Ranma quickly went through the archway into the backyard, ran past Nabiki's workshop and entered a small, blue door. He went down some spiral stairs and came into a small corridor. After following it, he came to a dead end... or so it may seem.
Ranma knelt down and counted the bricks in the third row from the ground.
"One, two, three, four..." When he reached the seventh brick, he pushed it. Slowly, a secret door opened in the wall. Ranma followed the corridor that came after the secret door, until he reached the big labyrinth.
This complex of corridors and hallways was a giant maze that was situated deep under the castle. It was supposed to keep thieves and burglars from stealing the castle's treasures, and only Ranma himself and Nabiki knew the correct way through the maze. Everyone else would surely need days to find his way out of there.
Ranma entered a small cave with three exits. Never hesitating, he went into the middle corridor. Meanwhile, Ranma knew the exact way inside out, so he just walked and walked until he finally reached another set of spiral stairs.
He went upstairs... and was in front of another brick wall. He knelt down again, counted several bricks and pushed a hidden button. Another secret door opened, and bright daylight came into the corridor.
Ranma entered a round yard, well-hidden within the castle. It was surrounded by high walls, and the only way out of here was through the labyrinth. In the middle of the yard stood a massive building without any windows. That was the castle's treasure room.
Ranma walked up to the massive metal door and searched for the right key. When he found the right one, he unlocked the door and... stood in front of another door.
The truth is, the treasure room has a total of thirteen doors... all of them in a row. Only one step after the previous one came the next door, and every door has its own security lock. Therefore, the walls of the treasure room are very, very thick.
When Ranma finally unlocked the 13th door, he opened it... and could see the treasures of Saotome Castle lying in front of him.
The sunlight that shone into the room from outside made the gold and jewels shine and sparkle. A big pile of golden coins was lying next to an even bigger pile of diamonds. Hundreds of pearl necklets were hanging from various hooks on the walls, and on a wooden shelf, exactly in front of Ranma, three splendid crowns were standing, decorated with a large number of gems. Those were the three spare crowns of the kingdom. The normal crown of the king was lying within a safe in his bedroom, a simple golden crown without any decorations. These spare crowns were for special occasions... but Ranma himself has really never worn one of them.
In a corner of the room, next to the big pile of paper money, a small, unimpressive wooden box was standing. Ranma smiled, walked over to it and opened the lid. This was it: His own special, secret collection. This was much more to him than any of these other treasures.
After rummaging through the chest, he pulled out a black belt. He smiled. His father - his adoptive father, that is - was so proud when he won it in the first martial arts contest in his life. It was old and slightly worn... But Ranma simply loved looking at his old trophies and remembering how he got them.
He sighed. Those were the good old days...
When he was done, he carefully put everything back into the box and closed the lid. Yes, he had needed that... A small remembrance of the past...
When he turned around to leave, his gaze fell down on the paper money. He frowned and picked up a small bunch. Somehow, they looked like they were damaged.
"Strange..." he murmured. "Those look like... teeth marks."
"Meow?"
Ranma froze. That... that horrible sound... could it be...?
Slowly, he turned around.
Coming out of its hiding place behind the pile of coins, the four-legged monstrosity approached him with gleaming eyes. A green, furry monster with sharp claws and teeth and...
"C-c-c... c-c-c..." Ranma stuttered.
The green monster tilted its head. "Meow?"
"C-c-c... CAAAAAAAT! CAAAAAAT!" Screaming, Ranma ran out of the treasure room, through the 13 doors, back into the labyrinth.
The small green cat blinked. Then she sighed.
"Stupid Airen..." she muttered. "Is he still afraid of cats?
Well, serves him right for locking poor Shampoo in this room... even if it was an accident..."
She sighed again and looked out of the 13 doors. After all those weeks, after accidentally being locked within the treasure room by Ranma, she was finally free again.
She looked back at the pile of paper money and smiled.
"Freedom can wait... Shampoo thinks she takes a little snack first."
She slinked over to the bundle of green banknotes Ranma had dropped in his panic... and took a big bite.
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(Posted Sun, 08 Oct 2006 12:39)
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