Ki Cutters: 8
The Pauper II
Ranma shook her head as they examined the shredded metal doors of Kodachi's room. "I guess she figured it out." The 'rescue party' looked through the demolished door and into the padded room that until recently, housed Kodachi Kuno.
Tatewaki looked sharply at the redhead. "This seems familiar, somehow."
"The first time I went Neko in Nerima." Ranma recalled. "Where would she go?"
"As my sister is accustomed to her luxuries, I would first check the Kuno mansion." Kuno reached in a pocket for his cell phone to call Sasuke.
"This is bad," mumbled Akane. "I wonder how many other skills of Ranma's she's picked up?"
"Very bad," Shampoo seconded. "A Ranma without restraint – and with Nekoken." She nodded at Akane. "You only other complete Nekoken user right now."
"Man! You went easy on me, fem-boy," mutterd Taro, fingering the razor sharp edges of the sliced steel, then his arms. He eyed Akane warily. "Wadya mean complete?" Ryoga and Mousse looked on solemnly.
"Nekoken banned technique. Normally, one trained in technique can only use if insane with fear." Shampoo patted Ranma on the shoulder.
"Hey! I'm better!"
"Akane and Kodachi use at will," Shampoo added.
"So this special technique called the Nekoken allowed your sister, Kuno-san, to rip through metal like this," Marinara asked, awed. "And this in turn, is a side effect of that swimming pool she tried to drown Saotome-san in to curse it?" She had been told how Kodachi had become cursed on the way over. "Wouldn't your little man-servant possess it too, then?"
Tatewaki paused in dialing and glanced aside at Ranma, who shrugged. "Ya got me. Sasuke's Kuno's ninja – not mine."
"How does one learn this technique, normally?" asked the ballet instructor.
"Well, normally Marinara-sensei, a nekoken user has been fed to pit-full of starving cats a few dozen times," Akane explained biting her lip. Those unfamiliar with the tale gasped.
Tatewaki stared at Akane blanching at the concept of the girl enduring such trauma. Before he could reach the conclusion that a certain pig-tailed martial artist had introduced her to the training, Ranma broke into his thoughts.
"Akane got it the easy way," she complained, unaware of Tatewaki's regard.
"If being cursed in your form and scared to death you were drowned is what it took, I would rather have had the cats!" Akane snapped at Ranma, who backed away defensively.
Kuno glared at him suspiciously before quickly tapping Sasuke's number. He hoped their current position inside the bowels of the institute would not interfere with the signal.
"None of the other clowns picked it up, though," Ranma pointed out.
"Most of our ki techniques are emotion driven," Akane pointed out. "Maybe they didn't have the right emotion?"
"And Kodachi does? Oh, that makes me feel better!"
Tatewaki looked at the by-play blankly before being distracted by a voice on his cell phone.
"Sasuke here," the Kuno ninja's voice scratched and crackled over the phone.
"Sasuke, my sister seems to have escaped. Where are you?"
"Just around the corner from where I dropped you off, master," Sasuke answered. "What is your wish?"
"Be on the lookout for my twisted sister. She may be in…"
"A moment, master – Saotome-san, why are you running around naked like that?" Sasuke's voice rang more distantly over the phone.
"Sasuke, beware!" yelled Kuno desperately. "That is Kodachi! Not Ranma!" Sounds of violence followed clearly over the phone.
"Ohohoha! Brother dear, is that you?" It was odd to hear Ranma's male voice speaking in Kodachi's patterns.
"Kodachi! Where is Sasuke?"
"Oh, pooh! He's taking a short nap. We wouldn't want to lose our loyal family lackey, now would we?"
Ranma mouthed 'keep her talking' as he and the other martial artists ran out of the room. He flinched as Kuno interrupted himself to ask, "And where do you think you all are going?"
"They're on their way?" asked Kodachi. "Oh hohohaha, ha, hah! I shall be long gone, brother dear. Thanks for the car. Ta-ta!" She hung up the phone.
"Wait! Kodachi?" Tatewaki grimaced, realizing he had little control over what his sister did. "Oh, hell!" He thrust the phone back into his pocket. "I want to know who was watching Kodachi Kuno when she made her escape. And I want them here, now!" he roared.
They found Sasuke nearly naked, bound and gagged by the side of the road.
oOo
Kodachi drove into the Ginzu district and then abandoned the limo among an assemblage of similar vehicles. Sasuke's ninja clothes were a bit too small to be comfortable for Ranma's frame, but cold water had brought relief and some confusion. She briefly wondered why she had taunted her brother over the cell phone. She also wondered why she hadn't simply killed Sasuke and disappeared. It would have been simple enough and probably safer for her plans.
Using the credit cards Sasuke had on him, she quickly amassed a wardrobe of dark, loose androgynous clothing that a certain pigtailed martial artist would find familiar. She withdrew a large amount of cash from various banking machines then severed her electronic trail once and for all. If she continued to use the card, she knew it would allow pursuers to track her and possibly capture her. Once one of the richest women in Tokyo, she would have to use her present funds as a nest egg for the future.
Resuming her alternate form via coffee at a small kissaten, Kodachi pondered his next move. Kodachi suddenly realized he had no idea how to go about investing his cash. What he had if invested, might return five to fifteen percent interest annually.
Where had he gotten the idea this might support him/her anywhere in Japan? Unlike most Japanese women, Kodachi had not ever been involved in the family finances. Sasuke had done all that and made his own decisions, he suspected, regardless of advice either 'she' or Tatewaki had given. Neither he nor his birth form could approach any Kuno Industries employee. And thinking about it made his head hurt.
He must have been nuts to think he could pull this off! He needed help on things like this… but who? Who could he trust? With the authorities searching for Kodachi — Hashibara had gloatingly revealed his plans to her — who could he trust until she could make her comeback and take Ranma from those evil, wicked girls that hounded him?
Oh, man… Why did that sound so… crazy?
Kodachi pondered who he might go to for help. Kasumi Tendo? He almost wept with relief and shivered, feeling an odd revulsion sweep across him, then fell into despondency. Stupid! Kasumi was the violent girl's sister. The middle Tendo, Nabiki, would have been an ideal choice, except she, too, had been a fiancée, and Kodachi didn't think he had the price of her silence. He thought of her abandoned Gymnastics Club team and almost laughed. They had thrown a party when she left St. Hebereke's.
Kodachi leaped across rooftops and growing more and more tired and depressed as considered her future. He had no one to turn to. No one, not even Ranma; who would not betray him out of greed or jealousy but out of honor, misplaced loyalty and kindness. Water from a broken downspout splashed the distracted traveler.
She wept, suddenly overcome by her fears; a flood of true tears. After what seemed like hours, she sniffed as drops from the light rain that had sprung up made her aware she had changed. A name had occurred to her, someone even she could trust to help. She was aware of a lingering sense of self confidence and hugged her shoulders tightly. "Ranma-sama, you give me strength in such unusual ways…"
oOo
The figure glided through the night, all senses on alert. The rain had let up, and a fresh set of dark clothing helped to disguise her location. Her ki-senses watched for intrusions into her space. Breaking into the high school records had been easy, discovering the needed address, child's play. Getting to the address was a problem whose solution was escaping her at the moment. Somehow, all of Kodachi Kuno's attempts to visit Baradandya Morisato were frustrated by some barrier that mentally deflected her into avoiding the property in an excruciatingly subtle manner. It was very annoying.
"Urd? Keiichi and I are going out," Beldandy Morisato called. "Will you be all right?"
Urd lounged in a doorway and blew them a kiss. "Be good, you two," she drawled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"We're perfectly safe, then," Keiichi said with a grin. "There are plenty of things we can do without crossing that line!"
"Hey!" Urd pretended to grow angry. "And after all the time I spent getting you two together."
"That's all right, Urd," Keiichi jibed back. "We forgive you."
"Grrr!"
As the two lovebirds ducked out and left by the front gate, the warding briefly lessened. Kodachi crossed over at the rear.
Immediately her senses detected the various miniature ninja patrolling the area. Kodachi wasn't certain what they were, but carefully avoided their surveillance. She entered the Temple, unrestrained by the ofuda and began to search for her favorite teacher. As she cased the building, Kodachi came across a room labeled 'Fortress of Urd' in roman-ji lettering. Intrigued, she entered.
The lab exceeded even her wildest dreams. Many of the substances she had never heard of and others were so rare, she had never used them, only read of those who had. The apparatus was exquisite and had the appearance of the finest hand-blown scientific glassware in existence, a neat, slightly organic look that showed artistry as well as accuracy. She touched nothing but traced the coiling lines of the tubing and saw the flames beneath certain flasks were steady and clean, showing meticulous care of the instruments. Whether male or female, Kodachi appreciated scientific excellence.
"All right! Who are you? And what are you doing in here?"
Kodachi jumped and gave a little scream as the angry voice came almost at her elbow. She whipped around to see a gorgeous and slightly familiar figure in a lab coat, her platinum blond hair swirling in a vagrant breeze. The Black Rose almost attacked, but remembered just in time that she was coming as a supplicant. Even Mrs. Morisato, as forgiving as she was, wouldn't help someone who hurt a member of her household.
Too bad this member of the Morisato household seemed prepared to hurt her. What looked alarmingly like a ki ball was cupped in Urudu Kamiko's hands. Her bronze skin glowed eerily in the light of her technique. It was almost a shock to remember her name.
"Please don't, Ms. Kamiko! I need to speak with your sister."
Urd nodded, not necessarily reassured. "And just who are you?"
"I was one of the students in her History class before you took over," Kodachi replied. She glanced about the room again. There were warm fluids everywhere. She could transform to Ranma and be that much more formidable in seconds. Ms. Kamiko's ki-ball, if it were that, would reach her first, however.
"Really," Ms. Kamiko said dryly, "Excuse me if I don't remember you. Now who are you?" Her voice rang with command.
"Kodachi Kuno!" Kodachi was horrified. She had blurted that out with no control at all.
"So, the demon's pawn comes to visit?" Ms. Kamiko seemed to become more dangerous in appearance. Kodachi discovered that her knees were shaking. She gulped in air in a panic and looked desperately for the nearest hot water. She had to get out; she had to!
"Why don't we go into the main room, sit down, and I'll bring some tea," said Urudu in a suddenly gentle voice that had Kodachi moving before she was aware of her actions.
Urudu proved that, at least in appearances, she could be as almost as gracious a hostess as her sister. She brought tea and sat down across the corner from the nervous asylum escapee, pouring with graceful efficient movements. "So," she said after perhaps ten minutes of wordless harmonizing, "we haven't seen you around school lately. How come?"
"I've been incarcerated by a power-hungry psychologist under the guise of protecting society from my obsessive and dangerous tendencies." Kodachi sniffed and sipped more tea. "You have no idea how tedious and humiliating it was. I only escaped this morning."
"I see." Urudu had added a few ingredients to the tea that inspired calmness and truthfulness in the drinker. She was a bit surprised at how long it took to act. The ten minutes of silence had been to wait for the symptoms of its effects to show. Urudu had never understood Japanese tea ceremonies and tended to treat teas in a western manner: a chance to sit and chat. "Are you honestly certain that you have the right slant on it? I mean that Ranma-iichuan was a bit excessive."
"So true," admitted Kodachi. "For some reason I had thought to gain Ranma by substitution. A poor decision in retrospect." She sighed. "Now, if hot liquid caresses my skin, I change and shall do so forever more. What irony! I have indeed obtained Ranma, but now… what do I do with him?" Kodachi giggled a bit hysterically.
"Why not make a spring of drowned Kodachi and turn back?" suggested Urd in a practical way.
"It is actually less complicated to make a template of an individual than it is to make a template of a class of individual. Kodachi-iichuan would be simple… if I had a Kodachi to use."
"Um…" Urudu waved her hand at Kodachi.
"I know. But unless I could somehow maintain this form while interacting with hot water, I would simply make another Ranma-iichuan." She sighed. "Immersing the template in cool water, then heating the water removes the curse effect for some reason I have not yet discovered." She looked up at the ceiling. "What I need is a hot pool of drowned girl."
As she spoke, Urudu had slowly relaxed, really listening to the younger woman. The tea had served two purposes. The first was to relax and open up Kodachi. The second was to drive out any residual spells and traps set by the departed Marller. By all the signs, Marller's works had disappeared with her. Also, regardless of Kodachi's other motives, the business about the psychologist rang true. The youngest Kuno was, right now, a very frightened, very worried young lady and perhaps with good reason. "Well, with Jusenkyo the way it is, that's not really an option right now. What do you plan to do?"
"I had wished to speak with your sister, hoping she knew of a source of financial advice, independent of Kuno Industries." She pulled out a huge roll of bills, courtesy of the plastic she had recently discarded. "I could live on this for a while, but it would be better if I could invest it and live on the interest. That would give me the optimum set of choices." She riffled the wad. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked Urudu plaintively.
Urudu Kamiko suddenly grinned, her eyes lighting up. "You bet I do, honey!"
Kodachi felt her hair stand on end.
oOo
The casino was Vegas-chintzy, with lights, music and booze everywhere. Urd giggled to herself in frantic abandon, an action that sent interesting ripples through the sparkly blue evening gown she wore. Beside her, a pigtailed man in a tailored tux tugged at his collar and looked nervously about. The latter was still trying to figure out where Miss Kamiko had managed to come up with such a well-fitted garment for Ranma-type on such short notice.
"Ah… Miss Kamiko, do you really think this is a good idea?" Kodachi said fingering his pigtail nervously. "What if…"
"Do you feel lucky?" Urudu husked. It took every bit of control Kodachi had to avoid pulling away. Urudu pointed. "We'll start with that one." She pointed to a blackjack table. Kodachi sighed. Hhe had done some recreational gambling, as anyone with more money than they knew what to do with did. This did not look good, not at all.
Urudu sat Kodachi down at the table and began to explain the game. "I know the rules, Miss Kamiko," Kodachi said stiffly. "I am even somewhat familiar with the patrons here. Why did you choose this site for our… investment?"
Urudu smirked and lied through her teeth. "No reason. No reason at all."
Kodachi looked grim and turned to the croupier, careful to utilize male speech patterns. "Deal me in, please."
Urd, Goddess of History had a very good reason for coming here. It had to do with a certain slimy jackal that had married and made miserable a good friend of theirs, Sora Hasegawa. Urd was certain that Aoshima had done it to maintain contact with Beldandy following college. The scumbag had never given up his hope that he might somehow tear her from Keiichi. The repeated rebuffs and failures had only served to stimulate him. It just so happened he managed this casino for his father.
"Hey, boss?" A lean man with a hard face turned to another sitting at a private table in the penthouse. "You have to see this. At the blackjack tables… Watta babe!"
Aoshima rose gracefully from the table and his dinner companion, a stunning blond, to pace to the bank of monitors. They gave very good real-time images from the floor below and centered in one was Urd.
"Urd," hissed Aoshima. She had foiled numerous plans to herd Beldandy from Keiichi's side over the years. "What is that gaijin witch doing here?"
"Want us to give her the rush?" his lieutenant asked.
Aoshima stood there, pondering for long moments. "No," he said finally, "But I'm going to see what she's up to. Let Matthew and Liu Fo Tau know I'll be on the floor." Straightening his tie, he gave his dinner partner a slight bow and departed, leaving her pouting.
"I'll stay."
"What do you mean you'll stay?" demanded Urd. "Take another card! You have seventeen, you can do it!" She gestured wildly with the mixed drink she was enjoying, one of many this evening.
"I'll stay!" said Kodachi crossly. "Based on what is showing, I don't have a very high chance of gaining any cards totaling four or less. The only thing that can mess me up is if you spill that thing on me!" Kodachi eyed the tall glass, half-full of icy, alcoholic beverage.
"I never spill my drinks," Urd huffed and bounced, breasts bobbing to the great enjoyment of her male audience except...
"Shampoo has better," Kodachi said slowly, "and that move is useless on me."
"Oh, yeah," Urudu exclaimed, shamefaced. "I forgot."
"Just let me play my way," pleaded Kodachi. "I've already won a little."
"It's too slow! You want to win more, quicker! You want a nest egg!"
Kodachi wondered again just why he was doing this. Miss Kamiko could be awfully persuasive, but this was just too much for common sense. He sensed another presence and turned, feeling the aggression.
"Ranma Saotome! I challenge you!" Kodachi eyed the stocky, oddly dressed gaijin, wondering why he was so angry. "I, the Gambler King, will have my revenge!"
oOo
"Come on, Ranma! I tracked her this far." Akane hauled on Ranma's arm and finally made it to the Temple gate. "Maybe Mrs. Morisato knows where she is."
"Come on, Akane," Ranma growled. "That tracking sense only gives ya a direction. She coulda been over the horizon from here."
"Well, I think she came here!" Akane 'biida'ed her fiancé. "If there is anyone Kodachi would trust, it would be Mrs. Morisato." They marched up to the gates and stopped. They meandered around the block. They looked at one another.
"How do we get in?" they asked each other.
"Are you sure she's around here?" Ranma asked as they pondered. Akane closed her eyes and set herself into search mode.
"I don't know. I can't find her now. I don't understand why." Akane frowned and really concentrated. "It was working fine till you showed up!"
"I thought this technique of yours could handle even long distances?" Ranma complained. "Not as good as ya thought, huh?" Akane whapped him, but her forehead creased in concentration. "I mean it's not like she can just drop off the face of the earth…" Ranma's voice trailed off as they realized what happened.
"Of course," Akane exclaimed. "She's turned into you for some reason!" Akane focused, using Ranma as a reference and gasped. "Ranma, could you sort of step away? I can't see her if you're this close. Further. Go further…"
"I'm at the end of the block! Wadja want?" the pigtailed man exclaimed.
"I got her!" Akane shouted. "This way!" They ran down the street and took to the rooftops.
oOo
"Again?" In a voice desperate with embarrassment and confusion, the Gambler King glared into Kodachi's eyes.
"Feh!" Kodachi tried to imitate Ranma as best he could. "Ya don't have nothin' I want, King."
"Aaugh!" The gaijin shook his fists at the ceiling. "Why can't I use my clothes as collateral?" he demanded. "I did that for you!"
"Please!" Kodachi hid an embarrassed flush. "Like I said, ya don't have nothin' I want. Besides, you'd get arrested goin' out like that."
The Gambler King groaned and turned away. Beaten again, and without treachery! The boy had gotten better, much better. It was time for additional training. "You understand, I will return for my revenge?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Kodachi waved him away. "Whatever."
The Black Rose, now Ranma-look-alike, counted his winnings. 'Not bad,' he thought. 'Maybe Miss Kamiko was right.'
"Oh, please, oh, PLEASE, OH, (hic!) PLEASE!" Urd begged. "I WANNA PLAY THE SLOTS!"
Kodachi sweat-dropped and handed his winnings from the Gambler King over to the teacher. "Aren't you supposed to be a shining example for our nation's youth or something?" he remarked.
"I am an example," Urd said brightly. "This is… (hic!) …the normal way people act when in a casino having fun!"
"Oh, now I understand!" Kodachi exclaimed lightly. Urd grinned. "This is an example of how not to act! You're very good at it!" Urd face-faulted, grumbled and left for her slot machines.
oOo
"Here?" Ranma looked up at the brightly lit façade of the casino and scratched his head. "Are you sure?"
"We circled the building, Ranma," Akane reminded him. "Unless having two of you around is messing up my ki-sense," and her expression suggested it would be his fault if it did, "she's in there."
"Oh, man!" Ranma groaned. Casinos reminded him of the Gambler King. Besides, the thought of all those cold alcoholic beverages just waiting to spill on him gave him the shivers. "I guess we gotta go in." They linked arms and entered the public area.
Ranma almost immediately yanked Akane behind a pillar and pulled her into a kiss.
Akane was startled. They were in public, and Ranma had shown a certain reluctance for public displays of affection. Why now? Then she noticed he wasn't really paying full attention to her. She pushed away and hit him. "Jerk!" she snapped. "What are you up to?"
"The Gambler King just walked through the lobby and out the front door." Ranma peered around the pillar after his former opponent. "He didn't look happy."
Akane gave him a hard look. "And why did you feel that gave you an excuse to kiss me?"
"Huh?" Ranma stammered, not certain what was wrong. "That's what they do in the movies when ya don't want ta be noticed." He blinked. "Do I need an excuse ta kiss ya?" He looked almost hurt.
Akane gave him a bright smile, chuckling to herself. "A girl prefers to be the center of attention during these things, baka." She grabbed him by the pigtail and pulled him into a kiss that they savored and both gave full attention to. "That's better!" She patted her dress down. "Now, let's find Kodachi."
"Excuse me?"
They turned. A large man in a tux stood there, looking at them with some distaste. They nodded and waited for further announcements.
"Children are not permitted in this establishment," he said, indicating Akane's school uniform. "I must ask you to leave. Immediately." Other large tuxedo-clad men came up to join them and Ranma and Akane left before the bouncers tried to throw them out. After all, there were other ways to skin a cat.
oOo
"Urd." The goddess turned around and scowled. Aoshima smirked as his gaze took in the drink in her hand and the way her purse bulged with the tokens she had ready to play. Around her, various individuals slid tokens into the machines and jerked their levers down with mindless abandon.
"Aoshima. How sweet! Did you come down here just for me?" Urd slugged back her drink. Alcohol and moon rocks were boons to her powers, though the former tended to make her aggressive and despondent in turn.
"You could say that. What are you up to, Urd?"
"Just looking to have a little (hic!) fun. Is that all right?" she drawled.
"You pull one shady little move, Urd, and I'll have your ass thrown out," Aoshima grated. "You've toyed with me once too often."
"You wish," replied Urd seductively. "I am jush an innocent (hic!) cushomer using your oh, so attractive slot machines."
"Use it or lose it, honey!" cackled an old woman, hip-checking Urd away from the machine she was using. She yanked on the lever of the one-armed bandit and watched the spinning symbols. "Jackpot!" she exalted.
"I'll jackpot you, you old harridan!" Urd snarled, preparing to call down lightning. Aoshima ducked for cover and signaled for security.
Seconds later, Urd's derriere bounced off the pavement in front of the casino. "And stay out, lady!" bellowed one of Aoshima's thugs. He wondered where she hid that kick-ass tazer she'd nailed them with.
Urd got up and rubbed her posterior. "This isn't over, Aoshima," she snarled back. Aoshima leaned against the door jam and laughed.
"Yes it is, Urd," he told her. "You just gave me the excuse to exclude from my little club. Get lost. Sayonara, bitch." Aoshima had long experience with the goddesses and believed she was now out of power.
"What did you call me?" Urd glowed.
Aoshima was… mostly right.
oOo
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Akane whispered to Ranma.
Ranma, in girl-type, nodded and tried on one of the uniforms they had found in the employee locker room of the casino. "Piece o' cake, Akane."
"These are awfully revealing," the other said doubtfully.
Ranma looked at the suit she held up and nodded with a sigh. "That's the idea, Akane. The girls are part of the scenery. Casinos are mostly built for guys anyway." She found a costume that wasn't quite as showy. "Hey, try one a these!" It was black with a bright pink handprint pattern.
Akane held it up and admitted it covered more. "It's still awfully suggestive. Won't guys try to…?"
"And risk getting thrown out of the club?" Ranma laughed sarcastically. "They can look, but they can't touch! That's one of the rules."
"And you know this, because…?" Akane prompted.
Ranma froze and grimaced. "Uh, Hiroshi and Daisuke's magazines," she admitted. Akane stared then smacked her own head. "Well, that's what it said!"
"Oh, well," sighed Akane. "If they do try anything, we can always punch them out."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed slipping into an outfit that fit, sort of. "Geez, mosta these gals have bigger boobs than me!" she added, sounding aggrieved.
"I don't know," Akane replied looking down at herself. "This one fits me all right." Ranma scowled at her. "Just lucky, I guess." Akane smiled pertly.
As they slipped out of the room, Urd slipped in. "Maybe I can disguise myself as one of the cashier girls," Urd muttered. She glanced in a mirror. "Ho, ho, ho! That won't work! How can I disguise such beauty?" She glanced over the available costumes and then reconsidered. "Can't wear those things," she said to herself, glancing at the costumes with the pink handprints. "I'm not available by the hour, at any price." She looked at the all black ones, and discovered that most of them were for women a bit more developed topside than she was. "Wait! This was a stupid idea! I can't play if I'm an employee! I need to change more than my dress."
She suddenly snapped her fingers and raised her hands, chanting quietly. Urd seemed to phase out for a moment, to be replaced by a different, but equally beautiful figure. Urd looked down at the form she now wore: Shampoo. "Damn! Shampoo's are better," she grumbled. Then she shrugged. "Oh, well. Some minor modifications to dress." Her gown, originally blue, changed color to glittering silver with pink highlights. "That's better." She left to find Kodachi.
oOo
Ranma found Kodachi first.
"Lookin' good, 'Dachi!"
Kodachi froze and turned toward the chipper feminine voice. "Ranma?" He did a double-take. "Oh, my god!"
Ranma was in girl form, no big surprise as he often used his cursed form as a disguise. His… no, her hair was loose, slightly longer than shoulder length and slightly curly from the braid it had been in. Ranma was dressed in one of the 'working girl' suits with the pink handprints, which that pervert, Aoshima, used to indicate availability in his casino. The high heels were a little too big for the redhead's petite feet, but Kodachi could already see the men beginning to move in on this beautiful, fresh-looking girl who had invaded their territory.
"So, you've found me, Ranma-sama," Kodachi drawled. He looked Ranma up and down and smiled. He was pleased to see Ranma blush at the attention. Kodachi glanced at the croupier who was waiting for his call. He had sixteen. "Hit me!" Kodachi got a four. "I'll hold." He turned back lazily to the redhead. "Now that you've found me, what do you plan to do?" he asked quietly.
"Is there some place we can talk?" Ranma asked, indicating the busy floor area. "Private-like, I mean?"
"Oh, my!" Kodachi chuckled and let his presently blue eyes twinkle at Ranma in a disturbing fashion. "I think that could be arranged."
Several men backed off, grumbling that the new guy was making the moves before they could. As they did, the croupier flipped over his cards, revealing a nineteen. Kodachi had won.
"Gentlemen," he said, rising from his seat. "As you can see, I have other interests at the moment. Perhaps we can pick up later and you may take your revenge."
Kodachi was met with a chorus of congratulation, a few grumbles from heavy losers and some crude comments that Ranma frowned at. Offering his arm to Ranma, he led the redhead to a bank of elevators, also marked with the pink hand. "What's with this 'pink hand' crap?" Ranma asked. "It's all over the place. Looks kinda trashy, if ya ask me."
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, Ranma," Kodachi chuckled again. Ranma found the sound of his voice disturbed by Kodachi's 'ohoho's' rather annoying, though it sounded as if Kodachi couldn't decide whether to laugh like Kodachi or Ranma.
"Akane should be around here, someplace," Ranma offered. "She's…"
"I'm not interested in a threesome, Ranma," Kodachi warned. "Tendo can fend for herself for a while." Kodachi grinned again. "Though if she's wearing one of those costumes, I'd wager Aoshima's will be leveled by midnight."
"Why'd ya say that?" Ranma asked as the elevator door closed on them.
oOo
Akane stalked around the perimeter like an avenging angel. Her aura was almost visible. She was calling on the sense of purpose she had used months before at the Ramen Noodle match. A zone of 'touch-me-not' extended around her like a shield. There were more than a few that offered to 'touch her' as her costume suggested. Once they got close, a sense of dread and guilt stopped them in their tracks.
Aoshima saw the dark-haired girl with the tight muscular figure and decided to see who the new employee was. She wasn't doing something right, as men approached then walked away. He wanted to see what was wrong. If she looked as good up close as she did from across the room, he might try her out. Perks of being the boss. He began to move her way.
Akane had been looking for Ranma and Kodachi for ten minutes now, and had circled the room once. She was about to divide the room when she caught sight of a familiar violet hairdo and spectacular figure.
"Shampoo?" she asked, coming up behind the woman. The figure Akane took to be Shampoo turned. It sure looked like Shampoo, all right! What was she doing here?
"Woops!" Urudu Kamiko stared at Akane Tendo with a sense of shock. What was she doing here? And in that costume! Alcohol kicked in and Urudu grabbed Akane by the shoulder. "Oh, no, Akane! Don' do it! Save 'erself fer Ranmanamanama." She hiccupped and swayed forward. "Jus' trus'… (hic!) Jus' trus' ol' Urd! He won' care if yer inex-(hic!) inex-(hic!) Don' know watta do."
"What?" Akane stared at 'Shampoo' while some men grumbled about possible orientations of the two. "Urd…? Miss Kamiko, is that you?" She looked at her on the ki-level and found that the appearance was only illusion. "Oh, my god!"
"Guilty! Guilty as charged! (hic!)" Urd admitted, patting her on the shoulder. "Woulda been okay, 'cept that damn Aoshima made me use up too-oo-oo mush power." She suddenly closed with Akane, dropping an arm around her shoulder and, whispering loudly at her, asked, "You seed Kodachi?"
"No! I've been looking for her. How did you know…" Suddenly Akane worked out what must have happened. "You brought her here for some reason. Why?"
"She jus' broke outa da pokey where dat nashty ol' Dr. Hashishbareass was usin' her fer an exper-(hic!), experimental animammal." Urd blinked. "She needed money ta live on. Thought I'd tweek Aoshima's nose atta same time." Urd nodded. "The man's a jerk, a total jerk!"
"We have to get you out of here," Akane said, and added to herself, "Where's Ranma?" She looked around with ki-vision. It was cloudy as hell. She focused with her special technique. He was there, slightly above and behind her… Wait; so was Kodachi! She focused down harder, now that she knew where to look. Her aura flamed up with a roar, causing several curious and interested men to jerk back and dive for cover.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAANNNMMMAAAA!"
oOo
"What the hell?" Ranma looked around the room and tried to figure out where she had seen something like this before. The big bed, slowly rotating… The mirror above... The pink and lavender furnishings… "Man, what a nightmare!" She turned to Kodachi, who closed the door to the room with a solid 'click'! "Hey, we can't take long or my tomboy'll level the place."
"I'm sure she'll be all right," Kodachi drawled. He loosened his tie and sauntered over to the window, closing the drapes. "Akane has become quite formidable."
"You said it! Okay, then! Here's what's happenin'," Ranma said, sitting down on the bed. "This mornin', Akane and me stopped by with yer brother to see how you was doin'." Kodachi nodded, throwing the tie aside and sitting, about a body's width away from Ranma on the bed. The room slowly revolved about them as they talked. "They took one look at me and musta thought I was you. Ya never seen such a mess! Akane was gassed, your brother was stuck in the butt with a sleep dart and yours truly got everyone out by Mouko Takabisha-ing the front door." Ranma made a face.
"You poor things," Kodachi said, edging closer, "'Tachi must have been furious."
"Like a volcano! He was beyond poetry, if ya can believe that." Ranma nodded. "He told Hashi-whatever ta meet us outside the clinic. Akane an' me decided we'd like better odds, so we invited Shampoo, Ryoga, Mousse, Taro and this ballet instructor named Marinara who's coaching everybody for Nutcracker Suite."
Kodachi paused thoughtfully. "I can see, I think, why the first four were included. But why this Marinara person?" Ranma grinned and jerked a finger at herself and then at Kodachi. "They're all Jusenkyo cursed?" He leaned toward Ranma, covering a closing move as interest in what the redhead said. Except, Kodachi was interested in what Ranma had told him.
"Yup!" Ranma nod-nodded and bounced experimentally on the springy mattress. Now where had she seen this kind of décor before? "Marinara turns into an elephant. I think I told ya what Taro turns into?"
"I suppose."
"U-u-u-ugly! But Taro likes it. His pool was 'Yeti riding yak, carrying an eel and a crane'."
"…"
"Anyway, we set Hashi-bubba up and got everyone ta transform, then back again. That jerk thought Jusenkyo was some sorta psycho-thing but we made him look psycho! Then Tatewaki fired him and had the papers signed to release ya."
Kodachi had been about to embrace Ranma with an arm. That last statement caused him to pause. "Release papers?"
"Yeah, Shampoo and Akane insisted on that! And with that demon messin' with yer head… Well, we figured ya'd be better off with yer friends than in some crappy nuthouse." Ranma reached out and gave Kodachi a companionable slap on the back. "So, just ta let ya know, yer free. Ya don't hafta hide. When ya walk outa here, you can go home, go to the Nekohanten, Ucchan's, the Tendos, just like ya did before."
Kodachi stared and gulped in a breath he hadn't realized he needed. "F-f-free?" he whispered. "They all… All the girls…"
"Yup!" Ranma smiled and laid a hand lightly on Kodachi's arm. "Well, Hashibooboo's still out there, and maybe he has some deal with the government, but we're all in there with you. Ain't no way no one'll try nothin' with all of us ready to pound 'em."
"Oh, Ranma!" Kodachi broke and embraced the redhead in his powerful arms. They were off-balance, subtly dizzied by the spinning bed and fell back. At that moment, Ranma realized where he had seen this type of thing before, courtesy of Hiroshi and Daisuke's hentai magazines. This was a love motel room, and she and Kodachi were…
"Kodachi?" Ranma growled, angry and a little scared. She was effectively pinned and Kodachi had, theoretically, all of Ranma's speed and skills.
"Oh, Ranma-sama! I had thought to lure you here and take advantage, but I find I cannot! I don't understand! I had it all planned the moment I saw you in that attire, but…"
Ranma felt a surge and went to ki-mode. "Oh, shit! Off the bed! Now!" Muscles convulsed.
(BOOOOOM!) "RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAANNNMMMAAAA!"
"I think Akane's feeling a bit possessive," Ranma observed, peeking down through the hole in the floor. That is, the hole in the floor where the bed used to be. "We'll be right down, Akane!" she called. "C'mon! Let's get this over with." She leaped through the hole. Kodachi shrugged and leaped down with her. The ten-meter drop wasn't half as dangerous as what was waiting for them below.
"Ranma, what do you think you were doing!" snarled Akane, glowing like an arc lamp.
"Jeez! Easy, tomboy! I was just convincin' Kodachi that she didn't hafta hide anymore."
"And I could see how! How could you?" Akane's flame suddenly dimmed as her eyes filled up with tears.
"You!" Aoshima picked himself up from where goddess- and demon-trained reflexes had sent him for cover. "Look what you did to my casino!" He got shakily to his feet. "Hey, you're that girl from the karaoke club," he exclaimed, recognizing Ranma and too shaken to guard his mouth.
Ranma, who probably wouldn't have had a clue who Aoshima was, suddenly developed a reference from his missing months. The only time they had been at a karaoke club was the night their fathers had tried to drug them, only to have some local pervert complicate the matter by adding his own concoction to Ranma's glass. The result was a near-lethal cocktail.
Ranma remembered walking over in male form, to a nervous man who had been too strongly focused on their table. "You! You're the jerk who tried to drug me at the karaoke club!"
"He's the one?" Akane exclaimed, making the connection herself. Ranma had nearly died and they had nearly been married. Or vice versa… Her aura flamed anew.
Kodachi turned his gaze in flinty contemplation of the wretch named Aoshima. Aoshima suddenly recognized Ranma's male features and decided his days on earth had come to an end. "Urk!" he said intelligently as his bowels loosened in his fright. He was nearly right.
Casinos can be strange places. Often, the most reaction that intent gamblers give to a violent fight beside them is to complain of the distraction. Some, if a fire breaks out during a winning streak, have had to be carried kicking and screaming out of burning buildings. The patrons of Aoshima's were no exceptions. The recent display of ki-techniques had gone virtually unremarked.
Urd, struggled to make sense of what was going on. She had been here to… to… Why was she here? She hiccupped and noticed Kodachi, Ranma and Akane surrounding a thoroughly cowed and embarrassed Aoshima. "Oh, yeah! (hic!)" She raised her arms and swayed into a spell-pattern, intent on bequeathing a huge dose of good luck to Kodachi in her efforts to become independently wealthy and screw that little twerp Aosh-(hic!) Aoshima into the dirt. She figuratively knotted the spell, setting its parameters and determining its direction. Then she remembered that Kodachi wasn't presently betting on anything. Wait a minute…
"JACKPOT!" screamed half a hundred voices. "BLACKJACK!" screamed dozens of others. Around the room, people were winning big. Everyone playing was winning and as other people realized what was happening, they jumped in to take advantage of this incredible run of luck.
Aoshima, his pants dripping, looked around at the money flowing from his establishment and screamed, "NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!"
oOo
In Ranma-form, Kodachi sipped some hot tea in the kitchen at the Temple and pondered the evening. Akane and Ranma had carted Miss Kamiko home and discovered that if they backed through the gate, they could enter the Temple grounds. Kodachi had hesitantly followed. He had been astonished to be accosted by a robot and then by tiny, hand-high girl ninja. He was observed at the present time by at least four, including one with a white blaze in her locks that looked natural.
His two friends reappeared, having deposited Urudu in bed, snoring worse than Ranma's girl-form ever had. They crossed to the table and sat down, nodding to the ninja.
"Is she always like this?" Akane asked, jerking her head toward Urudu's room.
"Yup!" Kodama grimaced. "You'd think that with her background in history, she'd learn from her mistakes, but not Urd."
"But Kodama, dear," Kodachi drawled, straight faced. "Didn't you know? Hardly anyone ever learns from history. That's why it repeats itself so often."
Kodama's mask cracked with a definite snicker, then fractured into laughter. Kodachi's quick ears heard laughter from all around them and realized that there were actually a lot of ninja. "Oh, dear!" Kodama snickered and shook. "I'll have to tell her that one when she wakes up."
"Oh, dear," Kodachi echoed the ninja leader. "That won't get you into trouble, will it?" he added with concern.
"What do you make of Kodachi?" asked Akane in an aside to Ranma. "She's even nicer than before the demon came."
Ranma nodded. "I think it's because of staying in my boy-form so long. Her body has a pretty weird aura and it musta done some nasty things to her mind. But I'm not nuts…"
"Just dreadfully arrogant," jibed Akane.
"Un-cute! Like I said, I'm not crazy, so right now, she ain't crazy. I wonder what it'll take to keep her that way, and if it'll make her normal form better." Ranma shrugged.
There was a minor commotion at the door. Mr. and Mrs. Morisato entered, followed by Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Taro and Kodachi's brother, Tatewaki. Kodachi noticed that the little ninja had done a fast fade. Baradandya quickly received a summary of the night's events and went to check on her sister. Keiichi sat down and listened to the chatter as Shampoo and Ukyo greeted the cursed woman.
"Aiya! Kodachi hunk now, like Ranma! No worry! Shampoo no chase you. Maybe try sparring with Shampoo though. Yes?"
"I hafta admit," remarked Ukyo grinning, "you're lookin' pretty good."
Kodachi winced then laughed quite normally. "Don't worry! You two don't look any better to me than you did before," he retorted. He froze as Shampoo suddenly hugged him.
"So glad you safe again, Dachi!" the Amazon said. "That Hashibara very sad when we leave. No job, maybe no more license to torture in guise of doctor."
"I would really like to talk to him again," Kodachi grated.
Ryoga, who had been looking nervously about, saw the grip Shampoo had on Kodachi. He scowled. "RRRAAANMMA! Oops!" He noticed Ranma and Akane looking at him from across the table. "Sorry. Reflex, I guess. Heh-heh!" Ukyo took it on herself to bop him across the head. "Was that supposed to hurt?" he asked, grinning. He jerked back when she unlimbered her big spatula. Taro snickered and stayed out of the way.
Kuno shivered and looked from Kodachi to Ranma and back again. They both remained very still, waiting to see how he would react to his sister in Ranma's form, or even whether he could tell the minute differences in body language. Finally, he turned to Kodachi. "Are you well, sister?" he asked quietly.
"As well as I can be, I imagine," Kodachi answered.
"You are not in your own form," he observed. "Is there some reason for this?"
Kodachi took a deep breath, releasing it only very slowly. "Brother dear, it seems I have a choice. To be female, or to be sane." He gazed at his brother with eyes that pleaded for acceptance. "I choose to be sane."
Tatewaki frowned. "But how is this? How do you determine your own sanity? I certainly have enough trouble doing so. Is this perhaps some affliction of your soul that makes you feel unworthy of our eyes?" The kendoist seemed honestly upset.
"He just hates having two a me around," stage-whispered Ranma. (Bop!) "Ow! Three if ya count Sasuke. Ow! Dammit!"
"Be serious!" demanded his fiancée.
Kodachi ignored them. "It is in how I act and feel, Tachi. As Kodachi, I was obsessed with Ranma and fearful the world would try to destroy me, or at least deprive me of the things I wanted. As Ranma, I do not care if they try. What is important is in this room, people who care about me. People who I can care about without demanding they give me everything they are."
"I don't understand."
"Tachi, if Kuno Industries went belly-up tomorrow, what would you have?" Kodachi asked.
Tatewaki shrugged. "My honor… My skill… Little else. But what need I…"
Kodachi interrupted him. "What about these people, here in this room," she insisted. "Do they count for nothing?"
Kuno looked at the others in surprise. "Of course, they do." He seemed to struggle with himself. "But a warrior need not anything but his blade…"
"Even if you were so poor, you had no blade?" Kodachi demanded. "That has been the fate of samurai before, brother dear," he pointed out. "I have been destitute too long, Tachi. I have been poor in people I can trust, people to care about. My obsessions now seem like nothing but a nightmare. I'm afraid I'll lose that, if I become… me again."
Tatewaki Kuno's jaws clenched, and his lips pursed as he thought. Quietly, Ranma suggested they get some water to cool his head, but Akane bopped him again.
"It needs must be tested, my sister," he said finally. "To be true to yourself, you must give yourself the opportunity to heal. If it is indeed as you say, it may be that this… possession by the sorcerer's form may give you some beneficial healing in time."
Kodachi looked like a small animal caught in the headlights of a car.
Keiichi made his observation. "He's right, you know," he said quietly. "You're still you. It was the way you were made. Yet now, you're also Ranma. Bell says curses like these are not to destroy a person, but to give them incentive, and sometimes a pathway, to become better than they are." They looked at the small man who was really not that much older than they were. He smiled nervously. "Hey! Would it surprise you that I was turned into a girl once?"
They looked at one another. "Ms. Kamiko?" Kodachi asked.
"Well, sort of," Keiichi admitted.
Baradandya re-entered the room. "Urd… Urudu will be fine. She's just had too much to drink. I got her a new moon bracelet, Kei, so she should be fairly normal by morning." She turned and bowed apologetically to Kodachi. "I'm so sorry my sister caused you all this trouble," she said. "Could you ever forgive her?"
"I thought I was destitute before, Mrs. Morisato. How can I not forgive someone who helped to show me I was rich?"
"What do you mean, sister?" Tatewaki was still trying to follow the earlier conversation. "The Kuno family is very well off."
Kodachi reached out and squeezed Tatewaki's shoulder. It was an affectionate, natural gesture. "You'll find out someday, brother dear."