Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 9

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: Dawn to Dusk

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ranma.

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Ryoga and Mousse waved to the Tendos, Genma, Ukyo, and Dr. Tofu as they walked toward the rising sun. If they could not find a cure in China after searching for 7 months, they would return to Japan, and all hope would be lost. Of course, this was only the plan; nobody would ever give up hope of getting Ranma back. Akane smiled and waved along with the others, and when everyone turned to go inside, Akane went with them. But instead of sitting down to have tea with the others, she excused herself and went to her room.

She placed the note to her family on her carefully made bed and threw the duffel bag that she had packed two nights ago out the window. Akane jumped out the window, and landed on two feet. She quickly grabbed the bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. Akane ran in the direction the two young men had taken. Once they were in her vision, she slowed to a walk, taking great pains to assure they would not realize her presence until after they were well on their way. Akane walked 30 to 40 feet behind them at all times, sometimes darting around a corner to conceal her presence.

"Hey, Ryoga, do you hear that?" Mousse asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"Ahh, nope, sure don't. Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing. I just thought I heard tiny footsteps behind us. Must be me," Mousse said, though he sounded unconvinced.

Around the corner, Akane had a hand clapped to her mouth, to hush her breathing.

*Mousse heard me! They're going to discover me if I'm not more careful.* Akane thought.

Once she was sure that they had proceeded quite a distance, she turned the corner and followed them once again, treading as quietly as possible.

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Ranma woke up, and the memories of the other night flooded his mind. He had married Shampoo in front of the entire Amazon tribe. Shampoo was lying next to him, her eyes closed, breathing softly.

*She's so cute. And I'm married to her. Then, why, why does this feel so wrong? Like something isn't right. Like I shouldn't be here?* Ranma thought. He sighed; everything had been so confusing that past week. He felt as though something was missing, as though a huge chunk of his life had just gone missing.

*But that's just silly. I was born here and raised here as well. Just like the elders have told me. There is no reason for me to feel such a way!*

Shampoo stirred, and awoke, startling Ranma out of his thoughts.

"Good morning Airen. Is good day, yes?" Shampoo asked in her broken Japanese.

"Yes, everyday that I spend with you is a good day, Shampoo," Ranma replied.

"Wo ai ni, Ranma," Shampoo whispered.

"I love you, too, Shampoo. Now, close your eyes and go back to sleep. The sun isn't up yet," Ranma urged her.

She smiled, and sighed contentedly before closing her eyes. She was asleep in moments, but Ranma lay still for several minutes before quietly sliding out from under the blankets. He took off his pajamas, and changed into day clothes.

Ranma pushed open the door, and breathed in the cool morning air. He looked around the empty village streets, dusty and worn from years of use. Slowly, he pulled the door shut behind him, and started down the main dirt road. Soon, he turned off the street, and strayed into the grass, damp with dew, and walked toward the mountains. He had discovered the perfect place to watch the sunrises and sunsets.

Ranma reached the foot of the mountain, and began to scale the side, using the numerous crannies in the stone as hand and footholds. His "sunspot", as he called it, could not be reached by the mountain trail; it could only be reached by the side of the mountain.

Reaching the "sunspot", Ranma dusted himself off and seated himself on a small, round boulder. He leaned back and waited for the sun to rise, which should be soon. As he waited, Ranma continued to think of life. No matter how he thought about it, Ranma always came to the conclusion that something was amiss in his life, as though he had been an amnesiac for years, and then was granted his memory back. But that was silly.

There was so much proof that this had always been his home, his life. His name was scrawled in child-like writing on tree bark. This, along with many other little things such as that, proved that he had been raised in China. Elder Khu Lon had explained that he had learned to speak Japanese when he left on a training mission to Japan with his late father. Gradually, he had forgotten how to speak Chinese while he was in Japan. The pieces of the puzzle fit together and this WAS his home.

Ranma sighed and leaned his head on a stone. The sun was rising, and the sky had turned a beautiful pinky-orange hue. The sight calmed Ranma, as it always did. He sat until the sun was almost done rising. Almost unwillingly, he pulled himself to his feet, and began the climb back to the earth.

As the village came into view, Ranma could see that the women were up and about, starting on the day's tasks.

"Ni hao, Ranma!"

He turned his head, and saw Shampoo running toward him.

Laughing at his wife's bubbly, and sometimes childish, nature, Ranma held his arms out in a welcoming gesture. Shampoo rushed into his arms, and together, they began their share of the village duties.

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"So, Ryoga, what are we gonna eat tonight?" Mousse asked.

"Uhhh... the same thing we've eaten for the past two days," Ryoga replied.

"Damn. I was hoping, maybe, aww forget it," Mousse mumbled.

"Wishful thinking, my friend. Mousse, I just thought, how ARE we getting to China?"

"Oh! Simple. We're getting to China via Tatewaki Kuno's ship. Nabiki Tendo said that everything was taken care of. It should be waiting for us at the shore," Mousse said.

"All right. Well, I can relax, then. I know that Nabiki is very dependable, but some of her tactics are a bit, dishonorable to say the least. Anyhow, I suppose that is between her and Kuno."

Akane listened, crouched behind a wall of shrubs several feet away. For two days she had followed Mousse and Ryoga, with several close shaves. But they had not yet discovered her. And if what they said about Kuno's ship was accurate, she would be a stow away next. She had not yet figured out how she would get on the ship.

Her stomach grumbled. Her food supply had dwindled considerably since the day before.

*I can't wait until we get to China. I'll finally be able to reveal myself to Ryoga and Mousse. Then I'll get some REAL food!* Akane thought.

She sat on the ground, scratching at her numerous bug bites, and waited for the "Ranma search team" to turn in for the night. While she waited, Akane thought about seeing Ranma again, watching Shampoo's reaction when she arrived with the cure, and eating Kasumi's cooking once more.

Caught up in her thoughts, Akane began to doze off. She was suffering from mild fatigue, she was not cut out for being on the road for two days with only a small food supply. Her body desperately needed sleep, too. Soon, she began to snore and talk in her sleep, as she did at home.

Ryoga and Mousse looked up from their food.

"Do you hear that?" Mousse asked, suddenly alert.

Ryoga nodded, "Yes, I hear something. Perfectly. Ssshhhh."

They listened to the strange mumbling noises. Mousse listened with confused and alert expressions on his face. Ryoga, on the other hand, listened with mounting realization along with small amounts of anger and fear.

*I know those noises. Akane makes those noises in her sleep. Mumbling, snoring, yup, Akane does all that.* Ryoga thought.

He motioned Mousse to come closer.

"Mousse, I know those sounds. Akane makes those noises in her sleep. She talks in her sleep, and snores, the whole shebang. I'm certain that Akane is nearby. She's got to be, very close by in fact, if we can hear her this distinctly. She followed us this far, and I think she is planning to follow us to China. We should've known that she wouldn't just sit at home and knit like a good little girl," Ryoga whispered to Mousse.

"You're certain?" Mousse asked dubiously.

His partner shook his head, yes.

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do about it? Wake her up and send her home?" Mousse asked.

"I don't know. What she said before we left is true, Ranma IS her fiancée, but it could be dangerous. But she IS a martial artist, even if she hasn't quite reached our caliber. I suppose we could wake her up, and see what her plan was. She might be a liability to us, or she might be a help. We'll just have to hear her out. Do you agree?"

"That sounds like the best idea... I can't come up with anything better. Alright, let's find her and wake her up," Mousse said.

The two followed the noises that Akane was making, and quickly found her behind the shrubs, her head on her knees, sleeping.

"Do you really think we should wake her now? If she's been following us all this way she must be really tired," Mousse said.

"Yeah, I guess we could just take her to our campsite and let her sleep," Ryoga said as he picked up Akane's sleeping form.

Mousse walked in front of Ryoga and the sleeping Akane, and prepared a make shift bed for Akane. Ryoga laid her on it, and the men continued to discuss their plans.

When the fire died down, they turned in for the night, praying that they would be able to find a cure for the unfortunate Ranma Saotome.

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Akane woke in the middle of the night, and sat up to stretch. She didn't realize her surroundings until she had finished stretching her tired muscles. Upon noticing her environment, Akane became immediately alert and nervous. Slowly, everything that had happened came back to her, but she still didn't know why she was on a make shift bed.

She made out two other sleeping forms on either side of her. Akane quickly became wary of them, thinking they were kidnappers or such. But then she noticed the familiar long black hair, and yellow and black bandana. Horror stricken that she had fallen sleep, and that they had discovered her, Akane sat, stock still, her mind going a mile a minute.

*They found me. What am I going to do now! They'll make me go home for sure...* She thought sadly.

Momentarily, she thought about running ahead and beating them to Kuno's ship. But of course that wouldn't work. The captain would not let her on the ship, and surely Kuno had stayed at home, he wouldn't be there to allow her on the vessel.

Then she thought of returning home, she would be able to eat Kasumi's cooking again, and sleep in her own bed, and shower, but then she would not be able to help her fiance. Akane had run into a dead end. There was no where for her to turn now. She was stuck. She COULDN'T go ahead to China, and she WOULDN'T return home.

*Maybe... maybe Mousse and Ryoga will hear me out. Maybe they'll let me go, as long as I don't get in the way. Either way, they're the only people who can help me now. Besides, I'm almost out of supplies, I doubt I would be able to make it home with so little food. I'll just wait till morning, and then I guess Ryoga, Mousse and I can... talk.* Akane thought before she laid back down.

She didn't go back to sleep. She lied awake, running through various scenarios that might occur the next morning. When morning finally did come, Akane waited. She waited for the inevitable. She waited for Ryoga and Mousse to wake up, to yell at her for following them. Maybe, they would let her continue on. Maybe they would send her home. She would find out soon enough.

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To be continued...

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: Well, what do you think? Is it getting interesting? Or is it becoming dull and boring? Whatever you think, please let me know! I would appreciate any and all feedback! But I request that if you are planning on criticizing my work, do it in a constructive fashion. I will pay no heed to flames that do nothing along the lines of improving my work.

E-mail me with questions or anything!
jfossmeyer@hotmail.com