Chapter Two
It was a big building. It wasn't tall, though, as much as it was wide. It had a big sign on it, too, which read, 'The ESP Assessment and Development Institute'.
Ranma checked her new phone to see if the names matched. She read the email on the screen in full, as well, to double check she was at the right institute, “Hiya, Saotome-nyan. Like the new phone? Pulled a favour, and got it delivered to ya. Just wanted to offer ya something in place of a cure. Why not do some studying here in Academy City? If ya are interested, check in at the ESP Assessment and Development Institute. They're good, and they're mostly clean.” The email was signed Tsuchimikado, and also had an address. She was certain she was at the right place, and decided to enter.
Inside, there was a waiting area, and a reception. It wasn't busy, but neither was it empty.
There were children, and possibly their parents about, and sitting behind the reception desk, was a girl who was possibly the receptionist, although Ranma wasn't going to jump to any conclusions about that.
Ranma approached, and greeted the receptionist. "Hi, I was told I could...." Her mind went blank. Just exactly was she told? "I wanna... apply to study in Academy City, and I was told to start here." She nervously laughed.
The receptionist girl kindly smiled. "That was good advice. Your name, please?"
As Ranma gave the girl her name, she watched the girl type it into her computer.
"You're in the database, already," said the girl. "Not so odd, to be honest. Anyone's who's ever been in the newspaper regarding an odd event is considered a possible student here in the city."
Ranma wondered what event it was in the newspaper that mentioned her, but dismissed it. There were a few, or rather, a few too many.
"You're a priority in regards to assessments and testing, which is good for you if you're impatient. In fact, oddly enough, it would appear you're priority number one."
The phone rang, and the receptionist answered it. “Hello? Ah, yes. She's right here. I'll ask.”
The receptionist asked Ranma, “Are you free for the next hour or so? One of our reseachers would like to meet with you.”
Ranma nodded.
The girl gestured to the waiting area, and handed Ranma a clipboard with differing approval and liability forms.
After sitting, she read the first liability form, “I [Insert Name here] hereby declare ESPADI is not responsible for property destruction, personality shifts, sudden telepathy or telekinesis or teleportation....” She skipped a few lines, “Electrical shocks, burns, loss of skin colour....” It wasn't forms, but rather one long form. She skipped to the end, “Or sudden uncontrollable bowel movements.”
Huh? She hesitated, but then signed it. After all, how likely was it, that she, almost fully grown, could lose control? She was trained, after all! Ever since she could remember! Even (or rather, especially) in the toilet arts!
Briefly wondering what she should call home, she penned something in, and also wrote in a phone number. Her new one. Gender? She sighed. She knew what she aspired to be, but did she have to write in her actual physical form? She did, anyhow, after a moment.
After giving to the receptionist her papers, she sat down again, and began to wait.
She watched.
Children coming, and children leaving. There were smiles of all sorts. Excited, nervous, mischievous, and even perverted. There were also tears. There was fear and agony. And rarely, there were the unaffected. And that was just the kids' parents.
Ranma was eventually summoned, and she was led to an examination room.
It wasn't a tiny room, but rather.... It looked quite futuristic, really. There were machines, hooked up to even more machines, which had monitors, and people observing on-screen data.
A lady doctor approached Ranma. "Miss Saotome. It's a pleasure." She shook Ranma's hand. "I've spent the past few weeks investigating your exploits."
"Eh?" Ranma was honestly surprised. She'd just arrived in Academy City yesterday....
"If you're worried about your privacy, relax. No one's been spying on you." The lady doctor cryptically smiled. "It was foretold you'd make your way here, eventually."
"Huh?"
The lady laughed. "Actually, it was more of a high percentage probability. We don't do mystic here. We're scientists, and it's our job to divine the world through observation rather than faith." She handed Ranma a paper.
Ranma read and studied it. It was a map. There were dots, each connecting from Nerima to Academy City to form a path. It was her path from her old home to what was hopefully her new city of residency.
"Some bigwig in the city hierarchy was hoping you would come to the city, and so had the Tree Diagram calculate if you would make it here, eventually," said the lady, trying to explain.
Tree Diagram? Ranma felt a bit lost, but was certain something would make sense, eventually.
"To put it simply, someone with power wanted you here, and was willing to use any amount of resources to get you here. Apparently, even your mother was approached by city agents. However, you'd already left home." The lady grinned. "Happily, you made it to Academy City on your own. And made it here, rather than to some other research institute." She led Ranma to a monitor, which had a paused video which showed Ranma on-screen.
Ranma, in the video, was jumping.
"A five metre high jump. Quite impressive." The lady paused speaking, as though just remembering something important. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Doctor Oh. I'm the leader of this research department."
Doctor Oh typed a command into a computer. The image on the monitor changed, and next showed Ranma running.
"60 metres in five seconds. Again, quite impressive." Doctor Oh input more commands into her computer, which changed the monitor's image. It became a montage of Ranma lifting, punching, kicking, and swimming.
"I called around, and eventually spoke with a Doctor Ono in Nerima. Said you used an inner power called chi to boost your already prodigious physical capabilities. At first, I thought the idea of you using this chi to actually be a bit far-fetched." Doctor Oh brought up a new image on-screen. "But after researching into it, I found it to be rather unique, real or not. It's very nearly mystic, but practitioners follow an almost scientific method in developing their knowledge of its mysteries. However, we're here to discern if you have already demonstrated ESP talents, or if your talents are truly mystic."
"Anyway, we'll get started exploring if you have any sort of ESP power." Doctor Oh called over an assistant, who quickly proceeded to take samples from Ranma. Hair, saliva, blood.
After a moment, Doctor Oh led Ranma to a machine that looked like an incubator. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, this machine can immediately show if the subject has ESP potential." She had the blood sample. Using a syringe, she injected the sample into an object that reminded Ranma of an egg. Next, an assistant delivered a small medicinal-looking bottle to Doctor Oh, and another syringe, which the doctor then used to inject the medicine into the egg. She opened up the incubator, and placed the egg into the centre. She said, as she closed the incubator, and then pushing a big green button on its side, "Showtime."
Ranma watched. A laser shot out, touching the egg but not burning it. It circled around the egg, again and again.
"Of course, it's hardly exciting," said Doctor Oh. "This machine will run a number of tests to simply determine whether there's the possibility of ESP in the subject. Later stages try to measure potential, and also compare it to previous tests of former candidates."
The incubator began to warm.
"A very special sort of radiation," said Doctor Oh. "It's like a microwave, except we're recording what is occurring to your DNA. It should be something interesting, I hope."
A new laser beam shot onto the egg.
Doctor Oh walked to a monitor connected to the incubator. She read aloud the data to Ranma, "ESP possibility: yes." She dismissed it, though, saying, "Of course, this is only the first test. However, my invention tends to be correct first time." She added, "Of course, the following tests also serve to show how we can trigger your powers, should you have any. Apparently, since the first test is already positive, we can probably use tried and tested methods to awaken your latent possibility."
Doctor Oh said, as though just remembering it, "We should discuss your education." She led Ranma to an office. She sat Ranma down, and took her own seat on the opposite side of the office's desk. She leaned on the desk, trying to impress upon Ranma her intent. "I'll be completely honest, Miss Saotome. About your studies. It won't be easy, of course, but what is? For one thing, your grades are... poor, which is quite a generous compliment. Academy City schools demand much more of students than even Japanese schools. Frankly, you'd struggle directly transferring into any school in the city. Happily though, these past few weeks, I've been arranging meetings with first class tutors and teachers who are definitely willing to help catch you up to the second year high school level."
Ranma asked, "How do you even know what my grades are? And, you've been meeting with people about me even though you didn't know for certain if we'd ever meet?"
Doctor Oh grinned. "Of course, your grades should be highly confidential, Miss Saotome. Unfortunately, Academy City's influence can reach into many confidential database. And, call it intuition, but I've been highly anticipating meeting you, and sensed we would meet. I've also had my assistants out in the field searching for you, and others, too, but we've always been a step behind you. It was as though you didn't like to stay still too long, as though you have other people searching you out, whom you don't wish to meet?" She paused, and then shrugged. "I don't care too much for your past, though. Only about your potential." She dismissed her conjecture. "Anyhow, about your tutors and teachers, we've worked out a timetable to have you academically ready for the next semester, which begins in three months. It'll be quite mentally intensive. A crash course in ESP, but you seem to favour such methods."
Ranma felt a bit uncomfortable. She just wanted to get into school. What was all this about following Doctor Oh's program? And another thing.... "What about money? I don't have enough to pay for what you're talking about."
"You don't need to worry about money, Miss Saotome," said Doctor Oh. "You seem have a benefactor somewhere in this city who's willing to pay any amount for your development. And also, I'm willing to sink my reputation into your development, too. In fact, it'll almost seem like a job for you, with something like a salary."
Ranma sighed. She wanted to go to school. She wanted to graduate. She wanted... to break her curse, but such was likely impossible. Two out of three ain't bad, right? And what was this doctor/scientist saying? She was gonna be enrolled into the esper development what-not?
"You do have a choice, of course," said Doctor Oh. "However, it's quite limited. Powerful people wish to develop you with or without your consent, so it's a choice of working with relatively sane and ethical me, or fending off even more enemies than you already might have, and then if you're caught, working with others who wouldn't care one-whit for your well-being."
To become an esper. To leave behind her old life.
Well, not so much abandoning her former life, but embracing something new that'd change everything.
It'd been lonely on the road. She didn't want that life anymore. But was this new... opportunity all that and a bag of chips, as Doctor Oh was pitching it to be?
She'd already signed a contract, but she was being offered a chance to back out. She didn't have to do it....
But, there were people in her past who were itching to find her in the future. She could feel them, tracing her steps, hounding her trail, and generally following her road. They were gonna catch up, eventually. And she couldn't hold them off forever. One day, she'd have to face them.
And, being a girl, there was a limit to her strength in the martial arts. She needed another edge. "Let's do it," she said, slowly but certainly.
“Fantastic! Glad to have you on board. I'd suggest having a toast, as you're now our number one prospect, but I'm working right now, and you're too young to appreciate my taste in alcohol."
It wasn't a long walk back to her apartment, but she had much to think over.
Firstly, she had in hand a bottle of pills. They looked a comfortable size for horses, but Ranma didn't know if she'd be able to get the medicine down her own throat. Take one every day, said the doctor.
Secondly, in her pocket, she had a bank card. The balance was hefty. Much more than she'd ever thought she'd have for herself. The doctor said that amount would be deposited every month.
Thirdly, she was carrying a new bag. Inside, was her new cell phone, and a number of books that the doctor suggested as reading material before her coming lessons started.
She was all set for a new life.
However....
She was walking down the city street, and felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked, seeing a boy with a good fang looking down upon her from a pedestrian overpass.
The boy, who appeared about her age, said, "It's been a long time, Saotome. You keep your neck clean for me?" The boy's name? Ryouga Hibiki.
Chapter Two End
