Nabiki sighed with relief as she saw Ranma exit the school and walk across the school lawn toward where she sat at the base of what she had come to think of as their lunch tree. Just seeing him was enough to ease her pounding headache. Of course, part of that might have been because as soon as she’d seen him she’d stopped trying to extend her empathic sense. No, you’re not getting more paranoid, not at all, the middle Tendo thought sarcastically to herself. She had been growing increasingly frustrated over the past four days at her failure to narrow the list of Awakened she’d gotten from Nodoka down to a manageable number — she’d even gotten desperate enough to ask for any information her blackmail victims might have, with the promise of an end to all payments for anyone that came up with anything useful.
And the Amazons haunting the dojo and following Ranma wherever he went (one of them always Shampoo) hadn’t helped. She and Ranma had managed to corner Shampoo and demand to know why, but the purple-haired Amazon had refused to say. All she’d been willing to tell them was that Genma was no longer her husband, and that she wasn’t pursuing Ranma.
And then there’s Akane, Nabiki added as she saw her sister notice Ranma from where she sat with her friends, and the way the youngest Tendo’s eyes flinched away from her sensei — Nabiki hadn’t had any luck yet coming up with a practical way for Akane to see “Ranko” yet, either. The result was that, even though her apology the morning Nabiki had given her a dressing down had been sincere, and she was really trying to accept Ranma, she just couldn’t — not, at least, when Ranma wasn’t actually teaching her in the dojo. The result was that the two avoided each other as much as possible. At least she’s agreed to maintain the pretense that Ranma and “Ranko” are separate people, that’s something, Nabiki reassured herself. Yeah, right, grasping at straws much? Maybe you should try the one idea you’ve had so far tonight instead of this weekend — it’s useless for sparring, but it would at least let Akane see what “Ranko” looks like. Maybe if she’s able to attach a face to the name she’ll relax a little. That idea seemed better the more she thought about it — it would get it out of the way before they tried to break the combined curse on Kasumi and Dr. Tofu.
Ranma plopped down beside her, and Nabiki gave her fiancé her first smile since arriving at school. “So, are they still out there?” she asked.
“Yeah, they are — Shampoo and two others, the same two from this mornin’,” Ranma grumbled. “I’m gettin’ a little tired of this. But at least they still don’t seem ta be able ta see Ranko like the old crone, that’s somethin’.”
And at least it gave you some more time in nature spirit form, didn’t it, love? Another problem she’d actually managed to forget for a few minutes — the way Ranma was spending as much time as he could manage as a succubus, practically all the time he wasn’t in school, eating, studying, or training Akane. She felt like the young man she had met and come to love in her dreams even before he’d arrived at the dojo was slowly slipping away and she was powerless to prevent it.
Stop it! Nabiki scolded herself, glad that Ranma was human at the moment and couldn’t sense her growing depression. You’re a smart girl, you’ve always come up with answers before, and you will again. Just give it some time. She firmly ignored the quiet voice in the back of her mind telling her that time might be something she didn’t have.
“Go on,” Miyo encouraged her long-time friend, nodding toward Nabiki and her fiancé sitting several trees away. “She doesn’t really eat people for breakfast, you know. Look, she’s even got a smile on her face.”
“Sure, but she’s with Ranma,” Maki responded. “She’s always smiling when she’s with him, and never when she isn’t.”
“So now’s a good time, when she’s in a better mood,” Miyo riposted, then sighed when her friend continued to stall. “Look, do you want Nabiki off your sister’s back, or what? Just go, tell her what you told me and ask her to apply the reward to the payments your sister has been making.”
“Are you sure the information’s good?” Maki asked hesitantly as she watched the Ice Queen finish her bento then lie down with her fiancé’s stomach for a pillow. “I never knew you were into all that magic stuff, and I’ve known you all my life!”
“I know, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but the real Initiates don’t let other people know they are if they can help it — people that don’t believe think you’re weird, it can make it harder to get a job. And you aren’t even lying, really. You really have been keeping an eye on Gosunkugi, and you really did notice him using the storage shed — you just didn’t realize what it meant until I told you.”
“Well, okay, if you’re sure....”
Alerted by the nervous fear of the first year, low powered Awakened girl approaching, Nabiki looked over from where she was lying on the grass with her head on Ranma’s stomach, his hand stroking her hair. She frowned for a moment before carefully putting on the nonthreatening version of her Ice Queen face even as she suppressed a sigh. Come on, I’m not that much of a monster, am I? “Yes, what can we do for you?” she asked coolly when the younger girl stopped by the couple.
“Uh ... I ... that is ...” The girl broke off, took a deep breath, and tried again. “I’m Konishi Maki, you know my older sister Aiko.” Nabiki nodded, recognizing the name from her list of monthly payments. “Well ... you sent out an email a few days ago asking for information?”
Nabiki nodded again, abruptly sitting up. “Yes, I did. I’m a little surprised your sister took it seriously enough to show it to you. Isn’t she the one that’s still insisting that Ranko is a prank of some kind?”
Maki blushed. “Yeah, she thought it was some kind of prank, and she ... well, she went off on a rant about how you were playing with her. If I give you the information instead of big sis, will you still stop her payments?”
Nabiki nodded instantly. “Of course, I’ll be happy to consider you an agent for your sister, have a seat. So, what do you have for me?”
“It’s Gosunkugi,” Maki started as she carefully sat. “He really creeps me out, so I keep an eye on him whenever he’s around. A few times, I’ve seen him go into the storage shed by the wall over there.” She pointed along the wall around the school grounds from the corner they were sitting in. Nabiki started in surprise when she noticed it. “I wondered what he was up to, so once I snuck up after he went in and heard some sort of chanting — there was a weird smell, too. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he really doesn’t like you. He glares at you whenever you’re around him. Maybe ... maybe he’s doing something about it? I guess if nature spirits really exist magic might work, too.”
“Gosunkugi ...” Nabiki said slowly. “You mean Gosunkugi Hikaru?” Maki nodded vigorously. “Interesting, I hadn’t considered him ... he isn’t in my year and always seems to just fade into the background.” He wasn’t on the list Nodoka — Mother — gave me, either ... but his father was, and as a demon summoner. And he was one of the two Awakened in Akane’s class strong enough to actually see “Ranko” that were there when Ranma and Kuno took their dive into the pool. Nodding, she said, “I’ll look into it and see what I come up with. You’re in Ranma’s and Akane’s class, right?” Maki nodded again. “Then one of them will let you know what I find, and whether it’s worth enough to stop your sister’s payments.”
Maki waited, but when Nabiki didn’t say anything more, she murmured her thanks and stood up to scurry away. Keeping her Ice Queen mask firmly in place, Nabiki watched with interest as Maki rejoined the other Awakened that had been there that first day Ranma attended.
“Uh, Nabs,” Ranma asked, “What shed was she talkin’ about?”
“The one right over there,” Nabiki replied, discreetly pointing along the wall, then stiffened as she watched Ranma’s eyes slide right over it. “You can’t see it, can you?”
“No, I can’t.” Ranma said absentmindedly. “There’s a spot that’s blurry, that my eyes don’t want to see.” His eyes narrowed and sweat beaded on his brow as he fought to focus on the blank spot, and suddenly something seemed to snap and it sprang into focus. “There it is, cool! How did he do that?”
“I don’t know,” Nabiki mused. “There’s a ritual you can cast on a person or something like a hooded cloak or long coat that would do the same thing, but it requires intent — the person under the ritual has to want to not be noticed. I have no idea how you would cast that on a place.
“Anyway, now that we know the shed is there, we’ll check it out once school starts again. I think you’ve been doing well enough in school and this is important enough that you can miss a class. Until then ...” She lay back down, putting her head in her fiancé’s lap and smiling up at him. “Where were we?”
The quick and dirty obscurity ritual complete, Nabiki glanced over at her fiancé, her eyes wandering over the nude form of the succubus floating by the sink in the high school custodian’s storage room, her smoothly muscled legs, the small bush of red hair where they joined, bountiful, red-tipped breasts, her red hair floating loose around her shoulders.... Ranma shivered at the attention, a faint blush mounting her cheeks.
“So, can you see me?” Nabiki asked, suppressing a sigh of regret at their lack of time as she walked over to turn off the sink’s faucet.
“Not really,” Ranma replied. Her eyes were continually sliding off to one side or the other as she tried to focus on her lover. “I know exactly where ya are — I can feel ya, but my eyes don’t want to focus.” Brow furrowing, she forced her gaze to center on the out-of-focus area around Nabiki. Again, she felt a sudden shock as the middle Tendo sprang into view. “There ya are!”
“So the obscurity ritual works on nature spirits’ sight, but not on other senses — just like humans. I wonder if Cherry Blossom would still be able to see my aura?” Nabiki mused. “Worth checking out later, let’s get moving. Anyone in the hallway?” she asked as she gathered up Ranma’s school uniform and tucked it into the oversized book bag she’d started using since the Tendo men’s arrival.
Ranma looked through the almost completely transparent walls, marked off where the walls for the classrooms were, and shook her head. “Looks like everybody’s in class.”
“Good, let’s go.”
Nabiki paced a half-circle around the outside walls of the shed that weren’t flush with the brick wall surrounding the school grounds, frowning at what she found — or rather didn’t find. “Nothing, not a single ward, just the glamour,” she muttered. “Is he that confident in his ability to handle anything he might attract, or is he just that stupid?” And now that I’m close, this magic definitely feels familiar. Glancing over at the succubus floating beside her, she asked, “Can you sense anything? See any traps inside?”
“Just the — what did ya call it? Glamour? — just that,” Ranma replied as she tried to see if there were any barely visible shapes within the confines of the shed. Doubtfully, she added, “I’m not seein’ anything that looks like a trap — some shelves, I think, maybe a desk.”
“Good enough,” Nabiki said, and carefully tried the doorknob — unlocked. Chalking up one more to Gosunkugi’s stupidity, she took a deep breath and yanked open the door while stepping back and to the side — nothing. What an idiot. Though now that I think about it, the obscurity ritual he somehow cast on the shed would work on any nature spirits or demons around without the emotions or auras all living beings have. And without the feel that wards would have, the shed should be overlooked by pretty much everyone but the most powerful Awakened and more powerful demons.
Shaking herself clear of her musings, the Tendo Initiate stepped into the shed, followed by the redheaded succubus, and strolled around, examining the room’s contents. A smooth cement floor, washed clean, perfect for ritual circles; shelves with clear glass jars full of various colors of chalk, incense burners and boxes of various types of incense to burn in them; candles, some scented; a stack of books on the small table, some of the titles making her flinch.
And now that she was inside the obscurity ritual’s boundary, her sense of recently performed magic was shouting at her — unusually so, if she didn’t know better she’d have thought there was an active ritual being performed. I wonder if the process of attaching the obscurity ritual to a place somehow locked in the power raised, kept it from dissipating? And that power has a very familiar feel, too. I wonder why Gosunkugi targeted me? I don’t think we’ve exchanged three whole sentences.
She took one last look around the small room, then turned for the door. “Come on, Ranma, there’s nothing more to learn here, let’s get back to school, get you changed back.”
“So what did ya learn?” Ranma asked as she floated alongside her fiancée. “Why would Gosunkugi have all his magic stuff out here?”
“He doesn’t,” Nabiki replied. “The supplies in the shed are the basics, not enough for most rituals. He must just use the shed for rituals, and bring whatever extra he needs for whatever ritual he’s planning on.”
“Oh.” Ranma waited for a few moments, then asked, “And did he do it?”
“Yeah.”
From the roof of the school, Gorash watched as the two teenagers passed below it and disappeared into the school, then turned to the imp that had recently joined it and the other two imps Mara had set to spying on Ranma. “So, Geresh, are you going to tell Gosunkugi that Nabiki and Ranma have found his secret clubhouse?”
Geresh shook its head with a toothy grin, before putting on an innocent air. “No, I’m afraid when my Great and Powerful Master summoned me, he only told me to alert him when Ranma spends time as a succubus outside Nabiki’s wards when they aren’t in school. He somehow neglected to mention reporting anything they do that might interest him. I’m sure that was just an oversight on his part, but he was very insistent that I follow his instructions to the letter.”
The two imps chuckled, then settled down for the long wait for school to get out.
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(Posted Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:36)
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