Okay, this has been one hell of a roller-coaster day. (July 6th) My dad gets accused of cheating on my mom, and then we find out that the woman's all sixes and sevens and fixated on my dad. He's putting a restraining order against her, that's how bad she is. And you know, she even included copy/pasted emails with her 'confession' letter that made my dad sound like a cheesy romance novel.

Starling: Your sire doesn't sound like that. EVER.

Che, no kidding. He doesn't use 'my dear' at the end/start of every other sentence, either. My mom's still upset, but she's getting over the scare pretty nicely. I'm glad, but I'm getting curious as to why my family in general keeps attracting crazies and weirdos. [mutter]Vindictive little ikeike[mutter]. Okay, enough ranting, sorry about that. Moving on.

( ): If you are Jerry Unipeg under another name, then yes, you are. [grin] Or have you just forgotten to put your name in? ;p

Sasami Tombo: Yes the map really does get split up in the anime, but I don't think to quite so many people. Oh, and hey, thanks for the spelling correction. We bishie-collectors like using clones, because it makes things easier and we can tweak them to our specifications. Heheheh.

Kurama: Kyo, she's doing that evil laugh again. ¬.¬!

Kyo: So what'm I supposed t' do about it?

Starling: Ignore her and hope she goes away.

Chapter 22: When You Need a Map to Find a Map

===================================

"Dang it, Akane, slow it down so I can tell you when you're messing up your form," Ranma barks at his fiancée as they practice in the Tendo Dojo, but he says it with a smile. The gi-clad girl standing in front of him smiles back, and her punches blur into visibility for the cursed boy. With a nod, Ranma signals her for the go-ahead, and she attacks him with mock-fury.

The two are training while they can before one of Saffron's goons come and try to take their parts of the map that Cologne gave them. "So what do you think about all this mess, Ranma?" Akane questions while trying to break through Ranma's guard.

"Dunno, but when Jusenkyo's dryin' up and some nutso is lookin' fer a map that's supposed to take him to the source, I ain't gonna let him have it."

"So you do have a piece of the map," a furious voice hisses from the dojo's entrance. The two turn to find a seriously unhappy Kiima standing in the doorway, every feather standing on end and aura sparking a brilliant vermilion. "Give it to me if you want to keep your life!"

The two teens simply look at each other and start cracking up, having to lean against each other after a few moments to keep from falling over. Kiima stands through it all, getting more and more frustrated and angry at these worthless ningens mocking her. And just when she thinks they've finally managed to control themselves, they take another look at her and each other and nearly collapse on the floor from laughing so hard.

Their laughter stops when Kiima finally has had enough. With another of those window-shattering shrieks of rage, she launches herself at the pair, talons ready to rip those laughing faces off. Ranma quickly shoves Akane out of the way and meets the barrage with his forearms crossed in front of his face, battle aura flaring in subconscious defense. The two of them collide, and are blown apart by the force of their auras repelling each other. Ranma meets the wall at nearly sixty miles an hour, and Kiima gets blown back out the door. There is a large splash and an aggrieved yowl, Kiima staggering back into the dojo a few moments afterwards dripping wet and spitting mad.

"You have a map piece too, don't you, ningen onna?" the Phoenix woman snarls at Akane, who takes one from the inside of her gi and shows her a flash of violet before tucking it away again. Howling, the winged female attacks the girl--or starts to. A blur of crimson and black gets in her way first, and a open-palm strike to her shoulder sends her straight into a wall.

Akane opens eyes that had been squeezed shut in reflex to find a growling Ranma standing protectively in front of her, aura practically burning as he waits for Kiima to extract herself from the embrace of concrete and timber.

"I hate you humans," comes from her bloody mouth as Kiima half tumbles, half scrambles out of the new crater, scratched and bruised from her collision. "Always sticking your noses in affairs that don't concern you!"

"You goin' after my fiancée concerns me lots," is the dangerous reply. Then Ranma realizes that he's suddenly exposed Akane to a great deal of danger and looks furious at himself for letting that slip.

That might be a weakness I can exploit, Kiima thinks to herself as she begins to circle the both of them, sizing up her opponents much more carefully this time now that the water has cooled her anger. "Fiancée?" the bird-woman purrs sweetly, "How nice. How long have you two known each other?"

"None of your business!" Ranma snaps, making sure to keep himself between Kiima and Akane at all times, eyes narrowed to better watch for any flickers of ki.

Oh, good. He's attached to her. This might work nicely indeed. Kiima had had more than enough of all this foolishness, and now she was going to do something about it. One taloned hand reaches for a waterproof pouch, withdraws with a palmsful of glittering yellow powder mixed with bits of herb-leaf and petals. With a grin that is nothing short of vengeful and predatory, she shouts a single word that is not understood with the ears but the soul and that sparks like a wet-wood fire, and throws the powder down.

The dojo is filled with acrid, choking smoke that clogs the lungs and makes the eyes water, and Ranma cries out in shock and anger at this low trick. Before he can use any of his techniques, the feeling of Akane's ki disappears from beside him and his ears fill with a desperate voice calling his name.

Coughing, he follows the voice and stumbles outside, arms crossed in front of him in a futile attempt at guarding, and looks upwards. Akane is being carried high into the sky by a smugly-grinning Kiima, a faint trickle of blood sliding down her temple.

"Akane!!"

"Don't worry, ningen brat! I'll bring her back safe. If I feel like it!" And she rises too high for his eyes to see. Cursing and dashing away the smoke-induced tears Ranma leaps over the garden wall and sprints for the one destination where he'd be sure to get some answers. That place used to be the Neko-Hanten. Now it's the Kenobishi Dojo.

====

"I know, I know!" Rei says the instant she sees him leap over the wall of her front yard. "The cards told me two seconds ago! I'm sorry, I should have warned you that Kiima'd pull such a dirty stunt! That's one of the reasons she's Sa Fu Lon's bodyguard and caretaker."

"But what about Akane??" the stressed martial-artist demands, and has a slender hand tug on his pigtail.

"Stressing won't get her back. Kiima will bring Akane back in one relatively intact piece. She might have a few bruises and a sprain or two, but nothing none of my gang can't handle."

Snarling to vent some of his temper and worry, Ranma begins to pace around in a six-foot circle, running his hands through his hair over and over. "Damn it, Rei! Can't you just snap out or whatever you do?"

"If I knew where I was going, yes," Rei informs him, lying through her teeth and praying he won't notice. "I don't know where Akane's being taken and I don't have any means to find out. My cards are being very tightlipped about this whole damn mess."

"Graah!" Frustrated beyond belief, Ranma throws his hands upward and falls back onto the soft grass, beginning breathing exercises to calm down before he hurts something. Or someone.

"We'll get her back, Ranma Saotome. If nothing else don't worry about that much. We will get her back." Interestingly enough, the red-haired girl does not specify who they'll get back or how.

====

Akane is awake by the point, and is furiously struggling with her captor as they travel over the Pacific Ocean towards a certain large landmass. "Put me down you winged bimbo!"

"I will in a few minutes, you damned ningen girl! Stop squirming or I'll drop you into the ocean and let you drown!"

Remembering just in time that she isn't that good at swimming (still) Akane ceases struggling and hangs there limply in her kidnapper's arms, determined to be as heavy as possible as a kind of passive retaliation. Several minutes pass in silence and over land before she speaks again.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I have to get that map, duh."

"Not just that, all of this. Why do you want the map so badly?"

"That map means out very survival, and that's all I'm saying on the matter. Keep nattering at me and I might change my mind about letting you live."

More silence, as the two travel over thick forests and scattered villages, heading deeper and deeper into the landmass. "Where are we?"

"China." Akane starts to get a very unpleasant suspicion that is confirmed a short while later when miles of still pools filled with bamboo balancing poles comes into view.

"You're going to drown me anyway, aren't you??"

"You're not so stupid as I thought, ningen girl," is all Kiima says as she picks a pool and lets Akane drop.

==================

Yes, I know, short chapter and a cliffhanger. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up in a day or two now that I've finally worked out how this goes. Trying to get Akane kidnapped is a lot harder than the Ranma movies make it look.

I'd also like to warn my few true fans that I'll be renaming this fanfic in the near future. Probably to something like 'Ranma 1/2: Kitsune's Weavings' or something like that in an attempt to get more people interested. I'll let you know when I decide for sure.