Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
Broken Mirrors, chapter 48
Tuesday, March 8th. The Weeping Lilies Teahouse and Revue, 7:15 PM.
Kodachi smiled as she sat to the side and watched the inner circle of the ladies as they socialized. She hadn't found a good time to come clean with Ranko, Ukyo and Akane about the truth of her nature. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she kept putting it off so that she could continue to be part of their little world.
Kodachi cast a look over at where the three sisters sat together while they caught up on their lives with each other while Akane practically draped herself over Ranko. She found herself pulled from her thoughts when Ukyo sat down next to her and offered her a cup of tea to go with her own.
"You do know that you can sit and talk with them, sugar. They won't mind, and you deserve to let yourself relax a bit. You have been doing better with Gosunkgi, so maybe you should cut yourself some slack." Ukyo said with a kind smile.
Kodachi snorted and shook her head. "You mean that as long as I don't look at him, he doesn't immediately run if I'm in the same building as him."
"And he doesn't make warding signs behind your back anymore." Ukyo supplied helpfully.
Kodachi sighed and seemed to shrink in on herself as she stared deep into her tea.
"You're not a monster, Kodachi. Regardless of what you still seem to think." Ukyo said with a fond squeeze of the Kuno's shoulder before she walked over to answer a question from Nabiki.
Kodachi shifted around.a little as she looked over the room. She had that odd feeling like they were being watched, like some malevolent being had set their sights on them from someplace just beyond a corner. There were no mirrors in the room they had reserved, and Hikaru had said that it was probably the presence of the Mirror that had allowed the attack at the mansion, yet Kodachi could not shake the feeling that something was there.
Hopefully it was nothing more than her imagination at work.
Kasumi smiled as she watched how ,.and soon to be sister in law, interacted with . She loved .they were to each other, and knew that it would have made their mother happy, as well.
She had been part of the plotting for Akane and Ranko, just like she had helped with the plans for Ranma and Ukyo. She hoped that the four of them would be okay, the challenges they all would face would surely test them all, considering the nature of the siblings, after all. Kasumi had been involved almost from the start, since Tofu was the only one of the doctors involved who knew the truth about Ranko and Ranma.
Watching how they grew and lived their lives had been rewarding, if she wanted to be honest with herself. And seeing them all trying to live as normal of a life as possible in their circumstances had always made her feel proud of her strange little family.
She had always been sure that their mother would have approved of her meddling. It was the duty that their mother would have surely taken charge of, if she had been alive still.
Nabiki had been both the hardest and easiest to find a good partner for. She had to find a person who was smart and talented enough to challenge her, but humble enough not to threaten her sometimes fragile ego. Nabiki's future husband had been a pleasant surprise, and his sister had been a true blessing in surprise.
When Nabiki had started to look for a physical therapist, she had asked Tofu for help, and that had brought Kasumi in on the search, as well. Kasumi had used her contacts and connections to find the perfect person for the job. She had watched each of the prospects herself, and observed how they interacted with their patients.
Ukyo had caught her eye almost immediately. A forceful yet caring young lady from a very traditional family. Single, pretty and strong willed enough to not break in the face of the stone wall that Ranma had made himself into.
She had discretely . sessions, and decided that the two of them worked well together, and had started to develop a real rapport. It had only taken a few subtle little pushes from there to ignite the spark. The mutual respect and affection they shared had taken it from there.
Akane had been the easy choice, at least as someone who could help Ranko. Originally, Kasumi had planned on Ranko being a companion for Akane. When the therapist she had helped choose had passed Ranko into Akane's care, she hadn't been sure about what would happen. She had been pleasantly surprised when things had worked out the way they had.
Now, as she watched her two, no four, sisters she felt content. Now, she just had to figure out how to help their newest lost little duckling. With that in mind, she excused herself and walked over to sit with Kodachi and try to bring the aloof socialite into the conversation.
Ranko watched the woman she had come .of as an older sister in the time she had known her move to work her magic on Kodachi, then sighed as she twisted a little to look at Akane, who currently had the diminutive red head in her lap. "Why, exactly, am I in your lap? Aren't I a bit heavy for this?"
Akane laughed and hugged her fiancee tighter. "Hardly, you barely weigh a thing."
Ranko sighed and laughed. "That is more that my dear is a gorilla, than how much I may or may not weigh."
"You didn't seem to mind all that much last night, Ranko dear." Akane said with a grin.
As the flustered redhead found it difficult to speak Nabiki and Ukyo laughed before Ukyo spoke up. "I'd say get a room you two, but my ears are still ringing from last night." Ukyo said with a straight face.
Akane and Ranko both looked mortified as Nabiki rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I really did not need to know all of that." Nabiki said in a resigned tone of voice.
"So, where is everyone else tonight?" Ranko asked as she looked around.
Ukyo spoke up as she looked over the menu to order more for them. "Tsu-chan had another engagement tonight. One of her old friends is getting married, so she went with them to celebrate."
Ranko and Akane shared a look. "They do know not to let Tsubasa anywhere near any form of alcohol, right?" Ranko asked.
"I'm sure she will be fine." Ukyo said with very little conviction.
Nabiki spoke up at this point. "Kurumi is participating in a team sushi competition, so Natsume is there with her in Okinawa."
Akane gave Nabiki an odd look. "A team competition? So, a group of people all eating sushi together?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Not exactly, no. One chef, and one eater. I'm not sure on .details, but both sides are competing."
"Sounds like Kurumi might have found her ideal man, assuming the chef is a guy?" Akane said with a laugh.
"His name is Soma, or something like that, and it sounds like his wife is something else. So, not going to see the bottomless pit get hitched yet." Nabiki said wryly.
The four women laughed, then smiled as Kasumi returned to the group, with Kodachi in tow.
Soon enough, they had managed to draw Kodachi at least somewhat into their conversation, even if the Kuno heiress seemed distracted by something.
"What's wrong, sugar?" Ukyo asked as she laid a hand on Kodachi's.
Kodachi shook her head and smiled before she placed her hands back in her lap. "I'm sure it's nothing, it just felt like I was being watched for a moment."
Akane, Ranko and Ukyo shared a look started to each look around. As they had requested, there were no mirrors in .room to , and it didn't seem as likely that something would be stalking them from or at least they all hoped so.
A shiver of movement drew their attention to the table, and the distorted reflection off the pitcher that held water that sat in the middle of the table on a dark, polished wooden tray. A vaguely man-shaped figure seemed to move in the distorted reflection, as Kodachi froze in horror.
The table shook slightly, as if someone had struck it. It happened again as the women watched with an almost horrified fascination. One final shuddering phantasmal blow, and the pitcher shattered into a cascade of water, ice and glass that filled the basin of the tray to overflowing. For a moment, the world seemed to go still as the women were reminded that long before man made mirrors, nature had made her own.
An armored hand pushed its way through the reflection, and then braced itself as the rest of the large figure heaved itself through as it pushed itself through a reflection that was far smaller than it was. It appeared to be a samurai in ancient black lacquer armor, with a hideous demon mask and a black sword with red cord wrapped around its hilt. It raised its helmeted head and seemed to fix its stare on the pale and shaking figure of Kodachi.
The figure growled out one word in a voice like nails on a chalkboard. "Kodachi."
Kodachi made a strangled noise before she gasped out. "Tatewaki…. What… What are you doing here…" she shook herself out of her stunned immobility as Akane and Ukyo moved to get between the intruder and the others. They froze when Kodachi barked out in a commanding voice. "Stop! His sword kills any human that it makes contact with." She pulled herself together as she pushed past the others to stand face to face with Tatewaki. "I'm sorry about this…" she said before her form rippled and shifted.
The others let out stunned gasps as the change rolled over Kodachi as she shed her human disguise, possibly for the last time. With a ripping sound, her shirt tore as her wings spread, and her pants ripped as her tail forced its way free. She took a step forward as she pushed Tatewaki back over the ruins of the low table he had crushed when he entered their world.
"You should not be here! How did you even find me!" She hissed out as her slitted, red eyes narrowed as she regarded her older brother.
"Father." Was all he said as he moved into a stance, his unseen gaze moved from her to the other four women and he started to take a step, only to be blocked by Kodachi.
"Leave them out of this, Tatewaki! Go back to whence you came!" Kodachi said as she dropped into her stance, glad that they reserved one of the larger rooms, and sorry that she would never get to see it again after this.
He shook his head as he shifted his grip on his sword and started to move towards Kodachi. "Return to where you belong, Kodachi. 'Tis Father's will." He said before he started a series of strikes at his unarmed sister
Kodachi wove through the web of steel that Tatewaki weaved, all too aware of the fragile lives behind her as she found herself having to parry the blade far more than she would like by deflecting Tatewaki's hands where they gripped the sword. It had to have been that cursed weapon that had allowed him to push through into this world, the same ravenous blade that had consumed so many lives over the ages.
She had to remove the sword from him, no matter what it took.
Akane watched the two creatures fight, and started to summon her chi between her palms as she got herself ready to obliterate both of them, when she felt a pair of hands on either side stopping her. She blinked as she lost focus, and looked first at Ukyo, then at Ranko. "Demons from beyond the mirror. This is where I deliver soup-fueled justice, right?"
Ukyo shook her head. "That is our Kodachi. Ranma said that her real form was something else, but…"
Akane looked at Ranko who nodded. "It's a little different, but that is unmistakably Kodachi's chi. You can smell it in the air." Ranko said as she gripped Akane's hand tighter. "And that sword…. I don't want you near it."
Akane looked at Ukyo as she clenched her hands into tight fists. "You knew about this, and you didn't say anything. We are going to have a very long conversation about this later, Ukyo."
Ukyo swallowed and nodded, and sincerely hoped that there would be a later to be chewed out for keeping Kodachi's secret.
Kodachi parried another strike that was aimed to incapacitate her, even if that meant losing an arm or a leg. Her brother was pulling his attacks, but not out of any concern for her. He was surely here on Fathers orders, and more than likely Father was the reason he was not trapped in that accursed blade right now. She launched into another series of blocks and counterstrikes, even though she knew very well that her attacks were not really doing anything to her brother. The same blade that shackled his soul, and consumed the essence of anyone slain with it also maintained his form. She would have to get it away from him. She just hoped that she would survive the attempt.
She parried another strike as she drove his hands up, and delivered another strike to his head. Kodachi stepped in close, within the reach of his sword as she performed a turning step, and brought herself behind him as she gathered her chi into her hands. The aroma of cinnamon filled the air as her brother pivoted on his right foot as his left foot slid backwards and around to finish his own turning step. He was met with the flat of her palm to his face, and a surge of reddish-black chi that burned his eyes and blinded him for a moment. He thrust his blade where her chest should have been, but missed Kodachi as she dropped just under his strike, and delivered two more precise blows to the inside of each of his knees, at the thinnest point of the armor-like shell that encased him. His right knee buckled and he twisted as he fell and attempted to stabilize himself with the blade of his sword. That was the moment that she had waited for, as she rose up and grasped the sides of his head and let her chi flow through her body like a flame.
As thick, acrid vapors spewed from the openings in his helmet, he instinctively let go of his sword for a bare moment to attempt to pry her hands off of him. With a cry of relief, Kodachi managed to kick the blade out of her brother's reach. Tatewaki let out a roar of rage as he threw the succubus away from him and groped towards the sword, even as his form started to unravel. He turned and leveled his baleful gaze at his sister for a moment before he blew away like a black cloud, and was sucked into the dark depths of his blade. The world seemed to pause for a moment, like the universe had held its breath before the blade slowly sank through the floor and once more out of the world that they called their own.
Kodachi swayed for a moment as she took a step back, and was caught by a strong set of hands from behind. She turned her head to thank whoever had stopped her collapse, and felt the words she had been about to say turn to ash in her mouth as she looked into the furious eyes of one Akane Tendo.
"We are going to have a very, very long talk when we get back to the mansion. Right?" Akane growled out in a way that made Kodachi think very much of an exploding bowl of soup.
"Of… Of course…. Anything you say, Akane…" Kodachi said in a meek tone of voice while the others watched, and hoped that there would be no other uninvited guests that night.