Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 13

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: Attitudes

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the R 1/2 characters.

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Dr. Tofu sat in his clinic wondering if the adventurers had had any luck in searching for the cure. They were supposed to return to Japan if they found the cure, but as they had not yet returned, Tofu assumed they had not found the cure. And so he went about his daily business, trying to lessen his worry for Ranma and the others by drowning himself in his work.



He had not visited the Tendos since they called him over to tell him Akane had followed Mousse and Ryoga. The news that Akane was gone did not shock him greatly. Akane had always been head strong, ever since she was a tiny girl. And Tofu knew, as did the others, that Akane was in love with Ranma, even if she would not admit it. So of course she would do everything in her power to bring back her fiancee.



The jingling of the bells he had hung on his door alerted Tofu that his services were needed. He once again pushed Ranma, Akane and the others to the back of his mind and gave his undivided attention to his work.

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Tatewaki Kuno hung up the phone. The captain of one of his vessels had just called to report that his ship would not be returning for an unknown amount of time. It was the ship that he had "loaned" to Nabiki Tendo.



Actually, Nabiki told him that she would consider this as payment for several pictures of Akane.



"Ahh! The beauteous Akane Tendo!!! Where has she gone! Surely that cur Saotome has snatched her away just to anger me! She must be crying for me, Tatewaki Kuno, to come and rescue her from his hands! And what of the Pig-tailed Girl?! Saotome must have her in his clutches as well! I will free you, Pig-tailed Girl, so that we may celebrate our love freely!" Kuno exclaimed, slamming his fist into a nearby table.



Kuno was oblivious to what had happened to Ranma. He never thought twice about why Nabiki might need a sea vessel. But he was happy living in his own secluded world, and Nabiki thought it best to not let him in on the events that were taking place.



Kuno's rants were silenced when Kodachi called for him.



"Brother dear!!! I have invented a new dish! Wouldn't you love to be the first to have a taste!?!"



Kuno called back to her. "Woman, I know of no man who would be fool enough to taste your dangerous entrees!!!"

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Mousse led his companions forward, pausing every now and then to get his bearings. They were nearing the Amazon village, Mousse was certain of it. Akane and Ryoga could sense the almost overwhelming battle auras of the women in the tribe.



Soon, they had approached a small mountain range on the northern edge of the village. The village was surrounded on all sides by some sort of natural boundary. To the north was the mountain range, on the southern border, a river, and on the eastern and western sides, were thick forests.



Standing at the base of the mountain, Akane turned to Mousse.



"What will we do? Are we going to climb one of the smaller mountains?"



Mousse pondered for a moment. "The Amazon women are always on their guard. I believe the wisest course of action would be to find Ranma when he is alone and use the cure on him. They will have him assigned to daily duties, and if we watch him for a while and learn his routine, we should be able to wisely choose the time to best approach him. For now, we should select a position, preferably on one of these mountains, where we can watch him from day to day."



His companions nodded. Mousse knew what he was talking about; from here onward, he would have the last word in each of their actions.



"Okay, let's go then," Mousse said as he began to scale the mountain.



Ryoga and Akane followed. Akane, being a woman and naturally lacking the upper body strength of her male friends, had a bit of trouble, but made it to the top just the same.



Straightening up, Akane looked out over the village. She drew in a deep breath; it looked like a picture out of a storybook.



There were many huts, each with a personality that reflected that of its resident. Outside most homes were small patches of earth that were speckled with bright colors. Men were the primary gardeners.



The dirt roads that intertwined the homes and public buildings were lined on each side with small stones. There was a small playground-type establishment on the eastern side of the village. The children who were too young to help with daily chores played here under the supervision of a man.



The river that created the southern boundary was crystal clear; like liquid glass, only pale blue. While the women of the village were training, the males would do the wash in the river, sometimes bringing along some of the younger children.



Akane tore her eyes away from the beautiful view, and turned to face her friends. "Shall we set up our camp here?"



Mousse shook his head. "They will detect our presence if we remain this close to the village."



Akane opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she caught Mousse's eye.



"What, then?"



"We will stay on this mountain, but we should set up camp further down the mountain. On the way up, I saw a landing, not too far from the tip, on the mountainside. I believe that would be an ideal place to pass the nights."



Without another word said, they turned their backs on the village, and followed Mousse to his chosen location.

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"Shan Pu, will you be producing an heir soon?"



Shampoo blushed at the direction the conversation with her grandmother was headed. She explained that there was a possibility that a child was on the way.



"But you do not yet know for certain?"



"No, Shampoo no know for sure. But I will tell you as soon as I know."



Cologne nodded. She was satisfied with her granddaughter's answer... for now. She hopped out of the dwelling, leaving the girl by herself.



Shampoo spoke quietly to herself when her grandmother had left the hut.



"What I do now? I just tell Great-grandmudder that possible child on the way. But that is not true! I do not want a baby... because... I no love Ranma."



Shampoo gasped as the words rolled off her tongue. Ever since she had arrived in her home village she had not given herself the freedom to admit any of her true feelings to herself. Before she had come home, Shampoo could admit to herself that she had no romantic feelings for Ranma. But when she had returned home, she could feel her sisters' pride that she had snagged such a worthy male, and she could not bring herself to dishonor herself or disappoint her sisters.



Many Amazon women did not think twice about being in love before marriage. Shampoo, however, was different. She wanted to be in love with the one she married.


But honor bound her to him. There was no reason that she should not desire him, he was good looking, kind hearted, and honest. Ranma was also an extraordinary martial artist. He was definitely worthy of her.



But to Shampoo, none of that mattered anymore, for she didn't love him, or even cared much about him at all. Shampoo also knew that Ranma had never loved her, at least not of his own free will.



And there was no turning back now; she knew of no cure for Shun De Cong, and even if there was a cure, she would NEVER bring more dishonor to her name by curing him and sending him on his way. No, Shampoo would live the rest of her days bound to the Japanese boy, cure or no.

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Ranma woke up, shaking his head. The dreams of the cute girl with navy hair had once again been assailing his slumber. He knew he couldn't tell Shampoo about them, she had turned him away once before, warning him never again to mention his dream girl.



But now, more than ever, Ranma felt as though his dream girl was going to play an important part in his life. Deep inside, he longed to find her, but the spell bound him to Shampoo.



Shampoo had already woken up and was gone. Ranma got dressed and walked out into the busy village. It was his turn to watch the children. He smiled to himself; he really loved kids. Shampoo, on the other hand, didn't seem to like children...

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"AHHH!! There he is!!!! I can see him!!" Akane exclaimed from her perch on the mountain.



Mousse and Ryoga rushed over and looked where Akane was pointing. There he was. He was surrounded by a hoard of small children who were probably three to six years old.



Akane's eyes softened and filled with tears at the sight of her fiancee. *It's been far too long, Ranma. But I'm here, and now it's my turn to rescue YOU. You'll be home soon..*



Ryoga cast a sidelong glance at Akane. He could see the love in her eyes and his heart broke. It was so obvious that she loved Ranma.
*Ranma, I'll do everything to help you. For Akane's sake.*



Mousse stared hard at Ranma and the children surrounding him. *Must be his turn to watch the kids,* he thought.



"Well then, one of us will have to watch him at all times so we can get an idea of his daily schedule. And then, when he's alone, it'll be time to break that spell and take him home!"



Akane looked at Mousse, and without a spoken word, an entire conversation passed between the two.



*Mousse, thank you. This would have been so hard to do without you. Thank you.*



*It was the honorable thing to do. I would have done it for anyone. But you're welcome anyway.*



*You have a good heart, Mousse. You will win Shampoo, in this life or the next, I know you will.*

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In the week that followed, there was not a time when Ranma went unobserved. It was discovered that Ranma was alone at least once a day. He would climb one of the smaller mountains in the range to watch the sun rise or set. From their lookout station, Ryoga, Mousse, and Akane could easily see Ranma watch the sun.



Akane adjusted herself in the crude chair that Ryoga had made out of small logs and stones. She watched as Ranma climbed the stone with little difficulty and reached the place where he watched the sun.



Akane had a great respect for Ranma's abilities. Since Ranma had been gone, she had come to realize that his abilities were not something to be jealous of or covet, but instead something that she could learn from him. She had done a great deal of soul searching while on the road with Mousse and Ryoga, and Akane was a very different person than what she had been before she left home.



She was still head strong, but she now had different ideals and was more patient, with herself and with others. She had become more mature and no longer let her anger blind her to the truth.



Akane felt as though she had changed in such a way that she would be able to cooperate with Ranma. She had realized that it WASN'T Ranma's fault that his other fiancees could be very pushy and that it WASN'T his fault that he seemed to attract trouble like metal to magnets. Akane now knew that Ranma DIDN'T like being glomped, attacked, or any of the other various things that happened to him on a daily basis.



Akane felt like she finally had an understanding of Ranma's life, and that because she understood, they would get along much better. She couldn't wait to take Ranma home. They would be able to start all over. And this time, she would do things right.

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To be continued...



AUTHOR'S NOTES: I felt like I should give you more insight to what the characters were feeling in this chapter, and I guess I did an okay job. I realize that the story isn't really focused on Ranma's feelings, but being under the spell, his thoughts aren't particularly varied. They revolve mainly around Shampoo and the navy haired girl. I figured previous chapters would have subtly let the reader in on that little fact.

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