A Broken Casket
Chapter 6
Ranma-chan screamed and screamed, until her voice went out and
she could no longer make another sound. Then she stood up, and ran as
fast as her legs would carry her, away from the vacant lot where she
was sleeping just moments before.
Days and nights passed by unnoticed, and all she could think
about was running. Run and escape from those horrible people. The
ones who were out to get her. Something nagged at her about all that.
Those people looked familiar, somehow, as if she's seen them before.
But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where.
She ran passed houses, ran passed buildings and rivers, and
didn't stop until she literally hit a building, then fell backwards on
her behind. Looked up at the offending building, she was greeted
with the words "Kuno Estate".
As soon as she saw the name Kuno written on the building, she
was suddenly hit by waves of hatred and anger, and she unconsciously
flared her battle aura. When she noticed this, she lowered her ki
level to let the battle aura dissipate, but she was puzzled as to the
reason why she reacted so suddenly and hostilely. No matter how much
she tried to think about it, she couldn't make a connection between
the Kuno Estate and her earlier display of fury, but she knew that
they were connected, because something in the back of her head was
trying to tell her about it. She knew she had the answer, it was as if
it was at the tip of her tongue, but the answer continued to elude her.
After a few moments, she decided that there was no use to think
about it and jumped up onto the wall and crouched low to avoid being
sighted and see if she could find any clues to why she reacted that way
earlier.
The Kuno estate, at a glance, seemed to be an ancient mansion
built in the middle of a huge lot. A closer look, however, proved
otherwise. Ranma-chan could see security cameras panning about every
corner, motion detectors ready to report any intruders who tried
to venture into the complex.
Despite all that, her curiousity got the better of her and she
decided to hop down to see what kind of residence required such
security measures. However, there were more motion detectors and
cameras than she had predicted, and she almost got caught by suprise
several times before barely ducking out of the cameras' fields-of-view.
By the time she made it to the last part of the open lot before the
mansion, she was convinced that they had to be hiding something to
warranr such heavy security.
In front of her was a giant, invisible wall of death. Or it
would have been invisible, were it not for the evening fog that began
to settle in. As it was, She could see the red lines that lasers made
across the air. There were lasers left and right, going across the
yard at various heights. She was prepared to run through the lasers,
but a hapless mouse that happened to wander into the field of lasers
quickly changed her mind. The mouse was killed in a fraction of a
second, its body cut in half by a laser, which then vaporized the
entire body.
This latest turn of event peaked Ranma-chan's curiousity. She
could not imagine what kind of treasure or secrets hidden inside the
mansion with this kind of killing . Unable to hold her curiousity any
longer, she decided to brave the trap.
The first few lasers were easy enough, she just jumped over
the low beams aimed at the feet. Then she has to somersault over the
higher ones, while keeping her body away from the ones beside them.
There was barely enough room between two lasers for her to pass
through, but she passed through those without much of a problem.
She stood still for a moment after she landed, then took in a
breath, and started moving again. Doing a forward roll, she
successfully avoided the laser beam that passed just above her head.
Right after passing by the laser beam, she pushed herself off the
ground with her arms, sending her flying past another beam. Her eyes
widened as her eyes focused on a ray that was previously unnoticed.
Panicking, she relied on her instinct and did the first thing that
came into her mind.
She released a Moko Takabisha at the beam. The laser wasn't
affected, but the force from the ki blast slowed her forward motion,
and she cheated death by no more than the width of a finger. Just
when she was about to touch down, a cloud of mist passed by the
ground, revealing another unseen laser, waiting to split her lgs in
half.
She extended her arm and balanced herself on one arm, with the
rest of her torso bent in almost a ninety degree angle to avoid being
chopped in half. She swung her feet fowards, making herself flip
through the air and past the next few lasers. arched her back, she
ducked under one that went right above her nose, then rolled her body
into a ball to avoid two more that didn't allow much space for
movement. Seeing that her goal was in sight, she twisted and flipped
a few times to dodge the rays of death, and finally landed on clear
ground.
As soon as she touched down, alarms blared all over the yard,
and she heard guns going off. Turning to the direction of the sound,
she saw bullets flying towards her at blazing speed. She mustered the
speed she could find, and tried dodged the hail of bullets.
Unfortunately there was too little warning and a bullet entered from
her shoulder and came out from the back.
She fell on the ground on her back, and could do nothing but
watch as the projectiles streaked towards her and made holes on the
ground all around her, knowing that moving around might put her in an
even worse position with the turrets. Suddenly, the weapons stopped
and she heard a strangely familiar voice cry out in alarm.
"Pig-Tailed Girl!" a man came into view and helped her up.
"Are you alright?"
Ranma-chan stared at the man dumbly, trying but failing to
recognize him. "Who are you?"
"'Tis I, the Blue Thunder of Kuno Enterprises," Kuno stared at
Ranma-chan. "Do you not recognize me, fair one?"
She studied Kuno's face. "No I don't..."
"That must surely be the work of the wretched Saotome!" Kuno
declared. Not only did he enslave thee, the cur had the gall to change
thy memories! I shall avenge thee!"
She stared at him, puzzled. "Are you alright, mister?"
Kuno squinted at Ranma-chan and coughed. "Ahem. Sorry. I
tend to slip sometimes. "You look like you haven't aged a day since
high school..."
Ranma-chan sighed. "Do I know you?"
"Of course you do. Don't you remember Tatewaki Kuno from
Furinkan High?"
She looked closely at Kuno, and went down on one knee and
clutched her head as memories and flashbacks flooded through her mind.
She remembered now. She remembered everything. He was one of THEM.
One of the ones who were out to get her, to make her life a living
hell, and more. Not anymore, she decided. She would strike first.
Standing up slowly, she looked at Kuno, determined to make him
the first victim in her pre-emptive strike. Evidently her mind was
refleced in her eyes, as Kuno unconsciously stepped back a small step
once he caught Ranma-chan's look.
Before Kuno could react, Ranma-chan jumped at him and punched
him hard in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain, then
followed up with an uppercut that knocked Kuno down onto the ground.
Kuno climbed back up onto his feet, and held her hands out at
the taunting girl in front of him. "Wait a second, pig-tail... oomph!"
His sentence was cut off in mid-way by a kick to the chest that
made him stagger backwards.
Kuno stood back straight up, and waved his hands around. "Hold
on, pi-" As before, Kuno didn't get a chance to finish his sentence
before Ranma-chan cut him off, this time with a kick to the head.
Before Kuno could voice his protest, she dropped down low and
did a leg sweep on him. He fell on the ground with a thud, and climbed
back up, then ran into the house.
Ranma-chan slowly walked towards the house, just to find that
the door that Kuno entered with was locked. She gave off a smirk, and
punched the door in the center, causing it to fly off its hinges and
into the house.
Kuno paled slightly, but stood in the middle of the room with a
bokken in hand. "Hold, pig-tailed girl. Come no further."
The redhead ignored his statement and continued to walk towards
Kuno, and calmly punched Kuno in the mid-section. As Kuno bent over,
she sent a knee up to meet Kuno's head, and he fell down onto the
ground with a thud.
He started to sit up, but she used a low snap kick aimed at his
face, throwing him back a few feet. Standing back up, he charged her
with a thrust of his bokken, but she simply sidestepped the attack and
pivoted on the balls of her feet, sending a spinning axe kick on the
top of Kuno's head, collapsing him on the floor.
To his credit, he stayed conscious and did a leg sweep on his
unsuspecting opponent, tripping her and sending her to the floor.
He got up, and backed away from her. "I don't want to fight you,
pig-tailed girl," he warned.
She muttered under her breath, "Too bad," and jumped towards
Kuno with a flying kick. He stepped to a side and punched her in the
abdomen, and she flew back and landed on the floor on her back.
A handspring later, she was back up on her feet, and lunging
at Kuno. She feigned a left hook at Kuno's temple, and when he fell
for it, she delievered a lightning-fast open-palmed strike to his
mid-section, propelling him into a wall.
A female voice rang out from beyond the stairs. "Kuno-chan?"
Kuno turned his head towards the source of the voice. "No!
Stay awa-AH!"
That cry was the result of Ranma-chan kicking the unattentive
Kuno in the ribs, followed by sounds of bones shattering. Upon hearing
the cry, the woman ran down from the stairs and rushed towards Kuno.
She blinked when she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw
Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan blinked too. The woman was in her
mid-thirties, had shoulder-length black hair, and eyes that gleamed
with intelligence and confidence.
"R-Ranma?" the woman asked in a trembling voice.
The voice sounded very familiar to Ranma-chan. The woman's
manner of speaking reminded her of a young girl she once knew so long
ago, one named Nabiki Tendo. One of the evil ones. But she also
found that this woman's voice is deeper and huskier than Nabiki's.
"Who're you?" she asked the woman.
"I-it's me...Nabiki. I thought you were dead?" the woman
answered.
A fire lit up in Ranma-chan's eyes when she heard Nabiki's
name, and Nabiki recoiled once she saw the look in Ranma-chan's eyes.
With a loud cry, Ranma-chan launched herself at Nabiki, only to be
intercepted by Kuno and kicked into the wall.
"Don't touch my wife!" Kuno commanded.
With his declaration, Ranma-chan seemed to have gained a new
fire in her eyes.
"Wife, is it?" she said every word slowly, glaring at the two
of them. "You..."
Just as Kuno's attention was on her finishing the sentence,
she lunged towards him, and before he could react, punched him hard
in the stomach.
"You teamed up with her to get me, didn't you!" she demanded,
launching a hook punch on his jaw, sending him spiraling across the
room. She began to run towards the downed Kuno, when someone grabbed
her from behind.
"No, Ranma!" Nabiki grabbed Ranma-chan tightly. "Don't hurt
him!"
Ranma-chan growled and turned around, sending Nabiki flying
into a wall with a backhand. "You're one of them too!" she accused.
"One of the ones who want to get me!"
"What are you talking about, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, puzzled.
"Don't play dumb with me, Nabiki!" Ranma-chan countered. "I
know what you're up to! You and Akane and Kuno and Ryoga and everybody
else! You'll never get me alive!"
"Wha-what?"
Before Ranma-chan could make another accusation, Kuno ran up
from behind and tried to jab her with his bokken. At the last second,
she jumped up into mid-air and twisted to land behind Kuno, giving him
a kick in the spine as she landed. He flew into Nabiki, and both
collapsed on the floor. Just as Ranma-chan was going to capitalize on
the situation and press the attack, a familiar laugh echoed in her
ears.
"Ohohohohohoho!!!!! What have you done with my Ranma-sama, you
pig-tailed harridan?"
Ranma-chan spun around to the source of the voice, and found
the deranged gymnast standing in the doorway. With an enraged cry,
she launched herself at Kodachi.
"Die!"
Kodachi calmly sidestepped her attack, then sent her ribbons
out to counterattack. One short, crisp laugh later, Ranma-chan was
down on the ground and thoroughly wrapped up by ribbons.
"Are you going to tell me where you hid my Ranma-sama for the
last 20 years," Kodachi demanded while circling the trapped Ranma-chan.
"Or will I have to hurt you to find out?"
An audible growl emitted from Ranma-chan's throat, and she
began yelling after struggling futilely against the ribbons. "Let me
go, you bastards! You'll never take me alive! Fight me one on me,
you cowards!"
When no one made a move to free her, she started to curse worse
and yell louder, trampling on all of Kuno's ancestors and "supposed
honor".
"Shut up!" Kodachi said while slapping Ranma-chan. "You will
not talk about my noble ancestors in that way or I will have you
killed!"
And to get her point across, she took out a razor hoop from
out of nowhere and sliced Ranma-chan on the arm, causing blood to gush
out from the wound. Ranma-chan glared at Kodachi, then began to shake.
Hopping back onto her feet, she continued glaring at Kodachi,
her aura getting brighter and brighter. After a moment, the ground
began to shake slightly, the tremors increasing by the minute. Even
the ceiling lights and the furniture soon began to shake, and by this
time, Ranma-chan's aura was so bright that the Kunos and Nabiki had to
hold their hands up to shield their eyes from the light.
A sudden and strong draft of wind blew out from where
Ranma-chan was standing, sending nearby objects flying everywhere.
When the dust from the small explosion cleared, she was standing still
with only shredded ribbons around her, her battle aura a blazing white.
Before anyone could react, she suddenly disappeared from sight,
then reappeared on the other side of the room with Kodachi's razor hoop
in hand. Kodachi cried in surprise at the mysterious relocation of
her razor hoop, but Ranma-chan just smirked and disappeared from sight
once again.
Loud, deafening cries of pain found their way out of Kodachi's
mouth, and a split second later, Ranma-chan reappeared behind her, the
razor hoop dripping with a thick, crimson liquid.
Beaming, she turned around to face Kodachi, then blew into the
air as if blowing a kiss. Kodachi forced out another cry of pain, and
she fell over backwards, her body splitting into seven different
sections and drenching Ranma-chan with her blood from the shower of
plasma immediately following the explosion of her body upon impacting
the ground.
The two onlookers to Kodachi's gory demise had two differing
reactions. Her face pale, Nabiki screamed and turned around to throw
up while Kuno shook in rage and disbelief.
Turning around to face the two, Ranma-chan got into a defensive
stance and taunted Kuno. "Come on, Kuno. Your "pig-tailed girl" is
right here..." she began. "I'll make your life a living hell like you
did mine... you'll never take me alive!"
Before Kuno made a move, she abandoned her defensive stance and
started an offense against her opponent. Lunging towards him at
blurring speed, she spun around in mid-air and sent Kuno sprawling
across the floor with a tornado kick.
She spun around while still in mid-air and launched a Moko
Takabisha, and using the added momentum provided by the ki blast,
landed a hard knee strike on Kuno's chest. The moment her hit
connected, he cried out in pain and spit out blood.
Lifting the kendoist with her arm, the redheaded girl started
punching him in the stomach over and over, making him flap in the air
like a cheap rag doll.
Nabiki ran up from behind and grabbed Ranma-chan's arm to stop
her from hitting Kuno any further, but her efforts only got her
backhanded into the wall, curtesy of the deranged martial artist.
Leaping backwards, Ranma-chan sent an elbow into Nabiki's midsection.
As Nabiki doubled over, the busty redhead grabbed her head and slammed
her down on the floor hard.
Seeing his wife manhandled and beaten, Kuno screamed in outrage
and charged his wife's attacker with the bokken. She caught the bokken
between her palms, then with a flick of her wrists, snapped the bokken
in half, leaving him staring at the bottom half of the bokken.
Smirking, she returned the bokken to its original owner... penetrating
Kuno's palm, embedding the bokken in his arm and splitting his arm in
half, heedless of his terrible cries of pain and the blood that
fountained out of the arm and onto her face.
Nabiki shrieked upon seeing her husband's almost-mutilation,
and charged Ranma-chan without having a second thought or thinking
about the difference in their skills. Ranma-chan never even tensed
up before she kicked at one of Nabiki's kneecaps, releasing a loud,
sickening crunch to accompany an ear-piercing scream.
"How are you feeling, Nabiki?" she asked, her face portraying
an eerie calm that made an awful contrast with the pain she was dealing
everyone. "I can make it all better for you if you wan-"
She never finished her sentence before she was cut off by a
sharp pain in her ribs. When she looked down, she saw a broken half
of a bokken portruding out from behind. Shaking with anger, she spun
around and sent a punch at her attacker. Her fist met flesh, and she
followed through with her attack, her fist penetrating one layer of
skin after another until it found its way to Kuno's innards,
rupturing his stomach with a single punch.
Not relenting for even a second, Ranma-chan started the
Amaguriken, hitting Kuno's body repeatedly, crunches and loud pops
sounding in a seemingly nonstop series. Mere seconds later, she hopped
away.
Kuno's mouth was opened wide, but no sound came forth. Soon
blood began to stream from his nose, his ears, his mouth, and even his
eyes. Brown, dirty-looking blood. He then collapsed bonelessly onto
the floor, his body deflated as flat as a piece of paper, and blood
flowing out of every pore in his body.
Nabiki's eyes widened, then her eyes rolled back to the back of
her head and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
When she woke up, she found herself naked and tied up on a bed,
her nether regions feeling painful and uncomfortable.
"What did you do to me, you bastard?!" she demanded, her face
red with anger.
"Nothing, dear," Ranma-chan replied, smiling serenely. "Here,
let me untie you..."
She did untie Nabiki from her bed, and Nabiki promptly leapt
up to her feet. The moment she did so, clinking noises were heard on
the floor, as if someone dropped some coins. Looking down, she saw
coins falling onto the floor from somewhere. After further
examination, she was horrified to find out that the coins were
streaming out of her womanhood like water.
"W-what did you do?" she stuttered.
"Well, you like money, don't you?" the redhead answered, still
smiling as calmly as ever. "I gave you lots of coins! You're rich!
Aren't you happy?"
Nabiki fell silent at that.
Her captor wasn't quite so silent, however. "Here, let me give
you more..."
Taking out a handful of coins from out of nowhere, she laid her
palm flat out for Nabiki to see. Then with a horizontal motion as if
she was splashing water, the coins were splashed all over Nabiki.
Spinning and rolling in the air as it traveled, the coins drilled holes
into her body like they were tiny razors, coming clean out from the
other side. Every time a coin made contact or exit from her body, she
released a loud scream of pain as the small coins made her body
practically into a bloody air vent.
Before she could collapse on the floor, Ranma-chan produced a
1000-yen bill from somewhere and followed up with the attack. Infusing
the bill with ki, it glowed a bright yellow for a moment before turning
into crimson, tainted by the blood that streamed from the wound that
it opened up in Nabiki's throat.
In a surprising display of strength and skill, she tore the
impromptu weapon away from her throat and kicked the offender away.
Then she fell to her knees, gargling and coughing, choking on her own
blood that streamed from her throat. Crawling on her hands and knees,
she slowly made her way towards her room, looking behind her every so
often for signs of Ranma-chan following.
She finally made her way into her room, by now getting paling
by the second. Reaching out with a shaky hand, she slowly rotated the
dial on the safe. After the safe was unlocked, she opened the door,
and reached inside. She turned around, holding her just-retrieved gun
with both hands, only to have it slapped away as soon as she turned
around completely. The gun was sent spiralling across the room, then
impacted against the wall, it misfiring and sending a bullet into
Nabiki's shoulder.
She screamed in pain, and her arm automatically shot up in an
attempt to clutch her wound, only to have her arms grabbed by a pair
of slender, but powerful arms. With a strong pull and a slight twist
on her arms, Ranma-chan successfully dislocated Nabiki's shoulders,
causing her even more pain.
"Wh-why are you doing this, Ranma?" Nabiki asked with a
trembling voice.
"Because you're all out to get me!" the redhead replied with a
fury. "I'm going to stop you all before you do!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?" the older girl asked, fear
obvious in her voice.
"Don't play innocent with me! I know what you're up to! What
you're ALL up to! I'll stop you all once and for all!"
Reaching down, Ranma-chan scooped Nabiki up into her arms, only
she did it backwards. She shot Nabiki a smile, then began bringing her
arms together at an angle, cracking and snapping sounds echoing her
movements.
"Wai-wait Ranma!" Nabiki pleaded. "Stop! Please!"
The only reply she received was the increasingly maniacal glint
in her eyes. As she felt herself getting forcefully folded in half
like a piece of paper, she also began to feel herself being moved and
metal all around her. Looking to her sides, she discovered with alarm
that she was inside her safe. She could even see the stash of money
she kept inside. The pain kept increasing all the while, and with one
final, loud, crack, she completely entered the safe, folded so that the
back of her knees was on her head.
Then she felt herself being moved again, and experienced a
moment of weightlessless before noticing water leaking into the safe.
The water kept on leaking into the safe, leading her to believe that
she was submerged inside a body of water. Sobbing loudly, she pleaded
to Ranma for help for letting her out. Slowly, the sobs began to get
distorted, then silence.
Ranma-chan simply smiled, nodded her head, then turned away
from the pond and walked away from the Kuno Estate.
Chapter 6
Ranma-chan screamed and screamed, until her voice went out and
she could no longer make another sound. Then she stood up, and ran as
fast as her legs would carry her, away from the vacant lot where she
was sleeping just moments before.
Days and nights passed by unnoticed, and all she could think
about was running. Run and escape from those horrible people. The
ones who were out to get her. Something nagged at her about all that.
Those people looked familiar, somehow, as if she's seen them before.
But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where.
She ran passed houses, ran passed buildings and rivers, and
didn't stop until she literally hit a building, then fell backwards on
her behind. Looked up at the offending building, she was greeted
with the words "Kuno Estate".
As soon as she saw the name Kuno written on the building, she
was suddenly hit by waves of hatred and anger, and she unconsciously
flared her battle aura. When she noticed this, she lowered her ki
level to let the battle aura dissipate, but she was puzzled as to the
reason why she reacted so suddenly and hostilely. No matter how much
she tried to think about it, she couldn't make a connection between
the Kuno Estate and her earlier display of fury, but she knew that
they were connected, because something in the back of her head was
trying to tell her about it. She knew she had the answer, it was as if
it was at the tip of her tongue, but the answer continued to elude her.
After a few moments, she decided that there was no use to think
about it and jumped up onto the wall and crouched low to avoid being
sighted and see if she could find any clues to why she reacted that way
earlier.
The Kuno estate, at a glance, seemed to be an ancient mansion
built in the middle of a huge lot. A closer look, however, proved
otherwise. Ranma-chan could see security cameras panning about every
corner, motion detectors ready to report any intruders who tried
to venture into the complex.
Despite all that, her curiousity got the better of her and she
decided to hop down to see what kind of residence required such
security measures. However, there were more motion detectors and
cameras than she had predicted, and she almost got caught by suprise
several times before barely ducking out of the cameras' fields-of-view.
By the time she made it to the last part of the open lot before the
mansion, she was convinced that they had to be hiding something to
warranr such heavy security.
In front of her was a giant, invisible wall of death. Or it
would have been invisible, were it not for the evening fog that began
to settle in. As it was, She could see the red lines that lasers made
across the air. There were lasers left and right, going across the
yard at various heights. She was prepared to run through the lasers,
but a hapless mouse that happened to wander into the field of lasers
quickly changed her mind. The mouse was killed in a fraction of a
second, its body cut in half by a laser, which then vaporized the
entire body.
This latest turn of event peaked Ranma-chan's curiousity. She
could not imagine what kind of treasure or secrets hidden inside the
mansion with this kind of killing . Unable to hold her curiousity any
longer, she decided to brave the trap.
The first few lasers were easy enough, she just jumped over
the low beams aimed at the feet. Then she has to somersault over the
higher ones, while keeping her body away from the ones beside them.
There was barely enough room between two lasers for her to pass
through, but she passed through those without much of a problem.
She stood still for a moment after she landed, then took in a
breath, and started moving again. Doing a forward roll, she
successfully avoided the laser beam that passed just above her head.
Right after passing by the laser beam, she pushed herself off the
ground with her arms, sending her flying past another beam. Her eyes
widened as her eyes focused on a ray that was previously unnoticed.
Panicking, she relied on her instinct and did the first thing that
came into her mind.
She released a Moko Takabisha at the beam. The laser wasn't
affected, but the force from the ki blast slowed her forward motion,
and she cheated death by no more than the width of a finger. Just
when she was about to touch down, a cloud of mist passed by the
ground, revealing another unseen laser, waiting to split her lgs in
half.
She extended her arm and balanced herself on one arm, with the
rest of her torso bent in almost a ninety degree angle to avoid being
chopped in half. She swung her feet fowards, making herself flip
through the air and past the next few lasers. arched her back, she
ducked under one that went right above her nose, then rolled her body
into a ball to avoid two more that didn't allow much space for
movement. Seeing that her goal was in sight, she twisted and flipped
a few times to dodge the rays of death, and finally landed on clear
ground.
As soon as she touched down, alarms blared all over the yard,
and she heard guns going off. Turning to the direction of the sound,
she saw bullets flying towards her at blazing speed. She mustered the
speed she could find, and tried dodged the hail of bullets.
Unfortunately there was too little warning and a bullet entered from
her shoulder and came out from the back.
She fell on the ground on her back, and could do nothing but
watch as the projectiles streaked towards her and made holes on the
ground all around her, knowing that moving around might put her in an
even worse position with the turrets. Suddenly, the weapons stopped
and she heard a strangely familiar voice cry out in alarm.
"Pig-Tailed Girl!" a man came into view and helped her up.
"Are you alright?"
Ranma-chan stared at the man dumbly, trying but failing to
recognize him. "Who are you?"
"'Tis I, the Blue Thunder of Kuno Enterprises," Kuno stared at
Ranma-chan. "Do you not recognize me, fair one?"
She studied Kuno's face. "No I don't..."
"That must surely be the work of the wretched Saotome!" Kuno
declared. Not only did he enslave thee, the cur had the gall to change
thy memories! I shall avenge thee!"
She stared at him, puzzled. "Are you alright, mister?"
Kuno squinted at Ranma-chan and coughed. "Ahem. Sorry. I
tend to slip sometimes. "You look like you haven't aged a day since
high school..."
Ranma-chan sighed. "Do I know you?"
"Of course you do. Don't you remember Tatewaki Kuno from
Furinkan High?"
She looked closely at Kuno, and went down on one knee and
clutched her head as memories and flashbacks flooded through her mind.
She remembered now. She remembered everything. He was one of THEM.
One of the ones who were out to get her, to make her life a living
hell, and more. Not anymore, she decided. She would strike first.
Standing up slowly, she looked at Kuno, determined to make him
the first victim in her pre-emptive strike. Evidently her mind was
refleced in her eyes, as Kuno unconsciously stepped back a small step
once he caught Ranma-chan's look.
Before Kuno could react, Ranma-chan jumped at him and punched
him hard in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain, then
followed up with an uppercut that knocked Kuno down onto the ground.
Kuno climbed back up onto his feet, and held her hands out at
the taunting girl in front of him. "Wait a second, pig-tail... oomph!"
His sentence was cut off in mid-way by a kick to the chest that
made him stagger backwards.
Kuno stood back straight up, and waved his hands around. "Hold
on, pi-" As before, Kuno didn't get a chance to finish his sentence
before Ranma-chan cut him off, this time with a kick to the head.
Before Kuno could voice his protest, she dropped down low and
did a leg sweep on him. He fell on the ground with a thud, and climbed
back up, then ran into the house.
Ranma-chan slowly walked towards the house, just to find that
the door that Kuno entered with was locked. She gave off a smirk, and
punched the door in the center, causing it to fly off its hinges and
into the house.
Kuno paled slightly, but stood in the middle of the room with a
bokken in hand. "Hold, pig-tailed girl. Come no further."
The redhead ignored his statement and continued to walk towards
Kuno, and calmly punched Kuno in the mid-section. As Kuno bent over,
she sent a knee up to meet Kuno's head, and he fell down onto the
ground with a thud.
He started to sit up, but she used a low snap kick aimed at his
face, throwing him back a few feet. Standing back up, he charged her
with a thrust of his bokken, but she simply sidestepped the attack and
pivoted on the balls of her feet, sending a spinning axe kick on the
top of Kuno's head, collapsing him on the floor.
To his credit, he stayed conscious and did a leg sweep on his
unsuspecting opponent, tripping her and sending her to the floor.
He got up, and backed away from her. "I don't want to fight you,
pig-tailed girl," he warned.
She muttered under her breath, "Too bad," and jumped towards
Kuno with a flying kick. He stepped to a side and punched her in the
abdomen, and she flew back and landed on the floor on her back.
A handspring later, she was back up on her feet, and lunging
at Kuno. She feigned a left hook at Kuno's temple, and when he fell
for it, she delievered a lightning-fast open-palmed strike to his
mid-section, propelling him into a wall.
A female voice rang out from beyond the stairs. "Kuno-chan?"
Kuno turned his head towards the source of the voice. "No!
Stay awa-AH!"
That cry was the result of Ranma-chan kicking the unattentive
Kuno in the ribs, followed by sounds of bones shattering. Upon hearing
the cry, the woman ran down from the stairs and rushed towards Kuno.
She blinked when she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw
Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan blinked too. The woman was in her
mid-thirties, had shoulder-length black hair, and eyes that gleamed
with intelligence and confidence.
"R-Ranma?" the woman asked in a trembling voice.
The voice sounded very familiar to Ranma-chan. The woman's
manner of speaking reminded her of a young girl she once knew so long
ago, one named Nabiki Tendo. One of the evil ones. But she also
found that this woman's voice is deeper and huskier than Nabiki's.
"Who're you?" she asked the woman.
"I-it's me...Nabiki. I thought you were dead?" the woman
answered.
A fire lit up in Ranma-chan's eyes when she heard Nabiki's
name, and Nabiki recoiled once she saw the look in Ranma-chan's eyes.
With a loud cry, Ranma-chan launched herself at Nabiki, only to be
intercepted by Kuno and kicked into the wall.
"Don't touch my wife!" Kuno commanded.
With his declaration, Ranma-chan seemed to have gained a new
fire in her eyes.
"Wife, is it?" she said every word slowly, glaring at the two
of them. "You..."
Just as Kuno's attention was on her finishing the sentence,
she lunged towards him, and before he could react, punched him hard
in the stomach.
"You teamed up with her to get me, didn't you!" she demanded,
launching a hook punch on his jaw, sending him spiraling across the
room. She began to run towards the downed Kuno, when someone grabbed
her from behind.
"No, Ranma!" Nabiki grabbed Ranma-chan tightly. "Don't hurt
him!"
Ranma-chan growled and turned around, sending Nabiki flying
into a wall with a backhand. "You're one of them too!" she accused.
"One of the ones who want to get me!"
"What are you talking about, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, puzzled.
"Don't play dumb with me, Nabiki!" Ranma-chan countered. "I
know what you're up to! You and Akane and Kuno and Ryoga and everybody
else! You'll never get me alive!"
"Wha-what?"
Before Ranma-chan could make another accusation, Kuno ran up
from behind and tried to jab her with his bokken. At the last second,
she jumped up into mid-air and twisted to land behind Kuno, giving him
a kick in the spine as she landed. He flew into Nabiki, and both
collapsed on the floor. Just as Ranma-chan was going to capitalize on
the situation and press the attack, a familiar laugh echoed in her
ears.
"Ohohohohohoho!!!!! What have you done with my Ranma-sama, you
pig-tailed harridan?"
Ranma-chan spun around to the source of the voice, and found
the deranged gymnast standing in the doorway. With an enraged cry,
she launched herself at Kodachi.
"Die!"
Kodachi calmly sidestepped her attack, then sent her ribbons
out to counterattack. One short, crisp laugh later, Ranma-chan was
down on the ground and thoroughly wrapped up by ribbons.
"Are you going to tell me where you hid my Ranma-sama for the
last 20 years," Kodachi demanded while circling the trapped Ranma-chan.
"Or will I have to hurt you to find out?"
An audible growl emitted from Ranma-chan's throat, and she
began yelling after struggling futilely against the ribbons. "Let me
go, you bastards! You'll never take me alive! Fight me one on me,
you cowards!"
When no one made a move to free her, she started to curse worse
and yell louder, trampling on all of Kuno's ancestors and "supposed
honor".
"Shut up!" Kodachi said while slapping Ranma-chan. "You will
not talk about my noble ancestors in that way or I will have you
killed!"
And to get her point across, she took out a razor hoop from
out of nowhere and sliced Ranma-chan on the arm, causing blood to gush
out from the wound. Ranma-chan glared at Kodachi, then began to shake.
Hopping back onto her feet, she continued glaring at Kodachi,
her aura getting brighter and brighter. After a moment, the ground
began to shake slightly, the tremors increasing by the minute. Even
the ceiling lights and the furniture soon began to shake, and by this
time, Ranma-chan's aura was so bright that the Kunos and Nabiki had to
hold their hands up to shield their eyes from the light.
A sudden and strong draft of wind blew out from where
Ranma-chan was standing, sending nearby objects flying everywhere.
When the dust from the small explosion cleared, she was standing still
with only shredded ribbons around her, her battle aura a blazing white.
Before anyone could react, she suddenly disappeared from sight,
then reappeared on the other side of the room with Kodachi's razor hoop
in hand. Kodachi cried in surprise at the mysterious relocation of
her razor hoop, but Ranma-chan just smirked and disappeared from sight
once again.
Loud, deafening cries of pain found their way out of Kodachi's
mouth, and a split second later, Ranma-chan reappeared behind her, the
razor hoop dripping with a thick, crimson liquid.
Beaming, she turned around to face Kodachi, then blew into the
air as if blowing a kiss. Kodachi forced out another cry of pain, and
she fell over backwards, her body splitting into seven different
sections and drenching Ranma-chan with her blood from the shower of
plasma immediately following the explosion of her body upon impacting
the ground.
The two onlookers to Kodachi's gory demise had two differing
reactions. Her face pale, Nabiki screamed and turned around to throw
up while Kuno shook in rage and disbelief.
Turning around to face the two, Ranma-chan got into a defensive
stance and taunted Kuno. "Come on, Kuno. Your "pig-tailed girl" is
right here..." she began. "I'll make your life a living hell like you
did mine... you'll never take me alive!"
Before Kuno made a move, she abandoned her defensive stance and
started an offense against her opponent. Lunging towards him at
blurring speed, she spun around in mid-air and sent Kuno sprawling
across the floor with a tornado kick.
She spun around while still in mid-air and launched a Moko
Takabisha, and using the added momentum provided by the ki blast,
landed a hard knee strike on Kuno's chest. The moment her hit
connected, he cried out in pain and spit out blood.
Lifting the kendoist with her arm, the redheaded girl started
punching him in the stomach over and over, making him flap in the air
like a cheap rag doll.
Nabiki ran up from behind and grabbed Ranma-chan's arm to stop
her from hitting Kuno any further, but her efforts only got her
backhanded into the wall, curtesy of the deranged martial artist.
Leaping backwards, Ranma-chan sent an elbow into Nabiki's midsection.
As Nabiki doubled over, the busty redhead grabbed her head and slammed
her down on the floor hard.
Seeing his wife manhandled and beaten, Kuno screamed in outrage
and charged his wife's attacker with the bokken. She caught the bokken
between her palms, then with a flick of her wrists, snapped the bokken
in half, leaving him staring at the bottom half of the bokken.
Smirking, she returned the bokken to its original owner... penetrating
Kuno's palm, embedding the bokken in his arm and splitting his arm in
half, heedless of his terrible cries of pain and the blood that
fountained out of the arm and onto her face.
Nabiki shrieked upon seeing her husband's almost-mutilation,
and charged Ranma-chan without having a second thought or thinking
about the difference in their skills. Ranma-chan never even tensed
up before she kicked at one of Nabiki's kneecaps, releasing a loud,
sickening crunch to accompany an ear-piercing scream.
"How are you feeling, Nabiki?" she asked, her face portraying
an eerie calm that made an awful contrast with the pain she was dealing
everyone. "I can make it all better for you if you wan-"
She never finished her sentence before she was cut off by a
sharp pain in her ribs. When she looked down, she saw a broken half
of a bokken portruding out from behind. Shaking with anger, she spun
around and sent a punch at her attacker. Her fist met flesh, and she
followed through with her attack, her fist penetrating one layer of
skin after another until it found its way to Kuno's innards,
rupturing his stomach with a single punch.
Not relenting for even a second, Ranma-chan started the
Amaguriken, hitting Kuno's body repeatedly, crunches and loud pops
sounding in a seemingly nonstop series. Mere seconds later, she hopped
away.
Kuno's mouth was opened wide, but no sound came forth. Soon
blood began to stream from his nose, his ears, his mouth, and even his
eyes. Brown, dirty-looking blood. He then collapsed bonelessly onto
the floor, his body deflated as flat as a piece of paper, and blood
flowing out of every pore in his body.
Nabiki's eyes widened, then her eyes rolled back to the back of
her head and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
When she woke up, she found herself naked and tied up on a bed,
her nether regions feeling painful and uncomfortable.
"What did you do to me, you bastard?!" she demanded, her face
red with anger.
"Nothing, dear," Ranma-chan replied, smiling serenely. "Here,
let me untie you..."
She did untie Nabiki from her bed, and Nabiki promptly leapt
up to her feet. The moment she did so, clinking noises were heard on
the floor, as if someone dropped some coins. Looking down, she saw
coins falling onto the floor from somewhere. After further
examination, she was horrified to find out that the coins were
streaming out of her womanhood like water.
"W-what did you do?" she stuttered.
"Well, you like money, don't you?" the redhead answered, still
smiling as calmly as ever. "I gave you lots of coins! You're rich!
Aren't you happy?"
Nabiki fell silent at that.
Her captor wasn't quite so silent, however. "Here, let me give
you more..."
Taking out a handful of coins from out of nowhere, she laid her
palm flat out for Nabiki to see. Then with a horizontal motion as if
she was splashing water, the coins were splashed all over Nabiki.
Spinning and rolling in the air as it traveled, the coins drilled holes
into her body like they were tiny razors, coming clean out from the
other side. Every time a coin made contact or exit from her body, she
released a loud scream of pain as the small coins made her body
practically into a bloody air vent.
Before she could collapse on the floor, Ranma-chan produced a
1000-yen bill from somewhere and followed up with the attack. Infusing
the bill with ki, it glowed a bright yellow for a moment before turning
into crimson, tainted by the blood that streamed from the wound that
it opened up in Nabiki's throat.
In a surprising display of strength and skill, she tore the
impromptu weapon away from her throat and kicked the offender away.
Then she fell to her knees, gargling and coughing, choking on her own
blood that streamed from her throat. Crawling on her hands and knees,
she slowly made her way towards her room, looking behind her every so
often for signs of Ranma-chan following.
She finally made her way into her room, by now getting paling
by the second. Reaching out with a shaky hand, she slowly rotated the
dial on the safe. After the safe was unlocked, she opened the door,
and reached inside. She turned around, holding her just-retrieved gun
with both hands, only to have it slapped away as soon as she turned
around completely. The gun was sent spiralling across the room, then
impacted against the wall, it misfiring and sending a bullet into
Nabiki's shoulder.
She screamed in pain, and her arm automatically shot up in an
attempt to clutch her wound, only to have her arms grabbed by a pair
of slender, but powerful arms. With a strong pull and a slight twist
on her arms, Ranma-chan successfully dislocated Nabiki's shoulders,
causing her even more pain.
"Wh-why are you doing this, Ranma?" Nabiki asked with a
trembling voice.
"Because you're all out to get me!" the redhead replied with a
fury. "I'm going to stop you all before you do!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?" the older girl asked, fear
obvious in her voice.
"Don't play innocent with me! I know what you're up to! What
you're ALL up to! I'll stop you all once and for all!"
Reaching down, Ranma-chan scooped Nabiki up into her arms, only
she did it backwards. She shot Nabiki a smile, then began bringing her
arms together at an angle, cracking and snapping sounds echoing her
movements.
"Wai-wait Ranma!" Nabiki pleaded. "Stop! Please!"
The only reply she received was the increasingly maniacal glint
in her eyes. As she felt herself getting forcefully folded in half
like a piece of paper, she also began to feel herself being moved and
metal all around her. Looking to her sides, she discovered with alarm
that she was inside her safe. She could even see the stash of money
she kept inside. The pain kept increasing all the while, and with one
final, loud, crack, she completely entered the safe, folded so that the
back of her knees was on her head.
Then she felt herself being moved again, and experienced a
moment of weightlessless before noticing water leaking into the safe.
The water kept on leaking into the safe, leading her to believe that
she was submerged inside a body of water. Sobbing loudly, she pleaded
to Ranma for help for letting her out. Slowly, the sobs began to get
distorted, then silence.
Ranma-chan simply smiled, nodded her head, then turned away
from the pond and walked away from the Kuno Estate.