-
*Ranma speaking in his mind*
-Other Ranma responding-
-
Late in the night, Tohru turned to Uncle. "Sensei...why did you choose me to be your apprentice?"
"Are you questioning Uncle?" Uncle asked dangerously. "Have you doubts about your ability? Do you doubt Uncle's ability to choose an apprentice?"
"No, sensei, nothing like that. It's just...Jade seems much more enthusiastic about magic than I-"
"Too enthusiastic, you mean. She will charge in headlong without thinking of the consequences!"
"And Ranma seems far more gifted." Uncle was silent. "Sensei?"
"You are right. Ranma has the gift."
Tohru tilted his head. This seemed significant. "Sensei?"
"There are three orders of Wizardry, based on how naturally magic comes to the wizard. Despite years of training, I have only the nack for wizardry. As such, I am a wizard of the third order." Uncle sighed. "This is not to say I am a weaker wizard, merely that I have to work harder for it. With training, you will be a wizard of the third order as well, Tohru.
"Jade," Uncle began. "Now Jade has the calling. Magic speaks to her. She is eager for it, she needs it. With proper training and guidance, she could become a wizard of the second order. Wizards of the second order can create new spells from the fragments of old...but the calling is dangerous. Many wizards of the second order have been tempted by the power of the dark arts, and become dark chi wizards. If an apprentice of mine took that path, it would be my duty to hunt them down, strip them of their power, and seal them away so they could hurt no one else. And I will not risk that for someone of my own flesh and blood!"
Tohru was shocked. He had no idea the signifcance of the bond between wizard and apprentice...or the trust Uncle was putting in him in taking him on as his apprentice. "Sensei..."
Uncle wasn't finished, however. "Now Ranma...he is a Wizard of the first order. He has the gift. He lives and breathes magic. It comes to him as naturally as swimming to a duck, as flying to a bird, as naturally as breathing. Wizards of the first order can craft new spells from nothing." Uncle stared straight at Tohru. "Wizards of the first order leave their mark on history, simply by being a part of it. The immortals who sealed Shendu and his brethren were all wizards of the first order. They crafted new spells based on instincts, to the need of the situation." Uncle looked away. "There have been dark wizards of the first order, as well. I'll leave it to your imagination, Tohru, what happened when Wizards of the first order fight."
Tohru shuddered. Having seen what Ranma could do untrained, he could easily imagine what a fully trained wizard of the first order might accomplish...and if one fought another...
"But that is not why I do not take Ranma as my apprentice!" Uncle proclaimed. "I do not take him as my apprentice...because there is nothing left to teach him."
"Sensei?" Tohru was shocked.
"Ranma often came into the library late at nights, as you recall, to read the spellbooks. Reading the ancient texts helped him to slumber. I have tested him on what he has read. He remembers every spell, every ingredient. The magic of the tomes bonded itself to his mind inextricably. He memorizes the magic in a single read, and understands the significance of what he reads. This is why he does not practice." Uncle shook his head. "If not for the fact that he is so young, and has so little experience with magic, I would proclaim him fit to practice as a chi wizard today, and fit to take on an apprentice of his own!"
Tohru was understandably shocked. "So...you do not take him on as an apprentice because you are worried he is not ready for the duties of practicing as a fully fledged chi wizard?"
"That...and because he is spoken of in porophecy. It is not my place to interfere in this prophecy."
"I see..." Tohru looked down at his text.
"I will leave you to your studies," Uncle said, yawning. "Uncle needs his rest."
Later, in Tokyo, Jade folded her newspaper. "I've got your back, Jack."
"But who's got yours?"
Jade spun around with a "Gah!" patting her chest. Ranma folded his newspaper. "What are you doing here?" she demanded of him.
"Keeping you out of trouble," he responded.
"Tokyo's mondo coolio," a voice said behind them both, "don't you think?"
Turning, Ranma groaned. "It seems I'm a little late there."
As Jade confronted her duplicate, Ranma felt himself blushing as he watched them almost come to blows. Later on, when both he and Jade got the 'surprise' of the copy Jade duplicating, he put his hand to his nose as he felt blood leaking. He waved Jade on as he sat back against the wall, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
He had been looking right at the duplicate of Jade, and when suddenly there were three of them...his head swam as he tried to make sense of this.
Suddenly, he had an inkling. *Yami!*
-Is that what you're going to call me now? How original. I wonder where you got that one from,- his adult perspective responded, sarcasm heavy in the mental voice.
*You have something to do with this, don't you?*
-With what, exactly?-
*My reaction to Jade duplicating!*
-Oh, that. Well, in a manner of speaking, I do.-
*Make it stop!*
-You're the only one who can do that.-
*What are you talking about?*
-Come on. You've had nosebleeds like this one before in your old life. You know what that means.-
*...no way!*
-That's right. Since it seems you can't wrap your mind around the concepts on your own, let me spell it out for you. You like her, and in more than a friend way, if you ever thought about it. Now, while physically you aren't at the point of adult attraction yet - thank Kami-sama - you are aware of those things because of me. As such, part of your mind thinks about ehr in those ways. Because of that, your body reacts despite the young age. In this case, it was your body reacting to the notion of there being two - make that three - of the girl you are emotionally and - eventually - physically attracted to.-
Ranma thought about this for some time. *I'm turning into Happosai!*
-No, you're not. If you were, you would be acting on these impulses. Having them is completely natural...although there is hardly anything natural about your current situation, but that's magic for you.-
*So...what do I do?*
-In the long term, I recomend talking to Uncle about all of this, eventually. Explain everything to him. He'll be able to help. In the meantime, I recommend not thinking about it, and going to help Jade.-
*Right.*
Ranma was able to do this, even going so far as to help Jade hide her ever increasing duplicates from Jackie. This went quite well...right up until the closet fell open and Ranma found himself buried under a pile of Jades. He lost conciousness after that.
He tagged along when Jade - all of them - went with Uncle and Tohru to the temple to fight Po Kon. When Uncle demanded the drum, however, Ranma clutched at his wrist. a blue light flared briefly on the back of his hand, and a glowing blue drum appeared in the air in front of him.
Po kon looked at it. "The Prophecy!" She began to struggle harder. "No!"
Uncle worked quickly, adding his magic to that of the drum. Ranma struck the drum three times. The portal sucked Po Kon back in, and was sealed. The drum vanished, and Ranma collapsed in exhaustion.
On the flight home, Ranma approached Uncle. "Sensei..." he began carefully.
Uncle looked up at him. "What is it you need, son?"
"What makes you think I need something?" Ranma asked, surprised.
"Ranma, when we are at the store or otherwise dealing with strangers, you call me Uncle. When we are just among family, or you are felling more in need of comfort, you call me Dad. You only call me sensei - as though I were your teacher - when you are asking a favor, especially one you think I won't grant."
Ranma flushed. "I didn't realise I was so transparent."
"It is alright. What was it you wanted?"
"I think you should take Jade on as an apprentice."
"Aiyah! Are you crazy? You saw what happened when she tried to cast the duplication spell!"
"Exactly. Magic calls to her, and without proper guidance, she will continue to seek it with greater and greater consequences. And no lock - physical or otherwise - will prevent her from getting to the books and ingredients."
Uncle nodded. "This is true. However, I do not have time to train two apprentices AND research the spells to fight the demons AND run the shop!"
Ranma swallowed. It was now or never. "Then let me train her."
"Aiyah!" Uncle shouted staggering back.
"Dad, I know I'm not ready to practice as a chi wizard, but I know the books well. I have a sense for when magic is done right, and what I can teach her will certainly keep her busy. And...I have a plan that will hopefully deaden her eagerness for experimentation." He pulled out a book. "I picked this up in Tokyo with my allowance."
Uncle examined the book. "Fallen Magi: the Bloody Side of Magic?"
Ranma nodded. "It's a compendium of the fates that have been fallen reckless chi wizards and their apprentices, when they attempted magics they weren't ready for or didn't understand." Ranma pointed out a few particularly gruesome results. "I looked through it. It has vivid descriptions, and even some illustrations. And every bit of it is certified fact, as it is eye witness accounts of those close to the magic users."
Uncle stared at some of what was in the book in horror. "Aiyah! Anyone who read through this would be likely to be scared off magic completely!"
"Exactly," Ranma said, his voice cold. "Her first lesson will be to read through this book and commit every page to memory. It is a warning to not mess with magic lightly. If, after reading this book through and taking its warning to heart, she still wants to learn magic...then nothing will stop her, and at least she will be careful."
Uncle thought about this, and handed the book back to Ranma. As far as he was concerned, the book didn't need certification. THe dark feel to it was proof enough that every word was true. "Very well. I trust your instincts, Ranma. If after reading this, Jade still wishes to learn magic...then you are ready to take her on as your apprentice."
Ranma blinked. Not, 'you have my permission,' as he had half expected, but, 'you are ready'? "Dad?"
"Ranma, you have been ready to practice as a chi wizard for some time. I have not told you because...I feared for you. But this proves you know what you are doing, even for the more dangerous aspects, such as training an apprentice. I believe in you." Uncle smiled. "It will be a relief to have such a skilled chi wizard available to assist me."
"Dad!" Ranma said, tears in his eyes. He threw his arms around Uncle in a fierce embrace.
Uncle smiled. "One more thing!" he said suddenly. "Don't let your magic practice or teachings interfere with either of your homework! You both better keep bringing home good grades, or I shall be forced to reconsider my opinion."
Ranma laughed. "Thanks, Dad."
