"I wonder what's taking them so long..." Ranma mumbled while pacing forth and back. "You'd think taking care of one little c-c-c... animal would be done nice and quickly."
He stopped and sighed. "I should have known better than sending those two to do the job... I better go and look after them."
He still was getting the heebie-jeebies when he thought about the cat (because of the green fur, he hadn't recognized Shampoo), but now that the first shock was over, he could think more clearly.
Finally, he decided to go and look for his two guards. After all, the cat would likely be gone anyway. So he went back into the labyrinth, hurried through it and climbed up the stairs to the hidden yard.
Even before he entered the treasure building, he could hear crazy laughter and shouts of glee coming out of the treasure room.
"What the heck?" he murmured and went inside.
A strange sight was displayed in front of him: His father had wrapped at least a dozen of pearl necklets around his thick neck and was posing in front of a mirror with a golden frame, which was hanging on one of the walls. He was facing the opposite direction as Ranma, so he couldn't see his son.
Soun was sitting in the middle of the pile of golden coins with one of the reserve crowns on his head. He was laughing like crazy. He also didn't see Ranma, because the crown has been sliding down his face and covered his eyes. But he really didn't seem to care...
"I'm the king, Saotome!" he shouted again and again. "See that? I'm the king!"
Ranma grimaced. What were those two idiots doing?
[cough, cough]
Genma turned around to see who was coughing... and the big smile on his face fell when he saw Ranma.
He gulped nervously. "Um, Tendo..."
Sound stopped laughing and took off the crown. When he saw Ranma, he smiled nervously. "Uh... hello there, Ranma..."
Ranma pointed towards the exit doors. "You two! Out! Now!"
The two men quickly obeyed the king's command, after Genma threw the pearl necklets to the ground.
When they were gone, Ranma sighed deeply. His gaze wandered to the chest with his mementos.
"At least they left my things alone," he mumbled to himself. Then, he picked up the pearl necklets from the ground and hung them back over the hooks at the wall. He scooped the coins back into a proper pile and put the reserve crown back onto its shelf.
After throwing one last glance at the bite marks on the paper money, he shook his head and left the treasure room.
Before re-locking the doors, he made sure that really no cat or anything else was left behind inside the room. When locking the final door, he turned around the key an additional time.
The two guards were waiting in the yard. They were looking bashfully at the ground.
Ranma stared at them for a while. Then he asked: "So, found any trace of... you know?"
Genma shook his head. "No, it was already gone when we arrived."
"Hmmm..." Ranma pondered. "Well, if it went down into the labyrinth, I doubt we will hear from it again... Okay, I think we can leave now... but first, let me tell you something. Listen carefully, okay?"
"O-okay!"
"Now remember: You have never seen a treasure or a treasure room today, got it?"
"R-ranma, what do you...?"
Soun nudged his friend. "We have never seen a treasure or a treasure room, your majesty!"
"And also no labyrinth."
"Labyrinth? What's that? Saotome, do you see any labyrinth around here?"
Genma understood. He looked up into the air. "Labyrinth? I don't even know what's that supposed to be."
"And secret doors?"
"Secret doors..." Genma chuckled. "Now, that would be pretty silly, wouldn't it, Tendo?"
Ranma shook his head. He wondered if he could trust those two that they really wouldn't tell anyone else about this...
"All right, come along... or do you wanna stay behind?"
Quickly, Soun and Genma followed their young king, as they surely didn't want to get lost a second time.
----
When they got back into the yard with Nabiki's workshop, Ranma closed the blue door. Then, he turned back around to face his two guards.
"Okay, one last time, to make it clear: You haven't seen a treasure, a treasure room, a labyrinth or secret doors, got it?"
Soun and Genma looked at each other.
"I don't even know what you're talking about, Ranma," Genma replied.
Ranma smiled. "Good boys! And now, back to your posts!" And he walked back into the castle.
Soun and Genma hurried back into their guardroom, where they fell down into their chairs.
"That was one crazy day, wasn't it, Tendo?" Genma groaned.
"You can say that again," his old buddy nodded.
----
Ranma walked down into the kitchen where Yuka and Sayuri were helping Ukyo with the dishes.
Ukyo's face lit up when she saw her favorite king. "Ranchan! Why, what brings you down here?"
Ranma smiled back. "Hey, Ucchan! Well, I decided to go early to bed today... you got something quick for me, something that helps me sleep?"
Ukyo grinned at him. "Don't worry, Ranchan! I'll make you my 'Have-a-Good-Night Okonomiyaki'... that will guarantee some sweet dreams. You want some water with it?"
Ranma shook his head. "Naw, just a glass of milk. Helps me falling asleep all the time..."
Ukyo shrugged. Milk and Okonomiyaki... well, he's the king. "You got it, Ranchan! Yuka will bring it up to you once it's ready!"
"Thanks, Ucchan!"
Ranma went back into his bedroom. It was still early, true, but today really had been an eventful day. He sat down on the edge of his bed and took a look at the newspaper that was lying next to him.
His gaze fell on a big headline: 'Mysterious robberies within Saotokyo. The Black Rose Trio strikes again. Citizens, close your windows at night!'
Ranma shook his head. "Well, doesn't matter for me..." he mumbled. "No one can get into the castle anyway..." He grumbled. "If those gate guards would do their job..."
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. It was Yuka, and she brought his food and drink.
"Ah," Ranma said. "Thank you, Yuka-chan!"
Yuka smiled as she put down the tray. "Have a good meal, and a good sleep!" Then she bowed and left.
Quickly, Ranma ate the okonomiyaki and emptied the glass of milk in one gulp. Then he got ready for bed.
After lying down, he sighed one last time and closed his eyes.
----
Deep within the labyrinth, Shampoo was as lost as the two guards had been. But she wasn't afraid. After the long time within the treasure room, she had gotten used to the darkness. She enjoyed running through the endless corridors and decided to explore every single part of the labyrinth. It never occured to her that the exits of the labyrinth were closed and that she, once again, was trapped...
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(Posted Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:43)
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