Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Wait, did that happen before? ❯ I am Tora, Hear Me Roar! Part 2 ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 10: I am Tora, Hear Me Roar! Part 2

Absently, Ryouga wondered how his team was performing on their first D-Rank mission. He wasn't particularly worried about them, since D-Ranks weren't exactly known for being dangerous. After all, they were essentially the jobs that needed to be done that people were willing to pay money to have done by someone other than themselves. Nevertheless, he felt he should probably check up on them. After all, D-Rank or not, Tora could be a bit of a handful for new genin. He should at least make sure they didn't kill the cat. He began running through the handseals for Hiraishin no Jutsu.

0o0o0

It had fur black as ash. It had claws like knives and teeth like daggers. It was the size of a house. It was once a housecat named Tora. And it was looking at them like it used to look at mice and birds.

"RUN!"

In hindsight, none of the members of Team Five were sure who had been the one to say it, but all of them had wholeheartedly supported the notion, and so all of them took off like bats out of Hell with Hell's owls hot on their trails. Much like how the monster that had once been Tora was currently on their trail.

<Heh. What's the matter, afraid of a little pussy?>

'It might be little for you, but I'm not a gigantic fox! Also, this really isn't the time for this!' thought Naruto, trying to ignore the Kyuubi's jibe. And failing, as he realized the double entendre. 'Wait, did you just insinuate that I'm g-' Abruptly, Naruto's thoughts cut off as he refocused on reality. Unfortunately, the reason for that was because he tripped. In an instant, the old proverb about merely needing to outrun one's friend to avoid the bear proved true. Much to Naruto's horror, as Tora-monster hooked the back of his jacket with its claws as he was getting back up.

"AAAAAUUUUGH! KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" As the monstrously oversized cat started to drag Naruto back to it, he created a few dozen shadow clones. A quick replacement technique later, Naruto had swapped with one of the clones and was well on his way to escaping in the chaos created by the panicked mob of clones while the bakeneko wasted time attacking the numerous clones, allowing Team Five to finish its escape. Or rather, that is how things would have gone if Negi had not attempted to recue Naruto.

Instead, just as Naruto replaced himself with a shadow clone, a pair of lightning bolts hit Tora in the face. Naruto looked up to see Negi standing a few dozen meters away, staff still extended from whatever jutsu he had just used. From the look on his face, he clearly hadn't considered the potential consequences of his attack before making it, and was only now realizing what was about to happen.

Tora abruptly shifted targets and began plowing through Naruto's shadow clone mob as it charged straight toward Negi. Screaming, Negi took off. So did Tora. And so did Naruto and his remaining clones. As he ran after the giant cat and his younger teammate, Naruto noted that Sakura seemed to have vanished.

0o0o0

When Ryouga appeared in a run-down apartment with a suspiciously familiar layout, he performed the Hiraishin no Jutsu a second time to make sure that he hadn't accidentally ended up in his own apartment. But no. Apparently, Naruto just lived in an apartment with a suspiciously similar floorplan to his own. 'Actually,' he thought, as he looked out the window, 'it looks like Naruto and I live in the same apartment complex. Huh. Note to self - Never tell Jiraiya this.' After a moment, he began running through the handseals for the Hiraishin no Jutsu once again. 'In hindsight, I probably should have told them to keep those kunai with them instead of just not to lose them. Oh well. Let's see if Sakura has her kunai with her.'

0o0o0

Having given the giant cat and the rest of her team the slip, Sakura pulled out her communicator and promptly started screaming into it. "ZORDON! CONTACT THE OTHER RANGERS! RITA MADE A HOUSE CAT GROW INTO A MONSTER CAT THE SIZE OF A HOUSE, AND IT'S TRYING TO EAT MY TEAMMATES!" Not waiting for a response, Sakura pulled out her morpher. "TYRANNOSAURUS!"

0o0o0

When the group started running, Negi easily outpaced his teammates. Being the only one with magically enhanced speed, that wasn't that surprising. Glancing back, he noted that Sakura had also eluded the giant cat. 'That's strange. I didn't think any of us would actually be able to outrun Tora. Why hasn't he caught us yet?'

"AAAAAUUUUGH! KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

'Because he stopped to eat Naruto. Of course.'

Turning, Negi pointed his staff at the bakeneko. Said giant cat had apparently managed to pick the real Naruto out of the group, judging by the rips on his clothing that weren't present on the clones that failed to dispel the Naruto that the cat had captured. 'Sagitta Magica, Series Fulgoris!' he thought, firing two magical arrows of lightning at the rampaging giant cat.

Abruptly, the Naruto in Tora's grasp was replaced with one that didn't have shredded clothing. But at this point, it was too late to do anything about the magic arrows he'd just fired other than watch as they nailed Tora in the face. Suddenly, the monster-cat forgot all about Naruto, its attention now focused on Negi.

'Uh... Maybe that wasn't the best idea.'

Negi ran, as his life depended on it. Nevertheless, the gigantic feline quickly gained on him. Fortunately, Negi maintained enough sense to scan the area for potential escape routes as he ran. 'There! If I can just make it to that patch of trees, Tora won't be able to follow me. He's too big to fit between them.' "Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled.

In an instant, six more Negi's popped into existance. They then charged in seven different directions. Tora immediately went after the one that was nearest to it, but that turned out to be an illusion. As the monster cat looked at the rest of them, the remaining five clones vanished, leaving only the original Negi.

However, that momentary distraction proved sufficient for Negi to make his way to the trees. Turning, Negi watched as Tora began charging him again. Nerviously, he took a few steps back, then turned and resumed running. With a loud crash, Tora slammed into the trees in an attempt to simply plow through them. But the trees held, and Negi was no longer close enough to reach by extending a foreleg between the trees.

Realizing that the thudding footsteps of the giant cat seemed to be growing quieter, Negi turned to see Tora going after Naruto again. Immediately, he pointed his staff at the cat. 'Sagitta Magica: Aer Capturae!' Two arrows of wind streaked toward Tora, entangling its legs as they passed. Abruptly, the monster cat tripped. 'Alright, think. How do I stop this thing without exposing magic or killing it? Hmm... Maybe I can pass Nebula Hypnotica off as sleeping gas.'

However, before Negi had time to do anything, a crimson blur caught his eye.

0o0o0

Ryouga ran through the handseals for the Hiraishin no Jutsu for the fourth time that day, doing his best to ignore the screaming, panicking housewife that was attacking him with a broom. He guessed that she was Sakura's mother, but he couldn't get her to stop attacking him for long enough to get an answer out of her, so he decided to just leave. As he completed the final seal, he vanished, leaving the confused woman alone.

0o0o0

As the monster-cat turned to face him, Naruto quickly decided that running after it without a plan had not been one of his better ideas. Fortunately, something entangled the cat's legs just as it started to charge them. "Uh... everyone scatter?" suggested one of his clones. It was a suggestion that most of them agreed with. However, before they actually had time to get away, a red and white blur impacted Tora's side, actually managing to roll the gargantuan cat onto its back. As the form landed, it resolved itself into ...a woman in a bright red and white costume wearing a red motorcycle helmet? However, before Naruto could thank his rescuer (or question her fashion sense), Tora shredded whatever it was that had been entangling his legs and rose to his feet. Suddenly, talking to the red clad ninja seemed significantly less important.

Then, demonstrating suicidal overconfidence, the red-clad rescuer charged the giant cat. For a moment, Naruto stood in place, absolutely dumbstruck. Fortunately, the cat seemed too focused on its attacker to take advantage of his state (although even if it hadn't been, the numerous clones mirroring Naruto's actions would have provided excellent camouflage). Jumping, the crimson idiot pulled a strange weapon from her hip, then fired some sort of glowing projectile at the cat. Unfortunately, this seemed to just piss it off, and the cat promptly smacked her out of the air.

"Naruto!" The shouted whisper caught Naruto's attention, drawing him back to reality. Turning, he saw Negi motioning toward him frantically by several trees. After joining his teammate in the safety of the area behind the trees and dispelling his numerous shadow clones, Naruto turned back to watch the fight. "Who is that?" he wondered out loud.

"That's the Red Ranger! She's going to save us!" As Negi spoke, the Red Ranger rolled back to her feet, drawing a sword from somewhere and charging the cat.

"..." Naruto decided not to comment that it looked more like she was going to die trying as Tora casually batted her aside.

0o0o0

Once again, Ryouga found himself in a oddly familiar apartment. Unlike before, however, it was easy to tell this one wasn't his. It was much cleaner. A quick glance outside verified that yes, this one was also in the same apartment complex as his own apartment. Huh. That's a weird coincidence. Deciding to contemplate it later, Ryouga once again began the long sequence of seals for the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

0o0o0

Haruno Sakura, the Red Ranger, was getting her ass kicked. She knew it, Tora knew it, and Naruto knew it. Negi, on the other hand, was entirely confident that she would somehow pull out a victory.

However, while she WAS getting her ass kicked, she was getting her ass kicked slowly. None of Tora's attacks were resulting in anything more than sprays of sparks and dark marks on her costume, although she was pretty sure she was getting bruised underneath it. Where Naruto and Negi would have been ripped apart, she was getting relatively minor injuries.

"Damn it! Why aren't you dying?" asked the monster cat. For a long moment, silence spread throughout the park.

"You can talk?" asked Naruto. The cat just looked at him, then turned back to the Red Ranger. "Why didn't you say anything before?" he shouted, irritated that Tora was apparently ignoring him.

"Do you make a habit of talking to your food?" Tora growled, before turning back to the Red Ranger. "Anyways, I asked you a question," it snarled.

"My outfit is as impenetrable as my will is unbreakable!" shouted Sakura. "It'll take more than the likes of you to kill me!"

"We'll see about that." Suddenly, the cat pounced, tackling the Red Ranger to the ground and pinning her sword arm with one of its forelegs. It then began clawing at her with its back claws, attempting to rip through her costume. Whatever cry of pain Sakura may or may not have made was drowned out by the sounds of the numerous miniature explosions of sparks that were produced with every slash.

Then Tora abruptly jumped back, holding one paw above the ground, blood dripping from a deep cut in its leg. The Red Ranger sat up, now covered in numerous dark marks. In her off hand, she held a second, shorter blade. The blade in question looked suspiciously similar to the projectile weapon she had used earlier, but where the projectile weapon looked like a crossbow without the bow, this one was clearly a blade.

Raising to her feet, the Red Ranger brandished both swords toward the monster cat. "You want to try that again?" she asked, doing her best to look intimidating. 'Crap. He almost took me out there. If he had bothered to pin both my arms, I would have been a goner. I need to stall until the other rangers get here.'

Much to Sakura's chagrin, the cat slowly lowered its injured leg toward the ground, then took a tentative step forward. 'Ack! Plan A: Intimidate the Monster failed! Time for Plan B!' Unfortunately, there was no Plan B, so Sakura just went with her instincts.

"You poor creature. Having never known the gift of friendship." Apparently, her instincts said to start a friendship speech. 'Note to self ? If I survive the next few minutes, get new instincts.'

0o0o0

Naruto facepalmed. He couldn't help it. 'There she is, making a decent showing as a combatant, then she tries to threaten Tora. And when he isn't intimidated, she tries a friendship speech. That form is absolutely terrible. You can't just use a friendship speech when you're about to lose! You have to beat it into them! Make the friendship speech part of the threat! Using it to try to make your enemy not kill you doesn't work!'

While Naruto silently judged the Red Ranger's friendship speech abilities, Negi watched intently. As far as he knew, Naruto had never watched the Power Rangers closely before, but he had. Negi knew what came next. Whenever all hope seemed lost...

0o0o0

"You're stalling," said Tora. "You just don't want me to eat you."

"No, it's true!" said Sakura, deciding to just go with it. "Friendship is great! And with it comes power you wouldn't expect!" 'I can't believe I'm doing this,' thought Sakura. "Friendship is always knowing that deep down, you're never alone!"

Suddenly, a black and white form flipped over the giant cat, landing next to Sakura. "Always having someone to back you up when the chips are down!" added the Black Ranger.

A white and yellow figure landed on Sakura's other side. "Having someone to help keep your aim true," added the Yellow Ranger.

A blue and white figure landed slightly behind Sakura and the Black Ranger. "Having someone to push you to victory when you can't make it there on your own!" chimed in the Blue Ranger.

A pink and white figure landed between Sakura and the Yellow Ranger. "Curbstomping our enemies five to one, then blowing them up with our power blaster!" shouted the Pink Ranger.

"THAT'S THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!" shouted all five Power Rangers in unison as they took poses. Behind them, five multicolored explosions went off.

After a moment of stunned silence, Tora said a bad word.

0o0o0

Negi couldn't help it. He squee'd.


Translation Index

Hiraishin no Jutsu - Flying Thunder God Technique: The signature technique of Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage. It allows one to teleport to any location possessing a certain seal. Originally, the technique was lost with the Yondaime's death, with the exception of an inferior version taught to his bodyguards. However, with the help of the Godaime Hokage, Ryouga was able to recreate the technique. Unfortunately, Ryouga's version takes seventy-eight handseals to perform, making it useless in combat.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique: Naruto's signature technique that creates solid, autonomous clones. These clones can use ninjutsu and transfer all the memories they accumulate back to their hosts upon being dispelled. Unfortunately, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu requires far too much chakra for most ninjas to use.

Bunshin no Jutsu - Clone Technique: One of the three basic jutsus taught at the Ninja Academy, Bunshin no Jutsu creates an illusionary clone of the user. Unlike Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, the clones creates using Bunshin no Jutsu are not autonomous. They are merely illusions created by the user of the technique. However, Bunshin no Jutsu requires very little chakra to use, to the extent that every genin is expected to be capable of using it.

Sagitta Magica, Series Fulgoris - Magic Arrow, Lightning Series: A magic arrow made of electricity. Each arrow is homing and can stun the target upon impact. This technique, like all of the Sagitta Magica series, can be scaled up indefinitely, creating more and more arrows. However, this is difficult to do without using the chant.

Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae - Magic Arrow, Binding Wind: A magic arrow that binds the opponent. Like all Sagitta Magica series attacks, Aer Capturae is homing and can be scaled up indefinitely. Unlike the others, however, it does not deal damage directly. Instead, it only binds its opponent.

Nebula Hypnotica - Mist of Sleep: Nebula Hypnotica creates sleep inducing mist. Despite the similarities, it is not a genjutsu, and can not be dispelled like one.