Disclaimer: I own none of the universes and series this meanders through and all characters created by other authors belong to them.
Author's note: Not entirely happy with this, some scenes simply refused to gel. But I've delayed long enough.
-Chapter 10-
Nanoha stretched, popping her back, as she walked into her office. She was getting increasingly impressed with the Senshi. They clearly had considerable battle experience, and under her tutelage, they were developing the skills and tactics to make best use of that experience. She wouldn't bet too much on them against Section 6's Forwards – especially after Teana had spent a day watching their new techniques and tactics in action; the redhead was a diabolical genius when it came to tactics – but they were an excellent team in their own right.
When Chrono had first dropped the assignment across her desk, she hadn't been terribly thrilled. Only a month? That, she had thought, was not enough time. She'd been sent more than a few established teams over the years for the purpose of giving them tactical primers, general skill-improvements, and occasionally simply taking the proverbial wind out of the sails of teams whose confidence wasn't quite justified. It was not a process that she liked to rush.
Even a team that had a good sense of camaraderie and fellowship needed time to forge into a solid tactical unit. She had gotten a sense that the five girls possessed that fellowship and camaraderie, but they'd seemed somewhat undisciplined. The AAR Subaru and Teana had filed for their skirmish alongside them had backed that impression up. It had also shown some weaknesses in their tactical toolboxes. Had she her druthers, she'd have found a way to extend this training to at least three months.
But they hadn't been given that option. She'd had a month, and had expected to just go over the basics and get the very rudimentary first stages of training done in the hopes of having some way to help them further in the future. She'd done up her initial lesson plans and schedule of mock battles accordingly. She'd thrown that plan out the window before the end of the first week. Once they got started, they were learning amazingly quickly. It had taken more work than she'd expected – they continued to surprise her as the speed with which they learned quickened – but she'd managed to keep her lesson plan to the point where it was providing them with a useful challenge.
She suspected that she was gaining at least a small measure of understanding of what she'd put her own instructors through. The thought brought a smile, though a bit rueful. Not only was she spending more time in the office than expected, her daughter had demonstrated a mastery of the art of the accusing pout. Little Vivio was not happy with her Nanoha-mama and the lack of time she had. She couldn't exactly blame her daughter for the attitude, Nanoha herself wasn't terribly happy with how little time she had in what was ostensibly the off season at the academy. She'd have to make it up to her later.
She needed to try and actually use some of her accumulated leave. She'd probably have to burn a favour or two with the brass to manage that, if only because she wanted to get her leave at the same time as Fate. Ah well, something to arrange in the future. She had lesson plans to work on, and then she would head home to spend the evening with Vivio.
Aimlessly, Akane Tendo walked through Nerima, lost in thought.
It had been an interesting morning. She'd started the day by joining Ranma in the yard as he did his morning exercises- in this case running through kata. Neither had said a word to the other, but he had slowed his pace to one she could match. After several kata, they'd shifted to sparring, again with Ranma setting the pace – just barely fast enough that Akane had to use a touch of ki to keep up. If her own speed started to race away- which happened several times – Ranma would simply leap out of range. It was a bit frustrating, but eventually she managed to work out a way to hold a given speed.
After about half an hour of that, Kasumi had called them in for breakfast. Ranma had broken his silence then, complementing her on her improved control, and suggested a few things that might help make it easier. She'd thanked him and resolved to try a few of the suggestions out. More than anything, she desperately did not want to hurt someone so badly by accident in the future. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory. Thank the kamis for Dr. Tofu.
The breakfast itself had been... quiet. Ranma seemed subdued and tired. His... exchange... with his father seemed to have taken a lot out of him, as if purging himself of so much pent up frustration left him somewhat empty. Thinking back to the shouting, there'd been a lot more than just the... accident... involved.
Still. They had eaten, and Akane helped Kasumi clean up. She'd offered to help with lunch, but Kasumi had declined her offer, suggesting instead that she take some time to visit Nabiki instead. On the balance, that idea worked for her, and Akane had spent most of an hour enjoying a rambling chat with her middle sister. She'd wanted to stay longer, but a nurse chased her off, saying that Nabiki needed her rest. They would probably be able to let her come home in another day or so.
After that, she'd wandered in the general direction of home, though in no real hurry. She should probably take some time to practice her newfound skills, though other, more fun things also beckoned...
"Nia Hao, Pervert Girl!"
Akane started, surprised, and turned. Shampoo rode up on her delivery bike, looking smug. She snarled. Of all the people she didn't want to deal with right now...
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Shampoo smiled. She wanted a confrontation like this. When her beloved had come to the Neko Han Ten to try and recruit Mousse she'd heard him speak about training the Pervert Girl. This was not something she liked to hear; for all great-grandmother's assurance that Ranma would inevitably fall to her sway, she didn't much like the competition getting closer to her Arien. She'd wanted to help deal with these demons, to gain favour, but great-grandmother had forbidden her or Mousse to do so. To attract trouble, especially demonic trouble, without need was not in the best interest of the Amazons. And so they would do nothing.
It grated on her, She was a creature of action and doing nothing did not suit her. Normally she wouldn't worry about Akane Tendo as a source of competition – she was far too good at antagonizing Ranma herself to be any kind of worry – but if she was willing to submit to training she was probably willing to fight for Ranma's heart... and that could complicate things.
The normal Amazon approach to something like this was perfectly simple – obstacles are for killing, after all – but great-grandmother had forbidden this as well. "He seems unaccountably fond of the little harridan," she'd said, and Shampoo had to admit she was right. So Shampoo had been forbidden to simplify the situation with Ranma by taking out either of the other fiances, and especially not to start anything.
But here was Akane, looking troubled. The pervert girl had a damnably short temper at the best of times, and if Shampoo found herself under attack, well, it would only be reasonable for her to defend herself, wouldn't it? She wouldn't break the annoying girl, but she felt she could bend her a bit safely.
"What do you want?" asked Akane angrily.
"Shampoo hear you try kill sister."
Akane bristled at that. "That's not what happened!"
Shampoo smirked. She thought she'd just hit a nerve. "So you say not your fault Mercenary Girl in hospital?"
The people of Nerima, well used to seeing fights begin between martial artists, saw the signs that one was about to start and made room. A few started to place bets while others - eager for a cat fight- pulled out camera phones.
Akane froze, ground her teeth for a moment. "I wasn't trying to hurt her."
"That make it worse, Pervert Girl. You not too dumb know that?"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Roaring in anger, Akane charged, fist cocked, and Shampoo lept from her bike, dodging away. Akane stumbled over the falling bike for a moment, and then battle was joined.
Very quickly, Shampoo realized she had bitten off more than she'd realized. She was more skilled than the Japanese girl, and what training Akane had done with her beloved Ranma had improved her, but not enough to entirely close the gap. But Akane had never been this fast. Shampoo had to step up her game to keep up.
"Not bad, Pervert Girl." She delivered a blow that sent Akane flying.
Akane twisted in mid air, managed to land on her feet. "Better than you are."
"In dreams only!"
The two charged towards each other, preparing to battle again. Suddenly, there was a sound of tearing cloth and a smell of sulfur; and an eye-twisting rip in reality itself opened between them, disgorging an ugly, tentacled form. The Youma roared a challenge to all and sundry.
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Akane blinked at the horrid creature - a large humanoid thing with several long, ropey tentacles jutting from its back - then looked to Shampoo. The two rival martial artists shared a look that said, 'we'll finish this later.' She charged, struck the thing's side with a flying kick. From the other side, Shampoo began to hammer at it with her maces – Akane wasn't sure where they'd come from, but they were a welcome sight.
The creature seemed to recover it's balance quickly, tentacles lashing at the two martial artists, sending them sprawling and gaining itself some breathing room. It backed away, claws and tentacles shifting into striking positions, as if daring the two female martial artists to attack it. It glanced around furtively, as if looking for something.
Is this a Youma? Akane thought, suddenly worried. Ranma had been his usual, blustery self about the things, but enough had come through the bluster to indicate that they were fairly powerful. Right now, it was dividing its attentions between looking around the oddly deserted street and looking at her and Shampoo. Akane smiled slightly. Ranma had said the things fed on life-energy; it was probably wondering where the people went. Away from the impending fight. This is Nerima, the locals understand that.
She tried to guess the reach of the thing's tentacles, shot another glance Shampoo's direction. The Chinese Amazon seemed to be having the same thought. They exchanged slight nods, and charged simultaneously. Tentacles lashed out, with far more reach than anything that close to man-sized had a right to, and the two martial artists dodged around the first few strikes.
But the thing was too fast, and too many limbs were attacking them at once. Akane was knocked aside, rolling to a stop on the pavement, while a tentacle managed to snag Shampoo's lower leg. It lifted her from the ground and, in a whiplash motion, sent her flying through the front window of a noodle shop.
Akane stood and got herself back into a ready stance. That thing hit hard. She was trying to figure out how to deal with it when a voice boomed out.
"Vile monster! How DARE you assault this fair maiden! I, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall destroy you!" Tatewaki Kuno charged the monster, bokken blurring. A credit to the kendoist's skill; he managed to parry the first few strikes from the monster. Then it grabbed his blade with one tentacle, his middle with another, and threw them in opposite directions.
Unfortunately for the monster, while it was dealing with Kuno, Akane charged it from behind and sent it sprawling. Well inside its reach, Akane battered at the creature's torso with her fists, kicking its legs. The thing was trying desperately to get its balance back, and managed after a few moments with the help of its tentacles. It whirled on her, tentacles weaving a complex dance of feints, blocks, and strikes that began to drive Akane back.
Moments later, the wall of the noodle shop exploded outward and Shampoo reentered the fray. She battered at the monster, flanking it with Akane, and the tables turned again as the two drove it back. After a few paces, the youma planted its feet, then lept half a block backwards, opening the range again. The two charged, trying to get back inside its reach before it had its balance back.
The creature refused to let them. It was smart enough to know that it badly did not want to let them get close again, and its speed was literally inhuman. It managed to get one tentacle on Shampoo, and swung her around overhead, then slammed her into, and through, a fire hydrant. An extremely unhappy pinkish-white cat rolled to a stop on the pavement as water geysered up. Akane managed to dodge the first few tentacles seeking her, but once more there were simply too many. The youma seemed to decide to change things up, wrapped several tentacles around her and began to squeeze.
Akane yelled in anger and pain, struggling against the grasping tentacles. After a moment, her brain caught up, and realized just where some of those tentacles were squeezing.
"HENTAI!!!!" she screamed, and suddenly an aura of angry red ki flared around her. She managed to get one hand loose, and felt her ki surge down to that hand, in which she found a large mallet. A few one-handed strikes convinced the creature to drop her, then she took up the mallet in both hands and charged, screaming in rage.
The youma fell back, leaping around and trying to avoid her. Several desperate blows failed, and then it managed to get ahold of her mallet and ripped it away. Her ki still surging, Akane almost instantly found herself holding another one. This one had spikes. The youma, not frightened off, grabbed again and threw her into a wall. It was not enough to stop her, but it knocked the wind out of her, and before she could rise the monster had several of its tentacles poised to deliver a crushing blow to her half-prone form.
"Modified Shi Shi Hokodan! Determined Lion's Blast!"
A bolt of royal-blue ki lanced down and caught the Youma in its center of mass, staggering the monster. Ryoga dropped out of the sky, delivering a devastating drop kick to the thing that sent it the rest of the way to the ground. He smirked as it rolled into a crouch. "Get up, you worthless monster!"
The Youma did, and crashed right back down courtesy of Ryoga's strikes. It tried to lash at Ryoga with a tentacle from a prone position, but the fanged boy dodged the strike with contemptuous ease, blasted it with another ki blast. A tentacle whipped out, caught a lamppost and pulled it upright, where it tried once more to strike back, attempting to achieve through number of blows what it had failed with single strong ones. Ryoga blocked most of the strikes, too quickly for it to wrap a tentacle around a blocking arm. The blows that landed seemed not to move him.
Behind them both, Shampoo emerged from the noodle shop with a tablecloth wrapped around herself and charged for the Youma.
Showing far more self-preservation instincts than was common for its ilk, the Youma abandoned trying to fight and switched to all-out fleeing. Unfortunately for it, Ryoga was quick enough to grab a trailing tentacle. Even more unfortunately, the fanged boy was strong enough to plant his feet and, using that tentacle, bring the monster to an abrupt, whiplash inducing halt. He yanked hard, pulling the Youma off its feet and sending it crashing to the ground, where Akane and Shampoo set upon it.
It didn't take too long for the frenzied blows and spikey-hammer strikes to finish the creature off, and it vanished into dust.
The three martial artists stood in silence for a moment, regarding each other. Akane broke the silence. "Thanks for the help, Ryoga."
"No problem, 'Kane." He looked smug. "Know where Ranma is? I want to show him my new party trick."
As if on cue, Ranma dropped to the street at running speed, quickly brought himself to a halt. He looked the scene over, then exchanged nods with Ryoga. "Everyone okay?"
Akane replied, "I think so. Ryoga showed up at just the right time." A pause. "Well, I think Kuno's knocked out somewhere over there, but the rest of us are fine."
"Thanks, man," he said to Ryoga. "Sorry I'm late. A buncha' the things showed up at once. Hadda deal with another one."
Ryoga was looking his friend/rival over. "You okay man?" Ranma appeared to be bleeding from a few cuts, and his shirt and pants were both torn in a few spots.
He smiled ruefully. "It got a few licks in, but I took care of it." He looked around again. "You okay, Shampoo?"
The Chinese Amazon was frowning at the ex-fire hydrant. "Clothes there, no can get without get wet again."
"Ryoga, could you go get them for her?" asked Akane.
The fanged boy froze for a moment as Ranma chimed in, "Yeah, Ryoga, be a gentleman an' go get 'em."
The two boys exchanged a look heavy with something... Akane wasn't quite sure what. After a moment, Ryoga growled, "Why don't you do it? You're the one who was late to the fight."
Ranma chuckled, walked over to the geyser. The aquatransexual wrung the silk garments mostly dry and tossed them to Shampoo, who seemed to consider a big kiss of thanks, then glanced at Akane and decided, for the moment, not to. "Thank you, Arien." Then, to Akane, "You got much better, Violent Girl. We finish fight another time?"
"Whenever you want." Akane was feeling a bit smug. I was almost beating you before that... thing... showed up. I know it's possible now. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you in a while, Ryoga, why don't you come back to the Dojo with us?"
Mamoru Chiba stood in the 'Arrivals' section of Tokyo International Airport feeling vaguely ridiculous.
The Outers had apologized for blowing him off, and he'd pitched in against the day's attack(Haruka had accepted his aid with stiff politeness, mostly because she only needed it because she'd messed up). And now he was waiting for a plane.
That alone would have been enough to make him feel a bit ridiculous, or at least self conscious. He hadn't traveled much, and the urge to rubberneck was strong, much as it flew in the face of his usual poise. What really made him feel off was who, or perhaps he should say, what he was waiting for.
He'd heard of Hellboy before, of course. The American Demon's prior trips to Japan weren't exactly common knowledge, but neither were they secrets. The fact that the country had survived its previous visits intact was of some small comfort, but he'd be lying if he said he was happy about it. For all he'd enjoyed seeing the Outers deal with the situation without him, and had seen it more or less as a reasonable consequence of their blowing him off, he had no problem with the idea of bringing in help. This Ranma Saotome was almost as good as his rep bragged, but the problem was bigger and they'd needed more. He understood that. He was not some fanatic who refused to consider the bigger picture.
But just like the others, his pride stung at the thought of bringing in gaijin help.
Still, Setsuna had let herself get maneuvered into accepting it, and so they were stuck with Hellboy as soon as his flight made it in. He checked the big board again. The flight number they'd been given was listed as 'ARRIVED' and had been for a few minutes now. Possibly, the Customs people were holding him up, though Mamoru wasn't entirely sure how they dared. The guy was supposed to be most of eight feet tall, a giant even among Americans.
Mamoru heard the general murmer of waiting people change, glanced back to the gate. His eyes widened. Kamis... he really IS that big... People were giving the demon plenty of room, and Mamoru didn't blame them one bit. A battered looking trenchcoat over a massive red frame, short black hair that, at first glance, looked like it was receding. Another look showed that it simply didn't grow around its ground-down horns. The left hand, holding the strap of a carry-on bag, looked more or less normal. The right looked like it was roughly hewn from stone, save that it moved.
The gaijin demon was looking around. Probably for me, thought Mamoru, and flagged it down. The big demon lumbered over. In good but heavily accented Japanese, it said, "I take it you are my contact?" He spoke slowly, as if picking his words carefully.
"I'm with the Senshi, yes."
It nodded. "Okay. I will need a moment to get my luggage, and then I will be ready to go." A pause as the two started towards the baggage claim. "I apologize for my Japanese. I am a bit out of practice."
"I wouldn't have guessed. It's certainly better than my English." Mamoru followed the demon to the baggage area, frowning in thought. His initial impression of this demon was... not as bad as he'd expected. With the demon concentrating on finding his things, it wasn't paying attention to him. Mamoru relaxed and extended his senses. He had some small psionic talents, and while they weren't terribly strong in the area of reading another's mind, they could give surface impressions.
Strength... desire to help... curiosity about the mission... a strong sense of justice...and an awareness of- oops.
Hellboy was giving him a cool look. "See anything you like?"
"Uh..."
The demon turned back to the baggage turnstile, looking for his luggage. "I work with a couple psychics, you know. I know what a scan feels like."
Mamoru glanced away. "Sorry. Most of the time we're fighting creatures like you, so..."
"So you aren't sure if you can trust me. Fair enough. But you could have asked first."
The big demon retrieved his luggage – a battered looking old leather suitcase – in silence.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't thinking."
Hellboy shrugged. "It happens. Hell, even back home not everyone is comfortable with me. Let's go meet the rest of the team."
"Okay. What do you know about the situation?"
"Escalating demon attacks, and you've got a liaison from the TSAB helping." He snorted. "And that's another group we don't know much about."
"We don't know much either. The liaison is a local. Martial Artist. But he's good."
"I don't doubt it. We gonna be meeting him today, or straight to your HQ?"
"HQ first, I think. The others are going to want to meet you."
Sally Harp was a very young, very junior teleporter tech, but one who had scored very well indeed in her classes at Njile Point. Those scores had landed her a berth in the Explorer Corps, and she hoped to do well enough in this assignment to keep it. Her current job was to make sure the teleporters were working properly on the off chance that they would be needed in the next six hours or so. Unlikely, given that they were still waiting for Admiral Kallson and his fleet to arrive, but there was always a chance.
And besides, The Book said they needed to keep the things warmed up and ready to go at all times. One so junior as herself did not question The Book. Still, it was shaping up to be a boring shift. She'd been assured that boring was good on a warship, but she wasn't quite sure she believed it. Boring meant that the hours just dragged.
And what kind of trouble could they possibly run into here? The indigs had little magic and virtually nothing in the way of space travel – limited to absurdly primitive chemical rockets!
The sound of a throat clearing caught her attention. Glancing to the door, she saw who had entered and her heart skipped a beat. Enforcer Engel Schwarze stood there, leaning against the doorframe. She'd never been this close to him before, and the pictures did not do him justice. A small, mischievous smile marked his handsome face, framed with short auburn hair. That smile widened as his violet eyes found hers and she felt herself blush.
"How's your shift running, Miss Harp?"
She fought down her blush, the sensible bits of her mind screaming at her to be professional despite the attention of a famous, devastatingly handsome man. "Ah, fine so far, Sir. Ah, quiet."
His rich tenor had a trace of mischief as he walked in, letting the hatch close behind him. "All the gear working properly?"
"Ah, yes sir."
"Call me Engel, Sally – may I call you Sally?" He waited a moment, and she nodded fractionally. His smile widened before he continued. "Well, that's certainly good news, Sally. It's nice to see a new young tech live up to her potential." He took the chair beside hers, leaned towards her. "So many don't.. I always love to meet the... exceptions."
She felt her face heat. "Ah, thank you si- Engel. I'm doing my best."
"And a fine best it is." His grin became conspiratorial. "Can I get you to do me a favour, Sally?"
Professionalism rallied, tried to conquer hormones, crushes, and masculine charm. "Ah, I don't know, sir. What sort of favour?"
"Oh, nothing much, Sally. It's just a little thing, and I'll... owe you." There seemed to be a hefty freight of meaning behind that last phrase, and the aspiring young tech's professionalism knew that it had lost. "I just need you to leave the teleport room for a few minutes."
Professionalism's last stand pointed out standing orders and the Enforcer's maverick reputation. "I don't think I can do that, sir. Captain Kars left orders that you are not to be teleported to the surface."
He gestured as if brushing off some lint. "Oh, the Mage-Captain's heart is in the right place, but between you and me?" He leaned in closer. "I think he's being too cautious for his own good. There are a lot of troops coming with Admiral Kallson, and they're depending on us to get him good intel. There's only so much we can get from watching." He smiled wider, shrugged. "We need to know more about those yokel mages. I just want to go down there and get a better idea. For the troops."
"But... the orders..."
"Oh, I know. That's why I'm not asking you to operate the teleporters. I'll go, and on my head be it. I'll get chewed out, of course, but I've been chewed out before. The benefit to the troops will make it worth it, don't you think? They may just be ground pounders, but they're our ground pounders." A pause, as he let the justification sink in. "I'm not asking you to do anything wrong, and I'll take full responsibility. All I need you to do is go get yourself a coffee."
Professionalism had been routed, and Duty let itself be bent by the Enforcer's charms. "Well... if you're sure..."
He leaned close, almost cheek to cheek, and she shivered as she felt his beard brush her cheek. He whispered, "I'm sure. Thank you, you won't regret this."
On slightly shaky legs she stood, walked through the hatch. Once it had closed she fell back slightly, letting it support her. He liked her! Her, just a wet behind the ears newbie, and he liked her! She fought down a girlish giggle and forced herself to stand straight before an officer wandered past. To the mess, and something to drink.
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Schwarze waited for a moment after the hatch closed, then chuckled. Gods below, but some girls were easy to manipulate.
Harp was a fool, but at least she was too green to know better. Kars didn't have that excuse, and Schwarze had made a career out of audacity. He knew exactly the letter of the regs, how far he could bend them before they broke, and how to cover himself in the eyes of Higher. His role as an Enforcer gave him just enough discretion that he could skate away from this with ease.
Harp would be an amusing diversion after the fact, between her obvious crush and gratitude for his defense when she inevitably got chopped off at the ankles for leaving her station mid-shift, she'd certainly hop into his bunk. He hadn't added a notch to the proverbial bedpost in a while, and this deployment was so terribly dull that he felt the need. She was cute and none too bright, just the combination he liked.
He quickly programed in his teleport. He'd seen the holos of the yokel mages fighting their summoned demons. They were good. He was better. Time to take them out and clear the way for the dogfaces. He hit the delayed execution button and hurried to the pad, visions of victory and commendations dancing in his head.