Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Hakkou Nermia ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter Ten: Departing the Lost Village

With a loud clap of thunder, the Lord of the Shadows leapt towards Akane, intending on ending it quickly. He knew of her energy, and wanted it desperately. Phoenix powers meant healing powers...

Ranma countered his airborne attack with one of his own, forcing the Lord to land elsewhere. Akane was ready for his landing, and pulled out her ki mallet. "Take me? For what?" she demanded, hammering the Lord into the ground.

With another clap of thunder, the Lord vanished, only to reappear where he had started. "You really think ki will do you any good here?" he demanded. "Eat this, boy!" he cried, funneling an attack through both hands towards Ranma.

Ranma held up his hands to block, but was knocked into the Dojo wall by a torrent of water. Standing quickly, she shook her hair out of her eyes. "Why does it always have to be water?" she demanded, jumping to kick the Lord to the ground.

The Lord countered with a kick of his own, and the Lord's legs were longer than Ranma-chan's. A lot longer. Ranma-chan fell to the ground, and looked to Akane as she cried out in fury. The taller girl struck hard in the chest of the Lord, sending him toppling backwards, taking out a small home behind him.

The villagers were all out by now, trying to figure out what was going on. When they saw the Lord of Shadows, they hid the best they could, and prayed that Ranko and Akane would be able to stop him. They all knew that if Ranma showed up as well, then they would be free of his influence.

The Lord stood quickly and swung outwards with his hand. Although no one could see anything, both Ranma-chan and Akane were sent flying backwards by the attack. The Lord gave chase to the two wounded martial artists, and was stopped by Ranma-chan standing in front of an injured Akane. She had caught her left leg on the steps leading up to the healing building. The ankle was twisted in a horrible position, and at best it was a bad sprain.

"You will not hurt her again, Shadow Lord," Ranma-chan snarled. She heard Akane pulling herself up the steps and heard the door shut behind her. "It's just you and me, now. Care to shed your pathetic disguise, or are you really that much of a coward?" she taunted.

The Lord laughed. "You think to stand before me alone, girl?" He voice was dark and booming. "Very well. In the face of such courage, I will reveal myself to you!" With that, the black cloak was thrown from his shoulders, revealing a man who was the spitting image of Tzusu, only much larger. It also revealed that he had drawn his katana.

"Tzusu?" Ranma-chan asked, stepping back.

"I am sometimes," the Lord replied. "When I am in a weaker state, that fool takes over. But in my full strength, given to me by that fool girl when she used that purple stone, I am in control!"

"Damn," Ranma-chan muttered. No freezing the enemy into oblivion here. She hated thinking that she had to kill the enemy to escape. She had killed once before, and never wanted to have to do it again. "You will not be another Saffron," she said loudly enough for Tzusu to hear her, but not loud enough for her voice to carry. "I will stop you, and you will not harm Akane!"

"And you think you are enough to stop me?" Tzusu laughed. "You should have fled when you got the chance, Ranko!" With a broad sweep, the katana cleaved the roof off several of the surrounding houses, but missed Ranma-chan entirely.

Did he really not notice that I was a guy when this battle started? "Fool!" she cried, darting forward before Tzusu could recover from his own attack. "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Revised Air Attack!" Ranma-chan bellowed as she leapt into the air to strike at Tzusu's stomach region.

When she fell back, Tzusu was looking down at his stomach. "Was that supposed to hurt?" he laughed.

Damn! In my girl form, I don't have the strength to hurt him!

"Time to finish you off, girl!" the Lord of the Shadows laughed, lifting a hand towards the redhead. Ranma-chan leapt backwards, not sure what type of attack was coming, and screamed as a flurry of flames shot from the large being's hand and washed over her.

Focus, Ranma, focus... she thought to herself, searching deep within herself. She crossed her arms as calmly as she could and thought, painfully, of the last time flames had washed over her. She shivered in the red hot blast suddenly as a large ice wall formed before her, freeing her from their confines of heat and terror.

She fell to the ground panting, ignoring the pain the best she could. Even as she thought about the heat, though, she felt more ice seeping from her, sealing her burns, and mending her broken, burned body. Placing both hands on her stomach once she could move again, she tried to force the feeling down.

The ice won't stop... she thought desperately to herself as the ground started to freeze around her, and her breath started forming icicles in the air in front of her. It... won't...

On pure instinct she flipped backwards, landing hard on the ground again, just managing to avoid the massive katana from cleaving her in two. She stood after a moment, and flexed her smaller muscles experimentally. The shock must have sealed it again.

"It will take more'n fire ta finish me!" she said defiantly, hoping that he wouldn't try such an attack again. She doubted seriously if she would be able to stop the ice the next time.

The next swing of the katana she leapt over, and found herself standing by the dojo doors. She looked up in surprise to find one of the students standing there, trembling. "Get outta here!" she shouted, motioning for him to run.

The student shook his head and held out his hands. Ranma-chan was surprised to find that he was holding two katanas out to him. Frowning, she took one of the weapons in either hand and turned back to face Tzusu the enchanted.

"I `ate usin weapons..." she muttered to herself as she held them in a defensive position. "Fine, my ki won't hurt ya, huh? Then try da bite a steel!" she shouted, rushing forward. She leapt over the katana again, and rolled to the side of a blast of ice that came her way. Once on her feet again, she turned back to him. "Just how are ya doin all dat?" she demanded, breathing more heavily than she wanted to admit.

"When you possess the ki of a hundred people, you find that you can do almost anything!" Tzusu laughed, pointing his katana at Ranma-chan. "And to prove it, I will now cut you down, Ranko!"

Ranma-chan brought both her blades around to parry the incoming attack, but found one of them wrenched from her grip, and then she flew through the air to crash against the dojo wall hard. She dropped the other blade as she fell to the ground.

I need my male strength... she thought to herself in vain. I can't fail Akane... not now. She's hurt, `nd dependin on me. She stood slowly and deliberately, and faced Tzusu weaponless again. "I ain't lettin her down!"

"Ranma!" Akane cried from the doors of the healing building that she had ducked into. Chancing a glance over, Ranma-chan saw that Akane had a kettle of hot water in both hands. Akane threw the first one, and Ranma-chan dove to catch it.

Crash!

Tzusu had seen the dive before it had happened and struck Ranma-chan while she was in the air, knocking her into the ground. She peeled herself up as fast as she could, leaping out of the crater the impact had caused. As she landed again, Tzusu's foot caught her in the middle and sent her flying backwards to crash into the base of the mountain.

Tzusu chased after the fallen Ranma-chan, and lifted his sword to end it quickly. Before he could stop, though, Ranma-chan had gotten to her feet and dashed forward. "Yakitori Gatame!" she cried, flipping forward to land on one hand as she kicked as his waist. As her feet connected, Tzusu flew backwards into the air, landing with a crash in the middle of the village again.

Tzusu stood just as Ranma-chan arrived to kick him again, though this time it was in the chest. This kick wasn't as effective, though it did knock the Lord of Shadows backwards. Ranma-chan chanced a look to Akane, and saw that she had wrapped bandages around her ankle so she could still move, and she was running towards her with the kettle in her hand.

"You fight well, Ranko," Tzusu said, standing tall and causing Ranma-chan to look back to him quickly. "But do you know why they call me the Lord of Shadows?" He spread both his arms wide, and all light was gone suddenly. Ranma-chan fell forward face first as something forced its way into her mind.

She heard screaming children near by. Picking herself up, Ranma-chan could see a few kids climbing over the furniture, and she heard herself tell them to stop misbehaving. They had to ship up soon, or they wouldn't be accepted at the Dojo.

She turned and bowed to her husband as he entered the room. Tatewaki Kuno held her in his arms, and looked to the kids. "You still haven't brought them under control, Pigtailed goddess?" he asked.

Ranma-chan decked Kuno in the jaw, causing him to topple backwards out cold. Something wasn't right... what was it? The kids were fine, they were usually a handful. What was missing? She looked around carefully, and spotted a picture that was overturned on the bookshelf. Climbing up, she turned it upright and found herself staring at Akane.

Only she was not looking at a picture. She was in a black area, and she could only see Akane. She called out, but to no avail. "What's going on?" she demanded. Suddenly, she could hear other voices.

"Akane, you have to move on. He's gone. And he's not coming back this time!" The voice belonged to Nabiki. "I've had all of my people looking for him, and not one lead. There is no way he could have survived. I'm... sorry."

"No, Nabiki!" Akane shouted at her sister. "No! Don't tell me to give up hope! I've waited for ten years to see Ranma again. I'll wait another ten if it means I will see him! I am not giving up on Ranma!"

Ranma-chan buckled and fell to her knees. Ranma was dead? "How did he die?" she asked out loud. Even as she asked, something didn't seem right about that statement.

Akane kept talking. "He said he was going for a cure, even though I told him I didn't care. I loved him the way he was. But that baka had to go and..." she stopped and sniffled back a sob. "He'll be back. And he'll be good old Ranma again..." she sighed, and looked outside through the open window. "Come home soon, Ranma..."

"No!" Ranma-chan cried, standing up again. She suddenly knew what was wrong. She was a girl. She was supposed to be a guy... "I didn't die! I was... what was I doing?" she asked, looking around. There was something in her pocket that caught her attention. When she pulled it out, she found herself looking at a small blue stone.

In her hand, the stone turned to a piece of ice that started to grow, wrapping her hand, and then her arm slowly. "No!" she said fiercely. "I ain't goin down ta this! Not now... I'm in the middle a something important..." She didn't know what she was doing, but knew it couldn't wait. As the ice started to take her body as well, she had a vision of flames and Saffron all over again. Again? "Tzusu!" she shouted.

Her world around her shattered, leaving just the darkness. She pulled herself to her knees, and heard laughter ahead of her. She stood slowly and flexed her muscles. Tzusu was going to pay for that...

Akane screamed as she fell into the water. She couldn't see anything, and the water wasn't helping anything. She splashed around, trying in vain to find one of the sides of the body of water she had fallen into. The shadows were surrounding her.

She tried to move in the water, but couldn't. Finally, she took a deep breath as she went under. Hopefully she could reach the bottom quickly so she could push her way out. It had worked once before... maybe it could save her again.

It had worked once before... something was wrong. She knew she couldn't swim. But she could see. Why couldn't she even see the water that surrounded her? It made no sense. Something had to give. The shadows were overpowering.

The shadows. This had happened before. She had been tricked by them on the mountain, and she went to save Ranma when he almost...

Akane screamed as loud as she could. The water wasn't real. None of it was. As she kicked the rocks at the bottom of the pool of water, her ankle throbbed in pain. She was supposed to be fighting Tzusu, Lord of Shadows! She was supposed to be helping her fiancée fight! They were a team! An unbeatable team!

As she latched onto the thought, she world shattered, and she found herself standing in a very dark place. She could hear Ranma-chan's heavy breathing in front of her, and could sense the powerful enemy they were fighting.

She ran forward quickly, and sensed Ranma-chan turn to her. Quickly, she dumped the hot water over Ranma-chan, and together, the two faced Tzusu again. "Akane," Ranma said softly. "Can you fight with your ankle like that?" he asked.

"Of course. I'm not about to let you have all the fun here!" she exclaimed.

"Good. Ya know the last part of our kata?" he asked.

"Yeah." She blushed at the fact that he called it their kata, but he couldn't tell. Besides, it wasn't the time or the place to get caught up in such affairs.

"Hand motion is important with ki attacks," he explained quickly. "You've seen the Shishi Houkou Dan a few times now, and have seen the hands. You've seen my Moko Takabisha in response, with the same hand movement."

"Yeah," she said quickly. "What about it?"

"The end of our kata is the reversal of that hand movement. Focus on your ki and do the motion. Together," he urged. "Konzen Seikon Kishuu."

"Konzen Seikon Kishuu?" she repeated uncertainly.

"Don't think, just do it," he insisted. "Now!"

Together, they raised their hands and put them in front of themselves, forming a triangle with their fingers. They were facing each other as they turned their hands to point at themselves. Hot and cool auras spread quickly as both called on their energy quickly. "Konzen Seikon Kishuu!" they cried. Akane almost faltered when she realized that, for once, it was Ranma's aura that was cold, and hers that was warm.

With a flash of light, the shadows vanished in an instant from around them. Not only did this allow them to see, but it allowed them to see Tzusu swinging downwards with his katana to strike them both. Ranma pushed Akane aside and dove to the side himself. He knew Akane's ankle wasn't up to pushing off the ground with any speed.

"Tzusu!" Ranma cried, leaping to his feet and jumping onto the flat of the katana. "This ends now!" With his speed at full, and his strength back to the way he was used to, he dashed the length of the katana and leapt off Tzusu's hand. When he was right before his face, he lashed out with his hands. "Haku Dato Shin Sho!" Akane couldn't even see his hands moving as he struck. The move was even faster than the Chestnuts technique, and quite a bit more powerful.

As Ranma fell to the ground, Akane punched the air in front of her as she gathered her ki together for an attack. Apparently the Lord's defenses were down if Ranma's ki attacks would work. She was surprised by the calm intensity that had gripped her, and looked forward at the swirling mass of energy that had formed in front of her. It was calling to her, and she couldn't ignore it. "Genko Fenikkusu!" she cried into the swirling winds left by Ranma's snake bite attack. Her own ki mixed with that of Ranma's attack, and funneled towards Tzusu. The Lord let out a mighty cry of pain as flaming wings shot forth and struck him fully in the chest, blowing him backwards. He landed hard on the ground and lay unmoving. It was only a matter of seconds before he returned to a normal size.

Akane hit the ground moments later. Ranma didn't care about Tzusu one way or the other. He knew the amount of energy Akane had just summoned. He had to admit that the move seemed extremely powerful, but too powerful for her to use like she just did. She didn't have the energy to do that! Ranma clasped one of her hands, and found it to be ice cold. As cold as the ice that had tried to take him. She opened her eyes and looked up to him.

"I did it!" she breathed. "The Phoenix Fist!"

"I saw, Acchan," he said quietly. "But you drained a lot of your energy to do it. I'll look after you now, don't worry," he whispered. "Tzusu is gone." He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. He immediately felt his ki energy, more rampant that it had been since they arrived in the village in the first place. He took a deep breath and ran to the building they had originally been in. Kicking the door down, he leapt to one of the beds. He felt his own energy fading fast. The ki transfer would ensure that Akane regained her strength quickly, but it was draining him temporarily.

He landed on one of the beds and rolled so Akane was lying on top of him in her usual position. Ranma then closed his eyes. "Sleep well, Acchan," he whispered to her as she closed her eyes. "I've got you," he said.

It took a few days to sort out everything in the village. Tzusu was bound in tight ropes and kept under constant surveillance, and the teacher Honairu took over in his place. The first thing he did was put a new door in the clinic where Ranma and Akane lay. He also put two guards at the door to make sure the two were not disturbed. He could sense their ki working to heal them quickly. But he knew it would take time.

Not only that, but he could sense ki in the rest of the village as well. With the defeat of Tzusu, the binding on ki was shattered. Honairu knew that he would have to speak to Ranma before the two left about training people in the use of their ki.

It was several days before anyone saw Ranma or Akane again. Honairu had had food placed in the clinic so they could eat without being disturbed. He didn't know how long it would take for them to recover, but he would make sure that they could recover in peace. He had a lot of questions for them, too.

The quarter moon shone little light down upon the sleeping village.

Ranma came back from the sink after washing his face with the warm water. He felt dirty, still, and knew that he really needed a hot spring if nothing else. He sat down on the bed next to Akane and stroked her hair out of her eyes. Such a simple action, yet meaning so much. She awoke at his touch and smiled up to him.

"Feeling any better, Acchan?" he asked her in a whisper.

Akane groaned and tried to sit up. This time, Ranma held her down. She collapsed again, still exhausted by the efforts she had put forward to take down Tzusu. She closed her eyes and smiled. "We did it, though, Ran-chan."

Ranma nodded. "We did. But next time, I think we are going to have to tone down your attack," he explained. "It is dangerous to be drained of all ki too often in such a short span. First, the healing after Ryoga..." he trailed off, not wanting to say anything more about that. "And now this."

She smiled. "Well, master, you'll just have to teach me a thing or two, then, won't you?" she asked. Ranma nodded.

"Do you want me to explain a few things about attacking with ki now?" he asked. She opened her eyes to say that she was listening, and he went on. "There are very few attacks like the Hiryu Shoten Ha or your Genko Fenikkusu. They just take too much out of a person, and are too powerful to use in everyday combat." There are others, too. Like my freezing ki... he shuddered. It did not bode well to dwell on the battle with Saffron. And that ice wall... some are far to dangerous to ever be used... "Other attacks, like your mallet, or my Haku Dato Shin Sho are used more often, and take a lot less energy. But they take just as much control. Sometimes more."

"More?" she queried. That didn't make a lot of sense.

"Well, the Hiryu Shoten Ha, for example, just happens if I call on the energy when the enemy has funnelled their own ki into a white hot rage. Your Genko Fenikkusu works with a funnel too, I noticed. You used the funnel left by my snake bite to channel the attack," he explained. "As for stuff like the snake bite, it takes a lot more control because I am hitting hundreds of times in rapid succession, so fast that it looks like only one or two punches instead of hundreds. Also, you must strike the proper areas for it to be the most effective."

"I guess that makes sense."

"So, once you can get up and move about, I'll show you a bit, like the one handed kick, or maybe something else. We'll see," he added with a grin.

"I thought you said we would practice summoning auras first..." she pouted. "I was really looking forward to that training."

At that suggestion, Ranma leaned in and pressed his lips against hers lightly. She clamped her arms around him suddenly, and he found himself landing on top of her. The kiss that started out lightly quickly became more and more passionate. When he felt her tongue against his, he pulled back to look into her eyes. He could see the hunger there, and knew it mirrored his own.

"Not everything..." Akane whispered. "But I wouldn't object to a good tickling from you like you are now..." Ranma kissed her again, and when he pulled away, they were both gasping for breath.

Akane could feel his hands trembling as he pulled at the buttons of her blouse. After a moment she swatted his hands away and undid them herself. She left the shirt covering her, though, wanting him to do something about it instead.

Leaning down, Ranma pushed the blouse away from her soft skin with his hands as he kissed just below her neck, along her collar. His hands caught on the straps to her bra, and she lifted her shoulders so he could push the straps down. Moving his hands with the straps, he caught the cups of the bra and caressed her breasts through the fabric.

Akane moaned loudly and arched her back again, thrusting her breasts more firmly into his strong hands. He squeezed a little harder, causing her to cry out in ecstasy, and he lowered his head to her chest. Slowly, he pushed her bra aside and latched onto one of her nipples with his mouth. She cried out again as his tongue danced around the firm bud as his other hand was pressed against her bare breast.

After a few minutes, Ranma moved to the other breast, to lick and caress it with his mouth and tongue as well. His other hand started squeezing the wet nipple from her left breast, and pulling slightly at it. She arched up again in pleasure, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of Ranma against her.

She felt somehow empty when he pulled away from her breasts, but that feeling vanished as soon as he kissed her again. She caught him and pulled him down to her again, holding him in the kiss that he started, and she didn't intend to let finish for quite some time.

When they finally broke away from the kiss, Akane sighed her pleasure, and Ranma smiled. "How's that?" he asked her with a grin, flicking his fingers over her still hardened nipples lightly.

"Oh Ranma..." she whispered as her back arched involuntarily at his touch. "Oh... Ranma..." she whispered again, apparently at a loss for any other words. "I love you so much, Ranma."

Her words were tearing at him, and he felt his control wavering. One of his hands started inching slowly down her side, though he wasn't sure if she noticed. Just a little further, and he would be on her hip, which was close to his goal. He started paying careful attention to the breast he was licking, making sure she was whispering and moaning more and more.

Just as he was about to slip his hand from her hip to her crotch, he felt it, and faltered, his hand catching him on the bed before he collapsed on top of her. The ice was building, all over again. He cursed to himself, knowing that he couldn't do anything else... even though he desperately wanted to, and he knew that she did, as well. She was willing, he could feel the heat emanating from her loins. But he felt his control slipping already. She moaned slightly as he pulled his lips away from sucking at her erect nipple, and with one last lick around it, he sat up a bit more.

He released her breasts after a moment of just caressing them with his hands, and pulled her bra back up to cover them again. He gave her a light kiss along her collar again, and then pulled the bra straps back up. She whimpered her protest, but he shook his head. "I love you too, Akane. That's why I'm stopping now... before either of us does something that they'd rather wait to do until... er..."

"The honeymoon," Akane supplied as he did the buttons to her blouse back up.

"Yeah," he said with a forced smile. He hated lying to her, especially at such an intimate moment, but how would she respond? He then pushed himself up a bit and looked down. I need something else to concentrate on, to force the ice down again. Something that I can take complete control with... Akane blushed as she thought he was just staring at her figure, but the colour faded before he looked back to her. "How's the ankle doing?"

Akane frowned slightly. I guess he wasn't really looking at me, was he? How can he just stop like that? I feel like I want him here and now, but he seems indifferent. Like he's just doing it to make me happy... She twisted her left ankle about. "A little sore, but not too bad," she said. What's wrong, Ranma? She couldn't ask him, but she wanted to. Desperately. She had to know if he was as attracted to her as she was to him. And not just her mind, either, but her body too. She loved all of him... did he love all of her? She had felt his hand on her hip, and was praying as she moaned that he would move it in, and start using his skilled hands on another part of her...

Ranma stood and placed his hands around her ankle. "How's this?" he asked as he started to massage the bottom of her feet. Although she didn't want to admit it, it did feel pretty good. Akane just wanted him to be facing her... and paying attention to a different part of her anatomy. Several different parts. She sighed. It was probably for the best, though. She was willing to go all the way, but she knew that they shouldn't. She just hated to think that he had better control of his lust than she did. "What's wrong?" He must have heard the sigh.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It just feels good, Ran-chan."

"It's suppos'ta," he said with a smile before turning back to her feet, focusing his entire being into the task at hand. After he finished with one, he turned to the other and did the same thing. "There. Now, it is late at night, and I think we should get some sleep," he explained, standing. Before she could stop him, he had dumped a glass of cold water over himself. "Shall we?" she asked Akane after drying herself off a bit.

Akane nodded. If she couldn't lie down with Ranma as a guy, at least she could have him as a girl. She wouldn't change that fact for anything. The moment she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, she felt a lot more tired than she had been earlier. She could feel their kis mixing... still healing her of her loss of energy, she supposed. Closing her eyes, she felt Ranma-chan relax in her grip, and she, too, fell asleep.

When the sun came streaming in the window, both girls woke up feeling that they would have preferred more sleep. Ranma turned to face Akane slowly, not wanting her to let go just yet. "We were out of it for about five days, Acchan," she said softly.

"Five days?" she demanded.

"Yeah. Saw the moon last night. It's a full quarter now, when it was only just fading from a new moon when that battle happened. Feeling up to anything yet?" she asked.

"Of course, Ran-chan," she replied. Before either knew what was happening, they both leaned in to kiss the other. Almost as soon as it started, Ranma-chan pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Acchan," she said softly. "I just don't think its right for me to do that as a girl..." Akane sat up to face Ranma-chan, but the other girl had already gotten out of bed and was at the stove heating water. Akane didn't know what she should say. She knew it was wrong for her to be attracted to the girl, especially as much as she was...

But it is Ranma I'm talking about here, she thought to herself. It's not like I feel that way about any other girls... just Ranma-chan. Because I love Ranma, I love all of him... and her. But Ranma doesn't feel that's okay. Is he trying to protect me, or himself? She knew she would have to talk to someone about it soon. She found herself wishing that they could go home again.

"Hey, Akane!" Ranma's voice was suddenly very loud in her ear, and she looked up at him, startled. He grinned. "Good, you are still with me," he said. "Been calling to you for a bit now. What's on your mind?"

"N... nothing," Akane said quickly. "I'm feeling a lot better today, Ran-chan."

"Good. Then we can get out of here today with any luck," he replied, motioning to the door. The two saw food that was left for them, and they ate the breakfast quickly. Both were starving. Once they had finished, they pushed open the doors.

With a mighty crash, two bodies ended up at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the clinic. Ranma and Akane looked down in surprise to find two men who were armed, and quite dazed. "What's going on?" Akane asked out loud.

The men scrambled to their feet quickly and gave a small salute. They looked quite embarrassed. "Sorry, ma'am. Fell asleep, I guess," the first of the men tried to explain.

"Doing what?" Ranma asked in a monotone.

"Keeping people from going in to bother you two," the other guard replied briskly. "Elder's orders!" he said quickly when he saw that Ranma didn't appear to appreciate the gesture. "Elder Honairu."

"Ah," Ranma said, his expression lightening. "So you guys dumped Tzusu, I guess."

"Once we figured out what happened, then everything fell into place quickly. The new elder wishes to speak with you two, though."

Akane caught Ranma's hand as he bounded down the steps, and she followed after. Having his hand felt so right all of a sudden, when a few weeks ago, she would have beaten anyone who suggested it to her.

When the two drew close to the Dojo, for they somehow knew that the new elder would be there, the doors parted to reveal the old teacher. "So, you two are awake. That is good news indeed," he said, bowing to them.

"Don't do that," Ranma said harshly. Akane nodded her agreement.

"Sorry," Honairu said quickly, getting to his feet again. He then motioned to the Dojo. "We can talk inside," he suggested quietly as a crowd was starting to gather. They all hoped to hear the details as well.

"Sure," Akane said, and she pulled Ranma inside before he could object. Once inside, she turned to the elder. "What's on your mind, Honairu?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what was... uh... `on your mind...' actually. I want to know what happened, and how. Some things just don't add up at all."

"Do they ever?" Ranma muttered. He knew Akane was better at handling these types of things, so he decided to stay relatively silent the best he could.

Akane glared at him, and then looked back to the elder. "Well, Tzusu attacked us, and we beat him. The hold of the shadows is broken from this village, and we were planning on leaving the valley and going home once we had packed our things," she explained.

Honairu nodded. "Well, I guess I should have expected that," he admitted. "Though the village will suffer without you two around. Saotome Ranma, you taught us well. And Tendo Akane, your presence seems to have breathed a new life into many of our girls. They plan on joining the Dojo thanks to you." He then stopped, and looked to Ranma after a moment. "I do have one question I would like answered, though, before you left. What exactly is your connection to Ranko?"

Ranma shrugged. "Not something easily explained, really."

"Well, I saw you start the fight, get wet, and Ranko suddenly appear. Then, after the darkness, you were back again. And I also noticed that Tendo Akane, while in the clinic to bind her injured ankle, retrieved two kettles of hot water. Why?"

"Could you stop that?" Akane suggested, trying to fight back her rage. The formal atmosphere really didn't agree with her at all. Honairu blinked and nodded after a moment.

"I am Ranko. And Ranma," Ranma said after some consideration. "Cold water turns me into a girl, while hot water turns me back," he explained with a sigh. "But I'd rather you didn't go spread that around. Ranko's image here seems to have inspired a few girls, too."

Wow, Ranma is actually concerned with women's rights... guess being a girl has taught him a few things... Akane thought to herself.

"But... how?" Honairu asked.

"Does it really matter?" Ranma asked, looking away uncomfortably.

"I... I suppose not," Honairu replied after a moment of tense silence.

After another few minutes of silence, Ranma turned to Akane. "Well, shall we get going then?" he suggested to her. She nodded, and the to left the Dojo to return to their house. Once they had gathered their things, Akane looked to Ranma expectantly.

"Any idea which direction is home?" she asked when he didn't say anything.

"Yup," he replied. "Give me some credit, Acchan," he suggested. "I'm not Ryoga here."

"Good thing, too." The anger in her voice reminded Ranma of the debt they owed to the lost boy when they met him the next time.

"Akane?" he called to her. When she looked, he looked away from her. "Just don't kill him, alright?" he requested. At her startled look, he sighed. "It's my fault... his curse. I think he has suffered enough. I won't stop you from getting revenge for him sleeping in your bed, but I don't want you to kill him."

"We owe him for trying to kill you, too, though," Akane pointed out angrily.

"I know," he sighed. "Please, Acchan?"

It was Akane's turn to sigh. She really couldn't say no to Ranma. She knew she couldn't, even if she wanted to. This was proof. She wanted to wipe Ryoga off the face of the Earth, but at Ranma's request, she would only beat him to an inch of his life instead. Akane nodded slowly. Before another word could be said, Ranma smiled, and started heading to the east.

When they reached the edge of the forest, he looked to her. Without him even asking the question, she nodded. She was ready to continue with the training, even if her ankle was a little sore. She wasn't about to let something like that stop her. They were in the trees in an instant, bounding along in the direction of home.

-----------------------

Yakitori Gatame: Not a ki powered attack, but a powerful move of deception. The technique involves rushing the enemy, then flipping to your hands at the last moment to kick them hard with both feet.

Konzen Seikon Kishuu: Harmony Soul Attack. Technically, however, the move is not an attack at all, but a counter attack to a blanket of darkness. It can be used to break through illusions and bring light to the darkest shadow. Must be done with two people, though - Ranma and Akane used this in their fight against the Lord of Shadows - Tzuzu.

Haku Dato Shin Sho: Fist of the Snake Bite. A ki powered attack of Ranma's, taken from the Umisen/Yumisen ken family created by his father. The snake bite hits the enemy hundreds of times again and again in vital areas, and is meant to either diminish or completely immobilize the enemy.

Genko Fenikkusu: Phoenix Fist. Akane's power move equalling Ranma's Hiryu Shoten Ha, it is a move that funnels her burning ki into a mass of energy that slams into the enemy like a flaming bird.