Ranma ½ doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi, if I did own do you think I'd be here right now?
A/N: To see some of the things that I can't explain in my stories check my profile for images, especially for the ice bindi that will be mentioned in this chapter.
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Ice Desert
The snow swirled around them in a wild frenzy, like it was alive. Yuki-Onna played tricks on them, ceasing the wild blizzard just to start it up again. The snow and ice crunched beneath their feet. When Akane took a step the ice melted an inch only to have it literally grow back the second she stepped away.
The ice fairies that controlled the wind played with Ukyou's hair, no matter where she went the wind would always find her. "This is a great idea!" Ukyou yelled over the snowstorm. "Take us to the Ice Clan, that's just perfect! Thank you so much Akane!"
Akane's red battle aura flared up, melting snow before it could reach her. "Will you shut up? If you have a better plan, go ahead and tell us! Amuse me!"
"P-plan? How is this a plan, Akane?" Ukyou asked, outraged, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Um," Akane thought for a second. "I haven't figured that one out yet." She said dumbly.
Ukyou sighed. "This is hopeless! And you call yourself the Fire Lord?"
The two girls fought back and forth while the two men stood there irritated. A vein burst on Ryouga's temple and Ranma tried to rub the headache away. Ryouga growled low in his throat when they started throwing punches. His canine teeth showed as he snarled out, "Enough!"
The blizzard died.
The two girls drew their attention away from their argument and focused on Ryouga.
"Listen to me, both of you! Ukyou, Akane is the only experienced Lord here so we must listen to her." Akane looked at Ukyou smugly. "But Akane, that gives you no right to boss us around! If someone has a better idea you need to acknowledge it, understand?"
The ice crackled beneath Ryouga's feet. Akane's eyes were drawn there as she stared in awe and shock.
"And another thing," Ryouga said, his chest puffed out. He was on a roll.
"Ryouga?" Akane tried to get his attention.
"We all haven't all been together for years so we have to –"
"Ryouga?"
"Make this –"
"Ryouga?"
"Work –"
"Ryouga?"
"Agai –"
"Ryouga?"
"What is it Akane?" He finally asked in annoyance.
She smiled in pride and went to kneel by his feet. She dusted away the snow and shards of ice. Everyone, including Akane, gaped at what they saw. Through the thick layer of ice they were walking on vines tried to squeeze their way to the top. There was a long dragged on silence as they tried to register what that meant.
"How is that possible?" Ranma finally asked. "There is no land beneath the ice."
Akane pushed herself to her feet and dusted her hands off. "Well, that's definitely not true." Akane pointed to the vines as they continued to their destination, not giving up. "There's your proof."
"How?" That was the only thing Ukyou could say at the moment.
"I've read something about this before, but I didn't think it was true." Akane said, putting a finger to her chin in thought.
"Well, tell us!" Ryouga said desperately.
"When I was little I read a storybook my sister owned. It said something about before the Water Clan and the Earth Clan became allies they had a war. In the story the Earth Clan had a Guardian Clan."
"What? But it was never registered in the books that the Earth Clan ever had a Guardian." Ukyou said, stopping Akane.
"You didn't let me finish. Anyway, the Water Clan won and as their prize they gained control of the Earth Clan's Guardian. And so, that is how the Ice Clan came to be, and all the records of the Earth Clan's Guardian were erased." Akane studied everyone's faces. "Now I'm finished."
"That is just . . ." Ranma started.
"Unbelievable." Ryouga finished. "And you read this from a storybook?" He asked Akane.
She scratched the back of her head. "Well, a very special story book."
Akane caught something from the corner of her eye. She looked at Ranma suddenly and said, "Duck."
He crouched down and covered his head, checking the sky for lightening.
Akane pointed and said, "No, duck."
Ranma followed her finger and before he could react a white duck flew down at him at full speed and drove his bill into his forehead. He was knocked to the ground from the momentum and rubbed the throbbing spot on his head.
He burst to his feet. "Damn it! You stupid duck! I'll make a stew out of you!" Ranma cried as he chased the duck in circles. It quacked and flailed its wings.
A whistle rang through the Ice Desert and the duck and Ranma stopped. "Mousse!" They all turned to see that a busty purple haired girl was the one who whistled. The duck quaked again and flew into Shampoo's arms. She stroked the duck's head all the way to his neck where she squeezed his thin neck in her hand, choking him.
She shook the duck in anger and cried in broken Japanese, "You no attack airen Mousse!"
The duck quaked out chokingly, sounding like it was begging for mercy.
The four travelers sweat dropped. Akane leaned in to whisper in Ranma's ear. "So . . . this is the famous warrior of the Ice Clan?"
He nodded pathetically.
The click of something hitting the ice stopped the girl and duck. Everyone was focused on the sound and where it came from.
"My, my, my, who do we have here?" The clicking grew louder and there seemed to be a pattern to it. Since there was no wind and no snow it was easy to see the shriveled up old woman hopping over to them on a wooden cane, the source of the clicking. Her long hair was silver and fell to mid center of the cane. Her small hands were swallowed up in the voluminous sleeves. Her beady eyes burned through even the souls of even the strongest willed. Her frame was small but she towered over the tallest of men.
She stopped in front of the small group and gave each individual looks. She finally turned to Shampoo. "Shampoo, what is going on here?" she asked in a calm manner that unnerved them all.
"Stupid Mousse attack Ranma-Sama." She shook the duck once more to emphasize her point.
Cologne shook her head and took Mousse from Shampoo. She set the duck on the ground and chased it away with her staff. "I'm sorry son-in-law." Ranma gave Cologne a look and she chuckled in amusement. "Well, you have an interesting traveling group don't you? You all must be cold," she said.
"Obviously." All heads turned to Ryouga; he was the only one who was shivering.
Cologne chuckled again. "Come with me and I will take you all to our village." She snapped her fingers at Shampoo. "You go help Mousse." She commanded.
Shampoo bowed respectfully and said, "Yes Great-Grandmother."
Not long after Shampoo had left them the group of five left to follow her. Cologne wore an ever-present grin that made them all uneasy. The walk was silent and the only sound made was the whistle of the wind and the click of Cologne's cane. "It has been to long Ranma." Cologne said after the long silence. She seemed to be completely comfortable with all of this.
"Y-yeah, I haven't seen you since . . ." Ranma stopped, even he couldn't remember.
"Four years ago." She said with a grin.
Ranma thought for a moment, what happened four years ago? His eyes widened in realization and Cologne smiled. Ranma's eyes darted over to Akane to see if she may have caught on but she paid no interest in their conversation.
"You too Akane," Cologne said. "I haven't seen you since . . ." Cologne halted in her words and laughed childishly when she saw the look on Akane's face. "My mistake, that was someone else." She laughed again.
Ryouga and Ukyou didn't pay much heed to the conversations that were exchanged but Ranma tried to piece together the puzzle pieces. He needed to talk to Cologne and get some answers. This was an unreal situation, right when he thought he had it figured out Akane brought another piece into play. He just knew that she was enjoying this struggling adventure.
Dark Place
He clapped his hands slowly as he stared on at Ranma through his hourglass. "Very good Ranma. You have the pieces in front of you, but can you put them in the right place?"
He played with the two puppets of Akane and Ranma, making them fight each other. He set the Ranma puppet down and stroked Akane puppet's hair. "Tsubasa?" he asked the cross dresser in front of him. "Are you done?"
"Yes, but let me just say you are a very greedy and pitiful man to kidnap so many people just to have it your way." He said in a spiteful tone.
The man ignored the comment and instead focused on the coal sketch of Akane he drew. Who would have known that the strange boy could have such an artistic talent?
"Anything else you want me to draw?" Tsubasa snarled out.
He looked down at the two puppets.
Ice Clan
Ranma stared at Akane's hair as it swayed back and forth as she walked. She looked so much like her mother and it seemed that she suffered hell from being compared to her from what he heard when listening in on Nabiki and Akane. But why? Just because they looked alike? That couldn't be it. Did Soun say her name was Kimiko? And what was with those different names like the thief of his heart?
Akane said something similar to that in Nabiki's sitting room about her being compared to a thief. He had never heard of a thief in their world . . . ever.
But maybe he could ask Cologne, she has been around much longer than him and she must know something. Scratch that, she did know something. Especially with the way she messed with Akane when she came.
'Akane, what happened to you?" he asked himself. His head filled with images of the young, cheerful Akane who would play and laugh all night. So small and so innocent, she didn't have sins then. Or did she?
"You have no idea how it feels to be weighed down by these, these . . . these things!"
What did she mean when she said 'things'?
The old Akane was replaced with this new Akane that came into their lives by what seemed to be force. But it could it be Lady Fate playing with their lives? Akane had that same look of pain in her eyes from this Kimiko from the picture.
"Ranma?" He was snapped out of his reverie and was staring into a pair of amethyst eyes.
"What is it Shampoo?" He hadn't even noticed that he was standing in a warm hut with Ryouga and Ukyou and Shampoo. They must have made their way to the Ice Clan while he was thinking.
"You in such deep thought, wondering what you thinking." Shampoo said.
He waved his hand in a dismissing manner, not answering her question. "Where's Akane?" he finally asked after seeing that she was nowhere to be seen.
"She go to see Great – " Shampoo had not even finished when Ranma was out of the hut and looking for Cologne.
Rows and rows of huts with smoke rising from the chimney stretched on for miles. Even though it was the Ice Clan it was completely warm and comfortable. He soon found the largest hut and considered that to be the Elder's. "Cologne!" he shouted as he pushed the wool flap open. He found the old woman sitting at a low table sipping warm green tea.
"Oh Ranma, what do you need?" she asked calmly.
He sat down next to her and slammed his hands on the table. "I need you to tell me about Kimiko."
Cologne's beady eyes widened and she almost choked on her tea. "Who is Kimiko?" She had obviously put up her little 'Soul of Ice' trick. But she couldn't fool him; it was obvious from her previous actions.
"Don't pull that crap with me! I know how she looks and I know that she was some 'thief'. So spit it out before I choke it out of you!" he threatened, clenching his fist so tight until his knuckles turned white and it shook.
Cologne laughed and dabbed her mouth with a cloth. "You have most of the information and you found it out all by yourself, don't you feel proud?" Cologne asked like speaking to a child. Ranma gave her a look to show he wasn't amused. "She was Akane's mother and she was a thief."
"Was?"
"Was, as in she passed away soon after Akane was born." And suddenly Ranma knew why Akane had that sad look in her eyes all the time.
"What about her being a thief? What about the long hair? What about -?"
Cologne held up her hand to cease his questioned. "The rest I am not obligated to tell you, that is Akane's choice."
"Where is Akane?" he asked.
"She told me that she was going to take a bath." She informed, returning to her tea.
He got up and made his way to the woolen flap. "You're not going to peak, are you Ranma?" Cologne teased.
Ranma turned five shades of red. "No!" he yelled before stalking out of the hut. He left thinking, 'That was a waste of time.'
Cologne smiled at Ranma until he was out of sight. She finished her tea and reached into her sleeves, pulling out a small crystal case. She opened the case and picked up a beautiful blue bindi (A/N: Check profile for accurate image). She stuck it on her forehead and sighed. "It's about time this was back where it belongs."
Cold Springs
Akane stripped down and untied her hair from its red ribbon. She sunk into the icy cold waters and shivered but waited for her over-heated body to warm it into a hot spring. Steam was soon rising from the water and she dunked under for a moment to get all her hair wet.
She soaked in the warm waters and felt at peace. Life was starting to get messier the longer she had to travel with these three. She didn't have time to visit or to answer questions. This was definitely not the original plan. It's not that she truly hated the three; it's just that she didn't want to get them involved in her personal affairs. This was not their demon to fight. The only way to protect a person sometimes is to push them away.
Was that what she was doing? Protecting them? Is that what she did years ago? Was she protecting them or herself, then and now?
"Squee?" Akane whipped around in surprise and saw a black piglet.
She sighed in relief and smiled. Ryouga blushed, he remembered that smile, it has been so long since he had seen it. She giggled and reached out to pet the little animal. He scampered away from her. "You startled me little piggy." She got out of the spring and reached out to pet it, this time the pig did not move away.
She ruffled the small patch of hair on his head and scratched behind it ears; he closed his eyes in pleasure. "How did you wonder over here little guy." She scratched under his chin. "Who am I kidding? The Ice Clan is full of animals. I wonder how they survive here?" she asked aloud.
Ryouga's eyes opened and his small eyes widened. Akane followed his eyes and her smile turned into a look of melancholy. "It's an ugly scar isn't it?" she asked the pig. Starting at her chest and running all the way down to abdomen was an 'X' shaped scar. "I guess you could call it a birthmark," she said, tracing it with her finger. "Given to me by my mother."
Her eyes watered up with tears and they fell forward fast. "She didn't deserve her fate, she didn't deserve any of the pain she went through." She covered her face with her hands as her body wracked with giant sobs.
Ryouga looked at her in concern. Who was she talking about?
"She was so happy, so happy. Until he betrayed her, until he killed her! She didn't deserve to die!" she cried into the sky. The sun was setting and it illuminated her frozen tears.
Frozen Cliff
Ranma sat at the edge of the cliff, his arms dangling between his knees. Why did life have to be so complicated? He stared down at the frozen lake below and the fish that swam under the layer of ice, perfectly content with the cold. Those fish didn't have to worry about sinning, all they had to do was survive and they would be fine.
A piece of old parchment with a brownish tinge floated past him. With his martial artist instincts he caught it before it fluttered away. He studied what was on the paper and burst to his feet. The picture was of an unconscious girl draped over a shadowy mans arm. She was completely bare and on her chest was an 'X' shaped scar. Her hair was cut short and the color of ashen silver.
At the bottom, written in neat script, was a message saying, 'You've been warned.'
Even though most of the girls specific features were out of view there was no questioning that this girl was . . .
He crumpled the paper in his fist in anger. His teeth were clenched and shook from the violent thoughts that invaded his thoughts. "Akane," he ground out.
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A/N: This is a shorter chapter than the other ones but I hope you like it. I plan to stay in the Ice Clan longer than the other clans I've already mentioned in the story. Review! No Flames!
p.s. Next chapter is Mikado and Azusa! Woo-Hoo! You wanna know something cute? Reviews! Every time you review Ryouga kills a flirt by using two large blocks of ice!