There will be: language, nudity, sex, violence, death, and rather detailed descriptions of such. I'm an adult, and a writer. I revel in the coincidence that I'm also an adult writer.
I only own what someone else does not.
–
Chapter Four
–
She had to admit, Sakura Lane really lived up to its name. From a nearby obscured rooftop, Ranma looked down at the long stretch of finely paved walk, having heard quite a bit about it that day, but in the way of rumors, learned nothing of real use. She worked to amend that, in the time she had before Eva began whatever it was she was planning. Stretching from a plaza near the library toward the streets and sidewalks that eventually broke off to feed some of the on-campus dorms, the cherry tree bordered lane seemed the ideal sort of place for a romantic afternoon. Streetlights weren't closely grouped Ranma noted, likely to give the lane an air of antiquity. Their designs, somewhat resembling older gas lights, lent to that idea.
All together, Ranma had to admit it was a very cliché place for a 'vampire' to attack. That line of thought brought her mind back to the suspicion she'd had in mind since earlier in the day. "So," she began quietly, speaking to Chachamaru at her side, "if I'm reading things correctly, then the Dean wants to see what that Negi kid can do, by letting Evangeline play her little game."
The green-haired girl beside him said nothing.
"Which, with the rumors in place going around, means that little Eva's the dreaded vampire of Sakura Lane."
"That is a logical, if somewhat fanciful assumption," the stoic young woman replied quietly.
Ranma shrugged minutely. "Not too worried about the whole 'this can't be real' side of things. Seen a lot of stuff like that already, so I keep an open mind. If I locked up because something was strange every time I got in a fight, I'd never win," she admitted with a dry laugh.
Chachamaru let the silence settle between them after that. As the wind picked up, sending sakura petals spinning into the air, she broke that quiet with a question of her own, "Do you like to fight, then?"
"Odd question," Ranma replied, after a moment. "I suppose I do. I like pushing and testing myself. It's something I'm good at, so it's only natural that I want to see how I compare to others. See where I can improve myself."
The robot considered those words before nodding once. "Self-improvement is only natural."
Ranma's laugh chimed over the darkened lane as she leaned back on her hands, reclining where she sat. "You're a little strange, you know?" She missed the slight frown that crossed Chachamaru's face, as her eyes had closed. "But... that's alright. I don't think I could be friends with someone who was too normal."
"Friends?"
"Well... yeah," Ranma replied with a quieter voice, the earlier confidence drained away as she spoke. "I understand you and Eva are probably friends, and... I think I'll be working with her for a while, at least while I'm here. So it would be good for us to be friends too, don't you think?"
Chachamaru turned her head to consider the young woman nearby. It was clear that Ranma wasn't comfortable with her words, despite her previously outgoing and easy manner. With her eyes closed while she sported a very fake carefree grin, she put forward an image of someone with little concern for something that apparently meant more than she was letting on. "I see," the robotic girl answered blandly, returning her attention more fully to where her mistress was.
Ranma's facade cracked, as her grin disappeared. Her desire for conversation lost at the other girl's lack of response. "Of course," the redhead mused to herself silently. "If Eva knows about the curse, then it stands that this girl would as well. Seems you win another one, Akane."
"Ah, if the Dean says things are fine, then I shouldn't be a bother," Ranma huffed, hopping to her feet. The urge to see what kind of demonstration Eva would be putting on fading as the night's chill increased with her sudden unease in the other's presence. She was just tired, the martial artist told herself, while waving to the curious if silent Chachamaru. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, she considered dropping to the ground, and sealing her ki again with her mala. She discarded the idea almost violently. "Tch. What do I care about fitting in, in a place like this?"
"Not like I'm actually here to make friends."
–
"Ah, you're here early," the secretary exclaimed, seeing the petite redheaded girl waiting outside the offices. She checked her watch once more, seeing it was still a handful of minutes before she was due to open her offices, as she walked up to the young woman's side.
Ranma favored the woman with her best smile, "Good habit to have, I've been told." Helping the woman with her papers and bag as she unlocked the doors to the campus employment office, the martial artist introduced herself. "My name is Ranma Saotome, and I'm a student at Mahora as of this year. I have a job at the Academy as sort of a security assistant, but the Dean suggested I get a regular job to help pay bills," she explained. "Since I have class in an hour, I thought it best to come by, in case there's anything I could look into this afternoon."
The secretary blinked at the young woman, before smiling brightly. "How industrious. I'm sure that any business we can send you to help with will be quite grateful."
"That's my hope," Ranma demurred, as she was lead inside.
"So, what kind of work were you thinking of, Saotome-san? Do you have any special skills or training?"
Ranma knew she had to keep a reign on her boasting, at least here, or she'd likely get placed at something horrible she'd hate. Work may be work, but the last thing she needed was to have what free time she had sapped away by some terrible job, like the few times she had to work at the Nekohanten. "Well... as for talents, I'm a very good martial artist. I don't mind hard work, or labor type things at all.
"Skills," she tapped her chin in thought, trying to categorize all the odd things she'd picked up over the years into something like a resume. "I can cook, though not at the level of a professional chef. I used to work as a waitress as well," she grudgingly admitted, realizing her actual experience in this sort of thing was lacking. "I... I have a number of service skills," she finally declared, almost desperately.
The secretary was somewhat taken aback by the young woman's vehemence, but only let a small smile show. "Service experience, like... tea and lodging preparation? Cleaning?"
Ranma nodded, her expression lightening from where it had fallen. "Yes."
"There is one position I know of, that was high priority. They were asking for a young man, as they wanted someone who didn't mind some labor occasionally-"
"I don't mind that kind of thing at all," Ranma asserted strongly.
Humming to herself, the secretary put that particular entry aside. "Why not try this," she offered, flashing the young woman an open employment request to a place called Chao Baō Zi.
Ranma's smile turned brittle. "Ah... a Chinese...?"
"Restaurant," the older woman finished for the uneasy girl. "It's run by a very successful young woman... oh! It looks like she's even in your class at Mahora. In fact, a number of your classmates seem to work for her." Warning flags went up quickly at the name, and only continued to do so as the woman went on. "Yes, a very enterprising young woman named Chao Lingshen runs it out of a streetcar. She has a special permit to do so, and her food is amazingly good." Quite taken with her own arguments and idea, the secretary pulled out the referral form, "I'm sure this will be the perfect-"
"I'll take the other one."
The woman was brought up short by Ranma's curt interruption. "Eh?"
Leaning forward, Ranma picked up the first notice, handing it to the woman. "I'll take this one."
"But-"
"Can you have the referral done in a few minutes? I still have to be at class soon."
Seeing the redhead's resolve, the woman caved in. "Alright, I'll be just a minute getting it filled out."
"Thank you very much," Ranma replied with a deep bow.
–
As she was walking down the street between Ku Fei and Satsuki on the way to class that morning, Chao suddenly stiffened, and suppressed a shiver. Her fellow nikuman fanatic, Ku Fei, asked if she was alright.
"I... I just had the most unnerving feeling. It could only have been a great disturbance in the Workforce, as if the wallets of millions of men suddenly cried out in despair, and then went silent."
Ku Fei regarded her sometimes-insane friend and employer with narrowed eyes. "This better not have anything to do with a new uniform-aru," she commented.
Chao stuttered and tried not to meet anyone's eyes, laughing nervously.
"Uh-huh. I think we need to discuss the veto-powers of stockholders, boss-aru." Ku Fei wrapped a deceptively strong arm around the dumpling-haired girl in question, much to her discomfort. "And why you never end up in the waitress uniforms yourself-aru."
–
Ranma knew she was going to be late if she took the normal route to class. "If that damned secretary would have just gotten that other place off her brain... swear some people are more enslaved to their stomach than I am."
Eying the entrance to Mahora, the row of windows – three open – belonging to class 3-A, and her tightly wound mala, Ranma came to a decision. "Just today. Don't feel like starting my morning holding buckets," she promised herself, grinning as she loosed the first loop of her seal.
Picking the furthest window from the front of class, she made a brief scan of her surroundings, before leaping up and landing lightly on the nearby second-story sill. Holding tightly to the molding beside the window, she pushed it open a bit more, giving her the space she'd need to slip through. For a moment, the wind picked up, but she had a good hold and ignored it as her braid whipped over her shoulder. Seeing that the only person paying any attention in her direction was a tanned girl with odd markings on her face, Ranma put a finger to her lips. The girl blinked once, then nodded as the redhead slipped inside and quietly took her seat, creeping along the back wall as unobtrusively as possible.
She apparently didn't need to have bothered, as it turned out Negi wasn't even at class yet. Oddly, there were a few others who it seemed would be late or absent as well, including her deskmate Eva, Asuna Kagurazaka, and the auburn-haired girl's friend with the talent for sketching Chupacabras.
Once they arrived, there was a short conversation between Negi and Chachamaru, while Ranma tried to ignore the pointed looks she was getting from both Chupacabra-girl and Asuna. Class began, though it was somewhat less productive than expected, as the diminutive teacher seemed to have his mind on everything but teaching. There was a point where Ranma had to review what was said... as she couldn't really believe that Negi had asked Ako Izumi about being 'partners' with a ten year-old. Seeing Miyazaki's sudden blush and half-voiced confession, then the class rep's blatant response, the martial artist had to wonder what the hell was up with the girls of 3-A. Sure, it was a girl's school, but to fawn and throw themselves at an underage teacher? After a few minutes watching the resulting scene much like one would a train wreck in slow motion, Ranma decided there was something critical she was simply missing.
"Uhm... Saotome-san?" Ranma jerked at the sudden voice, having nearly dozed off. It was currently a period between classes, and as usual, students were up and chatting amongst themselves, or taking a moment to stretch and wake up between subjects. Ranma looked up from her reviewing of the assignment for the upcoming class to see Chupacabra-girl standing there with a slightly nervous if genuine smile in place.
"Yeah? Did you need something...?"
"Oh!" The young woman blushed, before bowing briefly, "Konoka Konoe. I was wondering..." looking around, her blush only intensified, until she sat in Eva's usual place. In a quieter voice she continued. "I was wondering how you did that this morning."
Ranma's face went white. "Ah... not really sure what you mean."
"This morning, when you jumped up to the second-story window outside of class," Konoka insisted in a whisper. "Asuna-chan, Sensei, and I had just come around the wall at the base of the stairs that lead to the Academy, and well... your hair is pretty distinctive."
She had the grace not to curse in front of the girl, "Ah, look... it's kind of a long story."
Konoka considered that, then seemed to come to some conclusion. "Can you meet me for lunch?"
Ranma shook her head, "Not today. I have to meet Takahata-sensei to talk about some of my transcript," she stated vaguely, knowing there was no good way to blow the issue off. She needed to do damage control, and with this being the Dean's granddaughter if her suspicions were correct from her name, the sooner the better. "Look, I have an interview to go to after class. If you want, you can come with me, and we can talk on the way."
"Sure, I'll just tell Asuna-chan where I'll be," the smiling girl replied happily. "See you then."
Leaning back in her chair, Ranma blew at her bangs, causing them to flutter up from her breath. "Man, can't catch a break today."
–
"I'm fairly sure you can imagine why I've called you to a conference, today," Takamichi Takahata greeted, an easy smile coming to his features. Ranma shrugged as she looked around the small but cozy office, sweeping her gaze over the décor and various oddities that spoke of a person, in such places.
Though he had passed along class A to the young mage Negi Springfield, the graying man still kept all his various trinkets and reminders of those who had studied under him, and whom he had held homeroom with for nearly two years. Pictures, copies of trophies, plaques, and certificates littered the small space, labeled with names Ranma would one day find familiar. Of course, Takahata had taught before the current 3-A, and there were quite a few other names listed, as he had been at Mahora for nearly a decade himself.
Across from his small office desk littered with papers and baubles, sat a disgruntled and irritable Ranma Saotome, who paid little attention to those memories, strewn haphazardly about beyond noting them with a passing eye. "Well," the redhead began, peering at a clock and gauging her chances of getting away to get a quick bite to eat, "I can guess you're the guy I'm supposed to talk to about my ki, like Eva's been set up for magic."
Takahata nodded slightly, "True, if generic. I'm not a very hands-on type of tutor, in this kind of thing, so I don't know how much help I can be." Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on the arms of his chair, resting his chin atop laced fingers. "More, I'm here to give you a brief cram session about the rules."
Ranma tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing. "Rules, huh? What kind of rules?"
"For one, those that protect us," the gray-haired man continued, taking a moment to settle his glasses more firmly on his nose. "As you can probably guess or may have heard from Eva-san, the various Magic Associations work to keep magic from the public eye. To a degree, this applies to those who have ki abilities as well. To enforce this, there are something like police groups, and oversight committees-"
"Yeah, I get it," Ranma interrupted, having heard something similar from Eva as he'd said. "Big Brother's watching, and he's not too happy with nails that stick up."
Takahata smiled slightly. "In the most generic terms, yes," he agreed. "Now, you may be wondering where these people were, while you were growing up, or when you had your troubles in Nerima.
"The easy answer is, they were likely watching but found no need to interfere," Takahata continued. "Martial artists tend to be very private people, who keep their arguments local, or within certain boundaries inside their own circles."
Ranma actually laughed at that. "You've never been to Nerima, man. I mean, it was part of the Kantō region, but we never saw your 'police' at all."
"There have been two incidents, one that you should be somewhat aware of," the graying man countered. "One was a martial master from some time ago. He was a rather unpleasant fellow, who used his skills for theft and petty things. If he hadn't taken the steps he did against the region's law enforcement at the time, he wouldn't have been punished... but he did, and was."
The story the man was telling sounded oddly familiar, and Ranma felt an odd sinking feeling from it. Taking a guess, she hazarded, "His name was Happosai wasn't it?"
The teacher smiled his slight smile again. "Yes. His ability to draw on his own ki was stripped, as a punishment."
Again, Ranma laughed, "You realize you just made him worse, right? He's turned that petty theft you were talking about into a lifestyle, and uses the ki from his 'silky darlings' to fuel himself now. He's even developed a method to give someone else an imperfect version of his own technique." She spent a moment enjoying the man's dumbfounded look. "Oh, and he's still at large, too."
"We... thought it was just a copycat. Maybe a disgruntled student," Takamichi muttered, shaking his head. "The man can't still be alive. That ki seal should have shortened his life dramatically, for someone with a body so dependent on it for so long."
"He's the grandmaster for Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. Adaptability is the blood of that school," she informed the man with more than a little pride, in her school and her grandmaster strangely enough. The fact he'd trumped mages at their own game amused her to no end, and caused her to reassess the old pervert slightly, not that she hadn't already done so once, recently. "He's also the one that taught my Pops, and me, and got my head on straight when it came to my curse."
"I... see."
"Nah," Ranma countered, "I don't think you really do. See, you're right in that we do tend to police our own. I mean, most of what I did was go around pounding jerks that got some stupid idea about messing with my friends," she explained. "Part of my code, and all.
"But the point is, for two years now we've been tearing Nerima apart. Even got an unofficial nickname – The Nerima Wrecking Crew," she recalled fondly, a nostalgic smile creeping across her features. "Lot of property damage. Lot of big fights. Not a lot of subtlety. So, I gotta ask, where was Big Brother during all that?"
That was a good question, Takahata realized. One he didn't have the answer to. Initially, he'd meant to somewhat wow and put the fear of punishment into the girl before him, over her possible mistakes, but that seemed a lost cause now. Such a mindset would make her more open to being taught what they had to offer, and more receptive to the Kantō Association's rules. Free agents like her only caused the rest of the region trouble, something even a magic school dropout like him knew well enough. More than anything, and more-so now that she was attending and connected to Mahora, Ranma needed guidance and structure to protect herself and those she was around.
More pressing than his lack of intimidation of her, not that it was something he was really working for – not his style – was the glaring hole in their network of information. How had Nerima slipped through the cracks so much? He'd bring the issue to the Dean. Chief Konoe could ferret out the problem much easier than he could. "I don't know how such a place could have slipped our notice for so long," the graying teacher replied, "but I'm going to get the ball rolling on figuring out why."
"Well," Ranma offered with a wry grin, "if you guys go in planning on sealing more people like you did Happosai, I'd toss that idea now." Her grin grew into a nasty smirk, "That is unless you like the idea of an entire dojo's worth of ki-draining perverts running around."
Takahata winced. "I'll pass that along. Lets put Nerima aside for now, and focus on the rules I mentioned. We'll start with the important ones, dealing with secrecy, and work our way down from there."
Ranma sighed and settled back in her chair, all hopes of making it to lunch tossed aside. She was surprised when a freshman came a few minutes after they began, bringing a tray of sandwiches and a few cans of tea. The teacher across from her smiled at her confusion, "You didn't think I'd make you miss lunch, and then not make it up somehow, did you?"
"Er, well..."
"I understand that you've not had a lot of good experiences with authority," the graying man said. "But, Mahora can be different, if you let it. Whether or not you give it a fair try is up to you in the end."
Silent for a long moment, Ranma nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it. So, tell me about these rules."
"As I mentioned, most deal with keeping things like ki and magic out of the notice of the general population."
"Why?" Ranma interrupted, cracking open a can of tea from a vending machine.
The question wasn't unexpected, "For the most part, everyone has a tiny spark of both ki and magic within them. Those that have more than that, are few and far between, and tend to get scouted out or show signs early, and taught to keep a low profile. For someone like you, raised in a martial arts background, it was pretty clear and your family took up giving you the needed discipline. Do you perform excessive displays without need? Waste your energy? Use flashy attacks that aren't called for pointlessly? Those kinds of rules are what keep the Associations from coming down on martial artists, for the most part."
"Suppose that makes sense," Ranma admitted.
"As for why there's need, call it human nature. Fear and jealousy don't help things. Greed would push people to try and take advantage of gifts like magic and ki," Takahata explained around a mouthful of sandwich. "Current wars are bad enough, and the Yakuza really doesn't need any more help."
Ranma nodded slowly, recalling the few times early on in Nerima and on the road she'd been approached to join such groups. In the case of the Yakuza, they'd been very direct and had to be beaten down to take no for an answer, and when it came to more official organizations, Genma had insisted they disappear as soon as possible. Though she knew now that a lot of the old man's motivations were suspect, Ranma could always trust his sense of self-preservation. Over the next half an hour she learned about the usual rules, most being simple common sense. Don't blast away with ki in the middle of shopping centers, and don't do anything 'inhuman' in front of those outside of the loop, were the themes most followed.
Once she grasped the basics, they moved to another topic. "So, you demonstrated your upper-end potential for ki, but as the Dean explained, you can't control it very well at that level?"
"Hence the wings," Ranma explained. "I can only guess I sort of patterned what was going on by what I knew. The Phoenix people and all, being in Jusendo," she admitted. "I was afraid I was turning into a phoenix as well, and I think my ki fixed on that image. So, when I'm not sealed, and don't have my wings 'out', my control is shot."
Takahata hummed in thought. "Actually, I think you may be somewhat incorrect in your thinking," he disagreed. "As I said, there are two generic energies – that have infinite variations – that we categorize things into. Ki is hard to nail down a solid definition for normally, but is considered the energy of life in motion, flowing into and through all things, but concentrated more in those things being alive.
"Magic is more structured, requiring rigid controls and tolerances, and is most often thought of as the energy of life standing still. It focuses in ideas that don't change, and changing magic itself is hard." Leaning back in his chair, the graying man saw the confusion on Ranma's face at his explanation. "Think of it like this – magic is mathematics, and ki is physical education."
Ranma blinked and perked up. "Oh."
"That isn't to say there aren't formulaic methods for ki, or physical ones for magic. Just a generic framework, to keep them easier to understand.
"Ki you're very aware of already, but back to the wings. Beings with more ki than their bodies can maintain usually manifest it in some way that acts as a vent, or radiator, if you're familiar with mechanics. A way to 'bleed off' excess ki, though that's probably a bad analogy, as you really don't loose anything," Takahata mused. "This is why I was wary to tutor you, as your potential in ki far exceeds my own. I have more training in control and focus, but it would be like a beaver explaining dam building to an engineer. The scales are all wrong."
Ranma fidgeted in her seat a moment, "Still, any help at all..."
"I understand, which is why I'm trying," the older man soothed. "Just be patient with me, as I try." Seeing the redhead nod, Takahata continued. "Each energy has a... realm, for lack of a better explanation tied to it," he haltingly explained. "There are spirit – ki in this case – beasts and beings, as well as magical ones. Each realm has their own natives, and variations on them. One of the most iconic of the spirit realm's denizens are known in western myths as angels."
The redheaded youth startled at that. "Angel?"
Takahata laughed quietly, easily reading Ranma's concern. "You're not an angel, despite being a lovely young woman," the man joked, earning him a halfhearted glare. "There are a number of spirits that have come in contact with humans, and when we are pushed to rise above ourselves, sometimes these archetypal forms resurface in our minds. That's what I'm working to explain."
"So... I patterned my change off of some old memory? Weird."
"Not really. You needed a way to express the change in yourself, and called on images of those who have been changed too. There's a whole school of thought on how these images are associated with our thinking, most of it done as dream analysis," Takahata continued to explain in a soothing tone of voice. "Let me ask you, for instance... what do you envy about birds?"
Ranma blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Uh, birds? Well, it's kinda cool they can fly and all," she admitted easily. A shadow crossed her features for a moment, as she continued to think on it, "I suppose being able to fly means you can go anywhere you want, anytime you want."
Having expected that from reading the writeup on Ranma's life, the graying man nodded. "Freedom, you mean?"
"Yeah. Yeah, pretty much," Ranma admitted with a slight smile. "I think I see what you mean."
"Your obligations and those things chaining you to this or that course were stifling," Takahata observed, pressing his glasses back into place. "The Dean looked into what he could, and the number of commitments made against you were staggering. Desiring freedom on any level would be understood. Being already powerful by your own observation and proof, but still lacking the ability to free yourself from those bonds, one could say that Jusendo simply gave you a means to do so. It gave you something your mind associated with freedom."
Ranma's smile vanished as quickly as it had come. "Yeah, but it cost me my humanity. I mean, I can't even go out in public unless I seal myself down to the bedrock."
"What would you do with that power, though?" The teacher questioned, halting Ranma's rant. "Do you need that kind of potential, day to day? For what?"
Her desire to argue faded, and she nodded slowly. "I see. I guess."
Takahata offered her a smile. "That's the trial all mages go through, every day. Not what to use their power for, but how not to use it, frivolously.
"Now, lets talk about why we don't jump up to second-story windows, just to avoid tardy bells," the man continued in a more serious tone.
Ranma sighed, sinking into her chair slightly.
–
"Good afternoon, Saotome-san," Konoka chirped to the somewhat worn looking redhead after class. The cheerful girl wondered at the other young woman's state, having not recalled anything quite that trying during their lessons that day, so offered her one of the small boxes of juice she usually kept on hand for Yue. Sometimes the other girl would forget them, during their occasional trips as part of the Library Expedition Club.
Ranma took the small box with a wry grin. "Thanks, and it's just Ranma," she reminded the smiling Konoka.
"Oh, sorry," she replied, bobbing a slight bow. Watching as the rest of the class filed out, and paying attention to a few particular people, the young woman's expression fell by a few degrees. "Are you still able to speak with me?"
Pushing herself off the wall she'd been learning on, the redhead nodded. "Sure thing. I'm just heading up toward the resort section, closer to the mountains nearby."
Konoka blinked in surprise, "That far?"
Ranma shrugged, "Well, it's for a job. The campus can't officially hire students our age, but there's no rule like that for off-campus businesses. Besides, everything close by is either working in a restaurant or something else silly," she replied with a grin. "Worked in that before. Getting your meals free is nice, but I want a change."
"I suppose that makes sense," Konoka agreed pleasantly. "Though I like Lingshen-san's nikuman, working there as well as eating them during the day..."
"They are good, but yeah. Too much, too much," the redhead agreed with a laugh. "Though, seeing Ku Fei's opinion on them first-hand, best not to say that around her."
Konoka nodded emphatically at that.
The two lapsed into an easy silence from there, as they made their slow way toward the mountains that made up one of the borders of Mahora's campus. It was a real testament to how influential and vast the Academy was, realizing that distant place was part of the actual school as well. "I just don't get it," Ranma muttered, as they entered the inn and hotel district.
"Mm? Get what, Sao-er. Ranma-san?"
"This," the redhead indicated their surroundings with a sweeping gesture. "All this place. Why does the Academy need temporary housing like this? How can they need enough to keep these businesses running? It doesn't make sense."
"Oh, it does, when you know how big Mahora really is," the cheerful young woman countered. "The Academy isn't just a local high school for girls, after all. There's a boy's campus, and the grades run from lowest, all the way to specialized private college classes." Ranma took hold of the girl's shoulder, guiding her away from a small stream of water crossing the street as someone cleaned their sidewalk. It amused her that her companion could get so caught up in her explanation that she'd become so oblivious. "Grandfather has recently tried to open Mahora to transfer students as well, though with limited success. There is a lot of tension between the Kantō and Kansai regions, in such things."
Ranma noted Konoka's sudden melancholy, though it wasn't hard to miss. She imagined those moods on the Dean's granddaughter were like seeing typhoons over the desert, with her usual demeanor. Curious that she mentioned the local Magical Associations though, "...is there something about that, that bothers you?"
"Mm, I'm from Kyoto," the young woman stated. "Well, my mother is from the Kantō region, and my father from Kyoto. I spent most of my childhood there, with a friend..."
If pain had a flavor, Ranma imagined what Konoka was feeling would remind him of okonomiyaki. "Did you have to leave that friend?"
Konoka nodded sadly. "Grandfather asked that I begin attending Mahora, like my mother did. Father... wasn't pleased by that. He said a traditional education would have been best for me. He asks me often if grandfather has had me learn anything strange, sometimes." Konoka laughed suddenly at that, "I don't understand, really. School is a place where you learn new things, right? In that way, almost everything could be strange."
With a grin that seemed infectious, Ranma nodded. "Suppose so," she agreed. To herself, she noted that Konoka was either in the dark about the strife between the regions and their reason, or was involved and knew, and being a good little mage and keeping it under her hat. Wanting more information, she asked about this friend again.
"She... I think I did something wrong, but I don't know what," Konoka admitted after a long pause. "She became cold. To everything it seemed, not just me. Then, when I came to Mahora, I lost touch with her.
"I was so happy when she arrived here too some time later... but she was even worse," she muttered, fidgeting unhappily at the hem of her uniform vest. "She won't talk to me at all, and I just can't figure it out."
"Yeah, if she won't talk with you, and you can't seem to relate, then that's a big problem," Ranma agreed, not unaffected by the girl's sadness. "Not much you can do, unless you have some common friends as well, to ask."
Konoka shook her head slowly. "No. She was my first friend, and one of the only ones I was allowed, back in Kyoto."
Ranma fixated on that word. "Allowed?"
The young woman blushed brightly. "Ah, auu... I shouldn't have said that."
The martial artist paused, reaching out to turn the girl so they faced one another. "Explain this 'allowed' thing, Konoe-san."
Slumping, Konoka hesitantly did so, relaying that her father was an important politician in the Kansai region, and that the marriage of her parents was a very political thing. Oh, they loved each other now, but it was something more akin to what one would read in period books from earlier eras in history, rather than something current. Because of the enemies either family had at a given time, she was kept under strict security, and visitors were few and far between. Halfway through, Ranma decided that Konoka was truly out of the loop – if she saw the reasons why the two regions were in conflict, a lot of her own uncertainty wouldn't exist, and she wasn't faking it.
Konoka finally gave a name for her friend – Setsuna Sakurazaki. "You mean the girl with her hair cut in a hime-style, tied up on one side?"
"Mm, yes, that's her," Konoka affirmed as they rounded a corner. "It was another reason I wanted to speak with you, actually..."
Ranma blinked at that. "Ah, I'm not sure I know either of you well enough to act as a mediator-"
"Oh, no, not that!" The other girl squeaked, waving her hands in a negative. "I-I just well... what you did this morning... that reminded me of something I saw, spying on Secchan, once."
Ranma noted that, filing it away for later. After a moment, the face clicked in her mind and she frowned at having missed it before. Setsuna had been there when she was demonstrating her ki before the Dean. She had been the younger of the the two kenshi. Ranma stifled a self-depreciating laugh. "Well, one supposed martial artist identified and confirmed," she noted to herself.
"I suppose I was wondering how you did that, and if... if maybe there was some reason when she was training in such things, she'd suddenly start hating me," Konoka concluded in a small tone.
Seeing Konoka's distress, Ranma buried her own misgivings, and gave the smaller girl a hug, "Hey, it's alright," she soothed, patting the other girl on the back lightly. To her mild horror, it was like she triggered the floodgates, and the girl in her arms started to shake and sob quietly. Not the best at emotional displays, Ranma wasn't exactly in a posture that would seem comforting, but if anything, she was one to make an effort if she put her mind to it. Crying girls were just not something one ran across often, so practicing how to comfort them wasn't much of an option.
"Hey, hey, I'm sure it's not all that bad," she offered the quietly crying Konoka. "Here, let sit down over by that trellis, and I'll tell you about a friend of mine, that your story reminded me of. Just give me a sec, to return a favor real fast."
Quick as she could – without ki – Ranma dashed to a nearby cafe to get them some tea, and a small to-go platter of sweet crackers. She returned with a lightly damp napkin, for Konoka to wash her face with. "Here you go," she offered, sitting the small snack between them. She was rewarded with a bright, if watery, smile in return. "Well, this may not sound like such a good story to start with, but hang with me, alright?
"A long time ago, I went to an all bo-" she snapped her mouth shut, almost forgetting Konoka didn't know about her curse. It was so common-place in Nerima, that she'd almost gotten used to it being common knowledge.
"An all-wha?" Konoka asked blinking in confusion.
"Oh, it was a school like Mahora," Ranma offered lamely with a nervous laugh. "But anyway, uh... right. My friend went there too. We got along pretty well, being interested in the same stuff," she elaborated, leaving out the details. Eating and fighting weren't much but for Ranma, it had been enough to count, with the little social contact Genma had allowed. "One day, my Pop decided we were going to travel and train some more – we did that a lot really, since I could walk in fact – and that I had to say goodbye to my friend.
"I wasn't too happy about it," Ranma admitted quietly, wringing her hands, recalling some memories associated with the person in question. "I was planning on talking with hi... with them about it, but things didn't work out." The redhead looked up toward the sky, shaking her head slowly. "Should've made Pops wait. In the end, they followed me on my trip."
Konoka brightened a bit, but faltered when she noted Ranma's bitter expression. "Was... was that bad?"
Ranma laughed quietly. "The worst. Ryo... Ryo couldn't keep up with the pace we set," she explained, managing to avoid the Lost Boy's name barely. "We ended up in this awful place in China, with curses all over the place. Something happened, and while I was chasing Pops, I ended up knocking Ryo off a path," Ranma shook her head at the memory. She still kept her word though, refusing to mention Ryoga's curse, or the fact he actually had one, despite what she alluded to. "That bonehead ended up blaming me, not that I disagreed later. But Ryo kept on chasing us, getting more and more upset since they couldn't quite keep up, and bad things kept happening.
"Eventually, we came back to Japan to settle down, but by then my friend was so angry they attacked me on sight. Ryo claimed I'd ruined their life, 'made them see hell', and that they'd kill me for it," the redhead related with a wistful grin, confusing a wide-eyed Konoka. "I didn't get what was up for a while. We fought like cats and dogs, for like... two years. Eventually Ryo calmed down, and we managed to get our issues sorted out. Ryo started seeing me as the friend I'd always seen them as, and we stopped fighting." Head tilting a bit, Ranma laughed. "Well, almost stopped. We still spar now then... well, we used to," she muttered, looking away with a frown, her mirth dying away.
"Anyway!" Ranma shook her melancholy off, shaking her head so hard her braid whipped about madly. "The point is, we just had to work our issues out. Maybe you two could do the same. I mean, if Ryo and me can get our act together, you can easy. Just don't let her get away, I suppose. Chase her down, make her talk!" Slapping a fist into her hand, Ranma nodded sharply. "Take a lesson from Ryo! If Sakurazaki-san won't listen, then beat some sense into her!"
Konoka stared wide-eyed at the young woman beside her, before laughing quietly. "Oh, Ranma-san, I couldn't... I've never trained like you or her. But I'll take your advice. I'll definitely get an answer! I won't give up on my precious friend!"
"That's the spirit!"
There was an amused laugh and quiet clapping from behind them, causing Ranma to startle and turn slightly. "Quite the story, there," a woman around her twenties in a pink kimono under a red hanten jacket trimmed in black commented. She smiled at the pair, leaning against the trellis nearby with a small fan in her hand causing her bangs, cut in a style similar to Miyazaki's, to drift occasionally. "I think I like you, Red-chan."
Ranma blinked, before tilting her head curiously. "'Red-chan'? Do I know you?"
"Whoops, my mistake," the woman commented in a slightly husky voice, reminding Ranma of Nabiki for a moment. "If you two would, follow me for a moment, and I'll make my introduction. It'll make sense, I promise."
Giving each other a wary look, the two schoolgirls shrugged, before following the woman in the red merchant's jacket back toward a break in the wall the trellis covered. It was only as they neared the traditionally-styled building that Ranma noted the kanji on the woman's back. "'Bara'," she muttered, suddenly darting her eyes left and right to confirm her suspicions. All around – in fact, on the trellises they'd been near earlier as well – were roses on vines and bushes, lining the walk and up against the building's sides.
Standing to the side of the entrance way to building, the twenty-something woman coughed into her hand, before sweeping aside the hanging-cloth sign nearest her as it draped across the doorway. "For those who have traveled far, and need to refresh themselves," she began, moving to the other side of the doorway with a flourish. "For couples who want to rekindle the fires of their passion," the woman declared in a smoky voice, her fan obscuring her face, her eyes peering above it half-lidded. She stepped to the center, offering Ranma and Konoka a deep bow, her demeanor returning to normal. "Please consider our humble inn, if you are in Kantō for an onsen trip, the Baraen-sō!"
Chuckling to herself, Ranma offered some small applause while grinning at the woman. "I'm guessing you're Nonohara-san? Manager of the Rose Garden Villa?"
"And you would be Saotome-san, my only, lonely referral from that Chinese food-obsessed secretary at the employment office," the woman identified as Nonohara commented with a wry grin. Turning to the other young woman present, she raised a brow. "Ara, I only recall getting one referral – did you bring another in on your own? Good incentive, Saotome-san."
Konoka blushed and offered the woman a smile, "Ah, no... I'm just walking with Ranma-san on her way here-"
"Hmm," Nonohara mused, getting up in the young woman's face with a contemplative look, causing Konoka to blink and stutter. "You have the aura of someone who'd make an excellent hostess," she mused, rubbing at her chin. Nonohara nodded a few times sagely, crossing her arms before her. "Yep. It's decided. You're hired."
"Auu...?"
Ranma looked back and forth between the two in confusion, before pointing to herself. "Ah. Well, that is..."
The onsen manager stared at the redhead before laughing heartily. "Oh of course, of course," she nodded, laying an arm around Ranma's shoulders. "You came for an interview. Now, this one here," she indicated, Konoka with her fan, "has the air of Yamato Nadeshiko about her. Such a refined, delicate beauty, one feels more graceful and at ease just for being around her," the manager noted, ignoring the fierce blush her compliment caused to bloom across Konoka's cheeks.
"You, on the other hand," Nonohana mused, staring down at the petite redhead so intently that Ranma had no choice but to look away slightly from intensity of her gaze. "Yes, that, right there. You've the air of a maiden, but the bearing of a samurai about you. Proud and innocent, strong but with inner fragility.
"I got no idea what to do with you," the woman admitted with a flick of her fan. "Didn't you apply for a man's position here?"
Ranma coughed into her hand, regaining her equilibrium from the odd woman's observations. "Well, yes. You see I'm a martial artist, so labor isn't a-"
"You're hired."
The redhead's mouth continued to move for a moment silently, before she shook her head hard. "Wh-What? Just like that?"
"Just like that," Nonohara affirmed with a nod.
"...why the hell just like that?"
Nonohara laughed again, sounding more like a captain at sea on her ship, as the waves battered at her impotently during a storm. "Spirit! That tale you told your friend to cheer her up! You, Saotome-san, have something inns like the Baraen-sō need. Someone worldly, who's seen love and pain, who's walked the roads of distant countries, smelled foreign roses, and come home to tell the tale!" Draping her arm across the young woman's shoulder, she guided her on a meandering walk through the inn, a curious Konoka trailing behind.
"Here at the Bara, we mostly cater to couples, who's lives may not be the most peaceful. We strive to give them not only quiet and comfort, but the subtle spark to reignite their passions!" Passing an empty dining room, Nonohara kicked the shōji door wide with a slipper-clad foot. "Succulent foods! Lush atmosphere! Only the presence of those who subtly add to that electric potential in the air, to witness it!"
Rushing the redhead up to one of the inn's rooms, she again opened the door, only this time with as slow, sultry deliberation. "An intimate room, furnished for a couple's desires, for them to retreat to so sate their lusts, or desire for simple time alone," she declared in a voice better suited to a Madame. Both teens blushed brightly at the less-than-subtle declaration. Guiding the captive pair back to the main floor, she pulled a wary Ranma through another slitted curtain.
At the high-fenced onsen, Nonohara dipped a dainty foot into the steaming water, "Heat and intimacy, these are the foundations on which the Baraen-sō was founded. Here, passion and lust are tempered by the waters of our spring into something lasting and resounding." Taking Ranma by the shoulders, she spun the redhead around as she twirled across the damp stone.
"The centerpiece of our inn is the onsen! Here, the real work is done, as we offer privacy and service in a careful balance. Our hostesses assist the guests with sake and washing, before standing nearby behind the barest curtains for modesty, to be called upon for what needs arise," Nonohara declared, halting suddenly while giving her captive a final twirl, as if setting a dancing partner to the floor.
Ranma never stumbled, simply bleeding off momentum while skimming her left foot across the stones to regain her balance. When her mad spinning ended, she stood facing the inn's manager with a raised brow. "Um-"
"And since you're a martial artist, there's no worry of you slipping here while working and cleaning, and charging me an arm and leg in insurance premiums," the manager stated in a suddenly normal tone, snapping her fan open as she drew it from a sleeve. "Congratulations, our new Miss Onsen Manager! And, that's the tour!"
Konoka and Ranma found themselves suddenly back out in front of the inn-onsen, their arms full of uniform kimonos in pink with white obi sashes, along with the same red and black hanten Nonohara was wearing. To their side was the same bench they'd sat at briefly, and to their backs was the rose-wound trellis Ranma had missed initially.
"Au, what just happened...?"
Ranma wet her lips, and looked up at the sky in contemplation. "I... I think we just got conscripted into working at some kind of couple's inn by a crazy woman."
Konoka sighed in resignation. "That's what I thought."
–
The next day passed without much fanfare, though to some of 3-A, it was clear things were changing in subtle ways. For one, the new student arrived with Konoka, chatting amicably between themselves, rather than accompanying Asuna and Negi who arrived somewhat later than usual. Their perplexed expressions seemed fixed on the bantering Konoe and Saotome, as they chatted quietly near the back of the class.
Another change seemed to take root in that same redhead, who it turned out was quite the academic. Now, outward appearances and the truth were confusing here, as Ranma really wasn't quite as smart as everyone assumed she was... rather, she was dealing with material technically two years lower than she was used to.
Rumors came and went, with the usual speed around a girl's school, but at least this time they were positive, Ranma noted with a smile. A few weren't directed at her, however. One of such Ranma heard, was about some events surrounding a perverted ermine that had run amok in the bath belonging to the dorm most of 3-A called home. Oddly, during a break Konoka told her quite a lot about Negi's new pet, who also happened to be a white ermine. Recalling the morning's class, Ranma vaguely remembered the diminutive teacher having something on his shoulder, but truthfully most of her attention was taken up by Eva, who seemed somewhat amused and more talkative than usual.
Though she wasn't happy that Ranma had gotten a job despite needing a tutor, she didn't make much of a fuss, saying they would just need to schedule later meetings. This turned out to actually be better for both of them, as Eva admitted she rather liked her Go and Tea Ceremony clubs, and didn't want to cut her time there. Dubious still that she could gain anything from dealing with the blonde suspected vampire, Ranma set up a time in the next few days to go and visit, agreeing hesitantly to contact Chachamaru if she needed to change their set time in the event of conflicts with work. Time would tell if she could gain anything of use from Eva, but if it would lead to a solution for her problems stemming from Jusendo, she was more than open to putting aside her grudge against magic. She'd worked beside enemies before – this would be no different.
Another lunch was spent with Takahata, this time discussing the more theoretical side of ki, and how there were distinct differences in the energies one could find and work with, outside of simple gross manipulation. Takahata used a number of references, one being the difference of ki found in say, a graveyard and a pristine forest glen. Ranma felt that the comparison was obvious, but the gray-haired teacher went on to explain how and why those differences in ki occurred, and what it meant to someone like her who was at once sensitive to ki and who had the potential to shape and focus it both internally and externally. Discussion moved to debating the Wuxing and Godai elemental systems, and how they related to internal energies on a symbolic and literal level, which was something Takahata found to his surprise that Ranma was already well versed on. The redhead happily explained that much of her time on the road was spent in temples and among other practitioners of the Art, and such theories and ideas were as basic to her as the alphabet to others.
Over a meal of Chao's meat-buns, the two discussed ki theory nearly up until second bell, and to Ranma it felt more like a pair of contemporaries hashing out ideas, than a teacher-student situation. It was a difference she found most agreeable, and also more productive than what she'd dealt with before. Rather than just throwing ideas at her for her to memorize and regurgitate, Takahata allowed her to think on her own, and come to her own conclusions, while he voiced views, rather than facts. After that session, she thanked the man for his time and with a smile, asked when they'd be able to continue.
Thus, Ranma's lunches were from then-on to be held with Takamichi Takahata, catching up and working with the man on ki and onmyōdō practice and theory.
–
AN: A cookie for whoever can guess the reference-source for Nonohara and the Baraen-sō.
