99Disclaimer: I don't own YuYu Hakusho or Ranma 1/2
Something happened. Something thought to be a myth even more untrue than the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas himself combined. Three words no one, not even Ranma, would ever have the balls to utter to summarize the monumental discovery.
Nabiki was petrified.
Nabiki Tendo, someone thought to be so cold she could have had the moniker "Ice Queen" bequeathed upon her, was stricken with fear, and not just any fear, but the kind of raw, instinctual fear which would prompt her to duck underneath her desk, curl up into a ball, and quiver as though her life depended on it. Of course, she wouldn't be caught dead in her cowardice. She did have an image to maintain and unlike her cowardly father, she was arrogant and despised what she considered to be her inferiors seeing her as anything other than an omnipotent ruler to be feared by all, not fearing.
This was a nightmare. What was Yusuke Urameshi – the demon-like thug rumoured to have been so strong gangs of older kids fell before his feet in total obedience - even doing in her turf anyway? She first received word of Yusuke's infamous name five years ago. Back then, she was just getting into the game on the black market, but it was clear even back then to her superiors in the shady trade that she had talent for this.
They warned her about Urameshi. Thinking back on it now, that should have been one hell of a giant red flag to heed their advice. If illegal risk-takers in their twenties were second-guessing themselves to initiate potential confrontation with a fourteen-year-old boy, then that boy had to be ungodly strong for his age, but she was young and naïve, telling herself the apparent monster taken humanoid form lived in an entirely different district to her, that he would never in a thousand years locate her, and so, she risked it all, betting on each fight young Yusuke got himself into, until it happened.
The assistant she sent out to Yusuke's vicinity returned one night with the most haunted, petrified look she had ever seen in a person's eyes, almost as if she had been given a glimpse of death itself, and spookily told her, "I'm out." It chilled Nabiki to the bone. She was the kind of authoritative young woman who had all her subordinates on lockdown, taking pride in having them under her control, so for someone to frighten them so terribly that they were willing to slip from her thumb, well, it left her panic-stricken.
Nabiki Tendo tended to not like things she couldn't control.
The next day marked the date and month as the time Nabiki felt the Fear of God driven into her heart. What her former assistant had neglected to tell her in her fear-induced state was that Yusuke interrogated her, forcing her to reveal their base of operations.
Rude awakening could not have been more appropriate.
Their hideout was a wreck. It was almost like a storm had passed through, which wasn't too far from the truth, Nabiki horrifyingly realized asking a barely conscious, bloodied member of the underground market for clarification. Yusuke beat them up. There had to have been ten fully growth adults in there at the time, yet Yusuke single-handedly decimated them all, procuring their laundry money for himself and leaving them in pools of their own blood.
She never went back.
Nabiki couldn't have been more relieved when she remembered she never disclosed her address to them otherwise she was positive they would have sold her out to save their own skin. Anyone would have. That much was a given.
Since that faithful day, she had been lying low, living on the edge of suspense that the Devil's incarnate would track her down any day and give her what she had coming to her. When years passed without any sign of a handsome youth turning up on her doorstep, she felt it was due for her to relax.
Until she walked down the staircase of her home and found someone who looked strikingly alike to the Devil's incarnate who ruined her, sitting cosily in her living room like he belonged. Needlessly to say, she ducked for cover, diligently listening to the conversations he shared with her sister's fiancée and his rival. She cared little for the fact he had taken it upon himself to train that worthless Hibiki boy. She was more alarmed to discover he had a perverted side to him as he playfully lusted on Ranma's female form.
What if he wanted to have his way with her as a compromise for cashing in on his brawls as a younger teen? The thought both enticingly and horrifyingly crossed her mind. She was a kinky girl by nature, so giving herself to the Devil's incarnate would have been the lesser of two evils, the evils being the punishments, but it still would've pained her to submit. She liked to be the dominant one in relationships. She made herself scarce to her room, her sudden sanctuary, and confirmed his identity from her elder sister, Kasumi, falling into despair shortly after being left alone.
She once again ghosted out of the Dojo at the peak of dawn like a trained ninja, but she knew she couldn't keep it up for long. Yusuke was now living at the Dojo to keep the old fool away, Kasumi clarified. Apparently, Yusuke had been the one to recover the Pressure Point Chart liberating Ranma from weak hell. Heh, she never would have imagined someone as cruel as him would do something decidedly heroic. Either way, though, she didn't trust him to grant her leniency given what he had done, even if Kasumi stated he had been nothing but wonderful, but that wasn't saying much.
She saw the positives in everyone, and even if they were none, she made up some that were never there, like in the old fool's case; foolish woman.
"Hey, who's that?" A nondescript student pointed out, curiously peering out of the window from the top floor of the school to the ground below.
Nabiki lifted a brow in interest, leg discreetly trembling atop her knee.
"It looks like a new student." Another one ventured to guess.
The prospect of a new kid coming to the block prompted almost everyone to gather around the window, keen to pick up any half-intriguing things from the supposedly fresh-minted student to gossip about.
One turned to her, "It looks like he's with your sister and her fiancée." Nabiki's eyes flashed wide in horror, her heart tightening. To her, that clarified the identity of the enigma on show. Yusuke Urameshi was out front, and now the question lingered, why? She knew he couldn't have been a student based on her maths. She was twelve when she had received wind of his fourteen-year-old terror, which was five years ago, so now he should be the same age as her eldest sister, nineteen.
He was known for ditching school on a regular basis, which should have ruled out the slim possibility of him saddling up with kids two-to-three his junior to regain his missing education. Nabiki harboured no aspirations of that being the case. As much as she feared admitting it, it was far more likely he was coming for her head.
She was a realist, not an idealist, and as such she would conclude the rational outcome rather than her own hopes and desires.
An unremarkable girl in ponytails flanked to her side, one of her henchwoman, "I take it he will be someone you will control too, Nabiki-sama."
"You fool," Nabiki downplayed miserably, shifting a few eyes her way, "Do you even know who he is?" The question prompted everyone to gape at her with their full, shocked attentions. Someone even the feared mercenary of Furinkan High School was wary of was definitely someone most wanted to avoid, "That's Yusuke Urameshi, demon-like thug of Ebisu."
That did it.
Everyone paled like ghosts, rushing back to the window, suddenly seeing the demonic powerhouse in a cleared perspective; one that was dark and malevolent.
"Oh my god! It's him."
"Yusuke Urameshi!"
"What's he doing here?"
"I dunno, but I heard he once had every gang in Ebisu under his control."
"That's nothing! I heard he has every gang in Tokyo under his command!"
"Yeah, and he has over five hundred thousand gang members at his beck and call!"
"I heard he got fed up of school and beat up the teachers."
"I heard he burned down his school."
"I heard he's in with the mafia."
"I heard he's bribing the police."
And the rumours regarding Yusuke Urameshi's infamy were brought full circle, each one becoming more outlandish than the last.
Nabiki groaned, wishing she could be anywhere but there. More than half those rumours were false and others were entirely exaggerated from Yusuke's thuggish landmarks, but still, it said a great something to Yusuke's notoriety to have gossip of such ridiculous multitudes spewing forth from his rep alone.
"What are we going to do if he comes in here?"
"I don't know!" He looked like he was about to start hyperventilating, tears springing to his eyes as he bit into his blazer.
The ensuring calm that followed from Yusuke's departure after bidding Ranma and Akane farewells could not have been more welcomed at that time. The collective inhales of relief were loudly audible as was the brush of their palms cleaning the sweat from their foreheads.
"Phew. He's leaving."
"Yeah. Guess he was just walking Ranma and Akane to school."
"Thank god," Nabiki grumbled, palming her face in distressed frustration.
This could not be happening.
Coasting Through Life
"Is something in the water in this place, Kasumi?" Yusuke asked his temporary travel companion. He had promised to help her with the shopping. Even if Soun assured him he could stay at the dojo free of charge just for acting as an improvised lapdog to ward off their spiteful master, Yusuke still wanted to give something back to compensate for his lack of rent. It just didn't sit well with him merely staying with the Tendo family without helping them out with their finances under the guise of 'protection.' It felt a scumbag tactic and the last thing Yusuke wanted to be after maturing throughout the years was a scumbag.
A bum? Sure. A scumbag? Hell no.
So he set Ryoga the task of simply running in whatever direction he saw - given that he had no sense of direction - with a forty-boulder on his back and set off with Kasumi to help with the groceries.
Kasumi took a moment to bask in the pleasantry of the morning day only she could view in her positive perception of all. The birds chirping away, the light breeze brushing her skin and sweeping her long hair to the side, and the little elder out watering her garden made for a peaceful atmosphere to the young maiden.
"Why, whatever do you mean, Urameshi-kun?" She asked brightly, with a soft melodic voice that could rip the strings right off the heart of a guy like Kuwabara, if he wasn't already with Yukina.
Yusuke messily rubbed the back of his head in his difficult contemplation to summarize his thoughts, "Like everyone around here's a bit… uh-."
"Eccentric?" Kasumi offered, gently cutting in when it was clear he needed help.
Yusuke's facial expression darkened into a hard look of annoyance, "Yeah let's just go with that." He had been thinking more along the vulgar lines of 'bat-shit crazy,' but had to refrain himself. Not only was Kasumi essentially a beefed-up version of an traditional lady, the kind of high class female who had an extreme aversion to swears, he was also trying to be a better person in general.
Kasumi seemed to be considering his viewpoint thoughtfully, "Hmm, I see your point." She looked over to him with an insisting smile, "But I don't believe they're as that noticeable as you're thinking. I believe you just require a bit of time settling in to get accustomed to a few of our neighbours' more… unusual quirks." The polite smile on her face strained just a bit.
As if fate was against her, an obnoxious chant from a widely renown manga series reverberated throughout the air, making Yusuke lift an eyebrow and turn his head to find a cosplayer of a nigh-flawless Rock Lee imitation sprinting toward and passed them with enough force to pick up a huge tornado of dust while bellowing out the aforementioned character's quotes, all on his hands to boot.
"Yoshiiiiiiiiiiii! To Spring time of youth! If I cannot do five hundred laps around Nerima then I must do two thousand push-ups on my thumbs!"
"Uh-huh." Yusuke sarcastically mumbled to Kasumi's reasoning, voice squeaking slightly to the Rock Lee-fanatic. 'Kid even has the get-up, haircut and everything.' Where the hell did he order that spandex anyway? On second thought, Yusuke really didn't want to know.
Kasumi brightened in recognition, "Oh!~ That's just Tadaaki!~ He really is a lovely young man!~"
Yusuke's arms stubbornly went over his chest in a hard, unconvinced stance, "Kid looks like he needs to step outside and socialize more, but okay."
Kasumi shifted her polite smile his way, but Yusuke could tell it wasn't sent in the same manner. It had a distinct all-knowing feel about it. The kind of scolding smile a teacher who expected better from her student would give to him.
"You're being difficult."
Yusuke shook his head with a low yielding sigh, "Sorry." That delicate, subtle approach of reprimanding him had always been much more effective than say, the forceful, direct method of shouting, which only prompted him to either A: Fight back or B: Tune it out entirely. The classic 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' trick that often worked on hard of hearing youths like Yusuke like a charm. Granted, it wasn't that effective when Kasumi used it on him since they had yet to form a connection, but he had clearly made a decent impression on her.
The very last thing he wanted was to sully that image she had of him by being his usual obstinate self.
What could he say?
He had strong opinions.
"That's okay." The rest of their journey onward to their destination continued much in silence with the occasional small talk, with them finding out they both shared the same age of nineteen currently in their lives, Yusuke informing her he had been exploring the world for the past year, Kasumi mentioning she had taken up the mettle of motherly duties in her family since their mother passed away, and other such trivial topics, all with the occasional awkward pause between subjects. Yusuke wasn't much of a conversationalist with those he couldn't already relate with and he couldn't have been more further apart from Kasumi considering what they were.
Him – A slowly redeeming thug with a slight slangy, informal speech pattern.
And her – A sheltered traditional maiden of proper eloquence.
Naturally, finding common ground to broach a conversation was always going to be a difficult endeavour with the two having such widely different backgrounds.
"Here we are," Kasumi smiled in recognition, gazing up with peaceful content to the tall establishment twenty minutes of walking and unsettling silences had brought them to; Best-Buy, largest and most well-known SuperMarket in all of Tokyo, "This is our usual store we frequent to gather our groceries."
"Cool," Yusuke shrugged dismissively, leading Kasumi to the automatic doors of the establishment, "I usually shop here too."
"That's wonderful!" The doors parted to either side as if knowing her positivity, allowing them both to step through and be greeted with a gentle wave of cool air from the store's air-conditioning, "It's so nice to find common ground like this," Considering how mute their interaction had been so far.
"Uh-huh." Each took a steel basket from the stockpile, with Kasumi's hanging delicately over her arm and Yusuke's carelessly on his finger.
Another period of silence reigned supreme between the two, but this one was more mutual, borne not from their lack of empathy, but at their task at hand. They busied themselves rounding up the ingredients, treats, and other such groceries they'd made their trip to Best-Buy for, with Yusuke obviously carrying all of the heavy stuff, leaving the light ones in Kasumi's basket.
"So how were little sister and Ranma-kun this morning?" Kasumi asked, striking up a conversation as she tip-toed in vain to reach a particular item on the top shelf. Yusuke rounded to her side and using his superior reach, scooped the bag of uncooked broccoli from the shelf of the vegetable isle they were in, getting a grateful smile from her for his gentlemanly assistance.
"Fine," He shrugged, looking down at his own basket. Half of it was packed full of junk food, leaving the other half free for carbons of juice for the family and the other heavy items like a whole chicken he didn't feel right letting Kasumi carry, "They're good kids honestly, they just bring out the worse in each other together."
Surprisingly, instead of trying to downplay the negativity in her little sister's relationship with Ranma to accentuate the positives, Kasumi did the opposite to what he expected of her, agreed with him, "Yes, I have had my concerns with little sister's… rather unhealthy relationship with Ranma-kun but I have kept these issues to myself in fear of upsetting Father."
"If you see problems in your kid sister's engagement to her fella you should just come right out and say it," Yusuke insisted and Kasumi pitied his audacity with a small shake of the head, "Hell, it would better if they slowed down on the wedding plans instead of rushing into it. That'll just lead to a stressful marriage life."
This was incredibly ironic. She had always assumed if their fathers had their way and wed them for the unity of their schools that Akane and Ranma would end up having an early, bitter divorce. Kasumi was anything but dumb. What she may have lacked in honed martial arts prowess she more than made up for in intelligence. She observed her sister's interactions with Ranma with a keen eye and would frown in worry at just how anti-productive they remained to building a healthy relationship, but because she was optimistic by nature, though, she'd always adamantly cling to the futile hope that they could salvage common ground to make something work.
It also helped that she did not want to marry a younger man like Ranma.
"I see where you are coming from," She admitted, "I will have to schedule a talk with Father later to a discuss a possible setback date," One hand went to her cheek as she swayed lightly in controlled concern, "Oh my, I do hope Father takes this well."
"He should take it well, presuming he cares for his kid," Yusuke reasoned coolly, "It isn't right forcing her into something she's uncomfortable with for his own number one needs."
"I concur, but Father and Uncle Saotome…" Concern marred her beautiful face, "They have cherished their dream of one day seeing their school unified for long now," She whisked her remorseful gaze away from Yusuke's neutral, unjudging glance, "I am just not sure how they will perceive the news that little sister's and Ranma-kun's engagement may need to be potentially terminated."
"Aw! They can wait a few more years 'til their kids have kids of their own and pair 'em together for unity and stuff. Their kids take priority. That simple. Now, c'mon. Let's gather up the last few bits and bobs and get outta here."
"Okay, Urameshi-kun."
Once again, another session of silence settled between them but much like the last one it was sombre. Kasumi was lost in the melodic woods of her thoughts, contemplating Yusuke's recommendation, even spoken with no real finality. It was more jest than anything. It was just the ideal solution to end her sister's prolong suffering in the poisonous relationship she shared with Ranma, that Kasumi couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it. She had always been so passive to the happenings around her, it was how she was able to remain unaffected to its infection. To maintain her sanity, Kasumi turned a blind eye to her surroundings, using the old 'If You Don't Believe In It It Isn't Real' mentality, and although it worked effectively in the sense that she had in fact kept her sanity, it had left her blind to the simple approach to resolve many of the problems plaguing her family's lives.
"Are you certain you do not mind paying for our all shopping Urameshi-kun?" Kasumi asked melodically.
Yusuke winked her way, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Thankfully, he had made a trip to his storage to retrieve his other wallet after leaving Ranma and Akane at school, "No problem. I got this. Gotta earn my keep somehow."
She giggled slightly behind her fingers, "I suppose."
Kasumi was already convinced that the young man beside her was wonderful, and his gentle awakening for her only solidified her opinion of him. It was a standard question he presented her with, why should her little sister and Ranma get married when there's a better alternative? Yet it was like the coffee that slurred Kasumi from the dormant state of acceptance she had fallen into, allowing the repetitive events her family went through to pass her by. He was taking action, simple as they were, but leaving an impactful butterfly effect all the same.
With Yusuke around to disrupt the status quo, Kasumi truly began to believe things around Nerima could change and everyone could move forward as people.
Chapter 3
The room was almost entirely concealed in darkness, much to the chagrin of the current attendants, most of which were shrouded in silhouettes masking their appearances. The only lighting came directly from the long dining-like table they were gathered around, a faintly glowing blue hologram depicting the image of their cursed target in his curse form, lecherously flaunting his female body in short-shorts and a sleeveless tank boy.
"I'm glad you could all make it at such short notice gentlemen and ladies," The apparent leader of the group stated, stood at the head of the desk that would identify him as such. He was a relatively short elder, but not to the ridiculous level of the seemingly immortal Happosai. He had a thick, white moustache, the brims hanging slightly over his pale cheeks. Proudly on his scrawny, short posture was the distinguished uniform of their enigmatic organization, bearing a striking resemblance to that of a military uniform. A jacket with two front pockets on his sternums, thick trousers, black boots and a cap bearing the same star insignia on the right breast plate on the jacket stitched into the middle.
Besides the boots, the uniform marking someone as a proud member in one of the respectful ranks in the Jusenkyo Preservation Society abbreviated to JPS was camouflaged green.
"This better be good!" One of the silhouette shouted, in a voice that was markedly rough, aggressive and above all else, feminine.
"I concur, Chiyuki," Another silhouetted echoed, his subdued tone acting as a stark contrast to the irritable tone of the female who spoke moments before, "I don't quite enjoy being whisked out here when my documentary is on, though I have left it on record my point still stands." Something about nature and watching animals in their natural habit really resonated with his spirit. In particular, he found he related with the bear the most. Both were quiet, isolated creatures, but once angered both would transform into ferocious beasts.
"Like, I don't mind our little get togethers, guys," Another silhouette chimed in, voice a nigh-perfect impersonation of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, "Whatever gets me out of the house."
"Unlike you, Shades, the rest of us actually have lives outside of stuffing our damned faces in!" Chiyuki roared, and with it seemingly went the chairman's only hope of the meeting remaining civil.
"There they go again," He moaned, theatrically wiping a fabricated tear from his eye with a handkerchief he pulled from his person. There wasn't a possession too invaluable to him that he wouldn't part with to see all his subordinates getting along, working together like a well-oiled machine of coordination instead of the seemingly hastily assembled team of reprobates they came off as.
It was asking a lot and he knew it. Their personalities were too radically different for them to so easily put aside their differences for the betterment of the team. Add to the fact he rarely summoned them because they were just so difficult to convince to pause their lives and attend a spontaneous meeting. He often had to raise their salary just to motivate them enough to present themselves before him.
Truthfully, summoning them was pretty much more detrimental to the society as a whole than it was beneficial and why he did so on rare occasions. This was the first time in three years that they had come face to face like this, which spoke volumes for the stability of the organization for it to not even need eight of their best operatives to manage.
"Like far-out dudette, you really hurt my feelings," Shades mocked, big, bright, goofy smile shining through his shadowy figure.
"You're gonna be hurting if ya shut it, dork!" She threatened, shooting up to her feet.
"You will do no such thing to Gurubi," A robust silhouette stated firmly.
Ah, there was a small silver-lining. Even if they couldn't find common ground as a group, didn't mean they couldn't as a pair. They weren't so far apart in worlds that they couldn't relate to each other individually, one to one. Quite the contrary actually. It still wounded the chairman that they couldn't and/or wouldn't operate as a group, but it gave him hope to see they could as pairs.
"Thanks, buddy," Shady said in appreciation of his close friend's defence of him.
"No problem, Gurubi. Wanna eat after this?"
"Like far out! How did you know?"
"Oh, you and your eating buddy can suck your di-!"
"Enough!" The hulking figure at the foot of the desk, one of the only three not silhouetted, shouted belligerently, flooding the room in his waves of killing intent and silencing everyone, "We're here to brand out retribution to anyone breaking our code of conduct. Go bicker like children in own time!"
The vice-chairman smiled in complete satisfaction of the JPS' most loyal soldier laying down the law, forcing compliance from his juniors just from the mere pressure of his aura. Kinnii – Reportedly being the closest to the Apocalypse's power rumoured to have been so potent he produced an earthquake simply by flexing his muscles five years ago, he was by far the strongest soldier in their ranks, and luckily, the most loyal. He carried the organization single-handedly when the organization didn't have the funds to incentivize the others to join him, needing nothing but his own determination to rid the world of scum like the lawbreakers Ranma Saotome and his ragtag group of Miscreants.
If it weren't for his curse, the singular weak point Ranma exploited, they wouldn't be in this situation. Ranma and co would be dead, but alas the curse doomed them for failure that left severe repercussions on Kinnii. In his curse-induced pacifist mind, he discarded his fame sword, a legendary weapon that bumped his power to a whole other level of godly brilliance. It took weeks to retrieve it, but now that they had they were ready to begin their countermeasures.
"Thank you, Kinnii," The vice-chairman, a short and stocky man, said appreciatively. Kinni snorted heavily and sat back down, "As you should know from the summary pertaining to the reason of your summoning, we of the Jusenkyo Preservation Society did a great disservice to the earth in allowing multiple miscreants to escape unpunished two months ago."
"Yes, my intrigue was peeked when I heard of Kinnii-hun's defeat to the scoundrel, and," A deeply alluring voice paused to glance up at the aforementioned indecent redhead criminal,"…Undignified Saotome."
"Hey, I didn't lose to that kid fairly," Kinnii grumbled defensively, "He activated my… curse and ran when he could!"
"Well, regardless, it is relatively impressive that he was able to decipher your weakness to exploit," She continued, each word of hers dipping with heavy seductiveness, "He must be quite the strategist and one whose arrest should be handled diligently."
Kinnii growled in frustration. It was an insult to his pride as a fierce warrior that they had to call in his junior, inferior colleagues for assistance and take precautions to ensure a repeat of last time's catastrophic defeat could not happen under any conceivable circumstance to execute the no-good lawbreakers. He could feel his eyes glowing with murder just reliving his downfall to that 'tactician's filthy hands.
"It was actually more of a fluke that he discovered Kinnii's weakness, Sachiko," The vice-chairman clarified, eliciting a gasp from the flirtatious woman.
"He wasn't even actively trying to pinpoint Kinnii's main flaw," She analysed, proceeding to rub more salt in the hulking warrior's already bleeding wound, "He's going to be even more dangerous to engage than I perceived initially."
"Exactly," The vice-chairman said gravely, "That's why I'll be first sending one of the good Doctor's Recruits to engage the miscreant if only to slow him down for one of you to finish the job indefinitely."
This announcement caught the attention of everyone. Even the laziest one who was the picturesque definition of couch potato, was only now prying his head from its formerly slacked positioning on the table from the proclamation that one of the dubbed Mad Scientist's Recruits were being sent out to the field.
Recruits were absolutely lethal and, because of what they were in nature, the ideal subordinates. They didn't require incentives like pay-checks to pause their lives to carry out orders. They literally had no lives. All they needed was to be switched on, given orders, and they would set out to accomplish them even if it killed them.
…Even if it killed them.
Hence lied the main flaw stopping the Recruits from replacing the current Star Elites of the JPS' main fighting force. Recruits weren't perfect. They were created by man and man wasn't perfect. It showed in their design. Recruits were reckless, charging at their targets with reckless abandon. While this was a valid tactic for the fastest of Recruits, most other Recruits made themselves too predictable, and for someone like the lawbreaker Ranma, being predictable would only serve to play into his hands. They had also a weakness that was quite easily exploited.
Recruits would not attack those significantly weaker than them.
"Which class is being sent out?" Gurubi's close companion asked.
Recruits fell into three separate classes representing their armour and speed levels.
Bulky, heavily armoured Recruit. Or in Chiyuki's 'colourful' words, fatass Recruit. This one, due to his lack of speed, fought less recklessly and more carefully, choosing to play to his strengths with simple tactics. Stand still, guard, and draw his enemy in for devastating combos of heavy hits capable of bringing down buildings like logo blocks.
Relatively bulky, medium-armoured Recruit. This type of Recruit was arguably the most balanced. He took the best traits of the slowest and fastest Recruits and moulded them into one terrifying package, but wasn't as strong nor as fast as the other two classes. They were considered the less viable Recruits was this reason: they couldn't endure as many attacks as the Fat Recruits nor could they attack as relentlessly as the slim Recruits could.
Skinny, lightly armoured Recruit. This type of Recruit was by far the most reckless, and by extension, lethal. What they lacked in endurance they more than made up for in speed. They assaulted their targets unrelentingly, never stopping until their target was surely eliminated, their body a pile of ash at their feet.
"Fast Recruit."
Everyone gasped.
They severely felt like their trip to their base of operations was entirely worthless now.
"Well, shit. Us gathering here was for nothing," The couch potato remarked.
"Why didn't you just send that speed freak of nature and instead of calling us here!?" Chiyuki questioned angrily. They better be receiving an increase in their salaries or a one-off payment for this. It was irritating on its own dropping everything to travel to another country, let alone finding out that her muscle wasn't even needed anyway.
"Need I remind you he did overcome Kinnii, albeit dirtily?" He awkwardly added, trying to appease Kinnii's ego, "It would be unwise to underestimate him again." He thumbed down a dial in front of him on the desk, prompting it to light up in a blue glow, "Miss Jing, inform the good Doctor to dispatch one of his lightly armoured Recruits to the City of Tokyo, located in Japan."
"I'll get right on it sir."
"Thank you."
XxX
He was known by many names, nicknames his kind had crafted for themselves, for their particular class. Each one represented an attribute they had made their own enough to be recognized as when someone merely uttered the word in a sentence.
The Unpredictability – His speed, unrivalled and uncontested to even those in the Star Elites, the ones closest to his power, was so high it was rumoured he was teleporting by even those who could move at such speeds quicker than the normal human eye could track. One couldn't predict his movements, with his feet blurring to their eyesight, and, even though he wasn't much of a tactician – that fell to the other classes of Recruits – he could change his approach in the blink of an eye if his tried-and-true bum rush style wasn't working.
The Unrelenting Bull – Like the animal, he was lethal, and once given a target to focus his programmed rage upon, he would not cease until his prey or himself ceased to exist, until one of their bodies was nothing but a puddle of their inner fluids of blood, or in his case, oil. One simply wasn't getting a sporting contest of strength when he brought a fight to them. They were being pulled into a death match and it would not cease until one of them was just that; dead.
Chaos Incarnate – Wherever he ran, winds of mayhem followed, manufactured from the basic pace of which he travelled to his targets at. Cars, vehicles of all kinds, would be sent hurtling, the trees would be uprooted, buildings of any height and mass would plummet from the force of the fabricated tornado, typhoons would rise from nearby lakes, and even the grass, pavements and concrete roads would be gouged, all from a Recruit purely running. Or it would, if the Recruit wasn't programmed to care for the environment and its inhabitants. Just as well too, because if he didn't a second Apocalypse would surely be among them.
Above all else, though, he was simply named Recruit: A default operative no matter how disgustingly powerful, was expendable. If he died or went haywire somehow, he could be self-destructed and replaced by the thousands of other Recruits just waiting to take his place. He was a fail-safe. Nothing more, nothing less.
"We are green!"
Ranma Saotome was dead.
The One Who Disrupts the Flow
Furinkan High School
Yusuke Urameshi was the most interesting guy he had ever met. Wait. Didn't he already reach that conclusion? The uncommon powerhouse youth kept finding more ways to surprise him and tug at his heart strings, though he wouldn't outwardly admit the latter.
"Hey, Ranma." Two nondescript boys in the official dark-blue military school uniform pushed through the fire exit entrance beside him leading to the rooftop, finding him resting against the doorway with one knee pressed against his chest and the other spread out before him.
Daisuke and Hiroshi.
He was at a loss in what to label their pseudo-relationship as. They weren't his friends for the reason that there was a polite gap of two varying worlds separating them; the average-joes and the superhumans, but they were too nice guys for Ranma to just brush them aside.
"Hey, boys," He lifted his head up in greeting, "S'up?"
"Nothing."
"We just passed by to see if it's true."
"Is what true?" Ranma asked, though already had the suspicion he knew what they were getting at. There was nothing else they could hint it. Happosai had made no secret out of his feat of sealing Ranma's strength away to the entire school so the raven-haired youth's enemies would torture him in his stride.
"Akane said you got your strength back."
"Yeah, dude. Is it true? Did you really get your strength back from that old man?"
"What d'you think?" He returned curtly, fisting a lovely basketball-sized hole in the wall, making the two common students without an ounce of power in them jump out of their skins from the spontaneous feat not in their world. They stared, bug-eyed at the cratered wall and the fist that was wedged into it being pried out, then to Ranma's dismissive visage.
"…Heh, guess that answers that." Daisuke said nervously. He could've just said so, though.
Ranma smirked slightly. He never knew he needed that prescription of validation of his strength as much as he did as he got it, that he could still awe people with the stunts he could pull off, from the metaphorical doctor. Since Yusuke literally sauntered into his life and casually booted Happosai out of the dojo, his usual indomitable confidence took a small hit and with each overwhelming display of power his fellow raven-haired teen demonstrated, he felt more mitigated, his presence no longer needed, like the show was being taken away from him.
That was one thing he did not want to come to pass at any cost and would go to great lengths to assure it never did. Quitting was for losers and Ranma Saotome did not accept the 'L'. Where there was a will, there was a way. That was his symbolic mentality, mainly because he would never risk being caught red-handed quoting something so cheesy.
"So, what're you doing up here, man?" Hiroshi asked, pulling Ranma from his thoughts of overpowering Yusuke.
"Meh, just thinking about things."
"Wanna come down and join us in a game of football?"
"Na. Think I'll pass this time. Thanks for the offer, 'tho."
"Well, suit yourself," Daisuke accepted with a shrug. If he didn't want to play with them then he didn't want to play with them. They couldn't force him and they knew they wasn't close enough to him to force his hand with grovelling-like pleas of 'C'mon!'
"See ya in class, dude," Hiroshi bid him farewell with a two-fingered salute, holding the door open for him and his partner in average to amble through.
"Catch ya on the flip side guys," Ranma returned with collected nonchalance, a wave and smile sent their way. When the door slid shut on its own accord, signalling their immediate departure, the braided-haired martial artist released a sigh of content to it all, "Glad they're gone." They were nice, they really were, and he did like them as far as acquaintances went and enjoyed their company to a small degree, but they were just so worlds apart that he could never truly open up around them. To step out of his hardened shell of indifference, kick back and relax with those guys was an impossibility.
Besides that, he wanted to return to his inner thoughts. Their presence had only accentuated his unspoken appreciation to Yusuke's markedly offhanded clarification of their friendship.
"Making sure my friend doesn't get his face flattened." It was so simple, just a retort to a rude accusation of his audacious behaviour in making sure he didn't get trounced on, yet it left long lasting effects on Ranma, making his heart clench.
"Darn it!" He shovelled his fist straight into the ground beneath him, features crinkling up in exasperation before softening in mild anguish, "Stupid crummy jerk, where does he get off making me feel this way?" Guys weren't supposed to feel a flood of overwhelming joy overtake their hearts just at a mere gesture of camaraderie. They were meant to easily take it in stride as just that; a macho bromance between manly men, but Ranma grew up isolated from social circles.
Even when his father took him to such social gatherings as the park or even a play scheme centre in his earlier adolesance so he could mingle with kids his own age he felt detached from their lack of trained strength and martial arts background.
The closest thing he had to a relatable 'friend' in martial arts prowess was Ryoga back when they were both in Middle School, but even that was stretching it. He liked Ryoga, and fighting with him over bread was a hell of a lot of fun with him, but Ryoga never dropped his natural defences around him, never allowed him to get close on an intimate, friendly level, and never once referred Ranma as a friend, like Yusuke had so casually, almost like it was the upmost natural thing to say.
The whole realization was expressly depressing to reach and depression was a ball game Ranma usually didn't touch with a ten-foot pole. That was usually Ryoga's forte. He needed a distraction, but his sidekick-like school acquaintances distinctly weren't going to provide.
But if they wasn't then the raging thunderstorms above prying open the heavens for a downpour to drop with an almost prejudice wrath upon him definitely was, you know, because almost any form of liquid under lukewarm would trigger his transformation. He… she at this point… didn't even roll her eyes feeling the sudden loss of muscle mass as her complexion lightened and hair brightened from raven to exotic red hair.
"That figures," She deadpanned in irritation.
The rainfall didn't hold up for very long, only a few minutes tops, leaving gloomy darkened skies reflecting the sour mood of one drenched redhead, droplets of water dripping off of her beautiful strawberry-coloured hair.
"This stinks!" She grumped and just to worsen her already annoyed mood the current itch of her existence still wouldn't leave the realm of her mind, reminding her while he thought this form of hers was very appealing to a guy like him, he wouldn't force her into this form against her will, coupled with his end quote in his mini crash with Shampoo made him in an appealing guy to Ranma. Not in the sexual sense, but more along the lines of, 'he's a great guy' sense, "Stupid numbskull," She pulled her knees against her chest, mumbling against her legs bitterly, "Why couldn't ya have just been like the rest of the jerks around here, huh?"
At least that way she could write him off as 'the norm' instead of miserably contemplating the enigmatic expectation he was in reality.
A gap in the door was created, catching Ranma's attention before it widened fully, birthing entrance to Akane bringing the convenient cheer, with the said manifested pick-me-up being in the form of a distinctive golden kettle billowing out hot stream from the hose.
"Yo, Akane!~" Ranma smiled, happy to see the girl for once.
"Hey, Ranma," She greeted back, smirking down at her prone form in an all-knowing smug manner, "Thought you might need this."
Ranma placed her hands over her heart in a sense of good-natured mock touch, "Aw, how'd ya know?" A playful grin took shape across her lips, "You musta read my mind, gal."
"What can I say? I'm psychic," Akane retorted in kind, eliciting a snicker from the current red-haired girl. She did like Akane when they could banter on friendly terms without the playful remarks getting too personal. They were both sassy young ladies that went together like peanut butter and J, which just made the irony of their hostility as guy and girl that much more ironic. As friendly platonic girlfriends, they could jest no problem, but as alleged fiancées they were at each other's throats.
One would assume two playful spirits like the two young ladies would be a match made in heaven but Ranma's insensitivity combined with Akane's sensitivity sentenced the pair from the clouds of harmony and into the flames of hell.
"So what's up?" Akane asked to initiate conversation, propping herself down across from the redhead, kettle sitting in between them symbolizing the polite distance between them.
Ranma peered slightly over to her, "What d'you mean?"
"Oh really?" Akane narrowed her eyes suspiciously, though the redhead only shrugged her shoulders in feigned innocence. The blue-haired girl let out hot-air in a light huff and gazed to the sky, feigning intrigue, "Oh, you know, I heard two little birdies say you were lost in thought up here." She glanced back to Ranma with one eye at her click of the teeth.
Daisuke and Hiroshi. Of course they would tell her.
"Just thinking about stuff," Ranma continued to evade.
"About Urameshi-san?" Akane probed lightly, drawing a sudden flinch from the cursed warrior and a very un-Ranma-like reserved nod. The demeanour vastly reminded Akane of her first meeting with Ranma in her female form. For the whole day, she was very much in her shell, so to speak. It wasn't until the proverbial cat fell out of the bag in regard to the reveal of her curse that Ranma broke out of her previous timid exterior.
Good impressions were obviously important to her, and even if she failed to make one in her introduction to the Tendo family and most noticeably Akane herself, it was the thought that counted.
"Yeah, he's quite the guy," Akane murmured softly, drawing her head away from Ranma and pulling both of her knees up to her chest.
"Just can't figure the guy out," Ranma admitted with some reluctance, lifting her own knees up to her chest to Akane's curious glance, "I mean, he's a jerk. I get that much, but he's been really swell too, helping me recover my strength, getting 'Shamps off my back and stuff," Her grip on her knees tightened, "I… I guess you could say I'm a little grateful."
Akane snapped a startled gaze to the struggling redhead, "Ranma…" She uttered softly, but the aforementioned martial artist evasively jerked her head from her view, missing the softening of Akane's remorseful eyes, 'Why is it so hard for you to open up?' There was an emotional barrier, constructed by the girl's thoroughgoing unwillingness to get attuned with her emotions, leaving her terribly out of touch with them, "Urameshi-san is,-" Akane reluctantly continued, wisely choosing not to touch on Ranma's nigh breakthrough in emotional stages before the young woman could go on defence with snappish slanders that would only lead to them clashing heads.
They had promised their senior they would at least attempt to stay civil, so she couldn't risk it, "-A really nice guy," She continued, turning from the redhead, a forlorn air encompassing her, "It's really weird! He's a pervert-," Which should've made him enemy number one in Akane's eyes, "But he's also been super nice to us."
He even exchanged cell-phone numbers with Akane so the two could reach him in case of an emergency, though Ranma had absolutely no intention of ever speed dialling him to bait her out of hot water. She could swim herself out as far as she was concerned.
"I know, right! That's what I'm saying!" Ranma perked up in her indignation, making a wide armed gesture Akane's way accentuating her content to her agreement with her before folding her arms over her chest, "Guy's a total oddball! He's swell, but not a wimp, a jerk but cool too, ugh!" She was pulling at her hair, "The whole thing's bugging me out." The formula of citizens in Nerima was linear as it got. If they were nice, they were usually wimps with hidden diabolic twisted motivates, and if they were jerks they were jerks with no redeemable qualities.
Akane offered her a remorseful smile, "Urameshi-san's strong, huh?" She stated, shifting the conversation slightly in a hushed whisper, pulling herself closer to her knees, "Gosh! He only looked at Mousse but had him running away scared!"
Ranma scoffed, blowing off a raspberry, "Please! I coulda done that!" Akane looked her way blankly, prompting her to elaborate on Yusuke's 'trick' of intimidating the Amazonian male, "That was just killing intent. For Pete's sake, Akane! You do it too!"
Akane blinked, pointing dumbly to herself, "I… do that too?"
"Uh, yeah!" She confirmed none too politely, "You always do, when you let off hot-air," She scratched her cheek bashfully, "Though yours ain't as bad as his. You only channel your anger in your battle aura to tick me off when I've ticked ya off. Yusuke's aura felt like he wanted to kill Mousse for talkin' crap about him."
"Sounds like he was sticking up for you more than himself."
"Really? Didn't notice."
"Ranma."
"Akane."
Akane glared.
Ranma glared.
The stare off of wills lasted all of ten seconds before the former relented with a sigh.
Akane knew it was going to take a long time until the dam keeping the gender-bent's emotions at bay came down, but Rome wasn't built in a day after all.
"Hey! That speed freak should be nearly at Tokyo, right?!" Chiyuki questioned irritably, even if it had only been a couple of hours since one of the lightly armoured Recruits was dispatched. Recruits weren't human thus wasn't limited to such things like stamina, and because the good doctor was an environmentalist, Recruit was solar-powered. As long as the sun was up, which it was, he could keep going endlessly, fuelling himself on the rays of the sun simultaneously. This, combined with his level of speed that easily superseded an attack chopper, should have made a country journey of China to Japan nothing but a day's road trip, at minimum.
Key words being should have.
"Uh..." The Vice-chairman said awkwardly.
"He got distracted, didn't it?" The couch potato asked knowingly.
"For a matter of great urgency, yes."
xXx
The sound of a huge metal wall being slammed and pinned against a gaping hole echoed throughout a cosy house as a pair of black gloved hands pushed against it to cement it in place.
"Wall fortifications done!" The short, black-coloured woolly-ski-hat-masked, sunglasses-clad cybernetic Recruit shouted with finality. Recruit's caring nature for the earth's inhabitants extended past that in that whenever he came across a person in need he would almost always pause his current task at hand to help them.
"Well thank you, young man," The elderly woman whose house he had reinforced with a solid steel wall he materialized from his aura alone said pleasantly, "It's so reassuring to see some youths of today respecting their elders," She almost had a heart attack when that other youth, decidedly rowdy, charged through her home with a boulder strapped to his back, "Would you like to join me for some tea and cookies?"
He was going to stay, not because he wanted the tea or cookies, but because Recruits had another weakness.
They loved old ladies like their own grandmothers.
Ugh, the vice-chairman would have to remember to tell the good doctor to stop putting his own personality traits into his creations, or else he would be getting a pay reduction.
Alright, moving on to the first story arc - The Return of the JPS arc and this time, instead of Dr Slicer from Recess making an appearance as the psycho Cyborg Ryoga decimated in the original, the lovable Recruits from my favourite game, Rainbow Six Siege, are in his stride as the malicious, but strangely lovable killing machines as I hoped I implied with that last scene. I felt Recruits would represent the light hearted tone the series has being killing machines that still care for the environment and the people they were tasked to protect rather than a dark, brooding asshole like Mr S was. To those of you who have read the original I'm sure you know who the "Apocalypse" is that prompted the good doctor to start mass producing the Recruits. :p
Don't worry about the OCs. I won't be focusing on them. They're just fodder for the main characters to batter around. Once they've been beaten they'll fuck off to never be seen again, I promise. Canon characters come first. No two ways about it.
Oh, to those of you who are familiar with One's work "One Punch Man" I recommend "Mob Psycho 100," he's second series. It's amazing, similar, yet not to One Punch Man. It has that similar humour since they're made by the same guy, but couldn't be more further apart from each other. Mob's more of a serious character-driven story with humour than One Punch Man, which is an action-orient parody. And Mob, while possessing incredible psychic powers similar to Saitama's immense strength, goes struggle. He does get his ass handed to him and overcome his ordeals.
Check it out. It's worth your time.
Other than that let me know what you thought of the chapter. Greatly motivates me to write frequently.