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Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don’t own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up.
I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave. If you find any, let me know, and I will correct them and repost the chapters.
Please feel free to review, and make comments. If you find a spelling or wordage mistake, feel free to let me know. Thank you.
Note: If you see something that may be offensive, let me know via message, and I will remove it and repost. I understand that some of the descriptions of the pokégirls might be offensive to some people, and I have tried to remove or reword them.
And having a hovering video camera recording your ... meals ... was not something a normal person did, let alone a sane person.
They were quite in luck that those cameras were programmed to return to a location that Chardin would pick them up later. If it had remained, the UEG may have been able to find a full detail of all of Chardin’s activities.
Even the moles they had in the UEG wouldn’t be able to ‘lose’ all that evidence.
So they had had plenty of time to dispose of the evidence, plant other evidence to make Chardin seem to be a random nut, loose on the world, which had used his money and connections to avoid exposure.
And those of his family with any possible information ... would not be talking now.
“I always knew he was a sick fuck,” growled Ranko, as the former male watched the screen with interest. “Probably the only time I’ll thank that copy for what he did.”
Mamoru sighed. “We should also thank said sick fuck for showing us that our enemy has a demon within him.”
“I’ll still kill him.”
Mamoru had to smirk at that, glad to see his former teammate’s passion for vengeance was still running strong. It was perhaps one of the few reasons why he hadn’t shoved the Fire Elementist into a Level 5 taming cycle with the Terrible Trio and the two ninjas that Trauma had sent to ball them.
That ... and he liked torturing the former man who had placed him in that prison, who betrayed him, and left him for gender reassignment.
He so had enjoyed the first taming he did for her, the look of defiance, anger, pure unadulterated hatred that flashed across her face as she was forced to deal with the urges her new form gave her.
It reminded him so much of the looks he had seem coming from a certain Domina’s eyes as they worked to break her, before Sextome had betrayed him.
“What the hell are you looking at?” growled Ranko.
“Careful with the attitude, little girl,” smirked Mamoru. “I could always ask Genma to help you during the next time you need a taming.”
Ranko clutched her fists, growling deeply, trying to keep from attacking him. Even if the collar would fail, she would still be sent to another male, after she was sufficiently punished.
Mamoru smirked as she released her fists. “Good girl...”
“I’m a guy, damn it.”
“Oh, so am I, yet you still put me in a situation that I could have ended up in your position,” he mused. “Face it, you lost, and I got you back. It is as simple as that.”
“I will have my vengeance against you and that copy,” she growled, her fire tail forming once again, whipping around like an angry cat.
I’ll have to see one day how she can do that. It’ll be an interesting fact to discover. “We have other things to deal with besides your useless quests.
“We need to deal with someone who can do that,” he said, pointing to the screen as Ranma Saotome effortlessly finished off Chardin’s Alpha. “Plus, there are those other brats that he is training. If he can gather people and teach them to perform such feats... Well, I don’t need to tell you what that’ll mean for people like us.”
She just continued to glare at him, which he ignored.
He knew it just made her angrier. But that was what he wanted. He wanted his former partner to suffer, to suffer for everything he had had to go through ever since that betrayal.
“So then what is your great plan?” asked Ranko, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
Mamoru looked at her. If it had been Sextome, he knew that brat would have attacked full out, no tact, sense, or stealth.
He had to be better. Sure, Chardin was a mental psychopath, but he knew what needed to be done. He just did it in his own style.
They needed something similar here. But who would Happosai approve of sending. If nothing else, it had to appear completely as if it was the old man’s idea. That way, if it failed, fallout on him would be minimal.
He smirked as he remembered a name, another member of the Deadly Four, as Chardin had been. And if he could present it right, the fool would take the job before Happosai would stop him.
“I believe I know the man for the job.”
The law had cleared him of any wrong doing, and the other pokégirls that Chardin had used had been sent to another center that the UEG ran, hoping to either learn something of Team Trauma, or rehabilitate them to be used for their own operations.
But her Tamer still saw himself as a monster, a creature that killed for pleasure.
Slowly, she opened the door, Nabiki having warned her that knocking would go unanswered, and suggesting taming was a bad idea. It was her that came, not the other pokékits. While most of them had harsh memories attached to them, Nabiki felt she would be the least likely to upset him, and the most likely to get him to open back up. “Master?”
She could see him, sitting by a low window, as he had been since his mother had pulled him inside. His appearance was hard to make out, even with her enhanced senses, but she could tell he was getting worse. His eyes ... they told the whole story. They merely focused out the window, pointing to some random space, as he continued to beat himself up, both for failing to save the redeemed Panthress, and for killing like he had.
“Master?” she asked once again, standing beside him, before she sat down, and cuddled into his side.
“I’m a monster...” he muttered once again. Nabiki had said he had been doing that every once in a while, as he dealt with what had happened.
“It wasn’t you,” she whispered back. “You would never hurt someone like that.”
“I have a monster inside of me...”
“It isn’t you,” she cried again, tears in her eyes, as she pulled his face to hers, staring into his cold and empty eyes. “You would never do that! Just because you have a dark side, doesn’t mean you let it win! If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be with Sextome! The others would be in the worst possible positions. You have a dark side that killed a monster! People can just be as bad a monster as what you read about!”
He slowly focused on her. “And if it gets out? If it hurts you? If it hurts others I love? What then?”
She could only sniffle, as tears began to go down her face. “I don’t care. Please ... PLEASE DON’T LEAVE US!” she screamed, hugging him as hard as she could. “You aren’t a monster to us. You saved us all from bad people, you saved us all from bad lives! I don’t want you to give up.
“She ... she wouldn’t have either. If it wasn’t for you, she’d have been put down. She found happiness, we all have.
“Don’t ... don’t leave us,” she begged, crying into his shirt.
She hoped her words got through to him; she had been practicing them all day before she came in, wondering what she could tell him, what she could say that Nabiki hadn’t.
Well, she knew she couldn’t do worse than Usa.
Slowly, she felt an arm wrap around her, returning her hug.
“Please don’t cry,” came a scratchy voice. “Please don’t cry for something like me.”
“You aren’t something, you’re someone very important to us.”
“I’m a monster.”
“You have a monster you need to defeat,” she said.
“I took pleasure in taking a life.”
“It took pleasure. That wasn’t you.”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “I knew what it wanted to do, and I let it. I knew it would kill Chardin, I knew. And yet I still let it loose.”
“So?” she asked. “He didn’t give you much of a choice. He tried to kill Nabiki-Sempai and Usa-san without a second thought. You think he would be acting like this if he had?” she asked.
“It doesn’t make it right,” he said, a tear going down his face.
“And crying for something you had to do, doesn’t make it right either,” she said.
He pulled her tighter, as the tears began to flow. “Why couldn’t I save her? Why?” he cried, hugging her tightly.
Hotaru merely held him, letting him cry as much as he wanted. “Life is unfair; no one knows that more than a pokégirl. We are born, knowing our destiny, knowing that in the end, no matter what, we are slaves. We are dealt this hand because of Sukebe, because he saw us as weapons.
“We are born into this world, representing a sin centuries old. We hope for the day we’ll be equals to everyone, where we won’t be slaves, treated as sex toys and property,” she added, as his sobs grew quiet, his face looking at hers, as her own tears began to flow.
“We never wanted these lives, but we deal with it. And we were lucky, because we ended up with a male who was the best person in this world, who never treated us as slave, but as people. That’s all a pokégirl really wants.”
He held her to him tightly. “Hotaru ... what if the monster gets out again?”
“Then make it work for you, tame the monster,” she said.
“Hotaru-chan ... thank you,” he said, before he collapsed against the wall, a slight snore coming from him.
The girl could only smile, as she cradled his head. “You aren’t alone in this, Master. Never doubt it.”
“Why are you called Sempai and I get a simple san after my name?” asked Usa.
“I’m a cat-type,” Nabiki mused. “At least her talk went better than your idea of ‘drag him into a fight’.”
“It works on TV,” sighed Usa.
“He’s different,” said Nabiki. “He fights with his heart.” But a dark heart is beating there as well.
It isn’t my place to decide who lives and who dies!
“And that is why you are a coward. In nature, it is kill or be killed. He forced that same choice on you, and I chose for it to be him who died that day. Don’t waste your tears because I did what you wanted me to do, what you knew, deep within your heart and soul, needed to be done.”
Martial artists don’t kill! We protect people!
“We became blooded warriors after Saffron, child. It is a foolish pipe dream to believe one can always save the lives of others, including their enemies. There will always be some battle where the end, no matter what, will result in death.
“To believe otherwise is to fool yourself. This isn’t some sappy anime series where you can go around and stop violence with non-violence. There will always be those that such ideals will have little meaning for.”
I AM NOT A KILLER!
“But you deal with those who are, who have no problem with killing those that stand in their way.
“If you had let him live, that stupid bird, who I might remind you had no problems with killing everyone, including his own people, to get to you... If he had lived, he would have come for you again in the name of revenge. How many would have died then? How many would die because you didn’t kill him?”
It still doesn’t make it right!
“Welcome to reality, kid. Like the Kitten said, life is rarely fair. Sachina didn’t have a fair life, yet she died happily. She did it to save you, because she finally found something worth dying for.
“Can you find something to live for, something ... to kill for? That is life. It is hard, brutal, and painful.”
Why should I listen to a monster?
“What makes you think I am the monster?
“Really, all I am ... is a piece of you ... that realizes the truth ... and is willing to go as far as I need to, to protect the ones I love.”
Mamoru nodded. “The boy is an excellent fighter, even able to go against those that wield Lostech,” he finished, glaring at his new Alpha. “And you have to admit, he is more ... stable, than Chardin ever was.”
“Very true,” said Happosai, looking over the proposed plan. “And he does like to fight, which seems to be the brat’s forte. But will he do it? The little bastard is always a risk to use.”
“But he loves the challenge,” offered Mamoru. “Show him what we know of the boy, the footage we have that the public doesn’t know about, and he’ll jump at the chance to strike.”
Happosai nodded. “The boy always was a little too high strung, always tampering with his DNA...”
Mamoru sighed. “He is still after the ultimate bloodgift formula?”
“As always,” said Happosai. “I allow him to use the resources to try; after all, I have gotten some good results from that work.”
“Very true,” smirked Mamoru.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” griped Ranko.
Happosai glared at the pokégirl. “And that right there is the reason you were such a poor member of this organization. You only think for yourself, and never improve. The only reason Mamoru lasted that long in that prison without getting balled was because he interested me.
“You? You were just a loud mouth brat more concerned with fucking something than our goals. Luckily, that part of you is no longer an issue,” smirked the diminutive leader.
Ranko just growled, preparing to throw an attack at him, when the collar lit up, shocking her, and sending her screaming and convulsing to the floor.
Mamoru smirked. “Now see, if you had done any reading, you would have known I can set those collars to activate at the moment of any killer intent being sensed,” he said, holding a remote.
Happosai waved it off. “The boy was all ego, glad he’s a she now. How much longer before you break the new toy of her bad habits?”
“I rather like her like this,” Mamoru smirked. “It’s no fun unless they fight back.”
“A boy after my own ancient heart,” mused Happosai.
“Okay then,” he said, looking at Mamoru. “I’ll offer this to him. But it is up to him whether not he takes it.”
“And if not?”
“We can always go to the Third member,” he said. “He’d take it for a chance to see the skills this boy has. He always wants to test his skills against others. Boy’s fought more dragon pokégirls barehanded than I care to count.
“But if I may ask, why didn’t you choose him for this request?”
“I want me slaves back alive,” Mamoru smirked.
“I see,” said Happosai. “Very well, I shall do as you have asked. But there will be a price for this.”
“I wasn’t aware you charged for requests or being advised,” snorted Mamoru. “After all, Saotome is as much a threat to me as he is you. I have no doubt he will believe Trauma had something to do with Chardin, and that video shows how far he will go if pushed. We either deal with him now, or when he comes knocking on our door.”
Happosai glared at him. “You would deny me?”
“In a heartbeat,” said Mamoru. “After all, we are doing this for the organization, not for any one member.”
The glare slowly changed into a cruel smile. “You truly are a boy after my own heart, to be able to stand up against me like that.
“Very well, it is done.”
“He is growing weaker,” she mused. “If it continues, my own plans will be put in jeopardy.
“And that just won’t do.” Respond to me, Seymour.
There was silence for a moment, as the markings on her face began to glow.
What the hell do you want?
I merely wish to offer you some advice. Why, don’t you like me?
I hate you with a passion, you old hag. All you care about is yourself. One day, I shall bring you down a few notches.
As fun as that may sound, I have something to discuss with you. That is of course, unless you believe that what I have to discuss will not affect your continued freedom in some way.
After all, I always know where you are, little girl. Now shut up and listen.
Whatever; just make it quick. I have a few tamers I wish to challenge.
How about just one: Ranma Saotome.
... I’m listening.
Hild smirked, even as the mental conversation continued on, knowing that she had hooked the girl already. It is quite simple.
You see, the poor boy was forced to unleash a great darkness within him to save the lives of his friends. But the poor boy blames himself for being weak enough to allow this.
I am failing to see why I should care, let alone why you do?
He’s currently teaching a young man I have taken an interest in. As such, if he falls, then the young man will quickly become useless to me.
So this is still about you? I am tempted to ignore him because of that.
But you won’t, because you wish to see Saotome succeed in this movement as much as any other pokégirl.
Even you?
At this point, his success can only help me out. His failure will cost me time, nothing more. And I do so hate to waste time.
You are not making this choice any easier. But somehow, I think you aren’t telling me everything.
Fine then, I will test him and his team.
Just him. His team will support him, but you alone must reawaken his fighting spirit.
Very well, I shall come there as soon as I finish with my current project, a day or so at the most.
But do not think for a moment we are friends. I shall defeat you, one way or another, Hild.
Hild slowly opened her eyes, the smirk present on her face growing. “Sometimes, it is so easy to play with your pawns.”
She slowly tilted her head to the left. “Did you learn anything interesting, my daughter?”
Urd stepped out from behind an air vent. “What did you do?”
“I merely went out of my way, undergoing extreme emotional stress, to gather the necessary tools to give our dear leader his best chances.”
“What ... did ... you ... do, Mother!”
Hild smirked, before she walked past her daughter. “I merely contacted the one person whom I felt would guarantee Keiichi’s rise to power, who could reverse the damage the foul cat did to his teacher, who could return Saotome to his former self.”
Urd turned to see her mother pause before the roof’s edge. “And what if it doesn’t?”
“Then better Keiichi see a quick end of his teacher than a slow death of the man’s will to continue.”
Ranma slowly turned from the window once again, seeing one of his Alpha’s standing in the doorway. “A little. I take it Hotaru was your idea?”
Nabiki nodded. “She seemed to be someone who could get through to you.”
“How do I stop being a monster?” he asked, slowly turning back around.
“We all have dark natures that can come out at any moment, it is just that more research has been done on pokégirls experiencing this than normal humans.”
“The lack of taming angle?”
She nodded. “Don’t forget what can turn a pokégirl evolution into a thing of horror.”
“Like a Panthress,” he finished, slowly lowering his head.
“She loved you, accepted you, and gave you her only possession in the end,” Nabiki said, walking over and placing her hand on his shoulder.
“What should I do now? The Nekoken ... it was never like that before, I never had to remember ... like that?”
“Do you want to quit? They won’t stop coming now, they never do. If not them, it’ll be someone else who sees you as a threat to the status quo.
“This world is like that. Most people have long given up such thoughts as pokégirl equality, or that we are just another type of sentient life. They see us as sex toys, slaves, weapons, and tools. Your ideals go against that, and for many, the possible change is very frightening indeed.”
“It won’t stop, will it? Not now, not ever, will it end.”
She shook her head. “No.
“Do you want to stop, to support them?”
“No, it ain’t me.”
“Do you want to give up being a Tamer?”
“Quitting ain’t me either.”
“Then you need to find a path fit for you,” she replied. “I will tell you one thing: you can’t feel sad for killing those trying to kill you. Even a novice knows that death can and does happen out there. To think one can live in this world without taking a life in self-defense is a fool’s errand.
“Maybe later, when the world gets better, it’ll be a possibility, but it is not one now.”
“I only killed once before,” said Ranma. “He was trying to kill me and Akane, even his own people if they got in his way. Sure, he came back, him being a phoenix god or something. But it didn’t change the fact I had to kill him to save everyone.”
“Good.”
He blinked, before looking at her.
“You feel guilty. That’s what is different between you and them. He wouldn’t have felt guilty, and we know Chardin never felt guilty in his life.
“By feeling sad at the fact you were forced to take a life, it means ... you have a good heart.”
“Um ... excuse me,” came the halting voice of Nodoka, as she knocked on the door. “But ... you have a challenger, my son.”
“Someone wants to fight him in a pokébattle now?” asked Nabiki.
“No ... they challenged him ... directly,” answered Nodoka, looking pale.
“Who?” asked Ranma, not feeling up to fighting at the moment.
“An ... an Anima.”
Nabiki’s gasp drew Ranma’s attention, as he slowly went to his desk, and opened his pokédex. “What’s an Anima?”
Type: Near Human(???)
Element: Fighting
Frequency: Unknown (All Leagues)
Diet: Unknown
Role: Unknown
Libido: Unknown
Strong Vs: Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel, Bug
Weak Vs: Psychic, Flying
Attacks: No Sell, Chump Change, Resist, Stone Palm, Hyper Kick, Mirror, Super Combo Move, Master Blow
Enhancements: Increased strength, speed, endurance, HP, PP, special defense, special attack.
Evolves: N/A
Evolves From: Unknown (N/A?)
Bounty (for confirmed kill): 50,000,000 SLC
Bounty (for reporting sighting & getting out alive): 2,000,000 SLC
Recommendation if you see one: Pending. Dark Queens and Animas are still mostly unknown quantities, and the bounty itself is tentative due to the fact that an Anima was seen battling a Dronza known to be a member of the Limbec Pirates. It's unknown whether or not she did this for altruistic reasons or not. Best recommendation for now is to avoid them if you can.
The Anima is the only name for this wandering pokégirl.
First seen in 299 AS, two months before the Athena Incident that saw Vale fall and the Langoud sink. The Anima is the strongest fighting pokégirl type in the world, but they answer to no master. Extensive monitoring has shown she possibly has no need for taming, nor does she care to make friends. Even her origin species is unknown, if she even has one.
The Anima appears as a figure wearing a heavy brown cloak. She moves quietly most of the time, but the sound of chains dragging along the ground sometimes gives away the Anima's presence (though this is almost always before a challenge). If someone is lucky enough, they can see beneath the cloak to see a female body wrapped entirely in bandages, save for over the eyes, with broken chains worn randomly over the bandages. Metal clasps are sometimes seen on the wrists, neck and ankles of the Anima, though the chains connected to them are always broken.
The Anima occasionally challenges tamers or pokégirls (or sometimes both) to battle. She will fight as honorably as her opponent(s) do, and will stop attacks short if her opponent is on the ground. Her moves listed above are only the ones positively ID'ed, though it is believed that she may know all Fighting and Normal moves (save for the exclusive ones).
As of 315 AS, no Anima has seen defeat. The most frequent sightings were in 309 AS, when roughly five were reported, within a week of each other, in five different Leagues. It's unsure if these five are all different Anima or if there's simply one rather fast one.
The most peculiar thing about the Anima is the effect on their opponents. Not one fighting pokégirl will become depressed after losing to an Anima. Instead, fighting pokégirls seem to work harder, and will often pester their masters and harem partners to train as well, whether it is in preparation of a rematch or not is unknown at this time. However, like the Dark Queen, the Anima has proven invulnerable to capture.
Some Leagues view the Anima and Dark Queen Pokégirls as a bad trend, and have banned any tamer from having them. They have placed a 50,000,000 SLC bounty on both the Anima and Dark Queen Pokégirls.
“Damn,” muttered Nabiki, “they really come out of the woodworks to fight you, huh?”
Ranma cringed a bit, feeling a small amount of guilt that his life here was starting to show signs of mirroring his life in Nerima.
But his face soon glossed over, as his doubt in himself began to rise once again.
“I ... I didn’t mean it like that,” Nabiki said sadly, cursing herself for perhaps undoing the progress she and the others had made.
“It’s okay,” said Ranma, his eyes downcast. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Nabiki made a motion to speak, but silenced herself, nodding to Nodoka. “Let’s go.”
“Son,” said Nodoka, pausing Ranma before he could leave the room. “I know your heart is very heavy now, and there is little that I can do to help that burden be eased, despite my wishes.
“So I want you to know ... that no matter what ... you are not alone. If you need us for anything, even just to talk, then don’t hesitate to ask that of us.
“That is what true family is for.”
Ranma paused before her, a small smile on his face. “Thanks ... Mom,” he finished, before turning to resume his march to the arena.
Nodoka cried slightly. “Even smiling, it still shows his soul, his sad soul.”
Nabiki nodded, before heading out. She still had to prepare the arena, and try one last thing.
“And show weakness?” asked Usa. “No, let them watch the video if he wins. But I will not allow others to see him in such a state, save those who are within the harem.”
“I agree,” said Nabiki, walking up to the stands. “Even the family members and the good Doctor aren’t allowed in here. We have the cameras rolling anyway, and they are still at the practice fields doing their chores and routines.”
“But isn’t there a price on Anima?” asked Hotaru.
Haruka nodded. “Yes, but you have to defeat them first. And this was a direct challenge. They fight as honorably as their opponent. The last thing we need is to risk Master’s life with such a stupid move.”
“So this just fight, yes?” asked the pokékit Ling-Ling.
“Is true,” said Shampoo. “Is challenge Master must accept.”
“But I want to fight her!” whined Akane.
Kodachi merely stared at the arena, waiting for Ranma to walk onto the field, and begin his match.
“Do you think this will help him?” asked a nervous Kasumi.
“I hope so,” said Nabiki.
“How can a fight help him?” asked Usagi.
“Ranma is a fighter, used to fighting his own battles,” said Ami. “For him, this is a chance to reconnect with his inner spirit.”
“And if the Nekoken comes out?” asked Michiru.
“Then that must be faced as well,” said Setsuna, leaning back in her seat. “Either way, his ordeal ends after the match.”
“I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to show,” she said, glaring at him from under her wrappings.
“You challenged me, and I have to accept all challenges towards the Tendo Ranch as a gym representative,” he said.
“Not much conviction in your duties,” mumbled the Anima. “Well then, child, let us start. I am called Seymour, Ranma Saotome. I have come to challenge you to a one-on-one fight. There are no stakes, no time limit, and no interference from the peanut gallery. Agreed?”
“Yeah,” mumbled Ranma, not taking his eyes off the floor. “Can we do this already?” he asked, looking up.
He barely had time to avoid what could have been a knock-out blow to his jaw, throwing himself to the side. “What the hell!”
“When you agreed, the match was started,” said Seymour. “Don’t blame me if you let your emotional issues cloud your vision of the environment.”
Ranma’s eyes shot open. Does she know?
Seymour took advantage of his newest lapse in attention, delivering a kick to his stomach, which sent him halfway across the floor, only his muscle memory keeping him from being sent into the ground, and instead landing in a three-point-stance, sliding across it.
“You do know how to fight, I see,” said Seymour. “I’ve taken out lesser opponents with just those two moves.”
Ranma was panting slightly, his one free arm not helping keep him on the ground was holding his chest where the kick had landed. Damn, what the hell did she hit me with?
This is bad; if this keeps up ... it might get out.
“Why are you not fighting with your heart?” she asked, staring at him. “If you want to quit, then quit. But don’t waste my time with this half-assed performance.”
You don’t want me fighting with my all, he thought, slowly standing up. I have to defeat her with my own power, and as quickly as possible. If it gets out, it’s all over.
With that, he charged into the fight.
“I wouldn’t,” said Akane.
“This isn’t about you,” said Ukyo. “This is about him. And the way he’s fighting now, he can’t win, not against someone like her.”
“Can he win?” asked Lung-Lung.
“Uncertain,” said Ami. “But no one has ever won against an Anima.”
“Why do you doubt him?” asked Usa. “He is too strong of will and power to allow such a weak girl to dominate him.”
“He will win,” said Kodachi in a quiet voice. “He will win, when his heart is one.”
“What the hell does that mean?” asked Makoto.
“He’ll win when he is back to the way he was,” answered Nabiki. “If he can find a way to do that.”
“Well he better before... Ow,” winced Kiima, seeing Ranma take a direct hit to the face. “He’s going to feel that in the morning.”
“Welcome,” said the voice of the Nekoken, causing Ranma to turn around ... and see a small boy, with cat features, a small amount of fur on its face. Ranma was easily able to tell who it was.
It was him, about the time he had undergone the Nekoken training. “You!”
He made a mad dash towards the boy, wanting to vent his anger at him.
But the Nekoken was too fast, easily avoiding the sloppy blows and kicks Ranma was trying to land. “You blame me still? How foolish you are.”
“You bastard!” he yelled.
“I am but a part of you, a part of your soul. I am what I am, and am a reflection of you.”
“Why do you keep messing with me?” Ranma yelled, missing yet another hit, his anger so much he had forgotten entirely about his special moves he could use.
“You torture yourself, boy.
“I am already here, have been here since that day in the pit. I grew up on this world, evolved from a playful kitten to a prowling wild cat.”
Ranma paused, finding himself out of breath, as he glared at the cat-boy. “I am not a killer!” he screamed.
“What is wrong with killing to protect those that are threatened?” countered Nekoken. “Your issue is like many others, you fail to make any distinction between the two.
“One is a sick animal who does it for their own reasons, another does it either for food or protection against an enemy.
“Both times, you have done it for the latter, not the former. And yet you still fail to realize this. How sad you have become.”
“Shut ... up!” growled Ranma.
“Or what? Will you kill me?”
Ranma’s eyes shot wide open at hearing that, his face paling.
“You do, don’t you? You want me dead, to feel my blood in your hands, to still my beating heart.”
“NO!”
“You can run away from the truth if you like. That’s always what you did, run away. Anytime you had a fear, you’d run, and let my younger form deal with it.”
“I ain’t a coward!”
“Then deal with it, accept it. You can feel guilty; hate yourself for needing to take a life.
“But hear me; even you will need to cull the herd of a sick animal now and then, lest others suffer from your inaction.
“So here and now, you must act. Will you continue to swim in pity and self-doubt, continue to let others suffer because your ego can’t take the truth of this world?
“Or will you rise up, and fight for the world you find yourself in, and try to make such acts unnecessary?”
Ranma slowly looked up, not seeing feral eyes within the face of the Nekoken, but sad, lonely eyes, eyes belonging to that ... of a child.
“You see in me your fears, and those fears include being a killer, a monster. And as I am what you expect me to be, I am those things.
“But if you wish me to be something else, than that is also a choice you must make.
“So what am I? Am I a monster, a fighter, a martial artist? Am I a protector of the weak, a defender of the innocent, a demon to all, or a destroyer of evil? Am I a tool of death, or am I an instrument of justice?
“Decide, Ranma Saotome. The time to choose what I am ... what you will become ... is now.”
“So, you still wish to fight? I must admit I was beginning to tire in waiting for the will to fight to return. For a brief moment, I did entertain the thought you were dead inside.”
Ranma’s breaths were coming in deep pants, as he tried to focus. His body was bruised and battered, only his will kept him from succumbing to the pain he felt.
He could feel his girls, his friends, his new family, looking upon him; their faith in him, their love, making him want to continue fighting.
“What am I to you?”
“I... I am...”
“You are what?” asked the Anima.
“I ... am... I am...”
He paused, before he leveled a glare at her. “I am me.”
“Excuse me?”
He chuckled a bit. “I am what I want to be. I understand now. If I want to be a monster, then I’ll become one.
“But I don’t want to be a monster, and I won’t run from what I could become. I’ll face it, I’ll fight the evil if it exists in me, and I’ll defend those who I care for, even if it costs me my life.
“Even if ... I must take a life, I will not take a life to begin with, but it will be an option I will consider now.”
His aura was building, the golden blue returning with a vengeance as his confidence built upon itself, his wounds closing and healing at his usual accelerated rate, and then surpassing it.
Seymour could only smirk. “So you want to fight now?”
“Not for them, no,” he said. “I want to fight, to test my own skills against someone who has never lost, against someone who might be my better. This is not a fight for life and death, just a fight to test our skills.”
“You understand,” she said, softly.
He nodded, before darting towards her, meeting her in a fury of punches and kicks.
For once during the entire match, Seymour found herself on the defensive, trying to keep the pigtailed Tamer from breaking through her defenses, never dropping her smile, as the thrill of the challenge started to climb higher for her.
It grew even more as he took to the air, trying to use his school’s style to keep her off balance. He wasn’t insulting her, belittling her, or any of the usual psychological tactics that Anything Goes relied on. This was a fight of skill vs. skill, and he was going to keep it that way.
And the same smiles never left their faces.
“About fucking time,” muttered Usa. “I was beginning to think I would have to get in there myself and show him how to fight.”
“You weren’t going to abandon him?” asked a surprised Nabiki. It just wasn’t done for a Dark Lady to stay with a weak tamer, even if Ranma’s potential was still the same.
The pink haired woman blushed for a bit, before returning her attention to the battle. “My Master is not someone weak enough to allow such a situation to continue forever. Like me, I knew he would defeat this problem.”
Nabiki felt herself smiling. It would seem he even wormed his way into her little black heart. I must say he keeps surprising me.
“Does this mean we helped?” asked Hotaru, her tail waving pensively.
Nabiki nodded, patting the Kitten on her head. “We all did,” she added, winking at the little pokékit that saw her as a role model.
“Thank the Gods,” muttered Rei. “I don’t think I could stand those taming machines another day.”
“Go Master!” cheered Usagi and Chibi-Usa.
She watched as the two combatants traded blows, delivering and receiving hits.
But what really brought a smile to her lips was the fact that it appeared that Ranma had finally accepted a part of himself that he had long suppressed, a part awoken and given shape in this world.
He had finally taken the Nekoken back into himself.
She didn’t know the full story behind the technique, but her senses told her enough. Somehow, a piece of his soul and mind had been changed, or perhaps it would be better to say enhanced. The result was a part of him not of him, a separate personality that was malleable. It was anything it needed to be, or he wanted it to be.
Against Chardin, he had needed something that could vent his anger, that could show his displeasure and rage to the world, and thus the monster form had been birthed, forming earlier during his battles with Sextome and the Terrible Trio, perhaps even during his acquiring the Usa sisters.
But the death of the male monster in human skin had created a rift, an uncertainty, and the created monster sought to restore a balance, while the main mind sought to remove it, and perhaps destroy itself in the process.
He was destroying himself, trying to reconcile his values with a new reality, and a world where the harsh truths he had once ignored were literally attacking him: death was sometimes necessary. And while hope could exist, killing would and always had been necessary at times.
Chardin was a monster who had stopped being someone who could be saved a long time ago. And she knew for a fact that Trauma had many more monsters to replace him, some even worse than legends from the Pit.
And he might just have to kill them as well. Otherwise, they would keep coming back, and an innocent would be hurt.
And one of those might be the boy she was currently interested in.
“Man, I hate having to do the right thing,” she sighed, rubbing her head, as the two continued to damage each other, continuing to smile.
“But I need them for whatever is coming,” she said, staring at Ranma. “Whatever your part is in the future of this world, Saotome, I need you whole.”
And his spirit ... had never been running so high.
The fight ... it was restoring him ... somehow. He could feel his soul rejoice at it.
“To fight to live, to defend; this is what you have chosen to become ... for the moment. Whether this makes you a monster is for those you care for to determine. Follow your path, and continue your work, and fight with your heart and soul.”
I finally understand, thank you.
“Looks like you are reaching your limit,” smirked Ranma.
“So are you,” smirked the Anima. She had never come this close to losing before. She had never found a challenge at this level.
And neither one of them would quit now.
I’ve got enough energy for one more attack, thought Ranma. I can use the Möko Takabisha; but I need to do it point-blank.
“It is time to finish this,” said Seymour. “I have enjoyed our battle, Ranma Saotome.”
“Right back at you,” smiled Ranma. “I ought to thank you for helping me get my head back together.”
She nodded, as she charged at him, her fist cocked to deliver a final blow.
Ranma stood his ground, cupping his hands, knowing he would only have a split second to release the attack. Too soon, and she’d dodge it, following through with a counter to knock him senseless. Too late, and the same thing would occur.
Everything came down to this.
Closer...
Closer...
Closer...
I win. She smiled as her fist neared his unguarded face.
“Möko Takabisha!” he screamed, his arms darting forward and releasing the chi projectile.
For Seymour, she felt a little shock as she saw the attack, but her smile returned. He held back for a counter to end it.
Well done,
human, well done.
“I think he did,” said Ukyo in awe.
Kodachi smiled a bit, not letting her feelings be expressed any further than that, though her thoughts were cheering him on for his victory.
“I wanted to fight her!” cried Akane.
“It would appear he has returned to normal,” said Ami.
“Shampoo too-too happy he win, and very happy he back!” smiled the pokégirl.
“Shall we go congratulate him?” asked Nabiki, causing the girls to blink, before the two teams took off to hug their Master. Unnoticed through the cheers, Seymour slowly rose, and made her way out of the arena.
The Anima slowly made her way away from the Tendo Ranch, a smile on her face, even through the bruises on her body should have made her feel something other than happiness.
“Didn’t I say you would have fun?”
She slowly turned to see the one person in the world she truly hated beyond measure, leaning against a tree, her white hair flowing gently in the breeze. “Hild,” she growled.
“Now don’t be like that,” chastised the Legendary. “After all, you are hardly in any shape to battle me, let alone resist this,” she finished, holding an empty pokéball.
“You wouldn’t?”
“I would,” she said, before she put the ball away. “But that would hardly be any fun for me, now would it. There’s no challenge in capturing you now.”
“Should I thank you?”
“It would be nice,” said Hild. “But then again, you never did know how to show proper respect.”
“Whatever,” waved off the Anima, before hissing as the pain from her injuries made themselves known once more.
Hild just smirked at the ego Seymour was showing her. She never did know when to back down. “Well then, I’ll let you go and lick your wounds. I’m sure that pack that the Milktit gave you will be useful towards that end.”
Seymour simply stared at her a bit, before she limped off.
Hild could only show her own smile now. Oh, you’ll be back for another fight, my dear. You’ve tasted defeat, and like those fighting pokégirls you defeat, you’ll see this as a challenge you’ll need to overcome, and you won’t rest until you have defeated Saotome in a fight.
Who knows, maybe you’ll stop wandering around and choose him as your new master.
Hild simply shook her head at that. “Ah, the chaos I sow for a better world.”
Seymour continued to lumber forward, feeling the need for a bath and a long nap. Oh yes, she was now quite intrigued with the human tamer from another world.
One day, we will have a rematch, and on that day, we shall see who the better is.
And then, when I have victory over you, I know I will be nearly ready to face Hild, and pay her back for what she did ... to Mother.
“So, he survived,” she mused, leaning back in her chair. “Perhaps he will do after all,” she finished, as the light went out in the room.
“Perhaps I was right ... to bring him here.”
Across from him, a small terminal started beeping, alerting him that he had an incoming call.
Snorting about his workout being interrupted, he sat down one weight, and activated the communicator. “What is it?” he growled out, picking up his weight, and resuming his workout.
“Glad to see you too, m’boy,” said the voice of Happosai.
The person snorted again. “It better be good, I’m working on a new form here.”
“Very well, I’ll get to the point,” said the small figure on the video screen, as he steepled his hands. “We have a job for you that we feel would be something you’d love to take.”
“Oh,” said the figure in disinterest, not even bothering to look at the screen.
“Yes, an interesting young buck who slew Chardin.”
“So?”
“He did it by himself, unarmed, and without any alterations, boosts, or assistance of Lostech.”
The figure paused in his workout, slowly turning to face the screen. “Really now?”
Happosai smirked, as he tapped a few buttons, causing a new screen to come up, displaying Chardin’s gruesome death; sound and all.
The figure’s eyes slowly grew wide as he watched, a dark smile appearing on his face. “Very ... nice...”
“So you’ll take the job?”
“Usual fee?”
“Of course, I’d never shortchange one of my Deadly Four.”
“What about Sextome?”
“Genma; why wouldn’t I make that ball of fat suffer?”
The figure chuckled darkly. “Very well, I shall prepare to have my fun.”
“Very well, Taro,” replied Happosai, smirking as the link went dead.
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