20. GO, JAPAN AND CHINA ! (THE SHOWDOWN)
Two men walked first, then came the three prisoners, then three other men (one of them holding P-Chan by his bandana), then Os and Soraya, with Kay bringing up the rear.
There was only one floor above, and they emerged from the staircase to find themselves in a long passageway dug for countless months through the rock of a mountain.
"Where are you taking us ?" asked Ukyo.
"Somewhere where I can have my fun and you can watch the whole show…" Os replied with a sinister grin.
"We won't let you do that !" exclaimed Akane.
"Well, tied up as you are, it'll be a tad difficult to oppose, right ?" Kay smoothly said on her most sadistic tone.
"Don't you dare touch her !" warned Ranma, gritting his teeth.
"Ah ah, my dear Ranma, afraid of getting part of you molested ? I guess I can understand that… but alas, the choice isn't yours !" the devilish man told the young martial artist.
Approximately in the middle of the passageway, they turned right and found themselves in a vast room in the center of which was a kind of stone table.
"Stop here, guards, and watch closely our prisoners !" Kay ordered after a few more steps.
They all came to a halt, save for Os and Soraya, the first one pulling the second one by her wrist, in direction of the table.
"Let me go, shithead !" hissed the redhead, trying to resist, as she glared hard at him, her jaw contracted so tensely that it was almost painful for her.
Then she felt an iron grip around her other wrist and jerked her head to the right : Kay was there, who helped her brother pull their victim to the center of the room.
"SORAYA !" yelled Ukyo, hating to feel that powerless when one of her dearest friends was about to get…
"SISTER !" shouted Ranma, terribly frustrated.
They tried to run to their poor friend, but the guards easily overpowered the trussed prisoners and forced them to stay put.
P-Chan, in the mean time, had managed to squirm and bite hard the hand of the guard who was holding him. The man grunted under the pain and, turning around, he threw the black piglet against the wall, next to the entrance.
He watched him drop to the ground, sniggering nastily, and resumed watching the "show", as Os had dared to call it.
Soraya had done her best to fight off the siblings, but their strength was impressive, and while Os bent over her legs, to limit their moves, Kay put all her weight over the redhead's arms, effectively pinning them down on the table.
P-Chan, shaking his head, got back on his feet, stared ahead… and felt his heart sink in his chest : his beloved was getting immobilized on that stone table, her fate appearing unavoidable !
He saw that Ukyo, Ranma and Akane were trying to get rid of the guards above them, but had a hard time doing so.
If no one did something quickly…..
That's when the piglet heard a kind of hiss behind him, and as he turned around, his eyes widened.
Maybe everything is not lost after all…! he thought, and hurried to the entrance of the room, then turned right, vanishing from view.
"PISS OFF, ASSHOLES !" yelled Soraya on the top of her voice.
"Not before I've taken good care of you…" Os said as his hand opened to grab her left breast.
The braided female had felt tired after recharging Ranma, but the current situation, with adrenaline rushing in her veins, gave her unusual strength that allowed her to contort herself violently and push back the perverse man, with the energy of despair.
"Waow, what a tigress… I like that ! It excites me !" he exclaimed, and he slowly, threateningly walked back to her.
In the mean time, three events occurred at the same time :
the guard holding Ukyo received a terrible shock on his head and collapsed heavily, the handle of a weapon breaking the first red spot…
…the one holding Akane felt something metallic wrap around his neck then got violently pulled to the back, before a sharp dagger destroyed the second red spot…
… and the one holding Ranma felt an arm block his neck, and as he put both hands on that arm, to try to push it away, a forefinger shattered the third red spot.
It all happened in less than 30 seconds, none of the guards being able to react, and three black clouds of "ashes" replaced the black-clad bodies.
Ranma, Akane and Ukyo were amazed at the sight of their saviours :
Cologne, Shampoo and Mousse were standing there !
The first one on top of her staff…
… the second one with her twin chui raised and the hilt of a sword showing on top of her back…
…the third one holding Ukyo's spatula in one hand (which made the chef's eyes widen with joy)…
…and Ryoga was with them, on the left of Mousse !
He had returned to his human form, and was currently dressed in different clothes !
But before the captives could say anything, the three Chinese and the Japanese boy got attacked by the two remaining guards.
At the table, Kay and Os, busy as they had been trying hard to neutralize the redhead, hadn't noticed the first attack, which was very stealthy, but the second one, currently taking place, drew their attention to the group of prisoners and guards…
…and Os let out a long "NOOOO !" as he realized that three men had already been destroyed, and the remaining two were behind the eight ball.
Soraya quickly glanced at her friends and felt hope return, especially when she saw…
"RYO !"
After screaming his name, she looked ahead, saw Os gritting his teeth as he observed the ongoing fight and cursed loudly… and decided to take advantage of his distraction.
She quickly folded her legs, and as he turned back to her, surprised by her movement, she unfolded them in flash, like a loose spring.
Os got hit violently in the chest, but given his armour, he didn't really suffer from it. But still, the shock cast him backwards and he crashed on the ground.
Soraya had immediately continued her efforts : putting both feet on the table, she pushed upwards as hard as she could.
Kay's grip had slightly loosened, astonished as she was at both the newcomers's attack and Os's fall, and the redhead's powerful move upward caught her by surprise : she couldn't maintain the petite teen any longer on the table, and the pigtailed girl broke free from her grasp, whirled in the air in a gracious curve, landing quickly right behind the hellish woman.
The later turned around… only to get a powerful kick right in her face !
In the mean time, Mousse's dagger had destroyed another red circle and the last guard, busy with Ryoga, didn't see the long staff of Cologne rip through the air… and break the last weak spot of the siblings' henchmen !
The howl of rage that Os let out was so deafening that, for a few seconds, all our heroes stood still.
Then the sound of running and screaming echoed in the nearby passageway.
"He called backup !" exclaimed Cologne, then turned to Mousse. "Quick, cut our friend's ties ! We need all fighters available !"
The young short-sighted Chinese made three extremely rapid moves… and the severed ropes fell to the floor !
"Thank you so much for coming !" Akane warmly told them.
"Yeah, you're right on time ! Thanks a lot !" added Ranma.
"Thanks indeed ! But how did you find us ?" asked Ukyo, her spatula back in her hand, courtesy of Mousse.
That's when several cries of anger erupted from the entrance, and a swarm of "black men" poured into the room !
"We fight first, we talk later !" announced Shampoo, raising her chui, her face the sheer example of determination. "YAAAAAAH !"
She rushed to the black group and started swinging her weapons with rapidity, accuracy, energy.
"If you'll excuse me…" Mousse said with a smirk, a sparkle briefly appearing on the side of one of his glasses, and he took off as well.
"I'm delighted to see you all, but time for talks will have to wait ! Let's get rid of them first !" concluded Cologne before hopping in direction of the melee.
(…)
As soon as the last guard had been defeated, Ryoga had ran over to Soraya, who was currently fighting Kay, but Os, after howling so loud, had sided with his sister to attack the redhead jointly. But the Bandana Boy approached from a blind spot, and ran as stealthily as he could, to take the villains by surprise.
"Bastards rhymes with cowards ! You're both attacking a single woman together, while I'm alone ! How craven of you, you're even scummier than I thought !" Soraya mocked them, as she avoided the red ribbons cast her way by Os.
"Shut up, little bitch !" snarled the sister, who opened up her mouth… out of which pink rays came out, that Soraya barely dodged.
"Os, you think Kay is not strong enough for –"
"I'll make you close your mouth !" warned the brother, his fist getting encased in a green flame before he swung it at the nimble teen. "And you'll open it only when you'll be kneeling in fron- "
His sentence was ended by Ryoga's very powerful punch.
The young Hibiki had approached Os from the side, focusing his energy, and when the armoured man took a step back to counter an attack from Soraya, Ryoga suddenly appeared near Os's flank and launched his fist at maximal speed into the foe's middle section.
Wind got knocked out of the mastermind's lungs and the terrible impact cast his body several feet away.
"RYO ! YOU'RE BACK !" joyously exclaimed Soraya, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yup, and I'm not leaving you again, So !" he ensured her, briefly squeezing her hand. "We'll get rid of those scumbags together !"
The red-and-black armoured foe got back on his feet, although his stance showed that he had got badly hurt by Ryoga's very violent punch.
"And for the record, I'm not the one who suck : YOU ARE !" Soraya disdainfully shouted at the would-be molester.
He gritted his teeth, through which a scream of rage came out, and he rushed back to the fight.
A red light appeared all around Kay's right arm and, lifting it, she brought it swiftly down on Ryoga, who dodged.
A large gash appeared in the ground, below the evil woman's arm, exactly where the Bandana Boy had been standing two seconds ago.
Our hero goggled.
Damn, that red light must transform her arm in some kind of blade ! Only this can explain that deep cut in the ground, where she struck to get me… Let's be careful : no time to get sliced up !
The green-and-black armoured woman kept trying to chop her adversary… but she suddenly collapsed heavily, properly mowed down by Soraya.
"Thanks, So ! I owe you one !"
"No problem, Ryo !"
"SO !"
She turned around a second too late and received Os's fist, encased in a green flame, right in her belly.
"Ah ah, that will shut you up for sure !" sneered the cursed brother.
The redhead started feeling nauseous and her balance was suddenly challenged.
Damn ! I… I feel… all dizzy…
Her thin body landed awkwardly on the ground, and as she tried to get back up, she began to see the world spin around… and felt unable to get back on her feet.
s
"Ooooooh…" she moaned, closing her eyes and seizing her head between her hands.
Os walked to her in a menacing manner… but feeling a presence behind him, he turned around…
…just in time to receive Ranma's fist on his nose !
(…)
The henchmen were numerous, easily outnumbering the Chinese and Japanese fighters… but the both of the latter were much more determined !
In fact, The Five's rescue had galvanized their mood and energy, multiplying the latter, and all fought with sheer resolve and courage.
Ukyo was slightly disadvantaged, given her painful shoulder, but she bravely gave all she had nonetheless and managed pretty good anyway. Her spatula swung this way and that way, almost as quickly and accurately as usual, but the poor cook gritted her teeth every now and then, when pain's sting pierced her sore area and forced her to slow down or take a quick break every now and then. She was unable to sustain a continuous clash because of her injury…
In the latter case, she had to step aside and let the others pursue the battle, merely dodging incoming attacks if one of the foes spotted her and tried to get her, until she felt better. Then she returned to the fray until next pain alert.
Ranma fought by her side and although he wasn't at his maximum, Soraya having recharged him only about two thirds, he still packed a wallop anyway. He used his Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken at its best, sending a myriad of fists at some of his enemies, while other received terrible kicks and punches dealt with as much strength as possible, knocking out his opponents in many cases and quickly finishing them off. Therefore, even with one third of his energy missing, the heir of the Saotome techniques did great and justified his status of most powerful fighter.
Akane, as for her, couldn't rely on special powers like Ranma and Ryoga, or hidden weapons like Mousse, so she exploited the quickness of her arms and legs, as well as the intensity of her blows, to deliver an admirable performance. Her hits often reached their target, and once an assailant was down, she hurriedly focused her strength in her fist and the latter invariably shattered the red spot.
Not far from her, Mousse was using all his arsenal to best his adversaries : saber, twin sai, club, flail, metal cable ended by a large iron claw, chains… he had a bit of everything inside his large sleeves. Hammerspace gives endless possibilities, doesn't it, dear readers ? ;) He was extremely agile too and, for a short-sighted man, remarkably accurate, both for striking and dodging, making him a precious ally !
Close by, Cologne proved that age wasn't necessarily a problem in battle, and while her small size made it hard for the enemies to touch her and allowed her to easily evade their blows, the precision of her attacks clearly indicated that oldness didn't always alter one's deftness. Finally, her tiny stature was also an advantage speed-wise, as she was one of the fastest fighters on the battlefield.
But the most impressive of all was probably Shampoo, who fought with an impressive combination of energy, strength, speed, agility, accuracy, fearlessness and determination ! She gracefully moved around among the foes, shouting her war cries, delivering most powerful blows in various body parts, using the end of her chui's handles to brutally crush her adversaries' weak spots, turning many of them into black clouds in no time. But she also avoided the incoming onslaughts with incredible ease, being the only fighter, with Cologne, not to get hit ever. She was so nimble and swift that the "men in black" couldn't possibly land a blow on her, while she rarely missed any of them !
The whole group of heroes did extremely good and managed to reduce the hostile swarm to a small portion in a short amount of time.
Ranma, looking over at "SoRyo", noticed that things didn't go as well as they could, so he told the others he would go help the couple and took off.
He had the time to see his female half get punched in her belly by that same green flame that had made him all queasy and dizzy, that first time in the park, by the fountain.
And indeed, once she was on the ground, she vainly fought to get back on her feet, yet couldn't, and seized her head with both hands.
Bastard ! I'll avenge my "sister" ! Just you wait…
He focused as much strength as possible in his fist, raised it and, as Os turned around at him, cast it at full speed...and the blow landed right on the evil brother's nose !
The male mastermind yelled as he stumbled backwards and instantly put his hand to his bleeding organs.
"Motherfucker !" he bellowed, and this infuriated Ranma to no end, him who had not seen in mother for years and years and longed to see her.
The pigtailed boy launched himself at Os and prepared a powerful kick… but when he was close enough, he noticed that his adversary had a hand hidden on his side and he sensed that the bastard was cooking up something…
He jumped just when the armoured foe launched his red ribbons, avoiding them by a hair's breadth, but as he landed, he couldn't avoid the turquoise wave that erupted from his enemy's hand.
The result was immediately perceptible : he felt an unbearable pain spread through his body, making him scream terribly loud.
He had the impression that countless long needles were piercing his flesh and pushing further into his body !
Os smirked as his hand remained up, stretched at Ranma, a sadistic smirk misshaping his features.
"Ranma !" Soraya called out, as she finally managed to get up and hesitantly walked towards her male half, on wobbly legs, her dizziness gradually retreating.
Ryoga had also seen what had happened and wanted to help his friend, but Kay didn't leave him any respite and pounced in his direction, a yellow orb of energy increasing in size in her hand.
He pretended to dodge by moving to the left… yet very swiftly shifted to the right at the last second and crouched !
But his stratagem was successful : Kay sent her big orb to the left… and the energy sphere met nothing there, missing the Lost Boy by a hair's breadth.
Kay goggled, staring at the crouched Ryoga, but couldn't avoid him when he quickly pushed himself to the front… and she received a terrible punch right on the cheekbone !
A horrible crack could distinctly be heard and she collapsed instantly.
Ryoga didn't waste time and ran to Soraya.
"Damn ! What's happening to you, So ?" he said, putting his hand sover her shoulder.
"Nauseous… and dizzy… but it's decreas-"
"DON'T TOUCH HER ! SHE'S MINE !" yelled Os when he saw that, and as he kept his right hand up to maintain Ranma's suffering, he used his left hand to launch tiny red spheres with blue waves revolving around them.
And they were flying right at Ryoga !
The boy was about to jump aside…
…but his beloved threw herself in front of him !
And the red spheres hit her right on the chest.
She screamed, feeling like she had been electrocuted.
"NO ! SO !" the Bandana Boy yelled as he hurried to catch her before she fell, and gently worriedly asked her : "How are you feeling, SO ?"
But she didn't reply.
"Ah ah ah ! Serves you right !" gloated the grey-black-haired fiend before turning his attention to his main target : "And now, my dear Ranma, you'll see what suffering really mea- AAAAAH !"
Os yelled as the sharp corner of Ukyo's spatula crashed extremely violently on his extended arm, shattering the armour and cutting part of the skin underneath.
The chef had struck with all the strength she could possibly use at the time, and she felt her left shoulder "scream its protest" as pain immediately reappeared
Ignoring her ache, the courageous leader of The Five didn't leave her enemy the time to react : she swiftly raised her weapon and brought it down just as swiftly, with a loud cry of rage, ignoring her sore muscle's plea.
The shock was even more terrible than the first time.
An explosion of blood ensued, and Os's terrible howl shook all the room, his arm starting to bleed profusely, a very large gash showing in its middle, where the first spatula blow had shattered the armour and exposed the skin.
In the mean time, since Os had lowered his arm, his control over Ranma had ceased and the pigtailed boy had finally felt his torture end : as he lay panting on the cold ground, he quickly checked his flesh, but there were no wounds whatsoever. The long needles piercing him therefore weren't real : it was an illusion… but that still generated much dolor for the poor teenager !
"Serves you right, you said ? Serves YOU right !" the braided teenager spat at the bellowing enemy, whose eyes threw daggers at him.
Ryoga, who had rushed at Soraya when she had got it by the red spheres, had then been staring at the screaming Os, together with the redhead, then their gazes shifted to Ranma.
"You okay… Bro ?" his "sister" asked him in a weak voice,
"Been better… but I'll be okay. And you ?"
"That's weird : my nausea and dizziness are slowly retreating… after that kind of electric shock…"
"Yes, I know : the same happened to me during our first fight, in Nerima's park : that bastard had hit me with that fist engulfed in a green flame and I started feeling nauseous and dizzy… yet when he cast those red spheres and I felt like electrocuted, well the positive outcome of it was that it made nausea and dizziness stop. I see the same is happening to you. You'll soon feel normal again, don't worry."
Kay came running and raised her blue-encased fist at Ukyo… but sensing a presence behind her, she turned around and struck without looking !
Mousse collapsed, holding his chest and moaned weakly.
"Aaaaah… c-cold… too cold…"
He curled on himself, a hand clutching his now icy chest.
"That'll… teach you… a lesson !" spat the nasty witch before turning back to the chef.
She expressed herself with difficulty because of the pain she felt each time she talked, pain that was directly related to her broken cheekbone, following Ryoga's violent punch in her face.
"You're… next…" the female mastermind threatened Ucchan, raising her fist encased in blue…
…but a chui, thrown at full speed, crashed on her left ear and sent her flying like a bag of flour.
"You hurt Mousse, and Mousse my friend ! I revenge him !" exclaimed the purple-haired Chinese teen before gritting her teeth menacingly and raising her heavy twin weapons once more.
"I feel much better now. It's all gone. And I need to do something…" said Soraya as she stood back up, reluctantly leaving the warm nest of Ryoga's arms.
"Are you sure you'll be okay ?" he asked her, still concerned.
"I will be, don't worry, Love."
She smiled at him, then started running…
…focused her energy and wrath…
…and she performed a Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken* on that bastard of a mastermind, dealing him a great many blows in a very short time.
*The technique also known as "chestnuts roasting on an open fire fist, taught by Cologne to Ranma-chan, in order to help her "tame" her fear of heat
The ruby-eyed monster ended up falling heavily, not far from his sister, who was struggling to rest on one harm, holding her ear, which was ringing loudly. He howled as his nose gushed blood, and he felt like it might be broken, or at the very least cracked after that second impact in so little time.
Kay raised a shaking arm… and light blades appeared at the end of her fingers.
She directed her hand at Soraya and smirked through her skull pain.
Akane, who was next to the redhead, noticed that movement and goggled.
"SORAYA !" she warned… but the blades then left Kay's fingers and flew straight to the redhead.
The karate fighter dove and pushed her friend out of the way… but she then was the one who got sliced in several spots by the bright incoming projectiles, which made her scream as she reached the ground.
"AKANE !" instantly shouted Ranma, and his eyes went from his fiancée to the accursed sister.
In seconds, he reached the latter, who turned around as she heard him coming… and a vengeful fist smashed right in the middle of her eyes, getting the top of the nose in the process.
He ignored her cries of pain as she seized her face and instead ran straight to his beloved, whom he seized in his arms.
"You okay, Akane ?"
"Yeah… I got cut by those… those light missiles or whatever it was… it's burning, and somewhat painful, but no big deal, I think. Don't worry, Ranma. But how are the others ?"
Ryoga was by Soraya, asking her how she was.
Shampoo was holding Mousse in her arms, his head in her lap, with Cologne inspecting his body.
And Ukyo was now approaching the fiancés.
"Everything alright, you two ?" she said as she kneeled, and winced as her back muscle "screamed" its protest.
"Ucchan, you okay ?" asked a concerned Akane.
"Yeah, just went overboard as I slammed my spatula on Os's arm with all I had… I thought it wouldn't be a problem, but my back clearly disagrees. Anyway, nevermind me. What about you two ? You, Akane, you just got hurt by Kay, so…"
The youngest Tendo smiled.
"I'm okay. The wounds I got are painful and burning, but it's not that serious, I'm sure."
"Thank you, Akane ! I owe you one !" Soraya warmly told her male half's fiancée as she and Ryoga joined the group, The Five being finally reunited again in the same spot.
"Yes, thank you indeed, Akane !" the latter said. "You saved my Love !"
Ukyo had got back up and, looking over at the siblings, she saw that Os had reached Kay and was talking to her.
"What are they cooking up ?" wondered the… cook.
Ranma checked on their enemies as well.
"We should pay attention, one never knows…"
A repeated sound drew their attention and they saw Cologne hop on her staff, leading the "Chinese team" of the heroes, with Shampoo short behind and carrying the still-hurt Mousse in her arms.
"How are you feeling ?" the elder asked The Five.
They explained her about Akane's cuts and Ukyo's painful back, Ranma and Ukyo keeping an eye on the hellish siblings while listening, then Soraya asked how Mousse was doing.
"Kay managed to freeze his torso but I pressed a point on his body, and this will increase his temperature for a while, which will help fight off the cold of her attack…" explained Cologne.
"He's so lucky to have you. We all are." Ukyo told the Amazon matriarch, briefly taking her eyes away from Os and Kay.
"Great Grandmother is precious helper, always !" Shampoo proudly said.
But the object of these compliments modestly answered :
"All I do is act the way my conscience tells me to. Just like you, I'm not perfect and make mistakes or wrong decisions, but I try to do as good as I can. And if I'm able to help, then it is good."
She turned her head at the couple of wounded foes lying further ahead, struggling to get back up, slowly but surely, and her eyes narrowed.
"Let's all be careful, they are back on their feet. We managed to give them a hard time, but they remain powerful nonetheless. We must be ready for anything…" she warned the Japanese and Chinese teams around her.
Shampoo hesitated to gently put Mousse down and ask her great grandmother to watch over him, before taking back her weapons… but she wasn't sure if their enemies would be willing to give it another try or not. As long as there was no certainty about it, she wanted to keep her lifelong suitor in her arms… because, over time, he had become more than just that : he had become a dear friend, and even if he was still deeply enamoured of her, she nevertheless continued to consider him a friend. But a close one.
"I'm… telling you… NO, Brother !" hissed Kay, wincing as she still spoke with difficulty, because of her fractured cheekbone.
"And I'm telling you YES, Sister !" Os countered.
"I want to… finish them off… here and now !" she argued.
"We can do that later on… you know where…" he suggested.
"But I don't… want to wait ! We have… a good chance… now… and who knows… if we will… get another… such good one… afterwards ?!" she protested.
"Impatient you ! Learn to take the time, Sis'. And the more we wait, the funnier it could become, you know…"
"Come on… don't be… a coward… Bro ! Let's not… run away !"
"I'm the one to decide, and I decide we mercifully grant those insects a respite. They'll need it. And next time, I'll also get what I want, I swear I will….."
And as he said that last part , his eyes narrowed at Soraya and his lips twisted into a lubricious smile… lips over which he slowly ran his tongue.
"Go whack off in a corner, wanker !" the redhead half-screamed at him, flipping the bird at him. "Or why don't you ask your sister to fill in for me, eh ?!"
The horrible grimace of rage that appeared over Kay's face, together with the switch from perverse contentment to deep upset on Os's face, both of these pleased Soraya to no end.
"I'LL KILL YOU… RED-HAIRED BITCH ! I'LL LET HIM… HAVE HIS WAY… WITH YOU… THEN I'LL… TORTURE YOU… AND FINALLY… MAKE YOU DIE… IN THE WORST… OF PAINS ! I SWEAR I WILL… LITTLE BITCH !"a livid Kay thundered, enduring the terrible pain it took her to scream with her broken cheekbone.
Os grab her arm and, extending his own arm to the right, he created a dark grey whirlpool.
"Till next time, insects…" he told them, his jaw contracted, blood still dripping from his now red nose, before he entered the magical portal.
Kay followed him, a large red mark on her forehead, just on top of her nose (courtesy of Ranma), another large one on her cheek (courtesy of Ryoga)… but just as she was halfway into the whirlpool, she stopped and, frowning deeply, she let out that threat :
"You're all …dead."
And her finger slipped over her throat in the typical death menace.
She finally disappeared into the grey portal, the latter shrank and eventually vanished.
And that was it : the infernal couple was gone.
Some of them couldn't help letting out a long sigh.
"Finally !" exclaimed Ranma, perfectly summing up everybody's thought at that precise moment.
"Mmmmmh…" moaned Mousse, his mouth contracting in a displeased expression.
"Mousse ! You wake up ! Shampoo very worried for you ! How you feel ?" the purple-haired Amazon instantly asked.
He took a deep breath and they all waiting for him to express himself on his condition.
"I… I feel… still a bit cold on my chest… but much less than before… I think I'll soon be back to normal…"
"I pressed one of your body points, it controls temperature, and thanks to this, your body has increased its warmth and thus fought off the freezing effect of that witch. You should indeed soon be fine." explained Cologne.
He gently smiled at her.
"You're not so bad an old lady, after all." A brief pause. "Thank you, Cologne."
She had chuckled at his teasing her.
"Don't mention it. And you're not too bad a would-be son-in-law yourself."
He sighed, his look getting lost in the vague.
"I wish I was your son-in-law… for real…"
The venerable elder quickly glanced at Shampoo, who happened to have the same reflex… and both relatives looked at each other for a short moment.
Then Cologne gave an enigmatic smile.
"Time will tell, my dear Mousse…"
There was a lull in the conversation.
During that time, Soraya gently tilted her head and rested it on Ryoga's shoulder, and Akane affectionately took Ranma's hand and lovingly squeezed it inside hers.
Then Ukyo took a deep breath and addressed all of them :
"Cologne, Shampooo. Mousse, thank you so much for coming to our rescue ! We owe you our lives…"
Then her eyes stopped on Soraya, remembering what she could possibly have endured. She had been the one in the worst position.
""…and even more than that…" continued Ukyo, her eyes finally leaving Soraya (who had smiled gratefully at her) to embrace the whole group, making them this suggestion : "And now, how about we left that horrible place ?"
"Hell yeah !" approved Ryoga. "We must get some rest, especially you, Love !"
He had taken a look at the redhead.
"Hey, I'm ok ! I feel great ! Especially after kicking the asses of those bastards !" she replied, before her eyes met with those of Cologne. "Woopsy, sorry for that !"
She couldn't repress a laugh.
"Ah ah, you're so natural, my child ! I could tell by the way you put Os back in his place, both with words and with your pretty clear gesture ! That's just who you are !"
The pigtailed female remembered the gesture in question (the flipping of the bird) and immediately felt uneasy.
"Ah yes… I… uh… I was angry and I couldn't… control myself, you know…" she awkwardly explained.
But the wrinkled woman put a hand up.
"No apologies needed. He had it coming. I like your spontaneity."
And she chuckled some more, Soraya rubbing the back of her head before meeting Akane's gaze… and noticing the girl's smirk.
"Yeah right…" was all she could say before closing one eye and sticking out her tongue.
They all laughed heartily at this.
And after the awful moments, they had been through… after that darkest part of their existence… it felt so damn good to be able to laugh again.
Yes, so incredibly good !
Perhaps the best laughter of their entire lives…
(…)
(…)
[ The following A/N (Author's Note) was written before the "mammoth chapter 19" got split in two, yielding chappies 19 and 20. I considered modifying it after finishing re-reading, correcting and amending this chapter – which is right now, in fact – but I decided to keep it as it was written. Not that the mention in the first line, "not far from 12'000 words", is below reality, since chapters 19 and 20 together reach above… 13'000 words ! ]
Hum hum… so as I type this, I've got a chapter that counts… well, not far from 12'000 words, my friends (I will exceed that number for sure…) ! Can you imagine that ? And it was meant to be a single chapter in the first place… except that I had no idea that it would get that bloated, you know ! I mean, the longest chappy I had written up to now was between 8'000 and 9'000 words, I think ? Or did I already overstep the 9'000 boundary at some point ?
Anyway, I'm gonna have to split it in two, and I'm pretty sure I know where I will make the cut.
That reminds me of my dear friend Hoyo476, who recently also wrote a mammoth chapter and, with my advice, resolved to split it, yet he was kinda "tricked" about the exact moment when/where he should make the cut. It's not always that easy, after all, to find the best moment, you know. But he did fine, and I hope I also will.
Anyway, you finally got the surprise I had prepared for you : the three Chinese coming to the rescue of the Japanese ! But I'm sure that some of you had already guessed that they would come to find The Five… yet maybe had not guessed that they would show up timely, just when Soraya risked to experience the worst.
I was wondering whether I should have other people accompany Cologne, Shampoo and Mousse, although I had initially planned only these three to come and help… and in the end, that's what happened ! I think it works fine that way… and so now, we have a bigger team composed of 5 Japanese and 3 Chinese (hence the title of this chapter) !
Hum, actually, isn't it rather 4 of each ? You see, I'm not sure about Soraya : she is the female half of Ranma, who is Japanese… but at the same time, she is the twin of the original girl who drowned in the spring that would later be known as Nyannichuan ('Spring of the Drowned Girl')… and that girl was Chinese, logically ! Which makes Soraya part-Chinese part-Japanese, if you want.
Well, anyway, there are now 8 people in the game, and that's all the best for our heroes. They will need all possible reinforcement to face Kay-Os next time…as you can be sure these two will be more than ready, and possibly more powerful !
I already told you that I don't have the knack for battle sequences (battles descriptions), but I strived to pull out something pleasant to read fight-wise, and I do hope it was good enough for you…
Now will come the time of resting, healing, explaining (how the Chinese found the Japanese, how they managed to turn P-Chan back to Ryoga aso.). And those who once were Ranma's opponents – Shampoo, then Cologne, then Mousse – have now become his allies and friends… well, THEIR allies and friends ! People come to understand, and then change, they realize and then evolve, and it's all for the best.
What new surprises – bad.. or good – await our heroes in next chapters ? What new difficulties, what hidden obstacles are waiting for them ? Time will tell… but their quest is now entering its final part : remember when Ukyo, detailing their Chinese itinerary, remarked that past Xining, they would be leaving the trunk roads (main roads) ? This basically implies that they would find themselves continuing on smaller roads, mostly in the countryside, until the mountainous area that will be the term of their journey (well, maybe not the term, as the REAL end of their whole trip will be Nerima, once they are finally back home).
I do hope that you're doing either good… or better, and that existence is not giving you too many hard times ! *sending positive vibes your way*
Be as happy as you possibly can, once and for all !
Catch ya later, Folxxxx !
;; Léo ;;