A somewhat nasty smile appeared on the priestess's face as she considered. "Yes," she said, half to herself. "The Goddess will judge you."
Ranma somehow sensed that any further pleading would only worsen his situation, so he simply waited for the woman to elaborate.
She turned around, and it took Ranma some effort to focus on her words instead of her rather... distracting backside. "Do you know what this pool is, boy?" she asked as she took a step toward the water. Before Ranma could answer, she continued. "It is a holy spring, dedicated to the Moon Goddess herself." She bent over, touching the surface of the water with her hand. "She judges and purifies those who enter it, and cleanses them of their sins." She glanced back at Ranma. "If you will consent to Her judgement, I will then let you depart. If not, I will hold you to face the High Priestess." Her smile widened. "I don't think she would appreciate being woken at this hour."
Ranma gulped audibly as he considered the possibility of an angry, powerful priestess. There was no telling what she might be able to do to him. And... well... it had been a few weeks since he'd had a bath. Just a quick dip in a pool, nothing to be worried about. At least, so he tried to convince himself. Wordlessly, he took a step forward.
"Wait," the priestess said. "Take off your clothing." "What?!" Ranma asked in a strangled voice."One enters the sacred waters as one enters the world, with neither shame nor vanity," the woman said, her voice subtly different, as though she were quoting some not entirely admired teacher.
Ranma hesitated.
"Strip!" snapped the woman. "Or should I call for the High Priestess?"
After a moment, Ranma turned around and began to take off his clothing, leaving it in a pile on the stone floor. When he finished and turned around, his hands cupped protectively between his legs, the woman was again submerged to the neck in the water.
She smirked as she glanced at Ranma's hands. "Awfully modest for someone with such a wandering eye," she commented.
Ranma could feel himself flush as he neared the pool. He tested the water with one toe, only to quickly pull out with a startled gasp. It wasn't that the water was chill - he'd bathed in half-frozen mountain streams before. It was that there was a strange charge to it - an almost painful feeling that sent shivers down his spine.
Briefly wondering whether he'd made the right choice, he stepped into the water, finding that the pool quickly deepened until his shoulders were barely above water. The sensation of the strange water on his body was indescribable, almost as though he were immersed in something alive.
"Now," the priestess said. "Duck your head under the water."
Taking a deep breath, Ranma complied.
It was a sea of silver light, and it ripped Ranma apart, put him back together, then set about tearing him apart again. He tried to scream, but no sound emerged from the throat he was no longer sure he had. A timeless eternity of pain passed with agonizing slowness, until finally the strange sensations no longer bothered Ranma, so used had he become to the feeling.
A regal, ethereal woman in a white dress appeared before him. Her piercing blue eyes were set in an aristocratic face, framed with silver hair put up in a strange, two-ponytailed style that would have seemed ludicrous on anyone else. On her, it was somehow right.
"I am the Moon Goddess Selene." The voice seemed to come from inside Ranma's head.
Ranma found that he could somehow speak. "Um... I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."
"You are a strange one, Ranma Saotome," the goddess said. "You are flawed - more than flawed - yet your heart is still pure. Perhaps you are worthy of a chance to atone."
If he could have found his feet, Ranma would have shuffled them nervously.
"You have heard of my priestess, Serenity."
It was not a question, but Ranma responded anyway. "Serenity the White?" He might not have gone to school like some fancy noble, but he'd heard of the famous heroine. After all, even after a thousand years bards still told of how she had slain the Dark Queen Beryl and banished the demon Metallia. "Of course."
"Her last wish was to have a chance for a normal life. I took her spirit, and let it take root in this time." A strange sadness passed over her face. "But this will not be her time to live in peace. There is a new Evil at work, hunting her, hunting the Silver Crystal only she can wield. She must be found, must be protected. Will you swear to do this, Ranma Saotome?"
Another of his father's lessons came to mind. "Boy," he had told him, "if you ever get caught, promise anything to get them to let you go. Once you're away you can always find a way out of the promise."
"Yes," Ranma said. "I swear."
A slight smile appeared on the goddess's face. "Your father is a clever man, Ranma Saotome, but not so clever as he thinks." Something... shifted, and Ranma felt different.
"What... what happened?" Ranma asked.
"I have changed you slightly, a small reminder of your promise." Again, the goddess smiled. "Serenity will be able to undo it, with the Silver Crystal. Now, Ranma Saotome, the moon sinks in the heavens, and my time here grows short. This temple holds one of the seven Rainbow Crystals, shards of the Silver Crystal. Take it, and seek the oracle Setsuna to the south, who knows of another." She paused, and for a third time smiled. "My priestess Rei shall aid you on your quest."
Before Ranma could say anything more, the vision of the goddess vanished, and the silver light began to wane.
Ranma's head broke the surface of the water, and he gasped for air. He shook his head several times, trying to clear his head of an odd ringing. His whole body felt... strange, out of place. He shook his head again.
"I'm... I'm supposed to give you the Rainbow Crystal?"
The priestess's voice was shocked, and Ranma realized the woman - Rei, he guessed - must have had a visitation of her own. Their eyes met, and Rei suddenly smirked. "Well, at least you didn't get away entirely unpunished."Ranma blinked, then his hands went first to his chest, then between his legs. After a long, frozen moment, she screamed.
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(Posted Sun, 15 Feb 2004 22:44)
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