Settling The Score (Ranma, Armina)

“Stop talking crap and cast whatever you’re going to.” Armina replied irritably, slapping aside his attempt at a taunt. “I’m fed up with your constant bullshit. Fight like a man or die like a mouse, I don’t fucking care anymore. No enemy is just going to let their shields down and take an attack head on, not if they’ve got any brain cells at all. I think you’ve got me confused with our 3rd Seat if you think I’m that fucking stupid.”

Her spiritual pressure would start to rise again, amplifying due to her anger. She was building up to something and as Armina gripped her zanpakuto more firmly, her eyes would start to blaze with her power. The rules regarding zanpakuto releases were well known but the 4th Division member was sorely tempted to throw that rulebook right out of the fucking window. He hadn’t seen her at her best, neither now nor during their first meeting.

“I’ll make a deal with you. One that’s far more reasonable than you deserve. You take your best shot and I’ll make no effort to dodge but if it turns out you’re just talking shit and this attack of yours doesn’t even scratch my defences…then I’ll hit you with my best. I promise that you won’t survive, at least in any form other than a block of ice.” Her ultimatum was as coldly spoken as her stare.

Well, fuck. Can’t taunt who’s already beyond livid at him, eh? Ranma… should’ve expected that. Armina was already well beyond the boiling point, and to be completely frank, the fact that she was still able to keep her composure to this extent was inhuman. Still…

“But… you’re not an enemy. But sure, whatever-“

At least, she did decide to tank his next attack, as long as it was his very most… and if it broke her defenses, then… she would leave him alone? She didn’t outright say that, but she threatened to fucking murder him otherwise, so it was what he assumed… or wanted to assume. Y’know what, she was a fucking bitch to the letter, wasn’t she?

Raikōhō wasn’t enough to shatter her chains… I’m not trying anything higher than that spell! My arms are still shaking, and my bones ache like all hell… but what else hurts this freak?!

He sorted through his memory and only found that one Zanjutsu he came up with during his meeting with Ranny… but would that change anything? It was risky, might not be any better than what he’d shown, but it was worth a try.

“Sprinkled on the Bones of the Beast! Sharp Tower, Red Crystal, Steel Ring!” he chanted, manifesting electric energy right in front of his left palm, holding Hōkamaru up over his right shoulder with his right, wielding hand, “Move and become the Wind, stop and become the Calm! The Sound of Warring Spears fills the Empty Castle!”

At first, it looked like he was trying to cast Raikōhō again, but the electric energy gathered in front of his palm as a huge, bristling orb – much akin to a stationary Shakkahō. Even though it was very different from how the spell was supposed to be – a mere, direct, powerful lightning bolt… it was about to explode! Anyone with sharp instincts could tell that this orb was just about to explode in front of Ranma!

But he began cutting into it with Hōkamaru at rapid speed, his first cut changing the color of the electric orb! His slashes were performed ferociously, trying to land as many cuts as he feasibly could, like slaughtering a plucked chicken. This lavender orb of electricity slowly expanded, and Ranma leapt back to escape the incoming-

*BRRRRRRZ!!!*

The orb expanded its light in all directions, sending forth arcs of super-fast, electric power akin to air cannons. Instead of a linear thunderbolt, he’d reshaped the spell thanks to Hōkamaru, launching it as much sharper arcs of lightning slashes, attempting to tear and devour Armina’s armor – piece by piece – as they were about to claw right past her! But regardless of how efficient those arcs were…

Ranma appeared right in front of her stationed body with an overhead strike, his sword’s descent pausing in its tracks for the briefest of moments, a mere instance, before several magnitudes of weight added onto its swing meant to deal a last, all-out blow right through her center!!!

It was somewhat amusing to the 4th Seat to see him try such an elaborate combination but at the very least, he was actually showing her what she wished to see. To see him just go all out and hit her something properly was all she’d been trying to drag from him. A moment where his almost cowardly exterior would vanish, replaced by what she’d briefly seen during their first meeting. There’d been moments then where he generally looked like he wanted to kill her, a reaction that had surprised her then. They were similar in that regard although rather than hide that aspect of herself, Armina played upon it.

Her time was briefly stolen again or at least it would appear that way but if one looked closer, it could be seen that she was still moving this time albeit slower. Armina had seen this trick before and had hardened her resolve, both mentally and physically to try to weaken the effects. Still, it wasn’t enough to evade his modified Kido spell and her armour would take quite the battering from the lightning bolts, his spell snapping chains and cutting through her defence rather well.

His last attack, however, would meet her hammer, raised with just a moment or two to spare, resulting in a mighty clash of weapons. Her time returning to her, she’d smile up at him, a look that for just one second might have been thought of as approval, before she’d push his weapon aside and deliver a mighty blow in return, returning his ferocity in equal measure. It wasn’t easy to hit him from the awkward position but it didn’t matter.

She was…satisfied.

Heaaaaaaaaave-ho… and it didn’t cut through?! Shit! Wait, now that he saw clearly, he’d slammed Hōkamaru onto her hammer- she used her own Zanpakutō as a shield! After all the hits his spell combo landed on her, she still had enough time to guard his final strike – and with the amount of force behind his new Zanjutsu, he was stunned to see her successfully tank it with her Zanpakutō. Wasn’t it strong enough? Heavy enough? Was he just not strong enough?!

… She smiled. He saw it for a brief moment, but it wasn’t just a sadistic glare – it looked like a… relatively warm smile. An almost friendly smile. Why’d she smile at him? If what he’d heard from her gave him any idea of her opinion of this Squad 8 troll, he wasn’t exactly on her favorites list. Cockroaches were likely ranked higher than him, so… had he… gotten her approval, somehow? Was this what she wanted all along?

… Wait… was she just testing me this entire t-

His thoughts were cut short by a heavy, painful blow – and wupti, he crashed through the damn wall this time. This drew many more squadmates to the training area to witness the commotion, watching a heavily… tired, worn, injured Ranma drag himself back towards Armina with a look of pure annoyance, suddenly braking in his tracks before deciding… fuck this shit.

He needed a quick fix.

From under his Shihakushō, he pulled up his gourd, popped it open, and let the aroma of the strong sake within fill the air before taking a large slurp of its contents, simply letting the beverage pour from the bottleneck and into his open maw. He was too tired to conjure up a fucking thought, but…

He handed the gourd to her within arm’s reach without a word, giving her a few moments to accept his offer before his body would finally give in to gravity and topple back, embracing the ground with his back and witnessing a blurred sky above.

Hōkamaru's Thoughts:

There were a few moments where Armina just looked down at him, his gourd held in her free hand. Her blow had apparently knocked him out completely and while normally she’d probably him weak and useless for it, she had to admit that he’d fought bravely and had shown her the courage that she’d been looking for. He was a warrior as she was although he’d decided on a slightly different path, one that made her rather sick but still, he’d trained well. That was enough for her and with that smile still on her face, she’d drink from his gourd, appreciating the gesture for what it was.

Members of his squad would soon start to emerge, prepared to carry him off to squad 2 in order to heal. Armina made no effort to stop them and as her Shikai faded away and she returned her sword to its sheathe, she’d look down at her own injuries. He’d scored a few hits and they stung a fair bit, enough that she felt them anyway. The boy had potential and perhaps one day, he could fight her properly but for today, he’d at least earned the right to no longer be on her shit list. Their score was settled.

Before he was carried away, the 4th Seat would place her hand on the shoulder of one of the men, motioning them to stop so she could place Ranma’s gourd back where it belonged. She turned her gaze to one of the squad members then and said, sounding almost amused. “Tell this guy when he wakes up that he’s got an invitation to the 4th Squad when he’s fit and healthy. He’ll have a fair few challengers waiting to test his skills.”

With that, she’d let them carry Ranma away, before taking her leave of the 8th Squad.