The Wild Wind And The Scarlet Sea
By: Jaqui K
Chapter 2: Waking Nightmares
"Oh my, this is quite lovely weather today, isn't it."
Akane agreed with her older sister as they walked along the sand. Indeed, it was unseasonably warm out despite the partly cloudy sky, meaning the tracksuit she was currently wearing over her swimsuit ended up not being necessary.
"Yeah," Nabiki agreed, already clad in just a string bikini and sunglasses. "Never expected I would get to show off the perfect tan for my first day of school. I'm a little curious about your current attire though, Saotome."
"Hey! What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" asked the currently dark haired Ranma who was clad in a tank top and shorts.
"Nothing really, if you don't count the fact that every time we've gone to the beach so far, you'd always have a new cute swimsuit to show off." Nabiki then flashed a malicious grin. "Or perhaps you're already wearing your new one under that."
"W-what?! No, of course not!" Ranma loudly declared, nervously glancing back at his mother.
"What was that, my son?" Nodoka asked, quickly catching up to the group. Akane couldn't help but be amazed that the Saotome woman somehow managed to not look out of place while wearing a full kimono at the beach.
"Oh, we were just talking about how strange it is that Ranma doesn't have an adorable swimsuit to show off this time."
"I see," Nodoka said, looking off into the distance while clutching her wrapped katana a little harder. She then turned back to them with a smile. "That's a very good point. Ranma dear, if you are going to go swimming, you need to make sure to wear the proper attire."
"Uh, oh yeah, of course!" Ranma said with a laugh while rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just that, you know, cause it's so early in the year, I haven't had a chance to buy a new swimsuit. That's all. Um, besides, even though it's a nice day out, I bet that water is still freezing cold."
"Now now," Nodoka chastised, "I'm sure some chilly water would be no problem for my manly son. Which is why I made sure to pack one of your old swimsuits. It's the one you had on the last time we all went to the beach together, right before I found out…" She trailed off, looking into the distance once more before quickly turning back to them again. "Yes, I'm certain you'll still look so adorable in it."
"Oh, I bet you're going to look just the cutest, Ranma," Akane said with a big grin of her own. "And on top of that, today's the day you're going to help me finally learn how to swim,"
"Gee, I don't know, Sis," Nabiki commented. "Unless hypothermia helps people float, I'm not sure today is a good day for that."
"Actually, this might work out the best for her," Kasumi said, deep in thought. "If I recall correctly, colder water is meant to be denser, so that should greatly improve Akane's chances."
"Really? Oh, that's perfect, Sis," Akane said with a new gleam in her eyes as she looked over to the water once again. Oh yeah, she definitely had it today. Nothing was going to stop her this time.
Soon they arrived at the perfect spot on the beach, which really wasn't hard to find as there was almost no one else there. Her father and the panda soon arrived with all of their gear, and they started to set up. As they did so, Akane couldn't help but notice the nervous looks Ranma had, especially when he glanced over to the rolling waves of the water nearby.
"You are going to help me swim today, right Ranma?" Akane said with only the slightest of sterness in her voice.
"Huh? Oh, yeah of course I'm gonna. I swam to China and back after all. I'm like the best teacher you could ask for." Ranma gave a big laugh, which quickly faded to another nervous look as he looked at the ocean again. "Um, well…hey, why don't we set up the volleyball net and get a good workout in first?"
"Well, I guess it'd be good to build up a bit of a sweat before going in the water," Akane responded, someone annoyed, but finding herself really unable to argue with that logic.
"Make sure to set it up far away from here," Nabiki warned. "As soon as the sky clears up, I'm going to take advantage of it, and I won't let your dumb meathead competitiveness get in the way of my tan again."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure Ranma's stupidity doesn't disturb you in any way, your highness," Akane replied as she took off her tracksuit, revealing the functional yet still very cute one piece underneath. She spared a quick glance over to see if her fiancé noticed how she looked. Not that she actually cared or anything about what the idiot thought, of course.
"Oh, I was also including you in that warning, dear sister."
"What?" Akane shot a glare over to Nabiki. "I am not a competitive meathead! Now let's go, Ranma, so I can kick your ass!"
The two headed out a fair ways away to set up for their one on one game. Looking over, Akane noticed that Ranma was already starting to sweat slightly from the noonday sun occasionally peeking out of the clouds briefly and reflecting off the sand. "Aren't you going to change first?" she asked.
"Huh?" Ranma looked at Akane with a confused expression.
"Well, it's just…when it's really hot out you usually spend your time in your girl form. I just thought you handled the heat better that way."
"Oh, um…" Ranma quickly went into his usual annoying cocky stance. "Nah, I'm fine. It's not really that hot out." He then flashed an especially annoying grin her way. "I bet you just don't wanna lose to a boy."
Akane took that jab in stride and most certainly didn't bristle at all. "As if I'm going to let you actually beat me. Besides, it doesn't matter what form you're in. You're technically always a boy, right?"
"I…" Ranma looked somewhat taken aback by her words for some reason. "Whatever, tomboy. Let's just get to the part where I wipe the beach with you."
And so the volleyball match commenced between the two. Akane put in as much effort as she could into the game, determined to show just how much she had improved. Even so, at her best she was only able to get within a few points of the arrogant jerk. The worst part was that he was definitely holding back, choosing instead to show off with flashy moves and comments tailor-made to infuriate her.
No, actually the worst part was whenever one of his super spikes deflected off her diving reach to bounce away far from their location and she had to go and retrieve it, all to the stupid jerk's singsong "loser has to get the ball".
Akane's frustration kept building as the idiot continued to show off. Luckily, her chance for revenge soon arrived as one of his lackadaisical toss ups in the air also caused him to stumble on an uneven patch of sand, allowing her to give her own massive spike right off his dumb head. As the ball bounced all the way over to the edge of the water, she gave her own little smirk. "Remember, the loser has to get the ball," she gleefully echoed back.
Ranma grumbled his annoyance as he went to retrieve the errant volleyball, only to stop short a few meters, watching as the ball started to get swept up by the waves. "Uh…oh right. Hey, I'm still in the lead ya know. So that means you still need to get the ball!"
Akane's eyes narrowed and she was about to give a retort when she noticed that Ranma's focus was still on the ball now floating at the edge of the waters. Very carefully, she positioned herself behind the boy and then went into a quick sprint, fully intending to knock the jerk right into the ocean. To her surprise, Ranma managed, without even shifting his gaze away, to sidestep at the last moment, causing her to stumble and fall awkwardly in the water instead.
At the very least, the jerk had the decency to act somewhat concerned. "Akane, you okay?" he asked, taking a step forward, only to immediately backpedal as a large wave came in. Luckily for Akane, her current drowning managed to get superseded by her rage as she quickly sat up in the ankle deep shallows.
"I'm fine. No thanks to you, you jerk!" she yelled out, picking up and hurling the volleyball at the pigtailed martial artist, who casually tilted his head to avoid the projectile.
"Geez, Akane, good thing you're in the water, cause you really need to cool off."
"Oh yeah, well, cool off yourself!" Dammit, she really was looking forward to the first time getting in the ocean this year, and then this idiot had to ruin it. In frustration, Akane sent a splash of water towards Ranma, who very quickly dodged out of the way. She paused in surprise at his reaction before a grin grew on her face. "What, afraid of getting a little wet?" she teased, sending out another splash which he barely avoided with a loud yelp. "Hey girl, come on in, the water's fine." She kept splashing water towards Ranma who kept getting out of the way in an almost panicky manner.
"Dammit, you stupid tomboy, will you cut that-woah!" Ranma started to yell back at Akane only to need to dive away from the large wave she sent at him.
"What's the big deal?" Akane said with a huff and an eye roll. "You're going in the water anyway to help me swim, remember?"
"Yeah well, maybe I just don't feel like getting splashed right now. Ya ever think of that?" Ranma stood up, glaring at her as he covered his bangs with both hands for some reason.
Akane ignored that as she gave a glare right back. "Since when have you had a problem with being a girl at the beach?" Not that she really cared whether or not she'd get to see a fully soaked redhead.
"I…look, it's none of your business, alright?!" Ranma quickly spun around and started to walk away. "Dangit, why'd ya gotta be so uncute today?"
Akane continued to glare at the retreating back of her fiancé, greatly tempted to send out another large wave while he wasn't looking. His bizarre attitude caused her to hold that action though. As she sat there in the waters, feeling the waves occasionally wash by her and trying to figure out that boy's deal, a new thought managed to pour in.
"Hey, you jerk! You're supposed to be teaching me how to swim!"
"Oh my," Kasumi said, watching Ranma storm off from her spot on the beach blanket. "I do hope everything is okay."
"I'm sure it is," Auntie Nodoka replied as Akane could be seen getting up out of the water after a few moments and then following after Ranma. "Oh, I can still remember being that young and in love."
"Oh, you mean with Uncle Genma?" Nabiki casually asked while lounging back, arms crossed behind her head.
Nodoka looked over at the two sisters with a slightly confused expression. "No…" was her reply.
"Oh?" Nabiki inquired, lifting up her sunglasses. "Who was it then?"
A blush started to form on Auntie Nodoka's cheeks. "Oh, it was just a classmate of mine from my highschool days. Yes, we had such a whirlwind romance. Of course, it was never meant to last as we both had our duties to perform. We separated on good terms, but it was heartbreaking, nonetheless. Akane really is quite lucky in that regard."
Kasumi nodded in understanding, using her pleasant smile to once more effortlessly mask her pain. The beautiful music coming from the portable CD player next to her unfortunately only added to her hidden unease. Auntie Nodoka was right; the girl playing the violin was so amazing. It was hard to believe she apparently had only turned 15 recently, which meant she accomplished all of that while still in middle school. Meanwhile Kasumi was never able to perform anything extraordinary during her school career because she had to-
No, no. She shouldn't think like that. She did end up doing something amazing. She was able to help out and support her two wonderful sisters (and to a lesser extent her father, she supposed). Of course, those duties also meant that she wasn't afforded the luxury of romance during her high school days. Not that there weren't opportunities for her, far from it. Kasumi's smile became slightly wistful as her mind wandered back to a certain someone. Perhaps now, if what she discussed with Auntie Nodoka went forward as planned, she would be able to…no, no. Auntie would definitely also be sure to remind her that she was now too old for such things and that she had her own duties to society to perform. Oh well, she was still able to dream. A slight blush colored her cheeks as she leaned back and closed her eyes, picturing once more that beautiful face, framed by emerald green hair.
Ranma walked around the shops across the street from the beach, hoping to find what he needed. This early in the year, most of them ended up still being closed for the season, but he suspected there had to be at least a few that stayed open all year long. And at least one of those would hopefully sell some instant hair dye, or perhaps a hat that could actually fit over his bangs.
"So are you going to finally tell me what's going on?"
He turned to find Akane standing in her swimsuit and sandals, still soaking wet and with her arms crossed.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Frustration was definitely beginning to radiate off the girl. "I was kind of hoping this would be one of those beach days where we didn't get involved in some adventure. That we could just spend some time together, the two of us. I can tell, though, with the way you're acting…So, which one of us do you think is going to end up in the magical swimsuit this time?"
"It ain't anything like that, Akane. And I'm definitely not gonna be wearing any type of swimsuit today, that's for sure. Look, go back to the beach and have fun doing whatever. I'm just not in the mood right now." With that, he turned back around to continue on his store hunting quest, determined not to let any other interruptions stop him.
"Is this because I messed up your chance at getting cured?"
It was only by catching onto the corner of a building that Ranma was able to avoid fully face planting on the ground. Slowly, he turned to look back at the girl who now had a concerned, almost pained look on her face. "You what?"
"You know, the Nannichuan at the wedding. I screwed up your chance to get it and cure your curse."
Ranma somehow managed to keep his expression neutral despite the stabbing reminder of the real reason he was so eager to get to that water. "No you didn't. It was everyone else. If anything, we should blame Nabiki for sending all those invitations. Although, I guess Pops and the old geezer woulda still been there to mess things up."
"Yes, I know it was Happosai who drank the water, but-"
"Could you not say his name please? We haven't seen him since then and I prefer to keep it that way."
"Look, my point is that if I told you about the water right away, you might have been able to get to it before all that went down. But instead, I had to be selfish and demand to know how you really felt right then and there. I…I had to know if those words at Jusendo were…"
"Akane, I…" Ranma turned around, unable to face her at this moment. He felt the frustration swirl around in his heart once again. It took all his efforts to keep it from blowing into a full-on typhoon. No wonder she was starting to go gray. "Sorry you're still stuck engaged to a half-girl freak," he quietly muttered out.
"Ranma…hey, I'm sure if we call up the guide, he'd be willing to send us another cask for you.
Ranma lowered his head, the emotion starting to deflate from his voice. "Yeah, I guess you'll want to do that. It's the only reason you agreed to marry me after all."
"What? You think…Ranma, you idiot! I…"
He turned around to find Akane furiously staring at him. Although the moment eye contact was made, she broke her gaze and looked away to the side. "I wasn't marrying you because of the water," she continued in a somewhat softer voice. "I know how much you wanted that cure."
"What I want? When has anyone ever cared about what I want?" Ranma wasn't sure why he was saying these things now. It was almost as though the wind was on his back and slowly pushing him to continue. "No, it's always about what other people want me to be. The loyal son, the ideal heir, the perfect future husband, a man among men. My entire life, I've had to live up to expectations. I never got the chance to really figure out who I am. Tell me, Akane, who the hell am I even supposed to be?"
"Ranma, you…I…We…" Akane paused, raising one finger and opening and closing her mouth several times. Each time it looked like she was about to say something, but no words came out. Finally, she lowered her hand and turned around, trying not to let her frustration show.
"Yeah, exactly," Ranma said with a light snort. He then paused and looked around, confirming there was no one else in earshot. Maybe he could…or she could…or…Ranma could at least admit that much, just to her.
"Akane," he began, freezing only momentarily when she turned back to look at him again. "Listen, I…I'm sorry, but…I don't…I don't actually want to be…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Ranma and Akane immediately turned towards the loud scream from the direction of the beach.
"What was that?" Akane asked.
"I don't know," Ranma said, trying to figure out the source of the noise. "It kinda sounded like-"
A different cry rang out, this voice he immediately recognized.
"Mom!" Ranma immediately leapt up to the roof of the nearby building so he could get a full view of the beach and the spot where everyone else was. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
There, towering over the group was a gigantic lumpy black mass of…something. There didn't seem to be any discernible features to the thing, other than the protruding insect-like legs that were currently batting away his pops and Mr. Tendo. Nabiki looked to be trapped directly beneath the creature, trembling in agony. Slightly farther away, his mother was lying slumped in Kasumi's arms. The eldest Tendo girl looked terrified, but also prepared to defend the both of them against whatever the hell this thing was.
"Hey, you ugly sack of crap! Get away from them!" Ranma yelled out as he jumped off the roof and ran towards the enemy he was going to defeat. Of course he would. He was Ranma Saotome, and Ranma Saotome doesn't lose, especially when the people he cared about were in danger. He knew this. He had to know this. After all, that knowledge itself was one of his most powerful weapons.
He shot his hands forward and focused on the knowledge, the confidence that he would win. He then pushed forward that very essence, causing a large, bright yellow ball of energy to form in his hands.
Mokō Takabisha!
The giant ball of emotional ki, bigger than any other he made before, shot out like a bullet directly towards its target. Even before it made contact, Ranma shifted his direction, ready to slide in and grab Nabiki out of there the moment the blast knocked the creature back, if not destroyed it outright. Instead, he was met with a shock as the ki blast dissipated against the monster's body with it not being harmed in the slightest. In fact it almost looked like the energy was actually absorbed by the creature. All that power, all that force, and all it did was attract the monster's attention as it turned to him, showing that it did actually have a face, if the glowing slits resembling eyes and the jagged interlocking teeth were any indication.
Annoyed, but undeterred, Ranma quickly shifted strategies. If blasting this thing wasn't going to work, then it was time for a direct strike. Well, there was a third option, but unfortunately, the creature didn't seem to be putting off any hot ki at the moment. Besides, he still needed to get it away from everyone else before even trying that.
"Geez, and I thought you were ugly before. Did you get your dental work done with a sledgehammer or-woah!" He very quickly dodged out of the way of the bulbous creature stretching out its entire body to lunge at him. Okay, good. It's at least smart enough to get pissed off at me. He nimbly avoided a few more strikes, carefully waiting until the moment an opening presented itself before leaping forward and delivering a picture perfect snap kick as hard as he could.
Unfortunately, the monster once again did not budge a centimeter, its pulsating and stretchable skin somehow feeling as hard as steel. He quickly pushed himself away and dodged a few more of the creature's lunges. Great, of course this thing's gotta be tougher than Ryoga. And it's still not putting out any hot ki! Well, if one hit ain't good enough, let's see how it handles this!
Ranma leapt up towards the only place on the creature that possibly looked like a weak spot and started throwing his fists out at rapid speed. The type of speed that would allow him to snatch chestnuts out of an open fire without even feeling the heat.
Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken!
As hundreds of punches connected with the glowing spots that he hoped were its eyes, he caught in the corner of his vision that Kasumi was quickly carrying his mother away from danger. Good, that meant there was only one more person he needed to worry about at the moment. Continuing his onslaught, he glanced down to evaluate the current status of the middle Tendo sister and determine the best course to move her away once he managed to stun the creature enou-
Ranma's eyes widened at the sight below him and he almost faltered in his attack. The creature wasn't just trapping Nabiki beneath it. It was actually attached to her, almost appearing to have formed right out of the girl's back. The shock of this finding meant it took a moment for Ranma to realize his punches were no longer connecting with anything. He looked up just in time to see the creature make another lunge, which connected fully in his midsection. The blow, which felt so much worse than even the strongest attack from Ryoga, completely knocked the breath from his lungs and flung him away. As he flew through the air, barely holding onto consciousness, seeing the vast blue of the ocean rushing up to meet him, the last thought going through his head was Please, tomboy, don't do anything stupid.
"Ranma!" Akane cried out as she watched her fiancé at least fortunately land into the ocean with a large splash. Good, the water would have broken his fall and he would be back into the fight in no time. At the moment, though, she needed to figure out her own method of attack. Glancing back to the strange horrific thing still in the middle of their perfect beach spot, she saw that her father had continued his attacks, wearing his samurai armor and wielding his naginata. Why he bothered to bring those things to a beach trip was anyone's guess. The panda was lying on the ground a ways away, having been (maybe) legitimately knocked out. Kasumi was able to get Auntie Nodoka safely away as the creature wasn't focused on them anymore. Unfortunately, that still left Nabiki, who was trapped underneath and seemingly unable to move.
Akane readied herself as she waited for an opportunity to go in for the rescue. A part of her was also waiting to argue back against the inevitable protests from Ranma once he got back to shore. Yes, this thing looked really dangerous, but dammit there was no way she was going to sit back and do nothing. She was going to go in and do whatever she could. Then, once the thing was defeated, probably by some stupid new technique the idiot would come up with at the last minute, she could finally go back to getting him to admit what his problem was with-
She paused, realizing the expected yelling of a soprano voice hadn't come yet. Confused, she turned back to the ocean, finding only a vast field of blue with no sign of a certain now redhead anywhere. "Ranma?" No way. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. This was Ranma Saotome. He fought someone who was practically a god and persevered. There was no way some weird insect blob thing could have…
"Ranma!"
Akane immediately rushed as fast as she could towards the ocean, her eyes on the last spot she saw Ranma. Without a second thought, she dived into the water and looked around, quickly spotting the pigtailed martial artist slowly sinking down a crevice that seemed far too deep for being this close to shore. The first thought that flowed into her mind was that she was the only one that could rescue him right now. Unfortunately, that was when the second thought came in to remind her how that might just be a bit of a challenge since she wasn't actually able to swim.
She tried as much as she could to push down the panic building up inside as she waved her arms and legs as much as possible, trying to gain some semblance of control in this accursed environment. No matter how hard she fought against the water, though, she only found herself continuing to sink deeper into its murky depths. Very quickly, she lost sight of the direction to the surface in the increasing dark. She felt the burning agony in her limbs, the last remnants of air leaving her lungs, and it finally was too much for her.
Akane allowed her body to go limp, lifeless as she allowed the water to envelop and embrace her, the final proof of her failure, of how pathetic she really was. After all her protests, all her arguments, Ranma was right after all. She was no martial artist. She was no savior. She couldn't even save herself. And now, because of her uselessness, Ranma was going to die. She was going to die.
She slowly closed her eyes and continued to float down, accepting her final fate.
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Awaken!
NO! IT WON'T END LIKE THIS! I WON'T ALLOW IT! I CAN'T ALLOW IT!
Akane's eyes shot open as a bright, glowing light appeared above her eye line. It must have been the sun finally breaking through the clouds, giving her the path to the surface. She now felt the waters whirl around her, buoying her up, filling her with the very energy of the seas. Stretching her hands up above her head, she allowed that energy to flow through her very being.
And then she pushed.
She threw her arms out and down to her sides as her feet began to perform small rapid kicks. This time, she wasn't fighting against the water. She allowed herself to work with it. Dance with it. And the water complied, dancing along with her, allowing her to take the lead. Allowing her to ascend.
In mere moments, her head breached the surface and air filled her lungs once again. The euphoria of her accomplishment washed over her. This wasn't some temporary thing handed over by a jellyfish swimsuit that went away as soon as it dried up. No, this was all her. Her achievement. She didn't allow herself any time to savor this, however, as there was still one more thing she had to do. Recalling the advice given by her friends during that one day at the pool, she took one more huge breath and reversed direction, heading back down into the sea.
Once more she pushed, harder than before, her legs kicking even more rapidly. She felt the water once again embracing her, guiding her down. The light coming from above her helped to illuminate her approach to the person still sinking below her.
Ranma.
Her fiancé.
The man…and woman she loved more than anything in the world.
The red haired martial artist floated lifeless, unmoving, her eyes closed. Though her mouth was open, there were no bubbles coming out of it. She needed air and she needed it immediately. By the time Akane got her to the surface, it might have already been too late! What could she do then? How could she give Ranma…
A small bit of information floated to the front of Akane's mind, providing a solution. The girl hesitated for barely a moment before determination crossed her face. Yes, this was something she would do. If she was being completely honest with herself, it was something she should have done a long time ago.
With the light still shining from somewhere above helping to illuminate the area, she reached forward, grabbing each side of Ranma's head, and guided the girl's lips to her own. Carefully and gently, she exhaled, sharing the breath from her lungs, giving the one she loved the essence of life. Leaving just enough air for herself, she started to pull back, only to feel the other girl's lips trying to follow her actions. She saw Ranma's now opened gorgeous blue eyes looking back at her with a mix of confusion and wonderment. Akane responded with a warm gentle smile, and she leaned forward again with Ranma following. She closed her eyes as their lips met once more. It was only for the briefest of moments, but she made sure to take this time to savor the taste, the softness, the warmth of the other girl's lips. She felt the energies swirling between them, forming a hurricane that cut through any doubts, any worries she once had.
Finally breaking off the kiss, she opened her eyes once more as the two smiled at each other. She wrapped one arm around the other girl, raising her other arm above her head and then once more pushed. Pumping her arm and kicking with her legs, they quickly started to rise, going faster and faster, until they managed to breach the surface once more. Both took much needed breaths, although Ranma was also busy hacking and coughing up any remaining water from her lungs.
The fatigue of the whole ordeal started to finally catch up to Akane, but she fought it off as she worked to carry Ranma to shore, pushing and kicking as hard as she could until their feet finally hit ground. She managed to get them both onto the beach before her legs finally gave out on her. Collapsing against a large boulder that was near the shore, she felt the exhaustion starting to overtake her and knew she had to say something to the other girl while she could. Looking over to the redhead trying to catch her breath, she smiled and got out the last thing that went through her mind before consciousness left her.
"You know, those blonde highlights look really good on you."
Still on her hands and knees trying to recover from her near drowning, Ranma looked over to Akane resting slumped against the large rock, little bits of seaweed stuck in her hair. Her thoughts were spinning in her head, trying to parse what just happened. The tomboy really did that? She really swam down and rescued her, and what was with that glow, and…and they…they really…wait, that's not seaweed in her hair and…hold on, what did she mean by blonde highlights?
A loud roar drew her attention and she looked to see the creature still completely unphased, Nabiki still trapped and attached to it. Mr. Tendo now joined her pops sprawled out unconscious on the sands and very much in striking distance. Her mom was still passed out in Kasumi's arms, the eldest Tendo girl having gotten a good distance away watching carefully. Although with the way the thing moved, that distance might not be safe enough.
She had to find a way to take this thing out. Somehow it managed to completely shrug off all her attacks so far. There was still that final ace though. The move she mastered to take out the old bastard that time she was struck with the weakness moxibustion. That she modified and improved upon to win against both the musk prince and the phoenix jerk. That she used to save Akane. Clashing her chilled ki with her opponents heated ki in a spiral to produce a cyclone of pure force to cut down her foe.
The Hiryū Shōten Ha
…was still not possible at the moment. Despite its apparent rage, the monster wasn't giving off any ki, hot or cold. In fact, as Ranma looked closer, it appeared to actually be absorbing ki from its surroundings. Improvising to use the temperature of the environment wasn't an option either, as the pleasant March day wasn't providing enough heat or cold.
Almost as if to mock her, a breeze began to swirl around the exhausted martial artist, lightly ruffling her hair while she closed her eyes in frustration. The wind was her greatest weapon, and right now when she needed that weapon, it stayed just out of her grasp. Dammit, there had to be something she could do! There had to-
Awaken!
Ranma paused and opened her eyes in confusion as her hand closed around something in the sand that wasn't there before. She looked over to find she was now holding a strange sword. The crossguard was curved in an S shape and there were jewels embedded in the flat of the blade. More importantly, she felt an energy coming off the weapon, rejuvenating her. Lifting it up and examining it closer, she could swear the wind was deliberately encircling the edge of the blade, enhancing its sharpness.
Another roar drew her focus back to the monster, who was now looking over to her mother and Kasumi, and its strange flexible body appeared to be poised to strike.
"Hey, asshole! I ain't done with you yet!" As Ranma yelled out, she took a quick swipe of her new sword towards the monster, hoping the force of the air pressure would at least catch its attention. Her eyes widened in surprise as she managed to get that plus a whole lot more when a gash appeared on the creature's body. Sure the cut wasn't very deep and it was already starting to close up, but there was no mistake that it happened, the angry cry from the creature providing even more confirmation.
A large smug grin appeared on Ranma's face as she got to her feet, any remnants of fatigue having been fully blown away. "I gotcha now ya ugly bastard."
She charged forward, throwing out a few more quick slashes to keep the monster busy as she got herself in position. Then, taking another big leap, she braced herself and gave one giant swing right at the monster's face. However, that attack was thwarted as it used a couple of its insect-like arms to deflect the blow. While she still managed to slice those tendrils clean off, her main target was unharmed. And now, still in the air, she was forced to go on the defensive as the monster started to use its shockingly fast limbs for a counter attack.
Ranma used her sword to block the incoming strikes, trying her best to also slice as many of the tendrils as she could. The muscles in her arms were starting to burn from the strain and she could feel the exhaustion start to build once again, but she held out, knowing victory was close. As soon as it ran out of arms, she would finally get a clear shot at-
Apparently, the monster still had enough to give her one more moment of shock as the sliced off pieces started to be absorbed back into the creature and additional tendrils formed to replace the ones lost. Before she could start to form a new plan, all of the new arms shot out at her at once, knocking her back onto the sand.
She slowly sat up, sword held out in her trembling grasp, hoping she could at least survive against its next strike. However, just as the monster was moving forward for its finishing blow, it was stopped by a large boulder striking and skipping off its body. Ranma blinked and looked over to find Akane now on her feet breathing heavily, her body still in the follow through of her throw.
That attack managed to gain the monster's attention as it fully turned towards the tomboy, now putting her in danger. However, it also ended up giving Ranma full unobstructed access to the spot where it was attached to Nabiki's back. Ranma quickly got back up and charged forward as fast as she could, performing one massive swing which proceeded to slice clean through the creature, severing it from the middle Tendo sister. The monster gave one more savage roar before quickly dissolving into nothingness.
Sword dropping from her hand, Ranma collapsed onto her knees. She was vaguely aware of Akane slowly walking up to her and the voice of Kasumi calling out in the distance. She also had a momentary feeling of being watched from somewhere, but that quickly passed as she allowed herself to drift back into unconsciousness.
"So, it really is happening now. Just like we remember it."
"Yeah, it is. Hmm…"
"What is it?"
"Oh, it's just, actually seeing you dive into the water to rescue me like that. It was…"
"Foolhardy, I know. I was so reckless back then. And seeing you fighting against the Daemon…"
"Yes. I still can't believe how weak I was."
"We both were. Perhaps we should try to go down there and offer to-"
"No way, it's too much of a risk. Besides, we both know they have years of training ahead of them before they'll be ready."
"Of course. Getting the chance to actually grow up together. I wouldn't trade those years with you for the world."
"Me either. But now it's finally time. We're ready to fulfill our mission."
"Right, the mission. Saturn."
"Yes, and we're the only ones strong enough to stop it from happening. Not them down there. Not the other Scouts. Not even the princess."
"The princess. We need to protect her. Keep her safe.
"Exactly. It's for her own good. Come on, let's get out of here. We have an academy to attend."