Disclaimer: Nope... Sadly I don't own Ranma ½, Inuyasha, or any of the
characters. (
Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long to get these chapters out. Once again, I've been spending a lot of time on the Lost Time comic (you can find the link located on my author's page) and I'm already drawing page 76... O.O Comments to readers are located at the bottom of the chapter :D
I'd also like to thank my betas... Animedevildog, kirayasha, and catchbreath. (all from deviantart. Go worship them!) You guys rock! All of you found different things for me to fix. :hugs:
-------------------------
Lost Time
Chapter 10
By: Lori Finnegan
"Akane..." Ranma said, his forehead pressed up against the barrier. It would only figure that when he finally found her, he couldn't reach her. Now that the wind had died down, silence hung heavily in the air. Ranma balled his fists and stepped away from the barrier. "Do you know any way to get rid of this thing?" he asked Inuyasha, who stood next to Kagome with his arms folded over his chest.
"Naraku's barriers are almost impossible to break," Inuyasha told him. "Luckily, you have me to help you."
Kagome elbowed him in the ribs. "Be careful! Akane's in there!"
"Not to mention the shard," Inuyasha muttered.
Ranma grabbed Inuyasha's collar. "What was that?"
Inuyasha's golden eyes never met Ranma's blue ones. He only shoved Ranma away with one hand and reached for his sword with the other. "Step aside, human!" he declared.
Ranma noticed Kagome rolling her eyes. She grabbed Ranma's sleeve, pulling him back anyway, and they watched as Inuyasha held the large sword out in front of him, pointing it straight at the barrier. For some reason, Ranma felt his heart rate pick up considerably... and he wasn't quite sure why.
A red glow began swirling around Tetsusaiga, and Inuyasha raised it further over his head. "Bakuryuha!" he shouted, slamming the blade down into the side of the barrier and cutting a slash from top to bottom. The barrier lit up, and then quickly faded away from Inuyasha's cut, revealing a small wooden shack.
"Akane!" Ranma shouted as he broke free from Kagome's hold and ran to stand beside Inuyasha. "Step back from the door!" he called out to her before he ran at it, kicking it down hard. It slammed into the dirt floor with a clatter that echoed up into the cliffs above them.
"Akane!" Ranma called, jumping into the room and landing in the middle of the fallen door. Though the room was dark, it was obvious that Akane was nowhere to be found. "Akane..."
"She's not here?" Kagome's voice came from behind him.
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted. "Did you really think she would be? That would have been far too easy."
"But... but I sensed the shard just a moment ago. Where could she have gone off to so quickly?"
Ranma sighed. He had been so close. He walked over to the wall to his left and ran his fingers down the grain of the wood. She had been here, he knew it. How could he have just missed her?
"Ranma?"
He spun around to see Kagome, holding up a small piece of light blue fabric. She held it out to him.
"Wasn't this the same color as Akane's dress?"
Silently, Ranma took hold of the fabric and held it up to a stream of light that poured into the room through a loose board in the roof. "Yeah," he muttered. "She was definitely here."
"Naraku's no idiot," Inuyasha put in. "He wasn't just going to leave her here so we could take the shard. Though I do have one question."
Both Ranma and Kagome looked up at him. "If Naraku was so eager to get his hands on the shard, why didn't he just kill Akane and take it?"
Kagome sighed. "That's easy," she said. "He's using her as bait."
---------
"We'll have to stop here," Miroku announced as Kirara's feet touched down to the forest floor and everyone climbed down. "It's too windy to continue safely."
"But..." Ryoga started. "What if Akane's in danger?"
Sango set down her boomerang and sat down next to it. "We can't go on. It's too windy. We'll have to meet up with Inuyasha and the others tomorrow." She looked up at Ryoga and blinked at him. "Don't worry about your friend. She's in good hands."
Ryoga gulped.
---------
"You should sleep."
Ranma squeezed his knees tighter. If that stupid Inuyasha would stop staring at him, then maybe he COULD sleep! "I'm trying!" he hissed. "Leave me the hell alone!"
'If you don't sleep, we'll never make it to Akane and the shard tomorrow," Inuyasha's voice was thick. "And it won't be me who's dragging you around."
Ranma turned around to glare at him. "Shut the hell up! Maybe if you left me alone, I could sleep, you idiot! Did you ever think of that?"
Inuyasha shrugged and turned his back on Ranma. His calm attitude pissed Ranma off. How could he be so put together when Akane was out there... being held captive by a weird ass demon who liked to play mind games? Wasn't he worried that something would happen to the shard?
He turned his gaze from Inuyasha's back and stared back out at the lonely town. Kagome slept before him in her sleeping bag, the moon's light dancing in her hair. Ranma thought about what Inuyasha had said. Maybe it would be better if he got some sleep... but why was it that every time he closed his eyes, he kept hearing the crack of the door falling to the dirt and seeing the empty room... and no Akane.
Ranma pulled the small piece of blue cloth from his shirt and squeezed it in his fist. If she was hurt, he would never forgive himself for not making it to her in time.
---------
Naraku leaned back on his futon, holding his head up with his hand. "Kagura," he said, looking up to the sliding doors where the woman. "Bring me the girl."
Kagura nodded and then turned around, disappearing out of sight.
Naraku stared at the opposite wall. This girl was getting on his nerves. He knew a little about the spell on her necklace from a group of time demons that he had been in touch with a while back, but he wasn't exactly sure of its properties.
He sat up as Kagura led the girl inside. Kagura pushed her to the opposite side of the small room and the girl knelt before Naraku. She shook with fear, and Naraku gave her a small smile.
"Who gave you that necklace?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "M-my fiancé," she stammered.
Naraku narrowed his eyes at her. "And just where did he get such a jewel?"
She only blinked.
This girl wasn't any help to him. She knew nothing of the shard's origin, and she most likely knew nothing about the spell that bound the necklace to her neck. Time demons could be very manipulative creatures, and they were known to change their spells slightly so that they couldn't be undone by anyone else but themselves.
Naraku leaned over to the girl and pinched the shard between his two slender fingers. A black light radiated from his fingers to the tips of the shard. It burned his fingers, and he dropped it back to her neck. Dammit, it was just as he thought. That damn time demon had placed some sort of ward on the bond between the Shikon shard and the pearls. While he could touch the beads at will, if he tried to take the jewel itself, the spell warded him away.
"Why don't you just kill her?" Kagura suggested from her place at the door. "Once she's dead, you can remove her necklace."
Naraku turned to look at him. "Get out!" he growled, and Kagura left the room quickly.
He looked back at the girl, who had moved closer to the wall when his back was turned. Her brown eyes glimmered with fear, and while he would have normally been pleased, it only angered him. Kagura had a point. He could kill her and take the shard, but what would happen to the shard if it were unnaturally parted from its owner? He knew that the spell was powerful, but was it powerful enough to destroy the shard?
---------
Late that night, Ryoga sat up by the dwindling fire, staring into the golden embers, and wishing he could be with Akane. Kirara sat next to him, purring as she brushed her cheek against his knee. He looked down at her, placing his hand between her ears and stroking her soft head.
"Where do you think Akane is?" he asked Kirara. "If Ranma's done anything to hurt her, I swear, I'll—"
Kirara passed his legs and then turned her head to look at him.
"You know where she is?" Ryoga whispered as Kirara's tails beckoned him across the campsite and into the woods. "Kirara! Wait!"
Finally, she stopped a few yards away from the campsite where Miroku, Sango and Shippo slept silently. Ryoga blinked, and when he opened his eyes, she had returned to full size. Was she going to take him to Akane?
---------
Ranma's heavy head swung back, and his neck twisted uncomfortably.
"RANMA!! YOU BASTARD!! WHERE THE HELL IS AKANE!?" a thundering voice pounded against his eardrums, and he wretched his eyes open only to see Ryoga's red and angry face before his own. Ryoga drew his fist back and hit Ranma hard in the jaw. Ranma's back slammed into the ground. He sat up, groaning as he rubbed his jaw.
"Ryoga." He blinked. "Ryoga!? What... what the hell are you doing here?"
Ryoga crossed his arms in front of his chest, assuming his fighting stance. "Stand up, you coward!" he yelled. "What you've done to Akane is inexcusable!"
Ranma jumped to his feet, ignoring the sting in his jaw. "You have no idea what's going on, Ryoga, so why don't you just wander around until you finally find the well. I'm assuming that's how you got here, am I right?"
"It doesn't matter! All that matters is that I make sure you pay for what's happened to Akane!"
"You don't even know what's happened to Akane!" Ranma yelled back at him.
There was a rustle from the edge of the forest, and Inuyasha appeared. He stepped right in front of Ranma. "Who the hell is this guy?" he wanted to know.
"He followed us here," Ranma explained. "I think he did, anyway. Who knows."
Inuyasha walked up to a stunned Ryoga, staring him straight in the eyes. "Are you this chick's friend?"
"Excuse me!?" Ranma exclaimed. "I am not a chick!"
Ryoga folded his arms over his chest and glared at Inuyasha, "And I'm definitely not his friend," he declared.
Inuyasha turned around and sat down next to the edge of the woods. "Whatever," he huffed, and then looked right at Ranma. "Tell your friend to go home. I'm babysitting far too many humans as it is."
Ryoga stomped up to Inuyasha's feet and stared at him. "I'm not going anywhere until Akane's safe!"
"He's right," Ranma piped up from behind. "He really isn't going anywhere without help. Ryoga has the worst sense of direction I've ever seen."
Inuyasha blinked at him. "Ryoga, huh?" he muttered. "You got a thing for Akane, too?"
Ranma's heart rate picked up. Would he ever give it a rest!? Just as he was about to defend his own feelings, Ryoga pounded his fist to his chest.
"I'm in love with Akane-san!" he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. "And I will do anything I can to protect her! I'll even give my life for her!"
Ranma glared at him. "You're making me sick," he told Ryoga. "Whoever loves an uncute tomboy like Akane has some serious problems."
"Hey, Ranma, catch."
Ranma, Ryoga and Inuyasha all turned their heads to see Kagome a few feet away, throwing a canteen in their direction. In midair, the cap came loose and water splashed out... landing right on Ryoga.
"Oh no!" Kagome said as she covered her mouth. "I guess I didn't screw the cap on tight enough. I'm so sor—"
Inuyasha lifted Ryoga's shirt to find a little black snout poking out of the armhole. "What the hell?"
Kagome looked down into the shirt with him as Ranma plopped down on the ground, rolling his eyes. Kagome lifted P-chan from the shirt and held him up before her. "Oh, he's so cute! But I could have sworn I just saw a boy standing here."
P-chan squealed as he struggled out of Kagome's grasp and fell back onto the heap of clothes. He turned to glare at Ranma.
"Don't look at me, P-chan," Ranma said, turning up his nose. "You should have stayed home. Akane doesn't need your help. How did you find me, anyway? It's only been three days since we left home. There's no possible way you could have caught up that quickly on your—" Ranma stopped. He felt something warm and furry by his arm. He blinked, turning around and looking down. It was... it was a... "CAAAAAAT!" he screamed, leaping up into the air and landing behind Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha tensed in alarm.
"It's only Kirara," Kagome explained. "She must have brought us the little piggy. But where are the others?"
"Get it away! Get it away!" Ranma cried as Kirara crept closer and closer to him, her head tilting at him, confused. "GET IT AWAY!!"
Inuyasha grinned. "Kirara... come here."
Kirara only looked at him, more confused. She sat down on the ground, unable to decide what it was she wanted to do. Kagome picked her up and stepped away from Ranma. "Um, hey, Ranma," she said, her voice uneasy. "Are you okay? You act like you've never seen a cat demon before."
Ranma pressed his back up against the tree as he stared back at Kirara, unable to say a word. Inuyasha drew back his fist and punched him in the stomach. He rolled onto his side, senseless.
"Snap out of it, moron," Inuyasha said when Ranma opened his eyes.
-----------------------------
Yep, that's it! The end of Chapter 10. So, Ryoga finally found his way to Ranma... but will they make it to Akane on time? And How pissed will Sango and Miroku be when they realize that Ryoga stole Kirara?
Chapter 11 coming soon, hopefully!!!
Comments to readers:
Dragon-eyes22 – Hi! Thank you very much for your nice comment. I try to make the chapters longer, but it takes me a while to get them out since I have so many other projects (lol, you know about them!) that it's hard to get the story done quickly... and I hate making you all wait so long for new chapters. :D
WeaselGirl – LOL, well, I don't think Jakotsu will be in the story... but you never know!!
Joseph D. Hale – Thank you for your ideas!!
kirayasha aka kira – Sorry I didn't say anything about the update on deviant art... hehe, I will in the future, but you've already read this chapter... soo... okay, now I'm rambling. Anyway, You will be the first to know for upcoming chapters!! I'm glad you liked chapter 9!!
Tasuki-no-Miko - Hey, TnM!!! Kouga will be in here in the future :evil laugh:
jade30 – Thank you so much! That's one of the best compliments I've received so far.
Alex Ultra – Sorry about Ranma... I have issues writing fight scenes. Hopefully I can work up the guts to write a better one in the future. Your idea is great, but I'm not very good at writing all of the technical fighting stuff (as you can tell) and I'm trying to stick more to characterization and dialogue. Maybe I'll be feel confident with other things later to write more about them. Thank you for your comments!
Genki no Yuuki – Hi!!! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you're still around to read this chapter and those to come. ( While Inuyasha is strong, he doesn't have the skill that Ranma has. It's hard to put them against each other because their fighting styles are so different. Plus, Inuyasha can't use Tetsusaiga against Ranma. (lol, this debate could go on forever, so I'll end it here!)
Akiko-chan17 – Hey!! Glad to see that you're ungrounded! Sorry I haven't replied to your email yet. Things got crazy here. I'll try and get to that later today. I'm really glad you still like the story! I hope you like chapter 10, too :D
Mai - Hello! Ryoga... isn't he always lost? Lol. Does he really EVER know where he is? He must have gotten knocked pretty hard in the head as a kid. About the comic, I've already started it. Tasuki-no-miko and I have colored up to page 28, and I've sketched up through 75. The link is on my author's page! :D
trunks6898, avolare, and Kuno-Baby –Thank you for your reviews! I hope you like this chapter, too.
CaraBera –Hello! I'm really glad you like my comic! Don't become discouraged with drawing. It took me a long time to even be able to do a comic, and I still have a LONG way to go. Just keep practicing! I learned to draw from a lot of different places, but I mainly taught myself by just keeping at it and drawing things over and over again. I used other artists as inspiration until I developed my own style. Also, I took some art classes in school that really helped with proportion. I don't know how old you are, but in college, there are life drawing classes where they have actual models come in and pose for you. After practice, it's easier to get proportions right on your own (and eek, I still have a long way to go. Lol)
f-zelda – Hey! The link for the manga is found on my author's page, but if you go to wanderingreality.com and click on art, it's there, too. I'm really glad you like the story! Let me know what you think of the manga when you read it :D
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Welcome back, lonely-soul! I just love reading your reviews. I feel like I'm probably making Ranma a little more... weak than he usually is in the anime and manga, but I can't help it. Hope it's a little believable. Lol. And here, in chapter ten, you've got your answer as to if Ranma finds Ranma or Akane first. Poor Ranma! I have a feeling that Inuyasha and Ryoga might get along. Lol. We'll see!!
Makotojs – Thank you for your compliment! I try hard to keep the characters true, but it's hard. Especially with Ranma. I want to make him more... mushy. I'll try not to go much further. Heh.
Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long to get these chapters out. Once again, I've been spending a lot of time on the Lost Time comic (you can find the link located on my author's page) and I'm already drawing page 76... O.O Comments to readers are located at the bottom of the chapter :D
I'd also like to thank my betas... Animedevildog, kirayasha, and catchbreath. (all from deviantart. Go worship them!) You guys rock! All of you found different things for me to fix. :hugs:
-------------------------
Lost Time
Chapter 10
By: Lori Finnegan
"Akane..." Ranma said, his forehead pressed up against the barrier. It would only figure that when he finally found her, he couldn't reach her. Now that the wind had died down, silence hung heavily in the air. Ranma balled his fists and stepped away from the barrier. "Do you know any way to get rid of this thing?" he asked Inuyasha, who stood next to Kagome with his arms folded over his chest.
"Naraku's barriers are almost impossible to break," Inuyasha told him. "Luckily, you have me to help you."
Kagome elbowed him in the ribs. "Be careful! Akane's in there!"
"Not to mention the shard," Inuyasha muttered.
Ranma grabbed Inuyasha's collar. "What was that?"
Inuyasha's golden eyes never met Ranma's blue ones. He only shoved Ranma away with one hand and reached for his sword with the other. "Step aside, human!" he declared.
Ranma noticed Kagome rolling her eyes. She grabbed Ranma's sleeve, pulling him back anyway, and they watched as Inuyasha held the large sword out in front of him, pointing it straight at the barrier. For some reason, Ranma felt his heart rate pick up considerably... and he wasn't quite sure why.
A red glow began swirling around Tetsusaiga, and Inuyasha raised it further over his head. "Bakuryuha!" he shouted, slamming the blade down into the side of the barrier and cutting a slash from top to bottom. The barrier lit up, and then quickly faded away from Inuyasha's cut, revealing a small wooden shack.
"Akane!" Ranma shouted as he broke free from Kagome's hold and ran to stand beside Inuyasha. "Step back from the door!" he called out to her before he ran at it, kicking it down hard. It slammed into the dirt floor with a clatter that echoed up into the cliffs above them.
"Akane!" Ranma called, jumping into the room and landing in the middle of the fallen door. Though the room was dark, it was obvious that Akane was nowhere to be found. "Akane..."
"She's not here?" Kagome's voice came from behind him.
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted. "Did you really think she would be? That would have been far too easy."
"But... but I sensed the shard just a moment ago. Where could she have gone off to so quickly?"
Ranma sighed. He had been so close. He walked over to the wall to his left and ran his fingers down the grain of the wood. She had been here, he knew it. How could he have just missed her?
"Ranma?"
He spun around to see Kagome, holding up a small piece of light blue fabric. She held it out to him.
"Wasn't this the same color as Akane's dress?"
Silently, Ranma took hold of the fabric and held it up to a stream of light that poured into the room through a loose board in the roof. "Yeah," he muttered. "She was definitely here."
"Naraku's no idiot," Inuyasha put in. "He wasn't just going to leave her here so we could take the shard. Though I do have one question."
Both Ranma and Kagome looked up at him. "If Naraku was so eager to get his hands on the shard, why didn't he just kill Akane and take it?"
Kagome sighed. "That's easy," she said. "He's using her as bait."
---------
"We'll have to stop here," Miroku announced as Kirara's feet touched down to the forest floor and everyone climbed down. "It's too windy to continue safely."
"But..." Ryoga started. "What if Akane's in danger?"
Sango set down her boomerang and sat down next to it. "We can't go on. It's too windy. We'll have to meet up with Inuyasha and the others tomorrow." She looked up at Ryoga and blinked at him. "Don't worry about your friend. She's in good hands."
Ryoga gulped.
---------
"You should sleep."
Ranma squeezed his knees tighter. If that stupid Inuyasha would stop staring at him, then maybe he COULD sleep! "I'm trying!" he hissed. "Leave me the hell alone!"
'If you don't sleep, we'll never make it to Akane and the shard tomorrow," Inuyasha's voice was thick. "And it won't be me who's dragging you around."
Ranma turned around to glare at him. "Shut the hell up! Maybe if you left me alone, I could sleep, you idiot! Did you ever think of that?"
Inuyasha shrugged and turned his back on Ranma. His calm attitude pissed Ranma off. How could he be so put together when Akane was out there... being held captive by a weird ass demon who liked to play mind games? Wasn't he worried that something would happen to the shard?
He turned his gaze from Inuyasha's back and stared back out at the lonely town. Kagome slept before him in her sleeping bag, the moon's light dancing in her hair. Ranma thought about what Inuyasha had said. Maybe it would be better if he got some sleep... but why was it that every time he closed his eyes, he kept hearing the crack of the door falling to the dirt and seeing the empty room... and no Akane.
Ranma pulled the small piece of blue cloth from his shirt and squeezed it in his fist. If she was hurt, he would never forgive himself for not making it to her in time.
---------
Naraku leaned back on his futon, holding his head up with his hand. "Kagura," he said, looking up to the sliding doors where the woman. "Bring me the girl."
Kagura nodded and then turned around, disappearing out of sight.
Naraku stared at the opposite wall. This girl was getting on his nerves. He knew a little about the spell on her necklace from a group of time demons that he had been in touch with a while back, but he wasn't exactly sure of its properties.
He sat up as Kagura led the girl inside. Kagura pushed her to the opposite side of the small room and the girl knelt before Naraku. She shook with fear, and Naraku gave her a small smile.
"Who gave you that necklace?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "M-my fiancé," she stammered.
Naraku narrowed his eyes at her. "And just where did he get such a jewel?"
She only blinked.
This girl wasn't any help to him. She knew nothing of the shard's origin, and she most likely knew nothing about the spell that bound the necklace to her neck. Time demons could be very manipulative creatures, and they were known to change their spells slightly so that they couldn't be undone by anyone else but themselves.
Naraku leaned over to the girl and pinched the shard between his two slender fingers. A black light radiated from his fingers to the tips of the shard. It burned his fingers, and he dropped it back to her neck. Dammit, it was just as he thought. That damn time demon had placed some sort of ward on the bond between the Shikon shard and the pearls. While he could touch the beads at will, if he tried to take the jewel itself, the spell warded him away.
"Why don't you just kill her?" Kagura suggested from her place at the door. "Once she's dead, you can remove her necklace."
Naraku turned to look at him. "Get out!" he growled, and Kagura left the room quickly.
He looked back at the girl, who had moved closer to the wall when his back was turned. Her brown eyes glimmered with fear, and while he would have normally been pleased, it only angered him. Kagura had a point. He could kill her and take the shard, but what would happen to the shard if it were unnaturally parted from its owner? He knew that the spell was powerful, but was it powerful enough to destroy the shard?
---------
Late that night, Ryoga sat up by the dwindling fire, staring into the golden embers, and wishing he could be with Akane. Kirara sat next to him, purring as she brushed her cheek against his knee. He looked down at her, placing his hand between her ears and stroking her soft head.
"Where do you think Akane is?" he asked Kirara. "If Ranma's done anything to hurt her, I swear, I'll—"
Kirara passed his legs and then turned her head to look at him.
"You know where she is?" Ryoga whispered as Kirara's tails beckoned him across the campsite and into the woods. "Kirara! Wait!"
Finally, she stopped a few yards away from the campsite where Miroku, Sango and Shippo slept silently. Ryoga blinked, and when he opened his eyes, she had returned to full size. Was she going to take him to Akane?
---------
Ranma's heavy head swung back, and his neck twisted uncomfortably.
"RANMA!! YOU BASTARD!! WHERE THE HELL IS AKANE!?" a thundering voice pounded against his eardrums, and he wretched his eyes open only to see Ryoga's red and angry face before his own. Ryoga drew his fist back and hit Ranma hard in the jaw. Ranma's back slammed into the ground. He sat up, groaning as he rubbed his jaw.
"Ryoga." He blinked. "Ryoga!? What... what the hell are you doing here?"
Ryoga crossed his arms in front of his chest, assuming his fighting stance. "Stand up, you coward!" he yelled. "What you've done to Akane is inexcusable!"
Ranma jumped to his feet, ignoring the sting in his jaw. "You have no idea what's going on, Ryoga, so why don't you just wander around until you finally find the well. I'm assuming that's how you got here, am I right?"
"It doesn't matter! All that matters is that I make sure you pay for what's happened to Akane!"
"You don't even know what's happened to Akane!" Ranma yelled back at him.
There was a rustle from the edge of the forest, and Inuyasha appeared. He stepped right in front of Ranma. "Who the hell is this guy?" he wanted to know.
"He followed us here," Ranma explained. "I think he did, anyway. Who knows."
Inuyasha walked up to a stunned Ryoga, staring him straight in the eyes. "Are you this chick's friend?"
"Excuse me!?" Ranma exclaimed. "I am not a chick!"
Ryoga folded his arms over his chest and glared at Inuyasha, "And I'm definitely not his friend," he declared.
Inuyasha turned around and sat down next to the edge of the woods. "Whatever," he huffed, and then looked right at Ranma. "Tell your friend to go home. I'm babysitting far too many humans as it is."
Ryoga stomped up to Inuyasha's feet and stared at him. "I'm not going anywhere until Akane's safe!"
"He's right," Ranma piped up from behind. "He really isn't going anywhere without help. Ryoga has the worst sense of direction I've ever seen."
Inuyasha blinked at him. "Ryoga, huh?" he muttered. "You got a thing for Akane, too?"
Ranma's heart rate picked up. Would he ever give it a rest!? Just as he was about to defend his own feelings, Ryoga pounded his fist to his chest.
"I'm in love with Akane-san!" he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. "And I will do anything I can to protect her! I'll even give my life for her!"
Ranma glared at him. "You're making me sick," he told Ryoga. "Whoever loves an uncute tomboy like Akane has some serious problems."
"Hey, Ranma, catch."
Ranma, Ryoga and Inuyasha all turned their heads to see Kagome a few feet away, throwing a canteen in their direction. In midair, the cap came loose and water splashed out... landing right on Ryoga.
"Oh no!" Kagome said as she covered her mouth. "I guess I didn't screw the cap on tight enough. I'm so sor—"
Inuyasha lifted Ryoga's shirt to find a little black snout poking out of the armhole. "What the hell?"
Kagome looked down into the shirt with him as Ranma plopped down on the ground, rolling his eyes. Kagome lifted P-chan from the shirt and held him up before her. "Oh, he's so cute! But I could have sworn I just saw a boy standing here."
P-chan squealed as he struggled out of Kagome's grasp and fell back onto the heap of clothes. He turned to glare at Ranma.
"Don't look at me, P-chan," Ranma said, turning up his nose. "You should have stayed home. Akane doesn't need your help. How did you find me, anyway? It's only been three days since we left home. There's no possible way you could have caught up that quickly on your—" Ranma stopped. He felt something warm and furry by his arm. He blinked, turning around and looking down. It was... it was a... "CAAAAAAT!" he screamed, leaping up into the air and landing behind Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha tensed in alarm.
"It's only Kirara," Kagome explained. "She must have brought us the little piggy. But where are the others?"
"Get it away! Get it away!" Ranma cried as Kirara crept closer and closer to him, her head tilting at him, confused. "GET IT AWAY!!"
Inuyasha grinned. "Kirara... come here."
Kirara only looked at him, more confused. She sat down on the ground, unable to decide what it was she wanted to do. Kagome picked her up and stepped away from Ranma. "Um, hey, Ranma," she said, her voice uneasy. "Are you okay? You act like you've never seen a cat demon before."
Ranma pressed his back up against the tree as he stared back at Kirara, unable to say a word. Inuyasha drew back his fist and punched him in the stomach. He rolled onto his side, senseless.
"Snap out of it, moron," Inuyasha said when Ranma opened his eyes.
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Yep, that's it! The end of Chapter 10. So, Ryoga finally found his way to Ranma... but will they make it to Akane on time? And How pissed will Sango and Miroku be when they realize that Ryoga stole Kirara?
Chapter 11 coming soon, hopefully!!!
Comments to readers:
Dragon-eyes22 – Hi! Thank you very much for your nice comment. I try to make the chapters longer, but it takes me a while to get them out since I have so many other projects (lol, you know about them!) that it's hard to get the story done quickly... and I hate making you all wait so long for new chapters. :D
WeaselGirl – LOL, well, I don't think Jakotsu will be in the story... but you never know!!
Joseph D. Hale – Thank you for your ideas!!
kirayasha aka kira – Sorry I didn't say anything about the update on deviant art... hehe, I will in the future, but you've already read this chapter... soo... okay, now I'm rambling. Anyway, You will be the first to know for upcoming chapters!! I'm glad you liked chapter 9!!
Tasuki-no-Miko - Hey, TnM!!! Kouga will be in here in the future :evil laugh:
jade30 – Thank you so much! That's one of the best compliments I've received so far.
Alex Ultra – Sorry about Ranma... I have issues writing fight scenes. Hopefully I can work up the guts to write a better one in the future. Your idea is great, but I'm not very good at writing all of the technical fighting stuff (as you can tell) and I'm trying to stick more to characterization and dialogue. Maybe I'll be feel confident with other things later to write more about them. Thank you for your comments!
Genki no Yuuki – Hi!!! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you're still around to read this chapter and those to come. ( While Inuyasha is strong, he doesn't have the skill that Ranma has. It's hard to put them against each other because their fighting styles are so different. Plus, Inuyasha can't use Tetsusaiga against Ranma. (lol, this debate could go on forever, so I'll end it here!)
Akiko-chan17 – Hey!! Glad to see that you're ungrounded! Sorry I haven't replied to your email yet. Things got crazy here. I'll try and get to that later today. I'm really glad you still like the story! I hope you like chapter 10, too :D
Mai - Hello! Ryoga... isn't he always lost? Lol. Does he really EVER know where he is? He must have gotten knocked pretty hard in the head as a kid. About the comic, I've already started it. Tasuki-no-miko and I have colored up to page 28, and I've sketched up through 75. The link is on my author's page! :D
trunks6898, avolare, and Kuno-Baby –Thank you for your reviews! I hope you like this chapter, too.
CaraBera –Hello! I'm really glad you like my comic! Don't become discouraged with drawing. It took me a long time to even be able to do a comic, and I still have a LONG way to go. Just keep practicing! I learned to draw from a lot of different places, but I mainly taught myself by just keeping at it and drawing things over and over again. I used other artists as inspiration until I developed my own style. Also, I took some art classes in school that really helped with proportion. I don't know how old you are, but in college, there are life drawing classes where they have actual models come in and pose for you. After practice, it's easier to get proportions right on your own (and eek, I still have a long way to go. Lol)
f-zelda – Hey! The link for the manga is found on my author's page, but if you go to wanderingreality.com and click on art, it's there, too. I'm really glad you like the story! Let me know what you think of the manga when you read it :D
Elysium and Lonely Soul – Welcome back, lonely-soul! I just love reading your reviews. I feel like I'm probably making Ranma a little more... weak than he usually is in the anime and manga, but I can't help it. Hope it's a little believable. Lol. And here, in chapter ten, you've got your answer as to if Ranma finds Ranma or Akane first. Poor Ranma! I have a feeling that Inuyasha and Ryoga might get along. Lol. We'll see!!
Makotojs – Thank you for your compliment! I try hard to keep the characters true, but it's hard. Especially with Ranma. I want to make him more... mushy. I'll try not to go much further. Heh.