Chapter 16 - End of Ch 13 start of Ch14

A few steps ahead…

Even in her mortified state, Ranko was able to perceive the presence of four figures approaching her. Training with Lotion had ensured that she was always on guard, no matter how she was feeling. She couldn't tell where the four strangers were coming from, but she would be ready if they tried something.

They were the reason why she had entered the clearing, she had seen it and had been curious so she approached it, but hadn't been sure about entering it until she noticed four creepy figures prowling around her. Well, if they thought she was an easy mark, they had another thing coming.

"I know you're there somewhere, come out and face me!" she challenged once she was a few steps into the clearing. For an instant, it seemed nothing would happen but then…

Four small figures jumped at her from different directions all at once!

Two of them, armed with rather large scissors, aimed high, while the others, one carrying a spear and the other a sword, tried to trip her. It was a sound strategy, and it would have worked on someone less skilled than Ranko.

The redhead simply backflipped out of harm's way, managing to deliver two solid kicks that caught the four attackers in the head, sending them tumbling both left and right. She didn't hit them too hard, as she had held back in order to better see who was challenging her.

"Oh, man, it's you four creeps!" Ranko said as she recognized the little baldies, feeling baffled and annoyed by these persistent morons. "Didn't Ryoga teach you enough of a lesson?"

"Your friend isn't here to save you, we'll have our revenge!" Niku-man declared angrily. "And your hair!"

"My… hair?" the redhead blinked in confusion. "Why? All I did was eat your stupid soup, are you nuts or something?"

But she received no answer, the Niku-men instead replied by attacking her again, this time paying attention and keeping their distance as best as they could while still aiming their blades at the girl's head.

"Stop dodging, you!" Curry-man growled in frustration.

"Yeah, stand still so we can get that hair!" An-man agreed, also fuming with rage.

'These baldies sure are pissed…' Ranko thought as she ducked and rolled to the right, avoiding a pair of scissors that almost got her. It was then that she noticed it. 'Their ki's almost boiling, they really are mad…'

Hot ki plus a group of angry opponents? Ranko grinned as she realized this was the perfect opportunity to complete her Hiryu Shoten Ha training. All she had to do was to rile up these four idiots a little more and she'd show Lotion she could master the technique on her own!

"What's the matter, pork buns?" The girl mocked while preparing to enter the soul of ice state she had acquired after practicing in that terrible, terrible circle of fire. "You can't even do something as simple as a haircut?"

"Shut up and stop moving!" Pizza-man demanded, furiously attacking with his weapon.

"We'll win in the end so just give up!" Niku-man shouted, not noticing he and his three friends were following the redhead along the lines of a perfect spiral…

And then it finally happened, the girl stopped and crouched, as if giving up.

"Come for it, creeps, just a bit more…" Ranko said with a smirk, feeling the chilly soul of ice rise from her feet as it started to circulate all around her. "That's it…Hiryu…Shoten…"

The Niku-men gang, too excited at their apparent victory, rushed all at once, grabbing and waving their weapons, blindly aiming to shave all the hair from the girl's hair. And that's when they felt it.

A freezing wind that bit all the way through their bones.

"HA!" Ranko screamed, rising with the fist, unleashing, at last, the full force of her deadly attack, creating a tornado of cold wind that caught the Niku-Men and launched them spinning high into the sky. And as she looked at her defeated adversaries, a grin born of victory adorning her lips, the girl noticed that despite being caught in the fierce cold spiral one of the men was laughing, waving his arms while holding something red in his hand. Some of her hair.

"Those creeps!" She yelled, bringing her hands up and noticing that all the four baldies had managed to do was to take less than a fourth of her hair's length.

The icy tornado finally dissipating around her, Ranko's smile slowly returned to her. It didn't matter that the four baldies had taken some of her hair, she had been planning on cutting it a little anyway, and a handful of hair was a very small price to pay in exchange for mastering the technique that had placed her at the same level as Ryoga if not outright surpassing him at this point.

Their martial arts skills were no longer apart; she had closed the gap between them.

She could now stand by his side again as an equal.

"I did it!" Ranko whispered, still smiling. "With this Ryoga and I can defeat anyone together, even that weirdo from my dreams if he ever tries to separate us…" She inhaled sharply while blushing, positively giddy at this point.

Yes, knowing she would be able to protect Ryoga if he ever needed it, and not just that, but to defend herself from anyone who would try to separate her from him helped her to finally forget the unease that had been bothering her all morning.

"Wait 'till Ryoga and Lotion get a load of this!" She exclaimed almost gleefully, rushing back to the farm with a happy stride in her steps.

The early morning sun bathed the rooftops of Yakusai village, going about its usual routines, people either trading or selling their wares. Tensions were high as the populace whispered warnings among themselves.

Walking down the main business street at the entrance were Rin Rin and Ran Ran. From the looks of it, both were completely oblivious to the looks of the herbalist people.

"Sister is it not a great honor to have the Elders task us with gathering these ingredients?" Ran Ran questioned while lowering her head, looking quite proud.

"It is indeed, but-" Rin Rin mumbled her reply, looking to her right and away from her sister.

"But what?" Ran Ran asked incredulously. "We're the whole reason the village will get the preparations they need." she finished, crossing her arms with her polearm tucked between them.

"We're magnificent, in that there can be no doubt, but remember that we should try and be modest about it too," Rin Rin tossed into the conversation, a little less boastfully than her sister might have.

A sound similar to a donkey's but also with the whinnying characteristics of a horse echoed just outside Yukusai.

Link held the reins while Pink rested with her hands behind her back, her feet kicked up and propped against the front of the cart. "Sister, I wonder if Shampoo and Mousse will be the ones waiting for the Merchandise," the blue kanji sister commented casually while looking off into the nearby farmlands.

"Sister, I wish Ginseng hadn't placed us in charge of delivering goods to the Amazons," Link revealed as she yawned a little.

"Move you stupid donkeys!" Pink ordered as she sat up, trying to mush the mules, hoping to instill some fear and maybe vigor in their steps.

"They're mules, try and remember, try not to mock donkeys by comparing them to these, if you please," Link corrected and looked at the animals that couldn't understand them.

"Ugh, I'm starting to wonder if it'd be faster to walk," Pink complained openly, it's not like her complaint could be heard by anyone, or by anyone that mattered to her, so, she figured, why not complain?

Sadly their cargo was much too large for them to carry in their hands and thus they were forced to wait on their mighty half-horse half-donkey champions.

Arriving later than they would have liked, Pink and Link were finally on the main street. Both appeared to be quite annoyed that their mules didn't like going faster. They looked around with bored eyes until Pink caught sight of two bite-sized Amazons.

"Sister! If you please! Look!" the poison user alerted her sibling while pointing, covering her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her laughter.

Link wanted to laugh a little but she was more blown away by how small and adorable these representatives were. "They remind me of those nesting dolls but with different hairstyles!" the red kanji nurse replied lowly enough that only she and her sister could hear since they were closing the distance between them and the oddly colored duo.

Pink snickered a little at the idea of seeing those two stacked into each other, fighting it back she cleared her throat and called out to them. "Excuse me!" she shouted and waved an arm in their direction.

Annoyed with the lack of formality coming from her sister, the gentle sister simply opted to bow her head with a smile when they came to a stop.

Rin Rin and Ran Ran both stopped walking forward when they heard a girl calling out to them. Looking over their shoulders they saw what looked like two fifteen-year-olds dressed in fancy herbalist clothes... arriving in a cart pulled by two stubby mules?

They froze with their mouths agape, they looked offended even but regardless they trusted in their leaders' choices so in their minds there must have been more to this than what they were seeing. They looked to one another briefly before sighing, turning around fully, and returning Link's bow with one of their own.

"Greetings, are you two the ones who are picking up the Elder Council member's order?" Link inquired, gesturing to the back of their cart filled with the rather large order.

"I think we have the list," Pink commented as she hopped off the cart, walking to the back as she reached into her shirt, pulling out a list as she rummaged through the back of the cart.

"Where are my manners?" Link asked herself, blinking and clearing her throat. "I'm Link and the girl in blue is my sister, Pink." She introduced herself as well as her sister.

"I'm Rin Rin," she introduced herself with a clanking of her bamboo staff.

"And I'm Ran Ran," her sister also clanked her weapon onto the ground.

"That should be everything," Pink confirmed as she walked back with the list in hand, rubbing the back of her neck with a smile.

"Even got the sack of mandragora dust requested, good timing too, that was the last sack in Yakusai for the whole season." Link mentioned, letting them know how lucky they were to have requested these at this time of year.

When Pink was close enough Ran Ran took the list from her and read through it. She took out one she had kept in her own secret pocket, comparing the two sheets.

Link looked to Rin Rin and wanted to say something to be polite but when she looked to her, she saw that her mind was focused simply at the task at hand, 'She's even more serious than Mint was,' she thought for a second, blushing as she put her hand over her mouth, so shocked by that, that she feared the off chance that she said that out loud.

Ran Ran closed her eyes before opening them with a smile and handing it back, "Thank you, this is most excellent," she thanked, her lisp in her tone becoming much more noticeable.

"Thank you and the Joketsuzoku Elders, we hope your trip back is a pleasant and uneventful one! Also! If you please, send the cart back with someone you can trust If you can't!" Pink outlined as she read her pre-rehearsed line written on her palm before closing her hand, putting it behind her, and offering a smile.

Link and the other two girls rolled their eyes, obviously recognizing that the herbalist in blue had written that all down to reduce time spent on the job.

"Sister, if you please-" the older, more logical twin began.

Only to be surprised to find two boys leaping down from a rooftop. landing behind Pink and Link's cart.

The two younger-looking males landed on their feet, hunched over from the fall they straightened themselves out.

"You two! We're really in need of a kilo of mandragora root dust!" Daikokuse exclaimed as he pointed at Pink and then Link's back as they looked over their shoulders.

"We're more than willing to pay for it," His twin brother Daihakuse added, smiling as he too faced the herbalist twins.

The two oldest twins saw that another pair of twins ended up coming out of the woodwork. First, the pint-sized Amazons in battle Cheongsams, now two boys dressed in long-sleeved Changsha stood before them.

"Sister, if you please, am I seeing doubles?" Pink asked, the irony completely flying over her head.

"No, it's true. I'm seeing it too…" Link's voice concurred before looking at her sister. "Should I or you, Pink?" she asked.

Pink held out her hand, telling her that she needn't say more, "A thousand apologies, we're all out of Mandragora root dust, we are so sorry for the inconvenience!" she explained in a way that sounded intentionally rushed.

"Sold the last of it to these girls right here," Link said, then gestured to them with an open palm you'd use to gesture to something grand for the first time.

After an uncomfortable second of silence, the twins looked at each other, Daikokuse gave his brother a nod shortly after. The brother with the black circle on his chest approached Rin Rin and Ran Ran, going up to the cart brought by Pink and Link.

Most notably about Rin Rin and Ran Ran was that they didn't see this as a good thing, since the moment he began walking over, annoyed looks started occupying their faces.

"Is there any way we can convince you two lovely ladies to sell us that little bag there?" Daikokuse inquired in what he thought was a shrewd way, crossing his arms before casually leaning against the cart.

Unimpressed by his attempt at posing for his headshot photo, Ran Ran couldn't help but fight back some laughter, doing her best not to crack a smile she placed her hand over her mouth, only managing to stave it off to a chuckle.

Rin Rin, on the other hand, couldn't help but quirk a brow in intrigue, even smiling a little, 'I like the strong air to him, maybe he's a warrior? And at the very least, he's pretty cute,' she pondered the notion of letting him advance, despite the little voice in the back of her head reminding her to do as tradition instructed, perhaps she wanted a strong and confident man?

Daihakuse decided that now would be the best time for him to step in, putting both hands in his sleeves as the teen moved to stand next to his brother. "Please forgive my brother's brash behavior, but we would be ever so grateful if you two would consider selling us that bag of mandragora root dust," he apologized, hoping to recover what little ground their brother might have lost them.

Ran Ran this time couldn't help but find herself gazing at the more well-mannered twin, 'He sounds nice, warm and kinda' handsome, maybe I can ask him to a fight? Wait! Why am I saying it like that!?' The green-haired girl was somewhat new to this feeling, she may have been boastful before but now when faced with a rather cute boy with gentle eyes she found herself tongue-tied.

Rin Rin rolled her eyes in response to Daihakuse's kind words and soft voice, so her study went back over to the boy with the black circle.

She noticed him smirking at her, then winking as if it were the most casual thing in the world.

It looked as though they were sizing one another up how intensely they were having their unannounced staring contest.

They knew what their duty was and what it belonged to, so they answered the only way they could.

"We're not permitted to sell anything we have," Rin Rin answered with a sigh, shaking her head with a look of annoyed disappointment.

"It's much too important for our village," Ran Ran explained, expressing some frustration since this meant they were more than likely to leave now.

Turning around as if they had to immediately leave, leaning down a little to look at each other, they whispered among themselves.

"The one called Daihakuse is cute," Ran Ran whispered, leaning the side of her head closer to her side.

"Really? I think Daikokuse is much, much cuter!" Rin Rin replied, containing her excitement before smiling and looking over her shoulder at the handsome but confident face of said male twin.

"I wonder if they're strong," Ran Ran said, speaking normally now.

"I don't know sister, they look much too weak," Rin Rin countered, putting her finger to her bottom lip and turning away from them.

"Weak? Ha! I wouldn't call us weak," Daihakuse exclaimed, closing his eyes as if saying he didn't have to worry about dropping his guard.

"Though my brother lacks humility, what he says is true and we can prove it if you let us," Daikokuse implored them, smiling confidently, although, with much less arrogance painted on his face than his brother.

It was then that the two contrasting but otherwise similar-looking twins hummed at the same time. Their interest sated for the moment, they paused, looking at one another before adjusting their heads so they were staring at their would-be challengers.

"If you're both so sure of your strength then we should all have a duel to prove it!" Ran Ran declared as she turned around and lifted her trident spear, pointing it at the male twins.

"If you win then we'll happily give you the dust you want," Rin Rin added, getting a look from her sister to which she only grinned in confidence.

Ran Ran looked to think it over for a minute before stopping and nodding along with her sister.

"For both of your sakes, It would be wise of you two to reconsider…" Rin Rin's voice trailed as she bluffed, clearly looking forward to a fight.

The Nekonronian twins smiled, clearly unfazed by Rin Rin's advice and Ran Ran's declaration. Closing their eyes and lowering their heads, they shook them to the side before opening their eyes together.

"I think you girls will be pleasantly surprised," Daikokuse started with confidence that seemed to never leave him.

"We accept your challenge, though, but know that…" Daihakuse started but paused for dramatic effect.

"We are both proud members of the Seven Lucky Gods of Nekonron! And we won't be so easily defeated!" They both proclaimed with their heads held high.

"We're the strongest of our class in our village!" Ran Ran proclaimed, matching their pride with her head held just as high.

"We will teach you what we can do!" The two female twins exclaimed at the same time.

With wide eyes, the two temporary merchants watched the brewing conflict between the two Amazons and from what they heard Nekonronians. "I think we should watch sister," Pink suggested as she crossed her arms.

"Just in case someone gets poisoned or something," Link agreed, eyes darting from right to left, waiting for anyone to throw the first blow.

"How about we watch at a safe distance if you please?" Pink asked as a nervous sweat drop formed on her head, sensing the strong auras trying to overpower the other.

"For once you are right Pink!" Link exclaimed as they moved back to Yakusai's entrance.

"Hey! I'm right more often than you think dear sister!" Pink responded as they were still trying to get to a safe viewing distance.

Out on the main road, the other two sets of twins were facing each other down. That was until Rin Rin closed her eyes, with a flick of her wrist she extended her retractable staff to its full length.

Ran Ran narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her polearm, taking three practice strikes in the air to ready herself for the battle to come, from the sounds of it, the weapon was designed to resist more wind pressure than the typical polearm.

Daikokuse adopted a defensive posture, narrowing his eyes softly, a knowing look in his eye as his legs parted, his flats scraping across the ground and then seizing when his desired form was reached.

Daihakuse moved at the same time, however, his posture was more suited for a better offense than defense. Despite that difference in style, he never moved from his spot next to his fellow member of the Seven.

Silence befalls the group as even the nearby people that would normally mind their own business, stopped doing said business long enough to know something was going down.

Leaving nothing to chance, Rin Rin and Ran Ran saw it fit to engage the two male twins first! Standing side by side they charged with their weapons at the ready, once within jabbing range they immediately tried to end their battles in what they'd call a quick by surprising manner.

It was then that Daihakuse quickly sidestepped the pole stab, now within range he swiftly took a step forward, crashing his open palm into the dark magenta-haired girl's solar plexus.

Ran Ran gasped, falling on her back and clenching her torso.

The same could almost be said for Daikokuse, however, he managed to not only dodge but grab her weapon by the shaft then yanked it towards himself so quickly she barely had time to react.

Rin Rin's eyes went wide as the black circled teen struck her in the same spot as her sister had been hit.

As if thinking several steps ahead, Daikokuse grabbed the still recoiling girl and flung her over his shoulder, watching her tumble while Ran Ran grabbed her abdomen, looking like she was struggling to breathe.

The Amazonian twin's weapons clanked onto the ground when Daihakuse and Daikokuse finished, the two relaxed after their apparent win.

"Did you see what we meant?" Daikokuse asked kindly but also kinda' mockingly, given the complete victory over them.

Deep breaths were the only things the girls could offer as a response at first, they were hurt but both looked to each other as they gathered themselves. They squint their eyes shut while seemingly trembling for a moment. It was then that their disgruntled faces shifted to those of pleasant surprise and even giggling?

"Do you know what this means, sister?" Ran Ran asked her sibling confidently and almost proudly.

Rin Rin simply managed to compose herself before nodding in agreement. Following the defeat they rose to their feet, smiling they each moved to the twin that bested them.

Another staredown commenced, the two members of the Seven Lucky Gods smiled in return. Daikokuse shut his eyes and lowered his head, about to ask them to uphold their part of the wager.

"We can finally get married!" the two junior Amazons declared, both of them clasping their intended Nekonronian.

With slack jaws and eyes, the size of dinner plates the two guy twins gawked at the girls. Did they just say they were getting married? Were they to be beaten before they could wed who they wanted or were they demanding they marry the ones they overcame in the battle to marry them?

"What's going-" Daihakuse began but stopped when he felt Ran Ran embracing him, burying her face into his chest with a nuzzle.

"Are they getting married after losing or-" Daikokuse tried to ask, not getting much further until he too, felt an Amazonian beauty cuddling up to him.

Finally coming out from their hiding spot, Pink and Link approached with looks of clear dissatisfaction, hands resting on their hips while shaking their heads.

"Fight was too short," Pink said, sighing while shaking her head.

"Much too short," Link agreed, also shaking her head.

"Anyways, I'll do you two a favor and explain what these two girls are saying, you see, these two are Joketsuzoku Amazons, and whenever one falls in battle by a man outside their tribe they marry the one who beats them in battle," Pink announced.

"I feel bad for you two, sorry, but you two really should have known better," Link expressed her condolences, hands behind her back.

Rin Rin released Daikokuse, Ran Ran did the same with Daihakuse, going over to the cart, opening the bag with the mandragora dust.

"We were bested in battle, so you can take what you need," Rin Rin and Ran Ran stated in unison.

In all this confusion, they blushed when they stumbled onto the subject of marriage; of all things. They ceased all thoughts of betrothment when they were released and allowed to inspect the bag, inside there was indeed the dust they requested.

Link retrieved a scale from the back of the cart, holding it out to the two recently engaged Amazons. Measuring it, she waited until the scale evened out at about a kilo, all the while, her sister Pink holding out a bag to store said dust.

Daikokuse was one who was given the sack, swearing there was a storm of question marks hovering over his head or something, still, he took it without question. His brother only stole a passing glance, still so confused as to why a woman would willingly throw themselves at a man after losing to them in a fight, "Huh!?" They both gasped when they felt that one of their arms was enveloped by the girls.

"We all must go to Joketsuzuko and announce our engagement to the Great Elders!" Ran Ran declared triumphantly.

Immediately after the words 'engagement' left the short magenta-haired girl's lips, the two youngest of the Seven attempted to free themselves of the girls' grip, sheer embarrassment and fear motivating them. However, the girls were much stronger than accounted for, in fact, they were so much stronger, physically speaking, that they couldn't easily break free from their vice-like grips.

"We're only fifteen!" Daihakuse vehemently cried out in panic.

"Yes! W-we're much too young to be married!" Daikokuse's words mirrored his brother's underlined panic.

"That's not a problem! Both Rin Rin and I are almost fourteen, so it's alright," Ran Ran said, hoping to ease their tension; she did not.

"If you two want, we can postpone our marriage for a few years but we demand we at least start living together!" Rin Rin outlined some more than likely non-negotiable conditions of their marriage.

The two male twins' expressions were best described as a deer caught in the headlights look. Letting the idea of being married so suddenly spur them, they forced their arms through the grips of their would-be Las Vegas-style drive-thru marriage brides.

With incredible speeds they vanished from sight, darting to the nearest rooftops, making their escape.

"No, wait!" Rin Rin called out.

"Please, don't go!" Ran Ran held her hand out and lowered her head.

In the background behind them were Pink and Link, hands over their mouths as they almost looked to double over in laughter.

"Should we give chase?" Ran Ran asked with a shadow cast over her eyes.

"I think so," Rin Rin concurred, looking to where the two had been before sighing sadly.

"Remember, you two have a delivery to make to the Amazon village," Pink reminded them tenderly, hoping to maybe calm down the recently rejected girls.

"Y-yes! I also believe they mentioned they were from Nekoron, I'm sure you two can always go look for them there!" Link advised, clapping her hands together.

Letting themselves fight the heartache for the moment, they figured that maybe they were right. The two looked at one another and now both were sighing sadly.

It was then that Pink was reminded of Lime, the look on Ran Ran's more particularly, 'They haven't even known them that long! T-they're barely even teens! Being with a man takes real connection! Real connection-like-like!' she pondered before remembering the look of delight in Lime's face and the sensation she felt when she rested against him so openly.

"They're right," Ran Ran confirmed, nodding her head, maintaining her stern role as the leader of the two, she made her way back over to the cart.

"Let's go, Rin Rin." Ran Ran suggested as they went over to their newly acquired cart.

Getting snapped out of her thoughts, Pink watched as the two boarded their cart and began making their way back out of Yakusai.

"Sister, we need to plan a trip to Nekonron," Ran Ran said as soon as their cart was out of earshot.

"After the whole dilemma with the Musk Dynasty is dealt with, sister," Rin Rin responded, not a hint of fear or worry in her voice.

"No doubt the Amazon village will stay standing…" Ran Ran agreed, adding her own two cents to the current conversation.

Hearing no objections from Rin Rin, they continued on their way with their newly obtained, fully loaded, mule-powered cart.

Later…

Sitting atop a log with her leg crossed over the other, Monlon calmly began adjusting her lute, tuning it for the next time she had an audience or needed to think. In front of her was a campfire, positioned above the fire was a make-shift wooden kettle stand.

Monlon hummed with her eyes closed before smiling softly, twisting a tuning peg all the while. The wind picked up a bit, thus the tree's nearby began to rustle in the breeze.

"There you two are," she commented, looking over her shoulder, the stretching of her chord echoed before she tested it with a pluck.

It was then that the sounds of two people landing on their feet hit Monlon's ears.

"We brought the mandragora dust," Daikokuse held the bag out, blushing for a moment before looking as though he was about to say something but just couldn't bring himself to, so he looked away.

"Excellent work, Daikokuse, Daihakuse, with this I can finally get to work on the paralysis bomb." Monlon outlined calmly, looking forward and opening her eyes.

"Sorry we had to intrude on your lute tuning," Daihakuse apologized, arms tucked into his sleeves as he couldn't bring himself to look in Monlon's direction.

Monlon may not have been too old but she was wise enough to know there was something in the way the two spoke, 'What happened out there?' she thought, turning to face them as she stood up. What she saw was two awkward teens who more than likely wouldn't want to discuss what happened until later, much later.

"If something is wrong, you two can discuss it with me, I swear not to poke fun at you," she offered a sympathetic look, waiting as they locked eyes with her before nodding their heads.

"If and when we're ready!" Daikokuse replied, handing the bag of dust over to the teal-headed girl.

"Good then, I have a bomb that needs assembling to attend to." Monlon said, excusing herself when she got what she needed, giving them a warm smile before departing; her back facing them.

"I take it that's for the pachyderm you've mentioned before?" Daihakuse asked his comrade.

"That's right! You could even call this our plan B if you so desired," she spoke up a bit as she took the bag to her equipment.

The sounds of running water filled the air as the twins of the Seven Lucky Gods sat by a river. Sure there were other natural wonders and beauties around them, but they meant nothing to the two with the black and white dots on their chests.

Both sat cross-legged while their hands were tucked into their sleeves, looking as some fish leaped from the water, catching an insect in its mouth. Even when the fish dunked back in, it sounded natural just like the rest of the world around them.

"I can't help but think about Rin Rin…" The more mild-mannered one of the brothers said, casting his gaze onto the stones beneath his feet.

"Nor can I, except it's for Ran Ran," Daihakuse mumbled, lowering his head.

"Perhaps being engaged may not be so bad, brother," Daikokuse suggested as he looked up, rolling his eyes in a way that made it seem like the idea should be no big deal.

Daihakuse's back stiffened as he stared out directly in front of him. He didn't seem for this nor did he seem opposed to it either.

"They're strong and pretty cute," Daikokuse continued in a soft tone, remembering how Rin Rin felt with her arms around him.

"I'm certain they'd grow into magnificent beauties," Daihakuse said, assuring himself that this wasn't a bad idea, just another option their lives could take them down.

Allowing these thoughts to ferment, warm smiles eventually spread across their faces.

"Perhaps our luck wasn't so bad this morning," The twins' voices trailed as they spoke together in unison.

A bit later…

Arming the dust bomb, Monlon inspected her work for a moment, putting her hand to her chin before nodding in conformation. "Boys! We're going to Bao!" she called out, one hand holding her creation while the other was placed to the side of her mouth to help her call out to her fellow members of The Seven.

Faint silhouettes came from the river before the two appeared before Monlon, hands up to their sleeves, stern frowns on their faces.

"We see you've finished," Daikokuse commented, blinking as he leaned in a little and admired her work.

"I'll try speaking to the girl before I have the need for this, for the moment it's best to avoid conflict with her," she informed the two younger males.

"Sounds like the best option to me," Daihakuse put one of his hands to his chin, thinking Monlon made some good sense.

"Agreed, is there anything else, Monlon?" Daikokuse pressed for any additional caveats.

"Yes." she nodded her head and put away her Plan B. "Go ahead and call Ebiten, ask him to send the Airship to Bao, we're going to need it…" her voice trailed, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Back at Lotion's farm…

Ryoga, sitting by the living room's window, closed the carpentry book he was studying from and placed it on his lap. For a brief moment he wondered how Lotion got her hands on a Japanese book, but his gaze soon wandered beyond the window, hoping to see Ranko entering the farm.

She had been gone for a considerable amount of time already, and the only reason why he had not gone looking for her was that he didn't want to get lost because even with the new tricks he had developed to find his way around the farm, going out to the forest was entirely different and the last thing he wanted was to end up in Taiwan and never seeing Ranko again.

"She'll return soon," Lotion offered as she entered the living room. "You worry too much, boy."

"Something might have happened to her, you never know," he said, not looking away from the window.

"She's not going to get lost if that's what you're fearing," the old woman said with a tone of voice that made Ryoga sweat.

"What do you mean by that?" The boy asked nervously, fearing the old woman was aware of his most shameful secret.

"That I know about your sense of direction," Lotion said with a shrug. "Or your lack of it, to be more precise."

"But… how?" The young Hibiki asked. "I've… I've been careful not to…"

"Your ki imbalance," Lotion interrupted, raising one hand to stop the boy from talking. "I've been paying attention to you, child; it was the only way to determine how it's affecting you. It didn't hurt your sight or hearing and it certainly didn't affect your ability to harness it during combat. Then I noticed the way you go around the farm, and how you seemed to have trouble telling left from right. You have no sense of direction."

"I… I guess if someone here would notice it was you," Ryoga sighed. "You're right, I… get lost all the time, it makes my life very difficult."

"Are you the only one in your family with this condition?"

Ryoga shook his head no. "My parents have it too, and my grandparents also had this problem. My family's always been like this as far as I know."

"Hm… interesting," the old amazon said, scratching her chin and closing her eyes as she considered this information. "Did both your parents have this problem before they married?"

"Now that you mention it, my mother didn't," Ryoga said, recalling his mother could find his way around but eventually started getting lost. "She walked me to school and was there to pick me up until junior high."

"She lost her sense of direction then?"

"Yes, one day I woke up and… she just wasn't there so I decided to stay home and wait for her to come back, it took her several days," he recalled, sadness filling his voice as that painful memory returned. "She told me she suddenly couldn't find her way home, like dad."

The ancient amazon started pacing around the living room, hands hidden under her sleeves as she appeared to be deeply in thought, meditating about Ryoga's problem and trying to find a solution for it.

"It must be a curse," she said, stopping to look straight at the boy.

"You're telling me," Ryoga sighed. "It's a life-destroying one! You have no idea how much I've suffered because of it, I…"

"No, child, you don't understand," Lotion told him, accusingly pointing her little, bony right index finger at him. "You and your whole family are cursed."

"You mean… cursed as in… magic?"

Lotion nodded and then proceeded to explain. "If your father had this problem and then your mother started getting lost after a few years, then that means this condition that ruins your family's sense of direction is not natural. A ki imbalance can't be passed on from one person to another, it's not contagious unless magic is involved."

"Then that means…"

"It means someone or something cursed your family a long time ago," the old amazon sighed, obviously worried about this development. "And I can't offer you a cure unless I know the origins of the curse or how it works."

"But you said…"

"I can give you a temporary cure for your ki imbalance," Lotion reassured him. "And that should fix your sense of direction for a few hours, maybe even a full day. But if magic is involved then that's the best I can do until we find a permanent solution."

"A full day without getting lost?" Ryoga murmured, blinking as he struggled to imagine how that would feel.

A normal day to do as he wished, not having problems going where he wanted to go, and… he blinked as he realized something that took the wind out of his sails. The curse was contagious. That meant he would pass it on to Ranko… maybe that was even the reason why she was late!

"Something wrong, boy?"

"Ranko, what if I already gave her the curse?"

"Impossible. I do believe it will happen the longer you are together," Lotion said gravely. "But it's too soon, it didn't affect your mother immediately, so that means Ranko should still have at least ten years before she starts getting lost, plenty of time for you to find a cure now that you know what the problem is."

"I promise I'll find it!" Ryoga swore with full determination. "I won't let Ranko get cursed!"

"A noble sentiment," the ancient amazon praised. "Oh, and don't worry, this conversation will remain a secret between us; I won't tell her about your problem, it's best if she…"

Whatever Lotion was going to say was interrupted by a sudden vibration on the windows, as if a strong wind had rattled them for an instant. The old woman jumped to the windowsill and could do nothing but stare agape at what she saw as if she couldn't believe what was happening outside.

Also feeling something strange was happening, Ryoga followed Lotion's gaze and saw a twister rising somewhere in the distance just to dissipate in a matter of seconds.

"What was that?" he asked, still having trouble believing his eyes. "Is it…?"

"Yes, my boy," Lotion started, "That is what a complete Hiryu Shoten Ha looks like, and I pity anyone who was just hit by it."

"It must have been Ranko, she finally mastered it!" Ryoga guessed, getting on his feet and rushing for the door. "If she used it that means someone attacked her, I've got to go see her!"

"Stay where you are, do you want to get lost?" Lotion warned, stopping the boy the moment his hand touched the door.

"No… no, I don't," he said, understanding Lotion was right. "But then what should we do?"

"We wait for her outside," the ancient master said. "I'm quite certain Ranko won the battle, try to have some faith in her."

Not too long after…

Ranko entered the farm with a prideful stride and a grin that radiated happiness; still feeling incredibly pleased by what she had accomplished only a few minutes earlier. It didn't take her long to reach the house, and her smile grew when she saw Ryoga was already waiting for her.

Lotion was out there too, but the redhead's main focus was her boyfriend, he was the one she wanted to tell about it the most.

"Ryoga, guess who just mastered the Hiryu Shoten Ha?" She asked, stopping when she was in front of him, smiling and pointing her right thumb at herself. "I did, all by myself!"

"We both saw it. I must congratulate you, child." Lotion interjected before Ryoga could find the words to speak, as the boy was clearly mesmerized by the redhead's smile.

"Yes, Ranko, congratulations!" Ryoga finally managed to say, his smile a reflection of the girl's own; he really was that proud. "I knew you could do it!"

"Of course, I could, Ryo!" she chuckled. "Am I great or what?"

"Modesty, Ranko," Lotion chided with a sigh as she disciplined her boastful disciple, "is a trait that suits a martial artist best."

"Hey, I'm modest enough!" Ranko disputed and then shook her head and smiled. "Ok, ok, but there's nothing wrong with celebrating; I worked hard for this, I should be getting a prize!"

"I know you did," Lotion conceded with a smile of her own. "I guess we could have some dessert for a change; I should have some chocolate in the pantry, let's make a chocolate pie, would you like that?"

"You bet I would!" the redhead said and grabbed Ryoga by the arm. "Let's go to the kitchen Ryo, before she changes her mind!"

Watching as both her students rushed into the house, Lotion could do nothing but chuckle as she followed them. Perhaps these children were making her soft, but she didn't really mind, they had made her life interesting again, and she was thankful for that.

Meanwhile, in the Amazon village…

Rin Rin and Ran Ran waited in the town's main warehouse for Cologne and Rinse to meet them; they had arrived a few minutes before, and after notifying they had completed their mission and brought the requested supplies, were told to wait there for the two elders.

"I think Daikokuse is cute," Rin said, having memorized the name of her would-be husband it was easy for her to recall her Nekonron twin. "And that move he made against me was incredible, he really is skilled!"

"Daihakuse is just as cute," Ran smiled, as she had also memorized the name and all the little details she could about her own Nekonron twin. "His style was so elegant, I think he's just as skilled."

"They'll be very handsome when they're older!" Rin squealed with a blush.

"Handsome and strong!" Ran completed the observation, also blushing as she imagined an older Daihakuse.

"I think we got really lucky," Rin said with a smirk.

"Agreed, sister, we've got ourselves engaged to great future husbands!"

"What's that about you two being engaged?" Elder Rinse asked from behind the twins. "We sent you to pick up our supplies, not to flirt with the first two boys you met."

"It seems some mandragora root dust is missing," Cologne said then while lifting the mandragora bag to evaluate its weight. "Did you not pay attention when they filled this bag because you were busy flirting?"

"No, we promise we weren't flirting!" Rin said, hands up and backing up a step as she was terrified of angering the elders.

"We weren't, we swear!" Ran said a bit more nervous than necessary.

"We actually had all the mandragora dust you asked for, but…" Rin made a pause and lowered her head in shame. "But two boys wanted a kilo, we wouldn't sell it to them so we decided to fight for it."

"I take it that you two lost," Rinse sighed.

"We tried our best!" The twins said at the same time, hands clasped and an expression of fear adorning their faces. "But those twins from Nekonron were just too strong."

"Nekonron you say?" Cologne asked once the name was mentioned.

"Did these twins of yours mention why they were in Yakusai?" Rinse asked.

"They didn't, they just wanted some mandragora root dust," Ran provided. "That's all we know, they had to leave in a hurry right away and didn't say anything else."

"I hope we're not in trouble for losing the fight," Rin continued. "They defeated us, but they're almost two years older and they said they're members of the Seven Lucky Gods…"

Cologne shook her head and then spared a quick glance to check how Rinse was faring with this new information. "No, you are not in trouble, children, I think you did a good job given the circumstances. Go to the training grounds, we'll call you if we need you."

Rin and Ran nodded and after bowing to signal their respect for the elders, walked out of the warehouse, chatting about the Nekonron twins once they were on their way.

"Fighters from Nekonron, and members of the Seven, no less," Cologne said, musing on the words as she evaluated the situation. "They hardly ever leave their territory, I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Rinse agreed." Still, it should be nothing but a coincidence, I don't think the Seven are also looking for that Ranma kid."

"I hope you are right, because dealing with the Nekonronians on top of the Musk dynasty is something we don't need," Cologne answered.

"I'm sure it was just a coincidence," Rinse repeated.

But deep down, both elders felt this was not just some dumb coincidence, and that something else had happened.

All they could do was to hope whatever it was, it wouldn't cause further trouble to their village.

Later, in the afternoon…

Monlon stood atop a thick tree branch, hand resting on the tree's trunk while the other reached for the back of her neck, tugging her hood over her head. She assumed the identity she had the last time she had visited Bao.

Standing on different branches but by her sides were her twin compatriots. Daihakuse was to her left, Daikokuse to her right. With their arms crossed, backs to their trees, they looked out towards the village.

"Let's go," she commanded, taking the first leap.

Dashing from tree to tree until eventually getting onto the first set of homes, faster than the typical person silhouettes traveled on the rooftops. All three reunited at the top of a large three-story building, their intense speeds reduced to regular running.

"From here on out, follow my exact path onward!" Monlon instructed, looking to each of her sides once, meeting the twins eyes once to make sure they were on the same page.

With no hesitation in their actions, the twins did as she said, maintaining the course by staying by her side and by her still unchanging speed.

"Anything else, Miss Monlon?" Daikokuse asked as they leaped onto another building, this one being a story shorter than the last.

"Be ready to call the airship!" she exclaimed right before kicking out some wind and the boy's clothes as she vanished.

Narrowing their eyes for a second the twins vanished behind her in the blink of an eye, doing their best to keep up with the blurry image of Monlon. Their leaps and bounds were as gentle and as quiet as they could be, whenever there was a chance of someone spotting them the trio would either pause or wait as Monlon would raise her hand, signaling for them to stop before continuing to a restaurant with the sign "Han Restaurant" written over it.

Stopping at a building about two stories tall, the trio of the Lucky Seven Gods surveyed their surroundings. Glad to find that the streets nearby were nearly empty, Lychee hummed a delightful tune while sweeping the entrance.

"This could be her last chance," Monlon muttered from her bird's eye view of the orange-blonde.

"How would you like-" Daihakuse was about to ask but stopped when he saw her lift a finger upward.

"Just leave this to me, you know what to do if things don't go as planned…" her voice trailed as she leaped to the corner of some building with no windows or people present.

"She is much too kind," Daihakuse commented, chuckling quietly to himself as he put his sleeve over his mouth.

"Let's hope fortune smiles on this girl, then, it's always such a shame to see someone so gentle looking get involved…" Daikokuse added his own thoughts, looking uncertain but a little hopeful.

Rounding the bend of the corner a woman in a white robe calmly approached Lychee. "Excuse me?" she called out in the same way she had approached the happy little restaurant worker.

Lychee stopped humming to herself, her eyes opening as she blinked for a moment. Clenching her broom closer to her chest she looked to who had supposedly sought her attention.

What she was was the woman with the white robe from before, serving many customers in various robes she couldn't exactly recall which one she was until after a second it hit her.

"Y-yes?" she asked, tilting her head to one side, 'She didn't end up ordering and left before she could,' Lychee reminisced of the day prior.

Putting her hand over her chest and then bowing slightly, "I'm Monlon of the Seven Lucky Gods, forgive me for leaving the day before without ordering anything. You see, Lychee, we know about the other redhead and we were hoping we could 'persuade' you into telling us where she lives," she explained, pausing and closing her eyes when emphasizing that one word.

Finding the way Monlon's introduced herself to be strange, Lychee frowned. Monlon wanted to know about her redheaded friend, all while wearing a very mysterious-looking white cloak? 'They're a shady bunch of women who want to hurt me,' a segment of Ranko's advice echoed in her mind.

With those words in mind, she figured she was one of those people out to get her friend, this one seemed more willing to talk but it still looked as though hurting Ranko was her objective.

"She has to be one of them," she muttered to herself, holding her broom closer to her chest.

"It would be best for everyone if you just told me where she is," Monlon insisted, locking her stern gaze to Lychee's insecure one.

"I can't share that information, please leave!" she exclaimed, trying her best to leave discreetly.

"I don't think so," Monlon said as she disappeared, then came back into sight, blocking Lychee's way back inside. "I don't have time for these little games, tell me where she is…" Her voice trailed dangerously, crossing her arms during her warning.

"I won't tell you no matter what you do!" Lychee shouted her reply as loudly as she could.

"Why would you risk-" Monlon tried to say but figured that the damage was done, she lowered her head and looked over her shoulder as much as she could while still keeping her eyes on her intended target.

A pair of feet could be heard running around the inside of the restaurant, kicking the door open was the redheaded man and father of Lychee. "What's going on!?" Han demanded to know.

Taking this as her opportunity, the orange-haired waitress made a mad dash over to her parents. Lychee's first course of action was to embrace her mother from the side.

The blonde woman hugged Lychee closely, "It's okay, we're here." She tried to comfort her, patting her head once before looking back at Monlon.

"Ranko told me about mysterious women who want to hurt her! They want to know where she lives but I can't let them hurt my one and only friend!" Lychee revealed as quickly as she could to her parents, looking towards her father.

"Anyone who dares to hurt my daughter's friend isn't welcome in our restaurant!" The wife of the owner vehemently warned.

"So you better leave," the redheaded father strongly recommended she take the advice.

"I did-" Monlon began.

"Bahruuuuuuhhhhaaaaa!"

Jasmine lowered her trunk as she came from behind the restaurant, red crackling streaks of ki surrounding her form. Her eyes focused on the invader who would dare threaten her Lychee and family, the invading woman looked quite annoyed after the elephant interrupted.

"I really didn't want to do things this way but if I must," the teal-haired woman grabbed at her robes. "But I'm in quite the hurry so since you refuse to cooperate then I'm afraid I'll have to play rough!" she exclaimed loudly and clearly, her expression that of someone burning with determination in her eyes.

Her attacker charged onward, only pausing to roar, manifesting her black aura, becoming an unrelenting force of nature.

Pulling her robe as the beast charged, she revealed her elegant and otherworldly dress; paired along with it was her mystical wooden lute and angled lute pick.

With Monlon's right hand she held her lute while the other reached behind her to retrieve a mandragora root dust bomb.

Jasmine was rather big so she could have been comparable to aiming at the broadside of a barn. Monlon could not risk it though, this was her duty and she would see it through to the end. She quickly threw the peculiar bomb straight into the pachyderm's face, causing it to explode on impact.

Crying out once more the mighty circus animal and longtime friend fell to her side, with her face stuck in shock, she at most, managed to defiantly twitch once before becoming as still as a statue; frozen in time.

The living incarnation of Benzaiten held her lute out in front of her, spinning around, striking elegant poses akin to what one might imagine a figure skater to do. In her case, however, when she finished she thrust the lower half of her lute forward, lute strings shooting out like high-speed spider webs.

"Lychee!" Both of her parents cried out as the only one the living musical wires took was their orange-blonde daughter.

"The more she struggles the tighter the wire becomes!" Monlon exclaimed as she pulled her now too frightened to move captive towards her.

A strike of lightning and the beating of ceremonial drums echoed in the land as the clouds above them parted. From the clearing was a boat, above it was a giant balloon in the shape of a blimp. Their flag, along with the blimp, was a bright yellow color.

"Bring the airship down!" she ordered as Lychee landed next to her on her feet, moved as though she were some puppet.

A teen in a blue Changsha with a white circle in the center suddenly appeared from a nearby rooftop, aligning a mirror to reflect the sun's beams towards the blimp-ship.

"I'll get my rifle!" Han declared, not taking this sitting down.

"I don't think so!" Daihakuse mockingly rebutted, jumping down as he threw a large net over the two rightfully concerned parents.

"Lychee!" Both her parents cried out to her, seeing that only now, could some people see that their daughter was being abducted.

Less than a minute passed before soldiers inside the vessel threw a rope ladder. Being the highest up and nearest by, Daikokuse was the first to toss his mirror aside and run over to the rope ladder, grabbing it then proceeding to smile, waving them goodbye.

Following him was Daihakuse as he leaped from anything he could until he reached the rooftops and eventually the rope ladder his brother had also taken.

For Monlon, however, she had taken Lychee and flung her over her shoulder, moving as quickly as she could, grabbing it while it just started leaving.

"I, Monlon of the Seven Lucky Gods, will release your daughter on the condition that the other redhead goes to meet our Prince of Nekonron!"

Han grit his teeth as he had fallen on his rear, he slammed his right hand onto the ground, cursing this sort of twisted luck.

"You'd better do it quickly!" she advised as loudly as she could, her voice sounding like a faint whisper by now.

"Now that we've gathered most of the ingredients for Ryoga's cure, we just need some special vinegar from Nekonron," Lotion explained.

"Vinegar?" Ryoga asked.

"The very kind they use to pickle vegetables, yes," Lotion answered, nodding her head in confirmation.

"What's so special bout it?" Ranko asked, crossing her arms, looking skeptical.

"The vinegar includes water from the region, water with special properties that will give the corly weed and others the potency they need to counter Ryoga's imbalance, even if only for a few hours per day." Lotion continued.

"Now we're talking!" Ranko comments excitedly then look to her boyfriend. "Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, it is!" Ryoga replied to Ranko with the same energy as she had, smiling all the while.

'Even if it's just for a little while I'll be able to spend time with Ranko without losing sight of her, so, that means, I have to find a way to make this permanent! I can't let the same thing happen to her like what happened to Mom!' he thought with an emotionally heavy voice, his eyes softening as the mention of his own mother came into his mind.

Right after Ryoga answered, the redhead shut her eyes and smiled. It hadn't been too long when she opened them again, this time, when she opened her eyes she saw that Ryoga's smile had faltered, 'The guy looks more lost than usual, guess this is where I step up as a girlfriend!' she thought to herself, reaching her hand out and pinching his arm to catch his attention.

"Look, Ryo, I'm happy for you and you should be happy for you as well, okay? So, cheer up, would ya?" she asked.

"I'm glad my condition is going to be cured, I'm just at a loss for words, so it's hard for me to express everything I'm feeling…" Ryoga's voice trailed, his voice now sounding more genuine, his smile returned but this time, it was much more honest, no doubt he was emboldened by Ranko's words.

Ranko paid attention to the way he spoke, listening to the way he answered her, she could tell that despite some complications, he was being earnest with her but still there was a slight hitch in his voice.

"I'm happy, I'm happier than I've ever been in fact!" he continued, the hitch in his voice becoming much more pronounced now.

There was something wrong, the only problem was, Ranko didn't know what she had to do to get any answers out of Ryoga, 'What's bugging him? It's not me, is it?' she pondered.

Suddenly the phone began to ring, catching Lotion's attention while she was looking off to the side. Finding a good reason to excuse herself from the romantic tension, she went over to the phone and answered.

"Hello?" she asked, pausing before her eyes widened. "Ranko! Ryoga!" she cried out, lowering the phone from her ear.

"What's wrong!?" Ryoga looked around after asking.

"Who's attacking!?" Ranko demanded to know, doing the same as Ryoga and looking around.

"I'm afraid your friend Lychee has been kidnapped, I'm sorry…" her voice trailed in regret.

Ranko's eyes widened as she stared at the exiled elder, too shocked to speak for once.

[Start of Ch14]

The room was silent and for Ranko, it felt cold as well. Her eyes went from Ryoga, who was clearly upset and worried for her, to Lotion who appeared to be deeply in thought, and finally to the telephone, the handset already back on the base; she blinked twice, silently trying to find answers to what she had just heard while her mind tried to process the information. Lychee kidnapped? It couldn't be, she was such a sweet girl, why did this happen?

"...How?" She managed to say, her gaze settling on the elder. "And who?"

"Lychee's mother didn't say much," Lotion said. "But she did tell me this: the person who took her daughter is one of the Seven Lucky Gods from Nekonron."

"That's where the final ingredient for my cure is," Ryoga mentioned, not liking this turn of events at all as he imagined it would complicate obtaining Nekonron made vinegar quite a lot.

"What do you mean by Lucky Gods?" Ranko asked, ignoring Ryoga for the time being and fixating on the one detail that had caught her attention. "Was Lychee taken by reincarnations of Gods or something? Are they immortal?"

"No, they are normal people, but their martial arts skills…" Lotion made a pause and took in a deep breath. "They are said to be beyond human."

"Well, I don't care!" Ranko exclaimed, her hands turning into fists. "They kidnapped my friend and I'll make them pay for that, I swear!"

"You will try to save Lychee, then," the elder said, crossing her arms as she looked up at Ranko.

"I'm not gonna try!" Ranko furiously disputed. "I will save her, I swear!"

"And I'll go with you," Ryoga assured, placing his hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Lychee is my friend, too."

Ranko turned to look at Ryoga and nodded, offering him a small smile and feeling glad that he was there, ready to help her in this time of need. "Thank you, Ryoga… I'm sure you and I can take out those seven punks!"

"Before you end up causing trouble in Nekonron you two should go see Lychee's parents and ask them what really happened," Lotion advised. "But you need to prepare before you go to Bao; come with me, you'll need to take food and other things for the trip."

Not too long after…

Ryoga and Ranko walked out of the narrow forest path and entered the main road that would take them north, to Bao.

The two hadn't spoken much since leaving Lotion's farm, as the boy had noticed quite soon how tense and upset his girlfriend was by the situation; he had tried to find something to talk about, but his attempts at conversation had been shot down almost instantly, so he simply continued trailing Ranko in silence, hoping to find a way to help her ease her mind.

Ranko, on her part, was aware she was making Ryoga worry, but she couldn't think of that at the moment. Images of Lychee being hurt kept repeating in her mind, a product of her overactive imagination that she could do without, and while she kept telling herself her friend was fine, the chance that someone could have hurt Lychee was keeping Ranko on edge.

'No, she is fine, I'm sure she's fine,' she thought, stopping and leaning on a tree by the side of the road. 'Lychee's such a nice girl, there's no way anyone would want to hurt her…'

Well, if not hurt her then the Lucky Gods surely wanted something else that Lychee had, but what? The only thing Lychee had that could be of any value to a group of weird martial artists was…

'The half of that scroll she carries everywhere!' Ranko realized. 'It's gotta be!'

"But there hafta be more than that…" she muttered, thoughtful. "If they only wanted to steal it, they wouldn't have taken her… maybe she resisted and…?"

"Did you say something?" Ryoga asked, he had stopped to wait until Ranko decided to move again to avoid getting lost and decided to take this chance to try to talk to her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm ok, really, just worried and wonderin' why the Lucky Gods kidnapped Lychee," she said with a sigh. "I just… I can't understand it."

"We'll know more about it once we talk to her parents," he offered, his voice low and full of concern as he went to her, softly holding her by the shoulders. She took in a deep breath and leaned into him, allowing Ryoga to hug her. "And we'll save her, you'll see."

"I know we will, but…" Ranko made a pause and hugged Ryoga back. "This is shakin' me more than I thought… I mean… I have you, but she's all alone and…"

"She's your friend," Ryoga completed, kissing her head and then bringing his hands to her sides, just to have enough space to properly look at her. "I admire how important friendship is to you, Ranko."

"You do?" She asked, looking up and smiling shyly, feeling fully reassured that worrying for her friend was right and thinking, for the first time that morning, that she and Ryoga would fix things and rescue Lychee with ease. "You… don't think I'm acting weird?"

"No, I don't," he told her and returned the smile. "It makes me happy to know you're such a good friend, Ranko."

"Thank you, Ryoga, you… you make me feel a little better," she said in a low voice. "Let's keep going, shall we?"

"Yes, let's," he agreed, watching as she returned to the road. She seemed to have recovered her spirits, and for that Ryoga felt glad. Observing her, he noticed that even if her hair was a little shorter and once again tied in her typical pigtail, she still looked as stunning as usual, but the way her shorter hair framed her face made her look… far more cute and feminine than before. And the way the orange, sleeveless Chinese shirt and the slightly more form-fitting dark blue pants she was wearing revealed more of her athletic figure didn't do anything to lessen her femininity at all; they in fact seemed to enhance it.

"Are you gonna stand there staring at me all day?" The redhead asked after looking back to confirm if Ryoga was following her or not. "I know I'm gorgeous but c'mon, you see me every day, we've no time to waste, Ryo!"

"I… was just wondering why you changed clothes, that's all," he said, catching up as he adjusted the straps of the backpack full of provisions Lotion gave him; it was smaller than the one he usually carried and he was having some trouble keeping it balanced with his heavy umbrella tied on top of it, but he didn't feel like telling Ranko that so he decided to ask her about the new clothes instead.

"These? Lotion's idea," she explained with a shrug. "The old bat told me I should try wearing something more appropriate to my fighting style and gave me this outfit… said I'd be able to move better. I kinda think it accentuates my butt a bit too much…"

"It looks very good, actually," Ryoga said.

"What, my butt?" Ranko asked with a frown. "Who told ja you could stare at it?"

"Not your… oh, you're just making fun of me aren't you?" Ryoga said, shaking his head as he smiled, having recognized the mischievous grin on his girlfriend's face.

"You're getting better at reading the mood, Ryo," she chuckled. Ranko was honestly feeling a bit more optimistic now and thought that playing a bit with Ryoga would help keep her in a good mood until they reached Bao. "Anyway, you changed your clothes, too."

"No, I didn't?" he said looking down at himself.

"You did, it's been a while since ya wore that black shirt and those baggy green pants."

"Oh… they're not new, so…" Ryoga scratched the back of his head and smiled. "I thought you meant I had new clothes. Yeah, I left my sweater at the farm, the weather's been getting warmer, so I thought this would be better."

"Well, it does show your arms, I like it," she said, winking as she patted him affectionately on his right shoulder. "But let's stop wasting time, ok? We gotta get to Bao."

Somewhere far from there…

The Royal Airship, considered to be the pride of Nekonron, sailed through the clouds with ease, swiftly flying to Seven Luck mountain.

The ship, larger than it appeared, at first sight, had many cabins under the deck, a large storage room below them and, on the lower level, the engine room was located. Near the storage room, there were five small cells, and it was in one of these cells where Lychee was being kept. The girl wasn't bound anymore, and could even admit the space, while limited, wasn't really that unbearable; she had enough legroom to sit comfortably on the small chair by the corner, and she could even stand up and give a few steps back and forth. The only problem was how dark the room was, as the only light source was a small porthole. The relative comfort did very little to ease her fears, however.

'I wonder why they want Ranko so badly?' Lychee thought, sitting on the chair and nervously linking her fingers together. 'I just hope nothing bad happens to her, and that they let me go soon!'

The door opened then, and before Lychee could try to escape Monlon had already closed it.

The Lucky God stood with her arms crossed, staring at the orange blonde with a doubtful expression on her face as if she didn't know what to make of her.

"I must apologize for kidnapping you," Monlon said after another moment of silence. "I regret it came to that, but I have orders and it is my duty to follow them."

Lychee frowned and turned left to avoid seeing the other woman, refusing to talk to her. If this Monlon believed apologizing would convince her to sell out Ranko then she had another thing coming.

"Not feeling like talking, uh?" Monlon said. "I can't blame you all things considered."

Still not getting any answer other than an angry glare, the Lucky God sighed and shrugged as she approached Lychee.

"I'm here to do a search on you," Monlon informed. "You may be carrying something useful."

"No way! Who gave you the right to do that?" Lychee spat. "Don't you touch me!"

"Well, at least you're talking now," Monlon smirked. "Listen, unless you want one of the men on the ship to do the search then you'll have to let me do it, or do you want them to…?"

"Of course I don't want a man doing that!" the girl said, frustrated but giving up once she realized arguing was futile. She was convinced Monlon could perform the search either by force or leave her in the hands of one of her men. "Ugh! Fine, but you better not take any of my things, and I do know how many coins I have in my pocket!"

"I'm not going to rob you, now stand up and face the wall," Monlon said, smirking again at the girl's last comment. "And calm down, I don't need your money."

After waiting for Lychee to do as she was told, Monlon approached her and started searching. She first checked the pockets in the girls loose pants, finding a ridiculously small amount of money, keys, and a spearmint flavored piece of candy. Nothing unremarkable or useful, so Monlon restored the items to the girl's pockets and then moved up to see if there was anything hidden under her sweater. That was when she felt it.

'What's this?' the Lucky God thought, frowning at the hard cylindrical object she had found under the girl's clothes. 'A weapon of some sort?'

"Wait, don't take that!" Lyche complained, actually trying to move away from Monlon, but her actions only increased Monlon's curiosity, who used her left hand to press her against the wall and her right one to dig out the tubular object.

"Hm… intriguing, what could this little thing be?" Monlon mused, releasing the girl and taking a step back as she appraised what turned out to be a roll of paper.

Bringing it to the light to better look at it, Monlon unrolled the scroll a little and her pupils widened at what she was seeing. Her mouth a gape, she found she didn't have the words to express her surprise. Because this was the other half of the Scroll of Luck! But how?

"Give me back my scroll" Lychee demanded with an angry tone, but not daring to reach out for it. "I'm guarding it, you can't have it!"

"Where… where did you get this?" Monlon finally managed to ask, her eyes still on her people's lost treasure.

"It's been in my family for generations," the girl explained. "Now give it back, it isn't yours!"

'I can't believe this… I've found the missing half of the Royal Scroll…' the martial artist thought, her eyes moving from the royal heirloom to the girl in front of her. 'But then that means this girl… is the next Queen of Nekonron!'

"This is… unexpected," Monlon muttered. "I never imagined this would happen. How did your family obtain it?"

"Someone gave it to my grandmother, and before you ask, you can't have it," Lychee replied, finally risking extending her hand towards the other woman. "Can I have it back, please?"

"I see… yes, yes you can have it," Monlon said after blinking a couple of times to clear her thoughts. "Sorry for not returning it right away."

"It's fine," Lychee answered, placing the scroll back in the inner pocket of her sweater. "What now, are you going to keep searching me?"

"No, I won't," Monlon said, her voice softer now, losing the icy tone from just a few minutes before. "I wouldn't even think of doing something like that again to you."

Lychee nodded and then asked. "Is there a chance you'd let me go? My parents must be really worried."

"I'm afraid I can't. In fact… it is now imperative I take you to Nekonron," Monlon answered, then bowed and walked to the door. "My sincerest apologies for inconveniencing you, my lady, but I had no way to know… I hope what happened earlier didn't leave you with a poor impression… please think of our dedication to follow orders as evidence of our loyalty."

"What are you talking about?" Lychee asked, surprised by the sudden change, but Monlon didn't answer her and simply walked out of the cell, locking the door behind her. "...What is going on?"

Outside, Monlon had to take a deep breath to calm down before moving again. She just couldn't believe it; she had found the other half of the Scroll of Luck and not just that, she had also found the next Queen of Nekonron!

"I really hope she can forgive me," she muttered, running a hand over her face, feeling embarrassed by all the things she had done to the girl that morning. "If she doesn't, things will be awkward between us once she's married to Prince Kirin."

Monlon sighed and resumed her way to the upper deck, still trying to assimilate the fact that she had kidnapped the future Queen of her people by mistake and hoping it wouldn't cause her trouble later. 'Well, I guess I can't change that now… I just hope she agrees to be friends if I apologize for what I did.'

And thinking this, the thoughtful woman finally reached the deck, where she found the twins amiably chatting about two girls they had met in Yakusai.

'Might as well tell them the good news,' she thought with a small smile, it was for the best to share this information, as the twins would have to apologize to their new Princess, too.

Sometime later…

Bao was bigger than Shangjie, but smaller than Yakusai. Its streets were wide and the houses well built; there weren't as many stores as in the other villages, but from what Ranko and Ryoga could see, shops here were fairly well stocked with clothes and other general items, there were many of them also selling fruits, vegetables and fish. People were busying around and chatting excitedly about the strange events from that morning, and as they walked through the streets searching for Han's restaurant, the two teenagers discovered that the event villagers were discussing involved a flying ship and the kidnapping of the only daughter of chef Han.

"Seems everybody already knows about Lychee," Ryoga said. "I do wonder what they mean about a flying ship, however."

"Those Lucky Gods may have a blimp," Ranko guessed. "Or a balloon, not that I care."

"Do you know where her family's restaurant is?"

"Lotion said it was near the other end of town, close to the river," Ranko recalled. "Shouldn't be too far now."

And Ranko wasn't wrong, a few minutes later and after turning left in a corner, they were greeted with the view of an elephant sleeping on the street, right outside a restaurant.

"That's Jasmine!" the redhead said, rushing to the elephant's side.

"Is she alright?" Ryoga asked after catching up to his girlfriend.

"I believe she's fine, she's only sleeping," Ranko answered with relief in her voice. "Hey, Jasmine, wake up!"

"I don't think she can hear you," the boy said, crouching and touching the elephant's trunk, as he had noticed a speck of strange dust on it. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"The tip of my fingers went numb when I touched that dust," Ryoga explained, wiping his hand clean on his pants. "I think the people who kidnapped Lychee sedated Jasmine."

"Makes sense, there's no other way they could've taken her," Ranko nodded. "Jasmine would've flattened anyone who threatened Lychee."

"That means these Seven are not just good fighters, but clever, too," he said. "I think we should talk with Lychee's parents and hear what they have to say, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, agreed," Ranko answered and entered the restaurant.

But the moment she walked in…

"So you are the reason why one of The Seven took my daughter!" Lychee's mother sourly accused when she noticed Ranko had entered Han's restaurant.

"Me?… What do you mean?" Ranko asked, feeling confused and hurt at the older woman's tone of voice, and finding she was actually a little intimidated by her angry glare. Were all mothers like this when their children were in danger? "I didn't do anything… I just want to help…"

"Dear, calm down," Han said, walking out of the kitchen and placing both hands over his wife's shoulders, a gesture that somewhat managed to help Lychee's mother relax a little, but that didn't change the way she was staring at Ranko. "She's here now, so we can tell her what the woman from Nekonron wanted."

"Whatever it is, I assure you it wasn't Ranko's fault," Ryoga said then, doing the same thing Han did and placing his hands over his girlfriend's shoulders.

"He's right… we have no idea what's going on, we're here to help you," the redhead said.

"We know your name, but who is he?" the man asked Ranko while gesturing at the boy behind her.

"His name is Ryoga, he's with me," she answered. "He's here to help, too."

"If you want to help us you must go to Nekonron," Lychee's mother said after taking a deep breath. "I don't know why The Seven want you, but Monlon, the woman who took Lychee, said you must go there and meet their prince; it's the only way they will release my daughter."

"Please, promise that you'll do it," the father said. "Save our daughter, she's all we have."

"I swear," Ranko promised. "I won't rest until Lychee's back home!"

"I promise we'll rescue your daughter," Ryoga swore. "You have our word as martial artists."

"Very well," Han said. "In that case, you should hurry to Nekonron."

"The fastest way to get there is by boat," the woman pointed out. "I imagine you don't have one, do you?"

"No, ma'am, we don't," Ryoga answered.

"We'll let you use one of ours," Han told them. "It's a bit old, but it'll get the job done. I'll give you a map so you can navigate the river, and some food if you want it."

Far from there, high above the sky…

The mighty drums on the Nekonronian airship roared thunderously as they neared Seven Luck Mountain. Signaling their arrival proudly as they drifted closer to their base: the Royal Tower.

Hovering just off to its side they descended the airborne warship.

Beneath it appeared to be four giant wooden arches, each curve made to allow the ship to land precisely and almost unnaturally smooth as they docked the ship's weight on the crude-looking landing pad.

With one last strike the drum players on the ship stopped, immediately after the flying boat's presence caused everything beneath it to buckle and creak when it finished docking.

From behind the sharp square end of the ship, it opened similarly to the way a drawbridge from an old medieval castle would.

Standing on the other side as it descended was Monlon. Behind her was Lychee, while the twins stood by her sides, Daikokuse to her right, Daihakuse to her left.

On Daikokuse's face was a look of unmitigated pride, whereas the twin with the white circle around his chest appeared utterly delighted; smiling warmly.

Lychee appeared confused but remained quiet, 'Why did they untie me? Why would they apologize? Do they know something about my prince to be or do they just want me to-' she thought?

"Please, follow me," Monlon advised while looking over her left shoulder, one of her bangs covering her right eye.

Not wanting to anger the people around her in this confusing situation she swallowed thickly, nodding her head.

Monlon hummed calmly before leading the pack at the forefront. They walked down the exit ramp, the twins making sure to keep up with her pace; much like some guards or a pair of escorts.

Lychee wasn't sure which by the looks of it but given how little she knew about the place she was at and the people taking her there.

She didn't know how to act, so, she simply opted to keep her eyes down, trying her best not to purse her lips in a noticeably nervous way but clearly, she was failing miserably.

Not too far from them but standing in the way of the nearest entrance to the tower was the small fisherman; Ebiten. Arms crossed with his fishing rod tucked between one of his arms.

"Lord Kirin will be most pleased by your resourcefulness, well done, Monlon…" The huge eared luck god congratulated as he bowed his head in respect.

Monlon narrowed her eyes a little before bowing her head quickly in return. Raising her hand to seize the twins and their unbound captive.

Straightening their heads they looked up to see the master of the fishing rods and good fortune in wealth spotting the scared restaurant worker. He was briefly perplexed before Monlon's intense gaze was focusing on him.

"I must speak to Lord Kirin at once!" Monlon demanded, seeking an audience with her Prince.

"W-why the sudden urgency?" Ebiten inquired with a look of utter confusion.

"We've found it," Daikukose and Daihakuse spoke calmly as they turned to look at Lychee.

"She possesses the other half of the Scroll of Luck…" Monlon's voice trailed softly as she then looked over at the strawberry blonde again.

Lychee's eyes resembled saucer's for a second before she swallowed again, this time it had hurt, 'Are they going to take away my chance at meeting my prince?' she thought in dismay, fighting the urge to cry by refusing to let herself break down.

"Nonsense! I'll need proof before I'll go believing anything like that!" Ebiten exclaimed, pointing to the girl in question.

Leaning back in terror, Lychee shut her eyes, scared for her own well-being. Nodding her head she complied, opening her eyes to see that Ebiten was holding his hand out now.

Reaching up into the folded portion of her outfit, Lychee pulled out what Ebiten had been asking for. Holding both of her hands out, she cautiously waited for him to take what he had asked for, squinting as tears flowed freely from the corners of her eyes, 'My prince! Am I ever going to see you now?' she pondered in fear as she felt Ebiten's hand snitching her scroll.

Eyeing it, the shortest member of the Seven Lucky Gods inspected the scroll with shocked eyes; his mouth hanging a gape. "It's the real deal," he commented then held his hand out with the scroll to Lychee.

"A-are you handing me my scroll back?" Lychee asked, seriously expecting them to have taken it for their own needs or just confiscated it until she was proven innocent; neither was a pleasant idea for the strawberry blonde.

"Please, Monlon, Lychee, Daihakuse, Daikokuse," Said the minuscule man, looking at everyone as he spoke their name before making an about-face.

"Follow me…" Ebiten's voice trailed.