Chapter Text
Akane groggily awoke, her dreams having been much clearer than she could ever recall. Kuno on the ground. A man above him. A man grabbing her and bounding through tree lines. Her almost escape. She blinked open her eyes, pushing herself off of the hard bed, which was strange, because her bed wasn’t firm. Maybe she had somehow fallen asleep and her father had carried her to his room for whatever reason? He liked a firm mattress “for my back” he always said.
She looked around the room and blinked once more, rubbing at her eye to get rid of the sand nestled in the corners. When she focused on the room itself, she sat up straight. “Uh-oh.”
The room was not her own. Not anyone's in their estate. Even the guards who stayed there had their own accommodations much nicer than this… whatever it was. “Not a dream,” she muttered as she stood, her body still a bit wobbly from the drugs, and walked toward the only door she could find. The room itself was dreadfully depressing. There were no windows, just a light that shone above her. The floors were made of old wood, and the walls were barren. All that sat in the room was the hard bed.
She reached for the handle and twisted, unsurprised when it wouldn’t budge. She shifted from one foot to the other as she debated what to do. “Screw it,” she muttered before raising her fist and slamming it against the door. “Let me out!” she screeched against the door, wondering if anyone could even hear her. “Let. Me. Out!” She yelled even louder this time.
From up above, the pigtailed man sat, watching the TV across from him. “She’s awake,” muttered Ryoga from behind him.
The pigtailed man rolled his eyes. “No duh. I have eyes, Ryoga.” The TV showed a now awake Akane pounding on the door. He stood from his seat and turned off the TV. He turned back to Ryoga. “I’m going down there,” he stated as he walked out of the office. He stopped short and took a look back at Ryoga. “And don’t bother watching. Ya got that?”
Ryoga raised a suspicious brow. “What are you going to do to her?”
He made a face of disgust. “Nothin’ like what you’re thinkin’, ya weirdo!” Then his disgust shifted to a sly smile, “I don’t need Ukyo to see it - you know how she gets.”
“Really going to keep leading her on, huh?”
He shrugged. “She’s useful. For now.”
Downstairs, none the wiser, Akane continued to pound her fist against the door. She was about to give up and just sit in the bed to will herself to sleep when the door made a small “click” signifying that it was being unlocked. She took a few steps back, Arms raised in a fighting stance. The door slid open and Akane waited to get a glimpse of her captor.
A man came in, tall and muscular, his clothing simple with an unbuttoned cream colored shirt, white undershirt, and a pair of pants. His hair was long, black and tied back in a braid. Her eyes met his, and her breath halted as she stared back at grey-blue eyes. Akane begrudgingly admitted to herself that he was quite handsome. “Look who decided to wake up,” he said cheekily as he shut the door behind him. He took a step forward and Akane took one step back, her feet planted firmly with her fists raised, ready, if needed, to take on the stranger before her. He chuckled. “Relax. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. I just wanna talk.”
Akane raised a brow, unsure if she could trust the stranger, but decided, begrudgingly, to lower her arms. “What do you want from us?”
He blinked. “You know there’s an us?”
“Only a fool would kidnap me and not know about my family,” she spat, “Are you stupid?”
He frowned, obviously displeased by her words. “Have a seat,” he replied, the playfulness completely evaporating.
“No thanks,” Akane snootily replied, “you really don’t know how to make a guest feel welcomed.”
He took another step forward, but this time, Akane stood her ground, her chin raised in indignation while her heart secretly hammered in her chest. His gaze lowered. “I wasn’t asking, Miss Tendo.”
“I don’t need to take directions from you,” Akane retorted. “You already have me kidnapped here, so it’s not like I need to be tied down.”
He stared at her wordlessly for a moment before sighing, raking his hand through his hair. “Fine.”
“Who are you, and what do you want?” Akane asked as she boldly took a step toward him.
He closed his eyes for a moment in thought before slowly opening them, returning his gaze to her. This time there was some spark there. Something menacing that had the hairs on the back of her neck rising. He took another one toward her, merely a foot away. “You may have heard of me,” he said icily. “Ranma Saotome. The heir of the Saotome clan.”
Akane kept her face a clean slate, though her heart was now pulsing in her throat. “Never heard of you.”
A corner of his lip twitched, obviously trying to hold back his annoyance. “I have a pretty hard time believing that.”
She shrugged, folding her arms across her chest. “I can’t be expected to remember every lowlife criminal who wants something from our estate.”
His twitching lip turned into a snarl. He reached for her, grabbing her under her chin. “Don’t be a brat,” he warned, his voice low. “Listen: You can get out of here perfectly fine. You’re a bargaining chip. Simple as that, so be a good girl and behave.”
Akane let out a small chuckle, her eyes still brimming with energy. “You really are a moron.” He blinked at her, obviously surprised by her reaction, which only caused her smile to widen. “Whoever gets your intel should be fired. My father doesn’t bargain: he takes.”
“I’m sure he’ll come for his daughter,” he retorted, his grip firming on her face. “I made it clear what would happen to you if he doesn’t give us what we want.”
Akane scoffed, trying to slap his hand away to no avail, so instead she hardened her stare. “Seriously. Fire whoever is giving you the information. If they were actually good at their job, you’d know this isn’t the first time one of us has been kidnapped. And he didn’t budge then, either.”
He faltered, dropping his grip from her chin and taking a step back. “Oh? Do tell?” He figured this couldn’t have been the first time one of Soun’s children had been taken hostage, but he never considered that the patriarch would be willing to risk his daughters' lives rather than give into demands.
Akane smiled. “When Kasumi was kidnapped at 16, my father had the men flayed alive. They were only asking for 15 million yen.” she raised her hand up and ticked down her finger as a means of counting. “When it was Nabiki - well, have you heard of the Gosunkugi clan?” Ranma only stared at her blankly. “There’s a reason you haven’t.” She ticked down one more finger. “And now with me…” she paused and the smile grew. “Well, I assume your clan will have the same fate.”
Ranma glowered at her, grabbing her arm tightly and pulling her toward him. “Whether or not you were trying to be a brat or if you really are so stupid you don’t know us doesn’t matter,” he snarled. “There’s a reason your father hasn’t been able to take us down.” He threw her arm down, dissatisfaction lacing his words.
Akane took a step back, trying and failing to think of a comeback. Her confidence was waning. She looked to her feet, mind racing, when her thoughts turned back to her father. It was true, the Saotome clan was the Tendo’s biggest rivals, and she had heard enough stories to know how brutal they could be. ‘I need to get out of here.’
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head, as she willed herself to bring her internal fears to the forefront. When she had gotten herself sufficiently misty-eyed, she peeked up at him pathetically. “I-I’m sorry,” she said softly, eyelids fluttering in girlish worry, “I’m - I’m just scared.”
Ranma’s icy stare softened, and he raised his hand, this time placing it gently on her shoulder as he bent down to be at her eyelevel. “H-hey no need to cry,” he said hastily. “Like I said, just, uh, just behave and everything’ll be okay, okay?”
Akane sniffed as she met his stare. She brought one hand up to her eyes and dabbed at the crocodile tears. Her other hand firmly encircled his own. “Thank you, Ranma. I guess you’re not as bad as my dad says you are.”
He seemed to smile despite himself and murmured out, “There, you see? We’ll take good care of ya. I know the room ain’t much, but we’ll try to not make ya too uncomfortable.”
She nodded. “It’s okay, because,” and in the blink of an eye, she tightened her grip on his hand while the other snapped to his wrist, “I’m not staying here!” she shouted as she flung him over her shoulder and to the floor, seeing the quickest glimpse of his eyes widening.
With a thump, he landed on his back. Akane didn’t bother wasting time as she raced to the door -
Before promptly feeling a hand snatched around her ankle, tripping her to the floor. The other hand gripped her calf as she was pulled toward her captor. Her fingers dug into the wooden floor, bringing up scraps of splintering wood, some pieces slipping under her nails, causing her to yelp in pain. She twisted herself, trying to get out of his grasp as he continued to pull. She raised her free leg and went to smack her foot against his forehead, but one of the hands on her calf snapped up, catching her. He continued to drag her, his hands drawing upward with every pull as they went up her naked thighs, gripping her until she was fully underneath him.
Ranma was above her now, staring down at the girl that, up until two seconds of entering her room, he assumed would be a trembling damsel, waiting for her rescuer. He was breathing heavily, his lower half resting his weight on her to keep her from struggling, though that didn’t seem to deter her much as she continued to thrash. “Get off of me you pervert!” she shouted as she raised her fists to pound on his chest. He had to admit. It kind of hurt.
He gathered her wrists, slamming them above her head as he said, “I ain’t a perv!”
“Yeah?” Then get off of me!” her chest was rising and falling rapidly, one of the straps of her jumper hanging off the side of her shoulder, revealing a hint of a lavender bra. Ranma forced his eyes to stay focused, just above her head.
She was certainly a pretty girl. From far away she didn’t seem like much. Ryoga had said she was cute, and at the time, he had rolled his eyes, but looking at her now, Ranma understood what he meant. Her hair was cropped to her chin, a pretty raven color with glimmers of blue, her eyes like chestnuts roasting, her nose slightly upturned. Yes, she was pretty. Very, very pretty.
But Ranma was no stranger to pretty girls.
“I’m not on ya cuz I wanna be,” he quavered, suddenly acutely aware of the heat radiating off of her, specifically the spot where their lower halves met. “You’re being difficult!”
Akane stopped struggling and glared at him. “What? You think I should be some kind of damsel and just sit down and take it?”
“Yeah, duh, that’s what being a prisoner is, stupid!”
Her brows furrowed. “Don’t call me stupid, stupid!”
He was about to spit out another insult, but stopped himself. He had to admit, her scrunched up face was oddly endearing, and a small part of him wanted to egg her on.
But this was work. Just work. And she was his prisoner.
“Listen, you can be as difficult as ya wanna be, but you ain’t-”
Spa-too!
Ranma blinked slowly, feeling a dribble of liquid sliding down his cheek as Akane stared defiantly at him. He raised the back of his free hand to his face and wiped off the liquid, bringing his hand in front of him to inspect it. “Did you… did you just spit on me?”
“Yeah, I did, you jack ass - what are you going to do about it?”
Ranma continued to look at her, dumbfounded. What was he going to do about it? She was his prisoner! He could kill her if he wanted! Didn’t she know that? Right now, she was his property! She continued to stare up at him, anger radiating off of her as her chest continued to heave. “Well? Quit gawking like you don’t have any brain cells up there - oh wait, sorry, you don’t!”
His gaze lowered, a small niggling thought entering his mind that he would usually otherwise ignore, but this time, couldn’t will himself to. “Akane,” he began, voice lowering as the back of his hand went to her cheek, stroking it lightly. She turned away from him, glaring so fiercely it had his stomach in knots. “I don’t think you’re gettin’ what being my captive means.” The hand slowly slid down her cheek, fingertips leaving featherlight trails down her throat and past the column of her collarbone.
“Until your father comes to get you, I own you.” The fingers moved downward. He felt her body stiffen. “That means I can do whatever I want with you.” He trailed over her jumper, the jumbled strap of it giving him access to the lace it was hiding. He stalled there for a second, trailing the strap before moving onward until he got to the first button and played with it teasingly. Even with a layer of clothes, he could feel her thundering heart. “I can take you right here, and no one will help you.” Her breath quickened as he undid the first button. “Don’t worry, you’d like it eventually. Other women tell me I’m very good.” He leaned downward, his mouth next to her ear as he whispered, “I’d even take you as my mistress, if you’d like.”
“S-stop,” Akane stuttered. “I-I-”
He sat up quickly, snapping upward and looking down at her disheveled form. “Do we have an understanding?” She was staring at him, biting her lip, eyes wide like a baby deer running from a wolf.
“Yes,” she murmured in defeat. “Just, please, get off of me.”
He got to his feet quickly, a certain shame starting to nestle deep in his stomach. “Hah! As if I’d ever willingly touch an uncute girl like you.” She was sitting up and frowning at him, tears - real tears - pooled in her eyes as her lips trembled. Her hands were bundled at her chest in a protective way, and Ranma finally spotted the blood that dripped down her fingers from the splinters that had made their intrusion between the nail beds. He winced, feeling more guilty at every ticking second that past, and turned on his heel, opening the door. “Just play nice,” he said as coldly as he could muster, before exiting and locking the door behind him.
He turned around to find Ryoga bounding around the corner. “Ranma!” Ryoga shouted as he drew close to his senior. “What the hell were you doing?”
“I wasn’t doin’ nothin’.” Ranma said with a wave of his hand, his heart hammering so loudly it made its way inside his ears.
“That’s not what it looked like!” Ryoga snarled as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him toward the other man until their noses were nearly touching. “It looked like you were trying to assault her!” his voice had drawn to a whisper as he looked left to right, settling behind Ranma’s head and toward the door.
Ranma swatted at his hand. “I wasn’t actually gonna do anything,” Ranma argued, “I was just tryin’ to scare her - make her realize she needs to just shut up and stay in her room.”
“Prison cell, you mean,” Ryoga retorted.
Ranma shrugged. “She is a prisoner Ryoga.” He shook his head. “And how’d you know anyway? I told you not to watch.”
“I only looked because I heard a loud crash, and I’m glad I did!” Ryoga huffed. “Scaring her like that is too far!”
Ranma pushed past the other man. “Listen. I abide by the rules that anything goes,” he gritted his teeth, “so that means anything. If scaring her a lil’ gets her to behave, so be it.” His fists clenched and suddenly, he thought of her bleeding hands. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair as he said, “Get some tweezers and bandages, would’ya? She got some splitters on her hands.”
Ryoga nodded, the upset still clearly on his face before turning to get supplies. “And Ryoga,” Ranma added, causing the other man to pause and look back at him. “I mean it: no goo-goo eyes. She’s sneakier than she looks.” Ryoga nodded his understanding.
Feeling satisfied that his prisoner was a bit shaken and her wounds would be taken care of, Ranma moved back up the stairs to go to the office where the TV resided. He stiffened as he got to the entrance, seeing a tall woman with long brown hair adorned with a big white bow staring at the screen where a small Akane worked at plucking splinters from her shaking hands.
At hearing his entrance, she turned to look at him, an annoyed look on her pretty heartshaped face. “Ranchan!” she hissed. “What do you think you were doing with that hussy?”
Ranma groaned as he slid his hand down his face. “Why does everyone think I was actually gonna do something?” He groused.
Ukyo stood staring at him accusingly, her arms akimbo as she rhythmically tapped her foot. “Then what were you doing, praytell?”
Ranma waved her off, walking toward her as he said as flippantly as possible. “Look. She’s sneakier than she looks. She even got the drop on me.” Ukyo’s eyes widened in surprise. “So I wanted to remind her what could happen if she acts out of line, but you and I both know that ain’t gonna actually happen.” He gently placed his hands on either of her shoulders. “You know you’re the only girl for me.”
Ukyo’s gaze softened as she squeezed one of the hands on her shoulders. Her gaze turned downward as she whispered, “I wish we didn’t have to wait for this stupid plan so we can be together.”
“I know, Ucchan,” Ranma said as endearingly as possible, “that’s why I need you.”
Ukyo looked back at him and smiled. “I know, Ranchan.”
Ranma patted her shoulder reassuringly before straightening. “Right. So just be patient.” She nodded. “Perfect. I knew I could depend on you.” He looked back at the TV, watching as Akane inspected her hands, a heartbroken look on her face that caused some sort of sorrow inside of him. He snapped his attention back to Ukyo and kindly said, “ Why don’t you take the rest of the night off, enjoy yourself. There ain’t nothing we need you for. Okay?”
The sad look in her eyes returned, but she gave him a gentle smile. “Okay, Ranchan. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“You bet.” With that, she left, leaving Ranma with a pit of guilt in his stomach that he quickly tried to squash out.
‘Anything goes.’
From down below, Ryoga stood in front of the door that Akane Tendo was residing in. He was beyond nervous, being a sucker for anything cute, and from what he recalled in his close encounter and on the TV screen, she was very cute. He took in a deep breath and unlocked the door, opening it cautiously. “Miss… Miss Akane?” he asked as softly as he could, trying not to frighten her right after Ranma’s antics. He knew deep down that Ranma wouldn’t have gone too far, but even on the small screen, seeing her tiny, scared face had wormed something out of him.
When she didn’t respond, Ryoga tried again, “Miss Akane? I’m, uh, I’m coming in. I have something for your hands.” When she still didn’t say anything, Ryoga opened the door further. She sat on the corner of the bed, looking at her bloodied fingertips, wincing as her shaky hands tried to pluck whatever small pieces of wood stuck there. She looked up at him pitifully, and Ryoga swallowed at the sight of her resigned eyes.
“He… hello,” he said shakily, a blush beginning to mar his face as he shut the door quietly behind him. “I’m Ryoga Hibiki, I’m uh, Ranma sent me to take a look at your hands.” She studied him quietly before nodding. He tried to give her a friendly smile as he went to her, dropping to his knees. He turned to his medical kit and clicked it open. “May I see your hands?”
She sighed, a gentle breeze of music hitting his ears, before she presented him with her bloody appendages. He took one, inspecting it, before pulling out the tweezers. As he went to pluck the slivers, he tacitly murmured, “I’m sorry that… um…” the rest went unsaid.
“You’re the one who took me,” she whispered. He paused mid-pluck, noticing her trembling hands, and glanced up at her sheepishly. “At the park.”
“I am.”
She nodded in understanding and closed her eyes, her breath was steady, but she winced every time a new splinter was pulled. Feeling her dainty hands, he resisted the urge to rub her palm with his thumb. “I… I swear we aren’t all bad,” he said, giving one more once over before deciding his work was complete. He turned back to the kit and pulled out bandages, taking time to wrap each one as delicately as he could. “You practice martial arts.” It wasn’t a question.
“How did you know?”
“Your hands,” he replied before looking up at her. “They’re soft, but also a little calloused. Not usually the hands of someone lounging around, enjoying high society.” He smirked as he added, “Plus, you clearly handled Ranma just fine.” She gave him a friendly smile back and Ryoga’s heart skipped a beat.
“I guess, even though my father wouldn’t train me enough to be a shinobi, he taught me enough to be able to take care of myself.” Ryoga was warm and tingly seeing her sweet face. He shook his head to get himself back on track and closed the kit.
“There, all done. Feel better?”
She nodded, bringing her now bandaged hand to the top of his head, patting it gently. “Thank you, Ryoga.” His face exploded into a blush, and for a moment, he thought his head would explode.
And just like that, she grabbed a tuft of his unruly hair and kneed him right in the face. The cartilage in his nose made a cracking noise as Ryoga fell back and gripped his now bleeding nose. He barely heard the door open before it slammed shut.
Akane, meanwhile, was turning in circles, trying to figure out which way to go. It was disorienting, like being in a mirrored maze without having a clue which way was up. For all she knew, she was on the top floor, but something told her she was in the basement. ‘No time - just pick!’ Her mind screamed at her. Akane chose to go left, and as she turned the hall, she saw a flight of stairs. ‘Oh, thank God!’ She tried to take them as quietly as possible, understanding that the entire place could be swarming with guards, but she’d take her chances.
It was right at the top of the stairs that a figure took over the entrance, and in a second, she was face to face with Ranma. “Are you kidding me?” he asked gruffily as Akane tried to shield herself. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her toward him, and before she knew it, she’d been thrown over his shoulder. “Who’da thought one little macho chick would be so much trouble?”
Akane struggled against him, her thighs trapped under his arm in a vice-like grip. “Let me go, let me go, let me go!’ she commanded, hitting his back with each swing, only once being able to slap him on the back of the head.
He stopped, mid-way down the hall and back to her prison. “Do I have to remind you why you need to listen?” he asked, readjusting her over his shoulder as his hand strayed slightly higher, near her rear, his fingers sliding under her romper. Akane froze before dropping limply onto him. “That’s what I thought.”
Ryoga could be seen exiting the room she had just ran from. His hand was gripping his nose as blood trickled past it. He raised his head, pinching it now. “Damn it, Ryoga! What did I say?”
“Yew thaid sche was distracting.”
“No, I said she was sneaky! Honestly! I should have known better,” Ranma grumbled in exasperation as he unceremoniously deposited Akane back on the bed. Akane met his stare, that same sadness in her eyes. Was she just playing with him? He shook his head. No, she couldn’t be that crafty.
Or could she?
“I guess it’s my fault for underestimating you,” Ranma growled at her, “but from here on out, there’s always gonna be two people when they come to get you, so no more games - got it?” she nodded numbly. “Good. You better hope so, because if I come back here by myself…” he paused, crossing his arms as one finger tapped against his forearm, “I’ll put that threat to good use.” With that, he exited the room, slamming the door behind him, locking it as he did.
Ryoga was still there, nursing his potentially broken nose. “You’re lucky I was watchin’ ya,” he groused as he smacked the back of Ryoga’s head.
“Thorry,” Ryoga murmured, “sche juth themed tho thad.”
“Ugh! You’re unbelievable,” Ranma ground out as he placed a hand on Ryoga’s back to lead him up the stairs. “Just, go lay down or something until the bleeding stops.
“What are you gonna do?”
Ranma sighed, thinking back to Akane and his first meeting that day, and about her cryptic words. Threats of destroying the entire clan. How she wasn’t actually a bargaining chip at all.
“I’m gonna have to talk to pops.”