Letting Off Some Steam (Ranma, Armina)

“Perhaps I am.” Armina replied, tilting her head to one side. “It has been a way of life that has worked for me so far and every challenge I conquer has only allowed me to grow stronger. Why should I not simply destroy this oversized imbecile too? It’s impossible to tell whether he would ever actually keep his word anyway if he joined anyway, given how eager he was to attack me before, there’s no guarantee that he would show any loyalty to the Gotei. Putting him down now would be a much more prudent course of action.”

If Ranma was expecting a merciful ending then it wasn’t going to be as simple as he believed as Armina frankly felt nothing but disgust for Asshat, still wishing nothing more than to take his head off. Her grip on her hammer was as tight as ever and the look she gave the creature was as cold as the aura that was formed around her. There were no games being played nor ego being flaunted, she wished for him to die by her own hands and that was the end of it.

Armina said nothing as Ranma desperately went for his gourd, seemingly unable to speak properly without a healthy supply of booze at that point. After being frozen by her chains, she supposed it made sense and the blue haired woman charitably and perhaps uncharacteristically gave him those few moments to centre herself. If he was going to stand in his way then it seemed that she had little recourse and if he’d not allow for her to fulfil her desire then she’d go through him first. It was as simple as that. Surely he knew what he was getting into by engaging her in battle, having already encountered members of her division.

Her patience would only last so long, however, her following words dripping were anger. “So how many bodies will it be? One or two?”

… Oh fuck, she was gone type of gone. So just killing people left and right, the ants biting your ankles, a slight shiver from the wind – hell, she’d likely kill a damn child if they inconvenienced her. Absolute psycho. Her words came off like this to his wide, twitching ears:

”It has been a way of life that has worked for me so far and every challenge I conquer has only allowed me to grow stronger. Why should I not simply destroy this oversized imbla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla brrrrrrrr bla bla bla bla bla bla bla attack bla bla bla bla loyalty bla bla bla bla Gotei bla bla bla bla action prrrrrrrr”

Arhat looked a little messy with the ice shards coating places on his skin, but he could move now. Despite his lack of words, Arhat had been switching gazes between Ranma and Armina during their exchange of words, as if intently listening… and understanding. Understandably fearing for Ranma.

After his drink, Ranma pondered over what the best choice of action was – engage in battle against a fellow Gotei member, or flee. Armina was single-mindedly aiming to kill Arhat, and Arhat showed such awesome power that Ranma would love to recruit him, a similar manner to how he was recruited himself… but without getting his skull cut in half. One thing was for certain…

The more time he spent in the presence of Armina’s choking Spiritual Pressure, the more obvious the difference in power between them became. And to think that she wasn’t even a Lieutenant… it was no wonder that she was looking down on him – he had his work cut out for him. And yet, was that any reason to get him killed, much less be the one to kill him? He could grow stronger until tomorrow, and then things would be different than now, wouldn’t it? It was such a simple, fathomable rationality that Armina apparently didn’t give a fuck about which kinda pissed him off as well.

I’m not fucking dying before my date with Erica… but ain’t no way I can outrun her. We’re still in the midst of a faraway District, though – fuckin’ hate this place, man… wait, if I cause enough noise, bunch of goons will come running. Then, I can use the confusion to escape with Arhat, and we’ll all live happily ever after – except her, she’s a bitch.

“…” No more words to give her, eh? Instead, Ranma’s hair began to bristle and float upwards, and his eyes whitened out before unsheathing his Zanpakutō once more. Sorry, Hōkamaru… I’ll have to bother you again-


… D-a-m-n, Hōkamaru hadn’t made a sound in such a long while, so Ranma forgot how chilling it was to hear his voice. Still, it was better than silence, in the end – although, his Spirit would probably disagree, what, with his attitude and all. Still, even Hōkamaru detested Armina at this rate… so maybe, Ranma would expect more support from him.

It was development, sure. Was it enough, though? Ranma remembered Noharu’s words back after his duel with Shura – one-fourth of a Shinigami wasn’t going to cut anything in this world. Henceforth, he made a stance, no words, awaiting Armina’s next action.

Arhat stepped back further behind Ranma, visibly distraught by the rising atmosphere between those two Shinigami.

He wasn’t speaking but the change in his movements and aura were enough for Armina to assume that he was going to fight her. A stupid decision but Ranma seemed to be capable of nothing else. For the entire encounter, he’d been nothing but an annoyance to her and as she impatiently twisted the hammer in her hands, it appeared that he was finally going to become something more. Good. An enemy was better than an annoyance and any thought of holding back due to their status as Shinigami vanished incredibly quickly. She’d defeat Asshat and the rest of the idiots in the district but first, she’d take her hammer and slam it over the head of the foolish boy before her first.

It was at that moment where she could almost feel the arms of her giant Zanpakuto spirit wrapping around her, an embrace that symbolised the bond between them. Two women, both who desired the exact same things out of life. Violence, sex and the desire to dominate every man, woman and child that they came across. It was oh so simple and yet the power that began to burst forth from the Fourth Seat would be more than enough to frighten a normal individual. She doubted that Ranma would fall for such a simple display but it mattered not. He’d learn of her strength, one way or another.

Her spirit uttered just three words, each of which reverberated around her mind, oozing with bloodlust and hatred..

“Fuck him up.”

“Good advice.”

With those words in mind, Armina would Shunpo again, attempting to appear behind the black haired Shinigami, before swinging her large hammer towards him. The blue haired woman despised using her speed abilities, given both her lack of interest and skill but he was a fast moving punk and it seemed to be her best move for now.

… It looked as if she said something, but it wasn’t directed towards him. He could tell from the lower tone, but… oh shit, she could probably talk to her Zanpakutō regularly – unlike a CERTAIN OTHER PERSON… that person being him. A little envious of her bond, he was – even while not knowing just how intimate Armina’s specific relationship is with the soul in her giant hammer.

… She was moving at a rapid pace, again… but unlike when Ranma witnessed Noharu use it, his eyes could still follow her advance halfway. The moment she escaped his trailing vision, he turned his entire body around to try and spot her again, the wave-like blade of his Zanpakutō brazenly held in front of his form. He knew how to swing a sword like an uncommon bunch, but swordslinging alone wouldn’t work against a psychomaniac…

Just as her hammer came flying down, he swung Hōkamaru in under the hammerhead and aimed to stop the weapon from smashing down his skull when the head was mere centimeters away, using his blade to brake the descent of the top of her long handle. Such a heavy attack brought him to his knees, along with burying his feet into the street’s floor, but he tried his very best to block that hit – however, even if so, Armina’s Zanpakutō was cold in every aspect possible; even the air around it, from such close quarters, began freezing his hands and forehead and forming similar ice crystals coating those parts, which made blood trickle out… and that hurt quite a lot. So much so that his grip was weakening, forcing him to tighten his clenched hands up like his life depended on it- WHICH IT DID!

Hissing in pain, Ranma hastily realized that his Zanpakutō wasn’t winning against hers physically. However, a stroke of luck brought to his pained mind images from the past… specifically the lessons from the sweetheart Noharu and her words of wisdom post her fight against Shura.

His Zanpakutō was on the ropes right now… but he had three other branches of combat to draw from. And right now drove him to tighten the muscles in his legs, utilizing his lower stance and kneeling position to launch a kick straight upwards, aiming for Armina’s belly.

Just a little more, and he’d be able to use his ability again… but Hakuda could at least give him an edge? He didn’t know how good she was-

“Hmph.”

That was the only response that came from the 4th Seat as his kick struck her in the midsection, clashing with her hard as ice body. The six footer had spent countless hours training her body, beyond what would have been considered to have been healthy. A single kick wasn’t going to knock her off her feet, even one that was well honed and powerful. Armina was skilled in Hakuda as well, able to easily turn a man’s head into putty with a strike if she wished and she was sorely tempted to do just that. Still, Ranma’s kick was decent and while the blue haired woman gave no visible signs of pain, she felt it rearrange her breakfast a little but her reaction was rather swift.

Channelling her spiritual power into her right leg, the woman would fire back with a mighty kick, aimed directly at his kneeling head. There was no pissing about here and her strike was filled with nothing but killing intent. It wasn’t a complex or complicated manoeuvre but none of hers ever were. Simple, brutal and horribly effective if successful was her way and while there was time for him to come up with an escape or defence, she was in no mood to give him anything other than a sound beating.

Her Zanpakuto was always there, whispering in her ear such horrific details that would turn the stomach of most, yet they were a source of inspiration for the Fourth Seat. Her sword was a monstrous creature, an emotional creation that fed on Armina’s most carnal desires. The two adored each other, wanted each other and once the fight was done, the Squad Four member had every intention of invading her sword’s world and mating with her. Such was the relationship they had with one another.

“Mmm. You should have your uniform shredded more often, Armina, it suits you.” Her blade uttered in the Shinigami’s mind.

A gluttonous growl was the only answer from her mistress, whose gaze was focused on the runt that she wished to kill.

Fucking tough exterior, she was made of tougher stuff than what Ranma could damage with a kick of that caliber. He’d be lying if it wasn’t demoralizing to see no change in her expression, even after being hit directly. At least groan a little, or cough… somethi-

His vision whitened… nay, it was like being hit in the face with a blitz from a camera. Armina’s kick landed squarely on his face, flinging him back like a wheel across the frozen street, past Arhat’s position whose eyes followed Ranma’s crash into a nearby small house. To his own surprise… and to Armina’s… his skull was intact. She should’ve been able to tell from how it bounced off her kick – it didn’t break, but it did leave a small trail of blood from his face lining his path.

… Arhat was mortified by the sight. Still considering whether he should intervene or use the opportunity to scurry off on his own – his own life was still precious to him, regardless of what Ranma promised him. Speaking of… his limbs felt weird. Still lying in the rubble, Ranma had lost his breath for a moment, his head put in a blender of a headache from the after-effects of Armina’s ruthless kick. It was only then that it became clearer to him…

She really did aim to kill him- it wasn’t just a jesting threat, it was a promise. And if he didn’t get the fuck out of there alive, he’d… Erica would…

This realization was the most frustrating revelation to him yet. Digging his fingers through the dirt, stone and ground beneath him, his mind slipped away, and he stood back up again. Eyes whitened, and intent to kill before being killed. His plan be damned.

Walking out of the rubble again, he too looked like a mess – his bandages had been ruined from that kick, revealing his mouth scar that was… probably overshadowed by the reddened droplets of blood on his face. Swiftly wiping those away, he began performing Shunpo once more, about to curse his ineptitude when he figured that his Zanpakutō could benefit greatly from a better use of that technique. One step at a time, his body blurred forward, closing the distance between the two until he was within range-

Move, Hōkamaru!

A wide, bluish sphere manifested from Ranma’s Reiatsu immediately expanded from his sword, filling a 50-meter radius. If she was found in the sphere where time moved slower, she’d see Ranma’s charge at a much faster rate all of a sudden – he purely intended to tackle her with a headbutt to her face, forgetting much about complexity himself. In that sense, the two were quite similar… even if it’d make Ranma puke.

Due to the ability of his weapon, Armina was unable to do much of anything in response to his attack, being slow in general anyway. He seemed to be upon her in moments and before she knew what was happening, there was a painful crunch as his head met hers. She most certainly felt that and there was an annoyed grunt from her that time, pain filtering through her body at an incredibly quick rate. Blood would start to spill from her forehead although it froze rather quickly due her aura but it did leave her looking more enraged than ever, her face a mask of not only icy blood but unbridled fury. The anger inside her was reaching a fever pitch and sooner or later, she would resort to taking things to another level, one where not only him but everyone else in the vicinity would be in extreme danger of death. There wasn’t any sympathy within the woman, only a desire to cause carnage.

The effect of his ability didn’t last too long though and as things returned to normal, Armina returned his vicious headbutt with one of her own, launching her head against his in an attempt to return the favour. It’d come to this it seemed, where the two would resort to the most basic and simple forms of harming one another. That didn’t intimidate her and if he wished to resort to such then so be it. All those years in the fighting cage had turned her body into a powerful weapon and she’d mastered it to such an extent that she could almost respond without thinking. Her instincts were razor sharp and she’d use them now to turn his body into a bloody stain.

There were no words from her at this point, no longer feeling the need to speak with him. Why waste her breath speaking to a soon to be corpse?

This time, she felt pain. Good, that damn animal ought to learn a lesson or tw-

Aaaaaaaand his head felt a small crunch too, now. Armina had repaid his headbutt in kind with one of her own, and the further they went down this pitch-black hole of animalistic fury, the more they just began exchanging hits after hits- and Ranma wasn’t going to win that fight, regardless of how clouded his judgement was right now. Fury, too, had a toll on him akin to how it dictated Armina’s almost every action, at least from his perspective… but damn it, he had tried his best to get over that phase in his life. He wasn’t an animal, but he was likely to be a corpse soon-

If not for an out-of-nowhere intervention from none other than the Arhat guy. Ranma, upon trying to reach Armina’s face with a punch from his bloodied knuckle, was suddenly grabbed by the Arhat and pulled away from her. In the beginning, he flailed and growled in protest: “Why?! Let me go, I’m ripping her head off-“ That was, until it snapped back at him – the clarity of a sane mind, backed by good feelings from his lately Shinigami life, and the fragrant scent of flowers wishing for his well-being… and the roars.

From the distance, what looked like a platoon of goons was charging towards them. Some screamed about easy pickings, thinking that two conflicting Shinigami were easy to overwhelm, and others were after the Arhat for some street cred. That was their cue to leave, so the Arhat began running in the other direction, towards the outskirts of the district and into a number lower. With one large step after another, he had to hurry with Ranma in his hand – it was unlikely that Armina would let them flee just like that. A predator like her would chase down her prey, definitely.

Finally he was showing some spirit and Armina was actually feeling a slight feeling of enjoyment as the two exchanged blows. She had no idea where all of his fury had been up until now but the 4th Seat was entertained by facing it head on. His attacks were far more ferocious now and even the durable woman was starting to feel them. He was stronger than he let on and once his outer shell had been cracked open, there truly seemed to be a far more wrathful soul within. If this was the Ranma then perhaps he was not quite as pathetic as she’d believed.

Only for her enjoyment to be suddenly torn away from her as the fucking idiot Arhat intervened, grabbing Ranma and running off. Her expression darkened instantly and the decision to pursue was the sole plan that ran through her head. She was not finished. Her rage had yet to be quelled but as she turned to chase after the limbering idiot, the sounds of voices filled her ears. From behind her were a group of thugs, seeming to want to pick the scraps of the fight. Well, they were in for a painful lesson and so instead of leaving straight away, she’d turn around and swing her hammer with her full power, the head smashing into the skull of the lead thug. It was a horrible blow and the man was dead on impact, his lifeless body tumbling to the floor in a bloody heap.

The rest of them seemed to realise what their fate would be if they continued and they broke formation in a moment, leaving the area silent again. Her head snapping around like a predator on the trail, she’d then start to chase after the giant and the Shinigami, still able to hear the former’s lumbering footsteps in front of her. It was at this point that she cursed her lack of speed, annoyed that she’d lacked the foresight to dedicate time to working on more than just strength and the ability to take a punch. She would deal with it soon enough.

Arhat, at first, thought their plan to have been successful – Armina turned around to meet the hordes of Rukongai thugs first, which would definitely hold her off for a whi-

Man, no plan of his ever worked… Arhat hadn’t even made a mile before Armina was starting to trail their escape route, forcing the giant to keep running. If he stopped to take a break again, Armina would catch up in spite of her speed, and then all hell would break loose – all over again, in fact! Arhat was still slowed down by the ice crystals cutting into his poor skin, and Ranma wasn’t in his right headspace at the moment – they had to shake her off their trail, somehow.

Surprisingly, the giant ran past Ranma’s mother – an exhausted individual with a dry, greyish face and jet-black hair falling over her head and face, her eyes wide-open at the sight and quaking feeling of Arhat’s charge. Her head followed the giant’s trail as he passed by and ran into the distance, kind of speechless that the rumors were true about Arhat’s existence… and that he was that big.

“W-Where the hell are we even going… wait, where is that freak-“ Ranma mumbled and flung his head around to try and find Armina during Arhat’s run, “… Wait, she can’t catch up? Even I can run like this… *snicker*” There was something oddly humorous about that observation, which threw him into a laughing fit. “What a slowpoke! Ayo, just keep running, Arhat – we’ll tire her out, eventually…”

Ranma hadn’t noticed it himself, but Arhat was also slowing down – arguably at a faster rate than Armina. That was bad, really bad, immensely bad – and there was a river nearby. Hopefully, it wouldn’t spell trouble for the two.