"What a bizarre dream I had last night . . . "
Walking down the well-worn path towards Azuma High, one of the top secondary institutions in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward, a very tall (for a native Japanese woman) third-year student with long, flowing black hair and deep brown eyes seemed lost in thought. Sakaki Kiyomi was alone this morning; much to her surprise, neither Mihama Chiyo nor Kasuga Ayumu had come met her so they could go into school together. Even stranger, she hadn't seen any of the other members of Class 3-3's "Gang of Six," Takino Tomo, Mizuhara Koyomi or Kagura Michiko.
Did they have odd dreams last night, too? Sakaki wondered to herself as she turned a corner to proceed down a street past where a certain gray shorthaired cat was lounging near the gateway of what she knew was his home. Slowing down as her eyes focused on him, the ailurophile hummed as she felt that overwhelming urge surge up from deep within her heart. Should she? Shouldn't she? Oh, well . . .
Oh, no! It's that fish-smelling girl again!
Sakaki gasped as her hand jerked away from Kamineko, long before he would lash out to bite her, as that strange -- almost purring! -- voice echoed deep inside her mind. "What the . . .?!" she demanded as she looked left and right to find the source of that weird voice.
Eh?! She isn't going to pet me?
Sakaki gargled as that voice once more echoed in her ears -- or was it deep within her own mind? -- as she took a fearful step back from Kamineko . . .
"GANGWAY! COMING THROUGH!"
CRASH!
Kamineko leapt for a nearby tree limb as a black-and-dark beige blur blitzed down the street at speeds no one could believe, it slamming into Sakaki with the force of a runaway Shin-kansen train before it disappeared down the street!
"SORRY 'BOUT THAT, SAKAKI-CHAN!"
Sakaki herself slammed face-first into a nearby stone fence, she then sinking to the ground in a daze as her mind sounded like the inside of a Buddhist temple bell after it had been run for New Year's. Staring at the fish-smelling human from his safety perch, Kamineko seemed to blink for a moment, and then he hopped down to the fence, the top of which being where one of Sakaki's hands currently rested. Reaching it, he sniffed for a bit, and then opened his jaw wide.
"Kamineko-san . . . " Sakaki blurrily moaned. "You're still . . . a great hunter . . . "
The cat paused as her voice seemed to echo deep inside his mind, and then he backed off a step before a delighted yowl escaped him. At last! Oh, at last! The fish-smelling human understood him! She understood him! At last! At . . .!
Eh?!
How does she understand me? Kamineko then wondered in Neko-go.
Sakaki moaned, and then she jolted up in shock, her eyes wide. "How do I understand you?!" she demanded as she stared wide-eyed at Kamineko.
They gazed on each other, unsure of what to say, much less think.
"Oooh, Tomo, you moron! Look how much damage you've caused now!"
For Mizuhara Koyomi -- "Yomi" to those who knew her -- this was turning out to be something a little more than what she would consider a "usual" day.
Having met her childhood friend -- though there were times these days that Yomi often found herself wondering if having some sort of friendship with a wildcat loon like Takino Tomo was actually worth it! -- in front of their home, Yomi and Tomo had headed off for another day of classes.
Along the way, the former had mentioned to the latter about a weird dream she had the previous night. One where Chiyo somehow turned out to be some alien mad scientist who was hell-bent on turning every living person on Earth into a metahuman, like those superheroes that had haunted the United States for so long. Tomo then confessed on having the very same dream, she then wondering what sort of superheroes they could actually become.
Yomi then mused that if Tomo was ever going to become anything close to any of the members of the Justice League, she would probably become something akin to Lobo, the infamous Czarnian bounty-hunter who's idea of a good time was to "frag" everything and everyone around him.
"Hah!" Tomo then snapped. "If I was a hero, I'd frag him!"
"Oh, really?!" Yomi countered with a sneer. "Prove it!"
"YOU GOT IT!"
And she was off in a cloud of smoke and dust akin to the Road Runner disappearing from the grasp of Wile E. Coyote in the middle of the southwestern American desert!
As she tried to jog after her friend, it didn't take Yomi long to realise that she had stumbled onto something. Something scary! Tomo could be pretty fast when she put her mind into it and she could cause a lot of damage if she lost any sense of self-control (which was often for her) -- but she was nothing like what Yomi had found herself staring at as she headed towards school. Students, other passers by, the odd pet or so, even cars and a truck . . . they had literally been smashed aside as if Lobo himself had come to her little, peaceful corner of Earth to have a little fun!
"Hey, Yomi!"
Yomi stopped, she looking at the general direction of Tomo's voice . . .
And then she wished she hadn't looked at all.
"How's this for fraggin' something, eh?!" her raven-haired friend wondered as she hefted up -- single-handedly -- a fair-sized van that had been parked illegally before the front gates of Azuma High School. Nearby, dozens of students were staring agog at the sight of the Wildcat of Class 3-3 doing something not even the infamous "Wrecking Crew" of the neighbouring ward could supposedly do.
Yomi blinked, blinked again, and then she hissed out, "Warwind . . .!"
"Hey, Sensei! How long are you going to stay down there?!"
Staring into the school swimming pool after a good early morning's laps to limber herself up, Kagura Michiko could only blink on seeing her swimming coach/physical education teacher, Kurosawa Minamo, sitting seiza at the deep end of the pool. The young tomboy then blinked as she remembered that sound didn't travel very well when it made the transition from air to water. Taking a deep breath, she then walked over to the diving board so she could get a closer look at Nyamo-sensei.
One look told her plenty.
"She's breathing . . .?" Kagura gasped on seeing the steady rise and fall of Nyamo's chest, the slight flaring of her nose as she took in water -- no doubt to draw the oxygen from it like fish and newborn amphibians could. "But how . . .?!"
Kagura then stopped herself as she remembered the strange dream she had last night. A dream where little Chiyo turned out to be some alien like that Superman guy who had come to Earth from a distant planet to turn everyone into superheroes. As she remembered that, Kagura then recalled what specific powers she and several of her friends -- the others in the "Gang of Six," Sakaki's admirer Aida Kaori, Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei -- would have received in that situation . . .
Chiyo -- Prodigy -- would, of course, be super-smart.
Osaka -- Infinity -- would be mistress of all Reality, able to warp it to her will virtually on command.
Sakaki -- Lady Lofting -- would have the power to communicate with all animals, as well as other abilities that would give her the chance to survive in the wild virtually unscathed.
Tomo -- Warwind -- would be like that Hulk character she heard about so much. Super-strong, invulnerable and super-fast . . . and the more excited she became, the stronger and faster she would be.
Yomi -- Soul Searcher -- was a broadcast telepath of sorts, able to influence other people to do things by thought alone.
On a similar vein would be Kaorin -- Heart Player -- who would have the same general abilities, but be empathic, not telepathic.
Nyamo-sensei would become Amphibian, with the power to survive in the most extreme depths of the ocean, just like Aquaman.
And then there was Yukari-sensei -- Wild Rider -- with the ability to telekinetically mould all machines (especially all transportation machines) to her very will.
Thinking of that, Kagura paled. If Yukari-sensei was bad behind the wheel of her infamous "Yukari-mobile," giving her that power . . .!
"Ah, a lovely day, isn't it, Kagura-kun?"
Hearing the voice of her classics teacher, Kimura Hyoosuke, Kagura spun around to see him sitting in the shaded bench beside the pool, he dressed in his normal trunks, his trademark leer and fogged-up glasses front and centre. As a burst of anger welled up deep inside her, Kagura moved to storm off to the girl's change room . . .
And then, without warning, she lunged at his hand. Before the hapless stalker could react, she grabbed him in a perfect judou throw, and sent him flying. "GET OUTTA HERE, YA LETCH!" she screamed out.
As Kimura-sensei disappeared into the early morning sky, Kagura stopped herself, her eyes going wide as she found herself gazing at her hands . . .
Hands that she now knew could kill with terrible ease.
Hands she knew could handle any weapon to its best ability.
Hands that normally belonged to Caltrop, the Deadliest Woman Alive.
"Oh, fuck me . . .!" Kagura hoarsely gasped as her heart began to churn over what she now knew wasn't a dream, but fact.
"Michiko."
She spun around to see Nyamo-sensei standing by one of the ladders leading to the pool, she drying herself off with a towel. Sensing an automatic urge to defend herself against a potential threat surge up from deep within her heart, Kagura soon fought it down as she reminded herself that this woman was not only her teacher, but a good friend as well. "Jeez!" she breathed out before she glared at her coach. "Don't do that ta me, Sensei! I could'a killed you!"
"Being Caltrop ensures that won't happen, unless you really loose control of yourself," Nyamo replied, and then she stopped herself as her eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait a minute . . . "
Both spun on each other. "YOU, TOO?!" they cried as they pointed at each other.
"By the looks of it, Tomo-chan really likes becoming Warwind," Chiyo mused aloud as she and Ayumu followed the trail of destruction left in their classmate's wake to the front gates of Azuma High School.
"She sure does," Ayumu confirmed as she gazed over to see a wrecked van dumped on the sidewalk across the street from the school gates.
Both women quickly noticed Yomi standing before a giddily-smiling Tomo, the former literally blowing a gasket as she berated the latter for all the destruction she had caused coming to school. "Poor Yomi-san," Chiyo then mused. "She'll just have to get used to it, after all . . . "
"Yeah, that's true," Ayumu confirmed as she concentrated on the wrecked van.
Which, in a flash of light, was fully restored to normal, though it was still parked on the sidewalk! Before the two could head into school, a strange rumble was then heard. Hearing that, Chiyo stopped, her whole body instantly seizing up as the most probable source of that dreaded noise came to her in a flash.
And yes, while she was Yizibajohei, a being who could literally take far much more than a silly norm could, that one time when they went to the Mihama family's summer home on the beach back in first year . . .!
"Hey, Chiyo-chan, look! Look what Yukari-sensei did to her car!"
Everyone spun around on hearing Ayumu's shout, and then they looked to see something straight out of Mad Max II - The Road Warrior -- yet was still recognisable as Tanizaki Yukari's car, a.k.a. the "Yukari-mobile" -- tear down the street at well over three times the local speed limit, right for the front gates. "CHIYOSUKE! OSAKA! LOOK OUT!" Yomi screamed out . . .
Just as the morphed Yukari-mobile screeched to a halt not a metre away from Ayumu's leg! As people gasped in relief on seeing that the most popular student at Azuma High School and her friend hadn't been hurt, one of the strange gull wing-like doors sprang open to reveal Tanizaki Yukari draped in the flame-trimmed, silver racing suit of Wild Rider. Howling with glee after what had to be the wildest ride of her life -- even for her -- Yukari hopped out of her car and stretched herself. "Aaah! Nothing beats a good run down the street in the morning!" she declared before her eyes focused on the pigtailed wonder of her homeroom class. "CHIYOSUKE!"
"H-h-HAI!" Chiyo yelped as she bolted to attention. Even if she had been the one who had given Yukari her new powers, the older woman was still her homeroom and English teacher!
In a flash, Yukari nearly smothered the smaller girl in a glomp even the infamous Shampoo of the Nerima Wrecking Crew couldn't equal. "YOU WONDERFUL GIRL!" Yukari sobbed. "THIS IS THE GREATEST PRESENT I'VE EVER GOT! YOU SWEET GIRL!"
Chiyo blinked, and then she giggled as she returned Yukari's embrace as the latter started to cry in joy at having become Wild Rider. Watching this, Ayumu smirked. "Gee, Chiyo-chan! I guess everyone does like what you did to them!"
"WHAT?!" Yomi bellowed out before she stormed over to stare at her classmate. "WHAT THE HELL'S THAT ABOUT, OSAKA?! YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT CHIYOSUKE TURNED AROUND AND MADE US BECOME A PACK OF METAHUMANS?!"
Yukari and Tomo, in sync: "QUIT YELLING AT CHIYOSUKE, YOMI! SHE COULDN'T HELP HERSELF!"
Yomi was blasted down by the wall of noise from her teacher and classmate. "Minna, we really don't have time to speak about something like that," Sakaki then warned as she walked up, she currently accompanied by Kamineko (perched on her shoulder) and flocked by a whole stream of animals, including Chiyo's dog, Tadakichi-san.
Everyone stared at her. "What do you mean, Sakaki-chan?" Ayumu wondered.
Sakaki sighed before she . . .
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:09)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.