Mamono Hunter Ukyou Chapter 3
Ikari: Roots of Hatred
Part 4
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 2005 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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Sasuke knelt before the Mamono, a fiercely struggling pig clasped in his arms. Ikari paused, exhilarating in the delicious hatred emanating from the pig. P-chan bweed again and another fan-shaped wave of crimson chi lashed out. The Mamono gave another popping chuckle as it absorbed more of the emotion it thrived on.
"The Hunter is dying; the Assistant is doomed. Her few allies are helpless and her Guardian has become my pawn. With the power this small black creature gives me, I shall open the path between the demon plane and this world, then all shall kneel before me or be destroyed."
"Actually, the Mamono Hunter managed to heal herself," Sasuke stated.
"What? Why did you not tell me this at once?"
The little ninja cringed. "Well, first you ordered me to get the pig. Then you were busy gloating..."
"Silence!"
While Sasuke quivered at the rebuke, P-chan bit his hand and the ninja dropped the pig. The Principal's office was huge and full of the tropical foliage the man adored. There were plenty of places to hide there, but after what Ikari had done to the forest of Ryugenzawa, Ryouga couldn't afford to take the chance that these plants were infested as well.
A small hoof tapped the wooden floorboards. "Bakuchai Tenkechu." Ryouga had only used this variation on the Breaking Point once before, in the Tendo dojo, but this floor shattered at his touch as well, and he plunged into the darkness below.
Ikari paused. The pig was more clever and dangerous than expected. Perhaps it was a local breed of Mamono.
"I'll go..." Sasuke stammered.
"No, this needs someone competent." With a few short commands, the gymnastics team was unleashed. One by one, they dropped through the hole in the floor and disappeared, pursuing Ryouga.
Ikari focused on the ninja again. "Return to the roof. I must know where the Hunter is and what she is doing. For your sake, you had best get that right."
Sasuke scuttled frantically away. Only the Principal and his daughter remained with the Mamono.
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Ranma was better at forgiving than most, but one person was responsible for his mother's loneliness and his failure to measure up to her standards of manliness. One person was responsible for all the pain and suffering of those around him. One person whose stupidity, thoughtlessness, and indecision were ruining people's lives. One person he could never escape.
He would never have acted against this person before, but Aijou's empty orbs had opened his eyes and Ikari's caustic venom burning in his veins had erased the final barriers. Many people had irritated or angered him. Some claimed they hated him. He'd learned to hate only one person.
They'd be better off without me. Ucchan, Akane, all of them. The only thing I know how to do is fight and I'm not even good enough at that to keep them from getting hurt. They'd be better off if they never met me.
His father blamed him for everything. Akane blamed him for everything. Her father blamed him for everything. Ryouga blamed him for everything.
Worse were the ones who didn't blame him - Shampoo, cursed, exiled, and condemned thanks to his blunders; Ukyou, robbed, betrayed, and abandoned thanks to his ignorance. Now Nabiki was dead, Shampoo was crippled, and he'd nearly maimed Ukyou before he realized the truth. All the pain and sorrow was his fault and Ikari had given him the ruthless, reckless strength to finally do something about it.
A glowing pillar of chi surrounded the boy, then rose slowly into the air, coalescing in a huge cloud of negative energy. It hung there malevolently for an instant and then the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan came thundering down with a force greater than a cascading waterfall. It slammed into the earth, splintering the concrete, then detonated outwards, flinging bodies and debris into the air.
Konatsu had rounded the corner a few seconds too soon. He glimpsed the dark shadows of human forms within the explosion and shielded his eyes against the light. The ninja was well outside the blast radius, but a chunk of concrete half the size of his fist caught the boy in the shoulder and spun him to the ground.
Sasuke had barely reached the edge of the roof and paused, staring wide-eyed as the Shishi Hokoudan rose to nearly the height of the roof, then plunged downwards. Gosunkugi's explosions had already shattered windows along the side of the building, the students still unpossessed had long since fled. The Perfect Shishi Hokoudan shattered the face of the building, crushing brick and concrete, splintering wood and steel. Sasuke didn't hear it, nor the collapse of the damaged section of the building. The blast flipped him backwards, hammering him unconscious even before he slammed back onto what remained of the roof.
Kuno had regained his feet and half turned towards Ranma when the blast drove him to his knees, then flung him away like a discarded doll.
In his blind unfeeling pain, Ranma hadn't considered others were in the blast radius. The possessed students that by Ryouga or Akane had defeated lay scattered around him. The Mamono's power had fled and they had no strength of their own to resist the force of the Shishi Hokoudan.
But in that weakness was strength. The user of the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan was shielded by the despair that powered it, the very emptiness of feeling meant the attack washed over them harmlessly. Unconsciousness wasn't quite the same mental state, but it was a kind of emptiness, enough to protect them, letting them escape with minor injuries.
Gosunkugi didn't know that and deliberately shielded Akane in the only unselfish act he had performed in his life. His own sorrow and remorse were strong enough for him to survive, but he joined the ranks of the unconscious.
Ukyou was clinging to Ranma at the very center of the Shishi Hokoudan. Moments before, her despair, her emptiness, were deeper than Gosunkugi's, but grief had turned to joy. The cascade of negative chi slammed her to the concrete with a sickening crunch, tearing Ranma from her grasp. Then it detonated, hurling her through the disintegrating side of the building. Her body bounced off one wall, crashed to the floor, and slid the full length of a hallway before striking the wall at the end.
Ranma's eyes refocused and he stared through a scene of devastation at the crumpled unmoving form of his fiancée. A wordless howling scream tore from his throat as something broke inside. This was all his fault, too, but he could at least avenge her.
Still howling, he began refocusing his chi. This time he would destroy the person who deserved it, not another victim foolish enough to care about him.
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"Yuka!" Daisuke shouldered Hiroshi aside. "Yuka!" he screamed again and darted towards the ruined school building.
When the fire alarms went off, Hinako had concentrated on getting the students out of the building. When she saw the brutal fight in the schoolyard, she moved those not involved farther away.
Her old reflex would have been to absorb the combatants' chi energy; but after encountering with the first Mamono, Aijou, she was reluctant to use those abilities. But now she had to.
"Happo Five Yen Satsu!" she called, draining Daisuke. Hinako caught the boy as he slumped forward, then dropped to one knee under more than a physical weight. Kami-sama, such pain. He must care for her.
Hinako laid the boy on the ground, then pointed at Hiroshi. "Watch him until he wakes up again." She then glared at the crowd. "None of the rest of you are going to do anything stupid!"
The students and the other teachers nodded in unison.
"Wait here until I find out what's going on."
They nodded again.
Not a real man among the lot. She glanced at Daisuke. Well, maybe one. But he didn't have the skills or strength to survive this.
Hinako turned and moved cautiously towards the devastated school building. Someone needed to make sure the students scattered across the schoolyard received medical attention. Someone needed to take responsibility.
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Azusa was trapped, unable to flee. She couldn't even attack anymore, just dodge frantically. Miraculously, she'd avoided injury, but her lovely Mamono Hunter dress hadn't been so fortunate. One sleeve was gone, most of the ribbons, and half the skirt. Yet the flesh beneath was untouched. The dress, a mystical form of armor, had protected her from harm. It wouldn't be able to do that much longer.
"Pierre?"
She sprang upwards, bouncing off a tennis player's face, soaring into the air. The cute boy was nowhere nearby, but she saw the explosion of the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan and plunged downwards, planning to use her attackers as an impromptu shield.
Unfortunately, they were only on the edge of the blast. Few of the horde were touched by it; none were removed from the fight. Fortunately, an unintended missile named Kuno plowed into one side of the students circling her, felling a few of the kendo students and the rest of the tennis club.
Azusa darted through the gap Kuno had accidentally provided. "Thank you, Marianne, for using your magical tanuki powers to rescue me."
Her legs were short, but she wore rollerblades. She bulleted towards Konatsu, easily outdistancing her pursuers. This time she really wanted Pierre to rescue her and she wasn't trying to be cute about it.
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Konatsu stared in frozen horror, the pain of his body unmatched by that of his soul. Ukyou was gone, gone as if she'd never existed. Ranma knelt in the center of a shallow crater, summoning an even larger chi blast. He wouldn't to stop until he destroyed himself.
But in his blind despair Ranma had forgotten something. Ryouga could have reminded him, but P-chan remained trapped in the endless maze of corridors known as Furinkan High. The Perfect Shishi Hokoudan never affected the person summoning it. It smashed everything else in range, but as long as the summoner stayed depressed he wouldn't be injured. Ironically, anyone despondent enough to use the power in a suicide attempt was depressed enough to remain unharmed by it.
Ryouga knew. He'd tried it before.
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A pink blur on rollerblades surged forward, her long brunette hair streaming behind, pursued by the mass of Ikari's puppet athletes. Reaching the edge of the crater, Azusa lunged upward, clearing both Ranma and the Shishi Hokoudan he was summoning, while her pursuers paused at the edge of the devastation, then circled wide of it.
"Pierre, you dummy! You have to run." Azusa landed on an unbroken section of concrete and darted forward, but Konatsu still hadn't moved when she reached him. She grabbed the boy and lofted him above her head. "Pierre, you have to save me," she exclaimed as she hauled the boy away from the broken crater.
The ninja didn't reply, but he dimly realized the pursuing horde had circled wide enough they probably wouldn't be harmed when Ranma detonated his chi blast again. Konatsu understood Ranma's feelings. This was how he felt when he crippled Shampoo. He wanted to say something, but Ranma was too far away to hear him, even if he could find the words.
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She hurt too much to be dead. When Ukyou called on the power of the Yoma ring, it enhanced her strength, her agility, her speed, and her stamina. Because of that, she was still alive. Her head felt like someone had used it for a game of soccer. Sharp pains flared in her side and ankle. One knee was swelling visibly. Her right arm was bent at an unpleasant angle, though strangely it seemed to be one of the few things that didn't hurt.
"Ran..." she whispered. She barely heard the groans indicating the threatened the collapse of the upper stories of the school, they were drowned by Ranma's keening wail. She ignored the shards of debris falling between her and her fiancé; stared into the sickly luminescence of the gathering Shishi Hokoudan and saw him kneeling there.
Her body wanted to lie there. Her spirit refused to. Ukyou staggered to her feet and began hobbling towards the light. She needed to reach Ranma before he managed to kill himself.
She didn't understand the power could only kill her. An old saying claimed 'You only hurt the one you love', but that wasn't true. You only hurt the one who loves you, whether you love them or not.
Maybe it was adrenaline. Maybe it was magic. Maybe it was something else. Ukyou ignored her injuries, ignored the pain and began to run. It was an awkward stumbling run, but that didn't matter. She had the same goal in front of her she always had - dear, sweet, stupid, brave, impossible Ranma, the one she loved. This time she wouldn't be too slow, this time he wouldn't leave her behind. She'd reach him in time and she'd save him. And if she couldn't, at least they'd be together.
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Every nerve tingled with energy. Ranma didn't realize he was still screaming.
I'm never gonna fail again. No one else is gonna end up like Ucchan.
Every hair felt like it was standing on end.
She was dumb enough to waste her time on me. She was dumb enough to love me.
Waves of cold fire seemed to flow up and down his spine.
Now she's gone.
And she left a torn aching hole where his heart used to be. Tears tracked down his cheeks. His scream finally ended in a shuddering gasp as the last of the air emptied from his lungs. Power arced between his outstretched fingers, begging to be freed.
A sudden weight struck him, nearly knocking him prone. The girl had tumbled on top of him in a movement that was more a fall than a leap. She groaned in pain, but clung to him with the arm that still worked.
Ranma inhaled sharply, then yelled, "Get outta here! I ain't gonna hurt you again! I ain't never gonna hurt anyone again!"
Her eyes were inches from his. "Do what you have to, Ranchan. I promised I'd always take care of you." She gave a sad little smile and kissed him gently. "After all these years I finally caught you and I'm gonna hang on as long as I can."
His heart thundered in his chest; he felt the power calling him. He took a deep breath, held it, then released that energy, not in the single destructive blast he originally intended, but a safe gradual flow. Once he finished, he wrapped his arms around Ukyou.
"Why, Ucchan, why? All I do is hurt you."
But he knew why, she'd told him. A short simple word that frightened him. Love. His father had separated him from it since he was a child, fearing it would weaken him, make him less of a martial artist, less of a man. But what good was power, skill, when you were alone? Genma's actions had left him feeling he didn't deserve his mother's or anyone else's love, so he craved it all the more, afraid to let any of them get too far away. Yet he didn't dare to let them too close, either, couldn't risk that weakness, so he pushed away or even ran from any girl who expressed an interest in him.
He still wanted to push her away, still didn't dare believe her words, but she'd never lied to him and he was tired of running, tired of an endless, pointless battle that hurt everyone including himself.
"But you never hurt me on purpose," Ukyou stated. "And I know you'll always take care of me, too, 'cause you always keep your promises; 'cause you're honorable and dependable and brave."
Ucchan must hit her head a lot harder than I thought. I ain't anything like that. I'm thoughtless and selfish and cowardly, just like Pops.
But it was nice to have someone who thought the best instead of the worst of him, who believed he could be more than he was. Kami-sama, help me. I don't want to hurt her no more. Help me be kind of like what she thinks I am.
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Ikari howled like a storm rushing through the branches of the trees. It had come so close, so very close. The Guardian had been about to unleash a gigantic Shishi Hokoudan that would have destroyed the Mamono Hunter, her Assistant, and virtually every other ally of theirs in one catastrophic explosion.
It was Ikari, a living embodiment of hatred. Nothing was stronger. Nothing! Certainly not some foolish human emotion as weak and fragile as love. This couldn't be happening. It was about to win the shogi match and some fool had smashed the board.
If the Mamono had ever seen Soun and Genma play that game, blithely ignoring the rules, it might have understood what had occurred. Instead, it was left howling at the blind unfairness of it all.
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Azusa placed both hands over her ears when the Mamono howled. She didn't mean to drop Konatsu on his head.
He sat up, rubbing the back of his skull. "Hey, what did you do that for?"
She didn't answer, but turned and looked up at the window of Principal Kuno's office. It was around the corner of the building from the various explosions and most of the windows had survived.
Her outfit hadn't been so fortunate, and it now resembled a fringed minidress. Konatsu blushed, realizing he was staring up at a pair of pink teddy bear panties.
"Can you see them, Pierre?"
"What?"
"There, up in the window. There's people up there."
Konatsu looked past the girl, but he saw nothing human. A dark spiny figure was hunched there. Vaguely manlike, it would have stood twice human height, were it capable of standing straight.
"Yay, it's the Mamono!" Azusa cheered. "Now I can defeat it and go on a date with my darling Pierre." She glanced over her shoulder, winked, and blew a kiss to the boy; then launched herself straight at the Mamono, not stopping to check if the window was open.
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Ukyou took a deep breath and prepared to let out a sigh of relief when she noticed her chest felt very cold. Her eyes grew wide and the girl glanced downward. Normally, two buttons near her right collarbone held the front of the high collared Mamono Hunter dress shut. Both buttons had vanished and the cloth was torn, revealing things Ukyou normally concealed.
Ranma saw her gaze downward and noticed the same things. Only the fact he was also blushing made it bearable to Ukyou. The boy laughed nervously and pulled his shirt off. Her eyes grew even wider and she realized she still hadn't remembered to exhale.
"Umm, here, Ucchan. You kinda need this more than me."
She finally released her breath and smiled nervously, certain she'd turned the same color as her dress. With her left hand, Ukyou gestured towards her damaged right arm.
"Thanks, just let me heal myself so I can pull it on."
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With the crash of shattering glass, a duck plunged through the front window of the Neko Hanten restaurant, plowed through a table and chairs, smacked into the far wall, and fell heavily to the floor.
The waterfowl bounced back up and fluttered to the kitchen, then paused in front of the sink.
No, I can't. If I change back, Ikari might be able to control me again.
It was the first time Mousse's Jusenkyou curse had proved helpful. The transformation weakened the control the Mamono had over him. Mousse had longed to be free of both the Amazon laws, but his own weaknesses had betrayed him. Somehow, all he'd achieved was trading one arbitrary master for another.
He flapped back into the dining area. Except for the table he'd smashed, everything was undisturbed, like the restaurant hadn't been used for weeks. The Neko Hanten restaurant had been the scene of many experiences, virtually none of them pleasant, but it was the closest thing Mousse had to a home.
He found that thought extraordinarily depressing.
Mousse listened closely, but it soon became obvious he was alone.
Ancestors, no! Cologne's absence could only mean one thing, but he had no idea where she had gone. The Mamono had controlled him so soon after Shampoo was crippled and he didn't even begin to know where to look for her. Cologne was too careful to have left a clue. Mousse tried to scream with frustration, but it came out as an angry sounding quack.
Pathetic.
Mousse tried to relax, tried to think, and failed. A panic-stricken duck winded through the shattered window, choosing a random direction. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, the boy was far too late to be of any help to Shampoo.
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The small black pig dodged madly, but it was running out of time, room, and options.
Curse you, Ranma, I'm being chased by athletic teenage girls in formfitting leotards. I haven't got time for this. I have to save Akane.
Suddenly, the gymnasts disappeared, recalled by their monstrous master. Ikari had retreated into the foliage of the Principal's office, cursing itself for letting the ruthless and devious Assistant Hunter get so close.
It had ordered the father and daughter team of Kunos to face Azusa, but if she were as powerful as she was dangerous, Ikari would need every minion possible for defense.
Ryouga was left behind in the dark, empty maze of hallways, wondering what had happened. But he didn't waste much time in puzzlement. Akane needed him and he scampered forward as fast as his little hooves could manage.
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Konatsu heard the charging mob, though they weren't yet visible around the corner of the building. He wobbled to his feet. Ranma and Ukyou were gone, he was certain of it, and silly and annoying as she could be, Azusa was probably the last hope that anyone would survive. He was the only thing left standing between her and the crowd, but he wasn't even carrying his sword. He hadn't since the day he crippled Shampoo.
Even if I can hold them off, Azusa hasn't got a chance against the Mamono and whoever it has with it. There's no point in fighting. There's no chance of winning.
But he stayed. He knew his friends would have if they still lived.
I have to keep the monster's puppets away from that window. He placed his back to the wall, a floor beneath the Principal's office, and wondered what to do next. But the mob swarmed around the corner, surrounding him, and there was no more time for thought. Only three or four could come at him at once, but that was enough. He couldn't block or dodge them all, he could slow them down, but before long he'd be smothered in a wall of flesh.
Still, he'd downed half-a-dozen before a thrown cheerleader's baton caught him in his injured shoulder. Pain coursed through his body and he dropped to his knees.
"Sorry, Lady Shampoo, I never found your cure," he whispered as a huge wrestler prepared to embed him into the ground. To his surprise, the gigantic opponent slumped unconscious to the ground.
"Yo, Konatsu, you okay?"
The ninja stared openmouthed at Ranma.
He's alive? A blush covered Konatsu's cheeks as he noticed the other boy wore no shirt. The ninja hadn't expected he would find that exciting, but he had been raised to think of himself as a girl.
"Hey, Konatsu, you awake in there?" Pigtailed boy reached past the ninja and tapped the arm of a maddened student before he could crush the ninja's skull with a hockey stick. The stick fell from a limp useless arm and a second gentle tap to the attacker's chest dropped him unconscious to the ground.
"How?"
"Pressure points. Tofu's been showing 'em to me. Seems like the best way to stop these guys without hurting them."
"Lady Ukyou, she's alright, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's looking good." Oddly, Ranma blushed at his own words. "What I mean is..." Thanks to the horde, he didn't have time to explain more; not that Konatsu had the time to listen, either.
Ranma leapt forward, flipping over the most of the crowd, bouncing off a rugby player's head and landing on the pavement beyond. In the moments before they reached him, he assessed the situation.
Normally he could have handled student athletes, but possessed berzerkers who could take multiple hits and keep going were something else again, and every one that fell allowed Ikari to strengthen its grip on the remainder.
Hiryu Shouten Ha? But he doubted these opponents had the toughness or training to survive the maelstrom of the Rising Dragon Ascension Wave or the inevitable fall when the whirlwind of chi ran down.
Besides, Konatsu's too close. Can't risk doing that again.
The ninja didn't seem to be in the best of shape, either. The boy had tried to follow Ranma, but he hadn't made it through the crowd. Now he was trapped, surrounded again, and Ranma sprang back to aid him.
"This won't be easy," Konatsu said, dodging one opponent and using the attacker's momentum to launch them into the surrounding mob.
"Yeah, but I'm Ranma Saotome..." He ducked a swung hockey stick, then backflipped, kicking the weapon into the air. "...and I..." Ranma landed on one palm and struck out with his other hand, hitting a pressure point near a sumo wrestler's knee. "...never..." The wrestler crashed to the ground, tripping a couple members of the rugby club; while Ranma launched himself back into the air with one hand. "...ever..." He spun back to an upright position, catching the falling hockey stick.
Then the first scream issued from the Principal's office, an anguished wail of pain and despair.
Ranma flinched, even as he spun the hockey stick to deflect a tennis ball and pair of thrown cheerleaders' batons while kicking out with both feet, catching one opponent on the chin and a second in a pressure point near the collarbone.
Both should have fallen, but only the first attacker did; though the second's arm hung limply at his side.
As the pigtailed boy landed, he heard Azusa's second shriek. Most of the athletes he and Konatsu had felled were already getting to their feet again.
"Ranma, we have to help her!"
He nodded, no longer wasting time on speech. He'd
never faced this many opponents and he was still drained from his earlier chi use and the Mamono's possession. But he'd won battles before with just his native stubbornness and his well of confidence. He wasn't going to quit.
Neither were their opponents. The Mamono whipped its minions into an even greater frenzy and the boys were forced to listen as Azusa's agonized howls continued, rising in intensity, until they abruptly ceased.
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Akane groaned as she sat up. Ukyou knelt by an unconscious body, glowing energies flowing between a strange ring on her left hand and a prone and unconscious member of the softball club. Before Akane's eyes, the injured teen's injuries melted away. Ukyou moved to another student and began another healing spell.
Ukyou's dress appeared tattered and over its remains she wore one of Ranma's shirts. Dark thoughts crossed Akane's mind. That pervert didn't even give her time to get the dress off before bedding her. What kind of selfish idiot is he?
Of course, Akane conveniently forgot that when she last saw Ranma, he lay unconscious at Ukyou's feet and she was wearing something completely different. The Tendo girl had spent so long assuming the worst about Ranma, believing the word of strangers over that of her fiancé, until she reached the point where it became easy to ignore facts and just assign blame to Ranma.
At least the jerk gave her his shirt so she could cover herself, but Ukyou should stand up for herself instead of letting that jerk take advantage of her. I hate it when people won't do that.
She took a closer look at the ring on Ukyou's hand.
That's the ugliest engagement ring I've seen. Ranma has the worst taste and she's dumb not to insist on a better one. What did I ever see in the idiot? I'm much better off with Ryouga, he's so much nicer and more dependable.
Akane stood, realizing that she only felt a little tired. She remembered a brutal beating at the hands of the possessed mob, but that's all it was now, a memory. Ukyou had obviously healed her.
I guess she's still my friend even she does have lousy taste in guys.
Akane was about to express her thanks when she noticed who Ukyou was healing.
"Yuka," the Tendo girl whispered and moved to the Mamono Hunter's side. "Will she be alright?"
Gosunkugi lay forgotten behind them. Though he'd escaped harm from both his own actions and those of the mob, the skinny boy had been injured when he shielded Akane's unconscious body from the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan. She didn't know this, so it wasn't surprising she didn't notice him. Gosunkugi hadn't been noticed his entire life.
Ukyou had tried to heal the skinny boy, but he was still unconscious. The spell didn't work; it couldn't work on him and she had too many other injured people to tend to.
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Azusa flinched and shrieked as Principal Kuno's clippers drew closer. She was in agony.
She'd been confident, too confident, when she sprang through the window moments before, but after that nothing had gone right. The Mamono she needed to defeat had vanished. Then, with a simple flip of her gymnastics ribbon, Kodachi had Azusa wrapped up and immobile.
The window had slammed shut behind her and then Principal Kuno had attacked the helpless girl. The paired clippers he wielded snipped repeatedly, each sound echoed by an anguished scream from Azusa. Eventually, she fell silent as the Principal stepped back to admire his work.
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"Groping female students?" Hinako called. "The delinquent, Tatewaki Kuno, is in need of punishment." She took a closer look at the unconscious boy, who was partly embedded in the concrete. "Or maybe not."
"Ukyou and I already took care of it," Akane stated
"Is he...?"
"The pervert's tougher than a cockroach," the Tendo girl answered.
"I can't believe the jerk grabbed me," Ukyou growled.
Akane sighed. "I'm sure the idiot was just going after me again."
Maybe that's why Akane's so angry, after all that dealing with Octopus Boy. Maybe not, that still doesn't explain why she's mad at Ranchan so much. He doesn't act anything like Kuno.
With all the bodies lying around them, it looked like a war zone, but thanks to Ukyou's healing spells none of the injuries would be permanent.
"I'll watch them until the doctors arrive," Hinako said.
"Good, then we can go help Ranchan kick the Mamono's ugly butt."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu collapsed to his knees from injuries and exhaustion and began sobbing. They were too late to save Azusa. Her agonized shrieks had ceased.
"My fault...my fault...she...she..."
"Listen, it ain't your fault, Konatsu," Ranma growled. "It's my stupid fault. I'm supposed to be this hotshot unbeatable martial artist and I can't keep people from getting hurt. You weren't trained for this kinda stuff. I was and I failed."
He still couldn't fight his way through to avenge Azusa. His confidence hadn't rebounded enough to use a Moko Takabisha. He wasn't depressed enough to use a Shishi Hokoudan.
They were interrupted by the arrival of reinforcements. Akane was a whirlwind of blue. Ukyou was covered in red - her dress, Ranma's shirt, and both of their blood that stained the clothing. She moved more cautiously and appeared tired, but she smiled as soon as she saw Ranma.
He smiled back, but he blushed as well as he recalled earlier events. It ain't like I meant to look at her exposed...um...at her...ah... But he couldn't forget, either. Great, I'm becoming as big a pervert as Kuno.
Then he heard shattering glass as a body was launched through the window of Principal Kuno's office and the heavy thump of that body striking the pavement below.
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The Principal's eyes glowed with a sickly greenish light as he contemplated what he'd done to the helpless Azusa. Neither he nor Kodachi noticed a small black pig appear.
"Now de lil wahine be having de good bowl cut, eh," smirked the older Kuno. For the first time in years, someone had remained still long enough for him to give them a proper haircut. It didn't matter to him that Azusa's long beautiful hair lay clumped on the floor. It didn't matter that she was crying quietly at the loss. He didn't know or care how long it had taken for her to grow it out or how much it mattered to her. As the girl sobbed quietly, a huge grin covered the Principal's face. Something had finally happened the way he wanted.
He still wore that grin when P-chan's blast of angry chi smashed him through the window.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Once, Ukyou had helped rescue Konatsu from the ninja clan that raised him. Now she was helping save him from the mob. The first time he felt himself falling in love. This time, he saw her gazing at Ranma and understood his love was hopeless. Ukyou had given her heart to Ranma and nothing the ninja did could change that.
The boy smiled bitterly. I'm not the man Ukyou wants. I'm not the man Shampoo wants. I'm just some stupid freak who was raised to be a girl.
The only other girl in Konatsu's life was Azusa. She was stupid and silly and she only wanted him because he was cute. Now she was gone. The only person who really needed me is dead.
Konatsu glanced up at the shattered window frame. He considered and discarded the idea of vengeance. That wasn't his way, not anymore. If it was his stepmother and stepsisters would have paid heavily for the pain and humiliation they inflicted on him.
Wait, someone threw the Principal through the window. Azusa's alive and she needs me.
Konatsu's body ached, but he jumped through the ruined second story window.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The tide of battle had turned, but Ukyou sensed something wrong. Ranma and Akane were holding off the possessed students, so she tried to focus her senses. If she could just find the Mamono, they could end this. It seemed to be somewhere in the school building, but she also sensed the ties that connected it to its minions.
Ukyou closed her eyes and focused. The Mamono's links to others appeared as sickly green glowing lines against a field of darkness, forming a bewildering net pulsing as the strength of their connection to the Mamono changed. Most lines were faint and led to the nearby possessed students. Four were much stronger. One connected to someone inside the school. One, tinged with an odd bluish light, stretched far away and seemed to be slowly fading. Another stretched away in a different direction and had a darker venomous color. The last led downward to...
Ukyou's eyes snapped open. Principal Kuno was on his feet, advancing. His sunglasses were gone, broken, shattered, revealing the sickly greenish light glowing, pulsing in his eyes. His mouth warped in a false, empty smile. A smile of madness.
Ukyou shut her eyes and prayed her plan would work.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Is this a dream or a nightmare?
Events had become a rollercoaster ride between joy and sorrow. Azusa's beautiful hair was gone, destroyed by the madman. Then her pet Charlotte arrived to save her, but Kodachi had crushed the little pig with a gymnastics club. Before Azusa could cry out, the boy she called Pierre appeared to rescue her.
Then the dream became unpleasant again. Kodachi quickly forced the tired and injured boy onto the defensive. Her darling Pierre was losing, her pet was severely injured, and her hair was gone.
I'm not cute anymore.
She hated that and she hated the Mamono whose fault it was. If Ikari were nearby, it could have used that feeling to convert her into another puppet. Instead, Azusa used her hatred against the being that deluded itself that it was the master of that emotion.
Hatred gave her the strength to snap the gymnastics ribbon that bound her. Azusa wasn't the cleverest person in Nerima, but she paid enough attention to the Mamono Hunter Starter kit to know that one of those creatures was controlling Kodachi.
"Sorry, Pierre. I need to get that nasty Mamono so you'll go on a date with me." The creature would pay for all he had done to her, to her darling Pierre, and to poor helpless little Charlotte.
Konatsu too busy defending himself to reply as the little skater darted into the greenery.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
It took Ranma a few moments to notice Ukyou had stopped fighting. Her eyes were shut and she didn't seem to notice Principal Kuno advancing towards her. The man looked like one of the walking dead except for that awful smile. A chill flowed down Ranma's spine. He was looking at the face of a lunatic, someone pushed beyond hope or fear or pain. The mind was gone, the body a shell to serve the Mamono's will.
"Ucchan!"
Her eyes remained shut; she didn't respond. Ranma did an acrobatic flip straight over Ukyou's head, interposing himself between her and the Principal. Before he could do more than that, a pair of sharpened clippers slashed across his bare chest, leaving narrow lines of blood.
"Ucchan, snap out of it."
He should have stayed focused on the battle. He avoided one blow, but the other slashed deeply into his arm. Ranma bit back a curse and launched the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. He just needed to do was hit a few pressure points and the man would fall. His hands lashed out, using the speed technique to strike multiple points in moments.
"Gotcha!"
His opponent grunted and fell, but staggered to his feet with surprising speed. Ranma repeated his technique, striking pressure point after pressure point. The Principal should have been paralyzed and unconscious, but he wasn't even slowing down.
Ranma closed his fists, raining dozens of blows on his opponent. He was sure he felt the Principal's ribs give a little. This time the man only staggered back. A third series of blows resulted in unpleasant cracking noises, but the empty smile stayed on the man's face. This time, he let the madman get too close and new cuts appeared on Ranma's face and arm.
He needed room to maneuver, but the elder Kuno was too close to Ukyou. If he didn't stand and take the damage, the Principal would be able to attack her.
"No one's gonna hurt Ucchan again. Not me, not anyone."
No reaction showed on Principal Kuno's face.
"Shooting Star Kick." Ranma vaulted forward, his body limned in energy, focusing his chi into the strike. It had hurt that monster Tarou, he hoped it would hurt this opponent. The Principal sailed several meters backward and landed heavily.
The man stood again, the strange empty smile still on his face, in spite of broken teeth and blood pouring from his mouth. Ranma had seen nothing like this and he never wanted to see it again. The man was being battered to pieces and he didn't care, he didn't react, he didn't stop. Ranma felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. This shouldn't be happening. No human could take that kind of pain and continue to function.
But Ukyou needed his protection, so Ranma advanced in spite of what he saw.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
It was easier for Ikari to control its remaining puppets, since there were significantly less than before. The gymnastics club ringed the creature, and all were concealed in the luxuriant foliage of the Principal's enormous office.
Sadly, Principal Kuno wouldn't last much longer. The madman with the exquisite sense of taste had suffered several broken ribs and was bleeding internally. That was unfortunate, he'd gone from being Ikari's most despised puppet to his favorite, but he was merely human.
Kodachi remained as a reserve. So did Mousse, though Ikari still had difficulties sensing or controlling him. Somehow the change brought by the Jusenkyou curse muted the connection and the boy wasn't responding. Ikari refocused on Mousse. It felt the hatred in the Chinese boy and used their mystic ties to order him to return.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Please, just stay down," Ranma begged.
The Principal wasn't listening. Nothing stopped him, not pressure points, not chi blasts, nothing. They slowed him down, they pushed him back, but the battered body kept rising to its feet, shambling forward, and slicing at Ranma with the metal clippers.
Ranma didn't know how to stop the man without killing him. A quick glance back showed Ukyou's eyes were still closed. Ranma turned towards his opponent again.
Am I willing to kill to protect Ucchan?
Ikari wasn't giving him any choice.
Maybe I can just cripple him. Ranma shuddered at the thought, but he wasn't coming up with a better one.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The glowing lines of magic force connecting the Mamono to its victims were easy to sense, but they writhed and twisted. Ukyou visualized her soulblade, the magical replica of her battle spatula forged from the strength of her soul. It was hard to concentrate with the surrounding sounds of combat, but she knew Ranma would give her the time to do this.
She focussed the energy of her soulblade and projected it forward, seeking to sever the links between Ikari and those it controlled. The lines of light spun and flowed, dancing away from her attacks. She visualized a throwing spatula, focused her energy into it, and flung it into the darkness.
Principal Kuno collapsed like a marionette whose strings were cut, while Ranma stared in confusion.
"You do that, Ucchan?"
"Yes," she whispered and opened her eyes.
"Ranchan!" There was fear in her voice. He'd been slashed many times, and while most of the wounds were superficial, they looked worse.
"Ranchan? Oh kami, no, what happened to you?"
"It ain't nothing. It takes more than that to hurt me. Go ahead and do whatever you did to the rest of these guys, I'll keep 'em off."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari cursed as the link to Principal Kuno snapped. Then the rest of the glowing links began disappearing. The Mamono had focused too much attention on the connection to Mousse, weakening his hold on the others.
The monster forgot one other thing. A short brunette in tattered pink Mamono Hunter dress and sporting an incredibly bad haircut had reached the creature. Ikari stared in confusion. This was the subtle, ruthless plotter that was willing to sacrifice the Mamono Hunter herself, to get close enough to attack? This puny, silly looking little girl?
Ikari began chuckling. It would finish this pathetic excuse of an Assistant itself.
No, why take chances. That's what the gymnastics team for. They sprang from the foliage, surrounding the Assistant Hunter.
"I hold no enmity to those coerced into evil," the little skater declared. She gestured with her left hand, and streams of red and green light began spiraling outwards. As the light struck each of the monster's minions, the girls slumped unconscious to the floor.
"But to those vile being who enslave the hearts and souls of men..."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
One moment Akane was a human whirlwind, throwing and striking multiple opponents at once. Then they started falling before she could touch them, collapsing for no apparent reason. Soon only she, Ranma, and Ukyou remained standing amid a carpet of unconscious people. Somehow, Ukyou had showed her up again and a spark of envy burned inside.
It's just not fair. Why does she get all the breaks?
While Ukyou healed Ranma again, Akane leaped into the Principal's office. That would have proved she wasn't the klutz the boy thought she was.
That is, if he'd been looking. But he wasn't and that still made her angry. She was distracted enough Kodachi almost tagged her with a gymnastics club. As it arced harmlessly into space, Akane took a closer look at the room.
Konatsu lay crumpled in a corner, but the Tendo girl barely noticed him. P-chan lay on the Principal's desk, unconscious and with one leg bent at an angle nature never intended. Blood flowed from his mouth, pooling beneath the tiny body.
"Ryouga!"
Kodachi was fast. Akane was faster. A swift lunge forward let her scoop up the little pig.
"Please, Ryouga. Please be alright."
Akane jumped backwards, sailing out the hole where the window used to be as a razor sharp throwing hoop sliced the desk in half. There wasn't time to land well, but she shielded P-chan with her body.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"You sure you're alright, Ranchan?" She wished she had something to wipe the blood off. She'd healed him, but the drying blood remained as a reminder of the wounds he'd taken for her. "Sorry, it's all my fault."
"Hey, it's just a few scratches. Nothing to worry about."
She nodded, still absently running her fingers across Ranma's chest, even though the spell was complete. She hesitated, but didn't remove her hand. She felt his pulse and suddenly noticed her own beating in unison.
Ranma grasped her hand with one of his, looked intently into her eyes, and suddenly she was sure her heart had stopped.
Is he finally going to say the words I've dreamed of?
"Um, I ain't so good at saying this, Ucchan, but I just...well, that is..."
"Yes?"
"Well, I, um, just wanted to say thanks."
Ukyou sighed. Well, it's a start.
"I mean, not that I couldn't have taken them all down anyway, but..."
"Ranchan, you big dummy," she whispered. He blinked, realizing she was still staring into his eyes. He felt her grip tighten on his hand and realized she was standing on tiptoes, her lips drawing closer to his own.
Then a body thudded to the pavement nearby.
They reached the Tendo girl in moments, not realizing they were still holding hands.
"Please heal Ryouga." Akane held up a small black pig.
"Um, did you hit your head or something?" Ukyou asked. "That's your pet P-chan. Remember, P-chan is smaller and smarter and has hooves."
Ranma stood open-mouthed. Akane finally figured it out. I am so dead. Even more surprising, she'd asked someone for help. His surprise ended as Kodachi bounced a gymnastics club off his skull and dropped him to the pavement.
"Ranchan!"
The boy groaned and sat up. "Man, she hits almost as hard as Akane." He rubbed his head, then sprang to his feet. A second club whizzed past him and embedded into the concrete.
"Don't worry, I'll stop Kodachi. You better heal Ry...um, P-chan. He don't look so good. And maybe the Principal." Ranma winced. "He don't look so good, either."
"Ryouga, his name is Ryouga, you jerk," Akane insisted.
Ranma added a faint, "Yeah, it is," and leapt towards Kodachi.
Light glowed in the gemstones in Ukyou's Yoma ring, then flowed towards the little pig, engulfing it. She gestured a final time and the light faded. P-chan's eyes blinked open. He saw hope and fear in Akane's face. She kissed the little pig directly on the mouth. Both P-chan and Ukyou's eyes bulged in astonishment, though only he fainted.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari hadn't expected the battle to end so quickly, nor for the gymnastics team to fall so swiftly to the silly little Assistant Mamono Hunter. Perhaps it should have focused more energy on them instead of Kodachi, perhaps it shouldn't have underestimated the tiny girl, but downing its minions was one thing. She was only an Assistant Hunter, and freeing the other girls should have drained her magics for the day. She could perhaps attempt a banishing, but it wasn't going to give her the time for that and she couldn't possible have the strength to defeat Ikari.
The creature began chuckling. It was still chuckling when Azusa chanted "Blades of my soul appear." The girl now held a staff with paired blades projecting from each end. Most humans would have noticed their resemblance to the blades of ice skates.
Azusa screamed with rage and spun the bladed staff. Pain shattered Ikari's smugness, as the weapon scored a burning line across the Mamono's armored brown hide, slicing it like paper instead of the wood it resembled. Ikari howled and swung a thorn-covered limb, but Azusa danced back out of reach. The monster vowed not to underestimate her again.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kodachi wanted a more open place where she could use her ranged weapons to their full effect, or at least the opportunity to retreat into the near jungle deeper in the gigantic office. The Mamono gave her neither choice, forcing her to fight where she was, interposing herself between itself and those seeking its destruction.
Ranma's movements were swift, but few of his strikes connected. He was reluctant to hit a woman, doubly reluctant after his battle against her father, and Kodachi was moving faster than normal. She wielded a gymnastics club in each hand, using them to compensate for Ranma's greater reach.
Those times Ranma struck her, he hit pressure points, seeking to paralyze nerves and render her unconscious. It worked no better than it had on her father; the control the Mamono exerted shielded the girl from the effects. If its control lapsed, she would collapse, but Ikari intended to use the girl up if that's what it took to win.
Kodachi had done little to either Azusa or Konatsu. She didn't really know the ninja and she only hated the skater a little. But she remembered the battle on the ice from several weeks back. The kiss between Ranma and Ukyou was etched across her brain and she hated them almost as much as she hated herself.
Ranma and Kodachi circled the damaged room, their movements flowing into a graceful dance of strikes and blocks. It held a strange, dangerous, potentially lethal beauty, but the dance couldn't last for long. Everything was strangely silent as neither spared the energy for speech. Even Kodachi's typical laughter was gone.
They circled till she was silhouetted by the splintered hole where the window had been. The gymnast performed a simple effortless backflip, dropping to the ground below. Ranma's heart skipped a beat. He was closer to the Mamono, but Kodachi was closer to Ukyou. That couldn't be an accident.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Akane limped away cradling the unconscious P-chan. Ukyou was glad the Tendo girl had found Ryouga, not only for the selfish reason of reducing the number of rivals pursuing Ranma. She genuinely believed the other pair made a good couple. She thought they deserved happiness together, that's why she had tried to set them up before.
Ukyou knew Ryouga would be fine now that she healed him, but Akane was acting with her heart, not her mind and she needed to carry the boy to safety while he was trapped in his nearly helpless cursed form.
"Okay, now to patch up the Headmaster from Hell." Then they could go find the Mamono. She wasn't worried; she wasn't really alone. Ranma was nearby and he could protect her from anything. But he'd been outmaneuvered and she wasn't paying attention to the battle anymore.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari avoided physical combat for a reason. Not because it was poor fighter, for it was actually quite dangerous. It needed to maintain its control of Kodachi so she could deal with the Mamono Hunter and her Guardian. It also needed to finish off the annoying little assistant Mamono Hunter personally before she managed a banishing spell and it was hard to focus on both tasks simultaneously.
Ikari flailed at Azusa with its limbs, but she continued to evade its blows. At least she was so busy dodging she had no time to chant spells.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Miss Tendo, are you injured?"
Akane blinked at Hinako, stifling the resentment that she had lived while Nabiki died. The teacher no longer cycled between a perky child and an overendowed disciplinarian, though Akane didn't know why. Only in Nerima would someone becoming more normal be considered strange.
"N...no, I'm not hurt," Akane admitted grudgingly. That wasn't strictly true, though her injuries were minor.
"What's happening over there, then?"
Akane sketched the situation as briefly as she could. Hinako frowned for a moment.
"You stay here. I'll go help."
"But..."
"I'm responsible for my students. Besides, Ranma saved my life." Hinako hesitated. She hadn't been afraid for years. Not since the first time she'd been in the hospital. The doctors and nurses were all so very kind to her when she was a weak helpless child. It took a while for that child to understand no one expected her to ever leave.
Day had followed day, as the child Hinako grew weaker and weaker. Then the funny little man appeared and taught her how to absorb the chi of others. It gave her the added strength she needed to survive and recover. She was glad to use it on the nurses that were so angry with the funny old man. She'd thought Happosai was rather silly to want to steal the nurses' underwear, but he saved her life and she was determined to repay him, even if she didn't understand why he did such strange things.
She'd nearly died when the first Mamono appeared and she wasn't eager to face another. But Ranma had also saved her life and it was much easier to repay an honorable man than a dishonorable one.
Now she was afraid again. Afraid of lost opportunities. Akane's father wasn't a perfect man, but he was a kind man and very loyal. His tolerance of his old friend Genma's behavior proved that. So did his loyalty to a wife dead for over a decade. Hinako still hoped to convince Soun that being with her wouldn't be disloyalty to his first wife. She smiled and prayed her dream would become more than that some day.
Akane's face betrayed her concern.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Hinako hoped her statement wasn't a lie.
Akane didn't look so certain.
"This is about giri, duty, about repaying my debt. I'm sure you understand."
"Giri? Most people think that was left behind in the samurai era."
"Yes, but we're martial artists of the Anything Goes School. You know why I have to do this."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ranma flipped over the ruined desk and through the hole where the window used to be. He dropped to the pavement below and crouched defensively. Unconscious bodies still lay scattered across the pavement. There was no sign of Akane or Ryouga, but he wasn't looking for them.
It was quiet, deathly quiet compared to the battle that had raged before. A cold breeze reminded Ranma that he didn't have a shirt on. The only movement was a flapping piece of paper caught against the base of one of the trees. The breeze pinned it there for a moment, before it slid loose and fluttered away.
He wasn't looking at Kuno's poem anymore, but at the tree that momentarily stopped it. The boy scanned upwards and found both people he was searching for.
Kodachi balanced on a branch far above the ground. She wasn't close enough for Ranma to see the unnatural greenish light pulsing in her eyes. He didn't need to see that to know something was wrong. It was what he heard, or rather still didn't hear. Kodachi remained silent. There was no sound of laughter, no boasts or declarations of love for Ranma. Nothing but the gentle whisper of the wind.
A second person stood on the same tree branch. Ukyou was having a much harder time balancing since a gymnastics ribbon bound her legs together. A second acted as a gag, preventing her from speaking. The third pinned her arms to her sides. Kodachi gripped the end of this last ribbon.
The gymnast waited till she knew Ranma saw Ukyou, then placed a gymnastics club between the other girl's shoulder blades and pushed. Ukyou fell forward at an angle and suddenly stopped, her weight supported by the slender ribbon. If the gymnast released her grip, Ukyou would fall. If Ukyou's feet lost their purchase on the tree branch, she would fall.
He wasn't sure what to do.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu woke and put his hand to the side of his head. It came away sticky with blood.
This new habit of getting clubbed over the head by female martial artists is not enjoyable. At least Kodachi isn't likely to claim me as husband material.
The room was in worse condition than when the girl rendered him unconscious. The desk had been sliced in two and the same thing must have happened to Akane's helpless pet. The last thing he recalled was Azusa running deeper into the room, searching for the monster. Logic suggested Ranma and the other martial artists had followed, so he limped forward.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ikari relaxed. Even if she lost, Kodachi would keep the Mamono Hunter and her Guardian distracted long enough. Now it merely needed to finish off Azusa and...
No, it had a better idea. It sensed the hatred the girl held for it and those it controlled, hatred it could use.
Ikari chuckled again as it prepared to launch a flight of venomous thorns at the girl. Soon she would be merely another puppet to use till her own hatred destroyed her.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou was angry with herself for being captured, but it wasn't really her fault. Each healing spell cast took a share of energy, and she had cast dozens of spells. Now her wobbly legs barely supported the exhausted girl's weight.
She understood why Ranma hesitated at the bottom of the tree. If he attacked Kodachi, she'd release the ribbon and Ukyou would plummet to the concrete. But while he waited, Ikari could send more puppets to attack the distracted Ranma. Using her little remaining strength, Ukyou pushed forward, away from the branch. Kodachi wasn't expecting this and almost didn't release the ribbon in time.
But she did, so only one girl with long dark hair plunged toward the ground. Ukyou had taken a risk; certain Ranma would catch her before impact.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu had a better view of the Mamono this time. It stood bigger than the largest man, but its bark-covered form was hunched forward. Woody spines projected from its back and sides, discouraging barehanded attacks. Several branchlike arms clawed at Azusa and she retreated a bit, still staring defiantly at the monster. It didn't seem to have a head, only a collection of leafy tendrils and there was no sign of how the thing perceived its surroundings.
Konatsu had studied human anatomy as part of his ninja training, but it wouldn't help against this thing. He had no idea where the creature's weak points were, presuming it had any. Maybe if he had an ax, but he didn't even have his sword anymore and for first time he truly regretted that decision. Konatsu did have shuriken and launched a double handful at the Mamono. Most of them stuck in the creature's woody hide, but Ikari ignored both them and him.
The ninja launched a series of punches against the monster's side. He was agile enough to avoid skewering himself on the creature's projecting spikes, but he still didn't seem to be damaging it. The creature continued ignoring the boy. A pair of gnarled brown arms rose and Konatsu realized the creature was about to fire a barrage of thorns at Azusa.
"Get down, you little idiot!"
"Pierre? She turned towards him, ignoring the monster. "Pierre, I knew you'd come for me."
Konatsu said something short and not particularly elegant, then tackled Azusa.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
If he moved quickly enough he could spring from limb to limb and rescue Ukyou. Unfortunately, Ranma had forgotten something. Akane usually just waited to be rescued. Shampoo only needed rescue when she was trapped in her weaker cursed form. Ukyou had the physical and emotional strength to attempt to free herself.
Ranma was leaping between branches when he saw Ukyou fall. The boy twisted in midair, stretching towards his fiancée. His reaching fingers caught the edge of Ukyou's tattered skirt, but it tore free.
He'd sworn he wouldn't fail her again. The ribbon streaming behind Ukyou offered a second target and Ranma snatched for it. This time his hand found a firm grip around the ribbon, but he couldn't reach the branches anymore. Both teens plummeted towards the unyielding ground.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Soft? Warm? Round?
Konatsu lay atop Azusa. His eyes widened as he saw her cheeks turn pink, like her version of the Mamono Hunter Dress, while her lips were pursed in surprise. Both teens stared at his hands and just where they were.
I thought this kind of stuff only happened to Ranma.
"Ooh, Pierre, you're so aggressive."
He pushed himself off of the girl, trying to ignore her short involuntary gasp and rising to his knees. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to..."
"Pierre?"
Konatsu fell heavily to the floor. He couldn't feel the thorns stuck in his back, but he guessed he'd been hit at several times. He did feel the poison in those thorns, burning their way through his veins, seeking to force him into Ikari's service. Konatsu's body writhed as the flesh mirrored the contest of wills between the ninja and the Mamono.
The faces of the female ninja who raised him to be a girl formed before his eyes, faces full of ugliness, a physical ugliness that couldn't match the ugliness of their souls. These cruel, manipulative women were the closest things he had to family and they had abused that. It would be easy to hate them, and Ikari probed for that.
But Konatsu didn't hate his false family anymore, he pitied them. He'd seen the strength and warmth of Ukyou's kind and generous spirit and freed himself from the darkness of the life he had lived. Those poor pathetic women were still trapped in the darkness; their only companions the other members of the clan. The punishment they inflicted on each other was worse than any vengeance Konatsu was willing to inflict. They weren't worth hating.
Ikari focused new images in Konatsu's mind. Ukyou appeared, her mouth curved in a smile, her eyes gleaming with joy. Konatsu's heart twisted as he knew this look would never be for him. This was Ukyou thinking of Ranma, dreaming of Ranma. She never looked at Konatsu this way and he knew she never would.
But he could never hate her. She never led him on, never gave him the slightest hint she might consider him to be anything more than a friend. Sorrow, that was his, but never, ever hatred of Lady Ukyou.
The Mamono wasn't finished with him. He saw Ukyou again, but her eyes were clouded by tears, her face downcast, her shoulders slumped. This was the look Ukyou tried to hide from everyone - the sad, lonely, rejected little girl. The one who was forgotten and abandoned by her peers, by her family. By Ranma.
Ikari sensed the opening in Konatsu's defenses and pulsing energy surged. Konatsu fought the urge to hate Ranma for the ways he hurt Ukyou, but Ikari was strong and used to manipulating others. In some way, the ninja sensed that. He was tired of being manipulated, tired of being controlled by others. He knew if he hurt Ranma, he would hurt Ukyou and he clung to that knowledge as the wave of dark energy washed through his soul.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hinako didn't expect to find a bound Ukyou lying atop a semi-conscious Ranma. He'd shielded her from the fall with his body. Ukyou's eyes darted back and forth, trying to signal something to the teacher. Hinako decided it would be simpler to remove the gag around the girl's mouth.
"Kodachi. Watch out."
Hinako dodged back, narrowly avoiding the lash of the whiplike gymnastics ribbon.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Azusa stepped past the contorted body of the boy she called Pierre. Hatred glowed in her eyes, but it was her hatred, not the poisonous product of the Mamono's control. Her voice sounded low and even and not the tiniest bit cute.
"You hurt Pierre. You hurt Charlotte."
She paused. Any martial artist could have sensed chi energy building. When Azusa grew angry she was capable of feats of tremendous strength. She had moved well beyond mere anger.
"Kawaii no Kamaitachi!"
Vaguely, Konatsu wondered what kind of technique would be called the Cutting Whirlwind of Cuteness, even as pain wracked his body. Azusa held her strange bladed staff level at her waist and began spinning in a tight circle, using her rollerblades to pirouette almost as fast as she could on ice skates. The girl's features blurred and the staff began whirring from the speed.
A demented pink top named Azusa spun towards Ikari. The creature contemptuously extended a vinewrapped arm to swat her away. There was a buzzing noise and the limb disintegrated in a spray of splinters and greenish sap.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou struggled against the bindings, but Kodachi showed a skill at knot tying that made one wonder if it was another of her bizarre hobbies. She felt Ranma shift underneath her as he regained consciousness and her heart leaped with joy. She rolled off him and looked closely at his face.
"Ranchan?"
His eyes fluttered twice and then opened.
"Ucchan, are you alright?"
She smiled. Now that her fiancé was awake she was sure he'd defeat Kodachi and then the Mamono.
She was wrong twice.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
He felt the poison in his veins subside. Some of it was his struggle in the battle of wills, but most of it was because of Azusa. The Mamono had been twice, perhaps three times her height and many times her weight, but now it looked like someone had fed chunks of it into a tree shredder and scattered them across the room. The mangled creature still moved feebly, but it was too badly maimed to attack or escape.
Azusa spun to a stop and bounded up and down with glee. "I did it! I did it! I beat the icky Mamono! Now Pierre has to go on a date with me!"
Konatsu shuddered, but decided a date with the little skater was probably better than being possessed by the Mamono.
Probably.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ranma only had time to untie Ukyou's arms before Kodachi attacked. It remained a mystery how the Black Rose concealed so many gymnastics weapons beneath her skimpy leotard, but she flung them with a fury that kept Ranma and Hinako occupied with dodging. Ukyou's legs were still securely bound, leaving her unable to avoid the missiles, so Ranma scooped his fiancée into his arms, dodging for her.
Suddenly, Kodachi hesitated. The marionette's strings were severed and she finally felt the effect of the pressure points Ranma had struck earlier. Limbs froze and Kodachi fell from the tree. Hinako stepped forward to catch the girl, but Kodachi still retained some control of her body. The dark-haired gymnast had seen she could never win Ranma's love, never even gain his attention for long.
No one really cares about me. No one would miss me. I have no friends and my family is too wrapped in their obsessions to care what happens to me.
She remembered the dark and beautiful dream she'd envisioned before Ikari seized control of her life.
A beautiful broken angel suspended between heaven and earth. A vision of black and white and red swinging in the gentle breeze.
Kodachi forced a paralyzed arm to move. A ribbon lashed out, wrapping around the tree limb. The other end wrapped securely around her own neck.
Three people watched in horror as Kodachi plunged towards the ground. She was smiling.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Azusa stopped her victory dance, suddenly realizing what she must look like. Her hair was hacked short in a hideous bowl cut and she was covered with splinters and greenish sap.
I'm not cute anymore and Pierre can see I'm not cute.
Streams of water poured from Azusa's eyes as the horror of that thought struck her. She stood motionless for a moment and then fled, tears still streaming from her eyes.
Konatsu didn't know what was wrong, but he limped after her, hoping he could help the girl.
Ikari lay in a ruined heap behind them, a limbless lump wrapped in pain. The fools! I'm not finished yet. This part of me is almost helpless, but I left a part of myself back in the greenhouse. The monster focused on the link, intending to transport its spirit to safety, like it had before when in fled the inferno of Ryugenzawa.
But the link was gone, erased as it had never existed.
How? The Mamono Hunter is here. The Guardian is here. The Assistant is here. How? How?
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Steel flashed through the air. A sharpened mini spatula severed the ribbon wrapped around Kodachi's neck and stuck quivering into the tree. The gymnast wanted to curse as her consciousness faded and Miss Hinako caught the falling girl. The weight and something more drove the teacher to her knees and she trembled for a moment before turning to Ranma and Ukyou.
"I'll make sure she gets to the hospital," Hinako promised. There was sorrow in her eyes.
"Right, me and Ucchan will get the Mamono."
"Ranchan?"
"Yes?"
She was about to remind her fiancé that he still carried her in his arms, but maybe now wasn't the best time for that. She had a brief image of both of them dressed far more formally as he carried her across the threshold and smiled.
"Ucchan?"
"What? Oh yeah, thanks saving me."
"Umm, sure. Hey, maybe I oughta put you down. After we get the ribbons off your legs. Not that I'm trying to say you're heavy or nothing, it's just..."
"Ranchan?"
"Yeah?"
"Nevermind," she sighed.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Exhausted, she leaned heavily on him as they cautiously explored the Principal's office. The mangled Mamono had struggled only a few feet into the undergrowth by the time they found it.
"What happened to it?"
"I dunno, Ucchan, but I think the Mamono's dead."
"It's still moving a little." She shut her eyes. "It's weak, but it's not dead. And it's starting to infest the plants. And the floorboards, too."
"Let me give you room to do that magic stuff of yours, then." He stepped back and she dropped to her knees. Still, banishing the creature was a formality, but tiring enough that Ukyou had difficulty standing afterwards. Ranma lifted her in his arms again.
"Don't worry, Ucchan, I'll get you home."
The sleepy girl leaned her head against Ranma's bare shoulder and smiled. She glanced up to see him gazing back at her. She wanted to kiss him, but she felt too tired for even that. Hesitantly, Ranma smiled back. Ukyou smiled even more broadly.
I'm with Ranchan. Everything will be alright.