Soun and Kasumi grabbed Ranma, too fast for even him to avoid. He struggled against their hold, unwilling to go all out against the Tendo's. "Hey, ya jerk! Let me go!"
"I want to be immortal. Make me immortal." Ranma could see the creature's claws dig into Akane's arm and draw blood.
Ranma growled in frustration and struggled harder. "We can't make you immortal!"
"Yes, we can," Kuno said, remaining unrestrained.
Ranma looked at Kuno. "What?"
"He knows, he knows," the creature said gleefully. "Make me immortal! Make me a wu!" If the creature had to free claws, it would have clapped.
"Kuno, you idiot! What do you think you're doing? What about Akane? She won't ever be..."
"Quiet, Saotome! This is the only way." Kuno started to address the creature. "Release her. She is not involved."
"Give me what I want, then I let her go."
"He'll kill her! Don't listen to him!" Ranma jerked his arms, trying to break the grip of Kasumi and Soun.
"The only way..." Kuno stepped forward, Nabiki and Genma letting him go. He stood in front of the monster, his sword lowered.
"You surrender now? This will make things easy..." The creature shuffled forward, dragging Akane with him. One smooth and slender tentacle extended towards Kuno.
Kuno bowed his head as the tentacle slithered around the wrist of his empty hand. He was yanked forward a couple feet as the monster lowered it's head towards him.
"Do something! Don't just stand there!" Ranma watched the scene unfold before him, powerless to do anything about it. The monster lowered it's head further. "Hold still. This won't hurt a bit." It chuckled evilly.
Kuno felt it's clammy breath on his skin, could smell the fetid odor coming off it; he wanted to vomit. He resisted another pull from the tentacle; the creature would have to come to him. Come a little closer...
He waited until he could feel the mouth, feel the teeth biting into his skin. Then, his sword a blur, he cleaved through the monster's thick, stubby neck. A scream like knives on a chalkboard issued forth from the severed head, green and black blood jetting into the air from the body.
The tentacle on Kuno's wrist withdrew, leaving him free. He turned quickly and lunged towards Akane. He ripped the ward from her forehead, searing pain ripping through his hand, and threw it to the ground.
As soon as the creature's head was removed, the four possessed family members threw their hands to their heads and began to scream, a squealing, screeching sound that hurt Ranma's ears. He could see the claws of the beast looking to pick up the head, several tentacles used like feelers.
Smoke still coming from his hand, Kuno turned and sliced off two inquisitive tentacles. An alert and very upset sanjiyan shoved him aside and knocked him to the ground.
"Fool! How could I have made such a stupid mistake? Taking you as my guardian... If you can not even watch a girl, how can you protect me?" She glared at him quickly then turned her attention to the creature.
Kamiko held out her arms, her pinkie, thumb and index finger extended on both hands; her palms were turned out. She said something that Kuno could not understand; a single word said quietly but with force. A blast of light burst forth from her hands and bathed the monster.
The screaming picked up again, making a stunned Ranma cringe. He watched the massive body blow into tiny chunks then disintegrate into nothing. He watched Kasumi, Soun, Nabiki and his father all fall to the ground as the light faded from Kamiko.
"Useless guardian," she whispered and Kuno got a taste of the complete disappointment she felt. "Do better next time or we will both be dead." She fell to the floor and he kneeled beside her.
He didn't notice the scenery around them change to the dojo, but Ranma did. He looked out the doorway to the sunny outdoors. "Come on. We should call Dr. Tofu."
Kuno lifted the sleeping Akane after sheathing his katana. He still couldn't shake the disappointment that Kamiko had felt with him; it was almost heartbreaking that she had so little confidence in him. Though, after his two bungles, he supposed she had the right to be.
He carried her into the house and laid her down on the couch. He kneeled on the floor near the end of the couch. He didn't plan on leaving any time soon.
Ranma was supporting a groggy Soun and let the older man sit at the table. "Come on, Kuno. Help me with the others."
"No, I will not leave her again. There will be no more mistakes."
Ranma hmphed, exasperated by Kuno's attitude. If it wasn't one thing with the guy, it was another. He left to help the others.
"You're learning," a very faint voice said to Kuno from nowhere.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me," he whispered. Suddenly he felt inordinantly pleased and relieved. He had been forgiven.
If the sanjiyan could maintain so strong a bond even after such a huge expenditure of energy, her power was... Unimaginable. Failing her a third time would be a mistake.
"I guess it wasn't such a good day," Akane said, smiling weakly. She picked at the bandage on her arm.
"Don't concern yourself with it, Akane. It wasn't your fault," Kasumi said, returning with some tea. Once she had gotten herself up and around, it was back to business as usual for her.
"Thanks, Kasumi. Now, I want to talk to you all about finding this statue..."
Soun was wailing. It seemed more pitiful than usual, even for him.
"Now, Dad. Don't cry. I'll be fine. We'll get through this just fine." Akane patted her father's hand.
"Here, Father, have more tea." Kasumi refilled his cup. "Besides, Tatewaki will be there to protect her."
Ranma snorted. "Yeah, and so will I. He screwed up twice, next time it could be real trouble."
"No, Ranma," Akane said firmly. "I... I don't want you to."
Ranma gaped. "What? Why not?" It wouldn't be a vacation, he didn't think she and Kuno would be using it as some romantic getaway. At least he hoped not.
"Because. I've heard what you've said about what's happened these two times. You said these things were too much even for you. Didn't you?"
Ranma nodded curtly, frowning slightly.
"Well... I wouldn't want to see you... get hurt," she finished quietly. "You can't stand up to these monsters. Not like Kuno-sempai." She averted her eyes; she couldn't stand the hurt look on his face.
"I don't care. You need more than just him to protect you. Besides, what difference will it make if I'm safe and you're dead?" He didn't see Soun and Genma silently celebrating in the background.
Akane sniffed. She was trying her hardest not to cry. It was a matter of pride... and courage. She thought that if she started crying, she would lose her nerve and not be able to leave. "But if something happens to me, you have... other fiancees. If you died... I'd have nothing left."
She swallowed hard, her head turned away from Ranma. She stood up and ran to her room. Kuno stood up a moment later and followed her. Ranma snarled and ran upstairs too.
"Hey! What do you think you're..." Ranma's voice faded when he saw Kuno standing outside Akane's room with his arms folded across his chest.
"I said I would not leave her again and so I shall not. Your... personal problems are of no concern to me."
Ranma heard the quaver in Kuno's voice. "Yeah, well, OK." He knocked on Akane's door and opened it when she answered. He went in and shut the door behind him.
Kuno stood vigilantly by the door, still frowning. No matter what kind of mistake Akane had made by choosing Saotome over himself, he would let no harm come to her... or Kamiko.
"So they left you out in the cold, eh Kuno-chan?" Nabiki was heading to her room.
"I am giving them their privacy. For the time, I believe your sister is safe, but I will take no more chances."
"It's about time you took this whole thing a little more seriously."
He gave her a hard look. "Yes, well..." He didn't have much to say, she had gotten him.
"Next time my family's in danger, take your time. I'm sure we'll all be fine."
"I am sorry. You know I would do my best to protect anyone in need."
"Yeah, so you better take care of my sister or I'll have to hire someone to beat the crap out of you." She wasn't smiling.
Kuno nodded. "With my life."
She glared at him for a moment. "I'll be in my room when you two are ready to make your plans." She retreated to her room and left Kuno in the hall.
"Um, I don't think it's wise for you to just fly to Hong Kong. What do you plan on doing when you get there?" Nabiki asked.
"We were going to um..." Akane looked a bit sheepish.
"Call up this guy, who probably only speaks Chinese, and ask him if some ugly statue he used to own will make you human?"
Akane blushed and Kuno nodded.
Nabiki threw up her hands. "You two are hopeless. If Ranma were going with you the chain would be complete."
Ranma started to say something.
"No!" Akane said and frowned at him.
"OK, OK. But I still don't like it." Ranma put his chin in his hand and sulked.
"As helpless as I know you two are, and as much as I know you'd like me to go with you... I've had enough with monsters and won't be going anywhere."
Not that Akane expected anything different. She could get along fine; all she needed was a little help. "All we need is a little help."
"All you ever need is a little help." Nabiki gave her sister a look before softening. "Give me some details and I'll see what I can come up with."
"Thanks, Nabiki." Akane gave her a brief hug.
Nabiki held out her hand after they broke up. "This is going to cost. It won't be easy."
Akane looked hopefully at Kuno. "Kuno-sempai?"
"Of course. I was prepared for this." He pulled out a sizable wad of cash and gave it to Nabiki.
She looked at it, judging the amount. "This is a good start, but I know it's going to be more."
Akane started to tell Nabiki everything Tofu had told her and showed Nabiki all the the copies. Nabiki scrutinized each piece of paper, reading them over and taking careful mental notes.
It took them a little over two hours to go through everything.
"Here. Take this." Nabiki held out a small cellular phone.
Akane took it. "What's this for?" she asked.
"I think you can figure it out." She turned to Kuno. "You'll have to take care of it, Kuno-chan. If it gets deactivated, you two'll be SOL."
He nodded. "If you see to the payment, I shall make the funds available to you."
Nabiki's hands twitched at the thought of having Kuno's money at her mercy. "I won't leave you hanging."
"So what should I take?" Akane had no idea where to begin when it came to packing.
Ranma thought back to his days on the road. "Only take what you need. The rest will just bog you down. And don't always expect to get everything you want. You're going to be in a different country where people don't care about you."
"Thanks for your help," Akane said, giving him a cross look.
"I just don't want to see you get all frustrated and give up before you've even gone anywhere, you... you..." He was the one that was frustrated. "You don't know anything about being on the road!"
"I really hate this," Akane said, her mood turning sour.
"No kidding," Ranma said. His mood was already sour.
"Yeah, but you don't have a choice. Unless you just want to sit here until Kaiyanwang knocks on the door," Nabiki said.
She received black looks, but no one disagreed with her.
"You know, Nabiki... How do you have all those connections to help us out like this?" Akane looked at the phone, the flight schedules, the names and addresses.
"You've heard about don't ask, don't tell?"
"Yes."
"Don't ask."
"Tomorrow afternoon. We'll be going to Hong Kong." Akane's voice was a bit shaky. All their plans were firm, she was packed; there was no turning back.
She slumped on the couch. It was the last thing she wanted to be telling her family. For the previous few hours, she had been hoping that Kaiyanwang WOULD knock on the door, then she wouldn't have to leave. She would have preferred a straight fight over traveling to another country and being seperated from everything she knew.
She looked at Kuno. He was sitting at the other end of the couch, staring straight ahead, his hands on his knees. She wouldn't be seperated from everything; if there was one thing in the world she could count on being unchanging, it was Kuno. He may have been an idiot, but he was a consistant, unrelenting idiot.
He turned to look at her, his face remaining expressionless. The fact that he was taking everything so seriously made her nervous. He was ready to just go off into whatever might be waiting for them and start swinging his sword. Akane suddenly wished Ranma would be going, she wished she hadn't told him to stay.
She thought his shoulder would be something she would want to cry on very soon.
Akane and Kuno walked down the street, each with a bag. Kuno was still wearing his katana, but also carried a case to store it in on the plane. There was silence between them as they walked in the waning sunlight.
Akane had thought it best to take the bus to the airport and leave her family at home, eliminating a lot of heartache. Kuno had objected to the bus, but not too loudly when he saw the tears in her eyes.
Akane patted the comforting weight of the cel phone in the pocket of her dress. It was her lifeline, a connection to her family that she didn't want to lose. She put on the headphones of the walkman Nabiki had given her. She hoped the music could take her mind off... everything.
As she walked, the music playing softly in her ears, she started lagging behind Kuno's long strides. She didn't care, she wasn't anxious to leave after all. Passing by some bushes, something caught her eye and caused her to stop.
She leaned down and moved some leaves out of the way. Poking out from under some sticks was a beautiful stick or staff. She picked it up and looked at it closely. It was of a perfect length for her to use, to hold at its middle, like it was meant for her. Her eyes were drawn to the intricate patterns that swirled up and down the wood. There were designs, words and symbols that she couldn't read, but she knew what they meant. It was warm in her hands, like she had just been holding it.
One end was smooth, like it was supposed to be held there, but at the other was a small cap, a nodule. It was highly stylized, in the shape of a ballpeen hammer head and decorated with strange runes.
She stood up feeling strangely comforted and warm in her stomach.
If she had any experience with strong alcohol, she would have recognized the feeling. She looked toward Kuno, who had seemingly not noticed her stop. "Kuno-sempai," she called and jogged to catch him. Again she got that strange notion that it would be a good day. But the last time she felt like that, the day had ended up being a disaster.
Akane stopped at Kuno's side, smiling.
"Akane Tendo, you must stay within my sight at all times," he said to her, glossing over the fact that he had gone on without her.
He had such a stern and serious look on his face, Akane couldn't help but giggle. She hooked his arm and began jogging to the bus stop, dragging him along. "Hurry, Kuno-sempai, or we'll miss the bus!"
"Akane Tendo, you must not run whilst carrying a stick!"
"Kuno-sempai, you're so silly. And stop calling me that." The bus stop was just over the next hill. "You can just call me Akane, or if that's too much for you to handle, Tendo is fine too." She smiled at him, feeling unusually giddy. "After all, I'll be the only Tendo around... Just you and me..."
She laughed when she saw the look on his face. Then she managed a look of anger. "And just what were you thinking of?" She couldn't hold the look though, and started giggling again.
His mouth worked for a moment before he snapped it shut. He stopped jogging and pulled Akane to a halt. "Akane Tendo, what is affecting you? Why are you acting in this manner?"
She smiled at him, her cheeks flushed. "I told you to call me Akane. And there's nothing wrong with me." She giggled drunkenly.
"There most assuredly is something wrong. Here, let me help you." He moved to take her arm.
"There's nothing wrong with me," she said indignantly and jerked her arms away from him. She frowned, looking a lot like a pouting child. "I'm fine," she repeated, stamping her foot. Then she passed out, holding the staff closely to her.
Kuno sighed and lifted Akane. If Akane was going to act like this all the time, getting to Hong Kong and actually accomplishing anything would be a problem. He carried her towards the bus stop, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from people on the street. If she got worse, he wasn't sure how he would handle her.
He relaxed at the bus stop. If she was unwilling to cooperate, how would he protect her? Kamiko had been right. Things were turning out to be far more difficult than first anticipated.
He looked at Akane's sleeping face. She was so peaceful looking, so innocent. His hold on her tightened. She had chosen Saotome, but that wouldn't stop him from protecting her with his life, his soul, everything he was. If only she could feel for him the way he felt about her.
"I'll always protect you," he whispered.
"I know," came Kamiko's whispery reply as the bus arrived.
Part 7
Part 9