Ranma 1/2: Permanent part 6
A veil of lies.
Two weeks had passed since his failed attempt at Ranma's life. Mousse
stood and looked into the cracked mirror in the old abandoned home he was
sleeping in. He frowned as he placed his glasses on. "My vision is almost
normal again." he muttered bitterly. His remaining eye had gone into
shock and rendered him totally blind when Ranma had stabbed his left eye
out. He took the bandage off and examined the wound. He snorted at the
now empty hole on his face. "Another injury to me you must suffer for
Ranma Saotome." He spat at his reflection. "You have made it impossible
for my Shampoo to ever feel my love again, and I will make you suffer."
Three days later...
Akane Tendo walked into the bath room and began to undress for her bath.
She stood at the mirror and smiled. She heard the door open behind her
and gasped. A naked Ranma stepped out and stopped cold staring at her.
"Ranma I'm sorry I didn't know you were in there." said Akane blushing.
Ranma had made it clear when she first moved in that she preferred to
bathe alone.
"Its OK I guess." said Ranma as she wrapped a towel around her hair and
waist and stepped out of the room. Akane stared at Ranma wide eyed in
disbelief, her body was covered in scars; the two big ones going down her
back and stomach were the most prominent.
"I had no Idea it was that bad." she muttered to herself.
"Do you always smile at yourself like that, or were you just testing
your cheeks?" asked Ranma as they walked to school together a short time
later.
Akane blushed and looked at the ground nervously. "What's she talking
about?" asked Yuka from beside her.
"I-its nothing." stammered Akane.
"I understand why you like to bathe alone now." said Akane walking over
to Ranma as she walked along the fence.
Ranma stopped cold and stared at her nervously. "I had no Idea the scars
were that bad." continued Akane.
Ranma relaxed and kept walking. "You get used to it." she replied.
At the gates of Furinkan Kuno stood in waiting. "Ah 'tis the beauteous
pig tailed girl and Akane Tendo." he said with his usual arrogance.
"Surely today you will pledge your love for me." he said throwing two
roses at the pair. Ranma swatted hers out of the air.
"Kuno we should talk, alone." she said with a smile Akane didn't like.
"What are you going to do?" she said nervously.
"I'm going to force the truth down this fool's throat." growled Ranma.
The crowd gasped as Ranma drug a elated Kuno off behind the building
muttering something to herself.
Nabiki nodded to her underling and she followed discretely nervously
glancing back at her employer. No one else had dared to follow Ranma and
Kuno. They all knew what Ranma was capable of when she was angry, and
most of them doubted if Ranma was going to give herself to Kuno. Those
who though she might glanced at the corner they were behind nervously.
A few minutes later Nabiki's 'friend' came back shaken and screaming.
Nabiki stood from her place under one of the tree's in the courtyard.
Akane frowned, she had seen enough, no matter how much of a pain he was,
Ranma would not kill Kuno. If she had tried to explain things to him
calmly like she thought she was doing she could easily end up frustrated
and lose her temper. Desperate cries of pain came from behind the
building as the two sisters ran towards the spot. What they found was not
what Nabiki was expecting and what Akane was afraid of.
Ranma pulled Kuno behind the building. "My l-love 'tis not right that
you should show your love for me here, we must retire to some place more
private surely." stammered Kuno nervously.
"No one will bother us. I put a small spell that makes them too nervous
to investigate on everyone. You should be flattered Kuno I've been
planning this for a while. You wouldn't believe how long it took to find
just the right spell." she said with an evil grin.
"Surely such magics could only be spawned from your undying love for
me." stuttered Kuno.
"Or hatred." sneered Ranma.
"Tell me who it is you hate so badly and surely I shall slay them!" said
Kuno getting on his knees and grabbing Ranma's hand.
"It is you." replied Ranma coldly.
"Ah, I understand. You hate me for not bringing my undying love to you
sooner!" cried Kuno grabbing Ranma in a hug.
"I tried allowing you to see the truth for yourself, now you must suffer
my way." said Ranma pushing him off. Her hands glowed white and Kuno was
pressed against the wall by an invisible force.
"Alas I cannot show my love for you! The foul sorcerer Gosunkugi has
placed a spell to force me from movement! I shall smite the weakling
after I free myself and profess my love to you my pig tailed goddess!"
screamed Kuno as he struggled on the wall.
"Gosunkugi?" thought Ranma Idly and quickly pushed it away, she had more
pressing matters to attend at the moment.
"You cannot run from the truth forever Kuno. I shall make it so that is
all you can see!" said Ranma with an evil grin. She sat down and began
chanting and a blue aura surrounded her and Kuno. She heard someone
scream and run away. "Damn." muttered Ranma. The spell she used was very
weak, anyone would follow with enough of a reason or enough prodding.
Then Kuno began to scream as well.
A few moments passed and Ranma saw Akane and Nabiki turn the corner and
stop cold in their tracks. Nabiki stared at Ranma and Kuno in disbelief
and Akane ran towards her. "Akane don't interfere, never interfere with a
spell -ever- understand me?" sneered Ranma as she turned and looked at
the youngest Tendo.
"What are you doing to him?" said Akane glancing between Ranma and the
Kendoist who was writhing in pain against the wall.
"Making him see the truth." said Ranma.
"How?!" she cried stepping towards Kuno.
"Akane if you touch him you may make this worse." warned Ranma.
"Will he die?" asked Akane.
"There are worse fates than death." replied Ranma as the glow died
around her and Kuno.
Kuno fell in a quivering mass on the ground. He stood and stared at
Akane and Ranma.
"What did you do to him?" said Akane staring at Ranma with tears in her
eyes.
"Simple, he can no longer see or hear any lie, not even the ones he
creates himself." said Ranma with a smirk.
"Where is the pigtailed girl?" asked Kuno standing and looking around in
confusion.
"I am her." said Ranma.
"You are." said Kuno and his eyes went wide in surprise, no matter how
badly he wanted to deny it his mouth would not comply.
"But you are a..." he started to talk.
Ranma glanced at him warningly and put her finger to her lips. "That is
not any fault of mine." she said as Kuno stared at the boy before him.
His attention was only momentary as Akane stood before him. "Oh Akane no
doubt you have come to profess your hatred for me!" he cried and ran up
to her and hugged her warmly. He looked at her as she gazed at him
coldly. "You don't love me at all." he said and began to realize what
Ranma had done to him.
"What have you done!?" he cried and fell to his knees holding his head
protectively.
"You can no longer hear or see any lie. If you behave yourself I will
remove the spell in a few days." said Ranma coolly.
"Wha?" said Kuno staring at her blankly.
"That means that you really are a..." said Kuno with a cool gaze at
Ranma.
Ranma nodded and glared at him. Kuno caught the implied threat and kept
the rest to himself.
"You don't love me." he said to Akane who stared at him in disbelief.
Nabiki walked up to the group and stared at them in shock. "Ah, Nabiki,
You will tell no one of what you saw here and keep your lackey quiet."
said Ranma with a smile.
Nabiki quickly regained herself and smirked. "Why should I?" she said
smugly.
"Because if you do not I will make it so the very sight of Yen will
repulse you. You won't ever be able to touch money without throwing up."
said Ranma with a smirk.
"See if I care." said Nabiki.
"What?" said Kuno.
"Oho, looks like Kuno can't hear you Nabiki." said Ranma with her grin
growing ever wider.
Akane frowned and looked at Ranma in disbelief. She was enjoying this
far to much. "Ranma stop it your scaring me." she said backing away.
Ranma stopped and stared at her. "I-I'm sorry Akane." she said looking
at her blankly. With that she turned and walked into the school. "What
happened to me?" she muttered to herself as she walked in followed by the
other three students, they all went to their respective classes and
walked in.
A few moments later in the hall....
"Ranma what happened to you?" asked Akane as she shifted her bucket.
"I don't know, I was enjoying myself. I'm not sure why but I actually
had fun doing that." said Ranma calmly.
"It was terrible to do that to him, even if he deserved it." said Akane
in shock.
"In a few days, after I release him, He'll be thanking me for it." said
Ranma calmly.
"What do you mean?" asked Akane.
"Kuno has been lying to himself for a very long time, I don't think he
even knew he was doing it anymore." said Ranma with a heavy sigh. "I
released him from an eternal loop of lies. If someone hadn't stopped him
it would have continued forever." said Ranma looking at the ceiling.
Down the hall...
"Nabiki, My poetry is bad." sighed Kuno.
"Yes it is Kuno chan." replied Nabiki.
"You say that to annoy me." said Kuno not really paying attention.
"Kuno?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Later that day...
Soun Tendo sat on the porch of his home and sighed. "I shall drink to
your memory my old friend." he said looking up at the sky as the panda he
was speaking of plopped down beside him. Soun poured himself a small
glass of sake and downed it quickly.
Akane walked into the room and sat at the table. Ranma leaned her head
against the table and read one of her many books as she watched the
television with Akane and Nabiki, who was playing with her camcorder.
"Eh?" said Soun and Genma in unison as Kuno walked across the yard
towards the house.
"Ah, Mr. Tendo, it is agreeable to see you again. I have come to annoy
your daughter with bad poetry and my unwanted advances." he said
cheerfully and then stopped. He hung his head and faced the pair on the
porch. He bowed to Soun "I apologize for the intrusion." He then turned
to the naked Genma. He sweat a little and bowed to him as well. "The same
to you good sir." he said and turned to walk away.
"What was that all about?" said Soun in surprise.
"Growf." answered Genma.
"Its kind of nice having Kuno chan so truthful isn't it Akane." said
Nabiki as she walked up the stairs with her camcorder pointed at him.
"I guess, but I still think you shouldn't have done it Ranma. I mean
Kuno can get into real trouble if he can't even tell a little lie." she
said watching him sulk away.
"Who said he couldn't lie?" said Ranma with a smile on her face.
"What?" said Akane a bit surprise.
"He can lie all he wants. He just couldn't hear it if he did. Its not my
fault he didn't understand what I did to him." replied Ranma.
A few hours later...
A frustrated Kuno walked out of a movie theater. "I don't believe it. I
couldn't see or hear the film I so wanted to see!" he ranted. He turned
and looked at a book store and frowned. Almost half the books in the
store looked totally blank to him, everything under fiction and even a
good portion of the non fiction. He turned away and looked at a news
paper, about half its pages were blank. Near by a large group of children
stood watching what appeared to be blank television screens in the front
of an appliance store. "This is most irritating." he muttered and walked
towards his home. He stopped and paled as a naked boy with a bandanna
tied around his neck wandered by on his hands and knees. "Perhaps I
should hasten my return, My sister is no doubt Unconcerned with my
absence." he said as he sped up his stride.
At a dock on the other side of Japan...
Two young women in Chinese clothes stepped off the plank and onto the
soil of Japan. the took positions on either side of the boarding plank
and held their long spears at their sides standing like an honor guard.
An aged woman in Chinese robes balancing delicately on a crooked staff
pogoed down and hopped between them.
<You two go and find Young Mousse, tell him of the situation and make
sure he complies, I warn you not to let your guard down he is more
powerful than you think; he is not the weak boy you once knew; it will
take all your skills to keep yourselves alive until you can speak to him
if he decides not to listen to you. I will deal with this 'Ranma'.> she
said to them with out turning.
<Yes, mistress Cologne.> replied the pair.
<One more thing. If he still has it, make sure you get it back intact.>
she said before disappearing from view.
<Yes, mistress.> replied the pair bowing before they went of on their
own quest.
TbC.....
C&C to Catbert25@aol.com
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