"UKYOU!!"
Ranma's cry pierced the night as sharply as Mousse's blades
had pierced the okonomiaki chef's body. He ran across the yard,
heedless of possible attacks. When he reached the spot where
she had fallen, he slumped to his knees, which were suddenly
unable to support his weight, and cradled her head in his lap.
"Ukyou...."
Slowly, cautiously, the others approached. He could feel
them, could feel their presence, surrounding him, and it made
him want to vomit. All this hatred, this violence, this
stupidity, and what had it come to, in the end? An innocent
girl, his best friend, cut down by a vicious, unwarranted
attack.
Through his tears he noticed she was still breathing.
"Somebody call an ambulance--Now!" Soun Tendo broke from the
others and went inside to call.
"Saotome...." Mousse's voice, sounding apologetic.
Ranma didn't care, didn't want to hear the pathetic
rationalizations, the revival of petty quarrels. "Go."
"I...Alright. We will return to the cafe...."
"No. I want you to leave. Permanently. Take Shampoo and
Cologne and get out of Japan. Go back to China."
Shampoo looked stunned. "But Shampoo cannot go back to
village without husband...."
"Then go to Hong Kong. Or Beijing. Or go to America. Or go
to Hell for all I care. But if any of you is still in Nerima by
morning, I'll kill you." He paused, looked up at them with ice
in his eyes. "Do you understand?"
Eyeglasses or no, Mousse could feel the venom in Ranma's
voice, and he knew Ranma was telling the truth. "Come, Shampoo.
We must pack."
Shampoo looked like she was thinking about arguing, and then
gave in to the inevitable. Quietly, head hung low, she followed
in Mousse's trail.
"Ranma...." It was Akane.
Ranma turned that icy stare on her. "What?"
Akane whispered, barely audible, "Nabiki...."
The concern in her voice cut through the haze of Ranma's
pain. He gave a sickly grin.
"Of course. We can't leave her in Kodachi's hands, can we?"
He paused, considering his options. "Ryouga--you and I will go
over to the Kunou mansion, I can fill you in on the way there."
He stood and faced Akane. "I need you to go with Ukyou to
the hospital." He cut off the protest he could see forming on
her lips. "I know you want to come with, but I need someone I
can trust to go with her."
Akane's eyes seemed to cloud with doubt and indecision. He
took her by the shoulders and gave a very gentle shake. "Please,
Akane--I need you to trust me, and I need to be able to trust
you, too." His voice broke as he reached the end of his plea.
Akane hesitated just a moment more, then gave a mute nod.
"Thank you," Ranma said, gratitude flowing through his eyes.
Genma's voice broke the delicate equilibrium. "What do you
want me to do, Boy?"
"I want you to stay right here." Again, ice had entered
Ranma's voice.
Genma stammered, confusion stifling his usual verbosity.
"Because, you see, if you were to go with Ukyou, or come with
Ryouga and me, then I'd be counting on you." He faced his
father and Genma saw that the ice was in his eyes, as well.
"And we have finally proven that I can't do that, haven't we?"
Genma fell back, his son's words hurting more than any of the
blows the older man had received in any combat. "What do you
mean, Boy?"
"I trusted you to handle things here. I counted on you to
keep it from getting serious. And you blew it. Again. How
many people do you have to fail, Old Man, before you finally get
it? How many have to suffer from your cowardice, your lack of
honor, your betrayals?"
Genma was in full retreat, now, backing away from his son.
"I'm sorry--you--You're right, I...."
"You're sorry, all right. You're the sorriest excuse for a
man to walk this Earth."
Ranma turned and faced the outer wall to the yard. "C'mon,
Ryouga, we've got work to do."
The two of them leapt silently into the night, leaving Genma
weeping on the grass. Soun came out and tried to comfort his
old friend, while the night was lit up by the lights of the
newly-arrived ambulance.
**********************************************************
Pain. Darkness.
{Well, I should be able to do something about one of
those...}
Carefully, Nabiki opened her eyes. The sight before her did
nothing to ease her concerns.
She was, as near as she could tell, in the Kuno's wine
cellar. She could hear the labored breathing of the room's
other occupant, whom she suspected was the senior Kuno. It was
hard to tell for sure, though--he was naked, and covered with
dried blood.
The coppery smell had mixed with the vinegar scent of the
wine, and the combination caused her to gag. {I am in serious
trouble here. The "Black Rose" is obviously a few petals short
of a full bloom.}
Nabiki turned her head up to look at the handcuffs holding
her wrists to the wine rack, the movement sending another wave
of throbbing pain echoing through her skull.
She was so distracted that she actually failed to notice
Kodachi come in until the gymnast spoke. "So you are awake. I
was beginning to fear that I had killed you too soon."
The rage she had experienced in the graveyard returned,
white-hot and numbing the pain. "Yeah, well, glad I was able to
stick around long enough to spit in your face," Nabiki hissed,
matching deed to the words.
"Oh look, it wants to play. Isn't that cute? I shall enjoy
this."
Kodachi pulled out another of her ribbons. Even in the gloom
of the cellar, Nabiki could make out the gleam of the razor-thin
wire that made the ribbon's edge.
"Feel free to scream, dear girl. After all, self-expression
is healthy."
It took five minutes for Nabiki to take her up on the offer.
***********************************************************
Ryouga ran next to Ranma, passing through the darkened Nerima
streets. He was worried. "Ranma, about what you said to your
father, before...."
"I don't want to talk about it. Right now we have more
important things to worry about than my old man's feelings,
right?"
"Ok, I understand...." Ryouga paused. "How do you want to
tackle the mansion? That place is a madhouse."
"You said it. Our best hope is the element of surprise. I
figure that Kodachi won't be expecting us this soon--that should
be an element in our favor. Remember, if you see Sasuke, take
him out, fast. He may not be as cracked as Kodachi, but he'll
do whatever she says--and he knows that place better than anyone
else."
"Got it. I just wish we had more going for us than the
possibility of surprising them."
"It'll have to do."
***********************************************************
Kodachi was skilled at what she did--Nabiki would have to
give her that. In an hour-long session of torture, the gymnast
had never once pushed her over the edge into unconciousness.
Nabiki had been aware of every cut, every bruise, every
broken bone. When it had looked like any more abuse would push
her over the edge, the Black Rose switched targets, working her
father over with the same attention to detail.
Just when Nabiki was sure she could take no more, the little
portable phone rang. Kodachi paused in her efforts, then set
down her tools and went over to pick it up.
"Hello, this is Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose, rising young
star of the Martial Arts Gymnastics scene, speaking...Yes, I
know who this is...WHAT?!? How did they know....Of course, it
must have been that...Thank you."
Hanging up, Kodachi walked back to the hapless pair. "It
seems I shall have to rebuke Sasuke. It would appear that his
carelessness earlier this evening has resulted in a valiant
rescue attempt. But do not worry, my dear." She drew close,
looking Nabiki square in the eyes. "I shall make certain that
no one interrupts your visit. Never let it be said that the
House of Kunou was lax in its hospitality."
"Now you wait right here, and we'll continue our fun when I
return from preparing for our 'guests'."
{Like Hell I will, you refugee from from a Clive Barker
movie...}
***********************************************************
Moving silently, the two boys leapt over the fence like a
pair of panthers. Without a word, they moved into the garden of
the Kunou mansion, eyes searching for any sign of the dreaded
booby-traps.
Oddly, the trip to the back door of the house was uneventful,
even boring. Somehow, this only put Ranma's and Ryouga's nerves
even more on edge.
Ranma was puzzled. {Why haven't we been challenged. I'd've
bet anything that that psycho put Sasuke on guard duty someplace
around here....}
Working in absolute silence, Ryouga eased the glass door
open. {Surely we will face some kind of obstacle here....}
Suddenly, a whisper of wind warned the two boys to leap to
the sides as the form of the Kunou's ninja guardian dove toward
them, katana outstretched to pierce the flesh of anyone too slow
to escape.
Then he was gone.
Ranma stood, confused. "Where did he go?"
He jumped as he felt an oddly weak kick strike the back of
his head. He whirled in mid-air, and confronted...
...the corpse of Sasuke, pierced with meat hooks and hanging
from the ceiling by chains.
Ryouga was looking ill.
"Man, I never thought Kodachi would go this far. Her
brother's death must have messed her up even more than I
thought..." Suddenly, Ranma remembered that odd, feral look
Kodachi had given him at the funeral. {Now, where else have I
seen that look...?} Ignoring a deep-seated instinct that he was
missing something important, he pushed the conundrum from his
mind. {Can't let myself get distracted.}
"C'mon, Ryouga, we have to find Nabiki--fast." The fanged
boy just nodded mutely, seeming grateful for any excuse to get
away from the grisly deadfall.
***********************************************************
Kodachi descended back into the cellar, smiling. The traps
she had activated after...disciplining Sasuke would be adequate,
she was sure, to the task of capturing any intruders, without
killing them. After all, her darling Ranma might be among them,
and she certainly did not want to hurt him. She had such
wonderful plans for their wedding night....
Enthralled by her nuptual speculations, Kodachi entered the
wine cellar, prepared to continue her "work".
And stopped dead.
The Tendou Bitch was gone.
***********************************************************
Nabiki ran through the labyrinth that ran beneath the
mansion.
Getting out of the handcuffs hadn't been easy, but Nabiki had
had a couple of years to practice the fine art of lockpicking.
The handcuffs had been tougher than her classmates' diary clasps
and locker padlocks, and the pain had made movement almost
unbearable, but the principles had remained the same.
She had considered stopping to help the senior Kunou, but she
wasn't sure how long she had before Kodachi returned. Besides
which, if even half of Kodachi's ramblings during the last hour
had been true, the wretch had been the ultimate cause of all
this. {Dammit. You'd think that somebody in this town would
have a father that was worth something....}
She ran, not knowing what to look for. And that's when she
found it, leaning against the wall in a small alcove.
A wooden bokken.
***********************************************************
Ranma and Ryouga passed through trap after trap, looking for
the middle Tendo sister. After a brief discussion, they had
decided to start in the attic and work their way down.
Time after time they worked together to escape cages, avoid
darts, spot trip-wires, and otherwise avoid the dangers of the
house.
Now they stood at the doorway to the cellar.
Ranma's only words were, "It figures."
And without a thought for themselves, the two plunged into
the darkness.
***********************************************************
{Nabiki}
Nabiki spun about, trying to find the one who had spoken her
name. For a moment, it had sounded like...
"Kunou-baby?"
{I am here, with you}
Nabiki stared at the wooden weapon in her hands. {No way.}
A sense of Kunou's presence flowed over, through her. {It is
true. I have returned to help you finish what I failed to do.
For too long I allowed myself to be blinded by love to see my
sister's true condition. I will not allow that mistake to
consume you, as well.}
{Oh, Kunou...I-I loved you so much.}
{And I you. But our time is short, if we are to stop my
sister's dementia before it claims any more victims.}
Suddenly Nabiki's rational side asserted itself. {And how do
you propose we do that? In my hands, this stick of yours is
little more than a crutch.}
{It can be more than that, if I guide your hands.}
An instinctive revulsion, buried deep within Nabiki's soul,
came to the fore with a rush. {You mean... like possession?}
{No, not really. It is more like a joining of the souls, so
that you can draw upon my experience.}
Nabiki considered for a moment. {Well, that sounds a little
bit better....}
{Yes, but there is something you should know. In order for
you to be able to respond with the instinctive level of a
master, the gestalt will have to be almost total. Nothing will
be held back. You and I will share secrets that two lovers
would not share after a lifetime together.}
Again, Nabiki was given pause by Kunou's implication, until
cold, hard reality hit her. {I don't really have a choice, now
do I? Besides, I think... I think you deserve to know it all.}
{Very well.}
***********************************************************
She saw it all. The day the Kunou house had shattered, an
innocent game gone so horribly awry. Later encounters, when he
tried to comfort his weeping sister, and she had turned the
contact into something more primal. The pain when he realized
that the child of one of those encounters had been aborted by
their father's private doctors, over Kodachi's screams of
protest.
She also saw with him the shadow-enshrouded blackmailer who
had somehow managed to learn all of this, and the shame he had
felt at the absurd tasks he had been required to perform to keep
it secret. The pompous posturing, the isolation of Akane from
the company of her male peers, even his alleged ignorance of the
"pig-tailed girl's" identity--All of it a lie, an act at the
bequest of his unknown tormentor.
She felt him knowing her, as well. The shame of thephotos.
And again, the unknown extortionist, the one who had forced her,
time and again, to commit innumerable crimes to keep the
secret--blackmail, theft, forgery, once even prostitution in a
slum district of Tokyo. And she realized, to her horror and
confusion, that their tormentors shared the same voice....
And she felt his love. Warm, healing, it embraced her and
filled her until she thought she would burst with it.
As they reached a state of gestalt, she felt herself
rejuvenated. {This one last time, my love, we will stand
together.} Neither was sure whose thought it was, or if it even
mattered.
***********************************************************
Chapter Eight
Hmmm....It looks like this thing is going to run a little longer than 10 chapters--but, hey, it was originally gonna be a wild one-shot, so who cares about schedules, right? OK, so I wimped out on killing Ukyo. I told you she was my favorite. Besides, I think I see other things on her horizon.... I'm seeing three more chapters, right now, but I can't guarantee that more won't slip in.
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