Chapter One:
After the Storm
DISCLAIMER:
Ryouga Hibiki, Ukyou, Kuonji, and Ranma 1/2 are NOT my creations and are all copyright of Rumiko Takahashi, bless her.I claim no credit whatsoever and use them here. So, please don't sue me. I'm broke anyways. All you'd probably get is an I.O.U. hastily scrawled on a cocktail napkin with lipstick. Well, that is, if I could afford to buy a cocktail...Sigh...
The dawn sun arose slowly over the valley of Shurkashuuton Tengoku, covering the province of Spring in a blanket of golden warmth. The flowers seemed to lift their petals skyward to receive the precious gift that poured upon them. In the new sunlight, a trickle of black smoke drifted lazily skyward from the burned out remnants of a small campsite. Around this burned out firepit, there were huddled three people, while nearby two more slept soundly. The sun shone warmly down on these people, hoping to brighten their spirits and recharge their tired expressions.
"Damn sun." Hiroshi Kakeru grumbled angrily. His voice was lackluster, probably due to the fact that he had yet to sleep. His eyes were red, his hair slightly mussed, and his expression generally haggard. He turned from the sun’s glare and looked back at the small man in the ninja outfit who sat beside him. His expression was none the better. Both of them were clutching heavy pads of paper, on which various things had been hastily written, hastily scribbled out, and hastily re-written again.
"Find anything yet?" Hiroshi grumbled. The ninja, Sasuke, shook his head slowly.
"I fear not." He said in a grainy voice. "I think they have the best of us here."
"Like hell they do." Hiroshi said with spite, and began to go over Nabiki’s leather-bound notebook again, for perhaps the twelfth time. It wasn’t so much he was searching for a way to get Ukyou free, but it was more like a personal vendetta now. After all the time he’d spent doing this, searching for a law or by-law or anything that would foil that bastard Ito, he’d be damned if he was going to just let this slide. Not now. Not after how much this was going to cost him. He was definantly going to get his money’s worth.
He glanced over at the third figure by the fire, an attractive girl with short brown hair he knew all too well. Nabiki Tendo was curled up on the grass, sleeping soundly. Hiroshi almost laughed, being he was already close to the semi-delusional state one tends to find himself in when he hasn’t slept. He hadn’t even noticed she was sleeping. Nearby, Kuno was snoring loudly in his sleeping bag. Hiroshi grumbled to himself. He definantly knew when Kuno was asleep. Boy, did he ever know.
He sighed and stood up on shaky legs, then half-walked, half-stumbled to where Nabiki lay. He smiled down at her for a moment, then took a blanket from Daisuke’s sleeping form and put it over her. Daisuke grumbled in his sleep and rolled over, trying desperately to regain the warmth suddenly taken from him. Hiroshi ignored him, of course. Nearby, Sasuke watched with interest. It wasn’t that it was so interesting in itself, but, after twelve hours of reading, writing, and debating, it was pretty exciting.
"That’s very considerate of you." He said. Hiroshi glanced over his shoulder.
"Hey, it’s nothing." He said wearily. "I'm paying her to work, not get sick. Besides, she’s been up all night. She earned it."
Sasuke nodded. "Indeed." He said. "We all have."
Hiroshi glanced over at Kuno and Daisuke with mild spite. "Most of us, anyway." he said. He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his baggy eyes.
"Yeah, well, maybe we should get some rest." He admitted wearily. Sasuke stretched and looked around.
"If you wish." He said, but Hiroshi could detect the gratitude in his voice. Sasuke walked over to a nearby tree and curled up against it.
"Hey." Hiroshi said, looking over at him. Sasuke shot him a quizzical glance.
"Something wrong?" he said.
"Don’t you have a blanket or something?" he said. Sasuke shook his head.
"No. Master Kuno’s belongings are more important than mine. And he carries so many things, I usually don’t have the room to pack anything of my own. But that’s okay." He said, smiling.
"I could spare you one, if you want." Hiroshi offered. Sasuke looked up him with a joyful expression.
"I wouldn’t want to impose, sir." He said politely. Hiroshi smiled and shook his head.
"No imposition at all." He said. "You did more than enough to help us already. It’s the least I can do. Besides, it's always better to make a friend than an enemy. This is a good investment."
He held out a blanket to Sasuke, who hesitantly took it, bowing graciously.
"Many, many thanks, sir." He said. "You are most kind."
Hiroshi smiled slightly and turned to look out in the distance.
"Yeah, well, just don’t run off and tell anybody I did this, you got me?" he said, but was answered only by Sasuke’s light snoring. He chuckled to himself and stared back out to the horizon again. He had been so busy searching that damned law portfolio, he hadn’t even had time to ponder what Ryouga or Ukyou could be doing right now. Or even Ryu, for that matter. Distantly, somewhere deep within them, he felt himself slightly worried. He shoved the feeling aside, farther within him. Feelings like those were very unprofitable. He sighed loudly and turned to crawl into his own sleeping bag. He stopped short when he saw Nabiki watching him, her elbows resting on the soft grass. She smiled deviously at him.
"Why are you up so early?" she said coyly, although the dreariness was still apparent in her voice. Hiroshi smiled slightly, more than he thought he could muster.
"I haven’t gone to sleep yet." He said, adding a slight tone of pride. She raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.
"Kuno...he...snores too loudly." Hiroshi added quickly. Nabiki gave him the all popular 'yeah-right' expression. He tried to ignore it.
"Sure he does." She said, yawning. "Whatever you say."
"Hey." He countered, but only halfheartedly. "That’s true. The big idiot sounds like he’s leveling a small forest over there."
"I agree with you totally." Nabiki said simply, offering him a small smile. You didn’t have to be too bright to tell it wasn’t very genuine.
"No you don’t!" Hiroshi grumbled. "Stop agreeing with me if you don't mean it."
"Sure thing." She said, standing and stretching. "Whatever you want."
"Stop it!" Hiroshi shouted. She smiled at him teasingly.
"Hey, both of you, shut up!" Daisuke shouted suddenly, sitting up. "I’m trying to sleep here!" With that said, he rolled back over and curled up, drifting immediately into a deep slumber. He didn't even realize his blanket was gone. Hiroshi looked at Nabiki and smiled slightly.
"Sorry." He said. "I suppose I’m just tired, is all."
She returned his smile. "No problem. Perfectly understandable." She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "But you should get to sleep. You look terrible."
Hiroshi gave her a bemused glance. "Worried? I had no idea you cared so much."
Nabiki frowned slightly. "No, it’s not that. I just wanted to make sure you were in a good frame of mind when you paid me for all this work I’m doing here."
Hiroshi’s glance faltered slightly. "Oh. Well, then, nevermind." He looked her face over for a moment, somewhat suspiciously. "We never did agree on a price, did we?" he added, somewhat warily.
"Not that I recall." She said. "And I did mean to talk to you about that. I’ve pre-set my value in working hours on the way here, including time for research and transportation, plus an additional fee for paper, notebooks, pens, and various other materials, as well as a severance fee for the poor travel accommodations..."
Hiroshi’s face shifted to slight anger. "Hey, wait a minute-" he began, but she was busy doing calculations in her head.
"....And the grand total is 6,259,750 yen." She said sweetly, mentally finishing her calculations. Hiroshi stared at her, wide eyed. He had to admire her, despite what she just said. A true businesswoman, through and through. Unfortunately, his visible reaction was less than grudging admiration.
"What!?" he shouted. "I don’t have that kind of money!"
"Hey!" Daisuke shouted, sitting up again through half-closed lids. "I thought I told you two to shut up!" He was, for the most part, ignored. Nabiki smiled at Hiroshi innocently.
"I know." She said. "I guess that means you owe me. We'll have to work out some kind of monthly payment plans, of course. With compounded interest rates, added to the total balance every six months or so..."
"Owe you..." He said in disbelief. She’d done it again. Again. That was twice she’d gotten the best of him. Stunned and already taxed from lack of rest, he sat down and clutched his head in frustration.
"I can’t believe I fell for this again!" he wailed. "Again, no less! Arrgghhh!" Nabiki looked at him with what was almost pity, then knelt down beside him and patted his shoulder. He shrugged it off angrily.
"Don’t think too badly about it, koishii." She said teasingly. "I had it planned from the beginning. You just don’t have much of a head for business, that’s all."
He glared at her. "Hey, my business acumen is just peachy, thanks. I’m just not as underhanded as you."
She shrugged. "If you say so. All I did was realize a business opportunity and maximized it to the fullest of its advantage. If you consider that underhanded, then that’s your deal."
Hiroshi sighed wearily and looked away, resting his head on his folded arms. "Well, I guess it’s not so underhanded, if you put it that way."
"See?" she said coyly. "I wouldn’t do anything like that to you, Hiroshi. You just make it so easy for me, I don’t have to be...underhanded."
"Hey!" he said angrily. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." She said simply. "Now you should really get some sleep." Hiroshi grumbled and turned away from her face.
"Not tired." He muttered.
"Don’t insult my intelligence." She said smartly. "Get to sleep, you moron."
He scowled, his back still to her. "I said I’m not tired."
She shrugged and stood, yawning. "Well, I am. I’m definantly not used to being up this early. Hopefully you’ll come to your senses and get some yourself."
Hiroshi turned and looked up at her. "Maybe." He said. She smirked in her way.
"Pleasant dreams, koishii." She said smartly. Despite himself and his weariness, he chuckled. She started to walk away and stopped, then turned back and walked over to him. He averted his eyes from the distance where they were now trained and glanced back at her.
"What’s wrong?" he said wearily. She smiled slightly and motioned for him to stand up. He did, looking more than slightly confused.
"Okay, I’m up." He grumbled. "What’s wrong-" he began, but stopped when she suddenly grasped his head in her hands and kissed him. It wasn’t a very passionate kiss, really nothing more than her lips pressing against his, but it was electric. He stared down at her for a moment, then reached out to grasp her hips. She felt his hands and allowed them to remain there for a few moments. Then, she pulled away, patting his cheek softly.
"Do try and get some sleep." She said, then turned and walked off towards her blanket, smiling slightly.
Stupefied, Hiroshi walked over and laid down in his sleeping bag, falling obediently to sleep. His mind was blank. He thought nothing. It was pretty much overloaded. Overhead, the morning birds began to chirp.
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Ryu trudged through the springtime scenery, leaning on Ryouga’s shoulder for support. The battle with Hisaki had harmed him much more than he had at first suspected. The Summer master was so monstrously strong, he had been unprepared for the boy’s surprising speed and dexterity. That was his own fault. Ryu decided gravely that he would have to dedicate more time to his physical studies. He glanced over at Ryouga, who was himself being supported by Ukyou, to the best of her abilities. Ryu smiled. The two of them hadn’t said much to one another since the three of them set back off to recover Hiroshi and Daisuke, but Ryu had noticed them both exchanging glances and smiles with one another frequently. He was happy for them. After all the pain and distress he realized that Ryouga was suffering through, it was good to see him happy. He turned and looked back at the horizon, and saw a small camp in the distance.
"Hey, two of you, look there." He said, pointing towards the figures at the camp. "Is probably them there, okay?"
Ryouga squinted and peered to where Ryu was pointing. It was probably them, but there were a few too many people there. He counted four...no, wait, there were five. And one of them looked somewhat like...
"Kuno?" he said quizzically. "Is that Kuno?"
Ukyou frowned and squinted, trying to keep the sun out of her eyes as best she could. It certainly looked like that pompous bastard, snoring away in a deep sleep. She also counted among the group his small ninja friend, Sasuke, who didn’t really seem like such a bad guy. There was Hiroshi, and Daisuke, and someone else. It kind of resembled Nabiki Tendo, but that wouldn’t make much sense. Then again, she noted wryly, Kuno being here didn’t make too much sense either. The three figures shambled towards the camp site, a little unsure of what to expect.
Ryouga thankfully dropped Ryu to the ground, both glad to get the samurai’s weight off of him and off of Ukyou. He scolded himself inwardly for having to burden her. He was more than a little disappointed that he was unable to walk back to camp himself. Then again, he was grateful for the help. She was so kind to him, especially considering how often he got her upset with him. Or how often she cooked for him. He knew how to cook, albeit poorly, but nevertheless, her cooking made him feel like he was imposing on her.
He glanced around at the people sleeping around him. Of course, he, Ryu, and Ukyou had slept more than enough the previous night, mostly because he was so tired and overstrained with his ordeal with Hisaki. Distantly, he wondered if the master of Summer was dead. Ryouga’s shishi hokoudan was already a powerful enough attack, but with the desperation he was feeling when he released it, even he was surprised by the force of it. The only other time he had done a so-called 'perfect' shishi hokoudan was when Lime had nearly killed him way back in the Musk Dynasty. He silently hoped this would be the last time he’d ever have to meet up with any crazy princes who lived in mystical lands and kidnapped girls. How many was that now? Ito, Kirin, Herb, Saffron, and Toma, his mind piped out. Five in all, he counted off bitterly. What the heck was the deal with those psychotic princes anyway? He shrugged it off, saving that for a different time. Letting out a labored sigh of relief, Ryouga sank to the grass, propping himself against a nearby tree. Ryu glanced over at him and smiled halfheartedly.
"Something wrong?" Ryouga said. Ryu looked at him, his face awash with slight confusion.
"Nothing wrong. Why you ask that?" he said quizzically. Ryouga chuckled.
"You were smiling." He said sarcastically. Ryu scowled visibly and mumbled something indeterminable.
Ukyou shook her head and crawled next to Ryouga, curling up against him. She noted (with both some mild annoyanceand minor appreciation) that he flushed a bright crimson and began to twitch nervously. Despite his admittance of his feelings for her, he was still amazingly embarrassed and uncomfortable when it came to anything remotely affectionate. It was something she could deal with, though, she surmised. It’d just take some time. Slow progress was better than none at all. The three of them remained silent for a long while, letting the events and emotions of the past few days finally settle deep into their respective psyches. Eventually, Daisuke stirred and slowly woke. He looked at the three of them, groggy yet confused.
"Hey, wait a second," he said. "What the heck’re you doing back here?"
Ryouga scowled visibly. "Nice to see you too, Daisuke."
The dark-haired boy shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess so. Anyway, I’m just gonna...hey, where’s my blanket?" he began to prod through the campsite, searching for his lost cover. Ryouga chuckled. It was good to see Daisuke again, as uncaring and bizarre as he ever was. He laid his head against the tree and smiled. Ukyou looked up at him from her curled position against him.
"You okay, sugar?" she said sweetly. He looked down at her and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking, that’s all." He said.
"That’s it?" she said teasingly. "That’s really something for you."
"Hey!" he said angrily. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Ukyou put her hands up. "Hey, you big idiot! I was just trying to make you feel better!"
"By insulting me?" he sneered. "How the heck will that make me feel better?"
"I was just kidding with you! Can’t you take a joke?" she said, with equal fervor. Ryu sighed and shook his head. Nearby, Daisuke looked up from Hiroshi’s backpack, the location of his blanket still unknown.
"Hey, shut up you two! Geez, you sound like Akane and Ranma, for crying out loud! First Hiroshi and that Tendo chick, then this!"
The two of them glanced over at him, puzzled, as if waiting for him to say something else. Instead, he simply resumed his search. Ukyou glanced up at Ryouga and bit her lower lip. He returned her gaze, a small spark of sadness in his eyes.
"Ukyou, I....I’m sorry...It’s just that, well, you know..." he stammered. She looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He sighed in frustration and searched his frantic mind for the right way to express his feelings. He was so confused. In the last three days, he’d had the most important person in his life kidnapped away from him, been attacked by a combat acupuncturist, nearly killed twice, actually killed once, resurrected by magic, and had the woman he loved suddenly given back to him. It was more than enough to drive a sane man mad. Luckily for him, Ryouga was never 100% sane to begin with, so he was able to cope with it.
"I...A lot of things have happened...It’s confusing..." he said slowly, unsure of whether or not she could understand him. She smiled softly and wrapped her hands around his neck, hugging him tightly. He felt his face flush crimson. Luckily, his nose wasn’t bleeding. Well, it wasn’t bleeding yet, that is.
"I know, sugar. I know." She said, trying her best to be comforting. It was remarkably easier than she’d thought it would have been. She attributed a good amount of this to the fact that she actually loved him. True love certainly made it easier to treat someone nicely. She pulled away from him and put her hands on his arms, looking into his eyes with firm resolve.
"This whole thing has been hell on us all. But we’ll get through it. I’ll help you." She said sweetly. He smiled, and some of the bright crimson from his face ebbed away.
"T-thanks." He said gratefully. "I app-ppreciate this...Ucchan." he added, almost under his breath. She looked his face over and saw he was ashamed. He thought he was weak for this. It was one of his more annoying personality traits. She knew he wanted to be strong for her, but he never seemed to realize you could be strong and still rely on others.
"It’s nothing." She said. "It’s the least I can do. I mean, I do love you, after all."
Ryouga’s face brightened. "I-I-I l-love you, t-t-too." He stammered, blushing fiercely. She smiled and kissed his cheek. He hugged her with one hand as she nuzzled his neck, and she didn’t she his other hand dart up to cover his nose.
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Everyone was awake shortly before noon. Nabiki gave a very detailed and reasonable explanation of why she, Kuno, and Sasuke were here. Well, it was satisfactory enough for Ukyou, anyway. Of course, she also looked at Hiroshi just a little more positively. He hardly seemed like the kind of person who’d spend his own money just to make sure she was safely back with the group.
"It’s kind of like a family thing, I guess." He had explained groggily when she’d said something to him about it, shortly after Nabiki had finished. "You’re kind of like my sister, in a weird way. I guess I was just trying to look out for you."
Ukyou smiled sweetly. "I never thought you had it in you, Hiroshi." She said teasingly. He shrugged.
"Neither did I." Nabiki said smartly. "Frankly, I’m a little disappointed."
Hiroshi scowled at the middle Tendo daughter slightly, then looked back at Ukyou.
"Hey, even I have some kind of heart, lady." He said matter-of-factly. "I’m not Ryu, after all. Besides, I needed to do my generous deed for the year."
Daisuke glanced over at Ryu, hoping for some kind of interesting response. Unfortunately, Ryu was characteristically emotionless. Dissatisfied, the dark-haired boy turned his attention back to the conversation. Nabiki looked at the lot of them, then nodded her head in satisfaction.
"Well, my job here’s done." She said. Hiroshi gawked at her.
She shrugged. "Hey, our agreement was that Ukyou would be returned safely before I left. Well, there she is. I’ve fulfilled the obligations of our contract. Now, I’ll just take my pay and be on my way."
Hiroshi looked at her, his eyes hard. She returned his stare with one of her own sly smirks. It was like a slap in the face to him. The arrogance, the sheer, uncaring arrogant demeanor on her face that now mocked him. He wondered how those lips that he’d kissed only this morning now seemed to bear him so much malice.
Daisuke shook his head. Honestly, he couldn’t see why Hiroshi was falling all over himself for this Tendo chick. Sure, she was definantly cute, and her body was very nice, but she was...well, she was like a worse version of him. Cold to the core. He himself preferred the cutesy girls, especially the ones who seemed to have obsessive needs to touch people. That was a definant plus in his book.
"Indeed, Nabiki Tendo does bear a veridical point." Kuno said sternly, standing. "It does seem as though the assistance of Tatewaki Kuno is no longer needed. I must again resume my quest against the vile Saotome with renewed vigor, for I now know for certain he is a sorcerer of reputable note. It is up to me to free the lovely pig-tailed girl from his unholy clutches."
Ryouga glanced at Ukyou, who was sitting very close to his left. She rolled her eyes. He nodded in silent agreement. Kuno stood and looked down at Sasuke expectantly.
"Loyal Sasuke, signal the Kuno helicopter to return, so that we may be off. It would seem as though Saotome has deceived me once again. I must re-think our attack strategy."
Sasuke smiled nervously. "S-signal the helicopter, Master Kuno?" he said, swallowing hard. "Y-y-ou were s-supposed to t-tell the p-p-pilot when to return for us."
Kuno looked skywards in an imperious fashion. "Nonsense," he said sternly. "The Kuno helicopter shall answer my beckon call. Kuno helicopter, appear!" he bellowed, raising his sword heavenward. A cool breeze drifted by, yet no helicopter rode upon it. There was uncomfortable silence. Kuno looked around, confused for a moment, the raised his weapon again, sucking in a deep breath.
"Kuno helicopter! Return to your master, I say! The great Tatewaki Kuno does call for you!" he declared angrily. More silence. Hiroshi grumbled and shook his head. Daisuke watched with amused interest. Nabiki walked up and tapped him on the shoulder politely. Kuno glanced at her over his shoulder.
"Um, Kuno-baby, that’s all well and good, but maybe you should try using a radio." She said slowly. Kuno chuckled and sheathed his sword, his eyes closed.
"Tatewaki Kuno does not have need of a radio. The helicopter shall return. How can it resist, when I have called it to my side?" he said arrogantly. Nabiki chuckled slightly, then turned Kuno around to face her.
"Kuno-baby, are you trying to tell me we’re stuck out here?" she said softly. He said nothing. Sasuke coughed nervously and popped up loyally beside his master.
"It would seem as such, Mistress Nabiki." He said nervously. Nabiki nodded slightly, seeming to accept the news well. Kuno chuckled.
"Ah, loyal Sasuke, you are wise of many things, but I have called the helicopter to my side. Do not fear, Nabiki Ten-" he said imperially, but was cut off when Nabiki suddenly lunged for him, wrapping her surprisingly strong hands around the Kendoist’s neck and throttling him angrily.
"HOW DARE YOU STRAND ME OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, YOU POMPOUS IDIOT!" she shouted, tightening her grip. Kuno attempted to say something, but all that emerged was a cracked and strained collection of imperious grunts and hacks.
"Mistress Nabiki, please!" Sasuke said nervously. "Do not kill Master Kuno! It won’t do anyone any good now!" Nabiki stopped shaking the 'Blue Thunder', and slowly she released her grip on his throat. Kuno tried to maintain his dignity, but the need for oxygen was surprisingly strong, and he began to cough.
"Hey, don’t worry about it, babe." Daisuke said smugly from his sitting position. His keen instincts detected a chance to score points with a very attractive girl, albeit one not his type. "We’ll get you home."
"That’s awfully generous of you." Hiroshi said darkly. "Especially considering you just volunteered us all to pretty much make the last two months of traveling pretty much pointless."
Ryouga looked at Ukyou, concerned. She put her hand on his reassuringly.
"Ucchan, if we take Nabiki back home, then we won’t be able to get to your valley for a long time." He said sadly. He didn’t want things to turn out like this. Why did life always have to be so damn hard for him!? Ukyou smiled slightly and tightened her hand around his.
"It’s okay, sugar. I don’t mind. Besides, I think we should probably tell Ranma and Akane about...us..." she said softly. Ryouga looked at her quizzically.
"Why?" he sneered. "It’s none of Saotome’s damn business that I love you." He said angrily. Ukyou sighed and nodded, her eyes distant.
"I know. But, he is my ex-fiancee and my friend, so I think he deserves to know, don’t you?" she said, and smiled at him in that way of hers.
"No." Ryouga said glumly, but his resolve deteriorated rapidly against Ukyou’s smile. She was so beautiful, he couldn’t bear to resist her. "But if that’s what you want, then we’ll do it." He said resolutely.
“Ummm...”Daisuke said, looking at the two of them quizzically. “What was that all about? You two are in love?”
“That’s right.” Ukyou said sternly. “You got a problem with it?”
“Did I miss something here?” he said, looking around. “When did this happen!?”
“Do you really care, Daisuke?” Nabiki said. Daisuke pondered for a minute.
“No, I guess I don’t. Sorry, guys. I withdraw the question.” He said finally. Ryouga and Ukyou frowned in unison.
“Shut up, Daisuke.” They both snarled. Daisuke nodded and shut soundly up.
Hiroshi stood up and looked thoughtfully skyward. "Anyway...this little expedition to be your envoys home will cost you just a little, shouchuunotama."
"I expected no less." Nabiki said wryly. "And how much will that be?" she added, already knowing the answer. Hiroshi smiled angelically and pretended to do some minor calculations.
"I suspect it will be about 6,259,750 yen." He said slyly. Everyone gawked at him, except Nabiki.
Hmmm, she thought, amused, Maybe he does have some head for business, after all.
After another hour of heavy debate on the contract, Hiroshi and Nabiki settled on the cancellation of his debt. The group packed up and prepared to set off, back towards Nerima.
Back home again.
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End of Chapter One...