The Fate of Books: Family Relations [Episode 185350]

The Kunos had long been the primary influence and power in the Nerima area before Anything Goes had started edging into the area. The current generation's undesired situation is directly a result of Happosai's interference.

Like Happosai, the Kuno family is connected to demonic power. Unlike Happosai, their arrangement was with the Yama Kings and not a rogue demon like Urca.

Essentially mortal demons, the Kunos stand as the the gatekeepers between the Yama Kings' domain and the mortal realm. Traditionally, every generation had at least one daughter and one son. The daughter would stand as a living Key between the two worlds and the son would serve as his sister's guardian, and the father of the next generation.

They were a valuable resource for demon hunters and mystics who wished to have audiences with the Yama Kings, or were seeking the location of either sanctioned or rogue demons.

Happosai managed to sever the Kuno's knowledge of their own heritage two generations, in addition to severing their relationships to many of their ancestral allies and crafting something that Happosai plans to make use of after acheiving his Rejuvenation.

Two generations back, the majority of the Kuno household died to the Black Death, which was odd as it was the only such outbreak in the region. The deaths left the gateways unguarded and the resultant spread of demons kept most demon hunter clans too busy to maintain proper communication with the orphans that should have been in preparation for their roles.

The children were not left unguarded, unfortunately, the mostly mortal guards could not keep Happosai's influence completely out and a careful dosing of love potion resulted in something that has been kept very quiet in the Kuno household.

The incest had the effect Happosai hoped for on the current generation of Kunos. Even though they have instinctively taken on some the names their ancestors had in the past, neither of the two is currently behaving in the role they are supposed to act in.

Tatewaki Kuno is a paranoid and delusional young man, which gives him little or no control over his demonic nature. The resultant agressiveness further blows his perceptions out of all context. It possible that Kuno's overriding lust is also fabricated, as Happosai has not yet managed to convince any Kuno to train in Anything Goes. He hopes, instead, to have the genetics be passed down through Akane or Nabiki in order to gain influence that way.

Kodachi Kuno, meanwhile, suffers a little less than her brother in terms of insanity and lack of control. This is because she has subconsciously locked away from her conscious mind the majority of her inhuman abilities.

This is both good and bad.

On the one hand, it means that Happosai will have a lot of trouble getting her to open any gate. On the other hand, it also means that Kodachi does not have the access or support of her demonic relatives on the otherside of the gate.

The most important thing about Kodachi is that she is not simply a Key to the Yama Kings' realm, but is what is known as a Skeleton Key. Given control of this Kuno, Happosai could conceivably open gates to any realm in the multiverse.

Currently, neither sibling is behaving exactly as Happosai wants. Neither have proven the slightest interest in Anything Goes while Kuno has felt an instinct to purge the taint of rogue demon he's sensing. Happosai makes use of this by using him as a distraction for Ranma Saotome, but otherwise, the Blue Thunder has proven less of a tool than he planned.

He's also already given up on Kodachi as being useful and has encouraged her father's affection for her, which had already been dangerous, into a further thread of incest. Given Kodachi's resemblance to her mother, Principal Kuno is far from unwilling even though he is not cursed by Anything Goes himself.

Kodachi is resisting by taking birth control secretly, subconsciously aware of Happosai's intentions, and also trying to get out of her family by any means necessary. Unfortunately, to do this, she's latched on Ranma Saotome, already mired in the curse. She refuses to admit or even discuss anything of this, even with her brother. Also, her long-skirted school uniform and kimonos have been used to hide a number of telling injuries and marks.

Both Kuno children on verging on breakdowns of one sort or another.