Disclaimer: I don't own anything from or about Ranma ½ or Inuyasha. Too
bad, huh?
Author's Note: Hey guys!! I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story :D Individual comments to readers are at the bottom of the chapter! Once again, go check out my author page to see some illustrations I've done for the story. (then let me know what you think of them!!!)
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!)
----------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7
Ranma woke up early the next morning and found himself with his back against the tree trunk, his legs tingling from being underneath him all night. For a second, he forgot where he was, but when he saw Akane and Kagome sleeping in their sleeping bags before him, it all came back.
All of it.
His stomach suddenly turned over when he remembered the events of last night. The necklace she wore was no normal string of beads, but what scared him even more was what it did to him. Instead of his usual confidence, he felt shaky and scared. This wasn't actually happening, was it?
No. No, it couldn't be. He was only going through culture shock. That was it. No one could expect him to act normal... not when he was suddenly five hundred years in the past.
Akane's kiss had done nothing to him!
*****
Kagome propped her head up on her arms as she looked over at Ranma. He was obviously unaware that he was being watched, and looked as though he was having some sort of panic attack.
"Hey, Ranma," she said. "Are you okay?"
Ranma jumped, his eyes focusing on Kagome's. "I'm fine," he muttered, immediately looking away.
"You look like you're being tormented by something," she said anyway. "Inuyasha wasn't too mean to you yesterday, was he?"
Ranma shook his head. "That asshole doesn't bother me. I'm just worried about Akane."
From the look on his face, Kagome could tell that he was understating the truth. Ranma seemed to be struggling with some sort of inner battle. She got out of her sleeping bag and went to sit beside him as he eyed her skeptically. "You really care about her, don't you?" she asked as she sat down on the grass.
He looked away again. "She's my fiancé," he replied. "I'm obligated to care."
"Oh." Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees and stared over at the sleeping girl that Ranma was obligated to care about. When she glanced over at Ranma, she realized that he was staring at her, too. "If you don't love her," she started. "Then how come the two of you are engaged?"
"Arranged marriage," he answered, his tone dull. "It was all our dads' ideas. I never got a say in the matter."
There was a rustle and then a swoop, and the two of them saw Inuyasha landing before them. The sun was up, and with the grin plastered across his face, he looked like he was ready to continue on.
"You ready to go, Lover-boy?" he said to Ranma, and Ranma swung at him, his fist landing right at Inuyasha's jaw line. Inuyasha wasn't fazed. "Or should I say GIRL?" The two of them were both on their feet before Kagome could do anything about it.
"Did it take you all night to think that one up?" Ranma wanted to know as they circled each other.
"No," Inuyasha replied. "They just come to me. You're so easy to make fun of that it's almost boring." He mocked a yawn.
"Oh, yeah? I'm sure I can figure something out for—"
Kagome stood between them. "Stop fighting, you two. Let's wake Akane so we can keep going. If Naraku finds her before we find him..."
"That would be bad," Ranma said, and Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement.
*****
Ranma went to wake Akane, but when he reached her sleeping bag, it was completely empty. He spun around and his eyes searched. "Akane?" he said, but nothing audible came out. He could only stand there, blinking at the trees.
She was gone.
He took off running toward the woods, shoving Inuyasha and Kagome out of the way as he ran. "Akane!" he yelled. "Akane, are you in here!?" By the time he stopped running, he was out of breath and so tired that he almost fell to his knees.
"Shit." Inuyasha growled from behind him. "This is all your fault."
Ranma suddenly felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, and he finally fell to the ground, clutching his chest. He wanted to get up, to grab Inuyasha by the throat and punch him in the face a million times, but he couldn't move.
"If you wouldn't have distracted me, I wouldn't have taken my eyes off of the shard. Now they've got the shard AND Akane."
Ranma turned his head to look at the other boy. "My fault?" he growled. "You're the one who was making fun of ME."
Inuyasha only blinked back at him in shock.
"WHAT?!" Ranma screamed at him.
For a second, Inuyasha didn't say anything. He almost looked as though he were afraid to speak. "You're... you're..." he said, pointing at Ranma's face.
"Quit teasing him!" Kagome shoved Inuyasha out of the way, and got down on her knees in front of Ranma. "Don't be worried, Ranma," she told him. "We'll get Akane back."
Ranma stood up and lifted his head. "Who says I'm worried?" he wanted to know.
Inuyasha was still pointing at his face, unable to say what was on his mind. Kagome hit his arm down. "Quit it," she told him. "We're going to have to get there fast."
Ranma touched his face, noticing that his cheeks were damp. Had he really been crying? He blinked, furiously wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and looked back at Kagome. "Both of you," he said, turning around. "Climb on."
For a moment, Ranma could only blink at him. "Are you CRAZY?" he exclaimed. "Boys don't climb on other boy's backs." He folded his arms across his chest and turned his head away from them. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm a BOY."
The second the words left his lips, a cold shower of water came flying at him head on. He gasped in shock only to see Kagome with an empty bucket before him. "We don't have time to argue with you, Ranma. Just do what Inuyasha says!"
Inuyasha's frown turned into a tiny smirk. "What's that you said, girly?" he asked Ranma.
"I'm going to smash your head into a rock!" Ranma fumed, but Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to Inuyasha. The two of them climbed onto his back and Inuyasha took off running as fast as he could.
*****
Five hundred years into the future, Ryoga had searched everywhere for any sign of Ranma and Akane. He looked down the block before him and tried to recognize anything in his path.
"I must be close to the mountains," he said to himself as he went on his way. "I bet they're just around the corner!"
He dashed to the end of the block, only to realize that it was just more houses.
"I could have sworn they were around here before!" But it was hopeless. He was lost.
Again.
Akane's scribbled note has been enough to tell him that she was in danger. She wrote something about the necklace he'd given her, how they were going to help out some friends that Ryoga had never heard of. She had also said that they would be back soon. Hopefully.
Was this all because of the necklace? Was it Ryoga's fault that Akane had left? He couldn't be sure. All he knew was that it was up to him to find her and save her. And he had to make sure Ranma stayed the hell away from her.
Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed an old man sitting on the steps of an ancient shrine chanting. A small boy was bouncing a ball on the sidewalk in front of him. This might be a good chance to ask for directions!
"Excuse me, sir," Ryoga said as he approached the two, and the old man ceased his chanting. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for my friends. I'm wondering if you've seen them."
"Sure, young man. I have a granddaughter about your age. She's..." he seemed to be thinking really hard, "got... tonsillitis right now, but maybe I've seen your friends around. What do they look like?"
"Well, the guy, he's got black hair... and a pigtail. He wears Chinese clothes. And the girl... she's really pretty. She has short dark hair. Have you seen them?"
The old man shook his head. "Sota?" he said, looking over at the little boy. "Have you seen anyone that looks like this boy says?"
"You know..." Sota said, his eyes lighting up. "Two nights ago I saw my sister with a boy and a girl who kinda looked like that."
"Sota," his grandfather scolded. "Your sister has tonsillitis, remember?"
"Oh. Yeah. Right, Grandpa."
"Good luck, young man," the old man said, giving Ryoga an encouraging smile. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere." He stood up slowly and then ascended the steps that led to the shrine. Sota stayed behind, staring at Ryoga. When the old man was out of sight, he grabbed Ryoga's sleeve and pulled him down the sidewalk.
"Follow me!" he whispered. "I think I know where your friends are!"
*****
Akane opened her eyes slowly, letting the world come into focus. She expected to see a sunny day, and Ranma sitting over her, poking her shoulder and telling her to get up, but instead, everything was pitch black. Her heart started racing, and she sat up, her hands falling to the dirt floor and her back resting against a cold stone wall. "Where am I?" she mumbled.
"You're being held captive."
Akane let her eyes focus in the darkness long enough to realize that a boy was standing across from her on the other side of the room.
"Until they figure out what to do to you."
"What to do to me?" she repeated. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter," he said, looking at her through his dull brown eyes. "I'm just here to watch you and make sure you don't escape."
Akane relaxed a little as she realized that she probably wasn't in immediate danger. Though the boy was dressed in an odd type of armor, and had some funny shaped knives hooked to his belt, she didn't sense any danger from him.
"Where's Ranma?" she said, almost to herself. How could he have just let her be taken away? She reached down to the Shikon shard that hung from her neck and held it tightly in the palm of her hand. He would come and save her.
Right? ---------------------------------------------------
Comments to Readers:
Andrina – Yeah, Akane's supposed to be out of character at times because of the spell on the necklace. Watch out, it'll get even worse!! Hehe
Joseph D. Hale - Thank you so much for your ideas, but I already have a plan for how the story will go. They're awesome ideas and would make a great fic! You should try your hand at writing!!! Thanks so much for your comments!!
Ranmaownsme – Thank you so much!! I feel a lot better now, but now school is getting in the way of me writing and drawing for this story. Stupid school :P Hope you liked this chapter!!
Black Hammer Girl – And there's the appearance of Ryoga!! You can probably guess what'll happen next, and I hope you like his role in the story! Let's just say he'll be running into a few of the other Inuyasha characters who will help him find Akane. (since he'd have no chance at finding her himself. Lol) Lots more Ryoga to come!!
Nichole Hibiki - EEK! Just as they were getting close, I had to go and rip them apart! Sorry!! I'll be focusing some more on Kagome/Inuyasha while Akane is being held captive. If you need help posting your story, I can definitely help!! Email me at irishgirl982@yahoo.com and I'll help you!!
Frak - Thanks! I'm glad I could hold your attention! That line that you mentioned actually came from my Beta (who's been in Europe ever since chapter 3... lol) so credit goes to her!! Check out her stories... her username is wingsong :D Hope you continue to read!
Himitsu the Hunter – Wow, you're making me blush!! I'm really glad you like the story! The Ranma/Akane fluff is my favorite part to write! And as you can see, Ryoga has made his return to the story! More Ryoga to come! Please keep reading!!!
DangerousElixer – Thank you!!! I'm not even halfway through the story, so there should be plenty of chapters to come :D As for the sawdust covered in hairspray line, that was actually mine unlike the one that Frak liked... lol. I'm glad you like the story!
Someone - (lol, nice name) And thank you! Hope you're still reading!
Alex Ultra – Yep! And more is to come! Thanks for reading!!
YamiSakura989 – Wow, since this is your first Ranma fic, I'm really glad that you're liking it! There really are a lot of crappy fics out there, and I'm glad that mine isn't considered one of them o.0 hopefully... lol. About Inuyasha and Ranma... Ranma will definitely discover more about Inuyasha in the following chapter now that he's unable to stare at Akane while she sleeps. Lol. Hope you continue to read!
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Lonely soul, I don't know how long the review that was lost was, but this one was pretty long!! I love long reviews, so thanks!! There's plenty more Ranma/Inuyasha banter to come, so keep reading!! Chapter 8 will be more focused on Inuyasha and Kagome, too. I know you're looking forward to that! :D And sorry it's taking me different amounts of time to post the chapters. I'm one of those writers who posts as they write. I can't wait until it's finished to share it. So, it'll probably continue to be not so predictable. Hopefully I won't go too long again without posting! Hope you liked this chapter!
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!)
Author's Note: Hey guys!! I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story :D Individual comments to readers are at the bottom of the chapter! Once again, go check out my author page to see some illustrations I've done for the story. (then let me know what you think of them!!!)
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!)
----------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7
Ranma woke up early the next morning and found himself with his back against the tree trunk, his legs tingling from being underneath him all night. For a second, he forgot where he was, but when he saw Akane and Kagome sleeping in their sleeping bags before him, it all came back.
All of it.
His stomach suddenly turned over when he remembered the events of last night. The necklace she wore was no normal string of beads, but what scared him even more was what it did to him. Instead of his usual confidence, he felt shaky and scared. This wasn't actually happening, was it?
No. No, it couldn't be. He was only going through culture shock. That was it. No one could expect him to act normal... not when he was suddenly five hundred years in the past.
Akane's kiss had done nothing to him!
*****
Kagome propped her head up on her arms as she looked over at Ranma. He was obviously unaware that he was being watched, and looked as though he was having some sort of panic attack.
"Hey, Ranma," she said. "Are you okay?"
Ranma jumped, his eyes focusing on Kagome's. "I'm fine," he muttered, immediately looking away.
"You look like you're being tormented by something," she said anyway. "Inuyasha wasn't too mean to you yesterday, was he?"
Ranma shook his head. "That asshole doesn't bother me. I'm just worried about Akane."
From the look on his face, Kagome could tell that he was understating the truth. Ranma seemed to be struggling with some sort of inner battle. She got out of her sleeping bag and went to sit beside him as he eyed her skeptically. "You really care about her, don't you?" she asked as she sat down on the grass.
He looked away again. "She's my fiancé," he replied. "I'm obligated to care."
"Oh." Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees and stared over at the sleeping girl that Ranma was obligated to care about. When she glanced over at Ranma, she realized that he was staring at her, too. "If you don't love her," she started. "Then how come the two of you are engaged?"
"Arranged marriage," he answered, his tone dull. "It was all our dads' ideas. I never got a say in the matter."
There was a rustle and then a swoop, and the two of them saw Inuyasha landing before them. The sun was up, and with the grin plastered across his face, he looked like he was ready to continue on.
"You ready to go, Lover-boy?" he said to Ranma, and Ranma swung at him, his fist landing right at Inuyasha's jaw line. Inuyasha wasn't fazed. "Or should I say GIRL?" The two of them were both on their feet before Kagome could do anything about it.
"Did it take you all night to think that one up?" Ranma wanted to know as they circled each other.
"No," Inuyasha replied. "They just come to me. You're so easy to make fun of that it's almost boring." He mocked a yawn.
"Oh, yeah? I'm sure I can figure something out for—"
Kagome stood between them. "Stop fighting, you two. Let's wake Akane so we can keep going. If Naraku finds her before we find him..."
"That would be bad," Ranma said, and Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement.
*****
Ranma went to wake Akane, but when he reached her sleeping bag, it was completely empty. He spun around and his eyes searched. "Akane?" he said, but nothing audible came out. He could only stand there, blinking at the trees.
She was gone.
He took off running toward the woods, shoving Inuyasha and Kagome out of the way as he ran. "Akane!" he yelled. "Akane, are you in here!?" By the time he stopped running, he was out of breath and so tired that he almost fell to his knees.
"Shit." Inuyasha growled from behind him. "This is all your fault."
Ranma suddenly felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, and he finally fell to the ground, clutching his chest. He wanted to get up, to grab Inuyasha by the throat and punch him in the face a million times, but he couldn't move.
"If you wouldn't have distracted me, I wouldn't have taken my eyes off of the shard. Now they've got the shard AND Akane."
Ranma turned his head to look at the other boy. "My fault?" he growled. "You're the one who was making fun of ME."
Inuyasha only blinked back at him in shock.
"WHAT?!" Ranma screamed at him.
For a second, Inuyasha didn't say anything. He almost looked as though he were afraid to speak. "You're... you're..." he said, pointing at Ranma's face.
"Quit teasing him!" Kagome shoved Inuyasha out of the way, and got down on her knees in front of Ranma. "Don't be worried, Ranma," she told him. "We'll get Akane back."
Ranma stood up and lifted his head. "Who says I'm worried?" he wanted to know.
Inuyasha was still pointing at his face, unable to say what was on his mind. Kagome hit his arm down. "Quit it," she told him. "We're going to have to get there fast."
Ranma touched his face, noticing that his cheeks were damp. Had he really been crying? He blinked, furiously wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and looked back at Kagome. "Both of you," he said, turning around. "Climb on."
For a moment, Ranma could only blink at him. "Are you CRAZY?" he exclaimed. "Boys don't climb on other boy's backs." He folded his arms across his chest and turned his head away from them. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm a BOY."
The second the words left his lips, a cold shower of water came flying at him head on. He gasped in shock only to see Kagome with an empty bucket before him. "We don't have time to argue with you, Ranma. Just do what Inuyasha says!"
Inuyasha's frown turned into a tiny smirk. "What's that you said, girly?" he asked Ranma.
"I'm going to smash your head into a rock!" Ranma fumed, but Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to Inuyasha. The two of them climbed onto his back and Inuyasha took off running as fast as he could.
*****
Five hundred years into the future, Ryoga had searched everywhere for any sign of Ranma and Akane. He looked down the block before him and tried to recognize anything in his path.
"I must be close to the mountains," he said to himself as he went on his way. "I bet they're just around the corner!"
He dashed to the end of the block, only to realize that it was just more houses.
"I could have sworn they were around here before!" But it was hopeless. He was lost.
Again.
Akane's scribbled note has been enough to tell him that she was in danger. She wrote something about the necklace he'd given her, how they were going to help out some friends that Ryoga had never heard of. She had also said that they would be back soon. Hopefully.
Was this all because of the necklace? Was it Ryoga's fault that Akane had left? He couldn't be sure. All he knew was that it was up to him to find her and save her. And he had to make sure Ranma stayed the hell away from her.
Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed an old man sitting on the steps of an ancient shrine chanting. A small boy was bouncing a ball on the sidewalk in front of him. This might be a good chance to ask for directions!
"Excuse me, sir," Ryoga said as he approached the two, and the old man ceased his chanting. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for my friends. I'm wondering if you've seen them."
"Sure, young man. I have a granddaughter about your age. She's..." he seemed to be thinking really hard, "got... tonsillitis right now, but maybe I've seen your friends around. What do they look like?"
"Well, the guy, he's got black hair... and a pigtail. He wears Chinese clothes. And the girl... she's really pretty. She has short dark hair. Have you seen them?"
The old man shook his head. "Sota?" he said, looking over at the little boy. "Have you seen anyone that looks like this boy says?"
"You know..." Sota said, his eyes lighting up. "Two nights ago I saw my sister with a boy and a girl who kinda looked like that."
"Sota," his grandfather scolded. "Your sister has tonsillitis, remember?"
"Oh. Yeah. Right, Grandpa."
"Good luck, young man," the old man said, giving Ryoga an encouraging smile. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere." He stood up slowly and then ascended the steps that led to the shrine. Sota stayed behind, staring at Ryoga. When the old man was out of sight, he grabbed Ryoga's sleeve and pulled him down the sidewalk.
"Follow me!" he whispered. "I think I know where your friends are!"
*****
Akane opened her eyes slowly, letting the world come into focus. She expected to see a sunny day, and Ranma sitting over her, poking her shoulder and telling her to get up, but instead, everything was pitch black. Her heart started racing, and she sat up, her hands falling to the dirt floor and her back resting against a cold stone wall. "Where am I?" she mumbled.
"You're being held captive."
Akane let her eyes focus in the darkness long enough to realize that a boy was standing across from her on the other side of the room.
"Until they figure out what to do to you."
"What to do to me?" she repeated. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter," he said, looking at her through his dull brown eyes. "I'm just here to watch you and make sure you don't escape."
Akane relaxed a little as she realized that she probably wasn't in immediate danger. Though the boy was dressed in an odd type of armor, and had some funny shaped knives hooked to his belt, she didn't sense any danger from him.
"Where's Ranma?" she said, almost to herself. How could he have just let her be taken away? She reached down to the Shikon shard that hung from her neck and held it tightly in the palm of her hand. He would come and save her.
Right? ---------------------------------------------------
Comments to Readers:
Andrina – Yeah, Akane's supposed to be out of character at times because of the spell on the necklace. Watch out, it'll get even worse!! Hehe
Joseph D. Hale - Thank you so much for your ideas, but I already have a plan for how the story will go. They're awesome ideas and would make a great fic! You should try your hand at writing!!! Thanks so much for your comments!!
Ranmaownsme – Thank you so much!! I feel a lot better now, but now school is getting in the way of me writing and drawing for this story. Stupid school :P Hope you liked this chapter!!
Black Hammer Girl – And there's the appearance of Ryoga!! You can probably guess what'll happen next, and I hope you like his role in the story! Let's just say he'll be running into a few of the other Inuyasha characters who will help him find Akane. (since he'd have no chance at finding her himself. Lol) Lots more Ryoga to come!!
Nichole Hibiki - EEK! Just as they were getting close, I had to go and rip them apart! Sorry!! I'll be focusing some more on Kagome/Inuyasha while Akane is being held captive. If you need help posting your story, I can definitely help!! Email me at irishgirl982@yahoo.com and I'll help you!!
Frak - Thanks! I'm glad I could hold your attention! That line that you mentioned actually came from my Beta (who's been in Europe ever since chapter 3... lol) so credit goes to her!! Check out her stories... her username is wingsong :D Hope you continue to read!
Himitsu the Hunter – Wow, you're making me blush!! I'm really glad you like the story! The Ranma/Akane fluff is my favorite part to write! And as you can see, Ryoga has made his return to the story! More Ryoga to come! Please keep reading!!!
DangerousElixer – Thank you!!! I'm not even halfway through the story, so there should be plenty of chapters to come :D As for the sawdust covered in hairspray line, that was actually mine unlike the one that Frak liked... lol. I'm glad you like the story!
Someone - (lol, nice name) And thank you! Hope you're still reading!
Alex Ultra – Yep! And more is to come! Thanks for reading!!
YamiSakura989 – Wow, since this is your first Ranma fic, I'm really glad that you're liking it! There really are a lot of crappy fics out there, and I'm glad that mine isn't considered one of them o.0 hopefully... lol. About Inuyasha and Ranma... Ranma will definitely discover more about Inuyasha in the following chapter now that he's unable to stare at Akane while she sleeps. Lol. Hope you continue to read!
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Lonely soul, I don't know how long the review that was lost was, but this one was pretty long!! I love long reviews, so thanks!! There's plenty more Ranma/Inuyasha banter to come, so keep reading!! Chapter 8 will be more focused on Inuyasha and Kagome, too. I know you're looking forward to that! :D And sorry it's taking me different amounts of time to post the chapters. I'm one of those writers who posts as they write. I can't wait until it's finished to share it. So, it'll probably continue to be not so predictable. Hopefully I won't go too long again without posting! Hope you liked this chapter!
Also, if anyone has a scene they'd like illustrated, let me know and I'll be sure to draw it! (PLEEEASSEE?? I'd love to hear what scenes you guys would like to see illustrated!!!)