Nabiki vs. Matsumi

Joining 18 (c)

Written August 2004

Mousse slowly climbed out of the lake ignoring the ravenous sharks that were still staring at him eagerly from the water. Stripped to the buff his entire body rippled with every motion of his newfound muscles. Taking a towel he quickly dried off before replacing his traditional robes on his body and then placing the turtle shell over them.

Master Roshi nodded to him in approval. "Not bad," he admitted, "you've made good progress in this last month."

Mousse nodded in agreement and smiled to himself. "I have made decent progress haven't I?"

"You're not quite as clumsy as when you first came here, and not quite as stupid either. I guess those daily math lessons have been a help eh?"

Mousse twitched at the comment but didn't say anything. "So what comes next with my training master?"

Master Roshi pulled at his beard. "Well, I think it's just about time I taught you a technique."

"Really, which one?" Mousse asked excitedly.

"Well let me think," Master Roshi said thoughtfully. "I think I have one that even Goku was never able to learn." He squinted at Mousse. "But with your eyesight I don't think you would be much better. Plus you're almost as stupid about women as he is."

Mousse looked at him, utterly confused.

Master Roshi sighed. "I guess I'll have to settle for a combat technique. I think I have one that would suit your fighting style perfectly."

s

"So why don't you tell me," Matsumi said with a smile, "what kind of conditions you had in mind?"

"A sacrifice for both of us," Nabiki began. "I give up my ability to use magic through spells and you give up your ability to use magic with will."

Everyone stood still after this statement. While Ranma looked on with a blank expression on his face everyone else stared at Nabiki as though she were nuts. Except for Minder and Kasumi of course. The former looked more intrigued then anything else and the latter merely smiled.

"Oh Nabiki," Kasumi said lightly, "whatever shall we do with you?"

"Is she crazy?" The White Wizard muttered under his breath. "She couldn't really be serious about this could she?"

"Why, what's the problem?" Ranma asked, growing nervous at the reactions of his allies.

"I'm afraid she is," Piccolo said, ignoring Ranma. "But at least we can be certain that she has something in mind."

"All the old man ever used against me was spells, because of who he was." Ranma thought to himself. "He never mentioned anything about magic coming from will too."

"Why, what does this mean?" Ranma asked in frustration.

The White Wizard looked over at him hesitantly. "In magic there are two primary divisions," he said quietly. "The more primitive one is where the mage forces something to happen with their will alone. It's versatile but it takes a great deal of energy for even the simplest tasks. The other type of magic is that of spells. This is more limited in versatility but much more powerful in application."

"What he's saying is that Nabiki took a dagger for herself while handing her enemy a sword," Piccolo stated bluntly. "Sure it's easier to move but it can't block the sword effectively enough to keep her alive."

After hearing this Ranma fell silent and looked over to where Nabiki was facing Matsumi. Her face betrayed no emotion. It was just as Ranma had always remembered. Starting at the corner of his mouth a cocky grin slowly made it's way across his face. "Just like old times," he said softly. "Nabiki, what do you have in mind?"

"Why are you smiling?" The White Wizard asked. "This will put Miss Tendo at a serious disadvantage."

"I've seen this expression before," Ranma said, the smile never leaving his face. "It's her poker face. It's an expression that I learned to fear a long time ago."

He looked over at the White Wizard. "Nabiki would never play a game unless she's certain that she could win," his face openly relaxed. "I have full confidence in her."

"You're right Ranma.," Kasumi said smiling kindly. "We should believe in Nabiki. I'm sure that she will come through for Akane."

Piccolo huffed impatiently. "I suppose that if anyone's capable of pulling this off it would be that conniving girl," he said gruffly. "Let her do what she will."

The White Wizard spent a moment staring at all of them before he too sighed and shrugged. "Alright," he said, only partially relaxed. "I guess that my turn is over anyways. Now Nabiki's calling the shots."

Matsumi spent many long moments considering Nabiki. "Not going to give anything away are you?" she asked after a moment.

Nabiki smirked at her but didn't answer the question. Matsumi sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I would be a fool to turn you down," she said after a moment. "Plus I'm fascinated to see what you have in mind. I accept your conditions. I will use nothing but spells during this fight."

Nabiki looked over at Minder. "Could you enforce this?" she asked him.

He nodded. "If both of you succumb your will I will prevent the stated conditions from being broken." A smile flashed across his face so quickly that Nabiki barely caught it.

"He's more perceptive then I thought," Nabiki realized. "He already knows what I have in mind and he's choosing not to tell Matsumi. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he has some sense of honor."

"Well then, shall we begin?" Matsumi asked sweetly. "I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve."

"Yes, let's," Nabiki agreed.

"Burn!" Matsumi yelled throwing out both of her hands. Appearing under Nabiki was a spiraling column of flame. Nabiki barely had time to roll out of the way before it roared straight up into the air.

"Break!" Matsumi yelled, pointing to Nabiki's new position. This time the ground in front of Nabiki broke up and flew at her in two large pieces with crushing force. Closing her eyes for the split instant she had before they reached her Nabiki threw out her hands and knocked them aside so that they flew past her. Not giving up Matsumi muttered, "Telekinesis" and forced one of the pieces to fly back towards Nabiki while the other held back.

Standing up Nabiki started to soar along, her feet merely centimeters off the ground. While she followed a linear path to retreat from the one the other moved in a circle to cut her off. Matsumi meanwhile stood back easily watching the entire exchange.

"I knew this would happen," The White Wizard muttered. "Will based magic just isn't fast enough to handle spells head on."

The others said nothing. Only Kasumi made noise as she offered an appropriately placed gasp whenever one of the fragments came particularly close.

One of the fragments cut Nabiki off and flew at her head on. Desperately she flew straight up into the air to avoid it.

"Lightning strike," Matsumi said pointing up at her. Out of her finger came a flash of lightning that flew up and hit Nabiki head on. Blackened by the contact the young woman fell hard out of the sky to the ground below.

"That was disappointing," Matsumi said with a pout. "I was hoping for a real fight."

Ranma frowned deeply and glanced over at his comrades. Noting the blank expression on Piccolo's face and the still smiling expression on Kasumi's he shrugged and looked back to the fight.

No longer activated the blocks fell to the ground next to Nabiki's body. She was injured, obviously, but to what extent was uncertain. The entire front of her body, clothes included, were blackened and burned. Her face was bright red as though she had spent many hours in the intense sun. Her eyes were closed and her arms her held up in front of her face for protection.

"So how long are you going to lie there buying time?" Matsumi asked with a lithe smile. "I know this trick too well."

Nabiki groaned and slowly came to her feet. "Am I that obvious?"

"Unfortunately yes. That bolt that I sent at you was a minor spell at best. Even with the weak magic that you girded yourself with you should be capable of raising a suitable defense."

"That's true," Nabiki said while slowly walking backwards. "So you've probably also realized why exactly I'm stalling for time."

"You've positioned yourself at the height of one of the magic waves," Matsumi noted. "You're probably casting a spell of some sort even as we speak."

Ranma looked over at Piccolo curiously. "What's a magic wave?" he asked, to which Piccolo shrugged.

"Nabiki never taught me about those," Piccolo said simply.

"A magic wave is a location of greater magical intensity." The White Wizard said drawing Ranma's attention. "Everywhere in the universe based off of its nature has varying levels of magical amplification. Thus magic used in one place will be stronger then magic used in another. That is why some locations lend themselves to being haunted by spirits or to being cursed while others do not. But this place has great fluctuations of magic. Some locations are very intense in magic while others are very weak. While Mr. Jones and I fought part of our maneuvering was placing ourselves in these locations of greater magic."

"So Nabiki is trying to make her powers more effective," Ranma observed.

"I believe so," The White Wizard agreed, a feeling of worry surrounding him. "But it won't make up for the difference between will magic and spells."

"Don't think that I don't understand will magic," Matsumi said conversationally. "I've actually trained with it extensively. I know exactly how long it takes for spells of any level to be cast. Which is the reason I am about to interrupt you. Sorry to be rude."

Nabiki's poker face covered any emotions she might have had. "It's to be expected."

Black energy filled Matsumi's hands and body. "Black tunnel," she stated in a low voice. In front of her a narrow tunnel of dark energy materialized floating in mid air. Placing one arm entirely into it the limb seemed almost to disappear into empty space.

"It's a dimensional spell," The White Wizard commented. "But what purpose does it serve?"

"We'll see very soon." Piccolo stated.

"Fire." Matsumi stated firmly. Blinking Nabiki looked around quickly. "Behind!" she realized feeling heat on the back of her neck. Falling forward she barely dodged a fireball that had materialized behind her.

"Fire, Fire, Fire." Matsumi ordered over and over again. Finding herself pressed Nabiki began a desperate game of guessing where the next attack would come from. She barely dived over one blast and almost flew headlong into another. With pure force of will she levitated up into the air and then quickly fell to the ground as a different attack appeared above her and fell downward.

"Since when was Nabiki so athletic?" Ranma asked with furrowed brows.

"Oh, she can be very energetic when she needs to be," Kasumi said with a smile. "She just hasn't had to move like this since she was a child."

Krazer stared at the conflict, his aura of concern only intensifying. "Matsumi is pressing her advantage very effectively," he noted to himself. "Nabiki is holding out for the time being but can't last for long if this continues."

"What is your game?" Matsumi asked between attacks. "Show me your hand."

"Almost there," Nabiki whispered to herself as another blast passed by her head this time close enough to singe her hairs. "I need to hold on for a bit longer."

"Fire." Matsumi ordered again. This time the flame materialized just inches from Nabiki's body before slamming into her. With a scream of pain Nabiki fell backwards onto the ground as her clothes and skin burned.

"Nabiki!" everyone in the group yelled collectively.

"Damn it, if that bitch hurt her," Piccolo thought in rage, clutching his hand.

"No, she's okay," The White Wizard said excitedly.

Sure enough for all of the fire Nabiki only suffered a face that was slightly redder then before. Her clothes seemed to have taken the brunt of the attack, as they almost appeared to be ashes. "Finished, just in time," Nabiki said smiling. Closing her eyes she banished her old uniform and summoned black witch style robes that covered her body.

"What did you do?" Matsumi asked in astonishment. "There was no way you could have stopped that."

"I didn't have to stop it. All I did was redirect the brunt of the force so that it went right through me without damaging my body. I got the idea from watching all those fights between Ranma and Grandfather Happosai." Nabiki's smile grew wider in self-satisfaction.

"That old letch?" Matsumi asked making a disgusted face. "He actually taught you something?"

Nabiki shrugged. "He's good at fighting, whatever else you want to say about him not-with-standing."

"He is strong to be sure." Matsumi agreed with a nodding head. "How else could he survive those beatings that he collects almost every day?" She paused as a slow frown spread across her face. "You're stalling for time again. You should stop that."

Nabiki helpless held her hands up to either side. "Sorry," she said, "but I need some kind of advantage against you."

"True," Matsumi agreed. She held up her left arm and focused her palm on Nabiki. "Fire."

Out of her hand came a spiral-burning column bent straight for Nabiki. As it approached her stationary form the rapidly changing light played off of her face highlighting her confident almost bored expression.

"Why is she standing still?" The White Wizard asked in panic. "She can't take many more attacks like that."

Nabiki stood motionless as the fire approached. The instant before it hit, her body suddenly slid out of the way. It was an unnatural motion, as she hadn't even moved a muscle. It seemed as though the earth itself shifted

Matsumi stood still staring at Nabiki in disbelief. "How did you do that?" she asked in awe.

"It's easy," Nabiki explained, "I've cast a spell about this entire arena. I used the down time when you were attacking me."

Matsumi stared at her, her hands shaking. "Down time when you were attacking me?" She echoed in a low voice. Her eyes flared. "What the hell do you take me for?!"

"Incredible," The White Wizard muttered in a low voice. "Nabiki's power of concentration is beyond belief."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked glancing over at him.

The White Wizard turned to Ranma, awe clearly evident in his aura. "She wasn't just running away. That entire time that Nabiki was dodging she was also carefully focusing her powers. Over the last five minutes she's manipulated the nature of the entire arena."

"It's no surprise," Kasumi said pleasantly. "Little Nabiki has been thinking fast for quite a long time now. She's very good at it."'

"Matsumi is casting a major attack spell," Piccolo warned, drawing their attention back to the arena.

Matsumi stood still, her eyes burning at Nabiki's offense. "Don't take me lightly," She warned coldly. An aura of red energy flared around her. She held her arms out to either side of her body leaving her palms facing the ground. "Earth Deluge!"

All around the gymnasium floor the ground began to crack and break up. Nabiki levitated several inches off the ground and wearily observed Matsumi. From below her a section of the floor shaped as a spike jutted upwards. Again Nabiki used her unnatural motion to slide out of the way. More and more spikes leapt from the ground each one targeting Nabiki. Avoiding them her body slid in a semi-circular pattern around Matsumi.

"Matsumi's lost control," Piccolo noted. "She's let her anger consume her. It reminds me of Akane."

"Matsumi is the one who originally lent her power to Mr. Jones," The White Wizard said. "It seems strange that the warrior that she created would be completely unlike her."

Ranma spent a moment looking at Matsumi. "Her personality has completely flipped," he thought to himself. Looking over to Minder he saw a deep frown crossing his face. "And he's not happy at all."

"Oh no, Matsumi's reverting back to her old ways," Kasumi said sadly.

"You know her?" Ranma asked, turning to look at her.

"Of course, Akane and her were such good friends when they were younger. But at that time Matsumi had quite a temper, much worse then Akane's. It got to be so bad that they could barely play together at all."

"So what happened?" Ranma asked.

"One day her temper simply disappeared and she became an ordinary happy girl with excellent fashion sense. Come to think of it," Kasumi added touching one finger to her chin, "I think it was the same day that her magical talents first emerged."

Sliding past one particularly large spike Nabiki's motion suddenly turned directly for Matsumi. Making a swiping motion with her hands Matsumi's eyes widened in alarm only an instant before her feet flew out from under her sending her hard to her back. "Not very graceful." Nabiki stated, looking down at her with her emotionless face.

A new emotion flashed across Matsumi's face. It was unrecognizable, unlike anything anyone watching her had seen before. Her lips and mouth were trembling, the corners of her mouth dipping downwards. Her eyes were casting flaming daggers at Nabiki even as tears rolled out of them. Her forehead and cheeks were clenched and coated in cold sweat. Her chin was quivering.

She opened her mouth to speak when Minder cut her off with a loud cough. Her head turned quickly towards him to see him staring at her with a small frown on his face. "Remember your childhood Matsumi." He told her.

His words had an immediate effect on her. Matsumi's body relaxed and her eyes grew distant. "I remember." She reiterated quietly.

s

A young man wearing a high school uniform was walking slowly down one of Tokyo's many sidewalks. Though his light blue shaggy hair and eyes only made his face all the more childish something about the expression on his face and the unnatural confidence with which he walked caused everyone in his path to carefully step out of his way. His eyes were wide open despite the bright sun blazing overhead and they darted about as though they were looking for something.

He finally stopped when the sun started to go down. Wearily wiping sweat off of his forehead he sighed to himself. "I know I sensed a magical presence," he said to himself, "but I guess I lost it." He glanced up to where the sun was setting. "Apparently I lost most of the day as well."

He turned around to walk away when he heard sniffling from down the street. Shifting to look he saw a young girl with brown hair and eyes clenching her knees crying to herself. She was sitting on a wooden bench and resting next to her was a small bag with a cute anime kitty picture on it.

"She goes to a local elementary school," the man noted, "the same one that Kasumi Tendo attended. I wonder what's wrong with her."

His first impulse was to turn away and leave her be but this time a strange tugging in his heart prevented that. Cursing his own softness the man walked over to the bench and sat down next to her.

He sat silently, not speaking a word to her and merely watching the sunset. He heard the sniffling of the girl die down gradually until finally it stopped.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" he asked pointing to the sunset. Every shade of pink and blue played across the evening sky as the sun slowly drifted away.

"I guess so," the girl whispered quietly, "but it will be gone soon."

"It will be back, if we wait for it," the man found himself saying. "But if you like..." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small ball formed of a white crystal and held it out to the girl. "This will always have the sunset for you if you want to see it."

The girl slowly took the sphere from him and stared into it. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. "It's not working Mister," she told him with a frown.

"It will only show you what you want to see," he explained quietly. "If it's not showing you anything than that means that you don't know what you want." He pointed up to the sunset in the sky. "Capture this image in your mind. From now on whenever you wish to look at it will appear before you in this crystal."

The girl spent a long moment staring hard at the sunset. She then held up the crystal in front of her and squinted at it. Suddenly beautiful colors leapt from the center of the sphere covering its surface almost causing the girl to drop it. In a moment she gasped in awe. Inside the sphere was a beautiful representation of the sunset displayed before them.

"I knew it," the man thought to himself, "this girl was the one that I sensed. She has magical talent and something that happened today awakened it."

The girl stared her eyes passing over and over again between the object in her hands and the real display. "Does this mean that I never have to lose the sunset?" she asked in a tiny voice.

The man took a moment to probe her mind. "Your name is Matsumi," he said softly.

The girl nodded, not noticing how odd it was that a stranger knew her name.

"You have a great talent Matsumi," he told her. "One that no one you ever meet will be able to match." He pulled a small black book out of one of his pockets and handed it to her. "I have three instructions for you. If you follow these than you will never be angry again."

The girl gasped. "How did you know about that?" She asked in a small voice.

He pointed to the storm clouds that were already gathering in the sphere. "Those clouds are your anger." He pointed to the sun. "The light is your talent." He pointed to the myriad of beautiful colors covering the sphere. "And all of this is your self worth."

"I don't understand," the girl said quietly.

"You will, eventually. But for now I'll tell you what you must do. Every evening you must look for the sunset and capture its perfect image in this sphere. If you do this and drive away the dark clouds then your anger will disappear. Also," he placed the black book on her lap. "Read from this book for an hour each day. Pay special heed to what you find in there. Finally, don't tell anyone about these things that I have given you."

The girl stared up at him. "Will I ever see you again?"

In spite of himself the young man found himself smiling and patting her on the head causing her to blush. "In a few years," he said. "I promise that when you get to high school we'll meet. You can count on it."

He came to his feet and stuffed both of his hands into his pockets. Walking back to the school he could feel the concentration of the girl as she worked to capture the perfect image of the sunset in the sphere.

"Matsumi," he thought to himself. "You must overcome your curse of rage if you are to be of any use to me. But when you do." A smirk crossed his face. "You will be a formidable soldier for our cause."

s

Matsumi sat quietly on the ground. Slowly she reached into her robes and pulled out a small white sphere. "Has it been so long since I have last captured a sunset?" she asked herself

"I think that we're still fighting here," Nabiki commented dryly. "I'd have defeated you already except for that I need our judge to recognize my style."

"Of course," Matsumi came lightly to her feet and flashed Nabiki a charming smile. "I apologize for my outburst," she said with a bow.

"Apology accepted."

"Sight," Matsumi stated, touching one finger to her forehead. In response a strange red tint came over her eyes. "How clever, you have this entire arena covered with strands. I guess that explains everything."

Nabiki frowned. "I wish that these fights didn't require us to demonstrate different traits," she thought to herself. "If I could simply beat her it would have been easy to do during that lapse she just gave me."

Matsumi's aura flared red. "It's time to show you a real spell Nabiki," she said with a wide smile. "I created this one myself. I don't think that you've ever seen anything quite like it before."

"She's coming." Nabiki thought to herself taking a few steps back.

"True style!" Matsumi yelled, releasing her energy. The energy reacted immediately, settling into Matsumi's skin and clothes and the air around her. Her gray robes shifted in color so that they resembled a vibrant sunset even as the air around her picked up and began to make the cloth shift dramatically around her. The magic that went into her body softened the tint of her skin and sharpened the contrast of her brown eyes and even went into her hair causing it to shine. All at once the spell shifted her appearance from that of a schoolgirl who had been fighting to that of a model about to go on stage. Now instead of just cute she was beautiful, exotic even.

Matsumi looked at Nabiki, her cute smile now radiant. "Are you ready Nabiki?"

"Will that actually help her fight?" Ranma asked, dubiously recalling Raku's encounters with Captain Ginyu.

"It might. Remember that it helped Mr. Jones fight by increasing the efficiency of his moves," Piccolo noted.

"But this might be over the top," The White Wizard commented. "Style can be useful but if taken too far it just becomes excess baggage."

Minder's expression softened as he watched Matsumi. "You've grown," he thought to himself.

"Blades," Matsumi stated as she held out both of her hands. Materializing into her palms were two long swords made of steel that were covered in runes. Rocking back on her right foot Matsumi began to elegantly spin in circles while holding out both of her swords at full extension. Gradually she began to make her way towards Nabiki's position.

Nabiki spent a moment looking at her before she with effort wrenched her gaze away. "Hypnotizing," she thought to himself. Those in the crowd didn't notice this as they found their eyes riveted to Matsumi's beautiful circles. It seemed impossible that a mortal creature could move so gracefully.

Matsumi's spin quickened and with a flick of her wrist one of her swords went flying from her grip towards Nabiki. Spotting it from the corner of her eye Nabiki slid out of the path of the sword. In a circular motion it came back to Matsumi who caught it perfectly on the handle before she threw out the other sword. "How long can you dodge Miss Tendo?"

Nabiki continued to dodge, watching Matsumi carefully out of the corner of her eye. "This is a very dangerous attack," she thought to herself. "If I look at her I'll be hypnotized by her spell but if I look away it will be harder to dodge her weapons. I need a plan."

After throwing away her next sword Matsumi conjured a new one and added it to the mix. Again and again she added new swords until almost forty of them were traveling that circle with Nabiki always at the tip.

"Will she be able to do it?" The White Wizard asked in concern. "That original spell of hers evened the field but I'm afraid that Nabiki will need all the concentration she can get just to keep herself from getting cut."

"Of course she can," Kasumi said in a quiet voice. She put her hands together as though she were praying. "Nabiki was the one who was called to be clever after all."

s

It was a quaint little kitchen. Sitting at one end of a table was a young girl of maybe seven years of age. She was watching a beautiful and still young woman who was carefully setting dishes on the table. Another girl only slightly younger then the first walked into the room. She had short cut brown hair and brown eyes that were currently so wide that they suggested that she had seen a ghost.

"Mommy." The girl said hesitantly.

The woman looked down at the girl and smiled. "What is it little Nabiki?" She asked in a kind voice.

"Do you believe in the Man of Light?" the girl asked.

The mother gasped and knelt down next to the girl. "Did you see him?"

The girl nodded slowly. "I saw him while I was asleep. We spent some time talking."

"Please leave for a little bit my Kasumi," the mother said to the older girl, "Nabiki and I have something we must discuss."

Kasumi nodded and gave her little sister a supporting smile even as she stood up and made her way out of the room. The woman turned her full attention to the girl

"Now what did he tell you Nabiki?"

"That I could use magic." Nabiki whispered. "And that it would have a purpose."

The woman hugged the girl, holding her lightly in her arms. "It's all real," she whispered in Nabiki's ear. "Everything he told you. But his words are for your ears alone. Don't tell anyone what he told you Nabiki. But please treasure his words. You might never understand what they mean but they will always be true for you."

"I will mommy," the girl mumbled into her mothers dress. "I will."

s

"I haven't forgotten what he told me mother," Nabiki thought to herself. "He told me that I would need to be more clever and more intelligent then those around me. He told me that I always had to be a step ahead of the rest for their own good. And he said," her eyes narrowed, "that others would not understand and that they would hate me for it."

"You're losing focus Nabiki," Matsumi commented as one blade slashed Nabiki's arm drawing blood. Shifting her grip on the sword in her right hand she threw it directly at Nabiki cutting her circle in half.

Nabiki ducked under it causing it to fly overhead. She was about to stand up when another blade whistled over her cutting off a few strands of hair. "I need to make an opening and end this."

Rolling out of the way of yet another blade she darted out one hand at the last moment and allowed one finger to be cut. The blood dried almost immediately sticking to the sword.

Matsumi stared at Nabiki perplexedly. "Are you trying to get yourself injured?" she asked in between spins.

Then she caught the blade with the stain of blood. As though it weighed several hundred pounds Matsumi toppled forwards and landed face first on the ground. The blade she was holding meanwhile hit the ground and caused it to crack with a loud boom on impact.

The moment Matsumi began her downward fall Nabiki's body pulled forwards in an unnatural motion. By the time she hit the ground Nabiki was already next to her. Placing one hand on the back of her head Nabiki forced her magical energy through her hands and into Matsumi's body. She waited tensely but then relaxed when she heard Matsumi snoring lightly. All of the swords, which had been flying, fell into a neat pile lying next to Matsumi's body.

"It's over." Nabiki told Minder. With effort she straightened up. "She won't be waking up for a while."

Minder walked over to their position slowly and crouched down next to Matsumi. Slowly he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. For a passing moment his face became gentle, and then it was gone. "You have won," he stated. In his arms Matsumi's form evaporated into the air. He looked down at Nabiki. "Your intelligence and your style are recognized."

"Great job Matsumi," he thought to himself in satisfaction. "You make me proud."

With a smile of victory Nabiki stood up and walked back to her companions. They were all smiling widely back at her. "I didn't think that you could do it Nabiki," The White Wizard commented. "Who would have thought that you could defeat spells with will magic?"

"I knew she could do it." Piccolo said, a hint of pride in his voice. "I never lost confidence in you." For just a moment their eyes met and they smiled at each other before Piccolo looked away angrily with a blush to his face.

Looking at the encounter Ranma's eyes widened. "Not once but twice they showed interest," he thought to himself. "There just might be something there."

"Well, great job Nabiki," he agreed. "You did well for us. Thank you."

"Of course Ranma." Nabiki said to him. "But remember that I'm doing this for Akane and no one else. If it were for you then I would expect to be well paid."

"So what exactly did you do to throw her off guard?" The White Wizard asked.

Nabiki looked at him. "I noticed that my blood stayed with her sword the first time I was hit. So then I deliberately allowed myself to be cut and as the blood left my body I left magic with the iron greatly increasing the weight. So when she caught the sword she suddenly was holding several extra hundred pounds that she wasn't expecting. That gave me the time I needed to finish her."

"A good plan Nabiki," Kasumi said to her smiling, "I knew that you would find a way to defeat her gently."

"Of course," Nabiki said to her with a matching smile. "I don't like to hurt things any more then you Kasumi. Not physically anyways"

"I feel it's only fair that I warn you Ranma Saotome." Minder called out. "That your next adversary will be physically strong."

"How strong is that?" Ranma asked.

"Strong."

Ranma turned to his group. "We only have two more people, and given the choice between Kasumi and Piccolo for a strong enemy I think the choice is obvious."

"Sorry I'm late," a voice called out from behind them, "did I miss anything important?"

Everyone turned to stare at the newcomer. He was a young man, maybe four or five years older then Ranma, who had spiky black hair and black eyes. He was currently wearing an orange gi with boots and was awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"Goku," Ranma said with a smile quickly spreading across his face. "You made it."

Standing back Piccolo could only stare. "Goku was the member that Ranma was waiting for?"

"Well, yeah," Goku said. "I would have been here sooner but it was kind of tough to find the entrance to this place," he glanced over at the torn ground. "By the looks of things we've already seen a little action."

"Yeah," Ranma said. "We're sort of doing a tournament. Two of our members have already fought and won and we're trying to decide on our third fighter. We already know that the enemy will be strong."

Goku grinned cockily causing Nabiki's eyes to narrow. "Can I take this one?"

"I know that smile," she thought to herself. She looked over at Ranma who had a smile that seemed like a mirror image of Goku. "Kami made two of them!"

"I'm glad that you're here Goku." Piccolo said in a low voice walking up to him. "If you get killed in this fight it will make my job of conquering the world easier."

Goku smiled easily at Piccolo. "You haven't changed at all have you?" His eyes bugged out of his head. "Or have you? You're... human. That's impossible!"

At that announcement everyone but Ranma stared at Goku.

"What do you mean impossible?" Nabiki demanded. "Piccolo has always been human," she gave Piccolo a questioning look. "Haven't you?"

Piccolo started to sweat bullets. "Of course I've always been human," he threw Goku an angry look that caused him to blink in confusion.

"What do you mean Piccolo?" Goku asked before Ranma stepped in front of him awkwardly. "I think it's about time we began Goku." Ranma interrupted

"Of course." Goku said with a nod, his face completely serious. "So where is this guy I need to fight anyways?"

Ranma pointed to Minder. "Ask him."

Goku walked over to Minder and eyed him up and down. "You can use magic."

"Perceptive." Minder said. "An unusual trait for a warrior who cannot."

Goku grinned at him. "A lot of things about me are unusual."

"You are Goku?" Minder said. "My name is Minder. Pleased to meet you." He held out his right hand.

"Glad to meet you too." Goku said taking his hand.

"Strong," Minder realized in shock. "I've never seen anyone this strong before, ever."

"So where did you find this guy?" Nabiki asked glancing over at Ranma.

"We fought together once." Ranma said. "He's tough, really tough." He looked at Piccolo. "Of course Piccolo could tell that as well as I."

"He is without question the strongest man on planet Earth," Piccolo stated. "And it seems that he's become even stronger in the last month."

"So who do I get to fight?" Goku asked impatiently.

Minder closed his eyes. "Rykuyo, report," he ordered. At his behest a gray robed figure materialized behind him.

"I am here Mr. President." Rykuyo said in a voice that resembled nails on a chalkboard.

"Is the summoned creature that I requested ready?"

"Of course, Mr. President. Would you like for me to bring it here?"

"Yes."

"So Rykuyo is in on this too." Ranma observed. "He was Matsumi's friend so I guess that figures."

"Yes. Who knows how many of our old Furinkan classmates will make appearances today." Piccolo said.

"As long as Miss Hinako and Kuno stay out of this I don't really care." Ranma replied.

Rykuyo pulled a small black stone out of one of his pockets and set it on the ground. He held both of his hands over it and paused to look up at Goku. "Step back while I complete the summoning."

Both Goku and Minder respectively stepped back from the crouching wizard. A red aura of flaring energy appeared around him as he started to mutter incomprehensible words. They were ugly, made even harsher by his grating voice, and seemed to speak to the deep subconscious of those who listened.

Then it appeared. A spirit floating in the air so that even Goku could see it. It had no tangible body and most closely resembled a cloud that happened to have a humanism appearance. Slowly its form attached to the black stone on the ground and it was drawn in.

"Impossible," The White Wizard murmured quietly. "It's a Vesper Shade."

"What's that?" Nabiki asked from his side.

"It's the strongest creature known to exist on the ethereal plane. The sorcerer used a spell to bind it to this universe in a physical body. Here it will be as physically strong as it is mentally strong back in its home dimension."

"How strong is that?" Piccolo asked.

"No one's ever seen the end of a Vesper Shade's strength." Krazer said softly. "Some famous wizards have speculated that there are no limits, that it's infinitely strong."

"Well that's just great." Piccolo muttered. "Knowing Goku that news would only please him."

Goku couldn't help but smile as he saw the spirit settle into the stone resting on the ground. "Finally a chance to check out my new power."