DiScLaImEr:  Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of rich corporations own all 
the characters in this fic.  My use of them in no way is meant to
undermine those claims, and suing me would be a huge waste of time.
If, for some reason, you actually think this meager tribute to RT's
genius deserves to be further distributed, you may do so, so long as
you: a) reprint this disclaimer; b) give me credit (blame?) for the
story and; c) don't actually sell it (Yeah, like that's a concern!).
And now, on with the fic.

   A quick recap:  Tatewaki Kunou, speaking in an uncharacteristically 
plain fashion, told a shadowed figure that their deal was off, and went 
forth to proclaim his love for Nabiki Tendou.  This figure then 
apparently arranged for Kodachi to intercept her brother, and kill him.
   After the funeral, Nabiki wept by Kunou's grave, trying to figure out 
what had gone wrong.  When she returned home, she got a threatening 
phone call, reminding her it was time for her regular payments.  After 
the call, we were treated to a pre-Ranma flashback, revealing that 
Nabiki is being blackmailed after being caught in a kiddie-porn set-up.
   Nabiki returned to her room, where she discovered that the digital 
camera she has hidden in the bathroom and linked to her PC has given her 
more than she bargained for....
   The next morning, Akane discovered the Jusenkyou Guide's corpse, 
floating in the koi pond.  On his forehead was a strange tattoo: an eye 
atop a pyramid.  As the various residents of Nerima tried to cope with 
this turn of events, Nabiki tried to figure out what to do with her 
newfound discovery.
   Happousai, learning of the tattoo, charged off into the night, dark 
suspicions forming.  Meanwhile, Kodachi has captured her father and is 
torturing him in the basement, slowly removing every last hair from his 
body with a pair of tweezers.
   When Happi returns with confirmation of his suspicions, he is caught 
by a tailor-made trap in the back yard (a veritable Frederick's of 
Hollywood inventory on the clothesline, all dipped in a heart 
stimulant).  As Happousai collapses from a heart attack, his spirit is 
able to warn Ranma that they face they mysterious Illuminati.  Cologne, 
at the dojo for a "visit" (read: botched Ranma-napping attempt), is able 
to tell them a little about the Hidden Masters, but announces that she 
will have to do some research into the matter.
   After she leaves, Soun and Genma dispose of their late master, while 
Akane and Ranma settle in for some TV to get their minds on something 
else.  They are stunned when they realize that the appetizers Akane 
whipped up to munch on are not only edible, but downright delicious....
   And so we move on to:

*****************
* Illuminations *
*****************

**************************
* A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction *
**************************

***************
* By Freemage *
***************

*Author's Note:  This story draws on both the anime and the manga.

 This is a dark story, with several sexually suggestive scenes,
 although no outright Lemon scenes.  (This chapter is probably the
 most suggestive one yet.) If such material offends or disturbs you,
 please consider not reading this story--Unless, of course, you like
 being offended and/or disturbed....

  Thoughts are denoted by {X}.*

                      *********************
                      * Chapter Five      *
                      * Sins of the Flesh *
                      *********************

     Soun and Genma returned from their grisly errand late
 that night, covered with grime and reeking of garbage.  Soun
 dismissed the curious glances he got from Ranma and Akane
 with a curt, "It's finished."

     Although neither of them was totally comfortable with
 that, they weren't really all that keen to hear the details,
 either.  Kasumi, who had returned from the library earlier,
 just wrinkled her nose at the bedraggled condition of the
 two men (or, as it was, one man and one panda).  "Go on, you
 two.  Get cleaned up, and then I'll clean the furo so that I
 can take my bath."

     Soun, now in his full "river-of-tears" mode, looked
 lovingly at his eldest daughter.  "Thank you, my dear, dear
 Kasumi.  You take such wonderful care of us...."  His voice
 cracking, Soun Tendou followed Genma-Panda upstairs.

   *********************************************************
      
     Kasumi tried to relax, letting the hot bath water soak
 into her skin, working the knots out of her muscles.  {It's
 been a long week, and I don't think its going to get any
 easier, for a while, at least...}

     Unseen, a single eye peered through a dark hole in the
 ceiling of the bathroom.  The position of the aperture
 offered an almost perfect view of the room.  Had Kasumi
 looked up at the right moment, she would have seen the eye
 gazing at her with a mixture of lust, tenderness and regret
 that would be hard to fathom.

     Instead, she simply stretched luxuriantly, allowing her
 unseen observer an even better view of the forbidden
 territory.

     In the darkness of the attic, Soun Tendou, Master of the 
 Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, wept, even as he began
 to relieve the throbbing ache in his loins, the only way he
 knew how....

   *******************************************************

     Sasuke slipped quietly through the darkened streets of
 the Nerima District.  He had been given a job to do, and he
 dared not fail the one who gave him his instructions.  Not
 after what had happened to the senior Kunou....

     He paused briefly to hide when he saw a duck wearing
 glasses strolling down the street.  {Poor Mousse, he has
 almost as many troubles these days as Ranma...}

     He finally arrived at Ucchan's.  Slipping out a small,
 carefully sealed packet of dust, he climbed to her bedroom
 window.  He carefully tore a small hole in the corner of
 the packet, checked to make sure the breeze was right, and
 dumped the silvery contents.  He watched as the sparkling
 cloud settled around the sleeping Ukyou.
 
     Slowly the warrior-chef began to toss in her sleep, her
 breathing deepening into soft moans.  Sasuke kept silent
 watch as her hands moved of their own volition, bringing her
 the kind of pleasure that she had been so long denied.

     Just as her motions reached their climax, Sasuke leaned
 into the window and whispered, ever so slightly, "Ranma
 Saotome sends his love."

     Then he slipped into the night, not even waiting to see
 if the concoction would work the way he had been told it
 would.  He had no worries on that point--these mixtures
 *always* worked. 

     Besides which, he had another stop to make, and the
 timing had to be perfect....

  ********************************************************

     Nabiki tossed and turned, unsleeping, on her bed.  She
 had been in a state of indecision and shock for days, and
 had finally reached a conclusion.  Now she just needed the
 right time, and the courage to go through with it.

     The time would have to settle itself, but she had a
 good idea where she could go for the courage.

     She got up, dressed and went downstairs, careful not to
 wake anyone.  She didn't want anyone to know how much she
 was hurting--not yet, anyway.

     She slipped out the door and into the comforting embrace
 of the dark night, failing to notice the living shadow
 working its way up the back of the house to Ranma's window.

  ********************************************************

     Ranma stirred in his sleep, brought to consciousness by
 some deep, inner instinct telling him he was in trouble.  As
 he looked around the dark room, he realized how right it had
 been.

     Standing there, half-illuminated by the square of
 moonlight coming through the now-open window, was Ukyou, her
 eyes seeming to blaze with some feral hunger.

     "Ucchan...What are..."  Ranma's voice failed him as a
 casual flick of Ukyou's right hand sent to the floor the silk
 belt that had held her robe shut.

     Her voice, low and husky, came across the room.  "Shhh.
 Tonight's the night, Lover-boy.  Tonight you undo all those
 years that I spent masquerading as a guy.  Tonight's the
 night I become a true woman."  Even as the full meaning of
 her words sunk into his convoluted thoughts, he felt himself
 responding to the tone of her voice and the half-glimpses
 afforded by robe and moonlight.
     
     "Wha--what about Pops?" Ranma asked, glancing around for
 the slumbering form of his old man.

     "Don't worry.  I saw him downstairs, raiding the fridge. 
 It looked like he'll be stuffing his face for a few hours,
 at least."

     {Damn!  What a time for him to get the munchies.}  As he
 felt desperation take hold, he forced his brain to come up
 with another counter to this 'attack'.  "Wait, Ukyou, this
 isn't right.  If Akane walks in right now, she'll kill us
 both."

     "Oh, would you like me to take care of her first, then?"
 The question came out with no emotion at all, as she
 gestured to the battle spatula propped against the wall.

     "NO!  I mean, no, I don't want anyone to `take care' of
 anybody else!"

     "But, Ran-chan, I want you to take care of me."  Another
 subtle movement sent the robe to rejoin its belt, at the same
 time accenting her figure.  "Don't tell me you're not
 interested--I can tell differently by the line of your boxer
 shorts."

     "Look, Ucchan, it's not that I'm not flattered, and I
 might even be interested--someday.  But until I'm sure who I
 want to be with, I'm not gonna be with anyone.  Got it?  If
 I did take what you're offering, I'd just be using you--and
 I don't use my friends.  You mean too much to me for me to
 treat you that way."

     Ranma noticed, with relief, a fade in that feral gleam
 in his old friend's eyes.  Something about that look had
 done more than just frighten him--it had reminded him of
 something.  If he could just get a moment to think, he was
 sure he could put it together.

     "So this what Sneaky Spatula-Girl get up to at night,
 try to steal Shampoo fiancee!"

     Ranma couldn't stifle the groan that came from the pit
 of his stomach.  {So much for getting time to think.}

  ********************************************************
 
     Nabiki was kneeling beside Kunou's grave.  The fake
 grass lying over it somehow bothered her, and she pulled it
 off.

     {There.  I don't think you would like being under yet
 another false cover, eh, Kunou-baby?  Might as well at least 
 be granted the honesty in death you were denied in life,
 right?}  Another crying jag came over her.  How many had
 there been since the funeral?  It seemed like there was no
 end to the river of tears.  {Honestly, I'm getting as bad as
 Daddy,} she thought ruefully.

     "I should have known *you* would be here."

     The voice, angry, cold, almost inhuman, caused Nabiki to
 freeze.  Slowly, so as to provoke no reaction, she turned to
 look at the place where the voice had come from.  Stepping
 around one of the larger tombstones was...

     "Kodachi."  The name came off her lips like a prayer.
 "Oh, Kodachi, I am so sorry.  You must be hurting so...." 
 Her voice trailed off slowly, as she saw the gleam in the
 eyes of the Black Rose, and realized that any of her words
 that did make it through to Kodachi's mind were travelling
 through a haze of madness.

     "Oh, so you know what this one is going through?  So
 you know how much this one is hurting?"  Kodachi's spat out
 the words, bullet-like, and they seemed to Nabiki to strike
 with an almost physical force.  "How fitting, since it is
 YOU who have caused all of this one's suffering!"

     Nabiki stood, confused and suddenly afraid, taking a
 couple of steps backward, looking for an opportunity to run,
 but afraid to turn her back on the gymnast.  {C'mon, think,
 girl!  Stall for time!}  "I don't know what you're talking
 about..."

     "She doesn't know what I'm talking about," Kodachi
 mimicked with a savage expression on her face.  "I'm
 talking about how you, with your sluttish Siren's charms,
 seduced away my darling Tatewaki, forcing this one to stop
 him from sullying the glorious Kunou family name."

     Nabiki's thoughts roiled, part of her mind refusing to
 accept the horrific conclusion that the rest of her had
 come to.  "You...you killed him?  To stop him...from coming
 to see me?"  Rage started to bloom beside the horror and
 fear.

     "Of course.  That is what one does with an infected 
 beast.  After you had poisoned his mind, how could I do any
 less, when his honor was at stake?"

     "You BITCH!"  Nabiki threw herself at Kodachi, fear
 completely forgotten in the red haze that seemed to have 
 clouded her thoughts.  "I'll kill you!"

     Kodachi sidestepped, laughing.  "I am sure you would
 like to add another of the Kunou clan to your roster of
 death, but I am afraid that you will be denied that option
 this night."

     She pulled a hoop from behind another tombstone, and
 sent it spinning through the cool night air.  As it dropped
 around Nabiki's body, it contracted, pinning her arms to
 her sides.

     "Ohohohohhoho.  I shall have to thank Sasuke.  This
 playtoy he designed worked perfectly."

     Nabiki lay on the ground, trying to rise.  With the last
 of her breath, she opened her mouth and screamed.  "AKANE!
 RANMA!!  HELP!!!"

     "Now, now, can't have any of that, can we?"  A red
 gymnastics ribbon snapped out, wrapping itself around
 Nabiki's head, muzzling her.  She could feel some kind of
 adhesive on the inner side of the ribbon, sealing it to her
 face.

     "Now what shall this one do with you?  Hmmm...I guess
 it would be best if I took you back to the mansion to finish
 this business.  We wouldn't want to be interrupted, now would
 we?"

     Nabiki watched, helplessly, as Kodachi pulled out a 
 throwing pin.  Just before it descended, she heard Kodachi's
 words.  "Don't worry, you won't be alone.  Father is already
 down there...."

     And then there was pain, and darkness overwhelmed her.  She
 welcomed it.

   **********************************************************

                             End Chapter Five


Author's ramblings:
   I nearly called this chapter "Priest's Sin", but I decided that
 was a little too obscure.  I don't know how both masturbation scenes
 wound up in the same chapter (what am I saying--I'm not even sure
 how I wound up with any masturbation scenes...).  Anywho, thanks for
 staying with me this long--I'm pretty sure this is going to run about
 20 chapters, so your endurance is appreciated.  *mutters to self,* 
 "Sure, great idea, write a quick little spamfic blaming all Ranma's
 problems on the Illuminati.  Good for a laugh, right!"

   Sorry about that.  Just my two bits on the "How do you plan a fic"
 discussion....

  C&C may be sent anywhere you like, but I'll only see it if you
 put it on the list or reply directly.  Still, if you want to
 send it to Hunter S. Thompson, instead, feel free.  MST's are highly
 desirable.  Thanks for reading!  New work schedule means new posting
 schedule for future chapters:  1-2 a week, always on the weekend. 
 See you all in Chapter 6!

 
--Freemage  


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