Chapter One
P-chan sighed as he walked back from the lake, dragging a bucket of water in his teeth. That was what Ryoga hated about traveling alone all the time. One dip in the lake and he had to make a fire as a pig before he could get moving again. He wouldn’t leave his backpack and umbrella, no matter what.
The piglet set the bucket atop a fire he had started before getting splashed. He had been about to go to sleep when he had accidentally kicked open his water bottle. He settled down to wait for the water to get hot. Then a flash of blue caught his eye.
The little piglet wandered over to the bushes. A sky-blue jewel sat nestled in the grass, shining invitingly. P-chan moved closer, thinking that it would make a fine present for Akane.
Suddenly, the jewel glowed brightly. For a moment the piglet was bathed in blinding light. When he opened his eyes, the jewel was nowhere to be found.
Shrugging as well as a pig can, Ryoga wandered back to the fire.
Pain.
Blinding pain.
Make it stop.
The figure huddled against a tree near the Tendo Dojo, whimpering in pain. His eyes were shut tightly, and he was groaning like a man dying of a fatal wound. Only a few people even bothered to glance at him, assuming that he had just cut himself or something.
Ranma Saotome rushed out of the Tendo Dojo. He turned and made a face at the door.
“Tomboy! Tomboy!” he chanted.
“Die, pervert!” A backpack flew out of the door and hit the pigtailed martial artist. Ranma made a face and turned to leave for school. He was followed by an angry short-haired girl. She was looking for something else to throw at him. Soun and Genma were away on a training journey (also known as a vacation), and there was no one around to make Akane be nice to Ranma.
“Catch me if you can, Akane!” Ranma taunted, starting to run. A weak cry stopped him.
“A-Akane...”
Ranma stopped dead and looked around. That voice had sounded vaguely familiar.
“Ranma?” Akane rushed up to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you hear that?” Ranma asked.
“Akane...”
“Someone’s calling me,” Akane murmured.
Ranma slowly lowered his backpack off his shoulders and edged towards the origin of the voice. Suddenly, he gasped and dashed forward towards one of the trees along the side of the dojo.
“Ryoga?!”
“What?” Akane darted forward to find Ranma crouched beside a shivering figure wearing a familiar traveling outfit. “Ryoga! What happened to you?”
Ryoga shook his head, crying out as another shot of pain ripped through him.
“Calm down, Ryoga,” Ranma soothed. He glanced at Akane. “Go call Dr. Tofu. I’ll get him inside.”
Akane nodded and headed back to the dojo.
Oh, Ryoga! she thought sadly. What could have happened to you?
About a half an hour later, Ryoga was lying in a comfortable bed with Dr. Tofu leaning over him. The doctor had removed Ryoga’s shirt and was examining his chest.
“Where does it hurt worst?” the doctor questioned.
“My....my back,” Ryoga groaned. He cried out again and tried to curl into a ball. Akane, standing in the doorway with Ranma, gasped and nearly ran to him. Ranma watched with compassionate eyes. They had wisely kept Kasumi out of the room.
“Hmmm...” Dr. Tofu ran his hand along Ryoga’s back and made a noise of surprise.
“What is it?” Ranma leaned forward, trying to look.
“How...odd.” The doctor seemed to be examining something. He waved Ranma and Akane over. “Look at these.”
Two large bumps had formed on Ryoga’s back where his shoulder blades were. They weren’t shaped like tumors, however. It looked more like two bones were forming under Ryoga’s skin.
“What-what are they?” Akane wondered, staring. Ryoga cried out again, and as he did, Akane thought she saw the bumps grow slightly larger.
“I can’t say for sure,” Dr. Tofu said. “But they look like...like....” He shook his head. “But that’s impossible.”
“What is?” Ranma prompted.
“They look like....well, like the beginning of a....growth of sorts.” Dr. Tofu stared hard at Ranma and Akane. “As if Ryoga here is growing....wings.”
“Wings?” Ranma and Akane exchanged glances. “But that’s not possible.”
“He can’t be growing wings,” Akane added.
“And yet he is.” Dr. Tofu sounded intrigued. He pointed at one of the bumps. “See? There’s already the beginning of feathers. I don’t know what Ryoga got into, but it’s making him do the impossible.”
“Could you stop the growth somehow?” Akane asked. “He’s in so much pain.”
“I could amputate them,” Dr. Tofu said. “But I don’t think I should.” His face was grave. “To remove the wings, I’d have to remove the bones growing beneath them. Ryoga’s not growing wings made of skin, Akane. As near as I can tell, he’s forming wings like a bird does. That’s why he’s in pain; the bones are somehow sprouting from his back. By the time they’re full, he’ll likely have several small, thin bones which work each wing. If I take them off, it’ll be like removing the wings from a bird. I’d have to surgically remove the bones from his back. That would cause him far more pain than what he’s feeling now. Especially if I remove them now, while they’re tender and still growing. Imagine if I took off your arm while you were five. Removing the wings now would be like that. I might be able to when they’re full grown, but....I wouldn’t advise it.”
“What can we do for him while they’re growing?” Ranma said suddenly.
“Give him these.” Dr. Tofu handed Ranma a small bottle of pills. “They’re painkillers. It should be okay to give him one in his food when the pain gets worse. If they don’t help, call me again. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to check on him anyway. And try to keep him comfortable. Sleeping on his stomach could cause suffocation, but he should be able to lie on his side. Under no circumstances should he rest on his back. That would be even more painful for him, and might cause the wings to come in crooked. He’d be in constant pain then. And leave his shirt off. They’ll grow easier if there’s nothing obstructing the growth.” He closed his medical bag and stood.
“I’ll give these to Kasumi to put in his food,” Akane said, taking the pills. “Thank you for your help, Doctor.”
“I’ll escort you out if you’d like,” Ranma offered, eyes still on Ryoga.
“No thanks,” Dr. Tofu said. “You should keep an eye on your friend.”
“Thank you,” Ranma said as the doctor left. His eyes never left the struggling form in the bed.
Akane managed to coax some food down Ryoga’s throat, though he nearly threw it back up as another shot of pain racked his body. He seemed only vaguely aware of what was happening, and he was obviously in a great deal of pain. Soon after ingesting the painkiller he fell into a troubled sleep. Every once in a while he would arch his back as the newly formed bones grew too quickly, but otherwise his sleep was untroubled. Ranma, Akane, Kasumi, and Nabiki all took turns watching him.
The first thing Akane noticed as she stumbled into Ryoga’s room to take her second watch was that his wings had grown tremendously during the night. They were obviously wings now, not just strange bumps. They still looked ridiculously small on Ryoga’s bulk, though the growth hadn’t stopped yet. Now the wings were covered with soft downy feathers, some white and some black.
“They’ve been growing all night,” Kasumi said as she walked over to Akane. “He woke up just as I relieved Nabiki. The painkillers seemed to have worn off, so I gave him another pill. He was lucid long enough to ask where he was. I told him and he relaxed before falling asleep. Are you okay?”
“Just a little tired,” Akane said with a tight smile. “I didn’t get much sleep. Kasumi...” Akane glanced at Ryoga. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know,” Kasumi said. “Don’t worry. He can tell us himself once the wings stop growing.” She gave Akane a motherly smile and went to bed.
Akane settled herself in the chair that had been positioned by Ryoga’s bed. On sudden impulse, she reached across him and touched one of the feathery wings. The tightly packed feathers were surprisingly soft, like the goose feathers they put in pillows.
Ryoga stirred at her touch. Immediately Akane pulled her hand back, but it was too late. Ryoga opened one eye and regarded her groggily. He was still under the effect of the painkillers, and his eyes were weak and a little glazed.
“Hey, Ryoga,” Akane whispered. “How do you feel?”
“A-Akane,” Ryoga said in a weak voice. “Hurts.”
“Still? Do you need another painkiller?”
Ryoga gave a weak shake of his head.
“Thr-throbs. Doesn’t....stab. Stabbed before. What’s happenin’?”
“Shh. Go back to sleep.” Akane gave him a tender smile that would have set his heart aflutter if he didn’t feel so fuzzy. “I’ll tell you later. Go back to sleep.”
“Sleep...” Ryoga closed his eyes once more and fell back asleep. Akane watched him closely. She had noticed that his wings had tensed when he awoke, but seemed to drop limply as he relaxed. Bone and muscle had grown in those wings, and even unconsciously Ryoga could move them like he moved his arms.
Ranma took over several hours later. Dr. Tofu arrived and examined the sleeping Ryoga.
“Judging from the rate of growth since yesterday,” he said after examining the Lost Boy, “and by Ryoga’s body mass, I’d say the wings will probably be fully grown by tonight. When they stop getting larger, call me. And don’t give him any more painkillers once the wings are grown. Once they’ve grown he should be fine, I don’t want to get him hooked on pills.”
“Thank you,” Ranma said in a subdued voice. He glanced at Ryoga. “Once the wings are grown....will he be okay?”
“I can’t say.” Dr. Tofu shook his head helplessly. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. You’ll have to ask him what he thinks once the painkillers are out of his system.”
Ranma thanked the doctor again and escorted him out of the house. He was about to go back up to Ryoga when a fight in the kitchen distracted him.
“Nabiki, how could you?!” Akane sounded furious. Ranma peered in to see Akane, eyes blazing, glaring fiercely at Nabiki. In his fiancee’s hands were several pictures of Ryoga and his wings.
“Come on, Akane,” Nabiki snarled. “Think. We’ve got a medical miracle in our house! We could charge millions for a look at him!”
“But we won’t,” Kasumi cut in before Akane could kill her sister. “Nabiki, I’m disappointed in you. Ryoga is our guest. You shouldn’t exploit him.”
Nabiki glared at her, then went back to the table and continued eating.
The day passed slowly. Akane wouldn’t allow Nabiki anywhere near Ryoga’s room after the camera incident, and Ranma couldn’t say that he blamed her. Akane saw Ryoga as a very good friend, and she didn’t like to see him exploited by her own sister.
Just after dinner they called Dr. Tofu. Ryoga’s wings hadn’t grown for over two hours, at least not noticeably. He was still sleeping off the last of the painkillers, but his features seemed much more peaceful now that the pain had ended.
His wingspan was at least a good six feet or so in either direction. They were more like the wings of a large bird such as a swan than those of a smaller bird. They were covered in ebony and ivory feathers, and immeasurably soft.
“This is amazing!” Dr. Tofu stated. “The wings have already become part of his anatomy. He can move them independently with no need of conscious thought. If I hadn’t seen them growing, I would wonder if he hadn’t been born with them. Absolutely amazing. He’s perfectly healthy, too. These wings aren’t some sort of deformity.”
“They couldn’t be a deformity anyway,” Akane said. “Look how beautiful they are.”
“Whatever they are, they’ve formed bone and muscle in the span of two days,” Dr. Tofu said. “The painkillers will have worn off by morning. Then you can ask him what happened. And sometime I’d like to get him in the clinic for an X-ray. I’m eager to see the internal formation of the wings.”
“We’ll be by tomorrow,” Akane promised. “Thank you so much for your help, Doctor.”
“It was my pleasure,” Dr. Tofu said and left. Assured that Ryoga would be okay, Akane and Ranma left Ryoga to continue to sleep peacefully.
Night fell. Several miles from the dojo at the Nekohanten, the Chinese Amazon Shampoo entered her room to prepare for bed. She reverently touched her new necklace, a golden chain with a small purple gem. She had found it in the street three days ago, and planned on showing it to Ranma tomorrow.
She settled down in her bed and had started to close her eyes when she heard a rustling noise outside. After a moment, she heard it again. It sounded like someone was right outside her window.
Shampoo was not a helpless damsel. She was an Amazon warrioress, and she had no intention of yelling for help. Instead, she stood and put a kimono on over her thin nightdress. Then she carefully and quietly skirted the room, grabbing her bonbori as she walked. Shampoo positioned herself to one side of the window and got in battle stance.
Something large and dark dived through the window, landing hard on Shampoo’s bed. It began to rend the sheets with its claws, not noticing Shampoo. The Amazon leaned in closer to get a better look at it and gasped.
The creature was lizard-like, with a long black tail and a sharp lizard snout. Its limbs were long and powerful, and each finger ended in a sharp claw. Its eyes glowed red and it had leathery black wings. Shampoo stared at it. She knew a demon when she saw one.
The demon heard her gasp and fixed its burning eyes on her. No, she realized, it wasn’t staring at her. It was staring at her necklace.
“No steal Shampoo necklace!” the Chinese girl declared, and jumped forward to attack the creature before it could attack her. She brought one of the bonbori down forcefully on the creature’s back. The weapon snapped in two.
Shampoo stared in shock at the broken weapon for a moment, then tossed it to the side and aimed a powerful kick at the monster’s side. It reached over and effortlessly caught her leg. With one swift, fluid movement, it threw Shampoo into the wall. She cried out in pain as she hit the wall and propped herself up on her arms. The demon launched itself at her, claws extended.
“Stop.” A new figure glided into the room. It stood before the demon, which bobbed its head in subordination. “Leave this one be.”
In the dim light Shampoo could make out the tall imposing figure that had stopped the demon. It appeared to be a broad-shouldered man, but a man with large ebony angel-like wings.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Shampoo?” A familiar voice floated in, and for once Shampoo was happy to hear it.
“Stupid Mousse, get in here!” Shampoo ordered, more in need of Mousse’s weapons than of Mousse himself. One of Shampoo’s bonbori was broken and the other lay just behind the man in front of her.
The winged man stared at the door and nodded at the demon, who pushed a desk in front of the door. The next sound Shampoo heard was of Mousse ramming the door full force. The desk moved slightly, but not much.
Satisfied that they would not be interrupted, the winged man reached for Shampoo. She clasped her necklace with one hand and raised the other to strike him. He caught her arm and held it tight. One of his huge, callused hands reached forward and stroked Shampoo’s hair.
“What a beauty,” he murmured. Shampoo tried to pull away, but he held her tight. His hands caressed her face roughly. “I need that necklace, little one. And I think....I want you, too.” He pulled Shampoo roughly to her feet.
“Let Shampoo go!” Shampoo found that she couldn’t escape the man’s grip. “Be proud, girl,” the man said. “You will be the wife of Xan Talos, ruler of half the world when Veil gives me the spoils of war.”
“Let her go!” A knife slashed through half of the door and Mousses stepped in. For once he wore his glasses, and he could see clearly the scene before him. His gaze wavered as he beheld the man and demon, but grew angry again as he saw the hard grip Xan Talos had on Shampoo’s wrist.
“Take care of him, Mirkahash,” Xan Talos ordered. The demon jumped forward eagerly.
Four knives flew from Mousse’s robe. They embedded themselves deeply in the demon’s chest, but though it bled it did not cease its attack. Mousse reached into his robe for a smoke bomb, but had no time to throw it before the demon was upon him.
“Mousse!” Shampoo cried out as the monster’s claws slashed Mousse along his side and he collapsed. Shampoo had no love for Mousse, but she didn’t want to see him die. She struggled against the hand that held her so forcefully, wanting to fight the demon that was mercilessly pounding Mousse.
“Now, now, my dear,” Xan Talos said in his deep voice. He rapped Shampoo’s temple and she collapsed into his arms, unconscious. “Can’t have my bride getting herself bruised by a demon, can we? Mirkahash! Leave the boy. It is time to go.”
The demon hopped away from the still body of Mousse and leaped out the window, spreading its wings as it did so.
“Shampoo?” Cologne appeared in the doorway. She was just in time to see Xan Talos spread his wings and fly out into the night, an unconscious Shampoo in his arms.
“No!” Mousse swayed to his feet and stumbled to the window. One side of his robe was dark with blood and there were three bleeding gashes down his left cheek. He stared weakly after the winged man. “Shampoo!”
“They’re gone.” Cologne put a wrinkled hand on his shoulder. “Sit down, you. We cannot help Shampoo now.” Her eyes narrowed. “But I believe I know someone who can.”