Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows are Stirring ❯ Ienikaeru ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Twelve: Return to Civilization

Ranma shook the wet hair out of his eyes and looked up to Akane as she set the kettle down. "Now, here comes the hard part," he said softly.

"Yeah. I know you have to go to your mom's for a while, to try and patch things up there. I will be alright without you," Akane replied sadly.

"If you... left a window open, I could drop by at night..." Ranma suggested, looking away from her so she wouldn't see him blushing.

"You do the same. I might visit you instead," Akane replied, her voice steady despite her emotions. "The hard part will be fighting with you still."

"Nah, that'll be easy," Ranma said with a wave of his hand. "Ya get angry far too easily still. Not in a fight - you keep your cool there quite well - but out of a fight, I'm sure stuff will just tick ya off."

"Ranma..." Akane's voice was ice cold.

"See?" he said, smiling up to her. He then stood and kissed her cheek. "You should get going, Acchan," he suggested. "Arrive before me. That way, you can explain that we had a fight, and you left me in the woods. You thought that I would have been home by now... not that you care," Ranma rambled.

"I know, Ran-chan," Akane said irritably. "I came up with the story, remember?" Although her voice was hard, her eyes for Ranma were still very warm and caring. "But if you think I'm leaving with just a kiss like that..."

Ranma responded the only way he could.

"No matter what, Acchan, remember that I love you," he said as they parted and she picked up her pack.

"Don't you forget that I love you too, Ran-chan. No matter what."

"See ya later, `kane."

"See you."

Ranma sat back on the ground and watched her stalk off through the woods. He was amazed at how hard it was not to chase after her and hold her again. Tonight would be a hard one without her.

He forced himself to turn away. She would be fine. They weren't too far away from the city now. He couldn't quite see the lights, but he could hear the traffic. Sighing, he turned back to the tent and fell backwards in surprise.

"You old ghoul! How long have you been sitting there?" he demanded, leaping to his feet again and grabbing at Cologne before she could hope away. What surprised him the most was the fact that he caught her, and held onto her stick.

It seemed to surprise her, too. "Long enough," she managed as she landed on the ground.

"Great. So now you're gonna go wreck things. Well I don't think so!" He started in on her, but she held up both hands and was beyond his reach suddenly. "Get back here, you old bat!"

"I'm not going to stop either of you, Ranma."

Ranma stopped in the middle of his attack in shock. "Ranma?" he repeated, not sure he had heard properly.

"That is your name, is it not?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, but you always call me..."

"Son-in-law. I know. But you are not my son-in-law anymore. I renounce you of that title, effective immediately," she said with a flourish.

"But... what about Shampoo? Has something happened to her, or are you going against her?" he asked quickly.

"I am glad that you at least still care about her, even if you do not care for her. No, Shampoo is fine. In fact, she is on her way here as we speak. Along with Mousse, Ukyo, and Ryoga," she explained calmly.

"What? But how did they..." Ranma started, but Cologne, who suddenly had her stick back in hand, rapped him in the head. "Hey!"

"I did not come here to warn you, or to threaten you. I came here to make you an offer," she said casually. "And to show that I mean it, I will no longer actively chase you to make you stay with my great granddaughter." She looked away from him suddenly. "Though I can not and will not stop her from trying."

Ranma nodded slowly. "I understand that," he managed. When Cologne looked back to him, he saw an odd look in her eye. "What's wrong, ghoul?"

"I will also tell you that Akane is in no danger. The others will not hurt her, as they will be able to see how upset she is. She is a very good actor... I think you should tell her when you get the chance," Cologne said with a grin. "But they are on their way here, which is why I must make this brief. They can not know about this. No one can. Understand?"

"'kane..." Ranma started, but she bonked him on the head again.

"Fool! Do you not think that I was in love once?" she demanded. "I know you will tell her. I expect you to tell her. Otherwise, I would have asked you outright to lie to her, and then I don't think you would care to hear what else I have to say."

"Oh, so you do have a request in exchange for all this information?" Ranma sighed, exasperated. Nothing was free anymore.

"Of course. I want you to be my heir," she stated.

Ranma fell back onto his ass and just stared at her for a moment before his mind stared working again. "Your heir? Isn't Shampoo your heir?" he asked.

"Yes. But she is not skilled enough to learn from me."

"And I am?"

"Do you think I would have asked if I did not think you capable? You are more capable than most. But it will take intensive training. If you are willing..."

"With such intensive training, just how do you expect to keep it a secret? And why do you want it to be so... well... secretive?" he asked her after thinking for a moment.

"Simple. You would just tell people that I am tutoring you for school. Goodness knows your grades would encourage such an endeavour. And I might try to teach you a thing or two there, too," she added as an afterthought.

"Everyone will think that I'm an idiot, then," Ranma pointed out.

"Everyone knows that you are horrible at school already. The fact that you are willing to get help, even if it is from the likes of me, says that you have courage. And a lot of it if you asked me..."

Ranma nodded. He had to concede defeat on that point. Asking for something from Cologne was difficult even when she wanted you to ask. "And the secrecy?"

"You are not of the Amazon tribe. Even though I am the elder, they would have me killed for teaching the techniques to an outsider," she said without a waver in her voice.

"Then why risk it?"

"I thought I told you that already!" Cologne snapped, cracking him over the head again with her staff. "Because Shampoo is not skilled enough. No Amazon has your skill, Ranma. I can not allow the knowledge to die with me."

"I would like a good master," Ranma said after a moment of consideration.

"And I would like a good student."

"You know I ain't callen ya master outside of trainin, right?"

"If you realize that I will still call you son-in-law except in training..."

"I can accept that," Ranma said. His ears then perked up. Someone was coming. "You should go, you old ghoul."

"See you later, son-in-law. After school starts again."

Ranma turned as he heard rustling in the bushes, and arguments. Sighing, he sat down to wait for the people to emerge. He knew that they were too loud and too busy to have even noticed Cologne's disappearance. Not that she would be seen if she didn't want to be. He smiled to himself. Learning over 3000 years of Chinese martial arts. It seemed too good to be true. There had to be a catch. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash.

"Damn it, Ryoga, I told you that we were going this way!" Ukyo's voice cried out.

"I'm tryin, Ukyo!" Ryoga cursed. "But I wish you wouldn't go so far ahead!"

"I'm less than two steps away from you!"

"Yeah... well..."

"If you two make any more noise, then there is no chance of us sneaking up on them to see what is happening between the two of them, now is there?" Mousse's steady voice asked calmly.

"Shut mouths. Both of you," Shampoo commanded. "We almost there. Shampoo sense Airen's aura. It close."

"Ya got that right!" Ranma called from the clearing. All sound stopped, and he allowed himself a small chuckle at surprising the group. There was another loud rustling, and four forms emerged from the woods, and landed in a heap at the edge of the clearing.

Ukyo and Shampoo were standing above Ranma immediately. "Where pervert girl?" Shampoo demanded. "What you do together out here?"

Ranma stood up to face them easily. "That tomboy came to cook for me!" he replied harshly. "Lucky I'm still alive to see ya'll again," he added. He cast a dark look at Ryoga, who took a step away from him.

"And you told me that he was dead!" Ukyo cried, pulling out her spatula and turning towards Ryoga. "And if not, than he and Akane were probably doing something involving one bed by now!"

Ranma caught her spatula as it started its descent. "No, Ukyo," he said calmly. There was a fire in his eyes. Ukyo stopped, startled, and backed away as Ranma walked towards Ryoga calmly, collectedly. Ryoga took several large steps backwards, and ran into Mousse, who fell back and lost his glasses.

Ranma stopped in front of a cowering Ryoga. He had never seen the lost boy look so afraid in all the time he had known him. That included in junior high, so long ago now. Before the curse. Before Akane. "Hibiki," Ranma said coolly. "She knows."

He then turned away from him and walked back to Ukyo and Shampoo. "So, did either of you bring anything to eat? Like I said, I had to eat `kane's cooking for the past few weeks..."

As Ranma sat back and patted his full stomach, he looked from Ryoga, who was still cowering, to Mousse, who was on the ground searching for his glasses, to Ukyo and Shampoo, both who had expectant looks on their faces. He had just had some very good okonomoyaki and some excellent ramen, which he had to admit was better than Akane's still. He smiled to both of them. He still had no idea how Ukyo always managed to have a grill with her, but he felt like it was not the time to ask.

"Best food I've had for a while now," he said. He didn't want to lie to them, and he was being very careful. It felt like forever since he had eaten any of Akane's cooking, though it was really only a few hours. She really had improved a good deal, for which he was very thankful, though she still had a long way to go.

"Mine was best, right Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked him, beaming to him.

"No, Shampoo's ramen much better, right?"

Ranma sighed and leaned back. "Both were very good. I wish I had known that I was supposed to judge, or I could have taken my time." There was very little discussion before Ranma yawned deeply. "I think it is time for me to bed down. If you are all planning on staying, I'll tell you this: there is only one tent, and as I didn't use it much at all, it's mine tonight. You guys do as you will."

Ukyo and Shampoo looked to each other, unsure of how comfortable they were in each other's company. It was pure chance that the two groups managed to meet up, but it had made the tracking much easier. Ukyo pulled a tent out from her pack, and the two set it up and crawled in together.

Ranma was looking at the stars when he noticed Mousse looking very dejected sitting next to him. "Something wrong, Mousse?" he asked.

"I thought you and Akane were really getting along..." he muttered. "Wishful thinking I guess." He looked up to Ranma, his eyes begging for a contradiction.

As much as Ranma wanted to give him one, he decided it safest to say nothing at all. He didn't think he could say that there was nothing between him and Akane without feeling like he had betrayed her. He knew that she was a good actor, but he also knew that he wasn't. "If you feel like sharing the tent, feel free," Ranma motioned. Mousse nodded his thanks and slinked over to the tent. With one last, longing look in Shampoo's direction, he entered and laid down.

Ranma turned to follow and saw Ryoga sitting by the fire still. He had barely moved a muscle. Sighing, he walked over to him and sat down across the fire from him. Neither said a word for a long time. "Ranma..." Ryoga started, and then fell silent. He couldn't say anything. He knew it wasn't his place to ask for forgiveness.

Ranma shook his head. "Ryoga, ya tried ta kill me and `kane," he said softly. So softly, in fact, that Ryoga had to strain to hear. He didn't want any of the others to overhear him. "You can not apologize to me for that."

"I know," Ryoga managed through a choked voice.

"On the other hand," Ranma said, leaning forward a little further. "I can not apologize for knocking you into the Cursed Spring of Drowned Pig, either. I am willing to let bygones be bygones, if you are." He held a hand out across the fire. Ryoga stared at it for a moment. Was it really that simple?

Slowly, he clasped Ranma's hand and shook firmly. There were tears in his eyes. "You would forgive me that easily?" Ryoga asked as he released the hand.

Ranma nodded. "I have forgiven you, Ryoga, as you have forgiven me. And I have to thank you for not saying anything about what I told you before you blasted us both." Ryoga nodded that he understood. "Nothing can be said about that. I meant it then, and I mean it now," he explained. Ryoga nodded again. "Good. I couldn't stand losing the perfect rival..." He grinned and then went on. "Now that you know that, you should know something else. I meant it when I said `kane knows, P-Chan," he said with a forced smile.

Ryoga opened his mouth to speak, but again found that no words would come out.

"I have forgiven you, Ryoga. Akane has not, and I can't say I blame her. Kami only knows how many times I tried to stop you from hurting her. I asked her not to kill you, though, if that is any consolation. She said that she will make sure that you pay," Ranma said softly.

Ryoga nodded. He knew it wasn't going to be that easy. "Thank you, Ranma," he whispered. Ranma just saw his lips moving, but got the message anyway.

"Least I could do." The two just stared at the fire for a few minutes, and then Ranma looked up. "Look, Ryoga, I could use a friend right now. One to help me. I hav'ta break it off with Ukyo and Shampoo without hurtin their feelings," he explained quickly. "I can't just leave them all at once. It didn't work before, and we doubt it would work any better this time. `kane and I discussed this... but we have no idea. Think ya can help?"

Ryoga grinned. "Comin to me for help with your women trouble again, Ranma?" he asked. He then nodded. "I will do what I can for you. For both of you. I am happy for you, by the way."

"I know."

"And surprisingly, I'm not jealous anymore. I was before I thought I had killed you, but afterwards, I realized that Akane made up her mind. It was not my place. Besides, I have Akari, and she knows about my... problem," Ryoga explained. "I will help you two stay happy, if you can help me."

"I can't help you with `kane."

"Not with Akane. I can handle her..."

"Ya do, and I'll kill ya," Ranma growled.

"Not like that, moron," Ryoga shook his head. "I will take the punishment that she decides on. I was asking for your help with Akari."

Ranma sat back. "How so?"

"Well, for starters, where does she live?" he asked.

"I could tell ya, but ya'd never get there," Ranma replied with a shrug. "But if ya'd like, I'll take some time over the holidays and ask her to come visit. If Akane will let ya stay at the Tendo Dojo, that is."

Ryoga nodded. "We'll see what she wants to do to me." He then grinned. "Speaking of handling her, did you..."

"Finish that sentence and you'll be coughing up ash for a week," Ranma warned.

"Alright, alright..." Ryoga shook his head and stood. He then looked to Ranma, as though wanting to ask something, but not quite daring.

"You wanna share the tent? Fine by me," Ranma said with a shrug. "If I didn't let you in, you'd be lost by morning anyway," he said with a grin as he pushed Ryoga in the right direction.

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

Akane stumbled as her feet hit the pavement at the edge of the woods. As she did, she caught her bad ankle and buckled to the ground. She was standing moments later again, but with a slightly pained expression. "I'll have to go see Dr. Tofu about this ankle," she muttered.

"Would you like some company?" a female voice asked from behind her. Whirling around, Akane was amazed to see Mrs. Saotome standing there, her katana covered on her back, as usual. Akane managed a small nod through her shock, and the older woman was by her instantly, about to help support her weight. Akane shook off her help, determined to walk alone. "Is my son with you?" she asked after a few minutes walking. "Or close behind you at least?"

Akane stopped and looked into the older woman's eyes. Something told her that she was worried. Very worried. "Ranma is fine, Aunt Saotome,' she sighed.

"We were all getting a little worried. What happened that made you stay out so long?" she asked Akane as they continued to walk into town.

"It's a long story. Best told at another time, I think," Akane muttered.

"Did my son do something... untowards to you?" Mrs. Saotome asked, her voice hard as steel without warning. Akane looked to her in surprise.

"Nothing like that, no. Why?"

"Never mind, dear. I thought that that might have been why you were so late. That he had abused you or something."

Akane stopped her. "Aunt Saotome, can I tell you something if you swear to me that you will not tell another living soul so long as you live?" she asked her.

Nodoka nodded slowly. "Is it about my son?" she asked.

Akane smiled. "Yes, it is," she explained. Reaching behind her back, she put her hand up her shirt and fumbled with her bra straps. When she found the clasp, she undid it and pulled off her ring, turning away from Nodoka so the woman couldn't see what was going on. She then did her bra back up and slipped the ring onto her finger before turning back.

Nodoka gasped as she saw the ring Akane present to her. "Did my son..." she started, but trailed off with tears in her eyes.

Akane nodded, a bit choked up herself at the memory of the night. "Yes. He asked me to marry him," she whispered. Before she knew what was going on, Nodoka had her in a fierce embrace.

"It is about time, Akane dear," Nodoka said quietly. She then pulled away. "But why don't you want me telling anyone else?"

Akane pulled off her ring and put it back in its temporary place. When she was done, she sighed. "Ranma wants to break it off with the others first," she explained. "Without hurting them. And without them knowing how close we are."

Nodoka sighed. "That is no easy task, now is it?" she asked.

"I believe in him, Aunt Saotome," Akane replied immediately.

"As it is just the two of us, Akane dear, would you mind calling me mom?" Nodoka asked shyly. Akane gulped and looked away. The thought of having a mother was almost too much for her. She had lost hers when she was so very young...

"I would like that... mom," Akane whispered, fighting back the tears. Though no one could ever replace her mother, it was still a nice feeling.

"Good. Now then, does my son have a plan about how he is going to break the news to the others?" she asked her. When Akane shook her head, Nodoka sighed. "Oh well. He'll figure something out. Speaking of which..."

"What?" Akane asked after Nodoka trailed off.

"Should I be giving this to you now, or would it not be right just yet?" she asked, taking the katana off her back slowly. Akane looked to her with a questioning glance, and reddened immediately and shook her head. "He didn't make any advances towards you yet?" she asked, her mood fouling quickly.

"Oh no, mom," Akane said hurriedly. "He did. Well... I did. Or rather, we did. But not that far. Not yet. We both thought it should wait until the wedding," she stammered as quickly as she could.

"Of course, dear," Nodoka said, smiling again. Waiting until the honeymoon was a manly thing to do, of course. Another thought passed through her mind suddenly. "About his curse..."

"I don't care."

Nodoka looked to Akane in surprise at the conviction in the young girl's voice. "You don't care?" she asked.

"Ranma is Ranma. He is as Ranma as he can be," Akane explained, or rather, tried to explain. "I have never known him without the curse, and so he just is."

Nodoka nodded, trying to accept this information. A new idea suddenly sprouted into her mind. "When he is a girl, does he act like one at all?" she asked.

Akane stopped and stared at Mrs. Saotome. "What?"

"Does he act like a girl when he is one?" she asked again.

"Not really," Akane thought to herself out loud.

"Oh dear. Well, that won't do at all, will it?" Nodoka asked.

"What do you mean?" Akane replied, confused.

"Well, as a man, I expect him to be a man among men. But since he can be a woman as well, should it not follow that he... er... she should be a proper lady?" Nodoka asked logically.

"I wouldn't want to suggest that to him," Akane muttered to herself.

"I wouldn't ask it of you, Akane dear," Mrs. Saotome replied. "Tell me, is he planning on staying with you at your house still when he returns, or would he be willing to come live with me until such a time as you two can be together forever?" she asked.

Akane sighed as she saw what the older woman was planning. Ranma would not like it one little bit. "I think he was planning on staying with you, actually," she replied slowly. "Though, with your consent, I would like him to visit me at night. Without anyone else knowing, of course."

"Of course, dear. And you could visit him, too, if you would like," Nodoka suggested. Before Akane could reply to the offer, they had stopped again. "Here is Dr. Tofu's, I believe," Nodoka said with a smile and a gesture to the building.

"Thank you... mom," Akane said softly. Mrs. Saotome smiled a very large smile and opened the door for her new daughter-to-be. Dr. Tofu greeted them immediately with a large hug for Akane that sent her blushing again. She was long since over her childish crush on him, but it didn't seem to help matters.

"The way everyone's talking, Akane, I thought that you might have kicked the bucket," Dr. Tofu laughed. "Glad to see I was wrong." He then looked around. "No Ranma?" he asked both Akane and Mrs. Saotome.

"No," Nodoka replied curtly. "It seems that he just abandoned poor Akane here with an injury. I will deal with him when I catch him again," she said in her coolest voice she could muster.

Dr. Tofu backed up in shock. "I'm sure there must be a valid explanation, Mrs. Saotome. No need to go overboard, is there?" he laughed. He was obviously eyeing the katana on her back. She touched it lightly, causing him to jump back a bit.

"I wouldn't dream of using this on him. Just a few harsh words will do, though, I think," she suggested.

"You said injury..." Dr. Tofu trailing off, eyeing Akane from top to bottom. His eyes rested on her bad ankle, though it was no longer bandaged. "Your ankle?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Akane replied. She would never cease to be surprised by his skills. He had her sit on the patient's table and put her foot up for him to examine.

"Doesn't look too bad, actually," he said after a few minutes. "Looks like you've been using it since the injury, right?" he asked. After she nodded, he went on. "Good. Well then, I will give you a wrap for it, but the best cure will be a good night's sleep in your own bed and plenty of exercise. Two things I'm sure I don't have to actually order you to do, now do I?" he asked with a broad grin.

"No, Dr. Tofu," she giggled at his suggestion. She suddenly found that she wasn't as upset by his treatment as she might have been before. Although he was treating her somewhat like a child, she knew it was just his methods. She had seen him do the same with other patients before.

"Good. Now, I suggest you get home right away. If I know your father, then..." he trailed off and ended smiling broadly.

"You're probably right," Akane groaned as she stood from the bed. "He's probably too drunk to understand me right now, though."

"Take care now, Akane."

"Would you like me to say hello to Kasumi for you, Dr?" Akane couldn't help but ask as she was leaving. Dr. Tofu's glasses fogged up right away and he started babbling nonsense into his plant instead of to her. Akane shook her head and waved goodbye.

By the time Mrs. Saotome and Akane made it home, the Tendo Dojo was quiet and peaceful. Night had finally fallen in the city. Of course, that peace couldn't last.

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