Chapter 7
Ranma had regained almost all of his strength by that evening, but he was still sore. He had a nasty bruise, which looked almost like a burn mark, on his chest. He had managed to eat dinner, with a little help from a disgruntled Akane, before asking to be left alone. His pride lay in shambles, but his mind was in overdrive. How could be beat that ninja? He decided his best course of action would be to talk to everyone who had encountered the ninja, even if they had lost severly. The only one who hadn't really lost was Ryoga, but there was little chance that he was still in the country, let alone still in town. He found Shampoo easy enough, or rather she had found him. He realized who it was when his face lay in cement and a bicycle tire sat on his head. He questioned her thoroughly about her encounter, but she hadn't even been able to block his first attack before she was down. Next he spoke with Satsuke, who was found setting a trap to capture the pig-tailed girl. No doubt another of Kuno's orders to bring her into his grasp. Satsuke told of the amazing speed the ninja had used, and how he had never stood a chance. Not that that fact surprised Ranma. He decided to try and find Ryoga and as luck would have it, he did find Ryoga. Sort of.
"Hey P-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked the little black pig that was wandering around. Ryoga turned and started to squeal until Ranma picked him up by the neck.
"Chill out will ya? I'm gonna help you." Ranma said. He finally managed to get Ryoga some hot water and change him back.
"What do you want Ranma? Looking to fight?" He asked.
"You know I don't fight the weak Ryoga." He said. "I do need your help though. I want you to tell me every detail about your fight with the ninja."
"And why should I help you? If he kills you then I'll be able to have Akane!" Ryoga replied.
"Because you idiot. The only reason Akane is alive is because he wants me first. He's already said that Akane will be next after me!" Ranma shot back. Ryoga thought for a minute.
"All right. I'll tell you what I know."
* * *
Ryoga had told him everything, including how the ninja had been injured without weapon or attack. Ranma asked him exactly what he had felt when the ninja had been harmed. Ryoga got really quiet at first, but after some prodding, he admitted how he had wept over Akane. Ranma had already headed for home as his thoughts bounced around in his head. No one could hurt the ninja, but Ryoga's tears made him angry? It didn't make sense. He considered talking to Akane, but she hadn't actually fought the ninja, and he was weary from his wound. He made his way to bed. He lay asleep most of that night, wondering how he would beat the ninja. True his strength and skill had beaten many foes in the past, but now strength didn't seem to bother the ninja, and the ninja's speed was much greater than his own. He rolled over and looked at the clock. It was already 3 am. It's a good thing tomorrow would be sunday and there would be no school, or he'd sleep through the entire day. True enough he slept through most of it, but he managed to stay awake occasionally. His eyes started to close when he heard the sound of his door sliding open. His eyes became mere slits and his muscles tightened. Was that ninja trying to pull the same stunt as the night before? He pretended to snore softly to fake his sleeping until the time was right. He heard footsteps come near, and come to a stop beside him. His hand snaked out and grabbed the foot to his left, yanking back just as fast to pull his target to the ground. Without the support, the body fell backwards, and a female cry was heard. Ranma opened his eyes to see Akane rubbing her backside and glaring at him.
"Akane, what are you doing here?" Ranma hissed. He sat up and looked at her.
"Well excuse me for worrying about you!" She shot back. Through the piercing glare, Ranma thought he saw concern in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I've just been a little jumpy lately." He said, lowering his gaze. She nodded as well, feeling the same way. She had tried to sleep, but kept having nightmares of DN taking Ranma's soul and using the shell to kill her. She had decided to sneak into his room, just to check up on him. That was it. Or so she had hoped to believe.
"It's okay Ranma. I'm not mad." She said calmly. Ranma raised an eyebrow. That was odd. He had just floored her and she didn't even pull out a normal sized mallet. Something was up.
"Hey are you okay? Is something wrong?" Ranma asked. She shook her head slowly.
"Ranma, I..." She started. Her words faltered, not really knowing what to say or how to say it. Ranma placed a finger on her chin and lifted her head to meet his gaze. He just sat there, a half-worried smile on his face. She couldn't hold back any longer. She flung herself onto him, desperate to be in his safe grasp.
"You idiot, you could have died today. What were you thinking?" She said, holding him tight. He placed a hand on her back to soothe her.
"Hey come on, you know I'm tougher than that. Besides, this isn't like you at all. Why don't you hit me or something?" He said, grinning. She pulled away.
"Am I really that bad? Am I that un-cute and violent?" She asked. Ranma scratched the back of his head.
"Well you're not really all that un-cute..." he mumbled. She looked up at him.
"What did you say? Let me guess. I'm just a stupid tomboy worrying over nothing. Ranma I hate you!" She said, her hand instinctively going to slap him. But for the first time in her life that she could remember, she didn't make contact. His hand had managed to grab her wrist before she hit him. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Let me go you pervert!" She said, raising the other hand to slap him. He grabbed that one too. She looked at his face. A smile of confidence resided there. He had been toying with her again, playing on her anger. She hated it when he did that. Then she noticed his face lost almost all expression. He was studying her, watching for her reaction to being restricted. Then he saw it. He saw the look in her eyes. She wasn't mad, angry, sad, happy or any other emotion he had ever seen in her eyes. It startled him at first, but his warrior's instinct kicked in. He had to be sure. He started to lean towards her, slowly at first. She made no move to back away, in fact started to lean towards him. His guard started to go up, his pride wanting to refuse his emotion, but he fought back with his heart. For once he would turn his pride aside and listen to his heart. It felt incredibly good. He loved her and for once he could admit it to himself. And when their lips met, he knew she felt the same way. Then Ranma noticed something. The pain from his chest was gone. He pulled back softly, not wanting to leave her soft lips, but knowing he must.
"Ranma what's wrong? Was my kiss that bad?" she asked. He shook his head quickly, and lifted his shirt. The bruise was gone.
"Akane, you've gotta leave now." He said quietly. He looked up to see intense pain on her face. "No no, you don't understand. I just need to be alone for a minute. Something I need to figure out before anything else happens." She nodded slowly, and stood. Had she rushed him too fast? He was the one who had started the encounter. He had kissed her! It wasn't her fault. She had felt so safe in his arms, and that kiss was incredible. So why did he want to be left alone? She walked slowly from the room knowing she'd get little sleep that night. As for Ranma, he understood what the demon said now. Just as Ranma's hate had made DN stronger, his love for Akane made him weaker. That's why the ninja had made such blatant attempts to get rid of Akane and why Ryoga had been able to stop him. Did Ryoga love her that much? Oh well she was his finace and that's all that mattered. Ranma knew that their love could defeat him. Ranma swore to himself that night he would never leave her alone again as long as the ninja was still a threat.