Okay, it's been awhile since I did ANYTHING with this idea. Finally
rediscovered it, so I blew off the dust and decided to repost it. My muse
has left me again, right when I was about to write the final version of The
Surrogate, so I decided to send out an old fic to get the juices flowing again.
Ranma 1/2 used without permission
C&C is, as always, welcome and appreciated
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Ranma 1/2
The Hunted
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//Oh, my head,\\ Nabiki thought as she awoke. Her skull pounded
relentlessly, her mouth dry as a desert as she tried to sit up. Despite her
best efforts, her limbs stubbornly refused to move.
A low hum permeated the air around her, the cold metal floor beneath her
thrumming steadliy. Her eyes still shut, Nabiki tried again to rise to her
feet. She softly cursed in frustration, the sound coming out as a muffled
grunt. A sense of alarm pierced her fogged mind, the feeling of something
very wrong causing her head to begin to rapidly clear.
//What the...?\\ She thought in shock as she opened her eyes. The room was
dimly lit by a bare bulb that hung from the shadowed ceiling, the pool of
light on the floor the only oasis of illumination in the dark room.
"Whrrmmph?" she tried to say, eyes widening at the sound. Nabiki's heart
began to triphammer as fear sank its talons into her. Wiggling her tongue,
Nabiki discovered that the dryness in her mouth was caused by a wadded up
piece of cloth wedged between her teeth. A wide strip of dull gray tape
covered her mouth and the cloth, creating a very effective gag.
Nabiki began to wriggle her whole body in an attempt to get free of her
bonds. The coarse ropes only irritated her skin as she struggled, getting
tighter all the while. After a few moments, Nabiki gave up, realizing that
she was very tightly bound.
//I'll get your for this, Ranma,\\ Nabiki thought as she lay on the cold
vibrating floor. This had to be retaliation for the prank she played on him
the week before. Rigging up the nozzles in the men's shower room at Furinkan
had been a spur of the moment thing. When Ranma and his classmates went in
after Gym Class for a hot shower, he ended up with a very cold one. Two
minutes later, Ranma had approached Nabiki, promising an unholy revenge for
that little stunt. Nabiki just sniggered uncontrollably while Akane looked
on in disbelief.
The fear began to subside as Nabiki played the scenario in her mind a few
times. If Ranma thought he could frighten Nabiki Tendo with a fake
kidnapping, then he had another thing coming.
She started when she heard a low moan drift from the shadows to the left.
Nabiki swivelled her head in the direction of the sound, eyes straining to
find the source.
//Ranma,\\ Nabiki thought in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and anger,
//now you've gone too far!\\ It was bad enough that he had left Nabiki bound
and gagged in a cold, dark room like this, but to do the same to Akane? She
hadn't even been in on the prank!
Akane's bound form began to wriggle about slowly as her brain began to
unconsciously test her body to make sure that everything was in order. After
a few seconds a confused, groggy moan emanated from her gagged mouth. When
she woke up and got free, Ranma would be pigtailed roadkill. And then there
were Ryoga and Kuno, and especially Soun. Ranma was dead meat.
Nabiki wriggled over to Akane, mmph-ing all the while in an attempt to wake
her sister. She lay on her side, her back facing Nabiki. Coarse ropes were
wound around Akane's arms from wrist to elbow, thoroughly binding them
together. Even more ropes covered her body in a complex pattern designed to
keep her totally immobile. From what Nabiki could see, Akane had been
deprived of all leverage. There was no way she could free herself. However,
if she could wake Akane up, then the two could untie eachother and the
carnage could commence.
Without warning, a bright light poured into the room, stabbing at Nabiki's
eyes. The hum grew into a low roar that filled her ears as her eyes began to
slowly adjust to the sudden influx of illumination.
"Finally awake, eh?" a voice asked over the sound. Nabiki's blood ran cold
as her mind processed the voice, and came up with a face to match it.
//That's not Ranma!\\ her brain screamed as she slowly began to realize
that this was no attempt at revenge on Ranma's part.
"I'm terribly sorry," the voice went on, a note of sadistic glee in the
tone, "but I'm afraid we can't have this. After all, you look SO good like
that, and we can't allow you two to undo our hard work." Nabiki's mind
whirled about uncontrollably as she tried to ascertain the trouble she and
Akane were in. Memories of the owner of the voice came back in a rush,
telling her that she'd be sorry for...
Nabiki's train of thought was derailed by the prick of a needle prick of a
needle in her arm. As the needle was removed a heavy feeling washed over Nabiki.
"All trussed up with no place to go," he remarked with a chuckle as he
pulled out another hypodermic and stepped over to Akane. Nabiki tried to
protest, but was suddenly too tired to keep her eyes open...
===============================================
The boat approached the small island stranded in the midst of the vast
ocean. A thick, white mist shrouded the small oasis of land in the endless
expanse of blue. Small bits of lush green poked out from under the blanket
of haze, the peak of a mountain rising above it all.
The yacht slowed as it neared the island, the eighty foot luxury boat
leaving the water a frothy mess in its wake. From out of the mist came a
small black speedboat, the engine's roar settling down to a low rumble as it
approached the yacht. The speedboat turned about as it pulled alongside,
dwarfed by several orders of magnitude by the enormous yacht.
Two men, clad bright orange clothing, craned their necks upward as the
activity on the deck increased. Two thin metal arms were swung out over the
water, a large wire basket suspended from them by metal cables. A man in a
grey sportcoat stepped into the basket, adjusting his frame before waving
and shouting something unintelligible to the crew on deck. Two others were
shoved none too gently into the basket with the man, falling limply onto the
wire frame bottom.
The sound of machinery coming to life came faintly to the ears of the men
waiting in the speedboat below. With a slight lurch, the wire basket began
to gradually lower itself to the waiting vessel. It swayed ever so slightly
in the gentle breeze, the basket getting larger and larger as it got near.
Within moments, the basket was next to the waiting speedboat. The man in
the gray sportcoat, a young Asian man with close-cropped black hair and a
menacing glint in his eyes, stepped out of the basket and took a seat near
the steering wheel. The men in orange immediately set to work once he had
exited the basket, extracting the still bound and unconscious Japanese girls
who remained.
Both were still unconscious, the sedatives injected in their arms powerful
enough to keep them out for several hours. The tape-and-cloth gags had been
removed, replaced with black plastic balls placed behind their teeth and
black straps that ran through the ball and wrapped around their heads.
The two men set to re-tightening the ropes, which had been loosened to
prevent any damage from lack of circulation. As they worked at securing
their prisoners once more, the basket in which they had been lowered began
to rise up into the air, the metal cables retracting back into the winching
mechanism on the yacht's deck. Once done, they placed the two girls face
down on the deck of the boat, giving the signal for the young man at the
helm to take off. The speedboat's engine roared once again as the sleek
black machine departed for the shores behind the diminishing fog, the yacht
turning around slowly, bound for a different destination.
The dock appeared from out of the thinning mist, a concrete inlet built
into the coast of the island. The port was empty, save for three men clad in
black outfits and helmets who stood near the spot where the now slow-moving
boat approached to moor. Each man clutched a small MP-10 in a ready position
across his chest, the visors of their black helmets glinting in what
sunlight was able to get through.
The engine of the speedboat suddenly died, the silence almost deafening as
the young man steered the boat to the spot where he intended to dock. One of
the orange-clad crew tossed a thick rope to one of the waiting armed guards,
who caught the cord in one hand while holding his firearm in the other. With
expert precision, he knelt before a small protrusion in the concrete surface
and tied off the now-halted boat.
The man stepped out onto the dock, the lip of the concrete roughly level to
the top of the speedboat's walls. He turned about as the other two guards
manhandled the two unconscious captives onto the hard surface. Holstering
their weapons, the two guards lugged the girls over their shoulders,
departing to follow the young man to a waiting black Hummer.
The young man entered first, with the two guards shoving the tied girls
into the back. One guard climbed into the four-wheeled beast, bringing the
engine to a rumbling life. With a short squeal, the Hummer roared down the
packed-earth trail winding through the dense wall of green forest.
================================================
"Look at them, Ho." Sung Pak stood in the brightly-lit study, a crystal
goblet of of Napolean Congac held in his left hand. The study itself was a
large room with a domed ceiling that rested high above their heads. The
walls of the circular room were lined with bookshelves made of dark mahogany
wood, filled with volumes upon volumes of literature and texts. In places
above the shelves were various works of art, some worth literally hundreds
of thousands. Above the portraits and marble busts was a dias that ran the
course of the room, easily wide enough for three people standing side by
side. Even more books lined the walls on the dias, with other works of art
above them.
An elaborate Oriental rug rested on the dark hardwood floor two plush
chairs resting atop it. In the chairs sat Akane and Nabiki, who were slowly
returning to wakefulness. Many of the ropes had been removed, but they were
still bound to the chairs. The gags had also been removed, being that there
was really no more need for them.
"They would make wonderful additions to our stable," Ho Pak said to his father.
"Perhaps," Sung conceeded, "but that's not why we brought them here."
"Yes, Father," Ho said with a hint of disappointment.
"If all goes well, however, it is distinctly possible," Sung said.
"Do you really think that they would survive?" Ho asked.
"Most likey not the older Jap," Sung said, spitting out the last word as if
it left a bad taste in his mouth. Like most Koreans, he abhored the
Japanese, a trait that he had passed on to his eldest son. "The younger one
does have potential, though. I think you'd enjoy breaking her spirit.
Assuming she lives, of course."
Nabiki awoke in the most comfortable chair she had ever sat in. The soft
cushioning seemed to mold itself to her body, almost as if it were a cloud
made especially for her.
Nabiki's head throbbed dully in time with her heartbeat, her muscles
feeling weak and rubbery. The air was cool, subtle smells approaching her
nostrils with their tantalizing odors.
Looking to the left, she saw her little sister in a chair beside her. Akane
was tied just as Nabiki was, and was also waking up.
"Welcome to our humble abode," came a voice from across the room. Nabiki
turned her head to behold the speaker. Two men stood across from them,
staring at the two with looks of anticipation tinged with disgust. One man,
clearly the older, wore a purple velvet robe with gold trim on the cuffs and
split in the center. His face was tanned, faint lines around his almost
black, almond shaped eyes. The other was a much younger man, dark eyes
sparkling with a manic light.
"What's the meaning of this, Ho?" Nabiki shouted in a hoarse voice, the act
torture on her parched throat.
"Don't say you weren't warned, you Japanese bitch," Ho Pak snarled, his
eyes boring into her. "I told you that nobody messes with me."
"Wha... what's going on?" Akane said in a groggy tone.
"You'll soon find out, girl," the older man said.
"Ho!" Nabiki shouted in a pleading voice, "This is between you and me! Let
Akane go!"
"Don't get me wrong, slut," Ho said with a dark chuckle, "I didn't even
want your kid sister. She was just a welcome bonus."
"Nabiki?" Akane asked, "What are you talking about? Why are we tied up?!"
Akane began to struggle in vain against her bonds, the cords of white nylon
holding her fast.
"Shut up, girl!" the elder man snarled, glaring at Akane.
"Let us go!" Akane screamed, anger clearing the fog in her mind. Quick as a
cat, the older one stepped over to the struggling Akane and struck her a
viscious open-handed blow across the face.
"STOP IT!" Nabiki screamed as he struck Akane repeatedly. Finally, he
relented, re-taking his place alongside Ho. Tears of rage and frustration
stung her eyes as she looked over at Akane. The side of her face almost
seemed to glow red, tears runing down her cheeks and a small trickle of
blood running down her chin from the corner of her mouth. She saw Akane
glare daggers at the man, hate evident in her deep brown eyes.
Sung Pak glared at the two Japanese girls before him. The defiant glare on
the younger one, the one Ho called Akane, showed that the girl definitely
had spirit. She was probably a real spitfire. Taking a sip of his expensive
congac, he began filling his two new acquisitions in on what they were about
to do.
"I am Sung Pak," he said, the alcohol burning only slighty, "I believe you
already know my eldest son, Ho Pak."
"I can't say it's a pleasure," Nabiki said dryly.
"Perhaps not," Sung replied. "In any event you, Nabiki Tendo have been
selected to participate in our next game."
"Game?" the two said as one.
"Well, hunt would be a better term," Ho Pak said. The faces of Nabiki and
Akane took on puzzled expressions as he said it, almost enciting a chuckle
from him. "You see, Father and I are rather avid hunters. Lions in the
Serengeti, moose in Canada, Grizzly in the American Rockies, and so on."
"If it's an animal, we have hunted it," Sung Pak said with no small amount
of pride.
"However, no matter how cunning the prey is, hunting mere animals does
become boring after a while," Ho said.
"How do we figure into this?" Akane snarled.
"Father and I have found that the most challenging prey is prey that can
think like the hunter."
"What are you getting at?" Nabiki asked, her anxiety growing by the second.
"We prefer to hunt the species Homo Sapien," Ho said. The faces of Nabiki
and Akane suddenly paled as the sentence sank in.
"You..." Akane said breathlessly.
"Hunt...people?" Nabiki finished.
"My son did not stutter," Sung said as he gazed at them. "You, Nabiki, were
originally selected to be our quarry. However, by fortunate accident, we
also acquired your younger sister. Akane, isn't it?"
"You see, your recent visit to the infirmary was no accident," Ho said with
a smirk. "It was all deliberate. From there, it was child's play to sedate
you and bring you along. You were quite cooperative." Nabiki felt the tears
fall down her cheeks as she realized just what kind of danger she had placed
Akane in. She had no idea that Ho would go this far. She knew that the
Korean man had a few screws loose, but she had no clue he was this derranged.
"You will each be placed in two different random spots on this island,"
Sung said. "Each of you will be given a map to follow to the northern tip of
the island, where a boat will be waiting.
"Now, it would take the most fit hikers about seventy-two hours to make
this trek. Therefore, that is your time limit. If either of you make it to
the waiting boat, or last longer than seventy-two hours, you will be free to
go."
"And if we refuse?" Akane asked, her defiance returning.
"Then you both die," Sung said as he reached into his robe. The older
Korean man withdrew a .50 caliber Desert Eagle Magnum, leveling the large
firearm at Akane's head. "Right now."
Nabiki and Akane looked at each other, and back at the two Korean men.
Akane had known fear in her life, but never like this. She and Nabiki were
all alone, apparently on an island somewhere, trapped with two madmen who
wanted to hunt them for sport. She found herself desperately wanting Ranma
at her side, to rescue her as he always did. Part of her believed fervently
that he would come, that he would pull off one of his amazing victories and
make it all okay.
Another, more realistic part of Akane Tendo, however, knew that Ranma
probably wouldn't come, that he would not be able to find her. She and
Nabiki were on their own, and it was up to her to see them safely through
this storm.
"I'll take your silence as assent," Sung said smugly. "Once set out, you
will have a three hour head start before we come looking for you. You will
each be given one knife as a tool and weapon." With that, Ho and Sung
produced thick white cloths from their clothing. They quickly approached the
bound girls, placing the cloths over their faces before they could resist.
Within seconds, Nabiki and Akane were once more sent into the abyss of
unconsciousness.
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