Disclaimer: The following is a fan-written fiction, the views and opinions in this story are not intended to be viewed as those of the author. Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha, and Five Pound Gospel are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi, property of their respective rights holders and publishers. Please support the official releases.

CW: This story will contain violence, strong language, sexual humor and situations, drug use, Moroboshi Ataru, and Happosai. You've been warned.

|End of Class|

Ringing the bell on her bicycle, Kasumi ambled through the streets of Tomobiki, headed home from shopping in Taian district. She had collected a rather extensive amount of cooking supplies that she carried in the front basket of her bike and in saddle bags over the rear wheel: ingredients, cleaning equipment, and even a Neptunian wok. It was such a successful day of shopping, and she was so excited to return home that she hardly noticed the warzone Tomobiki had become as she rode through it towards her home.

Men wearing black sunglasses, men cosplaying as JSDF soldiers, and numerous students of Tomobiki High School collected themselves in groups of walking wounded, bearing all manner of injuries in varying states of treatment. Storefronts and restaurants were ravaged by rioting, and the streets were churned up by tank treads and littered with crushed vehicles, debris, and expended octopus-shaped bean bag rounds.

"My, another interesting afternoon in Tomobiki," she said aloud after she came to an intersection near an empty lot.

"It is a portent of doom."

Kasumi looked to her right at the empty lot. Standing by the fence that surrounded it was a tiny old man dressed as a wandering Buddhist monk. Tilting up his straw hat to look up to her, he nodded in greeting.

"Terrible misfortune lies upon the horizon, darker days than any we've seen are yet to come. This…" He looked off at the carnage Kasumi just rode through. "… Is only the beginning of it."

Kasumi was not shaken by the prediction. "Oh my, well I'm sure it will work out. Everyone has bad days occasionally, after all, but there will be great days to come after those."

The old man paused and gaped at Kasumi and her optimism. "You have a pure aura, young lady."

"Oh no, I wouldn't call it that. I'm just very hopeful for the future, and I trust that our generation are going to do wonderful things." She gestured to the wok in her saddle bag. "I mean, we're already in contact with aliens and have access to all sorts of neat conveniences."

The monk looked at the wok. "Oh, is that something special there?"

"It's a Neptunian wok. It heats, cools, and even cleans itself. I thought it was just the most splendid thing, and if I had more money, I would've bought the whole set."

The monk rubbed his chin. "Mmhm… a self-cooking, chilling, and cleaning wok… truly a marvelous item for someone who must cook a great deal."

"For my family, yes," Kasumi replied with a nod.

The monk nodded again. "Would you be so kind as to provide a meal for a lowly traveler, struggling to get by in a cold world?"

"Oh my, of course–" Before Kasumi could invite the monk to accompany her out of the goodness of her pure heart, a high-heel wearing foot came down on the monk's head in a forceful stomp.

Sakura's abrupt arrival gave Kasumi a start as the woman ground her heel into the monk's head. "Uncle…" She growled. "… It's rude to mooch off the kindness of others."

"Oh dear, is he truly your uncle?" Kasumi asked.

Sakura nodded. "Regrettably, he and I share blood. If you are only making your way through here, I recommend that you carry on, there is still fighting going on and you needn't be accosted."

That wouldn't be pleasant, and Kasumi got ready to ride. "If you don't mind my asking, what was it today?"

Sakura looked towards the direction of Tomobiki High School, looking past all the destruction as she ground her heel into her uncle's head to keep him from speaking up. "Something that needed to be done but was in the stupidest way imaginable."

Par for the course, for any place so tightly wound around Moroboshi Ataru, Kasumi reasoned. "Well, I hope that whatever it was, it was successful."

Sakura looked out at the carnage, and then back at Kasumi. "No. No it was not."

00000

Wisps of smoke rising through the air could be seen all the way from Furinkan High School's courtyard, where Nabiki and Kodachi stood as the school's female population bid farewell and headed for home. The tour of the school had been uneventful, aside from guiding the occasional wandering spirit that was formerly a male student to the gymnasium where the staff had been gathering them. The sound of combat and heavy armor had long died down with the end of the school day, leaving only the peaceful late afternoon ambience. Nabiki was looking at her phone, at various images of the chaos captured on social media, while Kodachi's eyes laid their gaze upon the distant sky above Tomobiki.

"I do hope your sister and Izurando-san are well," Kodachi said.

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "If I'm teflon, then Akane's kevlar. Nothing can go through her any more than it can stick to me."

Kodachi finally looked away from the sky and at the middle Tendo Sister. "What of Izurando-san? What do you suppose she is made of?"

Nabiki stopped bored-scrolling and thought about that answer. "To be honest? I don't know, not that I've made it my business to care. She's just another monster like Akane, able to do the silly stuff this town got walled off for."

Kodachi let out an amused huff. "Is that what you think of people like them, monsters?"

"Eh, can't call it anything else," Nabiki replied.

"How about the tallest nails?" Kodachi asked.

Nabiki now looked at Kodachi. "That implies that there's a hammer strong enough to drive them down."

Kodachi let out a soft laugh, probably the first Nabiki had heard from her. "Fufufu… there isn't. That's why they put up the walls, after all. Rather than fail to strike us down, they pretend we don't exist anymore…"

Nabiki lifted an eyebrow, before Kodachi waved her hand like she was clearing the air. "But I'm rambling, forgive me! There is so much more to be concerned about than the state of worldly affairs."

She turned away from Nabiki and looked up at the school. "Like this school."

Looking up with her at the building, Nabiki wondered when Kodachi was going to say anything about it. Throughout the day since lunch, she'd shown Kodachi just about every inch of it, from the temporary male student corral in the gymnasium to every square meter of the building from top floor to bottom. Through it all she made various observations and asked questions, but never really offered an opinion on anything.

"What are your thoughts, hm?" She asked.

Kodachi's lips curved down. "It is humiliating that my school is better only through pity donations and good press."

Her answer was not what Nabiki expected. "Come again?"

"St. Hebereke can be described as a beauteous paradise, an exemplary haven for the brightest and most well-accomplished… a lavish garden where dainty blooms like myself flourish."

Nabiki smirked. "… And what is it really?"

The Black Rose sneered. "It is a garden, all right. One overrun with dull, unimaginative, vapid weeds."

And Nabiki was indeed not disappointed, this was getting interesting. "Go on?"

"Its classrooms and hallowed halls are filled with social climbers, backstabbers, satellites, dullards, and running dogs. You could throw a brain cell into a room packed wall-to-wall with them and it would not rub against another!"

Nabiki began to laugh, but held it in, as Kodachi continued. "But it is still pretty, immaculate even. One could look within from without and say 'Yes, someone with money goes here. These are surely the future of Japan.'"

She looked up at Furinkan with contempt. "If this school were anymore run down, you'd think the Government runs it!"

Curiosity overcame her laughter. "… Doesn't the government run it? I was under the impression this was a MEXT school, not a private one."

"That is where you are mistaken. Furinkan High School exists solely on the yen of my family," Kodachi revealed.

Nabiki recoiled, genuinely surprised. "… Hold up. None of us took an entrance exam to be here, nor did my dad have to pay for any of us."

Kodachi tutted. "Do you think the staff here would bow their heads to a simpleton like my brother because he has money? Or that he might strike them with a sword?"

That was a fair point. "So how long has this school been your family's?"

"It was the desire of my father. If you'd ever met him, you'd understand he did away with any requirements to attend simply because he wanted to run a school."

Nabiki had never met the principal, and when she asked Kasumi about him, she would smile stiffer than usual and immediately change the subject. Asking Tatewaki about it yielded a similar result, and that was weird.

"It's still on the government dole, isn't it?" She asked. "I mean, it's bad enough how the other schools around here work. I don't want to graduate this year from a fake high school."

"You needn't worry about that, Furinkan is still an accredited and official institution. It is merely just privately owned and bears none of the trappings of a proper private school."

That annoyed Nabiki. "All things considered, that's worse."

"In many ways. As your predecessors suffered under my father's… peculiarities, and as you have languished under my brother's… they were both ultimately beyond all else–cheap."

Nabiki's blood boiled, her left eye twitching as she took that deeply into consideration. Also taken into consideration was visiting Tatewaki in the hospital and introducing his face to his well-used bedpan. It passed, however, as a more pertinent consideration took to the front. Kodachi's inquiry about the school the other day, her visit to the school today, and ultimately her train of thought that brought them here.

Before she could speak, Vice Principal Okamada made his voice heard. "Kodachi-san, are you suggesting that you will take over the school in your brother's stead?"

Nabiki rolled her eyes as both turned to face Okamada, looking as barely present as he always was. "I was wondering when you were going to actually say something instead of seething all day."

Kodachi nodded curtly to Okamada as he totally did not react to Nabiki's barb. "I am preparing to transfer from St. Hebereke to Furinkan. Once I have arrived, I will be setting forth to do something about the poor state of this school."

Vice Principal Okamada reached up and adjusted his tie with considerable tension. "I respectfully request that you do not take this course of action. The teachers and faculty are perfectly capable of running the school as intended. This is a place for learning, not the castle of a young lord or lady."

"Hoh?" Kodachi gave him a sharpened look. "And where were these capable teachers and faculty when a band of brigands attempted to ransack the school, hm?!"

Okamada went still. "You mean of the young men who attempted to return to class?"

"The Blinding Stars or something like that," Nabiki said. "Yeah, I wouldn't have called their intentions academic, VP."

Letting out a breath through his nose, Okamada continued to speak in a measured tone. "We will never know what they intended, will we? Because your sister and your classmate were very quick to engage in a schoolyard brawl with them."

Nabiki sniffed. "I was there, you know. They definitely swung first."

"Moreover, Vice-Principal Okamada. You appear to forget yourself," Kodachi continued. "You have somehow gotten the impression that I am less of a Kuno than my brother and father. I assure you, that is deathly incorrect. In fact, with my brother hospitalized, and my father… unavailable… I alone stand as the head of House Kuno."

The implication hung heavy from her words, as Nabiki looked between Kodachi, Okamada, up at the school, and back. It was not lost upon the Vice Principal either, who seemed to lose all the tension in his body at once and return to the barely existent man he liked lurking around as. He bowed deeply to Kodachi, using the gesture to avoid eye contact.

"My sincerest apologies, Kodachi-san. You are not wrong in that respect."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes slightly at Okamada and let out a barely audible "Hm" at his submission.

Kodachi lifted her nose to look down on him, then turned away. "I have no interest in the school remaining as it is. If I am to become the Lady of this 'castle', then everything about it shall meet my standards! Ohohohohoho!"

Okamada's reaction to that was a full body shudder before he stood upright. "… As… as you wish, Kodachi-san."

The sound of approaching tank treads ground its way into the afternoon ambience. Kodachi, Nabiki, and Okamada looked towards the front gates and saw the few straggling students who remained gawking at the Type 10 Main Battle Tank that rolled to a stop like it wasn't a particularly big deal. Stranger than a tank rolling up to Furinkan (this wasn't Tomobiki, after all), but explaining it entirely, were the several Tomobiki students and Ucchan perched atop it.

"So, this is Furinkan High School?" Ryūnosuke said. "Looks like a dump."

Shinobu turned to her. "Looks better than our school, more modern."

Ryūnosuke looked up towards the roof of the building. "The heck happened to the clock?"

The driver's hatch of the tank opened, and Katie stuck her head out. "I did. Also… whoo-wee. Nobody told me that tanks don't have air conditioning."

She hauled herself out of the driver's compartment, revealing that she'd gotten rid of her dirndl-style uniform and was wearing the gym shorts and sports bra she wore underneath. Akane emerged from the turret, much to Nabiki's surprise, and gasped when she saw her state of dress. "Eh? Senpai! Your clothes!"

"What? It was a freakin' sauna!" Katie gestured to the open hatch. "There's like a foot of sweat just sloshing around inside, now!"

And there was Ataru making a lunge for the driver's hatch. "I'll clean it up!"

Katie stomped on his head, then punted him unceremoniously off the tank. "No."

Akane folded her arms and leaned onto the hatch ring. "Ugh, he's so annoying."

Without disturbing anyone standing on it, the turret turned, pointed the main gun down at Ataru, and fired a final bean bag round in his crotch for the second time today.

Shinobu looked over at Akane. "You have to hit him into the air, that'll make him stop for a while."

"Noted, thank you," Akane said as she climbed out of the turret to do just that–but was waylaid by noticing Kodachi, Nabiki, and her Vice Principal looking up at the whole lot of them. "… Ah."

Kodachi lit up into a pleasant greeting. "Tendo-san, Izurando-san! It is good to finally see you again!"

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "You know, I expected you to surf back on a torrent of blood, so this is okay."

Katie hopped down and landed in front of Nabiki, who craned back a bit ever slightly as she looked up at her. "We were thinking about it, but they gave us a tank."

Nabiki averted her eyes to look at the machine. "Yeah, about that… where'd you get a tank?"

Kodachi examined it closely and hummed. "It is likely a model made for the Mendō family." She looked down the length of the hull. "Yes, there. Near the rear, there's the family crest."

Sure enough, there was the crest of the Mendō family stenciled in white paint near the back of the vehicle. Kodachi rubbed her chin. "I'm sure that will come right off. I'll make arrangements to have it moved to my estate."

"Thank you," Akane said, relieved the vehicle was no longer her concern.

Okamada grimaced. "Kodachi-san, are you going to steal from the Mendō family?"

"Stealing? Nonsense. It is a war prize," she replied.

And now he recoiled. "W-war prize?!"

Katie got the gist of it. "Yeah, man. Those assholes attacked Akaneko and I and we defended ourselves. This tank is our compensation for their aggression."

Kodachi clapped her hands together. "Then I will make sure it is well-maintained for your future leisure!"

Katie nodded to Kodachi. "Darlin' you are too kind."

Kodachi let out an arrogant huff. "I am far from kind. I merely recognize formidability and valor when I see it."

With that said, she turned to Shinobu, Ryūnosuke, and Ucchan as they stepped off the tank. Ryūnosuke and Ucchan were lost to her, she recognized Shinobu, and there was no mistaking Lum Invader still cradled in Ryūnosuke's arms. Kodachi stared at Lum with intrigue and leaned close to her… then closer still to sniff her face.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "… Uhh…?"

Ryūnosuke pulled Lum away from her. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Kodachi pulled back and waved her hand in front of her nose. "Oh no, I was merely ascertaining what manner of agent was used to render her unconscious. I'm quite surprised, fentanyl-based incapacitants aren't widely used." She tapped her chin as everyone gaped at her in confusion. "In fact, the only one I know of used in any amount is one in Russia… but why would–?"

She noticed everyone staring at her. "Pardon me, I'm rambling!"

"You do that a lot," Nabiki said.

Kodachi chuckled, before looking to their guests. "Forgive my rudeness, I am Kuno Kodachi, the student council president of Furinkan High School."

Okamada grimaced but refrained from speaking up when Kodachi and Nabiki shot looks back at him. Satisfied he would not run his mouth, Kodachi continued. "I welcome you to my school and thank you for aiding in my fellow classmates' safe return."

"Oh, it was nothin'," Ryūnosuke said as she found Kodachi less weird and much cuter after showing some decorum.

Shinobu agreed. "Actually, they helped us, and we're grateful for them."

Ucchan shrugged his shoulders. "So, you're in charge around here, then? How ya doin' sug? The name's Ucchan, and I was hoping to set up some business around here. If that's okay with you."

"… Business?" Kodachi asked.

Akane spoke next. "Yes, he's an okonomiyaki chef. Senpai and I went over to Tomobiki so we could try his food and… everything happened."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Shinobu said with a tired voice.

"I'm not just an okonomiyaki chef, I'm the best you'll find outside of the Kansai region! I came out here to the SAD hoping to get a business going and uh… I made the mistake of opening in Tomobiki–no offense."

"None taken!" Shinobu and Ryūnosuke both insisted.

"And since yer pals were so nice to bring me here, I was wonderin' if I could set up my shop here instead. My rates are cheap, and the food is top notch!"

Okamada perked up slightly upon hearing that but went unnoticed as Kodachi hummed and turned to Katie. "Izurando-san, was this young man the one you braved Tomobiki for lunch?" When Katie nodded, she asked. "Was it worth it?"

"Oh yeah, it's some of the best I've had since I actually moved to the SAD."

Kodachi nodded. "Well, I will trust your fine taste. Ucchan-san, you're more than welcome to set up your business here at the school. Return in the morning and we will get you set up in the school's commissary, it still has a working kitchen does it not?" She looked back. "Okamada-san?"

Okamada was much more animated as he welcomed this development. "Yes, the commissary kitchen should be more than adequate for your needs. Is there anything that you require for opening your business?"

The tiniest red flag popped up for Nabiki, but she filed it away for later.

Katie looked at Okamada in surprise, then at Akane and Nabiki "So wait, we do have a commissary?"

Both Tendo sisters shrugged their shoulders. It was news to them.

"I shouldn't require much, just need to go grab my cart later and haul it here. Provided it ain't been ransacked by hungry Tomobiki kids."

Ryūnosuke brightened. "I-I can help you!" When Ucchan looked at her, Ryūnosuke's face turned red. "You know… because that stuff looked uh… heavy… and stuff… and you know…"

Ucchan laughed. "Yer a good kid but stop stumbling before you trip over."

The slyest smirk appeared on Shinobu's lips as she leaned close to Ryūnosuke. "Spriiiiing tiiiiime…"

Going rigid, Ryūnosuke whirled around and shoved Lum into Shinobu's arms. "I'm just tryin' to help! It's the polite thing to do! That's all there is to it, you hear me?!"

Squaring her shoulders up, she marched to Ucchan and took him by the wrist to lead him away. "Come on, let's go get your stuff before that idiot makes anymore insinuations!"

Ucchan let himself be led off, laughing. "Sure thing, Ryū!" He waved back to the others. "See y'all later!"

After everyone who mattered bade their farewells, Shinobu looked down at Lum, who was still fast asleep, and turned to Kodachi. "I'm worried about Lum, now. She's been in this deep sleep the whole time we were riding around, and nothing's woken her up."

Kodachi looked at Lum again. "Well, Oni and Humans are different in many ways, but also similar. The composition of the agent may have been simply strong enough to sedate her, or it was tailor made for Oni… which would be a problem…"

She leaned close to Lum again and listened, then rested a finger gently against the side of her throat. "She is breathing, and she still has a pulse. Alas, I am no expert on Oni physiology, so I can only suggest seeking a medical professional."

Ataru hobbled his way around the tank, walking with a bit of a limp, but walking, nevertheless. He was about to get up to his old antics, when he overheard the concern about Lum's condition. Remembering what had happened to Lum, he walked over to the group and was met with hostile looks from the gathered young women.

Akane was the first to notice that he was looking at Lum and no one else as he walked up to Shinobu, however, and she quietly drew Katie and Kodachi's attention to that observation.

"… Ataru…?" Shinobu murmured.

Leaning in close, Ataru waved his hand over her mouth and nose, and hummed. He poked her face. "Oi, Lum." When she didn't react, he prodded her cheek. "Hey, Lum! I'm gonna buy some umeboshi, want some?" She again didn't react. "I just punted Ten into a garbage can, you mad?" Nothing.

Ataru poked her cheek a few more times and sighed. "Welp."

He turned away and lifted his nose high. "She's dead asleep! Finally, I'll have a night to myself! I think I'll go over to Taian and see if I can sneak into a hostess club!"

Lum's eyes shot wide open with rage, and she lunged at Ataru's back. "YOU WHAT?!"

In a feat of agility that he usually reserved for evading teachers or catching Mendō's sword, Ataru sidestepped Lum and caught her around her waist to pull her up under his arm. Freezing in place, Lum blinked several times and looked back up at him. "… Ah? Darling?"

"Ha, knew it," Ataru said as he began to walk away, still holding Lum under his arm like she was a small dog. "I was saying that I haven't had anything to eat all day, let's go home–Mom's probably got dinner done by now."

Lum glowered at him. "I thought I heard you say something about a hostess club!"

Ataru rolled his eyes. "You must've been dreaming." He looked back. "Anyway, later girls. Lunch was great, we should do it again sometimes… but, you know, actually eat something!"

Despite her fuming, Lum did not object to being carried by Ataru, even in such an indignant position–or even having to remain levitating so her feet didn't drag. In fact, as Ataru drew away from them, she began to smile and relaxed to let him guide her along. Behind them, Katie scratched the side of her head, while Akane tilted hers in complete confusion.

Shinobu let out an exasperated sigh. "Ataru's the worst."

"He really is," Akane said.

Katie caught what Shinobu was angling at. "But he could actually be okay if he actually put himself to it, huh?"

Shinobu nodded. "Yeah."

Katie bowed her head. "Speakin' of going home, we oughta get to doing that ourselves. I am above other things done with this mess."

Akane's shoulders slumped, and she let out a groan. "Today was so stupid! I want to forget it ever happened!"

Lifting her head back up, Katie looked at Akane and a moment of consideration passed quickly. Deciding against her pondering as she took note of Shinobu, Nabiki, Kodachi, and Okamada, she patted Akane on the back. "There, there… let's get outta here."

Akane nodded, and the two began walking away. "And put your uniform on! You're basically in your underwear."

Katie looked at her. "No way. It's still drenched, and I wear this when I go running, so I'm not indecent." She called back at Kodachi. "The uniforms suck anyway! We should wear somethin' cool, and not these stupid frumpy dirndls!"

Nabiki looked down at her uniform and then at Kodachi. "She has a point. If you're gonna take over, how about a glow-up?"

Kodachi lit up and she waved farewell to the two. "I will get right on that, Izurando-san! You girls have a much better evening!"

Okamada, adjusting his tie once more, turned and headed towards the school. "I will go to make sure that everything is locked up for the night, Kodachi-san."

"You do that, Okamada-san," Kodachi sharply replied, without even looking at him.

Shinobu bowed to Kodachi and Nabiki. "I'll be going to, sorry for the disruption we've caused."

Kodachi smiled pleasantly and returned the bow. "Worry not, today was just another day in Nerima."

After Shinobu turned and dashed off in the direction her schoolmates went, and Okamada fell out of earshot, Nabiki turned to Kodachi. "So, when are you going to fire that disrespectful asshole?"

Kodachi closed her eyes and huffed. "When I have lined up a suitable replacement. There will be no place for scum at this school. Especially those who think so poorly of half the student body."

00000

The stride of the bald-headed principal of Tomobiki was oddly serene, a relaxed gait as if he was taking a pleasant stroll through the neighborhood's ravaged streets. Clouds of dust and pepper spray still the air like smoke from the impact of artillery, above the groans of injured faculty, the ravings of devastated shop owners, and the cheers of students free of the chaos.

Indeed, truly, this was hell.

"Yes, it should be classified as nothing less than an atrocity," The principal said, seemingly to himself. "This is the results of Tomobiki High attempting discipline."

"A real bad look, but there's room for improvement," the principal's mysterious guest said, walking a pace behind him. He was a tall, handsome man wearing a sharp dark blue suit with an only slightly lighter blue shirt and a white tie. He had long, messy dark red hair only barely kept in a ruly state by being tied into a ponytail that reached down past his shoulders. Besides his red mane, the color of blood in the setting sun, his other striking features were his eyes, piercing and dark green in color–belonging more to a wolf than a human being.

"I look forward to it." The principal said, a little rough but mostly amicable. "Of course, there's a simple overlooked fact that will deliver the shock necessary to pull things from the spiral of madness."

"And you've just been sitting on it?" The guest asked, more curious than annoyed at this revelation.

"You said so yourself in our first meeting, when you gave your proposal. 'The role of the educator is not to say the answer out loud but lead the pupil to it as much as possible.'" The principal said. "If I just say it, no one will learn anything."

"Man, you are one smooth operator there, boss." The guest replied.

"I try," the Principal retorted. "As little as it succeeds, one must still give the effort. We would still be crawling if we all needed to succeed every time we try."

"I like your style." The guest said, his white teeth gleaming in the sun.

The light just caught the Principal's head. "Yes, there will be things to further discuss after this. For now, we must locate the ones who will shock the system."

Not too far down the very block the principal and his guest walked, Mendō Shūtaro regained consciousness in the abandoned lot he'd been knocked into by Ryōko's deliberate carelessness. Pushing himself up to his feet, he looked around and quickly realized how late in the day it was. "… How long was I unconscious?"

He listened next, and realized how unsettlingly quiet it was. "What happened to the operation? Why is it so quiet…?"

"Because it's over."

Mendō froze for an instant, then turned to face Onsen Mark, who was leaning next to the wall where his body impacted, taking a drag off a cigarette. Lowering the cig, and blowing out wisping smoke, Onsen Mark looked off at the lowering sun. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"After your sister meddled in everything, it all fell apart." He let out a small laugh. "Students got ahold of weapons, word spread across the school BBS, the shopkeepers joined the fight… a couple students even got ahold of one of those damn tanks."

He took another drag of the cigarette. "Operation Snowy Mountain Wind… was a complete failure."

Mendō lowered his head and clenched a fist. "Damn that Moroboshi, if he hadn't interfered, things would've been different."

Onsen Mark gave Mendō a pitying look, then looked up at the sky as a few passing birds called into the spring evening. "There is no helping anyone who does not want to be helped. They're all pretty entitled these days, don't you think?"

Mendō nodded. "They do not understand the sacrifices that need to be made in the name of keeping the peace, and guiding the next generation. This operation was intended to right the long embraced wrong and keep students where they belong… and maintain the order that my family–that the Special Administration District requires to exist."

Onsen Mark shot Mendō a look the young man didn't notice, then rolled his eyes. "You're all gonna graduate this year, then what are you gonna do? It's time to stop being kids and start acting like adults, while you still have a chance to get out of this school and get somewhere respectable."

Mendō looked back at him. "I hope you're not referring to me. I'm set."

"I mean the kids who don't own fifty-one percent of Japan!" Onsen Mark snapped back. "At the rate things are going, they've got no futures and they need to knuckle down and do their best or they're not going to make it! They'll end up like that lump, Soban! Running around and doing nothing with their lives because all people think of them is the crap school they came from!"

The Principal's well-dressed guest poked his head into the hole in the fence Mendō made, and then stepped in. "Well… that's not quite their fault, now, is it?"

Onsen Mark recoiled, then stared at the man. "… And who are you?"

The Principal walked in next, followed by a bipedal cat easily the size of Onsen Mark. It was mostly white, except for several different colored spots around its right ear and tail. Turning to the cat, the Principal nodded. "Thank you, Kotatsu-neko-san, for finding them."

The large cat nodded, and then went on its way. The Principal's guest turned to watch the cat leave and whistled. "It's still not the weirdest thing I've seen since I've gotten here."

To answer Onsen Mark's question, the Principal gestured to his guest. "Ah, yes, this is one of our new teachers, Nicholas Fontaine Sherman-san."

Mr. Sherman casually saluted Onsen Mark with two fingers. "But you can call me Nick."

Mendō looked at the newcomer, and immediately his thoughts raced. That is a handsome man who could be competition for the attention of the girls at school, I must destroy him.

Onsen Mark was surprised. "Ah… a new teacher?"

Mendō smoothed out his hair, dusted himself off, and walked up to Nick. "Good evening, Sherman-sensei. I am Mendō Shūtaro, I am the son-"

Nick raised a finger to point in Mendō's face. "You shut up."

Mendō stopped, stared at the finger pointed at him, then looked up at Nick. "… Excuse me?"

"This whole Snowy Mountain Wind business was your idea, right?" He asked.

Mendō grimaced but was prepared to throw as many people as he could under the bus. "I will not deny that I planned it."

Nick smiled. "Great, let's have a chat about why it failed."

Pulling his hand back, Nick pocketed it and looked around. "So… from what I can guess, your big plan was to have teachers disperse about the neighborhood backed up by your family's private security to catch kids as they wandered about for lunch and then drag them kicking and screaming back to the school."

Mendō, still stinging from being told to shut up, nodded. "That is correct."

"And to better cut down on the number of students leaving, you arranged a five-star lunch for the girls," Nick continued.

Mendō nodded. "Once more, you are right."

Nick processed these two facts, then asked. "Now… tell me in your own words, how was this supposed to go?"

At that question, Mendō balked and felt a weight press upon his shoulders. "Erm… pardon?"

"What was the best outcome of your operation, Mendō?" Nick reiterated with a less jovial tone.

Stiffening and squaring his shoulders, Mendō looked at Nick in the eyes as he gave his response. "The operation intended to peacefully round up any students caught sneaking from the school. Apprehended by teachers, they would be brought back to the school and summarily disciplined for their rule breaking. That is what had been intended, and… until the operation encountered unplanned complications… it had been going well."

"Oh, do go on! What were these complications, Shūtaro?" Nick asked, drawing Mendō's ire.

"You should address me formally," Mendō corrected him.

"You should remember that I'm a teacher, and you're a student. I will be as informal as I like to a kid I don't know," Nick corrected him.

That tweaked Mendō something fierce. I thought his accent was strange. An American? Of course…

Nick clapped his hands twice, loud, snapping Mendō from his seething. "Now, I asked you a question, Shūtaro."

Onsen Mark stepped up. "You may be a teacher, but don't–"

Nick just as quickly cut him off. "Say one more word, Onsen Mark, and I will make this far worse for you than it already is."

"Quite," the Principal said as he adjusted his glasses for emphasis and the sun gleamed off his dome.

Fear shot through Onsen Mark, as the same weight that Mendō struggled under, but with so much more force upon his shoulders. Nick stared at him for less than a moment before turning back to the young scion.

"The first was the cunning of Moroboshi Ataru; he was able to figure out the nature of the operation and alert the other students, causing a…" Mendō noticed Nick produce a formerly crumpled piece of notebook paper and brought it up to read. "… Riot…"

"To Whom It May Concern," he began, "While you were busy loving the sound of your own voice, we all went out to get lunch. You can't stop us from going out to eat, and if you try you will make a fool of yourself like you always do. Written without Regard, Moroboshi Ataru. PS, included at the bottom of this letter is a drawing of a butt. It is a representation of your face. Because your face is a butt. Face butt."

Mendō looked sick as Nick looked from the letter to him and smiled. "Gottem~"

Onsen Mark immediately turned on Mendō. "YOU TOLD MOROBOSHI THE PLAN?!"

Mendō faced his teacher. "IT COULD NOT BE HELPED! HE TRICKED ME INTO REVEALING THE PLOT!"

Onsen Mark grabbed the sides of his head, pulling at his short hair, before gesturing emphatically with both hands as he yelled. "WHY DID YOU EVEN GO NEAR HIM TO LET HIM TRICK YOU?!"

"Probably to try to get Lum to have lunch with him," Nick proposed.

The Principal nodded in agreement. "That does seem like a Mendō move."

Mendō set his jaw to try to regain his composure. "Her bizarre fixation on Moroboshi makes it hard to properly court her."

"My guy, you're on the verge of being a trillionaire and if that can't get you any chick with bad taste, then that's a YOU situation," Nick pointed out.

"Finally, someone said it," The Principal quipped.

Mendō snapped. "WHAT KIND OF TEACHER ARE YOU?!"

"I am a teacher of life lessons," Nick replied, "And you are going to learn many with me." He waved his hand back and forth. "But we are losing the plot. Shūtaro, what was the other circumstance that led to a complete operational failure?"

Mendō sighed. "My sister, Ryōko. She saw it fit to unnecessarily escalate the conflict when the riot broke out. It was… a miscalculation I should've expected in hindsight."

Nick folded his arms and looked at the Principal, then back at Mendō and Onsen Mark. "… And it's just those two points of failure? Nothing else?"

Onsen Mark grimaced. "Well, there were a pair of girls from Furinkan who–"

"Onsen Mark, we're not talkin' about them," Nick said in a tone that swore violence if Onsen Mark dared continue that line of thought. "As far as non-Tomobiki students are concerned, their being out and about was none of your concern, and no one should've approached them as they had been, reportedly, repeatedly."

Pulled up short, Onsen Mark nodded in concession. "Yes, that was a mistake, but there was considerable concern that other schools would get involved, particularly Butsumetsu."

Nick turned to the Principal again. "Man, these guys ain't seeing it."

The Principal shook his beautifully polished head. "Not even Nurse Sakura thought to raise the issue. She almost did, but… her fears were played with."

Mendō pointed at the Principal. "Hey! Why are you standing there, acting so above this?! You gave the approval of the operation! You should be explaining yourself, as well!"

The Principal turned back to Mendō. "… I will offer an explanation shortly."

Shaking his head again, Nick called to Mendō. "Kid, stop trying to get out of this. The only way you could right now, is fighting your way."

Mendō tensed. "You do not want to make an enemy of the Mendō Clan, sir."

The smile that Nick flashed Mendō was sickeningly excited at the prospect. "I'm not afraid of you, Shūtaro-kun, or your family of fuckwits."

Onsen Mark quickly stepped between Mendō and Nick. "Why are you trying to provoke him?!"

"Please, like you have any more respect for him," Nick taunted.

"Be that as it may, I am his teacher, he is my responsibility! All of my students are, and if you're going to have a go at them, then you will go through me!"

Mendō was surprised by Onsen Mark's declaration, but Nick was less impressed. "You've spent your whole life trying to be cool, huh?"

Onsen Mark paused. "… Cool?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, that's what this posturing is, right? Trying to look cool?" He sighed. "Losing the plot again, it's about time we finished this debrief. I, acting as an unbiased third party, will point out the flaws that you… cool guy… should've addressed."

The Principal nodded.

Mendō nearly shoved Onsen Mark aside. "What flaws?"

"So, let's review the plan," Nick spoke, "Hold a lunch for the female students, and let everyone else leave the school so they will be caught breaking the rules by teachers sent out to wait for them at the common lunch stops, right?"

Mendō nodded. "… Correct."

"The teachers would be supported by the Mendō family guards, the Black Sunglasses or whatever."

Mendō nodded. "… So, what's the flaw in it?"

Nick tapped his side, then looked at the Principal. "Would you do it, please?"

The Principal nodded. "There was no intention of announcing beforehand that going out to lunch was forbidden."

Onsen Mark went white as a sheet.

Mendō didn't quite grasp it. "Of course not, what's the point of setting up an ambush for delinquents if they're already obeying the…!" Then it hit him. "… Oh."

Nick turned to the Principal. "Y'see, this is what happens when you let jumped-up rich kids dictate disciplinary matters to teachers."

The Principal bowed his bald head in shame. "It is embarrassing."

"In your defense, Principal, you have seen the problem and sought a solution–and thus I stand before you," Nick reassured him, before turning back to Mendō. "It's sinking in, huh, Shūtaro? You didn't really want to announce a change in the rules… you just wanted to have a fancy little luncheon with Lum and all the school's other young ladies, while the boys outside had the boots put to 'em, wannit?"

Mendō again tried to throw on a modicum of class. "Please try to understand, Sherman-sensei, this school's young men are ill-refined and lawless. Decisive measures must be taken to put aside their delinquency. One could see my lack of announcement as an error, but an announcement would not have mattered, it only would've encouraged their recklessness!"

Taking a deep breath, Nick looked up at the sky and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Son, you ain't listenin' to a damn thing. You ain't gettin' the point at all."

Suddenly, Mendō felt a terror that normally emerged when he was locked in a tight, dark space, as Nick lowered his head to look at him directly. "You put together an excuse to have your family's security services beat up your male classmates, while you enjoyed lunch with all the girls in school."

Nick smiled again, that unsettling grin. "And the only reason you didn't get to, and aren't laughing it up in hindsight right now, is because you let Moroboshi play you for a chump. When you tried to put a stop to that, everything followed."

He took a step towards Mendō, his eyes narrowing. "Mendō Shūtaro, you're an inhuman piece of shit, and for that? I'm expelling you from Tomobiki High School."

Mendō's jaw fell open and his well-styled hair became immediately frazzled. "You can't expel me!"

"Just did, if you show up at school tomorrow, you will be removed. Go fulfill your educational needs elsewhere."

The Principal nodded. "Correct. I have seen to it to prepare your dismissal papers and send your records to your parents ahead of this."

Mendō snarled. "I am saying, you cannot. Expel me. I am the scion of the Mendō family! The first-born son and heir! My family controls over a third of the Special Administration District! To expel me is to say to the Mendō family that I am unworthy of a lowly school like this one!"

"Like most things in your life, that's a you situation," Nick retorted.

Mendō Shūtaro faced his banishment numbly. For a Mendō to be expelled from a school truly was an unspeakable humiliation. He would have to explain himself to his parents. Sure, his father wouldn't care, in fact he'd probably bust a gut laughing–that's a lost cause and a relief at the same time. His mother, on the other hand… she was the steward of the Mendō family's honor and reputation! If it came to be that she found out that he was thrown out of a school for his actions… there is no telling what she would do! She could take away his Black Sunglasses privileges, ban him from using any of the family's jets or airships, even pass him over as heir in lieu of Ryōko!

"Sherman-sensei… Principal I will give you two options," Mendō said with a shaky voice. "Reverse this decision and I will pay you both handsomely. Name your price. Otherwise, I will use every asset available to the Mendō-clan to show you the foolishness of what you are doing."

Nick's eyebrows rose. "Is that a threat?"

Mendō's eyes filled with fear-driven rage as he met Nick's gaze. "That is a promise."

The Principal sighed. "Sherman-sensei, please deal with a threat to school faculty and students as you were hired for."

That stopped Mendō. "… Eh?"

Nick cracked his knuckles. "Bet."

The next thing Mendō Shūtaro knew, he was doubled over in unspeakable pain with the air driven out of his lungs, by the knee Nick delivered into his solar plexus. Gagging, Mendō staggered, before collapsing unconscious in a heap where he stood.

Onsen Mark recoiled, horrified from Nick, as the new teacher looked down at Mendō in disappointment. "Some scion of the Mendō family. Who on Earth taught you how to fight?" He turned back to the Principal. "Or what, did this guy just think that because he's 'a Mendō' that he just needed to pick up a sword and he'd be good with it?"

The Principal shrugged his shoulders. "Some believe the blood of the samurai to be enough, but if that were true…"

"It's really nothin' I care about, right now," Nick said before turning to Onsen Mark. "We gotta address the other side of the issue, anyway."

Onsen Mark held up his hands. "H-hold it! I was deceived by Mendō, he played on my fears, too! If I had known–"

"Save it," Nick interjected, "We got you for somethin' far worse than any of Mendō's antics."

Onsen Mark thought he knew terror before.

He was wrong.

"It kind of interested me to hear your concerns for these kids havin' no futures and how they need to do their best or they're not gonna make it." Nick looked down at Mendō and nudged him with his foot.

Certain that he was out, he looked back up at the profusely sweating Onsen Mark. "When even if they did do every thing you say… they'd still be fucked."

The Principal started what could only be referred to afterwards as an execution with a grim proclamation. "Onsen Mark, it has come to my attention there is something… wrong with our tests scores. Something not even a student body filled with those of lower IQ can excuse."

Onsen Mark's sweat quickly began to soak the collar of his suit, as the Principal continued. "It is especially troubling news, considering the methods we report them were guarded in secrecy precisely to avoid what has been taking place."

Nick chimed in, confirming exactly how screwed he was. "Namely, someone who shouldn't have access, let alone know about the scores, has been backdooring his way into the system and making some… judicial edits. Nothing major, just… you know… lowering a lot of high marks to ones considered barely passing. Affecting a lot of bright–if problematic–students who'd be world-beaters if they had a chance."

"Denial hid you, for a time. That someone had cracked into our system and would do something so foul was unimaginable." The Principal looked down upon Onsen Mark as if looking at a feral animal about to be put down. "You, however, made one fatal error."

"You forgot to stick to changing the scores and using another method of communication." Nick put simply. "It became clear there was a compromise in the security when it was transmitting data to an unknown computer that wasn't the National Testing Database."

The Principal nodded. "We traced the IP to you, Onsen Mark. An investigation of your computer in the office, and to your home computer found evidence of illegal access and tampering."

Onsen Mark began to sputter. "W-wait… my c-computer, it was…"

"Before you blather about a frame-up by some mysterious hacker, the why of everything is simple. Exactly… what did it matter that students from Tomobiki were getting too close to the other high schools? Like, say, Furinkan?" Nick added on. "I mean, besides the BS worry that Ataru could find out that Furinkan was an all-girl's school temporarily? He's already been that way and notoriously harassed a few students, it hasn't been a problem."

As Onsen Mark sank further into dread, he panicked. "You don't know that! You don't know what that animal is capable of!"

"This ain't about Moroboshi, it's about you not wanting students to co-mingle. Not from Furinkan, Tomobiki, or Butsumetsu." Nick laid it bare. "You didn't want them gettin' together and noticing the patterns."

Onsen Mark felt very small as The Principal spoke next. "The sheer improbability that so many people at so many different schools failed the same tests in the exact same way. These students, able to pass all of the regular non-recorded tests with ease, yet barely able to pass finals if at all?"

"For whatever reason you're tampering with their grades, it stops now," Nick said.

The Principal shook his head. "It does not pain me as much as I'd expect to say this, but you are fired, Onsen Mark."

His head dropping, Onsen Mark nodded. "I… I see…"

Nick smiled. "We're going to do you a solid, though."

"Is it chop off my head while I slice my belly?" Onsen Mark asked.

"Oh, nothing so dramatic–besides my old bones can't handle that kind of labor," the Principal replied.

Nick patted Onsen Mark on the shoulder. "We're not gonna tell anyone why you had to leave. And I'll even pull a few strings to get you a new teaching gig in Japan."

When Onsen Mark looked up at Nick, he found that while he smiled, it didn't reach his eyes. No, they were filled with a menacing fury, aimed straight at his heart.

"… But you're going to tell us a few things, and you're going to be very comprehensive with those things, capisci?"

|Red Hair|

"… You saw… a what?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but I was out with Xiu Mei patrolling for bandits last night just past the bamboo forest and I saw a panda."

Somewhere in and about Sanhexiang, Sichuan, a pair of young women trekked through a dense forest of trees and bamboo, headed far and away from their village towards the forest's edge. One of the young women, short, tanned, with hair cut in a short bob led the other, tall, athletic, with long red hair, and both were armed with staffs for bopping miscreants or wild animals. They were out searching for a most unexpected discovery in the heart of China, nowadays.

The tall redhead couldn't believe it. "… Aren't pandas extinct though? In the wild?"

"Yeah, one hasn't been seen alive in the wild since 2004," her shorter companion replied. "So, when I saw it, I flipped out, and it saw me and ran away." She stopped and peered through some bamboo that wasn't as dense, off to the left of them. "But that was only last night, so it might still be nearby."

Taking her staff over her shoulders, the tall redhead looked ahead into the forest as well, pale green eyes narrowing as she tried to make out any movement. "And it was around here?"

Her shorter friend, her black-colored eyes ringed with shadows from an overabundance of nightly patrols, nodded eagerly. 'Yes, it can't have gone far, it's a panda!"

The redhead looked down at her, and grimaced. "Min? I think you should stop taking night patrols."

Min, as she was named, recoiled in offense. "Not you, too! Come on, I can handle night patrols! Those scumbag deserters haven't tried to come near town after the last time I smacked them around!"

Taking her staff, she spun it expertly, and drove several impressive thrusting strikes forward before lifting and slamming the weapon down as though she were crushing a downed man's head with it. Spinning it as she rose upright, she turned to her friend. "And besides, I'm well-rested and able to handle a stupid bear–"

The staff slipped from her hand and struck her atop her head. "OW! Tsss…!"

Min's friend moved to her. "Oh shoot, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" Min snapped at her and turned away. "… I'm fine…"

Glancing back, she added. "And I'm not hallucinating, Rei, I saw a panda."

Rei let out a concerned sigh and looked back out in the direction they'd both looked before. "Look, even if the panda is real, you're exhausted and stressed out. That is no place for a martial artist to be."

"I'm well-rested! And the panda is real, damn it!" Min shouted.

Letting her staff fall to the ground, Rei wrapped her arms around Min and hugged her, surprising the smaller girl for a moment before she let her eyes half close and leaned into the taller girl's chest.

"Look, I believe you," Rei insisted, "But I'm worried about you being awake like this. You need to get some rest. How about it? We go back to the house, get some sleep, and then when you're good to go, we'll look for the panda, okay?"

Min pouted. "I feel like you're just humoring me."

"I'm not!" Rei exclaimed, before a fast-moving blur passed behind them, crossing the path. Both girls jumped and looked back, with Rei exclaiming. "What was that?!"

The sound of bamboo bending and snapping from something massive moving through it caught the attention of both girls. Turning around again, they both froze as quite possibly the biggest panda bear either of them had ever seen burst from the forest and onto the path, stumbling to a stop in front of them on two legs. It looked down at them both, its wide, beady eyes blinking as it stared at the two girls, Rei especially.

Min's mouth fell open in silent awe at the majestic creature.

Rei said what she was thinking. "That's a fucking panda!"

Min pulled back to look up at Rei. "I told you, ha! It's real!"

Then the day got even stranger… when the panda grabbed Rei and hugged her.

Silence fell as Min stared at Rei, who stood stock still in the embrace of the panda while it not only hugged her, but patted her atop her head affectionately, like a father consoling his daughter. Slowly, Rei turned her head to look at Min, her eyes pleading for some kind of rational explanation. The look Min returned had no answers, only more questions.

The silence was broken by the sound of more bamboo being shattered, like something was moving through it with even more violence than a giant panda bear. Rei and Min looked towards the direction the Panda came from, and then looked up with widening eyes at the violet-haired girl in unmistakable dress and armed with a pair of large round mallets bursting through the bamboo in a great leap.

"… Oh shit… it's a Nyuchiezu Warrior," Rei muttered, as the girl's red eyes locked onto her red hair… and widened with fury.

The Panda immediately let go of her, and bolted into the bamboo, as Shan Pu of the Nyuchiezu seemed to change direction in midair, and dive towards Rei and Min with weapons raised, screaming in a berserker's rage.

"RANMA, YOU DIE!"

As a tremendous thud and screams rose behind him, Saotome Genma clapped his paws together in a brief prayer for whoever those two were while he ran. It was only by the misfortune of that girl's birth that their paths crossed this day, and he dearly hoped that her next life would be kinder to her. He also hoped that her sacrifice kept that psychopath distracted long enough before she realized her mistake.

A/N: If you ever have the time, go read the webcomic Mastery by Ryan Gindlesperger. It's a lil' webcomic I enjoy very much and a cameo from the two main characters gave me a chance at not only proving how much of a bastard Genma is... but also how there's something VERY wrong in China...