"Apparently the kingdom of Oni select their ruler by some ritual," said the researcher, tapping the thick report on the Doctor's desk. "That ritual chose Naru Osaka, age seven, of Crossroads Elementary School."
"Why a human princess for a kingdom of oni?" asked Doctor Mizuno, not really expecting an answer.
"No clue, but due to Mungo answering questions from his princess, we DO know rather more about the universe on the other side of the Anomaly," said the researcher. "The Oni kingdom appears to be a sort of frontier state. Authority is often who commands the greatest power, and Mungo himself is the equivalent of a champion athlete who won the position of Guardian Of Princess in some kind of large contest. Mungo's not the brightest of individuals, but he's strong enough to go about in daylight and without the protection of the fog."
"So was the tentacle beast," said Doctor Mizuno.
"Yet the tentacle creature," said the researcher, consulting a note for the name, "this 'Sikthah' never entirely left the water. We know from watching that periodically waterfowl land on the water and are almost always pulled under within minutes."
"Has Ranma met Mungo?" asked Doctor Mizuno, flipping through the report.
"No, my colleagues feel that situation could quite easily escalate out of control," said the researcher. "Mungo seems to respond to threats to 'his princess' and Ranma seems to generate an 'overwhelming threat' response in some individuals."
"So, you're treating this 'Mungo' as a 'Familiar' under the treaty?" asked Doctor Mizuno.
"I'm not familiar with that term," said the old woman, breaking her silence as she paused at the portable stove she'd been working with.
"Ah," said the bespectacled researcher. "We're using the term 'familiar' for an individual from beyond the anomaly who enters into a sort of 'servant' relationship with a human. Apparently one of the benefits is that a resistance to sunlight and ability to manifest more fully in our world. Mungo is notable in that he was resistant to sunlight prior to any contract being formed."
"Interesting," said Cologne. "So that young girl with the mechanical wolf would be one of these individuals?"
"Natsuki Kuga and Durhan, yes," said Doctor Mizuno, accepting a cup of tea from the aged Chinese matriarch. "There are several others with such relationships. Kuga-san and Durhan have provided a lot of the data on the process and how it strengthens over time."
"Durhan started out weakened by sunlight," said the researcher. "That has disappeared over time."
"There's also two familiars which are apparently not quite what the others are," said Doctor Mizuno. "Usagi Tsukino has a black cat named Luna, and Minako Aino has a white cat named Artemis. Both cats are able to talk, though they try to disguise that ability. They also act very un-cat-ish at times."
"Luna, if you keep this up," said the seven year old girl, "people are going to notice."
"This isn't right," muttered the black cat. "This is completely wrong. It shouldn't be this way!"
Usagi glanced across the schoolyard where a girl named Naru Osaka was sitting on a see-saw. The massive ogre, who seemed to weigh about as much as a dump truck, was looking at the other seat with obvious skepticism.
"This CAN'T end well," said Usagi, starting forward.
"You can't go near that thing," protested Luna.
"Oh?" asked Usagi, looking down at Luna and then over at the ogre. "What do you think is going to happen if Mungo sits down on that end of the seesaw?"
"I think..." Luna's eyes crossed briefly at the thought of the sort of acceleration that could occur to Naru if Mungo sat down.
By the time the gruesome mental imagery had finished, Usagi was off introducing herself and making friends.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:56)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.