Ranma opened the door to Akane's room and looked inside. When he saw her empty bed, he sighed. He just couldn't get used to the fact that she wasn't here anymore...
He would have never thought it possible, but... he missed her. He had gotten used to hear her angry voice, her reactions to his playful jokes, her cute smile that she had been showing way too rarely...
But now she was gone... and the only thing he could do about it was praying that she would return safely.
Three days ago, Akane had fallen into a deep coma... and she simply wouldn't wake up. It happened one morning after everyone else had been gotten up from bed, and Kasumi realized how late Akane was. She entered her room... and found her lying in bed... she just wouldn't wake up.
Dr. Tofu and other doctors who came over to take a look at her didn't understand the situation at all... There was simply no reason why Akane wouldn't wake up. All of her vital signs were fine, Akane was as healthy as ever...
She just wouldn't wake up...
In the end, they decided to take her to the hospital, where they could have a closer look at her. That has been three days ago, and she still wasn't home...
Ranma sat down on his fiancee's bed and picked up the little pig plushie, a present from Ryoga (perhaps for all the times he couldn't be here as P-chan...). He turned it around a few times in his hands, then he sighed again and went back down. He was feeling so... so helpless! Perhaps a little training would cheer him up...
This evening, the members of the Tendo household weren't talking much... they all were still feeling depressed because Akane wasn't with them. Ranma was thinking back to this morning, when Ukyo had asked him when Akane would finally return.
He... just wasn't able to tell her the truth. By now, he was wondering how Ucchan and Shampoo would have reacted if they found out... Would they have offered their condolences... or would they be happy because there was one fiancee less?
That evening, Ranma was going to bed early. But somehow... he couldn't find any sleep. He turned around a few times, listening to his father's snoring next to him, until he just couldn't bear it any more: He stood up and went upstairs, again into Akane's room.
When in there, he once again felt helpless... Dang... if there would just be something he could do about this whole situation...
He took a look at Akane's things... her desk, her wardrobe, everything... until his gaze fell onto a small pile of papers lying on her desk.
He picked them up. "Huh..." he mumbled. "Drawings? Heh... never thought that tomboy could draw so good..."
The first drawing showed an enormous castle rising over a big lake... the second drawing showed a mountain range behind a deep chasm... and the third drawing was a regal dragon with spread wings.
Maybe... Akane had been drawing those things when she was sitting alone in her room... every time she was feeling sad... and neither P-chan or her friends could cheer her up...
Suddenly, Ranma sensed that he wasn't alone in the room any more... He turned around... and saw someone sitting in the big rocking chair in the corner of the room.
Wait a minute... since when did Akane have a rocking chair?
Then he saw the face of the person sitting there. "Kasumi...?" he murmured. What was she doing here that late in the evening?
Strangely enough, Kasumi was dressed in a loose, white robe that made her look... wise. And somehow, an aura of peace and power seemed to surround her.
She smiled at him. "Greetings, Ranma! Do not be alarmed, I am not Akane's eldest sister... I just look like her. My name is Kasu... and I'm here because I need your help."
"Kasu, uh-huh..." Somehow, he believed her. But what was even stranger: He felt that this Kasumi-look-a-like had more power than he could imagine. "And just where do you come from... Kasu?"
"I'm from a magical kingdom, hidden within a different plane of existence... It is called... Ja'an!" She sighed and looked down at her hands while rocking. "You know... several months ago... we got a visitor from your world for the first time... it was your fiancee, Akane!"
"Akane..." Ranma wondered. His gaze fell on the drawings on her desk. "You mean... those drawings show things that actually exist?"
Kasu nodded. "Yes, Akane found the way into our realm in her dreams... and every time she felt lonely and depressed, she paid us a visit. She was finding many friends over here, although she was a little baffled at first... because so many of our residents look so much like people she knows." She giggled.
Then her face grew sad. "But then... the last time she visited us... she was being kidnapped."
Ranma gasped. "K-kidnapped? By who?"
Kasu looked at him sternly. "By Ekana... the evil mistress of the Shadow Realm!"
"T-then you must go and save her! What are you waiting for?"
Kasu sighed. "I wish we could, Ranma... I wish we could... but, no one of our kingdom is able to pass the Shadow Mountains, the barrier to Ekana's realm... only someone from your realm can do that... you're the only one who can save her! Will you do it?"
Ranma thought less than a second about it, then he nodded.
"I'll do it!" Ranma shouted without any hesitation, being the heroic person to jump into any situation without looking first that he was. "How do I get there?"
Kasu noticeably frowned at that. "Now that's something you'll have to find out for yourself..."
Blinking his eyes once, twice, all Ranma could ask was, "Huh?"
"Yes, Ranma," Kasu said as she looked up into his eyes. "The way into Ja'an differs from person to person. I can tell you it has to do with someone of this world entering a meditative state or trance..."
Considering that, Ranma asked, "So if I go to sleep...?"
"Maybe," Kasu admitted. "Maybe not..."
Ranma frowned. "Why wouldn't it?"
"Because if anyone could have found the way in their sleep, I'm sure we WOULD have had many visitors by now..." Kasu explained. "Every person is on a different mental wavelength, and so no one person should have the same 'path' to follow from this world to Ja'an."
Considering that, Ranma asked, "So how'd YOU get here?"
"Magic," Kasu answered seriously.
Visibly twitching at THAT response, Ranma slowly answered, "Okay... so can't you just use your magic voodoo on me?"
Shaking her head, Kasu again had to explain. "The magic only works for those who have already come into contact with our world. Our souls all intertwine with the great spirit of mana, the ethereal stream which encases our fair realm." She gave Ranma a sad look. "Not to mention I have an anchor."
While Ranma wasn't the brightest of people, even he understood that until he reached this Ja'an place, magic was a no-go. But... "What's this 'bout an anchor?"
Looking up at Ranma from her rocking chair, the Kasumi-look-alike continued to help Ranma understand the situation with travel. "Akane had mentioned I looked like her sister, so that gave me a 'beacon' of sorts to follow into this world. Once found I was able to 'latch' onto her and come into the general vicinity..." she then frowned as her body slowly started to glow lightly. "Oh dear... my time here is almost up."
Ranma eyes widened. "Wait! You can't go!"
"I'm sorry, Ranma," the mage of one of the royal court of Ja'an apologized sincerely. "But the magic of Ja'an can only exist within this world for a limited time, so the method I used to come here isn't as permanent as if I'd gone into a meditative state to transcend between the barriers between our worlds..." as she said that her form started to become translucent. "Remember! To reach us you must go beyond this world with your mind!" She said urgently before she disappeared completely, leaving behind glittering dust in the air where she had been.
Staring down at where she had disappeared, the pigtailed martial artist had some trouble grasping this. Not that he didn't believe her, but he was a little slow on the mental uptake thanks to the training of his youth under the 'guidance' of his old man.
It took a few moments, but Ranma was able to get an understanding. Akane had crossed over to another realm in her sleep. She'd been kidnapped there and taken to the Realm of Shadows, meaning she'd be unable to return. No one of Ja'an could pass over naturally so they needed someone who could, someone of this world.
And he'd been chosen for the job.
His eyes narrowing in determination, Ranma knew he couldn't let the tomboy down. Raising his right hand in a fist, the martial artist of the Anything Goes made a promise then and there that he'd find a way over to save Akane.
But how the hell was he going to do that!? How the hell was he going to just zone out and make his way over. Even when he was asleep, he was still active as it was engrained instinct to protect himself! He'd be on automatic, but his instincts were still going and keeping him moving.
Martial arts were out, too. Even if he went on instinct, how long could a battle last? Or Katas? Was it even safe to try that?
Damn, the only time he could ever thing of acting 'conking out' and truly being out of it was...
...
No...
Oh no...
Thinking desperately about some way, any way to truly be out of it, Ranma was hoping he could come up with some other option, any other way that could help him conk out and truly be out of it without having to resort to... THAT!
Shuddering as he realized there was NO other option, Ranma slumped his shoulders in defeat... it looked like he was going to have to bite the bullet...
Or in this case, a bite of Akane's cooking.
Leaving the youngest Tendo daughter's bedroom, Ranma made his way down the hall and down the staircase. He was trying to be quiet as to not wake up anyone in the house, but even he was having trouble concentrating. The task at hand was promising to be dangerous, but a martial artist had to be willing to sacrifice their own life for another's if need be.
Finally reaching the kitchen, Ranma went to the fridge. Opening the door, he bathed the darkened room in the light from the refrigerator and looked through. He looked through the refrigerator, looking for any leftovers. In an instant, his eyes locked on the metal tray which seemed to have a visible odor leaking out from between the aluminum tray and lid.
"That's it..." Ranma grimaced as he reached out for the tray, finding it oddly warm for something that had been in the fridge for over a week. Taking the tray over to the kitchen table, the pigtailed martial artist placed it down on the top and reached to peel open the lid. As soon as he did, he reared back as if he'd been hit as the stench hit him head-on.
Standing back to look at the disaster before him, Ranma tried to ignore the stink-cloud shaped like a skull and crossbones that came up from Akane's bubbling concoction. She'd said it had been an Italian recipe of lasagna, but the thing looked more like sewer sludge with shreds of carbonized rubber from a car tire.
Shuddering, Ranma went to the drawer to get a spoon. "The things I do for Akane..." he mumbled to himself as he went back to the 'food'. He stuck in a wooden spoon to lightly stir it. However, as soon as he took it out to get a bite, he noticed that the head of the utensil had disintegrated.
Tossing the spoon over his shoulder, Ranma once again muttered, "The things I do for Akane..." Grabbing the sides of the tray, Ranma lifted it up to his lips and tipped, trying to force himself to eat. As soon as the bilge touched his tongue, Ranma could already feel the bile rising up from his stomach but he fought it, allowing some morsels of Akane's cooking to hit the back of his throat and go down.
After a few moments, Ranma slammed the tray back down on the kitchen counter-top. He reared his head back, screaming at the intense pain he felt coursing from his stomach and outward through every single part of his body. His body spasming, he fell forward, slamming his head on the kitchen counter-top before collapsing to the floor in a twitching mess, saliva bubbling rapidly from his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Auugh... what hit me?" Ranma groaned. While he wasn't feeling any pain now, he certainly felt groggy and nauseas. Opening his eyes slowly, Ranma shook his head to clear it of the fogginess and realized he wasn't in the Tendo Home anymore.
A small smile came to Ranma as he realized he'd made it to Ja'an, and only at the small cost of having to deal with stomach ulcers later down the road.
It was dark and gloomy, so Ranma's eyes had to get used to it first. But then he realized he was standing in the middle of a deep forest, whose branches were swaying in the chilly wind...
When he looked up, he could the the black night sky, with only a few stars and a cold moon illuminating it.
"So this is Ja'an..." he murmured after getting up from the ground and patting the dust off his clothes. "Looks a bit gloomy... but then, every forest looks kinda gloomy at night."
Just when he was going to choose a direction in which he could go, he heard the clopping of hooves approaching him.
He looked down the dirty forest path and saw a black horse that was coming his direction. On the big animal's back sat a tall man, entirely dressed in a black armor. On his side, Ranma could see the blade of a long sword.
A knight, Ranma realized. A Black Knight...
Hopefully, not all Black Knights are evil, just like in the stories...
The rider stopped his horse and looked down at Ranma, through the narrow slits within the mask of his helmet.
"Mylord, do you carry, by any chance, the name 'Ranma Saotome'?"
Ranma was on edge, but what if this knight really was a scout of the good guys?
"Yeah, I am," he finally responded. "Who are you?"
The knight dismounted from his dark steed and took off his helmet. "My name is Koan... Baron Tawakee Koan!"
Ranma stared when he saw the dark rider's face. It looked just exactly like that of Tatewaki Kuno.
Then he remembered Kasu's words, that many of Ja'ans habitants would look like people from Nerima. So, this Baron Koan had to be one of them.
Koan came a step closer. "I am here to bring you to our lady," he said.
"Did Kasu send you?" Ranma asked.
Koan seemed to hesitate a bit, then he nodded. "Our lady has ordered us to escort you to her domain, so she could welcome you accordingly."
"Us?" Ranma asked.
Koan raised his hand, and from behind the trees, many more knights in black armor were appearing. One of them was holding the reigns of another, smaller horse, that obviously was meant for Ranma.
The baron gestured towards the horse. "Please, mylord... allow us the honor of bringing you to our lady... these woods can be dangerous."
Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea, Ranma decided. Those black knights might look somewhat scary, but he wasn't really afraid. And besides, if they should really lead him into a trap, he could always fight them off. They didn't look like they were able to resist a well-placed Moko Takabisha, or even a Hiryu Shoten Ha.
So he nodded and mounted the second horse, which seemed to be pretty tame.
As soon as Ranma was sitting in the saddle, Baron Koan turned around his own steed and raised his hand. Instantly, the other knights got ready to leave.
Ranma wasn't such a good rider, but the horse was obviously well-trained... it walked quietly, without making it difficult for him.
"So, umm..." Ranma asked as he rode next to Baron Koan. "Did Kasu say anything about my fiancee? How should I rescue her?"
"I know nothing about that," the baron replied. "I was only instructed to escort you."
It didn't look like Koan wanted to tell Ranma more, so he just stayed silent and waited.
A little while later, they left the forest and stepped onto a wide, empty plain... which looked kinda bleak in the darkness of the night.
And when Ranma looked directly ahead... he saw the fortress! An enormous building made of black stone, with towers and pinnacles that reached up into the clear night sky. It was sitting atop a massive boulder of a mountain, and it looked like no force in the universe would be able to conquer its walls.
Koan gestured up to the fortress. "Yokot Fortress," he said. "There, our lady is waiting for you!"
Ranma had a bad feeling about this. This castle... it didn't look at all like the one Akane had drawn. Instead of looking majestic and magnificent, it only made the impression of being a bastion of war.
Koan seemed to notice Ranma's uneasiness, as he leaned over in his saddle and asked: "Is something the matter, mylord?"
"I don't know..." Ranma mumbled. "It's just so... different from what I expected."
"That is understandable," the baron nodded. "But keep in mind, Yokot Fortress is not a city or a royal castle... it is a fortress, a mighty stronghold against our enemies."
Ranma was ready to believe that. As he had thought before, he didn't believe that any living being would be able to take it down, no matter how many of them would come.
Silently, they continued their way and rode over the empty plains and up a narrow mountain path. Finally, they stood in front of the massive portcullis of the fortress gates.
A deep rumble seemed to come out of the earth, as the huge gate was being pulled upwards by some invisible mechanism. As soon as Ranma and his escort had entered the courtyard, it got closed again.
Ranma looked around. Everywhere, he could see people getting ready for a war. Soldiers and knights, squires and stable-lads.
A man helped Ranma dismounting his horse, and shortly after, he was being lead inside the fortress.
They were walking through long corridors and empty halls, with walls that looked like they were made of black obsidian.
And finally, Ranma stood in front of a massive double door, guarded by two of the biggest knights he had ever seen.
Koan nodded towards the door. "The lady is waiting for you, mylord. Please, enter!"
Ranma's uneasiness was growing even more when he entered the big hall behind the door, but he kept telling himself: 'I can always fight or flee, I'm one of the best martial artists in Japan...'
Koan gently pushed him forward, and Ranma approached the massive black throne in front of him.
With wide eyes, he stared at the girl sitting atop the throne, watching him with a smile.
She looked exactly like Akane. She had the face of Akane, the body of Akane and the hair of Akane.
But it wasn't Akane...
Suddenly, it all made sense to Ranma: The gloomy forest, those dark knights, the scary-looking landscape outside, and this fortress that looked out-and-out like the residence of an evil warlord...
He must have known it all the time, but for some reason, he wasn't able to make the connections... the darkness of this country has shrouded his mind like a black cloud.
"You are not Akane," he finally said.
The girl stayed silent for a moment. "That's correct," she then said. Even her voice sounded like Akane's...
Ranma took another step forward. "You're not Akane," he said again. "You're Ekana!"
The mistress of evil leaned back in her throne and grinned maliciously. "You're right, Ranma: I'm Ekana! And this is my fortress! Welcome to Na'aj... the Realm of Shadows!"