Shadows Over Nerima

A Ranma ½ / Batman Fan Fiction

By

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Batman is the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Both are used without permission.

Chapter 13

Kasumi gasped, nearly dropping the dish and cup in her hands. "Who... who... who are you?" she stammered, voice high-pitched with fright. Nabiki looked up from the table where she had been brooding over a fashion magazine and gasped herself. A dark figure stood in the hallway leading to the genkan, its features obscured by shadow.

"Ladies," the figure said in a low masculine rumble. It stepped into the light of the living room.

"Nightwing," whispered Nabiki, standing up. Kasumi stared at him wide-eyed, frozen in awe. "What happened to you?" asked the middle Tendo sister, flinching despite herself when his attention turned to her. When she first saw Nightwing, the day he confronted Akane's harassers at Furinkan, he had appeared a figure of fun. Dangerous, certainly, as he proved in his brief fight and the way he handled Kuno, but otherwise seeming like a handsome, chivalrous swashbuckler from a romantic fantasy manga. The girls at school had been cooing and sighing over the pictures taken of him, while Akane had been the subject of some intense grilling from people curious about how she came to know the super-hero. None of that romance or fun was evident now. The left side of Nightwing's face was discolored from a great bruise and a blood-stained tear ran along the right side of his blue and black bodysuit. He projected an attitude of cold, unrelenting professionalism and tightly controlled violence that Nabiki frankly found intimidating.

"Won a fight," Nightwing said laconically. "You're Akane's sisters, right?" Nabiki and Kasumi both nodded. "Where is she?"

"Why... why do you want her?" asked Kasumi.

"She may be in danger. I want to make certain she is safe." The Tendo sisters looked at him and then at each other in dismay. Nightwing's brow furrowed. "Did something happen here?"

Kasumi hesitated, licking her lips. Nabiki frowned and spoke up. "We had an argument with our father. He made a decision about something that made Akane really upset. She left the house while Kasumi and I were yelling at him."

"She was planning to go over a friend's house today," added Kasumi. She had set the cup and dish back down on the table and was wringing her apron between her hands. "I called Yuka and she told me Akane never arrived. That was five hours ago. I was starting to get worried and now you've come here... Please, what's going on with my baby sister?"

Nightwing seemed lost in thought for a moment, rapidly clenching and unclenching his right fist. "Someone has been spying on her," he said quietly. "I've been trying to find out who. Today that person spent a lot of money and effort to get me to stop."

Kasumi went stark-white, while a sharp shiver of apprehension coursed through Nabiki. "Do you think -" Nabiki began.

"I think I'm going to go find your sister," Nightwing interrupted. "I won't tell you not to worry, but I will say that I'm very, very good at helping people in need. I'll bring Akane back to you." He smiled, his cold seriousness replaced with reassuring warmth. "My word on it."

"Thank you," whispered Kasumi. Nabiki silently nodded her thanks.

"Stay home until you hear from me. I'll contact you as soon as I'm able." Nightwing stepped back into the hallway, seeming to vanish into shadow and thin air.

Kasumi turned to her younger sister, trembling. Nabiki rushed to her and hugged her, half embracing and half supporting her shaken older sister. "Everything will be all right," she said, trying not to babble and sound reassuring. "Akane is just off sulking somewhere – not that I blame her, with the way daddy acted. Nightwing will find her and send her back here. Everything will be all right. You'll see." Kasumi nodded, tightening her own embrace on Nabiki.

The Kuno estate - large, sprawling and designed in a style reminiscent of a Sengoku-era castle - was better defended than Ranma had anticipated. He encountered nothing he could not handle, though he was still scowling for nearly blundering into a trapdoor like an amateur. That had been damn careless of him, especially since the sight of a very large alligator lounging in a carefully tended pond should have been sufficient warning that this place was no ordinary manor.

Ranma admitted he was playing a hunch coming here. The research he had done on the Kuno family had revealed no ties to local organized crime, let alone the deadly international circles Bird, Trogg and Zombie traversed, but Ranma had the suspicion he had missed something concerning Tatewaki Kuno. At the very least Ranma should have kept a closer eye on him – while Ranma had been very successful in scaring the creep, that did not mean he would stay scared. The kendoist was eccentric, to say the least, and it was quite possible that he was wound too tight in his obsession with Akane to easily let her go. Also, Ranma had to wonder if he had been too quick in dismissing a link between Kuno and the spy watching Akane. While he still thought Kuno remaining bound to the streetlamp for so long indicated the spy was not working for him, it did not preclude the possibility they were connected in some way – allies of a sort, perhaps. More likely Kuno was being used as a catspaw, but for what purpose Ranma could not even begin to guess. What was so important about Akane Tendo? She was beautiful and a talented martial artist, but those qualities did not seem reason enough to spend fifty-million dollars in an effort to kill him.

Sloppy, thought Ranma. The garbage my parents dropped on me threw me off-balance, but I have no excuse for staying so. Instead of trying just to protect Akane, I should have figured out why she needed protecting as well. A stupid mistake, and if she ends up paying for it... Ranma took a deep breath through his nose. Focus, Saotome. One step at a time. Find Kuno, see if he's involved, then go from there.

A peal of feminine laughter worthy of Arkham startled Ranma out of his ruminations. After a moment's pause he moved wraith-like towards the laughter's source, his curiosity piqued. It emanated from a sitting room down a hall he had just passed. Carefully peering through the room's open door, he found it occupied by two people. The woman laughing was young and tall, dressed in a navy-blue kimono, her long black hair pulled up to one side in a pony-tail. The aristocratic loveliness of her face marked her as kin to Kuno. Her head was thrown back as she laughed, her wrist covering her mouth in traditional decorum. The other occupant was a short, rabbity-looking man in a dark ninja uniform. His expression was harried, and he seemed to be trying to placate the young woman.

"Please, Mistress Kodachi! It is really unnecessary. You do not need to see Master Kuno. He simply needs rest."

Kodachi stopped laughing and looked at the man with a cruel smile. "Oh, but Sasuke, that will not do! It is only correct and proper that I perform my sisterly duty and see to my dear brother's care and comfort personally." Her smile transformed into a shark-like grin.

Sasuke cringed, sweat springing up on his broad brow. "Truly, mistress, your concern for the young master is most admirable, but there is no need for you to worry. He will be right as rain in the morning, after a full night's sleep."

Kodachi stared at the little man through narrowed eyes, her lips pursed in a pout that made Ranma think of a spoiled toddler being denied a treat. She laughed again, lifting a shoulder in an elegant, dismissive shrug. "Very well, Sasuke. Darling Tatewaki will keep for now. Anyway, feeding Mr. Green Turtle will more likely be more diverting." She turned toward the doorway; Ranma retreated noiselessly down the hall, concealing himself around a corner. He observed Kodachi shuffle demurely away from him. Sasuke stepped out after her, warily watching her walk away. When she stepped out of sight he sighed in relief and headed in the opposite direction, toward Ranma.

The instant the little man reached the corner Ranma was on him, grabbing him by the collar and spinning, pulling him off his feet and pinning him against the wall, his cry of surprise stifled by a gloved hand. Sasuke blanched bone-white as Ranma brought his grim, implacable face close to his. "Call for help and you will regret it," Ranma growled softly. He took his hand from Sasuke's mouth. "Where is Kuno?"

"You – you – you're the man who beat up Master Kuno last week," stammered Sasuke. "You're Nightwing. Wha – what do you want with the young master?"

"Akane Tendo is missing. Considering your 'young master's' past behavior towards her, I wanted to ask him if maybe he has a hand in that." Sasuke flinched, and Ranma knew his hunch was correct. "How about you? You seem to have a guilty conscious – you have something you want to confess? Something about where Miss Tendo is, perhaps?"

"I know nothing!" Sasuke protested in a squeaking whisper. Ranma pulled him from the wall and slammed him back against it. Sasuke gasped. Ranma drew an Escrima stick with his free hand, tapping it against the space of wall at the side of Sasuke's head.

"Do I look like someone you want to lie to?" asked Ranma. "I have had a very tiring, trying day so far, and someone I think highly of is in danger. So you better tell me – what did Kuno do with Akane Tendo?"

Sasuke looked ready to burst into tears. "Please, it's not Master Kuno's fault. He – he's sick. Someone has been preying on his illness, manipulating him!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed behind his domino mask as he digested this information. "Take me to him," he ordered.

"He won't be able to tell you anything. He's unconscious, sedated. There's no need to disturb him!"

"I still want to see him."

"Please don't hurt him," Sasuke begged.

"The only thing I'll promise is to be reasonable. Lead me to him – now." The little man swallowed hard and nodded, and Ranma set him down. Trembling, Sasuke led him through the maze of halls. Ranma followed warily, Escrima stick at the ready and his free hand hovering near his utility belt. They ascended a stairwell and Sasuke opened a nearby door without knocking. When Ranma looked across the threshold, he was struck hard by just how badly he had underestimated Kuno's obsession.

Two years ago Ranma and Bruce had worked on a case involving Vicki Vale. She was being stalked by a violent, dangerous man named Herbert Decker, who had become fixated on the reporter. It had been a dirty, ugly business, and at the end of it they tracked Decker down to a hideout he had in the Narrows. One room of the squalid apartment had been turned into a shrine to Vale, its walls covered with photographs of her – mostly publicity stills, but also some pictures taken by Decker in the weeks before his attempted kidnapping of her, which resulted in the death of three of her news crew. Kuno's bedroom reminded Ranma unpleasantly of that shrine. Posters of Akane Tendo papered practically every inch of the walls. For the most part they showed Akane training in her gi – lifting weights, breaking bricks, executing katas. But a few had her dressed in a red leotard performing gymnastics on a balance beam, while in others she was in a gym shirt and bloomers, playing softball or volleyball. Above the headboard of a large bed, given a place of prominence, was a large framed photograph of Akane in her school uniform, satchel slung over her shoulder as she walked, laughing at something out of sight.

In the bed laid Tatewaki Kuno, eyes closed, his face pale with pain, his nose and right shoulder both heavily taped. Sasuke had walked to the bedside and was looking down at the young man sadly. "My poor master," he whispered.

Ranma grunted as he holstered his Escrima stick. "Forgive me for not mustering much sympathy." He had to make an effort not to start tearing down the pictures of Akane from the walls. "Looks like his shoulder was dislocated. Did Miss Tendo do this to him?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I think so, but can not be certain. I was not with Master Kuno when he was injured."

Ranma pursed his lips in a tight line. "But he was with her today. Where is she? No, that can wait for a moment. I need to know more than just that. You said someone was manipulating Kuno. 'Preying on his sickness.' Who, how and why?"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment to compose his thoughts. "Master Kuno is not a bad man," he began slowly. "Truthfully. He is just... passionate. A man of extremes. It's a trait his entire family shares."

"Passion does not justify a campaign of sexual harassment," Ranma said coolly.

"It wasn't his idea!" protested Sasuke. "Yes, he was smitten with Miss Tendo. When he came home the first day of the new school year, he would not – could not – stop talking about the pretty new freshman he saw. Master Kuno sought her attention, asking her out several times. Miss Tendo always refused, but politely, and Master Kuno was gracious if persistent." Sasuke looked down at the young man and wrung his hands. "In private he felt dejected, even somewhat depressed about his lack of success, but was showing signs of starting to move on when she approached him."

"Who is she?" asked Ranma.

"A strange woman. A gaijin, but from where I'm not certain. She spoke excellent Japanese with a lilting accent I couldn't identify, and I didn't recognize her ethnicity. Eurasian was my best guess. She had the most piercing green eyes." A prickle of apprehension danced on the back of Ranma's neck, but he held his peace.

"She called one day," Sasuke continued. "Asking to see Master Kuno. She told him that she had an interest in Miss Tendo, and thought that Miss Tendo having a relationship with the young master would be beneficial, though how and why she never explained, and was willing to help him win over the young lady." Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "The woman said that Miss Tendo was no ordinary girl, but an accomplished athlete and martial artist, and thus was not interested in being wooed. She wanted to be challenged, and so that is what Master Kuno did. He fought with her every morning, and soon after, on the gaijin's advice, encouraged his classmates to do the same. Over the course of the term Master Kuno increased the pressure on Miss Tendo in various ways, usually after meeting with the woman or one of her servants. He just began a new phase of his campaign by attacking Miss Tendo outside of school when you interfered. Somehow you convinced him to cease his courtship." There was a trace of awe in Sasuke's voice.

"I've dealt with far worse than Kuno," said Ranma. He looked at the unconscious kendoist for a long moment. "Do you know the gaijin's name?"

"Yes. It's Raskill. Theresa Raskill."

Ranma looked sharply at Sasuke. The little man flinched from the intensity of his gaze. "Raskill," Ranma repeated softly. "You're certain?"

"Yes," said Sasuke. He swallowed, paling a little at the implication of someone like Nightwing being familiar with the name. "You know the woman?"

"Yes," said Ranma. "What happened with Miss Tendo today?"

"Raskill visited early this morning, telling Master Kuno that it was now time for Akane Tendo to be his. He demurred at first – he was concerned about your interference. But she assured him that you were no longer a problem." Sasuke frowned unhappily. "We found Miss Tendo in an alleyway near her home. She seemed most upset. When Master Kuno distracted her with a challenge, Raskill's servants knocked her out with sleeping powder bombs."

"Where did they take her?"

"To an old monastery on Mount Terror, in the wilderness outside the ward. It's been abandoned for centuries – the monks were a Tendai sohei sect that fled in fear in the days after Nobunaga razed Enryaku-ji."

"And you don't know what happened between Miss Tendo and Kuno?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Master Kuno ordered me to return home, but I disobeyed, fearing for him. I couldn't sneak in – the monastery was too heavily guarded – so I watched and waited. Sometime after 3 this afternoon one of Raskill's servants... approached me." Here Sasuke winced and rubbed his throat. "She told me to come to the front gate and take custody of the young master. "He stared down sadly at Kuno. "I brought him home just an hour ago."

Ranma was silent for a few moments. "Give Kuno a message when he's awake and coherent," he said. "Let him know he's very lucky to be alive; Raskill would have killed him without compunction if it suited her purposes." He then looked around, glaring at the pictures of Akane. "Also let him know it's time for a new hobby – preferably one that does not involve forcing girls to date him." Ranma left the bedroom, activating his gauntlet portable as he walked out, starting a search for the GPS coordinates for Mount Terror.

Ranma waited until he was on the Nightcycle and driving through Nerima before contacting the penthouse. "Alfred, Talia has Akane." He related what he learned at the Kuno estate.

"My word," Alfred said softly. "What in Heaven's name could Talia want with Miss Tendo?"

"No idea. But trust me Alfred, I'll be grilling her thoroughly on this"

Alfred hesitated a moment. "You do of course realize, Master Ranma, that you're driving toward a trap?"

Ranma laughed humorlessly. "Oh yeah. The old ghoul all but left an engraved invitation on Kuno's carcass. If she had just killed him and his little ninja and made their bodies vanish, who knows how long it would have taken me to find a lead on Akane."

"You should wait for Master Bruce. I'll contact him immediately."

"There's a time limit on this, Alfred. I feel it in my gut. If I take too long, Talia will know I'm waiting for Batman. Unlike Ra's, she won't risk a direct confrontation with him, no matter what. She'll flee, and with all of her and her father's resources it could take years to track down and rescue Akane."

"But to storm a Demon stronghold by yourself-"

"I've done more dangerous things."

"You have, but on those occasions you had the support of Master Bruce or the Teen Titans."

Ranma smiled faintly. "Sometimes, Alfred, a man has to make his way alone."

Alfred sighed, unhappy yet accepting. "Please be careful, Ranma. This old man has no desire to outlive his grandson."

"I will, ojisan." Ranma's smile transformed into a wolfish, ferocious grin. "And the old ghoul better damn well be careful about me."

Author's Notes: Because I know someone will ask, Herbert Decker is an original, non-canonical character. As far as I'm aware, save for the events of Burton's first Batman film, Vicki Vale has never been the victim of a stalking, though I wouldn't be surprised if there was a story out there concerning such an incident.

Thanks again to Pursemonger for her pre-reading, advice, and support.