�������������������������� The Leper: Symptoms
��������������������� by Nikholas "NomaD" F. Toledo
����� Ranma 1/2 is the property of Kitty, VIZ and the omnipotent Rumiko
Takahashi.� I am a property of Switch (so you know who to sue).
����� I am NomaD... I am coming... I am near.
����� By the way, this is a self-insertion.� My character had a past with
Ukyou, but not the kind you're thinking of.� And, because this is my
first Ranma fic, I'm gonna do some weird stuff like use Ryouga and Ukyou
but still keep Kuno, Tendo and Tofu.� But I'm really not sure.
����� This complete version was done with the support of Octavian and the
occasionals, all of whom have contributed to the formation of this fic.
��������������������������������� Part 5
������������������������������ "The Battle"
����� The air was tense in Furinkan High.� The entire student body was
bustling all over the place.� Everybody was eager to witness the battle
to come on the football field.
����� Nabiki was heading the betting stations once more.� This time, she
was determined to get back her loss and gain tenfold the amount.� This
event was big, if not predictable.
����� There was not a doubt in her mind that Kiiroi would lose once more.
����� After that training session with Ranma, she found out that Kii had
finally learned how to punch and she knew that this would excite the
fight a bit.� But Ranma was not happy - he knew that Kii would lose, but
he also knew that Kii wouldn't give up.
����� To Nabiki, all this honor business was a bunch of crap.� And this
bunch of crap would make her rich.
����� "C'mon, bet already...."
����� "But I really don't want to bet on Kiiroi, he's a wimp!� Tsubasa
can knock him out good in a minute and a dozen punches."
����� Nabiki was calm and enticing.� She knew she could swindle this guy
into betting.� Now it was time to juice it up.
����� "But I know something you don't."
����� "Really?� What...?"
����� "He was trained by Ranma."
����� The guy stepped back for a moment.� Then he gave Nabiki a doubtful
look.� Nabiki just played her cards and it was time to call her bluff.
����� "Hey, our dojo was half destroyed because of the special techniques
those two have been using.� If you don't believe me, you can ask Akane or
Ranma."
����� The guy's doubt turned to greed.� He immediately gave his allowance
to Nabiki.
����� Nabiki smiled at the sight of yen.� Just as long as nobody placed
bets on Tsubasa, she was sure to get all the winnings.
����� But not all the students were eager with anticipation.� Kiiroi was
amazingly calm.� He never showed any signs of fear or anxiety.� This
scared Ukyou very much.
����� Ukyou knew that Kiiroi was only doing this because he wanted to
fool everybody into thinking that he could actually beat Tsubasa.� Ukyou
knew that this was all for show.
����� Ranma wasn't anticipating the match itself but the aftermath.� He
was still considering whether or not it would be wise to save Kii at the
last moment.� That way, he got to fight Tsubasa and win.� But he thought
of Nabiki and knew this would disappoint her, since it meant spoiling the
bets.
����� Akane didn't have time to think of these matters, for she was too
busy with other things.
����� The class was trying to listen to the instructor speak amidst the
squealings of a frustrated black pig.� The teacher finally went over to
Akane's desk.� "Miss Tendo, could you please try to keep your pet
quiet?!?� I have been lenient by allowing you to come to class with that
thing!"
����� Akane kept her grip on P-chan.� The pig had been trying in vain to
get away and douse itself with hot water already.
����� "I can't help it, sir - my P-chan's been trying to get away since I
got here.� He was begging me for him to come to school with me this
morning.� Now I don't know what he wants and I can't make him calm down."
����� "Well, Miss Tendo... if your pig does not pipe down, then I'm
afraid I'll have to make you stand in the hallway!"
����� Akane walked out fuming.� The pig felt a bit guilty for using her
like this.� This was the only way he knew that he could get to the school
in time for the fight.� Once outside, he prayed to the gods for
forgiveness and bit his mistress on the hand.
����� Akane gave a startled shriek.� She looked back in the room and saw
that her teacher wasn't looking.� She immediately followed the pig just
in time to see it dart around a corner.
----------
����� "Hey, aren't you gonna follow her?"
����� "Huh?"� Ranma snapped out of his intellectual discourse with
himself.� He was tired of thinking anyway.
����� He turned to Daisuke.� "Whadya say?"
����� "Akane took off after the pig."
����� "Ahh, let her be.� That tomboy can handle herself.� Besides, I'm
with the pig, this class is boring!"
����� Ranma felt something hard hit him on the head.� He looked at his
desk where an eraser had landed.
����� The teacher glared at him.� "Mr. Saotome, if you think this class
is so boring then will you please step outside."
����� (I'd love to.)� Ranma stepped out smirking.
----------
����� Lunch came and went.� Everybody was trying to speed up time by
hurrying his or her lunch.� Ranma was eating like a pig, too, but that
was normal for him.� Nobody saw Kiiroi in the cafeteria.� Somebody heard
that Ukyou was looking for him.
����� On the school rooftop, Ryouga gazed down on the football field.
He'd stay there until the fight.� He wouldn't dare move.
����� "Hey, Ryouga!"
����� Ryouga jumped back, startled by the sound of his name.� He turned
to see Kiiroi emerge out of thin air, or so it seemed.
����� "Nice view."
����� It took a moment before Ryouga spoke.� "Hmm?� Oh, yeah, nice."
����� "Here for the fight?"
����� "Err, yeah...."
����� "It's okay, nothing to be ashamed of."
����� A breeze blew past them, there was an unmeasurable silence between
the two.
����� "So, what are YOU doing here?"
����� "I just needed some fresh air, you know, before the fight."
����� Ryouga studied Kiiroi's face for any glint of fear or uneasiness.
But his expression was calm and unwavering.
����� "You seem sure of yourself."
����� "I'm not.� In fact, I'm far from it."
����� "From what I've heard, your whole family line is a bunch of
cowards."
����� Ryouga kept his voice stern yet he tried not to sound challenging.
Kiiroi knew this and he knew that Ryouga asked this out of concern.
����� "Actually, no, we're not a bunch of cowards.� We just try to keep
away from fights as much as we can.� We're more of pacifists, really,
with a Taoist point of view.� I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm just not
looking forward to it.� If this is my fate, then I will accept it, no
matter the consequences."
����� Ryouga remembered something - he thought twice before asking.
����� "Is it true?� About you and Ukyou...."
����� "The engagement?� Partly, I guess.� We are engaged but Ukyou's not
exactly enjoying her life as my fianc�e."
����� This made Ryouga's heart leap.� He tried his best to keep his
excitement.� Kiiroi didn't seem to notice though.
����� The situation became awkward again.� Ryouga wanted to leave his
presence or something but he knew that he would probably get lost.
����� He heaved a sigh when Kiiroi waved goodbye and stepped back to the
stairs.
----------
����� "Hey, there she, er, he is!"
����� Nabiki's ears perked up.� She turned to see where he was.� She dove
into the crowd and tried to block the mob from the beautiful man in red.
����� Nabiki grabbed Tsubasa and took off from the crowd.
����� "Gee, thanks, Nabiki."
����� *huff*� "No prob.� Nice dress."
����� "Thanks, I wear this on special occasions.� How're the bets going?"
����� Nabiki actually blushed.� But she realized that she had nothing to
be ashamed of.� "It's all going well, actually.� Not in your favor
though, but that's just for profit."� Nabiki gave him a wink.
����� Tsubasa was a bit disappointed knowing that everybody would be
cheering for Kiiroi then.� He had to compensate somehow.� But when he
looked at Nabiki, he knew.
����� "What's in it for me?"
����� "I'm glad you asked.� You're gonna be doing that little trick of
yours, won't you?"
����� Tsubasa just nodded.
����� "Do you have things prepared for later?� To merge into I mean."
����� Tsubasa thought about it for a minute.� "No, not really.� I was
hoping to use anything that came in handy."
����� Nabiki placed a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder.� "Tsubasa, my friend,
this I will promise.� You'll most definitely have a couple of handy
things on the field."
����� The two disappeared into the shadows while discussing their baneful
plot.
----------
����� "Kii!"� *huff*� *huff*� "There you are!� Where the hell have you
been?� I've been looking everywhere for you."
����� Kiiroi turned and saw Ukyou coming up to him.� She grabbed him on
the shoulder and she leaned on him for a breather.� Ukyou was flushed and
sweating badly.� The worry was starting to disappear from her face.
����� Kiiroi just stared at his fianc�e's face.� "You know what, Ucchan?"
����� "No, what?"
����� "You look cute when you're all red."
����� Ukyou took her hand away from his shoulder.� She covered her
blushing face with her palms.� If it were Ranma who said this then, he
would've been half-conscious on the floor by now.� But he wasn't Ranma,
he was far from him.
����� Ukyou glanced up only to see that Kiiroi disappeared once more.
����� "Darn it!� Did he do that to throw me off?"
����� Her shade of red turned to that of frustration.� She checked the
school clock, only two hours left.
----------
����� A crowd was beginning to gather at the windows.� A flurry started
as people were pointing towards the ground.
����� Ukyou didn't bother looking - these windows have the ringside view.
But when she saw that even Ranma and Akane were looking outside with
extreme worry, she started panicking even more.
����� Ranma caught sight of her and waved her over.� "Ucchan... I think
you better see this...."
����� Ukyou peered over and was shocked at the sight before her.
����� "WHAT THE HELL?!?"
����� In the middle of the field was a vending machine.� It was obviously
unplugged and was perfectly normal, according to vending machine
standards.
����� But this wasn't what surprised Ukyou.
����� Beside the vending machine was a trash bin (note: bin, not can).
It was devoid of garbage but was a trash bin nonetheless.
����� But this wasn't what surprised Ukyou.
����� What caught her and everyone else's attention was the monster truck
parked beside the trash bin and the vending machine.
����� Ukyou just stared, not knowing what to say.
����� Akane and Ranma were thinking of the same thing.
����� "From those things in the field, it's as if..."
����� "... somebody wanted Kiiroi to lose."
����� The group's attention turned to the crowd once more as everyone
started pointing again.� They all looked and saw that the driver was
getting out.� Everybody's eyes widened.
����� "Why that's..."
����� "... my sister!"
����� Just then, the murmurs of the crowds died down as they heard the
final bell ring.
����� After a moment of silence, everybody raced for the stairs.
Everyone wanted to get a good seat before the fight started.
����� Ukyou and Ranma (who was carrying a protesting Akane) leapt from
the third floor down to the ground.� They found themselves a good spot
and waited for things to happen.
����� Nabiki was in the middle of the field together with her minions.
The older Tendo was handing out betting tickets.
����� Ukyou turned her gaze to a purple-haired Amazon emerging from the
crowd.� "Only she would have the gall...."
����� Shampoo was carrying a serving tray.� "Ramen!� Get your hot,
delicious ramen!"
����� Ukyou looked around and saw that Cologne was also watching.� Mousse
stood beside the old woman.
������ She also tried to look for somebody else, somebody she hoped to be
there.� He was there, she just didn't know this.
����� The two combatants were the only ones who were missing.
����� Nabiki Tendo waited for the crowd to quiet down.� She wanted this
to be perfect.� She wanted this to be action-packed and entertaining.
She wanted this to be profitable.
����� Her advocates waved back at her, signaling that the collections
have been made.� She smiled at herself - she was just too good.� She held
out a megaphone and began the competition.
����� "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!� WELCOME TO THIS NON-RANMA COMPETITION!!!"
����� There was an uproar from the crowd, indicating their approval.� It
had been sometime since somebody other than Ranma fought in Furinkan.
This made the betting public excited, knowing that the risk was greater,
since none of them knew what the fighters' styles were.� Nabiki was
clever enough though, since she was able to turn the tide in favor of
Kiiroi.
����� "INTRODUCING FIRST, THE CHAMPION.� THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GUY IN
NERIMA... SPORTING THE CRIMSON GOWN WITH THE WHITE RIBBON... THE
CHAMELOID MAN HIMSELF, TSUBASA KURENAI!!!"
����� The crowd booed in unison as Tsubasa entered from the far edge of
the field.� He smiled confidently as he walked towards Nabiki.� The two
gave each other a wink.
����� "AND NOW, THE CHALLENGER!� THE MAN WHO HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING
TRAINED BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS RANMA SAOTOME!� THE MAN WHO CAN MOVE WITH THE
SPEED AND SILENCE OF THE WIND... KIIROI NIWATORI!!!"
����� As if on cue, the crowd started parting.� Kiiroi walked forward as
the people gave him way.� He wasn't cheered on by the crowd.� Instead, he
was greeted by a respectful silence.
����� Everybody believed in his or her heart that Kiiroi would win.� Not
just because he was trained by Ranma but because they had learned to like
the guy, even though they've only known him for two days.
����� Besides, if he lost then they would've lost their bet and they'd
make sure that if Tsubasa failed to finish him off then they would finish
Kiiroi off for him.
����� The wind picked up and blew Kiiroi's and Tsubasa's hair aimlessly.
It looked like one of those western showdowns with only the tumbleweeds
missing.
����� As if on cue, the two brought out ribbons and tied their hair
simultaneously.� Tsubasa had a white ribbon while Kiiroi sported a black
one.
����� Nabiki looked at the two.� Tsubasa looked smug and confident while
Kiiroi looked annoyingly calm.
����� (Did I miss something?)� No, she quickly dismissed the idea.
����� "AND NOW, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!"
����� Tsubasa went behind the vending machine and, in a blink of an eye,
was the vending machine.� Kiiroi took his stance and readied himself to
receive the -
����� "CHAAAAARGE!!!"
����� The vending machine thundered on the ground as it approached its
target, trailing dust as it sped.� Kiiroi's breathing became hoarse.
����� Tsubasa lowered the vending machine to pick up more speed,
intending to ram Kiiroi.
����� Kiiroi was ready to sidestep but, at the last moment, Tsubasa
stopped his charge.
����� Kiiroi was struck off-balance - this was what Tsubasa hoped for.
����� "Gotcha."
����� From the slot of the vending machine, a can popped out and, with
amazing speed, hit Kiiroi squarely in the groin.
����� All the spectators grimaced with pain and gave a resounding 'oooh!'
����� Kiiroi stumbled down, holding his crotch.� He winced in pain and
was very disoriented.
����� Ranma and Ukyou didn't feel right.
����� "From the looks of things, this could get uglier."
����� Tsubasa took advantage of Kiiroi's sudden vulnerability.� He leapt
in the air and dropped the entire weight of the vending machine on the
fallen target.
����� Kiiroi's eyes popped out as the air rushed out from his lungs.� He
had to push Tsubasa away, but he knew that he wasn't that strong.
����� He gathered his courage and released his battle aura.� Faint as it
was, it was enough.
����� "MOKO TAKABISHA!!!"
����� A flash came forth from between the two masses.� It was not a
powerful energy ball, but it was enough to push the bulk of Tsubasa away.
����� Tsubasa was flipped back and fell flat on his back.
����� Kiiroi staggered as he tried to stand up.� He stared down and saw
the lower part of his shirt torn: the blast ripped a hole on the cloth.
����� He stared at the vending machine that was currently trying to get
up.� The front of the machine was dented.
����� (At least he won't be firing those damn cans anymore.)
����� Kiiroi took the opportunity and rained punches on the fallen
vending machine.� The blows didn't even scratch Tsubasa, but his armor
was starting to give.
����� One thing he had learned when dealing with Kiiroi was that the guy
had no strength.� There was only one approach to use.
����� Tsubasa thrust his hand forward and the metal ripped at his
strength.� Kiiroi kept his barrage even though it did little.� Tsubasa
took in Kiiroi's punches like one disregarding wind blowing on his face.
����� He lunged for Kiiroi's neck.� Grabbing it, he raised the guy from
the ground.
����� Kiiroi found it hard to breathe and had to stop striking.� He
clenched Tsubasa's hand, trying in vain to release the clutch.
����� Tsubasa saw Kiiroi turning pale and he smiled with satisfaction.
����� Kiiroi lifted his fist to strike a blow.� Tsubasa disregarded this
for he knew it was futile.
����� And here he was, excited about merging with the monster truck.
����� "Katsu..."
����� Tsubasa stared at Kiiroi, he seemed to be trying to draw air and
concentrate at the same time.
����� "... Tenshin..."
����� Kiiroi's fist came down fast, maybe even a bit too fast for his own
good.
����� "... AMAGURIKEN!!!"
����� Kiiroi struck.
����� To the crowd, it was only one.� But to Tsubasa, he heard the fist
break the sound barrier and felt it touch him at least a dozen times.
����� Tsubasa staggered back.� He suddenly felt the weight he was
carrying and threw it away.
����� The crowd cheered as the tide started turning.
����� Kiiroi landed on the dusty field while Tsubasa tried to regain his
stability.� Kiiroi saw the world with cracked lenses so he threw away the
glasses.� He wasn't used to this - he was already very tired, while
Tsubasa was only starting to break a sweat.
����� Tsubasa shook the grogginess off and made his way to the trash bin.
����� Kiiroi brought himself halfway up only to collapse again.� He tried
again, this time getting up on all fours.� He looked up to see a large,
green metal wall rushing towards him.
����� "CHAAAAARGE!!!"
����� Kiiroi squeezed out every ounce of confidence he had left and
produced another ball of energy.
����� "MOKO TAKABISHA!"
����� The ball hit the trash bin dead center but, due to the thicker
armor, it only managed to scratch Tsubasa and slow him down a little.� It
was like stopping a bull with a cape.
����� It was too late for Kiiroi, Tsubasa was too near, and there was no
room to dodge.
����� "Oh, shit...."
����� *WHAAAM!!!*
����� From the crowd, Ukyou fought back the desire to run to Kiiroi.� It
was his fight, but she couldn't take anymore of this.� Sometimes, honor
didn't count when there was a friend in need.
����� The crowd had lost their vigor, their expressions were only of
pity.� Kiiroi was indeed pitiful, fighting a battle he had no way of
winning from the start, but fighting it nonetheless.
����� The limp body sailed over the field and skidded on the ground.
Ukyou couldn't help herself and ran to Kiiroi but Ranma grabbed her.
����� "Ranma, let me go!� He's dying out there!"
����� "Well, let him die trying!� You know you can't interrupt: that's an
unspoken rule in challenges."
����� "But it's so unfair, Tsubasa's got all this stuff laid out for him
and Kii's got nothing!"
����� "... good point."� But people were already helping Kiiroi up.
����� Tsubasa just peeked out from under the bin's cover and watched the
event.� "How nice... that is so pathetic."
����� Kiiroi dusted himself and ran towards the center of the field.
Tsubasa noticed that Kiiroi wasn't just running, he was charging.
Tsubasa matched Kiiroi's charge and the two were head to head.
����� Ukyou had to force herself to watch.
����� At the last moment, Kiiroi sidestepped and Tsubasa's momentum just
made him lunge forward.� Kiiroi made it to the center and, from all the
rubble, got out what he wanted, a soda can.
����� "Kii!!!"
����� Kiiroi looked to his left and saw Ukyou waving to him.� Ukyou
hurled her spatula.� It whizzed in the air before landing in Kiiroi's
hand.
����� Tsubasa had regained his balance and was now turning around for the
next charge.
����� Kiiroi whirled the spatula with ease while setting himself to
receive the charge.
����� "CHAAARGE!!!"� Tsubasa rumbled at his approach - it sounded like a
western stampede.
����� Kiiroi held his position as Tsubasa trailed dust.� When the trash
bin assault was close enough, Kiiroi threw the can on the ground.
����� And as he hoped, Tsubasa tripped on the can and flew forward in the
air.
����� Kiiroi readied the spatula at the oncoming projectile.� He ducked
as the trash bin went over him.
����� Kiiroi sliced the air with incredible speed.
����� The trash bin crashed on the ground.� It stirred for a moment, then
Tsubasa stood up only to have his armor split in half and crash to the
ground once more.� Furthermore, his dress was now in shreds: all he was
wearing was a skirt and his undershirt.
����� Kiiroi was so tired, he had to lean on Ukyou's spatula.� He was
totally spent and he had no idea how to stop a monster truck.
����� "You ripped my dress!� That was my favorite, you jerk!"
����� Tsubasa stared at the monster truck with greed.� He touched the
gigantic wheel and slowly began to merge.
����� Kiiroi held the spatula with both hands.� He prepared himself for
the inevitable, even though the inevitable would hurt very, very much.
����� With the speed of a turtle, the truck trod across the ground.
����� The crowd watched with growing anticipation.
����� "How does he do that?"
����� "How can he carry all that weight?"
����� "Why don't he just drive it?"
����� Tsubasa pushed hard with all his strength but the truck wasn't
moving much.
����� A head stuck out to the front between the headlights.� "Hey,
Nabiki!� It won't move!"
����� Nabiki thought for a moment, then she knew.� "Did you take out the
hand brake?"
����� Tsubasa blushed and hid his head again.� After a satisfying click
from inside the body, the truck moved with relative ease, then shifted
from first gear to fifth.
����� Kiiroi just watched as the shadow of the towering vehicle loomed
over him.� He didn't know what to do.� He was too tired.� His brain was
cowering in fear as the sight of the oncoming truck stunned him.
����� Then he heard Ukyou's voice.� (What is she saying?)� Something
like...
����� "RUN, YOU JERK!!!� GET OUT OF THE WAY!� KII, GET THE HELL OUT OF
THE WAY!!!"
����� At the last moment, Kiiroi's legs leapt to the side without the
rest of the body realizing what they did.
����� Tsubasa's head stuck out the rear of the truck and saw that he
missed.� More clicks were heard from inside the truck as it shifted to
reverse.� The truck sped towards Kiiroi and there was nothing he could do
but flee.
����� The truck easily flattened the remains of the vending machine and
the trash bin.
����� Kiiroi ran as fast as he could, and for a Niwatori, that was pretty
fast.� Kiiroi easily outran the monster truck (in reverse) but he was
running out of space.� What's more, Kiiroi was getting tired while the
truck kept its speed.
����� "If only I can slow it down somehow... that's it!"
����� Kiiroi quickly reversed his direction and charged the oncoming
behemoth.� At the last moment, Kiiroi regretted his decision.� But he
managed to slip between the wheels.
����� He paid the price when the dust blinded him, but he managed to do
his plan.� Now, Kiiroi was blinded totally, but the odd thing was, he
wasn't holding the spatula anymore.� He had nothing to wipe his eyes with
and he stumbled to the ground.� He tried to feel his way with his hands.
����� Kiiroi could hear the roar of the monster truck.� It would be
charging anytime now, Kiiroi hurried his searching.
����� He found the wet grass, the reeking smell of gasoline emanating
from it.
����� Now, if he only had a match.
����� The roar of the truck grew louder.� Kiiroi was blind, weak and
helpless.
����� "... but I can still do a puffball...."
����� Through the darkness, Kiiroi smiled at himself.� This was the
end... of him?� He would never know.
����� "Moko..."
����� Tsubasa saw the trail of gasoline and shifted to a higher gear, he
was trying to overtake the energy ball.
����� "... Takabisha!"
����� The fist-sized puffball slowly descended on the gasoline.
����� It was too late, for both of them.
����� Kiiroi tried to crawl away, and Tsubasa tried to merge out of the
truck, but they were too late.
����� Everybody ducked for cover as the trail of firelight made its way
toward the approaching metallic bomb.
����� The explosion was blinding and deafening.
����� The ball of fire turned to black smoke as bits of scrap metal
started raining on the field.
����� The crowd ran away in fear for their lives.
����� The field was covered with heavy smoke.
����� Ukyou winced as the smoke stung her eyes.� She sighed in relief as
she heard coughs from inside the dark fog.
����� Kiiroi stayed low on the ground, but not because he was trying to
breathe easier.� It was because he could hardly move anymore.
����� He couldn't feel the lower half of his body but he could feel the
heat of his burning back.� He quickly rolled on the ground and
extinguished the flame.� Even though he wasn't burning anymore, he could
still feel the sting of the gasoline as it seeped through his burnt skin.
����� He wanted to breathe in air but this made him choke all the more.
He was at least thankful that he was blinded and couldn't see his hair -
it was probably short and wiry by now.
����� He anchored his arm to the ground but immediately collapsed again
from the jolting pain that shot up his shoulder.� His right shoulder was
dislocated.
����� He analyzed his situation through blind eyes.� "I'm blind, crippled
and without my fighting arm... not much for optimism but..."
*coughcough* "... at least I still have my left arm."
����� The smoke slowly cleared as if the winds were summoned by the gods
themselves.
����� The crowd began emerging from their hiding places and approaching
the field.� All of them were taken aback by the sight they saw.
����� Among the blackened grasses of the football field lay the body of
an almost dead man.� In the middle was the scorched remains of a monster
truck.� Across that was Tsubasa Kurenai, in his undershirt and shorts,
unscathed.
����� Kiiroi jerked his head towards the direction of clapping hands.
����� "Bravo, Kiiroi!� Bravo indeed!� I never expected you to last this
long, even if you were trained by the famed Ranma Saotome.� You have
earned my respect but not my mercy.
����� "Does Ukyou really mean that much to you?!?� Is all this worth
it?!?� You had lost, my friend, even before we began.� Fighting only
prolonged the inevitable.� Now, you can take your honor and your cowardly
bloodline out of Nerima!
����� "But first, I shall finish you off... for good!"
����� Ukyou jumped back in shock, she stared at Ranma for an answer.
����� "No, Ucchan, he's not gonna kill him..."
����� Ukyou sighed in relief...
����� "... he's gonna cripple him, permanently."
����� Ukyou felt the world turning around her.� She couldn't keep herself
up.� If only she could stop this.� Damn the martial-artist's pride.� She
knew that aiding Kiiroi would only make him hate her.� That would be...
dishonorable.
����� Tsubasa wanted to finish him off, all right.� But he wanted to do
it with style.� He looked around but there was nothing left to merge
with.� Then he felt something big looming above him.
����� The crowd started looking up and pointing as a dark, gigantic
shadow blocked out the afternoon sun.
����� "Look!� A sperm whale is falling from the sky!"
����� "... and a... and a... a bowl of petunias?!?"
����� The last thing the sperm whale saw before it hit the ground was a
sole figure in the crowd.� It was an English man, in his pajamas.� He
remembered the face, and he started remembering the name.� It managed to
sing out in its guttural voice something unidentifiable to humans.� To
whales however, this would translate to 'I'll get you next time Arthur
Dent!� Next ti-!'� *THUD!*
����� And thud it did.� It lived a short life and a meaningless one...
but that's another story.
����� People panicked and called out, all at the same time.
����� Kiiroi couldn't make it out but whatever it was that crashed on the
ground, it was large enough make him bounce a couple of times.
����� Deep in his mind, he knew.� It was his last resort, and he knew
that the time was now.
����� Tsubasa looked at the two figures that dropped from the sky.� He
looked at the bowl of petunia then shifted his gaze to the massive bulk
of whale meat.� It would stink, but it was worth it.
����� Amidst everybody's sight, Kiiroi carefully took off (with his
mouth) the bandages surrounding the fingertips of his left hand, his only
working limb.
����� Tsubasa gave all his strength into lifting this newly acquired
hide.� He had never lifted anything this big and this unusual.� The
vending machine and trash bin were light enough, and the monster truck
had wheels.
����� (But a whale?)� It had... fins?
����� Slowly, the whale rose and covered the silent crowd with its huge
shadow.� It pivoted even slower as it aimed for the limp body that lay on
the ground.
����� Everybody felt the bile build up at the pit of their stomachs.
����� It slowly made its descent, letting gravity take hold of it.
����� The wind parted beneath the massive creature with a great whoosh.
����� Kiiroi lay flat on his belly.� He could feel the leviathan descend
upon him.
����� With the same dramatic speed, he drove all five fingers of his left
hand, his only working appendage, down onto the burnt grass and into the
parched earth and, with great vengeance, shouted the words -
����� "BAKUSAI..."
����� Ryouga swallowed.
����� Ukyou held her breath.
����� Ranma cried out in alarm.
����� Akane was in shock.
����� Cologne closed her eyes...
����� "... TEN... KE... TSU!!!"
����� For that brief moment, a great white light enveloped Kiiroi and
then -
---------------
end of Part 5
---------------
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