Hikaru Gosunkugi had been studying magic for a week and a half, and he was having the time of his life. True, there had been this odd "for the love of all that's good stop what you're doing right now" feeling in the pit of his stomach when the mysterious man called "Max" had performed the spell that had allowed his student to store (and use) some of his "excess magical energy." His instructor had yet to explain where this energy came from, saying that at this stage in his studies he need only know that it existed. But as his studies got underway, that point was rendered utterly moot.
First off, it was just plain interesting. Gosunkugi was being exposed to a form of power that had almost fallen into complete disuse since the Industrial Revolution, and the idea that he might be seen as unique (in a less creepy way) fed his desire to learn as much as he could, as fast as he could. This turned out to be easier than expected. Most magical spells, it turned out, were not that difficult in and of themselves; one simply had to pull off a specific series of gestures, often accompanied by a focusing mantra. No, magic's real difficulty lay in accumulating the energy required to pull them off effectively. Luckily, he would be able to progress much faster; most students of magic, Max had explained, had to spend several years building up their ability to gain (and store) magical energy, or use some sort of artifact to enhance their natural ability, but in his case both of those problems were taken care of right off the bat. As a result, Gosunkugi wouldn't have to go through the extremely tedious procedures that usually kept all but the most dedicated mages from reaching significantly high levels of skill, which in turn meant he could keep learning new spells and charms.
Second, it gave him a shot with Akane. First off, Max had said with total confidence that, with the exception of really jaded types, girls loved the rose trick (even when they did think it was just sleight of hand, they thought it was terribly romantic). And fortunately for Gosunkugi, producing a rose from thin air was relatively easy (what was difficult was producing an armor-piercing rose from thin air), and he'd probably be able to do that in about a week at the rate he was going (he was already up to posies). But more importantly, he'd be able to approach Akane without getting the snot beaten out of him.
A year and a half ago, Tatewaki Kuno, the vain, eccentric captain of Furinkan's kendo squad, had made his ridiculous proclamation that he would not tolerate anyone attempting to date Akane unless that person defeated her in combat. True, he hadn't actually said her defeat would necessarily result in a date, but he had to have known that the hormonally crazed boys of the school (who made up the vast majority of Furinkan's male population) would interpret it that way. So, Akane had to fight her way through a horde of morons every morning. It had calmed down a bit when it was discovered that her friend Ranma wouldn't stand for this—and unlike Kuno, he'd had Akane's full support, as well as an insane amount of fighting skill (even for Nerima).
But now, both Ranma and Kuno were gone; Ranma had graduated a semester early and was off doing who-knew-what who-knew-where, while Kuno's family connections had proved potent enough to get him into Waseda University. Kuno's absence should have remedied Akane's situation. The problem was that while Kuno might not have been enrolled at Furinkan anymore, he was hardly absent.
In fact, Kuno actually made it a point to show up at Furinkan once or twice a week to make sure that his proclamation wasn't being violated—the first time he'd returned, he'd put a guy in the hospital for the crime of asking Akane what time it was. Apparently, he was dead-set on the idea that Akane was in love with him, and he refused to let anyone else horn in on what he considered to be his territory. No doubt this mix of arrogance and obsession would have resulted in stalking charges being filed against him were it not for those aforementioned family connections—when your father is the principal of the school, it's easy to come up with a "legitimate" reason for being there, even if you actually hate that father's guts. Thus, while Akane's life had been improved to a degree (the morning horde didn't resurface after Ranma left, except for a few diehards who'd kept at it in the face of continuing defeat and humiliation), most of those in the dating pool were still too afraid of Kuno to even approach her.
Gosunkugi, naturally, was one such student. He wasn't an idiot; he knew that there was no way that he'd ever be able to stand up to Kuno, who, for all his bluster, actually was pretty damn good—enough that there was speculation that he really could beat Akane if he ever were to fight her seriously. He also knew that there was no way that Akane would ever date Kuno willingly, since the kendoist's supposed infatuation with the girl was really just a thinly disguised infatuation with himself. Still, Kuno declared that anyone who attempted any sort of romantic liaison with the youngest Tendo without first fulfilling his ridiculous requirements would face his wrath—which meant that as long as Kuno was around, any chance he had with Akane, no matter how miniscule, would be crushed before it had the chance to bloom. Clearly, Kuno had to go—but how?
The answer was obvious—magic. Somehow, he'd have to use his abilities to take Kuno out of the equation. He wasn't going to kill him, of course (Gosunkugi wasn't quite that vindictive), but rather, he just wanted to have the chance to woo Akane. It wasn't even like this was totally selfish, either: if Kuno was gone, Akane would be able to have a relatively normal romantic life, even if she wasn't eternally grateful to Gosunkugi for fixing all of her problems.
Of course, he would have to use some more advanced spells—ones that Max had only shown him, rather than taught him—but that wouldn't be too much of a problem. Gosunkugi had always had a pretty good memory, especially if it was something he was particularly interested in, and the books on magical theory his teacher had given him filled in many of the blank spots. He certainly wasn't hurting for the raw magical energy required for what he intended to do—though he'd probably have to use a lot more of it than an experienced mage would, since it would be mostly unrefined. And he wouldn't even be violating his instructor's exhortation for caution. After all, Max had only said that he wasn't allowed to do anything that would call attention to himself; if he did this right, all the attention would be on Kuno....
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(Posted Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:00)
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