It's about ten PM in Furinkan high school on a Wednesday in October. There are no lights on anywhere, there is no one present. Then a brilliant light surges unseen in the hallways. It fades away to the same lightlessness, but now there is someone there. Someone who walks silently through the halls, seeing perfectly with no light to see by. The figure wipes a small mirror he is holding and puts it away.
Ranma 1/2: Through the Glass Darkly
By Brendan O'Donnell
In the Tendo Dojo, Nabiki Tendo is siting at the desk in her room putting away her homework. She takes out her Journal and looks at the numbers written in it. <Hm, Well, tomorrow Gosunkugi'll have my film developed.< She thought to herself, >Nice to know he'll do it free for a copy of the shots of Akane. OK, Kuno'll pay about 15000 yen plus a free lunch if I play it right. And Kodachi'll be good for about 6000 for the other Ranma shots, though I don't trust any food she has anything to do with. Ok, Now how about...> Her train of thought tapered off to a knocking from the window.
"Nabiki Tendo?" Came a voice from outside. Nabiki gets up and walks toward the window. Outside is a figure in black, his face concealed by the hood of his black cloak. He says "I have a very lucrative business proposition to discuss with you, May I enter?"
Opening her window Nabiki replied "I don't normally invite strange people into my room at night. What's your offer?"
With a chuckle the mysterious figure replied, "Will 4000 yen convince you of my good intentions?" lifting one hand from under his cloak he revealed 4 thousand yen bills fanned out in has hand.
"Ok, you can come in." Nabiki said as she stepped away from the window. About a second later the figure leaped through it landing silently on the floor, his cloak falling into proper arrangement a second later. He handed the money to Nabiki who counted and accepted them.
"Now, What's the deal?"
"A few things. First I would like to retain your services as an information broker. For the next three weeks I need to know some things, and I would like to pay in advance so I can learn from you without taking the time to haggle."
Frowning Nabiki responded "An open ended deal like that won't be cheap."
The cloaked figure held out his right hand palm up. A large Ruby was resting in the center of his palm. "It's completely genuine, and I didn't steal it." He stated.
Nabiki took it and examined it critically.
"You've got your information source. Anything else I can do for you?"
"First off you can sell this for me. {holds out a diamond slightly bigger than the Ruby.} You can have a commission of ten percent."
"You call that a Commission? Forty!"
"I'm going through you primarily as a courtesy. You really have no leverage to force the deal. However I will allow you a 20% commission if you take it out after obtaining a few items for me." He drew a piece of paper with ornately written characters on it from beneath his cloak. Extending the list he tells Nabiki "You won't be getting anything better from me."
With a sigh Nabiki replied "OK," Taking the list she read it quickly. "No Problem. The sale will take a few days, How will I contact you?"
"I'll contact you." He said as he stepped to the window "Good-bye." He added as he leaped from the room, moving with a sense of casualness.
Nabiki took out her coin purse and put the gems in the pocket. She then looked out the window and saw no sign of the man she has just been talking to. <Weird, but Lucrative. I better find out who he is, though.>
Thursday morning is pretty routine, Ranma fights with his dad, fights with Akane, fights with Kuno, then fights with his lousy study habits on a test in school. Akane is steaming through the morning because of her Fight with Ranma, Ryouga is was trying to figure out why there are so many Americans in Tokyo Arizona, and Nabiki is meeting with one of her lieutenants at lunch.
"Oh, Junko, how're things going." Nabiki said to her compatriot.
"Pretty good Nabiki, here's what Saiko's computer said about the competitors for next week's Kempo match." Junco pulled a manila folder with a few sheets of paper sticking out of it from her schoolbag and handed it to Nabiki. "We should get our odds consolidated soon so we can start taking bets." She added
"I can do that by tomorrow. But there's something else I want you to keep your eyes peeled for."
"What?"
"There's a strange guy I saw last night, dressed all in black with a cape who's hood concealed his face. Have the grapevine keep it's eyes peeled, I have the feeling he's going to be profitable."
"Sounds creepy, I'll spread the word. Oh, and here's the tickets for that concert this Saturday." She handed Nabiki a thick envelope, which Nabiki opened to counts the dozen or so tickets inside and put them in her pocket.
"Great! Well, I'll call you tonight with those odds."
The Mysterious Figure Nabiki was is so curious about is siting at a table in a dark room. The only light in the entire room is coming from a single small lamp on this table. The cloaked figure contemplates a manila folder on the table before him. >The most likely locations. Conformation will require assistance and caution.< Putting it down, he reaches a decision. >I don't think I should ask Nabiki about this. It'd be better to let her see the addresses and decide to investigate them herself.<
>Hmm, I think tomorrow nights activities should motivate her well enough.< He thought as he picked up a pair of small stringbound books, like most of the old martial arts tomes in the series.
"And Just what did you mean by that!"
"Hey Ranma, could you lend me a hand with this?" Nabiki said as she put down a large box near the foot of the stairs.
"Right!" Ranma jumped away from a building argument with Akane. He grabbed the box and hoisted it onto his shoulder with one hand. "Where do you want it Nabiki?"
"Ranma!.." Akane said as she stormed in after him. She paused to look at the box. "What's that Onichan?"
"Oh, just part of a pretty good deal," Nabiki responded with her classic grin. "You can put it in my room for now Ranma."
"What deal, Nabiki?" Ranma asked.
"How much do you want to know, Ranma?" She replied.
"Never mind!" Ranma replied as he hoped up the stairs. Reaching Nabiki's room he walked in putting the box down by her bed. He left, and Nabiki closed the door on Akane telling Ranma "You haven't answered my question, Pervert."
"Like a law of nature, those two. Eh, Nabiki?" Said the cloaked figure from where he sat on Nabiki's bed, a place that had been vacant seconds ago.
Suppressing a start of surprise, Nabiki frowned and said "There is a thing called knocking you know."
"Ah, but it's so conspicuous and time consuming. Besides, I knocked last time."
Pulling a envelope from her schoolbag, Nabiki said "Well, here's your cash, and the stuff you wanted me to get is in the box." she added walking up to it and taping it.
"OK, I'll just make sure." The figure said as he set down the manila folder he was carrying. After glancing in the Envelope, he slipped it into the folds of his cloak, and stood to open and examine the box. As he did this, Nabiki glanced at the folder he had put down. It had opened and she could see a corporate letterhead, and two addresses. Quickly remembering the information for later, she glanced back at the cloaked figure who was finishing his inventory of the box.
"OK, it's all there, and you've taken your commission." The figure glanced at Nabiki, saw the folder and leaned forward to snatch it up. He then shouldered the box and walked up to Nabiki's window. Opening it he grasped the top sill. "Till later," He remarked before vaulting onto the Tendo roof.
Nabiki closed her window, then opened her journal to an empty page and wrote down the names she had seen in the folder. "Might be useful later." She said to herself.
Setting the box down in the darkness, the cloaked figure smiled an unseen smile. He then turned pulled out two books. With a nod the figure left to perform his next errand.
"Ranma No BAKA!!!" Screamed Akane as she hurled Ranma into the pond the next morning.
"Kawiakune tomboy," Ranma-chan muttered to herself as she pulled herself from the water.
"Don't you two ever get tired?" Asked Nabiki as she paused on her way back to her room to dress. "So what did you say this time Ranma."
"I didn't say anything! I was just trying to talk her out of helping Kasumi with dinner." Ranma replied as he used a convenient kettle to turn masculine again.
Nabiki tensed for a moment at the thought of another Akane meal, then she grinned slightly. "You're going at it the wrong way." She hands Ranma a pair of tickets. "There's a carnival in town tonight. At lunch ask her to let you take her out to this carnival. I'll lend you some money to eat out, and we're all saved." She started back to her room then paused. "Oh, and as hard as it may be, try to avoid calling her names."
"You want me to take her out?!" Ranma said. "Are you nuts!"
"Well, I didn't think you were capable." Nabiki said to herself in a mutter just loud enough for Ranma to overhear.
"What do you mean by that?" Ranma responded in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Well, you definitely don't have the guts to ask my sister out."
"Ha, I can take anything you can think up!" Ranma retaliated.
"Then how about a little wager." Nabiki replied with a sly grin. "You take Akane out, and if you can go the entire date without calling her Kawaikune, a Tomboy, or Unfeminine, you won't have to pay me back."
"Your on!" Ranma replied as he went to get his own schoolbag.
>Well, that was easy. A win-win senario. Either way I've staved off another Akane meal. If Ranma looses the bet, he'll owe me that much more, and the only way he can win is if he and Akane have a genuine good time together. And I think Little Sis is overdue for some fun from Ranma. Maybe this'll finally get them to admit how they feel about each other.< She thought to herself. She laughed softly >And maybe Ryouga’s going to become a tour guide.<
"...Akane..." Ranma started then trailed off as he walked on the fence alongside the ground bound Akane.
"What do you want." She responded in an annoyed tone. >The nerve of him. I just wanted to cook something nice for him and he accuses me of trying to poison him!<
"Never mind." He continued a few more feet then "...Akane," once again he trailed off.
"All Right what is it!" She responded jumping onto the fence in front of him an angry look on her face.
"... forget it." Ranma said dropping to the pavement.
"No, What is it!?" Akane said dropping in front of him.
"Well, I just thought, You know, there's that carnival tonight, and I wondered if you wanted to go."
"Ranma..."
"Well, here." Ranma hands her the two tickets. "I'm sure you've got a friend who'd like to go. No need to go with me."
"No, I'd like to go with you Ranma." Akane said.
"Akane..."
"AIREN!" Echoed the cry from behind the two. Ranma looked over his shoulder to see Shampoo flying in on her bicycle, which was cruising along the railing.
"Ah man, Akane, I'll see you at school." Ranma said as he leaped onto a nearby rooftop, and started off along the roofs toward the school.
"Ranma wait!" Cried Shampoo as she turned her bike to follow his new path.
Akane looked at the two of them a moment, then with an annoyed HUMPH! turned her head away. "Baka!" She muttered to herself as she started to run toward school. "I won't be late because of that Hentai."
Ranma and Akane were walking together through the carnival. Akane was holding an armful of plush dolls Ranma had won for her. Ranma started to reach his hand toward hers, then he let it drop. Akane noticed and smiled to herself. Then she noticed that they were in front of the Tunnel of Love. She glanced at Ranma, just in time to catch his own glance. Both looked away their cheeks reddening.
"Ah, We haven't tried there." Ranma said pointing out a fortune tellers tent next to the tunnel.
Akane sighed slightly but said, "Yeah, we might as well."
"Hi, do you want to learn the secrets of your future?" Said the little red haired girl in gypsy like clothing standing before the tent. "Madam Atros see all and tells all for 500 yen."
"Ok, let's go in." Akane said.
"Sure." Ranma responded giving the girl 500 yen of the money he had borrowed from Nabiki. >Make sure not to call her names, Ranma.<
"Ah, two young warriors." the young woman siting at the table said. She seemed in her early twenties with near white hair tied back with a scarlet bandanna. "Hmm, though you have not known each other long your acquaintance has been one filled with conflict, both among yourselves and by others against you. I see what binds you together, and the pride and fear pushing you apart. I also see you have questions, please ask them."
Feeling defensive Ranma started "What do you mean, what binds us?..."
He was cut off by her raised hand. "I know you don't want to name that which keeps you here instead of seeking the cure for your curse. I am trying to respect your wishes."
Ranma stared in shock for a moment, then said quietly "You know about..."
"I don't know the details but I can see powerful magic imposed on you. From the sorrow it gives you I must assume it to be a curse, though one I have never seen in all my days." She smiled and added. "I would sell you my services to remove this curse, but I fear I am not strong enough in magic.
"This is your present, and you know your past. It is the future that you have come to me to learn about." She placed her hands on an large obsidian disc on the table in front of her. "Place your hands upon this."
"Aren't you suppose to use, you know a crystal ball or something?" Ranma said looking at the disc with nervousness.
"This is a truly rare artifact. My family has been it's keeper for many centuries. It is in all ways superior to a crystal ball. Take your time, the fear of what shall come is the greatest fear."
"I'm not afraid!" Ranma said as he grabbed the disc. Akane also touched her hands to it's surface.
Dipping a finger into a bowl of dark reddish liquid, the old woman traced a circle on the inside. Further tracing a single symbol inside the circle she placed her hand back alongside the other which had remained in contact with the disc the whole time. Speaking a strange phrase in a Latin sounding language she closed her eyes with a look of concentration. There was a hissing sound as the liquid on the center of the disc began to evaporate.
Ranma as nervously looking at the smoke rising before him when he felt a profound coldness flowing up his arms from where he grasped the disc. He instinctively tried to pull his hands away, but the disc held them. Fighting down a sense of panic, he tried to relax and focus his mind on the smoke and the woman's words. Suddenly a feeling of vertigo went through him.
Ranma sudenly felt the world fade, as chaotic images began to overcome his perceptions. He stood in a graveyard, looking at a man standing before the grave of Ranma Saotome, only the man was him. He saw himself swiming alone in an ocean of blood, and himself standing with Akane in a peaceful field. He saw himself at a crosroads where several paths met, but one road was blocked by another Ranma. Sudenly the chaos faded.
The fortune teller jerked her hands away from the disc. Rubing her left temple she muttered something latin sounding then spoke up to Ranma and Akane. "Chaos. The future is not fixed untill it becomes the past, but you boy, you're life is a battlefield of chance and desteny. And of it's outcome I have far less idea than of anyone else's. I do know however that you will soon look into the face of death, and if you survive, you shall see the path free of the trap you have created to hold yourself." She sighed and pulled out 500 yen. "I am sorry I could not see more, I can give you a refund if you wish."
"Uh, no need." Ranma stammered as he backed to the door of the tent. As he ducked out he said "Come on Akane."
Akane looked after him with a slightly surprised expression on her face then followed him.
The fortune teller looked after them for a moment then leaning back said "Follow the boy William." A figure in the rear doorway of the tent took a step back, leaving from the rear of the tent.
"Ranma!! Slow down!" Akane said as she jerked her hand our of Ranma's grip and stoped. "What's wrong?"
"Didn't you feel it?" He said to her incredulously as he also came to a halt.
"Well, I felt a chill going down my back when I touched that disc but that's about it. What did you feel?"
"It's not important." He replied. "Want me to win you a few dolls?" He asked pulling her toward a game stall. She jerked her arm away from him.
"Not untill you tell me what you're scared of you macho idiot!"
"I'm not scared of anything!"
"RANMA!!" cride Ryouga from the other end of the street. Ranma and Akane both look at him charging toward them. Ranma sighed and crouched into a fighting stance, secretely releived to be doing something as familiar as fighting again.
Akane waved to the rapidly approaching Ryouga and said in a friendly voice, "Oh, hi Ryouga. What're you doing here?"
Ryouga instinctivly shifted out of his bearer of death stance and put a hand behind his head while stamering, "Oh, nothing much, just in the neighborhood, What're you doing here, Akane?"
"Oh, Ranma and I are on a date." she said in a even and slightly addoyed tone
Ryouga felt his heart turn to ice. >Ranma asking her out, stay calm she doesn't seem to happy about it.< "So, You're on a date with Ranma, is that it?" >Stay calm Ryouga, their parents probably forced them, she can't be enjoying herself.<
"It was actually fun untill Mr. Macho here got scared by that fortune teller." Akane replied looking at Ranma with annoyance.
"I'm telling you I wasn't scared!" Ranma said in a loud voice.
"Ranma no baka!"
"Ah, Akane right?" Akane and Ranma turned to look at the source of this querry, a cloaked figure standing a few feet away.
Akane looked at him. There was something very familiar in the way he stood, but she couldn’t identify it. "Do I know you?"
"I doubt you want to, but I’m afraid we have something to discuss anyways." He replied. Sudenly snatching his hand out he grabed her and leaped away with her in his arms.
"Akane!" Ranma and Ryouga cried in perfect unison as they leaped in pursuit of the mysterious figure.
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