Knock…knock.
“I'll get it!” Nabiki yelled as she
walked towards the front door. Nabiki opened the door and saw Ukyo standing
there. “Hello Ukyo, what can I do for you?”
"Hello, Nabiki, I need to know where my
Ran-chan is."
“That’s going to cost you Ukyo-san. I be forgoing my usual
charge of 1 thousand yen per question. Instead I’ll be charging
5 thousand yen,” Nabiki told her as she tallied up her hard- earned
savings.
“B…but… Nabiki that’s too
much!” Ukyo stuttered.
“You're getting a bargain because you are
one of Ranma’s fiancée’s. If you weren’t, I would
have charged you 8 thousand yen like I did with Kuno baby. Do you want
it or not?”
“Ok I’ll take it. . . but if you give
me the wrong information… I’ll take it out of your hide,”
Ukyo growled as she tightened her grip on her spatula handle.
“Hey! Have I ever given you the wrong information?”
Nabiki drawled.
“Well there were a few times that you didn’t
give me the whole of it,” Ukyo replied.
“When you asked for the information. .
. you didn’t say to give it to you word for word. So I gave you
some of the information and let you come to your own conclusions. No
hard feelings. It's part of business,” Nabiki said as she finished
tallying her books. Then she told Ukyo where to find Ranma and Akane.
It went pretty much the same way with the rest of the gang. As Nabiki
was finishing up on the last call which turned out to be Kodatchi. Kasumi
came into the room with a frown on her face.
“Nabiki! I’m very disappointed in
you. When I asked you not to give out the information I meant it. Now
I’m going to have to take drastic measures to insure that you don’t
do any more damage. Ranma and Akane went away on this trip to get to
know each other better without the interference of the other girls,”
Kasumi said as she held out her hand for the wad of cash that Nabiki
had charged Ranma’s friends. “Now hand it over.”
“But Kasumi! I earned it fare and square,”
Nabiki said.
“No, hand it over now or I’ll tell
father what you just did. Do you know how angry he will be since you
are in effect interfering with family honor?” Kasumi said while
holding her hand out patiently and tapping her foot.
“I’ll let you have 50% of the profits
if you don’t tell daddy,” Nabiki pleaded.
“NABIKI!” Kasumi said firmly.
“Alright all right! Geeze! You try and
make some spending money…” Nabiki muttered under her breath
as she dug into her pocket and handed Kasumi the wad of bills. Then
turning she stomped up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.
“Oh my, I really didn’t want to be
so hard on her but she has to learn when she can do this sort of thing
and when not to,” Kasumi said as she watched her sister storm up
the stairs in a huff. Then looking at the large sum of cash in her hand
she decided that there was enough there to pay the bills for the month
and plenty left over for tonight’s dinner and a new dress. Humming
to herself as she entered the kitchen, Kasumi decided to start dinner.
********************************************************
As Ukyo stepped off the train and took a good look around she spotted
a few familiar faces. “You!” she yelled as she drew her battle
spatula. “What are you doing here? Trying to get Ranma all for
yourselves?” she yelled.
Shan-Pu and Kodatchi drew their weapons and
stood poised for battle. “What you do here!” Shan-Pu yelled.
“Oh ho ho ho ho! I’m not going to let
you take my Ranma darling away from me you hussies,” Kodatchi said.
“Hey you guys! Now is not the time to fight.
We would have a better chance of finding them if we looked together!”
Mu-Tsu yelled to get everyone’s attention.
Blinking a few times the girls all turned to
face Mu-Tsu. “Duck boy right!” Shan-Pu said as she lowered
her weapons.
“What do you say we call it a truce for
now?” Kodatchi said as she put her ribbon away.
“Ok sugar, a truce it is,” Ukyo said
as she shoulder her spatula and relaxing her stance. “Now which
way is it to Mt. Terror?
“It’s that way,” Ryoga said as
he pointed back towards the way they came.
“Right!” Come on everyone lets go…You
too Ryoga,” Ukyo said as she grabbed the lost boy’s arm and
walked off in the opposite direction he was pointing.
They traveled for over five hours of constant
hiking with a few breaks in between. It was a little more difficult
to locate their quarry because they didn’t know the exact location
of the campsite. It also didn’t help matters that it started to
get dark. When night fell they spotted a campfire off in the distance.
With determined steps the Nerima gang headed towards the light in the
distance.
***************************************************************
When Ranma arrived back at camp, she ran straight for the tent and grabbing
a thermos on the way. Throwing the flap aside she quickly changed forms
and carried Akane inside. Placing Akane on her bedroll, he quickly stripped
off everything except their underwear then he climbed in beside her.
“Come on ya tomboy… I know you’re too strong to be beaten
by a little thing like this,” Ranma said as he shook her arm, trying
to wake her up.
No response.
“Hey I know you're as stubborn as a gorilla
…so show me already ya macho chick,” Ranma said as he looked
her over for any signs of movement. After about fifteen minutes of this
Ranma checked her pulse again. There was no change from when he had
first brought her into the tent. Ranma decided to try a chi transfer
technique that he saw Dr. Tofu do more than once. "First I have
to get her warmed up some more or it'll never work. Come on ya tomboy,"
he said as he crawled out of the bedroll, lifted her and carried her
to the fire. He gently laid Akane down and crawled in next to her to
provide some extra body warmth.
Just before he could utilize the technique he
heard rustling coming from the bushes. He tensed his body in preparation
to fight, but relaxed when he saw his parents walk out of the brush
with Happosai not far behind. His father had his arm around his mother
lending her support so that his mother wouldn't fall. Happosai walked
over to the other side of Akane and sat down next to the bedroll.
Genma led Noduka over to a log so that she could
rest. Then sitting down beside her to lend her support he said, "How
is she boy? Any change from when you found her?"
"No pop, I've tried about everythin I could
think of except a ki transfer technique that I've seen Dr. Tofu do a
few times," Ranma replied with a worried expression on his face.
"Ranma," Happosai said as he studied
the level of Akane's ki.
"Yeah?" he said.
"You must listen to me and think hard on
what you are about to do. The ki transfer is very dangerous even for
a Master of ki to perform this; he would be taking a great risk to himself
and his patient. If the procedure is done wrong it would likely kill
both patient and the one doing the transfer," Happosai said as
he picked up his pipe and filled it with tobacco. Then he reached towards
the fire and grabbed a flaming brand, lighting his pipe and taking a
few puffs while closing his eyes, he thought long and hard on the situation.
"I will check to see how much she needs in order to be well again.
Happosai placed his pipe on a nearby stone and
centering himself he took a few deep breaths then reached out with his
senses. To Ranma it seemed like hours while Happosai was examining Akane
but in fact only a few minutes had passed. Then suddenly Happosai's
eyes snapped open; gasping in amazement he rubbed his eyes and stared
long and hard at both Ranma and Akane. "In all my two hundred years
. . .I've only seen this once. It's just not possible for the boy to
do that . . . he's not trained...I'm amazed that he didn't kill himself
and Akane," he said.
"What is it master? What do you mean and
what do you see," Genma asked him.
"Yes, please tell us what you see," Noduka said as her hands
tightened on the hilt of the katana.
"Spit it out old man!" Ranma yelled
while unconsciously hugging Akane closer to him.
"It seems that Ranma has somehow accidentally transferred his ki
to Akane before. Right at the moment the close contact that he is initiating
is keeping her going. What I see at the moment is both their ki intermingling
when it shouldn't be doing that. Normally everyone's ki repels another's
ki as each person has an individual ki signature," Happosai explained
in a lecturing tone of voice.
"How is that possible?" Noduka asked
her son.
"Well, it might have happened when I fought
Saffron. I got the water for her after I defeated him, but she wasn't
responding to anything I did. I called and called but she. . .she wasn't
even breathing," Ranma whispered brokenly as he started to choke
up when he remembered how it felt to loose her. "I lost it then,
I remember screaming her name and then my ki flared up. It might have
happened then, but I couldn't be sure. I was just so glad that she was
alive again," he said.
"Well then, do you still wish to go through with this technique
even knowing that it could kill you both?" Happosai asked him as
he stared directly into Ranma's eyes.
"Will it work do ya think?" Ranma
asked him.
"Eh...There is a fifty percent chance that
it will work and another fifty that it will kill you, but I think that
if I monitor the transfer directly that you should have no problems.
One word of advice my boy. You must do exactly as I say even though
I've stressed this several times, do you understand?" Happosai
said seriously.
"Yeah ok, lets do it," Ranma replied.
"Alright then lets begin," Happosai
said as he reached out and swiftly tapped a few ki points on Akane's
body. "This is to open the proper channels so that the chance of
her dying is lessened. Now Ranma, I want you to clear your mind and
breathe deeply. Tell me when you are centered and we will continue."
As Ranma closed his eyes and tried to center
himself he kept worrying about whether or not he could pull this off.
"Oh man...I gotta get ahold of myself. If I do this wrong...No
I can't do this wrong I'll get it right on the first try," he thought
to himself as he gathered his confidence and found his center. Then
signaling his readiness by nodding his head Ranma waited to be told
next step.
Seeing the slight nod of Ranma's head Happosai
extended his senses once again and continued. "Now you must extend
your ki sense outward just enough to detect Akane's ki. "Do you
sense it?" Happosai asked him. Ranma nodded his head again. "Good,
now slowly gather your ki and hold it. The last step is critical. I
want you to place your hands on Akane now. Place one on her forehead
and the other directly over her heart. Then I want you to slowly release
your ki into her. It’s almost like doing a ki blast but you must
control it." Swallowing nervously Ranma gathered his ki and slowly
pushed it into Akane while he breathed deeply to control himself.
"Good, you’re doing fine. Increase
the flow a little bit more," Happosai said while he closely watched
the process. "You may encounter a bit of resistance that's why
I want you to increase the flow...good its working now."
Sweating heavily, Ranma doggedly maintained
his concentration even when he felt himself begin to faulter. He kept
part of himself tuned into Happosai's voice and the rest on Akane. When
he heard Happosai tell him to increase the flow of ki, he reached for
his reserves and siphoned off just a little but it was enough. He broke
through the resistance and then felt Akane begin to warm under his touch.
Smiling he concentrated harder, tuning everything out but Akane.
"Ranma that's enough! I've been calling
you for two minutes already. Any more and you would have killed yourself
and taken Akane along with you in the process," Happosai said as
he glared at the boy. When Ranma looked at him through bleary eyes,
blinking a few times before collapsing beside Akane. He panted heavily
as though he had just run a Martial Arts marathon. Happosai sighed and
stood up, walking around Akane he quickly tapped a few ki points on
Ranma as well. "This will help you regenerate your ki a bit faster
so you can replenish is much faster than usual. Ranma, I know that you’re
worried about Akane but to almost kill yourself in the process..."
"Ranma! Are you alright?" Noduka asked
as she crawled over to her son and placed her hand on his shoulder in
a comforting gesture. Then, noticing Akane's state of dress for the
first time, Noduka quickly grabbed the necessary clothing and began
to dress her.
"Y...yeah. I'm ...just a bit tired is all.
I'll be fine after a bit of rest." he said as he closed his eyes
and took a deep breath, then turning his head towards Akane he asked
"How is she? Was it enough, the ki transfer I mean."
"Yes boy, she will recover but both of
you will be a bit weak for awhile. You'll need to rest for about two
hours before you're up to walking around. Akane will take a bit longer
to regain her strength. Say about three hours at the most. Even then
she's going to have trouble walking as she might be a bit dizzy. Now
get some sleep," Happosai said, picking up his pipe he looked up
at the stars admiring their beauty.
"I don't wanna sleep," Ranma mumbled
even as his eyes closed of their own accord. Within seconds he was fast
asleep, Akane held protectively in his arms.
"Noduka, our families will surely be joined.
Just look at them," Genma said pointing at Ranma and Akane.
"Now Genma, don't get ahead of yourself.
Ranma is just protecting Akane even though he's sleeping. Let the children
work it out for themselves," Noduka said as she frowned at her
husband in disapproval. "I'm feeling much better now. I'd better
start dinner," she said as she got up and started fixing their
dinner.
*************************************************
Two hours have passed.
Ranma rolled over and took a deep breath and
caught a whiff of something that really smelled good. His stomach growled
loudly. Opening his eyes he looked over at his mother sitting by the
fire. "Oh Ranma your awake. Good you’re just in time for dinner.
Come over here and eat, before your father finishes it all," she
said with a small smile to her lips.
"Alright! Food!" Ranma said as he
jumped out of the bedroll and crossed the remaining distance to grab
a bowl of what looked like Suki Yaki. Gulping his food down at chestnut
speeds while continuing to defend his portion in between Ranma glanced
in Akane's direction and then looked at his mother with a question in
his eyes.
Noduka noticed her son's gesture and shook her
head. "No, I'm afraid she hasn't woken up yet," Noduka said
as she refilled Genma's bowl.
"Ran...ma? Oh my head...what hit me?"
Akane moaned as her eyes fluttered open and lifting her arm to cradle
her head to try to stave of the pain.
"AKANE!" Ranma yelled as he dropped
his empty bowl and practically leapt the remaining distance to her side.
"What happed to you? Do you remember?"
"Iie. All I remember is a bright flash
of light and a strong gust of wind. I think the wind is what knocked
me out," she said as she tried to sit up. "Oh, I don't feel
so good."
"Hey don't try to get up just yet. Happosai
said you might be a little bit dizzy after the ki transfer technique
he had me do. You weren't doing so well after you got hit. Your heart
rate and breathing were erratic. I couldn't get you warm enough either.
Ya had me worried there for a bit," Ranma said as he helped Akane
to stand and let her lean on him as he led her over towards one of the
logs so she could use it as a back rest.
“Thanks Baka,” Akane said in an affectionate
tone of voice as she leaned against the log. “Hey is there anything
left of dinner? I’m starving.”
“Yeah, um…I kinda saved ya some,” Ranma mumbled as he
scratched the back of his head nervously.
“Where is it? Give it to me. I’m still
hungry!” Genma said as he looked around the campfire searching
for the extra bowl.
“Genma! Don’t be so greedy! You’ve
had seven bowls already!” Noduka as she glared at her husband with
a frown on her lips. Then giving him one last pointed glare she turned
around and picked up the extra bowl that had been conveniently hidden
by a dishcloth. She picked it up, making her way over to Akane’s
side and handed her the bowl, then reached up and felt her forehead.
“Well you seem to be doing alright now. Why don’t you finish
your dinner and we’ll se how you are doing later ok?” Noduka
said as she smiled gently then stood and walked back to the fire.
“Genma,” Happosai said as he took
a puff of his pipe.
“Yes master.” Genma replied.
“Have you ever wondered why I haven’t
stayed too long in this spot when you were still training under me?
Happosai asked seriously.
“Now that you mention it…Yes, But, I always thought it was
because there were no towns nearby so you could steal their underwear,”
he said.
“Well… that’s one of the reasons.
But the real reason is that this particular area of the mountains makes
me a bit uneasy. I don’t know what to call it either so don’t
ask,” Happosai replied then shook his head to clear his thoughts.
“Ah well, I’d better get some sleep, then I’ll go exploring
the area to see if there are any pretties that need liberating,”
he said as he stood up and stretched. Then he glanced in Ranma’s
direction and said with a lecherous gleam in his eyes. “But first,
Ranma my boy would you mind modeling this little number for me?”
he said as he pulled out a pink lacey brassier and waved it in the air.
“No way ya old freak! Ain’t no way I’m gonna wear one
of those!” Ranma yelled, nervously eyeing his mother as she reached
for the wrapped katana, then turning his attention back towards Happosai
just in time to be splashed with a cupful of cold water. Happosai wasted
no time, latching onto Ranma’s chest and fondling her breasts.
“Yeaaarrrg!!! Get offa me PERVERT!”
Ranma screamed as she tried to remove Happosai. But the diminutive martial
arts master wouldn’t stay still long enough for Ranma to grab him.
Then just as Ranma’s mother stood up, pulling the katana with a
loud “SHNICK!” causing Happosai to freeze a brief second.
This was just the opportunity that Ranma had been waiting for. Punching
the top of Happosai’s head stunning him a bit and causing him to
fall towards the ground. Ranma reared back and punted him into LEO.
“Dry up and die ya FREAK!” she screamed as she stood fists
clenched at her sides and watching Happosai’s trajectory as he
flew off into the distance.
“Ranmaaaaaaa! I’ll get you for thisssss…..”
Happosai screamed as he disappeared over the treetops.
****************************************************