Spirit Guardian
by D'Fused
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 chracters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. Any resemblence to other characters or stories, unless specified, are unintentional. So be it.
Prolouge
In the Relative Beginning...
Somewhere in North America...
Meetings can almost be thought of as the soul of any company, business, fanclub, or cult. Oh, you can have people say its the employees or members who make up whatever group they are classified under, or that its the product or interest or idea that is the similar bond they share between them. But, since people, as a group, and harmony are never in co-existence, there will always be a need for discussion of the views, goals, problems and consequential actions for any type of group. Henceforth, there will be the need of the meeting.
Even if it is a small meeting between two people, the consequences could make an enourmous change in people's lives. Ideals that were meant to be honorable might change into despictable practices. People might be offered membership, promoted, elected, helped, warned, accused, demoted, or dismissed, among other possibilities.
The particular meeting in question of this story is, like some meetings, verging on one subject. It is namely something that has the attention of certain people, ones that rank high enough or have some interest or need to attend this meeting, which only makes sense. Admittedly, another subject is also in question, although many don't speak of it directly. It is visible, if one knows where to look, from the occasional frown or coldness of voice to the directly asked questions with implied ramifications behind such questions.
This function of the group was set in a room which seemed almost designed to scream importance. Everything from the red rug that covered all but the edges of the hardwood floor to the elogent carving of the wooden framed door with matching table and chairs said that this room would say extravagence and grandiose, if it could have fit more than a few dozen people at one time. No, this place gave the feeling of intimacy and privacy which made everything seem more important.
For the half-dozen people who currently occupied the room, thoughts of importance did run through their minds, although none thought much of the room itself. Instead, most had their concentration on the paper in front of them. Three weren't reading the report; the man sitting on the end of the right side of the semi-circle table, who was nervously watching his superiors and equals read and re-read the information on important-looking documents. He had a right to be nervous, for he had an idea that he might be in trouble, no matter what he said during the meeting.
The second man was standing halway between the doors and table, waiting for everyone else to read the information. He wasn't given any important documents to read; he had been summoned to this meeting for a specific reason, one which would come clear in time. He stood passively while he aited, paying attention and silently biding his time.
The last man sat in the middle of the table, sitting in a chair that was only a little larger than the others (any meeting had to have a superior, and even the most humble of superiors had a need for a symbol to show as much). He wasn't reading the document either, for he knew the information already. Finally, after all had a reasonable time to look over the documents, the man asked the question on most people minds.
"Tell me, has this been an occurance for a while?"
The one man sitting at the far right end of the semi-circle sweated at the scrutiny he was recieving as all those in attendace turned towards him. It was his position, both to know these facts and to be responsible for letting others know about these stated facts. He also knew that he shouldn't have kept such hidden, since it was found out eventually. The man made a brave face like he was about to put his hand into the fire and faced the one man.
"Yes, sir. We have recieved a...resonance...from a certain location. Its unusual since everytime it happens, we do try to locate it and pinpoint the source. We can usually get a strong mark on it, and locate it to a point, but when we are about to find more than a general locaton, or are about to confirm that its genuine, the source disappears."
"How long has this been going on?"
The man shivered. The undertone of the question left no mistakes; everyone present were not impressed by his actions. He knew he deserved it, but still...
"For about two weeks, sir. We just assumed that it was a problem with the mainframe or a ghost reading. Obviously it's the real thing."
The man sitting at the nominal head of the table nodded. To say he was upset was an understatement. Enraged barely came close to his true feelings of the matter. After all this time, he had thought most people would know better than to keep information from him, of all people. They knew it was pointless, as if keeping it secret meant no one would notice it.
But the subject of his enragement was not the issue at hand, it was what he had hidden that they had hurridely gathered. Another question on a small list he had in front came up from the far left side before he could ask it.
"And is there any reason why we can't lock onto the resonance long enough to locate it?"
"Not on our end, there isn't. We have had three different people check the parameters of the monitor and radar, as well as had beacons set to test the scanning equipment. Other than that, it would be a normal case."
"In other words, you're saying that we have a potential candidate on the monitor, provided that we can actually sense him?"
"Yes, sir. I honestly don't know why we can't track him, but whenever we can, he would be classed as such."
"And what does our operative have to say? There should be someone there already, if not nearby."
This question came from the only person in attendance standing, whose interest in the meeting had gone from purely bored to full attention. Something of such importance as a disappearring candidate should have been looked into immediately, not ignored for as long as it had been.
"Nothing, since we currently have no operative there. The one set there up for the last ten years was lost to us recently, about a month or so ago, and the replacement sent there are still recovering from their encounter. The next nearest operative is almost two or three hundred kilometers away, and a report from them says they can't tell anything from that distance. We can't afford to move either person, so it makes it impossible to check the problem."
"Well, that would make it hard, now would it?"
The man who had the task of making the report winced as he heard the irritation underlying the comment. Before, he thought there might have been a saving grace somehow, but the last comment had effectively sealed everything. Not many would sympathise with his situation, including those who weren't directly involved.
While the man which bad luck of his own doing spiraled downward in misery, the man summoned in front of all in admittance, now knowing the situation, steeled himself for his next question.
"So what has this to do with me?"
The man sitting at the middle turned and eyed the summoned man appreciately. He well knew what he would be doing; he was asking for confirmation.
"I am sending you to the source of the problem. You are to confirm if it is a potential guardian. If so, I want you to stay there and guide him through training and teach him about his...special abilities. Also, if you can, try to discern who the spirit ward is, as well as find out why he can disappear from our monitors and radar. A handy trick like that could be beneficial for him, and knowing how to do it can give him an edge. I don't have to say to be careful. This might be a decoy, and we can't afford to lose anyone. If its something we haven't encountered yet, let us know and we'll send assistance. Finally, if this is a decoy, eradicate the problem. We don't want to worry if all we are recieveing is an anomaly."
The standing man nodded his proverbial assent, since he didn't really get a choice in the matter. In the back of his mind, feelings that had been silent finally made their presence known as he felt anger directed towards the men sitting down. He tried his best not to show it, absorbing the orders he was recieving calmly, waiting for him to continue.
"This is to be a low-key mission. You can use force only as permitted in defense, unless the situation calls for anything but discretion. An explanation for you to be in the area will be provided for you and certain belongings. Try not to make too much rukus in the area, since there won't be much, if any, support that will be available.
The guy took it all in with no comment on the situation, with the exception of a small wince at one point near the end. Nothing unusual about this mission, except...
"What if I find the spirit ward? Should I..."
"No. I understand the reasoning behind the idea, but I want her to stay until we have confirmation. If this is an attempt to pull a spirit ward and guardian out to kill or lure them, then we want to minimize the chances that they have. Not that we think you are expedable, but you are the best guardian we have right now who can fight without a ward for help. No, this is to be a solo operation for the time being."
The man straightened at that comment, wincing again as the anger he felt swelled in the back of his mind again. He knew he wasn't going to like her response to this order, but what could he do about it?.
"Anything else I should know?"
The leader of the group turned and frowned to the nervous man sitting on the end, who had been oblivious of the orders. All turned to look in his direction as the person came out of his self-depeciating train of thoughts and became the center of attention again.
"Anything else he should know?"
The frightened man sweated as he looked through the papers in front of him. Menatlly kicking himself for not paying attention, he shuffled through the reports, pulling one paper out and quickly checking the information before replying.
"The target seemes to be able to use his abilities to some extent. Sometimes we will sense the resonance getting stronger, as it usually does with other potentials when they tap into their abilities. We sometimes lose the target for a bit, but when he comes back, he sometimes reappears quite stronger or has returned to his normal ratng. That and the sporadic behavior of him disappearing from our monitors tells us that he either has no knowedge of what he is doing, or has no control or limited control on what causes him to disappear and reappear like that. We can't pinpoint where he lives down to the address, not without pooling more sources than we can afford to, but we know enough to give the general location of the resonance."
"And this place would be?"
"Tokyo, Japan. More specifically, a region named Nerima..."
----------
I wrote this after reading Dark Pheonix's story of Ranma being a Knight of the Word. I have no intentions to base my story on either the Brooks storyline or the fanfic, although I might borrow ideas from those sources in the near future. Its mainly as undefined as I could possibly make it, since I want to explain everything I can in the chapters ahead, yet leave enough to ask questions about. More when I get time.
Revison Notes - Looking back at this chapter, I knew exactly what revisions I wanted to make. Most of the dialouge was sufficient, although a few lines were changed because they wouldn't make sense to the storyline now. I mainly saw that the character's actions and the room itself were barely defined. The only thing I had intention to keep undefined was the storyline itself, not everything else, so I made those changes.
I also saw the need to write a better opening. This and the next chapter had more a sense of 'publish or perish' to them, while the third chapter started with an actual sense of style to begin with, one that I centered on throughout, then, liking the results, planned to use in revisions. This is how I want my story to look like, and will be spending more time on the style than I had before.
Suggestions are welcome.
blue_scarf_fics@yahoo.com
by D'Fused
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 chracters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. Any resemblence to other characters or stories, unless specified, are unintentional. So be it.
Prolouge
In the Relative Beginning...
Somewhere in North America...
Meetings can almost be thought of as the soul of any company, business, fanclub, or cult. Oh, you can have people say its the employees or members who make up whatever group they are classified under, or that its the product or interest or idea that is the similar bond they share between them. But, since people, as a group, and harmony are never in co-existence, there will always be a need for discussion of the views, goals, problems and consequential actions for any type of group. Henceforth, there will be the need of the meeting.
Even if it is a small meeting between two people, the consequences could make an enourmous change in people's lives. Ideals that were meant to be honorable might change into despictable practices. People might be offered membership, promoted, elected, helped, warned, accused, demoted, or dismissed, among other possibilities.
The particular meeting in question of this story is, like some meetings, verging on one subject. It is namely something that has the attention of certain people, ones that rank high enough or have some interest or need to attend this meeting, which only makes sense. Admittedly, another subject is also in question, although many don't speak of it directly. It is visible, if one knows where to look, from the occasional frown or coldness of voice to the directly asked questions with implied ramifications behind such questions.
This function of the group was set in a room which seemed almost designed to scream importance. Everything from the red rug that covered all but the edges of the hardwood floor to the elogent carving of the wooden framed door with matching table and chairs said that this room would say extravagence and grandiose, if it could have fit more than a few dozen people at one time. No, this place gave the feeling of intimacy and privacy which made everything seem more important.
For the half-dozen people who currently occupied the room, thoughts of importance did run through their minds, although none thought much of the room itself. Instead, most had their concentration on the paper in front of them. Three weren't reading the report; the man sitting on the end of the right side of the semi-circle table, who was nervously watching his superiors and equals read and re-read the information on important-looking documents. He had a right to be nervous, for he had an idea that he might be in trouble, no matter what he said during the meeting.
The second man was standing halway between the doors and table, waiting for everyone else to read the information. He wasn't given any important documents to read; he had been summoned to this meeting for a specific reason, one which would come clear in time. He stood passively while he aited, paying attention and silently biding his time.
The last man sat in the middle of the table, sitting in a chair that was only a little larger than the others (any meeting had to have a superior, and even the most humble of superiors had a need for a symbol to show as much). He wasn't reading the document either, for he knew the information already. Finally, after all had a reasonable time to look over the documents, the man asked the question on most people minds.
"Tell me, has this been an occurance for a while?"
The one man sitting at the far right end of the semi-circle sweated at the scrutiny he was recieving as all those in attendace turned towards him. It was his position, both to know these facts and to be responsible for letting others know about these stated facts. He also knew that he shouldn't have kept such hidden, since it was found out eventually. The man made a brave face like he was about to put his hand into the fire and faced the one man.
"Yes, sir. We have recieved a...resonance...from a certain location. Its unusual since everytime it happens, we do try to locate it and pinpoint the source. We can usually get a strong mark on it, and locate it to a point, but when we are about to find more than a general locaton, or are about to confirm that its genuine, the source disappears."
"How long has this been going on?"
The man shivered. The undertone of the question left no mistakes; everyone present were not impressed by his actions. He knew he deserved it, but still...
"For about two weeks, sir. We just assumed that it was a problem with the mainframe or a ghost reading. Obviously it's the real thing."
The man sitting at the nominal head of the table nodded. To say he was upset was an understatement. Enraged barely came close to his true feelings of the matter. After all this time, he had thought most people would know better than to keep information from him, of all people. They knew it was pointless, as if keeping it secret meant no one would notice it.
But the subject of his enragement was not the issue at hand, it was what he had hidden that they had hurridely gathered. Another question on a small list he had in front came up from the far left side before he could ask it.
"And is there any reason why we can't lock onto the resonance long enough to locate it?"
"Not on our end, there isn't. We have had three different people check the parameters of the monitor and radar, as well as had beacons set to test the scanning equipment. Other than that, it would be a normal case."
"In other words, you're saying that we have a potential candidate on the monitor, provided that we can actually sense him?"
"Yes, sir. I honestly don't know why we can't track him, but whenever we can, he would be classed as such."
"And what does our operative have to say? There should be someone there already, if not nearby."
This question came from the only person in attendance standing, whose interest in the meeting had gone from purely bored to full attention. Something of such importance as a disappearring candidate should have been looked into immediately, not ignored for as long as it had been.
"Nothing, since we currently have no operative there. The one set there up for the last ten years was lost to us recently, about a month or so ago, and the replacement sent there are still recovering from their encounter. The next nearest operative is almost two or three hundred kilometers away, and a report from them says they can't tell anything from that distance. We can't afford to move either person, so it makes it impossible to check the problem."
"Well, that would make it hard, now would it?"
The man who had the task of making the report winced as he heard the irritation underlying the comment. Before, he thought there might have been a saving grace somehow, but the last comment had effectively sealed everything. Not many would sympathise with his situation, including those who weren't directly involved.
While the man which bad luck of his own doing spiraled downward in misery, the man summoned in front of all in admittance, now knowing the situation, steeled himself for his next question.
"So what has this to do with me?"
The man sitting at the middle turned and eyed the summoned man appreciately. He well knew what he would be doing; he was asking for confirmation.
"I am sending you to the source of the problem. You are to confirm if it is a potential guardian. If so, I want you to stay there and guide him through training and teach him about his...special abilities. Also, if you can, try to discern who the spirit ward is, as well as find out why he can disappear from our monitors and radar. A handy trick like that could be beneficial for him, and knowing how to do it can give him an edge. I don't have to say to be careful. This might be a decoy, and we can't afford to lose anyone. If its something we haven't encountered yet, let us know and we'll send assistance. Finally, if this is a decoy, eradicate the problem. We don't want to worry if all we are recieveing is an anomaly."
The standing man nodded his proverbial assent, since he didn't really get a choice in the matter. In the back of his mind, feelings that had been silent finally made their presence known as he felt anger directed towards the men sitting down. He tried his best not to show it, absorbing the orders he was recieving calmly, waiting for him to continue.
"This is to be a low-key mission. You can use force only as permitted in defense, unless the situation calls for anything but discretion. An explanation for you to be in the area will be provided for you and certain belongings. Try not to make too much rukus in the area, since there won't be much, if any, support that will be available.
The guy took it all in with no comment on the situation, with the exception of a small wince at one point near the end. Nothing unusual about this mission, except...
"What if I find the spirit ward? Should I..."
"No. I understand the reasoning behind the idea, but I want her to stay until we have confirmation. If this is an attempt to pull a spirit ward and guardian out to kill or lure them, then we want to minimize the chances that they have. Not that we think you are expedable, but you are the best guardian we have right now who can fight without a ward for help. No, this is to be a solo operation for the time being."
The man straightened at that comment, wincing again as the anger he felt swelled in the back of his mind again. He knew he wasn't going to like her response to this order, but what could he do about it?.
"Anything else I should know?"
The leader of the group turned and frowned to the nervous man sitting on the end, who had been oblivious of the orders. All turned to look in his direction as the person came out of his self-depeciating train of thoughts and became the center of attention again.
"Anything else he should know?"
The frightened man sweated as he looked through the papers in front of him. Menatlly kicking himself for not paying attention, he shuffled through the reports, pulling one paper out and quickly checking the information before replying.
"The target seemes to be able to use his abilities to some extent. Sometimes we will sense the resonance getting stronger, as it usually does with other potentials when they tap into their abilities. We sometimes lose the target for a bit, but when he comes back, he sometimes reappears quite stronger or has returned to his normal ratng. That and the sporadic behavior of him disappearing from our monitors tells us that he either has no knowedge of what he is doing, or has no control or limited control on what causes him to disappear and reappear like that. We can't pinpoint where he lives down to the address, not without pooling more sources than we can afford to, but we know enough to give the general location of the resonance."
"And this place would be?"
"Tokyo, Japan. More specifically, a region named Nerima..."
----------
I wrote this after reading Dark Pheonix's story of Ranma being a Knight of the Word. I have no intentions to base my story on either the Brooks storyline or the fanfic, although I might borrow ideas from those sources in the near future. Its mainly as undefined as I could possibly make it, since I want to explain everything I can in the chapters ahead, yet leave enough to ask questions about. More when I get time.
Revison Notes - Looking back at this chapter, I knew exactly what revisions I wanted to make. Most of the dialouge was sufficient, although a few lines were changed because they wouldn't make sense to the storyline now. I mainly saw that the character's actions and the room itself were barely defined. The only thing I had intention to keep undefined was the storyline itself, not everything else, so I made those changes.
I also saw the need to write a better opening. This and the next chapter had more a sense of 'publish or perish' to them, while the third chapter started with an actual sense of style to begin with, one that I centered on throughout, then, liking the results, planned to use in revisions. This is how I want my story to look like, and will be spending more time on the style than I had before.
Suggestions are welcome.
blue_scarf_fics@yahoo.com