Chapter 3

The sun was setting and Akane decided it was time to make camp. She hadn't encountered a single person that day. Strange, she thought. Usually there would at least be a few travelers on the road to Cascala, afterall, it was a very profitable kingdom and many people went there to seek their fortunes. She began to reflect on the Elder's words as she gathered firewood, and threw them in a pile at the center of a clearing in the forest. In the distance she could hear the ocean waves crashing against the rocks. The Elder said that I had sisters. True, I had never truly thought about my past before I came to live with the Dryads and they never told me anything. The White Forest has a way of making people carefree. And that name... Nabiki... I somehow feel as if I know that person. It's all so vague.. She pulled a match out of her robe and lit the pile of wood as well as some fish which she began to roast over the fire. Traveling robes, so convenient she smiled.

"YO!" a voice called out in the darkness interrupting her thoughts. Out of the trees stepped a young man dressed in green carrying a formidable nunchak and a pigtailed girl with twin swords strapped across her back. Hm.. Akane thought, they're dressed like thieves and vagabonds. Ah, no matter, I can handle myself against them if they do turn out to be unfriendly. Oh yea... and didn't Elder tell me that the first people I meet would be trustworthy? Hm... we shall see. "Hey boy! I'm talking to you." the pigtailed girl persisted.

Kinda rude, isn't she.. oh right, I'm a boy Akane thought as she adjusted her voice a few pitches lower than usual. "Eh? My name is Akane. You are welcome to share my fire and food." she said smiling at the pigtailed girl.

"Heh, are we now? Don't mind if I do," the boy sat down in front of the fire across from Akane. "I'm Ryu and this is Ranma." Ranma nodded as Ryu continued, "Nice to meet you, so where ya headed?" Ranma scowled. Ryu knew he hated being conversational. And Ryu knew that he hated guys that tried to hit on him when he was a girl. He didn't understand why Ryu always like toying with their victims before robbing them blind. They should've just taken over the camp by force. Then again, he had been nice enough to invite them to join him. Heh, oh well, it was only for the night- he an Ryu'd be gone by morning, along with all of the boy's possessions. Those twin tritons would be a nice prize, the poor boy probably doesn't even know how to use them. Ranma laughed to himself, as the blue haired boy replied. "I'm heading towards Cascala. My business there is my own. And you?"

"What a coincidence, so-"

"Our destination and our business is none of your concern," Ranma cut in punching Ryu in the stomach. "I'll go get some more wood." It was the plan as always. Ranma would ambush the boy from behind while Ryu kept her distracted. The morning would find poor Akane tied up to a tree in a most uncomfortable position. Ranma couldn't help but smile. It wasn't that they were bad people, they had just grown up in a rather unsheltered and brutal environment. He and Ryu had learned the hard way that people were not to be trusted, not even each other. But Ranma knew that while Ryu would steal food from Ranma, Ryu would never hurt him or allow anyone else to hurt him. He poured the kettle of hot water he had swiped from the camp over his head and his body slowly transformed back into a male's. The two were loyal and honorable despite their lifestyle. It was the last thing their parents taught them before they died at the hands of the cursed Happosai... Ranma spun around- there was something there.

----@

Akane glared after the pigtailed girl. She was rude wasn't she. Really pretty though. Back home, all the nymphs would have fallen all over her. Home... she missed it already. The wind began to howl as she began to twist it with her emotions unwittingly.

"Mighty strong winds we're having all of a sudden," Ryu commented as he adjusted his vest. His medallion shone brightly in the fire's light. There was something strange about this boy. He was beginning to like him.

"Mm.. yes. What is that?" Akane looked at the medallion intrigued. Ah yes, the wind, she immediately calmed them. The design on the medallion seemed to call out to her, as if they wanted to touch her.

"Oh, this is just a little gift from some clients we have." Ryu commented absently as he tended to the fire.

"Oh? And what exactly do you do?" elusive weren't they?

"You could say-"

"GOBLINS!!!" Ranma ran back toward the campsite, now male, twin swords drawn.

"What? By the ocean? What's going on?" Ryu immediately stood up and pulled out his green nunchak and began to swing it over his head. "Get back boy, this is beyond you," he growled as he shoved Akane into the center of the campsite. "Well Ranma, whaddya say we have ourselves some fun?"

Brown goblins began to swarm over the campsite. They were drooling and snarling at the thought of human flesh for dinner that night. Priestess Kasumi had made it very clear to kill the blue-haired one and take the treasure she was carrying back to her. What they did with the body she didn't care. It was a shame they couldn't eat the redhead or the green bandana-ed one, there were specific directions not to harm them. Snarling, the leader of the goblins lunged past Ranma and Ryu towards Akane, as his fellow goblins kept the two thieves distracted.

----@

"RYU! Watch your back!" Ranma yelled as he threw one of his twin swords into the heart of a goblin that behind his partner.

"Thanks Ranma, nice work out doncha think?" Ryu replied over the heads of the snarling goblins that were being thrown left and right by his nunchak. It was glowing green with pleasure at the action and energy around it. "You think the boy can handle himself? I really wanted those tritons of his, if the goblins eat them, I'll never forgive them."

"Heh, that's you Ryu, always one for the weapons. I knew you weren't being so nice for no reason." Ranma sliced the upcoming goblin in half with his remaining sword, trying to make his way towards his other sword. "Got it!" he cried as he pulled his other sword out of the dead goblin's chest. "Now you goblin sons of bitches are gonna get it. LONG FONG JUAN SHAAAAAA!" His twin swords began twisting like fluid faster and faster in every direction. Goblin heads falling left and right. Suddenly, they stopped as a wind stronger than the energy he created with his swords forced his swords out of his hand. He was being thrown into the sky by a funnel of wind and energy as was Ryu and the goblins about him. "WHAT THE-!"

-----@

Akane was very upset at being shoved aside like some wimpy little boy by Ryu. Heh, two can play that game Ryu my friend. Let's see what you and Ranma here are made of. Hold up, wasn't Ranma a girl? She would get to the bottom of that eventually. Suddenly her senses were alert, a goblin was coming toward her, one that had penetrated through Ryu and Ranma's defenses. The scaly brown thing was high above her head, about to lunge down at her, and rip her heart out. Akane began to laugh... Goblin fool... She threw off her cloak, and summoned the powers within her. The stones on her armband glowed a bright blue and surrounded the whole forest with their light. She pulled the tritons off her back, they began to turn blue. The fighting spirit within her caused the wind to blow all around her, her hair going in all directions. She jumped up into the air to meet the goblin leader. She sent him to hell with a graceful swipe with her tritons. She landed back into the middle of the now empty camp. The wind, had blown them all away, she sighed. It had been so long since she had a real fight, the powers within her got carried away. She needed to learn to control herself. The wind had died down and the blue glow had disappeared. She heard Ryu and Ranma yelling as they flew into the sky carried by the energy she had created. Whoops, she thought as they landed in a lump beside her. At least the goblins are all gone... and ahh.. the sun was rising..

----@

Ranma slowly regained his consciousness, still a little dazed by his trip through the air. His twin swords and Ryu's nunchuk were laid beside his head. He saw Ryu lying next to him in a similar state. Then he saw her. She was sitting beside them cross legged, tending to the fish over the fire. Who was this girl? She had the same blue hair as the boy from the night before and carried the twin tritons strapped to her back. But how? She was beautiful he thought. What the hell was he thinking? This was Ranma, the one who HATED girls! He and Ryu thought they were weak and pathetic and stupid. But, that blast into the sky, that had been far from weak, pathetic and stupid. Dazed and confused, Ranma did the only thing he knew how. "Who the hell are you?!?" he demanded eloquently.

"I could ask the same of you, you pervert." Akane turned around and retorted angrily. Who did this boy think he was, pretending to be a girl... perverted cross dresser. "Weren't you a girl last night?"