Chapter 10: Endgame
"Get up, little man."
Kuno heard the voice as if from a great distance.
"I said 'get up'," the voice insisted. Something nudged Kuno hard in the side.
"How dare you ignore me!" the voice said.
Kuno felt a hard kick in his side that knocked the air out of his lungs and rolled him onto his back. A hand grabbed the front of his clothes and hauled him half-upright. "Do what I tell you or I'll beat you again!" the voice proclaimed haughtily.
Kuno opened his eyes and saw a vague face swim before him. It opened its mouth and started to speak: "I said…"
***BAM***
Kuno's fist slammed upward into the chin of the face. The impact knocked the face away and Kuno felt himself falling toward the ground. He rolled onto his side and managed to absorb most of the fall cleanly. He lifted his head and looked at his attacker. Sprawled a few meters from him but sitting upright, was a man dressed in a blue gi. The face was very familiar – Kuno saw it every time he looked in a mirror.
"That hurt you know!" the man in the blue gi snapped at Kuno.
"Who are you?" Kuno, the Red King, asked as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position.
"I am the Blue Thunder," the other Kuno said haughtily while standing up again. "Now get up. You must get the key from the White Queen, so I can go home. Then I will kill Saotome and marry Akane Tendo."
An annoyed look crossed the Red King face as he climbed to his feet. He didn't like being addressed so insolently. He studied the fool dressed in blue for a moment. Then he replied disdainfully: "The only Saotome is Nodoka Saotome. Will you kill an innocent woman?"
"It is Ranma Saotome I must kill. You are obviously a fool," the Blue Thunder said with equal disdain.
"Hmph! And yet I'm wiser then you!" the Red King shot back. He thought of something to try and inflame his double. "There is no Ranma Saotome. There is only Ranma Tendo!" The Red King stopped suddenly as soon as he said the name – he had meant to say Ranma Ono, but a memory of something Kodachi had said made him switch the name. The rightness of the name stunned him.
"Who?" the Blue Thunder demanded.
"Ranma Tendo. Ranma of Nerima's next name," the Red King answered. He shook his head bemused for a moment. "I've always thought of her as Akane Tendo," he whispered to himself. "Even in my dreams, she was always Akane Tendo – never Akane Kuno."
"What are you babbling about?!" the Blue Thunder demanded again.
"I've just realized Akane Tendo is beyond me. She always has been," the Red King answered.
"Of course she's beyond you, fool," the Blue Thunder shouted. "She belongs to me!"
The Red King looked down at his clothes. "She belongs to herself, idiot, and maybe her husband," he said as he brushed dust from his red robes. His dyed street clothes were gone. A steel sword was belted to his side. There was a simple crown on his head. Most important of all, there was only one shadow on the ground. He began to circle the blue idiot.
"I will be her husband, fool!" the Blue Thunder shouted while turning to face the Red King.
"No, you will not," the Red King answered coolly feeling stronger with every passing moment – and he was beginning to catch on. "She will never be anyone but Akane Tendo. She will always keep her last name. She will never consent to adopt the Kuno name. Even Ranma of Nerima will bow to her and take her name – he has no real last name anyway. He was made for her."
"SHE'S MINE!" the man in blue bellowed.
"Really? She's a real person – two dimensional shadows are not her type," the Red King said snidely.
"HOW DARE YOU!" the Blue Thunder screamed. "Who do you think you are? You are nothing without me!"
"Actually, I was a lot before you. I was a good student. I was an excellent athlete. I was fairly popular with the ladies. I even tried to be a good brother. That all went out the window when you came along," the Red King replied sharply.
"I am everything you wanted to be!" the Blue Thunder snapped as he started his own circling. "You wanted the world at your feet. You wanted to be the lord of all you surveyed. You wanted to dictate order to the world. You wanted to be the ultimate hero. And, through me, you were – or you could have been! But you were too weak to take what should have been yours. Others outmaneuvered you! You failed! Now I have broken free of your weakness. I will take everything that should be mine."
"But there's nothing that should be yours – you don't really exists. You're just my reflection – my shadow," the Red King answered. "You are just a dream of the Red King – one of many that I had."
"I am greater than you'll ever be!" the Blue Thunder screamed again.
"You really are pathetic," the Red King answered with contempt. "No wonder Akane never loved you – she knew you were insane and incapable of love. If you really cared about her as you claim, you would see that she loves Ranma."
"I will kill Ranma and take her," his opponent yelled while starting to foam at the mouth.
A new voice cut in: "Kill Ranma? Gods have tried and failed. You have no chance." A sharp-eyed young woman appeared to the side of the two Kunos, standing on the sidewalk. The woman had short brown hair and wore a lavender bridesmaid's dress.
Both men stopped their circling. The Red King looked at the young woman. "You are the shadow of Nabiki Tendo," he stated.
"Full points, Kuno-Baby," the Bridesmaid laughed. She looked at the Blue Thunder. "Once I liked you – I had a crush on you. But you were so full of yourself, you never noticed. Toward the end of our freshman year I got bored and my interest drained away. Then you fell for my sister and I pitied you, but I'm done with that too. You got what you deserved – you're banished here and that's the end. Your time has passed."
"NO!" the Blue Thunder shouted. "If he can leave," he pointed at the Red King. "Then I can leave in his place."
"And go where?" another voice cut in. All three turned to see a girl in a simple blue dress with a brown gardening apron and a straw hat. She was standing on the sidewalk opposite the Bridesmaid. It took no imagination to see she was a younger version of Kodachi. She carried a basket in her hands full of red and white roses. "You've been banished from the World, just like I was. This is your home now. Tatewaki Kuno's new shadow is the Red King – he proclaimed it himself."
"Then I'll kill him and take his place!" the Blue Thunder cried. He rushed at the Red King, bokken held high.
The Red King drew his sword and plotted how to disarm the madman pitting wood against steel. To the King's surprise, wood met steel and held fast. The Blue Thunder struck again and the King had to parry once more.
"It's not a game, Kuno-Baby," the Bridesmaid called out. "If you don't defeat the Blue Thunder, you can't go home – ever."
"So be it," the King said and counter-attacked. The Blue Thunder parried and struck again. The two fighters surged back-and-forth through the empty street exchanging blows over and over again.
"Fool!" the man in blue exclaimed. "You are no match for me! I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"
"And you are done!" the King shot back. "High School is over! You graduated and you've yet to complete a single college course! You don't participate in athletics anymore! Now you've joined the shadows of the past!"
"I am the Captain of the Kendo Club!" the Blue Thunder yelled.
"Again, in the past! You *were* the captain! Now a Hideaki Yamashita – a high school senior – holds that position! Your time is done!" the Red King shot back as he attacked again.
"NO!" the Blue Thunder screamed. He countered the Red King and then struck the King in the mouth with the hilt of the bokken. The King fell with the blow and lost his sword. The Blue Thunder raised the bokken over his head. The bokken crackled with ki-energy as its wielder started to deliver a lethal blow. However, the Blue Thunder stopped himself and instead yelled: "Surrender now!" The King looked up, surprised by the respite. Again, the Blue Thunder raised back his sword, but did not swing. "Surrender now!" the man in blue demanded.
Understanding began to dawn in the Red King's eyes. "No," he said quietly. He stood up unarmed and faced the Blue Thunder. "I will not surrender."
The Blue Thunder started to attack again, but paused mid-swing. "You have no weapon! You must surrender!"
"NO!" the man in red answered violently. The Blue Thunder stepped back in surprise. The Red King continued in a calm voice: "It's still my move. You got in the last attack. You cannot attack until my turn is over. I am the Red King – I have many weapons, and you are only one of my many dreams."
"That is nonsense! You are defenseless!" the Blue Thunder screamed.
"No, I'm not," the King said calmly.
The Blue Thunder ran at the King with madness in his eyes. "DIE!" he screamed.
Suddenly, someone reached from behind the Blue Thunder and grabbed the bokken, nearly yanking the Blue Thunder off of his feet. A voice came from behind the Blue Thunder firmly saying: "The Red King is neither killed nor captured – that is one of the Rules." A kick was delivered to the Blue Thunder's backside that launched him over the Red King's head. Everyone turned to look at the new voice. A young high school freshman dressed in a Furinkan High School uniform now stood where the Blue Thunder had been. He was now holding the Blue Thunder's bokken. His young face was very familiar to everyone there – especially his two older versions.
"One of the things I use to be good at was Chess," the young man started conversationally. "It's a very old game – the Game of Kings it was once called. The game can be ended in one of three ways: the king resigns, a draw, or the ever sought after Checkmate. The king was never captured or killed in the game. The reason for this was very simple. The nobles who played the game were subject to the real King, who was said to rule by divine right. The King never wanted to encourage any sort thinking that he was vulnerable, not even in a game. So, any noble who may the mistake of touching the opposing king piece lost the game automatically. And anyone who touched the King's king, lost their head – for real. You had to be especially careful when playing against your liege. The reasons for the rule have been lost through the ages, but a rule is still a rule."
"I haven't seen you in a while," the Rose Gardener said. The young man bowed to her.
The Red King saw the younger version of himself smiling at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" the freshman asked.
"I know you…" the Red King started. "But I haven't thought of you in years…"
He was cut off by the Blue Thunder yelling from where he lay: "How dare you! Who are you?"
"I am the Shooting Star of Furinkan High School. I defeated all of the upperclassmen in my Kendo Class to become the Captain early in my freshman year," the young man answered.
"I superseded you!" the Blue Thunder yelled. "I am your better!"
The Shooting Star nodded while saying: "Yes, you are stronger and faster. But somewhere along the way, you became an idiot and forgot how to think. You forgot about true strategy, which is how I beat those older than myself." He picked up the Red King's sword and nodded to the Red King. "Your Majesty," he said as he tried to hand the sword back.
"Keep it," the Red King said. "It won't help me here." With a nod, the Shooting Star made the sword vanish. The King faced the Blue Thunder. "I forgot all about the Shooting Star. I created him in middle school." The King began to circle the Blue Thunder again.
"So, what?!" the Blue Thunder sneered. "He's a has-been."
"Doesn't look like it to me. He looks like he has his whole future in front of him," the King replied. The Shooting Star chuckled. "Do you remember why I called myself the Shooting Star?" the King asked.
"Yes, moron," the Blue Thunder answered. "Because of the damage I could inflict."
"You don't remember at all. It was because I wanted to shine brighter than everyone else – and one more reason. Do you remember?" the King asked again. The Blue Thunder only glared at him, so the King answered: "Because I also loved basketball. I was good at it, but not great at it, even though I wanted to be. I was great at Kendo though. That's where everyone paid attention to me. But I still loved basketball so I took a name with a double meaning – just a little joke with myself. But you don't know how to joke, do you?" The Blue Thunder snarled, but did not charge.
"You've forgotten how to joke, to laugh, to love," the King said. "But that's not all you've forgotten – you forgotten your past. You don't remember him…" The King pointed at the Shooting Star. "You don't remember her…" he said as he pointed at the Rose Gardener. "You don't remember her…" he added while pointing at the Bridesmaid. "And you don't remember Tatewaki Kuno." The Blue Thunder rotated to track him. "You don't remember your past at all – you've completely lost touch with who you use to be," the Red King finished.
"The past is useless," the Blue Thunder screamed.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," the Red King said. "Because you are the past – you're a mad memory."
"You'll not get away that easily - Time is very fluid here!" the Blue Thunder yelled.
"Yes, yes it is," the Red King said. "But we never agreed to a time limit on our moves. It's still my move. You'll have to stay here until I make my next move against you." The Blue Thunder tried to move toward the Red King and found that he could not. "Meanwhile, I have an appointment to keep – if I can ever find out where it is," the Red King added as he glanced sideways at the Shooting Star.
"Oh dear, is the great Tatewaki Kuno ready to accept help?" the Shooting Star laughed. The Red King grinned at him. The Shooting Star turned to the Gardener and asked: "Sister, if you would please release the Rose Garden?"
"Yes, Brother Dearest," she answered.
The young woman tossed her basket of red and white roses at the Blue Thunder as he tried to move toward the Red King again. As soon as they struck him, the flowers became growing leaves, thorn covered branches, and more roses. The growth enveloped the Blue Thunder.
"No! I am invincible!" the engulfed man shouted as the roses covered his face. "NO! No…" The rest of his words were lost in the foliage.
"Thank you," the Red King said to his sister and his younger self.
"You're welcome, but I did have some selfish motives. Had the Blue Thunder returned to Nerima, I would have been forgotten and faded away," the Shooting Star replied.
"Very well," the King answered. "I will remember you." The other man nodded. Meanwhile the roses continued to grow and fan out from where they had swallowed the Blue Thunder. "Is that necessary?" the Red King asked as the roses spanned the street and began to climb the buildings on either side of the street."
"Only if you want to go home," the Gardener answered.
"How will this help?" the King asked.
"You'll see," the Bridesmaid answered. She paused with a smirking smile and then said: "You out-ran the story and came to an empty city. Everyone else is about to catch up. So is the reality you need to go back to…" The roses proceeded to completely cover the nearby buildings.
"The wedding between the White King and the White Queen," he said thoughtfully. "Which is probably the wedding between the Tendo and Ono families shadowed here. I thought it involved Ranma Ono and Akane Tendo, but that's not true – they are already married."
"In a spiritual sense, yes," the Rose Gardener agreed. "They will have a civil ceremony is a year or so, but the die is cast and cannot be broken."
"But, the White Queen and White King are also already married," the Bridesmaid cut in. "They are having two ceremonies – a private ceremony was held yesterday. The public ceremony is today."
"The double ceremony," the Red King murmured. "Which means the shadow of Kasumi Tendo – or rather the White Queen – holds the key to go home."
"Actually, you hold the key," the Shooting Star informed him. "You must choose to go home – or to stay here with us." The roses continued to cover all the structures in sight, but left the streets clear for the most part.
"I am not just a shadow," the Red King countered. "I am not able to bear this madness…" His voice trailed off. After a moment, he turned to look at the ball of roses that held the Blue Thunder and realization dawned on his face as words and thoughts came back to him:
"If you want to end up in the insane asylum trying to unravel Akane Tendo's protections, that's your business!" his sister said again.
"You are just a lunatic!" the queen shouted.
"Maybe I should kill him, Your Majesty. His insanity might be catching…" the executioner suggested.
"You seem to fit right in," Mary Ann had commented.
Tatewaki's earlier thought returned: "I'm starting to understand how these people think and how events flow."
"You don't know how to love anyone but yourself," Ono had told him.
Once more, his own voice sounded in his head: "This is madness!"
Whip-sawing voices answered it: "Quite mad…You've lost touch…With reality…And have joined…Us here. Welcome… home."
Finally, Akane's voice yelled angrily: "You're all crazy!"
The Red King dropped his head for a few minutes as everything sank in. Tatewaki Kuno really was crazy. He was just as ill as someone with the measles. Now this place had split Tatewaki Kuno into three personas – The Shooting Star, the Blue Thunder, and the Red King. The Shooting Star's time was done, and the Blue Thunder was insane. But the Red King belonged to Wonderland – he himself was part of the normal madness. How could he get Tatewaki home again? And how could Tatewaki Kuno be made whole and sane again?
After an endless time, he lifted his head. The shadows of Nabiki and Kodachi looked at him keenly. The Shooting Star said nothing but waited patiently. The Red King brought his hand up to cover his eyes and sighed. "The Red King must give way to Tatewaki," he mumbled.
Nabiki's shadow smirked at him. "Say the magic words, Kuno-Baby. Oh, and get ready to run."
The Red King took a deep breath. He looked at the Shooting Star who nodded encouragingly. Then the Red King once more became Tatewaki Kuno by shouting: "I RESIGN!" The sole shadow on the ground vanished and Tatewaki's normal clothes returned.
The rose-covered surroundings exploded as a dozen people burst out of the foliage screaming: "WE'RE LATE!" Mousse's shadow, the White Duck, was in the lead. He was followed closely by the shadow of Tofu Ono, dressed in white royal robes. The doctor's shadow also had a blindfold across his eyes, but he could run quite well. The King of Hearts ran beside him providing what little assistance the White King needed. The two Kings were accompanied by the Duchess, the Jack of Hearts, Mary Ann, and some of the White King's men-at-arms. The Bridesmaid gave a little twirl and became the Queen of Diamonds. She immediately joined the race without a word. The Rose Gardener became the Queen of Clubs, but she stayed with the Shooting Star, who now became the Ace of Clubs.
"They're on the way to the wedding," the Ace told Tatewaki. "We were not invited for obvious reasons. You still need to get to the White Queen." Kuno nodded, waved to the two remaining shadows, and ran after the fleeing crowd.
A muffled voice behind him screamed: "LET ME OUT! HE MADE HIS MOVE! LET ME OUT I SAY!"
As Kuno ran, a wind rose from behind him, pushing him along. He also noticed that it was blowing the roses and leaves off of the shadow buildings of Nerima, but instead of revealing mirror-covered buildings, the buildings looked like they were taken from nineteenth century England. "I'm back in Wonderland," he thought. "Time to go home…"
He joined the running party with barely any notice from his fellow sprinters. A few of the men-of-arms briefly made note of him, but dismissed him as not a threat. The King of Hearts gave him a small smirk, but said nothing. Once, when he stumbled, the Queen of Diamonds steadied him and pushed him onwards, but likewise said nothing.
They raced through medieval Nerima – a Nerima that never existed – until they came to a large temple. In front of it was the Red Queen – or someone very much like her. Kuno recognized the woman he had struck and felt immediately ashamed at having raised a fist against her. Standing next to her, was a man dressed in royal robes wearing Toshio Kuno's face. The robes where decorated in poker card spades. Tatewaki slowed at seeing the two of them.
"There's no time for that," his uncle's shadow snapped at him. The King of Spades grabbed his arm roughly. "If you want to go home, come with me now."
The Red Queen grabbed Tatewaki's other free arm. "You're cutting this close." Up ahead, the White King and the King of Hearts had paused by a closed door leading into the temple and were looking back at the trio.
The door behind the two kings opened and the Queen of Hearts emerged. "There you are! It's about time!"
"One slight detour," the blindfolded White King answered her. He 'looked' at Tatewaki. "This is it," he called out. "Time to choose." But Tatewaki had already made his choice and let the King of Spades and the Red Queen pull him along in the wake of the Queen of Hearts and the White King. The Queen of Diamonds was right behind him, and the King of Hearts brought up the rear. The other members of the White King's entourage entered the temple through another door.
The three kings and three queens led Tatewaki through a maze of passages in the temple until they came to a solid looking door. The White King knocked on the door. "Love!" he called out. "It's me!"
A voice chimed back through the closed door: "You're not suppose to see me before the wedding!" It sounded a lot like Kasumi Tendo's.
The White King grinned. "All taken care of, Love."
"Did they find him?" she called out.
"Yes! And I think he's in a suitable frame of mind!" the King answered.
"All right, come in!"
The Queen of Diamonds opened the door and led the way in. The party entered, but Tatewaki would have stopped cold if it wasn't for his uncle dragging him forward. "Oh my god," he mumbled as he looked upon the most beautiful woman in the world.
The White Queen stood before him in a gorgeous wedding gown. The dress was a soft off-white color and was made of silk and lace. It appeared to have two necklines – the first would have made the dress an off-the-shoulder gown that was cut to modestly show the Queen's generous bust. Above this false neckline, the fabric became a transparent lace and ran to just short of the of the Queen's collarbone. The transparent lace also ran down her arms. Embroidered silk covered from the Queen's bust to her hips where the skirt of the dress fanned out. The skirt consisted of more silk and was overlaid by more lace. She wore a stunning head piece with a veil that had yet to be pulled over her face. Her face had a light application of make-up, although one could have argued that she didn't need it.
Tatewaki was completely stunned. "You're b-beautiful…" he managed to stutter. The White Queen blushed modestly.
"She does clean up rather well, doesn't she," the King of Hearts agreed with a smirk. The Queen of Hearts doped slapped him for the comment.
"Don't get any ideas," the White King added with a mock warning. "She's already taken."
The White Queen raised her eyebrows at her husband. "Better make sure you appreciate me then," she replied smoothly. Then she beckoned to Tatewaki. The King of Spades half-dragged him forward. "Tatewaki Kuno," she addressed him gently. "You've seen this world your actions have brought you to. It is only here that the Blue Thunder can exist anymore. But here, you can be a king and live to no one expectations but your own. Here, you can carve your own reality and rule it. Isn't this what you want?" The King of Spades and the Red Queen tried to speak, but the White Queen hushed them with a gesture.
Tatewaki forced his voice to work: "I want my own world back."
"It's not *your* world. You're just one small piece of that world," the White Queen pushed back. "Others live and dream in that world also – and they are not subject to you. You've never been able to accept this. You haven't been able to accept another's will – their own decisions." She gestured at the King and Queen of Hearts.
Tatewaki followed her gesture and then turned to face her again. "I-I-I…" he started.
Suddenly the door to the room blew open and the Blue Thunder screamed: "SHE LIES! THEY ARE ALL MINE! HIM ESPECIALLY!" Tatewaki could only watch as the insane, slavering figure dived for him.
The King and Queen of Hearts each calmly raised their right hand and beams of energy flew from their palms to crash into the Blue Thunder. Their target was thrown against the back wall of the room and held upright by their force.
"Was that necessary?" the White Queen asked the Red Queen.
"You're a bit too gentle. He needs to see his choices. He needs to understand his madness," the Red Queen said firmly.
"STOP THAT AT ONCE!" the Blue Thunder yelled at the King and Queen of Hearts. "YOU'RE MINE!" The royal couple paid him no notice as they pinned their prisoner effortlessly.
Tatewaki looked at the very uneven contest. "He is hopelessly outclassed," he murmured. "And he can't even see it." He faced the White Queen again. "She's right," he said referencing the Red Queen. "He's mad… I'm mad. I can't stay this way. I can't stay here. I want to be real."
"The real world holds pain as well as joy," the White Queen warned. "Are you sure you can accept the pain?"
Tatewaki's face paled and he dropped his eyes, but he said: "I have to." Kodachi's words regarding Kasumi came back to him, and he finally understood what was needed. He raised his eyes and pleaded: "Heal me!"
The White Queen – the Shadow of the Healer Kasumi Tendo – responded: "As you wish." She cupped his chin in one hand and placed the other on his forehead.
Tatewaki threw his head back and howled. His head felt like it was going to explode. His body felt like it was caught in a light socket. He heard the Blue Thunder start to scream "NO!", but the scream seemed to shatter like glass midway through. That shattering was followed by an explosion, then a second, and then a chain of explosion, each one louder than the previous. The crescendo grew moment by moment.
Tatewaki screamed: "Akane!... Kodachi!... Ranma!… Toshio!.. Dad! – I'm so sorry!... Mother!... MOTHER!...MOM!"
With that Tatewaki's awareness shattered, and he knew no more…
Toshio Kuno could barely watch as Kasumi, Nari, and Tofu all knelt over Tatewaki's prone body. It wasn't that the sight upset him – it was that he could barely see past the bright white light emanating from the figures. Finally, Nari called out: "Enough, we got it! He's anchored again!" The light vanished and the dressing room returned to its normal brightness.
Tofu, who was dressed in his wedding tuxedo, turned to catch Kasumi, who almost toppled over. Akane helped the doctor guide his bride to a chair. Then the doc almost fell over except Ranma steadied him. Ranma helped the groom to sit on the floor next to Kasumi's chair. The doctor's eyes were bound with a clean cloth to prevent him from seeing his bride.
Nari still knelt by Tatewaki checking his pulse. She glanced at Tofu and Kasumi in their tired states and muttered: "Amateurs… You'll need to build up more stamina if you want to be world class healers."
"So says the immortal…" Tofu returned. Nari just smirked and went back to checking Tatewaki.
"Is he going to be all right?" Toshio Kuno asked.
Nari looked over at the Kuno elder. "Well," she started. "He's got a good shot at it. As you guessed, he's never gotten over his mother's death and he blames himself for it. How anyone could consider a one year old child responsible for anyone's death is beyond me, but you'll have to teach him the truth that he isn't. I see lots of counseling in his future. Be happy that we got the instability though – that's a rare thing to beat." (1)
"How rare?" Nabiki asked.
"It took three healers to do it, Nabiki," Tofu answered while still breathing hard. "And one of them was extraordinary." Nari smirked.
"The patient also has to agree that he is mad too," Kasumi added. "He has to want to be cured." She looked at Nari and asked: "How did you do that?"
Nari stood up. "Live long enough, and maybe you'll learn, child," she said as her shape changed and shrank. Now a small old woman stood there dressed in sack cloth. "Still, maybe you'll get the chance yet." She walked over to Kasumi who was wearing her wedding dress and picked up one of the young woman's hands in her own. "You did good, granddaughter." She stretched up and kissed Kasumi's forehead. Then Nari/Mara turned and dope–slapped Tofu. "Take care of her, idiot, or I'll hunt you down." The blind-folded man just gave her a short laugh.
Nari/Mara walked past Toshio (who was now kneeling by Tatewaki) without a word or glance, but she stopped in front of Ranma who was dressed in his tuxedo. She looked him up and down. "How the hell is Genma your sire?" she wondered out-loud.
"You knew Genma?" Ranma asked confused.
"I know Genma, young one. I know who he is, what he is, and where he is," she answered. "If you ever have occasion to speak with him, remind him old Mara never forgets. On the other hand, never mind. Do yourself a favor and never speak to him again." Nari/Mara pointed to Akane in her bridesmaid dress. "Meanwhile, take care of this one." Then Mara spoke to Akane as the old woman hooked a thumb at Ranma: "Same goes for you too." With that, Mara opened the door and left the room.
Nabiki walked to the door and looked out. "She's gone," she stated without surprise as she closed the door. Tofu just nodded his head. "Definitely a '10' on the weird old lady scale," Nabiki added.
"And may you never find out how weird," Toshio said while standing up. Then he took out a radio and spoke into it: "All teams: Target achieved. Let's clean up and get out of the way."
Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki followed Tatewaki's stretcher as it rolled out of the building. None of them could say why they did that. Maybe they just wanted to see the story to its end, even if they missed most of it.
The patient had shown some signs of coming around along the way. He hadn't spoken, but he met the eyes of his companions with recognition. Before the attendants placed his stretcher in the back of the ambulance, Tatewaki touched the arm of one man to stop him. "Hold up a minute," he asked in a rusty voice. As the men paused, he beckoned Nabiki, Akane, and Ranma to him. They came to him with Ranma and Akane walking over hand-in-hand. Kuno looked pointedly at their joined hands and then looked them both in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he said simply. "Be happy." They smiled and nodded.
Then Kuno looked at Nabiki. "I was a fool for not noticing you freshman year," he said. "I'm sorry for ignoring you and for missing my chance."
Nabiki looked surprised for a moment and then smiled. "Water under the bridge, Kuno-Baby," she told him. "Besides, we would have never gone the distance." She bent down and kissed his forehead.
"No," he agreed as he reached over and took her hand. "But it would have been fun anyway." They squeezed hands and let go. The attendants loaded Tatewaki in and closed the doors. Then they climbed in and drove off.
Nabiki watched the ambulance go. Then she turned and raised an eyebrow at Ranma and Akane. "How do you two deal with this empathy thing? It sort of sucks feeling sorry for that idiot."
Akane laughed and said: "If you can feel sorry for someone, you can also feel happy for someone; it sorts of balances out."
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so."
"And you can be happy that Kuno is finally getting the help he needs," Ranma added. "At least there will be one less lunatic running around this place."
As they all turned to walk back into the wedding hall, Nabiki moved between them and placed her arms about their waists. "All right, you have a point there. You two are the only lunatics I want around here," she teased.
A/N: Footnotes
(1) It was revealed in the story "The Final Binding" that Tatewaki's mother was killed by a drunk driver shortly after Kodachi was born. Tatewaki, Kodachi, and their father all blame themselves for her death, although nothing could be further than the truth. Kodachi has finally accepted the truth - hopefully Tatewaki will too.
A/N: I thought about adding some notes about Wonderland's Red King, but quickly decided there was another rabbit hole lurking there. If your really curious about him, Google "Dream of the Red King" and have fun. Either that or read the original stories on the web - they are not that long. :-)
I also thought about adding an epilogue featuring Nari and Tatewaki talking five months later, but it didn't quite work with the story, so we stop here. Maybe it will appear in the story "Solstice", but I have other stories to tell first.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story. I wanted start "The Wedding" (which will mesh a little with this story) before the end of the month, but the story is still incomplete. Hopefully, I can start telling it before the end of January.
Take care!