Ranma ½ is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain. Its sole purpose is to entertain using the characters and plots developed by Takahashi. ALL rights reserved

Shadows of the Land   Volume I :   The Journey to Aina

Chapter 2: The beginning of things to come

For many, wisdom comes with age; for others, it forces itself upon them.

Ranma didn’t know what to make of the Cologne’s speech but then again he was never too perceptive a person. He would never admit it but for some reason fighting had lost its meaning to him. He did not mind sparring, but he was getting wary of the fights like those he had had with the likes of Toma and Kirin. Sure the adrenaline rush was something he craved and he actually loved testing his skills out against others but for some reason it seemed that every real fight he got into had an even costlier prize attached to it. The last time the prize had been Akane's life.

He was also doing something he had not done before. He was thinking about his future. For his whole life, he had wanted to become the best martial artist in the world. That was his sole and complete purpose in life. Now he wasn’t too sure and that scared him. It scared him not because he wasn't good in martial arts -he was the best after all- but because he wasn't good at anything else. He had heard Nabiki talking with someone the other day and she had summed it up quite nicely when they asked her if she would have taken him from Akane. Her answer had been quite short and to the point. "He's cute, honest and knows martial arts but beyond that there isn't much to work with." The strange thing was that it all sounded too true. After all what else did he know besides martial arts? At least Cologne was helping him out in that department. Man could the old ghoul give a man a headache with that cane rapping. He guessed it worked though, or at least that's what his schoolteachers said.

Ranma was also afraid of the future. Afraid because he thought he was becoming accustomed to his girl-side. Over the last few days, he had not bothered to change immediately after cold water had hit him. In fact, he had spent the majority of the last few weeks as a girl during school after he got wet. He had noticed that his girl-side had put on some pounds, had grown about an inch in height and a quarter inch in the chest. Was he losing his manhood? That had been his driving force before, but now things had changed. He found himself not caring to change when he transformed into a girl. Was he was losing himself?

Well at least something he had overheard Nabiki say was working. He had tried to hold his tongue and although it hadn't really worked the first few days he was almost sure he was getting the hang of it. He hadn't had a trip on mallet airlines as frequently but that might have been because he was trying to avoid an argument with Akane by trying to stay away when he knew she would get angry.

**********

Akane could not believe it Ranma had done it again. He had got her mad. He had skipped school again and had left her to walk home alone. Then she had to endure Kuno’s ranting though she never disliked sending him into orbit. Ranma could be such a jerk sometimes, then at other times he could be so… so…argh why did she have to think of him all the time. He had all those fiancées. He always got along better with Ukyou. He even admitted that she was his best friend and that she was cute. That Baka! How could he tell her that! Then there was Shampoo. He was always letting her latch onto him. Why couldn’t he just tell her to leave him alone? She had to admit though, the Amazon floozy was stocked. What boy wouldn’t go for her? She sighed. They both could cook better than her, heck Ranma ran from her cooking. Sometimes her cooking looked like it would even chase _him_! How was she to know you had to boil the lobster?

They both got along better with him than she ever had. Sure she had not had a real argument with him in days, but then that was probably because Ranma had been avoiding her. Anytime she had started to talk to Ranma he always ended it quickly and left her standing alone. That had made her so… so…mad.

Now Cologne had asked her to go and check on Ranma. When she really thought about it, it might be a good idea. Since the wedding disaster they had not had any time to talk between themselves. Something or someone always came up or Ranma had left quickly. It might be nice to talk without interruptions. Since the Saffron thing, Ranma didn’t insult her all that often and she did not hit him as often as she had before. Things had changed a little between them.

Ranma had changed too. He was doing well in school for once to her amazement, not that he paid any more attention to the teachers than before. Also, he spent more time on the roof now than in the Dojo. She had often wondered why.

"Akane could you hang these out for me?" asked Kasumi. Akane was momentarily pulled away from her thoughts, but reflexively responded with a quick nod of the head. After all, how could she say no to Kasumi? She was slightly dismayed though at the height of the pile of laundry stacked in front of her

However just as Akane was about to begin to hang the first shirt she heard an all too familiar war cry.

"RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!"

That could only mean one person: Ryouga.

Ryouga landed on the roof of the Dojo and proceeded to attack an uninterested Ranma, who was unconsciously dodging Ryouga’s umbrella while still thinking to the amazement of Akane and the dismay of Ryouga.

"Ranma pay attention to me, I’m trying to fight you!" demanded Ryouga.

Ranma finally awoke from his daze, "Oh hi Ryouga, I didn’t see ya comin’," shouted Ranma while still dodging Ryouga’s blows. Jeez, Cologne's 'attack the student when he's occupied reading and tied down with only one free hand' training must have been paying off.

Ranma began to analyze Ryouga’s attacks and realized that they had a subtle stylistic difference to them. Probably got lost in Kyoto again Ranma surmised. There was no end to where Ryouga got lost. Ranma smirked, he still liked to spar with Ryouga. He would always end up annoying Ryouga who would always get lost. It was fun, and he knew Ryouga enjoyed it too.

"C’mon P-chan, let’s see what ya got!" he taunted.

"Who are you calling P-chan!" growled Ryouga as he began attacking Ranma with more vigor.

Of course Akane never heard what was exchanged between the two boys. She just stared at them going at it. Before Ranma arrived, she was the best martial artist in town. Now, she could not even keep up with them. Even Ukyou was better than she was! But she always marveled at Ranma and Ryouga’s fights. It was all like a dance, both jumping and leaping gracefully and attacking and dancing as if it were a ballet. She could never see herself doing that!

Ranma stood on the roof just parrying Ryouga’s blows and counterattacking with the Amaguriken now and then. Ranma was enjoying himself, his worries disappearing as he allowed himself to relax. This was the only part of him that had never changed with Jusenkyou. He had always loved the Art; he always enjoyed sparring. He knew there was no danger when fighting with Ryouga. If it got out of hand, all he had to do was get Ryouga lost. Something that was all too easy to do, the boy could get lost in a closet. He had actually seen that happen!

Ryouga was getting pissed. He could not hit Ranma. Worse of all, Akane was watching him lose to Ranma.

"What’s up Ryouga… afraid of losing!" taunted Ranma

Then Ranma saw Ryouga fuming. Did he hit a nerve? He had said that to Ryouga before. Why would Ryouga be fuming like that? He saw the answer below him: Akane was watching. Ranma knew Ryouga liked Akane and didn’t want to lose in front of her. Losing would only make him more depressed. Ranma had to act fast before Ryouga could charge up a Shishi Hokodan. How Ryouga looked, he might bring down the house with that blast. Ranma easily dodged Ryouga’s last two punches and jumped from the roof to the back yard.

"Ranma you coward, come back here!" shouted Ryouga jumping after Ranma.

"What’s up P-chan," replied Ranma coyly, "Widdle piggy can’t keep up!"

Ranma bounded over the wall and after a few blocks Ryouga had got himself lost again. Ranma smiled, Ryouga was probably on his way to China by now. He heard Ryouga shouting in the distance, "Ranma this is all your fault!"

Ranma made his way back to the roof but did not notice a surprised Akane staring up at him as he bounded to the roof. Akane didn’t know what to make of it. Usually Ryouga got lost just by himself, this time Ranma deliberately tried to get Ryouga lost and it seemed that it had worked. Ryouga was no where to be seen. Normally she would get mad at Ranma for getting Ryouga lost but something was not right. That was strange, she always thought that Ranma was the one who usually started the fights. Now she wasn’t too sure. Ranma hadn’t even really attacked Ryouga. He had just stood there, dodging and taunting Ryouga. Cologne was right, something was wrong with Ranma. Perhaps she should take Cologne’s advice and talk to him. She silently decided her fate and discarded the pile of laundry at her side.

Ranma heard a slight scraping against the side of the roof and discovered Akane trying to get on top of the roof with a ladder that was too short.

"Uh, Akane… do ya need some help?" Akane sheepishly nodded her head. The ladder was just too short, she knew she could not make it on her own. Ranma extended his hand, which she reluctantly grasped. Effortlessly, he easily pulled her up to the roof in one swift motion.

"So Akane what do ya want?" Ranma said turning away from her. She was looking so kawaii in that blue skirt she was wearing. It made him think of her smile, and that led to him blushing. He didn’t want her to see him blushing.

Akane thought Ranma was just ignoring her and this just got her angry. She had come up here to see what was wrong with him and he would not even have the decency to face her. "I just wanted to see what is so interesting up here that you come here every day!"

Ranma did not notice the slight rise in her voice.

"Oh nothing."

"So you just left me at school during lunch for nothing!" replied Akane slightly louder

Ranma knew where this was going. He had tried really hard for a couple of days not to insult Akane but he knew he would not be able to control himself for long. He stayed silent hoping to alleviate Akane’s anger but that only spurred her on.

"Ranma you JERK, why are you ignoring me!!"

Ranma just turned away. Akane’s blood began to boil. Then she began to insult him.

"RANMA YOU IDIOTIC, PERVERTED, HENTAI FREAK, WHY DON’T YOU ANSWER ME!!? "

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ranma could not hold himself back

"CAUSE I’M TRYING NOT TO INSULT YOU, YOU STUPID TOMBOY!"

"RANMA NO…." then it hit her, Ranma was trying not to insult her and all she had done was insult him. All this time Ranma spent up here was so that he would not insult her and all she did was get angry with him. ‘Akane no baka,’ she said to herself and turned away from him as she decided to mentally scold herself.

Ranma was of course perplexed by her action as she bundled her hands together into fists. Seeing the strange aura around her that he had associated with her getting angry and much more intimately with pain, he began to back away from her. With his eyes on her steady expanding aura and not on the roof, his next step currently had him reaching back for tiles that were not there. Consequently, he fell with a yell and a bang.

That was enough to pull Akane out of her self-loathing and have her rushing to the edge of the roof.

"Hey Ranma, you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just missed a step."

As luck would have it though, a fly by night (or is that day?) duck -whose was so blind his vision was worse during the day than at night... well a duck in other words just happened to fly by on its quest to exact vengeance and somehow managed to hit the one thing on the roof that it could hit while that said person was trying to get off the roof. The result: Akane lost her precious balance and lo and behold, whom do you think she fell on.

"Ooomph!" was his response.

"Oh are you two lovebirds having a moment," remarked Nabiki as she and her handy dandy camera found them slightly dazed. "This will make a fine addition to my collection," she added as she snapped away. Calling the Nekohanten had yielded results as she had expected. The other girls had been a bit lax in their fights and the betting pool had dried up. This should start another mini-fiancee war.

When Akane finally came to her senses she pushed herself off Ranma and swore that she would somehow get back at her sister. Realizing she did not know how to do that though, she stalked off leaving Ranma to himself and totally forgetting Cologne's words. Ranma shook his head and once again leapt to the roof where he found a rather bewildered duck walking around in circles. Apparently Moose had bumped into Akane a bit too hard. Were those little Shampoo's beating him over the head while he stumbled around?

Ranma walked up the duck and sat down next to it. As luck would have it, the duck began throwing knives, shruiken and the remnants of the previous night's menu at him. Ranma dodged the knives and shruiken but caught the food in his hands. A quick sniff told him that it was still good and years of conditioned reflexes had him inhaling it in seconds much to Mousse's surprise. Angry at his tactical error in giving his opponent the advantage, Mousse pressed on with his attack but only leftovers appeared from out of his plumage. He knew he should have cleaned the tables the normal way last night.

Disgusted at the human vacuum in front of him and not knowing when he would finally run out of food, Mousse flew away to fight another day while Ranma happily chomped on some cold but still tasty Chinese cuisine.

Meanwhile Akane lay on her bed trying to ignore that bit of embarrassment with Ranma. She hated being embarrassed but since Ranma had come to Nerima, Nabiki had always been able to find her in embarrassing situations. Her eyes wandered back to her closet and she smiled as they fell upon an old shirt she used to wear when she was younger. It was way too small for her but every time she looked at it, she remembered her mother, though the exact reason why still eluded her. Unknown to her, Ranma had finished his little feast and was watching her from the side of her windowsill so as not to get caught. He had picked up the habit of watching her like this. She smiled more when he wasn't there he realized, and that fact did disturb him a little.

Impulsively, Akane jumped off her bed and landed on her two feet in front of her drawer. She smiled at the old shirt, took it off the rack and held it to her face. She could still remember the times her mother just to put it on her. She was still in her reverie when she felt something solid in one of the pockets.

Curious, she pushed her two fingers in the pocket and retracted a folded sheet of paper. When she opened it, she could not believe what she was seeing. Just the memories alone shook her so much that she fell on her knees ad the tears came freely.

Ranma sat there and saw her. He saw the first drop roll down her cheek and splatter on the ground. He sat there, frozen for a second, indecision wreaking havoc with his mind. Should he shouldn't he go in? In the end he decided to heck with it and entered the room.

"Akane what's wrong?" he asked concern etched on his face.

"Ranma," she muttered between sobs. "Go away..." she cried softly. She did not want him to see her in her moment of weakness.

"Huh?"

"I said go away!" she shouted at him attempting to hit him. He easily dodged and the next thing he knew she was holding onto him and crying on his shoulder. Slowly his arms came around to embrace her.

Ranma really didn’t know what else to do but hold Akane awkwardly. He had never really had any experience with girls so this was something completely new to him. His training had never prepared him for this. He had never really had any friends when he was younger except for Ukyou, who was more of a playmate, and he really had no idea how to act around people. He watched as Akane sobbed into his chest and felt unreserved compassion for his fiancée. Instinctively, he ran his hand through her hair and tried to calm her. Her hair was soft and smelt like cherry blossoms, the strands caressing his fingers relaxing him, calming him.

Akane dried her tears against Ranma’s shirt and looked at him.

"Sorry," she said and turned away.

He stayed silent until he saw the paper in her hand.

"What's that?' he asked.

"It's something my mom helped me draw just before she died," replied Akane through her sniffles. "She was complaining that she wasn't getting to go outside so I drew this for her."

As Akane held out the paper to him, he could vaguely make out what the drawing was about.

"So you tried to draw her a sunset?"

"Yes," she replied then smiled at the drawing. Pointing at the stick people she noted, "that's me, Kasumi and Nabiki and that's mom and dad to the side."

Ranma smiled. He wished he could have done something like that when he was younger with his mother. Akane kept on staring wistfully at the paper and Ranma knew that he had to get her attention off that drawing for a little while, or at least try to cheer her up a bit

"Hey Akane, I know something that you'd like, wanna see it?"

Akane, with the tracks of her tears still evident on her face allowed herself a smile and nodded to Ranma. It was a bit ironic to her. The old crone had told her to cheer him up earlier that day and here she was being comforted by the big jerk. Now he had a smile on his face too. ‘Whatever works,’ she thought to herself. For some reason she liked it when he smiled. Not that smirk that usually covered his face, but that genuine smile he let out every so often.

"Ok hold on then."

With that, Ranma scooped up Akane in his hands and once out the window, began bounding and leaping onto rooftops with enough speed to make Michael Johnson and Ato Boldon give up track racing for good! He just managed to evade his father seeing them by a couple of seconds. Akane was too occupied controlling herself to notice what was going on around her. Her hands were around Ranma’s waist, holding onto him. This felt so natural…so right….so good. She could see his muscular form moving like water with him, flowing from one movement to the next. She could feel his firm yet gentle grip; she did not want to ever let go. She marveled at his features watching their every movement, engrossed in that, which was Ranma.

Then Ranma put her down. Akane let herself sigh; ‘too much of a good thing,’ she thought. "We can get there if we hurry," spurred Ranma. Then, he grabbed her hand and they began running down the street. Akane was not startled that they were running but that Ranma was actually holding her hand. Well the world was full of surprises today wasn’t it? Of course, Ranma didn’t realize what he was doing!

**************

The day wasn’t going well for Nabiki. She had made no money the last few days. Ranma was not off fighting anyone and she had been excited when she finally caught the couple in a compromising situation earlier today. Now it seemed that those pictures were useless. She put the camera down in the living room when she went to get something to eat but when she got back she found that Kasumi had mistakenly hit the release button while she was cleaning. All that precious film had been exposed. She would have to invest in a digital camera one of these days.

She had tried to follow Ranma around knowing that something was bound to happen but sometimes at night it seemed he vanished from existence.

Then her luck changed. She saw Ranma and Akane disappearing into a building close by her. She smiled as her luck had possibly changed again. Wait a minute, Ranma was holding Akane's hand. Pictures of this would be worth a small fortune to the right people. Hold on, where they were now would also be worth a small fortune to more people. She smiled with a predator’s gleam. She followed them and spied them taking the elevator up to the balcony. Perhaps this wasn’t a bad day after all.

Hastily she found a phone booth and began to dial numbers. Three phone-calls later, she was thirty thousand yen richer

**********

Akane and Ranma were on the elevator to the balcony of what was probably the highest building in Nerima. That however was not on Akane’s mind. She was still basking in the warmth that Ranma was still holding her hand. Ranma on the other had not noticed that he was actually holding Akane’s hand. They reached the top floor, which was as deserted as the elevator was coming up. Ranma released Akane’s hand and pointed to the sun.

"This is what I wanted to show you."

Akane looked around trying to find something of note and was confused. She had been up here many times before and she saw nothing different about the place from the last time she had been there. The view was thrilling but she had been up here so many times before that it had become one of the more mundane school trips during the year. "I don’t see anything," she replied truthfully.

"Wait, just look at the sky and you’ll see what I mean," he responded with some measure of excitement in his voice. He really did hope Akane liked this and in a few seconds, the sun decided to set in the Land of the Rising Sun

The golden globe of the sun was slipping below the horizon, painting the clouds in a soft golden hue. Then the gold turned to yellow and pink. As the light continued to refract against the earth's atmosphere, a kaleidoscope of colors burst from the clouds playing like little children against the sky. The clouds took life, shape and form; bouncing playfully against each other until like a parent calling her children, the sun went down, taking with her, her children, still cheerfully frolicking around the horizon.

Akane looked at Ranma and smiled. Ranma looked at Akane and smiled. Both were left breathless at the sight and both drew closer to each other. Akane reached out for Ranma's hand as she many other times before. But unlike those times, this time, his hand was there and she grasped it. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Are you feeling better?" he whispered careful of disturbing her.

Akane only nodded as she watched the colors change in front of her eyes. She found herself shivering slightly because of the draft at that altitude and leaned into Ranma. Subconsciously, Ranma placed a hand around her waist and drew her in towards his side. Akane did not notice, as she was totally overwhelmed by the sight in front of her. They were so enraptured that they never realized just how much they were acting like a true couple.

Some hair blew into his face from a slight gust of wind and as Ranma turned he found himself captured by the image of Akane's face and the soft colors of the sunset as they played against her soft tender skin. He wondered why he couldn't see her more like this when she was with him. At the moment she was so relaxed. Usually she was always tense in his presence. Now, she was relaxed and smiling. Oh how he wished she would smile more. Her smile just turned him into putty. There was nothing he wouldn't do to see her smile more often. To see her smile that was as radiant as the sun itself. It warmed his heart just to see her like that, relaxed and smiling.

Akane enjoyed the sun setting until she realized that Ranma's hand was around her waist. Normally she would have pounded him for that, but a faint blush was the only reaction she gave. That, and she leaned into him even more. She refused to look at him, instead, she concentrated on the spectacular sunset in front of her. His presence could not leave her mind though. She had stayed up many a night falling asleep, dreaming that he would hold her like this. Just for once, she didn't want it to be a dream. Idly, part of her mind told her that he might start acting all perverted again. However she scolded it and it went scurrying into some deep recess of her mind. She didn't know what warmed her soul more, the sunset or the fact that Ranma was holding her.

She felt the tip of his finger as it brushed alongside her brow and shivered in delight as it caused a wave of tingling sensations where he touched then spreading across her body. Again his fingers moved, tracing the line of her brow and tenderly trapping her hair behind her ear. She almost gasped as he did that the second time, and turned her head slightly.

Their eyes met.

Akane normally stared at him from afar where she was sure that neither the family nor any of Ranma's fiancees would see her. She would stare at him for hours if she could while he practiced, and she did not understand why she felt compelled to do that. She had stayed up many a night, her arm as her pillow, staring at his picture at her bedside. For some reason it calmed her just to stare at him. She wished that when she stared at him from that distance, he would stare back at her. But, he would always try not to meet her eyes. This was one of the few times she had actually stared into his eyes and now she was captured, lost in those bright sparkling gray-blue eyes that were Ranma’s.

Ranma too was lost in those deep, caring brown eyes that were Akane’s. He had always shirked looking at her directly in the eyes and they only stared at each other when they were angry. Now they were not angry. Something else grew inside of him. He did not notice when his other hand wrapped around her waist, nor when her hand eased its way around his back. They both wanted the same thing. They refused to breathe and their hearts were beating faster and faster, pounding in their chests as the distance slowly, slowly decreased until…

Ukyou Kuonji was having a hard time cooking her okonomyaki. Her Ran-chan had not passed by the restaurant for the last two days. That meant either Akane wasn’t cooking or her Ran-chan was avoiding her. If it was the first she was glad. She had seen Akane’s cooking giving birth to living things that could never be classified by taxonomists. Akane's food was also extremely toxic, more so than a bottle of hundred-proof arsenic mixed with some pygmy poison or cyanide for good measure. She didn’t relish the thought of her Ran-chan becoming ill due to food torturing. However, she had a nagging feeling that something else was keeping him away. He had forgiven her for bombing the wedding. She knew he really wasn’t the kind of person to hold a grudge, but gone were the days where he would stop by the store and talk to her about his life in general. Sure he was vibrant and happy when he came, but she saw a pensive look in his eyes now. She realized that he was on his guard with her, just like when he was with Shampoo. Was that what she had lost with him? Unable to bring herself to continue her train of thought, she lost herself in her cooking once more….

The familiar ring of the telephone brought her out of her reverie.

/Hello, Ucchan’s/

/Hey Ukyou, its Nabiki/

/Nabiki what do you want?/

/Well I have some information on where Ranma and Akane are together right now and I thought you would like to know/

Ukyou did not hesitate. She would fight to the last to have her Ran-chan.

/How much?/

/Standard fee plus a little extra./

/Ok where?/

/Balcony of Nerima Tower./

She put down the phone, handed the grill over to Konatsu, and hurried to get dressed. She put on her bandoleer and her battle spatula and hurried out of Ucchan’s into the night. Why would Ranma carry Akane to the Nerima Tower? Only one reason formed in her mind and she doubled her pace.

After five minutes she noticed two other people leaping and bounding in the same direction. Then she saw Ryouga, who looked like he was still lost, even in Nerima.

"Come on Ryouga," she told him. "We’ve got to stop them." Ryouga easily kept up her pace.

"Stop who?"

"Ranma and Akane, I think they are on a date or something." She knew the lost boy still had some feelings for Akane and she had tried to set them up once. She knew telling him this would only get him mad.

"Where is Ranma!" "Up there," she said, pointing to the Tower. She was surprised as he picked her up. Oooohh he was strong! But she could not betray her Ranma, she had to remain focused. Bounding up the side of the building, they reached the Balcony.

********

Ranma and Akane’s hearts were erupting in their chests. Even a gust of the wind could not distract them. The longing was evident on their faces as slowly they drew closer and closer together. Their eyes meeting and closing, slowly their lips came closer and closer until….

"RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!" Ryouga shouted just before he made his final jump to the balcony of the tower.

Ripped away from the moment, all they could think of is what could have been. Ranma thinking quickly, pushed Akane away from him before a flurry of black spotted yellow bandannas were hurtled towards them from the still airborne lost boy.

"C’mon Ryouga I can take you anytime!" blurted Ranma as Ryouga landed. Then Ranma saw the figure leaping out of Ryouga's arms. "Ucchan?"

"Ranma honey, just WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?"

(ding)

The elevator opened revealing…

"Ranma-sama, let me take you from the likes of these commoners…"

"Ranma Saotome, you vile sorcerer, release the hand of the fair Akane Tendo and the beauteous pig-tailed goddess or face the wrath of the Blue Thunder of Furiken High!"

Ranma looking at the group on the balcony muttered to himself, ‘at least this can’t get any worse.’ Wrong again!

"Wo da airen, husband leave pervert girl and go on date with Shampoo yes?"

Akane started glaring at him, "Don’t tell me you told all of them about here did you?"

Ranma disbelievingly, "I didn’t tell them nothing!"

Akane growled and turned away from him.

Then Ranma heard sounds of fighting from the other side of the room. The girls were fighting over him now and it looked as if Shampoo was winning. Ranma moved in front of Akane, just in case any of the girls decided to come after her.

"SAOTOME HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY SHAMPOO!"

Mousse was here.

Ranma quickly evaluated the situation. Kodachi, Ukyou and Shampoo had started their own fight taking up about half of the balcony. Akane was close to the edge of the balcony to his right, while Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno were advancing on him from the front and the left. The solution to the problem: not very promising. Ranma had too little space to maneuver and he still had to protect Akane from any stray shots. Ranma moved to shadow Akane from any possible attack from the left, blocking her from the view of Ryouga and Mousse. Ranma cleared his mind of Akane, Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno all shouting at him and prepared for the attack.

Kuno attacked first with his bokken ripping up the railing behind Ranma. Ranma easily dodged all his strikes knowing that Akane was to his right, and worked his way into Kuno’s defenses, sending him flying with a well-placed strike to the chin. Ryouga and Mousse looked pissed and that meant trouble. Simultaneously they began to hurl their weapons at him. Usually that would not be a problem, but suddenly a wave of nausea hit him and Ranma felt the presence of something else in the room. That distraction though left his defenses open.

Ranma knew that Mousse did not know that Akane was behind him, not with his terrible eyesight. With that momentary distraction, Ranma wasn’t able to track all the projectiles as they were released and he could ill afford to dodge them, any one of Mousse’s arsenal could easily hit Akane. He had to make a decision quickly. He scooped up Akane in his arms and bolted out of the balcony, ignoring the searing pain that exploded up his thigh and back the minute he had jumped out of the balcony. He had moved so fast that he doubted Ryouga or Mousse knew that he had been hit.

Ranma jumped down to the landing about 50 feet below the Balcony and continued to leap down the building which was built like a set of elevated stairs. He could feel himself weakening. He could feel the warmth trickling down his back and thighs to his feet. Training with pops had given him a lot of experience with pain and unconsciousness. He could feel that he was losing some of his control over his limbs and he could feel them grow heavier and heavier as he moved. He would have to hurry and he hurried to his only hope: Dr. Ono Tofu.

**********

Jensu watched through his magic mirror. A couple of months ago he had found the one. Tirelessly, he read and re-read the ancient scrolls. Now he was definitely sure, he had found him; he had found The Champion. He read the scroll again for confidence-

That was the translation from the Ancient language of a world since past. Jensu began decoding the parable again in his mind for the last time. He had seen the pig-tailed boy defeat Prince Toma, Prince Herb and Lord Saffron through the mirror. His only problem was getting the boy to Aina. The boy’s strength would prevent him from being pulled into a portal. Then he felt something! Something had happened.

He regarded his mirror with glee. Someone had weakened the boy. This was the perfect time to bring him to Aina. Jensu knew that he would not be able to entice Ranma away from his home. The girl he was always saving kept him there. He had convinced himself that this was the only way. Now the time was right, the weakened Ranma could not defend himself. It was time to form a portal to Nerima; it was time to restore the past.

************

From his own mirror, the Imperial Governor of Aina watched Jensu. He had also taken an interest in the prophecy of the Ancient Society. He had been keeping tabs on Jensu. Now he heard the boy had been weakened, it was time to act. The boy would be his to control his to rule.

"Lieutenant!"

"Yes Governor?"

"Call General Fregid and his men, tell him to take the portal to Nerima and capture the boy. Hold him for me." Then closing his fist enigmatically, "The Rebellion will finally be crushed!" His maniacal laughter rang out throughout his Command Center.

**********

Akane wondered why Ranma had left in such a hurry. It was strange that Ranma had not stayed and battled with Ryouga like he always didi, not that she minded. They had come so close. If only the others had come a minute later. She sighed discontentedly. At least she was in Ranma’s arms now, that alone should give her comfort. But something was nagging her; something was wrong. Ranma was running faster than she had seen him run before; his breath was ragged. She realized that they were not going home; something was truly wrong! Ranma was paling and she began feeling something wet and warm soak through the side of her dress. It smelt like, like...like blood. Ranma was bleeding! Then, they crashed through Tofu’s door. Ranma placed her on the bed and collapsed on the floor, his energy drained.

Akane seeing a bloodied Ranma on the floor screamed, "RANMA!" then seeing a startled Tofu, "DR. TOFU HELP ME PLEASE RANMA HE’S, HE’S….". Akane started to shout hysterically. Tofu touched a pressure point on Akane’s neck and she dropped to the floor. He turned his attention to Ranma.

Ranma was a mess. He had two shuriken embedded in his thigh and lacerations on his back. Blood was streaming from one of the wounds. Tofu ripped off Ranma’s clothes and tossed them aside sparing one shred to use as a temporary tourniquet for Ranma’s leg. He would have to work quickly. Thrashing through his medicine cabinet, Tofu found his healing herbs. He mashed his clotting herbs into a paste and smeared them onto the wounds. ‘Alright,’ Tofu thought to himself, ‘that takes care of the bleeding’. Next, Tofu found his antibiotic herbs and applied them to his wounds. Then he bandaged the wounds. That was all he could do. Now he would have to wait and let Ranma do the rest. He dressed Ranma in a hospital robe then he heard something. Ranma was muttering something. Knowing Ranma's legendary strength he leaned in closer listening to what the pigtailed martial artist might be saying. He smiled when he understood the message. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? He dialed the number for the Nekohanten. Ranma wanted him to call Cologne.

/Nekohanten, how may I help you?/

/Cologne? Tofu here, Ranma’s been hurt and he is calling for you./

/Hmm… I’m on my way./ (click)

Tofu didn’t have long to wait, ten seconds after he put down the phone Cologne came through the remnants of the door.

"What happened?" asked Cologne. Tofu showed her the shruiken and Ranma’s wounds.

"You have done well for one so young," complemented Cologne who handed him some herbs and proceeded to give him some directions. "Place this on his wounds every five hours, it should help the healing." Then she heard a murmur. It was Ranma. He was calling for Akane. She was impressed. She knew Ranma had probably lost about one third of his blood and yet he was still able to move in and out of consciousness. Truly remarkable!

The girl was on the floor, in her bloodied dress, sleeping.

"Why is the girl sleeping?" asked Cologne.

"She was in shock so I put her to sleep," replied Tofu.

Cologne gently pressed her hand to a certain pressure point on Akane’s head, and the girl began to stir. "Ranma, Ranma is bleeding," she began to say drowsily.

"It is alright child, he just needs rest." Motherhood came easy to her. After all, she had had to raise many children as her own.

"Where is he?" asked a paling Akane. "Over there child," replied Cologne pointing to the bed in the far corner of the room, "But first you ought to change." Tofu was a bit suspicious of Cologne's answer.

Tofu handed her a hospital robe similar to Ranma’s and she quickly changed in the other room in almost a zombie like trance. Akane came out and strode immediately for Ranma’s bed, where Ranma lay, sleeping. Akane took Ranma’s hand and immediately she began to feel sleepy again. She did not know why, all she heard was a gasp from Cologne before she fell asleep.

"Did you see that?" Cologne asked looking at Tofu. Akane had fallen asleep at Ranma’s side and was tenderly holding his hand.

"What is it?" asked Tofu.

"Look closely at their ki and you will see it."

Tofu watched their auras and then he understood.

He gaped at the sight, "Amazing, simply amazing!"

Akane’s aura was white with a pink tinge while Ranma’s aura was white with a blue tinge. However, he could see Akane’s aura flowing into Ranma, bolstering his. Akane’s aura was swirling into Ranma’s and becoming one with his. He had never seen anything like that before.

"How...how can they possibly do that!"

Cologne looked at the young healer in amusement and began to speak.

"I had suspected Ranma had become close to mastering his ki, but I did not know he was capable of this." By now Tofu had his full attention on her. "I was researching to find out how Ranma had managed to revive Akane when I found an old scroll which talked about ki transfer."

"Do you mean that Ranma transferred his ki to Akane?"

"Yes, but there is more. When he performed the technique, he had no idea what he had done. I suspect that Akane still had some of her ki still. What he did was boost the amount of ki within her using his. His ki boosted hers tremendously and brought life back to her. The transfer however caused a subtle difference in the makeup and flow of their ki. "

"What does that mean?" asked a perplexed Tofu

"That," replied Cologne pointing to the two young people, "means that they have actually found a way to share their ki between themselves. Ranma has inadvertently bonded to Akane by sharing his ki with her."

"Is that why, Akane fell asleep?"

"Yes, I believe Ranma was tapping her ki while carrying her. When he released her he had no way of supplementing his loss of energy and so collapsed. By putting Akane in contact with him, we have re-supplied Akane as a source of energy to help him heal. That is why she has fallen asleep, he seems to be draining her slightly."

Then cologne added, "I suggest you move them to a larger bed."

"Yes, I suppose you are right," replied Tofu.

They quickly moved Ranma and Akane to Tofu’s bed upstairs, which was a lot larger than the beds he had for patients. Tofu noted how peaceful they looked. Ranma was on his back now so that he could breathe easier. Akane was to his side, his hand in hers. She stirred in her sleep and pulled herself closer to Ranma. Then she lay her head on his shoulder, and cuddled into him. How ironic, they were always fighting, but asleep, they both wanted the same thing. This would make Soun and Genma very happy. Yikes! He was so busy he had forgot to ring them. He ran to the phone and began to dial their number. He was stopped in his path when a stick disconnected the phone from the wall.

"I do not think it is wise to call them," cautioned Cologne.

"Why not?" retorted Tofu in bewilderment

"One, their fathers would dash over here and make a big commotion. Two, they might have Ranma’s other fiancées with them who will try to separate them. Three, Ryouga or the Samurai fellow might be with them and Ranma may wake up. Besides," said Cologne with a wry smile on her face, "I don’t think their fathers will mind them being missing from the house late at night together."

Tofu had to admit, she was right.

"I will leave now and return tomorrow morning but you must tell no one I was here."

Tofu did not ask why, he just nodded his head.

With that, Cologne left. With her though was the metal star that had injured Ranma. Normally it would not have attracted her interest but there was a taint on the star. Mousse's ki was still evident on it but there was something else there also. Something she did not quite recognize. It was almost a relief for her for this to happen. It was hard to find good excitement in her old age, and Ranma was nothing but infamous at attracting excitement.

Tofu looked at the clock, ten past nine. He had a long night ahead of him.

***********

Cologne stirred during the night. Something was not right. She felt it in her bones. RANMA !

***********

A portal opened in front of Tofu’s clinic and five men in black jumped out from in it. They were the Aina version of ninja.

Stealthily they made their way through the house spraying sleeping powder. They moved past the sleeping doctor to the bedroom upstairs. There they found the one for whom they were sent. Unfortunately, someone else was with him. They tried to pry them apart, but the harder they tried, the closer they clung to each other. Finally the leader gave up and ordered both of them carried to the portal. They were almost in the portal when they were attacked.

They were attacked by some old woman in green holding a stick. She was fast but the leader was already through to the other side with his package. His commanding officer sealed the portal and with it, the fate of the other men.

***********

Cologne was almost to Tofu’s when she saw Ranma and Akane being taken into a glowing spiral of light. She quickly flew into action. She used her stick to bring down the one nearest to her and slammed the another one into a wall, but she was too late. One of them had already taken Ranma and Akane into the portal, which closed as soon as they were through. She had lost them. The others would pay.

She advanced on them. They looked at her then looked at the remnants of the closed portal. Then they dropped like flies. Cologne checked their pulse. They were all dead.

Ranma was gone!

She was about to look for Tofu, when she felt something behind her. Another portal was opening. From it dropped an aged man like herself. He wore a dark robe, and his white hair freely cascaded down his arched back. He held a curved staff in his hand. He turned to Cologne.

"Where is the pig-tailed boy?" demanded Jensu. He had to find the boy quickly before the others could get to him.

"Why is he of any importance to you?" asked Cologne. She did not think that this man was of any threat to her but her years of experience had taught her to be careful. She studied his every movement, prepared for any attack.

Jensu looked at the house, then he saw the four dead men. He recognized their clothing; black as the night, concealing all. These were an assassin group, but there were usually five not four. That meant only one thing.

"They have taken him haven’t they?" Jensu asked sadly.

A slight nod was all he received from Cologne.

"Then I must ask for your help, his friends are the only ones who can possibly save him now."

Cologne nodded. She did not completely trust the man but he was the only one who knew where Ranma and Akane were, and, he was possibly their only way of getting there. She led him to the only place where everyone could gather: The Tendo Residence.

Cologne made a slight detour to get her great-granddaughter and then proceeded to the Tendo house. She knocked on the door with her staff. Not surprisingly, Kasumi was still up waiting for Ranma and Akane, with Nabiki keeping her company.

"Ka…Ka… Kasumi how...how nice it is too see you again." Dr. Tofu as usual went bonkers at the sight of Kasumi and went off dancing with a flowerpot. Kasumi giggled and motioned for the others to enter.

They entered the house much to the surprise of Nabiki who was sitting watching television. Cologne spoke.

"I have come bringing grave news about your sister and Ranma, but before I speak we must call the girl with the Spatula."

Shampoo who had just been pulled out of bed gasped. Kasumi replied with the usual "Oh my!".

Mousse was inwardly smiling. For him, Ranma had finally left Shampoo.

"Great grandmother, what happen to husband?"

"Wait child, I will tell you later."

Nabiki didn’t know what to make of the situation. She had seen Ranma leave with Akane. She thought they were probably out together but she was not really worried. After all, Ranma would never let anything happen to her sister and he was one of the most honorable people she knew. Most likely they had already had some argument. If they had disappeared then…

Cologne asked for the phone and dialed Ucchan’s.

Ukyou entered the Tendo Dojo fuming, dragging with her a still sleeping Ryouga. She glared at the drunk Genma sprawled out on the floor and at the mummy of a woman next to her. Of course, with Ranma and Akane away TOGETHER, what other reason was needed for Genma and Soun to celebrate!

Sasuke had followed Ukyou to the Tendo household and called his master.

"Cologne, you had better have a good reason for waking me up so early in the morning," threatened Ukyou.

"Yes child I had better begin."

Cologne started her story, leaving out the fact that Ranma had seriously been hurt and of course the ki transfer. If those two girls found out what really had happened, they would probably be planning a certain funeral for Ryouga and Mousse. She only told them that a couple of the projectiles had grazed Ranma. However that was enough for the girls to exact their own revenge.

When the girls finished, there were two other lumps on the floor besides the two fathers.

Ryouga, who had been rammed into the floor with a giant spatula, groaned.

"RYOUGA HOW DARE YOU HURT MY RAN-CHAN!" She hit him again and stood over him triumphantly.

Similarly Mousse had a hard time dodging Shampoo, who looked for all intensive purposes, ready to kill him. Tough luck for him though! She had caught up and beat him to a pulp. She gave a winning smile to everyone around her,

"That teach Mousse no hurt husband."

Nabiki was amused while Kasumi only replied with an "Oh my!". The two fathers were still out cold on the floor. With all the smashing festivities over, everyone settled down. Cologne motioned to Jensu. He understood what she wanted and rose to speak. He never had the chance…

"VILE SORCERER SAOTOME, RELEASE THE FAIR AKANE TENDO AND THE PIG-TAILED GIRL AT ONCE!"

Kuno entered the Dojo bokken drawn, and saw everyone staring at him puzzled. He facefaulted.

(WHAM)

Kuno groaned.

"Stupid stick-boy sit before Shampoo hit again!"

Kuno saw the girl advance towards him and for once just shut up and took a seat while rubbing his aching head. Jensu seized the moment while everyone gave appreciative glances to Shampoo.

"Finally!" he said and then looked over everyone seated. Tofu was trying to control himself. Soun and Genma were still out. Ukyou and Shampoo were waiting patiently. Mousse and Ryouga were recovering and Kuno had a vengeful look on his face. Cologne was blank as usual.

"My name is Jensu, I was a knight of the Old Kingdom of Aina. Upon us now is an Imperial leader who threatens our very world with his evil. I believe it was by his command that your friends were taken from you." He paused. It made no sense telling them about the scrolls now. "I offer you a way to get your friends back. If you agree to help me in my quest, I will transport you to Aina."

Everyone looked incredulously at him then one by one they started to answer.

"Shampoo go save husband!"

"I will save my Ran-chan!"

Mousse, still hurting, "My love, I will follow you!"

"Anything for Akane!" shouted Ryouga then blushed as he realized what he had said.

Cologne nodded.

"I will rescue the fair Tendo Akane from the lecherous Saotome!" pronounced Kuno to the disgust of everyone else.

Jensu looked at them all and smiled. "Now, when the portal mirrors were being built, a spell was cast on them. If you don’t hold the hands of the portal maker, or are under certain magic spells, you will temporarily suffer from some memory loss. So everyone hold on!"

They all held hands and a bright light swirled in front of them. Then the seven travelers were sucked into the portal.

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