"Where've you been!" Several voices screeched in unison, as the group and a certain red-head caught sight of each other simultaneously.
"Nowhere." Ranma half-smirked, deciding to be annoying, and got a pointed look from Inuyasha in return.
"I smelled Naraku." Golden eyes glared into blue as he visibly sniffed again. "And I smell the bastard on you."
"So that was him I hit. He felt really evil." Ranma's expression fell when she took in everyone's, even Inuyasha's, worried expressions and repressed a shudder. This guy must really be bad if even the surly hanyou was expressing concern.
"You hit Naraku and your still… alive?" Sango asked her slowly while looking at the, supposedly, normal human girl like she'd grown another head. "How!"
"Um…," Ranma looked slightly taken aback by the shell-shocked look everyone except Ryoga was giving her. She mumbled, "Well I don't think he expected me to be that fast… But that ain't the point! Somethin' happened while I was out!"
"Well," Miroku looked down at her with an odd expression. "First I think you should tell us exactly where you were after this man," he glanced at Ryoga, who looked away, "came back alone."
So, Ranma told them the whole story. Beginning after Ryoga had left her in the forest and ending after he mini-fight with Naraku.
"I started heading back to warn you all that that guy was in the area when I had a –erm fit of sorts and I remembered somethin' important! Ryoga," The lost boy turned his attention from the trees and back to the red-head for the first time since she'd started talking, he'd had many different expressions cross his face, the most prominent being anger and reluctant concern.
"Can I see your bag?" He looked confused for a moment but handed it over, then let out a protest when the red-head squatted down and began taking out all his worldly belongings.
"I remember I was using this medicine stuff to get rid of… something." Ranma's face momentarily lost its concentrated look and changed into misty confusion, before she shook her head and went back to the bag. Ryoga had gone back to ignoring then all after the first protest and didn't even look down as the pots, an extra shirt and several empty food packages were added to the growing pile.
"Um, yes it's nice that your remembering things now Ranma-chan… But how does Ryoga-kun's bag come into it exactly?" Ranma looked up into Kagome's strained smile and grinned back sheepishly, she'd forgotten to explain the rest.
"Well the flash of light that I think took us here, only came up after Ryoga dived into the smoke from the medicine after me. So, I figure, it musta been somthin' in his bag that set it off."
While Ranma went back to the bottomless bag, resembling Kagome's own, everyone else turned to look confusedly between the two martial artists.
"Are they in a fight… or what?" Inuyasha looked down in surprise at Kagome leaning toward him with one hand held so that no one else could hear.
"Keh, how'm I s'posed ta know?" He scoffed, the miko didn't look discouraged, however.
"Ryoga-kun looks like it," She pointed at the silent, back turned, boy before moving her finger down to the red-head chest-deep in Ryoga's bag. "But, Ranma-chan doesn't."
This seemed to be of great importance to her, but made no difference to Inuyasha. The hanyou was saved answering though.
"I see what you mean Kagome-chan." Miroku and Sango both nodded importantly, and all three of them continued to discussing it in whispers.
Inuyasha yawned, he couldn't see what was so important about it, but now even Shippou had joined in.
"Aha! Think this might be it?" Everyone attention was brought back to Ranma, who was holding something up triumphantly.
They couldn't hold in the collective gasp that went up as soon as they all recognized it. Inuyasha's hand went up almost instantly to finger the beads around his neck identical to the ones Ranma was holding up.
"Oi, what's up? D'ya guys know what they are?" Miroku recovered and answered her question.
"Well they seem to be prayer beads used around this time." He glanced back at Inuyasha. "Very similar to the ones our friend Inuyasha is wearing right now. Ryoga-san, where did you find these?"
The monk turned when no answer came, only to be met with empty space.
"He was there a second ago…" Sango said and everyone looked around wonderingly. Ranma stood and put her hands around her mouth.
"Ryoga! That idiot probly got lost somewhere." She turned toward the forest and took off after yelling. "You guys stay here, I'll find 'em. He's so dense sometimes…" she muttered and was gone before anyone could say anything else.
"So… lunchtime?" Shippo's voice piped up hopefully from atop Kagome's bag. Mutual agreement rang throughout.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ryoga was, in fact, lost. He'd really only meant to separate himself from the others by a few feet of forest so he could think for awhile, but, of course, his sense of direction had him completely lost within two minutes after trying to get back.
The bandana-clad martial artist didn't feel any hopelessness settle after this realization, it was too regular for that anymore. Instead he set off at a mid-fast walk and let his mind wander; which was usually the best way to get found at these times.
There'd been a very good reason, in his mind, for the need to think alone. When they'd all found out that Ranma hadn't come back at all during the night, it'd produced a weird, powerful feeling in Ryoga. What'd bothered him even more was when his mind put together that the feeling was worry, and it was for Ranma, an odd girl-type of Ranma but still essentially the same person.
Ryoga could only remember one other time when he'd been this worried about someone, and that'd been Akane. His brain froze as he processed this and another realization came along with it. He hadn't thought about Akane once since he'd come to this other world.
But he loved her… Didn't he?
Ryoga shook his head hard and had to duck to avoid a low-hanging branch. Of course he loved her. He'd just been distracted… By Ranma!
'Of course, it's always Ranma's fault.' Ryoga thought to himself, overly angry. It was probly the other martial artist's fault they were even in this world in the first place! No matter what they found in his pack.
Ryoga continued to find far-fetched and weird ways that Ranma could be connected to all the problems in his life, but the usual routine felt almost empty now. Like some part of him knew that this was all grasping at straws…
"AAARG!" This time he'd been too slow to duck under the branch. The same branch from earlier, he noticed with a sigh through his slightly watering eyes, brought by the slight sting caused by the impact. Ryoga wished he had his pack; it was starting to get dark.
The dark-haired martial artist shrugged and decided that this was just a good of place as any and settled down under the branch to rest for awhile. He didn't get the chance, however, as an ominous, masculine voice rang out from nowhere.
"You seem to be a bit… turned around."
…Causing Ryoga to try and jump up to see the speaker, try being the main word. As soon as his feet hit the ground and his back straitened, the branch made itself known, once again connecting soundly with his cranium. This bump actually hurt enough to make Ryoga want to rub his head. He gave the branch a last withering look, which it happily ignored, and stepped well away from it.
"Who are you?" Ryoga demanded in an even tone.
Ah-hum there ya go 1,308 words total. A tiny chap for your enjoyment.