Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any associated copyright material. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and are distributed in America by Viz. Any other similarity between characters in the story and other copyright material is purely coincidential.

Previously…

"I now fulfill his wish."

With that, the figure took a hold of Ronan and Jumped out the stadium through the roof.

The Kami Blade

Chapter 3: The Aftermath

The entire crowd of people who were rushing toward Ronan were caught by surprise when the figure popped in, took their target and disappeared. There were cries of dismay from some female members of the crowd, for obvious reasons. "He's such a hunk, Too bad he disappeared."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

"Ronan! Wake up!"

"Huh?" said Ronan a little groggily. "What happened? I remember, one second I was collapsing on the ground then the other I was flying through the air…was it you?"

"Never mind that now, at least you're alright." Said Tara

Right then she heard a knock on the door. "Stay here, I'll get it."

"Hey Tara! We just got back from the match, is Ronan here?"

"Oh, you must be Jade."

"Yeah…Hey Wren, they're here!" shouted Jade to someone right outside the house.

Wren walked in just as Jade finished.

"No need to shout Jade, I can hear perfectly fine." Said Wren.

"Hi Tara, where's Ronan?"

"Oh, he's in the living room, I was tending to his bruises." Said Tara

"Hah, just like a perfect woman, tending to other's wounds."

Jade sweat dropped.

"Hey! That's not it!" exclaimed Tara.

Unruffled, Wren walked into the living room to see Ronan.

"Ahh, don't mind him he's always teasing." Said Jade

"Um, okay, thanks."

As the two girls walked in, Wren was helping Ronan up.

"You okay mate? Those were some pretty hot moves back there!" Wren started talking like the announcer, "Oh look at that, Ronan has dodged a finishing blow from Kuno to then make his double- handed blade toss, how amazing! Let's watch and see what more he can throw at Kuno."

"Ha, ha, ha! What a great kidder." Said Ronan getting up.

"So Ronan, are you up to going back to the center to get your reward?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just wiped out. We can leave as soon as I get a bite to eat."

Tara came out of the kitchen with a plate of sandwiches and a jug of iced tea.

"Here you go!" said Tara as she took herself three on a separate plate.

"Nice, thanks Tara." Came a grunt from Wren, "We didn't even get to eat at the market, I had to keep the food for the week and got nothing to eat."

"Oh stop complaining Wren, It was either eat or go to the match. Did you want to miss Ronan's match?"

"Well, no, but…"

"No buts," said Jade, "We are eating now so just be quiet."

Wren grumbled but set himself up with a few sandwiches and started to eat.

After the quick lunch, they all headed back to the center for Ronan to claim his winnings.

"Hello, how may I help you?" said a woman in the entrance to the center.

"I have come to get my winnings." Said Ronan

"Oh, you must be the one who defeated general Kuno, everyone was talking about it. They said you left without a word…"

"Yes, well, I'll be off."

"Of course. Have a nice day sir."

And the group went into the main room, to find the announcer standing near a table talking with the general Kuno that had been defeated.

"Hello, do you have my things?" asked Ronan to the announcer.

"Oh, it is you, welcome back. Yes we have your prize, here it is." And he stepped aside to reveal an amulet.

"I must tell you about it." Said Kuno standing up. "It comes from a long line of warriors, I have no more use for it, I am too old, but I know about your quest and this artifact will help you greatly."

"Thank you sir, I appreciate your gift." Said Ronan. "But what does it do?"

"I trust you will know what to do when the time comes young warrior. I must leave now." Said the general Kuno. And he vanished in a whirlwind of gray and white. As he disappeared, the group heard a voice that said "Fear not, my time has passed and yours has come, stand together and you will be strong. There are some difficult times ahead, and you will need to have all the skills you can muster."

"Wow! That was…indescribable." Said Jade

"Tell me about it!" said Wren

"Hey guys where's the announcer?" asked Ronan

"He left with Kuno. Like us, that man must have been his companion in his journeys." Answered Tara

"Well," said Jade. "We shouldn't just stand here. Let's go home!"

And the four of them left.

A week later…

"So Ronan, what do you make of this?" asked Wren.

"I'm not sure, Kuno said that he was too old, that must mean it takes someone of beginning journeying age."

"Why don't you try on the amulet thingy?" said Jade

"O.K." said Ronan.

And as soon as he put on the amulet, he was enveloped in an eerie red glow, and then he vanished.

"Hey, where'd he go!"

"Darn, all we can do is wait and hope he's all right."

Meanwhile, Ronan had stopped and he looked around, seeing what looked like outer space.

"Where am I?"

You are in the realm of balance. I am the spirit that resides within your amulet.

"Alright, then, do you know of a man called Kuno who would have given me this artifact?"

I am an immortal spirit, I have known many masters, he happens to be the last one I had. It has been a long time since I have seen a new master. You are not yet he, for you must be tested, but you wield the power of the light and seem worthy enough of the task.

"What!"

Enough! Be at the ready.

And at this, Ronan was transported to a separate chamber. It appeared empty, a great plane in the middle of nothingness.

"Great! I win a difficult tournament and my last opponent is the one who presents me with my reward, which is an amulet that supposedly will help me in a quest that I didn't even know I had! /Sigh/ And now, after placing the amulet around my neck, I get transported into an unknown realm, where a spirit tells me that I must pass a test and something about Wielding light…Man, I really am tired of this."

A strong blow to the back of the head quickly interrupts his musings.

"What the!" exclaimed Ronan.

He looked around, but saw nothing at all.

"Crap! I suppose this is the test huh? Send me something I can't see to finish me off! Well, I won't let you!"

And at that Ronan dropped into a trace-like state and the next moment, he was glowing like a torch. The aura that he gave off was enough to illuminate the area, not that there really was anything to see, but as he looked around, he spotted a wavering in the air, like heat on a cold day. He could see the outline of a slinking humanoid creature trying to make its way around him. Seeing this, he formed a blade out of a mix of his chi energy and the ki around him without really thinking about it.

"Come get me monster, so that I can defeat you and get out of here!" yelled Ronan.

SO, I see you are not totally helpless. You were able to conjure up your life force to identify me in the shadows. Now let us see what you make of THIS! said the creature of shadow, as it sent a powerful wave of psychic energy at Ronan, knocking him off his feet.

"Argh!" grunted Ronan.

As he got up, he spotted the creature, and gave a swipe at it. But his energy blade went through thin air.

'Damn! I can't get to him. What'll I do!' thought Ronan

Perhaps you would like to know this. I can only be touched by mental attacks; physics have no effect on me.

'What! He can hear my thoughts!'

Yes, quite clearly in fact.

'Darn, wha…I got it!'

And at that, Ronan dropped to a meditative state, recovering a few moments later.

"HAH! Can you hear my thoughts now?" said Ronan sounding triumphant.

What have you done? This is most confusing, no mortal has ever hidden his mind from me before. No matter. To pass this test, you must try to hit me at least once with a psychic attack. Can you do this? If you succeed, you will have passed the test.

'Great, what do I do now, I am no psychic, I have no idea how to manipulate my mind, much less someone else's.' thought Ronan. 'But wait! What do I think I am doing now? That is exactly what I am doing, now let's see if I can use it the other way.'

And Ronan concentrated on sending his chi in a wave like that of the shadow.

BLAST

Amazing! You have succeeded. Well done mortal, send my regards to the spirit. I have a feeling we shall meet again.

And with that the chamber vanished dropping Ronan back into the space pocket.

"Come! I have passed your test!" Ronan called out, hoping it would reach the spirit.

You have done well. It appears that I shall be able to teach you in the ways of Balance. You have the Hikari seikon awaiting your command; you must simply learn to tap into it. In the meantime I believe you wish to return to your comrades?

"That is what I wanted ever since I set foot here!" Said Ronan

Of course. But before you leave, remember, I am at your calling; my name is Goraikou, the balance between light and darkness.

And as the words were spoken, Ronan found himself surrounded by a whirlwind of energy, and the next thing he new, he was back at his house, and no time had passed at all.


Hi everyone! How was this chapter? I've decided to add some new aspects to the story. If any of you have ever played Illusion of Gaia for Snes, then you have some Idea of what I meant by the space pocket.

By the way, for those who are wondering, Ranma has not disappeared; I simply put him in his character.

Thank you for R&R, I appreciate comments on my work.

I will try to update on demand, I have a few important projects to finish for school.

Thank you all.

Fayt