Whistling tunelessly (a habit she'd picked up somewhere while traveling with Fauntleroy), Jane closed the door to the janitor's closet. The girl had been quite... informative... about her husband's suitors. Erstwhile suitors, that is; she didn't really think there was a worthwhile one in the bunch. Several of them had clearly given up, which ruled them out, and the ones that had stuck around were excessively violent. To her husband, that is; she had no objection to violence properly used, of course.
The shape-changed dragon twisted the doorknob sharply to the side, crushing the mechanism, and smirked. Maybe some time stuck in that little room would make her think twice about her little schemes. Or not; Jane didn't really care either way. As long as she behaved, that is. And, hey, there were humans still around; sooner or later one of them would hear her and let her out.
Now, to find Ranma and Six... she was bored of this pathetic place and its residents. Talk talk talk, whine whine whine. A school was supposed to be about learning how to amass wealth and power, how to crush your enemies and hone your skills and knowledge. Jane honestly didn't see why her husband needed this place; he'd been strong enough to beat that bastard Herb, and therefore was probably stronger than Fauntleroy, and Fauntleroy had done quite well by himself in this world of humans without human schools.
Ah, there they were; her husband was looking frantic, and her co-wife unconcerned. He was probably worried about the Nabiki girl. He should know by now that she wouldn't kill someone. At least, not without a good reason. Okay, a decent reason would do.
Jane scowled. Sometimes her husband seemed so childish about such things.
Lunch had been over, so the first place Ranma had checked was the classroom where he was supposed to be. He hadn't felt like actually attending (besides, walking into Ms. Hinako's class, even without Jane, was just BEGGING for something bad to happen), but he'd peeked through the window. Akane was there, glaring daggers at his empty chair, but no Jane. Thankfully, she looked fine, so he was probably only going to be hearing about 'skipping class to be with your little sluts' (her language had gotten remarkably colorful in the past couple days), rather than getting an earful from her father; his as well.
Looking down at his arm, and back up at his bubbly auburn-haired 'wife', who was clinging to it and looking like she hadn't a care in the world, Ranma sighed.
"Six, do you have any idea where -"
Feeling a pair of arms slide under his short and around his chest, Ranma jumped. He didn't have to look down and see the color of the nails that left light red marks on his to know who it was.
"Missing me already, dearest husband?"
And there was that tone. That seductive (and slightly hungry) tone. If it weren't for the hints of laughter in it, it would be guaranteed to give him blood-flow problems. Hell, even with the knowledge that she found his reactions incredibly funny he could feel himself reacting in an obvious way. She knew it, he knew she knew it, and (damn it) she knew he knew she knew it.
Ranma responded noncommittally, carefully not looking back and NOT answering the loaded question. If he answered 'yes', she'd take that as a go-ahead to do all kinds of things to him, and if he answered 'no', then she'd assume that that meant she needed to do something to ensure he'd miss her next time (he'd figured that one out fast). Besides, he found it easier to talk to Jane or Six when he wasn't looking at them; it was less... distracting.
As Jane pulled him back into her chest and rested her head playfully on his shoulder, Ranma repressed a shiver and unobtrusively adjusted his pants. At least there was nobody else around to see; he knew that somehow it would come back to bite him on the ass. The warm moist breath against his ear as she spoke wasn't helping either.
Lost in the effort to suppress some very dangerous images, Ranma didn't really pay much attention to what Jane was saying. Something about leaving to do something important? She'd see him later, that's nice. He nodded vaguely, ignoring the little voice in his head that was screaming alarms about the dead bodies and blood and mayhem that would probably be involved with something his darker-haired 'wife' considered "important".
After Jane had taken off in a hurry, Ranma shook himself and sighed, turning to Six.
"Well, it kind of looks like school's a bust. Mind if we head for the park for a bit? I don't really feel like going back to the Tendos'."
Six cocked her head to the side, then smiled brightly. "That sounds wonderful, sire."
Deep inside the mountain fastness that was once the home of the mighty Musk Dynasty, shadows stirred uneasily. There was a sense of anticipation in the air, and the vaulted corridors and ornate statues that lined them whispered of corruption and the long-dead.
Once, ages ago, the small fortress had had another purpose. Long before the last Emperor's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather drew his first breath and squalled his protest at being born into a harsh world, the secrets of the innermost depths had been lost. Not one of the royal family had ever asked why; why they lived in such a remote place, rather than ruling a vast territory of human slaves and amassing mounds of gold and jewels.
For once upon a time, the castle was a prison, and it's emperor the guard and his line the lock. With the death of the last of the Musk, the prison door swung open, and the prisoner saw at last the freedom that lay on the other side.
The doorknob rattled and Nabiki looked up from her seat on the floor of the janitor's closet. Finally; it's been a while - almost two hours, by the clock on the dingy wall. After that psycho had been gone for a few minutes, she'd tried the door and had little luck. Yelling didn't work with everyone in class; not that that had stopped her from trying until her voice gave out.
After that, Nabiki had salvaged her pride and decided to simply wait until either the janitor came back or she could hear voices from the other side of the door.
"Hello," she called, wincing as the attempt aggravated her sore throat. She swallowed and tried to speak louder. "Hello? Could somebody help?"
"Is that... Nabiki? Nabiki Tendo?" It was a boy's voice, vaguely familiar.
"Yeah. Can you open the door, please?"
What was his name... that guy from the upper class, who she'd caught on camera doing some very unsavory things with Ms. Tanaka the gym teacher's change of clothes last week. He'd had quite a bit of money to trade for the negatives, yes indeed. Just over two thousand yen.
Oh, right... Shinji, that was the name. He'd also taken her out on a date last year; gotten a bit grabby too before she fleeced him dry.
She could hear laughter from the other side of the door, followed by Shinji's mocking voice. "I don't suppose you have... say... four thousand yen on you, do you? I suppose I could let you out for such a... bargain price, wouldn't you say?"
The sound of her teeth grinding together echoed through the small room. The little punk was blackmailing her. Her! She'd refuse on principle, but she wouldn't put it past Shinji to find some way of keeping her in here all day until the janitor went home.
"Agreed! Just get me out of here now!"
Besides, while Shinji gotten the negatives, he had forgotten to ask if she'd made any extra copies.
With the ever-rising dangers of inflation, surely such... valuable... pieces of 'artwork' were suddenly worth far more than they would have been only two days ago...
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(Posted Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:24)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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