Chap 8: Stubborn Akane
Draco and Shadowcobra witnessed the large explosion. The Snake Knight was able to scan the area with his mind and smirk formed under his helmet. His partner, the Dragon Knight, wondered what was going on and if their two new Inzecter wielding friends were successful.
"They did it," Shadowcobra said. He then took out his SNK-Phone. "The pervert is down. Time for to take him into custody."
"Are we going to lock him up?" Draco asked. "I mean, he is just an old man."
"A very dangerous and perverted old man," Shadowcobra clarified for his young friend. "Don't waste your sympathy on him. For the things he's done, he's lucky we haven't handed him over to the Amazons. They would skin him alive."
Draco agreed. His cousin and great-grandmother seemed to possess a dislike for Happosai. It was obviously from the old letch's habit of fondling women without their consent. It was that and the fact that he had stolen a couple hundred of their treasures from them.
Both Knights then used their respective powers to fly towards the battle scene. For Draco, it was a combination of his fire and telekinesis. He used the flames that were shooting out of his feet to keep him airborne while using his telekinesis to maneuver himself. As for Shadowcobra, he was just flying alongside Draco. Draco knew his friend was a vampangel and flight came naturally to him even when he didn't use his wings. The wings were just a symbol of his power rather than implements for flight.
Both Caucasus and Stinger looked down in disgust at the sooty form of Happosai. Their finisher had been able to counter the perverted grandmaster's final attack and put him down for the count. Sure there was that explosion but they'd caused collateral damage before so nothing to bat an eye at.
"How…how could you…?" Happosai struggled to say, moaning in pain. "I'm…supposed to be…the strongest…"
"What you are is the biggest pervert on the face of the Earth," Caucasus spat.
"And it's high time you disappear for good," Stinger cracked his knuckles.
"My sentiments exactly," Shadowcobra spoke as he landed and walked towards them, Draco following behind. "We have a nice empty cell for you."
"You're gonna lock him up?" Stinger wondered. "Won't he bust out?"
"You are seriously underestimating Smart Brain engineering," Shadow snickered, something he rarely did.
"Hey, where'd he go?" Draco asked and the other three looked down to see Happosai missing. Shadowcobra looked to see the perverted master sneaking away.
"Oh, no you don't!" Shadowcobra shouted. "Draco, freeze him!"
"Hai!" Draco shouted before firing a wide ice beam at Happosai. He would've gotten away with it had it not been for him suddenly being bound to his own shadow. He was frozen from head to toe so they wouldn't have to hear him complaining.
"He's a sneaky one," Caucasus reminded.
"Right," Shadowcobra said as Draco walked over and picked up the frozen letch. "There should be a transport carrier coming over. Then, we'll have Happosai locked up good and tight."
The four Operatives watched as the armored truck drove off with their cargo. The transporters had been given strict instruction to not let Happosai loose. For someone like him, suspended animation was the best choice until proper rehabilitation methods were provided…whenever that would be.
"I haven't felt this good in a long time," Ranma snickered. "Finally the old perv gets what he deserves."
"About damn time," Ryoga growled.
"I suppose congratulations are in order," Ichijyo nodded towards the two martial artists. "But don't think that this is the end. You both still have training to go through and we will make sure that you get through it. Besides, I'm rather sure that we'll be seeing more people from Nerima sooner or later."
"Training sounds good," Ranma snickered. "I'll beat your cobra-style before you know it."
"Then by all means try, Ranma," Ichijyo snickered. "I could use the exercise."
Ryoga still cast a glare at Ranma, but after the talk he had with Ichijyo he began to do some thinking. All his life, his only drive was to beat Ranma and blame every of his misfortunes on the pigtailed martial artist. He never stopped to think that maybe all the bad things that had happened to him were a result of his own foolish judgment. It would take some time to let it all go but for now maybe he could focus. Ichijyo actually offered him a job and from what he'd been told being an Operative for Smart Brain paid good money. Also, he was being enrolled in a place called the Red Horse Institute. He didn't have a place to stay so he would be sleeping in Smart Brain. An apartment would be provided for him. He wanted to stay with Akane but maybe it would be best if he stayed on his own. Both Ranma and Akane were staying with Hagemoto.
"But, for now, we should get some rest," Ichijyo said, "Your first day in school begins tomorrow."
"You sure you won't get lost, Ryoga?" Ranma teased as Rypga blanched. A buzzing sound could be heard as the Stinger Inzecter landed upon Ryoga's head.
"I got something here to help with that problem," Ryoga said.
"Remember, you two," Ichijyo warned. "Keep the existence of those Inzecters a secret."
"Alright," Ranma said.
"Gotcha," Ryoga said.
Ichijyo stretched and yawned. "Right now, I need to get back to the office to do some more paperwork. I need to write a report for this too. Please, write up your own accounts too."
Ranma and Ryoga blinked.
"Reports?" Ranma asked.
"You want us to write reports?" Ryoga asked also.
"Hai," Ryuki spoke. "All missions must have a detailed report written and archived for future references." He rubbed the back of his head. He had written his own fair share of reports.
"OK…" Ranma said. His penmanship wasn't all that good and he'd never touched a computer in his life. Ryoga was good at calligraphy but writing a report? That was not something a martial artist was supposed to learn.
Ichijyo mounted his bike as Ryuki rode in the side car. "You both know how to get home. Consider this training," Ichijyo said before putting on his helmet. "Good night."
"Bye," Ryuki waved before the vehicle drove off.
The next day…
Ichijyo was in his office looking over the reports that Ranma and Ryoga had written. He frowned a bit as he looked them over. Both were barely a page long and they lacked formal wording when it came to describing the mission. They also wrote similarly.
Ichijyo read, "Kicked old geezer's butt." That was from Ranma's report. Ryoga's review was more descriptive but it also was more like, "Kicked and punched old geezer over and over again using Clock Up." He sighed as he leaned back in his seat. He now knew that giving them a more formal education was a good idea. The reports had been handwritten. Although Ryoga's handwriting was good but as for Ranma's…he had trouble reading them.
The door of his office loudly slammed open as he gazed up to see Akane marching towards him. She had an angry frown on her face as she slammed both palms onto his desk.
"I want an Inzecter, NOW!" she demanded.
The secretary came in, looking flustered. "Sir, I tried to stop her!" the secretary said. "Should I call security?" Ichijyo calmly raised a hand to shush her.
"No, it's fine. Go back to your desk," Ichijyo said. "And close the door on your way out." The secretary bowed and left, leaving him and Akane alone. "Why the sudden need for an Inzecter?"
"I saw what Ranma could do with it!" Akane exclaimed, "And he was bragging about it all night." Ichijyo noted that Ranma had a habit with bragging. It must be his arrogance. He allowed her to continue, "I want one! I know you can give me one so hand it over!"
"Miss Tendo," Ichijyo replied calmly, looking her in the eye. She may look intimidating but he'd faced Trigon before and compared to Akane, nothing was as frightening to him save for clowns. He explained, "Smart Brain Corporation does not produce systems like that on a whim. It requires a lot of money and resources to make even one of those Inzecters. The materials don't come cheap either. Ranma's alone cost nearly 10, 000, 000, 000 Yen to make." Akane gasped but then gave him a narrowed eye look.
"Then make one for me! I know you can do it!" Akane demanded once more.
"Even if I do, the Inzecters are the one who choose who they wish to wield them," Ichijyo said. "We can't program them to pick someone we want. Their advanced AI allows them to judge anyone who is worthy." He then stood up, "In other words, you aren't." Ichijyo saw the fist hurling towards his head. He knew Akane was impulsive and resorted to violence when things didn't go her way. He would've just caught it but decided to have fun. A split second before the fist made impact, he turned his body intangible and she stumbled, causing her to fall over the desk and land her chin on it hard. Ichijyo made himself solid again and walked around the desk to stand behind Akane again.
"HEY!" Akane yelled, whirling around in anger.
"What, did you expect me to just take your hit? Dream on!" Ichijyo scoffed.
Akane roared and threw her fists and kicks at the CEO but he had his hands behind his back as she dodged her strikes. He would either move out of the way or allow her to run through him by going intangible. He had no reason to fight back. To him, Akane was comparable to a young child throwing a tantrum that needed to get it out of her system.
Growling with rage, Akane summoned her mallet, much to Ichijyo's shock before swinging it at his head. He smirked as he raised up his hand and caught the weapon before elbowing her hard in the stomach. She went sailing and crashing into the bookcase.
"Quite the ability," Ichijyo said, impressed by the mallet. "I see you use it once you're angry enough."
Akane pushed herself up. She was not going to lose to Ichijyo. No way. With a loud yell, she charged at him again.
A mirror behind the CEO rippled and a long purple shape suddenly burst out of it. Akane was caught off guard as she was suddenly caught in the clutches of a large purple cobra that was coiled around her. Her arms were trapped, pinned to her sides as she struggled, screaming, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Her screaming and struggling ceased when the large cobra revealed its fangs to her, dripping with venom as its tongue slithered out, hissing. Its eyes stared deeply into hers as she froze with terror.
She was scared. Truly horrified and filled with uttermost terror as the large reptile looked at her like she was food.
"Genosnaker, release her," Ichijyo ordered the large cobra. The Mirror Monster he had contracted looked at him quizzically before his glare intensified, "Now." Getting the message clear, Genosnaker began to uncoil and loosen its grip on Akane before slithering back into the Mirror World via the mirror. Akane was on her knees, frozen in shock, eyes wide and skin pale. Ichijyo doubt she'd recover. She nearly met death in the eye.
Taking a glass of water, he splashed the contents into her face.
"Hey!" Akane cried angrily. "What was that for?!"
"You were frozen in shock," Ichijyo sighed. He placed the glass back on his desk before turning back to Akane. "Now, if this little romp hasn't shown you why you aren't worthy then I think you'd be better off going back to Nerima."
"No way!" Akane shouted. "Ranma's going to lord that Inzecter over everyone's heads!"
"I'll admit that Ranma has a habit to brag," Ichijyo shrugged. "But don't you think he's entitled to it this time considering all the problems that Happosai has put everyone through?"
"But he's such an arrogant jerk!" Akane huffed. "If daddy and Mr. Saotome hear about this then they'll hunt us down and try to force us in front of a priest to get us married!"
Ichijyo sighed inwardly at her spiel about her father and his friend. His files on them showed they were notoriously cowardly and would try to use any chance they could get to get their children married. Hearing how Ranma and Ryoga defeated Happosai would be no different.
"Calling someone you love an arrogant jerk? I guess you and Ranma have more in common than you think," Ichijyo commented.
"I-I don't love Ranma!" Akane denied.
Ichijyo tapped his forehead, "I'm an empath, Ms. Tendo. When it involves emotions, you can't lie to me." Akane looked away. "And the matter regarding your fathers is something I can easily take care of for you."
"Really?" Akane asked, sounding interested.
Ichijyo smirked and asked, "Do you know what emancipation means?"
"What's that?" asked Akane.
"Basically, it means that you can live on your own before the legal age of adulthood," Ichijyo explained. "It is usually reserved for people coming out of the foster care system or those who have parents that are unfit to raise them."
"But I'd still be a Tendo and Ranma would still be a Saotome," Akane frowned. "Our fathers would still try to force us together."
"They could try," Ichijyo nodded. "However, you'd have the legal standing to get them arrested for harassment. In fact, you could get the police to make them back off whenever they try. I suspect that's why they were so determined to get you two married. If you two didn't get married before you turned eighteen, then they wouldn't be able to force you anymore."
Akane blinked in surprise. Could it be that simple?
"Why Shampoo need go to school?" Shampoo whined as she stood in front of Emiko, clad only in her bra and panties as the woman measured her. "Not need go before."
"All children under 18 need to go to school to get an education, Shampoo-chan," Emiko advised. After discussing the matter with Cologne, Mousse and Shampoo had been enrolled in the Red Horse Institute. They were going to be put in the same year as Akane and Ranma. "And, you also need to work on your Japanese vocabulary. Your grammar is atrocious."
"Shampoo try," the Amazon pouted.
"It's 'I will try'," Emiko corrected. Emiko was going to take it upon herself to teach her niece how to talk proper Japanese and even English. The girl, she knew, was intelligent, but lacked a formal education.
"Where Mousse and cousin?" Shampoo asked curiously.
"Oh, Ryuki-kun is out with Jinxy-chan," Emiko answered. "And I'm not sure where Mousse is. He might've gotten himself lost without his glasses."
"Mousse no get lost," Shampoo shook her head, "Has good sense of direction. Just really bad eyesight."
Emiko knew the latter to be extremely true.
After giving Akane all the information she would need to get herself legally emancipated, Ichijyo calmly sat down on his chair. At the moment, he was looking over a few files. He'd also sent some operatives to investigate Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo's background. He needed to gain some leverage over them. Business was all about leverage and gaining an advantage over your opponents. It was a dirty game and Ichijyo was one of the best players. He would never cheat but he would take advantage of any weaknesses his opponents had.
He was trying to get all of Ranma's engagements dissolved. He didn't know why but after finding out some information regarding the 10 years of training he'd gone through with his father, he shuddered to think that a human could put their child through that. It was one of the many reasons he disliked humans. He could actually get Genma put in prison for a very, very, long time for child abuse and neglect as well as cheating people.
Maybe Ryuki was rubbing off on him. He was actually caring for others.
Ichijyo tapped his fingers together as he waited. An hour ago he had called in a favor with a certain Mister Antonitis Fenton McCrown, or Ant as he was known by his friends.
Ichijyo didn't really hate Ant, but the guy was among the number of people who could really get on his nerves. Pluto and Beast Boy were on that list along with Cyborg since they were always together to cause a lot trouble. Their first meeting had been a bit shaky, but Ichijyo started to respect Ant despite his eccentricities.
He heard a knock on his door and said, "Come in." Ant soon entered and smiled at Ichijyo and waved.
"Hey, Desmond," Ant greeted.
"Did you bring them?" Ichijyo asked the other gentleman. Ant nodded and turned to the door, "Come in, you two."
The first to enter was a Japanese youth of eighteen wearing a pair of camouflage cargo pants and purple and white sneakers. He wore a white and purple tie-dyed t-shirt and a brown cap on his head. He also wore a pair of large headphones around his neck with the wire attached to an iPod clipped to a belt on his waist. What was interesting about this youth was his striking purple eyes and the long streak of purple hair that came down over the right side of his face. He seemed to dance into the room while hip-hop music came from the headphones. He then grinned as he snapped his fingers, pointing at Ichijyo.
"Are you the one who called?" he then cupped a hand over his ear, "I don't hear an answer."
The second figure to enter was, well…he wasn't human anyway. He was white from head to toe and had a golden breastplate. He had blue eyes and wings flanking his head. His collar had feathered edges. His color was reminiscent to that of a swan. He also had an air of superiority around him, like he thought he was royalty of something. Standing next to the youth, he introduced himself, "Call me, Sieg or Prince Sieg if you like."
"Meet Ryutaros and Sieg," Ant introduced. "Ryutaros doesn't have a solid body so he had to possess this kid right here. This is Ryotaro Nogami, also known as Den-O."
Ichijyo nodded and stepped over to Ryu-Ryotaro and Sieg. He took a look at both and asked, "Did Ant tell you why I've called you both here?" Ryu-Ryotaro nodded as Sieg only shrugged. I need you two for a mission." Reaching into his coat, he pulled out two photographs. One was a picture of Ranma while the other was a picture of Ryoga. "These two are my new recruits, and I know they have great potential. However, I need people to test them." He handed the pictures to both Sieg and Ryu-Ryotaro. Ryu-Ryotaro gazed at Ranma's picture and smirked.
"Could be fun!" Ryu-Ryoutaro laughed.
"To be used for grunt work," Sieg sighed, "Not something I would do."
"You both will be appropriately compensated," Ichijyo added.
"Yeah! Can I have candy and comics and a lot of fun stuff?" Ryu-Ryotaro asked eagerly.
"I do require…a large amount of money that is right for my status," Sieg said.
"Of course, he can blend in," said Ichijyo, pointing to Ryu-Ryotaro who was looking around the office before turning to the large TV and watching cartoons. "You, on the other hand…"
"Don't worry, Mr. Amakusa," said Sieg, "I have an ability that can help me. All I need is to find a singularity point." Sieg then turned into a baseball sized golden orb and flew out of the office.
"A singularity point?" Ichijyo asked Ant. "Is there one here?"
"As far as I know, there's always at least one anywhere," Ant said.
Ichijyo phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?" There were a few seconds of silence as he listened. "I see. Very well. I'll be there." He then hung up.
"Trouble?" Ant asked.
"More or less," Ichijyo sighed. "Please, make sure that Ryutaros finds Ranma. Right now, I need to oversee a possible recruit." He then pressed down on a button and vanished into a hole under his chair.
Akane was adamant and very stubborn. She was also very annoying. She had been asking Ichijyo (more like telling him) to give her a chance to prove herself worthy. Ichijyo finally gave into her request/demand just to get her to shut up.
Akane, in her training gi, entered into the training chamber. In the control room were Ichijyo and Prof. Murata.
"You sure about this?" Prof. Murata asked her boss. "She's just a normal girl as far as my readings go."
"She wanted to prove herself," Ichijyo said. "I say we give her what she wants."
"OK, what am I supposed to do?" Akane called as her voice came out of the intercom system. Pressing a button, Ichijyo spoke into it.
"Just relax and make it through the simulation."
Akane cracked her knuckles. This was going to be easy.
Prof. Murata's hand went towards the dial that determined the difficulty level. The levels were labeled from 1 to 13. The higher levels were labeled as 'Extreme Danger', 'Fatal' and 'ARE YOU NUTS!?'. The last one was obviously Takada's doing but it did reflect the level of danger.
"Let's start with a low level," Ichijyo said. "Start at 7."
"7!?" Yuriko shouted, "But that's only for the special Operatives!"
"She wants to be one, then she should know what she'll be getting into," Ichijyo stated. "Now, start the simulation!"
"Yes, sir," Murata sighed as she spun the dial on 7. 'Good luck, Akane Tendo, you're gonna need it.'
Akane, as Ichijyo observed, was a spoiled brat. She was used to getting things her way. Ichijyo, however, was going to give her a wake up call and if facing extreme danger wouldn't work, he would deal with her personally.
Akane was trying to be patient as she stood in the middle of the somewhat bland room. Ichijyo had told her that she was going to wait in the room while they got the training simulation operatives went through ready. The gothic young man told her that if she could pass this training then he would make her an operative and even look into seeing if they could make an Inzector for her.
"Come on," she sighed impatiently. "What's taking so long?"
The sounds of machinery began echoing through the room and Akane felt her muscles tensed. She knew she was prepared for anything. If she could survive Nerima along with Ranma, then there was nothing she couldn't take.
"Simulation Initiated," spoke a digital voice.
"Huh?"
Panels in the floor suddenly opened up and strange devices came out. They had a glowing lens with a slot just underneath it. Aane's eyes widened as she saw that a veritable storm of shuriken were being launched at her from them.
"Yow!" she cried as she leaped to dodge the attack. Some tears were opened as small cuts were revealed. She wasn't able to dodge totally unscathed and then yelled, "What the hell is this!?"
Ichijyo's voice came through the speaker, "This is your qualification exam, so to speak. Try to survive with the least amount of damage. Good luck." He added darkly, "You're going to need it."
"Wait!" Akane shouted.
Akane looked to see the shuriken launchers aimed right at her and scrambled to dodge. This was unlike any kind of training she was used to. This was nuts!
Prof. Murata looked worriedly as Ichijyo crossed his arms calmly. If Akane was smart, she would've realized that the weapons were hooked up to motion sensors. If she were to move, they would attack. Reading her file, he knew that thinking while in battle was not her strong point. She often relied on brute force and not speed.
He had read up on a few of Akane's past experiences. The Inzecter, if used by her, would only be another shortcut. Similar examples would be the Super Soba and Battle Dogi. If she was going to get an Inzecter, she was going to have to earn it, through blood, swear and tears.
"Shouldn't we stop this?" Prof. Murata asked Ichijyo.
"Let me offer her that option," Ichijyo said before speaking into the microphone. "You know, you can tell us to stop."
As usual, Akane's stubborn nature won out and not common sense, "I am not giving up! I can do this!" Ichijyo sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Activate the lasers," Ichijyo said. Prof. Murata reluctantly activated them.
The shurikens launchers had stopped firing and Akane was relieved. They were a lot of tears and cuts in her gi. Suddenly, she heard panels above her opening up and 15 guns dropped down. They aimed at her and began firing rapidly. Akane, since she could not jump high enough to get to the guns, ran.
"What am I supposed to do!?" Akane shouted as one of the lasers grazed her arm. "OW!"
"One word: Survive," Ichijyo said. He watched in slight amusement as Akane began to run for her life from the lasers. They were set on a low setting. They weren't fatal but they were pretty painful. Akane would need to learn, first hand, that power was useless if you did not have the skill to properly use it.
It would later be called the Five Minutes of Hell in Akane's mind. The simulation ended very quickly when a metal tentacle tripped her before a giant saw blade put itself to her throat. She could actually feel the cutting edge nick her skin.
"Simulation complete," a computerized voice spoke. When it did, all the death traps pulled themselves into the ground. Once they were all gone, the doors opened and Ichijyo came walking in.
"Congratulations," he nodded. "You're dead."
"That's not fair!" Akane snapped. "No one can survive that!"
"I can," Ichijyo replied. "A number of my operatives are capable of surviving this easily and before I'm through with them, so will Ryoga and Ranma. If they aren't capable of it already."
Akane growled in anger. She wanted so much to punch that smug look off his face but knew how useless it would be. She would just go right through him if she attempted to attack him again like before. She, however, complained again, "This isn't training! It's like a death trap or something!"
Ichijyo, unfazed, calmly explained, "This simulator, also known as the Danger Room, is used to simulate the level of danger the operatives would be facing in the field. Operatives would be facing life threatening danger and special operatives would be facing powerful super criminals on missions. What you faced just now was a low setting."
"That was low!?" she shouted, shocked.
"Well, low for a special operative like Ryuki for example," Ichijyo said. He recalled Ryuki's progress. "He's already aced level 11."
"And what level was I at?" Akane asked suspiciously.
"7," Ichijyo answered without hesitation.
"Were you trying to kill me!?" she screamed, her fists clenched.
"No," he shook his head. "If I wanted you dead I'd let the buzz saw slice your head off." Akane gulped slightly at the threat. It was just so cold and emotionless. "As amusing as watching you run for your life, this was to show you the true level of danger an operative would face to warrant the power of the Inzecter."
"So, why can't I use an Inzecter in here?" Akane asked. Ichijyo shook his head.
"This room is to see if someone is worthy to use such power," Ichijyo said. "But…if you're still not satisfied, let me show you how it's done."
"You'll just use those freaky powers again," Akane grumbled. Ichijyo heard her. He didn't take too kindly to being referred to as a freak.
"Just go to the infirmary to get your injuries treated," Ichijyo hissed. "Then report back here to see how it's really done."
OK, sorry for the late update. Anyway, it was a friend of mine, Brave Kid, who suggested I put the cast of Den-O in here.