"Ohohohohohohoho!! Where are you, my little plaything? We
have so much to do tonight!" Kodachi raced through the dark
tunnels beneath the Kuno mansion, searching for her escaped
"playmate".
She cursed herself for not making sure the little slut was
securely bound. Despite her quickly disappearing grasp on
reality, some instinct from the reptillian part of her mind
warned her that if Nabiki Tendou escaped from her, the game
would be up. Although her money and influence had been enough
to secure a coroner's finding of "death by misadventure",
*without* an autopsy, she had no illusions about what would
happen if a bedraggled Nabiki suddenly showed up at the police
station, announcing what--and who--had really caused Tatewaki's
untimely end.
She turned a corner, and saw her intended victim, Nabiki
Tendo, standing there. Nabiki held a wooden bokken with an
unsteady grip. Kodachi seethed with rage. {How dare the little
hussy lay her unworthy paws on the rightful property of the
House of Kunou? I shall have to correct this travesty!}
"So, I see you have failed to learn anything from our time
together, Nabiki Tendo."
Nabiki turned, still a little woozy from the gestalt she had
established with Tatewaki. Trying to buy some time to get her
head together, she asked with an artfully weak voice, "Wh-what
do y-you mean, Kodachi?"
"I speak of the way you have compounded your earlier
transgressions by taking up the very weapon of him whose death
you caused. Of course, if you had any respect for propiety, you
would never have sank your greedy little claws into my darling
Tatewaki in the first place."
"I was under the impression that Tatewaki was his own man."
The barb struck home. "He was mine! Mine to love, to
hold... Why must you foul Tendo girls keep getting in the way?"
Nabiki felt compassion steal into her heart. After what she
had learned, it was all too easy to understand this demented
little girl.
{Be strong, Nabiki. I, too, was compassionate and
understanding, and look at the results.} Tatewaki's voice in
her head bolstered her resolve.
{Then I'll let her decide her fate.} Nabiki allowed the
point of her weapon to dip, feigning weakness. Kodachi, seeing
the opening, charged, razor-edged hoop poised to strike.
Nabiki released control of her body to Tatewaki Kuno's
spirit. With astounding speed, the bokken came up to a combat
position.
Kodachi saw the stance her target had assumed, and recognized
it, from long hours of watching Sasuke and Tatewaki spar. She
hesitated, and in that moment was lost.
"Strike!" The hoop went flying from her hands. "Strike!"
An edged ribbon dropped from its holster. With each cry,
another weapon was dropped, or she was forced further away from
those that had already fallen. Taken off-guard, it was all
Kodachi could do to keep the head shots from connecting. Soon,
the unceasing attacks pinned Kodachi against the dirt wall of
the cellar, weaponless.
Confused and frightened by this sudden reversal, Kodachi
looked searchingly at her opponent, trying to understand how she
had so rapidly lost control of the situation. Then it came to
her, in a moment of clarity that had become rare in her advanced
dementia.
"Tatewaki? You?"
"Yes, Sister," Tatewaki said with Nabiki's voice, "I am here.
You and I have unfinished business. But know this--No matter
what you have done, no matter how this comes out, I shall still
love you, always."
Nabiki/Tatewaki stepped back, prepared to beat the girl into
submission. Kodachi simply stared, her eyes filled with regrets
that few could have fathomed. "Kill me, please, my brother.
Kill me now, while my head is still clear."
Hesitation. "I--I do not know if I can."
"Then...DIE!!!" Kodachi leapt for Nabiki's throat. Reacting
instinctvely, Tatewaki brought the weapon to point at her,
hoping to force her to the side. Instead, with a look of
animalisitc fury, Kodachi grabbed the weapon and drove it, with
the strength of the mad, into her own breast.
Overcome by horror, pain and grief, Nabiki slumped down to
the ground. As she passed out, she saw a look of peace come
over the mad girl's face. {Funny, isn't it? Maybe that's the
only peace any of us will ever know...}
***********************************************************
The scene was unchanged when Ranma and Ryouga, worn out from
dodging all the death traps in the house, came running into the
chamber. Kodachi's lifeless form was surrounded by a pool of
her own blood. Nabiki, still clutching the bokken, lay across
from her in a heap.
"Oh man...." Ranma moved to check on Nabiki, and recoiled
when he saw the marks left by Kodachi's torture. "She looks
like she's been through Hell."
"Looks like she was able to get her own back, though," Ryouga
said, a touch of approval in his voice.
"C'mon, let's get her out of here."
"What about her?" Ryouga pointed to Kodachi.
"Nothin' we can do for her, anyway. And we won't jostle
Nabiki as much if we both carry her."
Ryouga nodded, taking up Nabiki's ankles.
As they passed through the tunnels, Ranma heard a faint moan
coming from one of the side chambers. He motioned for Ryouga to
set Nabiki down, and opened the door. It took him several
seconds before his mind could encompass the horror now
confronting him.
"P-Principal Kunou? Is that you?" Indeed, the bloody,
bruised form strapped to the wine racks was hardly recognizable
as the hair-crazed school administrator.
"Who dere?" The man raised his head, trying to see through
the crusted blood that came from the place where his eyebrows
once were.
"It's me, Sir. Ranma Saotome. We're gonna get you outta
here."
Ranma could not quite make out the Principal's reaction, but
moved forward anyway. "Ryouga, gimme a hand, would ya? I can
take Nabiki the rest of the way, if you can help him out."
Ryouga moved as Ranma requested, and soon the grisly
procession was underway--Ranma, with Nabiki cradled in his arms,
followed by Ryouga supporting the Principal on one arm. They
made their way through the garden to the gate, the Senior Kuno
able to direct them around the booby-traps.
After they passed through the gate, Kuno turned to Ryouga.
"Where is my daughter?"
Ryouga had trouble meeting the man's eyes. "Sh-she's dead,
Sir."
The bloody head nodded. "Shoulda known it would come to
dis."
Summoning his will, he stood away from Ryouga. "You two
better get goin'--Dat chil' needs attention."
He stepped back through the gate.
"Wait--Wh-where are you going?"
The Principal stretched out a hand that was bereft of
fingernails. "Gotta finish it."
He pressed a sigil on the ornate gate and gave a loud cry.
"Kuno Family Final Honor Restoration!"
He gave Ryouga a sickly grin. "You might wanna take a few
steps back...."
Ryouga stood, confused, until the first tremor caused him to
backpedal. As the two boys watched in horror, flames began to
shoot out of various aperatures, casting a hellish light over
the estate.
More tremors followed, and Ranma realized that they were
being caused by explosions, deep underground. He suddenly
understood what was going on. "C'mon, Ryouga--We've gotta get
clear!"
Ryouga nodded his assent. The two ran, seeking shelter
across the street. As they turned, they saw the elder Kunou,
silhouetted against the flames, as he entered the blazing house,
just before it collapsed in on itself. Small explosions sent
blazing debris flying into the night sky, and soon the two could
hear sirens approaching.
As the first emergency vehicles arrived, Ranma and Ryouga
flagged down an ambulance, and accompanied Nabiki to the
hospital, while they tried to explain what they could to an
incredulous police officer.
***********************************************************
Akane hated hospitals. They reminded her too much of when
her mother died. She especially hated the waiting rooms. The
antiseptic smell, barely masking the stench of death and dying,
made her want to retch.
Of course, the personalities of those she was waiting with
didn't make things any easier.
Ranma was still refusing to speak with his father. Genma had
given up pleading for some kind of response, and now just sat,
stone-faced, in one of the vinyl-covered seats.
Her own father was not any better. Akane had called home
when the boys arrived with Nabiki. They had rushed right over,
and Soun had immediately started in with his usual hysterics,
running around, weeping loud enough to wake the dead, and
generally making a nuisance of himself. Finally, in the
interest of restoring some kind of order, one of the nurses had
injected him with a sedative. Now he slept fitfully on the
battered sofa, tears running down his face even in his sleep.
Ryouga had gone into the vending room next door three hours
ago, and hadn't been seen since.
Kasumi had announced that she should stay home, in
case there was any further trouble at the dojo. Akane had
briefly wondered if Kasumi was just trying to avoid confronting
the horror that was so anathema to her eldest sister's
world-view, but she quickly suppressed the unkind train of
thought.
The doctors were fairly certain Nabiki would be okay,
although they said it would be a while before she would be
awake. She had taken quite a beating, though, and would
probably be on the mend for weeks, and it would be at least a
week before she could leave.
Ukyou was another matter entirely. Mousse's chain-spike had
actually hit the base of the spine, and the doctors had told
Akane that there was a very real chance that the chef would
never walk again. The look on Ranma's face when she had told
him had scared her--It was like a part of him had just...died.
She had tried talking to him, but had given up after an hour of
unresponsive grunts.
The clock on the wall continued inexorably into the night, and
Akane hated it.
***********************************************************
{Nabiki}
{Yes, Love?}
{I must leave you soon}
{I know...I want to come with you}
{No...It is not your time...There is one here who will need
you}
{How...Who?}
{All will become clear in time...There are some things I
cannot reveal just now}
{But there is so much I need to know...At least tell me who it
was that blackmailed you}
{I cannot, for I do not know...At first they were merely a
voice on the phone, reading the report from the clinc where
Kodachi was sent...When later we met, the fiend was shrouded by
darkness...I have oft thought it was the Devil himself}
{Kuno...I wouldn't have cared}
{I know that, now, and it will comfort me while I make ready a
place for you in the Far Lands}
{Far Lands?}
{All in Fate's due time, my love...And now I must go}
{Tatewaki, I love you...Don't leave...I'm not ready}
{I shall wait for you}
{KUNOU!!!!}
***********************************************************
Kasumi had called, and suggested that Genma bring Soun home,
as neither was particularly necessary at the hospital. Akane
had agreed, and Genma had practically leapt at the chance to
escape the withering silence from his son.
Once his father was out of the way, Ranma had begun to relax.
He didn't even overreact when P-Chan wandered in (Akane
sometimes wondered, privately, if maybe Ranma was right about
the pig having similar directional problems to Ryouga), for
which she was very grateful.
They took turns sleeping, and waited through the long night
for word on the two injured girls.
***********************************************************
Chapter Nine
Thoughts and Reflections Don't like the fact that Kasumi didn't go to the hospital--too OOC, but I don't want her there, either. Gotta come up with a better excuse. Having trouble with a plot conflict, too. Damn it, Nabiki knows too much now. I need her awake to influence some of the upcoming events, but not all of them. Hmmm...short-term amnesia, as a result of the trauma of gestalt...? Might work. Could cause her to forget everything after, say, the graveyard scene.
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