14. ( THE OTHER ) MEN IN BLACK
The train was going relatively fast and The Five knew that they would arrive in Zhengzhou probably in the mid- or late afternoon, but taking another train might not be possible, depending on the distance between that town and the next one…
After some of the passengers had got off the train in Jining, three seats had been freed, and the boys had obliged the girls, leaving them the seats and remaining standing. But Ukyo, aware that the boys would remain up for the whole trip, had decided to switch with Ranma, for him to get some rest too, and Soraya had decided to do the same for Ryoga. And since Akane was after all still recovering from her recent weaknesses, it was decided that she should remain seated for the whole trip to Zhengzhou.
The karate fighter tried to protest, her argument being that she felt much better and that she should be just as solidary as the others, but both the Spatula Girl and the Black Pigtail objected this, with Ryoga and Soraya then admitting that it was more reasonable for Akane to rest as much as possible to regain the entirety of her energy.
Seeing she couldn't persuade them, all the more since they were all resolute, the youngest of the Tendo sisters gave up and accepted their decision. They all thanked her for her solidarity though… and for being reasonable. It was even more noteworthy if one considered that the "old Akane", the one they had all known years before, very determined – if not downright stubborn – , would certainly have ignored the others' opinions and decided to stand up to leave her seat to one of her friends. But the "new Akane", the one who now got along just fine with the very person she quarrelled the most with back then, was level-headed, sensible, and wouldn't try to get her way. A welcome change, which her friends appreciated.
Ukyo, as for her, appeared thoughtful during the trip, she couldn't help thinking about that weird boy dressed in back, with that strangely expressionless face… more precisely the last time they had seen him, when the wind had lifted his hair for a very short time.
She couldn't help thinking about that exact moment, and there was something there that put her mind to the test, but she couldn't put her finger on it for some time…
…until…
Her eyes widened.
Yes ! It's the same thing ! The same appearance ! The same colours black and red ! And that spot… at the very same place ! It can't be a coincidence !
"Ucchan ?"
The chef, lost in thought, got surprised by the call, but always self-controlled as she was, she certainly didn't jump out of her skin. She wasn't the kind to get caught off guard.
"Ran-Chan ? What is it, tell me ?"
He scratched his head.
"Well, it's your turn to sit down, so I was about to tell you so… but then I noticed you were so focused. And I was wondering what was on your mind…" he replied, getting up to let her sit in his place.
"Mmmmh… I think it's better I tell you all once we are in Zhengzhou, all gathered together… and without anyone who could listen to our conversation."
"Oh, you know, Ucchan, these guys speak Chinese, so they won't get what we're talking about…"
"You may be right, Ran-Chan… but still, better safe than sorry, let's just wait a bit more. We'll soon be there anyway."
"Okay, okay… you're the boss anyway, so…" he surrendered with a small smile.
"Yup, but only coz you all asked me to be the team leader. Yet, other than that, I'm also by nature a pretty determined girl…"
She winked at him, making him snort amusingly.
The others chuckled at that. They knew that their "chef-leader" was indeed a resolute and pragmatic person.
Ranma then turned to the window and admired the landscape.
Had it been Ukyo standing where he was, observant as she was, she would have noticed a black-clad teenager, raven hair covering his forehead, who stood outside the car yet regularly looked inside for a moment, through the "window" of the car door, clearly spying on the pigtailed boy with his expressionless eyes…
(…)
The endless river* of time flowed slowly as the sunny afternoon unraveled progressively.
*That's a little nod of mine to the final album of Pink Floyd, released… well, almost 10 years ago now. Its particularity is that it's almost entirely instrumental. I'm a long-time fan of PF and DARK SIDE OF THE MOON is one of my all-time favourites. If you're a fan as well, what's your fav' PF opus ?
Just like during the Japanese itinerary between Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, this part of their journey also saw the landscape shift from deeply urban to progressively rural : indeed, in this case as well, they had left a big city with high buildings (Qindao) and were clearly shifting to a less populous area and greener scenery that recalled the beautiful nature they had admired during their biking trip, prior to Yamaguchi.
More trees, more copses, more bushes, more fields… and of course, the gorgeous symphony of autumn's changing colours ! Once again a feast to the eyes, which warmed their hearts. A beauty that helped them forget about their hardships for a while and distracted them in the most pleasant way.
It was nice to get some peaceful break, especially after the relatively recent events – the fight on the boat, Akane's hospital stay and the weird train dude from before – that had "clouded their skies" for a while. But if one also considered the rest of the events, earlier in time, one had to admit that their journey was everything but a walk in the park…
Soothed by the pleasant landscape, their mood therefore reached the heights of happiness as they admired the splendor of the world during the most colourful of seasons, and it was with light hearts and minds that they finally got off the train in Zhengzhou.
What they didn't notice is the boy in black exiting by another train door and promptly going to hide behind a pillar.
"It will soon be 4 p.m., so I guess we won't take another train. I don't know the distance to the next town, but evening will soon start, so…" observed Ryoga.
"That next town is Xi'an, and I remember that it was quite distant from here…" informed Ukyo. "So no, we won't catch another train at this time. We would arrive very late in Xi'an, and who knows if we could find a place to sleep when arriving that late."
"Yup, and also, there might not be a train to Xi'an before some time. We don't know the train schedule, and therefore the frequency of trains between this town and the other, after all…" pertinently pointed out Soraya.
"Touché !" replied Ukyo with a nod. "It's true that we might have to wait a while until we can catch a train to our destination. That and we must spare Akane, since she –"
"Oh, come on, you already spared me in the train, with that sitting stuff ! I'm not made of china, you know !"
The others then guffawed.
"What's so funny ?" grumbled a pouting Akane.
"You said you weren't made of china ! Get it ?" replied a cracked up Ranma.
She raised a brow then caught the drift.
"Ah ah, how funny…!" she muttered, which redoubled their laughter. "Hey, come on, stop giggling like that, I'm serious !"
They finally got a hold on themselves and looked at her with seriousness.
"I'm telling you I'm feeling much better ! So you don't have to "spare" me, okay ? I'm no longer tired, I can go on !"
"But it's for your own good ! Be reasonable, Akane !" pleaded Ranma.
"I'm okay, guys ! Really, I am ! I don't feel weak whatsoever ! You know me, I'm resistant !"
"We know you aren't weak… but you just spent a week in hospital, so…" remarked the redhead.
"Weak… and week… pun of the day, I guess…" joked Ranma, only to get a glare and raised eyebrow from his female half, which made him clear his throat… and then shut up.
Ukyo and Ryoga, on the other hand, barely refrained from chuckling at that poor joking attempt, with Akane also hardly able to repress a laugh.
"Come on, don't laugh at that, it's really lame…" mumbled Soraya, pouting with her arms crossed.
Which actually only teased their humor some more.
Once they had regained control over themselves, the team's cook raised her hands in an appeasing gesture.
"Okay, okay, we won't nurse you, Akane ! We don't want you to feel overprotected. But I still deem it too late to try to catch another train. I suggest we check the time of the first departure to Xi'an tomorrow morning, and then try to find a family pension or cheap hotel for the night. We can drop our backpacks there, to avoid carrying them around, then see if we need to buy anything for the next days, perhaps walk around a bit and then have dinner. What do you say ?"
All agreed to that.
They had first planned to leave the station immediately, but since they had to check the departures times for the next morning, they suddenly turned around and retraced their steps to find the train schedules with the corresponding times.
This surprised the black-clad boy who had started following them, and he had no choice than to quickly return hiding behind the same pillar.
But that wasn't fast enough for the piercing eye of Soraya and Ukyo, both noticing the stealthy movement.
"Ucchan, I just saw someone hide away behind that column over there…" the redhead whispered in the ear of the leader. "I'm not certain, but I do think he's spying on us."
"Yes, I saw it as well..." the brunette told her. "Let's just do our business as if we hadn't noticed anything. We'll check later if he's indeed following us… but I'm pretty convinced so ! Listen, when we check the departure times, I want you to…"
Soraya listened then made a knowing smile and nodded.
They arrived in front of the schedule sign and could see that the first train to Xi'an was at 10:00.
But not all of them were watching the sign : the braided girl was giving a sideways look in direction of the pillar… and saw the fishy guy, who had turned around the structure as they passed by, look at their group as discreetly as he could.
Then they started walking back again, to where they had come from, and the strange spy swiftly walked away from them, but not too fast though, to avoid raising (more) suspicion.
"So ?" asked Ukyo, glancing at the redhead.
"Yeah, we were right : while you guys were checking the train schedule, I discreetly glanced in his direction… and that dude was indeed looking at us from behind the column !"
Ranma's hands curled into fists.
"Who's that guy ? And what does he want ?"
Ukyo stopped, the others doing the same, and she turned around to face them.
"When I noticed him the first time, as he quickly hid behind that pillar, I noticed he was dressed in black and had black hair. I'm not sure, but I believe that hair was falling over his forehead. Does that sound familiar ?"
"The first guy ! The one who got off at the previous station !" exclaimed Akane.
"Precisely !" confirmed the girl in blue. "I'm pretty sure that one may have been hiding the same colourful round spot under his hair. And regarding that spot…"
She turned to her childhood friend, and for a time fiancé.
"Ran-Chan, you remember when you saw me so focused in the train, and asked me what was on my mind. I replied I would tell you once we had arrived here. Well…"
She leaned forward.
"Those two guys were dressed in black, and one if not both had a spot of colour on the forehead. Certainly a red one, as I could quickly see. Ryoga also thought it was red, or at least he mentioned that colour first."
The Umbrella Boy nodded.
"Yeah, it also seemed red to me !" intervened Soraya.
"And to me as well !" added Akane.
"I'm not entirely sure about the colour, but I also think it might have been red indeed …" concluded Ranma.
It was Ukyo's turn to nod approvingly.
"You see ? It was very brief, that moment when we saw what was under his hair, yet we all saw red. So, boys all dressed in black with a red circle on their forehead, right ?"
More nods.
"Now tell me… what did we see before that was all black with a red spot on the forehead ?"
At first, there was a brief silence…
… then Soraya's eyes widened.
"Those creatures that attacked us on the boat ! They were similar !"
"Exactly !" confirmed Ukyo. "And we concluded that these creatures had been sent by Kay and Os to kill us, didn't we ? So if these boys look similar…"
She left her sentence pending, watching them each in turn.
"…it means that they were also sent by Os and Kay !" Akane finished for her.
"Indeed…" concluded the clever cook.
"You're really bright, Ucchan !" Soraya praised her.
To which the cook modestly shrugged, smiling.
"But what do we do now ?" Ryoga wanted to know.
"Didn't you say we should look for a cheap hotel, Ucchan ?" Ranma recalled.
Their leader crossed her arms.
"Yup, I did. But as we do… we should pay attention to our surroundings. That weirdo could come back. And since we already noticed two identical guys, who knows… we could see more. Yes, there may be others in this town, ready to shadow us and spy all our moves. So let's stay alert for strange boys dressed in black, with black hair covering their forehead…"
(…)
As they looked for a place to spend the night, they didn't see the slender boy again. He was gone.
But what they didn't notice was another guy with both black clothes and hair (the latter falling over his forehead), who didn't follow them… or rather, who didn't walk behind right them.
He actually did follow The Five, but from across the street : he indeed walked on the opposite sidewalk, but not at their level, slightly behind, so to avoid being seen.
Finally, the group of martial artists entered a narrow street in which they found a small hotel that offered rooms for a reasonable price. As always, they paid for two rooms and, after visiting them and finding them comfortable, they decided to leave their heavy backpacks in there and exited the hotel shortly afterwards.
"Now's time to check what kind of errands we could need for the next part of our journey !" Ukyo told them as they continued in the narrow street.
They ended up in a busy artery and soon found a mini-market where they bought dry food and some dumplings, stuffed rice balls and instant noodles cups, all this for their dinner.
And as they returned to the hotel, to put their food in their backpacks, another "boy in black" trailed them. Yes, still a different one !
How many were there exactly…?
But that one wasn't as discreet as the other ones, as he stared so often at the group of teenagers on the sidewalk opposite that he didn't see an elderly woman coming his way… and as he turned his head to the right once more, he crashed into the poor lady !
Unfortunately for him, she began screaming at him, and the noise attracted people's attention… including that of a certain team !
"Another of these guys !" exclaimed the readhead.
"They follow us from the other side of the street to avoid getting spotted. Pretty clever, I must admit !" the brunette said.
The spy, upon noticing he had been caught red-handed, still resumed his walk, but at the following crossroad, he took left and vanished from sight.
"Not too insistent, eh !" remarked Akane.
"More like a coward…" spat Ranma.
"Hum… but since he had been spotted, it was no use for him to try and follow us any longer, no ?" pointed out Ryoga.
"That makes sense." admitted Ukyo. "But if I'm not mistaken, that one had longer hair than the one we saw at the train station… and also the one in the train, who got off in Jining. This means that there are several spies after us, and maybe we'll come across new ones, since they probably switch after a while, to avoid being identified too easily."
(…)
They decided to grant themselves an hour and a half of rest, and Soraya asked Ranma if he wouldn't mind letting her take a nap with Ryoga.
The young Saotome grumbled a bit, mumbling that he always had to leave the room to the new couple, yet he ended up accepting after Akane and Ukyo had both gently asked him to "cooperate".
"Ok, but no dirty stuff, eh !" he had jokingly told "SoRyo", earning a wince from the black-haired boy and a punch in his shoulder from the red-haired girl, who grumbled "Shut up, Dude !", and while the last world used to make him angry, now he no longer cared and merely laughed at her, which intensified her glare.
But all that mattered, in the end, was that the Black Pigtail had agreed to the Red Pigtail's request.
The braided female lay on the quilt, facing her beloved, and snuggled against his chest. She greatly enjoyed his male scent, that told of his manliness and was actually pleasant – Ryoga turned into a pig, but he was actually a very clean man… funny paradox, eh ? - , and also the warmth of his body. And of course, his muscular arms and chest, the first ones closing around her and keeping her against the second one.
But while they had said they merely wanted to sleep together (but in an innocent way ! ;P), they still couldn't resist kissing, the faint sound of their lips meeting multiple times barely audible in the room.
Then she timidly brought her tongue out and gently licked his lips.
He opened his mouth to take out his own tongue, but stopped as he was surprised by her next action : she slowly traced her tongue all around the 'O' of his open mouth, following the sensual lips of her lover, taking all her time to make the pleasure last.
Once she had finished, she felt his tongue come out… and they French-kissed for the first time, their wet "oral flesh" mixing with one another, inside her mouth then inside his. A long, delicious, thrilling deep kiss that "electrified" them, aroused them to no end.
Oh God… that's so… so intense… mmmmh…tasting the inside of him… mixing our saliva… and our tongues are so sensitive… soooo sensitive, my God… mmmmh… please kiss me, Ryo, kiss me more, kiss me deep and long… I love you, Ryo, so incredibly much ! …mmmmmh…
They let out tender moans as they shared that intense moment of love, her even more than him. That made Soraya realize that, as an independent entity, and although her tomboy side wasn't completely gone, she was much more feminine than when she was Ranma as a female. In fact, that tomboy side essentially showed in her speech, especially when she lashed out at others… mainly Ranma, without surprise.
She was now feminine… and filled with desire, which was new to her.
And she loved it.
They loved it.
And after a second session of hot, deep "tongue dance", with her hands caressing his chest and arms, they eventually – and reluctantly - ended their intimate session, trying to control their fast breath and the mad beating of their hearts… but feeling absolutely blissful, their eyes literally glued to each other's, smiles never leaving their faces.
After a long long time, she finally snuggled against his chest again, he put her arm around her, his chin on the top of her head… and, closing their eyes, they finally got some well-deserved rest.
With smiles lingering on their lips.
(…)
That well-deserved rest made them feel much better. It wasn't that long, yet they indeed felt refreshed from that break. The body can use any respite it can get from everyday's turmoil, and gladly welcomes each moment of physical recovery, even the shortest ones being beneficial to some point.
Their regaining strength was even "reinforced" by the dinner they had not very long after waking up.
"Aaaaah, finally ! I was starving !" exclaimed the blue-eyed female as she literally jumped on the food.
"Easy, Soraya, easy ! Food won't evaporate ! You might get stomach ache or other if you wolf it down like that !" warned Ukyo.
Noticing the appetite of their red-haired teammate, both other girls knew what was going on and turned their head to Ranma.
Without surprise, he was slowly eating a dumpling, taking all his time… and clearly not feeling hunger's pressure.
"We'll have to recharge you, Ran-Chan !" observed his childhood friend.
But he shook his head in return.
"I'm okay, really…"
"Are you sure ?" insisted Akane.
"Yeah, pretty much…"
The Bandana Boy was watching his former rival intently, and he could see that the boy's eyes were slightly less open than usual.
Sensing that she was turning to him, Ryoga exchanged a look with Soraya, and concern was obvious on both faces.
But after hesitating, none of them uttered a single word. Ranma had told them that he felt okay, so perhaps he could remain as he was for a while, without being reinforced… Pushing it wouldn't yield the desired result, and could well on the contrary give an adverse, unwelcome result, with Ranma getting upset and arguing… and not necessarily with Soraya, this time.
"Okay… as long as you feel good…" simply concluded the redhead, before resuming her greedy act. But somewhat less hastily, to avoid getting new remarks about her behaviour… which was also something new, different then with the "ancient" redhead, who wouldn't have cared the least about others' opinions ! The "independent" redhead, who somehow was AND wasn't Ranma, had begun acting with more measure and care in her relationships, and no longer didn't give a damn about people's remarks and advice.
They enjoyed their meal, but the girls couldn't help regularly glancing at the pigtailed boy, when he wasn't looking at them, to avoid possibly upsetting him. Even Ryoga appeared somewhat worried about his friend.
But Ranma finally noticed Akane's concerned gaze at some point.
"Hey, I'm fine, okay ?" he gently told her with a smile.
A tired smile.
"Okay…" she simply replied, forcing herself to smile back, yet not feeling comforted the least…
(…)
As dusk was settling in, they decided to go for a walk before bedtime and, after asking the reception clerk about a nearby park and being told there was one in the vicinity, they headed there in a nice postprandial* stroll.
* Ok, I admit it : that's just me showing off after learning a new word ! ;P "I plead guilty, your Honour !" XD In fact, it's a synonym for 'after-dinner', since it originates from 'prandium', latin word meaning 'meal' ('post prandium, and by extension 'postprandial',' therefore means 'after the meal'). Don't overuse that new word, ok ? XDD
What they immediately noticed was that no black-clad weirdo was following them, either directly or indirectly (on the opposite sidewalk).
And that surprised them.
Or rather some of them.
"I'm sure that these guys haven't given up. Perhaps they've changed their tactics and are spying on us in another way. They could be disguised, or positioned in certain spots… perhaps they're no longer dressed in black, to avoid raising suspicion… but I'm convinced they didn't just go away!" Ukyo told her friends.
"And perhaps they're using binoculars to watch us from afar and radios to communicate from a distance…" added Ryoga.
All of them stared at him without a word, even Soraya.
"I…I mean… they could… right ?" he awkwardly asked, feeling stupid.
"You're a bit paranoid, no ?" mocked Ranma, hands in his pockets and looking (innocently) at the sky.
The Lost Boy did appear lost again at that very moment.
"Para-… Para- what ?" he wondered aloud.
"Nothing. Forget it, he was just teasing you !" quickly reacted Soraya, slightly frowning at her male half, who merely shrugged.
But he looked tired, actually… and noticing this, she decided not to argue with him. He clearly wasn't in great shape.
Then she remembered her great appetite and his nibbling from earlier, and understood it was related to the same old thing : his loss of energy and her parallel increase of energy.
All walked onward, admiring autumn's beauty, with that symphony of colours that the orchestra of trees were playing for the enjoyment of all, humans and animals.
They admired the red of fire and passion, the yellow of sun and joy, the brown of earth and oldness, the green of vegetation and hope, in a harmonious alternation of hues and shades. A splendor of every minute, and as they walked and observed their surroundings, that explosion of colours soothed their souls and helped them forget about their worries for a moment, just like their admiring the landscape during the last train leg.
They finally found and entered the park, taking a tour in there in the dim light of dusk.
It was smaller than their Nerima parks and, unlike the latter, didn't include a lake with rowing boats, but a tiny pond instead. There were fewer benches too. Overall, it gave a more modest, pared-down impression. More ancient and traditional too, which created a kind of paradox with the city itself, rather modern in comparison.
There weren't many people around, and the few currently walking in the surroundings were actually heading towards one of the park's entrances to exit it and get back home, given the late hour. So, all in all, the little life still present within the park boundaries was gradually leaving.
"Let's sit here, by the pond, yeah ?" proposed Ukyo.
"Yes, that's pretty nice !" exclaimed Akane, before turning to her fiancé :"What do you think, Ranma ?"
"Sure…" he said, and although he had only uttered a single word, one could hear he was tired, and as he bent down towards the grass, his look met with Soraya's. He recognized concern in the blue eyes she shared with him, and perhaps she was about to tell him something… but his mouth simply arched down in a helpless pout and he took his eyes away from her. Yet gently, as if he was excusing himself for not holding her gaze.
They sat by the still water and looked around, taking in the park's aspect and admiring once again the splendid autumn colours.
"It's so relaxing here…" commented Ryoga, relishing the surrounding quietness.
"Yes… even the wind has disappeared. There was some breeze while we were walking here, and here, nothing." Soraya remarked.
Ukyo looked around her.
"You're right. That's a bit strange that it disappeared so suddenly though, and that it didn't die down instead. It was still there not so long ago. And the park is a pretty open place, the wind should still be blowing during the evening…" she pointed out.
At first, no one knew what to answer to that.
Then Akane made an attempt of explanation :
"Perhaps the wind tends to calm down rather quickly here…"
"Mmmmmh… yeah…" briefly replied their leader, but she clearly sounded doubtful, and the others were equally unconvinced.
No walker was in sight now, the park seemed empty and the city's sounds seemed distant…
Very distant, as if in a dream…
The tranquility of the place was impressive.
The last rays of the sun had withdrawn now, the glorious shine always more absent from the scene…
That silence all around them…
…putting them as in some kind of cocoon…
The night was progressively settling in, darkness spreading insidiously everywhere, stealing away the light of day…
That long, thick silence…
They looked at the pond, noticing that no birds were either on or around the water… There didn't seem to be any insects as well… no activity whatsoever…
That eerie silence…
Ranma had closed his eyes and seemed to be sleeping in sitting position, not noticing the shift in the atmosphere.
But the other four did, oh yes !
"It's… so quiet… almost unreal…" observed Akane.
"Yes… it's a bit like in a dream…" confirmed Ryoga.
Ominous silence…
"It's too quiet ! Something is off here !" whispered Soraya on a tense tone that made the others remained on alert.
"You're right. It's not normal. It's too silent…" added Ukyo, relying on her sixth sense and the intuition of a bad omen it gave her.
Akane swallowed her saliva.
Ryoga's eyes scanned the surroundings in a rapid back and forth movement.
Soraya pricked up her ears.
And then, Ukyo turned her head back… and looked behind.
In direction of the empty path they had arrived from.
There was no one there…
… and yet…
…yet…
Her sixth sense told her that danger was close now.
She frowned and narrowed her eyes.
Soraya and Ryoga saw her look behind and did the same, frowning as well, all their senses in maximal alert.
Then Akane did the same, while Ranma remained asleep in sitting position.
They waited tensely.
Silence…
…but then…
A discrete sound.
Like faint footsteps.
The chef got to her feet, soon imitated by the others, all staring to the left.
The sound grew closer…
"Ranma !" whispered Akane as she pressed the boy's shoulder, her eyes still glued to the same spot ahead.
He "emerged" with difficulty.
The sound grew closer…
"Wha-… What is it… Akane ?" he asked her in a sleepy voice, and then yawned heartily.
"Sssssh !" she scolded him, now looking at him, and he stared at her with surprise.
"But what-"
She kept her right forefinger over her lips, frowning slightly, and pointed with her left forefinger in direction of the sound.
And finally, he emerged.
A black-clad boy with hair over is forehead… and holding a very long stick, most certainly abō.
"Another weirdo… Come here for a good beating, creep !" Soraya exclaimed, raising her voice threateningly.
The other didn't reply, or maybe his smirk could count as a form of answer..
… and then he rushed forward, in her direction !
The bō ripped through the air and missed her by a hair's breadth when she jumped aside at the last second.
He then swung it horizontally, but she jumped in his direction and delivered a powerful kick that landed right on his left cheek… and sent him flying backwards.
"WATCH OUT !" screamed Ukyo as she raised her spatula, her eyes in the opposite direction.
And sure enough, from behind a bush by the other side of the road, on the right, a similar thug dressed in black jumped towards Ryoga, a steel bar already up and ready to strike.
The young Hibiki dashed forward at his assailant, and as the latter drove down his bar with extreme strength, the Bandana Boy sent an upward kick that collided with the weapon and stopped its course.
His foe gave a growl of surprise, but hadn't time to react : Ryoga leaned on his right foot to take momentum then pushed hard and bounced forward like a loose spring.
The guy in black moved, but he wasn't quick enough and got an iron fist hard into his cheek, many blood drops flying off his mouth.
A third adversary emerged from the bushes and jumped at Ukyo, wielding a wrench.
The cook grabbed the handle of her spatula in two spots and put it above her head, thereby efficiently parrying the blow, with the wrench hitting the handle hard and sending a huge vibration all along the metal, one that the brunette could feel up to her arms.
The teenager struck right, but met again with the spatula, and as he was making a circular horizontal move to get her, she swiftly put her weapon upright, jumped on the edge of the large part – the spatula's "head" – and kinda bounced upward.
The wrench arrived where she had been and met nothing there, as she was in the air above the guy.
Gathering her strength, she brought the heavy metal utensil down on the guy's head, knocking him out properly.
As he crashed to the ground, part of his hair moved aside… and she saw the red circular spot in the middle of his forehead.
I knew it : it's just like those birds, on the ship. They have the same red spot !
She raised her weapon and hesitated.
It didn't last long… but her focus being solely on him, she didn't notice a new enemy arriving from the left, and…
"AAAAAH !"
The chef felt and intense pain in her left shoulder and dropped to her knees, but immediately glanced up to her assailant.
This time, the foe was holding a baseball bat, and she deemed herself lucky that she had been hit by some wooden weapon instead of some metal one, since the first one inflicted less damage than the second one.
He took a step forward, lifted his bat again, screamed madly, brought down the sport-item-turned-weapon… and got properly mowed by Akane before the wood could touch the cook again !
He fumbled to get up but the karate fighter delivered a powerful roundhouse kick that met with the foe's head and ruined all his efforts to get back on his feet
Akane instantly turned around and, after a quick global check to make sure no other goon was approaching, she kneeled by her friend.
"Ukyo ! How are you feeling ?"
"Been better, Akane, but I'm not that sore. Just gimme two minutes and I'll be back in the game !"
"You're sure you'll be okay ?"
"Yeah, don't worry : we cooks have a thick skin ! And I was brought up the hard way, with my dad not sparing me ! I'm used to bearing blows and stuff !"
"Okay… as long as you feel okay…"
"I'll be fine, Akane ! But listen : these guys have a red spot right in the middle of their foreheads, just like those birds we fought during the cruise ! And that was their weak spot, back then ! I'm sure it's the same with these guys ! Tell the others to aim at the middle of the enemies' foreheads : even if they can't see the spot, because of the hair, they can hit it if they aim well ! Tell them !"
The heir of the Tendo dojo nodded and rushed back into the fight.
Ukyo remained still for a moment, to let the pain diminish, her blue eyes keeping track of the battle as a couple of those black-clad teenagers had showed up once more, each with a weapon, and after roughly two minutes – like she had said - , she grabbed her spatula and, aiming carefully, sent the metal corner right in the red spot of the dude she had knocked out.
The body exploded in a cloud of black dust, exactly like on the ship.
Yes ! Same thing ! Then we know how to beat them…and we WILL !"
She turned to see her Ran-Chan in difficulty… but she actually had noticed, as she previously watched him fight, while she was recuperating, that he was less accurate then usual, and that his adversary, who was using a knuckle-duster, could land a few hits on him.
And in that very moment, the thug cast a very brutal punch right in Ranma's belly, knocking the air out of his lungs, but before the pigtailed martial artist could collapse, the other made him take off with a powerful kick right under the chin.
Poor young Saotome landed behind a bush, fate making him crash right beside a curious animal that had come closer to watch what those crazy humans were doing this time. And unfortunately for him, that animal was…
"A CAT ! NOOOO ! A CAAAAT !" yelled the ailurophobic* boy as he scrambled away, crawling backwards, his widened eyes glued to the now fleeing feline, still panicked although he saw the cat leave, which a nearby enemy watched with interest.
*'ailurphobic' means 'panicked by cats', derived from 'ailouros', Greek for 'cat'.
The first assailant smirked then sneaked behind Ranma and raised his fist, with the knuckle-duster ready to crack the boy's head… but a cry of rage pierced the air right by the attacker's side, and he turned his head just in time to receive the extremely violent thump of Soraya right on his nose !
"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE !" bellowed the fierce redhead as she got into fighting stance again, arms up and hands positioned in the typical martial art battle position.
The guy was now on his knees, holding his nose, which poured out a red waterfall… but he wasn't producing any scream of pain, like expected !
That surprised the red-pigtailed warrior, but didn't break her concentration for all that.
She wasted no time and, grabbing a rock on the ground, she turned the guy around and crashed the mineral in the middle of the other's forehead, instantly transforming him into a black cloud whose thousands of tiny bits plummeted to the ground.
"You okay, Bro ?" she asked Ranma, her head half-turned at him but her eyes still moving around, scanning her surroundings for potentially incoming enemies.
"Yeah… but rather painful : that metal thing he wore over his fist hurt pretty bad !" he said, getting back up with visible effort. "Thanks, Sis !"
"No prob. We'll get some medicine to treat your wounds ! But I noticed that you weren't at your ease in this confrontation : you are tired, Ranma ! I must –"
Another goon rushed at her, the hammer in his hand ready to strike, but she leapt forward, curled into a ball, then pushed on the ground and jumped backwards like a spring, hitting with full force the opponent's chin with her feet and casting him backwards.
She jumped at him and her powerful fist broke the red spot, tuning the body into black ashes.
"So, as I was saying before that dumbass interrupted me : I must recharge you !"
"Hey, I don't feel that tired !"
She raised a brow and made a pout.
"Yeah right. I'll recharge you anyway."
He shrugged and looked for other foes to fight.
Ryoga was actually "finishing up" his own adversary, an uppercut making the other take off, and once the latter reached the ground, the most muscular member of The Five was there to welcome him… with an incredibly violent index hit right in the bull's eye, adding more ashes to the now pretty black bank of the pond.
But busy as he was, he didn't have time to spot another assailant charging at him (the one who had witnessed Ranma's panic attack with the cat), and he therefore couldn't jump away in time : the other collided with him full force and sent him straight into… the pond !
As the black piglet surfaced and started struggling to swim back to the shore, the creep goggled at him… but when he heard Soraya's war cry, he turned around to see the red fury running at him !
Yet instead of fighting, he suddenly bolted away, as fast as his legs could carry him, and in no time he was out of sight.
"COWARD !" bellowed the female braided warrior as she shook a threatening fist in the direction he had vanished… before remembering about Ryoga, now P-Chan, and hurrying to rescue him !
Soraya grabbed him gently from the water and, opening her thick jacket, put him inside and held him close to her, warming him up instantly (needless to say how happy the piglet got when he found himself stuck to her warm body…).
Then she glanced around her, to see how her friends were doing.
Akane was visibly panting, having obviously given all that she had.
Ukyo's chest was also heaving, but she didn't openly pant or try to catch her breath, thus demonstrating her endurance and mastery.
Ranma was getting back on his feet, with visible effort.
His childhood friend, remembering the harsh "metal punches" he had received earlier, was soon by his side.
"Everything alright, Ran-Chan ?"
"I feel sore… that metal weapon hurt pretty bad… and I feel awfully tired too !"
And his half-lidded look spoke for itself indeed.
Akane was by his side as well now.
"I know, Ranma, and we'll be heading home in no time. But first, we must find a pharmacy and get some stuff to take care of your wounds !"
He smiled at both of them… and even that appeared as a weak smile.
"It will be alright, don't worry, Ran-Chan !" Ukyo told him, and she lifted her arm to put a hand over his shoulder…
…but said arm froze in mid-air and she winced, her lips stiffening tightly.
"Ukyo ? What's wrong ?" worriedly asked Soraya, who had joined them and seen the chef's wince plus the quick drop of her arm.
"It's that hit with the baseball bat, right ?" intervened Akane, who had after all witnessed the attack before punishing the bully who had hurt her friend.
"Yes. It's still painful… but I'm lucky I didn't get a more serious wound… and same for all of us !" replied the okonomiyaki specialist.
"We must buy some balm for bruises and I'll apply it on your back and on Ranma's bruises !" decided Akane, to which her injured friend nodded.
They slowly walked back to their hotel, after making a detour to buy some arnica ointment in a pharmacy.
Once at the hotel, they split in two groups : Akane, Ukyo and Ranma went in the girls' room, Ryoga and Soraya in the boys' room.
The short-haired teen applied the ointment on the wounds of her fiancé, then on the sore left shoulder of the long-haired one. And no matter how gently the third Tendo massaged the sensitive area of the shoulder, the chef couldn't help wincing a bit : the bastard had hit really hard, and touching the sore spot, even without pressure, wasn't pleasant.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Soraya had heated up some water and poured it over the tiny black pig, changing him back into the handsome young man she was infatuated with.
His naked body made her blush… and being the same uneasy boy as always, when nude in front of women, his cheeks also turned red.
He swiftly grabbed the new clothes she had prepared for him, by his side, and hurried into the bathroom to get dressed again.
"Thanks for saving me and providing dry clothes for me, Love !" he gently said as he sat back opposite her.
"Don't mention it, I would do anything for you, Love !" she sweetly replied.
(…)
Once Akane, Ukyo and Ranma were back, Soraya wanted to recharge him, but he refused, arguing that it would be better to do it after waking up the next day, as he wouldn't need energy during the night, since he would be asleep.
"But… if your energy gets too low while you sleep, maybe you could…"
She couldn't resolve to finish her sentence, but all had well understood.
"Why not recharge him a bit, just for the night, and finish the job tomorrow morning ? That way, Ran-Chan will have enough energy to ensure him a safe night…" proposed Ucchan.
And once again, she was right, and therefore her proposal was accepted once more.
After this was carried out successfully, they discussed the most recent event.
"They were all dressed in black with a red spot in the center of their forehead. Just like those… "birds" that attacked us during the cruise !" Soraya summed up.
"Yes. And they all wanted the same thing : get rid of us !" added Ryoga.
"They all come from the same place. Or were sent by the same people, those who want to kill us ! And there will certainly be more on our way !" commented Ukyo.
"Os and Kay ! I'm sure it's them again ! Those scumbags !" seethed Ranma, his left hand turning into a vengeful fist."
"Of course it's them ! They have sworn to defeat us… and yes, kill us ! They won't stop unless it's done !" their leader told them very seriously.
Akane sighed and said :
"Our journey will be very dangerous… probably more than we thought it would be !"
"Yeah, that's what I thought as well !" admitted Soraya. "But we can't give up !"
Ukyo's eyes narrowed.
"No, we can't, you're right ! And we won't ! But we'll have to be very very careful ! More than we ever had to, in our whole life ! Coz against such determined enemies, and probably so many adversaries along the way, we won't have a second chance…"
(…)
(…)
Men In Black, eh ? Yup, but the "bad version". The evil version, if you prefer. And as far as colours are concerned : black clothes and hair, red circles on foreheads… black and red, the colours symbolizing the devil. No random chromatic choice there.
But, by some interesting coincidence, black and red, while related to negative stuff in this chapter here, also relate to positive stuff in the whole story, since they're also the colours of Ranma's and Soraya's hair, therefore the colours symbolizing the heroes.
So, black and red have both a positive and a negative symbolism in this story. Pretty twisted, right ? Yup, but also interesting somehow.
More enemies in this chapters… stalking our heroes… another fight… bruises and wounds… Ranma getting weaker again… It's rather dark, don't you think ? That's why I decided to add a touch of humor, to lighten it up : hence the 'china' and 'weak/week' puns, with our heroes guffawing, chuckling, giggling. A refreshing moment in a rather worrisome chapter.
The new "SoRyo" loving moment continues the couple's idyll, with another progression of the physical manifestation of their love, but also adds a touch of light, of brightness in this dark chapter. And yes, it's always to sweet to describe what they feel as they experiment exciting moments, and how blissful they feel in those times…
Ah, and regarding the reason why the last enemy fled the scene of the battle instead of fighting on… no, it's not because he was scared, there's another reason for that, a very precise reason which you'll find out later. (insert devilish laughter here)
Now, sorry for the long wait, but I had more difficulty crafting this chappy (no Writer's Block, but unsure how to order the chain of events) and also got delayed because of work and because of two surgeries I underwent last week (currently in convalescence for two weeks). I do hope next chapter won't take that long, but… as always when writing, an author cannot promise next update will be soon...
I'd like to express my gratitude to the usual supporters, but an extra-special thanks to user HeartByte-FreeAIWritingTool (hope I didn't misspell, eh… ' ) who favorited AND reviewed BOTH of my previous RANMA stories, as well as now follows my work. Very flattered indeed, and all my thanxxxx for that !
That's about it, I guess. I'll write on as often as I'll be able to, and hopefully next update will come sooner, this time. Thanxxxx for your patience and interest !
Take care, and be as happy as you possibly can !
See you… or rather READ you soon ! ;)
; Léo ;