Part Four - Gone

Disclaimer: The concept of Ranma 1/2 and Naruto belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and Masashi Kishimoto. This is a product of pure amusement values, with no profits made.

Akane gave him a sweet smile.

Ranma hesitated from the windowsill, drinking in the sight of her. He would never admit it aloud, but she looked very cute when she's smiling.

Absorbed, he didn't notice the book bag until it was too late.

"Ranma you pervert!"

Consciousness came to him slowly, tickled by a lingering scent, sinking its claws within the senselessness of sleep, gently reeling his mind from the numbing abyss. The last dredges of dream fading away gently to naught as he became aware of the waking world.

Sunlight filtered from the half-opened windows, sneaking annoying rays of light against his eyelids, which soon turned into needles of driving pain.

"Ugh." Ranma grunted, putting an arm over his face, thankful for the darkness, the skin of his forearm offering a brief moment of coolness before it was warmed by the contact against his forehead.

Patting around the headboard, his other hand came in contact with a round, metallic object, he pulled it over to cradle against his cheek. Slowly, he peeked from under his arm, wincing at the glaring light, his head felt stuffy, and a steady pounding was beginning behind his eyelids, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

Nine-fifty-two. The clock read.

Ranma's stomach heaved, dropping the clock beside him, he clapped his hands against his mouth, swallowing the urge to vomit out the bile that had rose at the back of his throat.

He was going to be late.

Cursing loudly, the pigtailed man pushed himself into a sitting position, the sheets falling down from his bare chest, pooling around his lap. Regret came immediately, as the pounding doubled in his head, turning into a full force headache, even his pigtail felt heavy, pulling down on his scalp. Opening sore eyes, he scanned the room blearily, trying to recall the events of day past, and the exact cause of his current state of misery.

The chilling morning breeze brushed past the opened window, tickling Ranma's face. His clothes lay in a neat stack on one of the chairs; with the sandals he had grown use to wearing in the past few months under the chair. A cup of hot coffee, he judged from the faint scent, sat on the small stand next to the chair, with Orochimaru occupying the other chair, his legs crossed nonchalantly, examining the scroll in his hand with idle attention. And the door leading to the kitchen was ha…

Wait a minute. Ranma blinked. Then blinked again, and rubbed his eyes for good measure.

Nothing changed. Except Orochimaru had placed the scroll away, eyeing Ranma back with an amused smirk on his face.

"Uh…" Ranma stated intelligently.

He was going to be very late.

A quirked eyebrow was his respond.

"Uh…" Ranma tried again. Why are you in my room?

"Orochimaru!" A soft, yet forceful hiss, followed by Tsunade as she poked her head from the door leading to the kitchen, beckoning to her companion frantically.

"Stop lazing off and help me! I think Jirai…" Her eyebrows twitching in annoyance when Orochimaru merely picked up the cup of coffee, and took a deliberately slow sip.

"Orochimaru!" Tsunade hissed again, then blinked, as the pale man looked away, following his line of sight…

Blink. Blink.

"Oh, you're awake." Tsunade gave Ranma what he was beginning to dub as the 'Guilty Smile': her face scrunched up, her eyes narrowing to tiny slits, while peeking at him from under her lashes.

Ranma pulled the sheets around him as he came to the realization that he was clad only in his boxers under the cover, stoically resisting the urge to yelp and dive for his clothes. Thankfully, his mind is still reeling from the shock of waking up to one snake-like ninja for him to properly panic at the 'girl in my room and I'm half-naked' part.

Continuing to flash two rows of perfect white teeth, Tsunade slowly pulled away, "Well, Jiraiya's late for his team, and I uhh… need to uhh… take him over there! We'll just be going then, bye!"

Slam.

Ranma winced, clutching his head with both hands at the loud bang. What the heck just happened?!

Fingers pressed against his forehead lightly, before he could jerk away, chilliness, almost painful in its own right, sank from the touch against his skin, dulling the pounding headache swiftly, and leaving a stinging soreness in its wake.

Fresh pine and wet moss, Ranma realized, slowly raising his head, hinting the sharp tang of reptilian musk. Fitting, for a man named 'Orochimaru'.

Serpentine eyes looked down to wide blue. Golden cold in calculation, judging and weighting Ranma for all his worth. Eyes that seemed to expand, veiling the threaten to tear him apart, and expose every weakness with malicious glee.

Fear.

Genjutsu. Ranma's mind supplied, and somewhere within him, dark and angry and sad and destructive and full of lament, laughed. However bitterly.

Challenge accepted.

Ranma glared back, unflinching. Noting the man who stood in front of him. Tall, perhaps an inch or so than Ranma, raven-dark hair, slightly longer than his, loose instead of tied in a pigtail, half-covering a lean face, a stark contrast against his pale, pale skin, the only color that Ranma could detect being the twin streaks of purple, shadowing those serpentine eyes. Curious, that he wore a loose haori over a black mesh-shirt, instead of the black and green uniforms of the Hidden Leaf ninja… now that he thought about it, neither did his two friends.

Gold looked away first; a hint of admiration within its depth, and the sharpness in the air, one that Ranma hadn't even realized existed, vanished.

Small victory.

He choked back a startled gasp, his shoulders shaking involuntarily for a mere moment before he forcefully stilled himself. Genjutsu, definitely Genjutsu.

His mind reeling from the after effect, dazed blue eyes watched Orochimaru slithered to the kitchen door, pushing it open. "Tsunade and Jiraiya left." He murmured, glancing the room beyond, "By the window, it seems."

Click. The door closed, much more gently than Tsunade had.

A scroll was suddenly thrust in Ranma's face, he recognize it to be the one Orochimaru had been reading earlier. "Mind I borrow this?"

Silence. Confusion.

"Your generosity is overwhelming." Orochimaru said dryly, tucking the scroll in his robe before Ranma could voice his agreement, or denial.

"By the way, Tsunade made you breakfast, though I think Jiraiya burnt the soup." Seeing Ranma's look, Orochimaru shrugged, almost casual, "Don't ask me."

A soft pop. And Ranma was alone.

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"I apologize for my delay, Hokage-sama." Ranma gritted out through a pounding headache. Bad day.

"It's fine," The older man gestured with a hand, his attention on the thick stack of reports on his desk, "I understand that three of my students paid you an extended visit yesterday."

"Aye." His hands clenched into fists by his side, Ranma nodded obediently. Just get it over with already. "Hokage-sama…"

A raised hand forestalled his words, as the Hokage finally looked up from the paperwork, "Ranma of Jusenkyou." Inquiry.

"Aye." Tense.

"No such village existed in the Water Country." Reprimand.

"Perhaps the Hidden Leaf hadn't looked close enough." Deliberate casualness.

"Hmm…" The older man stroked his goatee thoughtfully, "Your secrecy is less than helpful, Ranma, if that is who you say you are. As Hokage, I am under the obligation of protecting the Hidden Leaf Village, that obligation outweighs any personal opinions I may, or may not have on this matter…"

Akane gave him a sweet smile…

"I understand, Hokage-sama." Ranma cut in, he took a deep breath, rolling tense shoulders.

One step at a time.

"Tell me what is required of me."

And that dream… shattered.

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TIMELINE – Year Three, late November.

More confusion, wai!

Is it wrong to enjoy the speculations about this story?

I hope not. Since I truly am interested in what others have thought will happen in the future.

On a completely unrelated note, formatting's giving me lots of trouble... somebody, help? Please?