Trials and Tribulations XV



Sweat ran down Ranma’s face in rivulets as he struggled through the 
winding underbrush. Steam rose from the forest floor, and filled his 
mouth with a slightly acidic taste, his eyes watering from being open so 
long. So far, they had been traveling for two weeks, according to what 
Issoku said. Two weeks of sweat, toil, and heat, in this swamp was too 
much for even the most enthusiastic martial artist. 

His stomach growled out a complaint and Ranma winced. They hadn’t eaten 
for three days and he was hungry, but what they had been eating wasn’t 
the most pleasant food in the world. Their main course had always been 
snakes, cooked over a fire of course, and wild mushrooms they would find 
every now and then. Ranma rubbed his stomach sadly as his eyes stopped 
on the fleeting youko disappearing in the brush before him. Sighing, he 
continued on, not connecting the fogginess of the air with the fogginess 
in his brain. 

A couple of minutes later, Ranma stumbled at the realization that he 
didn’t know where he was going. He had lost pace a while back when he 
began to get rippling cramps in his gut. So far, they had intensified to 
the point that Ranma was whimpering in earnest as he grabbed a tree in 
the futile effort of staying on his feet. To soon, he crumbled and 
landed in the mud, curled into a ball and shaking with fever. 

Issoku had been marching in a rage of emotions since the very start of 
the trip, and he was not hungry or sad or tired. This wasn’t his 
territory, so he was on his toes, or was trying to be. The distraction 
of what happened between him and Ranma refused to let up the hold of his
mind, and was becoming a burden. He winced as he remembered the 
frightened look on Ranma’s face, and cursed Inari for his luck, quickly 
taking it back and looking around nervously. 

He paused. Turned around in a circle, and then did it again. “Ranma?” 

A shiver of worry went up his spine, and he clenched his teeth together 
as he retraced his trail in the underbrush. < Hopefully, he just got 
lost > Issoku thought, snapping the underbrush under his feet. His ears 
suddenly twitched at the sound of whimpering, blanketed under the sound 
of the steam rising from the bog. 

“Ranma!” 

A couple seconds of searching, and he had found Ranma. Laying face first 
in the muck, he was curled over in a fetal position, and was quaking 
like a willow tree. Issoku, now spurred to action, checked his pulse, 
noted his erratic breathing, and dilated pupils. Letting out a shaky 
breath, he cradled Ranma in his arms and decided what to do next. 


``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````


Groaning, Ryouga tried to lift his head, but found out he couldn’t. His 
head was so heavy it felt like a ton of bricks, and he was so 
uncoordinated he felt he would pass out from dizziness in one move. 
He shivered uncontrollably, except for his underside, which he realized 
was pressed against something warm. He didn’t really know what this 
something was, but he hoped it was friendly. 

Gradually, the haze began to thin and Ryouga realized he was moving 
upside down, but he still didn’t realize who or what was carrying him. 
He was relatively happy though, at least he wasn’t the one standing in 
the muck. Shortly after that thought, he was soon flung down in the mud, 
his back pressed against a tree. 

He opened his mouth to retort, but then froze at the sight of red eyes, 
and all his memories came back. He began to struggle in earnest, against 
the hold Ousui had him in, but to no avail. Suddenly Ousui took out a 
wet cloth from his pocket and held it over Ryouga’s open mouth. Panic 
drew Ryouga into frenzy, and he kicked and struggled to get free. In 
time, though, he weakened. Pinpricks struck the back of his eyelids and 
he surrendered back into the darkness, his last thoughts being with 
Ranma. 




To Be Continued …