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

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

|Demolition|

Madame Kamenbell and Soun, walking briskly, reached the girl's locker room as the racket of Sōban's arrival reached their ears. Stopping to look back towards the noise, Madame Kamenbell sighed. "Such passionate young men, bent to the deranged will of true degenerates like those daughters of yours."

Soun took offense. "I beg your pardon. Do not speak ill of my children."

"I speak honestly of them. From the moment your youngest began attending this school, everything that I had built since the Principal's departure has crumbled away into dust." Madame Kamenbell's sweeping melodrama had vanished, replaced by Okamada Kamoyo's passive-aggressive seething. "This school was peaceful, it was protected, and most importantly its shining student was the one Kuno that I could stand to bear."

More than aware of what this man was about, Soun rolled his eyes. "More like one you could stand to wait to come of age."

Madame Kamenbell turned a sharp, withering gaze onto him, and Soun was almost giddy that he struck a nerve. "Oh, don't look at me like you haven't been forcing teenage boys to wear fetish outfits before feeding them to my daughter the meat grinder."

He let out a chuckle. "It's only fitting, really, that you and my Old Master would come to hate one another…"

The masked Madame tightened his grip on his scythe as Soun spoke.

"… You are exactly like him, in every disgusting sense! Only your choice of victims differ–!"

And there it was, Madame Kamenbell swinging his scythe with such force that when Soun ducked under it, the displaced air carved a gouge into the wall of the girl's locker room. With his own great speed, Soun lunged to palm thrust him in the sternum, but Madame Kamenbell's free hand came up to parry the strike.

Fast! Soun thought before slapping aside Kamenbell's parrying hand when he tried to punch him with it and jumped back from a downward strike of the scythe. And he can attack like the Kuno boy!

"I do not need a hostage if you're not going to cooperate," Madame Kamenbell snarled as he wound up and swung again.

Soun saw the swing coming, and with another burst of speed moved his arm to parry. However, the Scythe was just slightly faster and the air it moved struck him and threw him into the side of the school proper with a loud thud. Soun sank to the ground, limp with blood trickling from his mouth.

Scowling, Madame Kamenbell turned and rushed inside of the girl's locker room. He knew he had to get to the temple, quickly.

Not ten seconds later, Katie and Akane came around the corner, quickly spotting Soun. "Dad!" The latter shouted as she ran to him. "Are you okay?!"

Soun tilted his head up and smiled. "Oh, I'm fine. Just had to play dead for a moment."

Katie looked at the large cuts on both the side of the building and on the ground. "Geez… did that old weirdo do this?"

Growing more serious, Soun warned them. "Be extremely careful when you face him. For his age he is tremendously fast, and that scythe can cut past its reach. I could not identify his fighting style, but he is competent in his skill."

Katie nodded. "So, treat him like Kuno with a scythe, got it."

Akane grumbled. "He's already every bit as delusional." She patted her father on the shoulder. "Go find Dr. Tofu and get patched up. We're going to go kick Okamada's butt and put an end to this nonsense now."

Soun smiled again. "Take care, both of you, and Akane?" When Akane looked at him expectantly, he patted her on the head. "I am proud of how strong you've become. Well done."

"Aww…" Katie cooed as Akane brightened, and then gave her father a hug.

Turning around and standing up, she nodded to the taller girl. "Senpai, let's end this!"

"Lead the way, Akaneko," Katie said, and both girls entered the locker room.

The brawl outside of the school's walls had devolved into complete anarchy. Members of the Sickle Gang were desperately fighting left and right with the Butsumetsu delinquents, Kaori, and Dr. Tofu when they weren't being trampled or flung aside by the rampaging Sōban hell-bent on getting the smallest taste of bento off Mendō even if he had to lick it off his body.

"For the love of all that is good, Shinobu-chan probably didn't even make the bento!" Mendō yelled back at Sōban as he threw two more Sickle Gang members in his path.

All Sōban heard was Shinobu and Bento, as he swung his arm and sent the two hapless young men flying into the school's wall with enough force to crack it. "SHINOBU BENTOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Looking back in terror at Sōban, Mendō looked ahead and found Kaori in his path, rapidly kicking a Sickle Gang member in the face. "Look out, get out of the way!"

Kaori slammed her opponent with a final kick, before she narrowly avoided the fleeing Mendō. When Sōban came bowling after her, she yelped in surprise and tried to jump back to get some distance between them so she could move in a different direction–but Sōban was moving so fast that he cleared the distance before her feet touched the ground again.

"… Crap… how is he so fast?!" Kaori wondered before Sōban was abruptly stopped by a powerful blow to the chest from Dr. Tofu's quarterstaff. "Ah! Doc!"

Gripping the staff in both hands, Dr. Tofu glanced at Kaori. "Move!"

The weapon shattered in his grip, as both martial artists leaped clear of Sōban, the sheer force of his forward momentum scattering them and nearby Sickle Gang members like leaves. Kaori managed to stick her landing, while Dr. Tofu hit the ground roughly and slid on his backside for a short distance.

"That young man is impossibly strong…!" The doctor said.

Kaori shook her head. "I'd say I'm glad he's on our side, but right now he's more a force of nature than an ally…!" She turned and called over to Mendō. "Hey! How about making yourself useful and keeping him pointed at the Sickle Gang, rich boy?!"

Always happy to please any woman, Mendō called back to Kaori. "As you wish~!"

The instant he looked away, his face was a mask of panic and rage. "If I find you, Moroboshi, I'm ending you once and for all!" He screamed before a raindrop struck him in the face. "Huh?"

Amidst the chaos of combat, as a cold rain began to fall, it was eerily calm as Ryūnosuke and Kamaitachi faced one another. Their hands raised as the rain began to fall steadily, they inched closer to one another, neither immediately going on the attack while waiting for the other to make the first move.

Kamaitachi knew he was at a disadvantage. He'd already been fighting Katie and Akane, and Ryūnosuke appeared relatively fresh. He'd also been disarmed of any weapons, and was behind on the attritional front, so he needed to win decisively.

He wasn't going to do it fighting this girl. He needed the one he fought last time.

"So," he said, "What's changed between last time and now… aside from your trashy taste in clothes?"

Ryūnosuke snorted as they crept into striking distance. "My sister picked these clothes out for me, thanks."

He had her. "You're better off dressing as a boy and being true to yourself!"

Kamaitachi lunged, feinting a right jab that Ryūnosuke deflected with both hands. When he brought his elbow up to strike her chin, she caught his arm then kneed him in the stomach. The blow caught him by surprise, and the second knee to his stomach almost stole the wind from his lungs before he broke free.

Ryūnosuke rushed him down. "Bring that ass here, boy!"

She tried to stomp on his right foot, forcing him to swap the position of his feet and fall on the defensive–using both hands to block two jabs and an uppercut. He lashed out with a crescent kick to create space between them, but Ryūnosuke ducked and came up in a somersault kick, nearly clipping his chin and causing him to stumble back.

She zigzagged in, springing from one foot to the other with her hands up and her chin low, then let Kamaitachi have it with a quick left hook to his jaw. He deflected it away with the back of his right hand, then caught her right hook at the wrist with his other hand. He flung her hand out, and tried to front kick her in the chest, but she caught his leg with both hands and used her right foot to sweep his standing leg from under him.

Falling onto his back, Kamaitachi got his grappled leg free and kicked Ryūnosuke off him before she could secure him on the ground.

"Hup!" Kamaitachi called as he kicked up onto his feet. Blocking the kick Ryūnosuke attempted to punish him with and swinging a heavy right cross back.

Ryūnosuke diverted it and fired back with a left hook. Kamaitachi's right hand raised to parry the hook over his head. Within the same movement he threw up a right middle kick to try and take the girl out entirely.

"Hoh!" Ryunosuke cried, spinning away from the kick to do two whole rotations before throwing a flying left high kick.

Kamitachi ducked, before back hopping the follow-up back kick that covered the fancy retreat.

"Where did these hands come from?" He asked. "I remember you being a pushover, Tama-kun!"

"I always had them!" Ryūnosuke shouted as she went in again. "Where did you find yours, in the Alabasta Arc?!"

He ducked a left cross, then grabbed and shoved down the knee she slipped in behind it. He came up swinging, his punch combo meeting the sturdy guard of a wily opponent who slipped when he expected her to slide. The gap was too narrow, he needed to open it.

"Strong as you are," he said as he blocked her punches, and then tried to hit her back. "You could be stronger."

"I'm working on it!" She snapped back with a snap kick that he roughly blocked. He went low and she went high, jumping over his attempted leg sweep and turning in mid-air to back kick him, the blow connecting with his raised left arm and sending him tumbling across the ground. "And I'll get there!"

He caught himself and sprang back at her. "You'll never reach it!"

Meeting again, the duo fell into an almost dance-like rhythm amongst the strewn bodies and the sounds of Soban's roars as he chased Mendō in the background.

"There is a limit!" He called out as he blocked one of her kicks. "To how far." He punched but she weaved under it. "A girl can go!" He swung his own kick, but she blocked and stepped out from him.

"You're better off…" He closed in, his lightning-fast right jab aimed for her jaw. "… As a man!"

With a loud, echoing clap, she caught his fist in her left hand. Looking at him with flame-filled eyes, Ryūnosuke wasn't about to let that slide.

"Oi. For someone happy to talk about how weak we are? You sure do hit like a girl."

Kamaitachi was supposed to be making her angry.

Why was nothing he saying jabbing in this hot-blooded, stubborn idiot's ego?

It was a question he'd be asking himself–had he not flown into a screaming rage at her insult.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" He exploded as he snatched his hand free and swung a kick that, even when Ryūnosuke blocked, lifted her off her feet and threw her back.

She landed, sliding backward along the pavement, but stuck it. Down she went, narrowly evading the hard right cross that was barely a half-second behind her, and grabbed Kamaitachi's extended arm to throw him at the wall of the school.

In midair he recovered, landed in a crouch on the wall, jumped up to the top of a nearby light pole, and then launched himself down at her in a flying kick she jumped back to avoid with a quick spin at the top of her airborne evasion.

"I called you…!" She sidestepped the punch Kamaitachi tried to plant in her throat. "… A girl…!" She grinned as she ducked under one kick, and then another. "Because you hit like…!" She parried two more punches, deflecting both his strikes down to keep his arms low and unable to stop the round house kick she connected with his left jaw. "… A GIRL!"

Kamaitachi slid in the direction of Ryūnosuke's kick, his head turned to the right. Wide-eyed, pupils dilated as he shook from both the force of the blow, and the anger coursing through him.

He snapped his gaze back onto her with the intensity of a laser. "Don't you dare call me a girl…!" He snarled.

Fleet of foot, Ryūnosuke sprinted and jumped to swing a left spin kick that Kamaitachi barely held his guard through. Coming off the kick she lashed out with her right leg, he ducked under. When she landed he came up, trying to punch her in the gut with his left hand. She stepped and turned to Kamaitachi's right, grabbing his arm and pulling him into another knee to the gut with her right leg. She switched legs, lifting him off his feet with her left knee to his gut and sending him rolling along the ground.

When he stopped himself, his left hand came down on a sickle. "I said…!" He sprang up. "Stop calling me a girl!" He lashed out and threw the sickle at Ryūnosuke.

Her right hand a blur, she snatched the weapon out of the air and whipped it into the ground beside her. She couldn't help herself. "You throw like a girl, too!"

Kamaitachi tore off towards Ryūnosuke, his vision red, his breath loud and ragged.

It was over. Ryūnosuke prepared herself; whatever Kamaitachi was going to throw at her next, it was going to be angry. It was going to be filled with all his hate and frustration.

"Damn it…!" Kamaitachi screamed as he cocked his fist for the punch and leaped at her. "I'M A MAN!"

Ryūnosuke was already launching her own punch, when the familiar, enraged lament reached her.

"… Ah," she simply said in the instant before her cross-counter connected.

Hurrying as fast as he could, Madame Kamenbell reached the bottom of the stairs and all but stumbled into the Fox Temple. Hurrying, his flowing garments trailing behind him, he rushed to the statue and all but collapsed onto it in a dramatic embrace.

"Finally… finally!" He gasped out. "After battling Happosai… after years of despair… after bowing my head and gritting my teeth…!"

He searched his pockets and held aloft the crescent-shaped key. With trembling hands, he affixed the key into the center of the statue's head. Immediately, the blue jewel shone, a light that soon appeared in the lines of the statue before crisp, extremely cold water began to pour from the statue's mouth in a laminar flow.

The water poured first into the reservoir, and then began down the multiple channels towards the pool at the center of the temple.

"It is finally in my grasp," he all but sobbed, "My beautiful world of men…!"

"Well shoot," Katie said from behind him, "If this were horseshoes or hand grenades, you'd be a winner."

He rose to his feet and whirled around to face both her and Akane standing at the entrance to the temple. He narrowed his eyes, cursing Kamaitachi for not delaying them.

Both girls assumed their fighting stances as Katie continued. "As it goes, all you're gonna be is an old pervert who watched his dream evaporate into nothin'."

Madame Kamenbell took the scythe in both hands. "At this point, the two of you should remain women forever. The thought of you being part of my world is unacceptable."

With the sheathed sword secured to her back, Akane grabbed the hilt and slowly drew it from its scabbard–revealing a blade with an edge as black as Mendō's tacky antihero arc attire. "I will take that as a compliment," she said as she took the blade in both hands and aimed its point at Madame Kamenbell.

Rather than open with his monumental speed and attack, Madame Kamenbell began to walk towards the girls, holding his scythe in front of him, parallel to the ground, the very tip at his right side scratching a white line into the smooth stone floor of the temple.

"Your very existence sickens me," he spat. "Carrying on as you do, wrapping your fingers around the hearts and souls of men… crushing them carelessly in your grip! Laughing at their despair! Herding them about like animals when they inconvenience you!"

He drew closer, his grip tightening on the weapon. "Living lies, the very antithesis of your so-called femininity! Vicious savages not even fit to be called human with your brutality and lack of mercy!"

Raising the scythe he stopped, his face flushed with rage. "Tendo Akane! Izurando Katie! I will cut you down!"

"That's enough, you pervert," Akane snapped back.

Katie agreed. "Are you gonna box or not?"

He answered promptly, going from zero to swinging his scythe to bisect both in one stroke. He would have, too, if the girls were straw dummies affixed to posts. Akane swung her sword up, catching the scythe at the base of its blade, stopping Kamenbell and leaving him open for Katie to connect her right shin with the side of his head via a high roundhouse.

Off his feet Madame Kamenbell went, crashing through a support pillar of the temple and into the wall several meters beyond it.

With a yell Madame Kamenbell shot from the dust cloud, lunging at Akane with the spear tip at the bottom of his scythe's shaft aimed for her heart. With an upward swing of the blade, she deflected the spear-tip up and away. When she lunged to strike his chest, he spun the scythe, blocking the repeated swings before attempting to sweep Akane's legs with the scythe's blade.

Akane swung the sword down and to her left, catching the scythe again. This time Kamenbell reversed, trying to cut across her arms and chest with the spear tip, but she retreated and parried the scythe blade upward when he brought it around in a wider circle.

Raising the sword up to level with her head, blade tip aimed at Madame Kamenbell, she shot forward and tried to stab him in the shoulder. Madame Kamenbell jumped up, spinning above Akane to swing the scythe down and hook her in the back, but she dove forward and escaped the cut.

When he landed, he raised the scythe up again like he was going to attack Akane, but instead pivoted and swung down on Katie as she tried to get in close. Closely she sidestepped the swing, and backed up and from side to side as Madame Kamenbell spun the scythe like a baton.

"Your precious kouhai had the sense to bring a blade," he taunted as he spun around and swung the blade up, parrying Akane's attempt at sneak-attacking his back. Still turning his weapon hand over hand, he changed the angle creating another wide circle where Akane had to duck under the blade while Katie had to hop over it before both got clear. "What exactly do you intend to do with just your fists besides get them lopped off?!"

With another burst of speed, he shot to Katie's left side and swung at her, but she ducked the blade, turned, and brought her right heel up to drive it into the side of his head.

Knocked off his footing, he scrambled to block Akane when she jumped in with a falling vertical cut. Turning around and coming up, Katie jumped and kicked him in the shoulder, fully throwing him off his feet.

Madame Kamenbell caught himself and spun, before landing on his feet and facing the girls. Both got ready, but it was Katie who opened the next skirmish, running straight into the threat range.

With speed that made the scythe look like a tasseled blur, Kamenbell tried to slice Katie's feet, but she hopped over consecutive rotating slashes before she got her right leg in and caught the scythe above the spear end, stopping the weapon.

"Gotcha, bitch!" She called as she kicked Kamenbell in the stomach and then in the mouth with that same leg. Turning as she moved in; she drove her left elbow up behind her to catch him in the chin.

Madame Kamenbell flailed, sloppily swinging at Katie as she jumped out and Akane stepped in. With the sword held low, she swung up powerfully and knocked the scythe up and away. Just as quickly she flipped the blade around and swung down, forcing the scythe down to the floor before she planted the tip of her sword into the ground and let it go. Jumping, she spin-kicked Madame Kamenbell in the face.

Bodily, Madame Kamenbell crashed through another support of the temple, and landed flat on his back beside the spring's tap.

Grabbing the hilt of her sword, Akane pulled it out of the ground and took the weapon in both hands as Katie rejoined her side.

"There's some real skill there," Katie called out. "You definitely used to be something in your prime."

Akane pointed the sword at him again as the two advanced on him with caution. "But you're just a bitter, creepy old man." She looked at the spring's tap, then back at him. "Who wants to ogle boys all day."

Madame Kamenbell kicked back up onto his feet, landing all ten toes down. He swept his scythe out in front of him and held it low like a hockey stick. "I am far from finished!"

He moved in a flash. Akane could barely track him, and narrowly blocked his attack. As she was pushed back, he brought the spear end up and its tip scratched Katie's face before he kicked her in the chest and sent her colliding with another temple support.

Her back to it, Katie coughed and then turned away from a vertical swing that cut deep into the support. Yanking the blade out, he swung horizontally, cutting clean through the support but missing Katie as she jumped clear.

Seeing Madame Kamenbell cut through the support to try to get at Katie and noticing the other two pillars that they had put him through, Akane had an idea. "Senpai!"

Katie was of the same mind as she dodged another diagonal slash from Madame Kamenbell and got behind him. "I was thinking the same thing!"

Turning in place Madame Kamenbell performed an uppercut, but Katie leaped outside the reach and across the center pool. Howling like a ghoul, Madame Kamenbell jumped after and fell on Katie, spinning in a full quadruple axel before slashing down at her.

Katie jumped back, and the scythe's tip was barely in the floor for a half second before Madame Kamenbell yanked it out of the stone and slashed out at Akane, who ducked under and slashed up at his mask.

He moved his head to the side, and the blade cut a sliver of its corner off before he punished her with a punt-like kick to her stomach that sent her stumbling.

Quickly she recovered, and blocked numerous hard slashes with the sword, sparks flying from the blades when they met. Each successful strike pushed her back, towards the spring tap again.

"I have cut down men stronger than you, older than you! I brought them to their knees and into my army!" He yelled with each slash. "And you have the arrogance to fight me?!"

With his angry howl, he slashed through another pillar, Akane had dove past Madame Kamenbell, landing in a slide and coming to a stop beside the pillar opposite of the one he'd just cut through. Still yelling, Madame Kamenbell turned and swung the weapon, and Akane kept low as the razor-sharp displaced air slashed through the support.

"Ain't nobody hearing about you having dudes on their knees!" Katie taunted from behind him, near the second to last pillar of the temple.

Screaming, Madame Kamenbell turned and threw his scythe at Katie. The weapon was not unlike a buzzsaw, carving through the support when Katie ducked, and bounced off one wall and then another to fly back to him. When he caught the weapon, the momentum caused him to spin back towards the center of the chamber, and the edge of the now halfway full pool.

Akane got up and looked at Katie.

Katie looked at Akane.

Both looked at the last remaining support pillar, back at each other, and nodded.

"You know what? It's a real dang shame that this is going to end the way it is," Katie said aloud to Madame Kamenbell. "The whole reason I even came here to the SAD, to this here school, is because I ended up with a non-zero amount of blood on my hands at my old one."

That prompted a surprised glance from Akane, but she stayed focused on Madame Kamenbell.

"Why am I not surprised, you Chinese gorilla?" Madame Kamenbell asked.

Katie snorted at his racist sneer. "Man, you're going out on top, tonight." Her expression turned cold immediately. "But nah, as soon as I understood exactly what this is… what you are? This was ending in the worst way for you."

Akane readied her sword, as Katie assumed her stance. "Ain't a man alive in your Sickle Gang who don't believe that you can make the world better for 'em. But they want a world where they're free, where they don't gotta live in shame for not meetin' society's expectations, where they aren't ostracized for bein' what they are."

Madame Kamenbell once more readied his scythe. This time he was certain; they would be cut down and he would be done with them.

"But that ain't what you're offering…" she growled. "All this is to you, is a fantasy. Muscled up, shirtless men in tight clothes, fawning all over you as their beloved madame. A twisted, perverse dream where you can ogle, and touch, and partake in any and every man you like!"

Akane sneered. "All of this is just for your enjoyment, and we're not letting you get away with that, anymore!"

Madame Kamenbell's eyes widened with their accusation. His teeth clenched at the declaration that followed as both girls got ready.

"We're burying you and your dream right here!"

Madame Kamenbell charged them. "Die, both of you obnoxious women! So that my beautiful men can be free!"

Akane and Katie met his charge, the latter calling out to her kouhai. "Akaneko! The scythe's yours!"

"Yes, Senpai!" Akane shouted back.

"No, the scythe is yours!" Kamenbell taunted back before he seemed to flicker out of sight.

He was suddenly on Katie's left, putting her between himself and Akane. He swung down, to carve through her, but Katie dropped into a knee slide and passed under the blade to reach the edge of the pool. She turned on her knees to avoid a vertical slice that split the edge of the pool and rose to her feet.

Ripping the scythe out of the ground, he swung the spear tip at her, and she sidestepped clear before he brought the scythe blade back down and the air pressure off the swing formed a shallow cut in Katie's cheek before she dropped back underneath both the blade and wind.

Sensing movement behind him, Madame Kamenbell yelled and used his swing to turn around and clash his blade with Akane's. The sweeping blow was stopped, and Akane tightened the grip on her sword as she planted her feet.

"Beat up my friends!" Akane snarled up at him. "Harass my classmates!" She pushed her sword against his as he tried to overpower her. "Insult my family?!" She yelled as a blue light began to shine in her eyes and radiate from her body. "HURT MY DAD?!"

As Katie broke into a run around the pool to get in position, she saw the light coming off Akane. "Huh…?"

"Even if you weren't a gross pervert on top of that…" Her grip on the sword iron tight, she didn't even notice the blade turned red as she swung with all her might. "I'd still want you dead!"

With that motion, the sword cut through Madame Kamenbell's scythe blade like it was made of rice paper–the cut edges of the destroyed weapon glowing red hot.

Madame Kamenbell had no time to be shocked at the destruction of his weapon, as Katie sprang across the pool and slammed her knee into Madame Kamenbell's chest, instantly lifting him off his feet and throwing him into the last support pillar. He crashed into it and bounced off, stunned.

Setting her feet down on the other side as Akane rammed the red bladed sword in its sheath, Katie yelled out.

"FUCK HIM UP!"

Dashing at Madame Kamenbell Akane reached him first, punching him in the chest, throwing him back into the pillar. She then clobbered him with a left hook, and then a right, before delivering an uppercut that slammed the back of his head against the pillar. She punched him in the stomach, then in the throat, before spin-kicking him towards Katie.

Katie drove her left elbow into his face, stopping Madame Kamenbell's spin, before laying numerous body-blows into him, slamming him back up against the pillar with thunderous rumbles each time she connected.

With a hard left she spun him back towards Akane, and the smaller girl drove her right foot into him, pinning him to the pillar with a blow hard enough to crack it. She delivered rapidfire fast jabs to his face, breaking and then dislodging his mask.

"For Ucchan…!" She shouted with her punches and kicks. "For Ryūnosuke…! For my Dad! For everyone you ever hurt! For everyone you tricked into believing your sick dream was for them!"

She pulled back, drawing her fist right alongside Katie as Madame Kamenbell's mask came off–revealing the pathetic, bloodied face of Okamada Kamoyo.

"GO STRAIGHT TO HELL!" Both girls yelled, as they punched him together with full force.

The pillar exploded into splinters, which perforated the spring tap and the wall behind it, and then ex-Vice Principal Okamada went hurtling through the gap in the pillar into the wall above the Spring Tap itself, bouncing off it to land in the temple's far corner, a crumpled heap.

A few seconds of silence passed.

He twitched and groaned but did not get up.

"Is he done?" Akane asked.

Katie lowered her fist. "Yeah… he's done."

There was a loud pop, and both girls looked up to see a large crack form in the ceiling.

"We gotta go!" Katie quickly said, and both girls turned and bolted, running for the exit of the temple back to the surface.

They had just passed the center pool, when Akane stopped and looked back at the spring tap and the key set in its forehead. "Wait!"

Katie was already at the door and looked back. "Akane, we gotta go!"

Akane didn't listen, sprinting back to the spring tap and grabbing the key. "I'm not leaving without this!"

"Yeah, it's cute jewelry but this whole place is caving in! MOVE YER ASS!"

Yanking the key out and pocketing it, Akane bolted back for the doors. She had just made it to the pool, when she heard Okamada's ghoulish, dramatic wail–and he tackled her from behind.

"MY DREAM WILL NOT DIE! YOU SHALL DIE!"

Off her footing, Akane let out a surprised "Ah!" as she fell face first into the now full pool of spring water.

Katie recoiled in shock, but only momentarily, as the first rocks began to fall from the ceiling. She sprinted to the center pool, lunging for her splashing kouhai and grabbing her arm.

Sprawled out at the pool's edge, Okamada watched as Katie took hold of Akane's arm and began to pull her out. He let out a weak laugh. "… At the very least… at least of all…" He coughed heavily and laughed again. "There will be one more beautiful thing in this ugly world…"

He then watched as Katie hauled Akane out and saw thanks to her wet clothes clinging to her… that she was still a woman.

"What."

In disbelief, he slowly turned towards the spring tap, as the trembling temple caused a scroll to unroll above it.

Due to unforeseen circumstances involving foxes turned into men, this Spring is now normal water. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please consult the Jusenkyo Spring Guide for more information.

Okamada blinked owlishly at the banner.

"What."

Katie and Akane would've stayed to comment on it, but they were too busy fleeing for their lives as progressively larger pieces of ceiling and streams of dirt began to pour from the collapsing ceiling. One rock extremely large rock landed directly onto the spring tap and smashed through, causing a massive geyser of water to erupt out and snuff out the last of the lamps lighting the collapsing temple, plummeting it and the former Vice Principal Okamada into darkness.

Sayonara Okamada-sensei