Ranma: Mazoku Factor

Part 3

The Eternal Boy

++++++++++++++++

Ranma sat on the porch of the Tendo home watching the
Rain. He had his usual grin on his face as he nursed the cup
of tea in his hands. He seemed quite content actually, of
course, the one person who bothered him the most in the home
came to speak with him. He grimaced as the girl walked up to
him.

"Ranma."

"Hello Kasumi," replied the boy as he glanced at her
from the corner of his eye.

"You don't have any laundry do you?" said the girl as
she smiled at him.

The boy put on a cheerful face and looked up at her.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I like to take care of that
myself."

"Oh?" said the girl with a surprised looking frown on
her face.

"Yes, my clothes require...special maintenance. I
wouldn't want to bother you with details, and it's just
easier if I do it myself."

The girl nodded slightly at this. "All right."

Ranma merely turned back towards the rain and watched it
fall.

Nearby, Akane and Nabiki stared at the exchange in front
of the television.

"You know, I've never seen him so much as take a bath,"
commented Nabiki.

"It's strange, but he is up earlier than us, what with
his father's training and all," said Akane with a small
shrug.

Ranma made a point to ignore them, even though he could
hear their whispers.

"I don't get it, he always wears the same thing too,"
said Akane as she glanced over at the boy. He was still
wearing the same thing he had been when he'd arrived.

"That is odd. Maybe he has more than one set?" said
Nabiki as she passed a cool eye in the boy's direction as
well. "Seems unlikely, those are some weird clothes."

"I don't know, he doesn't smell or anything. He looks
clean," said Akane as she scrunched up her face a little.

Nabiki frowned a little at this. If the boy was just
secretive about taking baths it probably would have never
occurred to her. The fact that he wore the same clothes was
odd. He also never seemed dirty. "He didn't even break a
sweat when he fought Kuno. Something isn't right here."

Akane looked at her sister in surprise. "What?"

"He doesn't move much, when he does it usually counts,"
replied her sister calmly. "He's never sweaty, or just plain
dirty. Even when he spars with his father in the morning
he's clean. He falls into the koi pond almost daily, that
water isn't clean. By the time he gets back inside after his
training, he's almost completely dry."

Akane blinked and looked over at the boy again. Her
sister was right. "But that's..."

Ranma was looking quite pleased with himself at the
moment. He simply sat there watching the grass grow. The
confusion he was causing the two sisters was immensely
satisfying.

++++++++++++++++

Meanwhile, far away...

"So, you say it's this way?" Ryoga pointed down one of
the roads in the middle of the countryside and glanced back
at the farmer.

"If it's Tokyo, it's five hundred miles north of here.
This way," replied the man as he pointed in a different
direction.

The boy nodded and made a ninety-degree turn, to the
left of where the man was pointing. "I see."

++++++++++++++++

One week later...

Ryoga Hibiki stood on an unknown street, in an unknown
place. The story of his life really, but his quest was all
consuming. He would find Ranma Saotome.

With a quick strike with his arm, he snagged a young boy
who was walking by him. "Where is Furinkan High School?" He
didn't even bother to look at the kid as he said it.

"Say what?" said the boy dumbly.

Ryoga turned his gaze onto the boy and frowned. The kid
jerked his thumb towards the sign on the wall with the words
'Furinkan High School' written on it. Ryoga stared at it for
a moment and turned back towards the boy. "Where is Ranma
Saotome?"

"Huh? Saotome?" muttered the boy in confusion.

Ryoga's head turned slowly towards the gates.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ranma smiled cheerfully as he sat back and relaxed
against a tree. A small book rested in his palms as he
watched the students go by. His school bag was unopened at
his side, and the book in his hand was not one of his
schoolbooks. The cover was blank and the writing inside was
small, nearly illegible to most that might try to read it.
His attention was only halfway on his reading material
though.

Nabiki Tendo was glaring at him from across the
schoolyard; she'd given up on using Kuno for the moment. Not
that it bothered him much. Kuno was fun, but he'd lose
entertainment value quickly if he was overused. Not to
mention, he was kind of curious about what she might try
next. School was out, and he had decided to wait around for
the two Tendo girls to finish with their social circles
before heading back to the dojo. Soun seemed to want him to
return with the pair for some reason.

With a small sigh he stood up when he had noticed Nabiki
start towards the gates of the school. Akane was still off
on her own, but broke off when she noticed her sister
leaving. Ranma moved towards them and suddenly froze in
place.

"What the?" He turned towards the gates and narrowed his
eyes. "What the hell is that?" It was an incredibly strong
force, unlike anything he'd felt before. As he thought about
it, it was similar to a few things. Nothing that should be
in Japan though, he frowned and glanced over at the two
girls.

Akane and Nabiki had noticed the boy had stopped, and
the fact that he didn't have his usual smile on his face.

"Something is up," muttered Nabiki.

"Ranma?" said Akane in confusion.

The boy vanished from sight, appearing a few feet away
from where he had been. His pose hadn't appeared to change
at all.

"What the?" cried Akane as a resounding boom filled the
school grounds and echoed in the silence for a moment.

Ranma was watching the cloud of dust that occupied where
he had once been standing. "I see."

A voice came out of the dust. It was a disgusted
sounding snorting chuckle. "Well, it seems you're still good
at running away. Eh, Saotome?"

"Ryoga Hibiki," said Ranma calmly.

The cloud cleared and the student's gasped at the damage
done to the ground. It was more than an impact crater. The
earth had actually cracked and left a spider web like trail
for ten feet in every direction. The boy inside stood up
slowly and pulled his fist out of the ground. Bits of rock
and dirt fell away from his fist and forearm as he did so.

Ranma simply watched the boy calmly, his staff held at
his side as if he hadn't even been attacked. "It's been a
while. I wasn't expecting you to show up for some time."

"Well, I'm glad I surprised you then," replied Ryoga
coldly.

"So? Did you want something?" asked Ranma with his smile
forming again.

Ryoga growled at the face. It was one he knew too well
for his own liking. "To destroy you!"

The ponytailed boy merely nodded. "Well, I'm afraid I
can't allow that. I'm not finished just yet."

"You never will if I have anything to say about it!"
growled Ryoga.

"How fortunate for me that you don't," replied Ranma
calmly. "There is something different about you though. I
can't quite place my finger on it. You're much stronger than
you should be, especially for a mere human."

Ryoga let out a terse laugh. "Mere human. You should
know better than that."

Ranma kept his cheerful mask hiding any surprise or
emotion. "So it seems. You surprise me Hibiki."

Ryoga gave him a dark smile and stood in a relaxed
stance. "Ranma Saotome, because of you, I will never see
hell. For that, I will destroy you."

"If that's true it's you're own fault," replied the
ponytailed boy calmly.

"Maybe, but for my revenge, no cost is too great!"
roared the lost boy as he took up a stance. "Prepare to
die!"

Ranma looked slightly annoyed at this and shook his
head. "This isn't over that bread thing still is it?"

"Bread?!!" snarled Ryoga hatefully. "You bastard! Do you
think a mere bread feud would make me this angry?!"

"Quite possibly," replied Ranma as calmly as ever.

Ryoga snorted in half amused disgust. "This goes beyond
a simple bread feud. After our duel, I swore that I would
defeat you...no matter what the cost!"

Ryoga charged forward and Ranma vanished, switching
places with the lost boy as he staggered forward after his
missed strike. He had the normal grin on his face and looked
rather thoughtful for a moment.

"What happened to you Hibiki. You've definitely
improved."

"Ha! You think I just wandered around looking for you
Saotome? I have trained long and hard, and discovered
secrets that ensure that you'll never defeat me now!"

Ranma narrowed his eyes at the lost boy as he seemed to
realize what was wrong. He couldn't feel Hibiki. He could
see the boy, and Ryoga's movements affected the air. He
could even see the signs of life, the boy was breathing, and
his body was giving off heat. Something was missing though.
"You don't have a soul, do you?" He was asking himself more
than Ryoga.

Ryoga just grinned. "Now that, is a secret."

Ranma's smile faltered for a moment and he stepped back.
"This could be somewhat problematic."

+++++++++++++++++

Akane and Nabiki stood next to each other, both of them
were watching the exchange with increasing interest.

"What's going on?" mumbled Nabiki under her breath.

"Looks like your fiancee got that guy mad somehow," said
Akane as she looked at the girl.

"Don't call him that!" snapped Nabiki. "This looks like
more than a passing annoyance."

Akane nodded. "That boy said something about bread..."

"And a duel," agreed Nabiki with a small nod.

+++++++++++++++++

Ryoga frowned at Ranma as the pair stood off. Both of
them looked rather calm and collected.

"You should know you can't beat me Hibiki," commented
Ranma.

"That remains to be seen," said the lost boy as his
insane grin widened.

Ranma's head moved slightly, he dipped his chin a bit
and frowned.

Ryoga charged forward, this time Ranma didn't move out
of the way. The pair collided and Ranma lashed out with a
super fast kick that hit his opponent square in his chest.
The force threw Ryoga back, but not before he managed to
land a right hook across Ranma's face.

The ponytailed boy was knocked back a bit, but kept his
feet.

Ryoga was laid out across the ground. He quickly
regained his feet and snarled.

"What is this?" muttered Kuno as he appeared from behind
a nearby tree.

Akane looked at the boy's face. It was clear he was
surprised by something he'd observed during the fight.

Ranma had his eyes open now and was watching Ryoga
carefully.

"What's going on?" muttered Akane as she stepped back
away from the battle for a moment.

"Something's up?" asked Nabiki.

Ryoga's angry cry as the boy charged forward again cut
any answer off.

Ranma stepped back and punched the boy in his face as he
neared. The lost boy's head snapped back, but he remained on
his feet. Ranma jumped over the kick the boy used to counter
and spun around in the air, landing a blow on the boy's
collar bone. There was a sickening crack as the bone broke
and the pair flew apart as they both jumped back.

Ryoga was still, his arm hung at his side and Ranma
merely stood calmly with his staff still in his hand.

"He hasn't used that stick of his yet," said Nabiki as
she frowned at the boy.

"Maybe he thinks it wouldn't be fair?" said Akane as she
glanced at her older sister.

"He just broke his arm, I doubt if he's too worried
about being fair anyway," said Nabiki as she narrowed her
eyes at the scene.

Akane gasped. "Wait a minute!"

Nabiki and Kuno both glanced towards her.

"Ranma is actually fighting this boy!"

Kuno and Nabiki both blinked.

"I've never seen him use martial arts before," clarified
Akane with an irritated frown. "Even when he spars with his
father in the morning, he's never actually used the art."

Nabiki blinked at this. Akane was right, the morning
matches mostly consisted of Ranma vanishing and reappearing
elsewhere. Occasionally the boy would strike at his father,
but the blows were clumsy at best. "What the hell is this?
Ranma is taking this boy seriously?"

"That is no boy," replied Kuno calmly.

Both girls looked at him in confusion.

"Watch," said Kuno as he nodded towards the battle. "I
fear even the dark sorcerer Ranma Saotome will be no match
for this one."

+++++++++++++++

Ranma was feeling the heat. A few beads of sweat formed
on his brow as he watched Ryoga stand there. His suspicions
were true, and he was in serious trouble. "Damn! How the
hell did he manage this?"

Ryoga grinned at Ranma as he slowly stood upright. He
popped his neck and flexed both his arms. "Not bad Saotome."

"That first kick should have killed you," said Ranma
calmly. "I also broke your neck Hibiki. Tell me, where did
you learn this interesting trick?"

"Heh. China, that's all the information you'll get from
me Saotome."

Ranma merely nodded. "I guess we all have our secrets
Hibiki."

"You've always been good at keeping yours monster,"
growled Ryoga.

The ponytailed boy stepped back into a combat stance
again. "Maybe so, but I think that you don't know as much
about me as you seem to think."

Ryoga merely snorted. "Shut up and fight!"

Ranma nodded and readied himself again. He tightened up
his legs and relaxed. His eyes were closed and he had a
smirk on his face. "This should be interesting. If I'm
right, I don't have to hold back anymore."

Ryoga took the initiative again and roared in anger as
he charged like a blind bull.

The ponytailed boy merely smiled and sidestepped. Ryoga
passed him and hit the ground hard. There was a cloud of
dust from the impact and the students that had surrounded
the battle fell silent.

Ranma glanced over his shoulder at the lost boy and
smirked. "Not bad Hibiki." A single line formed on his cheek
that started to bleed. "Not good enough though."

The crowd gave a collective gasp as the boy on the
ground suddenly exploded in a shower of blood. A gaping hole
in his back became apparent.

Ranma shook off his staff, the bottom portion of it was
covered in the lost boy's blood. He turned away casually and
walked up to his frozen fiancee and her sister. "We should
go, he won't be out for long. I need to look into this
before he finds me again. He could become quite annoying."

"Y...you killed him!" gasped Akane.

"Hmmm? You think so?" asked Ranma calmly.

The students were looking at Ranma in horror, many of
them were slowly backing away from him.

"Look at him! You just murdered him!" cried Nabiki as
she pointed at the body.

"Great, now he's getting up again," commented Ranma as
he glared at the two girls in irritation. "I told you we
should have left."

"Huh?" muttered Nabiki and Akane.

"What do you speak of foul murder..." Kuno went silent
at what he saw.

Ryoga Hibiki was staggering to his feet with a painful
expression on his face. "You tried to kill me!"

"I did warn you last time we met didn't I?" replied
Ranma calmly. "Give up already. I've got more important
things to be worrying about besides you."

"You bastard!" snarled Ryoga as he glared at the
ponytailed boy hatefully.

"Yes, yes. It's not like you stayed dead is it? I really
wish you'd tell me how you managed that."

Ryoga just smirked at him. "I'm a Wu."

"Wu?" muttered Ranma as he blinked.

The lost boy removed his bandanna and stared at the boy.
A Chinese symbol was etched onto the skin of his forehead.
"I had my soul removed. It doesn't matter how you hurt me
now, you can never kill me. I'll hunt you to the ends of the
earth Saotome! I will have my revenge yet!"

"Revenge?" muttered Akane nervously. "What the hell did
you do?"

Ranma looked at her. "Me? Well, there was that whole
meat bread incident, but I doubt if he'd take his soul out
for that. I've heard it's rather painful actually." He
turned to look at Ryoga. "That's not it is it?"

"Don't play stupid Saotome!" snapped the boy.

"Well, immortal or not, you're in no condition to fight
for a little while," replied Ranma with a calm smile.

Ryoga staggered forward. It was obvious he was having
trouble breathing. "I'll destroy you yet..."

Ranma replied by casually looking at Kuno. "Can I borrow
this? Good." He snatched the boy's bokken away from him in a
swift motion and slashed at Ryoga with it.

The lost boy's head rolled off his shoulders and the
body fell forward. Akane and Nabiki were both sprayed with
blood as this happened.

"There. That should keep him quiet for a little while,"
commented Ranma as he handed the wooden blade back to the
shocked Kuno. "Don't worry about him, he'll be all right in
a few minutes. In the mean time I suggest that we leave the
area. He won't be very happy when he wakes up."

Both girls had looks of complete shock on their faces as
they stared at the cheerfully smiling boy.

"Aaaaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhh!" cried Akane.

"My uniform!" gasped Nabiki.

"Foul demon! You dare commit such a crime in front of
the Mighty Blue Thunder!?" roared Kuno as he raised his
blade over his head.

Ranma didn't even seem to notice putting the head of his
staff into the boy's face as he turned towards the gates. "I
wonder what Kasumi will make for dinner tonight?"

Nabiki and Akane simply stood there, horror clear on
their faces as they turned to look at Ryoga Hibiki's body.

"Hey..." muttered Akane dumbly. "His head."

Nabiki glanced over at the boy. He was quite dead, but
his head hadn't rolled as far as she had thought. In fact,
it looked like it was still attached a little. The wound was
still quite large though and blood was pooling around the
boy's body.

"What should we do?" muttered one of the nearby
students.

"Should we call the police?" stammered one of the girls
fearfully. The crowd exploded in nervous and excited
chatter.

"Ranma Saotome is a murderer?"

"Boy, I saw that coming."

"Someone call the cops!"

"Woah! A real dead body!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"We need an ambulance!"

"He's dead moron!"

"Don't bother, I'm fine."

The crowd paused suddenly, everyone turned as one and
simply watched in awe as Ryoga Hibiki stood up.

Nabiki and Akane were both quite pale.

Ryoga was far from healed, his wound was much smaller
and his head was mostly attached at this point. Blood was
pouring from his lips as he staggered too his feet. "This is
going to be sore for a couple of days. Damn you Ranma!"

"He's gone," stammered one of the nearby girls as she
pointed at the gates.

Ryoga turned to look at her and she passed out cold.
Several other students followed her example, a few of them
male.

"Damn. That coward! How dare he run away!" snarled Ryoga
as he rushed off the school grounds. He wasn't quite up to
running yet, but managed a jog barely. "Wait until I get my
hands on you Saotome!"

Akane and Nabiki both looked at each other. Neither one
had any idea what to say.

+++++++++++++++++

Ranma Saotome sat on the porch of the Tendo home with an
old looking book in his hand. He had a thoughtful look on
his face as he read silently. "Interesting."

The Tendo family was sitting behind him with his father.
None of them looked particularly happy with him at the
moment.

"What have you done boy?"

"Annoyed him apparently, not much else unfortunately,"
commented Ranma calmly.

"This is more than an annoyance! What the hell was that
thing?"

"He's called Ryoga Hibiki, and he's a Wu now
apparently," said Ranma calmly. "That's definitely not a
good thing." He closed the book in his hand and stood up.

Akane growled irritably at the answer. "What the hell is
a Wu?"

"Hmmm," said Ranma as he thought about it with his
cheerful grin.

"Tell us 'it's a secret' and I'll clock you one!"
snapped Akane.

Ranma stared at her without his grin wavering. "Oh, all
right. I suppose I can tell you. Not until I find out more
though. I'm not entirely sure what a Wu is myself. Shouldn't
be very hard to find out. Not for me at any rate."

"What's that supposed to mean?" grumbled Nabiki.

"My son is quite knowledgeable about the mystic arts,"
said Genma calmly. He appeared to have calmed considerably
and was drinking tea.

"Saotome?" muttered Soun in confusion.

"When my son was just a boy, he took it upon himself to
become a master of the martial arts," said Genma as he
looked around at the Tendo family. Ranma walked towards his
room as the man spoke and ignored the story.

Genma continued after the boy left. "He chose to focus
on the more mystical art rather than the physical art; Chi
and meditation techniques, energy manipulation, and the more
mystical forms of the art. As his father, I ensured that his
form in the physical art did not diminish, and allowed him
to pursue these arts. Especially after I discovered that he
was quite skilled at them. Although he is a practitioner of
Saotome Ryu, he will create his own branch of the Anything
Goes Style. One of his children will learn to be the heir of
our family art, any others will continue his arts. We agreed
upon this several years ago." The man gave a simple nod at
this and looked at the Tendos.

Soun merely nodded. "I see. I begin to understand your
son more now Saotome."

"Yes, he is very skilled. Some of his techniques will be
incorporated into Saotome Ryu. He has discovered techniques
to increase his strength and agility, as well as many other
aspects of his body."

"Which is why he doesn't ever seem to need a bath," said
Nabiki as she frowned at the older Saotome.

"I'm not sure about that one," replied the man with a
small shrug. "Ranma does not bathe often though. Even when
he does, it doesn't seem as if he needs to."

"Don't ask don't tell?" said Nabiki as she stared the
man down.

"Why would I care about that?" asked Genma dumbly.

"That's not what worries me," grumbled the girl under
her breath as she looked away from the man.

Genma shrugged again, and the conversation ended.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Three days later, deep in the woods of Japan, Ryoga
Hibiki walked calmly. Two walnuts scraped together in his
hand as he strolled through the wilderness.

"Ranma Saotome, I will have my revenge. You did this to
my life. You made it into a disaster. Just like this walnut,
I shall crush your throat. I doubt if that will kill you,
but I can get creative."

He continued to wander with a dark looking smile on his
face.

++++++++++++++++++++

"Well Ranma?" Akane and Nabiki were sitting at the table
while Ranma sat on the porch. "What did you do to this Ryoga
anyway? When are you going to explain to us what the hell he
is?"

The boy glanced back at her, his grin as cheery and
annoying as ever. "Oh, that? I'd almost forgotten."

Kasumi walked into the room with a letter in her hand.
"Ranma. This came into the mail for you today! From a Ryoga
Hibiki..."

Nabiki gasped and quickly snatched it away from Kasumi.
She opened it before the girl could speak and stared at what
was inside. "It's a challenge!"

"Hmmm?" said the boy as he looked up at her as if he
hadn't been paying attention at all. "Oh? Really? I suppose
I'll have to answer it then." He looked back out into the
yard and appeared to zone out.

"No you don't Saotome! You're gonna explain this right
now!" cried Nabiki angrily.

Ranma sighed and glanced up at the three rather
impatient sisters. Kasumi didn't look very impatient, but
was rather eager to find out what the fuss was about.

"Oh, very well." He sighed and turned to face them. "It
all started at my old high school. I was going to a boy's
school and lunchtime was something of...a challenge."

+++++++++++++++++

The rush to the lunch counter was as maddening as it
always was. Hundreds of boys rushing up to get their hands
on the food.

The lunch woman held up a roll on a fork and called out
the ravaged crowd. "Last Curry bread of the day!" With a
grunt, she tossed it over the crowd.

Ryoga Hibiki jumped high over the heads of the crowd and
reached for the projectile. "It's mine!"

Only to be knocked away as someone landed on his head.

Ranma Saotome landed opposite the crowd with the bread
in his hand. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the
crowd glance at him and then move back towards the lunch
counter.

A single figure didn't though. Ryoga Hibiki glared at
Ranma with hate filled eyes. "Ranma Saotome! I shall never
forget this offence of the curry bread!"

The ponytailed boy looked at him and smirked. "Oh
really?" Without another word he turned away and walked off.
His mind turned as he remembered the pained expression he'd
seen on the boy's face. "This one could be interesting."

++++++++++++++++++++++

"All this...was over bread?" muttered Akane dumbly.

"You're joking right? One stupid piece of bread?"
muttered Nabiki.

"Oh! Don't be silly!" said Ranma cheerfully. "There was
the last Meat Bread, Seaweed Bread, Cutlet Sandwich, Croquet
Bread, Chow Mein Bread, Melon Bread..." He ticked off the
names of various lunch foods and the girls turned away in
disgust.

"It sounds like a lot of straws on one camels back,"
commented Kasumi.

"Well, it started out that way," agreed Ranma. "But it
wasn't quite enough. Eventually he challenged me."

"Of course. I thought this was a bit much for something
so stupid," grumbled Nabiki.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past him, but yes, there is a
bit more. You see, he challenged me to a fight at an
abandoned lot near our homes."

The girls waited patiently for Ranma to continue, but he
simply sat drinking tea.

Finally Nabiki got tired of waiting. "And?"

"And what?" asked Ranma as he looked at her.

"Finish the story!" she snapped angrily.

"Oh. You wanted more? It's nothing special really. He
didn't show up. After three days I decided to wait another
day." Ranma smirked at this. He knew how long it would take
Ryoga to meet him the whole time. "On the fourth day, we
met, and I beat him rather soundly. He didn't take it well."

"That's it?" muttered Akane.

"Pretty much," said Ranma with a small shrug.

"So he's mad that you beat him? Big deal!" grumbled
Nabiki irritably.

"Not so much that," replied Ranma with a small shrug.
"There was something else as well..."

"What?" asked Nabiki impatiently.

"Oh! That's right! I was supposed to tell you about Wu!"
said Ranma as he smacked his palm as if he'd just thought of
it.

Nabiki's face fell, it was the most information she'd
ever gotten out of him, so she'd decided not to push it.
"What about them."

"Well, Wu are basically Zombies," said Ranma as he
smiled at them.

"What?" muttered Akane dumbly.

"Bodies without souls," clarified the boy. "It's rather
complicated really. Because his body doesn't have a soul, he
can't really die. So his body heals itself no matter what
happens to him."

"How did he manage something like that?" muttered Nabiki
dumbly.

"Well, from what I understand, most Wu are created when
someone has their soul removed by a powerful sorcerer. The
Wu becomes a slave and has to do the bidding of whoever
created them. They make very good bodyguards from what I
understand. It's an outdated practice, and most of them are
gone now. When the sorcerer dies, so does the Wu."

"So, this Ryoga guy is working for some evil sorcerer?"
Nabiki narrowed her eyes at Ranma.

"I doubt it," he replied simply. "It seems there is a
way to do it to yourself. Very little is known about it
generally, as the legend itself being so obscure points
out."

"So? What does that mean?"

"He took out his own soul, and placed it inside
something for safe keeping. The only way to actually kill
him, would be to find whatever it is he stuck his soul into
and destroy it."

The girls stared at him dumbly.

"Quite difficult to do really. He could have stuck it
into anything. The most common objects to do this with are
statues, and dolls. Anything that doesn't move or break
easily would work well."

"This is crazy!" cried Akane.

"You did see it for yourself," replied the ponytailed
boy with a shrug.

Kasumi just looked confused, but Akane and Nabiki
immediately fell silent.

"If there's nothing else, I should probably go to
sleep," said Ranma as he stood up from his seat.

"Wait!" Akane frowned at him and held up his challenge
letter. "This thing is dated yesterday!"

"Eh?" muttered Ranma in confusion. "Oh. I wouldn't worry
about that. He's got the world's worst sense of direction.
Right now he's probably asking somebody..."

+++++++++++++++++++++

Ryoga growled in frustration as he turned down a
different road. "So it's this way to Tokyo?"

The farmer snapped at him impatiently. "No! Idiot! It's
this way! This way! Why are you going that way?!"

Ryoga nodded and moved in the opposite direction, still
not where he was directed to go. The farmer gave up and
continued on his own.

"Ranma," growled the lost boy. An image formed in his
mind, a painful memory.

"Well, looks like your curse is almost up Hibiki," said
Ranma as he stared at the broken form of Ryoga Hibiki. The
boy was on the ground, several marks were apparent from the
fight that he had just lost.

"Damn. You win Saotome," he growled.

"Family curses usually last several hundred years. Yours
is weakening, in a few generations, maybe even the next, it
will be gone."

Ryoga stared at him. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. Just an observation really. You've lost
Hibiki, as such, I'm taking my payment for my trouble."

"It's your right," said Ryoga as he closed his eyes and
waited for the deathblow. "Just end it fast!"

"Why would I do something like that Hibiki?" replied the
boy calmly. A soft glow had started to form around his body.
"You see, you've started to become an annoyance. The next
time I see you, I will kill you. You can't win, you never
will be able too."

"Wha?" muttered the boy through his pain.

"Instead, I'll just make sure you can't find me," said
Ranma as he grinned at the boy. "Curses like yours are
interesting, you see...not many know that they can be
recharged."

"What do you mean?"

Ranma chuckled and the glow around his body brightened
for a moment. "Your curse will taint your family for another
thousand years now Hibiki. Consider this a warning, next
time I won't be so kind."

The ponytailed boy walked away with a smirk on his face
as Ryoga lay on the ground with his eyes wide with horror.
"No! You...you can't do this to me! No!!!"

Ryoga clenched his fist as the memory faded away. Hate
filled his soul as he continued to plod onward. "Ranma..."

++++++++++++++++++++++

One week later...

Students were gathered around the athletics field, they
sat behind the fences and on the slope of the massive grass
arena. Ranma and Ryoga stood off, each staring at the other
in their own way. Ranma was a cheerful calm, while Ryoga had
a hard determination and a frown.

"So, we meet again Saotome," growled Ryoga as he leveled
a hard stare at the boy.

"Indeed," agreed Ranma calmly. "I don't see why you're
so upset. I mean, it's not like you didn't already have the
curse..."

"Shut up!" snapped Ryoga angrily. "I'll carry this
burden for a thousand years alone! I can never have
children! I can never die! I'll make you suffer for the
torment I'll endure!"

"You haven't even started to endure it yet and you're
already upset?" muttered Ranma as he frowned at the boy.

"Silence! Enough chatter! I attack!" snapped Ryoga as he
lunged forward.

Ranma backed away casually, his hands still in his
pockets.

"Without that stick of yours, you'll be easy pickings!"
snapped Ryoga as he grinned at his opponent.

Ranma slowly opened his eyes and didn't look bothered in
the slightest. "Oh really?"

"Ranma! Just die!"

The ponytailed boy seemed to vanish quite suddenly. He
appeared opposite Ryoga and shook off his hand. "Ryoga.
You're such a heartless man."

The lost boy fell over onto the grass, a gaping hole in
his chest where his heart had once been.

The muscle in Ranma's hands seemed to melt away as it
rotted at an alarming rate. He tossed it to the ground with
a slightly disgusted frown and turned to face his opponent.

"It's going to take more than that to hurt me Saotome,"
said Ryoga as he slowly stood up and faced the boy again.
The hole in his chest was closing fast enough to be visible.
"In fact, the more you hurt me, the easier it becomes to
heal myself. You can't win. Sooner or later you'll have to
stop. I can go on forever!"

Ranma merely stood there, not looking any more worried
than he had before. "Perhaps."

Ryoga kicked up a patch of dirt, Ranma merely shifted to
avoid it. The lost boy grinned as he charged forward again.

In an instant he had removed one of the many bandannas
he was now wearing, and had wrapped it around his opponent's
wrist. "This will keep you from running away!" He lashed out
with his arm in a blow that was easily knocked aside.

"Tell me something Ryoga. How many of those bandannas
are you wearing?"

Ryoga growled in frustration. "You won't make light of
this Saotome!"

+++++++++++++++++

Akane and Nabiki sat watching the fight near to each
other. Neither of them had a very readable expression on
their faces.

One of the boys in the crowd made a comment. "Man! That
guy might even be a match for Saotome!"

"Are you kidding? Ranma killed him twice yesterday!"
said one of the other students.

"Ranma doesn't look worried," said Nabiki as she turned
to glance at her sister. "That kind of worries me."

The younger girl merely nodded.

+++++++++++++++++++

"Hold still damn you!" growled Ryoga angrily as he
lashed out with another kick that was easily avoided.

"That wouldn't be very smart," said Ranma as he ducked
under another clumsy punch.

"You can't hurt me, you can't escape, just give up!"
snarled Ryoga.

"Can't hurt you? Don't be silly!" said Ranma calmly. He
raised his palm into the air and casually slapped Ryoga on
his cheek.

The pair froze as Ryoga simply blinked. "What the?"

"Really Hibiki, I'm surprised you thought so little of
me," said Ranma as the lost boy dropped the bandanna that
kept him attached to Ranma.

Ryoga's face had started to smoke, the skin was peeling
away where Ranma had struck him. "What? What is this..."
Ryoga's voice cut off as he started to howl in pain, he
scratched at the side of his face desperately as a cloud of
smoke started to rise from his burning skin. He fell too his
knees and growled in anger and pain. "What have you done to
me?"

Ranma merely smiled. "Not feeling quite so confident
anymore are we Hibiki?"

Ryoga glared up at him as the wound on his face started
to calm. It wasn't healing very quickly at all. In fact, it
seemed to be growing a little still as it sizzled angrily.
He slowly stood to his feet and glared at his opponent.
"This might not be as easy as I'd thought Saotome. I was
hoping you'd find a way to make it more interesting." He
cracked his knuckles as he got an odd looking grin on his
face.

"I aim to please, but you may regret not running
Hibiki," said Ranma as his own smirk widened.

"I really am going to have to thank Kasumi for this
though, who could have known it would prove so useful?"
Ranma held up his fist and glanced at it for a moment.
"Shall we continue?"

"Shut up and fight Ranma!" growled Ryoga as he charged
forward again.

++++++++++++++++++

TBC...

^_^ I know I'm being bad, but I've got other things to
do tonight, so you'll just have to wait to find out what
happens in this battle. Sorry. ^_^ Well, not really...I kind
of enjoy doing this. I know it's evil, but I just can't help
myself!