Chapter 11: Panic
Ataru started to panic. How could this have happened?! Trying desperately to calm himself down, he shook Botan awake.
"Whu....?" mumbled Botan as she felt herself being dragged out of a wonderful dream she'd been having. Something about dancing chipmunks and ice cream...
"Botan!" shouted Ataru frantically "Kagome! She's been kidnapped!"
It took a minute for the words to sink in, but slowly Botan's face began to slacken with fear.
"Are you sure?" she asked shakily. "Maybe she just went to the bathroom or something."
Ataru shook his head grimly and pointed to the splotches of blood on the ground.
"Oh my god..." whispered Botan.
'That stupid violent macho tomboy!' thought Ranma angrily as he kicked a pebble down the sidewalk.
He was torn from his musings when he heard a muffled yell coming from inside of the abandoned warehouse he was walking past. Startled, he realized that he'd been walking in the wrong direction the whole time.
"I'm turning into Ryoga...." he grumbled to himself sullenly.
Another yell was emitted by the building and suddenly Ranma remembered why he'd noticed that he was lost.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to take a look inside.
It was only 10:30, but the party was beginning to die down for the most part. Inuyasha was quite happy to see the crowd of chattering girls start to lessen. His ears had already endured enough torture for one day.
Weaving his way through what remained of the party guests, he began to look for Yusuke and the others.
He hadn't gotten that far before he accidentally bumped into a girl with short hair who looked pretty ticked off. Deciding not to stay for the fireworks, he quickly dashed off in a different direction.
"Hey you!" he heard her shouting from behind him.
'Damn...' he thought sourly. He really didn't feel like being yelled at by a particularly angry looking girl.
Sighing, he slowly turned around to face her. "Look, I'm sorry..."
Akane wasn't waiting for an apology though.
"Have you seen a boy with black hair and a pigtail anywhere? His name is Ranma and-"
Inuyasha held up a hand to cut off her flow of words. "Look girl, I haven't seen anyone like that around here, so lay off."
That said, he ran off again leaving Akane even angrier than before.
"Men!" she said bitterly. "They never grow up."
She was beginning to worry about Ranma though. What if he got lost? He could take care of himself just fine, but what if he didn't know how to get back to Nerima? What if she never saw him again?
Akane mentally scolded herself. She was just making a mountain out of a molehill. Ranma was fine. She had nothing to worry about. But...he'd looked so hurt when he left. What if...what if he just didn't come back because of her?
Sighing, Akane decided that she should go home. Ranma would come back. She knew he would. But even that hopeful thought didn't wash away all of her doubts and worry.
"What should we do?" asked Botan as she paced about the campsite.
"I don't know! We can't just leave without her....can we?" replied Ataru, who was still staring at the blood on the ground in shock.
"Well, we don't even know for a fact that she's been kidnapped! She might have been attacked by a wild animal or something." reasoned Botan, stopping for a minute to glance again at the bloodstained ground.
"Then why are we ok? And why is all the food still here?"
"I guess you have a point." said Botan quietly, looking up at Ataru sadly. "But...I'm afraid there's nothing we can do...We don't know where she is or who's taken her, and even if we did know, how would we get her back? We're in the middle of the forest."
Ataru sighed. Botan was right. The odds of them finding Kagome were practically non-existent. But suddenly he got an idea.
"Hey Botan." "Yeah?"
"What about your curse? Couldn't you transform into that Hanyou and sniff out Kagome's trail?"
Botan grimaced at the thought of having to turn into Inuyasha, but decided that Kagome was more important than her dignity.
"Ok." she said, reaching for her canteen and splashing a bit of water on her face. It was enough to activate the curse, and she shivered as she felt the instantaneous flare of scents and sounds that hit her all at once. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the fact that she could see in the dark.
Botan only needed to take one whiff of the bloodied ground to pick up the trail.
"This way!" she called to Ataru, running through the trees at an incredible speed.
"W-wait!" cried Ataru "What about the supplies?!"
But Botan was already out of sight.
Ataru decided to stay at the campsite. It wasn't likely that he'd be much help anyway.
Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. From what she could tell, she was in an old abandoned warehouse. How she'd gotten there, she hadn't a clue. She didn't even remember going to sleep...
She only became aware that she was tied up when she tried to move, and found out quite abruptly that she couldn't.
Fear welling up inside her, she yelled out the first thing that came to her muddled, pain riddled mind.
"Iu-aaha!"
'Well that sounded weird. I must be gagged too then' thought Kagome grimly. She tried again, a little louder.
"Ingu-whasha!"
Yes, that sounded a little more understandable... Though she doubted he would hear her. Where was he anyway?
In fact, Kagome couldn't remember anything about the past few days of her life. Her memory seemed to be clouded over and distorted with the stabs of pain that shot through her head every few minutes. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to try and focus her thoughts, but it didn't help all that much. When she opened her eyes again, there was someone staring down at her with worried eyes.
"Iu-aaha?" she asked weakly
The person frowned and shook his head. "No...my name's Ranma. I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?"
Kagome nodded and winced as another shock of pain surged up in the back of her head. Suddenly her vision blurred and she felt herself slip out of consciousness.
Ranma sighed as he looked down at the now unconscious girl in front of him.
"My life just gets weirder every day." he commented, bending down to untie her.
A threatening voice stopped him before he even touched the ropes and Ranma spun around to see who was talking.
A tall man with long silver hair, pointed ears, and a crescent moon on his forehead glared at Ranma from the doorway.
"Leave now or die, little boy."
Ataru started to panic. How could this have happened?! Trying desperately to calm himself down, he shook Botan awake.
"Whu....?" mumbled Botan as she felt herself being dragged out of a wonderful dream she'd been having. Something about dancing chipmunks and ice cream...
"Botan!" shouted Ataru frantically "Kagome! She's been kidnapped!"
It took a minute for the words to sink in, but slowly Botan's face began to slacken with fear.
"Are you sure?" she asked shakily. "Maybe she just went to the bathroom or something."
Ataru shook his head grimly and pointed to the splotches of blood on the ground.
"Oh my god..." whispered Botan.
'That stupid violent macho tomboy!' thought Ranma angrily as he kicked a pebble down the sidewalk.
He was torn from his musings when he heard a muffled yell coming from inside of the abandoned warehouse he was walking past. Startled, he realized that he'd been walking in the wrong direction the whole time.
"I'm turning into Ryoga...." he grumbled to himself sullenly.
Another yell was emitted by the building and suddenly Ranma remembered why he'd noticed that he was lost.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to take a look inside.
It was only 10:30, but the party was beginning to die down for the most part. Inuyasha was quite happy to see the crowd of chattering girls start to lessen. His ears had already endured enough torture for one day.
Weaving his way through what remained of the party guests, he began to look for Yusuke and the others.
He hadn't gotten that far before he accidentally bumped into a girl with short hair who looked pretty ticked off. Deciding not to stay for the fireworks, he quickly dashed off in a different direction.
"Hey you!" he heard her shouting from behind him.
'Damn...' he thought sourly. He really didn't feel like being yelled at by a particularly angry looking girl.
Sighing, he slowly turned around to face her. "Look, I'm sorry..."
Akane wasn't waiting for an apology though.
"Have you seen a boy with black hair and a pigtail anywhere? His name is Ranma and-"
Inuyasha held up a hand to cut off her flow of words. "Look girl, I haven't seen anyone like that around here, so lay off."
That said, he ran off again leaving Akane even angrier than before.
"Men!" she said bitterly. "They never grow up."
She was beginning to worry about Ranma though. What if he got lost? He could take care of himself just fine, but what if he didn't know how to get back to Nerima? What if she never saw him again?
Akane mentally scolded herself. She was just making a mountain out of a molehill. Ranma was fine. She had nothing to worry about. But...he'd looked so hurt when he left. What if...what if he just didn't come back because of her?
Sighing, Akane decided that she should go home. Ranma would come back. She knew he would. But even that hopeful thought didn't wash away all of her doubts and worry.
"What should we do?" asked Botan as she paced about the campsite.
"I don't know! We can't just leave without her....can we?" replied Ataru, who was still staring at the blood on the ground in shock.
"Well, we don't even know for a fact that she's been kidnapped! She might have been attacked by a wild animal or something." reasoned Botan, stopping for a minute to glance again at the bloodstained ground.
"Then why are we ok? And why is all the food still here?"
"I guess you have a point." said Botan quietly, looking up at Ataru sadly. "But...I'm afraid there's nothing we can do...We don't know where she is or who's taken her, and even if we did know, how would we get her back? We're in the middle of the forest."
Ataru sighed. Botan was right. The odds of them finding Kagome were practically non-existent. But suddenly he got an idea.
"Hey Botan." "Yeah?"
"What about your curse? Couldn't you transform into that Hanyou and sniff out Kagome's trail?"
Botan grimaced at the thought of having to turn into Inuyasha, but decided that Kagome was more important than her dignity.
"Ok." she said, reaching for her canteen and splashing a bit of water on her face. It was enough to activate the curse, and she shivered as she felt the instantaneous flare of scents and sounds that hit her all at once. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the fact that she could see in the dark.
Botan only needed to take one whiff of the bloodied ground to pick up the trail.
"This way!" she called to Ataru, running through the trees at an incredible speed.
"W-wait!" cried Ataru "What about the supplies?!"
But Botan was already out of sight.
Ataru decided to stay at the campsite. It wasn't likely that he'd be much help anyway.
Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. From what she could tell, she was in an old abandoned warehouse. How she'd gotten there, she hadn't a clue. She didn't even remember going to sleep...
She only became aware that she was tied up when she tried to move, and found out quite abruptly that she couldn't.
Fear welling up inside her, she yelled out the first thing that came to her muddled, pain riddled mind.
"Iu-aaha!"
'Well that sounded weird. I must be gagged too then' thought Kagome grimly. She tried again, a little louder.
"Ingu-whasha!"
Yes, that sounded a little more understandable... Though she doubted he would hear her. Where was he anyway?
In fact, Kagome couldn't remember anything about the past few days of her life. Her memory seemed to be clouded over and distorted with the stabs of pain that shot through her head every few minutes. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to try and focus her thoughts, but it didn't help all that much. When she opened her eyes again, there was someone staring down at her with worried eyes.
"Iu-aaha?" she asked weakly
The person frowned and shook his head. "No...my name's Ranma. I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?"
Kagome nodded and winced as another shock of pain surged up in the back of her head. Suddenly her vision blurred and she felt herself slip out of consciousness.
Ranma sighed as he looked down at the now unconscious girl in front of him.
"My life just gets weirder every day." he commented, bending down to untie her.
A threatening voice stopped him before he even touched the ropes and Ranma spun around to see who was talking.
A tall man with long silver hair, pointed ears, and a crescent moon on his forehead glared at Ranma from the doorway.
"Leave now or die, little boy."
