Chapter 3: Wild horse missing
Disclaimer: Your Ranma has gained a level. Ranma has mastered 'martial arts bubblegum chewing' up to the third dan. Please allocate Ranma's skillpoints...
- - -
His sleep was marred by nightmares that raked his very soul. His benevolent angel had turned into an avatar of vengeance at the drop of a hat, her eyes crimson lasers of searing might that sought to incinerate him, her face a mask of unholy indignation. The scarlet corona of light around her had coalesced between her stiff, crooked fingers, condensing into a ball of angry red. She then had unleashed her power on him, and his world had become a haze of bloodied mist. Her keen of fury would forever echo in his ears as he had smashed through barriers that were never meant to contain her righteous wrath.
After a brief period of darkness, Ryouga slowly returned to consciousness, remembering with dread that his supposed nightmare had been very very real.
He cautiously opened an eye, not really sure what to expect. The first thing he saw was his angel. Akane seemed to be absorbed in the work at hand, hardly paying attention to him. He tried to move, but realized his whole body below the neck was numb and unresponsive.
If Akane had realized he was awake, she gave no indication. Instead, she was busy nailing some planks together, using a tiny hammer and trying to be gentle enough not to ruin everything with excessive force. I guess Ranma is sometimes right to call me a tomboy, she mused, expertly hammering the last of the nails and stepping back to admire her workmanship. Even before Ranma entered her life, she had enjoyed fixing things with her hands. By now she was as accomplished a carpenter as Ranma himself. It certainly made sense if one considered how often the Tendo estate suffered collateral damage.
Ryouga ripped his eyes off Akane and focused again on his predicament. The Tendo girl had just finished attaching a wooden frame of one of the family room walls. More importantly, his wrists and ankles were tied on said frame with metal cords that kept him erect even though none of his muscles were responsive. Not really sure what to expect, Ryouga glanced around to the now seated Akane, gulping a bit as he noticed her new task. The table in the middle of the room was full of kitchen knives, keen and shinny despite the fact they had obviously been used many times. Akane was using a whetstone, diligently sharpening them with undue concentration.
While Ryouga was debating whether it would be wise to draw attention to himself, Akane's eyes met his own, her face featuring a smile that seemed somehow wrong. "Kasumi is very adamant about keeping her knives sharp" she exclaimed, looking at her face that was reflected on the item she held. "Can you believe Daddy taught all three of his daughters how to throw them as weapons? He taught me at five, too."
Ryouga shuddered at her tone. It was too casual, too surreal for his current predicament. "A-Akane-san! That is... you see..." he tried, his face widening when a knife left the dark-haired girl's fingers and embedded next to his head, barely missing his ear.
"You wonder why you are still breathing, P-chan?" she asked in a mocking tone that caused him to shudder. He decided Akane could be very scary. "There are some very specific reasons," she added, not bothering to wait for a nod. "First of all, you are still somewhat of a friend. We have been in too many deadly situations and Ranma would be mad at me if I flailed you alive."
Her smile turned wicked. "So, even though you are a honorless, perverted, violent, glomping, backstabbing, shameless, deceiving, peeping, pigheaded, vengeful and useless hog that disregards all propriety in favor of cheep thrills and stomps on those who offer you friendship, you still get to live. Isn't that wonderful, P-chan?"
"I..." tried Ryouga again nonplussed, but a second knife that missed his neck muted him. He unconsciously tried to flee, but his body failed to respond.
"Another reason is that I finally, finally learned how to throw chi blasts. I have been trying for a long time, you know." Her cheerful facade dropped a bit and she frowned. "Although I'll have to find a focus other than anger. It took me two liters of Kasumi's special tea to calm down." Soon her demeanor turned all-cute again. "So, how about you tell me about your first visit to Jusenkyo, Pig-boy" she asked while filing another knife. "We have some hours before that full body paralysis point I pressed wears off."
"I followed Ranma there after he run away from our man-to-man..." he started, yelping as another knife embedded just below his armpit. The fact that it was gleaming with a reddish hue spoke volumes about how much the breaking point conditioning would help him against a hit.
"You don't want me upset, P-chan. It makes my hand all jittery. So, what happened after you came four days late and defaulted the fight?"
"I...I reached the cursed springs, then a panda bowled me over. When I tried to land safely, Ranma in girl form pushed me in..." he tried, stopping when a faint glow filled the room. "I mean, Ranma in girl form passed above me and knocked me in the spring of the drowned pig."
Kasumi chose that moment to enter the room, carrying more tea. "Still playing with Ryouga-kun, Akane? Oh my, Ranma told me about how angry he was with uncle Saotome after he was cursed" she noted, sitting down and retrieving her sewing kit. "He asked me if he should modify some of his old clothes so that they would fit him when he changed or whether he should just throw them away."
Akane raised a brow. "His clothes were too loose?" she asked in a searching tone.
"Why yes" replied Kasumi, blushing a bit. "He usually bought clothes a few sizes larger before the curse. When he got cursed, he lost both his pants and his boxers within the first seconds."
Ryouga gulped audibly as Akane's glare attempted to drill holes through his skull. "So it's Ranma's fault he passed above you as a girl wearing nothing more than a loose gi top. Did you get a good look, P-chan? Did you nosebleed yourself into the spring? Did it open your appetite for more?" she asked, her voice steadily increasing until she was almost yelling. Then she calmed down and smiled at Kasumi. "Here sis" she started, handing her a knife. "Dad would throw a fit if he knew you haven't been practicing from time to time. You know how he values his little girls' safety."
The elder Tendo took the item hesitantly. "I don't know, Akane. It's been a long time since I last tried." She threw a look a Ryouga and the lost boy could swear her serene face changed into a fierce scowl for an instant. "Still, you are right. I can't let my aim get any more atrocious. Be careful, Ryouga-kun!" she finished smiling.
The knife went flying and the tied martial artist yelped again and tilted his head to the side. The knife would have relieved him of his eye. "Sister, that was awful! You need more training," exclaimed Akane teasingly.
Kasumi smiled again. "Oh, I don't know Akane. I think I still have it."
Akane turned to regard him again. "So, let's talk about how you tried and nearly succeeded to destroy Ranma's happiness -and mine by association- as you promised you would and why Ranma kept covering your porcine ways. Then, when Nabiki has more information, we will join the others and try to figure out where Ranma is."
Ryouga glanced at the table in trepidation. There were still too many knives left...
- - -
Ranma finally managed to wake up, although he refrained from opening his eyes or even moving. He had a lot of experience with unconsciousness after all and he was well aware things could become worse if he opened his eyes unthinkingly. Not moving a muscle, he used the rest of his senses, both mundane and extrasensory.
He could smell his own scent, then the subtle but persistent smell of some professional heavy-duty cleaner, which almost covered the scent of many different people. I don't really stink, so it must be less than 24 hours since that bastard Rezzo drugged me. Also I'm probably in some public or semi-public place. An airport, a station, a dock or a hotel...
He felt the chair he was tied on. His ankles were secured together and on one of the chair's legs with rope while his arms were tied at the chair's back. More importantly, he could feel a pair or handcuffs around his wrists that demanded his attention. The ropes would be nothing normally, but I'm still quite weak from what he dumped in my bloodstream. But these handcuffs... They are magic and will suppress most of my chi if I try to break free. He experimentally moved his wrists, channeling a tiny amount of life energy to assess their capabilities. I could probably overload them if I dumped enough chi, but it could prove explosive. They are quite loose, though...
Suppressing a sigh, he extended his chi senses as far as he dared. An average room, very possibly a hotel room. A window four meters to my left, a door six meters in front of me, another door to the right, two guards chatting five meters away. No serious martial artists but armed with knives and guns, probably automatic ones. They are very relaxed, therefore they don't know just what I can do.
Ranma concentrated briefly on the background noise, hearing the remote bustle one would find in a commercial district, then focused on the conversation his two guards were engaged in. He wanted to make his escape soon, while no serious opponents were around, but he also understood the grave need for information.
"... and then she up and slapped her own sister" chuckled one of the guards, prompting the other to respond in kind.
"That guy is still out like a light. Why do we have to guard him, anyway, he's just a kid."
"Don't know, boss's orders, man. Master Rezzo creeps me out sometimes. What does he expect, the guy to slip out of his bonds and get the drop on us?"
"It might even worth it to let him escape, if only to see some action. Master Rezzo said he could trace him by his aura or something stupid like that."
"Don't be an idiot. Master hates it when prisoners escape; he'll have our heads. Plus, having to kill anyone he talks to after he escapes won't be that fun. I mean, last time Rezzo had us shoot a fucking toddler. Even I have my limits, man."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Be glad we are under him and not someone else. I've heard the fifth Brass Finger is a true sadist far beyond what master Rezzo can be. His men usually end up insane after a while and they take them at the labs."
"Don't even talk about those places, man. I was posted as a guard in one two months ago and even if I could only peek inside when the doors would open, I still get nightmares."
"Feh, as far as I'm paid and I stay alive and well, I'll do their dirty job."
Ranma stopped listening, mulling the information inside his mind for a bit. He barely managed to hide a wicked smile when he thought of an escape plan. Normally, he would be very reluctant to resort to lethal or even crippling force, but hearing that little piece of conversation totally muted his conscience.
He took a deep breath then started coughing awkwardly, opening his eyes a bit and settling for a blank stare that would indicate a still drugged brain. The two guards snapped their attention to their quarry, sighing in relief when they perceived him as harmless. Ranma gradually started coughing louder and more intense, causing them to grow uncomfortable.
"Well, don't just stand there, man, bring the guy a glass of water" said one after a while.
"I... should, shouldn't I?" replied the other unsure.
"Rezzo said to keep him unharmed, man. Now, he won't be that unharmed if he chokes on his own spit, will he?"
The second guard sighed and proceeded to fill a glass with some tap water. "Bottoms ups" he joked as he placed the container on Ranma's lips and tried to upend it gently.
Ranma took his cue. His eyes snapped to attention and he angrily bit at the glass, breaking it and spilling most of the water on his lap, which predictably became her lap. Still holding a very sharp piece of glass in her mouth, she surged forward, using the shard to sever the guard's vocal chords before he had a chance to recover from his stupor. At the same time she relaxed her much slimmer wrists and folded her thumps, allowing the handcuffs to drop to the floor. The other guard never noticed a thing until it was too late, since the first guard's bulk hid everything. A second later, Ranma had snapped her bonds, had snatched the first guard's knife and had sent it flying with enough force to lodge it in the second guard's brain though his eye socket.
Letting a breath she didn't know she was holding, Ranma surveyed her surroundings. She was on the fifth floor of a pretty decent hotel somewhere in downtown Tokyo, she noted. At first she considered simply jumping from the window. Five floors were nothing to be concerned about. Then she thought something else. She hesitated for a second, then finished off the first guard that had passed out from the shock. Killing like that made her feel dirty, but she was intent to keep her curse a secret. Casually picking the chair she had been bound on, she threw it though the window, causing an alarm to go off, then donned the Umisenken and vanished.
- - -
Mousse was forced to make an express journey from the land of the asleep to the real world when a bucket of water was emptied right on his face. The momentary relief of not having his curse activated was offset by the fact said water was almost boiling. That prompted another express journey, this time from his bed to the ceiling rafters.
"HOOOT!!" he exclaimed predictably, unconsciously trying to get rid of his soaked nightclothes.
"Stop clowning around, Mu Tzu" came the voice of his beloved. Shampoo discarded her bucket and produced twin bonbori from hidden weapon space. "Xian Pu has need of you" she added.
Even though Mousse had already retrieved his glasses, it should not come as a surprise he misinterpreted his love's words, ignoring the weapons and her aggressive stance. "You have finally seen the light, my love!" he exclaimed, hot water forgotten as he made a lunge for her embrace. The blunt weapons impacting his skull made him reconsider.
"Duckboy stupid. You and Xian Pu not training enough. We disgrace for Joketsuzoku, too too lazy. We spar together now!" she demanded, a wild flame dancing behind her eyes.
Mousse blinked stupidly. "But I don't want to fight you, my love" he responded meekly. He had to yelp and dodge frantically when a glowing bonbori attempted to break him in twain. He gulped as the wall behind him, where the weapon hit, exploded violently.
A grin found its way on Shampoo's features. "If duckboy not fight, so be it. Mu Tzu still better than training dummy. Mu Tzu can dodge or have bones broken."
The male amazon made a very convincing imitation of a fish out of water with his mouth then had to dodge once more and leap through his room's new hole, enraged Shampoo snapping at his heels.
Cologne heard the commotion from below while sipping her tea. She had to suppress a yawn, having spent the entire night looking for information and consulting her contacts, both mundane and supernatural. She sighed as she sensed her heir's turbulent spirit and decided to allow her some time to vent. If Mousse truly loved her, he could prove it by providing her some outlet.
- - -
Ukyo woke up with a gasp, her troubled sleep causing her heart to beat madly. "Tears" she murmured as her hand mechanically wiped her eyes. She regarded her room, her gaze stopping at the dirty clothes on one of the chairs. "Not a nightmare" she whispered, grinding her teeth. Gathering her resolve, she left her futon, ignoring her body's protest. She decided she was lucky she only had a couple of nasty bruises from last night's ordeal.
"Ranchan will be fine, he always is" she muttered as she walked to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, when she went downstairs to eat the breakfast Konatsu had prepared, she realized she had repeated the same phrase at least thirty times.
The male kunoichi regarded his mistress concerned. While he only knew about the fight secondhand, from what Cologne had told him on the phone, he could read the depression oozing from Ukyo without even trying to check her aura. "Are you alright, Mistress Ukyo?" he asked, needing to hear her voice if only to make sure she was not sleepwalking.
He did not expect a dry chuckle in response. "Tell me, Konatsu. How would you grade my fighting ability? You are skilled enough to answer that."
The ninja blinked at the question. "You are a respectable fighter, Mistress Ukyo" he started carefully. "From what I know about your family style, not only have you mastered it, you have added your own techniques, too."
Ukyo clenched her teeth painfully and the glass in his grasp shattered. Her hand was too charged with chi to sustain any physical damage but that was the last worry in Konatsu's mind. "What a load of bull" she snorted. "I only train just enough to keep in shape. The last time I trained seriously was when I had to fight against Crepe Joe and that was more than a year ago" she spat.
"Mistress Ukyo, just because the enemy you fought was stronger than you doesn't mean..."
Ukyo did not let him finish. "No, you listen to me sugar. You asked me if I'm alright, now you get to listen to my answer. He wasn't just better, Konatsu. Myself, Akane, Shampoo, Kodachi, Mousse and Ryouga attacked at the same time. He didn't even have to turn our attacks against us. We were so out of our depth, he simply overwhelmed us. He batted us aside like damn children. He fought Cologne on even basis! Even Ranchan was hard pressed and he was the most effective against that Rezzo bastard. And guess what, when Ranchan was ready to win, his enemy used the lot of us as distractions. Do you know what this means?" she asked, her voice escalating with every word.
Konatsu was stunned by that description but tried to console the woman he secretly loved. "It's not your fault he was stronger, mistress Ukyo" he tried again.
She shook her head dejected. "You don't understand, Konatsu. For ten years I trained to fight Ranchan, even though I still had feelings for him. For two years I tried to make him see me as a woman, as somebody he'd want to marry. But not being able to help him when he needs help... It proves I was never worthy of being his wife in the first place. With the life he leads, things like that would happen all the time. Hell, yesterday I proved I'm not even worthy of being his damn friend!"
"Being his friend doesn't mean you have to fight his fights for..."
"Like hell it doesn't! Akane is the only one who understood soon enough. When I first came to Nerima, she was weaker than I was. Now she might have even surpassed Shampoo. While everybody else was trying to keep up with Ranchan, she was the only one that closed some of the gap. And even that was not enough!"
Konatsu was getting desperate as the woman sitting next to him kept spiraling in depression. "Mistress Ukyo, it's not healthy to live in the past. You must live with your mistakes and try to fix them" he added diplomatically. He was really glad his kunoichi training encompassed social skills as well as physical. He raised a brow when Ukyo's mood shifted fast enough to give his chi senses whiplash.
"You want to help me, sugar?" she asked searchingly, grinning when he quickly nodded. "Then train me Konatsu. You are far better than me and you even fought Ranchan to a draw once."
The male kunoichi blanched at that, remembering his own grueling training days. "That draw was a fluke. He...he was holding back and..." he stuttered, deciding to shut up when he saw Ukyo's crazy glare.
"I'll say this only once. Until somebody can tell me where Ranchan is, the only way you can help me is to train me, Konatsu. It's your choice." With that, the chestnut-haired chef left the room, leaving her charge alone and in turmoil.
- - -
Rezzo strode in the room, glaring at his second in command that almost quaked in fear. "Report!" he commanded.
"There is not much evidence, sir" he replied hesitantly. "It seems the prisoner tricked his guards, killed them and escaped, probably through the window. Do you wish to send some men to follow him back to his home?"
Rezzo concentrated a bit, closing his eyes. "That's weird. He seems to be close yet he is hiding almost perfectly from my senses" a few seconds later, his eyes snapped open. "Now he vanished completely!" he exclaimed. Sighing, he regarded his options. "There is no need to send anyone to Nerima. There are some powerful individuals there and we can't yet afford to clash with them. Saotome is probably too smart to return there. In time I will find him. He won't be able to keep hiding in his sleep and the next time he needs to fight... For now have some men scout this neighborhood. Search streets, hotels and shops. As always, you are to kill anybody the prisoner talks to, but try to be discreet about it. Dismissed!" He frowned a bit, regarding the room again. There was something irking his senses about Ranma, but he decided to ignore it. "You and you, clean up this mess" he ordered another two underlings that chose that moment to enter. "I don't want to have to bribe the police if there are evidence of dead bodies left behind..."
Half an hour later, when the Blank Globe Syndicate had checked out of the hotel, Ranma emerged from the bathroom in female form. "So, he can't pinpoint me exactly in male form with the Umisenken active and he can't at all while I'm a girl..." she mused. "Figures this curse would find a way to make itself useful" she added disgusted. Ranma decided she had to find a relatively safe place and think of a plan.
- - -
"Sasuke!" came the shrill cry and said diminutive ninja took his cue, appearing with a puff of smoke as expected.
"What can I do for you, mistress Kodachi?" he inquired, fearful of his lady's unreadable disposition. Instead of rage, elation or maniac obsession, trademark moods he knew how to deal with, Kodachi's face revealed a mixture of anxiousness and introspection.
"I have a number of requests, Sasuke" she started, her voice way calmer than the norm. "First of all, notify the servants that I will be unable to exercise my culinary skills for the next months. While cooking is pleasant recreation, I have other matters to attend to. I want you to locate an appropriate martial arts tutor for me, preferably one whose style is similar to martial arts gymnastics. I find that my current skills are way too narrowly focused." Her voice became bitter at the end of her sentence but she soon recovered. "Additionally, I want you to use you network and gather information about the self-proclaimed Blank Globe Syndicate. Try to be discrete and avoid drawing attention to our family."
Sasuke bowed low. "I will do so to the best of my ability, mistress Kodachi."
She smirked in response. "Of course you will. That would be all."
- - -
Nabiki entered the family room, her face a mask of worry. She couldn't help but smile, however when she saw a passed out Ryouga, still suspended on the wall.
"Did you kill him, sis?" she asked jokingly and Akane sighed.
"I was sincerely tempted to, 'Biki. I can't believe how I missed every sign. They may say hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I feel more stupid than a Kuno..." she replied sadly.
Nabiki gulped. "It's not that bad, sis. I didn't know either and neither did Kasumi."
Akane didn't seem to hear her. "The more I think about how I treated him because of that pig... How can Ranma put up with... with..." she tried, unable to express herself. Since her anger was saddled with two liters of soothing tea, she lacked an appropriate response.
Nabiki stared at her baby sister, usually the strongest in the family, now holding back bitter tears. While Ranma had caused her considerable grief during his stay, it paled compared to Ryouga's effect. She knew Akane cherished her few friends and having something like that blow up in her face was devastating. Nabiki Tendo swore right then and there that she would do her best to both help Ranma out of his current predicament and make sure Ryouga saw what hell really looks like.
Akane shook her head to clear her mind then focused her attention on her sister. "No use thinking about that now. Tell me what you have, sis."
Grim-faced, the middle Tendo sighed. "First of all, I need to tell you that when I first went to Tokyo U five months ago, I took the chance to... expand my business. That said, some of my contacts are a bit unsavory" she confessed a bit sheepishly.
Her sister smirked despite herself. "Now, that's an understatement, 'Biki. You thought you could sneak around like that and hide from me and Ranma?"
Nabiki raised a brow at that. "And what does that mean?" she asked, quite a bit disturbed. She thought she had been covering her tracks quite expertly but Akane's face was telling another tale.
Said Tendo heir scowled. "I know that you already own half the university and the people therein. I know you have been keeping the Triads in and around Nerima at bay. I know that my sister might as well be a yakusa boss, however benevolent compared to others. I know you take huge risks and gain a lot of cash and everything is semi-legal. Ranma and I have bailed you out of a tight spot twice already and you didn't even notice. So kindly cut the crap and tell me what's our enemy this time" she demanded, causing her sister to blanch.
To her credit, Nabiki recovered her poker face within a mere five seconds. "It's bad Akane. I have talked to high-ranking policemen, high-ranking crime lords and everybody in between. They are scared out of their wits and that's why this is the first time I heard of the BG Syndicate. They appeared out of thin air two years ago and they are powerful. Plus, this is not some puny local gang; they are a worldwide menace. I have found them behind a dozen phony companies and that's only the head of the iceberg. They have money, they have influence, they have a private army and they have martial artists of Ranma's caliber. And believe it or not, that's all the important info I could find."
For a while, Akane's eyes remained unfocused. When she turned to face her sister squarely, Nabiki couldn't help but flinch at the intensity of her gaze. "I want you to find me a list of every facility they own, sis. Especially places where they can keep people prisoners."
Her sister blinked dumbly at that. "You can't be thinking of trying to..." she sputtered, only to stop and flinch as a determination aura came into the visible spectrum around Akane.
"Like hell! I'm saving that jerk even if I have to search each and every building in Tokyo. Don't even try to stop me, 'Biki" she bellowed.
Nabiki sighed in resignation. She knew that Akane was currently beyond reasoning with. "I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up. They own a lot of property."
"Do what you can, sis. I'll share what you find with the others, too" she responded, her hopes still high.
Nabiki had to smile. "Ok, I'll get to it and just this once for free, too" she proclaimed, turning to leave. At the last moment, she turned back. "Oh and little sis? I believe you are on fire..."
Akane yelped, patting her clothes frantically and getting her errant aura back under control. After she was done, she sighed sadly. She knew very well she had a wild goose chase ahead and if Ranma weren't on the balance, she would have been ecstatic about a chance to test her newly developed skills. Pit fighting could only keep her interested for only so long, after all.
The phone chose that moment to ring and end her ruminations and she picked it up absentmindedly. "Tendo residence."
"Akane! Thank goodness you are safe. How is everybody else?"
The middle Tendo snapped into attention at the voice of a very alive and very female Ranma. "Ranma! Where are you? How are you? Did you escape? Are they after you? Everybody else is all right. We were ready to look for you! Give me an address!" she responded frantically, her hand all but crushing the device in her grasp.
"Gee, give me some credit, tomboy, and calm down. I gave them the slip hours ago. I was the one worried about you-and everybody else of course."
Akane felt positively giddy. While she had been trying to remain calm and collected for her fiancé's sake before the phone call, it felt wonderful to let go of the worry. "You are the one that got your ass kidnapped this time, you jerk. What took you so long? Hurry up and come home so that I can pummel you" she retaliated, and Ranma could hear her smile through the line.
Which made what she had to do even more difficult. "I fear I won't be coming back for a while, Akane" she stated gloomily.
The Tendo girl almost dropped the phone, feeling as if somebody had just upended a bucket full of freezing water on her head. "What do you mean you are not coming back?" she demanded.
Ranma sighed. "I'm really sorry, 'Kane. It's just my screwed up luck. Something like that to happen when we finally... I mean when we decide to... Anyway, these people, this Blank Globe Syndicate... They are unlike anything else we've had to deal with and they are after me. They have a way to trace me when I'm in male form. If I come back home, they'll be there as soon as I hit hot water" she explained.
Akane refused to accept that. "You have to be kidding! Where will you go? What will you do?"
Her fiancée sounded a bit unsure. "I'll figure that out as I go. I'll probably hide for a while then try to take the battle to them. I know some places and some people and as long as I mainly stay in female form they'll be hard pressed to follow me."
The Tendo heir was steadily growing mortified. "But you can't. What about... They'll..." She paused for a moment to take a breath and make a decision. Ranma knew what was coming and was ready. "Tell me where you are. If you are going to fight them, you'll need all the help you can get. I refuse to stay back while you risk your life for all of us."
"No way, Akane. You have no idea what they are like. I heard some of them talking. Everybody I'm seen with, becomes a marked person."
"Listen to me, Ranma..." she tried, now angry.
"No, YOU listen to me," shouted Ranma back with enough fervor to mute her. "You have no idea how much I'd like to have you with me. You have no idea how much I'm tempted. But I don't want a repeat of Saffron, damn it. As it is, you are safer anywhere else but WITH me."
Desperate, Akane decided to try a different approach. Completely discarding her pride, she made sure to make her voice as meek as she could believably act. "But Ranma... What if they come here? I need you to protect us all, to protect me..." she knew she was laying it a bit thick, but Ranma was generally gullible, right?
A hearty laugh was the least she expected. "What the hell is so funny?" she demanded.
Ranma was still snickering. "You didn't expect me to believe that, did you? Akane Tendo, princess tomboy of Nerima and able martial artist would never mean that. And anyway, I overheard they won't be coming to Nerima any time soon."
"Why, you conceited, insensitive..." she ranted in indignation.
"Akane" tried Ranma and she stopped talking, recognizing the grim and serious tone. "You do realize this is not some stupid island prince or weird martial artist I'm dealing with here. I'll definitely have to hurt-kill- many of them. I... will you think less of me because of that?" she asked hesitantly.
Akane smiled despite the gravity of the question, a smile that soon turned wicked. "Don't worry about that, Ranma. I'll still lo... like you regardless..." she replied, her slip of tongue intentional. She smirked when she heard a sigh of relief then added, "...provided you do the same."
"What does that mean?" asked Ranma hesitantly.
"Just that I'm not letting you fight alone, whatever you might say. If you won't let me come along, I'll just have to try and find you. And if I encounter Blank Globe people on the way, tough luck for them, then" she explained, marveling at how cold her voice sounded at the end.
"But... but that's madness! That's..."
Akane snorted at that. "Madness? Perhaps... Look who my fiancé is, I'm not exactly the sanest in the pile. And you can do nothing to stop me, either. If I have to pass through an army, so be it."
Ranma stayed silent for a while and Akane was afraid she had hang up. "Damn it, Akane. Just don't kill yourself," she added at length. "When you make sure nobody is looking, go to the yard shed and look for a trapdoor at the right back corner. There is a box there and the password to open it is my favorite theatre play. I want you to take the red notebook from inside and nothing else. Then I want you to hide the box somewhere safer since I won't be around. The notebook has some stuff that might keep you alive." She paused again for a while. "I'll miss you, tomboy."
Akane gritted her teeth at that. She absently decided there was something very wrong with both of them if they could only show sincere emotion for each other under life or death situations. Then she decided to get some small revenge. "Of course you will, love. When I manage to find you, we'll have a lot of fun together" she declared, replacing the receiver on its stand before Ranma could process her words.
As soon as she did so, her smile vanished and she almost fell to the floor like a lifeless puppet. After living under the same roof with Ranma for close to three years, the concept of him not coming back for a long time was alien to her. She decided she had to stay alone for a while, before she broke the news to everybody else, and dragged herself to her room.
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"Of course you will, love. When I manage to find you, we'll have a lot of fun together."
Ranma's eyes became wide as dinner plates at that and her brain strained for a response that wouldn't make her sound perverted, stupid or meek. She gasped when she realized Akane was not on the line anymore. "How dare you say something like that then hang up? And you call me insensitive! And I was supposed to hang up on you, not the opposite!" she bellowed in the silent headphone frustrated. Since she had called from a public payphone, that caused many people to glance at her and strive to avoid her.
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03-08-07: I found this chapter more difficult to write than usual. For all intents, this is still the story's prologue and I'm slowly leading it where I want to. Some might think Akane is overreacting when it comes to Ryouga, but this IS Akane we are talking about. How would you react in her place? Stay tuned for the next chapter when the rest of the fiancées learn about Ranma's decision and where Cologne makes a proposition. And battle, we can't not have some more battle...