* * *
Deep in L-Space
* * *
Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed. So the creator of this
universe (whomever she was, she had some bad grammar habits like
"buts" at the beginning of the sentence) didn't want to make it easy
for the would-be lovers. Well, that was fine. The more angst, the
more love, as they say.
Although, when she thought about it, none of the couples in the Senshi
bickered all that much. Michiru and Haruka calmly disagreed
occasionally, and Mamoru had broken up with Usagi once, but they never
really fought like cats and dogs as the couples in other universes
did.
It made for boring relationships.
She shifted into a more comfortable position, and turned the page,
sticking her tongue out in concentration.
------------
The Spice of Life
[Chapter Three]
An Herb/Kodachi Fic
Commissioned by Prince Herb
Written by Cat Who
Beta Read by Rezantis
For Daddy
------------
* * *
Train Station, Tokyo, Honshuu Island, Japan
* * *
"Two tickets to Sapporo, please," Kodachi said sweetly at the ticket
window. The clerk behind the counter leered openly at her, which made
Herb want to kill him.
"Twenty four thousand, four hundred yen."
Not that I care especially about her, he said to himself firmly. It's
just that no female deserves to be looked at . . . that way. It's
degrading.
As a female, he'd managed to avoid leers by wearing the same loose,
billowy cloak he wore now. It effectively hid his woman's figure so
well, in fact, that Lime and Mint hadn't even realized his predicament
until Saotome had deliberately exposed his bosom.
But Kodachi was flaunting her body. The tailored suit did . . .
things to Herb that he was very ashamed to admit to himself. He was
finally understanding the real reason the Musk had never allowed their
warriors to know about women. They weren't merely distracting, as
breasts were. They were absolutely intoxicating.
"So, what's a cute girl like you doing running away to Sapporo in the
middle of the night?" the clerk asked Kodachi.
"Oh, just running away to enjoy myself," Kodachi said, oozing charm.
Although she was probably only being nice, it made him burn in anger.
Herb would have berated her for actually paying attention to the scum
behind the counter had he not felt a sudden splash of something cold
and wet on his ankle.
Damn!
"Sorry," a woman dragging a toddler said. The toddler had spilled his
icewater onto the only area of Herb that wasn't protected by her
cloak, which fell to midcalf in her male form. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Herb ground out, and stepped into the crowd away from the
ticket counter before Kodachi saw her. Of all the places to transform,
it would be in the middle of a public train station. She needed hot
water . . . any hot liquid . . . ah! A concession stand! Tea!
"Two teas and one cup of hot water, please," Herb said, pulling her
cloak tight around her face. The worker behind the counter gave her a
quizzical look but filled the order anyway. Herb quickly took the
water, ducked down, and splashed it on her other ankle. Whew.
He paid for the drinks, and walked away with the teas. He heard the
worked mutter "baka gaijin" under her breath, and his mouth tightened
in annoyance. But now was not the time to teach the rude worker her
place.
"Oh, there you are, ohji-sama," Kodachi called, and waved to him
elegantly from beside the ticket counter. Herb handed her the second
hot tea, and she nodded in thanks.
"Our train will be boarding in a few minutes. We should head toward
the platform." She gave him his ticket, and the pair made their way
through the thinned evening crowd. "It's a sixteen hour ride from here
to Sapporo."
"I intensely dislike this mode of transportation," Herb commented as
they waited with their luggage for the night train.
"Oh? What manner do you use in your kingdom?"
"We walk. For long distances we use horses."
"Oh. How . . . quaint. How, then, did you get to Japan? Horses
don't swim. Did you fly?"
Herb started to say that of course he didn't fly, he didn't have
wings, and his mid-air techniques wouldn't sustain him across an
ocean, but then he realized that she was referring to the airplanes
that less traditional peoples around the world used for quick travel.
"I took my ship," he said instead. "It's now docked on Kyuushuu. The
Musk Kingom lies near the ocean." He sipped his tea, thanking
whatever being, human or god, who had discovered all the incredible
virtues of hot water and herbs and made them popular.
Kodachi said nothing, but she looked duly impressed that he owned his
own ship. As she should be. Her wealth was a pittance compared to
the treasures of the Musk.
The train arrived then, and they boarded with the other night
passengers with little fanfare.
* * *
Train traveling from Tokyo to Sapporo, Japan
* * *
They sat beside each other in one half of a berth, their luggage
stowed above them. This was a long distance bullet train, and a night
one at that, which meant that the train was almost empty. On such
short notice, however, it was impossible to request one of the luxury
private berths. Kodachi had gotten tickets for an open berth, with the
seats on the side, allowing the slightly taller than average teens
some much needed leg room.
"So you own your own ship," Kodachi said casually, looking at her
nails. She perched daintily on her seat, her legs crossed at the
knees, her jacket over her knees. Herb had the uncomfortable feeling
from being so close to her, especially with her wearing . . . that.
"The Musk Kingdom is large, then, I take it?"
"My kingdom is more than just a patch of mud and mountains, if that's
what you're asking. My people are the most feared warriors in all of
eastern China. I, as the heir to the throne of Musk, am duty bound to
protect my people. That's why I need the panacea. My people have been
struck by a mysterious illness."
"But why do you need a Japanese witch? Surely there was at least one
magical woman among you."
"There are no women in the Musk," Herb said coldly. "Women are a
distraction to men in training. We are taught to not even know what a
woman is until it is time for us to have children, and even then we
are not to fraternize with them."
"Oh, how dreadful! I know how that is, though. I despise attending
an all girl's school, but the Japanese school of magic was founded by
Hebereke-sama and she believed that it was better for women to learn
magic away from men. To avoid distraction and . . . temptations."
"It failed in your case."
Kodachi laughed for the first time, a terrifying sound that scared
Herb more than anything about the girl so far. She covered her mouth
shyly with her hand, but her cackle (it could ONLY be called a cackle)
bounced around the train car nonetheless. Herb resisted an instinct
deep in his dragon heart to shred her to pieces in case she was as
dangerous as she sounded.
"It certainly did. Nothing can keep true love apart, you see." She
clasped her hands together and lifted her gray eyes rapturously toward
the ceiling of the car. "When I first met Ranma, I knew it was
destiny."
"Even though he already had a fiance?"
"Of course! I have been trying to get rid of that Tendou weakling -- I
even crashed their attempt at a wedding a few weeks ago -- yet the
evil demon has a powerful spell I cannot break on him."
Herb was having a lot of trouble believing that Ranma's "spell" was
not a reciprocated love, but he kept silent, and instead asked the
question that had been burning on his mind all evening. "What exactly
did Ranma do that made you fall in love with him?"
Kodachi blinked innocently, and covered her heart with her hand shyly.
"Why, he rescued me, of course. No man had ever dared to approach me.
And he was kind to me. I knew at that instant that I had found the
one destined for me."
He had . . . rescued her? That was IT? Herb stared at her, and for
the first time since meeting him felt sorry for Ranma Saotome.
Perhaps the half-bitch wasn't a womanizer as he had been led to
believe by Cologne.
"And even if he remains cursed . . . even if the panacea does not cure
him of the transfiguration, I shall remain faithful to him."
Herb digested that news in silence for quite some time. Like Saotome,
he believed his curse to make him less of a man . . . but maybe not
every woman would look at it like that. Even though Kodachi didn't
know of the nature of the curse -- or that there was a possibility it
could be cured -- she was willing to remain faithful to half-man who
didn't even love her simply because he had shown her kindness. Were
there other women who only wanted kindness from a man? To the point
where the could put up with a distinctly more visible feminine side?
"I have a question for you, now," Kodachi said, interrupting his train
of thought. "Forgive me if I am rude, ohji-sama, but exactly . . .
how did you get your hair that way?" She tilted her head toward his
brightly patched bangs and ponytail.
Prince Herb of the Musk Kingdom looked away this time, in annoyance
again. "I was born with it. In me runs the blood of dragons."
"Oh, really? Then is your armor also--?"
"Yes."
"I see. Chinese Fireball?"
Herb looked at her once more, this time in astonishment. "You know of
dragon breeds?" Not many people were aware that dragons still roamed
free around the world. Most were endangered; the armor he wore had
been made hundreds of years ago, before they had realized that dragons
were a rapidly dying species. The orange Fireball's brilliant scales
were fireproof, waterproof, shock proof, and as hard as diamonds.
After Jusenkyo, Herb had wondered if it'd be possible to weave a cloth
made out of them to keep him male.
"I'm a witch, ohji-sama. I'm aware of all things magical."
The train started up then, and they halted their conversation for a
few moments until it had accelerated up to its full speed of a hundred
and forty kilometers per hour.
"You should try to get some rest, witch," Herb said after a while, as
Kodachi had taken out her journal and was frantically scribbling in it
with a black feather quill. No doubt she was writing about her latest
scheme to catch Saotome.
"As should you, ohji-sama." She continued writing, however, and
showed no indication of stopping. Herb sighed, crossed his arms, and
closed his eyes, leaning back into the seat. His armor made getting
into a truly comfortable position difficult, so he had to settle for
only mildly uncomfortable.
He heard her snap her journal shut, and then lean back onto the small
pillow she had brought along. The train clacked swiftly on its
nighttime course, causing them both to sway gently. The motion
reminded Herb of the waves on the ocean, yet he still had a lot of
trouble trying to fall asleep.
Especially when an all but snoring Kodachi landed on his shoulder.
A woman is touching me . . . a woman is touching me . . . a woman is
touching me . . .
He fought off the initial wave of panic, and looked down at the
sleeping Japanese girl. His panic ebbed. She looked even more
innocent in sleep, her full yet dainty lips slightly parted, her sooty
lashes resting on her pale cheek. She looked positively harmless . .
.
And yet, it was a long time before Herb slumbered.
* * *
Train Station, Aomori, Honshuu Island, Japan
* * *
Kodachi woke to the sounds of gossip.
It took her a few moments to remember where she was, as the train she
was on had stopped. She opened her sleep encrusted eyes, and blinked,
taking in her surroundings slowly. She felt something hard poking her
in her shoulder blade, and she looked beside her to where Prince Herb
sat, covered in his long cloak. It was his double-shoulder armor that
caused her pain. He was awake and alert, and was pointedly ignoring
the stage whispers around him. Apparently the train had reached a
brief stopover at some point along the way, as the train was much
fuller than it had been the night before.
"Is he a cosplayer?"
"Has to be, in that outfit. Piccolo from DBZ, maybe?"
"No, he'd be green, silly. I think it's from a video game."
"Ugh, I don't know video game characters."
"It is a rather unusual outfit," Kodachi commented in Mandarin,
sitting up. Herb gave her a Look and glowered at the gossipers, who
continued speculating as to who he was dressed as.
"It is traditional. And comfortable. Unlike most of the clothing
your people wear."
"I'm perfectly comfortable," Kodachi disagreed, and recrossed her legs
the other way to emphasize her point.
She glanced outside, and recognized Aomori station. They would stop
here, of course, before continuing through the Seikan tunnel, which
ran underneath the Tsuguru Straight, making it the longest railway
tunnel in the world. She had been to Hokkaido several times before on
school ski trips, and knew the station well.
"We're not going to be stopping again until we reach Sapporo, so you
may want to take a break here," Kodachi said to Herb, then glanced at
her watch and checked the travel schedule she had recieved with her
tickets. "We'll be here for another fifteen minutes. I need to find
a little girl's room now . . . excuse me." She stood up, and left
Herb blushing furiously.
The station at Aomori was already bustling with the pre-work traffic.
Kodachi swayed through the crowd, her bag and ticket stub clutched at
her side, and quickly found a woman's bathroom. It, too, was already
filled with OLs on their way to work, putting on lipstick and
gossiping about the salarymen in their various offices. Kodachi, in
her little black French suit and bun, blended right in.
Once she had finished her business, she ran to a small kiosk and
purchased some overpriced breakfast anpan for herself and her
traveling companion.
Herb had obviously done the same, for once she returned to the train
car, he too was clutching a bag and two cans of Georgia Coffee. She
caught his eye, and smiled in surprise. At least her companion was a
gentleman, despite the rude and arrogant way he came off.
"What's in yours?" she asked, holding up her bag of anpan.
"I'm not sure. It's something imported; the sign above said
'McDonald's' and the waitress assured me that it's a delicious item.
It involves eggs and a muffin." Herb stared suspiciously at the bag,
on which a grease stain had started spreading.
"Ugh. That American fare is unhealthy. I have anpan," Kodachi
offered, and reached in for one of the sweet bean paste buns. "Unlike
the Egg McMuffin, anpan will actually provide nutrition without
clogging the arteries. But the Georgia Coffee is an excellent
choice."
Herb accepted the bun and handed her a can of the coffee. As the
train started up, they ate in silence. Herb demolished the Egg
McMuffins anyway. Kodachi refused. Over the plains of northern
Honshuu the sun began to rise, spreading its infamous rays across the
travelers inside the train car.
"We'll be going into the Seikan Tunnel soon," Kodachi finally said,
breaking the silence and gathering the trash neatly into one bag.
"I don't like the idea of that thing. All those miles underwater."
Kodachi shuddered daintily. "Don't remind me. It's faster than
taking a ferry like we used to have to, though." Kodachi had never
really liked the tunnel and preferred air travel, but for all intents
and purposes train travel was much less expensive and much more
convienient.
The train continued accelerating, and they continued talking about the
evils of American fast food, tunnels, and gossiping Office Ladies.
Kodachi was pleasantly surprised as to how much she had in common with
the Chinese prince. They had both been raised in a single-gender
environment, and taught to respect traditions (in Kodachi's case, that
of wizardry) above all else.
"I break the rules all the time," Kodachi admitted, almost guiltily.
"I get carried away and forget that I'm not allowed to use magic
outside of the school. Fortunately, no one else has realized my
abilities, not even my darling Ranma. Only my despicable brother
knows, and outside of the family, Cologne. She guessed it the first
time I met her."
"Amazons can sense magic and ki in all forms," Herb said, nodding in
affirmation.
"She's also the one who taught me Mandarin. I have a gift for
languages." She trilled a few sentences in another tongue that made
Herb blink, trying to place it.
"French?"
"Very good. I spent my youth in France with my mother, who was a
teacher at the French school of wizardry, Beaubaxton. And Father
spent most of his life in Hawaii." Kodachi grimaced ever so slightly.
"I had never even realized I *had* a father because he was gone for so
long."
"I never even knew I had a mother until I fell -- until I was cur --
until a few months ago," Herb managed to finish lamely. "And I have
never met her. Father is now touring China. It's a good thing, as
well. Had he come down with the illness, I wouldn't have been free to
travel for a cure."
He looked so angry at his predicament, yet sad at the same time, that
Kodachi set one delicate hand on his arm.
"We will make it," she said firmly. "I promise."
Herb glanced down at her hand, and stared pointedly away, his face
turning an interesting shade of crimson.
Then he said, very quietly, "Thank you."
Kodachi smiled to herself. The ohji-sama was really a nice boy. Her
initial impression was that he was cold and aloof, like her brother,
but whereas Tatewaki's arrogance was mostly based on his own inflated
opinion of himself, the prince actually had a reason to be proud.
* * *
Seikan Tunnel, Tsuguru Straight, Japan
* * *
Both of the teens shrank unsconsciously toward each other when the
train entered the tunnel. Herb wasn't exactly afraid of dark and
enclosed places (after all, he was part dragon and a tunnel is merely
a long cave), but there was something frightening about knowing there
was all that rock and water above, bearing down on the thinned walls.
The atmosphere, even in the speeding bullet train, was heavy and
oppressive.
Around them, the few morning passengers traveling from Aomori to
Sapporo seemed to have the same reaction, even though many of them
traveled that same route on a daily basis. Kodachi looked decidedly
less confident than she had that morning.
They passed another train going the other way right in the beginning.
Then there was only the gentle clacking of the rails beneath the
floor.
Kodachi yawned and leaned back in her seat again, and then closed her
eyes to sleep some more. Some part of Herb faintly hoped she might
accidentally lean upon him again.
Just last night you were terrified when she fell on you, he berated
himself. And now you want her to fall on you again? What kind of
Musk are you?
He got his wish when the train suddenly slammed on its brakes.
They had no idea it was coming until, with a screech of protesting
metal, they all hurtled forward from inertia. A startled Kodachi
landed on his arm, and ended up clutching it in surpise, although Herb
barely noticed. The train continued shedding speed rapidly, until it
was completely stopped. The little hairs on the back of his neck
raised in alarm. Something was not right.
"Wait here," he said to Kodachi in a low voice, and stood up,
adjusting his cloak just in case there was a dripping leak between the
cars of the train. Kodachi looked outside, worriedly. Herb did not
see her reach for her wand.
He made his way quickly through the cars to the front of the train,
ignoring the requests over the intercom that the passengers please
remain seated and calm. Before long he had reached the engine car,
which in the gleaming bullet train looked more like a pilot's cockpit.
"What is wrong?" he demanded. The engineers turned around in surprise
when they heard him -- and when they saw him immediately felt a
wilting sense of relief. One of them began weeping.
Herb had slipped into "command" mode, that sense of authority that
well trained leaders drop into whenever the situation called for it.
His ki was radiating power and control, and the train engineers,
unconsciously sensing the subtle strength in his presence, were more
than happy to relinquish control of the situation.
"There's a cow blocking the railway." The chief engineer, disbeliving
his own words, pointed to where the headlights illuminated a lump on
the tracks. "A cow. In the middle of the tunnel." He repeated
himself, as if to make it all make sense. "A cow. We caught it on
radar . . . it's a good thing, too, because had we hit it we would
have derailed completely."
Herb glared at the lump, which had resolved itself into an unusually
patterned cow-like shape. Something that appeared to be a head was
chewing cud, contendedly.
"Its ki is wrong," he said, frowning. His eyes told him that he was
looking at a cow. But his senses . . . told him he was looking at a
human.
Jusenkyo, perhaps? But there was no Spring of Drowned Cow that he was
aware of. And besides, while in cursed form the ki of a Jusenkyo
victim altered to that of the animal body. The mind of the human
remained, but the spirit of the animal replaced the spirit of a human
in the human form, as well. Fortunately that didn't extend to the
human body curses, as a soul has no gender. However, the ki of the
being in front of him was as human as any.
An alarm went off. The engineers checked a flashing light on the
backlit panel, which was labeled "doors." Then a subtle movement to
the right of the train caught Herb's eye, and he watched in mingled
horror and anger as a familiar witch in pumps and a power suit fled
past the engineering car, wand in hand.
"Kodachi!" he yelled, and ran from the engineering car, wrenching the
doors open to get outside. The temperature in the tunnel was almost
freezing, and Herb pulled his cloak tighter. The only light came from
the train's headlights.
The witch had already reached the cow, and held her wand in her hand.
He caught the faint echo of "black rose petal storm!" and immediately
the air was filled with rose petals, which swirled thickly in the cold
drafts, choking him with the cloying scent of roses.
"Kodachi," he yelled again, and stumbled blindly to where she was in
the center of the rose petals. They formed a solid, whirling wall
around them, completely blocking them from view.
She was kneeling next to the cow, who mooed in a high pitched voice.
The cow itself was golden, with black legs and a wisp of wheat colored
hair for a forelock. It wore a ridiculous oversized brass bell on a
thick red collar.
"Herb-sama," Kodachi said in surprise. "You felt it too, then. The
cow . . . is a human being."
Now was not the time to fight with her, he told himself. "Exactly.
Her ki is wrong. This is . . . what did you call it? A
transfiguration curse?"
Kodachi nodded. "A powerful one. She's been like this for a long
time . . . her mind is slipping. Her name is Nanami."
"How did you find that out?"
"It's on her bell." Kodachi pointed to the large brass bell, which
indeed bore the name "Nanami" engraved on the clapper.
"How the hell did she get in the middle of the Seikan tunnel, though?"
"I don't know. I also don't know how to undo transfiguration curses,
or else I wouldn't be seeking the panacea."
Herb steeled himself and joined her beside the cow, who blinked lazily
and continued to chew her cud placidly. The cow looked at him
casually with a set of enormous purple eyes.
"Human or not, we have to move her. Train traffic will be held up if
we don't move out quickly."
Kodachi hesitantly reached out, and stroked the cow on the head. The
cow shied away, and brought one hoof up in front of her neck, leaning
her head down as if to protect the cowbell. Kodachi gripped her wand
and whispered "Expose" in Latin. Immediately, sparks began bouncing
from the wand to the cow, concentrating especially along the brass
bell itself. The cow leaned further down, almost angrily, defending
her cowbell.
"It's the bell," Kodachi decided. "The source of the curse is the
bell."
Now that meant they had to neutralize it -- which Kodachi, as bad at
Transfigurations as she was, couldn't do -- or remove it.
"We have to get it off. Do you think you can . . . grab her by the
ears, maybe?"
Herb nodded and started to reach for the head of the cow, but the
animal snapped angrily at him and stood up, pawing her feet on the
railroad lines. Then she lowed loudly, and turned her back to the
prince.
"I think she senses I'm a dragon," Herb said with an angry scowl, and
then flew into the air. "RYU SEI HISHOU!" he cried, and feinted one
way before suddenly shifting to another direction entirely. The move
was graceful and threw the cow completely off, since she was expecting
him to come at her from the other side.
He landed with a thump on her back, and the cow bucked wildly, trying
toss him off. He grabbed her ears, pulling her head back so she
couldn't snap, and yelled "Now, Kodachi!"
Kodachi didn't have to be told twice. She aimed her wand directly at
the cord holding the bell to the cow's neck, and chanted the severing
charm. The bell snapped off with a loud pop, and clattered onto the
railway below.
In a brilliant flash and poof of colored smoke, the animal
disappeared, and suddenly Herb was no longer riding an angry cow but
instead was piggyback on a young girl. With a startled "eep!" she
collapsed under his weight, and the two fell onto the railway,
groaning in bruised pain.
Kodachi let the tunnel of black rose petals fall to the ground. They
wouldn't be needed anymore.
The girl sat up and rubbed her head, and then gingerly picked up the
cowbell.
"Thank you," she said, seeming a little dazed. "Where am I?"
"In the middle of the Seikan Tunnel. Do you remember how you got
here?"
"The last thing I remember was onii-sama saying that Akio-san wanted
me to be the next student council president, and then -- Himemiya!"
The girl stood up, and now Kodachi and Herb could see that the cow had
been patterned after her school uniform: yellow with black leggings.
"Himemiya did this to me!"
Kodachi blinked and looked surprised. "Himemiya Anthy?"
Nanami's jaw dropped. "You know her?"
"I went to school in France with her. Quiet girl, always talking
about her brother . . ."
The blonde girl blanched and started to stomp off toward the train
muttering about freaks of a feather. Herb stared after her, and
Kodachi giggled a little.
"She's a bit unbalanced, but the Anthy I remember was really very
sweet. A little too sold on Dios, though. I wonder how he's doing
now?"
Herb realized his jaw was open, and he snapped it shut with an audible
clack. Then he grabbed Kodachi's arm and started to drag her toward
the train. Nanami was already in the engineers car, apologizing and
asking for a ride. The second engineer was still crying.
Belatedly, Kodachi aimed her wand back at the mess of rose petals, and
chanted a spell that swept them to the side so that the train would
have clear passage. Herb continued to tug her along violently.
"Ohji-sama, you seem upset," Kodachi said, in an innocently puzzled
voice. He said nothing until they had reached their railway car,
where he all but threw her in.
"You absolute FOOL!" he roared once they were inside. "I told you to
wait here. You could have gotten hurt!"
Kodachi narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. They were
both still standing as the train began to move again. Apparently the
engineers, lacking an explanation, had decided to just go ahead and
continue, in order to prevent the train from getting too far off
schedule.
"And I suppose you could have handled that all by yourself, ohji-
sama?" Kodachi answered, dangerously.
"Never disobey my orders again!"
Kodachi studied him through those cool gray eyes of hers, then,
against all reason, broke into a rather frightening smile.
"You're cute when you're mad, ohji-sama," she said, patting his arm.
As the train was accelerating rapidly now, she sat down in her seat.
Herb had absolutely no answer to that statement, so he too sat down in
a furious funk.
The other passengers in the car blinked at the bickering companions,
and then quietly returned to their tankoubon and newspapers.
Kodachi and Herb didn't speak again until they reached Sapporo.
* * *
Kuno Mansion, Nerima District, Tokyo
* * *
"It appears that the twisted sister has left on a vacation without
deeming to leave a departing message," Kuno said to himself. Since she
had not returned that evening, he had decided that she had done what
she always did and just left. He entered the living room, and saw a
stray video out of place, on the wrong shelf.
"No doubt it is another one of her foul hocus-pocus instructional
tapes." He picked up the video, and started to walk toward the
entertainment center, when he saw the label. "Ranma? As in Ranma
Saotome? Hmph. No doubt this is another one of the twisted sister's
schemes to force Saotome to date with her. I should leave this well
alone."
But Kuno, being . . . Kuno, naturally sat down and tried to watch it
anyway.
Hours later, he was still twitching from the warding spell Kodachi had
put on it.
He vowed to try again. If she had a spell such as that on the video,
that meant that it HAD to have something incriminating on it.
And Kuno loved finding incriminating stuff on Kodachi, whether he
would ever admit it or not.
------------
End chapter three
------------
Deep in L-Space
* * *
Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed. So the creator of this
universe (whomever she was, she had some bad grammar habits like
"buts" at the beginning of the sentence) didn't want to make it easy
for the would-be lovers. Well, that was fine. The more angst, the
more love, as they say.
Although, when she thought about it, none of the couples in the Senshi
bickered all that much. Michiru and Haruka calmly disagreed
occasionally, and Mamoru had broken up with Usagi once, but they never
really fought like cats and dogs as the couples in other universes
did.
It made for boring relationships.
She shifted into a more comfortable position, and turned the page,
sticking her tongue out in concentration.
------------
The Spice of Life
[Chapter Three]
An Herb/Kodachi Fic
Commissioned by Prince Herb
Written by Cat Who
Beta Read by Rezantis
For Daddy
------------
* * *
Train Station, Tokyo, Honshuu Island, Japan
* * *
"Two tickets to Sapporo, please," Kodachi said sweetly at the ticket
window. The clerk behind the counter leered openly at her, which made
Herb want to kill him.
"Twenty four thousand, four hundred yen."
Not that I care especially about her, he said to himself firmly. It's
just that no female deserves to be looked at . . . that way. It's
degrading.
As a female, he'd managed to avoid leers by wearing the same loose,
billowy cloak he wore now. It effectively hid his woman's figure so
well, in fact, that Lime and Mint hadn't even realized his predicament
until Saotome had deliberately exposed his bosom.
But Kodachi was flaunting her body. The tailored suit did . . .
things to Herb that he was very ashamed to admit to himself. He was
finally understanding the real reason the Musk had never allowed their
warriors to know about women. They weren't merely distracting, as
breasts were. They were absolutely intoxicating.
"So, what's a cute girl like you doing running away to Sapporo in the
middle of the night?" the clerk asked Kodachi.
"Oh, just running away to enjoy myself," Kodachi said, oozing charm.
Although she was probably only being nice, it made him burn in anger.
Herb would have berated her for actually paying attention to the scum
behind the counter had he not felt a sudden splash of something cold
and wet on his ankle.
Damn!
"Sorry," a woman dragging a toddler said. The toddler had spilled his
icewater onto the only area of Herb that wasn't protected by her
cloak, which fell to midcalf in her male form. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Herb ground out, and stepped into the crowd away from the
ticket counter before Kodachi saw her. Of all the places to transform,
it would be in the middle of a public train station. She needed hot
water . . . any hot liquid . . . ah! A concession stand! Tea!
"Two teas and one cup of hot water, please," Herb said, pulling her
cloak tight around her face. The worker behind the counter gave her a
quizzical look but filled the order anyway. Herb quickly took the
water, ducked down, and splashed it on her other ankle. Whew.
He paid for the drinks, and walked away with the teas. He heard the
worked mutter "baka gaijin" under her breath, and his mouth tightened
in annoyance. But now was not the time to teach the rude worker her
place.
"Oh, there you are, ohji-sama," Kodachi called, and waved to him
elegantly from beside the ticket counter. Herb handed her the second
hot tea, and she nodded in thanks.
"Our train will be boarding in a few minutes. We should head toward
the platform." She gave him his ticket, and the pair made their way
through the thinned evening crowd. "It's a sixteen hour ride from here
to Sapporo."
"I intensely dislike this mode of transportation," Herb commented as
they waited with their luggage for the night train.
"Oh? What manner do you use in your kingdom?"
"We walk. For long distances we use horses."
"Oh. How . . . quaint. How, then, did you get to Japan? Horses
don't swim. Did you fly?"
Herb started to say that of course he didn't fly, he didn't have
wings, and his mid-air techniques wouldn't sustain him across an
ocean, but then he realized that she was referring to the airplanes
that less traditional peoples around the world used for quick travel.
"I took my ship," he said instead. "It's now docked on Kyuushuu. The
Musk Kingom lies near the ocean." He sipped his tea, thanking
whatever being, human or god, who had discovered all the incredible
virtues of hot water and herbs and made them popular.
Kodachi said nothing, but she looked duly impressed that he owned his
own ship. As she should be. Her wealth was a pittance compared to
the treasures of the Musk.
The train arrived then, and they boarded with the other night
passengers with little fanfare.
* * *
Train traveling from Tokyo to Sapporo, Japan
* * *
They sat beside each other in one half of a berth, their luggage
stowed above them. This was a long distance bullet train, and a night
one at that, which meant that the train was almost empty. On such
short notice, however, it was impossible to request one of the luxury
private berths. Kodachi had gotten tickets for an open berth, with the
seats on the side, allowing the slightly taller than average teens
some much needed leg room.
"So you own your own ship," Kodachi said casually, looking at her
nails. She perched daintily on her seat, her legs crossed at the
knees, her jacket over her knees. Herb had the uncomfortable feeling
from being so close to her, especially with her wearing . . . that.
"The Musk Kingdom is large, then, I take it?"
"My kingdom is more than just a patch of mud and mountains, if that's
what you're asking. My people are the most feared warriors in all of
eastern China. I, as the heir to the throne of Musk, am duty bound to
protect my people. That's why I need the panacea. My people have been
struck by a mysterious illness."
"But why do you need a Japanese witch? Surely there was at least one
magical woman among you."
"There are no women in the Musk," Herb said coldly. "Women are a
distraction to men in training. We are taught to not even know what a
woman is until it is time for us to have children, and even then we
are not to fraternize with them."
"Oh, how dreadful! I know how that is, though. I despise attending
an all girl's school, but the Japanese school of magic was founded by
Hebereke-sama and she believed that it was better for women to learn
magic away from men. To avoid distraction and . . . temptations."
"It failed in your case."
Kodachi laughed for the first time, a terrifying sound that scared
Herb more than anything about the girl so far. She covered her mouth
shyly with her hand, but her cackle (it could ONLY be called a cackle)
bounced around the train car nonetheless. Herb resisted an instinct
deep in his dragon heart to shred her to pieces in case she was as
dangerous as she sounded.
"It certainly did. Nothing can keep true love apart, you see." She
clasped her hands together and lifted her gray eyes rapturously toward
the ceiling of the car. "When I first met Ranma, I knew it was
destiny."
"Even though he already had a fiance?"
"Of course! I have been trying to get rid of that Tendou weakling -- I
even crashed their attempt at a wedding a few weeks ago -- yet the
evil demon has a powerful spell I cannot break on him."
Herb was having a lot of trouble believing that Ranma's "spell" was
not a reciprocated love, but he kept silent, and instead asked the
question that had been burning on his mind all evening. "What exactly
did Ranma do that made you fall in love with him?"
Kodachi blinked innocently, and covered her heart with her hand shyly.
"Why, he rescued me, of course. No man had ever dared to approach me.
And he was kind to me. I knew at that instant that I had found the
one destined for me."
He had . . . rescued her? That was IT? Herb stared at her, and for
the first time since meeting him felt sorry for Ranma Saotome.
Perhaps the half-bitch wasn't a womanizer as he had been led to
believe by Cologne.
"And even if he remains cursed . . . even if the panacea does not cure
him of the transfiguration, I shall remain faithful to him."
Herb digested that news in silence for quite some time. Like Saotome,
he believed his curse to make him less of a man . . . but maybe not
every woman would look at it like that. Even though Kodachi didn't
know of the nature of the curse -- or that there was a possibility it
could be cured -- she was willing to remain faithful to half-man who
didn't even love her simply because he had shown her kindness. Were
there other women who only wanted kindness from a man? To the point
where the could put up with a distinctly more visible feminine side?
"I have a question for you, now," Kodachi said, interrupting his train
of thought. "Forgive me if I am rude, ohji-sama, but exactly . . .
how did you get your hair that way?" She tilted her head toward his
brightly patched bangs and ponytail.
Prince Herb of the Musk Kingdom looked away this time, in annoyance
again. "I was born with it. In me runs the blood of dragons."
"Oh, really? Then is your armor also--?"
"Yes."
"I see. Chinese Fireball?"
Herb looked at her once more, this time in astonishment. "You know of
dragon breeds?" Not many people were aware that dragons still roamed
free around the world. Most were endangered; the armor he wore had
been made hundreds of years ago, before they had realized that dragons
were a rapidly dying species. The orange Fireball's brilliant scales
were fireproof, waterproof, shock proof, and as hard as diamonds.
After Jusenkyo, Herb had wondered if it'd be possible to weave a cloth
made out of them to keep him male.
"I'm a witch, ohji-sama. I'm aware of all things magical."
The train started up then, and they halted their conversation for a
few moments until it had accelerated up to its full speed of a hundred
and forty kilometers per hour.
"You should try to get some rest, witch," Herb said after a while, as
Kodachi had taken out her journal and was frantically scribbling in it
with a black feather quill. No doubt she was writing about her latest
scheme to catch Saotome.
"As should you, ohji-sama." She continued writing, however, and
showed no indication of stopping. Herb sighed, crossed his arms, and
closed his eyes, leaning back into the seat. His armor made getting
into a truly comfortable position difficult, so he had to settle for
only mildly uncomfortable.
He heard her snap her journal shut, and then lean back onto the small
pillow she had brought along. The train clacked swiftly on its
nighttime course, causing them both to sway gently. The motion
reminded Herb of the waves on the ocean, yet he still had a lot of
trouble trying to fall asleep.
Especially when an all but snoring Kodachi landed on his shoulder.
A woman is touching me . . . a woman is touching me . . . a woman is
touching me . . .
He fought off the initial wave of panic, and looked down at the
sleeping Japanese girl. His panic ebbed. She looked even more
innocent in sleep, her full yet dainty lips slightly parted, her sooty
lashes resting on her pale cheek. She looked positively harmless . .
.
And yet, it was a long time before Herb slumbered.
* * *
Train Station, Aomori, Honshuu Island, Japan
* * *
Kodachi woke to the sounds of gossip.
It took her a few moments to remember where she was, as the train she
was on had stopped. She opened her sleep encrusted eyes, and blinked,
taking in her surroundings slowly. She felt something hard poking her
in her shoulder blade, and she looked beside her to where Prince Herb
sat, covered in his long cloak. It was his double-shoulder armor that
caused her pain. He was awake and alert, and was pointedly ignoring
the stage whispers around him. Apparently the train had reached a
brief stopover at some point along the way, as the train was much
fuller than it had been the night before.
"Is he a cosplayer?"
"Has to be, in that outfit. Piccolo from DBZ, maybe?"
"No, he'd be green, silly. I think it's from a video game."
"Ugh, I don't know video game characters."
"It is a rather unusual outfit," Kodachi commented in Mandarin,
sitting up. Herb gave her a Look and glowered at the gossipers, who
continued speculating as to who he was dressed as.
"It is traditional. And comfortable. Unlike most of the clothing
your people wear."
"I'm perfectly comfortable," Kodachi disagreed, and recrossed her legs
the other way to emphasize her point.
She glanced outside, and recognized Aomori station. They would stop
here, of course, before continuing through the Seikan tunnel, which
ran underneath the Tsuguru Straight, making it the longest railway
tunnel in the world. She had been to Hokkaido several times before on
school ski trips, and knew the station well.
"We're not going to be stopping again until we reach Sapporo, so you
may want to take a break here," Kodachi said to Herb, then glanced at
her watch and checked the travel schedule she had recieved with her
tickets. "We'll be here for another fifteen minutes. I need to find
a little girl's room now . . . excuse me." She stood up, and left
Herb blushing furiously.
The station at Aomori was already bustling with the pre-work traffic.
Kodachi swayed through the crowd, her bag and ticket stub clutched at
her side, and quickly found a woman's bathroom. It, too, was already
filled with OLs on their way to work, putting on lipstick and
gossiping about the salarymen in their various offices. Kodachi, in
her little black French suit and bun, blended right in.
Once she had finished her business, she ran to a small kiosk and
purchased some overpriced breakfast anpan for herself and her
traveling companion.
Herb had obviously done the same, for once she returned to the train
car, he too was clutching a bag and two cans of Georgia Coffee. She
caught his eye, and smiled in surprise. At least her companion was a
gentleman, despite the rude and arrogant way he came off.
"What's in yours?" she asked, holding up her bag of anpan.
"I'm not sure. It's something imported; the sign above said
'McDonald's' and the waitress assured me that it's a delicious item.
It involves eggs and a muffin." Herb stared suspiciously at the bag,
on which a grease stain had started spreading.
"Ugh. That American fare is unhealthy. I have anpan," Kodachi
offered, and reached in for one of the sweet bean paste buns. "Unlike
the Egg McMuffin, anpan will actually provide nutrition without
clogging the arteries. But the Georgia Coffee is an excellent
choice."
Herb accepted the bun and handed her a can of the coffee. As the
train started up, they ate in silence. Herb demolished the Egg
McMuffins anyway. Kodachi refused. Over the plains of northern
Honshuu the sun began to rise, spreading its infamous rays across the
travelers inside the train car.
"We'll be going into the Seikan Tunnel soon," Kodachi finally said,
breaking the silence and gathering the trash neatly into one bag.
"I don't like the idea of that thing. All those miles underwater."
Kodachi shuddered daintily. "Don't remind me. It's faster than
taking a ferry like we used to have to, though." Kodachi had never
really liked the tunnel and preferred air travel, but for all intents
and purposes train travel was much less expensive and much more
convienient.
The train continued accelerating, and they continued talking about the
evils of American fast food, tunnels, and gossiping Office Ladies.
Kodachi was pleasantly surprised as to how much she had in common with
the Chinese prince. They had both been raised in a single-gender
environment, and taught to respect traditions (in Kodachi's case, that
of wizardry) above all else.
"I break the rules all the time," Kodachi admitted, almost guiltily.
"I get carried away and forget that I'm not allowed to use magic
outside of the school. Fortunately, no one else has realized my
abilities, not even my darling Ranma. Only my despicable brother
knows, and outside of the family, Cologne. She guessed it the first
time I met her."
"Amazons can sense magic and ki in all forms," Herb said, nodding in
affirmation.
"She's also the one who taught me Mandarin. I have a gift for
languages." She trilled a few sentences in another tongue that made
Herb blink, trying to place it.
"French?"
"Very good. I spent my youth in France with my mother, who was a
teacher at the French school of wizardry, Beaubaxton. And Father
spent most of his life in Hawaii." Kodachi grimaced ever so slightly.
"I had never even realized I *had* a father because he was gone for so
long."
"I never even knew I had a mother until I fell -- until I was cur --
until a few months ago," Herb managed to finish lamely. "And I have
never met her. Father is now touring China. It's a good thing, as
well. Had he come down with the illness, I wouldn't have been free to
travel for a cure."
He looked so angry at his predicament, yet sad at the same time, that
Kodachi set one delicate hand on his arm.
"We will make it," she said firmly. "I promise."
Herb glanced down at her hand, and stared pointedly away, his face
turning an interesting shade of crimson.
Then he said, very quietly, "Thank you."
Kodachi smiled to herself. The ohji-sama was really a nice boy. Her
initial impression was that he was cold and aloof, like her brother,
but whereas Tatewaki's arrogance was mostly based on his own inflated
opinion of himself, the prince actually had a reason to be proud.
* * *
Seikan Tunnel, Tsuguru Straight, Japan
* * *
Both of the teens shrank unsconsciously toward each other when the
train entered the tunnel. Herb wasn't exactly afraid of dark and
enclosed places (after all, he was part dragon and a tunnel is merely
a long cave), but there was something frightening about knowing there
was all that rock and water above, bearing down on the thinned walls.
The atmosphere, even in the speeding bullet train, was heavy and
oppressive.
Around them, the few morning passengers traveling from Aomori to
Sapporo seemed to have the same reaction, even though many of them
traveled that same route on a daily basis. Kodachi looked decidedly
less confident than she had that morning.
They passed another train going the other way right in the beginning.
Then there was only the gentle clacking of the rails beneath the
floor.
Kodachi yawned and leaned back in her seat again, and then closed her
eyes to sleep some more. Some part of Herb faintly hoped she might
accidentally lean upon him again.
Just last night you were terrified when she fell on you, he berated
himself. And now you want her to fall on you again? What kind of
Musk are you?
He got his wish when the train suddenly slammed on its brakes.
They had no idea it was coming until, with a screech of protesting
metal, they all hurtled forward from inertia. A startled Kodachi
landed on his arm, and ended up clutching it in surpise, although Herb
barely noticed. The train continued shedding speed rapidly, until it
was completely stopped. The little hairs on the back of his neck
raised in alarm. Something was not right.
"Wait here," he said to Kodachi in a low voice, and stood up,
adjusting his cloak just in case there was a dripping leak between the
cars of the train. Kodachi looked outside, worriedly. Herb did not
see her reach for her wand.
He made his way quickly through the cars to the front of the train,
ignoring the requests over the intercom that the passengers please
remain seated and calm. Before long he had reached the engine car,
which in the gleaming bullet train looked more like a pilot's cockpit.
"What is wrong?" he demanded. The engineers turned around in surprise
when they heard him -- and when they saw him immediately felt a
wilting sense of relief. One of them began weeping.
Herb had slipped into "command" mode, that sense of authority that
well trained leaders drop into whenever the situation called for it.
His ki was radiating power and control, and the train engineers,
unconsciously sensing the subtle strength in his presence, were more
than happy to relinquish control of the situation.
"There's a cow blocking the railway." The chief engineer, disbeliving
his own words, pointed to where the headlights illuminated a lump on
the tracks. "A cow. In the middle of the tunnel." He repeated
himself, as if to make it all make sense. "A cow. We caught it on
radar . . . it's a good thing, too, because had we hit it we would
have derailed completely."
Herb glared at the lump, which had resolved itself into an unusually
patterned cow-like shape. Something that appeared to be a head was
chewing cud, contendedly.
"Its ki is wrong," he said, frowning. His eyes told him that he was
looking at a cow. But his senses . . . told him he was looking at a
human.
Jusenkyo, perhaps? But there was no Spring of Drowned Cow that he was
aware of. And besides, while in cursed form the ki of a Jusenkyo
victim altered to that of the animal body. The mind of the human
remained, but the spirit of the animal replaced the spirit of a human
in the human form, as well. Fortunately that didn't extend to the
human body curses, as a soul has no gender. However, the ki of the
being in front of him was as human as any.
An alarm went off. The engineers checked a flashing light on the
backlit panel, which was labeled "doors." Then a subtle movement to
the right of the train caught Herb's eye, and he watched in mingled
horror and anger as a familiar witch in pumps and a power suit fled
past the engineering car, wand in hand.
"Kodachi!" he yelled, and ran from the engineering car, wrenching the
doors open to get outside. The temperature in the tunnel was almost
freezing, and Herb pulled his cloak tighter. The only light came from
the train's headlights.
The witch had already reached the cow, and held her wand in her hand.
He caught the faint echo of "black rose petal storm!" and immediately
the air was filled with rose petals, which swirled thickly in the cold
drafts, choking him with the cloying scent of roses.
"Kodachi," he yelled again, and stumbled blindly to where she was in
the center of the rose petals. They formed a solid, whirling wall
around them, completely blocking them from view.
She was kneeling next to the cow, who mooed in a high pitched voice.
The cow itself was golden, with black legs and a wisp of wheat colored
hair for a forelock. It wore a ridiculous oversized brass bell on a
thick red collar.
"Herb-sama," Kodachi said in surprise. "You felt it too, then. The
cow . . . is a human being."
Now was not the time to fight with her, he told himself. "Exactly.
Her ki is wrong. This is . . . what did you call it? A
transfiguration curse?"
Kodachi nodded. "A powerful one. She's been like this for a long
time . . . her mind is slipping. Her name is Nanami."
"How did you find that out?"
"It's on her bell." Kodachi pointed to the large brass bell, which
indeed bore the name "Nanami" engraved on the clapper.
"How the hell did she get in the middle of the Seikan tunnel, though?"
"I don't know. I also don't know how to undo transfiguration curses,
or else I wouldn't be seeking the panacea."
Herb steeled himself and joined her beside the cow, who blinked lazily
and continued to chew her cud placidly. The cow looked at him
casually with a set of enormous purple eyes.
"Human or not, we have to move her. Train traffic will be held up if
we don't move out quickly."
Kodachi hesitantly reached out, and stroked the cow on the head. The
cow shied away, and brought one hoof up in front of her neck, leaning
her head down as if to protect the cowbell. Kodachi gripped her wand
and whispered "Expose" in Latin. Immediately, sparks began bouncing
from the wand to the cow, concentrating especially along the brass
bell itself. The cow leaned further down, almost angrily, defending
her cowbell.
"It's the bell," Kodachi decided. "The source of the curse is the
bell."
Now that meant they had to neutralize it -- which Kodachi, as bad at
Transfigurations as she was, couldn't do -- or remove it.
"We have to get it off. Do you think you can . . . grab her by the
ears, maybe?"
Herb nodded and started to reach for the head of the cow, but the
animal snapped angrily at him and stood up, pawing her feet on the
railroad lines. Then she lowed loudly, and turned her back to the
prince.
"I think she senses I'm a dragon," Herb said with an angry scowl, and
then flew into the air. "RYU SEI HISHOU!" he cried, and feinted one
way before suddenly shifting to another direction entirely. The move
was graceful and threw the cow completely off, since she was expecting
him to come at her from the other side.
He landed with a thump on her back, and the cow bucked wildly, trying
toss him off. He grabbed her ears, pulling her head back so she
couldn't snap, and yelled "Now, Kodachi!"
Kodachi didn't have to be told twice. She aimed her wand directly at
the cord holding the bell to the cow's neck, and chanted the severing
charm. The bell snapped off with a loud pop, and clattered onto the
railway below.
In a brilliant flash and poof of colored smoke, the animal
disappeared, and suddenly Herb was no longer riding an angry cow but
instead was piggyback on a young girl. With a startled "eep!" she
collapsed under his weight, and the two fell onto the railway,
groaning in bruised pain.
Kodachi let the tunnel of black rose petals fall to the ground. They
wouldn't be needed anymore.
The girl sat up and rubbed her head, and then gingerly picked up the
cowbell.
"Thank you," she said, seeming a little dazed. "Where am I?"
"In the middle of the Seikan Tunnel. Do you remember how you got
here?"
"The last thing I remember was onii-sama saying that Akio-san wanted
me to be the next student council president, and then -- Himemiya!"
The girl stood up, and now Kodachi and Herb could see that the cow had
been patterned after her school uniform: yellow with black leggings.
"Himemiya did this to me!"
Kodachi blinked and looked surprised. "Himemiya Anthy?"
Nanami's jaw dropped. "You know her?"
"I went to school in France with her. Quiet girl, always talking
about her brother . . ."
The blonde girl blanched and started to stomp off toward the train
muttering about freaks of a feather. Herb stared after her, and
Kodachi giggled a little.
"She's a bit unbalanced, but the Anthy I remember was really very
sweet. A little too sold on Dios, though. I wonder how he's doing
now?"
Herb realized his jaw was open, and he snapped it shut with an audible
clack. Then he grabbed Kodachi's arm and started to drag her toward
the train. Nanami was already in the engineers car, apologizing and
asking for a ride. The second engineer was still crying.
Belatedly, Kodachi aimed her wand back at the mess of rose petals, and
chanted a spell that swept them to the side so that the train would
have clear passage. Herb continued to tug her along violently.
"Ohji-sama, you seem upset," Kodachi said, in an innocently puzzled
voice. He said nothing until they had reached their railway car,
where he all but threw her in.
"You absolute FOOL!" he roared once they were inside. "I told you to
wait here. You could have gotten hurt!"
Kodachi narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. They were
both still standing as the train began to move again. Apparently the
engineers, lacking an explanation, had decided to just go ahead and
continue, in order to prevent the train from getting too far off
schedule.
"And I suppose you could have handled that all by yourself, ohji-
sama?" Kodachi answered, dangerously.
"Never disobey my orders again!"
Kodachi studied him through those cool gray eyes of hers, then,
against all reason, broke into a rather frightening smile.
"You're cute when you're mad, ohji-sama," she said, patting his arm.
As the train was accelerating rapidly now, she sat down in her seat.
Herb had absolutely no answer to that statement, so he too sat down in
a furious funk.
The other passengers in the car blinked at the bickering companions,
and then quietly returned to their tankoubon and newspapers.
Kodachi and Herb didn't speak again until they reached Sapporo.
* * *
Kuno Mansion, Nerima District, Tokyo
* * *
"It appears that the twisted sister has left on a vacation without
deeming to leave a departing message," Kuno said to himself. Since she
had not returned that evening, he had decided that she had done what
she always did and just left. He entered the living room, and saw a
stray video out of place, on the wrong shelf.
"No doubt it is another one of her foul hocus-pocus instructional
tapes." He picked up the video, and started to walk toward the
entertainment center, when he saw the label. "Ranma? As in Ranma
Saotome? Hmph. No doubt this is another one of the twisted sister's
schemes to force Saotome to date with her. I should leave this well
alone."
But Kuno, being . . . Kuno, naturally sat down and tried to watch it
anyway.
Hours later, he was still twitching from the warding spell Kodachi had
put on it.
He vowed to try again. If she had a spell such as that on the video,
that meant that it HAD to have something incriminating on it.
And Kuno loved finding incriminating stuff on Kodachi, whether he
would ever admit it or not.
------------
End chapter three
------------
