Dragon Exile

Italics are thoughts

Bold is Japanese

I do not own Ranma ½. I write this for entertainment only. But if you copy what I wrote, shame on you!

Chapter the Second: Reunion

"Huh!" Akane ground to a halt, eyeing the strange man warily, "you know me?"

She studied him closely as he began muttering in Chinese, taking in everything. He had long hair, tied back with green cord that somehow suited the black of his hair. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just Chinese pants and slippers, a fashion statement that showed off powerful but lean muscle. The hilt of a sword peaked out from behind him at the waist, the hilt extremely ornate. Yet he moved as if he never used it while holding himself at the ready in a familiar stance.

"Yeah, you could put it that way," he said and raised his head to look right at her. There was endless sorrow in his eyes, misery twenty years old. But that wasn't what she noticed. All that Akane noticed were stormy blue eyes that she had thought to never see again.

"R-Ranma…" she stammered, gaping at him, "is that you!"

"Y-Yeah, 'Kane. Long time no see, heh heh…" Ranma sputtered.

Before Akane could say anything to that, they both whirled as screams filled the air, "what was that?" she gasped, already moving in the appropriate direction, "Akima…Kama…Suzuma…Yukima…MY BABIES!"

Ranma felt like he'd been punched in the gut at the exclamation he had put up with from Soun for years. So…guess she moved on, he thought sullenly as he moved to follow her.

Akane still wasn't as fast as he was, but Ranma still had to grudgingly admit that he admired her all the same. The way she ran, no matter where the attack came from, she'd be immovable in the span of an instant.

Finally, the two burst into a clearing to see a scene of madness that was all too familiar for Ranma. What looked like Herb's girl form from long ago was attacking Ryu-shen in tandem with a boy who looked almost like Kama, but with purple hair. Meanwhile, Perfume had her hands full with a chillingly familiar redhead and an angry boy who looked like Herb, but the color of the hair looked like Suzuma.

"Who are…"

"They're cursed," Akane explained grimly, "turns out that it can be inherited from a parent and passed down for a generation or two."

"Then how'd your kids get it?" Ranma demanded, trying to squelch his jealousy.

Akane looked at him sharply, "Kama is a redhead. Ranma, even you can't be that dense!" she snapped before jumping into the fray with a howl.

Ranma watched them fight, focused on Akane's son-turned-daughter, "they…THEY'RE MINE!" he cried, startling Akane so much that she almost took a hit.

"BAKA! TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Akane roared at him, "leave my children alone!"

"Stand down!" Ranma yelled, startling Perfume and Ryu-shen, "stand down NOW!"

"Huh? Why?" Perfume demanded, backing up.

Instead of answering, Ranma surged past her, knocking Kama out of the air. The two stared at one another, the same blue eyes mirrored in each. The only difference between their cursed forms lay in the strong resemblance to Akane's side of the family elsewhere.

"Because two of these kids are Herb's heirs," Ranma explained, letting the teen up, "the other two are mine."

"You…you can't be serious!" Perfume sputtered, "you said that you didn't have family."

"I guess this proves that I don't know everything," Ranma noted dryly, "Herb, I can't fight Akane and I can't fight her kids," he said as the Dragon Lord staggered into view.

"I am not stupid, Guardian. I still have scars from the last time I dared to lay a hand on your woman," Herb snorted, "can you convince her to return with us. I would prefer to sort this whole thing out in more civilized locals."

"I can try. Akane, we wanna sort all this out. Herb has offered hospitality. They don't attack once they've offered that," Ranma translated.

"I can speak Chinese just fine, Ranma," Akane said dryly, "come on, guys," she added to her children, who were hovering warily behind her, "let's have you all changed back, shall we?"