Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma and his friends, but the goddess Rumiko Takahashi does. I just borrowed them. Afterwards they'll of course come back, not knowing anything anymore…
OK, I hope you liked the previous chapters. My cousin said that my English became better, this made me very happy. Of course I'm still not perfect, so don't expect too much. I'm so jealous on the authors from America, who've got English as a working-language. They know every word they need and they don't have to describe it when they're too lazy to have a look into the dictionary.
I tried writing in German, but nobody is able to understand it, so I decided that it would make no sense and it would be better to write in English.
Hey, I thought at least some of you are learning German at school! So why don't you just try to read in German?! ^_~
Well, now on to the story!
Aaah, P.S.: The one (I forgot the name) who offered me to read my fics before I post them: Very nice of you, thanks. Unfortunately I wasn't able to answer you because something's wrong with our net. I will have to give my chapters to my cousin that she can post them for me, but when I'm on the net again, I'll send them to you first.
(Hope it won't need too long, I can't survive without reading fanfics. There's one I simply HAVE to read, it's so good *snif* For all Harry Potter fans out there: read "My only love" by Cathy Doll. I love it!")
FOURTH CHAPTER
Shinnosuke was lying on the ground, unconsciously. Hit by a huge stone that was almost a rock he had collapsed, while listening Ryouga's senseless waffle. It was probably one of his own traps in which he stepped in.
When he awakened again, his mind slowly returned. He moaned aloud when a terrible pain went through his left leg. He remembered that he normally should search for his loved Akane, but he could hardly stand up again.
Where's this damned… what was his name again?
At least he gave up trying to remember the name, but tried to stand up. Soon he recognized his problem. The trap he had stepped into wasn't one of his usual traps. It was one of those which were supposed to catch the dangerous over dimensional animals. What meant that Shinnosuke stepped into a trap which wasn't supposed to let the animals out again.
To his own luck, he first forgot that fact. Otherwise he might have died in panic. He felt that his leg was broken, but he did not give up hope. Convulsive he tried to get his leg out of the hole in which it stuck. He wondered how it could be broken by just stick in a hole, but then he saw a second half-rock next to it. It must have fallen onto his leg, though.
Fallen? Irritated he looked around, searching for the place where the rocks had come from.
"O-oh!" he made, suddenly remembering the principle of the trap. About one second later the third rock fell down on him, hitting him right on his head.
Knocked out once more, he didn't notice the afraid Ryouga, who nearly trapped over one of the rocks.
"Dammit! Where is that guy?!" Ryouga shouted out into the wilderness. "I can't believe that he left me alone!"
In fear of being attacked by a wild animal he walked faster and looked for a place to stay over the night. He remembered that there was a hut in the middle of the forest, but how should he find it? Sure Shinnosuke was already there, having a little rest.
"I'll take him, if I just find him!" Ryouga murmured angrily. But his bad sense of orientation didn't allow him to find anything, though.
He spent his time with wandering and cursing, not noticing that the night had broken in. He wasn't able to see the stars through the dense treetops.
With a loud "grmmph!" he sat down next to a huge tree, leaned back against it and sighed. Why was always he the unlucky one? In fact he had always been very fair and nice to everybody except of Ranma. Was it because he pretended not to be P-chan in front of Akane? That he used his situation to be near her?
No, that was impossible! Why did he have to turn into a pig ?! Really good joke, Mr. God!
And now he was alone at night in a huge forest, his sense of orientation was a real joke, it was getting cold and as if that wasn't already enough the forest was full of dangerous and a little too big animals. He shivered and sighed once again.
Akane! How shall I find you?
The darkness came faster than he had expected. It was unbearable, so dark, so cold, yes so… lonely.
* * * * *
"HEY! What are you two doing there?!"
Kunou looked back, swallowed his last peace of cake and ran outside the bakery laughing. Ukyou followed him, she also laughing like mad, and both of them made their way back to the hotel where they were going to spend the night.
"What a good idea to look for Akane in the bakeries!" Kunou shouted. Ukyou nodded pleased with herself. They had been eating cakes or other things in four bakeries now. She had told Kunou that Akane probably was staying in a bakery, because she wasn't able to cook and she needed something to eat. He believed her, of course.
"But none of it was as good as my okonomiyaki!" she smiled softly. Kunou was exactly her man, he believed every word of her, he ate simply everything and… - but, what was she thinking about? No – she loved Ranma, no-one else!
They stepped up the stairs of the small hotel. It smelled musty and there wasn't much light. At room number 13 Ukyou stopped. She looked at her key, mumbled a short "yes" and unlocked the door.
"And where's mine?" Kunou asked irritated.
"Yours?" Ukyou grinned. "This, my darling, is our room." She stepped in and turned on the lights. "It was the only one which was left." she added.
Kunou twinkled. "Do we have to sleep in the same bed, or are there two?" he asked hopefully, not thinking of just have a look into the room himself.
"No, there's just one." Ukyou pointed out. "That means that you will have to sleep on the floor. Good night."
She lied down on the small bed on the left side of the room, put out her shoes and slipped under the blankets.
The disappointment in Kunou's eyes even grew more as Ukyou didn't undress herself for sleeping. Sulking he looked for a nice place on the floor to sleep on, sat down and looked through the darkness. Ukyou was already asleep. It must have been strenuous for her to be on her feet all the day, Kunou thought. He smiled, noticing that he somehow liked this girl. With her pretty face she remembered him on the pig-tailed girl.
No, he said to himself, no, I mustn't fall in love with her. That would just make things become more difficult.
With that warning to himself, he fell asleep on the cold floor. Nice dreams of a girl swinging a spatula with her hands appeared in his head. But in the next morning he didn't remember anything.
* * * * *
Hours later and much further away another boy had to wake up and find himself frozen and shivering on the hard and cold floor.
"Dammit!" Mario muttered, scratching the back of his head. With a loud crack he stretched out his bones and smiled up to Akane, who was still asleep.
It was dark outside but the sailors were used on getting up early. They had to. It was shift work, as not all sailors could sleep at the same time. So it was about four o'clock when Mario begun with his work. He spent hours with deck-scrubbing, putting the sails on the right direction to fit with the wind and rolling barrels up and down the ship.
As he was from Italy and with that a very good cook, he had to prepare Captain Joe's breakfast.
When the sun stood high up in the sky and burned down onto the shoulders of everybody, Mario looked after Akane. He just couldn't help watching her sleeping, and he couldn't understand how a single human being could be able to sleep as long as Akane.
"He!" he whispered softly to wake her up. He thought that Akane might want to have something to eat as well.
"Have a crush on her, don' yer?" and old sailor with hardly any teethes in his mouth said.
"How want you know?" Mario asked back, annoyed. He had thought to be alone with her now, but this wasn't to be easy.
"See it. She's beautiful, isn' she?" he asked. "I'd like ter meet her alone, one time."
He grinned meaningfully.
Mario looked away, disgusted. "Oh, shut up!" he grumbled, putting his eyes back on the pretty sleeping Akane.
"AAAhh-ah-ah! What 'ave I 'eard there?"
To Mario's horror the two Frenchmen entered the room. He hated them and their posh behavior, but at least they were not as bad as the one Egyptian they had. Sighing he answered: "Nothing."
"Mario, ce n'était pas très poli !"
"Why don't you shut up, too?" Mario asked provoking,
" 'e is in a bad mood, n'est pas, François?"
François nodded grinning and turned back to Mario. "Slightly annoyed." he pointed out.
"Per'aps because of 'is girl-friend?"
"Would you please stop calling her my girlfriend?!" Mario shouted loudly, awakening Akane.
"Whatisthematter?" she asked tiredly and half-asleep.
"Uhm, nothing, you can keep on sleeping, if you want." Mario offered her. But she was awake now, stretching herself enjoying and looking asking at her society.
"Where are my clothes? I want to put them on now." she said, realizing the fact that there were only men on the ship. "Oh…, I suppose I have to send you outside now."
The Frenchmen looked at each other nearly as disappointed as Happosai would have looked.
"Mademoiselle, please, we won't look, vraiment!"
After a few more complications she finally managed it to wear her clothes and sat on one of the water barrels. Mario went on with his usual work, glancing every five minutes at Akane. If there was a chance to escape, he would certainly have told her. But she knew that she had no chance. Why did damned Cologne hate her so much? Shampoo could have every man she wanted to, she was sweet and she looked good, and who cares about Chinese laws when he's in Japan? This somehow made no sense at all.
She thought of Ranma. Her last words with him hadn't been that nice. Tears rolled down her cheek. She missed him. Him, of course, and her family. She wondered whether she could ever see them all again. She would have given everything for it.
She remembered their first kiss. Well, she knew that she couldn't call that a real kiss and Ranma didn't even remember it as he was a cat at that moment. She couldn't help crying quietly.
And there was another feeling that came over her suddenly. She felt pure hatred to Cologne and also to Shampoo. She remembered Shampoo's sorrowful eyes when she caught her in the Cat Café. But it didn't matter whether she had been sorrowful or not. What she and her great-grandmother did was a crime. And they would have to pay for taking her away from her loved fiancé.
* * * * *
to be continued…
I'm very sorry, I know, I promised that they would reach the island in this chapter. But in the next, they will!!! Really!!!
Whadd'ya think will happen with Ranma and Shampoo…? Hmmm… I know it, but I won't tell ya *evil grin*
Review!!!
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!! *Waves and bows*
