Chapter 3: Chaos

Kasumi groaned and tried to sit up but felt small hands hold her down. "Sshhhh. Lay still," a small voice told her. "You're badly hurt. Let us help you".

"Uhh…Who are you?"

"Friends," a second voice said. It sounded like a child's voice.

"Where are we?"

"Not where you were. We are somewhere safe," A third voice said.

"You sound like children. What are your names?"

"We have no names. Usually we are called 'Hey you,'" laughed the second.

"Occasionally, the mages assign us numbers or A, B, or C if they need more than one of us," added the first voice.

"Please excuse this question, but what are you?" continued Kasumi.

"Hmmm. That's a good question," responded the second voice. "I suppose we are spirits, imps, or sprites. Ideas that have become animated by a Kami's blessing. Not the unborn, but the never-born. We spend our time gathering power to become more than we are."

"We also spend our time learning. Mages summon us to do odd jobs for them. They must pay us in knowledge and magic. If they are sloppy, we can trade some of the magic for life force or Chi as it is sometimes called," the third chimed in.

"I cannot see you," Kasumi stated. "I cannot see anything!" Panic began to filter into her voice.

"Hush now," The first said in a comforting voice. "Your eyes have been badly burned, but we may be able to fix them *if* you stay calm".

"I'll try."

"Good. Besides, there's nothing to see right now. Mortals cannot see us, and our environment is unformed right now."

"Unformed? Where are we?" Kasumi asked again.

The third responded "We are at a beginning. A clean start. There's infinite potential, but nothing real yet. With the power you took from Henna, we were able to bring you here. We can also use the potential around us and a little untainted energy to heal you, but it's very important that you stay calm. "

The first cut in, "We need to get started. The longer she's here, the more likely Actuality will start."

"Wait. Henna? The power I took from her?" Kasumi asked.

"All right, if we answer this, then you have to promise no more questions until after we fix you up."

"Fine. I agree."

"Henna was the woman who summoned us to drive the manifestation. Henna's not her real name, but it's a close pronunciation. You fought her and broke the manifestation. When you did that, you prevented her from re-claiming the power she had to place into the spell. She also lost the power she had to spend to summon us. Her original plan was to pay us with your Chi, and take back her power."

The first continued "We took the lost power and brought you here instead. Not a very big sacrifice on our part – most of the power was tainted and was better used up than added to our own stores. We kept the purer forms"

"Besides" the third chuckled, "you're much more admirable the she is."

Kasumi felt her face begin to flush, but she was saved by the second voice. "O.K. No more. We need to do this before time starts ticking." The second addressed Kasumi directly, "Ma'am, I sorry, but this is going to get personal. We need to find out where else you're hurt. Your eyes and your hand are pretty obvious, but we need to check further. Keep in mind we aren't mortal. We have no eyes to see yet, just our hands. Sex has no meaning for us, and there is no hunger in our touch."

"Oh my. All right. Do I need to take off the night gown?"

The second laughed quietly. "No ma'am. Just like sex has no meaning to us, neither does your night gown. Now please relax."

Kasumi did as she was asked and felt small hands touching her body. One set started gently at the base of her neck, and ran around the back. They swept over her head, mussing her hair. The hands came over the top of her head to rest on her face. They pushed gently around her cheeks and mouth. Then something weird happen (as if being touched by the small hands wasn't weird enough), the hands seemed to press forward into her face to touch her skull, but she could no longer feel the hands on her skin. Elsewhere, another set of hands swept around her hips then moved down the *inside* of her pelvis, a place that shouldn't be possible if Kasumi was alive (She was alive, wasn't she? At least she felt alive…). The last set started at the tip of her tailbone and then began to move up her back bone, gently checking each bone before moving up her spine (wasn't she laying on her back?). Her only thought was "Oh my! I feel as if I'm nothing but a skeleton."

The set of hands on her head swept her skull then moved back to her eyes. She could almost feel the hands gently working through layers of skin and tissue, and then withdraw. The second voice commented "The back of her eyes are damaged. I think it would probably heal by itself – it seems more over-stressed than anything else, but we can help it along. Her skull's fine, so I'd rather not go any deeper."

"No, that's O.K." Kasumi could hear the smile in the third voice. "I think we are playing her mind enough as is. Why don't you check her rib cage?"

She felt a slight tingle in her upper back. "Ma'am, your shoulder blade is broken and you have a few cracked ribs. Make really sure you don't move."

"All right." Kasumi whisper to the first voice. "Although, shouldn't I be in a lot more pain? Is my spinal cord intact?"

"It's fine. We're blocking the pain. It's not really going to add anything to the experience, so we figured you could do without it"

"That's all right. I'm not missing it."

Soon, the exam was finished and the healers reviewed their patient. The second took the lead "We should take care of the shoulder first and make sure nothing else serious is hiding there. Then the eyes, and finally, her hand. We have enough extra power and there's enough potential around us to do this right."

"Agreed. Back first", the other two voices chimed.

Kasumi felt heat on her shoulder blade. It started low and comfortable, but then grew hot. A wave of pain caused her to gasp. "We're sorry! There's only so much we can stop!" cried the children's voices.

Kasumi shuddered. "It's O.K. It's O.K. Do what you have to, just try and do it quickly."

The pain intensified, and then stopped suddenly. Kasumi sat up and took stock of herself while working to get control of her breath. Slowly she rotated the shoulder. "Not bad. A little stiff, but not bad at all. Nice job children" she added in a motherly tone. She heard the spirits sigh.

"Cool. That's great," the third said with relief. "Let's do you eyes now. This shouldn't hurt at all."

"It's more like we're removing an excess of energy than having to shove something back together again. You should probably lie down again though." added the first.

"We should do your hand at the same time. It looks pretty bad. You may want to skip seeing it."

"Oh my. How bad is it really?" she asked. Kasumi start to check her left hand with her right, only to have one of the voices grab her right.

"Look, we can fix it. Isn't that good enough?" asked the second.

"I suppose so." Kasumi said doubtfully.

"We fixed your back. Please trust us."

"Fine. We'll do it your way." She decided to be a little more supportive. "I trust you." Kasumi swore she felt the spirits smile at her.

"That's great! Just lie down again. We'll take care of you."

As she did, Kasumi could almost feel the spirits now – one at her head and two along her left side. "What just changed?" she wondered. She felt a child's hands touch her eyes, and it was as if water was pouring into her eyes. The left hand felt encased, as if wrapped in cotton. Then her eyes cleared and she found herself staring into bright blue sky, dotted here and there with pure white clouds. "Done!" exclaimed one of the sprites.

Kasumi sat up and looked around with her new eyes. She was sitting on an expanse of white marble polished so fine it reflected the blue sky. Although the bright sky held no sun, the air was very warm. Next to Kasumi sat the three spirits. They were not really visible, just blurs in the pristine surroundings, but they did seem to have the shape of small children, and she couldn't help but think of them as such. She looked at her face in the polished marble. Everything seemed to be in place and her eyes looked perfect. She looked at the spirits again. "Thank you"

"You can see us?" one asked surprised.

"Sort of," Kasumi answered. She took stock of herself. "Oh dear." She said looking at her hands.

"What's wrong?" She heard the alarm in their voices.

Looking at her hands again, Kasumi explained. "You may have noticed that humans have a certain symmetry to their bodies." She pointed at her feet. "Our left and right sides are mirror images of each other."

"Okaayy… so what's wrong?"

Kasumi leaned down and place her hands near her feet. "Well, not to complain or anything, but you can see that I have a left and a right foot."

"And?…" one asked confused.

"But I have two right hands".

"Eeepp!" they cried as one. She felt herself tackled. "We're sorry! We'll fix it!" Her left hand felt encased again.

When they let her up a second time, Kasumi checked herself a little more carefully. Yep. All here. She looked at the three anxious shadows, giving them a sincere smile, "Much better."

"You smile a lot."

"So I've been told…I find it better than the alternative" Kasumi replied.

"What's the alternative?"

Kasumi thought about it. "Hmm…I think in this case, shear out and out hysterics probably would have been called for."

"Hysterics?"

She sighed. "Yes. It's when humans have had enough of the craziness in their lives that they lose touch with reality and go crazy themselves, at least for a little while." She continued, "Since I went to bed last night, I've been in a fight with a witch, dragged to two worlds not my own, met up with three nice spirits, lost my eyesight, gained back my eyesight, had my hand burned off…" She looked at them "It was almost burned away, wasn't it…" They gulped and nodded. "and had it restored, thank you very much. Add this to the normal insanity that hangs around my town – through which I somehow got involved with aforementioned witch, *and* the necessity to get back to my family to warn them that a new player has pulled up to the table, I'd say that hysterics is definitely an option."

"Ummm…wasn't that little speech slightly hysterical?" asked the tallest of the spirits.

Kasumi held up her hand with her thumb and forefinger spaced slightly apart. "A little." she replied with a small smile. She looked up at the sky. "I thought you said there was nothing to look at?"

"There wasn't until you opened your eyes."

"Oh my. I see what I expect to see – quite literally. So I'm in an area of clean Chaos. Very interesting." Kasumi concentrated and a set of blue cushions appeared around her. "Likewise, change what you expect to see, and the world conforms. My hand must have been the easiest to fix." Her eyes twinkled. "Very, very interesting." She could almost see the jaws drop on her companions as she arranged the cushions around her. "Have a seat."

"Whoa…talk about being adaptable…" commented the middle height shadow.

"I've taken lessons from a young man in my care who is the king of adaptability. Once his eyes and ears confirm something, he doesn't waste time denying the situation. I'm trying to decide if I've ever heard the words 'That's impossible' from his mouth – I doubt it. He'd have a blast here – probably quite literally." Kasumi ran her mind through some of the more esoteric reading she had done over the years. "Hmmm…I need a place than can be secured." She looked at the three shadows and spoke firmly. "All right, please listen. I am grateful for what you've done. You've asked for no payment…"

"We got it when you broke Henna's wheel and …"

"Shh...Please don't interrupt. As I was saying, I'm grateful for your help, but if you wish to stay, whether it be for your own amusement, good will, or the hope of a contract, you'll have to be subject to a small Binding." She held up her hand to cut off the smallest sprite from interrupting. "The Binding is this – in return for the right to stay with me in the boundaries I'm about to define, you cannot work against *any* goal I deem worthwhile, including my general well-being. You don't have to help, and I'm not going to trap you here – you're free to leave at any time – but my word is law otherwise."

"Are you a mage?" asked the smallest.

"No. I'm not. I'm hoping to be a healer, but my sensei felt I need a broad background. Besides, anyone can shape clean Chaos, even someone without the Gift. Same with placing a Binding," she replied.

"Who is your sensei?" asked the tallest.

"First things first. Do you accept the Binding?"

"That's easy. Yes."

"I'm in. Yes."

"You're a lot more fun than the Chaos. Yes."

The tallest asked Kasumi "So, what are the boundaries?"

"Take a look for yourselves…". Kasumi picked up a cup of tea from a low table that appeared before her.

"Whoaa…" What had been an infinite sheet of marble was now an enclosed park of grass surrounded by a tall stone wall. The park was a square about two kilometers on each side. There were no entrances or exits to the park. Everywhere, there was lush grass dotted with cherry trees in full bloom. The land was not flat, but consisted of small rises and falls. At various low points in the landscape, there were small ponds with fountains. The fragrance of the cherry trees filled the air.

"This is so cool…"

"It would take way too much power for us to create this…"

"The advantage of being a living person, as you're well aware." Kasumi responded. Then she frowned slightly. "I thought you had no eyes?"

"You gave us your trust," one replied. "Your blind trust. That meant you gave us a certain amount of power from your Chi, without restrictions on how we used it. We used a fair bit when we healed your hand to shape the Chaos properly. But we decided to spend the rest on expanding our senses. We had touch and hearing, but we added sight and smell. Just as well – I really like the smell of the cherry blossoms."

Kasumi sighed. "It's probably good that I'm not a mage, I seem to blunder into things like that."

"Perhaps." replied one of the other spirits. "You actually asked permission before you issued the Bind. A real mage would have just forced the Bind on us. On the other hand, you seem to have Karma in your favor. You (or rather Henna) drew us as your companions. We have no interest in seeing your hurt or draining you dry. It's not who we are, or rather who we wish to be."

"Besides," added the last, "your Chi will re-generate. Yet another advantage of being a living person." Kasumi would have sworn she heard a smile in that voice. "And we didn't take *that* much."

'Once more, I prove am an idiot.' she thought to herself ruefully. She tucked her legs up under her, and continued thinking while her guests were distracted by the park. 'Well, somehow, someway, I squeaked by. Beating myself up is not going to change anything, so let's review things from the top. I'm in the clean Chaos, where new worlds are born. I'm willing to bet Henna used a dead world that had run its course, somewhere we wouldn't be interrupted by a passing Kami. I could probably build a Gate with the Chaos, had I the training. Unfortunately, even so, I have no bearing where my world is, and I doubt my guests do either. They probably didn't do the kidnapping. The manifestation would have to be in place before I arrived and they were used to build that. Besides, they were a little too willing to help me – chances are the thoughts they were born from involved construction or repair. Shoot, what else was in the books Tofu leant me…'

"No good. I need to make this a simpler problem. Well there's the fall back thought – I'm on a desert island. I can leave, stay, or signal. Staying is not an option. That means signal (who?) or leave (to where?). What do I have to work with? Hmmm… Well, I can create anything I want from Chaos, but it will not give me something I cannot imagine. Nor can I reach beyond the chaos with anything created from it without extra work – Chaos cannot transcend itself, so I'd have to infuse it with magic or Chi. If it was possible to use up the Chaos, I might attract Kami-Sama's attention." Kasumi looked at her tea and imagined it to be a little hotter.

The last thought struck her. "Wait. Attract Kami-Sama's attention. There's an easier way to do that…we call it prayer. God may help those who help themselves, but them that don't ask, don't get." Kasumi closed her eyes and sat up a little straighter. She put herself in a meditative state and began chanting a prayer for help that Mother had taught her when she was little. Her family had given up going to temple when Mother died, even though they still visited her grave. Father blamed the Kami for not saving Mother. Tofu later told her he disagreed with her father. In his travels, he had seen too much in the world *not* to believe in some sort of higher power. Healing happened. People pulled together, and went on. New life replaced the dead. Somehow, someway, the sun rose the next day.

And so it did. Kasumi's opened her eyes and gasped. Sunlight filled her little park. She looked up in the sky. The fluffy white clouds were pushed to the side. Instead the sun (or Sun?) shone done everywhere. Kasumi glanced at her guests who were standing next to her and stared. They looked like children made of clear water and the Light bounced around inside of them. Their faces were still indistinct, but Kasumi had never seen anything more beautiful. They stood transfixed until the normal light returned as did the fluffy clouds.

"Are you all right?" Kasumi asked.

"I remember…" the tallest one said, still filled with light. "I remember the way back to the Temple".

"Me too.", added both the others also shining internally.

"The temple?"

"No, *THE* Temple", the center of Heaven. Kami-Sami's home. We can leave the Chaos without being summoned."

'Well, that's a start,' thought Kasumi. "I don't suppose you could take me with you?" she asked the child out loud.

"Afraid not – one of the disadvantages of being a living person". The spirit threw her a side-long glance with the barest hint of a smile. "But, as the saying goes, this isn't over yet". It sat down lost in thought. The middle spirit began to pace, and the little one stayed standing.

Kasumi stayed where she was, watching them. The little one turned to her, "Kasumi, you mentioned your sensei. Who is he or she?"

Kasumi pulled her legs out from under her and pulled them up to her chest, leaning her head on her knees. See looked at the spirit. "I don't remember telling you my name. I may be a little inexperienced, but I'm not *that* inexperienced."

The spirit sitting down shrugged and said, "Kami-Sama told us. Your name is Kasumi Tendo. You have a father, Soun, and two sisters, Nabiki and Akane. You have a brother-of-sorts named Ranma Saotome. You also have a grandfather…"

"Of sorts" cut in Kasumi.

"Of sorts" agreed the spirit, "named Happosai".

"That's about right. Since Kami-Sama told you, I assume it's safe for you to have the information."

"So, please tell us about your Sensei."

"And what happened to your Mom?" and the pacing spirit.

She sighed. While it no longer hurt quite so badly, the emptiness never left. "My mother was my first sensei. She taught me a martial art call Tai Chi. I became good at it – still am. I practice it today when my family is away. It does wonders for my self-control, a skill I need a lot given my family."

"Why do you wait until they are away?"

"Mother caught a very virulent disease when I was nine years old. They called it cancer, and it moved very fast. Within two months of the diagnosis, she died. Afterwards, any time my father saw me practicing, he'd lock himself in his room for two days. This frightened my sisters, so I learned to practice where he couldn't see me."

"My current sensei is Doctor Tofu Ono. I first met him when I was seven years old. He looked to be about 28 years old at the time."