Disclaimer: I do not in any way own the rights to the works of Rumiko Takahashi, I am simply writing this for my sheer enjoyment.
Several hours had past since the group had made their overtly dramatic exit from Nerima and began on their journey towards Mount Phoenix. Currently, they were heading westward, off to the coast, where a small ship had been arranged to take them to China. Unfortunately for them though, they had come across several small snags along the way. Twice now Ryoga had managed to wander away from everyone for some odd reason or another, taking them off the beaten path that they had planned to travel, and ironically enough, causing they themselves to become lost. After several hours of running about, searching, and map double checking though, the group was for the most part quite tuckered, causing the lot to start dragging their heels. This fact though was in no way pleasing a certain few.
"Hey, what's the hold up fellas? We gotta mosey!" A particular black chúi explained from within Shampoo's grasp. He was growing quite bored from watching the dull cityscape pass him by. "We've movin' like a couple a snails here, and we have places ta be!" Before, he had plenty of other things on his mind that could preoccupy him, but now that matters seemed relatively set in stone, the whole waiting game they were playing was really starting to get on his nerves. 'Just hanging out like this is almost as bad as having to stay up all night! I don't think I can take much more! I really don't wanna miss that damn boat! If we do, we'll be screwed!'
In response, a certain lavender haired girl looked tiredly down at him, a worried frown upon her face. "…I's sorry Airen. Great-Grandmother said boat no supposed to be here until 4 o' clock, but we make sure we make it on time," she replied with a sigh, wiping some of the sweat on her brow. "We's just need to rest for little bit, no want anyone to pass out half way there! I know you anxious though," it was already a little past noon, and the group was only half way through Nagano. Given though that their destination was a small port in Toyama, they really needed to speed up the pace. 'Stupid Japan with its stupid cities. They're all just a bunch of mazes! This is just like when I was chasing Airen around the first time around!'
Akane throughout this was thoroughly grinding her teeth, having been growing more and more annoyed from all the happenings around her. "Well, we wouldn't be so behind if you Shampoo didn't have to stop and look at the map every five seconds! I swear this is getting ridiculous!" the Tendo heir yelled, momentarily turning to glare at the violet haired girl before quickly glancing back at Ryoga, making sure to keep watch of him. That was another problem they were having.
The young Amazon though just growled. "Is not my fault! If pervert-girl want to lead so bad she can! I no complain!" Shampoo's usually bubbly attitude popped momentarily due to the strain of dealing with myriad of annoyed people.
Akane flinched a bit at the abrupt outburst. She quickly realized that maybe she wasn't just the only one having issues here at the moment. "Oh, ah, sorry… I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night," she responded meekly, not wanting to set the other girl off any further. "I got up in the middle of the night just to get ready for this thing," she added, rubbing her temples. "You- you're the one who knows where the port is, I'm sure you can lead just fine." She knew regardless of whom was right, getting mad at the Amazonian girl was never really the smartest thing one could do, especially if she was in a mood. It was odd, she contemplated, ever since she discovered that energy attack of hers, keeping control of her anger had become slightly easier.
As she was contemplating this, Akane still managed to still keep a keen eye on Ryoga, not wanting a repeat of today's past events. She noticed though, taking a glance at his face, that the boy's brow was furrowed slightly. "Hey Ryoga, is something the matter? You look frustrated," she asked, wondering internally if she had somehow angered him as well.
The part-time pig quickly snapped out of it and turned his head to look down at the girl. "Oh, uh, haha, don't worry about it Akane! I'm just- I'm just trying to make sure I keep where we're going without losing track of myself. I… I know I've been kind of a problem today," he said, awkwardly grinning at her. "I don't mean to be getting lost so much! It just sort of happens! I'm just trying to stay focused; I know we still have a ways to go!"
Ranma's female form though simply rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're damn right we got a long ways left! We can't have ya stroll off like that every five minutes, pig-for-brains! It'll make all of us go bonkers!" she yelped in an overly mocking tone, before a thought popped into her head. "…Actually, whose bright idea was it ta walk all the way to the port anyway? We could a taken the train or somethin'! Then we wouldn't have had to put up with pig-butt's problem until China!"
Trying to appease the two once more, and keep her sanity in check, Shampoo explained. "Great-Grandmother say that no good idea, Ranmas. She tell me they no allow you to bring weapons on board things like train! We have to hide you in bag or somethings if we wanted to go on. And Shampoo no do that to Airen, it not right!" the Chinese martial artist answered, nodding her head sagely.
Ranma's male form just snorted. "Eh, I've been in tighter spots before. I still remember the time Akane tied me up and stuffed me in the closest during the whole moxibustion fiasco! Stickin' it out in a bag would a been no sweat!"
"Hey! That was for your own good you know it! You would have gotten hurt if I didn't do it!" Akane yelled back, as the calm she had been feeling drained out of her.
Ryoga countered back with his own insult. "Ha! Wellyou're one to talk, Ranma! If just going by what Shampoo said, it looks like you're why we have to hoof it to the place!" the lost boy uttered, crossing his arms in triumph. "Guess I'm not the source of all our problems. Next time, actually try and think before you ask stupid questions,"
"Hey! Cram it pig-breath! It ain't my fault that I got stuck like this! Don't ya have any compassion in ya?" the female Ranma glared daggers at the bandanna-boy, before a question hit her. "Hey… Wai-wait! Hold the phone a minute! If they don't let weapons and stuff on trains, then they sure as heck ain't gonna allow us on a boat while we're like this! What're we gonna do?" the red chúi asked in a rather panicked voice; her eyes looking pleadingly at the lavender haired girl.
Shampoo blinked several times, before she started to smile with genuine reassurance. She definitely knew the answer to this question. "Oh! Ranmas no need worry about that! Great-Grandmother set up deal with same people who take Shampoo to Japan first time!" she nodding. "Mmm-hmm, They real nice persons. They call themselves… try adds… or somethings? It no matter, they don't care if you bring swords, knives, or anythings with you, they too too good guys!"
Taking the words at face value, the male-chúi answered back. "Yeah, well, let's hope so. We've got enough problems as is. Don't want ta make matters any worse."
"Let's just try and stay positive that things will go smoothly once we get to China. Who knows? This could be all just one big misunderstanding that we'll all laugh off," Akane stated, trying to look on the bright side of things.
The red chúi just snorted. "Laugh off? Let me tell ya, there ain't many chuckles that you can get outta bein' an inanimate thingamawhatsit! Besides, knowing our luck there's no way it'll turn out that easy! If even just a lick of what pig-breath said was true about Kiima, then she ain't here to play games. We gotta go in prepared fer the worst a tha worst!"
"What? You think anything Ryoga said in that little story of his was true at all?" Ranma's male form gawked, egging on the Hibiki boy further. "Heh, geez, for all we really know, those bird people could'a turned into magical fairies who want ta give everyone candy! Don't count anything out yet!"
The blue haired girl butted in though, not liking Ranmas near constant taunting. "Hey! You can't just insult Ryoga like that! You're lucky that he's even here to help you while you're stuck like this! He's a true friend! Isn't that right Ryo-" But before Akane could finish her sentence, realization struck her hard as well as the others. The group was currently one party member short!
"Where bandanna-person go? He was just here second ago!" Shampoo questioned, frantically twisting and turning her head, trying to see where he headed off to.
"Aww geez, it happened again! I thought you were watchin' over him this time Akane?" the red hammer asked.
"I- I was! I just looked away for a second. This shouldn't have… Ooh, we've got to find him!"
"Hey, you know what? Why don't we just forget the idiot?" the black chúi asked with annoyance clear in his voice. "He's more trouble than he's worth! Besides, the guy's probably ended up in Ecuador or somethin' by now!"
"You total jerk! We can't just give up like that! He's probably still around… somewhere. We just have to look for him!" Akane replied, as she scanned the horizon for the currently lost, lost boy.
"Yeah, well, we better do it quick. That boat ain't gonna be there forever, and we got places that we need ta be!"
From there, the determined teens quickly set off to try and find the missing meanderer as fast as possible. Scanning the complex industrial area they were in though proved to be a lot more trouble than they would have liked it to have been, with sprawling signs, empty alleyways and pushy pedestrians getting in the way and making the task quite a chore. Luckily though, their hunt didn't last too long as mere minutes later they came across the Hibiki boy for some reason standing in a back alley with several "friends" nearby.
As the group finally caught up with him, they could only look on in bewilderment as they took in the odd sight of the bandanna wearing martial artist fending off a child from a group of thugs. "Hey Ryoga, what the hell's going on, man?" the black chúi questioned with trepidation, speaking what was currently on everyone's minds.
But before anyone could get a clear and concise answer, the wayward warrior had other things on his mind. "I won't let you hurt this innocent!" the black haired brawler bellowed in an obnoxiously heroic tone, bringing attention to the small girl standing at his side. She was a tiny little thing, no less than five, no older than seven, wearing a sky blue dress that accentuated her blonde hair. She would have easily been classified as "adorable" had it not been for the tears streaming down her face at the moment.
"Hehe, come on there kid, give little 'doll face' over there back ta us!" A blue masked wearing bandit exclaimed, one of a group of six. "We're gonna ransom er' off to her rich parents, and make a bucket load!"
Said crook though was quickly smacked upside the head. "Don't tell'em the plan, ya bozo! It ain't good fer business!" a different thug exclaimed, this one also wearing a mask, though looking a tad more expensive and well-made than the rest of the lot, possibly indicating that he held some form of authority. "'Sides, if you don't hand over da brat, we'll beat ya so bad that it won't matta! By the end ya won't even remember yer Momma's name!"
To better understand the scene before everyone, and explain just who these gruff fellows were, one would have to gather a bit of info on the leader of the lot; one Yuzuki Yamamoto. This fine upstanding individual, at a young age, grew infatuated with Americana styled gangsters, after watching and reading about them in various films and books.
His obsession worked against him for the most part though. Having spent the majority of his days pining over "hits" and "scores", Yuzuki's grades were never that good. And this, along with his aggressive tendencies, made things even more constrained for him and his parents. The straw broke though when he was finally kicked out of his prestigious private academy that his mother and father paid good money to let him get into. This in turn shocked and appalled his parents, and due to the high values of honor placed on education in Japan, they had to do the only "correct" thing in their minds: disown him.
Thrown out with nothing but a backpack to his name, Yuzuki in all honesty couldn't have been any happier about the situation. Finally he could go about and start living his dream: to join the Yakuza.
But being at the time only sixteen, Yuzuki was completely laughed at for his attempts to become part of the syndicate. He barely made it out of there alive, but not before forgetting to take his pride with him. From there, things just spiraled out progressively worse for him. It didn't matter what group he tried to become a part of. Through some varying forms of mishaps, he managed to always get himself shunned.
With no money in his pockets, and no family name to go by, Yuzuki wandered about like a ronin. In an attempt to make funds though, he found himself still drawn to the shadier parts of the cities he traveled in, and it ended up that most of the time, he would purposely get into scuffles that would put his strength and wits to the test! From the simplest thing as just stealing from those that he beat, to getting paid from the various spectators who watched him, Yuzuki not only earned a living, but became strong doing so.
Never letting his dream die though, he himself created his own "organized" crime gang. Made up of members who simply "weren't good enough" for the more regal groups, they started to perform their own little misdeeds. Today though was especially special as they were finally going to hit it big! Today they were going to kidnap Kiku Kudo, daughter of the wealthy Kudo family of Nagano, and sell her back to her parents for a fat load of dough!
And it was all going to work out perfectly! After an ingenious plan involving a brick through the window and a potato sack, they took her back to their hideout. But during their initial celebration, the little "brat" managed to break out of her ropes and made a run for it. After practically an entire morning of searching they had finally cornered her, but an annoying bandanna wearing individual was currently standing in their path.
"Umm, Pig-person, what is you doing here?" the perplexed purple haired girl asked, still standing at the alleyway entrance, extremely confused and befuddled at the picture that was being displayed out in front of her. "Why you leave us behind? Is very rude! We have place to be!"
The young Hibiki turned to look at his companions before him, (finally taking notice of them) and then quickly shifted his gaze back to the kidnappers. "While you all were bickering back there, I couldn't help but hear the screams that this little girl was making!" He pointed at the child who was huddling back behind him, scared out of her wits. "She must have been running from these people-" he pointed to the apparent criminals, "but was about to get caught. So naturally, I, performing my martial artist's duty, came to help!"
Akane clasped her hands together and let out a girlish squeal. "Oh Ryoga, that's so cool! You're such a hero!" stars were practically in her eyes.
The red chúi though, simply let out a snort as a she replied, "What? Are ya tryin' to be Mister 'knight in shining armor' now, or somethin'? First the whole Kiima bologna, and now this? You're really startin' ta lay it on thick, pal."
"Huh? Wazzat? A couple a more puny punks that we're gonna have to pulverize inta a pulp? Alright, just who was the wise guy that tipped these brats off?" Yuzuki, demanded; he had just now noticed that impromptu arrival of Shampoo and company and was not pleased.
"Oi uh, it wadent me boss! I ain't have nothin' ta do with nothin'! Cross ma heart!" Exclaimed another one of the thugs, this particular one going by the name "Chuzzley" for some odd reason or another. He had an appearance much stringier than the rest and his movements as well looking a fair bit more "bumbling".
Yuzuki though, wasn't having any of that though and chose merely to smack the back of his oddly speaking underling's skull. "Why you… I already know that, ya peanut-brained pencil-neck!" he growled, shaking his fists. "Heck, you're too stupid ta tell up from left! Even da idea that you could rat us out is enough ta kill brain cells!"
"Aww geez boss…and ya sure don't got too many a those ta spread around! I'm sorry…" Chuzzley apologized, his apparent insult infuriating Yuzuki to the point of his face becoming red.
Off back at the alleyway entrance, the four newly arrived individuals could only stare off, unsure of how to react to what they were seeing.
"Okay, really, just what the hell is going on here?" the black chúi asked, his eyes squinting a bit as he tried to contemplate what he was seeing.
"I… I no knows Airen…" the lavender haired girl mumbled, genuinely confused at the image she was witnessing. "Shampoo think they want to take that little blonde-lady away, but Shampoo also think they really really dumb…"
"Should- should we be, ya know, fightin' em'?" Ranma's female form asked.
But before anyone could answer back properly to the proposition, another non-consequential crook butted in. "Hey, uh, is that hamma, ya know, talkin'?"
The "boss" though, overdramatically slammed his palm to his face. "Oh criminy! First da kid escapes and now my own men are hallucinatin'! This is all I need!" he bemoaned himself. "Now listen ya dummies; let's just get dis ova' with as quickly as we possibly can! I want at least somethin' ta go right with us fer once!"
With that, Yuzuki's fellow gangsters charged, heading straight for the two girls standing right in front of them. The leader himself took the position of staying back, momentarily watching Ryoga and waiting for the right time to strike without damaging "the goods". The rest figured it would be easier to pick the confused newcomers off, rather than the one that seemed prepared.
It was well known though, that they weren't exactly the smartest of people.
And sadly for them though, they chose the wrong group of persons to mess with! Not missing a single beat, both Shampoo and Akane took up a defensive stance, ready to counter any sort of volatile assaults that would come their way.
'I don't know about these people… Even though they look pretty weak, Great-Grandmother always told me to never judge a book by its cover. They might just turn out to be really strong! Who knows what they can do?' Shampoo internally monologued, as she readied the two Ranmas for anything that they may throw at her.
"Ehehe, we're gonna pound'ja good! Oh ah whoop!-" Was the statement made by one of the underlings while charging forth. Sadly though, due to the fact that they were standing in an alleyway, their movements were quite impeded and constrained, and as a pack of four of them erupted at the blue and purple haired girls, their environment proved to be their folly.
In essence they just tripped over themselves like a bunch of mono-brain-celled numbskulls.
Akane's left eye twitched as she saw the lot take a turbulent tumble to the ground, with the only remaining threat faltering back a bit, finding himself flinching, not able to believe the odds or the stupidity.
"Oh come on you people! We haven't even done anything yet!" Akane growled, clearly unimpressed at the display she just witnessed. Not missing a beat, the youngest Tendo girl took initiative, quickly stepping forward and abusively smashing the remaining assailant's face into the wall. "We really don't have time for this… Shampoo, could you get the others?"
Brightening up a bit, and coming out of the stupor she was put in, the purple haired girl responded with simply, "Okay's!" before stamping upon the trio below her with her feet, pounding their lights out for the count.
"Uh oh Boss, wadda we gonna do?" the bumbling Chuzzley asked, having stayed back waiting to double-team Ryoga with Yuzuki. "Dey got us out numbuhed seven ta four!"
Suavely, and with full righteous determination, Ryoga butted in. "You're going to let the girl go and turn yourself in to the authorities!" he demanded, once again going into his unusually gallant bravado as of recent.
"Ah, damn it pig-breath, would ya quit with this shtick that you've been doin' already? You're startin' ta sound like a Kuno! Besides, we gotta get goin' to Toyama soon! We don't wanna have the ship leave without us!" The red hammer quickly reminded him.
"Well excuse me Ranma, for wanting to prevent someone from being kidnapped! You're saying we should just ignore things and move on?" the bandanna wearing individual asked, a slightly superior tone in his voice.
"Hey that ain't… I mean, oh aww geez!" the male chúi continued on where his counterpart left off. "Shampoo, can we just beat up these people already and get things going? We've got places to be!"
The purple haired girl meanwhile was using her drilled in Amazonian combat training to absently make sure that none of the three that charged after them would be getting up for the time being. But once hearing Ranma's request, she perked up. "Okay's Airen, we get this over with now. Shampoo is starting to get bored!"
As the Chinese warrior took several steps forward, along with Akane and Ryoga, (who double checked to make sure that the girl he was protecting wouldn't be nabbed behind his back.) they prepared to pound out the lights of the remaining two crooks and settle this odd bump in the road finally.
Yuzuki though, despite his gruff demeanor, and quite terrible luck, was at least a reasonable man. And as such, knew when a tactical retreat would be required. Taking one last look at the prize he was about to lose, he grabbed his remaining companion and uttered the following. "I think it's time that we skedaddle outta dis joint for a little while! Ya kids got lucky dis time, but we'll be back for ya's!" And before anyone could make a move, the yakuza wannabe used his surprising strength to leap upwards, jutting himself and Chuzzeley far into the air and above any sort of walls that could impede their path; making their ultimate escape.
Blinking a few times, Akane's mouth fell slightly agape before she responded in a rather deadpan voice, "Well, I didn't expect that to happen."
"Shampoo no expect any of this…"
"Well, regardless, thank you everyone for assisting me in making sure those crooks didn't get away with anything! Haha!" the bandanna wearing Hibiki boy exclaimed; bravado filling his voice.
"Oh, it's no problem Ryoga," Akane replied, once again returning to her bubbly tone of voice when speaking to the lost boy. "It's so nice of you to want to help people like this!"
"Help? What the heck are you goin' on about, pig-brain?" the crimson chúi demanded; an indignant tone about her. "You didn't do anythin' at all besides just stand there! It was Shampoo and Akane that did all the work!"
"Oh, now don't get into this! You're just annoyed that Ryoga stopped those guys before you could!"
"Akane is too too weird," Shampoo stated, trying to divert some of the flack Ranma was getting on to her. "Why you act as if umbrella-boy perfect person? It remind me of Mousse."
As the four absently bickered back and forth on inane subject matters, the eternally lost boy turned his attention on to the ward that he was protecting; trying to make sure she wasn't too terribly shocked about everything going on. "So… what's your name, uh, little girl?" he asked, not actually knowing it.
"Umm, it's Kiku, Mister!" the blonde haired lass stated who up until then had been hiding herself behind the umbrella wielding warrior and was just now coming out after the coast was cleared.
"Ooh, good, good, Kiku… Umm, don't you worry, those guys aren't gonna bother you anymore, okay?" the Hibiki boy awkwardly reassured.
From there he continued on, asking her several additional questions: if she was alright, who her parents were, where she lived and generally how everything happened up to this point. The other listened in when she got to the part of how she got kidnapped. It apparently happened just the previous night.
"Well wait, hold on! That was stupid! How the heck did those crooks even pull somethin' like that off? Weren't your parents there?" the male mallet questioned with genuine concern in his voice.
Kiku though just stared as the hammer-like object in front of her spoke, confusion filling her face until, as if the wheels started churning her head, she yelped back! "Ahh! Evil-toy-monster-man!" she screamed, as she once again huddled around Ryoga's leg, a renewed fear inside of her.
"Hey! I ain't no monster, I'm a human!..." The male chúi stopped to consider his words. "Well, I mean, not right now, really, but I'm not some frea!- err, I guess you could… Ah I ain't evil or nothin'! So don't worry!" he angrily yelled back, but this in turn just made the recently rescued girl flinch back even further in fear at the talking object.
Akane interjected to scold the talking chúi. "Ranma you idiot, you're scaring her! You gotta remember that some people aren't used to stuff like this."
Ranma's female form just grunted in distaste. "Ah geez, so not only can't I walk or move, but I actually scare the wits outta kids? I swear… What're we gonna do now anyway? I said it before, but we got places ta be! We're really gonna have to put the pedal to the metal if we wanna get to the boat in time!"
Ryoga merely looked across at the group. "We should take the girl to the cops or her parents or something. It's the right thing to do."
Shampoo quickly cut in, not liking Ryoga's words. "Pig-person is stupid! We miss ship if we go to police! Besides, Great-Grandmother warn Shampoo, she say they ask too too many questions about things! Copper-people is no good!" the purple haired girl exclaimed, her brow furrowed. She remembered the time when Cologne had to talk her way out of an incident when she burst through a customer's door while making a delivery. After that, the: "Be there in thirty minutes or it's free" offer was rescinded by the Café.
Akane though went to the lost boy's defense. "She's just a kid! We can't just tell her to walk home by herself! It's not right, especially after being kidnapped. We can always make another ship."
Shampoo just scowled as she heard the Tendo's attempt at reasoning. "Is not true! Boat set up for very special occasion! People's taking us be very mad if we no show up! Besides, Shampoo promise Airen! We get him back to normal!"
'It'll take who knows how long to get to Mount Phoenix at this rate. And we've already wasted a week! Great-Grandmother warned me that Airen can't regenerate ki while in this state. She said that he'll run dry in a month after the transformation! Making our way through Japan was supposed to be the easy part, but so far it's been nothing but trouble! We can't have anymore delays! I don't want either of them to get hurt!'
As the group continued on bickering, they grew more and more unsure of just what to do with the child. This would have regretfully continued on for an additional extended period of time, if it wasn't for the noise of a roaring engine coming to a halt; causing the group to cease in their arguing.
As the lot stared on in mild bemusement, a woman slowly picked herself out of an expensive looking limousine. Blonde hair adorned the top of her head, done up in a "beehive" style that made her look a tad absurd. Adding to the perplexity, a slightly snug dark blue evening gown covered the rest of her slightly overweight figure. She looked to be roughly in her early forties but the heavy amount of makeup she was wearing hid the fact well. It was clear though, from all the jewelry she was wearing, that she was quite well off financially.
She simply just stood there for a moment, focusing her eyes around before they narrowed on to the child hiding behind Ryoga. "Kiku! Oh my precious little baby, I found you!" she yelled, rushing over past the teens, her arms wide open. (All the while making sure to not stumble over the still conked out crooks on the pavement)
Said "Kiku's" eyes brightened up at this, as she swiftly let go of the bandanna wearing warrior and ran over to the other woman, a huge smile on her face. "Mommy!" she cried as the two embraced in a hug.
"Oh, well, that's improbably convenient." Akane murmured, clasping her hands together as it seemed as though all of the momentary problems had been fixed for them.
Ryoga though, was not quite as sure. "Umm, hold on, excuse me Miss? Just who are you?" he asked, taking a slow step forward, ready to act at a moment's notice.
The apparent mother of the kidnapped girl's eye's widened, as she just now noticed the (from her perspective) three other youths standing in her general vicinity. Still holding on to her child, she grew a bit more formal. "Oh, please excuse me! My name is Kaoru Kudo. I'm Kiku's mother. I've been looking for her all night. I was so worried… May I ask who you all might be?"
Before either of the five could respond though, the junior Kudo quickly interjected in a happy, bubbly tone. "That man and his friends saved me from the bad people Mommy. That man right there!" she uttered, twisting herself around in Kaoru's arms to gesticulate at Ryoga.
The woman's eyes lit up at this and she turned her gaze over to the eternally lost boy. "Oh my, is what my daughter telling me true? You stopped those horrid people who took my precious little Kiku away?" she asked with a sense of wonderment in her voice.
Ryoga sniffed and puffed up his chest as the praise swept over him. "Oh, hehe, it was nothing Ma'am! Just doing what any normal person would in this situation. I heard her yelling and I ran to help! A few of the guys got away though. But those three didn't," he stated, pointing to the remaining thugs.
The black chúi just rolled his ki eyes. "Yeah, it sure was nothin'!. Standin' around really makes ya the hero of the day, don't it?" he snarkily said, annoyed that the part-time pig was soaking up all the credit. "Whatever, we got places ta be damn it! We don't have time ta play 'Captain Cape and friends!'"
Kaoru did a double-take when she saw what appeared to be a hammer somehow able to talk. "Oh, my! Just what exactly are you supposed to be?" She indicated at Ranma, taking a small step forward.
Kiku though, quickly replied, "It's a big evil monster Mommy! It's gonna kill us!" She yelped, a serious tone in her voice.
"I keep tellin' ya kid! I ain't no monster!" Ranma's female form reiterated.
"Oh, there are two of you now?" the rich Kudo woman asked.
Shampoo tried to hurry things along. "Is very long story…We no really have time to explain things too much!"
"You can just think a me as your friendly neighborhood talking hammer that's here to kick the bad guy's collective butts, alright?" the black tool stated, in a rather deadpan voice.
Before anymore questions could be asked, Akane smartly tried to change the subject to something that had been on her mind. "Umm, Mrs. Kudo, I was wondering, how exactly were you able to find us like this? You just sort of rolled up out of the blue like that…"
Kaoru simply just blinked, before turning to the blue haired girl and laughed. "Oh! Well you see, I placed a tracking chip in the back of my daughter's neck incase something happened to her. She's dreadfully incompetent."
"I like dancing, and my family, and hugs!" Kiku remarked.
The group abstained in silence for a short period of time, before the black hammer decidedly broke it. "Welp, okay folks, that pretty much wraps everythin' up! Lady, you should probably call the cops or somethin', if for nothin' else other than ta get those scumbags-" he pointed his pretend peepers over to the groaning and moaning punks on the ground, "locked up for at least a little while. You don't want'em havin' a repeat performance a what happened today. But hey, we gotta get a move on! Our boat leaves in…" he blinked, stopping his tirade. "I don't know when! What's the time?"
Akane in turn checked her watch. "Umm, guys? It's seven to one…" she stated, eyes panning over the rest of the ensemble.
The red chúi gasped at this revelation. "Ah cripes! The ship leaves in like, three hours! We gotta mosey! Shampoo, step on it!"
Just before the purple haired Amazon could set the record for shortest cross-country dash through central Japan ever witnessed, the well-to-do Kudo woman jumped in. "Ah, excuse me, do you all need a ride somewhere? I can assuredly assist you on that if so. It'd be the least I could do for you all helping rescue my daughter."
Ryoga though, widened his eyes, and started waving his arms in a discouraging gesture. "Oh no, no, you're thanks is enough. I'm sure if we hurry we can still make it right on time! You don't owe us anything at all."
"Oh you God damn bet she does! We don't have time ta be selfless!" Ranma's male form uttered, turning his ki eyes over to the older woman. "Lady, whatever ride you can give, we'll take it!"
Mrs. Kudo simply just smiled. "Ah marvelous!" she responded, clasping her hands. "Where exactly though do you need to get to?"
Akane swiftly answered. "Toyama, by the bay… we need to catch a boat."
The middle-aged woman just nodded. "Ah yes, of course. That should be fine, just tell my driver where you need to go. I'll call another car for myself; it shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience. I have plenty of extra help working about."
Ranma's female form brightened up considerably after hearing this. "Heh, well at least something's looking up for us for once with us. Maybe you runnin' into those punks back there wasn't such a bad thing after all, don't ya think, P-chan?"
The eternally lost boy's brow furrowed, ever so slightly. "Yeah…"
As the group prepared to take off on their way to Toyama, things for once seemed to actually be going their way; with them now finally being able to rest for a moment or two before heading across the sea for the second half of their journey. Whether or not this tentative spot of luck would last though, was up for question.
In a rundown hole in the wall diner, somewhere in one of the more sleazy parts of Nagano, two tired and weary teenagers sat, trying to recoup from various mishaps that had been put in their path as of late. What should have been just a daylong trip to another district for Mousse and Ukyo, had turned into a series of trial and tribulations that had pushed them all across central Japan and around again. Their running and constant troublemaking continuously pushed their so wanted return to Nerima back on their schedule. Often time's things like them checking "one last place" (usually by Ukyo's request) would in turn become a harrowing tale of near fatal escape and the committing of actions that were of questionable legality. And so, there they sat, sipping on some free water and trying to plan out their next move.
"What the hell are we even doing?" Asked Ukyo, her forearms placed on the table, holding her head as her fingers ran through her hair.
Mousse simply just took another drink out of the glass before him, and gave the girl an icy glare. "You tell me. You're the one who keeps on making our lives miserable. Honestly! What kind of stupid idea is checking out an art museum? Why the hell would Kiima be there?" he demanded, his cold visage shattering before it could even really be established.
Ukyo raised her head, her face rather distraught as her voice went up an octave. "It made sense at the time! They were doing that whole display on 'rising from the ashes'! I mean, phoenixes? Ashes? It sounded like the perfect kind of place that they'd want to check out!" Her appearance though quickly changed, as anger filled her. "And hey, don't blame me for what happened there, honey! If your knife thing hadn't scratched that painting we would have been outta the place in twenty minutes! But no!" Her arms started to flail wildly. "We had to spend the next five hours dodging the police! I barely got any shuteye last night wondering if they were gonna nab us!... Oh yeah, did I mention that I just loved sleeping out of that box yet?"
"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me…" Mousse mumbled under his breath. "Listen, I'm sorry for that thing at the museum. My arm just sort of slipped! I- we both haven't gotten a proper night's rest in like, half a week. At least- at least I don't think they got a good look at our faces. You put together that 'guy' costume of yours faster than I could count to three," he remarked, trying to look at the upside of the issue. "And hell, I don't even look like myself right now anyway. I haven't shaved since we left Nerima," the Chinese martial artist stated, rubbing his hands over his growing facial hair.
"Well, I guess that's one good thing to come out of this. But no offense sugar, you need a trim. That fuzz on your face really doesn't suit you," the okonomiyaki chef drolly murmured, fingering a small packet on the table to ease the tension, before her eyes lit up. "Oh, hey. Free crème." she casually stated, unremarkably ripping the tiny condiment container open and going to town on it with her tongue, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Mousse simply stared, a bewildered expression on his face, before he cracked out into, when put lightly, a delightful revelry. "Ha!- Haha!- Hahah! Oh- oh God, we really need to get some money for some food going here. Hehe- haha!"
Ukyo though was not amused, and gave him an indignant look. "Hey! You can laugh, but you gotta take what you can get! Back when I was on the road, I'd sometimes run low on supplies and have to forage all around for stuff!" she huffed, nodding her head sagely. "Let me tell you something, honey. There's a gold mine of food waiting to be found around if you're just willing to give a look!" 'And your dignity…'
"Yeah, yeah I know. ha, it's just- it's just they didn't exactly show us that in basic survival training at the village." Mousse rebutted, actually finally having his first, real laugh in what seemed like months.
The bandolier brandishing girl simply looked away. "Yeah, well, whatever. At least I'm actually trying to be proactive. I already asked once, but what are we even doing? We're just sitting around here," she questioned, an extra bit of urgency added to her voice.
The robe wearing warrior calmed down exponentially after hearing this and let out a cough. "Yes, well, I think at this point we don't have much a choice, do we? We're at wits end. We simply need to go back to Nerima. Once we're done resting here, we can probably make it there by nightfall or so," he said, pounding his fist into his hand. "That is if we don't want to stress it. We could probably be back sooner if we just bolt for it… But after everything we've been though, I think taking it easy would well, be for the best." He was attempting to reason in an astute manner. He was finally happy that this nightmare was about to come to a close. 'I swear, once I get back to Nerima, I'm going to give that old ghoul a real talking to. I don't care how many bops on the head I get! If she wants me to continue this charade, I at least want to do it with a hotel room to fall back on!'
Ukyo though, scrunched her face a bit. "Umm, actually honey, I was thinking… there are a few other places left that we could check out. I mean, if we're just going to leave again in a few days anyway…"
Mousse simply just stared, flabbergasted, his mouth agape. "No… un- unbelievable! You- you after- after everything we've put up with, you're asking for more?" he scoffed, raising his arms in a denying fashion. "Okay- okay, I- I seriously need to ask you this. Are you a masochist? Honestly, tell me, please. I just need to know. Because there is no sane person out there who would be willing to do all this for Ranma Saotome of all people! There has to be another reason!"
Ukyo's face turned red as she barked back indignantly. "You don't understand! Rachan… he's the best! He's been my friend for years! And I spent so long hating him for no reason… I've got to- I've just got to make it up to him somehow! It's the right thing to do!"
Mousse just snorted and gave her an annoyed look. "Really, you really think he cares about that? Has he ever even brought it up, at all? I mean, he didn't even know you were a girl when you were first friends. You yourself told me! So why would he give a thought to the fact that you hated him for over ten years?" he angrily asked, pointing his index finger down on the table. "Face it; the guy barely even qualifies as a friend! I bet he only just thinks of you as a source of free food! He didn't even want you to come with him to Mount Phoenix!"
"No- but… but what we're doing here is important! What happens if this Kiima person isn't there once they get to the mountain, huh? Ranchan'll have to rely on us to track her down!" Ukyo countered, her face faltering back a bit at the start, but soon reaffirming herself.
The part-time café worker was unfazed by this though; he was on a roll. "Yes, because what we're doing right now is so important, right? Come on, think about it! We're pretty much just doing busy work! The only reason we're even out here is because you complained!" Mousse further ranted on, glaring at the girl in front of him. "All the grief we've been though? All the crap I've had to put up with? It's been entirely pointless! You're just too in denial to see it!" he bellowed, venom filling his voice as he unleashed all his troubles on the girl, uncaring if he was making a scene.
The young okonomiyaki chef though was not going to put up with such a personal insult. "Right, right, everything's my fault, isn't it, sugar? You know what? Now you're making me mad! This entire trip I've been trying to stay positive and hope for the best. But you- you have just not, stopped, COMPLAING!" she barked, her voice getting louder with each word. "Everything you say… It's like you think the whole world is out to get you! And you just, keep, going, ON about it! I've been trying to pass the time, telling you a little about myself, sharing stories, but every word that has come out of your mouth is just another reason for you to start moaning about things again!" Her face was red hot as the dam of her anger finally broke, just like Mousse's.
Before the other boy could counter back though, Ukyo just continued on. She still had a few choice words that she needed to get out. "And honey, don't get me started on how hypocritical you're being! You're telling me you wouldn't be obsessing as much as I am if Shampoo was in Ranchan's place?" she asked, giving him a cheeky look and crossing her arms. "You know, I really love that one story of how you told me you kidnapped Akane. Oh, haha, and the best part? How you tried to spin it so it was Ranchan who was in the wrong! That was great! So, ya know what? Before you go and complain about me, take a good long look at yourself, because you're just as bad!"
Mousse winced back a little at the verbal beat-down he was just the recipient of. While admittedly he that hadn't exactly been the friendliest person around throughout their little expedition, he had good reason for it… didn't he? Mousse was forced into this. And everything just kept on getting worse for him. Of course he had the right to complain!... But deep down he knew he wasn't exactly being the best companion towards Ukyo on this trip. 'I guess she made somewhat of a good point. I'd probably be looking twice more fiercely than we are now if it was my Shampoo that was in danger. Even if it is Saotome of all people, she seems to really care for him. I mean, I guess, who am I to judge how she feels?'
Letting out a sigh, and tilting his head downward, Mousse simply responded. "I'm sorry."
Ukyo's fiery disposition faltered back a bit upon hearing this, just as she was ready to head off on another tangent. "Wha- what'd you say, honey?"
The weapon's master raised his eyes to her level, still feeling a bit like a child being scolded by his mother. "I said I'm sorry. I- I guess I've been kind of a heel lately. Things, they just haven't really been going my way for a while now, but it's no reason for me to be taking it out on you!" the glasses wearing boy responded, trying his best to make amends. "You- You're right. You're handling this a lot better than I probably would have considering the circumstances. And being out here… Well, it's not entirely pointless I guess. I'll uh, try to be a bit better from now on,"
The spatula wielding warrior backed down somewhat, as a large amount of the anger she was feeling drained out of her. The usual reasonable sensibilities she had returning mostly as she realized how silly she was being. "Oh, it's- it's alright Mousse. What I said… was kind of uncalled for. I know you have nothing to really gain in this and I really just appreciate you willing to try and help out." She sighed; this had just not been a good week for either of them. "I'm sorry if I'm just making things worse for you. I just don't know what to do right now I guess. I mean, they didn't want me to come with them. And well, that hurt. I'm just trying to make up for everything. But I guess it's not really working. I'm- I'm really sorry." Ukyo finished, frowning slightly and placing her hands down on the table in front of her, a tired look on her face as she let out all her worries and troubles unto the boy in front her.
Mousse stared at the girl before him. She seemed so… jaded now that he got a good look at her. Even with all the complaining he'd been doing, it appeared as if she'd been the one who was hurting worse. Without even giving it a thought, he awkwardly placed his hand over hers', patting it to try and reassure her. "Hey … Don't- don't worry too much about things. I suppose we both have a lot of stuff on our minds right now. I guess that's what's causing us to get at each other's necks." Noticing her frown lessening, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I- Hey! You know what? Why don't we go looking around a little more? I mean, what's it gonna hurt? We can go back home later, or tomorrow!"
The okonomiyaki chef's eyes brightened up upon hearing this. "You- you're okay with that? I mean that's- that's great! There're still a few places that I really want to take a peek at! I was thinking, why don't we go south? I mean, it's getting on to summer pretty soon and that's where birds fly off to right? It makes perfect sense! Oh there's also…"
As Ukyo went rambling on about the various locales she wanted to head to, Mousse couldn't help but chuckle. In the past few days he had grown quite used to the semi-bubbly like attitude of the girl before him and to see her down just really didn't sit right with him. As he watched her animatedly go off on a tangent, he sadly felt the need to interrupt. "Ah, that's great, but I think we should probably head out of here first. I think our little 'conversation' might've disturbed a few people," he stated, looking around at a few other patrons who were giving him and the girl an eye.
Turning around herself, and seeing that they seemingly were making a sight, Ukyo just nodded. "Right, of course." At that, she started stuffing napkins as well as a few handfuls of sugar cubes that were laying in a jar next to her into her pocket.
Mousse blinked and scratched his head as he watched the spatula wielding girl raid the items around her. With a bewildered expression, he felt the need to whisper the following, "Um, just what the hell are you doing?"
Ukyo though continued stuffing her pockets. "We haven't eating anything today and we still don't have any money. Now you see that glass of water you're sipping out of? Stick it up your sleeve like you do your weapons and then get ready to bolt. I got everything else."
The part-time duck's left eye just began to twitch, though nevertheless he followed the order. "But why?" he asked as he carefully hid the water away.
"Simple! We're gonna pour the sugar into the water and dip the napkins in it! Trust me honey, we'll be eatin' good tonight!"
6/04/11: Extensive edits done by R.T. Stephens and myself.
