Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Jiyo ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven: The Others

"You did what?!" Ukyo's voice rang out through her restaurant. Customers from all directions stopped and stared at her. She didn't care. She grabbed the lost boy by the collar and lifted him up in front of her. "What?!" she demanded again.

"I think I killed..." Ryoga started. She threw him against the wall behind her, and turned to face him, pulling out her giant spatula as she did. The customers took that as a sign that it was time to leave. Quickly. The sharpened edge cut into the wood, but Ryoga had avoided harm by rolling to the side. "But I don't know!" he shouted as the weapon was descending again.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked, furious. If he had killed her Ran-chan, then she would kill him. Without question. Ranma was too precious to lose like that. She had been wondering where he was when she hadn't seen him for over a month.

"I mean I don't know! I was trying to find them in the woods, and when I did, I attacked him! After my Shishi Houkou Dan faded, there was no sign of them!"

"Them?" Ukyo demanded, setting her spatula down as a staff.

"Yeah! Him and Akane were takin a training trip together." The colour was drained out of his face as Ukyo's anger became even more apparent. "And they were gettin along, too."

"What?" she demanded.

"Would you calm down, please?" Ryoga asked quietly. "I came to you for help. You have always been able to find places. You may have noticed by now, but I have a bit of a problem in that regard..."

Ukyo snorted. A problem was one thing. He was struck with an epidemic, if nothing else. A plague of horrific directions. "So?"

"I was hoping you could help me look for them! Ya know, make sure they were alright. And not doing anything that might make them closer," he said in a rushed voice. That was enough to convince Ukyo that she would help.

"One question," she said, after ordering Konatsu to look after the store in her wake. Ryoga turned to her. "Did you tell Akari yet?" Ryoga shook his head as they left.

"I couldn't find her. I would have gone to her, cause I figured that you'd try ta kill me before I could explain," he said quickly, trying to get it all out before she exploded again. She simply nodded.

"Makes sense to me," she said curtly. "Let's go."

Above them on the roof, a shadow stirred as they walked away. She knew all she had to then. Leaping from roof to roof, she stopped above the Cat's Cafe and leap down to enter. "Mousse!" she yelled to the man waiting tables. Bowls of Ramen and soup crashed to the ground at she bellow as the man fumbled in surprise. "We going now." Turning, she left quickly, Mousse right behind her, completely ignoring Cologne's angry cries in the background. Before the two could go too far, Cologne had forced everyone to leave so she could close the store and catch up with them.

"What has gotten into you, great granddaughter?" she demanded, cracking both in the head with her staff before balancing on it to stare both of them in the face.

"Airen in trouble. Maybe dead. We go to find him before spatula girl and lost boy do," Shampoo explained. "If he live, we must stop him. He is with pervert girl in the woods. Training."

Cologne nodded, and the two took off down the street. She just stood there for a moment, thinking. If son-in-law has been training Akane, then that can only mean one of two things. And neither is good. Maybe he has made his choice. If he has, then we will have to unmake it. But if he has trained her well... maybe there is another option. Maybe I could teach him the secrets. Let him be the heir anyway. It has to be someone strong.

She started to bound down the street, and suddenly was leaping from building to building to keep up, but not be seen by either of the two Amazons. If he survived. I wonder what hit him?

A firecracker went on in the tearoom as the Tendo Dojo residence. Genma and Soun were celebrating. "Ahhaa, Tendo!" Genma laughed. "It has finally happened!"

"Yes, Saotome! It has. We couldn't have hoped for it to be so easy! The schools are finally united!" Soun Tendo replied, downing his sake in one gulp. Happosai bounced back and forth through the room, already too drunk to walk straight, or even stand for long.

"Something could have happened to them," Nabiki's harsh voice said from the doorway. "You really shouldn't jump to conclusions like that, father."

"Nabiki is right, father," Kasumi's calm voice came from the entranceway. "Maybe they are staying out longer because the training isn't going well... Akane did say that she would be cooking for a week when she returned, and you know how much she hates to fail at anything."

Neither parent replied at all. Nodoka's figure appeared in the doorway as well, and she shook her head, embarrassed to even look at the three. "I think you two are right," she said quietly. "I think something happened to them. I'm going out to try and find out what. Wish me luck," she suggested. She then silently took her absence from the Dojo. She had been invited over for a celebration, but now, she had a hunt to go on. She would find her son. Hopefully, Soun and Genma were right. Maybe he was more manly now. But she would find out.

She never really worried about her son before. But her daughter-in-law could be in danger, and she wanted her grandchildren to be healthy. She had to find them soon.

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