Ranma 1/2 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 3: Arrival

The seven travelers found themselves in an old hut surrounded by a forest. As soon as they broke hands, they surveyed the area, Cologne being particularly careful to scour the area for any sign of hostility. Finding none at the moment, she gave a slight nod to Shampoo who knew well enough to look for her great grandmother's sign that there was no immediate danger before she released the battle aura she was beginning to focus.

"Welcome to my home," Jensu stated proudly. "I do not have much, but we must be hasty to prepare. If we do not hurry, your friends will be in grave danger." Gathering a few things into an old canvas sack, Jensu led the others out of the thatched hut and into the surrounding forest.

Cologne looked at the forest, the tall arching trees, the birds, the animals; they all seemed familiar. The aura of the place reminded her of something she had seen before. Then she remembered. She knew this place. Her great grandmother had brought her here when she was younger to train. This was the lost forest of the mountains, the Land of Aina.

This was a land past the Jusenkyou Mountains, hidden behind the hills of Siberia. The mountains surrounding the huge valley were very treacherous. There was only one path leading to the valley and only her grandmother had known of it. Even her grandmother had been lucky to find the path. She was granted that grace purely by the luck of finding a charmed bracelet that seemed to counteract the forces that kept the paths hidden. Cologne did not know what had become of that bracelet. Her grandmother had hidden it and the secret of the bracelet had long since vanished upon her grandmother's death.

Aina was a place of the old realm, untouched by civilization. A pristine land, which held the mysteries to magic and sorcery. It belonged to a time when there were kingdoms and emperors. Where a man's worth was his honor and deed. It was a time of loyalty to the dynasties that had been in power for hundreds of years. Those dynasties had either disappeared permanently into the legends or had delved into the hidden where they prospered unseen by the rest of the world. Then there were those that barely hung on to their land and power. The Musk was one of those. They were still powerful only because of the demi-god nature of their leader and the secrets of their past. The Seven Lucky Gods had always existed, but they lived in an area that was secluded from the rest of China that did not interest the present government.

Aina was one of those hidden dynasties. If Ranma had been brought here, something was going to happen. Cologne just hoped that what happened was not something that would percolate to the rest of the world. All of the ancient dynasties had kept their secrets well protected or had destroyed them for fear they fell into enemy hands. Their were many legends of a time when all of the warriors of earth had to combine their power with the against some ethereal beings. Many were lost in that battle and it was that battle that caused a catastrophic decline in the influence of the dynasties and the rise of the powers of the west.

The group of travelers remained silent. They all followed Jensu closely as they made their way through the thick forest. The forest itself was teeming with wildlife. Now and again, some of the animals would stop and stare at them and then leave to do their forgotten chores. This was a wilderness that had known nothing of the destructive practices of modern day man. Here man lived in peace with nature. He destroyed and created, but the harmony between the two was always kept. Harmony with the land brought prosperity as it had once with all the other ancient lands. Cologne could sense the harmony here, but there was also a certain discordance with it. Something was here that she needed to pay more attention to, but she could not put her finger on it. Years of training had honed her mind into looking for certain subtle hints that something was amiss. Now it had become an instinct. It was the same instinct that told her to follow this Ranma. That decision had paid in interest, and was still paying. What had Ranma got himself into this time?

The travelers were silent, either thinking of Ranma or Akane. Silently wondering if they would be able to find them. They walked for hours until the forest broke into a clearing. A mountain could be seen up ahead.

Cologne smirked as she observed the teens. They had been so focused on their thoughts that they had not absorbed any of the beauty that was around them. With her experience, Cologne saturated herself with the world around her. She loved the forest and the wild. She hated being cooped up in the village. That was why she had come to Japan in the first place, to refresh her mind with new experiences. The children could not see the futility in worrying. She had been alive long enough to know that worrying never solved anything and it was only through relaxation that thoughts surfaced to the upper echelons of the mind.

The dense forest broke out almost linearly into a grassy plain. It was as if someone had drawn a ruler across the land, marking where forest ended and plain began. With a change in flora, came a change in fauna. The squirrels and deer in the forest were replaced with the butterflies and the bees. The semi-dark dampness of the thick forest was replaced with the bright warm sunlight of the plain.

"That!" said Jensu pointing to the mountain, "is our destination for tonight. I must meet a friend of mine and gather our strength. But first," he smiled, "we should have lunch." He knew lunch might lift their spirits. So far they had barely said anything to each other during the trek.

Jensu knew that Ranma and Akane could be anywhere in the valley. He needed information, and he needed it badly. There was too much area to cover and even though he could tell that the old woman had some special abilities, he didn't think they could be trusted in this valley where a lot of things were not what they seemed.

Lunch passed wordlessly much to Jensu's chagrin. Kuno lustrously spoke of the treachery of the vile sorcerer Saotome, but the glares he drew from the girls was enough to convince him to stop. Kuno would never admit it, but something about Shampoo scared him. Something behind her exterior façade: something that had reminded him of his mother. Something he just couldn’t ignore...

No one spoke. Or rather, no one had anything to say. The atmosphere was thick with tension. Ranma was the only real thing any of them had in common. It was Ranma who was always fighting them, who was at the center of attention and who unknowingly had brought them together. Without him, their common link had been diffused.

Cologne had long realized that Ranma was the only bond keeping all these young people together. He was their enemy, their fiancé, their friend and their leader. Without him, they were at a loss. They had no one to challenge, no one to insult, and no one to chase after, no bond. But his disappearance had given them purpose. It was usually the purpose of getting or beating up Ranma that drew them together. That, and the ‘knight and princess’ routine that had become normal to the teens in the wake of Ranma and Akane. This time though, the knight had also been abducted along with the princess. Normally that would not have had much of an impact but this time it did. It gave the girls a lot more incentive to chase after the pair. Instead of pleasing Ranma, they sought to rescue him and the hope of what might happen after that rescue was enough to band the girls together on this journey

The men had a different reason altogether and that one was better left untouched.

After a hasty lunch, the seven of them returned to the path.

Ryouga, Shampoo, Mousse and Ukyou were accustomed to life on the road. Kuno wasn’t. He was by far the most tired of the group as they continued their trek to the top of the mountain. Ukyou and Ryouga had begun to talk about their adventures on the road. Both being careful not to mention Ranma in case they brought up an unpleasant memory. At least Ryouga did. The actions of the women the last time he swore vengeance against the pigtailed boy had him slightly nervous.

Ukyou kept a wary eye on Ryouga in case he got lost again. For the last couple of months, she had been his savior and took him in whenever she found him wandering. She had usually dropped him off near the Tendo Dojo so that he could be with Akane. She knew he would be an important factor if she was to eventually capture Ranma as her husband.

Soon they reached the top of the mountain and were surprised to find themselves on a well-leveled plateau. Then they looked down from their elevated positions.

"Man what a sight," exclaimed Ryouga.

The others nodded in agreement. Spread beyond them was a vast forest littered with villages. In the distance, a couple of fortresses could be seen on the edges of mountains. The valley itself was huge. They could not see its end from where they were. The forest itself had patches of plains dispersed within and around it. Just looking at it made you want to explore the hidden rivers and secrets within. The travelers had discovered many secrets during their journeys in the forests of Japan. They knew that many others possibly lay hidden, buried within the folds of the forests of Aina.

"Your friends," said Jensu, "have probably been taken to one of the many fortresses the Imperial Governor has erected. All we can do is wait for our spies to give us information. We should be safe on this mountain."

It was getting dark; the weary and troubled travelers pitched their tents and ate a hasty dinner. Looking back at the way they came, they had walked a long distance. Of course, Jensu had never told them that knowing magic had certain perks, such as a feather spell. He was most amused at the panting kendoist.

After supper, Cologne noted that Ukyou and the Lost Boy were missing but she dismissed having to go look for them. They would find their way back. Cologne, Jensu, Mousse and Shampoo retreated to their tents. Kuno was finding fault in the craftsmanship of his tent. However, when Cologne asked him if he preferred not having anything to sleep in, he reservedly grumbled and retreated to his tent.

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

Ukyou was staring at the sun, watching the gold fresco painting against the sky. She sighed. This was what she missed with Ranma. She remembered the days when they were younger. They would climb the tallest tree and watch the sunset. Then, they would watch the stars at night until they drifted off to sleep. He had been the first real friend she had ever had. She would not lose him to anyone. She heard footsteps in the distance coming towards her, drawing nearer. An attack!

She was too far away to alert the others, she would have to handle this by herself. She gripped her battle spatula and readied herself, her heart racing in anticipation. When the footsteps were close enough, she charged.

********

Ryouga had eaten dinner and had stood his ground at the side of the fire for the longest time. Unfortunately for him, his feet had started to cramp and his body was aching for movement. He got up and walked around to loosen his muscles. When they were loose enough he looked around, unfortunately the camp was no where to be seen. He was lost.

Ryouga walked around and around trying to find the camp. The sun had just set and he could only hope to find the others. Damn Ranma, this was his fault! Ryouga was all ready to give up when he heard someone running towards him. That could only mean an attack! Ryouga readied himself for the assault.

Ryouga was surprised to see a giant spatula flying to his face. He grasped its end and prepared to fling its opponent away when he realized who his opponent was: Ukyou. He tried desperately to stop the momentum of the object but he knew he was too late. He held onto the spatula and observed that they were airborne. He knew that Ukyou would hit the ground first and then he would land on top of her. Just like Ranma in the Charlotte Cup, Ryouga flipped their positions. He slammed into the earth, which really didn’t shake him up too much. The man is built like a rock. Then Ukyou landed on top of him. Their lips touched lightly.

Ukyou’s eyes went red as did her face. In his confusion at her reaction, Ryouga hastily pushed her off and started to sprint.

"RYOUGA YOU JACKASS, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME!" shouted Ukyou, chasing him with her battle spatula.

Ryouga had no way of answering, he just kept on running trying to dodge, and was doing a poor job of it. He was no where as fast as Ranma and Ukyou’s strikes occasionally met their mark. Now he knew what Ranma felt like when he was being used like a piñata.

After hours of running after Ryouga, Ukyou found herself lost, alone, tired and depressed. She sat down and her eyes began to water. She had betrayed her Ranma. She had kissed another. She felt as if a giant hole had just appeared in her heart. She loved Ranma, but she knew he didn’t love her back, not in the same way. She had known that for a long time but had always denied it. Why couldn’t he just love her back!

Ryouga was not far away from Ukyou and from the bushes and could see the glitter of tears forming in her eyes. He, like Ranma, could not bear to see girls cry. He slowly made his way to her, readying himself for whatever was to come. He came up behind her girl and put his hand on her shoulder. She began to beat his cheat with her fists, but she wasn’t into it.

"Why doesn’t he love me...." murmured Ukyou into Ryouga’s chest.

Ryouga being totally new to this, felt the blood rush to his head as Ukyou held onto him, but instinctively, he knew that he had to control himself, for her sake.

Ukyou knew Ranma didn’t love her but why, why didn’t he just come out and tell her. Then she remembered the failed wedding. She knew why! She had never had Ranma as a fiancée, but was he still her friend? The only person who had genuinely ever cared for her in her life was missing and if he died she would have no one, no best friend and no fiancée. True she loved him thoroughly, but could she endure the pain of him not ever wanting to speak to her again? Ten years, wasted...

Ryouga held the girl before him as she sobbed into his shirt. Slowly he sat down with Ukyou’s face still buried in his shoulder. She sat there sobbing. Ryouga silently lifted a prayer for his friend/foe and Akane. He hoped that they would be okay.

***********

Akane woke up with a throbbing headache. She tried to shake the off jackhammers that were trying to break open her skull but was unsuccessful. Contorting her face in pain she tried to force the pain out of her mind and was only partially successful. Tired, she gave up the attempt of fighting the throbbing ache herself and instead tried to find something else that would cure it. She opened her eyes slowly and felt very disoriented. Her vision could not focus onto anything around her and nothing around her looked vaguely familiar. The world was travelling in very fast circles and she held her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the world from spinning around so quickly. She was relieved when finally after letting the spinning run its course for a while, the spinning had stopped and she was able to at least think again.

Again she opened her eyes slowly and gasped at what she saw. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her! She couldn't believe she was sleeping with someone! Who was this person? Who was she for that matter? For the life of her she could not remember. Who was she? Frustrated at not finding an answer immediately, she tried to think of the problem at hand.

She realized that she had apparently been hugging the boy next to her during her sleep. 'How had she gotten here with him?' was one of the questions that popped into her. 'Why was she holding him?' was also another, but she could find no clues in the memory.

She found one of her hands trapped under his shoulders and the other draped over him. She blushed slightly as she mentally acknowledged that she had actually put her arm around a boy and quickly moved the arm that was draped on top of him to her side. He also had an arm around her and she gently pried it away from her body, being careful not to wake him. That completed, she concentrated on moving her hand from under his shoulder. She gently raised his shoulder and she quickly pulled her hand away. She then took a good look at the person she had been sleeping with.

He was cute and had a fine physique. She could tell that he was in perfect physical condition though his skin was slightly pale. His hair was arranged into a cute pigtail, which she thought a bit unusual for a boy but was not too surprised at the chosen style. She continued to stare at him, wondering who this handsome boy was, and who she was for that matter. She could vaguely remember him from somewhere but where, she couldn't remember. Then the boy stirred.

Ranma tossed in his sleep as the warmth he had felt while he was asleep had been removed. He felt woozy and fought hard against the infernal pounding in his head. Slowly he opened his eyes only to stare into the concerned face of a girl. Her gaze alone was enough for him to halt all thought about the pain he was feeling.

She was beautiful. He doubted he had ever seen anything like her before. She was amazingly cute with short hair and dark brown eyes. Her skin glowed with a radiance he had never seen before. He stared at the girl for a while longer and then summoned his courage.

"Who are you?" asked Ranma weakly.

Akane stared at the boy in front her, she looked into his blue-gray eyes. Those eyes, she felt compassion and warmth in those eyes, she felt strength and confidence. There was something familiar about him. She knew him form before. Yes! She definitely knew him from before. Something was surfacing to the top of her mind; it was a word, no, it was a name…

It was a name that she had heard many times and though the memories seemed to frame it in as sort of antagonistic way for some reason she felt warm every time she heard that name. That name rang out like a bell in the silence. That name, it was so clear, so clear that she could only assume one thing about it. It had to be there for a reason.

"Ranma," she said, "my name is Ranma…. (pause)What’s yours?"

Ranma heard her name and held it in his mind, ignoring the loud drumming of his temples. He looked into her eyes, those soft caring eyes. Ranma, he had heard that name before. One other name appeared in his mind as he thought of Ranma over and over again. It was like the catch phrase of a tune that was always stuck in one’s mind. ‘Ranma’ logically came before another name. He had heard it so often one after the other that he too could only assume one thing.

"I….I think its Akane," replied Ranma.

"Hello Akane," Akane greeted meekly.

"Hi Ranma," Ranma replied.

Ranma tried to get up to talk to the girl who was sitting at the edge of the bed, but when he tried to pull himself up his back muscles spasmed.

"Arghh!" shouted Ranma.

"Akane! What’s going on?" cried Akane, trying to figure out what was happening.

"My back…cramp…" was all Ranma could manage.

Akane moved to a position behind Ranma and began to massage his back. She noticed that under the robe he wore were a couple of bandages on his back. She continued to rub his back, silently wondering how he had come to get those bandages.

For Ranma, the massage felt wonderful, he felt her small hands roaming his back, loosening his muscles. He could feel the tension inside him wane but he could feel something else too. He was glad she was behind him, otherwise she would have seen how red his face was. He too, could not see how red her face was too. She was wondering why she was getting so much enjoyment out of just touching his bare skin with her hands. She grew uncomfortable with those thoughts so she decided to ask the first question that popped into her head.

"Akane, where did you get those bandages from?"

"Hmm… uh… actually I don’t know, I can’t remember. Can you remember anything?"

Akane looked at Ranma.

"Actually I can’t remember anything either."

They stared at each other for a moment wondering what the hell was really going on. Then they shifted their focus to their surroundings. The room they were in had white colored walls and one large bed. To the side of the room there seemed to be a modestly large bathroom. To the front of the room was a small door. Ranma noticed something peculiar though.

"The room has no windows!" exclaimed Ranma. "Ranma, the room has no windows. This must be some kind of holding cell. Either that or we're underground."

"Very good boy," boomed a voice from a panel above the room. "You are my permanent guests for the rest of your life. Enjoy your stay. Hahhahhahha!!!!"

"Creepy," murmured Akane.

"Sounds more like a weirdo to me," replied Ranma.

"Maybe you’re right, he is a weirdo."

"That might be true but where are we, and how did we get here?"

Akane shrugged. "I don’t know."

"Neither do I, but let’s check the place out and see if we can get out somehow."

Akane checked the door; it was bolted. Ranma checked the adjoining room but there were no means of escape there either. Frustrated they sat down on the bed trying to think of something to do when an idea popped up in Ranma’s head.

"Hey Ranma, let’s see if we can remember anything," suggested Ranma

Ranma tried to remember whom he was, where he was from, who his parents were, the basics of a person's memory. Nothing came back to him, nothing but faded visions of how to place one foot in front the next, how to execute one kind of kick, how to extend your aura into your attacks…then Ranma’s memory kicked into high gear. He started to remember all the techniques he had learned before and the new ones he had just learnt. Wait, someone had to teach him all these techniques, he concentrated, and tried to picture a face but all he could remember about his teacher was the blur of an old woman. Besides the old woman, all he could remember were the techniques and a miniature version of himself when he was a lot smaller. He was cute then. He could see himself following someone who towered over him. He was following the person, extending one foot in front of the other, trying to copy everything the person was doing. He could remember any details but he could remember that whomever it was, they were big, they were big and they wore a white gi.

Akane remembered fighting. She remembered fighting in front of a large school. She remembered fighting some boy, but where was ‘Akane’. She turned her head and saw ‘Akane’ next to her. He jumped ahead and attacked the person in front of them. She thought that was so annoying for him to join in her fight. She had been mad at him though, mad because he was being so chivalrous. Mad because his actions were making her blush. She remembered a training hall, crushing bricks and destroying practice dummies. She had to be good to be able to destroy practice dummies.

Ranma started practicing his katas. His body felt sore but he was determined to do them. For some reason his body compelled him to finish what he wanted to start. He started practicing his katas using the basic ones he had learnt. Subconsciously, his instincts took over and modified his steps and his movements, making the kata more complex while still embodying the original kata. His back and leg were throbbing still, but that did not stop him. Akane watched Ranma in amazement. She could not remember ever seeing this before. His body flowed like water, each step leading to the next. The kata seemed like a dance to her. He looked so handsome. He was so graceful in his movements, like a roaming cat. She could feel the strength emanating from him. She remembered watching him do those katas before then she remembered something else too.

It was a vague memory but there was an image in her mind: an image of her being carried by someone. She had been taken by surprise by his brashness. That he would actually do something like that. She had wanted to hit him for manhandling her she remembered that clearly. But she hadn’t, instead she clutched onto him tightly and tried to hide the blush as she felt his rippling muscles through the fabric of his shirt. She was blushing terribly and it was a good thing he wasn’t watching her face but the way ahead. Then another image hit her an image of her in a Dojo. Her eyes popped open in understanding.

Ranma saw her staring at him, her eyes open in astonishment and he stopped.

"I do martial arts," she whispered quietly.

"What?" asked Ranma since he hadn’t heard her clearly.

"I do martial arts," she answered, this time adding a smile. Ranma heart almost skipped a beat when he saw that smile. Why did her smile affect him like that?

"Do you know how to do this kata?" he asked.

"I don’t think so," she replied honestly.

"Would you like to learn?" asked Ranma timidly.

"Me?"

"Well why not. If you’re a martial artist and I’m a martial artist, then I guess I could show you how to do it."

Akane smiled at him, causing him to stumble slightly and easily took up the ready position Ranma had adopted. Ranma started the kata slowly, allowing Akane time to see each and every punch and kick he used in the kata. Soon Ranma picked up the pace and Akane followed. She easily had mastered the moves of the simple kata and was now at Ranma’s speed. She could feel her body flow with her movements.

She thought she hadn’t done this before but she could vaguely remember the movements of the kata and almost automatically her mind took over. As she came out of automatic mode she did not see Ranma next to her. Instead he was on the bed, lying down, his head propped upright by his hand.

After a few puzzled moments Akane finally realized that Ranma had been watching her. She blushed and tried hard not to turn red. Ranma saw this and looked away although he could not stop a small smile from escaping. Something was nagging him about what she was doing though, and even though he tried to ignore it, his mind would not leave him alone. He had found a slight flaw in her technique. A flaw that was miniscule and would not normally be detected but his mind was shouting that it needed to be fixed, that it should be fixed, and that it was his job to fix it. He tried to ignore that inner voice but it had gotten too strong. It was that same inner voice that drove him to master any technique that he came across. It was that same voice that made him mentally replay every fight and search for mistakes in his technique at night. That same voice, the one he had ignored many a time when it glared at him showing him the simple mistakes she was making in her execution. This time though, there was no block stopping him from helping her so…

He flipped out of bed and the next thing Akane knew he was next to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him with surprise and mild anger.

"You’re overextending," he told her simply.

"What?"

"Do the kata and I’ll show you," he replied.

She did and she gasped as she found two strong hands on her leg. The one on her calf did not bother her any though, but the other one, the one on her thigh, that one did cause a cascade of reactions throughout her body. First her skin felt very warm where he touched her, then that warmth spread upwards towards her abdomen. Suddenly, she was very aware that the only thing she was wearing under the gown were her undergarments, and that those said undergarments were really the only thing keeping a semblance of decency between herself and the boy in front of her. For some strange reason though, she could not bring herself to tell him off or kick him. Instead, some part of her wished that there wasn’t that last line of defense between them.

Akane was very thankful that Ranma was not looking at her face since she was blushing as her mind assaulted her with numerous naughty images.

"See, you are extending this leg too much causing you to lose your balance. Now let’s try that again."

Akane complied but this time, instead of Ranma’s hand staying one place, his hand slid up her thigh in an attempt to guide her movement. That movement unknowingly guided other sensations to the pleasure centers of Akane’s brain causing her to stumble. As she lost her balance, Ranma caught her and both became acutely aware of just how close they were to each other and just how undressed they were at the moment. They could feel the other’s breath and could feel the hesitation of the other.

Instinct told them that they did not want to let go but months of trained reaction stepped in and Ranma succumbed and only helped Akane up off the floor to both their disappointment.

Ranma began the kata again and Akane followed though this time her mind was not on the kata but was reliving those moments when Ranma held her leg and when he had caught her.

After doing katas for over an hour, Ranma slumped onto the floor exhausted. Akane followed a minute after, panting. Ranma looked at her. She was all sweaty. It looked like this was the first time she had ever had this good a work out. Her chest was heaving and she looked dog-tired. Ranma started to chuckle and then laughed.

"What’s so funny?" asked Akane from the floor still catching her breath.

"Oh nothing, nothing, I just felt for a good laugh."

Akane gave him a suspicious look that only started him laughing again. Akane seeing him laugh naturally started to laugh with him. Ranma, still chuckling, made his way over to the bathroom. A good shower was just what he needed as he detected a faint whiff of perspiration. He closed the door and stripped off the gown he was wearing along with his boxers. He then gently removed the bandages from his back and thigh using the bathroom mirror for guidance. The wounds on his skin were almost healed. The skin was still broken and red, but the wounds themselves had closed. 'Good thing too,' thought Ranma. If they had not closed, he surely would have opened them by practicing his katas.

He wondered what could have happened to give him such nasty wounds. Could he have been in a fight? Something in the back on his mind told him that that was most likely what had happened. He shrugged it off. Even though he had been injured, somehow he felt he could easily take care of himself and ‘Ranma’ if he needed to.

Ranma stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water. His teeth chattered suddenly and his body shivered as he felt the normal shock any person experiences when cold water hits them unawares. He expected the water to be cold but not that cold. Unperturbed, he waited at the side of the bath for the water to warm up. When he saw vapour rising from the water he knew it had to be warm enough to give him a good soak.

Throwing caution to the wind, he jumped in wholeheartedly into the steaming bath and was exuberant when the warm water splashed over his body. A strange tingle came over him and suddenly he found himself staring at the opening from a lower perspective. The first thing that came to mind was, 'how the hell did I get so short?' When some wet bangs of hair were washed across his face the next question was, 'when did my hair turn red?' As he tried to turn, he found his movement hindered by something fleshy in front of him, that and he was missing the feeling of another piece of his anatomy with which most men were extremely familiar. He looked down; he saw something that men did not have. He had breasts; he was now a she; he screamed.

Akane heard Ranma’s scream and without a second thought, burst through the door oblivious to the fact that she was walking in on boy. She did not expect to see a girl.

Akane was amazed to see a girl with brilliant red hair in the bath and a quick analysis told her that the girl in the tub was in shock, she did not see ‘Akane’ around. Right now she did not care where he was, the girl in front of her needed help. Something vaguely came to her mind about treating someone suffering from shock and Akane threw off her gown and jumped into the bath trying to soothe the girl and bring her back to her senses. The girl stared at Akane.

"Who are you?" asked Akane.

"It’s me Ranma, its Akane," replied Ranma sullenly.

"What? You’re not Akane, he’s a boy!" declared Akane surprised and bewildered at what the girl in front of her was saying. She had had a good enough look at ‘Akane’ to know that he was definitely a boy and that memory brought a slight blush to her face.

"Don’t ya think I know that!" shouted back Ranma. "All I know is that when the water hit me I turned into a girl." Then Ranma became silent. He began to whisper.

"I’m a guy not a girl, a guy."

Akane did not fully trust the girl in front of her but she pulled the girl forward and hugged her. There was no other way of getting into the room. Whoever this girl was, she was probably as confused as they were. Akane took a good look at the girl. Except for the red hair, the girl would be a dead-ringer for ‘Akane’. Akane surmised that this was probably his sister and by the looks of it, probably his twin. She vaguely remembered a memory about a red haired girl smiling at her in a Dojo and that clinched the idea that this girl was his sister.

Akane remembered something somebody had told her about keeping the person in shock warm. Akane held the other girl in one hand and pulled the hot water handle with the next. After that work out, she would enjoy a nice hot bath and hoped the other girl would too.

The water from the shower turned from cold to warm in a matter of minutes. Normally this would not mean anything to two girls sitting in the tub, but for Ranma and Akane this would mean a lot.

Akane held the other girl in a cross-chest embrace from behind. When the hot water hit the girl in front of her, something happened. The feel of the flesh of the girl’s chest vanished slowly and was replaced by a muscular chest. The girl seemed to grow another foot or so and her hair had changed color from a fiery red to a shiny black. She was hugging a boy; they were in a bath; they were naked; her blood boiled in embarrassment and anger. From somewhere, a mallet came into her hands and she smashed Ranma with it. Ranma was lucky to hold onto a towel while he was sent flying out of the bathroom via the mallet.

"Akane you pervert!" shouted Akane. She threw on a towel and began to pursue Ranma.

"How could you do that to me? How could you trick me like that!" shouted Akane as she advanced on Ranma.

That took Ranma out of his shock. Ranma was happy to be a man again but he had to deal with Akane now. She was chasing him across the room and all her shouting had just made him mad.

"HOW would you like to be a BOY one time and then suddenly change into a GIRL when you get hit with water! It isn’t my fault you ran in on me, heck I thought I was stuck that way forever. Stupid tomboy..." defended Ranma.

Akane took the brunt of Ranma’s onslaught and was going to retort when it dawned on her that he was right. She had walked in on him, had entered the bath without his permission and had hugged him. She had done everything while he had done nothing. Usually she got angry at him when she knew she was wrong but this time the anger subsided since she didn’t fuel it with the knowledge that she was promised to him.

"Sorry Akane," sulked Akane and she turned away. How could she have thought of blaming that on him? To change from boy to a girl... Somehow the idea did not seem to startle her as much as it should, though she let it slip as probably the remnants of the shock of not being able to remember her past life. Then again…

Her obvious mood change silenced Ranma. Even though he had been wronged, he couldn’t bear to see a girl hurt and the sort of melancholy atmosphere that was hanging over her seemed to hurt him more than the harsh words she had used.

"It’s okay Ranma. I guess we both didn’t react well to it. Tell ya what, you finish taking your bath and then I’ll go okay."

Akane shot him a weak smile then blushed as her eyes ended up wandering to places that were covered at the moment on Ranma’s body. Her mind however was actively supplying her with other images of him without the makeshift toga covering his lower abdomen and family jewels. At that time it also occurred to her that she wasn’t wearing that much more than he was, and that her makeshift toga did not completely cover the upper half of her body. The latter bit of information was supplied more by the shocked and glazed expression that came over Ranma’s face which had the markings of a patented ‘you can kill me now and I’d still be in heaven look’ rather than the breeze that was making itself known to Akane.

She shrieked and ran into the bathroom. Ranma stood there for awhile until he mustered enough control to move. Then he flopped on the bed, eyes closed, while a small smile pasted across his lips.

Long after the afterimage waned from his immediate memory, he began to rummage around trying to find something to wear. He peered into a closet at the side of the bed and found some black pants and shirts that looked the right size for both of them.

When Akane finished her bath and entered the room in the robe from the night before, she found Ranma waiting for her at the entrance. He handed her some clothes then walked into the bathroom closing the door with a flick of his wrist. If he had looked back, he would have seen Akane actively tracing the movement of his butt with her eyes and her deep blush when she realized what she had unconsciously been doing.

Ranma allowed himself a short shower and dressed quickly. Experimenting, he had found that cold water changed him to a girl and hot water back to a man. He was deeply relieved that it was that simple to get rid of the curse. The thought had popped into his mind that his male form could have been his cursed form, but something told him that that idea was preposterous. Something inside him was revolted by the mere idea of him being a girl, relaying that he was male by birth. A quick look in the mirror to wipe some stray droplets of water from his face and Ranma opened the door. Akane was waiting for him though her eyes were centered on the door facing the bed where she lay.

Ranma saw her there and thought she was thinking. He did not want to disturb her so instead of coming closer to the bed he stayed a way off. He sat down and crossed his legs in an attempt to meditate since that might prove helpful in bringing back his lost memories. He had sat there for a few minutes when he heard something in her voice that brought him out of his trance.

"Wha?" he asked. He really hadn’t heard what she said.

"I said I haven’t told you everything I remembered," she replied while still focusing on the door in front of the bed as she continued with her confession. "I remembered something else too. I remembered a day when we were together... you... you gathered me up in your arms and jumped to the rooftops. Then you carried me home. We were running away from something, I can’t remember what though."

"I was carrying you?" Ranma replied softly. So softly that she barely heard it as a whisper and moreso as a question than anything else. She turned to face him and found him much closer than she had expected. She began to feel a bit warm at his close proximity.

"Yes, in your arms," she whispered meekly.

Ranma blinked at the thought of her in his arms as he knelt next to the bed. He turned and sat leaning again the bed for support.

"Akane?" asked Akane confused at his reaction.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

Akane blinked. He couldn’t be that dense about these things could he? But that didn’t really matter. He was still quite cute.

Ranma did not acknowledge the movement on the bed, and was slightly startled when two lithe arms circled his chest. He turned swiftly and found himself staring directly into her face. He was blushing fiercely as was she, but that did not really register in his mind as his hands automatically moved to her, sliding her off the bed and into his lap. His eyes never left hers and hers his, until as if drawn by a powerful magnet their heads bent towards each other and their eyes closed. It was the briefest of contacts between their two dry lips but to each of them it lasted a lifetime. Almost simultaneously they pulled back from the contact, neither knowing if they were prepared for more than they had just done.

Akane sighed softly and was both relieved and disappointed when Ranma did not pursue the kiss. Akane settled into his arms and felt uncannily safe there despite their present situation. Ranma did nothing but hold her as he sat leaning against the bed-frame.

As they sat, Ranma grew comfortable with the feeling of Akane in his hands. Her subtle fragrance and her warmth were somehow causing him to relax. Something that he did not do very often and hadn’t since they had arrived.

Mentally, Ranma kept trying to sort out the memories that kept flooding his mind like tidal waves. He knew that Akane was having the same problems. While holding her, the memories came back in brief flashes. He would have been relieved to recall those images but most of them were not clearly defined and some of them scared him, as if he had faced some great danger that scarred him greatly. He could not remember what it was that terrified him so, especially since in the image, the thing seemed to have soft fur. Scales and a tough hide he could associate with some evil demon creature out to kill him, but fur? The thing, or things were small. Really small! But he could not remember what they were or why they caused him such great fear.

There were also images from long ago about a woman: a woman with auburn hair and a kimono. He knew her from somewhere but he couldn’t remember who she was. There was this warm feeling of being hugged and contented when he was near her, but at the same time he feared for his life. It was all very confusing.

There was another woman too: a woman and her gnarled staff. She was hideous and did scare him too, but he held a great deal of respect for her for reasons he could not remember. He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a loud growl. Ranma blushed when his stomach embarrassed him like that but then immediately after, it was Akane’s turn to blush when her stomach growled. They both eyed each other and the conclusion was unanimous: they had to find something to eat.

It is said often that in the face of hardship the mind comes up with many ideas, some of which are ‘spectacularly insane’ and others ‘incredible genius’. This one, for a normal person would be classed in the ‘spectacularly insane’ region except for one fact. This was Ranma. He was not a normal person, so his idea wasn’t insane coming from him as it would be coming from a normal person. The only other option therefore was that the idea was ‘incredible genius’. The idea would have been classified as that if there weren't another little glitch. It wasn’t all that unique idea since someone had told him before how to use that technique in a situation such as they were in. That meant that a new classification had to be made for this case. After scratching my head I came up with ‘morosely normal’. But then again, could anything Ranma did be classified as normal? That idea failing I decided to call the new classification ‘Ranma ideas’. I couldn’t find that many problems with this classification so I’ll use it…

Ranma was hungry, Akane was hungry. That meant he had to find some food, which also meant that he had to find a way out of the room. Suddenly he came up with a ‘Ranma idea’ as his mind unlocked one of his techniques that could potentially free them from their confinement.

Ranma stood up and allowed Akane to slip out of his lap onto her feet much to her disappointment. She had enjoyed their closeness.

"Come on Ranma, time to go," he told her.

"Go? Where?" replied a confused Akane. Ranma pulled the bed to an upright position away from a particular wall with Akane’s help. Suddenly he stumbled after moving the bed and found himself feeling a lot weaker from just that little exertion, though the bed was hewn from rock. The bad part about it all was that he didn’t know why he was feeling that weak. He had been ignoring the sensation his body had been giving him that he wasn't totally fit and that he needed food. Thinking about Akane had seriously taken up most of his time and he had ignored most other sensations.

Those feeling of hunger and weakness meant that he had to finish what he was planning and fast, before he became too weak. He ordered Akane behind the bed. Akane disliked his rather rough voice and wanted to complain but a hand from Ranma stopped her. She could see he was serious about whatever he was about to do. She held her tongue and complied.

Before Ranma could do anything, the door slammed open and four men entered spewing gas from an open cylinder. Ranma, already feeling drained, had no answer to the gas and soon he dropped to the ground asleep. The only other sound he heard was Akane also falling to the ground.

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

General Fregid had kept the boy and the girl in the holding room of his small castle. From what the Governor had told him, the girl looked like the boy’s fiancée. When they woke up he had made a small speech to frighten them a bit. He took immense pleasure in knowing that people were frightened of him. Even his own men had dared not cross him. He had placed a listening device in the room. When he heard the commotion about changing into a girl and all that stuff, he realized that confinement along with the magic of the portal might have driven them close to insanity. He knew that would not please the Governor. He considered himself lucky that his men entered when they did. With the girl hiding behind the upturned bed, it seemed as if the boy had temporarily lost his mind. Not giving them any food could have driven the boy crazy. That was to be corrected. He did not want to feel the wrath of the Governor. He could handle anything but that!

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

Akane awoke to find herself seated at a table filled with food. The aroma of the food saturated the air. She gazed around groggily and found Ranma sitting next to her. Her neck had been left at an unnatural angle when she was placed on the chair and she tried to work out the kinks before she did anything else. The pain subsided a bit and she changed her focus. She gently, or what she thought was gently shook Ranma awake. He did not awake as she poked, prodded and used all manner of physical violence. Getting a tad frustrated and angry she latched onto a glass of water and splashed him with it. He awoke as soon as it hit him.

"What?" cried Ranma as he was awakened from a really good dream involving a beautiful girl. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at someone else. It hadn't been a dream! Then that meant he changed into…wait, what was that smell. Food! Ranma looked around. There was food and lots of it. Just before his stomach took over all his bodily functions Ranma passed a questioning glance at Akane. She already had a pair of chopsticks in her hand and that was more than enough encouragement for him to begin. Akane was about to eat when she dropped the chopsticks in front of her.

"Akane what if the food is poisonous?" asked Akane in a serious tone.

Ranma's eyes perked up then he swallowed. "Well poison is better than starving," replied Ranma who had already begun to shovel food into his mouth, literally. Akane started eating then she stared at Ranma and started to giggle.

"What…what is it?" asked Ranma between mouthfuls.

"Have you ever seen yourself eat?" asked Akane fighting the laughter.

"What … no, why?"

"You’re inhaling your food!" replied Akane holding back tears.

Ranma stopped for a second and realized he really had been vacuuming up the food in front of him. His face turned red with embarrassment and he began to eat more slowly and conservatively. He kept a wary eye on Akane who was still giggling at him between mouthfuls.

When they finished eating, Ranma was astonished at the amount of food he had been able to eat. He felt full and he was contented. Akane was also amused at the amount of food Ranma had eaten. She had already had her fill and was relaxing in her chair allowing the food to settle. Ranma grabbed some water and placed it in a goblet. After a few seconds, the water began to steam in goblet and Ranma doused himself.

Suddenly as they relaxed after their hefty meal, the room smelt a bit funny. When the thick white fumes spewed from the ceiling the only possible conclusion was that they were being gassed again. Ranma held his breath as he saw the fumes, but he had eaten too much and felt the air rising from his stomach. He tried to suppress it, but the natural instinct took over and Ranma burped, taking in some air as he exhaled. The two teens were soon out cold.

Ranma opened his eyes and blinked. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and instantly he saw Akane's shape next to him.

"Hey Ranma," he whispered into her ear. "Get up."

She stirred a bit and her eyes fluttered open for a second before she turned to face him. She closed her eyes as soon as turned though and went back to sleep.

"Wake up sleeping beauty," he whispered into her ear trying to tease her.

"Mmmm…" replied Akane and opened her eyes. She blinked to get accustomed to the light then she found herself feeling a little warm. Ranma was lying right next to her and he was so close she could almost feel the energy radiating from his body. She had the decency to feel a bit uncomfortable but then she remembered what she had done the last time she had been this close to him and she blushed.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, seeing the redness creeping onto her face.

Her face was covered in confusion at his question but she waved it off as something she would think about later. She got up suddenly, almost bowling over Ranma and dusted her hands and her clothes. She was feeling itchy about being on that soiled ground for so long.

Now it was Ranma's turn to be confused but then his initial idea popped back into his head.

"Come on, I’m tired of being here. I think I know how to get us outta here!" said Ranma.

"What? How?" asked Akane as she yawned.

Ranma, re-energized with food, was feeling a lot better than he had earlier in the day, if it was still day. The room was lighted artificially. He really did not know if it was day or night.

He moved the bed again to the corner of the room and motioned for Akane to move behind it. When Akane was safely behind the bed, Ranma cupped his hands together and concentrated. He remembered some old woman telling him to focus and polarize his ki. He remembered practicing the said technique and he was drawing on those memories and the power within him. He focused and connected with his ki, drawing it forward polarizing it into two halves: an inner sphere and an outer sphere. His thoughts focused, he released it at the wall. The effect was astonishing.

The wall in front of them exploded with even more force than Ryouga got from his Bakusai Tenkatsu. Ranma was forced to use the speed of the Amaguriken to prevent himself from being hit by the debris. He grabbed Akane who was still reacting to the explosion and sped into a long corridor. Four guards approached him spewing gas into the air. Ranma held his breath and attacked them. This time he told himself he was not getting knocked out.

The guards were not as skilled as his normal opponents were. He easily removed two of them from the equation with a palm strike to the face and a roundhouse. He slipped through the punch the other guard sent him and replied with an uppercut. That sent the guard flying down the corridor. He turned around to meet the last standing guard but he could not find him. He realized why soon afterwards. Akane was standing over the fallen man with a huge blue fringed mallet in her hands. He tossed her one of the masks the men were wearing and put on another one. He took her hand and they sprinted down the remainder of the corridor.

They reached the end of the corridor and came to a flight of stairs. They scrambled up the flight of stairs and found themselves surrounded by about forty men. Not waiting for an entrance, Ranma and Akane attacked. Ranma moved like water. He was dodging and attacking with such speed that to the men he seemed only a blur. He was a blur that was rapidly removing every obstacle in his way. His wake was littered with the bodies of battered men. They were all groaning and clutching some part of their body.

Akane was having surprisingly no trouble with the crowd of men. Weeks of practice had given her a certain advantage over crowd control. She rapidly disposed of the men advancing on her. She dispatched them using her feet, her fists and her mallet as very effective weapons. The mallet seemed to have the greatest effect on the men, fear.

Ranma glanced over at her and was surprised to see how well she was doing. In a few minutes, all forty men were on the floor tending their wounds, the fight beaten out of them. Ranma took Akane's hand again, and they ran to the light they were seeing at the end of the long corridor. Soon they were out of the castle. They threw away their masks. They did not even spare a glance backward as Ranma took Akane into his hands and bounded away from the miniature castle behind them.

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

Fregid was seething in anger. He had heard the explosion. For heaven's sake, the damn thing had rocked the whole castle. Cracks had begun to appear in some of the rooms in the dungeon. If those walls in the dungeon collapsed, so would his whole castle. He cursed. From the reports, the boy and the girl had mowed down about forty of his men in less than five minutes. He had not even had time to dispatch his best warriors to the scene of the fight. Now the boy was gone. He cringed. Not only was his prize gone, but he would have to face the wrath of the Governor. That was something he hoped he would live through. However, one thought kept surfacing, how the hell did they blow up the damn wall. The wall was doubly reinforced with concrete and stone. When he surveyed the damage he was astonished. The wall was blown open with such force that the debris damaged the adjoining walls. The wall itself was non-existent except at the corners. Large cracks extended from the explosion to the surrounding room, threatening the foundation. Few explosives could have done such a good job. How the hell did they blow up the wall!

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