[Ranma][Fanfic] DYNASTY - CHAPTER FIVE
Sydney Kyle
DYNASTY - CHAPTER FIVE - PART A
By Sydney Kyle <cele...@aol.com>
<http://move.to/dynasty>
Author's note: First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote in with
their input--you guys really got me out of my writer's block. Keep
'em coming--I need suggestions!
One last thing, though. Who could possibly come between Ranma and
Akane--relationship-wise--and force one of them to finally come to
terms with his/her feelings? If Death isn't capable of doing that,
then who...?
=========================
* * * DYNASTY * * *
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
=========================
* * * * * *
=========================
CHAPTER FIVE:
Part A
Rematch
=========================
Akane elbowed her way past the crowd that had flocked to the
windows of her home ec class, straining to get a glimpse of the scene
down below. To her exasperation, all she could distinguish was a dark
smudge against the brilliant green of the school front lawn.
"See anything, Akane? Has Ranchan answered their challenge yet?"
Akane whirled around to face a tense-looking Ukyou, dressed as
usual in her masculine blue shirt and black tights, complete with the
bandoleer where she kept her miniature throw spatulas. Akane shook her
head vehemently. "No. I don't know what's happening. We can't even get
a good view from this building--I--I just wish I knew what was going
on, Ukyou!"
Ukyou nodded. "I wish I did, too, Akane." She clasped her hands
together in trepidation. "I hope Ranchan doesn't get hurt out
there..."
Akane swiveled her head toward the windows again, feeling utterly
helpless.
<Damn you, Ranma,> she cursed him silently, her chest constricting
with worry. <Why couldn't you let me in on this? Why do you keep
pushing me away? Why can't you just accept that you _need_ my help?
Why can't you just accept that I-->
"Did Ranchan tell you about his plan?" Ukyou inquired softly.
Akane clenched her teeth. "No. The baka sure didn't want _me_
involved." She glanced at the other girl at the corner of her eye.
"But I suppose he told _you_, right?"
Inwardly she was aghast at the way she'd said it; she hadn't meant
to inject that much resentment into her words. After all, Ukyou had
only asked that question out of concern, and she certainly didn't want
to give Ukyou the impression that she was _jealous_, right?
Ukyou, thankfully, was too engrossed in fretting over Ranma that
she hadn't noticed the involuntary venom in Akane's response.
"Actually, Ranchan didn't tell me anything either. He sent me and
Akari and Kodachi outta the room after you. Then he sent out Shampoo,
too."
Akane gaped at her with growing realization. So she _hadn't_ been
the only one Ranma and the others had concealed their scheme from. For
some reason, Akane couldn't decide whether she should be mad or glad.
"Aai-yah!"
Akane and Ukyou were barely able to avoid the bicycle that
careened toward them. As they watched in annoyance and disbelief,
Shampoo jumped out of her tinkling two-wheeled transport and made a
beeline toward the multitude that had accumulated at the windows.
Amazingly, no one had noticed her arrival.
Ukyou brushed herself off, vexation registering on her features.
"Don't waste your time, sugar. You can't see anything from there."
Shampoo made an annoyed huffing sound and pushed herself away from
the window. Then her eyes locked on the two girls. "Oh. Is you two."
"What're _you_ doing here?" demanded Akane, hands on hips.
"What you think?" Shampoo shot back, crossing her arms. "Shampoo
make sure Jusenkyo mail-order product is working--and that I be here
to help Ranma fight Dragon clan!"
"You're gonna fight _alongside_ Ranma?!" Akane balled her hands into
fists. She couldn't believe it. Ranma had actually welcomed Shampoo into
his plan? This was too insulting. Akane was painfully aware that Shampoo
was a better martial artist than her, but never did she think that Ranma
would make some sort of decision based on _that_ fact.
"Yes!" Shampoo bobbed her head. "Of course, Ranma tell Shampoo to
stay out of fight. If they hurt Ranma, then Shampoo have to hurt them!"
"Wait a minute," interrupted Ukyou, her turquoise eyes flooding with
comprehension. "Ranchan tried to make you stay out of it?"
"Yes," confirmed Shampoo. "He no want anyone to get hurt."
The enraged look was terminated in Akane's eyes, only to be
replaced with wariness. "Anyone else--or just us girls?"
Ukyou glowered. She knew that Ranma had this longstanding belief
that the fairer sex deserved to be treated like fragile objects that
would shatter when handled too rough. "Well, I'm not gonna stand here
without knowing what's happening," she announced curtly, heading
toward the door.
"Where you going?" asked Shampoo.
"To the roof. Can you think of a better place to get a good view of
Ranchan and those Dragon guys?"
"But..." Akane hedged. "We're supposed to be in class..."
"Somehow I think no one's gonna notice, Akane," noted Ukyou dryly.
Akane glanced around. Ask a stupid question, she thought. The entire
room seemed riveted on what was happening outside, including Miss
Kaneda, who seemed to be playing Eskimo-kiss with the windowpane.
"Shampoo come with you," offered Shampoo.
A dismayed murmur arose from the students as they continued to watch.
"Come on, Akane, we're missing the action," Ukyou urged impatiently.
Somewhere out there, Akane thought that she heard Ranma yelling. All
the compunctions she had harbored swiftly vanished from her mind.
"All right," she declared, her jaw set. "Let's go."
No one noticed the three of them sprint toward the stairwell, least
of all Miss Kaneda, who continued to leave noseprints on the glass.
* * * * * *
"All right, so what do you want from me?" Ranma asked.
Shino cocked his head tauntingly on one side. "We didn't come here
to conduct a conversation, Ranma Saotome. We came here to take you back
with us. First you, then the other four."
"Take us where?" prompted Ranma incredulously.
A touch of irritation wafted by Shino's masked face for a quarter of
a second. "That is of no consequence. All that matters is that you have
the curse of Jusenkyo upon you, and that makes you a threat to the
Dynasty."
Ranma grimaced. Another prime example of how his curse seemed to
orchestrate his life. Being singled out because he'd happened to fall
into a cursed Chinese spring--the Spring of Drowned Girl, no less.
Fated to switch sex every time he was drenched. Oh, yeah, that sounded
like fun. Loads of fun. Barrels of monkeys.
"Yeah, well, I'm touched that you want me to be your mascot and all,
but I really didn't _ask_ for this curse, okay? It was an accident..."
"Accident or not, we don't really care," snapped Shino. His muscles
tingled, ready to launch himself into his battle mode. "So long as that
curse hangs over your head, so shall the Dynasty hunt you down until you
are dead--ALL of you."
Through the corner of his eye, Ranma could see the rest of the
Dragon clan assuming offensive positions. "So this's all about that
stupid curse, huh? What 'bout Pantyhose Taro? And--"
"Disposed of." Shiro smirked, which only made him more maddening
in Ranma's book. "And you," he drawled, "have no idea what this is all
about. Just like the rest of them. The Cursed ones. Or should I say
_Chosen_ ones? It depends, really, on how you look at it..."
Ranma fought to keep that veneer of calmness on his face. "Oh, I
get it. So we're important to you, huh? For some reason, you think
that this stupid curse gives you a reason to come take our souls."
He paused. "Well, think about this, smart guy--what if we get cured?
What then?"
The other boy pinned him with a steely glare. "There _is_ no cure.
No matter what you may have heard otherwise, it was the Dynasty that
was responsible for the destruction of the springs. Insurance in case
any of the Jusenkyo victims decided to use them in order to save their
souls from us. Unfortunately for the five of you, that alternative has
been eliminated, and there are no longer _any_ cursed springs left on
this earth that can cure you."
Ranma stood there, stunned, as the significance of his enemy's
words slowly sank in.
After a lengthy pause, Shino seemed to reconsider his last
statement. "Oh, well, maybe the Springs of Jusenkyo are gone, but..."
There was a ghost of a smirk lurking somewhere in the golden depths
of his eyes. "...but there is always the Cave of Yasakami..."
<Cave of Yasakami?> Ranma thought, through the thick fog of shock
that had penetrated his mind. And somewhere, some part of him began to
well up with hope.
"...a pity, though, that you won't live long enough to see them."
Ranma looked up, still in a daze, and the Clan of the Dragon
descended upon him.
* * * * * *
Hiroshi shoved a head out of his line of sight, completely absorbed
in what was taking place down in the schoolyard. From this spot, he
was able to discern about thirty figures, dressed in fancy samurai-
type armor, along with helmets that flashed in the rays of the sun and
odd-shaped yet deadly-looking swords.
<Damn,> he thought. <Ranma, you really did it this time...>
He froze as the mood of the crowd surrounding him abruptly switched
from curious to horrified.
Daisuke hopped restlessly, trying to peek over the multitude of
student heads. "Hey, what's goin' on? What's happening?"
Hiroshi's lips pulled into a tight line as he observed the events
that were unfolding down below. "I think the battle's begun," he
acknowledged, somewhat agitatedly. "And Ranma's right in the middle
of it..."
"Have you guys seen Akane?"
Both Hiroshi and Daisuke were able to tear their gazes from the
fight long enough to recognize that Akane's two friends, Sayuri and
Yuka, had been standing behind them.
"Naw." Daisuke shook his head, eager to focus once more on the
battle. "Didn't see her. Why?"
Yuka and Sayuri traded anxious glances. "Well, she's gone," volun-
teered Yuka. "Can you spot her down there with Ranma?"
Hiroshi met the two girls' eyes, his countenance dead serious.
"Nope. And I hope she stays outta this, 'cause this fight's getting
ugly..."
* * * * * *
They were good.
They were very, very good.
Those had been Ranma's first perceptions of the Dragon clan the
first time they'd ambushed him, and right now, it seemed that his
perceptions had been disturbingly right on target. Perhaps it was his
imagination, but they had actually seemed to get better since their
first meeting.
He had to give them credit for that. Instead of catching him off-
guard like last time, they took the chance of directly challenging
him, duel-to-the-death style. A risky gamble, perhaps, for the
subjugation of a target like Ranma Saotome, but it was more a of a
game to the Dragon clan. They'd tarnished their own integrity for the
first time by defeating him in a sneak attack, and they were
determined to remedy that by drawing him into some sort of showdown.
Good thing Ranma had remembered a bit of their fighting style.
He ducked a wickedly-curved blade, then leaped out of the way of
an incoming kick. The clan reminded him of miniature tornadoes,
attacking with alarming speed and dishing out kicks and blows with
alarming ferocity. Ranma had no choice but to continuously duck,
unable to even administer offense.
It was getting repetitive, he realized. Too much time spent on
evading hits instead of dealing them out. At this rate, he would tire
faster from all that constant parrying, and against such skilled foes,
it was inevitable that one of their hits would find its mark.
Ranma feinted a dodge and without warning, lashed out with a
roundhouse that knocked the one nearest him off his feet. Before his
comrades would react, he dropped low and swept his rigid leg across
the numerous pairs of ankles within his reach, sending them off-
balance. Then he disposed of the ones behind him with an elbow jab and
a backhand.
Ranma retreated to a safer corner of the yard, out of breath,
trying to collected his jumbled thoughts.
All right, so he'd caught them off guard. Sort of like a payback
for what they'd done with him the first time they crossed paths. It
was an achievement in itself. He hadn't even been sure if he was
capable of pulling it off.
The self-congratulatory grin on his visage was immediately
extinguished as he realized that the clan had recovered briskly from
his unexpected assault. They were now all on their feet, as if they
weren't even fazed by his performance--as if all the power Ranma had
focused into his attack had been nothing. Even now they were circling
him, moving with uncanny fluidity, each individual intercepting the
other's move as if telegraphed via mental transmission.
Ranma forced himself to concentrate on summoning all his martial
arts prowess, in preparation for the more difficult struggle that
would follow after this intermission.
Okay, so he'd surprised them. Caught them off guard. Then what?
They were onto him now. No doubt they would intensify their blows,
reinforce their defenses, raise their speed a notch or two, and
unleash their more elaborate attacks.
The stakes on this deadly game had just been raised.
They clashed again.
Ranma ducked the first volley of punches, then used the three-
second interval to throw a good number of his own blows, projecting a
bit of the speed he utilized in his Tenshin Amaguriken. It would have
been tempting to employ that technique against the attackers, but
Ranma was aware that it would all be for naught. The Chestnut Punch
technique wasn't developed as an offensive maneuver against multiple
opponents, and Ranma wasn't about to waste his endurance by testing
that theory.
Using the Hiryuu Shouten Ha seemed to be a good course of action.
A move of that much power and force was indeed capable of wiping out
several foes at a time. It was potent enough to ensure that they
would remain out of commission for Ranma to be the last one standing.
There were a couple of hitches to it, though.
The thing was, Ranma didn't know if he had the stamina to wait
until he was able to conjure up the proper aura. And he seriously
doubted that no amount of insults could possibly incense these people
enough for them to muster even a lukewarm aura. He didn't even know
how he should insult them. Well, maybe those cheesy-looking helmets
they wore, but he knew that it wasn't going to be enough to
completely piss them off.
Ranma reeled back suddenly as a two-legged kick caught him on the
side of the face. He staggered, lowering his defenses long enough for
another aggressor to deliver a rising punch to his jaw.
It almost enough to send Ranma to his knees.
Almost.
With a grunt, he reached out and seized an incoming fist. Before
its owner could react, Ranma swung him to a group of his comrades,
toppling them like a pile of dominoes. He successfully avoided the
flurry of kicks and punches that followed before he regained his
focus.
In spite of himself, he managed a smile. Not bad. He'd been duking
it out with the Dragon clan for a full three minutes and he was still
conscious. This was proceeding rather well...
...and then his ears picked up the distinct rippling sound of
water.
* * * * * *
"What're they doing?" screamed Akane.
They glanced down at the melee, all three of them, as they stood on
the relative safety of the high school roof.
"That's water," murmured Ukyou, her twisting her fingers together,
her gaze still fixed on the commotion. "They're using water to trigger
Ranchan's curse."
"That no fair!" declared Shampoo, looking equally troubled.
"They're trying to disable him--that's what they're trying to do,"
Akane realized, her voice shaking slightly. "Ranma said they used his
curse to weaken him. If they trigger his curse, then it's all over..."
To Be Continued in Part B
DYNASTY - CHAPTER FIVE - PART B
By Sydney Kyle <cele...@aol.com>
HOMEPAGE: <http://move.to/dynasty>
Author's note: First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote in with
their input--you guys really got me out of my writer's block. Keep
'em coming--I need suggestions!
One last thing, though. Who could possibly come between Ranma and
Akane--relationship-wise--and force one of them to finally come to
terms with his/her feelings? If Death isn't capable of doing that,
then who...?
=========================
* * * DYNASTY * * *
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
=========================
* * * * * *
=========================
CHAPTER FIVE:
Part B
Rematch
=========================
*SPLASH*
Ranma grinned, leaping swiftly to the side.
Perfect.
He lifted his chin and flung the water from his hair and pigtail,
scattering the droplets about him, feeling them trickle down his now-
soaked Chinese shirt--which, curiously, remained flat.
He was almost certain that he saw the clan recoil in amazement.
"Whassa matter?" he drawled mockingly, raising a pair of unmistaka-
bly masculine fists. "No more tricks up your sleeve?"
His adversaries traded looks, as if mentally consulting each other,
then their gazes roamed to the figure in the red and gold armor. As
if in response, the figure slowly raised his hand and splayed open
his fingers. Right there, in the middle of his palm was a shimmering,
floating ball of water.
Ranma watched with growing horror as his comrades mimicked the
trick. Dozens of tiny liquid spheres materialized in their hands.
<Oh, shit.>
* * * * * *
"Wait a minute--he didn't turn into a girl," stammered Akane,
flabbergasted. "He got hit by water--and he didn't turn into a girl."
"But how?" Ukyou piped up, sounding astonished. "Did Ranchan find
a cure to his curse?"
Shampoo flashed a wide, complacent smile. "No, he still have
curse," she replied. "But thanks to Shampoo, he be able to be
splashed with cold water and still not change into girl. You see, he
use waterproof soap Shampoo ordered from Jusenkyo catalog via special
delivery last night!"
A light went off in Akane's head. "So _that_ was the plan?!"
Shampoo shook her head obstinately. "Oh, no. That only half of
Ranma's plan. The other half come later, when time is right."
* * * * * *
*SPLASH*
Ranma stifled a yelp as he leaped out of the way of the onrushing
liquid.
*SPLASH*
He reared back.
*SPLASH*
This was really getting tiring--not to mention annoying.
*SPLASH*
Ranma rolled across the grass, trying to distance himself from the
clan. When he finally set himself on his feet once more, his senses
screamed in alarm as a quantity of water was emptied full on him.
He shook the drops out of his eyes before slugging the culprit,
then backpedaled so that he was considerably out of reach.
*SPLASH*
Ranma cursed as he swiped at his waterlogged forehead. He had to
learn to move faster. Shampoo's mail-order waterproof soap had kept
him in male form so far, but he knew too well that it offered only
temporary protection. Too many splashes would grievously affect its
potency, and soon it would rinse off his skin in bubbles.
*SPLASH*
He tugged at his now thoroughly-drenched clothes. It was becoming
glaringly obvious to him that running from the clan was not an option,
and time was already running out.
*SPLASH*
* * * * * *
"What is it? What's wrong?" shrieked Sayuri, as the assemblage by
the windows groaned in unison.
Hiroshi faced her, his visage grave. "Ranma's going down," he said
quietly. "Those jerks're wearing him down."
"Can't we do anything?" demanded Yuka.
Daisuke shook his head sadly. "I wish there was. But there isn't.
Those people'll kill us--we can't go down there. I'm afraid Ranma's on
his own. He'd want it that way. It's his fight."
* * * * *
"Aargh!!"
Ranma wiped the back of his hand impatiently across his mouth. A
quick inspection told him that his lip, indeed, was bleeding slightly.
Damn. They'd tagged him.
A figure advanced on him with a growl, engaging him in a brief
round of punch-and-kick before Ranma finally sent him sprawling with
a well-placed haymaker.
Ranma had barely recovered his breath when he felt someone hit him
hard on his back. He stumbled forward, unseeing, and was greeted by
another blow to his stomach.
He was weakening. The blows the clan had rained upon him had left
their imprint in bruises and various aches all over his torso. And
they were accurate, too, managing to tag him in spots were it would
ache the most.
If there was anything Ranma was now convinced of regarding the
Dragon clan's attacks, it was that they hurt. They hurt a _lot_.
He now longer had the strength to keep on dodging the water the
clan relentlessly kept on throwing his way, and his stamina was all
but gone.
His tired legs gave in, and he collapsed to his knees, his back to
the brick wall of the building.
Ranma was cornered.
To his chagrin, the clan surrounded him completely, like vultures
clustering around a potential meal. Their leader approached him, his
tawny eyes gleaming with a hidden sneer.
For a second, Ranma thought that he resembled the dragon's head
that had sat on top of their lord's golden staff.
Despite the pain, Ranma was able to level with the youth standing
triumphantly before him, meeting his gaze head-on.
"Impressive show, Ranma Saotome," said Shino, his tone cool and
unaffected. "Lord Takuma was right when he warned us not to
underestimate you. Nonetheless, it is all for naught. You should have
known better than to struggle against the inevitable."
He nodded at his comrades, and they began to close in.
"You are defeated, Ranma Saotome."
To his bewilderment, he saw the battered boy lock his gaze onto
something behind him and twitch his lips into a tiny smile.
"Not quite," he growled.
Shino blinked, stupefied.
His answer came when a bokken, a blade attached to a chain, and a
red Chinese umbrella hurtled seemingly out of nowhere, catching Shino
and several of his followers off-balance.
And with that, Nerima's premiere martial artists leaped into battle.
* * * * * *
A loud murmur of amazement rippled across Furinkan High, starting
from the ones closest to the scene, then diffusing toward the various
floors, until the sound reached the roof.
Ukyou skittered even more closely to the edge, straining to see.
"What is it?" Shampoo queried fearfully. "What they excited about?"
Akane felt a little shiver of alarm as she saw Ukyou's eyes widen.
"Ukyou? What's going on? Is Ranma okay?"
Ukyou expelled a long, deep breath. "You guys..."
They were now all teetering precariously on the brink of the roof.
Down below, they could see Ranma, as well as the multitude that
remained unmoving in front of him. Upon closer inspection, the three
of them realized that several members of the clan were lying flat on
their backs.
"They knocked down," whispered Shampoo. "Did Ranma--?"
She was silenced as a long-haired, bespectacled form appeared next
to Ranma. No, no, no. It couldn't be...
"Mousse?!" Shampoo shrieked.
Ukyou followed her gaze, and her eyes locked immediately onto the
yellow-shirted, bandanna-clad boy that leaped from a nearby rooftop
and landed in the midst of the fray.
"Ryouga?!!" Ukyou cried out.
Akane's jaw dropped as she recognized the third figure, a young
man with dark curly hair and a bokken in his hand. "Wait a minute!
Isn't that--isn't that Kuno?!"
"My dear brother? Then he _is_ here! OHOHOHOHOHOHOOOO!!!"
Shampoo, Akane, and Ukyou froze at that all-too-familiar voice.
* * * * * *
"What the heck took you so long?" grumbled Ranma, his tone
deceptively light and conversational. "Did you guys let Ryouga lead
the way here or somethin'?"
Ryouga was too engrossed in surveying the clan to get pissed off.
"Stuff it, Ranma," he said mildly. "You might as well be grateful that
I decided to come after all and save your ass."
Ranma snorted, falling back into battle stance. "Like I _needed_ to
be saved--" He stopped as a jolt of pain shot up his back and
shoulder.
"The same applies to me, Saotome," warned Mousse. "I only came at
Shampoo's request--_not_ because your welfare matters to me!"
"And _I_," proclaimed Kuno, readying his bokken, "come forth not
because of the vile coward that thou art, but because of the
insistence of my pig-tailed goddess." He brandished his weapon for
emphasis. "For I, yes _I_, Tatewaki Kuno, am the only one she doth
trust! Ah, yes, my pig-tailed goddess...she loves me well..."
Ranma suppressed a snigger. Maybe his girl form _did_ have a few
benefits. Then he grimaced a little as a jolt of pain seared through
his left side--courtesy of the Dragon Clan, no doubt.
"Looking a little winded there, Ranma," muttered Ryouga, a smirk
tugging at his lips. "Why don't you rest and let us handle this?"
Ranma shot him a chaffed look. Damn. Ryouga knew.
He grunted, forcing himself to switch off his pain sensors as he
tested his right side. "Over my dead body, man."
Ryouga returned Ranma's look with a condescending one of his own.
"Well, Ranma, if that's how you feel--" He nodded at the clan.
"--then maybe you're gonna get your wish."
Ranma, Mousse, and Kuno glanced to where Ryouga was pointing.
To their horror, the clan seemed to be preparing for some sort of
retaliation. They were moving purposefully, methodically, realigning
their ranks to accommodate the addition of three new adversaries.
They spilled forward, advancing toward them, watching them with
circumspect eyes. The one in the gold and red armor hovered at the
corner, silently coordinating his comrades' placements, his tanned
features set in grim resolve.
Ranma, Ryouga, Mousse, and Kuno automatically eased into battle
stances, their backs to each other, as the clan swarmed malevolently
around them.
"Looks that they still want more, eh?" Ranma murmured.
"They do, do they?" Mousse snapped his chain rigid-straight. "I
must say that I wouldn't have it any other way. After all, I suddenly
feel the need to thrash them soundly!"
The air was practically crackling with tension.
"Well, guys," Ryouga muttered, "what do you say we give them the
traditional Nerima welcome?"
"You don't have to ask me twice," Ranma replied behind him. "You
guys used the soap, right?"
"Affirmative," confirmed Mousse.
"Then let us proceed with the smiting!" declared Kuno.
They all grinned.
And the fight was on.
* * * * * *
"What _you_ doing here?" demanded Shampoo, less than pleased.
Kodachi fluttered her lashes. "Why, because of my Ranma-darling,
of course! I heard everything, and I couldn't bear to be apart from
him when he was being hurt in battle!" She placed a well-manicured
hand across her forehead and shut her eyes. "I simply _must_ go down
there and help him!"
"Don't even bother," snapped Akane. "That jerk doesn't even want us
_in_ this fight. As far as he's concerned, Ryouga and the others're
doing a good enough job of helping him!"
Kodachi sniffed haughtily. "What kind of a future wife is one who
neglects her duties to the man she loves?"
"What are you--no!" Akane fought the urge to punt her to the sky.
"What I'm saying is that he doesn't _need_ to be helped right now--
he's got all the help he needs!"
"For now," mumbled Ukyou, still eyeing the fracas down below.
* * * * * *
"Atatatatatatatatatatatatata---!!!"
The sight of Tatewaki Kuno racing past hordes of his foes, calling
out his battle cry, wildly thrashing his bokken--and failing to score
even a single hit--was enough to make Ranma cringe in exasperation.
Ranma hopped to the back for a second, trying to stifle the pain in
his ribs. He hated to leave a battle for any reason, even when he was
injured, but the pain was making it hard for him to execute any moves.
He was sure that it would subside soon, but in the meantime he had an
obligation to the others. He lifted his head to watch over them.
Amazingly, Kuno remained conscious. He continued to whack away at
his foes in a berserk frenzy, but they were too fast for him,
managing to dance out of his reach even before he raised his bokken.
It was absolutely maddening, thought Ranma. The only reason they
hadn't put Kuno in Slumberland yet was because they were actually
playing around with him, not even bothering to block his swings but
instead taking pleasure in evading them. Still, that was good as long
as Kuno entertained them.
Their assault on Mousse, though, was no game. Fortunately, like
Ranma, Mousse had witnessed their art of fighting when they'd
kidnapped him, and now he was utilizing that to read and dodge his
attackers' blows. His arsenal of hidden projectiles, ranging from ax
blades to toilets, were not enough to snag more than a few members,
but they _were_ enough to keep the clan on their toes.
Ryouga, on the other hand, was the one who was inflicting the most
damage. He was taking out by hordes by executing his breaking point
technique repeatedly to rock them off their feet in waves. Within
intervals he would tear off handfuls of bandannas from his head and
hurl them at multiple enemies, or use his umbrella like a buzzsaw to
deter them before they got too close.
Ranma assessed his rival with a critical eye. He'd never really
noticed how good Ryouga was, perhaps because he was so easily
defeated whenever they got into a scuffle. It was usually a case of
Ranma putting him down with his superior speed before Ryouga's
superior endurance made any difference. But now Ranma was beginning
to realize just how formidable an opponent Ryouga was. Even now, as
the clan rained blows over and over on his pressure points, Ryouga
never showed any sign of faltering.
Ranma gritted his teeth. That was it. Rest was over. He launched
himself once more into the heart of the action.
After about five minutes of combat, the clan instituted once more
their water assault, which failed to procure the desired results.
Ranma was once more up to full speed as he evaded their splashes,
while Ryouga used his umbrella to deflect the water away from him,
Ranma, and Mousse. Kuno got the worst of it, of course, since the
three of them used him like a defensive shield, but although he
continued to sputter and curse them, they knew full well that he
wasn't going to turn into anything anyway.
The four of them were sopping wet as they assumed their initial
position, clustered in an outward-facing circle.
"Is it just me," panted Mousse, "or do the rest of you think it's
a good time to start applying some strategy here?"
"I...must say...that I concur...wholeheartedly," wheezed Kuno.
"Yeah, Ranma. We're not going to be able to keep this up forever,
you know," growled Ryouga, wringing some excess water from his hair.
"Yeah, I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'! Gimme a break, willya?"
* * * * * *
"That all Ranma's plan."
"WHAT?!?" shrieked Akane incredulously. "HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT
TO DO AFTER THAT?"
Shampoo winced. "Akane shout very much."
Akane wrung her arms in frustration. "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!! YOU
MEAN ALL WE GOTTA DO UP HERE IS HOPE AND PRAY THAT THOSE GUYS FIND A
WAY TO DEFEAT THE CLAN???!"
"Well, yes."
"OH, HONESTLY!!! NOT IF THEY'RE GONNA GET KILLED FIRST!!!"
Ukyou studied the four ant-like forms down below her, her brain
working with lightning-fast speed. "No," she said, and she pursed
her lips in determination. "No, they won't."
Kodachi's narrowed purple eyes flickered over her, burning with
feigned indifference. "What do you plan to do?"
Ukyou smirked.
* * * * * *
The clan continued to prowl around them like ravenous wolves. Their
hands belayed the telltale sparkles of water between their fingers.
The gears in Ranma's head were racing frantically. If he was right,
one more touch of water on his skin would reduce him into a female.
Already he could feel the itch of bubbles on his skin.
Shino materialized suddenly in front of them. There was no longer
any mask of cordiality on his visage.
"Game's over, upperworlders." The words dropped from his mouth in
cold, concise tones.
"Ranma," Mousse hissed. "Ranma, we need a _plan_..."
Ranma didn't reply.
Shino gestured at his comrades and said one single word: "NOW."
They never got the chance to obey.
A bonbori, a gymnastic whip-ribbon, and a round of spatula
shurikens ripped out of nowhere, catching Shino and company by
surprise for the second time in the fight.
Ranma, Ryouga, Kuno, and Mousse glanced up in horror as four very
familiar figures dropped down from the roof.
And with that, Nerima's premiere female martial artists leaped
into battle.
=end of Chapter Five=
Next: The final conflict...?
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