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Chapter 7
Akane sat with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees, trying to think of nothing. She had been this way since she had suddenly jolted awake from her latest dream; it had been so vivid that she could still feel the tingling sensation on her cheek where the creature had struck her. This was just not right dreams were not suppose to hurt were they? Then she had felt the familiar presence again at the end of this dream, it felt almost as if she were going to be saved. Trying to figure all of this out was just making her head hurt worse than it already did, and she desperately wanted the pounding to stop. She probably should have gone back to sleep, but then the dream would come again; that was something she did not want. She could not handle another fight with that creature tonight, not by herself.
What had she been thinking running off all alone? She had neither the training nor the skill to survive in the wild by herself. Sure she had gone with Ranma on several of his training trips, but she was never really alone then, she always had someone to depend on. Maybe she should have brought P-chan with her, at least then she would have had someone to talk to. What go through the effort though, he would just wander off and get lost again. Funny how that pig always managed to get lost, kind of like Ryoga.
A smile flitted across her features as she remembered the day Ryoga had come into her life. He was searching out Ranma like everyone seemed to be and, just like everyone else, he seemed to have some grudge against him. The fight had been a terrific one. She remembered trying to pick-up that umbrella that Ryoga always carried and hardly being able to lift the thing, but to Ranma it seemed to be as light as a feather. Shivers always ran down her spine when she remembered how Ranma picked her up and used the umbrella as a shield to protect them from Ryoga's bandanas, he always was coming to her rescue though. Then when her hair had been cut off by a bandana the look on Ranma's face had been priceless, that was why she had not gotten mad at him, besides that was the first time he had said she was cute. Her eyes lit up and a slight blush graced her cheeks as she recalled how adorable Ranma had looked when he told her that she looked good with her hair short. That was the whole reason she had never let it grow back. Dr. Tofu may have liked Kasumi's long, beautiful hair, but all of a sudden what Dr. Tofu like didn't seem to matter anymore. All she cared about was what that baka of a wild boy liked.
A sudden jolt came over the ship that knocked Akane to off her feet; the ship must have been moored to the dock. A feeling of indescribable joy washed over her as she realized that her period of confinement was finally coming to an end. To feel the sun on her face, the wind in her hair, and an unmoving ground under her feet was going to be wonderful, but first she had to get of the ship and away from the stench of fish. She could only imagine what she must smell like, not to mention what she must look like after three days with no way to bathe. What she wouldn't give for a nice long soak in a furo.
The door to the hold closed with a loud clank that reverberated through the entire room. Akane crawled to the edge of the air conditioner and peered over the edge, listening intently to what was being said by the people she saw. She couldn't hear all of the words that were being spoken, but she caught enough to have an idea of what was being said. The cargo should be just fine; a constant temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit had been maintained. The crew did a good job, they were almost finished docking, and a night on the town was deserved by all. Her eyes lit up at that last statement! Fate was still smiling on her, and here was her chance to get away unnoticed. She would just have to bide her time and wait for the perfect opportunity. Feeling a new surge of confidence fill her spirit, Akane scooted back to the middle of her temporary home and began to plan where she was going next.
The sunlight, which was softly filtered through the curtains over window, shone on Ranma's face and gently bathed his face with light until he woke of his own accord. Eagerly, he bounded out of bed and went through his morning rituals, today he and Nabiki would check Akane's account transactions. Finally he would have some clue as to where that tomboy had taken off to, then he could stop feeling so guilty. Maybe that was why he kept having those strange dreams, he felt guilty about hurting Akane. He knew he should have chosen just one fiancée from the start, but he just couldn't bear to hurt Ukyou. Then there was Shampoo. How would he have been able to live with her punishment because he had chosen someone besides her? He tried to avoid making a decision for as long as possible in the hopes that he would be able to think of some solution that would please everyone, but after all these years he could still think of nothing. That is nothing besides one marriage with two concubines, but that would have left both Akane and he unhappy so that was out of the question.
Nodoka could be heard moving around the kitchen as she prepared the morning meal for the family, but for once Ranma was not interested in food. He walked on past the stairwell and stopped in front of Nabiki's door. He tapped lightly a couple times; he knew that she often stayed up late working on the household books and did not want to disturb her if she was still sleeping. The door slowly opened a crack much to his delight, and Nabiki's freshly washed face could be seen peeking out at him. After checking to make sure certain ledgers were put away, Nabiki opened the door wide enough for Ranma to enter and let him into her private domain. The curtains were still drawn and the room was fairly dark. The illumination from the computer monitor cast an eerie glow around the room that rather reminded Ranma of one of those low budget mob movies; the ones where the guys would meet in the bar to plan their next attack. They would all be sitting around a table in a corner opposite the door, and there only ever seemed to be one light hanging from the ceiling that was suppose to light the whole room, but never quite succeeded. The whole atmosphere gave Ranma the chills and suddenly made him very happy that Nabiki had not been chosen as his fiancée.
"Here Ranma, you can sit in this chair," Nabiki said as she sat in the office chair and turned to her monitor. "You can watch over my shoulder if you like, but I will need a few minutes to log onto the internet."
"Let me know when you are ready," Ranma said while trying to stifle a yawn.
As he waited, Ranma closed his eyes and thought about the dream he had that night. He had been having these dreams every since Akane left, and he was sure they were always the same. At least they always ended the same, he would hear a scream and then he would wake up. The rest of the dream he wasn't too sure about because he could remember next to nothing about it, except for the feeling that someone needed him. Could it be Akane, or was it just coincidence?
"Here we go, this is the website for Akane's bank. Let's see, according to my sources she hasn't set up an on line password for her account. I have all the information I need to do that right here, so let's get this baby rolling." Nabiki muttered under her breath as she rapidly typed the information into the required fields. "Let's see, we need a password that Akane would have used if she were setting up this service on her own. Let me think a minute."
"P-chan," Ranma answered without a thought. "She probably would have used P-chan, you know how crazy she is about the stupid pig."
"You know what Saotome, if I didn't know better I would say you sounded just a little jealous of that stupid pig."
"Yeah, well, you know how it goes," he said, just a little embarrassed that she had seen through his outburst. He thought she was going to say something about the pig again, but seemed to change her mind.
"P-chan it is then," Nabiki said as she typed in the rest of the information. "Hopefully she's used her debit card, if not were back to square one."
Ranma watched the monitor waiting for one small shred of hope to be thrown his way, and there it was. Akane had used her debit card at a hotel in a city to the north of Tokyo. Before Nabiki could turn around to say anything, Ranma was out the door and in his room preparing his backpack for the upcoming trip. He had just finished and was heading towards the door when Nabiki stepped in his way to prevent him from leaving.
"Where do you think you are going?" Nabiki asked Ranma in one of her coolest tones.
"I'm going to find Akane, where do you think I am going!" Ranma tried to get past Nabiki, but she wouldn't budge.
"I think you are forgetting that you agreed to visit Dr. Tofu before you left on this latest adventure. I want to make sure you leave in good shape."
"Since when do you care how I feel Nabiki?" Ranma asked, he was getting very perturbed with the situation.
"Since I need pictures of you to make money," Nabiki replied with a slight smile. "Besides, Akane would never forgive me if I let you take off when you were sick, and no matter what anyone else thinks, I love my sisters. Let's go Saotome."
Ranma looked at the floor for a second as the dreams came to mind again. He would feel more comfortable if he could get Dr. Tofu's opinion on the matter before he left.
"Alright Nabiki, I will go see Dr. Tofu, but I am telling you now that I am going to leave Nerima tonight no matter what he has to say."
"Deal." Nabiki replied and opened the door so they could head towards the clinic.
Cologne stood by the front door of the Nekohatten waiting for Shampoo to come down the stairs. They had decided last night that they would go and talk to the Saotomes about the Amazon law today, and she was obviously leaving nothing to chance. Shampoo had spent most of the morning bathing and picking just the right clothes to wear. Then her hair and make-up had to be just right, and now Cologne was sure she was trying to decide which fragrance would best suit the occasion. Kami help her, if that child did not get down the stairs in the next few minutes then she would have to leave without her.
After another five minutes had passed Cologne had decided that she would wait no longer and had just opened the door to leave when a purple blur came out of nowhere and pushed the door closed.
"How Shampoo looking now, great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked. She was wearing a lavender colored, floor length Chinese gown with slits up the sides. The slits, which went well up her leg, and hem, were trimmed with a dark purple satin piping. Her hair was done in a tight French braid instead of the usual ponytails, she had just enough make-up on to make her eyes stand out and her lips look seductive. Cologne had never seen the girl look so beautiful in her entire life.
"You look devastating my dear," Cologne answered with a smile, "Now, lets hurry to the Tendo home before the boy leaves on one of his excursions."
Shampoo nodded and the two hurried out the door and headed towards the Tendo home. Neither of them spoke as they walked down the street, they both engrossed in their own thoughts about the future. Cologne was busy thinking of all the glory Ranma would bring to the Amazons, the wonderful grandchildren he would provide, and her future as the head of the tribe. Shampoo was thinking about how wonderful the words I love you would sound coming from Ranma's mouth, how his hands would feel on her body, how his lips would feel on hers. They were both so lost in their own thoughts that they almost didn't see Nabiki and Ranma cross the street some yards in front of them. Cologne was rather upset at herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings; she couldn't have such skilled people just sneaking up on her that could mean her demise. Shampoo, on-the-other-hand, was not in the least bit bothered by Ranma's sudden appearance on the road ahead of her, she was too busy watching his muscular backside to care whether or not she had neglected her training.
Cologne and Shampoo had just about caught up with Ranma and Nabiki when the pair turned and went through the door of the Ono Clinic.
Shampoo stopped and looked at the door as if it were some kind of a magical barrier, then turned to ask her great-grandmother whether or not they should follow them inside. Before a word could come out of her mouth though, Cologne just nodded to her and then continued up the walk to the door of the clinic. They would confront the boy inside the building, what better place to air their differences. Ranma and Nabiki both had too much respect for the good doctor to cause a scene in his clinic, they would either have to leave the building or listen to what Cologne had to say. She was sure they would stay.
"Son-in-law, I have finally found you," Cologne said as she closed the door behind her. "You and I have much to talk about."
Ranma turned and looked at the Amazon with respectful contempt in his eyes. He was sure that she was here to demand that he marry Shampoo and he had no intentions of listening to the old bat, not now anyways he had more important things to worry about.
"Nihao airen," Shampoo said in a sultry voice. "Shampoo so happy see you today, Shampoo miss you."
Ranma waited for Shampoo to try to hug him like she always did, but it never came. For that matter, Shampoo never even moved an inch. She just stood there and stared at him like he was her property, the whole thing was rather disturbing to him. The look of hunger in her eyes sent an involuntary shudder down his spine, she was obviously thinking of things he wanted no part of. He wanted to say something to Shampoo about the whole situation but could think of nothing to say, so instead he just turned his back to her and waited for the doctor. To his left he could hear a soft chuckle come from Nabiki, to his right he could feel Cologne start to approach him, and from behind he could feel Shampoo's rising anger. He was trying to think of a way he could end the situation peacefully when the door to the waiting room opened and the doctor stepped through.
"Hi Ranma! Wow, your aura looks different today. Come stand under the light please, so I can get a better look." Dr. Tofu said with concern in his voice.
Cologne studied the boy closer as he stepped under the light. She had not been trained in the art of reading auras like Tofu had, but she had learned a thing or two over the centuries. Her eyes grew wider as she thought she saw something flicker around his body. If this was what she thought it was then she would have to hurry back to the restaurant and check her scrolls before deciding what to do next.
"This is something I have never seen before," Dr. Tofu said to no one in particular, "I never even thought it was possible."
"What is it Doc, what's wrong!" Ranma asked.
"Well, you seem to have someone's ki mixed with yours. Sometimes people can leave ki signatures on an object or person that will show a little in their aura, but this alien ki that is in your aura seems to be interacting with you."
Cologne's face grew pale as she listened to what the doctor had to say. She had been told tales as a child about a terrible evil that had engulfed the world and how the evil had been conquered. Most of what she had been told she had forgotten though; she needed to check her scrolls to see if the tale had been written down because she thought that part of that tale involved two people who could use each others ki. Without another thought, Cologne grabbed Shampoo's arm and started dragging her towards the door, she had to get to the Nekohatten.
"I will speak to you when you are not so busy, son-in-law," Cologne said as she closed the door and went back the way she had come.
Akane lay down and stared at the ceiling of the hold as she listened to the hold door shut, the inspector had just left along with the captain. They had just left to have lunch and would be back in a few hours and the rest of the crew would not be expected back till nightfall. This was the break she had been waiting for; she was leaving this smelly hold. Grabbing her pack, she crawled over to the edge of the air conditioner and looked down, there was no one to be seen. She quickly jumped to the catwalk below her, ran to the door and listened for any sound from the other side. When she was convinced that no one was around to catch her, she opened the door and headed for the stairs at the end of the hallway. She could smell the salt air wafting down the corridor, she could see the sunlight illuminating the doorway, she was almost out of the ship. Up the stairs she went as fast as she could go and out into the bright sunshine. She stopped for a second to see which side of the boat the dock was on and then she was off again, running for the gangplank that would lead her to the dock and a new life. Her pace slowed a little as she got closer to her objective, whether from fear or anticipation she was not sure. Slower and slower she went, until she just stopped and leaned on some crates that were stacked on the deck. She looked up at the sky and studied the clouds as uncertainty and doubt once again began to assail her. She closed her eyes and pictured Ranma as he fought Toma, never doubting himself just believing in himself. This seemed to strengthen her resolve and she opened her eyes and started to move away from the crates when all of the sudden she got a feeling that something was not right. She felt a presence coming up behind her and turned just in time to see one of the crewman grab at her. There was just this one by her, but there were three more blocking off the gangplank. Looking to her left she saw two more men coming from the other direction, she was going to have to find another way off the ship and fast.
Ranma sat on the table in the examination room waiting for Dr. Tofu to come in and talk with him. He had been sitting there for half an hour already and was starting to get very impatient to leave and look for Akane, but he had to wait. Why did he have to go and promise Nabiki that he would visit the doctor before he left town? A soft sigh escaped his lips as he realized how close he would be to his destination if he had left bright and early in the morning. He would probably be half way there by now, half way to finding his Akane.
Dr. Tofu opened the door to the examination room and entered in his quiet unassuming manner. He pulled a stool up next to the table, sat down and just started to look at Ranma.
"I am sorry Ranma," Dr. Tofu said as he started to run his hands above the surface of Ranma's skin, "I had a broken arm come in that I had to set and put a cast on before I could do anything else. Where did Nabiki go? I thought she was keeping you company."
"She said she had to go make some phone calls. She should be back soon." Ranma said as he watched the doctor's hands. "What exactly are you doing, doc?"
"I am feeling your aura to see if I can tell whose ki is interacting with yours. Why don't you tell me why you came to see me this morning while I am doing this."
"Well, you know that Akane left town right? Right after she left I started to have these real strange dreams. I can't remember anything about them except that I feel like someone is calling out to me, and then I hear a scream and I wake-up. I wasn't going to come see you about this, I didn't think it was anything to worry about, but Nabiki insisted that I talk with you before I went to look for Akane."
Dr. Tofu was getting ready to reply when a soft knock on the door interrupted him, and Kasumi opened the door. Ranma was getting ready to run for his life when he saw Kasumi smile at him, he was scared what the doctor might do to him, but nothing happened. The doctor looked at Kasumi without his glasses fogging up, or jumping up and down. He did stutter slightly when he called her name, but that was all. Ranma smiled when he saw the tender look in the doctor's eyes. Things were definitely looking good for Kasumi.
"W-w-what do you need K-kasumi?" asked Dr. Tofu.
"I finished transcribing the files from yesterday and you next appointment isn't until three o'clock so I am going to go to lunch with Nabiki."
"Alright K-kasumi. Please bring some lunch back for me, I don't think I will be going out today."
"Yes, doctor," Kasumi, answered with a bright smile as she shut the door.
"Wow! Kasumi doesn't bother you anymore!" Ranma observed.
"Yeah, I should have released her to go home a few days ago, but being close to her has done wonders for our relationship. I just may ask her if she wants to keep working here and move into the apartment above the clinic."
"That would be great for Kasumi, she wouldn't have to focus on the family as much and could start looking towards her own future."
Dr. Tofu didn't answer, but instead kept moving his hands around Ranma. "Please, tell me the rest about your dreams. I get the feeling that there is something that you are not telling me."
"Yeah there is. I haven't told anyone. Last night, when I woke-up from the last dream, I could have sworn I heard someone say 'Ranma, where are you when I need you?' Am I going crazy doc?"
"I don't think so Ranma," Dr. Tofu said with a smile, "I think this alien ki belongs to Akane. I have seen her often enough that I should be able to know for sure, but the traces are so faint that I don't want to say for certain. Anyways, if this is Akane's ki maybe you two are linked in an extraordinary way. The next time you have this dream, why don't you try calling out to Akane and see what happens, then let me know. I am interested in how this condition of yours progresses."
"Sure thing doc," Ranma said as he headed for the door, "just as soon as I see you again."
Cologne knew that Shampoo was angry with her; she could feel her aura even though Shampoo was in her bedroom. She had taken her granddaughter to her room and told her to stay there until the morning. Shampoo had not like this one bit, but that did not matter. She had research to do, she needed to know what was happening so she would know how to plan for the future. As she searched her trunks for the scroll she wanted she heard Shampoo open the door to her room and try to leave. She shook her head in dismay. She had placed a confinement spell on the door and window to Shampoo's room just as soon as she had closed the door, permanently sealing her in until they were removed. She had never felt so guilty in her life, but not any longer. She was now glad for her foresight. The last thing she needed right now was her headstrong granddaughter to go looking for the Saotome boy.
Finally, Cologne felt her hand close on the scroll that she had been looking for. All the information that she needed about Ranma's condition should be written on these pages. Carefully she unrolled the silk bound paper on her bed, sat down and began to read.
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When the great evil wakes
And walks the land,
Who will save the world
From its deadly hand.
A young Amazon warriorWith her mate by her side,
Will train and fight,
In love to abide.
A special connection
The two will share,
As the life force travels,
Between the pair.
And the powers of one,
Belong to the other,
The world to save,
The evil to smother.
Two hearts will bond,
Two souls are bound,
One love will be,
Our salvation found.
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Cologne cackled after she finished reading the ancient prophecy. According to this Ranma was one half of the pair that would save the world, and if that was the case then Shampoo would have to be the other half; she was, after all, the only Amazon he was engaged to.
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Please review what my story! I need your criticism, praise and ideas. They inspire me to write more and to try and make it better.
I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! I will have the chapter eight out next week if everything goes right.
Till then,
SeongMi