DISCLAIMER: I neither own nor make any claim to Ranma Nibunnoichi by Takahashi Rumiko. I just enjoy it. I also enjoy making up stories about the characters. I do not claim to be writing an official continuation of Ranma, if I did I'm sure the laughter alone would cause an earthquake. My characters will have a 'slight' tendency to be considered Out of Character and possibly a bit AU.
If I have spelt something terribly wrong please let me know. I hope you enjoy reading my attempt at writing. If you hate it then the correct option is to simply not read it. This story is fantasy and makes no attempt to be bound by the realities of life; if it did it would not be fantasy or at least not my fantasy.
I write for fun, I will update when I have the next chapter finished. I will do my best to make updates regularly but will only update when I am satisfied that it is ready. Namiko is a composite character of the big sisters of several of my friends and a second grade teacher I knew, most tend to be slightly controlling but in a supportive manner.
Letters is a companion piece or is it the reverse, I have the letters and now I'm trying to write the fill in story. I am hopeless when it come to writing conversations but will hopefully become better at it. I do much prefer using a narrative but some readers have asked for more and I shall try to deliver. If I have made big errors please don't be shy about pointing them out, I'll correct them if I can. I use Microsoft Works with spelling and grammar: English (United Kingdom), I disagree with it at times so errors are likely. Big thanks to BlueDragon for help in correcting some of my spelling and punctuation errors.
If you haven't read 'Sexual Endeavours' by Ichinohei Hitomi do so. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Uc-chans summation of Ranma in the second chapter explains why he can be so good in school and anything.
I am trying to slow down but a lot of things will only be hinted at and some will be explored later.
Review notes: migele: Selective amnesia is not that uncommon, when something hurts too much it is the minds attempt at defence. Ranma has not given up on learning about his past, he taking the advice he is under professional care. Namiko is dominant in the story but not abusive she is also very protective of Ranma..
Trugeta and Kyrtythren: All the people Ranma is teaching are martial artist, masters of their discipline, not "I'm a martial artist too". Ranma learned under many masters and not only their martial art skills but their teaching skills. I would hazard to say that after the basics Genma's contribution would have been emphasis on melding them into a coherent art form. Some named characters will have parts to play later on and some won't.
Thank you everyone for your reviews. Some notes: Kasumi did not take the antidote so she will be more aggressive. The action and challenges are not always physical and chaos will rear its head. Some things will be 'glossed' over some because it's not important and some very intentionally. Due to the length of my chapters I tend not to respond to reviews often. Gomen.
Tattered Mist
Chapter 8
Ranko's anxiety returned the next morning but didn't survive her first class, at least not in the same form. Chemistry reminded her of Kodachi, the laboratory was fairly large and well equipped and redolent to her sensitive nose. The focus was on bio-chemistry and smirk crossed her face as she wondered what the teacher would have thought of some of Akane's culinary creations. She blessed Kasumi and Shinji for the short but intensive course on botanicals. With only nine students there would be no crowding trying to get limited equipment.
History, history was different from any class she could remember or had heard of. "Welcome, find your seats, there is a mental trashcan by the door, throw all your notions of history in it now, they don't apply to this class." The professor's voice was laden with amusement. With that opening she was happy that history had not been drilled in her like the other subjects. She knew the basics of place, time and events and that was all.
The professor held an ornate vase and walked around motioning them to reach in and take a slip of paper from it. "On the paper you have is an event in history. You will research it, I want cause and effect, what events led to it and what events were initiated from it. Today we will discuss how the paper will be arranged and what sources maybe used. I have no objection to computers but all work will be hand written, neat and legible." A groan passed around the room. "Do be sure of your research, you will be expected to defend your conclusions and sources in class discussions."
Ranko was relieved as she left history, at least language, English anyway, was something she was now becoming moderately good at, she had even learned idiomatic expressions from Sergeant Abraham and some of her dance partners. She was looking forward to at least one class that she could relax in.
She was surprised as she walked into the classroom. Instead of the normal classroom it looked like an office, office sized desk laden with reference books lined the wall facing the centre of the room. The strange symbols on the dry-erase board sent a tremor of anxiety though her. Noticing that the expressions on her classmates mirrored her feelings she calmed down, this must be from another class.
A short, stocky, elderly foreigner walked in the room. "Good morning. My name is Professor Ulbrech. On the board is your first assignment. On your desk are a few reference books, one or two of which should contain information on what you see. Is there anyone in here that is not at least familiar with English? If so I suggest you pair up with someone who is. Be careful in copying the letters, if miswrote they maybe interpreted as another. I expect extreme clarity not only in work handed in but in your study notes also. I expect a translation of the phrase at the bottom of the board tomorrow morning. Talking and collaborating is acceptable although I expect the volume to be low enough not to disturb others." He sat at the desk in the centre and picked up an old scroll and began to examine it ignoring the students.
A low mummer from the students began and they quickly formed three groups. Only two others were new students and they gravitated to Ranko who was already flipping through the books. She realised that there was someone near her and she stopped. Both were transfer students, Haruka's father was new professor at the college and Kim a Japanese-American whose mother was a doctor at the hospital. Brief introductions aside they quickly began to work.
Some of the symbols teased at her memory and she remembered a trip to northern Hokkaido where she had seen them. That meant it was Russian. Kim grabbed the proper volume and they began the arduous job working with the Cyrillic alphabet. By the end of the period they had it translated and the alphabet copied until it met Ranko's approval.
Lunch was hurried and Ranko made her way to the college for her first class there. Finally she did have a class she was comfortable in and was able to answer questions when called upon. Of course sitting next to Kasumi had nothing to do with it being an enjoyable class.
Her computer class was taught by the first adult Ranko had met who was smaller than she was, excluding the Ku Lon and Happosai. The class would cover everything computer she could fit in but focus on integrated systems. They were expected to become familiar with several programming languages and be able to write in them. Ranko looked at the schedule for the class and breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that it was not going to be as hectic as she thought.
Meeting Kasumi after class they found a place they could have lunch together before class and made their way home. The bus was packed and noisy preventing much conversation. One stop was only a mile cross-country from home and they opted to use it and skip the extra half hour or more for the bus to reach the park entrance.
They made it with time to spare, put up their school material and had made a snack before Namiko came through the door. Namiko was shocked, she had left at nearly the same time but traffic was horrendous. The bus they rode was one that passed by where she parked.
"How did you beat me home? Did you cut your last class?" she demanded. She was not going to allow that from them at all.
"Nope. The bus passes fifteen minutes after our last class, we looked at the route and saw it would be faster to travel by foot several stops before it gets to the park entrance." Ranko was smiling. Of course the route they took could not be taken by most people but then they were not most people.
Maeda-san had come in as Ranko was explaining the route. "It sounds like it saves time and aggravation. Maybe you should join them Namiko, other considerations aside it would save what you spend on fuel. I have the new work schedules and crew rosters. Considering the amount of work your crew did I've added three more people to yours and kept the ones you had."
Changing into work clothes took but a moment and they met the full evening work force for the first time. Several young men wanted to transfer to their crew until it became apparent that Ranko only had eyes for Kasumi.
One of their new members was a soft-spoken Texan who stumbled over the introductions until everyone switched to English. Conner was a delight. While his spoken Japanese was horrendous he read and wrote kana well. His father, who was due to retire in six months, had been stationed at Okinawa and fallen in love with this area. Conner had decided to come over ahead of time finish his studies in what would be his families' new home.
Job assignments were given and the crews quickly sorted themselves out. Conner fit right in with the tutoring group. A geology student interested in plate tectonics, the seismic activity of the area delighted him.
Ranko's antics involving Namiko and Kasumi delighted the new members. The crew sped up trying to keep up with as they played tag bounding off trees and boulders heading to the new job site. Ranko included Conner anytime it was necessary to make an alteration in the trail. The older students took time to explain what was being done and the hoped for outcome. Kasumi and Namiko split off into the different groups providing the needed muscle to move the debris from Ranko's alterations.
The sporadic sparring with members of their martial arts group had them in awe, after the first break Conner asked if he could join in. Ranko tested him lightly and judged him capable and their group students expanded by one.
School was interesting. If he had time to think about it, maybe scary. Advanced classes didn't leave time to think about it being scary though. He was too frantic trying to fill in gaps that had been overlooked. Like composition, he hadn't had to write a paper since high school, a factual account of Ranko's exploits one week in Nerima took care of the fiction writing segment.. Or the first dissection, thanking Ranko for the 'Soul of Ice' technique was a priority as soon as he finished losing the last of breakfast. Human Behaviour and Psychopathology had also skipped everyone's notice; time to get Ranko to teach him how to do the speed reading, if he had enough time. Worry about making mistakes in the way he talked, he didn't have time to talk just barely enough time to write the notes.
Ranko found Kasumi cycling through depression, 'I'm never going to learn this', and anxiety, 'I'm never going to learn this and I'm going to get kicked out of school', when she met him for lunch. Ten minutes later it was down to just anxiety with Ranko reassuring him and promising to help finally bringing it down far enough for him to drink some tea.
They made it to class one step ahead of the teacher. Constant hand squeezing finally calmed him down. He left calculus only slightly more nervous than Ranma facing her mother the first time. Ranko explained his problem to Namiko on the route home and she took him aside and did some quick consoling while Ranko prepared them a snack.
Conner fit in admirably well. He was easy going and took the teasing his pronunciation incurred with grace. The only English used was to give specific instructions other than that the conversation around him was limited to Japanese. His understanding of the spoken language out paced his ability to speak it and listening to him speak Japanese in a Texan accent had everyone laughing.
Kasumi and Ranko found themselves tutoring math and Ranko was shocked to learn that even much older students wanted and needed help in math. Sachi came to Kasumi's rescue in psychology and received help from Ranko in reading a story written in kanji in return.
Namiko found herself the de-facto leader of the work crew. Her easy going pushiness and familiarity with the area and the crew had the others looking to her for direction. Even with frequent breaks they finished their assigned tasks well ahead of schedule and everyone took the opportunity to study get help in areas where they were having problems.
Namiko made it a point to get to know Dai and Sachi better. Unlike many same sex couples she had known; they were not blatant or pushy daring someone to say something about it nor did they try to hide their preference. They were quiet, worked well with the group and were likeable.
They returned to the work centre fifteen minutes ahead of schedule and had found that they were part of a search party. A child had wandered away from his parents and they needed to find them. It was late in the evening and the parents were frantic.
Maeda-san had maps of the area spread out and after pinpointing where they group was when they noticed the child missing they took off. Namiko, Ranko and Kasumi quickly split the group, each leading a portion of the search party. Careful to keep their people in sight they bounded over rocks and searched crevices.
Kasumi found his jumper hanging on an exposed root in a crevice. He was too large to enter it and Sachi quickly volunteered. Twenty feet in, she found him lodged under a boulder that he had dislodged. Unable to move the bolder or pull him from under she relayed the situation to Kasumi and then comforted him using her jumper to cushion his head.
Dai relayed the information to the others and Kasumi took to the high ground so they could see them. With no way to get equipment in Ranko took the initiative and took a lantern and she and Sachi studied what was holding him. Had they not been in such a precarious situation Ranko would have been blushing. Sachi was lying head to head with the boy; covering his and her face with Ranko's jumper and Ranko was lying full length on her using minute amounts of ki to chip pieces off the boulder. After each ki blast she studied the rock again and then another small piece removed. An hour later they were able to slide him from under it.
Ranko was exhausted, she expended much more ki in one blast in battle than she had the whole evening but the meticulousness she had used to be sure that she didn't disturb the boulder had drained her. Kasumi and Namiko were amused at the solicitousness of Dai and Sachi toward Ranko. The rest of the crew refused to leave until Ranko sat up and proved she was alright.
"I didn't do anything that brave." Ranko was embarrassed by the concern and praise being directed at her. "Sachi was braver than I was. She lay there protecting the child while I freed him. She was in as much if not more danger than I was. She's the one you should be praising. I couldn't have done what I did if it wasn't for all of you, you taught me what to look for and how to keep it from falling." Ranko's sincerity was obvious from her tone of voice.
This started a denial from Sachi that Dai stopped by the simple expedient of kissing her. Sachi had no real choice to accepting the praise.
Ranko was very glad that she had been able to do her assignment in Professor Ulbrech's class instead of waiting for later. Hopefully she would have time to study some more for computer science before she reached that class. But she was really too tired to care and went to sleep sitting on her bed undressing. Namiko quietly finished putting her to bed.
"Father may our group use one of the meeting rooms in the work centre to study after we finish our job assignment. We almost always finish early and we always do a good job." Namiko broached the idea she had intended to talk to him about before they had perform the search. "Ranko said she couldn't have done it without what she had learned from the others in the group."
Maeda-san sat quietly for a moment. "If you finish your work ahead of schedule and nothing else needs to be done then I see no problem with it as long as the option is available to all work crews." The press had been there as soon as they found out about the boy being trapped and he had had a difficult time getting them to not use names in their stories.
If he stocked the centre with more technical material about volcanic action and related subjects than just the handouts maybe more of the workers would become interested in it. He would have to make the job assignments random so no one could say that they were being favoured with easy tasks.
The smell of food woke the household; Ranko woke ravenous and prepared breakfast. Kasumi walked into the kitchen and teased her. "Did you make some for the rest of us or is this just a snack to tide you over?
"If you're hungry I'm sure there might be a little left over." Ranko smiled back. The easy give and take of the work crew had done wonders for her ability to accept teasing and tease back. Moments later everyone was gathered at the table eating. With the increased training had come increased appetites and the amount of food she ate no longer seemed unusual.
"That was very nice of you to direct praise at Sachi last night, she earned it and you did too." Maeda-san sat drinking his tea. "We have had a problem with tourist getting lost and injured, especially those who leave the marked trails. I have tried to think of ways to prevent it or to make finding them after it happens easier. So far I have been unsuccessful. Why don't you propose it to your group and see what they can come up with. It is likely had it not been your group to find him that he would have died or been severely injured along with who ever went in after him. If we can't stop them from wandering off the trail then we need a way to find them fast when they do."
Ranko wanted to deny the praise but the rest of it short circuited her response.
"I've thought of the problem for a few years and haven't come up with a solution. Maybe you can see it from a new prospective. I'm setting a library up in one of the unused meeting rooms. It will have detailed maps of the park and you can add to it if you think of something it needs." He drank more tea. "I'll tell the other groups tonight. Once you finished your scheduled work you will be free to use it. Any suggestions would be welcome."
"Are there areas where these incidences happen more often?" Kasumi asked. "It would help if we knew which areas to concentrate on first."
"If there are then we could make stations near them with the equipment we might need." Namiko added.
"We have a list of all the locations for the last fifteen years." Maeda-san stood getting ready for the day. "I will provide as much support as I can."
The table was quickly cleaned and they started their day.
Conner was much better than students Kasumi and Namiko were teaching and he was put to training with Sergeant Taiki. Sergeant Taiki proved he was a good instructor teaching the first moves quickly and Namiko could not find anything to correct. Conner learned the first two forms that morning and received smiles from Ranko and Kasumi.
Chemistry focused on lab safety. Simple compounds safe and easy to make but requiring the mastery of the equipment were made. Ranko was careful to follow the teacher's instructions exactly and was rewarded with a smile. By the end of class she was confident that at least she wouldn't blow something up.
History was frustrating. Her event was a minor war in Africa. Every time she thought she had traced an event back to what caused it she found it was associated with something else. By the end of class she had a chain of twenty small events each seemingly should have been settled easily but hadn't and she still had not reached what started it. Every time she thought she had, the professor would ask 'why wasn't it?' and she was back to more research. Only the fact that everyone else apparently had the same problem kept her going.
Professor Ulbrech collected the papers and pointed to the board where the next assignment was written in Cyrillic again. The assignment? Translate 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carroll into Japanese. It did not take long for them to decipher the assignment nor to find the work they were to translate. Professor Ulbrech sat quietly listening to the quizzical conversations at the different desk and smiled as the period ended. This would indeed be a fine class.
Kasumi looked around again, he was sure Ranko was out of class and she was supposed to be here. Finally, 'what was she doing, she just walked past'. Kasumi took a few steps and grabbed her by the arm and led her to the table. Two more minutes with book in front of her was enough for Kasumi. "Ranko, it's time to eat."
"Sure." Not raising her eyes Ranko hand found Kasumi's coffee and she took a swallow and set it back down.
Kasumi stared. Ranko did not drink coffee laden with sugar. This time she reached out and took the book. "What is wrong?"
Ranko blinked. "Oh! We're supposed to read that and translate it into Japanese. But it doesn't make sense." Ranko finally realised there was food in front of her and began to eat. "And I forgot to ask whether he wanted it in romanji or kana." Kasumi started to laugh. "What's funny Ka-chan?"
"You are. I have never seen you not interested in food." Kasumi chuckled, putting some food in Ranko's mouth.
"But I can't even find the words in a dictionary!" Ranko was agitated. "How can I translate a word that I can't even find the meaning for?"
"Eat!" Kasumi commanded. He picked up the book he had taken from her and started to read it. "Are you sure the words are English?" He was perplexed; he could read the words previous to the highlighted section, some of the words in it and the words following. "Never mind." Eating quickly he finished his food. "We have to get to class!"
They made it just in time. The class discussion that followed was lively and Ranko had to concentrate her attention follow the proofs and look for flaws.
Kasumi was fuming while they waited for the bus. "A '70'! He only gave me a '70'." It didn't matter that his was the top score. "Why did I let them talk me into taking the accelerated course? He only gave me a '70'!
Ranko laughed, she had met him coming out of the door from his last class and heard the other students complaining about the same thing but about much lower scores. When Kasumi glowered at her for laughing, she quickly kissed him. It shut him up but also left him rather immobile. A boy at the dance had begun to start an argument and his girl friend had stopped it by kissing him that way. Ranko had wondered if it would work, it did. She blushed; maybe she should make it shorter next time.
Namiko joined them just as the bus approached and was able to get Kasumi to board. She looked at Ranko for an explanation and all Ranko could do was blush again. The bus was more crowded and noisier than usual and it was big relief when they stepped off and started home. Namiko really wanted to probe Ranko about the blush but hurtling boulders and streams did not lead to easy conversations.
Arriving home Ranko went the dictionaries and thesauruses, any entry she found merely referred one to the poem. By the time Namiko and Kasumi had were setting food on the table she was thoroughly annoyed and very frustrated. She was still fuming when Maeda-san joined them.
After her explanation he smiled and suggested she talk with her co-workers. There was no way he was going to aid her in this. He recognised the work and the assignment and knew immediately who her teacher was. He was amazed, he hadn't known he was still teaching. Leaving them to change he headed to the work centre and safely out of hearing range began to laugh with abandon.
His announcement of the new workroom library and that anyone could use it after their job assignment was done was enthusiastically received. The problem with tourist prompted a lot of thought. Having job assignments drawn out of vase was new and not appreciated by some as they liked working in particular areas.
A temblor the night before had shifted some boulders blocking access to their work area. Everyone moved back to avoid flying gravel when Ranko slowly put up a copy of her assignment. "Mimsy were the borogoves?" she muttered darkly as she passed everyone on the way to the boulders. Her aura was flickering into the visible range and did not stay one colour but was rapidly shifting.
"Everyone move back further, now!" Kasumi shouted and began to pull some of the slower ones along. They reached safety behind a massive up thrust of basalt just as they heard a cry of "MOME RATHS OUTGRABE" followed by a momentous explosion. Kasumi and Namiko were sprinting toward Ranko before the rocks had finished falling.
"Ran-chan!" Kasumi ran to the prone figure. Ranko was limp with a dazed expression in her eyes. All around was gravel, where seven large boulders and numerous smaller ones had been there was nothing but gravel. No boulders, large or small were left on the path. Some that bordered the path had been moved back but not harmed. The gravel appeared to have been through a sieve, nothing larger than Ranko's fist was visible as far as the next bend in the trail.
"What happened?" Ranko asked, bewildered.
"That's what we would like to ask you. What kind of attack is "Mome Raths Outgrabe"? Namiko was there in front of her while Sachi was at her side and was cleaning a myriad of small cuts.
"Oh!" She cast her eyes down and mumbled. "I'm supposed to translate them for class."
The sound of Conner laughing in the back ground finally penetrated to Ranko's consciousness. "What's so funny?" she growled at him.
He slowed his laughter to chuckling. "I just realised what you said. Your pronunciation is off some. But I think it goes like this.
Twas
brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All
mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Lewis Carroll's poem 'Jabberwocky' from 'Through the Looking Glass'." His smile disappeared as Ranko was in front of him in an instant.
"Whatdoesitmean?Canyouhelpmetranslateit? Please!" Ranko was excited and her eyes full of entreaty. Unfortunately only one person understood what she said.
"Conner, I think she asked if you knew what it means and could you help her translate it." Dai came forward after helping Sachi and Namiko to their feet.
"You understood her?" Came from several sources.
"My little brother talks that fast, too."
"I'd like to help, but I don't think it's translatable. I don't even know if the words actually mean anything. We had to learn it in the sixth grade but I don't think any of us knew what it meant." Conner looked at a crestfallen Ranko. "I remember someone saying the start of it was an old Anglo Saxon poem, if that helps."
Ranko nodded: at least she had a possible lead.
"Now how did you do that?" Kasumi asked. "We heard one explosion, louder than normal admittedly, but only one."
"I don't know." Ranko was just as much in the dark as they were. Had some one been looking at the scene when it happened they would have seen her touch the boulder and lines of ki reaching out from it to all the others. But no one had seen it.
The outburst had released her frustrations but it had left her weak and she stumbled when she turned to Kasumi. Instantly four pairs of hands were on her. Seeing that she was alright just weak and tired from the outburst Kasumi and Namiko released her to Sachi. Conner ran ahead and checked the path to the end of their maintenance area and returned to report it was clear. While Sachi tended to Ranko everyone else moved the gravel to the side. There wasn't much of it left on the path so they finished early.
When they returned Namiko explained what happened to her father. Kasumi, Sachi and Dai took Ranma back to the house for a snack after hearing a slight rumble in her stomach and everyone else began to study.
Namiko came through the door just as Kasumi was bringing out a pot of tea. Namiko went down, Kasumi went down and the teapot went flying toward Ranko. Sachi jumped trying to catch it and managed to knock it back to Kasumi. Well more like over Kasumi and Namiko. Namiko got wet and Kasumi shrunk. Sachi and Dai froze. Ranko sighed; everything had been going so great.
Half an hour and three changes later Ranko was sitting in Kasumi's lap telling her story. Kasumi had her arms wrapped around her to give her what comfort she could. An hour later Sachi and Dai wrapped them both in a group hug.
"If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it. We'll keep it a secret but you have to tell us more of your stories, they're fantastic. Could I use some of them for my creative writing class? They beat anything I could think up on my own." Dai exclaimed sitting back down.
Kasumi started to laugh and explained. "I had to write a fiction story my second day so I wrote about Ranko's exploits." Everybody laughed. "I'm sure she won't mind just don't use her name or Nerima."
Maeda-san came in just as she was saying that, and realised the secret was no longer a secret anymore. Namiko hurriedly assured him that it was alright.
Namiko looked at the clock. "Oh no! You missed the bus, why don't you spend the night. If you can't I'll take you home." Dai asked to use the phone and let house mates know they were alright then helped Kasumi in the kitchen. Sachi wrapped Ranko in a quilt and monitored her since she was still not feeling normal.
"Maeda-san, some of the patients who are waiting for donors wear locator tags. They act as beepers if a match is found and they need to be called in but once activated they can be used to find them if they are incapacitated. Could something like that be required of visitors as a safety precaution?" Sachi ask hesitantly.
"It would be great! But how could you be sure they would wear it?" Maeda-san inquired, this was a possibility.
"Incorporate it as a visitors badge and require everyone even employees to wear them as identification badges. Seismologist and volcanologist shouldn't be a problem. The only problem other than procuring them is they do not transmit over long distances." Sachi answered, gaining more confidence.
"What about using system similar to what the seismologist use to collect information from their remote sensors?" Ranko had had their function explained when she found some damaged in a rock slide. "They receive information on several different wavelengths, perhaps they could be set to receive a few more. You already have a receiver here that is used for those." Ranko thought for a moment before continuing. "The relays are mounted high and could have picked up a signal even from within that crevasse. There should be a way to activate the transmitter in case of an emergency too. That way if someone was injured they wouldn't have to wait for anyone to notice they are missing."
"A very good job, both of you. What do you think Namiko?" Maeda-san looked very pleased.
"Why not let them put it to the group and see what they can develop? I'm sure as a group we could come up with a something. I think we should think about it for a few weeks. If after we study it we decide it's feasible then we can bring it back up." Namiko smiled at her father. "It isn't exactly my field of study, but I'm more than willing to help. If we could get surplus equipment to test it on it would help."
Dai and Kasumi found them listing what would be needed when they brought the food out. Ranko had regained her colour and lost her listlessness, Kasumi observed as she checked her ki levels to see how well she was recovering. Food helped Ranko recover even faster, food that she ate at a steady pace.
They explained what they were doing while they ate and soon after were re-examining what they had listed. When the ideas and comments started to slow down Kasumi suggested they do homework and think about the project overnight.
Sachi and Kasumi cautioned Ranko to switch to another subject when she started to become frustrated and she found herself switching often. Dai provided the distraction needed to take her mind off what she considerer two impossible subjects.
Closing the manuscript she was trying to read, Dai muttered. "Damn!" and picked up another and did the same thing.
"What's wrong Dai?" Ranko was sitting next to her as she finished checking Kasumi's math paper.
"I'm supposed to read some of both of these but one is written in old kanji. I thought taking a literature course as an elective would be relaxing, I never expected this. I know basic kanji but this is way beyond what I studied and the hiragana in this is some what different but I'm sure I have a modern copy at home." Dai handed them to her, the title of the first one, a copy of 'Makura no Soshi' by 'Sei Shonagon' written around 996 created a faint blush on Ranko's face. It turned out to be a collection of essays belying the name 'The Pillow Book'. The second was a collection of Noh plays by Kan'ami. Fortunately she wasn't required to read them in their entirety and Ranko agreed to help her.
Study came to a close as Ranko began reading one of the Noh plays and everyone listened and watched her obvious enjoyment as she read. Several times she had to look up a meaning where the usage had changed. This was much easier than trying to read and interpret an old martial arts scroll since she had reference books and now knew how to use them. After reading the play she began to read 'Makura no Soshi' and the expression of enjoyment turned to one of pure delight.
Reluctantly Maeda-san pointed out that they did have school the next day and the evening ended. He watched as Ranko reluctantly put the book down, it was hard to bring to mind the Ranko that had arrived with Kasumi those few weeks ago. He resolved to get her a copy of her own and maybe a pillow book to write her own thoughts in.
Neither Dai nor Sachi were martial artist and they were amazed at the display as the family did their normal morning sparring. They did loosen up with Kasumi's group later and watched from the sides until the class was over. It was an animated group as they walked to the bus stop, they shared what they had talked about the previous night and everyone provided input for consideration.
If Ranko had not blown off the excess the evening before she would have blown off this morning as she sat in history class. All that work was only to show how far back and how inconsequential the origins of a conflict could be. He did say that the next assignments would be much more specific as to goals.
When she walked into her language class the gloom was almost palpable. The other students had had no more success than she had and everyone was nervous and expecting the worse. He questioned them about the research and their conclusions. The only information that Ranko had that was different brought a smile to his face.
"I would love to see it translated, I haven't been able to either. Some works are not easily translatable and when translated don't necessarily mean the same thing. Translating from a dead or near dead language is tedious and often full of errors. Even writings from relatively recent times are subject to misinterpretations as the context of the words change in time." Seeing the smile on Ranko's face he stopped and asked her what brought it.
She related her experience reading from the Noh play, and having to look up the different meanings. When she quoted the passage she was referring to he ask her to write it and then approved of it. The assignment that evening due the next week was to translate a short document from Chinese; he assured them that this one was indeed translatable.
Ranko was in high sprits as she ate lunch with Kasumi whose morning classes had been on par with hers. True the others in the accelerated schedule had had some courses she hadn't but she was keeping up with them. Even taking an unannounced test didn't dampen their spirits as they hurried to their last class.
Saturday morning was brutal. Three against one with no special moves had everyone bruised and analysing the holes in defences that had allowed the strikes. The tickle war that followed put them back in high spirits.
Dr. Kino had an older kitten this time. After some initial nervousness Ranko began to pet it. It tired of petting after a few minutes and wanted to play, batting at her hand. When its claws accidentally caught her in the hand. She slipped into the neko-ken, startling everyone but the kitten. Over and around the table sofa and chairs they played for a few minutes and Ranko's necklace began to glow softly. When the kitten tired after the sudden burst of activity Ranko shook her head picked the kitten up and returned to the table.
"I, I remember playing with it and going into the neko-ken! I'm not scared of it, and I can remember what I was doing!" Amazement and joy in her voice. Drs. Akira and Kino were amazed at her antics during the neko; Kasumi was shocked at the ease she came out of it and that she could remember it. "I can still touch it, it's there, but I don't feel threatened by it."
"Ranko, your necklace glowed! While you were playing with the kitten it started to glow!" Kasumi was agitated, he had bought her the necklace and if it was cursed like then it would be his fault.
Ranko lifted her hands to the necklace the catch was no longer there and the chain had shortened. It was not tight but it would not allow her to slip it over her head. "Damn!" she sat in silence and tried to think back to when she put it on and anything that had happened since.
Kasumi hugged her. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was cursed." was crying softly.
"It's alright Kasumi. You didn't know. It's alright, it hasn't done anything bad and if it helped with the neko-ken then it isn't bad. You know me; magic just won't leave me alone, at least this time maybe it is good magic." Ranko held Kasumi, trying to comfort him. "Does this mean I have to accessorise my clothes to match the necklace?" she grinned and Kasumi started to chuckle.
"Should we try to cut it off?" Dr. Akira asked staring at it.
"No, it hasn't done anything bad so far and trying to remove by force is not something I think we should try. When I have a chance I will have Elder Ku Lon examine it." Ranko rubbed it. Now that she was thinking about it there was a slight tingle, very faint but there. "We need to talk to whoever Kasumi bought it from and see if they have information about it. It feels right, it doesn't make me uneasy like some of the things I've ran across before but if it's affected me I would like to more about it."
When they left the doctor's office it was with conflicting emotions. The neko-ken was apparently no longer a curse, only time would tell. Ranko now had new magic to deal with that was seemingly benign but was still unknown.
"You sure it was here, Kasumi?" Ranko eyed the building.
"Yes! It was here. I picked up my books and left the shop; the earrings and the necklace were in the window and caught my eye. There was a lot of other stuff that I didn't pay any attention to. I ask about them and he said they were only five thousand yen and I bought them." Kasumi was exasperated; they had walked up and down the street on either side of the book store five times.
"Well, this may have been an antique shop but if it was it was a long time ago." Ranko peered through the boarded windows. A few empty shelves lined the wall and several tables were in the centre all empty and dusty, very dusty. No one that they had talked to remembered there being an antique shop in the neighbourhood and they had talked to quite a few. "It was here for you and only you. I'm willing to bet you were the only customer and that you could not have found it after it was on me if we had left right then."
Kasumi clung to her. "I should have noticed some thing!"
"No way." Ranko had her hands on his shoulders. "I have had more than my share of the cursed things, if anyone should have known better then I should have. Even concentrating on it all I felt was a little tingle, so how could you have known?" She gave him a hug. "It may be the first good magic that I've met. Let's go home."