Shampoo dodged just as Natsu expected. The daggers flew past the purple haired amazon and hit the control for the sprinkler system. There was a spark and then torrets of water came cascading down, drenching all those standing under the sprinklers in that section of the hallway. By some fluke of luck, Ryouga's unconscious form was out of the reach of the water. The spray of water turned Shampoo and Mousse into there curses forms. The two leapt for her and she easily batted them into the wall knocking them out.
With a smile she turned to the two wet and angry girls. "Well, that leaves you two and me now doesn't it?" Natsu teased.
Akane and Ukyo looke dat each other and then let out a low growl. They both attacked laying into her with all they had. Natsu easily blocked most of the blows save for a few cuts from ukyo's spatula. Acting surprised at the unexpected ferocity of their attack. She bounced back against the wall and revealed several small knives hidden in her hands. She prepared to throw them when she was caught by surprised. Ryouga had shaken off the effects of hitting the wall and had seen her getting ready to throw knives at the two girls. He lunged and barely managed to grab her leg. He then tugged hard, causing her to trip and impale herself in the side with her own weapon, or so it seemed. As she fells a small vial sliped out of her gi and skittered across the floor to stop by Ukyo's feet. Natsu reached out a hand, trying to snag the vial, "No! The antidote!"
Ukyo quickly snatched it up, "I'll take that!"
Natsu managed somehow to shake off Ryouga's hand and reach in her pocket. She pulled out a small round item and tossed it hard against the floor. As smoke billowed out, blocking the vision of the teenagers she scrambled up using it to cover her escape.
Ukyo and Akane coughed and helped Ryouga to his feet. As Akane held him up Ukyo tried to peer through the clearing smoke. Finally as the hallway cleared she could see bloody footprints. Ukyo shook her head, looking back at her friends.
"She got away!" Akane said, annoyed at the turn of events.
"Let her think so, Akane, I have a feeling she'll be back," Ukyo replied.
Outside and around the corner Natsu laughed. She removed the fake blood pack from her side and pulled out a cel-phone. "Phase one completed."
A voice on the other side said, "Good," in a feminine voice.
Outside by the fountain Atsuko tried to get the pain under control. She had never been the martial artist her daughter was and she never mastered the pain blocking techniques. As she brought the pain under control she took stock. When she went through the window upstairs she had been very lucky. Natsu had thrown her in such a way that she had only got a few cuts from th shattering glass. That surprised her. She knew that the woman could have easily thrown her in a way that she would have been sliced in half by the glass. She got up and tested her weight on each leg before heading inside. She hurt all over and she knew she probably had a few broken ribs from her landing against the center of the fountain but she had to try and catch up with Suteko. The girl was going to face Ito on Ito's terms. If she didn't help her she would lose her daughter for all time.
She stepped into the empty all and then moved to the concealed door. She opened it and slipped inside. She headed down the hall and took the same side route that the siblings took, heading toward Ito's secret chambers.
Suteko and Ranma slipped down the hidden hallway avoiding notice whenever possible. They stood still waiting for one of Ito's random patrols to pass them by. Suteko could feel Ranma's arm trembling from holding back his natural reaction to the guards. She knew he wanted to act instead of hide but he had come to understand the idea of stealth in the months that Suteko had been living with him. Finally as the guard rounded the corner she nudged him forward.
Ranma whispered, "That was so strange, sis."
Suteko smiled. "You get used to not being seen after a while, little brother."
Ranma grimaced. "Stop calling me that!"
Suteko chuckled and headed out ahead of him down the final hall leading to the secret room that Ito should be holding Hanzou in. As they came to the door they looked at each other and then at the door in suspicion. "Where are the guards?"
"Good question, brother." Suteko tried the nob. It turned easily in her hand. She looked up at Ranma and he stepped in front of the door and as his sister let go the handle. He snapped his leg forward and the door slammed back against the inside wall. He leapt into the room, Suteko just a step behind him. They looked about, shoulder to shoulder. They tensed up as they spotted Ito. As they expected, he was waiting for them, his back turned as he looked out the window.
A smile danced in the corners of the old man's mouth as he turned to face his grandchildren. "Ahh, so you came. Excellent. I take it you want your little friend back?" Ito's calm voice made a shiver slide up the spines of the siblings. Such evil held behind such a serene mask was frightening.
Suteko took a step past her brother and glared at their great grandfather. His demeaner was galling to the young woman. He knew why they where here and who they had come to rescue but he wanted to play word games. "Yes, you bastard, we are here for Hanzou. Now where is he?" Suteko demanded.
Ito took a step to the side and swept his hand toward the wall at his back. Suteko narrowed her eyes and looked the wall up and down. It was as she looked down at the floor that she noticed a rivulet of blood trailing from underneath the wall. Ito walked across to his desk. Reaching out a hand he casually pushed one of the buttons that lined one side of the desk.
Suteko stepped back as the wall turned around, revealling a pale and bleeding Hanzou. Suteko gasped as she looked him over. She felt her brother's hand on her arm as she started to rush to the injured boy's side. She looked back at him with surprise. She could tell from the color of the boy's skin that he had lost a lot of blood and that if he didn't get medical attention soon he was done for. She whispered, "We have to get him out of here, now."
Ito watched the two in amusement. It was obvious that his granddaughter had a healer's temperment. "Quite artistic, don't you think, Suteko-chan?" Ito asked mildly. He admired his handiwork.
For a moment the two siblings stared at the limp form of Hanzou and then they looked at each other. Without a word Ranma and his sister moved as one to attack Ito. Anticipating the reaction of his two desendants he dropped a hand below the edge of the desk, picked up a cross bow and pointed it at the limp Hanzou. The two stopped short of him, eyeing the weapon.
"Such vigor," he lifted a brow as the two started to move once more. This time they split but he sighted the weapon and they froze once more. "What a dilema. You can attack me boy but I will have enough time to pull the trigger and the bolt will hit the boy....or maybe your sister will have enough time to dart between and it will hit her in the back. Now do you really want to cause your dear sister another serious injury?" He let out a deep laugh at the look of helpless anger that passed over the boy's face. Now the two of you could attack me together. You might have a better chance of really taking me down if your sister worked with you but then of course I would still be able to shoot young Seikaze," he raised a brow as Suteko slid a bit to the side and closer to blocking his direct shot to the boy. "It is good to see that you two haven't changed much. You are not so bent on revenge that you would just forsake this poor child, are you?" Ito knew even before they had entered the house that they wouldn't. They hated him, it was true but not so much as to endanger another. His smile grew wider and truly more evil. "Excellent. There is nothing you two can do, now then," Ito's finger stabbed down on a button and two jets of gas flared out of the front of the desk. In surpirse both Ranma and Suteko gasped and they then both slid to the ground, unconscious as the fast acting sleep gas entered their bloodstreams. The last thing Suteko saw before her world went dark was the bolt from the crossbow flying into Hanzou's waist.
Akane and Ukyo shielded Shampoo from sight as the amazon slid back into her tight fitting costume and Ryouga handed Mousse his robes when the two transformed back into their human forms. They had come out of the hidden hall into a small room and the five teenagers started to work out a new plan. The hall they had been following had deadended in this chamber and there were no doors or windows to let out of the room. "So now what do we do?" Ukyo asked.
"We go after my daughter," came a voice from the doorway, causing everyone to turn around and look.
Leaning against the doorframe was Atsuko. She held out her hands in a gesture meant to show she was unarmed and not going to attack. The teenagers all dropped into defensive stances. "And why should we trust you?" Ukyou asked, her voice full of hate. This woman had caused enough trouble all ready.
"Do you really have a choice?" She asked quietly, stepping into the room. "By now Ito has captured my daughter and Ranma. He is aware of your presence in the house and the ease of your movements about the place is probably over. I am sure that he has his REAL guards on the way here now. Seeing as how he now has who he wants," she looked about at the young faces around her. They were all good kids but to her grandfather they were expendable. He could buy people just like them if he desired to. They all admittedly had great potential and some real talent but they all we are all expendable. She took a deep breath and continued. "That and I wish to somehow atone for my part in all this," she finished sadly.
Akane looked at Atsuko for a long time. She knew how Suteko felt about her mother. The betrayal that the older girl had felt had been clear in the late night talks the two had had. As was the still strong feelings she had for her mother. Though Akane knew Suteko wouldn’t like it she felt that Atsuko would not betray them now. Something in the woman’s eyes told her that Atsuko was more concerned about her child than she was about helping her master. "We should trust her"
All eyes turned to Akane in surprise. "Is violent girl stupid?" Shampoo said with a tone of total disbelief in her voice.
Ryouga slowly nodded as he thought his way through things. "No, I think Akane is right." He turned to Shampoo. "After all there are four of us and one of her. Coming to us had to have taken a lot of courage." He looked at Suteko’s mother with a calm expression as she nodded. "Telling us about Ito is a betrayal and I bet the old man knows that. I doubt he is willing to take that from anyone." He smiled. "I say trust her, she has a stake in this, a personal stake and besides she probably knows the place better than us." Ryouga added as an after thought.
"Ryouga has a point," Ukyo admitted with a nod. She walked up to Atsuko and looked her up and down. "Okay, we'll go with you but I am keeping my eye on you."
Atsuko nodded with a sign and then looked over the wall and hit a concealed switch, opening a doorway. She stepped through, gesturing for the kids to follow her into the darkness.
Ranma awoke slowly, his head feeling stuffed full of cotton. The drug was moving out of his system but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He groggily got to his feet. He took a couple steps forward but stopped when he felt his arm pulled up. He looked back at a chain from the wall leading to a cuff about his wrist. He tugged it a bit but it didn’t budge. He looked about as his head started to clear. From what he could tell he was in a bedroom of sorts. He looked about some more and saw his sister lying, chained like he was, across the room. Due to her smaller size the drug was taking longer to clear and he watched as she awoke. She groaned as she put her head in her hands and sat up. He could just hear her mumbling something about Ito and his taste in drugs as she slowly shook her head to clear the cobwebs.
He turned his attention back to the front of the semi-dark room. By the door he could see several armed guards. They all wore the same expression and they each held a weapon of some type. Half were pointed toward him and the other half toward Suteko, who looked at them silently, her eyes clearing and narrowing with hate. Ranma followed her look and then he restrained his natural reaction. He snarled a bit and clenched his fists. Ito stepped into the room and stopped just out of reach.
"Well boy, it seems Natsu didn't finish off your little harem." He snorted. "Never send a woman to do a man's job. They are too weak. They give into emotions so easily." He slowly smiled and walked over to where Suteko was standing, leaning with a hand on the wall. He looked at her for a long moment and then swept a leg out, knocking her to her knees again. As she glared up at him he laughed. She started to get up but he backhanded her across the face. "Your mother seems to think you are of more worth than her service to me. Too bad girl. If you hadn’t betrayed the family she would still be one of my better agents. Now I have to make an example of both you and her." Suteko slowly brought a hand to wipe the blood off her lip and stayed silent. "What? No witty remarks, child?" She just glared. "Too bad. Thought you had a bit more backbone girl." He turned back to Ranma and looked him up and down. Ranma pulled hard on the chain holding him to the wall, trying to reach the old man and Ito laughed once more. "What is the matter, boy? You don’t like the way I treated your sister? Or is it you don’t like what will happen to her? Too bad. You can’t do a thing about it." He walked out of the room, pausing in the doorway. He looked to the guards. "You know what to do if they try anything," he spoke quietly. He looked over at Suteko again and back at the guards. "You can do anything you want but don't kill them. I still have need of them," with that he vaniushed.
The guards smiled and then tensed as Ranma walked across the room. His chain had enough slack for him to sit next to Suteko. He put an arm around her and bent his head down to whisper to her. "We gotta get out of here." He winced a bit at the look in his sister’s eyes. It was obvious that Ito’s words had done more than his casual blow. Something Ito had said had turned her inward. He had to break her train of thought. She got obsessed from time to time and if he didn’t he knew she would spend the precious time they had on whatever it was that Ito had got her thinking about. He needed her planning abilities to get out of this. He knew that thinking wasn’t his strongest ability and he also knew that his friends were good but not good enough to take on that bastard Ito. He needed to get her thinking about escape and their friends. "Sis, any ideas?’
Suteko blinked and shook herself out of her thoughts, rubbing the cuff around her wrist. She looked up into her brother’s eyes and nodded once. "I know we do. Just give me time to think," Suteko whispered back. She looked up at the guards from under her bangs. They had relaxed once Ito left the room but two were still watching the brother and sister. One was leering at her and she looked down. Her shirt had gotten a tear somehow and she adjusted this a bit. It was as she did that she slowly smiled. She had forgotten that inside the seams of this particular shirt she had stashed a few slivers of metal. They weren’t weapons but tools of a kind she was sure no one knew she had the ability to use. She fingered the seam and then whispered to her brother. "Ranma, I have part of a plan...but you gotta block that guard’s view for a few moments, okay?
Ranma looked at her intrigued. She slid the small piece of metal out and tapped the cuff. He smiled and nodded then moved between the guard and her. She quickly got to work and had the cuff open in a couple of breaths. She looked up and saw that the guard looked a bit annoyed. "Be ready," she whispered and as the guard came closer she broke into tears and buried her head against her brother’s chest. Ranma quickly wrapped an arm around her and turned to glare at the guard.
The guard stopped just a couple of feet away and taunted the two. "What is the matter girl? You afraid we will do something to you," He looked back at his friend. "The boss did say we could do what we wanted to them, didn’t he?" The other guard laughed and told the other four to leave the room. They laughed and left, telling them to save a little for them. The first guard turned back and leered at Suteko. "Gonna play a little game girlie, and my friend here is gonna be sure your brother there doesn’t interfer." He guestured for the other one to pull Ranma away.
Ranma stiffened at the guard’s words. It was obvious what game he wanted to play and there was no way Ranma was going to allow anyone to touch his sister. He started to get up but stopped as he felt Suteko take the hand that was cuffed in hers. "Hold still for a moment more and you can smash that slime’s face for him."
Ranma hid his smile and held still until he felt the cuff give way. "Good job, sis," he whispered.
"Hey you," the first guard snarled. "Back away from the bitch now. I have plans for her." He chuckled nastily.
The second guard grabbed Ranma by the shoulder and started to pull him about. Ranma let him get him a foot away and then he nodded to Suteko. As one they sprang. The cuffs fell to the floor but not before the two siblings had sent their guards to the floor. With matching Tenshin Armagurikans they sent the two men into unconsciousness and had enough time to catch the chains before they hit the ground. The two looked at each other and then smiled, chuckling silently.
Ranma whispered, "gotta be another way out of here." Suteko nodded and then pointed up into the corner. There was a grate above a bureau, obviously some air venting. Ranma boosted her up to the grate which she removed as silently as possible and then she swung up and into the air shaft. Ranma followed her into the ductwork, hoping she knew where they were going.
to be continued
If you want to contact the writers of this story you can reach David here and Lisa here.