Here is the new and revised Chapter 7. I uploaded the revised Chapter 6 a few days ago and the PM's I got back were all positive about the changes. One of the key issues I had with my earlier chapters is that they were all made before Episodes 21-24 were released, which is where a lot of the plot/story/etc was finally explained. If you read through the chapter once more, you will find that the overall cohesion and grammar is much better. Enjoy!
...
Chapter 7 – Just My Imagination
"God damn it, this place is screwed up."
Ichigo peered out from the alley he was hiding in and let out a relieved sigh when he didn't see anyone following him. After he so easily managed to get away from Satsuki Kiryuin and her cronies Ichigo decided to flee as far away from Honnouji Academy as possible. He didn't know what Satsuki would do but he had the strangest feeling Sanageyama wouldn't just take his insults lying down. Letting his eyes scat the area one final time just to make sure no one was trying to sneak up on him, Ichigo ducked back into the alley and leaned his head against the cracked brick wall.
"What the hell is wrong with this school?" Ichigo mumbled as he ran a hand down his face. Satsuki Kiryuin was nothing like he expected her to be. Of course that brief conversation with her in his home at the start of this mess indicated more than anything that she was not someone to mess with, but from her seat of power Ichigo was beginning to realize that Honnouji Academy was more of a fortress or castle than a school.
"That is a good question, Ichigo"Mugetsu said, once again in the form of a normal school uniform. Her eyes blinked once before looking up at him, "But what are you going to do about it?"
"Do about it?" Ichigo repeated. That thought had crossed his mind more than once, but every time he tried to come up with how he would go about it or even if it could work, he drew a blank. Pursing his lips and looking to the side, he sighed and said, "I don't think there is anything I can do about it."
Mugetsu looked surprised at Ichigo's answer, but was cut off from saying anything as he continued, "Things like this are always more complicated than they first appear. You may be right about my power being greater than Satsuki's, for the moment at least, but let's assume I do manage to take her down. She has this entire city in the palm of her hand. If I remove her from power, I will have everyone who follows her gunning for me."
Mugetsu mulled that explanation over for a moment, "As long as you are safe, I don't care what happens to anyone else."
Ichigo listened to his Kamui before something important crossed his mind, "Hey Mugetsu."
"What is it?"
"You said I only had four minutes to save Ryuko. Why was that?"
"I confess that the four minute time limit was something I came up with," Mugetsu confessed sadly, "I was afraid that if you and I remained merged for any longer, I would lose any self-control I had and devour you."
"Wait," Ichigo's mind tried to process what he just heard, "Devour me?"
"Kamui such as myself rely on the blood of our wielder to function," Mugetsu reminded him, "While I normally receive a small amount of blood from you throughout the day, when I transformed into my true form, the amount of blood I received from you was so great that I was tempted to suck you dry. Ichigo, your blood is exquisitely delicious. It is the best thing I have ever tasted."
"That's great to know," Ichigo growled, not bothering to point out that his blood is the only thing Mugetsu has every tasted. Leaning his head back against the wall of the building behind him, he thought for a moment before asking, "Does this mean you have a four minute limit on your transformation?"
"For the moment I do, but I am certain given enough time I will be able to control my urges."
Ichigo scowled as he considered how much could go wrong until Mugetsu could control herself, "How much time are you talking about?"
Mugetsu's multihued eyes closed as she thought about the answer, "It shouldn't take any longer than two days for the little blood I can draw from your body to no longer tempt me."
"Let me know as soon as possible. Someone like Gamagori is probably just itching for a chance to get back at me," Ichigo commented with annoyance in his voice. He wasn't annoyed at Mugetsu or anything that she did. Rather, he was annoyed because he just knew something was going to happen in the next two days that would undoubtedly require him to activate Mugetsu.
As Ichigo walked out of the alley his thoughts drifted to Ryuko and the state she was in when he saved her. While he had saved her from whatever Satsuki was planning to do to her, he didn't know how she was doing. The wounds he'd seen on her body were quite severe so she would probably need to go to a doctor to make sure she didn't have any internal bleeding or broken bones. The only problem was he had no clue where she was staying or even if she had a place to live. Mako did say Ryuko had only transferred in today. If things at Honnouji Academy were as screwed up as he thought, Ryuko probably didn't even have a home.
"I wonder if Mako knows where she's staying."
So enraptured was Ichigo in his thoughts that as he turned a corner he walked straight into another student sprinting through the streets in the opposite direction. While months of shinigami experience allowed Ichigo to barely keep himself from falling down, the same could not be said for the other unfortunate student. The force of the impact against Ichigo caused the student to bounce back with enough force that he was laying on the ground with a dazed and confused look on his face.
"Hey," Ichigo leaned over the dazed student with a concerned look on his face, "Are you alright?"
"Did someone get the name of that truck?" The student mumbled incoherently before noticing who was standing over him. Leaping to his feet with a level of dexterity and speed that Ichigo hadn't thought him capable of, the student tapped his hand against his chest and looked up at Ichigo, "I recognize that brightly colored natural hair! You're the new transfer student from Karakura Town – Ichigo Kurosaki!"
The fact that the teen knew who he was by the color of his hair didn't startle Ichigo. In his brief time at Honnouji Academy Ichigo hadn't found anyone else with the same orange hair as him. What bothered him was the level of happiness in the teen's voice upon seeing him. It was almost enough to cause Ichigo to shudder in revulsion, "Who are you and what do you want?"
"Please forgive me, Ichigo Kurosaki! Due to the circumstances of our meeting I have forgotten to introduce myself!" The teen stepped back and began bowing dramatically to Ichigo before striking a pose, "I am the number one student reporter of the Newspaper Club – Shinjiro Nagita!"
At the mentioning of a school club Ichigo backed a few steps away and asked, "You're not going to attack me for what I did to Satsuki are you?"
Shinjiro looked offended at Ichigo's question. Adjusting the rim of his glasses dramatically, he exclaimed, "Of course not! While the Student Council and Lady Satsuki may have sanctioned the Newspaper Club's actions I have my own will and drive! Most of my fellow reporters and editors might be willing to commit acts of slander to protect and cover for the Student Council but I hold myself to a higher standard! As a journalist, it is my sacred duty to spread freedom of speech however I can."
"Something doesn't sit well me with, Ichigo. It was too much of a coincidence that he ran into you here," Mugetsu didn't point out in her suspicions that something about Shinjiro just felt wrong with her. The Kamui wracked her mind trying to understand what she was feeling but no matter how hard she looked at Shinjiro there just wasn't anything obviously suspicious about him. His uniform didn't even have any Life Fibers in it, "Find out what he was looking for you."
"That's all well and good," Ichigo said before scowling, "But what does all that have to do with me? I'm already in enough trouble with Satsuki. I don't need to get involved in whatever mess you're trying to create."
"You're the only person in Honnouji Academy's history that not only stood up to Lady Satsuki's regime but actually overpowered her!" Shinjiro explained passionately with a wave of his arm. Clenching his fist tightly in front of his face, he sternly continued, "For three years Lady Satsuki and her close associates of the Elite Four have not only destroyed the freedoms of No-Star students such as myself but also prevented any of us from leaving! Anyone that tries to complain or protest are beaten into submission and quietly silenced by the weight of the system she's created. I may have only caught a glimpse of your battle earlier but it was enough for me to see that you are the destined hope that Honnouji Academy's been waiting for!"
"What are you going to do?" Mugetsu felt Ichigo's pulse elevating and knew her wearer was worried about what he should do, "Shinjiro brings up a valid point. If Satsuki Kiryuin is doing everything he claims than many people are suffering because of it."
Ichigo mulled over Shinjiro's words. If Shinjiro was telling the truth and wasn't simply a spy for Satsuki designed to play on his sympathies Ichigo couldn't just sit back and do nothing. While attacking and humiliating Satsuki earlier was probably a really bad choice on his part, it was the best thing Ichigo could think of doing at the time. Still, he couldn't get rid of the notion that Satsuki wasn't about to let a slight against her honor simply vanish. If his actions earlier caused innocent people to get hurt he would have no one to blame but himself.
"Give me some time to think about this," Ichigo said as he began to walk past Shinjiro, "It's been a really busy day and I need to figure out a way to get back to my dorm without getting caught."
"No!" Shinjiro dove at Ichigo and wrapped his arms around his leg, "Don't go!"
"Hey! What the hell are you doing? Get the hell off!" Ichigo tried to shake Shinjiro off his leg but found the teen's grip to be supernaturally strong.
With his arms still tightly gripping Ichigo's leg Shinjiro looked out and shouted, "I need your protection! I already tried to expose Lady Satsuki using the school newspaper so many times that I'm on her 'list of dissenters!' If I try to say anything bad about her one more time she'll either permanently suspend me from school grounds or send the Disciplinary Committee after me! I can't stop writing the truth Ichigo! Lying just isn't in me! If the Disciplinary Committee finds me, they'll beat the stuffing out of me!"
"There he is, boys!"
Ichigo turned around and saw three massive One-Star students rushing towards them. One of them pointed at Shinjiro and shouted, "Shinjiro Nagita! Your slander and libel against Lady Satsuki ends today. Prepare to be disciplined!"
"Ah! Don't let them get me Ichigo!"
Ichigo stepped in front of the cowering Shinjiro and stared at the Disciplinary Committee members, "If you want to get Shinjiro, you're going to have to go through me first."
One of the students took a step forward to do just that but was stopped when another held his arm out, "Don't be a fool. That's Ichigo Kurosaki, the new transfer student with the Kamui. As long as he's with Shinjiro Nagita, we'll be unable to discipline him. We need to go report back to Gamagori about this turn of events."
As the three students reluctantly turned to leave, the one that just spoke turned around and pointed at Shinjiro, "Consider yourself lucky you are in presence of someone many times your superior! But know that eventually your luck will run out. Ichigo Kurosaki's protection cannot last forever and eventually you will pay for your crimes against Lady Satsuki!"
Ichigo waited until the Disciplinary Committee was out of sight before turning to Shinjiro, "I have a feeling those guys aren't going to give up so easily but it looks like as long as I'm around they'll leave you alone."
"You need not worry about constantly protecting me, Ichigo!" Shinjiro stood up and clenched his fist, "As long as you lead the way I will follow you to hell and back. The power you possess mixed with ability to disseminate information amongst the No-Star students shall start a revolution. Together we can finally remove Lady Satsuki's tyranny from Honnouji Academy!"
"Are you planning to just waltz right into Honnouji Academy and take down someone like Satsuki Kiryuin with a few words?" Ichigo asked sarcastically, "She's not someone that will care what you write."
"What?" Shinjiro seemed surprised by Ichigo's lack of commitment, "I thought you were going to help me?"
Ichigo shook his head and glanced in the direction the One-Star students had left, "No, I said I would protect you from those assholes. If you want to keep putting your life in danger, than be my guest. Just don't drag me into it."
"Oh…" Shinjiro was crestfallen at Ichigo's refusal to help him, but his normal exuberant attitude quickly reasserted itself, "That's alright by me! As long as I am able to use the powers of the press to spread the word of Lady Satsuki's evil deeds I do not care what happens to me!"
Ichigo was about to retort, but was stopped when the sounds of static and wires crackling filled the air.
"What's going on?"
"It's the Honnou City P.A. system," Shinjiro explained, "It is only used by Lady Satsuki and the Student Council when they are announcing something of grave importance."
"Transfer students, can you hear me?" A familiar voice spoke through the speakers, "In one hour, your best friend, Mako Mankanshoku, will be executed due to her shared responsibility for committing treason against Honnouji Academy and Lady Satsuki! If either of you want to stop it, quit hiding like cowards and show yourselves!"
"That guy just doesn't know when to quit," Ichigo growled angrily. Every single one of his senses was shouting at him that going back to Honnouji Academy was a trap but he couldn't let Mako get executed. Ichigo may not have known why the Boxing Club captain wanted to kill Mako but it would be a cold day in hell if he just sat back and let that happen.
"I know I'm going to regret this," Ichigo muttered before looking at Shinjiro, "I need to go save Mako, Shinjiro, so you should find someplace to hide until it's all over."
"You can't be thinking of simply walking in Honnouji Academy's front door!" Shinjiro exclaimed in shock. Making several intricate motions in the air with his hands, he exclaimed, "While your uniform may allow you to easily overpower a Two-Star Goku Uniform and take Lady Satsuki by surprise, such trickery won't work more than once! If you step into Honnouji Academy, there is no doubt that you'll have to take on the Elite Four if you wish to rescue Mako Mankanshoku."
"I'm not going to let Mako die for something I did," Ichigo answered, moving around Shinjiro and towards Honnouji Academy, "Of course I know going back is probably a trap and if it is, I plan on beating the crap out of as many people as it takes to save Mako. As much as I know the odds are against me, I can't fail. I was almost too late to save Ryuko earlier and if I can save Mako than that's what I'm going to do."
Mugetsu listened to Ichigo's speech before she added in her own thoughts, "Ichigo, while your passion and desire to do the right thing is inspiring, you won't be able to fight back against the Goku Uniforms. If you try to release my true form once more, you will die."
Ichigo thought about what his Kamui said and realized, when it came down to it, that if he had to risk his life for someone like Mako, who wasn't even involved in what happened, than he would gladly do so without a moment's hesitation, "That's a risk I'm going to have to take, Mugetsu."
Mugetsu, shocked at Ichigo's dedication and willingness to throw his life away to save someone else, could only mutter, "Ichigo…"
"That's enough standing around doing nothing," Ichigo stated and began running up the road to Honnouji Academy. It would take longer to get back without taking the trolleys but Ichigo didn't trust the operators to not fight him. Turning around back to Shinjiro, Ichigo asked, "You should come as well. Those guys are probably waiting around the corner for me to leave or something."
"O-Of course!" Shinjiro stammered and quickly followed after Ichigo.
...
The rain, which had drawn ever closer to Honnou City as the day wore on, finally arrived in a cataclysmic burst of thunder just as Ryuko arrived at her destination. Leaning over the handles of the stolen moped, her breath ragged from exhaustion and pain, she took a single step onto the muddy ground and quickly fell down to her hands and knees.
"Damn it," she coughed weakly as she used whatever strength she had remaining to push her body off the ground. Gritting her teeth angrily as she was forced to use her Scissor Blade as a makeshift crutch, Ryuko managed to force herself to stand back on her feet only after more than a minute of trying.
Leaning heavily on her weapon for support, Ryuko cursed her situation, "I was so close to finding out."
Taking a step forward and swaggering on her feet for just a moment, Ryuko managed to keep her balance as she stumbled her way into the ruined remains of her childhood home. It had been six months since she had last been here, and that was the last time there had been any sense of normality in her life. As she made her way through the fire-swept hallways, she eventually came across the same room that she had discovered her father's dying body. Planting her Scissor Blade into the floor, Ryuko stared at the ground in front of her in sadness.
"I couldn't do it dad," she muttered as tears threatened to well up from her eyes, "Just when I thought I knew who killed you, I failed. If only I had more power! I could have used it to save you from that woman!"
Ryuko collapsed onto her knees and knelt there in the rain for what seemed like hours. Coming back to this place was hard enough, but realizing that everything she accomplished had been for nothing had taken a toll on her mind. After going over what happened in her mind, she staggered back to her feet and wiped a tear from her eye.
"I'm sorry my power wasn't great enough to avenge you," she confessed sadly before the barest traces of a smile appeared on her face, "But there is someone who might be able to help. Mako says he's alright and he did save me. His name is –"
Before she could finish whatever it was she was about to say, a trapdoor opened up beneath Ryuko's feet, causing her to drop screaming into the dark abyss below.
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Several meters away, hidden behind a partially destroyed wall, Aikuro Mikisugi stared at where Ryuko had just been with concealed amusement. Sweeping his hand across his face, removing his glasses in the process, he said, "I leave the rest up to you, Ryuko Matoi."
As Ryuko's screams slowly died away, Aikuro turned around to head back to Honnouji Academy, but not before looking at the remote in his hand with disdain, "Four year battery life, huh?"
While Aikuro was contemplating getting a refund on his trapdoor remote control, Ryuko found herself bouncing erratically between the walls of the tunnel she was falling through. Nothing she did to slow her descent seemed to work. She tried bracing her feet and back only to find the walls too slick for friction to slow her down. When that failed, she attempted to use her Scissor Blade only to crash through the roof of a large room and land in a pile of clothing.
"Damn that hurt," she grumbled as she pulled herself free from the pile of old and discarded clothing. As she looked around and realized where she was, she whistled and said, "How the hell did dad manage to build something like this under the house?"
Moving to get to her feet, Ryuko winced as a lance of pain shot down her left arm. Pulling up the sleeve of her blazer, she noticed that one of the many cuts she had obtained during her short fight against Takaharu had reopened upon landing and was now dripping blood down her arm and into the pile of clothing beneath her.
"I guess I reopened the wound from earlier," she muttered, clenching her fist to block out the pain. Something like this wasn't as painful as it would have been to someone else. Ryuko couldn't explain it, but she had always had an extremely high tolerance for pain, "I better look for a way out of here before I bleed to death."
Picking up her Scissor Blade, Ryuko slid down the pile of clothing until she managed to reach the floor. Stumbling for a moment, she looked around for any sort of exit. Whatever this place had been, something had happened to destroy most of it. It was strange that the explosion that destroyed the house didn't reach all the way down here. Pushing that thought out of her mind for the time being, Ryuko picked a random direction and began walking, "There has to be a way out of here."
As she looked around for a way to climb upwards towards one of the holes in the ceiling high above her head, something caught Ryuko's eye. Laying on its side, half crushed and half destroyed by the forces of nature, was an old wooden desk. From the various instruments and tools lying strewn around, it must have belonged to her dad.
"Dad…"
Ryuko walked to the desk and knelt down before sifting through the shattered remains. There wasn't much that hadn't been destroyed or damaged, but one thing remained that caused her to take a closer look. Carefully cleaning off pieces of shattered glass and dirt, Ryuko picked up an old picture. Pulling it out of its damaged frame, careful to not rip or damage it further, Ryuko's eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was in it. In the picture, her dad appeared to be standing on what looked like a pier or bridge and in his arms, with an innocent smile on her face, was a younger version of Ryuko. As she stared at the picture, Ryuko couldn't remember when this picture was taken or even where they were. Her eyes drifted away from her dad and towards the other occupants of the picture, causing her to frown.
"Who are they?"
Standing to the right of her father were two people, and by the looks on their faces they must have either been engaged or married. The man had a goofy smile on his face and was giving the camera the sign for 'victory' with one hand while the other was wrapped around the woman's shoulders. He wore a gaudy Hawaiian shirt with a red flower pattern over a blue background and had the beginning of stubble on his face. The woman had curly brown hair and seemed to be trying to play with the younger version of Ryuko.
Ryuko stared at the picture before tossing it in her pocket, "If they knew my dad, then they might know why that woman with the Scissor Blade killed him. Now I just need to find a way out of this place."
"Wait…" a muffled voice called out, stopping Ryuko in her tracks, "More. Give me more."
"Who the hell's there? Show yourself!" Ryuko shouted through the abandoned chamber, her hands tightly gripping her Scissor Blade as she listened to her voice echo back and forth into obscurity. Muscles tensing up in preparation for an attack from the unknown intruder, Ryuko stood still for more than a minute as she waited for something to happen. When she heard nothing but silence despite her best efforts to locate the source of the voice Ryuko began to relax. Perhaps the voice had come from her head and in her current state she believed it came from somewhere in the room.
"I'm losing it," Ryuko rubbed her eyes and yawned. She must have lost more blood from her battle against Takaharu than she originally thought.
"More…" the voice repeated, echoing through the large chamber and making it impossible for Ryuko to pinpoint where it was coming from, "…I need more…"
Ryuko turned around as her eyes focused on the pile of discarded fabrics she had fallen down on. Squinting as she caught the barest traces of movement from within the pile, Ryuko quickly swung her Scissor Blade through the air as something shot out of the pile. After noticing that her blade easily and cleaning slicing through the old shirt, Ryuko noticed a change in the lighting and looked upwards just as something descended through the air towards her.
"What's that light?" Ryuko squinted in confusion as she raised her hand in front of her face, "What the hell…is that a sailor uniform?"
"Give me more!"
Ryuko attempted to move out of the way of the falling uniform but winced as her wounds from her fight against Takaharu caught up with her and her left leg gave out. Before she had a chance to push past the pain and move out of the way, Ryuko found her body launching forward and tumbling along the ground before slamming into the wall as the uniform wrapped itself around her body.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ryuko shouted half-hysterically and half-deliriously as she felt the uniform beginning to grope her. With a luminescent blush adorning her face as the uniform pushed past all normal boundaries, Ryuko tried to break free of the living uniform's perverted touch but found to her shock that it was supernaturally strong. Breaking out in a cold sweat as the uniform's eye seemed to dilute maniacally, Ryuko yelled, "Get the hell off me!"
"Don't leave me!"the uniform shouted as it wrapped its sleeves around her arms and pressed itself against her chest, "What are you waiting for? Take off your clothes already so you can put me on!"
Ryuko gasped in embarrassment at the closeness of the living uniform and doubled her efforts to free herself from the nightmarish thing attacking her. She had no idea what it was but there was no way in hell that she was going to let it continue to grope her body. As she struggled against the flexible bonds holding her, the Kamui saw that she was being uncooperative and decided to take matters into its own nonexistent hands. Using its sleeves as makeshift hands it systematically began tearing her clothes off without care, leaving Ryuko clad in nothing but her bra and panties, "What the hell are you doing you fucking pervert?"
The Kamui purposely ignored Ryuko's protests of indignation as it finished stripping her. Staring at her body with a crazed look in its one eye, it shouted, "Wear me and give me lots of your blood! I don't want to go back to sleep!"
Let it be known that Ryuko had seen many crazy things as she transferred from academy to academy across Japan. After witnessing the beef tank at Kami-Kobe High School, which was right before she was chased off by someone called Kyuji Obayashi with a beef cannon, Ryuko thought nothing could faze her. But now, after having her body assaulted by a living sailor uniform with an unhealthy desire to be worn, Ryuko found her mind unable to wrap itself around what was happening, "The sailor uniform is talking?"
For a just brief moment the Kamui seemed to take notice of something other than Ryuko's body. Swiveling its eye upwards until it was staring at her nervous face, the opening that Ryuko assumed was its mouth smiled, "Why are you scared? You should wear me instead of being frightened. I will make all your worries go away!"
"Like hell I will!" Ryuko shouted back in fear as she began trying to bite the Kamui's sleeves, "There's no way I'm going to wear a talking uniform!"
"Hmm…time for a more hands-on approach!" The Kamui's form twisted and distorted before it threw itself on top of Ryuko, its fabric instantly molding to the shape and contours of her body.
"What did I just say?" Ryuko growled as she struggled to pull the Kamui off her body but found that she was quickly losing the battle. Whatever it was made of was making it impossible for her to resist and Ryuko could not help but feel a stab of fear course through her body at what will happen when she finally loses, "Uniforms aren't supposed to talk. Not get the hell off me you stupid piece of clothing before I find a pair of scissors!"
"Enough of your whining," The Kamui shouted as it began shining with a faint red light, "That's it! I'm going to make you wear me whether you like it or not!"
"No means no!"
"Too late!" The Kamui shouted in triumph, "Look! I'm a perfect fit!"
As the Kamui finally forced itself completely on Ryuko's body and began the process of acclimating to her blood, pulse, shape and thoughts, Ryuko stumbled to her feet as red energy crackled around her form. She felt a strange feeling coursing through her body and it was making her sweat nervously. As the feeling inside her body built to a crescendo, Ryuko let out a loud shout as a large column of red energy shot up into the sky.
...
"So you came back after all," Sanageyama grinned with his hands in the pockets of his coat as he watched Ichigo walk through the entrance of Honnouji Academy. Raising a hand and silently ordering the members of the Boxing Club to stand down, Sanageyama stepped forward and said, "I have to admit that after your little performance earlier I thought you would be smart enough to not fall for such an obvious trap."
"Why wouldn't I come back if someone's life was on the line?" Ichigo countered as he noticed students were beginning to surround him. Glancing past Sanageyama, Ichigo scowled when he saw Mako being held upside-down over a vat of boiling oil, "Let her go. She had nothing to do with what happened."
"I don't like doing things like this but the rules have to be followed," Sanageyama gave a sigh as he jumped out of the boxing ring. He would never admit it but Lady Satsuki's plans did not involve Mako Mankanshoku dying. She was merely bait to draw in the more important prey, namely Ichigo Kurosaki and Ryuko Matoi. As much as Takaharu wished to regain his honor, Sanageyama would never let him torture an innocent person to death, "It doesn't have to go down like this. Everything you see is simply a means to enact the proper punishment."
Ichigo didn't say anything as he looked up and saw Satsuki Kiryuin staring down at him. From the deepening frown on her face, he could tell she wasn't too happy about their earlier encounter, "If this is the punishment for someone who did nothing wrong, I'd hate to see how you treat those that are actually guilty."
Sanageyama's expression fell as Ichigo refused to follow the plan. Tapping his shinai against his shoulder to calm down before he said anything rash, Sanageyama held his hand out to Ichigo and said, "Ichigo, there is a way out of this that will allow Mankanshoku to walk away scot free. If you simply surrender yourself to the mercy of Lady Satsuki, the execution order against Mako Mankanshoku will be rescinded and she can go home to her family."
"What!" Takaharu angrily gripped the ropes surrounding the boxing ring as a vein bulged on his temple.
"Shut up," Sanageyama ordered without bothering to turn to face the Boxing Club captain. When Takaharu gnashed his teeth together but refrained from saying anything, Sanageyama turned his attention back to Ichigo, "You have two choices, Ichigo. You can take Lady Satsuki's mercy and Mankanshoku will be sent home completely unharmed or you can try to fight us, which will not be easy. You may have gotten the jump on her last time but don't think you will be able to do it again so easily."
As much as he wanted to wipe the smug look off Sanageyama's face and show Satsuki just how much respect he had for her, Ichigo knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. Sanageyama wasn't the type of person to lie to his face and if giving up would spare Mako from being boiled alive, than his path forward was rather clear. Taking a step forward and raising his hands into the air, Ichigo quickly found his way blocked by Shinjiro.
"You can't give up, Ichigo!" Shinjiro had a pleading look in his eye as he stood in Ichigo's way, "Sanageyama is one of Lady Satsuki's Elite Four. He'll say anything to make sure no one defies her authority. He probably plans to kill Mankanshoku as soon as you're in custody."
Sanageyama's face distorted into a scowl as his ears picked up Shinjiro's scathing and insulting comment. Pointing his shinai at the smaller student, Sanageyama growled and said, "I don't know who you think you are to say something like that but I'm a man of my word. If I say something, you can damn well be sure that I would never go back on it."
Shinjiro shrunk back from Sanageyama's intense glare, "But –"
"Don't worry about it, Shinjiro. I'll be fine," Ichigo cut off his new friend and started walking towards Sanageyama. Rubbing his wrists as a slight smile spread across his face, Ichigo added, "I don't think Satsuki will be able to capture me even if she wanted to."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sanageyama demanded as he noticed Ichigo's distinct lack of fear, "Tell me right –"
Sanageyama was cut off as what sounded like an explosion went off near the boxing ring, causing a cloud of smoke and dust to erupt into the air. Covering his eyes to protect them from the dust, Sanageyama tried to see what was going on, "What the hell was that?"
There was a thick silence as the gathered students and civilians tried to see what was happening. As their eyes tried to pierce the thick smoke, a figure darted out of it and flew towards the captured Mako. The members of the Boxing Club tried to stop them, but were easily and brutally forced out of the way as the figure kicked and punched them all in the face and neck. When the figure stood on top of the scaffolding holding Mako, a familiar red blade in their hand, the suspended girl shouted.
"You've come back to save me Ryuko!"
Ryuko pulled the Scissor Blade from beneath the tattered brown cloak covering her body and looked around. Confident that no one had yet managed to see her newest uniform, she spun the blade around her wrist before stabbing it into the scaffolding, "Hold on tight, Mako. I'm going to get you out of there."
As she tore apart the ropes holding Mako above the vat of boiling oil, Ryuko noticed several of the less injured members of the Boxing Club rushing up the scaffolding in an attempt to stop her. Scoffing at their futile attempt, Ryuko spun her body around and let loose a flurry of kicks and punches that forces the club members back and into the boiling oil. Tearing off the last of the bindings holding up her friend, Ryuko grabbed Mako before she could fall and leapt into the air. Landing in the middle of the boxing ring, Takaharu glaring at her with a mixture of interest and anger, Ryuko put Mako down, her body as stiff as a piece of wood, and returned the diminutive captain's glare.
"So you've come at last, transfer student," Takaharu gloated into the microphone while raising his right fist, "Truth be told, I'm glad you interrupted Ichigo Kurosaki's surrender. It would be boring for this to go down without a real fight."
"Using a hostage is just dirty," Ryuko countered. Giving Mako a small push to the side so she would leave the ring before things started to get ugly, Ryuko held the cloak covering her body with one hand as she said, "I thought you boxers were all about honor and rules. If you are really a boxer, let's settle this one on one!"
Takaharu grinned as the rematch he was looking for, and his only chance to regain his honor as a member of the Student Council, began, "You were never recruited into my club, but if you are looking for a one on one fight, who am I to argue. It'll just make my victory all the sweeter when I pound your body into dust."
Throwing away the microphone without care, hitting the head of a student in the crowd in the process, Takaharu rushed at Ryuko with his left arm pulled back for a powerful jab, "I'm going to haze you like a punk!"
Letting loose a shout as he punched forward, Takaharu smiled as his boxing glove seemed to multiply over and over again until there were hundreds of blurry boxing gloves circling throughout the boxing ring. Adjusting their direction with but a simple thought, Takaharu began hitting Ryuko's covered body with everything he had.
"Is this too much for you?" Takaharu shouted victoriously as he watched every one of his blows hit Ryuko head on, "This sacred ring is overflowing with the myriad of left jabs that my toned body has produced!"
Outside the ring, Shinjiro watched Takaharu hit Ryuko again and again without her doing anything, "What is she doing? She's going to die if she doesn't fight back!"
Ichigo wasn't so sure that was the case. As he carefully watched the multitude of blows land on Ryuko's body, bursts of concussive force blasting past her into the crowd of gathered students, Ichigo saw that Ryuko had yet to take a step back or even flinch away in pain. Despite the number of punches, jabs and crosses raining down on her body courtesy of her opponent, Ryuko appeared to be completely unaffected by the attacks.
Takaharu's heart raced in excitement as he delivered blow after blow upon Ryuko. He was so enthralled in the fight that Takaharu failed to notice Ryuko standing still without even a grunt of pain. Sliding back across the ring, Takaharu grinned maliciously as he rotated his shoulder and shouted, "And the champion switches his footwork before moving into a right straight! But what's this? It's really a corkscrew punch! Ten! Ken! Fun! Sai!"
As the Two-Star's boxing glove began spinning like a drill as it inched ever closer to her body, Ryuko continued to simply stand still with her eyes firmly locked on the incoming attack. While Takaharu's technique certainly looked impressive enough to have potentially killed her if he had bothered to bring it out in their first fight, Ryuko knew that no matter how strong he was, it was not even close to the power she currently possessed. As the attack finally connected and shredded the cloak she had wrapped around her body, Ryuko didn't bother to move as Takaharu's glove stopped cold against her Kamui.
"W-What?" Takaharu stammered, "What sort of outfit could you possibly be wearing?"
A blush broke out along Ryuko's face as she covered her chest with one arm, "Quit your staring!"
"Well now…" Sanageyama scratched his nose and stared at Ryuko with a satisfied grin on his face, "That's something you don't see everyday."
While Sanageyama was staring at Ryuko with a grin and Shinjiro had pulled out a notepad and began hastily scribbling something down, Ichigo's reaction was much more drastic.
"What the hell is that?" he thought in both shock and embarrassment. He was shocked that someone besides him had a Kamui. Aikuro had mentioned that he could count the number of Kamui in the world on his hands. The fact that another Kamui had appeared in Honnouji Academy, on the same day that he exposed his own Mugetsu to the school, meant that the teacher had something to do with it. His embarrassment, on the other hand, came from the rather revealing form that Ryuko's Kamui had decided to take.
Instead of being practical armor like his Mugetsu, that covered everything below his neck in rigid and dense armor that felt nearly impervious to attacks, Ryuko's looked…different to say the least. It took the form of thigh-high black boots and leggings, with red heels and lines going up to the very top, where they extended into straps that connected to the short black skirt that barely covered anything. The skirt was connected to the top of the outfit by a pair of suspenders that barely managed to cover her breasts. The suspenders then connected into the only thing that could be considered armor on the Kamui. Her arms and everything above her breasts up to the top of her chin was covered in black armor. At the front of her Kamui, much like Mugetsu, were two familiar looking eyes, one of which was permanently closed by a prominent scare across it.
"That can't be a Kamui…" he muttered. It looked nothing like his Mugetsu.
"It is," Mugetsu answered Ichigo's rhetorical question, "But what you fail to understand, Ichigo, is that a Kamui does not need to cover up every part of the body to function as armor. As long as it is worn and sufficient blood is given, every part of the wearer's body, even exposed skin, will be as hard as steel."
"I get that," he said slowly, "Just don't ever transform into something even close to that."
While Ichigo was arguing with Mugetsu over the proper definition of armor, back in the boxing ring Takaharu was trying, and failing, to deliver a blow that could hurt Ryuko. How the hell could she have gotten so strong in only a few hours? The last time they fought he had wiped the floor with her but now she was shrugging off his attacks like he was a fly. Letting loose a punch to Ryuko's face, Takaharu grimaced when he saw she hadn't so much as turned her head away, "You're cheating! You're trying to distract me from the match with your overwhelming sexiness!"
"Get real! I'm not wearing this thing because I want to!" Ryuko argued, the blush on her face increasing in intensity along with her embarrassment. She didn't understand why Senketsu had to take the form of something so revealing. It made her practically naked!
"No excuses!" Takaharu yelled, his voice breaking slightly, "You're mocking boxing with that scandalous outfit. No, all sports have been degraded by that thing!"
"I am not!"
Seeming to realize something of great importance, Takaharu grinned and stepped back, "All right, then. If you are going to fight completely undressed, I guess I'll take the liberty of undressing as well to make it even."
"Hey!" Ryuko, along with Ichigo and about half the audience, covered their eyes as Takaharu's hands reached for his belt, "You're the one mocking me, you damn pervert!"
"What are you talking about?" Takaharu looked perplexed at Ryuko before a glowing red chain on his belt snapped. As his right boxing glove transformed, to Ryuko's gaping shock, he explained, "Keep your mind out of the gutter. I'm just taking off the soft gloves I've been wearing for the away bouts. Behold! These are the true and genuine Honnouji Academy Athleticism-Augmenting Two-Star Boxing Gloves!"
"Oh boy," Sanageyama whistled, "This is going to be interesting to watch. I haven't seen Takaharu this focused on a fight since that bout against the American high school champion."
"Boxing Club captain Takaharu removed the safety limiters on his gloves in order to counter the increasing threat of the new transfer student Ryuko Matoi…" Shinjiro mumbled as he hastily wrote in his notepad. This was a golden story! He had thought Ichigo Kurosaki was the only one with the power to go up against the Student Council and Lady Satsuki, but to find another student willing to actually do so, it was a godsend. He just needed to talk to her in person, "Hey Ichigo, you called that outfit she was wearing a Kamui. What does that term mean?"
Ichigo hand waved his question away, "I'll tell you another time."
Ryuko stared at the giant spiked glove held in the air with a look of bewilderment on her face, "What the hell is up with your glove?"
"Are you talking about this old thing?" Takaharu looked at his boxing glove with pride and affection, "If I didn't wrap my gloves during my away bouts, other schools would be too afraid to face me in the ring. Wrapping my gloves is the only way I can get a decent fight anymore! Being able to release them after such a long time fills my heart with strength and conviction! This is the true power of a Goku Uniform!"
"I don't know that much about boxing," Ryuko said with a confused look on her face that quickly became a smug grin, "But even I know that what you're doing is illegal. But if you're really that eager to fight me, then bring it on!"
"I'm going to wipe that grin off your face, transfer student!" Takaharu shouted. Leaping into the air, his spiked glove drawn back for a jab, he rushed towards Ryuko, "Now that you're half-naked, I'm going to tear apart what little shreds of clothing and dignity you have left and send you flying to the moon!"
As Takaharu sprinted towards her, Ryuko continued to stand still while glaring at the diminutive Two-Star, "Good luck with that."
Ryuko's gloating was not unfounded. As Takaharu's glove easily connected with Ryuko's bare and exposed stomach, causing a pressure wave to explode out behind her and knock several students into the air, the Boxing Club captain noticed something odd with the whole situation. He had put all his power into that one attack, enough power to cause even the Elite Four to flinch back at least a little, and yet Ryuko was looked at him with that blasted smirk on her face.
"What are you smiling about?"
Takaharu's eyes widened as Ryuko answered, "Take a look at your glove."
Turning his shaking eyes to his fully unleashed boxing glove, Takaharu's mouth opened in shock and awe as the hairline fractures that it sustained from Ichigo Kurosaki's interference earlier grew before the glove shattered completely.
"W-What?" Takaharu gasped at seeing his precious boxing glove destroyed, "My precious glove!"
"You're glove isn't the only thing that can transform," Ryuko informed him, "So does my outfit!"
As Takaharu's mind filled with rage at the loss of his precious glove he let go of any restraints he had left and began hitting Ryuko with a multitude of punches and kicks. Even if Ryuko appeared to be unfazed by his attack combo, Takaharu was intent on making her pay no matter the cost.
"Amazing," Shinjiro muttered, momentarily forgetting to write down notes, "She's not even flinching from Takaharu's attacks. Is it because she is wearing what you call a Kamui, Ichigo?"
"Ichigo, what are you going to do about her?" Mugetsu questioned. He couldn't blame her interest in Ryuko. Neither of them could have guessed that they would run into someone with another Kamui.
That was a question that Ichigo didn't have an answer to. While talking to Ryuko about where she got her Kamui would answer a lot of questions, it might also bring up several questions. After thinking about it for a moment, Ichigo decided that the benefits outweighed the costs, "Shinjiro, stay here."
Near the ring and completely safe from harm, Mako Mankanshoku began playfully boxing as she watched Ryuko take Takaharu's punches without flinching, "Wow, Ryuko, I didn't know you knew how to box!"
"I don't think she does," her younger brother, Mataro, deadpanned from right next to her. Rolling his eyes at his sister's lack of intelligence, he turned his attention back to the sexy sight of Ryuko only to find someone standing in front of him, "Hey jackass, you're blocking the angelic view!"
"Shut it," Ichigo ordered Mataro, who folded his arms and grumbled back at him. Recognizing his voice, Mako turned to Ichigo, sparkles emanating from her eyes.
"Ichigo!" Mako exclaimed before latching onto his waist, causing the teen to pry her off his body, "I knew you'd be ok!"
"Yeah, well, my rescue plan didn't turn out the way I hoped," Ichigo admitted.
Back in the ring, Ryuko was starting to get sick and tired of Takaharu's futile attacks, Gritting her teeth while her anger built up, she shouted, "So now it's my turn, right?"
As steam began blasting out from the various folds of her Kamui, Ryuko sprinted towards Takaharu, avoiding the many attacks he was throwing at her. Grabbing her Scissor Blade and spinning it around in her hand, she slammed the hilt into the captain's face before slashing him across his back, "Left jab and then a right hook!"
When her Scissor Blade propelled Takaharu into the air, nearly unconscious from the intense force behind the blows, Ryuko began spinning her weapon around her wrist, "And to finish it, a right straight! Seni-Soshitsu!"
Her Scissor Blade easily carved through Takaharu's Goku Uniform before it was suddenly and violently ripped to shreds, leaving the captain naked as the day he was born.
"That's impossible!" Sanageyama shouted in disbelief. How could the transfer student not only defeat a Two-Star Goku Uniform, but also destroy it? It made no sense.
Up near Satsuki Kiryuin, Inumuta adjusted his glasses, "So that's the power of the Scissor Blade. It is a truly remarkable weapon."
"Wait a second," Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he tried to get a closer look at something floating towards Ryuko. It was hard to spot it, due to the setting sun being directly behind it, but there was a glowing thread forming out of the shredded remains of Takaharu's Goku Uniform. The thread floated through the air towards Ryuko, where it was absorbed into her Kamui, causing it to emit a faint pink light.
"Now to finish you off!" Ryuko shouted, ignorant of what just happened, as Takaharu's body began falling towards her. Holding her Scissor Blade in a reverse grip, she swung it like a bat, causing the captain's body to propel through the air towards Satsuki.
As Takaharu's body flew towards her, Satsuki calmly and lazily leaned to the side, allowing the club captain to fly past her and into the tall spire of Honnouji Academy behind her.
"How dare you!" Sanageyama shouted at Ryuko as he began climbing into the ring to fight her, but was stopped when Satsuki's voice rung out.
"That's enough, Sanageyama," Satsuki calmly told him. Stepping forward and past the remaining three members of the Elite Four, she stopped on the edge of the roof, her heel clicking as she did, "That was very impressive. Who are you and where did you get your hands on that outfit?"
Without looking up at Satsuki, her face covered in shadows, Ryuko answered, "It is a gift from my dad. And the one that killed him left behind this Scissor Blade! Now, you're going to tell me who owns the other half of this Scissor Blade, Satsuki Kiryuin!"
Satsuki stared at Ryuko, uncaring to the fact that the Scissor Blade had been the work of her father and not the other way around. With her face an expressionless mask, she asked, "You're Isshin Matoi's daughter?"
Ryuko was about to answer when she felt a strange feeling of weakness course through her body. As she broke out in a cold sweat and her arms shook from the effort of holding her Scissor Blade, Ryuko collapsed onto her knees as her strength left her.
"Ryuko, you've lost too much blood," Senketsu told her.
"I thought you needed blood," she answered.
"That is true," Senketsu responded, "But at the current rate, you will lose consciousness in less then a minute."
"Don't sound so calm about it!" Ryuko growled.
"How interesting," Satsuki's voice cut through Ryuko's argument, "I did not expect for you to remain here, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ryuko turned and saw Ichigo climbing into the boxing ring besides her. She was about to ask what he was doing when her eyes happened to glance at the familiar eyes on the collar of his uniform. As she realized what exactly Ichigo's uniform was, all Ryuko could do was utter his name in disbelief, "I-Ichigo?"
"I'll talk to you later," he said without taking his gaze off Satsuki.
Satsuki, to her credit, smirked at Ichigo's appearance, "So I see you are not a coward after all. You must know that you are outnumbered and overpowered, with or without the Kamui you are wearing. You are either fearless or stupid, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo opened his mouth to answer but found Ryuko's hand gripping his arm. She was visibly sweating and her breath was coming out in labored gasps, "Move Ichigo…I…just…need to…"
Before Ryuko could finish saying her desire she felt the world darkening around her and collapsed as the black embrace of unconsciousness claimed her. As Senketsu transformed back to his normal state of a sailor uniform accompanied by a brief explosion of stars and light, Ichigo quickly reached out and managed to grab Ryuko before she hit the ground.
"So what are you going to do, Ichigo Kurosaki?" Satsuki asked as members of the Boxing Club as well as Sanageyama closed in around him, "There is nowhere to run or hide without leaving Ryuko Matoi behind. So your choices are as follows – be brave and surrender with honor or flee like a coward but live to fight another day. I leave the choice of your future to you."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed before an idea hit him, "Hey Mugetsu. How long do you think it will take for me to escape Honnouji Academy while transformed?"
"About thirty seconds," Mugetsu answered, unaware of Senketsu's single eye widening upon hearing her voice, "But surely you don't – "
Ichigo adjusted Ryuko over his shoulder, allowing him to free his other arm up, "Think you can hold off for thirty seconds or so?"
Mugetsu could see what he was planning to do and gave the Kamui equivalent of a nod, "Yes, but it will be extremely difficult. I would try to get out as quickly as possible."
"Got it," Ichigo slammed his hand down on his spaulder and felt the twin needles hidden within bury themselves in his shoulder, "Life Fiber Initial Release!"
Sanageyama was not standing around doing nothing while Ichigo was conversing with Mugetsu. As soon as he saw Ichigo shift Ryuko's body and reach over to his spaulder, Sanageyama was already rushing into the boxing ring with his shinai held aloft in the air. He could not let Ichigo get away no matter the cost but before he could tackle Ichigo Sanageyama was blinded by a bright light as his opponent emerged in Mugetsu's white and black armor.
"Sorry about this," Ichigo apologized as he easily dodged around Sanageyama's shinai before disappearing past him, "But I don't have time to talk."
As easily as it would have been to simply jump over the entire crowd of gathered students, even while holding Ryuko's unconscious body, there was something else Ichigo needed to do first. Landing just outside the ring where Mako was staring at him with stars in her eyes, Ichigo quickly grabbed her before pushing back into the air with enough force that the pressure wave knocked back those standing next to Mako.
"This is amazing!" Mako shouted happily from under Ichigo's right arm, "I'm queen of the world! Super speed a go go!"
"Mako, is there anywhere we can go that Satsuki couldn't find us?"
"Hmm…" Mako pondered the question, her face the epitome of concentration, before exclaiming happily, "Let's go to my place! My dad runs a back alley clinic. We have lots of stolen blood and medicine he can use to help Ryuko!"
"Just tell me where I need to go," Ichigo answered, ignoring the illegal acts Mako had just confessed to. Jumping over the edge of an artificial cliff, Ichigo began skidding down the concrete wall separating the condos and apartments owned by the One-Star students and the shacks and shanties occupied by the families of No-Star students. As his boots created sparks behind him, Ichigo heard a deep male voice speak.
"Why did you overdo it, Ryuko?"
"It's not a big deal," Ichigo comforted Senketsu, who seemed to be in a depressed slump after Ryuko fainted from overusing his power for the first time. As the Kamui turned his one good eye up at him, Ichigo added. "Mugetsu is the same way."
"Hey!"
Senketsu's single eye widened in surprise as he realized Ichigo could understand him. Before he could so much as ask Ichigo how he could hear his voice, Senketsu found the metaphorical air knocked out of his lungs as Ichigo pushed off a wall and began hopping across the rooftops towards Mako's house.
