Lost Together

Chapter 9

Written by:

DaisukiFox & Doctor Facer

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Ryoga kept his guard up as he quietly observed Taro. It surprised him how he didn't seem to be that hurt, considering that Ranko had managed to land some very solid hits on him the day before. Spending time in his monster form probably helped him heal faster, Ryoga mused, feeling certain Taro's Minotaur body would have no trouble shrugging off massive amounts of damage. Frowning, he moved slowly to the right, trying to find a better position to attack.

"What are ya waiting for?" Ranko shouted, struggling against the pantyhose binding her. "Release me, you dumbass!"

"I will as soon as I deal with him," Ryoga answered, his eyes still set on Taro. "I'll try to do it quickly."

"What ya need to do quickly is untie me so I can kick his butt!" the redhead yelled back, obviously displeased by how things were unfolding. "Being a hostage sucks, Ryoga!"

"I really can't understand how you're able to date that girl," Taro said then, crossing his arms in annoyance. "She's so loud and obnoxious that I couldn't even finish eating breakfast..."

Ryoga looked further back, to a point Taro nodded at and could see a few pork buns and a kettle sitting next to the fire so its contents stayed reasonably hot.

"Eh, I'll eat later," Taro said with a dismissive shrug. "Now, don't forget the only way you'll get your girlfriend back is if you defeat me first… and that is something that will never happen!"

"You'll regret saying that," Ryoga promised, raising his fists again as he prepared to attack. He focused on ignoring Ranko's insults and demands of being released, as he could not afford to be distracted, and took in a deep breath. He had to finish this fast before Taro decided to jump into that pond he could see near the old cabin on the other side of Fist Rock. He wasn't even sure the Shi Shi Hokodan would be enough to defeat Taro if he transformed.

"Well?" the other mocked. "I'm waiting, are you afraid of me...?"

"Afraid? I'll show you who's afraid!" Ryoga growled, throwing a punch aimed at his opponent's face.

His fist, however, didn't connect; Taro sidestepped it gracefully, grinning as he did so.

"Fool! I'm way faster than you!" he stated as he dashed under Ryoga's defenses and landed a quick jab at his torso, only to find hitting Ryoga was like punching a boulder, something he didn't notice when he fought him before.

'Well, of course, I wouldn't notice; I was in my monster form then,' Taro thought as he quickly took a couple of steps back to get out of Ryoga's range. 'But if he's got muscles this solid then he really must be very strong.'

"Let's see you dodge this!" The Hibiki boy warned, jumping at Taro as fast as he could, spinning once in the air to increase his momentum and extending his right leg at the last minute, unleashing a powerful kick that…

Taro simply ducked under, turning in time to see his adversary hitting the ground and cracking the stone below them with the strength behind his attack. The Jusenkyo cursed thief had to admit that had been mildly impressive, and he even conceded that kick could have stunned him if it had connected.

"Damn it…" Ryoga murmured as he regained his balance and adopted a defensive stance. Jumping attacks were his favorite way to surprise faster opponents because his powerful legs allowed him to leap quickly, compensating for his somewhat slower movements in battle. That Taro had managed to dodge simply confirmed what he noticed the day before: he was almost as fast as Ranko.

'I'll have to change strategies to defeat him before he decides to transform,' he thought, slowly moving left to stand between Taro and the pond. 'What if I throw him off this stupid rock…?'

Convinced this was a good way to end this fight, Ryoga resumed his efforts, trying to corner his rival so he could either knock him out or throw him away from the pond, just to find Taro could still avoid his attacks with ease.

On the other edge of Fist Rock, now silent and observant, Ranko watched the flow of the fight with great attention. It was clear to her Ryoga was much stronger than Taro, but slower as well, which worked on the monster-transforming idiot's favor more often than not. Still, it probably didn't matter much, Ryoga's stamina and strength were superior, and that meant he would win the longer the fight went on provided he could stop Taro from turning into that giant beast thing. Because if the pantyhose creep transformed into that Minotaur creature… the redhead swallowed, there was no way Ryoga alone could take that creature down!

Taro jumped back to avoid being hit by one of Ryoga's quick jabs and countered by dashing from his left to smash his elbow on his torso. His attack had little to no effect on his opponent, and Taro retreated before Ryoga could counter by throwing a punch or grabbing him.

"Your attacks are like a baby's kick," Ryoga said, his entire attention set on Taro. "Let me show you what a real punch is like!"

Saying no more, The Lost Boy unleashed a series of punches at his adversary, forcing him to duck and dodge until he managed to slide a few steps back. To Taro's misfortune, Ryoga had anticipated this and was already jumping to where he was, preparing his fist and delivering a powerful blow that Taro had to sidestep in the last minute. The Lost Boy hit the ground instead, and the impact created a small hole on the rock below him, cracking it in several large pieces.

Taro took advantage of Ryoga's recovery time to kick him on the back, but again it was useless, Ryoga got up quickly and countered with a backhand that Taro had to duck under and then jump back to avoid Ryoga's follow-up punch.

'His strength is ridiculous! What is this guy made of!?' Taro thought, staring at Ryoga and wondering what kind of training he went through to be able to take his attacks without even flinching. 'His girlfriend would be in pain and on her knees if I had kicked her like that… this bastard really is a walking boulder!'

Ryoga, who was well aware hitting Taro would be difficult unless he caught him off guard, glancing around he tried to find a way to use the terrain to his advantage, but there was nothing useful; not for him. He could try throwing bandanas at the aggravating idiot in front of him, but he would surely dodge them and he didn't want to waste bandanas that way. The Lost Boy suddenly wished he had his umbrella, as it would give him the extra range he needed to hit Taro; if only…

'I need to distract him to get close,' he thought. 'But how?'

It was then when he tried to slowly move forward and felt his feet hit something that he finally had an idea on how to distract his opponent. His punch had split the ground, and a sizeable loose rock was in front of him. Realizing he could use this, Ryoga discreetly dug the tip of his left foot under the stone and tensed his muscles in preparation.

Taro took in a deep breath and moved a little to the right. He had decided that transforming would be on his best interests but given how focused that bandana wearing fool was, reaching the pond would be somewhat difficult. He could run for it, but that would leave him open to an attack or tackle, and he knew he could not wrestle Ryoga if it came to that. He really needed to find a way to distract him and fast.

"What are you planning?" Taro asked, his voice low as he noticed the other teen seemed to be considering his next move as well.

"Oh, nothing, really, just… this!" Ryoga answered and swiftly kicked a piece of rock as big as he was tall towards Taro, taking him by surprise and forcing him to move in the direction he wanted.

"You're crazy!" Taro yelled in surprise as he jumped to the left in order to avoid being crushed by the debris, which instead went flying off to the empty fields below where it crashed loudly. Taro already suspected what the stupid bandana kid wanted to do and prepared to block mid-jump, but much to his surprise Ryoga was not jumping straight at him.

He was coming from above!

"This is the end for you!" Ryoga announced as he smashed both fists on Taro's back, sending him crashing on the ground with the strength of a cannonball. Ryoga had jumped high the moment he'd kicked the boulder, ready to intercept his opponent before he could prepare a counterattack; his plan worked perfectly.

"You… dirty… rotten…" Taro groaned in pain as he struggled to get up; he had gotten hit hard before but never like this! He felt as if a truck had slammed him from behind and was actually wondering if something was broken just by the way his back hurt.

'Damn you...' the Chinese teen thought bitterly, focusing on ignoring the pain as he jumped back to his feet. 'Now I have to transform or I won't be able to beat him!'

Except that Taro didn't have the chance for as soon as he was standing again, Ryoga grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and threw him all the way to the edge of Fist Rock and the only reason why he didn't fall was because he managed to twist and spin in the air to change directions so he touched ground before plummeting below. Stopping just one step away from falling.

He cursed under his breath when he noticed Ryoga was already rushing at him, ready to take advantage of having cornered him, 'Blast it! He's not as stupid as I first thought… I need to distract him, but how?' Just then, he heard the redhead shouting at the bandana idiot, ordering him to finish the fight and then to release her, and that was all Taro needed to know how he could finally get under Ryoga's skin.

"Angry, are you? Heh, if you're so mad now, you'd really lose your mind if you knew what I did to that redheaded pest last night!" The Chinese bandit said mockingly, grinning as Ryoga stopped to stare at him with an expression that went from doubt to surprise and finally settled in anger. This could work out in his favor if the fool was too furious he could lose his focus and in turn, become careless; just what Taro wanted.

"What did you do?" Ryoga asked, teeth gritting and fists balled in anger, images of Taro forcing himself on Ranko the night before filling his mind, driving a stake of fury and despair deep into his heart. "If you touched her…"

"Hey, don't start getting ideas, you moron!" Ranko yelled then, blushing as she understood what taro was trying to imply with that comment. "That idiot didn't touch me, Ryoga! All he did was to restrain me with his stupid pantyhose and cover my mouth with some dirty rag!"

"I also splashed her with hot tea when she wouldn't shut up," Taro pointed out.

"You… threw… hot tea at her?" The Hibiki boy growled. He knew quite well that touching even lukewarm water caused Ranko great pain, and the idea of his dear redhead squirming in agony after being splashed with the hot liquid was making him see red and burn with rage.

"Yeah, I did, what are you going to do about it?"

"I'll crush you into dust!" Ryoga shouted and rushed at Taro, throwing wild punch after wild punch at him, missing every time, as his opponent was able to see through all of his attacks, something that only infuriated him further.

'Perfect, he's got no defense and is outbalanced! I can counterattack now and get a few seconds to transform!' Taro thought as he ducked under one of Ryoga's kicks and moved back a few steps to regain some space and waiting for only a second, he jumped at Ryoga aiming to kick him in the face, something he hoped would drop him for a few seconds.

His plan didn't work, however.

The Hibiki boy, while still mad, reacted quickly enough and shot his hand up, catching Taro by the leg, using his own impulse to swing him around and throw him at the old cabin, sending him crashing through one of the walls. Wasting no time, Ryoga rushed after his prey, ready to finish this fight once and for all and in the most painful way possible, because nobody told him they had hurt Ranko and got away with it, nobody!

Ranko, who had been busy trying to break free of the pantyhose binding her so she could go and kick taro's teeth in for saying those things about her, had to stop and stare amazed at what Ryoga had just done. Sure, he was strong, she knew that, but he had stopped Taro's kick one handed and then used that pantyhose pervert as a missile to demolish half the cabin. She doubted the pantyhose creep would be able to stand after that.

'Lotion sure knew what she was doing, didn't she?' Ranko suddenly thought, recalling the moment the old woman had decided which technique she would teach each of them. Her speed made her ideal for the Chestnut Fist, while Ryoga's natural strength meant he would be the perfect candidate for the Breaking Point technique. 'Ryoga got a massive endurance and strength boost after learning the Bakusai Tenketsu… while I became faster, more agile and precise after mastering the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, and that's good but… it didn't help me that much. I still got captured, damn it!'

It was then that she noticed Taro was walking out of the cabin, shaking his head and steadying himself by leaning on the section of the house that was not damaged. Her kidnapper was obviously in pain, and that meant he would want to transform as soon as possible, and if he did that, the tide of the fight would completely change.

'He's gonna try to reach the pond for sure now,' the redhead thought, knowing they could not allow that, but what could they do? If there was a way to get Taro away from the pond for good, then… Ranko blinked, the answer was right on her fingertips, well actually, Ryoga's fingertips. The Bakusai Tenketsu! Ryoga could use it on the ground under the pantyhose creep and send him flying off this stupid rock!

"Ryoga, use the Breaking Point and blast that freak out of here before he transforms!" She shouted, hoping he would listen to her as she was completely sure it was the best way to end this fight quickly.

"The Bakusai Tenketsu?" The Lost Boy murmured as he turned to look at Ranko and realizing she was right; if he used his technique the way she suggested he could definitively win this without resorting to the Shishi Hokodan!

Meanwhile, Taro had already taken in a few deep breaths and blinked a few times to clear his head. His lower back was hurting and his left shoulder didn't feel so good either. Any doubts he had before about Ryoga being inhumanly strong had vanished now, and the Chinese bandit wondered for a moment if he was related to them, but that couldn't be, could it?

'No, impossible. He wouldn't be with a woman if he were one of them, right? Besides he's Japanese, so there's no way, no way at all he came from the Dynasty!' Taro thought, recalling they were not allowed to interact with women until they were adults and about to get married. But in the end, that or his insane strength didn't matter. He had the pond in front of him, all he had to do was to jump in and he would have the power to squash these aggravating kids like the insects they truly were!

Taking advantage of Ryoga's momentary distraction, Taro ran for the pond, and was just a few steps away from it when…

Ryoga landed right in front of him! Before Taro could react, the Hibiki boy kneeled and touched the ground with the tip of his index finger, screaming aloud…

"Bakusai Tenketsu!"

The resulting blast sent Taro skidding back a few steps, almost all the way to the cabin. He had instinctively covered his face with his arms the moment the explosion hit him, but bruised as he was, one look revealed that Ryoga had gotten it far worse, as he was now coughing and covered in dust and pebbles, and his forehead…

'It's bleeding again, and it seems the dust blinded him!' Taro observed, noticing Ryoga had to rub some blood off his brow and dirt off his eyes, wincing a little as he did so and that was really very convenient. 'The wound is hurting him, I can still win!'

Seizing this new opportunity, he rushed in and unleashed a spinning kick aimed right at his opponent's face. The kick, which carried all of Taro's considerable strength behind it, was brutal enough to actually send Ryoga staggering some steps back, a new trail of warm blood running down his face now.

"You're not so tough if you can't take a kick to the face," Taro mocked as he raised his guard, preparing to dodge and then bolt for the pool ahead of him. "So what now, are you going to blow up more rocks into dust and blind yourself again!?"

'That… that was not how I believed it would go,' Ranko thought, surprised by the actual results of using the Breaking Point technique in battle. After the blast, Ryoga was showered by shrapnel since he was at the center of the explosion, while his opponent was sent back somewhat but appeared to receive little to no damage from the detonation. If anything, the user ended up worse after utilizing the Bakusai Tenketsu in a fight.

'Wait, don't tell me… don't tell me it's not an offensive technique? Oh, damn… it's probably not! I think it's just a body conditioning exercise to make a person impervious to strong impacts!' The redhead felt a rise of fear as she understood the more he used his special technique, the more at a disadvantage he would be. 'Ryoga, what are you going to do now? The actual Breaking Point is useless in a fight!'

"I'll do this!" Ryoga growled and tried to kick Taro in the chest, but his leg didn't connect, as the other teenager simply jumped high to avoid the attack.

"A stupid move, fool!" Taro declared as he landed on Ryoga's head, making sure to cause more damage on the Lost Boy's open wound before bouncing all the way to the pond and landing next to it.

"You'll pay for that!" The Hibiki boy swore and brought his hand up to stop the bleeding.

"Hardly," the other said with a grin. "Anyway, it's been fun… but it's time for my transformation, and for you to meet your end..."

"You're insane if you think I'll let you trigger your Jusenkyo curse, Taro!" Ryoga warned, resorting at last to throwing one of his bandanas at his adversary, forcing him to jump back and away from the pond.

"You know about Jusenkyo?" He asked, surprised that the stupid bandana boy was familiar with the place.

"Yes, I know cold water transforms you into that monster," Ryoga answered, positioning himself between Taro and the pool. "And I also know hot water changes you back into a man!"

"Well, this is unexpected but useless for you," Taro said. "It is impossible for you to stop me from touching cold water, you know?"

"That's what you think!" Ryoga declared, he had an idea that would take away Taro's greatest advantage, and he quickly berated himself for not thinking about it before. "I will simply drain that stupid pond right now!"

And before Taro could react, Ryoga jumped into the pool, bringing his right hand down and screaming: "Bakusai Tenketsu!"

The resulting blast was exactly what Ryoga expected. The detonation sent some water up, but as it was mixed with shrapnel Taro was forced to avoid it, and the ground below him gave way into a hole where the rest of the water drained into.

"That was awesome Ryoga, great idea!" Ranko shouted; she had heard the explanation about Taro's curse and was now grinning confidently, the fight was won! "He can't turn into a monster, there is no way you can lose now!"

That was when a loud gurgling sound came from the hole between Ryoga's feet, getting louder and louder until…

A powerful stream of cold water literally exploded under him, going up so violently he lost his footing and ended flat on his back, staring with unbelieving eyes at the water column bursting from the ground.

"What is going on?" He managed, incapable of understanding what just had happened.

"According to some old tales, Fist Rock sits on top of a river's source," Taro explained with a haughty smile. "It was apparently placed here to block the water flow for whatever reason and you, my stupid friend, have just released the waters again, something very convenient for me so thank you very much, Ryoga, you were very helpful."

Too surprised to do anything to stop him, Ryoga Hibiki could only watch as Taro stepped into the erupting cold water…

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In some unknown location in the Chinese forests, Pink and Link slept atop a pile of leaves. Covering them was a warm wool blanket as Pink slept on her back while her sister was sleeping on her side, Link's back facing her.

"Ryoga, not now..." Pink muttered as she blushed with an adorably goofy smile spreading across her face. "The kids might hear us..."

Next to her but resting on her side was Link as she appeared to be having a hard time in whatever dream she was in, her lips wobbling as her eyes squinted tightly her hand digging into the makeshift bed they rested atop of.

The winds then guided a single leaf over to the twins, rocking back and forth and straight onto Pink's nose as she inhaled sharply but choked for a second to snort and shake her head.

"Where am I?" the poison kanji sister questioned as she sat up and looked around, the first thing that caught her attention was Pink sleeping next to her. "Link?" she called out gently before shaking her fellow twin's shoulder.

"Not again Mousse..." Link mumbled as a wide grin spread across her face, a drunken looking blush across her skin as she nuzzled the pile of leaves beneath her head.

"Huh?" Pink blinked as she tried to look over to her sister's face.

"You're too rough..."

Pink's eyes widened as she was about to say something but looked over to her shoulder. To see her sister blush and then to hear her say something so suggestive about Mousse, it only confirmed her suspicions about her sister's interest in the long-haired hidden weapons master.

"Sister..." Pink did find it a little amusing that her twin sister was in a sense... still hung up about Mousse. "If you please!" the poison welding martial artist desperately but quietly urged.

"Huh?" Link snorted as she also came back to the world of consciousness.

"You mentioned Mousse in your sleep, dear Sister," Pink warned while pouting and blushing.

Link's eyes shoot open as she blushed and sat up as well and looked away from her, "And here I thought only you talked in your sleep," she commented nervously.

"I don't talk in my sleep," Pink huffed as she crossed her arms, looking away but catching sight of Mint and Lime as they slept.

Her response was met with less than agreeable eyes from Link, "Of course, sister," she replied, clearly not meaning it.

Pink took a deep breath and pulled back the rest of their blanket to start slowly and quietly removing the rope around her leg, 'These two know knots but they're not the only ones,' she thought to herself as her bindings fell.

Her sister followed her example, watching closely and copying her actions well enough that she too was unable to get her leg free.

"Getting captured really is the worst!" Pink complained as she rubbed the part of her leg they had bound.

"At least they were kind enough to give us a blanket," Link commented.

They silently nod to one another before running side by side and systematically falling flat on their faces next to each other as Lime's arm extended outwards while he snored peacefully, the falling down was so sudden that it caused them to yelp in fear, their rope going taut.

"Aiya!" They screamed as they both landed face first on the ground; their fingers warding evil.

The two lifted their heads, looking behind them in annoyance as they finally noticed that as an extra precaution the two Musk members tied a second rope around their waists to Lime's forearm.

Both of the Musk Clan members were still asleep, Lime resting with his back against a tree and Mint taking a catnap while on his belly, his arms and legs dangling on the thick branch he snoozed on.

"He must be incredibly strong if we weren't even enough to wake him..." Link commented with a distressed look.

Lime squinted his eyes and grit his teeth, suddenly shifting his position on the ground, yanking the recovering twins directly towards him. Their frantic cries fell on sleeping ears as they were set on a crash course for the small celestial body known as Lime.

For the twins, it was as if everything was moving in slow motion while they flew over to him and crashed straight into his torso, their legs coming together and unintentionally heel kicking him in the face. Their backs landed on his lap as he snorted a few times before shaking his head from right to left and opening his eyes.

"Wha…?" Lime woke up on high alert, sitting up so suddenly he almost stood up before noticing that he had dropped the twins.

The sudden movement from Lime's collision was enough to shake the tree Mint was on, causing him to slip to one side and land in a bush. Jerking around as he was covered in leaves, "Hey!" he jostled about before sitting up; his ears twitching as he looked to Lime and the twins.

"What are you two up to?" Mint questioned as he sat up and dusted a bird's nest off his shoulder.

Lime bent his knees and put his hands on them to speak with them at near eye level, "Why did you both kick me in the face?" Lime blinked, unaffected by the pairs' kick.

They both meeped in fear and reached for the back of their heads as they smiled nervously, "We just wanted to..." Pink began tapping her index fingers together and looking to the side.

Link pursed her lips with wide eyes, 'Think Link! Your sister's life and even your own may be on the line!' she thought, begging her mind to concoct some sort of excuse. "Get breakfast ready for you two!"

"Yeah! And while we were looking around you yanked us right at you..." Pink swallowed and lowered her head, flirting but nervously so as they still looked pretty suspicious.

"Oh! Sorry, then," Lime's eyes widened as he scratched the side of his cheek, looking really content with their answer.

The two unfortunate girls failed to see that both of the Musk members were looking to one another as their faces grew a few shades of red deeper, looking as though something had just dawned on them. "Does that mean you're...?" they both asked at the same time.

For the first time ever the two were on the other end of watching someone repeating another person without meaning to. This also caused them to unknowingly blink at the same time. "We're...?" Link questioned, quirking a brow.

"Does that mean you two are our girlfriends now?" they asked.

To see that these two knew so little about the dating scene they really had to wonder what these two actually did in the Musk Dynasty, but that thought aside the fact that Mint and Lime thought that they were all dating... it was so strange.

"B-but we're you're hostages!" Pink said if telling them as if just giving them a friendly reminder.

"That's okay, we'll make a request for you two!" Mint added as he closed the gap between them in a blink and took Link's hands in his. "Please, it's much better than what Lord Herb could actually have in mind for you..."

Link reeled her head back and averted her eyes as she wasn't sure what to make of this situation, especially now that she was being both warned and hit on at the same time, "Weren't you into my sister before?" Link wondered in confusion.

"Wait you're...?" Mint blinked and jumped back to Pink so he could hold her hands instead.

"I promise if we talk to him long enough he'll let you two stay with us," Lime urged as he looked down to Link as he tried his best to look encouraging. For a moment it looked really sweet, much more direct than Mint's approach.

The two legitimately found themselves unable to immediately reach a conclusion as getting in good with the enemy once captured was a known survival strategy... to think they'd have to date men they knew little about in order to survive; it was quite a bit to swallow.

"That is, we..." Link raised a finger as if trying to state a matter of fact but ultimately drew a blank.

"Well um, you see..." Pink began as she didn't move her hands away from Mint's but mainly out of fear for what he could do to her if she acted out.

"So are you two cooking because you're our girlfriends?" Mint questioned as he looked to them with what could be best described as puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah! Girlfriends cook for their men!" Lime nodded in agreement as he clenched his fists close to his chest and got closer to Link.

"We're not your girlfriends, we're just very friendly!" Link spoke quickly and firmly as she waved her hands dismissively.

"Y-yes! Very friendly!" Pink threw in as she stepped away from Mint and got behind her sister. "This is just to help you practice for when you do get girlfriends!"

"Will we get to practice everything...?" Mint asked with a slight blush and a smile that managed to be both cute and lecherous at the same time.

"Girlfriends let their boyfriends see their breasts too!" Lime added as little steam clouds floated off his form.

"If you let us go we might let you see them!" Pink's eyes widened, however degrading it may be, it was still better than risking the horrors of meeting the Musk leader.

"Sorry, we can't do that..." Mint shook his head and crossed his arms.

"We have to go see Lord Herb, no way around that..." Lime put his hands on his hips and shook his head as well.

Pink felt her sudden boost in confidence immediately crumbling as the two outright refused even when offered the one thing they could never stop talking about. Clearly, the amount of influence the Musk royalty had over their subjects was near absolute.

"Sister! Let's collect mushrooms for lunch!" Link suggested cutting the tension in the air as she put her hands on her sister's shoulders to lead her in the direction of the forest.

"Why?" Pink paused briefly before seeing her sister wink her right eye, out of Mint's and Lime's line of sight.

"I think I saw some Kairaishi mushrooms along the way..." Link suggested in an almost cheery manner. "We should go find some!"

"Oh, those! R-Right! We should get started!" She nodded her head and waved good-bye to the two boys.

"So if you please-" Link began about to ask if they could go.

"Wait! One of you can stay with me and Mint can go with the other," Lime interjected, giving a stern command by the looks of it.

The twins looked disheartened for a moment before looking to one another and nodding, "Alright..." Link answered.

"Maybe I should go with you, I have a great sense of smell!" Mint said as he stood in front of Link who backed off a bit.

"Allow me to look through my things, I think I have just enough Kairaishi mushroom for you to get an idea..." Link pulled away and started by pulling out a bag of herbs and searching through it, Mint clearly watching her every move; waiting for any attempts at escaping.

"So I guess it's going to be just me and you..." Pink muttered as her eyes turned into dots while glancing at Lime.

"Here it is," Link announced as she retrieved a small, but sufficient sample for Mint to work off of.

"Hmm..." Mint hummed as he stored the scent in his head and opened his eyes, nodding.

"Good boy," Link encouraged as she reached her hand out and petted his head.

Mint's eyes widened but as he was about to say something he felt Link's hand hit a sweet spot behind his ear, making him kick his leg like a content dog. "W-we should go!" the wolf Musk member exclaimed as he knew they had a task at hand.

"Y-yes, if you please..." Link gestured for him to lead.

Lime and Pink watched as their respective companions gradually faded from sight, a sense of dread and possible boredom filling Pink as she put her hands behind her back and avoided looking directly at the hulking mass of a Musk Dynasty warrior.

"So..." Lime began as he rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly as a faint blush was still visible on his face. "Are you sure that redhead wasn't with anyone else...?"

"I'm sure," Pink reassured as she continued to be distant.

"Probably left once he found out she was a wanted target or something..." Lime mumbled.

"Hmm?" Pink hummed as she looked distant and hoped that it would act as some kind of sign to deter the large man's interest in her.

"Something on your mind?" Lime questioned out of the blue.

"Huh?" Pink blinked as she was snapped out of her thoughts and looking to Lime.

"Hehe..." Lime chuckled, closing his eyes. "Knew it! There's something on your mind..."

Pink felt a bit ashamed for having allowed herself to get too distracted with her own thoughts that she had little time to consider a reply. "I-I guess I was wondering if a big, strong man like you ever gets in trouble with bullies," she finished as it was like even she couldn't believe where her mind had taken her but at the end of it, she couldn't help but bitterly recall a certain lavender-haired Amazonian.

"Bullies fear me is more like it!" Lime said clearly not looking too far into it.

Something about Lime's confidence was charming; at least to Pink it was, "I guess so..." she replied, giggling a little, Lime joining almost immediately. After their laughter died down they smiled pleasantly at one another.

The girl's eyes wandered to the chest plate of his and wondered exactly how strong he might be given the Musk's reputation. 'This man is very strong looking, I wonder what he's like under that armor? Is he still human or is it... different?' she pondered as she put her hand to her chin.

"So I was wondering..." Lime said getting a distracted Pink's attention again.

"Yes?" she inquired looking at him.

"What was that weird ball thing you were gonna' use on Mint and me earlier?" he asked as he crossed his arms recalling exactly what he saw.

"You mean my Mandragora bomb?" she asked, receiving a nod. "Well, it's basically a bomb with some mandrake seeds which if you simply water and set properly, it lets the seeds stick onto their victims, zapping all their energy!" She explained and paused, feeling boastful as she explained her terrifying special attack.

"I didn't know plants could do that..." Lime voiced his opinion before smiling. "I think it's kind of cool!"

"You're not scared?"

"Not really; if anything it's really interesting!" he grinned.

"Did I forget to mention they're also poisonous?" Pink clasped her hands together and added with a small smile.

"What, really?" Lime gawked as he engaged in some fun banter with Pink.

"So I told you a little about myself, now is your turn," Pink began as she decided that talking to him was probably better than actually getting close to those obscenely powerful looking meat-hooks, the ones Lime called arms.

"Oh well..." he stopped to ponder, trying his best to think of one of his best achievements to impress the lovely looking herbalist.

"How about your training, if you please?"

"Training...?"

"How does a man like you get so strong?" Pink simplified as she clapped her hands together, showing genuine interest.

"Oh, that?" Lime blinked as he gave it some thought.

"How difficult is your training?" Pink asked thinking off the top of her head, pointing her index finger to her bottom lip.

"For starters, I guess I like to go with lifting boulders in the morning..." Lime scratched his chin and pondered his delivery but could see that this actually got what he could assume to be a look of intrigue.

"Boulders?" Pink blinked.

"I can lift boulders twice your size actually!" He said and smiled and then flexed his bicep. "One in each arm! A few hundred times a day!"

"R-really? You're stronger than you look..." Pink was a bit taken back by that, in all honesty, it was a little intimidating.

"It's not just because of that, we also have tons of warm-ups before we practice our martial arts!" Lime boasted and put both hands on his hips, finding everything he said to be even impressive to himself.

"That's so much if you please!" Pink wanted to laugh but couldn't bring herself to as the frightening levels of training he needed to achieve his strength.

"Really? Always just felt like the usual to me..." he said as though it didn't seem like a big deal.

"Well, long as you're gentle sometimes..." She said and reached out to put a hand on his arm, smiling at him, 'Scary or not he's kinda' handsome...' she thought.

"I'll be gentle if you let me be..." Lime blushed and immediately took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

To say she was surprised would have been an understatement. It took all of three seconds for the girl to close her eyes and blush, looking away from him as she again did not want to risk her safety, "You're so forward..." she choked a bit and avoided his eyes.

"I can't help it, at the Musk we barely get to see any beautiful girl's like you in the training grounds," Lime admitted as he held her hands, looking down at them, 'Girls hands are so small, fragile and soft...' Lime thought with a strange warmth in his voice.

Pink's eyes widened as she looked him in the eyes and found herself staring at them, even though he was focused on their hands, "That's t-too bad..." Pink began getting Line's attention.

"You think?"

"Yes, they don't know what they're missing." She offered, encouraging the secret gentle giant.

They both sat next to each other, enjoying each other's company as Pink didn't pull back when he moved a little closer to her.

…

Scouring the Chinese forest floors with his nose to the ground, Mint's head shifted from right to left constantly as Link followed him closely behind. Looking around in hopes of spotting one within eyeshot.

"So, get as many that smell as close to the one I gave you if you please," Link commented while Mint worked.

"On it..." Mint muttered in a serious tone as he continued to lead them, stopping only when he reached the base of a tree and swiftly plucked the mushrooms before turning around and presenting them to Link.

"Hmmm..." Link inspected what she was given and shook her head.

Mint rather than becoming upset or anything, casually threw the mushrooms to the side and began his search again.

This caught Link by surprise and even made her stop for a second to watch him, although the moment she did she ended up catching him as he was bending back down and looking away she put her hand over the side of her face to obscure her vision. She managed to at least hear where he was going so she wouldn't lose track of him.

Although she was avoiding looking at him she couldn't help but still keep searching while he took the ground approach to their search, 'I hope we don't have to go too far from-' she thought.

"Found some more!" He exclaimed as he stuck his hands out to her presenting more for her to look through.

"Wow, you're such a good kid..." She clapped her hands together before opening her eyes and inspecting his findings.

"Kid?" Mint blinked and tilted his head in a manner similar to a dog perplexed by their owner's request. "I'm 14, damn near 15 even!"

Link blinked in surprise and immediately wished to retract her comment but seeing how he was responding, he didn't seem to mind. But then again this kid was the most difficult to read between the two Musk clan members.

"My apologies! You're just a year younger than me!" she said hoping to avoid ticking off her captor by offering a cute but hopefully distracting smile.

There was a moment of silence as Mint appeared to be thinking something over but his vacant looking expression only added to the medicinal twin's stress levels. "That's alright I guess, I'm just glad I'm not only talking to a woman but dating her at the same time..."

Link's eyes widened as she reeled her head back and put her hand to her chin, blushing as she averted her eyes. "O-oh...?" she stuttered as she then decided that to help calm her, she'd see if he actually managed to find the right mushroom.

"Thank you for helping us with this," Mint looked to Link with a warm smile, for once making his feelings clear.

"Oh! Like we said it's just practice!" Link clarified but it seemed that the message about her and her sister not being romantically involved with these two, wasn't being conveyed.

"Where I'm from, no nice girls ever go to the men's training grounds..." Mint looked a little crestfallen when saying that.

"Really?" She asked, finding that hard to believe.

"Really, we… we don't even get to see our moms… only on birthdays," he finished with, looking down.

Hearing that was just enough to tug at Link's heartstrings as she suddenly lost the tension of her worrying about Mint and Lime not getting the message about them just helping them for when they did get girlfriends of their own, 'Poor thing, guess we both have our share of problems...' she thought.

"It's that...?" Mint looked down before smiling, stepping into Link's personal space and picking something up.

At first, Link was at loss for words but considered the possibility that he just wanted some comforting so she softened her expression and then found her eyes widening as she found what she was looking for in his hands, "You found it!" she plucked it and put it in a satchel she kept hidden, dropping it in the bag and securing it by tightening it.

"Really?" Mint's expression suddenly shifted from a solemn one to a slightly more excited and gentle sounding tone.

"I promise to make them as delicious as I can," Link replied closing her eyes and blushing a little.

Later...

Back at the campsite Mint and Lime were sitting on top of a sheet, waiting patiently for their practice girlfriends to serve them their promised meal. Content looks on their faces while they gently sniffed the air.

Lime sat with his arms and legs crossed, while Mint didn't seem to find a comfortable position. Eventually, the wolf boy settled on mimicking his partner and sat next to him with his legs crossed, hands to his sides as he leaned back a little.

A bit further down, next to a stream where the herbalist twins were cooking the Kairaishi…

"What command should we give them, Sister...?" Pink leaned in a little closer to whisper near her sister's ear.

"Sister, Mint and I had a nice conversation and… now I really don't think they're so bad..."

"How can you tell?"

"Hear me out Sister, if you please..."

"Fine, only because I'm also uncertain, because, well... Lime's not so terrible, you know?"

There was a moment of silence from Pink and Link until Link took a deep breath and begun. "I think they're just following orders, where they're from they keep men and women separated," she said.

"I heard that from the big guy, too," Pink replied. "Strange tale."

"I guess so, I've always just heard tales about the Musk, but to have gotten to know these two..." Link finished.

Pink averted her eyes as she finished kneading the mushroom croquette in the proper shape and putting it in a dry plate.

"I suppose... we can be nice?" Pink wondered as she shut her eyes tightly and sighed.

"Yes. We'll use a clap and instruct them to return home, peacefully."

"Sounds like a plan," Pink confirmed as she took two plates of freshly made mushroom croquettes and handed one to her sister.

"You ready...?" Link asked while holding out a pair of chopsticks to her sister, Mint's chopsticks had been tastefully set to the side of his food.

She received a nervous nod of her head as they turned to see that now the boys were apparently tearing up. They had both shifted their positions to sitting down with their legs crossed, hands clenched out in front of them.

"I can't believe we have such caring girlfriends!" Lime squinted his eyes before wiping his tears away with his forearm.

"It feels great, doesn't it?" Mint glanced at Lime who looked as though he was mimicking his friend's actions with how they were both so in tune.

It was as if their excitement and appreciation was an unexpected attack for the twins as most people in many cases were never happy to see them. It even sparked a ping of guilt in their actions but they couldn't risk having to meet with The King of the Musk so they hesitantly walked over to the two and dropped down to their knees and closed their eyes, displaying a level of coordination that it almost seemed rehearsed.

"Could you two maybe..." Lime began but seemed to choke a little. "Feed us?"

"That sounds like something girlfriends would do!" Mint nodded his head.

"Please? You're both so pretty..." Lime clapped his hands together.

Pink and Link felt anime sweatdrops appearing behind their heads as they both leaned back in shock, not expecting to do something so blatantly couple-like so soon. Though it seemed that the two knew that their only option was to do this if they wanted their freedom as quickly as possible.

"Since you were so nice earlier..." Pink took the chopsticks and plucked one of the three on the plate and began to blow on it as it was still a little hot.

Mint gave Link what she could only describe as his version of a puppy dog look as he leaned his head forward a tad. This caused Link to give a small smile and roll her eyes, closing them before nodding her head and picking up a piece for her to cool off too. After quite a few puffs of wind, the two thought they could now feed them to the Musk boys without risk of burning their tongues.

"Say aaah..." the two twins said as they extend their hands out towards Mint and Lime.

Pink served Lime while Link served Mint, the two opened their maws and closed their mouths down on the entire thing before retracting their heads and savoring the balls of delicious seasonings and mushrooms. The twins watched intently, waiting for the moment the two would swallow.

"That was amazing!" Lime smacked his lips a little and then opened his eyes to blush at Pink who upon meeting his eyes looked off to the side and laughed nervously.

"Oh...?" Pink replied bashfully as she put the plate down to the side, smiling softly.

"Really!" Mint said as he sat on his knees and bowed.

Lime noticed and shifted his position on the ground as fast as he could, following Mint's example and bowing for the girls as well, "It's been a dream come true eating food made by such pretty girls!"

"You're too sweet..." Pink said sounding a little sad.

"Two of the sweetest," Link added as she softened her expression. "Please return home safely." She instructed.

"Don't worry when we all get there-" Mint started but stopped as his ears twitched.

To his side was Pink as she had clapped her hands together, the two Musk warriors stood up. They blinked and started packing all their belongings while leaving anything they had taken from Pink and Link right in front of them. For them, it was like watching two machines at work.

"Goodbye!" Mint and Lime cheerfully said, waving them farewell as they entered the forest.

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"Link's the best! She's so caring and warm..." Mint said blushing as he carried a bag over his shoulder.

"Think that's great? Pink's so easy to talk to and playful!" Lime complimented as they slowly walked out of earshot.

Pink and Link picked out their belongings and waited a little while before taking off running. They kept running until they eventually reached the main dirt road, the only strange thing was that the two had remained silent the entire time.

"Link..." Pink spoke up.

"Yes?" Link asked as if just taken away from her thoughts with the split second it took for her to reply.

"I… enjoyed my talk with Lime, he's strong and no one would mess with a guy like him," Pink admitted with a slight hitch in her voice.

"I… well, Mint was polite and not as scary as I thought," Link answered her sister's admittance with one of her own.

Slowly it was as if the rosy red coloring to their cheeks took a nosedive, becoming a shade of crimson neither twin had expected to see as they looked to one another and laughed nervously.

"This is stupid! T-they're from the Musk!" Pink spoke as if the idea was just flat out crazy.

"R-right?" Link asked confirmed as they continued on their journey.

"Let's just go to Yakusai..." Pink and Link said in unison.

----------------------------------------

Much like a geyser from Yellowstone park losing steam, the water eventually equalized with the sudden change in environment; leaking through the cracks, leaving the top of Fist Rock to dry under the morning sun. Water slowly starting to pool at the base.

Out from the receding waters came a gigantic arm, and even the beads of water being splashed out its fist were shot with such intensity that if any normal man were hit with they'd undoubtedly feel a stinging sensation. To Ryoga, however, it was more like a warning... one he could not meet in time due to his near prone-like position.

"Ah...!" Ryoga screamed instinctually as he was thrown back several feet only to skid on his heels and plant both feet firmly on the ground.

"He transformed…" Dan Lo blinked as he lowered his binoculars while watching the fight from a safe distance.

Ryoga, rather than letting this slow him down, allowed his adrenaline to drive him to continue. The moment he was able to move forward he fought against some of the pressure from Taro's attack and as his left dorsal touched the ground beneath him, it created a small crater he used as a means to catapult himself back over to Taro.

Surprised but not off guard the horrific creature slapped the Lost Boy into the ground, 'Get up from that!' Taro thought as he smirked. Only to see the yellow-clad teen bounced off his chest, flipping himself into a hunched over position, seemingly unharmed.

"Compared to the boulders I've endured to get here, this is nothing!" Ryoga proclaimed as he took his stance, stomping his foot in front of him. This caused the ground to crack beneath his foot. "Guess you're gonna' need that dive from last time!" He barked before narrowing his eyes.

Taro roared loudly before ascending to the skies with his mighty wings, 'You asked for it!' he thought but all that came out were monstrous Ox grunts.

Off to the side, Ranko stared in amazement as she bore witness to the fruits of Ryoga's labors. It was then that she recalled the encounter she had with this beast and how it ended with her getting slapped away with just one swat. 'Like some damn fly, only 'cause I was so sore from our fight where he up and does some freaky curse magic and-and that doesn't change the fact dat Ryo can take more of a beating than me-' she thought begrudgingly and even somewhat spitefully.

"Guess you're gonna' need that dive from last time!" She heard him taunt.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ryoga? First, you let em' change into that freak show and now this!?" Ranko demanded as she figured he must have taken more damage than she thought if he was giving his enemies tips.

'...What the hell is wrong with you...!'

Ryoga closed his eyes and lowered his head a little, a shadow cast over his eyes as his aura seeped from his being and surrounded him. Her words danced in his head, along with all the other times he had found himself risking Ranko's friendship and or companionship.

This was to Ranko's misfortune as she opened her eyes when finishing and expected him to reply in some way, it never came as he merely tilted his head down. "Are you even listening...?" her eye twitched as she tried to get out of her restraints.

"Shi-Shi..." Ryoga began as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Taro took this opportunity to encircle what remained of Fist Rock, gaining speed as he knew there was nothing the other teen could do to stop his descent anyways. The cursed monstrosity of creatures clenched his right fist, gaining the maximum amount of altitude he needed to ensure the Lost Boy wouldn't be coming back from this final blow.

Ryoga loosened his posture and looked as though he would collapse from sheer depression but that was merely the impression, images of what Taro could do to Ranko if he didn't win filling his mind. "Hoko..." he muttered in a deep tone.

"Move Ryoga! Are ya' tryin' to get yourself killed!" Ranko ordered once again, now sounding more genuinely concerned.

Ryoga grit his teeth as Ranko's voice only reminded him she was alright, 'I need it to be as heavy as it was yesterday! Is it harder to rely on the same thought after using it!? Dammit! I need something! Anyth-'

'What if she recovers her memory and forgets me...?'

It was then that a gust of wind shot out from the Lost Boy's body, kicking up the hair over his eyes long enough for Ranko to see her dear friend's tears. He looked up just in time to see the demon that threatened his chances at happiness.

"Daaannnnn...!"

Rather than outright being stopped or knocked back the beast met the attack head-on and as it did it came crashing down on top of the lost boy, kicking up enough dirt to part the winds as dramatically as his ki gathering had finished.

"Ryoga...!" Ranko screamed in fear.

Before the smoke cloud could clear on its own, something within the center fanned the dust cloud and Taro's monster form flopped to the side while Ryoga grunted as he pushed the cursed abomination off him. "Damned monster's really heavy!" he grunted while panting.

"You're..." She stared as if Ryoga had just magically become a mathematician.

"I did it, I-I can't believe it..." Ryoga mumbled with a well-earned sigh, coming to a stand.

"You're such an idiot for making me worry!" Ranko exclaimed in relief, closing her eyes with a smile.

"I'm alright!" Ryoga called out to her, one of his fangs poking out from his lower lip. "And I'm going to have to thank Lotion for all that training!" he said teaming with newfound confidence.

"Quit your gloating and come untie me!" Ranko commanded, content in the fact that they had come out of this alive.

"You got it," Ryoga smiled and walked over as quickly as he could.

He started untying the pantyhose holding her down on the log, standing right in front of her as he reached behind her and began unfastening her pantyhose themed cuffs.

"What was that energy attack bout', huh?" Ranko questioned.

Ryoga kneeled down to undo the bindings near her ankles, "The Shishi Hokodan?" he inquired, although he didn't get an immediate response from the redhead.

All he could get was his friend giving him a calculating stare before protruding her bottom lip forward and narrowing her eyes. "You didn't have to go through all that..." Ranko looked away while pouting.

"Huh...?" Ryoga blinked in confusion.

"Don't ya go around thinkin' I'm some damsel in need of rescuing!" Ranko complained, even though her current situation was very contradictory to her claim.

This served only to perplex the Lost Boy enough to actually standing up before he could fully untie the redhead, "Ranko..." Ryoga uttered in slight disbelief. "Is now really the time-" Ryoga started but was quickly interrupted as he was throwing the first set of pantyhose over his shoulder.

"Don't think you're some hotshot now that ya got that yoko-whatever-blast!" Ranko exclaimed, closing her eyes in frustration.

"Ranko, calm down!" Ryoga exclaimed his voice booming a little.

"You'll see! I bet I can master that thing too!" Ranko protested finding herself red in the face from embarrassment.

"Are you actually jealous?" Ryoga questioned, dumbfounded by her competitive nature.

Ranko was about to defend herself with the first thing that came out of her mind but stopped as her eyes widened.

Taro rested on his back as he was unmoving, however, still alive from the looks of it as his chest rose up and down. It was only until a stray pair of pantyhose fell over Pantyhose Taro's muzzle and eye that he opened his eyes and like a machine, the beast surveyed its surroundings before hearing something.

"Don't think you're some hotshot now that ya got that yoko-whatever-blast!"

Taro rose slowly and as calmly as he could, narrowing his eyes and leaning his head forward. "Grraaah..."

"Duck!" Ranko screamed in surprise.

"There are no-" Ryoga said, feeling as though she were overreacting over a bird.

"Not that, stupid!" Ranko groaned in annoyance.

"Don't tell me that…?" Ryoga's eyes widened as he heard the very familiar growling noise accompany her remark.

From behind him came Taro, who had been charging at him with his knees bent much like a rabid bull's. He was in no position to evade, Ryoga froze after he turned. His eyes fell on the tips of his horns and he understood clearly the intention behind Taro's dash attack. He was going to be impaled!

"Like hell!" Ranko exclaimed as she stomped both her feet with as much force as she could before launching herself forward from the now cracked ground beneath her feet. With the log holding her down being taller than she was, Ranko was able to align the top end part of her post and smash straight into the beast's head wound, colliding with such force for the wooden beam to split in half with a loud snap!

The impact dazed the creature, and it gave Ranko time to move and whip the pantyhose still tied to her wrists away from the wooden pillar, letting her tumble and roll away from the monster.

Taro recoiled in pain and groaned like an OX as he shook his head. Blood from his newly open wound started gushing profusely over his eye, blinding him so he was forced to put his hand over it.

At that moment Ryoga was yanked back into the action, he noticed that Ranko's attack had stunned the monster long enough for her to get free, which also allowed Ryoga to get his bearings. He could see that Ranko had barely escaped, landing rather roughly. That was certainly the least of his concerns as he saw the beast take a step back before pulling its arm back, aiming for Ranko.

"Ranko!" Ryoga exclaimed as he jumped forward and pushed her away as she was rubbing her head.

"Ryoga!?" she shrieked in surprise when she felt Ryoga's hands on her back.

"Arr...!" Ryoga groaned as he was struck with what felt like the force of a torpedo, smashing into the ground so hard he even made a man-sized indent on the rock before the beast pushed harder, burying him into the gravel.

Convinced that was all for the irksome bandana boy, he returned his attention to the redhead who was yet again recovering from the sudden interruption, 'Fool! Now you'll get to watch her die...!' Taro thought as readied his free arm for another attack. Although while in mid-swing he noticed the ground below him started to tremble in a way he certainly did not like at all. This did not bode well for Taro as although he was aware of what was happening it was more like his mind was thinking much faster than his large body could accommodate.

The rock beneath his fist exploded, shards littering his face and arm, even in his open wound. He retracted his arm to try and clear himself of any embedded pieces of stone from his face.

Ranko had managed to compose herself long enough to hear a loud explosion which forced her to distance herself from the knockback of the Bakusai Tenketsu blast. "Can I just stand up for one second!?" Ranko questioned in annoyance as she got up to a kneeling position.

To her left was the Lost Boy, who was now sitting up and gritting his teeth.

"Thought it'd hurt at point blank," Ryoga muttered as he came to a stand, smirking in a way that would make Ranko proud.

Taro's eyes widened in rage as he clenched his wounded fist, causing blood to trickle down between his fingers as the creature's eyes went red. Snorting like an ox, he threw his arms out to his sides and let out a frightening battle cry.

"Come at us..." Ranko muttered as she made a rather large loop at the end one of the pantyhose tied to her wrist. "I want you to..." she narrowed her eyes as she watched Taro stampede over.

Reaching out with its massive arm Taro tried to grab Ryoga, nearly succeeding until Ranko jumped over his reach and ran the length his arm, showing off her amazing agility and balance to carry out her new plan.

"Gotcha!" Ranko exclaimed as she tugged her pantyhose bindings, fastening the loop she had slung over his hand.

"Whoa..." Ryoga muttered as he was slowly coming to a stand, blushing as for some reason he couldn't help but find her tenacity awe-inspiring.

"Let's see ya' fly-" Ranko said while tugging the pantyhose around Taro's wrists with both hands as she narrowed in on his wings, preparing to tie them to his back.

Almost as if Taro decided to heed her taunt as a command, she felt Taro noticeably tense as his wings began to flip heavily enough to take flight.

"What the...?" Ryoga's eyes widened as his hair was kicked up. "No...!" he screamed as he fought against his pain and steadied himself, just to use his powerful legs to spring himself up and over to the creature before it got too far, latching onto its leg.

"Dammit...!" Ranko exclaimed as she reached his back, fixating her gaze on Taro's geese wings.

"Please, Ryoga... do something!" Dan Lo muttered as he watched Ranko trying to change the creature's course.

"Ranko, don't fall!" Ryoga exclaimed as he was climbing up Taro's leg.

"What're you doing!?" Ranko demanded as she saw her plan backfire. "Ah, daaaaamn...!" Ranko cried as she was yanked from her position and flung off to the side the moment Taro moved his arm down.

Ryoga as he finally reached the back of the tough beast, looked up to see Ranko glancing over her shoulder before getting tossed off. "No, Ranko!" Ryoga cried as he leaped onto the top portion of Taro's back and grabbed his arm, trying to reel Ranko back up.

Stretch...!

From beneath the nightmarish monster, Ranko continued to scream until she looked to Taro's wrist and then her own, seeing the pantyhose tied her to him, "Haaaa...!" Ranko roared as she tightened her grip and tugged the length of the Pantyhose, which helped her bounce back straight at the monster with ever-increasing speed!

'I've had enough!' Taro thought as he reached for Ryoga with his other hand, and managed to grab him.

"Take this!" Ranko screamed as she shot up, her heels digging into the mad beast's head wound so hard it actually knocked it out!

It was as if Ryoga had seen a mighty Valkyrie land a decisive blow. Although unlike those mythical warriors of the Norse pantheon they were all still bound by the laws of gravity, so...

"We're falling!" she screamed as she latched onto one of Taro's horns.

"Ranko take my hand!" Ryoga screamed from Taro's shoulder as she looked at him before narrowing her eyes.

"Hold on, I've got an idea!" She ordered before grabbing Taro by the horns.

"Oh no...!" Ryoga's grip slipped momentarily and he found himself a bit displaced but ended up latching onto Taro's hide as best as he could.

"They're gonna' crash!" The shocked construction worker exclaimed as he sat up, watching the fight unfold while holding his binoculars firmly against his face.

The mighty creature's eyes squinted before opening wide, stretching its wings before beginning to flap them enough to narrowly divert crashing into Fist Rock, swerving to the left at the very last second.

But now that she was close enough to the ground, Ranko leaped off the creature and as she hit the ground she went to the very edge of Fist Rock. Her plan to ground the beast was simple, and she quickly prepared a pantyhose loop, her hands rivaling the speed of her thoughts as she jumped into the air while holding the nylons, placing the loop over what was left of the thumb of Fist Rock, tightening the knot as quickly as she could!

The women's fabric stretched as Taro went up, looking as though it was about to lure him back in but the monster simply flapped its wings harder, snapping the pantyhose like it was nothing. "What the!" Ranko gawked before seeing that on top of her new plan falling short, the giant took this opportunity to thank Ranko by diving at her with a vicious right hook.

"Oh! Come on!" She complained while barely dodging Taro's attack as his fist smashed onto the side of the thumb, pieces of it scattered in the wind in a violent explosion that rivaled Ryoga's Breaking Point technique.

One of the rocks went up, managing to get caught by Taro as he ascended. Smirking, the monster threw it as fast he could at the redhead.

"Crap!Crap!Crap!" Ranko exclaimed having no choice but to jump out of harm's way and into the water cascading down between the now ruined thumb and the index finger.

Ryoga had yet again climbed his way back up Taro's shoulder, one of his hands frozen in place and balled into a fist, looking as though he hadn't even had the time to reel his arm back. It was then that he saw his friend falling, not even noticing as they continue to ascend.

'...Ranko...?'

Transparent but horrific images of what could happen to Ranko filled Ryoga's mind with utter dismay, so much that so that his aura reflected this grime demeanor. An inky black mist drifted off his body as if he were somehow gently pouring water over a hot iron. His energy raising so much that it seemed as if the air was too thick with negative energy to spread out as it had before, "I have to end this for her..." Ryoga muttered with a cold and deep sounding tone.

A sudden pressure caught Taro's attention and noticed he wasn't elevating himself as quickly as he normally did and looked over his shoulder, 'Insolent little!' Taro thought before spinning himself in the air, trying to shake the Lost Boy loose and managing to do so by flicking Ryoga off, although up above himself to try and impale the Lost Boy with his horns.

Recognizing this as his only chance the Lost Boy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as the veins on his head expanded to the point of pulsing. "Shishi...!" Ryoga roared proudly in midair as green energy gathered around his form and now with an added green hue to the dark vapors surrounding his form.

Snort!

It seemed that Taro's demon form wanted to challenge the strength of Ryoga's beam, 'It didn't stop me before so even if it hurts like hell you're dying...!' Taro's inner voice reflected the anger and hate he felt for the Lost Boy.

Ryoga uncrossed his arms to hold his hands out, "Hoko...!" his voice boomed as he formed a ball of green energy with a black hue.

From the viewpoint of a pair of binoculars, a pair of eyes blinked as they saw Taro shifting his head so his right horn would pierce the Lost Boy's chest, "Almost..." Dan Lo mumbled sounding concerned but hopeful.

"...Daaannnnn...!"

The massive green energy beam fired with enough force to not only push delay Taro's ascension but slow it down just enough to stop the horn that almost rammed through his heart, 'What!? Nooo...! Ahhhh...!' Taro thought as he tried to fight the knockback but found that his assumption was wrong given how he was sent falling straight back down to Fist Rock.

Booooom!

So much energy had been put into Ryoga's attack that his eyes had turned the same shade as his green and black aura. He relaxed his demeanor as the color drained from his eyes. Spent after using most of his ki, the Hibiki boy crashed unceremoniously into the rock below.

Rumble...!

The new lake below Fist Rock trembled and shook from the center point of where the ki attack hit. Ryoga's blast had expanded as it engulfed Taro, taking with it the cabin and what remained of the once abundant cold water traps on the side of the large rock formation.

A dust cloud popped up as the energy had left a crater the size of a small house, expanding the number of cracks that already threatened the rock's structural foundation. The half that had been hit by the Shishi Hokodan crumbled and released debris underneath them as they kicked up dirt and scared a flock of birds away.

The now somewhat awkwardly named Fist Rock less resembled a fist and more a broken and damaged hilltop about to come undone from years of abuse.

"Now I can go find..." Ryoga mumbled while managing to stand up, then falling again, limp and unmoving.

Thud!

The young Hibiki landed on his back and did nothing as his eyes closed, looking beaten while covered in scratches and bruises. "Ranko..." he managed to meekly get out.

There was a moment of silence as the dust finally cleared, the monster remained dormant at the bottom of a crater on the side of what remained of First Rock for a little while because shortly after, Taro's leg twitched and his fingers trembled; slowly his eyes began to open. 'I-It's not-not over...' the beast thought as it painfully climbed to the top of the formation, attempting to stand up once he was there. The beast looked left and then to its right, finally spotting his enemy. Groaning, the creature staggered his way over to the Lost Boy.

Blood dripped off the tips of his fingers and head, one of Taro's eyes closed as the blood coming from his head was enough to keep him from seeing out of it so well. It snorted deeply a few times as it seemed that even moving was a strain on it.

Ryoga managed to open his eyes but was now so deprived of energy that he couldn't even muster the strength to move anymore. "I'm sorry, Ranko..." he gritted his teeth, fighting his body to ink out just a little more but failing as he could only spasm a couple of times in response.

A huffing shadow slowly crept over the Raven haired teen's head, 'Now it's over... let's see you survive a hoof to the head!' Taro thought with a tired but sinister-sounding internal monologue.

It was then that a kettle came crashing into the back of the monster's head, the resilience of Taro's monster form guaranteed he didn't even notice the attack, but the second the warm water touched the creature's skin he was reverted back to his human state.

From behind the cursed nudist stood Ranko, her clothes tattered and soaked, "G-Got cha'..." Ranko said while her hair covered one of her eyes.

"H-How...?" he mumbled as his foot had landed on Ryoga's cheek but all his foot could feel was the same durable surface he had felt when they had fought earlier.

"R-Ranko...?" Ryoga opened an eye to see Ranko's hair undone.

"I heard what Ryoga said about the hot and cold water stuff so I decided I'd kick that pot at ya' to turn ya back to normal..." She replied with a snarky grin, stilling managing to stand she took her stance and narrowed her eyes.

"Even like this... I can beat you!" Taro groaned as he felt the jagged pieces of rock painfully tear open the wounds in his arms and back.

"Save it for someone who cares!" Ranko screamed as she ducked a weak punch from Taro and slammed her own fist straight into his stomach.

"Omph!" he groaned as his knees buckled and his eyes widened, slumping a step forward, onto the redhead's shoulder.

She allowed his head to rest on her shoulder for a second before shoving him off and letting him flop to the side, eyes closed. Ranko had concluded that if Taro's monster form could resist such terrible abuse, his human form could not, and she had guessed right.

All the while Ryoga managed to see all this, mesmerized by the elegance and strength of this long-haired warrior Goddess.

And if Ryoga could use one word to describe what he thought about Ranko's loose hair, it'd have to be...

"Beautiful..."

----------------------------------------

To Shampoo the morning felt… strange. Strange and yet, it also felt nice. She had woken up a little earlier so that she could prepare breakfast for her and her… boyfriend, just as she had promised him the night before.

'No, not boyfriend,' she thought and sighed as she stared at the food she had already placed on small containers. Mousse was not just her boyfriend. He was her fiancé, the man who had earned her hand in marriage. The thought, which she believed would trouble her for days, had melted away last night after their first (wonderful) kiss, and she had now discovered that she actually liked him, maybe more than what she imagined she did.

'It's because I spent more time with him when we were traveling around the region,' Shampoo reflected while placing the food on a small and easy to carry wooden box. 'I finally got to know him better, and that changed everything.'

She wondered for a moment what would have happened if that fake woman Ranma had been a man when he challenged her and shuddered at the thought. The mere idea of being engaged to such a dishonorable man who used a Jusenkyo curse for personal benefit made her feel sick. No, better not to think of that; she had other things to worry about and Ranma was not one of them. The Musk Dynasty on the other hand…

'We'll survive a war with them,' she swore, her hands resting on top of the box. She felt then something warm fall on her wrist, a tear she realized as she brought her hand to dry the wet trail it had left on her face. 'I don't want to lose you, Mousse… not now that we finally are together… we must survive, we have to!'

Fearing she would crack into tears if she moved, Shampoo simply stood there in silence, trying to push the dread she felt down for several minutes until she decided she was back in control. And much to her surprise, the thought that helped her defeat her fears was the simple, ordinary image of eating breakfast with Mousse.

"I… I must hurry, or we won't be able to eat anything before we start training," she whispered, taking the box as she walked out of her house. By the time she was walking down the street towards the training grounds, the girl was wondering, for the first time, actually, if Mousse would like her cooking; it was funny, she realized, how she always assumed he enjoyed it before.

…

"Did you like it?" Shampoo asked as she placed her chopsticks over her empty plate. She and Mousse were sitting behind a house, resting on the grass and enjoying the fresh morning breeze that ran through the alley. "I… I mean, maybe you didn't?"

"I don't normally have meat for breakfast," he said after he finished his food, turning to smile at her. "But I liked it, your cooking has always been great!"

"I'm glad," she told him, smiling back. She hesitated for a moment, still feeling a little uncertain on how to act near him now that they were engaged before leaning on his side, resting her head on his chest.

"This is nice," he said, bringing his arm around her shoulders so he could hold her, enjoying the way her body pressed against his.

"Yes, it is…" Shampoo sighed. "Too nice, Mousse… I could get used to this."

He didn't answer immediately, instead, bringing his hand up to softly caress her face, slowly tracing the line of her lips with his thumb. This change in her, to know that she was letting him touch her like this… he still had trouble believing it, and he feared he would wake up to find it all to be a beautiful dream.

"And to me?"

"…I think I could get used to you, too," she said, leaning on his chest, letting his arms envelop her fully. "Mousse?"

"Yes?"

"I… when the Musk captured us," she made a pause and took in a deep breath, discovering that saying this was more difficult than what she imagined at first, but she had to tell him. She wanted to.

"Go on," he encouraged, running his fingers through her long, silky hair. "I'm here for you."

"I discovered that I… care," she got out with a whisper. "I care, Mousse… I care for you."

"Shampoo… that makes me so happy," he said and adjusted his glasses so he could see her, finding she was staring at him with an intensity that made him wonder if she was alright.

"Mousse, don't you understand?" She asked him, abandoning all pretenses of strength and placing her hands on his chest, her fingers closing on his robe tightly as she gathered her courage to tell him what she had found in her heart the night before. "…I like you, I care for you… I could… I think I could even love you soon and it… it frightens me. Loving you now, when war is so near… it only makes it more difficult because… what if something happens to you or me?"

"It won't," he promised, holding her tighter, trying to help her drive her fears away. "I want you to fight by my side when the time comes, I'm sure if we are together nothing bad will happen to us..."

"Do you trust me that much?" she asked, staring at him, moving a little back so she could place her hands on his shoulders and from there moving them to his face, finding that she liked touching him like this.

"With my life," he said. "And you?"

"I… I trust you with my life, too," she admitted. "Maybe… maybe if we fight together we will make it."

"We will, Shampoo, I swear we will..."

Before she could answer, Mousse brought his lips to hers and kissed her gently, softly, using this contact to give her confidence, to let her know he would protect her no matter what. That they would survive the war and build a future afterward.

…

Cologne closed her eyes in thought and stood still for a moment. She had meant to call Shampoo at once, but the children's conversation captured her attention so instead of interrupting, she devoted a few minutes to listen to their conversation.

'Amusing how our current situation forced those two to grow up,' the elder thought as she examined her old cane, finding it interesting what the threat of war had done to both her great-granddaughter and her beau. She had honestly not expected them to suddenly become mature enough to deal with both their nascent relationship and the upcoming battle like this; they were, in fact, handling it much better than many of the other teenagers in the village. 'I knew we raised Shampoo well, but I suppose I have to give credit to the boy's family as well for bringing him up right...'

Those thoughts brought back memories of someone, however, an old friend Cologne had not thought about in many years. She sighed and wondered what she was doing now, and even felt a little bit of sadness because she was not here to see how well Mousse and Shampoo had grown. But she had chosen her path, and it could not be changed.

'Perhaps I'll tell her about this someday,' the old amazon mused. She then waited a little more to give the two teenagers a moment more to enjoy themselves and when she considered it had been enough, she entered the alley and said:

"So this is where you were. Are you two planning on cutting your training short today?"

Cologne had to stifle a laugh at the way Shampoo and Mousse stiffened. They obviously thought this backstreet was some deep secret place where nobody would find them and were now both blushing deeply, even if they had not been kissing when the old woman decided to walk in on them.

'I guess even if they're more mature now, that they're still children in many ways,' the old woman thought with a smirk.

"Great-grandmother," Shampoo said, quickly jumping back to her feet and standing very still, hoping Mousse would follow her lead. Luckily, her boyfriend did, more or less at the same time.

"Cologne," Mousse greeted with a nod, also standing up but not with the same urgency as Shampoo had. "We were about to go to the training grounds."

"It's… it's not as if we were meeting in secret or anything!" the blue-haired girl blurted out then, feeling suddenly nervous as she remembered she had not yet told anyone in her family about her engagement with Mousse. She now feared they would not approve.

"I saw you two fight yesterday," Cologne revealed. "I know you two are now engaged."

"You… you do?" Shampoo asked, trying to decide if this was good or bad and settling on waiting to hear what her great-grandmother's verdict on their relationship was. Still standing by her side, Mousse also decided to wait in silence.

"You should have told the family last night," the old amazon chided, then chuckled and rested her cane on her shoulder, sending a knowing glance at her granddaughter. "Don't worry, I'm not against it."

"You… aren't?" Mousse said, having trouble believing what he'd just heard. "But I thought you…"

"No, I am not," Cologne interrupted. "After thinking about this I've decided you are not a bad prospect. You proved you are responsible and reliable during your recent expedition with Shampoo, and from what I've seen I must admit you're the strongest man your age currently living in our village. Besides, your great-grandmother was a respected elder, you come from a good family… I believe Shampoo couldn't have chosen someone better."

"That's… are you really letting me marry Shampoo?" he asked, still not completely believing Cologne was not against their engagement.

"If you really must know, you were not my first choice as far as martial arts skill goes," Cologne stated pointing at Mousse with the blunt end of her cane. "I was really curious about how proficient that troublesome Ranma Saotome child is, but things are what they are and, like I just said, I do think you are worthy of my dear Shampoo."

"I would never have agreed to marry that fake woman," Shampoo rejoined, disgusted at the mere idea of even being engaged to Ranma. "I'd rather be kicked out of Joketsuzoku."

"I can see that, child, and I am glad you and Mousse are together," the elder nodded. "But you two have a busy day ahead, so let's continue this conversation later..."

"Elder, wait," Mousse called, surprising Cologne as he hardly ever used the proper honorific when talking to her.

"Yes, boy?"

"You mentioned my great-grandmother," he observed. "I thought it was forbidden?"

"I didn't say her name, did I?" she countered.

"Cologne, do you know…?" Mousse suddenly stopped, understanding asking about his great-grandmother could cause him trouble.

"Do I know what, child?" The elder said. "Do go on."

"I'm not sure if I should, I mean…"

"Ask her, Mousse, you may not have the chance later," Shampoo encouraged, holding his hand in hers to offer him support. "It's alright, I'm sure my great-grandmother can answer your question."

Cologne's left eyebrow rose in surprise, as seeing Shampoo offering such honest support to another person was something that didn't happen often. Perhaps, then, she really did have feelings for this boy beyond the mere obligation of losing to him in battle had placed on her. Well, if anything this could be a source of strength for the girl, so the elder decided it would be best to simply be happy for the two.

"If I know the answer," the old woman corrected. "Ask, Mousse. You are Shampoo's groom so I will do my best to help."

"Very well," the short-sighted teen said and breathed in deeply. "Do you know why my great-grandmother was exiled?"

"I do. But I cannot tell you why Lotion was banished from Joketsuzoku..."

"Please tell him, great-grandmother," Shampoo said, stepping forward kneeling in front of the elder, her hands resting on her knees and her face low. "I know we're asking you to break an oath of silence, but… please, consider it a favor to me if you must."

The old Amazon sighed, reached for her pipe and lighted it. She remained silent for a few seconds, enjoying her tobacco as she considered Shampoo's request. Mousse knelt down next her great-granddaughter during her silence, and both children were now staring at her with hopeful eyes. Moved by this, and impressed by the lengths Shampoo was willing to go to in order to help Mousse, the elder made her decision. Sighing again, she pointed the pipe at the teenagers and motioned for them to sit so they would be more comfortable.

"Very well, I will tell you," she raised one hand to stop the teenagers from talking, as she did not want to be interrupted during her tale. "Be quiet and listen well, as I won't talk about this again..."

Mousse and Shampoo obeyed and prepared to pay attention to the elder's words.

"It all began when Mousse's mother arrived in Joketsuzoku," Cologne started. "Your mother, my boy, came from Tong Po harbor, we hired her to be the teacher in the town's school."

Mousse gave a nod, as he was already familiar with that story. His mother was still the town's teacher after all.

"Your mother inadvertently insulted an Amazon and things escalated to the point of almost violence. The only reason your mother was not sent to the town's clinic was that your father intervened," Cologne recalled, mentioning something that Mousse didn't know. "And so, your mother was allowed to stay here, but was not recognized as a woman of Joketsuzoku and received outsider status… one year later, your father announced they would marry."

The elder made another pause to refill her pipe and then continued with the story. "Since your mother was still under punishment for insulting one of our warriors, marriage was not allowed by the council. Your father, of course, challenged this ruling. There was no convincing your father and so your great-grandmother, who was his only supporter, offered to quit the council if he was allowed to marry your mother."

The teenagers were surprised to hear that, as Shampoo knew what an elder who quit the council had to do, while Mousse had never imagined his parents had to go through so many difficulties to be together.

"All of us in the council were surprised, I personally could not believe someone would do that willingly," Cologne admitted, then continued. "The price any elder has to pay for voluntarily leaving the council is to leave the village and live the rest of their lives in isolation deep in the mountains… why? Well, it is to protect the Amazon's secrets. And yes, Lotion agreed to this. Two of us spoke in your great-grandmother's favor, and it was decided that she would be able to stay in Joketsuzoky for six years so that she could help raise any possible great-grandchildren. That is why Lotion vanished when you were but a little boy, Mousse, and why she can't come back."

"Isn't there a chance to lift this punishment?" He asked. "My great-grandmother is a master of martial arts, if we bring her back she could help us fight the Musk!"

"No, it is impossible. Unless Lotion makes a great service to the village I don't see it happening." The old woman provided. "And no, asking her to help us is not allowed, I'm sorry."

----------------------------------------

Within the confines of Dan Lo's shed where the three sore and beaten martial artists, one of which was currently bound by steel chains. Ranko and Ryoga sectioned off to the corner as they watched the green-clad brunette rested on his back. Neither spoke, they merely watched.

At several instances, the redhead and Lost Boy, whenever they'd even tried to look in the same direction they would immediately turn to look away with faint blushes on their faces. It caused Dan Lo to roll his eyes and smile, probably finding it amusing.

Ryoga finally decided to keep his eyes on Taro, but he wasn't really looking at him but rather in his direction.

"Hmm..." the wise-looking elder hummed while looking to the base form of the monster.

"Ugh…!" Taro gasped as he awoke almost as if someone had slapped him awake.

"Calm down, we don't want a fight..." Dan Lo assured as he held his hands out.

"Long as you don't give us a reason to..." Ryoga warned as he narrowed his eyes.

"And here I was hoping it was just a bad dream," Taro said and closed his eyes, a defeated man.

"You're welcome," Ranko replied in an equally as threatening tone as Ryoga's.

Taro managed to sit up and scoff off Ranko's obvious attempt at getting under his skin. "This is the first time I've ever been defeated in both of my forms..." he announced as he opened his eyes.

"Funny how that works, huh?" Ryoga added.

"As much as I hate to say this and I mean reallllly hate to say it..." Taro looked away and grit his teeth. "I can see you're both at least halfway competent martial artists."

"Now, now, let's settle down," Dan Lo held a hand out to seize Ranko and Ryoga, who had not responded well to Taro's insults. "No need to fight here..."

"Although I still despise the both of you, especially the redhaired gnat-" Taro continued and suddenly stopped as he found Ranko's fist stopped a mere inch away from his face.

"Keep testing me you creep, we're not playin' around here so-"

"Ranko, enough!" Ryoga's voice boomed as it struck Ranko's ears.

Ranko expected to see an angry expression much like her own, and prepared for an argument she turned to look over her shoulder. "He's just asking for it…!" Ranko started but lost all desire to argue when she found that Ryoga's eyes held no hostility.

Slowly, the Lost Boy shook his head, asking her not to cave.

"Attack him and you're giving him what he wants..." Dan Lo gestured to Taro as he appeared to be smirking.

Ranko blushed in embarrassment before shoving Taro on his back, taking what little satisfaction at the fact that her backing down actually got him to grumble in annoyance, 'I know it's kinda' pathetic but everything inside of me was saying! To hell with honor, I want payback!' Ranko thought with an aggressive passion as she went way over to the cabin wall.

"Let's just get straight to it then?" Dan Lo asked all those in the room, there appeared to be no objections.

"Just get on with it," the redhead urged as she crossed her arms and plopped her back against the wall. She settled on silently fuming and lowered her head a little. Sighing and feeling spent, she started to wonder if Taro's insults were losing their effectiveness or if she was just that exhausted and irritated.

"Why did you try taking these two's Corly Weed?" Dan Lo questioned as he stood above the teen.

"That's none of your business..." Taro said casually as he seemed to shrug off the question.

"He wanted to sell it in Yakusai..." Ryoga chimed in as he adjusted his position on the ground, groaning in pain as he moved.

"How about you quit meddling you-" Taro barked maliciously, clearly having little losing patience for Ryoga.

"Enough!" Dan Lo shouted with force to surprise even himself. "If money is what you're looking for then I've got a proposition for you..." the middle-aged man offered.

"As if anything you have would be of any interest to me!" Taro scoffed at the mere mention of a possible deal, feeling offended, even. "What would we be doing anyways...?" he asked with his eyes closed.

"Must really need the money..." Ryoga scoffed as he the corner of his lip curved upwards.

Snort!

Standing near him and within earshot, Ranko covered her mouth. Fighting off a case of the giggles. Both had been so caught off guard that when they checked to see if either had noticed, they both immediately looked away.

"We don't have much time, you see even before you and the other two happened by we were falling behind on schedule and even worse, our employer contacted me earlier saying most of our crew had quit after seeing you turning into a monster to fight these two yesterday," Dan Lo finished.

"Hmmm... so what?" Taro seemed to think over before shrugging.

"With a form as strong as yours I'm sure you could easily do the work of twenty men!" Dan Lo encouraged, hoping that the arrogant looking teen could find it in himself to take his offer.

"The salary of an entire construction crew...?" Ryoga questioned in disbelief. He looked at his one-time master, 'Should he actually trust that guy...?' he pondered.

"I have access to the complete payroll, if only you help me finish the bridge..." Dan Lo pushed as it seemed that he was really out of options.

Taro hadn't actually said no, to think they were expecting no... betting on someone's natural greed to help them out. To say it was bizarre would have been an understatement but really they didn't have many other options.

"Sounds like a tempting offer but I could stand to humor you..." Taro said, not actually saying yes either but clearly there was a gleam in his eye that spoke otherwise.

"My lucky day then," Dan Lo sighed contently and wiped his brow.

"You could have sold it better but at least you got his attention," Ranko commented and rolled her eyes.

"I just happen to have some free time is all," Taro spoke up, hoping to clear the air. Failing, of course.

Dan Lo opened his mouth as if he was about to add something else but found himself frozen instead. "Thank you."

"H-Hey Dan Lo are-are you sure about-" Ryoga muttered as his body shook.

"Hey! Take it easy, man!" Ranko warned as she turned around and put a hand on his shoulder.

Dan Lo smiled as he inserted a key into the lock restraining Taro, turning it.

Rattle!

Cink!

Thump!

Faster than a samurai drawing their sword in a surprise attack, Ranko and Ryoga diverted their attention away from Dan Lo and onto the hostile bandit-like cursed martial artist. Their overreactions proved unwarranted as their former attacker appeared to be stretching, and in much less pain than they were.

"First we should get you acquainted with your workspace, so please, follow me to the bridge," Dan Lo began as he pocketed the key which released Taro.

Their caution was met with a cold dismissal and a hateful gaze. Taro paid them no mind as he looked to Dan Lo and nodded his head. It seemed that Dan Lo's trust in Taro's negotiations skills paid off as he returned the nod.

"Ryoga, my boy!"

"Hm...?" Ryoga hummed as he held his hand over his chest.

"You two can stay the night here if you'd like; after all, it's thanks to you two this project still stands a chance!" Dan Lo said as he began leading Taro.

"You're welcome, I honestly couldn't have done it without you!" Ryoga called out as best as he could in his current condition.

They could see that he looked over his shoulder and gave them a warm smile, giving them a thumbs up as he and Taro made their way over to the construction site.

Ranko simply nodded, letting both Ryoga and Dan Lo have their moment...

Although something quickly became apparent to Ranko, Dan Lo and Taro were probably going to be busy given how everything turned out and here she was, alone in a cabin with the boy she had some exceptionally mixed feelings for...

"Okay... I can do this, maybe..." Ranko whispered, blushing while maintaining a stone-faced demeanor.

Later...

The flames danced as Ryoga carefully and slowly sat the teapot on the wooden stand. After sitting it down he looked to the cartons of instant ramen next to him but instead continuing with the task at hand he just stopped and stared, 'Damn it, I should have been stronger, he was still able to keep going after sleeping for a while and here I am...' Ryoga though as he fought off some pain in his shoulder, grasping it with his hand.

"I-I can stand it more when I d-don't move so much..." Ryoga muttered as he lowered his head.

Allowing his thoughts to wander back to his fight he couldn't help but feel he could have done better, he could have kept her from even needing him to save her by accident. Wallowing in despair was getting him nowhere either, Ranko was fine and they'd be back on their mission as soon as he was able.

"I can't let her go alone..." Ryoga said before raising his head and walking out of the cabin. He searched with his eyes to see the girl of his dreams kneeling by the river.

Ranko sat on her feet as she was huddled over and tossing a stone across the river; it thunked against a tree trunk before bouncing off it and landing on a pile of pebbles she had no doubt accumulated there over time.

Her audience hummed to himself with uncertainty, 'So she's just been sitting there this whole time?' Ryoga thought in dismay, preparing himself he decided he'd let fate roll the dice. Swallowing hard Ryoga felt his nervous old habits remerging to haunt him.

Each ripple made by Ranko's masterful hand were graceful and abundant, there was no doubt her hands were on a class of their own if speaking merely in terms of speed and precision, 'Guess that means I ain't the-' the redhead thought only to choke on that thought.

Gently limping his way over to her he stopped about halfway there. "I hope she's not avoiding me..." Ryoga said barely louder than a whisper. Thankfully the girl's thoughts were elsewhere, so she hadn't noticed him getting closer yet. All Ranko could think about was how effective Ryoga's attacks were against Taro's monster form, even though she did contribute in her own way, 'I couldn't even do enough to matter...' Ranko thought as she squinted her eyes, remembering how much force Ryoga's finishing blast was packing.

"You okay...?" Ryoga question as he was now just a few feet away from the fiery redhead.

Ranko's eyes widened and she felt her grip tense mid-toss, her throwing stone crashing directly into the pile and scattering it into the water. "Y-yeah! Ya' don't gotta' go sn-sneaking up on me like dat!" Ranko warned looking over her shoulder to him.

Ryoga was about to comment on the fact that he hadn't snuck up on her but decided against it, "Sorry I was just worried..."

Despite there being no sense of superiority to his words she couldn't help but scoff.

"It's nothing..." She reassured sounding spiteful. "I'm just thinking is all..." Ranko nodded only to flinch slightly as she heard his feet shuffling around.

"I think I'll join you, the breeze is kinda' refreshing..." Ryoga said as he took his seat near her, scratching his cheek with his index finger.

He had expected her to say something but alas she had remained silent. This certainly wasn't what Ryoga would call an ideal situation but at the very least he was sure she wasn't in any danger. Left to their thoughts neither said anything, all they could hear was the distant wailings of the nearby wildlife.

"Why...?" Ranko's voice questioned, piercing the silence.

"Why...?" Ryoga looked at her, confounded by her question.

"Why'd ya' have ta' go an' learn that stupid ki blast technique!" Ranko barked as she felt ready to burst. "Since when are you so much stronger than me, huh!?" she clenched her fist out in front of herself, remembering all the times she had bragged about being better only to see Ryoga had reached another level above her own.

"But Ran-"

"But nothing!" Ranko exclaimed. "All I can use is the Amaguriken while you've got the power to blow up boulders like it was nobodies business! T-That's just not-" she ranted, only to struggle to reach her conclusion.

Ryoga's face hardened as he witnessed her actually showing signs of jealousy towards his own personal growth, 'Here I thought she was thinking she hated me...' Ryoga thought as his face softened.

"That's not fair!" She exclaimed shutting her eyes and choking on her words a little.

"I did it for you, Ranko..." Ryoga spoke up, mustering all the courage he could in his current state.

Ranko's pupils shrunk as those words escaped Ryoga's mouth, feeling as though he were just trying to baby her again. "I'm not some damn princess in need of rescuing! Okay!?" She declared, punching the ground in frustration.

"Ranko, please..." Ryoga tried to intervene, adjusting his position so he could reach a hand out to her.

"I could've gotten outta' that myself before you had ta go an show off that technique of yours!" Ranko swore as she stood up and began to walk away.

In Ryoga's urgency, he neglected to take his condition into consideration so as he came to a stand his hand ended up being clutched over his chest. "Because if I hadn't something bad could've happened to you!"

For an instant, Ranko stood frozen in response to Ryoga's words. She didn't need to turn around to know what kinda' expression the Lost Boy was giving her, all she could do was find herself returning to her question from earlier.

"Why!?" Ranko forced out, whipping around as the wind blew her still untied scarlet locks.

To say Ryoga was speechless would have surely been an understatement, he looked as though he were a man stricken by the awe-inspiring beauty of a natural wonder. Even in the pale moonlight Ranko's silky red hair and sapphire blue eyes reflected it in a way that made Ryoga all the more nervous, a blush spreading across his face as he swallowed a mouthful of air and exhaled.

"Ranko, the reason I keep- I keep going out of my way is for you!" Ryoga dug deep and summoned as much courage and fond memories of the girl as he could. "And that is because... I..."

"Spit it out already!" the redhead demanded.

"Because I-I love you, Ranko… I love you," Ryoga confessed after much effort, panting simply because of how nervous he had become.

"You... what?" Ranko gasped as she took a step back, her blush quickly spreading to the point it matched the same shade Ryoga's had taken. For him to confess in such a way and so suddenly it certainly answered her question but that didn't mean she had an answer of her own to give him.

'Did he j-just say he...? S-Should I say it back or is he just...' she thought with some excitement all while fighting off a tirade of mixed feelings.

Unable to tell what she was thinking Ryoga patiently waited for her to give him her answer.

Ranko's eyes were obscured by the front of her hair as she tilted it forward. 'He said he loved me first and I did say I'd...' she thought as her mind went back to that moment of weakness as Taro's hostage. 'But wouldn't that make me look even more like some prissy little girlfriend who needs her knight in shining armor to come to saaavvvve her...!' she pondered mockingly but could do little to answer for the butterflies in her stomach.

"I did it all to rescue you..." he spoke softly as he saw how torn she looked.

"What did I just tell you!?" Ranko demanded as she got closer to him, stopping until she was at about arm's length. "I ain't some weak little girl in need of rescuing!" she shouted as her eyes began to water at the corners.

"I know you-" Ryoga started but couldn't finish.

"You got that!?" Ranko repeated as she weakly punched him in the gut.

"Omph!" Ryoga doubled over as he held his arms over his chest and dropped to his knees.

"Ryoga!" She said as she dropped to her knees following Ryoga as she put her hands on his shoulders for support.

"Guess I'm not as strong as you think... huh?" He forced a smile before squinting his eyes shut.

"You're such an idiot..." Ranko sighed deeply, closing her eyes with a small blush before helping him to his feet and walking him back over to their cabin.

…

The popping sounds of burnt wood filled the silence while the two teenagers sat on logs across the fire from one another, none daring to speak. What was there to say? Ryoga had confessed and at this point, Ranko was almost a one-hundred percent sure she was the cause of his current timidity. All she could do was to stare into her cup of noodles and hold her chopsticks silently waiting for it to cool enough for her to start eating.

It bothered her how all this tension happened because he wanted to go and talk about the one thing she wasn't sure on but had almost gone all the way with several times before. But… this time it was different than all those other cases because it was asking her to confirm her feelings.

'Why's this so hard!? I know I shouldn't think of this until my memories are back but he loves me now! And I...! And I...!' Ranko's thoughts tormented her as she struggled to find her answer.

Ryoga slurped up a stream of noodles in his mouth, a very melancholy atmosphere to him while he ate. He looked down to the murky reflection of his face in the broth of the cup. All he could do was see a man down on his luck and it upset him enough to look away from it and grit his teeth. 'I can't even find my way home! What made me think I should actually confess to a girl who's...' he thought, unsure as to what do.

Coincidentally enough Ranko happened to be looking in Ryoga's direction when he looked away from his cup, going from flustered and confused to just sad and confused. 'Look at the guy! He needs me to say sumthin' but I-I...' Ranko debated internally while trying to force her lips to say something despite not having anything to actually say.

"Err..." Ryoga seethed in pain, putting his noddles on the ground so he could place his hands over his stomach.

Ranko was no fool; she knew exactly the cause of his current pain, given where she had last hit him. 'I wonder if I was this bad before or if I've always been this bad with guys...' she ruminated on that thought for a second before standing up. 'Well, I don't know if I was, but maybe it's time to change that…'

With his mind elsewhere Ryoga failed to see Ranko approaching him from his side. 'She's probably angry at me, she's probably going to tell me how wrong it was for me to confess before she recovered her memories! What's wrong with me!? What am I even waiting for! It's not like she's gonna-'

"I'm sorry, Ryo..." Ranko whispered as she stopped next to him.

Ryoga snapped back to reality at that instant and swung his head to where the pretty redhead had just sat down. He doubted for a moment, then asked to confirm she had really said that. "Ranko, you're...?"

"Sorry for punching you like that. I didn't know what to say so I guess, I..." she said, trying to clear the air.

"Don't worry about it..." Ryoga said the strength behind his voice replaced with fear and doubt.

"Oh... I see you won't accept my apology," Ranko whispered, looking at him feeling both surprised and disappointed.

"It's not that! It was my fault, I should've never have said that!" Ryoga exclaimed, dodging her gaze.

"You're wrong!" Ranko disputed, her eyes meeting his as they came together in the center. "I didn't mind! In fact... I'm glad you did!" She breathed in deeply to steady her emotions and right after she gently reached her hand out, shyly touching him, slowly trailing her fingers across his torso, over the bruise she knew was under his shirt.

"H-hey! You don-" he tried to say only to close his eyes and tense as she rested her hand on his stomach.

"Sorry, is it still that bad...?" Ranko questioned with a softer than usual tone as when she looked up from Ryoga's midsection and into his eyes.

"It's not s-so bad anymore..." Ryoga leaned his head back a little as he swore he could feel the blood in his veins beating at the same rhythm as his heart was.

She nodded her head silently, wondering if all this intimacy with Ryoga was the reason behind her head feeling so light all of a sudden. Her hand still on his side only intensified the awkward feeling but it was not so bad now. She even enjoyed the sensations that came with touching him like this… a little at least.

'I've almost kissed the guy so many times now... w-why am I still so scared...?' Ranko couldn't find her answer, all she knew was that something inside her was holding her back, but what it was what she could only describe as a feeling a tense feeling that pulled at her in the opposite direction. She imagined this… aversion to Ryoga was nothing but her natural shyness, and she decided she didn't want to give in to it, not now.

Ryoga swallowed and breathed deeply. 'Is she into me or is she just trying to comfort me? What if I say something stupid again!?' he thought frantically as he heard Ranko sighing as if signaling she had come to terms with her thoughts.

"Have I… Have I ever told you how… lucky I am to have you, ya' big oaf...?" Ranko spoke suddenly but there was an obviously playful tone being implied.

Ryoga couldn't quite make out what she was getting at, given how her face was low and the front of her hair obscured those beautiful blue eyes of hers. He reached his hand out and put it on top of hers. She flinched a little when he did so, of course, but after a second or so she slowly relaxed.

"I'm grateful for all your help, Ryo. I really am..." Ranko said, not knowing how those words would only crank up the dial on Ryoga's stress levels.

This was it, he knew this moment had been coming for a long time now, he quickly closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. 'She's thinking about how she can spare my feelings! Maybe I should stop her!' he thought but his fears were clouding his mind and he couldn't think on the spot.

"Wait, I-" he attempted to say, but she ignored him and continued.

"An' I-I think... I think I'm falling for you, big guy," Ranko admitted with a warm but awkward smile.

Ryoga could only hear the ringing of his own ears as the news that was relayed to his brain caused it to cease functioning momentarily. It was as if all his mind could do was to ask 'What?-what?-what?' over and over again. It was only until Ranko's fingers came into view and then snapped that Ryoga was able to return to reality.

'She… she said she's falling for me...!' he thought as if he had made an unbelievable epiphany.

"Hey, Ryo… you still there?" Ranko questioned nervously as she brought her hand down to her chest.

Ryoga's eyes widened before he smiled, looking as though he couldn't believe what he'd heard. Using the arm closest to Ranko he brought it up to slowly caress her cheek, his touch was like static as she shut her eyes. "You okay with this?"

"I-It's nice..." Ranko said and tried to temper her breathing.

'I… I can do this...! I can do this...! But I'm so anxious, it's like I don't even wanna' kiss the guy! But I do want to! And… if he didn't quit on me… I'm not gonna quit on h-him!' Ranko thought, squinting her eyes before opening them with the same kind of determination she almost exclusively reserved for training.

"Ranko..." Ryoga muttered as his smile calmed down, looking at her tenderly, hoping this moment would never end.

"Ryoga..." Ranko said in a shy whisper as she followed Ryoga's example and...

Her hand slowly went from his stomach to his chest, her hoarse breathing even more prevalent than before as she reached his neck and eventually she cupped his cheek in return. To them, there were no more Amazons, Herbalists or even the Musk Dynasty.

All there was were the two shimmering orbs of light in both of their views, the beating of two hearts in tandem. The first to go in was the Lost Boy as even he knew that if he didn't act now he may never get the courage to do so again. Closing the distance between them, he softened his expression as his mouth went slightly agape.

Her lips parted as well, although a bit more hesitantly than Ryoga's but they could feel one another's breath as they neared their mouths. Slowly and oh-so tenderly, their lips finally met.

"Mmm…"

Both teenagers moaned, surprised by the powerful sensation while they both took their first kiss, exhaling through their noses as they began to timidly explore their boundaries, pressing their lips together, moving them a little, enjoying the shift on sensations that came with each new movement. The yellow-clad teen was the first to get bold as he pulled the redhead closer to him, unable to control the need to feel her in his arms.

Ranko shook in fright when she felt him grab her so suddenly, and she instinctively placed her free hand on his chest to stop him. She appeared to be struggling as her blush was even deeper than Ryoga's, looking uncomfortable even. What was going on? She wanted him to hold her, but that something inside her that had pulled back again.

'No… there's no going back now,' she thought, staring at Ryoga's eyes and smiling to let him know everything was alright. She would not stop. These feelings she had for him… they were simply too strong, stronger than whatever small thing inside her that kept resisting them. 'And I don't wanna go back, because, Ryo and I…'

"Hold me," she begged and relaxed when he enveloped her in his arms. She brought her own up and pressed her body against his. "Mmmm… Ryoga…" she moaned as he leaned in, searching for her lips by kissing across her jawline. Soon they were kissing again, and this time she returned the kiss with the same passion she was being given.

For some time they basked in the beauty of this intimate contact, both of Ryoga's arms now on Ranko's waist as they kept exploring their limits. It wasn't too long before Ranko pulled away from the kiss, panting deeply through her nose as she basked in the pleasure she had just received; she never imagined kissing could feel so good…

'W-was that normal for me hesitate like that? Felt my skin crawling at first but soon I got into it I-I...' she thought, her braining working at a million miles per hour as she finally was able to examine her earlier hesitation.

Keeping his eyes closed the Lost Teen leaned his forehead against the redhead's, hearing her panting, he opened his eyes. He expected to see her just as blown back as he was but instead, he saw a girl who looked as though she was trying to piece some complicated puzzle together.

"Ranko? Are you al-" he questioned right before she literally leaped at him again and closed her eyes as she searched for his lips with a hunger that he never expected from her.

"Mmph...!"

Now, this kiss was certainly different from the first; it was as if Ranko's sudden sign of affection encouraged Ryoga to meet Ranko's acceptance with equal vigor. Every single instance they shared together flashed in their mind as they released all their pent up frustration into the other.

It felt much like Ryoga's first kiss with Nekoken Ranko but now both of them had that feeling, that sensation of weightlessness.

Just two feathers, drifting together in an endless paradise...

----------------------------------------

Genma was starting to wonder if escaping on his own would be necessary, he had been here for what felt like months instead of only weeks, he feared his skills were starting to deteriorate. He had practiced and meditated as best as he could in the limited space he had in his cell, even if it simply was not the same. But what truly worried him, however, was Ranma's whereabouts. Despite what others would claim Genma did love his son, and he felt deep in his gut that something bad had just happened to his child if only he knew what it had been!

The door behind him opened, and an attractive woman in her early thirties entered the room. She carried a tray with food and Genma smiled, pleased as he noticed the portions in the plates were larger than the day before. The prospect of an abundant meal helped him push his concern for Ranma to the back of his mind, if only for the moment.

"You look worried, Saotome-San," the Amazon observed as she placed the tray on the little table next to the bed. "Are you not well?"

"I am now that you've visited," he said and smiled as invitingly as he could. "Being able to spend time talking with such a charming young woman is enough to bring comfort to this old man's troubled heart..." he praised, putting a hand over his heart with his eyes closed.

"You are not old, Saotome-San," said the woman, smiling appreciatively at the flattery sent her way. "Most men in our village would be lucky to be as strong as you are at your age… I was able to bring you a little bit more food, by the way..."

"You are too good to this poor criminal," he said and bowed. "The mere fact a woman of such beauty favors me a little even if I don't deserve it is…"

The door opened again, interrupting Genma's words. The master of the Saotome School of Martial Arts froze the moment he noticed Cologne had entered the room. The Amazon, who was standing by the table, did not freeze, she instead started trembling like a leaf.

"E-elder Cologne…" she started, struggling to find words to explain her behavior.

"Leave, Basil," the elder interrupted coldly. "You and your husband will be needed in the training grounds starting tomorrow, so I suggest you go and prepare..."

"Yes... honorable one, I'll be going now," the Amazon said, quickly left the room.

Cologne paid no attention to the soldier and instead sat on the chair opposing the one Genma had been about to sit on. Once alone, she reached for a cigarette box and offered one to the man in front of her.

"Not now, thank you," Genma said unsure of taking a seat, but hoping the old woman would not be against him eating.

"Your food's getting cold," Cologne said as if reading his thoughts. "Go ahead and eat."

"Thank you," he said as he proceeded to devour his meal, but despite his obvious appetite, Genma kept an eye on the old woman, just to make sure she didn't make any sudden moves.

"Are you interested in that married Amazon?" the elder asked then. "It would be unwise of you to give her false impressions, considering her husband is one of our strongest warriors, you know?"

"I was just being friendly," Genma said, trying to sound offended while pouring some hot tea in a cup.

"Friendly or not, I recommend you leave our women alone," she advised, leveling him with a severe stare. "The last thing we need right now is a stupid, overly emotional drama queen..."

"I'll be careful," he promised, then decided to try his luck. "Your guards here in this house are all female, so that would make it difficult not to start any drama. I can't help it if women enjoy talking with me, but if you let me go…"

"Heh… the way you speak and eat reminds me of someone I met a long, long time ago," Cologne said, thinking about certain lecherous, little man from her youth. "Anyway, I am here because I thought I could offer you a deal. If you do what I ask, we could consider letting you go and forget about what your son did during our martial arts tournament..."

"And why do you think I can help you?"

"You were able to defeat several amazons as a panda, and your son has been surprisingly troublesome and crafty, and is a skilled fighter as well, from what I've heard. What I mean is, if you were able to train him so well that he's eluded us for this long, then that means you are a good teacher and we may be in need of your services..."

Genma smiled inwardly at the praise and felt a little bit calmer after hearing Cologne mention Ranma. If the kid was still giving the Amazons trouble then it meant he was doing fine out there. Perhaps that strange premonition he felt in his stomach earlier had been nothing but hunger, then?

"So Ranma keeps evading you," he declared, hoping to get more information about his child this way.

"Last time we saw your son was a while ago in the village of Yakusai, not too far from here," the elder provided. "Ranma was traveling with another young man about his age, they managed to escape us just when we thought we had them..."

Genma answered with a nod, feeling really pleased with the news and certain now that the uneasiness he felt before Basil brought him food was nothing to worry about. It surprised him that Ranma had made a friend, but in the end, that was also really convenient. If the boy had an ally then that meant he would be coming soon and besides, the boy having a friend was a good thing, it could be like his own long friendship with Soun Tendo. Yes, having a comrade to bond with could help Ranma grow as a man, something that would aid them when they eventually meet Nodoka.

"So, what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"I want you to train some of our younger fighters," the elder said. "You will share some of your techniques with us."

"Hm… I imagine this relates to the recent changes in the village?" Genma guessed as he finished his meal. "I saw that most of your teenagers are receiving different, more severe training now."

"You are quite observant, we should have kept your window closed," Cologne said then continued after a pause. "Very well, no use hiding it now. We may get attacked soon, and it pays to be prepared. So, will you do as I request?"

The Saotome master drank the last of his tea and understood he really didn't have a choice. He would have to cooperate with the amazons or risk their anger. Still, this was not a bad thing, as he would get to leave his cell, which meant an opportunity to escape. And besides, sharing some of the aerial combat techniques and moves from the Saotome School of Martial Arts with the Amazons was a very small price to pay for a breath of fresh air and a chance to flee this strange village for good; with some luck he would find his son quickly and the two could finally go to Japan.

"Very well, you have a deal," he said with a businesslike smile. "But I want to choose those I will teach."

"That can be arranged," Cologne said. "We'll start tomorrow, make sure you rest well."

And saying nothing more, the old amazon walked out of the room, locking the door behind her.

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