Muyami Academy
What if they ALL went to the same school?
Chapter five, finally! My apologies for taking so long,
and I hope it was worth the wait!
Thanks to my prereaders, T.H. Tiger and Bombadil Goh,
who've been great for bouncing ideas off of. Thanks also to
those who've written to me, some with ideas or suggestions,
especially Jed Hagen and Scott Pollert who have been very
helpful, feeding me ideas and a few good lines. ^_^
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. Alice In Wonderland written by Lewis
Carroll, perhaps copyright his estate, I don't really know, and
anyway, it only appears in this disclaimer.
As I was roving over
The precinct of Nerima
I spied that coward Ranma
And I began to scheme-a
Well first, I grabbed bandanas,
My umbrella held like a sabre,
Saying, "Stand and deliver!
"For you are a bold deceiver!"
Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There's water in the kettle
I pounded hard on Ranma,
'Til he was all but beaten,
But he splashed me with cold water,
Like a coward, always cheatin',
I went to Akane's bedroom,
For she never would deceive me.
In walked the pervert, Ranma,
But Akane slammed him easy.
Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There's water in the kettle
Now some take delight,
In fighting or in gambling,
Others take delight
In perversions I can't fathom,
Me, I take delight,
In sleeping with Akane,
And in travelling the wide world
With a kettle always handy.
Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There's water in the kettle
Chapter Five
Shadows Unbound
Tenchi Masaki was pissed.
He stood in the kitchen of the tiny sushi restaurant,
Yosho's sword held before him. The lights were out, and his
sword glowed in the near darkness like a lighthouse beacon
across the night sea. It cast an eerie light on everything around
him.
Before him stood Ryoko, the strange demon-woman he'd
freed from the cave at his grandfather's shrine over a week ago.
She'd seemed friendly enough for the last several days, even
overly friendly when it came to him, but now she'd attacked his
friend Ranma without cause or warning. Ryoko had the power
and ability to level city blocks, and had already destroyed
Tenchi's old school. True, she hadn't actually hurt Tenchi
himself, but then he'd mostly run away, whereas Ranma had
probably tried to fight back.
"Ryoko," Tenchi growled, "if you lay another finger on
Ranma, I�ll never forgive you!"
"Stay out of this, Tenchi!" Ryoko growled back. "This is
between me and her... him... whatever!"
Then Ayeka was standing next to Tenchi, and her
containment wards appeared. As a royal princess of planet
Jurai, Ayeka commanded a great deal of power in her own
right. She was no real match for Ryoko, but, together with
Tenchi, they just might be able to stop her.
"Ryoko, you monster!" Ayeka yelled. "You will not hurt
this poor, innocent girl!" Energy crackled in the air around her.
Ryoko did not make a move, but her anger clearly wasn't
yet spent.
"Ayeka, Tenchi," she said, "this has nothing to do with
either of you!"
"Ranma's my friend!" Tenchi said. "I'm not going to stand
by and let you kill her!"
In the silence that followed, Tenchi noticed, for the first
time, the sounds of combat coming from the front of the
restaurant: feet scraping the floor as a fighter shifted and
planted for a strike, the sound of an energy sword slicing
through air, and... something that wasn't air. There was a
horrible, keening scream, like the sound of a wounded animal
amplified tenfold, and then, a warning yell: "Heads up!
Coming through!"
Tenchi spun about. Something was sailing over the
counter and into the already-crowded kitchen. It was large,
amorphous, and black as night.
"Get back!" a girl's voice called out. "It's evil!"
Tendrils of inky black oozed from the blob like tentacles.
Tenchi didn't need to hear Yohko's warning to know that this
thing, unlike Ryoko, was a true demon. His sword flashed out,
almost of it's own volition, and slashed into the thing.
There was another terrifying keening. The creature
physically melted away from the sword, oozing into the back
corner of the kitchen.
A girl in a red Chinese dress leapt onto the counter. In her
hand was a sword that, if anything, glowed even brighter than
Tenchi's own.
"Foul demon spawn!" she yelled. "I, Yohko Mano, 108th
generation Devil Hunter, will send you back from whence you
came!"
The room was filled with eerie, whispering voices, like
the sighing of the wind. "The shrine," the voices breathed.
"You have violated the shrine. The gate of gates has been
unsealed...."
Yohko gripped her soulsword tightly. "I have no idea
what you're talking about," she said. "I haven't violated any
shrines that I know of."
"What's going on?" Ayeka called out. One minute, she
and Tenchi were facing off against Ryoko; the next minute,
Tenchi and Yohko were instead facing off with something
shadowy and indistinct. She clearly didn't know what this
shadow thing was, or why it merited greater attention than a
rampaging Ryoko. In her confusion, her containment wards
faded out of existence.
Ryoko, however, was having no such trouble. She knew a
true demon when she met one.
"Tenchi!" Ryoko called out. "Be careful!" She instantly
appeared next to him, and a bright red energy sword
materialized in her hand. "It's a demon!" she said. "A real
one!"
"I know that!" Tenchi yelled.
The demon seemed to gather itself together, and then
struck.
***
Akane shivered on the sidewalk outside the restaurant
with her sister Nabiki and Madoka Mano, Yohko's
grandmother.
"It's a demon," Madoka repeated. "You see, Yohko's a
108th generation demon hunter, trained to battle demons by
myself, the 107th generation demon hunter. It looked like a
mid-level demon, which can be deadly for a normal human, but
Yohko should be able to handle it."
"These things happen to you every time you go out?"
Nabiki asked.
"Pretty much," Madoka said.
Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Then remind me to never eat
out with you again," she said.
Akane wondered what was happening inside the
restaurant. She could hear the yelling and fighting, but couldn't
see anything through the darkened windows except for the thin
line of light from Yohko's sword as it was swung about, and
another line of light just like it.
She wondered about that. Madoka Mano finally saw it as
well, and sucked in her breath. "Who else is using a
soulsword?" she asked. Neither Akane nor Nabiki had an
answer. Akane had never even seen a soulsword until a minute
ago.
"We're beginning to attract a crowd," Nabiki said. Akane
looked about, noticing for the first time that there were a dozen
or so people gathered behind them.
She glanced back into the gloom of the restaurant. "I
hope Ranma's all right," she said.
***
As the shadow creature lunged forward, inky tentacles
shooting out from the central mass, Ryoko pushed Tenchi back
and flew to meet it. Her energy sword sliced down in a bright
red arc, cleaving the creature in two.
Inky tentacles wrapped around her arms. "Eh?" she
asked, as the two halves of the creature rejoined. Suddenly,
Ryoko was lifted and flung across the room, colliding with the
wall.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled. The demon-woman immediately
sprang to her feet and reformed her sword.
"Energy alone can't stop a demon," Yohko exclaimed.
She leapt at the creature and spun about, bringing her sword
down in a slashing arc. This time, as the soulsword sliced
through it, the creature screamed in pain.
That was the only difference, however. A thick tentacle
bashed Yohko to the back of the room, where she collided with
several boxes stacked by the back door. A bag split, scattering
rice across the floor.
The creature reformed itself.
Tenchi swore under his breath and charged forward.
"Lord Tenchi, be careful!" Ayeka called out. Ryoko came
flying back over the counter, eyes glowing in anger. Tenchi's
sword sliced down, with Ryoko's following it.
Again, the creature screamed. It was the sound of many
voices, each one quiet and faint on it's own, but, in
combination with a thousand others, it was something that
pierced the night. It was like a soft cry, amplified a thousand
fold. Ayeka felt it in her bones, and it set her teeth on edge.
And yet, the creature reformed itself again. It lashed out,
and Ryoko again was spun into the far wall. Tenchi was
thrown back at Ayeka, who screamed and awkwardly tried to
break his fall. She wound up on the floor of the kitchen, with
Tenchi on top of her.
Ryoko bounced up once again and flew at the creature.
"Die, damn you!" she screamed, burying her sword in the
creature once again.
The creature roared, a sound so loud and deep that the
floor shook. It seemed to rise up, growing larger, and a fat
tentacle slammed Ryoko into the ceiling. She fell, bouncing
off the counter and onto the floor. She didn't move again.
Black tentacles lashed out at Yohko and Tenchi, and they
both slashed through them. Again, the creature attacked, and
again, two white blades sliced through the thick tendrils
cleanly, like a groundskeeper pruning an unruly hedge. The
creature seemed to pull back then, and regard the two of them
for a moment.
"It's wearing down!" Yohko called out, and it was true --
the creature didn't seem as massive, or as quick, as it had been
to start with.
"Time to finish it off!" Yohko said.
Tenchi nodded, gritted his teeth, and drove his sword deep
into the creature. At the same time, Yohko stabbed into the
heart of the shadows with her soulsword. "Be gone from this
place!" she shouted.
With a horrific, high-pitched scream, the creature
shriveled into nothingness, and was gone.
The four combatants stood in the darkness for a moment,
as if waiting for another attack. Then Ayeka, remembering
what they'd been doing before the demon showed up, dropped
to Ranma's side.
There was a gaping wound where something sharp had
pierced Ranma's right side. Blood soaked the girl's shirt.
"She's badly hurt," Ayeka said. "She needs a doctor,
now."
Ryoko stirred, then raised her head. Tenchi spared her a
glance, then returned his attention to Ranma.
Carry her outside, to the light," Yohko said. "I can help
her...."
Ayeka and Tenchi nodded, and lifted Ranma off the
ground.
***
Akane and Nabiki gasped as Ranma was carried out of the
restaurant. The redhead's skin was white in the moonlight, and
it was clear that she'd lost a lot of blood. She was covered with
scrapes and bruises, and her right arm was clearly broken, but
it was the ragged wound in her side that worried Akane the
most.
"Ranma!" Akane called out, jumping forward. Ayeka --
the girl with the purple hair -- and Tenchi lay Ranma down on
the concrete.
Yohko stepped in front of Akane and held up her hand.
"Stay back," she said, in such a commanding voice that
Akane immediately took two steps back.
Madoka Mano wrapped her hand about Akane's arm. "It's
okay, dear," she said, her voice calm and steady. "Yohko can
heal Ranma's wounds."
Akane's eyes widened, and then she glanced back at
Tenchi and Ayeka.
"What happened in there?" she asked. "How did Ranma
get hurt? Was it the demon?"
Tenchi shook his head. "It was Ryoko," he said. At the
same time, the blue-haired girl floated through the wall of the
restaurant, as if she were a ghost. Her hair and clothing were
torn and dirty.
Ayeka and Tenchi both glared at the girl, who visibly
flinched. Putting two and two together, Akane growled, low in
her throat, and took a step towards Ryoko. A bright blue
battle-aura flared to life about her, visible to everyone.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Akane growled.
Although obviously shaken, the strange girl favored
Akane with a look of disdain. "What's it to you?" she asked.
"Ranma's my friend!" Akane replied. "Why would you
attack her? She's done nothing to you!"
"She attacked me first," Ryoko said, "back in the cave. I
only returned the favor. I taught her a lesson."
With a shout, Akane threw a viscous uppercut. Ryoko
winked out of existence, and Akane's fist met nothing but air.
Akane sensed something behind her -- a slight movement
in the air, perhaps -- and lashed out with a high kick. She
connected squarely with Ryoko's stomach. Gasping as the air
was driven from her lungs, the green-haired girl flew back
several feet, then growled in return. Instantly Ryoko's energy
sword appeared in her hand, but then several circles of wooden
wards materialized in the air about her. Strands of energy, like
rubbery vines, shot out from the wards and wrapped about her
body.
"Hey!" Ryoko exclaimed, "what gives?"
"Haven't you done enough for one night?" Ayeka asked
angrily. "Isn't it enough that you've nearly killed one of Lord
Tenchi's friends? Are you going to try and kill another one?
And to think that, for a brief moment, I almost thought there
was more to you than just a cruel, heartless, demonic
mummy!"
"Listen, Princess, I...."
"RYOKO!" Tenchi yelled, "Ayeka's right. You should
leave. Now."
This brought the girl up short. Tenchi rarely got angry,
but she didn't mistake the tone of his voice this time.
"Tenchi, I...." she began.
"I said leave!"
Tears began to roll down Ryoko's face. She easily
teleported out of the coils of Ayeka's trap, and hung for a
moment, about six feet off the ground. "I... I'm sorry," she
said, "I... I...." Her voice trailed off, and she flew straight up,
disappearing into the darkness.
Akane frowned, then glanced back at the others.
While Ayeka and Akane had been fighting with Ryoko,
Yohko had been busy. Oblivious to all else, she stood over
Ranma, her eyes closed, all of her concentration focused on her
soulsword. Light enveloped Ranma, like a snow-white aura or
a St. Elmo's Fire. Akane watched in wonder as Ranma's body
floated upwards, until it was several inches off of the ground.
Then the light began to fade, and the sleeping redhead settled
once more to the cold pavement. As the light faded
completely, Yohko opened her eyes. Her soulsword faded
away, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the pavement
beside Ranma.
"My, my," Nabiki said, and then Akane saw it too. Where
there had been a gaping hole in Ranma's side, there was now
only a faint, pink scar, and her right arm was straight and
whole.
"Now, that's impressive," Nabiki said.
Madoka Mano smiled. "I always preferred healing to
fighting," she said. "Looks like Yohko's out of it, too. She
must have used a lot of energy. Could one of you help me
carry her to her room?"
"And I thought Ranma was interesting," Nabiki said. "I
had no idea what his friends were like...."
***
Somewhere South of Tokyo, a young boy was walking
down the road carrying a heavy backpack with a red umbrella
on top. He had thick black hair held back a by a black and
yellow bandana, and walked along with the easy-going gait of
someone used to long hikes.
He passed a man working in a field near the road, and
stopped. He scratched at his head for a moment, then said,
"Ah, excuse me, sir, but would you know if Matsukata Hall is
around here somewhere?"
The field worker returned a blank stare. "You know," the
traveler added, "the girl's dorm? At Muyami Academy?"
The worker continued to stare blankly. "Can't say as I've
heard of it," he finally said.
"Well," the boy said, "sorry to bother you then." He
turned and continued on his journey.
As he walked, he muttered under his breath, "Of all the
luck! I finally get a date with a beautiful girl, and I manage to
get lost... poor Yohko will probably never speak to me again."
***
Belldandy was in the dormitory commons room, sitting on
the couch with Keichi, when they heard a group of voices
approaching from outside. Moments later, the front doors
opened, and Akane stepped in, followed by Nabiki and a very
woozy-looking Yohko.
"Oh! Do you realize that you're past curfew?" Belldandy
asked, getting up.
"Then so is your boyfriend," Nabiki replied.
Belldandy glanced at Keichi, and they both turned red.
"That may be," Belldandy said, "but I'm supposed to enforce
the rules for the girl's dorm. I have them posted on each floor,
so please take a minute to read them. Remember, they exist for
your protection..." her voice trailed off as Tenchi entered with
an unconscious Ranma in his arms, followed by Ryoko and
Madoka Mano. Belldandy got one look at Ranma's blood-
soaked clothing, Tenchi's wounds and Ryoko and Yohko's torn
clothing, and her eyes grew wide with alarm.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed, "what in the world happened?
Who is this? Is she all right?"
"It's Ranma," Tenchi said. "He's okay...."
Belldandy placed a hand on Ranma for a moment, examining
the girl for herself. "Oh!" she said, then "follow me." She
headed for the stairs, and everyone followed.
She led them to a room on the second floor, and opened
the door. "Lay her on the bed and let me look at her," she
said. Tenchi set Ranma down and stepped back, while
Belldandy knelt and placed her hands on the girl's chest.
"Whose room is this?" Tenchi asked.
"Ranma's, of course," Belldandy replied.
"Ranma's? But this is the girl's dorm...."
"Well," Yohko said, walking into the room, "Ranma is a
girl, you know. Where else would her room be?"
Tenchi exchanged glances with Akane, who mouthed,
"she doesn't know". Tenchi's eyebrows rose, and he nodded
silently, still a bit puzzled.
"Ranma's roommate won't arrive until tomorrow,"
Belldandy said. "Perhaps it's just as well... oh, my! Ranma's
been badly injured, but... someone has already healed her?"
"Yes, that was me," Yohko said.
The others were filing into the room. "How can you tell
that she's been healed?" Nabiki asked.
Belldandy unbuttoned the front of Ranma's shirt, then
glanced back at Tenchi and Keichi. "If you don't mind," she
said, "could we have a few moments of privacy?"
"Ah... sure," Tenchi said. "We'll... just stand out in the
hallway."
***
Madoka Mano followed Tenchi and Keichi out into the
hallway.
"Your name is Tenchi, correct?" Madoka asked. "I'm
Madoka Mano, Yohko's grandmother. Could I see that sword
of yours for a moment?"
Tenchi nodded, and handed the weapon over. The old
woman examined it carefully, paying particular attention to the
jewels in the hilt.
"Can anyone use this?" she asked, "or only you?"
"It's attuned to Juraian noble blood," Tenchi said. "I can
use it, and my grandfather or Ayeka could use it, but not
Ranma or Akane."
Madoka smiled, and handed it back. "Just as I thought,"
she said. "Yohko's sword is called from within her, and is fed
from the power of her soul. Your sword is external, and yet...
it requires someone who can channel power from within. It's
not so different, after all."
"I suppose not," Tenchi said.
"And they gems... they help focus and control power."
"That's right," he said. "Although, they weren't originally
a part of the sword. My ancestor, Yosho, took them from
Ryoko. She still has one gem embedded in her right wrist -- it
amplifies her power. She's even said that she can control
spirits, but I don't know about demons. I think if she could
have controlled that thing tonight, she would have -- or maybe,
if I gave her all of the gems -- but I won't do that; she's too
unpredictable."
Grandmother Mano nodded. "Controlling a demon takes
a great deal of power -- but the power that you two channel can
still affect demons. That's why your sword hurt the demon...
it's not really different from Yohko's soulsword. This "Juraian
power" is no different from chi power, save that those of
Juraian blood seem able to channel a lot more energy than any
human."
She laughed and slapped Tenchi on the back. "Why, with
that sword, and your inherent powers, you'd make a great devil
hunter, Tenchi. Imagine that -- a male devil hunter! Chastity
probably isn't even an issue with people of Juraian blood!"
"Ah..." Tenchi said, his face turning red. Madoka's
laughter echoed down the hallway, then she added, "You
wouldn't, by chance, be looking for a girlfriend, would you?
My Yohko's available, you know...."
"N-no!" Tenchi said. "I mean, she seems like a nice girl,
but...."
"Well, I don't want to interfere too much," Madoka added,
"but keep her in mind. Together, you two could produce the
greatest Demon Hunter the world's ever seen!"
She glanced at Keichi.
"What about you, boy?" she asked. "Your girlfriend
seems to know a lot. Do you have any special powers?"
"Ah... heh, heh," Keichi said, laughing nervously. "No,
I'm just a normal guy...."
***
Akane sat at Ranma's desk and watched as Belldandy
checked Ranma over. Nabiki, Ayeka, and Yohko also waited
for the verdict.
"You were attacked by a demon?" Belldandy asked, still
examining Ranma.
"Yeah," Yohko said, "that happens around me a lot."
"Yet these wounds were not caused by a demon,"
Belldandy added.
"How can you tell?" Nabiki asked.
"It was that monster, Ryoko," Ayeka said. "She attacked
this poor girl for no reason, before we even realized there was a
demon present."
"Oh my!" Belldandy exclaimed, staring down at the
unconscious girl. "Poor Ranma has some sort of curse on her!
How terrible!"
"Um... yeah," Akane said carefully. "Ranma knows about
it." She paused, and then added, "It's probably best if she
explains it to you herself."
Belldandy nodded, standing. "Well, you did a pretty good
job, Yohko," she said. "There were a couple of small things
that you missed. If you like, I could give you some pointers...."
"Y-you could?"
"Of course!" Belldandy smiled. "You're a demon hunter,
aren't you?"
"Yes -- how did you know?"
"It's my job to know," Belldandy said.
"Yes," Nabiki said, "but how do you know? Are you a
witch, perhaps?"
"A witch?" Belldandy laughed. "Don't be silly! I'm a
goddess."
For a moment, everyone stared. Then Nabiki sighed, and
said, "Alien Princesses, demons, girls that fly and toss energy
around like jugglers with bowling pins, boys that turn into...
well, whatever. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"Anyway," Belldandy said with a smile, "Ranma should
be fine when she wakes up, but I'd like to get her into some
clean pajamas." Turning to the dresser, she noticed Ranma's
suitcase, still sitting beside the bed, where she and Nabiki had
left it earlier that evening. "Oh, poor Ranma!" she said. "She
hasn't even had time to put her clothing away!" Belldandy laid
the suitcase on its side and popped the locks.
"Um, before you do that," Akane said, but it was too late.
Belldandy held up a yellow dress. "Oh, this is very pretty!
I'll bet Ranma looks beautiful in it!"
She hung it in the closet, and pulled out another one. This
one was a pale blue sundress, with a pattern of yellow flowers.
There were other things in the suitcase... things with floral
prints and pastel colors. Things of silk and satin, and things
with lace....
Akane's eyes bugged out. What was Ranma doing with
women's clothing in his suitcase? Unless....
...unless, Ranma had decided to live as a girl? But if so,
she might have told Akane.
Belldandy began removing clothing and placing it in the
dresser and closet. Yohko helped her, and in a few moments
they'd put everything away, dressed Ranma in silk pajamas,
and tucked her under the covers. Her Chinese clothing, now
ripped and caked with blood, went into the trash.
"I wonder if we should leave her alone?" Belldandy asked.
"Maybe I should stay with her tonight...."
"I... I guess I can stay with her," Akane said. "I mean, I'm
her... her friend. I'll just sleep in the top bunk, if that's okay."
Belldandy smiled, bringing her hands together. "That
would be wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'll check on you both
in the morning!"
As Belldandy left the room, Nabiki looked at Akane and
raised an eyebrow.
"Sleeping in the same room, already?" she asked. "My,
wouldn't father be ever so happy to find out?"
"Don't you dare," Akane growled.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Nabiki said, walking out of the
room.
"Nabiki!" Ayeka exclaimed, running after her. "About
our bed arrangements...."
***
There was a knock on the door. Ryoko ignored it.
"Ryoko?" a pleasant voice called out. "Are you in there?"
Ryoko said nothing. Her roommate, the strange foreign
girl with blue hair, was as silent as stone. What was her name
again? Ifurita, that was it. Strange girl. She hadn't said one
word yet to her roommate, but that was just fine with Ryoko.
After 600 years in a cave, she was rather used to the silence,
and liked having a place where she could get away from it all,
and just lay back and think.
"I know you're in there," the voice in the hallway said.
"There's no use hiding from me, Ryoko. Now, please open the
door."
Ryoko didn't move. After a full minute of silence, she
decided that the person had given up and gone away.
Good.
Then she heard a rustle of skirts, and sat up. The door
was still closed, but Belldandy, the girl's dorm president, stood
just inside of it, right before the floor-length mirror on the
back.
Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "So, you pass through walls,
too?"
"Perhaps," Belldandy said. "I've come to talk to you
about Ranma."
Ryoko flopped back against her pillow. "I'm not in the
mood to talk," she said.
Belldandy favored her with a stern, angry look. "Ryoko,"
she said, "is it true that Ranma's injuries were your doing?"
"Maybe," Ryoko said. "What of it?"
"I won't have you, or anyone else, harming the girls in my
dorm," Belldandy said. "Is that understood?"
"Yeah, whatever."
"I mean that, Ryoko. I'm responsible for these girls, so I
won't let things get out of hand. You could have killed poor
Ranma; you know that, don't you? I don't want to see anything
like this again."
Ryoko didn't reply, but someone else did.
"She can have you expelled," Ifurita said. "You'll be
separated from the boy you love."
Ryoko's eyes widened, and she sat up again. She looked
directly at Belldandy, and asked, "Is that true?"
"Only as a last resort," Belldandy said. "I wouldn't want
to do that, but if you're going to harm the girls that I've sworn
to protect, then I may have to...."
"Okay, okay," Ryoko said. "I get the picture. I guess I
got a little carried away. I'm sorry, it... it won't happen again."
Belldandy replied, "See that it doesn't."
Then, as Ryoko watched, the girl's dorm president stepped
through the mirror, and vanished.
Ryoko flew down and stuck her head through the door,
just to be sure. She startled a girl with long, magenta-colored
hair, who jumped two feet back, then grinned, displaying a
long fang.
"Hello there!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm Nuku-Nuku! Who
are you?"
"Ryoko," said Ryoko absently. She glanced up and down
the hallway, but Belldandy was nowhere to be seen. How had
she disappeared so quickly? Through the floor, perhaps?
"That sure is a neat trick," Nuku-Nuku continued. "How
do you do it?"
"Tell me," Ryoko said, "did the dorm president go by here
a moment ago?"
"You mean Belldandy?" the girl said. She paused, as if
the question required a great deal of thought. "Nooooo, I don't
think I've seen her recently," she said.
"Hmmm," Ryoko responded, and pulled her head back
into the room. She blinked, then floated back up to her bed.
"Who is she, anyway?" she asked.
Her roommate didn't answer.
***
"It was a demon," the woman said. "I heard 'em say it.
One of 'em was a demon killer."
"A demon hunter?" Ido asked.
"Yes! And there was one of 'em girls, with a big gash in
her side, and the demon killer girl made all this light glow
around her, and then she weren't injured no more!"
The old man beside her nodded enthusiastically. "That's
right! That's Right! I seen it myself! And not only that, there
was another girl that could fly and walk through walls!"
Daisuke Ido, Chief of Police for the small town, nodded
absently. He surveyed the damage to the sushi restaurant, then
turned back to the small group of witnesses.
"Did anyone see where Mr. Jihara went?" he asked.
Everyone shook their heads. "Demon got 'im, probably,"
someone muttered, to a chorus of assents.
Chief Ido nodded, and wrote their answers down.
Chief Ido was tall and thin, with a kind face shielded by a
brown hat with a floppy brim. He wore round, wire-rimmed
glasses that flashed when he turned, reflecting the streetlight.
His hair, when you could see it, was short and blond, and he
wore a heavy brown trench coat, belted in the middle and with
huge pockets. It was, perhaps, the sort that an inspector from
Scotland Yard might wear.
At least, that's what Chief Ido liked to think.
People liked Ido. He was warm, personable, and
trustworthy. He fit the mold of a small-town cop; everyone
knew his name, and relied on him like they relied on their own
parents.
He was also the sort of man that could stare into the face
of hell itself without flinching. At least, he liked to think he
was. In this small, sleepy district, he'd never really had the
chance to find out.
Ido finished taking statements, then excused himself and
stepped back into the restaurant.
The darkness outside was fading to gray, an indication
that dawn was only an hour or so away, but inside the building
it was still very dark. The beam of a flashlight swept the floor,
and Ido produced his own and turned it on. He stepped further
into the restaurant, his beam searching the floor for clues.
"Chief!" a voice called out. "I think I've found
something!"
Ido strode into the kitchen, and knelt to inspect the circle
of light created by his partner's flashlight. He reached out, and
carefully lifted something black and gooey from the restaurant
floor.
"What is it?" his partner, Gonzu, asked. "Grease? There
sure is a lot of it."
"Demon slime, perhaps," Ido said. He carefully placed it
in a plastic bag. "The forensics boys will know for sure."
"They know demon slime, do they?"
Chief Ido wasn't listening. He was staring at the carnage
that was once a small kitchen, and thinking hard about what
might have happened here.
No, he'd never had the chance to stare into the face of hell
without flinching. But he had the feeling that soon, very soon,
his opportunity would come....
***
To be Continued! Unless, of course, you'd rather I stop... ^_^
Note about the filk song for this chapter: this is based off
an old Irish/Scottish folk song, "Whiskey In The Jar", which
Metallica has recently released a recording of. It's been
covered by a lot of other bands, including Thin Lizzy and the
Celtic rock band Tempest, and there are a lot of different
versions of the lyrics (I like Tempest's version the best). I just
thought that a song about a "roving blade" (roving fist? roving
umbrella?) fit the wandering boy pretty well. ^_^
Chapter 6 is mostly written. Hopefully I'll get it out quickly.
It's not writer's block that prevents me from writing -- after all,
I've written six or so other stories since releasing Chapter 4 --
but I get in a habit of doing other things, and then I don't work
on my story for days at a time.
Xoom seems to be messing things up today -- it can't find my web page at
the moment. ^_^
Miko!
On the field, Kasumi and Akane were sitting up. Their father hovered
over them, tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping from his chin.
"Kasumi!" He exclaimed. "My poor Kasumi! Tell them you'll forfeit!
Please!"
"Dad?" Akane asked. She glanced over at Kasumi, and froze.
The person next to her wasn't Kasumi. It was a young girl with short,
dark hair in a page cut. She wore a light yellow dress, and she was
looking very confused.
Akane glanced down at herself. She was wearing a red silk Chinese-style
top, and black pants. Her chest was flat and muscular. She reached
behind her head, and found the pigtail that she knew was there.
She glanced back at the girl next to her... at herself... at Kasumi, in
her body.
With Akane's voice, Kasumi said, "Oh, my!"
(Ranma 1/2: Monkey Head Butting)
Nausicaa@sprynet.com Belldandy@angelic.com
Anime RPG at http://come.to/akane/
Fan Fiction at http://listen.to/bell/