Muyami Academy
What if they ALL went to the same school?
Previous chapters at: http://members.xoom.com/bellchan/
Thanks to my prereaders, T.H. Tiger, Bombadil Goh, Jeffrey Cornish
and William Morse. Also thanks to Jed Hagen and Stardragon for surprise
C&C. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Ranma 1/2 characters and stuff, and Inu-Yasha
characters and stuff, not to mention Ursei Yatsura characters and stuff,
copyright 1999 Rumiko Takehashi. Tenchi Muyou characters and stuff,
copyright 1999 Pioneer & AIC. Mamono Hunter Yohko characters and stuff
copyright 1999 AD Vision, NCS, Toho Company, LTD, Mad House, and I don't
know who else. Koko wa Greenwood characters copyright Yuki Nasu. Mint na
Bokura characters copyright Wataru Yoshizume. Other characters and stuff
also copyright the creators and owners.
Chapter Nine
Round and Round
Kyosuke Kasuga set his bowl down and glanced across the table at
the girl he loved, Madoka Ayukawa, and her roommate, Belldandy.
"Belldandy, that was some of the best miso soup I've ever had!" he
exclaimed. "Madoka, do you have that recipe? It's much better than what my
sisters make...."
Next to him, his new friend Keichi Morosato, Belldandy's boyfriend,
grinned. "Belldandy is a fantastic cook!" he said. "Everything she touches
tastes wonderful."
Belldandy blushed. "It's not a difficult recipe," she said, "and
Madoka helped me make it, so I'm sure she can do it again. The most
important ingredient is her love for you."
Madoka looked a little embarrassed. Even Kyosuke was amazed that
Belldandy could utter such trite and syrupy phrases with such sincerity and
conviction. "Well," he said, "maybe it's true what they say about you...."
"Oh? What is that?"
Kyosuke grinned. "Everyone says that that you're a goddess!"
Keichi spewed water across the table.
"It's just a misunderstanding!" Keichi exclaimed. "I'm always
saying Belldandy could be a goddess, because she's so nice! Someone
probably overheard me, but it's just an expression! It doesn't mean that
she's really...."
"Really a goddess?" Madoka said. She raised an eyebrow. Belldandy
blinked at the three of them in mild confusion.
"Keichi," Kyosuke said, "I didn't mean to imply that Belldandy
really was a goddess... I mean, who would believe such a thing?"
The phone rang. "I'll get it!" Belldandy said, jumping up. "I
wonder who that could be?"
The others grew quiet. Belldandy picked up the phone.
"Hello? This is Belldandy, President of Matsukata Hall... what? Oh,
my! Really? But that's... oh my! Yes. Yes, and thank you for calling me!"
Belldandy hung up the phone. Her eyes were wide with alarm. "Oh,
my," she said. "That was Mitsuru Ikeda, President of the boy's dorm. He
said that a group of unruly boys were coming here to conduct a 'panty
raid'."
Anger flashed in Madoka's eyes, and she leapt to her feet. "They
wouldn't!" she exclaimed. "Of all the nerve...." She paused and glanced
back at Keichi and Kyosuke. "Well, we'll just have to stop them, then."
"Yes," Belldandy said, nodded her head firmly. "That's exactly what
we must do. Only," she paused, looking embarrassed and confused.
"Yes?"
"What, exactly, is a 'panty raid'?"
***
The boys of Sakagawa Hall poured into the girl's dorm and gathered
in the commons room. They quickly split into three detachments, having been
drilled beforehand by their tactician, Katsuhito Jinnai. Using a
three-pronged attack, they struck all three floors of the dorm at once.
It was a brilliant plan. And it would have worked at almost any
other school. But this was Muyami Academy, and the girl's dorm happened to
be chock-a-block full of girls who were unbelievably powerful when aroused,
who were expert fencers, brilliant martial artists, and veterans of street
gang fighting. Some were from other planets and some from other dimensions;
some were born with unusual powers, and some were simply built to be very
cute weapons of destruction. Some tossed lightning or energy bolts, some
tossed knives and shiruiken or fired blasters, some casts magic spells, and
some cooked food so toxic it would make a Russian biological warfare expert
weep for joy.
Some, it was true, were ordinary schoolgirls. But it should be
noted that the ordinary Japanese schoolgirl is often cited as one of the
most powerful forces in nature.
In short, Katsuhito Jinnai's panty-raid battle plan, as brilliant
as it was, had snowman's chance in hell of succeeding.
Problems cropped up on the first floor, where Hatta led several
boys to an early success. Amid the screams of startled girls, his group
quickly snatched their silky prizes and headed back up the hallway.
"Halt!" someone called out, and then several objects whizzed by
their heads.
Their hands were suddenly empty. Behind them, several pairs of
underwear were nailed to the wall... with guitar picks.
The girls standing before them were dorm President Belldandy and
her roommate, Madoka Ayukawa. Hatta recalled Madoka's rumored furyoo
(juvenile delinquent) background. She was known as "Madoka the pick".
"Leave," Madoka said, "or the next one lands in your forehead."
"You boys should be ashamed of yourselves," Belldandy added. And
the funny thing was, when she said it, they did feel ashamed.
"Yes, ma'am," Hatta found himself saying. "We're sorry for the
disturbance. We'll be going now."
The other boys mumbled apologies, and the group ran as fast as they
could for their own dorm.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, another group of boys had run into
Lum, Nuku Nuku, and a girl who called herself Biko. It wasn't a pretty
sight.
"Pervert!" Lum screamed, finding the boys in the hallway with
panties in hand. There was a deafening crackle of electricity, and half the
boys collapsed in a heap.
"Hentai!" Biko yelled. Demonstrating amazing strength, she hefted
two boys off the ground by their own underwear. The screams from the
resulting super-wedgies would have shaken members of the inquisition.
Nuku Nuku clapped her hands together. "Whee! That looks like fun!"
she exclaimed. "It's just like when Arisa and Kiyouko come to play! Let me
try!"
The remaining boys glanced at each other. Most of them had heard of
the cyborg cat girl, her amazing strength, and her occasional battles with
the two of Mishima's top agents. Nuku-Nuku had been brought online by
Science Teacher Kyuusaku Natusme last quarter, and had already helped
destroy several parts of the school. The stories were legend among
returning students.
The boys dropped their stolen goods and fled.
On the second floor, things were a little different. Most of the
boys ran afoul of a kicking, punching purple-haired dynamo named Shampoo,
and a girl named Utena who wielded a very sharp saber with expert
precision. These boys were quickly subdued. Ukyo, however, was a martial
artist herself and had been eager to get the whole thing over with. She'd
moved quickly and decisively, dodging past Shampoo and Utena and running
quickly towards her goal.
And then there was Ataru Moroboshi....
***
Chunks of concrete and bits of plaster lay scattered across the
room, along with kitchen implements and the contents of what was once
Akane's bookshelf. The meal, or what was left of it, was buried under
debris and a settling layer of dust. Akane surveyed the damage to her and
Nanami's room, stunned.
Floating before the hole she'd just created in the side of the
dormitory was Ryoko.
Tenchi leapt to his feet. "Ryoko!" he yelled, "what do you think
you're doing?"
"Tenchi!" Ryoko exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. She started
forward, arms wide to embrace the boy she loved, but Ayeka stepped in front
of Tenchi.
"Ryoko, you monster!" she growled. "This time you've gone too far!"
"Too far?" Ryoko replied. "I just want to be near my Tenchi...."
"That's no excuse for blowing holes in the dormitory!"
Ryoko glanced back at the destroyed wall as if noticing it for the
first time. "But concrete walls are so fragile!"
"You monster woman!" Ayeka yelled. "Must you ruin everything? Why,
I have half a mind to...."
"Think you can take me, Princess?" Ryoko growled, her eyes
flashing. "What a laugh! Well, give me your best shot!"
Lightning crackled between the two. All eyes in the room were
focused on them, except for Akane's. She was staring at the dust-covered,
rubble-strewn spot on the floor where her curry rice dinner had been only
moments earlier.
"Yohko didn't even get a chance to taste it," she whispered, so
softly that nobody else noticed. Tears rolled down her face. "That... that
was the very best meal I've ever made!"
The air about Akane began to glow blue. In seconds it was a
brilliant, blazing blue that crackled audibly. Akane's head swiveled up and
focused on Ryoko. She stalked forward.
The alien girl with the blue-green hair was too busy to notice. She
was locked in a battle of wills with the elder Princess of Jurai.
"Ryoko, you IDIOT!" Akane yelled at the top of her lungs. Her
uppercut caught Ryoko squarely under the jaw, and sent the alien girl
flying back out the hole in the wall. Akane immediately launched herself
through the hole, planting a flying kick in Ryoko's midsection.
Ryoko looked surprised, but she wrapped her hands about Akane's
ankle. Since they'd begun on the second floor, this left Akane dangling
upside down, staring at the sidewalk and the grass below her. Akane reached
up to grab Ryoko's arm. Ryoko let go, and with her other arm, punched Akane
in the stomach.
Akane's eyes dimmed, as the force of the punch drove her down. She
hit the grass with a thud, and lay there, unmoving.
***
Ataru Moroboshi was not a martial artist. He did not have special
abilities or psychic powers, and he didn't know a magic spell from a
spelling bee. He was a poor student, a clumsy athlete, and socially inept,
and if that weren't enough, he also happened to be the unluckiest human
being on the face of the planet. But there was one thing that Ataru was
good at, one thing that he'd dedicated his life to with the willpower and
tenacity of top-ranked athlete or a secluded monk.
Ataru Moroboshi was a master of chasing girls.
At the moment, he was in his element, and that made him all but
unstoppable.
"Utena-chan!" he exclaimed cheerfully as he leaped and twisted over
her lunging sword. His hand darted into her underwear drawer and emerged
with something that proved she did not dress entirely in masculine attire.
Ataru sidestepped Utena's riposte, snatched an item from Anthy's dresser
drawer, and dodged back into the hallway.
"Shampoo-chan!" he called out, as he rolled under a swift kick. He
quickly snatched an item from her dresser, and one from Shinobu's, while
managing to avoid several blows and kicks. "Thank you so much!" he called
out, as he ran out the door.
"Hitomi-chan! Miaka-chan!" He grinned like a fool, snatched up two
pairs of underwear, and was gone.
"Nabiki-chan!" he said. "Where's Ayeka-chan?" Not waiting for an
answer, he snatched a pair of the Princess's knickers, then turned to
Nabiki's dresser.
The drawer was locked.
Nabiki, seated on her bed, dangled something made from blue satin
and lace. "Five thousand yen," she said, "and I expect them to be returned
when this is over."
Ataru raised his eyebrows, shrugged, and then dug into his pocket.
Moments later he was bounding down the hall, looking to add to his
collection.
***
Inside Akane's suddenly drafty dorm room, Tenchi, Ayeka, Chigako
and Shinobu Miyake watched as Akane and Ryoko disappeared through the
gaping hole and into the night.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled.
"Get back here, you witch!" Ayeka yelled. "This isn't finished!"
Ayeka leapt forward and through the opening in the wall. Growling,
Tenchi grabbed his namesake and followed her.
Chigako and Shinobu blinked at each other in confusion.
In the hallway just outside, Ranma, Ukyo, Ryoga and Yohko were also
staring at each other in confusion.
"I can explain everything!" Ranma said. She paused, apparently
running over the events of the last few minutes. "Well, actually, I can't,"
she added, "but that's no reason to get mad!"
"Ranma, there's a demon nearby," Yohko said. She had a serious look
on her face. "I don't mean Tenchi's weird girlfriend either," she added.
"A demon?" Ranma repeated. But Yohko wasn't listening to her. With
another glance at her yoma ring, Yohko Mano ran through Akane's room and
out into the night.
"Does this look like a new fire escape?" Shinobu asked.
"Hey!" Ranma said, "wait for me!" She ran after Yohko, leaping out
through the hole in the wall.
"Ranchan!" Ryoga called out, running after her. "Be careful! It
might be dangerous!"
"This is a dorm room!" Shinobu called out. "Not a Tokyo subway
station!"
Ukyo glanced down at the baby blue satin panties in her hand, with
white lace trim. She growled, stuffed the underwear beneath her shirt, and
ran after the others.
In the room, Chigako and Shinobu watched as everyone took leave of
their collective senses and took flying leaps from the second floor.
"Ohmyancestors!" Chigako exclaimed, springing to her feet. "It's
another demon battle, and I don't have my video camera! Be back in a
second!" She dashed into the hallway.
Shinobu sat on the floor of Akane's suddenly very empty room. She
stared out the gaping hole and the darkness beyond.
"And here," she said, "I thought that I'd come to this school, make
some new friends, and completely forget about Ataru and Lum." She sighed.
"My life is supposed to become more normal, not less."
She sighed, and got to her feet. "Might as well go see what's up.
Although, if they think I'm going to leap through a hole on the second
floor...."
***
Near the steps that led to the main entrance to Matsukata Hall,
with rose bushes growing on either side, was an eight-foot tall stone
statue of Katsushi Matsukata himself. The statue was green with moss, and
the plaque below was covered by dirt and flowers that had been planted at
the base. Few people knew that Mr. Matsukata had been one of the Jesuit
priests who had helped found the school many many years ago, as had his
friend, Magobee Sakagawa, whose own statue stood near the entrance to the
boy's dorm. The past history of the school meant little to who currently
resided there.
Beneath the shadow of the noble Matsukata, two far less imposing
people sat and conversed in low tones. Both were impressively wrinkled,
with huge eyes and troll-like mouths, and both stood about two feet tall.
One would hesitate to call them human, but human they were, although
neither was what you'd call an ordinary human.
The shriveled man in the janitor's coveralls sat and smoked a pipe.
It did not seem to relax him as much as he'd like, and he kept casting
glances at the shriveled woman, who stared at him with the intensity of a
sumo champion.
"So," she said, "you faked your death and ran back to Japan,
leaving your poor family behind...."
Happosai shrugged. "I'm sorry, Cologne," he said. "I tried to
control my desires... for girls and... for women's underclothes." He
paused, gripping his pipe with shaking hands and white knuckles. "But it's
just too hard!"
"My parents warned me before I married you," Cologne said with a
sigh. "But I thought you could change. You did so well, those first few
years...."
"The katas you taught me help," Happosai said. "It's... it's just a
matter of concentration, but I...." He sighed. "It's a weakness in me that
I can't overcome. As a martial artist, I am something of a failure."
"Yes," Cologne said. "And yet, you decided to take on students."
Happosai's eyes grew wide. "You know about that?"
Cologne smiled. "So those two girls really are students of your
school...."
Happosai nodded, then paused. "Two girls? Akane Tendo and...?"
"Ranma Saotome."
"Oh, really? Genma's girl, eh?" The old man puffed his pipe. "How
very interesting...."
"Anything-Goes martial arts," Cologne said. "It seems your school's
legacy has begun to spread. How many other students have you taught?"
"Not many," Happosai conceded. "Although there is another, here at
the school. In fact, she's the reason I got this job. She convinced me to
try, once again, to control my desires, and so I've been a janitor at this
school for the last two years."
"In a girl's dorm," Cologne added.
"So?" Happosai exclaimed. "I said control, not eradicate! You can't
expect me to be a saint, woman!"
"I realize that," Cologne said. "But Happy, why couldn't we have
faced this together? Why did you have to run away...?"
"Why?" Happosai said. "Well, um... you know...."
"Yes?" Cologne asked patiently.
"It's just that..." Happosai said, kicking a pebble near his feet.
"Yes?"
"I mean no disrespect," Happosai said, "but... have you looked in a
mirror lately?"
The air about Cologne began to glow blue.
"Well?" Happosai exclaimed. "Have you, woman? Whatever happened to
the beautiful girl I married? She's gone! Vanished! There's nothing left
but a repulsive old ghoul!"
Happosai's rant was cut short by a resounding THWACK on the head
from Cologne's staff. "Well it's true!" he cried out, leaping to his feet.
"Look at the horrible hag you've turned into!"
"You're no spring chicken yourself, Happy," Cologne growled. The
glow surrounding her was growing more intensely bright by the moment.
Happosai began to summon forth his own chi, when Cologne paused and
held up her hand. He turned in the direction she was looking and stared
into the darkness.
"Demon?" he asked. Cologne nodded. "Your senses were always sharper
than mine," he added. Energy began to flow through him. "On the count of
three. One... two...."
***
Ataru ran down the hallway, a pair of pastel yellow panties on his
head. Another pair, with a violet floral pattern, was tied to a stick in
his hand. He waved the stick about, as if he were the flag bearer in a war
in which his dreams and hopes, and everything he stood for, were at stake.
And, in a perverted way, this was the truth.
Girls screamed and fled from him like Tokyo citizens fleeing from
Godzilla. Ataru was disappointed to not steal a brief hug from at least a
few of them, but, for tonight, he had a different objective. The rules said
that you should steal the underwear of the one that you loved, but Ataru
was the sort to sample every chocolate in the box. There were many, many
girls in Matsukata Hall, and Ataru had his work cut out for him.
Soon, with more than half the dorm floor after him, he fled back to
the ground floor. But, rather than flee into the night, he began hitting
the first-floor dorm rooms.
Ataru was, after all, a man with a mission.
"Madoka-chan!" he cried, as a half-dozen guitar picks sailed by his
face. "This will only take a moment!" He avoided her punch and snatched up
what he'd come for. "Gomen nasai, Miss Belldandy," he added, as he snagged
an item from her drawer. He dodged a kick from Madoka, and was back in the
hallway, laughing like man who'd just won the lotto.
"Oh, my," Belldandy exclaimed. "What an agile boy he is!"
***
Ryoko drifted down to hover over Akane, who lay crumpled on the
grass outside. "My, my," she said, "that must have hurt."
Akane's eyes flew open. Her hand whipped out. She grabbed Ryoko's
ankle and grinned.
Ryoko grinned back. A surge of energy engulfed both her and Akane.
Akane screamed and let go.
"You've landed entirely too many kicks and punches on me, little
Miss Martial Artist," Ryoko growled. "That's going to end. Give me one good
reason why I should go easy on you."
Akane growled and leaped to her feet. She assumed a defensive
crouch.
"Bring it on!" Akane yelled.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi growled. He was standing on the grass, feet apart,
with the hilt of his sword in his hands. "What do you think you're doing?"
Without ever taking her eyes off of Tenchi, Ryoko dodged a kick and
a punch from Akane.
"She didn't invite me to her party!" Ryoko complained. She
sidestepped another fierce kick. "I felt left out, Tenchi...."
"Well? Given the way you've treated her so far she hardly sees you
as a friend."
"How I've treated her?" Ryoko exclaimed, dodging another attack.
"Every time she sees me, she attacks me! And I have to be extra careful to
not hurt her, because she's your friend, and she's so fragile...."
"You nearly killed my friend Ranma, you monster!" Akane yelled. She
let fly with a flurry of punches, none of which came near their target.
By this point, a large crowd was gathering on the lawn between the
two dorms. "What's up?" several asked.
"It's a big fight!" Daisuke replied. He and his friend Hitoshi were
front and center, hoping to witness the entire bloody battle. By this
point, however, Akane broke off her attack, and just stood there breathing
heavily.
Ryoko glanced over her shoulder. "That? That was between me and
Ranma, and I've already apologized to her, " she said.
Eyebrows went up all around, and everyone turned to Ranma. "Ranma,
is that true?" Akane asked.
Ranma shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "I guess you could call that
an apology. Anyway, we had a talk, and we agreed that we're even. Although
I still reserve the right to a rematch," she added darkly.
"Anytime, little girl," Ryoko replied.
Akane's anger seemed to dissipate a little. "Well, okay," she said,
"but that still doesn't excuse you from ruining my dinner! Yohko hadn't
even tried it yet!"
Ryoko settled to the ground. "Well," she said, "that's what you get
for not inviting me." She saw the anger rekindle in Akane's eyes, and held
up her hands, adding, "Don't get angry. It's easily fixed. I can help you
make dinner again, if you like."
Akane relaxed, then smiled hesitantly. "Ryoko, that's... that's
very nice of you to offer...."
"No!" Ayeka yelled. "You'll poison Lord Tenchi!"
Ryoko turned on Ayeka angrily. Tenchi laughed and scratched the
back of his head. "Actually, Ayeka, I'm pretty full already...."
"I'll help you cook!" Ayeka said with finality. "After all, it's
the duty of the wife to prepare food for her husband."
"And whose wife would you be, Princess?" Ryoko asked.
As the two girls dove headlong into another argument, Tenchi pulled
Ranma aside. "We've gotta do something, Ranma," he whispered fiercely. "If
those two are allowed to cook...."
"Hey, they can't be any worse than Akane, right?" Ranma replied
with a laugh. Her laughter faded as she saw the seriousness and the horror
reflected in Tenchi eyes.
"You can't be serious," Ranma began.
"I hate to say it," Tenchi said, "but they might be the two worst
cooks on the planet."
"Worse than Akane?" Ranma said. "Is that really possible?"
"Is there going to be a fight, or not?" Daisuke asked, somewhat
disappointed. Despite their bickering, even Ryoko and Ayeka seemed more
inclined to a cooking duel than an outright brawl.
A hand grabbed Ranma's shoulder and spun her about.
"Ranchan?" Ukyo asked. "Is it really you?"
Ranma's eyes went wide. "Uchan, I...."
"Ranchan, why in the world are you dressed like that?"
Ranma blinked. "Like what?"
"Like a girl, of course!"
Ranma glanced down at herself, then shrugged. "Because I am a
girl?" she replied.
The crowd winced as a loud slap echoed across the lawn. Ranma's
face instantly turned red where Ukyo had struck her.
"Liar!" Ukyo retorted. "You're my fiancee! Why would I be engaged
to a girl?"
"Um... because you're a boy?" Daisuke offered.
Ryoga stepped between Ranma and Ukyo. "You coward!" he growled.
"How dare you strike my fiancee! Prepare to die!"
"Fiancee?" Ukyo said, dodging Ryoga's punch. She glared at Ranma.
"This boy is your fiancee? You're engaged to a... a guy?"
"Well, she is a girl, of course," Shinobu Miyake, standing next to
Daisuke, said.
"Ignore me at your peril!" Ryoga yelled.
Ranma clobbered Ryoga on the head, and the wandering boy collapsed
to the grass. "Ryoga, stay out of this!" she said. "Look, Ukyo, I can
explain everything in private...."
Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "Ranchan," she said, "when you didn't honor
our engagement, I...."
"Engagement?" Ranma said. "What's all this talk about an
engagement?"
"Don't pretend you don't remember," Ukyo growled.
"Remember what?"
"Our engagement, you moron!"
"Now, hold on just a second!" Ranma said. "Why would I be engaged
to some guy?"
In the crowd, Hitoshi said, "because you're a girl?"
"Oh," Ranma said, glancing down at herself. "Oh, yeah, that's
right. A girl...."
"And why is your hair red?" Ukyo continued. "It used to be black."
"People dye their hair all the time," Ranma said. "Anyway, what's
the big idea of you stealing my underwear? I never knew you were such a
pervert, Ukyo."
"Never mind that!" Ukyo said hotly. "You're one to talk, Ranma!
Engaged to two people at once...."
"What's this engagement you keep talking about?"
"We were engaged by our fathers," Ukyo said, "when we were young."
"Impossible," Ranma countered. "My pop might be a good-for-nothing
idiot, but he would never do anything so sick and perverted!"
"What," Daisuke said, "engage his daughter to someone's son?"
"Does that seem perverted to you?" Hiroshi asked.
"If you ask me," Shinobu said, "I'd be really happy to be engaged
to someone as good looking as Ukyo-sama."
Ranma frowned. "You don't understand. Look, how can I put this?
Let's just say that when I was young, my father considered me his son."
"Really?" Shinobu said. "Do you mean he made you dress and act like
a boy?"
"Essentially, yes."
"How awful for you!"
By this point Ukyo was looking really confused. "Ranma? You're
really a girl?"
"It... um... looks that way...."
Ukyo ground her teeth. "That's impossible!" she said. "Let's just
see what you've got under that top of yours...."
Ukyo swung her massive spatula about, ripping Ranma's top open.
Ukyo blinked and stared at Ranma's exposed breasts.
Several girls in the crowd screamed, "Pervert!" at the top of their
lungs.
"Ranma?" Ukyo asked, doubt in her voice for the first time. "Those
aren't... those aren't real... are they?"
"What do you think?" Ranma said, covering her breasts. "Of course
they're real!"
Ukyo stared in stunned silence for a moment, then reached out to
squeeze one experimentally.
"Hey!" Ranma yelled, slapping Ukyo's hand away. "Keep your hands to
yourself!"
There were several screams from the crowd, including cries of
"Hentai!" "Etchi!" and "Pervert!" from the girls, and "Alright! Go Ukyo!"
from some of the guys.
Ukyo stared in disbelief. "But I thought... but you weren't...."
her voice trailed off, and she fell to her knees, stunned.
Tenchi stepped forward and offered his shirt to Ranma, who was
still struggling to cover her breasts. She accepted it gratefully.
"Tenchi!" Hiroshi cried out. "How could you?"
"Is there going to be a fight?" Daisuke asked. "I thought something
was going to happen."
"This is important!" Shinobu said. "This is about love!"
Ryoga sprung to his feet.
"Ukyo!" he growled. "You've got some nerve! First you walk out on a
man to man fight, then you try to strip my fiancee naked before the whole
school...."
"Ryoga," Ranma said, "please butt out."
"What are you blubbering about?" Ukyo asked, springing to her feet.
"I've never done anything to you!"
"You've forgotten our fight already?" Ryoga exclaimed. "You ran out
on a man-to-man duel! At least Ranma here had the honor to fight me, fair
and square, and she's a girl!"
Ukyo glanced at her female fiancee. "Care to explain that one,
Ranma?"
Ranma shrugged. "We had some sort of argument. I think it was about
bread, or something. Ryoga wanted to fight, so we did. Took him four days
to show up, too. I beat him, and then apologized for the bread thing, and
that was it."
Ukyo raised an eyebrow. "Now that you mention it," she said, "I
think I remember something about some silly duel...."
"Ukyo, you enemy of women!" Ryoga yelled. "Prepare to die!"
"Wait!" Ukyo yelled, but Ryoga had already launched himself at her.
She flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding his fist, which pounded into the
ground where she'd stood. Instantly there was a depression five feet wide
and half a foot deep.
"What are you, nuts?" Ukyo said. "You're going to hurt someone!"
"Shut up, coward!" Ryoga fired back. "Because of you, I've seen
hell!"
"All right!" Daisuke exclaimed. "There really is going to be a
fight!"
Ukyo drew her battle spatula and held it at the ready. Ryoga pulled
the bandana from his hair... several times. He began to spin them about in
his hands.
Ranma brought an iron pot down on Ryoga's head, and the boy
collapsed again.
"Ranma!" Hitoshi said, "is that any way to treat your fiancee?"
"Ah man," Daisuke said, "and I thought we were finally going to see
a fight!"
"Ranma," Ukyo said, "is Ryoga really your fiancee? This is all so
confusing...."
"What about you?" Shinobu asked. "Ranma's not the only one with two
fiancees! Or have you forgotten poor Akane, here?"
"Shinobu!" Akane whispered fiercely, "stay out of this!"
Ukyo looked Akane up and down. "Akane?" she asked. "Have we met
before?"
"That's a horrid way to treat your fiancee!" Shinobu exclaimed.
"Oh, this is pointless!" Ranma said. She grabbed Ukyo's arm. "Come
on, Ukyo. We gotta find someplace private to talk...."
And with one leap, Ranma and Ukyo shot straight up, and vanished
into the night.
***
Yohko had a plethora of questions to ask her so-called friend Ranma
Saotome, but at the moment her yoma ring was flashing like a Christmas tree
on overload. Yohko had learned to never ignore the ring.
It was dark. Yohko crept forward carefully, like an angel stepping
through the gates of hell... a very small angel, who did not have Michael,
Gabriel, and Raphael as backup. She held an iron garden rake before her
like a holy sword. Matsukata Hall was on her right, and she moved north,
leaving the fracas with Ryoko and the crowd it was attracting behind.
She sensed the demon somewhere up ahead, lying in wait for her like
a stalker in a downtown alley....
A shadowy figure rose up before her. Yohko screamed and swung her
rake. There was a loud THUNK.
"Ow," the shadowy figure said, before it collapsed into a heap.
Yohko blinked. That hadn't sounded anything like a demon. She ran
forward, and knelt beside the person on the ground.
It was a boy. His long hair fell down over his eyes, almost
completely covering them. Yohko thought that he was kind of cute looking,
apart from the girls' underwear on his head.
He groaned, then opened his eyes. "What'd you do that for?" he
asked. Reaching up to feel the bump on his head, and hand encountered silk
and lace.
He quickly sat up. It was too dark to see, but Yohko could swear
that the strange boy was blushing.
"Yohko! They're not yours, I swear!" he blurted out.
Yohko wasn't sure how to take that, but she snatched the panties
from the boy's head. She peered at them closely in the gloom.
"These are mine," she growled. "Who are you? Why do you know my
name?"
"I... I..." the boy stuttered. He snatched the underwear back,
scrambled backwards, got to his feet and ran off into the darkness.
Yohko frowned. Despite the darkness, she was fairly certain she'd
recognize the boy at a later date. For now, she had other concerns.
Twenty feet further, at the base of the old Matsukata statue, Yohko
found two more bodies on the ground. They were both small, like toddlers
really, if toddlers could look 150 years old. One was the janitor of
Matsukata Hall, and the other was the Chinese teacher who served as the
martial art's club advisor. Yohko remembered them both from earlier in the
day.
They looked as if they'd been on the losing side of a battle with a
steamroller. Although not dead, they were both out cold.
Somewhere off in the darkness, a voice yelled out "Darling!" There
was a brilliant flash of light, a painful scream, and the crackle of
electricity.
From nearby Yohko heard a deep, rolling laughter. It was not the
sort of laugher a human throat could make.
"Devil Hunter," the echoing voice said. "Shrine violator! Breaker
of seals! Opener of the gate of gates! You have disturbed my sleep and let
loose the demons of the past! Did you think the gate was unguarded? Did you
think you could do this and I would not know?"
"What seal?" Yohko said. "What gate? I don't know what you're
talking about!" She peered into the darkness, trying to make out the demon.
And Mr. Matsukata, eight feet tall and made of solid stone, stepped
from the base upon which he'd stood motionless for one hundred years.
***
"Tell me, Chief Ido, have you ever heard of Silent Mobius?"
Gendo Ikari, President of Muyami Academy, sat back in his
high-backed leather chair and sipped his tea thoughtfully. He stared out at
the school campus below them. His specially designed floor to ceiling
picture window allowed for night vision, and he was able to clearly see a
group of students gathered on the lawn between the two large dormitories.
Across the table from him, Daisuke Ido, the local Chief of Police,
shifted in his seat.
"No, I can't say that I have," Ido said.
Principal Ikari pulled a book from a nearby shelf and tossed it
onto his desk. Ido picked it up and looked it over.
"It's a manga story by Kia Asamiya," the Principal said.
"Yes, I can see that," Ido replied. He set the book back on the
desk. "I'm not much of a fan of comics, Mr. Ikari."
"No? A pity, then," Principal Ikari said. "This one, in particular,
has some fascinating ideas in it."
Chief Ido raised an eyebrow.
"Involving demons, I assume?"
"Yes. Entities from another dimension, to be precise. The story is
set in a future Tokyo that suffers from frequent attacks by such entities.
Interesting, isn't it?"
"Interesting reading for schoolchildren, I suppose," Chief Ido
said.
Principal Ikari did not smile. Principal Ikari never smiled. But he
did set his cup down and begin to steeple his hands.
"What I find most interesting," Gendo Ikari said, "is the
organization that is formed to help deal with these entities. They call it
the 'Abnormal Mystery Police' department, or AMP. A silly name, but... the
idea of forming a strike force designed to counter or contain demonic
manifestations... that part I find quite intriguing."
Chief Ido snorted. "It sounds like a variation of that American
show... the X Files."
"Indeed," the Principal said. "There are many shows with the same
theme... Blue Seed, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Phantom Quest Corps... all
leading back to the movie Ghostbusters, I suspect, and even further back to
the long legacy of mystery novels. Of course, Silent Mobius and the X Files
are much different from Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew."
"But surely these are just cartoons and stories?" Chief Ido said.
"You can hardly take them seriously...."
"As I warned you," Principal Ikari said, "I take everything
seriously."
***
The boys had been driven from Matsukata Hall. Even Ataru had run
into his arch nemesis -- an enraged Lum -- and was now being chased across
the campus, no longer a threat to the girls in the dorm.
"Well," Belldandy said, closing the door and locking it, "that
certainly was an unusual diversion! Now, perhaps we can get back to our
meal...."
"Belldandy?" Keichi asked. He was staring out the window into the
night.
"Yes?"
"Isn't that Mr. Matsukata moving across the lawn?"
Belldandy blinked in confusion. "Mr. Matsukata?" she repeated. She
moved to the window and looked out. "Oh my, it really is him!" she said. "I
wonder what he wants?"
***
Yohko dodged and narrowly avoided being crushed by a book.
Mr. Matsukata's movements seemed ponderous and slow, but that was
an illusion. As he swung the heavy book back around, it was all Yohko could
do to avoid it a second time.
Normally a book -- even a thick Bible such as Mr. Matsukata wielded
-- would not have made a good weapon. However, this book happened to be two
feet tall and made of solid stone. Yohko was glad that Mr. Matsukata had
been a priest, rather than a general with a huge stone sword; as it was,
she was worried that the Mr. Matsukata might throw the book at her.
Yohko somersaulted backwards across the lawn, landing near the
entrance to Sakagawa Hall. This gave her enough space to begin her
transformation.
"For those who use a holy man's image to spread evil and hatred,"
she intoned, "I shall have no mercy! I fight with the power of love, and I
will banish you from this place and send you to where you belong! Yohko
Mano, the 108th generation Mamano Hunter, stands before you!"
Yohko spun about in the air, going through her transformation
sequence. Her clothes shredded and flew from her body, and for a brief
moment she was naked, before her devil hunter's outfit formed around her.
Many of the boys on campus would have killed to witness this, but they were
all busy further South, watching several fights almost, but not quite,
break out.
Step by ponderous step, Mr. Matsukata lumbered across the lawn
towards her.
Yohko landed on her feet, her soulsword in hand. She immediately
charged, swinging her weapon at the statue. It was far too slow to react,
and the glowing blade in Yohko's hands slammed hard into the statue's side.
And bounced off.
Yohko felt the impact all along her arms. She dodged back, narrowly
avoiding a Bible-thumping, and then thrust forward.
Again, it was like swinging a metal bat at a steel pole. Her wrists
and arms ached from the collision of sword on stone. She heard something
clatter on the sidewalk, and was certain she must have chipped the statue
at the very least, but it was clear that her soulsword, so very deadly
against most demons, would prove useless in this fight.
She continued to dodge the swinging book, thinking furiously. How
in the world could she defeat a possessed statue? If only she had a
piledriver!
***
Belldandy stood in the shadows of Matsukata Hall, watching Yohko
bravely battle Mr. Matsukata himself. Beside her stood Keichi, Madoka, and
Kyosuke.
"Oh, Mr. Matsukata!" Belldandy exclaimed. "You really shouldn't be
doing this!"
"Uh... Belldandy?" Keichi asked.
Madoka glanced at Kyosuke. Kyosuke frowned, then nodded. He turned
back to stare at the animated statue.
"The statue is possessed," Belldandy said with a sigh.
Kyosuke glanced back at her, startled.
"It feels more like a guardian spirit than a demonic presence,"
Belldandy continued, "but it burns with a fierce anger. It still means
great harm to Yohko, and to anyone near her."
Kyosuke blinked. "How do you know that?" he asked.
Belldandy didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Her sword is useless
against stone." Then she held her hands out and turned her face towards the
night sky.
"Oh spirits of stone and earth," she called out, in a beautiful
lilting voice. "Heed my voice and gather. Oh spirits that dwell in the rock
below, lend to us your strength, and grant us a champion that may stand
against this stone enemy!"
As she spoke, the air about Belldandy began to glow. She floated a
foot into the air, and a beam of light shot out of the night sky to touch
her forehead. Then, with a thunderous clap, the light was gone, and
Belldandy's feet were again firmly planted on the earth.
Madoka and Kyosuke exchanged amazed glanced.
Across the lawn, near the entrance to Sakagawa Hall, something in
the shadows stirred, and then Mr. Sakagawa, his own Bible clutched tightly
in his hands, stepped out into the moonlight.
***
Three stories up, on the roof of Matsukata Hall, Ranma and Ukyo sat
and stared at each other.
"So you're not really engaged to Ryoga?" Ukyo asked.
"Nah," Ranma said. "It was just a cover story. But he's taking it
too seriously. I might have to tell him the truth."
"And what is the truth, Ranma?"
Ranma stared off into the distance. "It's kind of complicated," she
said. "Anyway, I could ask you the same question." She glanced back at
Ukyo. "When I was young, Ukyo, you were my best friend! What's all this
stupid talk about us being engaged? It makes no sense!"
Ukyo frowned. "First things first, Ranma," she said. "Just tell me
one thing. It may seem like a weird question, but... you were a boy then,
weren't you?"
"Um..." Ranma said, glancing down at herself. "Well, yeah, I was...
but I can explain...."
"You... you mean to tell me you've had breast implants?" she asked,
grasping for an explanation. "Have you had the full operation, or are
you...."
"Get your head out of the gutter!" Ranma growled. "It's just a
stupid curse!"
"A curse?" Ukyo stared at Ranma in confusion.
Ranma nodded. "I fell into this pool at Jusenkyo, the training
ground of accursed springs, and I got this stupid curse. I become a girl
when I'm splashed with cold water, and a boy again when splashed with
hot...."
*SPLASH* From nowhere, Ukyo had produced a kettle of steaming
water. She watched in amazement as Ranma transformed into a guy.
"It's really you!" she exclaimed.
"Well, of course," Ranma-kun said.
"So when you're hit with cold water, you become a girl?"
*SPLASH* Ukyo had somehow produced a pitcher of cold water.
"Yes, that's right," Ranma-chan said.
"And hot water makes you a guy again?"
*SPLASH*
"We've already been through this part," Ranma-kun said.
*SPLASH*
"Ukyo," Ranma-chan said.
*SPLASH*
"Would you please...." Ranma-kun said.
*SPLASH*
"KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!" Ranma-chan yelled.
*SPLASH*
"But it's so much fun!" Ukyo said.
"Not for me it isn't!"
"Oh well," Ukyo said, putting the kettle and pitcher away. "So,
it's just a Jusenkyo curse. That explains it, then. I guess I should have
realized...."
Ranma-kun blinked. "You know about that place?"
Ukyo glanced away. "Well... I guess you could say I've heard about
it.... anyway, this is all finally starting to make some sense. So, you're
still a guy, you're just attending school as a girl?"
"Yeah," Ranma said. "I really didn't have a choice."
"What a relief!" Ukyo laughed. "For a moment I thought I was really
engaged to a girl!"
It was Ranma's turn to be confused. "What would be wrong with that?
Or... are you saying that you're... gay?"
"What? No, of course not!" Ukyo exclaimed. "Look, I'm not really...
that is... well, I'm not a guy."
Ranma stared at Ukyo for a full minute.
"What are you, then?" he asked.
"A-a girl, of course!" Ukyo said, her face turning red. "And before
you ask, yes, I've always been a girl, and no, I'm not about to show you my
breasts! You just have to believe me!"
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Well, okay, fair enough. But... wait a
second! You were at the boy's school where I met Ryoga, weren't you? You
only showed up two days before I left, but...."
Ukyo nodded. "I've been living as a guy for years, Ranma."
"And my dad knows this? That you're really a girl?"
Ukyo's face became even redder. "Well, I sure hope so! Why would he
engage his son to another boy?"
"I was wondering the same thing. Although, to be honest, I've only
your word that we're really engaged. I don't remember anything about it."
"And then you two abandoned me! My life as a girl was over! How
could I endure the teasing, the humiliation, the rumormongering? I swore,
from that point forward, to turn my back on my girlhood and live my life as
a man!"
"What a waste."
"And I swore revenge on you!" Ukyo continued. "But then, when I
finally tracked you two down, you ran off to China! So I followed you
there, and... and...."
"You didn't go to Jusenkyo, did you?"
Ukyo frowned, and cast her eyes downward. "Yes. I followed you all
the way to Jusenkyo."
Ranma produced a pitcher of cold water and upended it on Ukyo's
head.
Ukyo smacked the pitcher away. "I don't turn into anything, you
idiot!" she yelled.
"Well, that's a relief," Ranma said. "Still, you can't go around
saying I'm your fiancee, Ukyo. Everyone thinks I'm a girl."
"So? Everyone thinks I'm a guy. What's the problem?"
Ranma blinked in momentary confusion.
"Well, okay, I guess that's not a problem," he said, "but there's a
different problem. Akane and I are engaged."
Ukyo's eyes flashed angrily. "You've got another fiancee?"
"Hey, it's not like it's my fault! It's something my father and
hers came up with!"
Ukyo frowned. "Your father mentioned it to my father, way back
when," she said. "I... I'd sort of hoped that it had been forgotten." Then
she brightened up. "Still, if you and Akane are both girls, you can't tell
anyone about it, can you?"
"No," Ranma said. "That's why I had Ryoga pretending to be my
fiancee... and why I kind of said that Akane was engaged to... you...."
"You said I was engaged to another girl?"
"How was I supposed to know you weren't a guy? Anyway, I didn't
know you were going to school here!"
Ukyo stood and pulled out her giant spatula.
"Ranma," she said, "give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill
you right here and now."
"Guys aren't supposed to beat up on girls?"
"That's not going to cut it! Anyway, you're a guy at the moment!"
"Um... my fiancee would protect me?"
"I'm your fiancee!"
Ranma stood up. "I don't fight girls," he said. "So if you want to
attack me...."
But Ukyo wasn't looking at Ranma. She was looking at the ground,
three stories below.
"Ranma," she said, "why are Matsukata and Sakagawa fighting?"
"The two dorms are fighting?"
"No, the two statues!"
Ranma glanced down and blinked in surprise.
"Whoah," he said, "check it out. They're really going at it!"
***
Mr. Matsukata and Mr. Sakagawa had been very close friends for many
years. They had rarely ever argued, and as devout Jesuit priests they were
sworn against fighting and spent their time trying to help others. They had
founded the school together, and had always taught the values of loving
your enemy and turning the other cheek.
Tonight, all of that had been tossed out the window. Matsukata and
Sakagawa were involved in the biggest knockdown, drag-out fight the school
had witnessed in a long, long time. At least, their stone images were -- if
the real Matsukata and Sakagawa were aware of it, then they were spinning
in their graves like tops.
Matsukata laid his stone Bible upside Sakagawa's head. The gathered
students gasped as bits of stone clattered on the pavement and bounced into
the grass.
"All right!" Daisuke exclaimed. "Go Matsukata!"
"Shouldn't you be rooting for Sakagawa?" Shinobu asked. "After all,
he's the namesake of the boy's dorm."
Daisuke shrugged. "I just want to see a good fight!" he exclaimed.
Sakagawa caught Matsukata on the chin with an uppercut. The heavy
statue stumbled backwards, each step shaking the ground. Daisuke and the
other boys cheered loudly. Matsukata recovered and delivered a roundhouse
kick worthy of any champion kickboxer. More bits of stone flew through the
air.
Like everyone else, Yohko stayed well clear of the fight. She was
not entirely sure why carved stone had suddenly leapt to her defense, but
she wasn't about to refuse the help. She had yet to devise a good strategy
for fighting animated rock, and for now, Matsukata was taking a much
greater beating from Sakagawa's stone book than she'd managed with her
sword.
In any case, she wasn't used to playing to such a large crowd.
Another heavy punch drove Matsukata back to the steps of the girl's
dorm. Students scrambled out of the way. The statue tripped and toppled
backwards, landing hard on the stone steps.
There was a loud crack, and Matsukata's right hand, the one
clutching the book, tumbled down the steps. It came to rest near the stone
giant's feet.
There was a loud crack, and Matsukata's right hand, the one clutching the
book, tumbled down the steps. It came to rest near the stone giant's feet.
"Way to go!" Daisuke called out. "Book him, Sakagawa!"
Sakagawa lumbered across the lawn, stone Bible raised high
overhead, prepared to deliver the killing blow. Matsukata glanced about in
desperation. One massive stone hand reached out to wrap about a nearby
flagpole.
The metal produced a wrenching scream and then snapped like a
toothpick. Without getting up, the statue turned and placed the rounded end
of the pole against the steps.
The students held their breath. As if in slow motion, the Sakagawa
statue, unable to stop its forward motion, impaled itself on the makeshift
spear.
The sound from the impact was deafening. The spear threatened to
buckle. Sakagawa came to a halt, the pole buried into its chest. There was
a loud cracking sound, and the statue of Mr. Magobee Sakagawa, co-founder
of Muyami Academy, shattered into six pieces, which fell into a heap on the
sidewalk.
A ragged cheer went up from the gathered students, which faded as
Mr. Katsushi Matsukata's statue stood and swung the flagpole about.
Perhaps for the first time, students really took notice of the
statue's glowing red eyes. They seemed to glare menacingly as they swept
over the crowd. Students began to push backwards, giving the statue as much
room as possible.
One student stepped forward rather than back. Also perhaps for the
first time, students really took a good look at Yohko Mano in her red silk
dress and with a glowing sword in her hand.
Deep, inhuman laughter, like that from the throats of a thousand
dead souls, echoed across the lawn. Many of the students were paralyzed by
fear, and a few fainted dead away on the spot.
"Now, Devil Hunter," the voice said, "you shall pay for the
breaking of the gate's sacred seals!"
The statue raised the broken flagpole over its head. Yohko braced
herself, sword held out before her, but it was not clear to anyone how she
might avoid a steel spear driven by muscles of stone. Those muscles tensed,
ready to thrust the jagged pole forward...
...and in one massive explosion, the statue shattered into a
million bits.
The flagpole clattered down on the pile of rubble, all that
remained of Mr. Matsukata. Standing near the pile of shattered stone was a
small, wrinkled woman balancing on a tall walking stick. One hand was still
held out, index finger extended, as if she'd caused the statue to shatter
merely by touching it.
"Bakusai Tenketsu," she said. "The blasting point. A very useful
technique, in certain situations...."
Everyone in the crowd seemed to visibly relax, but Yohko only
gripped her sword more tightly. The destruction of a stone statue was
hardly the end of the battle. Her eyes penetrated the darkness,
searching....
There. In the air just above where the statue had crumbled, she
could see it... a patch of darkness thicker than anything around it, like a
pool of India ink spilled onto the night.
Yohko gripped her sword and lunged forward. For a moment, few
seemed to notice, and those that did only watched her with mild interest or
amusement.
Then her sword plunged into the shadowy pool of blackness, and a
horrific scream ripped through the night. It was the sort of scream that
you felt along your backbone as well as heard. The pain-filled keening
descended into a guttural growl. The crowd stumbled backwards, giving the
half-seen shadow demon a wide berth.
Thick black tendrils shot out at Yohko. She dodged and swung her
sword, slicing through two of them. The creature screamed again, and a
dozen tentacles flew at her. It was all she could to avoid them, twisting
and flipping head over heels away from the creature. She landed awkwardly
on some of the stone rubble and stumbled backwards, but strong arms wrapped
around her waist and lifted her to her feet.
Yohko spared a moment to glance back at her rescuer. He was a boy
she'd never seen, with thick black hair, a handsome face, and a powerfully
muscled body. The tail end of a pigtail flopped over one shoulder.
"Yohko, be careful!" the boy admonished, and she could see real
concern in his eyes. But how did this boy know her name?
And then she was dodging black tentacles again, trying to bury her
momentary fluster and concentrate on the task at hand.
The creature attacked. Yohko dodged and sliced away a tentacle.
Again, it attacked, and she avoided its grasp while wounding it.
Then she saw a flash of red light, followed by a flash of brilliant
blue-white. Tenchi and Ryoko stood beside her, their own soulswords in
hand. There was another sound, like wooden blocks clacking together, and
Lady Ayeka's wooden wards appeared in rings floating about the beast.
Yohko smiled. This demon was the same as the one last night. The
four of them were more than a match for this entity -- she could sense the
kill.
Just like last night. The phrase rolled around in her head, until
it stuck to a frightening thought.
What if this was the same demon as last night? What if they hadn't
killed it then?
What if they couldn't kill it now? What if it returned again and
again, night after night?
The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that
this was not merely a similar demon, but the same demon that they'd
dispatched the night before. And the thought that it would return again and
again to threaten her friends and classmates turned her stomach.
As the creature broke through Ayeka's wards, and Yohko leaped up
and over the tendrils reaching out to ensnare her, she wondered how they
could kill or seal this shadow-demon away for good. There had to be a way!
***
The figure was an amorphous blob, with tendrils that shot out and
then contracted again, but it could be clearly seen through Principal
Ikari's night-vision equipped widow. The three who fought it with brilliant
swords of light, and the crowd of students that ringed them in, could also
be seen clearly. If that were not enough, several video screens had dropped
from the ceiling to provide close-ups from several angles and with several
different filters to enhance the picture.
"Very, very good," Principal Ikari said. His face was as impassive
as ever, but one couldn't help but feel that inside, he was dancing around
like a delirious fool who'd just won the lotto. "This is much better than I
had hoped. Doctor Natsume, are you getting good readings of this?"
"You bet!" the voice from the video screen on the desk said. "Audio
at all levels, video at all levels, electro-magnetic, the works. I'm
getting everything you asked for!"
"Very, very good," the Principal said again. He scowled, and
steepled his fingers in apparent glee.
Chief of Police Daisuke Ido was on the edge of his seat, transfixed
by the scenes before them. He was blissfully unaware that he was crushing
his notebook in one hand.
"My God!" Ido exclaimed. "What the hell is that?"
"Your prime suspect in the murder of Mr. Jihara," the Principal
said dryly. "Would you like to head down the hill to arrest it? Or would
you prefer to let my students handle this?"
***
Ranma watched Yohko spring back into action. He wanted to leap in
too, to beat this shadowy demon about the head and shoulders, or the
nearest equivalents thereof. But he knew from his few previous demonic
encounters that a mortal's blows -- even a skilled mortal such as himself
-- had little effect on a demonic being.
He hated it. It made him feel useless, and that was one feeling
Ranma couldn't stand.
That sense of dread, which he'd experienced off and on ever since
waking from last night's nightmare, had returned with a vengeance. This
time, he knew what it was and where it came from -- the demon in front of
him. It was after his friend Yohko, for some reason, and although he didn't
posess the abilities of Yohko, Tenchi, or the two alien girls, he was still
determined to do anything in his power to protect his friend.
A hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him back through the crowd.
Cold water washed over him. and he -- now she -- shivered. She turned to
see Akane holding a telltale empty pail in her hands.
"Ranma-chan," Akane said with emphasis, "don't you think a girl
like yourself should be a bit more careful?"
Ranma's eyes widened. She hadn't realized that she'd been in boy
form since her conversation with Ukyo on the roof. What if someone had
noticed?
Not that anyone around her was looking her way just now. All eyes
were riveted on the demonic battle taking place on the sidewalk that joined
Matsukata and Sakagawa Halls.
Yohko, Tenchi, and Ryoko seemed to have the creature on the
defensive. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief -- this creature was no more
powerful than the one they'd killed last night.
And then, the creature sprang up into the air, sailing over its
three attackers... and straight at Ranma and Akane.
People screamed and started to flee... but Akane was still looking
at Ranma.
"Akane, you idiot!" Ranma yelled. "Look out!" And then, since she
didn't really expect Akane to move or dodge in time, Ranma grabbed the girl
and tossed her a good twenty feet -- well out of the way.
From out of the darkness, a thick tentacle as black as an oil slick
slammed into Ranma's forehead.
***
Yohko turned just in time to see Ranma knocked to the ground. In
some ways it was exactly what she'd been wishing for Ranma only an hour
ago, but now that she saw her friend lying crumpled on the ground, she knew
it had been the hurt and the anger talking. She didn't want to see any of
her friends hurt, even those that had apparently betrayed her.
Ranma wasn't moving. The demonic blob lay between Yohko and Ranma,
and at the moment Yohko wanted to slice straight through it and check on
her friend, but the rational part of her mind knew that if she, Tenchi, and
Ryoko could keep the demon busy, then someone else could pull Ranma to
safety.
Her sword swung down, cleaving into the side of the shadowy beast.
It screamed in soul-wrenching agony, and Yohko knew that the creature was
nearly finished. Once again Ayeka attempted to surround the creature with
her wards, and this time it barely managed to shake them off.
Ryoga sprang from the crowd. Standing over Ranma's still form,
Ryoga bellowed, "Foul spawn of Hell! How dare you lay a tentacle on the one
I am to wed? Prepare to die!"
"No!" Yohko yelled, as Ryoga slammed his fist into the dark, oozing
mass. The black shadow-substance enveloped his arm up to the elbow.
Shouting in incoherent rage, Ryoga plunged his other fist into the demon.
Now both arms were buried in the creature. His powerful blows had
had no other apparent effect. He struggled to free his arms, when suddenly
the black mass surged forward, swallowing the boy whole.
"Ryoga!" Yohko screamed. She took a step forward, but didn't dare
slash or stab the creature for fear of hitting the boy inside. Ryoko and
Tenchi were on either side of her, equally hesitant and wondering what to
do.
The blob began to whither and shrink. Moments later, the demonic
blob faded entirely, leaving Ryoga standing there, with all eyes on him.
Nothing appeared to be amiss. At first.
"Ryoga?" Yohko called out, taking another step forward. "Are you
all right? What happened to the...."
Her voice trailed off as Ryoga looked up. His eyes were glowing
red, as the statue had earlier.
"So, Demon Hunter," Ryoga said. Only it wasn't Ryoga's voice, but
the deep, echoing voice of the demon, sounding like a chorus of lost souls
speaking in unison. "So, Demon Hunter, Seal Breaker, Gate Opener. I am no
match for you and your friends, and you destroyed the stone body that I
borrowed. But I ask you this: can you harm this body, the borrowed form of
your friend? For if you cannot, then your doom is assured."
The creature laughed evilly, and then, roaring a challenge, charged
straight for Yohko.
Not knowing what to do, Yohko leapt up and over Ryoga's
outstretched arms. She landed on her feet and spun to face her foe, her
mind racing. If she could knock Ryoga out....
Yohko blinked. Still screaming, Ryoga charged off into the night.
For a short time his battle roar could still be heard, along with the
crashing of trees and fences that happened to be in his way. Then
everything faded to silence.
After several minutes more, Daisuke said, "You know, I don't think
he's coming back."
***
Belldandy laid Ranma down on her own bed.
"Two times in two nights," she said with a sigh. "At least, this
time, it's no more than a light concussion. But perhaps Ranma should learn
to keep away from demons?"
"She's not going to be happy," Akane said. "The stupid baka was
trying to save me, and not watching out for herself. She's usually better
than that."
Yohko watched her friend with obvious concern, while others watched
from the doorway. "I'm glad it's nothing serious," Yohko said. "It's really
my fault, or at least, mine, Tenchi's, and Ryoko's. We should have kept the
demon hemmed in."
"Well," Belldandy said, "considering the crowd around you, I think
you three did a marvelous job. Nobody was seriously injured. Ranma just
needs a little rest, and she'll be fine. Just leave her with me. I'm sure
she'll be up and ready to see you in an hour or so."
"But what about Ryoga?" Yohko asked.
Belldandy sighed. "The police have been notified, Yohko, and
Principal Ikari has said that his own agents are looking for the boy. We
have no idea where he is -- he could be miles away by now. Hopefully, the
demon will eventually leave him, although Principal Ikari seems very intent
on capturing both Ryoga and the demon alive." She shrugged her shoulders.
"There's little else we can do. If it helps, I have a feeling that the
entity was not truly evil, and should not cause any harm to him...."
Akane nodded, and grabbed Yohko's arm. "Come on," she said.
"There's nothing more for us to do. Aren't you hungry? You've just had a
big workout, and you didn't get to eat beforehand. Let me make you
something."
Yohko smiled. "Thanks, Akane," she said. "That's very kind of you."
Belldandy smiled as she closed the door, then turned to look at
Ranma again.
Keichi and Kyosuke were down the hall with Madoka. Principal Ikari
had promised that it would be repaired first thing tomorrow morning, but
for now they were trying to rig a blanket to cover the hole in Akane and
Nanami's room. Belldandy sighed, deciding that dinner was finished for the
evening. She gathered up the dishes and placed them in the sink, glad once
again for the small luxuries that the President's dorm room offered. She
began to sing softly as she washed dishes and put things away.
Presently the teakettle whistled. Belldandy removed it and poured
herself a cup of tea, making sure that there was enough for Keichi,
Kyosuke, Madoka, and even Ranma when she awoke.
She turned to set the kettle on the table, and unexpectedly
tripped. The kettle, quite full of steaming hot tea, sailed across the room
and landed on Ranma with a splash.
"Oh no!" Belldandy exclaimed. She took a step forward, then
stopped. She placed her hand to her mouth in shock.
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my! So that's Ranma's curse! Oh, how
awful it must be for you! You poor, poor thing!"
***
Ataru knocked on the dorm room door. Ukyo, dressed in her casual
'okonomiyaki chef' clothing, answered.
"Ukyo-chan!" Ataru said, grinning like a fool. He grabbed her hand.
"How lovely you look this evening...."
Ukyo yanked her hand away. "Very funny, Ataru," she growled. "Are
you bothering me for any particular reason?"
The girl-crazy boy cleared his throat, and said, in a much lower
voice, "Ukyo-chan, I have indeed come here for a reason. You see, after
tonight, I have one pair of underwear from every girl in the school...
every girl but one."
Ukyo blinked. "What does that have to do with me?" she asked.
Ataru frowned. "Come, Ukyo," he said. "What do you take me for?
Surely you don't think that a man of my refined tastes cannot spot a
beautiful girl, no matter how she is dressed?"
Ukyo's face flushed red. She grabbed Ataru by the collar and yanked
him into her room. She held his face up to hers.
"What is it you want, you little slimeball?" she said through
clenched teeth.
"Just one item from your underwear drawer," Ataru gasped, "assuming
it's designed for a girl of course. Just that, and your secret is safe with
me, Ukyo-chan."
"Stop calling me that," Ukyo growled. But she went to her dresser
and removed an item of clothing. It was of plain white cotton, without
print, lace, or other decoration, but it was underwear for a girl and not a
boy. Ukyo had always made a few small exceptions to her otherwise male
attire.
Ataru slipped the underwear beneath his shirt, then bowed low.
"Thank you very much, Ukyo-kun," he said in a formal voice. "My
quest is now complete."
He paused, and then added, "As per my offer to every girl on
campus, I will return the stolen garment, in exchange for your home address
and phone number...."
With a loud clang, Ukyo slammed her battle spatula into her dorm
mate's face.
***
"My prime suspect," Chief Ido said, "is still on the loose."
Across the desk, Principal Ikari frowned and steepled his hands. He
looked exactly as he'd always looked, but this time Chief Ido sensed mild
disappointment in the man. Ido felt he was learning to read the Principal
rather well, all things considered.
"Regrettable," Ikari said. "However, my people have been warned,
and are even now looking for the boy, as well as the demon that possessed
him."
"As are mine," Ido said.
"Yes," Ikari replied. "And yet, are either your people or mine
strong enough to capture it?"
"I don't see why not," the Chief of Police said, but the statement
sounded false even to his ears.
Gendo Ikari stared across the desk, letting the silence envelop
them for a full minute.
"Really?" he finally asked. "The creature was no match for my
students but then, my students have some unique talents. As for your agents
or mine...."
Ido nodded. "Point taken," he said. "What are you proposing?"
"Nothing much," Principal Ikari said. "But an organized unit, or
series of units, trained and equipped to deal with entities such as the one
we saw tonight, might be a wise move. Such could not, at present, be
undertaken by the government, but perhaps a private group, with the backing
of a wealthy corporation, and the cooperation of the local police...."
His voice trailed off. Chief Ido stood and put on his coat and hat.
"Good night to you, Principal Ikari," he said. "We will speak on
this matter again."
***
Ukyo sat on her bed, in her room, a small clay bottle in her hand.
The bottle was tan in color, with a cork in the top sealed with wax. She
stared at it as if it were a magical golden key that could unlock any door,
and in a way, it was.
Her mind drifted back to the moment, months ago, when she'd walked
through the valley of cursed springs, known as Jusenkyo. She could hear the
marshy grass squish beneath her feet, could feel the stiff wind whipping
through the valley, threatening to knock her over if she wasn't careful.
She could hear the cries of the birds soaring overhead, and the droning
nasal monotone of the guide as he explained, in broken Japanese, the legend
and the curse of the pool before her.
The Nanichuan -- the spring of drowned man. Ukyo had stood for more
than an hour in front of it, perched on the ledge, unable to jump in
herself, hoping and fearing that someone or something might knock her in
accidentally.
"I nearly did it, Ranchan," she whispered. "I nearly jumped in...
nearly cursed myself on purpose. When you rejected me, I rejected my own
femininity. The Nanichuan seemed like the final step... the final solution.
I could become a man in truth, instead of all this pretending, and turn my
back on you and my shattered girlhood forever.
"And yet...." Tears began to fall down Ukyo's face. "And yet... I
couldn't... I just couldn't...."
She clutched the clay bottle to her chest and wept silently. She
slid sideways, her head hitting the pillow, and rolled over to stare at the
ceiling.
"I nearly threw my girlhood away completely at Jusenkyo," she
whispered. "But, deep down, I still had hope that somehow, I'd meet you,
and that you would... that somehow you would...."
Ukyo squeezed her eyes shut tight and choked back a sob.
"And you... you don't even remember, and you're more a girl than I
am, and...." She smiled faintly. "And everyone knows that we're engaged,
but they think I'm the guy and you're the girl!"
For a long time she just lay there, weeping silently. Finally she
dried her eyes, held up the bottle again, and stared at it.
"I'm not a guy," she said. "But I could be, part of the time, just
as Ranchan is a girl, part of the time....
"Or Ranchan could take this, and be cured of his curse...."
And that was what Ukyo wanted, of course. She'd been 'one of the
boys' for nearly as long as she could remember, but she didn't really want
to be male. And she didn't want Ranma to be female. She wanted to be
Ranma's bride, and for Ranma to be her husband.
But... Ranma was also engaged to Akane. If he were cured of his
curse, would he chose Ukyo, or Akane?
What if Ranma chose Akane?
What if Ranma really preferred being a girl?
If Ukyo took the curse, would that increase her chances with Ranma?
Ukyo bit her lip, unable to decide.
One thing was clear to her: as long as Ranma was a girl, and Ukyo
was (apparently) a guy, Ranma and Ukyo would be a couple, and Akane and
Ranma would be nothing more than friends. Unless... unless Akane was...?
No, Ukyo told herself. That could never be. Akane had to be a
normal girl.
Smiling, she cradled the bottle in the crook of her arm and folded
her hands across her chest. She imagined a male Ranma kissing her, and it
filled her with warmth. Then she tried to imagine kissing a female Ranma,
and... she just couldn't do it. Even if she tried to picture herself as a
guy, it simply didn't work.
But if Ranma remained a girl, it would have to work.
Ukyo paused, then sat up. She reached into her shirt and removed a
crumpled pair of blue satin panties with white lace trim.
"Ranma's panties," she said, and couldn't help giggling at the
thought, then frowned.
She got up and crossed the room. Wrapping the satin underwear
around the clay bottle, she carefully buried it in the bottom of her own
underwear drawer.
"If Ranma really wants to be a girl," she whispered, "then,
somehow, I'll learn to become a man for him. But if it's only temporary,
then at least, this way, Ranma and Akane will stay apart, and that's a
start. And once I've captured Ranma's heart, I can give him this cure...."
***
"A cure?" Ranma repeated.
Belldandy nodded. "I'm very sorry, Ranma," she said, "I didn't mean
to learn the secret of your curse by accident...."
"Never mind that," Ranma said. "What's this about a cure?"
"My sister Urd," Belldandy said, "is very good with spells and
potions. I'll need to talk to her first, but I'm sure she can come up with
something... if not a permanent cure, then a temporary cure, at least."
Belldandy turned, and there were tears in her eyes. "Oh Ranma! It
must be awful, switching genders like that! I wouldn't wish a curse like
that on anyone!"
Ranma swallowed and nodded.
"But a cure," she said. "If it's really possible...."
*to be continued*
Muyami Academy Chapter 10
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