Ranma 1/2:
Permanent part 6
A veil of lies.

Two weeks had passed since his failed attempt at
Ranma's life, Mousse stood and looked into the cracked
mirror in the old abandoned home he was sleeping in. He
frowned as he placed his glasses on "My vision is almost
normal again," he muttered bitterly.

His remaining eye had
gone into shock and rendered him totally blind when Ranma
had stabbed his left eye out. He took the bandage off and
examined the wound and snorted at the now empty hole on his
face. "Another injury to me you must suffer for Ranma
Saotome. You have made it impossible for my Shampoo to ever
feel my love again, and I will make you suffer."

+++++++++++

Three days later...

Akane Tendo walked into the bathroom and began to
undress for her bath. She stood at the mirror and smiled.
She heard the door open behind her and gasped. A naked
Ranma stepped out and stopped cold staring at her.

"Ranma I'm sorry I didn't know you were in there."
said Akane blushing. Ranma had made it clear when she first
moved in that she preferred to bathe alone.

"It's okay I guess," said Ranma as she wrapped a towel
around her hair and waist and stepped out of the room.
Akane stared at Ranma wide eyed in disbelief, her body was
covered in scars; the two big ones going down her back and
stomach were the most prominent.

"I had no Idea it was that bad," she muttered to
herself.

++++++++++

"Do you always smile at yourself like that, or were
you just testing your cheeks?" asked Ranma as they walked
to school together a short time later.

Akane blushed and looked at the ground
nervously. "What's she talking about?" asked Yuka from
beside her.

"I-its nothing," stammered Akane.

"I understand why you like to bathe alone now,"
said Akane walking over to Ranma as she walked along the
fence.

Ranma stopped cold and stared at her nervously. "I
had no Idea the scars were that bad." continued Akane.

The girl relaxed and kept walking. "You get used
to it," she replied.

At the gates of Furinkan, Kuno stood in
waiting. "Ah 'tis the beauteous pig tailed girl and Akane
Tendo," he said with his usual arrogance. "Surely today you
will pledge your love for me." The boy threw a pair of
roses at the pair. Ranma swatted hers out of the air.

"Kuno we should talk, alone," she said with a smile
Akane didn't like.

"What are you going to do?" she said nervously.

"I'm going to force the truth down this fool's
throat," growled Ranma. The crowd gasped as Ranma drug an
elated Kuno off behind the building muttering something to
herself.

Nabiki nodded to her underling and she followed
discretely, nervously glancing back at her employer. No one
else had dared to follow Ranma and Kuno. They all knew what
Ranma was capable of when she was angry, and most of them
doubted if Ranma was going to give herself to Kuno. Those
who though she might glanced at the corner they were behind
with a strange apprehension about them.

++++++++++

A few minutes later Nabiki's 'friend' came back
shaken and screaming. Nabiki stood from her place under one
of the trees in the courtyard. Akane frowned, she had seen
enough. No matter how much of a pain he was, Ranma would
not kill Kuno. If she had tried to explain things to him
calmly like she thought she was doing she could easily end
up frustrated and lose her temper. Desperate cries of pain
came from behind the building as the two sisters ran
towards the spot. What they found was not what Nabiki was
expecting and what Akane was afraid of.

++++++++++

Ranma pulled Kuno behind the building. "My l-
love 'tis not right that you should show your love for me
here, we must retire to some place more private surely,"
stammered the kendoist nervously.

"No one will bother us. I put a small spell that
makes them too nervous to investigate on everyone. You
should be flattered Kuno I've been planning this for a
while. You wouldn't believe how long it took to find just
the right spell." She gave him an evil grin and pushed him
against the wall.

"Surely such magics could only be spawned from your
undying love for me," stuttered Kuno.

"Or hatred." Ranma sneered at him and backed away
from him slowly.

"Tell me who it is you hate so badly and surely I
shall slay them!" said Kuno getting on his knees and
grabbing the girl's hand hand.

"Why, It's is you of course," replied Ranma coldly.

"Ah, I understand. You hate me for not bringing my
undying love to you sooner!" cried Kuno as he grabbed Ranma
in a hug.

"I tried allowing you to see the truth for
yourself, now you must suffer my way." Ranma pushed him off
of her and raised her arms up pointing towards him; her
palms glowed with a strange white light, and Kuno was
pressed against the wall by an invisible force.

"Alas I cannot show my love for you! The foul
sorcerer Gosunkugi has placed a spell to force me from
movement! I shall smite the weakling after I free myself
and profess my love to you my pig tailed goddess!" screamed
Kuno as he struggled on the wall.

"Gosunkugi?" thought Ranma idly and quickly pushed
it away, she had more pressing matters to attend at the
moment.

"You cannot run from the truth forever Kuno. I
shall make it so that is all you can see!" Ranma's cold
sneer turned into a full-blown evil grin. She raised her
hands over her head and began chanting; a blue aura
surrounded her and Kuno, it seemed as if they where both
burning with a cold blue fire. She heard someone scream and
run away. "Damn, I knew I should have used a stronger
ward," muttered Ranma. The spell she used was very weak,
anyone would follow with enough of a reason or enough
prodding, then Kuno began to scream as well.

A few moments passed and Ranma saw Akane and Nabiki
turn the corner and stop cold in their tracks. Nabiki
stared at Ranma and Kuno in disbelief and Akane ran towards
her. "Akane don't interfere, never interfere with a spell -
ever- understand me?" Ranma's look as she turned and
glare at the youngest Tendo was more than enough to stop
her.

"What are you doing to him?" asked Akane glancing
between Ranma and the Kendoist who was writhing in pain
against the wall.

"Making him see the truth," said Ranma.

"How?!" she cried stepping towards Kuno.

"Akane if you touch him you may make this worse,"
warned Ranma.

"Will he die?" asked Akane.

"There are worse fates than death," replied Ranma
as the glow died around her and Kuno.

Kuno fell in a quivering mass on the ground, he
stood and stared at Akane and Ranma.

"What did you do to him?" said Akane staring at
Ranma with tears in her eyes.

"Simple, he can no longer see or hear any lie, not
even the ones he creates himself." Ranma gave her a tight
smirk, she actually looked quite proud of her work.

"Where is the pigtailed girl?" asked Kuno standing
and looking around in confusion.

"I am her," said Ranma.

"You are her," said Kuno and his eyes went wide in
surprise, no matter how badly he wanted to deny it his
mouth would not comply.

"But you are a..." he started to talk.

Ranma glanced at him warningly and put her finger
to her lips. "That is not any fault of mine," she said as
Kuno stared at the boy before him.

His attention was only momentary as Akane stood
before him. "Oh Akane! No doubt you have come to profess
your hatred for me!" he cried and ran up to her and hugged
her warmly. He looked at her as she gazed at him
coldly. "You don't love me at all," he had begun to realize
just what had been done to him.

"What have you done!?" cried the kendoist as he
fell to his knees holding his head protectively.

"You can no longer hear or see any lie. If you
behave yourself I will remove the spell in a few days,"
said Ranma coolly.

"Wha?" said Kuno staring at her blankly.

"That means that you really are a..." said Kuno
with a cool gaze at Ranma.

Ranma nodded and glared at him. Kuno caught the
implied threat and kept the rest to himself.

"You don't love me," he said to Akane who stared at
him in disbelief.

Nabiki walked up to the group and stared at them in
shock. "Ah, Nabiki, You will tell no one of what you saw
here and keep your lackey quiet," Ranma offered her a
friendly smile.

Nabiki quickly regained herself and smirked. "Why
should I?" she said smugly.

"Because if you do not I will make it so the very
sight of Yen will repulse you. You won't ever be able to
touch money without throwing up," said Ranma with a
confident look on her face.

"See if I care," said Nabiki as she remained
unmoved.

"What?" said Kuno.

"Oh-ho! Looks like Kuno can't hear you Nabiki, Your
bluff has been called," said Ranma with her grin growing
ever wider.

Akane frowned and looked at Ranma in disbelief. She
was enjoying this far too much. "Ranma stop it your scaring
me," she said backing away.

Ranma stopped and stared at her. "I-I'm sorry
Akane." she said looking at her blankly. With that she
turned and walked into the school. "What happened to me?"
she muttered to herself as she walked in followed by the
other three students, they all went to their respective
classes and walked in.

++++++++++

A few moments later in the hall....

"Ranma what happened to you?" asked Akane as she
shifted her bucket.

"I don't know, I was enjoying myself. I'm not sure
why but I actually had fun doing that," said Ranma calmly;
it seemed like she had already dismissed the matter.

"It was terrible to do that to him, even if he
deserved it," said Akane in shock.

"In a few days, after I release him, He'll be
thanking me for it," said Ranma with a small frown forming
on her face.

"What do you mean?" asked Akane.

"Kuno has been lying to himself for a very long
time, I don't think he even knew he was doing it anymore,"
Ranma gave a heavy sigh. "I released him from an eternal
loop of lies. If someone hadn't stopped him it would have
continued forever," Ranma looked at the ceiling as if she
was contemplating the matter.

++++++++++++

Down the hall...

"Nabiki, My poetry is bad," sighed Kuno.

"Yes, it is, Kuno-chan," replied Nabiki.

"You say that to annoy me," said Kuno not really
paying attention.

"Kuno?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

++++++++++++

Later that day...

Soun Tendo sat on the porch of his home and
sighed. "I shall drink to your memory my old friend," he
said looking up at the sky as the panda he was speaking of
plopped down beside him. Soun poured himself a small glass
of sake and downed it quickly.

Akane walked into the room and sat at the table.
Ranma leaned her head against the table and read one of her
many books as she watched the television with Akane and
Nabiki, who was playing with her camcorder.

"Eh?" said Soun and Genma in unison as Kuno walked
across the yard towards the house.

"Ah, Mr. Tendo, it is agreeable to see you again. I
have come to annoy your daughter with bad poetry and my
unwanted advances," he said cheerfully and then stopped,
hung his head, and faced the pair on the porch. He bowed to
Soun "I apologize for the intrusion." He then turned to the
naked Genma, sweat a little, and bowed to him as well. "The
same to you good sir." With that done, he turned to walk
away.

"What was that all about?" said Soun in surprise.

"Growf," answered Genma.

"Its kind of nice having Kuno chan so truthful
isn't it Akane," said Nabiki as she walked up the stairs
with her camcorder pointed at him.

"I guess, but I still think you shouldn't have done
it Ranma. I mean Kuno can get into real trouble if he can't
even tell a little lie." she said watching him sulk away.

"Who said he couldn't lie?" said Ranma with a smile
on her face.

"What?" said Akane a bit surprise.

"He can lie all he wants. He just couldn't hear it
if he did. Its not my fault he didn't understand what I did
to him," replied Ranma.

+++++++++

A few hours later...

A frustrated Kuno walked out of a movie theater. "I
don't believe it. I couldn't see or hear the film I so
wanted to see!" he ranted.

He turned and looked at a
bookstore and frowned. Almost half the books in the store
looked totally blank to him, everything under fiction and
even a good portion of the non-fiction. He turned away and
looked at a newspaper, about half its pages were blank.
Near by a large group of children stood watching what
appeared to be blank television screens in the front of an
appliance store. "This is most irritating," he muttered and
walked towards his home. He stopped and paled as a naked
boy with a bandanna tied around his neck wandered by on his
hands and knees. "Perhaps I should hasten my return, My
sister is no doubt Unconcerned with my absence," he sped up
his stride and walked towards his home.

+++++++++++

At a dock on the other side of Japan...

Two young women in Chinese clothes stepped off the
plank and onto the soil of Japan, the pair took positions
on either side of the boarding plank and held their long
spears at their sides standing like an honor guard. An aged
woman in Chinese robes balancing delicately on a crooked
staff pogoed down and hopped between them.

"You two go and find young Mousse, tell him of the
situation and make sure he complies. I warn you not to let
your guard down he is more powerful than you think; he is
not the weak boy you once knew. It will take all your
skills to keep yourselves alive until you can speak to him
if he decides not to listen to you. I will deal with
this 'Ranma'," she spoke to them with out turning to face
them and continued on.

"Yes, mistress Cologne," replied the pair.

The old woman stopped and turned her head slightly,
"One more thing. If he still has it, make sure you get it
back intact." she said before disappearing from view.

"Yes, mistress," replied the pair bowing before they
went of on their own quest.

TbC.....