The owner of the travel agency was a tall man with tanned skin and a slight Al Bhed accent.
"Have you interest in renting some chocobos?" he asked the pilgrimage group. "As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge."
Tidus instantly wanted to accept, but Ranma prevented him by saying: "Thank you, but I think we will continue our journey on foot."
Tidus was flabbergasted.
Rin shrugged, thanked them again and invited them to use his travel agencies whenever they came across one.
When the Al Bhed returned inside, Tidus found back his voice. "What's the big idea, Ranma?" he asked. "Why should we go on by foot, if we could have ridden on chocobos? It would have been a lot easier - and faster!"
"But think about it, Tidus," Ranma replied. "When we go on this way, we're still able to fight some fiends to gain some more battle experience. Also, walking on foot is a better way of training then just letting some bird do the job for you."
"You could've at least ask first," Tidus whined.
Yuna smiled at him. "It's no big deal," she said. "I don't mind! That way, I can concentrate on training my Aeons a bit more."
Shampoo nodded. "Yes, and Shampoo still hasn't tried out all of her battle forms yet."
"All right, all right," Tidus sighed in defeat. "Lead the way..."
----
In the scrubs next to the highroad, Goba Guado was awaiting the passing through of the summoner Yuna and her guardians.
With a quick wave of his hands, he summoned two cat-like fiends with white, tiger-striped fur and very long whiskers.
"All right," he said to them. "When they come through, you will concentrate your attacks on the black-haired boy with the pig-tail. Assault him until his mind will succumb - and do not hesitate in killing everyone else, got it? Except for the summoner girl... Maester Seymour has planned something special with her..."
The two Coeurls just growled in apprehension.
----
They were just walking over two bridges that lead over a deep chasm, when Auron stopped.
"What's wrong?" Akane asked him curiously.
Auron looked around the scenery. "I don't know... something just doesn't feel right here..."
Tidus was on edge, too. "You know, this place would be the perfect spot for an... AMBUSH!!"
Shouting the last two words, he pushed Akane out of the way, when a blurry shape jumped out of the scrubs and attacked with a slash.
The fiend turned to face them and growled. Behind it, the other Coeurl was jumping out of its hiding place.
'Oh no," Akane thought. 'Those look like...'
"C-c-caaats!" Ranma shouted in fear.
----
Neko jumped on his feet. He hissed savagely. He started to run for it, when suddenly, he got knocked down by Fenrir.
"Oh no, you stay here," the big wolf growled into his ear. "Remember what we talked about?"
"Lemme go," Neko hissed. "Ranma is afraid. Have to protect him!"
"We talked about that, you know? When you go out there to 'help' Ranma you'll pretty soon turn the whole situation into chaos. And Ranma wouldn't be able to think clearly."
Neko still struggled against the Esper's mighty grip. "But I have to protect him from evil cats!"
Carbuncle floated next to them. "Neko, don't," he said in a small voice. "If you do this, Ranma will be sad afterwards. You don't want Ranma to be sad, do you?"
Neko ceased his struggling. "Nnnyyoo wanna Ranma to be sad..." he said quietly. "Mrrroooww... Ranma will be okay?"
"Definitely," Carbuncle nodded. "He will manage to overcome his fear, and you know he's a strong fighter, even without your help. And he has his friends as a support, too."
Neko nodded. "Is okay. Nyyyeeko won't go out and fight..."
"That's a good boy," Fenrir said and released the cat-man.
----
While Ranma's mind was in turmoil, the others reacted quickly to the situation.
"Akane, Wakka, Shampoo! You three take on one of them," Auron commanded. "Tidus, Kimahri and me will take care of the other one. Kasumi, we need your Silence Dance."
And while the others charged into battle, Kasumi nervously made a careful step. "Oh dear... now how did that dance work again...?"
'Here, let me show you,' Lenne helpfully said.
----
Shampoo was standing a little aside from the others when the Coeurls attacked. She was ready to turn into one of her battle forms, when she suddenly heard a voice from out of the bushes next to her.
"Alpha Fiend... prepare for mission instructions."
Shampoo grew stiff, and her eyes took on an evil gleam. "What are your orders, my master?" she snarled in a dark voice.
"Go with the summoner on her journey as a spy... I will sometimes catch up with you to listen to your reports. You'll tell me everything about the group members that is worth mentioning. Understood?"
"I understand, master," the Alpha Fiend hissed. "More instructions?"
"Yes," Goba Guado said. "Try to invoke the pig-tailed boy's fear of felines... and by the next report, tell me everything about his reactions. I want to know more about this condition. And... make sure they reach Guadosalam, especially the summoner herself. Maester Seymour wants to invite her in his manor..."
"Understood, master," the Alpha Fiend responded.
"Good, good," the rotund Guado chuckled. "You won't remember anything of this conversation when you talk with your friends. You will try to follow these instructions unconsciously... we don't want them to be suspicious, right? Alpha Fiend, mission instructions complete!"
The Alpha Fiend's eyes returned to their normal color. Shampoo shook her head. What was wrong? Did she have some kind of dizzy spell? That was not like her.
"Shampoo," Akane yelled. "I could REALLY use your help here."
"Shampoo coming," she shouted, jumping into battle.
----
Wakka was hit by the devastating Blaster attack of one of the Coeurls. Dazed, he was laying on the sidelines of the battlefield, while Yuna was healing him with her White Magic. Ranma was still recovering from Neko's mental assault, and Tidus and Auron were keeping one of the cat fiends busy. Kasumi had tripped over a small rock, so the second Coeurl used that moment to hit Kimahri with a fire spell.
Akane rushed the fiend with another attack. "Dammit," she yelled. "Stand still!" If she could 'Eject' one of the monsters out of here, they would have a bigger chance of winning.
Shampoo came running at that moment, forming a rock-like structure around her body. It was her 'Earth Form'. "Now Shampoo really ready to rumble," she cried and punched the ground. "Take this!"
A shock wave rippled along the earth's surface, aiming for the Coeurl. But at the last moment, the big cat jumped over it and hit Shampoo with a bright beam it shot out of its muzzle.
The knock-out effect of the Blaster instantly threw Shampoo on the ground.
"Dammit, not again..." Akane muttered angrily, while dodging another claw swipe.
Suddenly Ranma was at her side and attacked the fiend with a jump kick. "Heeyyyaaahh!"
"Ranma," his fiancee shouted in surprise. "You're fine? What about the Neko-ken?"
He grinned. "Well, it decided to leave this fight to me." He cupped his hands, held them back and concentrated his ki. When he thrusted his hands forward again, he shouted: "MOKO TAKABISHA!"
The ki bullet hit the Coeurl in the face. It snarled angrily.
Akane took care of the rest. "Mad Rush," she cried out, taking out the fiend with a devastating blow.
It went down with a cry of anguish and was instantly evaporated.
Turning to the others, they saw that they also managed to beat their opponent.
Kasumi helped Shampoo on her feet, after Yuna had cast Cura on her. "Are you all right, Shampoo?"
Shampoo shook her head while returning to her slightly-normal-but-furry-form. "Shampoo okay... but think I have learned new attack move," she said while grinning.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:51)
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