One Week
By S. Mark Gunther
Prolouge
The night wind blew through Gosunkugi Hikaru's bedroom and rustled past the posters and talismen strewn about. Gosunkugi himself was sleeping rather soundly, visions of Akane Tendo dancing in his head. Another scheme was on his desk, another plan to try and win Akane's heart was mapped out. When he woke up, he would have his revenge.
Or so he thought, as he continues to dream. his body shifted slightly to the wind and he shivered in his sleep. A eye winked open, and he looked over and saw...a shadowy figure standing next to the window. A rather large, lanky, very angular figure just waiting for him.
Now Gosunkugi wasn't an apprentice magician for nothing. He could see better in the dark then he could in the light, and his well trained eyes focused in on the shadows as the moved towards him. All at once the wind in the room stopped and a hush began to envelop the space. Gosunkugi knew he was in the presence of something unearthly.
"Who's...who's there?" He stammered softly, his head rising from the pillow as his eyes focused to adjust to the dim light.
"I'm the man who's going to kill you. Say goodnight." a voice said softly.
"Whaaaa....!!" he exclaimed softly as a rush of heat began to envelop him and everything went light....
--
The next thing Gosunkugi knew, he was sitting on a chair in a room full of white, his clothes gone and a soft set of white fighting robes in their place. A long desk with a rather angry and stern looking being sitting behind it was directly in front of his eyes. After that, nothing but white on white.
"Gosunkugi Hikaru, you have been found in violation of the magician's code of conduct." the being said softly yet sternly. "How do you plead?"
"N....Not guilty...." Gosunkugi stammered, his mind still trying to comprehend what was going on. "What offence am I being charged with?"
"The unlawful use of magic, spells, enchantations, and conjurings for personal benefit expressly forbidden by the code of conduct for magicians and sorcers." The being threw a book at Gosunkugi, hitting him on the forehead with a sharp thunk. "Didn't you read this when you began learning how to cast spells on people?"
"Ummm...I didn't even know this existed," he said as he hefted the book in his thin hands. It was very heavy and very thick, almost like a reference guide he used in class. "I just casted what I thought was going to get me Akane Tendo..."
"Exactly." The being stood up and walked around the desk. His body shone with a soft light and his white on white clothing shimmered as he walked. His soft hair flowed and swayed as he walked, his face slowly losing it's sterness, the beautiful features coming out little by little. He opened the book and pointed to a page he had bookmarked. "It says right here that no spell can be used to sway another person to love the spell caster, except in cases of great bodily or emotional harm. In other words, you can amp yourself up to look better in their eyes, but you cannot use spells to force their love on you."
Gosunkugi looked down and saw that in fact, he had violated the statute stated in the large rulebook. The gilt edges shone at him as he read and the accusations rung in his heart. But he had to make this being understand just why he did it. "But don't you understand? I had to make her love me! Ranma Saotome is an idiot! A moron! A simpleton!"
"And the destined lover of Akane Tendo! Did you ever think of that, you little twit?" The voice was an emotional slap in the face of the young boy and he flinched involuntarily. "You were so determined to have Akane Tendo, you ran roughshod over the other, more outstanding commands from the office of Destiny! You idiot!"
"Destiny was on their side?!" Gosunkugi gasped.
"Of course! Destiny has always been with them. Ranma and Akane are the true lovers of Nerima. Get over it. You cannot have her, and you will never have her. Deal with it." The being snapped the book closed and walked back to the desk, leaving a heartbroked but still defiant Gosunkugi in his chair.
"Then there's nothing to live for. I have no reason to live..." Gosunkugi murmured, his mumblings thick with emotions.
"Well, you don't. At least the way you're thinking." the being sat down and pulled out a file from the binder on his desk. "It says here that you're quietly becoming one of the better students in the classroom, desipte your obsession with defeating Ranma. You're skills as a researcher have earned you a prestigious and well paid job as a lab assistant, and yet you use all your free time to find a way to win the heart of a woman who barely notices you. Your photography skillss are so well known they rival the best in the country, and you use it soley for your childish obsessions. I'd say you have very little to live for."
"Then why are you keeping me here?" Gosunkugi spat out, his voice heavy and angry with unshed tears and cold reality.
"Well, because you are either going to die today and become my personal assistant in the afterlife, or you're going to prove to me that you deserve to be trained as a magician in the full union code. You have 60 seconds to decide." the being sat back in his chair and clicked a button on the arm. A large timer descended and began counting down the seconds.
"You're kidding, right?!" Gosunkugi exclaimed, his voice cold.
"Beings like me never kid. You have 45 seconds."
"Wait! What does this proof have to be?"
"You have to prove to me that in one week you can defeat Ranma Saotome in battle, settle your crush with Akane Tendo by telling her how you feel, and prove to me that you're a useful part of the Nerima community. 20 seconds to chose."
"What happens if I die?"
"You become my personal errand boy and pet. You'll be mine forever. 10 seconds." A small sadistic smile began to creep over the being's lips. He knew just how Gosunkugi was going to choose. They all chose the same way.
"I'll prove it to you." Gosunkugi muttured, his voice low and steady, his determination at full. "I accept your offer."
"Good. With only 3 seconds to spare." With that, the being reached into a file cabinet and pulled out a bag with some items inside of it. He tossed it to the boy and it hit him in the chest with a thud. "Inside of that bag, is everything you'll need for this one week experiment. you have 3 homework assignments, each due on the first 3 days of the week. Days 4, 5, and 6 are your days to prepare your presentation to me. Day 7 is the day you present your demo and I grade you on it. If you score 80 percent or better, you live and will be accepted into the first level magician's training course. If you fail, you die on the spot and I take you as my errand boy. Is that clear?"
"Is there a listing of all this in this bag?" Gosunkugi asked as he hefted the bag and tested it's weight. "Are there all the book I need, and necessary tools?"
"With a few key exceptions, yes. Inside is our ethics book/code of conduct, a lab coat which you must wear at all times, a badge with your name and your training number, and a hat. It will appear to everyone in the real world that you're wearing your regular clothing, but to me and my review associates you'll be garbed in the appropriate attire."
"What about required reading?"
"All of that will be covered in the course syllabus and packet inside of your bag. You'll have a journal in which you have to record your progress with the materials and the experiments you conduct. you also have to write everyday on how you're feeling, up to and including the day of your demonstration."
Gosunkugi shook his head in disbelief. Here he was, in the middle of finals season and now this being was forcing him to do an experiment, where literally his life was on the line. It was unbelieveable! "But what about my regular schooling? I have finals in a few weeks."
"Precisely. Your first test is in 8 days, and I'm going to be starting the experiment the day after the final test is over. You'll still be in school for another 4 days after finals are over, so then you will start the one week labratory. Are we clear?"
"Yes." He stood up to go but then sat back down, a question still on his lips, "What do I call you....ummm...."
"My name is undecipherable, but for now call me Professor Calamity. Chaos Calamity, Professor of Historical Spellcasting and Wizardy, and Chief board certifier of the Worldwide Magicians Union, earth division, to be semi-formal about it. But you will know me as Professor Calamity. Are we clear, Mr. Gosunkugi?"
"Yes it is."
"Good." He pressed a button and a tube came down from the heavens sucking him into the plexiglass walls with a shlurping sound. The chair disappeared and a hole appeared below his body. "Good luck to you. And read the first page of the assignment list! You have an extra assignment for before you start the full week's work..."
"You never said anythinggggggggaaaaaaa!!!!!......" Gosunkugi yelled as he was propelled out of the shaft and into the hole. He felt himself fall down, faster and faster, farther and farther, until....
--
He woke up from the bed with a start, his eyes widening as he remembered the dream he had been a part of. 'It's only a dream. That's what that was. Only a dream...' he thought as his eyes looked around. As he scanned the room, his eyes befell on a cloth bag with a pair of handles on it sitting on the top of his desk. It was the same type of bag...that he had had in his dream...
"It wasn't a dream?!" he murmured as he laid back on the bed, his head throbbing with the blodd rush. There was only one thing that was clear to him as he laid on the bed, his mind trying to remember the events of the dream which now was a reality. Gosunkugi Hikaru now had only 2 weeks to live, and he had to fight every day to get his life back.
---
Nabiki Tendo walked along the schoolyard perimeter, her eyes clear yet clouded by the thoughts running through her mind. It was near the end of the year and she had to organize her thesis writing services for the people waiting to fudge their way through their classes, Tatewaki Kuno being one of them. She was a busy woman and busy people sometimes outsource their talents to others in the attempt to maintain their marketshare.
For Nabiki, the market share she needed to cover was the covert pictures market. She normally had the time to be able to take as many interesting shots of unsuspecting schoolmates in various states of schecanery, but with the multiple research papaers she had to supervise the creation of and her own studies to be concerned with, time was becoming an issue. Then a thought came to her; she could use Gosunkugi to keep up her normal surveilence and still be able to do everything else. And her coercing of the boy would be little more then child's play considering the photos she had of him in many uncompromising positions of lust.
She walked over to the tree she normally knew him to occupy in the early morning hours before school, and found only a note pinned to the base.
Tendo Nabiki,
If you're looking for me for some job, I'm not here. I'm in the labratory working. Please do not disturb me if you can help it, but if you can't be prepared to bring money.
Hikaru Gosunkugi
Nabiki was slightly stunned. Gosunkugi was a good student when he wanted to be, but he was not normally a morning person. In the mornings, she knew he usually preferred to snoop around and experiment with a new spell or take pictures of Akane when he thought she didn't know. She was coznigent enough to know people's tendencies and she knew her occasional business associate's schedule almost as well as he did. She had to, for it was her job to use his tendencies to exploit something out of him at a less then marquee price.
She ignored the beating Ranma and Akane were giving to Tatewaki Kuno and walked into the school, her eyes still taking in and recording the scene for future posterity. She proceeded to the labratory where she knew he was at and looked inside. Gosunkugi sat looking intently at a book and scribbling notes, occasionally adjusting the dark sunglasses her now wore.
"Gosunkugi?" she said softly as she stepped inside the dimly lit room, her feet resounding sharply on the tiles of the floor. His head popped up and his eyes focused in on her face, his head cocking in recognition. "What are you doing here? Aren't you missing an opportunity to spy on my sister?"
"Can't a guy like me take a morning off to actually do some work that means something?" Gosunkugi's voice was oddly dark, the lack of sleep only palely resonating in the boy's voice. Nabiki picked up on this and assumed her usually haughty pose and tone.
"Not when I need you to take photos for me. I have more important things to do and you're never doing anything that matters. That is, unless you want your dirty little secrets to come out for the entire school," she said acidly yet seductively.
Gosunkugi sat silent for a moment, then stood up and walked over to Nabiki, gripping her forearm and wrist with an almost iron-like grasp. The girl stiffened a little, yet did not betray her shock in this to him through her eyes, or anywhere else on her body. His other hand reached up and took off his glasses, slipping them off his face. As his pupils became evident, she couldn't help but step back and seize the door handle.
"If I do this, I want 75,000 yen, to be paid at the end of the day today, and some information from you. Also to be delivered by the end of the day." His voice was calm and measured, his hand like steel on her wrist. She kept her calm expression despite her growing alarm at his changed demeanor and newfound ferocity, quiet though it was. "I need information sheets and phisiological workups on each of the people on that list." He nodded to a sheet of paper nearest to him.
"Care to tell me why?" Nabiki asked, her voice surprisingly steady despite his hand on her arm.
"You don't really care about me or my actions. You merely want to exploit me for what I do and for your own gain. No, I don't care to tell you why, and if I decide to tell you later on, I'll tell you. But for now call this a collateral payment for services rendered." A smile began to cross his lips as he let go of her wrist and gave her the paper. It faded not as she looked at the small list, her eyes intently grabbing the information off the page. A small clock ticked the seconds in a stacatto, metronomically accurate beat, white noise to the two youth eyeing one another in the room.
"50,000 yen and I'll have the information to you tomorrow morning. Can we make a deal?"
"Deal." The boy turned curtly and sat back down, his finger swiftly reclaiming the pencil into his grasp that he had abdicated when he stood. His eyes went back into the material he was studying and his voice lowered accordingly. "Please leave now. Your first class starts in a few minutes and mine doesn't for another hour. I need to finish this before the rest of my work starts today. You'll have the spots I need to photograph for me at lunch, correct?"
"Correct." Nabiki folded the paper and turned to open the door and leave, but as she did a thought popped into her head. Her head turned back to the boy now intently studying again and her lips curled slightly to mount one last charge against the newly discovered haughtyness she encountered. "You know, I still own you Gosunkugi. Remember that I still have you under my thumb, no matter what."
"And you should know that the next time you masturbate, you might want to get under the blankets of your bed before you do it. Any pervert could just take as many photos of you as they would like when you dislay your goods the way you did three night ago. Even me. And I must say, you do wear black lace better then anyone I know." Her gasp signalled to him that he had struck a nerve and the sardonic, tiny smile he gave her verified that Gosunkugi was not bluffing her in any way. The dark glasses he wore sheilded his sparkling yet exhausted eyes from her shocked expression. "You may own me Nabiki Tendo, but you'll never control me again. It is a new day, and there are to be a few changes to be made. Good day, Tendo-san."
She whirled on her heel, the slam of the door merely serving as the last shot in the first skirmish between the pervert and the business woman. Gosunkugi laughed a little and continued to work. His hands flew through the material, his eyes scanned the material with a speed that shocked even his mortal belief. If he hadn't begun the exercises the being had given him that morning, he could have barely gotten through the material he had to read for his tuning up.
The running had helped as well. The other part of his first excercises was to go out running after chanting a spell to enhaqnce his physical powers to the 4th power. While he was not very strong, he had surprisingly speed and endurance and this was accented in the fact that he ran over 15 miles this morning in under 35 minutes. His body barely broke a sweat while his muscles seemed to be re-energized with new movement and growth. His appearance had even begun to change a little as his face and arms began to fatten a little, shedding the pale and rather emaciated look he normally milked to perfection.
The glasses had helped as well. Even though his eyes would have appeaed normal to the passing public, a few people would have noticed the very real color change in his pupils. Normally his eyes shone a flat, waxy brownish hue. But now they shone with a rich, lustrous burgandy shade, accenting his now slightly lighter hair color. He was beginning to change before his very eyes and he didn't know what to make of it except to use it as a catalyst for change.
His run had given him quiet time to think and his mind began to review his notes as the assigned reading he was working on began to wind down. He reevaluated his desires for Akane Tendo and the problems they were leading him into. As time passed, the beings analysis of him began to ring truer then ever in his heart. He was a good student, a hard worker, and a dilligent researcher. He knew he could match wits with the best students in the school if he really wanted to, but he also knew now that he preferred to be in the background. Always watching, always listening, always making sure he knew something someone else didn't.
And Akane was someone he wanted to love, but as his run lengthened he began to realize that as much as he was fond of her, she'd never realize just how good a person he was. He could however become her friend and make his mark with her that way. And wasn't that what he really wanted all along? His mind began to echo more and more as he ran through the streets. Even while walking into school, the fact that few of the students noticed his ascension into the grounds didn't make him mad as it normally did. He was now a magician-assasin, a rare breed of being. His ego was beginning to grow as he began to realize that even with the difficult work he had to do, he was being given a golden opportunity in the one thing he truly loved.
Gosunkugi closed the large book and packed the rest of his materials back into his new bag, adjusting the cloth hat on his head as he finished. Soon the table was bare except for a folder with a few papers in it. He took out the top paper and looked at it for the umpteenth time. The paper contained the syllabus of his crash course, and Gosunkugi looked between the lines of the assignment list with a quiet eagerness:
***
Course Syllabus: Independent Worldwide Magician's Union Certification Course, Earth Division
Professor: Dr. Calamity
Exam Duration: 7 days
Preperation Period: 7 Days directly before the start of the exam.
Course Explanation:
This course is for the apprentice, or apprentice-level magician or sorcerer wishing to gain entry to the WMU. Over a 7 day period, the basic fundementals of the WMU code, along with the student's particular major course of study will be examined by the WMU certification board, proctored directly by the Professor of record.
The preperation period is provided for the student to re-evaluate his or her skills, to choose the experiments used for the pratical labratory portion of the exam, and to do any long-term research necessary over for the main project.
This exam is the basic measuring stick for the magician and/or sorcerer to use as a gauge on how his/her skills have progressed over a length of time and instruction. It is also his/her application for admission into a large and diverse community of beings chosen into this collective, our common goals being the denominator by which we are judged. For the WMU, it is a way to chart the ever evolving community they have been entrusted to protect, govern and serve, along with provide a fair and unbiased avenue into it's halls of respect.
We hope you will approach this exam with all the solemnity and respect that is due to it, pursuant to the long and storied history of this organization. We also hope that your enthusaism forn the noble arts of magic and sorcery will patina your examination with the color of your character. This exam is solely what you make of it.
Exam Requirments:
The WMU exam is divided into 4 parts:
1. Labratory Assignment A
2. Labratory Assignment B
3. Labratory Assignment C
4. Independent Final Project
The labratory assignments are 24 hours in length and they are an examination one particular ideal in the applicant's major course of study. They will be presented in writing, along with any applicable visual media. Each ideal must be approved before it can be worked on, and the approvals must be in writing before the end of the preperation period. If this fails to happen, the applicant cannot take the exam and must wait until the invitation is extended again.
The final project is 96 hours in length, with 72 hours to prepare and 24 hours to present. It is the overall examination of both the applicant's knowledge of the field of study, along with the comprehension of the WMU code of conduct. The project will be presented to a 5 member panel with the inclusion of the proctoring professor as a member of the panel. This project must also be approved in writing before it can be executed. The deadline is the same as the deadline for the labratory assignments.
All labratory assignments, as well as the final exam, must conform to the WMU code of conduct in all aspects of it's preperation and execution. Failure to do so will be so noted with a subtraction of points from the final score.
The passing mark is 80% or higher. All scores under the passing mark can be appealed to the appelate board of directors for regrading, but if the applicant is not certified after the regrading, he will forefit his privilege to reapply for the certification course for 25 years.
Grading Rubic:
Labratory A: 15%
Labratory B: 15%
Labratory C: 15%
Final Project: 55%
All questions regarding any of the guidelines stated for this course must be directed to the proctoring professor.
***
Gosunkugi sighed as he put the paper back into it's manilla folder, the bell for the end of the first period ringing in his ears. He walked out of the labratory into the hallway and instantly began to see all the students meandering around as they passed between their classes. His body carried him to his classroom and he sat down, still deep in thought. The list of names he had given Nabiki were essential for his planning of the work he had to conduct, and he hoped that she would get him what he needed as soon as possible.
Just as his mind began to relax and settle into the day's events, a crash resounded through the classroom as Tatewaki Kuno exploded through the front door, an enraged look on his normally tense face.
"Where is that foul sorcerer Saotome?" he bellowed, charging in a moment after. His hands gripped his bokken with the strength of a thousand warlords before him, and he scanned the room with angry eyes. "I must have his head for taking my desires away from me."
"Kuno, what the hell are you talking abo..." Akane started, beginning to stand up and to confront the boy she had defeated earlier in the morning. She was stopped by a thin arm as Gosunkugi brushed past her to walk into Kuno's zone of safety. His body came deep into Tatewaki's personal space and he stopped.
"Tendo-san, stop. I'll handle this." His eyes turned to Tatewaki's and the agression and the anger he gave there mildly annoyed the kendoist as he evaluated the boy's advance. "What right do you have to come into my classroom and demand to see someone who isn't even here right now? Don't you have your own work to do?"
"Gosunkugi Hikaru, be gone from my sight. I have no time to deal with failures like you. I must destroy that foul Saotome." Tatewaki growled, his shifting feet and body arming himself for a battle he was saving for Ranma.
"Then you'll always be a failure. Kuno Tatewaki, I insist you go back to your classroom and continue your work. Even if you were able to fight Ranma now, you'd have no success, and then I'd not learn and then I would not be able to do your dirty deeds." His voice lowered to a hiss as he stepped closer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And you wouldn't want to have to keep paying Nabiki's prices, do you?"
"....Insolent boy." Tatewaki sighed and put his bokken away, his light battle aura and subsequent anger receding with every second. "I'll not stand for your insolence when my schoolwork awaits. Ranma will wait. You will do work for me later, as I will rerain from punishing you for your disrespect."
"Whatever. Just leave," With a flick of his wrist, he raised his hand and directed Tatewaki to leave. The kendoist shuffled out leaving the rest of the class stunned as they realized who had restored order to the entire class. The man himself returned to his seat, his head stoic, his face clear like stone.
"Thank you for stopping him, Gosunkugi," Akane said softly, her own voice still a trifle shocked as she realized the strength in the boy. Gosunkugi turned to look at her, and for a long moment he thought about saying everything on his mind to her. But, his glasses were slid back onto his nose the black lenses shielding him from everything. With a slight nod of his head, he turned back to the front of the room, his entire body awaiting the start of the new day.
---
The final bell rang, and Nabiki walked out of the main gates, taking her usual route home after a rather uneventful day passed by. Her usual sales went through without a hitch, and Tatewaki Kuno seemed to be more clingy to her then normal, but all in all it was another day in the life of the queen extortionist. She was internally busy, but she didn't show it on the outside. Nabiki was a master at hiding her feelings behind a mask of emotionless disinterest.
But her mask didn't stop a progressively stronger wave of color from showing up on her skin. She had been feeling this rush all day and she didn't like it. And the fact that Gosunkugi had caused this rush of emotions inside of her made her equally angry, for she knew the boy she had kept on a short leash was beginning to get away from her. It wasn't as if Nabiki had feelings for Gosunkugi, but she always had a respect for his abilities and powers noting the potential in his art even before he did. She knew he could be formidable under the right circumstances, and she hoped that she was on the right side of him when that happened.
As she thought this, her eyes scanned across the park just off the Furnikan High School gates, and saw what she was almost intently looking for. Gosunkugi stood against the side of a tree, silently looking off into the far distance, his whole posture serene yet dagerous feeling, like a cobra poised to strike. This was ood to Nabiki, as she had never felt that kind of emotion from the boy before. Every once in a while when he attacked Ranma, the impression was there that his anger personified itself into a form of a mongoose; impassioned yet rushed, angry yet uncalculating. But the boy who came closer to her as she walked towards him was a now much more dangerous and lethal person then she had seen before.
"I have your information, Gosunkugi," she said softly, touching his arm with the tips of her fingers. She reached inside her bag and took out a folder, her head turned away, shielding her from the sight of Hikaru's eyes focusing in on her. When she looked back, she gasped slightly as she saw the now lustrous burgandy hue in his eyes. He was intently looking at her, studying her, breaking her down. She knew this because if she were in a position of power over him like normal, she'd be doing the exact same thing. One spy always knows another when they see the signs and she knew that Gosunkugi was beginning to come into his own. "Although, you're going to get your information on me. Did you think you'd ever get any information about me from me personally?"
"Not in a sheet of paper, but I have pretty much everything I need on you already." Gosunkugi sighed lightly and took the folder, rifling through it with his slender fingertips. "Besides, when you know what kinds of panties a woman wears, you really don't need to know that much else about her. And I must say your panties tell me a lot about you..." he said airily as he closed the folder. Then with a speed that even surprised him, she slammed him against the tree, the heel and palm of her hand digging into his still thin chest. His eyes matched hers, and from his calm surprise he saw her unusually furious expression harden and lock in on him.
"You're not content to be a pervert for my sister that you have to now spy on me as well? You're pathetic, Gosunkugi and now you're going to be mine forever. There's no way I'm going to let you get away with seeing me naked," she hissed softly, her voice taking on her cobra's intensity. She could only feel their bodies as she made her point known, which intensified her further shock at Gosunkugi's newly found agression as he turned on her and slammed her against the tree. He left no impression on the tree, but the impact set the tone for a new set of calculations being run by the girl.
"Why do you assume I was necessarily trying to spy on you directly? I was gathering information for my project. Jus the way you taught me, and just the way I assume you want me to throughout the rest of the week. you should be proud of me. I'm actually using your skills to level the playing field." Gosunkugi uttered these words with a soft, almost hesitant smile which did little to settle the rage boiling in Nabiki's blood.
"What makes you think you'll ever be good enough to match me?"
"What makes you think I was ever going to not get there? Just because you think I still love Akane Tendo? Just because you think I fear anything you have against me? You need me as much as I need you. We could be a fine partnership together if you'd stop thinking you're perfect and not able to be bested in anything." He let go of her and stepped backwards into the early evening. "I have work to do. I'll talk to you later." With a flash he was gone, leaving Nabiki to collect her thoughts and her things for the journey home. She only had one thought on her mind though as she felt her feet carry her to her home:
How the fuck did Hikaru Gosunkugi get that dammed good?!
---
"Mr. Gosunkugi, it's been 6 days. Have you finalized your plans for me?" Professor Calamity asked, sitting behind his desk and waiting for the boy's answer, his light eyebrows flashing as he shifted positions. "I need to forward this to the grading comission after I approve it. Or I need to get you your lackey uniform if you decided to pack it in..."
"Pardon my frend, professor, but no fucking way." With a smile, gosunkugi handed over a small report binder to the being. "Read and tell me what you think." The being too the binder, opened it and read the papers inside. Long moments passed in the space as the being contemplated the stack of papers, thinking about his evaluation slowly. Then he leaned forward and gave the boy his verdict.
"I guess you really want to prove to me and the rest of the grading commission that you're worthy of being accepted into our little society. This is a very ambitious plan you've put together, lad." The being laid the papers down on the desk and looked at Gosunkugi intently.
"If I fail, I fail. If I succeed, I succeed. but regardless of the fact, this experiment list is going to prove some things to the people I know. And if nothing else, it's going to make for one fun week." the young magician pulled out a pen and a notebook and prepared himself for the notes he would have to take down from the being. "Does my project approve your standards?"
"Yes they do. You are now cleared to the first day of the practical examination. No changes will I make on your assignment list." The being placed the paper into a small basket on the top of his desk and snapped his fingers. The walls dissolved away in front of his eyes and he found that in a moment he was sitting in a large labratory, filled with desks, a chalkboard, all sorts of scientific equipment, sinks and whatnot. A true learning facility worthy of any good scientist. "This is where you'll be doing your experiments in the research arena. You can come here merely by using the entry spell given to you in your manual. Page 11, top section. We have everything you need from a simple microscope to the latest in genetic research. All the items here are at your disposal. Time stops in your world when you come here, so no time penalties will be held against you if you come here to do experiements. You can come here as often as you like during your experiments, but you can only come here a maximum of 12 hours all together your time per day."
The being snapped his fingers again and the walls dissolved into a large library, dusty and weather beaten. Sunlight streamed in through the large glass windows like a vintage old school library, and other beings slowly walked around looking for books, or sat at long tables with huge piles of materials strewn about. In short, it was a place where studying was a way of existing. "This is the medical, magical, mystical, and psychological library of the WMU. Many beings use this to research new spells, older techniques, and generally have a quiet place to work. The same rules apply here as the rules for the lab. You have 12 seperate hours here, so you don't have to skimp on either side of the processes." He snapped his fingers one last time and they were back in the office where the entire saga started.
"So that's it?" Gosunkugi asked, his mind swimming with the thoughts now rambling in his head.
"Yup. But let me give you a piece of advice: Don't fear anything. Remember the old saying, "Who Dares, Wins". You cannot be a magician and/or a sorcerer and be built on fear. Fear is a stepping stone. Do not let it become a stumbling block. You have a lot of talent, Gosunkugi; do not let your fear hamper your creativity. You have to defeat someone who is not able to be defeated by normal methods. Use our guidelines to your advantage to get a victory. And remember, a loss in the world many not be a failure in our code."
With a snap of his fingers Gosunkugi fell through a small hole in the floor, leaving the room empty as before. The being then leaned back and toked on a large fat cuban cigar, smiling a little as he thought of the enxt 7 days and how much fun they were going to be.
---
Gosunkugi found himself sitting at his desk, his newly found muscles and strength taxed after the journey. He looked over at the corner of his desk and saw his binder sitting there with an intricate rubber ink stamp on the front page reading, "Approved - WMU Examination Board". There was also a small postscript at the bottom that Gosunkugi read, the words making his hair stand up on the back of his neck in anticipation.
'You're now on the clock, young man. Make every second count. Good luck.'
It was going to be one fun week.
By S. Mark Gunther
Prolouge
The night wind blew through Gosunkugi Hikaru's bedroom and rustled past the posters and talismen strewn about. Gosunkugi himself was sleeping rather soundly, visions of Akane Tendo dancing in his head. Another scheme was on his desk, another plan to try and win Akane's heart was mapped out. When he woke up, he would have his revenge.
Or so he thought, as he continues to dream. his body shifted slightly to the wind and he shivered in his sleep. A eye winked open, and he looked over and saw...a shadowy figure standing next to the window. A rather large, lanky, very angular figure just waiting for him.
Now Gosunkugi wasn't an apprentice magician for nothing. He could see better in the dark then he could in the light, and his well trained eyes focused in on the shadows as the moved towards him. All at once the wind in the room stopped and a hush began to envelop the space. Gosunkugi knew he was in the presence of something unearthly.
"Who's...who's there?" He stammered softly, his head rising from the pillow as his eyes focused to adjust to the dim light.
"I'm the man who's going to kill you. Say goodnight." a voice said softly.
"Whaaaa....!!" he exclaimed softly as a rush of heat began to envelop him and everything went light....
--
The next thing Gosunkugi knew, he was sitting on a chair in a room full of white, his clothes gone and a soft set of white fighting robes in their place. A long desk with a rather angry and stern looking being sitting behind it was directly in front of his eyes. After that, nothing but white on white.
"Gosunkugi Hikaru, you have been found in violation of the magician's code of conduct." the being said softly yet sternly. "How do you plead?"
"N....Not guilty...." Gosunkugi stammered, his mind still trying to comprehend what was going on. "What offence am I being charged with?"
"The unlawful use of magic, spells, enchantations, and conjurings for personal benefit expressly forbidden by the code of conduct for magicians and sorcers." The being threw a book at Gosunkugi, hitting him on the forehead with a sharp thunk. "Didn't you read this when you began learning how to cast spells on people?"
"Ummm...I didn't even know this existed," he said as he hefted the book in his thin hands. It was very heavy and very thick, almost like a reference guide he used in class. "I just casted what I thought was going to get me Akane Tendo..."
"Exactly." The being stood up and walked around the desk. His body shone with a soft light and his white on white clothing shimmered as he walked. His soft hair flowed and swayed as he walked, his face slowly losing it's sterness, the beautiful features coming out little by little. He opened the book and pointed to a page he had bookmarked. "It says right here that no spell can be used to sway another person to love the spell caster, except in cases of great bodily or emotional harm. In other words, you can amp yourself up to look better in their eyes, but you cannot use spells to force their love on you."
Gosunkugi looked down and saw that in fact, he had violated the statute stated in the large rulebook. The gilt edges shone at him as he read and the accusations rung in his heart. But he had to make this being understand just why he did it. "But don't you understand? I had to make her love me! Ranma Saotome is an idiot! A moron! A simpleton!"
"And the destined lover of Akane Tendo! Did you ever think of that, you little twit?" The voice was an emotional slap in the face of the young boy and he flinched involuntarily. "You were so determined to have Akane Tendo, you ran roughshod over the other, more outstanding commands from the office of Destiny! You idiot!"
"Destiny was on their side?!" Gosunkugi gasped.
"Of course! Destiny has always been with them. Ranma and Akane are the true lovers of Nerima. Get over it. You cannot have her, and you will never have her. Deal with it." The being snapped the book closed and walked back to the desk, leaving a heartbroked but still defiant Gosunkugi in his chair.
"Then there's nothing to live for. I have no reason to live..." Gosunkugi murmured, his mumblings thick with emotions.
"Well, you don't. At least the way you're thinking." the being sat down and pulled out a file from the binder on his desk. "It says here that you're quietly becoming one of the better students in the classroom, desipte your obsession with defeating Ranma. You're skills as a researcher have earned you a prestigious and well paid job as a lab assistant, and yet you use all your free time to find a way to win the heart of a woman who barely notices you. Your photography skillss are so well known they rival the best in the country, and you use it soley for your childish obsessions. I'd say you have very little to live for."
"Then why are you keeping me here?" Gosunkugi spat out, his voice heavy and angry with unshed tears and cold reality.
"Well, because you are either going to die today and become my personal assistant in the afterlife, or you're going to prove to me that you deserve to be trained as a magician in the full union code. You have 60 seconds to decide." the being sat back in his chair and clicked a button on the arm. A large timer descended and began counting down the seconds.
"You're kidding, right?!" Gosunkugi exclaimed, his voice cold.
"Beings like me never kid. You have 45 seconds."
"Wait! What does this proof have to be?"
"You have to prove to me that in one week you can defeat Ranma Saotome in battle, settle your crush with Akane Tendo by telling her how you feel, and prove to me that you're a useful part of the Nerima community. 20 seconds to chose."
"What happens if I die?"
"You become my personal errand boy and pet. You'll be mine forever. 10 seconds." A small sadistic smile began to creep over the being's lips. He knew just how Gosunkugi was going to choose. They all chose the same way.
"I'll prove it to you." Gosunkugi muttured, his voice low and steady, his determination at full. "I accept your offer."
"Good. With only 3 seconds to spare." With that, the being reached into a file cabinet and pulled out a bag with some items inside of it. He tossed it to the boy and it hit him in the chest with a thud. "Inside of that bag, is everything you'll need for this one week experiment. you have 3 homework assignments, each due on the first 3 days of the week. Days 4, 5, and 6 are your days to prepare your presentation to me. Day 7 is the day you present your demo and I grade you on it. If you score 80 percent or better, you live and will be accepted into the first level magician's training course. If you fail, you die on the spot and I take you as my errand boy. Is that clear?"
"Is there a listing of all this in this bag?" Gosunkugi asked as he hefted the bag and tested it's weight. "Are there all the book I need, and necessary tools?"
"With a few key exceptions, yes. Inside is our ethics book/code of conduct, a lab coat which you must wear at all times, a badge with your name and your training number, and a hat. It will appear to everyone in the real world that you're wearing your regular clothing, but to me and my review associates you'll be garbed in the appropriate attire."
"What about required reading?"
"All of that will be covered in the course syllabus and packet inside of your bag. You'll have a journal in which you have to record your progress with the materials and the experiments you conduct. you also have to write everyday on how you're feeling, up to and including the day of your demonstration."
Gosunkugi shook his head in disbelief. Here he was, in the middle of finals season and now this being was forcing him to do an experiment, where literally his life was on the line. It was unbelieveable! "But what about my regular schooling? I have finals in a few weeks."
"Precisely. Your first test is in 8 days, and I'm going to be starting the experiment the day after the final test is over. You'll still be in school for another 4 days after finals are over, so then you will start the one week labratory. Are we clear?"
"Yes." He stood up to go but then sat back down, a question still on his lips, "What do I call you....ummm...."
"My name is undecipherable, but for now call me Professor Calamity. Chaos Calamity, Professor of Historical Spellcasting and Wizardy, and Chief board certifier of the Worldwide Magicians Union, earth division, to be semi-formal about it. But you will know me as Professor Calamity. Are we clear, Mr. Gosunkugi?"
"Yes it is."
"Good." He pressed a button and a tube came down from the heavens sucking him into the plexiglass walls with a shlurping sound. The chair disappeared and a hole appeared below his body. "Good luck to you. And read the first page of the assignment list! You have an extra assignment for before you start the full week's work..."
"You never said anythinggggggggaaaaaaa!!!!!......" Gosunkugi yelled as he was propelled out of the shaft and into the hole. He felt himself fall down, faster and faster, farther and farther, until....
--
He woke up from the bed with a start, his eyes widening as he remembered the dream he had been a part of. 'It's only a dream. That's what that was. Only a dream...' he thought as his eyes looked around. As he scanned the room, his eyes befell on a cloth bag with a pair of handles on it sitting on the top of his desk. It was the same type of bag...that he had had in his dream...
"It wasn't a dream?!" he murmured as he laid back on the bed, his head throbbing with the blodd rush. There was only one thing that was clear to him as he laid on the bed, his mind trying to remember the events of the dream which now was a reality. Gosunkugi Hikaru now had only 2 weeks to live, and he had to fight every day to get his life back.
---
Nabiki Tendo walked along the schoolyard perimeter, her eyes clear yet clouded by the thoughts running through her mind. It was near the end of the year and she had to organize her thesis writing services for the people waiting to fudge their way through their classes, Tatewaki Kuno being one of them. She was a busy woman and busy people sometimes outsource their talents to others in the attempt to maintain their marketshare.
For Nabiki, the market share she needed to cover was the covert pictures market. She normally had the time to be able to take as many interesting shots of unsuspecting schoolmates in various states of schecanery, but with the multiple research papaers she had to supervise the creation of and her own studies to be concerned with, time was becoming an issue. Then a thought came to her; she could use Gosunkugi to keep up her normal surveilence and still be able to do everything else. And her coercing of the boy would be little more then child's play considering the photos she had of him in many uncompromising positions of lust.
She walked over to the tree she normally knew him to occupy in the early morning hours before school, and found only a note pinned to the base.
Tendo Nabiki,
If you're looking for me for some job, I'm not here. I'm in the labratory working. Please do not disturb me if you can help it, but if you can't be prepared to bring money.
Hikaru Gosunkugi
Nabiki was slightly stunned. Gosunkugi was a good student when he wanted to be, but he was not normally a morning person. In the mornings, she knew he usually preferred to snoop around and experiment with a new spell or take pictures of Akane when he thought she didn't know. She was coznigent enough to know people's tendencies and she knew her occasional business associate's schedule almost as well as he did. She had to, for it was her job to use his tendencies to exploit something out of him at a less then marquee price.
She ignored the beating Ranma and Akane were giving to Tatewaki Kuno and walked into the school, her eyes still taking in and recording the scene for future posterity. She proceeded to the labratory where she knew he was at and looked inside. Gosunkugi sat looking intently at a book and scribbling notes, occasionally adjusting the dark sunglasses her now wore.
"Gosunkugi?" she said softly as she stepped inside the dimly lit room, her feet resounding sharply on the tiles of the floor. His head popped up and his eyes focused in on her face, his head cocking in recognition. "What are you doing here? Aren't you missing an opportunity to spy on my sister?"
"Can't a guy like me take a morning off to actually do some work that means something?" Gosunkugi's voice was oddly dark, the lack of sleep only palely resonating in the boy's voice. Nabiki picked up on this and assumed her usually haughty pose and tone.
"Not when I need you to take photos for me. I have more important things to do and you're never doing anything that matters. That is, unless you want your dirty little secrets to come out for the entire school," she said acidly yet seductively.
Gosunkugi sat silent for a moment, then stood up and walked over to Nabiki, gripping her forearm and wrist with an almost iron-like grasp. The girl stiffened a little, yet did not betray her shock in this to him through her eyes, or anywhere else on her body. His other hand reached up and took off his glasses, slipping them off his face. As his pupils became evident, she couldn't help but step back and seize the door handle.
"If I do this, I want 75,000 yen, to be paid at the end of the day today, and some information from you. Also to be delivered by the end of the day." His voice was calm and measured, his hand like steel on her wrist. She kept her calm expression despite her growing alarm at his changed demeanor and newfound ferocity, quiet though it was. "I need information sheets and phisiological workups on each of the people on that list." He nodded to a sheet of paper nearest to him.
"Care to tell me why?" Nabiki asked, her voice surprisingly steady despite his hand on her arm.
"You don't really care about me or my actions. You merely want to exploit me for what I do and for your own gain. No, I don't care to tell you why, and if I decide to tell you later on, I'll tell you. But for now call this a collateral payment for services rendered." A smile began to cross his lips as he let go of her wrist and gave her the paper. It faded not as she looked at the small list, her eyes intently grabbing the information off the page. A small clock ticked the seconds in a stacatto, metronomically accurate beat, white noise to the two youth eyeing one another in the room.
"50,000 yen and I'll have the information to you tomorrow morning. Can we make a deal?"
"Deal." The boy turned curtly and sat back down, his finger swiftly reclaiming the pencil into his grasp that he had abdicated when he stood. His eyes went back into the material he was studying and his voice lowered accordingly. "Please leave now. Your first class starts in a few minutes and mine doesn't for another hour. I need to finish this before the rest of my work starts today. You'll have the spots I need to photograph for me at lunch, correct?"
"Correct." Nabiki folded the paper and turned to open the door and leave, but as she did a thought popped into her head. Her head turned back to the boy now intently studying again and her lips curled slightly to mount one last charge against the newly discovered haughtyness she encountered. "You know, I still own you Gosunkugi. Remember that I still have you under my thumb, no matter what."
"And you should know that the next time you masturbate, you might want to get under the blankets of your bed before you do it. Any pervert could just take as many photos of you as they would like when you dislay your goods the way you did three night ago. Even me. And I must say, you do wear black lace better then anyone I know." Her gasp signalled to him that he had struck a nerve and the sardonic, tiny smile he gave her verified that Gosunkugi was not bluffing her in any way. The dark glasses he wore sheilded his sparkling yet exhausted eyes from her shocked expression. "You may own me Nabiki Tendo, but you'll never control me again. It is a new day, and there are to be a few changes to be made. Good day, Tendo-san."
She whirled on her heel, the slam of the door merely serving as the last shot in the first skirmish between the pervert and the business woman. Gosunkugi laughed a little and continued to work. His hands flew through the material, his eyes scanned the material with a speed that shocked even his mortal belief. If he hadn't begun the exercises the being had given him that morning, he could have barely gotten through the material he had to read for his tuning up.
The running had helped as well. The other part of his first excercises was to go out running after chanting a spell to enhaqnce his physical powers to the 4th power. While he was not very strong, he had surprisingly speed and endurance and this was accented in the fact that he ran over 15 miles this morning in under 35 minutes. His body barely broke a sweat while his muscles seemed to be re-energized with new movement and growth. His appearance had even begun to change a little as his face and arms began to fatten a little, shedding the pale and rather emaciated look he normally milked to perfection.
The glasses had helped as well. Even though his eyes would have appeaed normal to the passing public, a few people would have noticed the very real color change in his pupils. Normally his eyes shone a flat, waxy brownish hue. But now they shone with a rich, lustrous burgandy shade, accenting his now slightly lighter hair color. He was beginning to change before his very eyes and he didn't know what to make of it except to use it as a catalyst for change.
His run had given him quiet time to think and his mind began to review his notes as the assigned reading he was working on began to wind down. He reevaluated his desires for Akane Tendo and the problems they were leading him into. As time passed, the beings analysis of him began to ring truer then ever in his heart. He was a good student, a hard worker, and a dilligent researcher. He knew he could match wits with the best students in the school if he really wanted to, but he also knew now that he preferred to be in the background. Always watching, always listening, always making sure he knew something someone else didn't.
And Akane was someone he wanted to love, but as his run lengthened he began to realize that as much as he was fond of her, she'd never realize just how good a person he was. He could however become her friend and make his mark with her that way. And wasn't that what he really wanted all along? His mind began to echo more and more as he ran through the streets. Even while walking into school, the fact that few of the students noticed his ascension into the grounds didn't make him mad as it normally did. He was now a magician-assasin, a rare breed of being. His ego was beginning to grow as he began to realize that even with the difficult work he had to do, he was being given a golden opportunity in the one thing he truly loved.
Gosunkugi closed the large book and packed the rest of his materials back into his new bag, adjusting the cloth hat on his head as he finished. Soon the table was bare except for a folder with a few papers in it. He took out the top paper and looked at it for the umpteenth time. The paper contained the syllabus of his crash course, and Gosunkugi looked between the lines of the assignment list with a quiet eagerness:
***
Course Syllabus: Independent Worldwide Magician's Union Certification Course, Earth Division
Professor: Dr. Calamity
Exam Duration: 7 days
Preperation Period: 7 Days directly before the start of the exam.
Course Explanation:
This course is for the apprentice, or apprentice-level magician or sorcerer wishing to gain entry to the WMU. Over a 7 day period, the basic fundementals of the WMU code, along with the student's particular major course of study will be examined by the WMU certification board, proctored directly by the Professor of record.
The preperation period is provided for the student to re-evaluate his or her skills, to choose the experiments used for the pratical labratory portion of the exam, and to do any long-term research necessary over for the main project.
This exam is the basic measuring stick for the magician and/or sorcerer to use as a gauge on how his/her skills have progressed over a length of time and instruction. It is also his/her application for admission into a large and diverse community of beings chosen into this collective, our common goals being the denominator by which we are judged. For the WMU, it is a way to chart the ever evolving community they have been entrusted to protect, govern and serve, along with provide a fair and unbiased avenue into it's halls of respect.
We hope you will approach this exam with all the solemnity and respect that is due to it, pursuant to the long and storied history of this organization. We also hope that your enthusaism forn the noble arts of magic and sorcery will patina your examination with the color of your character. This exam is solely what you make of it.
Exam Requirments:
The WMU exam is divided into 4 parts:
1. Labratory Assignment A
2. Labratory Assignment B
3. Labratory Assignment C
4. Independent Final Project
The labratory assignments are 24 hours in length and they are an examination one particular ideal in the applicant's major course of study. They will be presented in writing, along with any applicable visual media. Each ideal must be approved before it can be worked on, and the approvals must be in writing before the end of the preperation period. If this fails to happen, the applicant cannot take the exam and must wait until the invitation is extended again.
The final project is 96 hours in length, with 72 hours to prepare and 24 hours to present. It is the overall examination of both the applicant's knowledge of the field of study, along with the comprehension of the WMU code of conduct. The project will be presented to a 5 member panel with the inclusion of the proctoring professor as a member of the panel. This project must also be approved in writing before it can be executed. The deadline is the same as the deadline for the labratory assignments.
All labratory assignments, as well as the final exam, must conform to the WMU code of conduct in all aspects of it's preperation and execution. Failure to do so will be so noted with a subtraction of points from the final score.
The passing mark is 80% or higher. All scores under the passing mark can be appealed to the appelate board of directors for regrading, but if the applicant is not certified after the regrading, he will forefit his privilege to reapply for the certification course for 25 years.
Grading Rubic:
Labratory A: 15%
Labratory B: 15%
Labratory C: 15%
Final Project: 55%
All questions regarding any of the guidelines stated for this course must be directed to the proctoring professor.
***
Gosunkugi sighed as he put the paper back into it's manilla folder, the bell for the end of the first period ringing in his ears. He walked out of the labratory into the hallway and instantly began to see all the students meandering around as they passed between their classes. His body carried him to his classroom and he sat down, still deep in thought. The list of names he had given Nabiki were essential for his planning of the work he had to conduct, and he hoped that she would get him what he needed as soon as possible.
Just as his mind began to relax and settle into the day's events, a crash resounded through the classroom as Tatewaki Kuno exploded through the front door, an enraged look on his normally tense face.
"Where is that foul sorcerer Saotome?" he bellowed, charging in a moment after. His hands gripped his bokken with the strength of a thousand warlords before him, and he scanned the room with angry eyes. "I must have his head for taking my desires away from me."
"Kuno, what the hell are you talking abo..." Akane started, beginning to stand up and to confront the boy she had defeated earlier in the morning. She was stopped by a thin arm as Gosunkugi brushed past her to walk into Kuno's zone of safety. His body came deep into Tatewaki's personal space and he stopped.
"Tendo-san, stop. I'll handle this." His eyes turned to Tatewaki's and the agression and the anger he gave there mildly annoyed the kendoist as he evaluated the boy's advance. "What right do you have to come into my classroom and demand to see someone who isn't even here right now? Don't you have your own work to do?"
"Gosunkugi Hikaru, be gone from my sight. I have no time to deal with failures like you. I must destroy that foul Saotome." Tatewaki growled, his shifting feet and body arming himself for a battle he was saving for Ranma.
"Then you'll always be a failure. Kuno Tatewaki, I insist you go back to your classroom and continue your work. Even if you were able to fight Ranma now, you'd have no success, and then I'd not learn and then I would not be able to do your dirty deeds." His voice lowered to a hiss as he stepped closer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And you wouldn't want to have to keep paying Nabiki's prices, do you?"
"....Insolent boy." Tatewaki sighed and put his bokken away, his light battle aura and subsequent anger receding with every second. "I'll not stand for your insolence when my schoolwork awaits. Ranma will wait. You will do work for me later, as I will rerain from punishing you for your disrespect."
"Whatever. Just leave," With a flick of his wrist, he raised his hand and directed Tatewaki to leave. The kendoist shuffled out leaving the rest of the class stunned as they realized who had restored order to the entire class. The man himself returned to his seat, his head stoic, his face clear like stone.
"Thank you for stopping him, Gosunkugi," Akane said softly, her own voice still a trifle shocked as she realized the strength in the boy. Gosunkugi turned to look at her, and for a long moment he thought about saying everything on his mind to her. But, his glasses were slid back onto his nose the black lenses shielding him from everything. With a slight nod of his head, he turned back to the front of the room, his entire body awaiting the start of the new day.
---
The final bell rang, and Nabiki walked out of the main gates, taking her usual route home after a rather uneventful day passed by. Her usual sales went through without a hitch, and Tatewaki Kuno seemed to be more clingy to her then normal, but all in all it was another day in the life of the queen extortionist. She was internally busy, but she didn't show it on the outside. Nabiki was a master at hiding her feelings behind a mask of emotionless disinterest.
But her mask didn't stop a progressively stronger wave of color from showing up on her skin. She had been feeling this rush all day and she didn't like it. And the fact that Gosunkugi had caused this rush of emotions inside of her made her equally angry, for she knew the boy she had kept on a short leash was beginning to get away from her. It wasn't as if Nabiki had feelings for Gosunkugi, but she always had a respect for his abilities and powers noting the potential in his art even before he did. She knew he could be formidable under the right circumstances, and she hoped that she was on the right side of him when that happened.
As she thought this, her eyes scanned across the park just off the Furnikan High School gates, and saw what she was almost intently looking for. Gosunkugi stood against the side of a tree, silently looking off into the far distance, his whole posture serene yet dagerous feeling, like a cobra poised to strike. This was ood to Nabiki, as she had never felt that kind of emotion from the boy before. Every once in a while when he attacked Ranma, the impression was there that his anger personified itself into a form of a mongoose; impassioned yet rushed, angry yet uncalculating. But the boy who came closer to her as she walked towards him was a now much more dangerous and lethal person then she had seen before.
"I have your information, Gosunkugi," she said softly, touching his arm with the tips of her fingers. She reached inside her bag and took out a folder, her head turned away, shielding her from the sight of Hikaru's eyes focusing in on her. When she looked back, she gasped slightly as she saw the now lustrous burgandy hue in his eyes. He was intently looking at her, studying her, breaking her down. She knew this because if she were in a position of power over him like normal, she'd be doing the exact same thing. One spy always knows another when they see the signs and she knew that Gosunkugi was beginning to come into his own. "Although, you're going to get your information on me. Did you think you'd ever get any information about me from me personally?"
"Not in a sheet of paper, but I have pretty much everything I need on you already." Gosunkugi sighed lightly and took the folder, rifling through it with his slender fingertips. "Besides, when you know what kinds of panties a woman wears, you really don't need to know that much else about her. And I must say your panties tell me a lot about you..." he said airily as he closed the folder. Then with a speed that even surprised him, she slammed him against the tree, the heel and palm of her hand digging into his still thin chest. His eyes matched hers, and from his calm surprise he saw her unusually furious expression harden and lock in on him.
"You're not content to be a pervert for my sister that you have to now spy on me as well? You're pathetic, Gosunkugi and now you're going to be mine forever. There's no way I'm going to let you get away with seeing me naked," she hissed softly, her voice taking on her cobra's intensity. She could only feel their bodies as she made her point known, which intensified her further shock at Gosunkugi's newly found agression as he turned on her and slammed her against the tree. He left no impression on the tree, but the impact set the tone for a new set of calculations being run by the girl.
"Why do you assume I was necessarily trying to spy on you directly? I was gathering information for my project. Jus the way you taught me, and just the way I assume you want me to throughout the rest of the week. you should be proud of me. I'm actually using your skills to level the playing field." Gosunkugi uttered these words with a soft, almost hesitant smile which did little to settle the rage boiling in Nabiki's blood.
"What makes you think you'll ever be good enough to match me?"
"What makes you think I was ever going to not get there? Just because you think I still love Akane Tendo? Just because you think I fear anything you have against me? You need me as much as I need you. We could be a fine partnership together if you'd stop thinking you're perfect and not able to be bested in anything." He let go of her and stepped backwards into the early evening. "I have work to do. I'll talk to you later." With a flash he was gone, leaving Nabiki to collect her thoughts and her things for the journey home. She only had one thought on her mind though as she felt her feet carry her to her home:
How the fuck did Hikaru Gosunkugi get that dammed good?!
---
"Mr. Gosunkugi, it's been 6 days. Have you finalized your plans for me?" Professor Calamity asked, sitting behind his desk and waiting for the boy's answer, his light eyebrows flashing as he shifted positions. "I need to forward this to the grading comission after I approve it. Or I need to get you your lackey uniform if you decided to pack it in..."
"Pardon my frend, professor, but no fucking way." With a smile, gosunkugi handed over a small report binder to the being. "Read and tell me what you think." The being too the binder, opened it and read the papers inside. Long moments passed in the space as the being contemplated the stack of papers, thinking about his evaluation slowly. Then he leaned forward and gave the boy his verdict.
"I guess you really want to prove to me and the rest of the grading commission that you're worthy of being accepted into our little society. This is a very ambitious plan you've put together, lad." The being laid the papers down on the desk and looked at Gosunkugi intently.
"If I fail, I fail. If I succeed, I succeed. but regardless of the fact, this experiment list is going to prove some things to the people I know. And if nothing else, it's going to make for one fun week." the young magician pulled out a pen and a notebook and prepared himself for the notes he would have to take down from the being. "Does my project approve your standards?"
"Yes they do. You are now cleared to the first day of the practical examination. No changes will I make on your assignment list." The being placed the paper into a small basket on the top of his desk and snapped his fingers. The walls dissolved away in front of his eyes and he found that in a moment he was sitting in a large labratory, filled with desks, a chalkboard, all sorts of scientific equipment, sinks and whatnot. A true learning facility worthy of any good scientist. "This is where you'll be doing your experiments in the research arena. You can come here merely by using the entry spell given to you in your manual. Page 11, top section. We have everything you need from a simple microscope to the latest in genetic research. All the items here are at your disposal. Time stops in your world when you come here, so no time penalties will be held against you if you come here to do experiements. You can come here as often as you like during your experiments, but you can only come here a maximum of 12 hours all together your time per day."
The being snapped his fingers again and the walls dissolved into a large library, dusty and weather beaten. Sunlight streamed in through the large glass windows like a vintage old school library, and other beings slowly walked around looking for books, or sat at long tables with huge piles of materials strewn about. In short, it was a place where studying was a way of existing. "This is the medical, magical, mystical, and psychological library of the WMU. Many beings use this to research new spells, older techniques, and generally have a quiet place to work. The same rules apply here as the rules for the lab. You have 12 seperate hours here, so you don't have to skimp on either side of the processes." He snapped his fingers one last time and they were back in the office where the entire saga started.
"So that's it?" Gosunkugi asked, his mind swimming with the thoughts now rambling in his head.
"Yup. But let me give you a piece of advice: Don't fear anything. Remember the old saying, "Who Dares, Wins". You cannot be a magician and/or a sorcerer and be built on fear. Fear is a stepping stone. Do not let it become a stumbling block. You have a lot of talent, Gosunkugi; do not let your fear hamper your creativity. You have to defeat someone who is not able to be defeated by normal methods. Use our guidelines to your advantage to get a victory. And remember, a loss in the world many not be a failure in our code."
With a snap of his fingers Gosunkugi fell through a small hole in the floor, leaving the room empty as before. The being then leaned back and toked on a large fat cuban cigar, smiling a little as he thought of the enxt 7 days and how much fun they were going to be.
---
Gosunkugi found himself sitting at his desk, his newly found muscles and strength taxed after the journey. He looked over at the corner of his desk and saw his binder sitting there with an intricate rubber ink stamp on the front page reading, "Approved - WMU Examination Board". There was also a small postscript at the bottom that Gosunkugi read, the words making his hair stand up on the back of his neck in anticipation.
'You're now on the clock, young man. Make every second count. Good luck.'
It was going to be one fun week.