Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Chained World: The Fall of the House of Kuno ❯ Counting the Hours - Spreading Ripples ( Chapter 12 )

This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling, punctuation and the occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Ikuko Shimizu, Yuso Takada, Masaki Kajishima, Naoko Takeuchi, or owned by Headgear.

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Nabiki sighed with relief as she walked into the house after changing out of her shoes; it was good to finally be home. Glancing at her wristwatch on the arm not carrying her briefcase, the middle Tendo smiled sadly. By now, if all's gone well Ranma and Akane should be done with the movie and in the middle of dinner. Sure beats spending the day meeting with the Kuno family lawyers and accountants, going over the debts to make sure they all get transferred to “Ranko” before the auction.

She shook her head, and slapped herself lightly as she headed up the stairs to her room. A little green-eyed, there? Don't kid yourself, girl — sure, it'd be nice to have someone care for you as much as Ranma does for little sis, but in some ways today has to have been harder on those two than it has on you, however good the quality time together. Now, get your head back in the game, it's time to see if your little messages have borne fruit.

Walking in and tossing the briefcase on her bed, Nabiki sat down at her desk and booted up her computer. Now, let's check the auction site, see who's registered for bidding ...

Next door in Akane's room, Kasumi paused from gathering up the soiled bedsheets and smiled slightly at the sound of movement coming down the hall and into her other sister's room. The eldest sister didn't begrudge Ranma and Akane their time together, and understood why Nabiki had needed to break the mourning period to meet with the banks, but Uncle Genma and Auntie Nodoka hadn't known Nabiki's plans when they'd decided to give the sisters privacy for the day, and with the house empty it had been lonely. Once she finished getting the room ready for the lovers' second night together, she'd have to drop in on Nabiki and see how the day went —

“HOLY FREAKING HELLS!!!”

Kasumi whirled and stared at the wall separating Akane's room from Nabiki's, then dropped the soiled linen and broke into a run for the door. She had never heard Nabiki shout like that, not even when the repayment notice was served! What could ... ?

She burst into the middle bedroom to find Nabiki staring in stunned disbelief at her computer monitor. Relaxing slightly, Kasumi walked over to her sister as Nabiki turned a pale, wide-eyed face toward her. “Nabiki, what's wrong?” Kasumi asked tensely, and Nabiki shook herself and turned back to the computer.

“Last night the thought occurred to me that Ranma's time as a slave would be over faster if Lord Kuno had some real competition at the auction, so I sent out some messages to a few people that don't like Lord Kuno much or are interested in `Ranko',” she said as Kasumi walked up behind her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Well, someone must have decided to spread the word even further, because look at the clans and organizations that will be sending factors to the auction!”

Kasumi leaned down and read over her sister's shoulder. “Mendo, Natsume, Sanzenin, Meioh, Ikari ... the Children of Bastet? Nabiki, I recognize the names, but I don't understand what it means.”

“Well, I don't understand that last one either, and that worries me ... it could simply mean that the Cat Lovers see Ranma as an avatar for their goddess when he goes cat, and turning into a girl might have something to do with it, but it could also mean they know something about the Cat Fist training we don't; I'll have to look into that later.

“But these other names ... Kasumi, from the gossip, some of these people hate Lord Kuno as much as we do and might simply be seizing a chance to hurt him, but this has to be more than simple payback, not over something as trivial as a sex slave. I think word of what Ranma can do has spread, and these people are bidding on a combat monster.”

Kasumi paled. “Nabiki, what does it mean — what can we do?”

Nabiki leaned back with a sigh and looked up at her sister. “Big sis, I don't know what it means, and at this point there's nothing we can do — compared to these people, I'm a big fish in a very small pond. But I can tell you one thing, `Ranko' is going to come out of this a very wealthy woman.”

“I don't understand, doesn't the money from the auction go to the Kuno family?” Kasumi asked, and Nabiki shrugged.

“Normally, you'd be right, but I suspect that the bidding is going to go well over the amount of the debt, and at that point the rules change.” At Kasumi's confused looked, she continued, “Auctions for debt slaves aren't the same as for permanent slaves, sis. Instead of being a lump sum, the bids are for a monthly payment paid to the debtor, with an optional time limit at the end of which the slave would be returned to the debtor for another auction. In rare cases, the combination of the time limit and offered payment exceeds the total amount of the debt, in which case the excess is held in escrow with interest, to be paid out to the slave at the end of the contracted period. The rules governing bidding can get a little complicated ...”

Her voice trailed off as she stared thoughtfully at the screen, then sighed. “Still, even now I can't see anyone but Lord Kuno winning the auction. That clan is richer than Kami-sama, and with Kuno's obsession his factor will spend whatever it takes to win. But with these players, that amount could be high enough to do real damage to the Kuno holdings, and eventually almost all of it'll be Ranko's.”

Kasumi moved away from her sister to sit abruptly on the bed. “Oh, my!”

* * * * *

Captain Morimasa Kasai, head of the Nerima Lording police force, was just sitting down do dinner when the phone rang. His wife eyed it askance, but with a sigh walked over to pick up the receiver — the timing almost certainly meant the call was work related, but at least her husband's promotion to what was essentially a desk job meant she didn't have to worry that he'd soon be kicking down some down with the kami only knew what on the other side.

“Kasai residence,” she said, then, looking resigned, nodded to her husband. “It's Itou-san,” she said, and with a sigh Morimasa rose to walk over to join his wife. He hit the visual/speaker button, and the face of his second in command appeared on the phone's screen. “Okay, Goro, what's so important that it couldn't wait ...” Morimasa started to snarl, then paused as his subordinate's worried expression registered.

“Uh, Captain, sorry to disturb your dinner, but we've received a request from the slave auction master for increased security at the auction three days from now,” Goro hastily said, “and after looking over the guest list I'd have to say he has a point. Here it is.”

Goro was replaced on the phone's screen with a slowly scrolling list, and Morimasa whistled. “Holy ... I'd say Mifune has a right to be worried, some of those people purely hate each other, and while it'll be their factors doing the bidding that won't necessarily mean much to their samurai. What brought this on?” he asked, and the list was replaced by his subordinate's face.

“I wondered that, myself, so I took a look at the list of slaves being offered, and one name leaped out — Ranko Tendo.”

“Oh, shit!” Morimasa whispered.

“And it gets worse,” Goro continued. “She's being sold as a temporary full service slave for a rather substantial amount of debt, enough to sink the Tendo dojo and see all three sisters sold off if their `cousin' wasn't taking the fall, and the Kuno family holds all the debt — it looks like Lord Kuno finally found a way to get at least one of the girls he's been chasing.”

Morimasa sighed. “Yeah, poor kid. And if I was Lord Kuno I'd be watching my back, Adjustment be damned. Of course, if I was Lord Kuno this wouldn't be happening....

“All right, pull as many people as we safely can off the streets, let those that would be off that day know they're going to be putting in some overtime, and cancel the vacations of anyone that can get back here in time for the auction — have the department pick up any travel costs involved. It won't be enough if a firefight breaks out, but maybe what show of force we can make will make that less likely.”

“Right away, and ... done,” Goro said, shoulder moving as he hit a button out of view of the camera. “Still, there's at least one good thing about this mess ...”

Morimasa rolled his eyes. “And just what silver lining can you see circling this hurricane, Goro?” he asked dryly.

“At least the Tendos aren't Christians, so we won't have to worry about a near-riot outside the auction house over one of their own being forced into `a life of depravity',” Goro instantly responded, and Morimasa chuckled even as he shuddered at the thought.

“Only you, Goro ...” he said, then sighed. “Yes, but that little bonus will leave more than sufficient evil for the day. Let me know immediately if anything else comes up for this, whatever the hour.”

“You got it, boss,” Goro said with a mock-salute, the screen went blank, and Mormasa turned back to his pale, wide-eyed wife. “Well, Mai, it looks like I won't have to go rushing back to work ... shall we eat?”

* * * * *

As evening fell, Ranma and Akane walked into the Tendo home, arms clasped. For once, it had been a very good day — no attacking rivals, no plotting fiancées getting in the way, and if the reason for the peace hung like a thundercloud over their day they'd managed to ignore it. Ranma had only been splashed twice and both times the thermos of hot water Kasumi had thoughtfully packed took care of that.

The movie had been fun (a martial arts/samurai extravaganza, of course), and the dinner had been fabulous — dishes they'd never tried before from Italy, the cooking almost as good as Kasumi's best. But best of all had been the picnic in the park that started the day. They'd both enjoyed the meal, of course, since Kasumi prepared it, but things had gotten a little ... nervous ... afterward while they were waiting for the time to go to the movie. The two of them had been stuck in a circle of mutual insults so long that neither really knew what to say when they weren't insulting each other. But Akane had finally broken the ice, asking for stories from the training trip, and the two had fallen to talking of past joys, together and apart, and even a little of what they might do years down the road when Ranma's time as a slave ended — maybe, if they were lucky, to see his child for the first time. The only downside had been that Ryoga hadn't shown up to give Ranma that last spar he'd wanted.

Now, at the foot of the stairs, the two listened to the quiet that permeated the house for a few moments, then Akane smiled up at her lover. “Ranma, why don't you head upstairs to my room and get ready? I'm going to find Kasumi and ask if I can borrow that book again.”

Ranma nodded and with a quick kiss vanished up the stairs, and Akane started touring the first floor ... nobody in the backyard, nobody in the kitchen, nobody in the family room ... the youngest Tendo eventually found her oldest sister doing the laundry, and blushed as she realized what bed the sheets had come off of. Boy, did we ever do a number on them. I'll have to make sure to take care of the sheets tomorrow, it's not right to force big sis to clean up after ... that.

Kasumi looked up as Akane walked in, and Akane frowned slightly even as her sister smiled when she saw her. Something about her sister was ... off, not quite right, she couldn't put her finger on it ... “Kasumi, is something wrong?” she asked.

Kasumi quickly shook her head. I really hope you're right about not telling them about the bidders, Nabiki. “No, at least, nothing that hasn't already happened. So, how was your day, did you have fun?”

Akane's face broke out into a broad, happy, bittersweet smile. “It was wonderful, Kasumi, the food was great, the movie was great, we talked for hours! I wish ... I don't know why we didn't ...”

Smile fading, she took a deep breath and determinedly continued, “Ranma and I are ... going to be in my room the rest of the night, and I wondered ... could I borrow the book again?”

“The book?” Kasumi asked, momentarily confused then, realizing just what book Akane was referring to, smiled softly. “Of course you can, I'll get it for you right now.” Dropping the sheets she had been about to load into the washer, she headed out the door and toward the stairs, a furiously blushing Akane following with only one though in her mind: It's going to be a longnight.

* * * * *

It was after midnight when two exhausted Amazons walked through the back door to the Cat Café. It had been a very long couple of days, traveling to various little hole-in-the-wall stores throughout Edo and several cities within a few hours travel by rail looking for the ingredients needed, and Ku Lon again silently cursed her fellow practitioners of the Art. Yes, she understood that the independent magickers liked to keep a low profile, but couldn't a few of them list phone numbers for their stores? They didn't need to advertise, for the Goddess's sake — she'd had to check three stores in two cities for manlonroot!

“Xian Pu, we're back!” she called out.

“Great-grandmother, in kitchen!” came the instant response. “Bath water mixture going well, and all ready for making potion!”

“Well, come along, Duck Boy,” the matriarch ordered as she headed for the kitchen, and Mu Tse followed, slumping tiredly.

“You got it, I'll be glad to drop off the packages and leave you to your cooking, I'm exhausted,” he complained, and Ku Lon cackled.

“Oh, no, you aren't getting out of this that easy — you can help stir and chop, and keep pans simmering — just make sure to keep your glasses on.” Ignoring the now whimpering boy, Ku Lon pogoed into the kitchen to greet her weary heir. It was going to be a long night.