Most of the characters within the story are from the Anime Series, Ranma 1/2 and are property of Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else may own the rights. I write this without permission and do so with no attempt to profit off of the marvelous works, rather I do so for everyone's benefit. Please enjoy and tell me what you think. Time passed and eventually everyone grew up, even Ranma Saotome with two years of constant strife centering on his relationship with Akane Tendo. Engaged against their will, they eventually grew to love each other. Unfortunately, not everyone of their would-be suitor's agreed with their choice. This is the story of one such person, going through great lengths to keep them separate. ********************************************* *A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction: Shade of Redemption* ********************************************* Chapter One of In Search of the South Star by Ryan Erik Part Two: The Path to Jusenkyou Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo sat across from across from each other, both on opposite sides of a black and white checkered shoji board. With their minds concentrating on keeping the other from cheating, they stared at each other carefully not missing a single move. Lately, their minds had been rather clear, for their children finally decided to get married with the wedding to be held on the first day of spring. Life was good at the Tendo home. "Your turn, Saotome." "Of course." Genma moved one of his pieces and grinned evilly at his opponent. "I have you now." Soun looked at the board, pondering on what he should do next. Then a voice was heard from the kitchen, "Breakfast is ready!" which was followed by Genma running straight to the table. 'Good move Saotome, but now I have YOU!' Soun then quickly switched a piece here and there before heading to collect breakfast. A loud crash was heard from upstairs which was followed by a sprinting Ranma coming down the stairs, with Akane right on his heels. "Ranma, you baka!" Seeing that she didn't carry her customary mallet, Soun and Genma passed a smile to each other. "Good morning, everyone." Ranma then took his normal seat in between his father and Akane, wolfing down his food at an incredible rate. Akane shook her head before sitting down and grabbing whatever food that remained. "Where's Nabiki?" No one answered for a few moments; they were to busy eating. "Ahem! Didn't anyone hear me?" "I believe she said she went to the Kuno estate in the morning." Kasumi always had the answers. Akane looked at Ranma and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned and smiled at her happily, giving Genma enough time to steal most of his food, which was stolen right back a few seconds later. 'Will those bakas never learn that they always end up with more or less what they started with?' Akane was in good spirits this morning and she was determined to let nothing change that. All in all, they carried out their morning pretty normally. That was until Ranma stopped in the middle of his meal and turned to Akane, whispering low enough so no one else could hear, "After breakfast, I have somethin' to show to ya." He turned back to his meal and continued eating. 'What could he have to show to me?' The thought stayed on her mind all morning, and when Genma noticed she wasn't eating up to normal speed he turned to her. "You going to eat all that?" The warning mallet that appeared in her hands was all the reply he needed. Genma wiped away the drips of sweat that formed on his brow and grinned at her nervously. With breakfast out of the way, Akane stared expectantly at her fiancee. "Aren't you going to show it to me?" He looked at her quizzically and remembered the whole point in his pause of eating earlier. He grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs into his and Genma's room. He then motioned for her to sit. After she took a seat, he sat across from her. "You know, I was thinkin' about how this whole marriage thing was forced on us, and I sort of wanted to show that I am very serious about wanting to do this. I also want to prove that this is of my own free will." Akane looked into her fiancee's eyes, trying to figure out what he meant to do. A few thoughts later she was blushing. Oddly enough, he patted his pocket and then begin to search around his futon. "Umm... I'll be right back, Akane! Don't move a muscle!" She stared at him curiously as he ran out of the room. Where was it??!! He had purchased Akane's ring only a few days ago and he already lost it? He went into Akane's room and briefly searched everywhere he had been. He then ran downstairs and checked around the table. His eyes filled with dread as he looked over to the koi pond. "Is something the matter, Ranma?" He didn't even hear Kasumi's question as he sprinted over to the pond and jumped in head first. "Oh my." He searched frantically for the object, but there wasn't enough light to make out the bottom of the pool. He began feeling the bottom with his hands only to come up for air. "Please be down there," he prayed as he went down a second time. The koi in the pond regarded him oddly as he began to panic. 'Oh lord... where is it? I hope I didn't spend a month of servitude to Nabiki for nothing!' His head came up for breath a second time and he remembered all the horrible things that she made him do. He didn't know whether he hated modeling or being her personal servant/bodyguard worse. He took a deep breath and plunged under once more. "Ah hah!" he gurgled as he found the metal object that he was looking for. Ranma ran inside, not even bothering to dry off, and ran past the two fathers, who didn't even regard this as out of the ordinary. He didn't even take the time to notice that he was now a she, as she ran back into the room where Akane nervously chewed on her top lip. She looked up at her, obviously quite confused. "Is everything okay, Ranma?" Ranma caught her breath after a few seconds and started working up her confidence. 'You can do it... just come out with it all at once.' That wasn't the best thing she could've thought but it got her to speak. "Umm, Akane?" "Huh?" "Err... well..." She then thrusted up the ring that lay hidden in her hands. "Will you... mmm... mm... marry me?" A broad smile quickly replaced the shock on Akane's face. She stared into her lover's sapphire eyes and answered, "Yes! Yesyesyesyes!" Grabbing Ranma into a tight embrace, she kissed her mercilessly. "I love you!" Ranma fell over with Akane on top, kissing the life out of the smaller redhead. * * * After losing a game of shoji that he thought he would win for sure, Genma-panda walked upstairs to the room he shared with his son, in preparation to take a nice nap and dream of eating. Days at the Tendo dojo were getting surprisingly good now that Ranma and Akane started getting along. He decided to rephrase that. They are getting along VERY well. /Pardon me.\ He closed the door to his room and grinned like a child getting candy. Even though his son was in girl form at the time, the picture of Akane on top of Ranma made him chuckle. 'Yes, they are getting along very well indeed.' * * * Happiness was not a word that could describe Ryouga Hibiki's mood at the present. Rational was also a word that couldn't be placed near Ryouga at the moment, if ever. Anyone passing by him could see the anger burning in his eyes, but for once, he had it under control. He knew what he had to do and he was not going to fail this time. * * * Mascara rolled her eyes and pushed her hand through her silky light blue hair, as she was once again patrolled the outskirts of her village. She had always been told on what an honor it was to be doing such a job, but no one ever told her that it would be so utterly boring. Besides that stupid boy that came around a few days ago, no one was seen near the borders of her village at all. Life, currently in Joketsuzoku, was a living hell. When Cologne had returned with her great grand-daughter, life took a turn for the worse. Shampoo had come home without killing her target and was, therefore, dishonored. She then took off on a self-imposed exile only a few days after this had happened. Mascara thought back to the odd exchange between Shampoo and herself that was only a few hours after her encounter with the stupid boy. She turned her head and saw the purple-haired woman whom everyone had been talking about lately. she asked in reply. The younger girl observed her former superior with a scrutinizing eye. Her hair was very disheveled looking as if she had just woken up, and her clothes were ripped in more than one spot. Though she might have seen better days, Shampoo looked like she could give an elder a run for her money in a fight. Shampoo's question surprised her. The girl wondered why she would care about such an event with all the things happening around her, especially one that involved a mere male outsider. Shampoo didn't look surprised by her answer and seemed to go into a deep state of thought. She didn't really mean it, but the fact that she thought of initiating combat with him and losing on purpose (which by law means she would have had to marry him) made her feel a little nervous. He was cute though. Shampoo then ran towards Jusenkyo. * * * For Shampoo, life had never been worse. She had been dishonored by her inability to bring Ranma home, but that was not the main reason behind her sadness. Ranma was to marry in a few weeks, and it wouldn't be her. Though she had been required to marry him by tribal law, she had loved him more than life itself. Thinking back, maybe trying to drug him left and right wasn't such a good idea to gain his love and respect. Despair was the only thing that was real in her life now that he was out of it. He had filled the void of her existence, but no longer would he be there. Her heart ached with loss and there was nothing occupy that empty feeling... no one to soothe her... no one left to love her. She looked at the well worn card that was in her hand and tried to focus on it. She read the writing, his writing, for the hundredth time out loud to herself. "You are hereby invited to the wedding of Saotome Ranma and Tendo Akane..." She read it to herself so many times just to hear her own voice. Tears seemed to permanently stain her beautiful face. Why did he hold her heart so? Was it because he was the strongest man she had ever encountered? Was it because he was so God damn handsome? 'No, it's probably some cruel hand that fate dealt me.' Reality penetrated her dream-like state when her ship arrived in Japan. She had to warn Ranma of his impending danger. She could only hope she would make it in time. was the first statement Shampoo made upon getting off of the boat that had transported her from China to Japan. She had barely managed to hold down water and was unable to eat the whole trip due to motion sickness. The only other time she had felt this sick was after she first heard Ranma's plan to marry Akane, and that was because she drank enough alcohol to make a larger number of people very drunk. She stealthily slipped away from the docks to avoid attention and made her way through town until she found a motel where she could spend the rest of the day and night. She paid the owner, received a key, and went straight to the room. Her legs completely cramped over the moment she laid down on the bed. She fell asleep almost instantly. * * * The chase had begun. It didn't take long for Shampoo to find Ryouga's tracks considering he disturbed enough plant life to mark his trail for years. Wondering what he was doing in China, she traveled silent but swift. She still had yet to figure out how the lost boy found his way across large bodies of water without realizing he left Japan. Thinking on it too much was a waste of time, but keeping him from falling into another spring wasn't. Turning into an animal made her very sympathetic to anyone else who suffered from the same fate. While she, in her cat-form, had some dexterity and speed, Ryouga was basically helpless in his pig-form. She followed his tracks around a large rock following them around in a large circle. Swearing in Chinese, Shampoo looked around for another hour until she rediscovered his tracks. With a few days head start, a normal person would have been able to create a sizable distance between any pursuers, but after walking in several large circles he only had the benefit of a day's journey. Taking a time out, she climbed up a medium-sized tree and took a brief nap in its thick branches. Her thoughts carried over to how much in common she and Ryouga had. Both were cursed in more ways than Jusenkyo. Ryouga had his directional sense, his being tongue-tied whenever he was near the opposite sex and his pig curse. She herself had only one obvious curse, the cat curse. Though no one actually thought of it as a curse, Shampoo considered her great-grandmother one. Her early life in Joketsuzoku turned out to be a great indicator of how her life as an adult would be. While she was very young, Shampoo had few friends, but she made do with those few she did have. Mousse quickly turned from friend to nuisance scaring others from pursuing her friendship. His possessive behavior was condoned by Cologne for a while, but this only further caused the young girl to draw up into herself away from others. This turned changed into her obsessive study of Amazonian Martial Arts. Her obsession turned into her life, warding off any chance for friendship that she might have before. Cologne taught her just as fervently as she learned. Though she was obviously the best of her age group, and several higher, Shampoo did not enjoy it. She required it. It was substance, something she didn't have had before. It was something she had to hold onto. Life made sense. Then Ranma showed up. Life would never be the same now that she was no longer the best. The only thing that kept her going was her fueled hatred for the redhead. She now had a new purpose, the destruction of the one who took away her constant. This was what she had in common with Ryouga. They both lived from one constant to the next; though, Ryouga had yet to give up his revenge against Ranma. Shampoo replaced the hatred with love for the pig-tailed boy and strove every waking hour to bring him to his senses and love her in return. Seeing her love as a one way thing, she gave up knowing he could never return her love. This left her as empty as she was before she took up martial arts with an unrivaled passion. Nothing came into her life to replace the love as it did the hatred and striving to be the best. Timelessly suspended within the air, Shampoo jumped down from the tree. The rush she felt from falling distances woke her from her trance and she made off to follow the lost boy's trail once more. After following his trail into two more circles, she found fresh tracks, made no more than an hour ago. Focusing on the hunt, Shampoo kept her mind clear of thought. Clear air rushed by her chilling her skin and giving rise to goose bumps. Outstretched branches caught her clothes tearing off small shreds making them even more ragged than they were before. Her perseverance was well rewarded upon her finding the lost boy. Approaching him cautiously, she meant to talk with him, yet she did not wish to enrage him. When dealing with Ryouga, one always had to be cautious and ready for any of his outbursts. Though he might be a kind and gentle guy sometimes, if he found any reason to be angry with you, he would go all out. Shampoo might be able to defend herself from his attacks, but she could not risk it. His prone figure shifted to his side in his apparent slumber. She took a deep breath creeping up to him. "No! Die, Ranma!" the youth blurted out, shifting in again in his sleep nearly causing Shampoo to jump back into a tree. She smirked knowing what his dreams contained. Ryouga would never learn that he could never beat Ranma in a fair fight. Ranma was just too good for his own health. She walked a few meters away climbing a tree and making herself comfortable. She would be here for a while. Morning brought with it pain for the girl's delicate eyes. She rubbed them and realized where she was, keeping herself as silent as possible. Ryouga seemed to have just woken up and started on his random-direction journey. Deciding that she would talk to him after observing him for a few days, she took her time and kept a safe distance between him. There was so much to think about, yet she did not want to face reality yet, so she kept her mind clear and absorbed her surroundings. Hours later, a thick fog fell around them like a cloak placed over their shoulders. Visibility reduced to that of a few feet, she closed the distance between them silently. Ryouga seemed to be getting upset, for his depression aura began to silently glow dark green. Then, abruptly, Ryouga stopped, stared towards the heavens and screamed, "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO BE ABLE TO STOP THEIR MARRIAGE FINALLY! DO YOU HEAR ME?! ANYTHING!!!!" Taking a large step back, Shampoo's eyes widened in disbelief as the strong, proud warrior, who seemed to strive through all things horrible that happened to him, fall down to his hands and knees and weep to himself. She figured that he would have gotten over Akane since he had started dating Akari, or at least accepted the situation by now. Apparently, Ryouga planned to bring Ranma and Akane's wedding to an abrupt end. This, of course, was not unusual but something was wrong. She could feel it. Looking away, Shampoo gave him the privacy that he did not know he needed. Moments, seemingly hours, passed by when Ryouga removed his hands from his ears and spoke, "It's a deal! Tell me how!" The vigor in his speech made her wonder if he was losing his sanity. Though she could see no one near, he seemed to be listening to someone when he snarled. "Follow the path you say! How am I supposed to do that?! I couldn't follow it if my life depended on it!!" The boy was definitely losing his mind. Just when she figured he was done with his conversation with his imaginary friend, Ryouga stood up and simply vanished. Needless to say, her jaw dropped open in surprise. Checking the surrounding area, she found no clue to where he had vanished to. Mascara's words echoed in her memory causing dread to fill her. What she realized was that her path, though it was quite out of the way, did lead to Jusenkyo eventually. Not liking the situation, Shampoo carefully made her way towards the land of cursed springs. As soon as the fog cleared, she began sprinting. Her feet begin to fail her, but her effort had been good enough for she could see the springs in the distance. Only a few moments and she'd be there. The image that Shampoo saw at Jusenkyo took her aback. At the springs, Ryouga strode away, confidence imprinted on his face. What had startled her though, was his condition. Ryouga walked away dripping wet. Shortly on his heels, the Jusenkyo guide carefully led Ryouga to a spring, where he carefully collected its water in a flask provided by the helpful guide. She needed to consider this. Not only did he find his way to Jusenkyo by himself, but he also obviously found the right spring and was now collecting from another. What could this mean? Was he collecting enough water to cure his friends overseas, or was it for some other, darker purpose? The later seemed like the answer after she recalled his screaming earlier that day. Several thoughts went through the young lady's head after she witnessed this, from Ranma deserving the fate he made for himself to stopping Ryouga before he gave her former love a second curse, or worse. She decided to follow Ryouga a little longer while she made up her mind as to what to do about this. She watched the young man, his anger visibly controlled and fueled into keeping up a horrid pace that she had a hard time matching. Shampoo's concern for Ranma did not make her decision, nor did her hatred for his happiness. Thoughts of Ranma marrying her after she stopped Ryouga, she did not even take seriously. What did make up her mind was the strangeness of the whole event. Ryouga was going above and beyond the boundaries of sane revenge, and this scared her. She saw herself in the young man that she was now chasing. She saw what she was capable of before she came to her senses about Ranma and Akane's love. She was bound by honor to stop this maniac from doing something that would tear apart a family, true love, and not to mention her conscience. Never again would she think of Ranma as her husband, but now she could only hope to be his friend. She had pressed herself on him even though she saw how he rescued Akane without considering his personal danger and all the other things. Although he did lead her on for a long time, she could forgive him for that. He certainly forgave her for her crimes already. * * * Shampoo awoke from her dream, sweat covering her from head to toe. She had to get to Ranma quickly before Ryouga did or it could be to late for him... but she needed rest... yes... rest... * * * Nodoka Saotome arrived at the Tendo residence with high spirits. Her son was marrying the youngest Tendo daughter in but a few weeks! No matter how badly her stupid husband Genma had brought up Ranma, he turned out to be such a fine young man. Her pride for her son was overwhelming. "Mom!" her son, currently daughter, yelled to her in reception. The little redhead then bound up to her and hugged her. "I'm glad you could settle things so quickly! I was afraid you'd not make it back in time." She looked at her son, er daughter, and saw the reflection of herself when she was at that age. "Hello, Ranma-chan!" She smiled at her daughter and asked, "You think I'd miss the wedding of my only child?" She winked at her, releasing their hug, continuing into the Tendo home where her husband, currently in Panda form, and Soun Tendo sat, played their usual game of shoji. /Hello, Nodoka-chan!\ "Good day, Saotome-san!" The two greeted her at the same time but were too fixed upon keeping the other from cheating - without much success - to look up at her. Boys will be boys. After being greeted by the whole of the Tendo clan she found her way to the sofa and sat down next to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law Akane. "Mind if I have a word with you upstairs?" she whispered to Akane. The girl nodded and they went up to girl's room, shutting the door behind them. Akane sat on her bed and was shortly followed by Nodoka who then begin her questions, "How are things going with my son? Are you two getting along?" Akane smiled at this, apparently they couldn't be too bad off. "Hai, Saotome-san! Look at what Ranma gave me!" Akane held up her left hand and displayed a small but beautiful diamond ring. "He wanted to prove his love and commitment to me!" Nodoka smiled at the girl's euphoric attitude. She seemed so happy. "I'm so glad you two are getting along." In truth she was far beyond glad that they were getting along. She hated the two fathers' wish to marry off their children so quickly and early on. She thought it could only lead to disaster, but with Ranma and Akane she was completely and utterly wrong. They, not to mention Nodoka herself, couldn't be any more happy about it. The two talked for a while, the younger listening to stories of the elder's early married life and then the elder listening to how Ranma had been behaving in regards to her lately. After their conversation, they left downstairs to get to dinner before the others finished it off, in if Ranma and Genma hadn't been too busy fighting over the food to actually eat it, they would have been too late. Soon the two lovers would be married and all would be right for the two households. * * * The next day. Kasumi Tendo, while busy cooking dinner for the family, heard a knock at the door. Assuming that someone else would get it, she continued preparing dinner happily. After a few moments, she heard the knocking again. Briefly checking to make sure everything was in proper order, she walked calmly to the door and opened it to reveal a soaking wet Ryouga Hibiki. "Oh my! Ryouga-kun, you're all wet! Come inside and dry off!" It always seemed everyone around here was always getting wet for some reason or another. Ryouga thanked her when she handed him a towel and told him to have a seat. "Ranma and Akane are gone right now, but they should be back in a few minutes if you care to wait?" He nodded and she smiled at him. "I hope you'll be staying for dinner tonight?" Ryouga watched Kasumi go back into the kitchen and then pulled out a small jar full of a clear liquid. He considered it for a few minutes before putting it away, safely in his pack. 'How tempting it is to use it right away... but no, I must wait for the right time.' After a bit of waiting, his eyes slowly starting shutting by themselves and a few minutes later he was sound asleep. * * * Ranma and Akane spent the day shopping, which actually consisted of Ranma following Akane into stores and making stupid remarks while she did the shopping. This normally would have led into a conflict, but instead Akane simply took it light-heartedly. They bought what they needed and hadn't encountered water on their way once! Today was definitely a good day! He smiled joyfully and put his arm around Akane, receiving a sigh and her head on his shoulder in return. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes for a moment, which seemed like hours for the two lovers as they passed silently over the streets of Nerima. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of his lover. He playfully kissed her ear, and received the response he had hoped for. Akane turned her head toward him and they kissed. How he wish this moment could have been hours, or even days, but as one walks in the right direction he or she will eventually arrive at their destination. That excludes Ryouga, of course. The two walked through the gate and into the house. "We're back!" Ranma called out ritually, causing a sudden shifting noise from the living area. "I wonder what that was?" Akane shrugged and they walked to investigate. Upon seeing Ryouga's groggy form, Ranma cautiously approached eyeing the recently awakened individual suspiciously. The lost boy looked up at the two, like daggers forged of ice stabbing, and stood. "Hi, Ryouga! Last time you ran off I didn't think we'd get to see you again. I'm really glad you changed your mind!" Akane released Ranma and grabbed Ryouga in a friendly hug. He almost swallowed his tongue, but he gathered his wits. He couldn't let anything distract him. "Yeah... well, you don't think that I'd miss the wedding on purpose, now do you?" That came out too easy but Ryouga didn't think over his good wording for a moment. How badly he wanted to yell his trademark, "Prepare to die, Saotome!" and crush the asshole, but he wouldn't let anything tear down the confidence that he built up. Not even the smug little bastard who called himself Ranma. Ranma looked at him and responded with more than a little surprise in his voice, "Well, I'm glad you came around, buddy. It wouldn't have been the same without you." He wondered if Ranma really meant it, but it wasn't possible. It had to be some sort of trickery to catch him off guard. Ranma was always fooling him with something. "Well, I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I came with a peace offering." Ryouga then pulled out a rose in one hand and handed it to Akane, and then he held out his empty hand to Ranma. "I offer friendship." Sheer force of will kept Ryouga from blasting a hole in Ranma's head. 'Can't lose control now!' The look on Ranma's face was that of utter shock. Ranma glanced out the window for the briefest of a second (perhaps looking for a flying pig?) and then turned to meet Ryouga's glare, failing to see the hatred that burnt within them. Their hands shook and Ranma then hugged him saying, "I can't tell you how much this means to me, man!" Ryouga nicely shoved Ranma off of him and fought the urge to smash him into the next world. The sincerity in Ranma's voice made Ryouga think a bit. Could he have meant it? Why would Ranma care at all? "Don't mention it." That was the best think that he could force himself to say. He really didn't want Ranma to mention it. His lies were beginning to make Ryouga lose his cool completely again. If he had a yen piece for every lie that came out of the bastards mouth... Akane's eyes shined at him, softening his heart a bit. He had to save her from Ranma's treachery. There was no doubt that Ranma had to be out of her life, but normal methods couldn't be applied here. 'Oh God, help me do what I have to do.' * * * Ryouga woke up from where he had fallen asleep the night before. Ranma, Akane and he had been watching an early Jackie Chan movie and by the looks of it, not a single one of them made it through the whole flick. He focused his eyes and stared at his beloved Akane's sleeping form, resting up against her fiancee. Ryouga held his jealousy in check and tried standing up, but his legs didn't feel like responding right now. Ryouga thought over what they had talked about the night before. Ranma was having his bachelor party this very night and Ryouga was now invited. That would be the perfect time. He decided to go back to sleep since it wasn't dawn yet. Akane's eyes slid open slowly and she sat up and gazed down at her soon-to-be husband. He seemed so peaceful that there was no reason for her to wake him. She looked over at Ryouga, who also slept soundly. She was so glad that Ranma and Ryouga worked out their differences. Recently, everyone was getting along pretty well, and the fighting had nearly ceased. This did not include the Kuno's though, for Tatewaki was still trying his best to prevent the 'evil wizard Saotome' from marrying 'his' Akane and trying to force the release his pig-tailed goddess, which was, of course, Ranma's female form. That stubborn fool would never give up. She didn't want to even ponder Kodachi's fate. Even Akane felt sorry for her. She yawned and then got up. 'I bet they'd be so happy if I made them all breakfast!' Her hopes sank upon walking in the kitchen and seeing Kasumi already up to the task. "Hi, Kasumi." "Good morning, Akane-chan!" As usual, Kasumi, in her ever- cheerful mood, flashed her a big smile. "Breakfast will be ready shortly." How Kasumi managed to wake up every morning and beat her to making it was amazing indeed. The second breakfast was ready, Ranma's senses suddenly came to life and he jumped up and ran to the kitchen table ready to eat. He looked up at Akane with a smile as she and Kasumi walked in bringing food. "Aren't we punctual when it comes to food?" Akane commented. His response was muted by him chowing down. Genma and Ryouga walked in about the same time, followed by Soun a short time later. After they were well into their meal, Ranma spoke to Ryouga. "Hey bud, after breakfast ya wanna spar a bit?" Ryouga nodded as his mouth was very full at the time. Ranma smiled and went back to his food. Ranma and Ryouga stood across from each other in the dojo in defensive stances. They considered each other for a bit when Ryouga took the offensive. He charged and lashed out with a few punches and then ended with a kick, all easily dodged by Ranma who then counterattacked with a high kick of his own. Ryouga went straight into the attack and managed to score a few hits against Ranma who was expecting him to dodge. Despite taking the kick head on, Ryouga seemed relatively unfazed. Ranma went on the offensive and faked a left punch and then turned it into a back kick which sent Ryouga sprawling backwards. Ryouga's frustration began to build, but he released it while they continued their brawl which didn't quite go all out, but instead was a friendly test of skill. This continued, with Ryouga taking plenty of hits, and scoring plenty himself, but they did so without hitting that hard. Ranma was obviously doing more damage then he was taking, though, and Ryouga had to give up sooner. "That was a good match... thanks Ryouga." Ranma grinned at him as they went back to the house. How badly Ryouga wished that he could wipe that grin off of the fool's face. With anger carefully in its unusually submissive place, Ryouga scowled and followed Ranma closely as to not get lost. * * * Shampoo opened her eyes and sat up. She lay on the bed of the motel room that she had rented the day before. Noticing the very disgusting taste present in her mouth, she ran to the bathroom and swished sink water in her mouth. The tap water itself wasn't that good, but it at least did the trick. She walked over to the window of her room and pushed aside the blinds, revealing it to be night. A sigh of utter hopelessness escaped her mouth as she cleaned up and prepared to move on. She had to hurry for Ranma's sake. Fantasies, that she knew could never be, flooded her mind as she left the motel, leaving the key with the manager. She traveled by rooftop, jumping from house to house like super heroes do in comic books. Her pulse rushed as she kept moving as quickly as she could. She had to beat Ryouga... she just had to! * * * A maniacal giggle escaped the ancient man's mouth as he collected another bundle of his precious women's undergarments. Oh, how the poor little things cried out for him to take them up safely, and take them back with him. He beamed in pure satisfaction as he traveled the rooftops of a nearby district. Nerima had become a place where one couldn't leave their window open at night! What had become of it now that most people lock their windows and doors so tight? Another giggle escaped his lips as he noticed a figure bounding over the rooftops in the direction he was headed. How sweet it was indeed, when he noticed who the figure was. Shampoo nearly fell off a roof in surprise as a small ball of perversion latched itself onto her chest. She looked down and boiled with anger when she saw the familiar little demon, whose name, in Joketsuzoku, was a reminder that bad little girls would get snatched up if they didn't behave themselves. Her first reaction was to pull out her bonbori and smack the little freak into the top of the roof on which they stood, her to follow up in a punt, but neither happened. Instead, an idea came to her. "Shampoo no want fight you now! Need your help!" Happosai looked up at her with his eyes never leaving the girl's chest. She pondered on pounding him again, but if she was to get his cooperation he would have to be conscious. "Hmm," Happosai considered. "How can I help such a beautiful young woman as yourself?" He went from his perverted state to his "wise and most knowledgeable one" state looking up at her curiously. "Ranma in trouble! Pig-boy want take Violent Girl so he go to..." her words cut short when she realized what the ancient master held in his hands. Her eyes narrowed and she reconsidered her choice and attempted to knock the little man unconscious, which didn't work out quite well. The next thing she realized was that she was flying backwards and into an alleyway, pain flooding her. She refused to be knocked out for Ranma's life could be at stake. "That was very unwise of you, Shampoo. If someone is in danger, then you should spit out what you have to say." Happosai sounded very serious for once in his life. The ancient one helped her up and what she noticed next was that he now held TWO of her undergarments. She checked both under her top and bottom to find what was missing under her clothes. "AHH!! Hentai!!!" She then punted the gleeful master into the stratosphere. "When I come down, tell me what you were going to say!" he yelled before he winked out of existence. Now back to getting to Ranma! She leaped back up onto the roof towards Nerima. * * * All of Ranma's friends had gathered at the Tendo residence and were about to leave when Ranma spoke, "Anyone see Ryouga?" Everyone either responded in the negative or shook their heads, besides his friend from Furinkan, Hiroshi. "Hai, I saw him walk by my house an hour ago. I called out to him but he didn't hear me and kept going." Ranma scowled. They finally got to be somewhat of good friends and he gets himself lost. Typical. "Oh well, if he shows, great. If he doesn't, we really can't blame'em." The small group then left to the nightclub, where they were going to have the bachelor party. "Where am I now?" Ryouga asked himself for nearly the thousandth time this month. He had to get to Ranma's bachelor party, but like usual when he went looking for the bathroom he got lost and found himself quite far away from the Tendo residence. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Oh, this is your fault Ranma! I hate you!" He started pounding holes into the ground with his fist. After a few moments of bashing inanimate objects, he felt a slight change in the temperature making him shiver from the sudden cold. 'That's odd.' Ryouga then looked at his surroundings. He stood in a forested area that was quite disturbed since most of the trees near him had fallen from his random smashing. 'Hmm, that seems like the way to go.' He then walked along the path that his destruction uncovered and followed it. Ranma and his friends shivered as they made their way towards the club. Looking up at the sky in dread, they heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance, causing them to hurry towards their destination. Just as they were about to enter, they were caught in a sudden downpour, not pleasing the now very wet and very female Ranma. "God damn it! We almost made it!" His friends, who were all well aware of his curse, chuckled ushering her into the building which seemed to thump from the music played inside. Ranma grinned and shouted to her friends over the loud noise from the night club, "Well, I guess this can be considered a bachelorette party now!" They all laughed some more and walked into the main part of the club. Ryouga tried to figure out the language the road signs on the street were in, but it was quite difficult through the heavy rain. He then gave up and walked down one of the streets continuing until he heard a loud thumping noise from a building that was on his right... or was it left? He looked around and seemingly right when his confusion would take him somewhere else, something about the building that was now in front of him told him that it was the one he had been looking for earlier. He approached it and was stopped short of entering by a large bouncer. "You have reservations here, boy?' Ryouga looked up at the very large man who held him back from his goal. Ryouga was about to show him the bright light that near death experiences always were supposed to contain, but he decided to keep all his anger for the one who made all of this a sad reality. "I'm Ryouga Hibiki... I'm expected." The bouncer looked at him suspiciously for a second and then moved out of the young man's way. "Ahh, you're with the Ranma party," Ryouga sighed relief at this. "Right this way... no this way!" He pushed Ryouga in the right way and was greeted warmly by Daisuke, one of Ranma's high school buddies, who led him to where the rest were. "Yo, Ryouga! Glad you could make it buddy!" Ranma said in his sweet female voice. Ryouga took a deep breath. This had to look good. "Hey, Ranma." That was the best 'nice' greeting that he could pull off in his current mood. He looked around and saw everyone talking over a few drinks. "Is this a party? I don't see you all drinking... waitress! Next round's on me!" Ryouga could only hope he had enough cash on him to pay for it. One of Ranma's friends that Ryouga had never met before, named Kenji, engaged him in an interesting conversation. Before long, they were all quite drunk excluding Ryouga. Ranma sat down next to Ryouga. "I'm sooo glad you're here man... wouldn't be the same without ya." Ranma weakly put her arm around Ryouga neck flashing one of the grins that would usually set Ryouga off, but not this time. "Come on, you think I'd miss your wedding? We may have not been friendly to each other before, but I've seen how Akane loves you. I won't get in the way of her happiness." Ryouga said that matter-a- factly and sipped his beer. He wouldn't stand in the way of Akane's happiness... but Ranma was going to ruin her. He couldn't allow that. Ranma suddenly pulled herself off of Ryouga, much to his relief, and said, "Eek, the men's... er ladies room calls." Ryouga glared daggers at the young woman's departure and glanced at Ranma's unattended glass. 'This is for Akane. I can't stand back now!' He pulled a capsule from his the pocket of his jacket and opened it over the drink and stirred the contents in. 'Phew, that's done.' His eyes glazed over and his thoughts all shifted to one thing, Akane. "Love! For you, I will do anything!" "Do you really mean it, Ryouga?" "Of course, dearest heart!" "Oh Ryouga! Why did I ever love that heartless beast, Ranma? He could never be you. You're my everything!" The two lovers melded together, becoming one. No one could destroy his fantasies this time. His heart of glass was reinforced with steel. His love was with him in his arms. "Uh, Ryouga? Could you let up? You're going to squeeze me to death!" His eyes opened in complete shock. Was Akane really with him? Ranma's sapphire eyes blinked at him in response. "Sorry, buddy... umm how much have you had to drink?" Ryouga instantly release his hold on the redhead, feeling very embarrassed. She patted him on the back and smiled. "It really is good to have you as a friend. Oh shoot... I'll be right back!" Ryouga watched her bound over a few tables and rush back into the women's bathroom. 'Fate is with me! I almost forgot to put the pill in Ranma's drink!' The fact that he did it already completely slipped his mind after his day dream of Akane. He looked over at Ranma's glass and back to the door to the ladies room. 'Okay Ryouga, don't chicken out now! You can't let Ranma get away with this! Its for Akane's own good!' He then pulled out another capsule and opened it over Ranma's drink once more, stirring it in. 'Phew, now I only have to wait for him to get sleepy and then I take him home like the good little friend that I am!' His mind shifted into a dream state as he imagined Akane and him living in a house of their own with children running all around the place. Ranma sat down next to him again and took a big swig of her glass. "So, bud. Tell me about you and Akari. How are you two doin'?" Ranma paused and took another sip of her beer. Ryouga seemed to snap out of whatever fantasy he was in to answer him, "We're doing just fine, Ranma. I guess you and Akane are good too?" Ranma took a few moments to answer, "We're getting along really well now." Ranma's eyes felt like dead weights, but she kept her gaze firmly on Ryouga. How many drinks did she have? Certainly not enough to be passing out this fast. "You okay, Ranma?" Ryouga asked with curiosity in his voice, to which Ranma nodded her head. "Seems everything’s turning out good for you." Ranma was too busy fighting to stay awake to notice the jealous hostility in Ryouga's voice. "Are you sure your okay, Ranma?" "I feel... odd." Ranma's vision blurred and she could hardly tell that the form in front of her was the lost boy. 'I don't even remember drinking that much!' Ranma fell out of her chair as nausea suddenly consumed her. She felt like she was about to vomit but passed out cold too quickly. Ryouga's quick reaction saved Ranma from landing on the floor, but she passed out that same instant. His face beamed a sadistic smile as he looked at the unconscious girl. "Are you okay, Ranma? Ranma?" He had to make it look good. He couldn't allow anyone to be able to point their finger at him later on. He felt Ranma's wrist for a pulse and didn't find one. His heart beat quickened. He felt her neck trying to find a pulse there. Nothing. He then placed his palm to her chest in a desperate attempt to feel a heart beat. He felt it beat few and far in between, but she was alive. She would be alive for a very long time, suffering in the misery as he had been for so many years. "Heh, you're so drunk, Ryouga! That's Saotome! Hehe!" Daisuke promptly passed out. He wondered what the boy meant, when he saw his hand on a beautiful female's chest. It didn't cause the usual nose bleed; though, it was Ranma after all, but it did look bad. He removed his hand from her chest and propped her up in her chair and her head slumped over onto the bar. Ryouga stood up looking at all of the people he was drinking with, now all of them completely passed out besides Hiroshi who was obviously struggling for consciousness. He walked over to the young man and spoke to him, "I'm going to take Ranma home; you'll be okay here?" Hitoshi smiled at him and said he'd be fine and that his idea was good. Hitoshi wasn't in the right frame of mind to remember about Ryouga's little directional problem. Ryouga walked back to Ranma and picked her up easily carrying her up to the bar where he put some cash down covering his part. "I'm going to take her home before some stick gets ideas about taking her back with'em." The bartender nodded and told him to be safe as he walked out. The chill in the air caused adrenaline to fill Ryouga. His vengeance was almost complete. Nothing could go wrong now. He wouldn't allow it. * * * Shampoo arrived in Nerima and immediately headed to the Tendo residence. There could be no excuse for her if Ryouga beat her. She decided to enter calmly and assess the situation just in case Ryouga did beat her to the mark. She shivered in the cold air, and could only hope that she wasn't too late. Ryan Erik ryanerik99@yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/ryanerik99