Hey everyone, and welcome to the fourth installment of Before My Body is Dry!
I'm actually pretty pleased with how this one turned out. With the first few episodes of the show, I'm a little shackled to keeping it true to the plot since they're pretty key to the story. But as the story progresses, I've been able to add some more originality, some of my own flair. I have some big plans for some completely original scenes coming on down the road, so I'm looking forward to getting there.
Anyhoo, I hope you guys like this chapter. I really appreciate all of the reviews, follows, and favorites so far fellas.
Disclaimer: Kill la Kill belongs to Trigger, not I.
Ryuko and Akio walked towards the towering entrance of Honnouji Academy, their faces set in determination - Ryuko's more so than Akio's. After all, he was just the observer in this situation (or at least, that's what he told himself). Ryuko, on the other hand, wanted her answers. She had been searching for her father's killer for a while now, and every little bit of information was gold to her. If she had to beat some tennis club president into a pulp, so be it. It was her fault for getting in her way anyhow.
Ryuko rolled her neck and popped her knuckles, a predatory grin growing on her face.
"Where do you think she'll be?"
"Hmm," Akio hummed and rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure. I assume the tennis courts."
"Well, no shit Sherlock. Where are those?"
"I...I uh..." Akio blinked. "I don't know, actually."
"What?" Ryuko stopped walking to glare at him. "How do you not know? Haven't you been here longer than I have?"
"Hey, give me a break," Akio replied with a frown. "Do I look like I play tennis to you?"
"How would I know that? Apparently I'm not 'someone who deserves answers' just yet."
Ryuko huffed and walked off, forcing Akio to speed up to catch up with her.
"Knowing these people, I doubt you'll have to look very far," Akio said as he fell into step with her.
"Hmph."
The two continued walking, eventually making it past the entrance and into the courtyard.
"See?" Akio smirked. "I told you."
The Academy's courtyard was filled with tennis players, who looked to be in the middle of one of their practices. Akio could see the tennis president, Omiko Hakodate, standing beside Uzu Sanageyama. They seemed to be in the middle of discussing something, which Akio could only assume was Ryuko.
Akio glanced around the courtyard, his eyes wandering to a large clump of students circled around a single student. The students in the circle seemed to be pelting tennis balls at a student that was immobile and tied up.
Akio's eyes widened. "Mako?"
Akio's expression darkened at seeing his friend tied up, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent. He'd be lying if he didn't have a bit of soft spot for the brown haired wonder that was Mako. Seeing them beat on her like that lit a fire in his chest, one of pure anger and animosity.
Judging from the look on her face, Ryuko seemed to have the same feelings. She began to stalk forwards, taking her guitar case in her hands.
The circle of tennis players lined up for another volley, tossing their balls into the air to smack towards Mako.
The tennis balls tore through the air, barreling towards their target.
Clang!
The balls smacked into Ryuko's guitar case, stopping them from hitting Mako. Ryuko lowered her case, her vicious glare sending shivers down most of the students' spines.
"Why, you!"
One of the braver students through another ball up into the air, slamming it towards the two girls.
Smack!
The ball collided with Akio's waiting hand. With a snarl he threw the ball back at the sender, nailing her in square in the face.
"Ow!"
The girl fell to the ground, clutching at her broken nose as she rolled around on the floor.
"Ryuko! Akio!"
Akio smiled smugly and reached to his waistband, pulling out the knife he had from earlier. With a single swipe, he cut the bindings that held Mako.
"Well," Uzu stepped forwards. "If it isn't the transfer student and her lackey."
"Lackey?" Akio's eye twitched as he turned to Uzu. "Who are you calling lackey, Sanageyma. Tell me, how does the ground taste? I assume you'd know since you're always kissing it after Kiryuin walks by."
Uzu barred his teeth, reaching to his back to grab his bamboo sword. "What was that, you son of a-"
"Hey," Ryuko interjected. "You guys can have your pissing contest later. I have a score to settle."
"Hmph," The two boys huffed and crossed their arms, turning away from each other.
"Men, such animals," Hakodate rolled her eyes and walked towards Ryuko. "So, you've come for another beating, eh transfer student?"
"I don't think so," Ryuko grinned and grabbed the pin on her wrist. "This time I'm going to knock you on your ass! Let's go Senketsu!"
She pulled the pin, feeding her blood to the Kamui. Within seconds, bright, red star-shaped flashes began emanating from her uniform. They were so bright, that Akio had to raise his arm to cover his eyes from their piercing light. When he lowered it, Ryuko was standing tall, her outfit having reverted to how it was when she had fought the boxing club president. Even the predominant blush with it.
In other words, it was revealing. It was definitely revealing.
"That looks both painful and embarrassing, you masochistic exhibitionist!"
"Bite me!" Ryuko retorted. "And the tennis club president? Judging by your looks, I'd say you should have joined the dentist club!"
Ryuko looked back to Akio, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Get it? Cuz her teeth are all fucked up and pointy."
Akio snorted and shook his head. "Really going for the low hanging fruit on that one."
Hakodate ground her jagged teeth, her grip tightening on her large, red tennis racket.
"Let's see if you're as smarmy after this! One hundred and ten million serves!"
The tennis club members lined up behind their president, each throwing up a ball to hit towards Ryuko. In unison, the group and the president fired their volley towards the girl.
"Heh."
Ryuko flung her case away, holding her scissor blade in hand. Faster than even Akio could follow, she sliced through the air, stopping the tennis balls in their tracks. The balls hit the ground, exploding into a bunch of yellow fiber.
"Fault!"
Akio and Ryuko turned towards Uzu, each quirking an eyebrow.
"You're disqualified, transfer student!
"Huh?"
"True, you've evaded Hakodate's attack, but slicing balls in half is against the rules of the match. In other words, you've won the fight but lost the match!"
"What are you even talking about?"
"It's simple, what you're standing on is a tennis court!"
Ryuko and Akio both looked down to their feet, noticing the green and white court for the first time.
Ryuko scratched her head. "When the hell did that get here?"
"You know what that means? You can't say you've won if you haven't won according to the rules of tennis!"
"What? Why are you getting all picky now!?" Ryuko exclaimed, waving her arms around frantically. "What about yesterday!"
"That was yesterday."
"This is crazy! When we were boxing-"
"It doesn't matter," Uzu replied childishly and turned his head away. "You're disqualified!"
"No! She won!"
Everyone turned their heads towards Mako as she slid up next to her friend, placing her hand on Ryuko's breast plate.
"Ryuko won! She won!"
Mako skittered around Ryuko, emphasizing each of her words by pointing towards Ryuko.
"Uh..." Uzu blinked. "What?"
"Ryuko helped rescued me!" Mako replied and hopped into Ryuko's arms, jumping out of them as soon as she had done so. "She may have lost the match, but she won with friendship!"
Ryuko stood motionless as Mako jumped around her, occasionally jumping into her arms, among a whole bunch of other things.
"Winning with friendship means winning at life!"
"Listen up!" Mako pointed a menacing finger at Uzu and Hakodate, her body seemingly towering over theirs. "If you're going to be like that, you leave her no choice! Ryuko will win, Ryuko will win! Even in tennis, even in tennis, even in tennis she'll win!"
"Well then," Akio smirked and handed Ryuko a stray tennis racket. "Looks like you're up. Knock 'em dead."
"I guess so," Ryuko blinked a few times and shook the cobwebs from her brain. She accepted the racket from Akio and strode forwards, rolling up invisible sleeves on her biceps. "Let's do this!"
Akio stood in the crowd of students next to Mako, his arms crossed as he watched Ryuko and Hakodate take the field. With the push of a button, Uzu had been able to construct a tennis arena. And unsurprisingly, the nearly ten foot walls of the arena were studded with razor sharp spikes. What that had to do with tennis, Akio would never know.
"I'm watching, Ryuko!" Mako screeched and waved her arms at Ryuko's back.
"Special rules!" Uzu announced from his raised seat. "The match is one game! Decide who serves first!"
"She's the rookie, I'll let her decide," Hakodate said and twirled her racket.
"I'll take you up on that," Ryuko smirked and bounced a tennis ball on the ground. She bent over, preparing to serve. The crowd behind her blushed as the streams of blood gushed from their noses.
Ryuko threw the ball up in the air, smacking it so hard with the racket that the strings nearly snapped.
Hakodate rushed towards the oncoming ball, smacking back with equal force. Ryuko was able to run it down, smacking it back before the ball hit the wall behind her.
Hakodate returned it, sending it back towards Ryuko. Ryuko brought her racket up to hit the ball back, but the force was too much. The ball tore through the racket's strings, flying into the spikes behind her.
"Love-fifteen!"
"Heh," Ryuko chuckled and tossed her racket away. "Not bad."
"I'm just getting warmed up. You're only now beginning to learn the might of the tennis-spec, athleticism-augmenting, Two-Star uniform I received from Lady Satsuki!"
"Hmph," Ryuko bounced a ball on the ground, throwing it up in the air for a serve. "Interesting!"
Hakodate laughed and returned the serve, nailing the ball so hard that it broke the ground up when it hit it.
"Not this time!"
Ryuko swung her racket, the ball connecting with the metal of her racket. The ball spun on the metal, traveling up the length of the handle and smashing into her face.
"Oof!"
The ball sent Ryuko spinning into the air and careening towards where Akio and Mako were standing.
"Good lord," Akio mumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Love-thirty!"
Ryuko's body crashed into the wall, cracking the foundation. The only thing that kept her from falling to the ground was that her legs were arched over the spikes in a very, very compromising position.
Mako tried to cover her eyes, but the temptation appeared to much for her, since her fingers were spaced apart and her eyes were bulging at the sight. The crowd around them exploded in a stream of nose bleeds, their eyes glued on to Ryuko's crotch.
"Ryuko! You naughty, naughty girl!" Mako shouted.
Akio picked her up by the ankles and tossed her back down on to the court, doing her a favor by getting her out of that rather provocative position. Ryuko hit the ground with a thud, but quickly picked herself up from the pavement. She glared at her opponent as her Kamui emitted blasts of steam, the straps and clothing tightening on her skin.
Akio cupped his hands to his mouth. "Ryuko!"
She turned back to glance at him, an eyebrow raised in question.
Akio pulled the scissor blade from the concrete wall he stood behind and tossed it to her.
"Use the scissor blade!"
Ryuko caught the blade in the air without looking, twirling it around her body and bringing the blade in front of her. She nodded to herself, then reached down to her skirt and pulled out a thread, bringing it up to the hilt of her blade and wrapping it around it so that it resembled that of a racket.
"Right then," Ryuko grinned and set her feet. "This will work!"
"You can't be serious!" Hakodate exclaimed.
Uzu blew on his whistle. "Faul-"
A blinding orange and yellow light erupted from above the courtyard, emanating from the giant tower of Honnouji Academy.
"It's all right," Lady Satsuki's voice echoed throughout the plaza. "Play along Hakodate. Show her the power of your Two-Star."
"Yes, milady," Hakodate bowed.
"As you wish," Uzu followed suit, his eye twitching in annoyance at Akio's loud snicker.
"Satsuki Kiryuin," Ryuko growled, her hands tightening around her blade. "You're watching from high, issuing orders to your lackeys, same as always. It's creepy."
Satsuki smiled slightly. "You're going to show me just how much of that Kamui's power you can tap into."
Ryuko's eyebrow twitched, her nostrils flaring. "You bitch! You know that this thing is called a Kamui!"
"Not so fast. Your opponent is right over there."
Ryuko turned her glare back to Hakodate, readying her scissor blade to serve.
"Show me what you've got, then."
Ryuko threw the ball into the air, smacking it back down with tremendous force.
Hakodate countered her movements, moving to the right and returning the hit.
Before the ball had even crossed the net, Ryuko had jumped into the air, intercepting the ball mid air.
"W-what!?"
With a shout, Ryuko flung the ball at Hakodate, nailing her in the face and sending her flying into the concrete wall behind her. The wall exploded with her impact, sending rubble and students flying every which way. Hakodate bounced off the wall, flying back towards Ryuko as she flipped head over heel through the air.
Ryuko flipped the blade in her hand, grabbing it by the hilt and slashing out towards Hakodate's chest. The blade connected with her Goku uniform, sending it into thousands of scraps. A red string floated away from the wreckage, floating towards Ryuko and getting absorbed by her Kamui.
Hakodate's body landed on one of the wall's spikes, her front facing up. A crowd of students gathered around, gawking at the naked form of the tennis president.
"You did it, Ryuko!" Mako screeched.
Akio grinned, feeling an unexpected amount of relief wash over him.
I guess I was worried over nothing.
Akio's eyes traveled away from the grinning Ryuko to Uzu, who had been glaring daggers at Ryuko from the moment she had won. Akio frowned. That didn't look good.
He vaulted over the wall, walking over to Ryuko as soon as he hit the ground. Uzu stepped in front of her, a crowd of One-Stars standing behind the athletics' chair, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"Don't get too full of yourself," Uzu growled. "Bitch."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Sanageyama," Akio replied, cracking his knuckles. "Matoi won fair and square. But if you're looking for a fight, I'd be happy to oblige."
"Ha! Like you could even hope to keep up with me, No-Star trash."
"Big words for a man with a bamboo sword," Akio retorted with a smirk.
"Wait, Sanageyema."
Uzu flinched, spinning around to see none other than Lady Satsuki herself standing behind him.
"Takahiro is right, as crudely as he may have put it. The victor of the match is that girl."
The crowd of students parted like the Red Sea to give their president space, all except Ryuko and Akio.
Akio glanced around, cursing under his breath. Well, if he didn't stand out before, he sure did now. No point in trying to be a kiss ass now, he supposed. Not that he was doing a great job to begin with.
Man, I am REALLY bad at this undercover business...
Ryuko scowled at Satsuki, raising her scissor blade and falling into stance.
"So, are you going to tell me? Are you the scissor blade woman?"
The crowd stood stark still, not daring to budge an inch.
Akio blinked. That was all it took and he had missed it.
A deep cut appeared in Senketsu's shoulder piece.
Akio gaped, slowly turning to face Satsuki. She stood completely still, a confident smile gracing her lips. Her sword was drawn from its sheathe and in her hands, its point resting a few inches above the ground.
"If you wish to know the answer, ask the question with your skill!"
Ryuko set her feet, her face covered with uncertainty. Satsuki appeared to be a much harsher opponent than she had given her credit for.
She tilted her head down, apparently speaking to herself.
"That's because you drank too much blood!" Ryuko said to Senketsu in a hushed whisper.
"Hmph," Satsuki raised her blade so that it was horizontal with her body. "This sword is Bakuzan. This blade can even cut a Kamui. Its edge is even keener than that scissor."
Satsuki charged forwards, bringing her blade up and swinging it downwards in an overhead strike.
Ryuko barely had time to bring up her blade to block it.
The two remained in a stalemate, both daring each other to make one tiny mistake that they could exploit.
A cloud of steam erupted from Ryuko's Kamui, hiding her form in its smoke.
"Huh?"
Akio felt a hand grip him by the collar, flinging him backwards and on his rear.
"Ow!"
Akio hit the ground with a thud, banging his head on a particularly sharp rock.
"What was that for!?" Akio glared at Ryuko who now stood above him.
"Mark my words!" Ryuko shouted, ignoring her whining companion. "Next time, I'll finish this once and for all! Let's roll guys!"
Another jet of steam erupted from Ryuko's Kamui, covering their escape as the trio ran away from the Academy's courtyard.
"You know, you didn't have to throw me," Akio grumbled as he ran, rubbing his head gingerly. "I can walk perfectly fine."
Ryuko glanced at Akio from the corner of her eye, a smirk growing on her lips.
"It's time to tell me what you know, lackey."
Ryuko and Akio sat in Akio and Aikuro's shared apartment, sitting in silence. Mako had left for the time being after Ryuko had assured her that she'd see her for dinner, and now here they were.
Akio sat in the rickety wooden chair next to the couch, his arms crossed as he still grumbled about the 'lackey' comment. Ryuko sat on the couch she had been only left a few hours ago, sitting crisscross and staring at Akio expectantly.
"So?"
"So, what? I'm just a lackey, remember?" Akio huffed. That lackey comment hurt. His poor pride was still wounded. "Don't you have to order me to do it?"
"Oh, get over it," Ryuko rolled her eyes, her lips tugging upwards in a smile. "So, are you going to tell me what I want to know?"
"Not yet."
"And why the hell not!? The deal was that if I beat up that tennis chick, you'd-"
"I'm going to tell you, don't worry," Akio reassured. "My partner just wanted me to wait until he got here this time."
"Fine," Ryuko replied hotly and glanced around the room, looking for anything to buy her time. Finding nothing, she glanced back to Akio. "So, what's your deal with that Sanageyama guy?"
"I don't like him."
"Oh wow, you don't say," Ryuko deadpanned and rolled her eyes. "Care to expand on that?"
"I don't like any of Kiryuin's henchman," Akio said flatly. "They look down on everyone, thinking they can treat people how they like because they have power. It's annoying."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Ryuko huffed and leaned back in her seat, letting her arms drape over the couch. "That caterpillar eye-browed bitch deserves to get taken down a peg. Or at least have the stick taken out of her ass."
Akio laughed and nodded. "Very true, very true."
The door to the apartment burst open, causing Akio and Ryuko to both look up at their new guest. Aikuro Mikisugi walked in all hunched over, his hands thrust in his pockets. He walked into the kitchen, grabbed himself a beer, then walked back to the living room, taking a seat on the windowsill in front of the couch.
"Hey, Akio," Aikuro greeted lazily, taking a sip. "Sorry I'm late."
"Don't worry about it."
"Wait," Ryuko blinked at their homeroom teacher. "Aren't you our teacher?"
"That's right," Aikuro ran a hand through his hair, taking his glasses off in the process. "Aikuro Mikisugi, at your service."
"Huh," Ryuko replied a bit uneasily at his sudden change in personality. She turned to Akio, quirking an eyebrow and jerking a thumb at Aikuro. "This guy's your brother, then?"
"I was adopted, but yeah."
"Ah, I guess that makes-" Ryuko stopped in her tracks, staring dumbstruck at Aikuro, whose shirt and tie were now on the ground. "W-what the hell is this!? Why are you undressing!?"
Ryuko glared at Akio. "Is this your idea of some fucked up joke? To hire a stripper?"
"Just ignore it. You get used to it."
"Just ignore it? You get used to it!? Jesus, he's about to whip out his-"
"Life fiber."
Ryuko stopped and turned back to Aikuro, blinking dumbly.
"What now?"
"It refers to fighting fibers that have a life of their own," Akio answered.
"Indeed. The fabric of One-Star Goku Uniforms are ten percent Life Fibers, while Two-Stars are thirty percent Life Fibers. As you have seen, these fibers enhance human strength and bring out special abilities."
"Now that you mention it..." Ryuko trailed off, remembering her two fights and how that red string had floated through the air and into Kamui. "That was a Life Fiber?"
"Yes," Akio nodded. "But that's not all. There exist in this world outfits woven entirely out of Life Fibers."
"These are the Kamui," Aikuro finished for him.
Ryuko glanced at her shirt. "Senketsu is one?"
"Indeed," Aikuro replied. "The only people who know the secret of the life fibers are the Kiryuin clan and your father, Dr. Isshin Matoi."
"We believe that the Kiryuin clan must have attacked Dr. Matoi to try and steal the Kamui he possessed and keep the secret for themselves," Akio continued.
"How do the two of you know all of this?"
"We hate the Kiryuin's despotism, too," Aikuro's eyes hardened as he placed a hand on his chest. "Akio and I had been working with Dr. Matoi to try and thwart their plans for world domination. Me more so than Akio, as he was still rather young at the time."
"Yes," Akio nodded. "After he had died, the two of us received a letter he had sent out before his death.
Aikuro closed his eyes, remembering Dr. Matoi's last wish. "'When I die, give you-know-what to my daughter. Like dead leaves in the forest.'"
"'And keep my daughter safe for me where I have failed,"' Akio mumbled, remembering what the doctor had asked of him.
"So, my meeting of Senketsu was set up by you, then?" Ryuko asked Aikuro, then turned to Akio. "And I'm guessing that's why you stepped in the two times I got my ass handed to me?"
"That would be correct," Aikuro nodded. "And thanks to you coming home to the mansion, I was able to provide the perfect meeting spot."
"So like I thought, it was that Satsuki Kiryuin chick that killed my father?"
"Ehhhh," Akio shrugged slightly. "It might be. We can't say for sure."
"Fine, then," Ryuko frowned, grinding her fist into her palm. "I'll beat it out of her with my own two hands."
"Hmmm," Aikuro hummed and leaned back on the windowsill, staring listlessly out the window. "You see, Akio and I went undercover here at Honnouji Academy to try and uncover what the Kiryuins are up to. Since you know all of this now, do not make contact without precautions. We are teacher and student there, nothing else."
"Fair enough," Ryuko nodded. "What about Akio then?"
Aikuro turned away from the window, a slight smirk gracing his lips.
"What about Akio?"
"Should I stay away from him, too?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," Akio interjected. "Given the nature of my job and my position, they were bound to get suspicious of me eventually."
"Ah, good."
Aikuro quirked an eyebrow at the response, his smirk growing.
"I have one more question," Ryuko continued.
"Shoot."
"When Senketsu awakens, why does he change into that sleazy, midriff-baring number?"
"Chalk that up to your father's tastes," Aikuro answered.
"Y-you're kidding!"
"I'd hate to think that, anyway," Aikuro grinned before continuing. "There's a lot I don't know about the Kamui, either. You'll have to find those answers yourself."
Ryuko's eyes lowered to the ground, her face completely neutral.
Akio watched her closely, his eyes softening at the sight of her. He felt bad just looking at her. Here she was, only seventeen years old, and she already had this world of problems dumped on her plate. She may have been strong, but she was still only a teenage girl. Hell, she hardly even had the chance to be a kid. And the icing on the cake was that somewhere out there, there is the person that killed her father, and the only way she can find out who that is is if she takes down one of the strongest families in the world. Her father was the last family she had left, and what did he leave her? A sailor uniform and half of a scissor. Isshin Matoi was a good man, and Akio respected the hell out of him, but that seemed a little cold.
"Hey."
Ryuko looked up to Akio, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Your father left a message for you in that letter he sent us."
Aikuro furrowed his brow, glancing curiously at Akio out of the corner of his eye.
"What did he say?"
"He said that he loves you, and that he's sorry he couldn't give you a better life."
Ryuko nodded shakily, turning her head back down while biting her lower lip. She sat there silently for a few moments, lost in reflection, before she shot up from the couch and made a hasty exit towards their apartment door.
She placed a trembling hand on the door knob, but didn't move.
"...Thank you."
And with that, Ryuko pushed open the door and left the room, closing it silently on her way out.
The two brothers sat in silence, both staring at the door Ryuko had just left from.
"That was awfully kind of you, Akio."
"Yes, well. Given what she's been put through, and what she has yet to go through, I'd say she deserves a little love from her father."
"Hmmm."
Aikuro smiled and rose from his seat, walking over to his brother to tousle his hair.
"You're a good kid, Akio. I'm proud of you."
Akio grinned and removed the hand from his head. "Thanks, brother."
Author's Notes:
Awh! I decided to throw a little fluff your way at the end. And a little, dare I say... ROMANCE!? I don't know, I guess we'll have to see how the author continues going forwards. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next chapter we'll get to Junketsu. That should be a fun one. And then, one of my favorite episodes, Dawn of a Miserable Morning.
Thanks for reading guys!
Until next time!
