Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com
Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trials
Chapter 12
Deep in a hidden laboratory, an old man shuffled his slightly-
hunched frame around the room as he gathered the needed supplies.
Satisfied he had everything, he walked back to the large boiling pot in
the center of the room and dumped the assorted ingredients into it. The
purplish, bubbling liquid inside consumed it all.
Satisfied, he held aloft a pole with a string attached. The
other end of the string held a crystal orb. Like a fisherman, he lowered
the crystal into the devilish stew until it was completely submerged.
The contents of the pot began to glow, increasing into a
brilliant white. The resulting flash of white brilliance caused the old
man to shield his eyes.
When the flare finally died down, he opened his eyes and beheld
the now empty pot and crystall ball resting on the bottom.
he thought to himself, his emotions a mixture of joy and sorrow.
In another room, a library of sorts, Miyo was looking through
several large volumes of books, searching for one in particular. This
shelf was filled with the books Nabiki had given her, that were
supposedly from the Kuno mansion. They were old and in pretty bad shape,
so she had to be careful, lest she handle it wrong and lose the precious
knowledge inside.
"Have you found it yet?" Toshi asked her.
Miyo let a sigh of frustration seep out. "No, and it might not
be here." One of her mother's books referenced another manuscript that
she hoped would be in the Kuno section, but so far, there was no such
luck.
"Is it that important?" her almost constant companion, asked
nonchalantly.
Miyo thought about. Was it? "Yeah, sorta, I-ugh!" Her speech
was cut off as her body convulsed and she stumbled clumsily off the
step-ladder.
Toshi looked up from where he was seated at the table. He
couldn't actually see the fortune-teller from here. "Miyo-san? You
alright?" Concerned, he stood and walked to the section where he knew
she was. "Miyo!"
The brown-haired girl could just make out Toshi's facial
features, before her world collapsed in on itself...
"Are you sure, Tenma?" Ryo eyed his rival doubtfully.
He nodded. "Someone's definitely been followin' us for the past
couple of days. Good, too. Been hidin' their aura."
Tenma suddenly found a curvy form latched onto his arm. "Then
it's a good thing I have you to protect me, Tenma-sama."
The martial-artist sweatdropped in nervousness, especially
since his admirer was wearing a form-fitting, black bodysuit. He
extricated himself from her grasp and darted around to the other side of
Ryo. "Ahem! I think we should concentrate on our mission.."
"What holds thee up, lowly commoner? Surely thy fortitude is
able enough for this mild constitutional?"
Tenma and Ryo groaned as the voice came from farther up the
trail, from their fourth and last traveling companion who had insisted
on coming along to protect his sister. Only now, he was actively trying
to push Tenma and Konisha together.
he reasoned. He
chuckled to himself at his cleverness.
The two boys trailing him looked at each other and raised an
eyebrow, then Ryo said, "Man, he kinda gives me the creeps. He always
like this?"
"Why ya askin' me?" Tenma replied. "I haven't known him much
longer than you." He glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky where
several stars were already beginning to emerge. "Hey, Kuno! I think it's
about time we make camp for the night!"
He took off his pack and began to unroll his bed mat, noting
Ryo doing the same. To his chagrin, he also noticed Konisha unrolling
hers right next to his. He tried to ignore it for now, since there was
something else on his mind. He motioned for Ryo to come closer and spoke
to him in hushed tones, explaining what he planned to do. Ryo nodded,
and started to gather up sticks for a fire.
"I'm going to go catch some dinner!" Tenma called as he vanished
into the forest. "Be right back."
The Kuno siblings watched him go, Tateyama scowling at his back
while Konisha's face showed longing, but she then switched to gazing
lovingly at Ryo (which made said boy very nervous for some reason).
"It looks like they're camping for the night."
The other person nodded. "We should do the same." She began to
unroll her own bedmat.
Her traveling companion watched her for a few moments, then
decided to ask something that been on her mind since the beginning. "Why
are we doing this?"
"What do you mean?" she replied, but the other girl was giving
her a look which said, `I know you know what I'm talking about.' She
scowled. "You didn't have to come along."
The other girl snorted. "A lot of good I would have done back
there. It seems no one there thinks a girl can fight." She shrugged.
"Plus, I've been on my own so long, I'm not used to having anybody tell
me what to do."
"Hey, I-" Her speeched was interrupted as something suddenly
dropped out of the trees above them.
"A-HA!"
"EEEK!" *WHAP!* *WHAM!*
Ranko blinked. "Tenma?"
"Ite..." Tenma groaned from the ground.
Akara scowled. "Honestly, what was the big idea of trying to
scare us like that!?"
Saotome dragged himself to his feet. "And what's the big idea
of following us!? Why didn't you leave with Kameko's group?" Akara's
older sister had left the Kuno fortress with a bunch of non-combatants,
so they wouldn't be caught up in the fighting that would soon take
place.
"Why should I!?" she retorted. "What business of it is yours
what I do!"
"You're my fiancee, remember!?" he said in mock tones. "Besides,
it's not safe out here. What if we run into an enemy scouting party?"
"I can take of myself!" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's more than you can do at the moment, Mr. I-have-no-strength."
Tenma threw up his arms in frustration. "Then why are you
here?"
Secretly, Akara was a little confused about that as well. Why
WAS she here? She wasn't quite sure, but she thought it might have
something to do with what happened on Tenma's balcony a couple of nights
ago. The whole thing still had a dream-like, surreal quality to it. Had
she really been about to kiss Tenma? Did she even want to? She didn't
quite know what her feelings were, and definitely wasn't ready to deal
with them right now, so she shoved them aside.
"I was worried about you, you big jerk!" She thumped his chest
for emphasis. "Don't ask me why!"
He blinked, unable to say anything at the moment. Akara was
steaming, either from her anger or from her admission. Thankfully, Ranko
spoke up.
"Well, since they know we're here, we might as well join the
group." She gathered up her mat and backpack. "Come on, Akara-san." She
grabbed her new friend's arm and hauled her off.
Tenma could only stand there and watch her go.
It was truly a strange lot that sat around the campfire that
night. Though Tenma and Akara didn't say anything else to each other for
the rest of the day, that didn't stop Ryo from clumsily trying to talk
to her and Konisha from trying to snuggle up to Tenma. Of course, this
meant an ensuing conflict when Tateyama tried to silence `the knave who
dares sully the lovely Tendo Akara with his presence.'
The fight was stopped before it could begin when Akara belted
Kuno into a tree, knocking him unconscious. She then declared she was
going to bed.
Ranko, who had been watching all this with a bemused grin,
decided to hit the sack as well. In turn, Konisha bid the boys good-
night, leaving Tenma and Ryo as the only ones around the fire. After a
short scuffle (settled via Junken-pow), it was decided that Tenma take
the first watch, so Ryo reluctantly turned in.
The fire slowly died to a dull, glowing red, and Tenma found
his gaze drawn to his fiancee's bed mat. He was mezmerized by how
peaceful and serene her face looked when she was asleep.
His features immediately turned into a scowl. he thought.
His thoughts turned back to another night that seemed like an
eternity ago, when Akara had told him of her fears and cried herself to
sleep in her arms. Why had she opened herself up to him like that? And
what was it about her that made him want to keep her safe? Why had he
become so angry at the thought of her married to another man?
That last thought brought up the strange meeting a couple of
nights ago where Akara brought Neko back with them. The big cat was
around somewhere, following them, but that wasn't what Tenma was
thinking of. All he could think of was that one moment he was pretending
indifference, and the next Akara's warm and soft body was in his arms.
He had never had the urge to kiss a girl before, but there he was
feeling strangely compelled to... what? Kiss her? Why?
Blinking himself back to reality, he checked the position of
the moon in the sky and noted that it was time for Ryo's nightwatch
shift. Why had time flown so quickly?
After waking his old friend/rival/training partner, he quickly
let sleep claim him, which postponed more soul-searching.
Good thing, too; it was exhausting and getting him nowhere.
The next morning was grey with low hanging clouds that
threatened rain. It was quiet and gloomy, which fit the mood of the
small group perfectly. They walked along single file, with the only
talking being when they rotated who had point and who was covering the
rear.
In fact, Tenma noticed that the only sound was their footsteps
and occasional speech. Try as he might, he could discern no chirping of
birds, nor any calls of any forest animal. While he pondered this, it
became clear around noon when they arrived at the next town, or what was
left of it.
Just like the town where he spent the night with Akara, Ryo,
and Kae, this one was completely deserted. Not a soul could be seen.
Nowhere in or around the assorted huts, could a sign of life could be
detected.
"They have fled," Tateyama declared.
It was true, Tenma realized. They had been traveling close to
the approaching line of the Dark Shogun's army. He guessed the animals,
as well as the people, had sensed the danger and left northward, hoping
to escape the encroaching darkness.
"Spread out," he said at last. "See what you can find and use."
Tateyama shot him a dark look. "Ye would rob these people of
their belongings? I guess that is to be expected out of a lowly cur,
such as you."
Tenma snorted. "Not all of us have been pampered all of our
life, rich boy. We make do with what we have, making use of anything we
come across."
"Tenma's right," Akara agreed. Tenma shot her a surprised side
glance. He didn't expect her to agree with him. "If our mission is
successful and we defeat the dark shogun's army, these people can return
home. If we fail, this town will be pillaged and destroyed anyway."
The nobleman seemed to accept it then, coming from Akara's
mouth, and the small group split up. They searched the houses in
silence, coming up with blankets and foodstuffs that were left behind
when the villagers fled. Even though she knew what they were doing was a
necessity, Akara still felt like she was robbing a grave. She gave a
silent prayer of apology to these people and to her ancestors, that they
would be successful in their mission.
A half-hour later, after they had eaten some of the scrounged
rice and vegetables, they regrouped at the opposite side of the small
village and resumed their journey. This time, though, there was slightly
more conversation. The Kuno siblings were deathly silent, however, as if
the reality of what was happening suddenly hit them, breaking through
their sheltered lives.
For Tenma, Akara, Ryo, and Ranko, this was more confirmation of
what they already knew, and made them that much more determined to put a
stop to the threat the dark army represented. Soon, however, Akara broke
off with Ranko to talk with her, as Tenma did with Ryo.
"So why are you here, Ranko-san?" Akara asked her. They'd had
some time to talk and get aquatinted back at the Kuno estate, but she
didn't know a whole lot about the mysterious red-head.
Ranko shrugged. "Wanna kick some dark shogun butt," she said
simply, as if it answered everything. "The dark army destroyed my town
and my adoptive family. I wanna make him pay."
Akara shivered as her aura came into contact with the deathly-
chilled one of her companion's. It was apparent Ranko was holding a lot
of disgust and hate inside, so she tried to turn the conversation
elsehwere. "You said adpotive? What about your real family?"
The redhead shrugged again. "Don't know. Supposedly a woman
passed through my town once, carrying me as a baby. She left me with my
adpotive family, then mysteriously disappeared." She reached into her
shirt and pulled out a small, flat, green object. It had a small hole in
it, so it could be secured via a leather strap around her neck. "Besides
the blanket I was wrapped in, I was told I had this around my neck."
"It looks like a dragon scale," Akara said.
Ranko smiled. "That's what I've always thought." She shook her
head and replaced the scale in her shirt. "But there no such things as
dragons, so I guess I'll never know."
"Ranko..." The raven-haired girl placed a hand on the redhead's
shoulder in support.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
The girl's attention was suddenly drawn forward at Ryo's shout.
"What?" Tenma could be heard asking in an innocent voice. "Pig-
boy, bacon-breath, or Mr. P?"
"Teeeennnnmmmmaaa!"
Akara and Ranko sighed in unison as Ryo struck out with his
fist. Despite knowing there was no strength to it, Tenma avoided it by
flipping out of the way. Undeterred, Ryo charged after him, swinging out
with arms and legs, and the chase was on.
"Tenma!" Akara called. "Stop picking on Ryo-kun! And don't run
off!"
But the call came too late, as the two boys had already
disappeared into the thick bushes ahead. The two girls took off after
them, the Kuno siblings right behind.
Tenma continued to dodge and tease Ryo, knowing his old friend
had become entirely too depressed lately. Sure enough, the release of
anger was enough to bring the old Ryo back to the surface. The two boys
bounded through the forest with a fearsome display of martial arts
skills and tenacity.
That is, until Tenma misjudged his landing from a jump and
ended up tripping backwards. Ryo, sensing his rival's misfortune, struck
out with his strongest punch. The tap didn't do any damage, but it was
enough to complete the backwards toppling motion and send Tenma
careening into the bushes behind him.
That's when he discovered that a sharp decline existed on the
other side. "Whooooaaaa!" His arms flailed wildy for a second while he
balanced on one foot, then toppled backwards. An attempt to handstand
back to his feet was foiled when his hand found an extremely slippery
patch of grass. That in turn, caused him to begin the tumbling process
all the way down the hill.
Ryo leapt through the bushes expecting to find his foe, and
instead finding the ground was a lot lower on the other side. He also
happened to find the slick patch of grass as well, but managed to stay
on his feet as he started running clumsily down the hill. A loose rock
caught his foot a short time later, however, and sent him into the same
type of tumble as Tenma.
After their impromtu humpty-dumpty performance, the two boys
ended up on the bottom, flat on their backs, breathing heavily, and with
no desire to get up anytime soon. Tenma began to chuckle, which in turn
caused Ryo to start chuckling. Pretty soon, it had progressed into full-
blown laughter.
"Tenma, heh, I oughta... beat you to a pulp!"
"I'd like, haha, to see you, heheh, try it, pig-boy!"
"Don't call me that!" *Bop!*
The next instant found a pair of spears pointed into their
faces. Tenma and Ryo looked up to see the owners of the spears were a
pair of females dressed in exotic and colorful breastplate armor. The
two women said a few words, which neither of the boys understood, but
the intent was clear. The boys rose slowly to their feet and were
prodded forward by the spear-wielding women.
And for the first time, saw where they had ended up.
As they began to tread onto the sandy beach, they gazed in
wonder at the large ocean spread out before them. In the distance, a
large sailing ship could be seen and two smaller boats were ferrying
troops from it to the shore. Already, Tenma counted about forty
warriors, mostly women, setting up camp on the beach.
"Who are you people?" Tenma asked finally, his curiosty getting
the most of him.
The reply consisted of a poke in the back with a spear and a
few words barked out in their foreign language.
"For once, keep your big mouth shut, Saotome," Ryo told him
snidely.
Tenma wanted to retort, but bit his response back. Ryo was
right; it was better to play along for now and see what was going on.
Off hand, he wondered what happened to Akara, Ranko, and the Kunos. Were
they watching from hiding? Or had the the two boys managed to lose them?
The young Saotome's thoughts were temporarily put on hold as
they reached what he assumed was their destination. The women escorting
them held their spears out, stopping the two boys in the midst of the
camp. In front on them, a woman in a white bodysuit stood, her back to
them, and her long, deep blue hair trailing down to just past her waist.
Their escorts spoke a few more words and the woman, who
apparently was the leader, turned around and regarded the two boys with
an even expression. Tenma was surprised to note that she didn't seem
much older than him, and her her breastplate was swirling with blue and
purple, considerable more elaborate than the women around them.
"This girl's their leader!?" Ryo said in disbelief, echoing
Tenma's own thoughts.
"Yes, I am," the girl responded in Japenese, startling the two
men. "I am Xian Po. I lead these brave Amazon warriors from Joketsuzoku
to fight the darkness in this land." She studied the two boys. "Who are
you?"
"Saotome Tenma," he responded after getting over his shock. "And
this is Hibiki Ryo."
Xian Po seemed to notice something and a smile crept onto her
face. "You are warriors, yes?" she asked eagerly.
Ryo finally regained his composure and snorted. "I am, and he's
a good imitation of one." He jerked a thumb at Tenma.
"Funny, Ryo."
The Amazon's smile grew to include teeth. "Good! Then we have
match!" It was a statement of fact, not a question.
"Uhhh..." Tenma responded brilliantly. He frowned. I don't really like to fight
girls, though.
"While I would like to see such a match," a familiar voice rang
out, "I'm afraid it will have to wait, Xian Po-san."
The Amazon leader beamed. "Konisha!" She bounded over to the
approaching duo and embraced the Kuno sister. "You come back!"
Ryo's eyes widened as he saw the Kuno siblings. "Where's Akara
and Ranko?" he demanded to know.
"'Tis still searching for thee, I imagine," Tateyama replied.
"Though heaven can instill no logic that she would desire a mere peasant
instead of my noble personage."
"Ah, stuff it, Kuno," Tenma snorted.
"So, why can we no have match?" Xian Po asked, stepping back
from Konisha.
Before anyone could answer, however, a ragged Amazon warrior
burst into the setting, spouting several rapid-fire words to Xian Po in
their native language. Tenma watched as the blue-haired girl's
expression become alarmed, and then darken into a deadly serious gaze.
She spouted off several commandes to the Amazons around them,
then turned to her guests. "Lin Mao say a group in black armor attack
one of our patrols. Two strange girls came to help, but they are all
overpowered. Lin Mao says commander wants to see leader, or else he kill
our warriors and the other women."
Tenma suddenly had a bad premonition. "Did she tell you what
these girl's looked like?"
Xian Po had another quick conversation with Lin Mao, then
turned back to Tenma. "She say one have fiery-red hair and pig-tail, and
the other have short dark-blue hair." She noticed the looks on the boys
faces. "They friends of yours?"
"Tendo Akara and the fiery pig-tailed girl in trouble? I shall
save thee!" Tateyama rushed off to save his damels in distress
"Wait for me!" Ryo took off after him, with Tenma right behind.
Xian Po shrugged and joined in the chase as the boys ran out of
the camp, back into the forest where Kuno was using his katana to slice
a path through the underbrush. It didn't take them long to reach their
destination. The scene that greeted them, however, was enough to halt
any more action on their part.
A tall, ebon-haired male in a matching black bodysuit held
Akara off the ground by her neck. She was struggling weakly against his
grip, and it was obvious she had been hurt enough that her full strength
wasn't available. Two Amazons were lying unconscious on the ground and
Ranko was sitting against a tree, breathing hard and holding her
obviously injured left arm.
The dark individual in the ninja suit fixed them all with a
chilling death-filled gaze. "If I see anyone so much as twitch a muscle,
I will snap her neck."
It was at that moment, that the dream-like vision cut off. Mio
awoke slowly to see Toshi, Hikaru, and Ariko standing over her. She
blinked once, and shivered.
"Are you alright, Miyo-chan?" Ariko asked. "You were out for
almost an hour. Toshi-kun was so worried about you, he called us to
help."
Miyo glanced over at Toshi in surprise, but he merely `hmph'ed
and turned around, feigning some interest in another part of the
library. She smiled slyly at his apparent attempt to hide his concern.
"Thank you, but I'm fine." I think so, anyway. I saw all of that and I
was only out for an hour? "I-I just need some rest. These visions
sometimes take quite a bit out of me."
Ariko and Hikaru helped her to her feet and guided to a chair
in the main room where she could sit down.
"Hikaru-chan, why don't you get a glass of water for her?" Ariko
asked him with a shy smile on her face.
"U-um, yeah, sure," he replied. It was still hard sometimes to
respond to the other sex, as he had little practice in area. He left in
search of the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Ariko turned back to Myio, sitting down in a
chair next to her. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Miyo frowned. "I don't know. This is the first time I've
received the dreams while awake." She suddenly rubbed her arms and
shivered again. "There's something else."
"About the dreams?"
Miyo shook her head. "I feel... something very powerful
nearby... and very dangerous."
Ariko leaned forward and placed her hand upon the fortune-
teller's. "How bad could it be?"
The other girl locked gazes with her, and Ariko was suddenly
frightened by the deathly serious look in her eyes.
"Very, very bad."
------------------------------
Author's notes:
By now you've noticed an irregularity. Or then again, maybe you haven't.
Tenma keeps teasing Ryo by calling him `pig-boy', `Mr. P', `bacon-
breath', and other such names. However, it seems that neither one is
cursed in this timeline, so what can it mean?
There is a valid explanation, but you'll just have to wait to find out
that is!
Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trials
Chapter 12
Deep in a hidden laboratory, an old man shuffled his slightly-
hunched frame around the room as he gathered the needed supplies.
Satisfied he had everything, he walked back to the large boiling pot in
the center of the room and dumped the assorted ingredients into it. The
purplish, bubbling liquid inside consumed it all.
Satisfied, he held aloft a pole with a string attached. The
other end of the string held a crystal orb. Like a fisherman, he lowered
the crystal into the devilish stew until it was completely submerged.
The contents of the pot began to glow, increasing into a
brilliant white. The resulting flash of white brilliance caused the old
man to shield his eyes.
When the flare finally died down, he opened his eyes and beheld
the now empty pot and crystall ball resting on the bottom.
he thought to himself, his emotions a mixture of joy and sorrow.
In another room, a library of sorts, Miyo was looking through
several large volumes of books, searching for one in particular. This
shelf was filled with the books Nabiki had given her, that were
supposedly from the Kuno mansion. They were old and in pretty bad shape,
so she had to be careful, lest she handle it wrong and lose the precious
knowledge inside.
"Have you found it yet?" Toshi asked her.
Miyo let a sigh of frustration seep out. "No, and it might not
be here." One of her mother's books referenced another manuscript that
she hoped would be in the Kuno section, but so far, there was no such
luck.
"Is it that important?" her almost constant companion, asked
nonchalantly.
Miyo thought about. Was it? "Yeah, sorta, I-ugh!" Her speech
was cut off as her body convulsed and she stumbled clumsily off the
step-ladder.
Toshi looked up from where he was seated at the table. He
couldn't actually see the fortune-teller from here. "Miyo-san? You
alright?" Concerned, he stood and walked to the section where he knew
she was. "Miyo!"
The brown-haired girl could just make out Toshi's facial
features, before her world collapsed in on itself...
"Are you sure, Tenma?" Ryo eyed his rival doubtfully.
He nodded. "Someone's definitely been followin' us for the past
couple of days. Good, too. Been hidin' their aura."
Tenma suddenly found a curvy form latched onto his arm. "Then
it's a good thing I have you to protect me, Tenma-sama."
The martial-artist sweatdropped in nervousness, especially
since his admirer was wearing a form-fitting, black bodysuit. He
extricated himself from her grasp and darted around to the other side of
Ryo. "Ahem! I think we should concentrate on our mission.."
"What holds thee up, lowly commoner? Surely thy fortitude is
able enough for this mild constitutional?"
Tenma and Ryo groaned as the voice came from farther up the
trail, from their fourth and last traveling companion who had insisted
on coming along to protect his sister. Only now, he was actively trying
to push Tenma and Konisha together.
he reasoned. He
chuckled to himself at his cleverness.
The two boys trailing him looked at each other and raised an
eyebrow, then Ryo said, "Man, he kinda gives me the creeps. He always
like this?"
"Why ya askin' me?" Tenma replied. "I haven't known him much
longer than you." He glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky where
several stars were already beginning to emerge. "Hey, Kuno! I think it's
about time we make camp for the night!"
He took off his pack and began to unroll his bed mat, noting
Ryo doing the same. To his chagrin, he also noticed Konisha unrolling
hers right next to his. He tried to ignore it for now, since there was
something else on his mind. He motioned for Ryo to come closer and spoke
to him in hushed tones, explaining what he planned to do. Ryo nodded,
and started to gather up sticks for a fire.
"I'm going to go catch some dinner!" Tenma called as he vanished
into the forest. "Be right back."
The Kuno siblings watched him go, Tateyama scowling at his back
while Konisha's face showed longing, but she then switched to gazing
lovingly at Ryo (which made said boy very nervous for some reason).
"It looks like they're camping for the night."
The other person nodded. "We should do the same." She began to
unroll her own bedmat.
Her traveling companion watched her for a few moments, then
decided to ask something that been on her mind since the beginning. "Why
are we doing this?"
"What do you mean?" she replied, but the other girl was giving
her a look which said, `I know you know what I'm talking about.' She
scowled. "You didn't have to come along."
The other girl snorted. "A lot of good I would have done back
there. It seems no one there thinks a girl can fight." She shrugged.
"Plus, I've been on my own so long, I'm not used to having anybody tell
me what to do."
"Hey, I-" Her speeched was interrupted as something suddenly
dropped out of the trees above them.
"A-HA!"
"EEEK!" *WHAP!* *WHAM!*
Ranko blinked. "Tenma?"
"Ite..." Tenma groaned from the ground.
Akara scowled. "Honestly, what was the big idea of trying to
scare us like that!?"
Saotome dragged himself to his feet. "And what's the big idea
of following us!? Why didn't you leave with Kameko's group?" Akara's
older sister had left the Kuno fortress with a bunch of non-combatants,
so they wouldn't be caught up in the fighting that would soon take
place.
"Why should I!?" she retorted. "What business of it is yours
what I do!"
"You're my fiancee, remember!?" he said in mock tones. "Besides,
it's not safe out here. What if we run into an enemy scouting party?"
"I can take of myself!" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's more than you can do at the moment, Mr. I-have-no-strength."
Tenma threw up his arms in frustration. "Then why are you
here?"
Secretly, Akara was a little confused about that as well. Why
WAS she here? She wasn't quite sure, but she thought it might have
something to do with what happened on Tenma's balcony a couple of nights
ago. The whole thing still had a dream-like, surreal quality to it. Had
she really been about to kiss Tenma? Did she even want to? She didn't
quite know what her feelings were, and definitely wasn't ready to deal
with them right now, so she shoved them aside.
"I was worried about you, you big jerk!" She thumped his chest
for emphasis. "Don't ask me why!"
He blinked, unable to say anything at the moment. Akara was
steaming, either from her anger or from her admission. Thankfully, Ranko
spoke up.
"Well, since they know we're here, we might as well join the
group." She gathered up her mat and backpack. "Come on, Akara-san." She
grabbed her new friend's arm and hauled her off.
Tenma could only stand there and watch her go.
It was truly a strange lot that sat around the campfire that
night. Though Tenma and Akara didn't say anything else to each other for
the rest of the day, that didn't stop Ryo from clumsily trying to talk
to her and Konisha from trying to snuggle up to Tenma. Of course, this
meant an ensuing conflict when Tateyama tried to silence `the knave who
dares sully the lovely Tendo Akara with his presence.'
The fight was stopped before it could begin when Akara belted
Kuno into a tree, knocking him unconscious. She then declared she was
going to bed.
Ranko, who had been watching all this with a bemused grin,
decided to hit the sack as well. In turn, Konisha bid the boys good-
night, leaving Tenma and Ryo as the only ones around the fire. After a
short scuffle (settled via Junken-pow), it was decided that Tenma take
the first watch, so Ryo reluctantly turned in.
The fire slowly died to a dull, glowing red, and Tenma found
his gaze drawn to his fiancee's bed mat. He was mezmerized by how
peaceful and serene her face looked when she was asleep.
His features immediately turned into a scowl. he thought.
His thoughts turned back to another night that seemed like an
eternity ago, when Akara had told him of her fears and cried herself to
sleep in her arms. Why had she opened herself up to him like that? And
what was it about her that made him want to keep her safe? Why had he
become so angry at the thought of her married to another man?
That last thought brought up the strange meeting a couple of
nights ago where Akara brought Neko back with them. The big cat was
around somewhere, following them, but that wasn't what Tenma was
thinking of. All he could think of was that one moment he was pretending
indifference, and the next Akara's warm and soft body was in his arms.
He had never had the urge to kiss a girl before, but there he was
feeling strangely compelled to... what? Kiss her? Why?
Blinking himself back to reality, he checked the position of
the moon in the sky and noted that it was time for Ryo's nightwatch
shift. Why had time flown so quickly?
After waking his old friend/rival/training partner, he quickly
let sleep claim him, which postponed more soul-searching.
Good thing, too; it was exhausting and getting him nowhere.
The next morning was grey with low hanging clouds that
threatened rain. It was quiet and gloomy, which fit the mood of the
small group perfectly. They walked along single file, with the only
talking being when they rotated who had point and who was covering the
rear.
In fact, Tenma noticed that the only sound was their footsteps
and occasional speech. Try as he might, he could discern no chirping of
birds, nor any calls of any forest animal. While he pondered this, it
became clear around noon when they arrived at the next town, or what was
left of it.
Just like the town where he spent the night with Akara, Ryo,
and Kae, this one was completely deserted. Not a soul could be seen.
Nowhere in or around the assorted huts, could a sign of life could be
detected.
"They have fled," Tateyama declared.
It was true, Tenma realized. They had been traveling close to
the approaching line of the Dark Shogun's army. He guessed the animals,
as well as the people, had sensed the danger and left northward, hoping
to escape the encroaching darkness.
"Spread out," he said at last. "See what you can find and use."
Tateyama shot him a dark look. "Ye would rob these people of
their belongings? I guess that is to be expected out of a lowly cur,
such as you."
Tenma snorted. "Not all of us have been pampered all of our
life, rich boy. We make do with what we have, making use of anything we
come across."
"Tenma's right," Akara agreed. Tenma shot her a surprised side
glance. He didn't expect her to agree with him. "If our mission is
successful and we defeat the dark shogun's army, these people can return
home. If we fail, this town will be pillaged and destroyed anyway."
The nobleman seemed to accept it then, coming from Akara's
mouth, and the small group split up. They searched the houses in
silence, coming up with blankets and foodstuffs that were left behind
when the villagers fled. Even though she knew what they were doing was a
necessity, Akara still felt like she was robbing a grave. She gave a
silent prayer of apology to these people and to her ancestors, that they
would be successful in their mission.
A half-hour later, after they had eaten some of the scrounged
rice and vegetables, they regrouped at the opposite side of the small
village and resumed their journey. This time, though, there was slightly
more conversation. The Kuno siblings were deathly silent, however, as if
the reality of what was happening suddenly hit them, breaking through
their sheltered lives.
For Tenma, Akara, Ryo, and Ranko, this was more confirmation of
what they already knew, and made them that much more determined to put a
stop to the threat the dark army represented. Soon, however, Akara broke
off with Ranko to talk with her, as Tenma did with Ryo.
"So why are you here, Ranko-san?" Akara asked her. They'd had
some time to talk and get aquatinted back at the Kuno estate, but she
didn't know a whole lot about the mysterious red-head.
Ranko shrugged. "Wanna kick some dark shogun butt," she said
simply, as if it answered everything. "The dark army destroyed my town
and my adoptive family. I wanna make him pay."
Akara shivered as her aura came into contact with the deathly-
chilled one of her companion's. It was apparent Ranko was holding a lot
of disgust and hate inside, so she tried to turn the conversation
elsehwere. "You said adpotive? What about your real family?"
The redhead shrugged again. "Don't know. Supposedly a woman
passed through my town once, carrying me as a baby. She left me with my
adpotive family, then mysteriously disappeared." She reached into her
shirt and pulled out a small, flat, green object. It had a small hole in
it, so it could be secured via a leather strap around her neck. "Besides
the blanket I was wrapped in, I was told I had this around my neck."
"It looks like a dragon scale," Akara said.
Ranko smiled. "That's what I've always thought." She shook her
head and replaced the scale in her shirt. "But there no such things as
dragons, so I guess I'll never know."
"Ranko..." The raven-haired girl placed a hand on the redhead's
shoulder in support.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
The girl's attention was suddenly drawn forward at Ryo's shout.
"What?" Tenma could be heard asking in an innocent voice. "Pig-
boy, bacon-breath, or Mr. P?"
"Teeeennnnmmmmaaa!"
Akara and Ranko sighed in unison as Ryo struck out with his
fist. Despite knowing there was no strength to it, Tenma avoided it by
flipping out of the way. Undeterred, Ryo charged after him, swinging out
with arms and legs, and the chase was on.
"Tenma!" Akara called. "Stop picking on Ryo-kun! And don't run
off!"
But the call came too late, as the two boys had already
disappeared into the thick bushes ahead. The two girls took off after
them, the Kuno siblings right behind.
Tenma continued to dodge and tease Ryo, knowing his old friend
had become entirely too depressed lately. Sure enough, the release of
anger was enough to bring the old Ryo back to the surface. The two boys
bounded through the forest with a fearsome display of martial arts
skills and tenacity.
That is, until Tenma misjudged his landing from a jump and
ended up tripping backwards. Ryo, sensing his rival's misfortune, struck
out with his strongest punch. The tap didn't do any damage, but it was
enough to complete the backwards toppling motion and send Tenma
careening into the bushes behind him.
That's when he discovered that a sharp decline existed on the
other side. "Whooooaaaa!" His arms flailed wildy for a second while he
balanced on one foot, then toppled backwards. An attempt to handstand
back to his feet was foiled when his hand found an extremely slippery
patch of grass. That in turn, caused him to begin the tumbling process
all the way down the hill.
Ryo leapt through the bushes expecting to find his foe, and
instead finding the ground was a lot lower on the other side. He also
happened to find the slick patch of grass as well, but managed to stay
on his feet as he started running clumsily down the hill. A loose rock
caught his foot a short time later, however, and sent him into the same
type of tumble as Tenma.
After their impromtu humpty-dumpty performance, the two boys
ended up on the bottom, flat on their backs, breathing heavily, and with
no desire to get up anytime soon. Tenma began to chuckle, which in turn
caused Ryo to start chuckling. Pretty soon, it had progressed into full-
blown laughter.
"Tenma, heh, I oughta... beat you to a pulp!"
"I'd like, haha, to see you, heheh, try it, pig-boy!"
"Don't call me that!" *Bop!*
The next instant found a pair of spears pointed into their
faces. Tenma and Ryo looked up to see the owners of the spears were a
pair of females dressed in exotic and colorful breastplate armor. The
two women said a few words, which neither of the boys understood, but
the intent was clear. The boys rose slowly to their feet and were
prodded forward by the spear-wielding women.
And for the first time, saw where they had ended up.
As they began to tread onto the sandy beach, they gazed in
wonder at the large ocean spread out before them. In the distance, a
large sailing ship could be seen and two smaller boats were ferrying
troops from it to the shore. Already, Tenma counted about forty
warriors, mostly women, setting up camp on the beach.
"Who are you people?" Tenma asked finally, his curiosty getting
the most of him.
The reply consisted of a poke in the back with a spear and a
few words barked out in their foreign language.
"For once, keep your big mouth shut, Saotome," Ryo told him
snidely.
Tenma wanted to retort, but bit his response back. Ryo was
right; it was better to play along for now and see what was going on.
Off hand, he wondered what happened to Akara, Ranko, and the Kunos. Were
they watching from hiding? Or had the the two boys managed to lose them?
The young Saotome's thoughts were temporarily put on hold as
they reached what he assumed was their destination. The women escorting
them held their spears out, stopping the two boys in the midst of the
camp. In front on them, a woman in a white bodysuit stood, her back to
them, and her long, deep blue hair trailing down to just past her waist.
Their escorts spoke a few more words and the woman, who
apparently was the leader, turned around and regarded the two boys with
an even expression. Tenma was surprised to note that she didn't seem
much older than him, and her her breastplate was swirling with blue and
purple, considerable more elaborate than the women around them.
"This girl's their leader!?" Ryo said in disbelief, echoing
Tenma's own thoughts.
"Yes, I am," the girl responded in Japenese, startling the two
men. "I am Xian Po. I lead these brave Amazon warriors from Joketsuzoku
to fight the darkness in this land." She studied the two boys. "Who are
you?"
"Saotome Tenma," he responded after getting over his shock. "And
this is Hibiki Ryo."
Xian Po seemed to notice something and a smile crept onto her
face. "You are warriors, yes?" she asked eagerly.
Ryo finally regained his composure and snorted. "I am, and he's
a good imitation of one." He jerked a thumb at Tenma.
"Funny, Ryo."
The Amazon's smile grew to include teeth. "Good! Then we have
match!" It was a statement of fact, not a question.
"Uhhh..." Tenma responded brilliantly. He frowned. I don't really like to fight
girls, though.
"While I would like to see such a match," a familiar voice rang
out, "I'm afraid it will have to wait, Xian Po-san."
The Amazon leader beamed. "Konisha!" She bounded over to the
approaching duo and embraced the Kuno sister. "You come back!"
Ryo's eyes widened as he saw the Kuno siblings. "Where's Akara
and Ranko?" he demanded to know.
"'Tis still searching for thee, I imagine," Tateyama replied.
"Though heaven can instill no logic that she would desire a mere peasant
instead of my noble personage."
"Ah, stuff it, Kuno," Tenma snorted.
"So, why can we no have match?" Xian Po asked, stepping back
from Konisha.
Before anyone could answer, however, a ragged Amazon warrior
burst into the setting, spouting several rapid-fire words to Xian Po in
their native language. Tenma watched as the blue-haired girl's
expression become alarmed, and then darken into a deadly serious gaze.
She spouted off several commandes to the Amazons around them,
then turned to her guests. "Lin Mao say a group in black armor attack
one of our patrols. Two strange girls came to help, but they are all
overpowered. Lin Mao says commander wants to see leader, or else he kill
our warriors and the other women."
Tenma suddenly had a bad premonition. "Did she tell you what
these girl's looked like?"
Xian Po had another quick conversation with Lin Mao, then
turned back to Tenma. "She say one have fiery-red hair and pig-tail, and
the other have short dark-blue hair." She noticed the looks on the boys
faces. "They friends of yours?"
"Tendo Akara and the fiery pig-tailed girl in trouble? I shall
save thee!" Tateyama rushed off to save his damels in distress
"Wait for me!" Ryo took off after him, with Tenma right behind.
Xian Po shrugged and joined in the chase as the boys ran out of
the camp, back into the forest where Kuno was using his katana to slice
a path through the underbrush. It didn't take them long to reach their
destination. The scene that greeted them, however, was enough to halt
any more action on their part.
A tall, ebon-haired male in a matching black bodysuit held
Akara off the ground by her neck. She was struggling weakly against his
grip, and it was obvious she had been hurt enough that her full strength
wasn't available. Two Amazons were lying unconscious on the ground and
Ranko was sitting against a tree, breathing hard and holding her
obviously injured left arm.
The dark individual in the ninja suit fixed them all with a
chilling death-filled gaze. "If I see anyone so much as twitch a muscle,
I will snap her neck."
It was at that moment, that the dream-like vision cut off. Mio
awoke slowly to see Toshi, Hikaru, and Ariko standing over her. She
blinked once, and shivered.
"Are you alright, Miyo-chan?" Ariko asked. "You were out for
almost an hour. Toshi-kun was so worried about you, he called us to
help."
Miyo glanced over at Toshi in surprise, but he merely `hmph'ed
and turned around, feigning some interest in another part of the
library. She smiled slyly at his apparent attempt to hide his concern.
"Thank you, but I'm fine." I think so, anyway. I saw all of that and I
was only out for an hour? "I-I just need some rest. These visions
sometimes take quite a bit out of me."
Ariko and Hikaru helped her to her feet and guided to a chair
in the main room where she could sit down.
"Hikaru-chan, why don't you get a glass of water for her?" Ariko
asked him with a shy smile on her face.
"U-um, yeah, sure," he replied. It was still hard sometimes to
respond to the other sex, as he had little practice in area. He left in
search of the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Ariko turned back to Myio, sitting down in a
chair next to her. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Miyo frowned. "I don't know. This is the first time I've
received the dreams while awake." She suddenly rubbed her arms and
shivered again. "There's something else."
"About the dreams?"
Miyo shook her head. "I feel... something very powerful
nearby... and very dangerous."
Ariko leaned forward and placed her hand upon the fortune-
teller's. "How bad could it be?"
The other girl locked gazes with her, and Ariko was suddenly
frightened by the deathly serious look in her eyes.
"Very, very bad."
------------------------------
Author's notes:
By now you've noticed an irregularity. Or then again, maybe you haven't.
Tenma keeps teasing Ryo by calling him `pig-boy', `Mr. P', `bacon-
breath', and other such names. However, it seems that neither one is
cursed in this timeline, so what can it mean?
There is a valid explanation, but you'll just have to wait to find out
that is!