Insertion

    Part 86

    The Mysterious Youths...

+++++++++++++++++++

    Trunks lay on the ground unmoving, and the remains of Buu were
scattered across the ground. It was deathly silent and nothing could
be heard, not even the wind.

    "It's over?" muttered Trunks as he looked at the fallen pink blobs
of liquid on the ground and frowned.

    Hotaru frowned slightly and looked at the boy for a moment. "I
still feel a strong power, he's still alive."

    Tenchi gasped and looked at her for a moment. "What?"

    "Be prepared, Trunks can't help us right now," said the girl as
she gave her master a sidelong glance for a moment.

    Almost in response to that, the small pink blobs began to quiver
on the ground violently.

    "Shit!" snapped Ryoko. "It didn't kill him?!" She had no illusions
about their power, Trunks was the strongest of all of them. Still,
their combined might be able to let them fight the thing.

    Tenchi's frown deepened as he watched the pink substance slide
together. "Damn."

    "Can we stop it?" asked Ryoko as she watched it begin to form
together. She blasted one of the pink blobs with a bolt of ki,
transforming as she did so. There was a huge explosion and the pink
blob emerged from the smoke on the other side unscathed. "Damn!"

    Hotaru and Tenchi tried a similar tactic, but had the same
results. The blobs were seemingly immune from their power somehow.
"This isn't working!" growled the senshi irritably.

    "Heh, pathetic," said Buu as his body neared completion. "You're
no match for me fools."

+++++++++++++++

    Akane sat at her desk with a scowl on her face as she glared at
the screen in front of her. Things hadn't been going well for them
lately. "What's wrong with Ranma? Why are we driving back the Youma
Lords so easily? Why haven't we seen many of the weaker Youma?" Her
face scrunched up in irritation. They had run into a few of the lesser
monsters, but lately the things were alone. When they encountered the
Youma Lords, it was as if they were operating independently of the
other monsters. The lesser creatures were gathering energy, while the
Youma Lords seemed more intent on making a big mess and causing
casualties. "This doesn't add up."

    "Thinking again?" asked Nephrite as he strolled into the room and
sat on the edge of her desk.

    Akane glanced up at him and her frown deepened. "A lot of what's
going on isn't adding up," she replied carefully.

    "We'd noticed that too, I think Ranma knows more than he's letting
on, but he isn't talking."

    The girl sighed at this, but nodded her head. "You're right.
Ranma's been keeping to himself lately. He doesn't even go to school."

    "Speaking of which..." said Nephrite playfully.

    "Yeah, I know. I should get going," replied the girl with a
slightly tired sigh.

    "Right," agreed the man with a somewhat cheerful smirk.

    Akane closed down her computer and stood up to go to the
transporter room. It was still early in the morning, and she hadn't
gotten more than an hour's worth of sleep in the past few days.

++++++++++++++++++++

    "My baby!" cried Soun as Akane walked into the door and found
herself tackled by her father in a rough hug.

    "DAAAAADDDD!" muttered the girl in embarrassment.

    "Oh! You're home Akane!" exclaimed Nabiki.

    Genma snorted at her. "Where is that worthless son of mine?"

    "I haven't seen him since last night," replied the girl as she
gave him an unreadable gaze.

    Genma nodded at this, his interest was minimal at the moment.
"What about your sister?"

    Akane shook her head. "Still no sign of her."

    Soun hung his head, he had brightened up slightly at the mention
of it, but it faded in an instant at Akane's answer.

    The girl frowned at him a little. "Don't worry Dad, we'll find
him."

    Soun nodded silently and shuffled back to the table.

    Kasumi fretted worriedly and gave her little sister somewhat
nervous glances. "Akane, are you sure you can..."

    "I trust these people more than anyone," she replied as she gave
her sister a very slightly irritated glance. "One way or another, we
will find her."

    "All right," said the older girl as she turned away. Akane
wouldn't talk about her job, or the people there at all. She defended
their trust with an unwavering consistency though. Truth be told, she
was somewhat envious of her sister for having people she thought she
could trust that much. It also worried her slightly that she did trust
these people as much as she did.

    "The boy is slacking off," growled Genma as he looked at the dojo.
It hadn't been used by anyone in a very long time.

    Akane frowned at this, but ignored the man. He seemed somewhat
irritable when speaking about his son, but that was normal anyway.
Ranma seemed to have left him alone and gone off to live his own life,
and Nodoka hadn't been around either. She was trying to kill him
before, not it seemed like she had forgotten he existed at all. She
hadn't seen her 'Auntie' for some time now. Genma was miserable
without any contact from his family, and Ranma hadn't actually been to
the dojo in almost a week.

    "Poor guy," she muttered as she turned to go to her room, she
could worry about it later, as it was now, she had to get ready for
school.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    "Today's the day?" asked one of the two teens that stood outside
the dojo. He had spiky black hair and a serious frown on his face as
he glared at the door.

    "That's right," agreed his companion. He was a boy of about the
same age, his face was a cold and seemingly indifferent, and his long
brown bangs hid his face from view. "It all starts today."

    "We rest while we can then, we don't know when the next time we'll
be able too after he finds out about us," replied the shorthaired boy.


    His companion nodded silently.

    "What are you two talking about? Who are you?" growled Pluto as
she appeared behind them with a cold frown on her face. "What are you
doing here?"

    "You'll see," said the shorthaired boy as he smirked at her.
"Later Puu!" He seemed to vanish into thin air.

    The longhaired boy watched her for a moment with a smirk on his
face. "Don't you have somewhere else to be Pluto?"

    The woman scowled at him angrily. "I..."

    "She's waiting for you, stop being a chicken and go see your
daughter," replied the boy as he vanished as well.

    The woman stared at the space they had once occupied and gave a
frustrated snort. "What do they know...I..." She hung her head in
shame. "I can't face her yet..."

    "That's too bad, mother," said a calm voice from behind her.

    Pluto slowly turned and gasped. Tsuki was standing behind her with
the coldest frown she'd ever seen on the girl's face. "Tsuki..."

    "Mother," replied the girl icily.

    "What?" muttered Pluto as she stared at the girl's dress. She was
wearing her senshi uniform and had a familiar object in her grip.

    "Pluto!" said Pluto as she stepped back.

    "That's right. You're going to retire soon," replied the girl in
front of her calmly. "And you're going to leave those two alone."

    "What?" gasped the elder Pluto in shock.

    "In any case, they are right. You can't avoid me forever, Mother,"
the younger Pluto gave her an unreadable smirk.

    "I...I can't face her yet! She..."

    "I've already heard all your excuses about this," replied Tsuki
calmly as she turned away.

    "What are you doing here? Our responsibility..." said the elder
Pluto as she stepped forward.

    "Responsibility be damned!" snarled Tsuki. "I will not...  I
cannot allow that future!"

    "But..."

    "Are you any better?" replied Tsuki calmly.

    Pluto stared at her for a moment, with her jaw hanging down. "Well
I..."

    Tsuki snorted. "Crystal Tokyo indeed..."

    "I'll have you know that..."

    "I've heard all your excuses for that mess," said Tsuki as she
smirked at her.

    "Mess?!!" cried Setsuna in shock. "I'll have you know, young lady,
that I..."

    "Look where your 'Crystal Tokyo' has gotten you now," said Tsuki
calmly.

    Setsuna had no reply to that.

    "Mother, go home. There's little you or I can do now. Just...go
home." The younger Pluto started to  walk away and turned to smile at
her. "Remember what I've said. You won't see me again."

    Setsuna nodded slowly and stepped back.

    "Stay out of the way, this is beyond even you," said Tsuki as she
vanished into a porthole that lead into the time stream.

++++++++++++++++++

    Tsuki bowed deeply before a great throne and leveled her gaze on
the woman sitting in front of her. "Yes my Queen."

    "Good," replied the woman calmly. She leaned forward and smiled at
Tsuki in an almost motherly way. Her long pink hair flowed down to the
floor and cascaded down the stairs that lead up to the seat slightly.
"So, we have ensured our future?"

    "That's up to them," replied Tsuki calmly. "I cannot interfere any
more than I have."

    "Very well, I have faith in those two," replied the woman calmly.
Her gaze turned to the window that led outside. The sky was a deep
red, and the city below was shrouded in shadow from the dawn.

    Tsuki made a small snort as she watched Chibi-Usa stand and walk
towards the door. Her tail was coiled around her waist and she had a
slightly vicious air to her smirk. She fingered the crystal that
rested inside her brooch idly and left her in the throne room alone.
"I think I'll go see if Ryo-chan want's to play."

    Tsuki stood up after she left, that woman still bothered her.
Still, at least she had a position to hold after all this time. With a
heavy sigh she hung her head and opened another porthole. Pluto was
long gone, but the time gates had been rebuilt at least. Now residing
on Phobos, one of the two artificial satellites created in the Silver
Millenium in order to restore the lunar balance after Diamos was
destroyed by Genaku all those years ago.

    "Bastard," thought Tsuki irritably as she remembered the man
responsible for the destruction of the planet. Ranma Saotome would get
what was coming to him, unfortunately, she had nothing to do with it.
It was still somewhat comforting to think about it though.

++++++++++++++++++++

    Hotaru glared at the thing in front of her as it giggled madly and
cocked its head at her. "Well, are you just going to stand there? I
might get bored and decide to just blow up the planet."

    Tenchi growled angrily at this and stepped back.

    "Ryoko, it's time," said Hotaru calmly.

    The woman blinked at her and didn't seem to understand for a
moment.

    "Get ready," said Hotaru as she walked up beside the woman.

    Buu frowned and stepped back. Hotaru's power was actually
dropping? Something wasn't right. The other woman's power was rising,
but Hotaru was far superior. "What are you doing?" it grumbled to
itself.

    Tenchi moved in front of them and put his hands up, the Wings of
the Light Hawk came to life and he frowned at the thing for a moment.

    "You're going to fight me? Don't be absurd!" guffawed Buu.

    "No, my job is to keep you away, I'm not strong enough to fight
you," said the boy simply. He shook his head from side to side slowly.

    "What?" muttered Buu in confusion.

    Hotaru and Ryoko were standing next to each other in a ready pose.
Buu blinked when they started to dance. "What the hell? Have they gone
insane?" He grunted as he was forced to shield his eyes as a bright
flash of light filled his vision. "Argh!"

    What emerged from the flash was definitely something different.
"Fusion dance?!" he muttered as he stared at the woman before him.

    "Heh. That's right monster," said the dual voice of the figure
floating in front of him. She had a thick mane of spiky dark blue
hair, a long slender body, and a pair of violet eyes. Her smirk was
cold, and her face looked very youthful despite her figure. "I am
Ryokaru, and you're dead meat." She pointed at the thing with a brash
confidence in her tone.

    "Heh," chuckled Buu. "It doesn't matter how strong you become.
You'll never beat me!"

    Ryokaru screamed as she flexed her arms at her sides and powered
up. Within a few seconds time she had golden hair and deep blue eyes,
not a new trick really. However, she paused for a moment and smirked
at Buu. "Let's push it a bit further shall we?"

    "Hurry up. I can't do this all day," grumbled Tenchi.

    Ryokaru snorted at this, but nodded. "You're no fun Tenchi-chan."

    The boy flushed at the name but remained focused on his shield.

    Buu knew better than to try and break through the Wings of the
Light hawk. He simply watched and waited.

    Ryokaru grunted in effort and screamed again as her power rose
even further. "Haaaaa!!!" She had grown larger, more muscular, and her
hair was slightly larger and had more pronounced spikes in it. "Level
two!" she said as she glared at Buu.

    "Are you finished yet?" said Buu and Tenchi at the same time.

    Tenchi blushed and Buu frowned at him. "I know where this is going
you know. Just go to level three so we can start!"

    "Three?" said Ryokaru in confusion. "You mean there's a -third-
level!!??" Her eyes were wide as she stared at the thing in front of
her for a moment.

    Buu worked his jaw open and closed dumbly. "You mean...you didn't
know?!"

    "Great! I think I'll try!" said the woman cheerfully as she mulled
over it for a moment. "I mean, I didn't think I could get much better
than this, but now that you mention it, I do have a bit more room."

    Buu slapped himself on the forehead.

    Ryokaru grunted in effort, her hair pushed further and further
down her back, finally stopping just above her feet. She had grown
even larger and the golden power around her seemed to be almost too
bright to look at. When it died down, her eyebrows were gone and she
had an even more arrogant looking smirk on her face.

    Tenchi gasped in shock as the Wings of the Light Hawk shattered as
he was thrown forward and landed at Buu's feet. He scrambled away as
quickly as he could, aware of the surging wave of power that poured
off the figure behind him. "No way!" he stammered.

    Buu was too busy staring at the thing in front of him to care
about Tenchi. "This is...great!"

    Even Ryokaru had to pause at that.

    "A real fight at last! Come on!" said Buu as he charged forward.

++++++++++++++++++++

    Akane walked into the gates of Furinkan High in her school
uniform. It was quiet and relatively normal for the most part. The
level of excitement had dropped dramatically since Ranma had stopped
attending. She had briefly considered halting her education until the
threat had passed, but the pigtailed boy had insisted that she
continue. She supposed he was right, but she had been forced to cut
several times due to an attack. Luckily, her memory eraser made that a
little easier to deal with.

    She glanced around the grounds for a moment, not really paying
much attention. When she reached the tree where Kuno usually emerged,
she paused and sighed. "Another day."

    "Akane Tendo," said a familiar voice from behind the trunk.

    "Kuno, good morning," she said lazily.

    "Today is the day I prove my love to you at last, by defeating you
in honorable combat." The boy stepped from behind the trunk and smiled
at her.

    Akane sighed, she didn't care much for Kuno, but the battle with
him in the morning was actually beneficial to her. Her skills were
kept sharp, no doubt saving her more than once on the job. "Come on
then, let's get started." She smirked to herself as she prepared
herself. She knew that Kuno was no longer able to hold back against
her. Her skill had grown too much over the past few months. Battling
Youma will do that to a person, especially without the benefit of
magic to help her. She almost wished Kuno was strong enough to take a
few blasts, then she might have been able to use this as target
practice as well.

    "Today, shall truly be our final battle," said Kuno as he narrowed
his eyes at the girl. His wooden sword was held ready and he gave her
a smile that was a little more vicious than normal.

    "Yeah, I wish," she grumbled under her breath.

++++++++++++++++

    Two boys stood outside the gates watching the scene. The
longhaired boy turned to his companion and smirked. "So, this is where
it all begins?"

    "Right, get ready," replied the spiky haired youth.

    "I've been ready for this for a long time," replied his companion.

++++++++++++++++

    Akane avoided a quick strike from the older boy with his wooden
blade, it was getting easier and easier to beat him. The girl casually
sidestepped a blow from above and planted her fist in his gut, sending
the older boy doubling over in pain. Kuno fell to his knees and gasped
for breath.

    "Humph, you're not even worth my time these days Kuno," said the
girl as she snorted and started to walk away.

    "Hold! The battle is not yet finished my love!" said Kuno as he
staggered to his feet and smiled at her weakly.

    Akane frowned, the boy wasn't usually smiling after a blow like
that. Something was up, and she was getting a chill down her spine.

"Your skills grow ever stronger my love, almost equal to mine!"
exalted the boy with tears in his eyes. "Truly a match by the gods
themselves! Today is the day that I prove my love and allow you to
date me at last!" Kuno reached into his shirt.

    Akane gasped at the sight of the wooden mask the boy pulled from
inside his robes. A memory trickled into her mind, she had seen the
mask before, and the result of its power. "How did he...?"

    Before she could react, Kuno had placed the mask on his face. It
seemed to liquefy as it absorbed his head and began to turn green.
After a moment, thunder rumbled in the sky above and dark clouds
appeared out of nowhere.

    "Kuno! Where did you get that!?" demanded Akane angrily.

    "No!" cried Gosunkugi as he staggered out of the nearby bushes
with a panicked looking face. "Kuno! You don't know what you're
doing!" Akane spared him a passing glance but quickly focused her
attention on the Kendoist.

    The figure that had once been Tatewaki Kuno laughed; it was a
horrible sound. "I, the Mighty Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall
defeat you at last! Then we shall be joined as one!" His face was
sharper than the familiar figure that had worn it before. Kuno had
become more muscular and a wild fire burned in his eyes, a lust a
thousand times greater than Akane had known before.

    "Oh shit," she muttered as she stepped back.

    Kuno dove forward, his sword lashed out at her and she jumped
away. The speed was incredible, Kuno shattered the ground, creating a
huge crack in the earth where she had once stood. "Fear not Akane
Tendo! We shall be wed this very day!"

    The girl staggered back and kicked at the thing, her foot impacted
on his chest and she was thrown to the ground by the force of her own
strike. Kuno hadn't even felt it.

    "A love tap," said Kuno as tears began to form in his eyes. He
reached for her as she lay on the ground. "Come my darling! Let us..."

    Akane screamed as the thing puckered up its lips as it held her
down with one arm on her shoulder. "What are you doing! Get away!"

    If Kuno heard her, he didn't react. He forced his lips onto hers
as she struggled.

    Akane couldn't move, she struggled and tried to throw him off, but
it was as if he was rooted to the ground. He pressed his body down
against hers as he kissed her. "At last, I have conquered my tigress!"
he lamented as he broke the kiss. "I have accepted her innocent kiss!
Now, I shall make her mine forever!"

    The student body looked on in horror at the scene. Akane was
struggling harder than ever, but couldn't muster the strength to
remove the boy from on top of her. No one moved, whether it was out of
fear or disbelief no one could really say. Finally, one of the girls
stepped forward.

    "No! What is he doing?" A ripping sound seemed to fill the air as
Akane's shirt started too rip off.

    The girl went very still suddenly, the right side of her bra
exposed suddenly as the green headed monster tore though the top of
her uniform with a quick tug.

    Akane froze, her struggling ceased quite suddenly.

    Kuno had tears of joy in his eyes as he looked at her. "Oh! You
accept me!"

    "Get off me," said the girl firmly. There was a flash of light
from between their bodies. A spray of red showered the air behind
Kuno's back and the boy blinked at her. He sat up slightly, still
pinning her to the ground, surprise clear on his features.

    Akane managed to free her arms and was now holding a chrome-plated
weapon against his chin. A look of complete rage was clear on her
features. "Bastard."

    "It seems there is a spell keeping your heart from expressing its
true feelings! I know a way to break this spell," said Kuno as he
grinned at her. His crotch pressed up against hers.

    Akane's eyes narrowed as she felt his arousal, she pulled the
trigger on the weapon and Kuno's head went flying away. It landed
against a nearby tree.

    Akane gasped as the body remained still, keeping her against the
ground. The head rolled upright on its own and frowned at her.
"Forgive me Akane Tendo, the spell must be broken."

    "No!" screamed the girl as she renewed her struggles as Kuno
started to grab what was left of her clothing.

    The student body would not approach the scene. Fear and horror
were now the only reactions. The scene before them would be the stuff
of nightmares for years to come.

    "I think that's about enough of that, Loki," said a calm voice
from the gates.

    "Eh?" said Kuno's head as it turned to glare at the boy who stood
glaring at him.

    The body froze as it tugged on Akane's bra and she gasped as she
turned to look at the stranger.

    "Who the hell are you?" said Kuno's head.

    The boy had short spiky black hair and a smirk on his face. "My
name? I don't give it to just anyone..."

    "Stuff it Gohan! We don't have time for this!" said the other boy
as he walked up to his companion's side.

    "Why you!" snarled the boy angrily.

    "Rice? That guy's name is Rice?" muttered one of the nearby
students in confusion.

    "Damn it Trunks!" snapped Gohan irritably as he seemed to forget
about the scene in front of him for a moment.

    "Bastard! How dare you call me that!" snapped Trunks angrily.

    Kuno rolled his eyes and forced his body to continue what it was
doing.

    The two boys snapped out of their stupor and glared at the thing
hatefully.

    "Let's kick his ass," said Gohan.

    "We're going to have a long talk about this later," growled Trunks
irritably.

    "Damn right we are!" agreed Gohan.

    Akane never knew what hit her after that was said, but she knew
Kuno wasn't on top of her anymore. She blinked and staggered to her
feet, holding her uniform closed with one arm and gripping the weapon
in her hand with the other. "Who the hell are you?" she grumbled as
she stared at the pair for a moment, daring to take her attention away
from Kuno for a moment.

    "We'll discuss this later, right now, we've got bigger problems,"
said Trunks as he frowned at Kuno's prone body. The boy was standing
right next to Akane with a scowl on his face.

    The thing had found its head again and was glaring at the pair.
Its body was now undamaged and power seemed to burn around it.

    "He's too strong," growled Akane. "We're going to need help."

    "Nah, we got it covered," said Trunks as he smirked at her.

    Gohan appeared at his side and smacked him in the back of his
head. "Have you forgotten who you're talking too? Quit flirting and
kill the monster."

    "Flirting?" muttered Akane dumbly.

    "Right," muttered Trunks in embarrassment.

    "Face the wrath of the Blue Thunder of Furninkan High!" roared
Kuno as he charged.

    "Not today Loki!" snapped Gohan as he met the charge head on.

++++++++++++++++++

    Tenchi stared at the thing above them and watched the fight.
Ryokaru was fighting Buu full force. Her blows rained down on the
creature and it seemed to be something of a standoff.

    "Get him!" he growled as he waited patiently. Buu still had a
stupid grin on his face, while Ryokaru's face was much more serious.

    "Damn! No matter how hard she hits him, it doesn't seem to hurt
him!" grumbled Tenchi. "What's going on? He doesn't feel that strong!"
The boy's mind worked on the problem. "I'm missing something! I know
it, but what?"

    Ryokaru spun into a kick that slammed into Buu's head, sending him
spinning away in the air. The thing slammed into the surface of the
planet, seeming to conform and flatten against the ground for a moment
before bouncing back. "Heh. Pathetic. You can't hurt me."

    "Damn!" growled the woman as she glared at it. Her eyes flicked
towards Tenchi for a second. He was a good distance away, and Buu
couldn't hurt him as long as he was being distracted. The boy's Light
Hawk Wings should easily block anything sent towards the boy. However,
she also knew that he couldn't really help her.

    "Have you figured it out yet? You're running out of time," said
Buu calmly as he smirked at her.

    "Damn," growled Ryokaru. The monster was right, she had about five
minutes of fusion left. "I've got to do something! After this fails,
we're all screwed!"

    Buu formed a ball of pink light in his hand and grinned at her.
"It's over." He paused as he noticed the light in his hand flicker
slightly. It was a weak energy. "But...the planet's power is..." His
eyes went wide as he realized that the power he was using was
concentrated on a single point now. "Impossible!"

    "RYOKARU! GET OUT OF THERE! SPIRIT BOMB!" cried a voice from above
them.

    "WHAT?!" cried Buu in shock as he turned his head towards the sky.
Hidden in the sun a figure floated smiling at him. A ki ball the size
of a starship floated above his head. "Damn it!"

    Trunks laughed as he launched his attack. The sphere of ki
rocketed towards Buu and slammed into the ground with explosive force.
The creature screamed in agony as it writhed within the light.

    "HA!" chuckled Trunks as he concentrated the attack on a single
point. "We may not be able to hurt you with a punch, but I sure as
hell can evaporate you Buu!"

    "What?" said Ryokaru as she paused and watched the scene from a
short distance away. The Spirit Bomb turned a bright red color and the
thing's screams grew weaker from inside. "How did?"

    Tenchi was watching her and smiling slightly. "It's working!"

    Trunks finally unleashed the attack and it exploded outwards.
Sending shockwaves away from the surface of the planet in every
direction.

    Ryoko, Tenchi, and Trunks struggled against the energy as it
blasted outwards. Sending a ring of power blasting away from the
planet's surface and into space. When it all cleared, they were lying
on the ground in the dust.

    Trunks staggered to his feet first and smirked. "It worked!"

    "What the hell?" grumbled Ryoko as she stood up next, Hotaru was
beside her clutching her head.

    "Oooh, what happened?" muttered the younger girl.

    "You didn't really think I was stupid enough to use all my power
at once do you?" replied Trunks calmly as he glanced at the trio.

    "But you..." stammered Tenchi.

    "I used most of my energy for that blast, but I held back a
little. I needed Buu to think I wasn't a threat, that attack takes a
very long time to charge."

    "But, we blasted him before, your attack didn't even hurt him!"
said Ryoko dumbly. "He just fixed himself and..."

    "My attack never hit him, none of the blasts we used did," replied
Trunks as he shook his head. "The reason we couldn't hurt Buu is
simple, he was never solid."

    "What?" said Hotaru. She blinked and looked at her fist for a
moment. "But, I felt my fist connect."

    "It's pretty simple. You were moving so fast that his body felt
solid when you hit it. We were trying to beat a puddle of water to
death. If we had used a slow attack, we would have passed right
through him."

    "Like the blasts?" asked Tenchi.

    "Sort of, he was just making holes in himself for them to pass
through. The Spirit Bomb was too big for him to do that. It took me
the longest time to figure that out. I noticed the ripples in his body
when he was fighting Ryokaru. From the front end you couldn't see it,
but if you looked at his back, he was always spattering everywhere."

    "Come to think of it, she was always between me and him, for the
whole fight!" commented Tenchi.

    "Right," said Trunks as he smirked at them. "I bided my time and
played dead for a few minutes. Once Buu started to ignore me, I went
into the sky and started collecting power for the Spirit Bomb. I had
to stop whenever he tried to use a Ki blast, so he wouldn't notice me
using his power source. Once I had finished, it was too late for him
to do anything about it."

    "So, what happened to him?" asked Tenchi. "I don't see anything
left."

    "He evaporated, not even he can recover from that. It took an
enormous amount of power for him to recover from just blowing himself
into little pieces."

    "So, we did it?" asked Tenchi in shock.

    "Yeah, we did. Hang around me a bit more, and you'll get used to
it," said Trunks as he winked at the boy and started walking away.

    Hotaru sighed with relief and started after him.

    "Where the heck are we going?" asked Ryoko as she glanced up at
the sky and saw the flaming trails of the populace of the planet
returning into the atmosphere.

    "Where else? We gotta go back and meet everyone," said Trunks as
he smirked at her. "We've still got a lot of work to do, Jurai is safe
now, so we can get back on schedule."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Kuno roared in anger as he found his arms held back by the
mysterious figure. The boy was smiling at him as he pushed against the
monster's arms.

    "Fool! You cannot defeat me!" snapped the angry boy.

    "Heh, you've already lost," said Gohan with his smirk widening. He
felt his arms being pushed back by the sheer power of the god within
the mask, but he wasn't really trying to overpower him.

    Trunks appeared behind Kuno and dug his fingers into the back of
the mask. "Show's over!"

    "What? No!" screamed the thing as it struggled to free itself from
Gohan's grip. It was too late though, Trunks ripped the thing open and
pried it away from Kuno's face.

    Within a few seconds, the Kendoist was lying on the ground gasping
for breath. The mask was shoved into a small leather pouch on the
longhaired boy's belt.

    "You dare!" snarled Kuno as he rose to his feet.

    Gohan promptly decked him. The boy flew through the air and passed
through the wall of the school with a loud crash. "Jerk! How dare he
try something like that in front of everyone!?"

    "It was the mask Gohan, the mask," said Trunks with a small sigh.

    The student body was giving them a wide berth as they strolled
back over to Akane.

    "Undressing that Ghoul in front of me?! I won't forgive him!" said
Gohan in disgust.

    Akane stepped forward with a shocked expression on her face.
"Trunks? Gohan? Who...who are you?"

    The pair turned to look at her and blinked.

"Um, hello Akane Sensei," said Trunks sheepishly.

    "Hey Ghoul!" said Gohan cheerfully.

    Trunks smacked the boy in the back of his head.

    "Sensei?" muttered Akane as she stared at him.

    "Yeah, we got a lot to explain and not much time. We need to meet
with the others, before Ranma finds out we're here," said Gohan with a
serious looking frown on his face.

    "Right," agreed Trunks.

    "Others?" muttered Akane with a suspicious frown.

    "We're from the future," said Gohan as he frowned at her. "We've
been sent back in time to make sure you stay alive."

    Akane blinked at this and stared at them. "Say what?"

    "Well, that and I need to kick that old man's ass for naming me
Trunks. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a date with a name
like this?"

    "Hey, I'm not much worse off than you are," grumbled Gohan. "What
kind of idiot names you after a meal?" The two boys grinned at each
other and cracked their knuckles.

    "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Revenge at last!" they cried in unison.

    Akane just stared at them.

+++++++++++++++++++

    TBC...

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