Xander Quest

by Throwaway1971

All credit goes to the OG author Judge Mental on SB

231. Familair Ritual Arc (Part 1)

You take a moment to consider everything that's happened over the last couple of days. While you have a number of questions, many of them are the sort that you suspect either can't be or won't be answered: the nature of this Raidou person's beef with the clan he abandoned, for example; whether or not the "lizard men" were indeed Lizalfos, or if it was just a coincidence; what happened to noteworthies such as Beryl, Lyra, or even William and Othrym during the fighting; and ultimately, just what the point of that entire affair was. The evil ninja and their monstrous associates had the numbers and the skill to pull off an ambush against members of three other ninja clans and the tournament's in-house security, plus any number of competent combatants, and get away with it, at least in the short term, yet they appear to have missed all their major targets, and Shiden described the incidental casualties as "remarkably light." That mix of ability and incompetence just strikes you as odd, even suspicious.

The thought occurs to you that this might be your last chance to talk to Ambrose. Somehow, the possibility of getting the old meddler's advice on how to advance your magical studies just doesn't compare with the knowledge that he will very shortly be out of your hair - to say nothing of easy spellcasting range.

While you're considering all these factors, Kasumi has inquired of her parents how her brother and his friend Ryu are. The adults' response is that both boys are well, although between fatigue and injury, Ryu has had to bow out of his remaining matches. On a related note, the demon swordsman who defeated Hayate has also withdrawn, while Lyra and the incubus were both disqualified for their conduct in the brawl - Ryu got a pass on that because he was defending a disabled fellow competitor, not just fighting for the sake of fighting as the lightning-user and the demon are judged to have been. Consequently, it seems as if the Under Eighteens Armed Division Final will be between Jiro the tonfa-user, and Kagero the kunoichi illusionist.

Kasumi's discussion with her parents also addresses your concern about whether or not you'll get the chance to meet up with Ayane for your now-rescheduled technique exchange. While the family does plan to switch their current hotel accomodations tonight, they won't be returning home for a few more days - there's a concern that since Raidou knows where they live, he might have arranged for further surprises along the usual routes or even at home, so they'll want to investigate that possibility and give Hayate a chance to recover before they drag him into more trouble. That works out fairly conveniently for you.

When you fail to bring it up, Cordelia handles the matter of asking Lu-sensei how recent events will affect your group's travel plans. Your teacher replies that he personally feels up to taking part in his matches, whenever they organizers get around to rescheduling them, but that if the two of you wish to go home a couple of days early, he'll have no problem with making the arrangements and forfeiting. Given your own plans to hunt down reagents for that planned familiar ritual and a few souvenirs, you're in no hurry to leave, and Cordelia declares that ninja invasion or no ninja invasion, she's not leaving before she's had a chance to hit the local malls.

"Besides," she adds, "Alex still needs to get Zelda a souvenir. Besides the belt, I mean."

Some small talk ensues, but it last perhaps fifteen minute before Ambrose gets bored or spots a shiny object. He whisks Altria away in short order, all but teleporting the blonde girl out in the middle of mutual farewells. While he doesn't remove the seal he put on you, he also doesn't add any new ones. Not too long after that, Lu-sensei ushers you and Cordelia out in a less abrupt manner, giving you enough time to arrange a meeting with Ayane tomorrow after lunch, at your hotel.

You make no comment on the fact that the ninja know where you're staying. They reciprocate by not rubbing it in.

As you leave the pawn shop-slash-safehouse, you glance at a wall clock and take note of the time: 2:30.

Although you give some consideration to suggesting a shopping trip or a reagent hunt disguised as a sightseeing tour, it's clear at a glance that both of your companions are weary, and probably not overly inclined to spend the afternoon roaming Tokyo's unfamiliar streets. You're not exactly at the top of your game yourself, and Briar did ask you to stay out of trouble while she was napping. You have no trouble imagining what she'd say if you went off to visit vendors of arcane materials or a center of spiritual power, in defiance of her very reasonable request - especially if you got into trouble. Cordelia would have a few things to say as well.

So it's probably for the best that you rein in your acquisitive impulses and follow Lu-sensei as he leads the way back to your hotel. Cordelia immediately lays claim to the bathroom, and you decide to let it go, taking advantage of the next hour to visit the hotel's complimentary buffet and make up for the midday meal you missed - and then some. You keep one eye open as you eat, wary of a ninja ambush or the appearance of summoned monsters, but no such threats present themselves. Lu-sensei accompanies you at first, but isn't overly hungry himself, and instead spends the time checking the lightly-populated dining room and the nearby chambers over for ambushes. Once he's satisfied that you'll be safe-ish on your own - and has gotten a number of odd looks from the staff and other guests - the old man excuses himself and returns to the suite, so that Cordelia isn't left on her own. Perhaps half an hour later, Lu-sensei reappears to let you know that he's been contacted by the tournament masters, who've scheduled his first preliminary match for five this evening. All things considered, your teacher would prefer to have you and Cordelia present for the bout, and however many follow it.

After you've settled your stomach, you head back to your room, where Cordelia has since left the shower. Taking a moment to carefully remove and set down the shirt to which Briar's pocket room is attached, you proceed to clean up and don a fresh set of clothes.

When you get out of the shower a bit before four o'clock, Briar has emerged from the pocket reality. She looks better than when she went in, although she's still visibly tired.

"Hey, Alex," your fairy companion greets you, yawning. "Thanks for taking it easy."

"You're welcome," you reply. "Are you sure you should be up, though?"

"Meh," is her answer. "I can only sleep so much in the middle of the day without being up half the night. So, what'd I miss while I was out? And what are your plans for the rest of the evening looking like?"

You bring Briar up to speed, while considering your answer to the second question. What are your plans at this point?

Speaking as the faithful, attentive student, if your master wants you to attend his matches, then it's pretty much a given that you will go. Yeah, it cuts into time you could have spent doing other things, but even if you weren't still nervous about the prospect of having enemy ninja jump out of the shadows at you, you'd have some reservations about walking around Tokyo with only Briar and Cordy for company. Plus, it's a chance to see Lu-sensei fight, in an environment where you won't be too busy defending yourself to potentially learn anything - or just to enjoy the show. A quick exchange of shouts to Cordelia's room confirms that she has no problem with going to watch Lu-sensei's fights, either.

Gained Filial Piety E(Plus)
Gained Warrior Born F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

When you broach the subject of who your master will be fighting, he replies that he has no more idea about that than you did about who you'd be facing in the Under Tens Prelims - less, even, since you at least had the option to look around the gym to see who was fighting. Lu-sensei did nose around a bit over the last couple of days, and was aware of several names and faces he might end up squaring off against, but he has no idea how many of those people will still be hanging around in the wake of today's unscheduled violence. You'll just have to keep your eyes open.

Since you still have some time before you need to leave to reach whatever facilities the tournament officials have appropriated to hold their rescheduled matches, you pull out the phonebook again and get on the Internet. There isn't enough time for you to reach the nearest of your earmarked magic shops, but you can at least confirm which ones will be open later, and ask a couple of questions about mana recovery items. You make a point of lowering your voice, trying to sound older than you are or even appear to be; in Hyrule, it wasn't at all uncommon for magic-users to send their apprentices out to do the shopping, but you're not sure how well the local merchants of mystical materials would react to a child's voice.

Gained Acting F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Computer Literacy F(Plus)

The first shopkeeper doesn't seem to be bothered by your age, but when you bring up the subject of magical restoratives, he gets the wrong idea entirely and starts going on about stuff like "Smiling Li's Elixir of Vigor" and "Auntie Wu's Evening Special." Looking the names up in the online catalogue, you find that they are indeed restoratives, just not of the sort you need. You're honestly unsure why anybody would need them, although Briar reads off the entries and spends the next ten minutes laughing, so she must have some clue. Even after she's recovered from her fit of hilarity, she refuses to explain, saying something about telling you when you're older. Since this place's webpage is mostly similar "brand name" merchandise, with posted hours showing that it will be closing at five anyway, you give up and turn to the second store.

The person who answers the phone this time is a teenage girl, and she proves either more insightful or simply a lot less patient than the first fellow. She pegs you as a kid inside of about ten words, spends the next minute scolding you while griping about her afterschool job, and then hangs up abruptly after a much older-sounding woman starts getting on her case in the background.

You're not sure if you want to write that shop off or not. It'll be open until eight o'clock this evening, but the customer service seems... iffy, at best. Their online inventory is pretty good, though. While it has some of the same brand name stuff as the first place, there's a far better inventory of raw materials. Nothing immediately leaps out at you as a potential mana restorative, but there are a couple of avowed spiritual replenishers which might do the job.

Mulling that over, you call up the third shop, and get a recording of a woman of indeterminate age, somehow managing to sound practical and mysterious at the same time while she apologizes for "the unfortunate confluence of events that prevents us from taking your call directly." You're prompted to leave a message at the beep; do you wish to? A quick look at the inventory shows that this place specifically deals in teas, gels, pastes, lotions, tonics, and elixirs - potions by any other name - and the materials needed to brew them up. They're also open all night.

You see no reason not to leave a message, as long as some sensible precautions are taken: being polite, for starters; using precise language so that it's clear what you're asking for; not dropping your Name just in case a sorcerer equipped to exploit it is the one who checks the machine; that sort of thing. You do so, leaving the hotel's number and "Mister Harris in Room 10-4" as your contact info. That's about as safe as you can make yourself in this situation, without coming across as paranoid or a jerk.

Gained Guarded F

You're in the middle of dialling a fourth shop when Lu-sensei calls out to you and Cordelia that it's time to go. Glancing at the clock, you are surprised to see that it's five to five. Five minutes on foot is barely enough time to get anywhere, especially with Tokyo's late afternoon/early evening traffic. Where in the world did they schedule this match?

Donning your shoes and following your teacher, you quickly learn the answer. Lu-sensei leads you down to the third floor, where the hotel's gym is located. There, you find about thirty men and women, ranging from just shy of twenty to Lu-sensei's distinguished age, plus a handful of teens and kids. There are also five of the tournament officials, one of whom has his arm in a sling, while another bears a spectacular shiner. You don't recognize any of the faces in the small crowd, but from the measuring looks and murmurs that greet your little band's arrival, most of them seem to know who you are.

The officials waste no time, calling out four numbers and directing the men and women who match them towards a pair of regulation-sized mats that have been laid out. Lu-sensei is not among those called up, so you have a chance to observe - but likely only a chance, if the progression of skill you've previously noted between the different age categories holds true.

As the first four fighters take their places, you quickly bring up your much-used set of visual enhancements. Looking at the quartet, you see strong, well-controlled auras that are intense enough to be just a little bit painful to your augmented eyes - sort of like staring into a particularly bright lightbulb. Glancing about the room, you find more of the same, enough powerful spirits housed in superbly-conditioned bodies to generate a wealth of life-force even when at rest. It's intense enough that your eyes start to water, and you have to look away, but you are able to note that the majority of the fighters here are pure ki adepts. You spot a couple of auras that are similar to Kasumi's or Ayane's, hinting at training and fighting styles that mix ki and mana, but nothing like a full-fledged magic-user's. A little disappointed, you bring your attention back to the mats and, on a whim, decide to watch the pair on the left - a grey-haired, traditionally-dressed older man who looks like he was carved out of a mountain somewhere, and a tall, curvy sort of woman in her mid-twenties, who wears motorcycle leathers and has her mid-length hair tied up in a messy bun.

When the fight begins, the pair bow and spend the next solid minute doing nothing except observing each other and maneuvering slightly, while their auras shift and pulse in a dizzying display that you simply can't follow. You glance quickly to the other ring a couple of times, seeing that the two men there are doing much the same thing. Then somebody moves - and a dizzying, terrifying eternity later, the grey-haired boulder of a man is standing just off the mat, looking a bit sheepish for an instant before he bows to the younger woman that just forced him out. It happened too fast for you to be sure of anything except that there was definitely a throw involved, and that - from the way she's shifting her right arm - the win wasn't without some cost. You check the digital clock on the wall and are bewildered to find that the actual "fight" portion of the bout lasted just over thirty seconds. Hearing a referee count off "Eight," you look at the other ring and see its occupants in the middle of a pin which ends in a full ten-count two seconds later.

You make a mental note: master-level martial artists are scary fast.

Lu-sensei's number is one of those called next, and as a loyal student, you watch his match closely. He's paired off against a casually-dressed middle-aged man with a slightly-receded hairline, who doesn't look a thing like a martial artist until you stop to consider how he holds himself, how he walks, and his tough, calloused hands. Bows are exchanged, the referee barks "Fight!" - and as with the first two matches, your teacher and his opponent spend a good period just studying each other, before abruptly pulling out a confounding flurry of blow, counter-blow, block, guard-breaker, evasion, grab, holdbreaker... and then with a move that's half-throw, half-bodyslam, Lu-sensei drops the younger man on the mat, his legs coming down just far enough out of bounds for the match to be called.

The remaining matches in this bracket proceed in much the same fashion. Nobody pulls out a spell or a ki-blast or even a flaring aura - they don't need them, and you can't see how they'd have the time to complete such techniques even if they were necessary. These men and women are just that good. And this is just the preliminaries, when they're almost guaranteed to be holding back their full strength and best moves.

You amend your earlier mental note: master-level martial artists are scary.

In the end, Lu-sensei is one of the qualifying finalists. Also confirmed are the biker woman, a traditionally-dressed man in his late twenties or early thirties who has messy hair and a very neat mustache, and another fellow who, like your teacher, is going with the "old master" look. The main difference is that he's got the long white hair and beard thing going for him, where Lu-sensei is as bald as an egg and has no facial hair to speak of.

For better or worse, you learned nothing new about magic from watching these fights. The time and energy spent wasn't a complete loss, though, as you've puzzled out a bit more of just how the masters keep their downright terrifying auras and combative prowess concealed when they aren't needed. Those are certainly useful things for you to know. You also picked up a bit about keeping your attention on one subject at a time, although that was a lot easier to do when the "subjects" in question were so interesting.

Gained Concentration F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Ki Concealment F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Strength Concealment F

"Well," your master says as he comes back to you, "that was bracing."

Indeed, after four fights that were the next best thing to back-to-back, Lu-sensei does look like he just got in a good walk - enough to get him breathing harder than normal. There are some signs that it wasn't quite that simple, mostly in how your master discreetly rubs his side where his third opponent got in a good shot, or how he's holding his left arm a bit gingerly, after narrowly breaking out of a hold that could have cost him the fourth match.

"All things considered," Lu-sensei continues, "I believe I could do with a shower, a light meal, and then calling it a night early. Does that sound alright to the two of you?"

"I might stay up for a bit," Cordelia replies, "depending on what's on TV, but yeah, I could do with a quiet night in. What about you, Alex?"

Well, what about you?

Though you have a number of potential options for how to spend the remainder of the evening, it never really occurs to you that there could be any choice other than hanging out with your friends. Hunting for reagents and potential mana restoratives can take a back seat for a few hours, while you join Cordelia and Briar in seeing what the local networks have to offer in the way of entertainment. And don't hotels like this have pay-per-view? There's got to be a screwball comedy available for you and the girls to unwind watching.
"TV sounds good to me," you say, in complete agreement with Cordelia's suggestion.

She smiles.

Over the forty minutes or so that Lu-sensei spends cleaning himself up and ordering a room-service dinner for two people and a fairy - you yourself not being terribly hungry after that hearty late lunch - the rest of your group collectively kicks back on the couch, while Cordelia channel surfs. Weather? Boring. Sports? A couple of baseball teams you haven't heard of before had a game yesterday; from the clips you see, they aren't too bad. Local news? Oh, goodie, the bombing of the tournament is the top story; you half-expect Cordy to change the channel, but aren't terribly surprised when she instead lowers the remote and pays close attention to the story. The media are paying close attention to what's being dubbed as an action by extremists, although no one has yet claimed responsibility or been declared suspect by the police. Not a single word of ninja or monsters passes the reporters' lips, only talk about a riot and how quick action by police officers assigned to event security prevented casualties amidst the panic. When they switch stories to talk about local politics, Cordelia changes the channel again, and you spend the next fifteen minutes or so watching a Japanese game show that involves several obstacle courses designed to be physically challenging and mortally embarrassing. It's definitely not Jeopardy or the Price Is Right, but it has its moments - and you do pick up some interesting turns of phrase by listening to the hosts and the contestants.

Gained Japanese D(Plus)

Dinner arrives shortly thereafter, and you steal the remote while Cordelia heads to the kitchen. As she, Lu-sensei, and Briar eat a light meal, you manage to locate a program guide. Your room gets a number of movie channels at no extra charge, and you find a comedy on one of them - the latest Jackie Chan flick, which, after a moment's consideration, you decide to pass on. Slapstick martial arts is normally lots of fun, but it's a little too close to today's events for comfort. There's another comedy offering on a different network; while it has the dreaded "romantic" prefix, you figure you can endure ninety minutes of such by focusing on talking with the girls.

You're wrong. You're so very wrong.

You get in maybe ten minutes of chatting before the movie starts, at which point Briar and Cordelia both become almost glued to the screen, barely responding to your attempts at further discussion except to shush you. Lu-sensei shakes his head and ambles off to bed about twenty minutes in, clapping you on the shoulder and wishing you luck as he goes, while you bravely hunker down to endure the remaining seven-ninths of the film. To your absolute despair, you find yourself getting engaged by the story of a hapless, perpetually single salaryman who falls hard for a younger woman who turns out to be his boss's daughter. The protagonist spends the bulk of the movie alternating between trying to get up the courage to ask the pretty, outgoing girl of his dreams on a date despite the difference in their ages, and imagining how her hard-nosed father will react when he learns that a suboordinate he has no respect for is making eyes at his little princess. This leads to a lot of the hero making a fool of himself trying to act like a hip younger man to impress the girl, while undertaking reckless tasks at work to impress the boss, plus several increasingly outlandish dream sequences where the boss discovers the would-be love affair and either fires his employee, literally buries him under improbable amounts of paperwork, calls in the yakuza to teach him a lesson, or reveals himself as an oni - uh-oh - to truly make his existence hell. There's also a couple of sub-plots, involving the hero's female friend and co-worker who has an unrequited crush on him, and an up-and-coming young executive that the boss favors and is angling to engage his daughter to. In the end, the salaryman learns that the girl actually likes older men, particularly nervous ones like him - they remind her of her father, who isn't nearly so confident in private as he tries to appear in public. The office lady best friend discovers this and starts dating the boss about halfway through, prompting more shenanigans as they try to hide the relationship from the other characters, who inevitably find out - while the protagonist is stunned, the daughter is thrilled, feeling that her father has been alone for far too long since her mother passed on.

Much to your own shock, you watch the entire movie from start to finish, and find that... it isn't that bad. You're pretty sure you miss some of the jokes, based as they are on Japanese culture, and there are probably all kinds of references you're missing for the same reason, but the plot is coherent, the humor you do spot is genuinely amusing - the running gag of the young executive being the perpetual straight man who keeps narrowly-missing all the sillyness going on around him tickles your funnybone for some reason - and the ending is oddly nice. Kind of a warm and fuzzy... and you're going to drop that line of thought right now.

When the movie ends, Cordelia and Briar thank you for watching with them, and cheerfully suggest that if you enjoyed this film, there are a number of titles you should take the time to watch when you get home.

Gained King of Women E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

On that note, you hurry off to bed. It's not even eight o'clock yet, but after everything that's happened to day, you really want to sleep. Before you close your eyes, you take a moment to examine the shielding spell you wove this morning. It turns out to look a bit stressed, probably the result of your brief use of Maximum Power during the fight in the private box, but the spell is still intact and functional. You spend a little of the mana you recuperated while watching the movie to shore up your defenses, then call it a night.

Gained Abjuration E
Gained Enchantment F
Gained Mental Defense F(Plus)(Plus)

At some point in the night, you rise from hours of deep, dreamless slumber to a dreaming state, wherein you note a vaguely familiar presence. It seems mildly frustrated by something.

Mentally grumbling, you set aside your initial impulses to shoo away the source of this disturbance and try to clear your thoughts. Although your skills at controlling your unconscious mind are best described as feeble, the magical trap that you laid out earlier helps significantly, creating a hazy but stable mindscape of pale, rainbow mists drifting over a crystalline-tiled floor that hangs in a dark void, where you are able to function with something that approaches coherent thought. Once you're as... aware as you're likely to get, you reassess the situation and realize that your uninvited guest has returned, and run afoul of your prepared defenses. Checking on the magic, you find that the spell is weaker than it was when you closed your eyes; whoever she is, the girl knows enough about dreamwalking to put up a good fight against your novice-level mind-magic. She'd likely have broken free on her own, given some time. Now that you're aware of the intrusion and able to take a hand in the defense... well. How best to go about this?

Your first thought is to come up with something silly to throw the girl off her guard, like inviting her to a tea party. Then you think again, drag that notion out of the dark corner that spawned it, and subject the whole thing to incendiary brain-bleach. You must still be under the dread influence of that romantic comedy to have considered something so... girlie. You shudder. Besides, your dreamwalking isn't nearly good enough to start consciously shaping this nebulous world on a whim like that, and the defense spell isn't flexible enough to provide for you.

So instead, you adapt the original idea of unbalancing the intruder, clear your throat, and speak to the misty darkness. "There is nothing wrong with your dreamwalk. Do not attempt to alter your path. I am controlling your course."

Somewhere in the glowing shadows, a young female voice goes, "Eeep."

"I control the horizontal, and the vertical. I can deluge you with a thousand memories, or expand one single image to crystal clarity, and beyond."

Interestingly, the mental plane around you shifts slightly as you speak. When you utter the word "horizontal," the subconscious reality momentarily expands outwards to what appears to be infinity, but only to your right and left - and an instant later, it collapses back to its original dimensions. When you then say "vertical," everything seems to stretch upwards and downwards for a very unsettling blink of an eye, before once more reverting to normal. Your mention of a thousand memories causes a legion of images to appear throughout the mists, in the empty sky, and even beneath the transparent floor, like windows opening on a computer screen, too many and too crowded for any sense to be made of their contents. And when you speak of expanding a single image...

...the Beast's savage visage emerges from the chaos, growing closer and larger, gaining lifelike detail and frightful realism less than a second. Were you so inclined, you could count the needle-like bristles of its fiery mane.

"Yeeek!"

"I can shape your vision to anything my imagination can conceive."

The Beast growls, a cloud of smoke and cinders rolling from its blazing snout and fanged maw.

"Okay, okay! I surrender!"

Gained Acting F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Cool F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Dreamwalking F(Plus)
Gained Intimidating C(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Threat F(Plus)
Gained Totem of the Raging Boar E(Plus)
Gained Totemic Knowledge F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Words of Power F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

The odd compliance of the dream-realm flickers out, the Beast vanishing in a blur as an almost ridiculously adorable little girl stumbles into view, kneeling on the floor and staring up at you. Looking at her is kind of like viewing a weird reversed image of yourself. You're a boy; she's a girl. You're big and tall; she's a tiny wisp of a person. You look several years older than you really are; she looks like a six-year-old. Your dream-self is clad in what looks like your fighting clothes; she's wearing kiddie pajamas with little crescent moons, stars, and bat-silhouettes (which incidentally does nothing to reduce the little-girl impression). You have slightly dark skin, golden brown eyes, and red-tinted hair; she is pale, has purple eyes, and blue hair.

Her eyes, incidentally, are a little teary at the edges, and her lip is quivering. If not for the fact that she's an intruder in your mind, it would be a truly devastating pout - even the purple bat-wings rising from her shoulders, currently half-wrapped protectively about her diminutive form, and rustling as they tremble along with the rest of her, do more to enhance the image of a helpless girl on the verge of crying.

"You didn't need to bring out that huge monster pig, you meanie," she accuses, driving the point home. "I was just playing."

You frown. "Really. You consider poking around in somebody else's head without an invitation... playing."

She blinks, and tilts her head to one side. "Doesn't everybody?"

Wow. Just... wow. She really seems to mean that.

You briefly close whatever it is you're using as eyes at the moment, cutting off the visual impact of the cute, and take a deep breath to help clear your head and still your stirring temper. She looks and acts like a little kid, and you tell yourself that getting mad at a child is not the answer. A part of you growls back that anger is ALWAYS the answer where mental invasions are involved, sending a slight tremor through the crystal floor of your dreamscape, but you shush it, and the faint rumbling ceases.

Gained Dreamwalking F(Plus)(Plus)

"No," you tell the girl, once more looking at her, and making your voice as firm as you can. "As a matter of fact, 'everybody' does not think that it's okay to root through other people's minds uninvited - or even at all. I certainly don't, and I can think of quite a few people who'd agree with me."

Cordelia definitely comes to mind, and you doubt Lu-sensei or Briar would care for the notion, either. Then there's the ninja; you can't imagine that people whose livelihood involves keeping secrets would have a big appreciation for dreamwalkers, telepaths, or other users of the mind arts - except for the ones on their side, of course. And even discounting the people you've met, there are characters like Professor X who preach responsibility with those kinds of powers; fictional as they are, somebody had to write them that way, which implies that the authors and editors at least accept that the philosophy exists, or would in a world where telepaths were "real."

The succubus frowns at your words, more puzzled than upset by them. "Why not?" she asks.

"At a guess? Because not everybody can do this kind of thing." You gesture around at the dreamscape.

"That's not true," she says bluntly. "All the people I know can dreamwalk! Including you!" The finger she's pointing at you ends in a little claw, kind of soft and blunt-looking despite being obviously much more than a simple nail. It's far cuter than threatening...

Succubus, you remind yourself firmly, as your resolve momentarily wavers. Probably using more aura tricks.

...but she's just so adorable...

Stop that!

"...I'm going to take a guess, and say that aside from me, all the people you know are either succubi or incubi. Am I right?"

"Nope!" she chirps, smirking triumphantly. "Daddy's a warlock. And Grandpa and Grandma are witches, and so are Auntie and Cousin Ken. And they all said that anybody can dreamwalk, so there!" And she sticks out her tongue.

"Okay, but they're all magic-users. Do you know anybody who isn't a magic-user, or who doesn't have an inborn talent for dreamwalking?"

The girl falls silent and regards you suspiciously. "...no," she finally admits.

"Most people who aren't already mixed up with the supernatural don't believe it exists," you explain. "And the ability to go for a stroll in somebody else's mind is pretty supernatural, whether they're awake or asleep."

There is a long pause.

"Let's say that I believe you, about not everybody being able to dreamwalk," the succubus says slowly. "Why does that make it a bad thing to look in on them while they sleep? I'm not trying to hurt anyone, I just like watching the stuff that they dream about."

"For starters, there's this little thing called 'privacy.' Everybody has secrets that they don't want known, and if they're dreaming about one of those secrets while you're watching... well, would you like to be in that kind of situation?"

"But I don't have to worry about that sort of problem, because I do know how to dreamwalk," she answers, completely missing the point. "I'm really good at it, too! Mama said so."

"And yet, here you are, caught by somebody who's not as good as you are," you remind her.

Her wings droop. "Yeah, well... you cheated. With magic. You... magic cheater."

"Which brings up my next point," you continue. "What would you have done if those spells I set up weren't so nice? What if, instead of just holding you here, they were meant to attack you? Or what if you ran into another very good dreamwalker who decided to sic something like my giant flaming Beast on you? For that matter, what if you poked into an ordinary person's mind and saw something you really, really didn't want to see?"

She doesn't appear to have a ready answer for any of those questions. Mostly, she just trembles nervously, looking like a helpless, harmless, adorable... damn it, that allure really is insidious, isn't it? Good thing she's just a brat, or you might be in trouble.

Gained Allure (?) F(Plus)
Gained Mental Defense F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

Well, now what?

"Look we don't know each other. And you're right to be careful about believing what a stranger like me says. With that in mind, I think you should talk to your parents about this before you go dreamwalking again. If they agree with me, great, if not... well, we can argue about it."

She perks up. "Does that mean you're going to let me go?"

"Almost. I just have three things I'd like to ask first, if that's okay with you." You're careful not to make that statement sound too much like a question itself, just in case she suddenly gets sneaky.

"...do you promise?" the girl asks very seriously.

"I do."

"Okay, then. What do you want to know?"

"Well, first of all... who are you?"

She blinks, and then blushes. "Oh, um, right. My name's Kurono Kurumu! Nice to meet you, Alex!"

"...yeah, you too," you reply blandly. You're not surprised that she knows your name, and you don't stop to correct her on her familiar usage of it. "Right, then; second question. Why did you decide to visit my dreams?"

"Because you were the most interesting boy close to my age in the tournament, silly. And interesting people always have interesting dreams!"

You are tempted to ask why she didn't dreamwalk one of the girls, but that would count as your third question, and it's not nearly as important as what you actually want to ask. Besides, the answer would probably be something like, "Because you're a boy."

"I'll take your word for that. The last thing I want to ask isn't a question, so much as a request."

"Yes?"

"Would you mind terribly getting rid of that?" You point up into the dark sky of the dreamscape, where an odd glyph of purple and pale blue has been hanging all this time, the only persistent object in the blackness aside from the mist-wreathed floor. "It's... distracting." And girlie, you don't add, even though it really is - and you never thought that you'd say that about a magical symbol.

Kurumu pouts. "Do I have to? I might not be able to find you again without it!"

"That's kind of the idea," you say dryly. "I'm a magic-user; if I don't get a good night's sleep, I can't use as much magic the next day, and recent events have made it clear that could be very bad for my health. If you don't believe me, ask your father."

The tiny girl heaves a great big sigh. "Fine."

And with a wave of her little clawed hand, the mark disappears.

"Can I go now?" she whines.

"Sure." You make a gesture of your own, opening a door of sorts in the structure of your defensive spells. It manifests within the dreamscape in a manner very similar to the dimension door you used in the arena today, probably a result of that image being fairly fresh in your memory, and appropriate for your mysterious, otherworldly surroundings.

Kurumu wastes no time, and runs for the door. Once she's safely on the other side, she pauses and looks back at you, smiling and waving. "Bye-bye, Alex. Hope to see you again sometime!"

In response, you close the door.

Gained Dreamwalking F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

Once your uninvited visitor is gone, you stop to check on the state of your defensive spell. It was only intended as a one-time effect when you cast it, and now that it's been called upon, the matrix is showing signs of being ready to unravel. It won't last the night, and it might not make it through the hour. While you normally cannot cast spells in your sleep, your presence in a dreamscape and the pre-existing framework of this spell would allow you to bend the rules this time, if you wish to.

Do you?

You decide that you're not quite ready to try sleeping with an unshielded mind again. While Kurumu didn't seem like she was all that bad a person, she's already tried to spy on your dreams twice and been less than apologetic about it when she got caught. And she's a kid, who's just been told that she can't play with that new toy - speaking as a kid, you have good reason to know that normal people your age almost never take that sort of thing well. And that's for the kids who can't fly, enter the dream-realm, or mesmerize others.

So, yeah. Shoring up the defensive spell for the rest of the night sounds like a good idea. As you proceed to infuse more mana into the wavering construct, you're careful to do so as slowly as you can manage, without the spell collapsing around you. Although it takes longer - almost a quarter of an hour, you'd estimate - this approach puts much less strain on your reserves, allowing you to preserve the greater part of your mana regeneration. It's only a percentage point or so either way, but more is more.

Gained Abjuration E(Plus)
Gained Enchantment F(Plus)
Gained Mage Sense F(Plus)
Gained Mana Control E(Plus)
Gained Mana Recovery F(Plus)

Giving the ward a final once-over, you nod in satisfaction and step back into the deeper mists of the dreamscape, allowing it to fade away around you as you sink back into slumber...

...wait, what's that?

In the darkness that represents your unconscious mind, you can see a faint light. It doesn't look like the dreamscape you just left, and it doesn't have the feel of Kurumu's presence.

The light is very shiny, but you don't know enough about the dream-realm to have even the slightest clue of what it might be - and more importantly, you're aware of this weakness. This makes you understandably cautious about allowing yourself to fall/fly in the light's direction, or about applying too much energy into a more sensible observation-at-a-distance.

Instead, you try to will yourself to stop falling - which results in a somewhat slower, but still ongoing descent towards the waiting darkness of true sleep - and focus your senses on the light, hoping to glean some information. After drifting steadily downwards for another minute or so, senses fixed on the distant point of light, you've learned that the light shifts and flashes irregularly, as if there were something moving around randomly in front of the source of the illumination. It's too far away to see what that "something" might be.

You consider your options. Dreamwalking is your weakest skill, but has the distinct advantage that it will actually work in this place, and doesn't appear to cost you any precious reserves of energy. You have proof that at least some types of magic will also work, but you're not sure if that applies to all the different schools, and you're reluctant to spend more of your just-recovered mana. Finally, there's ki, whose potential in the dreaming darkness is a mystery; you can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work here, but you have no proof that it will, either.

After a moment's consideration, you decide to go with the dreamwalking. It will cost you nothing to make the attempt, and if it fails, you can always move on to ki and magic in turn, assuming you haven't hit bottom by then - so to speak. On that note, you've been falling for a while now, yet you don't feel any more tired. Maybe the focus on your new task is keeping you aware?

Focusing your thoughts, you try to shape the dreaming darkness to suit your will. You wish to see what that light is, or represents, without drawing too close or otherwise giving yourself away. You seek the maximum amount of information, at the minimum amount of peril, and you will have it. This is your mind, your dream; you are in control...

...

Interesting.

The good news is, your attempt worked. You can sense the source of the light for what it is, if not entirely clearly.

Gained Concentration E
Gained Dreamwalking E

The average news is that the "light" is one of your dreams of your previous incarnations. Even at this distance, you can feel the familiar mix of dark power, a fierce hunger for battle, and frustrated anger, though the sensation is a bit fuzzy around the edges. It might be the distance, or it might be something else; you'd need to look closer to be sure, and you're wary of doing that, because there is something about this dream that feels very different from those that have come before. If you had to pick a word, you'd say this one felt... intent. Watchful. Almost... aware.

That's definitely the bad news.

The idea of leaving a semi-sentient thing to drift about in the depths of your semi-conscious mind is in no way a pleasant or appealing one. However, the thought of risking a confrontation with whatever-it-is, when your ability to navigate, manipulate, and - perhaps most critically - understand the dream-realm is still so new and uncertain, strikes you as an even worse option. Besides, if this thing is here now, odds are it's been present for some time, and since it's not done you any harm yet, you can afford to leave it be a while longer - right?

Not entirely reassured by that somewhat shaky reasoning, you abandon your scans and let yourself fall. You keep a wary eye on the distant light as you descend, but it grows dimmer and more distant, eventually fading from view.

Shortly after that, you are asleep.

And for the first time in quite a while, you do not dream.

When you awaken the next morning, it's still dark. A bleary-eyed search for the clock reveals the time to be 5:18 am. You'd say that was too early to get up, but given that you were in bed by eight last night, it sounds just about right. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you take stock of your condition. Your ki reserves have once again maxed out, and your mana reserves are up to 37% of maximum. Running the numbers, you conclude that if you use absolutely no magic today, you'll be very close to full strength when you get up tomorrow morning - close enough for a couple hours of normal activity to top off the tanks. Speaking of magic, your mind-shielding enchantment is still intact, though very run-down. You're glad that you recharged the spell while you were in the dreamscape, because if the magic is this weak now, after getting that boost, there's no way it would have held together this long on its own.

You take several minutes to study the spell in detail, trying to determine if someone disturbed it after your encounter with the little succubus. There's no sign that the trap was tripped a second time, which is a fair sign that Kurumu heeded your request and left your dreams alone after you showed her the door... although it's not absolute proof. For all you know, the little bat-winged bluenette may have hung around in the ether outside of your dream trying to find a way back in, only giving up and going on her way when your defenses foiled her efforts.

Shaking your head, you consider the question of defending your mind. As it stands, your current spell will last for a few more hours, though you doubt it'll reach mid-morning - it certainly won't endure to noon, let alone tonight. The spell isn't designed to be "recharged" like you did, and it won't hold together if you do so a second time. That said, there's nothing forcing you to recast the spell now, or even later in the day.

With the question of protecting your mind settled, you consider what you ought to do next, so early in the morning. You feel too well-rested to go back to sleep, although laying about snoozing is certainly an option. Briar is once again sleeping in her makeshift bed on the nightstand; you recall that the "familiar pocket" you created yesterday afternoon would have faded after a few hours, probably right around the time you were all watching that movie. Getting up with a half-hearted groan, you shamble to the door and look out into the hall. The door to Cordy's room is still closed. Lu-sensei's door is open, but the room beyond is dark, and you don't see or hear any indication that he's somewhere else in the suite getting an early start on the day.

Since you don't really want to disturb your companions while they're all still in bed, you decide to do something quiet, like reading. You brought one of the books that Lu-sensei assigned for you to read as part of your studies on meditation along for this trip, and as it happens, this volume also devotes a few chapters to the subject of dreams. You hadn't given that section much credence before, but recent events have compelled you to reconsider your stance on the subject matter - and since you've got some free time, why not refresh your memory on what the author had to say?

You spend most of the next two hours sitting on the couch in the living room, one table-lamp turned on and your nose buried in the pages. The topic of dreamwalking isn't mentioned at all - which comes as no great surprise - but the book does devote some time to lucid dreaming, which from your understanding is something of a non-mystical precursor to the more potent technique. There is also discussion about the interpretation of one's dreams, though from a purely psychological standpoint as opposed to a potentially prophetic one. While the subject matter is both interesting and pertinent to your current situation, you have some trouble grasping the words and the concepts behind them. This is the most recent and advanced of the books Lu-sensei's loaned to you, and in all honesty, if not for your recent experiences in the realm of the subconscious, you'd be having a lot of trouble following it. As it stands, you just have a moderate amount of trouble.

Gained Literacy F

The sun has been up for a while before you detect sounds of movement from the bedrooms. Briar is the first to appear, zipping out through the door you considerately left open behind you with an unusual amount of haste for having just woken up. As soon as she catches sight of you, she stops, hovering for a moment with a barely-audible sigh of relief, before coming forward at a more reasonable pace to settle on the back of the couch above you.

"Morning, Alex," she says, as if there was nothing unusual about her previous behavior.

"Good morning, Briar," you reply in kind. "Did you rest well?"

"Pretty well. I'm a long way from being up to full strength, but I can manage some simple spells today if we need them." She gives you a look. "Though I really hope we won't need them."

"Likewise," you admit.

Lu-sensei appears from his room then, fixing the ties on his shirt. He blinks when he catches sight of you, and then again after he glances down and sees the title of the book you've been reading.

"Good morning, Lu-sensei," you say.

"Good morning, Alex. Is there anything of particular interest or urgency behind your unusually deep choice of morning reading material, or am I just getting paranoid in my old age?"

Briar does a double-take, and then regards you intently.

"You're not paranoid, Sensei," you say, before setting aside your book and launching into an account of your recent experiences in dreamland. You begin by explaining your encounter with the "invisible giggling girl" two nights ago, and how you and Briar responded to the incident, then follow-up with last night's encounter, your success in getting Kurumu to remove her mark on your aura and leave your dream in peace, and your unsettling discovery and subsequent avoidance of the strange presence in your unconscious.

In the course of your narrative, Briar facepalms and gets out her wand, proceeding to give you another mental and spiritual examination. Lu-sensei responds by muttering something about "too precocious by half" under his breath and settling into the vacant chair.

When you finish, your teacher asks, "And what is Briar's response to all this?"

The fairy replies, "As far as I can tell, Alex, you're completely clear. The girl didn't leave anything behind. I also can't find anything to account for this dream-presence. I'm honestly not sure what's going on there. Dreams aren't really my thing, and I don't remember ever hearing that they were Ganon's, either."

You repeat this for your master. He nods, not looking terribly surprised.

"I have to admit that dreams are not my area of expertise, either. That said, I do know a few people back in California who might be helpful. With your agreement, I'll get in touch with them once we've returned." The old man regards you keenly. "I must warn you, though, Alex; there is a very good possibility that finding the answers for this particular problem will ultimately require you to reveal your history to at least one other person. Not right away, certainly, but eventually. And if any of the people I have in mind can help you, they'll expect some form of compensation - money for certain, quite likely time and effort for additional training, and possibly even a favor somewhere down the road. Are you willing to accept that?"

"Before you answer, Alex," Briar interrupts, drawing your attention and, by extension, Lu-sensei's, "I can offer an alternative. I may not know what this thing in your dreams is, but now that I know it's there, I have other methods I can use that I didn't think were needed before. On top of that, we can change the focus of your lessons, and concentrate on raising your understanding of mind-magic and mental defense in general, so that you're better-prepared to face whatever it is. And if you manage to get in contact with Faerie, I know where to look for additional help - though that's in the future for now."

"That is certainly an option," Lu-sensei says calmly, after you've caught him up on Briar's offer. "And it has the distinct advantage of keeping your secrets... well, secret. I imagine it will take some time to advance your skills, though, and I can't see them catching up to individuals who have spent decades studying the workings of the mind any time soon."

Briar grimaces, but nods.

"So, lad, the question is; which choice do you prefer?"

You sigh. "I appreciate the offer, Lu-sensei, but considering my resources at the moment, and the risks you've mentioned before if the wrong people find out about me, I think I'm going to have to go with Briar on this one."

Gained new Priority: Me, My Dream Self, and Briar

Your master nods, not appearing the least bit upset by your decision. "I had a feeling that you might say that, Alex. You have managed well for yourself thus far under Briar's guidance, and I see no reason to doubt either of you. But if you decide to seek additional aid at a later time, my offer will remain open."

"Thank you, Sensei."

The thought occurs to you that, while you have him here, you ought to talk to your teacher about your ability to view souls, as Shiden suggested the other day. Briar, however, is intent on getting you started on your new study program - and the memory of what you found and fled from in your dream last night is still fresh enough that you can't really object to her enthusiasm. Briar starts out with a review of what you've learned on the relevant subjects, whether from her, Lu-sensei, your recollections of Ganondorf's life, or by chance; it's a fairly broad subject, and you'll probably need a week or two to cover everything to the fairy's satisfaction before she gets started on the new stuff.

While the two of you talk, Lu-sensei calls up room service, ordering breakfast for three. It arrives within ten minutes, prompting a slowdown in the review as you and Briar eat up. Either the scent of fresh-cooked bacon and waffles or the sound of eating must reach Cordelia's room, because she makes her entrance not long after that, and settles down to join the rest of you at the dining room table. After the meal, Lu-sensei advises you both that he has a set of matches scheduled to take place in the hotel gym starting at eight-thirty; since there will only be seven matches, involving the finalists you saw last night and those from another bracket, he estimates that the whole affair should be over within half an hour. The next set of bouts are set to be held in a local dojo, at 11:00, and the third and final round will be held this afternoon, though the exact time and location are apparently still to be determined.

"Aside from that," Lu-sensei concludes, "and Alex's training date with Miss Ayane, the rest of the day is clear. What would you two like to do with the time available this morning?"

You and Cordelia trade glances.

"When I was looking up websites last night," you say, "I noticed that, other than the places that were open around the clock, they seemed to open fairly late in the morning - like ten o'clock."

Cordelia frowns. "Really?"

"Really. Now, it might just be the weird speciality shops that do that, but if the regular places do as well... I was thinking it might be better to do some sightseeing first, and shop later when the stores are actually open."

"Oh, sure, be all logical..." Cordy sighs. "I suppose you have some place in mind to visit after Lu-sensei's won his matches?"

"I was thinking we could visit that shrine he suggested the other day. It's not too far - maybe ten minutes by bus, depending on the traffic. Sensei has his matches, maybe takes a shower afterwards, we catch a bus to the shrine's neighborhood and spend half an hour, forty-five minutes there, and we still have half an hour or more to get to the dojo where they're holding the second round."

Cordelia and Lu-sensei study your map, and trade glances. Finally, Cordelia nods. "Fine. We'll do that."

Gained Tactics F(Plus)

"I'm going to go shower and get dressed," the brunette continues, getting up from her chair. "Don't leave for the fight without me."

After Cordelia is away, you turn to your teacher. "By the way, Lu-sensei, I never got a chance to talk to you about how that first meeting with the ninja went."

"It's been a busy couple of days," the old man says dryly. "And not to worry, lad; Master Shiden gave me the Cliff's Notes version while you were snoozing in the safehouse."

Ah. Responsible adults in action.

"I can't actually perceive souls myself," your master continues. "Life-force, yes, but I've always been more inclined to the physical and philosophical aspects of the art than the spiritual. Fortunately, my master was a more well-rounded practitioner, and he made sure to drum the necessary lessons into my head, in case I ever happened upon a student with that particular talent. I'll have to go through his journals when we get back to Sunnydale to refresh my memory on some of the finer details, but I believe we can handle this particular issue as part of your usual training. In the meantime," he adds sternly, "don't go peeking into people's souls if you have any choice in the matter. Clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

With that matter tabled for the time being, Briar resumes her review, which continues even when you withdraw to your room to get dressed for the day. Not long after that, you join Cordelia in following Lu-sensei back to the gym, where a somewhat smaller crowd has-

"Hey, kids!" the unmistakeable voice of Sakaki Shio booms. "Miss me?"

The young Brawling Master is standing near the woman in biker leathers, grinning as he waves one huge hand at you. He looks a bit scruffier around the edges than he did before yesterday's melee, with a thick bandage wrapped about his midsection.

In response to your remark, Sakaki throws his head back and laughs loudly. "Ain't that the truth!"

"Now, now, Shio," the really quite beautiful woman at his side says, smiling softly as she pokes the big man in the shoulder. "Don't got making it sound like something to be proud of. Especially not around impressionable young minds."

Sakaki waves it off. "Ah, it's fine. From what I've seen and heard, the kid has a pretty good sense of how not to break things. And the tournament masters did decide to cut me from the lineup for breaking the rules," he adds, with some annoyance. "Ah, well. Not like I'm the only one who got the boot this time around."

"Oh? Does that mean Akira won't be fighting, either?" The woman sighs. "I was looking forward to seeing him again, too."

Sakaki mutters something under his breath and clenches one fist, suddenly emanating an aura of despair and doom.

"So, Mister Sakaki," you say quickly, raising your ki a little to ward off the wave of terror, "are you going to introduce us?"

"Huh? Oh, cra-" He breaks off as the woman's eyes cut to him, and finishes with a lame, "Crud." Sakaki clears his throat, looking a bit embarrassed. "Right, where are my manners? Everybody, this is my sister, Sakaki Keiko. Sis, this is Master Lu Tze and two of his students, Cordelia Chase and Alexander Harris."

She smiles, dazzlingly. "It's a pleasure."

"Ah, er... likewise," Lu-sensei says, sounding a little stunned. You don't blame him; you're having trouble finding your own voice, and even Cordy seems a little tongue-tied. Miss Keiko is very, very pretty.

"You're really his sister?" Cordelia asks a moment later, visibly comparing this woman who could easily find work as a model with the scruffy brute of a man next to her.

Keiko laughs. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But yes, I really am. Look close." She reaches up and drags a protesting but unresisting Sakaki's head down slightly, holding his face next to her own for comparison. After studying the two of them side-by-side for a moment, you do start to see a resemblance. Sakaki's scar, unkempt hair, and strong, slightly bristley chin just make it hard to notice. After a moment, Keiko lets her brother go, and he straightens up and takes a step back, blushing and looking around as if to make sure nobody else saw him being handled so effortlessly.

The official in charge calls for the attention of the crowd just then, and announces the names for the first match - or rather, matches. It seems they've decided to stick with running two bouts at a time, just as they did yesterday. Time must be an issue, or maybe they're nervous about another attack? Regardless, neither Lu-sensei nor the Sakaki siblings are among those called up to fight this time. The mustachioed man you saw last night seems to be going up against a fellow of similar age, with the build of a sumo wrestler. On the other mat, a seeming young Japanese salaryman in semi-formal clothes is bowing politely to a woman whose features are neither Oriental nor Western, and who is wearing quite a lot of fancy jewelry over a rather plain white blouse and loose, knee-length skirt.

You frown at that. Why would someone good enough to reach the division finals allow so many easy handholds in their wardrobe?

Quickly casting the simple spell of divination that's been so helpful to you in this tournament, you fix your attention on the three fighters entering the "rings" that you didn't see at last night's matches. The sumo-esque man doesn't register to your spell, but to your surprise, you get a faint result from the guy that looks like a salaryman. It's quite badly shielded, actually, suggesting that whatever magical potential this man possesses is either very minor in nature, or hasn't even been tapped - but the mystery of this gentleman's capabilities fades into insignificance in light of the fact that the woman with the jewelry glows like a small sun to your spell-enhanced eyes.

You take a quick look at the rest of the crowd, and spot two more magical auras in the group: one is an elderly lady dressed quite similarly to the young woman currently in the ring; and the other, standing well apart from the old woman, is a well-coiffed man of indeterminate age, clad in a formal suit that is quite out of place in this gathering. Mentally marking those two for later observation, you bring your attention back to the imminent match.

Mana thrums in your veins as you cast two spells in quick succession. First is a modified spell of haste, its energies shifted slightly towards mental and sensory enhancement over physical acceleration. On the heels of that one, you cast a more potent divination spell that will enable you to precisely and quickly analyze the woman's magic. Finally, you call up your ki, trying to further boost your faculties so that you have a chance of following a fight between masters. As the various enhancements take hold, the world around you actually appears to slow down - slightly. There's even a slight drawing-out of the chief official's voice as he proclaims the start of the matches.

Gained Augmentation D(Plus)
Gained Divination D(Plus)
Gained Ki Control D
Gained Mage Sight E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

As happened last night, the competitors don't immediately attack each other, instead spending the first minute or so sizing each other up, considering moves and counter-moves, and slowly maneuvering around one another. You spend this time assessing the aura of the woman with all the jewelry, which shows strong elements of divination, enchantment, and illusion, lesser traces of abjuration, augmentation, and transformation, and faint hints of the other schools of magic. None of her adornments are enchanted - which makes sense, since that would be a violation of the tournament rules - but as you watch, her aura begins to move into and through them. Focuses, then, each one most likely optimized to channel a specific type of energy in a certain pattern - at most, a small group of patterns. Although the enchantress has sufficient control over her power to hide much of what she's doing from your eyes, her rings, bangles, and other accoutrements don't have that capability; indeed, the energy within them cannot deviate from its predetermined patterns, or else the items will, at best, not function, and at worst, might destroy themselves. While you cannot see what might be happening within the bands of gold and silver and the glowing stones set into them, and lack the experience to decipher the networks of light that you can see on the surface, you do get some valuable tips towards creating magical items of your own someday.

Gained Item Crafting F

It's the woman who makes the first move of the fight, and her "attack" is, as her aura would suggest, a mix of enchantment and illusion. A dozen wavering images of her appear all over the ring, surrounding her opponent - fairly obvious decoys to the audience, but evidently much more real and threatening to the man they have enclosed. He strikes at the nearest of them, punching through its misty torso, which warps around the blow like a thick fog and takes on a new shape that suggests an arm raised to block. The man strikes four times in rapid succession, in each case reacting as if he is being blocked or evaded, and then he goes on the defensive as the crowd of feminine shadows closes in. For the next thirty or forty seconds, you witness what would be a remarkable display of perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, if not for the fact that the unfortunate fellow is quite literally boxing with shadows.

Gained Crowd Control F

The enchantress moves with her decoys, helping to preserve the illusion by blending into it - she takes a kick at one point as a result of that decision, but counters it with a foot sweep that topples her opponent, who is swarmed by the illusions before he can rise. One is knocked away, another "tripped" in turn, but the man's struggles grow frustrated, as if he really was being buried under sheer weight of numbers. For a moment, the referee doesn't quite seem to know how to score this, but when the woman gives him a meaningful look and nods at the pile of sorcerous smoke, he starts a count. Ten seconds later - seventy since the casting of that complex spell, a hundred and thirty since the match began - the fight is called.
Gained Enchantment F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Illusion F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Mana Concealment F(Plus)(Plus)

As she leaves the ring, the enchantress glances at you, smiles, and raises one beringed, well-manicured finger in a gentle rebuke. Then she joins the old woman, who greets her with a warm smile, a few words of praise, and some fussing over where she got kicked. In the other ring, the man with the mustache appears to have won by pinning his larger, more obviously powerful opponent - it might have been interesting to see how he did that, but your attention was elsewhere.
More numbers are called, and Lu-sensei and Sakaki Reiko both head up - to different mats, as it happens. Your teacher's opponent is the bearded old master who you saw qualify last night, but Reiko is going up against the man in the business suit with the aura of magic. When he sees her approaching, the guy stares for a moment, and then starts to smile. It's... a rather unpleasant expression, actually.

Next to you, Mount Shio rumbles. "Watch where you're putting your eyes, slimeball."

You have to agree with Mister Sakaki's assessment. The suited man's aura is dark and dingy, heavy with enchantment, necromancy, and a streak of summoning that goes straight into the demonic spectrum. You might just be looking at your first-ever warlock. About the only saving grace you can see at this point is that, while his aura is pretty twisted, he doesn't have the level of raw power that Beryl did, and he doesn't look all that impressive physically. Reiko should be able to take him.
The match begins. Unlike the other master-level participants you've seen, the suspected warlock doesn't wait around, instead surrounding himelf with an aura of sickly yellow-green flame. Reiko takes a step back, clearly not having expected that, while the spellcaster - safe behind his dangerous defensive wall - begins casting what you recognize as a summoning spell. The creature that appears a moment later is definitely a demon, a gaunt yet muscular humanoid almost as tall as Shio, but with the head, hooves, and mangy grey hide of a goat. It is armed with a weapon that resembles a long-handled, small-bladed axe - you're pretty sure it's a halberd. At a short command from its summoner, the creature steps through the unnatural fire without a hint of pain, locks its blood-red eyes on Reiko, and throws back its head in a bellow before advancing on her, slowly spinning its weapon in an imtimidating display.

Reiko unexpectedly grins - and suddenly, her resemblance to her brother is a whole lot more obvious. Rather than wait for the demon to come to her or let it back her into a corner, the beautiful woman lets out a yell of her own and charges. While its summoner is visibly startled by this reaction, the demon itself roars in what sounds like delight, taking its weapon in both hands and swinging it around, blade first. Several members of the audience cry out at the impending bloodbath, but Reiko gets inside the demon's swing, seizes the haft of its weapon with both hands, and - wrestling against the beast for control of the thing - brings it down hard over one knee. With a crack like a gunshot, the wood gives way, leaving the bladed head of the weapon to fall to the mat. The demon immediately stabs at Reiko with the splintered back end of its ruined weapon, but her reinforced leathers appear to take the worst of it - and then she's right in the monster's face. There is an extremely savage exchange of blows, a horned headbutt that does draw blood, and then a high kick that takes the demon under the chin and knocks it off its hooves. When it comes down a moment later, its body and shattered armament both erupt into flames that consume them utterly, leaving behind only wisps of greasy smoke and dark smudges on the mat.

The warlock is still staring in shock at the burn mark where his defeated minion fell when Reiko leaps through his defensive wall of foul fire, grabs his head with both hands, and brings it down to meet the same knee she used to shatter the halberd. There is another crack, and the burning barrier abruptly winks out as the well-dressed sorcerer keels over backwards, unconscious.

"HELL YEAH!" Shio roars, triumphantly punching the air with an audible whoosh. "Way to go, Sis!"

Reiko smiles radiantly, as if her clothes and hair weren't singed and she hadn't just been gored in the right shoulder.

Gained Fire Elementalism E
Gained Summoning E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

You note that in the other ring, Lu-sensei and his opponent are still in the phase of circling one another. You're not entirely sure about the other old guy, but the way your teacher carries himself makes you think he was paying more attention to Reiko's match than his own - and the fact that he didn't get his butt kicked in the process suggests his opponent was doing the same thing. Now that it's over, however, both men turn their full attention on one another, and... whoa, you can actually follow them this time! Sort of...

...but the enchantress and Mister Mustache are entering the other ring...

Although you're tempted to observe the enchantress's next match, you suspect that if she catches you doing after she already warned you off, her second response may not be so kind as her first one was. True, you could drop the actively-probing divination spell you're currently using for a passive one, but then you wouldn't learn as much - or possibly anything at all - which would sort of defeat the purpose of watching the lady fight in the first place.

And so, you turn your attention to your teacher's fight. While you've already proven that magic isn't as good for reading ki as ki sight is, you did sort of promise Lu-sensei that you wouldn't use your ki sight until you've managed to deal with your little problem of involuntarily seeing souls - and you have serious doubts that his allowed exception for emergencies would apply here. That being said, "not as good" doesn't automatically equal "useless;" you may not learn as much, but there's still a chance you could learn something here. You cast another spell of divination, this one designed specifically to read human auras, and raise your non-visual ki sense; that ability has yet to produce any unexpected side-effects, and while it may not be as keen as your ki sight, every little bit helps.

Besides, this is a chance to see your master fight another master of equivalent age (and presumably, experience), with no distractions. How often are you going to get an opportunity like this?

Gained Filial Piety E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Honest E
Gained Warrior Born E

The official declares the match begun, and like before, the two old men spend a long period of time simply observing each other, while their auras dance around them. Between your spells and your senses, you're able to perceive the general flow of this opening phase, if not the specific moves - although you do occasionally spot one or two recognizeable shifts that tell you one of the masters was strongly considering a particular attack or defense. Keeping track of the incoming flow of information is not easy, and if Lu-sensei or his opponent had any sort of magical ability, you'd probably have overloaded by now trying to make sense of it all. As it stands...

Gained Concentration E(Plus)
Gained Ki Concealment F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Ki Sense E(Plus)
Gained Looking D(Plus)

You don't see what triggers it, but suddenly the two old men move, their auras surging forth as the fight begins in earnest. You promptly lose track of most of what their ki is doing - between their long-practiced control and concealment, the speed at which they're moving, and your own inexperience, there's simply no way for you to keep up with any but the most overt utilizations of ki. But you do see a few things. Both of the masters are enhancing their bodies for greater strength, speed, and resilience, and your own familiarity with such techniques - magical as well as martial - gives you the necessary insight to pick up a few clues on how to improve your own skills in that field. The long-haired elder seems to have some ninja training, as he's using the Body Flicker and Doppelganger techniques that you've seen before to make himself nigh-untouchable. Lu-sensei is countering that by simply ignoring the clones and punching the real target no matter where he moves - but the other master's defenses are such that he is able to dodge, turn aside, or minimize the blows. If Lu-sensei could attack just a bit faster, he might gain the advantage, but there seems to be a limit as to how often he can strike across space in a given period of time - or perhaps he's just holding back until he has his opponent's measure.

The critical thing is that, as you continue to watch Lu-sensei's technique in action, you start to glimpse hints as to how it works. Not enough to replicate the move itself, by any means, but each time the wrinkly little old man throws one of those punches, his aura spirals out from his skin, latches on to something, and bends whatever-it-is in a way that reminds you of what your dimension door did to space-time to enable you to move from point-to-point. Lu-sensei's technique is far smoother than your spell, practiced and perfected over years as opposed to your hasty, under-pressure first attempt, and through the magic-reading divination spell you still have up, you're able to see that his approach is far less stressful to space-time than yours - rather than (literally) punching a hole in the fabric of reality, your teacher is momentarily bending it so that he can do what needs to be done, then letting the whole thing go back to normal, like it wants to.

Seeing that, you begin to understand how a little old man who lacks your vast magical potential or access to an external source of power could make space-time his plaything. Finesse over brute force, patience and practice over wasteful speed, working with the universe instead of against it, using what is present in your environment to your best advantage... it's like seeing the core philosophies of the martial arts manifested in living, breathing form. And it gives you ideas.

Gained Mana Control E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Summoning D

Seeing that his direct strikes aren't working, Lu-sensei breaks off his offensive for a moment and visibly gathers his strength. His opponent has likewise given up on the ineffective Doppelgangers and begun to gather what looks like a ki blast - more powerful, better-controlled, and above all far faster than anything of its kind that you've seen before. The white-haired warrior needs only a second to accumulate the energy he needs to complete the attack - but in that second, Lu-sensei reaches out with both hands, seizes his opponent's robe, and pulls-

-and suddenly, the other old man is standing directly in front of Lu-sensei, forcibly turned off to one side so that his ki blast is released over your teacher's left shoulder to blow out a piece of the ceiling, rather than hitting Lu-sensei himself or any of the crowd. Even in the miss, you see the skill of the master who created the attack, as rather than blowing up a huge portion of the roof or boring a hole clear through the hotel, the unleashed ki dissipates in a dazzling flash of intense light and sound, leaving only a scorch mark, some cracked ceiling tiles, and a ruined light fixture in its wake. This variation of your master's technique looks like it's a lot rougher than its punching precursor, at least on the guy who gets hauled across space without warning - the white-haired elder looks distinctly dizzy after his unannounced trip, and Lu-sensei doesn't hesitate to exploit that. Short, sharp strikes to the shoulders to disable the arms. Matching strikes to the midsection, to neutralize the legs - and incidentally, drop the other guy like a sack of rice. And as the finisher, a knife-hand to the throat - pulled at the last moment.

There is a chuckle, and the fallen master concedes the match.

Gained Ki Control D(Plus)
Gained Ki Power F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

While you've been watching this, the man with the mustache has defeated the woman with the jewelry - you still don't catch their names, the officials having decided to stick with numbers for these bouts for whatever reason. Despite the wound to her arm, Reiko almost immediately proceeds into the ring to face Lu-sensei - but the two of them spend less than twenty seconds facing off before Lu-sensei's hands snap out, seizing Reiko's injured arm and giving it a very slight tug, which nonetheless causes her lovely face to turn white. Your master releases her at once.

"I think you need to get that arm looked at, young lady," Lu-sensei says, voice and expression stern.

"I think you may be right, sir," Reiko replies formally. She promptly forfeits, bows deeply to Lu-sensei, and then withdraws from the ring. Shio takes a moment to trade looks with your master before disappearing after his sister.

That leaves Lu-sensei and the guy with the mustache. Their match begins like all the rest, but when they start getting serious, the younger man seems to be on the defensive from the outset. After several probing attacks, Lu-sensei starts to press him - and that turns out to be a mistake, because the young master immediately moves to seize your teacher, and then turns Lu-sensei's attempt to rebuff him into another hold, which is only narrowly broken - and is then followed by another grab. Between this rapidly-escalating cycle and the ever-increasing expression of concentration on Lu-sensei's face, you get the strong feeling that this mustachioed man's primary focus is grappling, and that he is really, really good at it. He finally gets a hold, which turns into a close-range throw; Lu-sensei hits the mat hard, but rolls away and begins to radiate ki in a pattern that looks a bit like your haste spells. Sure enough, when he next moves, he's visibly faster than before - but then the other guy's ki surges in response, his eyes start to glow, and suddenly the grappling contest is back on.

"Is Sensei losing?" Cordelia asks, sounding stunned.

You don't answer, because it kind of looks that way.

Gained Grappling F

Somebody trips somebody, and both men go down in a tangle. Abruptly, the younger fighter lets out a grunt, his impassive expression being shaded by surprise - and suddenly Lu-sensei is free, rolling away from his opponent and then leaping halfway across the mat to get some extra space. Behind him, the other man remains on the mat, doing something involving pressure points - or perhaps undoing it. Fast as his hands are, he's not quite quick enough, taking one of Lu-sensei's long-distance blows square under the chin. Rather than a punch, it's a kick, and it lays him out on the mat, not unconscious, but stunned just long enough for the follow-up blows to disable his arms. He shifts once, twice, testing his ability to move, and then concedes the match.

Lu-sensei lets out a sigh of relief, shifts his right arm a couple of times as if the joints pain him, then goes over to help the younger man up.

Gained Combat Prowess D(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

That. Was. Awesome.

The spectacle of high-level kung fu badassery, the unexpected prowess of the opponent, the creeping doubt, the narrow escape, the reversal, the victory - wow. Just wow.It's no wonder that you find yourself running over to the edge of the mat, cheering for your teacher. In the middle of helping his defeated adversary sort out the pressure point situation, Lu-sensei blinks at you in surprise, then smiles."Thank you, Alex. Cordelia," he adds, as the brunette comes up alongside you, less noisily but not without some show of enthusiasm. "Both of you, this is Koetsuji Akisame. Master Koetsuji, these are two of my students, Alexander Harris, and Cordelia Chase.""A pleasure to meet you both," the dark-haired man says. "I had the opportunity to see your matches in the Under Tens Finals; it was well done for a first-time showing, both of you." He's addressing Cordelia as much as he is you, which is rather considerate of the man. Yeah, Cordy got knocked out in the first round, but she got through the preliminaries on pure martial arts ability - you can't say the same, even if somebody was stacking the deck against you."Thank you, sir," you and Cordelia say more or less in unison."Tell me something, Akisame," Lu-sensei says then. "Is Hayato around? I've been looking since I arrived, but I haven't seen or heard him.""Ah, I'm afraid the Elder took his granddaughter to the mainland some months ago, Master Lu. A letter usually reaches the dojo every week - Little Miu is very conscientious about keeping us updated about her adventures - but they're inevitably at least two weeks old by the time they arrive, sometimes worse, and with the way the Elder can wander when the mood takes him..." He trails off with an expressive shrug."Well, that's a bit of a disappointment. He still owes me a rematch and twenty-five hundred yen, the moocher."Akisame coughs into his fist. "The next time I see the Elder, I'll be sure to let him know that you were looking for him. Just so you know, that may be some time; we're not expecting him and Miu to return for at least another month.""And it'll likely be even longer before Hayato gets around to repaying me," Lu-sensei sighs, shaking his head. "Well, thank you all the same, Akisame. For the match as well.""Likewise, Master Lu. If you'll excuse me?"And with a final round of nods, the mustachioed man wanders off."So then," Lu-sensei says to you and Cordelia, "I believe the plan was to visit the Higurashi Shrine after this round. Shall we, then?"

There's no sense putting off until later what you can do right now, and after Lu-sensei briefly consults with one of the officials to confirm that there have been no changes to the current plan for the remainder of the tournament - there haven't - you make a detour back to your suite so that your master can clean up and make himself fit to be seen in public. Three back-to-back matches against master-level opponents definitely mussed him up. While Sensei is getting changed, you do some last-minute checking on local bus routes. As it happens, there's a stop within five minutes' walk of the hotel that has a scheduled arrival in about ten minutes' time; that bus will drop you off within a block of the Higurashi Shrine.

Your little band sets out a few minutes later, and arrives at the bus stop with time to spare. It's not quite nine o'clock, and you take note that local traffic seems fairly reasonable - there are easily as many people and vehicles moving around as you've ever seen gathered in any one place in Sunnydale, but while crowded, it's hardly like you're being crushed where you stand. Nobody gives you or Cordelia a second glance - some first looks, but you're neither the only Westerners in the predominantly Japanese crowd, nor the only kids.The bus arrives on time; Lu-sensei handles the currency, which you honestly aren't used to, and the subsequent ride is quite uneventful. A couple of stops later, you get off the bus. Normally, this is the point in the trip where you'd check your map again or inquire of a passing local for directions to the shrine, but there's no need; you can see the front gate to the place from where you stand."You could have mentioned that it was on a hill, Lu-sensei," you say absently, staring up the long stone staircase to the bright red archway."Ah, but you are on a quest, are you not, my young student? Unexpected hardships are a given, and here is one before you." He waves grandiosely at the approach to the shrine. "How shall you deal with it?"You say nothing at first, instead leaving the bus stop and heading towards the shrine. Each step brings you closer to the base of the stairs, and does nothing to make the prospect of climbing them any more appealing. The stairway is straight and well-maintained, every stone level and swept clean of debris, but you'd make its length equivalent to four full flights of the stairs at school, and it's fairly steep. You know you're in good shape, but you can feel your legs complaining at the prospect of what lies before them.From the way Cordelia scowls as she looks up the path, she has similar misgivings. "Alex, for the record, I hate you.""I kind of hate me, too, right now," you admit."You're both a couple of babies," Briar says, from your shoulder."Brave words from somebody who can just fly over these stairs as easily as she does anything else," you retort.Briar is silent for a moment, studying the place. "Honestly, Alex? I wouldn't be too sure about that."You blink, and take another look at the place. You don't see or sense anything that should make Briar talk like that, but...

Simply looking at the approach to the Higurashi Shrine reveals nothing suspicious. You cock your head at angle for a moment, listening to the background noise, and again, you don't pick up on anything that might have worried Briar: no buzzing of aggressive insects (a serious problem for a fairy); no raucous crows (another menace); no ominous chanting; and no sounds of nearby violence. Just the faint noise of local traffic, and the wind gusting lightly through the eaves of some nearby trees.

On a whim, you sniff at the air.

Gained Scenting F

Nope, nothing unusual there, at least not that you can detect. The air's a bit cleaner here than it was around the hotel, but that's easily explained by this being a residential neighborhood, removed from the commercial and industrial centers of the city and their attendant heavy traffic.Cordelia is staring at you. "What's with the bloodhound impression?""Just checking," you mumble, before resorting to your more exotic sensory methods. You start with your mage sense, and are rewarded with a certain awareness of the local energy flows. Considering how underdeveloped this skill is compared to some of your others, it's no great wonder that the information is hazy at best, but you're able to pick up a very faint sense of abjuration. Maybe there's a defensive ward on the shrine? If so, it's either very subtle or very weak - or maybe very old and worn-down. You've no way of knowing just yet. That might be what Briar was talking about, and then again, it might not.

Gained Mage Sense F(Plus)(Plus)

Best to be thorough, you decide, moving on to ki sense. This skill is better-developed, and should provide more detailed infor......
..."-lex! Alex, wake up!"You blink, and find Briar, Cordelia, and Lu-sensei all regarding you with varying degrees of concern. "Is something wrong, Cordy?""Don't you 'Cordy' me, mister!" the brunette snaps. "And yes, I'd say you zoning out for most of a minute qualifies as 'something wrong!'""...I did?""You did," Briar agrees. "Alex, what happened?""Ah, sorry, guys. I was just feeling out the environment with my ki and, well... there's something really, really, really old up there." You nod towards the top of the steps. "Not hostile or anything, but it was just so ancient... I kind of got lost."Not just ancient, but amazingly peaceful. You've never encountered anything like it in this lifetime; it's almost like the opposite of the feeling you usually get back home, that vague, skin-crawling sense of hidden menace and just plain wrongness that has been part of your existence for so long, you hardly even notice it anymore. Leaving Sunnydale showed you what the world was like away from the Hellmouth, and it was definitely a nice feeling, but this is just..."But you're okay now?" Cordelia presses.You shake off the lingering lassitude and do a quick mental inventory. Everything seems to be where it's supposed to be. "I seem to be," you reply aloud. "But I think I'll skip any more of the extrasensory stuff."Your female friend regards you for a moment, then nods abruptly. "Good. At least there's some sense in that thick head of yours."
Gained Ki Sense E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Spiritual Perception F"With that out of the way," Lu-sensei says, "what now?""Now," you reply, "we go up."And you start climbing the stairs. After a moment's pause, you hear Cordelia and Lu-sensei following you, while Briar remains in her customary spot on your shoulder.The ascent is every bit as long as hard on your legs as you expected, but at the same time, the closer you get to that great red gate, the more relaxed and refreshed you start to feel. Even with your ki sense locked down, you can feel that timeless presence growing stronger with each step you take up the long stone stair. It hasn't reacted to your presence in any way you can detect, and you have a vague but growing suspicion that it's not going to. You're merely eight years old, and you've only been here for a couple of minutes besides; if the unknown entity has been around long enough for its age to be so apparent even to your less-than-masterful spiritual senses, it probably doesn't even notice things that aren't there for at least a season. That's a bit humbling to think about, and might even be irritating if not for the accompanying aura of benevolence.You wonder, idly, if this is anything like what Ganondorf would have felt in the presence of Hyrule's various guardian spirits, had his spiritual awareness been just a bit keener. If so, it makes his actions against those entities even more heinous and tragic than you'd previously realized...Finally reaching the top of the stairs, you pause to catch your breath and inspect your surroundings. Beyond the gate is a large courtyard, with small patches of grass and trees interspersed like islands amidst the sea of flagstones that pave the area. Off to your left stands a modern-looking two-story house, no different from ones you'd seen in Sunnydale, while what appears to be the formal shrine stands directly opposite, on the right side of the grounds. There are some smaller outbuildings towards the back, and beyond them stands a wooded plot that seems to take up the bulk of the hilltop; many of the trees there look quite old, reminding you a bit of Hyrule's infamous Lost Woods. And there at the center of the courtyard, standing alone but for a barrier of rope laden with paper charms, is a positively ancient tree.The timeless presence is strong now.There doesn't appear to be anyone around.

"Am I the only one who feels that?" you ask, as your companions catch up to you.

"You mean that deep, burning ache in your calves that comes from going up too many overly hard and steep steps in a hurry?" Cordelia groans, breathing hard. "No, it's not just you.""Really, now," Lu-sensei chides while smiling, "it's not nearly that bad. Goodness, if a little hike up a staircase causes you that much discomfort, it may be time for us to look into ways to build up your stamina. Long-distance running comes to mind...""No, no, no!" Cordelia says hastily, waving her hands. "That's really not necessary, Sensei! Look, I'm fine!" And she strikes a few poses that remind you of football cheerleaders, with a particular emphasis on leg movements, all the while wearing an expression that tries to be a charming smile, but comes across as more of a pained grimace. "See?""Um, actually," you carefully interrupt, "I was asking about the aura around this place."Cordelia gives you a blank look. "You mean the one that turned you into a mindless zombie for a few seconds? Alex, did you or did you not just get through saying you weren't going to go poking at stuff with your mind again?""I'm not, I'm not! Really!" And it's completely true; you're picking up the aura through your soul, not your mind, and you're not actively seeking it out in any case. "It's just... that presence is everywhere up here. Even with my senses locked down, I can't miss it. Do you honestly not feel it?"The brunette frowns and looks around. "No," she says at length. "I really don't.""Something else we can work on in training," Lu-sensei notes. "And to answer your question, Alex, yes, I'm well aware of the aura." He says nothing more on the subject."I've been picking up on it longer than you have," Briar says then. "It's coming from that old guy, there." She points to the lone tree in the middle of the courtyard."You're sure?"She snorts. "Boy, please. I'm a fairy; the day I can't recognize a tree spirit is the day I give up my wings. Though this fellow is a lot different from the ones I've seen before," she admits, studying the ancient arbor. "...huh. Lazy old man, aren't you?"The tree doesn't respond."Not too bright, either," Briar adds, smirking. There's no real sting in her words, though. "Then again, I guess I can't really blame you for that. There's not as much wild magic floating around this world as there is in Hyrule, let alone Faerie, and it does take quite a bit of exposure over a long period of time to make a tree start talking to people.""So it's just the tree?" you ask."Well, it's mostly the tree. There's something else about this place that feels oddly familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on what..." Briar trails off, finally shaking her head in frustration. "Gah! That's going to be bugging me for the rest of the day.""Hello?" an unfamiliar voice calls out from the house. "Can I help you?"You blink. That sounds like a little girl - and when you look up, you find just such a specimen leaning out of one of the second-story windows. Very long dark hair frames a pretty face about your own age."Uh, yes," you answer. "We were curious about the shrine. Is there someone we could speak to?"She smiles brightly. "Just a minute!" And she ducks back inside.From the room behind the window - the girl's bedroom, you suppose - you subsequently hear the familiar noises of someone in a hurry tearing apart an otherwise well-ordered room, trying to find something they've misplaced. Several low exclamations escape the window, too fast and vague for you to follow, and then you hear the girl yelling down to someone else in the house - and then yelling AT somebody else, with a particular cadence that makes you think "older sister annoyed at younger brother." Not that you've ever yelled at your younger sibling, but you've heard plenty of your peers caught up on one side or the other of such familial squabbles.A youthful-looking woman emerges from the door of the house. "Please excuse us for the delay. My daughter will be happy to answer any questions you have - just as soon as she finishes getting changed."

You have a number of questions, but you see no problem in waiting politely to get them answered by the local expert. Even if she is a little girl, you're living proof that kids should not be underestimated. So is Cordy, and so are half the people you've met since you came on this trip. You do, however, take the opportunity to introduce yourself and your companions to the lady, who gives her own name as Higurashi-

"Mamaaaa!" the girl complains, once again leaning out of her window, wearing a large white top instead of the flower-patterned dress she had on before. "You're not telling them about the shrine, are you?"'Mama' smiles up at her daughter. "No, dear. I wouldn't dream of getting in the way of you keeping your promise to your grandfather like that.""Good!" And the girl ducks back inside.Chuckling warmly, the young matron turns back to your group. "Would any of you care for a drink while you wait?""I wouldn't mind a glass of water," Cordelia admits.You wouldn't, either, come to that. Lu-sensei, meanwhile, accepts an offer of tea, after which Mama slips back inside. You and Cordelia get your water promptly, while Lu-sensei is presented his tea a bit later, from the hands of the daughter herself, who's dressed up in a traditional white-and-red shrine maiden's outfit that is just a bit too big for her. You wonder for a moment if you've misjudged the girl's age, because she's shorter than Cordelia, and most of the other girls that were in your age group at the tournament. Looking a bit closer, the shape of her face makes you think your first guess was indeed off by a couple of years - but in the other direction. This girl looks more like a tiny ten-year-old than an average-sized child of six."Here you are, sir," she chirps brightly, handing Lu-sensei his tea. "I'm sorry about the wait. My name's Higurashi Kagome, and I'll be your guide to the Higurashi Shrine today!" She bows smartly, then straightens up and looks your group over.The double-take when her eyes pass over Briar is unmistakable.

You glance at Mama, who is standing in the doorway as an unspoken guardian, and winces slightly when she sees her daughter's moment of unconcealed surprise. You wonder what the woman thinks of the situation; considering that she didn't appear to react to Briar's presence, the first possibility that comes to your mind is that she believes Kagome was surprised by your features, which are more dramatically un-Japanese than those of the average Westerner, and is concerned that her daughter's reaction might paint her as a bad hostess.

Trying to act casual, and using a low voice that hopefully won't carry, you ask the gaping girl, "Never seen a fairy before?"Kagome looks at you, and silently shakes her head."Just go ahead with whatever you're supposed to say, then," you tell the girl. "We can talk afterwards."

Gained Acting E
Gained Cool E
Gained Guarded F(Plus)

Kagome nods and bows apologetically, then clears her throat and begins talking about the general history of the Higurashi Shrine. The sing-song quality of her recitation doesn't quite conceal her uncertainty, but that much is by no means out of place for a girl her age giving a speech to a bunch of complete strangers.The shrine, it seems, has been here in one form or another since before the beginning of the infamous Warring States Period, over five hundred years ago. At least two previous versions were lost to fire before the current one was built, and many records they contained were destroyed at the same time, with others succumbing to age and wear in the many decades since, so there is no way to be sure exactly when or why a shrine was first built on this location. However, tradition states that the shrine was originally built to honor the Sacred Tree - which is said to have been ancient even then - and later the so-called Bone-Eater's Well, which according to legend causes the bodies of slain monsters placed within it to mysteriously vanish. The Well is located in the building on the far side of the courtyard from the stairs and gate.The longer Kagome talks, the more sure of herself she begins to sound, as if she is drawing strength and assurance from the history that surrounds and preceeds her. You have to admit, once she's hit her stride, she makes a pretty good tour guide. You listen patiently, taking in the story, keeping one eye on Mama for an opportunity to speak - and it comes when there is another yell from inside the house. With a final look at her daughter, who waves a cheerful acknowledgement, the Higurashi matron goes back inside to see what disaster has just afflicted her younger child.Perfect - and you're clearly not the only one who thinks so, because when you turn to Kagome, she's already pointing at Briar."You're really a fairy? You're really... real?""Her name is Briar," you say. "And yes, she's as real as you are."To help the introduction along, Briar alights from her place on your shoulder and floats down to a neat landing on the small girl's hastily-raised and upturned hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Higurashi.""Pleased to meet you, too, Miss Briar," Kagome replies. After a moment, she adds a hushed, hasty, "You're really pretty.""Yes, I am," Briar agrees without shame. "But thanks for saying so. You're not bad-looking yourself, for a giant."Kagome blinks, and then giggles. "If I'm a giant," she asks, pointing at you, "then what do you call him?"Oh, that's a set-up if you've ever heard one.

"Most of the time, I call him Alex," Briar responds. You're just starting to smile when she adds, "Unless he's being an idiot. Then I just call him 'Dummy.'"

"Hey," you protest."See? He even answers to it!"There are three feminine giggles at that, and a brief cough from Lu-sensei that probably has nothing to do with congestion. Letting out one of those particular sighs that only a boy surrounded and much put-upon by girls can muster, you look around. You've already probed at the Sacred Tree, and learned that doing so is not going to let you get anything productive done. It'd be a great aid for naps, if you were a few years younger and didn't still have a lot of stuff to be getting on with for the day. Meanwhile, there's Kagome's ability to see Briar, which is grounds to believe that she has some form of supernatural talent, even if it's only untapped potential at this point. You're curious about that detail, but after being glared at once and chided another time for probing people with your enhanced senses, you decide not to try for another offense on that front. Three is often considered a number of mystical significance; you have better reason than most to think so, and are not at all keen on invoking its power against yourself.That leaves the Bone-Eater's Well as the only un-investigated object or person of interest here. As such, while the girls start to chat - Kagome just asked where Briar came from, and is getting a selective summary that runs approximately, "I came here from another world, got stuck, wandered around for a while, met Alex, and have been hanging around trying to keep him out of trouble" - you bring up your paranormal powers of perception, and aim them at the closed well-house at the back of the courtyard. You're unwilling to risk calling upon your ki sense, for fear of getting lost in the Sacred Tree's tranquil presence and scolded again, but you already know that the ancient plant doesn't register on your mage sense - or perhaps your grasp of that particular skill is too undeveloped to get a good grasp on the tree's energy. Either way, you extend your awareness into the magical spectrum, and focus.

Gained Mage Sense F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

Hm. Turns out that the Sacred Tree does have a magical aura, though it's remarkably tightly-contained for something that is not an enchanted artifact nor possessed of the consciousness to control its power; you're able to push it aside without much trouble. There's also an aura... no, make that two auras emanating from the well-house, one relatively clear, the other muted. The former matches up with the defensive warding you sensed before, if a bit stronger now that you're closer and don't have half a hillside between you and it. The power is still pretty faint, though, but you're no better-able to determine if it's a subtle spell, or a failing one. As for the second aura, you can't even tell which of the schools it aligns to; the first aura and the walls of the old shed obscure too much. Just by its presence, though, the energy implies that there is some kind of substance to the legend of the Bone-Eater's Well.For thoroughness's sake, you try to bring up your rudimentary spiritual awareness, but all that accomplishes is heightening your awareness of the Sacred Tree, and you quickly abandon the attempt.Briar has finished her monologue. Kagome appears suitably impressed."So," the small girl asks, "what brings you all here?""It was all the Dummy's idea," Cordelia says, jabbing a thumb in your general direction.Kagome's smile is far too mischievous to belong to a shrine maiden. "So you call him a dummy, too... but you're both following him?""Er," Briar hesitates."He bribed me," Cordelia says without missing a beat. "After this, and aside from a couple of appointments, I get the rest of the day for shopping.""Good bribe," the Japanese girl agrees. "And not one most boys I know would offer." She looks up at you, bright eyes searching your face for... something. "What are you looking for?"How will you explain your presence here?

Although it goes against some of your Sunnydale-born and recently ninja-honed instincts towards secrecy, you find yourself explaining the nature of your unexpected bond with Briar, and how a mutual decision to cleanse and stabilize the tie - plus a suggestion from your respected teacher - was what led your search for proper reagents to the Higurashi Shrine. Of course, you don't reveal everything of the circumstances surrounding your quest: the whole part about reincarnated demon kings and past-life experiences intruding on present time doesn't come up at all; your remarkable magical power and almost unique approach to accessing it are glossed over as "just magic," and the result of personal talent honed under Briar's guidance; and the Hellmouth and its denizens are dialled down from "always chaotic evil" to "weird."

Kagome accepts the entire tale without a peep of protest or disbelief. You're not sure if that's a sign of credibility on your part, or gullibility on hers. The presence of an actual, factual fairy nodding along with your words is probably worth a bit of trust, and there's Lu-sensei not so much as saying "boo" - if an adult responsible enough to be trusted with the welfare of two kids is going along with the story, it must be true, right?For all you know, Kagome could have some sort of strange shrine maiden powers telling her that you're legit. You... have your doubts about that, to be honest. If something like that was going on, you'd expect her to be glowing, speaking with a reverb, or using an archaic accent - some kind of giveaway that says, "Hey, supernatural person at work, here!" At the very least, her aura should be shifting strongly, and strangely enough compared to normal for you to sense it at this range, even with your attention focused on explaining the whats and whys and wherefores of your quest - and it's not doing anything of the kind.

Gained Honest E(Plus)

"Is that all?" Kagome asks, after you've finished running down the list of elemental reagents you're hoping to acquire for the eventual bonding ritual. There is no disbelief or exasperation in her tone, only a request for confirmation."Oh, yeah," you say, after a moment's thought. "I'm also looking out for a souvenir for my little sister."Kagome blinks."She's about two-and-a-half, now," you add helpfully."...I really can't think of anything we have here that might interest a little girl," Kagome admits, looking around at her family shrine with a certain sheepishness. "Take it from a former little girl."You're not at all surprised. You also resist the urge to quip, "Former?" and instead merely nod. "Just checking. I got a lot of advice on picking out plushies the other day, so I'll probably end up going with that.""That sounds like a good idea. As for the other stuff... I don't know anything about magic, except for what's shown in manga and my little brother's video games, but based on what you said, you want stuff that's old, important, rare, or powerful, right?""Basically," you agree. "As long as it's something your family's willing to part with, for whatever price you think is fair.""Well, I can tell you right now that the Sacred Tree and the Bone-Eater's Well are out of bounds. I mean, if it was autumn or there'd been a storm, I could let you have a few leaves, but as you can see" - she gestures to the very healthy-looking old tree and its modest canopy of greenery - "neither of those are the case. Grandpa would flip if he came home and found out that I'd let somebody pull off part of the Tree... and I don't really like the idea that much, either." She shrugs with a smile that's sympathetic, but not apologetic. "And the Well is completely off-limits to anybody who isn't a Higurashi of a certain age, or doesn't have spiritual training. Mama's not supposed to go near the well-house, 'cause she married into the family and isn't a shrine maiden or something like that - which she says is the only reason why she lets the place stay as dusty as it is - and even me and Souta aren't allowed in there 'til we're older. Grandpa says it's not safe, and I always thought he just meant how it was an old, deep hole in an out-of-the-way place, but if fairies and magic are real, well..." She trails off meaningfully, casting a cautious glance at the unassuming old building.You scratch a few options off your mental list of possible reagents."I don't think Grandpa's ofuda would be a good idea, either," Kagome admits. "He makes them himself, and he's always using them for something: he tried to exorcise a boy doing a performance in the park a few weeks ago, because the way he was twitching made Grandpa think he was possessed; and he used to slap a ward on Souta when he was littler and being a real brat, trying to 'drive out the gaki' or something like that." She shakes her head. "Ofuda are supposed to cast out evil and bring good luck, but whenever Grandpa uses one, he just ends up looking silly or getting himself into trouble.""Could you make a ward for us, Kagome?" Briar asks. Her tone catches your attention; it's not the sort of voice she uses when making an idle request or suggesting a flight of whimsy, but something more... expectant."I'd like to, but..." Sighing, Kagome reaches into a pocket somewhere in the folds of her overlarge garment, and produces a stack of paper strips, inked with remarkably complex characters. You've not seen the like outside of a few scattered memories of Hyrule, most of them centered on particularly haunted ruins. Then Kagome pulls out a second set of strips. These, too, have been written on - for a certain loose interpretation of the word 'written.' Comparing the uneven squiggles and smudged lines of the second batch of wards to the neat precision of the first is like comparing a preschooler's early attempts at writing to the penmanship of a professional calligrapher - which in a very real sense, is precisely what the difference is."They're really hard to do right," Kagome mutters, looking deeply embarrassed about her novice effort. "Grandpa's been making them his whole life, and I've only got a couple of years' practice - and that only on weekends or over break."
What do you say to that?"The good stuff always takes time to learn how to do," you reply. "Trust me, though, it's worth it in the end. I can show you an example, if you want, one that might help you improve your wards.""...how?""For starters, do you mind if I see one of your wards, and one of your grandfather's?"Kagome hands you the wards from the tops of their respective stacks."Thanks. Now, I'm going to cast a spell that Briar taught me. It'll help us all see the energy contained in these wards."Kagome's eyes are bright. "You can do that?"You answer by casting the spell - mostly divination, backed by enough necromancy to make any spiritual energy clear to see. The magic spreads over the pieces of paper in your hand, which promptly start to glow. The one on the left, made by Kagome's grandfather, gives off a faint, dull blue light - more than you were expecting to see, actually, based on what Kagome said before. While you've little experience with holy men and their powers, this ward seems to contain an amount of energy roughly equivalent to one of the simple cantrips you know. Considering how the ofuda have to be made ahead of time, they probably qualify as the creations of a ritual... which means Kagome's grandfather needs minutes, maybe even an hour's worth of focused effort to pull off something you could do largely at will. That's... that's really kind of sad for a man who's supposed to be the head priest of a shrine. He's not a complete mystical null, however; what little energy there is in the ofuda is concentrated in the inked characters, very evenly-distributed between each of the symbols and not leaking into the paper or the rest of the environment even slightly. You can also get a vague feeling off the ward, something that, if it had a lot more power behind it, might be taken as a command. Exactly what that command is supposed to be, you have no idea.Now that you're looking at it correctly, Kagome's ofuda turns out to be the opposite of her grandfather's in more ways than just the poor penmanship. Where each of the old man's hand-drawn symbols glows steadily and with the same intensity as all the rest, Kagome's flicker like an old movie marquee with half the bulbs blown or on the verge of shorting out. Here is a character whose left "arm" is solidly infused with rose-hued light, while the very next stroke is mostly dark ink, spackled with tiny points of energy like distant stars in the night sky. A suspiciously thumbprint-shaped blot of ink surrounds a neat curve of spiritual energy, while one of the neater characters is positively bleeding power in all directions. And where her grandfather's ward held a sense of singular purpose, Kagome's is the equivalent of a roomful of people all talking at once, and each about a different topic.The girl herself stares wide-eyed at the wards."Ah-ha!" Briar crows. "I thought so! No wonder you can see me when you don't have any magic! With that much spiritual power, I might not be able to hide from you even if I was under an invisibility spell.""Like I said," you tell Kagome, ignoring Briar's remark for the moment, "this is the result of a spell that Briar taught me. I know that I couldn't have cast it when I first started practicing magic, maybe not even after training for two years straight - and I practice magic just about every day."That manages to draw Kagome's attention away from the glowing ofuda. "It took you two years to learn how to cast one spell?""Huh? Oh, no; I learned tons of things in that time. It's just that this is a fairly advanced piece of magic, and I needed to understand a lot of simpler stuff before I could pull it off. That's one way that magic is the same as anything else you do. Schoolwork, martial arts, friendships - the more time and effort you put into them, the more you get out of them. I'm pretty sure that applies to things like making spiritual wards, too."Kagome sighs and puts on a pout. "So you think I should work harder, like Grandpa says.""What I think is that I came to your shrine hoping to find reagents that could help me and my friend, and that, for a number of reasons, a ward made for us by the resident shrine maiden in training is looking like a good choice. If you're willing, that is."The small girl regards you for a long moment. "You said something about your spell helping me to learn how to make wards better," she finally says. "What did you mean by that?"You hold out the pieces of glowing paper, and begin explaining what, in your estimation - backed up by counsel from Briar - the differences in the shapes and concentrations of spiritual energy mean. When Kagome's grandfather made his ward, he was likely very focused on the task from start to finish. The disorderly nature of hers suggests rather less concentration, possibly even a complete break in the creation process... and from the way the girl coughs and glances away, mumbling about a phonecall from Yuka, it seems you're onto something. You explain to Kagome how intent, or the lack of it, can have a significant impact in mystical matters, whether they involve magic or not, and also tell her what little you understand about ritual theory and item-crafting, both of which the making of ofudas could qualify as. Interruptions in either case can result in anything from a harmless delay to failure of the endeavor to complete disaster. You even get into magical warding, which you have a fair working knowledge of; Briar explains that while the energies involved in spiritual warding are different, the structures used in either case end up being pretty similar, since they're operating towards the same ends. That's a helpful thing to know.Kagome listens intently to it all. The simple illusions you cast to help her visualize various details doubtlessly help to keep her attention.

Gained Abjuration E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Illusion E
Gained Item Crafting F(Plus)
Gained Necromancy E
Gained Spiritual Control F(Plus)

As you, Briar, and Kagome get deeper into discussion, Lu-sensei and Cordelia draw back; when you look up a few minutes later, you find them over by the door to the house. Sensei is talking calmly with Mama, while Cordelia is chasing a small, dark-haired boy who appears to have zapped her with a squirt gun.You do a double-take at that, but the small, snickering person and the angry girl with the visibly-dripping hair are still there, running all over the courtyard. Kid's either brave, an idiot, or has a death-wish."Souta!" Kagome snaps. "Behave yourself! They're guests!""Nyah-nyah! Can't make me!"Kagome makes a sound that's part sigh, part growl, and casts you a sidelong look. "I don't suppose you know any spells that can make little brothers stop being annoying?" she asks halfheartedly.You consider that question for a moment. Most of the options that come to mind would be temporary fixes at best, questionably ethical if not right over the edge into badness, and would give you away to Kagome's mother - plus the kid in question.*Zap!**Zap!*"Ha! Gotcha!"On the other hand, you think, wiping water from your face, the brat is definitely asking for it. A now-wet and distinctly growling Kagome is already moving to catch her sibling.

Although you have a strong impulse to act like the better man and let a kid being a kid slide, you find that you really can't just let this go. Sure, the brat just zapped a couple of people his own age with a water gun, inflicting nothing more than nuisance-level annoyance - but as Kagome pointed out, you're guests at his family's shrine. Young though he might be, the boy really ought to know better than to act like that, and as he evidently doesn't know - or simply refuses to heed that knowledge - some corrective measures would seem to be in order.

You decide not to use magic, though. You're starting to run a bit low again, and you'd like to avoid impeding your mana recovery at least until you've had a chance to get that technique exchange with Ayane over and done with. Not to mention that you have so many options, it's a little hard to choose just one. Besides, physically pursuing the boy offers a certain visceral satisfaction that spellcasting doesn't - and outmaneuvering him, when he seems to have put some thought into his little attack plan, promises to be even more enjoyable.

Gained Tactics F(Plus)(Plus)

As Kagome and Cordelia pursue the aqueously-armed boy down the length of the courtyard, you make a detour to the right, going around the far side of the well-house. A naturally longer stride combined with several years of physical conditioning and a hint of ki enhancement allow you to cross the flagstones in a fraction of the time it takes the angry girls or their target, and the bulk of the old building makes for a perfect blind. You're still careful to mind your steps as you circle around the well-house, not wanting to give your plan away and grant the brat a chance to escape well-earned veng- justice. It's justice, not vengeance. You're just going to catch him and hand him over to his sibling and mother for proper punishment. That's perfectly just. Right?

Gained Stealth E

Shaking your head, you listen to the sounds of the rapidly-approaching pursuit, carefully calculating when to make your next move. When the moment feels right, you shape your ki, creating a clone of yourself over in the shade between the Higurashi house and the building behind it - a storage building, you suppose. In response to a simple twist of your will, the doppelganger soundlessly leaps forward into the approaching brat's path.

Gained Listening E(Plus)

"What the-!" comes the expected yelp, in company with the sudden skidding of sneakers on stone. A split-second later, you also hear the clack of plastic on plastic, and the *squirt* of a small jet of water being shot forth. Brat or not, Kagome's brother seems to have pretty sharp reflexes. Lacking the independence to react on its own, your doppelganger takes the hit - which goes right through its blurry representation of your chest."Aaaahhhh!" the boy yells. "Ghost!"On cue, you step out from behind the well-house-*Yoink!*-snatch away the still-dripping water pistol from its owner's shock-numbed hands-"Aaaahhhh! Another ghost!"*Grab!*
*Lift!*
*Hold!*-and finish off by hauling the boy into the air with both hands, turning him about to face the girls as they finally catch up. Kagome staggers to a halt, blinking at you, your clone - which flickers out, its modest investiture of ki expended - and her hapless brother, who has one of your arms drawn across his chest like a bar, pinning him in place. It takes some effort on your part to hold the kid like that, but you're careful not to overdo it. You don't want to hurt him, after all.

Gained Doppelganger F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Strength Control F

"Help, sis!" the kid begs, struggling futilely against your stronger and trained grip. "A ghost's got me! Save me!"Cordelia snorts. Kagome looks like she wants to do the same - but then she smiles mischievously and does something even worse. She plays along. Bowing respectfully to you, the girl says, "Oh mighty spirit, please heed this humble shrine maiden's request, and show mercy on my disrespectful little brother. He's too young and dumb to know any better.""Yeah, I'm just a kid, and-" The boy, Souta, you believe, pauses as his sister's words register. "Hey!""Souta, don't do anything that would upset the spirit!"He gulps, and goes still and silent.

Oh, what the heck. You're only young once, right? Well, twice, in your case. Maybe three times. But certainly no more than four. Unless it was five...?

The point remains, regardless of whatever you've got stuck in your head, you're still a kid, and every once in a while, you should act like one. And playing along with Kagome's impromptu prank on her annoying little brother is a perfectly normal thing for a kid who's just been zapped by said brat's water gun to do.A slow, deep chuckle wells up from the bottom of your chest, and you find yourself smiling. For some reason, your eyebrows feel warm - but you promptly dismiss it as a trick of the mind."FOOLISH child!" you boom, in the most grandiose villainous fashion you can muster. "Your SHAMEFUL antics have ANGERED THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT! Are you PREPARED to face the CONSEQUENCES of your actions?""...meep...""Hmmm?" Craning your neck around, you glance down at the brat in your cross-armbar-hold. Souta's eyes have bugged out, and his lips are moving soundlessly. You sigh. "Oi, kid, that's not your line.""...huh?""No, you're supposed to either dare THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT" - you effortlessly emphasize the title without raising your voice - "which is to say, me, to do my worst, getting that whole 'courageously if futilely casting defiance into the monster's teeth with your last act' vibe going, or else play the total helpless pansy of a prince who begs to be spared and/or saved by the mighty heroes.""Oh.""Right, pick a line, and we'll try this again." You clear your throat, and then take it from the top. "FOOLISH child!" you thunder anew, causing Souta to jerk in your grip. "Your SHAMEFUL antics have ANGERED THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT! Are you PREPARED to face the CONSEQUENCES of your actions?""Gaaah! Sis, help!"Kagome has fallen to a major case of the giggles. There'll be no rescue from that front. Briar is in a similar state, and Cordelia... okay, she's resisting, mostly by not looking directly at the scene in front of her."Sooo, rather than face your doom LIKE A MAN, you have chosen to travel the low road of SHAME. There can be only ONE punishment for such DISGRACEFUL behavior..." You let the threat hang there for a moment, and then hold Souta out and set his feet on the ground, saying in a normal tone, "Here you go, Mrs. Higurashi.""Thank you, GREAT BOAR SPIRIT," the lady replies calmly, while seizing her youngest child's most convenient ear. "I'll be sure to make the lesson... SINK IN." She hands a facecloth over to a grateful Cordelia, murmurs an apology and sketches a brief bow, and then turns and drags a protesting Souta away, quietly scolding him for his behavior.Lu-sensei, who trailed along in the woman's wake as she came over to investigate the sudden, mostly out-of-sight squealing, buries his face in his hands. "Woe is me," he intones, "for now I must go into exile to escape the undying shame of having such a ham of a student.""I'm not that bad, Sensei," you protest."Great Boar Spirit," Kagome snickers, setting herself and Briar off again."No, no, you need to say it more in the throat, see? GREAT BOAR SPIRIT."That... doesn't really help make them stop laughing.

Gained Acting E(Plus)
Gained Threat F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Totem of the Raging Boar E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Words of Power E

Eventually, the girls recover. Kagome agrees to have a go at making a new ofuda, using everything you and Briar have managed to cram into your brief instructional session. She estimates it'll take her about half an hour, and - after checking with her mother - says you're welcome to stay until she's done. It's currently ten after ten, and some more checking with the ladies of the household confirms that there is a bus that would take you to where the next round of Lu-sensei's matches is to be held; depending on the traffic, you could get there with a few minutes to spare, or you might end up running late.You're here, you've got someone willing to make you your first reagent, and you've got just enough time to spare for her to complete the attempt. Why would you leave empty-handed? Especially when the lady of the house doesn't seem to mind your presence at all... which is a little unusual, really. It could be part of their being a family of shrine-keepers, used to receiving visitors and giving up their time to help others... but somehow you don't think that such duties usually extend to inviting a trio (or quartet) of complete strangers into your home barely an hour after meeting them. Still, you don't sense any deception or hesitance in Mama; maybe she and her kids really are just that friendly and accomodating?Of course, while it does benefit you and Briar to wait for Kagome to finish working on the ofuda, the same action is of no real benefit to Lu-sensei - indeed, it has the potential to get him disqualified for being late to his next match. You don't care for that prospect at all, and encourage your teacher to go on ahead without you. Between its faint but still-functional wards and the benign presence of the Sacred Tree, this shrine is probably the safest place you've ever been to in your life, and once Kagome's done, you'll be able to catch up with Lu-sensei quickly enough to avoid further trouble. If need be, you could scry out his location and teleport to his side.Lu-sensei, Cordelia, and Briar trade glances at that."Yeah... no," Briar drawls."I think I speak for all of us here when I say there is no chance that we're letting you out of our sight until we're back in Sunnydale," Cordelia says bluntly. "And can I just add how messed-up it is that you seem to be safer on the Hellmouth than you are in a city that isn't cursed down to the bedrock?""You can," Lu-sensei tells her wryly. "And she's not wrong, Alex," he adds, turning to you. "My first responsibility as a teacher is to ensure the well-being of my students, and there have been more close calls on that account than I care for this trip. If seeing to it that there are no further incidents happens to interfere with my chances in the tournament, well, that's simply too bad for the tournament.""...thanks, Sensei."And that's that.While Lu-sensei talks to Mama in the living room - something about his last visit to the shrine; you don't catch the details - and Cordelia amuses herself playing with a cutely-predatory calico kitten, you decide to make yourself into a distraction to Kagome's little brother, so that he in turn won't become an impediment to his sister's concentration. You make your way into the kitchen, where - with his water pistol and video games impounded by his mother for his recent behavior - Souta has apparently decided to raid the fridge in search of comfort food.He glances up at you with a pouty scowl and grumbles, "What do you want?"

"What do you want?"

It's a simple yet important question, one of those that can change the course of your life depending on your answer, and it demands a suitably significant response. For a moment, you think of one answer to this question that you saw on a rerun of a sci-fi TV show - but as darkly amusing as Vir Cotto's words in that scene were, they don't really work in this situation. Not to mention that Souta might not have heard of the show in question; it was before his time, in different country - heck, on a different continent. Another classic line is dismissed for similar reasons. Conan is awesome, in that over-the-top, half-clad muscular fashion unique to Eighties sword-and-sorcery movies, and his statement on What Is Best In Life really resonates with the deeper, darker parts of your soul, but he's from another decade further back in time than Vir. You need something more current, words that will cross the divide of culture and language with their meaning intact, and that Souta is likely to have heard......ah.Striding forward with a broad smile, you reply, "I wish to offer THE WISDOM OF THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT."Your resounding words catch the smaller boy in the midst of turning his attention back to the fridge. He visibly starts, and something concealed from your eyes by the door hits one of the interior shelves with the clatter of plastic-on-plastic."Geez," Souta breathes. "Do you have to talk like that?""YES. Yes, I do. It's called BEING IN CHARACTER - and it seems to get your attention, so there's a better chance that WHAT I HAVE TO SAY will STICK.""...are all Americans this crazy?" he asks, letting the fridge door swing shut."Mine is a unique existence," you assure him. "NOW THEN... do you know why I, a fellow boy, assisted two angry girls in catching you and making you look foolish, before handing you over to your mother?""'Cause you're a jerk?" Souta guesses flatly.You throw back your head and laugh. "HAHAHAHA!" And then you become quite serious. "No. I acted as I did for three reasons. First, your private water-war interrupted me when I was talking to your sister about something important to me and a close friend. For the record, that was UNWISE, and I strongly advise you not to do such a thing again in the future. NOBODY likes having their important conversations broken up like that."Souta huffs and looks away. "Like I care.""YOU SHOULD CARE," you boom, retaking his attention, "unless you WANT to spend your school years as the kid NOBODY wants to talk to or work with, who the bullies can pick on FREELY without even one person speaking up in their defense."Ah, that seems to have touched a nerve. Threats of pain and suffering generally do."Secondly," you continue, "you attacked me and a friend of mine. That was also A POOR IDEA.""It was just water! Sheesh, can't anybody take a joke?""A joke amuses other people. Did you hear us laughing?"He says nothing."Now, if you'd limited yourself to going after Cordelia, I wouldn't have gotten involved. It WAS just water, and I trust her to be able to handle herself against one would-be water-warrior. For that matter, if you'd asked her to join you and given her a water gun of her own, your sister and mother would both have been a lot less upset with you - although you would have had to be REALLY convincing to get Cordelia to play water tag with you at all," you admit. "She puts a lot of effort into her hair and clothes, and as you've seen, she DOESN'T appreciate having them messed up. Most girls don't, and most of them WILL retaliate if you attack them. Not to mention that NOBODY worth ANYTHING respects a man who picks on girls."This is a lesson that was true even for Ganondorf. Destined King of the Gerudo or not, he got no loyalty he hadn't earned. Defeating one of his peers in the training ring and settling a dispute by strength of arms? As long as the rules of challenge are obeyed, okay. Slaying a target in a raid or an enemy bent on taking your life? Not only okay, but vital to your own survival, and that of the greater tribe. But using his superior physical and magical power to bully one of the girls he would one day lead? Mama Koume and Mama Koutake didn't stand for it. The unity of the tribe was the only thing that kept the Gerudo alive in the face of all their enemies. A REAL man, a POWERFUL man, doesn't squander his strength pushing around those weaker than him, especially those who are, or might be, on his side; no, he directs his power against his foes, and as Conan said, CRUSHES them.Now that you think on it, part of Ganondorf's problem was that he saw everyone outside the tribe as an enemy, and over time, came to regard even the Gerudo more as "tools" than allies, never mind friends and family - which was about the point where Nabooru started speaking out against him.You bring your mind back to the present. "Finally," you say, "I sided with the girls because I knew that if I didn't, they'd be a bit upset with me.""Why?" Souta asks, puzzled. "I mean, it's not like it was your idea for me to get out the squirt gun.""ANCIENT WISDOM OF THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT: 'If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.'"Souta's expression says he doesn't get it. You proceed to explain the basic workings of the female mind and how not to give offense, something any boy should know, but which entirely too few seem to pick up on. Although you drop THE VOICE OF THE GREAT BOAR SPIRIT early on in the discussion, Souta continues to listen intently, taking in every word and visibly trying to commit them to memory. You quiz him a bit later on, and find that while his retention is hardly perfect, he is absorbing at least some of your wisdom. It is good.

Gained Acting E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained King of Men F
Gained Totem of the Raging Boar E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Words of Power E(Plus)

During your man-to-man chat, you take the opportunity to conduct a careful probe of Souta's mystical potential. Being inside the Higurashi home muffles the Sacred Tree's aura well enough for you to call upon your ki sense, which picks up the small, unfocused, but bright aura of a typical young boy. You make some effort to try and shift your perception into the purely spiritual range, but you're not sure how well that works; either Souta has no power, or you're just not skilled enough to sense it. Your more reliable mage sense doesn't pick up a thing. Finally, for the sake of thoroughness, you cast the spells necessary to discern magic, ki, and the spirit. The readings all come back as close to the mythical "average human being" as you've ever seen.

Gained Ki Sense E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Mage Sense E
Gained Mage Sight D
Gained Spiritual Perception F(Plus)

At length, you break off your discussion, hearing small socked feet coming down the stairs. Kagome appears a moment later, her fingers more ink-stained than they were when last you saw her, gingerly holding a new ofuda so as to avoid smearing the characters on its face. With your spirit-reading spell still active, you study the result of the girl's efforts. She appears to have gone for simplicity, minimizing both the number and the complexity of the characters as much as possible. It's a single word composed of just two characters, both of which are a little unevenly inked and radiate a warm, fuzzy pink light:Nakama.You consider the paper for a moment and then look up at Kagome. So does Souta, who smirks."Somebody's been reading shounen manga."She blushes, and scowls at her little brother. "It's the easiest word to write that I could think of which means what th- he wanted." And she hands it to you.Careful not to smile, you accept the prayer strip, giving the young miko a respectful bow.

Gained Kagome's Ofuda
Gained Teaching E

The cat-shaped kitchen clock, with its sly side-shifting eyes and mechanically waving tail, advises you that it's now twenty to eleven.

The idea of taking off without a word of gratitude never even occurs to you. Despite the time constraint, you insist on properly thanking Kagome and her mother for their help and hospitality, and even spare a goodbye - interspersed with few final words of advice - for Souta. Kagome and Cordelia are visibly startled by this, while Mama and Lu-sensei both look pleased. Amidst the exchange of pleasantries, you also exchange contact information with Kagome - that manages to draw surprise from Mama. It's kind of a relief, actually; you were beginning to wonder if she had any emotional settings other than "friendly, dutiful hostess" and "mother." The woman seems puzzled and very slightly suspicious as to why a foreign boy who's known her daughter for all of an hour and a half would want to know how to get in touch with her again, but when she takes in Kagome's delighted reaction, the concern fades away into the warm look of maternal affection that seems to be her
usual expression. Evidently her children's happiness overrides any other concerns.

Gained Manners F(Plus)

Eventually, you've all said thank you, good-bye, and "have a good day" about as many times as it's possible to without turning the scene into a comedy sketch. Kagome even managed to slip in a few words for Briar without drawing odd looks from her family. Having retrieved your shoes, you, Lu-sensei, and Cordelia exit the house and head for the stairs."Really not looking forward to this next part," Cordelia notes with a wary glance at the steps."Actually, about that... how do you feel about teleporting?""Oh, Farore help me," Briar groans, facepalming."Cut that out. I've had a chance to think over why the last trip was so rough, and I'm sure I can do better now that I'm not under so much pressure. Besides, straightforward teleporting is less disorienting than a dimension door, right?""Well, yes...""See?""...assuming you don't reappear thirty feet in the air, or inside a wall or something."Cordelia boggles at this."That only happens when you don't know where you're going," you grate out, glaring at your shoulder-passenger, "and I was planning on remotely-viewing the area near the dojo before trying to teleport there.""Oh. Right, never mind, then. Forget I said anything.""Not likely!" Cordelia snaps.Lu-sensei's response is a thoughtful look, and a single "Hmmm.""Hmmm, yes? Hmmm, no?" You try to guess his meaning."Hmmm, I believe a test is in order first, before you go scattering our molecules all across space and time."You blink, slowly. "Did you just steal a line from Star Trek, Sensei?""Bah. Trainees of our school have been making that complaint since before most people even knew what molecules were. Clearly, Star Trek stole it from us." Before you can get a word in, he raises one hand, first two fingers extended in a V-sign. "Two tests, Alex. Once to the bottom of these stairs, and then a second time to the bus stop. If you can move yourself both times without mishap or fatigue, I'll permit you to take all of us to the dojo.""Now wait just a darn minute!" Cordelia protests.You frown, considering it. You've every confidence in your abilities; the main concern is your reserves. Teleporting your entire group is one of the most expensive feats of magic you can manage without putting a lot of prep time into the casting. If you deliberately shorten the effective range and cut out the part of the spell formula that allows for passengers, you can conserve some mana, but doing it twice, and then teleporting with your companions afterwards... that's going to be a bit expensive no matter what you do.

This is honestly the first time you can recall Lu-sensei telling you up-front that you were about to be tested on something. Normally, he lets you come along at your own pace, silently assessing your performance and occasionally making your life difficult if he feels you're slacking off or just missing an obvious answer. Then again, this is the first time something as complicated as teleportation has been on the table. You weren't actually sure if Lu-sensei could teleport; it's similar to what he does to punch across space, but quite a bit larger in scale. Not to mention he'd be powering it through ki, which would have to be taxing...

You set your speculations aside and focus on the matter at hand. This is the first test your master has put before you, and you have every intention of passing it with flying colors."Briar, are you staying here or coming with me?""I think I'd better go with you," the fairy sighs. "I'll get a better idea of what you're doing that way.""You don't have to sound so enthusiastic about it, you know.""Just start making magic, smart guy."You take a moment to consider your surroundings, and how they - particularly the aura of the Sacred Tree and those faint defensive wards - might affect the spell you're able to cast. Just to be safe, you decide to walk down to the first step of the stair, taking yourself out from under the shadow of the red gate. Leaving the grounds of the shrine proper through the established gateway ought to be enough to get you out of the area of effect of this place's defenses and influence, in the physical sense as well as the symbolic. That matter attended to, you start gathering your power, trying to recall everything you've learned - and the much rarer details that you've seen in action or experienced firsthand - about warping the fabric of space-time. It's one part wanting to make a good showing in your teacher's eyes, and one part striving for efficiency - your magic is going to be low after this no matter what the outcome, and you do still have plans on the table that require some mana.When you're ready, you look down to the foot of the stone stairs, utter a single word--flying/falling/sinking through a strange space/medium/aware--and suddenly you're there, instead of where you were. You blink. Okay, that still wasn't quite the instantaneous here/there transition that Briar described teleportation as, but it was a lot smoother than yesterday's use of the dimension door."R-right," Briar stammers, adjusting her grip on your sleeve. "That was... not perfect, but better. I think you need to tighten up the spell's 'time' component some more. We shouldn't be There long enough for it to even register.""Hmmm," Lu-sensei notes from behind you, scaring you out of about a year's worth of your life. "No obvious delay over the short distance. That's a good start."Next to him stands a stunned-looking Cordelia. "Wha- what was- so quiet and cold- and why was everything turning blue?"Did- did Lu-sensei just teleport the two of them down the steps? And what's this about quiet and cold and blue? That doesn't sound right at all..."Well, lad?" your teacher says. "I'm waiting.""Oh, uh, right." You close your eyes and frown in concentration, fixing the image of the just out-of-sight bus stop in your mind, then invoke your magic--ness filled with familiar shapes/alien geometries and faint/loud--"Oh my god!" an unfamiliar voice yelps from perhaps a foot in front of you.Reopening your eyes, you find that you've landed slightly off-target, about two strides down the sidewalk from the bus stop proper rather than right in front of it as you'd intended. This is easily accounted for by the presence of several shocked-looking people who are occupying what you'd meant to be your landing zone: a rather bland-looking couple on the young side of middle-age; an uninteresting boy around Kagome's age who has to be their son; a pretty teenaged girl dressed up like she was going out somewhere; a short-haired girl with a headband, clinging to the elder girl's expensive-looking skirt; and all of them gawping at you.Whoops."Well," Lu-sensei says, somewhat less surprisingly this time, as he walks up behind you at a normal pace, guiding an even shockier-looking Cordelia ahead of him. "I admit that could have gone a bit better, but then again, landing a couple of feet short of your destination to avoid a particularly nasty sort of collision is not a bad thing.""Uh, Sensei?" You nod towards the group of unexpected bystanders."Hmmm? Oh, right." He smiles benignly. "Don't mind us, folks. We're just figments of your imagination, passing through."The man nods hastily; his wife and son, somewhat less so. The two sisters both regard your master warily, the elder backing away a step while keeping herself firmly between her smaller sibling and the lot of you."Alex," Lu-sensei murmurs through his cheerful smile, while laying a hand on your shoulder, "hurry up make us disappear so the nice normal people can start repressing already.""Give me a second to make sure where we're going, Sensei," you reply, already calling up a spell of long-range clairvoyance. In your mind's eye, you can see the dojo that lies some miles from your current position, several martial arts types on the approach from various directions. It's more than good enough for you to feel comfortable invoking teleportation one more time--chorus/discordance and a near/distant green energy/presence/huh?--at which point you, Briar, Lu-sensei, and Cordelia appear on a rooftop, looking down an unfamiliar street to the dojo that lies a couple of minutes away by foot. It takes you a moment to realize that you've materialized where your scrying sensor manifested, rather than at the dojo itself. While a bit inconvenient, this does have the advantage of not causing you to appear in front of easily-shocked normals."Huh," Lu-sensei says. "That was... rather different from what I was expecting. So that's what a teleportation spell is like, is it?""More or less," Briar replies, forgetting for the moment that your teacher can't hear her. "Alex still needs to work on it.""Why was it green?" Cordelia asks, dazedly. "What happened to the blue?"

Gained Divination D(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Mana Control E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Summoning D(Plus)

Well, you're here, and with time to spare. What now, O Warper of Time and Space?

Somewhat concerned by her not-quite-babbling, you turn to Cordelia. "Hey, Cordy? You okay?"

She looks at you, and for a moment, it's like she's staring through you. Then she blinks and, in a small voice, asks, "Alex?""Yes?"Alarmingly fast, she reaches out, snags you by the proverbial lapels with both hands, and drags you down to her level."WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" the suddenly furious brunette roars in your face. "EMPTY SPACES THAT AREN'T EMPTY SPACE! MUSIC THAT ISN'T MUSIC! TRAVELING WITHOUT MOVING! GREEN! WHAT THE HELL?""Grarg," you strangle."Uh, Cordelia?" Lu-sensei tries to interrupt."AND YOU!" the girl snarls, releasing her grip on you - sadly, only the one hand - as she rounds on your master. "A WORLD THAT DOESN'T MOVE! EVERYTHING TURNED BLUE, AND IT WAS FREEZING! BLUNT EDGES SO SHARP THEY COULD CUT A DIAMOND! WHAT THE HELL?""Sleep!" Briar cries out, with a certain mystical emphasis and a wave of her tiny wand. Softly-sparkling energy like a light rain of wind-blown grains of sand momentarily sounds your angry friend."I AM NOT MOVING from this spot... until I get some... answers... why... tired... snnrrrrk..."And suddenly you find yourself trying to keep a snoring Cordelia from falling over and hitting her head on the rough stone of this rooftop."Was that entirely necessary?" Lu-sensei asks as he helps you."Yes," Briar retorts. "It really was. Teleportation psychosis doesn't usually last very long, but it can get really nasty while it's happening. Some time to sleep it off is just what Cordelia needs. Not that she won't still be pissed at the both of you when she wakes up, but she'll at least be rational about it."You repeat this to your teacher, who frowns. "I don't believe I've ever heard of this condition.""It's pretty rare. By the time a magic-user has the skill to teleport, he's usually already sufficiently-accustomed to the general weirdness of magic that the new, specific weirdness of popping out of the familiar set of dimensions doesn't really bother him. Most people who associate with magic-users of that level have experienced enough strangeness in their own right that they don't crack, either. It's only when you get a relatively normal person who hasn't been prepared for the effects - or when something's interfering with the transit - that you start running into problems."While you translate for Briar, you also look around the roof. There is a fire escape, and it's close enough that you're able to glance over the edge and get an idea of its condition - pretty good, no obvious rust, although there'll be more than a little banging involved if you take that way down. That might wake Cordelia up, which doesn't sound like the greatest idea just now. Marking the fire escape as "Route B," you turn your attention to a raised section of the roof, which has a weathered-looking door set into it. Leaving Cordelia to Lu-sensei for a moment, you head over to check - it's locked from the inside, but that's no great obstacle. A simple cantrip and a moment of concentration have the tumblers in the lock aligning themselves, and the door opens with a click and a slight groan of rusty, long-unused hinges. No sooner do you have the way open than Lu-sensei bustles past, easily carrying the sleeping girl."So, Lu-sensei," you say as you follow your master down the stairs. "You said something about my teleportation being different from what you were expecting?""I did. I'll have to demonstrate it for you" - he glances down at Cordelia - "much later, but the method handed down by the School of Five Elements isn't actually instantaneous transport. It may appear so, to those seeing it from the outside, but I don't step outside space-time as you seemed to do with that spell; all I really do is run very fast, while reinforcing myself - and my passengers - against the attendant stresses. The 'blue' that Cordelia, er, mentioned, has to do with how light appears when you're moving at extreme velocity. It's the same for the 'cold'; the temperature hasn't actually changed, you're just moving too quickly to register it, so you feel cold."You blink, trying to calculate how fast a person would have to be moving to see things in a blue-shift and outrun heat-transfer, but your limited understanding of physics screams in protest."Speaking of colors," Lu-sensei says then, "I'm trying to wrap my head around that green light when you teleported us. Is that normal?""I'm not sure, sir. I didn't notice it when I teleported at the arena yesterday, but that was a different method than the one I used today - they both utilize the same, um, 'dimension,' but the first spell sort of skims it, while the second spell actually moves you there and back. Briar?""I'm not sure, either, Alex. That light might be a result of your teleportation magic still needing work, or it might be something else - something local. I know teleporting in Faerie, Hyrule, or the Twilight Realm doesn't involve green light, but I've never teleported in this world before yesterday, so I'm not up to speed on the local... quirks."You've passed a few people as you moved down through the building, all of them adults in semi-formal, not precisely uniform clothing - looks like this is a business of some kind. Two of them just stared in surprise as your group passed, while a third turned and walked away in a hurry. You reach the ground floor, emerge from a back room into the front of some sort of store - at a glance, it looks like a typical corner convenience store - and are out the door without incident, although you can hear rapid footsteps and someone's raised voice approaching down the stairwell. Lu-sensei notices it as well, as he hurries along down the sidewalk, smiling and nodding politely to the early lunch crowd of pedestrians, many of them stopping to stare at the little old martial artist carrying a somewhat smaller unconscious foreign girl down the street.As you move to follow your teacher, you hear the door open behind you."Oi, oi! Somebody stop that man! Trespasser! Vandal!"The nearest members of the thin crowd are starting to turn towards the man shouting and waving a fist at Lu-sensei's back.

A part of you is vaguely annoyed by the man's feeble attempts at accusation - Trespassing and vandalism? Is he serious? - enough so that you briefly consider turning around and doing... something. Then your better judgement intervenes, and you set vague notions of protestation or various flavors of mystical assault aside in favor of following your master's example, and moving along.

Somewhere between your second and third stride, it occurs to you that, for a man carrying an unconscious young girl around in public, Lu-sensei isn't exactly running. He's not moving slow, by any means, but it's a brisk walking pace at best. He's also moving with the crowd, blending in as much as he can under the circumstances, and not leaving an obvious trail of jostled citizenry in his wake. People are still throwing sharp looks and double-takes in his direction, but no one's moved to interfere with the old man or call for the police.

Recognizing the ploy as something not unlike the classic thief's gambit of hiding in plain sight, you immediately adapt your own movements. Less all-out speed, more subtle maneuvering and casual behavior. For all that you're a darkly-tanned red-haired giant of an eight-year-old, you belong on this street, and have no reason to attempt to conceal yourself or respond to the nonsense being spouted by some fool whose sense of decorum is so feeble that he's making a nuisance of himself in public...

Gained Acting E(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Cool E(Plus)
Gained Manners F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Stealth E(Plus)

In short order, you, your teacher, and your respective "passengers" have left the shop and its uselessly protesting employee well behind you. Lu-sensei slows down a bit after crossing an intersection, and you do likewise. You're tempted to ask your master if he finds himself in that sort of situation often - and if so, what the best ways are of dealing with such incidents - or what he thinks of the crowd's generally apathetic response to the accusations of criminal behavior, but since you're still out in public and with potential listeners everywhere, you decide not to say anything for the time being.

Not long after that, you reach the dojo, a traditionally-styled place that appears to be one-third fighting hall, one-third family residence, and one-third... apothecary, maybe? It feels both open and slightly claustrophobic, the former thanks to the light, paper-thin walls of the dojo and the relatively large yard, the latter due to the taller, more heavily-built modern buildings that surround the property on three sides.

One of the familiar tournament officials greets your group by the door. Lu-sensei exchanges a few quiet words, nodding once at Cordelia in the midst of it, and the bland-faced robed figure bows and disappears into the little complex for a few minutes. When he returns, he is accompanied by a middle-aged woman in a formal kimono, who respectfully greets Lu-sensei and says that his student is welcome to rest in her home while the bouts are being fought. Your teacher thanks the lady and follows her inside; you tag along silently behind them, glancing around at the house. Where the dojo appeared to be one hundred percent traditional, this building is much more recent. Not quite modern: most of the electronics you see look a bit dated, as do the kitchen appliances; the furniture has clearly been well-used for some time now; and the walls could use a fresh coat of paint. Still, the house is at least Late Twentieth Century, a couple decades old at the most, as opposed to the dojo's multi-centennial design.

The lady of the house shows Lu-sensei to a simply-appointed guest room, where Cordelia is tucked into a futon. She then says that you, specifically, are welcome to remain with your friend, as long as you don't disturb the peace of the household.

"There will be plenty of that from my husband's guests," the woman adds, not quite rolling her eyes.

"Thank you, ma'am," you reply, bowing to the woman. "I'll be sure to keep quiet."

She nods, and departs the room. Lu-sensei waits until she's gone, then turns to you.

"You're sure, Alex?"

"I feel reponsible for Cordy's little freak-out back there, Sensei," you explain. "And, well, I've kind of been leaving her on her own during the tournament. It was one thing when she was awake and perfectly capable of looking after herself, but now..." You trail off, shrugging.

"That is a reasonable, rather mature response, young man." Lu-sensei pauses. "Who are you, and what have you done with my student?"

You glare at the old man. "You know, I could probably turn you into a monkey if I wanted to, Sensei."

"Oook," Lu-sensei retorts, before smiling. "Very well, Alex. I am glad that you've decided to stay with Miss Chase. I'll give your regards to anyone you might know, shall I?"

"Please do, sir. And kick butt."

He gives you a brief thumbs-up before leaving the room. You grab a patch of floor just out of arm's reach of Cordelia's sleeping mat - close enough to respond quickly when she wakes up, without being so close as to be creeperiffic - and settle down to wait.

"Is she going to be okay, Briar?"

"She should be fine," the fairy replies, having resumed her place on your shoulder. "Like I said, teleportation psychosis passes quickly in most cases, and Cordelia's tough. As long as we - and by we, I mean you and the old guy - don't subject her to any more space-time shenanigans until she's have a chance to come to terms with what she's already experienced, she won't have any more freakouts. Well, not about twisted space and strange horizons. I'm sure you could find something else to send her over the edge if you wanted to."

That sparks off a pleasant, low-key argument in which you protest the degree of your guilt, Briar offers no pity, and you both try - around the snarky commentary - to figure out what exactly was going on when you cast those teleportation spells. As far as either of you can determine, though, aside from the little flub that landed you on a rooftop instead of a sidewalk half a block away, your calculations were accurate. You probably need to talk to a locally-trained practitioner of space-time magic to figure out what's going on with this unusual extended awareness of the other side, or that green light - according to Briar, that extra-dimensional place is supposed to be all shades of grey, broken up by a few tiny pools of random color and the rare foreign objects or entities that have somehow wound up there. Even as you debate the matter, you keep your eyes and ears open.

Gained Guarded F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Protective D(Plus)
Gained Watchful D(Plus)

Despite the words of the lady of the house, you don't hear any particular noise for another twenty-five minutes or so, at which point the sound you do hear is that of somebody coming up the stairs. It turns out to be Lu-sensei, more bruised and dishevelled than he was half an hour earlier, but smiling cheerfully.

"Hello, Alex. Any developments here?"

"Cordelia's still out, as you can see, sir, and Briar and I haven't been able to figure out why my teleport was acting the way it did. How about you?"

"I'd not given much thought to your magic, Alex - unless you were asking about how my matches went, in which case I can tell you that I've advanced to the finals. They've settled on holding the last matches at six this evening, at a hotel - not ours, unfortunately, but in the same neighborhood. I also met Master Shiden downstairs; Ayane and Kasumi will be waiting to meet with you at our hotel's gym at one o'clock."

You consider that. It's currently 11:30, so assuming Cordelia doesn't sleep for another hour, you should have plenty of time to have lunch before meeting the ninja-girls. Give the technique exchange an hour or so, turn the rest of the afternoon over to Cordy - that's probably going to be rough for you, but you can't say that she hasn't earned it - then see the finals, have a late dinner, and call it a day. Sounds like a decent plan.

You know from your studies that standard sleep spells don't last longer than a few minutes unless the caster is quite powerful. If Cordelia's still asleep now, it's because she's tired enough or sufficiently mentally worn out to need the rest - and considering how she ended up like this, you have a pretty good idea for which is the reason. The best thing, then, is to let Cordy snooze until she's ready to face the world again.

In the meantime, you can chat with Lu-sensei. Giving it some thought while the old man claims a spot of his own on the floorboards, you decide to get his take on how to bend space and time to your will. Your master proves receptive to talking about the subject, although it takes the two of you a surprisingly long time to find common ground. Even accounting for the differences between magic and ki, it turns out that what Lu-sensei does has more in common with techniques that fall into the magical school of Augmentation than those from the field of Summoning. Thinking on it, that makes sense; by his own description, what he did earlier wasn't teleportation, but an incredibly advanced version of the haste spell - or more correctly, the Body Flicker. Still, once you get to a certain level, messing with space-time is messing with space-time, no matter how you come at it - and Lu-sensei is clearly at a very high level.

Gained Augmentation D(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Body Flicker E
Gained Summoning D(Plus)(Plus)

You get maybe fifteen minutes of discussion in - about a third of those spent fumbling to get over your initial misunderstandings and onto common ground - before you're interrupted by a groan from the futon.

"Where am I, and why am I lying on a hard bedroll?"

Glancing at Briar, who nods, you reply, "You're in a guest room of the house attached to the dojo where Lu-sensei had his matches. As for why, um..."

In the middle of sitting up, Cordelia pauses. "Oh. Right. That thing with the thing." She frowns. "Why was I freaking out like that? Not that it wasn't freak-worthy, but it seems like a bit much of a reaction after all the other insane stuff I've seen you do."

Briar carefully explains what "teleportation psychosis" means. Cordelia's frown deepens, and she turns to you and Lu-sensei.

"Did either of you know that could happen?"

"Lu-sensei didn't even know what the term meant when Briar brought it up," you say quickly. "And I honestly don't recall ever hearing it before."

The brunette regards you for a long moment, nods, and then gets up and starts folding up the mat and light blanket she was provided.

"So, what did I miss?"

You summarize events since your group left the Higurashi Shrine. Cordelia sighs when she hears about the crowd of people you spooked at the bus-stop, the folks you surprised at the store, and the guy who didn't precisely chase you out of the building. Learning that you voluntarily skipped out on watching Sensei's most recent matches to keep an eye on her visibly startles her.

"Seriously? You did that?"

You... can't quite tell if her reaction is good or bad. "Yes?"

Cordelia smacks you one over the head.

Okay, bad.

"That's for scrambling my brain, however accidental it was. That" -she adds, kicking you in the shin again- "is for being creepy and sitting over me while I was out cold, and this-"

"Damn it, woman, stop hitting me!" you growl, as she punches you in the arm.

"-is for being a dummy and deliberately not going to see Lu-sensei fight, after all the trouble we went through to get here," Cordelia finishes. Lifting the rolled-up futon and blanket, she stalks towards the door, pausing to direct some physical chastisement at Lu-sensei. In the doorway, Cordelia stops again, turns, and adds, "And Alex?"

"Yes?" You repeat, more warily than ev- why is she blushing?

"Thanks."

...you swear, reincarnated Gerudo King or not, there are times you just do not understand girls. You'll have to keep working on that.

Gained King of Women D

Moving cautiously - and trying to ignore Briar, who started laughing at you right around the point where Cordelia started letting you have a piece of her mind - you and Lu-sensei follow after the girl, who is in the middle of introducing herself to the resident matron, returning the bedding, and thanking her for the loan and hospitality. The woman appears quite pleased by her guest's gratitude.

You decide to wait for the ladies to finish talking. Manners cost you nothing, after all, apart from a little extra time - and in this case, it's not that much at all. Cordelia finishes thanking your hostess in about a minute, after which she rejoins you and Lu-sensei. You decide to follow her example, adding your own gratitude for the accomodations she provided when your friend needed them.

"You are welcome," the lady replies. "And thank you for keeping your word about keeping the noise down."

Gained Manners F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

"Well, then, if that is everything..."

"Actually," you say carefully, "I was kind of hoping to take a look at that shop out front."

Cordelia sighs. "Of course you were," she mutters under her breath.

The older woman doesn't appear to notice the commentary, her expression having gone from "polite hostess" to "smiling shopkeeper" in point-eight-seconds flat.

"Right this way, young sir!" she says cheerfully, ushering you out the front door, across the yard, and into the little store. "Uncle Gen!" she calls, as she opens the door with a ring of a tiny bell. Beyond is a dimly-lit single-room crammed with shelves of stuff and smelling of spices, smoky incense, and peppermint. "You have a customer!"

"Hmmm?" comes a voice from behind the rickety-looking counter. A moment later, the sound is followed by a little wrinkly bald smiling old man with a long, thin mustache and beard, who wears a faded, saffron-colored robe, a tiny pair of spectacles, and - is that a Walkman? Yes, you can just make out the brand name.

Okay, a little jarring.

"What is it, Rika?" the old man asks, before noticing you. Then, like the woman behind you, he smiles broadly. "Ah! Honored customer! Welcome, welcome. Is there- erk."

"Uncle?" Rika asks, looking at the old man, whose eyes have just bugged out. "Is something wrong?"

Following the line of his gaze, you realize that the old guy can see Briar.

"I-it's nothing, dear," Gen replies, waving off his niece - or maybe his niece-in-law? "Bit of indigestion. It has passed. So! Young sir, how may I and my humble establishment be of assistance?"

You don't answer right away, taking a moment to look around at the wares on display, while behind you, Cordelia and Lu-sensei catch up. There is a lot of stuff in here that at least looks like it could have mystical potency - herbs, seeds, assorted bottled liquids and near-liquids, small pieces of jewelry, paper strips, scrolls, several shelves of books, and knick-knacks and bric-a-brac galore - and the fact that the proprietor has the talent and belief to perceive fairies suggest that at least some of it should be genuine. There's also a steadily-humming vending machine to one side of the door, covered with buttons that display many unfamiliar brand names, and a couple that you actually know.

"I have a few things in mind," you state, while raising your mystical senses. You get a vague sense of magical potential coming from all directions - not enough, in most cases, to indicate actual power, but a goodly amount of the stuff in here seems like it would make good spell components. Some of the books, scrolls, and knick-knacks thrum with more focused and defined energy, but the real sense of power comes from behind a curtain of beads covering the doorway on the other side of the old man's counter. "I think my most immediate concern is fatigue."

The old man frowns. "How so, young sir?"

"Well, a few days ago, I competed in the Under Tens Division of the same tournament that my teacher is taking part in." You gesture back to Lu-sensei, who trades wordless nods with the other old guy. "I had to push pretty hard during my matches, and I'm still trying to sleep off the aftereffects. With the way things have kept coming up, though, I'm not really making any progress."

"Ah. Am I correct in thinking that you have some talent in the more esoteric disciplines?"

"You are, sir."

"I may be able to help you, young one. Tell me, is the nature of your lingering fatigue physical, mental, spiritual, or mystical?"

"Definitely the last one. Maybe spiritual - the separation between the two is a little hazy."

The shopkeeper nods absently as he scurries back behind his counter and disappears through the beads with many a tiny click and shimmer. There is a minute of muttering, the clink of pottery and baskets being moved, and finally a satisfied sigh. When Uncle Gen returns, he is carrying a lacquer tray before him, with eight containers resting on its surface. Five of them are identical, little brown clay pots that would fit neatly into the palm of a grown man's hand, and slightly awkwardly into yours. The next two objects are stoppered glass flasks not too dissimilar from those you've seen in science class, each containing a smoky grey liquid that sparkles with faint flecks of green. The last item is a very small, glittering bottle that looks a bit like one of those tiny crystal figurines old ladies keep on their mantlepieces.

"Where in the Queen Mother's name did you get THAT?!" Briar bursts out, sounding absolutely shocked.

Gen almost smiles, but doesn't answer immediately. "My current stock. I don't see much trade for these with the mystical side - those practical enough to use them prefer to make their own, so untrusting of a harmless old man - so some of these have been sitting for quite a while. The seals are unbroken, however, so they are still good. These five, Spring Dew. Refresh you like a cherry tree putting forth the first blossoms of the year. Simple, safe, effective. These two, Smoke Water. Brewed with the breath of a lesser water-dragon. More potent, more expensive, slightly hazardous - but any rumors you hear about it attracting unattached young dragons is an utter fabrication. And this one... ah... Great Fairy's Tears. Very precious. Good for everything that ails you, and then some. Not quite as potent as Phoenix's Tears, but, the great firebird is one-of-a-kind for a reason."

Rika sighs. "Really, Uncle? Not that I approve of you selling your energy drinks to a young boy, but must you spin fairy tales as well?"

"Oh, my own niece does not believe the truth of my words!" Gen wails theatrically. "How will I live with the shame?"

You glance at Lu-sensei, who coughs and looks away.

"Not in front of customers, Uncle..."

"And now she doubts my business acumen! Oh, these sixty long years I have run this shop, come to naught in sixty seconds! Woe is me!"

As Gen collapses into a heap of tears, Rika sighs again. "Alright, Uncle. I can take a hint. It is your shop, so I'll leave you to it." She politely excuses herself. No sooner has the door closed behind her with a little tinkle of bells than the old man is back to normal.

"She's a good girl," he says conversationally. "Fine cook, good housekeeper, gave my nephew two strong boys and a beautiful daughter - but she's so very serious. No sense of wonder at all. Knew her when she was not much older than you are now, young sir, and even then, she would not have seen the little lady here." Gen sighs, shaking his head. "And to answer your question, little miss, when I was a much, much younger man, I lived in the country and used to spend my free time exploring. There was a certain cave in the hills with a spring deep in the back, and one of your honored elder sisters used to appear to travelers brave and determined enough to visit her. She shed a few of these precious tears for me before my family moved to the city, as a farewell gift."

"And you've been selling them?" Briar asks, neither approving nor disapproving.

"I had three, to begin with. One I used some years ago, when some damn fool doctor said my neice would lose her then-unborn little girl, and they both live and are well, even if Rika still has all the imagination of a stone and has feuds with her daughter that threaten to blow the roof off our humble little home. The second tear, I did indeed sell, to a woman desperate to save her ailing fiance, and they have been happily wed these fifteen years, with no less than five children. This third, I have kept, as no one with a similar need has yet been able to match its price." He smiles at you. "With respect, young sir, I do not believe I will be selling it this day."

"I couldn't afford it even if you were," you reply, still a little stunned. Great Fairy's Tears are a legendary curative in Hyrule, to the point where most people considered them a myth. Even Link didn't get away with carrying more than one drop at a time, if even that much - and the Great Fairies LIKED that boy. What in the world did this old man do, to earn THREE? Or is it not anything HE did, and just the fact that the Great Fairy knew how her tears would one day be needed?

"Probably true," Gen agrees genially. "I only brought it out to help see Rika on her way out, and because you are the first other people I've met in a dreadfully long time I knew could see the fairies."

"You must not get out a lot," Briar replies flatly. "The number of people we've run into who can see me has hit the double-digits just in the last couple of days."

"It says something, doesn't it?" you agree. "We live on a dimensional nexus where all of three elementary school kids, a two-year-old, and a dog know you exist, and then we come here, and it's like everybody and their grandfather-"

"Great-uncle," Gen says smoothly.

"-like everybody and their great-uncle," you correct yourself, "can see you."

"What does it say, Alex?"

"Heck if I know, but with my luck, it means somebody, somewhere, is laughing at me."

"In that case," Gen tells you, "I recommend buying two or even three of my remaining wares. Never hurts to be safe, you know. Spring Dew is fifty bucks, American, per bottle, while Smoke Water will run you one-hundred-fifty dollars a pop."

Ouch. Not that you were expecting them to be cheap, but still... your folks gave you some spending money, but after bus fare, the odd bit of snackage, and other minor purchases you've made since leaving Sunnydale, you're down to the equivalent of a hundred and sixty dollars, and you've still got other purchases planned. You could always try to float a loan from Cordelia or Lu-sensei, but you have to wonder about how, exactly, you'll pay them back - aside from cashing in your tournament winnings or maybe owing them your allowance for the next few years, you don't really have any other current source of income.

You have a strong impulse to buy one of the Spring Dews and chug it down, and an even stronger impulse to ask Uncle Gen - as a fellow fairy-friend and guy who knows more about the supernatural side of life than most folks - if he'd be willing to help you out with some of your current plans. The opportunity to visit an honest-to-goddesses Fairy Spring is one you never expected to find unless you'd someday returned to Hyrule, and the potential such a thing represents to your quests to normalize your bond with Briar and get her in touch with her mother is immense. Not to mention that the contents of this shop strongly imply that Gen knows where to go to get the good stuff.

Instead of letting those urges overcome you, you take a deep breath, center yourself, and try to calm the heck down. Old Man Gen doesn't know you from any other kid that just walked in off the street, and Briar's presence on your shoulder is by no means a reason to believe that he would just give you precious information like the address of a mystically-potent old friend. And as for giving up the sources of the goods he sells, or his personal recipes for these useful little elixirs... no. You'll have to earn something like that, and considering that this guy is a shopkeeper, buying a few more of his wares seems like the natural way to start getting into his good graces.

"Before that," you say politely, "I do have some other items I'm looking for."

"Ah, the customer is not so easily satisfied?" Gen smiles, but also carefully sets the tray of potions down somewhere under his counter, out of sight and out of reach. Yes, he's definitely known a fairy before; you'd not be at all surprised to learn there was an anti-theft ward of some sort on that counter. "Tell me what it is you seek, young sir."

Since you've already decided to explain the issue to Gen, you tell him about your "accidental" bond, and your mutual agreement to clear it up and properly stabilize it. One of the old man's wispy eyebrows goes up at this, and he regards Briar intently before she states her agreement.

"A familiar ritual, eh? Been a few years since I had any call for supplying one of those, but I have plenty of things that should work... you say you have an ofuda from a true miko, and intend to use earth from a place where you fought on the little lady's behalf? Earth and Spirit, then, leaving... let me see."

Gen bustles about his shop, gathering up bits of his stock, examining some critically, dropping others in his little basket without a second thought, sniffing this one before putting it back with distaste, licking another and nodding in satisfaction. When he returns to the counter, he begins laying everything out for your consideration.

"Wing shed by a minor dragonfly youkai, visually and functionally similar to a fairy's. Good for Wind, Shadow, or Life. Branch from an ancient jasmine shrub in a sage's garden, blown off during a storm just last autumn, been kept in open air since. Good for Wind or Fire. Kappa's water. The name says it all. A single drop of blood from a lesser dragon. Good for Fire, Water, or Life."

"Less expensive," Gen continues, "are these. Wings from a large but mundane dragonfly. Not as good for Wind or Shadow, but stil useful. Branch from a local cherry blossom tree, found fresh after a blustery night just a few days ago. Also reasonably good for Wind, less so for Fire. Scales of an elder carp raised at a certain shrine. Somewhat good for Water or Life. Standard block of incense. Decent for Fire."

"Can't help you with the other elements, I'm afraid. Don't keep too much Spirit or Shadow-stuff around, in case it comes to life looking for vengeance, Light comes and goes as it will, and it would take a far more skillful or reckless man than I to attempt to bottle Time. That said," Gen adds, "I do know a few places where an agile young fellow might acquire materials for himself, if he has the time and intestinal fortitude to see the job done. Be glad to provide directions in exchange for a service."

He has the sort of smile Ganondorf sometimes saw on horse-traders back in Hyrule. And not the greasy back-alley kind who'd as soon knife you in the back as look at you - no, this was the sort of expression worn by the really successful peddlers of horseflesh, men who could make the wealthy pay through the nose for well-dressed normal horses, bought up the really good horses for a song, and in a couple of cases hired Gerudo to steal the truly excellent horses that possessive nobles, rival merchants, and impossibly fortunate peasants would otherwise never part with.

Cordelia and Lu-sensei are both giving Gen dire looks. Briar doesn't seem too concerned.

"Hmmm," you muse, folding your arms across your chest and raising one hand to tap at your chin in what you believe is a thoughtful manner. "Your selection is quite impressive, and I find myself inclined towards the youkai's wing and a bottle of the Spring Dew" -you let your words hang for a moment before continuing- "but prudence dictates that I inquire about a few other matters before making any final purchases."

"Oh, of course, of course," Gen replies easily.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but exactly what kind of service are you after? I'm not going to be in Japan much longer and I have prior arrangements taking up most of this afternoon and this evening, so if you were about to ask for anything that could be termed 'questing,' I'm afraid I just can't spare the time."

Gen's expression very briefly flickers. You're not quite sure to what, though you sense no anger - frustration, at most.

"On the other hand," you add, "if you just need someone to cast a few reasonable spells for you, we may be able to work something out."

There is another momentary shift in what you are now mentally identifying as the old man's "business face."

"Hmmm," he says, adopting a pose and tone similar to your own. "That was not quite what I originally had in mind, but I can certainly think of a few possibilities... though with all due respect, if I wanted a spell cast, I would not normally go to such a young and untested talent. No offense meant, of course, honored customer."

"None taken. I can quite understand your reasoning; after all, given the choice between a conventional, publically-known and for-hire practitioner, and an unknown, foreign youth who learned his craft under the guidance of a guardian fairy, I know who I'd pick."

Okay, that time you definitely got his attention. Being a fairy-friend is one thing, but actually learning magic from one? He really wasn't expecting to hear that. He recovers fast, though.

"I am glad you understand, young sir. Still, I suppose there are some minor matters that would not suffer from a novice's attention, depending on your skillset."

"My best fields are Augmentation, Divination, and Summoning," you begin.

"Summoning," Uncle Gen interrupts you sharply, a keen light in his eyes. "You can summon? How good, what sort of creatures?"

"Short-term service from minor spirits, mostly," you answer. "I loosed a rather vicious swarm of bats on a pair of extremely unwanted callers just yesterday; you can ask my teacher for confirmation on that, if you like. I'm... a bit rusty with the more long-term arrangements. My hometown isn't friendly to magic that meddles with space-time. Too many things are liable to go horribly wrong - for that matter, there are a lot of horrible things that might decide to answer you. As far as variety goes, elementals, undead, extraplanar beings - the usual otherworldly stuff."

Uncle Gen makes a sound roughly like, "Heee!"

"Okay, the crazy old shopkeeper is officially creeping me out now," Cordelia says.

"Ah, forgive an old man, young lady. I was merely... pleased to hear that your companion's abilities were... not without some potential uses."

"You were making the same kind of sound Harmony does when she finds another of those tacky unicorn collectibles," the brunette replies bluntly.

There is a pause.

"I have no idea who this 'Harmony' girl is," Gen says slowly, "yet I have the distinct feeling I should be both insulted and deeply ashamed."

"...you should," you admit with a sigh. "You really, really should."

"That bad?" Lu-sensei inquires.

"Blonde, wealthy father who spoils her rotten, spiteful, nothing between her ears but an overinflated notion of her own worth and an obsession with cheap unicorn-themed merchandise." You shrug. "All the makings of your stereotypical Valley Girl, except that she gave up trying to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time after a certain incident."

Gen blinks. "Ouch."

"But that's not really important," you continue. "We were discussing summoning...?"

"...yes. Yes, we were." Gen clears his throat. "It occurs to me that if you could summon a being willing to part with a reagent of similar potency as the youkai wings that have drawn your interest, thereby sparing me the time and effort to track down and obtain such myself, that would have some minor value in trade."

"Depending on the being in question and the value of the reagent it offers, possibly even worth an equal exchange," you note.

"Let's not go crazy, now, kiddo."

Gained Cool E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Haggling F
Gained King of Men F(Plus)
Gained Manners E

"Heh. Alright, before we get to that, let's figure what I owe you in conventional terms. One Spring Dew, the dragonfly youkai wings... and what do you have in the way of books or scrolls that you'd recommend for a young practitioner hoping to broaden his understanding of the mystical arts?"

"Not much on the practical side of things," Gen admits, setting the little basket with the glittering, jewel-like wing under the counter before he once more goes bustling about his shop, putting the other items back in what you assume are their original places. He gathers up a small armful of books and a pair of scrolls as he does, and again, presents these for your consideration.

"Tolbin's Spirit Guide, Annotations by Yakumo, Third Edition. A very reasonable introduction to the most common or significant supernatural entities of the mysterious Orient; good starter material for an American boy. Wandering With A Wu-Jen, by Nihana, based on the author's travels with a native spellcaster. Reads like a travelogue, but has many accurate, pithy insights about magical traditions and entities. This one... I have no idea." Gen pauses and flips through the untitled book in question. "Huh. Looks like a diary... oh, yes, now I remember; that necromancer's apprentice sold me this a couple years back. Called it a primer on adapting the Black Art for a land where cremation is the traditional means of disposing of corpses. Also this, The Collected Spiritual and Philosophical Wisdom of the Lord Grand Master Shang Tsung, Volume One."

Lu-sensei makes a strangling noise in his throat at that.

"Also these," Gen continues, tapping the scrollcases. "Two scrolls, taken in trade from casters of good standing and reputation. One of general defensive spells and theory, one on recognizing, using, and defending against magics of the mind."

You study the selection. What, if any, catches your interest?

As for the summoning, what is your decision?

These things - the books, the scrolls, the secrets they contain? You want them.

All of them.

In the depths of your soul, long-smouldering sparks of ambition, covetousness, curiosity, envy, and hunger have been brought together to birth a small, bright flame of desire. As Akasha said the other day, power calls to power, and you fancy you can almost hear the words written on the pages before you whispering to you, offering up the answers to their mysteries, the truth behind their secrets, if only you will buy them and read them...

...and that, of course, is exactly what a merchant like Gen wants you to do. Dangle a few shiny trinkets in front of an impressionable customer, play up their wonder and according worth, and then charge more for them than you paid in the first place - as much as you think you can get away with, and the poor sap in front of you can afford. This is how Gen makes his living, and has made it since before your parents were born, if his remark to his niece-in-law wasn't exaggeration. Being a fairy-friend won't stop him from taking you for all you're worth, if you're fool enough let him - there are plenty of fairies who do that sort of thing all the time.

Gained Guarded F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

"Give me a moment to consult with my teachers, would you, sir?"

"Of course, young master. Take your time."

Not quite putting your back to the old man, as that would be rude, you turn to Lu-sensei and speak quietly. "So, my first impulse is to buy everything in that latest set. Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Apart from the purely financial angle?" Lu-sensei asks.

"Aside from that, yes - although if either of you think I'm getting ripped off for the books, or the value-in-trade of the summoning, please, tell me now. Because the way he squealed like a little girl makes me think the latter, at least, might be the case."

"Well," Briar starts, "as far as the summoning goes, you're right. I'll grant that you can't summon the really powerful creatures yet, but even being able to call up and deal with minor beasts and beings for whatever reagents they can offer is a goldmine for a guy like Gen. Not just because he can turn around and sell the stuff, either. Fetching reagents for a single spell is one thing, and stocking up for a single spellcaster's needs is another, but to run a store like this takes a huge amount of work in the field. Gen's too old to go hiking over hill and vale to wheedle big nasty monsters out of their shed scales and tail hairs; he's got to be paying somebody - more likely several somebodies - to keep this place in fresh components. One spell from you could save him a fair chunk of change."

You frown. "Then shouldn't he have tried to make it a bit less obvious that he really wants me to cast a spell for him?"

"Oh, if you were here on your own, I don't doubt for a second Gen would have played things a lot closer to the chest than he did. But you told him up-front that I was your magic tutor, kiddo, and the value of binding spells is pretty common knowledge to any experienced spellcaster. There was no point in him trying to hide it, and risk getting us both upset enough to walk out or just refuse to give him the spell."

That makes sense. "So how much should this spell be worth, in your opinion?"

Briar thinks it over. "It depends on what you end up summoning, but I'd say $150, easy. Go for $200 first, and let the old guy talk you down from there. And be sure to make him cover the costs of setting up the spell and compensating whatever you call," she adds firmly. "You're just the middleman in this arrangement; you don't need to go owing favors to Japanese spirits on behalf of total strangers."

"I definitely support that last bit of reasoning, Alex," Lu-sensei pipes up. "Though I must admit, I'm a bit opposed to the entire arrangement to start with."

"How so, Sensei?"

"I don't particularly care for the idea of calling up a being intelligent enough to be reasoned with, just so that you can ask it to give you part of its body," he replies dryly. "Though perhaps that's just me."

"It's not just you," Cordelia says.

"It's pretty standard practice in all the magical communities I've ever met," Briar counters. "The nice ones, anyway. A lot of wizards just go for the snatch, smash, and grab approach - you know, when they don't overreach themselves and summon something that turns them into hamburger."

This doesn't appear to ease their opinions on the matter at all.

"So," you say quickly, before Briar can add any more colorful commentary, "that covers the spell. What about the books and scrolls? Anything there I need to be aware of? Lu-sensei, you seemed surprised by that one. Bad news?"

"Possibly," he admits. "More to the point, I was surprised that Shang Tsung, of all the megalomaniacal sorcerers out there, actually sat down to write a book. A rather long book, in fact, if that 'Volume One' bit is any indication. And he's selling it, or allowing someone to sell it on his behalf." Your master shakes his head with a sigh. "I swear, the world gets more commercial every year."

"Bad guy, huh?" Cordelia guesses.

"And then some," Lu-sensei answers seriously. "An elder sorcerer and master martial artist known to be at least five centuries old, who practices a black art that lets him steal the souls of those he defeats in battle. He's also the current Grand Master of another tournament, one that's held only once every fifty years or so, and has an alarmingly high mortality rate among the participants."

"So, really bad guy," Briar states. "Might want to scratch that book off the list then, Alex. The successful villains generally don't get that way by leaving their secrets laying around where just anybody could get at them, and I for one don't really want to know what a guy like that would consider entertaining or educational reading material."

Fair point, though you are still tempted to buy the book. If there's a high-level soul-stealing sorcerer involved in the world of martial arts that you've entered with such a splash, it might be wise to know as much about him as possible before any sort of direct contact occurs between you.

"And the rest?" you ask.

"Hard to say," Briar admits. "You definitely want to get at least one of those scrolls, both if you can swing it, but as for the books, I really can't offer an opinion without reading them."

"Tobin and his Spirit Guides are respected names in the supernatural community," Lu-sensei offers. "As for the rest..." He shrugs.

Nodding, you turn back to Gen and start haggling. As Briar suggested, you open up by setting the value of your spell high; Gen immediately flusters in protest and counters with an insultingly low bid, to which you reply much in kind. After a couple minutes of arguing - in which Gen, with much dramatic wailing, flailing of arms, and gnashing of teeth, pretty much rakes you over the coals - you ask him what sort of creature it was that he wanted you to summon, and the old man turns less theatrical and more thoughtful.

"I admit that there is a certain appealing symmetry to having you summon another dragonfly-youkai," he says, stroking his mustaches. "Then again, it would be more practical to have you get in touch with a creature my suppliers cannot so easily locate. A shaving from an elemental of Shadow, for example, or perhaps one of the minor spirits of Light. I must say, I am torn on the matter."

Then he goes back to fleecing you.

Gained Haggling F(Plus)

In the end, the following arrangement is reached. Gen will cover the material costs of the binding, as well as any compensation involved. In return, he will provide you with a $125 discount towards any of the items you have already looked at. You can't escape the feeling that the shopkeeper is making out like a bandit in this arrangement, but there's not much you can do about it, short of walking out on him.

So, what does your final shopping list look like?

You make your selections. Gen sets one bottle of Spring Dew, the glittering wing in its little basket, the Third Edition copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide, and the scroll of enchantment out on the counter, while returning everything else to its proper place among the cluttered shelves. You watch the other scroll and the necromancer's diary go with some reluctance, but in the end, even with credit, you only have so much to spend. Perhaps another time.

"So then, young sir," Gen says. "Let us assume that I am a man utterly ignorant in the ways of summoning. What will you require?"

"For starters, a clean patch of floor with a level, unbroken surface, about two meters across," you state firmly. "And since we're after a being of Shadow... how are you for powdered iron, powdered silver, and twine?"

Gen starts to nod, then gives you an odd look. "Twine? Really?"

"Really."

"Well, I do have some... as for the floor, there should be space in the basement. One moment, if you please."

In short order, Gen has retrieved the necessary materials and ushered your group past his counter, through the curtain of beads, and across the storeroom beyond, which proves to be at least as crowded as the front of the shop. He guides you to a small stair, which leads into a dim, dank, funny-smelling basement crammed with a great many boxes and non-perishable junk. For all the clutter, there's very little dust, and no cobwebs; either Gen takes precautions, or his niece comes in here on occasion.

With some work, you're able to clear a space large enough to accomodate the binding circle. First, you lay down a dusting of iron - non-oxidized, of course - to outline the diagram. The metal's magnetic nature makes it a good base for a ritual meant to attract something, and its symbolic hardness and rigidity will serve well for constraining the changing nature of Shadow. Next is the silver, for its link to the moon, a source of illumination naturally-associated with darkness and shadow, as well as for the metal's purifying properties, to counter any minor malices. Each time you dispense the metallic powders, you let some of the material spill to form characters that will help strengthen and direct your magic. Finally, you take the ball of ordinary twine that Gen pulled out of a drawer, unwind and sever enough of it to lay out a third ring. You then invoke two minor cantrips: the first to levitate the twine about an inch off the floor; and the second to shine a faint light down on it at just the right angle so that its shadow outlines the two rings of powder below.

"How's that look?" you ask Briar.

She inspects the diagram closely, and finally nods. "Looks good."

"Alright. Everybody, please stand back and don't interrupt me. This is going to take a little while."

In point of fact, it takes you about ten minutes to cast the complete summoning and binding, but once your magic starts flowing and reality begins to warp within the borders of the circle, you barely notice the time. Rationalizing that you could use the emphasis and energy to help empower the ritual, you give into the urge to show off as you cast, speaking a little louder and gesturing more emphatically than is really necessary, and even throwing in the odd bit of aura-born special effects for good measure. The ringed-off section of concrete dims and destabilizes into a pool of greyish-black liquid that ripples in response to unseen forces. A darksome mist rises from the unsteady surface and soon thickens into a cloud, within which flickers a pale, ghostly light.

Gained Acting D
Gained Dark Affinity F(Plus)
Gained Summoning D(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Words of Power E(Plus)(Plus)

"Oooh-kay," Briar murmurs. "Major Twilight Realm flashbacks, thank you very much."

Without breaking off your chant, you spare her a hard look, and the fairy winces and goes silent.

About two minutes of casting after that, you feel the magic resonate in a way that indicates something has taken the lure you've been casting into the ether. You respond by dumping a large chunk of mana and pulling, mystically, at which point a figure begins to fade into view amidst the cloud.

You and Briar take one look and groan in unison.

"What the hell, Alex?"

"Hey, I distinctly told everybody not to interrupt me. You went ahead and did it anyway, Miss Magic Expert."

"You're blaming me, for this?" Briar asks in amazement, waving at the summoning circle and the creature within.

The being you have called forth taps one foot on the liquid-looking surface below it, getting the clear clop of hoof-on-stone. It has the form of a horse, a colt that is young and skinny enough to fit within the confines of the binding circle, though it still gives the impression of filling the space almost to the point of overflowing. Its coat is midnight black, its eyes are deep ruby, and its mane and tail are a shade of red almost identical to the one you see in the mirror every morning.

You've never seen this creature before in your life, and yet, it's very, very familiar.

From the way the otherworldly young equine looks at you, whickers, and pricks its - or rather, his - ears forward, the feeling is mutual.

"How in the world do you go from 'annoyed at fairy' to 'summon Ganondorf's horse?'" Briar demands.

"I don't know, alright? It just... popped out there."

"Excuse me," Gen interrupts.

You, Briar, and the horse turn to him. He smiles.

"I take it you both know this creature, and its owner. Is this going to pose a problem for our transaction?"

The horse looks at you, a touch of wariness entering his crimson gaze.

Well?

You look at the horse for a moment, then back to Gen. "Do you have any apples?"

The horse chuffs. It sounds as if he likes that idea.

"As it happens, Rika went shopping yesterday evening, after my nephew explained that the dojo would be hosting many guests today. I believe fresh fruit was on her list; young miss, would you be so kind as to go and inquire if Rika would spare us an apple or three? Or perhaps a cube of sugar?"

Cordelia blinks. "What am I supposed to say? That we need to feed a magic horse?"

"That should work, yes," Gen agrees cheerfully. "Just make sure to blame it on me. Rika will say something about me being senile and rudely imposing on a customer and guest, but she'll give you apples if she has any, because she knows that the crazier I talk, the better a sale I tend to make."

The brunette stares at the old man, slowly nods, and heads up the stairs.

You turn back to the horse. "While that's being taken care of, I don't suppose you could explain why, when I sent out a general summons, I got you, specifically?"

The horse regards you in silence.

...yeah, you didn't really think so. Smart horse or not, he's still a horse, and Ganondorf didn't exactly select his steed based on sparkling conversational abilities. Besides, from the look of him, it's a pretty safe bet that the horse is in the same kind of reincarnation mess that you are. He might not even have been alive in this form long enough to realize he has memories of another life, assuming that kind of reasoning is within his abilities at all. Again, a smart horse, but still a horse.

That said, even if he has less of an idea than you about how he ended up here and a complete inability to speak a human tongue besides, the horse does seem to be sharp enough to follow what you're saying. So you decide to fill the time spent waiting for Cordelia's return by explaining the situation to him. He listens, but doesn't show much of a reaction, even when you broach the subject of taking a couple of hairs from his mane. You start to wonder if you're just wasting your breath. It might go better if you were able to touch him, but that would break the circle, and that's always a no-no in summoning, at least until you have an agreement hammered out with whatever creature you've called up that strictly defines what it can and cannot do once it's free to move around. That's going to be a bit tricky with a horse.

Gained King of Beasts F

Gen gives talking to the horse a try, but he has even less luck at getting a response than you do. Fortunately, it's not long afterwards that Cordelia comes back with a plate of apple slices - enough to account for two fair-sized apples, you think - which immediately get the young horse's attention.

"Whoa, whoa," you say, raising your hands in an attempt to soothe the suddenly-eager little stallion, without spooking him.

"Oh, whoa yourself," Cordelia replies. "He just wants somebody to be nice to him. Here you go, boy."

"Cordy, wait, the circle-!"

Before you can stop her, Miss Chase's hand crosses the invisible barrier defined by the threefold circle on the ground. You feel something give way as the magic is disrupted - not enough to banish the horse back to where it came from, but enough to let it do whatever it feels like.

This is the point of the story where the harmless-looking summoned creature turns into a huge, raging force of demonic terror and fury, ripping its hapless summoner apart and going on a nigh-unstoppable rampage through the unsuspecting world, wreaking havoc unseen outside of a kaijuu flick before some courageous, clever heroes contrive to bring it down, sealing it away, banishing it back from whence it came, or just killing it outright.

The great and terrible little horse leans forward ominously, menacingly snuffles the defenseless apple slice resting on Cordelia's treacherous open palm, and then viciously scarfs it down with a single brutal bite and some chewing - doubtless with much vegetable screaming.

"Good boy," Cordelia coos, stroking the long, black face. "How about another one?"

The horse pushes forward, obviously liking that idea very much.

In the middle of tending to the animal, Cordelia glances up and finds you, Briar, and the two old men staring at her.

"What?" she demands. "I've been taking riding lessons at the country club for over a year."

You seriously consider yelling at Cordelia about what she just did, then decide that this would almost certainly spook the horse, which you'd really rather avoid. Sighing, you absently conjure up a stiff comb and begin grooming the horse's mane while Cordelia distracts him with more apple-slices. You've collected several promising hairs, transmuted the comb into a different shape, and started working on the horse's neck when it occurs to you to wonder where, exactly, you learned how to groom a horse.

...ah, damn it.

Gained Animal Handling E
Gained Conjuration F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Past Life Experience C(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Transformation F(Plus)(Plus)

"Keep going, Alex," Cordelia advises, noticing your hesitation.

"But-"

"He's enjoying it."

That much appears to be true. Sighing, you resume the task at hand, cleaning out and changing the form of the brush several times as you go. Finally, you've done all that you feel you can, return the comb to the ether from which you called it, and take a step back to study the horse - who has, by this time, long finished the apples, and is now regarding you calmly.

Somewhat reluctantly, you reach out, and pat the horse on the shoulder. "Thanks, boy. You can go, now."

He blinks, lowers his head in what almost looks like a bow, and disappears into shadow. The last remnants of your binding spell vanish with him.

Gained Horse (?)

"...young sir?" Gen asks cautiously.

"Here," you say, handing the old shopkeeper one of the hairs. "Your trade, as agreed. I think we're done here." And you head up the stairs.

Sensing that your mood has taken a decided downturn, even if he is not privy to the reasons why, Gen dispenses with his batty old man act and hustles up the stairs after you, packing up your purchases in a single back and completing your transaction with a minimum of fuss and bother.

Gained Dragonfly Youkai Wing
Gained Scroll of Enchantment
Gained Shadow Horsehair
Gained Spring Dew
Gained Tobin's Spirit Guide

Is there anything else you wish to do in Gen's shop?

With a jerky nod and a mumbled farewell, you leave Gen's shop, Briar sitting silently on your shoulder while Cordelia and Lu-sensei follow in your wake. Reaching the edge of the property, you stop and look around; as luck or fate would have it, you can see a bus stop down the street to your left, and you march straight for it.

"Alex?" Cordelia asks cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"...not entirely," you admit in a tight voice.

"This is about the horse, right?"

"Partly."

She is silent for several strides, before sighing and walking faster to get alongside you. "Alright," she says briskly. "Why shouldn't I have given apples to the magic colt from another world?"

Never let it be said that Cordelia Chase is a dummy. Stopping where you are, you let out a long sigh, clamp down on your simmering temper, and - after making sure none of the lunch-hour pedestrians moving around are close enough to overhear - begin to explain for Cordelia the dangers inherent in higher-level summoning magic, with special emphasis on what tends to happen when a binding circle is broken.

"We all got remarkably lucky this time," you continue. "The horse really was the young animal it appeared to be, and it sort-of knew who I was, so it didn't panic over being summoned. And it liked the apples and grooming," you admit with a sigh. "If any of those hadn't been the case, we'd have been in trouble. I'm just about tapped out magically - again - and even if I wasn't, there are only so many spells that would have been safe to use in that situation, only they might not have worked, because I'm pretty sure that horse was magic-resistant on some level. Not as bad as Altria, but enough to give it some protection. That would have shielded it against just about anything Briar could do, and I'm not sure if Lu-sensei has any experience punching out horses."

"I don't, by the way," your teacher notes dryly. "Somehow, the need to learn never came up. For that matter, I'm not even sure where to try a nerve strike to disable a horse." He looks thoughtful.

"Lu-sensei," Cordelia says formally, but firmly, "you are NOT allowed to start attacking horses when we get home."

"I had no plans to do so."

She narrows her eyes at him, then nods. "Good. I know most of the horses in Sunnydale. I like them." There's a definite warning in there, and, having delivered it, Cordelia turns her attention back to you. "So, the next time I see graffiti that might be magical, don't touch, don't move over it, and don't let anything or anyone else move over it?"

"In short, yes."

She nods, and heads for the bus stop. You note that she's not apologizing for what she did, but then, Cordy seldom does - and at least she's not trying to chew you out for failing to warn her about the danger ahead of time. So you got your point across, you didn't lose your temper in the process, Cordy didn't bite your head off... all in all, a win. And you feel a bit less tense now, too. Still worried about the horse and what it means that you were able to summon him without specifically trying, but a lot better than you were a minute ago.

It takes a few minutes for you to confirm which of the routes shown at the stop you want, another quarter-hour after that waiting for the right bus to get there, and then another ten minutes or so to make the trek back to your hotel. You decide to leave your purchases in their bag for the duration, just on the off-chance that damage might result or the wrong sort of attention be drawn by your taking them out in public. When you walk into the hotel's by-now familiar lobby, you glance around; there's no sign of the ninja, and the clock behind the desk proclaims it do be 12:25, which gives you about half an hour before you're due to meet them.

What last-minute preparations do you want to make?

You head back to your suite, where you take a few minutes to indulge your paranoia by checking the rooms over for signs of forced entry while you were gone - the relative cleanliness of the place says that either you were raided by neat-freak ninja, or else the hotel cleaning staff were in here at some point, the fiends - and then by figuring out a place to stash your loot, just in case somebody breaks in after you leave.

Gained Guarded E
Gained Watchful D(Plus)(Plus)

Cordelia watches your antics for a bit before shaking her head and going to her own room, saying that she's going to change and touch up her hair, and you should call her when it's time to go meet Ayane. This tallies just fine with your intention to take everybody along to the training session, so you let Cordy go about her business while you pull out the Spring Dew and settle down. You briefly consider trying to divine the potion's contents, but dismiss the idea; it's not that it's impossible to analyze a potion to discover its base composition, it's just that you're not aware of anybody other than a master potion-brewer ever doing it. Your own level of ability is nowhere near that lofty plateau, to be honest, and if you were to probe the contents of this bottle, you probably wouldn't be able to get much more out of the process than "plant stuff," "bug stuff," "some kind of powdered stone," and the like. Besides, studying a potion in that kind of detail tends to destroy it, which would totally defeat the purpose in this case.

That said, you can at least observe the elixir's effects in action. Spending about a sixth of your remaining mana, you invoke a divination spell that will track the physical, mental, and mystical effects Gen's Spring Dew has on you. Once you're sure that the magic is up and running, you uncork the bottle - with an obliging squeak-and-pop - wordlessly toast Briar, and then tip it back.

*Glug.*
*Glug.*
*Glug.*
*Ah.*

Hm. Tastes like the smell after a spring rain, with a touch of something fruity. Oooh, and it tingles.

Watching through your spell, you note that the potion does have a physiological impact beyond just taking up space in your stomach. It's a little hard to say what that effect is, because it all happens very quickly, and about a third of the way into the process, you lose track of the subtle details due to a flare in your mana reserves. It's not intense enough to be dazzling, let alone blinding, but it does obscure the little things. Still, studying the potion at work wasn't a total loss. About two-thirds of the mana you just regained came from the potion itself; another sixth came from your own being, with the remainder being drawn in from the environment around you - a detail which has slightly alarming implications regarding potential future use of potions on the Hellmouth.

On reflex, you stash the empty bottle. It's not Hylian glass, but who knows? It could still be useful.

Lost Spring Dew
Gained Empty Clay Bottle
Gained Mana Recovery F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)
Gained 20% mana; your mana is now at 29%.

As you mull over the effects of the Spring Dew and their implications, you consider ordering lunch, but you don't really feel hungry enough to bother. Maybe it's a side-effect of the potion? Or it could be that those waffles you had for breakfast were just really filling. Hard to say. Regardless, you decide to pass on eating for now. It's not like missing one meal is going to hurt you.

Not feeling like opening up your new book or scroll when you'll just have to put them down again in short order, you spend the next ten minutes or so sitting back on your bed, staring at the ceiling with your brain in idle. After a bit, you get up, gather your compatriots, and head for the hotel gym.

There's no one in sight when you arrive. Absolutely no one, not even another guest or a staff member.

What do you do?

You look to your left, then to your right.

"Oh my," you say, with deliberately false disbelief. "I come to a room where I'm supposed to be meeting with ninjas, only to find not a single ninja in sight. Whatever could be happening?"

"They're messing with you?" Cordelia suggests.

Something seems to flicker at the edge of your vision, but when you look directly at it, it's not there.

"That's a given," you say in response to Cordy's remark, while trying to focus your mundane senses. That corner-of-your-eye flicker doesn't reappear, and when you try to listen, all you really become aware of is the size and emptiness of this room. It's not as bad as walking into the school gym back home when nobody's around, but it's still a bit unsettling to have so much enclosed space. Mostly because it reminds you of the many, many high-ceilinged, open-walled rooms of ancient Hyrulean ruins where Ganondorf did so much of his plotting, thieving, fighting, and dying. On a whim, you even try sniffing the air. That... doesn't quite work. There's definitely something in the air about the doorway, a sort of smoky scent, but it's very faint and not familiar to you.

Gained Looking D(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Scenting F(Plus)

"Are you done?" Cordelia asks.

"Just about," you answer, before going into Jedi mode and reaching out with your feelings. That works, up to a point; the level of ambient life-force in the room is clearly too high for the three humans and one fairy that make up your group, and a certain part of what's present lacks the distinctive impressions of your companions. That telltale trace is a bit too spread out for your ki sense to get a lock on its source or sources - actually, you're sure it's the plural, as you can pick up on two somewhat familiar presences.

Gained Ki Sense D

Finally, you shrug, draw off a bit of your recently-replenished mana, blend it with your ki, and send out the energy pulse you've only used a couple of times before.

Gained Power Sense F(Plus)(Plus)

"Gah!" Ayane exclaims, as she stumbles into view from behind one of the power drink vending machines. "That again?"

"Oh my," Kasumi murmurs from next to one of the folded-up exercise machines mounted on the left-hand wall. She is wincing slightly and rubbing one of her temples. "That was... very loud, Alex."

"Effective, though," Ayame comments - from the middle of the room? Okay, ninja mom is ninja enough to hide in plain sight. So too are the three - perhaps four - adult presences that momentarily staggered into sensory "view" in the hall when the wave of your Power Sense hit them.

"Also not something I recall showing you," Lu-sensei muses. "How long have you been able to do that, lad?"

"A few days, now, Sensei."

"And you didn't think to mention it?"

"...we've been really busy?" you offer weakly.

The old man blinks, then shrugs, conceding the point.

"Okay," Ayane says. "That's the third time I've tried to sneak up on you that it hasn't worked. What gave me away?"

"Well, for starters, I already knew you were supposed to be here. Secondly, I have some pretty keen senses even without getting all mystical about it. And thirdly... you do know it would have been less suspicious if you'd left at least one person to play decoy, right?"

"...Lady Ayame may have mentioned that, yes," Ayane mumbles, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Well, then," the lady in question says. "Since we're all here, how shall we begin?"

"Before we get started," you say with a slight frown, "could somebody explain why I can smell smoke near the door?"

The three kunoichi, Cordelia, and Lu-sensei all blink at you. From the way Briar shifted on your head when you spoke the question, you have the feeling she is doing the same, merely from a different angle.

"What sort of smoke, Alexander?" Ayame asks.

"Um..." You pause, abandoning decorum to sniff at the air in search of a second take on the scent.

Gained Scenting F(Plus)(Plus)

"Not woodsmoke," you say with some confidence. "Not like smoke from a gas-fire, either. Sort of chemical."

Frowning, the ninja matriarch strides over, gives you an apologetic look, and then leans forward slightly to inhale. It's a strange thing to watch, but you notice Cordelia and Lu-sensei both doing the same thing, and from the almost-inaudible sounds coming from above your field of vision, Briar seems to be giving it a go as well After this very odd moment, Ayame sighs and shakes her head, appearing disappointed.

"Please excuse me, would you?" she says, before stepping into the hall.

Ayane and Kasumi trade glances.

"Koji's in trouble, isn't he?" the lavender-haired girl observes with a slight smile.

"You don't have to sound so happy about it, Ayane."

"Yes, I do. He's a jerk."

"I take it you two are aware of the source of this scent?" Lu-sensei inquires.

"One of the guards assigned to us today has a theatrical streak," Ayane explains. "He just has to set off a smoke bomb every time he finishes giving a report or receiving orders. It happens often enough that he has to make his own, and he's not good enough to make them scentless."

"To be fair," Kasumi adds, "it's not easy to disguise the smell of gunpowder, even for the small amounts the bombs use. Neither of us can do it yet."

"Couldn't he just stop using the bombs?" Cordelia asks.

"It's been politely suggested a number of times now," Kasumi admits, breathing a smaller version of her mother's dismayed sigh.

"I think Lady Ayame may have decided to stop suggesting and make it an order," Ayane adds.

Well, that's considerably less hazardous than some of the potential sources of smoke you were worried about discovering. Since you're uncertain as to how long it will take the lady to track down and admonish the ninja in question, you float the idea of going ahead with the training exchange. Both girls prove quite amenable to the idea, particularly when you offer to go first.

For the next twenty minutes or so, you discuss the mechanics involved in the spell of enlargement - and only this spell. You're not about to go giving away the foundations of your entire spellcasting style, any more than the girls are about to show you how the entire school of ninjutsu works. Kasumi and Ayane follow your instruction with very similar expressions of concentration, which occasionally waver into uncertainty when you get into the more technical areas. The fact that your spell doesn't use ki at all appears to be a novelty to the ninja - or more of a stumbling block, perhaps, considering that everything you've seen them do to date, even their own "ninja magic," incoporates at least some manipulation of life-force at its core. Still, Kasumi and Ayane are both clearly bright girls, and they seem to have a decent grasp on the theory in this particular bit of magic. Also, Lady Ayame returned at some point while you were talking.

At that point, you decide to shift over to the practical. How will you start this phase of the lesson?

"So," you say, "for the practical portion, do you want to start out with experiencing what it's like to suddenly be over two meters tall, or would you rather I do my giant impression again?"

The girls trade glances again.

"I have wondered what it would be like to be taller than Big Brother," Kasumi admits.

"You aren't the only one."

"Agreed, then?"

"Agreed."

They face you. "How do they say it in the movies?" Kasumi muses. "'Make it a double?'"

"...I'm not sure if that line works in this situation, but I get what you mean. Right, then. First thing's first; we need to make sure you can both see what I'm doing."

"One of your detection spells?" Kasumi guesses, frowning. "Nothing personal, Alex, but trying to make sense of the last one gave me a bit of a headache."

"This one will be a lot easier," you assure her, before working your magic. Kasumi winces in anticipation, then blinks several times before relaxing. Ayane, meanwhile, is busily eyeballing everything and everyone in sight. Then she turns to you and Briar as if to say something, stops, and stares.

"Wow," she murmurs, glowing red eyes fixed on the two of you. "That's... a lot of colors. How are we supposed to track what's the spell and what's just you?"

"It'll be pretty obvious," you answer. "With a few exceptions, spells are formed, cast, and resolved almost entirely outside the caster's body. Their structure is a lot more rational than most people's auras, too. Here, I'll show you."

Taking it as slowly as you can, you weave the neccessary mana into the first enlargement spell, hold it for a moment, then affix it to Kasumi and let it go. And a moment there, there is an eight-foot-tall eight-year-old girl standing in the room.

"No purple fire and black smoke?" Ayane quips, trying to keep her cool and not entirely succeeding.

"I was kind of showing off in the ring the other day," you admit. "Playing to the crowd, and all that."

"Goodness," Ayame murmurs, looking up at her daughter with an expression of unmasked surprise. Sure, the ladies came into this intellectually prepared for the possibility of seeing - or being - a giant little girl, but that doesn't do much to reduce the emotional impact. "Kasumi, dear; how do you feel?"

"A little dizzy, Mama," the girl dutifully reports. "Um. Not quite as strong as I was expecting, either. I mean, I do feel stronger, but I don't think I could pick Ayane up with one hand, either."

"Try it and I will tickle you," the lavender-haired girl says bluntly. "And I know all your weak points."

Kasumi frowns, and performs part of a kata you think you saw Ayane hit you with during your match. "I'm a bit slower, too," she admits. "And my ki doesn't feel like it's changed at all. I'm not any tougher like this, am I, Alex?"

"No, you're not." You pause to finish casting the spell for Ayane, Kasumi watching intently the whole time. "The main benefits to this spell are your increased reach, the added striking power you get from the extra mass, and a fair improvement in strength-based grappling techniques. You can haul about twice as much as you could before, too. The downsides are that you don't get any faster or more durable, you're a bit clumsier and easier to hit, and of course, low doorways."

"I would imagine weak floorboards to be an issue as well," Ayame comments.

"I haven't run into that problem myself, but yes, that's another thing to watch out for." As the two oversized girls begin a light, low-speed spar to help them familiarize themselves with these forms, you frown. "The spell is really meant to benefit a brute-force fighting style more than a speed- or agility-based one. To the best of my knowledge, it was originally designed to help armored soldiers meet things like lesser giants and overgrown war-beasts on more equal terms."

"Not something we'd use regularly," Ayame admits. "On the other hand, the women in our clan tend towards a small, slender build. Skill and speed and cleverness are all well and good, but speaking from experience, it can get very, very frustrating to always be the little person in a fight."

"Preaching to the choir, sister," Briar retorts.

You have reason to know that always being the big person can suck, too - particularly when the "little guy" is Link - but you decide not to say so. The senior warrior-woman and spell-weaver are having a moment; males intrude upon such at their own peril. Instead, you turn your attention back to the girls; Kasumi has just started to return to normal size, and Ayane follows not too long afterwards. In deference to the fact that this is a training session, you deliberately held back some power on the spells, shortening their duration so that you'd be able to cast a couple more times - which you do, giving the girls an additional opportunity to see the formation of this bit of magic.

"The core of the spell to make somebody else increase in size is really no different from the one that lets you get taller," you tell them. "There's just some additional spellwork to extend its range, and a higher mana cost to cover that." You conclude your demonstration by casting Enlarge Self, briefly joining the girls at their lofty altitude before dismissing all three spells at once. After that, you leave them to experiment - the question is, for how long do you wait? It's about 1:25 now, and you figure you can draw this lesson out until 2:00, maybe 2:30. Cordelia will probably start to get irritable if you push for more than that. Really, she's been remarkably patient and polite thus far, not having snarked at you once despite not having much to do.

You pause at that thought, which doesn't sound like Cordelia, and glance in her direction. Ah, Lu-sensei's making her do some routines for him to critique. Good, that'll keep her occupied for a bit.

Back to the matter at hand: how long do you give Ayane and Kasumi for self-study, before going after your half of the deal?

Keeping a magic-detecting eye on the kunoichi as they try to work out how to manipulate their mana without drawing on their ki, you calmly walk over to Lu-sensei.

"Something on your mind, Alex?"

"I was wondering if it'd be appropriate to ask if Cordelia could learn the Body Flicker as well," you say. "Assuming you're interested, of course, Cordy."

The brunette regards you, your mutual teacher, and Briar flatly. "This is the one that's just running really fast, right? Not one of the ones that starts warping reality around you?"

"...um, yeah. That's right."

"Then it's fine. As long as we don't spend all afternoon on it."

"I thought we'd give them another twenty minutes or so to work at the spell, then see about trading places in the whole 'teacher and student' thing and go on like that until about quarter-after two. That okay for you?"

"Sure."

"Oh, and would you mind if I invited Kasumi and Ayane to go shopping with us after? I don't know if they'll accept or not, but it seemed right to ask."

Cordelia blinks at that, then smiles. "Actually, that sounds like a great idea."

"As for your original question, Alex," Lu-sensei says then, "there should be no problem asking for Cordelia to participate in the exchange. If they had any objections to her presence, they would have spoken up by now. Now then, boy, get your attention back on your students! It's a poor teacher indeed who wastes class time in idle conversation!"

"Yes, Lu-sensei!" And you hurry away.

Although they practice industriously and occasionally ask questions that you do your best to answer, you notice that Kasumi and Ayane are giving you more and more frequent puzzled looks.

"Alright," Ayane finally says, at about twenty to two, "I can't figure out if this is some cultural misunderstanding or you're just insanely patient, but it's starting to drive me crazy. Alex, you know you can ask us about the Body Flicker already, right?"

"I was going to give it a few more minutes," you reply. "But if you want to switch tracks for a bit, I've got no objections. Just show me your best effort with the enlargement spell."

Ayane does so, forming a hand-sign to help her concentrate. Her aura builds and crosses into the visible spectrum, and for a moment, you see her as a sort of double-image - one normal-sized, the other maybe half an inch taller and proportionately expanded in all other directions. Then the accumulating magic gutters out, leaving Ayane breathing hard for a moment.

"Not as easy as it looks," she admits.

"You're doing better than I am," Kasumi notes glumly. "I can't seem to keep my ki and mana separate. Alex, what do you suppose would happen if I tried to adapt this spell to use both energy sources?"

"...I don't think it'd work," you reply after some thought. "I've noticed that when I use my own hybrid techniques, they tend to eat any spells that I had active at the time. The spells need structure as much as they do raw power, but ki and mana together provide so much power that the weave of the magic just comes apart. If you had really excellent control, maybe it could work... but then you'd be able to separate the energies anyway."

Gained Teaching E(Plus)

You collectively switch over to Body Flicker training after that. As Lu-sensei said, adding Cordelia to the session proves no problem - if anything, it helps, since it gives Kasumi someone to focus on while Ayane works with you, instead of having both girls overload you with information. Perhaps mimicking your earlier performance, Ayane starts out with the theory behind the technique, which proves to be simpler in some respects than your spell, but equally complicated in others. Using ki doesn't require the complex structures of magic, but it does require you to work with your instincts - and at the same time, to overcome them, using the energy of your body, mind, and spirit in ways that would normally never occur. Much of what Ayane says tallies with the observations you've already made on the subject, and after about ten minutes, she gives you a suspicious look.

"Try it," she says abruptly.

You give her a look, but her red eyes are insistent, and so, with a shrug - which has Briar vacating her place on your head in a hurry - you move.

"Holy crap!" Cordelia bursts out, flinching away as you suddenly appear about a foot away. Kasumi doesn't yelp, but has reflexively fallen into a defensive stance, which she quickly abandons when she sees it's just you.

"Sorry, sorry," you apologize, holding up your hands. "Overshot."

"Ah," Kasumi says, smiling. "Yes, that happens a lot until you get the hang of it. Was that your first attempt?"

"Yeah. It's... different from magically-enhanced speed." A haste spell speeds up everything - not just your basic movement, but also your perception and reflexes. The basic acceleration isn't as great, but you can adapt to changing conditions on the fly, as needed. The Body Flicker just sort of launches you like a rocket, leaving you unable to see a thing for the brief instant that it lasts. Man, it's no wonder you've only seen people using it for point-to-point movement! If you tried to turn at that speed, you'd trip over your own feet and end up with skid marks on your face, at least! Although that begs the question of just how all those ninja managed to use the technique to get behind their opponents under combat conditions...

"I guess watching all those fights was good for something," Ayane notes as she comes over and joins the rest of you, hands cupped into a neat little landing platform for Briar. "So, Alex. At what point, exactly, did you figure out how the Body Flicker works?"

"I had the opportunity to talk with Lu-sensei about... a related topic this morning," you reply, carefully not bringing up the blue-shift that contributed to Cordelia's freak-out. "It helped me put together some of what I saw in all the tournament matches so far. Though I'm still not sure how you turn when you're going that fast."

For some reason, Ayane appears a lot more cheerful all of a sudden. "You don't, generally. You have to lay your path out ahead of time with ki, and then let yourself be pulled along. That's why it's a short-range technique, and not something anyone bothers with for actual overland travel; it takes more effort than it's worth, and that's when you're crossing a field or some other open space where you can actually see well enough to figure out your course."

Gained Body Flicker E(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Evasion F(Plus)(Plus)
Gained Ki Enhancement E(Plus)

You spend the rest of the meeting practicing the move and getting advice from Ayane, while Kasumi works with Cordelia. The two brunettes don't show nearly as much progress as you do, but at 2:11, you hear a sudden crash and a yelp.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Cordelia groans from where she's sprawled out the floor, holding one hand to her forehead and another to her right knee. "Why did I let you crazy people talk me into this, again?"

"Because being able to run faster than the eye can follow is a good way to get out of danger," Kasumi says with more good-natured cheer than the statement deserves.

"Provided you don't fall on your face in the process," comes Cordy's reply.

"There is that, yes." And then Kasumi helps her up. "Well, I think that may be a good place to stop, don't you?"

"Oh, yes. Completely."

"I don't have any problem with that," you agree. "Though if we're calling an end to the lesson... do you ladies have any urgent plans? Because if not, I sort of agreed to let Cordelia have the afternoon for shopping, and we were wondering if you wanted to go along?"

Kasumi's reaction is one of surprised pleasure, followed by a beseeching look at her mother. Ayane is equally surprised, and you see a flash of hopefulness before she covers it with a cool, composed mask. Lady Ayame appears very reluctant to accept the proposal, and with recent events, you could hardly blame her if she decided to say no and hustle the two girls back out of sight. Oddly enough, it doesn't seem to be Kasumi's masterful puppy dog eyes that change her mother's mind; Ayame virtually ignores the devastating gaze attack and instead spends a long moment studying Ayane's false composure, before closing her eyes with a sigh.

"All right, Kasumi. We can go. Just give me a moment to speak with the guards."

While Kasumi cheers in delight, Ayane does a double-take and stares at the older woman in disbelief. Ayame merely smiles and leaves the room, while Kasumi and Cordelia start talking about where to go.

Do you have anything to add to their little discussion?

Cordelia and Kasumi both appear amused when you mention wanting to find a store that sells plushies, but Kasumi also clearly thinks it's sweet, and assures you she knows a couple of good places to look for a toy for your sister. Ayane misses a perfect opportunity to tease you, seeming lost in her own thoughts about something - at least until the other girls drag her into helping them plot out what's beginning to sound less like a simple shopping trip and more like an invasion.

Ayame re-enters the room and speaks briefly with Lu-sensei before ushering Kasumi and Ayane off to clean up and get changed. Cordelia has the same idea in mind, as she hurries back to the suite ahead of you and Lu-sensei, firing off a comment/command over her shoulder for the pair of you to at least try to look presentable for public viewing.

You and your master trade glances, study your outfits, find absolutely nothing wrong with either of them, and then shrug in unison.

But you get changed anyway. Just in case.

At about twenty to three, your group strolls out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby, where you find the three kunoichi waiting - in plain sight this time - all of them changed into different, quite normal outfits and looking like an ordinary (if very pretty) young mother taking her daughter and her daughter's friend out for the day. Ayane's exotic coloration somehow manages not to ruin the entire premise, and you'd like to know how she's doing it. She notices your interest, smirks, and walks ahead to let you wonder.

For the next two and half hours, your existence is dictated by the will and whimsy of three little girls with entirely too much money and an entire mall of goodies to spend it on. Cordelia, as you know, is already an accomplished mall-trawler; if she were a Girl Guide, and they had a badge for shopping, she'd have earned it several times over. Kasumi's nice-girl facade proves to conceal an almost equally-predatory consumer skill, and while Ayane starts out a little awkward, she learns quickly, and is soon sniffing out deals with the two little masters of the art. Clothes and shoes are tried on by the dozen and discarded, with only a relatively small fraction of the potential purchases actually being made, but that is still enough to leave you, Lu-sensei, and even one commonly-dressed, unremarkable-seeming, and now rather embarrassed-looking young Japanese man serving as pack mules.

You get the feeling that this is the kind of mission they don't talk about at ninja school.

Towards 3:45, the girls' path of commercial conquest takes your group to a toy store. Leaving your assigned portion of precious cargo with the older men, you venture inside and start looking around. Eventually, with input from the girls, you've narrowed the field to a few final choices.

Mindful that your current funds are down to $70, what will you buy?

You're honestly torn between two options. The dragon is remarkably awesome for an adorable little mass of plush, and bears a certain thematic resemblance to a red-scaled, Oriental-style dragon you've glimpsed in some of Ganondorf's memories, but the boar is just as cute, and its aspect calls out to you on an even more fundamental level. In the end, it's the slight difference in quality and the potential humor value that tip the scales and make you buy the dragon, who you resolve to introduce to your little sister as, "Altria."

You are certain that Ambrose will approve, if and when he ever learns of your decision.

Gained Plush Dragon Altria
Gained Trolling F(Plus)

After making your purchase, you spend the next three-quarters of an hour hauling it around in addition to the girls' steadily-growing assortment of purchases. You're not quite sure how it happens, but Cordelia ends up buying kimono for what looks like half the people you know, including yourself. It's not even that big a hassle for her to get one that properly fits you; the shopkeeper just ushers you out of the kid's section and into one holding the teens' selections. Even though the garments in question all look to be on the simpler end of the traditional fashion scale, they're still genuine silk, and the price tags accordingly make your eyes bug out; you're sorely tempted to refuse this extravagance, but saying "no" to Cordelia Chase just isn't done, especially when she's in full-blown shopping mode.

Gained Kimono

Around quarter to five, a consensus appears to be reached among the girls that they've done as much shopping as they can for one afternoon, particularly with the need to slip in a dinner before the tournament finals come up at 6:00. As about three-fifths of the bags and boxes you and Lu-sensei have been carting around are taken up by additional, ordinary-looking young Japanese men, you and Cordelia both make a point of leaving your contact information with Ayame, Kasumi, and Ayane. In exchange, Ayame leaves you an address where letters can be received - phone numbers and email addresses are, for the moment at least, not possible. You can make a number of guesses as to why, and politely don't press on the subject. After that, goodbyes are said, and your groups go their respective ways.

Returning to the hotel, you drop your purchase and gifts off in your room, before sitting down for a meal with your companions. Where Lu-sensei keeps his intake light, in deference to the strenuous physical activity he is soon to undergo, and Cordelia and Briar eat a fairly normal amount, you dig in and eat heartily, making up for the lunch that you skipped and the long afternoon. It's 5:47 when you finally finish, and so for the second time today, you head for the hotel's athletics center.

You arrive to find that the room has undergone a bit of a transformation since you last saw it, three hours ago. All the exercise equipment has been folded up, moved back to (or even into) the walls, and in several cases just removed entirely, its place being taken by the by-now familiar arrangement of mats. There's also a fair amount of electrical equipment set up, the obvious cameras, lights, and sound gear along with some more arcane devices whose functions you can't determine at a look. The usual crowd of martial artists is also present, although this time around, there's been a decided change in the competitors; about half of the people you see gathered here are in Lu-sensei's distinguished age category or relatively close to it, with most of the likely competitors being late-middle-aged at the youngest. You see one guy in his thirties, built not entirely unlike Mister Sakaki - though far less thuggish - wearing the kind of expression that says he's anticipating getting his butt kicked.

There is a staggering amount of aura gathered in this room, significantly more than you've encountered even in the other adult finals matches. Even with your senses in their default low-power mode, and the skill of the assembled masters at keeping their energies in check and under wraps, it's like you're suddenly underwater, being pressed in on all sides. And like being underwater, you're tempted to hold your breath - or you know, just stop breathing entirely. Cordelia seems to be having the same problem, only more so.

You bring your aura up, hardening it to withstand the strong currents of eagerness and aggression flooding the gym. It immediately gets easier to breathe, as well as think, and the first thing you do is check on your companions. Lu-sensei is fine, of course, and Briar doesn't seem to be affected at all. Then again, fairies have never feared this kind of strength - they flee from the presence of evil, or when their safety is directly threatened by someone, but the presence of a creature that just happens to have a powerful life-force is more often a cause for dares and pranks than it is for fear among the little folk.

Cordelia isn't doing so well as your older companions, but she's at least got her own aura up - way up, as it happens. Evidently she doesn't want to take any chances about geting overwhelmed when the actual fighting starts. You don't blame her, but you're confident that your own, more potent ki is up to the task at its present level of intensity.

Right, then. It's the finals - as in, the last round of matches for the entire tournament. The masters have gathered, the A/V crews appear to have their somewhat slipshod set-up up and running, and the clock is counting down. Arguably the greatest fights of the whole competition are about to take place, and you're in a prime position to see them all. With that in mind, there seems very little reason not to go all-out with your magical detection methods. As far as your ki-based sensory enhancements go, there is your promise to Lu-sensei not to go spying on people's souls to keep in mind; fortunately, your magical talents provide you with a means of suppressing that particular ability.

Carefully evaluating the durations of the different spells you want to use, you come up with a combination that you think should let you get through the finals, provided that the matches don't take too much longer than the previous master-level bouts you've seen thus far. It's going to eat a big chunk of mana, easily a third of the 28% and change you currently have in your tank just to get everything up and running, and quite possibly as much as half, depending on how long the fights run. Still, you feel like the expense will be worth it, and proceed to work your magic.

Gained Enchantment F(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

As the first few spells take effect, the world around you seems to get clearer and brighter, little details that were invisible at a distance fading into view, while words that were previously just an unintelligible murmur start to make sense. With your faculties temporarily enhanced, you work out how to weave the next spell, which you hope will isolate your unintentional soul-visions without impairing your basic ki sight. Once that magic is in place, you carefully bring your aura sight up through various levels of intensity.

Gained Necromancy E(Plus)

Hmmm. That soul-sight restraining spell is not working as flawlessly as you could have hoped for. Oh, it's doing what you wanted, but there's definite interference bleeding through from the spiritual aspect of your aura and into the rest. It's hard to separate one of the essential components of your being from the others, and clearly, you need more practice at it - more, you are certain, than you could get in the time you have remaining, even if you were to burn all your remaining mana fiddling with re-casting the necromantic blinder. This will just have to do. That settled, you cast another necromantic spell in the hopes of getting some additional input about the spiritual forces at work in these fights, and then bring up the modified haste spell, and watch. The world. Slow. Down.

Gained Augmentation D(Plus)(Plus)(Plus)

With most of the spells in place, you open up your mystical senses a bit more and try to determine if there's any magical practitioners here. After a few moments of accelerated time, you conclude that there is a decided lack of spellcasters - you seem to be the only one in the room, in fact. You suppose it's not terribly surprising; there weren't that many genuine magic-users in the tournament to start with, and in all the cases you've seen, there was at least one ki adept at the same level capable of matching or just plain out-fighting them. A bit of a shame, but if nothing else, it'll save you a little magic. That settled, you start re-channeling your ki to further augment your sensory abilities. Quite a lot of the energy winds up focused on your head, and when you look out at the world in this state, it's like gazing into a world made of pure light. Everyone in the room is glowing to one degree or another, and even the non-living objects are re-radiating the ambient ki given off by the gathered warriors. It's a sight to behold.

Gained Ki Enhancement E(Plus)(Plus)

Unfortunately, there's a distinct drawback to all the power in the air, and that is that you're having a hell of a time sorting out which energy belongs to who, and what it's doing. Every person you look at has at least four auras passing over and around him, and even with all your enhancements up and running, you can't really sort one out from the other. You'll have to hope that once the contestants move onto the mats, the extra distance from the ki-heavy crowd will clear things up.
Slowly, the referee declares the opening of the final matches, and calls the first two masters up to fight. One is a grey-haired man of mixed Eastern and Western features, wearing a black gi with a picture of a white tiger on it; his opponent is a short, broad fellow who looks a bit like a diminutive Santa Claus, save that he's wearing a plain green robe rather than the traditional holiday red. As you'd hoped, the extra distance brings their auras into the clear, and as they bow, you ready yourself to observe every detail.

The ref's hand drops.

Before your multiply-enhanced eyes, auras ERUPT.

And a long instant later, your own aura buckles under the pressure.

You immediately try to reinforce it, but you're already juggling six separate applications of ki: one to boost the mundane workings of your eyes, so you can follow the masters' movements; another for your ki sight; three to different regions of the brain, to ramp up processing power, retention, and pattern recognition; and of course, the thread that was keeping the outer layers of your aura hardened against foreign energy. You could have done all of that at once without too much trouble, except that you're also trying to track the readings from a necromantic spell AND deal with an entire world that's been moving far, far slower than you're used to for entirely too long already. Then there's your ki sight; with that necromantic blinder on, your ability to filter out potentially-hazardous bits of information appears to have taken an unexpected hit.

All of it taken together is simply too much. Something has got to give, and unfortunately, it's your defensive application of your aura that's volunteered for the job. As the ki you'd invested into that effect slips from your control, stinging your skin like a full-body static shock, the rest of the effects you've got in place tremble, as if they're about to go too. You really don't want to know what happens when ki enhancements running inside your BRAIN collapse like that, and you quickly shut them down before you find out. With your ki locked down, the world slips back into the normal color scheme.

And then the full force of the gathered masters' auras hits you like a runaway freight train.

Your last memory of the Twenty-First World Martial Arts Tournament is the shared look of surprise on the faces of your martial arts instructor, your fellow student, and your fairy companion. Then you topple over backwards, bang your head on something, and black out.

The next thing you know, you're laying in an unfamiliar, somewhat comfortable bed, looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. You have a low-level throbbing headache, and the back of your skull stings, but you don't seem to have any medical equipment attached to you, and you're still wearing your clothes. Wherever you are, it's fairly quiet.