Cologne knew that the next part of this conversation would have to be handled with care. They would need a great deal explained to them, and would no doubt have some difficult questions that would need to be answered. But still, she could not see any other way to ensure everybody present got what they wanted. For that reason alone, for the sake of their common goal, they would have no choice but to trust her. Trust each other. And she in turn had to trust that they would do the right thing.
"What I am about to tell you does not leave this cafe." That ought to get them thinking. "My family has had in its possession for many generations a very powerful artefact. With it, a group of people may enquire a mighty spirit for advice. The spirit will then inform each of them the steps that they must take to achieve this goal."
"Ancient Orb of Kiz-hen Uht-enzal," Shampoo breathed. Yes, obviously she would know the importance of what she was saying. But the others would no doubt have many questions-
"Hold on a moment," Nabiki spoke up. Yes, of course she would. Always the first to try and figure out her own personal stake in things, even if pretending this was not the case. "If you can use it to find solutions to problems so easily, why not just use it to get Ranma?"
"Because, as I was about to explain, the Orb has a few rules. Firstly, you may only be a member of a group enquiring the spirit one time in your life. I already enquired the spirit much earlier in my life, and so will be sitting out. Secondly, the spirit will give out instructions that will ultimately cause any events every member of the group wish to occur. The only time one person enquired the spirit by herself, she was given enough simple instructions to fill out an encyclopedia! A large group of people will merit a better set of answers." She gave a meaningful look to those around the room. Yes, this was the best group to use. Each of them had very different visions of the future. Each had their own specific wants and needs. Each had different visions of a perfect future. But right now, the only one thing they all wanted was an answer to this problem. She could see it in their eyes. Even cold hearted Nabiki would not wish a meaningless death on Ranma. She might not particularly like the boy, but she also didn't hate him enough to want him dead. As for the rest of them, well, it was obvious they would do whatever it took. She just hoped the advice they'd be given wouldn't be... too unusual. "There is one other thing I should mention. The advice given will be the absolute minimum required by each of you. Once you have performed the tasks as specified, events will continue on a path that will ultimately lead to - possibly amongst other hopes you have in common - Ranma being judged manly by his mother. Shall we begin?"
She placed the Orb on the central table, and invited the others to sit around it. With that, Cologne took her leave. It was not her place to hear the instructions given to them. Besides which, someone had to make sure Mousse did not interfere.
"I know you mean to be casting that look at me and not the bucket. Either way, stop it."
The smaller figure looked up wearily at the sign wielding panda. "Stop asking questions, pop. Just... stop."
On they walked. After a while, the panda held up another sign, which read "Boy, no more slacking off in school." The sign was flipped, "I don't think either of us wants another parent's meeting."
Ranma could almost swear he heard the Principal's annoying laugh. Maybe there was a method to his madness after all.
Oh dear, she seemed to have gone cross-eyed.
While shaking that off, the orb began to glow ominously as Shampoo stopped chanting, and oh my goodness what the hell was that?
It was like some sort of giant green glowing ghost was-well the only word for it was growing. Growing, stretching, enlarging itself right out of the tiny orb sitting in front of her.
Definitely a very strange day.
"To acheive your goals, you must perform the following tasks as described," the giant green ghost said, in a voice that simultaneously echoed around the room while feeling like it could scarcely fill a teacup. "Perform any other action as you would normally. Whether you double guess yourself or not, fate has already taken into consideration."
The ghost spun around to face a white faced Mr Tendo. "Tomorrow your Master will take you on a panty raid. At the third house you visit, you will find a small object lying on the balcony. Pick it up, and leave it on the balcony of the fourth house. That is all."
There was a confused look around the table. How was that supposed to help anyone? But there was no time for that, as the ghost spun to face Kasumi.
"Tomorrow, you must serve the family a pork based dinner. The exact nature of the dish does not matter otherwise."
"Oh dear," Kasumi muttered, "We're out of pork. I'll need to buy some..."
Nabiki was next. "Later on in the week, there will be a lottery. Buy a ticket with the numbers 1, 15, 32 and the rest of the numbers do not matter."
She shot a look at the spirit, cold enough to make even it flinch. "Oh come on, that'll only get me a thousand yen..."
The spirit turned to Shampoo, and said something in mandarin. While nobody else seemed to catch what was being said, Ukyo rather enjoyed the way she squirmed. Whatever it was had to have been pretty bad...
Now it was Ukyo's turn. "Remove one of the stools from your restaurant, and place it in your bedroom. Also, find one of those mushrooms you kept in storage, and keep one that is sixteen inches long. Freeze it, and then visit the Tendo dojo in exactly sixteen weeks. Mark the date on your calender, you will forget otherwise."
Ukyo nodded, surprised that she got such a complicated one when compared to the others. Still, it didn't seem too bad. "And finally," the spirit said to Akane, "You must insist that Ranma train you in the Chestnut Fist. Continue to do so until he agrees. The very next time that you see Tatewaki Kuno, after leaving here today, you must throw whatever you are holding in your hands at him. Aim for the forehead."
With that, the spirit shrunk back into the orb. Everybody looked at each other, not knowing what to make of the very odd tasks that they had been given while Cologne hopped back into the room. "I hope you kept in mind your own tasks. You must follow those instructions as she described. Certainly, it is likely that none of you sees the series of events that will be set into motion. But I promise you this; They will intersect in ways you cannot, and never will, comprehend. Now, I suggest you leave and take stock of what you have been told."
With that, the group all returned to their homes. Each reflected on the bizarre tasks set upon them, privately. Each wondered how it could possibly help save Ranma from his mother's judgement.
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(Posted Sun, 24 May 2009 20:02)
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