You have to believe we are magic;
Nothing can stand in our way.
You have to believe we are magic;
Don't let you aim ever stray.
And if all your hopes survive,
Your destiny will arrive
And bring all your dreams alive
For you.
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you.
Magic
Part 4 - That Which Fuels the Spirit
by Richard Lawson
Comments & Criticism Welcome!
sterman@sprynet.com
The phone woke Nouma up as he had requested. He wasn't terribly thrilled;
he'd only managed a couple hours' sleep. Just when he needed to be alert,
too. He hoped he could adjust quickly.
He made his way to the bathroom. He frowned at the shower in the tiny tub.
He much preferred being able to take a cold shower on a stool before slipping
into a hot tub. North Americans evidently had different habits. Still, this
had the potential of being his last access to hot running water for a while,
so he'd better appreciate what he could get.
He quickly showered and dressed. His computer was beeping at him, and he hit
the acknowledgment key. Nabiki's face lit up the screen.
"Oh, good, you're up." Nabiki looked as if she'd had precious little sleep
herself. "We're all meeting in my room in about ten minutes. I have some
food here for everyone. Pack your bags, so that we can check out quickly if
we need to."
"Right." He signed off, packed, and was in Nabiki's room well ahead of
schedule.
Nabiki was sitting in a chair with her eyes closed, accepting a massage from
Ranma, who certainly knew how to give them. "Damn, Ranma-kun, if I'd known
you could do this, I'd maybe have not given you back to Akane so easily."
"Easily? You call what you did easy?" Ranma spoke in an amused voice.
"And where would that have left my dear brother?" Kodachi yawned mightily as
she entered the room. "Maybe they would have found an adjoining cell for him
at the hospital."
"Who knows? That might have lead to a faster recovery for you." Tachi was
holding her computer in her lap; Nouma had no doubt she was recording
everything. "And Father might have been less prone to spouting ancient English
poetry at me all the time."
"You also wouldn't be alive, love." Nabiki opened her eyes and gave her
daughter an affectionate smile.
Tachi smiled back. "Well, maybe I'd be the daughter of you and Uncle Ranma.
Maybe I'd be Nouma." She grinned at Nouma wickedly.
"If Tatewaki-san was in the hospital, and Ranma was married to Nabiki-san,
would that have left Akane for me?" Ryoga spoke in a mischievous tone of
voice. "Maybe Nouma would have been my son."
"Hey! Where's that leave us?" Mitsuaki glanced at his younger brother.
"Would we have ended up as Mom's pet pigs?"
There were a few chuckles at that. Nouma smiled. "That does raise a good
point. If Uncle Ryoga and Aunt Akari hadn't found each other, would the world
have come to an end?"
"Hmm." Kodachi tapped her finger on her cheek. "That raises an even bigger
question. What role did the magic play in pairing everyone up? Obviously,
Ryoga and Akari were meant to be together, so that they could save the world.
What does that say about Ranma and Akane?"
"Or my mother and father." Khu Lon was holding a roll in one hand and a cup
of tea with the other. "They were cursed as well. My mother may have never
given my father a chance if it weren't for all they went through in Japan."
"But was it meant to be that way?" Kikuko's voice was always a pleasure for
Nouma to hear. It was so light and musical, almost ethereal. He sometimes
regretted that they were cousins. "I mean, did the magic get them together
on purpose, or was it an accident? If it wasn't an accident, what purpose
did it serve?"
"Better put, whose purpose did it serve?" Nouma frowned. "There's a lot about
these curses I don't understand."
"Magic, by its nature, ceases to be magic once it's understood." Ranma
finished Nabiki's massage, and placed his hand briefly on the top of her head.
His hand glowed, and Nabiki's head glowed as well for a split second.
Her eyes grew very wide. She jumped out of her seat and turned to face Ranma.
"What the hell did you just do?"
Father smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I should have warned you. I gave you
some of my chi. How do you feel?"
Nabiki blinked. "Good, actually. Less tired. Who taught you that?"
"It's something I've learned to do over the years."
Kikuko leaned forward. "Can you heal people with that technique?"
Ranma shook his head. "Not really. I can only replace chi. Your aunt was
low on chi because she hadn't slept. It is while we sleep that our minds can
stop concentrating on keeping our bodies alive and start restoring their
energy. If you go too long without sleep, your chi drains away, and with it
your life."
Nouma's eyes widened. "Those people that died. Their bodies shut down without
apparent cause."
Ranma nodded. "I think they somehow had their chi drained from them."
Everyone was silent a moment considering this. Finally Mikanma spoke. "Do you
know of a way to shield us from these attacks, Father?"
"Well, it's something I've never come across. I think I could shield myself,
but I don't know if I could shield anyone else. I'd need to see how this
attack was done first; then I might be able to counter it."
"Can you show me the technique?" Ryoga's ability to generate chi was equal to
Ranma's.
Ranma sighed. "I can try to teach this to all of you, but I'm not certain it
would succeed. I've had a lifetime of training in the use of my chi; I just
don't know how I could give you that in a day or two. Certainly you would be
the best bet to be able to learn it, Ryoga, along with my children."
"I know a few chi-attacks myself." Khu Lon lifted her chin. "Mother says I'm
better at them than she was."
"You mother was never able to generate much chi." Ranma was generally a nice
person, Nouma reflected, but he was brutally honest when appraising people's
martial arts techniques. "Neither was your father. I'd have to see you use
chi, but I just don't think you have the genes necessary to draw a lot of chi."
Khu Lon's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything.
Ranma studied her for a moment, then turned towards Nouma. "There's one more
technique I could try to teach a few of you. It's what I just showed you: the
ability to give your chi to others. Only those capable of generating a lot of
chi can safely do it. That limits us to Ryoga, Nouma, Mikanma, and possibly
Kouichi."
Nouma licked his lips. "But Father, I don't have your lifetime of experience.
I gave up on learning chi-attacks a few years ago. How can I learn something
as complex as that?"
"Well, I didn't know any more about chi than you did when I first used it."
Tachi seemed to pounce on the words. "When was that, Uncle?"
Ranma grimaced. "Well, I actually didn't do it consciously. In fact, it
wasn't until a few years ago that I realized I'd done it at all."
He paused to organize his thoughts before continuing. "Tachi, you know all
about how your Aunt was put under a spell during the battle at Jusendo. She
was turned into a doll that had sort of a half-life. The spell used your
Aunt's chi to fuel itself.
"Akane has always had the potential to draw huge amounts of chi; she's just
never been able to direct it. Still, her ability to draw that much chi kept
her alive for far longer than the spell caster anticipated. She used the last
of her chi to save my life during the final battle with Saffron. I was able
to restore her body, but the chi was gone."
Ranma looked down, the pain of the memory very evident. "I thought she was
gone forever. I held her to me and told her that I loved her. It was at that
moment that I unknowingly transferred some of my chi to her. It was enough to
refuel her life."
The silence lasted for long seconds. Finally Kikuko spoke. "Does this mean
you can bring the dead back to life if their bodies are repaired?"
"No." Ranma looked up at Kikuko. "Not exactly. The brain can only last so
long without chi to fuel it, not to mention oxygen. I gave your aunt my chi
just in time; any longer, and she would not have been able to use it to start
her life back up. I can't do anything for those who have already been killed
by whatever we're looking for. But if anyone in our party gets similarly
drained, I can perhaps save them if I reach them quickly enough."
Nouma found a chair and sat down, stunned by the realization. For the first
time he understood his father's desire to teach him all that he had learned;
powers like this must not be allowed to die out. Nouma had assumed that
Mikanma would be enough; but now he felt the risk of entrusting this knowledge
to only one person.
This time, Nabiki broke the silence. "This is useful information. We should
have you try to show as many people as possible these techniques on the way
to our campsite. In the meantime, we should talk about getting underway.
Khu Lon and Nouma had a visitor last night."
Nouma shook his head to clear it, thankful for the opportunity to focus on
something else. Khu Lon began her tale, and Nouma let her lead the discussion,
throwing in his observations, especially about the Inspector's intention to
run them out of the country.
Ranma became angrier and angrier as the narration continued. When they were
done, Ranma growled. "I knew we should have left last night. I knew there
was a reason we needed to leave the city."
"What's done is done, Ranma." Kodachi was twirling her ribbon again. "What
we need to decide now is what to do about it."
"Khu Lon has contacted the Chinese embassy in Canada, and I've got some
operatives working on running interference. They should be able to keep
everyone off our backs until we at least leave the city." Nabiki stared at
the ceiling, her finger on her lips. "Then it will be a race to see if we can
solve this thing before the authorities catch up to us."
"Have we learned anything about the cave?" Ukyo was leaning against the wall
close to Ranma, her arms folded across her chest.
Nouma shook his head. "I had hoped to go visit some museums today to try and
learn more about the tribe that inhabited that region. Unfortunately, we no
longer have time for that."
Nabiki sighed. "As much as I hate running blind into a situation like this,
I don't see that we have much of a choice. I had so wanted to leave someone
behind here with the command console to act as coordinator, but now I don't
see how we can take the risk that whoever gets left behind won't be picked
up by the police."
"Well, enough talk then." Ranma spoke forcefully. "Let's check out and get
to the campsite. We'll go to the campsite we listed with customs as our
destination. That'll help deflect suspicion. We can set the command console
there. We can do some recon of the area surrounding the cave before actually
entering the cave itself. I'll bet by the time we get that far, something
will have happened, and we can go from there."
Kodachi snorted angrily. "A typical plan from you, Tendo. Just wait for
something to happen, and react to it. I agree that we should set up a base
at that first campsite, but let's reconsider our plan of action after we've
done that. There's still too much we don't know."
Ranma nodded. "Fair enough."
Nouma gulped down a quick breakfast, then joined everyone else on their way
out of the hotel.
***
"Feel the chi, feel how it's a part of you, how it *is* you. Let it flow
around you and inside of you."
Nouma had always been able to use the chi-attacks Ranma had taught him, but
he had never simply drawn chi and held it. It was very hard; the chi tended
to slip away unless he concentrated very hard, which left him very little
room left over to listen to Ranma's words.
"Now try and take the chi and give it to your sister. You must remove a part
of yourself and give it to her. Don't worry, the part you take from yourself
will grow back. You must be willing to sacrifice a bit of your life so that
you can give it to another."
Nouma was holding Mikanma's hands. He tried to let the chi inside him flow
into her. It was easy to use the chi to blast her, but letting it simply
transfer itself from him to her, that seemed impossible. He tried to detach
some of the chi, but he had no idea how to begin.
"Feel the connection between you and your sister; that helps. Use that
connection to guide the chi. Let it bind you and your sister together, and
when you separate, leave some of yourself behind."
"Use the Force, Luke."
Mikanma's English statement completely destroyed Nouma's frame of mind. The
chi slipped from his grasp.
"Mikanma, please." Ranma sounded exasperated.
"I'm sorry, Father." Mikanma did sound contrite.
Nouma sighed and opened his eyes. "It's all right, I wasn't making any
progress. I simply didn't know where to begin."
Ranma blew out a breath. "That's the difficulty, of course. It took me
twenty years to duplicate what I'd done with your mother. I'm still not sure
how I did it that first time, except that I wanted her to be alive so much."
Kikuko spoke from where she sat on a crate. "The human mind is capable of
remarkable feats under extreme duress. Sometimes we find ways to exceed our
natural limits during such times. Surely that's what happened to you, Uncle."
Ranma nodded. "That's my theory, too."
Nouma stood up and stretched. He looked around the small space they had
cleared in the back of the truck for the long ride into the Rockies. Along
with his sister, father, and Kikuko, they had been joined by Ryoga, Kouichi,
and Khu Lon. The first couple of hours had been spent trying to teach
everyone how to hold on to their chi. The last thirty minutes had been spent
trying to teach Nouma to pass chi to Mikanma. It had not been successful.
"Anyone else want to give it a try?" Nouma looked down at Mikanma. "How about
you, Sister?"
"Sure!" She grabbed Nouma's hands and yanked him down into a sitting position.
She closed her eyes.
Ranma spoke hurriedly. "Mikanma, be careful. You must be patient and...."
Something exploded on Nouma's hands and up his arms. He yelped and fell over
backwards, landing among some crates.
Khu Lon was standing over him in a flash. "Are you all right, Nouma?"
Nouma examined his hands, expecting them to be burned. They looked all right,
although they hurt like hell. "I'll be fine in a minute, I think." He
allowed her to pull him up.
Ranma and Mikanma were standing right behind Khu Lon. Father reached out and
grabbed Nouma's hands, examining them closely. He then looked into Nouma's
eyes for a moment, then smiled. "You'll be okay, Son."
Mikanma sounded a little frightened. "What happened?"
Ranma looked at her sternly. "You passed chi to him all right, but you
transformed it into energy. That's what we do with our chi-attacks. The
difficulty in this technique is *not* to attack with the chi, but to let it
flow from you to another."
Mikanma's brow furrowed. "What's the difference?"
"That is precisely the problem. I can't exactly explain the difference,
except to say that untransformed chi feels like a part of your soul." He
looked around the truck. "Before any of you attempt to duplicate this
technique, you must learn that difference. The best way is to meditate, allow
yourself to become detached, then draw chi and try to get a feel for its
original, untransformed state. Don't become frustrated if you don't get it
right away. Like I said, it took me twenty years to understand."
Nouma chuckled ruefully. He had been quite arrogant; he had assumed that he
could duplicate Ranma's feat without too much difficulty. He recognized that
he unconsciously thought himself much better able to learn new techniques than
his father. He was coming to realize that intelligence was no substitute for
experience.
Khu Lon examined him closely when he chuckled. He quickly controlled himself,
smiled briefly at her, and resumed his seat. "Do you want to try it, Khu Lon?"
She sat down on the crate next to him, which caused his heart to skip a beat.
"No."
Her answer surprised him. He raised an eyebrow.
She snorted. "Tendo Ranma is right. I don't have nearly the chi abilities
that the other people in this truck do. I was simply staggered by the amount
of chi I could feel you and your family draw. None of the Amazons can draw
that much, although there are legends that the founder of the Amazons had
limitless supplies of chi she could use to fuel her magic."
"Cologne - " Ranma broke off, looking at Khu Lon apologetically. "Forgive
me. Your great-great-grandmother didn't have a lot of chi-energy available,
but she used it with amazing efficiency. I imagine she had spent her life
perfecting the techniques she taught me and others. For all the skill I've
acquired in the use of my chi, I still can't match the skill she displayed.
She's sort of become my idol, an example on how best to use chi."
Khu Lon nodded to Ranma, acknowledging his compliment to her ancestor.
The truck slowed and turned sharply. They waited, and after a minute it came
to a stop. Soon afterwards the back door was flung open. Mitsuaki grinned
at them. "We're here!"
The clambered out. Nouma spent a minute admiring the gorgeous scenery. None
of these mountains could compare to Mt. Fuji, but there were so many of them
that they took his breath away. The forest surrounded their campsite, and
the smell of pine was overwhelming. Nouma breathed in the crisp air and
decided that he would have to spend some time here when the fate of the world
wasn't at stake.
The next couple of hours were spent setting up camp. 'Camp' didn't seem like
an adequate term to Nouma, however. The plastic cabins could withstand a
typhoon, and the portable generators provided enough electricity to fuel a
small factory. As it turned out, his fears about running water were unfounded.
A separate facility would take water from a nearby stream and provide them
with all the amenities they could wish for, including a good-sized bath.
Nabiki assured him that the waste water would be thoroughly cleaned before
being returned to the stream.
Most amazing was the 'crime lab', as Nabiki called it. There were several
advanced diagnostic tools available to them. The command console was put there
as well. Nabiki admitted that there was a good chance they wouldn't need any
of the equipment, but she wanted to be fully prepared.
Nouma was interrupted near the end by a call on his computer. He frowned at
it, for a moment wondering if the unseen nemesis had found a way into his
computer. He hit the acknowledgment key, and was relieved to see his mother's
face fill the screen.
"Hello, Son. How's it going?" She looked tired. Nouma glanced at the clock
on the computer. As it happened, there was a twelve-hour time difference
between here and Nerima. Since it was almost noon here, it was nearly midnight
for Mother.
"So far so good." Nouma turned the computer around and let it do a slow pan
of the camp. "Aunt Nabiki's got us living in luxury."
Akane's voice sounded slightly amused. "Nabiki would live no other way."
Nouma turned the computer back around. "We had some problems back in the city.
We may have the authorities on our tail soon. Nabiki and Khu Lon are going
to keep them occupied as much as possible, but we still may not have much
time here."
Akane didn't seem surprised. Nouma remembered Nabiki mentioning that Akane
could use the remote A/V capabilities of their computers once the command
console had been switched on. Nouma imagined that Akane had been
surreptitiously following the events as they unfolded. He couldn't really
blame her; he would likely be doing the exact same thing in her position.
So she probably really didn't want to know what was happening. Very likely,
she was going to bed soon, and needed to see and hear her family. "I sure
miss you, Mother. Remind me to let Mikanma beat me up some more for not
spending more time at home."
Akane smiled. "Nouma, you've got your own home now. I wouldn't want you
to be tied down just because your mother gets a little lonely for you once in
a while." She chuckled. "That sounds manipulative, doesn't it? I don't mean
it that way. Yes, I would like to see you more, but I also know that I'll
feel better about you if you become your own person."
Nouma smiled a little sadly. It was strange how the threat of death could
cause people to open up. "Thank you, Mother. Still, I will have to find a
better balance. I stayed away so I wouldn't have to fight with Mikanma or
listen to Father's pleas to resume my training. That was selfish of me. I'll
do better when I get back."
Akane sighed. "Well, thank you, Nouma-chan. That does make me feel better."
Nouma could tell that she was still quite frightened, with good cause, he had
to admit.
"Love you, Mom. Do you want to speak with Mikanma?"
"Yes, please. I love you too, Son." Her eyes were watering slightly.
Nouma smiled affectionately at her, then looked around the camp. "Mi-chan!"
He blinked in surprise; he hadn't called her that in a couple of years. He
was feeling particularly nostalgic today. "Mother wants to speak to you!"
Mikanma came around from behind a cabin, scowling at him. She hated being
called Mi-chan, in the belief that he was belittling her. Nouma hoped that he
would be able to go back calling her that once she had gotten past her
adolescence. She grabbed her computer and held it up. He transferred Akane
over to her, and he saw Mikanma's face brighten.
He looked around the encampment once again. Everything looked good. He was
very tired, and wondered if he had time for a bath and a nap. He was still a
bit jet-lagged, and imagined that everyone else was, as well.
Nabiki stepped out of a cabin and waved at him. He stepped over to her,
smiling as he did so. "This is great stuff, Aunt Nabiki. I could live here."
Nabiki adopted a snobbish expression. "It's barely adequate for one of my
refined tastes. Truly, we need a few servants, and a swimming pool. And if
someone could remove those ghastly trees; they are so unsightly."
Nouma chuckled, then turned sober. "I wonder if we should take the afternoon
off and meet again in the evening. Everyone's still plenty tired. Much as I
hate to waste the time, I think everyone will be thinking more clearly after
they've had a chance to rest."
Nabiki considered this, then slowly nodded. "You're probably right. If you're
tired, it's a good bet everyone else is. I'll clear it with your father and
pass the word along. We'll meet at... oh, say 5pm."
"Sounds good." Nouma grabbed his bag of personal affects and headed towards
the bathroom. He quickly stripped, washed, and sank into the tub. It felt
wonderful, even if it somewhat defeated the purpose of camping out.
The door opened and Ranma came in. Nouma nodded at him. Ranma smiled, then
stripped and sat on the stool, using cold water from the shower to get himself
wet.
Nouma watched the transformation with interest. He'd seen it many times
before, of course. In the space of a second, Ranma shrunk. The individual
changes happened too quickly to notice. It was very much like watching a
computer-generated morph, as the features blurred from one form to another.
What had always fascinated Nouma the most was the change in hair color. Since
red hair was a recessive trait, his father should either be a red-head in both
forms, or male only. Why it manifested in his female form mystified Nouma.
Then again, this was magic; it just couldn't be explained logically.
Ranma washed herself efficiently, while Nouma continued to study her. He
wondered what it would be like to assume Ranma's female form. The question
had become a lot more than an idle musing since his father's request in the
dojo. There was so much more to the curse than becoming female, of course.
It wasn't the occasional gender change that Nouma objected to - although he
wasn't exactly happy about it, either - so much as the zaniness that went
along with the curse.
Nouma finally looked away, staring into the water of the bath. Were his
musings about becoming female an indication that he was on his way to agreeing
to his father's request? He didn't know. He would probably feel horribly
guilty about turning it down, but he'd live a much more peaceful life. Was
it worth the price? Was it fair of his father to make this request? Maybe he
could rationalize away the guilt by transferring it to condemnation of his
father for putting him in such a position. That was certainly tempting. If
a little unfair. Maybe.
Nouma sighed and shelved the discussion for another day. He had other things
to worry about right now.
Ranma slipped into the tub with him, going through the change once more. He
stretched out, tensing his body before slowly relaxing it. "This feels good.
I'm glad Nabiki thought of this." He looked over at Nouma. "Are you done
ogling me?"
"Father! I was not ogling you."
"Could have fooled me."
Nouma snorted. "Yeah, right. I can just see myself lying in the
psychiatrist's office, talking about how I'm sexually attracted to my father's
female manifestation. The Freudians would have a field day."
Ranma laughed. Nouma smiled with him, then sobered. "Honestly, Dad, it's not
as if I haven't seen it a thousand times before."
"True. But you did seem particularly... intense."
Nouma frowned. "And you can't think of a reason why?"
Ranma grimaced. "Well, I guess I can. I'm sorry that I brought it up when
I did. Now that I think of it, it would have been better to wait until after
this particular adventure to mention it to you."
Nouma shook his head. "I think you were a little worried that you wouldn't
survive this trip. If you don't, you want me to take over for you."
"There's some truth to that. The danger bells are still going off." Ranma
looked down into the water, speaking quietly. "I haven't told this to anyone,
not even your mother. I've been having dreams. I can see my body lying on
rock. It's being cradled by someone - you, I think. I see bodies all around
it, and I don't know if they're dead or not. And I can hear laughter, and
the mocking whispers of something. I want to see more, but I always lose the
dream at that point." He looked up at Nouma. "That's why I think you are
the key. I'm afraid that in the end, it will come down to you and whatever
we're fighting. If you're going to be the only survivor, I'm hoping that you
will carry on the new traditions of the Tendo School. That you'll be to the
world what I was. You don't have to; I'm not about to force anything on you,
even by using guilt. You have to accept it freely, or it means nothing."
Nouma looked into Ranma's eyes for a long time, trying to assimilate what
he'd just heard. "That's why you've been trying to teach me that transference
technique. You're hoping I can save your life."
"I was actually thinking more of the lives of the other people, but I think
your mother would appreciate it if my life can be spared as well." Ranma
blew out a breath. "It's only a dream; none of it may come to pass. I'm
hoping, with your help and the help of the others, that it won't happen that
way."
Nouma continued to look steadily at Ranma. "How were you planning to transfer
the curse to me?"
"I was actually hoping that you wouldn't have to be cursed at all. I've got
lots of contacts around the world; if I could just give them your name, they'll
call you if they need help."
"But what about the magic? Doesn't that play a part in all of your quests?
You've said that becoming female is sometimes necessary."
"I'm hoping that we can leave the magic out of it. I've learned an awful lot
during the past twenty-five years. If I can teach it to you, you won't have
to rely on the magic like I've had to. Instead of the magic bringing
adventures to you, you can look for the adventures yourself. Proactive, rather
than reactive. As to becoming female, you'll find ways around that. You're
smart."
Nouma thought about this for a long time. "I'm not sure it'll work that way,
Father. I'm not sure the curse will simply let you retire or try to pass the
quests off to me."
Ranma grimaced. "I'm not sure, either. I think the first step we would take
would be for you and me to go visit the Guide. She could help us understand
how the magic works, and we could go from there."
"She?"
"Plum's the Guide now."
Nouma licked his lips, thinking. Ranma had clearly put a lot of thought into
this. It also explained why Ranma had been trying to get Nouma to continue
his training. All along, Nouma had been groomed by Ranma as his successor.
Nouma didn't know how he felt about that yet.
Something felt wrong with his father's plan. Nouma didn't know what, but he
had the feeling that it simply wouldn't work. He couldn't think of a reason
why it wouldn't. Certainly talking to Plum was a good first step; she surely
had information they didn't.
It also made him feel better that his father really wasn't interested in
turning him into a woman.
Their thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the door. "If you two are
quite through in there, some other people would be interested in taking a
bath before the stream runs dry." Kodachi resumed her banging.
Nouma shared an amused glance with his father, than got out of the tub and
dried himself off. He once again put off thinking about the curse. Yet, he
couldn't help but notice the idea was getting less and less repulsive. He
still hadn't agreed to it, not by a long shot. But he was on his way. That
frightened Nouma almost as much as anything else that had happened to him so
far.
***
Mikanma watched as her father and brother came out of the bathroom and went
into the men's cabin. Kodachi, Nabiki, Tachi, and Kikuko entered the bathroom.
Mikanma wondered how they would all fit; the tub wasn't *that* big.
For the moment, no one was outside. Mikanma looked around, then slipped into
the trees.
She moved off a small distance, then turned on her computer. She accessed a
map of the area, which showed their campsite, and the cave. The cave was
about five kilometers off. Mikanma studied the map carefully, memorizing its
details, before shutting off the computer and leaving it under a tree. It
wouldn't do to have them track her through her computer.
She jumped high into the air and landed on a tree branch. She began to make
her way from tree to tree. It wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be;
the trees didn't have a lot of convenient landing places. She would often just
grab a branch and hang from it, swinging herself as best she could to another
tree. A couple of times she fell, using her martial arts techniques to land
and roll so that she wouldn't be hurt. Still, the whole exercise was hard on
her hands; they were becoming raw, despite how tough they were due to her
training. She was determined to approach the cave as cautiously as possible,
however, and the trees were the best bet.
After a very difficult hour, she was within sight of the cave. She had been
exceedingly careful during the last kilometer, trying to make as little noise
as possible. She was high upon a tree, looking down at the cave entrance.
It wasn't so much of a cave as a mound of some sort. It was covered with
grass, and rose about 15 meters. The entrance looked like it had been
blocked by large boulders at one time. These boulders had been recently
rolled away, leaving an opening about a meter high and half a meter wide.
The ground around the cave had been trampled on a lot. Mikanma imagined that
the police had been very thorough in examining the area. They had left behind
a device of some sort that sat in front of the cave. It was a small metal
box that had a flashing light and a display of some sort. There was a message
on the screen, but Mikanma was too far away to read it.
It was likely a surveillance device of some sort. The area was officially off
limits. Mikanma wondered how Father had planned on getting around it. Very
likely, Nabiki would have produced a device that would have circumvented the
security.
Mikanma sat on her branch, pondering the situation. As useful as this was
to know, she wanted to bring back more. If she went any further, she risked
exposing their activities.
Her attention was drawn to her right by something making a lot of noise. It
was a large bear, snuffling around on all fours. It left the trees and went
up to the device, sniffing it. It used its nose to push it on its side. The
box made a protest of some sort, and began to say something in English.
Mikanma couldn't quite make it out at this distance, but it was very likely a
warning to go away.
The bear seemed to take offense at the box's behavior. It growled, then
swiped at the box with its paw. The box rolled on its side, still squawking.
The bear huffed and put its front paw on the box. It apparently put its
weight on the box; it crumpled, sending sparks flying. The bear roared in
pain, turned, and ran away, clearly favoring its front paw.
Mikanma waited a few minutes, but the bear did not return. Mikanma smiled,
pleased. This was certainly convenient. The police would, of course, be
sending someone out to replace the unit, but that would likely take a couple
of hours at least. That would be all the time she would need.
Mikanma stood on the branch, carefully balanced herself, coiled, and launched
herself into the air. She did a few somersaults before landing on top of the
mound, rolling a few times. She ended up in a crouch, a position she held
for a minute, waiting to see what would happen.
Nothing did happen. Mikanma straightened herself, then sprang lightly down
the mound, keeping her senses fully alert. She came to entrance and peered
inside. It was fairly dark. She should have brought a flashlight. Oh, well,
she'd work it out as best she could.
She crept to the entrance, straining her senses. She took one step into the
cave, then another. There she paused, waiting for her eyesight to adjust.
She would show them. She would show her brother and her father that she
wasn't totally useless. There was more to her than just martial arts. She
would scout the cave, and bring back valuable information, and Father would
be forced to admit that she was as good as Nouma.
"Or better than Nouma?"
Yes, better. Everyone doted over Nouma. He was supposed to be so smart, and
wise, and a goody-two-shoes like Aunt Kasumi. No one bothered with Mikanma.
She hated that. She would not be ignored.
"Why should you be ignored? You're better than he is. You can beat him up
all the time, that should prove that you're better."
Except Mother didn't see it that way. Neither did Father. They were just so
full of praise for every stupid thing Nouma did, and no one noticed her
accomplishments. She'd show them. She would solve this case by herself, and
they would fall at her feet in praise.
"Would that be enough? They would just give the credit to Nouma. He was the
one who planned everything, they'd say. He told you to do the scouting, they
would say. He would get all the compliments, and no one would pay attention
to you, especially your mother and father, who are sometimes sorry that they
even had a second child."
Mikanma felt tears coming to her eyes. That was her deepest, darkest fear.
She would never be as good as Nouma. He'd even found a way to beat Father in
the dojo, something she couldn't do. She contributed nothing to the family.
She was only a drain on their resources. She and Mother got into fights all
the time. Mother hated her. Father put up with her because she was passably
good at martial arts, but when push came to shove, he chose Nouma over her
every time.
"Ah, but I have chosen you. Who do you think it was that brought you all the
way from Japan? Who do you think sent the bear so that you could step inside
unnoticed? I have a proposal. Allow me to enter. I can make it so that you
won't be ignored. Everyone will have to pay attention to you. They'll know
exactly who Tendo Mikanma is. Your name will be on the lips of millions"
Everyone would pay attention? I wouldn't have to live under Nouma's shadow
any more?
"Trust me, Tendo Mikanma. You will cast your own shadows."
The idea appealed to her. To never again be looked over. No one would slobber
over Nouma ever again. They'd ignore *him* and come to her. That felt so
good to think about. She wanted it. She wanted it very badly.
"Excellent." Something rode her desire to the core of her being and took
residence. There was a part of her that resisted - something that felt that
this was all very wrong - but her desire overrode the objections, with a little
outside help.
She no longer felt in control of her thoughts. But that was all right; she
wouldn't be ignored. Already she felt more powerful, as if her mere presence
would invoke awe in everyone around her.
"Now, here is my command. I need more power. I don't want to take yours; you
are too valuable to me. Bring me someone. Someone I can consume. That will
be the first step on our road to glory."
The idea was very exciting. Who should she choose? Nouma, of course! No one
would pay attention to him if he was dead.
"No! I'll need him, as well as Tendo Ranma. Don't worry, they won't be as
important as you." This last was said slyly, and Mikanma doubted its sincerity
for the briefest moment before her thoughts were wrenched away and forced to
focus on following orders. "Now, now, Tendo Mikanma, enough. Bring me any
of the others. Try your best not to raise suspicion. You must bring them to
this cave. I will do the rest."
Mikanma understood. She turned and left the cave. She ran through the woods,
not bothering with the trees. Something inside of her felt like crying for
some reason, but the promise of fame and glory was more than enough to squelch
that feeling and replace it with exultation.
***
Ryoga was having a bad dream. He was wandering from room to room, looking
for Akari. He couldn't find her. He'd leave a room, only to find that he
had somehow ended up back in the same room. Finally he'd get out of the room,
only to find that he had ended up in Okinawa. He'd called out his wife's
name. He'd hear a very faint echo of her calling for him. He'd try to run
towards the sound, but it only faded away.
Something shook him and he started awake. He stared for quite a few seconds
in complete confusion before he realized where he was and who had wakened him.
"Mikanma?"
She put her hand over his mouth and put her finger to her lips. She then
grabbed his hands and pulled him from the bunk bed. Walking backwards, looking
into his eyes, still holding both his hands, she led him out the door.
Ryoga was getting more and more confused. What was this all about? He opened
his mouth to ask her but she again covered his mouth. She quietly closed the
door to the cabin before leading him from the campground into the nearby
forest.
This was somewhat painful, since he was still barefoot. Ryoga looked at
Mikanma. She was looking determined, filled with a purpose of some sort. He
wondered what he could do for her that her father or brother couldn't. Maybe
it had something to do with the chi techniques they'd been studying earlier.
After leading him for quite some distance - half a kilometer, he imagined -
she turned to him. She smiled shyly and blinked her eyes. "Thanks for coming,
Uncle Ryoga."
Ryoga blinked himself. "Er, Mikanma, what's going on? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Uncle Ryoga." She took a step closer to him, putting her
arms around him. "I just wanted us to be alone." She brought her head up and
kissed him quite passionately.
Ryoga stood rock still, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
He had seen Mikanma grow up, had helped her father train her. He quite liked
her, but she had been nothing more than an ersatz niece. She had never given
him any indication that she saw him as anything other than a family member
and sensei.
He was also very happy with Akari. Their marriage had been nearly idyllic,
with very few rough spots and plenty of joy and happiness. He was totally
devoted to her, and had never entertained thoughts of being with anyone else.
This kiss of Mikanma's was wrong for plenty of reasons. He finally got his
body to respond to his thoughts. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed
her away. She resisted, trying to keep her lips on his. Although she was
strong, not even her father could match Ryoga's strength. He forced her back
a step, looking down at her, still somewhat in shock.
"Mi- Mikanma." He drew a shaky breath. "I- I'm sorry, I can't do this. I'm
married, and I'm your uncle, and this just can't happen."
Mikanma turned her mouth down. "You don't like me! You think I'm ugly, you
hate me just like everyone else!" Turning, she ran from him, sobbing.
"Mikanma!" He ran after her. She was much faster than he was, and soon he
lost sight of her in the rolling terrain and undergrowth. He could still hear
her sobbing, though, and continued to pursue her. He had no idea what was
going on, why she had suddenly come on to him like that. He did know that he
needed to tell her how much he loved her as his niece, how much the sight of
her made him happy in much the same way as the sight of his own sons did. He
needed to calm her down and bring her back to camp, where other, wiser heads
than his could help her.
The chase continued for some time. He would only catch occasional glimpses of
her; she was always just in sight, always about twenty or thirty meters away,
if he could just reach her. She continued to elude him, though.
He finally stopped. This was getting him nowhere. He would have to go back
to camp and get Ranma. He, at least, would be able to catch his daughter.
He'd be in a better position to console her, too.
Ryoga looked around and frowned. He was a long, long way from camp. There
was no trail, and even if there had been, Ryoga knew he was quite capable of
wandering for days looking for the camp. He hadn't brought his computer -
Mikanma had dragged him from the cabin before he could do so much as put on
his boots. He could perhaps fire Moko Takashibas into the air until someone
came after him, but his best bet was to catch Mikanma - she would eventually
get tired of running and let him catch up.
The sound of Mikanma sobbing caused him to look to his right. She was leaning
against a tree, sobbing into hands. This was so unlike her. She had always
reminded Ryoga of her father - so unwilling to admit pain of any sort, always
fighting back against whatever bothered her. To run and cry was to admit
weakness, something she never did.
"Mikanma, wait!" He ran towards her, cursing as he stepped on something
thorny. Mikanma ran away from him. Ryoga suppressed a frustrated sigh, and
chased after her.
Time seemed to slide by as he chased after Mikanma. His mind was in such a
whirl - nothing made sense.
Ryoga burst from the trees into a clearing. A mound was in the center of the
clearing. There seemed to be an entrance of some sort into the mound; Mikanma
was sitting on the ground in front of hit, her head hung between her knees.
Ryoga approached her cautiously, afraid that she might jump away. She didn't
seem to be crying, which was good; perhaps she was ready to talk to him. He
came right up to her, knelt on the ground beside her. "Mikanma, can we talk?"
"Cash-" She broke off.
He frowned, trying to figure that out. "What?"
"Cash-" She sighed, lifted her head, and looked at him. She didn't seem sad;
rather, she seemed almost excited.
Ryoga's frown deepened. "Cash?"
She bounced to her feet, grabbed his shirt, pulled him to his feet, and
positioned him in front of her. She spoke in a conversational tone of voice.
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken."
Ryoga wondered if he wasn't still dreaming. Everything was so bizarre. "Huh?"
She held her fists up. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" This time, the shouted
words were accompanied by hundreds of punches thrown at his body and face.
Ryoga reeled under the attack. He could take a great deal of punishment. Her
attack had been so unexpected, however, that he could do nothing but try to
retreat. He took a step back, and another, his body reverberating under the
force of her blows, his head a little dizzy. He retreated another step. This
time, his foot came up against the rock surrounding the cave entrance. He
stumbled slightly, and Mikanma delivered a powerful kick to his jaw that sent
him flying backwards into the cave.
He fell on the floor, stunned. Somehow, everything became clear. Mikanma's
kiss had just been an act, as had her histrionics afterwards. She had just
wanted him to come here, without anyone else seeing and without his computer.
This was very likely the cave they were worried about, and he was in a lot of
trouble.
"That you are, Hibiki Ryoga. What an idiot you are, never completing high
school, utterly dependent upon your wife, always willing to follow someone
else's lead. So blind, so gullible, so stupid."
He was. He was stupid. Every good thing that had happened to his family had
been because of his wife. He wasn't much better than breeding stock. A prize
pig, used to produce offspring but otherwise doing nothing but eating and
sleeping. He was a pig, in body and soul, not worthy of existence.
He felt his life leaving him. The chi, his life force, was slowly being
drained away. It didn't matter, nothing did. He was a failure.
"You are not a failure." This wasn't the voice from before, or Mikanma. It
was Akari, seeming to speak to him from a great distance. "Where would I be
without you, dear heart? Don't let it take you from me."
With a surge of energy washing away the lassitude, he began to fight against
whatever was stealing his life. Suddenly, pain wracked his body. He went
rigid, every cell of his body screaming as the life was drawn from it.
Ryoga had experienced a lot of pain in the past. He remembered the training
sessions he'd had with Cologne, where he'd smash against boulders and trees,
his whole body becoming toughened and desensitized. If he could withstand
that, he could withstand this.
Breathing raggedly, he turned himself over. He got on his hands and knees
and began to crawl to the cave entrance, all the time fighting to keep his
chi. He saw Mikanma standing at the cave entrance, an expression of something
like horror on her face. That actually made him feel better; whatever it was
that was making her do this to him didn't have a complete claim on her soul.
There was hope for her.
He crawled forward two meters, coming to the entrance. Mikanma blocked his
way. Ryoga didn't have the strength to fight her, he needed her help.
Mikanma crouched down, looking into his eyes, crying genuine tears this time.
"Uncle Ryoga, I'm sorry." She punched him under the jaw, sending him back
into the cave.
Ryoga lay against the rock, the last of his strength gone. His life was
leaving him. He struggled against it, despite the pain it caused him. He
fought the last battle in his mind, holding onto his chi as best he could.
He was losing.
As the chi drained away, something was left behind. Something that permeated
his being as much as his chi had. Ryoga touched at it, and realized with
surprise that it was his curse. The magic of Jusenkyo was sustaining him even
as his chi left him. Ryoga wondered if it would keep him alive.
The curse began to gather itself. Something was about to happen, Ryoga was
certain. He wished he knew what. He wished he knew what to do. He needed
to be smart like Akari or Nouma, needed to come to some sort of decision.
Otherwise he would be dead very shortly.
His thoughts drifted over the course of his life. Growing up in a family that
often wasn't there, lost somewhere. Finding a focus in life by obsessing over
Ranma, vowing revenge. Following Ranma to China, where his life had changed
forever. Having all sorts of strange adventures, meeting Akane and entering
into a peculiar relationship with her. And then the one magical day when he
had met Akari, and found in her love he had never imagined possible. Slowly
getting over Akane and Ranma, and allowing Akari to fill his life. Raising
a family, the miracle of his sons bringing tears to his eyes. Helping his
wife find a cure to the deadly viruses ravaging the planet, seeing her get
the recognition she deserved even if she thought herself unworthy. Finally,
settling into a somewhat stable life, finding love not only within his own
family, but outside as well, within the greater confines of the Tendo clan,
which considered him and his family to be members. He could not have been
happier. He could not have hoped for a better life.
His chi was almost gone, and his ability to think was diminishing as well.
Akari filled his eyes. He apologized to her and told her that he loved her.
Then he made his decision.
***
Mikanma watched as the life left Ryoga's eyes. He had whispered something
right at the very end, but she had been too far away to hear it.
"Well, that was interesting. He had a strange curse on him, a magic I've never
come across before. It seemed very strong. Next time I'll be able to absorb
it as well."
The whisper chuckled. "Still, this was excellent. He had a lot of chi, more
than I've ever consumed before. I can eat more when I can touch the body
directly rather than through an agent. I am very strong now. I need a body
strong enough to hold me. It needs to done delicately. I think for now we
will let them come to me."
The whisper touched her mind. "Go now, Tendo Mikanma. Go among them and do
not let them know what has happened. I will see and hear through you, and
let you know what to do. For now, cooperate with any plan they come up with."
Mikanma felt the tears flowing down her cheeks. They hadn't stopped. She
tried to reach the part of her that was making her cry, but the whisper shut
her down. "A nice try, but you are mine, body and soul. There will be
rewards, later. Sacrifices will, of course, have to be made. But fear not;
in the end, power and glory will be ours for the taking. The journey is off
to an excellent start; do not stumble now."
The thought of how important she would be washed away the pain. Lifting her
eyes from the corpse in front of her, Mikanma ran from the cave, determined
to get back to camp before anyone knew she was missing.
