Mamono Hunter Ukyou Chapter 3
Ikari: Roots of Hatred
Part 3
By Edward A. Simons
Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko. Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. Devil Hunter Yohko and characters copyright NCS, Toho Company, LTD., and Mad House. This story revised 2004 by Edward Simons.
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"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."
Mark Twain
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It was rather cold to be outside during lunch, even colder to be sitting on the bare concrete beneath one of the trees. Ukyou pulled a bento box out of her school satchel.
"Here you go, Ranchan. It's your favorite - food."
"Thanks," he replied listlessly. He placed it on the pavement, and stared aimlessly upwards.
"Ranchan?"
"I'll eat it. Later." In a single languid move, he sprang to the top of the retaining wall around the school.
The sky was gray with scattered wisps of white scattered across it. Below was gray concrete, scoured free of all but shreds of snow by the biting wind. Barren black trees stretched from earth to sky, as bleak and lifeless as the rest of the empty scene. A city drained of life and color. Ranma exhaled, saw the whiteness of his breath fade away as if it had never been.
He heard Ukyou gasp as the door to the school banged open, turned slowly to see Hiroshi and Daisuke, his two sort-of friends, approaching.
"I hope we haven't interrupted something," Daisuke said softly.
"Actually, an interruption would probably be good," Ukyou replied.
Hiroshi ignored them both, strode across the schoolyard and pointed an accusing finger up at Ranma. "So this is where you've been hiding. Get down here where I can talk to you."
Ranma gave an almost imperceptible shrug and stepped off the wall, landing directly in front of Hiroshi, then turned eyes that looked slate-gray instead of their normal vivid blue on the other boy.
Hiroshi took a half-step backward, swallowed, and spoke again. "I shoulda said this weeks ago, but what did you do to Miss Hinako? She used to be this total babe, but she's not near as stacked as before."
"Hiroshi, just shut up." Daisuke was normally the quieter of the two, but he wasn't acting that way now. Ukyou and Hiroshi stared in surprise and even Ranma showed a slight reaction. "Hinako doesn't turn into a kid and need to drain our chi anymore, either," Daisuke continued. "Besides, it's not like she was gonna do anything with you anyway."
"Oh yeah?" Hiroshi spluttered.
"Nice comeback," Daisuke replied.
"Hey, I've had lots of girls. The only reason I've haven't nailed her is...I...um, 'cause I'm way too busy with other girls."
No one bothered to reply.
"Hey, remember those Chinese twins, Pink and Mink?"
"That's Link," Ukyou commented dryly.
"Yeah, I knew that," Hiroshi replied. "Like I was saying I drilled both Link and Mink all night long and left 'em begging for more."
No one else said a thing.
"And then...then...there was that cheerleading chick, Mari...Mariko, yeah that was the name. I screwed her and her whole cheerleading squad. And...and...most of the babes at that girl's school, St. Hebereke. And..."
"Are you done yet?" Daisuke asked.
"Uh, yeah, sure." Hiroshi retreated back towards the school and disappeared inside.
"Nailed? Drilled? Screwed?" Ukyou commented. "Is the idiot trying to make love or furniture?"
"Coulda been worse, at least he wasn't comparing himself to an elephant," Daisuke replied.
"More like a jackass." Then a brief hint of color appeared on Ukyou's cheeks. "Wait, you weren't talking about intelligence."
"Sorry, guys," Daisuke continued. "Hiroshi's my friend, but he can be a real jerk sometimes. I guess he hasn't figured out that the ones doing the most boasting are the ones doing the most lying and the least of anything else. We know better."
Ukyou blushed even deeper as she recalled her and Ranma's accidental meeting of Daisuke and Yuka at the love hotel. "Actually, we weren't..."
But they didn't hear her attempted explanation.
"Listen, Ranma, I know you never listen to advice, but I'm gonna waste my time anyway. You've got a real nice girl here." Hiroshi gestured briefly towards Ukyou. "I don't know what's eating you, but can't you see you're tearing her to bits. Even you can't be that dense."
Ranma blinked in confusion.
Daisuke sighed. "Ranma, you're as hopeless at this as I am at martial arts." He wrote an address on a card and handed it to Ranma, who stared at it blankly.
"It's a karaoke place. You know, where you can go and sing along with the background tapes. Take Ukyou. Have fun. You do know what a date is, don't you?"
"What?"
"Sometimes I wonder just how dense you are, Ranma. It's got private rooms. Private soundproofed rooms. You still don't get it, do you?"
Ranma shook his head.
"I know you can't have much money even without Nabiki bleeding you dry. A karaoke place may not be as nice as a love hotel, but it's a lot cheaper. You can even sing if you want to. Ukyou will understand, right."
Ukyou's eyes got wide. Her cheeks burned. She tried to cover her face with her hands. She didn't say no.
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"What that, Airen?"
Konatsu was struggling with a rather large package. He eased it onto the counter and took a deep breath before answering.
"I am not your Airen. It's something from Lady Ukyou's grandmother."
"You rather Shampoo call you Pervert Boy, Airen? Open box."
"We should wait until she returns from school."
"You clean whole store twice today. Is nothing to do and Shampoo bored. Shampoo need something to do or Shampoo going to scream. Promise to no hurt anything."
"Well..."
But the girl was already tearing the package open. It was a computer, which Konatsu got stuck setting up, and another copy of the printouts about being a Mamono Hunter. Shampoo flipped through it eagerly, glad for something to do.
"Airen, this say Yoma ring will let Mamono Hunter heal others." The excited Amazon spun her wheelchair towards the door, but stopped abruptly when the ninja intercepted her.
"What you doing? Shampoo have to..."
"Shampoo have to not get killed by great-grandmother. I'll go. I'll tell Lady Ukyou. But you have to promise something."
Shampoo paused. The boy appeared quite serious.
"Promise what, Airen?"
"Promise that if she heals you, you'll never attack her."
"Shampoo owe debt to Spatula Girl for hiding her. Shampoo promise."
"And promise you won't use any magic or potions on her or Ranma."
"Shampoo never use potions in first place and Shampoo no use magic more than Japanese people," the girl replied bitterly.
"But you have used it."
"Shampoo promise." The Amazon was getting impatient. "They no work right, anyway."
"And you won't try to trick Ranma into marrying you."
The girl in the wheelchair looked very sad. "Ranma good man. Shampoo no give up yet. But Shampoo no want man who no want her. Promise no use tricks to get Ranma, but never promise to give up."
"That's good enough." He smiled and prepared to leave.
"Konatsu?" That got his attention. Shampoo never called him by his actual name. He paused and looked back.
"You're a good man, too, Konatsu. You stand up for your friends. You helped me even though it could cost you quite a bit, even though I've done so many stupid things. And you trust me to keep my word after all the times I tried to trick people. I don't deserve that. Thank you."
He didn't recall until later that she had spoken to him in excellent Japanese.
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Tatewaki Kuno stood alone on the roof of the school building. He wore no coat; petty concerns like the weather were unimportant to a true samurai. Actually, he barely felt the cold; so much was on his mind.
Kuno had felt ill for the past few weeks and he was certain that was his sister's doing. He never felt the sting of the thorns, only their poison burning in his gut. Still, he repeatedly threw off the effects till finally she ceased trying and he was free.
He was also free from Nabiki Tendo. More than once, he said that he hated her and he meant it. He knew some of his classmates thought he would eventually marry the girl. Their fuzzy thinking seemed based on the idea that he had money and she loved it. The fools hadn't figured out that Nabiki allowing them to bet on it guaranteed the marriage would have never happened. She was clever enough to know there were limits on how much she could influence him.
I hated Nabiki Tendo. No, I still hate Nabiki Tendo even though she's been dead for weeks. She fed my baser nature with her photographs and her lies. She used me, fed my addiction, turned me from the true path of the samurai. She dishonored her own sister Akane by the revealing photos she sold me and she helped me dishonor myself by buying them.
He and Akane had so much in common, but what really attracted Kuno was her fiery personality, her passion in everything that she did. The girl had a warrior's spirit, and that directness of manner was a refreshing change from those he grew up with.
Sasuke is a spineless, spiritless coward. His only skill is groveling. His every answer a mere repetition of what he thinks you want to hear. Father and sister hide from life, playing their parts, wearing masks of madness, and hoping no one will see their true selves.
But over time, those masks had become their true faces. His father bounced from one irrational whim to another, his only constant themes being his obsessions with haircutting and Hawaii. Kodachi deluded herself that she could force others to love her.
But Akane was a flame of emotions, hiding none of her feelings. Only to himself did Kuno admit he felt sure that passion would also be demonstrated in the bedroom. That was why Nabiki had been able to control him with the revealing photos. At least in his dreams, he could share that passion with Akane.
Even if she hates me, that is far better than cold blank indifference and I'm sure I can persuade her to love me. She loves martial arts and I gave her the opportunity to display her skill in front of the whole school. She is unsure of her beauty and I manipulated things so dozens of boys were willing to fight to be in her presence every morning.
Then Ranma came and all that ended.
Akane loves Shakespeare, like me she must sense the greater things the man spoke about life and death and love and honor and passion. I saw how hard she fought for the lead in Romeo and Juliet and I fought to be her Romeo. Instead, Ranma turned the greatest of tragedies into a farce and that was a tragedy, too.
But more than one person bore the name of Ranma, for that was also the name of the pig-tailed girl. Her temperament was as fiery as her hair and Kuno longed to feel her burning passion. She was more direct than even Akane and her every move was graceful.
Kuno never publicly denied his love for Akane, for he loved her still, but a brighter, fiercer love possessed his heart. She filled his thoughts by day and his dreams by night and he could not bear to live without her.
One dark thing marred his dream. He had seen the change, had felt her form shift while he held her close. He tried to deny it, but his senses would not, could not lie to him that many times. Both Ranmas were the same and yet they were not. That was why Kuno hated the other boy and wished to destroy him, but never dared to use his full skills again after their first fight.
Ranma has to be a girl cursed by dark sorceries to turn into a male, as much a victim of these vile and vicious Mamonos as mine own self. She has to. I can't be in love with another man. I couldn't bear to have my life be just some pathetic joke for the witless morons that surround me. Even my bokken, my weapon as a samurai, would become a source of ribald joking as they saw a crude symbolism to it.
He'd grown reluctant to wield or even carry it any more.
Ranma must be a girl, for sake of my honor, my love and my very sanity.
He couldn't bear to think of the alternative.
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Ranma sat at his desk, still staring blankly at the card Daisuke had given him. Finally, he realized someone had called his name. He glanced up, but it wasn't the teacher, in fact, lunch hour wasn't quite over yet.
To his right, Ukyou sat quietly. Her cheeks were crimson, and she looked down at her hands, where she twirled one index finger around the other. As if sensing his gaze, she glanced over at him, then at the card in his hand, then looked him in the eyes. She swallowed, gave an almost infinitesimal nod, and turned so red he swore he could feel the heat radiating off her.
Before he could ask why she was acting so strangely, Ranma heard the voice call his name again. He glanced to his left, but Akane wasn't in her seat.
Maybe she's sick. I hope Ucchan don't catch whatever she's got.
Someone bounced a pencil case off the back of his head. He glanced behind him. He dimly remembered the girl sitting there was one of the girls that used to hang around with Nabiki.
"What do you want?" he whispered tiredly.
The girl held out a sealed note. Ranma hesitated, then finally took it. He sighed and tore the paper open. His eyes showed no emotion as he scanned it and crumpled it in a ball.
The boy pushed back his chair and stood.
"Ranchan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just gotta do something."
"I'll come, too."
"No." Ranma's voice sounded hollow, but his eyes showed pain. That pain only intensified when he saw Ukyou's reaction.
"S...sorry, Ucchan. I gotta do this alone. Thanks." Ranma trudged off with the same eagerness shown by prisoners going to their execution. The paper remained wadded in his hand.
Ukyou noticed the card lying on the desk, where Ranma had forgotten it. She picked it up hesitantly and tucked down the front of her shirt, then looked longingly out the door, willing herself not to cry.
I practiced being a guy for ten years, so it ought to be easy by now. Ten years to pretend I wasn't lonely. I just have something in my eyes, that's why they're so moist.
She did. It was Ranma.
Ukyou opened her bento box. Her hands moved automatically, manipulating the chopsticks to bring the food to her mouth. It was delicious, but she couldn't really taste it anymore.
She stopped, realizing she was starting to act like Ranma. Ukyou briefly considered spatulating her fiancé upside the head. While that would make for a satisfying release of tension for her, it wouldn't help him.
Besides, if I'm really gonna prove I'm a better choice than the other girls, I need to think of a real solution. If only I knew what to do. Please, Kami-sama, let me find a way to reach him.
She glanced at the clock. Still a few minutes left for lunch period. Maybe a quick walk around the school grounds, let the weather clear my thoughts so maybe then I can come up with a plan.
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"Akane, are you alright?" Yuka's voice echoed oddly off the walls of the school bathroom.
The Tendo girl was bent over the sink, both hands resting on the sides. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Akane turned on the faucet.
"People who are feeling fine don't leave class suddenly and spend several minutes throwing up their lunch. Now are you really sure you're okay?"
"Sure." Akane laughed nervously. "It must have been something I ate." With Akane's well-known skill at cooking, that would have been a likely explanation, but as Akane spoke she silently counted days.
"Really, you don't need to worry," she continued. "This is nothing compared to being kidnapped by another weirdo or being glomped by the old pervert." She didn't mention Happosai's name for fear the shriveled lecher might appear. It was odd that no one had seen him for a while, but nobody missed him.
"Okay, but you have to tell me what happened during the week and a half you were gone. It's been over a month and you still haven't talked about it."
Akane blushed. "Um...there were a lot of surprises and I, uh, learned some things I didn't know before." Akane paused before she said too much. "I enjoyed most of it, but the last part..."
"Of course, I'm sorry about your sister."
She didn't correct Yuka; she wasn't ready to talk about Shinnosuke. She hadn't seen Nabiki's last moments, she hadn't had to abandon her and flee, like she had the boy. Akane feigned cheerfulness and the friends chatted for a little longer and then Yuka hurried off to softball practice.
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Ikari uttered a strange noise, a chuckle that sounded like sap popping in a fire.
Principal Kuno, the man with the tiny tree on his head, had proved far more useful than the creature had ever dreamed. The madman was so strange no one noticed him acting stranger and the sunglasses he habitually wore masked the green glow in his eyes that would hint at his possession.
As headmaster of the school, he could accomplish things that more than made up for his feeble combat skills. His office was filled with the tropical foliage he adored, and far larger than Ikari had ever imagined. The gymnasium would not be needed, there was more than ample space in the office.
At the Mamono's command, Principal used the school intercom to summon one of the sports clubs to his office for announcements. Their natural hatred for the sadistic schoolmaster made most easy prey for Ikari. Its other puppets, Kodachi and Mousse, effortlessly subdued the rest.
Once one team was controlled a second was summoned - swimming, volleyball, rugby, soccer, sumo, track, kendo, hockey, gymnastics, judo, tennis, basketball, bowling, lacrosse, golf, and the dreaded combat cheerleaders. Soon only the softball club remained. Ikari couldn't smile, but it looked forward with pleasure to all the damage that could be inflicted by those spiked shoes and wooden clubs they used.
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There were two places he could count on finding Ukyou. One was her restaurant and one was Furinkan High. The school was much easier to access. Besides, he didn't know the people at her restaurant. They hadn't ignored him for years.
Gosunkugi's dreams had been smashed to pieces leaving only vengeance. He had dedicated his life to learning magic only to discover he was a hollow one. Magic couldn't work for him anymore than it could work on him. Spells he attempted would always fail. Potions and elixirs he prepared would be ineffective. Any item that held magic of its own would seldom if ever work right for him, and usually not for long.
But Ukyou had received powers she never asked for. Gosunkugi didn't stop to wonder if she wanted the power or the responsibility that came with it, he just hated the girl for having what he could never, ever have.
Even if magic didn't work for him, his repeated failures at alchemy left Gosunkugi with enough knowledge of chemical processes to produce some interesting and useful things. Chemical weapons were surprisingly easy to make if you knew what you were doing and martial arts would be mostly useless at stopping them.
When Gosunkugi was alone he tried practicing a maniacal laugh like those anime villains he'd seen on television. Even he was forced to admit the results sounded more pathetic than menacing. He laughed anyway and it felt good.
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Two people stood on the roof Furinkan High.
"Alright Kuno, what do you want?" Ranma sighed.
"I had hoped to delay until the cherry blossoms bloomed, but this needs must do for timing. Do you not think the trees are beautiful, with the soft coating of snow on their branches? They form a living poem in black and white."
"Yeah, right, Kuno. We gonna fight or what?" Ranma's usual enthusiasm for martial arts was gone. He sounded weary, like he only wanted to end the confrontation.
"Do not rush me, Ranma Saotome. I have two poems. Black ink on white paper. They do not match the beauty of the view, but my feeble skills shall have to do."
Ranma briefly wondered what Kuno was talking about. It sounded like it might be related to Martial Arts Calligraphy. It took only a moment to decide he didn't care what Kuno was saying or why. It wasn't worth the effort.
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Furinkan High's address system repeatedly called for Ranma Saotome to report to Principal Kuno's office, but the boy didn't show up.
Has the guardian sensed the trap?
There were reasons Ikari had waited this long. Ranma was a formidable martial artist, but with this many minions under its control, even he couldn't have escaped the ambush. The Mamono would much rather have him under control instead of aiding the Mamono Hunter, that way less of its minions would need replacing later.
The creature prodded Principal Kuno to call Ukyou Kuonji instead. As the minutes dragged by it became obvious that she wasn't coming either.
Obviously they have detected my plan.
The ninja Sasuke could prove useful after all. "Go to the roof," Ikari commanded. "I will see through your eyes." If the Mamono Hunter or her guardian were on the grounds it would know. Even if they freed the little ninja from Ikari's control, it would be able to sense where it occurred and send stronger minions to attack.
It then addressed Principal Kuno. "Keep calling for them." Ikari was sure they weren't coming, but there was no point in revealing that it knew that. Better to play the fool than to be one.
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Ranma stared blankly at the two pieces of paper.
"What's this stuff?"
"It's called haiku, Ranma. It's poetry."
"So what? I don't know nothing about poetry."
"Just read them, Ranma."
Ranma glanced at the first.
"Red embers smolder
Passion waiting to ignite
The flames of our love"
Ranma frowned and glanced at Kuno's other poem.
"Snow covers the trees
Nature's gentle poetry
Forms my final view"
None of this makes any sense. I thought Kuno wanted a fight, and now the idiot is scribbling poetry.
"Kuno, I ain't got time for this." He sighed in exasperation, his breath a brief puff of whiteness in the chill air.
"No, Ranma. Surely now is the time for decision. A time to reveal our true faces. A time to end deception and delusion. A time..."
Ranma interrupted before the taller boy could finish. "Kuno, I'm tired and hungry. I just wanna go finish lunch, so tell me what this is about or I'm outta here."
The papers dropped from Ranma's grip and a fickle breeze wafted them towards the edge of the roof.
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Gosunkugi's voice had grown hoarse from repeatedly screaming out his challenge to Ukyou.
"Where is she?" he rasped. First he'd been told Ukyou was outside, but he hadn't found her there. When he returned to the classroom, the other students claimed she had come and gone already, and he reluctantly returned outside.
But she still wasn't there. Gosunkugi fingered his satchel, full of the fruits of his chemical knowledge.
"They're just playing me for a fool. She isn't here at all. Maybe if I go back to the classroom and issue my challenge there, someone will tell her."
But even if he'd stood on a desk and screamed the challenge, they might have ignored Gosunkugi. He had that kind of effect on people. The skinny boy considered giving up and slinking home when he saw Ukyou round the corner of the building.
Finally, he had a chance to prove his superiority. Gosunkugi tried the laugh again, but the cold air on his abused throat made him collapse to one knee in a fit of coughing. As he rasped for breath, Ukyou approached.
"Hey, are you okay? I can go get the school nurse."
She didn't see the feelings burning in his eyes.
"No!" he squeaked. "I won't accept pity. I'll show you. I'll show them all. I am too a sorcerer. I can do magic."
With that he pulled out a greenish flask and hurled it towards the unsuspecting girl.
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Kuno watched his poems drift away like dead leaves on the wind. He was in agony and Ranma didn't seem to care. Ranma didn't even seem to realize it. Kuno hung his head for a moment and when he looked up, Ranma stood balanced on the edge of the roof. He appeared ready to jump.
"Wait, Ranma! There is something I must know."
Ranma almost didn't stop. Something was happening down below between Ukyou and Gosunkugi. Still, no one could possibly be in danger from a pathetic wimp like that. Ranma slowly turned to face Kuno, nearly slipping on a patch of ice, but he didn't reply and the silence lay there between them.
"Ranma, I must know. Which is the real Ranma? The pigtailed goddess? Or the boy?"
Ranma gave a short unpleasant laugh. "So ya finally figured it out. Only you'd be dumb enough not to know I was a guy. How many times did I change?"
Kuno's face looked as frozen as the weather, but something inside was burning. He had not planned for this. Either Ranma would be a girl and choose the poem as fiery as her temperament and Kuno would live and love and die for her. Or Ranma would be a boy and Kuno would end his shame as required of a samurai in the ritual suicide called seppuku. Kuno had brought his bokken. The wooden practice sword was only used if the person committing seppuku was especially dishonorable. It was a much slower and more painful death than that offered by the clean sharpness of a real sword.
But after the way Ranma spurned both poems and honor, Kuno no longer felt the desire to end his own life. He loosed an incoherent scream and charged towards the one he had loved and hated, the betrayer who had destroyed his life.
Ranma had already forgotten Kuno. He heard a piercing wail immersed in pain and knew it was Ukyou. He ignored the weariness in his soul and drew on something deeper. He was on the edge of the roof, already turning towards her, not thinking of himself or his own danger.
Tatewaki Kuno had the skill and power to carve trees in half with his wooden sword. This time he used the point. The bokken entered Ranma's back near his right shoulder blade and penetrated all the way through his chest. It hurt too much to scream, and Ranma slid bonelessly off the end of the sword and plunged several stories to the pavement below.
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The flask shattered against the ground, emitting a rising cloud of green that enveloped Ukyou. She staggered back with watering eyes. There was a tightness in her chest and she found it difficult to breathe. Reflex took over as Ukyou pulled her battle spatula, holding it in a defensive stance.
Gosunkugi hurled another flask, this one filled with a clear fluid. Ukyou ignored her blurred vision and shortness of breath as she swung her battle spatula, attempting to deflect the second missile. The moment her weapon struck this flask it detonated, converting the weapon into a twisted lump of metal.
A shard clipped her cheek, leaving a line of blood. Other bits of jagged metal peppered her between her shoulders and her knees. Ukyou screamed, though the noise was hidden among the sound of the explosion. She fell backwards on to the concrete, dropping the twisted remains of her weapon.
The force of the detonation slapped Gosunkugi prone while windows shattered along the side of the building. There were a few moments of stunned silence before some of the students began screaming. They were used to fights, but not explosions that weren't accompanied by battle cries and multicolored displays of chi power.
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The Principal's voice droning over the loudspeakers made Akane want to scream. It was bad enough that she couldn't keep down anything that she ate, but to have to hear the repetitious calling of Ranma and Ukyou's names over the sound system was too much.
"Doesn't that idiot understand those two perverts are going at it like rabbits in some disused corner of the building?" she growled.
"Bwee," P-chan agreed, then stared down at the floor.
"Ryouga, stop that. Look me in the eyes." Anyone walking into the girls' restroom would have suspected the Akane's sanity; she spoke like the pig understood her.
The little pig peered up forlornly.
"Quit blaming yourself. Even if that's why I'm not feeling so good, it's not like you forced me or anything."
The pig reluctantly shook its head no, but Akane knew she needed to return Ryouga to his normal form before they could work this out.
Then the explosion and following screams interrupted Akane's thoughts.
"What was that?" She glanced down at P-chan, whose worried expression matched her own. "I guess you won't be much help like that."
She placed the little pig in the sink and turned on the hot water. In a moment, a naked and rather embarrassed Ryouga stood before her. Akane pulled a set of the Lost Boy's clothes out of her satchel and tossed them to him. Ryouga dove into the nearest stall and started dressing frantically.
Akane smiled at his shyness, then worry creased her face again. "So what are we going to do now?"
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Cologne had waited a long time for events to fall into place. She had convinced herself this was simply patience. An Amazon elder would never attempt to delay her duty.
Ranma and Ukyou were at school. The ninja Konatsu had left on some sort of errand and the restaurant was closed. Shampoo was finally alone. Amazon law required that Shampoo die, but there was no reason to kill the others and Cologne knew she might have to if they were there to protect Shampoo. She took another gulp of sake from the bottle she carried.
Her great-granddaughter sat there, earnestly locked in battle with the computer, so absorbed that she wouldn't notice what was coming.
Cologne drained the last drops of sake and moved towards her only living relative.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sasuke's report was too pleasing for words. Ikari made a strange cackling noise like sap popping in a bonfire. This would be far easier than it had planned. It merely needed to finish what others had started. Both the Mamono Hunter and her most skilled defender had been severely injured by people Ikari did not control.
The monster waved a limb towards its lesser minions, the students from the athletic clubs. Quick commands were given and the horde of student athletes was sent into action. These lesser minions would almost surely overwhelm the pair. In their damaged condition, the Mamono Hunter and her guardian had virtually no chance.
The creature then focused on Sasuke. "You cannot fight, but go, observe, tell me of their fate."
It kept Kodachi and Mousse in reserve. If the Mamono Hunter somehow survived, they could be sent to finish the job.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ryouga and Akane peered out the door of the girls' restroom. Fortunately, none of the many students passing by decided to use it.
"Ryouga, there's something wrong. Look at their eyes."
"They're glowing green, like..."
"Like Shinnosuke," Akane finished for him.
That made Ryouga feel depressed, which was probably a good thing. Depression increased the force of his chi blasts.
"It looks like they came from the Principal's office," the girl added.
Ryouga took her word for it, he still couldn't find his way around the school on his own. "Do we go there or do we follow them?"
"I'm not sure. We can't split up, not with your sense of direction." She glanced to the right. "They came from the Principal's Office," she repeated, "so the monster is probably there." She looked back at the horde, spotting a girl with long brown hair.
"Yuka," Akane whispered. She doubted that was the only friend the creature controlled. "We're going after them. Principal Kuno can look after himself."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou wanted to scream, but her throat and her lungs hurt too much to try and it came out as more of a whimper. Ranma lay unmoving in a pool of blood. Ukyou's breath came in gasps as she crawled to her fiancé and wrapped her arms around his still form, crying the whole time.
She barely heard Ikari's puppets thunder towards them, barely saw through blurry eyes the forest of legs that threatened to leave them as reddened pulp on the pavement. Her only hope of escape was if she abandoned Ranma.
"Live," the girl rasped. "Please, Ranchan," she gasped, fighting for breath as a vise tightened across her chest. "I love you." She brought her face close, seeing blood foam forming in the corner of his mouth, and kissed him anyway.
Ukyou appeared helpless and his hated rival Ranma had fallen from the sky like a present from an avenging kami. It should have been Gosunkugi's moment of triumph, but he had never felt smaller and more petty. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
The skinny boy was torn from his remorse by the realization that the angry mob was about to trample him as well. Gosunkugi desperately hurled the flasks of chemicals. He wasn't thinking of defense, only that he did not want to still be carrying them when they detonated. The noise of shattering glass was lost amid explosions and screams.
Someone inside the building panicked and pulled the fire alarm, which only added to the chaos.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
They were passing a second story window that had survived the first blast when a chain of detonations shattered it. Reflexively, Ryouga spun away from it while using his body as a shield to protect Akane, the girl he loved.
He grunted as bits of wood and glass flayed his back.
"Ryouga, are you okay?"
He ignored her question and turned to looked out the remainder of the window. Below, clouds of greenish gas drifted across the school grounds and unconscious bodies lay everywhere.
"Hey, let me see." Akane peered over his shoulder. The scene below felt oddly nostalgic. Once she had been the center of attention at Furinkan High, fighting dozens of athletes every morning, defeating them easily, and leaving their unconscious forms strewn across the pavement. That had changed once Ranma arrived and now she almost missed the fights she used to hate.
Gosunkugi's panicked actions had turned the possessed athletes from a solid wall into a series of smaller mobs. His gas bombs and explosives felled several, but most ignored their injuries and returned to the fight. A handful lay unconscious and some redirected the hatred burning in their veins towards Gosunkugi. He fled up a tree where his survival depended on staying out of their reach.
Ikari struggled to maintain control of its puppets, gradually refocusing most of them back towards their original target, Ukyou, who was trying to shield her wounded fiancé with her own body.
"They're helpless," Ryouga stated, gesturing towards the downed couple.
"So what? Ranma says he can beat anyone. Let's watch him proved wrong."
"Akane, they aren't trying to hurt them, they're trying to kill them!"
Ryouga's anger brought her up short. He had never been angry with her before and he continued on. "You saw their eyes. They're possessed by that thing that tried to kill us back at Ryugenzawa. That thing that killed..."
"No!" In that simple word Akane meant many things. She didn't think Shinnosuke was dead. She didn't want to think Shinnosuke was dead. She didn't want to be taking the side of the abomination that did those things to Shinnosuke.
"No." This time it was a whisper.
"I know you'd rather have ended up with him. I saw the way you looked at him."
"No," Akane whispered again, but Ryouga had turned his back to her. She knew he was about to leap down and protect those too weak or helpless to protect themselves. She'd seen him do it before. It was one of the things she loved about him. Akane was about to speak when the sprinkler system activated, washing away Ryouga's humanity and her reply.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari was momentarily confused by the sound of the fire alarms. Its concentration lapsed and several of its lesser puppets hesitated. Some of the stronger willed even slipped free of control. The Mamono didn't know why water was spraying down from the ceiling, but it liked the sensation. It did not like the fact that Mousse had turned into a duck.
The Mamono couldn't afford to lose so powerful of a warrior. He felt the dark throb of the boy's hatred. Mousse hated Ranma for taking Shampoo from him, but there were multiple layers to his hate. He hated whoever had crippled Shampoo. He hated Cologne for treating him barely better than a slave and buried so deep even Mousse didn't fully realize it was his hatred for Shampoo.
Mousse loved Shampoo, but that didn't smother his hatred. She treated him as less than human. She trampled his love and his self-respect under her feet. She seemed to enjoy hurting and humiliating him. She abandoned her pride in her pursuit of Ranma. There were many reasons he hated Shampoo and with all that, he still would have willingly died for her.
Ikari ordered Principal Kuno to shut down the sprinklers and sent Mousse in search of hot water. It was a calculated risk to have the boy gone, but he was almost useless as a duck.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu paused outside the gate of the school. He heard explosions and screams, but there was something else. He'd been trained since childhood by the ninja clan, and even though he couldn't give a reason, he sensed something was very wrong.
He glanced back at towards the restaurant, but it was blocks away and out of sight. He peered though the gate into the schoolyard, where some sort of brawl had erupted. The boy couldn't tell if the danger lurked ahead at the school or behind him at the restaurant, so he paused, trying to decide what to do.
He wasn't expecting to be ambushed from the side.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou drew her hand spatulas, but remained kneeling. She still couldn't see or breathe clearly and she was bleeding where the metal shards of her battle spatula were embedded. She hoped Ranma didn't wake up, there was no possibility of her holding off the mob for long and she didn't want him to suffer.
She wondered what sort of gas Gosunkugi had used on her. She couldn't be seeing what she thought she was. It looked like Akane's pet P-chan had jumped in front of her and was bweeing fiercely at the onrushing mob.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tatewaki Kuno finally felt the cold. Indeed, he was certain he would never feel warmth again. His heart felt like cold ashes, all that remained after his passion and his hatred had burned away leaving him nothing left inside. He was a hollow man living in a hollow world. The cold wind whistled across the rooftop, tugging at his clothing and carrying away the two poems he had written and the two futures symbolized in them.
Now he had no future, no direction, no purpose, no goal.
"A riderless horse, a houseless street
A rudderless ship, a swordless sheath,
To make his nothingness complete."
The words belonged to the long dead French poet Francois Villon, but Kuno knew they had become his in a much more personal way. Kuno raised his wooden bokken and held it in trembling hands.
"Even my vengeance is tainted. I was too enraged to give him time to face me."
For a moment, the boy considered using the bloodstained weapon on himself
"No, a true samurai leaves something behind that would cause others to mourn his passing. I have nothing and would leave nothing."
Kuno's hands jerked convulsively and flung the wooden sword away. The point embedded into the roof and the blade snapped in half.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ranma had the reputation for indecision, but he lay unconscious. Akane stared out the window at the chaos below. She didn't want this fight. She knew her classmates were controlled by the Mamono like Shinnosuke had been. If she fought them, the monster would push them beyond the limits of their bodies. It could cripple them.
And if I don't fight?
Ukyou was finally on her feet, but her movements were slow and awkward as she hovered over Ranma. P-chan bounced from face to face, slowing and confusing the attackers. But Ryouga was more noted for strength than speed and all he needed was to miss once and the tiny pig would fall beneath the trampling feet and die.
Akane leapt to the ground and struggled forward, leaving a wake of downed athletes behind her. If this were like the old days, they would have stayed down, but the possessed teens were climbing to their feet again.
Five words echoed in Akane's mind. Five words that Ryouga had said to her.
"You still care about him."
She tried to still the internal voice.
This is for Ryouga. I can't be doing this for Ranma; not after all he's done to me.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Oof, ouch, Azusa will you let go." There was no trace of cuteness in Konatsu's words or actions as he tried to advance towards Furinkan High. This proved difficult with the tiny brunette wrapped around his legs.
"Azusa, I need to help Lady Ukyou. Don't you understand that?" He pointed towards the surging battle and though he did not know the cause, he had good reason to suspect it was a Mamono.
"Yes, Pierre." But she didn't release her grip.
Konatsu groaned in frustration; he'd never reach the school in time this way. "Azusa, you're supposed to be an assistant Mamono Hunter."
"Yes."
"You see what's happening over there. I'm sure there's a Mamono at the school and I, no, we need to help Lady Ukyou."
"Why?"
Konatsu was speechless for a moment. "If...if you let go of me and defeat this monster, then I'll...I'll..." He searched for something to get the little nuisance out of his way. "I'll go on a date with you."
Konatsu winced at the idea, but Azusa crowed with glee. She produced a pair of rollerblades from somewhere and blazed across the schoolyard. Konatsu noticed she was just as good on them as she was on ice skates.
She's graceful, and kind of cute.
He was surprised at that last thought. Azusa was also as smart as a turnip and he was in love with someone else. The young ninja broke into a run.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou hauled Ranma's unconscious body to the wall of the building. Now she could put her back to the wall and try to defend her fiancée. She knew Ranma was badly hurt, but she didn't know how badly. Even with blurred vision, she saw the bloody smudges left where she had dragged his body across the pavement.
There was a reason Ukyou had gotten this far. Someone gave her the time to move Ranma. If Ukyou's throat and lungs weren't burning, she would have thanked them.
Akane had joined P-chan in battle. Some people claimed Akane was terrible at martial arts, but she was holding her own. Ukyou hadn't seen many examples of Akane's skill; the youngest Tendo refused to participate in the intermittent battles over Ranma and she wouldn't use her martial arts to attempt escape from any of her kidnappers. But before the other martial artists descended on Nerima, Akane was one of the best. She was still one of the best at fighting multiple opponents.
The Tendo girl was a whirlwind of action, raining punches and kicks on the mob. Even sumo wrestlers were propelled though the air by Akane's strength. But there were limits to her endurance. Ikari was controlling too many people to make them to fight to the death, but it could force its bruised and bleeding puppets to their feet again and again. The strategy wasn't subtle, but its persistence was wearing Akane away. It would have been a gradual end, but for a girl with long brown hair wearing a softball uniform.
"No." Akane hesitated at the sight of her friend.
Yuka tried to resist the monster's control and both she and Akane screamed as the baseball bat swung towards Akane's head. Yuka wasn't strong enough to stop herself.
She was strong enough to divert her swing so the bat whistled harmlessly past her friend.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Why are all you people lying down?"
Azusa grabbed the nearest body by the hair and yanked upwards till they faced her. The skater repeated this action several times, each time saying, "Quit sleeping and tell me where that icky Mamono is. Pierre promised he'd go on a date with me if I kill the yucky thing."
All Azusa received for reply were groans, curses, or the occasional blank stare of the unconscious. Anyone else would have grown discouraged, but the skater persisted.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Akane had hesitated at the sight of her controlled friend and been swarmed by the other students. She still struggled beneath the pile of bodies, but soon Ukyou would be the only one capable of fighting.
She touched Ranma's forehead with the back of her hand, expecting him to feel cold, like the cold of the winter day. Instead, his skin felt warm, almost feverish. Ranma moaned and Ukyou knew she needed to act quickly. It hurt to breathe or speak. That didn't matter.
"I hold no enmity...against those...coerced into evil..."
Ukyou gasped for breath. This time those words made a lot more sense, but she wasn't sure she could finish the chant in time.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kuno wandered the hallways aimlessly, but eventually noise of fighting drew his attention. Though the noise was fading, it was difficult to plan the course of his future with the distraction. He flung open the door to the schoolyard and began to declaim.
"What lackwits dare interrupt the contemplations of I, Tatewaki Kuno. Most assuredly you shall pay for this insolence as I..." For the first time Kuno found himself at a loss for words, but everyone else was too busy to appreciate it.
Akane lay unconscious on the ground. Her pet pig nuzzled her, vainly attempting to rouse the girl. Around her, a swarm of students was rising to their feet. More lay unconscious on the ground.
He didn't notice Gosunkugi, who remained cowering at the top of a tree or Konatsu who was only halfway across the schoolyard, but he glimpsed Azusa's rapid approach.
He didn't want to deal with the skater again. "Of a truth, she is most passing fair, but far from the cleverest of women. Her repeated insistence that I possessed magical tanuki powers was most tiring."
Kuno didn't like being called Marianne, either.
"True, she did drive my twisted sister away, but no more of that. Clearly, destiny smiles upon me, providing this opportunity to save mine own true love."
"Base and thuggish varlets, how dare you presume to lay hands on the lovely Akane Tendo. Now you face the wrath of her chosen champion - Tatewaki Kuno, the Righteous Avenger of Furinkan High."
The would-be samurai reached for his sword only to recall he had left it broken on the roof of the building. As broken as his dreams had become. As broken as his body would become if he could not locate a weapon quickly.
"A swordless sheath," he quoted softly.
A hoarse voice drew Kuno's attention to the side. Ukyou stood over Ranma, leaning for support against the wall of the school building. Her shirt stained with blood, she looked far from able to continue the battle. Paired hand spatulas were gripped tightly and she stared defiantly at the people that had defeated Akane.
"...since the time...of Ancient Gods...have been..." Ukyou gasped. The crowd ignored Kuno. Goaded by Ikari's poison coursing through their veins, they advanced towards the girl. It appeared Ukyou would be just too slow to finish the chant.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari barely sensed the Assistant Mamono Hunter, almost missing her in the chaos of controlling so many at once. Many of its minions had fallen, but the monster merely released its control on those and strengthened its grip on the remainder.
It hadn't anticipated the cleverness of this assistant. She had dared to approach this close without activating her abilities, making her much harder to detect and she appeared ruthless enough to let the Mamono Hunter be beaten severely, just so she could get that close. Clearly this Assistant was clever, cunning, subtle, and merciless.
The Mamono left the remnants of the sumo and the soccer clubs to finish the Mamono Hunter. The others, the majority of the athletic clubs, were sent directly against the Assistant Hunter.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Wake up, Akane. Smile, laugh, yell at me, hit me with your hammer, just please, please move."
That's what Ryouga wanted to say, but all he could currently manage was a series of anguished bwees. A small pig stared in hatred at the backs of the students who had left Akane bloody and unconscious on the pavement. Somewhere in his mind he knew they were controlled, but that's not what his heart told him. Rage burned within the boy turned pig. He might not have physical strength, but he still had his chi powers.
No one understood what the little pig squealed.
"Rekka Tomuraigassen." A fan-shaped crimson wave of chi energy, the Raging Flame of Revenge, lashed out from the little pig, engulfing the students advancing towards Ukyou. The wave caught and carried them forward, slamming them into the building wall and leaving them crumpled on the pavement. Wisps of smoke rose from their smoldering clothing as they lay silent and unconscious on the ground.
P-chan appeared to be smiling.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Azusa was skilled at battling multiple opponents, though she'd never had to do it without someone to watch her back before. Still, she was doing well, even though Ikari's mistake meant she needed to battle nearly all of its remaining puppets, which included most of the kendo and judo clubs.
If the students hadn't been possessed, Azusa could have defeated them in seconds. Instead, they clung to consciousness with a desperate strength and every one she defeated reduced the number the Mamono needed to control. The remaining puppets became faster, stronger, and fought longer before collapsing.
A stray thought made its dark and lonely way across Azusa's mind. Suddenly, she remembered something important. Not only would it give her additional skill in battle, it was extremely cute.
"Help, Pierre! Protect me from these nasty people."
Azusa smiled at her clever plan. Playing the damsel in distress was always cute.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari wasn't pleased at the way the little pig felled so many of its minions, but through them it had sensed the exhilarating rush of hatred in the creature's chi blast. It needed to experience that feeling again. It needed to possess that little pig.
A moment was spent ordering Sasuke to fetch the pet. It was risky, someone might follow the ninja back to Ikari, but the Mamono wanted that delicious source of hatred for its own.
The creature glanced at its remaining bodyguards; the Principal, Kodachi, and the Furinkan High gymnastics club. The Principal despised his students, delighted in tormenting them, and they despised him back. He didn't hate his daughter, he didn't care about her enough to hate her and that's why she loathed him. The gymnasts envied Kodachi for her looks and skill, hated her for her treacherous ambush of them when they were opponents; while she disdained them as inferiors. All those negative emotions gave Ikari even more power.
But Mousse still had not returned and the Mamono found that disquieting. The boy was much harder to sense or control in his cursed form.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ryouga's targets had accidentally shielded Ukyou from his chi blast. She shut her eyes and focussed on the final whispered words.
"...108th generation...Devil Hunter...Ukyou...is here...Beware."
Her throat felt like sandpaper. Her eyes burned, her head and chest ached, and she wanted to collapse. But as long any hope remained of saving Ranma, she refused to quit. Her words were whispered instead of shouted, but they still worked. A reddish glow formed around Ukyou, she felt a spinning sensation, coolness, then warmth and the transformation was complete.
Ukyou still didn't know the transformation sequence left her naked for a few moments while it spun her through the air. The few previous times Ukyou used the power, it was dark or she was already naked. Only Ranma had gotten a brief glimpse and he hadn't believed it was anything more than his imagination. This time a lot more people could have gotten an eyeful.
But they didn't. Ranma, Akane, and most of the possessed students were unconscious. Azusa was too busy fighting the remaining mob. Gosunkugi was watching her battle. Konatsu was too far away. P-chan was staring at Akane and crying.
Tatewaki Kuno stood mere feet away looking directly at Ukyou. He'd only seen her wear something remotely feminine once, the time she donned a girl's school uniform to get Ranma's attention. She'd received some attention from Ranma, more from the other male students, and though she did not know it, Kuno had momentarily forgotten his twin passions for the pigtailed girl and Akane.
That was how Kuno felt when he saw Ukyou wear something feminine. This time, for those few moments, Kuno got a full look at Ukyou's physical attractions. Lightheaded, he collapsed to his knees, though he'd seen enough photographs of underclad women to avoid fainting in the style that Ryouga was famous for.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu detoured around Azusa and the crowd fighting her. He'd risked dating the little weirdo just to rescue Ukyou and now she was wasting time. The ninja sprinted forward, reaching Ukyou's side.
"What happened?" Fear and confusion were obvious in his tones.
The girl didn't respond. There was no way she could possibly sum it up. She knelt with tears forming in her eyes and with raspy voice whispered "Ranchan." The fight had taken so long. Ranma had lost so much blood. His lips were tinged with blue, his skin as pale as marble. She didn't think there was time to get him to a hospital.
Most of Ranma's fiancées had imagined marrying Ranma. Ukyou hadn't. She had imagined being married to Ranma. The others focused on a romantic ceremonial event. She focused on living life with him and her envisioned futures weren't some perfect storybook romance. When Happosai made Ranma weak, Ukyou imagined the consequences of him staying weak, of being a working wife for a near-invalid husband. She thought of being with him and it was alright because she was with him. When she let Ranma bet her restaurant what she thought was a vain attempt to retrieve the Tendo dojo from the Gambler King, she imagined the consequences of failure. Soun had already kicked Ranma out of his house and if she lost her restaurant they'd both have been poor and homeless, but she was willing to accept it because she and Ranma would be together, partners in life and love.
Now Ranma was visibly slipping away and she couldn't any imagine any future at all. Dimly, Ukyou heard Konatsu shouting.
"Lady Ukyou! Lady Ukyou! We got these directions from your grandmother. You can heal him. You can save him."
She began breathing. Her heart began beating. She snatched the paper from Konatsu and when it proved too difficult for her damaged eyes to read, she made the ninja read it to her.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kuno came to his senses as Ukyou chanted the healing spell. He barely noticed Gosunkugi holding the unconscious Akane and blubbering something about it being all his fault. An angry P-chan glared up at the skinny boy, but did nothing. Kuno looked back at Akane and felt a mixture of sorrow and desire.
He glanced over at Ukyou.
Never did I imagine she would be so bold, nay brazen, as to expose her full feminine charms to my adoring gaze. Truly, she must desire me with a deep and burning passion, and who am I to deny her in her time of need.
He had a goal to achieve; a reason to live for. Kuno grinned at the thought, but was distracted by Ukyou's yell.
"Konatsu, you idiot! That was the wrong spell. I wanted to heal Ranchan, not me."
She snatched the paper from the boy and started chanting frantically. Everyone nearby focused on her, so no one saw Sasuke snatch P-chan and flee.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Her darling Pierre must have gotten lost when he should have been bravely rescuing her. Azusa ducked beneath another clumsy blow and decided to end the combat. All this fighting was getting her hot and sweaty and that wasn't cute at all. She smiled as she remembered Babette, the cute bracelet Auntie Madoka gave her.
Azusa was uninjured and used to fighting multiple opponents, so she finished her chant much more quickly than Ukyou had. Like the Mamono Hunter, she spiraled into the air as her clothing shredded away and her uniform materialized around her. Unlike Ukyou, her form remained hidden by a glowing light.
No one knew why the summonings were different, but they had been since the founding of the line of Mamono Hunters. Perhaps the person who developed the spell had decided that a brief flash of nudity would cause attackers to pause in lust or surprise. Maybe the founder of the line was an exhibitionist. Whatever the reason, the transformation irritated, annoyed, and embarrassed virtually every member of the 108 generations of Mamono Hunters. The three exceptions were exhibitionists.
The rest found it even more irritating that Assistant Mamono Hunters like Azusa were spared this embarrassment by being hidden behind the glowing light as they transformed. No one knew why the transformation was different for these younger girls, or why it changed as they grew older.
Azusa was ringed by the same horde of controlled students, but now she wore a Mamono Hunter dress. It was pink instead of scarlet, and festooned with far more bows than the original outfit. To her surprise, the transformation resulted in even more vicious attacks by the people around her.
Ikari's name meant hatred and it hated the Mamono Hunters who were sworn to banish or destroy its kind. Even though she wore a mockery of the Mamono Hunter outfit, it was enough for Ikari to channel more hatred through this set of puppets. The ones Akane fought had collapsed after serious injury or unconsciousness. These puppets could be pushed till muscles tore, bones snapped, and hearts burst. They would not stop until they or Azusa were dead.
On some level, Azusa sensed this. She called for her darling Pierre again, but it was too late. He was gone.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu might not have seen Sasuke snatch P-chan, but he was one of the most skilled ninjas of his generation and he had definitely sensed it. He was also skilled enough to follow unheard and unseen. Now he clung to the wall outside the window of the Principal's office. There were several people in the room and he suspected they were the more powerful minions of the Mamono.
Konatsu didn't know why they wanted Akane's pet. Perhaps P-chan was about to become someone's lunch. That was unfortunate, but the ninja was more concerned with saving people's lives. He crept slowly away, returning to the others. He needed their help to defeat the Mamono, but he was certain he would return too late to save P-chan.
He was too late to save someone, but it wasn't P-chan.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou smiled. "I did it. I was in time. Ranchan's gonna live." She wrapped the boy in a hug, which made her the only person too close to see the greenish glow in Ranma's eyes. Ikari had captured one of the strongest pieces on the Mamono Hunter's side and brought it back into play as its own.
Kuno had managed to throw off the creature's poison, but the Mamono had also infected his wooden sword with the venom. It was sure the boy would use the sword eventually, but it never expected him to use it so effectively.
Kuno's reward was to be the first hurled backwards by a burst of chi energy. Then Ranma began building another Shishi Hokoudan. In moments, he would unleash it on the person he hated the most.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo