Ranma remained as ice as he stood against the raging inferno of Tatewaki's madness and assault. Infusing some ki into his voice, he whispered, "You are no samurai. You're not but a child, merely playing with a stick. You are lost to your darker emotions when you should follow the Jin of Serenity." His whisper was heard by all those present at the tournament.
The crowd watched in silent amazement as their former idol's feet of clay was exposed.
He continued, "And the Jin of Piety... Ha. You're nothing but a windbag... boasting of skills and deeds that exist only in your fevered mind. Always going on about how you're undefeated and a rising star..."
The illusions of sanity were torn away. A red aura of madness and rage covered Kuno's body. Several girls screamed, while others sought safety in distance from the combatants.
Ranma remarked, "Jin of Loyalty.... All you care about is yourself. You have no loyalty to the Kendo Club you captain. You claim all the glory and blame others for your failures."
Someone in the crowd made an off-colored remark about Kuno's inability to satisfy a woman because of such shortcomings. Several girls' fantasies, involving Kuno and marriage, died that day. Dying a violent death as they saw the reality of Tatewaki Kuno for the first time.
Ranma's counter to Kuno's downward strike pushed Kuno into the air several meters back. "You don't listen to anyone. Not to teachers trying to help you, fellow students trying to save you, nor to any one. You think you know it all, are better then everyone else. Eh, a true samurai knows his place, and follows the Jin of Obedience. Not give in to tantrums when you can't get your way."
Case in point, Kuno began charging at Ranma, once again, trying to silence him.
"One learns from his mistakes," Ranma remarked. "The Jin of Wisdom. But you're just a re-run of old Samurai plays... never changing... Reusing the very same technique, even after it fails, over and over again.
"Courtesy... Ha... You declared that the only way anyone could date Akane Tendo was to beat her in combat... When you should have stopped it, you just egged the ignorant and hormonal on to greater heights of stupidity.
"But then when you can't get your way by your Family Name, you resort to violence. You seem to enjoy beating up those less then you. Not a follower of Jin of Benevolence, are you, Kuno-baby."
Many in the crowd had moved over behind Ranma as they saw the truth of his words. At least those still listening, many of the females, High School girls and older, had their eyes on Ranma, trying to check out his physique under the Kendo outfit. Bets on the outcome of the match, had moved on to such topics as Ranma's measurements, date-ability, and did he have a brother or three.
"You speak of the Bushido, but only give it lip-service when it suits you. Your word is meaningless," Ranma stated calmly. He was Ice of Reason to the Fire of Kuno's madness. "The Jin of Sincerity, which too is part of Bushido... but then, what you call Bushido, is but the plot-device of some novel.
"You keeping saying the 'Justice of Heaven is slow and sure.' But then words such as 'Justice' are just that, mere words. But the time will come when you will learn the full meaning of those words."
Shock ran through the crowd of onlookers. Within the Kendo Tournament circuit, Tatewaki Kuno was considered an example of a modern-day Samurai. At least on the surface, upon closer examination, many charitable acts where nothing more then money laundering schemes, Inspirational speeches given to younger children were but self-glorification fabrications.
Many had taken the respectable, seemly-honorable young man at face value and sought to make him into a persona of their dreams of past glories and simplier times.
None had seen the true Tatewaki and the Kuno madness that the students (and faculty) of Furinkan Koukou had until now.
Ayano pointed out that the donated money had never truly left the Kuno hands, for Tatewaki merely donated to companies that his family owned. Others, emboldened, pointed out that although, an obvious black-belt in Kendo, Kuno only set himself against green-belts or below, as well as, restating rumors of ambushed opponents prior to any match.
Ranma stepped back and took in the scene. Tatewaki was exhausted and stress beyond anyone's limit. It was obvious that his world was collapsing and no one could save him. Yet, he knew that regardless of the outcome, Kuno would not change.
Ranma sheathed his bokken and said, "There is no honor in this." And with that, he turned around and left.
Stunned silence filled the tournament.
As Ranma reached the doors leading out with Reiko and Ayano behind him, he heard some shouting, and several sounds of wood meeting flesh. While he did not win the tournament, he did achieve the result he was looking for.
The Palace of Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom was not as many would expect of it. The palace could be easily mistaken for a temple, with its airy rooms and open gardens. Balls of magical light were spaced for maximum usage, although, many were dormant. Energy in the Dark Kingdom was rationed and used only when absolutely required.
Queen Beryl sat upon her throne, the solo piece of furniture, in the audience room. The once beautiful Maiden of Magic was but a shade of her former self. The years had not been kind to her. The lack of sun gave her skin a pale cast to it. A scar ran from her left temple down the side of her face, terminating with her jaw. Her eyes held power and intelligence in them.
The scar was all that remained of the Demon-lord that had invaded the Dark Kingdom. It had taken all of the power of the four Dark Generals, Queen Beryl and most of Queen Metallia's powers to destroy the Demon-lord. How it had gotten into the Dark Kingdom, none knew.
The Incident had almost destroyed the Dark Kingdom, yet, some good had come of it. Before, Beryl had been ambitious, arrogant, and spoiled. Now, she was cautious, intelligent, and determined.
This caution caused Queen Beryl to expand their operations to areas outside of the Senshi-controlled Juuban. While seemly obvious, it was more easily said then done.
First and foremost, the Dark Kingdom only had the power and knowledge to create a gateway to selected locations on Earth. The Knights of the Round Table, and other such mystic groups, had prevented them from opening any gateways within Europe or the Western Hemisphere. Ironically, it was the Senshi's own doing that allowed them access to the Earth-Realm. Yes, they had established a few other entrance-ways, but the cost of using them was astronomical.
Second, even a failure within Juuban netted them enough energy to survive another week, whereas, elsewhere, a completely successful mission yielded only a day's worth of energy. Before Beryl would have greedily gone with the week's worth of energy, even knowing that Senshi would interfere, and they would need to re-establish a new operation. Now, Beryl saw the wisdom in a day's worth that was constant and would not be interrupted in most likelihood.
Also, outside of Juuban, their activities drew the attentions of demons and the like. Unlike the Senshi though, demons were easier to handle. They had even formed a few alliances with a few Devil-hunters and Demon-slayers, who assisted them indirectly.
Sure there were trouble spots like Nerima, but over-all, things were looking up for the Dark Kingdom's return and restoration of the Golden Millennium.
Until now.
Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite kneeled before their queen nervously. All knew Queen Beryl did not like bad news. Worse for them, this was "very-worse news." They had a sinking feeling they would not survive their audience with their queen.
Zoisite could not help but stare at the long, deep scar that marred the once-beautiful Queen Beryl's face. Nor could he understand why she did not have it healed completely. The scar ran from her left temple to the end of her jaw, while thin in appearance, it was deep.
"Report," Queen Beryl whispered. Her voice was soft, yet carried over the entire audience room.
Diplomatically, Jadeite stated, "My Queen, there is a problem..."
Beryl's eyes narrowed at Jadeite, signed, and whispered, "What now?"
Jadeite swallowed nervously.
Nephrite, impatiently, exclaimed, "A problem, Jadeite? It's a disaster!"
Turning her eyes on Nephrite, Beryl quietly demanded, "Explain."
This time it was Nephrite who swallowed nervously.
Jadeite explained calmly, "All our Earth-side operations have been destroyed --"
"And this is only a problem, Jadeite?" Beryl quietly remarked.
Bit confident, Jadeite answered, "No, my Queen. That is but a minor set-back. We can easily rebuild everything within a short amount of time and resources. Mostly, we would only need to avoid the Senshi's attention to move what we send Earth-side out of Juuban without their interference."
Beryl nodded in agreement to Jadeite's statement. Only the Senshi stood in their way, the demons were but a nuisance. Demon-lords were extremely rare, and too far between for them to consider that they would see another in their lifetime. Curious, she whispered, "Then what is the problem?"
Jadeite stated, "What caused the destruction..."
"A kami," Kunzite laughed. With a hint of reproach and disbelief, he continued, "Jadeite thinks it was a kami that did it."
Jadeite frowned in annoyance at Kunzite. To his Queen, he added, "It must be, my Queen. There was no trace of Silver Millennium Magic within the wave-spell."
"A wave-spell?!?!" Nephrite exclaimed. "More like a tsunami of raw, pure magic! It over-loaded all our equipment! It had to have been Princess Serenity using the same spell her mother to lock us here!"
"It is highly unlikely the brat would just show up out the blue, without any fanfare," Kunzite remarked. "Like her bitch-mother, she would have gloated and humiliated us first, then send us back into exile."
"Plus, the lack of Silver Millennium trace, as I said," Jadeite continued. "We can only conclude it was a kami."
"One that caused this -- whatever -- accidentally," Zoisite added.
Jadeite nodded.
Curiously, Beryl quietly asked, "Accidentally?"
Zoisite nodded, "Yes, my Queen. We feel that whatever kami did this... This was but a by-product of whatever the kami was doing."
Nephrite snorted and Beryl raised an eyebrow.
Jadeite stated, "The wave-spell lacked focus and intent. It was, literally, a simple release of raw, pure Power."
Intrigued, Beryl pondered and whispered, more to herself then the room, "A kami walks the Earth again."
Beryl's whisper was heard by all and all fell silent.
"This is perfect!" Queen Beryl stated softly.
The four Dark General stopped and just stared at their queen. Since the Demon-lord Incident, their Queen had gotten better, for a lack of term. She was calmer, showed a truly powerful intellect, and more rational state of mind. But now...
In an excited whisper, Beryl stated, "A kami will surely see the righteous of our Cause against that bitch and help us restore the Glory of the Golden Millennium.
The Dark Generals could only stare at each others.
A sense of doom the likes of which they have never felt over took them as Beryl softly stated, "I will personally go to Earth and enlist the Kami's help!"
The Restaurant of War-Mistress Cologne of the Joketsuzoku Amazons was not as many would expect it to be. The place was a mess. Tables and chairs seemed as if a tornado had thrown them against the walls. Various potion-ingredients, boiling cauldrons, and chalk-marks littered the floor. Cologne, herself, hunched over a floating book was in a terrible shape. Her hair was frazzled and dirty. Each bodily movement emphasized her old age. Her eyes were dull and lost.
In the center of the serving-area, neko-Shampoo lay unconscious, still trapped in her Jusenkyou curse form within a white-chalk circle within an outer black-chalk circle. Several meters from neko-Shampoo, a cage containing a plucked duck-Mousse rested within a black-chalk circle, with an outer white-chalk circle. duck-Mousse was as unconscious as neko-Shampoo. Unlike neko-Shampoo, several burn-marks and cuts could be clearly seen upon his duck body.
A large pot of hot water whistling was the only sound within the Nekohanten, that and the sound of turning pages.
Cologne's research had yet to unlock her great-granddaughter. When Mousse had returned, she easily rendered him unconscious and had been using him as a guinea-pig. Using various Amazon Jusenkyou-Locking techniques, as well as some from her book, she had attempted to use the more dangerous Unlocking techniques on him, before trying with Shampoo. But all she c succeeded in doing was locking Mousse in his duck form to the point where she could not try other methods.
And then that power-wave came crashing through all her wards and defenses as if they were nothing. Both duck-Mousse and neko-Shampoo radiated a soft-white glow for a few moments. Mousse returned to his normal human-form, looking none the worse for all that Cologne had done to him, while Shampoo remained in her cursed-form.
She was unwilling to admit to defeat just yet, but she knew that she had come to an impasse. So she sighed. Although dead tired from all she had done, she made sure to secure Mousse, as she would need to deal with him later, and took neko-Shampoo upstairs with her. neko-Shampoo she set down into her bed and locked the door, out of habit, behind her, and headed to her own room. She did not bother to undress, just hopped into bed, and fell asleep.
Cologne supervised Mousse's cleaning up of her mess of the restaurant. After all, that was what males were for. Besides, one he finished, she would be alternating his memories, to protect herself, so it did not matter if he saw anything.
To help with the modification of his memory, she did tell him that Shampoo had fought against a local gang within the dining room, making the mess, and she was out making sure they would not be bothered again. As lies went, it was weak, since there were not any gangs in Nerima. The Nerima Wrecking Crew, Genma, Soun, and Happosai did see to it that they were not welcome here, in their own ways. Meaning: (A) the gang would be caught in the cross-fire of one of the Nerima Wrecking Crew brawl, (B) sending Ranma to deal with the gang, (C) having mobs of angry women stump over them in their efforts to get Happosai, or (D) Genma using them as cheap practice dummies to keep up with Ranma.
Mousse was exhausted after cleaning up, thus was easier for Cologne to use the Memory-Alternating Shampoo technique upon him, to cement her lie and hide what she had done.
Once that was accomplished, Cologne had him set up for the lunch crowd. This was small, considering that they had been closed for a while. As word spread they had reopened, things picked up.
While the income from the restaurant was helpful, she was more interesting in hearing of any gossip that involved son-in-law, especially if he was locked in his curse form as well. There was a Power out there: Shampoo's locked form and that power-wave were proof of that.
Gossip among the Nekohanten's customers were her main source of Nerima information. That and Nabiki Tendo, she had got everything she needed to know what was happening with son-in-law. Of all the girls in Nerima, Nabiki held her interest. It was obvious to her that the Tendo girl had to be adopted, probably stolen like son-in-law, neither was like their fathers. Nabiki, like son-in-law, would make excellent additions to her Tribe. After all, the Tribe did need more then just Warriors.
Thus, she was shell-shocked to over-hear that Nabiki claimed to have married son-in-law upon their return. She was flabbergasted when it was mentioned that Akane had challenged Nabiki, and Nabiki won. While Akane was not a push-over, any true Martial Artist could easily defeat her. Or rather, a true Martial Artist would simply allow Akane to defeat herself. Still, that would suggest that son-in-law had been training her for some time prior to their disappearance. Without Happosai's knowledge, as he would never allow a female to learn his Art, or any indication that she could tell.
She realized she had learned it said several times that Akane had claimed that Nabiki, of all people, had defeated her Shampoo, yet, such thing was impossible. So she had subconsciously dismissed such non-sense... but those in the dining-room had mentioned it repeatedly.
One of the school-girls had even asked Mousse where Shampoo was. When he said she was out on an errand, the girl laughed and replied Shampoo was probably too embarrassed about losing to Nabiki, of all people, to show her face.
The stress of everything caught up with Cologne, and she threw everyone out of the Nekohanten. She grabbed her walking stick and headed towards the Tendo-ke for answers.
Options:
| Previous | Index | Next |