After reassuring his pops he wasn't dead or abducted, Ranma went to work on the backlog of paperwork he'd been putting off for the last week or so.
And finished it in record time.
Okay, so, he was pretty sure he agreed to ban cats from the kingdom, allow access to some weird haunted tunnel, and make sakura mochi the national sweet—but what did he care? His old man would just veto them all anyway.
Truth was, he was eighteen and in love.
How could he be expected to work when all he could think about was Akane? At one low point, he'd even caught himself doodling her name at the bottom of his parchment!
It was embarrassing, and hella humbling, to realize just how much of his thoughts the tomboy occupied—it was hard to believe that as a dumb kid, he'd ever whined about marrying her! NOW look at him!
He really was pathetic.
And when he saw her again, it was only going to get worse. Maybe he really was a glutton for punishment.
Impatient to see her again, Ranma couldn't quite prevent the small skip to his step as he finally left his small office behind and headed in the direction of his rooms.
He was never so thankful they were close by, so he didn't have far to go. Not only that but the entire way there, it felt like he was walking on air.
After training, he wondered if he could get her to make that cute sound again…
"Geez, about damn time. Where the heck have you been?!"
Ranma was so euphoric, that even the sight of his annoying sister leaning against his bedroom door couldn't dampen his spirits.
He felt nigh invincible.
"What is it now?" he said in greeting, though he didn't really care. He just hoped she would talk fast and disappear. He was anxious to get back to Akane.
Akane, his fiancée, who was right behind those doors.
He was pretty sure he was grinning. Was he grinning?
"Have you seen Akane?" Ranko asked, ignoring the dopey grin on his face as those identical blue eyes of hers forcefully bored into his own. "She said we'd meet up this morning, but I can't find her anywhere."
Instinctively, Ranma's eyes drifted to the door of his bedroom. Would Akane hear his sister's shouts and come running? At the mere idea, an odd possessiveness took hold, swift and strong.
She wouldn't choose his dumb sister over him, would she?
It's not his fault the dork didn't have any friends!
Still, Akane was so nice, she might decide to push off their training date to appease his sister, so Ranma decided to make the decision easier for her. Moving past the parasite, he leaned oh-so-casually against the wall, trying to block her view of the door and mask any sounds coming through.
"Haven't seen her," he replied, lying through his teeth. "Have you checked the training grounds? She's probably still busy working out."
Wait. She wasn't, right?
He had gotten back sooner than expected. What if the tomboy hadn't even arrived yet?
"Of course, I checked the training grounds!" His sister snapped, and Ranma secretly sighed in relief. "And the barracks. The gardens. Kitchen. Library. Armory." With every location, she lowered a finger, until finally, all she had to show for it was an angry, folded fist.
But then she glanced at Ranma again and her entire demeanor changed. Her gaze turned suspicious.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, "What are you hiding?"
"H-hiding?" He choked out, knowing that if he avoided her gaze now, he was as good as dead. "What are you even talking about? I haven't seen her—I've been working!"
Somehow, Ranko wasn't fooled. At the intense glower she was leveling his way, he couldn't help but feel he was being interrogated, and Ranma possessed the worst poker face on the planet. Especially today. He couldn't help but swallow nervously.
"Liar," she accused as she took a menacing step towards him, her voice picking up volume. "Out with it, you jerk!"
Damn, sometimes this twin-connection thing of theirs sucked. But also, if he came clean, maybe she'd shut up and leave already.
"Fine," Ranma grumbled. Since Akane hadn't come out already, chances were good, she probably wouldn't. So he stepped away from the wall. "I saw her this morning after Saffron left. So if you're worried about her nearly drowning, or getting herself killed again, don't be. She's probably off with Ukyo shopping, or taking a break somewhere."
"Really? That old guy just up and left?"
Now, Ranko looked doubtful and worried. Which was a million times worse. Ranma was trying to calm her down, not send her off on some crazy-ass manhunt.
"Yup, long gone," he told her while trying to keep his voice as blasé as possible. "But it's all good. I talked to her earlier, and it sounds like he left without teaching her squat. So you can stop bellyaching. She'll probably be stuck here with us for a couple more years, at least."
He figured Akane could explain about the egg later; right now he just wanted the bloodhound gone.
But even after all that, Ranko still looked suspicious.
"Then why did you lie before? Why tell me you haven't seen her when you did?"
Ranma leveled her with a look. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe after lying to me for months," he reminded her, crossing his arms, "you REALLY shouldn't lecture me about honesty."
"K, jeez. Point taken."
"Great. If I see her again, I'll let her know you're looking for her." Then, with that done, he motioned with his hands for her to hurry and scram.
Ranko's shoulders slumped. "Fine, but you better keep your word," she told him, pouting pathetically. "If not, I'm withdrawing my support and setting Akane up with Shinnosuke!"
For the first time in a long while, Ranma didn't feel the slightest bit threatened. "Heh. You can try," he blustered with new, improved confidence.
"Watch me," she threatened before turning and marching away, to wherever the hell she was going next. Maybe the dungeons? Ranma only watched her go for a second.
Once she rounded the corner, he turned towards his door and hurried inside, anxious to see Akane again.
Inside, the lights were off.
Okay, no problem. He figured the tomboy was probably asleep. Otherwise, she would've heard Ranko yelling and investigated.
So, shutting the door behind him, Ranma turned on the light and looked around. "Hey, Akane, you still sleeping?"
His bed was empty.
His room was empty, too.
Feeling something heavy settling deep in his chest, Ranma quickly moved towards the lavatory, only to find the door wide open, the bathroom likewise empty.
What the hell was going on? Hadn't she agreed to meet him here in a couple of hours?
Unbidden, Ranko's grating voice came back to him in frightening, vivid detail: I've looked, and I can't find her anywhere!
But if she wasn't here or the training grounds, where else could she be? There's no way she'd head off for Lumeria, or go running into town—Ranma knew how impatient she was to learn the umi-sen ken first. She wouldn't risk missing him or delaying her training.
Would she…?
Worry twisted up his insides.
Ranma was back in the hallway in seconds and quickly caught up with his slowpoke sister.
For once, he was thankful she hadn't made it very far. She must have heard him coming, though, because even before he reached her, Ranko turned and scoffed, "What is it now? Come to apologize?"
He didn't mince words.
"Akane… she's missing!"
If he was looking for sympathy or understanding, he wasn't going to find it here. Ranko narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. "Didn't we JUST go over this?!"
Ranma shook his head, feeling the panic swell. "You checked her room, yeah? She wasn't there?"
Ranko rolled her eyes. "Of course I did. That's the first place I looked!"
"And you're sure you checked everywhere?"
"Well. Maybe not everywhere," she muttered, too annoyed to appreciate he was finally taking her seriously. "I wanted to check in with you first before searching the rest of the castle. And I haven't seen Ryoga or Ukyo yet, and haven't spoken to the other trainees."
"And the guards?"
"I spoke to a few, but they hadn't seen her either." She frowned, and asked again, "You sure you weren't trying to hide her? Is that why you're acting all crazy?"
"Fine, you caught me," he snapped out of an abundance of stress and worry. "She was supposed to meet me in my room since I was gonna teach her the umisen-ken, but she's not there."
"You were gonna what?"
Ranma didn't care to explain himself, he only cared about getting to Akane's room as quickly as possible. That room was the last place he'd seen her, and unlike his sister, he knew what to look for.
Besides, what if Akane had bluffed? What if she was so afraid of marrying him, she preferred to fight Hinako ill-prepared instead?
What if after that morning, he'd scared her off?
Ranma shook his head, trying to force that thought away. There was no point in overreacting—she could still be somewhere in the castle for all they knew. Still, until then, heart pounding and heart sick, he raced towards the barracks.
"Wait for me, you idiot!" Ranko yelled as she struggled to catch up.
But Ranma wasn't about to slow down. In no time at all, he reached the barracks and threw open Akane's door, his eyes taking in everything like a still photograph.
There was no sign of Akane, not that he expected there would be, and nothing appeared out of place at first glance. What little furniture she had was right where it was supposed to be, and her clothes remained on the floor where he'd happily thrown them that morning.
Which was a bit odd.
Akane was a fairly neat person, it wasn't like her to leave things a mess before heading out. But even more concerning, the Tendo family coat of arms was lying on the floor by her bed, no longer covered or hidden out of sight. If anyone walked in, they'd spot it immediately.
That wasn't like her. That wasn't like her at all.
And then he noticed her cloak.
To the left of the door, it still hung by a hook in the corner, far away from the chaos and clutter of the rest of the room. She'd wanted it out of the way to better protect its precious, priceless cargo.
Why was it still here?
With ears ringing now, Ranma walked towards it as if in slow motion, all his worst fears weighing him down, making him feel like his feet were dragging through mud.
He reached out to gently, cautiously touch it, and as his hand reached into the pocket, he heard Ranko finally enter behind him.
"Geez," she grumbled, bent over and winded from her run. "W-what's the rush, you jerk? I already told you I already checked here!"
Again, Ranma ignored her.
Because the imprinting egg was still there inside her cloak.
…
Akane wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally awoke. But she knew she was on a boat.
She knew, because when she opened her eyes, her vision had swayed and her stomach had rolled, and after finally sitting up, Akane found herself staring out of a porthole. Frosty waves of green and blue lapped against the side of the ship, painting a bright and pretty world just outside the encased glass.
If only the world inside were as flattering.
It hadn't taken long for Akane's memories to return, to recall someone (probably Shampoo) sneaking up behind her and knocking her out. From there, it was easy to guess they'd dragged her to this boat.
What she couldn't figure out was why.
Why were they doing this, and why wait so long to attack? Were they connected to her stepmother, or was this a plot against Ranma? And had this been done recklessly, or was it something they'd been planning for a while?
Akane had her suspicions, but since the possibilities were endless, she decided not to dwell on them too much. The lowlifes would come by to gloat sooner or later. Besides, the how was just as important as the why.
HOW could she let herself get kidnapped again?! What was the count now, anyway? Three, four, five times?!
Honestly! At this point it was ridiculous!
At least THIS time, though, if she was headed towards Hinako and her homeland, she'd be prepared. Instinctively, Akane reached for the pocket of her cloak, seeking the familiar, calming weight of the imprinting egg within.
Only, she didn't find a pocket. Or a cloak.
She barely felt anything at all!
Too late, Akane recalled throwing on Ranma's tunic right before they grabbed her, but now, they hadn't even left her with that! Instead, she was dressed in a simple white slip that was torn at the hem and looked more like a rag than a proper shift.
But that hardly mattered now.
"No, no, no, no," Akane muttered as she jumped off the bed, hands in her hair as she paced the small cabin in a stress-fueled circle as if her cloak would magically appear if she only stared at the floor hard enough.
But it never would. It was still in her room, hanging on the wall.
With her mind a tangled mess, Akane fretted over what to do. For a second, she was tempted to break the glass and jump out the porthole, determined to swim back to Wistalia!
It would've been the perfect plan too… if only she knew how to swim.
"So," came a loud and haughty voice from behind, a voice she recognized as Mousse's. "You've woken at last, Princess Akane Tendo."
Well. That answered one question, at least.
Now Akane knew why she was here.
Hackles raised, and ready for a fight, Akane turned, only to find Mousse talking to a table. She raised an eyebrow at the sight and tried not to feel too insulted.
"What do you think you're doing? I'm over here!" She snapped, and at the sound of her voice coming from the other end of the room, Mousse turned to glance in that direction.
"Oh." Squinting, he readjusted his glasses. "Indeed, you are."
Akane puffed out a breath. Honestly, how could she have been abducted by such an idiot?! "I guess your eyesight isn't your only defect, Mousse, because if you think Ranma and the others will let you get away with this, you've got another thing coming!"
Mousse snorted as he leaned against the wall, the door beside him wide open. He must not think her much of a threat if he hadn't bothered blocking it.
That, or there was simply nowhere for her to go.
She was stranded in the middle of the sea, after all. She might as well be a fish in a fishbowl.
"It's a little late to be acting audacious, princess. No one's coming. By my calculations, we should be arriving at Lumeria by midday tomorrow."
Akane tried not to show a reaction even as mounting fear began to sting. "Why do you keep calling me that?" She asked, hardening her voice because maybe she could fool him into thinking they had the wrong person. "That's not my name."
"Come now, surely you don't expect me to fall for such an unseemly deception? We saw your house crest, as well as the family emblem you wear around your neck. Make no mistake, you are indeed one of the long-lost Tendos…"
Oh. Akane was seriously regretting some of her life choices right about now.
"Alright then. Say I am her, even though I'm not. What do you possibly have to gain by handing me over to my stepmother? Any riches you were promised, Ranma could easily triple."
Her captor sniffed. "Pathetic. I have no need of riches."
"Then why?" She asked, puzzled and frustrated, and desperate to understand. She knew Mousse valued loyalty, but that loyalty didn't normally extend to some random ruler across the sea, not when he had no connection to her. "Is my stepmother threatening you? Is she—is she holding someone you love hostage? Because if she is, you don't have to do this, Mousse. Ranma and I can help you!"
It was a relief when he didn't turn her down immediately.
"Is that so?" Mousse stepped away from the wall and closed the door behind him. Whatever it was he wanted to say, he didn't want to be overheard. "Interestingly enough, I'm here because I believe we may be of use to one another." His words were a promise, lingering in the air between them.
Akane sat up straighter. It couldn't be that easy, could it?
"How so?" She asked, skeptical, afraid to get her hopes up.
"It would seem," Mousse began, pushing his coke-bottle glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "That I am in possession of privileged information which may be of use to you in the days to come. Of course, if I were to share this precious intel with you, I'd expect something in return."
"Alright, I'm listening," Akane replied, because who was she to turn down a potential ally? The fact he was talking to her at all was a miracle.
"Then we are in agreement, Akane Tendo. Now then, taking into account your, shall we say, limited brain capacity, I suppose I should start at the beginning." Akane curled her lip and bit her tongue, but forced herself not to hit him. "To put it plainly, me and my beloved Shampoo were sent by our sister and the shriveled crone, to infiltrate Wistalia. If one of the Tendo heirs was ever fool enough to show themselves to the royal family, we were ordered to bring them back alive. Of course, none of us supposed any of you would be STUPID enough to actually come!"
Do not hit Mousse. Do not hit Mousse.
Instead, Akane tried to understand what he was telling her. So this was no abduction of convenience after all. They were sent for this very purpose.
"So basically, you got lucky," she pointed out, hoping to undercut his sense of superiority.
"Hardly," Mousse scoffed. "Do you think anyone can simply waltz into Wistalia? Of course not, fool. When news of that silly, simple tournament reached us, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to get close to the royal family. It is to our credit, both, that our skills in combat are easily unmatched."
Wow, and she thought Ranma had an ego!
Still, something else was bothering her. Who was the sister and crone he mentioned before?
"But you still haven't told me why," Akane reminded him, anxious for a motive. "What could any of you possibly have to gain by capturing me?"
"Must I spell everything out for you, Akane Tendo?" he complained like his obtuseness was her fault. "Our matriarch, Cologne, found Hinako as a child and raised her as one of her own. That makes her an Amazon, just like us. Sister Hinako is Shampoo's Great Aunt."
The surprised gasp that escaped Akane's lips was genuine. Learning her stepmother was an Amazon was surprising no doubt, but…
"Cologne?" she whispered, instantly recognizing the name of the palace's cook. She could already recall the sound of the old woman's staff striking the palace floor as she bounded from room to room, cackling.
Cologne had been an Amazon all along?!
It seemed her powers weren't the only things her stepmother had kept hidden. Slowly but surely, the pieces were falling into place.
No wonder they'd kept it a secret! The Amazons were notorious for being ruthless and lethal, not to mention, extremely close-knit—you marry one, you pretty much married them all! There was no way her father would have ever considered marrying an Amazon into the royal family.
This had been a conspiracy from the very start.
"Alright, fine, but why are you telling me this?" she asked, still unsure why Mousse was sharing his precious intel. How did this knowledge help either of them? It only made her feel foolish for living in the dark for so long.
"Isn't it obvious?" he replied, his mouth slack as he stared at her. "I want you to talk to your stepmother for me! Threaten to expose her if you must—but tell her to make Shampoo my bride so she doesn't get roped into an unhappy marriage with that bastard, Pantyhose!"
Very slowly, Akane blinked, too shocked and appalled to say anything at all, as Mousse, oblivious, bounded over to the bed and clasped her hands dramatically in his own. "Together, Akane Tendo, we can save my beloved Shampoo from a fate worse than death."
Akane's eyes twitched as she yanked her hand out of the Amazon's too-tight grip.
"What in the world are you talking about?" she replied, backing away before he could grab her hand again. "Why don't you ask her yourself? There's no way she'd listen to me!"
"She won't listen to me either," Mousse whined as he paced before her, utterly tormented. "Shampoo was given strict orders to seduce your pathetic prince—to marry him if she had to, so we could gain control of Wistalia too. But before she could put that awful, wretched plan into action, she fell in combat to that dastardly general instead! And now, that monster has bewitched her. All Shampoo ever talks about now is how handsome he is, how strong and manly, and what a fine husband he'll make." He spat on the ground. "It's disgusting!"
Staring at the place he just spit, for once, Akane agreed. "Oh, honestly! You're worrying over nothing," she assured him in an attempt to make him stop pouting. "Pantyhose doesn't like her that way. Really. There's no way he'd ever agree to marry her."
"That's easy for you to say, Akane Tendo. You aren't gorgeous and captivating like my darling Shampoo, so what would a plain girl like you know about love and sacrifice?"
(Akane had never been crazy about Mousse before, but now, she really, really disliked him. And to think, she used to pity the boy!)
"It's plain to anyone," he continued, shamelessly, "that no man can resist her, especially a foul philanderer like Taro! And once our mission is complete and we've handed you over, she's determined to return to Wistalia to be with him forever. Then, there's no way the cad could resist—look at her! SHE'S PERFECT. All his smarmy resistance will vanish in the wake of Shampoo's smile!"
"I'll, um, do what I can," Akane muttered, only interested in getting him to stop talking. She only hoped Shampoo was naive enough to return to Wistalia. If she tried, she'd be enjoying an extended stay in the dungeons this time.
"That's all that I ask," Mousse replied nobly, somehow thinking he'd gotten the better end of this deal.
He was bound to be disappointed.
Akane had no intention of sticking around long enough to ask her stepmother anything. Tackling a power-tripping monarch was one thing… but to go against an entire clan of Amazon warriors without a plan or the element of surprise?
It couldn't be done.
She'd need a million of those eggs!
For once, a reckless suicide mission wasn't as appealing as it once was. Unlike before, Akane finally had something worth fighting for, something as seductive as revenge.
A FUTURE.
One she could practically taste.
But to get there, she needed a fighting chance—she needed to get back to Wistalia, retrieve the imprinting egg, and rally Ranma's army.
And to do that, first, she needed to get off this boat.
How hard could that be?
…
Ranma wasn't the type to hesitate. The second he grasped the situation and its implications, he was out the door in record time, Akane's cloak in hand, her precious egg safely entombed within.
He blazed through the maze of hallways, trying to outpace his sister who kept questioning him from behind—"Where the heck are you going?" "Why do you have Akane's cloak?" "Did you see something back there?" "Answer me, you asshole!"
But Ranma's mind was too muddled to answer. Or to stop.
He only had one destination in mind.
He needed to talk to Ryoga.
Normally, the directionless idiot would be his last choice for a confidante—but he needed someone strong to talk him down because Ranma was about to do what Akane made him swear he wouldn't.
Like strike first and damn the consequences!
He was pretty sure he couldn't declare war on a whim. But man, was he tempted.
The problem was, he still didn't know WHO he was supposed to be striking. What if it wasn't that bitch Hinako at all? Could it be that weirdo with the wheelbarrow from a couple months ago? Or Kuno again, back for revenge?
Dammit, why did the dummy only know weirdos?!
Thanks to that, Ranma's sanity was a thinly frayed thread, seconds away from snapping. The uncertainty and lack of answers were driving him crazy.
He desperately needed a second opinion. A good one. Ranko couldn't be trusted, not when she was already keyed up and panicked. And his mother had already sided with Akane once and kept him in the dark—she might convince him not to panic when panicking was absolutely necessary!
But Ryoga could be trusted.
Sorta.
HE'D tell him what he didn't want to hear and smack him hard enough to see reason if he needed. Whether Ranma actually listened to him and took his advice, well, that was another matter entirely. But either way, in a crisis, his fair-weather friend was his best bet.
So when Ranma finally reached Ryoga's private chambers, he didn't even bother to knock. He flung open the door and charged inside. "Hey man, I need your help," he announced before he even knew if he was there or not.
He was, and Ranma stopped short. Horrified.
Because he was staring at Ryoga's naked ass.
The jerk was kneeling on his large striped bed, naked as the day he was born—and he wasn't alone. It took Ranma a second look, but yup, that was Ukyo pressed up against him, her slim hands splayed across his back. Most of her body—thankfully—was blocked by her lover.
Oh, damn. He REALLY should have knocked.
Ranma coughed and quickly turned his head away.
"R-Ranma?!" Spotting him four seconds too late, his fake fiancée screeched and scrambled for a sheet, then the sound of Ryoga's voice boomed across the room as he finally glanced over his shoulder.
"WHAT THE HELL?! GET OUT, YOU BASTARD!"
Well. It wasn't every day a guy got caught with his pants down. Literally.
But Ranma didn't move.
"Whoa," said Ranko, having finally arrived behind him. "What, exactly, did I miss here?"
"Oh, nothing much," Ukyo grumbled as she secured the sheet around herself and reached for her tunic across the bed, intermittently glaring daggers at their future king. "Just Ranma being a jackass, as usual. And WHY are you both still STANDING there? LEAVE ALREADY!"
Ryoga echoed her sentiments. "YEAH, GET OUT!"
In any other situation, Ranma would have. Heck, he'd probably feel bad about barging in too. But this wasn't the time for social propriety. Akane was more important than their modesty or bruised egos.
"I need to talk to you both," he insisted as he fully entered the room, dragging Ranko in behind him before shutting the door.
Shocked he wasn't leaving, both Ukyo and Ryoga stared back, stunned and confused. "Fucking hell," Ryoga muttered as he handed Ukyo her pants. "Can't this wait?!"
"If it could, do you REALLY think I'd still be here, waiting for you two morons to get dressed?"
"Right! I most definitely have better things to do with my time," Ranko informed them, covering her poor, abused eyes with her hand. She probably hadn't wanted to see Ryoga's ass either.
"Fine then. Hurry up and spill it already," Ukyo told them, impatient to make them leave. "What happened?"
"Yeah. Did your old man finally croak?" Ryoga asked, sounding hopeful as he tugged on his pants.
Ranma glared at him.
That was a nightmare of a different sort; he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of being king.
"We can't find Akane," Ranko told them, taking it upon herself to stop any conjecturing. "I've looked everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. And she's not here!"
Again, Ryoga and Ukyo looked stunned, but this time, for an entirely different reason. "Seriously?" Ukyo demanded as she climbed off the bed. "You mean to tell me your emergency is that you're both lousy at FINDING someone?! HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?"
Oh, that's right. They didn't know yet.
"Akane's last name is Tendo," Ranma informed them and wasn't surprised at all when that bit of news shut them up. After all, everyone on the continent had heard of the Tendo family tragedy. There were even hymns about it! All of it was wrong, of course, but once the truth came out, he had no doubt there'd be even more.
"What?" Ukyo croaked, stepping off the bed. "T-Tendo?"
"Are you serious?" Ryoga asked, winning points for the most dumbass question ever.
Ranko crossed her arms and glared at him. "Do you REALLY think we'd joke about something like that?"
Neither of them were dumb enough to say yes.
So with a sigh, Ranma filled them in. Not about everything of course—they didn't have that kind of time—but the essentials on what they'd missed.
As it turns out, it was a lot.
The Tendos being alive. Evil Hinako. Akane being hunted. Her revenge plan.
"That's basically everything," Ranma finished, running a hand down his face in exhaustion. "I came here because I need your help. I need you to stop me before I do something really, really dumb, Ryoga. Because I'm close, man."
And that's all it took.
The next minute, Ranma's second-in-command was back, his shoulders squared, his expression tense and serious.
"Alright then. First, we split up," he ordered and glanced at Ranko. "I know you said you looked everywhere, but there's still a chance you missed her. Go and inform your parents. Ask them if their spies have heard anything. Ukyo, you go find General Herb—tell him to send out everyone they can and make sure no one else is missing. The more people we have searching for her, the better. We'll plan to meet in the courtyard in an hour. Don't be late."
"On it," Ukyo said, and after a quick kiss on his cheek, left with Ranko.
"Great! What do I do?" Ranma asked next, jogging in place, eager to go.
"Isn't it obvious?" As he passed him, Ryoga grabbed the back of his tunic and started dragging him towards the door.
"Hey!" Ranma protested, annoyed at being manhandled.
"Unless you want me getting lost again, Your Idiocy, you're with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight!" But then, Ryoga added quietly but resolved: "Don't worry, Ranma. We'll find her."
Touched by his confidence and desperate to believe him, Ranma nodded back.
He couldn't smile though. Not yet.
Not until he figured out what happened to his fiancée. And then he'd raze the guilty people to the ground!
…
Their alliance lasted all of two minutes.
"Dammit! Where did they move the conservatory?!" Ryoga shouted after leading them into a closet.
Ranma rapped him on the head. "Moron!"
"It's not MY fault it moved!"
"Man, you're hopeless." Forced to take the lead yet again, Ranma pushed his way past the fallen mops and brooms, rescuing his fearless escort by pulling him out the door. "It's this way, stupid."
"I knew that."
"Sure you did."
"OH, SHUT UP, RANMA!"
Wound tight from all that nervous energy, Ranma decided, no. It was nice, arguing with Ryoga. At least then he wasn't overthinking things, worrying about Akane, or fearing the worst.
Fighting was a welcome distraction.
"Ooooh? Wanna make me?" He taunted, sticking his tongue out at him.
Still squabbling, the two of them continued to make their way through the castle, carefully searching every nook and cranny (and thanks to Ryoga) every closet.
But even after an hour of searching, they never did find her.
And with every passing minute, Ranma's fears multiplied.
…
An hour later, they returned to the courtyard at the center of the palace, still empty-handed. And frustrated.
Ranma's hopes hadn't been that high, but they'd been there, quietly simmering beneath the surface—now, they'd been crushed into a fine powder, spread at his feet.
He could only hope the others had found her instead.
But as they neared the giant fountain, a glance told him they hadn't. Ukyo and the others had already gathered at the front of the fountainhead so he had a clear view of all the generals and most of the trainees.
But Akane wasn't among them.
Ranma's heart clenched painfully, his pulse fluttering. This all felt too much like a dream.
A nightmare.
Had they really woken up in her bed only a handful of hours ago?
How could so much change so fast?!
The only thing holding him together was knowing that not everybody had arrived. He didn't see Ranko, Shampoo, or Mousse yet, so maybe one of them managed to find her and was bringing her with them.
Ranma clung to that thought, holding onto it like it were a lifeline, the only thing keeping him afloat.
"Alright, what did you all find?" Ryoga asked, taking the lead as he walked up to Ukyo. His girlfriend, fiancée, special friend—whatever the heck she was now.
"A whole lot of nothing," Ukyo replied with a sad shake of her head. "I checked around town and from what I could tell, nobody's seen her."
"Yeah. We didn't have much luck either," Ryu confirmed. "She's not in any of the taverns or seedy joints we searched."
"Not that we were looking that hard," Pantyhose added with a drunken belch. "Seemed like a waste of an afternoon."
Ranma glared at his general and took a threatening step forward—ready to waste him. Only the sound of Shinnosuke stopped him.
"Konatsu and I may have found something," he revealed as the shy kunoichi nodded in agreement. "When we went to get Shampoo and Mousse, we found them both missing. We searched their rooms and their belongings were gone."
"It appears they left in a hurry," Konatsu added quietly.
"Do you think it's related?" Shinnosuke asked, looking to Ranma with a worried expression, one that mirrored his own.
"Maybe. I doubt Akane had much warning since her stuff's still here, and I didn't see signs of a struggle in her room. Whoever took her could've taken her by surprise. And considering how strong she is,"and how careful,"she was probably outnumbered."
But why would Mousse or Shampoo take her? And why now?
Tsubasa shook his head. "Wow. You think you know a person…" he lamented. For once, he wasn't wearing some outlandish costume. Just a girly, frilly dress. Which, okay, as a boy, wasn't exactly normal either, but at least it meant he was taking this seriously.
Unlike the stupid generals.
Herb looked like he'd been dragged here and would rather be sleeping.
"I agree," said Lime, flapping his hand. "Amazons are the worst!"
"That's right," Mint agreed with a nod of his head. "I'm glad they're gone! Shampoo never let me touch her boobies or see them even once. And she hit me whenever I tried!"
Very slowly, Ranma turned to stare at them, and soon, everybody was looking at the two small generals. Their mouths agape.
"Amazons?" Ranma repeated, sure he'd heard them wrong.
"That's right," Lime confirmed as if Ranma were the dumb one for having to ask. "Amazons are big meanies. I beat one once, but instead of marrying me, she chose punishment and exile!"
"So tragic!" Mint cried. "You could have touched her boobies whenever you wanted!"
"Wait a sec," Ukyo protested because Ranma could no longer speak. "THEY WERE AMAZONS?!"
"How could you not know?" Herb asked her. "It was quite obvious from their fighting styles. If none of you noticed, you're fools."
"Psh, yeah. I definitely noticed," Pantyhose said, even though he obviously hadn't.
"Me too," Ryu bragged.
"Why? Does it matter?" Mint asked, scratching his head.
"OF COURSE IT MATTERS!" Ranma yelled, finding his voice and turning his guilt into righteous anger. "There were Amazons here and none of you idiots thought to TELL me! Everyone KNOWS they're psychotic assholes!"
Herb lifted his chin. "And why would we? It had no significance. Anyone can participate in the tournaments."
"Well, yeah, but only because nobody thought Amazons would be CRAZY ENOUGH to enter!" After invading Lumeria, most of them had wisely gone into hiding. "So if those jerks were keeping it hidden, you morons should have said something!"
"Suuuure, because reading your mind is a top priority," Ryu scoffed. "Besides, didn't you think Shampoo wanting to marry that idiot," he added, motioning to Pantyhose, "after losing a fight, was a dead giveaway?"
"Hey!" Pantyface protested.
"I DON'T KNOW EVERY INSANE LAW THE AMAZONS FOLLOW! HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"
"Some future king you are," Herb sniffed. "You don't even know what's going on in your own kingdom."
Before Ranma could give them ALL a well-deserved ass-whopping, he felt Ukyo's restraining hand on his arm, and following her gaze, saw Ranko running towards them, his parents hurrying after at their own slow and elderly pace.
"Dad talked to A-Asura," Ranko said, wheezing, struggling to catch her breath. "She said they saw Sham-Shampoo and Mousse boarding a ship. With cargo—a-a large crate. Big enough to fit A-Akane in.
Asura was the code name for their family's spy, Rouge. She had a network of spies hidden throughout the city and beyond. Which meant the information was good. But the thought of them cramming Akane into some small, tight container, had Ranma seeing red.
"Those bastards," he muttered, slamming a fist into his palm, imagining it was Mousse's face he was pounding. "I'll fucking kill them!"
"We still don't know for sure she's been taken, dear," his mother said, having reached their group at last. "We mustn't forget, this could all be a coincidence."
"And what if it's not?" Ranma asked, his heart in his throat.
"Then we make those Amazons pay," his father vowed, his glasses glinting ominously. "Nobody messes with my good friend Soun Tendo's family." He hung his head in shame. "Seems I owe little Akane-Chan an apology."
"Yeah, well, we gotta find her first!" Ranko reminded them irritably, finally straightening.
"Did Asura know where their ship was headed?" Ukyo asked.
His sister shook her head, even though he knew Rouge was already tracking it. "No. But I think I already know."
And so did he…
The palace in Lumeria. The heart of the Tendo's stolen kingdom.
"Alright," Ranma said, looking to his father. "We're gonna need our fastest ship, pops. If she's there, we'll find her. They couldn't have gotten far!"
His father nodded, and then he was off.
"The rest of you bozos, go pack. You're coming with us," Ranko said, addressing everyone in the courtyard.
"Man, what if it's nothing?" Pantywipe whined, kicking the fountain with his foot. "Why are we getting dragged into this shit?"
"Because it's your duty, you ingrate," Ryoga reminded him, hitting his head.
"If we're wrong, consider it a vacation," Ranko told them.
Ranma tuned them all out after that, too keyed up to listen to more complaints. He lifted his head towards the sky, hugging Akane's cloak where the imprinting egg now rested.
Hang on, Akane, he silently ordered, even though the tomboy wasn't the sort to listen. That bitch isn't going to hurt you again.
This time, I'll save you…
End of Chapter 19