(Disclaimer: I do not own Ramna ½ or any of the characters and stories associated with it.)

Under the Kuno Mansion

Kodachi stared at Ranma, wide-eyed, as he quickly finished the story of his curse, "I have heard of many strange things, but none as terrible as that."

Nabiki smiled wickedly as she stroked the side of Ranma's shoulder with the tip of her finger nail, "I don't know, Kodachi…considering how cute she is, it can't be all that bad…."

The Kuno girl shuddered for a moment and then her eyes widened considerably. She began to laugh hysterically and several in the room moved a few steps away. After a few seconds, the girl looked up at the people in the room, "I'm (hee hee hee) sorry. I really am (hee hee). It's just I just realized my brother (hah hah hah)…my masculine pompous brother..."

Nabiki smirked, "Now you see the joke of it all. Kuno's been chasing Ranma since the first day he saw him as a girl. No matter how many times we showed him the curse, he just plain refused to believe it."

Kodachi got herself under a bit more control, "When this is over, I will see to it that brother dear never forgets his love affair with another boy."

Ranma made a face, "Jeesh Kodachi. That sounds so…dirty."

Nodoka frowned, "It certainly doesn't sound very manly of the boy."

Cologne picked that moment to speak up, "As much as I would like to continue this interesting conversation, we have much more pressing things to take care of."

Nodoka nodded, "We have five capable fighters here. Ukyo, Soun, Genma, Ranma, and myself. We should all proceed at once to the Kuno Mansion and stop this before it's too late.

Cologne nodded, "That's a start, but we will need to make changes. Soun is emotionally unstable when it comes to his daughters. I don't think he could stomach the thought of fighting his own daughter in what might well be to the death."

Soun bowed his head, "You're quite right, Elder. I don't think I would be able to stand seeing my dear little Akane being harmed. I will stay here and await your return."

"Thank you, Soun. We also have another potential problem. Ranma was badly injured not too long ago and this fight may well push him to his limits and beyond."

She looked over at Ramna, "So what do you say, sonny boy? Do you honestly think you can take on a demon so soon after your injury?"

Ranma gave her a cocky grin as he held up a fist and cracked his knuckles, "It's like Mom said earlier, the Tendos are family. This demon's got Akane under his power and he's gonna pay for it."

The old woman nodded, "Alright then. We have four fighters. I will protect Kodachi from close attacks and the rest will stay here until we return."

Nabiki shook her head, "I'm coming too."

Cologne glanced over at the middle Tendo, "You're no fighter, my dear, and this is going to be very dangerous. Should the demon or even Akane strike you just once, you may not survive."

Nabiki's eyes flashed, "Sure, I don't have the skills of a martial artist. But I'll tell you what I do have…I'm observant, I see things around me that most people miss, I can read a person by looking at their face, and I'm not afraid to use another person's weaknesses to my advantage."

The old Amazon looked over at Ranma, "What do you think, Sonny?"

Before Ranma could answer, Nabiki slammed her hand on the table, "No you don't!"

Ranma turned towards her, "What?"

"My little sister's under the influence of some nasty demon that may kill her before he can be stopped. My fiancé, his parents and one of my new friends are all about to head out to stop him and you want me to just sit here and wait like a good little girl? Well let me tell you something! I care for these people a great deal and if there is the slightest chance I can do something to help, then there's no way you're going to keep me here while you all go!"

Ranma whispered under his breath, "Nabiki?"

The old woman smiled, "Very well then, Miss Tendo. You will stay with Kodachi and myself. Please try and stay out of trouble."

Nodoka smiled at her son's fiancé with new respect as Cologne continued, "Alright then, lets get our stuff together and make our way to the mansion."

Nabiki quietly reached over and gave Ranma's hand a squeeze before letting go and calling out, "Give me a couple of minutes, I need to grab some stuff before we go."

After Nabiki left, Ranma waited until no one noticed and quietly left up to Nabiki's room. Checking to make sure he wasn't followed, he knocked quietly on the door. Instead of asking him to enter, Nabiki quickly opened the door, grabbed the boy by the shirt, and pulled him inside.

Ranma gasped, "Nabiki?"

She put her hand over his mouth and hissed, "Shhh. I don't want anyone to know you're here. Ranma, we don't have much time, but I have something I need to tell you. I don't know what's going to happen when we get to the Kuno's place, but I have this feeling inside that it's going to be extremely dangerous. I worry about you a lot, Ramna.

"Yeah? Well thanks. It's nice to know you really care."

She moved close to him, pressing herself against his chest, "It's more than that, Ranma and you know it. I lied when I told you that I was falling in love for you."

The boy was becoming a bit confused and answered accordingly, "Huh?"

She grinned evilly, "No dear Ranma, I'm not falling in love with you at all. The fact is, that little incident happened some time ago and I've already been in love with you for quite some time now.

He backed up and pressed himself against the closed door, "Y-you have?"

She closed the distance and placed her face mere inches from his, "Yep, all this time. So before you go off to rescue my sister, I wanted to tell you that, and to give you this."

Before Ranma could move, she closed the distance, snaked her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Ranma's eyes widened for a bit but soon softened as be began to enjoy the experience. After a several long seconds, she ended the kiss and purred, "Promise me you'll be safe and don't do anything stupid, Ranma. I want to continue this later."

Ranma blushed and smiled, "Y-Yeah, sure Nabiki. I'll do that."

She smiled warmly as she opened the door, "Good now get back down there. I'll be down in just a minute.

Moments later, Ranma was back downstairs followed a few seconds later by Nabiki. She was carrying a small tan back pack and Ukyo raised an eyebrow, "We're not going on a camping trip Sugar. What's with the gear?""

Nabiki reached in and pulled out a thermos full of hot water, "You never know, Ukyo. Ramna might need this."

Ranma smiled, "Alright then. Let's go save the tomboy!"

* * *

While they walked over to the Kuno mansion, Akane was sitting on the bed in the subterranean chamber meditating. Although she was still seething at herself for not realizing sooner that Ryoga was P-Chan, she understood that keeping the lost boy under the Chains of the Mistress was to her advantage. Ryoga was one of the few people on earth that had enough brute strength to give Ranma a run for his money in unarmed combat. A slight smile formed on her lips as she recalled the shear panic the lost boy had exhibited when his curse had been discovered.

She chuckled softly at that and drew herself deeper into the meditation, losing touch with the world around her and rejoining the world of her own creation. Images flowed together and in a sudden, colorful flash she was in her bedroom sitting on the edge of her own bed. Akane smiled as she looked around her room. It was no longer what she remembered it to be, it was what she always wanted it to be. Gone were the somewhat drab curtains, the plain bedspread and the old wooden desk. These were replaced with a cute floral print in a light pink and yellow for the curtains, a light yellow bedspread with small animal prints and pink trim, and cute, white desk with matching chair. Throughout the room, all of the things she used to have were replaced with the things she always wanted. The door opened and a beautiful young woman walked in. She wore a beautiful blue silk kimono with white and pink blossoms, and her hair was done up today, instead of laying down her back. The woman spoke in a soft and soothing voice, "Good morning, Akane. Did you have a good rest?"

Akane smiled warmly and hugged the woman tightly, "Yes I did Mother. Thank you."

The woman turned and looked around the room, "I see you have made a few changes. Very nice."

Akane was about to thank her mother when something caught her eye. At the edge of her mothers fingertips she saw a bright sparkle of gold. For a moment the golden sparkle just stayed on her mother's fingertips, but after a few seconds it seemed to hop from one finger to another. Akane's mother seemed to be frozen in place but the sparkling on her fingertips continued to dance about from finger to finger. Akane stood up and looked closely at the sparkling and noticed that her mother's fingers seemed to change for several seconds after the sparkle touched it, turning the fingers into a different texture.

She whispered to herself as she reached out to touch the dancing light, "Mom?"

The tiny sparkle suddenly brightened, covering the woman in a bright yellow light. Moments later the light faded, revealing a different woman.

Akane gasped and moved back, "Who are you?"

The woman turned towards Akane and smiled. Tears began to form in the woman's eyes and stream down her cheeks as she extended her hand to the Tendo girl. Akane could see and feel the familiarity of the woman and thought she was somehow important. She reached out to touch the woman's extended hand but was stopped when the woman and everything in her imaginary world faded to a foggy grey. Akane clenched her fists and glared as Logan appeared from out of the mists, "Why have you interrupted me?"

The demon smiled and bowed slightly, "Our time is almost up, Akane. We must make the preparations for the final incantation of the spell."

Akane unclenched her fist and the image faded revealing the drab, dark-grey stonework of her basement bed chamber. She walked over to an antique mirrored dresser and picked up a small, black-enameled box.

* * *

Ranma and the group were close to the Kuno Mansion when Kodachi spoke up, "We will not be able to enter through the front entrance. My brother most likely will have that sealed and the locking mechanism is composed of hardened chrome steel. We're going to have to go in through the back entrance."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "You have a back entrance?"

Kodachi laughed, "Of course. Every home needs an emergency escape exit. You never know who might try to storm in."

Cologne smiled, "That's a good plan, child. But as I recall, isn't your home and all of the entrances and exits booby trapped?"

Kodachi laughed again, "You surprise me, Elder. Yes it very well booby trapped. In fact dear brother has probably released all of the safeties on every trap in the mansion."

Nodoka raised an eyebrow, "If that is so, young lady, how do we get past your traps?"

The girl placed her finger against her temple, "I have my ways, don't worry."

Ukyo laughed nervously, "Yeah, that's what's worrying me."

The mansion was visible a short distance ahead and Kodachi stopped in front of a brick wall. She spread her hands apart and pressed the palms against a pair of bricks. As she did, the bricks rotated and became clear. She kept her hands against the bricks as a sudden green light became visible from with the now glass brick and scanned up and down twice over the girls palm. When it was done, there was a deep clunk and a large doorway formed as a portion of the brick wall pulled back and slid to the side.

As they entered the doorway, Nabiki gave a low whistle, "Now that's cool."

After they had entered the room, Kodachi pressed another brick and the door rumbled back into position. Once the door was in place, the room was bathed in low green light that seemed to be coming from random transparent bricks along the wall.

Kodachi explained, "This room is part of the mansion's defenses. The light you see only came on because I entered. If the door had been forced, the room would have remained dark, and much more dangerous. I will lead until we come to the great chamber up ahead. Everyone needs to be careful, because there are many dangers here that were installed to kill those attempting to break in."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow, "Kill?"

"Yes, my dear father designed these defenses and as you well know from your own school, he is quite insane."

Ramna pointed over towards a door, "What now? Do we go through that doorway?"

"Yes, but before we do, I need to show you something."

They walked over to the doorway and Kodachi held out her arm up to block her companions, "Just to show you how dangerous this place can be, observe what happens when I toss this rose down the corridor."

Kodachi tossed the rose through the doorway and immediately there was a flash of steel as a half dozen massive blades suddenly sliced through the hallway shattering the rose.

Kodachi pressed another brick and pointed at the rose, "Those blades are very thin and yet weigh a hundred kilos each. Had you tripped them with your own body, they would have sliced you up like a loaf of bread."

Nabiki swallowed, "Point well taken, Kodachi."

She led them through another pair of corridors and each time disarmed the trap down before anyone went further. After the third trap they came to a tee intersection and Nodoka pointed down one hall, "Which one do we take now, Miss. Kuno?"

Kodachi smiled as she reached for another brick and pressed, "Neither. Those two paths lead to more booby traps with no means of escape."

There was a low rumble as the bricks moved aside and revealed another corridor, "This, however leads directly to one of the main chambers and bypasses all of the traps."

True to her words, the corridor emptied out into a large storeroom with an arched ceiling. Stacks of boxed goods lined the walls and even a pair of large wine kegs could be seen in one corner. Ranma smiled, "Jeesh Kodachi. This looks like something out of a European castle or something."

Kodachi didn't have time to answer as another figure had just entered the room. Dressed in black robes Tatewaki Kuno walked slowly with the family blade drawn, "Foul creatures! Dare thee sneak into the Kuno stronghold? Did ye think I would not sense thy vile presence? I shall strike thee down and throw thy filthy remains into the lower sewers for the rats and vermin to feed upon."

Kodachi spoke up, "Brother. Do you intend to kill me as well?"

He pointed his sword at the girl, "I told thee not to return, sister. Since thou has seen fit to be a part of this mangy band of vile savages, thy fate shall be as theirs."

Ramna pointed, "Don't be a idiot, Kuno! Put that sword down so we can save Akane."

As the Kuno boy charged he bellowed with rage, "Do not speak of the Mistress!"