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Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Bonds and Connections
Chapter 6
Light filtered in through several cracks in a boarded window,
playing upon the young girl's skin from where she lay, curled into a
fetal position. The warmth provided by the sun's early morning rays
diffused itself into her body, and that was enough to pull her
consciousness from sleep.
Slowly, Selah yawned and stretched as she sat up. For a moment,
she was disoriented as to where she was, then remembered what had
happened. She had cried herself to sleep last night after Ukyo, Yuri,
and Konatsu were captured, too scared to do anything else.
This morning, however, she felt quite different. Maybe it was
the combination of fatigue and fear she felt last night that knocked her
out, but she wasn't fatigued anymore and she didn't feel as much fear,
being that old buildings aren't as scary during the day. Or maybe it was
the dream she could barely remember, something about Kenji, Yuri, Ukyo,
and Konatsu asking for her help. That they would be goners unless she
did something.
Dragging herself to her feet, Selah resolved herself to do that
something. What it was, she didn't know, but she had lost her home, her
dad, and possibly her mom as well. She couldn't lose these people, that
had been so nice to her, without putting up some sort of fight.
Unfortunately, she didn't think she could take on the two that
captured her friends, especially since one of them was Kenji who was
acting strange for some reason, so she figured she would just find the
others and help them escape. With any luck, she wouldn't run into the
scary old woman.
Of course, the first thing on the agenda was to find them. She
hadn't a clue where they could be in this big house and she knew the
longer she snuck around, the better the chance she was caught, so she
figured on using another trick her mother had taught her. Sitting down,
she closed her eyes and concentrated on finding bodies of water. Her
mother had told her that the human body was mostly water, so if they
were close enough, she should be able to sense where they were.
Her consciousness wandered around the immediate area, then
expanded farther on, until it discovered two small groups of water. They
were faint, but at least she could sense them. She guessed the slightly
bigger grouping was where her friends were, since the small old woman
wouldn't have as much water in her. The group she figured was her
friends, were underground, so Selah knew she'd have to look for stairs
leading down.
Standing once more, she snuck off down the hall, moving as
quietly as a church mouse.
Akane jogged around the small resort town, feeling better than
she had in a long time. After that first night in the tent, they had
moved on to the hot-spring resort where Ranma's parents had stayed on
their honeymoon. He had enough money for three nights, all three had
been wonderful. They were scheduled to head back later today, and Akane
found that she would miss the peace and quiet, as well as the privacy
that this location offered.
[Who knows?] she wondered. [Maybe we can come back up another
time?] She smiled at the thought, and blushed at the memory of the past
few days. With Ranma, it seemed that all her fears about getting
intimate with guys, just melted into nothingness. It was most likely
because he was much like her, she realized. Both of them could be
stubborn and prideful, and they tended to say what was on their mind.
There was no real need to pretend anything when they were around each
other.
She wiped the sweat from her brow with the towel that was
around her neck. Normally, she would be doing something with Ranma, but
for some odd reason, she felt like she needed to get out this morning
and jog by herself. Besides, Ranma was busy packing up their stuff and
checking them out of the inn where they were staying.
Turning a corner, Akane spied two guys up ahead on either dies
of the path, leaning against a wall and a tree respectively. Something
about them sent tingling flashes through her brain. In other words, her
danger sense was doing it's job. She frowned and berated herself as she
approached their location, knowing that she could easily handle two guys
if they attempted something.
When they stepped out and blocked her path, her danger sense
felt validated.
"Hiya girlie, what'cha doin' out so early?" the taller one
asked, smiling at her. His clothes were dark and somewhat ragged.
"Just joggin," Akane answered cautiously. "Now if you'll excuse
me..."
"Hey, hey!" the shorter and more rotund boy protested, blocking
Akane's attempt to move around. "My friend was just tryin' to be nice.
You just seem to be new around here, and we thought we could show you
around."
Akane frowned. "No thanks." She once again attempted to move
around, only to find a third boy blocking her path, dressed similarly to
the first two. Only this one was brandishing a long knife.
"I don't think you understand," he told her. "It can be
dangerous for young girls to run around unescorted."
A quick glance behind her confirmed Akane's fear that five more
youths had appeared. She was surrounded. She allowed a small grin to
form on her face. "Young boys should run along home now." She slid into
a attack stance. "That is, if they don't want to get hurt."
A round of laughter greeted her pronouncement, and the short,
rotund boy stepped forward to grab her arm. Akane responded by grabbing
his, twisting it behind his back, and then slamming him into the wall.
He slid to the ground. Akane felt a minor twinge, but shook it off.
"That wasn't too smart," the guy who appeared to the leader told
her. "Get her!"
The raven-haired girl smiled grimly, remembering the schoolyard
fights. After a few of those confrontations, she had gotten the hang of
crowd control, using only enough force to take her attackers down, but
not enough to cause permanent injury. Usually that amounted to just a
single well-placed punch or kick.
Akane turned aside the next attack, a swung lead pipe, and
shoved it into a guy approaching from behind, then swung her leg out to
take another boy in the head. Adrenaline pumping, Akane realized it had
been awhile before she had been in a crowd control fight, and she found
she missed it.
Until she suddenly found her strength disappearing. Her next
punch barely turned aside punk #4, and soon she found herself
backpedaling, her legs rapidly losing the ability to support her body.
Her sense of balance began to deteriorate, and when a fist made it past
her guard and slammed into her stomach, she crumpled to the ground.
One question echoed in her brain as blackness encroached on her
peripheral vision: What was happening to her?
"So, who's next?" Kae asked nonchalantly, sharpening her blade
with a piece of flint as she reclined in a small wooden chair.
Zhao Len finished securing the unconscious Konatsu to his own
cell with tighter chains, then turned to face her now-suddenly more
eager ally. "Change of heart? You seem to want to cooperate now. I
wonder why that is..."
Kae paused her sharpening and shot the old woman a dark look.
"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I have other
business to attend to." She didn't want to share the real reason, not
wanting to reveal any hint of weakness. [Because, you old bag, I didn't
realize exactly who your targets were. Had I known that those two girls
are the ones Kenji cares for the most, I would have helped you from the
start. Do you hear me, boy? I'm going to kill both of them with these
two hands and there's nothing you can do about it.] Silence greeted that
pronouncement, and Kae chuckled internally.
"Is that the only reason?" Zhao Len asked curiously. Maybe she
heard Kae's thoughts, maybe she didn't, but gave no sign either way.
"After all, you're the one who wanted to personally end their lives."
Kae snorted and brought her attention back to her weapon.
"Maybe I do have my own reasons for wanting them dead, but you shouldn't
care as long as they are dead."
"True." The frail-looking woman turned and glanced momentarily
at the heavy wooden door, where she knew the two girls were chained on
the other side. "But in answer to your previous question, we're going
after the Saotomes and Tendos next, and in particular I want Ranma
Saotome and Akane Tendo. Then the Kunos after that, and finally we can
kill all of them at once."
Her companion raised an eye. "Oh? I would've thought you'd go
after those two Amazons first."
Zhao Len sighed. "I would have gone for Shan Pu and Mu Tsu, but
the Nekohanten has been closed for quite awhile now with no sign they've
been there in quite some time. I must assume they've returned to
Joketsuzoku and are currently out of my reach."
Kae held her curved wakizashu up to the light, then judged it
sharp enough for now and returned it to its sheath. "Too bad for you."
"Oh, I will have the means of getting to my former Amazons soon
enough," she revealed with a small, secretive smile that revealed
absolutely nothing. "Once I've finished my work here, I have allies who
will assist me in that." [Provided Dormando keeps his end of the
bargain. Once I get rid of theses kids here, he said he'd help me get
control of the Amazons, provided I kept them out of anything he and his
group might do.]
The ninja shrugged, not really caring either way as long as she
could kill the two girls, then revenge herself on the dark ones. She
stood up, stretched, then head for the other door that led up the
stairs. "Whatever, old woman. I'm going to get some rest for tonight."
Zhao Len watched her temporary ally leave, knowing Kae wouldn't
be able to go far as long as the old ex-Amazon held the enchanted ruby.
She didn't follow, since at her age, she only needed a couple of hours
sleep at most. Instead, she contemplated an Amazon future, where she
controlled all of Joketsuzoku and all her enemies lay dead at her feet.
Kodachi dabbed the moist cloth on the boy's forehead. He hadn't
awakened since he crashed through her roof last evening, not that she
had tried to wake him. She had some knowledge of first aid and could
tell his condition wasn't life-threatening, so she just figured he must
be worn out.
Of course, the bruises and burns had probably taken their toll
as well. Kodachi wondered where he got those, as some of them looked
pretty nasty. Still, once she cleaned them and treated what she could
with the first aid kit, she couldn't help but admire his toned physique.
It was obvious he was a martial artist, or at least some sort of
athlete, since she could feel the muscles in his arms.
She also continued to wonder about the circumstances that
caused him to plummet naked into her private furo. She did find a pack
containing a set of clothes consisting of a purple vest and bracers, as
well as a set of black slacks. They were worn and dirty from what she
guessed was a lot of travel on the road, so she had them cleaned and
mended.
Beyond that, all she could do was wait for him to awaken. No
one else knew he was here. Well, Sasuke probably did, with his habit of
keeping an eye on the goings on in the house, but she kept her brother
ignorant. True, their relationship had progressed some in the days
following her recovery, but they still couldn't be considered 'close',
even though all they had was each other.
Kodachi sighed and stood up, adjusting her kimono before
striding across her room. Yes, it was her room she was keeping to
strange boy in, but it was the only place she could think to keep him so
her brother wouldn't find out.
Stopping at her dresser, she picked up a picture frame. The
photograph enclosed, was one of her family taken many years ago. Gently,
she let her fingers run across the portraits of herself, her brother,
father, and mother. She was currently rediscovering both herself and her
brother, her knowledge of each being obscured by false and twisted
memories and behaviors.
Of her father, there was still no word. Once, she had looked up
to him, though she knew her brother had not. She even cared for him,
after a fashion, and so wanted to see him again. A search had been
initiated, but so far there had been no results
The last face puzzled her the most. Of the four, she knew her
mother the least. All she could pull of her memories, were fleeting
images and feelings of kind woman who's warm smile always made her feel
better. Her disappearance had hurt Kodachi terribly and created a hole
in her life that she had tried to fill ever since, more so when her
father left as well.
"Okasan..." she whispered, letting her gaze fall once more upon
the face of the woman in the picture that was practically a stranger to
her, and yet was not. Outwardly, Kodachi hated her mother for her
abandonment, but there was still a small part of the young girl that
desperately wanted to see her mother again.
"I wish you would return and teach me more," she said absently.
Her brow furrowed at that. [Teach me what?] Images flashed
through her mind as she tried to narrow down where that thought came
from. The most prominent image being a black leotard. [Rhythmic
gymnastics?] That almost seemed right, but not quite.
Giving in to a sudden impulse, Kodachi set the picture down and
ran out of her room, heading for the basement. The mansion had been
rebuilt with nearly the same specifications as before, but one part that
hadn't changed, was the basement. Except for the section that contained
the statue of Galfgar, the new house was built right on top of the old
foundation and basement.
Now in that cellar, Kodachi looked right and left, wondering
which way to go. The right hallway was filled in, and that was the
direction to the room that was best left buried. To her left, wound some
stairs that headed further down to a library that was mostly cleaned out
now, the books having been removed by her brother and Nabiki Tendo for
study. Straight ahead, was an all purpose storage room behind a thick
oaken door.
Nodding to herself in confirmation, Kodachi went for the
storage room, grasping the iron ring that was the door's handle and
giving a mighty tug. With a weak groan, the door allowed itself to be
opened and the youngest Kuno stepped inside.
The inside was pretty much as she expected it to be, a fairly
large room with boxes and crates of old stuff the Kuno's had collected
over the years. Most of it was junk, though some of it could still have
some use. But the stuff packed away was not what she was after, which
was good because if what she sought was in there, it would have taken
her a long time to find it.
She strode purposefully across the room, wading through the
boxes and, in some cases, crawling over them until she reached the back
wall. [Now, it's here somewhere, I know that,] she thought to herself.
[But exactly what am I looking for?]
She closed her eyes as a vague memory floated back to her...
"See this, Dachi?" her mother was telling her. "When I am gone,
this will be yours." She indicated the open chest and revealed the
objects contained within.
Young Kodachi realized they were similar to her own gymnastics
equipment. Almost, but not quite. "Momma?"
"Remember, it will be here," she told her daughter, then closed
the chest and placed it in the hole of the stone wall, covering it with
a large stone brick. The gray block of stone matched the wall perfectly,
and it's location was nigh unnoticeable in the backdrop of the rest of
the stone wall.
She then turned back to Kodachi and placed a hand on her
forehead. "Remember."
Twelve years later, Kodachi Kuno remembered.
Fingering the mortar between the stone bricks in the back wall
of the storage room, she traced around several them, looking for that
singular loose block. It took her several minutes, but eventually she
found it, laughing to herself as she heaved and pulled it out of it's
place in the wall.
She glimpsed inside the darkened alcove and put her hand in,
grabbing and pulling out the 2x2 foot wooden chest that he mother placed
there long ago. Nearly trembling at the contact of her mother's
heirloom, Kodachi managed to unlatch the chest and open it, powerful
emotions pounding through her body.
The sound of ancient and rusted metal creaking in protest as it
was abused after a decade of neglect, echoed in the storage room,
followed by a sharp intake of breath.
"AKANE!"
Ranma tore into the remaining boys like a an out-of-control
tornado, but with considerably more force. A minute ago he was struck by
a very strange and very bad feeling, and he tore out of the inn in an
hurry, leaving the packs behind. He couldn't explain how, but he had
just felt Akane's presence and knew exactly which direction to run. He
arrived just as Akane went down.
In less then ten seconds it was all over, and Ranma was
carrying his shaking wife back to the inn.
Selah swallowed nervously, willing her herself as still as
possible and hoping the darkness hid her presence. A short while ago,
the short and scary old woman had passed near her position, a dozen
yards away. For a minute, the young girl could swear the old witch knew
she was there, but then the withered hag continued on as if nothing had
happened.
Her body stayed frozen for the next ten minutes, terror and
nervousness commanding her small frame. Eventually, her thundering heart
slowed a little as the paralyzing fear wore off, leaving only the normal
fear behind. When she finally had control again, she wondered for the
thousandth time why she was doing this.
[Because I have to be brave,] she shakily told herself, trying
to convince herself to not run away. Slowly, she inched down the hallway
from where the old woman had come from, a small bit of logic in her
subconscious informing her that was the direction to go. [Momma told me
to be brave and I've let her down enough. My friends need me.]
So determined, but still trembling, Selah crept as quietly as
she could down the darkened hallway, her mind conjuring up plenty of
demons and scary creatures to occupy every single shadow. She swallowed
nervously once more and forced her thoughts back to the task at hand.
It wasn't long before the path brought her to a rotted doorway,
the planks of the wooden door barely hanging on to its hinges. The young
girl took a deep breath and grasped the handle, taking a minute to
listen to her surroundings, but not detecting anything. Thinking it
safe, she pulled it open.
The hinges protested the unfair treatment as they were worked
and Selah froze, immediately thinking the sound loud enough to have
alerted everyone in the building. But after several pained moments where
nothing happened, she quietly slipped inside.
Gazing out the second floor window, Zhao Len frowned, having
been sensing something amiss for awhile but not knowing exactly what.
Kae was sleeping in one of the spare rooms, so it couldn't have been her
unusual and unwilling ally.
Mumbling to herself, she turned and walked away.
"Master Kuno, please hurry!"
"Calm yourself, Sasuke," Tatewaki commanded as his ninja
manservant pulled him along, only to stop in front of the closed dojo
door. "What be so important as to incite such haste?"
The diminutive man didn't answer, but just stood nervously
facing the door. In the sudden silence, Kuno heard what had alarmed his
servant.
Yells and thumps echoed from the room, followed by a strange
whistling sound, three pings of metal on wood, and the crack of a whip.
"Oh ho ho ho!" came the familiar laugh, as well as the sound of
wood striking wood, fast and repeatedly.
Tatewaki frowned, not expecting to hear that laughter again,
but divided on the subject. On one hand, it meant his sister was getting
better, enough to laugh again. Of course, that laugh usually meant she
was up to more demented tricks. [She couldn't have fallen back into her
old self so soon, could she?]
"Imoutosan?" he called tentatively. "Are you alright?"
She didn't respond right away, as the sound of several things
shattering like glass could be heard would have covered any reply. Then,
"Is that you, oniisan?"
"Are you well, Dachi?" he asked, placing a hand on the door to
open it. "I'm coming in."
"Wait!"
Kodachi's command froze the kendoist for a few seconds, while
the sounds of padded feet could be heard running around inside. When he
resolved himself to open the shoji panel that was the door once more, it
opened on it's own, much to his surprise. The other side revealed his
sister, dressed in a midnight black leotard and carrying a matching
duffel bag. She was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, but grinning
like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.
"Dachi?" Tatewaki asked again.
Surprising him once more, Kodachi swept her brother up in a big
hug. "Oh Tatchi, I feel wonderful!" She twirled him once, set him down,
then took bounding leaps across the courtyard to her room, leaving her
brother's eyes bulging behind her. "Oh ho ho ho!"
For several long seconds, both kendoist and manservant gawked
after the obviously-jubilant girl. Then, as one, they turned to glimpse
the interior of the dojo in the hopes of finding a clue as to the change
in her attitude and temperament.
Nothing was untouched, as nicks and chips covered the walls and
ceilings of the dojo, leaving small wood chips on the ground. Two of the
walls had a couple dozen small circular holes punched in them. Several
one meter high logs had been stood upright in the center of the room,
with the broken remains of pottery scattered around them.
All except for one in the exact center, on top of which rested
in a small vase containing a singular black rose.
"Konatsu-chan!" Selah gasped as she beheld the young man laying
chained on the ground. Getting no response, she rushed over to him,
feeling relieved when she found him still breathing.
She shook him. "Konatsu-chan, wake up!" When he didn't respond,
she shook him harder, then concentrated and a sent a splash of cold
water into his face.
Konatsu sputtered and bolted upright. "I shall prepare the
ingredients at once, Ukyo-sama!" He stopped and blinked then turned to
see the mingled amusement, fear, and relief on Selah's face. "Selah-
sama, what are you doing here?"
"Trying to rescue you, what does it look like!" she told him in
an exasperated voice, then collapsed against him, letting a few tears
leak out. "I was so worried and scared! You guys took off and then I
hear a scream and see Kenji only he looked scary and I was so scared and
I didn't know what to do!"
Konatsu tried to wrap his arms around the small, shaking girl
as best he could to comfort her, only the tight chains and manacles
attached to his wrists and ankles severely limited his movement. "Calm
yourself, Selah-sama. We must rescue the others. There will be time for
tears later. You were to brave to come here after us. Now you must be
brave enough to help me save Yuri-sama and Ukyo-sama."
Selah pulled back and sniffed once, wiping her nose and drying
her eyes. "I will. I promise I'll be brave."
The male kunoichi smiled. "That is better." He tested his
chains. "I do not suppose you happen to have a key?" Selah shook her
head and Konatsu sighed, then appeared to study her wavy blue hair.
"Then could you lend me one of your hair pins, please?"
Confused, Selah did as he asked, relieved to have someone with
her and in control of the situation. She watched avidly as he jiggled
the lock with the thin metal piece, until a click caused the manacles to
open and fall away.
"You're not thinking of going anywhere now, are you?"
Selah's tentative smile transformed back into a frightened and
horrified stare as Zhao Len stepped into the room, her gnarled staff
pointed in their direction.
Konatsu leapt to his feet. "Stay behind me, Selah-sama! I shall
deal with her!"
The old woman cackled. "You may try, boy. But you will fail."
"Where are my friends!?" Konatsu demanded, slowly approaching
Zhao Len.
"If you can best me, I shall tell you," was all she said, before
springing forward, the sharp end of her staff aiming to put a hole in
Konatsu' s chest.
He leapt back to avoid it, bounding off the wall and coming
back with a mid-level sweep kick that would have launched the old woman
out the door, had she not blocked it with her staff.
"Selah-sama!" Konatsu called as he was flipped away, his leg
flaring in pain for an instant. "Go find Ukyo and Yuri! I shall keep her
busy!"
"But--" Selah protested, seeing the ninja not fairing too well
against his opponent.
"GO!" he yelled, engaging Zhao Len at close range in a series of
high-speed strikes and parries.
The command spurred the young girl into action, and she ran to
the door at the opposite end of the room from where she came in,
throwing it open and fleeing down the hallway.
As she ran, the old woman's taunting voice echoed to her.
"That's right little girl, run! Run away so I can kill this whelp!"
Selah froze, the threat pounding in her brain. Twice she had
fled before, and twice she had lost people close to her. The first time
was when she fled her home in China with her mother. The second was when
she fled from her mother to come to Nerima. And both times, she never
saw either parent again.
Somehow she knew, that if she ran away this time, it would be
Konatsu who would pay the price. Despite the terror she felt about
confronting the old woman, she knew she couldn't let Konatsu be the one
to pay the price for her this time.
Steeling her trembling form, she turned and ran back to the
room, only to witness Zhao Len send Konatsu through a rotted wooden wall
with a thrust from the blunt end of her staff. The old woman leapt
through to follow up, and Selah sprinted after, climbing through the
hole in time to see a dazed Konatsu barely able to fend off the next
series of attacks.
"Konatsu!" two familiar female voices shrieked in unison.
"Yuri-chan, Ukyo-san!" Selah called, seeing the two girls
chained in separate cells next to each other.
"Selah-chan, what the hell are you doing here!?" Ukyo started in
surprise.
Before she could answer, Yuri called, "Konatsu, look out!"
All three girls turned to where the fight had back Konatsu into
a corner. So far, he had been managing to hold his own, his natural
talent and skill carrying him, but Zhao Len was older and wiser. She was
also, thank to her many years of training, a much better fighter.
Konatsu found his legs swept out from underneath him while a
blow from the staff struck his head and sent him tumbling to the ground.
Sensing her impending victory, the ancient ex-Amazon thrust the pointed
end of the staff towards her opponent's throat.
"STOP!"
Amazingly, the old woman halted with the command, the tip
resting against the boy's windpipe. Out of the corner of her right eye,
she could see the young girl who had given the command, holding up her
hands and trembling. Yet, she could also see a fierce determination in
the girl's eyes.
"Don't hurt him!" Selah ordered in a trembling voice. "Or else!"
"Selah, RUN!" Ukyo screamed. "She too dangerous for you!"
Zhao len cracked a wicked smile. "Or else what, little girl?
What do you think you can do?"
"This!"
The old woman's sneer turned into startled surprise as a large
geyser of water burst forth from Selah's hands, and Zhao Len barely had
time to put up a ki-barrier as the wall of water swept her off Konatsu
and pinned her against the stone wall, instead of crushing her against
it.
"Selah, you have to get out of here and go get help!" Ukyo
pleaded.
"No!" the water mage countered. "I have to do this! I have to!
Konatsu, get up!" The male kunoichi managed to shake off his dazed
stupor and sit up. "I'll hold her off so you can go and get help. This
time, I'll be the one to save you!"
"But, Selah-sama-"
"Please!" Selah begged. "I can't keep this up for long!"
"You little witch!" came the shriek from the other end of the
horizontal geyser. She was focusing all her ki and just barely managing
to avoid being crushed by the forceful hydro-blast.
Konatsu spared a glance at all the women in the room, then came
to the conclusion that Selah was right, however much he didn't like it.
He had admitted to himself he couldn't beat the old woman right now,
lacking weaponry and still dazed and weak from his encounter with Kenji.
They were going to need help if any of them were to get out of
this, and Selah had provided the only opportunity.
"I am sorry," Konatsu stated, full of remorse. " I shall
return."
"If you don't return in an hour, I will kill all the girls!"
came the screech from the end of the water blast.
"Konatsu!" Yuri called out to him, straining against her bonds.
The ninja turned to her from the doorway, his face full of
determination. "I promise, Yuri-sama! I will come back for you!" Then he
was gone.
"Baka, you were supposed to call me 'Yuri-chan'," the female
ninja said softly and sadly, after he had gone.
Selah breathed a sigh of relief as Konatsu left, then the
strain of keeping up her attack, as well as the increasing lack of
moisture in the air to draw from, caused the waterspout to die off.
Instantly, Zhao Len was upon her and Selah collapsed
unconscious into the old woman's arms. "Well now, that was rather
surprising. Who would have thought a little girl like this would have
such power." She chuckled. "She would have made a fine Amazon."
"Let her go!" Ukyo pleaded. "She never did anything to you! It's
us you want, right?"
Zhao Len chuckled again. "And after the trouble she went
through of exchanging herself for the freak ninja boy? I think not." She
slung the young girl over her shoulder, and proceeded to walk out of the
room, turning a deaf ear to both Ukyo and Yuri's pleas.
In the room where Konatsu was originally tied up, she found
someone waiting for her.
"You let him escape," Kae said nonchalantly from where she
leaned against the wall.
Zhao Len dropped the girl and proceed to tie her up with a
simple rope. "Of course. I had originally planned to let him escape.
This girl just helped that along. I admit, she did surprise me, though."
Kae shrugged. "He will come back, and when he does, he will not
be alone."
"And that is the point, after all." The ex-Amazon finished
securing Selah. "He will bring both the Saotome boy and the Tendo girl,
and maybe the Kunos if we're lucky, and then I will have everyone I
need. It matters not how many. I hold the hostages and I dictate the
battlefield. In short, I hold all the advantages." She turned a sharp
eye towards the possessed boy. "You need only be ready to help."
"Of course. As long as I get to kill the two girls in there, and
you set me free after this, it doesn't matter to me what you want."
Zhao Len nodded and grinned. "That is our bargain."
Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Bonds and Connections
Chapter 6
Light filtered in through several cracks in a boarded window,
playing upon the young girl's skin from where she lay, curled into a
fetal position. The warmth provided by the sun's early morning rays
diffused itself into her body, and that was enough to pull her
consciousness from sleep.
Slowly, Selah yawned and stretched as she sat up. For a moment,
she was disoriented as to where she was, then remembered what had
happened. She had cried herself to sleep last night after Ukyo, Yuri,
and Konatsu were captured, too scared to do anything else.
This morning, however, she felt quite different. Maybe it was
the combination of fatigue and fear she felt last night that knocked her
out, but she wasn't fatigued anymore and she didn't feel as much fear,
being that old buildings aren't as scary during the day. Or maybe it was
the dream she could barely remember, something about Kenji, Yuri, Ukyo,
and Konatsu asking for her help. That they would be goners unless she
did something.
Dragging herself to her feet, Selah resolved herself to do that
something. What it was, she didn't know, but she had lost her home, her
dad, and possibly her mom as well. She couldn't lose these people, that
had been so nice to her, without putting up some sort of fight.
Unfortunately, she didn't think she could take on the two that
captured her friends, especially since one of them was Kenji who was
acting strange for some reason, so she figured she would just find the
others and help them escape. With any luck, she wouldn't run into the
scary old woman.
Of course, the first thing on the agenda was to find them. She
hadn't a clue where they could be in this big house and she knew the
longer she snuck around, the better the chance she was caught, so she
figured on using another trick her mother had taught her. Sitting down,
she closed her eyes and concentrated on finding bodies of water. Her
mother had told her that the human body was mostly water, so if they
were close enough, she should be able to sense where they were.
Her consciousness wandered around the immediate area, then
expanded farther on, until it discovered two small groups of water. They
were faint, but at least she could sense them. She guessed the slightly
bigger grouping was where her friends were, since the small old woman
wouldn't have as much water in her. The group she figured was her
friends, were underground, so Selah knew she'd have to look for stairs
leading down.
Standing once more, she snuck off down the hall, moving as
quietly as a church mouse.
Akane jogged around the small resort town, feeling better than
she had in a long time. After that first night in the tent, they had
moved on to the hot-spring resort where Ranma's parents had stayed on
their honeymoon. He had enough money for three nights, all three had
been wonderful. They were scheduled to head back later today, and Akane
found that she would miss the peace and quiet, as well as the privacy
that this location offered.
[Who knows?] she wondered. [Maybe we can come back up another
time?] She smiled at the thought, and blushed at the memory of the past
few days. With Ranma, it seemed that all her fears about getting
intimate with guys, just melted into nothingness. It was most likely
because he was much like her, she realized. Both of them could be
stubborn and prideful, and they tended to say what was on their mind.
There was no real need to pretend anything when they were around each
other.
She wiped the sweat from her brow with the towel that was
around her neck. Normally, she would be doing something with Ranma, but
for some odd reason, she felt like she needed to get out this morning
and jog by herself. Besides, Ranma was busy packing up their stuff and
checking them out of the inn where they were staying.
Turning a corner, Akane spied two guys up ahead on either dies
of the path, leaning against a wall and a tree respectively. Something
about them sent tingling flashes through her brain. In other words, her
danger sense was doing it's job. She frowned and berated herself as she
approached their location, knowing that she could easily handle two guys
if they attempted something.
When they stepped out and blocked her path, her danger sense
felt validated.
"Hiya girlie, what'cha doin' out so early?" the taller one
asked, smiling at her. His clothes were dark and somewhat ragged.
"Just joggin," Akane answered cautiously. "Now if you'll excuse
me..."
"Hey, hey!" the shorter and more rotund boy protested, blocking
Akane's attempt to move around. "My friend was just tryin' to be nice.
You just seem to be new around here, and we thought we could show you
around."
Akane frowned. "No thanks." She once again attempted to move
around, only to find a third boy blocking her path, dressed similarly to
the first two. Only this one was brandishing a long knife.
"I don't think you understand," he told her. "It can be
dangerous for young girls to run around unescorted."
A quick glance behind her confirmed Akane's fear that five more
youths had appeared. She was surrounded. She allowed a small grin to
form on her face. "Young boys should run along home now." She slid into
a attack stance. "That is, if they don't want to get hurt."
A round of laughter greeted her pronouncement, and the short,
rotund boy stepped forward to grab her arm. Akane responded by grabbing
his, twisting it behind his back, and then slamming him into the wall.
He slid to the ground. Akane felt a minor twinge, but shook it off.
"That wasn't too smart," the guy who appeared to the leader told
her. "Get her!"
The raven-haired girl smiled grimly, remembering the schoolyard
fights. After a few of those confrontations, she had gotten the hang of
crowd control, using only enough force to take her attackers down, but
not enough to cause permanent injury. Usually that amounted to just a
single well-placed punch or kick.
Akane turned aside the next attack, a swung lead pipe, and
shoved it into a guy approaching from behind, then swung her leg out to
take another boy in the head. Adrenaline pumping, Akane realized it had
been awhile before she had been in a crowd control fight, and she found
she missed it.
Until she suddenly found her strength disappearing. Her next
punch barely turned aside punk #4, and soon she found herself
backpedaling, her legs rapidly losing the ability to support her body.
Her sense of balance began to deteriorate, and when a fist made it past
her guard and slammed into her stomach, she crumpled to the ground.
One question echoed in her brain as blackness encroached on her
peripheral vision: What was happening to her?
"So, who's next?" Kae asked nonchalantly, sharpening her blade
with a piece of flint as she reclined in a small wooden chair.
Zhao Len finished securing the unconscious Konatsu to his own
cell with tighter chains, then turned to face her now-suddenly more
eager ally. "Change of heart? You seem to want to cooperate now. I
wonder why that is..."
Kae paused her sharpening and shot the old woman a dark look.
"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I have other
business to attend to." She didn't want to share the real reason, not
wanting to reveal any hint of weakness. [Because, you old bag, I didn't
realize exactly who your targets were. Had I known that those two girls
are the ones Kenji cares for the most, I would have helped you from the
start. Do you hear me, boy? I'm going to kill both of them with these
two hands and there's nothing you can do about it.] Silence greeted that
pronouncement, and Kae chuckled internally.
"Is that the only reason?" Zhao Len asked curiously. Maybe she
heard Kae's thoughts, maybe she didn't, but gave no sign either way.
"After all, you're the one who wanted to personally end their lives."
Kae snorted and brought her attention back to her weapon.
"Maybe I do have my own reasons for wanting them dead, but you shouldn't
care as long as they are dead."
"True." The frail-looking woman turned and glanced momentarily
at the heavy wooden door, where she knew the two girls were chained on
the other side. "But in answer to your previous question, we're going
after the Saotomes and Tendos next, and in particular I want Ranma
Saotome and Akane Tendo. Then the Kunos after that, and finally we can
kill all of them at once."
Her companion raised an eye. "Oh? I would've thought you'd go
after those two Amazons first."
Zhao Len sighed. "I would have gone for Shan Pu and Mu Tsu, but
the Nekohanten has been closed for quite awhile now with no sign they've
been there in quite some time. I must assume they've returned to
Joketsuzoku and are currently out of my reach."
Kae held her curved wakizashu up to the light, then judged it
sharp enough for now and returned it to its sheath. "Too bad for you."
"Oh, I will have the means of getting to my former Amazons soon
enough," she revealed with a small, secretive smile that revealed
absolutely nothing. "Once I've finished my work here, I have allies who
will assist me in that." [Provided Dormando keeps his end of the
bargain. Once I get rid of theses kids here, he said he'd help me get
control of the Amazons, provided I kept them out of anything he and his
group might do.]
The ninja shrugged, not really caring either way as long as she
could kill the two girls, then revenge herself on the dark ones. She
stood up, stretched, then head for the other door that led up the
stairs. "Whatever, old woman. I'm going to get some rest for tonight."
Zhao Len watched her temporary ally leave, knowing Kae wouldn't
be able to go far as long as the old ex-Amazon held the enchanted ruby.
She didn't follow, since at her age, she only needed a couple of hours
sleep at most. Instead, she contemplated an Amazon future, where she
controlled all of Joketsuzoku and all her enemies lay dead at her feet.
Kodachi dabbed the moist cloth on the boy's forehead. He hadn't
awakened since he crashed through her roof last evening, not that she
had tried to wake him. She had some knowledge of first aid and could
tell his condition wasn't life-threatening, so she just figured he must
be worn out.
Of course, the bruises and burns had probably taken their toll
as well. Kodachi wondered where he got those, as some of them looked
pretty nasty. Still, once she cleaned them and treated what she could
with the first aid kit, she couldn't help but admire his toned physique.
It was obvious he was a martial artist, or at least some sort of
athlete, since she could feel the muscles in his arms.
She also continued to wonder about the circumstances that
caused him to plummet naked into her private furo. She did find a pack
containing a set of clothes consisting of a purple vest and bracers, as
well as a set of black slacks. They were worn and dirty from what she
guessed was a lot of travel on the road, so she had them cleaned and
mended.
Beyond that, all she could do was wait for him to awaken. No
one else knew he was here. Well, Sasuke probably did, with his habit of
keeping an eye on the goings on in the house, but she kept her brother
ignorant. True, their relationship had progressed some in the days
following her recovery, but they still couldn't be considered 'close',
even though all they had was each other.
Kodachi sighed and stood up, adjusting her kimono before
striding across her room. Yes, it was her room she was keeping to
strange boy in, but it was the only place she could think to keep him so
her brother wouldn't find out.
Stopping at her dresser, she picked up a picture frame. The
photograph enclosed, was one of her family taken many years ago. Gently,
she let her fingers run across the portraits of herself, her brother,
father, and mother. She was currently rediscovering both herself and her
brother, her knowledge of each being obscured by false and twisted
memories and behaviors.
Of her father, there was still no word. Once, she had looked up
to him, though she knew her brother had not. She even cared for him,
after a fashion, and so wanted to see him again. A search had been
initiated, but so far there had been no results
The last face puzzled her the most. Of the four, she knew her
mother the least. All she could pull of her memories, were fleeting
images and feelings of kind woman who's warm smile always made her feel
better. Her disappearance had hurt Kodachi terribly and created a hole
in her life that she had tried to fill ever since, more so when her
father left as well.
"Okasan..." she whispered, letting her gaze fall once more upon
the face of the woman in the picture that was practically a stranger to
her, and yet was not. Outwardly, Kodachi hated her mother for her
abandonment, but there was still a small part of the young girl that
desperately wanted to see her mother again.
"I wish you would return and teach me more," she said absently.
Her brow furrowed at that. [Teach me what?] Images flashed
through her mind as she tried to narrow down where that thought came
from. The most prominent image being a black leotard. [Rhythmic
gymnastics?] That almost seemed right, but not quite.
Giving in to a sudden impulse, Kodachi set the picture down and
ran out of her room, heading for the basement. The mansion had been
rebuilt with nearly the same specifications as before, but one part that
hadn't changed, was the basement. Except for the section that contained
the statue of Galfgar, the new house was built right on top of the old
foundation and basement.
Now in that cellar, Kodachi looked right and left, wondering
which way to go. The right hallway was filled in, and that was the
direction to the room that was best left buried. To her left, wound some
stairs that headed further down to a library that was mostly cleaned out
now, the books having been removed by her brother and Nabiki Tendo for
study. Straight ahead, was an all purpose storage room behind a thick
oaken door.
Nodding to herself in confirmation, Kodachi went for the
storage room, grasping the iron ring that was the door's handle and
giving a mighty tug. With a weak groan, the door allowed itself to be
opened and the youngest Kuno stepped inside.
The inside was pretty much as she expected it to be, a fairly
large room with boxes and crates of old stuff the Kuno's had collected
over the years. Most of it was junk, though some of it could still have
some use. But the stuff packed away was not what she was after, which
was good because if what she sought was in there, it would have taken
her a long time to find it.
She strode purposefully across the room, wading through the
boxes and, in some cases, crawling over them until she reached the back
wall. [Now, it's here somewhere, I know that,] she thought to herself.
[But exactly what am I looking for?]
She closed her eyes as a vague memory floated back to her...
"See this, Dachi?" her mother was telling her. "When I am gone,
this will be yours." She indicated the open chest and revealed the
objects contained within.
Young Kodachi realized they were similar to her own gymnastics
equipment. Almost, but not quite. "Momma?"
"Remember, it will be here," she told her daughter, then closed
the chest and placed it in the hole of the stone wall, covering it with
a large stone brick. The gray block of stone matched the wall perfectly,
and it's location was nigh unnoticeable in the backdrop of the rest of
the stone wall.
She then turned back to Kodachi and placed a hand on her
forehead. "Remember."
Twelve years later, Kodachi Kuno remembered.
Fingering the mortar between the stone bricks in the back wall
of the storage room, she traced around several them, looking for that
singular loose block. It took her several minutes, but eventually she
found it, laughing to herself as she heaved and pulled it out of it's
place in the wall.
She glimpsed inside the darkened alcove and put her hand in,
grabbing and pulling out the 2x2 foot wooden chest that he mother placed
there long ago. Nearly trembling at the contact of her mother's
heirloom, Kodachi managed to unlatch the chest and open it, powerful
emotions pounding through her body.
The sound of ancient and rusted metal creaking in protest as it
was abused after a decade of neglect, echoed in the storage room,
followed by a sharp intake of breath.
"AKANE!"
Ranma tore into the remaining boys like a an out-of-control
tornado, but with considerably more force. A minute ago he was struck by
a very strange and very bad feeling, and he tore out of the inn in an
hurry, leaving the packs behind. He couldn't explain how, but he had
just felt Akane's presence and knew exactly which direction to run. He
arrived just as Akane went down.
In less then ten seconds it was all over, and Ranma was
carrying his shaking wife back to the inn.
Selah swallowed nervously, willing her herself as still as
possible and hoping the darkness hid her presence. A short while ago,
the short and scary old woman had passed near her position, a dozen
yards away. For a minute, the young girl could swear the old witch knew
she was there, but then the withered hag continued on as if nothing had
happened.
Her body stayed frozen for the next ten minutes, terror and
nervousness commanding her small frame. Eventually, her thundering heart
slowed a little as the paralyzing fear wore off, leaving only the normal
fear behind. When she finally had control again, she wondered for the
thousandth time why she was doing this.
[Because I have to be brave,] she shakily told herself, trying
to convince herself to not run away. Slowly, she inched down the hallway
from where the old woman had come from, a small bit of logic in her
subconscious informing her that was the direction to go. [Momma told me
to be brave and I've let her down enough. My friends need me.]
So determined, but still trembling, Selah crept as quietly as
she could down the darkened hallway, her mind conjuring up plenty of
demons and scary creatures to occupy every single shadow. She swallowed
nervously once more and forced her thoughts back to the task at hand.
It wasn't long before the path brought her to a rotted doorway,
the planks of the wooden door barely hanging on to its hinges. The young
girl took a deep breath and grasped the handle, taking a minute to
listen to her surroundings, but not detecting anything. Thinking it
safe, she pulled it open.
The hinges protested the unfair treatment as they were worked
and Selah froze, immediately thinking the sound loud enough to have
alerted everyone in the building. But after several pained moments where
nothing happened, she quietly slipped inside.
Gazing out the second floor window, Zhao Len frowned, having
been sensing something amiss for awhile but not knowing exactly what.
Kae was sleeping in one of the spare rooms, so it couldn't have been her
unusual and unwilling ally.
Mumbling to herself, she turned and walked away.
"Master Kuno, please hurry!"
"Calm yourself, Sasuke," Tatewaki commanded as his ninja
manservant pulled him along, only to stop in front of the closed dojo
door. "What be so important as to incite such haste?"
The diminutive man didn't answer, but just stood nervously
facing the door. In the sudden silence, Kuno heard what had alarmed his
servant.
Yells and thumps echoed from the room, followed by a strange
whistling sound, three pings of metal on wood, and the crack of a whip.
"Oh ho ho ho!" came the familiar laugh, as well as the sound of
wood striking wood, fast and repeatedly.
Tatewaki frowned, not expecting to hear that laughter again,
but divided on the subject. On one hand, it meant his sister was getting
better, enough to laugh again. Of course, that laugh usually meant she
was up to more demented tricks. [She couldn't have fallen back into her
old self so soon, could she?]
"Imoutosan?" he called tentatively. "Are you alright?"
She didn't respond right away, as the sound of several things
shattering like glass could be heard would have covered any reply. Then,
"Is that you, oniisan?"
"Are you well, Dachi?" he asked, placing a hand on the door to
open it. "I'm coming in."
"Wait!"
Kodachi's command froze the kendoist for a few seconds, while
the sounds of padded feet could be heard running around inside. When he
resolved himself to open the shoji panel that was the door once more, it
opened on it's own, much to his surprise. The other side revealed his
sister, dressed in a midnight black leotard and carrying a matching
duffel bag. She was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, but grinning
like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.
"Dachi?" Tatewaki asked again.
Surprising him once more, Kodachi swept her brother up in a big
hug. "Oh Tatchi, I feel wonderful!" She twirled him once, set him down,
then took bounding leaps across the courtyard to her room, leaving her
brother's eyes bulging behind her. "Oh ho ho ho!"
For several long seconds, both kendoist and manservant gawked
after the obviously-jubilant girl. Then, as one, they turned to glimpse
the interior of the dojo in the hopes of finding a clue as to the change
in her attitude and temperament.
Nothing was untouched, as nicks and chips covered the walls and
ceilings of the dojo, leaving small wood chips on the ground. Two of the
walls had a couple dozen small circular holes punched in them. Several
one meter high logs had been stood upright in the center of the room,
with the broken remains of pottery scattered around them.
All except for one in the exact center, on top of which rested
in a small vase containing a singular black rose.
"Konatsu-chan!" Selah gasped as she beheld the young man laying
chained on the ground. Getting no response, she rushed over to him,
feeling relieved when she found him still breathing.
She shook him. "Konatsu-chan, wake up!" When he didn't respond,
she shook him harder, then concentrated and a sent a splash of cold
water into his face.
Konatsu sputtered and bolted upright. "I shall prepare the
ingredients at once, Ukyo-sama!" He stopped and blinked then turned to
see the mingled amusement, fear, and relief on Selah's face. "Selah-
sama, what are you doing here?"
"Trying to rescue you, what does it look like!" she told him in
an exasperated voice, then collapsed against him, letting a few tears
leak out. "I was so worried and scared! You guys took off and then I
hear a scream and see Kenji only he looked scary and I was so scared and
I didn't know what to do!"
Konatsu tried to wrap his arms around the small, shaking girl
as best he could to comfort her, only the tight chains and manacles
attached to his wrists and ankles severely limited his movement. "Calm
yourself, Selah-sama. We must rescue the others. There will be time for
tears later. You were to brave to come here after us. Now you must be
brave enough to help me save Yuri-sama and Ukyo-sama."
Selah pulled back and sniffed once, wiping her nose and drying
her eyes. "I will. I promise I'll be brave."
The male kunoichi smiled. "That is better." He tested his
chains. "I do not suppose you happen to have a key?" Selah shook her
head and Konatsu sighed, then appeared to study her wavy blue hair.
"Then could you lend me one of your hair pins, please?"
Confused, Selah did as he asked, relieved to have someone with
her and in control of the situation. She watched avidly as he jiggled
the lock with the thin metal piece, until a click caused the manacles to
open and fall away.
"You're not thinking of going anywhere now, are you?"
Selah's tentative smile transformed back into a frightened and
horrified stare as Zhao Len stepped into the room, her gnarled staff
pointed in their direction.
Konatsu leapt to his feet. "Stay behind me, Selah-sama! I shall
deal with her!"
The old woman cackled. "You may try, boy. But you will fail."
"Where are my friends!?" Konatsu demanded, slowly approaching
Zhao Len.
"If you can best me, I shall tell you," was all she said, before
springing forward, the sharp end of her staff aiming to put a hole in
Konatsu' s chest.
He leapt back to avoid it, bounding off the wall and coming
back with a mid-level sweep kick that would have launched the old woman
out the door, had she not blocked it with her staff.
"Selah-sama!" Konatsu called as he was flipped away, his leg
flaring in pain for an instant. "Go find Ukyo and Yuri! I shall keep her
busy!"
"But--" Selah protested, seeing the ninja not fairing too well
against his opponent.
"GO!" he yelled, engaging Zhao Len at close range in a series of
high-speed strikes and parries.
The command spurred the young girl into action, and she ran to
the door at the opposite end of the room from where she came in,
throwing it open and fleeing down the hallway.
As she ran, the old woman's taunting voice echoed to her.
"That's right little girl, run! Run away so I can kill this whelp!"
Selah froze, the threat pounding in her brain. Twice she had
fled before, and twice she had lost people close to her. The first time
was when she fled her home in China with her mother. The second was when
she fled from her mother to come to Nerima. And both times, she never
saw either parent again.
Somehow she knew, that if she ran away this time, it would be
Konatsu who would pay the price. Despite the terror she felt about
confronting the old woman, she knew she couldn't let Konatsu be the one
to pay the price for her this time.
Steeling her trembling form, she turned and ran back to the
room, only to witness Zhao Len send Konatsu through a rotted wooden wall
with a thrust from the blunt end of her staff. The old woman leapt
through to follow up, and Selah sprinted after, climbing through the
hole in time to see a dazed Konatsu barely able to fend off the next
series of attacks.
"Konatsu!" two familiar female voices shrieked in unison.
"Yuri-chan, Ukyo-san!" Selah called, seeing the two girls
chained in separate cells next to each other.
"Selah-chan, what the hell are you doing here!?" Ukyo started in
surprise.
Before she could answer, Yuri called, "Konatsu, look out!"
All three girls turned to where the fight had back Konatsu into
a corner. So far, he had been managing to hold his own, his natural
talent and skill carrying him, but Zhao Len was older and wiser. She was
also, thank to her many years of training, a much better fighter.
Konatsu found his legs swept out from underneath him while a
blow from the staff struck his head and sent him tumbling to the ground.
Sensing her impending victory, the ancient ex-Amazon thrust the pointed
end of the staff towards her opponent's throat.
"STOP!"
Amazingly, the old woman halted with the command, the tip
resting against the boy's windpipe. Out of the corner of her right eye,
she could see the young girl who had given the command, holding up her
hands and trembling. Yet, she could also see a fierce determination in
the girl's eyes.
"Don't hurt him!" Selah ordered in a trembling voice. "Or else!"
"Selah, RUN!" Ukyo screamed. "She too dangerous for you!"
Zhao len cracked a wicked smile. "Or else what, little girl?
What do you think you can do?"
"This!"
The old woman's sneer turned into startled surprise as a large
geyser of water burst forth from Selah's hands, and Zhao Len barely had
time to put up a ki-barrier as the wall of water swept her off Konatsu
and pinned her against the stone wall, instead of crushing her against
it.
"Selah, you have to get out of here and go get help!" Ukyo
pleaded.
"No!" the water mage countered. "I have to do this! I have to!
Konatsu, get up!" The male kunoichi managed to shake off his dazed
stupor and sit up. "I'll hold her off so you can go and get help. This
time, I'll be the one to save you!"
"But, Selah-sama-"
"Please!" Selah begged. "I can't keep this up for long!"
"You little witch!" came the shriek from the other end of the
horizontal geyser. She was focusing all her ki and just barely managing
to avoid being crushed by the forceful hydro-blast.
Konatsu spared a glance at all the women in the room, then came
to the conclusion that Selah was right, however much he didn't like it.
He had admitted to himself he couldn't beat the old woman right now,
lacking weaponry and still dazed and weak from his encounter with Kenji.
They were going to need help if any of them were to get out of
this, and Selah had provided the only opportunity.
"I am sorry," Konatsu stated, full of remorse. " I shall
return."
"If you don't return in an hour, I will kill all the girls!"
came the screech from the end of the water blast.
"Konatsu!" Yuri called out to him, straining against her bonds.
The ninja turned to her from the doorway, his face full of
determination. "I promise, Yuri-sama! I will come back for you!" Then he
was gone.
"Baka, you were supposed to call me 'Yuri-chan'," the female
ninja said softly and sadly, after he had gone.
Selah breathed a sigh of relief as Konatsu left, then the
strain of keeping up her attack, as well as the increasing lack of
moisture in the air to draw from, caused the waterspout to die off.
Instantly, Zhao Len was upon her and Selah collapsed
unconscious into the old woman's arms. "Well now, that was rather
surprising. Who would have thought a little girl like this would have
such power." She chuckled. "She would have made a fine Amazon."
"Let her go!" Ukyo pleaded. "She never did anything to you! It's
us you want, right?"
Zhao Len chuckled again. "And after the trouble she went
through of exchanging herself for the freak ninja boy? I think not." She
slung the young girl over her shoulder, and proceeded to walk out of the
room, turning a deaf ear to both Ukyo and Yuri's pleas.
In the room where Konatsu was originally tied up, she found
someone waiting for her.
"You let him escape," Kae said nonchalantly from where she
leaned against the wall.
Zhao Len dropped the girl and proceed to tie her up with a
simple rope. "Of course. I had originally planned to let him escape.
This girl just helped that along. I admit, she did surprise me, though."
Kae shrugged. "He will come back, and when he does, he will not
be alone."
"And that is the point, after all." The ex-Amazon finished
securing Selah. "He will bring both the Saotome boy and the Tendo girl,
and maybe the Kunos if we're lucky, and then I will have everyone I
need. It matters not how many. I hold the hostages and I dictate the
battlefield. In short, I hold all the advantages." She turned a sharp
eye towards the possessed boy. "You need only be ready to help."
"Of course. As long as I get to kill the two girls in there, and
you set me free after this, it doesn't matter to me what you want."
Zhao Len nodded and grinned. "That is our bargain."