Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons out of Time ❯ A deeper connection ( Chapter 5 )

 

 

Chapter 5: A deeper connection

 

 

 

After a bit of a rocky start, Ranma and Akane had come to like the ability to speak to each other telepathically. They had also come to understand why Lani had asked them not to shout in their minds when calling for her. It was a lot like someone shouting right in your ear, but worse because it was already in your head.

 

They had continued sparring most of the afternoon, until they had tired themselves out. Akane had improved dramatically, she had a lot of training already but the improved speed made it work much better for her. Ranma had tried to teach her more of his moves, and she had picked up a few of them, including the really high jumps that he used to run around on roof tops.

 

They had decided, late in the afternoon to try the training with their minds completely open to each other. It had helped Akane learn so much faster, and the two were surprised at how quickly they got used to it. All afternoon though. Ranma had become increasingly aware of something that was weighing on Akane's mind and he planned to pay more attention to it when they called it quits for the night.

 

As much energy as they had used today it surprised no one that they were famished when they went back into the house. Ranma went straight to the dining room table and lifted the silver lid to see if there was anything to eat. He grinned when he saw that once again there was a hot meal waiting for them. Akane smiled as they sat down to eat together.

 

"Hey, Akane?" Ranma asked. "I can feel there's something bothering you, do you want to talk about it?" All at once he heard what it was through their link.

 

'I can't help wondering why Ryoga would take advantage of me that way.' With the thought a wave of half formed thoughts and emotions swarmed, including a quiet thought that told him she had meant something else the other night when she had asked him why. He felt a sad guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he tried to find the words to explain to her how Ryoga felt about her. The way the poor guy had fallen for her, how terrified he had been that she would discover his curse and laugh at him. How the poor jerk was so lonely even the attention she showed him as her pet had sometimes brought him to tears. Ranma knew too well that Ryoga passed out at so much as a hint of girly flesh, and had probably never actually looked at her when she wasn't fully clothed. It wasn't enough though, to explain how eager he had always been to be in her company, how he had used his curse so she would cuddle him.

 

Akane had tears in her eyes, having listened to the thoughts Ranma was chasing through his head. She felt she had her answer and it wasn't as bad as she feared. The poor lost boy wasn't so much a pervert as someone who had spent most of his life alone, and had fallen for the first person to show him a little affection, even if it was in his cursed form. It was almost enough to make her feel sorry for him instead of angry, but then she caught a bit of memory from Ranma of Ryoga taunting him and throwing himself in the pond, splashing himself with a bucket or other wise splashing himself. As many mental images as Ranma had in his head of Ryoga changing deliberately to spend time with her, she felt a little bit angry that he would have thought so little of her personal sense of honor that he believed she would have ever chosen him over the man her father had asked her to marry. The fact that she loved Ranma and felt nothing but friendship for Ryoga wouldn't have helped him any either.

 

Ranma having caught her thought, smiled warmly at her with a little bit of a blush, he hadn't missed the bit about her loving him and not Ryoga. From the tone of the thought he realized she had admitted to herself that she loved him much sooner than he had been able to admit his feelings to himself.

 

Just then Lani arrived to take them to see the demonstration, but Ranma and Akane just couldn't stop sneaking smiling glances at each other and sending loving thoughts through their new connection. Lani smiled at them, pleased that they were getting closer much faster than she had thought they would. The spells promoting peace, communication and safety she had put around their cottage seemed to have been helpful in allowing them to express themselves. She knew better than to use love spells or compulsions because relationships cannot be built on such things, but she had often found that if people were in an environment where they felt safe it tended to lead them into honest expressions of their own feelings and that was what solid relationships were built on.

 

Lani led them to an arena set up just over the hill from their cottage, explaining along the way that this was where most of their training would take place until they reached a certain level and then she would occasionally ask them along on her missions to heroes who were in need of extra help, so that they would get more practical experience. She sat them near in the front row near the center of the field, her husband was already there waiting for them. Around them sat over a hundred people who all seemed to be couples, or at least pairs, and most had clothing or costumes that showed who went with who. Ranma looked around thinking these people all seemed rather odd, and he heard Akane thinking much the same thing. Lani's husband leaned toward the two of them to explain.

 

"Most of the people you see watching are other guardians like us, and most of them seem to have shown up in fighting gear today. When you start your training with us we will be in our fighting gear too, when Lani here is in fighting gear, we call her Quicksilver, and when she's in her gear it generally means I'll be in mine and I go by DarkWolf. For some reason that reminds me, I didn't introduce myself my name is Wolf."

 

"My name is Akane, I didn't get a chance to meet you before." Akane smiled but didn't reach out her hand because he had Lani on his lap.

 

"Nice to meet you Akane, how have you been liking things so far?" He asked.

 

"I'm having a wonderful time, I can't even to begin to imagine how things could be better. "She replied with a furtive glance at Ranma who smiled at her and blushed. Wolf laughed, pleased that Ranma had apparently taken his advice.

 

"Just wait till you see what you're expected to learn, just keep in mind that this is likely this pairs graduation match. They're the werewolves, Nightblade is the lovely lady, and her gear is purple black and white, and her partner Wolfman is in blue black and white. Both of them have golden eyes and the metal on their armor has been tinted the same shade. Today they'll be fighting a pair they haven't fought before. Caffeine and Jolt are like us, guardians. Their gear is a horrendous mix of bright colors and flash but they're very good with this fighting style." Lani told them, cheerfully.

 

The crowd began to cheer as the pairs took to the field from opposite sides. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, more like a game than a real fight. When the fighters took their stances everyone quieted down. The fighters each held a short rod made of different crystals and gems, as one all four put their right hand under the rounded ends of their rod and each one became a sword of different colored chi. Both pairs took stances that left them with a sword held out to each side, when they moved it was almost too fast to see.

 

"Oh! I see, a double edged sword!" Ranma exclaimed, finally seeing what Lani had meant by her description of the technique. "The pairs attack together, like they have a single mind!"

 

"You see what I mean about it being an advanced technique? I told you you probably hadn't seen anything quite like this before. It will take you some time to learn it but I think you'll be good at it." Lani told them, and they both nodded. "I also wanted to point something out to the both of you, if you watch closely you may notice that the two women are attacking only each other and the two men are doing the same thing. Because of the way guardians are paired we rarely touch each others mates. For example, Akane when you are introduced to a couple, bow to the male and offer your handshake to the female of the pair. Ranma you would shake the hand of the male and bow to the female. For this tournament, because one pair are guardians and one pair are real werewolves, who have similar possessive traits towards their mates we have limited the demonstration this way to make sure no one gets carried away in the heat of battle." Akane smiled at the possessive pleasure she felt float through Ranma's mind at the thought that no one else would touch her while they were here.

 

On the field the werewolves landed a few feet apart then turned and launched them selves at the guardians who were standing at the other end of the field. In mid air they seemed to turn into whirlwinds as they spun, their swords a blur. When they had landed on the other side of their opponents Ranma and Akane noticed that their swords had left a horizontal streak of glowing color where they had hit and you could tell from the color which blade had struck where. The werewolves launched again, this time straight into the air over their sparring partners, coming down they again turned as one this time leaving the glowing streaks in a line from the guardian's shoulder to their opposite hip. The crowd went wild, cheering and screaming themselves hoarse.

 

"I was right, they managed it this time." Lani remarked. "They had to get in one horizontal and one as vertical as possible. Did you notice that their swords leave a mark?" At their nods she continued. "Their chi-blades are set to a practice setting that allows us to see where the hits would have been without endangering anyone in their path. They have several settings, the most powerful will cut a swath in solid rock but we almost never use that one because we do not condone killing unless its a demonic entity."

 

"Chi-blades? I was wondering what they were, they look a bit like light sabers." Ranma murmured in a considering tone.

 

"You will both be given your chi-blades when you've gotten to that level of your training and I'll teach you all the different settings when we get there. I'm looking forward to seeing what colors yours will be, though my best guess at the moment is blue. They're made out of your battle aura you see, and the color will often tell you something about the person wielding it if you know how to read it. For example the color should always be pure. If it becomes muddy or a color that makes you feel ill it means we have real trouble on our hands and I'll have to take the blades away and give that person counseling to keep them from going to 'the dark side' it doesn't happen often but it pays to be vigilant." Lani explained. "Blue is a common color for heroes and it shows a compassionate soul that seeks justice for all. A pure red shows a passionate person with strong opinions."

 

"What color is your blade?" Akane asked enthralled.

 

"Her blade is actually white, though there are hints of purple at the edges." Wolf told her. "My blade is a blue white, I can show you if you like." To illustrate he pulled a short rod made of crystal, sapphire and obsidian. To activate it he cupped his right hand beneath the rounded sapphire in the bottom, and from the pointed crystal at the top came a blue white light that solidified into a blade. Then he showed them a few of the settings so they would be able to tell what kind of setting the blades they saw were on. His practice settings were a softer bluer white, and the most dangerous setting Lani had told them about was a harsh almost total white with sharp edges.

 

"What does white mean?" Ranma asked curiously.

 

"White is wisdom, you may notice over the next few years that although many of the guardians have lighter colored blades, white is very rare. As far as we know only Lani and I have white blades. We are the oldest of our kind you see."

 

"What does purple mean?" Akane asked, awed.

 

"Purple is a mix of blue and red, it's a rare color too though much more common than white. It shows all of the properties of red and blue but it is also the mark of a mind-healer. That's someone who helps heal mental and emotional wounds in those around them, it isn't a particularly comfortable vocation. Perhaps you would be so kind as to show them your blade my love." Wolf said smiling at his wife.

 

"It's in my other outfit." Lani admitted sheepishly. "I'll need to change, but that may not be a bad thing. I have been meaning to show the two of you my battle gear so you will recognize me if I pick you up already wearing that guise."

 

She stood and walked a little away to stand relaxed where they could both watch comfortably and not be in the way. She closed her eyes and a blinding white light rose suddenly from the earth to surround her completely for a moment before blooming like a giant flower only to dissipate back into the ground at her feet. Ranma and Akane were amazed, where the soft and gentile Lani they had come to know had been standing stood a warrior. Gone was the long silver hair pooling at her feet, instead it was cut shorter than Akane's. The soft purple eyes had hardened to a clear amethyst, and no longer did she wear a floor length gown but something she could fight in. Her boots were a dark purple that came to her thighs with silver guards over her upper shins and knees. The pants were tight and black, that laced up the sides as far as the eye could see in either direction. Her bodice left a two inch strip of her bare from her wide sash to her throat though there were ties to hold it in place over her breasts. The meager excuse for a skirt was open on both sides and was only about nine inches long.

 

In a sure, swift movement she drew the hilt of her chi-blade made of amethyst and moonstone, twirled it expertly in her fingers and activated it. It burst forth in an almost blinding flash of white but when it solidified into a blade they could see the edges danced with violet like a purple flame surrounded the white blade.

 

"Hold out your hands please." She requested, and Akane thought even her voice seemed to have hardened though it was still kind. They held out their hands and she slashed suddenly through them with her blade, right across their palms. They both jerked their hands back instinctively from the icy sensation of the blade passing through their warm flesh.

 

"Holy shit!" Ranma exclaimed angrily.

 

"Sorry, but I did it to show you that even though you can feel it it doesn't actually hurt." Quicksilver explained. "Now I want you both to look at your hands. Sweetheart would you please find a large rock for me?" Ranma and Akane looked at their hands while Wolf looked for a good rock. Across their palms was a light purple streak.

 

"How do we get it off?" Akane asked. Quicksilver deactivated her blade and the mark faded quickly from their skin. Suddenly the ground beneath them shuddered and a large rock pushed through the earth in front of them. They looked around to find Wolf giving them an ironic smirk.

 

"It was the only one I could find." He said and Quicksilver smiled at him.

 

"It's perfect, thank you." She said, reactivating her blade and changing it to the first deadly setting. Again she slashed her blade down with incredible speed but the rock sat there apparently unaffected. Wolf walked over to it and tapped it on one side and the top slid off to the ground, safely away from everyone's feet, leaving an unnaturally smooth surface. Quicksilver changed to the last deadly setting and very slowly laid her blade across the surface she had created on the stone. Holding the blade loosely for a moment so they could see how little effort it took she allowed the sword to fall a little into the stone leaving a clean three inch trench in solid rock. Then she suddenly whipped it up an around so it pointed straight down and plunged it into the surface away from the trench she had just made. She pulled it out, deactivated it and dropped it back into it's place on her belt in one smooth well practiced move.

 

The blade had left a perfect diamond shaped hole deep into the stone. The young martial artists examined the cuts, suitably impressed.

 

Just at that moment a blue-green fire erupted from the earth only a few feet from them and from its embers stepped a man whose hair seemed to be made out of the flames. Wolf and Quicksilver looked at him expectantly.

 

"Majesties." He greeted. "They've gotten away again." They sighed and shook their heads at this news but didn't seem concerned or surprised.

 

"Who did?" Ranma asked unsure whether or not he needed to be worried.

 

"Our twin girls." Wolf replied with a hint of tired amusement in his voice. "They're only four but they've already figured out how to access their magic and they enjoy using it to get into trouble."

 

Ranma and Akane looked surprised, who would have thought there were children about?

 

"The graduation party is just over the rise there." Wolf said pointing. "You two are welcome to go and meet some of the other people that live on the island, after all you'll likely be here a few years training. Enjoy yourselves and we'll be along as soon as we find the girls. Almost everyone will know who you are and will do their best to make you feel welcome." He reassured the two. They nodded and exchanging a quick thought they turned and started walking towards the noise they could just hear, suddenly realizing everyone had left while they'd been talking. Behind them they heard their teachers continue to talk to the stranger.

 

"Have you found any sign of them Phoenix? Are they still on the island?"

 

"Their energy signatures have been located somewhere on the eastern side." With that the three disappeared, off to find their escapees.

 

'Did you know we were on an island?' Akane thought at Ranma. He shook his head, it was news to him too.

 

 

A/N Please review and ask any questions you have so far, I have a place in the next chapter to answer questions (and a lemon for dessert).