Chapter 9

Tsubasa's property grounds were massive and at the heart of it was the Tasei Mansion, still named from its old owner. No doubt it would renamed. The sheer elegance of it hit Ranma like a slap in the face.

From what Ranma could see, it was built with traditional nineteenth century Japanese architecture, included several separate buildings, and the main house was three floors high. And there was a Buddhist temple just off the main residence overlooking a small pond with a curved bridge surrounded by a stone walkway. The place had tall shrubs and trees for privacy. The entire property was secured with a three metre stone wall and a front steel gate.

Ranma crouched on the enclosure stone wall next to the main gate. His hand touched a stone pillar for balance. He hadn't known what to expect, but what he saw made him god-smacked.

To get to the house, Ranma had to travel almost a quarter of a mile on foot up an incline and it was at the end of a long, winding street, at a cul de sac, without another inlet or outlet. It was very private.

Tsubasa would know that he was coming. The guy would be able to see Ranma without reserve. And Ranma was fine with that.

Let him see me!

Now he knew what Tsubasa meant about rescuing the damsel in distress from his castle.

Nishi Kinomiya, the Student Council President, and Tsubasa's cousin, had given him some final instructions after Tsubasa had contacted her. She passed it on and then said she was done with Tsubasa after learning he had taken Ukyo hostage, Tsubasa had gone too far. This was now a personal matter, no police was to be called.

Nishi Kinomiya agreed and wished him good luck.

Ranma looked down. Akane had followed him despite his reservations. And so did the others.

As they all stood outside of a gate, Ranma clenched his fists at his side, and grit his teeth. "This is my battle, Tsubasa challenged me! Don't any'cha interfere, got it?"

"We're here to help, Ranma," Akane protested. "Do you even have a strategy to beat Tsubasa?"

"Indeed, Saotome," Kuno agreed, equally at awe with the property. But, as Kuno pointed out, it was still smaller than the Kuno Estate. "How can you know what to expect when all you have is a letter of challenge?"

Ryoga punched a fist into his other hand. "I'm going in with you, Ranma," he said determinately. "You're going to need my help. Tsubasa is a sly one and if Nabiki is right about the previous owner being a gamester, you'll need me."

"You'll probably get lost the moment we enter," Ranma said, taking another look around. "What about you?" Ranma said to Gosunkugi. "What's your business 'ere?"

Gosunkugi waved his hands out in front. "Oh, I'm just here for support." He then went into some kind of cheer leader routine. "Ra! Ra! Go, go, get'em Ra-nma!"

Ranma just rolled his eyes, but at least Gosunkugi was being sensible.

Ranma pulled out a small map from his pants pocket and opened it up when he jumped down outside of the stone wall, the others surrounded him. "Thanks to Nabiki, we have a good understanding of the interior of the house, and the place of massive. Look, I want to do this alone, but I need you guys to be my lookouts."

"No way, Ranma!" Ryoga protested. "I'm coming with you."

"I'm going, too," Akane added.

"No, Akane," Ryoga interjected, putting up a hand. "Tsubasa is a maniac and he's already kidnapped Ukyo. What if something were to happen to you?"

Akane opened her mouth, she wanted to object, but then Ranma said, "He's right, Akane." He folded the map and put it back in his pocket. "But Ryoga, you're not coming either. I want you here. This is my fight. I'll face Tsubasa alone."

Akane snorted angrily. "We heard you Ranma, you want to do this alone," she finished with a snort.

Ranma could see the implications of his wanting to fight Tsubasa and rescue Ukyo by himself, but it couldn't be helped. If Akane was jealous, that was on her. This was personal. Ukyo was his oldest and best friend and he was determined to pull her out of Tsubasa's clutches.

Jumping back over the stone wall, he went to the front door. It was a large wooden door with a steel handle. There was no door bell, just a knocker. But he didn't use it. He banged not he door and shouted, "I'm here, Tsubasa!"

A voice suddenly came from a speaker box near the door. Ranma had noticed a camera above the door. "Greetings Saotome, I'm so pleased you accepted my wondrous offer. It's so chivalrous of you." Tsubasa laughed.

Ranma didn't laugh. "Cut the crap and let me in!"

"That's no way for a hero to talk. Nevertheless, you're here. Let the games begin!"

And then, the ground beneath Ranma's feet opened up and he fell through a trapdoor. That last thing he heard was Akane screaming his name.

Ranma shouted as he plummeted through a shaft that was just wide enough for his shoulders, then crashed down onto a padded floor. He rolled to a crouched position and established his bearings. He was in a padded room with white walls. It reminded Ranma of a room where they once put crazy people. Of course, that wasn't done anymore. It was too inhumane. But this house was old, so the old owner built what he wanted, how he wanted it.

You should be in here, Tsubasa, Ranma thought.

Ranma had landed on a padded, cushioned floor, almost like a padded mattress. The lights in the room were bright and he was trapped inside. The only exit was a closed door, the shaft he dropped from had shut in the ceiling.

Another camera was in the room with a speaker box. "Welcome Ranma to Stage 1 of my games."

"I don't like games, especially designed by crazy people like you, Tsubasa."

"Tsk, tsk, Ranma," Tsubasa retorted. "That term is so outdated and frankly rude. I prefer to call myself an eccentric individual with many different unusual traits."

"Crazy, crazy, crazy! You're really gone off the deep end this time, Tsubasa. Let Ukyo go, now."

"I respect your forthwith guile, but I won't do that. You have to prove yourself worthy of Ukyo's affection."

Ranma clenched his fists. He could probably smash his way out of this room, but then what. Tsubasa wanted him to play his games. He had no idea what to expect, but he had to rescue Ukyo. If he didn't play Tsubasa's games, then he might hurt Ukyo seeing how crazy Tsubasa had become.

Eccentric individual with many different unusual traits, my butt.

Tsubasa continued. "If you love Ukyo, then agreed to my terms. If you can beat the stages, then I'll accept defeat. But if I win as Gamemaster, you must abandoned you affection for Ukyo forever."

"My affection? Hey pal, you and I have to have talk about how you and I see Ukyo."

"Don't play coy with me, I know you love Ukyo. Yet again, so do I. But I love her more!"

Ranma felt like he was about to explode. Tsubasa was implying things. But he kept his own feeling to himself. "Okay, you sick bastard. I'll play your games." And depending on the stages, he could probably just smash through everything to get to the end with his special techniques. Ranma smirked thinly.

I've already won!

"Excellent!" Tsubasa's voice rang through the speaker. "Oh, one thing—if you start destroying things, you immediately forfeit. I've researched you and have quite an arsenal of martial arts tricks up your sleeve."

"They ain't tricks, they're a set of skills."

"Nevertheless, you must follow the rules or you immediately lose. I see your friends on my exterior cameras. If they try to interfere, you lose. Now they we've established the rules, enter my gauntlet and survive if you can."

Ranma heard the sound of the door unlock.

Ranma hesitated, but then took hold of the handle and opened the unlocked door. The first thing that stood out to him was a long, empty corridor with overhead lighting that could use some repair. More than half the lights were burnt out and there was a strange smell, almost like dead animal. This place was underground. Mice had the ability to get in anywhere and that would explain the lighting too. They liked to chew wires.

When he came to the end of the corridor, he was confronted with a big round doorway with some symbols on a plate in the middle. He wasn't very good at math, but he knew mathematical symbols when he saw them.

C = 2 π r

And there was a question underneath.

Find the value of r

Ranma ruffled his hands through his hair. "Oh, c'mon! What is this?"

"Have you given up already, Ranma?" came Tsubasa's voice from another speaker box on the wall. A smaller camera was over top of it. "This is the first door. It's basic math, Saotome. Why would Ukyo want a loser like you if you can't perform simple math equations? Ukyo needs to mentally perform these equations every time she makes one of her Okonomiyaki for a customer to keep costs down. She's a business woman, after all. It's not difficult."

Tsubasa was right. Ukyo was a business woman. And she would have to know these things. But he didn't.

"Okay, then—how do I find the value of r without any numbers to work with?"

"No doubt the equation was stamped on the door for guests to answer based on a question the original designer issued the player. I have complete control of this place in the control room, so if you answer the question correctly you can continue. So, here is my question. What are the standard dimensions of an Okonomiyaki patty?"

Ranma had no idea. Ukyo would know. She was the master chef.

But then he thought about it. "It's a trick question, and you know it. If you really know Ukyo, you'd know she makes her Okonomiyaki not only with 'math' in mind, but with care and love for her customer's needs."

There was silence. "Well, you're not a dumb as I thought you were," Tsubasa said. "Yes, Ukyo must take into consideration the cost of each Okonomiyaki she makes with the satisfaction of the customer in mind. It is a key factor for repeat business. I'll give you this one, but the other challenges won't be as easy."

Easy, Ranma thought with a sarcastic snort.

The door to the next chamber opened.

To be continued...