Avatars

"So, you say you want to help me in my fight against evil," Branwen said to the crow from the large rock upon which she was sitting.

"Yes," the crow replied from the branch, "I've been watching you for a while, and you're really quite impressive. Your determination, cunning, skill, and dedication to your cause are all exceptionally strong."

"Huh." She adjusted the hilt of her sword slightly. "What sort of help are you offering? Reconnaissance? Counsel?"

"Well, I certainly bring intelligence to the table in every sense of the word," the crow said, a gleam of amusement in his beady eye, "but I also offer empowerment."

"Empowerment?"

"Oh, yes. Sadly, I'm limited in what I can do on my own, but I've found I have the ability to grant strength to a bonded partner. Given the choice, I'd rather help a worthy person do great things than remain the master of my own insignificant fate."

Bronwen nodded in understanding. "What exactly do you mean by bonded?"

"By giving up my physical form, I can instead appear as two dimensional representation on my partner's clothing, or skin, if necessary. The bond isn't permanent, though if maintained long enough, there can be repercussions from breaking it."

She hmmed. "Tell me more about this strength you grant and the consequences of breaking the bond."

"It's essentially an enhancement of physical and magical ability—you'd be faster, stronger, and more durable, but magical gifts vary from person to person. As for breaking the bond, I'd say anything up to a few weeks would cause nothing more than a sense of malaise; a few months would probably knock you out but cause no lasting harm; a few years would probably cause a week of infirmity; with longer times increasing the length and intensity until after fifteen or so years, breaking the bond simply results in death. All would be also accompanied by the lack of the enhancements you've no doubt become accustomed to, though that would hardly matter in the last case."

"Would these consequences fall on both of us?"

"Oh, not at all. I'll be fine in any case."

"How fortunate for you."

"Indeed, and I'd hardly be here to offer my aid to you if it were otherwise."

"You've had other partners, then?"

"A few over the years."

"I'd like to hear about your previous partners, if you don't mind."

"Certainly. The first was a lot like you in many ways. She was a mighty warrior, who clad in her radiant armor, fought tirelessly against the forces of darkness with her fiery sword. I couldn't offer her much in the way of empowerment as she had already received power from another source, but I like to believe my counsel and sharp eyes helped her excel more than she would have otherwise. Eventually, she fell in battle and I was left on my own.

"The most recent was a girl from a society where the strong rule over the weak. She started with nothing in the way of resources or support, but she had intelligence, cunning, and a fierce determination to claw her way to a position of power and independence. How could I leave her on her own and let that spark be extinguished by the power and greed of those born into more fortunate circumstances? I know, she was very different from both her predecessor and you, but in her environment, becoming a hero was never an option."

"Did she attain her goals?"

"She was well on her way to them, but eventually she found herself obstructing the plans of a being both powerful and sly. There was no malice involved, and I don't think she even realized she was in danger to the very end. Please forgive me, but I'd rather not speak more of it; it was quite recent."

"My apologies. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Much appreciated. Do you have further questions?"

"Yes. Why me? I know you said you were impressed, but surely there must be better choices."

"Not really. Oh, there may be some out there who, all things being equal, would be just as good a choice, but a number of them have already been granted powers and would receive minimal benefit from myself. The Avatar of Light, whom you recently visited, would fall into that group, for example. Then there are those who have the character traits and qualities I prize but use them in a way that wouldn't benefit much from physical empowerment. A champion in the field of law or politics, for instance, could certainly benefit from my counsel but wouldn't make much use of the physical benefits. In addition to that, there's your family."

"My family?"

"Oh yes. They've always been very impressive and I've been following their deeds for a long time. I haven't bonded with any of your ancestors, but I have, from time to time, given them advice that I believe helped them rise to prominence and thrive. Just on your own, you're my first choice, but I'm very excited about the prospect of partnering with a member of your family."

"Ah. I see," Branwen said flatly, lowering her head slightly to gaze listlessly at her boot.

The bird cocked his head and peered at her for a moment before saying slowly, "I am, of course, referring to the Rambeau family, to which you are descended through your maternal grandmother."

Branwen's head jerked upwards sharply and she stared at the crow. "What?"

"Oh yes, they were quite famous in Europe for their fight against evil in all its forms. It was disappointing to see one of its few remaining members marry into the Bullseye family; seeing the old blood resurface in you was quite the relief. And if I'm not mistaken, that sword you bear is a minor treasure of the family."

"It is," breathed Bronwen, stroking the hilt as she stared into space, looking at something only she could see.

"Well, I'm glad to see it being put to good use."

"Thank you," she said softly. After a moment, she focused her gaze back on the crow. "Tell me what we need to do to form a bond."

"I simply land on your shoulder and we both will it to form."

"Let's do it." Branwen paused. "Though I think I should actually know your name before we proceed."

"I've never felt a need for one."

"I could give you one. If you like…"

"No, thank you. I'm happy as I am."

"Very well. Shall we?"

The crow flew from the branch and landed on his new partner's shoulder.

oOo

Nabiki got out of bed, stretched, and touched the power flowing within her. After a moment's thought, she picked up the journal on her nightstand and made a note. Once she'd gotten ready for the day and had breakfast, she went to the dojo, felt her power, and made another note. Throughout the day, every two hours, and every time she moved to a different location, she recorded her power's strength. When she went to bed for the night, she made a final note and sighed at the column of identical results. The next day, she adjusted her testing schedule to get different times and checked her power when around different people and in different moods. The day after that, she decided it was time to be proactive.

"You should do an Avatar training session."

"What?" Ranma asked, a glass of water half raised to his lips. "Since when do you care about when I need to train? You're not selling those videos, are you? I told you I don't want those getting out!"

"Not at all. I just realized it's been a while since you did one, and I actually enjoy recording them. Oh, and I suppose they make it less likely that you'll die and take all of us with you too."

Ranma eyed her suspiciously for a long moment. "I suppose I could do one today. And it's not like I don't train; I just don't always make a special trip to someplace I can cut loose. But no funny business. The last thing I need is something like another obsessed Kunou stalking me because they 'just happened to see' a video."

"Of course. It's in my own best interest to make sure you're successful in your magical girl duties. That reminds me, we should probably do another formal outing, maybe something other than a meal this time, like the theater. Don't make that face; you know you enjoyed last time."

"I guess it wasn't that bad…" Ranma admitted, smiling slightly. "Kunou did get beat up."

"That's the spirit. But I'm afraid I can't promise that will happen every time."

"So long as there's a chance. Okay, let's go train."

"What are you going to work on today?" Nabiki asked half an hour later from behind her camcorder on its tripod.

The Avatar of Light thought for a moment. "Light abilities. I've been working on martial arts at home, but I can't really throw around light lances without putting holes in things and attracting the crazies. More crazies," she amended. "I do not want cosplayers and reporters showing up too."

"I suppose. Speaking of cosplayers, do you want any of the prints from the con?"

"Huh? Why would I?"

"Pictures from an event where a bunch of people admired and respected you enough to dress up as you? I can't imagine."

Ranma hesitated. "I'll think about it… But that's enough talking; I'm going to start now," she declared and leapt halfway up the hill before more awkward questions could be asked.

For the next half an hour, the Avatar leapt around throwing light lances and surrounding herself with a golden aura as Nabiki watched and recorded. After that, she planted herself across the hillside from a particularly large boulder and worked on increasing the power of her light lances by making minor adjustments to her technique and intensifying her focus. When her final shot of brilliant golden light shattered the boulder, she nodded in satisfaction and walked over to Nabiki.

"Thanks. This was a good idea."

"Of course," Nabiki replied as she started to put away her video equipment.

Ranma stood there awkwardly for a moment before returning to her normal form. "Uh, you need any help with that?"

"No, and you don't have to wait around for me."

"All right, there's something I want to check out downtown, then. See you later," Ranma said, tossing her a wave as she left.

Nabiki finished putting away her equipment and sighed as she made a note in her journal. "This is starting to get frustrating…"

oOo

Maëlys walked down the street of the horrible human city, the scowl on her face and cold fire in her eyes ensuring the horrible humans gave her a wide berth. She should have rescheduled her challenge ages ago, but the thought of approaching the Avatar and having to answer the inevitable question of how her date went was just too terrible to contemplate. Maybe if she'd gone back the next day, she could have waved off that fool of a human as the duplicitous boor he was, but after weeks, it would seem like she'd been rejected and was too upset or ashamed to show her face! Oh, she had been upset, but in the manner of being enraged and disgusted at the pitiful cretin's attempt to toy with her feelings. No, she had spent the following weeks looking for a suitable bear… Wait, bear? She stopped and gave her surroundings proper attention, noting in particular the bear-woman sitting in the cafe she was standing outside. Momentarily biting her lip in distress, she walked inside and approached the only occupied table.

"I'm sorry," Maëlys said as the bear-woman lowered her enormous mug of coffee and looked up at her, "I thought your challenge had been resolved. It was not my intention to cut in line."

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about it; you're fine."

Maëlys frowned. "I don't understand. Both you and the Avatar are still alive, and you don't have the look of some fool who would actually surrender. How has this come to be?"

The bear-woman shrugged. "Enh, everyone back home was an asshole; in less than a day here, I got more respect and consideration than I ever did back there. So I said screw that and quit."

Maëlys stared, her mouth hanging open for a full two seconds. " You quit?! You can't just quit!" When the other woman just shrugged and waved a hand to indicate her current surroundings and employment status, Maëlys scowled. "And what do you mean you actually like the people here?! They're sniveling, duplicitous cretins!"

"Uh…" said the human woman who had quietly walked over to them.

"Ah. Well, to be fair, I've mostly interacted with the human males. I'm sure you're … fine?"

"Thank you," said the woman, giving her a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes before turning to the bear-woman. "Ursula… were you really here to try to kill the Avatar?"

"That's what I was sent here for, yeah."

"And … she won you over with the power of friendship?" the human asked uncertainly.

"I guess? Maybe the power of not being an asshole? She was a bit weird but seemed nice enough and treated me like an equal. I mean, if anyone 'won me over with the power of friendship', it was you, Yumi."

At the sight of the human blushing, Maëlys snapped, "Right, fine. So I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here. Great, I'll get on with my challenge, then."

"Yeah, you're good," Ursula said with a wave of her hand, "you can go ahead and get killed by the Avatar."

" Excuse me? I will destroy her!"

"Doubt it," Ursula said, unimpressed by her confidence, "You're Malice, right?"

"Maëlys."

"Yeah, ok, I saw you fight on that show earlier this year, and you're not in her league." Maëlys smirked at the bear-woman's assessment of her abilities. "I mean, I figure you were only going at 80%, tops…" The other woman's smirk vanished. "And unless you've got some secret killer move, I'm pretty confident I can take you, and I wouldn't last long against the Avatar."

"Wait," Yumi said, "you didn't think you had a chance and you were still going to fight her before you quit?"

"Yeah? It's not really something you can turn down."

"I'm glad you quit, then," Yumi said softly.

"Well! I'll just go off and get killed, then, since I have no intention of living among vile duplicitous humans too stupid to go out with—!" Maëlys abruptly closed her mouth with a snap as she realized what she was saying.

"Wait, people were turning you down?" Yumi asked in surprise. "That's crazy! You're gorgeous!"

"I know! You, you're a human. What is wrong with the men here?"

"Uh… I may not be the best person to ask, but I'm sure there are tons of them who would love to go out with you! In fact, I know a couple of places where you shouldn't have any problem finding more than one who'd be delighted to go out with you."

Maëlys considered for a long moment. "Where?" she finally asked, deciding to give humans one last chance.

"Mm, they wouldn't be open yet. Look, why don't we show you once my shift's over. Is that okay, Ursula?"

"Sure."

"Great! So," she said, turning back to Maëlys, "until then, what would you like to drink?"

oOo

"Stupid principal making me miss lunch," Ranma muttered as he walked into the kitchen to get something to eat, stopping at the sound of a familiar bell's ring. "Great. Two weeks of nothing, and I have to get a challenger right now."

With a sigh, he went outside and walked to the rear gate, groaning at the familiar sight of the boy dressed in a yellow shirt, black pants, a black and yellow bandana, and a large backpack with a red bamboo umbrella lying across its top. "False alarm!" he called over his shoulder to anyone who may have been in the house. Turning back to his visitor, he said, "I know it's too much to expect you to find the front door, but don't ring the bell; it's only for challenges to the Avatar of Light. Come on in and I'll tell you who she is."

He'd already turned around and taken a couple of steps toward the house when Ryouga's words stopped him. "I know who she is and I can read. I'm here to challenge you, Avatar of Light."

"Damnit," Ranma cursed as he turned back around, "I can't believe they're pulling this crap again. Listen, Ryouga, I don't care what they promised you, but they're just using you and don't expect you to win. Trust me, they've already tried this more than once, and it didn't help the poor saps they tricked into it—they just ended up dead or worse. Look, I don't know how they got their hooks into you, but I'll do my best to help you get out of it, I promise."

The other boy gave him an unimpressed look. "I'm the Avatar of Darkness, you idiot."

There was an awkward moment of silence. "Oh. I guess that's different, then."

Ryouga snorted softly. "Come on, let's get this over with. I've waited long enough."

"Now? But I'm hungry."

"Quit whining! You can eat when you're dead."

"Fiiiine… Follow me." As he started to lead the way to the challenge field, Ranma asked, "So how long have you been trying to find me to issue your challenge? A month? Two?"

"About half a day. Once the mantle became active, I knew exactly where to find you."

"Became active?"

"It's a family position. Sometimes they activate it and have us do a challenge, sometimes they don't."

"That's weird. So, you always knew you could become the Avatar of Darkness?"

"Yes. I can't believe it's you I get to kill, though. It almost makes everything I've been through worth it!"

"Glad I could help," replied Ranma dryly. "We should be there in just a few more minutes, Luna-P-Chan."

"What?"

"Luna-P? You know, from Sailor Moon?"

"Ah. That explains it. Unlike you, I don't watch anime for little girls."

"Hey, it's not like I sat in front of the TV and watched each episode with a big bowl of popcorn and a cold bottle of soda on an adorable Sailor Moon tray."

A long moment of awkward silence passed as Ranma realized his denial may have been a bit more specific than it needed to be. Finally Ryouga broke it with warm laughter.

"Thank you for that. Despite everything you've put me through, I was still feeling a twinge of remorse at the thought of actually killing you… But now I see it will be a mercy killing! This is far enough," he declared as he shrugged off his pack and tossed it aside. "Ranma, prepare to die, and this time I'm dead serious."

Ranma looked around the rocky break in the woods they stood in. It seemed remote enough, but, "We do have a big open area up ahead that's perfect for challenges, you know."

"Like I'm going to fight you in a place you've prepared ahead of time."

Ranma opened his mouth to retort, then paused. "You know, that's actually not a bad point, but I didn't do anything like that, and a plain dirt field isn't going to give me any sort of home advantage; in fact, the trees here probably help me more than you."

"Don't care," said Ryouga as he cracked his neck and whispered his transformation phrase, causing shadows to swirl around him, obscuring him from view for a moment before exploding outwards to vanish among the trees and reveal the Avatar of Darkness. She was a pale girl of average height, with purple eyes, small fangs, and black hair that reached her mid-back held in a ponytail by a thin band of shadow. She wore a dark gray seifuku with a tarnished gold skirt and a black ribbon on the chest, a tarnished gold tiara set with a round tiger eye, black calf high boots decorated with tarnished gold, and black fingerless gloves whose knuckles each bore a small tiger eye stone roiling with dark, smoky power.

"Wait, did you just say—"

"Shut up, Ranma!" the Avatar of Darkness snarled, her pale cheeks flushing with rage.

"—you're a pig?"

"It means 'infuse me with darkness' in elvish!"

"Quite the coincidence, huh?"

"Fuck you. What's your special phrase, then?"

"I'm a guy," Ranma replied with a shrug as he triggered his own transformation.

"Always getting all the luck…" she growled, "well it ends today."

"This is lucky?"

Ryouga just gave her a dark look, and suddenly the area was engulfed in impenetrable darkness. Ranma quickly and quietly darted to the side, kicking a stick she'd been standing

near in the opposite direction. When she felt a pulse of energy shoot in the direction of the stick, impacting something with a sharp crack, she only barely managed not to facepalm.

"You idiot," echoed Ranma's voice through the area, expertly pitched to mask its source, "you can't see in this, either, can you?"

"Shut up!" Ryouga shouted, her voice also not giving away her location, "It's not like I've had a chance to practice these powers!"

"Wait, this is the first time you've transformed? Are you stupid?"

"I came to challenge you as soon as I was activated," Ryouga shouted, firing a shadow bolt randomly in the darkness. "Not all of us are a coward like you!" When several seconds passed without a response, Ryouga slowly smiled as she gathered dark energy around her hands. Who's the idiot now, Ranma? Didn't I just tell you not five minutes ago that I always know where you are? Just a couple of seconds more… Her smile turned into a frown of confusion as she heard soft crinkling followed by wet smacking sounds coming from Ranma's vicinity. What the hell?

Light abruptly returned to the clearing, revealing the Avatar of Light standing over Ryouga's pack, a discarded plastic wrapper lying on the ground and a half a curry bun protruding from her mouth.

" Rrrraaanma!" roared Ryouga, hurling buzzing bolts of black energy at the other magical girl who dodged first left, and then right, swallowing the rest of the bun as she moved. "That was going to be my victory feast!"

"I said I was hungry!"

" Die! You ruin everything, Ranma, even my moment of triumph! I had it all planned—the sweetest of meals beside your cooling body and then finding Akane to tell her the 'bad news' and comfort her and protect her from the rampaging forces of darkness… It was going to be perfect, but you had to make sure that couldn't happen, didn't you!"

With a scream of rage and frustration, she slammed both hands together, sending a snarling bolt of green-tinted black energy streaking across the clearing, missing its intended target when she rolled to the side, and smashing through tree trunks and rocks alike before creating a geyser of dirt and stone as it plowed into a hill in the distance.

Trembling with rage, Ryouga fixed her hateful glare on her rival. "I am going to make this hurt, Saotome…"

For her part, Ranma was eying the path of destruction the attack had left, but more importantly, the row of houses on top of the hill, now revealed by the fallen trees. "Yeah?" she asked, meeting Ryouga's gaze, "you'll have to catch me first," she said, darting in the direction of the challenge area. But when she glanced back, instead of following, the other girl stood unmoving, a dark smile on her face as she looked at the distant houses and tossed a ball of black and green energy up and down in her hand.

"Do I? Do I really have to catch you to hurt you? I don't think I do. Because I don't think I have to move an inch to make sure any victory you have is just as ruined as mine."

Damnit! Ranma thought as she stopped and returned to the clearing. I can't fight her here! I need to either get her mad enough to follow me or weaken her enough to make sure there won't be collateral damage… "Fine. We'll do this here.

"I don't get why you're so pissed off, though. Even if you won, your perfect plan was never going to work, you know."

oOo

Drefan scowled as he kicked the dirt. Here he was, at what should have been his impending moment of triumph, fame, and glory, and his idiot charge was throwing it all away. One of the strongest Avatars of Darkness in ages, and the moment the daft fool went active, he insisted on throwing himself at the Avatar of Light, not taking even a moment to practice and get used to his new powers. No, pay no mind to what the bloody advisor with hundreds of years of experience had to say, just fucking blow him off and rush off to fight one of the more promising Avatars of Light in recent years who'd had months to settle into the role. Dark, how he wished he could kill the stupid fucker himself… But no, that wasn't allowed.

Fuck, he would have given his left arm to be paired with someone who had a brain to go with the skills. The things he could have accomplished with a powerhouse like Henri… Hell, he would have been delighted with that guttersnipe Brandy. She wasn't exactly a heavy hitter, but damn if she didn't have the right attitude and a talent for sticking a metaphorical knife in someone where it'd hurt most. Well, usually metaphorical. He briefly wondered where she'd ended up after her challenge—an underwhelming fight to be sure, but the aftermath had been a thing of beauty. Maybe he should hunt her down and make her an offer she couldn't refuse after his current charge was dead and gone.

He wondered exactly how much longer that would be. The little bastard had run off once Drefan had shown that while he wasn't allowed to beat him to a bloody pulp, he was more than capable of sharing his fucking displeasure. Said displeasure and the sharing thereof was, in fact, why the current form of the companion and advisor to the Avatar of Darkness was none other than—

"P-chan!" Akane squealed as she rushed over to pick up and cuddle the little black piglet, only to immediately drop him with a yelp and clutch her bleeding wrist.

"Oi! Watch the hands, grabby!" the piglet wearing a yellow and black bandana exclaimed in a Cockney accent.

"You bit me! And you can talk!" Akane cried, her eyes wide. "Since when can you talk?! And why do you have an English accent?" she asked, shock giving way to confusion.

"Why, just recently. I've been made the official companion of a magical girl!" Drefan declared, puffing out his chest. "And why shouldn't I have a British accent? I'm an English porker, after all!"

"Y-you are? Wait, a magical girl?! Who?! Where is she?"

"Who is she? Why, she's Sailor Berk, she is, and she went off down that trail. Said she sensed something and told me to wait here."

"Sailor Berk?" Akane repeated uncertainly. It didn't sound like any sort of magical girl name she'd heard, but as Velgri had pointed out, manga and anime weren't exactly authoritative sources.

"It's English, love, don't worry about it."

"Okay. Let's go find your … Sailor Berk, P-chan!"

"Nah, you go on ahead; I'm supposed to wait here, remember."

"Right! I'll go get her and bring her back," Akane declared and headed down the path to the challenge field.

"You do that, Akane," Drefan said once the girl was out of sight, "I'm sure Ryouga will have a good laugh at you suddenly turning up in the middle of his business."

oOo

"What are you babbling about, Ranma? My plan is guaranteed to work, and do you know why? Because I won't be telling a single lie. I do care for Akane, and I will protect her from the Dark beings that will overrun the Earth. Hell, I'll even be sorry you're dead! Sure, it'll be because you won't be in your own form, but that'll be our little secret. We both know she cares about me, and once you're out of the picture and I've saved her from a horrible death a few times, she'll start to love me. Fuck, I'll even keep Kasumi safe and sound because it'll make Akane happy."

"She'd be even happier if you kept Nabiki and her father safe too, you know."

The Avatar of Darkness snorted. "If I was forced to live with those two, I'd kill them myself. And we both know Nabiki will fit in with the Dark just fine. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she's running the place within a year."

Ranma frowned and hesitated a moment before changing what she was going to say. "You know, I get that you're the Avatar of Darkness now, but you're really not acting like yourself. Are you sure the darkness isn't influencing you?"

"Of course it is! Unlike you, I didn't have light poured into me like water into an empty bucket; I had the darkness inside me my entire life, but it was locked down tight, reserved for if I ever became the Avatar, with only a little bit slipping out when I was truly enraged. Now it's free and I'm finally whole! Is everything clear now, or do you have any more stupid questions?"

Ranma sighed. "I guess that explains it, then. I just have one more question."

"All right, one last question," Ryouga said, catching the ball of energy in her hand and making its glow intensify, "but it'd better be a good one; otherwise, I'm going to blow up those houses."

Ranma glanced at the hill then nodded, her expression hardening. "Fair enough. I'm just confused how you're going to win over Akane when she's not into girls."

"What are you talking about, idiot? I'm going to change back first, of course."

"Well, that's just it. The only reason I can turn back into a guy is because my curse changes me into a girl and back. You, on the other hand, get to enjoy the rest of your life as a girl. Well, a girl who turns into a pig, I guess."

"The hell I am! That's not how it works, you idiot! I'm a guy—Aaaah!" Ryouga's declaration was cut off by a shrill scream as golden energy briefly arced around her. "I bet you thought that was funny, didn't you!" she snarled.

"Kind of, yeah. Don't say my transformation phrase, stupid. But don't worry, I'm sure Akane will still love you when you save her and Kasumi," Ranma said with a smirk. "You'll be just like another sister to her."

"Go to hell! I'm not a girl!" the Avatar of Darkness shouted, her form blurring for a moment before shifting to Ryouga's normal body. He looked down at himself briefly and patted his chest for confirmation. "Ha! I told you I'm—!" he crowed, raising his head just in time for a brilliant bolt of golden light to streak through his throat and explode out the back of his neck in a huge spray of blood. His wide eyes met the equally shocked eyes of the Avatar of Light before he crumpled to the ground, a rapidly spreading pool of blood already forming around his body.

Shit! I-I thought it'd hurt him and piss him off, not do that ! Ranma numbly thought. Crap! What do I do now?! No, wait, this was still a challenge, a fight to the death… It's okay. Nothing is wrong, this was how it was always going to end. Everything is fine. She took a deep breath to calm herself and nodded. "Everything is fine."

A noise from the other end of the clearing caused her to look up sharply, her gaze meeting Akane's. Ranma only had an instant to take in the other girl's pale face and expression of terror before Akane turned and bolted.