DYNASTY - CHAPTER SIX - PART A
By Sydney Kyle <jantzen77@hotmail.com>
Author's note: SO, SO SORRY for the delay...summer vacation, you
know--all two weeks of it *sigh*. Anyway, hope all of you're still
out there, and to those whom I never sent the chapters to as I
promised, I apologize completely. I promise that I'll send 'em over
as soon as I get home again. For now, I'm using someone else's
address to post this...
Until then, please send all comments to <jantzen77@hotmail.com>.
Enjoy. ^_^
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* * * DYNASTY * * *
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
=========================
* * * * * *
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CHAPTER SIX:
Part A
The Secret of Yasakami
===========================
"WHAT THE HECK D'YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING???" screamed Ranma.
The eight of them automatically fell back into another defensive
circle, their backs to each other, never tearing their eyes off their
assailants. Even now, the clan was displaying an alarming recovery rate
as they realigned the ranks that had been toppled by the unexpected
attack.
"Get a clue, Ranma!" Akane retorted, raising her fists. "We came to
help!"
"We don't _need_ any help," Ranma shot back, copying her action.
"We're doing just FINE, thank you."
"Saotome, thou art unworthy to address the fair Akane Tendo in such
a manner!!" thundered Kuno, abandoning his wary scrutiny of the clan
to gaze disdainfully at Ranma.
"Don't you DARE talk to Ranma-darling like that, brother DEAR,"
hissed Kodachi.
"May we just concentrate on the fight, PLEASE?!?" cried Mousse in
exasperation. This outburst only earned him two glares as only Ranma
Saotome and Akane Tendo were capable of bestowing.
"Are you trying to say that just because we're girls, we can't
fight?" Akane's voice took on an ominous turn.
Ranma was beginning to look irked--and sheepish. "Geez, Akane...I
just think--"
"Oh, grow up, Ranma," snapped Akane.
"Um, Akane..." This time Ryouga spoke up, sounding nervous. "I
never knew I'd say this, but I agree with Ranma. This's too
dangerous..."
"Oh, please!" Ukyou interrupted, her face flushed with resentment.
"Don't tell me you're with Ranchan on this stupid sexist idea. For
_your_ information, you guys weren't doing any major ass-kicking,
anyway!"
"Well, we were handling them pretty good, weren't we?!" countered
Ryouga, his voice escalating in volume.
"Not the way _I_ saw it, sugar!!" yelled Ukyou.
"That's strictly your--"
At this point, an exasperated Shampoo swiped at Ryouga with her
bonbori, flicking past a couple of stands of his dark hair.
"You pay attention to battle, stupid!" she groused.
Ryouga only shooed off her weapon with a growl and scrubbed
vehemently at his scalp.
Ukyou smirked at him, Kuno and Kodachi proceeded to flail their
weapons threateningly at each other, Mousse looked bewildered,
Shampoo looked thoroughly aggravated, and Ranma and Akane
continued to bicker.
Unbeknownst to them, Shino was already reassessing them as he and
the clan regrouped. There was a gleam of satisfaction in his gold eyes
as he noticed that somehow the 'victims' had engaged themselves in
some sort of petty squabble amongst themselves. In fact, the girl with
the short bob cut was incensed enough to withdraw a gigantic iron
mallet seemingly out of thin air and brandish it at the boy with the
pigtail.
He wanted to laugh out loud.
It was ridiculous, really. He didn't even have to figure out a
method to distract the Cursed ones long enough for the clan to take
them.
Not when they were doing such a good job of doing it themselves...
Shino nodded wordlessly at his comrades, then concentrated. A
tiny pulsing sphere materialized within the confines of his half-
clasped hands, growing larger in size and width until it was roughly
four inches in diameter.
And it wasn't made of water.
Ranma was the first to become aware of the danger as he felt the
back of his neck prickle with something akin to trepidation. Ignoring
Akane's tirade, he slitted his eyes and locked them on the object
winking at him between the Dragon clan leader's fingers.
He recognized it immediately.
"HONESTLY! I NEVER SHOULD'VE DECIDED TO HELP--
AAAAHH!!" A tinny shriek escaped Akane's mouth as Ranma
suddenly threw his arms around her waist.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE--"
Her outraged query was cut off as Ranma's momentum knocked
the both of them unceremoniously to the ground.
Akane just lay there, momentarily stunned.
Behind them, Mousse mimicked Ranma's action and glomped
onto Shampoo. She screamed in revulsion all the way down.
In front of them, Ryouga dived, taking a still-yelling Ukyou with
him.
Beside them, Kuno and Kodachi were trying to strangle each other
when they lost their balance and toppled down.
Akane was just about to open her mouth and ask Ranma what the hell
was going on, when something hot and blinding rushed past the space
above her head.
Right past where she'd been standing a half-second ago before Ranma
had bulldozed her into the ground.
*BOOM*
Ukyou Kuonji groaned as she shifted uncomfortably, wincing as she
felt the rough earth dig into her back. Multicolored stars swam before
her eyes in the wake of the glare that had filled her vision just a
moment before.
She twisted her body, vainly attempting to get up. In the process,
she slowly realized that something hard and heavy was sprawled on top
of her, effectively cutting off her ability to lift herself up.
"What--what the--?" she mumbled.
Everything slowly began to come into focus.
Dark eyes.
Dark hair.
Yellow and black spotted bandanna...
Her sapphire eyes widened in sudden, horrid realization.
"AAAAAAIIIIEEEEE!!! GET OFFA MEEE!!!"
Ryouga winced at the incredible decibels of her voice and
immediately rolled off of her, rubbing his temple in irritation.
"Did I tell you that you've got a really lousy way of saying thanks?"
he growled.
Ukyou scrambled unsteadily to her feet, her face flushed, groping
frantically for her last shred of dignity. She was on the verge of
forming some sort of sarcastic comeback when Mousse, Shampoo,
Kuno, Kodachi, Ranma, and Akane appeared at her back.
Kuno's face was streaked with dirt. Kodachi looked nonplussed, her
violet eyes glazed over. Shampoo looked more repulsed than
astonished. Mousse, curiously, sported fist-sized bruises all over his
face, and his glasses were askew, but he looked like he were in bliss.
"Ye gads!" gasped Kuno. "What, pray tell, was that?"
They automatically fell into their initial defensive stance, backs
to each other, as the Dragon clan swirled around them, carefully
keeping their distance.
"Yeah, what _is_ that thing?" Akane exclaimed.
"Ki-blast," Ryouga responded instantly, without hesitation.
"Ki?!" Ukyou regarded him in disbelief. "You mean they know how to
use spirit energy attacks?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely." Ranma's jaw stood out in hard relief. "Looks
like water ain't the only thing these jerks can throw from their hands.
One touch of those babies, and we're toast."
Ryouga nodded in agreement, while the others fell silent. Of all
those assembled, Ranma and Ryouga were the only ones fully able to
channel the auras they generated in battle into lethal energy
projectiles, and they understood full well how deadly the consequences
were in utilizing such an assault. It took an incredible sense of
control and mastery to manipulate such a potent energy, and they were
all aware that only a select few skilled individuals were capable.
Ukyou chewed pensively at her bottom lip. "Okay, so it's obvious
that we're kinda outta our league here. Now what?"
"We retreat?" queried Mousse, frowning.
"No way!" Ranma blurted out vehemently. "Lissen, I know this's
beginning to look impossible to win, but I ain't gonna give up now,
and neither should any of you."
They all gaped at him.
Around them, the clan began to reestablish their offensive
positions.
Ranma lowered his voice. "Look, all we need ta do is avoid those
blasts and hang on as long as you can."
"And then what?" demanded Mousse, thoroughly frustrated. "What
course of action should we undertake once we are unable to fight any
longer?"
There was the rustle of red and gold fabric as the clan continued
to swarm around them. The air was fairly buzzing with hostile
anticipation.
"Isn't there anything that can make them vulnerable?" whined
Kodachi as she cracked her whip-ribbon.
"There should be something that make them weak," murmured
Shampoo, whipping out her trusty bonbori.
"Yeah," seconded Ukyou, twirling her mega-spatula. "We need
something big and deadly--ya know, kind of like a last resort thing..."
"Last resort," mumbled Ryouga, his gaze still peeled on the rapidly-
advancing Dragon clan. "I used the Shishi Houkoudan against them when
they first attacked me, but I lost consciousness, so I don't know
if..."
At Ryouga's words, the tiniest fragment of an idea stirred within
the deepest recesses of Ranma's brain, and slowly an insidious gleam
stole into the depths of his gray-blue eyes.
As terrifying as it sounded, Ranma Saotome had a new plan.
* * * * * *
"WHAT IN DE ISLAND OF HONOLULU IS GOING ON OUT DERE???!"
There was no use ignoring the authoritative voice that boomed from
the open doorway of Sensei Tanaka's History class. Roughly forty
pairs of eyes reluctantly peeled themselves away from the windows
and trained themselves on the colorful figure standing just outside the
classroom door.
Sensei Tanaka found his voice first. "P-p-principal Kuno--s-s-sir!"
he stammered, in the tone of one beholding a god.
The flower-shirted, lei-wearing, shades-sporting principal of Furin-
kan High shuffled past the flustered instructor and peered out
curiously into the schoolyard.
"Sensei Tanaka," began Principal Kuno, very calmly, "De janitor
just be tellin' me dat dere be a fight happenin' in front of my school
dat be distractin' all de students from deir much-needed education--
and I just be wonderin' if you know what coulda have started dis."
Sensei Tanaka whisked off his glasses and rubbed at the steamed
lenses. "Ahhh--well, no, Principal Kuno, sir..."
A raucous cheer rose up suddenly from the crowd around the windows.
Principal Kuno jumped, nearly dropping his shades. "ALL RIGHT, DAT
RATTLES MY COCONUT!" he roared. "I WANT DE CAMPUS SECURITY
WIPIN' OUT DAT WAVE IN MY SCHOOLYARD _NOW_!!!"
Sensei Tanaka mopped his sweaty forehead. "Ahhhh, I remember now,
sir...Ranma Saotome was gone missing from the room when this commotion
started..."
Principal Kuno ceased his hysterical diatribe at once. "Eh? What you
say, Sensei? Ranma Saotome?"
"Y-y-yes, sir. The one who destroyed your coconut tree plantation in
the baseball field and left you hanging by your underwear from the top
of the flagpole..."
"Aaaah, yes..._dat_ Ranma Saotome." The other man's eyes
glittered behind the safety of his dark spectacles. As if he could forget
those indignities he'd undergone compliments of his school's most
notorious trouble magnet. "On de other hand," he corrected himself,
baring his teeth in a shark-like grin, "mebbe we should see what
happens instead, no...?"
"Principal Kuno! Principal Kuno!" A scarlet-faced security guard
skittered into the room. "Those--those people--they've demolished your
office, sir!"
"WHAT!" The principal was furious. There was no way that a bunch of
psychopaths could destroy his painstakingly-designed office with its
genuine sand dunes and pineapple wallpaper and get away with it. "Den
what de hell you think you doin' there?! Go round up dem campus
security--I want dose people stopped NOW!!!"
"But both your children, sir--Tatewaki and Kodachi--they are down
there as well, sir!"
"Dey _are_?" Principal Kuno was clearly surprised.
"Yes, sir. I'm calling up the rest of campus security--"
"Uhm...NO! WAIT!! WAIT!! I be changin' me mind--!!!"
Another cheer erupted from the enthusiastic spectators of Furinkan
High.
Down below, eight figures launched themselves once more into battle
mode.
* * * * * *
Shampoo was only dimly aware of the cheers of encouragement
emitting from the buildings around her. The noise--and everything
else--dissipated into the background, melting into the scenery, so
that the only thing she could concentrate on was what she was doing.
She was in the midst of battle.
Shampoo reveled in combat as only a Chinese Amazon could--
testing her limits through it, immersing herself in it, and thoroughly
losing herself in it.
This was her turf.
What made this even better was that her opponents were definitely
_not_ pushovers.
As far as Shampoo could recall, she had never encountered enemies
such as these. Their fighting style was too broad to identify it as any
specific kind, and yet at the same time it was too well-executed and
planned for it _not_ to be labeled as any sort of generalized combat.
Her inability to distinguish their movements rendered it almost
impossible for Shampoo to defend herself against their blows, much
less counterattack.
For now, though, constant attacks against the Dragon clan would be
sufficient enough for their strategy to proceed.
Shampoo allowed herself a little cursory study of how her
teammates were faring. Ranma, as usual, held himself true to form,
using his blazing speed and marvelous dexterity to take out his
assailants one by one in record time. Mousse, amazingly, hadn't
let his concern for her welfare distract him from the task at hand as
he rained upon his foes all the weapons he could find within his
robes. Kodachi was managing even better than her brother, using
her ribbon-whip to tie up several enemies at a time and sending
them spinning off the battlefield. Ukyou's mega-spatula and
shurikens were finding their marks on the front ranks of the clan,
while Ryouga continued to deal out maximum damage, staving
off wave after wave of assailants by reducing the ground under
their feet into rubble and using his entire arsenal of weapons--
belt, umbrella, and bandannas.
So far, so good. Now if the clan refrained from using water
spheres or ki-blasts, then this could just work...
Shampoo let out a strangled gasp as she was suddenly belted in
the face with something very familiar.
And very wet.
*SPLASH*
"SHAMPOO!!" Mousse wailed, rushing over toward her.
Shampoo shook her dripping hair, staring down at her drenched
clothes with disbelief.
Apparently the clan had tired of playing games.
"Sham--"
*SPLASH*
Mousse stood paralyzed, just a few feet away from a still-shocked
Shampoo. Rivulets of water ran down the curved sides of his glasses,
down his nose and cheeks, down his long hair, down his robes. He was
staring at his left arm in consternation when his teammates raced over
toward him and Shampoo.
"Mousse--you okay, man?" Ranma demanded.
Mousse mutely lifted his hands for them to inspect. There, just at
the back of his wrist, was a cluster of little iridescent soap bubbles.
Which meant that the waterproof soap was about ready to wash off.
*SPLASH*
They barely had time to leap out of the way of the next water sphere
that was launched against them. Kodachi squealed as some moisture
splattered onto her bare back, just missing her little red leotard.
The eight of them rolled into their feet, facing the grim
expressions of the Dragon Clan with renewed vigor.
"These people don't give up easy, do they?" Ukyou remarked,
careful to lower her voice so that their opponents could not hear
over the racket above their heads.
"Apparently not," Mousse said, copying her precautions.
"Well, _that's_ strange, considering the way they disappeared
when they could've killed us all last night," muttered Ryouga.
"Right," intoned Ranma, "but right now I'm ain't exactly gonna
think 'bout that."
"Well, I think they're tiring," Akane pointed out. "I mean, they're
lobbing us with water and ki-blasts. It's obvious that they're trying
to knock us off as quickly as they can."
"Truer words hath never been spoken," Kuno agreed. "I say that
we proceed with our strategy forthwith!"
Ranma expelled a deep breath. "I never thought I'd say this," he
murmured, "but I think Kuno's right."
"Now is good time to carry out plan," Shampoo seconded instantly.
"I wholeheartedly concur," Mousse added.
"We do it _now_, Ranma, or we're dead," Ryouga hissed.
"All right." Ranma assumed an offensive stance. "Go for it."
* * * * * *
"What's going on now? What's going on?" Hiroshi babbled, shoving
Daisuke aside to take a better look at the fight.
"Hiroshi my friend, will you kindly shut up long enough for me to
find out exactly that?" Daisuke retorted, bopping the other boy
smartly on the back of his neck.
Sayuri ignored their antics and peeked down. Her brows knitted
together in worry. "You guys, I think they're getting exhausted."
"Who wouldn't be, if they've been attacking nonstop for the past
twenty or so minutes?" countered Yuka.
"Hey, look." Hiroshi strained forward, his motif grim. "Ranma and
the others're pulling back."
"What d'you think they're doing?" questioned a baffled Sayuri.
"I dunno." Daisuke licked his lips. "But I think that they've got
themselves a strategy."
A tense, anticipatory hum began to ripple through the spectators of
Furinkan High.
To Be Continued in Part B