Disclaimer:
BWAHAHAHA!!! I 0wN Th3z3 M8Ng8 8nD 8N1m3! 80w b34 mY l33T HaX0r sK1lLz!
Yeah, right. If you actually believed that, you need help. A lot of it.
-------------------
Ranma walked silently by the horde of boys waiting for Akane, still
wrapped in the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu. Casually noting their faces, he approached
Kunou, ofuda in hand.
"Heh," he thought, "Oyaji may be a worthless excuse for a parent, but some
of his techniques do come in handy."
Noting Akane's approaching aura, he quickly made his way to his target's
position, circled the tree he was hiding behind, charged his ward, and slapped
it onto Kunou's forehead.
With that, Kunou suddenly stopped all movement, paralyzed by the ward's
power. With his mission accomplished, Ranma left the yard, sparing one last look
at Akane as she headed into her daily ordeal.
"Not one minute more than I have to," he promised himself, "I won't let
her suffer through this one minute more than is absolutely necessary."
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Three: A Twist In the Path
-------------------
After leaving school, Ranma walked over to Tofu-sensei's office. Pausing
to check the building with his ki-senses, but making no effort to hide his aura,
Ranma opened the door and entered. As he expected, Tofu-sensei had stopped what
he was doing in order to investigate what he had sensed, and quickly turned to
Ranma, eyes widened in shock at seeing his apparent age.
"Hello, Tofu-sensei," Ranma said, "Would you mind discussing something
with me? After you see to your patients, that is. It would hardly be fair to
them if you just dropped everything to have a conversation with some stranger."
Ranma's eyes sparkled with humor as he made his little speech, and his aura
reflected the fact that he meant every word.
Tofu-sensei nodded his head in response. "It would be an honor," he
replied, much to the shock of the few people watching the exchange.
Ranma just bowed respectfully and took a seat, slipping into a ki-
restoring meditation as Tofu somewhat distractedly turned back towards his
patients.
-------------------
It was nearly an hour before Tofu-sensei managed to finish with the last
of the waiting patients. "So," he said, approaching Ranma, "What did you want to
talk about?"
Ranma opened his eyes and looked Tofu-sensei straight in the eyes. "That
old lady, Tanaka-san, I think you called her, has the beginnings of a case of
cervical cancer. You might want to have that looked at."
Tofu-sensei's eyes widened. He had noticed Ranma pulling in ambient energy
and using it to replenish his aura, and the skill needed to do that without
losing oneself in the process was considerable. Ranma had, indirectly, just told
Tofu-sensei that he was among the few who could. As there probably weren't more
than three such people alive, Tofu-sensei quickly deduced that his earlier
estimates of this young man's skill had been off. He was, at least, quite a bit
better than Tofu-sensei dreamed possible for someone who had celebrated their
fiftieth birthday, and Tofu-sensei wasn't naïve enough to assume that he had
seen the true depths of Ranma's ability.
Ranma, meanwhile, watched as various emotions played across Tofu-sensei's
face and as his aura lit up with excitement.
"I believe," Ranma added, "That your legends refer to me as a
'thaelindhalivillar'."
Tofu-sensei's aura became even more excited as he finally realized exactly
what he was talking to. "Amazing!" he exclaimed, before forcing himself to calm
down, "So... what brings one such as yourself to my humble clinic?"
Ranma smiled. "Well," he said, "I wanted your help with something."
Tofu cocked his head slightly, curiosity now battling excitement in his
aura. "What?" he asked.
"Well..."
-------------------
Ranma walked out of Tofu-sensei's office with a slight spring in his step
and his mission accomplished. He could count on Tofu-sensei's support when he
missed school, thereby avoiding a potentially nasty confrontation with his
parents, and had even been offered a job as Tofu-sensei's assistant (Ranma
decided to try to get Furinkan to let him accept, given his inevitable need for
money, as well as the opportunity to encounter Akane outside of school). Now,
Ranma just had to take care of the remaining items on his mental list for the
day...
-------------------
After school, Nabiki decided to skip her usual afternoon activities and
walk home with her younger sister.
"Akane," she began, walking up to her sister as she was crossing the gate,
"Mind if I join you?"
"Of course not," Akane replied, "So what's up?"
"Well... about this morning..."
Akane smiled. "Kunou giving up? He didn't bother me at lunch, either."
Nabiki frowned. "That's odd. He left class... Oh, no!"
"What?" Akane asked, worried.
"This morning, I found him behind the tree... you know, the one he usually
challenges you from?" Nabiki waited for Akane's nod before continuing. "Anyway,
there was a ward of some kind stuck to his forehead, paralyzing him somehow."
Akane's eyes widened. "So..."
"Somebody had to put it there. I suspect that whoever did stopped him at
lunch, too."
"Any idea about the ward?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Not a clue," she said, taking it out and showing
it to Akane, "It looks like pretty ordinary paper, actually. I'm planning on
asking Hino-sensei about it this afternoon, so I'll hopefully have a lead then."
Nabiki paused for a moment. "Think we should go and help Kunou?"
The two sisters then turned towards each other. "Nah," they chorused.
Out behind Furinkan High, a certain delusional kendoist would have sneezed
if the ofuda on his forehead hadn't prevented it.
-------------------
"Good," Ranma thought from his hiding place, "No one found the moron. With
any luck, I won't have to use another ward tomorrow."
With that, Ranma turned and left, leaving the school moron to his own
devices.
-------------------
A few minutes later, Ranko was walking towards home when Ranma dropped the
Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu, literally fading into sight in front of her.
"Gya!" she yelled, pulling away, "Don't DO that!"
"Sorry," Ranma said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, "Didn't
mean to startle you."
"Aww," she replied, "It's okay."
"Okay," Ranma answered, "Did you have any plans for today?"
"Hmm," Ranko said, seeing an opportunity to check for one possibility,
"Well, I was going to go over to Juuban. I'd heard of a shrine-"
"Oh," Ranma interrupted, "you wanted to have me checked for possession,
right?"
Ranko's eyes widened. "Yeah," she admitted after an awkward pause.
"Sure," Ranma replied, "I don't mind."
"..."
"I mean," he continued, "I'd do the same thing."
"You don't hold it against me?" she asked hopefully.
"Nah," Ranma answered, "Of course not. I should've suggested it myself.
Can't have a possessed brother, can you?"
Ranko laughed in a combination of humor and relief. "No, that would be a
bad thing, even if it is an improvement."
Ranma joined in her laughter. "True. There aren't many good possessing
entities, after all."
-------------------
The train ride to Juuban was uneventful, although Ranma was rather curious
when he noticed Nabiki's ki-signature. Stepping out into the street, Ranko
briefly stretched her arms over her head.
"Well, shall we go, imouto-chan?" Ranma asked, lightly slapping her back.
"Sure, 'niichan," she replied, "You know where the Hikawa Jinja is?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah. We'll have to take a bus, though. I doubt you're up
to roof-hopping."
Ranko frowned at the reminder of what their father had done. "I can't
believe Oyaji'd do that," she responded.
"Feh," Ranma nearly spat out, "That's Oyaji for ya. Anyway, let's go."
"Wha?" Ranko asked, stopping when she saw the approaching bus. "Oh."
-------------------
Again, Ranma was rather startled to notice Nabiki's presence in the bus.
"Wonder what Nabiki's doing," he thought before realization struck. "Hino
Rei! Of course! She must be Hino-sensei's granddaughter. Well, well, well.
Interesting..."
Ranko was rather startled to see her brother start to chuckle at
something.
"What is it, Ranma?" she asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later," he replied, "I just figured something out."
"Oh."
-------------------
Hino Rei tended the Sacred Fire. The phone call that she had received from
Akane-chan was a cause for concern, but not nearly as much of one as her recent
vision. She only hoped that Nabiki could help shed some light on it. After all,
several things involved her family...
Rei was shaken out of her ruminations by the arrival of a small group of
people. One, Nabiki, she instantly recognized. Another, a black-haired boy
accompanied by a girl who was obviously his sister, bore a resemblance to the
man in her vision. It wasn't much of one, but she was put slightly on edge by
it. Perhaps they were related?
Rei walked over to Nabiki, wearing a tired smile. "Hi, Nabiki-chan," she
said when she arrived, "Akane-chan told me about what happened at school."
"Yeah," Nabiki replied, "I was hoping that you could take a look at
this..."
As Nabiki reached into her purse to withdraw the ward, Rei spoke up.
"Later, Nabiki. We need to talk. Let me take care of these visitors, OK?"
"Okay," answered Nabiki, "Another vision I assume?"
Rei nodded and excused herself, approaching Ranma and Ranko.
"Hello, and welcome to the Hikawa Jinja. Can I help you?" she inquired,
extending her spiritual senses.
Ranko smiled. "Well, my brother and I were hoping to buy some wards
against possession..."
Rei's eyes widened slightly as she extended her ki-senses further, but
failed to find anything strange about the two, other than...
"Mind telling me why your ki-signatures are almost identical?" she asked,
having never seen something like it before, even in identical twins.
"What?" Ranko asked, not understanding.
Ranma just slapped his palm to his face. "Of course," he muttered, "That's
what was bothering me this morning. Her battle aura's just like mine."
Neither Rei nor Ranko, however, managed to make out his words. "Hold on,"
Rei added, "I'll go get my grandfather. If anyone can figure it out, it's him."
Ranko nodded as Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead," they said in
unison.
-------------------
After Rei came back, her grandfather in tow, Ranma spoke up. "Hello, Hino-
sensei," he said, bowing, "It's been a long time."
Rei and Ranko quickly looked between Ranma and Hino-sensei. "You know each
other, Niichan?" Ranko asked as Rei quickly extended the same question to her
grandfather.
Ranma chuckled as Hino-sensei gained a thoughtful look. "You taught me
some meditation techniques when I was ten," he clarified.
"Oh," Hino-sensei replied. "I don't really remember, but I guess it's
possible."
Ranma just nodded. "I'm not really surprised about that, but they've been
very helpful since then."
Hino-sensei smiled. "Well, I'm glad you got some use of them, m'boy."
"Grandfather," Rei replied, "Could you take a look at their auras for me?"
Ranko decided to join in. "Yes, Rei saw something rather odd, and we were
hoping that you could tell us more."
"Hmm," he said, probing them with his ki before his eyes widened. "Well,
this is interesting, isn't it?" he said.
"So, you know why our auras are so close?" Ranko asked.
Hino-sensei shook his head. "Not even identical twins have auras that
resemble each other so closely. Sure, there are differences. He," Hino-sensei
pointed to Ranma, "is obviously male, whereas you," Hino-sensei paused,
switching to Ranko, "are obviously female. There are several other differences
as well, but most of them are from experience. What happens to you affects your
aura, after all, but the underlying patterns are almost exactly the same. It's
almost like you're the same person. I don't think that it's important, though.
It may be odd, but I doubt it's anything bad."
"Well, it's interesting, but not really important right now," Ranma
responded, "Perhaps we should get to the original reason we came here. Right,
imouto-chan?"
"Yeah..." Ranko replied, startled out of her thoughts, "We should."
At Hino-sensei's curious gaze, Ranma decided to take over. "We came to buy
some wards," he said.
"Aaahhh," Hino-sensei answered, "What kind?"
"Anti-demon."
"What would you need them for?" Hino-sensei asked curiously.
"To check for possession, actually. If we use the kind that drives out
possessing spirits..."
"Well," Hino-sensei said. "Well," he continued, taking out several, "These
should drive out any oni or such. Here." With that, he handed them to Ranma.
"Thanks," he replied, bowing, "How much?"
Hino-sensei just smiled. "How about 500 yen each?"
"Sure," Ranma said, taking out a few bills, and handing them to the old
man, "Here."
"Least I can do for a cute girl like your sister," Hino-sensei said with a
lecherous grin, pocketing the money.
Ranma just slapped his forehead, mumbling about 'perverted old men', and
Rei gave her grandfather one of her best glares. Ranko, on the other hand,
grinned slightly.
"Good to think *SOMEBODY* thinks that," she said, as Ranma and Rei gave
her an odd look.
"What?" she asked, "I go to Furinkan High. Do you have *ANY* idea how hard
it is for a girl to get a date there?"
Rei's eyes widened as she realized what Ranko was talking about, Ranma
groaned slightly, and Hino-sensei got a confused expression on his face.
"What? I'd think that you'd have to beat the boys off with a stick!" Hino-
sensei exclaimed.
"Nah," Ranko said dismissively, "That's Akane, and she uses her bare
hands."
Again, Hino-sensei acquired a confused look.
"There's this jerk at school, Kunou Tatewaki. He proclaimed that anyone
who wanted to ask Akane on a date had to beat her in a fight first. Since she's
the most popular girl in school, at least among the guys, a group of idiots has
been attacking her every morning," Ranma explained, tapping into the Soul of Ice
to keep his personal involvement from showing in his voice.
"And since no one will even consider going out with any of them, there are
considerably more available girls than guys," Ranko added, "Besides, I'm heir to
the Musabetsu Kakutou Saotome Ryuu, and most guys don't like having a girlfriend
who can literally tear them apart if they try anything."
Rei's eyes widened slightly at the name of Ranko's school, but she didn't
say anything.
"Oh," Hino-sensei replied. "Rei-chan, isn't Furinkan High over in Nerima?"
"Yes, Grandfather. It's the school Nabiki goes to."
"Ahh, yes. Wait a moment. Doesn't Nabiki have a sister named Akane?"
Ranma nodded. "I assume you mean Tendou Nabiki," he said, pretending to
not already know. Waiting for Hino-sensei's nod, he answered the implied
question. "Yes, Tendou Akane is the girl who has to fight off those boys, Hino-
sensei."
"Poor girl," Hino-sensei said, shaking his head sadly.
"I'd help her," Ranko added, "But I'm afraid that if I do, Kunou'll start
on me, too."
"He'd really do that?" Hino-sensei said, wide-eyed.
Ranma just chuckled as Ranko nodded. "Yeah," she replied, "He would. He
thinks he's a samurai in the Tokugawa era or something. Polygamy was common
then."
"Actually, he's worse than that," Ranma added, "His entire family's
totally insane, going back at least five generations. I suspect that it goes
back further, but I haven't been able to prove it. He suffers from delusions of
grandeur, several forms of schizophrenia, and disassociative personality
disorder, among other things. Problem is, he's rich enough that no one'll send
him to an asylum, much less a psychiatrist, like he needs."
Hino-sensei shook his head. "What's the world coming to, these days?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he answered, "Nerima seems
to attract all the worst of the loons, though."
"That it does, doesn't it?" Hino-sensei asked before turning to Rei. "Rei-
chan, did you know about all this?" he asked sternly.
"Yes, Grandfather," she admitted, "but there wasn't anything that I could
do. Nabiki and I tried reporting it to the police once, but Kunou's family is so
well connected, not to mention rich, that nothing ever came of it. He just paid
off a few people and it all got swept under the rug."
Hino-sensei just shook his head some more. "Poor Akane-chan," he said
sadly.
"Well," Ranma said, "I think we've taken enough of your time. I'll try to
visit more often from now on, Hino-sensei. It's been a pleasure talking to you
again."
"Yes, well, take care... wait, you never told me your name."
"I'm Saotome Ranma," Ranma answered, "And this is my sister, Ranko."
"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Hino-sensei," Ranko added politely.
"Take care, Ranma, Ranko."
"See you later, Rei-san, Hino-sensei. Thanks for the wards," Ranma and
Ranko chorused.
After the two left, Rei blinked. "That was odd," she remarked.
-------------------
As they walked down the stairs leaving the shrine, Ranma spoke up.
"Still think I'm possessed?" he asked curiously.
"Nah," Ranko replied, "I'm just curious about that thing about our auras."
"You mean why they're alike?"
Ranko nodded her head in the affirmative.
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure myself. Like Hino-sensei said,
it's not a big deal, though. We'll worry about it later."
"Okay, 'niichan," Ranko answered.
"Anyway, I need to check something. Head on without me, OK? I'll meet you
at the bus."
"Alright, 'niichan."
With that, Ranma checked to make sure nobody was looking and invoked the
Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu.
-------------------
Meanwhile, back inside, Nabiki was showing Rei the ward.
"I'm sorry," Rei said, shaking her head, "I don't recognize it at all."
"How about your grandfather?" Nabiki asked.
"It's worth a try," Rei admitted, "He does know a lot more about this sort
of thing than I do."
After getting her grandfather to come (not that it was hard to get him to
go and see Nabiki), the two friends were shocked at the results. As soon as he
saw the ward, Hino-sensei's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he
practically teleported to Nabiki's side, snatching it from her hand.
"Where did you get this?!?" he exclaimed, bouncing around in excitement.
Nabiki and Rei sweatdropped. "I found it at school, Gramps. What is it?"
Nabiki asked.
Hino-sensei calmed down immediately. "It's an ofuda," he intoned.
Nabiki and Rei facefaulted. "WE KNOW THAT!!!" they screamed.
"Then why are you asking me?" he replied.
"What Nabiki means," Rei said, "is that she wants to know what *KIND* of
ward it is."
"Oh," Hino-sensei answered, "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
Nabiki and Rei sweatdropped again.
"Well," Hino-sensei continued, "I haven't seen one of these in years. It's
a ward, alright, and of the type used by devil-hunters. Whoever made this one,
though, was a true master."
"What makes you say that?" Rei asked.
"Well," Hino-sensei replied, "devil-hunters use a different method for
ward-making. Shinto wards call upon the power of the kami, channeling it through
a combination of our ki and ritual."
Rei and Nabiki nodded, having heard the theory before.
"Devil-hunters, however, often need wards that can work even where the
kami can't easily reach. It's not unheard of for one to hunt a demon to its
lair, even if its lair happens to be in Hell. While a demon may be at its
strongest there, it's often the only way to truly destroy it, as opposed to
merely sealing or banishing it."
Nabiki and Rei were now giving Hino-sensei their full attention.
"Accordingly, they make wards that take the surrounding ki and turn it
towards their goal. To do this, they use specific types of paper and ink. The
patterns of ink on the paper alter its properties, allowing the surrounding
energy to flow through the ward in the desired pattern."
Hino-sensei stopped for a moment to make sure that the two girls were
still following him before continuing. "Most devil-hunters, however, don't
really understand what they're doing. They know that a certain pattern of a
specific type of ink on a given type of paper produces some result. Some go
further, and actually understand *HOW* the wards work. Those few can create true
masterpieces or wards for a specific task. They can even improvise, creating new
types of wards from scratch."
"Wow, Gramps, so this was made by one of those?" Nabiki asked in
amazement.
"No," Hino-sensei answered, shaking his head. "A few go even further than
that, learning to sense the properties of the ink and paper that they use. Their
wards are much stronger than those made by lesser devil-hunters, as they tailor
the patterns of ink to the natural patterns of the paper, which, incidentally,
vary slightly from sheet to sheet. What's more, they don't always need the
supplies of their less skilled companions. They can create a ward using ordinary
ink on ordinary paper. One made in such a way isn't nearly as powerful as what
they could do with the proper equipment, but that's not always available. They
can even literally paint a ward on almost anything, even a wall, a sword, or any
number of things. A number of the greatest weapons used by devil-hunters were
made in just that way, the blacksmith literally turning the sword into a giant
ward against evil, locking in patterns of energy every step of the way."
By now, Nabiki and Rei's eyes were just as wide as Hino-sensei's were when
he first saw the ward. "You mean that..."
Hino-sensei shook his head again. "No. You see, there's a level even
beyond that one."
Nabiki and Rei's eyes bugged out.
"A few of the greatest devil-hunters eventually learn to use their ki to
actually alter the properties of the materials they work with, using it to open
pathways for the surrounding energy to follow. At that level, the normal
supplies become merely a convenience, allowing them to conserve their energy as
they work. They use ink to push the flows into the general pattern that they
desire, and then use their aura to refine and enhance it. Their wards can be
thousands of times more powerful than anything made by someone less skilled, but
that's only the beginning of what the legends say that they can do. Frankly, I
thought that those legends were just stories... until today."
Nabiki and Rei's jaws dropped. "You mean..." they chorused.
Hino-sensei nodded. "This ward," he said, holding it up, "was made by
someone at that level of skill. Whoever made it..." He led off at that, leaving
the two girls to draw their own conclusions.
"Just how rare are these devil-hunters, anyways?" Rei asked, having mostly
gotten over her shock, "I mean with all the youma attacks we've been getting..."
"Well," Hino-sensei started, "I'd say that there are probably around a
hundred devil-hunters in the world. One or two would've probably shown up by now
to deal with all of those monsters if it wasn't for the fact that they seem to
be pretty under control. The Sailor Senshi've taken care of just about all of
them lately, haven't they?"
Rei nodded. "I see," she said.
"Yes... but whoever made this ward... I'd say that around one out of ten
devil-hunters manages to reach the second level of skill, that of understanding
how their wards work. The third level... maybe, and I mean maybe, one out of a
thousand makes it that far. It's probably more like one out of five thousand or
something. As for the fourth level... the level of whoever made this, the
legends say that only three others have ever had that kind of skill, and they go
on to detail each and every one of their deaths. Whoever made this ward is their
equal, if not their superior."
By now, both Nabiki and Rei had managed to get their minds around the
idea. "So," Nabiki asked, "What effect would this ward have on somebody?"
Hino-sensei shook his head in disappointment. "Nabiki, I thought I'd
taught you and Rei better than that. Almost all wards work by reacting to a
demonic aura. This ward, specifically, is designed to seal demons. Unless you
were possessed, or part-demon yourself, it would do absolutely nothing."
Nabiki's eyes widened in panic. "Hino-sensei, I found it on the forehead
of one of my classmates. He was paralyzed, completely unable to move."
Hino-sensei began to panic somewhat as well. "Maybe that's why those two
kids wanted something to drive out a possessing spirit!" Rei exclaimed, putting
two and two together (albeit incorrectly).
"Huh?" asked Nabiki.
After Rei quickly mentioned what had happened earlier, Nabiki tried a
theory. "Okay, how about this?" she asked. "They somehow found out that Kunou-"
Hino-sensei quickly interrupted. "Kunou Tatewaki? The guy who's been
bothering your sister?"
Nabiki nodded. "How'd you find out about that?" she inquired, "I know that
I haven't told you about it."
After Hino-sensei and Rei told her, Nabiki smirked. "Perfect. Well,
somehow, they found out that Kunou's possessed. They find that ward, probably a
family heirloom or something, and use it on him, only to see that it doesn't
exorcise whatever's in him. So, they come here and buy some ofuda that *WOULD*
do the job."
Hino-sensei shook his head. "No, whoever made that ward did it recently.
I'd say that it's not more than a few days old, actually, not to mention that
it's made on a piece of an unlined index card."
Nabiki facefaulted. "Okay, throw that idea out the window. I guess I'll
just have to chalk it up as another of those little mysteries in life for the
time being. So, any idea what to do about Kunou?"
"No," he answered, "Usually, that type of ward doesn't have that effect on
people, even if they're possessed. Normally, it suppresses the demon, allowing
the person to regain control of their body while they're in contact with it. If
it paralyzed him, the demon's hold on him is far stronger than any mere ward, or
at least any that I can make. Either he's been possessed for years, or the demon
is extremely powerful, possibly even a Demon Lord."
"And that's assuming that he's possessed, and not part demon himself,
right?" Rei added, mentally noting that the Senshi would have to check him out
as soon as they could.
"Right," Hino-sensei agreed. "If he's a hanyou or something similar, it's
beyond my experience. I honestly don't know what to say."
"Well, hopefully, whoever made that ward will do something about it,"
Nabiki said, her voice betraying her disappointment.
"Well, I'd better leave you two ladies to yourselves," he excused, giving
the two girls a playful wink, "I'll bet that you have a lot of talking to do."
"Thanks, Grandfather," Rei replied, bowing politely.
"I'll see you later, Rei-chan. Why don't you take the rest of the day
off?"
"Thanks, Grandfather!" she exclaimed, grabbing Nabiki by the wrist and
heading towards her room.
-------------------
"So," Nabiki said once they were alone, "What was that about a vision?" As
Rei told her about what she had seen, Nabiki grew more and more pale. After she
mentioned the part about Akane, though, Nabiki almost went into a panic,
especially when Rei got to the part about the boy crying over her bloody corpse.
"What can we do?" she asked, "I mean, what if this is the guy who made
that ofuda? I mean, you did see him hunting demons... and..." With that, Nabiki
began to cry softly. "Why?" she manage to get out between tears, "Not again..."
Rei quickly swept her friend into a comforting embrace. "Shh," she said,
"Don't worry. We'll do everything we can. Everything will be just fine. You'll
see..."
After Nabiki had calmed down and regained control several minutes later,
Rei noticed a letter addressed to her on the floor just outside her room.
"Rei," it read, "Your vision showed my past, not your future. I swear by
my honor that I won't let history repeat itself."
It was signed, "Tenmou no Heijin".
-------------------
A.N.:
Yeay! Another chapter done!
Well, I need to thank Arun for his help in providing a term for what Ranma
now is. After all, India is, by far, the most likely place for a legend about
people who have tapped into their life force to gain immortality to come from.
Chinese would have worked, too, but I'm quite happy with using Tamil.
Okay, now for a translation of some of the foreign terms used. If you've
read the previous chapters, you know what "Tenmou no Heijin" means. Roughly
speaking, it means "Blade of Heaven's Vengeance". Of course, Japanese doesn't
have an equivalent of the English "the" or "a", so it works perfectly well as a
title or description.
"-Sensei" is a suffix used for doctors, teachers, and other professionals.
I'm not entirely sure why they use it for Rei's grandfather, but they do.
"Ofuda" means roughly the same thing as "ward", at least in the context
that I use it in. I switch between the two in order to avoid repetition.
An oni is a type of demon or ogre (doesn't fit either description exactly)
sometimes accused of possessing people.
'Thaelindhalivillar' roughly means 'Enlightened Immortal' in Tamil.
"Jinja" means "Shinto shrine".
Now... you might have noticed Ranma and Ranko's... rapport, for lack of a
better term. Yes, I know why they're like that, and I've been dropping hints,
even if they *HAVE* been subtle, about the reason. Hopefully, some of you have
figured it out by now, but I'm a bit curious to see just how many have. So...
I'm starting a little contest. The rules are simple. To enter, send me an e-mail
explaining your theory. I'm at CheezeA@Clemson.edu, or Aleh@aol.com. The Clemson
e-mail address is preferred for most things, but the AOL one works as well. If
you guess correctly, I'll let you in on a few of my long-term plans for the
future of this series, including two matchups that I'm pretty certain haven't
been done before (I *AM* planning others, but I haven't decided for sure). If
your guess is reasonably close (in my opinion), I'll let you in on the reason in
advance. :-). There's a limit of one entry per person, though, so you only get
one guess. Feel free to discuss the subject, but anyone who I find discussing
one of my private replies to an entry message in a public forum will be
automatically disqualified (whether or not they were the one to whom the message
was sent). Moreover, anyone found sharing the prize information will be
disqualified from any future contests of this nature that I may hold. Anyone
found cheating by using multiple e-mail accounts to send in several entries will
also be disqualified. Other than that, feel free to do whatever. :-). The
deadline for entries is the release of Chapter 4 to the FFML, so get going!
As for my portrayal of Genma (I've been getting several protests), please
remember that more is going on than just what you know about... and remember
what I said about Shampoo in the Author's Notes for the prologues. Some things
happened in this world's past that have significant importance both to his
behavior and to Ranko's.
Oh, also, I've been getting some questions as to Ranma's actual
capabilities. In his own universe, he was a force to be reckoned with. In terms
of power, he was in between Usagi's Eternal Sailor Moon form and her Moon
Princess form with the Ginzuishou. Basically, he could have beaten just about
any of the non-main villains (In other words, any except Metallia, Death
Phantom, Pharaoh 90, or Chaos. Nehelenia and the Doom Tree are toss-ups, due
more to their vulnerability to specific techniques that Ranma has than any
weakness on their parts). At present, however, he has a number of weaknesses,
restrictions, and other items that prevent him from doing this. I'd say that he
can fight at about 15% of his full power for short periods, enough to fight any
of the Witches 5 to a standstill, and perhaps enough to win, but not without
considerable personal cost. Below is a summary. Please note that all comparisons
are to him in his old body, not to the native Ranma.
Physical Attributes: His present body is almost totally lacking in
conditioning. While he can enhance his abilities, he cannot boost himself to the
same speed or strength as before, due to the lesser base strength, speed, and
such. In addition, doing so has a price. See 'ki', below. In addition, his body
cannot take the strain imposed on it by many of Ranma's techniques. While he can
get around this to some extent with ki, doing so is quite draining. Normally:
Less than 1%. Boosted, around 10%.
Ki: Ranma has his full ki-reserves, but his body does not produce nearly
as much as his old one did. While he has techniques that allow him to gather
ambient ki and use it to replenish his own supply, he cannot do so nearly as
quickly as he could in his own body, as doing so would put too much of a strain
on his body. Supply: Around 95% at present. Recovers at around 1%. With ki-
gathering, can recover at about 5% of what he could recover unaided before.
Magic: While Ranma retains all of his knowledge of magic, most of his
magical abilities came from various magical items and trinkets, which were,
obviously, left behind. In addition, the vast majority of his spells require
either elaborate ritual, expensive or rare material components, or both.
Accordingly, he has little to no magical power. While his phoenix powers could
also be considered here, he didn't retain them, either. Overall: Less than 1%
for combat purposes.
Skill: 95%. Ranma didn't lose any of his skills or knowledge. This is
where he comes into his own; he is, quite literally, the single most skilled
fighter alive. However, Ranma's body can't take the strain of some of his more
advanced techniques.
Healing: He can use his ki to heal injuries almost instantly, but with
significant drawbacks. See the section on ki for details. Accelerated healing is
extremely draining, depending on the speed with which he recovers. Moreover, his
phoenix powers accelerated his healing to the point of being practically
instantaneous before. Overall: less than 1%.
Basically, if he gets into a fight at present, it'll take him a
considerable amount of time to recover, which is why he's going to such lengths
to avoid fighting.
BWAHAHAHA!!! I 0wN Th3z3 M8Ng8 8nD 8N1m3! 80w b34 mY l33T HaX0r sK1lLz!
Yeah, right. If you actually believed that, you need help. A lot of it.
-------------------
Ranma walked silently by the horde of boys waiting for Akane, still
wrapped in the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu. Casually noting their faces, he approached
Kunou, ofuda in hand.
"Heh," he thought, "Oyaji may be a worthless excuse for a parent, but some
of his techniques do come in handy."
Noting Akane's approaching aura, he quickly made his way to his target's
position, circled the tree he was hiding behind, charged his ward, and slapped
it onto Kunou's forehead.
With that, Kunou suddenly stopped all movement, paralyzed by the ward's
power. With his mission accomplished, Ranma left the yard, sparing one last look
at Akane as she headed into her daily ordeal.
"Not one minute more than I have to," he promised himself, "I won't let
her suffer through this one minute more than is absolutely necessary."
-------------------
Reflection,
By
Aleh,
Chapter Three: A Twist In the Path
-------------------
After leaving school, Ranma walked over to Tofu-sensei's office. Pausing
to check the building with his ki-senses, but making no effort to hide his aura,
Ranma opened the door and entered. As he expected, Tofu-sensei had stopped what
he was doing in order to investigate what he had sensed, and quickly turned to
Ranma, eyes widened in shock at seeing his apparent age.
"Hello, Tofu-sensei," Ranma said, "Would you mind discussing something
with me? After you see to your patients, that is. It would hardly be fair to
them if you just dropped everything to have a conversation with some stranger."
Ranma's eyes sparkled with humor as he made his little speech, and his aura
reflected the fact that he meant every word.
Tofu-sensei nodded his head in response. "It would be an honor," he
replied, much to the shock of the few people watching the exchange.
Ranma just bowed respectfully and took a seat, slipping into a ki-
restoring meditation as Tofu somewhat distractedly turned back towards his
patients.
-------------------
It was nearly an hour before Tofu-sensei managed to finish with the last
of the waiting patients. "So," he said, approaching Ranma, "What did you want to
talk about?"
Ranma opened his eyes and looked Tofu-sensei straight in the eyes. "That
old lady, Tanaka-san, I think you called her, has the beginnings of a case of
cervical cancer. You might want to have that looked at."
Tofu-sensei's eyes widened. He had noticed Ranma pulling in ambient energy
and using it to replenish his aura, and the skill needed to do that without
losing oneself in the process was considerable. Ranma had, indirectly, just told
Tofu-sensei that he was among the few who could. As there probably weren't more
than three such people alive, Tofu-sensei quickly deduced that his earlier
estimates of this young man's skill had been off. He was, at least, quite a bit
better than Tofu-sensei dreamed possible for someone who had celebrated their
fiftieth birthday, and Tofu-sensei wasn't naïve enough to assume that he had
seen the true depths of Ranma's ability.
Ranma, meanwhile, watched as various emotions played across Tofu-sensei's
face and as his aura lit up with excitement.
"I believe," Ranma added, "That your legends refer to me as a
'thaelindhalivillar'."
Tofu-sensei's aura became even more excited as he finally realized exactly
what he was talking to. "Amazing!" he exclaimed, before forcing himself to calm
down, "So... what brings one such as yourself to my humble clinic?"
Ranma smiled. "Well," he said, "I wanted your help with something."
Tofu cocked his head slightly, curiosity now battling excitement in his
aura. "What?" he asked.
"Well..."
-------------------
Ranma walked out of Tofu-sensei's office with a slight spring in his step
and his mission accomplished. He could count on Tofu-sensei's support when he
missed school, thereby avoiding a potentially nasty confrontation with his
parents, and had even been offered a job as Tofu-sensei's assistant (Ranma
decided to try to get Furinkan to let him accept, given his inevitable need for
money, as well as the opportunity to encounter Akane outside of school). Now,
Ranma just had to take care of the remaining items on his mental list for the
day...
-------------------
After school, Nabiki decided to skip her usual afternoon activities and
walk home with her younger sister.
"Akane," she began, walking up to her sister as she was crossing the gate,
"Mind if I join you?"
"Of course not," Akane replied, "So what's up?"
"Well... about this morning..."
Akane smiled. "Kunou giving up? He didn't bother me at lunch, either."
Nabiki frowned. "That's odd. He left class... Oh, no!"
"What?" Akane asked, worried.
"This morning, I found him behind the tree... you know, the one he usually
challenges you from?" Nabiki waited for Akane's nod before continuing. "Anyway,
there was a ward of some kind stuck to his forehead, paralyzing him somehow."
Akane's eyes widened. "So..."
"Somebody had to put it there. I suspect that whoever did stopped him at
lunch, too."
"Any idea about the ward?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Not a clue," she said, taking it out and showing
it to Akane, "It looks like pretty ordinary paper, actually. I'm planning on
asking Hino-sensei about it this afternoon, so I'll hopefully have a lead then."
Nabiki paused for a moment. "Think we should go and help Kunou?"
The two sisters then turned towards each other. "Nah," they chorused.
Out behind Furinkan High, a certain delusional kendoist would have sneezed
if the ofuda on his forehead hadn't prevented it.
-------------------
"Good," Ranma thought from his hiding place, "No one found the moron. With
any luck, I won't have to use another ward tomorrow."
With that, Ranma turned and left, leaving the school moron to his own
devices.
-------------------
A few minutes later, Ranko was walking towards home when Ranma dropped the
Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu, literally fading into sight in front of her.
"Gya!" she yelled, pulling away, "Don't DO that!"
"Sorry," Ranma said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, "Didn't
mean to startle you."
"Aww," she replied, "It's okay."
"Okay," Ranma answered, "Did you have any plans for today?"
"Hmm," Ranko said, seeing an opportunity to check for one possibility,
"Well, I was going to go over to Juuban. I'd heard of a shrine-"
"Oh," Ranma interrupted, "you wanted to have me checked for possession,
right?"
Ranko's eyes widened. "Yeah," she admitted after an awkward pause.
"Sure," Ranma replied, "I don't mind."
"..."
"I mean," he continued, "I'd do the same thing."
"You don't hold it against me?" she asked hopefully.
"Nah," Ranma answered, "Of course not. I should've suggested it myself.
Can't have a possessed brother, can you?"
Ranko laughed in a combination of humor and relief. "No, that would be a
bad thing, even if it is an improvement."
Ranma joined in her laughter. "True. There aren't many good possessing
entities, after all."
-------------------
The train ride to Juuban was uneventful, although Ranma was rather curious
when he noticed Nabiki's ki-signature. Stepping out into the street, Ranko
briefly stretched her arms over her head.
"Well, shall we go, imouto-chan?" Ranma asked, lightly slapping her back.
"Sure, 'niichan," she replied, "You know where the Hikawa Jinja is?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah. We'll have to take a bus, though. I doubt you're up
to roof-hopping."
Ranko frowned at the reminder of what their father had done. "I can't
believe Oyaji'd do that," she responded.
"Feh," Ranma nearly spat out, "That's Oyaji for ya. Anyway, let's go."
"Wha?" Ranko asked, stopping when she saw the approaching bus. "Oh."
-------------------
Again, Ranma was rather startled to notice Nabiki's presence in the bus.
"Wonder what Nabiki's doing," he thought before realization struck. "Hino
Rei! Of course! She must be Hino-sensei's granddaughter. Well, well, well.
Interesting..."
Ranko was rather startled to see her brother start to chuckle at
something.
"What is it, Ranma?" she asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later," he replied, "I just figured something out."
"Oh."
-------------------
Hino Rei tended the Sacred Fire. The phone call that she had received from
Akane-chan was a cause for concern, but not nearly as much of one as her recent
vision. She only hoped that Nabiki could help shed some light on it. After all,
several things involved her family...
Rei was shaken out of her ruminations by the arrival of a small group of
people. One, Nabiki, she instantly recognized. Another, a black-haired boy
accompanied by a girl who was obviously his sister, bore a resemblance to the
man in her vision. It wasn't much of one, but she was put slightly on edge by
it. Perhaps they were related?
Rei walked over to Nabiki, wearing a tired smile. "Hi, Nabiki-chan," she
said when she arrived, "Akane-chan told me about what happened at school."
"Yeah," Nabiki replied, "I was hoping that you could take a look at
this..."
As Nabiki reached into her purse to withdraw the ward, Rei spoke up.
"Later, Nabiki. We need to talk. Let me take care of these visitors, OK?"
"Okay," answered Nabiki, "Another vision I assume?"
Rei nodded and excused herself, approaching Ranma and Ranko.
"Hello, and welcome to the Hikawa Jinja. Can I help you?" she inquired,
extending her spiritual senses.
Ranko smiled. "Well, my brother and I were hoping to buy some wards
against possession..."
Rei's eyes widened slightly as she extended her ki-senses further, but
failed to find anything strange about the two, other than...
"Mind telling me why your ki-signatures are almost identical?" she asked,
having never seen something like it before, even in identical twins.
"What?" Ranko asked, not understanding.
Ranma just slapped his palm to his face. "Of course," he muttered, "That's
what was bothering me this morning. Her battle aura's just like mine."
Neither Rei nor Ranko, however, managed to make out his words. "Hold on,"
Rei added, "I'll go get my grandfather. If anyone can figure it out, it's him."
Ranko nodded as Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead," they said in
unison.
-------------------
After Rei came back, her grandfather in tow, Ranma spoke up. "Hello, Hino-
sensei," he said, bowing, "It's been a long time."
Rei and Ranko quickly looked between Ranma and Hino-sensei. "You know each
other, Niichan?" Ranko asked as Rei quickly extended the same question to her
grandfather.
Ranma chuckled as Hino-sensei gained a thoughtful look. "You taught me
some meditation techniques when I was ten," he clarified.
"Oh," Hino-sensei replied. "I don't really remember, but I guess it's
possible."
Ranma just nodded. "I'm not really surprised about that, but they've been
very helpful since then."
Hino-sensei smiled. "Well, I'm glad you got some use of them, m'boy."
"Grandfather," Rei replied, "Could you take a look at their auras for me?"
Ranko decided to join in. "Yes, Rei saw something rather odd, and we were
hoping that you could tell us more."
"Hmm," he said, probing them with his ki before his eyes widened. "Well,
this is interesting, isn't it?" he said.
"So, you know why our auras are so close?" Ranko asked.
Hino-sensei shook his head. "Not even identical twins have auras that
resemble each other so closely. Sure, there are differences. He," Hino-sensei
pointed to Ranma, "is obviously male, whereas you," Hino-sensei paused,
switching to Ranko, "are obviously female. There are several other differences
as well, but most of them are from experience. What happens to you affects your
aura, after all, but the underlying patterns are almost exactly the same. It's
almost like you're the same person. I don't think that it's important, though.
It may be odd, but I doubt it's anything bad."
"Well, it's interesting, but not really important right now," Ranma
responded, "Perhaps we should get to the original reason we came here. Right,
imouto-chan?"
"Yeah..." Ranko replied, startled out of her thoughts, "We should."
At Hino-sensei's curious gaze, Ranma decided to take over. "We came to buy
some wards," he said.
"Aaahhh," Hino-sensei answered, "What kind?"
"Anti-demon."
"What would you need them for?" Hino-sensei asked curiously.
"To check for possession, actually. If we use the kind that drives out
possessing spirits..."
"Well," Hino-sensei said. "Well," he continued, taking out several, "These
should drive out any oni or such. Here." With that, he handed them to Ranma.
"Thanks," he replied, bowing, "How much?"
Hino-sensei just smiled. "How about 500 yen each?"
"Sure," Ranma said, taking out a few bills, and handing them to the old
man, "Here."
"Least I can do for a cute girl like your sister," Hino-sensei said with a
lecherous grin, pocketing the money.
Ranma just slapped his forehead, mumbling about 'perverted old men', and
Rei gave her grandfather one of her best glares. Ranko, on the other hand,
grinned slightly.
"Good to think *SOMEBODY* thinks that," she said, as Ranma and Rei gave
her an odd look.
"What?" she asked, "I go to Furinkan High. Do you have *ANY* idea how hard
it is for a girl to get a date there?"
Rei's eyes widened as she realized what Ranko was talking about, Ranma
groaned slightly, and Hino-sensei got a confused expression on his face.
"What? I'd think that you'd have to beat the boys off with a stick!" Hino-
sensei exclaimed.
"Nah," Ranko said dismissively, "That's Akane, and she uses her bare
hands."
Again, Hino-sensei acquired a confused look.
"There's this jerk at school, Kunou Tatewaki. He proclaimed that anyone
who wanted to ask Akane on a date had to beat her in a fight first. Since she's
the most popular girl in school, at least among the guys, a group of idiots has
been attacking her every morning," Ranma explained, tapping into the Soul of Ice
to keep his personal involvement from showing in his voice.
"And since no one will even consider going out with any of them, there are
considerably more available girls than guys," Ranko added, "Besides, I'm heir to
the Musabetsu Kakutou Saotome Ryuu, and most guys don't like having a girlfriend
who can literally tear them apart if they try anything."
Rei's eyes widened slightly at the name of Ranko's school, but she didn't
say anything.
"Oh," Hino-sensei replied. "Rei-chan, isn't Furinkan High over in Nerima?"
"Yes, Grandfather. It's the school Nabiki goes to."
"Ahh, yes. Wait a moment. Doesn't Nabiki have a sister named Akane?"
Ranma nodded. "I assume you mean Tendou Nabiki," he said, pretending to
not already know. Waiting for Hino-sensei's nod, he answered the implied
question. "Yes, Tendou Akane is the girl who has to fight off those boys, Hino-
sensei."
"Poor girl," Hino-sensei said, shaking his head sadly.
"I'd help her," Ranko added, "But I'm afraid that if I do, Kunou'll start
on me, too."
"He'd really do that?" Hino-sensei said, wide-eyed.
Ranma just chuckled as Ranko nodded. "Yeah," she replied, "He would. He
thinks he's a samurai in the Tokugawa era or something. Polygamy was common
then."
"Actually, he's worse than that," Ranma added, "His entire family's
totally insane, going back at least five generations. I suspect that it goes
back further, but I haven't been able to prove it. He suffers from delusions of
grandeur, several forms of schizophrenia, and disassociative personality
disorder, among other things. Problem is, he's rich enough that no one'll send
him to an asylum, much less a psychiatrist, like he needs."
Hino-sensei shook his head. "What's the world coming to, these days?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he answered, "Nerima seems
to attract all the worst of the loons, though."
"That it does, doesn't it?" Hino-sensei asked before turning to Rei. "Rei-
chan, did you know about all this?" he asked sternly.
"Yes, Grandfather," she admitted, "but there wasn't anything that I could
do. Nabiki and I tried reporting it to the police once, but Kunou's family is so
well connected, not to mention rich, that nothing ever came of it. He just paid
off a few people and it all got swept under the rug."
Hino-sensei just shook his head some more. "Poor Akane-chan," he said
sadly.
"Well," Ranma said, "I think we've taken enough of your time. I'll try to
visit more often from now on, Hino-sensei. It's been a pleasure talking to you
again."
"Yes, well, take care... wait, you never told me your name."
"I'm Saotome Ranma," Ranma answered, "And this is my sister, Ranko."
"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Hino-sensei," Ranko added politely.
"Take care, Ranma, Ranko."
"See you later, Rei-san, Hino-sensei. Thanks for the wards," Ranma and
Ranko chorused.
After the two left, Rei blinked. "That was odd," she remarked.
-------------------
As they walked down the stairs leaving the shrine, Ranma spoke up.
"Still think I'm possessed?" he asked curiously.
"Nah," Ranko replied, "I'm just curious about that thing about our auras."
"You mean why they're alike?"
Ranko nodded her head in the affirmative.
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure myself. Like Hino-sensei said,
it's not a big deal, though. We'll worry about it later."
"Okay, 'niichan," Ranko answered.
"Anyway, I need to check something. Head on without me, OK? I'll meet you
at the bus."
"Alright, 'niichan."
With that, Ranma checked to make sure nobody was looking and invoked the
Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu.
-------------------
Meanwhile, back inside, Nabiki was showing Rei the ward.
"I'm sorry," Rei said, shaking her head, "I don't recognize it at all."
"How about your grandfather?" Nabiki asked.
"It's worth a try," Rei admitted, "He does know a lot more about this sort
of thing than I do."
After getting her grandfather to come (not that it was hard to get him to
go and see Nabiki), the two friends were shocked at the results. As soon as he
saw the ward, Hino-sensei's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he
practically teleported to Nabiki's side, snatching it from her hand.
"Where did you get this?!?" he exclaimed, bouncing around in excitement.
Nabiki and Rei sweatdropped. "I found it at school, Gramps. What is it?"
Nabiki asked.
Hino-sensei calmed down immediately. "It's an ofuda," he intoned.
Nabiki and Rei facefaulted. "WE KNOW THAT!!!" they screamed.
"Then why are you asking me?" he replied.
"What Nabiki means," Rei said, "is that she wants to know what *KIND* of
ward it is."
"Oh," Hino-sensei answered, "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
Nabiki and Rei sweatdropped again.
"Well," Hino-sensei continued, "I haven't seen one of these in years. It's
a ward, alright, and of the type used by devil-hunters. Whoever made this one,
though, was a true master."
"What makes you say that?" Rei asked.
"Well," Hino-sensei replied, "devil-hunters use a different method for
ward-making. Shinto wards call upon the power of the kami, channeling it through
a combination of our ki and ritual."
Rei and Nabiki nodded, having heard the theory before.
"Devil-hunters, however, often need wards that can work even where the
kami can't easily reach. It's not unheard of for one to hunt a demon to its
lair, even if its lair happens to be in Hell. While a demon may be at its
strongest there, it's often the only way to truly destroy it, as opposed to
merely sealing or banishing it."
Nabiki and Rei were now giving Hino-sensei their full attention.
"Accordingly, they make wards that take the surrounding ki and turn it
towards their goal. To do this, they use specific types of paper and ink. The
patterns of ink on the paper alter its properties, allowing the surrounding
energy to flow through the ward in the desired pattern."
Hino-sensei stopped for a moment to make sure that the two girls were
still following him before continuing. "Most devil-hunters, however, don't
really understand what they're doing. They know that a certain pattern of a
specific type of ink on a given type of paper produces some result. Some go
further, and actually understand *HOW* the wards work. Those few can create true
masterpieces or wards for a specific task. They can even improvise, creating new
types of wards from scratch."
"Wow, Gramps, so this was made by one of those?" Nabiki asked in
amazement.
"No," Hino-sensei answered, shaking his head. "A few go even further than
that, learning to sense the properties of the ink and paper that they use. Their
wards are much stronger than those made by lesser devil-hunters, as they tailor
the patterns of ink to the natural patterns of the paper, which, incidentally,
vary slightly from sheet to sheet. What's more, they don't always need the
supplies of their less skilled companions. They can create a ward using ordinary
ink on ordinary paper. One made in such a way isn't nearly as powerful as what
they could do with the proper equipment, but that's not always available. They
can even literally paint a ward on almost anything, even a wall, a sword, or any
number of things. A number of the greatest weapons used by devil-hunters were
made in just that way, the blacksmith literally turning the sword into a giant
ward against evil, locking in patterns of energy every step of the way."
By now, Nabiki and Rei's eyes were just as wide as Hino-sensei's were when
he first saw the ward. "You mean that..."
Hino-sensei shook his head again. "No. You see, there's a level even
beyond that one."
Nabiki and Rei's eyes bugged out.
"A few of the greatest devil-hunters eventually learn to use their ki to
actually alter the properties of the materials they work with, using it to open
pathways for the surrounding energy to follow. At that level, the normal
supplies become merely a convenience, allowing them to conserve their energy as
they work. They use ink to push the flows into the general pattern that they
desire, and then use their aura to refine and enhance it. Their wards can be
thousands of times more powerful than anything made by someone less skilled, but
that's only the beginning of what the legends say that they can do. Frankly, I
thought that those legends were just stories... until today."
Nabiki and Rei's jaws dropped. "You mean..." they chorused.
Hino-sensei nodded. "This ward," he said, holding it up, "was made by
someone at that level of skill. Whoever made it..." He led off at that, leaving
the two girls to draw their own conclusions.
"Just how rare are these devil-hunters, anyways?" Rei asked, having mostly
gotten over her shock, "I mean with all the youma attacks we've been getting..."
"Well," Hino-sensei started, "I'd say that there are probably around a
hundred devil-hunters in the world. One or two would've probably shown up by now
to deal with all of those monsters if it wasn't for the fact that they seem to
be pretty under control. The Sailor Senshi've taken care of just about all of
them lately, haven't they?"
Rei nodded. "I see," she said.
"Yes... but whoever made this ward... I'd say that around one out of ten
devil-hunters manages to reach the second level of skill, that of understanding
how their wards work. The third level... maybe, and I mean maybe, one out of a
thousand makes it that far. It's probably more like one out of five thousand or
something. As for the fourth level... the level of whoever made this, the
legends say that only three others have ever had that kind of skill, and they go
on to detail each and every one of their deaths. Whoever made this ward is their
equal, if not their superior."
By now, both Nabiki and Rei had managed to get their minds around the
idea. "So," Nabiki asked, "What effect would this ward have on somebody?"
Hino-sensei shook his head in disappointment. "Nabiki, I thought I'd
taught you and Rei better than that. Almost all wards work by reacting to a
demonic aura. This ward, specifically, is designed to seal demons. Unless you
were possessed, or part-demon yourself, it would do absolutely nothing."
Nabiki's eyes widened in panic. "Hino-sensei, I found it on the forehead
of one of my classmates. He was paralyzed, completely unable to move."
Hino-sensei began to panic somewhat as well. "Maybe that's why those two
kids wanted something to drive out a possessing spirit!" Rei exclaimed, putting
two and two together (albeit incorrectly).
"Huh?" asked Nabiki.
After Rei quickly mentioned what had happened earlier, Nabiki tried a
theory. "Okay, how about this?" she asked. "They somehow found out that Kunou-"
Hino-sensei quickly interrupted. "Kunou Tatewaki? The guy who's been
bothering your sister?"
Nabiki nodded. "How'd you find out about that?" she inquired, "I know that
I haven't told you about it."
After Hino-sensei and Rei told her, Nabiki smirked. "Perfect. Well,
somehow, they found out that Kunou's possessed. They find that ward, probably a
family heirloom or something, and use it on him, only to see that it doesn't
exorcise whatever's in him. So, they come here and buy some ofuda that *WOULD*
do the job."
Hino-sensei shook his head. "No, whoever made that ward did it recently.
I'd say that it's not more than a few days old, actually, not to mention that
it's made on a piece of an unlined index card."
Nabiki facefaulted. "Okay, throw that idea out the window. I guess I'll
just have to chalk it up as another of those little mysteries in life for the
time being. So, any idea what to do about Kunou?"
"No," he answered, "Usually, that type of ward doesn't have that effect on
people, even if they're possessed. Normally, it suppresses the demon, allowing
the person to regain control of their body while they're in contact with it. If
it paralyzed him, the demon's hold on him is far stronger than any mere ward, or
at least any that I can make. Either he's been possessed for years, or the demon
is extremely powerful, possibly even a Demon Lord."
"And that's assuming that he's possessed, and not part demon himself,
right?" Rei added, mentally noting that the Senshi would have to check him out
as soon as they could.
"Right," Hino-sensei agreed. "If he's a hanyou or something similar, it's
beyond my experience. I honestly don't know what to say."
"Well, hopefully, whoever made that ward will do something about it,"
Nabiki said, her voice betraying her disappointment.
"Well, I'd better leave you two ladies to yourselves," he excused, giving
the two girls a playful wink, "I'll bet that you have a lot of talking to do."
"Thanks, Grandfather," Rei replied, bowing politely.
"I'll see you later, Rei-chan. Why don't you take the rest of the day
off?"
"Thanks, Grandfather!" she exclaimed, grabbing Nabiki by the wrist and
heading towards her room.
-------------------
"So," Nabiki said once they were alone, "What was that about a vision?" As
Rei told her about what she had seen, Nabiki grew more and more pale. After she
mentioned the part about Akane, though, Nabiki almost went into a panic,
especially when Rei got to the part about the boy crying over her bloody corpse.
"What can we do?" she asked, "I mean, what if this is the guy who made
that ofuda? I mean, you did see him hunting demons... and..." With that, Nabiki
began to cry softly. "Why?" she manage to get out between tears, "Not again..."
Rei quickly swept her friend into a comforting embrace. "Shh," she said,
"Don't worry. We'll do everything we can. Everything will be just fine. You'll
see..."
After Nabiki had calmed down and regained control several minutes later,
Rei noticed a letter addressed to her on the floor just outside her room.
"Rei," it read, "Your vision showed my past, not your future. I swear by
my honor that I won't let history repeat itself."
It was signed, "Tenmou no Heijin".
-------------------
A.N.:
Yeay! Another chapter done!
Well, I need to thank Arun for his help in providing a term for what Ranma
now is. After all, India is, by far, the most likely place for a legend about
people who have tapped into their life force to gain immortality to come from.
Chinese would have worked, too, but I'm quite happy with using Tamil.
Okay, now for a translation of some of the foreign terms used. If you've
read the previous chapters, you know what "Tenmou no Heijin" means. Roughly
speaking, it means "Blade of Heaven's Vengeance". Of course, Japanese doesn't
have an equivalent of the English "the" or "a", so it works perfectly well as a
title or description.
"-Sensei" is a suffix used for doctors, teachers, and other professionals.
I'm not entirely sure why they use it for Rei's grandfather, but they do.
"Ofuda" means roughly the same thing as "ward", at least in the context
that I use it in. I switch between the two in order to avoid repetition.
An oni is a type of demon or ogre (doesn't fit either description exactly)
sometimes accused of possessing people.
'Thaelindhalivillar' roughly means 'Enlightened Immortal' in Tamil.
"Jinja" means "Shinto shrine".
Now... you might have noticed Ranma and Ranko's... rapport, for lack of a
better term. Yes, I know why they're like that, and I've been dropping hints,
even if they *HAVE* been subtle, about the reason. Hopefully, some of you have
figured it out by now, but I'm a bit curious to see just how many have. So...
I'm starting a little contest. The rules are simple. To enter, send me an e-mail
explaining your theory. I'm at CheezeA@Clemson.edu, or Aleh@aol.com. The Clemson
e-mail address is preferred for most things, but the AOL one works as well. If
you guess correctly, I'll let you in on a few of my long-term plans for the
future of this series, including two matchups that I'm pretty certain haven't
been done before (I *AM* planning others, but I haven't decided for sure). If
your guess is reasonably close (in my opinion), I'll let you in on the reason in
advance. :-). There's a limit of one entry per person, though, so you only get
one guess. Feel free to discuss the subject, but anyone who I find discussing
one of my private replies to an entry message in a public forum will be
automatically disqualified (whether or not they were the one to whom the message
was sent). Moreover, anyone found sharing the prize information will be
disqualified from any future contests of this nature that I may hold. Anyone
found cheating by using multiple e-mail accounts to send in several entries will
also be disqualified. Other than that, feel free to do whatever. :-). The
deadline for entries is the release of Chapter 4 to the FFML, so get going!
As for my portrayal of Genma (I've been getting several protests), please
remember that more is going on than just what you know about... and remember
what I said about Shampoo in the Author's Notes for the prologues. Some things
happened in this world's past that have significant importance both to his
behavior and to Ranko's.
Oh, also, I've been getting some questions as to Ranma's actual
capabilities. In his own universe, he was a force to be reckoned with. In terms
of power, he was in between Usagi's Eternal Sailor Moon form and her Moon
Princess form with the Ginzuishou. Basically, he could have beaten just about
any of the non-main villains (In other words, any except Metallia, Death
Phantom, Pharaoh 90, or Chaos. Nehelenia and the Doom Tree are toss-ups, due
more to their vulnerability to specific techniques that Ranma has than any
weakness on their parts). At present, however, he has a number of weaknesses,
restrictions, and other items that prevent him from doing this. I'd say that he
can fight at about 15% of his full power for short periods, enough to fight any
of the Witches 5 to a standstill, and perhaps enough to win, but not without
considerable personal cost. Below is a summary. Please note that all comparisons
are to him in his old body, not to the native Ranma.
Physical Attributes: His present body is almost totally lacking in
conditioning. While he can enhance his abilities, he cannot boost himself to the
same speed or strength as before, due to the lesser base strength, speed, and
such. In addition, doing so has a price. See 'ki', below. In addition, his body
cannot take the strain imposed on it by many of Ranma's techniques. While he can
get around this to some extent with ki, doing so is quite draining. Normally:
Less than 1%. Boosted, around 10%.
Ki: Ranma has his full ki-reserves, but his body does not produce nearly
as much as his old one did. While he has techniques that allow him to gather
ambient ki and use it to replenish his own supply, he cannot do so nearly as
quickly as he could in his own body, as doing so would put too much of a strain
on his body. Supply: Around 95% at present. Recovers at around 1%. With ki-
gathering, can recover at about 5% of what he could recover unaided before.
Magic: While Ranma retains all of his knowledge of magic, most of his
magical abilities came from various magical items and trinkets, which were,
obviously, left behind. In addition, the vast majority of his spells require
either elaborate ritual, expensive or rare material components, or both.
Accordingly, he has little to no magical power. While his phoenix powers could
also be considered here, he didn't retain them, either. Overall: Less than 1%
for combat purposes.
Skill: 95%. Ranma didn't lose any of his skills or knowledge. This is
where he comes into his own; he is, quite literally, the single most skilled
fighter alive. However, Ranma's body can't take the strain of some of his more
advanced techniques.
Healing: He can use his ki to heal injuries almost instantly, but with
significant drawbacks. See the section on ki for details. Accelerated healing is
extremely draining, depending on the speed with which he recovers. Moreover, his
phoenix powers accelerated his healing to the point of being practically
instantaneous before. Overall: less than 1%.
Basically, if he gets into a fight at present, it'll take him a
considerable amount of time to recover, which is why he's going to such lengths
to avoid fighting.