Disclaimer: Ranma and Co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: I apologize for the wait. I just had to start 'Desperate Princess' because the plot bunny was biting at me to write it. But it's time for a short break from that, so here's the next chapter of House of Cards.

Chapter 16

The Amazon Jungle- where survival of the fittest is not just a maxim, but a way of life. Death haunts every shadow, waits in the shine of tooth and claw, as well as in the murky depths of the Amazon river.

“Yup, the river killed it for sure,” I sighed.

Ranma, Kalia and I knelt on the ground in a circle, peering down at my tiny PDA, the screen blank.

I had tried shaking the water out of it, had removed the battery, dried it with a corner of my t-shirt, and replaced it. No frickin’ luck.

“So you’re saying the map you saved on it is lost?” Kalia asked. The tall, handsome monk with the long braid looked disappointed.

I sighed again. I wasn’t a techno-geek. “Well, if I had a blowdryer and a bag of rice, I could have it fixed overnight.”

Kalia and Ranma stared at me quizzically.

“Why do you need a…Never mind.” Kalia shook his head. “I don’t know if I want to know.”

“A bag of rice, huh? Go, MacGuyver. Well, I actually have a banana, a straw and some tinfoil…oh wait, that won’t help you at all!” Ranma grinned at me.

I glared at her, while Kalia made an amused sound. Picking up the drowned PDA, I stood and brushed the dirt off my bare knees.

“Well, we can’t bring up the map…anyone got any bright ideas?”

“I need to get Jain back,” Kalia murmured worriedly. He stood now, his fists flexing as though he needed to be doing something. “Who knows what that monster is doing with him?”

“He’s probably using him as his personal GPS to find the treasure, that’s what,” Ranma replied. “But Jain would have been knocked out with the gas, same as the rest of us. And he’s a little kid, with half our body mass. I’m guessing he’s going to be asleep for a few more hours.”

“We need to get back ASAP then, before Djavan takes off on the treasure hunt and we have no idea how to follow them.”

“That’s going to be harder than we anticipated,” Kalia looked up and down the river. “This isn’t the main river. It’s a tributary, a little canal leading to the river.”

“Wait a minute. You followed us, right? Don’t you know the way back to Djavan’s pleasure palace?” Ranma asked the monk.

Kalia shook his head regretfully. “I hid deep in the boat cabin the whole time. I only saw Djavan drug you, but I knew they’d be dumping your bodies so I ran right back into my hiding spot. I don’t know which route they took. All I know is it was a good couple hours by boat.”

Ranma and I looked at each other, knowing that we’d just lost more time.

“The Amazon forest is huge, and we need to find our way outta here before it gets dark,” Ranma said, standing to wring the river-water out of her scarlet hair and re-braiding it swiftly.

We looked around us. Some animal made a yip-yipping yowling call that reverberated through the forest. Far off to the left, the leaves of lower bushes rustled as some kind of animal moved through them.

“Sounds good to me,” I said, slipping my wet PDA back into my shorts, eager to get a move on if it meant we had some kind of shelter by dark.

“Well,” Kalia said, squinting in the direction of the setting sun. “We came from the main river, and the tributary must flow down to join it, so let’s walk downriver.”

We hiked in a line, Ranma leading the way and Kalia behind me. We kept close to the water’s edge, away from the thicker underbrush. As I walked, I worried about Jain, wondering how he was doing. He probably still was asleep, but it was very unlikely that we’d get to him before he woke up. I imagined how scared the little guy would be when that happened, surrounded by a bunch of thugs. It might even make him remember his time in the temple, when Djavan’s man had so cruelly carved the map into his back. I shook my head. Thinking about Jain would only increase my worry and sense of helplessness.

I hated feeling helpless. I switched trains of thought. Where did the map lead? I recalled the pictures from my PDA, remembering the dotted line crossing the river. There had been a waterfall, too…

“This place is freakin’ huge, huh,” Ranma said, stepping back so she was walking abreast with me.

“Yup,” I replied, glancing down at her. “I’ve been to some interesting places, but this place is something else.”

“Interesting places-you mean your career as a 'delivery girl'?”

“Yup- Saudi Arabia, hottest place ever! And Vegas right after that…and France, where Mousse and Shampoo spotted me…”

“I’ll have to get those stories from you some day…” Ranma remarked.

I turned to look at her, but she seemed oblivious to my gaze, scanning the foliage ahead.

Some day. In the future. Where it seemed Ranma continued to see us together, occupying each other's lives.

The scene in my hotel room back in China replayed in my mind- Ranma beating up Kuno, so much fury in his eyes. I’d helped play that trick on him too, whether it had been against my wishes or not. But I knew he still blamed me. And I wondered if some of that fury was reserved for me. The thought made me incredibly sad.

I hadn’t trusted him, he said.

And a tiny voice inside me piped up - perhaps that was true.

Really?! I stumbled for a second, my breath catching in shock. Ranma reached out absently and steadied me, then let go as though nothing had happened.

Wasn’t that how it was, though? I asked myself in dawning realization. He watches out for me, but...I don’t trust Ranma. Oh, I trusted him to save me, of course, it was his duty as a martial artist.

But I didn’t trust him to love me. Me, exclusively. No other fucking fiancées, pardon my French. Just me, Akane Tendo. I didn’t trust he would love me enough to listen to me and save my sister from Kunou without smearing her name forever in Nerima. it sounded weird, but I didn't know if I trusted Ranma to be careful with my heart.

What a wretch I was. Spurning Ranma, who truly was there for me, perhaps as confused as me, but showing me affection the only way he knew how, by claiming me in battle.

Akane is mine!

For a moment my vision blurred, and a tear escaped and trickled down my cheek. Realizing all this was not enough. Did it make me trust him any more? I didn’t know.

“We’re being watched,” Ranma said casually, still looking straight ahead.

I stiffened, and had to work hard to avoid the urge to look around. Surreptitiously, I wiped the tear away and used the chance to let my eyes wander. “I don’t see anything.”

“They blend into the trees really well, but they’re there,” Ranma affirmed. “I can feel ‘em.”

We rounded a curve on the bank, and came to a halt. I heard Kalia's intake of breath behind us.

Two men holding spears stood in front of us. Both wore loincloths, and nothing more. They were obviously of Indian descent, with long black hair and smooth bark-colored skin.

One of them thumped his spear and said something.

Ranma raised her hand in a wave. “Uh, hello,” she said, smiling and instinctively trying to look cute and harmless. If it wasn't for her gender, it would be like a stick of dynamite trying to pass as a birthday candle.

I tensed as they began to walk towards us. They brought their spears down, the pointy ends aimed at us, and shook the spears somewhat threateningly. Or perhaps it was questioningly. They didn't run us through, and in fact, the man's speech had an expectant quality about it.

“It looks like they want us to go with them,” Kalia said.

“It’s not necessarily a bad idea,” Ranma muttered. “Someone needs to give us directions in this frickin’ maze.”

If you weren't paying very close attention, the village of the Indians came into view quite suddenly.

One moment we were being prodded along by their spears, only jungle around us, and in the next we had stepped into a tiny smurf-like village of thatched huts, small winding paths, and most of all, people. Little naked brown children of all ages ran around, playing. Women sat in the doorways of the huts, feeding babies or weaving baskets or mashing food. They wore loincloths, like the men, and long necklaces made of woven grass, but nothing else. Their breasts hung low and full, proudly feminine.

Ranma, used though she was to seeing herself naked, abruptly blushed and looked up at the sky. Kalia, too, after one look, rooted his gaze to his feet.

So I was the only one who saw what seemed like the most unbelievable sight ever. I was so shocked that I stopped, and a spear tip rested gently in warning against my back.

But I was numb to it, in fact, blind to the outside world, all my attention pinpointed to one spot. My eyes must have grown huge in my face. I couldn’t have torn them away if I had tried.

We had passed quite a few huts, which had open entrances, and it was through one entrance that I caught sight of what seemed like a miracle.

“Dr. Tofu!”

Ranma’s head snapped down and zeroed in on what I was looking at. I didn’t pay attention. My entire focus was on the thin man with a brown ponytail and glasses seated cross-legged on the ground, intently staring down at a small pot he was stirring.

I gained my breath, gulped it in, actually, and started forward. “Dr. Tofu!! I found you!”

I began to sprint and slid across the ground to wind up in front of him on my knees, my hands splayed on the ground in front of me.

Dr. Tofu looked up in surprise, staring at me. I gaped up into his face. It really was him!

His eyes took in my appearance, and he looked up at Ranma entering the hut, then looked back at me. “Who are you?” he asked.

Disappointment crashed into my soul. “Dr. Tofu, it’s me, Akane!” I cried in Japanese. “Don’t you remember me?”

He stared at me blankly, then smiled. “It’s been a long time since I heard Japanese, young lady. You say you know me? I’m so sorry that I don’t recall our acquaintance.”

“You must remember Ranma!” I glanced around, saw a pot boiling on a small fire, and grabbed it to pour the contents over Ranma, who turned male, grew and hit the pot with his head on his way up.

“Ouch! Shorty…” he growled at me in warning, rubbing his head.

But I was too busy watching Dr. Tofu. Had that been a glimmer of recognition in his eyes?

Behind us, Kalia had been putting two and two together. “Do you work for Djavan de Castilho, sir?” he asked, coming forward. “Does this village belong to him?”

At the name, Dr. Tofu’s face darkened. “You know Castilho? You are friends of his? Please leave. Just because he forces me to work for him is no reason for me to…”

“This is ridiculous,” Ranma ground out, flexing the fingers of his right hand. “They’ve used some kind of memory erasing technique on him. I can sort that out.” He stalked forward and crouched behind Dr. Tofu. His hand moved quickly over pressure points on Dr. Tofu’s head and neck, and surprisingly even one on his lower back.

Dr. Tofu’s eyes widened and then fell shut as he slumped forward in a faint. I caught his shoulders and lowered him onto the ground. Behind him, Ranma grinned. "You really do pick up a few things along the way in this business," he said, massaging his fingers.

Behind us, the natives who had brought us in were watching with interest. They spoke to each other, gesturing towards us, then left us alone.

I stared up at Ranma in mingled delight and disbelief. “I can’t believe it, Ranma! We actually found him!”

“In the Amazon rainforest of all places…who’d have guessed?” Ranma mused.

A few seconds later, my brother-in-law stirred and opened his eyes. He looked up at me. “Akane?” His fingers brushed my cheek as though he couldn’t actually believe it. He turned his head and his eyes widened behind his glasses. “Ranma! I’m dreaming.”

“No, Dr. Tofu,” I said, though my voice trembled. “It’s…really us.”

We helped him sit up as he brought a shaking hand to his forehead. “Where…am I? I feel as though I’ve been lost for a long time. I remember…Kasumi, my love! And then…Djavan…”

We all sat silently as Dr. Tofu’s memories of the past and present knit themselves together to form a coherent picture. He looked up, his normally mild eyes full of rage.

“Djavan…” he said, in quite a different tone. "What has he done to me?"

“Dr. Tofu, how long have you been here?” Ranma asked, concern in his eyes.

“Far too long, my boy,” Dr. Tofu replied. “Djavan de Castilho found the legendary Black Orchid here in the rainforest, and kidnapped me to create the elixir of everlasting youth for him.”

“I thought he had a disease?” I asked, remembering Sayuri's story.

“Yes, it’s called ‘aging’,” Dr. Tofu said tersely. He looked at both of us. “What are you two doing here? Ranma, I haven’t seen you in years! How are you? And Akane, I haven’t seen you since…well, since you last came to Japan. What are you doing here?”

“We followed your trail to Brazil,” I explained. “I…had dreams where you were asking for my help.” I flushed lightly as I said this. It sounded silly. Why had I chased him across the world because I had dreamt that he needed my help?

Dr. Tofu smiled. “’Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see’. I’ve always known you were sensitive to such things, Akane. You are the only one in your family who is that way.”

"Dr. Tofu..." My shoulders slumped in relief, and I bent my head as tears began to slide down my cheeks to fall unchecked to the dirt ground. After so long, I had found him. Perhaps my dreams would be normal now. He patted my shoulder comfortingly, and then pulled me into a hug.

I could feel Ranma watching us, and wondered what he was thinking.

Then I stiffened, and glanced up at Kalia.

“We still have to find Jain.”

A/N: Wow, yes, she found Dr. Tofu. Finally! Reviews would be appreciated in the form of new chapters! :) You write reviews, I write new chapters. Fair deal, right? :)