Chained World - The Fall of the House of Kuno: Getting out of Town [Episode 228617]

“Wait here.” She’d commanded, and like the good obedient slave girl she was now, Ranma had waited, while her Mistress had hurried away outside the office, apparently to talk to an assistant who’d materialized beside them almost as soon as they got inside the building.

Mistress Meioh had been back shortly, with a fancy boutique-style bag in one hand, a basket in the other. She handed the bag to Ranma.

“Get dressed.”

She opened the proffered bag. Clothes. A mini-kimono dress in red and black. Underwear. A pair of slippers to replace her auction house-issued plastic sandals.

Something in her rebelled at the feminine garments. Something else in her rebelled at the thought of wearing any clothes at all. For a moment she froze, staring at the garments in her hands. Then her training took over; she’d been given a command; she rushed to obey.
As she hurriedly pulled on the clothing, the disparate sides of her mind tried to come to terms with what she was doing; these clothes were better than going around bare-assed and near-naked, while the cut of the mini-kimono exposed enough to satisfy the exhibitionist side of her Adjusted personality.

Turning around, she suddenly realized she’d, without thought, stripped down in front of a stranger. Mistress Meioh took no notice as she tossed Ranma’s auction garments in a trash can.

Of course. What am I so shocked about? She already saw me nude in the auction...And if she wants, she can see me whenever and however she damn well wants! Get over it!Ranma scolded herself.

Turning back around and seeing Ranma dressed in the new apparel, Mistress Meioh looked her over, and nodded in approval.

They’d returned to the waiting car to find Master Masaki inside chatting amiably with Hotaru. Master Masaki smiled at their arrival, Hotaru looked up and her face lit with awe.

“Wow...you look nice!”

Ranma found herself shifting her body in response to the attention, posing herself, bringing a hip up, lowering a shoulder, altering her step, showing herself to best effect, as she eased back into her seat.

As soon as they’d all settled themselves, the limo had started off again, getting back onto the highway to depart Tokyo proper.

Mistress Meioh addressed her driver, and when she had finished, turned to her passengers.

“We’ll be getting on the Golden Line, where we’ll be putting the car on a carrier. That should get us to Okayama soon enough.”

While Master Masaki nodded in agreement and Hotaru cheered at the prospect of a train trip, Ranma thought about the irony. The Golden Line, the high-speed rail line and its ‘bullet trains’, could do better than two hundred miles an hour. In all their journeys up and down the Home Islands on their training trip, Genma and Ranma had yet to hitch a roof-ride on one of the Shinkansen, though they’d been working their way up to such a feat. Certainly they couldn’t afford to actually ride INSIDE the luxury trains that moved the well-to-do about Honshu and Shikoku. Ironic now that she’d be riding inside one of the cabins...but as somebody’s property...

Master Masaki and Mistress Meioh were soon engaged in quiet conversation in low tones that didn’t invite eavesdropping.

Hotaru had tried to make small talk, but found herself stuttering, while Ranma had been little inclined to volunteer information about herself...Why, when her bill of sale probably had everything of importance anyway? Sparkling conversation didn’t seem to be part of Doctor Michiko’s indoctrination, and Ranma knew she was prone to foot-in-mouth syndrome anyway. So the conversation had gotten little beyond name, age, general interests, and my-isn’t-the-weather-nice-today?, before it petered out into awkward silence. Fortunately, Hotaru seemed to have taken no offense and she had then become distracted again by the scenery passing by outside, leaving Ranma alone with her thoughts.

During this time, she took the opportunity to try to feel what changes had been made to her. Ranma FELT like herself, but she KNEW something was different....It wasn’t just the memories of what had been done to her, and what she’d done....

She snapped her fist out in a rapid punch, pulled it, flexed her fist. It didn’t feel any different...but there was still something off. She could just feel it. She remembered when she could just take action, without thought, just reflexively. Muscle memory. But now...she could feel her thoughts being evaluated, countermanded, second-guessed. By her. By not-her.

This was worse than the Nekoken...at least when THAT took over, she blacked out, came to later with only vague memories of what had happened, and had to work out what had taken place from the effects. But this was -AS- things happened, being awake and having her actions taken over, dictated, by someone else...someone else that happened to be her.

Even now, as she thought about it, she was arguing with herself; It’s not so bad being owned. It will be a pleasure to be used. Make Mistress/Master happy and you’ll be happy. You’ll see.

It only got worse when she debated the limits of her freedom of action. Disobeying was out of the question. Running away, likewise. For a moment, she thought about throwing herself through the car window, out of the vehicle. The effect was almost painful in its intensity; No! You don’t want to do that! You gave your word! You signed a contract! What will happen to the Tendos if you disobey?! You don’t want to be a bad slave!You want to please Mistress/Master! You have to see what happens next! Only weak people commit suicide! Are you insane? What would be achieved by jumping out of the car?! Good slaves don’t damage their Masters’ property!!!

For all her soul, she couldn’t tell which one of the voices in her head was herself....they ALL sounded like her. And they ALL sounded perfectly reasonable.

As Ranma struggled with her thoughts, she was unaware of the quiet scrutiny from the other end of the car. Two sets of older eyes watched the slave girl, lost in her contemplation.

*********

“ Well, it’s official; I just got the word over the ‘net...Ranma’s been sold-”

There was an immediate rush into Nabiki’s room as Kasumi and Akane crowded in around the middle Tendo’s computer.

“...but NOT to Kuno...”

“Who?!”

“People must have figured they couldn’t beat Kuno one-on-one, so they got smart. Several of them apparently teamed up, pooled their resources, shared the pain, and bought joint ownership of ‘Ranko’. The auction house is claiming a new record for a final price on a single slave auc-!”

“WHO, NABIKI?!”

Nabiki blinked in the aftermath of the sudden point blank shout from BOTH her sisters, as her disheveled hair fell back into place. “Okay, okay! The public sale notice said Shutaro Mendo, Akika Natsume, Mikado Sanzenin(she noticed Akane’s grimace at the name), Setsuna Meioh, and Katsuhito Masaki had acquired joint ownership of Ranko Tendo!”

“Oh my...”

“...Ah...is that good or bad?” Akane ventured, obviously fearful of what she might hear in answer.

“I don’t know! It’s not at all what I expected....I was expecting Kuno to go all out and win Ranma regardless of the cost....That way, at least, Ranma would have been on the inside, hopefully to forestall the inevitable when Kuno breaks his word, if everything worked out as planned. At the very least the Kuno fortune would have taken a hit, but this changes things!”

“How so?”

“Kuno’s fortunes haven’t been drawn down any, he doesn’t have Ranma, we don’t have Ranma on the inside as expected....I figured I could persuade some of Kuno’s family retainers to keep me posted on the well-being of our ‘cousin’, but now we can’t! I can maybe get an insider at Sanzenin’s place, maybe get a stock clerk at Timeless Fashions to talk to me, but the rest? Mishima? Mendo? I got nothing. Mendo’s arguably worse than Kuno when it comes to policing his affairs! Akika Natsume protects her private life like a military secret! And I got nothing on Masaki. He’s all the way down by Shikoku!.... We know what Mikado’s likely intentions are, but the rest of them? All I can tell you that they have in common is that they all apparently hate the Kunos with a vengeance! What that means for Ranma, I can’t tell you yet...not without knowing the details of whatever they agreed to when they made common cause against Kuno at the auction!”

Nabiki didn’t really want to voice her thoughts that if the ‘alliance’ had been hastily thrown together, Ranma might be in a crossfire between the investors when they started infighting. Akane looked fearful enough for her fiancee without dousing her fears with extra gasoline. Hopefully, if they’d agreed to terms before and set them down, the five owners’ self-interests would provide enough checks and balances to keep Ranma from being abused TOO badly...

However, there was another matter that HAD to be brought up.

“And another thing...Kuno didn’t get ‘Ranko’. That’s gotta frustrate him, the way I hear he’s been carrying on about his ‘victory’ over Ranma these last few days...He might come after us again sooner than expected. We better watch ourselves. With our debts officially transferred to Ranko, we’re in the free and clear for now, but we’re not going to be able to risk living on credit again!”

“Agreed.” came an older voice from the doorway. Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi turned to see Nodoka Saotome standing there.

“Your pardon. I was passing by and I overheard. And since your problems are our problems as well, I figured it was best that there be an impromptu council of war.” The Saotome matriarch’s expression was serious, her words delivered with the clipped tone of a samurai, or rather a descendant of samurai, discussing an upcoming battle.

“I wouldn’t go that far...yet.” Nabiki didn’t like the thought of their problems coached in such aggressive terms just yet, not while Kuno still had a private army at his beck and call, and had all the artillery.

“But we are at war, ever since Kuno forced your father to make that painful choice. The first casualty was your father, the first prisoners your futures. We managed to get you back, but now my child is hostage. That others hold her is of no consequence; the one who started this chain of events still poses a threat. We cannot allow him to dictate our moves if we are to succeed in opposing him. You have the new fliers for the reopening of the dojo?”

Taken aback for a moment by the change in subject, Nabiki hesitated before replying. “Yes, they’re ready go.”

“Good. Then our next move in our counter attack will be to get them out as soon as possible. If your spreading the word is as successful at garnering attention as your last effort, we may be busier than we expect.”

“THAT was not what I--”

Nodoka smiled...it was a small smile, but a smile nevertheless. “But you DID call attention, and apparently got quite a response, and I thank you for that. My child was apparently the center of attention once again, and Kuno had a fight on his hands, a fight he didn’t expect, and a fight he lost...This I see as a positive sign.”

“Not if we’re in his sights again...” Akane spoke up.

“No, but his plans have been upset, and his obsession will lead him to dwell on his latest defeat. Was that not the way he reacted with his every humbling at my son’s hands? I think for the time being he’ll focus on this latest development among his more powerful enemies, before turning his attention back to his home ground....Shikoku, you say?”

”Okayama prefecture.” Nabiki clarified.

“That’s ...a long way from Tokyo.” Nodoka said, wistfully. Nabiki could almost read the older woman’s thoughts at that point; it might be some time before she ever saw her son-turned-daughter if the new owners kept Ranma down there.”...But perhaps that’s for the best...It will keep Kuno’s eyes turned away...far away.”

“Genma should be back with Ukyou soon.” The elder Saotome patriarch had surprised everybody by offering to go with the chef when she contacted her father again. It been understood that if the elder Kounji rejected his daughter, she’d be returning as the newest addition to the combined Saotome-Tendo household. ”We’ll talk more then.”

With that, Nodoka turned and left, leaving the Tendo sisters to think about what had just been said.

Nabiki turned and picked up the folder that had just arrived a few minutes ago, not long after the news of the auction results had hit the public boards. The pictures inside were hot off the printer.

The digital photos had been taken by one of her factors...surprisingly, even though knowledge of the Tendo family’s indebtedness had become semipublic knowledge, Nabiki’s minion-associates hadn’t deserted her for greener pastures, and one of them had been watching the auction house(though she did complain about narrowly avoiding the near-riot in front of the place). The photos she’d snapped showed a light purple limo emerging from the auction house, an ‘infinity’ sign on its license plate. The next series of pictures showed shots through the limo’s unblanked windows, a familiar mop of red hair, a hint of clothing, a flash of bared shoulder, and an upturned face.

In the few days since they’d last seen him/her, Ranma had undergone changes...She looked groomed, her hair unbound, combed, and given some styling. But it was the expression Nabiki saw that said everything. Instead of the cocky self-confident look she’d normally come to associate with the young Saotome, even in female form, the girl looking out of the luxury automobile’s windows looked uncertain, confused, lost. And there was that glint of metal around her neck.

Nabiki was also troubled, not just by the changes she could see, but by the fact that the pictures could be taken at all. A ride like that has to have selective tint windows! The car windows weren’t blanked! People who travel like that tend not to want other people looking in...so why would somebody like Meioh suddenly decide to drive around like that? It’s almost like she WANTED everybody to see what she’d just bought...

Deciding for the moment to shelve further thoughts of the possible machinations of the Empire’s upper class, Nabiki passed the folder to her sisters. She’d show them to Nodoka later.

“Oh my...Ranma...doesn’t look too good there.”

“I doubt that the adjustors went easy on her...Ranma’s a pretty willful person, you know? Knowing how dangerous Ranma, or even ‘Ranko’, is, they probably did a real job on her. But I think she’s realized that it’s a whole new ball game with her new owners. At least with Kuno, she knew what to expect. But these people? Anything goes...”

Akane suddenly looked up from her quiet contemplation of the pictures at that, a hard glint in her eyes.

“You’re right...Anything Goes...That’s what it comes down to...The ability to adapt...Her ability to adapt...Our ability to adapt...Let’s hope that holds true for her as it does for us. She has to see it in those terms. As a challenge. A fight to win.”