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The Avatar of Light [Ranma 1/2]

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Menthewarp said:
Tell me more. 🤔
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It was pretty typical, really, just the standard Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 campaign that starts with a dystopian Crystal Tokyo survival horror setting during the Nemesis invasion where the Sailor Senshi and Queen/King were notably absent, with the PCs eventually being sent back to 1990s Tokyo to change the past by Sailor Pluto after they accidentally oopsed the world. They were instructed to stop the force that Nemesis sent to the past, make sure Ranma remained cursed and on at least halfway decent terms with the Sailor Senshi, and not to let the Senshi know anything about time travel. Unfortunately, they got knocked off course a bit, arriving at Jusenkyou, accidentally preventing and then intentionally causing Ranma's curse. They eventually made their way to Tokyo together, where they discovered an NPC they'd gotten separated from in transit had changed the past somewhat and become the Tendou family's guardian spirit and that the party had also arrived a bit early, right after Jadeite's defeat at the airport in season 1 Sailor Moon.

From there it became less survival horror and more slice of life and general Tokyo anime genre. There were a bunch of other smaller crossovers; lots of comedy, action, romance, food porn, and shopping; a few genre shits in different arcs. I took a break for a couple of months while one of the players had their character run a D&D adventure for the other PCs in-game... :D Eventually, I ran a final arc that tied back to the original concept and the campaign finished with an actual conclusion.

Oh, most of the PCs had a magical girl form (regardless of initial biology). It actually wasn't my campaign originally, but the original GM had health issues, so I took over a few sessions in. The game system was BESM. I have no plans to run another campaign in the near future; among other things, it diverts my creativity and interferes with my writing. If people want, I suppose I can give more campaign details.
 
It was an amazing game. And both great times and bad. But covering 11 fucking years you will end up with things like that.

Yarrow turned out to be a really good GM, more so when you consider everyone was late teens, early 20's, and going into 30's.

Random game info. Akane blew out the Japanese national power grid. More than once!
 
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Lights! Camera! Action! A New Challenger Arrives!
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    • Lights! Camera! Action! A New Challenger Arrives!​


    Akane walked to the rear gate of the Tendou property head held high and determination in her stride. She was acting as the official representative of the Avatar of Light and would not betray the trust Ranma had placed in her. And once she showed how well she could do in the role, Velgri would have no choice but to overlook the way they'd gotten off on the wrong foot and acknowledge her value! Reaching the gate, Akane took a deep breath and opened it, words of greeting on her lips for the unfortunate demon that was here to challenge the Avatar. But instead of speaking, Akane stopped short and stared at the throng of nearly a dozen people noisily chatting and milling about a respectable mound of boxes, bags, and what looked like audio and video equipment to her untrained eye.

    Shaking off her surprise, Akane drew herself up tall and imperiously addressed the crowd. "Who comes to challenge the Avatar of Light?" When the people continued with their numerous conversations and showed no signs of noticing her, Akane scowled for a moment and noisily cleared her throat. When no one seemed to notice that, Akane growled softly, then took a deep breath and shouted, "Who co—"

    "Finally!" exclaimed a woman with small horns on her forehead who was wearing an expensive looking business suit. "Were you planning on slouching in that doorway, letting us just stand in the street all morning while you gawk at us?"

    "I was not slouching!" Akane retorted, thrown off balance by the sudden unexpected attack.

    "Yes, because your posture was the most important part of that," snapped the woman waspishly. "Just how long do you intend to leave us standing out here like unwanted beggars?"

    Akane stood there for a moment, opening and closing her mouth before shaking herself, "Oh, err... please come in and wait for the Avatar in the dojo."

    With a toss of her head and a dissatisfied sniff, the woman walked through the gate and toward the nearby dojo, a harried looking younger horned woman holding a clipboard full of folders and wearing a messenger bag scurrying after her. Following them at a casual pace and looking as if she didn't have a care in the world, came a very attractive young woman dressed in some sort of costume of green spandex, complete with a sparkling cape. Akane stared at her for a moment before quickly moving out of the way as the rest of the entourage came through the gate in a bunch. Looking more closely at the members as they passed, Akane noticed that two men—or demons, she supposed, going by barbed tail one of them sported—were lugging bulky video cameras and bags full of accessories, an older woman with horn rim glasses was carrying a large black case and a collapsed canvas chair, five men were wheeling in carts loaded with lights, boom microphones, and metal poles, and sullenly bringing up the rear was a girl around Akane's age. She had limp, black hair, dark eyes with equally dark rings around them, and was wearing beige cargo pants, a red t-shirt bearing the image of a black raven, and a bulky backpack.

    What the hell is going on here? wondered Akane until she was broken out of her daze by the horned woman's sharp voice carrying from the dojo, "Did that stupid girl send us to wait alone in this empty room?"

    Grimacing, Akane hurried into the dojo and announced, "I am Akane Tendou, the Avatar of Light's representative. The Avatar is currently indisposed and will be with you shortly."

    "Fine," snapped the woman as the other members of the group started setting their equipment and baggage near one of the walls. "In that case, go fetch us an urn of coffee, three dozen donuts, two cappuccinos, and a large half-caff no foam soy latte."

    "What?!" demanded Akane, "I'm the representative of the Avatar of Light—not some, some lackey!"

    "Please," sneered the woman, "a representative has actual authority. You're clearly a gofer with delusions of importance who's been sent out to tend to the people of significance. An actual representative would have the authority to speak for the Avatar and would be negotiating a time for our challenge, not dithering about and taking drink orders."

    "I do have authority, and I am not dithering about or taking any drink orders!"

    "Is that so?" purred the horned woman. "Well, in that case, you must be here to stall while the Avatar cowers in some little hidey-hole, hoping we'll get tired of waiting and go away, so she can finally slink out without having to fight her challenger."

    "What?!" shrieked Akane, flushed with rage, "the Avatar isn't afraid and she isn't hiding!" Thrusting her finger at the horned woman, she shouted, "She'll fight her challenger anyti—" before abruptly clapping a hand over her mouth, cutting herself off as the blood drained from her face. After a moment, she lowered her hand and roared, "Cut that out!"

    "Cut what out?" demanded the Avatar of Light as she ran into the dojo.

    "Oh, your representative was just telling us you'll fight challengers anytime, anywhere," drawled the horned woman.

    As Ranma turned to her with an incredulous look, Akane cried, "I was not! She tried to trick me into saying that—but I didn't fall for it!"

    Ranma took a deep breath and let it out. Plastering a smile on her face, she cheerfully said, "Thank you for your help, Akane, but what I really need now is for you to find Velgri and have her come here. Can you do that for me?"

    Glaring at Ranma, Akane ground through gritted teeth, "I think I can manage that..."

    Ranma nodded, and losing her fake smile, said in a serious voice, "Thanks. It really would help," as she warily eyed the small crowd in the dojo.

    Akane smiled slightly at Ranma and headed for the door, only to be brought up short when the horned woman called after her, "And don't forget the coffee, Acne!"

    "That's Akane!" shouted Akane, "And I'm not your damned lackey!" Resuming her journey to find Velgri, now muttering with her head down, she made it out into the yard and several feet away from the door before being interrupted again, this time by someone bumping her shoulder hard. Looking up to see the girl with the raven shirt scowling back at her, Akane growled, "And what's your problem?"

    With a clenched jaw, the girl said, "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Brandy, the damned lackey."

    Flushing in embarrassment, Akane quickly stammered, "Er, I didn't intend any insult toward ... lackeys..."

    "I don't care what you intended," sneered the girl. "This is not over between us, Acne Tendou," she promised as she brushed past Akane and headed into the dojo.

    "It's Akane! Or is my name too hard for you people?"

    "Yes, such names are far too difficult for a simple yet industrious people such as us lackeys," spat the girl as she walked through the door.

    "That's not what I—gah!" Throwing her hands in the air, Akane gave up on talking to any of the demons and ran off to look for Velgri.

    oOo​

    Inside the dojo, Ranma looked around, taking in the small crowd before turning to the horned woman in charge and saying, "Ok, exactly who's challenging me?"

    The well-dressed horned woman snapped her fingers and the young woman in green spandex strode forward, and striking a heroic pose and determined expression, declared, "It ends here, Ava—"

    "That's enough, Angela, save it for later," interrupted the horned woman with a raised hand, causing the woman in green to shrug and walk back to the side of the room where someone had set up a table with some bottles of water. "Right," continued the horned woman, "now that your annoying servant has left, let's get down to business. I'm thinking an outdoor location on a sunny afternoon—something paved, maybe with an open lot or storefront. Maybe something a bit run-down or abandoned. Do you have someplace like that or do I need to send my people out to find one?"

    "Yeah, I think I got a place or two," said Ranma. "Look, what's with all these people and needing to fight in a place like that, anyway?"

    The horned woman took a cigarette from a gold case and put it between her lips, whereupon a flame blossomed on the tip for a moment before dying out, leaving the end glowing orange. "Isn't it obvious, darling? We're making a movie—don't worry, we'll do your death justice; your friends and family will be proud. I'm Bebe, by the way."

    "Riiiiight..." said Ranma, deciding to humor the madwoman.

    "In fact, I'll be sure to invite them to the premier. It'll give them closure. And be great publicity, of course."

    "Of course..." echoed Ranma dryly. "So, does this afternoon work for you?"

    "A fast worker," murmured Bebe, "I can appreciate that. Normally, my people would spend at least a day or two talking with your people, but I've seen your 'people', so I understand completely. Yes, today will be fine. Give us an hour or so beforehand to make sure the site and lighting are good, and if they are, we can get this over and done with."

    "Can't wait," said Ranma, starting to feel like she could use another shower just from talking with the woman. "Are you going to wait here or leave and come back?"

    "We'll wait here."

    Ranma glanced around. "Um, you gonna need anything?"

    Bebe flashed a shark smile. "Kind of you to ask. No, I'll just have the lackey fetch some things."

    "Uh, I don't think Akane's going to be available..."

    "Oh dark, no," exclaimed the horned woman with a slight shudder. "I'm talking about mine. She, at least, knows how to get something done. Usually."

    "Ok... I'll let you know when we decide on a place," said Ranma as she quickly made her escape from the dojo.

    A few seconds later, the woman with the clipboard walked over to Bebe. "I thought scene 27 called for slaughtering the Avatar's family and friends."

    "Oh, it does," replied Bebe as she took a puff of her cigarette, "but a few are always missed. We'll round them up, bring them to the premier, and then torture them to death live in front of the audience. It'll be great publicity."

    "Wow! that's brilliant," exclaimed the younger woman. "And I'm not just brown nosing—I really mean it this time!"

    Bebe just smiled faintly and made a mental note to have the girl flogged once the Avatar was dead.

    oOo​

    "Charming place," commented Nabiki as she looked around the demolition site where she stood in a cracked parking lot next to the Avatar of Light and Velgri.

    Ranma shrugged. "They asked for someplace paved and run-down. This fit the bill and isn't near people or anything expensive that can get broken."

    "Except for the crane and bulldozers over there. You should try to avoid throwing anything in that direction—especially considering this whole thing is going to be captured on film."

    "I'll do that," said Ranma with a frown. Turning to watch the demon crew setting up lights and cameras and testing sound, she asked, "You're sure Akane didn't want to be here?"

    Nabiki nodded. "She said unless you're going to be beating up the head demon and her lackey, she'd rather avoid dealing with them anymore."

    "Wish I could do the same," admitted Ranma.

    "I'll go check on them," offered Nabiki, walking over to the other group.

    Nabiki walked past two men, or demons really, adjusting a boom bearing a large microphone, deciding they were uninteresting and probably unable to talk much if they were working with the sound pickups. She eyed the people working with video equipment, wondering if she could pick up a tip or two, but decided she could probably do as well by taking a tour of a television or movie studio. Ignoring the lackey setting out coffee and doughnuts, she considered the remaining two options for information and entertainment.

    The first was a well-dressed woman with small horns on her forehead who was clearly in charge. As she walked around, gesturing at various things while talking between taking puffs from the cigarette in her mouth, a younger woman with a clipboard and numerous papers scurried after her, taking notes. Nabiki could immediately tell she would be a tremendous source of useful information but got the impression she could be rather volatile and was probably as likely to have her booted out as she was to tell her anything interesting. The other choice was an attractive young woman in a green spandex outfit sitting in a canvas chair while an older white haired and red eyed woman in horn rim glasses fussed over her face and hair. Ah, the talent. Probably not as in the know as the woman in charge, but also less likely to guard her tongue. Mentally nodding to herself, Nabiki approached the woman in the chair.

    Carding her fingers through her subject's slightly spiky short, frosted blonde hair, the older woman nodded to herself. "All right, dear, your hair's done." Taking a step back, she looked over her work, and clucking her tongue, reached for a small bottle. "We need a touch more cheek glitter, though." Suiting action to words, she applied a touch of silver glitter with a small brush. "Perfect. That just leaves your nails."

    As the make-up artist took one of her hands and started working on her nails, the woman in green took a breath and declared, "Try as you might, Avatar, you will not escape the wrath of The Green Streak! Your reign—"

    "Green Streak?" interrupted Nabiki, "Really?"

    "Wha?" asked the woman, blinking in surprise and confusion.

    "Your character isn't seriously named the Green Streak, is she? That makes her sound like a grass stain. Ok, it's not as bad as if it'd be if your outfit were yellow, but this isn't a comedy, is it?"

    The woman in green stared at Nabiki, her mouth opening and closing a few times, before she frowned and said, "Hold up, Cassie." When the make-up artist moved away, she stood up and walked over to the horned woman with a determined stride, Nabiki following a couple of paces behind. "Bebe! Why is my character named after a grass stain?!"

    Bebe turned toward them and blinked. "Excuse me, dear?"

    "The Green Streak! It sounds like a grass stain!"

    "Well, you're fast and you're green, dearie. I suppose we could change it to The Green Streaker... that wouldn't require much rewriting."

    "What?!" cried Angela, "That's even worse!"

    "What do you want me to do, dear? It's a bit late to think of something like this, you know." The horned woman looked around and snapped her fingers a few times. "Everyone! Listen up, everyone, our star has decided five minutes before shooting that she doesn't like her character's name. Does anyone have a better one for her? Quickly, now."

    The woman with the clipboard looked up. "Um, The Green Blur?"

    "La Racha Verde?" asked a cameraman, promptly earning himself a spot on the To Be Flogged list.

    "Speed Demon," said Nabiki with finality.

    "Ooh, that's good," said Bebe, nodding in appreciation, "Keep offering suggestions like that and you'll go far in this organiza—" She broke off as the woman with the clipboard started whispering furiously in her ear. "What do you mean, she's not in... Well, then who is—" she pushed the whispering woman away from her and gave Nabiki what was presumably meant to be a friendly smile. "Who are you, dearie?"

    "Nabiki," answered Nabiki, deciding that advertising a family relation with Akane wouldn't be a good idea right now.

    "And what are you doing here, Nabiki?"

    "Over here looked a lot more interesting than over there," replied Nabiki, with a nod of her head over to where Ranma and Velgri were standing around looking bored.

    "Oh, no doubt. So, tell me, dear," Bebe said, walking over as Angela headed back to the make-up chair while practicing lines with her new name, "have you ever considered a career in show business? You seem competent, and dark knows I could use someone with a brain in her head working here." Ignoring the scowl of the woman with the clipboard, she added, "And you know, now is the time to get in. Five, maybe ten minutes on the job, and you're already part of the team that's killed the Avatar of Light. You'll be able to write your own ticket, dear. Latte?"

    "Sure," said Nabiki agreeably. "To the latte, that is."

    Bebe snapped her fingers and called, "Lackey! A latte and my usual!" prompting Brandy to start making her way out of the demolition zone while muttering under her breath. Turning back to Nabiki, Bebe asked, "And what about joining my little team here? I can see you'll go far."

    "It does sound tempting," admitted Nabiki, "but I have other commitments at present and plan to remain a free agent for now."

    "But what could be more important than fame and fortune? Especially when the alternative is to be on the low end of the food chain once the Avatar is dead. Come dear," cooed the demon, "tell Auntie Bebe what's stopping you from joining the winning team?"

    "Auntie Bebe?" repeated the woman with the clipboard in an incredulous tone, before quickly scurrying off at the look her boss sent her way.

    "Well, that's just it," replied Nabiki, studying her fingernails, "how do I know your team is going to win? All I know about your champion is that she's fast and seems more interested in being an actor than a fighter. The Avatar, on the other hand, seems fully focused on her job."

    "Of course she is, dear. Those who don't excel naturally have to put in so much more effort just to get the same results."

    "That's true," allowed Nabiki, "but between opponents who both have natural talent, the one who focuses will crush the other."

    "Oh, now you're just being a Negative Nancy. Let me put it plainly for you, dear: if you're on our team before we win, you get power and riches beyond imagination when we do. If you wait until we've won, you'll be lucky if we take you as more than a chew toy. So, what's it going to be?"

    "I'll take my chances."

    "So be it. Now get out of my way—I'll deal with you after the Avatar is dead. Shoo!" exclaimed Bebe, making appropriate gestures with her hands until Nabiki walked over to stand near Speed Demon again. "All right, everyone," she called, raising her voice, "let's make some magic! How close are we to being ready?" After hearing the various responses, she said in a normal tone, "Inform the Avatar we'll be ready in five minutes."

    oOo​

    "About time," muttered Ranma as the girl with the clipboard went back to her group after delivering the message. Frowning at the sight of Nabiki still chatting with the green-clad woman in the enemy camp, she waved her arm, beckoning her to return. When Nabiki's only response was to look up and give her a cheerful wave, Ranma scowled and beckoned with exaggerated, more insistent motions.

    "Let her be, Ranma," said Velgri. "She won't be in any danger there, and it's possible she may learn something useful."

    Ranma sent a dark look in Nabiki's direction but slowly nodded. "You're sure she's safe?"

    "As safe as she can be. As a close associate of yours, an unprovoked attack on her would be a blatant infraction of the Accords. An attack wouldn't be impossible, but as the aggressor would know she'll be facing a punishment very unlikely to be as mild as a quick death, I consider the chances of such an event to be effectively nil. Other than that, the only other danger would be if she willingly entered into some sort of agreement with them, but I'm sure Nabiki would not be so foolish."

    Ranma just hmmed in reply, then walked over to where Bebe was beckoning as the camera, sound, and lighting people moved into position. "That's it, right over here, dear," cooed the woman. "So pretty, and without having to spend hours with people fussing over you. How lucky you are to have your make-up done magically. Now, just stand on this strip of tape—oh, don't give it such a suspicious look, sweetie, it's not going to explode or anything—we're doing a movie, remember? We can't just have the actors wandering about willy-nilly. Oh, we understand you'll have to move around once you actually start fighting, but it's important to start in the right places."

    "I'm a martial artist and the Avatar of Light, not an actor," said Ranma flatly.

    "Don't worry, dear, just do your best," replied the woman, patting Ranma on the shoulder. "Just go for a 'doomed but fighting to the bitter end' feel. We'll start when I say 'action'. Speed Demon will have the first line."

    "Who?"

    "The star, darling. A month from now, everyone will know her name. Well, not you, of course... Break a leg. Or two. Oh, what am I saying? Good luck. Ta."

    With that, Bebe walked back to her camp, pausing briefly for a word with the woman in green, whom Ranma now assumed was Speed Demon. Looking down at the strip of tape with a scowl, Ranma took up a position near, but not on, it and waited. A few moments later, following some last minute shouted instructions, the cry of "Action!" rang out, and she focused her attention on her challenger, ready for anything.

    Speed Demon strode toward the Avatar of Light, determination clear in her posture and expression, as a conjured wind dramatically ruffled her hair. Stopping ten feet from the Avatar, she thrust out her chest and cried, "It ends here, Avatar! No more running—your days of evil are over!"

    "What do you mean, 'days of evil'?!" demanded Ranma, gesturing at her uniform. "I'm the good guy! And what's this crap about running?!"

    "Darling," called Bebe's voice from the demon camp, "it's a movie. We're making a blockbuster here, not a documentary. Don't worry about lines or anything, just fight as if your life and evil plans depend on it. We'll dub your lines in after you're dead."

    "Why am I even supposed to be evil?" demanded Ranma. "Shouldn't the evil guy be the hero in a demon movie?"

    "Oh, sweetheart, if you were interested in the plot, you should have said something earlier! Speed Demon here is delightfully evil, but she's posing as a superhero to make the pitiful humans love and trust her. Once they accept her into their bosom, she'll turn on them like a serpent and rip out their metaphorical heart! Well, metaphorical in most cases, at least." Bebe shivered slightly in anticipation. "It will be glorious."

    "That does sound interesting," admitted Nabiki from Bebe's left.

    "Oh, absolutely," enthused Bebe, "and the production values are incredible, if I do say so myself. The seven minute and forty eight second opening sequence shot without a single camera break will be talked about for years!"

    "Well, I hope you have another ending you can use, because your plot is about to be derailed!" cried Ranma as she cracked her knuckles and turned her attention back to her challenger.

    "Oh, are we ready now?" asked Speed Demon, looking up from her Game Boy, which promptly vanished. "Right. Ahem. Here I come!"

    Suddenly, Speed Demon vanished, Ranma's eyes only having time to widen slightly before they registered a flash of green and her entire body exploded into pain from what felt like a hundred inexpert blows and she found herself bouncing and skidding across the unyielding pavement of the parking lot. Rolling to her feet with a groan, she quickly scanned the area and spotted Speed Demon standing near Ranma's original position, panting heavily and eying her appraisingly.

    "You're tough, I'll grant you that," called Speed Demon as she caught her breath, "Most people wouldn't have survived that. But I doubt you'll last much longer."

    "Oh, yeah?" growled Ranma as she charged her opponent with the heightened speed of her Avatar form, "Let's see how you take—" And with only the barest flicker of Speed Demon's form as warning, she was once again flying backwards in agony, a second spike of pain shooting through her back as she slammed into the brick wall of a still-standing building. Her vision swimming, she looked up to see Speed Demon over twenty feet away, bent over with her hands on her thighs as she gasped for breath.

    "Speed Demon, darling," called Bebe's voice, "don't stand like that—it lacks heroic dignity."

    "Try leaning against a lamp post and looking playful," added Nabiki's voice a moment later.

    Slowly rising to her feet while trying to will her vision to clear, Ranma shouted, "Nabiki! Stop helping the enemy!" Then seeing that Speed Demon was only now starting to straighten, she cried, "Light Lance!" and hurled a bolt of energy at her opponent, only to grimace as it went wide and slammed into a camera, causing its operator to jump aside as it exploded.

    "Avatar, please be a dear and refrain from destroying vital filming apparatus while you're dying," chided Bebe.

    Ignoring the demonic director, Ranma kept her focus on Speed Demon, and seeing the determined gleam in her opponent's eyes as their gazes met, jumped up and to the left while curling her body in on itself protectively. That act was the only reason the next attack sent her smashing through an unbroken plate glass window instead of crushing her against the solid brick wall. And then she was lying on her back in a pile of broken glass and shattered counters, blinking up at the discolored ceiling.

    Gotta get up, she thought dazedly. She could tell she'd lost some time, but how much? Whatever the actual amount, the answer was undoubtedly 'too much', she thought, as she groaned and pulled herself to her feet using a nearby support, shards of glass crackling under her boots. Leaning against it, she looked around the slowly spinning room, mentally cursing at the lack of cover or places from which she could ambush her opponent. And speaking of her opponent, there was Speed Demon hunched over outside the broken window, slowly catching her breath while cameramen moved into position behind her to line up the perfect shot.

    Feeling Ranma's gaze on her, Speed Demon looked up and grinned. "It's over, Avatar!" And Ranma knew, unless she could somehow block our counter the next rush, it was.

    As Speed Demon straightened and inhaled deeply, Ranma pushed herself away from the support, reached deep within herself, grasping the power of the Avatar of Light that Velgri had helped find during their training trip, and pulled. As a roaring wave of energy rushed into Ranma's body, Speed Demon vanished, but instead of immediately feeling the pain of hundreds of blows, Ranma saw a green blur appear near where her opponent had been. In the blink of an eye, the blur crossed half the distance between the two of them as a streak. In another blink, it had crossed half the remaining distance but was now clearly recognizable as an insanely fast-moving Speed Demon; near the window, a bee hung in the air, its wings barely moving. One last blink, and the woman in green charged across the remaining distance and threw a punch. Ranma blocked it.

    As Speed Demon's eyes widened in shock and horror, Ranma pushed the other woman's arm to the side and threw her fist forward to slam into her opponent's unprotected stomach—and as soon as it impacted, let it bounce back slightly before slamming it into Speed Demon's chest, then nose, then throat, then repeated the entire chain over and over, each blow hitting with the speed and power only an expert martial artist could impart. And then the power Ranma had called upon drained away, and Speed Demon was suddenly a green blur flying back through the broken window, bouncing and skipping across the unyielding pavement, and finally rolling to a stop before dissolving into golden light that was quickly sucked down into the ground.

    Ranma stood there for a moment longer with her fist extended and whispered, "Light Speed," before crumpling to the floor as a wave of exhaustion deeper than any she'd experienced washed over her, and she could do nothing more than lie there, gasping for breath. She wasn't sure how much time passed before Velgri's cool nose pressed against her forehead and she felt a rush of warmth and strength flow into her. Slowly sitting up, she looked over at Velgri, who gave her a vulpine smile and fondly said, "Congratulations on successfully using an advanced ability and defeating your first real challenge."

    "Thanks," groaned Ranma. "So, now what?"

    As if in answer to her question, Bebe's voice, amplified by a megaphone, called, "Very good, Avatar, dear. Unexpected and undesired, but Bebe gives credit where credit is due. Now, if you'd be so good as to stagger out of the wreckage, we can finish the scene and all go home."

    Ranma glanced over at Velgri, who shrugged, then sighed and stood up. She was still tired, but breathing no longer felt like a major endeavor. Her entire body still hurt like hell, though. Taking a deep breath, she slowly limped out of the gutted building and emerged back into the sunlight.

    "Cut! That's a wrap!" shouted Bebe, and in a bright flash of light, she, her entire crew, and all their equipment vanished, leaving Nabiki standing alone on the other side of the lot.

    "I never did get that latte," lamented Nabiki.

    oOo​

    Akane sighed as she jogged through the park. She knew Ranma was all right, and going by the previous challengers, he'd probably won in less than ten seconds by using a brilliant tactic like shouting, "What's that behind you?!" But, still, she worried. The problem was, she knew if she'd gone to watch, the evil demon and her lackey would have driven her so mad she would have attacked them, probably violating some part of the Accords, or her head would have exploded. Literally exploded in an incandescent fireworks display. Even now, she could almost hear the sneering, sarcastic voice of the dark-eyed lackey…

    "Akane Tendou, I challenge you to a duel."

    Akane stopped, blinked, then groaned as she noticed Brandy glaring at her from the shade of a tree. "What?" she snapped.

    "I said I challenge you to a duel for the insult you offered me today. Bare hands, the loser is bound to serve the victor for a week."

    Akane raised both eyebrows and folded her arms as she turned to squarely face the other girl. "I'm not agreeing to that."

    "Of course, " sneered Brandy, "I could tell from the moment I met you that you were a coward and—"

    "Oh, I'll fight you," interrupted Akane, "but the only stakes will be our pride."

    "Because you know you'll lose," smirked Brandy.

    "Not really. It's more that, for one, only a complete idiot would make any sort of agreement with a demon if she didn't have to, especially over something as stupid as the demon's hurt feelings. And for another thing, loser serves the winner for a week? Why in the world would I agree to that? I mean, if I lose, I'm stuck as your servant for a week—and if I win, I'm stuck having you follow me around for a week. Now, that's a lose-lose situation if I've ever heard one!"

    Akane shook her head. "So, no, I'm not going to agree to any terms whatsoever, and especially not those terms, but if you decide you still need to fight me over whatever insult you're so worked up about, just come to the dojo—at a decent hour—and I'll be happy to pound you into the ground. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a jog to finish."

    For long moments, Brandy just stared in the direction Akane had gone. Eventually the silence was broken when the image of the raven on her shirt looked up at her and remarked in a male voice, "Well, that didn't work out very well, did it?" causing Brandy to silently shake her head. "I guess she's smarter than she looks, huh?" added the raven, prompting Brandy to nod. When it became clear no other response was forthcoming, the raven asked, "So, are we going home now?"

    "No way," growled Brandy. "If I'd come back with a human slave—especially someone who was close to the Avatar—I'd have had it made. If I come back late with nothing to show for it, I'll just be fired."

    "Maybe it's just as well," opined the raven. "Things may actually go better for our side with that Akane girl acting as the Avatar's representative."

    "Maybe…" allowed Brandy, "but it doesn't matter anymore. I'm not going back empty handed, so we need to start looking for someone who's arrogant, violent, and not too bright."

    "I don't know, boss," said the raven as he eyed their surroundings, "what are the odds of us finding someone like that in this Nerima place?"
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Yarrow said:
    "Maybe…" allowed Brandy, "but it doesn't matter anymore. I'm not going back empty handed, so we need to start looking for someone who's arrogant, violent, and not too bright."

    "I don't know, boss," said the raven as he eyed their surroundings, "what are the odds of us finding someone like that in this Nerima place?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Offhand common residents:
    • a kuno
    • a pig
    • a duck
    • a panda
    • a figure skater

    Uncommon visitors:
    • a dragon's underlings
    • a bird's underlings
    • a random prince

    But, my first two thoughts were of a certain figure skater and the kuno clan.
     
    I'd add a Martial Arts Grandmaster and a tentacled mash-up monster.
     
    Yarrow said:
    Froggie (FFnet || AO3 || Twitter || threads || misskey.io || pixiv || SB Art Thread) posted this wonderful art over on SB and I wanted to share it with everyone here.


    Bonus: Alternate expression
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Oh, hey, that's me. Glad you liked the art! I really enjoy your story so I had to express my appreciation ^^

    I also have an art thread here on SV, but that one's mostly broken links from a decade or so ago :'B
     
    Shots of Brandy
  • Threadmarks
    • Shots of Brandy​


    Brandy exhaled deeply and leaned back against a tree. "We'll start looking for a new target after I relax a bit; it's been a long day." She made a grasping motion with one hand, then stared in confusion that slowly grew into horror when nothing happened. "What…? Where is it?!"

    "Didn't Angela borrow your Game Boy before her scene? If she still had it when the Avatar killed her…"

    Brandy stared at her hand for another moment before snarling in rage, turning, and slamming her fist into the tree she'd been leaning against.

    "Uh, boss, last I knew, you didn't have any sort of enhanced toughness." Brandy, arm still extended and fist pressed against the tree, silently shook her head. "Did you gain it recently?" Still unmoving, Brandy shook her head again. "Didn't that hurt, then?" Brandy nodded, then gave a little whimper as she finally unfroze to cradle her injured hand.

    "Damn it and damn her! The one thing I took any pleasure from, and she gets it deconstructed by the fucking Avatar of Light! If Angela were here, I'd—"

    "Get your ass kicked in 0.24 seconds?" Brandy deflated with a sigh and nodded. "Come on, boss, look at the bright side—if you're going to lose a Game Boy, this is the place to be to get a replacement!"

    "So many hours of progress lost," Brandy muttered as she shook her hand a few times and started walking into town.

    oOo​

    The teenage boy walked down the sidewalk, head bowed and fingers tapping away as he focused on the screen of his Game Boy. This was it, after so many hours, he was at the final battle and ready to vanquish the game he'd poured so much time and energy into. As he walked around the corner, he took a moment to savor his upcoming triumph—and was promptly clotheslined into unconsciousness by a glowering girl in a raven t-shirt.

    oOo​

    Brandy sighed in pleasure as she sat down with her back against the ventilation unit on the roof of the building and fiddled with her new Game Boy. "Erase save data … yes. Start new game… Charmander, duh…" After a half hour of playing, she turned off the device. "I guess starting over isn't the worst thing."

    "Sure, boss. New beginnings and all. Feeling better now?"

    "Yeah," she said as she made the Game Boy vanish with a flick of her wrist. "Guess we should get to work. This could take a while." Standing and stretching, she walked to the edge of the roof and dropped to the sidewalk.

    "Watch it, you oaf!" a girl snapped in an aristocratic tone as she hopped back an instant before Brandy would have landed on her.

    Brandy eyed the teenage girl before her, taking in her slender athletic build, dark hair worn in an off-center ponytail, and expensive designer clothes, before giving an unimpressed sniff. "Whatever."

    "You dare speak to Kodachi the Black Rose in such a dismissive manner?" demanded the girl as a gymnastics ribbon appeared in her hand, "Allow me to show you your place."

    "Ooh, the rich bitch wants to fight. Fine, but not on this sidewalk. Take us someplace with room."

    "Very well. Keep up if you can!" cried Kodachi as she bounded down the street, a deranged laugh and black rose petals trailing in her wake.

    "You sure this one is actually a human, boss?" the crow on Brandy's shirt asked uncertainly.

    "Close enough," she replied with a roll of her eyes as she took off after the girl, following her to an empty lot a few blocks away. "Wow, you managed to find someplace suitable without spending any of daddy's money. I'm impressed."

    "You haven't begun to be impressed," sneered Kodachi, as with a graceful twirl, she threw her designer outfit into the air, revealing a colorful gymnastics uniform beneath.

    "Yeah, sure. So, why don't we make this actually interesting, rich girl, and say the loser gets to be the winner's servant for a week?"

    "Yes, that would be perfect. A week should be just enough time to teach you some manners. And speaking of manners, even an uncultured wretch like you should know enough to give her name!"

    "I assumed you'd just be calling me mistress," said Brandy with a sniff, before saying her name. "Shall we put the terms in writing to make sure there are no misunderstandings?

    "I hardly think that will be necessary," sniffed Kodachi, casually producing a gymnastics club from somewhere.

    "Fine, then allow me to show you the full power of a demon, arrogant mortal," growled Brandy with a feral grin as her eyes faintly glowed red.

    "Then again, having the details in writing does tend to be prudent when dealing with the lower classes," Kodachi allowed as she put away her gymnastics club.

    Brandy sighed, then stared as the other girl somehow produced a portable desk, several legal tomes, a stack of paper, and a typewriter from somewhere. When Kodachi put on a pair of reading glasses and opened one of the tomes, Brandy facepalmed with a groan.

    oOo​

    "So, we're in agreement on the new wording of section twelve, item C, correct?" Kodachi confirmed, some twenty minutes later. "The winner is responsible for both the loser's health and wellbeing, and failing in either will trigger the penalty clause, so long as the harm is not a direct result of the loser's actions or self-neglect, keeping in mind that it is the winner's responsibility to make clear any hazards that would not be obvious to a visitor."

    "Yes, yes already! I'll have to feed you and not let you get eaten by a rock troll or wander into a lava river if I don't want to end up as property. It was fine before this change!"

    "On the contrary, this clarifies that the winner is still responsible for harm that comes from the loser's actions if not adequately informed of the risks."

    "Fine! Are we done now?"

    Kodachi took a moment to look over the document before nodding and giving it to the seething demon. "Just initial the bottom of each page, then put your name and signature on the final page."

    Muttering, Brandy wrote on each page before dropping the papers back on the desk. Kodachi took a moment to straighten the stack before marking each page. When she reached the final page, she paused and frowned.

    "Wait, you said your name is Brandy. This says Brân Du."

    "That's how it's spelled. My name is Welsh, you barbarian."

    Kodachi eyed the other girl suspiciously for a long moment before signing the paper and sending the desk and its contents back to wherever it came from. "Very well. Prepare yourself, demon!"

    "About time," Brandy muttered as she pulled a pair of black fingerless gloves from a pocket and pulled them onto her hands. "Let's do this!" she exclaimed as she looked up and immediately took a gymnastics club to the side of the head.

    oOo​

    "Hey, Velgri," Ranma asked as he walked over to where the lavender fox was sitting in front of the shougi board across from Soun, "do you have a minute?"

    "Of course," she replied as one of her pieces floated into the air and moved to another space and she turned to fully face her charge, "what do you need?"

    "So, I was thinking about that light speed thing I did yesterday. It's a great move, but it took way too much out of me; do you think I can get it to be less draining?"

    "That's an excellent question," Velgri said as Soun stealthily attempted to move one of her pieces, only to find it rooted to its spot, "and the answer is yes and no. As a technique that was granted to you in a moment of great need, it is immutable; however, now that you know such a technique is possible, you can attempt to create your own version. The efficiency of your version will depend on your own skill and understanding of the powers of your station, and you will also be able to choose how much energy you focus into it at use. So, even if you create a version that is just as draining, you would be able to focus less energy to produce a lesser effect."

    Ranma nodded, ignoring Soun's increasingly forceful efforts to move the shougi piece. "That makes sense. Any tips?"

    "I recommend focusing on how the Avatar's power feels flowing through your body and aura and then thinking about how it felt to use light speed. Also, be aware that when you do develop your own version, a reduction in the amount of energy you use may not be directly proportional to the reduction in effect."

    "Yeah, I know how that works. Thanks."

    "You're welcome," Velgri replied, turning back to her game, whereupon Soun abruptly sprawled across the board, scattering most of the pieces. The one he'd been trying to move shot across the room and through one of the shoji panels.

    "Ah… I'll just go work on that now," Ranma said in the awkward silence that followed. "Hey, Akane," he called as the named girl walked into the room, "want to help me develop an Avatar technique?"

    "Really?! Of course!"

    "Great, come on, we can change in the dojo."

    "So, tell me about this technique," Akane eagerly asked as they walked into the yard.

    "Right, well during the—" he started, only to cut off as the lithe figure of Kunou Kodachi, wearing a stylish dress, leapt over the wall surrounding the property to land gracefully before them.

    "Oh, my dearest Ranma," she said, gracing him with an adoring smile, "I just had to come over and show you my latest acquisition."

    "Hey, I'm here too!" exclaimed Akane.

    Kodachi blinked and looked at the other girl as if only just noticing her presence. "Oh, so you are. My apologies. Begone," she said, making a dismissive gesture with her hand.

    "Why, you! You can't talk to me like that in my own—"

    "Kodachi," Ranma interrupted, deciding that the sooner the girl said her piece, the sooner she'd leave, "why are you here?"

    "As I said, I acquired the most interesting…" she trailed off with a frown as she looked around the yard, then sharply snapped her fingers. For a moment, nothing happened, but then a girl in a maid uniform hopped over the property wall with the absolute least amount of effort possible and plodded over to them to slouch before Kodachi.

    "You snapped, mistress?" Brandy droned, in a tone that managed to convey complete disinterest in her mistress, the very concept of snapping, and even the word "you".

    "Years ago," offered Akane.

    "Stand up straight!" demanded Kodachi. "Walk properly! And act more interested in what I say!"

    "Of course, mistress," the other girl breathed worshipfully and stood up straight, eyes wide as she stared at Kodachi in rapt adoration.

    Kodachi twitched briefly and drew in a breath, but before she could berate her maid, she was distracted by Akane's laughter. "You actually agreed to fight her for the privilege of having her be your servant? She tried that on me, but I was smart enough to turn her down."

    "Of course, and with your skills, I don't blame you one bit."

    "Listen here," growled Akane, "unlike you, I am fully capable of taking care of myself and don't need servants—"

    "Akane," Kasumi called from the house, "I washed, pressed, and put away your clothes. Do you need anything else right now?"

    "No, thank you, Kasumi…" Akane called back, blushing furiously.

    "All right, I'll get started on dinner, then!"

    "Well, I'll leave you to your self-sufficiency," Kodachi idly remarked, "as my own servant is clearly in need of additional training. Ranma dearest, I'll be back to show her off to you once she's up to acceptable standards."

    With that, Kodachi bounded over the wall, laughing as she scattered black rose petals in her path. Ranma and Akane sighed at the trail of black petals, then turned to the maid who still stood before them. After several seconds of awkward silence, Kodachi's voice called from the other side of the wall, "Follow me, you idiot girl!"

    oOo​

    Kodachi walked into homeroom, her new maid gracefully following two paces behind, and sat at her desk. As the other students stopped what they were doing and watched with interest, the maid took up a position slightly behind and to the right of the desk, standing attentively. When nothing more interesting occurred than Kodachi taking out a gymnastics magazine and leafing through it, conversation resumed.

    After a few minutes, not looking up from her magazine, Kodachi held out a hand and commanded, "Tea." She took a sip from the steaming cup that was placed in her hand. "Two degrees too hot. Do better next time."

    "My apologies, mistress."

    "And move to the left slightly; you're casting a shadow on my magazine."

    "Yes, mistress. Is this better?"

    "More," Kodachi demanded, "are you incapable of seeing your own shadow?"

    "Of course, mistress. Is your school bag packed to your satisfaction?"

    "Hardly," Kodachi replied with a sniff as she studied a picture of a gymnast, "do you even know how to sort writing implements?"

    "I will endeavor to do better. Are mistress's shoes polished sufficiently?"

    "Barely," replied the mistress, not looking up from her magazine. "Put in more effort in the future."

    "Yes, mistress. Is your uniform pressed to your satisfaction?"

    "For certain definitions of satisfaction," the mistress idly replied while scanning a review of gymnastic hoops.

    "I will strive to improve. Was the oral sex this morning adequate?"

    "Almost passable," Kodachi answered disdainfully, pausing in turning a page at the room's abrupt fall into dead silence. As she mentally replayed her maid's question and her reply, her face flushed in embarrassment and rage. "Lying dog!" she cried as she leapt to her feet and backhanded her maid to the floor. "Did you think the Black Rose would tolerate such insolence?!" she demanded as she towered over the trembling form of the other girl.

    "Of course not," chuckled Brandy, and it became clear her shaking was neither from fear nor pain. She raised her head, giving Kodachi a clear view of her bruised cheek, glowing golden eyes, and cruel smile. "Oh, but mistress, it seems you're in violation of section twelve, item C of our agreement."

    As Kodachi paled and took a clumsy step back, her usual grace abandoning her, Brandy leapt to her feet and lunged forward, grabbing her mistress by the throat. Kodachi grasped at the demon's arm, trying to break free, but her strength fled like water, and her arms fell back to her sides.

    Brandy leaned forward, her cheek against Kodachi's, and breathed in the other girl's ear, "I know you have plans for the day, mistress, but I really have to go home now—I have a new slave to break in."

    And the two girls vanished from the classroom.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Nabiki Is Pretty Special
  • Threadmarks
    • Nabiki Is Pretty Special​


    "I still don't get why you want to take all these videos and pictures," Ranma sighed as she glanced around the rocky hillside to make sure no one else was around. "It's not like you can sell these or spread them around."

    "Not while you're the Avatar," Nabiki agreed while checking the charge on the camcorder, "but like I said before, years from now, that could change. And even if no one outside our families sees them, it'll be nice to have more than just our memories to go by; don't think for a moment we don't wish we'd made more videos of Mom."

    "Yeah, ok, I can see that…" Ranma quietly said, lowering her gaze for a moment.

    "Besides, if you ever stop being the Avatar, it'll be nice to be able to prove to ourselves that we didn't just imagine the whole thing. And hey, maybe being able to watch videos of your training sessions and fights will help you up your magical girl game."

    "Huh. You may have something there. Some things are easier to notice by watching than by doing."

    "There you go, and I assure you my rental rates are very competitive."

    "Ha! I don't think so—without me there are no videos, so I get to watch them for free!"

    "Well… I guess you have a point. Ok, fine, you can watch them for free. You drive a hard bargain, Saotome."

    Ranma smiled briefly, then frowned. "I'm not sure whether I should feel good or worried about those words."

    "That's entirely up to you, but you should get started; I'm sure we both have better things to do than stand around on a hill."

    Ranma nodded, and as Nabiki raised the camcorder and started recording, quietly said, "I'm a guy."

    Soft music filled the air as a pink aura surrounded Ranma and seemed to gently lift her off the ground. A flurry of pink and lavender ribbons danced around her as she spun in place for a moment before most of them melded together to form a short seifuku featuring large quantities of pink, lavender, and white. Smaller ribbons shot off to form elbow length gloves, thigh high lace-up boots with high heels, numerous bows, and various pieces of gold jewelry—including an ornate tiara set with a pink stone resting atop her now lavender hair that reached halfway down her back in a French braid held closed with a coil of gold. The music stopped as Ranma lightly touched down on the ground, lavender eyes calm and at peace.

    "You know, someone could shoot you a half dozen times during all that."

    "It doesn't take nearly as long as it seems; I've timed it. It also skips all of that crap if someone's actually attacking me."

    "Handy. Avatar of Light practice session one," Nabiki added for the recording.

    "Right, let's get started," the Avatar declared, briefly stretching before leaping into a series of fluid kicks, punches, and evasions against an imaginary opponent. After a few moments, her movements became more complex as she clearly added additional imaginary opponents. Gradually, her evasions became faster and more frequent and her attacks chosen more carefully, as she incorporated more aerial maneuvers combined with judicious Light Lances fired down toward the ground. Finally, after ten minutes, she stopped and gave a brief bow.

    "Who were you bowing to?" Nabiki asked, still recording.

    "No one, really," Ranma admitted, "it just feels appropriate after sparring, even if there isn't really anyone else."

    "Hm. Hey, you should see if you can make actual sparring partners out of light. It sounds like something that could fit with your powers."

    "You know… that's not a bad idea. Maybe you should've been chosen to be the magical girl," Ranma joked.

    "Well, now I have to edit this recording before letting Akane see it, thank you very much."

    "Er, yeah," Ranma awkwardly said while rubbing the back of her neck. "Let's get back to warming up." With that, she leapt back into action, once again fighting a horde of imaginary opponents, but this time leaping around the hill to strike small boulders with punches, kicks, and light lances.

    Once Ranma came to stop again, Nabiki asked, "Does punching those boulders
    hurt at all? You actually broke several of them. Also, why the focus on multiple opponents? Won't you be fighting single challengers?"

    "Nah," Ranma replied, as she assessed the damage to the hillside, "punching rocks stings a bit normally, but I don't even feel that as the Avatar. As for the multiple opponents, it's a lot easier to imagine them than it is to imagine a single good opponent, and I can't discount the possibility I'll face challengers who can make helpers. I'll imagine a single opponent next and then try your idea about the light opponents."

    Nabiki nodded, putting down the camcorder and stretching while Ranma sipped from a bottle of water. "So how much does fighting against imaginary opponents really help? It can't be as good as having an actual sparring partner."

    "It isn't," Ranma admitted, "but it still helps, especially when I'm still getting used to how I move as the Avatar, and I don't really want to be using any special techniques against real people until I've got a damned good handle on exactly how they work and how powerful they are. On top of that, finding a partner who can keep up with me in this form isn't going to be easy; I can tone things down, but I don't want to get used to fighting people who are a lot slower."

    "That makes sense," Nabiki said, picking the camcorder back up and recording again as Ranma put down the bottle and resumed training. The difference when Ranma focused on a single, stronger imaginary opponent was obvious—not only was she only avoiding attacks from a single source, her counters and evasions were more complex, as if the attacks were more skilled or dangerous than the earlier ones. But there was something else, and after a moment, Nabiki frowned slightly as she realized the other girl's fight just didn't seem as genuine as the fight against multiple opponents; it seemed more like a dance, something choreographed. It must be the difference between immediately reacting to imaginary threats coming from various directions and having to think out a sequence of a strong opponent's attacks and your responses in advance, she realized.

    As the fight progressed, it seemed to get a bit smoother, but it never reached the level of the earlier sparring sessions. Eventually, Ranma stopped, bowed to her imaginary opponent, and frowned. "Ok, that just isn't cutting it; I'm going to try working on your light opponents thing now. It probably won't be exciting to watch, but keep recording so I can look it over later."

    Nabiki nodded and proceeded to record Ranma standing there for 15 minutes, with no obvious effect other than her sometimes switching between standing with her eyes closed and with them open. "Definitely need to bring a tripod next time," she muttered to herself.

    "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Ranma agreed, showing that she'd remained completely aware of her surroundings, as she opened her eyes and stretched. "Sorry."

    "No, it's something I should have thought of. Are we done?"

    "Almost. One more bout against multiple opponents, and we'll go. I may not have made much progress on that technique, but just focusing on the Avatar power like that for a while is making me feel a bit more in tune with it."

    "And what does being in tune with the power mean?"

    "Dunno. That's what I want to find out. Ready?"

    At Nabiki's nod, Ranma leapt into action, fighting against an ever growing horde of imaginary attackers. Almost immediately, she noticed that her power came more easily, as if instead of needing to call it forth for each Light Lance, it now pooled in her hands, just waiting to be used. Punching, kicking, dodging, and leaping, she felt the joy she always did at moving with such fluid grace and power, stronger than ever from the Light flowing through her body. As she punched a phantom opponent into the air, leaping after it and sending it even higher with a kick and another punch, she had an epiphany. Reaching the top of her jump, she called more Light into her body and dropped down toward the middle of the imaginary crowd below her, focusing the power into her fist as she slammed it into the ground, releasing it into a powerful shockwave that sent dirt and small rocks flying in all directions. For a moment, she knelt there, fist against the ground, before rising and giving a short bow.

    Smiling in satisfaction, Ranma stood and turned. "How did that look, Nabiki? Nabiki!"

    o0o​

    Nabiki sat in the grassy field, bookbag beside her, gazing at the fluffy clouds drifting across the blue sky. Sighing, she reached up to her forehead to gingerly touch the plaster sitting there and winced. "Stupid rock. Stupid Avatar." With a sigh, she decided she may as well do something productive and pulled a pen and notebook from her bag.

    She made notes about her thoughts and plans for a few minutes, before abruptly looking up and scanning the grass; she thought she'd caught a flicker of motion. After a moment, she decided it'd either been a small animal or her imagination and started writing again. A minute later, she noticed movement again and looked up again, this time putting down her pen and warily eyeing what was clearly a brown teddy bear walking toward her. "Maybe I should pay Doctor Tofuu a visit…"

    "Miss Tendou! I've finally found you!" the teddy bear exclaimed in a high pitched male voice as it reached her.

    Nabiki studied the bear before her. It, or he, she supposed, looked like a pretty typical teddy bear, standing about two feet tall and appearing to be made of fabric coated with faux fur, and presumably, stuffing. He had a black triangular fabric nose, round fabric ears, and shiny black plastic eyes, and she'd say the mouth was just a black line of stitching, except it moved when he talked, somehow not looking disturbing. A blue bow tie adorned his neck. After a long moment of consideration, she realized what she had to say.

    "Sorry, never heard of her."

    "Ha ha, that's very funny, Miss Tendou," the bear laughed. "I'm Buddy, and you are needed to―Save The World!"

    "Buddy," Nabiki repeated flatly.

    "Yep! It means fierce warrior in bear!"

    "Of course it does. And you need me to 'save the world'."

    "That's right! It's absolutely doomed without you!"

    "And just how am I supposed to do that?" Nabiki asked, even though she already knew the answer, the signs being obvious to someone who'd grown up with Akane.

    "You must become Pretty Special, magical girl extraordinaire and defender of all that's good and right!" exclaimed Buddy, jumping up and down in excitement.

    "Can't someone else do it?"

    Buddy stopped mid-jump, hovering in the air for a second before dropping to the ground and shaking his head solemnly. "No, it has to be you. No one else could do as good a job, and choosing the wrong person would doom everyone."

    Nabiki sighed. She really didn't want to be a magical girl—that honestly seemed more Ranma's or Akane's thing. It also sounded like work, and not the kind of work that anyone ever really appreciated. On the other hand, the end of the world was almost guaranteed to be even more annoying and disruptive than becoming a magical girl.

    "Fiiine," she sighed, "What do I have to do?"

    "Yes!" cried Buddy, giving a little fist pump before his eyes glowed with the colors of the rainbow. "Just say, I'm Pretty Special to accept the mantle."

    "I'm pretty special," Nabiki droned in a monotone.

    A gentle breeze bearing the faint sound of tinkling bells and a faint smell of vanilla and cherry blossoms swept across the field and danced around Nabiki, lifting her to her feet, and gently spinning her around a few inches off the ground. For a moment the breeze seemed to caress her hair before condensing into a rust bodice with laces of different colors of the rainbow in an X pattern over a cream blouse and black pants. A moment later, an unfastened blue jacket decorated with numerous opal buttons manifested atop the blouse and bodice, and a pair of brown suede low boots formed around her feet.

    Immediately after the jacket formed, her hair quickly grew longer, as each strand shifted from its usual brown to a muted color of the rainbow; once her hair reached its full length at the small of her back, it swept upwards and wove itself into a perfect halo braid atop her head. At the same time, her already perfectly trimmed short fingernails turned pearly white but remained the same size. To complete the transformation, on the back of each hand, a pendant of moonstone set in white gold appeared, connected by white gold chains to bands of white gold with a thin line of rose gold running along the middle, that formed on each middle finger and wrist.

    "Not bad," Nabiki commented, looking herself over once her boots touched ground.

    "Yes!" cried Buddy as enthusiastically danced around, "together, we're going to Save The World, Kasumi!"

    "Hmm? I'm Nabiki."

    Buddy froze mid-step with a nervous smile on his face. "T-that's really funny, Kasumi, but you really shouldn't joke about things like that."

    "Why would I joke about that?" Nabiki asked, admiring her nails.

    "But you can't be! I have files on you and your sisters—with pictures and everything!" Buddy exclaimed, pulling a manila folder out of thin air and thrusting it in her direction.

    Nabiki took it and leafed through the papers within. "Oh, I see the problem," she said as she pulled out a sheet of paper. "The picture on my sheet came off and got stuck on top of Kasumi's."

    Buddy stared as Nabiki peeled off her picture to reveal Kasumi's beneath. He looked from the sheet to Nabiki and back again a few times. He took a deep breath and then another. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision. "Doomed!" he cried, throwing his little paws up into the air and running off.

    "Heeey," Nabiki called after the fleeing bear, "how much does this magical girl gig pay, anyway?"

    o0o​

    Pretty Special gazed across the grassy field, taking in the various burnt, frozen, shocked, and irradiated patches that now dotted it. After a moment's thought, she pointed her left index finger at a still-burning spot. One perfect fingernail glowed ice blue for an instant, and a twisting line of blue energy streaked from her fingertip, instantly freezing over the spot and extinguishing the flame. Movement at the other end of the field caught the magical girl's eye, and her pearly white fingernails flickered in various colors for an instant before she recognized the teddy bear approaching her, dragging something behind him. She crossed her arms and waited.

    "I'm really sorry about running off, N-Nabiki," he said sheepishly as he set down the briefcase he'd been dragging. "I was surprised and afraid, but that was no excuse for running off or treating you so disrespectfully." He stood straight and gave her a formal bow. "I apologize for my unprofessional behavior."

    "I suppose I can let it slide this time."

    "Thank you for giving me a second chance!" Buddy cried, beaming at his charge. "And don't worry, because I've figured out a solution for our problem! You can give up the mantle of Pretty Special and pass it on to Kasumi! This way the world will be Saved!"

    "I don't know…" Nabiki mused, "this uniform looks a lot better than I thought it would, and it is kind of nice having magical powers."

    "But—but! The world! Doomed! Dooomed!!" the teddy bear cried, jumping up and down and waving his arms.

    Nabiki sighed. She supposed that the end of the world, along with the hassle of having to go out and fight evil, was still the more troublesome option. "Fine… What do I have to do now?"

    "Just hold still and I'll do everything."

    Nabiki sighed again and gave her Pretty Special outfit another look, wondering if Kasumi's uniform would look the same. She smiled faintly as she glanced at the destruction she'd caused in her brief tenure as a magical girl. Then she looked back at Buddy and her smile vanished as she took in the empty briefcase and the large revolver the magical teddy bear was raising to aim at her head. Twisting to the side, she caught Buddy with a perfect low front kick, launching the little bear and his gun into the air at high speed.

    "It's for the good of the wor—" he cried before his form and his words faded in the distance.

    o0o​

    "Pass the soy sauce, please," Akane asked from her place at the dinner table, thanking Velgri when it floated over to her.

    Kasumi smiled at the lavender fox for a moment before turning to look at Nabiki with concern. "Are you sure you're all right, Nabiki? You haven't had a headache or any dizziness, have you? That was a nasty bump you got."

    "I'm fine, thanks. It hasn't bothered me at all," Nabiki replied, briefly wondering if her new status as a magical girl had caused her injury to heal unusually quickly.

    "You know," Ranma said, finally deciding to speak up in favor of the frowning and fidgeting he'd been doing throughout the meal, "it really isn't safe for someone untrained to be so close to a martial artist's fights, or even high level training. And that goes double for the Avatar; you never should have been at that session."

    Nabiki gave him a cool look. "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you. If anyone's responsible for that rock, it's the magical girl who suddenly decided to try a new area technique without bothering to warn anyone. But don't worry, now that I know to expect that sort of thing, I'll be watching for it."

    Ranma flushed briefly. "I don't know about that… Ok, maybe I should have said something first, but there are still a lot of things that can happen really fast. Maybe I should find a martial artist to do the filming."

    Nabiki gave a small sniff. "They won't do nearly as good a job, and you need every advantage you can get as the Avatar. Besides, excluding me would actually make things more dangerous."

    "What? How would that make things more dangerous for you?"

    "I didn't say it'd make things more dangerous for me," she replied, staring him down.

    o0o​

    Nabiki opened the door to her bedroom, trying to ignore the shouts, crashes, and sounds of flesh striking flesh and fur coming from the dojo. "How they can fight right after eating, I'll never—oh, it's you." She walked into her room and closed the door.

    "I'm really, really sorry for before," Buddy said as he prostrated himself on Nabiki's bed, "I was confused, afraid, and panicking, but I understand now that we have to deal with the situation and make the best of things." He straightened and gave Nabiki a look of resolve. "I promise I'll train you how to use Pretty Special's powers to destroy evil."

    Nabiki drummed her fingers on her arm as she gave the bear a hard look. "I suppose we can give it a shot. But no more guns."

    "No more guns, I swear—I'll teach you to be the best magical girl you can be!" He nodded firmly. "And when you inevitably get killed because you're a horrible choice for Pretty Special's powers, it'll be Kasumi's turn to be the best magical she can be and save the world!"

    0​

    "I was just trying to be supportive," the waterlogged teddy bear pouted as he struggled to make his way to the edge of the Tendou koi pond. "Who's the one whose sole purpose is to guide and support Pretty Special, anyway? Not her, that's who! No, it's Buddy, fierce warrior and expert advis…" He trailed off as a shadow fell upon him, and looked up in confusion. Buddy froze, his button eyes somehow going wide, right before a large panda's backside slammed into him at high speed.

    o0o​

    "Nabiki…"

    "No."

    "Please, at least hear me out," Buddy begged as he followed Nabiki down the sidewalk on her way home from school.

    "I really don't see why I should bother. And aren't you worried people are going to notice a walking teddy bear and carry him off, either to take him apart or lock him away and give him a cute French name?"

    "French … name? No, that's not important. Most people won't even notice me. But please, Nabiki, let me help you. I was serious about what I said yesterday, and I'm sorry if I upset you. My duty is to assist Pretty Special, and you may not be the girl who was meant to get her powers, but that doesn't matter now. You are Pretty Special and I will aid you."

    "I'm good, thanks," Nabiki said, not even slowing down. "I'm sure I can pick up what I need to on my own, and I really don't need an assistant who goes around announcing my secret identity, even if most people won't notice him."

    "You do need an assis―advisor, and you can't just pick things up on your own!" screeched Buddy as he hopped up and down in rage. "You need to be taught how to sense evil and how to perform your special attacks!"

    Nabiki stopped with a sigh and turned around, her bookbag managing to smack into the teddy bear who'd run to catch up with her after his brief outburst, knocking him to the ground. "I suppose I can spare some time, if you're going to make such a big deal about it… But you owe me one."

    "Of course, Nabiki! Whatever you say," cried Buddy as he picked himself up. "You won't regret this! Follow me, I know the perfect place to train." As Buddy hurried to the training spot he'd found before his charge could change her mind, he frowned and wondered why, exactly, he owed her for the training but decided rocking the boat would be a bad idea.

    A few minutes later, the two of them stood in a large bowl of bare dirt strewn with tire tracks, small patches of grass and weeds, mud puddles, and various pieces of trash. The area was surrounded by small hills of dirt and gravel, aside from a single dirt road that passed between two of the hills.

    "You really know the best places to take a girl," Nabiki idly commented as she looked around. "Still, it is a good place to blow things up without people noticing easily. I remember this place. They were going to put up apartments here years ago, or maybe a strip mall… probably both, actually. Shortly after they started work, costs went up and they decided the other places they expected to pop up between here and existing businesses weren't going to arrive soon enough, so they pulled out and left us with this."

    "That's sad," Buddy said as he gazed around the stricken area.

    "It's business," Nabiki replied with a shrug. "Well, let's get this show on the road—I'm pretty special." And with the tinkling of bells and a breeze laden with the fragrance of vanilla and cherry blossoms, she was once again a magical girl.

    "All right!" Buddy exclaimed, clapping his paws together, not seeming to mind that no sound was produced, "Now, it's going to take a lot of time and effort before you can actually do it, but the basic offensive manifestation of your power is the ability to shoot threads of energy from your finger—" Buddy yelped and jumped into the air as a thread of fire struck the ground between his legs.

    "I already know how to do that."

    "Oh… um, well, I bet you didn't know that you can change the type of energy…" Buddy trailed off as a puddle was flash frozen and electricity arced between two pieces of metal atop a trash pile.

    "I already figured all that out when you ran off that first afternoon. You haven't been any help at all, so far. You're not a very good assistant, are you?"

    "How-how dare you!" sputtered Buddy. "I am the advisor of Pretty Special and I know more about her powers than you ever will, little girl!"

    "Ok, good luck with that," Nabiki said with a shrug as she turned and started walking toward the road.

    "You want me to teach you something?" Buddy snarled. "Fine! Focus your power into your hand, like you're going to fire an attack, but let it build up. When it feels like you can't gather more, shout Special Delivery and throw the power at your target. Let's see you pull that off, Ms. I Don't Need An Advisor!"

    Nabiki stopped and turned around, leveling a hooded gaze on the teddy bear for a moment. "All right." She held her right hand before her, fingers slightly curled, and focused. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then each fingernail, in rapid succession from pinky to thumb, glowed a different color. A second after that, a swirling translucent ball of multicolored energy formed around her hand. Nabiki's gaze snapped to a large mound of trash thirty feet away, and with a flick of her hand, she cried, "Special Delivery!" The ball of energy streaked to the mound and exploded, leaving nothing more than small pieces of trash, some smoldering, some frozen solid, and others that were simply torn to shreds.

    Nabiki gazed at the destruction and then down at her hand. "Ok, I'll admit I hadn't thought of that. It should come in handy, though; I can think of lots of things to do with it…"

    Buddy frowned and wondered if he'd made a terrible mistake teaching that technique in his moment of anger. "Yes, it should be very helpful in smiting evil…"

    "Hm? Oh right, it should be good for that too."

    Buddy whimpered softly, no longer wondering if he'd made a mistake. "R-right, we should work on dodging now. It doesn't matter how hard you can hit if you can't avoid the enemy's attacks too."

    "Unless you can hit so hard you wipe them out before they even know you're there. Or you can get someone else to take their attacks, I suppose."

    "Pretty Special doesn't normally resort to such tactics, Nabiki."

    "Uh huh… and just out of curiosity, why were you looking for a replacement magical girl yesterday?"

    "So! Dodging!" Buddy quickly exclaimed, silently clapping his stuffed paws together before hurrying about twenty feet away and producing from thin air a machine that looked like a miniature howitzer wearing a bin of tennis balls as a hat. "Once I start the machine, you just dodge the tennis balls." Buddy started to reach for the machine's switch before suddenly remembering who he was talking to. "Don't leave its field of fire or attack the machine!" As he reached for the switch again, he quickly added, "Or its operator!"

    "Fine… just take all the strategy out of it, why don't you. Hey, how do you do that pulling things out from nowhere trick? That could be really handy."

    "Uh, it's something each magical girl has to figure out on her own!" Buddy cried as he imagined just what sort of handy uses his charge would find for such an ability. "I'm going to start the machine. Once we get an idea how well you can dodge, I'll give direction, to practice for when I'm acting as an overwatch."

    "Wait, you actually do something in fights?" Nabiki asked before quickly hopping to the left as a tennis ball rocketed at her.

    "Of course! I'd hardly deserve the name Buddy if I didn't!"

    Three hours later, after a grueling session of dodging insanely fast tennis balls, dodging while blasting a target, and dodging in response to Buddy's directions while wearing dark glasses, Pretty Special caught her breath and drank a cold glass of lemonade her assistant had provided. She wasn't surprised that the drink was overly sweet; it seemed to fit the whole theme this magical girl gig had going.

    "You did great, Nabiki! We'll have you out looking for dang—" Seeing a flicker of color race across Pretty Special's fingernails, Buddy quickly amended his statement. "—evil to smite in no time!"

    o0o​

    "Well, it's your own fault, Ranma, you should have known any cinematography martial artist you found would likely be a long lost fiancee," Nabiki called back over her shoulder as she headed to her room after school a few days later. Once she stepped inside and saw the teddy bear pacing on her bed, she closed the door.

    "You know, I'm pretty sure other magical girls will be able to see you just fine," Nabiki remarked as she put her bookbag down beside her desk.

    "You're probably right, but what are the odds we'll run into another magical girl in your house?"

    Nabiki just stared at the bear for a long moment before sighing. "You really are a terrible assistant, you know."

    "I'm your advisor, not your assistant!" Buddy cried before taking a deep breath and visibly reining in his temper. "But that's not important right now. I've decided you're ready for your first real patrol tonight."

    "Patrolling? You didn't say this involved spending my valuable nights patrolling. Where do I turn in my logged hours afterwards? And we never did go over my hourly rate, for that matter."

    "You don't have an hourly rate!" Buddy screamed, "This is a non-paying position!"

    "Well, that's not very motivating," Nabiki observed as she sat down at her desk and pulled out a textbook and a sheet of paper. "What sort of benefits and perks does it have, then?"

    "Magical powers and a world that isn't overrun with monsters or destroyed…?" Buddy offered slowly.

    "Those are the basic job description, not perks."

    "I … can bake you cookies?"

    "It's a start, I suppose…"

    Buddy gave a soft whine of frustration. He just knew he wouldn't be having this conversation if he'd picked either of his current charge's sisters.

    o0o​

    Pretty Special casually walked down the moonlit street, idly looking around for anything unusual as she took a bite out of a homemade chocolate chip cookie. She decided that it was a very good cookie and wondered if she could get her personal magical girl assistant reassigned as her personal baker. Or maybe half and half, if he managed to become a better assistant.

    "Nabiki," her assistant/baker's voice sounded in her ear, "I've found a salt troll under the bridge 4 blocks north and 2 east of your current location."

    "Roger. Does it need help?"

    "Does it need—?! No, you stu… er, no, Nabiki, we need to eliminate it."

    Nabiki stretched and nibbled on her cookie. "Why?"

    "Well, I thought it might be nice if we made sure it doesn't eat any pets. Or people. They're known to do both."

    "Oh, I guess that makes sense. I suppose I would have known that if I had a proper guide."

    "Just get over here!"

    "Fine," Nabiki sighed as she finished her cookie and headed toward the bridge at a light jog.

    "I'll provide an overwatch from the arch under the bridge. Salt trolls aren't too tough, but they can shoot deadly corrosive crystalline spikes. Fortunately, their aim isn't great. Okay, I see you. Approach quietly and hit it with your basic attacks when you're in range."

    "Why not just blast it with a Special Delivery?"

    "It's better not to use that unless you know you need to. It takes more energy and is much more noticeable by any other enemies we may have missed in the area. Also, your attacks are designed to minimize collateral damage, but they'll still hurt a bystander if we didn't notice someone in the area."

    "Got it. Going in."

    Pretty Special carefully approached the wide gully the bridge spanned and hopped over the guardrail, dropping down nearly fifty feet to land lightly and quietly at the bottom. Pausing briefly to look up at how far she'd jumped and grin, she quickly and quietly made her way toward the bridge, using the scattered brush and odd abandoned item for cover.

    "I see it," she quietly said as she passed a large safe, of all things, that was missing a door and studied the large creature. It stood about 10 feet tall and appeared to be made of milky and jagged stone. It was holding a large truck tire, and when it took a bite out of the thing, she could barely make out teeth that looked more like little stalactites and stalagmites, illuminated by an eerie green glow spilling from the back of its gullet. Glancing upwards, she could barely make out the form of a tiny bear clinging to the arch above it. "Opening fire…"

    Whipping her hand in the direction of the troll, she fired a thread of fire, quickly followed by a thread of lightning, at the troll. As the attacks streaked across the gully at it, the troll bellowed in surprise and hurled the half-eaten tire, which exploded a few feet away as it was struck by the two threads. With a roar of fury, the monster conjured crystal spikes from thin air and started hurling them at its attacker.

    Nabiki jumped over the first, knocked the second out of the air with a thread of ice from her right hand, and clipped her opponent's shoulder with a thread of compressed wind when Buddy's voice urgently cried, "Left!" in her ears.

    Nabiki instantly started to dodge left, only to feel a thrill of cold fear as her feet slipped on some loose pebbles and she ended up dropping to one knee with a grunt instead, only able to watch in sick fascination as a crystal shard with a slight green glow shot by, a few feet above and to the left of her. In what felt like slow motion, she turned her head and gazed at the smoking hole in the safe at head height, about three feet away in the direction she'd been told to dodge. Time snapped back to full speed as she whipped her head the other way and locked furious eyes with the wide and fearful ones of her ursine assistant. As Nabiki jumped back to her feet with a roar of her own, light of every color exploding from her body, Buddy gave a little shriek and fell from the bridge.

    The salt troll paused in its attack, a feeling of dread filling it, then suddenly looked down in confusion when a teddy bear dropped into its arms. The bear stared back for a moment before a shout from across the gully had them both turn their heads back to the glowing magical girl.

    "Pretty!" cried the magical girl as a multicolored ball of energy formed around her right hand. "Special!" she cried, as another ball formed around her left hand. "Delivery!" she shouted, bringing her hands together, and the two balls joined together into a giant, crackling sphere. The troll and teddy bear clutched each other in terror…

    o0o​

    "Say, Nabiki, did you hear about that huge explosion by the bridge downtown last night?" her classmate Tomiko asked as they ate lunch on the grass outside Furinkan. "They have no idea what caused it, but apparently, there was surprisingly little damage outside of one spot on the ground."

    "That's really strange," Hana remarked thoughtfully, "Maybe it was a crazy martial artist. Their attacks can be weird like that."

    "It's not like there's a shortage of them around here," Nabiki agreed, then frowned as she noticed a small, oddly shaped shadow cast from around the nearby building's corner. "Excuse me a moment," she said, getting up and walking around the corner.

    "Come on…" muttered Buddy as he tugged at the pull cord of the large chainsaw that sat on the ground before him.

    "Let me help you with that."

    "Oh, thank yo—" he said, the small hockey mask that was perched atop his head falling down to cover his face as he looked up, "o-oh, Nabiki! This i-isn't what…"

    Nabiki silently pointed a finger, its nail flickering electric blue for an instant before a tiny lightning bolt shot into the chainsaw, which immediately started up with a loud snarl and started bouncing around uncontrollably. Ignoring the screaming bear, she walked back to her classmates. Huh. I didn't know I could do that…

    "Nabiki…" Tomiko asked, staring past her, "What is that?"

    Nabiki glanced back at the bits of stuffing and fabric flying past the corner. "Oh, a maintenance man was mowing the lawn and ran over one of those talking plushies someone left there."

    "Oh, that makes sense."

    "I guess…" Hana said. "I didn't think they were usually programmed to scream and cry for help, though."

    "It was made by a shop in Nerima."

    The other two girls nodded; that explained things.

    o0o​

    Nabiki sat down on her bed with a sigh. Her murderous, annoying little assistant was gone, which was good. She was still Pretty Special, though, and now had no one to point her at things to kill, which was bad. Oh sure, she could totally slack off and ignore her Special abilities, like she'd made a show of doing in front of Buddy, but if the whole doom of the world thing was real, that would likely cause problems down the road. Was she actually going to have to run around in the middle of night actively searching for trouble? That sounded much more annoying than strolling around munching on home baked cookies while someone else scoured the area.

    A soft noise caught Nabiki's attention, and she looked up to see a heavily stitched teddy bear stiffly and awkwardly trying to climb through her bedroom window. The tiny white flag clutched in one paw wasn't helping his pained movements. When he looked up and noticed her watching, he gave a little squawk of alarm and tumbled onto her desk, lying on his back for several seconds before slowly making his way to his hind paws and waving his white flag.

    "I know you have no good reason to trust me at this point, Nabiki, but I give. I surrender unconditionally and will do my best to help you. Choosing you instead of Kasumi may have doomed the world, but it's been made painfully clear to me that doesn't matter. You're Pretty Special and I'm just a dumb bear; no matter how sneaky and how determined I get, there is no way I'll ever be able to beat you, and trying to will just make everything worse. So I'm going to do what I'm meant to do, future doom be damned, and help Pretty Special however I can, even if she understandably doesn't want me anywhere near her.

    "I know I've said things like that before, and to my shame, then tried to kill you, but I never did this…" Buddy painfully dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "I swear to you, Nabiki, on my honor, my existence, and my soul, that I will do my best to help you so long as you bear the title of Pretty Special and will never attempt to do you harm unless you deliberately and willingly tell me to."

    Nabiki eyed the teddy bear for a long moment as he knelt there, head bowed, and waited for her answer. "Why the part about me telling you to harm me?"

    "Sometimes sacrifices need be made," Buddy whispered hoarsely into the quiet room.

    "All right…" she sighed, "but if you try anything again, I really will end you."

    Buddy straightened and met her gaze. "You won't have to. If I break this oath, it will end me." His serious mood faded and he beamed happily. "Oh, this feels so good! You don't know how much of a relief giving up is! No more stress worrying about the end of the world! I just have to do my job and help Pretty Special! Ooh, I have something for you!"

    "Oh?

    "Yeah, it's the Pretty Brooch, an item that will seriously boost your defensive abilities. I didn't give it to you before because I wanted you dead, of course, but that's not a problem anymore! Let me just limber up a bit…"

    Buddy did a few stretches and carefully twisted his torso a bit, then experimentally raised and lowered each leg. Apparently deciding everything checked out, he flashed Nabiki a smile and gave her what she supposed was the teddy bear equivalent of a thumbs up before crouching then jumping into the air and performing a clumsy backflip. In the middle of his flip, a rose gold brooch appeared beneath him and shot across the room at high speed. Nabiki saw a flash of gold, then stars, and as everything went black, heard a worried, "Oops!"

    oOo​

    Nabiki groaned and gingerly touched her aching forehead, feeling a damp cloth resting atop it. Wincing slightly, she opened her eyes, and seeing she was stretched out on her bed in her dimly lit room, sat up.

    "Oh, you're awake," Kasumi said as walked carrying a tray with a pitcher of water, a glass, and a fresh damp cloth. "How are you feeling? Ranma said that rock hit you pretty hard."

    "Rock?"

    "Apparently a rock hit you in the forehead when you were recording her this morning. She was very worried; she rushed you right over to Doctor Tofuu's clinic and then brought you here to rest."

    "This morning…? Yeah, I remember that. What did Tofuu say?"

    "He said you just needed to rest. Would you like some water, or maybe some tea?"

    "Tea, please, and I'm feeling ok. A bit of a headache, though."

    "Here," Kasumi said, pouring a glass of water and giving it to Nabiki along with a couple of aspirin. "I'll go get the tea."

    Nabiki took the aspirin then walked over to her desk and put down the empty glass before staring out into the night. "A dream… but it felt so real." She looked down at her fingernails and concentrated, but nothing happened. "I'm pretty special," she whispered, feeling that, somehow, something should happen, but nothing did. "I'm pretty special," she repeated a bit louder, willing a change to occur.

    Slender arms slipped over her shoulders and lightly squeezed her. "And don't you forget it."

    "Thanks, Kasumi…"
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • The Social Lives of Magical Girls
  • Threadmarks
    • The Social Lives of Magical Girls​


    "I'm glad you're feeling better today, Nabiki," Kasumi said as she passed the soy sauce across the dinner table to Akane, who nodded in agreement as she thanked her.

    "Yeah," Ranma said uncomfortably, glancing away from Nabiki, "Sorry about that… but you know, it really isn't safe for someone untrained to be so close to a martial artist doing that kind of training. And that goes double for the Avatar; you never should have been there."

    Nabiki gave him a cool look. "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you. If anyone's responsible for that rock, it's the magical girl who suddenly decided to try a new area technique without bothering to warn anyone. But don't worry, now that I know to expect that sort of thing, I'll be watching for it."

    Ranma flushed briefly. "I don't know about that… Ok, maybe I should have said something first, but things can happen really fast. Maybe I can find a martial artist to do the filming..."

    Nabiki gave a small sniff. "They won't do nearly as good a job, and you need every advantage you can get as the Avatar. Maybe you could find find some sort of cinematography martial artist… but how much do you want to bet they'd turn out to be a long lost fiancée?" At Ranma's shudder, she paused to smirk before adding, "Anyway, excluding me would actually make things more dangerous."

    "What? How would that make things more dangerous for you?"

    "I didn't say it'd make things more dangerous for me," she replied, staring him down for a moment before frowning in thought and taking a sip of her tea.

    "Perhaps it would be best to focus on less hazardous training now," Velgri offered. "As I've said before, as the Avatar of Light, Ranma needs to be able to act properly in a formal social setting. I believe Nabiki's suggestion of dining at a fine restaurant would be a good next step in this endeavor."

    "I've already made reservations for Tuesday night," Nabiki offered. "Like I said, I'd only need to be compensated for expenses."

    "Thank you, Nabiki. I appreciate that, but I think Ranma would benefit from more than one teacher in this area. Would you be willing to help as well, Kasumi?"

    "It would be my pleasure," Kasumi replied, smiling first at Velgri and then Ranma.

    "I can help too," Akane quickly offered.

    "I appreciate the offer, Akane, but while I have no doubt you're able to behave appropriately in such settings, I think your older sisters would be better suited for teaching this."

    Akane looked down and fiddled with her teacup. "Oh," she said in a quiet voice. "Do you think I'm not a good teacher?"

    "As I've never seen you teach, I certainly don't have an opinion on your abilities, but I do know that this particular subject better fits their areas of expertise, and the clashes of personality you and Ranma so often seem to have certainly won't help matters. Neither will the complication of the meal having the appearance of a date."

    "Oh, I see," Akane said, trying to fight down her blush.

    "Are you thinking the three of us should go together or that we should give her separate lessons and tests?" Nabiki asked.

    "Separate would be best, at least to start. Once she has some experience with each of your distinct styles, we can try a group outing."

    "Nabiki should go first, then," Kasumi suggested, "since she's already made arrangements, and I'm sure she could use a night out after her training accident."

    "Thank you, Kasumi," Nabiki said, giving her older sister a small smile before excusing herself and going to her room. Once there, she closed her door and sat on her bed, frowning in thought.

    Well, that was all sorts of creepy. I don't think everything was exactly the same, but that conversation was way too familiar. Sure, it's not too hard to predict what Ranma's going to say most of the time, but that was just weird…

    She carefully scanned her room for anything out of place, like an extra teddy bear, before sighing and shaking her head.

    Stop being ridiculous, Nabiki, it was just a dream, no matter how real it felt. Is it really so surprising you know Ranma so well that you can figure out what he's going to say literally in your sleep? Ok, the timing was eerie, but what happened was something that'd be on both our minds, so it only makes sense that I'd dream about it and he'd say something about it.

    Having logically explained things to herself, Nabiki got up and went to her desk and took out a textbook and a notebook. The feeling of something being off still lingered, though.

    oOo​

    "Okay, we're here…" Ranma said as she shifted in her seat and looked around the fancy Italian restaurant she and Nabiki were in, "now what?"

    Nabiki sighed as she looked at her dining companion and student. The girl looked proper enough for the setting, wearing a nice green dress and some tasteful silver jewelry with her hair styled in a neat French braid, but everything else clearly needed work. For her part, Nabiki was wearing a blue dress and citrine stud earrings; her hair was in its usual style.

    "Now, you stop acting like a squirrel on a sugar rush and start acting like someone who belongs here. You want to be graceful and elegant. Don't fidget and squirm; move just as much as you need to accomplish what you want to do. Pretend you're practicing control for a martial arts technique if you need to. Yes, like that. Much better. You can move more freely once you have this down, but it's important to get the basics right first."

    "All right," Ranma said with a small nod as she casually glanced at the other diners to see how they were acting.

    "Good. Now, it's all right to look around a bit, so long as you don't stare, but it's important to keep in mind that I'm the reason you're here, so most of your attention should be focused on me. This may not always be the case, if for example, you're out with someone specifically for the food, but I think we can assume you're not going to be doing that much as the Avatar. That said, feel free to enjoy the food, and we can even talk about the meal, but always make your companions and whatever you came here to discuss your primary focus. Any questions?"

    "Yeah, if we came here to talk about something, when do we do that? And what do I do when we're not talking about it."

    "Don't say 'yeah', but those are good questions. And the answer is that it depends on the setting and the situation. For a formal meal with two or three people, serious talk should generally wait until after you've finished your entrees. In a more casual meal, you might talk business throughout, and in a formal setting with more people, serious matters might be touched on the entire time, but in subtle, indirect ways. Don't worry about that last scenario; if we cover that, it won't be until much later.

    "When you're not talking business, you'll be eating, drinking, and having casual conversation. Try to avoid inane topics like the weather, unless there's been unusual weather—and your companion cares at all about it. A demon from the nether realms, for example, probably won't care that it hailed yesterday unless they were actually caught in it."

    Nabiki glanced at the waiter that was clearly heading for their table. "Here comes our food. We'll practice eating in an appropriate manner and light casual conversation, but feel free to ask questions."

    A bit more than half an hour later, Nabiki took a sip of her coffee as she watched Ranma savor a spoonful of panna cotta topped with fresh berries. "You did well. Better than I expected, really. Why don't you behave better normally?" she asked, even though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

    Ranma frowned and took a sip of her coffee. "I agreed to be the Avatar of Light. I may not have meant to, but I did, and it's something I can't afford to screw up." She shrugged. "And like Velgri said, this is part of the job, so I've got to do it. Normally, though? I don't care about this stuff, so why bother?"

    "Aside from people thinking better of you and not bothering everyone around you? I suppose there's not much point when you're not in a formal situation. Of course, don't expect to be invited to any, and the opportunities available at them—even if it's just great food—if no one thinks you'll fit in.

    "I do have to wonder, though… If you do so well at things when you put your mind to them, why not apply yourself to things like school, and your engagement?"

    Ranma started to snort before catching herself. "Because they aren't as important as being the Avatar. And I never agreed to those other things; they were forced on me. I go to school because I have to, and I don't see myself needing what they're teaching. As for engagements…" she said, stressing the "s" and frowning, "I'm not agreeing to anything, and that's all I'm saying for now."

    "Waiting to see whether the whole mess clears up or explodes on its own instead of setting it off now? There are worse things you could do, I suppose." Nabiki took a moment to have a spoonful of her bonet. "I didn't realize you had your future planned out in so much detail to know you won't need good grades or what's being taught in school, though."

    "I don't, really… but I have a general idea, and I won't be needing any of—" Ranma stopped mid-sentence as her eyes snapped to the well-dressed man heading toward their table, his intense gaze focused on her.

    "Looks like you're getting a surprise practical exam," Nabiki quietly said. "Remember, Saotome, if this guy wants to start trouble, stay civil. Whoever breaks the rules first or worst loses and will be the one blamed for anything that happens. The stakes might be low here, but as my student, you will not get in the habit of losing."

    Ranma nodded sharply as she studied the approaching man. He looked to be about Nabiki or Kasumi's age and stood a few inches taller than Ranma's male height. His skin was a light olive color, and his neatly trimmed hair was black and slightly curly, but it was his striking hazel eyes that captured her attention. As her gaze met his, he smiled warmly at her, displaying perfect pearly white teeth. With a slight blush, she looked away from his face, taking in his blue slacks, white dress shirt, sport jacket, and the fine gold link chain around his neck. His fluid movement hinted at a great deal of skill in dance, martial arts, or both.

    "Bonjour, ladies," he said smoothly, with an accent Ranma assumed was French, "please allow me to introduce myself—I am Henri Corbin, and it is my deepest pleasure to meet you on this most beautiful day."

    Ranma glanced outside at the trees swaying in the strong breeze and the dark clouds obscuring the setting sun. "Beautiful day?"

    "Of course. How could the day that I encounter a pair of such lovely and charming ladies be anything but beautiful? May I have the honor of your names?" he asked with a warm smile.

    "Uh…" Ranma began, jerking slightly when Nabiki kicked her under the table, "I mean, certainly! I'm Ranma Saotome and this is Nabiki Tendou."

    "A pleasure," Nabiki said politely.

    "I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, and how could it be otherwise in the face of such radiant beauty," Henri said with a smile at Ranma, "and such refined elegance," he added, with a nod to Nabiki.

    "Ah, uh, thank you. So… what can we do for you?"

    "Oh, many things, I'm sure," Henri purred, as his gaze wandered over the two, his smile widening at the faint blush on Ranma's cheeks, "but for now," he said, leaning forward to take her hand and gaze into her eyes, "I would give me the greatest pleasure if you would accompany me two days hence, at shall we say, six in the evening?"

    "A-accompany you? Like on a date?" Ranma asked, her blush deepening.

    "That sounds delightful," breathed Henri, "but I'm afraid business must come first before we can turn to matters of pleasure. May I have the honor, my dear, of facing such a beautiful and graceful servant of the Light as yourself on the field of battle in two days?"

    Ranma stared up at him in surprise for a moment. "Oh. Uh, sure."

    "I'll look forward to it. And now that business is out of the way," he purred, raising her hand further, before a shout rang across the restaurant.

    "You scoundrel!" cried Tatewaki Kunou, dressed in his usual blue kendogi, as he rushed over from the entrance of the restaurant drawing his bokken to point it at Henri, "how dare you accost the fierce and beautiful pig—"

    Anything further was cut off as the subject of his rant casually reached out with a finger and tapped the tip of the wooden sword. Kunou jerked violently as his hair instantly stood on end, and for a brief moment, his very bones glowed so brightly they were visible beneath his exposed skin. After a moment, Henri removed his finger, and Kunou's smoking form collapsed to the ground, still twitching slightly.

    "How distasteful," he remarked as he gazed down for a moment before turning back to Ranma, frowning slightly as he noticed she'd pulled her hand from his during the commotion. "And now, my dear, I believe I deserve a reward for my restraint in not ending that boorish fool. I believe that date you mentioned, let us say tomorrow night, would be perfect."

    "What?! A date? When you're challenging me?"

    Henri fixed her with a smoldering gaze. "In a matter of days, one of us will be dead. We both owe it to ourselves to seize this last opportunity to enjoy a night with someone who truly understands what we face."

    "That doesn't sound quite right…"

    "There is little as intimate as two people locked in a primal struggle for life itself. What is another small intimacy atop that?" Henri looked down at Kunou for a moment then cocked his head, "unless you prefer I finish off this cur?"

    "No…" Ranma said, smiling weakly, "tomorrow night is … fine."

    "Wonderful! I will pick you at six, then, for dinner and a night on the town. It will be glorious! Until then, my jewel." With a radiant smile to Ranma and a polite nod to Nabiki, Henri stepped over the body on the floor and walked out of the restaurant.

    "That went well," Nabiki remarked as she finished her coffee. "I'll give you a passing grade, but I expect to see improvement in the future."

    oOo​

    "I can't believe you're actually going through with this!" Akane cried as she walked home from school with Ranma and Nabiki.

    "Well, I can't believe Nabiki didn't sell the fact I have a date to everyone at school," Ranma replied with honest confusion from atop the fence he was walking along.

    Nabiki shrugged. "It's Avatar business; throwing random idiots at that could end up dooming the world, or worse, annoying the fox who's funding your lessons. Besides, it's bad business to send customers to someone who will literally kill them."

    "And that's why I'm going through with this. Henri was going to kill Kunou if I didn't. I may not like the guy, but I'm not going to let him get killed."

    "I know you wouldn't, but couldn't you have just said no and stopped him if he tried?"

    "And fail Nabiki's test? No way!"

    Akane sighed and shook her head. "You can't keep letting your pride get you into trouble."

    "That might be true," Nabiki commented, "but it was the right thing to do this time. Starting a brawl in a fine restaurant and risking Kunou's life versus agreeing to a date? I'm as surprised as you are, but Ranma made the mature decision. Even if it was for immature reasons."

    Ranma turned around and started walking backwards atop the fence so he could face the other two. "Thanks … I think. Anyway, I was worried fighting might have been a breach of the Accords, too. Kunou accosted the guy after he'd already issued his challenge; getting into a fight with him at that point might have been considered attacking a challenger before the fight. I'm not sure it would be, but I didn't want to risk it."

    "Wow, that was really good thinking!" Akane said. "We should ask Velgri, in case it comes up again." She sighed. "I guess maybe you really were a good choice to be the Avatar…"

    "Thanks," Ranma said, blushing faintly before stopping and turning to Nabiki, unable to ignore the speculative gaze she was focusing on him. "What?"

    "You've shown some hidden depths these past couple of weeks, Saotome. Maybe if you'd acted like this when you first arrived, things would have gone differently."

    Ranma and Akane both stared at Nabiki with wide eyes, and when she smiled up at him as she walked past, Ranma felt his cheeks warm. Akane kicking him off the fence and into the river while he was distracted cooled them quickly, though.

    Five minutes later, as the three girls walked toward the Tendou home, Akane frowned. "You know, speaking of attacking someone before a fight, whatever happened to Kodachi? She never came back like she said she was going to. Not that I'm complaining!"

    "I heard she ran off with one of her maids," Nabiki offered. "It's quite the scandal, even for that family."

    "Really?" Akane asked in surprise. "I didn't see that coming, but I guess it makes sense in a strange sort of way. I hope they're … happy together. Someplace far from here."

    "Do you think she still calls Kodachi mistress?" Ranma asked, smirking at Akane's shudder.

    "That subject is closed forever," Akane firmly stated as she walked inside and changed her shoes. "Come on, let's talk to Velgri."

    In short order, the three were sitting with Velgri at the table while Kasumi set out snacks and drinks.

    "Hmm…" commented the fennec as she thought, "defending Kunou from a challenger he attacked could be sufficient grounds to file a complaint, but it would be such a minor infraction, especially considering that Kunou was already defeated at the time, that it wouldn't be worth pursuing. Unless it were the latest incident in a clear pattern of interfering with challengers, there wouldn't even be a penalty or compensation.

    "As I said last night, I still believe you made the correct decision, Accords aside. Speaking of which, I expect you to behave properly during your date tonight."

    "Right, no letting him sample the goods, Saotome."

    "Nabiki!" shrieked Akane, "that's not what she meant!"

    "Certainly not," agreed Velgri, "how intimate Ranma decides to be is entirely her own business. I do expect her to act in a socially acceptable manner and honor her agreement by taking the date seriously, though."

    As Akane sat there gaping at the fox, Nabiki added, "If you need any help with your makeup or outfit, just let me know."

    "I think I've got everything handled. Besides, I doubt I can afford your rates…"

    "I offer very reasonable payment plans."

    "I can help too," Kasumi offered with a warm smile at Ranma.

    "Thanks, but I think I'm good. I'd better take a shower and start getting ready, though."

    As Ranma left the room, Akane turned to Velgri. "She'll be all right on this date, won't she?"

    "She'll be fine," Velgri reassured her.

    "It's just a date with a suave and handsome Frenchman," Nabiki added helpfully. "What could happen?"

    Akane bit her lip.

    oOo​

    "Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?" Kasumi asked as she led the handsome man in the tuxedo into the living room.

    "No, thank you," Henri replied with a charming smile.

    "All right. I'll just let your date know you're here, then."

    Declining the offer to sit, Henri glanced around the room, noting the remaining occupants: Nabiki, the Avatar's dining companion from the restaurant, sitting at the table with the air of someone waiting for the entertainment to begin, a cup of tea and a small bowl of rice crackers before her; an advisor from the forces of Light, in the form of a lavender fox, also sitting at the table, a book before her; and finally, a girl with clear resemblance to the others, a younger sister, perhaps, standing in the corner and glowering at him. "Bonsoir, ladies," he greeted, giving the fox a respectful nod when she looked in his direction.

    "Hello," Nabiki said, "You're a little bit early, but Ranma's been talking about the date all day, so I suppose it's probably for the best."

    Henri smiled and opened his mouth to reply, when the other girl growled, "I don't know what you're up to, but it won't work!"

    "Well, I was hoping to have pleasant conversation with my beautiful date's friends while I waited, but I certainly won't force it if you'd rather not."

    "Akane, please try to be polite to our guest," the advisor chided, "If not for propriety's sake, at least to set a good example for Ranma." Turning to Henri, she added, "I am Velgri. It's a pleasure to meet you."

    "I don't know… from what I've seen lately, maybe we should be more concerned with Ranma setting a good example for Akane."

    Henri suppressed a small smile at the younger girl's horrified look at her sister's words, before noticing her eyes widen and a delighted smile bloom on her face as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

    "Sorry for keeping you waiting," Ranma said with a smile while jauntily walking down the stairs, his tailored slim fit tuxedo with silver cufflinks showing off his toned male form.

    "Oh, there's no need to apologize," Henri growled throatily, his gaze burning as he took in every inch of his date. "I'd heard of your unique circumstances, but I hadn't dared hope they were true. Even so, I never expected your exquisitely masculine body would be at least as ravishing as your female form!"

    Ranma paused midstep, the smile fading from his face. "Uh… could you excuse me for a minute?"

    "Of course," Henri replied gallantly, eyes glued to his date as Ranma walked backwards up the stairs and disappeared. As the sounds of motion and other less discernible activity drifted down from the second floor, he glanced at the younger sister, now pale and uncertain, and the older one, whose lips were curled slightly in clear amusement. The advisor, as expected, was taking the situation in stride and had returned her attention to her book. After a few minutes, he turned his head at the sound of soft footsteps on the stairs.

    "Sorry for keeping you waiting," Ranma said with a nervous smile, her midnight blue dress showing off her form without being restrictive, a small ruby pendant on a gold chain glimmering at her throat, her hair arranged in a simple braid, and hastily but tastefully applied makeup adorning her face.

    "Think nothing of it, my dear," Henri replied, offering his arm as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Shall we?"

    Akane watched the couple leave, arm in arm, and then turned to the other occupants of the room. "You're just going to let them go off like that?! What—what if he tries something!"

    "Ranma is quite capable of handling herself," Velgri said without looking up from her book. "Do not interfere with her date, Akane. Even if it weren't a matter of honor for her, it would be most inappropriate. If you wish to pursue Ranma romantically, do so when she's not out with other people."

    "P-pursue?!" Akane sputtered, "I'm not interested in he—him that way! I-I'm, just worried. About what Henri might try."

    "As I said, you can set your mind at ease. Even if you don't have confidence in Ranma for some reason, harming her before the scheduled challenge would be counterproductive due to the Accords."

    "So, what—I should just sit here and hope everything turns out all right?"

    "What else are you going to do?" Nabiki asked as she looked down and picked a rice cracker out of the bowl, "Follow them to make sure no one sees Ranma on a date and tries to interfere?"

    "Was that really necessary?" Velgri sighed as the front door slammed behind Akane.

    "Not completely, but it gave her a clear goal instead of leaving her to come up with something on her own."

    They sat in silence for several minutes until the door opened again and Akane came in, panting, and said, "I lost them…"

    oOo​

    "Would you care for a drink?" Henri asked as he opened the small bar in the limo they were riding in and reached for a decanter of amber liquid.

    "No thanks," Ranma replied as she glanced around the luxurious car. As Henri poured himself a drink, she asked, "So, where are we going?"

    Henri took a sip and paused to savor the flavor. "An intimate restaurant first to feed our bodies, followed by the opera to inflame our passion, and then a cafe to relax and enjoy each other's company."

    "Opera?"

    "Oh I would certainly prefer to hold you close while we dance, but when one's partner is only in your arms out of obligation…" An expression of mild disgust crossed his face. "So, the opera."

    Ranma blinked in surprise. "But making someone go on a date out of obligation is fine?"

    "Ah, are you trying to convince me that insisting we dance is no worse than insisting on a date to begin with? My dear, if you want to dance, you only need to ask!"

    "No! I mean, no. I was just surprised."

    Henri nodded and sipped his drink. "I understand. You thought me a brute, a cad of the lowest sort, and expected me to indulge my base desires as much as I could, despite your wishes."

    "Ah… well…" she said awkwardly with a faint blush.

    Henri chuckled. "There's no need to be embarrassed; I don't blame you. I have no doubt that someone as beautiful and as strikingly handsome as yourself has suffered numerous men and women trying to force themselves on or entrap you."

    "Uh, yeah."

    "Such fools. They see a beautiful flower and would rather rip it from the ground to wear as an ornament than admire and appreciate it fully as it grows and thrives."

    "Huh…" Ranma eyed her date thoughtfully as the limo came to a stop outside a restaurant. Henri smiled at her, and when the chauffeur opened the door, stepped out and offered his hand. She allowed him to help her out and studied the restaurant.

    It looked nice, having white walls with dark wooden beams running along them, a dark brown shingled roof, and tall windows divided into squares. The solid looking wooden door was flanked by gas burning iron wall lamps, and the blue canopy above it bore the name Le Bourgeon in white script. She had no idea how authentic it was as a French building, but it looked convincing enough for her. Henri opened the door for her and they went inside where a man in a suit greeted them, talking warmly with Henri in French as he led them to a table in a corner of the dining room that somehow managed to seem elegant yet comfortable. Once they were seated, he switched back to Japanese to tell her to let him know if she needed anything before returning to his station at the door.

    Before she had time to do more than think of saying anything to Henri, a woman came over and filled their water glasses. As soon as she left, a man bearing a bottle of wine headed to their table.

    "I hope you don't mind," said Henri, "but I ordered the wine ahead so it would have time to breathe properly."

    "That's fine," Ranma replied, trying to seem like she understood why wine needed to breathe, then watched as the new man presented first an opened bottle and then a cork for her date's inspection. When both seemed to pass muster, a small amount of red wine was poured into Henri's glass, and after a taste, a nod of approval was given. The bottle and cork were removed, and in short order, a decanter of red wine was brought to the table, and glasses were poured for each of them.

    "To our time together," Henri said with a smile at her as he raised his glass.

    Ranma put a smile on her face and raised her glass before they both drank, her eyes widening slightly as the wine's flavor filled her mouth. "This is really good," she said after swallowing.

    "I've always believed the wine must live up to one's company," he remarked, holding up his glass to study both it and the woman across from him, "so I had no choice but to order something exquisite."

    Ranma felt her cheeks warm slightly, but before she could think of what, if anything, to say, a waiter placed a very small plate containing a thick cracker of some sort bearing a dollop of some sort of cream topped with silvery gray fish eggs and a few small bits of a purple fruit.

    At her puzzled look, Henri explained, "The amuse-bouche, a small taste of what is in store before we order. It shows off the chef's artistry and prepares our palates."

    She watched to see how he ate his before following suit. She wasn't sure exactly what was in the small dish, but she knew it tasted like heaven. The flavor lingered in her mouth when the plates were removed and the menus were presented. Soon enough, orders were placed, and the two were alone with only their drinks. After a few minutes in which Henri seemed content to gaze upon her, Ranma broke the silence.

    "This is all very nice… but I still don't really understand why you wanted to go out with me."

    Henri nodded slightly and sipped his wine. "There are a few reasons. As you said, this is very nice, and like you, I enjoy nice things. On the eve of our battle, when it's almost assured that one of us will not survive the next day, do we not both deserve such a night, especially when we fight merely to further the ambitions of others?"

    She frowned. "I don't. I fight to defend humanity and the world."

    "Non. I do not doubt for a second you would fiercely defend those in need, but that is not what you do as the Avatar. You accept challenges and do battle to give victory to the Light. These victories may indirectly benefit those you care about, but the only thing you directly fight for is the glory of the Light."

    "I don't see much of a difference."

    "It's the difference between catching a fish for your dinner and having a job to catch fish for a wage. I am not a ravaging beast you are fighting to defend a mother and her child; we engage in a blood sport for the entertainment of the Light and the Dark." He gazed at his wine as he swirled it. "We must accept our assigned roles, and to be sure, there are many worse ones to play, but never, my dear, think that we must feel slavish devotion toward our masters."

    Ranma stared at him, no idea what to say. She was never so grateful that their food arrived just then.

    oOo​

    "My apologies if I strayed into a topic unsuited for such an occasion," Henri said once the plates were cleared. "It was not my desire to cause upset or distress, but I felt you needed to understand who we truly are—Ranma and Henri. We may be Avatar and challenger, but that is merely what we do, and if we let those roles define us, then we ourselves are nothing." He stopped and smiled wryly. "And it appears my apology has merely compounded my original offense. Again, please forgive me."

    "It's … all right. Is that really how you see things?"

    "It is. I accept you may feel differently, but you must understand that above all else, you are Ranma Saotome, passionate fighter for what you believe in, a woman, and man, with needs and desires, who plays the role of the Avatar of Light. It is the nature of this world that one day you will die, your flame extinguished, and that is a sad thought, but if that flame were ever to be subsumed by the Light, it would truly be a tragedy and a great loss to all.

    "But enough of such deep words. Let us turn to sweeter topics, such as dessert, which I see coming our way."

    Ranma turned and studied the tray of beautiful pastries that was brought to the table, a small frown on her face.

    oOo​

    "I hope dinner met with your approval," Henri said as the limo pulled away from the restaurant.

    "It was amazing," Ranma said with all sincerity.

    Henri smiled. "I must agree. The food, the wine, the company … all exquisite."

    "We both know you could find better company."

    Henri nodded thoughtfully. "You are wrong. I could easily find a partner who would be either more accustomed to or more amazed by the finer things, or one who would be open to the pleasures of the flesh, it is true, but that is because those are common qualities. Pleasurable, to be sure, but small pleasures. You, on the other hand," he said, meeting her gaze, "are a kindred soul. One who burns with passion for the fight, feeling your heart pumping and the fiery joy rushing through veins as you hurl yourself at a skilled opponent! Who feels the thrill of knowing that every day may be your last but pushes on, living your life to the fullest, giving your all and savoring every moment.

    "So no, my dear, there is no one I would rather be with right now. But don't trouble yourself worrying about the whys and wherefores; enjoy the night for it may be your last! Or mine! For now, prepare yourself—for the opera!"

    Ranma smiled weakly. "Can't wait."

    oOo​

    "—and the part where Arnold convinced the people to rise up against the soldiers was awesome!" Ranma exclaimed as they walked down the sidewalk to the cafe.

    "Oh yes. The determination, the song, the passion! All divine. I am glad you enjoyed it."

    Ranma flushed slightly. "Uh, yeah. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I think them having a Japanese translation above the stage helped a lot. I kind of thought it'd be a bunch of people walking around singing in another language and me not understanding anything that's going on. But it wasn't, and it was good!"

    Henri chuckled as he opened the door to the cafe. "I would never steer you to something boring, my dear. Especially not if I'd have to sit through it with you."

    Conversation halted briefly as they were seated and had their orders taken.

    "The singing was really something, too," Ranma enthused. "I never knew people could put so much into it! I mean, their voices were so loud and forceful while still sounding good."

    "Indeed. I once dated an opera singer, you know. It was delightful—until it ended. Trust me, my dear, you never want to have a furious opera singer loudly expressing her displeasure at you from a few feet away." Henri shuddered with a pained expression.

    "Oh, hel—" Ranma coughed. "Er, I mean, definitely not."

    Henri smiled at her. "I assure you, you had it right the first time." His smile widened at her surprised laugh, and then their drinks arrived, and they fell into silence as he sipped his espresso and she drank her coffee.

    "Tonight's been really nice," she remarked, a bit of surprise in her voice, as she set down her coffee cup.

    "It has. I can think of something to make it even nicer, though," he purred, gazing into her eyes.

    She felt her cheeks burn. "Ah, I, er…"

    Henri placed his hand on hers. "I understand. I assure you, you would enjoy it, just as you have enjoyed everything else tonight, but I can see it's not something you're ready for. I won't pretend I'm not disappointed, but spending the evening with you has been wonderful." He stroked the back of her hand once with his thumb. "You know, if I thought your dedication and character were any less, I'd ask you to toss aside your duties and run off with me, even if we were fated never to make love."

    She stared at him, her mouth dry and her hand feeling warm where his hand lay atop it, the spot where he'd stroked his thumb almost burning. She swallowed.

    He pulled his hand back and smiled at her. "But I must accept things as they are, not how I wish them to be, and tomorrow we will meet on the field of battle, and barring a deus ex machina, one of us will breathe our last breath."

    Ranma shivered slightly then smiled sweetly. "Or you could toss aside your duties and run off with me."

    Henri threw back his head and laughed. "And so you turn my words back against me! Ah, I am tempted, my dear, oh how I am tempted. But I'm afraid that I am tied to my masters by such debts and obligations that if I abandoned them in such a manner, they would surely have me killed slowly. There is a price for the pleasures we enjoyed tonight, you see, and while the forces of the Dark would be delighted to provide for us indefinitely if you were to run off with me, the reverse would have their fury shake the very sky.

    "Ah, I can see sympathy in your eyes, but you should not feel sorry for me. I freely chose long ago to live a life of luxury where I am free to indulge my passions, knowing what the price would be, and that choice was the correct one for me. Do I regret that I will not have longer with you, my kindred soul, now that we've met? Of course. But such is life."

    oOo​

    Ranma walked inside, not announcing her return due to the late hour, a thoughtful frown on her face as she changed shoes. With a sigh, she walked into the living room and stopped dead at the sight of all three Tendou sisters sitting there, watching her intently. "Uh…"

    "Are you all right?" Akane demanded. "What did that creep try?"

    "Did you have a nice date?" Kasumi asked at the same time.

    Ranma sighed and looked at Nabiki. A moment of silence passed. "Well?"

    "Did you give him a good night kiss?"

    "Nabiki!" shouted Akane.

    "Please, Nabiki, that's between Ranma and her date."

    "Look," Ranma said, walking to the stairs, "it's been a long night. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

    She went to her room and changed into a robe when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to see Kasumi.

    "Let me take your dress to be cleaned. It'd be a shame for anything to happen to it."

    Ranma glanced at the dress pooled on the floor. "Uh, yeah. Thanks, Kasumi," she said, carefully picking it up and giving it to the other girl.

    "You're welcome. So, did you enjoy your date?"

    "Yeah," Ranma said with a faint smile, "it was nice… But it was awkward."

    "Oh? How so?"

    "Well, I mean, I was on a date with a guy I'm gonna ki—fight tomorrow. And on a date with a guy at all." She frowned slightly and shook her head. "I have a lot to think about. But everything we did was great: dinner, the opera, coffee."

    "Oh, I'd love to go to the opera some day."

    "You should. Hey, if I can ever swing it, I'll take you."

    Kasumi gave her a warm smile. "That's very sweet of you, Ranma. Thank you."

    oOo​

    Ranma jumped up to a branch of the tree and frowned as he leaned back against the trunk, the leaves around him muffling the noise of Furinkan and obscuring him from view of the other students outside during lunch. Less than six hours until he fought Henri, and he still wasn't sure what to think of what the man had said last night. Were they really both being used by the Light and the Dark? Was there a risk of being swallowed up by the Light and completely becoming the Avatar? He was fine with being the Avatar now, but that wasn't all he wanted to be.

    Ok, the way Velgri told it, the fight between the Light and Dark was destroying humanity and the world, so both sides agreed to have champions fight each other instead. But was that really all that different from Henri's viewpoint that they were making people fight to the death for entertainment or to score points in some sort of game? He sighed and shook his head as he realized he didn't even really know what would happen if the Avatar was defeated—besides it being very bad for him personally. He could ask Velgri about that last bit, at least, but she'd hardly tell him if he was a pawn in some sort of bloodsport… Or would she? It wasn't like he could just quit unless he was fine with the Dark winning. Still, even he could tell it was a subject that would have to be broached very delicately.

    He sighed as he pushed himself away from the trunk. He'd have to think about how to talk to Velgri in a way that wouldn't result in either some canned party line or an enraged fox. Until then, he'd treat the Avatar position as being on the up and up and do his duty, but he'd play it safe and only use the power as needed rather than immersing herself—damnit, himself—in it fully. Was thinking of himself as a girl for Avatar matters a sign he was losing himself or just natural when thinking about magical girl things? Crap, it didn't matter right now; if he didn't focus on the upcoming fight and win, everything would be irrelevant. He nodded shortly and jumped down to the ground and headed back to the school.

    oOo​

    Ranma stood in the dojo in her Avatar form, meditating, her gaze steady on the wall scroll and its calligraphy: iroha—fundamentals. That was what she focused on, the essentials of who and what she was. In her heart, she was Ranma Saotome, a martial artist who was usually a boy and sometimes a girl. Dedicated, loyal, intense, rash, arrogant, and often a bit of a jerk. She should probably work on one or two of those someday… She was the Avatar of Light, and using the power that position granted, she faced challengers for the good of humanity. She would use those powers today to defeat the latest—

    "Ranma, he's here," Akane quietly said as she entered the dojo.

    She straightened and slowly exhaled. "Thanks. Let's go do this."

    "Are you all right?" Akane hesitantly asked.

    "Yeah. It's just kinda messed up, doing this after going out with someone and having a heart to heart with them, you know?"

    "I guess I can see that. Do you think that's why he asked you out?"

    "I honestly don't know," Ranma said, shaking her head as she headed out the door. "No point putting things off, though."

    "Ah, how good to see you again, my dear," Henri greeted from where he stood beside Nabiki. He was dressed in black slacks, a white button-up shirt, a gray blazer, and gray loafers. "It's a shame it's under such circumstances."

    "Henri," she returned with a nod, "we'll be fighting somewhere nearby where we'll have more room."

    "I understand," he said, looking around, "this is a lovely home; it would be a shame if it were damaged. Lead on, my dear."

    Akane scowled and started walking. "It's this way."

    Henri raised an eyebrow at Ranma and smiled slightly before following. Ranma and Nabiki joined them, the latter with a bag of video equipment slung over her shoulder. They walked in silence for several minutes before coming to a large clearing.

    As Nabiki walked off to the side and set up her camcorder on a tripod, Henri turned to Akane. "A moment of privacy, please."

    "Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of me."

    "Akane, it's ok," Ranma said, nodding slightly. The other girl sighed, and after a moment, walked over to Nabiki.

    Henri smiled at Ranma. "You are as ravishing like this as you are in your other forms. I did not expect it to be otherwise."

    A slight flush colored Ranma's cheeks as she shook her head. "This is how you want to spend your last moments?"

    "Be true to yourself until the very end, my dear. There's no other way to live. But it's quite bold of you to assume these are my last moments." He growled softly. "Such boldness makes you even more beguiling." Before Ranma could respond, Nabiki called out that she was ready. Henri smiled fondly, and a silver topped walking stick materialized in his hand. "It seems it is finally time for us to dance. Shall we?"

    Ranma nodded slowly, and they rushed at each other. A short downward swing of the walking stick was deflected with the side of the hand and a flurry of kicks, punches, and strikes were exchanged before the two leapt apart, the Avatar assisted by a light kick to the midsection.

    As soon as her feet touched ground, she was dodging a lightning bolt shot from the top of Henri's walking stick, and a moment later, the man himself leapt in with a flying kick. She met him in the air, knocking his leg off target with a knee and striking him in the chest with a punch. As Henri was sent back to the ground, the tip of his walking stick drew a thin red line down her arm.

    He's actually faster than I am, Ranma thought with amazement as she landed and drove forward with a punch, and when Henri twirled inside it, started to follow up with a low kick, only to flip backwards instead, as a sphere of crackling lightning manifested around her opponent. Tendrils of electricity briefly reached out toward her but were repelled by an aura of golden light that briefly shone around her.

    Henri instantly dismissed his lightning field and rushed forward, crossing the ground between them in a blur, slashing his walking stick to the right, the attack passing just over her head as she ducked. His return slash to the left was leapt over. Ranma's left leg flashed out in a kick to his head, but he rolled under it, following the motion of his own attack, driving the tip of his walking stick into the ground, and kicking out as he rose into a one-handed handstand atop it. He felt the impact as the kick was deflected with an arm and somersaulted to his feet, slashing defensively with his walking stick, just in case, as he pivoted back to face Ranma, only to see her landing lightly on her feet at least a dozen feet away. He relaxed, taking a moment to catch his breath and study his opponent.

    Ranma kept her eyes on Henri during the brief lull, but her racing thoughts were on her own abilities rather than his. He's fast—damn fast—but the problem is that I'm slower than I should be! Does he have some sort of aura that slows his opponent? Didn't feel anything different when the fight started, so probably not. Did he do something to me? He could have had something put into the food last night, or that heat when he touched my hand… But Velgri wasn't worried about something like that, and she's no fool.

    Her musing was cut short as Henri started firing a flurry of lightning bolts from the top of his walking stick. She ducked, dodged, and leapt, intercepting the last bolt the others had been herding her toward with a dim light lance—and desperately bent backwards, only barely avoiding the bolt as it smashed through her own attack. Why is the damned Avatar's power failing me?! I may not trust it fully, but it… I'm a damned idiot.

    Eyes tracking her intently, Henri slammed the tip of his walking stick into the ground, and with a soft buzz of electricity, all the dust on the ground leapt into the air and flew at her. Ranma leapt away, and in an instant, Henri was on her, launching a flurry of punches, kicks, and thrusts, his senses seemingly unaffected by the flying dust that impaired her vision and hearing, giving her less time to defend against each attack. She tilted her head to the side to avoid the first kick, rolled with most of the force of a punch to her left shoulder, missed entirely with a quick return punch, then twisted desperately to avoid the head of the walking stick crackling with electricity, taking a hard knee to the stomach instead, before blasting Henri away with a brilliant light lance.

    Ranma hit the ground in a backward roll and came to her feet, hunched over slightly, but a new look of determination and conviction on her face as the dust fell back to the ground, revealing Henri standing some distance away, gently massaging his shoulder.

    Of course the power of the Avatar was weak when I was literally pushing it away! I may not want to be just the Avatar all my life, but when I am her, I need to accept and embrace it fully.

    Henri frowned and shook his head as he met her gaze. "All I see in your eyes now is the Avatar who has fought for her masters for centuries. Is there now nothing left of the Ranma I hold dear?"

    "I'm still here, but you challenged the Avatar of Light, not Ranma Saotome."

    "A shame I cannot destroy her alone." He rolled his neck. "Let us finish this."

    In an instant, the two were rushing at each other, both leaping to meet high in the air, Henri spinning to attack with a blindingly fast kick. Grimly smiling as she recognized the attack would have been too fast for her to counter properly before, Ranma slapped the leg down and to the side, her eyes widening as it was pushed aside far too easily, revealing Henri's walking stick held tightly against his side, the silver head incandescent with electricity. He stabbed forward at her chest, connecting—with her interposed hands, both glowing like small suns. The world seemed to hold its breath for an instant as the walking stick discharged and she released her light lances.

    A thunderclap shook the field and the combatants were hurled apart, dust and dirt once again filling the air. Ranma rode the blast, flipping midair, hitting the ground crouched low with her left hand dragging against the ground in front of her as she skidded backwards for at least another ten feet. She slowly straightened, and as the dust cleared, saw Henri lying face down across the field, the dirt stained red behind him. She started walking toward him, noticing as she got closer, his walking stick lying beyond him, the silver head blackened and smoking. She paused as Henri coughed and struggled to rise, only to gasp softly and fall to his side, facing away from her, blood slowly starting to pool around him.

    "Well done," gasped Henri, "I am finished. Would you grant me a last request, my dear?" Nothing onerous, I promise." He coughed for a long moment. "Just a last touch of your hand. I … I do not want to be alone at the end."

    Suddenly feeling very tired, he let his eyes fall closed, hearing one of the girls who had witnessed the fight ask, "What's she doing?" before being shushed by the other. And then the ghost of a smile curled his lip as he heard footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes to see Ranma crouch before him and hold out a hand.

    He reached out with a trembling hand and gently grasped hers. "Thank you," he breathed, and electricity coursed over the Avatar's form as he poured all his remaining energy into her. His hand dropped back to the dirt as she dissolved into motes of golden light. He gave another weak cough, then chuckled softly as he once again heard footsteps approaching. He somehow managed to gather the strength to look up and meet the Avatar's gaze as she looked down at him, and whispered, "Deceiving a dying man… So cruel. I've never wanted to kiss you more, my de—" Henri collapsed, his body dissolving into shadow that sank into the ground and vanished.

    Ranma silently stood there, looking at the spot where Henri had been, finally turning to face Akane and Nabiki as they walked over. "He was tough, but I knew you could do it!" Akane exclaimed, flashing a smile at her.

    "When did you figure out how to make people out of light?" asked Nabiki.

    "Right before the last exchange, when I pulled my head out my ass. It just suddenly clicked."

    "I thought you looked a bit slower than usual," Nabiki nodded, "Having your head up there would do it."

    Ranma snorted briefly in amusement before dismissing her Avatar transformation. "Let's go home."

    They walked in silence for several minutes, Akane carrying the camera bag, before she softly bit her lip and asked, "Are you all right?"

    "Yeah. The last few days have just been…" Ranma shook her head.

    "Yeah," Akane sighed. "I bet it helps that the jerk showed his true colors in the end."

    "Yeah," Ranma echoed.

    oOo​

    Ranma sat on the wooden walkway running around the Tendou home, gazing into the moonlit yard. The house was pleasantly quiet, the soft sound of someone walking onto the walkway with him doing little to disturb it.

    "So, what put your head up your ass today, anyway?" Nabiki asked.

    Ranma shrugged. "Some crap Henri said about staying apart from the Light and not losing myself in it. It made it harder to use the Avatar's power. I guess getting into my head like that was why he wanted to go out with me all along."

    "Maybe. Or maybe the philosophy of someone who follows the Dark just doesn't work for someone following the Light."

    Ranma sighed. "I'm not sure that helps … but, thanks."

    A few moments passed in silence. "You know," Nabiki said softly, "it's ok to like, maybe even fall for, someone who's evil."

    "I'm not falling for you!" Ranma blurted in alarm, before freezing and slowly turning his head toward her. In the face of her intense glare, he softly coughed. "I mean, you're not evil, Nabiki."

    Nabiki silently held her glare for several seconds before turning and walking back inside. Ranma groaned and leaned forward, dropping his head to the wooden planks.


    Author's note (12/31/23): This chapter and chapter 7 "Lights! Camera! Action! A New Challenger Arrives!" are two of my favorites. So is chapter 9 "Nabiki Is Pretty Special", but in a different way. New chapters will probably be about a month apart from now on, as I feel it's better to space them out with medium gaps than to quickly post what I already have written and then have a huge wait for each new chapter. As always comments and feedback are always appreciated and thanks go to Sunshine Temple for looking over each chapter.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • That was a rather nice date for Ranma. Would be interesting to see if Nabiki takes her out some more. Or is it Kasumi's turn?
     
    Bear Left at Nerima
  • Threadmarks
    • Bear Left at Nerima​


    Rain poured down on the dark house as trees swayed in the strong wind. Inside, the inhabitants slept, and dreamed…

    o0o​

    Ranma smiled sweetly at the man across the table. "Or you could toss aside your duties and run off with me."

    Henri threw back his head and laughed. "And so you turn my words back against me!" He opened his mouth to say more, then paused as he cocked his head in thought for a long moment. "Very well, I accept your proposition, my dear."

    After several minutes of Ranma sitting there unmoving, the smile frozen on her face, Henri shrugged and ordered another espresso.

    0​

    Soun watched the workmen building the addition to his home, a stern frown marring his face. "Ranma," he said, addressing the boy standing to his left, "a word, please."

    Ranma slowly nodded, a sickly expression on his face as he eyed Soun, Akane glowering at him from the other side of the man.

    "While we would be happy to house you and your father, even if you weren't engaged to my daughter, inviting your boyfriend to live with you crosses the line. Especially considering you are engaged to my daughter!"

    Ranma glanced at Henri in the distance directing the second truck containing his personal possessions onto the property and tried to come up with a response. Fortunately, Nabiki walking over to them gave him a reprieve. He knew she would make everything worse somehow, but at least he had a moment to breathe.

    "The construction is really coming along quickly," Nabiki remarked, "even for Nerima! It must be costing Henri a fortune. Oh, here you go, Daddy," she added, handing her father a piece of paper.

    "What's this?"

    "That's how much Henri's offering to pay per month while he's staying here. In addition to paying for the renovation."

    Soun looked down at the paper, his eyes widening briefly. He glanced over at Henri. His eyes returned to the paper. He glanced at Ranma. "Well. Reforming a martial artist who has strayed from the path of righteousness is a noble cause… We'll see how it works on a trial basis."

    Soun stepped to the side as Akane gave a scream of rage and lunged at Ranma.

    o0o​

    Akane put down her pen and rose to her feet as the bell to challenge the Avatar of Light rang. Straightening her clothes and adjusting her bearing to give a more professional impression, she walked to the back door and opened it to reveal the latest challenger. Her eyes narrowed and she scowled at the person before her.

    "Akane Tendou, I come to challenge the Avatar of Light," Kunou declared, brandishing a bouquet of roses. "If she is victorious, she may date me!"

    "You are aware this is a challenge to the death, right?"

    "Tatewaki Kunou will not be deterred by such considerations!"

    Akane gave Kunou a long look in silence. And then she slowly closed the door in his face.

    o0o

    ​
    "Mr. Tendou, you're the world's only hope! Please say you'll help us," the girl implored him. The other four girls behind her nodded in agreement.

    Soun pensively stared into space for a long moment before sighing deeply and nodding. "With so much at stake, it seems I have no choice. For the sake of the world, I accept."

    A black cat with a golden crescent moon leapt into the air, and as she executed a graceful flip, a short rod topped with a heart and a star flew toward him. Soun reached out for it, an expression of joyous wonder on his face…

    o0o​

    A gentle breeze blew through the bamboo grove, making the leaves rustle musically. With a soft rumble of contentment, the large panda pulled a bamboo shoot from the ground and bit into it, savoring the taste. After eating the shoot, he lay on the ground and closed his eyes in peaceful slumber, paying no heed to the battle cries, explosions, and flashes of light coming from the city of Tokyo in the distance as it slowly crumbled and collapsed from the ravages of crazy martial artists and magical girls.

    o0o​

    Pretty Special ducked under a slash of an arm ending in a bone hook, blasted the eldritch humanoid with a thread of fire, and leapt back several feet before its three fellows could swarm her. She would have loved to open up more space and blast the lot of them, but that would leave her exposed to the one hidden in the nearby junkyard that kept firing homing bolts of maroon energy at her.

    "Eyes on the spellcaster," Buddy's voice sounded in her ear. "Taking the shot." A sharp crack rang out, and a creature that looked like a cross between a gorilla and a squid wearing a stylish and perfectly fitted business suit and tie staggered out from behind a pile of trash and collapsed.

    "Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor…" Nabiki mused as she leapt backwards and high into the sky. "Special Delivery!" As she lightly landed, she watched with satisfaction as the twitching bodies of the creatures she'd been fighting dissolved into blue sparkles that dissipated in the breeze.

    "No hostiles visible."

    "Good work. I hereby promote you to Adequate Assistant." Nabiki cocked her head and listened to the quiet sounds coming through her earpiece. "Are you crying?"

    "N-no," Buddy quickly replied from where he was perched atop the crane in the middle of the junkyard and wiped away tears of joy, "I'm just … sniffing for hidden enemies."

    Nabiki sighed, already reconsidering the promotion.

    oOo​

    In a dark room, Kasumi sighed contentedly and snuggled in her lover's arms, the rain and howling wind outside held at bay by sturdy walls.

    ​



    "Hey, Velgri, are you busy?" Ranma asked.

    The lavender fox looked up from the magazine she'd been reading and took in her charge and the two youngest Tendou sisters standing before her in the sunlit living room. "Not at all. What can I do for you?"

    "We were wondering exactly what happens if the Avatar loses a challenge," Ranma asked as he and the girls sat down. "You said something about darkness running free or such, but that's pretty vague. Not that I'm planning on losing or anything! But it'd be pretty stupid not to know."

    "Certainly. If the Avatar is defeated or determined to have failed in her obligations, the influence of the Dark on the world becomes stronger. Agents of the Dark are freer to personally commit violence and destruction, base emotions are inflamed, and events that increase strife and suffering become more likely. War, violence, hatred, and oppression become stronger and more common. In the case the Avatar lost a challenge, the challenger typically goes on to eliminate those who were close to her. After a time, the Light is permitted to field a new Avatar. Assuming there's anything left to fight over at that point."

    A long moment of silence fell before Ranma said, "Well that sucks."

    "Especially for those of us who are close to the Avatar," added Nabiki.

    "Indeed," remarked Velgri and took a sip of her tea.

    "But there are other people who can fight against the Dark then, right?" Akane asked.

    "Certainly, but it would be on a case by case basis. They may be able to stop specific actors and reduce tragedy, but only an active Avatar will cause them to fully retreat."

    "Speaking of these other people," Nabiki interjected, "Who are they? Are there other magical girls out there?"

    "Oh yes, there are quite a few, each with her own focus and goals. Some fight to defend humanity, protect a specific place, or champion a particular cause."

    "Interesting," Nabiki said, then casually added, "can you name any specific magical girls?"

    Velgri thought for a moment. "Let's see… Well, I don't recall her name in the native language, but in Hawaii, there is the guardian of the holy mountain. There's the Avatar of Darkness, who like the Avatar of Light, technically isn't an avatar, that was an attempt to create a Dark counterpart. Then there's—"

    "Hold it!" cried Ranma, "What do you mean the Avatar of Light isn't actually an avatar?"

    "The technical definition of an avatar is an earthly being that is a conduit to a power, able to channel their patron's strength, or in very rare cases their consciousness, as well. The Avatar of Light, despite her name, is actually a champion who represents the forces of Light as opposed to Light the power."

    "Wait, what do you mean by 'a power'?" asked Akane.

    Vegri hmmed in thought for a moment. "Powers are the embodiments of concepts, such as life, death, elements, or even types of animals, such as Wolf or Cat. Long ago, they roamed the world, their mere presence capable of warping reality, but before even the Accords were written, they agreed to retreat from the physical world to afford it the stability that lesser beings needed to thrive and took steps to prevent their kind from manifesting directly."

    Ranma frowned. "It kind of sounds like the powers leaving was a lot like you guys coming up with the Accords, but for you instead of us."

    "It is similar in some ways, yes," Velgri allowed.

    "So, the Avatar of Light is actually the champion of the forces of light rather than the avatar of the power Light," mused Nabiki. "Does Light even know about this? It sounds kind of shady…"

    "It is not shady! Any confusion is caused by the limitation of your crude human language! The meaning of the title is quite clear in proper languages. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do," the fox stiffly declared, bounding out into the yard, leaving her magazine and tea behind.

    "Well, I've got things to do too," Ranma said and quickly left, as well.

    oOo​

    Ursula stomped down the alley, growling and muttering to herself. "Stupid brothers. Stupid boss. Like they do anything useful. Should have killed them all…" She stopped and glared at the dumpster blocking the way before giving it a kick that sent it flying down the alleyway with a crash. "Oh, it's not like you actually do anything useful, Ursula." she mimicked in a mocking tone. "And it's not like you have the looks or personality to attract a mate. Really, you should be thrilled at the chance to die to the Avatar. It's quite the honor, especially for someone like you."

    "Feh!" spat Ursula, swatting the dumpster into the wall, severely flattening it, when she reached it again. She walked past it and paused. "And now the fucking Avatar is moving all over the place. No point chasing her down until she stops somewhere…" Walking out of the alley, she looked around for a moment before giving a soft "ah" and heading to one of the storefronts.

    O​

    Yumi was wiping down the espresso machine when the bell rang. "Welcome to Dark Wat—" she cheerfully called as she turned around, breaking off at the sight of an enormous bear-woman crouching down and turning sideways to squeeze through the door; once she was inside, she straightened to full height and Yumi stared, wide-eyed.

    The bear-woman stood at least eight feet tall and several feet wide and was covered in short, dark brown fur. Her face was a cross between human and bear features, with a very short muzzle, and her ears were rounded triangles atop her head. Her body itself was basically human shaped, though somewhat bulky. Her bust would probably be considered about average size, proportionally to her body, making them rather large in an absolute sense, and her muscles were well-defined and very impressive. Yumi felt her cheeks warm and her eyes quickly flicked over the bear-woman's large hands whose fingers were tipped with thick claws, and the fringed and beaded trousers and vest she wore. Her bear feet were bare.

    "Aah, please excuse me," Yumi quickly said with a short bow, "welcome to Dark Waters. How may I help you?"

    Ursula walked up to the counter and looked around, her nostrils flaring slightly as she took in the scents of the espresso bar. "Give me a long black in the biggest mug you have."

    Yumi nervously looked between the coffee cups and then the bear-woman's enormous hands before suddenly brightening as she headed for the merchandise rack and picked up a novelty sixty four ounce mug with "Dark Waters Run Deep" printed on it. "It'll just be a few minutes," she said as she started the first shots of espresso brewing and washed the huge mug.

    "Yeah, ok," Ursula said, pulling a coin out of a beaded pouch and tossing it onto the counter with a thunk. "This cover it?"

    Yumi stared at the thick gold coin sitting on the counter. "Yes! Uh… um, I can't really make change for this."

    The bear-woman waved her off. "Just run a tab against it."

    "Yes, ma'am!" she exclaimed, taking the coin and slipping it into a pocket while starting a mental tally of what she'd need to pay the shop for whatever her new favorite customer wanted.

    Ursula watched the woman for a moment as she worked, then headed for a table and gingerly sat down on a chair, thankful that the decor featured iron wrought furniture and marble surfaces rather than something more breakable. She carefully leaned back and lost herself in savoring the aroma of brewing coffee, for the moment setting aside thoughts of people back home and her current situation. After several minutes, the barista's voice caught her attention.

    "Your drink is ready, ma'am, but I'm afraid I can't carry it to your table…" The woman apologetically indicated the huge mug that now contained a large amount of hot liquid.

    "Yeah, I'll come get it." Ursula retrieved the mug, and as she sat back down, the barista came over with a tray and set down two small pitchers of milk, a container of a few different types of sugars, and a piece of honeycomb on a small plate.

    "This is milk, and this one is cream," Yumi explained as she noted with satisfaction her wealthy customer's interest in the honeycomb and mentally congratulated herself on bringing it without it being ordered, and an extra large piece, at that. "Would you like anything with that? We have some wonderful pastries."

    "Yeah, sure. Whatever's good." Ursula picked up the honeycomb between two talons and inspected it. It only contained honey, she noted with slight disappointment, but one couldn't have everything. She popped it into her mouth, savoring the taste of the sweet honey and the wax comb, washing it down with a gulp of her drink. After a minute, a tart covered with a cone made of some kind of noodle-like confection was set on her table and proclaimed to be a 'mont blanc'.

    For the next half hour, Ursula sat there, idly drinking her long black and nibbling on the tiny confectionary mountain as she tracked the Avatar bouncing all over the place like a demented flea. This was very nice, she decided; a wonderful contrast to being constantly harassed and belittled by her horrible family and her petty, incompetent boss. It was a lovely way to spend her brief time on Earth before the inevitable humiliating defeat and death at the hands of the Avatar. Just as she was reaching the bottom of her mug, she frowned as she sensed the Avatar heading her way and quickly approaching. Time to get to work, she thought as she got up and headed for the door.

    "Please come again!" Yumi called as her new favorite customer started to leave.

    "We'll see," Ursula replied with a casual wave as she squeezed through the door.

    oOo​

    "Hey, Avatar!" Ursula called at the boy running along the top of a fence.

    "Man, another one already?" Ranma sighed as he leapt from the fence and landed in front of the large bear-woman. "You just want to challenge me, right? Nothing … else?"

    She peered down at him and cocked her head. "That was my plan. Why, what do you have in mind?"

    "Nothing!" he declared, quickly waving his hands. "Just the challenge!"

    Ursula sighed. Sure the whole boy-girl thing was odd, but no one had said anything about this Avatar being so weird. "Right. So, when you want to do this?"

    He opened his mouth to answer but paused as several fire trucks and ambulances raced by, lights flashing and sirens blaring. "Hang on, I need to check this out."

    "Avatar…" she started before sighing again and following after him. It wasn't like she really wanted to get killed by the Light champion, but now that she was at this point, she just wanted to get it over with. After a few minutes of running after the trucks, they came to a large crowd of people and vehicles with flashing lights around a very tall building engulfed in flames. Some of the people wearing uniforms were shooting water at the building, and a number of windows near the top had humans leaning out and screaming for help.

    "Crap," Ranma said, eying the building and stepping back into an alley and transforming, shuddering slightly at the unpleasant sensation of doing it directly from his male form.

    "Avatar," Ursula repeated as she walked up to her, "I thought you said you just wanted to do the challenge."

    "Yeah, but I need to help out here first. Hey, if you help too, it'll go faster."

    "Fine," she sighed, "What do I need to do?"

    "Rescue people trapped in the building. Bring them to the people in uniforms near the ambulance," she said, pointing out some of the vehicles. "Go for people in the most danger first and people higher up. Got it?"

    "Yeah, yeah." She watched the Avatar leap over the crowd and onto the side of the building to the sound of shouts and scattered flashes of light. As the champion quickly made her way higher up in quick bounds, Ursula jumped over the crowd, resulting in much shriller shouts, ran to the building, and made her way up in shorter leaps, digging in with her claws after each one before launching herself up further. Hearing a shrill scream nearby and smelling a whiff of scorched hair, she smashed through a window and part of a wall to find herself in an apartment.

    Ursula easily followed the sound and scent to find a woman and two smaller humans, all rather damp, wedged into a tiny bathroom. She growled softly as the screaming child was immediately joined by the other two at her appearance. "Hold on!" she barked as she grabbed one child after the other and stuck them onto her shoulders before grabbing the woman and heading back to the hole in the wall. The screaming stopped as her passengers realized she was getting them out but quickly resumed as she jumped down to the ground.

    Damn, humans scream a lot, she thought as screams came from the crowd too as her feet slammed into the ground, sending cracks through the concrete as she absorbed most of the impact with her magic and her powerful muscles. As she dropped off her passengers at one of the ambulances, the screams of the crowd changed to some sort of roar, and the woman she'd brought from the building babbled something and clutched at her arm. Ursula gently pried her off and returned to the building.

    She was about halfway up the side again when her ear twitched at the sound of a weak cough, barely audible through the roaring of the fire. Moving to the nearest window, she smashed through, arriving in a room filled with flames that leapt with new vigor at the influx of fresh air. She paid no mind to the heat but kept a wary eye on the floor to make sure she wouldn't fall through. Two rooms in, she found a couple of humans lying motionless on the floor and scooped them up. A moment later, she frowned and transferred them to one arm and snatched a yowling cat from under a bed.

    Ursula looked back the way she'd come and eyed the fiery and smoke filled hallway then glanced down at her fragile cargo. "Meh, rescue probably means alive…" With a sigh, she projected her inner strength around herself and her passengers, turned in the direction of the outer wall, coiled, and leapt forward, the floor splintering where she'd stood as she smashed through the interior wall, flew across the next room, fire, heat, and smoke repelled by her power, and smashed through the outer wall of the building into open air.

    Again with the screaming? she mentally sighed to herself as she dropped back to the ground, her protective field preventing the pavement from even cracking this time. Ignoring the crowd as they decided to roar again, she delivered her cargo, barely giving a glance to the uniformed humans who immediately started working on the people she'd brought down or the cat running underneath a truck parked nearby.

    Up and down the building she went, bringing out more humans as the crowd below made various noises and the Avatar hopped around like a demented flea again, zipping up the side of the building and coming down with humans each time. Eventually, the Avatar stopped her from going up again.

    "I think that's everyone." She made a face. "Everyone we could get, at least, and it looks like the fire's under control."

    "Good," Ursula said, having become thoroughly sick of the smell of smoke quite some time ago. "So what's with all the roaring?" she asked, waving a hand at the crowd around the building, which promptly roared louder in response.

    "They're cheering for us," Ranma slowly said, looking confused that the bear-woman even had to ask.

    "Why?"

    "What do you mean, why? We just saved a bunch of people, including kids. What do you expect them to do?"

    "Jeer, shout insults," Ursula said with a shrug, "you know, the usual."

    The Avatar stared at her for a long moment. "It must really suck where you come from."

    Before Ursula could agree with her, a man in a uniform came over to them. "Thank you for your help. We would have lost a lot of people without you two. Call or stop by a fire station when you can, I'd like to talk to you."

    Ursula started to say she doubted she'd be available but groaned when yet another human jumped over the crowd and landed next to them. This one was a girl in her teens, dressed in a blue skirt, white blouse, and blue jacket, with a video camera on her shoulder.

    "Ayame Kasahara, Nerima Action News. That was quite the heroic act! Can I get your names, please?"

    "Ursula…" the bear-woman answered, wishing she could leave the scene already.

    Ranma sighed. "I'm the Avatar of Light."

    "Thank you. Are you a real magical girl or just a martial artist cosplaying as one," the reporter asked the Avatar. "And if you are a magical girl, is this your animal companion?"

    "Her what?!" roared Ursula.

    "I'll take that as a no!" the reporter cheerfully replied.

    "Yes, I'm a magical girl, and no, Ursula is a … colleague."

    "Wow, a real magical girl! Did you just get your powers? Should we expect to see a lot more of you around, fighting crime, beating up monsters, helping out at disasters, and running around patrolling the city?"

    "No, it's my duty to protect the Earth from specific threats, but if I come across something like this, I'll help out."

    "Can you tell us about these threats?"

    "Not right now."

    "Next time, then. Ursula, are you—" the reporter started to ask before noticing the bear-woman had wandered off and was talking to a team of firefighters who promptly turned their hose on her and held her under the powerful jet for several seconds. A moment later, the water exploded from Ursula's fur, and the now dry bear-woman gave the firefighters a wave before coming back.

    "The stench of smoke was getting annoying. Come on, Avatar, let's get going. We have business to take care of."

    Ayame kept her camera focused on the two as they leapt away and vanished down a side street. "And there go two of Nerima's newest heroes! Tune in to hear the latest news on them as we get it. This has been Ayame Kasahara reporting for Nerima Action News. Nerima Action News: What we do to get the story is what other programs report as the story!"

    oOo​

    "I know helping those people probably didn't matter to you," Ranma said as they came to a stop in a loading area that was empty aside from a few dumpsters, at the end of an alley, "but thank you."

    "Hnh. Don't hear that often. Yeah, no problem. Not like I can do this without you, so why not speed things along."

    Ranma sighed and muttered, "I just know I'm going to feel bad about this one too…" Louder, she said, "All right, I can tell you want to get to the challenge quickly, so we can head to the place now. Come on, buddy."

    Ranma started walking back to the street but stopped and turned around when she realized the bear-woman wasn't following. "Something wrong?"

    Ursula stood motionless for a long moment before exhaling deeply. "Half a day," she growled. "Just half a day on Earth and I've been treated with more respect than I've ever gotten at home… That does it—I quit!"

    "Uhhh… what? What do you mean, you quit?"

    "I mean I quit!" roared Ursula. "The dark and everyone back home can go fuck themselves! They want to try to kill you, they can do it themselves! I'm not going to fight you, and I'm not going back."

    Ranma stared at the bear-woman. "Uh, good for you. Ah, they're not going to hunt you down or anything are they?" she asked with a frown.

    "No, no one will care. It's not like I have a contract or anything." She shrugged. "My family will be pissed, but if they come here and bug me, I'll tear them to shreds."

    "Good." Ranma rubbed the back of her neck, bemused by the entire situation. "Hey, if you need any help with things, you can use this to contact me," she said, giving Ursula one of her cards. "I can't provide a place to stay, though!" she quickly added, her dream suddenly coming back to her.

    "Nah, I'm good. I'll check with that fire guy later," Ursula said, examining the card before carefully putting it in her pouch. "See you around, Avatar."

    Ranma shook her head as she watched her former challenger walk off. "This has been a really weird week..." She carefully looked around to see whether she had the privacy to detransform but frowned as she heard soft footsteps approaching and turned to face the alleyway.

    A man with short brown hair moussed into spikes and wearing orange tinted sunglasses, an unfastened single breasted leather trench coat, a white t-shirt bearing an image of a cute anime girl surrounded by hearts, dark blue jeans, and black engineer boots bearing a pair of straps with iron buckles stepped into view.

    "Wow, a real live magical girl!" he exclaimed as he pulled a gray metal cylinder from his coat, "I've never killed one of those before!"

    "Yeah? And just who are you?"

    "Brandon Bullseye, twelfth best killer in Japan," he said with an eager grin as he flipped a switch on the cylinder and a three foot crackling beam of energy extended from its tip. "I figure offing a genuine magical girl could jump me directly to rank ten!"

    "There's something seriously wrong with you," Ranma said, shaking her head. "I can understand the thrill of the fight, but killing?"

    "Fighting's good, but the only way to bring out your best and feel the ultimate rush is to put everything on the line!" Brandon exclaimed as he raised his sword and gathered himself. "Knowing that you die if you lose means you put everything into the fight and hold nothing back, and that's the only way to live to our fullest!

    "I can understand what you're saying, but when did I agree to this?"

    "You don't have to join in. You can just die instead!" he cried, charging forward. He sidestepped a bolt of dull gold energy, but that slowed him down enough that he had to block the next few bolts with a flurry of swings of his blade, his weapon jolting back and emitting a spray of blue motes with each impact. "Ha! It looks like science trumps magic, Avatar," he shouted at the magical girl who stood there watching him impassively as she flicked a brighter bolt of gold that struck his blade of energy and caused it to explode into a shower of blue sparks and vanish.

    "Shitshitshit!" Brandon cried as he threw himself into a roll to the side and dug into his pocket with his left hand, pulling it out a second later, sending change flying, and shoving a coin into a depression in the handle of his weapon. The crackling blade of energy reformed.

    "You're attacking me with a coin operated lightsaber," Ranma said flatly.

    "It's a plasma katana, not a lightsaber!" the killer shouted as he charged forward to thrust with his blade. "And it's not coin operated—it just needs a metal disk as a reactant!"

    "I." Ranma twitched to the side, avoiding the thrust. "Don't." She slid forward, pushing the hilt safely to the side with her right hand. "Care!" she cried as she buried her left fist into his stomach, driving the breath from his lungs and throwing him into the air. An instant later, she leapt after him, knocking the weapon out of his hand with a crescent kick, sending it flying as a spinning pinwheel of blue energy until it extinguished itself a second after leaving its wielder's hand. Before her opponent could even start to recover, she grabbed the front of his coat and twisted her body, hurling him down into a dumpster with a resounding crash. A moment later, she landed lightly on her feet and walked over to the weakly groaning man.

    Brandon briefly struggled to rise before slumping back down with a cough. "Guess you got me… At least I get to go the way I always wanted to. Finish it, Avatar."

    "I'm not going to kill you, idiot."

    "No! If it's not to the finish, it's meaningless!" he cried. "If you don't, I'll destroy everything you love! I swear it! I'll—"

    Anything else Brandon had to say was cut off by Ranma slamming the dumpster lid shut and using her strength to bend the metal, sealed it closed. "Yeah, tell it to the cops. I'll make sure they know just where to find you." Shaking her head, Ranma walked off, making sure to give the plasma katana a good stomp on her way.

    oOo​

    "I understand you had a busy day," Nabiki remarked as Ranma walked into the living room and flopped down onto her back.

    "Ugh. You don't know the half of it. First I get challenged by a bear-woman but have to help with an apartment fire. I get the bear to help and we save a bunch of people, but there's a crowd and a reporter. I didn't want them coming up with a stupid name for me like you said, so I introduced myself, but that means now I'm going to be all over TV.

    "The bear, whose name is Ursula, by the way, seemed all right, but she didn't even get why people would cheer when we saved people from the fire, which is kind of sad in a way, but I guess it makes sense if she's from the nether realms… Anyway, we get some privacy and I say we can go do the challenge now, since she was nice enough to help, and then she says she's been treated with more respect while she's been here than she ever was back home and quits the Dark side! That's great and all, but the nicest thing I said to her was something like 'let's go, buddy'—"

    "Buddy means fierce warrior in bear."

    "What? Really? Huh. Well, I guess things make a little more sense, then…" She frowned for a moment. "How do you know that?"

    "Unlike you, I pay attention in class."

    "Yeah, yeah… Anyway, she goes off to do whatever, maybe get a job with the fire department or something. I gave her a card so she doesn't have to come barging in here if she needs anything, by the way. So, I'm about to go home myself when some nut job comes up and says he's the fifth best killer in Japan or something and he's never killed a magical girl before. He pulls out a coin operated lightsaber of all things and comes at me. I kick his ass, of course—he wouldn't have been a challenge even in my normal form— and then the lunatic insists I kill him." She shook her head. "Of course, I'm not going to do that, so I lock him in a dumpster, leave, and call the cops on the way home."

    "I'm sure they rushed right over to arrest a man with a coin operated lightsaber on the word of a magical girl."

    "Yeah, they didn't seem to take me that seriously until I mentioned his name, then they were real interested."

    "Did they get him?"

    "I suppose. It's not like I left my number so they could call me back, you know."

    "And it's not likely a serial killer with a lightsaber would have something on him that could get him out of a locked dumpster," Nabiki said as she stretched.

    "I didn't put it in there with him! But, yeah, he could have had something else…" she groaned. "This day just keeps getting better."

    "Well, if you're going to tempt fate like that, I'm going to go visit a friend," Nabiki said, standing up and walking out of the room.

    Ranma sighed and stared at the ceiling. A few moments later, her brow furrowed in confusion and she called, "Hey! Since when do they teach bear in Furinkan?!"

    oOo​

    When Yumi heard the bell over the door ring, she quickly turned off the little TV concealed behind the counter and stood up to greet the customer. "You're back!" she exclaimed as the large bear-woman carefully squeezed through the door.

    "Yeah, the thing I had planned fell through. Give me a coffee and a couple of those little sandwiches over there."

    Yumi blinked in confusion for a moment before realizing Ursula was talking about the full sized double decker sandwiches in the display case. "Right away! And they're on me—you didn't say you were a hero when you were here before!" She gave a little laugh as she started to get things ready. "But I guess you wouldn't have. What I saw on the news was really amazing."

    "Oh, uh thanks," Ursula said as she carefully sat down.

    "Are you staying in the area or just passing through? If you don't mind me asking, I mean!"

    "Nah, it's fine. I'm staying. Just need to find a place to actually stay now."

    "Oh. I'd invite you to stay with me until you found someplace," Yumi said as she brought over the sandwiches, "but, well, my place really isn't big enough. I mean, I'd literally have to sleep on top of you," she added, then immediately turned red and rushed back to the counter with a cry of, "Let me get your coffee!"

    "It's ok. I'll find someplace and talk to the fire guy tomorrow."

    "Fire guy? And do you have any local money? A little help with the mug, please."

    "Yeah, he said to stop by the fire station," she said as she brought the mug over to the table and sat back down. "And no. Why, is my money not good enough or something?"

    "It's too good, honestly, and people won't know exactly how much change to give you even if they have a lot of money on hand. Hey, I get off soon, so why don't I help you get some yen and a place to stay for tonight, okay?"

    "Yeah, okay. Thanks.

    O​

    "Okay, this should last you for a while," Yumi said as she took the stack of bills from the ATM. As the bear-woman reached into her pouch, she shook her head. "No, it's fine; just take it."

    Ursula suspiciously eyed the bills in the other woman's hand for a moment. "Just how much was that coin worth?"

    "A lot," Yumi said, flushing slightly as she turned over the money. "Once you're set up, I can give you back whatever's left of it." When her offer was waved off, she ducked her head slightly and said, "You're very generous. Come on, the hotel's right around the corner here."

    Ursula looked around as they walked into the lobby of the hotel and took in the room. It seemed pretty nice without looking too fancy, which suited her just fine. It also looked pretty spacious, which was even better; hopefully the rooms would follow suit. Her idiot uncle probably would have said "follow suite". Dark, she hated her uncle…

    "No pets," the woman at the front desk said, only looking up briefly before looking back down at whatever she was working on.

    "Nah, she's just a friend so far," Ursula drawled. Huh, she never knew humans changed color so much. As she walked up to rent a room, she wondered if her new friend did any colors besides red.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Nightmare!
  • Threadmarks
    • Nightmare!​


    "Hey Velgri, how long can I put off a challenger for if I'm in the middle of something or completely fed up with things?" Ranma asked, stopping on his way to the house as he noticed his advisor sunning herself in the yard.

    "A month," the fox replied, not bothering to sit up.

    "Really? That long?"

    "Yes, but if you do so consistently, the Dark will focus on making sure each challenger has the best possible chance of victory."

    Ranma frowned, "Better to keep them frequent and easier so I can build my skills for now, then." At his advisor's noise of agreement, he added, "And they let me get away with this because of politics."

    "Politics and self-interest, yes. While the forces of Darkness as a whole would love to defeat you, that's quite a different matter than personally risking your most powerful resources, especially when even victory has its own risks. Unless pressured by their dark lords, most entities who field a challenger simply use it as an opportunity to gain a moderate advantage rather than make a serious attempt."

    "Well, it works out well for me, at any rate."

    "Yes," Velgri remarked dryly, "one would almost think our side aimed for such an outcome when negotiating the Accords."

    "Oh. I guess that makes sense. Thanks." He started to head inside, then paused. "Uh… You know, when I talked to Kasumi about that night out with Henri, she was really interested in the opera. I told her I'd take her someday if I could swing it, but I was thinking that, well, maybe you'd want to…"

    "Thank you Ranma," Velgri said warmly, "that's very considerate of you."

    He smiled and hopped into the living room through the open shoji, where he was greeted in a much harsher tone. "Boy! I saw you on the news the other day!" Genma barked from where he was seated by the shougi board.

    "Yeah?" sighed Ranma. "And what do you have to say about it?"

    "Good work," his father said gruffly.

    "Wait, really?"

    Genma adjusted his glasses, then crossed his arms and frowned at Ranma. "What, did you expect me to scold you for rescuing people from a fire? Do you really think so little of me, boy?"

    "Well… no. But it seems like that's all I've been hearing for a while now, so excuse me for being surprised."

    Genma sighed. "Sit down, Ranma. You know I've never been generous with praise and encouragement; it's not the way I learned, and it's not the way I teach. My approach is to challenge and goad my student, with competence being assumed and praise being all the more meaningful for its rarity. But encouragement is supposed to be rare, not nonexistent, and if I've failed in that, I …" He took a deep breath. "I apologize."

    Ranma stared at his father for a long moment, his eyes wide. And then they narrowed. "You're dying, aren't you."

    "Disrespectful whelp! I bare my soul, and this is the response I get?!"

    "Okay, okay!" Ranma said, making placating gestures, "sorry, it's just that, well, you never say stuff like this."

    His father hmmed. "Well, I am now. We've both been under a lot of stress for a while now, what with the curses, the Amazons, engagements, various obligations, issues caused by," he coughed softly, "past indiscretions, the return of the Master and old rivals…" He shook his head. "Under the weight of all that, I may have slipped from rare praise to no praise, and I shouldn't have. You've made mistakes, boy, a lot of them, but you've learned a bit from them too, and overall, you've done well."

    "Thank you," Ranma said quietly, "but what brought all this on? You're kinda worrying me, old man."

    "Aside from my son being surprised that I praised him for rescuing people from a fire?" Genma asked, raising his eyebrows. "I always raised you to be a fighter, Ranma, to be embroiled in constant struggle and challenges, and to thrive on it. But it was never my intention to see you fighting for your life, having to kill or be killed, on a regular basis. I trained you to be the best martial artist you could be and to protect the helpless, and seeing you shouldering the task you are now… I just wanted to say I couldn't be prouder, son."

    "I…" Ranma swallowed. "I gotta go," he said past the lump in his throat and leapt to his feet.

    "Boy!" Genma barked before he could escape, "you understand we won't speak of this again?"

    Ranma nodded emphatically then bolted from the house.

    oOo​

    "Akane, could you let Ranma know dinner will be ready soon?" Kasumi asked as she stuck her head into the living room.

    "All right. You're sure he didn't go out somewhere?"

    "Pretty sure. He said he wanted a quiet day after last week."

    Akane nodded as she got up and started looking for her wayward houseguest/magical girl/sort-of fiancé. After determining he wasn't in the house, dojo or yard, she looked back at the house and raised her gaze with a sigh. After taking a few minutes to retrieve the ladder and rest it against the side of the house, she climbed onto the roof and studied her quarry, who was lying on his back, arms behind his head, gazing at clouds.

    Pushing away the minor annoyance she felt at having to track him down to the roof, she studied him for a moment then softly asked, "Is everything okay?"

    Ranma gave a little shrug. "I guess."

    Akane silently walked over and lay down next to him, mirroring his position as she joined him in watching the clouds.

    After a few minutes, he started speaking again. "It's just weird, you know?"

    "Mm?"

    "Have you ever felt that time's kind of standing still? That you're living your life and doing things, but everything's on hold and nothing's really changing. I mean, some things may change, but overall, everything's still the same."

    He sighed. "I just feel it's been like that since we got here, and now, finally, time's moving forward again and things are changing."

    "I think I know what you mean. When I was little, on summer break, it seemed like everything was on hold for the month and that it would never end."

    "Yeah, like that."

    Akane thought for a moment. "Do you think things are changing because you became the Avatar? That's a pretty big change."

    "Not directly… I mean, I became a magical girl and it was like, fine, another crazy thing happening to me, and for a while that was it. But recently, the whole thing of actually having to kill people, people I might actually get to know and even kind of like... Yeah, they're supposed to come back eventually, but it doesn't really feel like it, and knowing that if one of them wins, I won't…"

    He sighed and shook his head. "But you want to know what the really stupid thing about all this is? I think the thing that really got me feeling this way is that the stupid old man said he was proud of me. He even apologized for not saying it more! I mean, how dumb is that—feeling like the world is changing because a stupid panda says something like that? It's ridiculous, right?"

    "I don't think it's ridiculous at all," Akane said quietly. "I mean, he's your dad, who you've been with all your life, and your teacher too. Of course him being proud is important to you. And yes, he should have been saying it more." She sighed. "Look, you're an arrogant jerk who's lazy about anything that doesn't interest you, a walking, talking example of what not to say or do around girls, a terrible student, someone who acts without thinking or considering other people's feelings far too often, and an arrogant jerk—"

    "You said arrogant jerk twice," Ranma said flatly.

    "Sorry," Akane said with a slight flush. "But, you are also one of the best martial artists I've ever seen, a great Avatar of Light, often have good intentions, and will move heaven and earth to help someone who really needs it. So, yeah, you need a lot of work, but there are some really big things to be proud of."

    They lay there in silence for long moments, Ranma blushing furiously and looking distinctly uncomfortable until Akane eventually added, "Have I mentioned you're an arrogant jerk?"

    His laughter rang out over the rooftop, and a moment later, it was joined by hers.

    oOo​

    "So? How did it go?" Yumi asked as she wheeled a cart bearing several sandwiches and a huge mug of coffee with various accouterments over to Ursula's table.

    "I have a job," the bear-woman replied as she took a sip of the coffee before transferring the mug to her table. "The city wants me to help with disasters, emergencies, and projects that could use someone really strong. It seems pretty good. I even got a place to stay."

    "That's great!" exclaimed Yumi, impulsively hugging the bear-woman for a moment in her excitement. "Are you going to live in the fire station or something, or did they just help you find a place of your own?"

    "Nah, turns out a relative of a couple of the people I rescued yesterday was really grateful and offered to let me stay at a house he owns, rent-free."

    "A house?" Yumi repeated, eyes wide, "that's amazing! I wonder why his relatives aren't living there."

    "Don't know and didn't feel like asking if he was sure he didn't want to offer the place to his flesh and blood instead. Maybe he has a bunch of places. Anyway, it's nice and big. So, wanna move in with me?"

    Yumi stared at Ursula, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she asked, "W-what?"

    "Move in. With me. You've been a bunch of help and you would've let me stay with you if your place were big enough. Besides, it'll make things a lot easier if I have someone local living with me to explain the weird things around here. So what do you say? All I'm asking is half the rent each month."

    "You said it was rent-free," Yumi said dumbly.

    "Well, there you go, that should make the decision even easier. Like I said, it's a big place; you won't even have to sleep on top of me. Unless you want to," she added teasingly.

    "I… All right, I'll do it!" Yumi exclaimed with a grin as she finally got over her shock at such an amazing offer.

    "Move in or sleep on top of me?" Ursula asked with a smirk.

    "Yes."

    Ursula nodded and reached for a sandwich. Yes, this was much better than dying in a fight with the Avatar.

    oOo​

    "So, anything special today?" Nabiki asked as she set up her video camera on a tripod. "You know, things I should focus on, new moves I'll need to dodge."

    Ranma sighed and bowed her head briefly. "No, I'm just planning to practice making light people and seeing how well sparring with them goes. If I get any inspiration in the middle of things, I'll tell you before I try anything. That okay?"

    "It'll do. Okay, I'm recording; go ahead and transform."

    Ranma frowned. "I'm not sure I like you recording that."

    "Why not? It's not like you flash everyone during it, you don't have a secret identity from your enemies, and if someone else gets their hands on the tape, it's not like it'd be really hard to track down who you are even without that bit."

    "Fine. I'm a guy." A moment later, the Avatar of Light stood in her place.

    "You're right," Nabiki said, looking at the counter on the camera, "that doesn't take nearly as long as it seems to. Avatar of Light practice session two."

    Ranma took a deep breath and let it go, then stood there in silence for a few minutes as she relaxed and focused on the power of Light within her, feeling its warm and bright nature and attuning herself to it. Eventually, she gathered a quantity of it, smiling faintly at the impression it was happy, almost eager, to help her and projected it into a human form while focusing on wanting a sparring partner.

    Ranma felt a portion of the Light flow out of her, and several feet away, golden light coalesced into a copy of her, except the lavender and pink parts of her outfit were replaced by shades of blue, and her jewelry was silver instead of gold. The copy smiled faintly at her creator before the two of them bowed and leapt into action. Punches, kicks, and light lances flew between the two Avatars, each one being blocked, countered or evaded, none of the stray shots coming anywhere near the camera or its operator. After a couple of minutes, the two leapt apart and stared each other down.

    "Very nice," Ranma said with a pleased smile, "now let's step it up a bit!"

    In an instant, the silver and blue Avatar rushed forward and Ranma fired a pair of light lances at her, one from each hand. The lavender Avatar's eyes widened slightly as her opponent simply charged through the golden bolts, actually seeming to absorb their energy, and threw a running punch at her head. The punch only struck air, however, as Ranma flipped backwards at the last instant, her right foot lashing out in a kick that caught the other girl in the chin, sending her reeling back before exploding into golden motes.

    "That was great!" Ranma exclaimed with a grin. "I was kinda hoping I'd get her memories or something to get twice as much out of it, but oh well."

    "You watch too much anime," Nabiki replied, shaking her head, before slow clapping drew their attention.

    "Wow, that was really good," called a girl standing at the top of the hill, "especially from such a new Avatar! Your clone still needs some work, sure, but great early effort." The newcomer looked to be in her mid-teens, with pale skin, peach colored hair in a pageboy style, and mismatched eyes that almost seemed to glow, with the left being blue and the right green. She wore a long sleeved black jacket liberally decorated with fringes and patches of purple and green that was held closed by silver buttons. Black slacks with a silver belt and purple suede ankle boots adorned her lower body, and her fingernails had the appearance of softly glowing moonstone. She wore no jewelry.

    "I suppose you're my next challenger," Ranma remarked as the newcomer launched herself from the hilltop, somersaulting through the air to gracefully land halfway between Nabiki and her in a gymnastics pose.

    "That's right! My name is Akuko and I'm here to end you, Avatar!"

    "Uh huh… So, when do you want to do this?"

    "Now!" cried Akuko as she threw a hand into the air and all three people on the hillside crumpled to the ground.

    o0o​

    Ranma slowly blinked and looked around. The last thing she remembered was being unable to stay awake and seeing Nabiki and the Dark challenger collapsing as her eyes fell shut, and now she was standing in a dark and spooky forest. Twisted gray trees bearing brown or orange leaves, choked under masses of scraggly woody vines, obscured most of the sky, but through gaps, she could see a blood red full moon hanging in a twilight sky. The air was still, the scent of mold and decay a thick and heady perfume. Moonlight reflected off of a small pair of red beady eyes watching her from a knothole in a nearby trunk; when she turned her gaze that way, they quickly vanished. There was no sign of Nabiki or the challenger.

    "Well, I somehow doubt a challenger would break the Accords to knock me out and bring me here instead of just killing me, and I was falling asleep… so this is probably a dream." She looked around and grimaced. "A bad one. Right. So all I need to do is wake up. I do that every day—in my sleep, no less" she said with much more confidence than she actually felt. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, focusing on her body. She didn't ignore her surroundings, of course; she wasn't an idiot, after all, but she concentrated on her toes and exactly what they were feeling. She just needed to reconnect to—a scream cut through the forest.

    "Nabiki!" Ranma raced through the dark forest, her efforts to wake herself up forgotten. Her expression turned grim when she adjusted her course slightly to follow the scent of blood. Before long, it led her to a small clearing surrounded by a ring of black trees wrapped in vines bristling with inch long blood red thorns. In the center of the clearing, Nabiki lay huddled, covered in long, bloody scratches.

    "Shit!" Ranma hissed as she darted through a gap between trees and rushed over to the fallen girl. "It's okay, I'm here now. You'll be all right," she soothed as she checked the other girl's injuries.

    "Damn it, Ranma, where were you?" Nabiki groaned as she struggled to rise.

    "I'm sorry. I should have gotten to you sooner," said softly as she carefully put her arms around Nabiki and gently helped her up.

    "Yes, you should have!" Nabiki growled, lunging forward and viciously snapping with a mouth suddenly full of jagged fangs. Her target jumped back while deflecting Nabiki's head to the side, but her neck stretched and twisted, and she just managed to catch flesh and draw blood.

    "You're not Nabiki," Ranma coldly stated, her torn right glove slowly turning red from the pair of shallow gashes just below her elbow.

    "All of this is your fault! You owe me, Saotome!" the other girl shouted before breaking into laughter. "And one way or another, I'll collect my pound of flesh." She lunged forward, fingers twisting into claws, only to fall to the ground as a brilliant bolt of golden light vaporized her head.

    "Damn it…" Ranma gingerly inspected her wound, deciding it wasn't that bad, but the situation had suddenly become much worse. She made her way out of the clearing, briefly flaring her Light into a protective aura as a mass of thorny vines tried to wrap around her as she squeezed between two trees. "Now what am I supposed to do?" she asked, studying the surrounding forest with a frown. A moment later, she abruptly turned her head in the direction of the sound of a heavy branch falling in the distance and set off.

    0​

    Ranma quietly darted through the forest, taking care to give the ones with black bark a wide berth after the first two she'd gotten close to had tried to grab or stab her with their twisted limbs. The gray trees seemed to only look menacing, but she wasn't going to assume they would remain passive in the future. She still hadn't seen any wildlife, aside from brief glimpses of glowing eyes in the dark and was quite happy with that state of affairs. As she got close to the sound of breaking branches and crackling leaves she'd been following, she slowed, frowning when it abruptly cut off.

    Moving forward as quietly as she could, she grimaced as part of a ring of black trees emerged from the gloom. Eyes darting around for any signs of threats, she cautiously made her way around the ring without getting too close, looking for the opening that was sure to be among the trees. She found it soon enough, a gap of about six feet, and the moment she was positioned to get a clear view, distant branches parted, allowing a beam of blood red moonlight to pierce the forest and illuminate the small clearing like a hellish spotlight.

    In the center of the clearing, head bowed and body motionless, Nabiki hung suspended several feet above the ground by thick bundles of dry vines wrapped around her outstretched arms. The ground was smothered under a carpet of woody brown vines, and a glint of moonlight on white drew Ranma's attention to a length of splintered bone wrapped in vines, its jagged point aimed up at Nabiki's chest. As if they'd only been waiting for her to notice, the vines waited a heartbeat longer then surged forward with their bony spear.

    A light lance destroyed the bone as Ranma hurled herself into the clearing, golden light already reforming around her hands as she soared across the ground below. With the creaking of wood, the vines wrapped around Nabiki's arms pulled, and the girl threw her head back in an agonized scream that echoed through the forest for the instant it took another pair of light lances to sever the vines. Before she even started to drop, Ranma caught her with one arm and spun around to face the entrance to the clearing. As they arced toward the vines below, which had whipped themselves into a violent frenzy, she gathered an aura of golden energy around both their bodies, letting it absorb most of the force of the whipping vines, and slammed her fist into the ground, disintegrating the vines in an explosion of golden light. The moment her feet touched down, she ran for the opening with all her speed, but even that wasn't enough to avoid vines from the trees lashing her arms and shoulders to leave bloody furrows.

    Once they were a safe distance from the trees, Ranma quickly but carefully laid Nabiki on the ground and cautiously looked her over with a pensive frown on her face. The other girl was breathing steadily but seemed to be unconscious; there were some scratches on her arms, but no other visible injuries. Of course, any damage the vines may have done pulling her arms wouldn't be easily seen just by looking, and Ranma was rather hesitant to get up close and personal enough to feel for any damage after the previous Nabiki's attack. She ran her hands through her hair, grimacing slightly as her new injuries made themselves known. This place was wearing her down and she didn't know what to do.

    In the distance, another scream in Nabiki's voice rang out, and Ranma cursed loudly.

    o0o​

    Nabiki raised the English style teacup to her lips and took a sip as awareness returned. A casual glance revealed it was a delicate-looking pale seashell pink porcelain teacup decorated with small clusters of roses; the rim, handle, and base were limned in gold. The tea itself was a wonderful oolong far beyond anything she recalled drinking while actually awake. As she set the cup on its matching saucer, she idly examined her surroundings. She was sitting in a garden on a white wrought iron chair at a round table covered by a lace tablecloth. Atop the tablecloth were all the ingredients of a formal afternoon tea: china tea service, ornate three tiered tray bearing finger sandwiches and pastries, scones, and small pots of preserves, lemon curd, and clotted cream. In the opposite chair, Akuko was watching her with undisguised curiosity.

    "I've never seen anyone integrate in so smoothly," the other girl said with awe when Nabiki's gaze fell on her.

    "Being able to take things in stride is a vital skill," Nabiki remarked as she nibbled on a tiny sandwich. Mmm, smoked salmon and lemon butter. Very nice.

    "Hnh," Akuko said as she spread clotted cream and strawberry preserves on a scone, "most people just look around all confused and ask stupid questions. And when I tell them they're in my nightmare, do they calm down and act reasonable? Nooooo… instead, they get all antsy and start begging and pleading for me to let them go. You're not going to do that, are you?" she asked, then sighed in pleasure as she bit into her scone.

    "How did that work out for them?" Nabiki idly asked as she looked around the beautiful garden. The plants were expertly shaped, and exquisite benches, sculptures, and fountains were artfully placed along the paths. She couldn't help but notice there didn't seem to actually be any exits, however.

    Akuko giggled and shook her head. "Not very well."

    "I will not, then. Not that I'd be inclined to, regardless. This tea is very nice, by the way."

    "Thank you. I made it myself."

    Nabiki hmmed and took a moment to admire the clouds drifting across the beautiful blue sky overhead. "Where's Ranma?"

    "Oh, she's in a cursed forest getting worn down and sliced up rescuing fake copies of you."

    "That doesn't sound very smart," Nabiki observed as she selected a pastry from the top tray.

    "I know! You'd think she'd ignore them after the first one attacked, but she just keeps falling for it! I mean, sure, I'd make her think she'd let the real you get killed, and maybe eventually actually kill you in front of her, but she could at least try!" Akuko huffed and finished her scone. "Good is stupid!"

    Nabiki nodded slowly as she thought for a moment. "So, since this is a dream, and we know we're dreaming, shouldn't we be able to make changes to it and do things like fly around?"

    "Ooh, you're a smart one, aren't you. You would be able to do stuff like that, except this is my nightmare, and you're only human. Your little human brain considers all this to be real, so it imposes reality's rules on you and won't let you do things you know you can't do. Since you can't fly when you're awake, your brain goes, 'oh, I can't fly!' and voila, you can't fly in here."

    "That's interesting. I suppose someone who's crazy and thinks they can fly, even if they really can't, would be able to fly in here, then."

    Akuko stared at her for a moment, mouth agape. "They totally would! That's brilliant! I'm gonna need to find some crazy people to play with once I kill the Avatar." She sighed and sagged. "Damn, you're great to talk to. I wish I could keep you around instead of killing you."

    "I am a little surprised you're not giving me the 'join the winning side' pitch, actually. Are you forced to kill anyone you bring in here or something?"

    "Oh, it's nothing like that. I'd totally keep you as a pet and conversation partner, but even if I convinced you to change sides, the fact that I violated the Accords in a big way by bringing you here would still be in your head for anyone powerful enough to dig out, and that would be really bad, so I'm going to have to spread your brain across the hillside out there once the Avatar's dead. Nothing personal."

    "Which raises the question of why you did that in the first place. Wonderful pastry, by the way. It's the whole brain thing again, isn't it. Ranma knows I'm in here because she saw you bring us both in, making the copies more convincing. If you showed her someone like her mother, or she didn't see me get brought in here too, she'd be able to easily dismiss them as fakes."

    Akuko thumped her forehead against the table and groaned, "Stooop… You're making the fact I have to kill you ever more painful. Maybe I can figure out a way to kill you out there but keep you alive in here?" She sighed. "Probably not without a lot of experimenting on other people, and it'd take time I don—ooh, that was a nice hit!" she exclaimed, raising her head and grinning at Nabiki. "I'm afraid our time is almost over; there's no way the Avatar is going to last much longer now. Thank you so much for all your help!"

    "I don't think I really did all that much," Nabiki said, frowning as she stared into space, thinking hard.

    "But you did! Without you, I never would have been able to keep the Avatar ensnared so well. To think, I'm crushing the Avatar of Light, all thanks to an ordinary schoolgirl!" Akuko cried, throwing back her head and laughing maniacally.

    Nabiki blinked and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she focused on the other girl. "Hey, I may be a schoolgirl, but I'd hardly say I'm ordinary."

    Akuko stopped laughing and curiously turned to her. "Oh? What are you, then?"

    "Well, personally," Nabiki said as she studied her fingernails for a moment before looking up to lock gazes with Akuko, "I think I'm pretty special."

    o0o​

    Ranma bounded through the forest in arcing leaps, another Avatar of Light in a slightly different outfit following about ten feet behind with an unconscious girl slung over her shoulder. She knew, absolutely knew, she was following the bait into yet another trap and the smart thing to do was to ignore any and all Nabikis and just hope the real one was all right once the challenger was dead… But how could she just gamble with Nabiki's life, even if it was the smart move and the odds of her being safe were pretty good? After all, there was nothing stopping Akuko from throwing a deathtrap with the real Nabiki right in front of her and laughing when she just left her to die horribly. Yeah, it was unlikely any Nabiki she encountered like this would be the real one, but… but what if she was? How would she face the Tendous and tell them she just let their daughter and sister die?

    Ranma slowed to a walk as she emerged into a field of grass and scattered patches of stone that extended for about a hundred feet before masses of twisted trees once again took over. She needed to face reality. She was already hurt worse than she'd ever been in a challenge, and making light clones and shielding auras had drained her energy more than she was comfortable with. On top of that, so far as she knew, she hadn't even done any damage to her enemy. If she lost, Nabiki would end up just as dead if Akuko killed her here, except the rest of her family would soon be joining her. And she did have one Nabiki. Maybe… maybe it was the real one.

    She stopped and stared ahead intently as the sound of branches snapping drew her attention to the forest on the other side of the field. A moment later, she pursed her lips and warily watched as a new Nabiki lurched into the field in a staggering run. The other girl tiredly made her way into the field for several seconds before looking up and noticing Ranma. Her eyes widened and she looked like she wanted to call something but lacked the breath and instead just kept moving forward. Ranma briefly wondered what she wanted to say but the question was quickly answered when a giant wolf-bear-octopus hybrid abruptly smashed through the trees ahead and charged into the field after the fleeing girl while loosing an earth shaking roar.

    Ranma ran past Nabiki as the exhausted girl tripped and fell to the ground, and intercepted the bear with a flying kick as it pounced, sending it slamming back into the trees. She grimaced as it slid to the ground and immediately tore back into the field but paused to glance behind herself as she felt a strange surge of Light energy. A thrill of fear raced through her as she saw the Nabiki she'd rescued earlier, her fingers now ending in long knife blades, running forward through dissipating motes of golden light, her eyes fixed intently on the other Nabiki who was weakly struggling to rise.

    Enemies rapidly approaching from both ahead and behind, Ranma exploded into action, grabbing Nabiki and desperately throwing the both of them to the side, sending them flying, bouncing, and rolling. As the two attackers crashed into each other, she exhaled in relief, just before pain stabbed into her side and she reflexively pushed away the girl she was holding. She rolled to a stop and rose to one knee, grimacing as she held a hand to her side over the rapidly spreading patch of red staining her fuku. She spared a quick glance to make sure the others weren't closing in, then watched the Nabiki she'd just rescued smoothly rise to her feet, a blank expression on her face and a bloody carving knife in her left hand.

    The new Nabiki's lips suddenly stretched into a bright smile. "Well, it looks like you're done for, Avatar!" she cheerfully said in Nabiki's voice, even if the intonation and mannerisms were completely wrong. "Thanks for being so stupid—it really helped! As a thank you, and because she's been fun to talk to, I promise to kill the real Nabiki quickly and painlessly. Byeee—"

    The parting word was cut off as several multicolored explosions flashed in the distance and the ground shook. Ranma glanced at her opponents, and seeing that both the Nabikis and the bear were standing motionless and staring into space, she stood up and set off in the direction of the explosions, one hand pressed to her side as she moved as quickly as she could without jostling her wound. She had no idea what was going on, but as smaller explosions illuminated the distant forest, she figured whatever it was, it wasn't part of Akuko's plan.

    o0o​

    "You drove yourself crazy, you magnificent freak!" Akuko screamed at the magical girl as a marble bench exploded when a mass of vines swung it into the path of a crackling ball of energy.

    "Now that's just rude," Pretty Special remarked as she crossed her arms before her chest then slashed them to either side, sending threads of energy scything across the ruined garden, slicing through vines, animated statues, and monsters alike, leaving them in burning, twitching, or frozen pieces on the ground.

    "Really? Which part?" Akuko called as she manifested glowing red daggers in an arc above and behind her.

    "Both," Nabiki replied as she rolled diagonally forward to avoid most of the daggers flying at her while snaring the remaining two with blue threads that whipped around and buried them to the hilt in the broken base of a bronze statue. "I rather liked 'magnificent' though."

    "Well, don't drive yourself crazy to give yourself dream powers like a freak (even if it is awesome) and I'll stop saying that!" As the magical girl narrowed her eyes and formed crackling balls of energy around each hand instead of reasonably turning back into a normal human, Akuko decided she might have miscalculated slightly. When one energy ball destroyed the steel shield she conjured and the other, launched a second later, slammed into her stomach, simultaneously freezing, shocking, slicing, and setting her on fire, she was sure of it.

    "Aaaah! Screw this!" Akuko cried as black feathered wings sprouted from her back. "I'll finish off the Avatar and come back for you!" Or maybe just make a new garden far away, she thought, as she considered how poorly the fight had been going. She flew up and to the side, just barely avoiding the multicolored energy threads that attempted to ensnare her, and with a mighty clap of her wings, soared into the air, rising high above the ruin of her garden and the surrounding forest. Before she could even decide which way to go, her vision went white for an instant as her head snapped back and she plummeted to the ground, her forehead exploding in pain and a sharp crack echoing across the forest.

    "Nice shot," Nabiki acknowledged as she walked over to where Akuko lay on the ground moaning weakly. She gazed down at the girl, gathering energy in her hands, and realized there was something she needed to say. "Thank you for tea, it was very nice." Taking the pained groan as acknowledgement, she threw the balls of energy and watched as Akuko's body dissolved into colorful motes that quickly faded.

    "Huh. Okay, I didn't see that coming," Ranma remarked from where she was tiredly leaning against a tree where the forest now bordered the garden.

    "Neither did she. Are you okay?"

    "I'll live," Ranma said, gingerly feeling her wound before smiling mischievously and asking, "So, just how long have you dreamed of being a magical girl, Nabiki?"

    "Since you knocked me out with that rock," she answered flatly.

    "Ah. Er, well, good job. And, thanks," she added sincerely, "I was in a pretty bad way."

    "No problem. I'll put it on your tab."

    "Thanks…" Ranma repeated, much less sincerely. "So, any idea how we get out—"

    oOo​

    Ranma groaned as she opened her eyes and the sun painfully blinded her. Shielding her eyes, she quickly took stock of herself and was relieved to find no injuries and her Avatar uniform completely intact. She sat up and saw Nabiki rising to her feet near the camcorder while Akuko lay motionless on the ground. Flipping to her feet in a graceful motion, she approached the challenger's form as Nabiki walked over, as well. As if waiting for them, the moment they came close, Akuko's body dissolved into colored motes that quickly faded.

    "That's strange," Ranma said with a frown, "no shade."

    "Maybe her nightmare realm thing makes it work differently," Nabiki said with a shrug. "Either way, it's not your concern."

    "Yeah, I guess not. This whole challenge was really weird. I remember something about a creepy forest and garden…" She frowned and eyed Nabiki suspiciously. "And you attacking me?"

    "Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what happened," Nabiki replied flatly.

    "Yeah, okay, that's pretty unlikely. Actually, I kind of have the feeling you helped somehow, so … thanks. Do you remember more?"

    "Just bits and pieces; nothing important. We done for the day?"

    Ranma looked around the hill briefly. "Yeah, we're done. I'm not in the mood for more."

    Nabiki nodded and started putting away her video equipment. As she finished packing things up and zipped the bag, she paused for a moment to watch the colors that briefly flickered across her fingernails. The ghost of a smile appeared on her lips for an instant; both it and the colors were long gone when she walked over to the now detransformed Avatar and they headed home together.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Tough love Genma is hard to pull off, but I think its done well here and matches the tone of the rest of the story. Happy to see the payoff of Nabiki's dream(?) I hope Nabiki tells somebody about Akuko breaking the accords, especially after all the previous focus on the importance of politics and rules, though I could see her saving it for when Ranma is in trouble.
     
    Yarrow said:
    "That's strange," Ranma said with a frown, "no shade."

    "Maybe her nightmare realm thing makes it work differently," Nabiki said with a shrug. "Either way, it's not your concern."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    My guess is because she was killed after breaking the Accord she's dead dead, instead of 'recovering in heck for a century dead'.
     
    A Flock of Crows
  • Threadmarks
    • A Flock of Crows​


    "So, that's her?" Akane asked, nodding toward the living room's TV which was showing a large bear-woman wearing a safety vest with a pair of Tokyo Fire Department patches lifting a fallen tree off of a car.

    "Yeah," Ranma said, before he paused and frowned. "I mean, I'm assuming it is; I'm not sure I'd be able to tell two bear-women apart… But what are the odds—never mind, they just gave her name. Yeah, it's her."

    "Don't you think it's strange? I mean, she's from the Dark and was sent to fight you but just quit and is now working for the fire department to rescue people? It seems really unlikely. How do we know she's not up to something?"

    Ranma shrugged. "They were jerks to her back there, and when she saw people here who weren't, she decided she'd had enough of that and stayed. She seemed decent enough. I mean, maybe not nice, but someone who wouldn't go out of her way to kick someone."

    "That's not exactly a ringing endorsement."

    "Well, I only spoke to her for a few minutes, tops, so that's the best I can do. She helped at that fire that got us on the news to get something she wanted, so I guess she doesn't mind getting paid to do it regularly."

    "It's not like there are a lot of good job options for a bear," Genma remarked with the voice of experience from the shougi board as he studied the pieces.

    "Fine," sighed Akane, "maybe it's not a plot, but you have to admit having a bear-woman from the nether realms in the fire department is weird."

    "Well, it is the Nerima branch," Nabiki said as she walked into the living room.

    "Come on, it's not like we're the epicenter for everything strange in Tokyo…" Akane trailed off as plates and utensils floated out of the kitchen and set themselves on the table. "You know what, never mind. I'm done."

    A few minutes later, as if by some silent signal, everyone migrated to the dining table shortly before Kasumi and Velgri walked into the room, a small swarm of serving dishes orbiting them briefly before settling on the table. As the woman and fox took their seats, dinner was joined. The meal passed quietly, considerably more sedately than it used to go before Velgri arrived, until Ranma snapped his fingers, put down his chopsticks, and pulled from a pocket, a flat, pink metal card case sporting a lavender bow on the front and gold filigree on the corners.

    "Here," he said, ignoring his father's grimace, as with quick flicks of the wrist, he sent one of the Avatar's business cards to land in front of each person at the table. "You should all have one of these?"

    "Why?" asked Akane as she picked up her card and studied it with a slight smile.

    "In case of emergencies. It'd be really handy for you guys to be able to talk to me. Just for emergencies," he added, giving Nabiki a flat look.

    "What makes you think I'd misuse a valuable tool like this?" Nabiki asked, a look of innocence on her face.

    "Experience. Now, because of the Accords, you shouldn't need this for anything Avatar related, but better safe than sorry." He frowned. "I just had a feeling when I woke up this morning that it'd be a good idea."

    "Ooh, magical girls often receive valuable warnings in their dreams!" Akane exclaimed, eyes alight. "Er, or so I've read, I mean. I, uh, can't vouch for the sources…"

    "Your sources are accurate in this case," Velgri confirmed, "though the Avatar of Light generally does not receive them, due to the nature of her mission. She may sometimes receive advice from a previous Avatar in her dreams, though."

    "Ooh, do you think that's what it was?" Akane asked Ranma.

    "I don't think so…" he replied, slowly shaking his head. "It didn't feel like that." He turned to his father, who was warily eyeing his card. "Look, old man, I know you and Mister Tendou can take care of yourselves, but if a challenger decides to break the Accords and go after you, you're gonna need some help."

    Genma slowly nodded and put away the card.

    "Thank you, son," Soun said as he slipped his into a pocket, "I appreciate you looking out for my little girls. And myself—if it comes to that," he added with a little laugh.

    "Yes, thank you, Ranma," Kasumi said, giving him a warm smile.

    "I can certainly think of situations where this will come in handy," Nabiki remarked as she took out her own case and placed the card inside.

    oOo​

    In an alleyway in downtown Nerima, a pale girl with limp, black hair and dark eyes with equally dark circles around them stepped out of thin air. She wore black sneakers, olive cargo pants, and a burgundy t-shirt bearing a print of thin gray trees. A black crow perched on one of the branches.

    "You sure about this, Boss?" the crow asked as his beady eyes flitted over the relatively clean alley, "More prep time might be better."

    "Maybe," Brandy allowed as she started walking, "but I don't think it'll make much of a difference. We're good to go now. It's not like we'd get approval for the challenge if we weren't."

    "Loli D. got approval too," the crow noted, causing the girl to falter midstep.

    "That's because people actively wanted her dead. No one actually cares about me one way or the other, so they wouldn't let me make a challenge unless they thought I actually had a chance."

    "Or they didn't have anyone lined up and figured 'why not'."

    "Or that," Brandy acknowledged as she turned onto the sidewalk and searched the store signs as she walked. Eventually, she found one that met her approval and turned into a store that featured TVs and electronics equipment in its window. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged again, eyes wide and a magazine clutched tightly in her hands.

    "An updated game," she breathed reverently as she walked, "that you can order through the form in this magazine. This is awesome!"

    "That's great, Boss. Where are you going to tell them to send it?"

    Brandy slowed to a stop as her eyes grew wide for a moment before she scowled. "The Tendou dojo. It's not like the current owners will be around for much longer."

    oOo​

    Akane looked up from her homework as a bell rang. "A challenger," she breathed before loudly calling, "I've got it!" and hurrying outside. "The Avatar will be—" she started before taking in the dark haired girl slouched against the property wall and scowling. "Hey, don't ring the bell if you're here to challenge me! That's just for official challenges to the Avatar."

    "I'm not here for you, Acne Tendou," Brandy sneered.

    "That's Akane! Wait, you're here to challenge the Avatar?" Akane asked, a wide grin breaking out on her face. "That's great! Uh, I mean, I'm sure you'll do great," she added insincerely.

    "You know you can just let me come out here and answer the bell myself," Ranma remarked as she walked over from the house. "I mean, it's not like the challenger can't wait a minute or two. Hey, don't I know you?" she asked as she noticed the other girl.

    "Your powers of observation know no bound, Avatar."

    "Yeah, now I remember you," Ranma said dryly. "So, you're here to challenge me?" she asked doubtfully. "I mean, if you're so good, why were you being sent to get coffee last time you were here?"

    "And you did get beaten by Kodachi," Akane gleefully added.

    "Connections for the first, and I won what I was really after for the second."

    "Please don't give us the details of your bizarre courtship rituals," Akane said with a small shudder as her eyes were drawn to Brandy's t-shirt. Did that crow just move?

    "Yes, I can see you'd rather just stare at my chest. If you're quite done, Acne," Brandy drawled, ignoring Akane's resultant blush and sputtered denial, "I challenge you to face my champion, Avatar."

    "Wait, champion?" Ranma asked. "Hang on a second," she sighed as she slipped a hand into a pocket. "Velgri, could you come out to the rear gate, please."

    "So you're not personally going to fight Ranma to the death?" asked Akane, disappointment clear in her voice.

    Brandy just gave her a flat look in response, and a minute passed in uncomfortable silence before the lavender fox arrived. "Yes, Ranma?"

    "She's challenging me to face her champion," she replied, jerking a thumb in Brandy's direction, "can she do that?"

    "Yes," the fox replied, "it's typically done when the champion is incapable of coherent speech or a challenger wants to be overly dramatic, but it's acceptable."

    "I have a feeling I know which it is in this case," muttered Akane.

    "Yeah, fine. Okay, I accept," Ranma said to Brandy. "You want to do this now or schedule it for later?"

    "Now's fine."

    "Right. Not here, though. Come on, I'll take you to the place. Velgri, would you mind coming along, in case she pulls out anything else strange?"

    "Not at all," the fox replied, leaping onto Akane's shoulder.

    "Great. Let's go."

    "Uh, Nabiki's not around," Akane observed. "Do you want me to get the camcorder and record the fight?"

    "Who does it technically belong to?"

    "Nabiki."

    "Hell no, then," Ranma said firmly. "We can't afford that."

    Akane thought for a moment, then nodded. The group headed off to the challenge site.

    oOo​

    "Ok, this is it," Ranma said as they walked into the dusty field.

    "I can see how a camcorder wasn't in your budget," Brandy remarked as she eyed the surroundings.

    "We're here to fight, not put on a show," Ranma said with a shrug. "I'm a guy," she added, casually triggering her transformation into the Avatar of Light. "So, where's this champion of yours?"

    "Right here, Avatar," Brandy said, raising a hand in front of her chest. "Now, enjoy a fight to the death against your beloved fiancée!" she cried, snapping her fingers with a flash of orange light.

    In a much much larger flash of orange light, Kodachi Kunou appeared and silently stared down the Avatar. She wore a jet black leotard decorated with thin lines of what looked like nothing so much as lava that sluggishly flowed around the garment. Her usual ponytail was missing, and instead, the left side of her hair was adorned with a stone rose. The top half was black obsidian, while the lower half was dark orange lava striped with black. Her feet were bare, and in her right hand, she bore a coiled whip that appeared to be made of lava that smoked slightly but held its shape.

    "Fiancée?" Akane asked the Avatar.

    "News to me," the Avatar replied before turning to Kodachi. "You sure about this?" she asked, watching with fascination as a drop of lava fell from the girl's rose and landed on her leotard to create a new glowing line. When Kodachi just glared and unfurled her whip in response, she sighed and said, "Ok, everyone else go over to the grass and we'll get started."

    Once everyone else had cleared the area, Ranma gave the challenger a serious look. "Are you really sure you want to do this, Kodachi? It's to the death, you know. You don't have to do this just because your girlfri—"

    With a furious shout, Kodachi lashed out with her fiery whip, and when the Avatar gracefully stepped to the side, charged forward, a set of spiked knuckle dusters comprised of glowing orange energy forming around her free hand. The Avatar rushed forward to meet her, flowing around her opponent's punch then nudging the arm further out of position before burying a fist in Kodachi's stomach followed by a quick headbutt to her face when the gymnast folded around the fist.

    As Kodachi staggered back, Akane briefly turned to Brandy. "You did give her some sort of powerup besides a new outfit and a glowing whip, right?"

    "Of course I did. See?" Brandy sneered as Kodachi cartwheeled out of the way of a kick. Her expression quickly shifted to shock and then dismay as a bolt of gold energy caught the girl's leg mid-twirl, throwing her off-balance and leaving her open to a stronger light lance to the side. She could only watch in horror as the Avatar rushed in, ducked a desperate backfist, and launched her opponent into the air with a powerful uppercut. In an instant, the Avatar leapt into the air after Kodachi, brutally pummeling the other girl with a flurry of kicks and punches.

    "Boss, you've got to do something!" the crow on Brandy's shirt cried. When she continued to stare open mouthed at the one sided beatdown, he insisted, "Anything!"

    Spurred into action by the crow's words, Brandy shook herself briefly and cried, "Kodachi! Use entangle!"

    Akane turned to stare at the other girl as the aerial beating came to a stop with one last axe kick that sent Kodachi hurtling down to slam into the ground below. The clearing descended into silence as the Avatar lightly landed on her feet and warily eyed her opponent who was weakly struggling to rise, until Akane broke it a moment later when she burst into laughter.

    "Sorry!" she shouted, quickly covering her mouth with a hand as Brandy clenched her fists and flushed red.

    Brandy eyed the Avatar gathering golden energy around her hands and then flicked her gaze to her champion, who had only just managed to make it to her knees, and sighed heavily. "We yield!" she called, her voice carrying across the clearing.

    Ranma blinked in surprise, and not taking her eyes off of Kodachi, called to Velgri, "Can she do that?"

    "Yes," the lavender fox replied. "It's very uncommon, and you don't have to accept, but she can give up."

    Ranma sighed in relief, and the tension she'd felt since she'd realized she had to fight Kodachi to the death, flowed away, leaving her giddy with relief. "Accepted," she said loudly, before straightening and assuming a dramatic pose in Brandy's direction. "You did well, but you'll have to train a lot harder if you want to win a Tendou Dojo badge!"

    "Stop!" Akane cried, clutching herself in laughter, "Can't. Breathe."

    Brandy glared at the ground, head bowed and fists clenched tightly. "Kodachi, return."

    "I am not a damned Pocket Monster," Kodachi cried as she shakily rose to her feet.

    "Get the fuck over here, you walking corpse!" Brandy snarled, her eyes glowing red.

    Kodachi paled and immediately scurried over, her weapons vanishing into thin air. Ranma frowned and Akane's laughter cut off as she started to get the sinking feeling that her understanding of the relationship between the two girls may have been more than slightly flawed.

    "Thank you for the challenge, Avatar," Brandy gritted out. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go home and put my champion through some extreme … training. Let's go, champion," she sneered, focusing her still-red eyes on Kodachi before turning and starting to walk off, her champion swallowing nervously before following, fear and reluctance clear in her posture.

    Ranma exchanged an uncomfortable look with Akane before calling after the retreating pair. "Brandy, why don't you just leave Kodachi here. It's not like she's good enough to take me, or that I'll let her challenge me again."

    "Because she's mine, Avatar!" Brandy shouted, turning to face her as she walked backwards, and I really need to make sure she understands just how fucking furious I am with her right now."

    Ranma bit her lip as Kodachi visibly shuddered. "Look, if you let her go, I'll … owe you a favor, as the Avatar of Light. I won't promise I'll do anything, but that's got to be pretty valuable, right?"

    "You know, I'd jump to take you up on that normally, but you see," Brandy said, spreading her arms, her voice dripping with condescension, "I really need to get to training hard so I can earn a Tendou Dojo badge."

    "Damnit, do you think I'm going to just let you walk off with her?" Ranma cried, a faint golden aura forming around her clenched fists as Akane and Velgri walked over to join her.

    "Yes, I do! You accepted my challenge and my surrender—you don't get to attack me or take my property! You know this as well as I do, Avatar!"

    "She may not be allowed to, but there's nothing stopping me!" growled Akane, taking a menacing step toward Brandy.

    "You think the Accords don't apply to you, representative of the Avatar?" laughed Brandy as Akane froze and stared at her. "Even if you were just her friend, or whatever you'd call the bizarre courtship ritual you have going on, you wouldn't be allowed to attack me while I'm leaving a challenge. But if you really want to, go ahead and break the Accords. We even have a servant of the Light right here to impose the penalty! Go ahead, Acne! Kodachi would love to have a roommate!"

    "Velgri," Akane pleaded as she turned to the fox, "there's got to be something we can do."

    "I'm afraid she's quite correct in her interpretation of the Accords. You may not stop her from leaving. Nor may you follow her or accost her later," she added as Akane started to take another step when Brandy turned back to face the way she was walking, Kodachi still silently following behind her.

    "Come on, Brandy," Ranma called after the pair, "there must be something you want for Kodachi!"

    But the only response was a pair of raised middle fingers from the girl as she and her champion walked out of sight.

    oOo​

    "So, where are we going, Boss?" the crow asked about ten minutes later as they walked past the remains of an abandoned building in a lightly forested area.

    Brandy shrugged. "Just walking until I calm down enough not to kill her the instant we get back home." Kodachi wisely remained silent as she walked several paces behind her.

    "I know she lost, but I don't think you can really blame her for the … part at the end."

    Brandy clenched her fists at the reminder of how the fight ended. "I don't! I blame this," she snarled, whirling around to jab a finger in Kodachi's direction, "stupid bitch for lying about being engaged to the Avatar and grossly misrepresenting her skills and humiliating me with her pathetic showing! Do you know how many people back home are laughing at me right now?!"

    "I-I never claimed I was engaged to the Avatar," Kodachi quietly protested, cringing slightly as the other girl audibly growled in response.

    "You delusional idiot!" roared Brandy as she stalked over and shoved the other girl hard, making her stumble back several feet. "Your beloved Ranma is both the Avatar and the redhead you hate so much! She was supposed to be upset and off balance at having to kill her precious fiancée, but she was obviously perfectly happy to beat you to death in front of witnesses! I'm sure you get that a lot.

    "And your skills! Even after the intense training and magical upgrades I paid for, you were pathetic! I wouldn't be surprised if she could have beaten you just as easily without even being in her Avatar form! I am so tempted to kill you even after investing so much in you, but if I do, I'm going to make sure it isn't in a fit of rage," she said, her voice lowering as her dimly glowing red eyes met Kodachi's. "That would be letting you off far too lightly."

    "Come on, Boss, try to calm down. Yeah, she completely underperformed, but did you see how upset you made the Avatar and her incompetent assistant after the challenge? You really got under their skin, and the powers that be are going to appreciate that. You may not have made her break a sweat, but you threw her off her game, and you keeping this girl is going to eat at her, maybe even affect her future performance."

    Brandy closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Yeah… okay, you're right. Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought." She opened her eyes and smirked. "And the looks on their faces when I made them choke down their own words was great."

    "Yeah, I couldn't have been prouder about that part," the crow said with affection in his voice before he sighed, "but Boss, I have to give it to you straight: even if things came out pretty okay, you screwed up pretty bad. While it's true that girl did seriously overstate her value, you never should have taken her at her word about her relationships or her abilities."

    "I had her abilities tested!"

    "You did, but not nearly as thoroughly as you could have."

    As Brandy bowed her head and stared at the ground, the crow sighed again. "Don't get me wrong, though; I'm your biggest fan and fully believe you have the cunning and viciousness to punch way above your weight class. Honestly, the way you started with nothing but me and clawed your way to where you are now without a patron or flashy powers has impressed me more than I can say… I have no doubt that, given enough time, you'll become a real powerhouse—one of the big movers and shakers."

    Brandy blushed and focused her gaze on the crow on her shirt. "R-really?"

    "Really. I've known you for a long time, Boss…"

    "All my life," Brandy said, smiling faintly.

    "And for the record, it's been a real pleasure working with you and watching you grow. But… I'm afraid I have some long term projects I need to see to, and I can't take you with me, Brân Du."

    "Huh? You know we're bonded for life; we can't separate even if we wanted to."

    "I know."

    Space itself seemed to heave and Brandy rocketed backwards, slamming into one of the still standing concrete walls of the nearby abandoned building. An invisible force seemed to hold her pinned to the wall for a moment before her body slowly slid to the ground, leaving a wide red smear behind. Where she'd stood, a crow, feathers black as pitch, hung in the air, wings slowly flapping. A heartbeat later, he vanished into the treetops without a word.

    Kodachi, pale and one hand covering her mouth, stared at the body and the bloodstained wall for long seconds before turning and quickly walking back the way they'd come. She didn't get more than a few steps before staggering as the crow, now in the form of a large raven, landed on her left shoulder, talons painfully piercing the thin material of her gymnastics uniform and drawing blood. As a razor sharp beak clacked less than an inch from her eye, she froze in place.

    "It occurs to me," the raven said conversationally, "that with the unfortunate demise of my partner, all of her possessions automatically pass to me. As it is, I don't currently have any use for a slave, but I'm sure we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. I just have a few things I need you to do for me, and then you'll be free. What do you say, are you in?"

    "Yes," Kodachi whispered hoarsely, being very careful not to nod as the raven cocked his head slightly, bringing the tip of his beak to nearly touch her vulnerable eye.

    oOo​

    Kodachi slowly blinked, her thoughts moving sluggishly as she took in the scattered trees, the tall grass, the ruined building with the bloodstained wall, and the body lying on the ground before it. She blinked again, and a rush of adrenaline jolted her into full awareness and she quickly looked around before cautiously approaching the building. She stared down at the familiar, hated form on the ground and nervously swallowed before nudging it with a foot. When it only shifted slightly, her face twisted in rage and she drew back her leg and kicked the body as hard as she could. She watched it for a long moment, then took several shaky steps away.

    Free, she was free again. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood there, shaking and focusing on not letting the tears escape her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out. That helped, so she did it a few more times before dropping her arms to her sides and standing straight, as befitting a Kunou. Turning back to the body, she stared at it for a moment, biting her lip, before turning away and walking.

    She was free, yes, her tormentor dead, but how? The furious demon had been stomping through the woods, Kodachi quietly following as she ranted, then … this. She knew she hadn't done it herself; the terms of the damned contract had prevented her from so much as raising a hand against her … former employer. So, who had freed her and left without even being acknowledged?

    She gasped and froze midstep. Oh! Of course! While her delusional brother would certainly save her, given the chance, he would never leave her alone out there afterwards or refrain from crowing his triumph to anyone nearby. Or anyone he encountered in the rest of his life, whether they wanted to hear about it or not, even if they'd heard about it a hundred times already. No, there was one other person who would fight the demons of Hell itself to save her, and that person was someone who could not, under any circumstances, let his involvement be known.

    My dear, beloved Ranma, she thought, unable to stop the tears from running down her cheeks this time, even with the terrible punishment you risked, you couldn't bear to leave me in such vile bondage. If I ever had doubts about your love for me, this has put them firmly to rest. She clasped her hands to her chest and took a deep breath. Our love burns brighter than most can comprehend, and I will never love another so deeply as I do you, but from this day forth, it must remain unacknowledged and unconsummated so no one suspects your forbidden acts, committed to rescue the love of your heart.

    She collapsed against a tree and sobbed for a time before straightening and wiping her cheeks and eyes. I will always love you, my dear, passionate Ranma, but now my love must remain locked in my trembling heart, forever more. Goodbye. My love.

    Squaring her shoulders, Kodachi Kunou allowed herself one last deep breath and walked home.


    Author's note: I especially like the title I came up with for this chapter. And Brandy. But it was her time. Feedback is always appreciated, and as always (even if I don't say it at the end of every chapter, thanks to Sunshine Temple for feedback and suggestions.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Detective Work
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    • Detective Work​

    Nabiki opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her bed. "I need to get moving."

    She turned off her clock's alarm before it could go off and got out of bed to get ready for the day. Half an hour later, she came downstairs for breakfast to walk into a conversation in progress.

    "Because a quick death is usually preferable to what they'd face if they return to the nether realms after surrendering to the Avatar," Velgri said to Akane.

    "I'm not sure Kodachi's situation is all that different," Akane sighed, staring into the distance, her teacup momentarily forgotten in her hand. "Velgri, how could Kodachi have ended up in that situation—being Brandy's … property?"

    "It could have been the result of an unwise agreement or a penalty clause in a contract that was broken. Good morning, Nabiki," she added as the girl sat down with her food.

    "Morning."

    "Nabiki, would you help me find out what actually happened between Kodachi and Brandy?" Akane asked, turning to her sister. At the other girl's expectant look and raised eyebrow, she sighed and added, "I'll reimburse you for your time, of course."

    "Actually, I was waiting for a 'good morning', but that works. Why the sudden interest in the sordid details? I heard something about property, and that really doesn't sound like the sort of relationship I'd expect you to want to explore."

    "It's not like that!" shrieked Akane, turning bright red. "Brandy made Kodachi challenge the Avatar yesterday. Apparently she somehow owns Kodachi now. She gave up, but she was so angry…" She looked down at the table. "Ranma and I said some things that made her even angrier, but we didn't know…" She sighed. "She left with Kodachi and we weren't allowed to stop them. I'm afraid Brandy's going to do something awful to her."

    "All right, we can stop by St. Hebereke's after school and ask around. The gymnastics team should still be there if we head straight over."

    "I hope you find what you're looking for, Akane," Velgri said, "but be very careful not to violate the Accords. While the aggrieved party has some leeway in whether punishment is imposed, I do not. I would hate to see you suffer for doing what you believe is right; even more so if I have to be the one to act upon it."

    Akane swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "Yes, Velgri, I understand and promise to be careful."

    "Good hunting, then, both of you."

    oOo​

    Tatewaki Kunou stared into space, unseeing, as he sat in seiza position on a cushion in one of his family home's meditation rooms. After all these days, he still wasn't sure what to make of his shocking discovery. It was clearly a trick, a deception of the highest order, yet … was this ruse fair or foul? He had seen it with his own eyes: his despised rival, the foulest of sorcerers, Ranma Saotome, had transformed into the heroic sailor suited beauty the Avatar of Light before rushing off to rescue innocents in peril. To his eternal shame, Tatewaki had been struck with such a deep and confounded stupor at the sight that he had stood there, petrified, until the peril had already passed.

    For that outcome alone, he was tempted to believe the magical transformation to be a vile plan to keep him from helping people in need. And yet, the magical girl Saotome had become rushed to help, herself, fierce companion at her side, and saved many innocent souls from a blazing inferno. Surely an act denoting a pure and good heart. Unless it was all a plot of a sorcerer most foul and cunning. Why, what guarantee was there that he hadn't set the blaze himself! Tatewaki frowned. Though, admittedly, the report from the fire department's investigation did conclude it was an accident… But did they even know how to test for magic most foul? He could only assume they did not!

    He took a deep breath and exhaled. Tempting as it was to believe the worst, he had to admit even his own peerless intellect could not discern what aims could be furthered by such a twisted plan. Yes, it could increase the popularity and reputation of the magical girl who identified herself as the Avatar of Light, but there were simpler methods to do so, and how in the world would the bear fit into such a plan?! Tatewaki frowned. It was true that Saotome was a known associate of bears, but making one part of a twisted and subtle plan would just be bizarre.

    His motionless form rumbled softly in thought as he forced himself to face the other factor he had not so far acknowledged. He would never admit it aloud, but he could not deny to himself that his heart yearned for it to be true that an angel given form had come to Earth to vanquish evil and grace the world and its people with the light of love and goodness. And if it were true and he decried this angel as a vile sorcerer… No! He surged to his feet in righteous rage at even the thought of such a travesty before catching himself and talking several moments to regain the calm and serenity the setting was due.

    Once he was settled, he turned and walked to the door, vague notions of a decision tentatively taking root in his mind. Sliding the door open, he stopped short at finding himself face to face with his twisted sister who was staring back at him with wide eyes. For long moments, they simply stood there, Tatewaki not failing to notice her unusual stillness and the dark circles around her eyes, until she gave him a sharp and slight nod, turned on her heel, and abruptly walked off. Tatewaki rubbed his chin in thought. Clearly his sister had undertaken a journey which had harrowed her mind and body both, perhaps an intense training trip. He would not pry, but judging by her unusual degree of familial affection she had just displayed, it had obviously been a positive experience.

    oOo​

    "So, why do you want to find out what happened between Kodachi and Brandy, anyway?" Nabiki asked as they walked toward the former's school.

    Akane sighed as she kicked a rock off the sidewalk. "Because I feel terrible about completely misunderstanding what was going on between them and making things worse for Kodachi. Maybe we can discover something that will let us help her. Even if we don't, I feel I owe it to her to learn what really happened."

    Nabiki shrewdly eyed her sister for a moment. "What else?"

    Akane didn't answer for several seconds. "She challenged me first, you know," she said quietly. "Brandy. With some stupid terms about the loser being the winner's servant for a week. I can't stop wondering if those terms somehow let her get Kodachi, and if it would have been me in her place if I'd accepted. Even if it was something else, I want to know what it was so we can watch out for it."

    "That makes sense," Nabiki said as they entered the school grounds and walked to the gymnasium, where the presence of outsiders was immediately noticed by the dozen or so girls in gymnastics uniforms who paused in practicing attacks, evasions, and even a few acrobatics routines.

    "Hello, can I help you?" one of the older girls asked, coming over to them.

    "Yes," said Akane, "we'd like to ask some questions about Kodachi Kunou."

    "I'm sorry, but the captain is currently on leave."

    "We know. We're not here to talk to her; we want to ask about the circumstances leading up to her leaving."

    "I'm sorry, but I really don't think discussing her personal life with strangers is appropriate."

    Nabiki opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything, Akane blurted, "Please! We're worried about her."

    "Worried," the girl repeated skeptically, as she pointedly eyed their Furinkan uniforms.

    "Yes," Akane replied firmly. "I might love to see her get embarrassed or shown up, but I wouldn't want to see her in real trouble, and that's what I think she's in right now."

    The girl bit her lip as she studied Akane's expression for a long moment then sighed. "Fine. You look serious, and it's not like the story hasn't been spread around already. If the captain's in trouble, we'll do whatever we can to help. Ayame Ishida," she added with a short bow, prompting the sisters to introduce themselves properly before she called over the other gymnasts, many of whom had been surreptitiously listening in.

    "Ok," Akane said to the assembled girls, "I heard rumors that Kodachi ran off with a maid. Can anyone tell me about that?"

    "I can!" a short girl cried with an excited giggle as she bounced up and down and waved her arm.

    Akane frowned when the other girls groaned but turned to the excited girl. "Please, tell me what you know."

    "I saw the whole thing on the morning they ran off together. "Kodachi brought her lover with her dressed as a maid. She acted all stern and mean and criticized everything her 'maid' did. It was so hot." The girl paused to giggle again while most of the other gymnasts sighed and shook their heads. "Then the maid 'let slip' something about her special duties and Kodachi acted really mad and slapped her to the floor! Then the maid got up and they kissed! It was so romantic," the girl sighed, clasping her hands to her chest, "there were even sparkles around them and I swear the maid's eyes actually turned into little golden hearts! And then they couldn't wait any longer and dropped a flash bomb and ran off for some time alone together."

    Akane stared at the flushed girl who was now fanning herself. A glance at the other gymnasts showed most of them looking down at the floor in embarrassment, though a few were flushed and staring into space instead. A look in Nabiki's direction thankfully revealed that she didn't look overly interested as she jotted down notes on a pad.

    One of the other girls coughed awkwardly. "Please excuse Natsumi. She's a complete pervert." The fact that the named girl only giggled again rather than deny the label seemed to support the statement. "I was in the classroom too and can give you a normal person's interpretation of what happened that morning.

    "Like Natsumi said, Kodachi brought a maid in with her. Unlike some people, I saw nothing to indicate that the maid was not, in fact, a maid. Kodachi was extremely critical and demanding, but that tends to be her normal personality." Most of the other gymnasts nodded while a few, including Natsumi, shook their heads and grinned. "Maybe the maid had annoyed her, because she was being a bit harsher than usual. Anyway, the maid did say something about, um, nonstandard tasks, that pissed Kodachi off something fierce and made her hit the maid. The maid got up and whispered something to Kodachi, not kissed her, and then there was a flash of light and they were gone."

    "That sounds much more believable!" Akane exclaimed. "Thank you! Does anyone have anything else about that maid and Kodachi or something that stood out that morning?"

    The other girls thought for a moment, then much headshaking ensued. "I can tell you what I think they did after they left!" Natsumi exclaimed eagerly.

    "No!" Akanae shouted. "Er, I mean, no thank you. All of you have been very helpful," she said, shooting a dubious look in Natsumi's direction before bowing to the group and leaving with her sister.

    "Let us know if you find out anything about Kodachi!" Ayame called after them.

    "We will," Akane called back.

    The two sisters walked back to their neighborhood without speaking for a while before Akane broke the silence. "So, do you think Kodachi broke a contract by hitting Brandy after she lost, too?"

    "It sounds like it," Nabiki agreed. "If there were rules about what the winner could and couldn't do to the loser, physical violence was probably forbidden."

    "Brandy said she got what she was really after when she lost to Kodachi, so she probably planned that from the start."

    "She certainly provoked her," Nabiki agreed, "and the fact she tried to challenge you first pretty much guarantees it was a deliberate plan."

    "Nabiki…" Akane asked quietly, "do you think I would have fallen for the same trick if I'd accepted her challenge?"

    "Yes," Nabiki replied without hesitation, causing her sister to trip.

    "You could have at least thought about it for a minute!" Akane cried before looking down and rubbing her arms. "Do you really think I'm that short tempered and violent? I really don't go around hitting people—aside from a couple who really deserve it."

    "All she'd have to do is wait for the right time and place then say four words to you, and I guarantee you'd hit her."

    "Really?" Akane asked skeptically. "And what are those four magic words?"

    "Well, after she'd been close to you for a few days as your servant, she'd just need to lean into your personal space, smirk, and say 'I'm really a boy'."

    Akane turned white as a sheet and stared at her sister, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she shivered and breathed, "You're right…"

    "Of course I am," Nabiki agreed before checking her watch. "That will be one thousand yen, by the way."

    "For what?!" demanded Akane, shaking off the chill of her recent realization. "You didn't do anything!"

    "Didn't I?" Nabiki asked enigmatically.

    "No. You didn't."

    "Fair enough, I suppose. But you were paying for my time, not my actions, and I could have been spending it doing any number of important things if I hadn't come with you."

    Akane sighed as she pulled out a bill and gave it to her sister. "And what important thing were you not doing because you were with me, anyway?"

    "Saving the world," Nabiki casually replied as she pocketed the money.

    "Fine, don't tell me."

    oOo​

    "Ranma Saotome, I would speak with you," Tatewaki Kunou intoned solemnly from where he dramatically stood atop a mailbox.

    Ranma sighed and shook his head. "Can't you do anything like a normal person?"

    Kunou gracefully hopped to the sidewalk and walked over, shaking his head once. "We are not normal people, you and I. I am a warrior from a time bygone, burdened with the soul of a hero and a poet, in days where such is valued little. And you are the foulest of sorcerers, a man who enslaves innocent maidens and is known by all to revel in deranged acts of wickedness. Or so you would have people to believe."

    Ranma just nodded along, tuning out the other boy's speech, until the last sentence registered. "What?"

    "It is a masterful disguise, a ruse of the highest order—I admit, you had even me ensnared in your deception. But by chance, nay it could only have been fate, my sight was unclouded and the truth made clear. The persona of a vile sorcerer is naught but a carefully crafted illusion, designed to capture the eye and then make it turn away in disgust, all to prevent people from realizing your true identity!" Kunou's voice, which had been rising through his impassioned speech, dropped to little more than a whisper. "An emissary from heaven, sent to Earth wreathed in light and love, to save humanity and all of nature, from evil and darkness, both from within and without. Yes, it is true—I, Tatewaki Kunou—have through my keen intellect and willpower deduced that you are in truth, the Avatar of Light."

    Kunou clenched a fist over his heart and bowed his head. "Rest assured, oh angel of light, that I shall not reveal this knowledge to any, this I swear! No, on the contrary, I will do my best to aid you in your divine mission. No longer do you need to battle the forces of darkness on your own, for Tatewaki Kunou will stand by your side, lending his mighty sword arm when it's needed, whispering words of encouragement when this corrupt world threatens to dim the light of your holy spirit, and striking decisively the very moment that evil dares attack."

    Kunou raised his head, passion and determination writ bold upon his face. "Together, you and I shall—" He broke off suddenly, turning his head to look first one way then the other down the completely empty street and sidewalk. "Saotome?"

    oOo​

    "This can't be good," Ranma sighed as she walked into the house, once again a girl after being splashed by an old man who was watering his lawn. "He's going to do something crazy, I just know it… Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see, then deal with it."

    She walked into the living room and paused at the sight of Akane staring into space, deep in thought with a troubled look on her face. "Everything ok?" she asked, eying the other girl cautiously as she walked over and looked her in the eyes.

    "Ranma… do you think I'm short tempered and quick to violence?" She bit her lip and looked down. "Just … just give me your honest answer, please." She raised her head then looked around the room. "Ranma?"

    Akane sighed to the empty living room and walked outside to lean against a tree. "Well, I guess that counts as an honest answer. I'm not a violent maniac—I'd never hit someone who doesn't deserve it and isn't strong enough to take it… but I guess I can't deny that I can do better. That I need to be better than that. It's time to grow up, Akane. It may be satisfying to smack perverts and creeps who really deserve it, but now there are demons and dark beings among us, and attacking one of them can have disastrous consequences, and being the Avatar's companion just makes things even more complicated. I need to control my temper and only resort to violence when it's necessary if I don't want to risk ending up like Kodachi, or worse."

    "That's probably a good idea," Ranma agreed, dangling upside down in front of Akane, her knees hooked around a low branch.

    "Don't eavesdrop on me!" Akane shouted, punching the other girl out of the tree and into the ground. She glared at her for a second before turning red and coughing in embarrassment. "It may still need a bit of work…"

    oOo​

    Pretty Special looked around at the patches of smoldering trash and devastation around her with a small frown on her face. This last session had confirmed her earlier conclusions: her powers were much weaker than they'd been in the dream world, and while they were improving with use, it was happening far too slowly.

    "I'm going to have to seriously reconsider my assistant's Adequate title if he doesn't immediately come back from his unapproved time off," she said to no one in particular. After a long moment of silence, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to need to figure something out."
     
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    "And have your friend let you know if anything noteworthy happens at St. Hebereke's, especially if it has to do with Kodachi or the gymnastics team," Nabiki said to Tomiko sitting at the next desk over, who nodded and jotted down a note.

    "Will do. Anything else?"

    "That's it for now."

    "Great. It looks like today's going to be nice and quiet, then."

    "Nabiki…" Hana called from where she was staring out the window, "Kunou's acting strange."

    Nabiki turned to Tomiko and gave her an unimpressed look.

    The other girl shrugged. "I was bored."

    "Fair enough," she said before turning toward the windows and calling, "that's his expected behavior, Hana."

    "No, I mean strange for Kunou," the other girl replied, prompting Nabiki and the rest of the class to go over to the windows and look below.

    "Ohhhhh, foul sorcerer!" Kunou declared to the sky while dramatically reaching out with his hand. "The foulness of your wicked deeds is surpassed only by your blackened heeaaart!" he cried, the pitch of his voice becoming higher as he stretched out the last word. "While your vile maaagics may protect you, know that I, the noble Tatewaki Kunou," he proclaimed while drawing his bokken and pointing it skyward, "shall protect this noble institute of learning and its innocent students," he intoned while waving his free hand to indicate the buildings and students, "from your depravaaaations!"

    As the foul sorcerer walked past, muttering and looking annoyed, Kunou turned to continue facing him. "See how he skulks by, knowing his evil plans are stymied by your virtuous protector! Rest assuuured, that eventually his dark magics will fail before the power of righteousness, and on that day, I shall strike! strike! strike! with my blessed sword, and he will faaaaall!" At the word blessed, the sword burst into white flame, courtesy of a pellet surreptitiously palmed from the sleeve of Kunou's hakama.

    As Ranma walked into the school, not sparing a single glance for the virtuous protector, the nearby students stared at Kunou and his blazing sword. When he seemed to be content with standing motionless in a dramatic pose, half of the students shrugged and went inside. Thirty seconds later, when his bokken disintegrated into ash, the remaining half went inside, as well, leaving him standing there motionless. Students watching from their classrooms resumed their normal activities.

    "Well, this is new," Nabiki commented as she walked to the back of the room and retrieved the first aid kit, briefly opening it to check its supply of burn cream.

    "Maybe he wants to start a kabuki club?" one of the boys in the room hesitantly offered.

    "Is that what that was?" a girl asked.

    "Not … really," he slowly replied.

    Any further conversation was cut off as Nabiki left the classroom and headed for the stairs. When she encountered her homeroom teacher coming the other way, she only needed to raise the first aid kit slightly to receive his blessing in the form of a nod and the words, "I saw." Once outside she walked to where Kunou was still doing his impression of a statue and eyed his upraised arm.

    "Hand," she stated while laying the kit atop a nearby bush and retrieving the tube of burn cream. Kunou's arm lowered, bringing his hand within reach, while he otherwise remained motionless. She squeezed a generous amount of burn cream onto his hand, then capped the tube and stepped back.

    "I'm not rubbing it in," she stated firmly.

    Kunou slowly unfroze and gingerly rubbed the burn cream in with his other hand. He sighed softly and a great deal of tension left his body. "I thank you, Nabiki Tendou."

    "You know my preferred form of expressions of gratitude," she stated as she packed up the kit. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse."

    "Indeed. Curse that vile sorcerer! His evil magics are most wily!"

    "Uh huh," she said as they started walking. "By the way, if you get the idea to try a repeat performance with a real sword, do keep in mind that steel conducts heat."

    Kunou paused mid-step and stiffened. "I … will keep your words in mind."

    She nodded. "Care to share what brought on today's special show?"

    "I have no idea what you're talking about."

    "I had a feeling you'd say that."

    oOo​

    "Ok, spill. What was with Kunou today?" Akane demanded on the way home with Ranma and Nabiki.

    "I said I don't want to talk about it," Ranma flatly stated.

    "Nabiki?"

    "He's definitely picked up a new delusion of some sort, but I couldn't say what it is."

    "You know something," she accused as she turned back to Ranma, only to stop when he was nowhere to be seen. "Will you stop doing that!"

    There was no reply, and Ranma remained absent as they walked, or in Akane's case, stomped and muttered, the rest of the way home. As they approached the house, Akane was pulled from her dark mood at the sight of Ranma talking with a tall woman at the rear gate.

    "It must be a challenger!" she cried, rushing forward, only to stop and return to Nabiki a second later. "Come on! Don't you want to see what's going on?"

    "Yes, that's why I'm walking over," her sister replied, not altering her walking pace.

    "But we might miss…" Akane trailed off at Nabiki's completely unmoved expression and fell in beside her with a groan as they walked over to the other pair.

    "Yeah, that's fine," Ranma said as they got closer, "Seven o'clock on Wednesday. Just come here and we'll go to the challenge place together, ok?"

    Akane looked over the willowy blonde who had just challenged the Avatar. She stood almost six feet tall and the combination of her pale complexion, ice blue eyes, and platinum blonde hair pulled back in a Dutch braid was striking. Ruby studs adorned her ears, and she wore a blue and green double breasted blouse with two lines of ruby buttons connected by thin platinum chains. A long pleated skirt that shimmered between blue and black barely covered the tops of her ankle-high green leather boots. As the woman turned to leave, Akane blinked when she realized that the skirt was actually a pair of pants that flared widely, giving the appearance of a skirt while covering each leg.

    "Maëlys," the woman introduced herself, as she found herself face to face with the arriving sisters.

    "Akane Tendou," Akane replied, suddenly feeling very self conscious about her own clothing and appearance.

    "Nabiki Tendou," Nabiki said, not seeming the least bit insecure.

    They silently watched the woman gracefully walk off before Akane turned to Ranma. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd ditched us. I didn't realize you'd sensed a challenger…"

    "Uh, yeah," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I probably should have said something. Getting used to these, um, magical senses can be tricky." He glanced at Nabiki and quickly turned away from her amused and highly skeptical expression.

    "If you ever need any help, you can always ask me! So, what do we know about this challenger?"

    "Uh, her name is Maëlys and she's coming back at seven on Wednesday." At Akane's flat look, he added, "Hey, it's not like I interview these people. We just set a time and place, and that's it."

    Akane sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish there was more to all this than making an appointment and fighting—going out and investigating, fighting evil and thwarting their dark plans, you know?"

    "The excitement of demons attacking the Avatar's home without any warning," Nabiki added enthusiastically.

    "Exact—wait, no." Akane huffed. "Fine, I understand. This isn't a cartoon and 'spicing things up' is bad and dangerous. It's just that I always thought being a magical girl would be more … magical, and less like a job."

    "I know what you mean," Ranma admitted, waving them inside as rain started to fall from the sky. "It kinda feels more like being an athlete than a hero. Instead of going out and looking for trouble, I go to matches and face my opponent."

    "The price we pay to save the world," Nabiki sighed dramatically.

    "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not complaining, just saying it wasn't what I expected."

    "I think it's safe to say none of us were expecting this."

    The three stood in contemplative silence for a moment before Akane's eyes widened. "Wait, seven on Wednesday? I can't make it then!"

    "Fortunately, your presence isn't necessary," Nabiki said as she obtained a can of iced coffee from the fridge, tossing another to Ranma at a gesture from him.

    "I know that, but I wanted to be there for moral support! You'll go, right, Nabiki?"

    "No, the lighting will be awful; there's no point."

    "You can still cheer him on!" At her sister's blank look, Akane scowled. "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to."

    "It happens," Nabiki replied with a magnanimous wave of her hand.

    "You know, you could do something just for someone else's sake, not everything has to be about you," Akane sighed, shaking her head.

    "Now, that's just crazy talk."

    oOo​

    Nabiki gazed out the window of her homeroom at the pouring rain that had been falling since yesterday afternoon, the crowds of students that usually milled about outside until the warning bell rang absent due to the poor weather.

    "Akane Tendou, fierce pigtailed girl!" Kunou's voice carried from the courtyard, "you must be on guuaaard against the vile sorcerer on this fouuuul day!"

    There were some exceptions, of course. She watched as the recipients of Kunou's warning ignored him completely and walked inside. This, of course, did not stop him from continuing to rant about the sorcerer and pose dramatically. Kunou loudly swore to vanquish his foe and raised his new bokken dramatically. Lightning flashed and an instant later, a crack of thunder shook the windows. Nabiki sighed and headed for the first aid kit.

    oOo​

    "Ugh, how long is it going to rain for?" Ranma asked as he came downstairs into the living room, hair still damp from his shower.

    "Through tomorrow," Akane said as she flipped through channels on the tv.

    "Great…"

    "Look at the bright side. At least Kunou will only be warning you about the foul sorcerer instead of ranting at you."

    "Some bright side," Ranma scoffed as he joined her.

    Akane just shrugged, and they watched TV for a while until Nabiki walked into the room.

    "Kodachi was back in school today."

    "She is? That's great news!" exclaimed Akane. She paused and frowned. "And that's not something I ever thought I'd say. Did she seem okay?"

    "From what I was told, she seemed quieter and more withdrawn than usual but otherwise normal. For her. Some students believe it's due to a bad breakup."

    "I can guess which ones," growled Akane. "So, does this mean she's free?"

    Nabiki shrugged. "It could, or it could mean she was ordered to go back to school."

    Ranma groaned. "If she's free, does this mean I owe Brandy a favor?"

    "Yes," Akane said, swatting him on the shoulder, "and don't complain about it. You know it was worth it."

    "Yeah, yeah… You're right. It's just that that girl creeps me out."

    "Which one?" asked Nabiki with a smirk.

    "Both!"

    "We should go check on her," declared Akane.

    "Now?" Ranma asked incredulously, waving a hand at the pouring rain and dark sky outside. "And I really hope you mean Kodachi!"

    "I do." Akane bit her lip. "Ok, we can do it after school tomorrow. We won't have to deal with the rest of her family that way, too."

    "Fine…"

    oOo​

    Ranma and Akane silently walked toward St. Hebereke's. The umbrellas they held blocked most, but not all, of the rain that still poured from the sky. As they were about to walk to the gate, they stopped and instead turned to follow the form of Kodachi Kunou, who was slowly walking down the sidewalk, beneath her own umbrella. For a block, they trailed her, a sudden surge of nerves and discomfort stopping them from moving to catch up, until the other girl stopped, turned to face them, and waited.

    "Why are you following me?" Kodachi coldly asked when the other girls reached her.

    "We wanted to make sure you're okay," Akane hesitantly answered, taken aback by Kodachi's fierce glare and unfriendly tone.

    "I am. Now please refrain from approaching me again," she replied before turning and starting to walk away. She'd only gone a few paces before the redhead's voice called, stopping her in her tracks.

    "Are you free, Kodachi?"

    "I am, no thanks to you," she said bitterly, not turning around. I'm sorry, my love, but this is how it must be. After a moment, she walked off, the other two girls silently watching her go.

    "Well, it sounds like Brandy let her go and she wants nothing to do with us," Akane said after a minute.

    "Win-win," Ranma agreed.

    Akane sighed. "I guess. I just hope she's really okay."

    "I guess I can check on her in a week or two… When it's not raining. Come on, let's go home."

    oOo​

    A bell rang, and across the street, in a tree still wet from the past two days of rain, a camera adjusted its focus. After a few moments, a door opened and the Avatar of Light emerged.

    "Hey, Maëlys. You ready?"

    "I am," the statuesque blonde replied, inclining her head. "Where will we be fighting?"

    "There's a field about half a mile that way where we should have privacy."

    "A field?"

    "Yeah, mostly dirt, with some hills around it. Nothing to break and no people wandering around."

    Maëlys snapped her fingers twice. "Avatar, look at me. What am I wearing?"

    "Clothes?" Ranma offered hesitantly. At the narrowing of the other woman's eyes, she quickly amended her answer to, "Nice clothes?"

    Maëlys sighed and took a deep breath. "Yes, Avatar, in layman's terms, I am wearing 'nice clothes'. To be more precise, I am wearing extremely high quality clothing that is the height of fashion. And you're suggesting that we wrestle like hogs in a mud pit."

    "Um… you know this is a fight to the death, right?"

    "And what difference does that make? Are you suggesting I plan to die, not that I have the faintest idea why you think being covered in mud and filth is how I'd want my last moments to be. No, Avatar, when I defeat you, I plan to look breathtaking. Find a more suitable location."

    Ranma sighed deeply. "Ok, fine… I guess there's the spot where I fought Speed Demon. That should be cleaner, and there'll probably be more light too. It's a demolition site about a mile away that's mostly paved. So long as we stay away from parts that have already been torn down, it should be good."

    "Better. Let's go."

    The two walked off into the darkness of the heavily overcast evening, the camera's focus following them for a moment before returning to the rear gate of the Tendou property.

    oOo​

    Ten minutes later, the Avatar and her challenger hopped over the short barriers and walked into the demolition area. While at least one building had already been transformed into a mess of rubble and debris, much of the area still consisted of intact pavement. Several streetlights at the edge of the area even added to the dim illumination of the crescent moon just now breaking through the cloud cover.

    "Much better than wallowing in mud, wouldn't you say, Avatar," Maëlys commented as she gave the rain washed parking lot they'd chosen a look of approval.

    "Yeah, I guess. Wouldn't really want the outcome decided by someone slipping, either. You ready?"

    The other woman nodded shortly. "Time to die, Avatar!" she cried and charged at her opponent—only to stop short and snatch a red blur out of the air as it streaked across her path. For a moment, she eyed the unusually aerodynamic bouquet of red roses she held before glancing to the top of the streetlight they had come from and the strange figure who posed theatrically atop it.

    The tuxedo clad man stood there dramatically, a top hat on his head, opera mask on his face, and white gloves covering his hands. His left hand held the hilt of a sheathed katana, the right was lightly touching the brow of his bowed head. "Did you truly think you could escape the vigilant gaze of Katana Mask?" he asked in a voice that carried to the two combatants. "Such foolishness! To think I would not notice the presence of one such as you immediately… Nay, I watched you incessantly and merely waited for the proper moment to strike."

    "Damnit, Kunou! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" shouted Ranma.

    "Hey! He gave these roses to me, not you!" growled Maëlys while glaring at the Avatar until the other woman stared at her for a second before holding up her hands and taking a large step back. "So, you noticed me days ago and have been watching me ever since," she purred, turning back to the well-dressed man.

    "Indeed! Not once did I divert my gaze from your form! You will not escape me, fie—!" Katana Mask cut off in alarm and swayed awkwardly as suddenly, he found himself no longer the sole occupant of the streetlamp.

    "Well, such dedication to my form certainly deserves a reward. Maybe you'll even get a closer look, or the opportunity for a hands-on inspection," Maëlys purred, gliding into Kunou's personal space as his eyes widened and he took an alarmed step back.

    "Ah, perhaps I gave the wrong impression! I was merely striking at the evil that was stalking the fair Avatar of Light!"

    "Of course you were," Maëlys said with a smirk. "Even though everyone knows challenges to the Avatar are sacrosanct and any interference result in the swift execution of the cretin who attempts such. If he's lucky. But I don't mind playing along, oh noble Katana Mask, and seducing you to darkness.

    "You don't mind if we postpone the challenge, do you, Avatar?" she called to the other woman.

    "I could never stand in the way of true romance," the Avatar exclaimed, hands clasped before her and eyes shining.

    "Avatar!" cried Kunou as he tugged at the katana which refused to budge in its sheath, "I require assistance!"

    "Oh no, you're going to have to handle me all on your own," Maëlys growled throatily with a gleam in her eyes.

    "Avatar! Help! Sao—!"

    There was a blur of motion and the top of the streetlamp was suddenly empty.

    Ranma silently stood there for a moment, eyes flicking from the streetlamp to various points in the surroundings before deciding she was truly alone. Eventually, she said to the night, "I'm sure he'll be fine…"

    oOo​

    "Do you have any idea when she'll be back to challenge you again?" Akane asked as she walked to school with Ranma and Nabiki.

    "Nope."

    "Well, I guess she'll let you know sooner or later." Akane frowned. "I hope Kunou's all right. I can't believe you just let her make off with him!"

    "Hey, what did you want me to do about it? Tell her that he wasn't an admirer but was actually trying to interfere in her challenge? I can't see that going any better for him!"

    "At least it would have been over quickly," Nabiki offered; after a moment of thought, she added, "probably."

    "Please stop helping, I'm really not up for it," Akane sighed.

    "If you insist, but I think I can just make out someone vaguely Kunou-shaped waiting at the school gate."

    "Really? That's great! Come on, let's make sure," Akane called, picking up her pace.

    "Yeah, great…" Ranma muttered, notably not picking up his pace.

    "Can you at least pretend to show some enthusiasm?" Akane demanded as she dropped back to the others.

    "Yay. Kunou's alive," he said flatly.

    Any response she may have had died in her throat as they got close enough to clearly make out Kunou standing stiffly at the school gate, bandages covering most of his face and the entirety of his left arm that wasn't covered by his hakama. His right hand was clenched tightly around the hilt of the bokken that twitched slightly as he held it parallel to his leg. Fury burned in his eyes.

    "Foul deceiver," he hissed, "I was a fool to ever believe you were anything other! I know not the purpose of your bizarre and vile plot, but I do know this: I do not care!" Raising his weapon high, he charged Ranma and struck with blazing speed, his wooden sword smashing the pavement as the other boy fluidly evaded the blow. With a shout of rage, Kunou rained slashes and strikes on his opponent, each of which was avoided by his target with an air of apparent nonchalance.

    "See, everything's back to normal," Nabiki assured her sister while still walking toward the building. "You should go in if you don't want to be late." Akane hesitated, watching the two boys for a long moment, before shaking her head and going inside with her.

    It was only a minute after they left when Kunou slashed his bokken one final time before groaning softly and sinking to one knee, his free hand pressing against his side.

    "Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked, peering at him in concern.

    "Do not mock me with false concern, sorcerer," groaned Kunou, "but rest assured that I shall recover from this setback and stop you, no matter how long it takes."

    "Have it your way," Ranma said, holding up his hands. He started to walk away but frowned and turned back to the kneeling boy. "But don't interfere with the Avatar of Light. At all. The fate of the world depends on her."

    "You expect me to believe that you are striving to save the world, fiend?"

    "Yes, because a destroyed world is no good to me," he replied, mouth twisting in disgust at uttering such a corny line.

    Kunou intently studied the sorcerer; he was inclined to dismiss his words as still more lies, yet he felt a tremor of doubt deep within. The look of disgust that crossed the blackguard's face at the very idea of saving the world was too genuine to be false. "I will … consider your words. Now, leave me be, Saotome."

    Ranma nodded, then paused. "Are you sure you're all right? I can send Nab—oh, never mind, here she comes now." Assured that everything was well in hand, he leapt toward his homeroom's window.

    "Congratulations, you've qualified for the volume discount this week," Nabiki said as she reached Kunou and set down the first aid kit.

    o0o​

    The Avatar of Light bowed respectfully to the kanji on the wall scroll in the Tendou dojo and began a kata. She flowed through moves and steps long known by heart, the routine serving as a moving meditation, soothing and focusing her mind, rather than a martial training aid at this point in her study of the art. After a time, she finished and took a deep breath, at peace in both mind and body.

    "That was beautiful," Pretty Special remarked from her spot near the doorway.

    Ranma turned and stared at the other magical girl for a long moment, then groaned and brought her palm to her forehead. "I can't believe I forgot you're a magical girl… Wait! How are you still a magical girl?! You actually kept those powers when we woke up?!"

    "Mostly," Nabiki replied as she walked over, "they're not nearly as strong as they were."

    "What are you planning to do with them?" asked Ranma with a frown.

    "I figured I'd do the typical magical girl thing and save the world."

    "My little speech to Kunou wasn't meant for you, you know."

    "And yet it's no less true. But don't worry, I'm not planning to misuse these powers."

    "I have a feeling that word means different things to each of us, but all right. What do you want from me?"

    "Like I said, my powers aren't as strong as they were in Akuko's world. I want training."

    "You should probably go to Velgri, then," Ranma said with a frown, "I've been a magical girl for a little while, but she has a lot of experience training them."

    "She has a lot of experience training the Avatar of Light," Nabiki corrected. "She also has specific goals and duties that probably don't include training other magical girls. You, on the other hand, can share your experience in learning to be one, and on top of that, have one important thing that Velgri does not."

    "Yeah? What's that?"

    "An extremely large outstanding debt to me."

    Ranma groaned. "Fine. How much will this pay back?"

    "Half of it."

    "Wait, really? That much?"

    "That much. Training from an experienced magical girl is an exclusive high end service, after all. I'm also paying for absolute secrecy. You may have a paper thin secret identity, but I value my privacy."

    "All right, it's a deal. We'll have a lot to do," Ranma said with growing enthusiasm, "strengthening the connection to your power, learning about your abilities, refining and discovering techniques, and a lot of martial arts."

    "I'm not interested in that last one," Nabiki said, shaking her head. "Anything worth facing like this is going to be beaten with magic, not beginner martial arts."

    "You're not wrong, but you're not right, either. You may be using magical attacks, but being able to avoid attacks or take a fall without slowing down can be the difference between winning and losing—and if your fights are going to be anything like mine, you don't want to lose."

    "You may have a point, but I still want to stick to the magical part of magical girl."

    "Sorry, it's a package deal," Ranma said, crossing her arms. "We'll focus on magic, because you're right, it is what you'll be using most, but we'll devote part of each session to martial arts. No student of mine is going to lose because she can't fall properly. And there will be homework," she added with a sharp smile.

    "You drive a hard bargain, Saotome," Nabiki said, making the other girl's smile dim as she suddenly wondered if she was getting such a great deal after all, "but you have a deal."

    Pretty Special held out her hand. After a moment, the Avatar of Light shook it.
     
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    Akane groaned and covered her head with her pillow as shrill beeping filled her bedroom. For a couple of minutes, her sleepiness battled with the alarm, trying to carry her back to half-remembered dreams, until she abruptly threw her pillow to the side and sat up. She scowled at the time on her clock and made a sound of disgust at being awake so early on a Sunday before immediately brightening as she remembered why she'd set her alarm. She quickly visited the bathroom, got dressed, and made her way through the still sleeping house to her destination.

    She stood at the threshold and sighed in contented reverence before stepping into the neat and orderly kitchen, remembering the times she spent there with her mother. Turning on the lights, she started setting out the tools and ingredients she'd need to make breakfast. The past month had been stressful for everyone, and she wanted to do something nice for them and show them how much she cared. She'd almost gotten everything set up when Kasumi walked into the kitchen and stopped.

    "Oh. Akane. You're making breakfast?"

    "Yes, I thought everyone deserved a special treat, so I decided to surprise them with a big western breakfast."

    "Ah. That's very thoughtful of you. What are you going to make?"

    "Vanilla almond French toast, quiche Lorraine, bacon, 'easy chocolate croissants', and fresh fruit."

    "That's quite ambitious," Kasumi noted as she glanced at the counters, "where are the recipes?"

    "I memorized them," Akane beamed as she set out the last of the ingredients.

    Kasumi's gaze wandered over the numerous pieces of cookware and kitchen tools spread around her formerly neat and orderly kitchen. "Well, if we're sharing surprises," she said brightly, "have you heard of the karate tournament they're holding in Setagaya this month?"

    "Yes," Akane nodded as she picked up a stick of butter, "it's a pretty large tournament for highly skilled martial artists; taking one of the top three places is usually considered a good stepping stone for opening a dojo. Why?"

    "I've decided to enter."

    "What?!" Akane exclaimed, crushing the butter in her hand. "You can't enter that, Kasumi! You need years of training and experience to be ready for it! Without that, you wouldn't have a chance of doing well and could get seriously hurt."

    "Oh, but I've picked up a lot from watching you, Father, and the Saotomes for years. I'm sure I'll do fine."

    "Kasumi, listen to me," Akane urged, stepping forward to take her sister's hands but stopping and washing her hands first when she noticed the remains of the butter. "Just picking things up is not good enough for this. You need years of dedicated training and practice, and even then, you should have an advanced practitioner confirm you're ready for a tournament, especially a high level one like this."

    "Well… I suppose you do know more about martial arts than I do," Kasumi allowed thoughtfully, "so I'll defer to your judgment and not enter. Thank you, Akane."

    "No, thank you for listening to me! Entering that tournament really would be a terrible idea. If you want to get into martial arts, any of us would be happy to teach you, though, and I'm sure you'd be ready to enter a beginner's tournament in no time, if that's really what you want."

    "That's very kind of you," Kasumi said with a warm smile as Akane went to retrieve a new stick of butter from the fridge. After a moment, she asked, "Akane? Would you consider me to be an advanced practitioner of cooking?"

    "Absolutely! You're amazing," Akane exclaimed, before stiffening as she reached for the butter. "K-Kasumi?" she asked in a stricken tone as she turned to face her sister.

    "I'm sorry, Akane," Kasumi said with compassion, "but you really aren't ready to prepare a meal like this. I know you've picked up some of the basics by watching Mother and me, but a meal like this really does need study and practice."

    "But… I thought…"

    Kasumi walked to her sister and hugged her. "I know," she said soothingly, "you thought you'd do something nice for everyone, and that was a wonderful thought. But trying to make so many things at once without working your way up to it is very difficult and can even be dangerous for yourself or the people you're cooking for. It'd be a shame for such a lovely gesture to end badly, wouldn't it?"

    "I, I guess," Akane said quietly, leaning into her sister's shoulder. "I just wanted to be more like Mom… and you."

    Kasumi laughed softly and gave her a squeeze. "Well, then you'll just have to spend time learning how to cook, like she and I did. I can even teach you, just like Mother taught me."

    "I'd like that," Akane whispered, giving Kasumi a tremulous smile.

    "I'd like that too," Kasumi replied, giving her another squeeze before releasing her. "Now, I really do think your idea was lovely, so why don't you let me prepare the breakfast you planned so thoughtfully."

    "All right. Can I at least make the 'easy chocolate croissants'? It's just slicing open some croissants and putting a thick layer of chocolate spread inside them. I already bought the croissants and the chocolate spread," she said, indicating the pastries and the small jar sitting on a counter.

    "Akane, that's Marmite."

    oOo​

    "Oh, that smells wonderful," Soun said as he walked downstairs and into the living room. A glance into the kitchen gave him a moment of concern as he saw his youngest daughter was in there, but it passed quickly when he noted that she was only watching as his eldest did the actual food preparation.

    "Good morning, Father," Kasumi said as cleaned a bowl, "I'm sorry, but breakfast won't be ready for a while. We didn't expect you to come down so early."

    "Neither did I," laughed Soun, "but the aroma of your wonderful cooking woke me early."

    "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

    "Nonsense. I can't think of a better way to start the day. Thank you, Kasumi, and Akane," he stated, though his voice took on an uncertain tone at the end, as if he were unsure exactly what he should be thanking Akane for.

    "Oh, I didn't really do anything," Akane quickly exclaimed.

    "I appreciate that—er, I mean, just keeping Kasumi company was very considerate of you!"

    "Thanks…"

    "I'll just go outside and exercise a bit."

    Over the next twenty minutes, the rest of the household, with Velgri being first and Nabiki last, drifted downstairs and eventually made their way to the dining table. A few minutes after that, Kasumi and Akane brought the food to the table and took their seats.

    "This looks great!" Ranma exclaimed as he reached for a platter.

    "Oh, it was all Akane's idea," Kasumi said with a warm smile.

    Ranma's hand stopped short inches from the food. "Her idea? Did she actually make any of it?"

    "Oh, she came up with the idea, planned the menu, and bought the ingredients," Kasumi said, giving Akane's shoulder a warm squeeze, making the other girl's glare and soft growling subside, "but she asked me to do the preparation. She thought everyone deserved something nice after everything that's happened recently."

    "Oh," Ranma said, looking a bit embarrassed. "Thanks, Akane. This was a great idea." His cheeks colored slightly when his words elicited a brilliant smile.

    "Look how well they're getting along, Tendou," Genma rumbled, "We'll be hea—"

    "Do not," Velgri warned, "disrupt this lovely gesture by Akane and Kasumi. If you wish to sabotage your own schemes, you may do so after the meal."

    The two men exchanged a glance then wordlessly gave the food their full attention. The meal passed quietly, aside from a few pleasantries and more words of appreciation for the food and both Akane and Kasumi.

    "Thanks again," Ranma said to Akane after they were away from the table. "It was a good idea."

    "Thanks," Akane said, blushing faintly. "There was supposed to be chocolate for the croissants, but I picked a bad brand of chocolate spread."

    "They were fine without it."

    A moment passed in silence before Akane scowled and said, "Well, go ahead and say that you're happy I got Kasumi to make it and I'm a terrible cook."

    Ranma rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah. But you know that. That's why you got Kasumi to make everything, right?"

    Akane glowered for a moment but was unable to deny it. "Well, I'm going to get better and become a great cook and someday you'll be begging for me to make something for you!"

    "Great!"

    "Uh, right. You'll see."

    "Looking forward to it."

    Akane deflated with a sigh. "Fine. Are you doing any Avatar training I can help with today?"

    "Nah, I'm going to hang out with some friends. It's been a while, you know?"

    Akane's lips tightened briefly as she imagined just which friends he was going to visit before she forced herself to let it go. Ranma deserved, needed even, to relax, even if she didn't like how he did so or with whom. "Have fun. I guess I'll catch up on some things I need to do here."

    oOo​

    Akane jotted down another note in her notebook as she read through the book on the fundamentals of cooking that Kasumi had given her. She was hoping that treating cooking more like a school subject than something to just pick up as she went would work out better. She put down her pencil with a sigh. She was still a bit in shock over what happened that morning; Kasumi had offered to help her learn to cook a number of times in the past but always just accepted her refusal. Okay, now that she thought about it, maybe the number of offers had been a bit high, and Kasumi may have been a bit less cheerful than usual after each refusal, but she'd never come anywhere close to saying Akane was so bad in the kitchen that she was a danger to herself and others! Or threatened to get herself killed in a martial arts tournament to make Akane stop. She glanced across the living room at the lavender fox reading the newspaper and had a feeling she had a good idea of what was responsible for the change in her sister's behavior.

    "Do you need something, Akane?" Velgri asked, turning toward the girl as if she'd felt the weight of her gaze.

    "No… I was just thinking about how much things have changed since you came here."

    "That's understandable. I hope none of the changes have been too terrible," the fox said while telekinetically turning a page.

    "I … I'm still thinking things out. But I do think it's horrible that Ranma has to kill people, especially ones he's gotten to know, and what happened to Kodachi is just—" The bell at the rear gate rang, and Akane broke off mid-sentence. "Excuse me," she said, standing up and putting on a polite professional expression as she walked to the rear gate.

    The new challenger was a man with short brown hair moussed into spikes, wearing orange tinted sunglasses, an unfastened single breasted leather trench coat, a black t-shirt bearing some sort of eight bit video game art, dark blue jeans, and black engineer boots bearing a pair of straps with iron buckles. Wisps of a faint purple aura drifted up from his hair and eyes.

    "Hey. I'm Brandon Bullseye," he said casually, "I'm here to kill the Avatar of Light."

    "I'm sorry, she's not here right now and isn't expected back soon. Would you like to schedule an appointment to meet with her?"

    "Nah, I'll just leave a message." A metal cylinder dropped out of his sleeve and into his hand, and as a dark purple beam of energy extended from its front end, he lunged forward in a blur of motion and thrust it into Akane's chest—only to be hurled violently back, across the street and into a sturdy tree, before he could do more than singe a circle on her shirt.

    Brandon chuckled briefly as he pushed himself back to his feet and grinned at the girl who was staring at him with wide eyes as she backed away toward the house and the lavender fox who was walking from the building. "Looks like today's my lucky day. I get to leave an extra special message for the Avatar by killing both her secretary and her animal companion!"

    With that declaration, he ran through the gate and charged his targets. He was only halfway to the girl when the fox's form blurred, and she suddenly became a lithe woman with lavender hair and violet eyes. Before he could do more than start to adjust the position of his plasma katana in response, she moved forward in another blur, and in a single graceful motion, drew the slender silver sword at her waist and sliced across his wrist, sending his weapon flying from his grasp. The plasma katana hadn't even hit the ground before the tip of the silver sword was lightly pressed against his throat. Brandon froze in place and swallowed, his slight motion causing a trickle of blood to run down his neck.

    "You seem to be operating under a serious misconception, human," the woman casually remarked as he heard the girl gasp, "I act in an advisory role not due to a lack of prowess, but rather because the Accords forbid someone of my power from acting directly on Earth. In most cases, at least," she added with a predatory smile.

    "Heh, I wasn't actually going to hurt either of you…" Brandon said, being very careful not to move," I just wanted to give the Avatar a little scare to make sure she took me seriously."

    "Even if I believed your ridiculous claim, that's still a sufficient breach of the Accords to end your life, little darkling. But I think, perhaps, after what you attempted, the Avatar would like the pleasure of killing you herself."

    "That's all I ever wanted," replied Brandon with a small grin.

    "I see. That would set a terrible precedent, then," the advisor mused. There was a flash of motion, the world spun dizzyingly, and the girl screamed; then Brandon knew nothing more.

    "Are you all right, Akane?" Velgri asked as she turned from the body that was rapidly dissolving into purple motes.

    Akane tore her gaze from the spot where the body had been to stare wide eyed at the Avatar's animal companion who apparently had too much power to use on Earth unless the Accords had been violated. She took in the slender and graceful form, fair skin, soft brown ankle boots, juniper green trousers, and cream blouse she wore, hair adorned with pins shaped like small silver leaves, and the delicate ears with short pointed tips. She glanced down at the scorched circle on her shirt, then back at Velgri, and found herself blurting, "You don't have a human form because you have an elf form."

    "Yes." A moment passed in silence. "Ah, yes, you did ask me about that one morning. I apologize if I was rather short in my reply then. I'd been reminiscing on the elven people and their unspeakably beautiful civilization; I was always quite fond of them. It was the conflict between the dark and the light that precipitated their decline, but it was humanity that put a final end to them. I don't blame the humans of today for that tragedy, but I'm afraid it was a poor time to ask if I have a human form; nevertheless, I should not have taken my inner turmoil out on you."

    "It's all right," Akane said, then glanced in the direction of the house for a moment. "Are you…" She trailed off before trying again after a second. "What are your…" In the face of Velgri's slightly cocked head and inquisitive look, Akane's words failed her again. She sighed deeply. "I'm fine, Velgri. Thank you for stopping him."

    "I'm glad, and you are welcome," said Velgri before reverting to her fox form and going inside.

    Akane silently stood in the yard, alone aside from the crow that took to the air from the roof of the dojo and flew off, having seen all he needed to.

    oOo​

    A ladder clunked against the side of the house, and a few moments later, Akane climbed onto the roof and quietly lay on her back and gazed up at the clouds. For a while, she just watched them slowly drift by, thinking of absolutely nothing, not even contemplating what various clouds might be shaped like. Eventually, she sighed and let the thoughts rush back to flood her mind.

    Things were changing so much; worse, people she loved and cared about were changing. Ranma might not acknowledge it, but it was obvious to her that everything was directly or indirectly due to him assuming the role of the Avatar of Light and the arrival of the lavender fox that came with the position. The duties of the position required Ranma to change, becoming someone accustomed to killing her opponents on a regular basis. It didn't make her someone who enjoyed killing, but it changed the thought of doing so from something almost unthinkable and only to be used as an absolute last resort to just another option, another tool in her box. It seemed almost minor in comparison, but she—he—had gone from tolerating his female form and maybe thinking of it as a costume he wore sometimes to actually learning how to behave properly as a girl. It wasn't a bad thing, but it was still his new role and Velgri changing who he was!

    She didn't like it. Not the way it was forcing him to change, and not the way those changes together somehow made everything worse and hurt the arrogant jerk who was still someone she cared about. Henri had been an evil schemer who'd forced Ranma to go on a date with him right before they were going to fight to the death to give himself an advantage in the challenge. He'd still lost, but somehow he'd actually gotten her to like him. And then she'd had to kill him. It… it was just so unfair and she hated it! She'd tried to tell Ranma that Henri had just been trying to use her, but she didn't think she'd fully believed her. Akane sighed again. People who used feelings as weapons were the worst.

    She tried watching the clouds again, but her heart just wasn't in it, and with a noise of discontent, she turned her thoughts to what was bothering her the most right now—Kasumi. For as long as Akane could remember, her sister had been a constant in her life, a warm, gentle, loving girl in harmony with the world around her. While Akane herself was prone to barging through the world, facing challenges head-on, and Nabiki one to manipulate and maneuver the people around her, making them bend to her will, Kasumi contentedly drifted along with the currents of life, maybe sending a gentle ripple to slightly nudge someone, but otherwise being a living example of peace, harmony, and grace. And now Velgri was ruining all that!

    Just this morning, instead of sending a gentle ripple Akane's way, Kasumi had told her off, outright stated she was a danger in the kitchen, and manipulated her! Oh, all gently and considerately, of course, but she never would have done something like that before. Akane loved her sister, loved her the way she had been and didn't want some magical being changing her! Yes, she knew people change and wouldn't begrudge Kasumi growing and changing, but having someone else change her wasn't the same. Was she going to gradually become more and more like Velgri, becoming less tolerant of faults and more prone to manipulation and scolding? Would she one day be willing to kill someone, not even in the heat of the moment, but as a penalty for breaking rules?

    Akane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And then there was the other thing she'd learned today. The person responsible for the changes in her sister, who slept in her room with her, had an elf form! Were they sharing more than just a room?! It was clear from the start that Kasumi was infatuated with the Avatar's advisor, but were they actually having a, a … physical relationship? Akane couldn't argue that it wasn't Kasumi's business whom she dated, but she'd be damned if she let someone take advantage of either of her sisters, and she had serious doubts about Velgri, magical girl advisor or no. For one thing, Velgri wasn't human; now, Akane wasn't one to hold something like that against someone, but there could be important differences in how their minds and bodies worked. For that matter, did they have any idea how old Velgri was? She could be thousands of years old! Yes, Kasumi has said that she prefers older men, but there had to be limits! Akane growled in frustration and punched the roof.

    "Could you please not break the roof? I like coming up here to think."

    Akane's eyes flew open and she flushed red at the sight of Ranma standing nearby with his hands in his pockets. "Sorry… I was just—"

    "Yeah, I know how it is. Is everything okay?"

    Akane sighed and sat up. "I don't know. I'm concerned about Kasumi and what's going on with her and Velgri. Do you know what I found out today? Velgri has an elf form, so they might even be—" She cut off as she noticed the way Ranma was nonchalantly studying the clouds. "You knew!"

    Ranma sighed, "She took me to a French restaurant on our training trip when she first arrived. How could I not know?"

    "I thought she went as a fox," Akane quietly replied.

    Ranma chuckled and shook his head. "With the way she is about appropriate behavior in social settings?"

    "Why didn't you tell me?!"

    He shrugged. "Not my place. If she wanted you to know, she would have told or shown you. How did you find out, anyway?"

    "It was when the challenger tried to kill me this morning."

    "WHAT?!"

    oOo​

    "So, you're sure it was that Bullseye guy and he was empowered with darkness?" Ranma asked Velgri several minutes later, a frown on his face as he paced the living room.

    "He identified himself as such, and the taint of darkness was quite obvious," the lavender fox replied. "His actions hardly would have fallen under the Accords, otherwise."

    "I wish you'd saved him for me," muttered Ranma.

    "If it wouldn't have encouraged other challengers to do the same, I would have. But perhaps it was for the best, regardless."

    Ranma stopped pacing to look at his advisor. "What do you mean?"

    "It is part of your duty to kill your challenger, but it is a duty, and in some cases, even a hardship. I do not think it would be in your best interest for you to instead take up killing in anger or take pleasure from the act."

    He sighed. "I guess you have a point. It'd be one thing if I beat the crap out of him and then turned him over to the police; having to kill him in the end would make things different… You don't think something like this is going to happen again, do you?"

    "It's extremely unlikely. Everyone is quite aware that the next person to break the Accords will be made an example of and suffer far worse than a quick death. And honestly, only an empowered human would have committed an attack of this nature to begin with. I daresay the one who recruited him is dearly regretting that decision right now."

    "That's another thing—what's with recruiting humans and sending them after me? First Kodachi and now this guy. I don't like it, Velgri."

    "It's not an uncommon tactic by the Dark, I'm afraid, even if it is almost never fruitful. Sending a human after the Avatar doesn't risk any valuable resources, and since the challenger is not part of the existing hierarchy, the sponsor isn't at risk of being overshadowed by an underling. After today's debacle, I don't foresee more empowered humans anytime soon, though."

    "I guess that's good, at least. Um, I don't think I said it yet, but thank you for protecting Akane. If something had happened to her because of me…"

    "You're quite welcome, but the only person responsible is the sadistic psychopath who attacked her. You shouldn't blame yourself for other people's actions. I'm sure Akane doesn't blame you."

    "You irresponsible jerk!" roared Akane as she stormed into the living room.

    "It looks like she feels differently…" Ranma said softly.

    "You knocked the ladder over when you jumped off the roof! Do you know what a pain it was getting down?!"

    o0o​

    The Avatar of Light bowed respectfully to the kanji on the wall scroll in the Tendou dojo then turned as she heard soft footsteps approaching. "Perfect timing," she said with a smile, "ready for your first lesson?"

    "No," replied Pretty Special airily, "I just enjoy dressing like this and wandering into dojos."

    "Right… Ok, I figured we'd start with magical girl stuff and finish with some practical martial arts. Nothing fancy, but the things that will be quick to learn but still help you a lot in actual fights, like falling, rolling, and evading attacks. For the magical girl part, well… I guess the first thing is, what do you know about being one?

    "Hm?"

    "Tell me what being a magical girl is like for you—how it works for you, how you became one, what you can do, and how you do it."

    Nabiki nodded and her face took on a stricken look. "It happened after I was injured in a magical girl attack. She blasted the area and knocked me out. I wasn't even the target," she sniffled, "I was just collateral damage of her reckless attack."

    "Very funny," Ranma said flatly. "Do you want training or not?"

    Nabiki smiled. "While I was unconscious, I dreamed I was approached by a magical teddy bear looking for the girl chosen to be Pretty Special, who was destined to save the world."

    "And you tricked him into giving you the power instead."

    "Please, like I'd want the position. But he was pretty insistent that the world would end if I didn't, so being the kind hearted person I am—is there something you want to say, Saotome?"

    "Sorry, I just choked for some reason. Go on."

    "Right, so I took the position, and became Pretty Special. We discovered he actually mistook me for someone else and had a laugh about it. It all felt very real, but eventually I woke up and didn't have the powers. It wasn't until we were in Akuko's nightmare and we talked about how it worked—"

    "Why is it that you always seem to end up palling around with my challengers, anyway? This isn't a situation where you should be playing both sides, you know!"

    "I guess you're right. I probably should have just stayed quiet and not figured out I could become Pretty Special there…"

    "Fine… just do whatever you want. Like always," she added under her breath.

    "Will do. So, I transformed and killed Akuko inside her nightmare. When we woke up, she dissolved into sparkles, and I still had my powers. I tested them later, and they're not nearly as strong as they had been, though."

    Ranma frowned in thought for a long moment. "Maybe because they're actually real now instead of something you were dreaming. I still don't know how that happened; maybe you absorbed Akuko's power?"

    "No, that's not it."

    Ranma peered at her curiously. "How do you know?"

    Nabiki shrugged. "I don't know; I just know."

    "Hunh. Ok, what can you do as Pretty Special?" Ranma listened to the answer and nodded. "Versatile long range offense and some ranged defense/manipulation, not a bad start at all. You'll want to improve what you have, in speed, power, and versatility. You'll also want to develop some kind of short range and defensive abilities and work on the power issue. We can't really throw around magical attacks in here, so we'll start with theory."

    At Nabiki's raised eyebrow, Ranma shook her head. "Even in regular martial arts, theory is important. You can practice moves forever, but if you don't know what you're trying to do and why it works the way it does, you'll only get so far; you also won't be able to develop your own techniques without it. Yeah, you can eventually pick up the theory through lots of experience, but it works better the other way around. It's even more important for a magical girl, unless you just want to be throwing around the powers that came with the deal."

    Ranma coughed. "At least, that's my experience as the Avatar of Light. I can't say for sure it works the same for other magical girls. Even worse, your powers may actually be dependent on how well you connect with their source; when I fought Henri, I … well, I was afraid the Light could maybe overwhelm me, wash away what made me me, so I focused on keeping myself separate from it, and I was much weaker until I realized what was happening and stopped.

    "So, since the connection to your power source can affect everything else, we should probably start there. Get in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and think about the source of your power." She watched as Pretty Special adjusted her stance, announcing clear as day to her that the girl had grown up around martial artists, even if she wasn't one herself, and closed her eyes. After a moment, the other girl's brow furrowed and her lips shifted into a slight frown.

    "Doing all right there, Nabiki? Er, you do know what the source of your power is, don't you?"

    "It hasn't come up before now."

    "Okay, let's try to figure it out, then. Can you feel it at all? For me, I'm infused with the Light all the time and can feel it if I focus."

    Nabiki stood silently for a long moment. "I'm not sure… I haven't really meditated before, so I can't tell if anything's different."

    "If you had something like the Light inside, you'd notice it, trust me. Something quieter, then… Do you have any techniques where you gather power?"

    "Yes."

    "Great. Start gathering just a little bit of power—actually, wait. Can you dismiss the energy you gather without it blowing up? Like I said, we can't throw around magical attacks in here."

    "Yes, I've tested that."

    "Really? Good. Most people don't think about things like that."

    "I'm not most people."

    "That's for sure. Go ahead and try it. Don't gather too much, try to do a slow and steady draw. If it starts to be too much to handle, stop and let it dissipate. Try to feel where this power is coming from and if it has a particular feel to it. Don't worry if you can't tell at first, it may take a while."

    Nabiki inhaled deeply and started gathering a trickle of energy around her left hand. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the power as a sphere of different … flavors, it seemed to her, swirling around. There was the crisp, cold snap of blue; the energetic, crackling of what was sometimes yellow, sometimes bright blue, and sometimes a mix of the two; the intense burning strength of red; the refreshing and dangerously sharp edge of something barely visible; and the pure power of bright yellow-green. After a long moment of admiring each of them growing stronger around her hand, she tried to feel where they were coming from. Long minutes passed as she tried to trace the energy back to something, but it seemed like it just sprang into existence from nothing.

    "You need to dismiss the energy, Nabiki."

    Nabiki slowly opened her eyes, and at the sight of the brightly glowing orb of energy surrounding her left hand, let the power gently flow away. "You shouldn't call me that when I'm like this."

    "Yeah, okay. So … Pretty? Special? PS?"

    Nabiki made a face. "Special, I guess. None of them sound great. Should I try again with the power sensing thing?"

    "Yeah, sometimes this sort of thing takes a long time. Like months or more. Don't worry," she added with a grin, "you'll get it, Specs."

    "No. Maybe if my costume prominently featured glasses, but as it is, it'll just confuse people."

    Nabiki closed her eyes again and gathered power around both hands this time. It felt similar, though some of the flavors were slightly different. She wasn't sure how long she spent before she was told to release the energy and try again. A few minutes into that attempt, she finally had some success when she turned her attention from the energy gathering around her hands and focused on herself. There was a power within her, warm, comforting, and full of limitless possibility. She basked in it for a time and then, with no more than a thought, traced it back to what it was connected to.

    Nabiki opened her eyes and smiled. "I found it."

    "Great! What is it?"

    "Everything."


    Author's Note (6/16/24): Even if I don't say it every chapter, thank you to Sunshine Temple for prereading and giving feedback. I do appreciate likes from readers, but what I really love are comments. I want to know what people think—what they like, dislike, or find confusing. It helps me write a better story.
     
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