Chapter 2: High on Violence
It was the middle of the evening a day after Ryuko had fled from Honnouji Academy with her skimpy and powerful goku uniform, whom she had named Senketsu meaning 'fresh blood'.
Right now, she was at the Mankanshoku house having dinner with them after Mako's father had patched her up. And on top of that, she had also just heard that Terry, the foreign exchange student who helped her against Fukuroda, was making an absolute nuisance of himself in the One Star district of town.
"Wait, he's doing what?" The girl asked as the back alley doctor continued the story.
"I know what I heard. Whatever outfit he's wearing is eating One Star Goku uniforms like they're a delicacy. He's making quite the name for himself." He explained before taking a sip of water. "And so far? The Discipline Committee hasn't been able to take him down, he's practically unstoppable."
"I saw him go up against Satsuki and force her to retreat, so that's not much of a surprise." The scissor blade girl shrugged, causing the two parents to look at her incredulously.
"I can confirm that. He even managed to force Satsuki's sword downwards." Mako chirped.
"That's impressive." The man said.
"I hate to be on the receiving end of whatever he does when he goes crazy." Maturo, Mako's little brother, said.
"Same." Ryuko nodded before her thoughts drifted to just what was that thing Terry was wearing, it wasn't a goku uniform, it seemed… Alive almost.
(Elsewhere)
In the One Star district, Terry was still in battle form with Toxin, and was standing atop a giant pile of unconscious, battered and bruised One Star students who were now all missing their uniforms. With one in his blue clawed hand, he proceeded to devour it and when he finished, he felt his stomach churn as Toxin started to groan and change.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" The boy roared as a red and blue glow surrounded them before their new shape was revealed. He was now in a skin tight red bodysuit with the same full head mask and red eyes, but now he had a blue hoodie with the sleeves torn off that had two black stars on it, a blue utility bracelet on each wrist and ankle, and lastly a blue utility belt the hung diagonally on his waist. His hands were also still clawed but were now red like the rest of his body.
Meanwhile, in a corner away from it, a man wearing a button down shirt and blue pants as well as a pair of glasses watched the boy's transformation from a distance.
"So that's the power of a Symbiote, eh?" He said to himself as Terry jumped down from the pile of unconscious nude students.
As Terry walked towards the school, he had Toxin take the form of a regular Goku uniform, which he decided to make similar to Sanageyama's, but minus the spikes and in Toxin's colors.
"So, is that a good enough meal for ya, Toxin?" Terry asked his symbiote partner.
"Yeah. Those uniforms should hold me over for a while." The symbiote replied.
"Good." The boy stated as they continued to walk forward, right until a stray tennis ball came out of nowhere and smacked him in the head. "Alright, whose face do I need to punch?!" He growled.
As he looked around, he saw that the ball came from the direction of a very familiar looking girl with a red/black hairdo and a similarly colored sailor uniform on. "Wait a minute, I'd know that haircut anywhere." He said as he ran towards the girl. "Hey, Ryuko!"
The girl turned and was surprised to see the foreign exchange student running her way. "Terry?" She asked in confusion.
"That's me Senorita, these girls bothering ya or something?" The boy asked as he took notice of the Tennis club in front of them.
"Well not me, they were bothering Mako though." Ryuko explained.
"Again? Dios Mio! That girl just cannot catch a break, can she?" Terry groaned.
"Tell me about it…" Ryuko agreed with a sigh.
"If you two love birds are done talking, we'd like to get a move on here!" The leader of the club, Omiko Hakodate, yelled at them. Her words got blushes and tick marks in return.
"I will PUMMEL YOU!" Ryuko roared in embarrassment.
"Oi! Why don't ya do us both a favor and bugger off!" Terry yelled angrily with clenched fists.
"Whatever. If you wanna get purged, you'll have to wait a bit. We're kinda busy." Omiko said, pointing her thumb at Mako.
"Yeah well you're gonna have to get through me and my Kamui!" Ryuko said as she held up her hand which had a glove on it. Pulling its pin, she suddenly transformed into her battle mode.
"That's a nifty glove, not gonna lie." Terry commented.
"It really is." Ryuko admitted. With that, Terry rolled his shoulders.
"Toxin, MASK!" He yelled.
"Copy!" Toxin called as they took their two star battle form.
"Alright, let's dance!" Ryuko exclaimed, her scissor blade at the ready and Terry forming two axes on his hands.
The Tennis club then started firing balls at them and both fighters were quick to slice them apart and make them turn into ribbons. Though their victory was dashed when a whistle sounded.
"You two lose!" Uzu Sanageyama yelled.
"... The fuck are you talking about?" Terry asked in a deadpan tone.
"You failed to use tennis rackets on a tennis court, therefore you lose!" He said as he pointed at the ground they were standing on, causing them to notice that they were, indeed, standing on a tennis court.
"Oh, what the hell?!" Ryuko growled in frustration.
"You wanna die, ya wanker?!" Terry yelled angrily, his hands growing large claws.
"If you're going to play tennis, then do it with the proper equipment. Otherwise, you have no reason to be here." Uzu said in a holier-than-thou tone, getting angry growls from the two teens.
"THAT'S IT!" The symbiote pair yelled as he lunged at the Kendo using Elite Four, claws extended as tendrils lashed at him as well.
"What the- AGH!' The Kendo boy began before being forced to dodge an attack. Toxin growled as Terry launched himself with his hands and then drop kicked Sanageyama with enough force to create a crater in the ground below them. Leaping back, Terry then kicked him into a wall before jumping back to Ryuko and had Toxin create two large tennis rackets.
"Fine, if we gotta do it your way, let's do it your way." The boy said, tossing Ryuko a racket.
"Fair enough." She sighed before taking the racket. Almost a second later a giant tennis court formed, and of course Hakodate was their opponent.
"Let's wreck this bitch." Terry/Toxin growled as they twirled their rackets.
"You say that like you can win!" Omiko cackled madly.
"Aaaand there's the overconfidence." The symbiote duo sighed. With the sound of a buzzer, the match began, and Ryuko was the first to serve, however, when Hakodate swatted the ball back the racket Terry gave her was barely able to handle the force of her swing and would have sent the ball out of bounds, had Terry not intercepted, sending the ball screaming past Hakodate's ear.
"Your Kamui is too strong for the racket! You're gonna need something stronger!" Terry told her as Sanageyama called their current score.
"I know, don't state the obvious!" Ryuko yelled. "Hey Senketsu, got any ideas I should know about?!" She questioned her Kamui.
"Your scissor blade. It's the only thing strong enough to handle our power." Senketsu replied.
"Right. Hey Mako! Gimme my scissor!" She called the shorter girl who was sleeping on said sword.
"Here you go!" Mako cheered as she threw her friend the sword, and the black haired girl took a thread from Senketsu and wrapped it around the handle to resemble a tennis racket.
"There. That oughta do it." Ryuko smirked as Terry and Toxin continued to keep Hakodate at bay.
Meanwhile up in Satsuki's lookout tower, she watched the newly evolved symbiote pair keep up with the two star goku uniform with the greatest of elegance and animalistic ease. She also took note of how this 'outfit' of his certainly left little to the imagination with how tight it was to his skin. In fact, she could see every line and definition point of his muscles that weren't covered by his hoodie. Needless to say, this Terry boy was a very fine specimen indeed.
'I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Guinness.' She thought as she continued watching. Though her thoughts were interrupted when Sanageyama was about to disqualify Ryuko, and not wanting this perfect observation opportunity to pass her by, the girl decided to speak up.
"No!" She boomed, getting their attention. "Let the match continue." She declared.
"Mi Lady!" Sanageyama nodded with a bow.
Terry smirked under his mask as he crossed his arms and cocked his hip to the right. "Oh? This is new." The boy said.
"Hey, eyes on the prize, redhead." Ryuko snapped at him.
"I can say the same to you, chica." The boy snapped back.
"Oi, we're having a tennis match here! Pay attention!" The tennis club leader exclaimed as she sent some tennis balls their way. The two snapped their attention back to what was happening and began returning the projectiles to their sender.
"I got an idea, you think you can keep up?" Ryuko asked the boy next to her.
"Please, anything you can do, I can do better. So enough talk, let's do this! Andele andele!" Terry urged as he copied Ryuko's current stance, racket tightly in hand.
"Then let's go!" She exclaimed before serving the ball. "Now!" She yelled at Terry.
Dashing forward and jumping into the air to meet the ball, Terry hit it hard, his muscles tensing as shaking with the force of the hit. Hakodate managed to block it, but as the orb bounced into the air Ryuko sent it back at her. This pattern of taking turns hitting the ball lasted a good solid minute, with each hit getting progressively stronger and more synchronized, until Terry sent Hakodate flying right in a position where Ryuko could attack.
"Knock knock!" She yelled as she smacked the ball hard enough to make a sonic boom. As the ball hit Hakodate in the face, her racket was smooshed to it and then she was sent flying into the air where Ryuko could attack her with her scissor blade.
"Now! Get her!" Terry yelled.
"Hiiiya!" The girl yelled as she jumped into the air and slashed Hakodate's uniform apart.
The tennis club leader could only let out a humiliated scream as she flew through the air and landed on the ground, naked and out cold.
"Well, that's the end of that." Terry said as Toxin went dormant again, the boy dusting himself off.
"Finally." Ryuko sighed, popping her back.
"Not quite, you cocky bitch." Sanageyama growled as he and several One Star students stood in front of them.
Ryuko groaned in exasperation, but Terry licked his teeth in excitement. "You hear that, Toxin? This crazy mocoso says he wants round two." The host said to his symbiote as he cracked his knuckles. "Well, if you insist."
"Why do I get the feeling that you get off of all this violence?" Ryuko questioned.
"I... kinda do, actually." The boy admitted sheepishly. "But hey, considering where I'm from, it was bound to rub off on me." He added with a shrug.
Sanageyama was about to draw his sword, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "No Sanageyama, do not start a fight here." A firm female voice said behind him. The kendo boy looked back and saw Satsuki standing there.
"But… They-" He tried to argue, only to be cut off.
"I tried to fight him and he overpowered me. I have no doubt that you'll end up in the same position I was in when he first showed up." She stated, causing him to hesitate before sighing.
"Alright… You win." He conceded. Satsuki then stepped up to the two. Terry of course gave the raven haired woman a good look, sizing her up, while Ryuko glared at her and growled.
"So, you two seem to have joined forces against me, why is that?" She asked as she turned to the Latino-Irishman. "You hardly know Matoi, yet you seem to help her with little hesitation, how come?"
"I don't exactly know. I just have this feeling she went through a past experience that left her feeling angry that seems to resonate with me to an extent." He replied, trying to explain himself as best he could. Ryuko looked at him in confusion. "Well, that, and I just love to get high on adrenaline during fights."
Satsuki seemed to regard this statement as absurd with the look she was giving him, though his first statement unknowingly struck a chord with her. "I see." She nodded before she suddenly struck Ryuko with her sword faster than either of them could react.
"What the?!" Ryuko gasped as she saw that Senketsu was damaged.
"Ay, what the hell?!" Terry exclaimed in surprise. Satsuki then held her sword up.
"Secret sword Bakuzan, it's blade is so sharp that it can cut through anything, even a Kamui." Satsuki stated as Terry and Toxin got ready to fight again.
"Let's see if that applies to us then, why don't we!" The host challenged. Ryuko growled as well.
"How do you know this is called a Kamui?!" She yelled. The two charged together and Satsuki did indeed notice a considerable boost in strength and speed from the symbiote pair.
"You have two stars now, has your uniform actually managed to evolve?!" The girl questioned as Terry and Ryuko pushed against her.
"My 'uniform' has a name, and its name is Toxin! And yes it has, thanks to all the one stars its consumed!" He retorted. "Say hello to the power of a SYMBIOTE!" He roared as the two pushed her back.
Satsuki staggered backwards. "Symbiote?" She asked.
"That's right, and now that we've evolved, just think of the damage we can do now, MAN! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Symbiote duo cackled in glee. The Kiryuin girl shivered slightly at how insane the laugh sounded in her ears.
"Okay, you need to calm down a bit." Ryuko deadpanned as she swung at Satsuki, but her words fell on deaf ears as Toxin and Terry waited for Satsuki to be distracted by the swing to get her in a chokehold after catching her off guard.
"I guess you say that you axed for this, Satsuki." He grinned as his hand turned into an ax. "Hey Ryuko, ready for some friendly quality time? Between the two of us, there won't be enough of Satsuki to fit in a matchbox. But we'll sure try, won't we?" He said the last part in a tone that clearly showed that he and Toxin were getting way too into this fight.
"This is bad…" Ryuko said, backing up. "He's getting way too excited."
"I wish I had an idea that helps him calm down, but I'm not coming up with anything…" Senketsu agreed with a shiver.
That's when Mako suddenly came walking up to Ryuko, and was carrying a bag of popcorn, and some extra salt, but she accidentally tripped and the salt went flying everywhere and then landed on Terry and Toxin, causing the symbiote to shriek in pain as its skin started to itch and burn like mad.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! IT BURNS! IT ITCHES! IT'S AGONIZING!" He shrieked as he scratched his skin, being forced to let go of Satsuki in the process. Ryuko blinked owlishly at the sight before her. Salt was his weakness? Was he part slug or something?
"This is a little weird." She muttered. Mako nodded in agreement.
As the pair calmed after Terry managed to wash the salt off and Toxin went dormant he breathed heavily. "I thought you said High pitched sound was your weakness?" He asked his symbiote. Luckily, Satsuki didn't hear.
'It's the life fibers, they warped me to where the starching agents in that salt affected me.' Toxin explained.
"Well forget this, we gotta get you somewhere to recover." The boy said, noting how the creature was starting to get weak.
That's when Mako and Ryuko grabbed him. "Come on, we gotta bail!" Ryuko told him as she dragged him away.
Meanwhile, Sanageyama helped Satsuki up, though unbeknownst to the kendo warrior, the girl had a blush evident on her face after seeing just how ruthless Terry was just now. She wouldn't admit it aloud but, it really turned her on. Combined that with how powerful Ryuko's Kamui and Terry's Symbiote were, it made her very intrigued.
She would definitely be keeping a close eye on them. 'Ryuko Matoi, you have my attention.' She thought before whispering. "And you, Terry Guinness, will be mine."
Dragon Emperor0: I just imagined that last line being said by Satsuki's English voice actor… Sent a shiver down my spine.
ThermalsniperN7: I bet. A lot of things are deemed creepy in other languages depending on how they're said. Also, apparently Toxin is part slug now. Anyone else find that odd?
Dragon Emperor0: Reason why I used salt as a weakness specifically is because there's a real life aquatic organism that is very similar to symbiotes in a bodily sort of way. And they, much like slugs, have a severe reaction to salt. Plus this'd make for comedic moments where the group will threaten Toxin with salt if he doesn't behave.
ThermalsniperN7: I can just imagine Toxin adopting a scared squeaky voice in response to the threat. That's hilarious.
Dragon Emperor0: Also guys, quick disclaimer, as Toxin moves up the star ranks his power will basically be double what that rank usually is in the show. And yes, I realize that I based Toxin's new form off the Scarlet Spider.
ThermalsniperN7: There are bound to be a few references or whatever here and there, so it's bound to happen. Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter!