Silence filled the room as neither Ryoga nor Ranko had responded to the elderly woman's question. This did not sit too well with her, she hummed to herself in a clearly agitated sort of way.
"She doesn't have to answer anything!" Ryoga announced.
"Well, hopefully, she'll know more than you boy!" the Amazonian elder rudely interjected, pointing her cane directly at the Lost Boy, however, he did not appear afraid of her.
Ranko stared down their captor, possibly weighing out their options. "Wait...you don't...?" Ranko paused before muttering, taking a second to rewind the strange woman's choice of words, the redhead quirked a brow.
"Huh...?" Ryoga stopped, noticing the look on Ranko's face.
"I don't, what...?" she asked dangerously narrowing her eyes, "Child..."
Ranko's face matched the elder's intensity, their auras battling over dominance. "Look here, we're not anyone you should be worried about! We just fell into your trap by accident... okay?"
"Such a rude child, has no one taught you any respect for your elders?"
"Rude? You're the one who's got us all tied up you crazy mum-" Ryoga lashed out, fighting against his restraints, his efforts causing stretching noises from his thick rope binding only to be struck on the top of his head, making Ryoga cry out in pain.
"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, ya' old crone-" Ranko only got as far before facing the end of the cane as well.
"From now on, you two shall refer to me as Lo-shen..." she spoke as clearly as she possibly could.
On Ranko and Ryoga's side, the two had to take a moment to let the oddness of these Chinese names sink in. The strangeness of it all even took some focus away from Ranko's repeated head trauma.
"Alright, Lotion… I'm Ryoga and this here is my friend, Ranko, and…" he introduced, gesturing to his companion next to him with a swaying of his head. He took in a deep breath to calm down, closed his eyes and lowered his head before opening them again, feeling somewhat calmer.
"Before we say anything else," Ranko said suddenly, catching Ryoga off guard, silencing him. "Are you with those Amazons? You look like you're from these parts!"
Lo-shen blinked as she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, "I actually thought you might be connected to them..."
"So, you're saying both sides thought we were...?" Ryoga paused, realizing how silly they must have all looked.
"So then what are you foreigners doing here so far out in the Bayankara mountains?" Lotion asked before holding a sleeve up beneath her chin, humming to herself.
"It's a little complicated but this is actually the case..." Ryoga spoke up, feeling that a warning was necessary for what they were about to tell her.
"You cannot possibly imagine the things I've seen, child, at best I'll be moderately surprised..." the old woman said right before putting her arms in her sleeves but keeping her cane close to her form.
"Alright then..." Ryoga blinked then looked at his friend who met his eyes then looked down briefly before meeting his gaze and with a deep breath and a little hesitation, she opened her mouth and then closed it before starting again.
Lo-shen watched this silent exchange, her head tilting to one side.
"I can't remember much before I met Ryoga but I got attacked by this crazy girl with purple hair, who I found out was an Amazon trying to kill me for who knows what crazy reason!"
"Amnesia..." Lotion muttered.
"Exactly..." Ryoga confirmed. "I decided that I'd help Ranko get her memory not too long after..."
"Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma? (Do you speak Chinese?)" Lotion spoke, facing towards Ryoga.
"Huh...?" Ryoga blinked.
"Strange, the girl I understand but you, boy, you seem to be hiding something..."
"What are you on bout'?" Ranko pouted in annoyance.
"I'm with Ranko... what?" Ryoga inquired.
"You don't speak Chinese yet you're so far out here as well, I say this because when talking it seems like you're both trying to avoid this boy's side of the story..." Lo-shen focused, targeting him and his intentions.
"I-it's personal..." Ryoga's face tensed to the point it felt that it like he may go on a feral rampage.
"You don't have to tell her everything, ya' know..." Ranko assured.
"Save your breath, girl. Now, boy, I've seen enough from you and I can sense a great ki imbalance within you..." She relaxed her vision and closed her eyes before continuing.
"Although seeing as Ranko here seems to understand this to the point of hiding it, I can only imagine someone has wronged you..." Lo-shen's eyes looked as though they condemned this magnitude of hate.
"It's got nothing to do with either of you, trust me..." Ryoga lowered his head and showed genuine remorse for his short loss of control.
"Look! We're just trying to get my memory back so I can live my life again! And he's helping! But the Amazon's are after me and now we're pretty sure the whole village of Yakusai is helping them!"
"Have you not stopped to consider the possibility that they're after you for also wronging them?"
"Watch your mouth! Don't think for a second I don't know what you're thinking! Ranko couldn't!"
The redhead choked, hit with waves of doubt and panic as when she thought about it, 'It's not like I really know who I am... but-but I couldn't? Could I?' she thought, unfortunately, able to see Lotion's point of view.
Stopping himself Ryoga saw from the corner of his eye that his friend had become quiet and even hesitated to speak, "Ranko..."
"How can you be so sure? How far can you truly trust someone with amnesia?"
"Even so! The Ranko right here right now is innocent!" Ryoga exclaimed, feeling his face go red from forcing himself to say those words.
"Such recklessness..." Lotion said, sighing and shaking her head, 'Either this boy is in love or incredibly stupid... could be either really...' the aged Amazon thought.
"Ryoga, I... thanks, man..." Ranko swallowed, feeling glad to know that despite her questionable position he was still willing to stay by her side.
Ryoga's heart felt like it was going to explode with how much he had just done, 'Dammit! I can't believe I'd... but I just can't believe that Ranko could-' Ryoga thought before swallowing hard and facing Lotion with his eyes shut tight.
"So now you know… we're no harm to you and we just want to get as far away from here as possible," Ryoga said, opening his eyes near the end of closing their case.
"I will need time to think. For now, you two must wait..."
"W-what? You're not seriously going to leave us like this!?" Ranko demanded as she fought against her restraints, only to smack her back straight against the chunk of stone beneath her.
"What do you take me for, a fool? I know you're willing to take such a risk but I know neither of you enough to take that risk..." she answered as though she were giving a plain as day answer.
"I told you I'm willing to accept the consequences, please let us go!" Ryoga pleaded.
"I'm sorry but for now I must tend to my garden... I hope you two can understand." She then stood up as much as she could despite how oversized her garb looked in comparison to her small body. She looked at them one final time and casually began to walk away from the two.
Her actions alone caused Ryoga and Ranko to stare in shock, unsure as to what to do about the situation. "Are you serious!?" Ranko shouted in disbelief and anger.
"Get back here!" Ryoga cried as he bore his fangs.
All the while it seemed as though Lo-shen hadn't even been paying attention, using the end of her cane to push her slightly ajar door completely open before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her, leaving the two in the room completely alone.
----------------------------------------
The packs were heavy on their backs, but the group of four teenagers, three girls and one boy, still managed to make steady progress as they moved through the Chinese forest surrounding the Bayankara Mountains. They had been walking for a few hours already, trying to find any trace of the two evasive fugitives who had fled the herbalist village. Leading the party was Shampoo, who was currently engaged in a loud argument with apprentice herbalist Pink; they were arguing about what they should do the next day. Shampoo wanted to keep going in the same direction to get closer to the taller mountains in a straight path, an idea that Pink strongly refuted as that would force them to cross the cursed Jusenkyo springs which was dangerous enough, but what really scared her was getting close to Mount Phoenix and the rumored bird people who lived there.
"Those are nothing but stupid legends!" Shampoo said with an exasperated huff. "And you're stupid for believing them!"
"Legends or not, I don't want to risk getting in trouble with them just because you're a fool!" Pink countered. "Besides, there're rumors of some big hairy ape beast prowling around that area, too!"
"Well, you're a coward and besides I'd be doing all the fighting!"
And while this continued, a few steps behind the two warring teenagers, Mousse and Link simply walked with their heads hanging low, both wondering when the useless banter would end. The near-sighted boy was willing to go wherever Shampoo decided, as he hoped this would help him get closer to her, but he'd rather she stopped arguing, since his hearing was slightly more sensitive than normal and the loud voices were starting to get aggravating. But even if it was starting to be annoying, he wouldn't stop helping her. He cared too much for her.
"Pink is being so hardheaded," Link, who walked just behind him, lamented in a low, low voice.
"Shampoo can be as well," he agreed with a whisper, "sometimes, at least."
"You heard me?"
"Yeah, I did," Mousse said with a shrug, continuing when she stared at him with a puzzled look. "My hearing's pretty good, much better than my sight at least. That's why I heard you."
Link nodded, glancing at Mousse in silence for a bit, noticing how thick and large his glasses were and wondering how she would feel if she had his poor eyesight. She thought she wouldn't be able to deal with it.
"I've heard of the beast your sister mentioned," Mousse said then. "My father is friends with the Jusenkyo guide and he heard it's just some poor bastard who fell on a very cursed spring. I'm sure we can just talk to him if we meet him."
"I really don't want to go there, those cursed springs are a bad place and should be avoided," the girl said with a shudder. "Can we just go to some of the other villages instead, if you please?"
"Jusenkyo is indeed cursed," Mousse agreed. "But it isn't that bad. Legend says that any martial artist who completes the special training you can do there will gain incredible power. That's what they say in Joketsuzoku, at least."
"In our village, we say that if you go there with a restless heart, Jusenkyo will know and choose the spring that will hurt your life most and draw you to it so that you fall," Link provided. "Like I said, it's a bad place, the worst in these mountains."
"It's not worse than the Musk Dynasty's territory if you ask me," Mousse told her. "That's the place I want to avoid."
"It's quite close to Jusenkyo, too," Link sighed. "I don't like it either, the Musk are creepy."
It was then that Shampoo turned to look at Pink so she could tell her straight to her face how stupid she was. But instead, what the young amazon saw was Mousse talking with the other twin. Talking! He was not supposed to do that! The twins were little more than dead weight, there to provide only two extra pairs of eyes but nothing else, why was he wasting their time talking to one of them? If he had to talk to someone, it should be her, not Pink or Link… particularly Link!
"Hey!" She shouted angrily, causing both Pink and Link to freeze where they stood. "Mousse, what are you doing back there? Come to the front, let the deadweight walk behind us!"
"We're not…!" Pink started but was quickly silenced by her twin's hand over her mouth.
"Sure, we'll do that, don't you worry!" Link promised with a nervous smile as she dragged her sister a few steps back, "now, sister, calm down… if you please?"
"Ugh… fine!" Pink agreed, taking a deep breath to calm down. She decided this was for the best because if she kept arguing with Shampoo she would get an ulcer, she just knew it. Besides, if the idiot Amazon and her blind friend were walking front, if something or someone dangerous came their way it would hit them first, something Pink was quite alright with.
"I don't think they're deadweight," Mousse said when he was walking next to Shampoo. "Their skills may come in handy, you know?"
"They are too annoying," Shampoo answered, not looking at him. "And I'd rather you don't talk to them. You are supposed to be helping me, aren't you?"
"Well, yes, but…"
"No buts!" She exclaimed and bopped him in the head. "I'm the one in trouble, here! I can't fail my Great-grandmother again, you know? If I do she may decide to punish me in some awful way! Mousse, I need to know I can count on you, alright?"
Mousse closed his eyes and felt Shampoo's ki fluctuate; a person could control their voice and facial expression but it took them a lot of training to keep their emotions from showing in their ki. And he felt Shampoo was not angry, she was worried, almost afraid he thought. It wasn't surprising either; the idea of being punished by Cologne was particularly frightening. Why, his own Great-Grandmother…
"Can I count on you?" She asked again.
"Always, Shampoo." He said and risked placing his hand on her shoulder to reassure her, feeling happily surprised when she didn't flinch or moved away. "I'll always help you, you know that."
The young Amazon didn't reply and simply smiled, satisfied. She then refocused on the rarely used road they were traversing, hoping to effectively hide how pleased she felt knowing Mousse was willing to help her and also wondering why she was feeling that way.
Hours later…
The four eventually set camp near Jusenkyo, paying close attention to do it on the area that was Joketsuzoku territory as none of them wanted to deal with any Musk guard that could be passing through their borders, as they were known to do. Pink and Link were content since nothing scary had occurred; the twins weren't cowards, but they both strongly disliked pain, taking risks or getting involved in scuffles they had little chance of winning unharmed, so they were really appreciative of their good luck that day. As for Mousse and Shampoo, they were also quiet, if not as content as the herbalist sisters. Shampoo had descended into a permanent state of frustration, and would have gotten violent with the twins if Mousse hadn't been there; the near-sighted teenager had become a calming influence on the purple haired girl, mainly because Mousse was calm and collected about the whole thing. He wasn't as emotionally involved in the mission as Shampoo or the twins were, so he could simply concentrate on enjoying the chance of spending time with the girl he was in love with and using this as an opportunity to get closer to her.
"I wish we had cooked meat to go with this," Pink complained as she stared at her measly portion of rice and vegetables. "We did bring canned pork, why are we eating this?"
"Because we must economize our rations, if you please," Link reminded her. "We don't know how long we'll be on the road."
"Doesn't seem to be a concern for them," Pink frowned and pointed at Mousse and Shampoo, who was enjoying a very tasty smelling stew.
"Shampoo has more resources than we do," Link sighed. "Just be glad the village elder gave us some food."
"The Joketsuzoku kids could share with us," Pink said with evident distaste.
"Don't count on it," Link stated. "Shampoo thinks we'll poison them if we get close to their meals."
"Well, I would poison them," Pink grinned. "They deserve it."
"Mousse doesn't."
Pink stared at her twin and noticed the way she was looking at the long-haired boy. She didn't like it one bit. Was Link getting a crush on that blind fool? That would be bad; apocalyptic levels of bad. Shampoo would never forgive them if that happened.
"Sister, if you please…" Pink called in a scared whisper, "tell me you're not starting to like Mousse."
Link started coughing, having swallowed her food the wrong way after hearing her sister's words, "I don't… I just think he's a nice guy, ok?"
"If you say so…" Pink sighed, not at all convinced.
Later still…
Link couldn't sleep. She was tired, of course, but was feeling restless and it was her sister's fault. Why did she have to ask her if she liked Mousse? She clearly didn't. Girls could be friends with boys and that didn't mean they liked them… right?
"You and your big mouth…" Link muttered as she sat and stared at Pink, who was soundly asleep. She sighed and decided walking around for a bit maybe what she needed, so she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders to ward off the chilly wind and silently exited her tent.
The camp was quiet except for the creaking of burning wood to her left. She looked in that direction worrying that the fire they started to cook dinner had gone out of control but she just found Mousse sitting on a rock next to it, poking at it with a stick to keep the flames alight. The young herbalist stood there for almost a minute, thinking and considering her emotions until she was finally certain she didn't have a crush on Mousse. She had enjoyed talking with him earlier, and he seemed nice. In fact, Link decided they could be friends, but nothing really more than that.
"You can't sleep either?" She asked once she was standing next to him.
"I thought you were your sister," Mousse said, not looking at her. "I'm still not familiar enough with your ki signatures to tell you apart, you know? And no, I can't sleep."
"I see. Can I sit here for a minute, if you please?" Pink said, thinking she didn't really need to know how he detected her ki, as far as she knew, it was a fairly advanced skill that took many years to master, but she reasoned the Amazons were simply that good at martial arts.
"What about you?" Mousse wanted to know. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"…Nothing in particular," she said. "It's just that this whole thing with that redhead and her friend is too strange. Why do you guys want to get them so badly?"
"They caused trouble in our village," Mousse answered but didn't elaborate. "It's just I have this feeling things will only get more complicated before they end and that honestly worries me."
"I hope you're wrong," Link sighed. "I don't like violence or getting in trouble."
"Well…" Mousse turned to face the young herbalist apprentice. He adjusted his glasses and noticed her concerned frown, and studying her ki told him she was indeed quite nervous. "Hey, don't worry too much, I'm sure it'll all be fine, and we all may end up as good friends, right?"
Link couldn't help but find his words incredibly silly, she and Link becoming good friends with Shampoo? Not in a million years! She tried to respond but giggled instead. "Oh, Mousse…"
Shampoo couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what her Great-grandmother could do to her if she failed. She imagined that Cologne would choose the most severe punishment possible and the girl just didn't know what it would be, and that uncertainty was making her stomach twist in ways that weren't pleasant at all.
She heard voices outside and frowned, who was out there? The twins? She closed her eyes and paid attention to the people talking. She quickly recognized Mousse, and indeed, the other person was one of those annoying twins, but which one? Shampoo felt immediately upset; she had told Mousse to avoid talking to the herbalist girls. Why wasn't he doing what she asked?
It was then when Shampoo noticed the herbalist girl giggling and then heard her say…
"Oh, Mousse…"
And those words, drilling into her ears, finally set her blood to a boiling point and before she could really think about what she was doing, a furious Shampoo reached for her chui and almost tore open her tent. She stomped out towards the fire and found that Link and Mousse weren't even sitting close to each other, but she was smiling and he seemed just too comfortable with her presence. The only thing Shampoo's brain could process was that she could not allow this to continue; because Mousse was her friend! He was hers and that was it!
"Shampoo, come sit with…"
*Crash!*
Mousse couldn't finish his invitation, for Shampoo's Chui collided with his face with the strength of a cannonball, knocking him out cold and once again terrifying Link so badly she could only shriek in surprise.
"Mousse is my friend," Shampoo declared as she grabbed the unconscious boy from the collar of his shirt with her right hand and picked her mace-like weapon with the other. "Talk to him more than necessary and you will be in a lot of pain. Do you understand?"
"I…y-yes… u-under-understood," Link stammered, too terrified to say anything else she simply sat in silence while Shampoo dragged Mousse into her tent and not really comprehending what had just happened, she simply decided Shampoo had been jealous, and given the present evidence, making her jealous was not in her best interests at all.
As for Pink, she had remained completely oblivious to all this drama, still sleeping like a log.
----------------------------------------
For as long as they had been tied up both Ranko and Ryoga had suppressed their need to shout obsessively whenever they saw Lo-Shen through the small window on the door in front of them. Whenever she wasn't the two would remain quiet, silently waiting for her to either come back so they could try to reason with her or hope they could find some way to prove to her they're not actually a danger. Though Ranko and Ryoga found themselves staring at the door far longer than they had wanted to, their eyes began to lose hope and their heads began to sink further down their collars like a slowly moving avalanche.
"Ryoga…" Ranko muttered with her eyes closed, her voice coming out in a dull and tired tone.
"Yeah, Ranko...?" the Lost Boy asked his voice sounding just as monotonous as hers.
There was a pause before Ranko struggled against her restraints again, although she seemed more like she was trying to find some way to make a large piece of rock comfortable. "I don't know! I just feel like talking! I just don't know what to talk about…"
"I guess I get that, we could talk about anything you want, maybe?" he suggested.
Ryoga looked off to the side, 'What should I say? What can I say? Is it my fault we're here? I am the one who...' Ryoga thought while scrunching up his face.
"Hey, Ryo…" Ranko's voice mumbled again as she turned to face him, catching a glimpse of his disgruntled face.
This snapped Ryoga out of his, he turned to see Ranko looking at him with a slightly surprised but quizzical face. "Y-yeah?"
"Man, you're so obvious sometimes about how you really feel…" Ranko sighed and looked down before taking a deep breath.
"Wh-what?" Ryoga's eyes felt as though they had suddenly expanded to the size of baseballs, his voice stuck in his throat as he feared for the worst.
"I know you're having second thoughts about helping me, so, I'm sor-"
"Don't apologize, Ranko! Nobody told me to help you! I-I wanted to!" Ryoga explained, choking halfway through his sentence, realizing it made him seem way more interested than he'd like to let on, at least, consciously.
"What're you gettin' at?" Ranko asked somewhat nervously.
"I-if anyone should be apologizing it's me! I'm the one who suggested we get jobs in that crazy village..."
"W-what? You ain't gotta' be so noble all the time!" Ranko barked, reaching Ryoga's level of anger but almost immediately letting it fizzle out like a dying fire. "It's my fault! How could you have known?"
"It's my fault we got caught!" Ryoga countered.
"It's my fault because I'm the one they're after!"
The two looked like rabid beasts poised to strike, their staring contest a strength of will rather than wits.
"Wait..." Ryoga paused to think. "Are we fighting over whose fault this is?"
"You bet we-" Ranko's anger began to fade when she realized what Ryoga had.
"Wow... I think I'm just as bored as you..." Ryoga muttered, noticing that the argument did, in fact, keep them from being bored but found that all that did was kill only a small while for the two.
"Whoever's fault this is, this still sucks..."
"No kidding..." Ryoga muttered.
"Wanna' talk about something else? Something not so depressing maybe..."
"Like what...?" Ryoga asked after a brief pause.
"Like..." Ranko looked to her side, "What's up with that Ki imbalance thing that old fossil was talkin' about?"
"I... I honestly don't know..."
"Ki is like energy, right?"
"I think so but I really don't know much about it, I wonder if there's a cure for this..." Ryoga looked off to the side, knowing he had an imbalance didn't sit well with him. Especially since being a martial artist involved a very delicate balance to attain true strength.
"Hey, don't get so down! You ain't the only one with a weird sorta' problem..." Ranko began but needed a moment to gather herself, actually trying to comfort her devoted friend.
"Are you saying there's something other than your amnesia?" Ryoga asked with a noticeable hitch in his tone, which did not go unseen by his redheaded friend.
"Yeah but it's not really all that bad..."
"So, what exactly is it...?"
"I-It's stupid..." Ranko found herself feeling dumb because of it, for her, it felt like a violent allergic reaction; or what she thought one would be like.
"Want to talk about it?" Ryoga paused to let her answer.
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Ranko flinched just barely enough for Ryoga to see, "Not really..."
For a moment Ryoga felt that maybe he wasn't as close to Ranko as he would have liked, despite him knowing about the possibility of her memory returning and of her memories of him fading with it. "Well…"
"I just..." Ranko began shutting her eyes, finding it a little hard to open up, 'Dammit! I'm such a tomboy I can't even open up to the only guy I can probably call a friend...' she thought, wondering how confused and or hurt Ryoga might be.
The snapping sounds of robe bindings echoed in Ranko's ear, catching her off guard as she saw the Lost Boy fell to his hands and knees before standing up and dusting himself off. "I'm sorry..."
"Huh...?" Ranko blinked and then looked down to her own bindings, immediately she concentrated her strength in her arms and arched her head back, shifting from side to side, only to see her efforts were in vain.
"Uh... I was going to say I finally got enough rest to break free..."
"Oh..."
"What... did you think...?"
"N-no! I just..."
"It's not important..." Ryoga spoke up, stopping her before she could continue by going over to her and using his bare hands to free her from her literal stone prison.
"Thanks..." Ranko said as she looked off to her side, her face softened when she saw how stern looking Ryoga had become.
Ryoga gave her a nod of his head and looked around the brick room they were in, confirming there were no windows in there. "Hey, Ranko..."
"What?" Ranko asked as she watched Ryoga walking towards the lone door in the room.
He held his hand up to ask her for a second as he pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully, trying to hear if Lotion was around.
"It's been awhile since we've seen or heard from Lotion, right...?" Ryoga asked as he put his hand on the knob in front of him.
"I'm pretty sure..." Ranko nodded.
"Alright then... let's get our stuff first..."
"Then hightail it outta' here, gotcha'..." Ranko nodded her head as Ryoga returned the gesture, turning the knob before quietly leading the two out of the room.
Constantly shifting their eyes from side to side the two friends acted much like a swat team, working together as a single unit. Their eyes trailing the walls for traps, but only seeing some decorative local Chinese knick-knacks, unreadable scrolls hung up on the walls with various pictures of animals and or monks, some probably containing words of wisdom or ways to live one's life, the occasional plant, etc.
As they left what they assumed to be the living room they traveled further into a dining area, themed much like the previous room: minus any scrolls of wisdom and furniture. They didn't need to look any further as on the table in front of them were Ryoga's things taken out of his backpack and aligned as though they had been thoroughly inspected before being placed down.
"Damn it... " Ryoga grumbled as he quickly went to grab his discarded and empty bag, starting with his clothing.
"Paranoid old..." Ranko whined in a low groaning voice, helping her friend by folding his shirts and helped stuff them in when Ryoga would take a moment to fill it some more.
Being on such high alert prompted the two to work faster, their arms moved so fast one had to wonder if they practiced katas for filling backpacks. Finally slipping his arms through the shoulder straps the Lost Boy looked over his shoulder to Ranko as she fastened his sleeping bag to the top of their equipment.
Once done the raven-haired teen reached down to the side of the kitchen table, picking up his umbrella that Lotion had left propped up against the side of the table, facing one another before making their way out.
The door to the strange amazon's house opened slowly, creaking only slightly as Ryoga held it firmly from the inside as it opened inward, the two unwilling houseguests slowly and cautiously peeking their heads out the door to catch any sight of the untrusting Amazonian. One look outside, however, allowed them to see they were standing in what appeared to be a lush green valley, surrounded by large green hills so massive one could easily say they resembled mountains from afar.
Sadly the two were in no position to gaze upon such majesty, given the fact that they had to make sure the coast was clear, Ranko looked to Ryoga with a narrowing of her eyes and took a running stance, Ryoga doing the same as he followed her lead.
Panic arose in their chests whenever they'd hear any strange sounds, clearly not taking an elder like Lotion lightly.
"What is up with this place?" Ranko wondered, feeling like she needed to get that out.
"I don't care, I just want out of it," Ryoga said, sharing the sentiment.
It was at that very moment that Ryoga's eyes widened, looking over his shoulder just in time to catch a glimpse at Lotion, his pupils dilated, watching her move through the air with her leg sticking out from beneath her dress. His body, however, was unable to match the speed of his brain, so he had no choice but to watch in horror as she kicked him with so much force that he was sent flying forward, barely having enough time to even turn around before being sent flying into a boulder, whizzing past a shocked Ranko.
"Ryo!" she shot her head towards her friend in time to see the Lost Boy smack into the large rock behind him.
"Gah!" Ryoga cradled his stomach as he fell to his knees; his gasp for breath had caused him to lose some saliva straight from his mouth.
"You should be worrying about yourself, girl," Lotion spoke calmly and dashed towards Ranko, her feet looking as though they hovered above the ground.
"I've been waitin' for this!" Ranko screamed before unleashing two swift jabs and powerful uppercut following that.
"Then clearly you're far too arrogant," Lotion spoke with calm and narrowed eyes, sidestepping Ranko's first attack, then for Ranko's uppercut she closed her eyes and pulled her head back.
"Says you!" Ranko fired while trying a flurry of kicks, all of which met the top half of Lotion's cane.
Rather than meeting Ranko's banter, the wise elder's eyes remained focused on her target, only further exacerbating Ranko's frustration. "Done yet, child?"
Ryoga's ears rung as he gritted his teeth, the inability to breath plus the pain of having the entire back portion of his body smacked into a boulder with enough force to leave a Lost Boy shaped web of cracks behind. Finally gaining his wits, along with his hearing, he was able to see that Ranko was only managing to hit air rather than land any actual kicks on the old woman.
"Wha?" Ranko's eyes widened as she saw the small woman leap into the air in front of her, using her cane like a makeshift javelin and jabbing the end of it against the pigtailed girl's abdomen.
In the meantime, Ryoga had taken some time to remove his backpack and allowed it to fall to his side, 'Hold on Ranko! I'm coming!' he thought with an enraged tone, possibly still fighting off some pain. Doing all this while on his knees, using one hand to help push him up to a standing position while the other helped to keep him from losing balance and resting up against on the fragmented stone behind him.
"Ah!" Ranko wailed before her back crashed up against the Lost Boy's chest.
"Rank-" Ryoga only got so far before feeling the back of Ranko's head slam into his mouth painfully, keeping him from finishing.
Though much like before the force used to launch her was also great, they cried out in pain as Ranko's tiny form collided with Ryoga, as if reminding him to get back in his place. This time, however, he ended up landing on his rear with his arms around the redhead.
"Damn it..." Ranko groaned as she reached up to holding her sore spot.
Lotion watched the two and propped her cane against her shoulder and tilted her head back. "The fact that both of you remained conscious is very impressive."
"A-An' why should we care w-what you think?" Ranko groaned, squinting her eyes.
"R-Ranko..." Ryoga muttered as he brought himself to a standing position, helping his redheaded companion up as well. "We gotta' fight..."
"Save your breath, boy," Lotion spoke up suddenly. "I've noticed something about you two, namely the vast potential you both have."
"What're you gettin' at?" Ranko cautiously inquired, narrowing her eyes slowly.
"I'd like to ask a favor of you two..."
"A favor...? You tie and bound us to frick'in rocks and you want 'us' to do you a favor?" Ryoga asked, his face matching his friend's.
"Who says both sides won't benefit?"
"Messing with you Amazon's is nuthin' but trouble, so I think I'll pass..." Ranko glared, almost looking as though she'd rather choose death at this point.
"After everything we've been through, I'm feeling the same..." Ryoga added as his posture straightened as his strength returning to him as he released Ranko.
"I said that I didn't have reason to trust you before and I still don't but I'm also in need of some assistance, how about in exchange I'll teach you some techniques to use against them?" She offered and much to Lotion's surprise, the response wasn't an immediate no, but rather a moment of calm calculation.
"And if we refuse?" Ryoga asked with a cold stare.
"Well then, I suppose I could just let you stay here for the rest of your natural lives since I still can't trust you and all..."
To think they were being offered power from this person or stuck there to rot possibly, the choice seemed obvious but neither seemed all too happy to know that their journey may take an elongated detour to finding the solution to their problems.
"I mean, you'll both need to be strong enough to go gather materials for your cures, of course..." Lotion commented, smirking slowly as she put her hands up her sleeves.
"Wait, what?" Ranko exclaimed with her eyes wide.
"You can cure both of us?" Ryoga asked, "even me?"
"Yes, your Ki imbalance can be treated but not without some very hard to acquire materials."
"You're telling us you're one of those herbalists, too?" Ranko stared in awe as she clenched her fists. This was certainly unconventional but the idea of getting stronger coupled with the fact that they could get what they needed was honestly too tempting for her.
The Lost Boy found the prospect of getting stronger all too enticing as well; his mind drifting back to Ranma and how he had escaped him. 'I feel strong enough now to take down Saotome but would being even stronger be a bad idea? Even then who knows how strong the jerk's gotten...' Ryoga thought with a grimace.
"I don't know why, but I want this so damn bad!" Ranko exclaimed as her spirit shined brightly at the idea of getting stronger, though her ego hadn't allowed her anger to subside yet.
"Dammit, me too!" Ryoga declared as he pumped both of his fists, ignoring the shooting pain in his chest and back. "If training and a cure are what you're offering, I'll take it!"
"Wise choice, children… but now I'll need to really test your skills hands-on, seeing how you're finally more cooperative," she said with a nod, humming to herself with a small smirk on the corner of her wrinkly lips.
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The wind blew gently, caressing Ranko's shiny scarlet hair as she prepared her fighting stance; to her right, Ryoga was doing the same, his fists high both ready to defend and to attack. In front of them stood Lotion, who kept her hands hidden under her oversized sleeves. The old woman was smiling with confidence, something that the teenagers, Ranko in particular, found really aggravating.
"Very well, children, come at me and don't hold back!" the ancient martial artist ordered.
"Don't regret it later, lady!" Ranko said as she rushed at Lotion, throwing a punch aimed at the woman's face with all her strength behind it. "This time things will be different!"
"We're not going to lose!" Ryoga promised, following Ranko's lead unleashing an attack of his own.
Lotion simply smirked at the threats and waited until the last moment before dodging, jumping up and landing on Ryoga's head. She quickly produced an iron lance from her sleeves, which she used to hit Ranko in the right arm and then stab it between Ryoga's shoulder blades, using this to propel herself several meters away from both teens.
"You waste too much energy in useless attacks," she judged as she landed. "But I'm sure you can do better, try again."
Ranko, her left hand over her bruised right arm, frowned as she struggled to hide the wave of pain that was going up and down from her shoulder all the way to her hand but she really didn't need to. Ryoga was too busy hiding the hurt he felt all over his back to notice his friend's discomfort.
"We gotta do something different," Ranko said then. "I'm blank right now…. any ideas, Ryo?"
"Maybe. Can you distract her for a bit?" He asked. "I want to try something."
"I'll try," she promised. "Whatever you'll do, don't take too long,"
Saying nothing more, Ranko again dashed at the old woman, but this time she decided to slide at the last second, which forced Lotion to jump. That was just what Ranko wanted, as she quickly used her good arm to propel herself up, twisting both legs in a way that helped her deliver two raising kicks in Lotion's direction, a maneuver that actually forced the old woman to pull her cane out of her sleeves in order to block Ranko's feet.
"That was almost decent, girl," Lotion appreciated as she landed a few steps away. "You're clever."
And that was when a shadow appeared on top of the ancient martial artist, who quickly looked up with her eyes open in surprise. Ryoga was descending on her, his umbrella ready to strike! Lotion barely had time to move out of the way and was honestly surprised by the small crater the boy created when he impacted, umbrella first, on the ground.
Lotion had to admit she would have felt that if it had connected.
"That was also almost decent, boy," she appreciated with a nod. "Not bad at all, children. You two have tons of raw potential, indeed."
The old woman noticed the teenagers were preparing to attack her again so she brought her index finger up and then down, gently touching the ground, a move which caused it to explode all around her, dust and pebbles bursting with incredible force and blowing both Ranko and Ryoga away.
"What… what was that?" Ryoga coughed as he struggled to get up again, his body hurting all over after being showered with small stones and grains of dust.
"I don't… ack… know…" Ranko managed to get out, also coughing out the dirt in her mouth. She was as battered as he was, and was having far more trouble than him getting back up.
"That was the Bakusai Tenketsu, and I know now which one of you I'm going to teach it to," Lotion said once the dust settled. "In fact, I have a good idea of how to train the two of you. We'll start tomorrow, once you're rested."
Ranko and Ryoga shared a look, neither of them liked the tone of Lotion's voice, both thinking that maybe training with this old woman was not such a good idea after all…
Early the following day…
Ryoga wiped the sweat off his brow as he finally finished pushing the last of the fifty large boulders Lotion had demanded he moved from the lowest point of the valley to the highest. He had spent the early morning hours busy with this chore and his shoulders and legs were protesting a little, but he didn't mind; he in fact appreciated the exercise and imagined it was part of the training. He looked ahead and smiled as he saw Ranko sitting cross-legged on top of one boulder. She noticed him looking and smiled back, sliding off the large rock to go meet him.
"Where's Lotion?" He asked. After all, the old woman had been constantly supervising him, that being the reason why he hadn't gotten lost so far.
"She's over there," Ranko informed and pointed behind Ryoga at the base of the hill he had just climbed. "She said you had to go back down so she could give you instructions."
"Figures," he groaned. "Are you coming?"
"Nah, she asked me to stay up here," Ranko said, leaning on one of the massive rocks. "It's kind of unfair I don't get to learn this technique, you know? I don't understand why the old bat says it's better suited for you."
"I'm sure she has her reasons," Ryoga sighed as he started on his way back down. "I guess we'll see."
"Ryoga…" she called with a chuckle.
"What?"
"The other way?" Ranko laughed and pointed left. "I swear that joke's getting old, man, still funny, though."
Ryoga laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as he corrected course. A joke she thought this was. Perhaps it was for the best, and maybe, Ryoga hoped, he could find a cure for it soon enough. But first, he had to complete Lotion's training.
It didn't take long for the Lost Boy to reach the spot where Lotion waited. The elder was simply standing next to a large set of rocks that Ryoga had been unable to move earlier.
"I imagine you've figured out now what the Ki imbalance is doing to you, boy?" she asked.
"…To be honest, I was hoping you would tell me," he said, glad Ranko was too far away to hear the conversation. "I guess it's bad, so can you really help me with it?"
"I can, but we'll deal with that later. Don't worry, boy; I'll keep my word and help you," the old woman promised with a nod. "Anyway, I noticed your body produces Ki in quantities that are surprisingly high for an average person; that, coupled with your raw strength and stamina, makes you a perfect candidate for the Bakusai Tenketsu training."
"I won't forget you promised," Ryoga warned, then looked back up the hill. "Alright, since I'm the perfect candidate for that technique of yours, I guess we should just start. What do I do?"
"You saw how I used the tip of my finger to cause that explosion, right?"
"Yeah… so?"
"I did that by finding the breaking point of that portion of ground under my feet," she explained sagely. "Everything inanimate in this world has a breaking point and if you find it, you can then use it to cause an explosive chain reaction that will destroy any object. All you need to do is to pay attention and then when you find it, touch that spot and drive a small amount of your ki into it. It's quite simple."
"And I do that… how?"
"We'll start with this…" Lotion sneered and pulled a set of chains from her sleeves.
A few minutes later…
"Are you sure this is fine?" Ranko asked Lotion as the two looked down to where Ryoga, now chained to the large rocks stood. The boy was still screaming his displeasure in very… colorful ways and the redhead was starting to doubt this training was safe. "I mean, you're going to push these rocks down the slope so they hit him, right?"
"Yes," Lotion said.
"Won't he be hurt once he's sandwiched between them?" She asked with a frown.
"Yes," Lotion repeated and pushed one of the rocks with the tip of her cane. "That's the idea."
"But…"
The rock rolled loudly down the hill, smashing into Ryoga with incredible force.
"That's crazy!" Ranko complained, ready to rush to her friend's side.
"Stop, if you help him he'll never learn the technique!" Lotion warned. "Is that what you want?"
"I don't want him hurt!" She argued.
"And how would he feel if he knows you're the reason why he failed to master the Bakusai Tenketsu?" the elder asked.
Ranko's eyes lowered after hearing those words. She thought she knew Ryoga well enough to understand he wouldn't be pleased.
"Fine, old ghoul," she sighed, "go ahead, keep your stupid training going."
"Hey!" Ryoga called then from below, he had managed to use his right hand and arm, the only parts of his body not chained to the rocks, to push the large boulder to the side. The Lost Boy was certainly in pain, but he could take this and more, and he was now determined to learn this trick, as he was certain it could give him an edge in his future fight with Ranma. "I don't have all day to figure this thing out, throw another one at me!"
Lotion smiled, pleased by the young man's determination and with another tip of her cane, sent the second boulder rolling down, where it crashed into Ryoga with incredible force.
"Again!" Ryoga demanded after he pushed the boulder crushing him out of the way.
Ranko flinched as the boulders kept hitting Ryoga one after the other, until she had to turn the other way, finding that seeing him getting hurt was making her feel uncomfortable to the point where she simply had to walk a few steps away, sit down and cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the sound of rock crashing into rock. Why was she worrying so much for Ryoga's wellbeing, however?
"Because he's my friend… and friends care for each other… right?" Ranko realized. "Well, Ryoga, I'm actually sorry for you."
"Your training won't be so painful," Lotion called as she pushed down yet another boulder. "But that doesn't mean it will be any easier."
And that afternoon…
Ryoga was sitting, his back against one of the many trees, as he observed Ranko receiving instructions from Lotion. The Lost Boy was sore all over, but he felt pleased that he had managed to poke several holes in one of the boulders, as that meant he was getting closer to unlocking the secret behind the Bakusai Tenketsu. He still had long to go, however, as he hadn't spotted the breaking point yet, even if he had tried feeling for it the way Lotion had instructed him, but he was confident he would get the hang of it soon. He yawned into his fist then and forced himself to pay attention to what Ranko was doing, wouldn't be polite to miss her training, since she had been there for his.
"Why are we standing next to this campfire again?" Ranko asked, standing at a prudent distance of the fire Lotion had started, remembering that she couldn't really tolerate heat very well.
"I have an acorn tree here in the valley, I planted it fifty-seven years ago," she said and showed Ranko twelve acorns. "I collected these yesterday; we're going to use them for your training; to you, I will teach the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, I'm confident you can master it."
"Ok… so how do I learn it?"
"Like this," Lotion said and tossed the acorns into the fire; she let them stay there for a few seconds and then took them all out so fast her hands were nothing but a colored blur.
"What was that?" the redhead gasped, "How… I mean?"
"Nobody can be so fast!" Ryoga said from where he sat, feeling as impressed as Ranko was.
"Well, you certainly can't, boy. But she can," Lotion said, nodding at Ranko. "Unlike you, she's very fast and precise, and she's far more technical than you, who are strong, resilient and full of stamina. I'm playing to your strengths here, children."
Ranko beamed with pride at the praise and smiled smugly learning there were things she could do that Ryoga couldn't, not that she didn't know that already, but it was good to hear someone like Lotion confirming it. She conveniently ignored the fact that there were things Ryoga could do that she couldn't, as that detail didn't feed her ego and could easily be discarded.
Besides, she was the more technical of the two, Lotion herself had admitted it.
"Alright, girl, I'm tossing the acorns back into the fire," the old woman said. "Ready?"
Ranko hesitated for an instant then she steeled her resolve and nodded. "Yeah, do it."
And so Lotion did, and Ranko tried.
And failed spectacularly; the moment her hands got close to the flames, an intense pain shot through her whole body, forcing her to flinch in a way that caused her shirt to caught fire, which in turn panicked her and she started running in circles until the fire was out, leaving her smoking and scorched, feeling sore from head to toe and glaring at Ryoga, who was up and approaching her, in a way that sent him a very clear message: 'Laugh at me and I'll kill you'.
Luckily for the Lost Boy, he got the hint and simply stood there; ready to help in case she was hurt.
"Something wrong, girl?" Lotion asked. "I thought for sure you would be able to get at least two acorns out on your first try."
"I don' like fire," Ranko growled. "Gotta problem with it?"
"No, but if that's the case we'll have to find a different way for you to master this technique," the old master said with a thoughtful expression until something above them caught her eye. "Say… how do you feel about wasps?"
"Wait… wasps?"
Before Ranko could say more, Lotion threw an acorn at a wasp hive, angering the aggressive insects into attacking the person directly under their home, and that person was none other than Ranko.
"Knock all the wasps out without getting stung!" Lotion ordered, igniting her aura to keep the angry insects away from her and by extension Ryoga, who was standing behind her. "That will be your training exercise!"
"I won't forget this!" Ranko shouted as she tried her best to ward of the cloud of malicious bugs, not being all too successful in the end, getting stung so many times before the wasps returned to their hive that her whole body ended up being swollen and sore. "Ya said my trainin' wouldn't be painful… you stinkin', lyin' monkey…"
"Your fault for being afraid of fire, but you did get twenty wasps; fairly decent for a first try," Lotion said, lifting her cane to stop Ryoga from helping Ranko up. "No, don't, let her do it on her own; this is part of her training."
"But…" Ryoga started, but was forced to wait until Ranko managed to sit by herself.
"We'll continue tomorrow," Lotion declared then, heading back to her home. "I'll cook us something to eat, after that, you kids can sleep or do whatever you want except leaving this valley."
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A loud thunking noise followed by the sound of splitting wood echoed throughout Lotion's home; from the front yard but just a little off to the side was Ryoga, deep in thought as he raised the ax he'd been given from the cutting stump.
"Ki imbalance... what could that mean? I wonder if she meant..." Ryoga muttered before looking up and around for the pile of wood, spotting it easily before taking another piece and then chucking it on the stump, landing it in a cutting position, getting back to it he used one hand to straighten it out.
"Whatever it is..." Ryoga paused as he sniffed the air and then closed his eyes. "I must be hungry..." Ryoga admitted to himself as put his hand on his stomach and with about as much effort as a child at handling an inflatable hammer, the Lost Boy chopped his latest piece.
Gentle steam clouds wafted into the air as they flew up to Ranko's nostrils. The redhead was pleased with her labor and had to admit that this cooking stuff had not been as boring as she had initially imagined. Her previous experience in that Inn's kitchen hadn't been pleasant and more of a chore, but this time she had actually enjoyed herself somewhat.
"Hm... smells about right, I think..." she said moving her head away and looking to her right she poured some stew into a bowl with a wooden ladle.
"Add a little more spice child, helps balance the flavor a little more..." she said standing on a footstool next to the redhead while holding the bowl Ranko had just poured, sampling it before reaching for the spice herself and adding it into her serving.
"Fine..." Ranko mumbled, looking as though she was pouting in annoyance as she tried to swipe the shaker from Lotion, only for the aged master to move her hand out of the way before the girl could take it from her.
"Here..." she said, willingly handing it over herself.
Ranko's eye twitched as she saw that she wasn't even able to get back at the old woman in anyway.
"Thanks..." she replied, clearly not meaning it as she took the shaker with forced respect.
Back outside the Lost Boy had found himself feeling rather bored from chopping wood for so long or what felt like so long considering the only thing he was left to was his thoughts, 'I wonder if they're going to call me come inside to eat or if that old bag will make Ranko do it...' Ryoga thought, his inner voice suddenly becoming shy he finished his thought.
Living up to his name in a metaphorical sense, Ryoga's mind began to wander as he thought back to when he first saw Ranko in her maid's uniform during their time working at the inn. The way her dressed complimented her hair and eyes, how cute she looked despite being completely opposed to wearing such a girly looking thing, his mind became further engrossed as he envisioned Ranko serving him a bowl of steamy soup smiling in her oh-so-coy way.
"I-I wish..." Ryoga whispered as actual steam clouds flew off the top of his head.
"Wish what?" Ranko asked as she stood behind him with a tray and two bowls.
"Ranko! W-we're not eating inside?" Ryoga questioned, hoping to change the subject.
Figuring it wasn't important and with how hungry she herself was getting she decided not to prod and shrugged.
"Figured we could eat outside in the back," she explained pointing behind her with one hand before bringing it back onto the tray.
Ryoga could tell by her look of contempt that she wasn't all too into spending time with Lotion, unsurprising after what she did during their training the day before.
"A break from you know who?" Ryoga guessed as he stuck his large axe into the stump in front of him.
"Come on, let's go eat..." Ranko suggested as she looked over her shoulder and to the brick home behind her.
The two had gone out back and had taken to sitting on a large log that had been propped near the wall, the tray to Ryoga's right and Ranko to his left. There was an odd sort of harmony as the two ate, both focused as though they were some married couple doing a routine.
"Ah..." Ryoga sighed in satisfaction from drinking down all his stew's broth.
"That hits the spot..." Ranko mumbled closed eyes and a content but somewhat goofy smile. "And no picky Amazon to deal with..."
"For now at least..." Ryoga said as he looked down to his empty bowl and placed it on the tray next to him.
"Put mine on it too, would ya'?" Ranko asked handing over her now empty bowl too.
"Alright," Ryoga said, taking it and stacking it on top of his, dropping his spoon in with hers on the top.
Without even knowing what the other was doing they looked up to the sky and stared at the clouds drifting by, something about it was just simplistic but oddly beautiful about it all. Ryoga peeked over to Ranko from the corner of his eye and saw the wind gently sway Ranko's hair and bangs, a confident smile crossing her face. It was certainly nice and to know that she had recovered from the wasp attack and that she was strong enough to still smile after the grueling training they started the previous day. Well, it irked at him to think he may have been the cause of her pain.
"Ranko, I'm sorry about falling into that pit..." Ryoga admitted, dropping his head and closing his eyes looking as though he was asking for her forgiveness.
"H-Hey man! Don't sweat it, it's fine," Ranko assured as she reached back to him and patted his back. "Besides, we're getting free lessons outta' this, plus thanks to this I think I get why you want to get back at this Ranma guy, cause I gotta' say, I got a bone to pick with those Amazons and their Herbalist pals..."
"You want to get revenge on an entire village?"
"What? No! Just the ones after us... is all," Ranko clarified.
"Oh..." Ryoga calmed down, though, he had to wonder if it was a good thing that Ranko had learned that from him.
"And we're getting free food, a roof over our heads and…" Ranko continued but found a warm but confident smile growing on her face. "Who says we can't book it when we're strong enough either?"
"I guess we could make a run for it when she sends us to do whatever favor it is she wants," Ryoga commented.
"Exactly," Ranko confirmed.
They shared a smile between them as they felt some hope in one another's eyes, before turning back to look at the distance, finally getting the time to appreciate their surrounds. Wind blow gently and whispered to them as it tickled their faces and blew their hair, the sounds of the wildlife distant but only adding to the tranquil atmosphere around them.
"Hey, Ryoga..." Ranko spoke up suddenly as she leaned the back of her head on the brick wall behind her and crossed one leg over the other.
"What's up, Ranko?" Ryoga asked, looking over at her as he had just taken his eyes off the fluffy white pillows in the sky.
"After everything that's happened, it hasn't been too bad traveling with you," Ranko admitted as she appeared to have a thoughtful look on her face as she remembered the moment she meant him and all the things they had been through.
"R-Really?" Ryoga blushed as he panicked inwardly, trying to think of something to say but finding it hard as his heartbeat felt loud enough to even interrupt his thoughts.
The change in Ryoga's voice reached Ranko and now she too was losing courage.
"Y-yeah, you've almost been downright cool sometimes, man..." she swallowed as she reached one hand over to Ryoga to punch his shoulder, trying to bring back a calm air with a warm smile.
"I've got to admit it's nice having you around too," Ryoga swallowed as he chuckled somewhat nervously after, a slight coloring of pink to his cheeks.
"Ya' sure it ain't just cause I'm prettier than most of the girls you've seen?" Ranko smiled like a Cheshire cat as she saw her opportunity to tease her friend.
"W-What? N-No! I swear-" Ryoga tried to defend as he held his hands out in front of him.
"Pfft! Bwahaha! Oh, man, the look on your face!" Ranko laughed in joy.
Upon hearing Ranko's laughter the Lost Boy blushed in embarrassment before closing his eyes shut and swallowing hard.
"M-Maybe I do t-think that, huh?" Ryoga exclaimed as he turned his torso to face her.
Ranko's laughter died so quickly it was almost as if someone had hit the pause button on her, she blinked twice as Ryoga's words danced in her ears. She didn't know why but she too had adjusted her torso to face his, she looked off to the side as she blushed, 'I know I was just playin' but...' she thought before looking back up to Ryoga who seemed to have calmed down enough to realize the implications of his words.
"Uh... Ranko I, uh..." Ryoga stammered as he struggled to find his words as his eyes met Ranko's.
The two stared at one another, neither certain as to what to say at the current moment. Their breathing became shallow as they continued to get lost in one another's eyes, neither saying a thing.
"Ranko..." Ryoga whispered as he reached his hand up, gently touching Ranko's hair from her side and trailing it down to her cheek only to stop just short of doing so.
"R-Ryoga...?" Ranko spoke but sounded more like she was hesitantly asking him a question, 'He's so cute but kinda' good lookin' too, is this okay...? That I want to give in so badly? I could hurt him and-and...' she pursed her lips before allowing them to relax as she noticed Ryoga's mouth going slightly agape as she felt his hand caress her cheek; she even wanted to nuzzle her head against his hand but was far too shy to actually do so but the thought had certainly crossed her mind.
"Lunch break is over, it's time to train for you two!" Lotion's voice echoed from her home.
Having the moment ruined so thoroughly from her interruption the two came to their senses and moving as though she had suddenly appeared in front of them they parted, hands on their knees, their eyes rolling before coming to a stop.
'I can't believe I almost...! With Ryoga and...! He's so...' Ranko blushed as she shook her head, breathing in deeply to catch her breath.
'Why's he so damn charming!?'
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Meanwhile, far away from Lotion's valley…
Tong Po harbor was a busy port town, were people from several villages in the Bayankara Mountains came to shop, trade or have a good time in its many bars and restaurants; it is in one of these establishments where we find a certain group of Joketsuzoku amazons, sitting in a roundtable and enjoying, or trying to at least, their meals. Their mood was far from festive, as they had yet to find any clues that would lead them to find and capture the redheaded teenager that had escaped their village a few days before.
They had reasoned that the girl may try to leave China, and since Tong Po harbor was the only place in the area where she could have rented or find her way into a boat, they had gone there the night before, but after asking and searching, they had, once again, failed to find any leads on hints to the redhead's whereabouts.
"So this is where you were," a beautiful, blue-haired woman in her mid-thirties said as she approached the Amazon group. "I should have known you would be wasting time in a bar."
The group stood up at once and bowed as a sign of respect, as they all knew who this woman was and was certain she could flatten them out with incredible ease.
"Apologies for not reporting earlier!" One said.
"We were going to do that after eating," another added quickly.
"Well, that won't be necessary anymore," the blue-haired woman said her arms crossed as she shook her head in disappointment. "My dear Shampoo and two of Ginseng's disciples will be in charge of finding the redheaded girl, and I'm confident my daughter will be able to complete the mission soon."
"I suppose she can do it," one of the women agreed, feeling glad this assignment was over for them. "Well, if that's the case then what should we do?"
"You are to return to the village with me today, recent reports indicate the Musk Dynasty has been acting strange lately and Cologne thinks it's best to prepare our defenses, just in case," Shampoo's mother explained. "Finish your food and meet me at the town square in an hour."
And somewhere else in the forest…
The hooded figure jumped down from the tree branch where she had been relaxing and nervously looked around as she used her cunning sense of smell to confirm what she had detected only seconds before. She uttered a curse as the scent she detected meant danger, a danger she had no intention to face alone. Nervous, she glanced to the left and then to the right, hoping to find a place to hide and luckily, she discovered a deep hole between the massive roots of a tall tree. Hurrying, she entered the small cave and pressed against the muddy wall, praying that those she smelled approaching would not see her.
"There's a strange smell…" Mint said as he and Lime walked near the hole where the hooded woman was hiding. "Yeah, something near… smells like… a woman… maybe we should look around a bit."
"We can't," Lime said. "We must get to Tong Po harbor today. What if we waste time here and that redheaded thief escapes by boat? We can't let her or the boy helping her escape with Herb's royal ring!"
"I guess you're right," Mint nodded. "It's probably nothing, there is a town nearby so I'm sure many women use this road; I'm sure that's what I smell."
The two friends stretched and then resumed walking, their steps fading quickly. A few minutes later, the woman in the dark hood finally dared climb out of her hideout. She had heard everything Mint and Lime said, and that information alarmed her. Worried, she checked her pockets and the bag hanging from her hip. The ring was not there!
"I… I lost it!" She whispered. "And that other girl in the cabin surely picked it up and now she's in danger… and not just her but also one of her friends or maybe her brother, too!"
She pulled back her hood, revealing her shiny auburn hair and sat on a large, thick root. Things were not supposed to get this complicated, and now innocents were in danger because of her.
"What am I gonna do now?" she asked the forest around her. "This shouldn't be happening!"
And in the Amazon village…
Genma finished his third bowl of ramen and handed it back to the fairly attractive amazon who was in charge of bringing him food. The Saotome patriarch bowed in gratitude and offered the woman his most charming smile as he did so. Genma, you see, was no stranger to the game of seduction; after all, he had managed to convince Nodoka, a woman everyone had considered far above his league, to marry him and bear him a son, that he loved his wife had helped him then, of course, but the point here is that Genma Saotome knew a thing or two about women, and getting on the good side of the woman in charge of bringing him his meals had not been all that difficult.
That he had impressed many of them when he fought them in his panda form several days ago had also helped him, though he wasn't aware of it.
He kept smiling until the Amazon left his room, and once alone moved to sit next to the window, wondering again what was taking his son so long. He ran a hand over his bald head and wished Ranma hurried, because he had already sent Soun Tendo a letter mentioning they would be in Japan soon, and Genma was not going to break the promise he had made his best friend so many years ago; not when his retirement depended on it.
"Your child has been far more resourceful than we anticipated," Cologne said as she entered the room, sitting in front of Genma. The elder reached for a box of matches and lighted her pipe, taking a deep breath, enjoying the taste of tobacco mixed with other herbs. "But we'll capture him sooner or later."
Genma nodded and accepted the cigarette box and the lighter the ancient Amazon was now offering him. He took one out, lighted it and relaxed on his seat. Resourceful, huh? Yeah, that sounded like his son alright, and explained why Ranma was taking so long. He probably was busy hiding from the amazons and preparing a cunning plan to get him out of this mess.
Cologne, of course, didn't need to know that, so Genma simply enjoyed his cigarette in silence.