Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and it's characters are the product and property of rumiko takahashi and viz video.

A Bengal Tale

Part Four

By Michael Fetter

"Good morning, child. Did you sleep well?" Cologne pogoed about her home, setting extra places at the table for breakfast.

"Wonderful, thank you. Can I give you a hand with something?" Was it strange to see Akane so at ease with life, you bet! Ranma's serenity must be contagious, she thought with an amused smile. Whatever it was, it was helping her become a better cook. When you aren't concerned about other things, it was easier to see the ingredients for what they were.

"Yes, you could make sure Shampoo is awake for me." Akane nodded and skipped lightly down the hall. Cologne simply continued to hum to herself and finished preparing a large breakfast, expecting Ranma to be quite hungry after two days without food.

From the dining room, Cologne could make out the padded steps of an animal's feet. "Good morning to you too, Ranma."

A Bengal tiger with slightly more reddish hair poked its head around the corner to look in on Cologne as she cooked. It seemed to care little about the elder's presence and more for the food she was preparing. Recalling something, the tiger left with its tail swishing back and forth.

"I wonder what that was about?" Cologne asked herself, but soon returned to her cooking.

Akane knocked lightly on Shampoo's door, trying not to startle the Amazon warrior. She couldn't be sure, but it was likely that the girl would be upset with her when she recovers from the hit Ranma dealt her. "Shampoo? Are you awake?"

No response.

Akane took a deep breath and entered the room, moving swiftly to Shampoo's side. "Shampoo? Wake up." She nudged the slumbering Amazon. This didn't work so she tried using a little more force. That seemed to get her attention as Shampoo began to mumble something in Chinese. "Honor Elder Cologne asked me to wake you up."

Shampoo turned her head slightly from the pillow to glare at the Japanese girl in her room. The bruises under her right eye and the large one under her chin were clearly visible. "I come soo-eeaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Akane was very startled and whirled about to see what had scared Shampoo so badly. She found Ranma had strolled into the room and was staring at the Amazon. "It's okay, Shampoo. It's just Ranma. Come here, Ranma." Yeah, she knew Ranma wasn't a real tiger, but it's hard to remember these little details when you spent most of the day before treating him like a pet. Ranma's sex was still a point of confusion for Akane. Ranma was originally male, cursed to be female, then cursed to be male again, but as a tiger. She decided that Ranma was female as the girl and male as the tiger. While only one of these was originally true, it was easier to go by outward appearances.

"See, Shampoo." Akane started to pet Ranma behind the ears. "He's not going to hurt you."

"Yes, yes." Shampoo hastily agreed. "Ranma is too, too nice. Ranma and Akane leave now though, yes?"

Akane frowned at the Amazon, scrunched up on the corner of her bed and shooing them away. Ranma gained her attention quickly by rubbing himself against her legs. "Alright, Ranma. We'll go outside and play for a while. See you at breakfast, Shampoo." Akane waved as she and Ranma departed the Amazons room. Shampoo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aiya! Crazy Girl spend too much time with Berserker Girl get hurt." She shrugged and started pulling out a clean outfit to wear, rubbing her jaw occasionally.

"Honor Elder, can I get a glass of cold water?" Akane asked politely from the doorway to the kitchen.

Cologne looked questioningly at Akane, but handed her a glass of water. She was mildly amused to see the girl dump the water over her head and turn into a Bengal tiger herself. The extra stripes on Akane's form made it easy to tell the two apart. "Don't wander to far." Cologne almost laughed. "Not everyone knows of you two yet."

The two tigers nodded and headed out the door. Akane decided last night that she wanted to try out her tiger form a little bit and that some early morning play could work out just fine.

It was still early morning and the sun was barely creeping in between the trees surrounding the village. The two cats jogged over to the large open area in the middle of the huts. After some awkward attempts to test her vocal cords, Akane set herself up for some serious play. Their tails swishing back and forth, each ready to pounce the other.

Akane moved first, jumping high into the air, but Ranma tackled her easily to the ground and the two tigers began to wrestle. They attracted a little attention from the other warriors beginning to wake up. It was most of the children who ran out of their homes early and watched the tigers at play.

They alternated between tag and wrestling. Once a victor for the wrestling was made, he or she would run off to be chased by the loser. It was great fun to watch and they even allowed the other children to come out and play with them. By the end of their games, Ranma and Akane were carrying some of the children on their backs as they raced around the courtyard.

It almost felt like a crime to break up all the games, but Cologne called the two tigers in for breakfast despite the groans of disappointment from the other children. Still jumping around each other and nipping at the other's flanks, Ranma and Akane trotted over to the Matriarch's home. "Did you have fun?"

The two tigers stopped in front of Cologne and nodded their heads vigorously. They couldn't get any cuter if they tried.

Cologne smiled at their antics. "Go get washed up. Shampoo should have left a warm bath for you two."

The tigers growled their thanks and gave their bodies a final shake to remove as much dirt as possible before entering the hut. Ranma still nuzzled Akane as they headed off to the bath.

"Hmm . . . Maybe if I take a look at Akane's skill I can convince them both to become Amazons. Two Begnal tigers could come in handy."

Breakfast passed by smoothly enough. The only ones present were Cologne, Shampoo, Akane, and Ranma. Soun and Genma had to stay away because men are considered inferior in the Amazons so they ate with other males in the camp. Shampoo was still slightly fearful of Ranma and almost went into hysterics when the two tigers walked through the house on their way to the bath. Cologne, on the other hand, was too excited to have guests and people that held so many surprises. She was growing rather fond of the 'girls'.

"Well, son-in . . . Ranma, have you thought about staying with the Amazons." Cologne asked as their meal started to come to an end. Ranma had gone back to nuzzling an embarrassed Akane, who did nothing to stop it. She seemed to either act like a cat, mainly in Akane's presence, or she would seem indifferent to the world. On rare occasions, of which Cologne had to participate in two, Ranma was like a raging demon. There was something else, though, that took up a majority of Ranma's time. She just had to get around to asking about it.

Ranma answered just as she had the day before. Her answers were so frank and short it seemed almost as bad as Shampoo's Japanese.

"Ranma!" Akane scolded. "Be nice to Cologne. She could have carried through your Kiss of Death after you went berserk the last time. The Honor Elder is just trying to convince you to stay because you are strong. It's probably a great honor for the Amazons to invite an outsider to become part of the tribe."

As usual, Akane's words made an impact on Ranma, she cringed at making Akane mad at her and slumped in her seat, staring guiltily at the table. Ranma muttered an apology to Cologne and Shampoo for her behavior then snuck a look at Akane to see if she was still mad.

"What if we asked Akane to stay as well. She seems to have great potential just as you do." Shampoo gasped and nearly dropped the plates that she was carrying into the kitchen. Cologne very rarely offered praise to anyone. Was Akane really that good? What happened while she was unconscious?

Akane simply beamed at the praise. To be compared to Ranma? Sure, the redhead was on a whole other level than Akane, but that's not what Cologne said? Could I really have that much potential? "You honor me with your praise, Honor Cologne, but," Akane seemed more crestfallen. "I have to decline as well." Not wanting to seem indignant or slighting Cologne's offer, she explained further. "I still have to finish school and my father wants me to run the dojo someday."

Cologne sighed heavily and set her tea down, disappointment was clearly evident on her face. "I see. Then feel free to stay the night."

"That's okay." Ranma spoke for the first time without being asked a question first. "We should be going. We're a few days behind already."

Akane frowned, but Ranma was right. They really should be getting back to Japan. It would've been nice to stick around the village a little longer. She could've gotten in some more training. Of course, the Kiss of Death that was looming over Ranma's head, did make staying in the village a little too dangerous. "She's right, but maybe we could come back and visit sometime?"

Cologne smiled and gave Akane a nod. That seemed to appease the girl as she stood up and bowed to the elder. Cologne let the smile hang on her aged lips for a few moments until Akane and Ranma were well on their way. "Pity." She muttered as the two girls and their fathers walked out of the village.

Three weeks.

That's how long it has been since we visited the Amazon village. According to my father's schedule, we were due in to Nerima a week ago. We would've made it to if it weren't . . . if those damn . . .

Akane bit back the tears with anger. Anger had always been her strength, and she'd use it now to keep herself moving. At her side, Ranma strolled along the path in his second cursed form. His coat was dirty and there were blood stains along his flanks. What started out as a cute and gentle animal, turned into a lean, strong protector. Ranma slept very little now, and his senses combined with the Neko-ken made him a good early warning sensor.

It started a few days after they left the Amazons, Akane remembered the bitter memories to keep her anger burning. They made camp along a river bank on their way to a city on the Western shore of China. Ranma and she had spent the time in their cursed forms, catching fish and playing their game of tag.

Her father and Genma had been watching them from the fireplace as he cooked the fish. It smelled wonderful. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction for a change.

"I say, Saotome-san, our children seemed to have really taken to their curses. They get along very well, don't you think?" Soun and Genma were sitting on a log near the fire, cleaning the rest of the fish and preparing them for dinner. The sight of their children, even if they are cursed, playing so merrily was a joy to behold.

"Indeed, Tendou-san." Tears began to stream down their faces. "We will see our schools united yet!"

"Indeed." Soun nodded approvingly.

Unknown to the two fathers, tigers have very good hearing. Ranma and Akane stopped in mid wrestle when their father's conversation began to register. Actually, Akane stopped since she was still sane, Ranma just followed suit, waiting for his playmate to get back into the fun.

Akane growled at her father. Soun looked at her blankly so she stalked over to the fire and waited for him to dump some of the hot water over her head. "Are you crazy!?!"

"E-Excuse me?"

She stared hard into her father's eyes, the contempt was almost visible. "I can't marry Ranma!"

"Why not?" Genma seemed genuinely confused.

Akane motioned for Ranma to come closer; he did. "How about the fact your 'son' is now a girl half of the time and a tiger the other half."

Genma waved that off easily. "We'll look for a cure and he'll be back to normal and so will you."

"Yes, I agree, Saotome-san. We will find a cure for you and Ranma, dear." Soun nodded and crossed his arms like he had just solved the greatest math problem in the world.

Pulling Ranma in closer with her arms, Akane glared at the two men. "You can't give Ranma a cure! He's already insane. If you give him the cure he'll be insane and human!"

"One thing at a time, Akane." Soun laughed contritely and returned to the cooking fish. "Now is time for dinner-"

None of them saw where the arrow came from. Nor were they sure how Ranma had been able to claw it out of the sky before it hit Soun, but a few seconds later they were just glad to be alive. The fathers jumped from their seats and took defensive stances in front of their children. Akane already had her gi on once she changed back to human so she to took a defensive stance at her father's back, facing off against the Amazons in the rear. Ranma fortunately, was already moving into the offensive.

The twenty or so Amazons each began to attack, but they didn't go after the humans. Their eyes were set on driving a spear into Ranma's stomach. Whatever sense Ranma still had, or maybe it was instinct, he noted that Akane and their fathers were not targets. He leapt about the clearing they had set up camp and started to draw the Amazons away.

"Ranma!" Akane screamed. She ran over to her tent and pulled out the only weapons she had: a kendo practice sword and a real tanto, about twelve inches long.

"Akane, wait!"

"But, daddy!" She screamed pleadingly. "We've got to help him!"

Soun nodded his head and emptied the contents of the tea kettle into a thermos and tossed it off to Akane. "Get him to change and Ranma will be able to take care of those Amazons much easier. We'll be right behind you!" He yelled after his departing daughter. "Hurry, Genma! We must save my son-in-law!"

The two men grabbed what useful weapons they had and raced after Akane and Ranma.

Akane broke through the foliage and into the clearing Ranma had led his attackers to. She was relieved to see he hadn't been hurt yet. Three Amazons were already knocked unconscious and lying across branches high up in the trees. Ranma's doing, she smirked.

Neko-Ranma saw his playmate come into the clearing with a stick she was using to bash some of the unaware Amazons over the head with. As soon as they realized Akane was there, things got more difficult for his playmate. Neko-Ranma jumped across the distance to plant himself between the attackers and his playmate, growling and bearing his teeth.

Perfect! Akane pulled out the thermos her father had given her and emptied the contents over Ranma's head. Now they're in trouble!

The change occurred and Ranma started retaining more and more of her memories while in the Neko-ken. It still came as a shock when she was suddenly forced to dodge frantically to keep herself from being impaled.

She could sense Akane standing behind her, ready to fight if necessary. Ranma knew, however, that Akane was not good enough to stand up against most of these Amazons. Sidestepping one attack and back flipping over a leg sweep, Ranma dropped down behind Akane and picked the bigger girl up in her arms. Ranma's amazing strength really came in handy here as she jumped into the trees and used the backlash of the limbs to propel herself further into the forest. If she was going to fight this many Amazons, Ranma was going to need some room.

Room was just not to be had, though. They came to a stop on the edge of a cliff overlooking a wide river. If they fell from this height, it wouldn't matter what was beneath them. That water would feel just like concrete at this distance.

Ranma set up for the best offensive she could give the attackers. Being so close to the berserker mode made it easy for her to gather the necessary energy for her attacks. When the Amazons arrived on the scene, many of them stumbled to a halt. A redhead glowing blue and crackling with energy is quite an intimidating thing.

"Why are you attacking us?!" Akane cried from her position behind Ranma. She didn't like being ambushed, chased through the forests, and trapped on a cliffs edge. She was too young to die! Stop it! Akane berated herself. Don't act like such a girl and stand up for yourself! Her jaw set a little harder and Akane readied her kobotu for attack.

A familiar purple-haired girl stepped through the ranks of Amazon fighters to stare at the two Japanese martial artists with a smug grin. "Is Ranma we want. No, no can allow berserker to go free. Berserker bad. Amazon kill berserker." She punctuated the last part by pulling her bonbori from her back. "Is too, too bad, yes? Great grandmother give plenty chance to live."

"But we aren't hurting anyone! Ranma hasn't done anything to you!" Akane started growl a bit more as she glared at the Amazon bimbo.

"No matter. Shampoo give Kiss of Death. SHAMPOO KILL!" She charged, meeting Ranma head on.

Her attack was as effective against Ranma as it was when they fought in the tournament. Ranma's hands flashed out, breaking the bonbori again, and double palm fisting the girl in the stomach. Shampoo flew backwards at incredible speeds, smacking hard up against a tree in her path.

To say the other Amazons were a little daunted was an understatement. They swallowed their fear and charged together. Many would rather die in battle than be punished by the council if they returned defeated.

Ranma moved swiftly and precisely, doing her best to keep the number of Amazons attacking Akane to a minimum. She weeved and parried about like a dancer, gracefully sweeping her legs and arms through the air to attack and dodge at the same time.

The fight lasted only a few minutes, but they were the most intensive few minutes Akane had ever received in her life. Ranma stood in front of her in a low crouch, her hands dripping with blood. She noticed that Ranma had kept herself from doing any permanent damage, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be a contingent of Amazons with broken bones, bloody noses, and missing teeth. They weren't so pretty anymore.

"I'm sorry to see my worries about a berserker were quite justified." An old woman hopped into the clearing, balancing on her cane.

"Cologne!" Akane couldn't believe it. She knew Shampoo still held a grudge, but Cologne had been so nice to them. She shook her head and came back to the situation at hand. "Nothing would've happened if you hadn't sent your goons to kill Ranma!"

"Quite true. I should have come myself." Cologne dropped to the ground and held her cane in front of herself. "Now berserker, you face Cologne of the Amazons and 3000 years of fighting skills!" A purple aura of huge magnitude suddenly surrounded the shrunken elder. Akane had trouble just holding her gaze on the woman because of the intense light.

Ranma roared to the heavens, a strange thing considering her high-pitched voice. Her blue aura jumped even higher as she let go a little more of her control. She could barely think clearly in order to match her aura's magnitude with Cologne's. All Ranma could focus on was beating the old woman before her.

Their ki's clashed and brought up violent winds and small pieces of debris. It was all Akane could do to keep her footing, but the winds picked up even more and she found herself sliding across the ground closer to the cliffs edge.

In a great push of effort, each of the combatants focused all of the untamed ki surrounding them into two large balls of energy. The resulting clash caused a great explosion that left a thirty-foot crater in between the two fighters. A concussion blast swept across the area, tossing about rock, tree, and unconscious Amazons. The dust cleared quickly with the intensity of the winds, but something was missing. Ranma and Cologne were still facing each other, but . . .

"Ranma!" Akane screamed as she felt herself being blown by the force of the ki attacks. Her feet left the ground and she was soon finding herself falling to the river below.

Ranma didn't even pause to think. She took up one of the spears the Amazons had been using to skewer her with. Throwing herself from the cliff, Ranma stiffened her body to accelerate faster. Anything Goes excels in aerial combat; Ranma was in her element. Akane was only a little distance off and Ranma crossed it quickly. Forcing her body to contort into other aerodynamic positions, she hovered closer to the cliff wall, Akane holding her tightly from behind. Screaming with effort, Ranma drove the tip of the spear into the hard rock and compacted dirt.

Ranma screamed again as the pull of gravity and the sudden jarring sensations from the spear caused many painful things to happen. Her side closest to the cliff was dragged along by gravity and ripped at by the sharp rocks and plants there. Akane's grip around her shoulders turned into a chokehold, the forearm pressing directly against her throat. The most painful, in Ranma's mind, was the arm that was pulled from the socket and which she was still using to hold onto the embedded spear.

She howled in pain for long seconds until Akane realized what happened. "Let go, Ranma. We're not so high up anymore. We can drop into the river okay now!"

Gratefully, Ranma did let go of the spear and they fell into the cold water below.

Ranma and Akane made camp like they had for the last few weeks. Find a some good cover and take turns for sleep. It was a little disgusting at first, but one of the advantages of being a tiger was you didn't have to cook your food. They didn't have anything to cook their food with anyway. Their cursed forms ended up being a mixed blessing. The whole Amazon incident may not have happened if it weren't for the curses, but they would not have survived for this long without them.

Akane watched Ranma for long minutes before falling asleep first as she normally did. He was getting very upset and weary over the constant raids and the hidden traps they had to avoid. She was able to help him out a little more now with all the 'training' she had been getting, but Ranma was still bearing the brunt of the attacks. He didn't smile as much now with all the dangers lurking about. Akane hoped they got back to Japan soon; she liked it better when Ranma smiled.

As she began to drift off into sleep, Akane made a silent prayer that their fathers were safe.

Great Grandmother! We lost the berserker in the mountains! Tigress is trying to track them down, but she can't find anything. Cologne hid her frustration over the lack of success to killing the berserker. It wasn't Shampoo's fault that the cursed Japanese children were such good fighters. If only they had stayed, none of this would've been necessary.

It's will be all right, Xian pu. I know where they are heading anyway. Gather what warriors are recovered and let's be off.

Where are we going Great Grandmother? Shampoo asked. Did the fathers reveal the berserkers destination already? Men are so weak!

To the Tendou dojo in Nerima. Shampoo stared at her in total confusion which Cologne found agitating in itself. We are going to Japan. Shampoo nodded and ran out of the hut. Kids. Cologne muttered under her breath.

Tell me about it! Ranma Saotome, prepare to DIE!!! A deep rumbling voice echoed through the little room and made Cologne shiver slightly.

End Chapter Four

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Ja ne!