Settling The Score (Ranma, Armina)

He had her on the evasive for a bit, which was when he could see her Shunpo at work again. If this was enough to make her move out of the way… no, couldn’t be. He hadn’t made any full chants yet, and he was holding quite a lot back by skipping them – to his knowledge.

Yeah, it’s basically a form of quickdraw Kidō. It works best as a surprise attack for lower-skilled users as the power drain is rather high… Those were Hinamori-sensei’s words, right? It wouldn’t hurt to start chanting it fully, again. He needed the extra firepower from giving the spell its due name… besides-

Armina was unscathed! And with the settling of red smoke, a chill ran through the air, freezing the water particles and causing flakes of snow to embrace the surface. She’d summoned those ungodly ice chains to manifest some sort of iron-barred window for a shield against his Shakk-assault. Ah, right… Shikai… fuck. H-Hōkamaru, you spoke my name just then, didn’t you?

Ranma should’ve been euphoric with Hōkamaru’s voice finally speaking back, but he was more… at ends. As if it was something to be expected instead of something he’d yearned for in years. It was a strange sensation, but… Hōkamaru didn’t need to push himself to speak to him. Hōkamaru… sorry for getting angry earlier. I bet you didn’t like that, did you?

He could feel… emotions. Emotions not belonging to him, but flowing from his Zanpakutō. A mute communication. Maybe Hōkamaru wasn’t trying to get on Ranma’s nerves… he really was just shy, wasn’t he? And Ranma wasn’t the friendliest to him… how pitiful.

Hōkamaru, I take all my bad shittalk back. Koga was right – you really just need some time to prepare yourself. I’m not bullying you! I’ll wait for as long as you need, so… watch my back! With that said, Ranma too responded in kind to Armina’s Shikai, releasing his own Shikai as easily as she did. Slow them down… Hōkamaru!

Whether it be debris, stones, chairs, tables, equipment or whatever, Ranma was able to weave between them in his approach – Armina might have gotten a little faster with her Shunpo, but right now, she wasn’t relying on the sheer physical force of her own appendages. …

Miraculously, his brain did begin to churn something up. She wasn’t smacking him black and blue with her chains, but… what did he do back when he was fighting against Shura? He had another trick up his sleeve that he hadn’t used since Ranny pretty much just shrugged it off – but Armina wasn’t Ranny!

“You call my spells useless, yet you think furniture will do me in?! Or does your Zanpakutō get weaker the more retarded you become?!”

Yes, just like that… you loved close-quarters combat, after all. Get closer, then. Ranma was right there, bracing his Zanpakutō for what appeared to be him readying for impact. That was, until he reacted to her favorite ice chains dart in on him ahead of herself – she wasn’t even going to wait for her own footwork to bring her to his position, eh?

So brutish and powerful… but not even half the strategist that Ranny was. Ranma’s wrists and legs were wrapped tight by her chains, sending painful chills across his skin, strong enough to shackle his bones to their very cores. There was no reason to dodge this – not like he could do so confidently. Armina loved chains and kept manifesting so many of them, using them like octopus arms…

But he knew she wanted to smash his skull in with that hammer, so he waited until she was a few meters away from him. I’m always counting on you, Hōkamaru… do what you do best!

"Move, Hōkamaru!"

Along with his words, that recognizable, blue aura was now lavender and stark, emitting in all directions… and even his Zanpakutō’s shape had changed It was his Shikai, just as always, but instead of a wavy jian, it was now a khopesh in the deepest, lavender shine one had ever laid their eyes on. And with its release, his own figurative ‘shackles’ impeded Armina’s every movement, from her muscle motions to her thought processes! The only indicator of his ability’s activation would be that strong saturation in the air around her, and that spike in his Spiritual Pressure.

“Black dog who guards the gates to the heavens… ride through my metal, and come to life by my hand! Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!”

There was no need to skip the chant within his short moment of extended time. Ranma’s Reiatsu exploded as a yellow bolt of lightning, the output much larger than any of his previous Shakkahōs, traveling through his arms and legs and dancing through the chains made of ice – cold, cold ice… static did increase during winter, did it not?

Not that Ranma would know about such things, but… Tsuzuri Raiden took advantage of the cold that Armina’s Zanpakutō generated, riding at high speed until it’d gotten to the root of the chains… her! He put his exclusive focus on exerting as high a current as he physically could – damn any of that chant skipping process, he needed the highest electric power that this spell could provide him at this critical moment!

Why was she smiling? WHY WAS SHE SMILING?!

Ranma’s time ran out after releasing the Tsuzuri Raiden, but it was fine, right? In the real flow, it appeared as if he speeded through the incantation while still producing a high output of voltage, currents and dancing bolts darting through the very static cold of Armina’s ice chains… and she just took it. Grinning madly. WHAT AM I FIGHTING AGAINST?! he complained to himself deep within his psyche, wondering just what the hell would make her budge – Tsuzuri Raiden didn’t work, Shakkahō wasn’t proving more than a distraction…

Nooooo… I-I don’t wanna blow my arm off… but-

Armina just strong-armed her way out of his weakened sphere of influence, ending the slowdown effect placed on her with sheer brute force. The ice chains broke down in response as well, freeing Ranma and leaving him with sore, freezing wrists and shins that stung every time he moved them. He began waving them at high speed to warm himself up, but that was when he saw Armina already above him! Oh, COME ON!

She was flying down with an overhead strike ready, descending like a freezing meteor. He had no time to doubt if this was the right decision to make – he hadn’t touched the higher-leveled Hadō spells in what felt like years, but Armina didn’t look like she was sparring… s-so she really didn’t give a fuck about where she was? Oh, who was he kidding – he knew how her brain was wired. Catch a body in his own squad, that’d be child’s play for her.

Despite his legs hurting enough already, he put his remaining focus into another Shunpo, leaping right past her descent and catching a wave of cold fury spreading stinging snowflakes on his left side. O-Aaaaaaaarggghh, my l-legs are burning…! he bit in the pain for now, split between the soreness and notable, stinging annoyance on top of his growing, mental exhaustion. He was using up every trick he had at a rapid rate, just like last time…

“Bakudō #21: Sekienton!” he chanted, from between his clapped palms a scattering cloudburst in red emerged to shelter his form from her eyes down below. His form was flickering within the red cloud, needing the distraction to finish the next chant:

“Sprinkled on the Bones of the Beast… Sharp Tower, Red Crystal, Steel Ring… Move and become the Wind, stop and become the Calm. The Sound of Warring Spears fills the Empty Castle…!”

Whether Armina managed to scatter the clouds or not, electric currents would begin racing within it and reveal Ranma’s position inside of it. He managed to leap high up in the air, but it was Armina – that wouldn’t slow her down much. He just hoped it’d work…

Ouch… owwwwww, why’s her ice stinging so much?! THAW AWAY, ALREADY! STOP BOTHERING ME, I’M TRYING TO FOCU-

Even from just a narrow evasion, the dropping temperatures in the air had affected the area over his skin for just a moment – enough to cause ice crystals to sting and prickle into his skin on one side. Yet, if he lost focus here and now… the spell would do the very thing he wanted to avoid doing. The very thing he was infamous for – exploding in his face. And a knocked-out-of-commission Ranma would be a mere playtoy for Armina and her sadistic onslaught… avoid that fate at all costs! That was one future he vehemently wished not to bring forth!

An orb appeared in front of his extended palms, growing in size akin to a Shakkahō… but it was bright-white and crackling with the distinct sound of thunder. The orb had grown bigger and bigger, soon rivaling his own size before a blitz turned the sky above into a blur-

“Hadō #63: Raikōhō!!!”

Ignoring the stinging and the growing fear in his heart, he simply wished forth the presence of thunder – a singular, sky-piercing bolt of lightning the size of a mast raced down through the red cloud, slithering in rapid speed towards Armina and her self-chained form. Why she decided to armor up like that… just his luck, eh?

Ranma’s heart had skipped a beat after shooting the spell, while electric currents ran through his forearms. He poured extra much of his soul into that spell, and it didn’t blow up on his face… but it did blind him for a moment. The light was way too bright, and his arms weren't moving.

Even when it landed squarely on her icy defenses, it didn’t… even break through. That was his currently most powerful spell cast yet – and he put extra fuel into that specific one, too! To see her chains having fulfilled their purpose well demolished his confidence gained from actually having cast a high-numbered Hadō without backfiring.

Shit… shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!!!

C’mon, Ranma… just cast another one! Just like you did with Shakkahō – multiply that shit! Shoot her down quickly! Wear down her defenses… b-but… his arms were still stunned, partly from the recoiling, electric energy from that Raikōhō. Partly from the sheer rage at not being able to make Armina even kneel in exhaustion.

… Again! AGAIN! FUCK MY ARMS – I CAN TRY ONE MORE!

He desperately tried to move his hands in place once more, fighting against the currents locking his muscles up chaotically. Had he not been driven by this fury, it might’ve not recoiled this badly, but Ranma had no space to take things easy as he’d always wished to. He could never take things easy against monsters like her. The more he panicked…

Hōkamaru's Thoughts:

"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!" Ranma invoked, manifesting a beam of light that spun in front of him, a rotating screen of defense that weakened the otherwise devastating force of Reiatsu from Armina. It shattered instantly, and residue of her Spiritual Pressure still flicked him back spinning, but he'd lessened the damage.

With that icy attempt at armoring herself… Ranma soared back to the surface, several drops of sweat falling off his face. He was worn, cold, blue a few places on his exposed arms, and getting low on fuel, but he had an idea. Someone like Armina probably never had ideas, did they?

“Hadō #31… Shakkahō…” he chanted quietly, manifesting a small Shakkahō in one of his palms. His arms felt so heavy, and snowflakes weren’t helping with how they almost dug into his skin like needles. Therefore, he grinded his hands and arms against the hot fire orb, gritting his teeth at the act, but instantly warming himself back up again!

“Nggh… hngggggggh! F-Forgive me, Erica… I’m not being v-very nice to my body right now-“ he groaned with veins covering most of his face, finally spreading his heated arms over and panting, “Hey! Argh, fuck, that hurt… think your blue dress’ tough?! Bet I can break it… if ya have the balls to let me try!”

…

“… Or am I actually a threat to you? Gimme my credits due if so! To have pushed a Seat from the 4th… doesn’t happen every day!”