AN: Sorry for the longer wait! Exams are coming up and I'm busy as hell! Here you go, and I'll say more at the end!

4. You Must

"What you say, girl?" Shampoo demanded.

Akane looked unsure of herself, and was blushing madly, but raised her chin defiantly. "You heard me. Ranma's engaged to me, and is honor bound to complete our marriage. He's been engaged to me since we were born, which makes your engagement invalid."

Ranma stared at Akane some more. She promptly smacked him.

"Stop that," she said crossly, red still streaking her cheeks, "You look stupid."

"You no treat Airen good, girl. Why Airen marry you?" Shampoo asked, crossing her arms. "Shampoo make better wife. Shampoo no treat Ranma like that."

Akane was at her breaking point. For some reason, she wanted to boil this girl in hot oil, and leave her for the buzzards. An angry hum was vibrating through her bones, and she began to see red.

"Because I love him and you don't!" she yelled, causing Ranma to turn as red as her. Shampoo simply stared at the girl, as if looking for something. She apparently found it, for she turned to leave.

"Shampoo come back."

Akane belatedly realized what she had said, and with a look at Ranma, fainted.

-

Akane came to thinking that she was like this in front of Ranma too much. He looked amused and worried at the same time, which meant she was okay. Ranma was always overreacting about her well being, so she wasn't in any real danger right now. She sat up slowly, remembering that it hurt if she moved quickly. Ranma held an arm behind her back to steady her as she reached for her canteen to rinse out her mouth.

Spitting the water to the side, she flushed when she remembered why she'd passed out. She hadn't meant it, of course, but to think she'd said it aloud like that! And in front of another girl who could go and spread it to the world!

"You okay?" Ranma asked, and Akane looked at him with a sort of desperation in her eyes. With that one look she killed any chance he had at making jokes about her, because he knew, even through his idiocy, that it would make her feel awful.

And, even if he teased her a lot, he didn't want to make her cry.

"I'm fine." She stiffly stood up, and when he moved to follow, she turned around with a glare.

"I'm going to bathe. Follow me and die." Ranma was immediately stroking the small fire he had built, whistling while she headed into the woods.

-

Akane sunk into the water, shivering. Yes, it was cold, but she'd do anything to be away from Ranma right now. Why had that stupid Amazon, that Shampoo, annoyed her so much? Akane prided herself on getting along with most females, but Shampoo had irked the crap out of her. Just appearing out of nowhere, saying her Ranma was her 'Airen', and-

HER Ranma?

While Akane was trying to drown herself, several dark shapes appeared around the spring. When she surfaced, pouting and slightly panicked, she immediately noticed the different chi surrounding her.

"Who's there?"

"So, you are the one who claims to be my son-in-law's bride?" A wizened old voice said, and Akane turned straight forward to see an old woman standing directly before her in the water, peering at her with a searching eye.

Promptly screaming, she scrambled to get away.

-

Which of course, drew Ranma towards her.

He rushed into the clearing, and came upon an interesting scene. Picture this:

An old woman cackling her head off in the spring, while several scantily clad women stand around the edges, watching the very naked Akane run off.

Straight into Ranma.

Akane froze, her hand on Ranma's chest. When she clenched his clothes and moved back to stare at him, all he could think was "Oh shit."

She was blushing, he noticed, and while he was studying her, he felt how she was pressed up against him, how every curve of her body molded to him, and felt his own face heat up.

"RANMA!" Akane screamed, pulling his shirt off, after smacking him several times, and tying it around her with the sleeves. This really didn't hide much, Ranma noted, but then he blushingly shook his head.

He wasn't looking at the tomboy. Nope.

"So, son-in-law, you've returned to marry Shampoo, yes?" the old woman spoke, stepping out of the water. Ranma stepped instinctively in front of Akane, who was glaring at the woman.

"Old hag, I told you, I'm not marrying Shampoo. Your customs are none of my concern, so you can just leave me and my companion alone."

The old woman nodded. "Ah, yes, your fiancée. Shampoo has told me you are engaged. Is this true?"

Both teens blushed but Akane stepped around Ranma, ready to shut him up and make him agree to any exten-

"Yes, its true. I love Akane, and we're to be married."

Ranma spoke calmly, but he could feel his heart thumping wildly and tried in vain to slow it down. He wasn't speaking the truth, this was just a way to get that old woman away from him. It was a mantra he repeated in his head over and over, an attempt to deny anything his heart was doing right now.

Akane turned around, staring at him with something he couldn't quite place. Immediately, he stepped towards her and she buried her face into his under shirt.

"Thank you." she whispered, and as the Amazon's left, he completely forgot to ask why she was thanking him.

-

Their quest continued, though for what, neither knew. To get away from palace life, Akane guessed. She never knew what Ranma was thinking, these days. He joked with her same as usual, he annoyed her, he was quiet and sometimes sweet, and he could still make her heart do crazy things when he looked at her just like was now.

"What?" she demanded, feeling a blush work its way up her neck. She hated it when he did this, making her feel so hot and flustered.

He acquired a tinge of pink on his own cheeks, but turned away with a soft 'Keh'. "Nothing. We're about two miles from a village. You want to stop by there?"

Akane liked walking for hours on end, bruising her feet and scratching her arms, getting bitten, and having nothing but Ranma to talk to, but she thought she could spare a day or two in a village. Yeah, she'd be okay with that.

She nodded and Ranma gave her a grin. She'd handled the trip spectacularly. She'd hadn't complained once, had done her fair share of work, and provided a good source of entertainment when she'd messed up. They'd been walking and traveling for over a week now, and no doubt Lord Kuno wasn't happy about his brides absence.

Well, they had left a note…

-

Lord Kuno's eyes swept over the note, anger burning deep in his crazed coal orbs.

Yo.

Akane and I are running away, so there will be no wedding! See ya soon, Kuno. Or not. I dunno. Ow- DAMN, YOU SEXLESS TOMBOY!

Ciao!

Ranma

He had seen it after he'd gone on his nightly check of Akane, at precisely 2:00 in the morning, and had immediately questioned all of his guards, but they'd all started whistling and walked away with mutterings of "No sir, haven't seen a thing…" and "Of course we didn't let them by us, Lord…"

The paper was clenched in his hands, as after a week of searching, they had found nothing. Oh, they'd seen trails that Kuno had been sure led to his princess, but they all ended in pieces of paper saying "Ciao, ciao ciao!" over every inch, and a laughing Ranma head in the middle. Kuno was beyond angry.

He stood up with tears streaming down his face.

"I, Tatewaki Kuno shall continue this search for my dearest myself! That boor Ranma shall not go unpunished!" he declared. A few of the guards began to edge away, as he deliriously began reciting poems for Akane.

-

Akane felt a sudden chill.

"What is it?" Ranma asked, glancing sideways at her.

"Nothing. Just…a cold shiver swept through me, like when some idiot spouts love poems. Huh…" Akane appeared to be thinking while Ranma whistled annoyingly to the side of her. After a while of walking, they made it to the village. It was nice, as far as villages go, with its fair share of elderly and children, with women walking around and hanging laundry and making pottery in the spare moments they had.

Akane felt a smile curve her lips. It was perfect.

Ranma watched her out of the corner of his eye with a small smile of his own. She seemed to find joy in such simple things. It was one of the things he liked about her.

They immediately went to the small market place, purchasing food and supplies they had run out of while they'd been traveling. The towns people were quiet and friendly, and Akane couldn't seem to stop smiling. Ranma's eyes were traveling around with interest.

And then a sound reached their ears.

"Where am I NOW!"

Akane spun around, the serenity around them shattered. She began stalking over, gently pushing through the crowds to the young man. Grabbing his hand and pulling him aside, because he was drawing people's attention, she hissed at him with an annoyed glare.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just come here and disturb all these people because you're lost! Now, who are you?"

She said this very quickly, and the man was just staring at her with a dazed expression. She poked him and Ranma came up behind her with a small frown. This guy was staring at Akane just a bit too closely.

The man suddenly bowed and Akane felt her skin turn cold. Oh, no, she thought, he knows I'm a princess and he's come to take me back!

"My name is Ryoga, dear lady, and I apologize. I've been extremely stressed, as I've been searching since the year was new for my lands wayward heir."

Akane was instantly intrigued; Ranma, not so much.

"Where are you from?" she asked, her eyes wide with interest. Ranma did not like the way the man - Ryoga - blushed.

"O-Our land is far away, and its name has long since drifted and changed. It was long ago a rich and powerful nation, and prospered. I believe the Elder said it controlled all the way to China, even over King Soun's land. In fact, the King was supposed to have been the last ruler's friend. Before it happened…"

"What happened!" Akane pleaded, eagerly drinking in the fairy tale-like story.

"Our leader mysteriously vanished, and his child, his firstborn and only child, was killed. The land went into despair, and the economy slowly but surely died. It is said that the death of the innocent heir was what caused the most pain, for even though the child was only a year old, he or she was dearly loved."

Akane was confused there. "You mean you don't know if the kid was a boy or girl?"

Ryoga shook his head. "At the time, hardly anyone knew the heir's gender. Those who did were elderly and did not pass on the information. The king was very quiet about his child, and it is said that even as a child, the heir was sure to be a skilled martial artist. The land had died, but a few of its people still remained faithful, instead of getting up and moving.

"Our leader, whom we call Elder, felt a stirring around four years ago. He said he was sure it was the heir. We all tried to tell him the heir was dead, but he insisted we look for him or her. I was sent this year, as all others had failed. We must find the heir soon, for it is said that the heir's 17th birthday is approaching, the year that it will be permanent."

"What will be permanent?" Akane whispered, and Ranma began to look interested despite himself.

Ryoga shrugged, his face turning thoughtful. "No one knows, not even the Elder, and he's the last of the Old Ones. It was the last thing the heir's father said to the nobles. Let me see if I have the prophecy." He began rummaging through his bags, looking through several items that seemed to come out of nowhere. Finally he pulled a frayed and yellowed paper.

"Here it is," he announced, and smoothed it out before reading it with a bit of difficulty due to its age. "Born is the heir of the land of…(it got smeared here, he explained) who will lead us back into life. The heir shall be blessed, but also cursed, and if the curse is not vanquished before the heir's 17th year, then the land shall fall into despair, and the heir will remain cursed for eternity."

Ryoga carefully rolled the paper up and stopped, looking at Ranma who had a faraway, surreal look on his face. "How old are you," he asked Ranma, who snapped out of it.

"Oh, it can't be me. I turned 17 at the end of the April month, and its already June. Won't you have some sort of sign if the heir's birthday passes?" Ranma replied. Ryoga sighed, then nodded slightly.

"The Elder believes it is a summer birthday, but his memory is foggy, and he cannot be sure. One true sign of the heir is the mark of the land, which should have appeared on the heir's…oh what was it?…on the heir's lower back on his or her 13th year."

Ranma nodded, though he looked like he was paying absolutely no attention. Akane was fascinated by it all. "So you have to find the heir soon, or your already dying land will completely fade away? How terrible…"

She appeared to be thinking, and suddenly hit her palm with her fist. "We'll help you!" she declared, and Ranma blinked, brought out of his stupor.

"We'll what! Akane, you know K-Um, you know who is still going to be after you, and what about your father!"

Akane flippantly turned away. "Its not like we'll be a long time. The summer's almost up, which means we'll work fast. Besides, if you don't like it, go get married to Shampoo, where you won't have to worry about a thing…"

Ranma was so quiet behind her, she felt her insides freeze. What if he agreed with her? What if he went off and married that Amazonian wench? She felt her heart lodge in her throat, and turned around to see him staring at the ground.

"Okay," he said, softly. She felt her heart plummet faster, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. "We'll find the heir," he added, and suddenly the freezing feeling warmed over, and her entire face was blushing with happiness.

"Oh, thank you!" and once again, she didn't know why she was thanking him, as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Once again, she forgot someone was there, once again, she forgot she was being stupid, once again, she could feel herself flush…

And once again, his arms wrapped around her.

"Ahem…" an angry looking Ryoga interrupted, and they sprang apart. Ranma immediately left to 'do stuff', and Akane was left looking flustered and happy with a completely annoyed Ryoga.

-

Welp, there we go!

As to the Kuno thing: Omigod, you people are right. I mean to say something earlier, but forgot cause I was in a hurry! Ha, oops. Lets just say Kuno's THAT crazy, kay?

As for whether or not Ranma's the heir? You'll just have to see...more awaits you, my dears, much more.

Dedicated to ma petite, and anyone who's read Anita Blake! Jean-Claude rocks my socks.

Please, please go to my profile and read my teaser for a story idea I'm coming up with. I need feedback on whether or not to start a new story.

Ja ne!

Meg