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Chapter Twelve: The War, Round Three--The Price of Love
Ranko immediately stopped.
"I...I can't tell the story anymore," she said. "This next part, I...I just...." she hung her head in sorrow, and a sob rose to her lips. "Oh, Uc-chan, I'm so sorry...."
Libby, sensing that her friend was in need, went over and took Ranko, embracing the girl. Ranko accepted the sign of love willingly, glad to know that she had friends and family here for her when she needed it. She began to softly cry, neither caring who saw nor feeling any shame.
Shampoo looked at her best friends, a melancholy look on her face. As much as Libby and Ranko argued, the two were very close, and were there when the other needed help. Like now.
Mousse watched as well, the same expression on his face. He then turned to Shampoo. "Should I continue for her, or should you?" That comment drew looks from all save Maria. This was Ranko's story. Ranko's story. A tale, a fiction, though she wove her family and friends from home into its design. Neither of the Chinese expatriates should have been able to continue the tale.
Unless it wasn't just a tale....
Minutes ticked by, in silence, until Shampoo spoke. "I'll do it. We both knew--"
"Are you sure, Shan Fu? You're pretty close to Ukyo, too, and...." Mousse trailed off. He looked into her eyes, and saw the pain. It wasn't as strong as Ranko's; but it was there. Ukyo and Shampoo were close friends, and so she would be just as hurt by this. "I'm not the best at storytelling, but...."
"Okay," she said, looking at Ranko and knowing that the pain that the redhead felt wasn't that much farther from what the former Chinese Amazon felt. She went over to Ranko and Libby, joining them. "I know it hurts, Ranko, I know it does. I feel the loss, too...."
Mousse, meanwhile, continued. "Like I said, guys, I'm not the best at this, but I'll give it a shot. While Nabiki, the twins, Mr. Saotome, Tate, Kurumi, and Azusa had fought their respective opponents, the rest of us were taking on our antagonists as well...."
* * STORY * *
Ukyo and Konatsu moved slowly and surely, ready for anything. The pair had followed Akane, Natsumi, and the rest into the dark fortress, hot on their tails and removing as much opposition as possible. Once they entered, they then split off in a different direction than the others, going up two flights of stairs and eventually ending up here. Konatsu sensed that somehow, this would be the place where they would fight their chosen opponent.
"Uc-chan, here we are," he murmured softly.
"Yeah, sugar, wherever *here* is," she replied in that matter-of-fact tone of hers.
Ukyo spent ten years on the road, training for any situation. Occasionally that meant that she had wandered into the bad sides of various towns. She'd come out on top, but with that sense of victory came an awareness of situation that couldn't be denied. That awareness came through a liberal use of her battle spatula, which she currently was wielding. Added to that were two more pouches of regular ninja shurikens to replace her emptied bandoleer of throwing spatulas.
To her side, Konatsu moved with the deadly grace that he had as a Ghost Wolf ninja. He currently had in his hands a pair of sai. He personally preferred the use of the tanto to the sai, but he'd given one to Nabiki for her defense and buried the other one in the body of an opponent somewhere back. He also, for that matter, regretted having to have killed an opponent in front of Ukyo. Not that it wasn't needed, but the simple fact that she got to see a side of him that he didn't want to involve her in. Like Natsumi, he was protective of his loved ones, and that meant that he would try to shield them from all aspects of his occupation.
{Of course,} he thought, {it's kind of hard to tell our children what their father does for a living. Maybe I'll have to ask Tendo-san for a little advice on that. He may have an idea on exactly what to say in regards to the situation. He's had to have done so in regards to the neighbors, with Natsumi living there and all. Maybe she even has an idea....}
"Yen for your thoughts, Kona-chan?" she said, suddenly but with the warmth that spoke of her love for him.
"Just thinking of the children we'll have someday, love," he replied, turning his head and looking into her eyes with a gaze of undying affection he had for her.
"It'll be great, won't it?" she beamed. "Just a chance for both of us to start over. Since we have no families now, this will be the perfect opportunity for both of us to start anew."
"Just the two of us," she murmured softly and contemplatively, as though it was the only thing in the world. A soft smile surfaced on her face as she said, "and we can start as soon as we finish here."
"Yeah." He looked over towards one area, and slowly tensed. He said nothing, only pointing in the general direction, as though the secret to what they were searching for lay just in that point.
The pair moved as silently and quickly as possible, lest an ambush be dropped on their heads.
A voice rang out from the darkness. "Well, ain't this the ducky one, my soul. If it isn't the ninja lad from Tokyo! Good t' see you again! And it seems you've a playmate, too! All the better!"
Ukyo launched a single shuriken in the direction of the voice, more as a shaky reaction than a trained movement. The silvery blade cometed into the darkness, and was swallowed up by the ebon space. A second later, metallic clink of its harmless landing on the ground signaled her failure and belied her nervousness.
"You missed, my dearie," the voice continued, "and to think I didn't even have to move once, dontcha know. Ol' Jacky could get a right pint o' th' ol' Lager and drink it here, just waiting for you to improve your aim, chippie."
He looked at Ukyo with a gaze that said, {keep him occupied.} Whispering his words as quietly as possible, Konatsu went to his invisibility art, disappearing in an instant. He slithered up the nearest column, then moved up to the above ornamental railing, hoping to begin the attack on his opponent.
Meanwhile, Ukyo returned the retort. "Are you so sure I missed, sugar? Or are you merely bluffing?" She slowly waded into the darkness, moving slowly and yet dangerously, the hunter-hunted mobius in full gait. "Or are you afraid of a girl like me?"
"No, I'm not," Jack cried out, "An' it is to truth that ol' Jacky has no fear of your ninja boy." A whistling sound split the air, and Ukyo knew it for what it was. She leapt out of the way, and two nasty looking throwing knives clattered onto the floor. There was a second sound, that of something being forcefully slammed against another, and a gasp of breath. The sound that immediately followed was that of somebody thumping to the floor...hard.
The Japanese woman moved out of the darkness, back into the murky light. She brought her spatula to bear, and softly called out, "Konatsu, are you okay? Kona-chan?" She noticed a figure moving out of the darkness, towards her beckon call.
The person that raced out of the shadows, headed towards Ukyo at high speed, was not Konatsu. He wore all black, in a military commando sweater and all-black military style pants. He had a double bandoleer that was bursting with throwing knives. He also wore a selection of nasty looking knives in his cargo pockets and in various scabbards on his body. He was racing towards her brandishing a very long knife (or short sword, maybe)? His straw-blonde hair waved in the wind caused by his speed, and his piercing ice-blue eyes bored straight into her soul. The downy stubble of a beard that he was just growing lent him the look of a refined, yet murderous sociopath, which of course he was. Around his neck was a pair of high-tech goggles that apparently were the items that let him see in the dark; the sound she must have heard land so painfully was Konatsu. She steeled herself against this fact and charged into her own attack, the jet black of her hair fanning out to the four winds like a spreading pool of ink in the air.
The pair clashed in mid-stride. Ukyo's spatula easily parried the blow, and still carried enough momentum to push her assailant back. Instead, though, he rolled with the blow and dashed forward again, lashing out once more at Ukyo. Ukyo parried the second blow, following up with a sweep kick and rolling forward into a punch. She leapt back, then sidestepped to avoid a last-second knife throw that sheared a few stray strands of her hair.
"Nice, but you missed!" she called, in mocking tones. "Losin' your touch, knife man?"
"Of course not," Jack replied, in a solemn tone. "Only planning to do this."
With that, he disappeared into the shadows, becoming one with them. Perhaps, it was an unclear term. To put it in more accurate terms, he *turned into* a shadow, fading away with the light.
Ukyo was nonplused on the outside, but in fact, was shaken by the act. That was something along the lines of Konatsu or Natsumi's skills, not something some foreigner could do...unless he had the training.
Somehow, that concept didn't make Ukyo feel comfortable at all. Not one bit.
* * *
Konatsu got up, and gasped from the pain. The first sounds he heard were that of metal slamming against metal and human screams of rage and anger. One of them was female.
{Uc-chan!}
Konatsu leapt to his feet and rushed forward, unsheathing his katana, ready to take out the deadly fighter who was struggling to destroy his lady love. Feet moving silently and rapidly, he moved to reach the conflict in time, lest the next surprise be a fatal one. He had not expected the psychopath to be wearing thermal imaging goggles, and thus able to see him in the dark. As it was, the idea that he had been bested again by this character was beginning to irk him slightly.
Now, add to that the fact regarding Ukyo's life was now on the line, as well, and that suddenly made for an intolerable situation, one that Konatsu was simply not willing to accept. Despite the fact that Ukyo was one hell of a fighter, and could easily take care of herself in a scenario like this, the fact that she was a martial artist and their opponent was a highly trained killer brought out the stark differences between the two mindsets into a fierce luminescence. This, simply put, meant that while Ukyo would try to defeat Spring-Heeled Jack, Jack would go for the kill against Ukyo...and perhaps something even more sinister, if the ninja guessed correctly.
Well, he was not prepared to live with that. He was a ninja, and if that meant that he'd have to kill, then he'd have to kill. Period. End of discussion.
As Konatsu began to move into the light, he noticed something that was absolutely shocking--the man that they'd been fighting had blended into the shadows with a skill that Konatsu had rarely seen. There was nothingg that could be said of this being normal or of the Art; there was a shamanic feel to it, a bitter taste of magic that left him uneasy. It was dark, fetid; it was no normal magic, if he guessed correctly.
If it was magic at all. The man may simply be on Mist's level when it came to the art, a master shinobi. But the way he moved spoke of training such as that kind whatsoever. He had been trained, but not in the Art of the Shadows.
Yet he *had* mastered the shadows, becoming one with them....
This wasn't good at all.
He went to Ukyo's side, moving slowly, as to not startle her. "Uc-chan," he called out, "are you okay, love?"
"Hai, Kona-chan," she replied, the joy in her voice easily discernible through her hushed whisperings. "I'm more worried about you, though. It sounded like you had a nasty fall."
Before the ninja cold reply, a wavering ghostly voice called out, "Oh yes he did, and it was to his detriment that he did not die, for ol' Jacky's gonna have to rectify that, oh me lovie."
Ukyo spun to face what she thought was the direction of the opposing wraith. Her hands gripped the handle of her battle spatula even tighter as she snarled, "Come out and face us, you goon! Or are you afraid of us?"
The voice wavered from the shadows, once more, now seemingly from a different direction. "Perhaps it is *you* who are afraid of the skippin' Jack, eh, chippie?"
*"Doubtful! We're here to rescue the one you and your thugs kidnapped!"* Konatsu roared back. *"I can assure you, we'll do whatever it takes to reclaim our friend, too!"*
"Does that include dying?" a nearby voice asked.
"Perhaps for you, not for us!" Ukyo countered.
Konatsu and Ukyo moved back to back in an attempt to cover each other. This had rapidly turned from an offensive attack into a crumbling defense posture, and there was no chance that they could recover in the darkness. Konatsu looked at her, then motioned with his head to move back to the staircase; the lighting there would make for a better combat locale, since it was nearer to a window and thus, their battlefield would be bathed in light.
As the duo moved towards a balcony, the light streamed forth, taking the pair and wrapping them in its brilliant folds. Were it not for the situation, they would look heroic: Ukyo, brandishing her battle spatula, with her raven's wing-black hair, purple yukata and blue jeans; and Konatsu, katana at the ready, the boyish face and rail thin-body clothed in the garb of a ninja, etched with the symbols of the Ghost Wolf. Standing by the railing, the pair were ready for just about anything that moved.
Unfortunately, they *weren't* ready as their own shadows leapt from the floor, attacking them. Still, luck was with them, and it turned out to be a set of short encounters. Ukyo easily swatted through her shadow, and it fell back to the floor, taking its normal position. Konatsu sliced his shadow in multiple bits, performing a spectacular sword maneuver that dropped the bits of the gossamer creature back to its non-life as an effect of the light.
Ukyo took a large breath, then commented, "He's trying to get to us, Kona-chan."
Her beau agreed, nodding. "Yeah. I could use a number of ninjitsu tricks to try to stop him, but...."
"But what?"
"That would leave you out in the open, lover. I'm not gonna risk that." He ventured a glance into her eyes. "You're far too precious to be placed under the gun."
The look she bestowed upon him was worth more than any amount of gold that the Kunos could come up with, as far as the Ghost Wolf was concerned. "Oh, my loving Kona-chan," she breathed, the love clearly in her eyes. "What would I do without you?"
"Probably live," a new voice cried out. The pair looked at each other quizzically long enough to be surprised as the floor opened up beneath them, and Spring-Heeled Jack leapt out, slashing at them both. Ukyo dodged his strike, but got punched in the eye. Konatsu's left arm was slashed completely, and a spray of blood rushed out to the world. Still under momentum, Jack grabbed the two, and calling out gleefully, "And now for the trip into darkness, cheerio!" he carried all three of them over the balcony, and to the hard marble floor, some three flights down. Somewhere in the flight down, the world grew dark, and that was all that could be known for Ukyo and Konatsu.
* * *
After a second or two, Ukyo swam back into consciousness, a throbbing pain riposting through the nerves in her face. She got up, and more pains followed--she was probably black and blue all over. She quickly searched her immediate location for any sign of either her foe or herr lover, noticing there was no one around her. As an ill-starred addition, she also realized her weapons and battle spatula were gone. Unsure of what had just occurred, she moved her hand to her stinging eye, and found the area to be tender and bruised. She'd have a black eye for sure, and thus that meant what had just happened had been real.
A second more, it was apparent that she was not in the sun-drenched rotunda that they'd hoped to fight in, but a dark, barely lit place. There was a huge amount of water here, as if she'd wandered into an underground lake cavern...which is where she most likely was. There was some kind of commotion far off in the distance, but she was unsure what it was, and considering the things that Happosai and Cologne had mentioned that they'd faced while they had been here so many hundreds of years past, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know, either.
She wasn't too happy to admit it, but she didn't have the raw martial arts potential that the others had. Sure, she was easily on the level of Tendo-san when it came to fighting, but she--like he--didn't possess the talent for ki manifestation. If it wasn't for her unparalleled weapons skills and her excellentt hand-to-hand talents, she'd be just another one of the girls at Furinkan who was in love with Ran-chan. But Ran-chan--or Kona-chan, or Akane-chan or any of her other friends--could care less about that; Ukyo was their friend, and that's all that mattered. Ran-chan and Kona-chan constantly tried to bring her up in her skill factor. Thus, she now had skills enough to take on someone like Shampoo or Akane--both powerful enough to energize their attacks--and stalemate them, though defeating them would be difficult.
{Still, this was a place where magic rules. My inability to manifest ki makes it bad enough, but the fact that I now have no weapons only makes it worse. If something gruesome enough were to bump into me, there's no telling what the results would be.} Ukyo stopped for a second and listened carefully and quietly. The faraway din had ceased, replaced by the telltale dripping of water into the mammoth pool of water. Like the drop of water that made a noisy splash only to be absorbed by the larger body of water, the onset of the oppressive silence only heralded concern for the young woman.
Ignoring the various pains, she began to move slowly, inch by inch, treading her way through the underground cavern, taking the care to be overly cautious. If that thug Jakki (or whatever his name was) was to pounce on her again, she'd show him that she fought not only with her Okinomiyaki AGMA skills, but with the determination and ferocity of someone trying to save her best friend at any cost.
* * *
{Oh, this is glee, this is glee!} Jack thought as he began to maneuver into position. There was no stopping him now; he'd do and never be done to. {First, I'll take the ninja lad, and ol' Jacky will cut him up right good, I will--it will serve the lad an afterworld of good to learn that I cannot be toppled. Then for his shapely lady...oh, the fun thatt I'll have with her, and if she'd do good enough, ol' Jacky might even spare the young lassie, and make her me personal servant, I would--}
His head cocked slightly to one side, as if he were hearing the voice of someone. He answered the voice, whispering in English, so that neither of his prey would hear him, becoming would-be predators. "Yes, Guv'nor. Yes, it was you who gave me the power, the truth that the name of Jack the Lad should rise once again...I should kill the girl? But Jack, m' lord, she's but a chippie, a common...Oh, I see. You are correct as always, lord Jack...Yes, of course; she should die, I was wrong....of course, Lord Jack. You are correct in everything, Guv'nor."
Spring-Heeled Jack completed his conversation with the mysterious voice that he heard in his head, then moved on, stealthily through the water cavern. He knew this place well. He'd left many a body here, many a member of the fairer sex who'd dared to show their true unclean selves to Jack. There were only a few of those types of women that Jack would allow to still roam around in his sight. Lady Mango--from her demeanor and forte, she seemed to also be in the confidence of the Great Jack at times, but he'd not ventured to assk her. Inasmuch the same manner was Rain--she seemed to be an elemental force for pain and suffering, it seemed.
Then there was the little trollop known as Shiva. She was a right treacherous one, her; the very force of filth and seduction. The way she taunted him at her age, the fact that she constantly hid her growing body, firm flesh, and tender morsels from him, it shouldn't be right. He was about to finally have at her, and complete the job--both of his tasks he'd had in mind for her--when she'd been abducted. Perhaps his current quarries were the ones who spiritted her away from him. Yes, that would easily damn the Japanese strumpet in his eyes--her and her shadow dancing fellow.
{An' perhaps it is time that ol' Jacky had best replay the vengeance of Olde London upon the uneducated. That will teach them that I'm a man of reckoning, and that it will be truly a hard lesson to learn for them. One might say it will be the very death of them.}
The sociopath chuckled softly at his own joke. Pulling out one of his finest throwing blades, he ran his thumb along its keen edge, partially in reverence, partially to test the hone of its cut. When he drew a sliver of red from his thumb, he moved on, ready to assault the next in line of the many who would relearn the name and legacy of Jack the Ripper.
From behind, Konatsu closed in on the blond-haired killer. Wherever he was, it had been a small miracle that he'd remained conscious throughout the incident, landing safely. Additionally, he'd been able to easily track down their would-be captor, and readied for the takedown. Unfortunately, Ukyo was nowhere to be found; could she have been dropped in a different location, perhaps? It was hard to tell, but he knew his fiancée to be the never-say-die type; Uc-chan was more than capable of taking care of herself. In any event, he had other things on his mind at the moment.
His foe was an odd one, even by Nerima standards, Konatsu reasoned. The guy was apparently talking to himself and stirring up quite a conversation, as well. There was some odd references that he couldn't quite understand, not knowing any more English than the average Japanese person, but there were a couple of words he did catch: "kill" and "girl". In Konatsu's mind, that could only mean one thing: Uc-chan was the next intended target of this monster. Who know what he intended to do to her, Kami only knew.
Konatsu moved closer, bringing his sai blades to the ready. He'd have to move faster and more silently than he'd ever had to in his life, because this man knew the ways of ninjitsu. He might not have been trained per se as a ninja, but he definitely knew the skills it took to operate in the fashion that this man did. Jack seemed to move in a silky grace and style that obviously implied assassin training, and a few other techniques that the Ghost Wolf was not familiar with.
Additionally, there was the Jack's other specialties; namely the shadow shifting and the teleportation. Konatsu didn't notice any battle aura being emanated by the other man, but it wasn't exactly unheard of to have a black or even a transparent battle aura. There was also the possibility that the capability in question could not be the natural bioenergies that made up ki, but instead the inexplicable force called magic.
In either case, two things were a certainty: the man before him had to be taken down, and it would not be anywhere near remotely easy. The ninjas in the outer grounds of the palace were relative child's play; there had been relatively few shinobi to deal with. The man he and Uc-chan were facing was easily at shinobi level, if not possibly at the super-level that Ranma and Mist operated at. This could be one hell of a struggle, and it was taking far longer than either he or his intended had expected it to.
{Ukyo.} He let the thoughts, both of alternating comfort and concern wash over him in their conflicting polarities. {Comfort because I know we have a future together, just of the two of us. Concern, because this man jeopardizes it. But that's not all he's placed in the wringer. He's jeopardized Ranma and Akane, as well. The happiness of all of our friends count on saving Ranma, and this man is an obstacle to that end. He must be dealt with, and soon.}
Konatsu breathed out a sigh, a soft but sharp exhalation that signaled his intent to do what it was that he needed to do. Unfortunately, his opponent heard the sound and spun, launching one of his throwing knives. Konatsu swatted one away with a well-timed swipe of his sai. Charging in, he raced along the sandy ground, keeping an easy eye on his quarry, lest he attempt another disappearing act.
Leaping forward into a rushing kick, he slashed the chest of Jack. Jack fell back, then feinted forward, swinging with an unpleasant looking short sword. Konatsu brought his sais to block, but the master of knives used this to leap up and tag Konatsu in a fierce kick that snapped his lead to the side.
Konatsu fell to the ground, but sprung back to his feet, then launched up with a volley of his shuriken: "Happo Bijin Shuriken!" The small phalanx of throwing stars raced up to slash at Jack, but quick as a wink and a how'd-you-do, he blocked all of them with his blade, and even reversed the course of a couple. Konatsu leapt back to avoid his own projectiles.
Landing easily, Jack flung away a group of his own daggers, even as he called out, "I told you once, laddie. You're good at the blades, but ol' Jack's better. Last time I spared you, but you learned naught. Now Jack the Lad'll have to teach you, right good I will."
Konatsu dodged most of the blades, but took one in the arm. Biting back the yelp of pain, he yanked the blade out and dropped it, looking at Jack with a glance of sheer venom. Shouting a battlecry, Konatsu leapt to the air, then ducked under another blade, and returned the attack courtesy of a very expressive "Toneriko Baaningu Kikku!" As his foot contacted, it had the double effect of propelling the Briton back in a sheet of emerald flame, and additionally creating a smokescreen that hid the two combatants. Konatsu steadied himself, then followed up with a chop to the side of the head that dropped Jack to the floor.
Jack countered by fading into the shadows once more, moving out of the line of fire and anything else the ninja had up his sleeve. However, his voice stated the plainly obvious threat that had been silent until now. "You're a good laddie, and under a lesser man, you'd be the victor. But you're facin' the very disciple of the Ripper, my young buck, and 'tis to your credit that you've lasted the hour. But you and your ladyfriend won't last the day, boy. Mark my words."
"You won't hurt her. I'll destroy you. I assure you," Konatsu snarled through clenched teeth.
"As you say. Taa!" was his parting reply.
As the Englishman retreated, Konatsu removed his scarf and tied it around his wounded arm, bandaging it as must as possible to prevent further injury. Binding it up, and hoping that it wouldn't tear open again once it clotted, he raced into the darkness, hoping to find Ukyo before someone else did.
* * *
Ukyo moved slowly, taking each moment to ensure that she would not be placed under attack, she moved around the environs of the cavern, ignoring each sliver of pain that announced its presence as her body moved. She had momentarily stopped to adjust her shoe, when she noticed the slight ivory-lime glow under her feet. Digging into the soft dirt, she found a few chemical lights, as well as the remnants of a camp of some sort. Loosely bound around the white lightstick was a strand of brownish-red hair.
Ukyo's heart skipped a beat. Could it be Ranma's hair? She was sure that her best friend had pure red hair, vice Scottish red or chestnut, but the darkness could be playing with her vision. Besides, Ranma as a male showed occasional strands of brown hair in his jet-black mane, so couldn't she have the occasional brown strand in her pure red hair? Nature's way, it seemed.
{Easy, girl. You can't even be sure that it's Ran-chan's. Don't get your hopes up, not in this situation. It could be just another redhead. You can't be sure that this was a sign of him,} the devil's advocate in the back of her mind said. She, of course, knew better. This had to be Ran-chan's. She knew her beloved Ran-chan more intimately--well, not on *that* level, anyway--than any of the other girls, save Akane. Her heart knew it to be him. The strand was reecent, which meant he was still alive! {There's still a chance that he....}
Ukyo leapt to her feet, the pain of her movements immediately forgotten. Ranma was close, and she *knew* it. There was no other alternative. He was nearby; he *had* to be nearby. Racing into the depths of the unlit cavern, her chemical torch in her hand, she rushed to find Konatsu and pass the information. She was no longer worried about the potential dangers at the moment--her love for Ranma and Konatsu would buoy her to defeat the odds, no matter what.
*BIG* mistake.
* * *
Jack sat, unmoving in his current refuge as he applied first aid to his chest. He'd used his powers to move to the darkest section of the chamber, and was currently nursing his wounds. The ninja had nailed him harder than he'd expected, and that last attack had burned his chest with a fire that was almost unbearable. Fortunately Jack was made of sterner stuff; the Great Jack would not have chosen him to be his disciple if it were any less of a case.
There was another burning, as well; the one in his nether regions. The girl would have to quench that. It was a difficulty, he admitted to himself. {The Great One would like me to dispose of her all nilly and how, but ol' Jacky can't just nip without a bit of a tuck, of course. Perhaps, if I allow the girl to care for my needs, then I'll offer to end her peacefully.}
He nodded his head in resolution. The Great Jack would understand. He was once human before he attained his greatness, and thus would understand the plight of the current Jack. {It's a different world now, and the Guv'nor must understand that. I'll do his work, as I was ordained, but I must have a bit of the lovely Oriental girl, before I away with her life. It is the way of things. It is the way of all things and there is nothing on the earth that can change that.}
He got up, stretched a little. The bandage held, and the pain, although still wracking his body, was now manageable. He could live with it, and would. And with that accomplished, off he went on his appointed rounds. The first stop would be to prevent the further escape of the young birdie. After that, subduing her ninja beau would work as well. Then, he could step out on the tiles, and jolly Jack would have his fun.
As Jack moved into the shadows, he hummed a little tune that he carried in his mind. That tune would carry him onto his victory.
* * *
Although the darkness was oppressive, it seemed that the chemlight grew stronger simply by the strand of Ranma's hair that had been tied around it. That and her love for him. It was simply amazing what the human mind could conceive when powered by hi-octane emotions that propelled a person to the greatest heights of joy.
Unfortunately, this euphoric feeling in Ukyo created a situation where she had stopped paying attention to her surroundings. This allowed for her to be caught unawares as she heard from out of the blue:
"There once were eight girls,
on London's dark streets,
Whose lives were spilled out,
Their blood running sweet.
"A cent'ry hath passed--
True, 'tis so very sad--
But now time calls again
For Ol' Jack the Lad.
"A new hunt's arisen,
And so is foretold,
Thus many a maiden
Will now lose her soul.
"For soon you will die,
Spirit leaves fleshy sack,
A sign of a legend
Known only as...Jack."
Ukyo stopped. As she came to, the anger rose in her again. "Come out, you bastard!" her voice rang, echoing in the cavern. "Come and face me!" Moving with her back to a sizable boulder, she went into a defensive stance, ready for combat to come at any direction...including *below,* should the event occur. The girl looked ready to fight this time, prepared to do whatever it took to go the distance. Her black eyes radiated anger, her lips tightly closed in a snarl. Her usually cheerful demeanor had slipped once more into the slow rage that she knew so well from the years she'd spent on the road, only that anger was now directed at the residents of this bedeviled place.
There was a glitter in the darkness ahead of her, and a knife raced towards her. A rapid blur of violet followed, and the blade skittered on a new tangent, averted by Ukyo's swipe of her wrist, only to ricochet off the stone behind her and clatter somewhere in the darkness as it bounced harmlessly against another stone face. A second blade followed, and she moved to avoid it, and as it passed her she whipped out and expertly caught the missile by its handle. She now was armed and ready, albeit a short throwing knife.
"That's a good one, lovely," the bodiless voice lauded from the nothingness ahead of her. "An expert catch that I would not have expected. You truly are a talent, lassie. 'Tis surely truth that you have no skill at throwing, but your ol' mate Jacky applauds your skill at catching."
"Talented enough to take you down!"
"Is that so?" A pause, then: "Why don't you toss that blade on its sure course to my gullet, then?"
Ukyo, however, was not about to take the bait. "No, I think I'll wait until you come out so I can pound you into the floor."
"I seriously doubt I'll take you up on that offer, chippie," he said, a trace of humor in his tone. "However, if you'll lay for me, I might be persuaded to do so."
That made Ukyo livid. Without thinking, she flung her lone protection at him, roaring, *"You BASTARD! How DARE you even suggest--"*
She was interrupted by his jarring laugh as he taunted, "Bit better this time, only missed by an inch! Now watch *me!"* As his words ended, a storm of small blades, shurikens, stilettos and double-bladed knives rushed out towards her. With a speed born of desperation and anger, she lashed out to counter the lethal projectiles, dodging some, and countering others. She kept this up for a good few minutes, even as the blades continued to rush towards her like twigs in a gale, endlessly. Still, moving in a flurry with a speed that usually only Shampoo moved at, she chopped, kicked or side-stepped every one of edges aimed at her.
After a few minutes, however, she began to tire, and her movements became slower, barely able to prevent injury to herself. The blades, however, remained at their speed and consistency. At last, one got through, biting firmly into her calf. As she moved to yank it out, biting away the scream of pain, a second, heavier knife sank into her shoulder, knocking her against the rock as she screamed from the deep wounds and the force of being slammed against the sharp-faced boulder. Before she could react, four new blades lashed out towards her, double-bladed knives that pinned her arms and legs against the bedrock, leaving her prone, helpless, bleeding, and in pain.
She ventured a call: "Konatsu! Tasukete!"
"He can't help you now, dearie." The mocking tones of the man that called himself Spring-Heeled Jack were insults to her. He stepped into the dim light that she could see, the pale chemlight wand giving his visage a dark, horrific look. Leering at her, he went over to her. "Oh, you'll be a right pleasurable one, I assure you."
"Konatsu will get me out of this, just you watch," she hissed.
He chuckled softly, with a dark, malevolent glee. "Truly, my gal, I wouldn't worry about your beau tryin' t' rescue you. The old bugger'll be bloody powerless, soon enough! In fact, in a few minutes he'll never be able to do anything for you again, I assure you."
{Kona-chan....! No!} *"You wouldn't!"* she cried.
His answer was no answer. Quick as the oncoming night closing in on the sunset, he faded back into the darkness. After a second or two, "Best practice how much you'll enjoy what I have in plan for you. The more you please me, the less painful your death will be." With that, he left her to her rising rage and panic, now not only over her, but the man she loved as well.
* * *
Konatsu picked up his pace, his heart beating a crescendo. He'd heard the loud piercing scream that was Ukyo's voice. Fearing the worst, he began to dash like a madman into the darkness, heedless of the impending danger. He didn't care if Jack had planned the worst for him. He had to protect Uc-chan at whatever cost there was, even if it meant his life. Jack had to be stopped at all costs even if it meant he'd lose his life.
He was a ninja of the Ghost Wolf clan, ready to die for what was just and right. It was the way he ran his life, and there was little else for him in that respect save Ukyo and his friends. After all, that was he was here now: to save one of his closest friends. Without Ranma, everything that was the joy of Ukyo would slo--
"Have at your life, ol' chap!" a voice screamed, even as a burning feeling traced its line across his chest. Instinctively, he rolled back, ignoring the blood that was flowing easily from the gash caused by Jack's knife. As he left to his feet, Konatsu began to feel a numbing sensation come across him, crossing into his bones. The knife slash had apparently cut him deeper than he thought, and he was beginning to lose a substantial amount of blood.
Not bothering to look at the wound, he dashed towards his unseen enemy, and lashed out with a ki-energized punch. He was rewarded with a connection that rocked his opponent back. As he pulled back his hand, however, he was jabbed in the wrist by the same blade as earlier. He spun his hand to prevent most of the damage, but the cut had bit deep enough to cause another crimson spray. In a reactive manner, he spun, flipped into the air towards the ebon air, and upon landing, threw another punch, this time with enough ki to illuminate his fist.
The emerald colored fist went straight to the stomach of the assassin. Jack's breath went out of him, and he went sprawling to the ground, gasping for air. Konatsu wasted no time, and whipped out one of his sais, embedding it into the knifemaster's thigh. Jack responded by snarling his pain and punching Konatsu between the eyes. The ninja went back, calling out "Kunouichi no Ninbou!" and going into his own invisibility skill. Now both sides would have to fight on equal footing of the chance that their next movement might be their last. Except that Konatsu had no intention of this being his personal Last Stand.
The combat went up a full notch. Jack began to swing his longknife with an expert, destructive skill, while the ninja moved like a whirling dervish, moving in and striking where he could. Since both were masters at the shadowy skills, using their skills to full effect, they seldom connected. However, when they did, the injury inflicted was grave:
Jack crossed Konatsu for a bursting gash across his face. The ninja countered by delivering a short stabbing kick that broke one of the assassin's ribs. The next motion followed was a stiletto buried in the shoulderblade of the Ghost Wolf, who rapidly yanked it out and returned the blade to its owner in his left forearm. The pair were slowly going feral, ready to tear each other to bloody ribbons at a moment's notice.
Neither fighter would give quarter, and none was asked. This fight between the two of them was destined to end with the death of one, if not both of them. Jack now realized that the ninja was no simple ninja, but a shinobi, a Shadow Dancer, whose skills were far above the level that he had been expecting--he had to kill this guy, or else he would be dead. Plus, there would be the bonus of having his obviously non-ninjitsu girll....
For Konatsu, he'd been pushed to the point that he never thought he'd reach. Since this whole affair had begun--and by that he meant since the day he decided to change for his Uc-chan--he'd been growing more self-confident, more protecttive of friends who were more than capable of protecting themselves...and in the case of Ranma and Ryoga, even more powerful than he! He'd realized that although his love for Uc-chan was vital, and his friendship with Ranma very important, he'd learned something about himself...he learned that now that he had taken steps to ensure his self-confidence, he was becoming something that weeks ago, he'd never thought that he'd ever feel comfortable living as. A guy.
With that knowledge came the realization that he had been trying so long to achieve, something that Mist-sensei had told him: that he only had to master his weakness to become a master. He had no longer any fear of being something that he always feared being; he now could take responsibility for his actions freely. And with that one action, he was now a master. The ninja Kenzan Konatsu was now a shinobi. And that shinobi had to stop this guy from doing harm to another soul, no matter what the cost. This was his trial under fire, and he was going to come out on top no matter what it took.
So both parties continued their deadly fisticuffs, each side screaming for the other's blood, neither gaining an advantage on the other. Torturous minutes dragged on with Konatsu holding on by willpower alone, his strength ebbed to an all-time low; Jack moving under nothing more than a creeping fear and the lone advantage that he seemed to be faster than the shinobi before him.
At the last, Konatsu's strength finally drained out with the blood that he was losing. He'd lost too much already, and the sweet sensation of exhaustion was beginning to call him away--{*NO!* I will *NOT* give up on my friends! I *CAN'T* give up! But the feeling of rest is so overwhelming...if I took justt...a...second...to...rest--}
His hesitation failed him as Spring-Heeled Jack rammed his knife home between the ninja's blade, completing the kill. Konatsu didn't even have the strength to scream; he couldn't have anyway, as a spray of blood erupted from his mouth. He just fell like a sack of potatoes, the remaining blood in his body slowly ebbing out of the new wound on his back. He lay on the floor, unmoving.
Jack took a second to relax, wiping a rivulet of his own lifeblood from the corner of his mouth. He felt a bit exhausted, but flush with his victory. Looking down at the body of his opponent, Jack said somberly, "Well done, ol' bean. You nearly beat ol' Jack the Lad, and that's something that no one's ever gotten close to before. You'll be restin' easy in peace knowing I'll give your ladyfriend every courtesy to end her life as painlessly as possible. After a little fun, of course.... Taa!" Jack melted into the shadows, albeit slowly, whistling an old English tune.
As the voice died in the distance, the body slowly got up and moved to his feet. Konatsu, feeling dead--and looking *worse*--had reached his breaking point. That bastard had every intention to rape his Uc-chan. *That* would neever--*EVER* happen. *NO ONE* would hurt Ukyo as long as he was around. *NOBODY.* Konatsu was no longer in a mood to defeat his opponent. His intention was now to rend and shred his opponent to absolute bloody rags.
Slowly limping in the same direction as Jack, following the trail of blood that the other man left, Konatsu began to charge up his ki for what would be his finest moment. This was not over yet.
Not one damn bit.
* * *
Ukyo's heart crushed the moment that she saw Jack walking back; part of her died the minute she first saw him, and that was even before she heard his words. She knew it--Konatsu, her Kona-chan, was dead. Her love, her happiness, her husband-to-be, all gone. She sagged in defeat.
{Oh, Konatsu,} she lamented, {is this how it ends? Is this what happens to us? Oh, my love....}
Finally, Jack stepped close enough to be fully seen. Ukyo couldn't help but smile in the fact that although her fiancé was no more, he at least gave as good as he got. Jack was in truly bad shape. He had cuts and ki burns in innumerable locations, and his pockets looked completely empty, and with the exception of the military-style longknife he was currently carrying like a holy talisman, he was completely unarmed. Konatsu had definitely run through the meat grinder, even at the cost of his--
{*NO!*} her mind screamed. {I will *NOT* remember Kona-chan's sacrifice like that. Never!} She stared at Jack with a gaze that was pure hatred. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her break down. Not now, not ever. If he were to kill her now, she would not beg for mercy; instead, accept that she would be with her Konatsu for all eternity. Her only regret would be that she would never be able to see the other man she loved, Saotome Ranma.
{Ran-chan, I hope you can forgive me for failing you,} she thought. {I love you, Ran-chan. Don't forget that.}
Meanwhile, Jack's face split in a grin. "Okay, m' lovely? Are you a ready for some fun?"
Ukyo's response was to turn away from him. As he reached over to take her delicate chin in his cupped hand, she spat in his face. His reaction was to slam a fist across her cheek, rocking her head back to pound against the rock behind her.
"You ought not to have done that, chippie," he replied, wiping the expactorant off his face. "I'd told your lad that I'd treat you right, I would, but after that, I'll have to show you some manners. By the way, I hope you like it rough...'cause I like dealing out that way."
With that notification, he brought the knife down fast and hard, cutting her yukata shirt open, her bra in half, and slicing the skin in a couple of spots. He then ripped open her yukata, exposing her breasts to the world. His eyes played up on her firm, supple breasts, and began to fondle them, cooing, "Ooooh, my covey. You'll be a good one for ol' Jack."
Ukyo, on the other hand, was feeling many emotions at once. Nausea and revulsion at the fact that she was about to be violated and used. Sorrow, because she'd never get to see her friends and family ever again. Hatred at the man currently assaulting her. Love for the two men in her life that meant so much to her. And a frantic hope that it her suffering would end soon. However, her face was an unreadable mask of blankness--she'd be damned if he would even remotely see what she was truly feeling.
Jack, in the interim, was in pure delight. At the moment, he had his tongue running the curve of Ukyo's breast, imagining every little sick perverted fantasy he was going to do to her. Stopping for a moment, he coolly commented, "At least you could enjoy this a bit, you little dearie. Ol' Jack's gonna give you the time of your life before you move on." To demonstrate exactly how much he undid her belt and jeans and shoved his hand in, beginning to probe and prod.
Ukyo gritted her teeth. There was no way she was going to show any emotion other than abject hatred. There would be no fear or revulsion on her face. Nothing at all. Within her mind, however, the raging cauldron of emotions continued, unabated. If she were to be set free, she would gleefully tear apart this man who destroyed her happiness in one fell swoop.
{I hate you and damn you to the deepest hell imaginable. I hope that if my Ran-chan's still alive, he will destroy you. He loves me enough to do so. But truth be told, I wish I could be here to see you die the most agonizing of deaths.}
Once again, the old maxim regarding being careful of what one wishes for came true once more. Out the darkest point of the inky blackness, an inhuman voice roared out into the chamber, echoing into the beyond:
*"GET AWAY FROM UC-CHAN NOW, YOU SICK BASTARD!"*
*"KONATSU!"* a female voice cried out in incomprehensible joy.
*"YOU!"* Jack's voice belied his absolute shock. *"B-b-bu-but I...I KILLED YOU!"*
*"And your point is?"* Konatsu's voice was dark and seething. His whole body radiated a nearly-blinding green battle aura, rivaled only by the more intense aura being generated by his eyes, twin emeralds of furious justice. It shocked Ukyo to the core to see him as he was. By all rights, he *should* be dead. He had more gashes and wounds than she could count. His pale skin showed the effects of massive blood loss, and most of it apparently was now soaked in his clothing. His breathing sounded ragged, and his face was gaunt. By all rights, he should be dead.
As if answering her thoughts, he commented, "Nothing would stop me from protecting you, Uc-chan. Nothing. I love you too much." His eyes faded into their normal color with that warm, loving twinkle in them, and she saw the man she loved, despite the intensive, overtly fatal injuries he'd received. He was there for her; he'd never go away. That was why she loved him--he was there, even at the times when Ran-chan couldn't be. That was why she would marry him--he would always be there for hher.
Konatsu turned to Jack, the warmth draining from his eyes, turning into the cold avenging shinobi. *"Killer, your reign of terror ends here and now! I, Kenzan Konatsu, shinobi of the Ghost Wolf clan, declare a blood hunt on you, in the name of all who have suffered under your perversions and your blade. There is nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide. You are the walking dead."*
"As are you," Jack fumbled his words, but his meaning was clear enough. "I could hit you easily from here with this longknife, e'en though 'twas not meant for a tosser, eh?' And with that, Spring-Heeled Jack threw the heavy knife towards his nemesis.
*"Let's see you try!"* Konatsu moved faster than he'd ever moved in his life. He thrust his hands forward, fingers splayed in the oyazoku pozu, and called out his attack. For the first time, Konatsu launched a projectile blast: "Hana Nado no Uzamaki Shuriken Ha!"--Aura Vortex Shuriken Strike. An intensive shaft of verdigris lightning, with DNA-like spirals of glowing throwing stars, leeapt out from his hands and raced towards its intended target, and striking with a vengeance.
Jack screamed with the pain of a man being electrocuted to death--which of course, he was. The beam burrowed through every molecule of his body, and each star that escorted the beam to its landing point struck just as hard. The psychopathic Briton began to glow with an unholy green light, becoming as bright as the aurora borealis. Konatsu and his foe grew in incandescence to the point where they became two stars burning enough ki energy to fill the vast chamber with enough light to equate daylight. Still, it was not enough to kill the man, and so, the energy dispersal continued, unabated, as though the ninja were trying to pour every iota of his rage, his fury, his very being at the killer he was combating.
Finally there was an explosion of light powerful enough to rival a supernova, and a shockwave powerful enough to roll the great boulder that Ukyo was pinned to. As the boulder tipped over, the blades loosened themselves enough that with some movement of her wrists (and she was willing to risk the cuts), she broke free and raced to the scene of the final conflict, even as the energies died down, and with it the raging conflict.
Ukyo stared at the aftermath of the final engagement. First she looked at her opponent, tormentor and near-rapist. Jack lay, finally vanquished, a smoldering corpse on the floor with about a hundred or so shurikens embedded in the body like a pincushion. The sight brought little satisfaction to the young woman, who felt little remorse, but instead a sorrow that so many had to needlessly die at the hand of this man
Ukyo turned to her fiancée. "Arigato, Kona-chan. That's one man who wo...." Her words died on her lips as she stared in horror at her love. Konatsu was standing, eyes looking at Jack's final retributive blow: his thrown knife...
...embedded in the chest cavity, straight in his heart. He reached out for her, whispering, "Uc-chan...." and fell to the floor, fast first, driving the killing blow in deeper.
His collapse prompted Ukyo to motion. In a flash, she was at his side, tears rolling down her cheeks, blubbering incoherently and loudly, her emotions brought to the forefront in an instant. *"No, Kona-chan! Don't die...don't leave me! Not like this.... I love you! Don't die, damn you!"* She placed his head in her lap, noticing with fear that he was growing cold. In a desperate act, she threw the tattered remnants of her yukata over him, crying, *"You're not gonna die! I won't let you!"*
Konatsu, his strength finally ebbing, reached a hand out to stroke her tearing face. "You...you're cry...ing, Uc-chan," he said, every word uttered an absolute challenge to finish. "Don't...please. You know I...hate to see you...in...such ...pain." He coughed, and a rivulet of blood splattered from his mouth.
"Konatsu, please live. Don't die, please! I love you too much to let go!" She took his hand in hers. "We're supposed to get married! Don't let it end like this! Fight!"
"Uc-chan, I...had to stop...him fro...m hurt...ing you, regard...less of...the cost. I cou...ldn...t let that...hap...pen." His eyes were clouding over, his breathing growing hoarse and ragged; it was if he was already responding from the other side. "I wan...t you to...be hap...py, my Uc...chan...."
"I want to be happy! With you!" she sobbed, not believing that this was happening. The girl with the incredible bad luck, the girl with the best friend whom she loved and could never have, the girl who was disowned for dishonoring her family when she never did, someone whose life seemed to had finally turned around with the introduction of Konatsu into her life and her heart--and now he was *dying,* before her very eyes! This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening.
But it was.
"Ukyo-sa...ma, I...lo...ve you.... I...ve al...ways love...d you, my swe...et Uc...cha....n...." the voice faded, then finally fell silent. The spark of life that was in his eyes faded, guttering out like a candle in a breeze.
Ukyo went frantic, slapping him gently but firm. "Kona-chan, please hang on, please hang on!"
But his eyes were blank and empty, staring into his final view, the face of the woman he'd loved since the day he met her. Kenzan Konatsu was now amongst the ancestors, in a better place.
Kuonji Ukyo, however, was not. She murmured, "Konatsu?" She shook him. *"Konatsu!"*
The eyes continued to stare at her, unblinking.
*"KONATSU!"* she screamed, her agony reaching its apex. She pulled his body close to her crying uncontrollably. *"Please, no.... It can't end like this. It CAN'T...."* The world had once again mocked and taunted Ukyo; given her something she wanted, deserved...and took it away with nary a though. *"No, Konatsu, no...."* The world in Ukyo's mind wasn't just cruel... it had a personal vendetta against her.
*"KOOOOOONNNNNNAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!! NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"* The tormented screams of Kuonji Ukyo echoed like a banshee's dirge through out the dark chamber, where no one would see the results of Konatsu's greatest victory...
...and Ukyo's greatest loss.
