Ranma was quite surprised when no one else attacked/harassed/propositioned him as he made his way to school. He had been expecting at least Mousse to attack him for “flirting with his darling Shampoo”, but the rest of his walk had been extremely quiet.
Ranma wasn’t quite so surprised with the sight that greeted him as he reached the school, though: the Neo-Hentai Brigade.
The whole ‘beat up Akane for a date’ mess had begun again as soon as word started getting around of the failed wedding, and had been going strong since. Before, he had felt a little sorry for the girl’s plight, but now… not so much.
Also not quite a surprise was Kuno Tatewaki, standing on the front steps of the school as if he were a lord about to direct his troops into battle. And who knows? In the samurai’s twisted mind, that very well may have been the case… except it was more “ordering the cannon fodder to their job” then “directing the troops into battle.”
“Halt! Who is this that dares trespass upon my land?” Kuno shouted over the hordes of amassed athletes as soon as Ranma reached the gates. Ranma couldn’t help but sweat-drop; was the fucking serious?
“Um… Kuno? It’s me, Saotome-” Ranma didn’t get any further as Kuno once again opened his big mouth.
“So the foul sorcerer would seek to enter my lands by disguising himself as a commoner? Such an unimaginative tactic from an unimaginative knave!”
“Riiiiight…” Ranma drawled, “Whatever, you lunatic. Just tell your cannon fodder here move out of the way; I want to get to class at a reasonable time, thank you very much.” In reality, he could have just as easily forced his way past the gathered crowd, but he really had no bone to pick with them. Besides, Akane-chan so needed her morning workout…
“You would think I would be so foolish as to let you stroll onto my land? Never! Men! The one to defeat the foul sorcerer Saotome will obtain great honor and glory!” Was the reply. Ranma smirked when he saw the whole crowd hesitate; the Phoenix Mountain fiasco may had been kept a secret, but his normal exploits gave him more then enough of a reputation to scare these poor bastards into second thoughts.
Then all hesitation vanished at Kuno’s next words: “…A hundred thousand yen to the man who slays the sorcerer!”
Ranma had to quirk an eyebrow, even as the horde rushed in for attack and he got into his usual relaxed stance; the lunatic actually had that kind of money to throw around? He hated to admit it, but he was just a bit impressed. Of course, Kuno could just be bluffing or wasn’t even aware that he might not have that kind of money. He seriously wouldn’t put it past the insane kendoist to be under the delusion that he was richer then he really was.
The following fight was short and surprisingly brutal. It wasn’t Akane-brutal, in that as much damage was done as physically possible, but brutal in that each strike was calculated to be the most efficient and disabling one he could make. In less then two minutes, he was surrounded by a mass of groaning and twitching bodies, some of them with obvious broken bones. Ranma himself hadn’t broken a sweat.
Those that were watching from the upper floors were shocked. It wasn’t the fact that Ranma had just taken down the school’s athletics apartment in half of the time Akane usually took, or the fact that he had moved at speeds that would have had Happosai second guessing himself. No, what really shocked them was the utter coldness visible in his eyes, even from their distance. He had purposely broken bones and hadn’t flinched. He had used more then one rabbit punch, and that was only the ones they’d seen. It was obvious something had changed in the local uber-jock, and whatever it was, it was scary.
…And freaking awesome. Just the way his now-pony-tailed hair blew in the wind as he stared down Kuno had all the girls (and some boys, too) swooning. It was like one of those samurai showdowns from a movie, or something!
“Heh,” Kuno sniffed contemptuously, “Truly, that rabble was weak, to have been defeated by a knave such as you. I am not like them, however, and by the will of the gods, I will triumph!” He got into a ready position as that mysterious lightning and thunder backdrop that he seemed to be able to call at will rumbled and flashed.
Ranma didn’t answer, only got into a ready stance of his own. He made a quick scan aura scan, and, confirmed that at least Kuno was exactly as he had perceived him- arrogant and delusional- held out one hand and made a “bring it” gesture. His opponent needed no further urging.
“I strike!” Kuno cried out as he charged at speeds that would have impressed most kendo grandmasters. Unfortunately for our beloved delusional idiot, Ranma had far surpassed such speeds, and saw the strike coming as if in slow motion. It was no problem to flow around it and land several dozen strikes, sending the kendoist flying.
“I fight on!” Came the cry, followed by yet another attempted strike. This time, though, instead of flowing around the strike like he did before, Ranma caught the blade in a ki-covered hand even as he gave Kuno a particularly harsh uppercut. The result was a Kuno that was sent straight up into the air… without his bokken, which was still in Ranma’s hand. Ranma smirked as he flipped the bokken so that he was holding the handle instead of the blade; he had been in need of some relief from the stress that he’d been planning to unleash on Xian Pu, and could see no better way then to give Kuno a beating he wouldn’t soon forget. He tensed his legs, leapt into the air just as the other boy was falling, and proceeded to unleash a can of unholy whoop-ass.
Not a few cracks of broken bones was heard as Kuno took so many hits that the air resounded with a machine-gun-like sound, followed by a smash that sent him hurtling back to, and INTO, the ground. Ranma landed softly in front of the downed kendoist, still not sweating.
“I… fight… ON!!!” Kuno declared, just as his bokken came crashing down less then an inch from his genitals. As it was, it went right through his hakama, the blade sinking a good six inches into the ground. Kuno’s eyes bugged, before looking up to meet Ranma’s ice blue ones.
“You sure you want to do that, Kuno-sempai?” he asked, his voice sounding pleasant even as his eyes got colder. “Because both of your femurs currently have extensive fractures, both of your wrists are broken, and I’ve made it so that this bokken will explode at my command.” As if to prove his point, the bokken chose that moment to start glowing an ominous blue. Kuno’s eyes got larger.
Now that he had the idiot’s attention for once- nothing like threatening the jewels of a man fancying himself Kami’s gift to women- Ranma decided to use the opportunity to get some things off his chest… lots of things, actually.
“Here’s the deal, Kuno-sempai: I’m tired of your shit. I’m tired of your stupidity, I’m tired of your delusions, and I’m tired of you trying to ‘vanquish’ me. I am not a sorcerer, nor do I use black magic. I am just that much better of a martial artist then you. You are not the best. You are not ever close. You are, compared the rest of us here in Nerima, barely third-rate. You have made a mockery of the Art.
“You are not a samurai. This is the twentieth century- there ARE no samurai left. But even if there were, they would never acknowledge you, because, unlike you, they don’t disregard honor when convenient. You have brought shame upon your once-honorable house by your base, foolish actions. You have made a mockery of honor.
“No girl, in their right mind, wants to date you. You are a disgusting example of what a man is. You are a disgrace to your gender. You are a laughing stock. You do not have divine right to ANYTHING, much less any woman you want. You have made a mockery of chivalry.
“The gods are not on your side. If anything, they laugh at you and your stupidity. As I stated earlier, you do not have divine right to anything. The gods have not ordained anything to you. The only thing you are destined for is failure in all things you do. You have made a mockery of the gods.
“You are an idiot. You do not see what is in front of you. Even the most obvious of truths is ignored if it does not fit your worldview. Case in point: the Jusenkyo Curse. You’re going to have a lot of free time on you hands soon, so I suggest you read up on it. Then maybe you’ll finally acknowledge certain truths.
“Now, I’m sure I have given you many things to mull over. I’m also sure that none of it will get through that thick skull of yours, and you’ll probably somehow twist what I have just told you into another one of your fantasies. Well, I really don’t give a fuck, but if you bother me, in any of my forms, ever again, remember this: I will fucking finish what I started here today. I will castrate you so that your accursed line cannot continue, and I will break every bone in your body so that you can not mock the Art any longer. And that’s not counting the stuff I will do to make your life a living HELL!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?” He shouted the last part in the crippled boy’s face, his face having long ago turned into a death glare that would rival Akane’s at her worst. Kuno could only nod frantically in fear, his self-preservation instincts telling him to agree with whatever was being said, so as to not invite the wrath of the demon before him.
Ranma saw the nods and nodded himself, though his was of satisfaction. “Good. Now you can just sit there. I’m sure someone will come for you sooner or later.” That said, he made his way to the doors, the school having fallen silent a long time ago as everybody tried to listen to his ranting.
Then the noise started up again, as everybody started talking about what they had just witnessed. Ranma paid them no mind, and calmly continued on his way to class, even when the kendo team, on their way to pick up their captain, scattered in fear before him.
The whole confrontation had taken little more then five minutes, so Ranma got to his classroom just in time to watch Akane arrive. Her look of utter shock at seeing the Neo-Hentai Brigade already defeated and Kuno crippled made him wish he’d invested in a camera.
He took his seat and relaxed, noticing the glances he was getting, as well as the whispering that was taking place around him. He hadn't seen Nabiki arrive, so he assumed she had beaten him to school, somehow. He just knew she was probably already fielding questions. He just hoped she kept her promise.
There was going to be consequenced for his actions, but he couldn't bring himself to care less; it had been really theraputic, and he wasn't going to let go of that really good feeling just yet.
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(Posted Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:05)
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