A Flock of Crows
"So, that's her?" Akane asked, nodding toward the living room's TV which was showing a large bear-woman wearing a safety vest with a pair of Tokyo Fire Department patches lifting a fallen tree off of a car.
"Yeah," Ranma said, before he paused and frowned. "I mean, I'm assuming it is; I'm not sure I'd be able to tell two bear-women apart… But what are the odds—never mind, they just gave her name. Yeah, it's her."
"Don't you think it's strange? I mean, she's from the Dark and was sent to fight you but just quit and is now working for the fire department to rescue people? It seems really unlikely. How do we know she's not up to something?"
Ranma shrugged. "They were jerks to her back there, and when she saw people here who weren't, she decided she'd had enough of that and stayed. She seemed decent enough. I mean, maybe not nice, but someone who wouldn't go out of her way to kick someone."
"That's not exactly a ringing endorsement."
"Well, I only spoke to her for a few minutes, tops, so that's the best I can do. She helped at that fire that got us on the news to get something she wanted, so I guess she doesn't mind getting paid to do it regularly."
"It's not like there are a lot of good job options for a bear," Genma remarked with the voice of experience from the shougi board as he studied the pieces.
"Fine," sighed Akane, "maybe it's not a plot, but you have to admit having a bear-woman from the nether realms in the fire department is weird."
"Well, it is the Nerima branch," Nabiki said as she walked into the living room.
"Come on, it's not like we're the epicenter for everything strange in Tokyo…" Akane trailed off as plates and utensils floated out of the kitchen and set themselves on the table. "You know what, never mind. I'm done."
A few minutes later, as if by some silent signal, everyone migrated to the dining table shortly before Kasumi and Velgri walked into the room, a small swarm of serving dishes orbiting them briefly before settling on the table. As the woman and fox took their seats, dinner was joined. The meal passed quietly, considerably more sedately than it used to go before Velgri arrived, until Ranma snapped his fingers, put down his chopsticks, and pulled from a pocket, a flat, pink metal card case sporting a lavender bow on the front and gold filigree on the corners.
"Here," he said, ignoring his father's grimace, as with quick flicks of the wrist, he sent one of the Avatar's business cards to land in front of each person at the table. "You should all have one of these?"
"Why?" asked Akane as she picked up her card and studied it with a slight smile.
"In case of emergencies. It'd be really handy for you guys to be able to talk to me. Just for emergencies," he added, giving Nabiki a flat look.
"What makes you think I'd misuse a valuable tool like this?" Nabiki asked, a look of innocence on her face.
"Experience. Now, because of the Accords, you shouldn't need this for anything Avatar related, but better safe than sorry." He frowned. "I just had a feeling when I woke up this morning that it'd be a good idea."
"Ooh, magical girls often receive valuable warnings in their dreams!" Akane exclaimed, eyes alight. "Er, or so I've read, I mean. I, uh, can't vouch for the sources…"
"Your sources are accurate in this case," Velgri confirmed, "though the Avatar of Light generally does not receive them, due to the nature of her mission. She may sometimes receive advice from a previous Avatar in her dreams, though."
"Ooh, do you think that's what it was?" Akane asked Ranma.
"I don't think so…" he replied, slowly shaking his head. "It didn't feel like that." He turned to his father, who was warily eyeing his card. "Look, old man, I know you and Mister Tendou can take care of yourselves, but if a challenger decides to break the Accords and go after you, you're gonna need some help."
Genma slowly nodded and put away the card.
"Thank you, son," Soun said as he slipped his into a pocket, "I appreciate you looking out for my little girls. And myself—if it comes to that," he added with a little laugh.
"Yes, thank you, Ranma," Kasumi said, giving him a warm smile.
"I can certainly think of situations where this will come in handy," Nabiki remarked as she took out her own case and placed the card inside.
oOo
In an alleyway in downtown Nerima, a pale girl with limp, black hair and dark eyes with equally dark circles around them stepped out of thin air. She wore black sneakers, olive cargo pants, and a burgundy t-shirt bearing a print of thin gray trees. A black crow perched on one of the branches.
"You sure about this, Boss?" the crow asked as his beady eyes flitted over the relatively clean alley, "More prep time might be better."
"Maybe," Brandy allowed as she started walking, "but I don't think it'll make much of a difference. We're good to go now. It's not like we'd get approval for the challenge if we weren't."
"Loli D. got approval too," the crow noted, causing the girl to falter midstep.
"That's because people actively wanted her dead. No one actually cares about me one way or the other, so they wouldn't let me make a challenge unless they thought I actually had a chance."
"Or they didn't have anyone lined up and figured 'why not'."
"Or that," Brandy acknowledged as she turned onto the sidewalk and searched the store signs as she walked. Eventually, she found one that met her approval and turned into a store that featured TVs and electronics equipment in its window. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged again, eyes wide and a magazine clutched tightly in her hands.
"An updated game," she breathed reverently as she walked, "that you can order through the form in this magazine. This is awesome!"
"That's great, Boss. Where are you going to tell them to send it?"
Brandy slowed to a stop as her eyes grew wide for a moment before she scowled. "The Tendou dojo. It's not like the current owners will be around for much longer."
oOo
Akane looked up from her homework as a bell rang. "A challenger," she breathed before loudly calling, "I've got it!" and hurrying outside. "The Avatar will be—" she started before taking in the dark haired girl slouched against the property wall and scowling. "Hey, don't ring the bell if you're here to challenge me! That's just for official challenges to the Avatar."
"I'm not here for you, Acne Tendou," Brandy sneered.
"That's Akane! Wait, you're here to challenge the Avatar?" Akane asked, a wide grin breaking out on her face. "That's great! Uh, I mean, I'm sure you'll do great," she added insincerely.
"You know you can just let me come out here and answer the bell myself," Ranma remarked as she walked over from the house. "I mean, it's not like the challenger can't wait a minute or two. Hey, don't I know you?" she asked as she noticed the other girl.
"Your powers of observation know no bound, Avatar."
"Yeah, now I remember you," Ranma said dryly. "So, you're here to challenge me?" she asked doubtfully. "I mean, if you're so good, why were you being sent to get coffee last time you were here?"
"And you did get beaten by Kodachi," Akane gleefully added.
"Connections for the first, and I won what I was really after for the second."
"Please don't give us the details of your bizarre courtship rituals," Akane said with a small shudder as her eyes were drawn to Brandy's t-shirt. Did that crow just move?
"Yes, I can see you'd rather just stare at my chest. If you're quite done, Acne," Brandy drawled, ignoring Akane's resultant blush and sputtered denial, "I challenge you to face my champion, Avatar."
"Wait, champion?" Ranma asked. "Hang on a second," she sighed as she slipped a hand into a pocket. "Velgri, could you come out to the rear gate, please."
"So you're not personally going to fight Ranma to the death?" asked Akane, disappointment clear in her voice.
Brandy just gave her a flat look in response, and a minute passed in uncomfortable silence before the lavender fox arrived. "Yes, Ranma?"
"She's challenging me to face her champion," she replied, jerking a thumb in Brandy's direction, "can she do that?"
"Yes," the fox replied, "it's typically done when the champion is incapable of coherent speech or a challenger wants to be overly dramatic, but it's acceptable."
"I have a feeling I know which it is in this case," muttered Akane.
"Yeah, fine. Okay, I accept," Ranma said to Brandy. "You want to do this now or schedule it for later?"
"Now's fine."
"Right. Not here, though. Come on, I'll take you to the place. Velgri, would you mind coming along, in case she pulls out anything else strange?"
"Not at all," the fox replied, leaping onto Akane's shoulder.
"Great. Let's go."
"Uh, Nabiki's not around," Akane observed. "Do you want me to get the camcorder and record the fight?"
"Who does it technically belong to?"
"Nabiki."
"Hell no, then," Ranma said firmly. "We can't afford that."
Akane thought for a moment, then nodded. The group headed off to the challenge site.
oOo
"Ok, this is it," Ranma said as they walked into the dusty field.
"I can see how a camcorder wasn't in your budget," Brandy remarked as she eyed the surroundings.
"We're here to fight, not put on a show," Ranma said with a shrug. "I'm a guy," she added, casually triggering her transformation into the Avatar of Light. "So, where's this champion of yours?"
"Right here, Avatar," Brandy said, raising a hand in front of her chest. "Now, enjoy a fight to the death against your beloved fiancée!" she cried, snapping her fingers with a flash of orange light.
In a much much larger flash of orange light, Kodachi Kunou appeared and silently stared down the Avatar. She wore a jet black leotard decorated with thin lines of what looked like nothing so much as lava that sluggishly flowed around the garment. Her usual ponytail was missing, and instead, the left side of her hair was adorned with a stone rose. The top half was black obsidian, while the lower half was dark orange lava striped with black. Her feet were bare, and in her right hand, she bore a coiled whip that appeared to be made of lava that smoked slightly but held its shape.
"Fiancée?" Akane asked the Avatar.
"News to me," the Avatar replied before turning to Kodachi. "You sure about this?" she asked, watching with fascination as a drop of lava fell from the girl's rose and landed on her leotard to create a new glowing line. When Kodachi just glared and unfurled her whip in response, she sighed and said, "Ok, everyone else go over to the grass and we'll get started."
Once everyone else had cleared the area, Ranma gave the challenger a serious look. "Are you really sure you want to do this, Kodachi? It's to the death, you know. You don't have to do this just because your girlfri—"
With a furious shout, Kodachi lashed out with her fiery whip, and when the Avatar gracefully stepped to the side, charged forward, a set of spiked knuckle dusters comprised of glowing orange energy forming around her free hand. The Avatar rushed forward to meet her, flowing around her opponent's punch then nudging the arm further out of position before burying a fist in Kodachi's stomach followed by a quick headbutt to her face when the gymnast folded around the fist.
As Kodachi staggered back, Akane briefly turned to Brandy. "You did give her some sort of powerup besides a new outfit and a glowing whip, right?"
"Of course I did. See?" Brandy sneered as Kodachi cartwheeled out of the way of a kick. Her expression quickly shifted to shock and then dismay as a bolt of gold energy caught the girl's leg mid-twirl, throwing her off-balance and leaving her open to a stronger light lance to the side. She could only watch in horror as the Avatar rushed in, ducked a desperate backfist, and launched her opponent into the air with a powerful uppercut. In an instant, the Avatar leapt into the air after Kodachi, brutally pummeling the other girl with a flurry of kicks and punches.
"Boss, you've got to do something!" the crow on Brandy's shirt cried. When she continued to stare open mouthed at the one sided beatdown, he insisted, "Anything!"
Spurred into action by the crow's words, Brandy shook herself briefly and cried, "Kodachi! Use entangle!"
Akane turned to stare at the other girl as the aerial beating came to a stop with one last axe kick that sent Kodachi hurtling down to slam into the ground below. The clearing descended into silence as the Avatar lightly landed on her feet and warily eyed her opponent who was weakly struggling to rise, until Akane broke it a moment later when she burst into laughter.
"Sorry!" she shouted, quickly covering her mouth with a hand as Brandy clenched her fists and flushed red.
Brandy eyed the Avatar gathering golden energy around her hands and then flicked her gaze to her champion, who had only just managed to make it to her knees, and sighed heavily. "We yield!" she called, her voice carrying across the clearing.
Ranma blinked in surprise, and not taking her eyes off of Kodachi, called to Velgri, "Can she do that?"
"Yes," the lavender fox replied. "It's very uncommon, and you don't have to accept, but she can give up."
Ranma sighed in relief, and the tension she'd felt since she'd realized she had to fight Kodachi to the death, flowed away, leaving her giddy with relief. "Accepted," she said loudly, before straightening and assuming a dramatic pose in Brandy's direction. "You did well, but you'll have to train a lot harder if you want to win a Tendou Dojo badge!"
"Stop!" Akane cried, clutching herself in laughter, "Can't. Breathe."
Brandy glared at the ground, head bowed and fists clenched tightly. "Kodachi, return."
"I am not a damned Pocket Monster," Kodachi cried as she shakily rose to her feet.
"Get the fuck over here, you walking corpse!" Brandy snarled, her eyes glowing red.
Kodachi paled and immediately scurried over, her weapons vanishing into thin air. Ranma frowned and Akane's laughter cut off as she started to get the sinking feeling that her understanding of the relationship between the two girls may have been more than slightly flawed.
"Thank you for the challenge, Avatar," Brandy gritted out. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go home and put my champion through some extreme … training. Let's go, champion," she sneered, focusing her still-red eyes on Kodachi before turning and starting to walk off, her champion swallowing nervously before following, fear and reluctance clear in her posture.
Ranma exchanged an uncomfortable look with Akane before calling after the retreating pair. "Brandy, why don't you just leave Kodachi here. It's not like she's good enough to take me, or that I'll let her challenge me again."
"Because she's mine, Avatar!" Brandy shouted, turning to face her as she walked backwards, and I really need to make sure she understands just how fucking furious I am with her right now."
Ranma bit her lip as Kodachi visibly shuddered. "Look, if you let her go, I'll … owe you a favor, as the Avatar of Light. I won't promise I'll do anything, but that's got to be pretty valuable, right?"
"You know, I'd jump to take you up on that normally, but you see," Brandy said, spreading her arms, her voice dripping with condescension, "I really need to get to training hard so I can earn a Tendou Dojo badge."
"Damnit, do you think I'm going to just let you walk off with her?" Ranma cried, a faint golden aura forming around her clenched fists as Akane and Velgri walked over to join her.
"Yes, I do! You accepted my challenge and my surrender—you don't get to attack me or take my property! You know this as well as I do, Avatar!"
"She may not be allowed to, but there's nothing stopping me!" growled Akane, taking a menacing step toward Brandy.
"You think the Accords don't apply to you, representative of the Avatar?" laughed Brandy as Akane froze and stared at her. "Even if you were just her friend, or whatever you'd call the bizarre courtship ritual you have going on, you wouldn't be allowed to attack me while I'm leaving a challenge. But if you really want to, go ahead and break the Accords. We even have a servant of the Light right here to impose the penalty! Go ahead, Acne! Kodachi would love to have a roommate!"
"Velgri," Akane pleaded as she turned to the fox, "there's got to be something we can do."
"I'm afraid she's quite correct in her interpretation of the Accords. You may not stop her from leaving. Nor may you follow her or accost her later," she added as Akane started to take another step when Brandy turned back to face the way she was walking, Kodachi still silently following behind her.
"Come on, Brandy," Ranma called after the pair, "there must be something you want for Kodachi!"
But the only response was a pair of raised middle fingers from the girl as she and her champion walked out of sight.
oOo
"So, where are we going, Boss?" the crow asked about ten minutes later as they walked past the remains of an abandoned building in a lightly forested area.
Brandy shrugged. "Just walking until I calm down enough not to kill her the instant we get back home." Kodachi wisely remained silent as she walked several paces behind her.
"I know she lost, but I don't think you can really blame her for the … part at the end."
Brandy clenched her fists at the reminder of how the fight ended. "I don't! I blame this," she snarled, whirling around to jab a finger in Kodachi's direction, "stupid bitch for lying about being engaged to the Avatar and grossly misrepresenting her skills and humiliating me with her pathetic showing! Do you know how many people back home are laughing at me right now?!"
"I-I never claimed I was engaged to the Avatar," Kodachi quietly protested, cringing slightly as the other girl audibly growled in response.
"You delusional idiot!" roared Brandy as she stalked over and shoved the other girl hard, making her stumble back several feet. "Your beloved Ranma is both the Avatar and the redhead you hate so much! She was supposed to be upset and off balance at having to kill her precious fiancée, but she was obviously perfectly happy to beat you to death in front of witnesses! I'm sure you get that a lot.
"And your skills! Even after the intense training and magical upgrades I paid for, you were pathetic! I wouldn't be surprised if she could have beaten you just as easily without even being in her Avatar form! I am so tempted to kill you even after investing so much in you, but if I do, I'm going to make sure it isn't in a fit of rage," she said, her voice lowering as her dimly glowing red eyes met Kodachi's. "That would be letting you off far too lightly."
"Come on, Boss, try to calm down. Yeah, she completely underperformed, but did you see how upset you made the Avatar and her incompetent assistant after the challenge? You really got under their skin, and the powers that be are going to appreciate that. You may not have made her break a sweat, but you threw her off her game, and you keeping this girl is going to eat at her, maybe even affect her future performance."
Brandy closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Yeah… okay, you're right. Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought." She opened her eyes and smirked. "And the looks on their faces when I made them choke down their own words was great."
"Yeah, I couldn't have been prouder about that part," the crow said with affection in his voice before he sighed, "but Boss, I have to give it to you straight: even if things came out pretty okay, you screwed up pretty bad. While it's true that girl did seriously overstate her value, you never should have taken her at her word about her relationships or her abilities."
"I had her abilities tested!"
"You did, but not nearly as thoroughly as you could have."
As Brandy bowed her head and stared at the ground, the crow sighed again. "Don't get me wrong, though; I'm your biggest fan and fully believe you have the cunning and viciousness to punch way above your weight class. Honestly, the way you started with nothing but me and clawed your way to where you are now without a patron or flashy powers has impressed me more than I can say… I have no doubt that, given enough time, you'll become a real powerhouse—one of the big movers and shakers."
Brandy blushed and focused her gaze on the crow on her shirt. "R-really?"
"Really. I've known you for a long time, Boss…"
"All my life," Brandy said, smiling faintly.
"And for the record, it's been a real pleasure working with you and watching you grow. But… I'm afraid I have some long term projects I need to see to, and I can't take you with me, Brân Du."
"Huh? You know we're bonded for life; we can't separate even if we wanted to."
"I know."
Space itself seem to heave and Brandy rocketed backwards, slamming into one of the still standing concrete walls of the nearby abandoned building. An invisible force seemed to hold her pinned to the wall for a moment before her body slowly slid to the ground, leaving a wide red smear behind. Where she'd stood, a crow, feathers black as pitch, hung in the air, wings slowly flapping. A heartbeat later, he vanished into the treetops without a word.
Kodachi, pale and one hand covering her mouth, stared at the body and the bloodstained wall for long seconds before turning and quickly walking back the way they'd come. She didn't get more than a few steps before staggering as the crow, now in the form of a large raven, landed on her left shoulder, talons painfully piercing the thin material of her gymnastics uniform and drawing blood. As a razor sharp beak clacked less than an inch from her eye, she froze in place.
"It occurs to me," the raven said conversationally, "that with the unfortunate demise of my partner, all of her possessions automatically pass to me. As it is, I don't currently have any use for a slave, but I'm sure we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. I just have a few things I need you to do for me, and then you'll be free. What do you say, are you in?"
"Yes," Kodachi whispered hoarsely, being very careful not to nod as the raven cocked his head slightly, bringing the tip of his beak to nearly touch her vulnerable eye.
oOo
Kodachi slowly blinked, her thoughts moving sluggishly as she took in the scattered trees, the tall grass, the ruined building with the bloodstained wall, and the body lying on the ground before it. She blinked again, and a rush of adrenaline jolted her into full awareness and she quickly looked around before cautiously approaching the building. She stared down at the familiar, hated form on the ground and nervously swallowed before nudging it with a foot. When it only shifted slightly, her face twisted in rage and she drew back her leg and kicked the body as hard as she could. She watched it for a long moment, then took several shaky steps away.
Free, she was free again. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood there, shaking and focusing on not letting the tears escape her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out. That helped, so she did it a few more times before dropping her arms to her sides and standing straight, as befitting a Kunou. Turning back to the body, she stared at it for a moment, biting her lip, before turning away and walking.
She was free, yes, her tormentor dead, but how? The furious demon had been stomping through the woods, Kodachi quietly following as she ranted, then … this. She knew she hadn't done it herself; the terms of the damned contract had prevented her from so much as raising a hand against her … former employer. So, who had freed her and left without even being acknowledged?
She gasped and froze midstep. Oh! Of course! While her delusional brother would certainly save her, given the chance, he would never leave her alone out there afterwards or refrain from crowing his triumph to anyone nearby. Or anyone he encountered in the rest of his life, whether they wanted to hear about it or not, even if they'd heard about it a hundred times already. No, there was one other person who would fight the demons of Hell itself to save her, and that person was someone who could not, under any circumstances, let his involvement be known.
My dear, beloved Ranma, she thought, unable to stop the tears from running down her cheeks this time, even with the terrible punishment you risked, you couldn't bear to leave me in such vile bondage. If I ever had doubts about your love for me, this has put them firmly to rest. She clasped her hands to her chest and took a deep breath. Our love burns brighter than most can comprehend, and I will never love another so deeply as I do you, but from this day forth, it must remain unacknowledged and unconsummated so no one suspects your forbidden acts, committed to rescue the love of your heart.
She collapsed against a tree and sobbed for a time before straightening and wiping her cheeks and eyes. I will always love you, my dear, passionate Ranma, but now my love must remain locked in my trembling heart, forever more. Goodbye. My love.
Squaring her shoulders, Kodachi Kunou allowed herself one last deep breath and walked home.
Author's note (2/18/24): I especially like the title I came up with for this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated, and as always (even if I don't say it at the end of every chapter, thanks to Sunshine Temple for feedback and suggestions.
