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They silently made their way through these woods. They really didn't think they needed to be so cautious. The noise coming from the field of battle was overwhelming. Even in the complete silence of the night they would go on unnoticed. They often had to turn around to see if their companions were still there.
The darkness was complete with the clouds covering the sky. The most one could hope to see was shadows a few feet in front and nothing more. The group knew where they were only because of their highly trained senses.
This kept going on for a few hours. Even though every night attack took a long time the casualties on both sides were incredibly low. The fighters that met each other, if the attackers managed to reach the defenders, hardly spilled the blood of their enemies. Such skill and organization resulted in a war that had been going on for months without any real progress on either side. The defenders of Phoenix Mountain had managed to take the most lives, but the difference in numbers took that little victory away from them. For every life they took there were two others ready to attack, while the Phoenix people were making anything possible to avoid deaths. They couldn't afford them.
Tonight's attack was particularly long. The Musk were becoming impatient at the lack of success and were attacking more recklessly. So much better for the silent group as they advanced covered by the night. While the Phoenix were distracted they would be able to infiltrate their defenses. Tonight they would strike a disabling blow on Saffron's subjects.
As one of them rounded a tree, which she had almost crashed into, another one expertly walked over dried leaves without a sound. They had been training for this nearly their entire lives. Now was the time to prove themselves as worthy warriors.
One of them suddenly jumped to a tree branch on instinct. She was rewarded with hearing something metallic crash where she had been standing. She expanded her senses, trying to find the source of the attack. They had probably run into a sentry and would need to get rid of it. Their mission was too important.
They all felt a presence coming to their right. The one that jumped to the tree dropped back down and studied the weapon. It was an arrow that imbedded itself on the ground. Smiling in preparation they started to surround the archer. The fool didn't get to fire another shot since he couldn't see any of them. They could almost smell his fear.
He wasn't able to fear for long. The Amazon raiding party made sure of that.
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"Has there been any word from our sentries?" Asked the winged woman seriously. She knew something was definitely wrong, though her features didn't show her concern.
The young officer shook his head, worry evident on his face. "They haven't reported in yet, Lady Kima."
Kima dismissed him with a wave of her hand and turned to her husband. "I don't like this. Our troops are too busy fighting back the Musk." She felt incredibly frustrated that she couldn't do a thing. Not that she could right now, anyway. She was close to giving birth now. Months passed fairly quickly in the monotony of the attacks and preparation of the young ones. She returned her attention to the matter at hand. There would be enough time to brood later.
Ranma nodded gravely. He knew to trust Kima's judgement and he himself was sure something was going on down the cliffs. It was possibly the hardest way to access the mountain, but therefore it was also the least protected side. If an attack came in that way while they were fighting the Musk...
Kima saw as Ranma's eyes harden as he started walking down the hall. She knew her husband so well it was clear to her what he had planned. "Ranma Saotome!" She called out in a stern voice.
Ranma stopped and winced at the tone Kima used. She hardly ever called him by his full name. And when she did it wasn't a good sign. He turned around to see Kima slowly making her way towards him. Even if her physical condition was better than the one of any other fighter in Phoenix Mountain, except him of course, she was still in the last stages of pregnancy. "You're not disobeying Lord Saffron's orders."
Ranma sighed. In all his time since realizing he loved Kima they hardly argued. But all the arguments they had were always about the same thing. *Why can't she understand I follow orders from no one?* It frustrated him to no end. It was alright for Kima to be loyal to Saffron. In fact her loyalty was something Ranma respected greatly. But everything had a limit. He held back from the fights for the past months with a supreme effort. "If someone sneaks in through the cliffs it'll be bad and you know it. There's not enough soldiers free to form a decent searching party." He locked his blue eyes with Kima's green ones. "I have to do this."
Kima could see Ranma's eyes shining with determination. She knew it had been hard for him to stand back from the fighting. She knew because it was equally hard for her. "You'll better return safely." She threatened with a faint smile. She would accept Lord Saffron's orders, but wouldn't force her love to obey them. Let he consequences fall on him later.
Ranma grinned as he took her hand. "You couldn't get rid of me even if you wanted to." And with that he turned on his heels and ran down the corridor.
Kima followed his retreating form until it disappeared around a corner. It was so hard. Not the fact of letting him go. *That I can't go with him.* She so wanted to fight by his side, yet all she could do was hope he returned safely as he promised. She started walking in the opposite direction down the hall. She needed to inform Lord Saffron of what was happening. Maybe she could even find a few soldiers to give Ranma some backup. As she advanced she noticed a person walking towards her with a curious expression on her face.
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"Still nothing." One of the guards said as his eyes scanned the forest a couple of feet below.
A female soldier sighed as she heard her companion. They had been assigned here to let their wounds heal. The wounds themselves weren't anything serious. She had a cut down her left forearm, while the man sported several small wounds on his right shoulder and leg. Krain had ordered them to stand their current posts and inform him or Lady Kima if one of the scouts missed a check.
Since a couple of hours there was nothing but complete silence from the scouts.
"Nice night." A male voice said sarcastically from behind. They both turned to see Ranma standing there, eyeing the clouds sourly. They all but completely obscured the night beyond the Phoenix people's capacity to see. Their eyesight was not very good during the night, tonight they were all but blind.
There was another problem with the clouds. Something that could mean a serious disadvantage for Saffron's subjects.
Jusenkyo.
Jusenkyo curses to be precise. The people of Phoenix Mountain had curses that took away their wings, taking away the ability to fly. It was great for making expeditions out of the mountain, but an extreme disadvantage when fighting a war where you were outnumbered.
He just hoped it wouldn't rain tonight. The rain season was almost upon them. It would be hard as hell fighting off the attacks then.
Ranma frowned as he walked to the edge of the terrace. His eyes going over the terrain bellow. "How many scouts haven't reported?" He asked turning to the woman.
She maintained his gaze even though his eyes were hard. She knew he wasn't trying to intimidate her. The situation forced him to be like this. "Four."
Ranma nodded and flexed his arms behind his back. "I'm going down. Shoot anything that doesn't come flying."
The man, till now silent, started at this statement. "You can't, Ranma. Lord Saffron ordered you to remain in the palace."
Ranma turned his eyes on him. "I'm not following Saffron's commands if his orders put lives in danger."
They both felt conflictive emotions at Ranma's answer. Every soldier in Phoenix Mountain, except for some nobles, respected Ranma greatly. Their respect for him increased even more at this statement. But they all followed Saffron's orders without question. What should they do?
They didn't have to worry long about it. A female voice came from the hall. "Do you have direct orders to keep him in the palace?" The trio turned to face Nodoka as she stepped out into the cool air of the night. She was wearing one of her special kimonos, tailored to allow free movement in a fight. Her katana rested sheathed on her left hand.
"Hi, mom!" Ranma cheerfully greeted.
Nodoka smiled back. "Konbanwa, son. Should we get going?" Ranma lifted an eyebrow at that but remained silent. He knew his mother would come with him even if he didn't want her to come. Kima probably talked to her as soon as he left.
"Wait." Said the winged woman as she turned to Ranma. "You can't go." She knew she couldn't do a thing to stop him, but her loyalty to Saffron came before anything.
Nodoka turned to the woman. "I respect your loyalty to your king, but I ask again. Where you specifically ordered to keep Ranma in palace grounds?" Seeing them shock their heads she continued. "Then you're not disobeying Lord Saffron. My son is the one doing it."
They relented after a few more protests. They were actually glad Ranma and Nodoka would go down there. Something didn't feel right.
"Race you down?" Ranma asked smirking. His smirk was devoid of emotion, though.
Nodoka complied by jumping off the terrace with her son.
Both Phoenix soldiers were shocked when this happened. They looked over the edge to nearly fall off in surprise.
Ranma was jumping from rock to rock in a show of acrobatics that put to shame anything they had ever seen before. He was descending incredibly fast.
Nodoka was a different story, yet just as astounding. She was actually running down the stone wall. Her feet nothing but a blur.
They followed the two shapes until they disappeared into the night. "Good luck." They whispered in unison to the Saotomes.
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She smiled cruelly as she felt her victim struggle weakly, blood flowing freely from the mortal wound. This one had been the last one. Now they were free to attack without fear of getting an arrow on their backs. She retrieved the sword from the winged man's chest. He dropped unmoving and lifeless to the ground. Turning around, she noticed all six of them were here and eager to penetrate the fortress.
Suddenly their heads snapped all in the same general direction, which happened to be towards the cliffs. They could all feel another person approaching, though this one was different. While the scouts had felt like small candles of light in the night, this presence felt like a raging torch of power.
Not that it mattered to them. Not in the least. The fact that they could easily feel the aura approaching spoke poorly of its owner's skill. They slowly started to advance, opening their formation to surround the unsuspecting victim.
As they continued approaching, the more experienced of the group started to nervously look forward. They had felt the power coming from the direction of the cliffs, but they failed to determine how far it was. Now they could feel they were almost upon him. Yes, him. His aura gave it away.
There was only one slight problem, though. If he had felt strong before, his power nearly overwhelmed them now. They didn't believe there were such strong males outside of the Musk warriors.
A few minutes later, while they were on trees and hidden behind bushes, they finally caught sight of their prey. A tall male wearing the Phoenix Royal Guard uniform. The expected form of his wings was lacking, though. But due to the darkness they couldn't see very well. He suddenly stopped and started looking all around. Too late. He was completely surrounded.
Swift and silent as death itself, one of them jumped him from the back. She had her sword, which still had blood tainting it, at the ready for a decapitating blow. Her aim was perfect, the only sound heard was the air being cut as the blade neared its target. She even allowed herself a small smile at the ease with which they had taken care of this male. *As stupid as the Musk.* They all thought.
Their thoughts were quickly being revised when the sword cut nothing but air. "Nice try." Ranma said after he ducked under the swing. He hadn't known she was there until he heard the sound of displaced air.
As he was approaching he knew that if someone was in the forest, still alive, the that person was incredibly adept at hiding his or her presence. He frowned deeply at that. None of the Phoenix scouts were even remotely good at chi control. That could only mean one thing.
He himself couldn't hide his aura successfully. He had a tight control over his chi, but he also had too much. So instead of wasting energy in futilely trying to hide his aura, he used it to lure his opponents towards him.
Getting back to the present, Ranma smirked as he felt his fingers penetrate through flesh and bone. Not that he liked the idea of killing, but he would do it if necessary. And six to two odds made it necessary. Particularly because of the skill in chi control these Amazons showed.
"Get him!" Ordered an aged voice. Ranma's eyes narrowed and he took his hand out of the corpse's chest with a wet sound. He turned towards the place this one had attacked him from and started running through the forest.
He ducked under a tree branch, jumped over a bush and did his best to keep a safe distance from the five people following him. Maybe he was a better fighter than any of them, but they still outnumbered him and had the advantage of darkness. He himself still couldn't feel their auras, but he was sure they could perfectly feel his.
The five women chased the male and cursed his damn speed. They were been able to keep him on their sights, but that's about it.
As they were following him a flash of lightning illuminated the skies. Not a lot of time but enough to see as the male turned over his shoulder to regard them. He was indeed not a member of the Phoenix People, yet he wore their uniform.
Ranma used the lightning to turn and study the people chasing him. Amazons. Four mature women and an elder that somehow retained her full height. He could tell the difference because of the wrinkles adorning her features. Turning forward once again he prepared to play his part on the plan. An elder complicated things, but didn't make them impossible.
The Amazons cursed the several flashes of lightning that completely ruined their attack. The sentries would be able to spot them down the cliff and shoot them down before they reached the terraces. They either way decided to continue their chase of this male. He had killed one of their own and would tell Saffron of what he saw if he managed to escape.
As they continued running, they suddenly entered a clearing. They saw the male stop there, next to another wingless figure, and turn around.
The Amazons allowed themselves to smile. If that stupid male thought two would oppose more resistance than one he was in for a surprise. They slowly edged towards the two Phoenix soldiers.
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Nodoka saw as Ranma arrived at the point they had earlier selected. She also noticed the way the Amazons were chasing him. She frowned. *He obviously didn't just spot them and run here.* She would berate him for that later, though. They had more important business to attend. '"Son? How many?"' She asked in Japanese.
Ranma didn't let his gaze wander from the Amazons. '"Four warriors and an elder."' He was surprised they had sent an elder with such a reduced group.
Nodoka lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the elder. '"Any survivors?"' Ranma's silence to the question was the best answer. She tightened her grasp of the Saotome blade and started to shift her weight.
Ranma himself fell back into his usual battle stance. The terrain was in his favor for this kind of fight.
Seven warriors met in a clash of steel and flesh as a thunderstorm erupted dramatically from the skies. Ranma let a small part of his mind, not dedicated to the fight, amuse itself thinking of Kuno and his speeches.
Nodoka ran forward nearly sideways, her left hand holding the sheath of her blade, her right one grasping firmly the handle of her steel. She charged from the side of the Amazon formation so that she would be facing only one opponent. She knew, even if her speed was incredible, that she couldn't take as much punishment as the others. Her adversary opened with a downward slash. The attack was very skillful, so much it would have cut down any normal fighter. Nodoka Saotome was way beyond a normal fighter.
The sound of steel against steel was heard and, immediately after, steel on flesh. Lightning illuminated the scene to reveal Nodoka kneeling behind her opponent, her sword in its sheath. The Amazon turned around with a sneer and tried to lift her sword once again. She never made it as she fell to the ground in pieces.
Ranma didn't follow his mother's cautious approach to battle. He charged head on into the remaining four Amazons, and most particularly, the elder. He dived towards her, avoiding the attacks of the other three, and managed to land an attack before the elder reacted and jumped away. After that he rolled on the floor and away from several thrown knives. As he stood he could see the three warriors were alternating between nervously eyeing his mother and him.
Nodoka had cut her enemy's head and arms off too fast to be seen. Ranma went through a sword and the elder's body. She had reacted in time to avoid being cut in half. As it was she was bleeding to death on the ground as she desperately pressed shiatsu to try and stop the bleeding. The other people in the clearing knew she wouldn't succeed.
This gave the remaining Amazons something to think about. They had just lost the elder of the group and two of their companions in a matter of seconds. Just as Ranma and Nodoka assumed their stances again the Amazons made a decision.
They fled.
Ranma started to give chase but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. '"Let them go, son. Kima is waiting for you to return."' She also knew it would be better if those Amazons returned to their village with stories of doom. That way no more attacks would come this way, or at least not for a while.
The mention of Kima's name made Ranma stop instantly. '"Hai."' He relaxed his tense muscles and took a deep breath.
Nodoka withdrew her hand and turned to the suffering Amazon elder. Even if she was an enemy she deserved better than to die in such a way. She was dying anyway, so she prepared her sword to finish her misery.
The skies thundered violently. '"I'm starting to get tired of this."' Ranma stated coldly.
'"Ranma?"' Nodoka asked worriedly as she cleaned her sword on the now corpse's clothes. She sheathed her blade, hopefully for the last time today, and turned to her son.
Ranma looked into the blue eyes of his mother with fire coursing through his veins. '"We've been defending ourselves for months. Kima is about to give birth. What will our baby be facing? This?"' He asked pointing at the three corpses in the clearing.
Nodoka stood straight before her son's steel stare. '"You know I like the idea as much as you do. But we can't do anything about it right now."'
Ranma turned away, looking directly to the sky as lightning once again brought light to the darkness. *I will do something.* He silently swore.
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"Take it easy, fem-boy!" Taro all but yelled at his sparring partner as backed away from a wicked hammer blow.
It was the day after the attack. Yesterday Ranma, Kima and Saffron had entered the war room alone and remained in there for hours. The details of the attack through the forest had been given to everyone by Nodoka, yet no one knew what had been discussed in the war room. After the meeting Ranma and Kima entered their quarters in complete silence, both their faces expressionless.
The next morning the usual class started in the training hall. Only problem was, especially for Taro, Ranma was taking the sparring session too seriously. Taro had several large bruises that proved it.
Ranma stopped his relentless assault and stood straight, his face an emotionless mask. Taro nervously gulped as he assessed his opponent. Kima's husband stood in front of him, not sweating, not even breathing hard. Taro himself was a mess.
The sparring session had started as any other between the two friends. None landing a single blow in an unparalleled match of skill. But as the fight went on Ranma started to overpower his opponent in every aspect. Skill-wise they were nearly the same, but Ranma was stronger physically. Taro couldn't help but think that just a few months ago they were equals. *Seems like fem-boy really messed up with those shiatsu.* He thought as he turned his gaze to Kima, who was silently watching the fight. *They are becoming too strong.* Not that it was a bad thought. With two people fighting like that by Saffron's side they had the war won. The problem was the couple could very well lose it and attack anything on sight.
Ranma watched as Taro looked nervously at Kima and understood instantly. He sighed and exchanged a glance with his wife.
Kima nodded to Ranma and started to walk towards him. "Everyone, please form a circle." She called out as she took Ranma's hand. She didn't want to do this, but there was no other way.
The entire room hurried to hear what was to be said. They were all curious as to why Ranma was acting so different. Nodoka gave her son and daughter-in-law a worried look. She knew something was wrong. Something from yesterday.
Kima sighed and started talking. "I won't beat around the bush and go directly to the point." She eyed everyone with a serious expression. "My husband and I will be leaving Phoenix Mountain as soon as our baby is born."
To say the training hall became incredibly loud would be a severe understatement. Everyone started asking why and if they would ever return. Many of the students were disheartened to hear their idols were escaping from the fortress. Others thought they didn't hear right.
Ranma silenced them with a gesture and continued. "We're not escaping from the war. We're doing this to protect you all." Before anyone could ask about it he continued. "We've been losing control again."
The silence was overwhelming. Everyone knew about the effects of the training, mostly to discourage those that wanted to follow their footsteps.
Taro, Mouse, Pa Fum and Genma understood silently. Nodoka voice the question many others held in their minds. "When did you lose control again?"
Ranma looked at his mother with guilt. He couldn't meet her eyes so instead he looked at her feet. "During the attack in the forest."
The reference to the event and the way Ranma responded made her realize what he meant. She didn't really mind, since he had done nothing, but obviously he was quite perturbed by it. "So it was Kima's name that stopped you." She said quietly.
Ranma nodded miserably. He would never forgive himself for even thinking of lashing out at his mother.
"Kima?" Nodoka asked.
The winged woman looked as uncomfortable as her son, though her attitude wasn't directed at anyone here. It was then that everyone understood. There was only one person Kima would never, and that meant 'never', attack.
The group dispersed, leaving the Saotome family alone. Many voiced their support and wished for the couple to succeed.
Before anyone could talk Kima spoke to Nodoka. "Nodoka, could you take care of our baby till we return. I don't want to risk anything happening." Her voice was strained and it was quite obvious she was being torn apart by the decision. She felt a hand on her shoulder and silently thanked Ranma for the support.
Nodoka looked at Kima with a gentle smile. "Of course, dear. Just try to delay your departure for a couple of months after the baby is born." She wanted for Kima to know what it was to nurse her child. From her life it was one of the things she treasured the most.
Genma stepped closer to Ranma. "Son, I know you will succeed. Just try not to take long. Raising your children is something I don't want you to miss."
Ranma nodded and turned back to his wife. They would get over this. They would.
END PART 12
Author's notes: Another chapter out. Several people wrote me wanting to know if Ranma and Kima would get over the problem they have with their emotions. I had planned on leaving them as they were, but finally decided to concede. It's not like Ranma to let something that could be dangerous for others unattended.
By the way, does anyone know what style Nodoka uses? I'll give you a hint, it's from another anime. This'll be the next question in my page. A little harder than the others, don't you think? |
