"Not particularly," said Rei, just tossing a blanket over the snoring maid.
"Where's Hotaru?" asked Setsuna.
"She left three hours ago with Maste... Ranma," said Rei, forcing herself to say the name and not the title. "She's his ninja-black sorceress after all."
"Makoto?" asked Setsuna.
"Kitchens, four hours ago, just after you left," answered Rei.
"Minako?" asked Setsuna.
"Fell asleep waiting and rolled off the other side of the bed," said Rei. "It's better that way, actually."
"Ah, well, this is what I could find out," said Setsuna, sitting down. "Reality fractured and split due to events beyond my control. What we've got left are pockets of reality called Anchors. These Anchors are stabilized areas where things stay mostly the same and the rules by which reality run are based on a single individual's Will."
"So how come Usagi isn't calling the shots?" asked Haruka.
"It isn't entirely a measure of one's personal power," explained Setsuna. "Nor a measure of one's heart. Rather it is a combination of one's will, stubborness, or drive. Usagi lacks the focus, except in extreme circumstances, though I've noted a few things that indicate she may indeed have had an influence in the formation of this Anchor."
"So these 'Anchors' are based on one's desires?" asked Michiru. On seeing Setsuna's nod, she continued. "So this Anchor is based on the desires of one 'Ranma' I suppose?"
"No, though as with Usagi I can detect influences," said Setsuna. "If it had been up to him, I suspect we'd all be master martial artists. Hotaru being a ninja would be one of his influences, for example. No, as near as I can tell from my little intelligence-gathering expedition, the one whose Will maintains this Anchor is Nodoka Saotome."
"So if she's removed, everything turns to normal?" asked Michiru.
"No, if she's removed, everything reverts to Flux," said Setsuna. "That's the other part of this multiverse. The mists you can see about twenty-five miles off? That's Flux. Physical laws as we are used to simply don't exist. Raiders and bandits out in that void use powerful magics, and anyone's Will can overwrite local reality. Picture a vase in enough detail, and you can form one out of the Flux. Yet such things fade after your attention turns to other things unless you are very powerful in such things. Those I spoke to were uncertain of the actual mechanism, it is just a form of 'magic' to them - and nobody bothers to make sense out of magic."
"So, there's no reason to stay here, is there?" asked Haruka, tugging at the short skirt of her maid outfit. "After all, the longer we stay, the more 'comfortable' this all becomes."
"There is still an enemy out there," reminded Setsuna. "Nor was I able to get all the answers I sought from the other maids and help around Castle Saotome. I do know that opposing Nodoka directly would not be wise. As the central pillar of this Anchor, her death would be followed by many others as this area reverts to Flux. Not only that, but as that central pillar - her powers are enormous within this Anchor."
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(Posted Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:14)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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