Ranma was still feeling groggy as he awoke, but he could tell two very important things right away: first, that he was back in his bed, and second, that his wife was looking at him with concern (well, he didn’t really see the concern so much as he felt it through the mental link the two of them shared, but Ranma wasn’t realrly in the mood to quibble about semantics at the moment). Setsuna got right to the point: “Are you alright?”
Not only did she know perfectly well that he was, Ranma also knew that she would know, so instead of answering her question he asked one of his own. “Ugh… what happened?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
Setsuna’s husband did not do this right away, as he still had a few very basic questions to ask. “How… how long was I out?”
“Only a few hours. It’s about 11 o’clock right now.”
Ranma groaned as he tried to get up. “Man… I’m hurtin’ all over. S’pose it ain’t too bad, though… I was sure I’d broken a coupla bones.”
“You did. The only reason you aren’t in a hospital right now is because Hotaru spent about an hour using her abilities to heal you up.”
“Oh, that’s right… Michiru said somethin’ about her bein’ able ta do somethin’ like that. I gotta thank her.”
“Well, you’ll have to do it tomorrow — she really tired herself out to get you to the point where you’d only have to worry about feeling sore.”
“Oh… yeah, I guess. She didn’t need ta do that, though. I heal real fast.”
“That’s what I tried to tell her, but she insisted on helping you, anyway.”
“Oh. What does that mean?”
“I think it means she’s accepted you as a father figure, and wants to make sure that you’re around to continue being one.”
Ranma considered this for a moment before delivering his response to this possibility: “Cool.”
“Indeed. Now, would you care to explain why I saw my husband having a brush with death in an alleyway?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way….”
“Ranma, don’t try and lie to me — you were scared. I felt it. In fact, you were so scared, I thought you must have been on the brink of the Neko-ken.”
“Uh, no. I get way more scared than that when I see one of those demonic furrballs. Trust me, if I’m ever on the brink of the Neko-ken, yer definitely gonna know.”
“Well, that’s beside the point — what I want to know is how you got into a situation like that. Someone with your level of training would hardly be the careless type.”
“Well, I dunno. I mean, I saw a buncha ninjas, so I sorta figured Kuno’d sent ’em, ’cuz that’s just the kinda insensitive jerk he is, ya know. I tried ta go after the one who looked like he was in charge — ya know, ta find out for sure — but he left that guy ta take care of me, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I figured he was gonna be tough, but I’d already beaten another one of ’em earlier that night, so I didn’t really have any reason ta think I couldn’t do it, I guess. It didn’t take long before I realized he was way more skilled than I was, but that didn’t really bother me too much, ’cuz Anything Goes is designed ta help ya take on opponents who got more knowledge of the Art, so I kept at it. But then, he started doin’ all sorts of freaky stuff — that in itself wouldn’ta surprised me, but I didn’t sense him usin’ any ki. I was so surprised, I didn’t think ta try any special techniques I knew, but then, considerin’ that my best one’s powered by confidence, I don’t know how effective it woulda been.”
Ranma paused here before continuing in a slightly different vein. “So, uh, yeah, that’s about all I remember right now. Um… didja get him?”
Setsuna let out an exasperated sigh. “Sadly, no. He was already running away when I started my attack, and it looks like he managed to get away.”
“Yeah, well, ninjas have good survival instincts.”
“Hmm,” Setsuna replied with a brief, inscrutable hum.
“Ya think there’s something else?”
“Maybe. Ranma, do you think your opponent might have been using magic?”
“I dunno — I don’t really got much experience fightin’ magic users. Are ya thinkin’ that might be the reason it seemed he wasn’t usin’ ki? ’Cuz I never heard him usin’ no magic words or nothin’ like that.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t magic — chanting spells simply makes it easier for a mage to focus on what he or she is trying to accomplish. A skilled practitioner doesn’t really need to say anything.”
“Assumin’, of course, that the guy wasn’t just usin’ a ki-maskin’ technique. Ya got any particular reason for thinkin’ he used magic?”
“Because,” Setsuna said, “there was a youma attack in the Royale — though from what Usagi told me afterwards, calling it an ‘attack’ is probably an overstatement.”
“So, what, yer sayin’ is that ya think these guys were with some sorta demon thing? Like at the mall?”
“Maybe… I don’t know,” Setsuna admitted; Ranma knew as well as anyone that the only thing she hated more than not knowing something important was admitting that she didn’t know something important. “It would be nice if they were, as it would clear up several questions, but if they were there to assist the youma, one would think that they would have done so, as that demon apparently needed as much help as he could get.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I have never heard Usagi speak of a monster more derisively. She claims that she has never had an easier time defeating an enemy before — and she’s not one to exaggerate her own abilities to others; her ego isn’t nearly that insecure. I’d think that would mean that they aren’t connected, but…”
“But what?”
“But the fact that you were in the area makes it difficult to use the Time Gates to check on any possible leads. In any case, this can wait: the Senshi are having another meeting tomorrow, we’ll be discussing it then — would you mind sharing your experience with them?”
“No problem.”
“And… while I’m at it, there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Uh, okay. What is it?”
“Well, first, you have to understand that you are by far the most talented martial artist I’ve ever met, and what I’m about to say is in no way reflective on my opinions of your—”
“I’m gonna need more than the Art, ain’t I?”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that….”
“Yes, ya would. Whenever ya start stringin’ together big words with meanings I only kinda sorta know, it means yer tryin’ ta avoid sayin’ somethin’ that ya think might hurt my feelings. Ya don’t gotta worry ’bout that, Setsuna — I don’t mind hearin’ the cold, hard facts, long as they’re actually facts. Besides, it’s dangerous ta be overconfident in yer martial arts abilities ta begin with, anyway.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry — old habits, and all that. Well, what I was saying is that if you want to spend your life with me…”
“Which I do,” Ranma confirmed.
“…then you’ll probably have to supplement your Art in order to allow you to face the kind of threats we Senshi deal with on a regular basis.”
“Wait… ya actually want me ta help you guys deal with the demons an’ stuff?”
“More like I know that you’d feel miserable if I tried to convince you not to. Don’t get me wrong — I know that you’d be willing to let us do all the fighting. You wouldn’t like it, but you’d still stay out of it. But that just totally clashes with your personality. Besides, your skills would still be quite useful on the battlefield; we simply need to find ways to help you fill the gaps that can’t be filled by traditional martial arts training.”
“So, whaddya mean? Yer gonna teach me magic?”
“Perhaps… but that’s a matter best left for the meeting I spoke of.”
“Oh… okay.”
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(Posted Tue, 05 Dec 2006 04:03)
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