Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Kakurezato ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six: The Village of No Return

Ranma opened his eyes with a groan. His head really hurt, and, as he tried to open his mouth, he found it quite dry. He could sense more than feel Akane next to him, but that didn't help his pounding headache. Nor did it tell him where he was. He knew it was dark, and he knew he was in a building, but that was about it.

He turned his head to look at Akane without moving anything else. The faint moonlight sparkled across her face as he looked at her, and he smiled. "Wow, she really is beautiful..." he whispered to himself. The feeling in his chest at the sight of her alright calmed him greatly. He didn't have to know where they were - she was alright, and that was what counted.He then bent his head down to kiss her on her forehead. She moaned at his touch, and opened her eyes a moment later.

"Ranma!" she cried, sitting up at once and throwing her arms around him. "Oh, thank the Kami! All of them!" she sobbed into his shoulder. He reached up with his arms, although it was slightly painful to move his left arm, and held her close. "I thought I had lost you..." she whispered, looking into his grey blue eyes.

"I'm..." he managed through his dry throat, staring back into her green eyes. "Harder to lose than you might think..." He then dissolved into a coughing fit. Akane got up quickly.

"Do you need anything? Water? Another blanket?" she asked, feeling a bit chilled herself now that she was away from him.

"I could use a drink," he admitted. "And if you are getting another blanket, you had better be coming back here. I'd much rather hold you than move anywhere else," he managed, lying back down. "Damn, Ryoga must have been really upset..." he muttered.

Akane moved over to the sink and poured a glass of water. She then picked up a blanket and made her way back to Ranma, who was trying to sit up as she approached. She pushed him back down, forcing the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt completely out of her mind. "You aren't ready to be moving yet, Ranma," she pleaded.

"I'll be fine, Akane," he retorted, taking the water and drinking it the best he could while lying down. Somehow, he managed not to spill any of it on himself, which surprised him somewhat. Cold water never seemed to agree with him for very long.

Before he could move, she flung herself on top of him and lay her head down on his chest. "You had damn well better be," she whispered. "And you aren't moving until I let you up, got that?" she demanded in a quiet, fierce voice.

Ranma smiled. "Make yourself comfortable, then," he suggested. Akane rearranged herself so she was lying next to him with her head resting on his chest so she could hear his heart beating. It was still a very calming sound to her. In the end, she was basically wrapped around him.

"Why do you suppose Ryoga was so upset this time?" Akane asked quietly after a few minutes. She knew Ranma wasn't asleep yet. Not only was there was too much on his mind, but she could hear his irregular breathing still, and his heart wasn't going any slower yet. She wondered briefly if he could sense her ki energy that surrounded them and was mixing with his. She decided not to bother asking, though. If he knew, he probably wouldn't talk about it yet, and if he didn't, he would ask on his own.

"I don't know," Ranma said, looking away from her suddenly.

"What is it, Ranma?" she asked, trying to get him to look back to her. "Why won't you look at me?" she demanded. After the past couple of weeks, she was used to him not staring at her body, but he never looked away from her while talking with her. He kept his eyes on her face during conversations, and for him to pull away suddenly was more than a little disconcerting.

"Do you trust me, Akane?" he asked quietly. "Have I ever done anything to make it so you won't trust me?" he added. It sounded like he was almost pleading with her to say that she didn't, a fact that made little sense to her.

"I used to think you couldn't be trusted, not with all your other fiancées always popping in," Akane replied after a moment of thought. "But Ranma, you should know by now that I trust you with everything. Even my own life." Especially my own life.

"Damn."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, surprised by his outburst.

He looked back to her slowly. "That means I have to tell you," he said slowly. "Please don't get mad."

Akane didn't like the sound of that at all. Whenever anyone said that, they were about to drop a bombshell that she should be mad over. "Should I be mad?" she asked. Although she didn't like where the conversation was going, at least he was looking to her again.

"I would be. At least, I'd be mad at myself. But then, I remember that I tried to tell you in the first place, and you wouldn't listen to me then..." Ranma stopped, looking away from her again for a moment before looking back. "That was a long time ago. Shortly after Ryoga started to chase me, even to the Tendo Dojo," he explained.

"You're not making a lot of sense, you know..." Akane pointed out, sticking out her lower lip in a sort of pout. Ranma smiled and kissed her on the nose.

"I don't think you are going to believe me, that's the problem. But I swear to you that it is the truth. Is that enough for you?" he asked, looking deep into her eyes.

"Yes," she said almost instantly. "If you are this worked up about me believing, then it must be true, right?" she asked. "But I don't see what this has to do with Ryoga being so mad just now."

"He was mad just now because I was with you. You have noticed that he has had a crush on you ever since he met you, right?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Were you jealous of him?" Akane replied to his question with one of her own. It was one of those rare questions that she felt she could never ask him without the right chance, and, as the Kami would have it, she was just given it.

Ranma sighed. "A little," he admitted with a shrug. "He could say what I couldn't. All I could do was make fun of you..." he trailed off. "I still feel bad about that, you know."

"Yeah, and I shouldn't hit you all the time. What's your point? We wouldn't be us if we didn't do exactly that," she pointed out. "Baka."

Ranma grinned. "I guess you're right, tomboy. Anyway, that's the main reason he was mad in the first place," he said slowly. Both his insult to her and hers to him were said completely without malice.

"I don't see why that should upset me," Akane said.

"How did he find out about our trip?" Ranma asked her as soon as she said that.

Akane looked puzzled. She thought about it to herself for a moment, and then sighed. "Nabiki, of course," she cursed softly to herself. "Blasted sister, anything for yen!"

Ranma shook his head. "I don't think your sister said anything. Otherwise the others would have found us a lot sooner than Ryoga did. I think he ran across us with dumb luck," he explained. "If he knew exactly where we were, then he didn't have a chance. But all he knew was that we were going on a training trip."

"Well, if Nabiki didn't tell him, then who did? My dad? Mr. Saotome? Kasumi?" Akane asked, listing off people. "You didn't tell him, did you?" She couldn't think of anyone else who would have...

"Think I've got a death wish?" Ranma retorted with a wry grin. "He would have attacked me then if he had any idea! Not that it would have been very effective then, when I would have been on guard. Maybe I should have..."

"Look, stop keeping me in suspense. If none of them told him, then how did he know that we were going off together, and even had it planned?" Akane looked into his blue grey eyes, seeing the fear there. Whatever it was, he really wasn't looking forward to telling her. "He knew we were getting along, too, didn't he?"

Ranma nodded. "You remember your promise, right?" he asked. When she nodded, he sighed. "P-Chan."

"P-Chan?" Akane asked, confused.

"P-Chan," Ranma repeated.

"P-Chan told him? How would Ryoga talk to..." Akane trailed off as a light bulb turned on in her head. All colour drained from her face as she remembered the first night she met her pet pig. Ranma had seemed really upset that she was taking it into her room, but after she accused him of being jealous, he stalked off and didn't say anything else.

She thought of all the times that P-Chan had attacked Ranma. She had thought he had provoked the pig... but now that she really thought about it, he had just been sitting there most of the time. P-Chan was always so peaceful, unless Ranma was around. Ryoga was almost the same way... Thoughts of both the skating and the gymnastic challenge came rushing back, where P-Chan had vanished, only for Ryoga to appear to help. Then when she was drowning, she could have sworn P-Chan had rescued her with Ranma-chan, but Ranma had insisted it was only Ryoga. And the way her pet pig had fought against Ranma-chan's best efforts during the fight against Kodachi...

Then there was the scribbled drawing that had appeared on both Ryoga and P- Chan's stomach. She suddenly understood why Ranma was so worried, though she didn't understand why he had helped him lie to her, except she had made him promise not to hurt P-Chan.

"Damn him," Akane cursed, punching the bed with the hand that wasn't clasped in Ranma's. "Damn him to hell!" she cried, punching it again. She felt Ranma gulp, and looked to him quickly. "Not you, baka," she forced a smile, and then let it drop. "You knew, and tried to tell me. But I told you not to say one word against P-Chan..." Ranma nodded sadly. A thought suddenly went through her mind. "Does Akari know?" she asked.

"I have no idea, Akane," he said softly. "I never asked. Didn't want to ruin Ryoga's chances with her. Figured I had ruined his life enough, though with her love of pigs, it might actually help him." He sighed He was fairly certain that she knew, given that he had shown her rather explicitly, but then, Akane had practically seen the transformation too, and she had no idea. And then there was Kuno and Kodachi, both of whom had surely seen him transform, but were still clueless. "He told me I was the one who knocked him into the cursed spring in the first place. I was chasin pops at the time, and didn't even notice..."

"That is his cursed form, then," she asked, her voice a bit shaky. Ranma nodded. "He will pay for that, then," she said, steel in her voice. "He slept in the same bed as me, and never said a word. He saw me..." she swallowed hard and continued her thought. "He has seen me change. He's seen me with nothing, and yet still wouldn't say a word." Ranma stayed quiet and let her work it out of her system. "All those times when we thought there was a cure to your curse, and he volunteered to help... I thought he was being nice to you, not selfish... I thanked him for trying to help!"

"I'm sorry, Akane," Ranma sighed. "I wanted to tell you, but you were pretty clear before..." he explained.

"If anything like that happens again, Ranma, I don't care how clear I am. Got it?"

Ranma nodded. "Don't worry, dear, the only one who is going to be sharing a bed with you ever again is me." He looked away from her as a blush crept up his cheeks. He could hardly believe he had said that.

"What... did you call me?" Akane asked, her voice calm and gentle suddenly.

"Uh..." Ranma stammered.

"Did you just call me dear?" she pressed him. He nodded sheepishly. She smiled. "That's nice, though," she said when she saw how embarrassed he was. "If you are comfortable enough around me to be able to call me such an endearing name. Even if it is more of a Western term..."

"You mean, dear, instead of tomboy?"

"Baka."

"Sorry," he said with a smile. "I'm not about to call you that when we are around others, though," he explained quickly. And I probably won't call you that much, either. I just need to come up with an endearing name that suits her...

"Fine by me," she replied with a sigh as she leaned on him again.

Ranma could feel how tired Akane was. He wasn't sure how, but he could feel it. He suddenly realized that he was just as tired. Blinking, he realized that both of their auras were surrounding them, and most of it seemed to be focused on his back. Their kis were trying to heal his wounds. He tried to say something to Akane, but heard her start to breath deeply and rhythmically. "Good night, dear," he whispered as he closed his own eyes. Akane was already long asleep.

When Ranma opened his eyes again, the sun was streaming in the window, and there was an old man sitting next to the sink on the other side of the room, just watching the two of them. Ranma's eyes hadn't opened enough for the man to notice, and so he just studied him, trying to figure out better what was going on.

The man stood up and leaned heavily on his walking stick. Ranma gave Akane a little squeeze, making sure it wasn't enough to be noticed by the man, and continued to watch. He was standing next to them after a moment of maneuvering around beds.

"You had better wake up soon," the man said quietly. "I can sense the shadows growing restless. The Lord is coming for her soon." He looked away from them and sighed. "I wonder if you two actually are the ones... the ones who can bring the change we need." He looked down to Ranma again. "Are you really as good as she said you were?"

Ranma felt the blush rising in his cheeks. He wondered briefly what Akane had told the man about him, and then opened his eyes carefully, looking straight at the man. "I don't know what she told you, but if some daemon is coming for Akane, then he'll have to get through me first. Shadows or no, nuthin's getting at her when I'm around." He carefully moved Akane off him and set her down on the bed again as he stood. He flexed his muscles slowly and ran a hand along his back. The burn was gone, but it was still a little tender. "I'm the best."

"Amazing..." the old man said, stepping back. Before he could fall over the bed, Ranma caught him and steadied him. "And I thought there was no chance of recovery."

"It'll take more than that to put me down for good," Ranma said with a wry grin. "You said you spoke with Akane earlier. What happened?" he asked. He hated being in the dark about things.

The man looked to Akane, and then back to Ranma. "She saved your life, Ranma," he said. "She risked her own by climbing the mountain for that blue stone you have in your pocket."

Ranma reached into his pocket and found the stone the man was speaking of. "What's so special about this stone?" he asked, peering at it carefully.

"That stone shields you from the shadows. It allows you to use your ki again." Ranma clenched the stone tightly in his hands and felt his aura build around him quickly. He released the stone and put it back in his pocket. "I didn't think she could do it."

"Never underestimate Akane," Ranma replied, looking down to her sleeping form. I learned that a long time ago.

"Unfortunately, she brought back a purple stone as well. She also used it," the man said sadly. When Ranma looked back to him for more of an explanation, he went on. "The purple stones give one the power to use all of their ki in one attack, but not actually drain all their ki right away." He shook his head. "She used it to attack drakes, I believe. But by using it, she has linked with the Lord. The Lord is coming for her now. He intends to absorb her."

"Over my dead body." Ranma stood taller and looked out the window. He had killed a god for her before and, even though he wasn't happy with that fact, it did give him the knowledge that he could - and would - do it again if it was absolutely necessary. He then turned to Akane as he heard her starting to stir. Sitting back on the bed, he placed a hand on her shoulder to wake her. When she opened her eyes, he smiled. "Morning, sleepy head."

Akane sat up quickly when she saw the other man in the room. "Tzusu!" she cried, surprised to see him so early.

"It is good to see that your husband has made a near full recovery," Tzusu said, bowing slightly to the both of them. "I am quite happy for both of you."

"Uh..." Ranma started, but trailed off.

"We... uh... aren't actually married yet," Akane stammered. "Just engaged."

"Oh." The man looked dejected and turned away from them. "Sorry for the misunderstanding, then. Guess I jumped to conclusions, and got my hopes up."

"What do you mean, got your hopes up?" Ranma asked, confused.

The man sighed. "The legend says that a married couple will suddenly appear in our valley. The two of them will be able to stop the Lord once and for all."

"Would ya just stop saying Lord already and tell us what the hell is goin on?" Ranma demanded, his short patience reaching an end already.

The man looked back to him, apparently surprised that he didn't know. "This is an enchanted valley. No one can enter or exit without the permission of the Lord. No one has seen him for years. They say he comes to the village every now and then to take someone back to his castle. Everyone he takes is dead before they leave the village, though."

"How horrible!" Akane said.

"Yeah, well, he is pretty powerful. He calls himself Lord of the Shadows."

"Big deal," Ranma said with a shrug, drawing a stare from both the old man and Akane. "What? I've dealt with things that sounded a lot worse than that before!" Akane smiled as she saw that he really was back to himself again. Cocky as usual in the face of danger.

"But... the legend..." the man started.

"Like I'm gonna let some stupid old legend tell me that we can't win... I've been told that enough times ta know not ta put any stock in it." Ranma shook his head and looked to Akane. "Ya ready, partner?" he asked with a grin.

"If I can use that move I used on the mountain again, then this guy doesn't stand a chance!" Akane replied, standing from the bed to give Ranma a hug. He caught her before she could wrap her arms around him. There was a dangerous look in his eye suddenly.

"You can't," he said sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"What? You didn't see it, though!" Akane cried, breaking free of his grasp and standing back. How could he deny her the one powerful move that she had learned all on her own? Was it because he hadn't taught it to her?

"Akane," he said softly. "That move was fuelled by the purple stone ya had. Tzusu explained it to me while ya slept."

"Fuelled? How?" she asked, not sure she was following where he was going.

"Fuelled," he repeated. "The stone gave ya the power ya needed to do that without training. But the stone also linked ya to that idiot lord guy." Akane sank to the bed slowly. She had been so sure that she had done it all on her own, and now she was feeling pretty stupid. "Akane," he called, placing a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, he could see the tears brimming in her eyes. "I won't let him take you. And I will make sure you can do that thing later. Once we have time to train a little more, kay?" he asked, grinning to her.

Akane forced a small smile and grinned back. She then frowned. "What do you mean by you won't let him?" she demanded, standing again. "I thought we were partners."

Ranma broke their eye contact and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to put you in danger, though," he said quietly.

"Ranma," she said harshly. When he looked back to her, she grasped both of his shoulders so he couldn't turn away. "I told you, I want to fight with you. I don't want to stand back and worry all the time. If either of us is going to die, it will be while we are with the other, got it?" she scolded. "Besides, don't you trust the training you've given me?"

He sighed. He knew she was good. She could probably beat Ukyo by now. Shampoo would still give her a really hard time. He didn't know if she could beat her in the end or not. But she was a lot better than she had been. With more training, she would be even better. "Alright, partner," he said eventually. He drew her into his arms then, and held her. "We'll do it together." But I won't let him hurt you.

Tzusu stopped at the exit to the room. "When you are ready for it, there is food available. Come see me in our Dojo," he said as he left.

Ranma turned instantly. "Food? Alright!" He started towards the door, but found himself being held back by Akane. "What's wrong, Akane?" he asked.

She shook her head. She was crying again, and she hated it. "I... thought I was going to lose you back there..." she whispered.

"Like I said, it'll take more'n just Ryoga to take me down for the count," he reassured her, wrapping his arms around her to letter her cry herself out. She pushed away so she could look into his eyes. He was surprised by the haunted look he saw in hers. "Akane?"

"I... had a lot of time... to think about things, Ranma," she said slowly. Ranma felt his heart sink. Now that she knew what being with him was like, she wasn't going to stick around after all. He knew it had all been too good to be true!

He looked away from her, his heart crushed. He felt a hand on his face, forcing him to look back to him. "Ranma... I want to marry you. As soon as we can get things in order at home. That alright by you?" she whispered. "I don't want to wait longer than we have to!" He replied with a kiss. The kiss started as just a brushing of the lips, but quickly became more passionate. Although their auras were not currently out, the passion was still almost overwhelming.

Ranma suddenly found himself plastered against the wall thanks to a large red mallet. Akane rushed over to him quickly to make sure he was alright. "What'd... I do now?" he asked as he knelt to the ground to try and recover some strength. He definitively wasn't at full power again yet.

"We can't Ranma. Not yet..." Akane whispered.

"What's wrong with kissing?" Ranma asked.

Akane looked at him like he had six heads. "Nothing's wrong with kissing, baka," she whispered. "It's what might come afterwards..." When she saw Ranma give no sign, she stopped. She had been thinking about it, but he hadn't been. And she had always called him the pervert...

He stood with a smile. "I know, Akane. That's why I wasn't even thinking about it."

She hugged him again and sighed. "Perverted baka..."

"Uncute tomboy," he replied, holding her close for a moment. He then broke away. "I'm gonna chose to ignore the fact that this time, it was you being the pervert, and not me." Before she could reply to that statement - that she had to admit, held a touch of truth, though she hardly looked at what they would be doing together as a loving couple as perverted in the slightest - he went on. "So, about that food..." He trailed off, looking to her. She smiled and released him as she heard his stomach rumble. Before she could laugh at him, she felt hers do the same.

"Alright... let's go."

As the two stepped out into the morning, Ranma looked up to see that clouds were gathering above them. "Damn," he muttered as he heard the lightning clap in the sky. "Let's hurry!" he cried, grabbing Akane's hand and running across the empty square to the large building that he assumed must have been the Dojo.

As the two stepped into the Dojo, dripping wet thanks to the sudden downpour, heads turned towards them. Tzusu was not in the hall, but there were quite a few students, and a few teachers as well. Ranma-chan motioned to Akane that they should bow.

"Are you here for training?" one of the teachers asked them. He looked over the two of them, not sure what to think. One was taller than the other, with short black hair. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a blue blouse. The other girl was shorter, with flaming red hair held back in a pigtail. She was wearing a shirt from the healing building and black pants that looked the same as the other girl's. The redhead's clothes looked a little big on her, though. She looked quite upset about the rain, too.

"I'm not," Ranma-chan replied. She then pushed Akane forward a little. "But she is." Akane glared at her, but she knew that it was for the best. She did need more training that Ranma, even Ranma-chan.

There was broken laughter from a few of the students until the teachers glared at them. "Haven't seen either of you around here before. Where did you come from?" the teacher closest to them asked.

"We are on a training trip," Ranma-chan explained. "And we're just passing through."

"Training trip? Then where is your master?" the teacher asked, looking behind them.

Akane looked over to Ranma-chan. "She's my master," she explained easily. "Right, sensei?" It still wasn't easy to say that Ranma was better than she was, but she had asked him to train her. So he was, without a question, her master still.

At her words, there was even more laughter, most of which the teachers ignored. "One so young? I doubt it," the closest teacher said. "But you said you came to train. Well, let's see how you do against one of my students, then, shall we?" he asked. He motioned to a tall lad near the back of the Hall. "Miryu," he called. The student bowed to Akane.

Ranma-chan backed up to get out of the way, and Akane adopted a loose stance, as he had taught her. She smiled when she recognized the stance Miryu had taken. It looked a lot like the one her father used to use, when he was willing to spar with her. That had been a long time ago, now.

She waited for him to make the first move. When he did, she spun around behind him and waited again. She was surprised at how fast she had gotten, and realized then and there that all the training that Ranma had given her had really done something. She was faster than ever before, and stronger, too. Better balanced. She would have to really thank Ranma later. Something big... something...

She also found out why Ranma enjoyed dodging attacks as she brought her mind back on track. It was sort of fun to enrage the enemy that way. "Girls," Miryu growled. "Should know their place!" he cried, leaping up into a roundhouse kick. Akane flipped backwards and felt her blood start to boil. Another idiot boy who thought a girl's place was in the kitchen...

"Hiiiiyaaa!" Akane cried, attacking with one hand as fast as she could, slamming into his chest with her fist. He crashed into the wall behind him and crumpled to the ground unmoving. One of the other students went to check on him, and found him out cold.

"Ha!" a cry came from the back of the hall. "One punch from a girl, and he's out!"

"Yeah, I always knew he was a wimp..." another voice agreed. Akane rose slowly to look to the back to see two larger students laughing.

"Want to test your luck against me?" she asked.

"I'd rather see what red over there can do," the larger of the two laughed.

Akane looked to Ranma-chan, who shook her head. "Ya don't wanna do that, really," she replied, standing next to Akane. "Don't challenge me."

"No. I challenge you, redhead!" the boy said, standing. There was a hush in the Dojo suddenly, and a few of the teachers looked to Ranma-chan quickly. After being told not to issue a challenge, and then going right ahead... that really showed disrespect for the opponent.

"I don't think you should..." one of the teachers started to say to Ranma- chan.

Ranma-chan cut them off. "Fine. And let your friend help," she said, motioning for Akane to step back this time. "It'll be more interesting that way."

"Young girl, you should know that those two are our oldest students. Kotara and Jensu have not been beaten in years," the teacher closest to them explained.

"Well, it's about time someone did, then, isn't it?" Ranma-chan asked with a smile.

"Go easy on them, sensei. I doubt there is anyone as skilled at mending people as Dr. Tofu here in this village," Akane said in a soft voice, though it was loud enough to carry to everyone present.

"If I win," Kotara said as he walked to the centre of the Dojo. "You have to go on a date with me." His partner snickered.

"Ranma..." Akane said quietly, her voice full of anger at the thought of it.

"Fine," Ranma-chan replied without thought. "What if I win?"

Jensu laughed out loud, and Kotara smiled. "I'll give you my house, and live in the fields alone," he said. He then shook his head. "Like that's gonna happen. Why don't we just end this now, and go get ready for tonight?" he asked, licking his lips as he looked over Ranma-chan.

Ranma-chan shuddered and adopted a loose stance. "I'd rather not." He then motioned that the boys could start whenever they were ready. As the two attacked from either side, there was a loud crunch as the floor splintered. When the dust cleared, Ranma-chan was standing next to Akane. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Akane looked at her, surprised that she would take the time out of the match to make sure everything was ok. "You have to ask? They want to go out with you! But..." Akane stumbled over her words. She suddenly realized that she had her mallet in her hand.

"Look, I'm all yours, ok," Ranma-chan whispered quickly, and the mallet disappeared again. Akane found herself wishing even more than she understood it. "Don't worry about it." She gave Akane a quick kiss of the cheek, and Akane froze. When she noticed, Ranma-chan bleached. "Sorry. Forgot for a moment there..."

"Get back to the fight!" Akane cried, pushing her back to where the two boys were getting up a little dazed. She touched her cheek lightly and smiled. Ranma was willing to publicly show his affection for once... even if she was a girl at the time...

Ranma-chan spun aside from another attack, and leapt into the rafters of the Dojo. "That the best you two have?" she called. Enraged, the two grabbed bokkens from the side of the room and hurtled them at Ranma-chan.

She kicked them both aside as she dropped. "For cryin out loud, Kuno's more of a challenge than these idiots," she muttered. "Wanna take over, Akane?" she called.

Akane nodded. She would show those two just what would happen when someone tried to take her Ranma away from her. As Ranma-chan stepped back, Akane ran forward. Kotara spun around to kick her, but she wasn't there suddenly.

Instead, she had caught Jensu by the arm and had spun him into the way of the kick. She then leapt back, giving the two a moment to recompose themselves. Suddenly, the two of them ran at her together. Jensu leapt into the air to attack from above, while Kotara attacked directly.

There was a loud crash as Jensu crashed into the wall of the Dojo moments later. He was quickly followed by Kotara who, upon impact, caused the two of them to break through the wall and land outside.

"I believe that is match," she said, breathing heavily. "Honestly... underestimating Ranma's martial arts ability, of all things..." she shook her head. Ranma-chan came up behind her.

"They did it to you, too."

Akane froze as she saw two unsheathed katanas come flying at Ranma-chan's back. Jensu and Kotara apparently did not take kindly to the brutal defeat. "Ranma, look out!" she shouted.

Ranma-chan turned in an instant and put her hands together and closed her eyes. Akane cried out when the katanas almost hit Ranma-chan, but stopped herself as the redhead spun aside and grasped the hilts to both and impaled them in the ground at her feet. She then rose and turned to the exit to the surprise and shock of the two would-be assailants. She couldn't explain how the smaller girl had done it, but that fact wasn't exactly on her mind at the moment.

Both Ranma-chan and Akane walked over to them. "How's the fire, Akane?" Ranma-chan asked her. Akane grinned. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma cried out as she lashed out at the closest boy. Akane did likewise to the other.

The two then turned back to face the others, and found a teacher bowing to them. "I apologize for the behaviour of my students. They will be duly punished, I assure you," he said quickly. He looked over to Kotara and Jensu, and saw that they hadn't moved since the two had attacked them.

"Don't worry about it," Ranma-chan's cheery voice said. Obviously, she had put the attempt on her life behind her already, as though such a thing happened to her all the time - which wouldn't be far from the truth, all things considered. "They should be alright in a few days. Before that... I wouldn't move them after getting them to a bed..." As she spoke, the two toppled over and lay unmoving on the ground.

Ranma-chan smiled apologetically to Akane as her stomach growled again. "We were told that we could get some food here," Akane said, turning to the teacher at their feet.

"We were told to serve the husband and wife when they arrive..." the teacher said, standing. He looked at the two of them funny. "Should we have been given a better explanation?"

Akane looked embarrassed as she remembered that Ranma-chan had kissed her on the cheek a few minutes ago in front of everyone. "N... no," she stammered. "I am the wife, but this is Ranko. She is Ranma's twin sister. She tends to go wherever he does," she explained.

"So I'm basically her sister... er... in-law, that's all," Ranma-chan explained, trying to help with the alibi. He was really bad at the whole lying thing, and was really glad that Akane had remembered the story they usually told.

The teacher's eyes narrowed. "How did you get in then, Ranko? This valley is sealed..." He looked out the Dojo doors. "And where is Ranma, then?"

"The... uh... power of twins?" Ranma-chan suggested hopefully. Akane nodded quickly, and then motioned to the building they had just come from.

"Ranma is still asleep. He was badly injured, if you can recall," Akane explained. "He still isn't ready to be up and moving around just yet."

The teacher nodded. "Very well. Let me show you to the kitchen," he suggested, motioning to the back of the Dojo, where a door stood slightly ajar. Ranma-chan and Akane thanked the teacher and made their way back.

As soon as they were inside, Ranma-chan set a kettle of water on the stove to heat, and then turned back to Akane. "Akane..." she trailed off. After a few minutes she looked back to her. "Sorry. I really shouldn't have done that out there... hit me and get it over with."

Akane frowned. "No, you shouldn't have. And you really shouldn't go around kissing me anyway out in the open like that. I can just picture our parents now..." she sighed. "But I'll let you get away with it this time, baka," she added.

"Just hit me, Akane."

Akane lifted her hand slowly, and slapped Ranma-chan on the cheek very lightly. So lightly that there was barely a sound from it. "Now that I've hit you, I want to show you how much I appreciated it." Akane darted in and caught Ranma-chan on the lips with her own.

Ranma-chan's eyes opened wide in surprise, but she surrendered completely to the kiss after just a second or two went by. She pressed herself against Akane's body, and felt Akane's warmth spreading through her. Her hands started roaming up and down Akane's back, and she could feel Akane's hands on her. She started to open her mouth to allow their tongues to dance together when a whistling from the kettle behind them brought her back to reality and she broke free.

She picked up the kettle and poured the water on her head and yelped. It was quite a bit hotter than she had expected. When he set the kettle down, his eyes returned to Akane. She had a hungry look to her, and she launched herself at him again.

He caught her in his arms and kissed her again. Although he knew that their ki was not joined at the time, he knew that their hearts were. Akane opened her mouth at the same time as he did, and he felt her tongue exploring his mouth even as his danced about in hers.

He cupped her bum in his hands and picked her up slightly to hold her closer as they kissed. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and he could feel her pressing more and more into the kiss the longer it went. Her legs wrapped around him slowly too as he held her up. Reluctantly he broke away and forced himself to just look into her eyes.

His own hunger for her was mirrored to him as he saw what she wanted from him. Akane then shook her head, which brought her back to reality. Ranma set her down slowly. "Wow..." she whispered, touching her lips with her fingers.

Ranma smiled. "Yeah..."

"When are we getting married again?" Akane asked slowly, as though considering something very carefully.

"When we get back home and sort everything out, remember?" Ranma replied with a grin.

"I hope that doesn't take too long."

Ranma nodded his agreement and looked about the room for food as he heard Akane's stomach echoing his own. They found rice balls quickly enough, and set into finishing them off before they heard a knock on the door.

Ranma dove for a glass of cold water and dumped it on herself quickly before opening the door. Tzusu was standing there, looking quite surprised to see Ranma-chan dripping wet. He had thought she should have been dry by then...

He let himself into the room quickly, and shut the door behind him. He then looked to Akane. "I have some bad news for you, I'm afraid," Tzusu said slowly. He closed his eyes. He hated delivering bad news. "Ranma is missing."

To his surprise, Akane smiled and laughed. "Oh, don't worry about him. He's always going off somewhere to train. Even when he should be here." She then looked to Ranma-chan. "I guess I should introduce you to Ranko," she added.

Ranma-chan bowed slightly to the old man. "Good ta meet ya, Tzusu," she said.

"I guess Akane already told you about me, did she?" he asked, surprised that this new girl would know who he was. Before Ranma-chan could answer, the kettle whistled again. She quickly removed it from heat and set it aside. She would have been happier using it, but it just wasn't the right time. Not with Tzusu standing right there.

"Uh... yeah. Ranma told me some stuff, too," Ranma-chan managed a fake smile that she was sure was convincing enough. "Ya know how twins are, right? Always telling each other everything..."

"You two must be some truly strange twins, then," Tzusu said, shaking his head.

"They are," Akane reassured him. "Sometimes I think Ranko loves me almost as much as Ranma," she said as a small blush crept up her face as she looked into Ranma-chan's eyes. They were both remembering the past few minutes together...

"Well, I suppose if you aren't concerned about Ranma, then I shouldn't be either," Tzusu said eventually. "That was quite the display in there, by the way. I heard the full story from Honairu," he explained. Before either of them could blush, because they thought he was referring to the kiss, he went on. "Those two have needed someone to teach them a lesson for quite some time now. Honairu was the teacher who pointed out this room to you, by the way."

"We'll have to thank him, then," Ranma-chan said with a smile.

"Don't forget to bring some food back for Ranma. Goodness knows he'll be hungry. A ki transfer of that long must have been incredibly taxing..." Tzusu shook his head and left the room.

"I will," Ranma-chan said with a grin as Tzusu left. Once the door had shut, she continued. "And I am."

Akane swatted at her and laughed. "That was a little too close for comfort, though," she sighed. "How the heck are we going to pull this one off? If we have to defeat this Lord of Shadows..."

"We'll worry about that later, Acchan," Ranma's voice said he was male again. "But first, I've gotta tell ya something before I forget. About that last match you fought."

"Did you just call me Acchan?" Akane asked with a blush.

"Yeah. That okay in private?" He swallowed hard as he looked into Akane's eyes. That's what I could come up with as a good pet name, anyway... please say it's okay...

"So long as you don't mind if I call you Ran-chan," she replied. Even though Ukyo calls you that all the time... you are my Ran-chan, though...

Ranma nodded. "Now, about that match. Ya got angry too easily, and left yourself wide open. They should'a been able ta hit ya... your entire right side was exposed."

"What?" Akane demanded, standing suddenly from her chair to stare at him. "How dare you tell me to control my temper? You get mad all the time!"

"Yeah. Mad is alright. Mad leaves ya with some control. Angry is too far, though. There is a huge difference," Ranma explained. "If ya're willing... I'll help ya with that, too."

Akane gulped and closed her eyes. "I am willing to learn anything you are willing to teach me," she said softly. It wasn't the first time he had mentioned such things to her, she knew that much. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long until she stopped hearing it altogether...

"Good. Tzusu explained to me a bit about your ki attack on the mountain. We'll start with something smaller when we get to ki attacks, kay?" he asked with a grin. "Though that did sound pretty neat. Phoenix Fist?" he asked.

"Well... you are more linked to dragons, I'd say. You have your Hiryu Shoten Ha, right?" she pressed him. It didn't matter that Cologne had taught him the move. Not everyone could learn it. "Well, I don't really know... the words just came to me. I guess my calling is towards the Phoenix instead."

"That's one thing ya have that I'll never have," Ranma sighed.

"What, I can't be better than you at anything?" she asked, angry again suddenly.

"Anger, Acchan," Ranma reminded her. "Do ya really think Shampoo or Kodachi are going to be nice when they try to fight ya?"

"Answer my question, Ranma." He heard the ice in her voice, and the fact that she did not call him Ran-chan did not go unnoticed. Also not unnoticed was the hammer that had once again appeared.

"Ya can be, Acchan," he reassured her slowly. The words were really hard for him to say. "I will never be able to use the same ki attacks as you. Though I think when ya know enough, we might be able to combine a few of them..."

Akane stared at him, not sure what to say. He had just told her that she would be better than he was with her own attacks. Two different paths, and she was on one while he was on the other. She was okay with that. "Joined attacks?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah. We have to be pretty close for that though, ya know... And I just thought that... ya know... we might be able to work together and do that..." he stammered.

"Oh, Ran-chan!" she cried, throwing her arms around him again. When she pulled away, she looked into Ranma's eyes, trying to read him. "Why didn't you mention Ukyo when you were talking about anger?"

Ranma looked away. "Sorry, Acchan. I think of Ucchan as a good friend. I don't think she would try to fight you. I hope we are good enough friends for her to just be happy for us." He looked back to her. "Can you understand what I mean?"

Akane shook her head. "Ran-chan, you are entirely too naïve," she sighed. "But with any luck, you will be right in this case. I don't hate Ukyo either."

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Ranma stood quickly, letting go of Akane. Looking around, he saw a window, and saw that it had stopped raining. Akane saw it too. "Go," she urged. He nodded and leapt through the window as Akane opened the door to admit Tzusu again.

"Oh, Ranko is gone," he said with some surprise. "I was just going to bring her a better fitting shirt. That one looked a little big on her. I guess her brother gave it to her at the healing building?" Akane nodded, and he smiled. "I understand." Before he could say another word, there was a crash out in the Dojo.

Rushing out, Akane and Tzusu saw Ranma at the door. He had just burst in. The students and teachers all looked at him in shock, and he smiled. "I am Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," he announced in a loud voice. "Where is Akane, and where can I get something to eat?"

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Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken: Chestnuts Roasting in a Fire. The technique was originally meant as just a method of improving speed, but Ranma adapted it for use in fights, too. The punches are so fast that hundreds appear as only one or two. It is of interest to note, incidentally, that Akane learned this simply by observing Ranma and taking part in his other training. She pulled this off - for the first time - in the Village of No Return against those who tried to fight Ranma dishonourably.