{These characters are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}
He was having trouble breathing. The thing the bad woman had put over his mouth wasn't letting him get enough air. And she had tied up his hands and his arms were starting to hurt. He didn't want to cry, he knew he shouldn't cry, but he couldn't help himself any longer. He was scared and wanted Mommy and Daddy.
"Nabiki, what the hell happened?" Ranma kneeled by her still form and sat her up. "Yo, Nabiki? Hey, are you awake?" he asked.
"She took him," Nabiki mumbled to nothing in particular.
"Nabiki, what're you talkin' about? Who took who?" This was very strange, and Nabiki looked like she had just seen a ghost.
"Kodachi..."
Ranma looked at her, puzzled. "Who's that?" Not receiving an answer, he took Nabiki's arm. "Come on, you should go inside."
Nabiki made no effort to stand as Ranma pulled her arm.
Ranma pulled gently again, but couldn't figure out why Nabiki wasn't standing up. He patted Nabiki's cheek, trying to get her to respond more. "Shouldn't you be inside with Tatewaki and Takuma?"
Nabiki's head turned slowly until her eyes were boring into Ranma's. "She took him. She's going to..." Nabiki's voice started to break. "She's going to..." Her eyes closed and her hands suddenly clenched into fists. "She's going to kill him, that bitch."
Ranma sat back a little, having absolutely no clue as to what was going on. "Nabiki, what is goin' on here?"
Nabiki opened her eyes, a sudden fury in them. "I'm... I'm going to kill her. I don't care what happens to me, but if she hurts Takuma..."
"Nabiki..."
Not waiting for Ranma, Nabiki stood up, feeling a little lightheaded. Looking around wildly, she suddenly saw Ranma, standing up slowly. "Ranma, you can help me. Help me save him." She was pulling anxiously on Ranma's shirt.
Ranma had to hold Nabiki's wrists. "What are you talking about? Who's got Takuma?"
Nabiki was trying to work her wrists from Ranma's hold, alternating looks at Ranma's face and back at the house. "Kodachi. Damn it, let me go! I have to save him!"
"Stop it..." Ranma increased the hold on Nabiki. "Stop it. You think Takuma's been kidnapped?" he asked.
Nabiki looked at Ranma like he had grown a third eye. "Yes! That's what I just said! Come on!"
"And he's in the house?"
"For God's sake, yes! If I don't go now, he's going to be..." Nabiki only pulled harder against Ranma.
"Nabiki, listen to me. If he has been kidnapped and is in the house, you can't just run in there after him!" Those sober words seemed to calm Nabiki enough for Ranma to continue. "Where's Tatewaki?"
"He already went to get Takuma. I don't trust her. Tate-chan still thinks of her as his sister. He might not be able to..."
Ranma sat back. "Kodachi? THAT Kodachi?"
Nabiki nodded, still looking at the house. There were no lights on. THAT Kodachi, like she was a disease, which Nabiki could see. A deadly disease. "Let me go! I have to go!" Nabiki finally yanked free of Ranma and dashed toward the house.
Ranma was running after her immediately. "Nabiki!" he said as loud as he dared. "Don't!" Before he could stop her, which was fairly strange because Ranma should have been able to outrun her, Nabiki reached the door and was heading inside.
Ranma got to the door shortly after her, breathing hard from a sudden surge of adrenalin. "Damn it," he swore softly, then went inside too.
Door after door. And before he opened the next one, something grabbed him and held him from opening it. Because it was already open, just a crack. Just a miniscule crack, but all the other doors had been shut completely and this one was open.
Tatewaki's hand, which had been poised to open the door, slowly went back by his side. She was in there, waiting for him. He needed to get in there, but not through the door.
Envisioning the layout of the house and grounds, Tatewaki could see that window, see how the layout of the room looked through that window, could almost imagine Kodachi crouching in the dark, waiting to strike at him.
The noise had stopped. Kodachi listened closely, but couldn't hear any more noise... except. The front door opened and closed. Twice. Either two people had just come in or one had come in and left immediately. Kodachi didn't think that was very likely.
So the person that used to be her brother had brought help. Not that it would matter; she would take care of them all.
"You just can't run through the house and check every room!" Ranma had finally found Nabiki in the kitchen, the only light on in the house. "What if she's waiting for you to do something stupid like that? If she's as dangerous as you think she is, she could kill you!"
Ranma was a little more worried about this than he thought he should have been, but he had also heard Tatewaki stomping around like a rabid elephant, and then the noise had stopped abruptly. Ranma refused to consider that it was too late.
"This is blood! What if it's too late? I can't just sit here!"
To Ranma, it looked like Nabiki was about to start foaming at the mouth. If she got out of control, that would double the problems.
Nabiki went to one counter and pulled a large knife out of the block holding it. "I'm going to kill her!"
That's fine, the trouble had just quadrupled. Ranma walked slowly over to Nabiki and held her wrist. "If you do that, you're going to be just as bad as her. Do you want that?" he asked calmly.
Nabiki looked at him, her face a mix of fright and fury. She slowly shook her head.
"Good. Just put the knife down, and then we'll go look together." Ranma smiled reassuringly. 'And hope we don't both get killed,' he thought.
Tatewaki looked up. The window was not second story, but with the build of the house, it was raised high enough off the ground that he couldn't be seen, or see in. He would only have one chance, and then the element of surprise would be lost. One chance, one chance only.
Takashi sat up slowly, groaning. That had been one wicked shot to the temple Kodachi had given him with that club. If only he had been able to prevent it, he wouldn't feel like there was a table saw running in his head.
Looking in the darkened room, he realized he was in one of the guest rooms. He had apparently been dragged here to get him out of the way. Feeling his head, his fingers came away sticky with partially dried blood. That had been quite a whallop.
Get slowly to his feet, Takashi watched the room spin for a bit before trying to walk to the door. That had definitely been Kodachi. And she had definitely hit him.
She had been holding Takuma in one arm, and Takuma hadn't looked happy to be there. In fact, Takuma had looked passed out. Maybe everything about Kodachi had been true after all. He didn't want to believe the things he had been told, but that was not the daughter that he remembered.
"Last I heard, he was down here," Ranma said, then led Nabiki down a long hallway.
"I know my own house well enough," she replied contritely.
"Yeah, and I don't think you want to get your head bashed in by Kodachi, do ya?" This was no time to be getting persnickety about things.
"Well, no."
"Then you follow me." Ranma didn't want to take any chances and he figured he was a lot more prepared to deal with whatever this Kodachi might try to do than Nabiki was.
The two moved quietly down the hall.
Kodachi was getting unnerved, which she didn't care for at all. All noise had ceased. There was no noise from whoever had come inside earlier, and no sound from the person who used to be her brother.
The only noises, very small sounds really, were the ones the little boy were making. Tiny, but distracting. "No noise," she hissed, and immediately Takuma fell silent.
All he wanted were his parents to take care of him, to get him away from this bad woman. He tried to move, to get away from the wet stain his tears were making on the blanket.
All the doors were open, some off their tracks, until they got to one. At that door, everything was closed again except for the door past it. Ranma pulled on Nabiki's arm, taking her down the hall.
"Whatever is going on is going on in one of these rooms," Ranma whispered to Nabiki. "I don't know what room she's in, and going into the wrong one would be trouble."
Nabiki nodded, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were fixed on the two doors, either one which could hold her son.
"And I don't know what happened ta Tatewaki. This could be dangerous," Ranma continued.
Tatewaki stood against the house and reached his arms up. His fingertips grazed the window sill, and on his tiptoes, he could get a good hold on it. OK, now how was he actually supposed to get in the window with Kodachi noticing him?
Somehow he had to bust through the window and surprise Kodachi all in one fell swoop, and at this point, he just didn't know how.
Tatewaki looked up again, but not at the window. The roof.
Takashi staggered down the hall. This predicament seemed to call for stronger measures than he would have liked to use. Arriving at a set of doors, he opened them and silently thanked Sasuke for maintaining his private rooms.
Not bothering with a light, Takashi moved into the room that served as a study and to the wall with the painting of Mount Fuji on it. Moving the picture aside, Takashi spun the safe combination as if he had opened it yesterday and not seven years ago.
He looked inside and hoped that after seven years, the contents of the safe still worked. He thought he was going to need it.
"We should just go in there and... and..."
"And what?" Ranma asked a very incensed Nabiki.
"And... kick her ass!"
Ranma resisted the urge to chuckle, knowing this was no time for jokes. Though, that might not be a bad idea if they really wanted to catch Kodachi by surprise. He shrugged. "OK. Just let me do it, and you keep back. Grab Takuma if you get the chance."
Nabiki nodded. And she'd give Kodachi a shot if she got the chance.
Tatewaki crept quietly across the roof. It was in good repair and his footsteps were quiet as he moved to the edge. A few feet below him was the window. Nabiki would be mad at him for breaking a window, but at that point, it didn't matter.
So he'd have to hold on to the edge, swing down, break the glass and drop into the room without killing himself. No problem. Nope, not a problem at all. He could do it. Definitely. Breathing deeply, he prepared himself to go.
The silence was deafening, and that was wrong. There should be noise, sounds of panic and terror. Kodachi glided across the room and picked up Takuma. They were getting ready to try and take her. Well, that would not happen; not without somebody getting hurt.
Kodachi held the bound child tightly, leaving her right arm free for her to wield her club. She tested the little switch that sent the spikes springing out. Still in perfect working order. The first person she encountered would find it buried in their face as a welcoming gift.
"Ready?"
Nabiki nodded.
"One..."
'Two,' Tatewaki thought to himself.
"Three!" Ranma yelled and yanked the door open, then charged inside.
'Three.' Tatewaki swung down off the roof and forced his feet through the window, shattering the glass and sending it everywhere.
More than anything, Ranma was surprised by the person breaking through the window and barely had time to react to the small object suddenly flying through the air at his face.
Instinctively pushing Nabiki to one side, he plucked the object out of the air, tossed it aside, and swiftly moved toward the figure on the other side of the room.
Tatewaki landed almost nimbly on his feet, taking a bare moment to register Nabiki and Ranma in the room, then the fact that Kodachi was off to his left. It was her that he advanced on immediately.
Nabiki fumbled for the light switch, eventually finding it and turning it on, revealing all participants in overhead light.
Everyone froze when they saw Kodachi holding up Takuma, a small knife held up to his neck. Kodachi's eyes moved from person to person, glaring hatefully at Nabiki and Tatewaki before settling on Ranma, who was closest to her.
Ranma looked back, his eyes hard as he gauged the woman in front of him. He could see where she had had skills before, but now she was even more dangerous in her desperation and insanity. "Just let Takuma go. We don't want to hurt you," he said calmly.
Kodachi gave him a grim smile though her eyes glittered with dark mirth. "Oh? And do you share the opinions of these other two... people?"
Ranma spared a brief glance back at Nabiki and was surprised by the hostility he saw there. "We just want Takuma back safe, that's all."
"I doubt that is all they want." Kodachi smiled and it was not pleasant. She tensed her arm slightly and the knife bit into Takuma's skin.
He couldn't cry out, but his eyes got very wide and tears spilled down his face.
"Now," Kodachi said, her voice turning cruel, "I suggest you clear the way or your precious little bastard won't be alive much longer."
Nabiki was torn between lunging at Kodachi and running in complete fear for her son. Somehow, she managed not to do either.
Ranma looked back at Tatewaki, who did not appear to be in complete control of himself. Nodding slightly, Ranma took a slow step back. "OK, see, we're going. Don't hurt him." He continued to walk back slowly until he could feel Nabiki behind him.
"Why don't you come over here, Tatewaki?" Ranma said, his eyes not leaving Kodachi. If she made one move to hurt Takuma, he would know it, and she would pay dearly. "Why don't we give your sister her personal space?"
"She is no longer my sister," Tatewaki replied, standing up slowly.
"As he is no longer my brother," Kodachi added, still staring at Ranma.
"Well, come on, let's give the person that is not your sister some personal space," Ranma offered, flustered by suddenly being a hostage negotiator.
Nabiki, in a moment of rational calm, waved Tatewaki over. They had caught Kodachi by surprise, but not to the affect that they would have liked. Of course, Kodachi hadn't had the upper hand either. They were effectively at a stalemate while Kodachi valued her life.
The moment she injured Takuma would be the moment her life ended in a rather bloody mess, and Nabiki could tell Kodachi knew it. Takuma was her key to getting out of the house in one piece. She wouldn't give that option up while she was cornered.
Tatewaki slowly moved over to stand beside Ranma, and the three of them began to back out of the room. As they moved back, Kodachi moved forward, the knife still digging into Takuma's skin.
The group of three squeezed out of the door and backed down the hall, deeper into the house, leaving the way out for Kodachi. Realizing this, seeing how they had given in, Kodachi smiled and loosened her hold on Takuma just a fraction. If he slipped from her arm, the knife would cut him. If anything was tried, she would cut him. Kodachi was holding all the cards and had all the money as well.
Finally, when Nabiki, Ranma, and Tatewaki were ten feet away from the door, standing side by side in the hall, Kodachi emerged from the room and began to back down the hallway. No more words were said; there just wasn't a point to it any longer.
It was time. Kodachi set Takuma down gently, keeping the knife at his neck. She slowly undid the bonds at his ankles, but left the others on. This would be her calling card. This would be their remembrance of her.
Standing up, Kodachi burned each of their faces in her mind, lingering on the face of Ranma longer. "I was never told your name," she said, breaking the heavy silence.
"Ranma. Ranma Saotome."
Kodachi whispered the name almost reverently. "Ranma... Ranma, it would have been so nice to know you, but these things were not meant to be... yet."
She smiled, pulling the knife away from Takuma without cutting him. "Yet," she said again.
Before it happened, Ranma knew what was going to happen. He knew what was going to happen, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to stop it. The scene unfolded before him in slow motion, but he was moving even slower.
Kodachi stepped back and gave Takuma a little shove forward. Ranma's eyes got very wide and he tried to force himself to move faster than he had ever done so before. Kodachi's hand pulled back and the knife glittered in the dim light for one moment.
There was a muted scream that was most likely Nabiki, and Tatewaki was moving next to him, but neither of them were fast enough. Not fast enough to stop what was about to happen.
And as Kodachi's hand moved forward, time suddenly sped up again and the knife was heading right into Takuma's back. Ranma screamed himself, but his voice was drown out by the thunder that suddenly filled the hall.
Before the knife could reach Takuma, Kodachi was thrown back, a neat hole decorating her dress. She was thrown back and hit the floor, the knife flying out of her hand. Briefly, Kodachi struggled against her impending fate, the hole in her dress being surrounded by crimson. Coughing weakly, her lips stained with blood, Kodachi's hand spasmed weakly as if it was still clutching the knife, and then it was still.
Not paying attention to anything else, Nabiki ran forward and scooped up Takuma. Removing his ties while not releasing him, Nabiki clutched Takuma to her, tears cascading down her face. Then the gag was gone and Takuma was crying out, his arms around her neck.
"I won't ever be bad again!" Takuma cried. "Don't ever give me to the bad woman again! Please, Mommy!" He was shaking his head, burying his face into Nabiki's shoulder.
"No, honey, we'll never give you to the bad woman. Never."
Tatewaki found that he couldn't move. He wanted to hold Takuma, feel that he was safe and alive, feel him in his arms, but looking back... The man that was supposedly his father, still holding the gun that he had just shot Kodachi with... He looked very shocked.
Takashi looked at what he had done, at the puddle of blood slowly forming on the floor, at the gun in his hands. He was about to throw it away in disgust when he looked at Nabiki and Takuma. Instead of tossing the gun away, he lowered his hands, bringing the gun down by his side.
He couldn't be disgusted with what he had done. It was the... right thing. He had done the right thing and saved Takuma's life. He had taken Kodachi's life, but he had saved Takuma's, and done immeasurable good for Tatewaki and Nabiki. And he had killed Kodachi.
He had killed his daughter. She was not in a hospital, she did not have minor problems adjusting at school, she wasn't frustrated, she didn't have strange interests... She was dead. Because she had tried to kill Takuma.
Takashi began to take steps backwards until his back hit the wall. Slowly, he slid down to the floor and stared down the hall. It had all been his fault. Everything. If only he hadn't been so caught up in his image, in the name of the Kuno family...
Ranma looked around. Everyone who should be safe was, which was a great relief to him. He saw Tatewaki looking between Nabiki and Takuma and the man against the wall. Seeing his indecision, Ranma gave Tatewaki a little shove toward Nabiki, then went over to the man.
Crouching down next to him, Ranma attempted to speak in his calmest voice. "Takashi Kuno, right?"
Takashi looked at him and nodded. They had met briefly one day when Takuma had taken him over to visit. Saotome, Ranma Saotome was the name that made itself known in his head.
"Well, I think you just saved all our lives."
Takashi looked down at the gun still in his hands. "Did I? I could have prevented this from happening in the first place. I had the chance to make everything right years ago, but my children weren't important enough then."
Ranma was stunned. This was definitely not what he was expecting to hear. "But you..."
"I ended my daughter's life here. But really, I ended it a long time ago when I refused to hear that there was anything wrong with her. And Tatchi. I just wouldn't accept it. I didn't want to believe that something could be wrong with them, that any member of the Kuno family could be ill."
He shook his head slowly. "No, this is all my fault." He looked at Ranma pleadingly, then at the family he hadn't even known existed for four years. "I did them a great disservice. I... I should leave, go back to Hawaii and get out of everyone's life. It would just be better that way."
"No way," Ranma said instantly. "You don't think they're grateful that you saved Takuma's life? I don't always get along with my pop, but if he saved the life of ANYONE I was close to..." It was Ranma's turn to shake his head.
"It don't matter what I think, but I bet they won't let you leave." Ranma stood up and looked down the hall. He went to the nearest phone he knew about to call home.
Takuma refused to release his mother. Over and over, he begged her not to let the bad woman take him again. As many times as he begged, Nabiki promised that they wouldn't, unable to control the tears.
"She's gone, Kuma-chan," Tatewaki said, standing a little apart from Nabiki and Takuma. "She can't hurt you again. Ever." For a moment, Tatewaki's voice was sad. "Kodachi's gone. For good this time."
Nabiki looked up at him, knowing what his tone of voice meant. Even if the memories were bad, at one point in time, Kodachi had been his sister. She had been the girl he looked after and took care of when their father was gone. He had been the one she turned to before she had outgrown the need for his guidance. And he had been the one she turned on.
"Daddy?"
Tatewaki blinked past the building moisture. "What is it, Kuma-chan?"
"I don't want to ever leave again," Takuma said, holding his arms out.
Tatewaki smiled then and stepped into Takuma's arms, letting the boy slip them around his neck and hug him almost to the point of choking. "I don't want you to either."