The raven-haired young man stared at the destruction around him. Ranma Saotome stared, his azure blue eyes widened in horror and anguish. He was practicing a new technique when he received the news. His aura changed so fast at the news that it literally exploded, taking out half of the dojo, and leaving nothing but a crater around him. Nabiki Tendo stood not ten feet away from the crater of burnt rubble and debris, her eyes tear-stained. Ranma himself looked like a burnt match as he fell to his knees, coughing slightly.
"WHAT?" He screamed, gritting his teeth as he stood upon shaky legs, staring at her.
"The plane she was on, it crashed " Nabiki deadpanned. "Until they find the blackbox, they have no idea why."
"But she coulda survived… She's strong…" He trembled slightly. "Akane…"
"I figured… I should be the one t-to tell you, R-Ranma," Nabiki whispered, her voice cracking.
He began to walk towards her, dust and rubble falling from his charred clothing.
"Did you tell them?"
"They already know. It was on the news." She ran forward, hugging herself to Ranma's body as her grief overcame her. She told no one, gave no indication, but she was in love with the boy who was engaged to her sister. And it made her feel even guiltier that Akane was gone, for him to be free. Unfortunately, she knew his feelings, too…
"Nabiki, it'll.. it'll be okay. We'll look for her," he whispered, holding her until she stopped shaking and wetting his ruined clothes with her tears.
I can't do this without help, though. Call them all, get them all together." Looking up, he cursed softly. "Kuno, Mousse, Shampoo, even Kodachi. Shinnosuke, Ukyo and Sasuke, even Hiroshi and Daisuke. And find Ryoga if you can. He loves her as much as I do." He blinked as the words flowed evenly from his mouth, as if they were always true.
"What am I gonna do..?"
Looking around the living room, Ranma sighed softly. His fiancés, friends, and worst enemies surrounded him. Unfortunately Hiroshi and Daisuke could make it, so he was on his own. As usual, all the males wanted to kill him, and the females just plain wanted him. His father and Soun Tendo had taken off in a show of their greatest cowardice, saying they had a training trip to take, and grief was no excuse to fall behind in their skills. ¬.¬
They all stared, though, not moving a muscle, as Ranma's aura forced them all to stand down from their impending attack.
:"What hath ye done to Akane, and where is she being held!" Kuno Screeched, his bokuten at the ready.
"Nothin', moron." Kuno didn't move, still entranced by the massive amount of energy being poured from Ranma's body. "Have any of you seen the news in the last 24 hours?"
"Shampoo no watch TV, Ranma. Too busy thinking of you! Wo ai ni!" Jumping up, she tried to hug Ranma, but was shrugged off by Ranma's intense battle aura.
"Not today, Shampoo." His aura knocked her onto her feet, and effectively out cold. "Tie her up. NOW." He hissed, his aura exploding with righteous rage.
Mousse moved her away from Ranma, and against his better judgment, he tied her up as tightly as he could. The Amazon woke up about ten seconds later, struggling against ropes that not even Ranma would be able to break out of if he weren't so depressed.
"Now, have any of you been watching the news lately?" They all shook their heads, just watching Ranma pace up and down the room. "Well, Akane was on a plane on her way to America. The plane crashed near the Hawaiian islands, but no one knows exactly where..." One of his fiancés coughed slightly, but otherwise kept their traps shut, for fear of joining Shampoo in her bondage.
Kasumi, her cheerful smile in place, passed around snacks to the guests. They could all see her eyes were puffy from crying. The evidence that Ranma was telling the truth was written all over her face. "Oh my! I didn'y know you had this many guests, Ranma. I'll be back with some more refreshments." Taking a look at the tray she held, Kasumi left the room. When she was out of the room, Ranma continued.
"Akane could be dead, but I feel her. She's not. I know it. Now, which of you will help me find her?" He looked at Ryoga, already knowing the answer. "I know you're with me Ryoga. Kuno, Mousse, I would really appreciate the help.
"I, the great Tatewaki Kuno, will assist you in locating that fair and beautiful Akane!" Kuno flashed a rather annoying smirk, resulting in him getting clubbed by Ryoga with his umbrella. Instant knockout.
"I too will help you find Akane Tendo."
Then we're all in agreement." He looked to the girls, then frowned. He could see this wouldn't be as easy.
"Sorry Ran-chan, but there's no way in HELL I'd help you find Akane." As much as she liked Akane, she couldn't very well give up her claim on Ranma by helping him find that girl. She turned around, and just walked out, as if nothing had happened.
Kodachi was no help, either, since all she could think about was screwing Ramna. "My beloved! Why would I help that dreadful pest when I have you all to myself?" Nonchalantly, Ranma grabbed some rope and a gag from Mousse, and proceeded to tie her to her seat. She took it the wrong way and moaned seductively, which was actually creepy as hell, so Ranma booted her out the door and into Higher Earth Orbit.
"mmm!Mmms!MMm!MM!" Shampoo's body was chained to her chair, and she was gagged. So, no one got an answer from her.
Ranma frowned as he looked across the room. "Where do I go from here?"