Prisoner of the Iron Mask

Disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi. Her intellectual property is
used without permission, but also without the intent of making money.

Author's notes:

In this fourth story chunk containing the original episodes 15-20 (of 30 that
have been posted on the Addventure) Kodachi joins the party.

Apology:

Sorry for the accidental double post of the previous part.

                             * **  ***  ** *

              Part 15: Kodachi's Fairytale Adventure

Kodachi was not sure if she was hoping that Sasuke's information would
prove genuine or not. On the one hand it took him long enough to get this
lead from his network of fellow professionals - whatever that meant. Akane
had been missing for days and the excitement might well be over if Kodachi
did not find her soon. On the other hand was the location that Sasuke's
tip had led her. An office-building in Nerima.

What kind of adventures were there to be had in such a location? There was
little hope of finding anything interesting inside. Kodachi had hoped for
some secret temple hidden in the jungle or something similar. She had not
expected to end up within a few hours walking distance of her home. Here
was little chance of encountering savages, highpriests or deadly traps
that would send giant boulder tumbling after you. The closest this place
would get to having a snake-pit was a meeting room full of lawyers.

With low spirits Kodachi crossed the lobby and entered the elevator. If
there was anything interesting here it would be at the top. Maybe a bald
megalomanic CEO had made this building his command center in his bid to
take over the world?

The elevator brought her only to the fourth floor before opening its
doors, but the doors opened to a dream come true.

It was like stepping out into a fairy tale book. A big European castle had
been build inside the empty shell of the office building. It was like
everything Kodachi could ever have hoped for. There were turrets to keep
princesses incarcerated if they proved uncooperative or had been
prophesied to bring doom at their birth.

High walls with arrow slits and battlements on top. She could almost see
the defenders pouring hot oil on the invaders trying to climb those walls
and shooting burning arrows at their siege engines. They even had a moat
surrounding the castle.

Giddily Kodachi strolled to the open drawbridge to take a closer look.
>From the wooden structure she peered into the murky depths of the water
surrounding the castle. There was little to see.

She took out the bento she had brought along and selected a small piece
of meat. She tied it to the end of her ever present ribbon and cautiously
lowered it into the water.

Nothing happened. No hissing or blubbering, no hectic activity as if the
water around her bait suddenly had started boiling with hundred little
bites, no green logs suddenly blinking sleepily and taking course towards
her under their own power, no fins coming for the meat with a cheerful
smile, nothing at all.

Disappointed she reeled her improvised fishing gear back in. Whoever lived
here apparently was not hiding any surprises in the moat. Some people just
were not good with pets.

But he kept some very disciplined servants. Kodachi had, while trying to
keep out of view, seen guards standing to attention all over the place.
She had heard of that type of guards. They were not allowed to move at all
and usually were made fun of by tourists. Kodachi did not see the security
value of soldiers stiff from standing to attention for hours, but she
could easily see how it would be fun to have them stand motionless in full
armor in the blazing sun until they keeled over unconscious.

Clearly the lord of this castle valued loyalty and the readiness to follow
orders above intelligence and instinct of self-preservation in his
servants. Kodachi approved.

Without being seen she managed to climb and swing herself to an alcove in
one of the towers that overlooked the inner courtyard. Squatting in the
shadows like an exotic gargoyle she observed what was happening down
below.

Two figures could be seen slowly circling each other on the cobblestones.
One of them matched the description of Akane's masked abductor. The armor,
cape and the iron mask made him look very much like the sort of
swashbuckling hero or villain Kodachi had always hoped to meet. The only
thing missing to complete the image straight from Dumas or Errol Flynn was
a weapon.

Not that he would need a bow, foil or musket against the adversary he was
currently facing. His opponent was obviously inferior in every conceivable
way. The body language of the man in the iron mask was saying this
clearly.

The opponent was garbed similarly fantastic. Unmistakably female she wore
a strange outfit that included a veil, a collar and shackles on wrists and
ankles. As Symbols of enslavement and submission they appeared to clash
with the frilly ribbons running down her arms and legs. Those adornments
would have looked more at home on the sort of silly magical girls that her
brother liked to watch on TV. Kodachi was not a fan of such plebeian
entertainment.

The outfit together with her proudly martial and aggressive bearing made
the female fighter look like some sort of harem warrior or a fighting
slave of a Pythagorean world.

Kodachi was deeply intrigued.

She could hear the man in the iron mask speaking now: "I declared that I
would consider allowing you to partake of my wisdom and experience in the
art of fighting when you were able to understand my lessons, but you are
not yet ready to benefit from any lesson I might deign to give you, my
future bride."

The Iron Mask, as Kodachi had nicknamed him in her mind, was a man after
Kodachi's taste; strong and forceful. So self assured, his confidence in
his own superiority was shining through in every move he made and every
word he spoke. None of the petty self-doubts and insecurities that plagued
lesser man seemed to affect him.

Unfortunately it seemed from what he had said, that he was already spoken
for. The grunt from the veiled fighter could mean that she did not share
his opinions about their coming nuptials, but Kodachi suspected that she
was merely playing hard to get.

The fact that somehow the skirt and top of the veiled girl seemed to have
become shorter as he said this only confirmed Kodachi's theory. She just
did not understand just how the girl managed to modify her clothing to
show of more of her body.

The Iron Mask continued addressing the girl: "You are not yet ready
because even with all the help you have been given you have not yet
learned to control your temper. As long as you allow your anger to control
you during your fights you will never amount to anything, Akane."

Kodachi did a double take. The female fighter was Akane? Now that she
looked for it, it was easy to see. It had not been the veil that concealed
her identity, but the sheer inconceivability of picturing the boring and
prudish Tendou girl in such an outfit.

The girl confirmed the identification by making a move typical of her.
With a snarl she lunged at her opponent to force him to spar with her.
The masked man neatly dodged.

The way Akane charged through empty air and her opponent's cape while he
sidestepped and slapped her passing behind made Kodachi think of
bullfighting.

The Iron Mask appeared to agree as he gave a loud "Ole!" when Akane
blinded by his cape almost ran into a wall.

The fight, if such a one-sided confrontation could be called that, only
lasted for a few more rounds. Kodachi was impressed that Akane managed to
keep relative cool for so long, but when the Iron Mask started to laugh as
she stumbled Akane lost it. Having given up all attempts to stay calm she
made a last desperate charge.

The charge transformed into a waddle and finally stopped in a kneeling
position.

Somehow Akane had become bound in her own ribbons. Her clothes had shrunk
to reveal her nude body and her veil had turned into a gag. She was
reduced to angrily glaring at him in humiliation while her opponent
laughed.

Kodachi was pleased to notice that he also possessed a delightful sense of
humor compatible to her own -- something that every girl looked for in a
potential partner. She did not know how he had done this to Akane. Unlike
her delusional brother Kodachi knew that such things as magic sadly did
not exist in real life, no matter how much she wished them to. But perhaps
if there were hidden castles in the middle of Tokyo there might also be a
"foul sorcerer" right here. She had no prejudices like her sibling and
certainly did not object to anyone who would bring a bit of magic into her
life.

Kodachi watched on as the masked man walked away leaving a bound Akane
behind.

Akane, this Kodachi knew, was truly in love with Ranma Saotome. Somebody
would have to be blind with denial and delusion not to see this. That
meant two things for Kodachi: 1 her pursuit of Ranma was unlikely to ever
succeed and 2 the masked man's vowing of Akane was equally doomed. Ranma
was taken and the Iron Mask wasn't. The poor deer would need somebody who
would dry his tears in the near future and it might just be her.

While Kodachi was musing on her future a new person had entered the
courtyard. She too was wearing a veil, but from her meek demeanor and her
maid-like outfit Kodachi quickly concluded that she was merely a servant.
The girl was pulling a small handcart after her towards the still bound
Akane.

"Miss Akane, there you are," the servant exclaimed, "the Prince told me
that he left you here."

Kodachi's opinion of the Iron Mask went up another notch upon learning
that he was genuine prince.

"You really should control your temper better around Prince Wildpferd or
he will never start to teach you, miss Akane," the maid chided her.

With a grunt that spoke volumes on the maids physical weakness she hefted
Akane on the low four-wheeled cart.

"But don't worry, Little Ashes, will get you back to your quarters in no
time." The maid announced as she carted Akane off into the interior of the
castle.

But Kodachi did not care. Her new love had a name: "Wildpferd", a name
that held promises of untamed strength and struck a familiar cord deep in
Kodachi's soul.

Kodachi would have to proceed careful in winning his heart.

                             * **  ***  ** *

                Part 16: Discoveries and Headaches


Kodachi decided to explore the castle before proceeding. Akane Tendou was
in no apparent immediate danger and it would be prudent to gather more
information before deciding on a plan of action.

As she cautiously entered on of the doorways leading out of the courtyard,
Kodachi mused how glad she was that she had decided to come to rescue
Akane. Not that Kodachi thought that it would be a good idea to rescue her
at this point, neither Ranma nor any of his other suitors and their
hangers-on had appeared yet, so it would be a waste of a good adventure
to do it all alone. But she could learn the lay of the castle and gather
some intelligence for later. She would find the routes where all the traps
and guards were so that she could steer the group accordingly later. It
would really not do to miss a good team-building exercise just because
they accidentally charged down the corridor without the falling
floor-tiles and moving walls.

Kodachi also wondered what she would do after Akane had been freed. The
prince did seem like a very interesting fellow and after the rescue he
would be single again. He had a fantastic castle and a flair that appealed
Kodachi's sense of romance. He also had a peculiar sense of humor and
somehow managed to turn the boring Tendou girl into that exotic person she
had seen earlier. Definitely somebody who might be boyfriend material. She
wondered if she should stay behind and get captured during the rescue.

A heroic sacrifice along the lines of "go on without me, I will hold them
off!" sounded dramatic and exiting and had the added bonus of the chance
that somebody might mount a rescue for her later on.

On the other hand it might not be the ideal way to win the prince's heart.
He lived close by and she could just as well visit the castle regularly to
help him get over his loss.

But before she committed herself she had to find out more about the kind
of person he was. Since her exploration of the mostly empty castle was
getting her nowhere she decided to interrogate one of the guards.

Leaning out of the window she could see one of the uniformed men standing
on the walkway above her. He had his back to her and was not moving at
all. She would use her ribbon like a whip and wrap him up from behind. A
fully grown man struggling against his sudden binding would easily serve
as an anchor for the slim gymnast to swing herself up to his level.

Except that he did not. Instead of giving any resistance to being bound he
let himself be dragged towards the railing toppled down over it towards a
shocked and unprepared Kodachi.

                             * **  ***  ** *

Meanwhile Ranma in her disguise of Ashes the maid had just reached Akane's
cell with her cargo. It had taken some time to get the handcart with Akane
on it down to the dungeons, but luckily enough it had fit very neatly into
the dumbwaiter so that she did not have to brave the stairs.

The tomboy did not show any signs of regaining her mobility any time soon.
If anything being carted off like a piece of luggage had made her even
more angry then before.

Just as Ranma was about to unload her fiancee she heard a distant female
shriek followed by a pair of dull thumps. Leaving Akane on the handcart
in her cell Ranma sprinted towards the origin of the noise.

What she found gave her pause. Kodachi Kunou was lying unconscious in the
courtyard with one of the mannequin-guards on top of her.

They had been found! Ranma should have known that her time alone with
Akane could not last. Sooner or later the others would find them and
destroy everything.

After checking that Kodachi was all right and clearing away the
dummy-guard. Ranma quickly searched the castle for further intruders and
then in a fit of inspiration phoned the Neko-Hanten and Uc-chan's. Both
times she hung up without saying anything after hearing the girl's voice.

It looked like she had been lucky and Kodachi was the only one who had
come. If she could somehow send her home and keep her from spilling her
secret everything would be fine.

The amazon hair washing memory erasing technique had worked fine on Akane.
If Ranma could make Kodachi forget the location of the castle and send her
home then everything would work out fine.

Ranma quickly carried Kodachi to the shower's in the gym. Most sources of
warm water in the castle had been disabled for safety reasons, and if she
did not want to wash Kodachi's hair in the kitchen the gym showers in
Akane's locker room were the only place left.

Careful not to accidentally change while she still was in Ashes costume
Ranma went to work on Kodachi's hair. What she was doing now was somewhat
harder then the little blind spot she had given Akane's memory. She was in
the process of obscuring the location of the castle from Kodachi's mind
when she heard Akane enter the locker room.

Ranma had forgotten to lock Akane in her cell and her bindings had worn
off after she had calmed down!

"Hello?" Akane called out, "Anybody here? Mistress? I am sorry if I am
late for my training. Ashes didn't fetch me as usual and so I decided to
come on my own...."

Before Ranma had time to do or think of anything Akane had entered the
shower quizzically looking for the source of the noise she had just heard.

"Ashes? Kodachi!" Akane recognized, "What is Kodachi doing here?"

Akane rushed towards her and bend over the prone girl. When she saw that
was not conscious and had a bump on her head she grabbed her from Ranma's
hold and began shaking her in a way that was probably not good for
somebody with a head injury.

"Kodachi are you okay? Say something!" Akane demanded.

But her rough treatment was showing results as Kodachi slowly came to.

"Whuh?" she muttered groggily.

"Oh, I am glad that you are okay. It is so nice to finally see another
familiar face" Akane exclaimed happily.

Akane must have been more lonely than Ranma had thought, if she was that
happy about meeting even Kodachi.

Kodachi meanwhile was trying to get her bearing: "Akane Tendo? What
happened and where are we?"

"One of the guards found her and knocked her out," Ranma put in
truthfully.

"So that was why you ran off and did not fetch me for my training you were
busy with helping Kodachi," Akane concluded.

This one time Akane's habit of jumping to conclusions and ignoring
anything that would disprove her ideas might work out in Ranma's favor.
Akane might simply accept that washing someone's hair in the gym shower
was a normal way of treating a bump to the head.

Kodachi was still trying to keep up: "I came here because I had heard of
Akane's kidnapping. I remember this guard and I wanted to interrogate him,
but he reacted unexpectedly...."

"You came here to rescue me?" Akane asked surprised.

"Of course not!" Kodachi quickly covered herself, "I came to convince my
Ranma to leave you here and come with me instead."

"Well Ranma won't come for me this time, if he knows what is good for him.
I will show everybody and beat the prince myself."

"No Ranma?" Kodachi was distraught.

"No Ranma! But I don't need him I will enter that stupid bridal
tournament and beat the prince myself." Akane enthused.

"A bridal tournament?" Kodachi perked up.

"Yes, a tournament Prince Wildpferd holds to select strong women who he
will marry." Akane explained, "I guess if he is collecting strong and
independent fighting girls, he will make you enter too."

No he will not, Ranma wanted to say. The only girl 'Prince Wildpferd'
wanted was Akane. Kodachi was free to go home.

"Are you sure you don't just want me to enter this tournament to save
yourself from having to marry the prince?" Kodachi was sceptic.

"I would never do something like that." Akane defended herself, "besides
the Prince is looking to collect an entire harem, so just because you are
selected also would not mean I am free to go."

The harem thing had just been a throwaway comment Ranma had made to needle
Akane who always accused Ranma of having one. Ranma had not expected at
that time that Akane would remember it.

"A harem? Interesting." Kodachi considered the idea, "I guess that is also
the reason for your strange clothing."

"It is part of my training" Akane explained.

Ranma thought that Kodachi had meant the veil.

"And I take it you exposing yourself like I have seen earlier is too part
of your training to become a harem girl." Kodachi wondered.

Ranma had felt like they were being watched earlier, but had dismissed it.
Akane blushed and started to defend herself: "I am not training to become
a member of his harem. I am training to defeat him. It was part of my
training to control my temper...."

"Well if you insist on going though with this then you will need a
chaperone. As your friend I have no choice, but to stay here with you and
keep an eye on you for your own good. It could hurt you reputation if it
were known that you lived here all alone with a man." Kodachi warned.

Ranma was surprised to realize that she was feeling angry on behalf of
Ashes and the other non-existent servants and guards in the castle for
being dismissed like that. 

Kodachi turned to address Ranma who was still in her Ashes costume: "I
will be staying until the tournament. I expect a room for me to be readied
close to Akane Tendo's quarters."

Ranma could only nod dumbly struck speechless by the way the situation
had suddenly gotten all out of control."

                             * **  ***  ** *

              Part 17: Good Morning Kodachi


Ranma hoped that today would be a better day than yesterday. It had
started out great with Akane managing to keep her temper for an
astonishing long time in the sparing match with the prince, but then
Kodachi had made an appearance and before Ranma could send the crazy
gymnast away she had been seen by Akane.

Somehow Akane had convinced herself that Kodachi was now a fellow
prisoner. She seemed genuinely happy to have a familiar face around her
even if it meant that another girl had lost her liberty and faced the
prospect of getting married to a total pervert.

Kodachi had made it seem like staying a prisoner had been her idea and
like she had any choice in that matter. She considered herself a guest who
would keep Akane company.

Ranma considered Kodachi a nuisance and was going to encourage her to try
to escape.

One of the things Ranma had done was giving her the worst cell in Akane's
corner of the dungeon. Small and damp with only a hard cot for furniture
and lots of chains and shackles bolted to the walls for decoration.

Kodachi had accepted it without protest. Finally Ranma had been forced to
chain her to the wall, but 'accidentally' drop the key for her chain
within her reach. She also had not locked the cell door.

As Ranma, in her disguise as Ashes, brought Kodachi her breakfast
consisting of bread and water she really hoped that the gymnast had taken
the chance to escaped.

What Ranma saw upon entering the cell was quite unexpected. Not only was
Kodachi still there, but she was chained upside down on the wall. When
Ranma had left her only her wrist had been connected to the wall with a
long chain.

While Ranma was standing there staring at the display. Kodachi quickly
worked to undo her shackles. She must have chained herself up and kept
the key in her hand for reasons Ranma could not fathom.

After the last lock was opened Kodachi landed in a handstand and
gracefully righted herself with a flip towards Ranma.

"Finally!" she exclaimed as she took her meal out of Ranma's hands.

"I have been expecting breakfast since sunrise," she told Ranma pointing
at the tiny window through which only little daylight filtered to
illuminate the cell.

"The room service here really leaves a lot to be desired. I hope for you
that this is at least low-carb and spring water," she added gesturing at
her meal.

Ranma was still too confused to give a meaningful answer. Kodachi had
chained herself up in her cell out of boredom and now she accepted having
to eat bread and water as natural, but somehow still managed to find fault
with the quality of her meal.

Kodachi finished her breakfast before Ranma could finish digesting this
strange information. She handed Ranma back the empty glass and plate and
imperiously told the maid that she was dismissed.

Ranma fled the cell and threw the door closed behind her making sure not
to lock it. At this point Ranma did not care if Kodachi told the whole
world about Ranma's hideout if only she would go away.

And if she did stay Ranma would have to find a way to minimize contact
with her. Making Kodachi uncomfortable enough to get her to run away was
obviously not going to be as easy as Ranma had thought on account of
insane unpredictability.

                             * **  ***  ** *

                  Part 18: The Mistresses Apprentice


Ranma had decided to start the day with a training session by Mistress
Severa. Thanks to Kodachi's arrival they had not done any training last
evening. Ranma rationalized that changing around Akane's routine would
keep her from falling into a rote and teach her to be more flexible,
but the real reason was that Ranma was looking forward to working off
some of the Kodachi-caused frustrations on Akane.

As Ranma still in her Ashes disguise led Akane down the dungeon corridor
she could hear a door open behind them. She tried to get Akane to hurry
up, but Kodachi had already seen them and rapidly caught up with them
and invited herself along. So much for getting rid of frustrations.

Once they arrived at the gym Ranma left the girls in locker room and
quickly made for her own changing room. Getting ready for gym took
a bit longer for Ranma than for Akane who just had to get naked. The
skintight leather of Mistress Severa's costume was hard to get in and
out of, but at least Ranma's changing room had a nice view.

Through a two-way mirror Ranma could normally watch Akane's stretching
and warm up exercises while she struggled with her costume. It
usually helped her get in the right mood for playing the naughty and
forward Severa, but usually Akane was alone in the gym bending and
stretching in the nude.

A voice could be heard complaining in the distance: "...I am aware
of the etymological roots of the word gymnasium, but I see no reason..."

It sounded like Akane was trying to explain her training outfit to
Kodachi.

The voices got to quiet to understand for a while until the two girls
entered the gym.

"... just try it, it's just us girls here and I promise you, you will
feel really free and unrestricted," Akane was saying in a tone that
indicated that she had just won an argument.

"I feel naked," Kodachi simply countered.

And as Ranma looked up she could see that Kodachi was feeling naked
because she in fact was.

Ranma did not want Kodachi to be naked if she had to attend the
training at all. A naked Kodachi would just distract Ranma from his
task of training a naked Akane. Ranma tried not to look at just how
distracting Kodachi could be as the girls began warming up.

While Ranma concentrated on getting into her leathers, Kodachi naturally
gravitated to the area of the gym that was set up to accommodate
gymnastics and ballet. She did a few stretches on mat that showed of
her flexibility, before she came to stand next to the mirror.

The way she speculatively compared the section of the mirror that Ranma
was hiding behind with the rest made Ranma fear that she had been
discovered, but after a moment Kodachi continued as if nothing had
happened.

She stretched for a bit posing in front of the mirror, before she put
one slim foot on the ballet railing running along the mirror.

Ranma had to stifle a gasp as she saw the view that Kodachi's
actions offered her. She could not help but notice that Kodachi
was really flexible and that her pubic hair, too was shaved
completely.

Ranma watched fascinated besides herself as Kodachi did various
stretches with the help of the rail. When Kodachi turned sideways
and brought one leg up in what almost was an 180� standing split
Ranma almost forgot to breath in shock of the new perspectives
opening up before her.

                             * **  ***  ** *

"Just us girls," Akane had said. The poor naive girl. Kodachi had
quickly deduced the real reason why Akane had been indoctrinated to
exercise naked.

The section of the mirror wall that Kodachi was standing in front of
was sure to be a two-way mirror. And Kodachi would bet that the person
sitting in the darkened room behind the mirror was none other than the
prince.

Kodachi was playing along for now and was using the opportunity to show
of what she had to offer without appearing to be a tramp. If she wanted
to supplant Akane in the prince's affections, Kodachi would have to make
a good impression.

Her posing was interrupted as Akane's trainer entered through a side
door. Akane had told her about her 'mistress', but Kodachi had assumed
that this was just the usual half-joking attitude that any student had
towards a demanding instructor.

Seeing the woman now Kodachi realized that it had been a bit more than
that. Severa was clad from head to toe in skintight black leather. The
only area not covered by her suit was her face and that was hidden
mostly by a pair of dark glasses and a black veil. She looked imposing
and intimidating. Standing in the middle of the room she exuded an
aura of danger and sexuality. 

Kodachi stared in fascination. The items displayed in the utility-belt
slung around Severa's hips indicated that descriptions like cruel,
sadistic and perverted had perhaps not been exaggerations on Akane's
part.

"I see you have brought a friend, little one," Severa spoke, "are you
afraid of being alone with me?"

Before Akane had a chance to answer her Severa directed her attention to
Kodachi. And as she felt more than saw Severa's eyes roaming over her
body and sizing her up Kodachi became acutely aware of her nakedness.
She had to fight the urge to cover herself with her hands and tried to
return the stare.

"This is training for Akane," Severa finally said "I don't have the time
to waste on training another girl, but you can stay and watch if you
want. As long as you can keep silent and out of the way you can attend
my lessons to give your friend moral support."

"I would not dream of hampering my friend's training by interfering in
your instructions," Kodachi quickly assured her, "perhaps I could even
help and assist you, Mistress Severa."

Kodachi watched anxiously as Severa seemed to consider her offer. To their
side Akane was fidgeting and looking rather nervous about the prospect of
gaining Kodachi as an assistant coach. Severa slinked over to Akane and
put a calming hand on her shoulders.

Finally she reached a decision: "Fine, you can help me train Akane, but
you will have to follow my rules and do exactly as you are told. I won't
tolerate disobedience."

The last remark was punctuated by a slap on Akane's behind as the girl had
been about to offer her own views on the subject.

"Yes, mistress!" Kodachi agreed smiling.

Kodachi was happy. Mistress Severa was everything Kodachi had always tried
to be: sexy and alluring, strong and dangerous, respected and in control.
Helping Severa teach Akane was an apprenticeship with a mistress. The
dangers that Akane had told her about now sounded more like job-perks
to Kodachi and Severa's warning about not tolerating disobedience almost
felt like an invitation to Kodachi to see just how far her tolerance would
stretch and what the consequences of overstretching it might be.

                             * **  ***  ** *

When Ranma saw the smile on Kodachi's face she felt like slapping herself.
The plan had been to get rid of Kodachi not to involve her further. It was
Akane's fault; had the girl not looked so uncomfortable at the idea of
Kodachi serving as an assistant trainer, Ranma would never have agreed to
it. Now it was to late to take it back without loosing face.

Ranma would have to make the most of it. There were plenty of demeaning
jobs for Kodachi; fetching towels, lugging around weights and setting up
machines. This could actually work out in Ranma's favor. If Kodachi did
all the dirty work, Ranma would have more time to concentrate on Akane.
And if Kodachi got to annoying Ranma could always tie her up and use her
as a counterweight for one of Akane's exercises.

Ranma tried to banish the last thought. This was all about Akane, thoughts
of naked, hog-tied lunatics were completely wrong and bad.

To distract herself from the various uses for Kodachi that her imagination
was offering Ranma decided to start the training.

"We will start with sit-ups," Ranma announced, "Kodachi you hold down
Akane's feet."

She was answered with a chorus of "Yes, Mistress!"

Akane laid down on her back and Kodachi stepped over her positioning
one foot on either side of her thighs facing in the direction of her feet.
Then instead of kneeling down, Kodachi simply bend over at the waist and
took hold of Akane's ankles.

Ranma suppressed a groan. In addition to showing off her flexibility the
move also showed off Kodachi's crotch and rear. The naughty grin on her
face told Ranma that Kodachi knew very well what she was doing and that
presenting Severa with a view of her shaved pubes and pink rosebud was her
intention.

But Kodachi's triumph was short lived. As Akane began her exercise each
sit-up brought her face almost directly in front of Kodachi's privates.
And every time Akane exhaled with a grunt and counted out repetitions
while sitting up her hot breath washed over Kodachi's crotch in front of
her.

Kodachi soon began squirming, but she was to proud to admit her
miscalculation by repositioning herself.

Judging by her blush Akane was deeply embarrassed by her situation, but
she too was determined not to show weakness by complaining.

Ranma meanwhile had decided to let the two girls suffer for their
stubbornness for a while. They clearly deserved it for encouraging her
perverted imagination like that.

It looked like it would be long training session for everyone.

                             * **  ***  ** *

                       Part 19: Dark Designs 


Ranma was actually quite happy when she led Akane and Kodachi back to
their cells. She had told Kodachi to clean up the gym and spot Akane
finishing her last exercise. That meant that she could change disguises
from Severa to Ashes in leisure without having to hurry and later would
not have to go back to the gym to clean up.

Having Kodachi here could seriously free up Ranma's schedule and it looked
like today would not be nearly as hectic as the days before.

In the dungeon Ranma put first Kodachi in her cell and then a few doors
down locked Akane in hers. She was on her way to the Kitchen contemplating
what extravagant meals she could attempt with all the time on her hands
when she was rudely yanked of her path.

"Not so fast servant girl," Kodachi demanded.

The crazed gymnast had let herself out of her unlocked cell and taken hold
of Ranma's shoulder as she walked past.

"Miss Kodachi," Ranma acknowledged meekly trying to stay in character.

"I wanted to enquire why the tailor has not been to see me yet," Kodachi
explained, "Akane says that she came to her soon after she moved in. I
just wanted to ensure that I have not been forgotten. I really can't walk
around the castle in my school uniform forever. People will start talking
about my lack of veil for one thing."

Ranma considered this complaint. Kodachi cared what other people thought
about her outfit? The same Kodachi that usually ran around Nerima in just
her gymnastics leotard?

"I would like the tailor to come around as soon as possible so that she
can at least take my measurements and hear my preferences," Kodachi told
her.

"I will pass your message along," Ranma promised reluctantly.

"Fine than you can go now." Kodachi released her.

As Ranma slowly made her way to where she had left the tailor's costume
and props she could hear Kodachi calling after her "And don't dawdle!" 

                             * **  ***  ** *

Some time later Ranma now in the costume of the tailor opened the door of
Kodachi's cell.

"Ah, you must be Mrs. Brave," Kodachi greeted.

Somehow the girl managed to appear friendly, arrogant and helpless at the
same time. Inviting someone in to your unlocked cell could have that
effect, especially if you had earlier chained yourself to the wall again.

Not quite knowing how to react to Kodachi's antics Ranma decided to ignore
her strange behavior altogether and act as if everything she did was quite
normal.

"Yes, I am Mrs. Brave the royal tailor," Ranma admitted. "You have let the
maid know, that you wanted to see me about getting proper garments?"

"I would not want to cause a scene by wearing such outlandish clothing any
longer than necessary, " Kodachi explained gesturing to her school
uniform," I am given to understand that it is part of etiquette for women
to veil their faces here, for example. I had hoped that you could provide
me with clothing that would help me fit in better. And I must say, that I
really like what you have done for Akane. Are any of the other outfits I
might have seen your work?"

"Except for the guards uniforms which are traditional I made most of
the clothes you would have seen here in the castle," Ranma answered
truthfully.

"Excellent! It will be such a pleasure to work with somebody who appears
to knows their craft!" Kodachi exclaimed giving a short version of her
customary laugh of delight.

Ranma was unused to somebody actually complimenting her on her work
especially when it was not something she took much pride in, so she
decide to focus on the 'work with'-part of Kodachi's declaration instead:
"And what exactly were you planing to contribute, young lady?"

"I have already taken the liberty of sketching some designs that I really
think would show of my best qualities and help me fit in," Kodachi
announced.

She tried to reach for a small stack of papers on her cot that Ranma had
not previously noticed. Ranma bend over the papers while Kodachi tried to
strain at her chains.

"I know, they are not very good," Kodachi admitted, "but they are the best
I could do in such a short time with the materials at hand. I managed to
borrow a pencil and some sheets of paper from my fellow prisoner, but she
only had one color and the lightening here is not very good."

Ranma was no longer trying to understand Kodachi's self-image as a
prisoner. If she thought that letting herself out of her cell, going to
visit Akane in her cell to borrow some writing materials and then going
back to her own cell to chain herself to a wall was normal then that was
okay for Ranma. She only hoped that Kodachi had relocked Akane's door
after she was done.

Ranma was instead focussing on the designs Kodachi had drawn. To Ranma's
surprise Kodachi had been wrong: They were good; very good even. Ranma
had had no idea that Kodachi was in any way artistically talented.

The model in the designs was drawn without much detail, but still
recognizable as Kodachi. The various garments were the main focus of her
drawings. There usually were views from several sides and details were
shown in close-ups. Arrows pointing to various parts of the black and
white sketches gave information about the intended materials, patterns
and colors.

"Those are good," Ranma told Kodachi honestly impressed.

Kodachi who had given up on straining her chains to reach the designs
beamed at the compliment.

"I notice that you have a preference for the color black," Ranma added
seeing a pattern among the various different designs.

Ranma had also noticed another common pattern shared by all the designs;
they were all very revealing, but Ranma thought it best not to mention
that after admitting to being responsible for Akane's, Ashes' and
Severa's outfits.

"I take it this one was inspired by Severa's outfit." Ranma held up a
sketch of Kodachi largely covered in skintight black leather.

"They say that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I fear
that Severa might not feel that way. Besides that outfit would take a long
time to get in and out of and if I understand your situation correctly you
will have to do a lot of stripping on short notice." Ranma criticized
Kodachi's design.

"It does have zippers for easy access to all the important parts," Kodachi
defended her sketch, "but If you feel that Mistress Severa might take
offence, we should perhaps drop that design from consideration in favor of
one that is less blatant in its homage."

"Like these two here perhaps?" Ranma now inspected two further designs
that featured black leather. One was swimsuit-like one-piece. Kodachi had
helpfully added little details that made it clear that the garment was
indeed skintight and that she did not intend to wear anything underneath.
The other was a combination of miniskirt and vest. A very short miniskirt
and a very small vest that did not even close in the front. Motion lines
in the drawing indicated that the later outfit would expose the wearer if
she was foolish enough to make any sudden or expansive movements. Walking
without showing off what she was wearing under her skirt would be
difficult and the vest was liable to reveal even more of her breasts than
it already did with every deep breath she made.

Ranma put them in the maybe pile.

A design that featured a lot of black latex covering the model from head
to toe was rejected on grounds of impracticability and resemblance to
Severa's outfit. While a latex version of Kodachi's usual gymnastics
leotard was added to the possible candidates.

Several other variations on the leotard theme in a variety of different
materials and cuts were also added to the maybe pile.

A leotard design Kodachi had specified to be in very thin very sheer lycra
was only added to that group after Kodachi had agreed to have the small
non see-through rose logo on it expanded and placed in such a way that it
covered most of her crotch and nipples.

A design that appeared rather modest if somewhat tight at first glance was
almost rejected when Ranma discovered that the main material Kodachi had
chosen for it was bodypaint. Kodachi had to admit that it would take to
much work to reapply it regularly but wanted the idea to be kept in mind
for special occasions.

Ranma agreed to that reluctantly, but flat out refused the one that only
consisted of a cape and lots of jewelry on price grounds.

In the end they had a fairly sizable stack of definite maybe designs.

                             * **  ***  ** *

                          Part 20: Sackcloth


"Those designs all show some promise," Ranma told Kodachi, "but it would
take some time to get any one of them ready. I have some garments here
that should fit you. They are not quite as nice as the ones you came up
with, but they will give you something to wear while we work on your
outfit together."

Ranma pulled several items out of a bag she had been carrying. The outfit
consisted of a skirt, top and veil combination like the one Akane was
wearing. In fact it had been an early attempt of Ranma to get the cut for
Akane right, but it had none of the special effects that the final product
had. It was made of ugly coarse brown hemp material that Ranma had gained
from cutting up some old storage sacks and had never been intended to be
more than a proof of concept.

When Kodachi had harassed Ashes earlier, Ranma had gotten out the outfit
to get back at her. She had cut off a bit of the skirt which had
originally been rather modest in length and tightened the top a bit to
keep it from hanging to loosely. The last part might have been taking it
to far especially in combination with the roughing up the insides of the
top she had done earlier. The wearers breasts and nipples would be rubbed
raw after some time.

But Kodachi had really made her angry at that time. Now Ranma was feeling
somewhat guilty and had decided to only use it as a temporary measure.

Kodachi did not seem to mind. She quickly unchained herself and eagerly
stripped out of her school uniform.

Ranma collected Kodachi's discarded clothing while trying not stare at the
unclad gymnast.

"I can use these to get your measurements," she explained.

"Don't you want to take my measurements now? Akane said that you took very
detailed and intimate measurements on her." Kodachi pouted posing nakedly.

"We can do that later once we have finalized the design," Ranma declared
as she hurriedly made for the door.

Once safely outside Kodachi's cell Ranma reflected that this had gone not
at all as expected.

Kodachi had shown hidden talents and Ranma had let her guard down upon
seeing an unexpected side on the girl.

That had been a mistake. Kodachi was still a nutso; a very perverted and
rather sexy nutso at that.

It was one thing to indulge herself a bit with Akane, who was her fianc�e
after all, but it was not right to do the same things with Kodachi.

And Kodachi had almost made her forget that. Ranma would have to be more
vigilant in the future.

Another bad thing that had come out of Kodachi's little diversion, was
that Ranma was now again hopelessly behind on her schedule. And here Ranma
had been thinking that Kodachi might actually save her time.

Well there was nothing Ranma could do about it now except to call takeout
again. Luckily she had saved the number from that place she had ordered
from last time.

Their food had actually tasted quite well. Lots greasy fatty stuff would
be good for Akane who really needed to eat more now that she was training
properly. And Kodachi looked so skinny that she also stood to gain from a
real hearty meal.

Not that Ranma cared how Kodachi looked.

Ranma was just about to leave the dungeon level when a sprinting Kodachi
caught up with her.

"You forgot the sketches." She explained trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, thank you my dear, I am really sorry. I can be a bit forgetful at
times," Ranma excused herself being honestly chagrined about leaving the
designs in her hurry.

"Never mind, I caught you just in time," Kodachi replied happily.

Seeing the bouncy and enthusiastic girl, who was likely grinning under her
new veil made Ranma feel slightly guilty for her earlier unkind thoughts.

She tried to make amends by enquiring: "Do your temporary clothes fit all
right? They are not to rough are they?"

"Actually, I think that it feels quite stimulating," Kodachi explained
jumping up and down where she stood.

"They are a bit heavy and tend to slide off when worn while upside down,"
Kodachi expanded demonstrating the described effect by doing a quick
handstand, "but I won't really wear them when doing gymnastics." 

Ranma managed not to give any visual reaction to Kodachi's exposing
acrobatics.

"Well, I better get back to my cell now. I guess I won't need to wear my
new clothes there either, which is good as they won't stay on when I am
chained up upside down."

Kodachi turned and left with her trademark laugh.

Leaving Ranma standing at the dungeon entrance -- a Ranma who currently
trying very hard not think about naked chained up crazy gymnasts.

It appeared that it would be much harder than expected to keep up her
guard around an insanely innocently perverted Kodachi.


                                                              )  )" <
                                                             tsu zu ku

             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'