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 50
Thursday, March 10th. The Saotome estate, 7:00 PM.
Ukyo smiled as she watched the rest of the people that she considered her friends and family. Kodachi had survived the training session and had even been invited to sit across from Akane and Ranko at the dinner table. It would seem that Akane had been able to forgive Kodachi, and that was something that Ukyo was very glad about.
Ukyo quietly regarded the couple and couldn't help but feel pleased. The arrangements were going very well so far. Akane had been told that she had been selected to attend a conference in Las Vegas, and that she would be allowed a plus one, if she wished. It had been decision to leave making arrangements with Akane's employers in Nabiki's hands.
What had been a surprise to Ukyo was the person who had thought up most of this plan. It hadn't been Nabiki, or even herself. Once she had expressed her wish to do something to help Akane and Ranko, it had been Ranma who had laid out most of the groundwork for this and then he had handed off the parts that needed to be done to the appropriate people. In hindsight, it would be obvious that someone like Ranma would have a good understanding of how to plan things like this, not just from being the head of a major business venture, but from his tactical and strategic training as the head of the Saotome style.
If Ukyo was going to be honest with herself, every time she saw a new side of her fiance, it made her excited all over. It also made her wonder just what laid under the exterior of Akane's significant other. If Ranko had not been forged in a constant crucible of combat and life threatening danger, how would her own talents have developed? It was almost certain that she would express her talent and practical genius in ways that might be similar to Ranma's, but also quite possibly different in many small ways.
It honestly made her wonder if Akane and herself had any idea of what they had bitten off with these two.
Still, it was going to be an exciting ride, and she doubted that any of them would ever find it boring.
Ukyo smiled as she watched the others, and blinked when Kodachi repeated the question that she had asked her.
"I'm sorry Sugar, I was distracted. What can I do for you, Kodachi?" Ukyo asked with a friendly smile.
Kodachi smiled and shook her head with an amused glint in her eye. "I asked if you would be up for another run after I explained about my family? I have the feeling that I might still have a bit too much energy."
Ukyo smiled and nodded. "I'd love to, Sugar."
Akane and Ranko shared a look before the Tendo woman looked at Kodachi. "So, does that mean you are ready to explain about your family, and what was going on with that… samurai that you said was your brother?"
Kodachi laughed her trademark laugh and nodded. "Of course, and thank you for not calling my idiot brother a demon, oni, or monster. Even though all of those terms fit him rather perfectly." Kodachi took a drink, and licked her lips in a way that could only be described as sinful in anyone else. "As I said before, the world I come from has a severe deficiency in what you would call Yang chi. It's almost like it's being siphoned away, but that still seems like a strange description. When we found that we could cross the Mirror into other worlds, it seemed like a solution for our problems. We can survive without taking in positive chi, but… It's not a pleasant existence, and once we have a taste of it… It's hard to go without it. It's… Kind of like never having tasted anything delicious your entire life, and then being given a strawberry for the first time. It's impossible to imagine your existence without ever being able to taste it again. All of us that cross the Mirror have our own ways of acquiring this energy… Feeding on it, if you will." Kodachi paused to take another drink with another lick of her lips.
"For beings like myself, physical intimacy is the way that we prefer to acquire the energy we crave. The fact that in many worlds we have abilities that are not usual for that world help us in making deals. Some make exchanges for power, others for pleasure. Now, some take it through much more… Direct and final ways. Violence, pain, suffering and death. My brother is one such. He was bound to a sword, a weapon crafted to store and channel massive amounts of power. The vessel my brother has used since he himself is not capable of breaching the Mirror on his own, not since the first time he was summoned and went on a bloody rampage in another world." Kodachi said with a soft sigh.
"So, the sword let him come here, and when he lost it… He couldn't stay? Why couldn't he just… Come right back?" Ranko asked with a curious tilt to her head.
Kodachi shook her head. "This world is closed off, or mostly so. You can be called from within, but it's almost impossible to force yourself through. Our father had to have intervened to Tatewaki did possible. That said, the fact that my brother's essence is bound to that sword means that it takes him considerable time and energy to be able to manifest. It should have been at least a few more years until he would be able to manifest. It would have been better for everyone if my idiot brother had not been sent by my lunatic father."
"So, who is your father, if he has that much power?" Akane asked, almost afraid of the answer she figured she would get.
"Father? Oh, he is just one of the Lord's who holds sway over our world." Kodachi said with a dismissive wave of her hand, then gave the other three an odd look at the stunned looks on their faces. "Did I say something that was unusual?"
Akane took a deep breath and gave Ranko's hand a gentle squeeze. "So… let me get this right…. Your father is a literal Demon Lord."
"Is that not what I said?" Kodachi asked in a slightly confused tone of voice.
Ukyo sighed and looked at Kodachi. "Sugar, around here that conveys a very… Specific meaning. Sometime we might have to introduce you to some anime, I think."
"I am not a total plebeian, my dear Ukyo. I am aware of what that is, thank you very much. I found it somewhat interesting, if a little blaise."
Ukyo had a sudden sinking suspicion, and glanced at Ranko who met her eyes and gave a little speculative nod of her own. Ukyo smiled gently at Kodachi and asked her. "What show did you see? Why don't you whisper it to me, so if the others haven't seen it, we don't accidentally spoil it for them?" Ukyo suggested with a soft, warm smile
Kodachi thought about it for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She leaned in close, so her lips almost brushed against Ukyo's ear and whispered softly in that scandalous voice of hers. Ukyo bit her lip and nodded as her suspicions were confirmed, and she was sure that she was red to the tip of her ears. Ukyo took a breath and leaned back and smiled reassuringly at Kodachi. "While that is a very…. Exciting series, I have a few others that you might enjoy, even if they have less skin shown throughout them." Ukyo cleared her throat. "And explain why he reacted the way we did to finding out who your father is, Sugar."
Kodachi thought about that for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "I am looking forward to spending time with you, Ukyo, as you show me more about the culture that is unique to your world."
Ukyo couldn't help but feel that she had just walked into the spider's web somehow, but also couldn't quite figure out what Kodachi's game was this time. That still didn't change the fact that this was a chance to get to know Kodachi better, and to get a better feeling for who she was, underneath all the acts that she must put on all the time. "I look forward to it, as well." Is what she finally settled on saying.
"So, what is keeping your father from just… Freeing him again and sending your brother after you again?" Akane asked.
"Well, my father would have to find him again, and then channel enough energy into the sword for my brother to be able to manifest again. I just don't think that he will see us as being worth the effort." Kodachi said with a shrug.
"What do you mean, find him? Won't he just… Go back to where he came from?" anko asked with a curious tilt to her head.
Kodachi shook her head and took another drink of her tea. "Part of the nature of that sword is that it goes to where war and violence are. It seeks out people who crave bloodshed, either for revenge, justice, or just the joy of slaughter. It matters naught to the sword, nor my brother. They will offer their power to anyone, if their desire for bloodshed is enough. It is how my brother regains his energy when he is inside of the sword. As long as my father does not lose his patience with my independence, then I do not foresee him taking the time and effort to seek out my idiot brother again anytime soon."
The three other ladies looked at each other, then nodded as Akane relaxed a bit. "That is a relief. I still can't believe that you are… Well, not human? And that you are the daughter of a demon lord. I guess how well you seem to have adapted to high society makes sense, now." Akane said then laughed a little.
The three ladies talked for a bit longer, before Akane and Ranko bid the other two farewell while they moved back to Ranko's study to work on what they needed to take care of before the weekend. While they did that, Ukyo and Kodachi changed back into their running clothes, and made their way out to get another run in. Once they were out of sight of the estate, Ukyo looked to the side at Kodachi and decided to ask the enigmatic woman about what she wanted to talk about.
"So, what is the real reason you asked me to go on a run with you, Sugar?" Ukyo asked as she ran alongside Kodachi.
Kodachi laughed her trademark laugh and looked aside at Ukyo. "I am going to go to Las Vegas with Nabiki and Gosunkugi dear." She said like it had already been decided.
Ukyo sighed and shook her head. "And I imagine that you have not asked either of them if that is okay?"
Kodachi looked at Ukyo and raised an eyebrow in answer and Ukyo sighed again and shook her head with a fond smile on her face. "You do know that this could end very badly, don't you?" Ukyo asked Kodachi as they turned onto the next section of their route.
Kodachi shrugged. "Is it not better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission, if you are not sure that it will be given? And since Las Vegas is also known as Sin City, I figured I should see it for myself first. Plus, I would be quite distraught if anything were to happen to my dear Gosunkugi. Hikaru is so very sensitive, after all."
Ukyo sighed again. "And who's fault would that be, Kodachi?"
Kodachi just gave Ukyo another blank, innocent look.
"One of these days you are going to get yourself in more trouble than you can charm yourself out of, Sugar." Ukyo said before she sighed and started into more lighter, small talk with Kodachi as they continued their run.
Kodachi let Ukyo change the topic, and used the distraction of mostly mindless small talk to think about the trip, and to try to understand just why she felt such an urgent, insistent drive to make sure that she would be there with Nabiki and Gosunkugi. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen, and that she needed to be there.
Even if it risked further alienating the one person she truly cared about. It would be a small price to pay if the alternative was something happening to him, something undefined but that filled her with a deep, primal fear like she had not felt in her long life.
Yes, better to beg forgiveness.
Ukyo watched Kodachi, and wondered once again what happened behind those eyes as she could see a myriad array of emotions as they flickered through her eyes. She would do what she could to help with making sure that Kodachi's decision didn't backfire horribly. It was the least that she could do for all of them. Best to tell Nabiki, and let her manage the pair of them both.
They would owe the middle sister even more after all of this.
Ukyo knew that they would be leaving Friday morning to make sure that everything was in order. A week to make sure that all the arrangements were taken care of, and that the venue and hotel that the party would be staying at was prepared for all of them. It was also important to give Gosunkugi as much time as possible to make sure it was as safe as possible with all things considered. Gosunkugi had said that without the long-time presence of both the Mirror and the siblings, the barrier should not be thin enough to let anything through. But, there was always the possibility of something happening.
As sure as Gosunkugi had been about being able to handle anything that might slip through, it still might be best to have someone who could actually fight something if it proved to be beyond what the priest could manage.
Ukyo would definitely have a talk with Nabiki.
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas at a certain high-end escort service, a woman who many would consider to be gentle looking, even motherly as long as you did not look into her eyes looked at the information that had been brought to her. She smirked as she took a drink of the Bloody Mary that sat at her elbow before she looked at the beautiful young woman with the oddly tired and drained look on her face. "Are you sure that this is correct? The reservations that you brought to me, they have been confirmed?"
The young woman nodded, as she made sure that she did not look into the older woman's eyes. "Yes Madam. I made sure that the information was all correct and confirmed."
The older woman nodded and smiled a predatory smile before she reached out and caressed the face of the young woman with a possessive expression on her face. "Very good, my dear. I will have to reward you later." She said in a voice like honey, that made the younger woman shiver.
"I live to serve, Madam." The younger woman said as she bowed her head to make sure that she avoided the intense gaze that had been directed at her.
With a wave of her hand, the older woman dismissed the younger one as she looked at the reservations once more and smiled, even if it never reached her eyes.
"I am looking forward to meeting you both, Tendo Akane and Saotome Ranko. I imagine it will be a most… Interesting event." The older woman said before her laughter rang out through the luxurious room that she sat in.