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

Chapter7: Along the way

Jensu took the lead while the others followed him. Cologne hopped along on her cane while the others walked slowly behind. Ranma was directly behind Cologne while Akane kept slightly in front of him to his right. Ukyou and Shampoo took up positions to the right and left of Ranma, while Mousse was directly behind Shampoo and Ryouga was drifting behind Akane. If anyone was watching from above, it looked quite comical. Every now and then Akane would drop back to Ranma’s side, pushing Ukyou into Ryouga’s path, then she would walk slightly ahead and Ukyou would move from by Ryouga to Ranma. There was an unspoken uneasiness between Ryouga and Ukyou, but no one knew why.

Kuno had the rear. His constant blabbering at the beginning of the trip had rendered him some well-earned bruises from all the others. The self-proclaimed paragon of nobility was wise in some sense though. Kuno wanted to attack the vile sorcerer Saotome but he would delay justice due to the cautioning stares he was getting from the women around him. Those stares had an unmistakable message: you touch Ranma, you die! For now he would be content with his grumbling. How dare they treat one such as he, a noble samurai, as some commoner? But he would endure it, for the sake of his loves. He did not know where the sorcerer Saotome had hidden his Pig-tailed Goddess, but he vowed that he would release her from his evil clutches. Saotome's spell must very powerful for her not to come to him willingly to bask in his magnificence. Once released from Saotome's spell, The pigtailed goddess would immediately fall madly in love with him, for who could not be captured by his noble handsome figure. Yes, the pig-tailed goddess would come to him and....

(whap)

"Stupid stick boy stay on path...Great grandmother no want get lost," warned Shampoo, after impaling Kuno’s head with a very large rock. She thought that at least the hurting part of the plan would force stick-boy to listen. She knew his head was thick, he still chased after her airen.

Kuno staggered, but his constant battles with Ranma had given him a certain penchant for ignoring pain. He stumbled back to feet and continued.

Kuno would not admit it, but he was a little agitated around Shampoo. He could not willingly attack a woman with all his might, that was against his noble self, but every time he spoke of Ranma, her eyes would narrow and a small gleam could be seen in her eyes. He could feel her strength and power emanating from her. He really did not want to be on the receiving end of what the girl had to offer, except of course if it was being given by his goddess. When he release her, he knew she would tell him that all her strong willed blows were in fact attempts to caress his handsome body within the confines of his prison.

They walked at a brisk pace with Jensu leading. For an old man, he was rather well conditioned. He kept a pace that would be satisfactory for Ukyou in her current martial arts conditioning. Akane was probably a bit more conditioned due to Ranma’s almost rigorous training.

In fact, Akane was actually feeling happy for once. She was acting as if she was ignoring Ranma, but every now and then when the others weren’t looking she gave him a wink and drew a smile. These secretive hints of romance were making the day even more exciting. Akane wasn’t just feeling happy, she was totally enjoying herself. She was surprised how easily she had been keeping up with the others. Of course, catching stones, leaping from tree to tree, chasing after Ranma while being weighed down with rocks, learning to swim and sparring with Ranma had massively increased her stamina. She had never done anything like that before and Ranma had certainly poured it on. Physically she felt on top of the world. Now she knew why Ranma liked to travel using roofs and fences. Travelling on the road just seemed so restricting! Akane could feel herself just wanting to take to the trees.

Ukyou was happy. Akane and Ranma seemed to be at odds again. Ukyou knew that Ranma only tolerated the Amazon. Her only real competition lay with Akane; that’s if Genma didn’t engage her Ran-chan to another person. She shuddered at the thought. Genma had left her behind, had forced her to become a man and had forced her to waste ten years of her life. But enough of that: onto better thoughts. She began to dream about life with her Ran-chan.

After walking for what seemed to be half the day, Jensu stopped for lunch. The others were in total agreement. Ranma and Ryouga’s stomach could be heard growling loudly much to their embarrassment.

"OK Ranma, what do you want for lunch!" asked Akane eagerly.

"Um…Akane," replied Ranma with a look of sheer terror on his face, "thanks but I think I need to keep healthy for this one."

"Stupid pervert girl no make husband sick, I cook tasty Ramen!" smirked Shampoo sticking out her tongue.

"Ranma are you saying I can’t cook!" shouted Akane.

"Uh…um...no…I…" stammered Ranma, but before he could finish…

"Saotome HOW DARE INSULT THE CULINARY CUISINE OF THE FAIR AKANE TENDO!" shouted Kuno.

"RANMA HOW DARE YOU INSULT AKANE’S COOKING!" shouted Ryouga.

They advanced on Ranma, but were beaten in the end.

"RANMA NO BAKA!" shouted Akane.

Ranma went flying away high into the air into the forest. Akane stormed off in the other direction. No one dared follow her, not even Ryouga. The girls just sighed, they knew Ranma would find his way back soon and were soon busily preparing his favourites.

Ranma found himself soaring again. What did he do in his past life to deserve this! He hit the floor of the forest hard, after slamming through a few branches. He checked himself for any injuries and then went looking for Akane using the Invisible Wall in case anyone came looking for him. Right now he really could do without his other fiancees or Ryouga finding him. He knew Akane was not acting when she had hit him, the force of the blow had told him that much. He had overacted when she told him she wanted to cook but he could not help it, habits take really long to die! She was really a lousy cook, he knew he had to come up with a long-term solution to the problem. Now he racked his brain for an answer.

Akane rushed off into the forest, fuming. She could not believe that Ranma had insulted her cooking again…well he had not exactly insulted it but what he did was close enough. Damn, she knew she couldn’t cook half as well as the others, but why did Ranma have to rub it in all the time. She only wanted to cook for him! She attacked the tree she was leaning against, beating against the tough wood relentlessly releasing her frustration. Soon all was left of it was a ragged stump. She looked at the remnants of the tree, then at her hands. They did not even give a hint of soreness. Ranma’s training had really done wonders. Usually her hand would feel a bit tender after practising with the wooden dummies (if you want to call that practising) or after breaking bricks. Now, she felt hardly a thing.

A hand tenderly and slowly pressed against her shoulder. Without even turning, she knew it was Ranma. She could always sense his presence. She did not know why, but she had always been able to. The angry demon inside her welled up again as his previous statements returned to the forefront of her memory. She turned around to swing at him but he held her hand easily and pulled her into him with an embracing hug that left her powerless. She could neither pull away nor attack in her present position. He had effortlessly cornered her every option. She cursed under her breath. She could feel Ranma’s breath against her ear; could smell his musky fragrance; could feel the touch of his hair as it softly caressed her cheek. She knew she had already lost as her rigid irate mood melted against the warmth of his touch and the strength of his embrace. She realised that she never stood a chance of winning that fight from the beginning...

"Sorry Akane," muttered Ranma into Akane’s ear. Then he let her go.

Akane was stunned: the great Ranma Saotome had actually apologised to her. Surprised, she was left speechless.

Ranma turned away from her to leave, but Akane would be damned if she would let him go again. She hugged him from behind and the words seemingly spilled from her mouth...

"I know I can’t cook Ranma, but I try…just for you I try….but why...why do keep insulting my cooking?" Akane asked Ranma who was now facing her.

Yes, why did he insult her cooking all the time? Strangely enough, why did he insult Ryouga all the time too? He pondered this in his mind for a few seconds until, a like a dove, the wisdom came to him; he understood why.

"It’s kinda like this… you know whenever pop and me trained and I was doing something wrong, he always insulted me and that just pushed me to want to get better and I always did. I guess I always thought that’s how it worked with everybody…"

"…so you insulted me to make me want to get better," finished Akane.

"Yep," replied Ranma with a little smile. Maybe Akane did understand him a bit.

"If you want to I’ll...I’ll stop trying to cook…" stated Akane as she peered into his face.

Ranma didn’t like where that was going. He didn’t like this new self-doubting Akane. He wanted his old tomboy back.

"No don’t," replied Ranma hastily. "Don’t stop…I mean, you’ve got better and I still like eating your cooking even though sometimes it looks like it wants to eat me! I think I’m probably immune to every kind of food poisoning by now."

That drew a glare from Akane. The tomboy was back! But Ranma knew he had to diffuse the situation or he was in for some major pain.

"Tell you what, why don’t I teach you to cook when we get home!" exclaimed Ranma

"_You_ teach _me_?" replied a flabbergasted Akane

"Well why not, I can cook better than you..." Ranma saw her eyes flare to life, "and we could make a training trip out of it!"

The fire was quenched, temporarily. "Really, I’d...I’d like that," replied Akane enthusiastically. A training trip with Ranma without our parents or anyone else. Akane almost fell into one of her favourite daydreams but Ranma stopped her.

"Now to do something I’ve been wanting to do since this morning," whispered Ranma

Akane looked at Ranma with a puzzled expression. Would Ranma actually make an advance towards her? Ranma stared into her eyes and answered her with a mischievous grin, then whapped her on the shoulder.

"Tag you’re it!’

Akane was disappointed but she guessed that this would have to do for now.

"Why you!" shouted Akane in retaliation, "Come back here you jerk!" demanded Akane as she happily chased him through the forest.

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

Mousse silently crept up to Shampoo.

"Mousse leave Shampoo alone, Shampoo cook Ramen for husband!"

"But Shampoo my love..." implored Mousse.

"Mousse go now before Shampoo serve sweet and sour duck yes," replied Shampoo as more of a command than a statement.

"C’mon sugar, just leave her," offered Ukyou, "We all know Ran-chan’s gonna eat my cooking."

Shampoo ears perked up.

"Ranma eat special Ramen, not spatula-girl food"

Ukyou heard the challenge.

"Oh yeah! Well I say who ever cooks the better tasting food gets to serve Ranma. Deal!"

"Shampoo agree, but who judge"

Mousse’s hand went up at once.

"Shampoo no want, no can trust."

"I don’t trust the old mummy either."

Cologne frowned.

"Shampoo think stick-boy and pig-boy judge contest, yes"

"Okay sugar, you’re on!"

Furiously, they set about cooking and after a few moments, the two men looked in wonderment at the buffet spread out before them. Their eyes and mouths began to water.

"Surely (bite) this is the (slurp) best food I’ve (chomp) had in years," muttered Ryouga between whatever he was shoving into his mouth.

"Yes (gulp) I must agree (bite) that this cuisine (rip) is the best I’ve had," replied Kuno who was eating in a more dignified manner, but the aroma of the food was intoxicating. He could not stop. He had lowered his table manners to a near commoner but the food…it was just so good.

The two girls watched intently as the two men devoured the whole banquet before them. Their hands flying to and fro, carrying with them the delectable cuisine on the table.

Finally they had their fill.

"So..." asked Shampoo

"Whose is better..." finished Ukyou

The two men looked at each other grinning.

"They’re both so good!"

"We can’t decide!"

"What!!!" echoed the two girls. Then they realised that the two had eaten everything in sight. There was nothing left in front of them to give to Ranma.

Shampoo and Ukyou seethed in anger.

"What say we teach these two a lesson," growled Ukyou as her battle spatula came to her hands.

"Shampoo agree."

The two advanced on the unsuspecting boys and pummelled them into the ground. Now neither girl had anything to give to Ranma.

Cologne sighed as she pulled out a few packets of her instant Ramen. Someone had to cook for the rest of them.

Ukyou saw Akane return to the clearing and begin to eat some of Cologne’s Ramen. Both Shampoo and Ukyou were sulking since they had no culinary masterpiece to offer their Ranma. Ranma came back from the direction he was tossed and gave a questioning glance to Akane who blatantly ignored him. Neither Ryouga nor Kuno cared to interfere, seeing Ranma squirm was more enjoyable than beating him up. Plus they were still recuperating from their beating.

Akane of course was living it up. She had caught Ranma then they parted. Catching him had proven to be a harder task than she had originally thought, but she had finally managed to catch up to him. She knew he had let her tag him, but she also knew that he would not admit it.

She took her role of ignoring Ranma seriously and felt she done a wonderful job. The smile that returned on Ukyou and Shampoo’s face had proven that. After an otherwise wordless lunch, they packed up their belongings and once again took to the road. By nightfall, they saw their target looming in front of them.

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

He watched them come through his mirror and laughed. They were of no harm to him. How could the boy possibly harm him? The boy could hardly have mustered the experience to possibly challenge one as old as he. He would finally have some entertainment in this prison of his. Yes, he would finally have some long awaited fun!

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

Jensu had stopped within sight of the looming fortress in front of them. It was an impressive building when seen from afar. It was built into the granite of the mountain and stood there, overlooking the valley below. They made camp within the protection of the forest.

With the tents properly up, supper was quickly served. Cologne gave a new meaning to the words ‘instant ramen’ as she suddenly procured a hot pot overflowing with Ramen from out of thin air. Ranma and Ryouga ate with the usual gusto with their table manners departing due to their hunger. Kuno of course, pulled out the proper utensils for a gentlemen such as himself to use and boastfully exhibited to the others the fine art of dining. As usual everyone blatantly ignored Kuno.

Mousse carefully inched his way across to his beloved Shampoo, who was herself creeping towards Ranma, who was sitting with probably the only two people who exhibited some measure of saneness for the whole day. However that was to be short lived.

"Saotome, I hereby challenge your sorcery over the fair Tendo Akane and the beauteous pig-tailed girl!"

Ranma turned around slowly to face Kuno.

"This is getting a bit dull you know," replied Ranma, as he remained seated.

"Foul cur, aren’t you man enough to face me in honourable battle!"

 That got Ranma’s attention.

"Okay Kuno, if that’s what ya want, that’s what ya’ll get!" shouted Ranma as he flipped onto his feet and took his ready position, which wasn’t a position at all.

Kuno went straight into his attack and Ranma nodded warily. The same old Kuno, the same old attack. Didn’t he ever learn anything knew? Ranma dodged Kuno’s blazingly repetitive attack, happy at least to taunt Kuno into furthering his attack. Kuno had the least stamina of all of them and the trip had taken its toll on him. His fatigue was easily showing. Then Ranma felt something and instinctively ducked.

Ranma watched amusedly as a large mace missed him by inches but undoubtedly left an impression on Kuno, who was imbedded in a tree. He knew who threw that.

"Mousse you too!"

"Saotome, I will make you pay for taking away my dear Shampoo ah... urk...quack"

"Stupid Mousse, great grandmother say no fighting," admonished Shampoo, the bucket of water still evident in her hand.

The rest of them were slightly amused at the scene. With all the walking and hiking that had been done, Ukyou hit the sack early. Kuno tried to attack Ranma again when he awoke but attracted the wrath of Cologne when he accidentally spilled some of her special Ramen. He was sleeping under a nearby tree, the bruises evident on his body. Cologne marvelled at how fighting with Ranma had increased the kendoist’s ability to take a beating.

Cologne had also put Ryouga to sleep for two reasons. First, she did not want him fighting Ranma right now, and secondly she did not want him getting lost again. She had thought of putting a leash on him, but decided against it after considerable mental deliberation. She had ordered Shampoo and Mousse to go to their tents. Instinctively she knew that they would not disobey her orders. They dared not cross her. That left Ranma, Akane, herself and Jensu.

The four sat around the small campfire. The thick foliage above and around the campfire afforded enough protection from being seen by others. Blissful snoring was emanating from Ryouga and Kuno. Akane was leaning against Ranma’s shoulder, his hand around her waist. She was visibly uneasy that Cologne was still there, but with Ranma around, she knew she had nothing to fear. Ranma had told her that Cologne had given up on him as a husband for Shampoo, but she did not completely trust the Amazon Matriarch.

The events of the day slowly crept up to the old man. Gone were his younger days of boundless energy and curiosity. He would have to place all his faith in the young man in front of him. It was up to that young boy. Jensu had not spoken to Ranma much, but he decided that this was as good a time as any other.

"Ranma, tomorrow you will face battle against a foe that only you can beat," stated Jensu in a concerned tone. "I don’t know how you will do it but you must defeat him, but if you do not defeat him, then I don’t think you will return back from the battle."

Ranma only nodded and tightened his grip around his fiancee. Being this close to their goal, he could feel the dark aura emanating from the path ahead of them. Even without Cologne’s tutoring he would have sensed it. It was so strong so powerful. It was nothing like he had sensed before. It was as strong as Saffron’s aura, but different, very different.

Jensu gave Ranma a concerned hopeful gaze that showed how grateful he was for Ranma’s help. Akane had been listening to what Jensu had said and was not lost as to what was exchange between the two men. She remembered every single time that Ranma had fought for her though she never told him. She always chose to remember those because they were the only times he truly expressed emotion she thought he never had. She knew he had them though. It was just that he had been so frightened. Ranma had always been victorious and he had always been very arrogant and cocky about it. This time, he said nothing. No ‘I am the best martial artist in the world’ or ‘piece of cake’ rolled from his lips, only silence. This was the first time she had seen Ranma it this kind of mood, and to be frank, it scared her. She was too accustomed to the macho I can handle anything Ranma, she wished he was back to give her the assurance she needed. He would win again she repeated to herself, but her conviction was lacking and she knew it. She could not help but feel that something terrible would happen tomorrow.

 Jensu left them and crawled into his own tent while Cologne snapped both Akane and Ranma from their reveries.

"Ranma I cannot follow you into the castle," stated Cologne.

"What !Why?" pleaded Ranma. He knew whatever chances they had of winning depended heavily on the old woman. She was their wealth of knowledge and experience not that he would ever admit it openly.

"Do you feel that strange aura coming from the castle?" asked Cologne. "Not the cold one, the softer one, the one hidden behind it."

Ranma concentrated for a minute and then felt it. He couldn’t see why he had missed it before.

"Yes, I do. What is it?"

"I think it is a barrier against myself and Jensu. You will be alone in your battle. You are the only one now who can beat this foe. From what I have gathered he is connected to the shadows of the dark. You must be careful, he will be very powerful!"

Ranma listened intently to what the old woman had to say. She was old, but her wisdom was precious. He had figured out that much from when he had first met her. When she gave advice, it was best to listen.

He would have to form a new plan now, not as if he had had one before, but the tables were turned now. They had less firepower on their side without Cologne.

Cologne saw the thoughtfulness on Ranma’s face. She instinctively knew what her student was thinking, but she had better plans for him tonight.

"Ranma, I want you to form a ki sphere in your hand" ordered the teacher to the student

Ranma obliged and a bluish white sphere materialised in the palm of his hand.

"Akane, now I want you to touch the sphere"

"But…won’t it hurt her?" asked Ranma in a concerned tone.

"I don’t believe so but in any case, it will be good training for her. Akane…"

Akane did not trust Cologne, but she knew Ranma would not hurt her. She gingerly reached for the glowing sphere in Ranma’s hands. What happened next was amazing.

The moment Akane’s hand came close enough to the sphere, the sphere became distorted. It twisted upon itself and eventually formed a thick beam between their hands. What was more interesting was that the ki seemed to be moving bi-directionally, as if it was being channelled from Ranma to Akane and then back from Akane to Ranma. Cologne smiled. This was indeed exciting and knew to her. Bi-directional ki transfer between people. Her own grandmother had theorised about its existence and here was the proof in front of her.

"Uh…Cologne…how…" stammered Ranma.

"I believe when you revived Akane after the battle with Saffron, you inadvertently used an ancient ki transfer technique. It allowed you to flood her with your ki, thereby saving her. Now I think your two separate energy sources have bonded to form a single and very powerful ki source."

Ranma and Akane were still staring at their hands unbelievingly.

"Ranma, have you taught Akane how to use her ki?" asked Cologne.

"Wha...How do you know he was training me?" asked Akane.

"Well in your condition before you left Nerima, you would be totally exhausted, but you are not. That only means that Ranma was training you while we were looking for you," replied Cologne.

"Oh… and...uh...I can use my ki a little…"

"Good. Now Ranma I want you to focus on Akane. Akane, I want you too do the same thing."

The two teenagers gazed at each other. Cologne smiled. They would not say it out loud, but she was an old woman and even disguised gazes could not hide what they were feeling towards each other from her. She had known it from the beginning, now she had proof. The absent look in their eyes as they stared at one another spoke volumes to one her age.

"Now I want you to use to form a ki sphere from both your hands."

Ranma’s right hand met with Akane’s left hand and they focused their ki into a ball between their hands. Akane was surprised to feel her body pulsing with energy. Then she felt it, or rather him. She could feel Ranma, she could feel what he was feeling and she was overjoyed to know that those feelings were as strong in him as they were in her.
She could feel him encompassing her and her him. She could feel them become one. Then she concentrated on the sphere.

Immediately a brilliant glowing bright red sphere ignited between their hands. Even Cologne was taken back. The sheer energy and strength of that small sphere was overwhelming. It’s light washed the whole campsite in a red aura, dulling even the flames of the fire as they played against the landscape.

"Well, your children are definitely going to be as strong as I had foreseen," quipped Cologne.

The red sphere disappeared but was replaced by furiously red blushes on Ranma and Akane’s faces.

Cologne left them alone and hopped away from the couple. She had known love once, and she saw it in their eyes. It burned bright for them as it had once for her. Alone in her tent, she brought back her dead memories.

When Cologne left, Ranma hugged Akane lovingly in his hands. She graciously embraced him. They sat there for a while calmly watching the fire until Akane let out a loud yawn. Impulsively Ranma yawned also. They giggled.

Ranma stood up, holding Akane close to him as he led her to her tent. A gust of wind blew, picking up the bucket of water Shampoo had used on Mousse. Of course, the contents ended up on Ranma. Ranma-chan cursed under her breath, Akane just smiled and giggled.

"Oh come on Ranma, you know water follows you everywhere," joked Akane

"That doesn’t mean I have ta like it," grumbled Ranma, causing Akane to smile again.

They reached Akane’s tent and Ranma-chan released her.

"’Night Akane"

"Goodnight Ranma," replied Akane. She noticed Ranma was about to leave, when she remembered that all the other tents were now occupied.

"Ranma..." Akane called, "Where are you going to sleep?"

"Probably in a tree somewhere," replied Ranma, "Pops and I did it all the time."

Akane thought for a moment. Then she made a decision.

Akane walked out of the tent and then forcefully pulled the red head girl into her tent.

"Well you’re not sleeping outside tonight, you’re sleeping with me!" Akane told Ranma in a defiant tone.

"But Akane, I’m a guy!" exclaimed Ranma.

"Well not right now your not…" answered Akane then she saw Ranma twitch a little. She realised she had inadvertently insulted and hurt him. "…and you are MY fiancee so its not like its illegal or anything. Plus, I kind of liked sleeping with you back in the hut," added Akane and winked at Ranma-chan who was blushing.

"What if the others see us!"

"Well we’ll just have to get up really early won’t we."

Defeated Ranma closed his eyes and turned away as Akane changed into her yellow pyjamas. While looking away Ranma took off his red silk shirt and folded it neatly. He donned the white vest he was accustomed sleeping in. The flowing black silk pants were also removed, leaving Ranma in his boxers.

Akane replaced the engagement ring on her finger. Somehow she felt incomplete without it. Akane finished dressing and realised that Ranma was looking away from her. Damn he was so honourable that she knew he wouldn’t even allow himself to peek at her. She had called him a pervert and trounced him the last time he had accidentally seen her. Now, she actually wanted him looking at her, to know that he wanted her. She sighed, reflecting she realised she had moulded Ranma’s behaviour so much that he tried to avoid doing anything that would make him look like a pervert in front of her; including romance. The devilish part of her mind thought up a quick-fire remedy.

The shirt top of her pajamas had six buttons. She unfastened the top two allowing ample cleavage to be seen from above. Akane felt naughty, she had remembered how Ranma had toyed with Ryouga using his curse. It was time to reverse the situation. She felt her conscience gnawing at her but the pleasure she was feeling of surprising Ranma by doing this and the visions of what effect it would have on Ranma had her excited.

"Okay Ranma, I’m ready."

Ranma-chan turned around and gulped. Akane was wearing those yellow pajamas that he had always found attractive. Not only that, the top wasn’t buttoned properly and she realised that Akane was _not_ currently wearing a bra. Ranma-chan felt her breasts and nipples harden along with some other sensations. Ranma silently thanked kami that he was in his girl form now.

Akane watched Ranma expectantly. The response she got, she did not expect.

Ranma gulped.

Akane saw the outline of Ranma-chan’s breast hardening against the vest. Ranma was now sweating.

Akane gulped. This she did not expect, and what was worse, seeing Ranma excited had also made her excited. She too began to sweat. She could see that Ranma did not want to make a move on her.

Akane stepped towards Ranma, closing the distance between them. She looked down at the man she loved in his girl form; she looked into those sparkling blue eyes, which were pooling in doubt. She saw the same person she had seen the last time she had kissed him. She saw the same person who had risked everything for her, the same person she loved.

Akane approached Ranma-chan who was unconsciously backing away from her. Akane followed Ranma until he was backed into the corner of the tent. Akane held out her hand to Ranma’s face and stroked his smooth face gently. Ranma turned away.

"What’s wrong Ranma?" asked Akane with some measure of concern.

"It’s just that you know, I’m a girl now and well…"

Akane didn’t let him finish.

"Ranma, I don’t care about your stupid curse. You’re always going to be just Ranma to me, in either form!"

"Do you mean that Akane?"

"Of course I mean it!"

Ranma looked up to Akane and smiled then did something he never thought he would have the bravery to do again. Ranma kissed her. Akane was caught unawares and was slightly taken aback, then she relaxed into the kiss. Wasn’t this what she had tried to get Ranma to do in the first place? Akane realised she had a significant height advantage over Ranma-chan. Akane tried to tighten her hold on Ranma to bring them even closer together but only managed to pull his pig-tail. Ranma had also tried to hold Akane, but had only managed to grab her thighs. Off balance, they fell to the floor still kissing. They stared at each other and then laughed.

That lowered the tension, the emotions and the hormones that were surging in the small tent. The laughter slowly died down with Akane lying on a sleeping mat with Ranma next to her. Ranma turned away from her allowing his racing heart to settle. Akane circled her hands around Ranma, hugging him in a tight embrace. Ranma moaned his appreciation and the two lay there, their minds spinning from what had happened before. Neither wanted to make the other even more uncomfortable. Slowly sleep overcame them and with sleep, the dreams of the future.

-----

Later that night, Ranma stirred in his sleep and turned around. He cuddled into Akane's embrace, the feeling of soft flesh against his face reminding Ranma of his childhood days with his mother.

-----

Cologne rarely slept as much as she had in her younger days. Although her body needed rest, a hundred years of training had conditioned it a great deal to minimise the amount of sleep it needed. She remembered seeing Ranma and Akane go into the same tent together last night. She trusted them. If Ranma could deny Shampoo, he had a commendable control over his body. Dawn was about to break. She had better make sure her student got up before the others, otherwise there would be trouble. Not that it would be anything knew, but right now it could undermine all their efforts. They had a promise to fulfil.

She hopped over to the tent, opened it up and was intrigued at what she saw.

Ranma-chan was cuddled up into Akane, and the top half of Akane’s shirt seemed to have come apart during the night. Ranma’s head was buried into Akane’s unprotected bosom. A thin line of drool escaped from Ranma’s mouth and trickled down onto Akane.

Cologne tried to hold it back, but she couldn’t. Not even all her training could hold it back. It was too cute and too comical. She burst out laughing.

Her laughter although muffled by her hands had unintentionally woken up Akane. Akane was surprised to find something warm and wet against her chest. She looked down and saw Ranma.

"RANMA NO BAKA!" shouted Akane and she instinctively punted Ranma into the sky.

Luckily, it was quite early and no one else save Jensu awoke from the shouting. He was however, used to it now.

Akane cursed herself. She had punted Ranma for doing something she had instigated. She buttoned her shirt and ran out in search of him.

Ranma was airborne. He still had not really shook himself from his peaceful sleep though now he had an idea of what he had done. How could he have done that to Akane? Ranma was feeling ashamed when he landed unceremoniously headfirst into a pile of mud. Well, he reasoned, at least it had cushioned him. Ranma-chan was a mess; the mud was in his hair and all over his boxers and vest. Then he realised he was not alone!

Ranma looked around in the dim light. Surrounding him was about a score or more startled male soldiers. Ranma looked at his female body. The mud had caked around his female body, hiding the flesh, but it also made his female side look even more appealing.

"Who wants first tabs on that?" shouted one of the men.

"Hey! Finders keepers!" shouted another.

"I’d like ta see you try!" taunted Ranma

The men advanced on him. Ranma got ready. He dispatched the first man by grabbing him in a judo grip and tossing him into a tree. He slumped to the ground, out cold. The next met with Ranma’s foot, the other, the next foot. In quick succession, ten men flew away from the raucous around the girl. The leader of the men stopped to make as assessment. The girl had already taken out fifteen of his men. Of them, only two looked like they could stand. He ordered a tactical retreat. The men, knowing they were far outclassed, took to their heels, scrambling away into the forest. They had no intention of telling anyone they had lost to a girl.

Ranma-chan looked at the retreating forms and smirked. He did not even break a sweat. Then he saw a yellow figure running towards him, then lose balance, then fly, into the mud.

Ranma tried to suppress it. But he couldn’t.

***********

Akane was following Ranma-chan’s trajectory, when she heard shouting from in front of her. She doubled her pace and was surprised to see Ranma surrounded by men. She tried to shout to him, but he was too far away. She ran towards Ranma just as the pack of men around him dispersed, then she tripped. Her momentum carried her into the air towards Ranma but she was also falling into...

Splat!

She landed in a pile of mud and looked up to see Ranma in a fit of laughter. Ranma laughed until he started to cry.

"Akane...you, you…klutz…you fell…straight into…the mud," Ranma said between laughs.

"Ranma no baka!" shouted Akane, but Ranma was laughing too much to notice. She rally wanted to hit him but that was what got her into this situation in the first place. Then Akane grinned evilly, her anger gone. She had a new way of punishing Ranma.

She scooped up a handful of mud in her hands, took aim and threw it at Ranma. Ranma never saw it coming.

Splat!

The force it was thrown with knocked an already unbalanced Ranma back into the mud. Ranma angrily stared at Akane, who was laughing at him now.

Oh yeah, let's see her laugh at this. Using the speed of the Amaguriken, Ranma launched a barrage of small, fast mud balls at Akane. Akane found herself hard pressed to stop them due to sheer numbers. The only way she could defend herself, was to close the gap between them. Putting her hands in front of her face, she charged at Ranma. Ranma was surprised to see Akane charge at him and slipped as Akane tackled him. That resulted in both of them sliding back into the mud. Akane had the greater momentum and held onto Ranma’s vest. Ranma held onto Akane’s shirt. Ranma-chan’s vest was pulled away from her body up over her head, while the top seams of Akane’s shirt at the collar ripped. Due to the feel of the mud, neither girl realised that they were bare backed; Ranma since he didn’t care anyway and Akane because the front of the shirt still clung tightly to her body. They continued their romping in the mud until Akane tripped Ranma. Ranma, falling, decided to knock away Akane’s feet. Akane fell on top of Ranma.

She heard Ranma gasp and then a soft moan escaped from her lips. Akane found herself on Ranma-chan’s bare chest with her mouth on the only thing that wasn’t smooth on Ranma’s chest. Akane blushed and tried to get off Ranma. She tried to get a hand hold on the floor and succeeded for a little while, but she lost her grip and slipped forward brushing her own chest hard against Ranma’s as she slid on Ranma’s smoothened skin. She stopped sliding and turned her face, only to look straight into Ranma’s eyes as she turned. Her lips brushed against something warm and opened in subconscious expectation.

Ranma’s kiss was warm, moist and passionate. She was drawn into it as their bodies flooded them with emotion and hormones. Ranma’s hands caressed and roamed freely on Akane’s back while Akane’s reached up behind Ranma’s head and held Ranma closely to her. Ranma’s hand roamed freely over Akane’s body, until Ranma realised that Akane didn’t have any clothing on her back. Ranma froze he did not want to go any further.

Akane felt Ranma go cold on her and broke their kiss.

"Ranma, what’s wrong?" asked Akane looking straight into Ranma-chan’s eyes. Akane saw uncertainty there, she thought she almost saw fear in those eyes.

"I….uh…we…can’t um Akane…I’m a girl," stammered Ranma.

"Oh Ranma, I don’t care…" she looked into Ranm-chan’s eyes, she definitely saw fear, "…but that’s not it is it?"

Ranma nodded. "I’m a guy, not a girl…I shouldn’t be doing this…I…don’t want it to be like this…"

Akane looked at Ranma with a stern face surprised at strength she was able to draw.

"Ranma, you’re not a girl…(she paused thoughtfully) and your not a guy either."

That drew a shocked stare from Ranma.

"You’re just Ranma….MY Ranma," she finished firmly, "and I like you just the way you are…"

"But Akane, what will people think…"

"I don’t care what other people think," shouted Akane, "you’re MY fiancee and I’ll do what the hell I want!"

Ranma hugged Akane tightly.

"Thanks Akane, I needed that," whispered Ranma. Akane shifted her weight so that they were both on their sides. Only now did she realise how messy they really were. It was still twilight and dawn was quickly approaching. They got up and looked at themselves.

Ranma-chan was covered in mud except for her upper chest. The mud moved in ripples down her back and thighs. Her hair was matted with mud, giving it a red brown colour of baked clay.

Akane was in slightly better shape. She had less mud on her since she had had on more clothes, which stuck steadfastly onto her. Ranma’s roaming hands had however left brown streaks on her back.

"Hey Ranma, I think we should take a bath," stated Akane with a grin on her face. She could hear the gurgling of a stream near by them. She took Ranma by the hand along with their mud caked clothing and headed over to the stream. Ranma jumped in, removing some of the mud, but she had been in it too long. The mud stuck to her hair and other body parts.

Akane swam up behind Ranma-chan.

"What are you doing Akane?" asked Ranma, still not seeing his fiancee.

"Well I don’t think you can get all that mud out of your hair by yourself," commented Akane wryly.

Ranma-chan stood in the slightly warm water and allowed Akane to clean her hair.

Akane undid the dragon’s hair from Ranma hair. She began washing Ranma’s hair, pulling her fingers through the silky red stands. Satisfied that most of the dirt had been removed, she re-tied the dragon’s hair, giving Ranma his characteristic pig-tail. Then Akane felt a bit naughty again.

Slowly, and with great uncertainty, she moved her hands from Ranma-chan hair and down her back. She felt Ranma arch forward as Akane, with a sweeping motion of her hands, removed the offending grime from Ranma’s back. Then, Akane got a bit braver.

 She allowed her hands to roam across Ranma’s bare chest, wiping away the rest of the mud from his caked body.

Ranma was confused. His female body had never had any contact like that before. His mind was surging and threatening to overcome him. He was afraid, yes the great Ranma Saotome was once again afraid. Afraid of not being in control. He could feel the heat welling up within him as both the sensations of the rippling water and the movement of Akane’s warm hands against his bare flesh caused his skin to raise.

Akane had no idea what battles were raging in Ranma’s mind, nor did she know how much her pranks had affected him. Seeing no visible response from behind, she turned Ranma around to face her.

Ranma’s control had all but worn out, when he pulled around to face Akane. That was just too much for him.

Akane felt Ranma’s lips press against hers and welcomed them, but Ranma’s sudden weight on her had caused her hold on the riverbed to shift, and she found herself plummeting into the water. Somehow she would have to get accustomed to dealing with his female side being shorter and smaller. She hands grasped out into the water and snagged something then ripped it.

Akane watched the white fabric in her hand, the remnants of Ranma’s boxers as she surfaced. They had ventured deeper into the river now and only their heads were visible above the water line.

Akane could not believe how cute Ranma looked with that pouting expression. Ranma was slightly distracted as he saw a remnant of his underwear floating past him. Akane saw the opening and struck. She dived quickly, Pulling Ranma’s feet from out under him and pulling him down in the same movement.

Completely taken by surprise Ranma went down and struggled back up to the surface where he met a laughing Akane.

"Oooo…I’ll get you for that," pouted Ranma-chan.

"Oh…and how do you suppose on doing that" teased Akane.

That was all the encouragement Ranma needed.

The two battled in the water, Ranma easily pressing Akane back towards the bank. Although their speed was considerably decreased in water, Ranma had both the speed and skill advantage over Akane and was using it to his advantage. Akane realised that there was no chance for her in the water so she jumped out and onto the bank. Ranma had expected her to do that much and with the predatory gleam of a hunter cornering the prey, Ranma jumped with her. Effortlessly, he grabbed her in the air and pinned her to the soft soil at the bank of the river.

"Now let’s see you get out of this one!" teased Ranma-chan.

Only now did Ranma realise that Akane hadn’t any clothing on the upper half of her body. He blushed furiously and tried to get away from Akane. She counteracted his movement and pulled him down onto her embracing him. He didn’t struggle.

"You are my fiancee and will be my husband," said Akane with resilience in her voice as they broke contact, "you had better get accustomed to me now, rather than later, ne?"

He nodded his head slightly. He was not in total agreement with Akane on this subject but was better off not getting Akane angry. Better change the subject.

"I think its time we get back. I don’t think Cologne can hold them for a lot longer," stuttered Ranma.

Dawn had already come and they knew that soon everyone would be getting up.

They both got up and looked at themselves and their clothes. Their clothes, although now clean, were completely wet. Even with a bit of wringing, they would still be quite damp. To top it off, the top of Akane’s shirt was in tatters as was all of Ranma’s clothing. Ranma shivered as a cold morning breeze blew past, forcing Akane to giggle at his demise.

"How are we going to make it back without getting noticed?" asked Akane. There was no way they could set foot on the campsite looking like this.

Ranma thought for a moment and the answer came.

"Do you want to know how you could not track me for last few days back home?" asked Ranma.

"Sure!" replied Akane

Ranma gingerly picked up Akane in his hands, careful not to spark any more of those emotions again.

"Cologne taught me this technique that makes me almost invisible," stated Ranma.

Ranma-chan focused and tried to apply his ki over Akane’s body. He felt the soft warmth of ki flowing between them as he had the night before. Akane felt it also. They were bathed in a soft red glow and then blurred from existence as Ranma began running back to camp.

Luckily, Akane had left the door of the tent half-open. Ranma saw that both Shampoo and Ukyou were up and probably were looking for him. Ranma dashed into the tent and put Akane down. Akane dressed behind a towel, and again hid her ring. Ranma just threw on his clothes wildly, not even sparing a glance at Akane.

Just before Ranma blurred out of existence again, Akane caught him by the arm. "I’ll see you later," whispered Akane into Ranma’s ear as she kissed him gently on the cheek. Akane started to daydream of life and the future as Ranma left her in her tent.

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

Ukyou awoke a bit earlier that morning. She hopped out of her tent and set about looking for her fiance. However, having gone to bed early, she did not know which tent was his, then she realised that Ranma did not have a tent to sleep in. She chastised herself. If she had realised that the night before, she would have invited Ranma to share her tent as they had done in their younger days. She saw Shampoo bounding around the place also. Damn the bimbo.

Ukyou’s mind began racing if Ranma did not have a tent, then where did he sleep. Shampoo was up and about, that left Akane. She was doubtful that the two of them could spend a couple of hours together without fighting, yet alone the whole night, but she had seen sparks fly between them once. She would leave no stone unturned to get her Ran-chan. Ukyou knew where Akane’s tent was. She walked over to it.

"Hey Akane, you in there?" called Ukyou.

Akane was broken off from her daydreaming, but memories of the morning she had spent with Ranma still played in her head.

"Hai, come on in?" answered Akane. Then Akane saw the wet clothes still hanging about.

Ukyou entered the tent and saw Akane hastily packing away some stuff into a bag.

"Akane do you know where Ranma is?" asked Ukyou.

"Umm…."

Ukyou noticed Akane’s slight blush. Something was going on

"I don’t know where he is?" answered Akane.

"Oh ok," responded Ukyou, not convinced, but not wanting to press the issue any further.

Ukyou walked into the forest for a while looking for Ranma. She saw a flash of red in front of her in the distance. Instantly she recognised Ranma’s red shirt as a red-haired girl bounded from tree to tree.

"Ran-chan!" shouted Ukyou.

"Oh hi Ucchan!" answered Ranma-chan as he jumped down to meet her.

"So Ran-chan," asked Ukyou wryly, "where were you last night?"

"Oh I was out here in the forest, kinda reminds me of training with pop," replied Ranma-chan nervously. He knew he was not as good an actor as Akane.

"Right Ran-chan," replied Ukyou, not convinced, she knew him well enough. She would skin the information from him later. Right now she wasn’t feeling up to it.

Ranma and Ukyou walked back to camp where breakfast was being prepared.

"Oh my pig-tailed goddess, you have come to grace me with your beauty. How I have longed for thee during my perilous journey. Come now, I will date with thee."

Kuno tried to glomp onto Ranma-chan and was greeted with a foot to the face.

"KNOCK IT OFF KUNO!" shouted Ranma-chan.

He was handed a cup of warm water by Cologne and changed back to his normal self. Kuno turned around.

"Vile sorcerer, what have you done to my pig-tailed goddess!" demanded Kuno.

"I ain’t done nothin’ to your pig-tailed goddess!" replied Ranma

"We have not got time for this," said Jensu as a reminder to the others. Ranma glared at Kuno whose eyes were ablaze. Everyone took a seat, and breakfast was eaten hastily. The glaring match continued through breakfast.

All the overnight equipment was packed and the journey began.

They made their way back to the road.

"Shouldn’t we stay in the forest and surprise them?" suggested Ryouga.

Ranma was surprised that Ryouga suggested that but he had to agree, it was a good idea.

"No, they already know we are coming," stated Cologne.

"How do you know that great grandmother?" asked Shampoo.

"If the people here use magic as Jensu said earlier, they would easily have detected our auras," replied Cologne.

"Oh…" said Ryouga and Ranma simultaneously.

After walking some way something sopped Jensu from going further. Something was blocking his path. However, it did not block the path of Ranma or Ryouga who walked alongside him and now in front of him.

After some experimentation, they found out that the only two people who could not cross the barrier were Cologne and Jensu.

"Now son-in-law, Shampoo, it is up to the rest of you to rescue those people. Go now, we will wait for you here," ordered Cologne.

When the rest were out of earshot.

"Ranma, you are the only one who can defeat whatever is in the castle. Be careful and take care of my great granddaughter!"

"I will. I promise."

"I know will Ranma. I am confident," responded Cologne.

The teenagers continued on their journey, with Ranma and Ryouga leading.

"Do you think he will defeat it?" asked Cologne to Jensu.

"I hope so, he is the prophesied one. I have no idea how he will beat it. I don’t even know what it is!" replied Jensu.

They watched them disappear around the bend.

"They are so young…" spoke Jensu in a soft voice.

"Yes they are aren’t they?" replied Cologne. "Ranma has come up against enemies before but I fear he has never faced anything the likes of what I feel coming from that place."

----

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