Well, here is the next chapter just like I promised. I hope you all enjoy
reading it as much as I did writing it.
Please review when you read, your reviews motivate me to continue on with the story.
Starry Night
Chapter Eight
Ranma opened the door to the clinic and started to head for the street that would take him back home. He probably should have taken to the rooftops to save time, but instead he found himself mulling over what Dr. Tofu had told him. If Akane was the girl in his dreams then he needed to find her and help her, hell he needed to find her even if she wasn't the girl. He just needed Akane. His pop had always told him that a true martial artist could have no weakness, that idea brought a chuckle to his lips. Well, he had a weakness, and he would probably always have that weakness, but that weakness seemed to make him stronger. Now all he had to do was find that weakness and keep her close to his side for the rest of his life, then he should have no problems.
"Hello Ranma!" Kasumi said in her normal cheery voice, "Nabiki and I were waiting on you so we all could go and get lunch."
"No thank you Kasumi," Ranma replied, "I really need to leave so I can find Akane."
"I won't take no for an answer." Kasumi said in a stern voice. "You need to have food in your stomach for your journey, and besides your mom is still preparing food for you."
Ranma looked at Kasumi and knew that he would never be able to say no to her. He looked to Nabiki for help, but she had wisely decided to keep her mouth closed for the time being, she did not want to be on Kasumi's bad side.
"Let's go Kasumi," Ranma said, "but make it quick, I've wasted too much time as it is."
Kasumi gave Ranma a big, bright smile then said, "Well then, let's head to Uchan's!"
Akane stood on the deck of the ship trying to find a way to escape all of the crewmen that seemed to be surrounding her. The only way to go was back towards the stern of the ship; she turned to look that way and noticed the mooring line. A surge of fear started to rise in her, she didn't want to cross over the water, she didn't want to risk falling in. She didn't have a choice though. The mooring line was the only option left to her, other than jumping in the water and swimming towards shore, and she was like a lead weight in the water. Without further thought, Akane turned and ran for the mooring line. Gracefully she jumped onto the side of the ship, and then down onto the massive rope that held the ship to the dock. She tried not to look down at the water as she ran, she tried to keep her eyes straight ahead, but every few steps she would look down to make sure her feet would not betray her. The terror she was feeling started to slowly disappear as she got further down the rope, and her confidence started to grow. Ranma had once told her that if she would just keep moving and not think too much about her balance that she could do something like this, and he had been right she could do it!
A flood of relief washed over her body as she felt the solid wood of the dock come under her feet, she wanted to stop and shout for joy at her victory. The crewmen were not far behind her though, so she just kept moving instead. As she ran she could hear the men behind her yelling something in Mandarin; she didn't have to wait long to figure out what they were saying as she noticed some men up ahead turn and start to head her direction. How was she going to deal with all of these men? They weren't like the boys she used to have to fight every morning. These men were a lot bigger and more muscular. Would she be able to stand-up to them all by herself? She started to scan the buildings around her for yet another way to escape when salvation found her in the form of Ryoga.
"Ryoga! What are you doing here?" Akane quickly stopped by his side.
"Hey Akane! What are you doing in China? I got lost again trying to find Nerima." Ryoga said turning to face Akane.
"How did you know you were in China?"
"The signs are written in Mandarin. Are those men chasing you?"
"Yeah, I kind of stowed away on their ship to get here." Akane said with shame on her face. "Can you help me with them."
Ryoga turned so he was back to back with Akane and said, "I would give my life for you, but you should just stand back and let me take care of them."
"NO!" Akane said vehemently as the circle of burly men closed in around them, "I am a martial artist just like the rest of you, and I will help to defend myself. Please don't take that away from me."
"I don't like the idea at all, but if this is what you want then I will give it to you. Don't be surprised if I push you out of the way though," Ryoga said as he punched the first man in the kidney. His frequent fights with Ranma had increased his speed to the point that most people couldn't touch him.
"Thank you, Ryoga!" Akane said as she spun and delivered a hard kick to the side of a crewman's knee, he went down fast. She then stepped to the left and jabbed the man coming from that direction in the nose, then dropped and brought her elbow up into the crotch of the man coming up behind her. She hadn't realized how fast all those swing and dodge sparring matches with Ranma had made her.
In just a matter of minutes Ryoga and Akane had defeated all fifteen of the crewmen that had been surrounding them. Ryoga quickly grabbed Akane by the waist and jumped to the roof of the closest building. Soon they were flying from rooftop to rooftop to put as much distance as possible between them and any reinforcements that the captain might send. Akane was enjoying the view and the feel of the wind in her face, but the usual exhilaration that she felt from such rides was missing. Maybe that was because Ryoga was carrying her and not Ranma.
Ryoga jumped down to the street as he neared the outskirt of the city and set Akane back onto the ground.
"I'm sorry I grabbed you like that Akane," Ryoga said while looking at the ground instead of Akane.
"Don't worry about it Ryoga," Akane said as she started to walk down the street, "you only did what you thought you had to do." She walked on for several minutes in silence. There were only small houses in this part of the town and she could see a wooded land to the west; she turned and headed for the wood.
.
"By-the-way, thank you for helping me back there," Akane said as she entered the wood. After a few more minutes of silence she looked back over her shoulder to see why Ryoga wasn't answering and wasn't surprised when she realized he wasn't there.
Spotty sunlight filled the valley as the demon finally finished materializing from the crystal. It looked up to the sky and noted that there would be rain soon, but that was of no consequence to him, water didn't bother him. As long as things didn't get too hot or too cold it would be just fine for now. For the first time in centuries it's feet touched the soil of the earth as it began to walk away from it's prison, the earth shuddered at it's passing. It stopped when it reached the ring of stones and picked up the one that had fallen out of placement during the earthquake, the one that had enabled him to crack the crystal, and threw it high up into the mountains with a strength that few could rival. A wicked laugh filled the air as the demon crossed the circle where the one stone had been removed, the magic could not touch it there, it was safe. If it had tried to cross at any other point in the circle then lightening would have come down and engulfed its body, and would have left it writhing in pain. It would have to steer clear of that for now, it was still gaining strength.
The heavens opened up and rain began to pour down in the valley, almost as if the Kami were trying to cleanse the earth of the demon's evil stench and vileness. The demon just looked up at the overcast sky and laughed, nothing would hamper it in making this world a habitable place for it to live and rule. As if anything could stop him now, all these humans were weak pliable things, and the pair who stopped him last time died a long time ago. There was no one left who could stand up to him.
A slight twinge in his side brought his mind back to the task at hand. He needed to find a host body and fast, he could not survive in this world with the environment as it is, but first he must find his pet and awaken him. Then the two of them would rein terror on the earth from the skies.
Choon Li was an old druid who lived by himself in the wilds of China. His exile was not exactly the kind of lifestyle he would have chosen for himself, it was the one that had been necessary. He had been a very happy child in his youth, growing-up in the Amazon village with his mother and sisters. He had lots of friends and was well liked by everyone, then one day something had happened to change all of that. He had not meant to do anything to the other boy, he was just a little mad at the boy and had lost control; he had cast his first spell, and it was something to be seen. A gust of wind came swooping down from the east and lifted the little boy into the air, then it sent him crashing back down to the earth. Choon Li wasn't even given the time to try to explain what had happened, or to see how the boy was. The city guards had rushed in and taken him straight to the elder's hut, he was so scared. He was sure that the elders were going to spank him for harming the other child, but instead they just stared at him, to Choon Li that ended up being a lot worse.
For hours he stood perfectly still as the wizened old women just stared at him, he wasn't sure what they were looking for, but he was sure he wasn't going to like it when they found it. Finally, they all turned and looked at the woman in the center of the line, the head of the village, and nodded their heads at the same time. She, elder Soon Hee, called his mother's name, and she stepped forward. He didn't know when she had arrived or how long she had been watching; all he did know was that he was in major trouble now. The conversation that ensued was a very short one to say the least. The Honored Elder had informed his mother that he had extraordinary magical abilities, and that they had been waiting for his appearance for a very long time. The druid who was currently standing watch was getting very old, and a new one needed to be trained to replace him. The council had decided to send the boy to the druid so he could be properly trained and could take over the watch of the valley.
Now, here he stood fifty years later at the brink of the valley using his magic to monitor what was happening inside the valley, and he did not like what he had felt. The tremor that had passed through the valley had been a minor one and had caused very little damage, but the circle didn't feel right anymore. He wasn't sure if it had been broken or not, he just knew that it wasn't right.
His wife would be coming from the village in a few days to bring him a new months worth of supplies, and a few nights of companionship. He would normally try to be rested for her visits, but not this time. He was going to have to spend all of his time in meditation until he knew for certain what it was that he felt, then he would have to prepare a report. He just hoped that what he thought had happened hadn't, and that the demon was still locked in the crystal.
"Hello Kasumi, Nabiki, Ranma honey!" Ukyou said with a huge smile as she saw them enter the restaurant. She had been afraid that she might never see Ranma again after their last conversation, he had seemed to still be mad about the whole wedding fiasco. Maybe he had finally come to his senses and realized that Akane was no good for him, and she was all he needed.
"Good afternoon, Ukyou!" all three answered at the same time.
"Where would you guys like to sit?"
"In a booth please," Nabiki replied, "we have some things we need to talk about."
"But, my Ranma honey always sits at the counter where he can be near to me," Ukyou said with a pouty look on her face.
"Listen Ukyou," Ranma said before anyone else could speak-up, "you are a great friend and all, but I am not your honey. Will you please just call me Ranma like everyone else, I don't want people to get the wrong idea about us."
"What idea could they get," Ukyou said as she stopped by a booth on the far wall, "I am the cute fiancée after all."
"You are cute Ukyou, but you are not a fiancée anymore. I will find a way to make-up for what my father did to you, but I will not marry you."
Ukyou stared at Ranma as he sat in the seat and dismissed her with a finality that left an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"This has something to do with the my ruining your wedding doesn't it?" Ukyou asked in a very quiet voice.
"Some of decision has to do with the wedding. I could never marry someone who would willingly hurt another person to get me, but the biggest reason is how you treated Akane. The wedding was supposed to be her day, the happiest day of her life and you ruined it. I still want to be friends with you Ukyou, but not at the cost of Akane."
A tear could be seen making its way down Ukyou's face as she nodded her understanding of Ranma's statement. She walked back to the grill with her head held high and defiant, not knowing how else to act in this kind of a situation.
"Oh, the poor girl," Kasumi said as she got up and went to Ukyou and wrapped her arms around the girl.
"I know what it is like to have the person you love tell you that they don't feel the same," Kasumi whispered in her ear. "I am so sorry that this had to happen to you."
"Did you know? Did everyone know how Ranma felt about Akane?" Ukyou asked as more tears poured down her face.
"Pretty much everyone but you, Shampoo and Kodachi, but we don't count Kodachi because she lives in her own little world," Kasumi said with a sympathetic smile.
"Ranma and Akane knew that they loved each other, but they didn't tell us? How could they do that to me?" Ukyou stated, and she began to sob. She had been standing there crying on Kasumi's shoulder for a while when felt the girl's arms being removed from around her, and stronger more muscular ones take their place. Ranma had come to comfort her; she wasn't sure she wanted him there but didn't move away from him either. The sound of okonomiyaki being cooked was dancing around the edges of her senses, and was suddenly glad that Konatsu was there to help her.
After she had cried for a few more minutes Ranma pulled her back from his chest so he could see her face. She was overwhelmed by the look of concern she saw there, and a little disappointed to notice that the tenderness that he showed with Akane was missing. Had things always been this way? How could she never notice that she wasn't his all?
"Ukyou, I never wanted to hurt you. Now you are crying and everything, this is why I never told you," Ranma said in a soft voice.
"How long have you loved Akane? Did I ever have a chance?" Ukyou asked, wanting to know the answer but at the same time afraid to receive one.
"I really don't want to hurt you anymore Ukyou." Ranma said, but then gave in when he saw the pleading look in her eyes. "I have loved Akane every since I first met her, and sometimes I think I loved her even before that. This is so hard to explain; I'm not good at this stuff."
"Can you try please? You owe me an explanation" Ukyou said in- between sniffs.
Ranma closed his eyes and thought for a second before continuing. "Every town that Pop and I have been to, the girls all seem to throw themselves at me. Don't get me wrong, I liked the attention, but it just never felt right. I was always looking for the right girl for me, but could never find her. Then Pop dragged me to the Tendo's, I met Akane and things started to make sense to me. All the pieces of my life began to fit together."
"Why didn't you let everyone know? I let everyone know about the one I love."
"Think about this Ukyou, if I had even given my dad the slightest idea that I liked Akane, I would be married right now. I wasn't ready then, we were still learning about each other. Then when I was ready to let people know you came, and Shampoo came, and I didn't want to hurt anyone" Ranma didn't finish his sentence in the hopes that Ukyou would understand.
"And it just got easier to deny that you had feelings for her because of Shampoo." Ukyou finished for him, understanding dawning in her eyes.
"And sometimes because of you too." Ranma said.
"What have I done to Akane, well besides the wedding." Ukyou said.
"Remember when I had Happosai's band-aid stuck on my nose?" Ranma asked he waited to continue until he was sure she knew what he was talking about. "The drug on that band-aid made me want to please everyone, remember? You and Shampoo were willing to eliminate each other and Akane to get me. The only one who wanted to take the band-aid off my nose was Akane, she was the only one who cared about what I would want."
"So I never had a chance did I?"
"I don't think anyone ever did." Ranma said as he let go of Ukyou and sat down at the counter. "We are still friends right?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I can just be a friend with you." Ukyou replied.
"Well, I need a favor. Just consider it one last favor between friends and then I won't come around anymore if you don't want me to."
"What is it?"
"I am leaving town today so I can look for Akane. I think I have an idea of where she is, but I need to leave today. Mr. Tendo and my Pop have started teaching classes again, and I was supposed to help them teach some of the classes. Can you fill in for me while I am gone?"
"Sure Ranma honey. I mean Ranma."
Ranma smiled when he heard her correct herself; maybe she was finally starting to understand. "Give my Pop a call tomorrow and let him know when you are available, and thank you Ukyou."
Ranma didn't give her anytime to respond to his last statement. He couldn't stand to see her hurting anymore, he just took the to go boxes from Konatsu and went out the door, never looking back.
Caves lined every wall of the valley that the demon was in, and in one of those caves was it's pet. It needed to find it's pet, but searching every cave was becoming a very tiresome chore. It had no other choice though, the Amazons must have put an inhibiting spell on it's pet because the demon could not sense it's ki. Patience. It must have patience and everything would come together the way it wanted.
The late evening sky was full of stars and looked beautiful when Ranma stepped off the train. He had just arrived in the port city that Akane had been in a few days ago, now if he could just find the hotel. He took that paper that Nabiki had given him out of his pocket and read the name she had written there, the Beachside Hilton. Hopefully some employee there would remember Akane and possibly know where she was headed.
"Hey," Ranma said to an attendant that was walking by, "can you tell me where the Beachside Hilton is?"
"Yes sir, go down this road two blocks and then turn right, you can't miss it."
"Thank you!" Ranma said as he started to walk down the street. Tonight he was going to find out where Akane was; he could feel it in his bones. He put his hand in his right pocket and pulled out his picture of Akane, you could tell that he carried it everywhere with him as it was worn around the edges, but that didn't matter to him as long as he could still see her beautiful face. Who could he ask at this late hour if they had seen Akane? Besides the hotel clerk, he wasn't really sure. He just felt that he would find the person who knew tonight.
Ranma rounded the corner and saw the hotel a few more blocks down across the street from the ocean; he didn't head for it though instead he went to the beach. The sound of the waves breaking on the sand reminded him of when Akane and he had been on Toma's island. Akane had been wearing that white dress and had looked so gorgeous. He still couldn't believe that she was willing to marry that boy just so he could be cured of his curse. He would much rather live with that forever than lose her.
A lone figure came wandering up the beach just out of the reach of the water. Ranma watched the figure intently before calling out, "Hey Ryoga, you lost again?"
"Ranma! What have you done with Akane? I was just with her a few hours ago!" Ryoga was able to yell just before a wave hit him and he turned into a pig.
"Come on Ryoga," Ranma said as he picked-up the pig and it's belongings, "I was going to check into the hotel across the street, I guess you can stay with me. Just stay in my pack until we get to the room, they may not allow pets in here.
Ranma had just finished closing his pack by the time he reached the front door of the hotel. The place looked very impressive from the outside, he could only imagine what the rooms looked like.
"Hello?" Ranma called out at the front desk. "I need a room for the night. Is anyone here?"
"Oh sorry, sir!" the clerk called out as he came out of the office. "How may I help you?"
"I need a room for the night," Ranma said while handing the clerk the bankcard Nabiki had given him to use.
The clerk took the card and swiped it through the credit card machine, then began typing information into the computer. "Thank you very much Mr. Saotome. You will be in room 201."
Ranma took the key and then handed Akane's picture to the clerk. "Have you seen my wife, she was supposed to meet me here."
"No sir, not that I remember."
"Thank you." Ranma said and slowly went to his room.
Once he got there, he threw himself on the bed in a fit of anger. He had been so sure that he would find Akane tonight that he actually gotten excited, and now here he was with his hopes dashed once again. He just lay there feeling depressed and sorry for himself and would have been perfectly content to stay that way if Ryoga hadn't worked his way out of Ranma's pack.
"Sorry about that man." Ranma said rather half-heartedly as he took Ryoga to the sink and doused him with hot water. He politely turned his head as the other boy immediately headed for his pack and put his clothes back on his body.
"Ranma!" Ryoga said when he finished dressing, "What is this I hear about you meeting your wife here? What have you done with Akane! Don't her feelings mean more to you than this?"
"Calm down Ryoga! Akane is my wife."
"What!" Ryoga yelled.
"No, she isn't really my wife!" Ranma floundered. "Listen, just listen for a second. Akane decided that she needed a break from Nerima, she was tired of me having so many fiancées and I think she was tired of me not doing anything about it. Anyway, to make a long story short, she left Nerima but not as Akane Tendo, she had her name changed to Akane Saotome. Now I am trying to find her so I can bring her back home."
"What if she doesn't want to go back home with you? I mean she did leave you."
"I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there."
"So what are you going to do about all of your fiancées then, Ranma?" Ryoga asked in the hopes that Ranma was going to choose someone other than Akane. "I mean that was the whole reason she left."
"That's just it, the day she left I was going to propose to her for real. Not because of our parents or family honor, just because I love her." Ranma watched the hopeful look in Ryoga's eyes vanish as he said this. He knew that Ryoga had a crush on Akane and had hoped that Ranma would not choose to marry her so that he could have a chance.
"I see." Ryoga said very quietly. "Do you promise to take care of her?"
"I always take care of her. Haven't I proved that time after time?"
"Will you not hurt her?"
"I will never hurt her intentionally. I know that sometimes I say things without thinking, but I am working on that."
"In that case Ranma, I will help you."
"Good, we can start showing people her picture tomorrow and asking if they have seen her."
"No," Ryoga interrupted Ranma, "you don't understand. I was with Akane earlier in the day before I got lost again. I know where she was this afternoon."
Ryoga paused at that admission to see what kind of a response he would get from Ranma and was pleased to see his face light-up and the eager look in his eyes.
"Well, where was she?"
"A port city in China."
@-----------------------------------
If you have any questions or comments please leave a review! (Don't I sound like a salesperson? I just really enjoy receiving reviews because then I know you like the story.) If you don't feel comfortable leaving the message in a review, feel free to e-mail me. Just make sure to put starry night in the subject line.
See you next week,
SeongMi
Please review when you read, your reviews motivate me to continue on with the story.
Starry Night
Chapter Eight
Ranma opened the door to the clinic and started to head for the street that would take him back home. He probably should have taken to the rooftops to save time, but instead he found himself mulling over what Dr. Tofu had told him. If Akane was the girl in his dreams then he needed to find her and help her, hell he needed to find her even if she wasn't the girl. He just needed Akane. His pop had always told him that a true martial artist could have no weakness, that idea brought a chuckle to his lips. Well, he had a weakness, and he would probably always have that weakness, but that weakness seemed to make him stronger. Now all he had to do was find that weakness and keep her close to his side for the rest of his life, then he should have no problems.
"Hello Ranma!" Kasumi said in her normal cheery voice, "Nabiki and I were waiting on you so we all could go and get lunch."
"No thank you Kasumi," Ranma replied, "I really need to leave so I can find Akane."
"I won't take no for an answer." Kasumi said in a stern voice. "You need to have food in your stomach for your journey, and besides your mom is still preparing food for you."
Ranma looked at Kasumi and knew that he would never be able to say no to her. He looked to Nabiki for help, but she had wisely decided to keep her mouth closed for the time being, she did not want to be on Kasumi's bad side.
"Let's go Kasumi," Ranma said, "but make it quick, I've wasted too much time as it is."
Kasumi gave Ranma a big, bright smile then said, "Well then, let's head to Uchan's!"
Akane stood on the deck of the ship trying to find a way to escape all of the crewmen that seemed to be surrounding her. The only way to go was back towards the stern of the ship; she turned to look that way and noticed the mooring line. A surge of fear started to rise in her, she didn't want to cross over the water, she didn't want to risk falling in. She didn't have a choice though. The mooring line was the only option left to her, other than jumping in the water and swimming towards shore, and she was like a lead weight in the water. Without further thought, Akane turned and ran for the mooring line. Gracefully she jumped onto the side of the ship, and then down onto the massive rope that held the ship to the dock. She tried not to look down at the water as she ran, she tried to keep her eyes straight ahead, but every few steps she would look down to make sure her feet would not betray her. The terror she was feeling started to slowly disappear as she got further down the rope, and her confidence started to grow. Ranma had once told her that if she would just keep moving and not think too much about her balance that she could do something like this, and he had been right she could do it!
A flood of relief washed over her body as she felt the solid wood of the dock come under her feet, she wanted to stop and shout for joy at her victory. The crewmen were not far behind her though, so she just kept moving instead. As she ran she could hear the men behind her yelling something in Mandarin; she didn't have to wait long to figure out what they were saying as she noticed some men up ahead turn and start to head her direction. How was she going to deal with all of these men? They weren't like the boys she used to have to fight every morning. These men were a lot bigger and more muscular. Would she be able to stand-up to them all by herself? She started to scan the buildings around her for yet another way to escape when salvation found her in the form of Ryoga.
"Ryoga! What are you doing here?" Akane quickly stopped by his side.
"Hey Akane! What are you doing in China? I got lost again trying to find Nerima." Ryoga said turning to face Akane.
"How did you know you were in China?"
"The signs are written in Mandarin. Are those men chasing you?"
"Yeah, I kind of stowed away on their ship to get here." Akane said with shame on her face. "Can you help me with them."
Ryoga turned so he was back to back with Akane and said, "I would give my life for you, but you should just stand back and let me take care of them."
"NO!" Akane said vehemently as the circle of burly men closed in around them, "I am a martial artist just like the rest of you, and I will help to defend myself. Please don't take that away from me."
"I don't like the idea at all, but if this is what you want then I will give it to you. Don't be surprised if I push you out of the way though," Ryoga said as he punched the first man in the kidney. His frequent fights with Ranma had increased his speed to the point that most people couldn't touch him.
"Thank you, Ryoga!" Akane said as she spun and delivered a hard kick to the side of a crewman's knee, he went down fast. She then stepped to the left and jabbed the man coming from that direction in the nose, then dropped and brought her elbow up into the crotch of the man coming up behind her. She hadn't realized how fast all those swing and dodge sparring matches with Ranma had made her.
In just a matter of minutes Ryoga and Akane had defeated all fifteen of the crewmen that had been surrounding them. Ryoga quickly grabbed Akane by the waist and jumped to the roof of the closest building. Soon they were flying from rooftop to rooftop to put as much distance as possible between them and any reinforcements that the captain might send. Akane was enjoying the view and the feel of the wind in her face, but the usual exhilaration that she felt from such rides was missing. Maybe that was because Ryoga was carrying her and not Ranma.
Ryoga jumped down to the street as he neared the outskirt of the city and set Akane back onto the ground.
"I'm sorry I grabbed you like that Akane," Ryoga said while looking at the ground instead of Akane.
"Don't worry about it Ryoga," Akane said as she started to walk down the street, "you only did what you thought you had to do." She walked on for several minutes in silence. There were only small houses in this part of the town and she could see a wooded land to the west; she turned and headed for the wood.
.
"By-the-way, thank you for helping me back there," Akane said as she entered the wood. After a few more minutes of silence she looked back over her shoulder to see why Ryoga wasn't answering and wasn't surprised when she realized he wasn't there.
Spotty sunlight filled the valley as the demon finally finished materializing from the crystal. It looked up to the sky and noted that there would be rain soon, but that was of no consequence to him, water didn't bother him. As long as things didn't get too hot or too cold it would be just fine for now. For the first time in centuries it's feet touched the soil of the earth as it began to walk away from it's prison, the earth shuddered at it's passing. It stopped when it reached the ring of stones and picked up the one that had fallen out of placement during the earthquake, the one that had enabled him to crack the crystal, and threw it high up into the mountains with a strength that few could rival. A wicked laugh filled the air as the demon crossed the circle where the one stone had been removed, the magic could not touch it there, it was safe. If it had tried to cross at any other point in the circle then lightening would have come down and engulfed its body, and would have left it writhing in pain. It would have to steer clear of that for now, it was still gaining strength.
The heavens opened up and rain began to pour down in the valley, almost as if the Kami were trying to cleanse the earth of the demon's evil stench and vileness. The demon just looked up at the overcast sky and laughed, nothing would hamper it in making this world a habitable place for it to live and rule. As if anything could stop him now, all these humans were weak pliable things, and the pair who stopped him last time died a long time ago. There was no one left who could stand up to him.
A slight twinge in his side brought his mind back to the task at hand. He needed to find a host body and fast, he could not survive in this world with the environment as it is, but first he must find his pet and awaken him. Then the two of them would rein terror on the earth from the skies.
Choon Li was an old druid who lived by himself in the wilds of China. His exile was not exactly the kind of lifestyle he would have chosen for himself, it was the one that had been necessary. He had been a very happy child in his youth, growing-up in the Amazon village with his mother and sisters. He had lots of friends and was well liked by everyone, then one day something had happened to change all of that. He had not meant to do anything to the other boy, he was just a little mad at the boy and had lost control; he had cast his first spell, and it was something to be seen. A gust of wind came swooping down from the east and lifted the little boy into the air, then it sent him crashing back down to the earth. Choon Li wasn't even given the time to try to explain what had happened, or to see how the boy was. The city guards had rushed in and taken him straight to the elder's hut, he was so scared. He was sure that the elders were going to spank him for harming the other child, but instead they just stared at him, to Choon Li that ended up being a lot worse.
For hours he stood perfectly still as the wizened old women just stared at him, he wasn't sure what they were looking for, but he was sure he wasn't going to like it when they found it. Finally, they all turned and looked at the woman in the center of the line, the head of the village, and nodded their heads at the same time. She, elder Soon Hee, called his mother's name, and she stepped forward. He didn't know when she had arrived or how long she had been watching; all he did know was that he was in major trouble now. The conversation that ensued was a very short one to say the least. The Honored Elder had informed his mother that he had extraordinary magical abilities, and that they had been waiting for his appearance for a very long time. The druid who was currently standing watch was getting very old, and a new one needed to be trained to replace him. The council had decided to send the boy to the druid so he could be properly trained and could take over the watch of the valley.
Now, here he stood fifty years later at the brink of the valley using his magic to monitor what was happening inside the valley, and he did not like what he had felt. The tremor that had passed through the valley had been a minor one and had caused very little damage, but the circle didn't feel right anymore. He wasn't sure if it had been broken or not, he just knew that it wasn't right.
His wife would be coming from the village in a few days to bring him a new months worth of supplies, and a few nights of companionship. He would normally try to be rested for her visits, but not this time. He was going to have to spend all of his time in meditation until he knew for certain what it was that he felt, then he would have to prepare a report. He just hoped that what he thought had happened hadn't, and that the demon was still locked in the crystal.
"Hello Kasumi, Nabiki, Ranma honey!" Ukyou said with a huge smile as she saw them enter the restaurant. She had been afraid that she might never see Ranma again after their last conversation, he had seemed to still be mad about the whole wedding fiasco. Maybe he had finally come to his senses and realized that Akane was no good for him, and she was all he needed.
"Good afternoon, Ukyou!" all three answered at the same time.
"Where would you guys like to sit?"
"In a booth please," Nabiki replied, "we have some things we need to talk about."
"But, my Ranma honey always sits at the counter where he can be near to me," Ukyou said with a pouty look on her face.
"Listen Ukyou," Ranma said before anyone else could speak-up, "you are a great friend and all, but I am not your honey. Will you please just call me Ranma like everyone else, I don't want people to get the wrong idea about us."
"What idea could they get," Ukyou said as she stopped by a booth on the far wall, "I am the cute fiancée after all."
"You are cute Ukyou, but you are not a fiancée anymore. I will find a way to make-up for what my father did to you, but I will not marry you."
Ukyou stared at Ranma as he sat in the seat and dismissed her with a finality that left an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"This has something to do with the my ruining your wedding doesn't it?" Ukyou asked in a very quiet voice.
"Some of decision has to do with the wedding. I could never marry someone who would willingly hurt another person to get me, but the biggest reason is how you treated Akane. The wedding was supposed to be her day, the happiest day of her life and you ruined it. I still want to be friends with you Ukyou, but not at the cost of Akane."
A tear could be seen making its way down Ukyou's face as she nodded her understanding of Ranma's statement. She walked back to the grill with her head held high and defiant, not knowing how else to act in this kind of a situation.
"Oh, the poor girl," Kasumi said as she got up and went to Ukyou and wrapped her arms around the girl.
"I know what it is like to have the person you love tell you that they don't feel the same," Kasumi whispered in her ear. "I am so sorry that this had to happen to you."
"Did you know? Did everyone know how Ranma felt about Akane?" Ukyou asked as more tears poured down her face.
"Pretty much everyone but you, Shampoo and Kodachi, but we don't count Kodachi because she lives in her own little world," Kasumi said with a sympathetic smile.
"Ranma and Akane knew that they loved each other, but they didn't tell us? How could they do that to me?" Ukyou stated, and she began to sob. She had been standing there crying on Kasumi's shoulder for a while when felt the girl's arms being removed from around her, and stronger more muscular ones take their place. Ranma had come to comfort her; she wasn't sure she wanted him there but didn't move away from him either. The sound of okonomiyaki being cooked was dancing around the edges of her senses, and was suddenly glad that Konatsu was there to help her.
After she had cried for a few more minutes Ranma pulled her back from his chest so he could see her face. She was overwhelmed by the look of concern she saw there, and a little disappointed to notice that the tenderness that he showed with Akane was missing. Had things always been this way? How could she never notice that she wasn't his all?
"Ukyou, I never wanted to hurt you. Now you are crying and everything, this is why I never told you," Ranma said in a soft voice.
"How long have you loved Akane? Did I ever have a chance?" Ukyou asked, wanting to know the answer but at the same time afraid to receive one.
"I really don't want to hurt you anymore Ukyou." Ranma said, but then gave in when he saw the pleading look in her eyes. "I have loved Akane every since I first met her, and sometimes I think I loved her even before that. This is so hard to explain; I'm not good at this stuff."
"Can you try please? You owe me an explanation" Ukyou said in- between sniffs.
Ranma closed his eyes and thought for a second before continuing. "Every town that Pop and I have been to, the girls all seem to throw themselves at me. Don't get me wrong, I liked the attention, but it just never felt right. I was always looking for the right girl for me, but could never find her. Then Pop dragged me to the Tendo's, I met Akane and things started to make sense to me. All the pieces of my life began to fit together."
"Why didn't you let everyone know? I let everyone know about the one I love."
"Think about this Ukyou, if I had even given my dad the slightest idea that I liked Akane, I would be married right now. I wasn't ready then, we were still learning about each other. Then when I was ready to let people know you came, and Shampoo came, and I didn't want to hurt anyone" Ranma didn't finish his sentence in the hopes that Ukyou would understand.
"And it just got easier to deny that you had feelings for her because of Shampoo." Ukyou finished for him, understanding dawning in her eyes.
"And sometimes because of you too." Ranma said.
"What have I done to Akane, well besides the wedding." Ukyou said.
"Remember when I had Happosai's band-aid stuck on my nose?" Ranma asked he waited to continue until he was sure she knew what he was talking about. "The drug on that band-aid made me want to please everyone, remember? You and Shampoo were willing to eliminate each other and Akane to get me. The only one who wanted to take the band-aid off my nose was Akane, she was the only one who cared about what I would want."
"So I never had a chance did I?"
"I don't think anyone ever did." Ranma said as he let go of Ukyou and sat down at the counter. "We are still friends right?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I can just be a friend with you." Ukyou replied.
"Well, I need a favor. Just consider it one last favor between friends and then I won't come around anymore if you don't want me to."
"What is it?"
"I am leaving town today so I can look for Akane. I think I have an idea of where she is, but I need to leave today. Mr. Tendo and my Pop have started teaching classes again, and I was supposed to help them teach some of the classes. Can you fill in for me while I am gone?"
"Sure Ranma honey. I mean Ranma."
Ranma smiled when he heard her correct herself; maybe she was finally starting to understand. "Give my Pop a call tomorrow and let him know when you are available, and thank you Ukyou."
Ranma didn't give her anytime to respond to his last statement. He couldn't stand to see her hurting anymore, he just took the to go boxes from Konatsu and went out the door, never looking back.
Caves lined every wall of the valley that the demon was in, and in one of those caves was it's pet. It needed to find it's pet, but searching every cave was becoming a very tiresome chore. It had no other choice though, the Amazons must have put an inhibiting spell on it's pet because the demon could not sense it's ki. Patience. It must have patience and everything would come together the way it wanted.
The late evening sky was full of stars and looked beautiful when Ranma stepped off the train. He had just arrived in the port city that Akane had been in a few days ago, now if he could just find the hotel. He took that paper that Nabiki had given him out of his pocket and read the name she had written there, the Beachside Hilton. Hopefully some employee there would remember Akane and possibly know where she was headed.
"Hey," Ranma said to an attendant that was walking by, "can you tell me where the Beachside Hilton is?"
"Yes sir, go down this road two blocks and then turn right, you can't miss it."
"Thank you!" Ranma said as he started to walk down the street. Tonight he was going to find out where Akane was; he could feel it in his bones. He put his hand in his right pocket and pulled out his picture of Akane, you could tell that he carried it everywhere with him as it was worn around the edges, but that didn't matter to him as long as he could still see her beautiful face. Who could he ask at this late hour if they had seen Akane? Besides the hotel clerk, he wasn't really sure. He just felt that he would find the person who knew tonight.
Ranma rounded the corner and saw the hotel a few more blocks down across the street from the ocean; he didn't head for it though instead he went to the beach. The sound of the waves breaking on the sand reminded him of when Akane and he had been on Toma's island. Akane had been wearing that white dress and had looked so gorgeous. He still couldn't believe that she was willing to marry that boy just so he could be cured of his curse. He would much rather live with that forever than lose her.
A lone figure came wandering up the beach just out of the reach of the water. Ranma watched the figure intently before calling out, "Hey Ryoga, you lost again?"
"Ranma! What have you done with Akane? I was just with her a few hours ago!" Ryoga was able to yell just before a wave hit him and he turned into a pig.
"Come on Ryoga," Ranma said as he picked-up the pig and it's belongings, "I was going to check into the hotel across the street, I guess you can stay with me. Just stay in my pack until we get to the room, they may not allow pets in here.
Ranma had just finished closing his pack by the time he reached the front door of the hotel. The place looked very impressive from the outside, he could only imagine what the rooms looked like.
"Hello?" Ranma called out at the front desk. "I need a room for the night. Is anyone here?"
"Oh sorry, sir!" the clerk called out as he came out of the office. "How may I help you?"
"I need a room for the night," Ranma said while handing the clerk the bankcard Nabiki had given him to use.
The clerk took the card and swiped it through the credit card machine, then began typing information into the computer. "Thank you very much Mr. Saotome. You will be in room 201."
Ranma took the key and then handed Akane's picture to the clerk. "Have you seen my wife, she was supposed to meet me here."
"No sir, not that I remember."
"Thank you." Ranma said and slowly went to his room.
Once he got there, he threw himself on the bed in a fit of anger. He had been so sure that he would find Akane tonight that he actually gotten excited, and now here he was with his hopes dashed once again. He just lay there feeling depressed and sorry for himself and would have been perfectly content to stay that way if Ryoga hadn't worked his way out of Ranma's pack.
"Sorry about that man." Ranma said rather half-heartedly as he took Ryoga to the sink and doused him with hot water. He politely turned his head as the other boy immediately headed for his pack and put his clothes back on his body.
"Ranma!" Ryoga said when he finished dressing, "What is this I hear about you meeting your wife here? What have you done with Akane! Don't her feelings mean more to you than this?"
"Calm down Ryoga! Akane is my wife."
"What!" Ryoga yelled.
"No, she isn't really my wife!" Ranma floundered. "Listen, just listen for a second. Akane decided that she needed a break from Nerima, she was tired of me having so many fiancées and I think she was tired of me not doing anything about it. Anyway, to make a long story short, she left Nerima but not as Akane Tendo, she had her name changed to Akane Saotome. Now I am trying to find her so I can bring her back home."
"What if she doesn't want to go back home with you? I mean she did leave you."
"I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there."
"So what are you going to do about all of your fiancées then, Ranma?" Ryoga asked in the hopes that Ranma was going to choose someone other than Akane. "I mean that was the whole reason she left."
"That's just it, the day she left I was going to propose to her for real. Not because of our parents or family honor, just because I love her." Ranma watched the hopeful look in Ryoga's eyes vanish as he said this. He knew that Ryoga had a crush on Akane and had hoped that Ranma would not choose to marry her so that he could have a chance.
"I see." Ryoga said very quietly. "Do you promise to take care of her?"
"I always take care of her. Haven't I proved that time after time?"
"Will you not hurt her?"
"I will never hurt her intentionally. I know that sometimes I say things without thinking, but I am working on that."
"In that case Ranma, I will help you."
"Good, we can start showing people her picture tomorrow and asking if they have seen her."
"No," Ryoga interrupted Ranma, "you don't understand. I was with Akane earlier in the day before I got lost again. I know where she was this afternoon."
Ryoga paused at that admission to see what kind of a response he would get from Ranma and was pleased to see his face light-up and the eager look in his eyes.
"Well, where was she?"
"A port city in China."
@-----------------------------------
If you have any questions or comments please leave a review! (Don't I sound like a salesperson? I just really enjoy receiving reviews because then I know you like the story.) If you don't feel comfortable leaving the message in a review, feel free to e-mail me. Just make sure to put starry night in the subject line.
See you next week,
SeongMi