Ranma trailed behind Satsuki as she strode down the walkway, his attention fixed on the many workers that moved about like a swarm of ants almost three stories beneath him.

"Goku Uniforms are outfits that, to varying degrees, we have infused processed life fibers into." Satsuki continued as she walked. "When present in high enough quantities, the fibers can bestow according amounts of strength, speed, and durability upon their wearer, as well as various other abilities depending on the outfit's make."

"Wait, how's that work?" Ranma asked, head snapping back in her direction. "Thought ya said they just drained things."

"Correct. However, despite not being actively intelligent, life fibers are extraordinarily adaptable." Satsuki replied. "They must be, in order for their reproductive method to be viable regardless of what manner of life they come across. When processed correctly, it is possible for us to turn this adaptability to our advantage, and allow the wearer of a uniform to draw upon the fibers' energy and properties, rather than the other way around."

The walkway ended at another metal door. Satsuki led Ranma through it, and into a hallway lit in harsh red tones, lined with multiple doors on both sides. Just beyond each door lay a small side hallway containing a pair of glass observation windows, allowing one to look in on either of the rooms they bordered.

"Through this method, we invert the life fibers' intended paradigm, and take their power as our own."

Satsuki gestured to a window on her right, prompting Ranma to look into it. Inside, a male clone dressed in what appeared to be their standard uniform stood before a mechanical dummy, unleashing a furious flurry of blows upon it. Ranma quirked an eyebrow as he observed the speed of the boy's arms- while nowhere near Amaguriken levels, the attacks were still fast enough to be little more than a blur, though the clone obviously had no idea how to properly throw a punch.

"One-star uniforms are made with 10% life fibers." Satsuki lectured from Ranma's side. "They bestow a blanket upgrade to a person's physical abilities, and are all alike in nature, save the sex they were designed for. The students that wear them make up the general rank and file of this academy."

The clone finished his combo with a final punch that sent the mechanical dummy spinning on its post, before exiting the room via a door in the back. Satsuki moved on, while Ranma trailed along behind her.

"Beyond one-star uniforms, there are two-star uniforms, made with 20% life fibers." Satsuki continued. "Along with a better version of the enhancements bestowed by one-star uniforms, they are made with specific purposes in mind, granting the wearer more unique capabilities."

They stopped at another observation window, the room behind it identical to the last, save for its occupant.

"Hey, I know him." Ranma said, squinting at the sullen-looking boy on the other side of the glass. "That's the guy who delivered the invitation letters to the dojo."

Satsuki stepped forward and pressed a small, almost unnoticeable button on the side of the wall.

"Begin." she spoke, the words echoing within the room.

The boy sighed, mouthing something Ranma couldn't make out, before abruptly blurring into motion. Emphasis on "blur", as the teen repeatedly lapped the outside edge of the room at lightning speeds, small concussive booms ringing out along his path.

"Two-star Goku Uniforms are bestowed exclusively to club presidents; students that have shown the capacity to lead their peers in some manner." Satsuki stated as she impassively watched the display. "This particular one is owned by the captain of the track team. I take it you can gather the type of abilities it grants on your own."

"Hmm..." Ranma mused. "Speed enough to barely be visible, miniature shockwaves…"

The still unnamed boy leapt out of his run and hit the left wall feet first, before springing off of it towards the dummy in the center of the room, delivering a kick that blew the mechanical doll off its post entirely and sent it into the opposite wall.

"…and enough leg strength to give that Kengyu guy's stupid cow a run for its money." Ranma finished as the boy bowed to the window and very hurriedly exited through the back door. "Ya know, now that I think about it, I guess this superpowered clothing stuff does kinda explain a few things."

"What you witnessed during our attack, I take it?" Satsuki asked as she turned to walk on.

"Well, yeah, but I've also just seen a lot of other clothing with weird tricks and powers before." Ranma explained. "There was a guy with this cloth that let him turn into other people, bathing suits that made anyone that wore them able to swim really well, that stupid battle dogi… stuff like that."

Satsuki stilled for a moment, her expression unviewable from Ranma's point of view.

"…I see." she eventually said. "I may require you to elaborate upon those incidents in the future, Saotome. But for now, let us continue."

Ranma shrugged, not entirely sure why the imperialistic girl cared, but not particularly minding.

"Finally, there are three-star uniforms." Satsuki stated as she strode forward through a final door at the end of the hallway. Ranma entered the room just behind her, and immediately did a double take as he realized they'd just walked back into the council room, last seen on the exact opposite end of the walkway. How the-?

"Made with 30% life fibers, this level of Goku Uniform is possessed solely by my council members." Satsuki pressed on, ignoring Ranma's confusion as she gestured to the Elite Four, all still seated exactly where they'd been left a few minutes ago. "I assume it requires no demonstration, seeing as how you have already born witness to Gamagori's and Jakuzure's during our assault on your former high school."

"Ah… yeah, I remember." Ranma said, vaguely recalling the enormous mummy thing and flying pink tank that had gotten involved shortly after he'd had to flee from Taro with Hinako. "What do those two's do?" he asked, pointing at Sanageyama and Inumuta.

"Oh, are we invited to this conversation again?" Sanageyama asked impishly, earning him a thrown plush gorilla to the back of the head.

"Don't talk to Satsuki-chan like that, Monkey!" Nonon griped.

"I wasn't talking to her, you-!"

"Sanageyama, Jakuzure, we are still in the middle of an official council meeting. Save this for later." Satsuki rebuked before things could spiral out of hand, silencing the both of them. "And you will have the opportunity to discover that soon enough, Saotome." she resumed, turning back to Ranma. "More importantly, you may have noticed that none of this actually seems to assist in stopping the primary, far less physical threat the life fibers pose."

Ranma nodded, pretending he had.

"That is because all Goku Uniforms possess a secret, secondary function that is of even more significant benefit than the more obvious traits they bestow: by wearing them for extended periods of time, they steadily build the wearer's resistance to life fiber mental control."

Ranma tilted his head to the side. "So they're like… mental trainin' weights?"

"In a sense." Inumuta interjected. "A more accurate analogy would be gradually building one's tolerance to a specific type of poison- particularly in that if you take too much before you're ready, it will overwhelm you. The life fibers in any Goku Uniform will gladly run wild should their wearer not possess the capacity to constrain them, and as such, a gradual increase is generally necessary. With a strong enough will, some individuals are able to take on a higher level uniform immediately, but our studies have shown that to be exceedingly rare."

"That have anything to do with all the clone people I've seen runnin' around the place?" Ranma asked, recalling that virtually all of the male ones had been wearing the one-star uniform he'd just been shown.

"They are not clones." Satsuki clarified. "The one-star uniforms are deliberately made to homogenize their wearers' features as a way of visually measuring resistance level over time. If a student's appearance begins to trend back towards their natural one, it is a sign that they are likely ready for a higher level uniform. By steadily instilling this resilience into Honnouji Academy's students, we aim to ensure that when the life fibers inevitably arise, we will not be overtaken so easily as the rest of the world."

"Right…" Ranma replied vaguely, his head starting to spin.

"In case the implication was not clear, the populace of this school is our future army, Saotome." Satsuki said, returning to her throne at the back of the room. "Which is why we need you."

"Me?" Ranma repeated.

"Our expected timeframe is grim. If we are correct about when the life fibers are likely to awaken, the majority of students at this academy will still have yet to gain sufficient levels of immunity to prevent themselves from being overtaken." Satsuki elaborated. "However… you may be able to assist us in this regard."

"Huh?"

"Think you broke him, Satsuki-chan." Nonon interrupted. "He's reverted to single syllable responses. Hey Monkey, mind smacking him in the head a couple of times? That might fix him."

Ranma quickly moved away from Sanageyama to avoid any potentially forthcoming high-speed bamboo. "Lemme rephrase." he said, giving Nonon a quick glare. "How exactly would I be able to do that?"

"After seeing the effects that your English teacher's chi-draining attack had on Jakuzure's uniform during our assault on Furinkan High, we immediately began to research the subject in greater depth." Satsuki explained. "While all evidence seems to indicate Ninomiya's ability is not easily reproducible, we discovered something else of importance during the testing process- namely, that there appears to be a link between a person's chi, and their ability to resist and control life fibers."

Ahhh, now this was starting to make more sense.

"So, more chi means better resistance?" Ranma asked.

"The deciding element is still uncertain." Inumuta cut in again. "We did not have enough variance to test the hypothesis particularly thoroughly. Seeing as how life fibers feed on chi however, it is hard to imagine quantity is the most important aspect. More likely, the key lies in the degree of one's ability to manipulate such energy, perhaps due to the mental discipline supposedly required to do so."

"Even were this factor nonexistent, a greater knowledge of chi is a potential boon that we cannot afford to dismiss." Satsuki said, retaking the reigns of the conversation. "With what we shall be facing, it is crucial that we grasp and hold tight to every advantage available to us, even the merely theoretical. Any benefit, no matter how minuscule, may eventually prove to be of critical import during the coming conflict."

"As such, my proposal to you is as follows, Saotome." Satsuki stated, her expression holding neutral, but the conviction in her voice quite enough on its own to convey just how seriously she took this. Ranma unconsciously straightened.

"First, I want you to train my elites in chi control, preferably with an emphasis on ways that will support their current abilities and fighting styles."

Ranma opened his mouth to agree, then closed it and frowned before speaking again.

"Ah… if I'm bein' honest, I dunno if I'm really the guy for this." he said, though it almost physically pained him to admit it. "If it was pure martial arts you were talkin' about, sure, but when it comes to chi manipulation, you're probably better off askin' the old ghoul."

"If you mean that shriveled prune on a stick, Lady Satsuki has already been talking with her." Sanageyama commented.

"It's a mystery as to why, but she still wants you, Horse." Nonon grudgingly acknowledged.

Ranma took a moment to process that, before smirking slightly and nodding at Satsuki. "Well, I guess I am the best. Alright, I'll give it a shot. Ya know it ain't gonna be easy though, right? 'specially if these four ain't got any prior experience."

"I am aware. I have every faith that my elites will succeed regardless."

The statement of trust prompted Sanageyama to grin, Nonon to preen, Gamagori to give a dutiful nod, and Inumuta to not even so much as glance up from his laptop.

"Second, while this council takes priority, I would like you to similarly tutor the various two-star student club presidents and their accompanying club members in martial arts, with a similar emphasis on developing their chi and bolstering their already existent abilities." Satsuki added. "Even if this fails to improve their mental resilience in any truly meaningful way, such training will hopefully allow them to learn actual skill, as many are almost entirely reliant on their uniforms at the moment."

"Right... small problem with that." Ranma replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I ain't actually got a license to teach Anything Goes to other people."

He didn't think it was particularly likely that his school's perverted grandmaster would ever give him one either, barring the possibility of Ranma managing to literally beat it out of him.

"I would not have assumed you to be someone particularly concerned with such rules Saotome," Satsuki replied, "but if that is an issue, then simply do not teach them that."

Ranma blinked. "Wha? How am I supposed to teach anyone martial arts if I can't teach martial arts?"

"Specialize."

"Specialize...?" Ranma repeated, uncomprehending.

"Inumuta."

Taking a moment to pull something up on his laptop, Inumuta began to speak.

"Saotome Ranma, heir to the Anything Goes school of martial arts. 17 years old, blood type O. Legally male, but intermittently physically female. Known specialty skills include various esoteric forms of martial combat, including Martial Arts Ice Skating, Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, Martial Arts Dining, Martial Arts Cheerleading, Martial Arts-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Ranma interrupted, not particularly feeling the need to be reminded of his one-time adventure in Martial Arts Shogi or the time he'd had to fight a literal monkey.

"So far as I am aware, none of these disciplines have anything to do with your personal school." Satsuki noted. "As such, you should be free to teach them, correct?"

Ranma hesitated, but reluctantly nodded. While not exactly a master at all of them, he knew enough about most of the martial arts styles he'd encountered in the past to have a decent grasp of at least their foundational basics, even the truly bizarre and inane ones.

"Gonna need the list a' clubs." he said. "That everything?"

"Not quite." Satsuki answered.

To Ranma's shock, the imperious girl's expression turned almost hesitant, something he'd imagined the likelihood of occurring to exist just below the chances of the Buddha himself suddenly choosing to descend upon the land. The slightly unsure frown she now wore looked incredibly unnatural on her.

"Third… I will require your assistance in refining my own chi abilities." Satsuki eventually said. "My own training in the area is incomplete, and almost entirely self-taught. Your aid in this matter would be… appreciated."

From what Ranma had seen, what she knew was enough to put most of the martial artists he knew to shame. Still, he could certainly relate to the desire to continue improving; to keep pushing past one's limits and out the other side, so he understood the sentiment well.

"These are the tasks I ask of you." Satsuki finished, her expression returning to normal. "Do you agree to the terms?"

Ranma gave it a few moments' thought before responding with a solemn nod.

"Yeah. Think I can do that."

"Then we have an accord." Satsuki announced, striking the end of her sheathed sword into the floor in front of her like a gavel. "Saotome Ranma, I welcome you to this council as our new Martial Combat Committee Chair."

There was no clapping involved, but the Elite Four each turned and gave Ranma a respectful nod, though Nonon's looked decidedly more perfunctory than the others, and Ranma was fairly sure he saw her rolling her eyes.

"Inumuta, have Iori commence working on a Goku Uniform for Saotome effective immediately." Satsuki ordered.

Ranma blinked. "Uh, wait, you're givin' me one of those?"

"We will need to test your initial resistance levels first, but yes." Inumuta said, still typing away. "If you recall the past five minutes of conversation, it is vital you begin increasing your resistance to life fibers as soon as realistically possible."

"A Goku Uniform is also an important emblem of one's rank within Honnouji Academy." Gamagori noted. "As the newest member of our council, you will eventually be receiving a three-star uniform, which will serve simultaneously as a symbol of your position, and a means of defeating virtually anyone who does not possess one themselves."

Ranma frowned.

"…yeah, about that. I get that I need to start buildin' a resistance, but, any way I could maybe do that without havin' to wear a power outfit?"

There was a collective utterance of disbelief from the Elite Four, while Satsuki's right eyebrow rose fractionally.

"Explain your reasoning, Saotome."

"It just… kinda seems like cheating, I guess." Ranma replied. "'Sides, you ain't wearin' one, right? I don't see any stars on your clothes."

That had evidently been the wrong thing to say, as Satsuki's features suddenly twisted and hardened as though the inquiry personally offended her.

"I have long since trained my resistance to life fibers as high as it will feasibly go." she said, her voice deceptively calm. "How or when this was accomplished is none of your concern, so I will thank you not to ask about it."

Even Ranma wasn't so oblivious as to not realize he'd apparently stepped on a rather touchy subject with that question.

"Alright, fine," he said, backpedaling slightly, "but I still don't want a uniform."

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Gamagori thundered. "HAVE YOU NOT LISTENED TO A WORD LADY SATSUKI HAS SPOKEN?! YOU MUST-!"

"I heard her!" Ranma yelled, somehow managing to make himself heard despite the blond man's volume. "And sure, maybe it's dumb to turn down a free power up in the face of aliens planning on blowin' up the world. But I'd rather rely on my own power and skills than use something you're tellin' me is basically an instant win button."

That was the crux of the matter, really. Between being homeless, penniless, and basically friendless for the vast majority of his life, Ranma's skill as a martial artist was perhaps the one thing he possessed that he was truly proud of. Using something that could make that all but irrelevant with the sheer power it supposedly conveyed... even the idea just felt wrong to him.

"When the world really starts ending, I'm guessin' I'll have to take whatever help I can get." Ranma reluctantly admitted. "But until then? I can do without the help of super clothes doin' my fighting for me. Maybe I'll even figure out a way to beat these fiber things without 'em too."

"Heh, you'll end up a smear of blood on the ground long before that happens." Nonon said, seeming amused.

"Hate to agree with her," Sanageyama said with notable distaste, "but she's right. I don't care how good you are, that's just not happening."

"It is not completely unthinkable." Inumuta noted, to almost everyone else's surprise. "Saotome represents an area where many theories we held previous break down, and there is even technical precedent of 'dressing down' with the Disciplinary Committee's Head of Trap Development, whose position mandates she hide her true rank. However, a spot on this council would place Saotome in one of the most visible positions possible at this academy, making the idea far less viable, and the probability of him being more effective at combating life fibers without a Goku Uniform than with one is so statistically insignificant as to be essentially nonexistent."

"In other words, your reasoning is juvenile, and your stated objective is not only pointless, but ridiculous on the face of it." Gamagori concluded. "Give up on this impossible notion here and now Saotome, so that we may move forward."

Ranma shook his head, his mind now fully made up. "I've done plenty of 'impossible' things before. Don't see a reason to stop now."

Gamagori glared at Ranma with an intensity that had brought others to their knees in fear of the disciplinarian's ire. For the pigtailed martial artist, it barely rated a 7 out of 10.

"This is FOOLISH!" the blond man roared. "Your obstinacy will do nothing but disrupt this academy's societal hierarchy to no meaningful purpose. Without a three-star uniform, you will fail to command proper respect from others, and be derided by those beneath you!"

"Ain't entirely sure what you just said, but if people have a problem with me, I'll handle it myself." Rama retorted.

"Without a Goku Uniform, you will be unable to." Gamagori countered. "Even amongst the no-stars, quelling student misconduct will be far more difficult without an obvious mark of authority-"

"Hang on a sec, 'no-stars'?" Ranma interrupted, having only heard of one, two, and three-stars thus far. "Who're they?"

"No-stars are the students beneath literally everyone else." Sanageyama said casually. "Basically the scum of the city and school."

Scum…?

"Gamagori's laying it on a little thick." Sanageyama continued before Ranma could ask about his word choice. "The no-star uniforms don't have any life fibers in them, so they can't really fight back when you need to beat them down."

"Wait, what? I thought the whole point of the uniforms was to get people's resistance to them up, how come-"

"Our supply of life fibers is limited, Saotome." Inumuta answered preemptively. "We only have so much raw material to work with, and there simply isn't enough of it to distribute Goku Uniforms to everyone. Thus, the no-stars do not receive them."

That made sense, but even besides that…

"Okay, but ya just said they can't really fight back, right?" Ranma said, still confused. "They're just normal people, so why would I need to 'beat' them?"

"Because no-stars are by far the rank that most often opposes Lady Satsuki's rule." Gamagori answered. "As her hands, her will, and her bodyguards in one, it is our duty to enforce it for her."

"Uh huh, her 'rule'. Could ya maybe clarify that a bit?" Ranma asked, turning back to Satsuki. "Someone said something about you 'ruling' the city yesterday too, but I still don't really get it. What exactly does that mean?"

"For the purposes of secrecy, we have deliberated structured Honnouji Academy, and by extension Honnou City itself, as a totalitarian dictatorship." Satsuki elaborated. "A governing body of absolute power that will stand no dissent within its ranks, of which I stand at the peak. My council is expected to act appropriately to maintain this image, a task that occasionally involves reminding the common masses of the consequences of questioning our authority."

Ranma really didn't like the sound of that. "Hold on, so you're tellin' me I'm not just gonna have to lord myself over the other students, but that I might have to kick 'em around now and again, just to make sure they remember you're in charge?"

"Call it one of the perks." Nonon commented with a smirk.

"…sorry, but that ain't happening. That's basically just bullying people, and I ain't gonna do that just because you're tellin' me to."

Satsuki's eyes narrowed. "In case you have forgotten, Saotome, we are preparing to fight a war." she replied, her voice as hard as steel. "We cannot and will not coddle anyone, for in the end they are to be our army, and those not fit to be part of it have no use to us. The chaff must be separated from the wheat."

While Ranma couldn't deny he agreed certain people would be better left out of a fight to determine the fate of the world, the way that Satsuki phrased it rankled all the same.

"So, what, no-stars are just sacrifices for the cause? Extras you don't have any use for? Why even have them then?"

"Because aside from at least being potentially useful for labor tasks, no-star students are not permanently locked into their position." Gamagori said in way of explanation. "It is entirely possible for one to eventually raise their rank through a sufficient display of allegiance to this academy, something most easily done by way of participation in a school club. However, the majority of no-stars do not join any, content to squander their lives and time in service of no greater purpose."

"You mean clubs like the one outside that was kickin' around exploding soccer balls?" Ranma asked skeptically. "Yeah, hard to believe more people wouldn't wanna get involved with stuff like that."

"A real mystery, isn't it?" Nonon chimed in with a malicious looking smile.

"The inherent danger is deliberate." Satsuki justified. "A student unwilling to risk themselves even in such moderately hazardous recreation is a student unsuited for any manner of combat, particularly given that they have been so heavily incentivized to take such risks."

"The heck does that mean?"

"Haven't you already seen?" Inumuta replied. "We link each student's uniform and ranking to their standard of living. One-stars live in moderately-sized apartments with all their needs provided for, and are typically either respected or ignored. Two-stars live in the lap of luxury, with money in excess, and enjoy positions of limited authority over lower ranked students. Three-stars- us- have access to resources beyond even that, and are outranked only by Lady Satsuki herself."

"…and no-stars live in poverty at the bottom of the island, and have basically no power at all." Ranma finished. "That about right?"

Satsuki nodded slowly.

"What about everyone transferring from Furinkan?" Ranma asked, barely holding back a scowl. "I heard something about them being brought in as one-stars, but now you're tellin' me otherwise. Are they really getting uniforms, or are they just getting shafted?"

"Their living conditions will be as one-stars." Inumuta said. "Their technical rank, however, will be that of no-stars, as will their uniforms for the time being."

"A show of proper dedication to this academy and Lady Satsuki is necessary before they can be anything more." Gamagori added with an affirming nod. "That is as-"

"So this is just a horrible deal for everyone except you." Ranma interrupted, his voice hard. "You know what? Changed my mind. I'm not doing this."

The Elite Four straightened in their seats as the temperature of the room seemed to rapidly drop.

"You are reneging on our deal mere minutes after it has been finalized?" Satsuki asked, eyes flashing.

"You're startin' to remind me of a guy I met a month or so ago." Ranma said in response. "His people called him a king, but he was a real jerk. Thought he was better than everyone else; that he could treat other people however he wanted because he had so much more power than them. We ended up having a pretty major disagreement about his attitude problem, and… well, it didn't end well for him."

The temperature dipped again, noticeably enough that Ranma almost wondered if Satsuki also knew the Soul of Ice.

"Are you threatening me, Saotome?" Satsuki asked, the words seeming to almost pierce through him like a frozen arrow.

"No." Ranma said, holding his ground. "But I got too many problems with the way you're doin' things to just go along with it. I get why you're doing it- kinda- but I ain't gonna be a part of it."

Though her voice was cold, Satsuki's glare alone could have burned a hole in the ozone layer. Ranma privately judged it as a solid 2 point improvement on Gamagori's earlier attempt.

"You aren't even going to attempt to find a compromise?" Inumuta asked, his tone more curious than anything else, but laced with the vibe of an underlying threat.

"Something tells me you guys ain't willing to budge on what you believe," Ranma replied, "and I already know the same goes for me. So yeah, gonna go ahead and just skip that part."

"I knew you didn't have what it takes." Nonon said cheerfully, clearly unbothered by this development.

Gamagori looked as though he was ready to literally erupt in sheer outrage, but before he could say anything, Sanageyama beat him to the punch.

"Oy, bastard!" the green-haired teen yelled, hopping up from his seat and striding towards Ranma while unsheathing his shinai. "I know you're new and all, so let's get something straight here! At this academy, disrespecting Lady Satsuki is tantamount to treason! You don't have the right to refuse this, you-!"

"Stay your hand, Sanageyama."

Sanageyama immediately froze, his head snapping towards Satsuki.

"But he-!"

Satsuki gave Sanageyama a look that to Ranma looked no different than her normal expression. Slowly, begrudgingly, the kendoist backed off. Meanwhile, Gamagori seemed to almost shudder, as if forcing himself to swallow back his thoughts on the matter.

"If you truly wish to be treated as nothing more than a normal student, then so be it, Saotome. But you will keep what you have learned here secret." Satsuki pronounced, her tone making it clear that this was not a request. "Fail to do so, and I shall treat you as I have every other obstacle before me, and crush you where you stand."

Ranma shrugged. "Unlike my Pops, I keep my word. I won't say anything to anyone else, even if I still got no clue why that's so important. Hell, I'll still help you guys train to use chi if you want. But I ain't gonna listen to your every word, I ain't gonna treat people like trash for no good reason, and I ain't gonna wear one of those uniforms."

Having said all he had to say on the matter, Ranma turned and headed for the entrance. The steel door slid up automatically, thankfully to the hallway he originally came in from rather than anywhere else the council room apparently connected to.

"Know this, Saotome." Satsuki called out as Ranma walked through the doorway. "Your combat skill far exceeds that of nearly every other person currently present in Honnou City. But against the life fibers and those that make use of them, as you are now, you will lose. You will come to understand this in time."

The final word reached Ranma's ears just as the door slid closed behind him.

…crap. He'd forgotten to ask where the elevator was.


"Well, that could've gone better." Sanageyama said in the silence left by the departure of the pigtailed boy.

"Looks like the Elite Four won't be needing a name change after all." Nonon added, not even pretending to be disappointed by that. "Oh well!"

"Such impudence…" Gamagori growled.

"Shall we force him?" Inumuta asked.

"No. Saotome is the type to only clash harder against authority the more that it attempts to constrain him." Satsuki replied, her expression having reverted to one only fractionally more severe than usual. "Should we strong-arm him into the position against his own will, he will become more of a hindrance than a help. It is unnecessary in any event- we have already impressed upon him the direness of the situation. Eventually, inevitably, he will come around. His morals demand no less of him."

Satsuki closed her eyes, pausing for a moment to consider her options, then opened them and spoke again. "Inumuta, my orders regarding Saotome's uniform stand. Tell Iori I want it prepped and ready for immediate use for when he decides to join us properly."

"Understood." the former hacker replied. "I presume it should be made to accommodate both of Saotome's forms?"

Satsuki nodded. "Additionally, commission a life fiber article as per his earlier specifications. It should allow him to begin increasing his resistance to them, but nothing more."

"…with respect, my lady, is it wise to cave to such a demand?" Gamagori asked, seeming almost affronted by the idea.

"Saotome may be willing to waste his own time, but I am not." Satsuki said. "It is critical he be brought up to par if he is to play any role of even minor consequence in the future. Should this be what it takes to do so, it is hardly much of a concern."

"What about the clubs?" Inumuta inquired. "Saotome claimed to still be willing to teach us, not them. Do we simply let them continue on as they have been thus far?"

"No. Power alone cannot win us this war; not when our foe's strength and reach so massively outstrips our own. If Saotome is unwilling to teach them… then we will simply have to outsource."

Satsuki stood from her throne. This meeting had not ended the way that she would have hoped... but perhaps, for now, this was for the best.

"Council dismissed."


Ukyo stood in the official-looking meeting room with her arms crossed, her expression what some would call rather less than happy. Akane, standing to her right, wore an expression much the same, though in her case this was perhaps due to the fact that her own right side was currently occupied by someone who seemed to be doing his utter best to provoke the youngest Tendo into violence.

"Beauteous Akane, surely you must see it." Kuno insisted. "How can our fated reunion, such glorious happenstance as to find ourselves brought together once more, be considered anything but the will of destiny itself?"

"Just because we were told to come here at the same time doesn't make it 'destiny', Kuno." Akane said testily. "Now would you please just shut up?"

Ukyo tuned the pair out in favor of focusing on the five people sitting before her, grouped behind a single large black desk. The Devastation Five, as they'd been nicknamed- the quintet of students who had collectively brought Furinkan High crashing to the ground. She'd learned their names since the incident, but the shared moniker fit them far better, in Ukyo's opinion. She was wary of them to begin with, and the summons that had brought her here this morning only made her more so. Luckily, she'd had the foresight to prepare a contingency plan ahead of time, just in case things ended up going south.

There was a crash from behind her, forcibly recapturing Ukyo's attention- evidently, Akane had finally gotten fed up and done what the chef had been expecting to her to do for the past several minutes, sending Kuno flying backwards hard enough to embed him in the metal back wall. The five individuals in front of them gave no indication that they cared about this in the slightest, not a single one even so much as blinking in reaction.

The electronic clock at the side of the room gave way to the new hour, prompting the largest person in the room to nod.

"We shall now commence the meeting." Gamagori stated officiously.

"Finally." Akane muttered. "Still don't see why we couldn't have just started once everyone was here."

"Punctuality is essential to preserving order." the massive man answered. "A lesson you should take to heart."

"Besides which, everyone is not here." Inumuta followed up. "Not out in the open, at least. On that note, I suggest that you have them show their faces before we drag them out by force."

The statement only confused Akane, but caused Ukyo to curse under her breath. He'd noticed. She wasn't sure how he'd noticed, but apparently he had.

"You can come out, Konatsu."

In a flash of red, the kunoichi in question stood before her. Ukyo had been trusting Konatsu to remain unnoticed and undetected; her secret ace-in-the-hole in the event that the meeting went poorly. Yet despite Ukyo herself having no idea where the crossdressing ninja had been hidden- even now, she wasn't quite sure where he'd come from- somehow, the high-collared teen across the desk had figured it out.

Konatsu immediately fell to one knee, bowing deeply.

"My apologies, Mistress Ukyo! I had thought my camouflage to be perfect, but it appears I was discovered."

Ukyo opened her mouth to tell Konatsu she was fairly certain it wasn't his fault, but before she could a vent installed in the ceiling in front of her fell to the floor, and a small man with large, rat-like teeth poked his head out of the newly made hole. The rest of his body failed to follow suit, the subsequent effect causing him to look like some sort of extremely morbid sprinkler system.

"M-master Kuno, I think I've been compromised!"

"I am well aware of that, Sasuke." Kuno spoke into the wall, having yet to find the leverage to peel himself out of it. "If you would assist me in removing myself from this confinement?"

Sasuke dropped from the ceiling and began prying his master out of the paneling. Once Kuno was able to stand on his own two feet again, Nonon spoke up.

"This a private discussion, so you two extras need to scram." she said, pointing her conductor's wand in the direction of the door. "Go on, get!"

Konatsu looked to Ukyo, who nodded. Konatsu nodded back, and disappeared through the entryway. Sasuke followed suit a moment later, looking rather relieved. As soon as the two were gone, three stiff sheets of paper were sent flying through the air across the desk, each of which was subsequently caught by its intended recipient.

"This is a list of all clubs currently available at this academy." the woman sitting in the middle- Kiryuin, if Ukyo recalled, or "Satsuki" according to Ranma- began without preamble. "The majority of them are led by either one-star or two-star students, each possessing a Goku Uniform of equivalent power. You must choose one and challenge them for their club's presidency by the end of the week."

"Huh? Wait a minute!" Akane protested as the statement sunk in. "I thought we were just being given charge of a club, not that we'd have to win it!"

"If you wish to accept a position, it must be vacant." Satsuki said, lacing her fingers together. "If it is not, then either make it so, or accept your place beneath those already present."

"That's not fair!" Akane exclaimed angrily. "When you say 'Goku Uniform', you mean outfits like theirs," she gestured at the Elite Four, "that give the people who wear them magic powers?"

"These are hardly 'magic'." Inumuta corrected.

"Who cares?! How do you expect us to beat those?!"

"I care not of your methods. Find a way." Satsuki stated coldly. "You three took on my Elite Four. If you cannot even handle those a rank lower than them, then you do not deserve what you have been given, and shall be stripped of it."

"You- you mean you're going to take away our houses if we fail?!" Akane sputtered incredulously. "That's- bah, I should have known this was too good to be true!"

Ukyo absorbed all of this in silence, far less surprised than Akane, as she'd largely been expecting something like this. Having run her own business for quite a while now, she was somewhat more experienced with legalese and loopholes than most other teens her age, and had already noticed while reviewing her invitation letter that it didn't actually say she was being granted a club to run, only that being a "two-star" was predicated upon her taking charge of one. Honestly, having already decided that she wanted little to do with the two-star section of the city, this wasn't nearly as bad as what Ukyo had been potentially anticipating.

"So, we must defeat in combat the one whose position we wish to take on?" Kuno spoke up.

"That is correct." Gamagori confirmed.

Kuno closed his eyes, crossing his arms and nodding in understanding. "I see. Then, the person that I will deign to challenge shall be…"

Unsheathing his bokken in one swift motion, Kuno opened his eyes and dramatically whipped his weapon towards the desk.

"YOU!"

Sanageyama raised a doubtful eyebrow, seemingly unbothered by the wooden sword point now resting all of six inches from his nose. "You serious?"

"I speak not in riddles-"

"Debatable." Inumuta commented.

"-nor in jest. According to this list, you are the captain of this school's kendo club, are you not?"

"Yeeeeeah." Sanageyama drawled. "And?"

"I know of no other scholarly activity worthy of the Blue Thunder's magnificence," Kuno stated matter-of-factly, "and it is of course only natural that I take my place at the head of any such association that practices the noble art of the blade. Thus, I shall wrest the title from you here and now!"

Sanageyama shrugged. "Okay."

The lightning fast shinai strike sent Kuno flying right back into the hole Akane had put him in previously, cratering the wall even more deeply than before.

"I… fgggght… nnnnn!" Kuno yelled into the paneling before going conspicuously silent.

"I believe that concludes this meeting." Satsuki said in the resulting quiet. "You are all dismissed."

Akane, still fuming, loudly stormed out the door. A few seconds later, Sasuke slipped back inside and managed to once again wrest his unconscious master from the grasp of the room. Unable to support his weight, the ninja settled for slowly dragging Kuno across the floor instead, accidentally conking his head on the doorframe on the way out as if in parting goodbye.

Ukyo, however, did not move.

"Did you not hear? You are dismissed." Gamagori reiterated.

"Before I go, you still owe me something." Ukyo said. "I'd like that explanation on why you destroyed Furinkan now. You know, the one you never gave?"

The chef wasn't sure she even cared at this point, but she needed to understand the group's motives, no matter how little love was lost between her and her former school.

"You came, picked a fight, and destroyed the building." Ukyo continued. "But I still don't get why. What even was the point of all that? Just what are you after? And don't even try to tell me that it's a secret or something."

"It is no secret." Satsuki said impassively. "If you must know, we are progressively taking control of every school and region in Japan."

The absurdity of the statement combined with the completely serious tone it was delivered in brought Ukyo's thought process to a crashing halt. What?!

"We plan to seize them, annex them, and rule this nation through them." Satsuki continued. "A single unified country, under our single unified rule."

Ukyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. Apparently she was dealing with a group with delusions of grandeur even more insane than Kuno's.

"So, as part of this plan, you've been… attacking random schools all over the country." Ukyo said slowly, growing increasingly angrier the more she thought about how many people had likely been hurt by the group in front of her. "What exactly made you decide to target Furinkan then?"

"...there was nothing particularly special about your school." Satsuki answered after a brief pause. "It was simply to be our latest acquisition in a long line of others."

"Oh really?" Ukyo glowered, crossing her arms. "Well you failed. Furinkan's nothing but a bunch of dust and shrapnel now."

"The building itself was utterly inconsequential." Satsuki said without a trace of concern. "We have the majority of Furinkan High's former populace under our direct authority now. If anything, we gained more from your school than any other we have conquered thus far, including very nearly every individual deemed to be of potential use to us."

"Yeah?!" Ukyo snarled, the other girl's utterly dismissive tone stoking her displeasure even higher. "Well you're about to have one less of them! Tell me, what's to stop me from packing up and leaving right here and now?!"

"Nothing at all, Miss Kuonji." Satsuki replied coolly. "Ultimately, you are no one particularly significant to us. You are an asset, not a necessity, and your departure would not impact our plans in the slightest. Feel free to run away if you so wish- simply know that one day, there will be nowhere left for you to run."

That was the last straw. Drawing her combat spatula, Ukyo stepped forward, intent on bringing it down squarely on the imperious woman's head. However, as her weapon flew through the air towards its unmoving, uncaring target, both it and her wrists were suddenly caught and brought to an abrupt halt by a single massive hand.

"YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO STRIKE LADY SATSUKI?!" Gamagori bellowed.

A short, thorn-tipped red whip extended from the gauntlet on Gamagori's free arm, which immediately lashed downwards at Ukyo. With both her hands and spatula trapped in Gamagori's iron grip, the chef had no chance whatsoever of dodging the oncoming blow.

"Mistress Ukyo!"

Thankfully, she didn't end up needing to, as the whip was abruptly knocked off target by virtue of a flying kick to Gamagori's elbow. Said kick came courtesy of Konatsu, who had once again appeared from seemingly nowhere at all.

"Split-Body Technique!" the ninja cried as he rolled to the floor.

In an instant, four Konatsus suddenly faced Gamagori instead of just one.

"What-?!"

"Secret Art!" the clones yelled in tandem before anyone could react. "Kunoichi Crimson Kiss of Death!"

Gamagori abruptly found himself beset by a quartet of scarlet blurs that flashed around his upper body like fading wisps of smoke. Before he could even attempt to defend himself, three of them disappeared, while the remaining Konatsu pried Gamagori's hand open with surprising ease and swept Ukyo up in his arms before jumping away to the other side of the room.

"Rescue complete!"

Sanageyama turned to look at his fellow committee chair, and promptly burst out laughing. While his uniform remained pristine, Gamagori's face and hands were now completely covered in bright red kiss marks, making the man look like he'd suddenly been mobbed by a pack of overly affectionate women.

Noticing the offending stains himself, Gamagori attempted to open his mouth and demand an explanation, followed by a furious rebuking. However, he found himself strangely unable to move his jaw- in fact, he couldn't seem to move anything at all.

"Lipstick, mixed with a paralyzing agent?" Inumuta mused, staring at his temporarily immobile colleague. "And enough of it to work even past the Goku Uniform's protection. An interesting tactic."

"Sure the toad's not just in shock a girl was actually willing to put her lips on him?" Nonon asked mockingly.

Satsuki ignored her council members' comments in favor of giving Konatsu a long, evaluating look as the ninja set Ukyo back on the ground.

"Are you alright, Mistress?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for stepping in, Konatsu." Ukyo replied, genuinely grateful.

"I will forgive that brief transgression, on the condition that your retainer enroll in this school as well."

Ukyo's eyes swiveled back to Satsuki at the unexpected declaration.

"What?"

"I will not repeat myself."

"Yeah, listen up the first time Satsuki-chan says something." Nonon added. "You're really lucky she's willing to let you off that easy, so show some respect, Pizza Face!"

Ukyo brushed off Nonon's name-calling with practiced ease, barely paying the diminutive girl any mind.

"What if I say no?"

"Should you refuse, both you and your attendant shall be expelled from this city immediately." Satsuki answered tonelessly.

Ukyo glared at the other girl and ground her teeth together as she considered her options, or rather her lack thereof. Much as she hated it, she knew she couldn't just leave Honnou City as easily as she'd threatened earlier. Even if she went back to her restaurant in Nerima, most of her customer base was here now, and more importantly, Ranma was here now, leaving her little to nothing to gain by returning. The Kiryuin girl had her over a barrel, and she knew it.

"…fine." Ukyo eventually conceded. "Konatsu, you're going to have to come to school with me from now on."

It wasn't as though she could trust him to run the restaurant while she was out anyways. Besides, it seemed as though the first level of the city was inhabited primarily by the clone students, so there likely wouldn't be much business until afternoon hours anymore in any event.

Konatsu looked at Ukyo with a confused expression, but nodded all the same. "If that is what you wish, Mistress Ukyo."

"Good." Satsuki said, seemingly not even remotely surprised by Ukyo's capitulation. "Once your final ranks are determined, your uniforms will be delivered to your residency."

Ukyo opened her mouth to say something back, but stopped as she noticed one of Gamagori's lipstick-stained hands trembling.

"Ah, seems as though our Disciplinary Committee Chair is getting some feeling back." Inumuta commented, following Ukyo's gaze and turning to observe the twitching mass of muscle.

Konatsu tilted his head. "Hmm, that should have lasted much longer. I didn't even water it down this time…"

"While his uniform failed to stop the paralysis outright, it is presumably helping expedite the process of flushing the chemical from his system." Inumuta said, seemingly more just talking aloud than explaining for anyone else's benefit. "I estimate it only taking another minute or so before it wears off entirely."

Ukyo quickly decided that she and Konatsu should probably make their exit before that event actually occurred. Not caring to wait for another dismissal, she grabbed Konatsu's hand and pulled him out the door, leading him in a hurried sprint away from the room and out of the school. Only once they were on a gondola heading back down towards the one-star section of the city did Ukyo finally stop, her frustration-fueled energy now mostly burned out.

"I've never actually been to school before Mistress Ukyo." Konatsu said. "Do you think that will be an issue?"

Ukyo turned and looked back up at the pristine white walls that encircled the academy, which were already fading into the distance.

"I wouldn't worry about it Konatsu. Somehow, I doubt prior schooling is really going to matter at all here…"


AN: ...how the hell has it been so long since I updated this. Like seriously, how? I clearly need to find a way to speed up production here... we've finally reached the point where I can get into the stuff I actually was looking forward to when I started this though, so that might help!

Couple of things to say about the chapter. First, I imagine I've disappointed quite a few people with the development of Ranma turning down a Goku Uniform, considering the number of reviews/comments/etc. I received speculating on what would happen when he got one. However, this was always planned to happen- Ranma obtaining a three-star uniform here would cause almost any potential fight he could get into at this point to become an absolute curbstomp, which would not only take most of the fun out of Ranma himself, but would go against his character by a fair amount. Recall that whenever something that increases one's abilities shows up in Ranma ½, Ranma is very rarely focused on getting it himself- he's generally far more interested in proving how his own abilities are superior to any "power up", even though he's pretty much always demonstrably wrong (ie. the Super Soba, the Mark of the Gods, the Battle Dogi once it rejected him, etc). Hell, he's so prideful of his own strength that he all but refuses to accept it's gone in the Moxibustion Weakness arc, repeatedly trying to fight people even though he knows perfectly well that he's currently incapable of doing so. Additionally, Ranma having a three-star uniform completely removes a great deal of potential funny and interesting scenarios I could create, since Satsuki and the Elite Four control most of the events that occur during the first half of the show, and Ranma tends to be far more interesting as a potential participant/spanner in the works than as an observer. Hence the direction I'm taking this in. All I can say is that I'm sorry if you're dissatisfied, and hopefully what's to come will make up for it.

Second, I had to a do a LOT of rationalizing for this chapter. Like, Satsuki's plan does mostly make sense, given the sort of restrictions she's under, but there's a lot of things in canon that go unexplained due to when we find out about it. This is my attempt at resolving that from an inside perspective, though I had to once again excise a large section of the chapter when I realized it would work much better some time down the road. Hopefully it all still seems to gel together despite this.

Finally, on an unrelated note: since I'm sure most people don't remember him, Kengyu was a character from the episode "Meet You in the Milky Way", who purported to have a mystical technique called the "Shooting Star Kick" that could instantly defeat any opponent. In reality, this technique just consisted of him blinding his opponent long enough to have his pet cow kick them in the head. Funnily enough however, Ranma later uses a technique also called the "Shooting Star Kick" in tandem with Akane on Pantyhose Taro, who is, essentially, a giant cow. I'm lead to believe Ranma outright stole the name simply for the sake of irony.