Ranma would never be accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he hadn’t survived ten years on the road with the panda by being a complete fool.
“I’ve had people feed me lines like that before,” drawled the pig-tailed boy, watching the wizard blink in surprise. “So what exactly is it you want me to do?”
Definitely more perceptive than he looks. “Well, to put it bluntly, I want to buy your curse.”
Now it was Ranma’s turn to blink. “Buy it? You think I can just… can I just give it away?” demanded Ranma. Was it possible?
The wizard shrugged. “In short; yes, it is that simple, with the right spell. Of course,” he continued, seeing the growing expression of cautious anticipation on the boy’s face “that doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
“Ah,” Ranma commented, now this sounded familiar. Still, it was nice to be offered a choice to do something crazy and/or dangerous, rather than being dragged into at the whim of the universe. “So, exactly what kinda’ hoops am I gonna have to jump through ta get rid of it?”
The old man gave him a small smile, pleased that he caught on quickly. Flipping the sign on the door to Closed, he shuffled towards the curtain at the back of the room, motioning for him to follow.
Deciding that the old man probably wasn’t the sort to spring something unpleasant on him without warning, Ranma followed him into…
Well, what looked like a cross between a library, a chemistry lab (they had one at Furinkan, but Ranma had been banned from entering it after the Dissolving Clothes Incident) and a second-hand junk store. Books littered the shelves, interspersed with random curios like skulls, puzzle boxes, fossils, crystallized amphibians (“when you want a princess to break your curse, look for the ones without snakes for hair”) and others that he couldn’t begin to describe. A table along the far wall held beakers, bottles and wooden boxes with labels written in some foreign language, arranged around a work top and sink combination, covered with scratches and stains.
There was also a stuffed sheep suspended from the ceiling. It possessed green wool, gray eyes and a perplexed expression.
The old man nodded and pulled out a couple of chairs. “Take a seat, my boy, and I’ll explain what’s needed.”
After seating himself, the wizard pulled an old pipe from behind his ear (no, literally) and lit it with a snap of his fingers. Taking a brief draw, he exhaled a ring of purplish smoke, scattered with twinkling points of light. Drifting upwards, it spread across the ceiling, giving a mystical, starlit cast to the room.
“Now than, how much do you know about souls?”
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(Posted Sun, 11 May 2014 14:06)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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