Chapter 13: The Silver Lily

Ranma shut the windows behind us, and we crossed the pitch-dark hotel room, our thin shoes sinking silently into the thick pile carpet. I opened the door that led into the hallway and peeked outside. The corridor was lighted with small dimmed lamps set every few feet into the rose-colored walls. All the doors were closed and a quiet hush filled the passage. I read the numbers on the doors and stopped when I reached the right one.

"1006," I whispered, nodding in the direction of the door with 1006 set on it in gold-plated numbers. Ranma squeezed my shoulder from behind and moved ahead of me to cross the hallway.

My heart pounding with nervousness, I followed him and pulled out my lock picks, holding them ready. Ranma knocked on the door.

"House keeping," he called out. There was no response. Ranma crouched and studied the bottom of the door. "There's no light here, Akane. No one's home."

I took a deep breath and moved forward to pick the lock open. In the space of a few minutes, I heard the tumblers click and gently turned the knob. The room was dark and smelled of cherry polish. I pushed the door open. We walked into the room and I turned on both the bedside lamps. The room showed signs of occupation. Two suitcases stood in one corner. A smaller airbag was open, with clothes spilling out. Clothes lay on the bed, scattered haphazardly. Glasses and a half-empty bottle of wine sat on the small dining table. Novels sat stacked neatly on the dresser and six pairs of ladies' shoes were arranged neatly against the wall.

My foot scraped against something and I looked down. A small square of plastic caught my eye. I bent down and picked it up, Ranma joining me to examine it.

"What's this....?" Trojans, it said on the cover. My eyes widened. "Waaah!" I dropped the square like a hot potato. "A condom! Ugh!"

Ranma chuckled out loud. "It's just the packet, Akane. Aren't you happy we're not REALLY house keeping? We'd have to clean this shit up."

I held my wrist with the other hand and shook my fingers wildly. "That's disgusting!" I cried. "Yuck!"

Ranma continued to chuckle, looking around at the room.

A thought struck me and I blushed.

Ranma watched me with interest. "What is it, Akane?" he asked softly.

I gritted my teeth as I said," We didn't use...one of these." My cheeks felt like they were in fire as I looked up at Ranma.

He smiled down at me. It was a scary smile, so possessive and filled with male satisfaction that I wanted to cringe, to punch him and wipe that smile off his face.

So I punched him. I watched as my fist connected with his face and reflected that my shishou would be so ashamed of me and I had never felt SO good.

"I'm going to go wash my hands," I growled as Ranma watched me with surprise. "You can look around here. I'll check the bathroom." I turned and stalked off, and I could still feel Ranma grinning at my back.

"Akane, even if we find something, there's no way of telling if it belongs to the new people living here or Blaine."

I headed for the bathroom. "There's always Hiro." Hiro was the man Blaine had hung out with while staying at the hotel. The clerk had also mentioned Blaine had been seen with a beautiful woman, but she wasn't staying at the hotel and he didn't know anything else about her.

I washed my hands, searched the bathroom carefully, and washed my hands again, still fuming at Ranma's behaviour. He'd been taunting me and touching me ever since he had yelled at me on that roof, trying to get me to react. Well, I hoped he was happy.

The image in the bathroom mirror stared back at me as I looked into my eyes, searching for something. When I was still in college, I had met a man who had looked into my eyes and said, "There is so much anger in you."

I'd laughed and said," Says you and Yoda!"

He'd taught me a lot about dealing with my anger towards Ranma. I used one of his techniques and created a small opaque globe in mind. Into that I shoved Ranma's possessive smile and banged the door closed on it.

"I'll think about you later," I muttered.

Time to focus on the task at hand.

As Ranma had predicted, it was impossible to tell if anything I found had belonged to Blaine or not. I doubted it. Most of the items in the bathroom belonged to a woman, unless Blaine was into cross dressing. I shrugged. I'd seen weirder things, nevertheless, it was best to keep things simple.

When I came out, Ranma was dragging the dresser aside. I watched his muscles beneath his tunic flex and bulge. Then I tried NOT to watch them.

"It's too heavy for housekeeping to move," He explained about the dresser. His face lighted up as he peered into the cavity. He reached in and picked up a scrap of paper. He was about to say something when we heard voices in the corridor. We turned to each other with startled gazes.

"Quick," he commanded, and swept me under the bed. The voices came closer and my heart pounded against my ribs. Feeling Ranma pressed against me protectively didn't help. The voices grew louder, and louder and passed the room, growing softer.

"Whew!" I exhaled, relief filtering through me. I turned slightly towards my protector, the wooden slats of the bed above me stopping me from moving easily. "Ranma, we'd better leave before the people who live here show up."

"Looks like Hiro's our best bet."

We quickly doused the lamps and let ourselves out, after making sure the hallway was unoccupied. We left our outfits as they were, so that no one would recognize us. If asked, I planned to plead a costume party.

Ranma found the stairs leading to the next levels, and we quickly climbed to the 14th floor, where the clerk had told us Hiro's room was located.

We counted off the doors as we padded down the hallway.

"1402, 1404.1408..here we are, 1412 but...Ranma!" I cried in a hushed voice. We stared at the door. It was slightly ajar. Ranma pushed it open slowly and we waited for what the door might reveal.

Someone grabbed the knob from the other side and pulled it open all the way, revealing five black clad figures standing in the room, staring at us. My breath caught in my throat, as I stared wide-eyed. The five figures were ninjas.

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"You've come at last," the ninja who had opened the door said in Japanese. "Well, I haven't got all day. Come on in!"

Ranma, without a glance at me, nodded and stepped into the room. I followed him, my head spinning. They thought we were part of their group? What were they up to? That's when I saw him. It had to be Hiro. He sat on a chair, his hands bound behind him, his head pulled back by the grip that one of the ninjas had on his hair. A man of middle years, he was sweating profusely and his broad face was flushed with fear. His cheek bore the marks of blows and one eye was bruising purple. His eyes widened when he saw us, additions to the enemy ranks.

"Please, I don't know any more!" he gasped in Chinese. The man who had opened the door, presumably the leader of the ninjas, stalked forward and gripped Hiro's chin with his gloved fingers.

"Any more?" He said softly in Chinese. "You haven't told us much to begin with. We will find Blaine one way or the other. But the other way will leave you dead, or wishing you were." He bent slightly and caressed the captive's arm. Hiro let out a shriek.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" The leader crooned. The other ninjas laughed at the joke. My eyes went to Ranma. I couldn't see his face, but his shoulders were tense. Was he going to do anything? My hands itched to punch the leader's lights out. I had to do something about this, but what?

The leader straightened.

"Break one of his fingers," he said in Chinese to Ranma. Hiro turned pale, and began to twist in his seat. Ranma slowly walked toward the bound man, passing the leader on the way. He reached the chair and went behind it, crouching down so he could reach Hiro's fingers. A cold sweat began to trickle down my spine. Was Ranma really going to do it?

There was a short pause, then there was a snap. Hiro screamed, high and painfully, his eyes bugging out as his body arched against the chair, trying to escape the pain. I stared in horror, grateful that my ninja's scarf didn't reveal my expression to these monsters. Had Ranma really broken his finger?? I felt myself starting to tremble. Ranma's face appeared over the back of the chair. His mask hid his expression as well, but his eyes were fierce, glaring at me. What was he trying to say? Was he sending some kind of message. The room seemed very hot suddenly, and filled with way too many ninjas.

The leader ignored Hiro and Ranma.

"Hano, report," he said, this time in Japanese. One of the ninjas stepped forward and said, "Sir, Rintaro and his recruits will..."

"Wait!" The leader held up a hand. He turned to Ranma. "Rintaro? I thought you were here..."

He hadn't even finished his sentence before Ranma went into action. He picked up the bound Hiro, chair and all, and threw him at the leader. Hiro screamed in pain and fright. I didn't wait to see what happened, but high- kicked the ninja closest to me. It caught him completely by surprise.

Ranma hadn't even waited to see Hiro land, but had simply turned and punched a ninja in the face. I heard bone crack. The other ninjas were quick to respond. I grabbed the first thing I could, a heavy silver liquor tray, and smashed it into the ear of the ninja I had high- kicked. The remaining two ninjas spread between me and Ranma.

Ranma was trading punches with a second ninja, using his tenshin amaguriken technique to land blows at a speed his opponent couldn't hope to match. I, as always, relied on brute strength, using the tray to smash into ribs and bones even as my legs kicked and pirouetted me gracefully. I avoided the kicks that my opponent was launching at me, dancing backwards as my shishou had taught me.

My attention was momentarily diverted as Ranma cartwheeled off the bedstand and his feet slammed into the jugular of the third ninja. A kick caught me in the side of the head and I went reeling, falling against the wall and trying to roll at the same time, anticipating when the next kick would come.

Ranma hadn't seen the kick. He had reached Hiro now and picked up his chair again. Hiro screeched in fear. Below him, the leader lay motionless, knocked out by the chair.

I rolled on the carpet to avoid more blows and stood up just as Ranma cried," Catch!"

No way, was he...? I watched as Hiro came flying toward me. I caught two of the chair legs and whirled the chair, using its own momentum to smash the ninja trying to attack me from behind. The back of the chair hit his face and he went sprawling. I continued to whirl the chair, afraid that if I let go, it would prove too heavy and I would have to drop Hiro, chair and all.

Ranma sure has a lot of faith in my strength, I mused. Sure, everyone in Nerima had known I was strong, but for Ranma to trust me...it gave me a warm glow all over.

The door opened and more ninjas ran in. The real reinforcements, I thought to myself. They paused and looked around, confused. Since all of us were dressed as ninjas, they weren't quite sure who to attack.

I thought quickly. Ranma and I were getting outnumbered. We were fourteen floors up. If I threw Hiro out to the balcony, Ranma could grab me and the chair and jump down the balconies to the ground.

I hefted Hiro and ran for the window.

"Ranma! Let's go!" I yelled. I threw Hiro at the window with all my might.

"Noooooooo.....!" Hiro screeched. He crashed through the glass, but he didn't bounce off the balcony floor. Instead, he kept falling.

I screamed, horrified. The room didn't HAVE a balcony!

"Fuck it!" Behind me I heard Ranma swear in Japanese.

Then I was picked up and I only felt air whooshing past me at an incredible speed. Ranma had tucked me under his arm and jumped out of the window.

"What are you dooooing?" I yelled, holding him tightly around the waist with one arm. My other arm flailed wildly. Our scarves snapped in the cold air. Below me, I could see Hiro falling, his face a frozen mask of terror. I felt awful for him.

Ranma and I were possibly lighter than him, or Ranma was using some technique to fall faster, because we were actually nearing Hiro. Even if we reached him, though, falling from fourteen stories would just make all three of us very squashed people.

The gap between us was closing faster than ever. I had no idea how far we were from the ground. Ranma reached out and snagged Hiro's shirt, yanking him out of the chair. He positioned himself so that he landed on a balcony and took off again before the impact had time to kick in. He landed on another balcony a few floors down, lessening the impact even further, and then his feet touched the ground.

Even then, the shock of it reverberated through us, sending us flying. Farther away from us, the chair hit the ground and exploded into splinters.

I lay on the grass, letting the soft green spikes tickle my nose as I gradually took in the fact that we had survived a 14-story drop with our hostage.

"What the hell was that?" I asked breathlessly.

"I call it the Floating Leaf. It's just a technique." Ranma's careless tone didn't hide his pride in carrying it all off. I almost felt he deserved it. I turned my head to look at Hiro.

"You trusted me to catch him?" I asked Ranma happily.

Ranma looked puzzled. Then his expression cleared.

"No, it was just a distraction. I actually thought you'd get out of the way," he grinned. I scowled at him. Typical Ranma. I sniffed at an acrid smell in the air, then turned to examine Hiro again.

He lay on the ground, gasping like a landed fish. His pants were wet.

Ranma wrinkled his nose. "That's disgusting."

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An hour later, the three of us were back in our dinky motel room, dressed in fresh clothes. Mr. Yoro's bag had produced Chinese tunics for Hiro and Ranma, and loose black trousers. I had donned a tight blue knee-length Chinese dress that was slit high up my thigh. Ranma had looked like he didn't know whether to scowl at the slit or enjoy the slim figure I cut in the dress.

He had dislocated Hiro's index finger at the hotel, and after apologizing, he had reset it. We'd cut Hiro's bonds but kept a close eye on him. The man still looked terrified. I demurely poured out cups of steaming green tea for everyone and handed a small porcelain cup to Hiro, who thanked me. I think he'd forgotten me kicking ninjas in the face, once he saw me in that dress. I was okay with that.

"I shall go back home immediately," Hiro moaned. "Who knew that befriending a British man at such a well-recommended hotel could cause so much trouble?"

Ranma snorted and leaned back against the wall, his arms folded. "What do you take us for? If you were just acquaintances, you would have given up Blaine's information without a second thought. How long have you really known him?"

Hiro looked upset. "I swear to..."

"Don't bother." Ranma unfolded his arms and flexed the fingers of one hand. "Does your hand still hurt, Hiro?"

I winced at this evidence of a newer, more hardened Ranma. Still, I was getting impatient, too.

"Hiro-san, we're really not looking to harm Sir Blaine," I said soothingly. " I'm just a delivery girl. Sir Blaine is the one I must deliver to. Now, please, tell us where he is."

"How can I trust you?" His voice quavered and he turned a shade paler. He curved his hands around the cup of tea as if to warm himself. He quickly took a sip.

Ranma and I instinctively moved back, in case he tried to blind us with the hot liquid. But Hiro only looked up at me questioningly.

"How about we saved your stinking life, you ungrateful prick?" Ranma said irritably. "I could have let you fall until that chair was matchsticks under you."

Hiro lowered his head. "I know." He sighed. He looked very tired. "I am only trying to determine the parties in this situation." He sighed again.

"Blaine works for someone who I also work for. I cannot say more aside from that, except to tell you that Blaine has gone to India. He received a...message. Anyway, I can't tell you more than that. Still it should help you."

"India's a big place."

"Specifically, he has gone to a small town, Egmore, outside the city of Chennai. That used to be the city of Madras, named by the Portuguese, but the locals have replaced that with the original name."

"And would you know anything about a beautiful woman that Sir Blaine was said to keep company with?" I asked.

Hiro shook his head. "She was only a call girl."

"Thank you for the help, Hiro-san," I said sweetly, giving him one of my cuter smiles. He smiled back tiredly. I felt slightly sorry for him.

"What will you do now?" Ranma asked.

"I'd like to board a train to go back home."

At the train station, Hiro boarded the train and turned to us.

"Thank you for saving my life," he said, an intent look upon his face. "I won't forget it."

"Keh, whatever," Ranma turned away indifferently. I smiled up at Hiro before following Ranma.

"What now, oh leader?" Ranma asked mockingly.

"You forgot?" I taunted him back. "We know where Blaine is. Now...we get the diamond back."

Ranma smirked. "You know something, Akane?"

"What, Ranma? I asked, getting ready for another verbal battle with him.

"You are SO cute when you're working." With that, he hooked his fingers around the nape of my neck and hauled me, startled, into a searing kiss, right there in the middle of the train station. I stumbled and my hands automatically went up to clutch soft folds of his tunic. He kept me in place with his hand on the back of my neck even as I struggled, and let his other hand skim my waist up to the top of my ribcage, where he let a thumb lightly stroke the side of one breast. I was melting under the heat of his kiss, forgetting the reasons why I'd told myself I shouldn't do this.

Ranma raised his head and his eyes sparkled midnight blue with desire and expectation. He glanced around the station briefly.

"We've got to take this someplace else."

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A/N-Merry Christmas, everyone!

I actually have the whole story plotted out now, so the chapters will be coming faster. Please do review, you know I'd never update without it.lol..

Now, I hope some of MY favourite writers update also!!! :D

Question- Should I create a mailing list or something to tell you guys HorD has been updated? Well, e-mail me and I'll tell everyone whose email I have.