Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or Inu yasha.
Chapter 25The water was a smooth curtain of blue silk, parted brutally by the head of their boat to China. Akane leaned against the railing, watching the sea absently. It was a cool day, and the wind whipped her cropped hair wildly. She sighed and wondered if the entire trip would be this boring. It wasn't a long ride, but it would have been much faster by plane. So why were they taking a boat in the first place? It was more 'discreet.' That, and there were no airports close to Joketsu, so this way was faster in the long run.
Everyone had taken a part in planning this trip, and they had gotten it done quickly. It had only taken a little over a week to get everything planned and on the road. On the road to Joketsu.
Mousse had agreed to help them fight, and, surprisingly, Shampoo decided she would help, but without fighting. Akane was constantly being surprised by the young miko. The ice in her expression had melted, she was polite even to Ranma, and she seemed perfectly willing to help them. It was a definite improvement over her previous attitude. Which one is the real Shampoo, though?
Whether Shampoo was trustworthy or not, they would need as many mikos as they could get without going for outside help. If Shampoo did turn against them Tofu, Kasumi, and Kagome would hopefully be enough. It was unlikely to come to that though, because the more mikos they had, the more peaceful the outcome of their visit to her village would be.
Akane chewed her lower lip as her thoughts turned to the village, and more importantly, the village elders. She knew Kho Lon was one, and that – according to Shampoo – there were four more, but she had no idea how powerful they were. Shampoo had said that Kagome was more powerful than each of the elders separately, but she wasn't sure how much more powerful. Kho Lon was not the weakest of the elders, and she was quite a bit weaker than Kagome. That gave them some hope, though none of them were about to underestimate their opponents. Not even Ranma.
He was more nervous than anybody, though Akane was the only one who knew him well enough to tell. And he had every right to be nervous. If they lost, then they would most likely be dead. Either killed during battle, or killed after they were found on the battleground, too wounded to escape. So why do this at all? Maybe it was because they had nothing better to do. Or maybe it was because there was nothing else they could do.
For Ranma it was about taking control of the Eastern Lands. For Nodoka it was about honor. For Kagome it was about doing what she believed in. For Inu-Yasha it was mainly about protecting Kagome. For Kasumi it was about family. For Tofu it was about friendship. For Mousse it was about gratitude. For Shampoo it was about closure. For Genma it was about… fear of his wife most likely…. For Akane it was about helping Ranma. And for them all, it was about doing what was right.
The Joketsuzoku. An impossibly primitive village of demon hunters and mikos. Their beliefs were outdated and primal, but they refused to integrate into the populace that was blissfully unaware of the existence of demons. The village had no place in the modern world, and if they didn't change themselves they were going to be changed. There was no need to destroy the village, only make it more open to those with youkai blood. But there might not be a difference between the two…
From what they had seen of Kho Lon, the elders would probably not accept defeat alive. Kho Lon would never change her ways. She would probably rather die. But they hadn't seen her since she showed up at the Higurashi shrine, so maybe she had decided that she needed time to rethink her ways after her conversation with Kagome… or maybe she had caught wind of their plans and headed home to warn her village. The latter was more likely, and more worrisome.
Akane decided there were far too many things to worry about. But at least her father was no longer on her growing list of problems. She had spoken to him – actually he had spoken to her – only once, but she knew he didn't hate her at least. He had declined to help them and, while it stung, Akane could understand that. Things weren't back to the way they were – they probably never would be – but it was a beginning.
Alongside their boat, Akane could see another similar one and she recognized it as Nodoka's. Not that Nodoka had an entire boat to herself. The other ship was being used by the rest if their 'army.' While they couldn't go for outside help, it was perfectly alright to recruit those you already knew, or who already worked for you. Nodoka either knew them, or had them working for her. There weren't very many occupying the other ship, just as there weren't very many occupying theirs, but since they had the space and none of them felt up to making conversation with strangers, the groups were split up.
On the deck of the other ship Akane could make out a figure leaning on the rail and looking over the water just as she was doing. She wondered idly what they were thinking about before she thought she saw the figure's head move and had the suspicion that they were looking at her. It was as likely false as it was true, but somehow the thought made her uncomfortable. Abruptly she pushed herself off the rail and left to go find Ranma.
Ranma was worried. About a battle. And anyone who knew him, knew that that was a rare thing. But this was a different kind of fight than he was used to, and it didn't all come down to his ability alone. It wasn't just about his life.
He watched the underside of the bed above him from his own resting place. The ship cabins were small, and cramped, with barely enough room for the bunk beds that were bolted to the walls. He had expected them to be this way, but it was always amazing to see just how small they could make a bedroom. His eyes began to drift closed lazily with the slow rocking of the ship. It wouldn't be much longer now, before they reached China…
The door to his cabin flew inward suddenly as the ship jolted and Akane stumbled in, grabbing a bedpost for support. She glanced at his wide eyes and laughed nervously in embarrassment.
"Sorry," she said as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I was opening the door and I kind of fell…"
"Jeez, you're clumsy," Ranma feigned an exasperated sigh. "Sit down before you hurt yourself."
Akane rolled her eyes. "I'm going to ignore that," she began, sitting next to him on the bed. Ranma stopped grinning as soon as she whacked him over the head. "Starting now. So, what do you think?"
"I'm worried," Ramna told her, with a sigh. "But you knew that already."
Akane nodded thoughtfully in confirmation. There was a short silence before she asked, "do you think we'll win?"
"I'm not sure what to think. I'd rather not fight them at all."
"But there's nothing else to do, is there?"
They both knew the answer to that. This was an old discussion, but they always hoped it would end differently.
"There's nothing else to do," Ranma said. But the conversation was far from over. They continued to talk, weighing their options, counting up the pros and cons. Both of them spoke in lazy fragments of sentences, because they had gone over it all before. What is there to do when you can't move back? Move forward. So that's what they did. What they were doing.
"Just don't die, okay?"
Ranma glanced down at Akane. He wasn't sure just how she had gotten into his arms, or how the conversation had come this far, but he answered with a nod, pulling her closer.
"I won't," he breathed into her hair, "As long as you don't either."
She closed her eyes, leaning against him and they sat in comfortable silence. After a short time Akane's breathing slowed and Ranma could tell she was asleep. He followed her slowly into unconsciousness.
A/N: This chapter was just to tell you what's going on. I didn't want to write all their preparations before they left because that would be boring and tedious. I know this chapter wasn't really interesting, but it sums it all up neatly, so next time I can just get straight to the action. Also, the part where Akane sees that person on the other ship has nothing to do with the plot, in case anyone was wondering. This took me a while, but I would have had it out yesterday if FF.net was working so it's not all my fault. Well, Review please! C ya next time.