Shampoo had given them tasks and collected them into one whole. A shaky whole, but a whole none the less.
And her handling of Ukyou was perhaps the best example. It hadn't taken long to figure out that Ukyou's senses were highly sensitive, and that made Ukyou important, and Shampoo made sure she knew that.
"Spatula-girl?" Shampoo asked, speaking just over a whisper.
"Nothing," Ukyou said, much less shaky than before. She wasn't helpless now, she had power to help herself and the others. Shampoo nodded and started to signal the rest of them to move forward. "Wait! There's no noise...but...there's a stench...something new."
The group groaned silently at that. The last "new" thing they'd faced had been an honest to kami kuang-shi, not just one of those shambling approximations they had met first. Before that had been the dogs.
"Air is still," Shampoo noted. "Must be close...Ranma and Kuno go through this way." She hesitated a moment, she hated doing this...even such a short distance...but..."Ribbon-girl is fine?"
Kodachi looked over at the sound of her name and ceased scratching at the appendages slowly growing from her back. She felt more powerful with each monster she killed, but her changes were turning more extreme each time as well. There was a sort of predatorial beauty to her form now, but nothing near classical beauty.
"One moment Shampoo-san," Kodachi said respectfully, nodding and starting forward, Shampoo held her back for a moment.
"Shampoo go to, and ninja-boy/girl," Shampoo said, glancing back to Konatsu and nodding. They were no were near as fast as Kodachi, but if she got into trouble they could possibly pull her out.
"It is only a turn around the corner," Kodachi protested.
"No go into something 'new' alone," Shampoo said. She turned back to the rest of the group. "Stay close, all."
"Got it Shampoo," Ryouga said. Akane nodded grimmly, an especially intimidating expression in her new form.
The alpha and two gammas stepped forward about fifty feet ahead of the other three members of their group, moving swiftly and quietly forward to the turn around the coorridor where "something new" waited.
Suddenly Ukyou snapped standing straight and called out.
"FALL BACK!!" she shouted.
Almost instantly the forward members of their group ceased advancing and through themselves back. Just in time as a blast of chi roared down the coorridor and curved around the corner a few yards.
Shampoo and Konatsu, sheilding the more vulnerable Kodachi behind them, squinted their eyes against the glare and held their ground, sighing in relief as the blast died within arms of reach of them.
"Was that?" Akane asked hopefully.
"Ranchan!" Ukyou declared cheerfully. Then she grimaced. "Oh, and Kuno too."
****
It wasn't long before they were reunited with the missing pair.
"Thank the kami! Ranma you're okay!" Akane shouted happily as Ranma appeared.
He had much the same further mutations as Kodachi, though he seemed a little bit further along. It was obvious those "appendages" were going to be wings soon now...Shampoo only wished the terrain allowed them to make use of that. Underground passages were not designed with flight in mind.
"Is stick-boy going to play nice?" Shampoo asked pointedly as they met.
"For the moment," Kuno said. "I will bear to a truce before greater enemies he said."
"You don't know how glad I am to see you guys," Ranma said.
"I can imagine," Ryouga smirked, idly wondering who was worse company, Kuno, the monsters or Ranma.
"Now that we found them," Ukyou said. "What do we do?"
"You see anything while fighting?" Shampoo asked Kuno and Ranma.
"There's a door this way," Ranma said, pointing back. "You guys seen any demons?"
"Yes," Akane said. "It took chi-empowered strikes to take them down."
Shampoo nodded and considered the course of action for a moment as Ranma was thinking things through as well.
"Ribbon-girl and Ai...Ranma take point," Shampoo said.
No calling Ranma "Airen." No encouraging internal divisions, survival first.
Shampoo was happy now that she had Ranma to back-up Kodachi...or rather, the reverse, it was much better this way.
Ranma blinked and then nodded at the wisdom of that. Not to mention that it was obvious from the way everybody was looking to her, that Shampoo was entrenched as leader, trying to usurp that was stupid. Survival first, one of the prime tenants of the Saotome-Ryu.
"Pig-boy," Shampoo said. "Forward...stay close to scouts. Hammer-girl watch rear with ninja-boy/girl and stick-boy. Spatula-girl stay with..."
"Hold, what foolishness is this talk?" Kuno demanded. "There is a door, and I have already cleared the path...let us leave now!"
"Stick-boy must be..."
"Now is not the time for arguments!" Kuno declared. "The Blue Thunder is here, and he shall lead us all to victory! Follow me!" And Kuno stampeded into the darkness.
"Damn it!" Shampoo snapped. "All move, before he do something stupid!"
See other episodes by Thrythlind
(Posted Thu, 14 Nov 2002 17:34)
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