Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Umbra Aureola ❯ Chapter 07 - Anito's Lair ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

CHAPTER VII: ANITO'S HIDEAWAY


"Old man this time you're going down!" Anito yelled shadow stepping in front of the Old Master once again.

"Ho ho ho You are a hundred years to young to beat the likes of me!" Happosai taunted.

"Gotcha!" Anito said slamming his crackling staff into the offensive object. Predictably the staff was stopped by a single finger of the Old Master.

Happosai shook his head and captured the staff with his pipe and twisted to throw the youngster sky high. "You'll have to do better than-" Happosai said, and then stopped as Anito didn't even budge an inch. "It seems I underestimated you."

"With my new Feet of the Mountain technique not even you can throw me old man. Now time to-" Anito tried to say but was interrupted by the Happo Daikarin that was jammed in his open mouth.

"Boom!" The bomb went off and Anito fell to the ground smoke pouring out of his mouth. Happosai hopped off the arch-mage's body as he carried on with whatever activity he had been participating in before Anito's latest challenge. A moment latter Anito sat up shaking his head back and forth to clear the mind ringing fog. Once that was done Anito promptly vanished.

"Ranma!" Soun said tears coming out of his eyes. "You have to stop them! They are destroying the house."

"Hey, I ain't his keeper, you're the one who let him into the house you deal with him." Ranma replied relaxing in front of the TV. If Anito and the old man beat each other to a pulp without involving him that was just fine with Ranma. Heck it was a good riddance both ways.

"Yeah dad. You take care of it." Akane said rather annoyed in front of the TV.

"Anito doesn't listen to me." Soun said pointedly.

"Yeesh, then why do you let him stay?" Ranma asked.

"Like your one to talk Ranma. You two have been free loading off of us since the moment you came here!" Akane pointed out with high emotion.

"Besides, its a martial artists duty to help those in need." Soun said in his matter of fact manner.

"That's right son, we can't be abandoning the martial artist's way, now can we." Genma added backing up his friend. Ranma suspected Genma had ulterior motives for suggesting the necessity of keeping guests in need around... For one though Ranma wasn't about to begrudge him, Ranma did like free food.

Ranma sighed, "Fine I'll deal with him. Where has he gone."

"Oh, Mr. Anito went to his room." Kasumi said walking by.

"Great, where is that." Ranma asked.

"Isn't he staying in the guest room with you?" Soun asked.

"Nope, he hasn't even stepped a foot into there. Besides, between pops and I there ain't any room." Ranma replied, then he looked at Akane and leaned close. "Is he staying with you?"

"Hey! You think I would share my room with that pervert!" Akane replied angrily.

"You share it with P-chan." Ranma said pointedly.

"P-chan has nothing to do with this!" Akane yelled angrily slamming Ranma's head into the ground with a handy mallet.

"Yeesh, I suppose I'll have to ask Nabiki." Ranma said.

"You think he is staying in Nabiki's room?" Akane asked doubtfully.

"Not unless he is a closet billionaire."

"Good point."

"You coming?"

Akane simply pointed at the TV show she was watching in answer. Ranma shrugged at his fiancé's refusal and headed up to Nabiki's room. As he walked he muttered to himself over the last vengeful attack he had received. "Yeesh, can't that tomboy take a joke."

Predictably, the middle sister's door was shut. Opening it Ranma stepped inside. "Hmm, Ranma. What brings you here?" Nabiki asked not bothering to turn her head from the ever important calculator. Ranma supposed that she whiled away her time calculating the returns on her exploits, but had never asked. For the obvious reasons of course.

"Hey Nabiki, where is Anito shacked up?" Ranma asked, if anyone knew Nabiki knew. Actually, thus far in Ranma's experience Nabiki always knew.

"5000 yen." Nabiki said holding out her hand for the offer. Ranma pulled out the cash and put it in her hand.

"Kasumi does his laundry so she should know." She said simply.

"Hey! I paid you 5,000 yen and that's all you give me?" Ranma said angrily.

Nabiki held out her hand threatened by Ranma not in the least. "If you want more you'll have to pay up."

Ranma sighed and left the room. Nabiki shrugged turning back to her previous activity. "Suit yourself."

Groaning to himself Ranma headed down stairs again this time to the kitchen. He felt like beating himself silly, he really should have known to ask Kasumi first. Kasumi always knew what was going on in the house. Instead he had let Nabiki sucker him out yen once again.

Entering the kitchen Kasumi turned happily and said. "Why hello Ranma, what brings you here?"

"Hey Kasumi, do you know where Anito is staying?" Ranma asked the kindly eldest Tendo sister.

"Oh, he went downstairs." Kasumi said simply humming happily as she cooked.

"Uh, Kasumi ...? Did you say downstairs?"

"That's right."

"Okay ..." Ranma left the kitchen more confused then before. Sitting down in front of the TV again Ranma sighed.

"Hey, Tendo-san, do you have a basement?"

Soun shook his head with a vigorous no.

"What makes you ask that Ranma." Akane asked.

"Well, Kasumi said that Anito was downstairs... so I was just wondering."

"Did you check the dojo?" Soun asked.

"Of course I did! Do you think I am an idiot?"

"After all the stupid things you've done what do you think?" Akane replied.

"What would a macho tomboy like you know about that." Ranma shot back hotly. He barely had time to think before Akane pounded his head strait through the floor.

"Hmph! I am going to my room." Akane said sticking her nose in the air. She apparently didn't want anymore of her fiancee for the day.

"What's got that tomboy all riled up." Ranma said to himself picking his face up off the dirt. Then he paused and lifted his right hand up from where it hand been lifting him. Knocking it lightly on the ground he heard the clunk of wood under his fist. Grinning Ranma said out loud. "What do you know, her senseless beatings are good for something after all."

Pulling himself under the house through the hole opened via the Akane Entryway Creation Service Ranma took a look around. He had spent numerous hours underneath the house while practicing the Umisen-ken and was pretty sure that there was nothing down here before.

Ranma grinned as he saw a pile of electric wires going out of the house and into the ground in a new location. Moving around carefully he found a wooden hatch and with great difficulty, because of very little maneuvering room, slid the wooden door open. Not waiting a second Ranma plopped down into a well lit room, here he blinked.

"Hey" Anito said rapidly working on a computer at his desk. Anito didn't bother to turn to face the person that entered and Ranma suspected that Anito knew immediately that it was him.

Looking around Ranma said, quite impressed. "Nice setup you've got here." It wasn't bad at that. It looked not much different than any other room in the Tendo household, except the minor detail that it was under the Tendo household.

Another figure let out a low whistle as she dropped into the room with far less gracefully than Ranma had. Nabiki took in the sight quickly. "Nice place you have here Anito-kun, though I really must insist that you add some stairs."

"Hey what are you doing down here?" Ranma asked annoyed. He had the distinct feeling that he had been had.

"Following you of course." Nabiki said simply.

"Done!" Anito let out and swiveled in his chair. "Now what brings you two down to my humble abode."

"I hate to break it to you Anito-kun, but you built this under the Tendo house and thus it is our humble abode." Nabiki said slyly.

Anito grinned, "But of course it is yours! Yet, surely you wouldn't want me in the sorrow of my lost home to cause this wondrous creation to crumble to dust now would you." Anito spoke smiling back at Nabiki like a shark.

"Uh..." Ranma said scratching his head in confusion. "Wha- Eeep!" Ranma suddenly shut up as both of them gave him a look. Now Ranma Saotome wasn't afraid of much, and wouldn't admit to being afraid of anything if you asked. Yet, there where a few things that frightened Ranma quite a bit. The first was cats, filthy, blood sucking, murderous creatures, the second was Nabiki Tendo when she gave that look that said you where going to pay if you crossed me. Needless to say when seeing that look on Nabiki, and a awfully similar one on Anito was enough to make Ranma shut up.

"Oh, Anito-kun, you do have such a way with words. Surely it would be to the best of both our advantages to leave these walls still standing." Nabiki replied.

Anito smiled, "Yes it would indeed, let us say that I am, renting, this room or any others that should appear at my hands as the cost of construction. The value of which, shall we say, will conveniently match the costs of my stay over the rest of my life span."

"Ah yes an interesting proposition, but Anito-kun it is so hard for those of us with legs to use these wondrous additions, and building are so very expensive to maintain."

Anito chuckled at Nabiki's response. Thinking hard he returned the favor. "So I have seen with the poor upper household. If only there was a mage to magic the walls with enchanted strength. Then the building could stand against the centuries unfazed. This would cut those maintenance costs way down, would it not? Of course such a labor would be quite harsh and expensive."

Ranma scratched his head. He wanted to butt in but now he was not only nervous of the thought of doing so, but also far too confused about what Nabiki and Anito where talking about to do anything. So instead he simply watched as they continued. Wondering when they would finish whatever mysterious ritual they where enacting.

Nabiki paused thoughtfully carefully turning and idea in her head. She didn't want to give up personal money in this, but if she played her hand right the end profit could be larger than ever before. Thus she spoke, "A girl as young as me could not carry the cash for such expensive labors, perhaps instead an exchange of debts." Nabiki's eyes gleamed as she glanced at Ranma when she said the last.

Anito smiled. "Such would be most appreciated, though I wonder if the debt is sufficient in size." Anito too watched Ranma.

"Uh, this doesn't have anything to do with me... right? ... Right Nabiki?" Ranma asked nervously.

Nabiki eyed Ranma a while longer, "The debts are sufficient." Nabiki said with a grin. Then she held out her hand.

Anito smiled back as they looked at each other like too sharks that had decided to share a whale. Anito gripped her hand and they shook twice in succession. "Its a deal." Anito said happily.

"What just happened." Ranma asked nervously.

"I just sold the debt you have incurred on me and this household to Anito in return for Tendo ownership of the underground lairs he builds, a guarantee the said lair is accessible and usable by normal people, and his agreement to enchant our walls to stand up against the abuse you have been putting them through." Nabiki said as she struggled up the rope ladder that hung down the high opening.

"You what!" Ranma yelled.

"Basically, you are mine until the debt is repaid, which from what Nabiki was saying will probably keep you slaving under me until I get what I promised done."

"Hey, this hasn't anything to do with me!" Ranma said.

"How many times have you, your fiancees your violent, friends, enemies or the other odds and ends you attract destroyed the dojo or house? How long do you think you have been eating for free? You have a chance to get rid of the debt by helping Anito out. Be glad, normally I would have been still wringing money out of you when you where an old dried up prune." Nabiki said casually as she hiked her self up through the upper hole.

"Yeesh, if I knew this was going to happen I wouldn't have come down here." Ranma said with a groan.

"Look on the bright side." Anito replied with a laugh.

"And what is that?"

"How many of your fellow martial artists get to witness wizard enchantments first hand! Heck I may need to teach you a few techniques to help me speed up this project."

Ranma grinned brightly instantly. Suddenly things didn't sound so bad after all. "Well if I am going to have to learn a few new techniques..."

Anito chuckled, "That's not all, you see I have found myself sorely lacking in martial arts training, and for the sake of honor I must beat this vicious troll that meanders around this house. If you catch my drift." Anito's eyes gleamed.

Ranma drew a blank at first, and then he figured out where Anito's thoughts where going. "So need a teacher and a sparring partner, eh? Guess your in luck." Ranma was thrilled with the idea, fighting Anito was like fighting Cologne or Happosai all over again for the first time. The first few weeks he constantly dueled them his skill grew by unimaginable levels.

"So how did you build this place so fast in the first place?" Ranma asked.

"Guess what?" Anito said.

"Huh?"

"Your going to find out." Anito said his eyes gleaming in a way that told Ranma he would soon very much wish he didn't know.