Permanent
Part 17
The eyes of a demon.
Ranma Saotome walked into the Tendo Dojo and smiled as she saw Kuno
waiting for her patiently. "Hey, what's up Kuno..." her voice died away
as she saw the look on his face. "Something is wrong isn't it."
The boy nodded gravely and finished the tea in his hands. "Ranma
Saotome, my sister has come across a magic tome."
Ranma frowned at him and sat directly across from him. "This is a bad
thing? What kind of magic is she learning?"
"Black sorcery, my sister is not mentally stable either. I fear she has
finally fallen off the edge of her sanity," he glared at her while his
wings fluttered nervously behind his back. "Already she is quite
powerful."
"Where did she get the book?" asked Ranma with a serious look on her
face.
"Stolen most likely, she has a prisoner as well."
"A prisoner?" Ranma frowned and leaned forward. "Do you know who it is?
Is it a girl or a boy?"
"He is male and I believe he attends Furinkan, I believe his name is
Gosunkugi. Before you came I enlisted his services from time to time,"
the boy stood from his place and turned to face the back yard with a
scowl creeping onto his face.
"Gosunkugi? He's my student, I can assume that means the book was the
one I had lent him. That isn't good." Ranma frowned and leaned back to
allow Kasumi to place a cup of tea in front of her. "It's been two weeks
since I saw him last, his next lesson was scheduled for tomorrow. It's
good in a way because she hasn't had much time to master the spells."
"Don't be certain, my sister has many talents, one of them is the
ability to learn potions and spells quite quickly. She has much
experience with various poisons and potions." Kuno turned his head
slightly and spared Ranma a quick glance.
"Have you tried to stop her?" asked Ranma patiently as she sipped at her
drink.
"Yes, just before I came here. She is powerful Ranma Saotome, I fear
Sasuke may already be lost."
"Your shinobi?" asked the girl as she calmly sipped at her drink.
"Yes, he has served in our family for many years, he allowed me to
escape." Ranma froze for an instant. If Kuno could not escape on his own
despite his skills it was something she had to take very seriously.
"If she's using black magic it will be better if we go during the day,"
Ranma stood from her place at the table and turned. "We'll leave tomorrow
morning, Kuno you can stay with me and Ryoga tonight. I'm warning you
though, I'll save her if I can, but if not..." the pigtailed girl didn't
need to finish her sentence. Kuno did not move as he stared out at the
sunset.
"Are you sure we should wait?" asked Ryoga with a small frown.
"We don't have much of a choice, I need to talk with you Mr. P, come
on." The girl wandered up the stairs and Ryoga followed.
Akane was fuming; she wasn't sure why everyone was so worried about
Kodachi. The girl was a monster and she had known that for a long time,
Ranma wasn't used to dealing with her like she was. "I'm going with her
tomorrow no matter what!"
Kuno frowned and turned to face her. "You will not accompany us Akane
Tendo."
"Why not? Do you think I'm not good enough?" snapped the girl angrily.
"This isn't a question of your skills, it is simply that you are not
equipped to deal with this," replied the boy. He had yet to turn away
from the sunset and look at her, he knew his resolve would crumble if he
did.
"And you are?" she snapped.
"Myself and Ranma Saotome have been magically enhanced," replied the boy
simply.
Akane growled under her breath and turned to burn a hole in the TV set
with her eyes.
Ryoga sat across from Ranma with his arms folded over her chest. "Mr. P,
I want you to stay here and keep Akane from sneaking after us." She
rummaged through a stack of books slowly and methodically.
"Why? You need me with you; I'm still your familiar you know. If I'm not
there your powers aren't as strong."
"Well, we aren't certain our bond is still there are we? It could have
been severed when you returned to human form, or even by the power of the
saint pill." Ranma found the book she was looking for and flipped through
the pages slowly.
"It isn't a curse so I doubt it, I entered the contract of my own free
will," Hibiki snorted. "I figured I owed you that much after the whole
Shampoo episode."
"Regardless, it's important that Akane not be allowed to go with us, she
has a personal grudge against Kodachi. If she loses her head it will be
dangerous for all of us, besides I can't worry about protecting her." The
girl found the page she was looking for and pulled out a few long thin
white sheets of paper from a near by box, followed by a block of ink and
a brush.
"It's just some newbie sorceress, you can handle it easily," replied
Ryoga with a shrug.
"Yes, but she can't. Kodachi shouldn't pose too much of a problem no
matter how much she's learned. She's only got one book and a few weeks
experience at most, but you and Akane's presence could make it a
dangerous situation."
"I can understand that, but still how can we be certain she isn't being
used?" Ryoga frowned slightly and became restless.
"I thought of that, I'm making wards just in case. She'll be much more
dangerous, but also limited by it. I don't think it's anything Kuno and I
can't handle."
"Why are you bringing him anyway?" asked the boy with a small jealous
look on his face.
"It's his family," she replied with a shrug as she started to write on
the strips of paper carefully.
Ryoga frowned and looked at the page in disgust. "Here give me that,
your hand writing is terrible Saotome."
Sasuke staggered down the street with a large package in his hands, it
had cost him dearly to obtain the items his mistress had wanted. He
raided a nearby temple full of martial artist monks and had almost been
caught, several wounds were bleeding still and he was covered in bruises.
"Why on earth does she need a dragon's tooth?" he said between breaths as
he staggered along. "I suppose it's none of my business." He turned into
the mansion grounds and walked along the wall until he hit a small patch
of grass, frowning slightly he lifted a large stone that sat on the edge
of the grass and revealed a passageway. He felt much more secure once he
was in the shadows of the catacombs below the Kuno mansion.
A few moments later he stood patiently in front of his mistress and
kneeled before her. "I have brought the items you asked for Mistress."
"Very good Sasuke," said the girl as she grabbed them impatiently.
"Tomorrow we will begin, I have another job for you."
The ninja grimaced and bowed his head low. "Of course Mistress Kuno,
what do you wish of me?"
A ball of light formed in her hand and Sasuke looked up at her in fear,
he closed his eyes and waited for it to be over silently. The ball took
him dead in the chest sending him sprawling across the floor writhing in
agony as an intense burning enveloped his body, after a moment it was
over and he staggered back to his knees.
"I want you to watch the catacombs, make sure no one disturbs me
tomorrow. I have placed many spells to protect the passageways it's
unlikely anyone will be able to get through. However, be warned that my
brother may have enlisted the help of others, no one, not even him, is to
disturb me at any cost."
The ninja looked down at himself in shock; his wounds were completely
healed. He stood up and started to walk towards the exit.
"Sasuke, remember the penalty for failure."
He stopped for a moment and continued walking without looking back as he
made his way into the passageways.
Hikaru Gosunkugi frowned, if he had been counting the days right Ranma
would be visiting his home tomorrow. His parents would tell her that he
was missing and he could only hope that she would piece it together in
time. His presence had been almost completely ignored over the last few
days and he clenched his fists together. Sasuke had spared him an angry
glance as he always did when he was around. It was painfully obvious that
the ninja did not like him. He froze as he tightened his fists again;
there was something inside of his palm pressing against his hand. "A
key?"
He glanced over at Kodachi and frowned, he couldn't leave her alone, if
she summoned the demon as he suspected she was attempting, he might be
the only one with a chance of sending it back before it caused too much
damage. He fumbled with the lock and loosened his chains slightly; he
frowned and waited patiently for his chance to escape. If what she had
said was true he was probably safer here anyway.
Sasuke walked through the dark corridors and smiled to himself. His
mistress was quite insane, but very powerful now. She had no need of him
any longer and he knew it, he also knew that he could not just leave the
passageways. Floating around the underground corridors where strange
balls, they had eyes on the front of them and they patrolled diligently.
He wasn't sure what they were, but was fairly certain she was using them
to keep tabs on him while he wandered around, she would know instantly if
he left and he doubted if the things were defenseless. He would not get
very far if he decided to run, a few of the corridors led to various two
way mirrors and peep holes within the home that showed the things
populated the home as well.
Ranma lay on her futon staring at the ceiling as night fell on the dojo;
her father was snoring on one side of her with Ryoga's bed on the other
side. Kuno sat in the corner on his feet and roosted like a bird sleeping
comfortably. She heard a small grunt of pain and turned to see Ryoga on
his own futon peeling a large wrap around bandage off his leg. He was
covered in small scars from his knee down.
"Ryoga, what happened?" she asked in silent shock.
"Huh? You're still up?" asked the boy with a small chuckle.
"Of course I am, I'm surprised Kuno can sleep with what we have to do
tomorrow," she crawled over to his bed and inspected his leg carefully
creating a small light in her hand. "Why didn't you tell me about this
you stupid jerk?"
"It's just a little scratch," snorted the boy indignantly.
She touched his leg and frowned as he winced in pain. "It's about three
hundred little scratches Ryoga, and it's getting infected."
"Well, I was going to put something on it!" he retorted harshly. Kuno
stirred slightly and they lowered their voices. Ranma took the bottle of
ointment away from him and tossed it out the window through the crack
they left open.
"How the hell did you do this?" she asked as she prodded it carefully
causing him even more pain.
Ryoga grunted and tried to stand up, but Ranma shoved him down and
forced him to lie on the futon. "It's Mousse, he can't talk so when I do
something wrong he just scratches me or bites me."
Ranma felt a small tinge of anger and a soft glow formed in her hands.
"Damn it Ranma, it hurts more when you do that!"
"Only for a minute you big baby, and then you'll be all better, stop
complaining."
"If you two want a minute alone I could leave," said Kuno flatly from
his place in the corner.
Ranma looked at herself; she was leaning over Ryoga in a compromising
position holding his leg. The spell was finished and she sat up abruptly
with a huge blush forming on her face. "It's not like that!"
"Not like what?" asked Ryoga oblivious to the situation. "Since when are
you awake?"
"I don't sleep well the night before I go into battle against my own
sister," replied Kuno simply. He glanced over at the snoring form of the
panda and frowned.
"I thought as much, come on we have some planing to do," Ranma turned on
the light in the room and the group sat around a small table with a
drawing of the Kuno home on it. "It's likely she'll have set up traps,
unfortunately we aren't sure what kind of traps. They could be magical or
not, Kuno says she's good at both. Particularly involving poisons or
gas."
"That is correct, this is the entrance we'll have to use to get to her
laboratory. She may have others within the house, but I don't know of any
but this one." Kuno pointed to a large door on the drawing he had
supplied. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a more accurate map of her
maze."
"It wouldn't do us much good I'm afraid, the good thing is if she's
using black magic as you say, her powers will be weaker during the day.
Not too much, but enough to give us a clear advantage..." the three
warriors planned their assault for the rest of the evening.
Akane Tendo heard voices from the room and frowned as she lifted a small
traveling pack onto her shoulders, she was dressed in her martial arts
dogi and had a sweatband across her forehead. Slowly she crept out the
window of her room and walked along the roof of the home. "I'm sorry
Ranma, but I know you mean well, but I can take care of myself. I'm going
to fight Kodachi with you; it's my honor on the line. I have to defeat
her. I hope you understand," she jumped down from the roof of the home
and walked over to the gates. Various strips of paper lined the gate and
Akane frowned slightly. "Very clever Ranma," she looked over at the wall
and jumped over it into the night.
Ranma froze as she pointed at the plans. "Someone just left the house."
"You're right, we might...what?" Ryoga stopped his conversation and
stared at the girl in shock.
"Akane!" the pigtailed girl jumped up from her place and rushed out of
the room. "Akane!" she shoved the door open and flicked on the light
revealing an open window in an empty room. "Damn it!"
Nabiki turned the corner lazily and glared at her followed by a worried
looking Kasumi. "What's all the yelling about?" said the younger girl
grumpily.
"Oh my, where has Akane gone off too?" asked Kasumi.
"Come on! We're leaving now!" Ranma walked into her room and grabbed the
stack of wards Ryoga had made. The two boys were already waiting in the
hallway with angry looks on their faces.
"She's cute, but she's going to get us killed," said Ryoga with a small
smile on his lips.
"Shut up, Mr. P. you're just glad you get to come along. If we find her
before we hit the mansion you're bringing her back. I don't care if you
have to do it forcefully." Ryoga winced slightly at this and Kuno got an
angry look in his eyes. Ranma turned to face him and slapped him hard.
"Don't even think about going into an over protective moron mode Kuno,
she'll be in more danger if we don't do it."
"Once we hit the mansion though we have to stick with it whether she's
there or not, if it comes to that you're on guard duty pig boy." Ranma
took half of the wards and shoved them into his chest.
"What about the bird?" said Ryoga angrily.
"He's got a personal interest in this, don't push it." The girl shoved
past the Tendos, all of them were watching the scene in confusion.
"See here Ranma, what is the meaning of this?" asked Soun as he tried to
take control of the situation.
"Akane has gone off to fight a dangerous sorceress alone," replied the
girl simply as she turned to face him.
"My baby!? I'm going with you," he stopped cold as Ranma lifted her hand
and a strange mist formed in her palm.
"I'm sorry I can't allow that Mr. Tendo, I've got enough problems to
deal with," she said a few words softly and the mist shot forward into
the man's face.
"What did you do to him?" asked Nabiki in shock.
"Just a sleep spell, he'll wake up tomorrow feeling great. Now you two
take care of him while we go after Akane. If everything goes well, we'll
be back tonight. If not we won't see you till tomorrow probably." The red
head moved quickly down the stairs followed by the two boys.
"Oh, my," was all Kasumi could say as she held her father upright.
Kodachi smiled as she started to make large marks on her floor with a
strange looking piece of chalk. She hummed a merry sounding tune to
herself as she placed the finishing touches on the goat's beard within
the mystic circle. "How...cute," she said to herself as she drew in a
pair of menacing fangs to complete the image. The girl stepped back and
surveyed her work before turning towards Hikaru Gosunkugi. He was dressed
in a long brown robe and had a vacant look in his eyes. "Now my pet,
begin the incantation!"
Hikaru's lips became a cruel snarl as his mind resisted, but in the end
the words flowed through his mouth as he waved his hands in the air and
began to perform the rite. Kodachi smiled to herself as she watched the
boy. He would be a good servant, much more reliable than Sasuke,
especially since she had complete control of this one. "This magic truly
is an amazing thing." Her pleasant giggle slowly turned into full blown
insane laughter.
TBC...
Next time Ranma and Co. vs. Kodachi's death trap house. Will they make
it in time to stop her evil plan? Will they stop Akane before she gets
herself killed?
Find out next time...heh heh heh. I love doing that to you guys.