Chapter 43: Flight of the Bull
The mysterious attacker's base had been found: a large abandoned house on a cliff near the ocean. While Ranma worried it was too easy, there were hostages to be saved so it didn't matter if it was a trap or not.
At least they could use (rather crowded) the car ride down towards Sagami Bay to discuss tactics.
"We should probably split into two groups," Ranma said, still trying to get comfortable as one of four people in a space meant to sit three.
"Mousse is good at distractions," Shui replied, poking the bespectacled boy up front in the back on the head.
"Yeah, I believe that. And I figure, since it's Suzume bein' held prisoner that Hibari definitely goes on the rescue team," Ranma continued.
"They might be locked up in a cell or something," Hibari replied, her tone serious as she sat between Shui and the window. "I could use some muscle."
"Shampoo then?" Ukyo offered. "I think she's the strongest of the five of us."
"Makes sense. So you two run sneak around the side while Ukyo, Mousse, and I go for a frontal attack? And, Seiji, you gonna stay by the car?" Ranma asked.
The large yakuza thug nodded. "Getaway driver suits me fine. We'll be coming up on the destination in just a minute or two."
Ranma shifted to a determined grin as he waited. He was going to beat the pulp out of this kidnapping jerk.
Seiji pulled the car to a stop and the two groups slipped off on separate paths along the steep seaside. The more worn direct path didn't take long.
"Well, let's let him know we're here," Ranma said, crossing his arms confidently.
Mousse nodded and produced a megaphone. "Hey, cow face! We'd like to talk to you. With our fists!"
Ukyo and Ranma both felt their eyes twitch. That was the last time either of them let Mousse be in charge of smack talking. It seemed to work though, as the front door of the home slammed open a few moments later and revealed an aggressive looking teen with rather large hair.
"Heh, so you finally showed up," the kidnapper bellowed, stepping out towards them.
"Of course we did," Ranma shouted back. "Now, before we wipe the floor with ya, I just want ta tell ya one thing: if you'd gone about this like a reasonable human bein' we'd a helped you capture the creepy old slimeball you hate so much. But, since ya went down the kidnappin' route, you've made yourself some enemies."
"Nice speech. But I don't see Happosai in chains, so you're not getting the prisoners!"
"Let's just see about that!" Ukyo shouted, tossing a volley of throwing spatulas.
The mysterious foe dodged the volley well enough, though he was forced to dodge again from a hail of miscellaneous objects thrown by Mousse. It didn't seem to phase him though.
"Scared to get any closer?" their foe bellowed as he avoided the long ranged projectiles with ease.
"Not at all, pal!" Ranma roared back, launching himself towards the enemy.
The foe dodged the first swing, though it had been a rather easy to see assault so Ranma was far from impressed. The next swing he had to block, however he dodged Ranma's third blow at the last moment and the pigtailed teen's hand broke through surprisingly thin stone. A split second later Ranma was drenched in cold water flowing out from the hill and several centimetres shorter.
The kidnapper glared at Ranma. "So it's you. The little girly boy."
"What's that supposed ta mean pal?" Ranma demanded.
"Oh, nothing. Just think I'm going to enjoy beating up a little deviant tr**** like you," the lad replied, with an evil grin growing across his face.
Several metres up, hidden amongst the rocks, Hibari froze and looked down at the main battle area.
"That creep didn't just say what I thought he said, did he?" she asked, watching as Ranma unleashed a flurry of amaguriken blows.
"I think he did?" Shui replied.
Hibari's eye twitched. "I'm going back to the car. I've got a present that I'm certain he deserves now."
"What about Suzume?" Shui asked, glancing down nervously as Ranma shouted something (the small teen was partially wrapped up in... ropes perhaps?).
"She'd support me, I'm certain," Hibari replied, already heading back.
Shui shrugged. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she'd stay on mission.
Back down the hill, Ukyo had engaged the kidnapper while Mousse tried to help untangle Ranma from the pantyhose. Unfortunately the Okonomiyaki chef was struggling, not being a master of close combat. A well placed roundhouse kick from their foe sent Ukyo stumbling back a bit, before stumbling over the cliffs edge.
"Ukyo!" Ranma shouted, as she launched herself across the distance between them and grabbed the chef's hand to keep Ukyo from falling.
"Thank you," Ukyo replied, looking up at Ranma with a smile while dangling over the water and rocks below. "Um, are you going to help pull me up?"
The short redhead gave a strained grin. "I ain't quite untied, so I've only got the one arm free right now."
"Ah, that's fair," Ukyo replied.
Not far away from the struggling duo, Mousse was striking furiously at the stranger.
"I refuse to be an accessory to kidnapping!" the bespectacled teen roared, just barely missing his enemy.
"Siding with freaks is better somehow?"
Mousse's face scrunched up in rage. "Y-yes! At least they have some shreds of honour!"
Enraged, Mousse produced a sledgehammer and swung it at his foe. The other teen managed to just barely dodge, before both were drenched in a spray of water.
The small black cat stared up at the monstrous bull creature for a moment, before giving a meow that was definitely filling in for a profanity.
"Ow!" Akane groaned, after bouncing off the steel door for a third time.
She could hear that there was fighting outside, and wasn't going to sit passively by and wait for a rescue effort.
"Maybe we can try something else?" Suzume offered. "I think the ceiling is made of wood?"
Akane sighed. "It is, but there's nothing to prop myself against up there. Plus, we don't know what's upstairs. There could be a vault or furniture. Not things we want landing on us."
Suzume nodded, and Akane tried the door again. This time she felt it buckle slightly. She was making progress, but she wasn't quite sure if her shoulder or the door would give first.
"Well, I've got two shoulders," the young Tendo muttered to herself with a feeling of grim determination.
It was at that point that one of the walls caved in with a cloud of dust. Akane rushed to get between Suzume and whatever had just broken through... only to find herself staring at an utterly gorgeous young man with a soft smile. Well, a soft smile and a large chui in one hand.
"Hello, I'm the rescue party," the handsome black haired teen replied.
Akane felt her cheeks going hot as more dust settled and she got a better look at this new arrival. "Th-thank you!"
"Shui-chan!" Suzume shouted, rushing forward and embracing their rescuer.
"Suzume! Are you okay? Those look like some nasty scrapes," Shui replied, kneeling next to the young girl.
"It's just some cuts. Akane said I was okay," Suzume replied confidently.
"Well, we should still get you washed up," Shui replied, with a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "I can tell you've been very brave though, good work."
Thoughts of being held hostage were all but gone from Akane's mind as she watched the handsome Shui comfort Suzume. Akane always was a sucker for long haired guys with a gentle side...
Ranma wheezed. Direct blows from that bull beast was not something she could take much more of... but Ukyo was down with a dislocated shoulder and Mousse was quickly boiling up a kettle to be of use to the fight again.
The worst part was probably the inhuman laughter of the beast though.
"I bet ya hate that you can't gloat right now," Ranma muttered, wiping a bit of blood from her forehead.
The beast shrugged indifferently, much to Ranma's annoyance. The shrug was followed by a series of punches, missing the quick footed redhead as she scrambled desperately.
Managing to get a little breathing room, Ranma picked up a large stone to chuck at the creature. At least the beast couldn't dodge as well as when he was human, though nothing Ranma hit him with seemed to do much. A few more rocks for good measure did no apparently damage, but they made the small girl feel a bit better at least.
"Come on and turn back into a human, you pantyhose obsessed weirdo! I want some bant—gyah!" Ranma began, however something she said had sent her foe into a wild rage and he'd charged her before she could finish.
Rolling out of the way, Ranma couldn't help wonder just what it was that ticked him off. There were only so many options though.
"Human?" Ranma tried first, however the beast remained unphased and took a fighting stance.
"Obsessed? Pantyho—!"
That was it. The enraged roar and easy to read strike... this stranger had a weak point.
"Haha! Now I know how to annoy ya, you pantyhose loser!" Ranma laughed.
The furious beast lashed out once more, however this time had been an open handed strike and Ranma's dodge left her ankle in grabbing range. Lifted off the ground by the massive beast, Ranma could only respond by kicking him in the knuckles.
"Let go a' me, ya big lug!" the small redhead protested.
Instead she found herself pulled up to his face, dangling upside down while the beast laughed with his inhuman laugh once more. He was planning something vile. So she punched him square in the nose.
The beast stumbled back a bit, groaning, when a volley of spatulas hit him in the face, causing him to drop Ranma.
"Ucchan, good to see yer feelin' better," Ranma said as she landed beside the chef.
"I got my shoulder back in place, but I'm not sure I can manage much close combat," Ukyo replied. "What's the plan?"
"I was thinking of trying to hit him with a bigger rock?" Ranma offered.
She was not thrilled to see Ukyo looking rather less than impressed by the idea. But what else was there to do? Her punches and kicks weren't going to take him down before she got worn out herself.
"Yo! Eel-butt!" Hibari's voice called out.
Ranma, Ukyo, and the beast turned to the other red haired girl. She had set herself up on a nearby ridge with something large in her arms.
"Is that a bazooka?" Ukyo asked.
The rocket that shot out and quickly slammed into the beast with an impressive fireball answered the chef's question effectively enough.
Their opponent knocked over in a cloud of smoke, Ranma and Ukyo both let out a sigh of relief. A moment later Ranma found herself lightly tackled by a hug from Hibari. Ranma couldn't help having an 'ow' escape her.
"Are you okay?" the taller redhead asked.
"I'm in one piece. That ain't bad considerin' the size of the other guy," Ranma replied.
"Thank goodness," Hibari said, giving Ranma a quick peck on the cheek.
"Where's the prisoners?" Ukyo asked.
"Oh, uh... Shampoo's dealing with that," Hibari replied with an awkward smile. "I just heard the slurs that guy was tossing around and knew I had to hit him with the rocket launcher. Wanted a chance to use that thing ever since daddy bought it."
Ranma couldn't help giggling. "Of course you would pull out a rocket launcher over that... we should probably check that he's still breathing though. That looked like it hurt."
"I mean, I guess?" Hibari replied, not quite as invested in the health of their opponent.
Cautiously, the three teens approached the still smoking form of the bovine monster they'd been fighting. Most of the fur on his chest had burned off, but the amount of blood seemed minimal. He was also breathing, but seemed far from conscious.
"Oh, he's down is he?" Mousse said, catching up to the others once more human, a kettle in hand.
"Looks like it... is there still water in that?" Hibari asked.
"A little," Mousse replied, handing it over.
"Well, let's make him a bit more manageable, shall we?" Hibari said, walking over to pour some hot water on the beasts head.
Just as she leaned over, the beast's eyes shot open. Distracted by surprise for a moment, Hibari soon found herself lifted in the air by a massive hand around her torso. Squirming angrily, Hibari just went higher as the bovine being got to his feet.
"Let her go!" Ranma shouted from somewhere below.
Ranma watched in confusion as the beast seemed about to put Hibari down... only to suddenly whip his arm and send the girl careening through the air and then through the outer wall of the nearby building with a terrifying crunch.
"Hibariiii!" Ranma shouted as her fiancee vanished through the masonry.
Feeling her heart drop from her chest, Ranma dashed across the distance between her and the building, barely touching the ground as she moved. To her surprise, she found Shui, Suzume, and Akane beside the unconscious blonde. The kettle was beside her, and her damp shirt explained the change in hair colour.
"She's breathing," Akane said, crouched down beside Hibari. "She might have broken bones though. I'm not sure yet."
Ranma gave a curt nod. "I'll clear us a path out of here."
With that the short redhead launched herself back towards the fight, where Mousse was being waved around at the end of one of his spiked chains, and was being swung at Ukyo.
Ranma slipped inside Mousse's swing arc, and launched up from a handstand to kick the beast in the wrist. Mousse was sent flying up into the air, while the beast groaned in rage.
"Mousse!" Ranma shouted up to the airborne teen, "I'm going to need you help!"
"Oh? It's good to be appreciated," Mousse replied, finally reaching the peak of his arc through the air.
As he floated weightless for a split second his glasses drifted up away from his head, and he missed what Ranma was doing to his landing site, only seeing a blur of motion. The question was answered when he found himself landing in a pool of water, annoyed that he'd just regained his humanity mere minutes before.
Still, he got the gist of the plan, and (after pulling himself out of the water that he found himself hating so much in cursed form) moved to pounce the ponytailed teen to help.
"Not me you jerk!" Ukyo shouted, throwing the small black cat at Ranma.
The redhead predictably shrieked, leaving the minotaur-like foe confused at how this was a strategy. At least until Mousse produced some of his steel claw extensions, hitting Ranma's personal fear of cats perfectly and causing the short girl to meow in an inhuman tone.
A moment later she'd thrown herself at the beast's chest, slashing away with chi claws against already burned flesh. Her foe let out a pained roar as she climbed up his torso to reaching scratching range of his face. He tried to pull her off, but found her scampering onto his back.
That was when she noticed the wings, and bit into them hard.
Ukyo watched in a mixture of fear and amazement as neko Ranma scampered all about her giant foe, seeming to get more feathers in her hair and mouth each time she crossed his back. Eventually the beast of a boy grabbed a hold of her, only to be bitten on the hand for his trouble. Screeching, he was suddenly barraged by more claws to the face, until his stumbled backwards, tripping on some loose rock and knocking himself unconscious as his head hit a boulder.
Well, most of him, his tail remained conscious and squirming, trying to bite at a very amused kitty who seemed convinced this was the best game she'd ever played.
Akane felt the blonde girl's torso, trying to identify any broken ribs to assess how easy it would be to move her. While doing so, however, Akane couldn't help notice the absence of something... or perhaps two somethings.
"What is wrong?" Shui asked, causing Akane to blush with how close the handsome teen was.
"I, uh... I don't feel any broken bones, but her chest... it's, uh, strangely flat? Does... does she have a curse like Ranma?" Akane asked.
"She's my sister, and that's what matters," Suzume protested, crossing her arms to pout.
"S-sorry," Akane replied, while glancing down at the blonde again. "I... I think we can move her. Just be careful."
Shui nodded and carefully lifted Hibari to carry her out the front door. The walk to the car was short enough, though Akane was very confused by the cat with glasses in Ukyo's arms. She even more confused by the way Ranma was moving around like a cat, and actually meowing.
"A-are the young misses alright?" Seiji asked, closing up the trunk as they arrived.
"I think Hibari's arm is broken? But beyond that there wasn't anything I could identify," Akane replied. "Suzume I think just needs to clean off some scrapes."
"Yep! I'm good," Suzume added, beaming away.
"Good to hear," Seiji replied, sighing in relief before setting himself up in the driver's seat.
Ukyo hopped in the front passenger seat, with the black cat in glasses lying down on the chef's lap. Akane tentatively slid into a window seat, helping to put Hibari in the middle to prop between herself and Shui. Suzume hopped on Akane's lap, while Ranma scrambled up onto Shui's lap, before crawling over to sit on Hibari's and beginning to purr.
Akane was too tired to properly register that by this point however, and may have drifted off at some point.
She was rather surprised when Ranma suddenly woke up halfway through their drive, apparently alert and human.
"I-is Hibari okay?" Ranma asked, scooting over to Shui's lap.
"Just tired," the blonde whispered, surprising everyone.
"You're awake?" Akane asked.
The blonde opened her eyes and gave a strained smile. "I'd rather be asleep with this pain, but it's not happening."
"I'd hug ya, but I worry that'd hurt," Ranma said, lightly running a hand on Hibari's cheek.
"Thanks," Hibari replied, laughing a little. "Ow... okay, no laughing."
Akane smiled weakly at her two friends. "I... I'm sorry I was an idiot before. I kind of panicked... I've always worried about whether or not I'm a 'proper' girl, so... sorry."
"Hey... if you need someone to talk to about that... you've found the right group," Hibari replied, despite talking being a bit of a struggle.
"Let the rest of us handle it for now though, alright Hibari?" Ukyo said, using the rear view mirror to make eye contact.
The blonde nodded.
"Wait... the rest of you?" Akane asked, glancing nervously at Shui especially.
Ukyo raised a hand. "Born a girl, swore off my femininity as a kid, never really looked back. Currently under the effects of some Jusenkyo magic."
"I don't know how much Nabiki explained," Ranma then added. "But, yeah, I was born and raised a boy, but with my Jusenkyo curse and Hibari's support I've slowly been growing the courage ta embrace both sides of myself."
"Born a girl, raised a girl, have a reverse curse of Ranma's, for... complicated reasons," Shui explained. "Unlike tongzhi Ranma liking the curse, I... I don't really like being a boy. But I was signed up at school as a boy. And, well, I have a bit better strength and reach in guy mode, so it made sense for a fight. Less flexibility though."
Akane paled a bit, before whispering: "I got a crush on a boy who's really a girl..."
"What's wrong with that?" Suzume asked, causing Akane to blush as she'd forgotten the small bluenette on her lap would hear her.
"I... well, uh... I don't think I lean that way?" Akane offered.
"We'll see when she gets a kettle," Hibari added with a wide grin. "Her and Ranma opened my eyes."
"We're very sexy," Shui replied, with a supportive nod from Ranma.
"I think my life is entering a very strange new chapter," Akane mumbled. "Should be interesting at least."
The rest of the car ride was quiet enough, Hibari leaning to whichever side the motion of the car lead her to, obviously even more tired than Akane.
It wasn't too long until they were reaching a part of Tokyo Akane knew well. As they pulled off the highway the young Tendo swore she heard some banging from the trunk, but was sure it was just boxes moving about.
It was only when they pulled up to the Oozora compound that she discovered it the kidnapper had been back there, tied up, returned to human form and looking rather ferociously beaten... and scratched.
Akane headed for the main door with the others, not sure where the stranger was being taken, and not sure if she wanted to know. Suzume ran ahead, but Akane stayed back in case Ranma and Shui needed help with Hibari. Luckily the two had things well managed and they made it to the entrance in good time. As Akane entered the front door she found herself pulled into a hug by Kasumi, and got a pat on the shoulder from Nabiki.
"I was so worried!" Kasumi said, still holding on.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Akane replied, trying to reassure her eldest sister as she backed out of the hug.
Glancing over, she noticed Suzume being hugged by Tsubame and Tsugumi, both of whom were holding onto the young girl quite tightly. It was obvious that they were reluctant to let go.
"She handled herself really well," Akane said to the older Oozora girls. "I admire her determination."
"Akane's really cool. We should have her over more," Suzume added. "She kept trying to break us out, even though we were in a dungeon. Oh! But Hibari..."
"I'm alive," the blonde said, limping in while leaning against Shui for support. "I'm not sure what else I can say though."
"Oh! Oh no! I'll call for a doctor!" Tsugumi gasped, hurrying off towards the phone.
"What on earth happened to you?" Tsubame asked, genuine compassion in her eyes.
"I got thrown through a building," the blonde replied. "I don't recommend trying that."
After Kasumi had been safely stowed away up on the second floor, Dr. Tofu had begun to check over the battered crew. Akane wasn't surprised to learn the Oozoras had switched to him from their regular doctor.
Suzume winced a bit when some of her nastier cuts were disinfected. Akane blushed when Dr. Tofu had checked her over, though she'd proven to be in good shape (apart from bruising on her shoulder from trying to bust through an iron door). Ukyo's shoulder was given some bandaging, a process that had revealed a well toned and masculine looking chest that Akane could scarcely believe wasn't the chef's usual appearance; it looked so natural with Ukyo's handsome face. Hibari's chest on the other hand looked wrong to Akane, but that may have been from her having seen the girl's other form enough times to feel certain about things. As for Ranma... she continued to look so small and adorable that, even though Akane had seen the transformation, she still couldn't believe the two forms of Ranma were one person.
"Well, that should be everything," Tofu said softly. "I'll go check on the visitor now."
As Tofu left, Shui hurried in, with a kettle in hand. Akane knew why the cursed girl had the kettle, and blushed at the implication.
"So, let's see if Shampoo's your type too," Shui said, with a mischievous smile. A moment later the teen upended the kettle upon her head, transforming into a very feminine form.
Watching it was very disorienting for Akane. She went from attracted, to confusion, to possible attraction in under 10 seconds. "Well, I... I don't know? Maybe there's something... maybe I'm just still seeing your guy side on some level?"
Shampoo sighed. "Well, can't win them all."
"Ow... Shampoo, I think I might need a restraining order until my ribs heal," Hibari said, trying her best not to giggle.
Ibari sat patiently with Genma and Soun as Dr. Tofu finished up the examination of the prisoner. The teen was conscious, but refusing to speak. The best the doctor could get out of him was the occasional grunt while running through some stitching or applying bandages.
Dr. Tofu sighed as he stood up. "Well, I feel I need to inform you that transforming is out of the question for a week at the very least. Possibly longer. Your stitches wouldn't handle it at all."
The boy glared at him.
Shaking his head, Tofu turned to the men in the room. "I really don't know how I feel about you holding a minor prisoner like this... though I suppose the authorities couldn't really manage his 'condition'."
"I'm not asking you to support it," Ibari replied. "I'd prefer if you hadn't had to get involved in this, but I didn't want to leave him without proper medical care, and I'm pretty sure our old doctor should have his licence removed."
Tofu nodded and left the holding room.
"Well, you heard him. Hot beverages only as long as you're a guest here," Ibari said. "I'm not making that mistake twice."
The teen said nothing.
"What's your deal anyhow, kid?" Genma asked. "I know the master made plenty of enemies, but what did he do to you that's so terrible?"
The teen opened his mouth, before pausing to rethink it. "It's too terrible to say."
"I suppose that's fair," Genma replied. "Well, it's pretty awkward just calling you 'boy' or 'kid'. Do you have a name?"
The teen's face scrunched up in rage. "I said I wasn't going to say."
Genma blinked. "Wait, it's your name that's the terrible thing the master did to you? I... it can't be that bad? It's just a name."
The boy glared.
"Fine, whatever," Genma said, shrugging and walking back to the others. "Well, do you know where the master is, Soun?"
"I don't think so... wait!"
"You remembered where he is?" Ibari asked.
"No, not that. I, um, I remembered that Kousaku was spending some time with his friends after school and no one's actually told him what's happened."
The other two men looked at each other, silently asking the other one how he forgot about the lad.