Chapter 2: The Sickness
The problem began as a tightness of the chest.
Tatiwaki Kuno savored the crisp morning air on his sweat-covered skin as his blade danced through the air. Standing robed and barefoot in the backyard of his house he practiced with fluid discipline. Shifting to a low stance he watched a leaf fall from one of silent observers of his day-to-day practicing. Holding his blade up to the right side of his face at ear level, he inhaled sharply then unleashed a furious storm of strikes, his blade lashing out too fast to be seen.
When the leaf finally fell to the ground, it did so in tiny pieces far too numerous to count.
Normally he practiced for thirty minutes before class every day. Today he was feeling a bit more energetic and decided to stretch the time to forty five minutes. He rolled forward executing an upward slash with his wooden blade, cutting the air and scattering blades of grass in all directions. Pleased with his reflexes and timing, Kuno decided to relax and end the session for the day. Pausing after a downward chop of his blade, the one hundredth he'd executed admist a flurry of other moves, he spun the wooden blade and draped it over one shoulder, turning from his place in the center of the backyard to look up at the rising sun.
His spirits were high considering the madness of the last nine months. The Pig-Tailed Girl had not been around as often as of late and the equally beautiful Akane Tendo was drawing farther and farther out of reach as Ranma's clutched became tighter. It was distressing considering that he'd graduated. He no longer had the ability to challenge Ranma on school grounds. After the Taro incident, the school had cracked down on security and it wouldn't do for a member of House Kuno to become entangled in a situation that could potentially affect his or his family's honor. There was short supply of it as was.
Kuno unleashed a deep sigh to alleviate his frustration then stretched, refusing to let the string of unfortunate events to dampen his mood. There was so much to look forward to. He'd already been accepted to Tokyo University and a rewarding, not to mention extremely lucrative, career in business was just a few years away. Under his reign, the financial and social power of his family would continue to climb.
This brought a determined smile to the young man's lips. At last he would be able to undo the stain on his family's honor brought about by his father. Deciding to pursue a career as a school principal was not without merit, it was the other actions and problems with the elder Kuno that had become a problem. The unexcused absence to Hawaii had affected the family's financial standing. His return had not done much to fix the situation. In fact it had caused further damage to the family's reputation. The harassing of the students and city disturbances had put a mark on his family.
With Kodachi becoming more maniacal than ever, the last hope for the Kuno clan rested squarely on Tatiwaki's shoulders. The burden was massive. As an avid fan of history and myths, he young man knew exactly how Atlas must have felt holding up the world on his shoulders.
The sun continued its climb into the sky. Tatiwaki chose to view it as a sign of his status as a rising star in the kendo world, as well as within distinguished Japanese society. This thought refreshed him like a cool spring rain. Rolling back his shoulders, he decided to walk back to the house through the path that led through the garden. It was his favorite place to stroll through when clearing his heads from the clutches of life's many burdens.
Sasuki met him in the garden, materializing as if out of thin air. He handed Kuno a small towel to wipe the sweat from his face. Tatiwaki took it with a nod.
"Your form looked impeccable today, Master Kuno," Sasuki flattered unabashedly. "I've noticed how hard you've been training lately."
"Presently I am the big fish in the little pond," Kuno replied. "It will not always be so. I have far to in order to become truly strong."
"So you've decided on Tokyo University after all? You will join their kendo club?"
Kuno nodded, proceeding towards the house with the diminutive ninja in tow.
"That is most excellent news sir!" Sasuki threw his arms into the air with jubilee. "I have no doubt you will be a fine addition to the club."
Kuno stopped in his tracks and looked down at the manservant with a serious expression. "'Addition'? No Sasuki, I intend to become the captain of the club! Nothing less than perfection and a proper position will suffice for a Kuno."
Sasuki bowed as if stricken. "I…"
Tatiwaki realized his tone had been a bit sharp. He cleared his throat. "However, only a fool goes into a new environment without taking its measure, adapting, and learning from those who already dwell there. I will learn from the best and then I will dominate."
A bit taken aback by Tatiwaki's intensity Sasuki repeatedly bowed his head. "Of course sir! A wonderful plan, truly!"
"But even that isn't enough, my good Sasuki!" Kuno looked at his blade in distain. "I want to be worthy of the samurai blood flowing through my veins! Am I not decended from Miyamoto Musashi himself?! I need to train harder and I need to do it with a real blade. This crude wooden sword is not my soul! My soul is elegant and sharp!"
"Like giving a child a pair of scissors and telling him to run…" Sasuki muttered.
"What was that? Speak up man!"
"Nothing master! Shall I have a sword prepared for you? Or perhaps we can gain the approval of your father to use one of the family's heirloom swords currently on display?"
Kuno shook his head, his face a look of disapproval. "That won't do. The blade must be one of my own. I must either make or claim one myself. Be a good man and leave me for a bit. I have much to think about."
Sasuki bowed his head and disappeared as fast as he'd come. Alone at last, Tatiwaki rolled back his shoulders, mindful of the waning morning as he stood among the vibrant flowers from all over the world that adorned the house's side garden.
"A blade," he whispered. "From where? How?"
Come to think of it, all his teenager years he'd considered himself a rising kendo star, a proud descendant of the samurai class that had flourished in Japan for centuries. But was he really? Perhaps he was nothing more than a boy with a stick mimicking moves of the past?
The idea was enough to make him chuckle with disgust as the thought wounded his considerable pride.
There was tightness in his chest. Tatiwaki leaned forward in pain but rather than cry out in pain the sound was full of poisonous mirth. The laughter rose from a slight chuckle to outright laughter. Clutching his sides, the young man felt his body shake as the flare of heat in his chest intensified mania. His voice rose and suddenly he leaned back in the other direction, his hands stretching out to the sides as his head looked to the sky, braying loudly with madness.
Pathetic, swatting a flies with a stick, honor slipping between fingers like water…
The thoughts coerced further laughter until his throat started to hurt. Suddenly his eyes opened, brown irises focusing as a shred of sanity returned to his mind even as he continued to laugh.
His mind whirled with fear. No… not again!
His body refused to relent and it was all he could do to stay on his feet. His mind whirled as he started to force his mouth closed. It was a titanic effort, like holding up the world upon his shoulders.
Atlas himself I've become, Kuno thought. I must think. Talk. Recite.
"Muc… muchhhh," his mouth moved, fighting against further laughter as he spoke, grabbing his strength. "Much…. Madness is divinest sense…. To a discerning eye… much sense… the starkest madness."
His voice grew stronger as he spoke. Concentrating on the words his dependable method for fighting the spells worked as they always had. Gaining more control he stood up straight. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
On he recited as was his custom. For endless moments every famous passage or quote he could think of. Soon the wave of terrible laughter had disappeared. But unlike the past in which he'd felt relief, now the shadowy tense feeling in his heart remained, merely returning to dormancy.
Kuno slumped forward, putting his face to his hands, his eyes wide with dread. "No… Not me too. Please…"
The laughter had come on without warning this time. All the signed showed that the old ways were not going to work for much longer. The realization slammed into him along with the understanding that there would be little time left before he was no longer in control of himself at all. Spurred on by this thought, his mind his mind raced, desperate for a solution.
Taking off for the family shrine he pulled out a family book. Long since discolored with age, the faded leather binding and tattered pages were what Kuno tore through with urgency.
"It will not take me too. Not me too!"
The book he'd long ignored now became his salvation. The frenzied boy spent the afternoon reading through the worn pages written by members of his family, searching for a cure to the sickness in his heart.