I've been off tormenting people with sticks. Well, actually, my brother
almost broke my hand while waving his walking stick through the air
like some type of battle staff. And while I'm pretty sure I could have
taken it out bare handed, Devon wanted me to use a stick, too. I got to
hold a hockey stick and pretend it was a glaive.
We were also pretending I was a three foot tall dark faerie-chick, my
brother, a three and a half foot tall half human sprite-guy, and Dev
was a silver elf, who towered over bother of us.
This is, apparently, what having a life is like. I think I prefer not
having a life, and just writing stories.
*clucks her tongue* Ah well, I have revealed who the redhead is. She
is... *drumroll*... Rache! *snickers* Okay, okay, so that's just what
Schu calls her. You have to read to find out who she really is.
As for who figured it out... only Yanslana got it. *makes the readers
clap for Yanslana*
False Identity
Chapter Eleven: Conception
Li Xiang
"Where is she?!"
Sanzenshin Nobuyuki rolled his eyes, listening to his manager rant.
Twirling one drumstick around his fingers, he was seriously considering
whipping the other at him. It wasn't the first time their "prize" voice
took off without telling their manager, Karuna Akira. It was just a
habit of hers.
"Lay off, Akira," Daniel Osborne-- "Oz" to everyone other than
himself-- muttered in English, "She's probably off in China again."
"Bzzzt!" the three males turned to the door where another young man
stood, "Our dear Xue Shi has been spotted in Juuban."
Akira's head snapped up at Chang Li Fei's words. He was on his feet and
out the door before the other three could react. Oz hiked an eyebrow,
"Who didn't see that one coming?"
His companions chuckled, before following Akira.
---
"Did you know she can sing?"
Aya, Omi and Yohji were seated int he mission room, discussing how to
go about rescuing Ken. They'd narrowed his location down to four or
five buildings, and planned to have Ranko use her sense to track the
other teen down. At this moment, Ranko was making lunch.
"Who? Ranko?" Omi was obviously tired, almost unable to keep his eyes
open. Aya, despite _looking_ awake, projected an aura of almost passed
out from fatigue. The redhead hadn't gotten much sleep over the past
two days. Yohji nodded.
"Yeah, Ranko. She's pretty good, even if she was mocking me."
"I wasn't mocking you, Kudou," Ranko stepped from the stairwell, not
bothering to muffle her footsteps. She held the same look-and-feel of
Aya-- Although she'd gotten more sleep, her body was still fighting off
the cold she'd caught, "Lunch is ready. It's not the greatest, but..."
No other words were nessecary, and she turned on her heel to trudge
upstairs. The boys followed silently, seating themselves at the table
in the kitchen.
As they ate, Aya gave them a blurry-eyed look, "Get some sleep. We'll
go through the area tonight."
"Hai!" the other three chimed, before returning to their meals in
silence.
---
The sun was setting upon them as the boys drifted up the street. There
was the odd stranger who nodded a greeting, but most of the
recognizable faces shied away from them.
Kitty paraded down the fence as though he was all that mattered in the
world. His mane of black hair was tangled and fell loosely about his
face, stormy cobalt eyes slitted almost closed, and head held high with
pride. Despite this, there was a loop of rope about his neck, trailing
to the hand of the pale haired one beside him.
Jei's stride was far from the boastful, cocky one of his younger
"friend". He moved with careful, precise steps. The Irish boy matched
Kitty's speed, neither pulling ahead nor falling behind. A mischievous
smile curved his lips.
"Kitty, stop."
The dark haired feral child ignored the command, and continued to walk.
A low growl seeped from Jei's throat, before he snapped out an order,
"Kitty! Stop!" and gave a sharp tug on the rope leash in his hand.
A hiss escaped the eight year old's mouth, and he whirled to glare at
Jei. The human mind, buried as it was, understood that he'd disobeyed
Jei, and the golden-eyed youth was mad at him for it. The Cat, on the
other hand, cared not for that; he cared for the fact that Jei had
_dared_ to force him to do something.
Kitty lunged.
---
A splash of icy water, complete with ice cubes, rained down on her
head. Eyes snapping open, she managed a sputtering cough while sitting
up. Yohji stood over her with the cup in hand. Ranko responded
politely.
"If you're not out of here in the next ten seconds, I will rip you limb
from limb, gut you like a fish, and roast your entrails on a spit, then
eat them before your very eyes."
While Yohji didn't actually believe she'd go through with her threat,
there was no reason to take chances. He darted from the room, dropping
the cup in the process. She dropped back onto the western-style
mattress, head sinking into her pillow.
She would have remained content to stay there, laying on the plush bed,
in the direct path of a large sunbeam, for the rest of eternity.
Unfortunately for her, someone had decided on intruding.
/Good evening, Bishoujo!/
"I'm trying to sleep, you German psychopath."
/Don't you want to rescue Hidaka?/ the mental smirk was almost over
powering, /If you want to leave him with me, I won't mind.../
"You going to tell me where he is?"
/Now, now, Bishoujo, that wouldn't be any _fun_/
Ranma snorted, "Lunatic." /How about a hint?/
Schuldich considered for a moment, /No. Do it on your own, Kitty./
Schuldich's presence left as Ranma drew herself up from the bed. A
quick change into black jeans and a black shirt, along with an
adjustment of the collar so the tag was centered, and she was out in
the hall. Omi, Yohji and Aya stood at the top of the stairs, all in
their "assassin gear". Yohji's shades managed to hide the fact that the
stitches in his face came perilously close to his eye.
---
"Xue Shi! Xue Shi!" Akira had his hands cupped around his mouth,
amplifying his shouts. He looked like an idiot.
Oz, Fei, and Nobuyuki, while following him, were also attempting to
look like they didn't know him. The man was such an embarrassment!
"Luan-ma!"
"Shut the hell up!" and there she was. Xue Shi melted out of the
shadows, eyes glowing in the streetlight like some wild cat's. Her hair
was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and she was dressed in black from
head to toe, "Go away, Akira. I'm doing something."
"Xue Shi!" Akira dashed forwards, and almost impaled himself on a
wickedly sharp katana. A red haired man had appeared from the shadows
behind her.
"How many names do you _have_, Ranko?"
"Lots," Xue Shi stated cooly, before turning back to Akira, "I'll
contact you tomorrow. Right now, we're looking for someone."
"Huh?" Nobuyuki stepped forwards, "We could help you!"
"Doubtful," the man's icy violet eyes drifted over them, "Ranko, let's
go." She nodded and the pair melted back into the darkness.
Akira whimpered, "But... but you're supposed to record tonight..."
---
"So who..."
"None of your business, Kudou."
They fell silent, following Ranko as she paced the park Aya, Schuldich
and herself had goofed around in the day prior. She came to a halt at
the edge of the man-made lake. Yohji opened his mouth to speak, but she
beat him to it, "Over there. By the trees."
She left the boys behind, padding across the soft grass to peer at the
tree. Oddly enough, there was an aura stamp on the tree-- a piece of
someone's aura, to tell those who could sense them that _this_ belonged
to them. Ranko had only just learned how to read them; she couldn't
make her own just yet.
Ranko didn't recognize the stamp, but the aura was similar to
Schuldich's. An obvious clue to a skilled martial artist; all she had
to do was find the matching stamp.
---
"...go away."
Schuldich grinned at his captive, "Don't you want to know how your
friends are doing?"
Ken didn't even bother to lift his face from the pillow, "If Aya
doesn't have his katana against your neck, I don't care." He'd tried
his phase-ability four separate times over the past day. Schuldich kept
catching him, however, so he'd ended up just not bothering.
He felt the bed shift as Schuldich sat on the edge; still, he refrained
from looking up. He did, however, tense as eh felt Schuldich pet his
head and the back of his neck like he was some sort of house cat.
"You do go by a cat's name, 'Siberian'"
"Shut up and get out of my head."
The redhead smirked at the back of Ken's head, "Whatever you say,
liebe." He did note that Ken had failed to tell him to remove his hand.
A giddy feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach, the smirk fading
into a goofy grin for a second. But only a second, as his face was
quickly jerked back into his natural smirking expression.
---
This was the third building they'd checked. If Schuldich and Ken
weren't here, there were still two more, although they were a good half
hours run's from where they were. Weiss was getting tired, as was
Ranko, and they _all_ knew that they were getting sloppy. Aya had
accidentally kicked a can-- something that wouldn't have happened
normally.
The short "nap" after lunch had helped, but not enough. They were still
falling asleep on their feet.
"Got it!" Ranko crowed suddenly, startling the boys. She was grinning
in a way that was frighteningly similar to Farfello's, with her hand
resting on the building's wall, "Either they're here, or there's
another clue in here."
"Let's go," Omi gave a tired grin, "so we can go home and _sleep_!"
"Amen to that," Yohji muttered, tilting his shades onto his head. Aya
said nothing, only going around the side of the building to search for
an entrance. Normally, they'd fall back and plan everything out
carefully, but this was Ken. They had to get him away from Schuldich
_now_. Not tomorrow.
The other three followed Aya's lead, Omi being the one who eventually
found an open entrance. They pulled themselves in through the window.
Below, a redheaded girl looked to be asleep in a computer chair. The
aura stamp was hers, Ranko noted absently, before sending her sense out
to search for Ken.
Schuldich's mental voice rang out, /Now, now, Bishoujo, you aren't
about to cheat, are you?/
Aya growled low in his throat, forcing Ranko to realize that the
message had not been directed solely at her. In fact, it had been
directed at everyone, as the flame haired girl below bounced to her
feet.
"They're here? Already?" they could hear her asking. He response was
Schuldich stepping out of another room, and pointing up at them.
Taking her cue, Ranko flipped off the second floor to land on all
fours. It would not have been impossible for her to land standing, but
she didn't want to bother with feeding ki into her legs to soften the
landing.
Aya followed her over the edge, while Yohji and Omi looked for a set of
stairs. Four redheads stood in the warehouse-- two male, two female.
The unknown woman wasn't all that tall, and was probably only eighteen.
Her hair was chin-length, and eyes a sharp emerald. She wore a black
dress and stockings, a pale baby blue knit duster over top.
She muttered something to Schuldich in German, and he frowned. She
repeated what she'd said, then moved to one side of the room. Aya's
eyes were locked on Schuldich's but Ranko followed the girl curiously.
"Why are you following me?"
"Schuldich and Aya are glaring at each other," Ranko shrugged, "and I'm
bored, and tired."
She got an odd look in return, but no words. The two girls only stopped
once they were fully hidden by the shadows. A third shadow reached out
to grab Ranko; she started to struggle, but the flash of a single
golden eye halted her, "Jei-sama?"
"Will you come home, Kitty?"
"I..." Ranma _wanted_ to stay with Jei and never have to see Yohji or
Omi again. On the other hand, there was still the mysteries of Fujimiya
to figure out, "...I want to, Jei-sama, but..."
The other girl rolled her eyes at the melodrama, "You two are
pathetic."
Farfello's warning growl was accompanied by Ranma's annoyed hiss.
Yohji and Omi had made it to the ground floor, and were backing Aya.
This extra "incentive" made Schuldich falter for a moment-- he was
confident of his abilities to fight two of them, but three skilled
assassins? Highly unlikely.
A mental call for help had Farfello and the girl running from their
spots in the shadows. Jei had a knife in each hand, while the girl
welded a wicked looking pole-arm; a two foot scimitar blade attacked to
a three foot haft.
Ranma padded out as well, but she stayed out of any direct lighting.
Instead, she moved towards the door Schuldich had entered the main room
through.
---
Ken's head jerked up as the sounds of a fight came through the door.
Weiss was here! The thought raced through his mind, and relief washed
over him. No more being Schuldich's prisoner!
No more mind games.
The soccer player's cheeks developed quite the flush as he recalled the
nature of Schuldich's "mind games". He wished for his bugnuks in that
moment-- simply to get rid of his embarrassment over the day with them.
He hadn't expected them to drop into his lap. Looking up, Ranko stood
in front of him.
He'd never been so happy to see someone in his life-- he failed to
realize what he was doing as he leapt off the bed to hug her. She'd
seen the shackle around his wrist, however. She'd seen his arm pass
through it.
"How'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
Ranko found it a _little_ annoying to have a taller, older boy wrapped
around her neck, who was not standing on his own two feet. Glaring at
him, she yanked his arms away from her neck, dropping him on the floor,
"The thing with the chain! You went _through_ it!"
Ken's face paled. He hadn't even realized-- merely reacted. He hadn't
noticed the uncomfortable tingle as he phased through the shackle. His
control was as strong as ever, that he knew, but the fact that he
hadn't noticed the tiny lap... not good.
"I... uh..." Ken scratched the back of his neck, "I... can I tell you
later?"
Ranko frowned, but conceded, "When we get back to the Koneko, you
'splain what you just did. Now, let's go; I'm tired, and hungry."
---
They'd paired off-- Schuldich and Omi, Aya and Farfello, the girl and
Yohji.
While Aya and Farfello were well matched, and Schuldich and Omi hadn't
had a victor yet, Yohji had taken on the girl with the long handled
scimitar; and was winning. She obviously had not had much practice with
the blade.
He looped his wire around the haft as he ducked away from the swing.
With a sharp tug, and a slight twist, the weapon was out of her hands
and skittering across the floor. A flash of fear darted across her face
as she fell into a not-exactly great "sparring stance". Her left leg
was forwards, both knees bent, although her left leg wasn't as far
forwards as it was in the "normal" stance. She wobbled for a second
before firming her stance, glaring at Yohji.
Lightly looping his wire around his fingers, Yohji gave his normal
"play boy smirk." It didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, due to
the stitches running from cheek to scalp. Her determined look did not
waver for a second.
Yohji took a few steps forwards to lash out with a light kick to test
her skill. She managed to dodge out of the way, but held back from
counter attacking. Loosing his wire, he sent it flying at her, and she,
once again, just barely kept from harm's way.
The next time he attacked, she didn't. The wire bit into her cheek and
she gave a small yelp of pain. It was loud enough, however, for
Schuldich to hear.
With a quick trick, the German had Omi asleep on the floor, and had
appeared between Yohji and the girl. Jade eyes narrowed with anger.
"You alright, Rache[1]?"
"Just a nick, Schu," she grumbled, "I don't need you protecting me all
the time."
Schu? Yohji only wondered on that for a second, before deciding that
she was probably some whore he'd tricked into helping via a pretty
face.
Said "pretty face" was suddenly in _his_ face, "You ever call my sister
a whore, even in the privacy of your own mind, again, and I'll make the
rest of your admittedly _short_ existence a living _hell_!"
"I'll help," Ranko's voice came from the left, and the trio whirled.
She and Ken stood side-by-side, "But for now, you've lost oh Guilty
One."
"For now," he agreed, drawing back, "See you later, Bishoujo." A pair
of glares were sent in Yohji's direction before the siblings flitted
off into the night.
Yohji padded over to where Omi lay, hefting the boy into the air,
before turning to Aya. The redhead and Farfello stood across from one
another, glaring, and panting heavily. Blood dripped from numerous cuts
and abrasions dotting their skin.
Ranko slipped past the standing males to snag Jei's arm, and drag him
off. Her voice was cheerful as three shocked gazes watched her leave,
"Bye Guys! I'll see you later!"
Jei shot Aya a smug look before both vanished. Yohji blinked, then
sighed, "Lets get home. Maybe we can figure out what happened, there."
"Yeah," Ken agreed, puzzling over the strange day. Maybe he'd figure
out what Schuldich thought he was doing.
As the assassins left the warehouse, Yohji's voice was curious, "Ken?
What happened top your clothes?"
---
Ten minute after they'd left, four people slipped back in-- three
males, one female. Ranma had changed back to normal and was currently
pacing the ground beside his master. Blue eyes sharp from years upon
years of attacks, scanned the room-- although not for enemies. At
least, not this time.
"...like they'd buy it, Rache," Schuldich had his hands in his pockets,
"They'll just think this is a ploy to kill them."
"You're the one infatuated with Hidaka," Rache responded lightly, "Not
me. I'm just trying to make my elder brother happy."
"No you're not," Ranma smirked, and Jei continued, "You just want him
to stop 'mothering' you, Naru." The pair snicked at the dark look on
the telepath's face, and Rache had to giggle as well.
"It's big," Jei gave Ranma a light, only slightly psychotic smile,
"Lot's of room to play in." Over the days since meeting Kitty again,
Jei had shown through Farfello's madness more and more. It was
disturbing, however, to note that while Jei was _sane_, he shared much
of Farfello's opinions, and grudges.
Schuldich hadn't bothered to look in on the lunatic's splintered mind,
but he figured if he did, there was only one conclusion. Jei and
Farfello were becoming one person again. Things would prove much
more... fun, when they did.
"We'll have to purchase the building the way normal, law abiding
citizens do," Rache stated, dropping back into her computer chair, "and
it will take awhile to move all our things in here.
"Why's do we have to pay for it, Naru? We could just get Nagi to
_make_ it ours," Jei looped his arms around Ranma's waist, as they came
to a halt, chin resting on the shorter teen's shoulder, "This place has
to be expensive!"
"Because," Rache rolled her eyes, "Crawford and Nagi are not to know
about this place until we've completed the transition."
"And you four can break away from Estet," Ranma concluded, "besides,
it's not like it's that expensive."
"You've never bought a warehouse before, have you, Bishoujo?" Schuldich
hiked an eyebrow and dipped into Kitty's mind, to see exactly why the
boy thought this way. With a note of surprise, he withdrew, "That's
quite the sum of money you've got at your beak-and-call, _Sushi_."
"_You_ are Sushi?" Rache blinked, "Wow. You're pretty good, Ranma."
Ranma shrugged, "First, it's _Xue Shi_, as in chinese for bloodstone,
_not_ 'Sushi'. And I had to earn money somehow. Nabiki takes a lot from
me," and I still don't know how she gets it out of me, he grumped to
himself, "In any case, Xue Shi can buy this place, and we can set it up
over the next few days."
"Can't," Jei muttered, "Takatori is returning from Hawaii with some
friend, tomorrow. It's back to playing bodyguards for him."
The female redhead made a face, "Then I guess it's just Ranma and me."
Ranma shook his head, however, "I'm going with Jei-sama, Naru. I've
been so bored lately! The only person who's shown up is Ryouga-- and
P-chan gets lost to easily," Jei had growled int he back of his throat
at Ryouga's nickname. The obsidian haired youth, however, failed to
notice, "I get the feeling everything and everyone from Nerima is going
to come crashing down on me, any minute now."
Rache sighed, "I'm going to be all alone! We can't expect Weiss to help
me move in!"
Schuldich hiked an eyebrow, "Don't you have any friends?"
Rache ran her fingers through chin-length red hair, "I haven't spoken
to most of them in four years-- correction! _They_ haven't spoken to
_me_!"
"Want we should include them in the hunt, Naru?" a positively blood
thirsty look danced across Saotome's face. Rache lifted a hand.
"No. But keep that in mind."
End
[1] I am unsure if this is the right word. I read that it's German for
"revenge".
almost broke my hand while waving his walking stick through the air
like some type of battle staff. And while I'm pretty sure I could have
taken it out bare handed, Devon wanted me to use a stick, too. I got to
hold a hockey stick and pretend it was a glaive.
We were also pretending I was a three foot tall dark faerie-chick, my
brother, a three and a half foot tall half human sprite-guy, and Dev
was a silver elf, who towered over bother of us.
This is, apparently, what having a life is like. I think I prefer not
having a life, and just writing stories.
*clucks her tongue* Ah well, I have revealed who the redhead is. She
is... *drumroll*... Rache! *snickers* Okay, okay, so that's just what
Schu calls her. You have to read to find out who she really is.
As for who figured it out... only Yanslana got it. *makes the readers
clap for Yanslana*
False Identity
Chapter Eleven: Conception
Li Xiang
"Where is she?!"
Sanzenshin Nobuyuki rolled his eyes, listening to his manager rant.
Twirling one drumstick around his fingers, he was seriously considering
whipping the other at him. It wasn't the first time their "prize" voice
took off without telling their manager, Karuna Akira. It was just a
habit of hers.
"Lay off, Akira," Daniel Osborne-- "Oz" to everyone other than
himself-- muttered in English, "She's probably off in China again."
"Bzzzt!" the three males turned to the door where another young man
stood, "Our dear Xue Shi has been spotted in Juuban."
Akira's head snapped up at Chang Li Fei's words. He was on his feet and
out the door before the other three could react. Oz hiked an eyebrow,
"Who didn't see that one coming?"
His companions chuckled, before following Akira.
---
"Did you know she can sing?"
Aya, Omi and Yohji were seated int he mission room, discussing how to
go about rescuing Ken. They'd narrowed his location down to four or
five buildings, and planned to have Ranko use her sense to track the
other teen down. At this moment, Ranko was making lunch.
"Who? Ranko?" Omi was obviously tired, almost unable to keep his eyes
open. Aya, despite _looking_ awake, projected an aura of almost passed
out from fatigue. The redhead hadn't gotten much sleep over the past
two days. Yohji nodded.
"Yeah, Ranko. She's pretty good, even if she was mocking me."
"I wasn't mocking you, Kudou," Ranko stepped from the stairwell, not
bothering to muffle her footsteps. She held the same look-and-feel of
Aya-- Although she'd gotten more sleep, her body was still fighting off
the cold she'd caught, "Lunch is ready. It's not the greatest, but..."
No other words were nessecary, and she turned on her heel to trudge
upstairs. The boys followed silently, seating themselves at the table
in the kitchen.
As they ate, Aya gave them a blurry-eyed look, "Get some sleep. We'll
go through the area tonight."
"Hai!" the other three chimed, before returning to their meals in
silence.
---
The sun was setting upon them as the boys drifted up the street. There
was the odd stranger who nodded a greeting, but most of the
recognizable faces shied away from them.
Kitty paraded down the fence as though he was all that mattered in the
world. His mane of black hair was tangled and fell loosely about his
face, stormy cobalt eyes slitted almost closed, and head held high with
pride. Despite this, there was a loop of rope about his neck, trailing
to the hand of the pale haired one beside him.
Jei's stride was far from the boastful, cocky one of his younger
"friend". He moved with careful, precise steps. The Irish boy matched
Kitty's speed, neither pulling ahead nor falling behind. A mischievous
smile curved his lips.
"Kitty, stop."
The dark haired feral child ignored the command, and continued to walk.
A low growl seeped from Jei's throat, before he snapped out an order,
"Kitty! Stop!" and gave a sharp tug on the rope leash in his hand.
A hiss escaped the eight year old's mouth, and he whirled to glare at
Jei. The human mind, buried as it was, understood that he'd disobeyed
Jei, and the golden-eyed youth was mad at him for it. The Cat, on the
other hand, cared not for that; he cared for the fact that Jei had
_dared_ to force him to do something.
Kitty lunged.
---
A splash of icy water, complete with ice cubes, rained down on her
head. Eyes snapping open, she managed a sputtering cough while sitting
up. Yohji stood over her with the cup in hand. Ranko responded
politely.
"If you're not out of here in the next ten seconds, I will rip you limb
from limb, gut you like a fish, and roast your entrails on a spit, then
eat them before your very eyes."
While Yohji didn't actually believe she'd go through with her threat,
there was no reason to take chances. He darted from the room, dropping
the cup in the process. She dropped back onto the western-style
mattress, head sinking into her pillow.
She would have remained content to stay there, laying on the plush bed,
in the direct path of a large sunbeam, for the rest of eternity.
Unfortunately for her, someone had decided on intruding.
/Good evening, Bishoujo!/
"I'm trying to sleep, you German psychopath."
/Don't you want to rescue Hidaka?/ the mental smirk was almost over
powering, /If you want to leave him with me, I won't mind.../
"You going to tell me where he is?"
/Now, now, Bishoujo, that wouldn't be any _fun_/
Ranma snorted, "Lunatic." /How about a hint?/
Schuldich considered for a moment, /No. Do it on your own, Kitty./
Schuldich's presence left as Ranma drew herself up from the bed. A
quick change into black jeans and a black shirt, along with an
adjustment of the collar so the tag was centered, and she was out in
the hall. Omi, Yohji and Aya stood at the top of the stairs, all in
their "assassin gear". Yohji's shades managed to hide the fact that the
stitches in his face came perilously close to his eye.
---
"Xue Shi! Xue Shi!" Akira had his hands cupped around his mouth,
amplifying his shouts. He looked like an idiot.
Oz, Fei, and Nobuyuki, while following him, were also attempting to
look like they didn't know him. The man was such an embarrassment!
"Luan-ma!"
"Shut the hell up!" and there she was. Xue Shi melted out of the
shadows, eyes glowing in the streetlight like some wild cat's. Her hair
was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and she was dressed in black from
head to toe, "Go away, Akira. I'm doing something."
"Xue Shi!" Akira dashed forwards, and almost impaled himself on a
wickedly sharp katana. A red haired man had appeared from the shadows
behind her.
"How many names do you _have_, Ranko?"
"Lots," Xue Shi stated cooly, before turning back to Akira, "I'll
contact you tomorrow. Right now, we're looking for someone."
"Huh?" Nobuyuki stepped forwards, "We could help you!"
"Doubtful," the man's icy violet eyes drifted over them, "Ranko, let's
go." She nodded and the pair melted back into the darkness.
Akira whimpered, "But... but you're supposed to record tonight..."
---
"So who..."
"None of your business, Kudou."
They fell silent, following Ranko as she paced the park Aya, Schuldich
and herself had goofed around in the day prior. She came to a halt at
the edge of the man-made lake. Yohji opened his mouth to speak, but she
beat him to it, "Over there. By the trees."
She left the boys behind, padding across the soft grass to peer at the
tree. Oddly enough, there was an aura stamp on the tree-- a piece of
someone's aura, to tell those who could sense them that _this_ belonged
to them. Ranko had only just learned how to read them; she couldn't
make her own just yet.
Ranko didn't recognize the stamp, but the aura was similar to
Schuldich's. An obvious clue to a skilled martial artist; all she had
to do was find the matching stamp.
---
"...go away."
Schuldich grinned at his captive, "Don't you want to know how your
friends are doing?"
Ken didn't even bother to lift his face from the pillow, "If Aya
doesn't have his katana against your neck, I don't care." He'd tried
his phase-ability four separate times over the past day. Schuldich kept
catching him, however, so he'd ended up just not bothering.
He felt the bed shift as Schuldich sat on the edge; still, he refrained
from looking up. He did, however, tense as eh felt Schuldich pet his
head and the back of his neck like he was some sort of house cat.
"You do go by a cat's name, 'Siberian'"
"Shut up and get out of my head."
The redhead smirked at the back of Ken's head, "Whatever you say,
liebe." He did note that Ken had failed to tell him to remove his hand.
A giddy feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach, the smirk fading
into a goofy grin for a second. But only a second, as his face was
quickly jerked back into his natural smirking expression.
---
This was the third building they'd checked. If Schuldich and Ken
weren't here, there were still two more, although they were a good half
hours run's from where they were. Weiss was getting tired, as was
Ranko, and they _all_ knew that they were getting sloppy. Aya had
accidentally kicked a can-- something that wouldn't have happened
normally.
The short "nap" after lunch had helped, but not enough. They were still
falling asleep on their feet.
"Got it!" Ranko crowed suddenly, startling the boys. She was grinning
in a way that was frighteningly similar to Farfello's, with her hand
resting on the building's wall, "Either they're here, or there's
another clue in here."
"Let's go," Omi gave a tired grin, "so we can go home and _sleep_!"
"Amen to that," Yohji muttered, tilting his shades onto his head. Aya
said nothing, only going around the side of the building to search for
an entrance. Normally, they'd fall back and plan everything out
carefully, but this was Ken. They had to get him away from Schuldich
_now_. Not tomorrow.
The other three followed Aya's lead, Omi being the one who eventually
found an open entrance. They pulled themselves in through the window.
Below, a redheaded girl looked to be asleep in a computer chair. The
aura stamp was hers, Ranko noted absently, before sending her sense out
to search for Ken.
Schuldich's mental voice rang out, /Now, now, Bishoujo, you aren't
about to cheat, are you?/
Aya growled low in his throat, forcing Ranko to realize that the
message had not been directed solely at her. In fact, it had been
directed at everyone, as the flame haired girl below bounced to her
feet.
"They're here? Already?" they could hear her asking. He response was
Schuldich stepping out of another room, and pointing up at them.
Taking her cue, Ranko flipped off the second floor to land on all
fours. It would not have been impossible for her to land standing, but
she didn't want to bother with feeding ki into her legs to soften the
landing.
Aya followed her over the edge, while Yohji and Omi looked for a set of
stairs. Four redheads stood in the warehouse-- two male, two female.
The unknown woman wasn't all that tall, and was probably only eighteen.
Her hair was chin-length, and eyes a sharp emerald. She wore a black
dress and stockings, a pale baby blue knit duster over top.
She muttered something to Schuldich in German, and he frowned. She
repeated what she'd said, then moved to one side of the room. Aya's
eyes were locked on Schuldich's but Ranko followed the girl curiously.
"Why are you following me?"
"Schuldich and Aya are glaring at each other," Ranko shrugged, "and I'm
bored, and tired."
She got an odd look in return, but no words. The two girls only stopped
once they were fully hidden by the shadows. A third shadow reached out
to grab Ranko; she started to struggle, but the flash of a single
golden eye halted her, "Jei-sama?"
"Will you come home, Kitty?"
"I..." Ranma _wanted_ to stay with Jei and never have to see Yohji or
Omi again. On the other hand, there was still the mysteries of Fujimiya
to figure out, "...I want to, Jei-sama, but..."
The other girl rolled her eyes at the melodrama, "You two are
pathetic."
Farfello's warning growl was accompanied by Ranma's annoyed hiss.
Yohji and Omi had made it to the ground floor, and were backing Aya.
This extra "incentive" made Schuldich falter for a moment-- he was
confident of his abilities to fight two of them, but three skilled
assassins? Highly unlikely.
A mental call for help had Farfello and the girl running from their
spots in the shadows. Jei had a knife in each hand, while the girl
welded a wicked looking pole-arm; a two foot scimitar blade attacked to
a three foot haft.
Ranma padded out as well, but she stayed out of any direct lighting.
Instead, she moved towards the door Schuldich had entered the main room
through.
---
Ken's head jerked up as the sounds of a fight came through the door.
Weiss was here! The thought raced through his mind, and relief washed
over him. No more being Schuldich's prisoner!
No more mind games.
The soccer player's cheeks developed quite the flush as he recalled the
nature of Schuldich's "mind games". He wished for his bugnuks in that
moment-- simply to get rid of his embarrassment over the day with them.
He hadn't expected them to drop into his lap. Looking up, Ranko stood
in front of him.
He'd never been so happy to see someone in his life-- he failed to
realize what he was doing as he leapt off the bed to hug her. She'd
seen the shackle around his wrist, however. She'd seen his arm pass
through it.
"How'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
Ranko found it a _little_ annoying to have a taller, older boy wrapped
around her neck, who was not standing on his own two feet. Glaring at
him, she yanked his arms away from her neck, dropping him on the floor,
"The thing with the chain! You went _through_ it!"
Ken's face paled. He hadn't even realized-- merely reacted. He hadn't
noticed the uncomfortable tingle as he phased through the shackle. His
control was as strong as ever, that he knew, but the fact that he
hadn't noticed the tiny lap... not good.
"I... uh..." Ken scratched the back of his neck, "I... can I tell you
later?"
Ranko frowned, but conceded, "When we get back to the Koneko, you
'splain what you just did. Now, let's go; I'm tired, and hungry."
---
They'd paired off-- Schuldich and Omi, Aya and Farfello, the girl and
Yohji.
While Aya and Farfello were well matched, and Schuldich and Omi hadn't
had a victor yet, Yohji had taken on the girl with the long handled
scimitar; and was winning. She obviously had not had much practice with
the blade.
He looped his wire around the haft as he ducked away from the swing.
With a sharp tug, and a slight twist, the weapon was out of her hands
and skittering across the floor. A flash of fear darted across her face
as she fell into a not-exactly great "sparring stance". Her left leg
was forwards, both knees bent, although her left leg wasn't as far
forwards as it was in the "normal" stance. She wobbled for a second
before firming her stance, glaring at Yohji.
Lightly looping his wire around his fingers, Yohji gave his normal
"play boy smirk." It didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, due to
the stitches running from cheek to scalp. Her determined look did not
waver for a second.
Yohji took a few steps forwards to lash out with a light kick to test
her skill. She managed to dodge out of the way, but held back from
counter attacking. Loosing his wire, he sent it flying at her, and she,
once again, just barely kept from harm's way.
The next time he attacked, she didn't. The wire bit into her cheek and
she gave a small yelp of pain. It was loud enough, however, for
Schuldich to hear.
With a quick trick, the German had Omi asleep on the floor, and had
appeared between Yohji and the girl. Jade eyes narrowed with anger.
"You alright, Rache[1]?"
"Just a nick, Schu," she grumbled, "I don't need you protecting me all
the time."
Schu? Yohji only wondered on that for a second, before deciding that
she was probably some whore he'd tricked into helping via a pretty
face.
Said "pretty face" was suddenly in _his_ face, "You ever call my sister
a whore, even in the privacy of your own mind, again, and I'll make the
rest of your admittedly _short_ existence a living _hell_!"
"I'll help," Ranko's voice came from the left, and the trio whirled.
She and Ken stood side-by-side, "But for now, you've lost oh Guilty
One."
"For now," he agreed, drawing back, "See you later, Bishoujo." A pair
of glares were sent in Yohji's direction before the siblings flitted
off into the night.
Yohji padded over to where Omi lay, hefting the boy into the air,
before turning to Aya. The redhead and Farfello stood across from one
another, glaring, and panting heavily. Blood dripped from numerous cuts
and abrasions dotting their skin.
Ranko slipped past the standing males to snag Jei's arm, and drag him
off. Her voice was cheerful as three shocked gazes watched her leave,
"Bye Guys! I'll see you later!"
Jei shot Aya a smug look before both vanished. Yohji blinked, then
sighed, "Lets get home. Maybe we can figure out what happened, there."
"Yeah," Ken agreed, puzzling over the strange day. Maybe he'd figure
out what Schuldich thought he was doing.
As the assassins left the warehouse, Yohji's voice was curious, "Ken?
What happened top your clothes?"
---
Ten minute after they'd left, four people slipped back in-- three
males, one female. Ranma had changed back to normal and was currently
pacing the ground beside his master. Blue eyes sharp from years upon
years of attacks, scanned the room-- although not for enemies. At
least, not this time.
"...like they'd buy it, Rache," Schuldich had his hands in his pockets,
"They'll just think this is a ploy to kill them."
"You're the one infatuated with Hidaka," Rache responded lightly, "Not
me. I'm just trying to make my elder brother happy."
"No you're not," Ranma smirked, and Jei continued, "You just want him
to stop 'mothering' you, Naru." The pair snicked at the dark look on
the telepath's face, and Rache had to giggle as well.
"It's big," Jei gave Ranma a light, only slightly psychotic smile,
"Lot's of room to play in." Over the days since meeting Kitty again,
Jei had shown through Farfello's madness more and more. It was
disturbing, however, to note that while Jei was _sane_, he shared much
of Farfello's opinions, and grudges.
Schuldich hadn't bothered to look in on the lunatic's splintered mind,
but he figured if he did, there was only one conclusion. Jei and
Farfello were becoming one person again. Things would prove much
more... fun, when they did.
"We'll have to purchase the building the way normal, law abiding
citizens do," Rache stated, dropping back into her computer chair, "and
it will take awhile to move all our things in here.
"Why's do we have to pay for it, Naru? We could just get Nagi to
_make_ it ours," Jei looped his arms around Ranma's waist, as they came
to a halt, chin resting on the shorter teen's shoulder, "This place has
to be expensive!"
"Because," Rache rolled her eyes, "Crawford and Nagi are not to know
about this place until we've completed the transition."
"And you four can break away from Estet," Ranma concluded, "besides,
it's not like it's that expensive."
"You've never bought a warehouse before, have you, Bishoujo?" Schuldich
hiked an eyebrow and dipped into Kitty's mind, to see exactly why the
boy thought this way. With a note of surprise, he withdrew, "That's
quite the sum of money you've got at your beak-and-call, _Sushi_."
"_You_ are Sushi?" Rache blinked, "Wow. You're pretty good, Ranma."
Ranma shrugged, "First, it's _Xue Shi_, as in chinese for bloodstone,
_not_ 'Sushi'. And I had to earn money somehow. Nabiki takes a lot from
me," and I still don't know how she gets it out of me, he grumped to
himself, "In any case, Xue Shi can buy this place, and we can set it up
over the next few days."
"Can't," Jei muttered, "Takatori is returning from Hawaii with some
friend, tomorrow. It's back to playing bodyguards for him."
The female redhead made a face, "Then I guess it's just Ranma and me."
Ranma shook his head, however, "I'm going with Jei-sama, Naru. I've
been so bored lately! The only person who's shown up is Ryouga-- and
P-chan gets lost to easily," Jei had growled int he back of his throat
at Ryouga's nickname. The obsidian haired youth, however, failed to
notice, "I get the feeling everything and everyone from Nerima is going
to come crashing down on me, any minute now."
Rache sighed, "I'm going to be all alone! We can't expect Weiss to help
me move in!"
Schuldich hiked an eyebrow, "Don't you have any friends?"
Rache ran her fingers through chin-length red hair, "I haven't spoken
to most of them in four years-- correction! _They_ haven't spoken to
_me_!"
"Want we should include them in the hunt, Naru?" a positively blood
thirsty look danced across Saotome's face. Rache lifted a hand.
"No. But keep that in mind."
End
[1] I am unsure if this is the right word. I read that it's German for
"revenge".