Toboholm@telusplanet.net

Author’s note:  Hi! Me again... Brenon Holmes.  I am here to write
        yet another story.  Anyway, I got some positive comments
        about my first story so I decided to continue, why the hell not?
        I asked myself it can only get worse from here (evil chuckle).
        Anyway, I was wondering if there were any females out there
        willing to write a fic with me... my perspective on the female
        mind is sadly lacking.  So that’s about all I can say for
this... as      near as I can tell this fanfic happens not long after my
first, in               time span.

Disclaimer:     (sigh) this fanfic in no way violates the copyright laws
in effect and in no way is this intended to infringe upon the ideas of
Rumiko Takahashi, my personal God, or anyone else responsible for the
creation of the Ranma ½ universe (spoken in a very bored sounding
voice).


                        "Ryouga’s Passions"

        Ranma alighted catlike on a rock by the pool.  He glanced warily
at his opponent, his father.  Neither would give ground, and both were
sore losers.  They both knew it.  Ranma jumped at Genma who promptly
blocked.

"You’re getting sloppy Ranma!" Genma warned.

"You want sloppy? Here!" Ranma yelled back.

With that Ranma delivered a back kick followed up by a backfist and a
ridgehand.  Genma dodged them all then calmly tripped Ranma into the
pond.

"You’re sloppy Ranma! Pathetic! You’re fighting like a girl!" Genma
laughed.

"What?" Ranma-chan said rising out of the pool.

Ranma-chan jumped through the air landing on Genma’s back.  She gave him
a head scissors then paused for a second, drawing on her inner reserves
of power.  She suddenly threw all of her weight back using some of her
ki to aid her.  She let go of Genma’s head, Genma flew and struck a
tree.

"Ow...." Genma muttered as he slid down the tree into the pond.

"Now who’s sloppy, old man?" Ranma-chan asked.

        Akane covered her food.  Ranma and Genma were on the rampage
again.  She got so sick and tired of always having to defend her food
come meal time.  She looked wearily at Ranma who was entangled with
Genma trying to get the choice morsels on the table.

"Hey Pop! That one is mine!" Ranma yelled through a mouthful of food.

"Ranma you need some honest training and self-discipline, as your father
it is my solemn duty to subject you to it whether you like it or not!"
Genma said eating the stolen morsel.

"You call that training?!" Ranma yelled swiping at his father, who
promptly dodged.

"Yes, and you had best get ready... we are going into the mountains to
train, again" Genma said solemnly.

"Awww... Pop!  Who’s going to feed us?" Ranma complained.
The room went suddenly silent.
Akane looked up and saw her whole family looking at her.

"Oh no you don’t!" Akane said vehemently "There is no way I’m cooking
for that ingrate!" Akane continued.

"Whew!" Ranma said wiping the sweat from his brow "Good... now we wont
die..." Ranma continued softly.

"What was that Ranma?!" Akane screeched "Would you care to repeat that?"

"What? The fact that your food is used as bio-weapons in some
countries?" Ranma prodded.

"Die Ranma!!" Akane yelled drawing her hammer.

The dining room abruptly became a combat zone as Akane tried to destroy
Ranma with her hammer.  Amidst the chaos, Soun sat calmly eating his
rice.

"Akane, as Ranma’s  fiancée it is your duty to accompany him and feed
him..." Soun said calmly.

Akane stopped her hammer in mid-swing.
"What? Dad you can’t make me do that!" Akane protested.
Behind Akane’s back, Ranma and Genma were shaking their heads and
mouthing the words "NO" over and over at Soun.

"Akane he is your fiancée..." Soun continued.
Genma held up a sign: Tendou are you out of your mind?!?
Akane turned around quickly, only to see Ranma and Genma leaning against
the wall whistling.  She turned back to her father.
"Dad..." Akane protested weakly.

"I’ve decided Akane, you are going..." Soun said with finality.

"All right..." Akane muttered.

"We’re doomed!" Ranma muttered to himself.

"What was that Ranma?!" Akane yelled turning around to face Ranma.

        Ryouga walked.  He wandered in whichever direction seemed best
to him.  Only one thing chained him, his love for Akane.  He thought of
their relationship, true she regarded him as a friend.  But he knew that
the tender petals of love could bloom from friendship.  He smiled to
himself as he walked.  He would be with Akane soon, Nerima was around
here somewhere and it was impossible for him to miss it.  At least that
is what his guide had told him...:

"Just head up that road, you can’t miss it!" The man had declared.

That had been five days ago... Ryouga was sure that the road was just
really long, but what he couldn’t figure out was where the road had
gotten to...

        Akane stirred the pot, she had added all the things that Kasumi
had told her to... plus a few more of her own choice.  It _smelled_
good...

"Dinner is ready!" Akane yelled cheerfully.

Ranma and Genma came walking up the trail dejectedly...

"Son, it is your duty to try her cooking, after all she’s your fiancée"
Genma muttered to Ranma.

"What are you crazy? I don’t want to die..." Ranma whispered back
fiercely.

"Ok Ranma, here" Akane said smiling "Try it!" she urged.

Ranma looked down at the food.  He looked up at Akane’s smiling face,
then back down at the food.

"Oh man..." Ranma said swallowing.  He picked up a small bit and put it
in his mouth.  His mouth exploded as his taste buds were overloaded.  It
was a mélange of so many different tastes he didn’t know what to think.
 

-It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad either... well... it was kind of bad...
but edible... and from Akane too!-Ranma thought in awe.
Ranma’s heart stopped.

"Urgh!" Ranma said as he slumped over.

His heart started with a shudder.
-Maybe not...-Ranma thought sickly as darkness claimed him.

        Ryouga walked on.  He had been walking constantly for eight days
now.  He thought of all the wonderful things he had seen here in Japan.
 He had seen a mountain with some faces on it.  A large desert with
pyramids, Japan had gotten very large...

"Get back here!" a voice yelled.

"It isn’t my fault your food is toxic!" another voice cried out.

"Get back here?" Ryouga asked himself.

"Die Ranma!" the first voice screamed.  A tree fell in the forest.

"Die Ranma? That must be Akane!" Ryouga realized suddenly "And Ranma?!"

"Ranma! Leave Akane alone!" Ryouga bellowed running toward the voices.

The scene Ryouga broke into was a strange one indeed.  Ranma had just
ducked a hammer strike from Akane.  The strike had leveled a tree.
Ryouga ran at Ranma.

"Ranma! Prepare to die!" Ryouga yelled as he attacked Ranma.

Ranma blocked Ryouga’s strike.

"Hey! Ryouga, how’s it going P-chan?" Ranma taunted.

"P-chan?! Who are you calling P-chan!?!?" Ryouga yelled in a rage.

Ryouga struck again.
"BAKUSAI-TENKETSU!!" Ryouga yelled.  The tree immediately behind Ranma
exploded into chunks.

"KATSU-TENSHIN-AMAGURUKEN!!" Ranma yelled pummeling Ryouga with about a
hundred punches in the space of a second.

Ryouga clutched his sternum, out of breath.

"Ranma! Stop picking on Ryouga!" Akane intervened.

"Akane! He started it!" Ranma protested "Ah! Who cares!" Ranma walked
off, back towards their camp.

Akane looked with pitying eyes toward Ryouga.

"When he picks on you like that, just ignore him" Akane said gently.
Ryouga looked deeply into her eyes.

-Please! Don’t pity me Akane! I don’t want your pity! I want... I
want...- He pleaded silently.

-Until I can defeat Ranma, I will not be worthy of you...- Ryouga
thought despairingly.
Ryouga stood up, he turned and walked off into the brush.  He could feel
the darkness gathering around his soul.  He had to get away from Akane.
 He ran.  Branches slapped against his face, he didn’t care.  He just
had to get away from Akane before he released his pain, his agony, his
darkness.  Even now it was clawing against his will, vainly trying to
escape the restraints he placed upon it.  It surged against his internal
barriers.  Ryouga couldn’t hold it much longer.  He fell to his knees,
the darkness consumed his soul.

Ryouga exploded.

End Part I