos to see him.�

�One moment.�

Almost immediately the gates opened.  The four looked
at each other and walked inside the estates.  They
strolled down the road that led to the mansion.  They
were in awe of the beautifully landscaped courtyard. 
Just looking at it gave them a sense of calmness. 
They approached the stairs that led to the main doors.
 As they neared, the doors swung open.  Standing just
inside was a young man.  He was dressed in a business
suit.  His hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

Bowing, �Greetings, I�m Ranma Saotome.  I�m very
pleased to meet you again.�

Nabiki was nearly knocked off of her feet.  The person
standing in front of her was absolutely gorgeous.  His
suit fit snug to his body, showing his muscular
physique.

Kasumi was equally impressed, she saw a man of
maturity beyond his years.  What she noticed the most
was his eyes.  They were a gorgeous shade of blue.  It
was as if they were gazing right through her.

Akane wasn�t very impressed, �Showoff�

Soun ran up and hugged Ranma, �Ranma my boy, it�s been
too long.�

Ranma was struggling against the vice like grips, �Uh,
Mr. Tendo.  I�can�t�breathe.�

�Daddy, I think that he�s not suppose to turn blue.�

Letting Ranma go Soun composed himself.  �Yes, of
course.  Excuse me.�  Coughing, �Let me introduce you
to my three daughters; Kasumi, age nineteen, Nabiki�s
seventeen and finally Akane who�s sixteen.�

�Nice to meet you,� as he bowed, �Jonah,�

Jonah comes behind Ranma, �Yes,�

�Could you take their belongings into their rooms.�

�Yes sir,� as he grabbed the bags and took them
upstairs.

Nabiki watched as the man took their bags.  Watching
up go upstairs, he was fairly tall with short black
hair and a small mustache.  For what she could tell he
was physically built.  He reminded her of somebody who
would play American football.  �He�s not from Japan is
he?�

Ranma nodded, �No he�s not, Jonah�s from the United
States, California to be exact.�  Glancing at the
three Tendo daughters, each one was unique in their
own way.  Akane, the youngest daughter and the one
closest to his, she seemed nice enough.  Nabiki was
gorgeous, she had something that exuded sex.  There
was something that put him off about her, he couldn�t
put his finger on it.  The oldest daughter had a
something about her, she almost commanded peace and
serenity around her.  Just being near her evolved a
sense of peace within him.  Behind that gentle smile
of hers, he could see a great power just beckoning to
be unleashed.  Ranma definitely thought the Tendo
daughters were very attractive.  Smiling to the four,
�Welcome to my home.  Let me show you around.�

Holding the door open, the Tendos stepped inside the
mansion.  They looked around as they saw the ceiling
stretching thirty feet.  A chandelier hung above their
heads.  The area was white, with black and white
marble flooring.  Against the back wall stood huge
Samurai in full armor.  Motioning them to the right
they walked to a pair of double doors.  

Opening the door and ushering them in, �Welcome to my
library.�

The Tendos stepped into the room as their eyes bulged
out of their sockets.  Their mouths dropped to the
floor.  The entire room was done in the old English
wood.  At the farend form where they were standing was
a huge fireplace where a great fire was blazing.  The
most impressive sight for them was the bookshelves
that lined the walls.  Books filled every shelf from
floor to roof.  Turning around there were books above
the doorway.

�Please feel free to sue the library whenever you
want.  I have books in all topics and subject matter. 
I just have one rule, please be respectful.  I do a
lot of work in here that requires great
concentration.�  Waiting for everyone to nod his or
her heads, �Now follow me please.�

Leading them left of the library, Ranma opened a door
as each one of the Tendos proceeded ahead.  Entering
the room and closing the door behind him.  �This is my
dining room.  As you can see I chose comfort over
extravagance.  The dining room is the one place I like
to feel comfortable.�

Soun was impressed, the dining table was about two
feet high and measured roughly eight feet long.  It
was finished in black lacquer.  Lying on the ground
around the table were silk pillows.  �Very nice
Ranma.�

�Thank-you Mr. Tendo.  Over there,� pointing to the
far right corner of the room.  �That�s the kitchen.�

Kasumi�s eyes brightened up; �May we see the kitchen.�

Shrugging his shoulders, �Sure�

Walking down the dining room and around the table. 
They followed Ranma down the hall that led to the
kitchen.  Kasumi wasn�t prepared, she was expecting a
nice cozy kitchen.  What she saw was a huge restaurant
kitchen.  A couple of commercial stoves were against
the back wall.  Large mixers sat against another.  The
freezer looked like her kitchen at home.  The kitchen
looked very intimidating.

�As you can see, if you like to cook.�  Motioning his
hand across the kitchen.  �This kitchen is equipped
for anything and everything you would need.  A walk in
pantry, meat locker, and industrial size fridge is at
your disposal.�

�Great, I love to cook.�  Soun, Nabiki and Kasumi fell
over in shock.  Akane just scowled at her family.  She
knew what the problem was.  She was working with
shotty equipment.  With Ranma�s kitchen at her
disposal she would be able to cook feasts.  Looking
down at her family, �My cooking is not that Bad!�

�Mr. Saotome great to see you.�

�Mr. Morimoto-san, It�s wonderful for you to be back.�
 As he bowed.

�Hai, I decided to come by and practice a bit.�

�Great! Remember my kitchen is your kitchen.  Let me
introduce you to my guests.  This is the Tendo�s;
Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane.  They will be staying
with me for a few days.�

�Wonderful, I shall prepare a special dinner in their
honor.  I should be getting back, I have a sauce on.�

�You have match today?�

�Maybe, the odds looks that he will be picking me.�

�Well, good luck.  I will not keep you longer.�

�Nice to meet you all.�  Mr. Morimoto went back to the
stove.

Nabiki leaned over to Kasumi, whispering.  �Is that
who I think it is?�

�I think?�

Ranma turned around, �well let�s show you the rest of
the house.�  He led them out of the kitchen and back
into the dining room.  Leading them into another
hallway that lined the back of the house.  The one
side of the hallway was lined with windows with a door
in the middle.  The hallway had a great view of the
back of the house showing the gorgeous back courtyard.
 Ranma stopped in front of the door as he opened it. 
�This is the back of my home.�  Pointing to the right.
 �There�s the pool along with a little bathhouse.�

�Wow,� Nabiki couldn�t believe the size of the pool,
it looked like a lagoon.  The waterfall was flowing
along the rocks.

Pointing to a fairly large building to the left,
�That�s my dojo and training facility.�

Akane�s mouth dropped, she�s never seen a dojo so big.
 Six of her families� dojo could have fit easily into
the building.  �Can we take a look?�

Ranma saw the gleam in her eyes, �Why don�t I show you
the rest of the house.  After you unpacked you can
look around at your leisure.�  Akane�s face dropped,
disappointed.

�With such a big dojo do you own your own school?�

�No, I only use the dojo for training.�  Looking out
at the dojo, �it was my father�s idea for me to become
the greatest martial artist in the world.  He wanted
the school to grow and to be carried on for
generations to come.  His last request was to continue
the Anything Goes School.�  Snapping himself back,
�Pardon my reminiscing, Let me show you the rest of
the house.�

Nabiki and Kasumi felt the pain coming from Ranma. 
They watched as he walked down the hallway.  Slowly
they started to follow behind.  

He showed them the rest of the house, finally ending
where they began.  �I�m sure your all tired,� Jonah
came into the room, �Jonah will escort you to your
rooms.  Feel free to freshen up and look around some
more.�

Coughing, �Uh, Ranma my boy.  Can I talk to you in
private?�

�Of course Mr. Tendo.�  Turning to Jonah, �Could you
see them to their rooms.�

�Of course sir.�

Ranma cringed, �Right this way Mr. Tendo.�  Ranma led
Soun to the Library.

Akane watched as the doors closed behind them, �What
was that all about?�

Nabiki was very suspicious, �I don�t know�

�Let�s not get dwell,� Kasumi knew better though. 
There was a reason for visiting Ranma, she just hoped
it wasn�t what she thought it was.

�If you ladies follow me please,� The three girls
turned and followed Jonah up the stairs.

~~*~~

�Would you like anything to drink?�

�No thank you,�

Motioning to a chair, �Please sit down.�

Soun sat in the chair as he watched Ranma sit in one
across from him.  �Your home is very impressive.�

�Thank-you, I must admit that I hardly spend anytime
here.  My travels keep me away.  Jonah is a great
help, you could say that he�s the guardian angel of my
house.�  Leaning over toward Soun, �now what�s the
main reason for your visit.�

Soun was caught off guard by the question, �What do
you mean?�

�Mr. Tendo, I know that you and my father were best of
friends, like brothers.  You trained under the same
master, but you show up six years after my parents�
deaths.  Are you in trouble?  Do you need financial
support?�

Soun took a deep breath, �No nothing like that son.� 
Pausing, �Your father and I dreamt of the Anything
Goes School continuing on even after our deaths.� 
Siting back and looking up at the very high ceiling. 
�When I married we had two daughters.  One night we
celebrated, when we found out your mother was
pregnant.  We agreed that night, if Nodoka was to have
a boy, we would engage you to one of my daughters.� 
Clearing is throat, �Well my late wife was pregnant
with a third child.  If it was a boy our schools would
be unified for sure.  At the end you were born and six
months later so was Akane.  The plan was to engage you
to one of my daughters on your sixteenth birthday. 
Well something�.uh, came up, but we�re here now.� 
Gleaming a huge smile.

Just staring at the man in front of him, Ranma�s eyes
bulged out.  He rarely was caught off guard.  Trying
to get his thought process back, he couldn�t believe
his father would do something so appalling.  If his
idiot father weren�t already dead he would kill him. 
Ranma looked over at Soun who had a child like
giddiness to him.  Pinching the bridge of his nose,
�Mr. Tendo?�

�Please we�re family now, Soun please.  Or if you
prefer dad.�

�Look, Soun.  No offense, but you can�t expect me to
marry somebody when I only met today.�

�It�s a matter of honor,�

�My life at this moment doesn�t allow me to have
anytime to get to know somebody enough to marry them. 
I do have one question did my mom agree to this
arrange marriage?�

Soun sighed, �At first, no she didn�t.  Neither did my
wife, but we all came to an agreement.  You would live
with us for a year and at the end of the year if
nobody wanted to continue the engagement, the promise
would be annulled.�

 �Sorry, I can�t go off and live with you,�  Ranma sat
back and tapped his chin with his finger.  His mother
agreeing was a totally different situation.  He
respected her decision.  �Okay, I agree with my
mother�s decision.�

� Yeah,� Soun jumped into the air.

�Hold on,� he watched Soun stop, waiting for him to
sit back down.  �I can�t live at your house.  Your
daughter will have to stay here.  I assume Nabiki and
Akane still to school.�

Soun nodded his head, �That�s right.�

�I will provide transportation to their school.  No
need for them to switch schools.  One year from now,
if your daughters and I don�t agree on the engagement.
 The arrangement shall be annulled.  Do we agree?�

Soun thought about it.  He really didn�t have a choice
in the matter.  �I agree.�

Getting up from the chair,  �Well let�s go tell your
daughters.  They�re going to love his one.�

~~*~~

�Can you believe the size of these rooms.�  Nabiki
rushed into Kasumi�s room.  She was in heaven.  Her
whole entire life she dreamt of living in a huge
mansion.

�It�s very nice isn�t it.� Kasumi looked around the
room, she had a king size bed with a canopy.  In front
of the bed sat a huge television.  On one side of the
bed were doors that led to the balcony.

�Come here Kasumi, look in the bathroom.�  Nabiki
grabbed her sister�s hand dragging her into the
bathroom.  Flicking on the switch, �you even have your
own whirlpool tub.�

Kasumi and Nabiki left the bathroom as Akane strolled
in, �How�s your room Akane dear?�  Kasumi was bothered
by the way Akane has been acting.

Nabiki had the same idea about Akane, �You could be a
little nice you know.�

�Well I shouldn�t be here.  I need to find a cure,
also I don�t trust dad.  Ever since we got back from
China he�s been babbling about �finally we�ll be
united�,�

�Yeah I agree with you sis.  Something�s going on.�

�At least he had a dojo where I can train.  I wonder
if he�ll spar with me.�

�Akane please be on your best behavior.  Remember
we�re guests here.  Also you should act more lady
like.�

�Well my curse for sure isn�t lady like.�

Kasumi couldn�t argue with Akane, �Be it as it may, I
want you to behave.  We�re only here for the weekend.�

�Yeah alright,�

�Excuse me,�

�Hey Jeeves.  What�s going on?�

Jonah smiled, �Your father and Master Saotome wish to
see you in the Dining room.�

�Well it�s showtime.�

Akane looked at Nabiki, �What do you mean?�

�Well we agree that daddy was up to something.  Well I
think we�re about to hear what that is.�

Kasumi walked past Jonah bowing to him, �Thank-you,�
Akane stomped past him, while Nabiki walked up and
elbowed him in the stomach lightly, �Thanks Jeeves.�

Jonah just shook his head.  He knew that things were
not going to be the same.  Watching the girls walk
downstairs each one was completely different from the
other.  Wispering to himself.  �Things are definitely
going to get interesting down here.�

~~~~*~~~~

�ENGAGED!!!�  the three sisters said in unison.

Soun nodded his head happily, �That�s right,� Looking
over at his three daughters.  He saw huge battle
aura�s flaring.  Gulping, he scooted towards Ranma.

�Don�t we have a say in who we marry.�  Akane couldn�t
believe her father.  First her curse then an arrange
marriage.  

�Yes father, I agree with Akane.  This seems mildly
inappropriate.�

Soun looked scared, �Girls, this is a matter of honor.
 Our two schools could finally be reunited.�  Looking
over at Nabiki.

�Well this sure will make things interesting.�

Ranma was expecting their reaction to be the way they
were.  �Your father and I agreed to some stipulations.
 I was caught off guard by this just as you are.  I
was less than enthusiastic.�

�There you go.  He doesn�t want to go through with
this idea either.  We�re done, let�s go home NOW.� 
Akane stood up slamming her hands on the table.

�Akane dear please.�  

Akane slowly sat back down under her sister�s stare. 
Ranma watched the exchange, �There is one problem.  My
late mother also agreed to the engagement.  The same
as your mother.�

That drew the three sisters� attention.  The fact that
their mother agreed was a totally different situation.
 They couldn�t easily refuse the engagement.  Kasumi
looked at her father, �Is this true?�

Soun bowed his head saddened by the memories of his
wife, �Yes she did.�

�Then we have no choice, but to accept the
engagement.�  Nabiki was a little excited.  Her life
till now was boring.  �Who are you going to choose?�

Ranma had everyone�s eyes on him, �Well your mother
and mine only agreed to the engagement under one
circumstance.  I�m to live with your family for a
year.  During that year I�m to get to know the three
of you.  If at the end of the year we still don�t want
the engagement.  The arrangement shall be annulled.�

Kasumi thought for a moment, �So we�re to move into
your mansion.�

Ranma nodded impressed, �Yes.�

�WHAT!?  What about school?  I�m not going to change
schools, especially not for him.�  Akane said the last
part with venom.

�Akane,� Soun never had such a tone for one of his
daughters, but even he knew when Akane stepped over
the line, �Ranma has offered to drive you and Nabiki
to school so you wouldn�t have to change.�

Akane sat back down feeling somewhat guilty, �Sorry
for the outburst,�

�No need, I understand how you feel.  Like your father
said Akane and Nabiki, you�ll be driven to your
school.  Kasumi?� he watched Kasumi face him.  �I
understand you took care of your household.�

�That�s correct.�

�Well, I�m sorry to say that there will be little for
you to do around here, but I could get you a job
working for me.�

�That�s very kind of you Mr. Saotome.�

�Ranma please,� Standing up, �This is your home now
welcome.   Now I�m hungry let�s eat.�

Right on queue Mr. Morimoto and a couple of assistants
brought in plates of food.  One by one the plates were
lied down on the table.  One of the assistants that
was carrying a pitcher of water accidentally lost his
balance as the pitcher went straight in the air and on
Akane.

�ThPPPT� Ranma immediately spit out his drink when he
saw Akane turn into a guy.

�Why does this happen to me?�  Feeling embarrassed and
angry.

Ranma realized immediately what happened.  �Jonah can
you get some hot water.�

�Yes sir,� Jonah went into the kitchen.

�Mr. Tendo please don�t tell me you took your daughter
to Jusenkyou.�

Giving her father a death look,  �Yes he did.�

�Let�s eat first and then tell me what happened.� 
Ranma knew that things were going to be rough, but he
had no idea how bad.

~~~~*~~~~

Ranma sat in this usual chair.  Soun was sitting in
the same type of chair across from him.  Off on the
right the three girls sat on a large sofa.  Akane was
turned back to her original form.  She wasn�t in the
best of moods.  Jonah was passing out cups of teas as
Ranma grabbed the cup.

�Thank you.  Now please tell me how did this happen?�

Soun coughed, �It started a couple of months before
the accident.  Your father was planning on taking you
on a trip to China.  He found a brochure on a
forbidden training ground.  The name was Jusenkyou. 
He had an extra brochure so he gave it to me.  Because
of the accident he never took you.�

Ranma couldn�t believe it, his father (kami rest his
soul) was actually going to take him to Jusenkyou.  He
knew his father was an idiot, but he had no idea.  A
head of cabbage had more sense than his old man.  Soun
continued talking interrupting Ranma�s thoughts.

�Well to properly train my daughter in the art.  I
thought that it would be a good idea this summer to go
to China on a training trip.  It would give her an
idea of what�s it like to train as a true martial
artist.  Well looking over some old papers, I found
the brochure your father gave me.  Instantly I knew I
had to take my daughter to Jusenkyou.�  Soun stood up
giving them a dramatic pose.

Ranma just stared in shock, he had to wonder if Soun
and his father took something when they were younger
to make them complete idiots.  Looking over at the
girls, each one rolled their eyes.

�Well it took us nearly a month to find somebody who
knew about the springs.  The guide took us to the
training grounds.  When we got there, we were
surprised that it was just a bunch of pools with
bamboo poles sticking out.�

�Didn�t the guide warn you,�

�Well�uh��

�Yes he tried, but dad here didn�t listen.�

Clearing his throat, �Yes, well��

~~~~*~~~~

�Sir this is very bad training ground.  Nobody comes
here anymore.  Very bad if��

�I can�t believe we spent an entire month looking for
a great training ground and all it is.�  Motioning to
the pools, �Is a bunch of pools with poles sticking
out of it.�

Soun looked over the brochure, �it doesn�t say
anything about it looking like this.�

�Of course it doesn�t say.  You can�t read Chinese.�

�Oh yeah,� as he put his hand behind his head
laughing.  �Well since we�re here we might as well
train.�  Soun leapt onto one of the poles.  

�Sir!  What are you doing?  Very bad if you fall.� 
The guide was waving his arms furiously.

Akane couldn�t tell her father that she was a klutz. 
Anyway the place didn�t look that hard to her.  What
harm would it do if she fell?  Concentrating, Akane
jumped s she landed on the pole.  Smiling, she started
to lose her balance.  Falling into one of the pools
below.

Soun quickly jumped down next to the guide, �Oh so
sorry, you fall in Xiaochiniichuan,� as he pulled out
a sign with the name on it, �Spring of drowned young
man, very tragic story of man drowned there 3500 years
ago.  Now whoever falls in pool take body of young
man.�

Akane surfaced feeling her body go through a dramatic
change.  Opening up her gi, she screamed..  Her bra,
which was once full, was now empty as she had a male
chest.  Instantly Akane feinted.

~~~~*~~~~

�Oh my poor baby girl.  What one must sacrifice for
the art.�  Soun started wailing.

Ranma having fell over in shock, set his chair back up
as he resat himself.  �Um, Akane.  If you knew your
balance wasn�t very good.  Then why did you try to
train there?�  Taking a sip of his tea.

Nabiki interrupted what Akane was about to say.  �I�ll
answer for her.  You see my little sister has an ego
complex.  She thinks she can do anything.  She is the
self proclaimed greatest martial artist in the world.�

Ranma spit the tea from hearing the comment.  Kasumi
thought something was wrong, �Are you alright Mr.
Saotome?�

�Ranma please,� Ranma looked at Akane, he could tell
just by her walk that she is as graceful as a gorilla.
 Her skill is that of an amateur.  She did have great
strength, but she didn�t know how to control it.

�I am a great martial artist,� Akane didn�t like
Ranma, how dare he make a mockery of her skills. 
�Don�t take me so lightly.  I challenge you.�

Ranma wanted to laugh, he had no problem fighting
girls.  His biggest rival was a female, but he didn�t
fight anybody he knew he could beat easily.  �I�ll
take your warning into consideration,� Blowing off the
challenge and addressing everyone else.  �It�s getting
late, I think I�ll turn in.�

�A wonderful idea, Ranma my boy.�

�Mr. Tendo, Jonah will see you to your room.  Since
the girls already seen theirs.  I hope you liked them.

�Oh they were wonderful,� Kasumi smiled brightly.

�Great,� Getting up Ranma walked out of the room,
�Till tomorrow then.  Goodnight.�

~~~~*~~~~

Kasumi woke up; she couldn�t really get to sleep. 
There wasn�t a time when she slept in any house other
than hers.  The thought saddened her.  Since her
mothers� death, she had assumed the role of all of the
motherly duties in the house.  Now she would be living
in a different house for a year.  Each day she knew
what her duties were.  Now she didn�t know what to do
with herself.  Kasumi was seriously thinking of taking
Ranma up on his offer for a job.

Sitting up, Kasumi thought about the engagement.  At
first the idea seemed bad, but Ranma was definitely a
mature young man for his age.  Would it be that bad to
be engaged to him?  She will have to be open minded
for her father�s sake.

Knowing that she wasn�t going to sleep soon, Kasumi
decided to get up.  Putting on her robe, she exited
her room.  Walking down the hallway, Kasumi went
downstairs.  Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she
looked around.  She didn�t really know where to go. 
Finally going left she went into the library.  The
room had to be her favorite in the house.  Looking
around the room, she couldn�t comprehend the amount of
knowledge that was stored in all of the books.  The
room was dark except for the fire blazing in the
fireplace.  Walking to the fire, she couldn�t help,
but notice the size.  Two people could easily fit
inside.  Walking a bit closer, Kasumi didn�t notice
the lump in the carpet.  Tripping she quickly brought
her hand up trying to regain her balance.  One of her
hands caught a hold of a samurai figurine sitting on
the mantle.  Putting a little pressure the head
flipped up.  Regaining some of her composure, Kasumi
looked over the figurine.  In the middle of the base
of the neck was a black button.  Having her curiosity
getting the better, she slowly pressed the button. 
The fire went out as a small noise could be heard. 
Looking into the fireplace the back wall was slowly
moving.  

Not really knowing what to do, Kasumi entered the
fireplace.  The back wall concealed a stairway leading
down.  Examining down the stairwell an
indistinguishable sound could be heard below. 
Mustering up the courage she started down the stairs. 
Only taking a few steps she triggered a sensor causing
the wall to move back into place.  Turning around
quickly she tried to stop the wall, but it was too
late.  The wall closed in on her.  Taking a deep
breath, she turned around and continued down.  Feeling
the walls, they were made of stone.  It was as if
somebody chiseled the entire stairway.  A small tube
of light ran along the side of the wall, giving off a
small amount of light.  The stairway was spiraling
down so she couldn�t see far enough ahead to know what
was happening, but she knew that there was somebody at
the end of the tunnel.  The noise was growing louder.

Reaching the end, Kasumi came to a large hallway. 
Lining the walls were suits of armor from various
civilizations.  Walking slowly down, she came to the
end.  Looking she came to a huge room.  In the center
was a dome like building made of some clear material. 
Inside she could see, �Lasers?� being fired.  Standing
in the middle was Ranma.  Kasumi blushed, as he was
shirtless wearing a pair of Chinese pants on.  She
watched the sweat run from his body.  Turning around
quickly from embarrassment, she bumped into a sit of
armor knocking it down.

Ranma huffed, he was on the highest level he�s been
able to achieve so far.  He smiled, it was good to
work out.  To get his mind off of the engagement,
which he still didn�t know what do.  The idea of being
engaged was out of the question, but he respected his
mother above all others.  She felt that he should give
it a chance and that was what he was going to do.

�You ready?�

�Yeah,� off in the corner, Ranma heard a noise. 
Turning his head a laser fired, blasting him in the
chest.  He flew back into the wall.

Kasumi saw in horror as the laser connected into
Ranma, �OH No,� quickly Kasumi ran into the building. 
Running up to Ranma, she bent down.  Relieved that he
was still breathing.  �Mr. Saotome, are you alright?�

Jonah came rushing in, �Sir, Sir.  Are you seriously
injured?�

Ranma groaned as he slowly stirred, �R..Ranma please.�
 Sitting up, he was disoriented.  Laughing I guess a
full powered laser to the chest isn�t the best way to
train.  Standing with the help of Jonah and�Ranma
turned to Kasumi, �It seems we have a visitor.  Can
you��

�Right away,� Jonah quickly left.

Ranma sighed, �Well, I guess I should say welcome. 
You�re the third person, other than Jonah of course to
see this room.�

Kasumi was in awe, she was so worried about Ranma that
she didn�t realize how big the room really was.  The
room was equaled in size to the mansion.  �What is
this place?�

�I guess you could say this is a huge underground
vault.  I also train in here.�  Ranma saw the puzzled
look on Kasumi�s face.�  Ranma started walking out of
the room and into another.  �Ms. Tendo, do you believe
in magic, demons, and the supernatural."� Kasumi shook
her head.  �You see most people don�t believe in such
things.  It makes the world safer to live in.  They
can sleep easier knowing that these things don�t
exist, but they do.�

They entered a room that was pitch black, in the
middle displayed a huge holographic image of the
world.  Kasumi walked up to it, fascinated at how
detailed it looked.  �This is beautiful.�

Ranma smiled, �Magic and monsters did exist in this
world abundantly at one time.  Gods, goddesses, they
all played a part in human history.  Over time people
forgot about it.  They started believing in science
and technology.  Most of what I talk about hide in
secret places away from human eyes.  Civilizations in
the past were very powerful, and carried with them
equally powerful weapons and artifacts.  Some of these
didn�t do much harm, but they�re were circumstances of
some of these items that could rule over the world. 
Bringing humanity to their knees.�

�Oh my�

�Yes, that�s where I come in.  There are many people
and organizations that would love to get their hands
on these items.  Some people call us Tomb Raiders or
Relic Hunter.  I�m what you call an artifact
ethusiast.  I keep the most dangerous artifacts here
in my underground vault.  Ranma took Kasumi out of the
room and led her to a huge door.  It was black with
steel bolts surrounding the perimeter.  Putting his
hand on a scanner and looking into an eye piece.  

< Confirmed, voice recognition please>

�Cryptkeeper,�

<Voice recognition confirmed, Thank-you Mr. Saotome>

Kasumi was startled as the vault came alive, within a
minute the doors swung open.  She watched as Ranma
stepped onto a green circle.  Just beyond him was a
door lined with red crisscrossing beams.  Upon
standing on the pad a green light scanned over his
body.

<Ki signature confirmed>

She watched the lasers quickly disappear as lights
turned on inside the vault.  Ranma motioned for her to
follow him into the vault.  Upon entering the room she
was surprised how small the room was.  The room was
circular with stands lining the wall.  Each stand had
a light that illuminated an artifact.  Some of the
stand were empty, in the middle of the room was a suit
of armor enclosed in a glass case.  Walking up to it,
she touched the glass.  The armor was beautiful.  Gold
lined the edges with the plates made of silver.  It
gave off a sense of power. 

Walking up behind Kasumi, �That�s the armor of Ghengis
Kahn.  You could probably say he was the only person t
rule most of the world.  We all know the stories of
the conqueror.  Villages would tremble and surrender
before he would even get there.  One thing that the
history books left out was this suit of armor.  It
gave the bearer the power of invincibility.  Nothing
man made could destroy the armor and the person
wearing it.�

Kasumi turned to Ranma, �Then why did he die?�

�I said invincibility, not immortality.  You still
aged and could get sick.  When he died his suit was
buried with him.  Come let me show you around.�

Ranma took Kasumi around the room explaining the
history behind each artifact.  Kasumi was exhilarated,
she found everything fascinated.  Never would she have
thought that such objects existed in the world. 
Exiting the vault, she watched Ranma hit a code on a
keypad as the alarm set.  Leaving the vault the doors
closed behind them.

�Well Kasumi, you�ve seen all my little secrets.�  He
watched as Jonah walked behind Kasumi.  Nodding to
Ranma, �Now, I wonder what we�re going to do with
you.�

Kasumi started to get nervous.  She didn�t realize
that she would be in any danger.  Looking around for
an escape, she started to back up.

Ranma smiled, he punched at Kasumi with half the
speed.  She quickly dodged and blocked the punch.  �I
knew it!�  He was excited, �I knew you were hiding
your true power.�

Kasumi didn�t know what to expect.  She easily saw the
punch coming and was able to defend against it.  She
knew that he pulled the punch.  �Why did you do that?�

�Because Ms. Tendo it was a test.�

�A test for what.�

�How would you like to join our little group?�

�Oh my�

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

End of Part I

Ranma trains Kasumi, while an ancient artifact arises
starting an epic quest to save the world.  Next on
Ranma � Cryptkeeper : Hand of Goddess Pt II

Authors Note:  I must give credit, I thought of this
story while reading Treasure Hunter by Greg Housely. 
I will be bringing in surprise cameos and the usual
Nerima idiots will be worked into the story slowly. 
Please C&C are welcomed 

http://www.geocities.com/fanficshrine/index.htm
ranma13@yahoo.com









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