Please send all comments to the authors of this, RyogaLost@aol.com and
SMoonUsagi@aol.com. Enjoy! -- GK



Ranma 1/2 Naisen
Episode 2
P-CHAN, COME HOME
A Somewhat Canonical Story (Again!???)
by SMoonUsagi and RyougaLost


The April breezes made the leaves sound like water rushing over rocks.
Ranma cocked his head, listening.  (Only water I get along with,) he
mused.  (Okay, so maybe a field trip wasn't such a bad idea.)

Mr. Tanaka was droning on, turning what had started as a Blossom Viewing
celebration into one giant botany lesson, so Ranma tuned him out and
wandered a little to the rear of the class, started studying a different
kind of blossom.  One with black hair and brown eyes.  Carefully he
stuck out one hand, started toying with the ends of her hair.

Akane turned just a little, looking at him out of the corner of her
eyes, pretending to be surprised.  "What are you doing back there?" she
whispered.

"Nothing...." By now Ranma had a tiny coil of hair around the end of his
finger.  "What'd you think I was doing?"

"It feels like you're playing with my hair."

"Aw, I wouldn't be doin' nothing sappy like that."

"Oh, no, of course not."  Akane's eyes twinkled and she blushed just a
bit.  "But if you were, I wouldn't tell you to stop..."

Ranma half-smiled and pulled back carefully, letting the soft strands
slide between his knuckles.  When he got to the very end, he looked at
the small puff of hair and commented, "When I was a kid, we had a mimosa
tree.  I used to climb up it high as I could. There was this one place
where three branches made kind of a seat and I'd get up there and just
rock back and forth in the wind... me and Mom, we called the flowers
'tickle-blossoms', 'cause when you go to smell 'em they tickle your
nose.  I really liked that tree.  We had to cut it down one year when
the roots started gettin' into the well.  But for a long time that was
my special place."  He looked at Akane.  "The way your hair feels...
kinda reminds me of that.  Mimosa blossoms in spring."

Brown eyes widened, and Akane drew a soft breath of wonder.  She'd never
heard Ranma talk quite that way before, his rough words making a kind of
spoken music.  For a moment all the bravado and 
"manly" veneer was forgotten and the real Ranma Saotome appeared, a
young man who kept his warrior's heart close and his gentle soul closer.
Enchanted, Akane turned to face him, her lips slightly parted.  Ranma
moved towards her at the same time.  Their lips were only inches apart--

"Yeah!  Go for it, Saotome!"

"Aggh!"  Ranma jerked back, slipped on a loose rock, and promptly
fell on his butt.  Akane blushed furiously and turned to glare at the
two young men who'd spoken.  "Just who are you, anyway?" she demanded.

"I'm Daisuke," the dark-haired one of the pair said.

"And I'm Hiroshi," the other said, running a hand through sandy brown
locks.  "We're kind of friends of Ranma's, here."

"Yeah.  Though he isn't a very good friend."

"I'll say.  I mean, all these great looking girls that he surrounds
himself with, and he won't introduce us to any of them, no matter how
hard we ask!"

"Especially that red-head.  The other Ranma?  Man, she's really cute."
Daisuke folded his arms.  "I mean, you'd think that a real pal would,
you know, at least mention us.  What does he need with more than one
girl, anyway?"

"Yeah!" Hiroshi added.  

By this time Akane was fighting to restrain a fit of giggling, half out
of amusement and half embarrassment.  That kept her from saying anything
to the others, but it didn't slow Ranma down a bit.  He shot up from the
ground and planted himself almost in Daisuke's and Hiroshi's faces.
"What do you know, anyway??" he shouted.  "You guys oughta stay out of
other people's business!  I don't ask these girls to hang all over me;
it just happens.  I ain't responsible!"

"So do yourself and us a favor," Hiroshi suggested.  "Let us have the
extras!"

"What?!"  Ranma shook his head.  "Are you nuts?  Listen, I told you
before, that red-haired girl ain't interested in dating nobody!"

"Is that because you won't let her date anyone else?" Daisuke stepped
forward and poked Ranma lightly in the chest.  "You Don Juan!  Come on,
let somebody else have a little happiness!"

"Butt out!" Ranma roared, his voice finally loud enough that Mr. Tanaka
heard it over his soliloquy.  Adjusting his glasses, he bent over,
calmly picked up a rock, and fired it with amazing accuracy directly at
Ranma's forehead, where it made a wonderful thunking noise.  "Ranma
Saotome, two demerits for interrupting," he said.  "Now would you and
your friends mind being a little quieter?  Some people are trying to pay
attention to their lessons."

"Yessir," Ranma mumbled as the other students tried to stifle laughter.
He glanced over at Akane and shrugged.  "Sorry," he apologized.  "Sorry
about that."

"No..." Akane put a delicate hand on his arm.  "I'm sorry.  Ranma, I
wasn't laughing at you--"

"Huh?  You were laughing?"

"Well... kind of... I do that when I get nervous."  She looked down at
the ground.  "It's a girl thing."

"Oh.  Whatever.  Like I was saying, those guys get on my nerves.  I
mean, they're okay, okay?  But every time they see me they bug me about
introducing them to my 'girlfriends'."  Ranma snorted.  "Like I run a
dating service or something.  Do I look like a matchmaker, huh?  Well do
I?"

"No..." Akane tilted her head and smiled.  "But you're kind of cute,
anyway."

That floored Ranma.  His eyes doubled in size and he stared at her,
speechless, for several minutes.  "Really?" he eventually said in a
small voice.

Akane giggled and poked him softly in the chest.  "Gotcha!"

"Aw, Akane!"  But Ranma grinned back.  "Cute as, um, P-chan?"

Akane sobered and looked off into the distance.

"Uh, what'd I say?"  Ranma craned his head to look into Akane's face.
"You don't, you know, look very happy."

Akane sighed.  "Actually, I'm worried about P-chan."

"What're you worried about that runt for?  He runs off and gets lost
three, four times a month.  Y'oughta be used to it by now."

Akane turned back, eyes glittering.  "Ranma, don't be so mean!  I know
you don't like P-chan very much... but... I had an awful dream about him
last night."

Ranma groaned.  "Not another one of your crazy dreams.  Last time you
had 'em, we wound up fightin' a freakin' dragon!"

"I might've expected you'd be no help!"  Akane folded her arms and
turned away angrily.  

"Jeez..."  Ranma rolled his eyes skyward.  "What'd I do?" he implored
the heavens (which failed to answer).  "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, alright?
So you had a dream about P-chan.  What happened to him, anyway?"

"What do you care?"  There was a suspicious shakiness in Akane's
response.

"I care 'cause he's important to you, dummy."

Finally Akane looked back over her shoulder at Ranma.  "I don't really
remember the details," she said.  "But he's in trouble...I just know he
is.  He's only been missing a week, but I'm sure he needs my help!... I
just wish I knew where to start looking for him."

"Him who?" a quiet voice in the tree above asked.  Both Akane and Ranma
jumped, Ranma dropping instinctively into a fighting stance, and looked
up at the small face peeking out of the leaves.  "Oh, Neko!" Akane said
with a sigh of relief.

"I didn't mean to startle you."  Neko withdrew and slid down out of the
branches with barely a falling leaf to mark her descent.  "I like
climbing trees."

"It's P-chan," Ranma said.  "Dumb porker's missing.  Akane thinks he's
in some kind of trouble."

"Oh no!"  Neko's eyes widened.

"You haven't seen him, have you?" Akane asked Neko anxiously.

Neko shook her head.  "Not since the last time I was at your house."

"Where could he be?"  Akane's lower lip trembled.  

"Maybe I could help you look for him after school?  Two people stand a
better chance of finding P-chan than one."

"Would you?"  Akane managed a smile.  "Neko, I'd really appreciate it!"

"Of course I would, Akane!  And I bet Ranma will help too."

"Huh? --Oh, yeah, sure."  Ranma nodded.  "Be glad to."

As soon as school let out that afternoon the trio searched, to no avail.
Footsore and tired, Akane sat on the edge of the porch, fighting back
tears of frustration.  "We're getting nowhere," she moaned.  Neko sat
down and put an arm around her friend's shoulders, trying to comfort
her. "P-chan..."
"Too bad we ain't got one of those dogs," Ranma said, watching the koi
jumping out of the pond.  "Y'know, the kind that track people by the way
they smell?"

"Well, we don't, Ranma."  Akane folded her arms.  Then suddenly she
straightened up.  "Ah!  Maybe we do!"

"Huh?" Neko and Ranma chorused.

"When we had our sleep-over, you said you always knew where you were
going, Neko," Akane said.  "I just thought, maybe, if you tried to go
wherever P-chan had gone... I know it's an awfully long shot, but I'm
just so worried."

Neko nibbled at the edge of her lower lip.  "I'm not sure that would
work," she said finally.  "I can smell things other people can't, just
like a cat can track by scent.  But after a whole week I'm not sure I
could pick up a trail.  And I've never tried to find a person the same
way I find a place."

Akane's face fell.

"Hey.  Wait a sec."  Ranma took Akane by the shoulders.  "Akane, think
real hard.  You said you had a dream about P-chan.  He must've been
somewhere, right?  So try and think of where he was.  Maybe Neko could
find the place he went to.  --That is, if you really dreamed where he
went."

"I-I'll try..." Akane closed her eyes, pressing her fists to her temples
and frowning with concentration.  "I... I can't.... wait.  There were
these really scary trees... something huge moving in the mist between
them.  And, and wherever he was seemed awfully familiar for some reason.
I almost felt I'd been there before."  She looked up helplessly.  "I
just can't remember anything else!"

Ranma shrugged.  "Oh well.  Gave it a try."

"We'll start again tomorrow morning," Neko suggested.  "That way we'll
have all Sunday to track P-chan down."

"We need more than one day to find that little four-legged annoyance,"
muttered Ranma.  Akane shot him an irritated look, then brushed off the
comment.  "Okay," she agreed, "tomorrow morning, bright and early, we
start the Great P-chan Hunt!"

"Yeah!" two other voices answered hers.


The forest canopy all but blotted out the sky overhead.  Only patches of
the iron-grey cloud cover showed through the dense greenness.  

"I'm in Hell," Ryoga Hibiki muttered to no one, because there was no one
else there.  No one human, at any rate; and the giant animals which
crept, slogged and slithered past him didn't seem interested in his
commentary.  

He paused on the overgrown path to let a platypus the size of a blue
whale creep in front of him, then trudged on his way, carrying his heavy
backpack, bowed forward in weary resignation.  "It's bad enough that
I've missed the skating match by now."  He laughed softly, bitterly.
"Win or lose, I would've gained some small satisfaction.  If Ranma won,
it was because of the advice I gave him.  If he lost, then I'd have the
pleasure of seeing him publicly humiliated."  He stopped in his tracks
and straightened up. "But...if he lost...would he go back...to Akane?"
His heart skipped a beat; then he shook his head, smiled woefully.  "No,
that couldn't happen.  Otherwise, my poor heart of glass would shatter
into a thousand pieces!"

He continued walking, aimlessly, retracing paths he'd made scant hours
before, though unaware of that fact.  "Oh, Akane...what I wouldn't give
to see your sweet face again..."

He tried to picture Akane's countenance in his mind, but somehow the
image wavered.  Green eyes, not brown; blonde hair, not black, long and
tipped with fiery golden red; and a pair of saucy black-tufted cat's
ears that flicked at the slightest touch--

"NO!!"  Ryoga shook his head to clear it, running into a tree and
knocking it down; he scarcely noticed.  "I'm sorry, Neko, but it's Akane
I love...I'm sure of it...even though you're sweet...and kind...and
understanding...and you're actually _nice_ to me...and I almost think
you could...could..._ahhhhh_!"  He planted his feet wide and raised
clenched fists to the sky, a sudden brisk gust ruffling his soot-black
hair.  "Why do the Fates hate me so?  What evil did I commit in a past
life to deserve this torment?  It's not bad enough I'm only half a man;
not only do I have the world's worst sense of direction; but now my own
heart betrays me!  I'm no better than Ranma, wanting two women at once!
I love Akane Tendo!  I _do_! But I can't banish thoughts of Neko
Tamamichi from my troubled mind!"  His roughened voice raised to a
tormented howl.  "How much can one mortal man be expected to endure?
What further suffering will I be subjected to?! What more can happen to
me now?!?"

A whipsnap of lightning flashed overhead, followed immediately by a
shuddering crack of thunder.

"Oh," Ryoga breathed as he heard the first raindrops hit the leaves
overhead, "no."

        *                                 *
*

With a gasp Akane sat up in bed.  "P-chan?! NO!"

A few seconds later feet pounded down the hall and an urgent knock
rattled her door.  "Akane?  Akane!" "R-Ranma?"  Akane grabbed the sheets
and pulled them up to her chin.  "Come in."

Ranma burst in, looking around.  Behind him, Tendo, Genma-Panda, Nabiki
and Kasumi peered around the edges of the door, looking for whatever--or
whoever-- had prompted Akane's scream.

"Where is he?" Ranma demanded.

"Where is who?"

"Whoever made you yell like that!"

"Oh, Ranma!  No one's here.  I just-- I had--" Akane's face crumpled and
she strated to cry.

"Sis," Nabiki said, stifling a yawn, "next time you have a nightmare,
have it a little more quietly, okay?"

Ranma shot Nabiki a look; then, hesitantly, he sat down beside Akane and
put an arm across her shoulders.  "Yo, Akane," he said quietly.  "So,
what'd you dream?"

"It was P-chan... it was horrible, Ranma.  There was a terrible storm,
and poor little P-chan was out in the middle of it, and there was
something chasing him in the dark.  I could almost see it in the
lightning flashes-- no, wait!"  Akane turned and looked up at Ranma,
eyes wide.  "I did see something!"

"Okay, c'mon, spill it!  What'd'ja see?"

"At first I thought it was a boulder, but then it moved out in front of
P-chan and--and opened its mouth."  Akane shuddered. "Ranma... it was a
lizard.  A lizard the size of a car!  Ranma! There's only one place in
Japan where animals get that big--Ryugenzawa!" 

"Did'ja have to say that?" Ranma slumped. (Man, Ryoga, when I catch up
to you, I'm gonna turn you into a pigskin cushion.  All the places you
could pick to get lost in, and you head right back to Orochi-Land.
Great.  What'd I do to deserve this?  Somebody please tell me!) 

As soon as the sun rose Akane was up and packing her camping gear. "If
we hurry, we can catch the first morning train," she told Ranma.  "Oh, I
hope the weather doesn't slow us down!"

Ranma turned and looked up at the morning sky.  "Looks like good weather
from here, anyway--hey, Neko!" 

"Morning, Ranma!"  Neko skidded to a stop, cocked her head, giggled.
"You look like a Boy Scout."

"Not you too!"  Ranma slapped a hand to his head.  "Jeez..." "Now that
we're all here, let's go," Akane said.  

"Where are we going?" Neko asked as she fell into step with the other
two.  "And why did you ask me to bring any hiking or camping gear I
had?"

"It's my dream..."

On the way to the station Akane explained about her second dream. Neko
listened attentively.  "Well, I can't see any harm in trying the
forest."

It took about a hour to reach the mountains.  By then the sun was
casting shadows ahead of the four as they began to walk down the road,
everyone keeping an eye out for something, anything, that meant P-chan
had passed the same way.  

The road wound down a gentle slope into a forest.  A very familiar
forest, with a faded sign nailed securely to a wooden post alongside the
road.  

"Aw, jeez, this is gonna be rough..." Ranma groaned.

"You don't have to come in with me, Ranma," Akane snapped, but there was
an uneasy edge to her voice.

"Don't be stupid, okay?  Like I'm gonna let you go in there alone."

Not understanding, Neko scanned the hand-scripted sign.

It read:

        DANGER!
        You are entering
        the forest of
        RYUGENZAWA
        Turn back now!!!

"I don't get it."

"Oh, P-chan..." Akane hid her face.  

Ranma looked decidedly less than thrilled.  "This is great," he
muttered.  "Just great.  Man, this is one place I never wanted to visit
again."

Neko looked from one to the other.  "Would someone please tell me what's
going on?"  

Ranma jerked his head at the forest.  "Ryugenzawa's full of animals."

"Big animals," Akane added. "Really big animals."

"Oh, poor R--P-chan."  Neko stared at the dark woods.  "He must be
terrified.  Are... are any of the animals meat-eaters?" she asked in a
tiny, tiny voice. 

"A few of 'em, yeah. If he went in there, he's askin' for trouble."
Ranma heaved a sigh, began walking purposefully forward.

"Wait a minute, Ranma!" Akane caught at his arm.  "It's almost dark.  We
can't go in there--it's dangerous!"

"So what else are we supposed to do, huh?  Camp here till dawn?  Go back
home and come back tomorrow? I don't think so.  By that time he could be
in _real_ trouble.  I don't believe I'm saying this, but... we gotta go
in, and we gotta go now."  He jerked a thumb upwards.  "See that?"

The two girls looked at the sky.  Hugely swollen clouds were gathering,
and in their depth lightning flickered restlessly.

"I ain't no expert on hunting or tracking or nothin', but lemme guess.
If it rains, we can kiss any change of finding P-chan goodbye, right?"

"Okay, okay!"  Akane stomped off in the direction of the woods.  "You've
made your point, Ranma."  Ranma followed, with Neko bringing up the
rear.

As the trees closed around them, Neko summoned up her courage to speak.
"Um...you never did tell me how you two know this place..."

Neither Akane nor Ranma answered for a little while.  Then, softly,
Akane said, "I... my family was on a picnic here once, when I was
little.  I wandered off and got lost.  This strange boy found me and
told me how to find my way again.  He... he saved my life."

"We came back a few months ago," Ranma continued, voice oddly
unemotional.  "This guy--Shinnosuke--he and his grandpa live here.
They're like, I dunno, forest rangers or something.  But Shinnosuke kind
of had a problem..."

"He was _dying_, Ranma.  If you're going to tell the story, get it
right," snapped Akane, then softened.  "I'm sorry, I don't like to think
about that.  I didn't mean to sound--I meant--"

"Whatever."  Ranma closed his eyes.  "You tell it, then."

Akane looked at him a little sadly.  "Ranma...I _know_ Ryugenzawa isn't
your favorite place in the world.  That's still not a reason to get mad
at me."

Visibly letting go of his temper, Ranma nodded.  "Okay.  Anyway, Akane
came here to find Shinn again--" "I did _not_, Ranma!  I came here
because the people in the village called the Tendo dojo for help with
the 'monster'."

"Yeah, whatever.  Anyway, Mr. Tendo went ballistic, and sent me up here
to find Akane.  Ryoga--"

"Ryoga?  Was he here too?" Neko broke in.

Ranma nodded, turning to look back at her. "Yeah, the dumb guy got lost,
as usual.  We all wound up tryin' to help save Shinnosuke's life."

"Did you?" Neko asked.

Ranma opened his mouth to answer, but never finished.  A part of the
darkness moved, blocking their path.  Huge luminous yellow eyes opened
and stared balefully.  A deep, vibrating hiss filled the air.

Akane screamed.  Neko hissed, her hair standing on end.  Ranma yelled,
"Shit!"  and grabbed Akane, leaping up into the air.  A long red tongue
lashed out and barely missed them.  He landed on a branch, half-slipped,
and recovered.  "Neko!" he yelled.

"Y-yes?" a quavering voice answered from further up the same tree.

"Okay, just checkin'.  Akane?  You okay?"

"I think so."  Akane shivered and hugged Ranma a little tighter.  "What
was that?"

"Some kinda lizard, I think.  Can you see anything, Neko?"

"I can see a little," she answered, climbing down to join her
friends.  "You're right, it's a lizard.  But it's huge!"

"Told you so," Ranma replied.  "What kind's it?"

"I'm not sure. If it wasn't so close to nightfall I might be able to
tell, but the trees make it so dark in here..."

"If we had some way of getting some light, we might've seen it before we
walked right up on it. --Hey!"  Akane slapped herself on the forehead.
"Ranma, did you happen to bring a flashlight?" 

"Oh yeah!"  Ranma shucked off his backpack, dug around in it a few
minutes, and produced a small flashlight, which he switched on and
pointed down.  It lent just enough illumination for them to see an
enormous iguana, at least as large as a hippo, thoughtfully scratching
the bottom of the tree trunk while it looked up at them.

"Oh... my... God..."  Akane immediately wrapped her arms around Ranma's
neck, seemingly trying to climb up inside the boy's shirt with him.
Ranma flailed his arms and barely kept from toppling off the limb.  "Uh,
Akane," he gasped, "you're, uh, holdin' me too tight...."

"How did it get so big?" Neko said, shaking her head.

"...Uh.. Akane... could you.. could you ease up a little..?"

"It's the water around here," Akane answered, her voice trembling.

"C'mon.. I.. I can't breathe... you're stranglin' me..."

"But what would the water have to do with it?"

"...A...ka...ne...!!"

Finally Akane heard Ranma's pleas and loosened her grip a little.  He
gratefully sucked in a deep breath.  "There's this...magic moss," he
wheezed.  "Grows in this underwater cave.  It makes the water real
special."

"We needed to get the moss to heal Shinnosuke," Akane added.  "All the
animals in the forest aren't this big; only ones that don't come from
Japan.  They used to be part of a menagerie that Shinnosuke's grandpa
kept, but one day the cages got broken and all his pets escaped.  As
soon as they started drinking the Water of Life, they started getting
big."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," Neko said, pointing downwards, "but
that thing looks hungry, and it's trying to climb up here!"

"Can--can it reach us?  Ranma?"  Akane shrank back against him as the
lizard clawed its way steadily (if slowly) upwards.

"What are you askin' me for?  How'm I supposed to know?!"

"I guess it depends on how heavy that thing is."  Neko gulped.  "If, if
it weighs too much for the branches to support it--"

"It don't look all that heavy right now!"  Ranma grabbed Akane again,
preparing to leap out of the tree, as the iguana drew closer.  "Neko,
get ready and jump when I do--"

Something blurred out of the gathering darkness and struck at the
lizard's head, knocking it off the trunk and back to the ground.  "Go
on, get out of here!" a voice ordered.  "Leave them alone!"

Akane gasped.  "Shinnosuke!"

Through a ragged gap in the clouds the moon shone down, lighting the
clearing enough so that the quartet could see a young man wielding a
broom, face set in a scowl as he stared down the monster.  With a
disgusted hiss it finally slunk off into the underbrush.  When the noise
of its passage had faded, the man looked up into the tree.  "You can
come down now," he said.  "It's lucky for you I was passing this way on
my way home--I think," he added.  "Sometimes I forget if this is the way
home, but it seems right.  Anyway, you shouldn't be here.  This is a
dangerous place!"

"Shinnosuke!" Akane perched beside Ranma, looking down at Shinnosuke.
"It's me..."

For a moment Shinn gazed at her, expression unreadable.  Then he slowly
shook his head.  "Who...who are you...?"

(Oh, Shinnosuke...)  Akane lowered her eyes.  (You don't remember me...)
She felt Ranma tense against her, and put a hand on his chest to
forestall any outburst.  (Maybe...maybe it's better that way.)

"Good ol' Shinnosuke," muttered Ranma, dropping down to the ground with
Akane, followed by Neko (who climbed carefully down backwards).  "Mind
like a tofu strainer--Ow!"  He winced as Akane elbowed him sharply in
the ribcage.  "Hey what'd'ja do that for?"

"Who..." Shinn blinked.  "Oh.  Hello."  Instantly his foot moved,
bringing the broom back up where he could grab it.  "Have we met?"

"Forget it."  Ranma half-turned away.  "Don't'cha think we oughta get
moving?  I mean, in case something else decides we'd make great
sukiyaki?"

"Of course, you're right."  Shinnosuke stood, shouldering his broom.
"Come on--eh?"  He frowned as Ranma and Akane set off into the woods,
Neko following.  

"Come on," Akane said, "the cabin's this way."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Ranma muttered, keeping close to Akane.

Shinnosuke trotted to catch up to them.  "Hey...how do you know where I
live...?"


Trudging through the darkness, Ryoga congratulated himself on managing
to stay dry.  The sudden shower had almost, well... in this damnable
forest, it could've been much worse than the usual humiliation.  At
least as a human he could defend himself, and not that many of the
absurdly large animals roaming the woods thought of humans as food.

Little black piglets, on the other hand, were a different matter.

(Now if I can only find somewhere reasonably dry to make camp), he
thought, hearing the thunder growl overhead.  (Does it rain every day in
this wretched place?  At this point I'd be glad to see Shinnosuke, even
if he is my rival for Akane.  At least he's better company, and better
for Akane, than Ranma ever dreamt of being.) He half-smiled.  (Besides,
he doesn't even remember telling her he loves her.)  He sighed dreamily.
(I can hardly wait to get back to Tokyo so I can see Neko again--)  His
eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks.  (See Neko??? I meant
Akane!!)  Half despairing, half angry, he clutched his head.  "Why??" he
screamed.  "Why can't I keep that girl out of my thoughts?  She's
nothing to me!  I love Akane!  Akane Tendo!  Not Neko Tamamichi!!"
Whirling, he pounded on a nearby  cluster of rocks, leaving the marks of
his fists all over the flat smooth surface, breath sobbing between his
clenched teeth.  Then he flung back his head and howled, "AKAAAANNNNE!"

Several giant birds, startled out of sleep, took flight and headed away
from the noisy mite below them as fast as they could.

Dropping to his knees, Ryoga closed his eyes, feeling utterly alone and
miserable.  "Even my heart betrays me," he breathed.  "I _am_  no better
than Ranma Saotome.  How can Akane possibly love someone whose emotions
stray so easily?  I can't go back.  Not until I clear my mind and spirit
by wandering in the wilds.  Yes... that's what I'll do.  I'll travel
these woods and mountains until I'm at peace.  Then I'll be worthy of
Akane's devotion."

With renewed vigor he got to his feet and strode confidently forward,
straight into one of Shinnosuke's pit traps.  It was fairly shallow,
since Shinn had forgotten it was there and thus hadn't kept it up as he
should.  But it was quite deep enough to hold about a foot or so of
water from the previous night's rain.

Staring at the clothing that was now too big (and entirely the wrong
shape) for his current body, P-chan let out a squeal of absolute
mortification and despair. 

The clouds answered him with more rain.


"So you've come looking for your pet pig," Grandpa mused.  "The little
black one... yes, I remember.  Why would he have wandered so far, I
wonder?"

"I don't know."  Akane pushed her noodles around aimlessly.  "But I'm so
worried about him.  I know it's silly; P-chan can take care of himself,
he wanders off and comes back all the time.  Maybe it's because..." she
stopped, eyes slowly tracking over to Ranma.  "Well...I had these
horrible dreams..."

"Mm.  There are worse reasons for doing something."  With a sudden
decisive gesture Grandpa slammed his chopsticks down.  "Then we'll just
have to find him!  Eh, Shinn boy?"

"Right!... Um... Do I know you?"

Grandpa's fist flashed out in his infamous "Megaton Punch". "I'm your
grandfather!!" he shouted as he connected with Shinnosuke, knocking the
young man flying into the far wall.  A few seconds later Shinnosuke
returned placidly to the table as if nothing'd happened.  "But where do
you think we should start looking, Grandpa?" he asked.

"It's certain that we can't start tonight," Grandpa said slowly.  "The
darkness, the animals, the storm... they would make the search difficult
at best, disastrous at worst."

Shinnosuke nodded.  "Yes, I agree."

"We'll simply have to trust the little pig's ability to stay out of
harm's way, at least for now.  Tomorrow morning, when we're rested, we
can start combing the forest."

"I hope he's all right..." Neko peeked out the window, watching the
occasional lightning flashes, voice soft and wistful.  "He's all alone
out there.  All alone."

Ranma's ears pricked and he looked at Neko thoughtfully.  (She don't
sound like she's talking about a pig... whoa.  Wait a sec.  Could--could
Neko have found out about Ryoga's curse?  But how?  It's not like he'd
tell nobody about it or nothing... 'specially not a girl.  So what
gives?)

Akane pushed her own worries out of the way and stood up, walked over to
put an arm around her friend's shoulders.  "I'm sure he is, Neko," she
soothed.  "Let's try to get some sleep, and we'll start early tomorrow.
Shinnosuke knows his way around the forest really really well.  If
anyone can help us find P-chan, he can."

"Uh-huh.  You're right."  Neko smiled.  "He'll be all right.  I--_we_
have to believe that."

Somehow the night passed, even with the occasional sound of unknown (but
very big) things lumbering past the cabin walls.  The morning dawned
bright and clear, with scarcely a cloud in the sky.  After a quick
briefing (and advice on how to handle anything they ran across that
_wasn't_ P-chan) from Shinnosuke and Grandpa, the search party set out,
making their way in a slow spiral outward from the cabin.

"P-chaaaan!"  Akane called, standing on a little rise in the ground.  No
squeaks or squeals or grunts answered her.  Her shoulders slumped.
Distantly she heard the others calling as well.  It seemed
hopeless--such a large forest, and such a small piglet...but she
couldn't, wouldn't give up.  Carefully she made her way down, careful to
keep an eye out for Shinnosuke's traps.

Several hundred yards away, Neko pattered along on all fours, delicately
whiffling at the ground and brush.  The rain had washed everything
clean, so her nose wasn't being much help.  Frustrated, she sat down,
gathered the end of her tail in, and started licking it.  A good
kitty-bath always made her think more clearly.  Halfway down the length
she could reach, she paused, ears twitching.  Had she heard something
familiar?  Abandoning the bathing session for a while, she stood up and
walked in the direction she thought the noise had come from.  It was
hard going; several times she had to climb over deadfalls or backtrack
around tangles of brambles and vines.  Eventually she found herself in a
clearing by a stream.  Down by the water's edge a tiny form was bent
over, lapping thirstily.  As she emerged from the brush black ears
cocked her way and P-chan whirled, crouching, ready to defend himself.
As soon as he saw who it was, his eyes went wide.

"Ryoga!"  Neko knelt, held out her hands.  Immediately her arms were
full of small black piglet, squealing and squeaking and nuzzling
frantically into her.  "Oh, Ryoga, I found you, you're all right.  I was
so scared...!"

"W-weenk?"  (Scared?)  

"Of _course_ I was scared!  I kept thinking the most horrible things
might've happened.  --Oh, you're soaked.  You must be awfully
uncomfortable.  You hold still, now."  Carefully Neko began to lick him,
bathing him just as she bathed herself.

Ryoga/P-chan's eyes tripled in size and he started to struggle, but Neko
started purring as well, and the combination of the two activities went
directly to the animal instincts he gained in this form.  He relaxed,
let her clean him up (just along the back and head), then dry him
carefully with her shirt.  It felt wonderfully good and very reassuring,
something he'd had in scant supply for most of his life, let alone the
past 12 hours.

For a brief moment Neko cuddled P-chan, cheek resting atop his head.
(Ryoga... I know I've only just met you, but I wish I could tell you how
I'm starting to feel about you.  But you're in love with Akane.  That
doesn't leave room for anyone else. But at least if I'm your friend, I
can be close to you.  And I will, I promise, I'll be the best friend I
can.)  With a deep breath she mustered a smile.  "Let's go.  I know
Akane will be just as glad as I am to see you."

"Skwee? Sk-skwee skeeee?" (Akane's here? But how?  Why?!)

"Ryoga!  Really.  You are so dense sometimes," Neko said, standing up
and starting to turn. "We came looking for you.  Akane and me and Ranma.
We got here last night, but there was this great big lizard--" she froze
as a great green head poked out of the brush.  "J-just like that one,"
she finished.

The iguana opened its mouth and roared.


The distant screech made Akane jump.  She automatically looked that way,
wondering nervously what might've made the sound and what the chances
were that it was headed her way.  Something about it... "Ranma, did you
hear that?"

"Yeah, sure.  What about it?"

Is it my imagination, or did that sound like more than one whatever?"

The boy scowled.  "Well, yeah, it could've been.  Kinda reminded me of
the sound a cat makes when it's--" he stopped.  In perfect chorus he and
Akane said, "CAT??"

Faintly at first, then more loudly, came the sound of something crashing
through the undergrowth towards them.  Instantly Ranma leapt up and over
Akane, putting himself between her and whatever was coming, perfectly
balanced, perfectly still.  Waiting.  The assurance in the pose made
Akane feel ready for anything, as long as he was there.  She took her
own stance and waited with him.

A small form shot out of the scrub growth and landed on all fours, hair
and tail bristling, eyes wide, ears flattened to her skull and sides
heaving.  Neko looked almost feral, a part of the forest herself.  As
soon as she noticed the pair watching her she whirled, facing them, that
same wild look on her face.  From her teeth dangled P-chan, held by his
bandanna, blinking in confusion.

"Neko!"  Akane took half a step forward.  Neko flinched back a bit, then
seemed to recognize her.  She opened her mouth and let P-chan fall to
the ground; he shook himself and nosed her arm, grunting.  Humanity
flooded back and she simply sat down where she was, still panting.  "I
think... I think... we lost it," she gasped.

"Are you okay?"  asked Ranma.

Neko nodded.  "You know.. that big lizard... last night?"

"Let me guess."  Akane also knelt, picking up P-chan and cuddling him.
"You just ran into it?"

"Or its twin brother."  Neko fanned herself.  "Boy, that was scary."

"Skwee," agreed P-chan.

"Oh, you poor baby..." Akane cuddled P-chan a little tighter, kissed the
top of his head.  "Neko, thank you.  You're the best friend ever."

Ranma walked closer, kneeling down to look at Neko.  She didn't seem
hurt, so he turned his attention to the little black pig who was
enjoying being cuddled to Akane's breasts just a little too much.  "So,
what's up, piggy boy?  You havin' a good time on vacation out here?"
"Skweee weeenk weenk skwee."  (Don't be more of an idiot than you
usually are, Saotome.  As if this place would be anyone's choice of a
vacation!)

Ranma smirked.  "You better be nice to me.  I'll bet I could find a hot
spring around here somewhere, if I looked hard enough."

Before P-chan (who was trembling on the verge of exploding in a fit of
rage) could react, Akane got right up in Ranma's face, eyes snapping.
"Ranma, how many times have I told you not to pick on him?" she
demanded.  "Honestly, you are just so--so--ooh!"  

Before the argument could get started in earnest, Neko broke in.  "Maybe
we should continue this somewhere else?  Just in case I didn't lose the
you-know-what?"

Another roar, this one closer, punctuated her remarks.  

"Y'know, that sounds like a great idea to me," said Akane.  "Truce,
Ranma?"

"Sure.  I ain't that crazy about sparring with an overgrown suitcase
wanna-be."

                *                               *
*

"Akane, could I talk to you?"

"Of course, Ranma."  Akane tasted the curry, nodded, and put the cover
on it so it could simmer.  She turned to face the young man.  "What did
you want to talk about?"

"I..." Ranma cast a look over his shoulder at the others, lowered his
voice.  "Could we go for a walk or something?"

"Uh-huh."  

For once, even Ranma's sharp senses failed him.  He was so alert to
potential dangers as he walked outside with Akane, he didn't notice a
little black shadow wearing a leopard-print bandana following behind
them.

For a while neither one of them said anything.  Finally they came up on
a fallen tree. Ranma stopped, putting his foot up on it, and looked out
into the woods.  Akane sat, looking up at him.

P-chan crouched in the shadows. 

"Man," Ranma said after a long silence.  "I never thought I'd be in this
place again."

"You didn't have to come with me, Ranma."  Somehow Akane just couldn't
summon up the venom she might once have delivered those words with.
"But...I'm glad you did."  "Yeah, well, y'know, it wasn't like I
could--" Ranma stopped mid-sentence, or rather, was stopped; Akane'd
stood up and put a finger lightly over his lips.  "Ranma," she said,
smiling, "shut up before you say something wrong and make me mad, okay?"

Ranma nodded.

Akane took her finger away.  "So, what did you want to talk to me
about?"

"Shinnosuke."

"Oh."  Akane sat again.  "What... what about Shinn?"

"Akane.  I gotta know.  How do you really feel about him?"

(Why, Ranma, you're jealous!) was the first thing that crossed Akane's
mind.  She almost, almost said it, but something in Ranma's eyes stopped
her.  (If I say that... I'll lose whatever ground I've gained,) she
realized.  Taking a deep breath, she answered, "I like Shinnosuke a lot.
I care about what happens to him.  I owe him my life!  But... I... he...
he doesn't make me feel..the way that.." she swallowed, feeling her
cheeks growing warm.  "The way that you do, Ranma.  There.  I said it!"
She lifted her face defiantly. "You matter to me, Ranma.  You really
do."

Ranma sighed and nodded.  "Okay."

"Now you answer me a question.  Why did you want to know?"

Ranma's shoulders dropped and he coverd his face with one hand.  "Aw,
man," he moaned.  "I wish you hadn't asked me that."

"And why not?"  Akane demanded, feeling her temper rise and hurriedly
grabbing it.  "I mean, is there a problem?" she asked a little less
stridently.

"Akane, I... I just... you know.... and... how I feel..." Ranma shook
himself hard and put his hands on Akane's shoulders.  "Look, I ain't
real good at this kind of stuff.  But I'm gonna try, okay?"

"O-okay..."

"Akane, I-- I--"

"Yes, Ranma?"

"I-- I--

"Go on."

"I--" Pulling back, Ranma shut his eyes, threw his head back, and
screamed, "I love you, Akane Tendo!" 

Akane gasped. "R-Ranma..."

"Okay!  I said it!  All right?  And I mean it too!"  

"Oh..."  Akane's eyes were brimming with tears, but she smiled as she
put her arms around him.  "Oh, Ranma... I think I... love you too."

In the brush behind them, P-chan was trembling.  Tears welled in his
eyes as well, for entirely different reasons. Blindly he got to his
feet, stumbled off in a random direction.

Behind the cottage, Neko was just finishing her bath. The first thing
she dried was, of course, her ears; then her hair, her tail, and finally
the rest of her body.  Setting aside the damp towel, she wrapped a dry
one around herself, climbed out, started dipping the used water out.  On
a small fire nearby, fresh water was warming.

A movement at the edge of the clearing caught her eye.  P-chan was
staggering along, hardly able to keep from bumping into things.  As he
neared the cabin, he glanced up, saw her, and turned in another
direction, picking up pace.

"Ryoga!  Wait, please!"

The piglet paused, back still to Neko.  A few steps brought her to his
side and she knelt, looking at him with concern.  "Are you all right?"

The look he turned on her was one of absolute misery.  Before she could
ask anything else, he trotted over to the tub, leapt up and in.  A
second later Ryoga stood, gripping the side of the tub in both hands,
shaking.  

Neko darted over, looking up into his face.  "Ryoga?"

"It's over."  Utter despair and abandonment in those tones.  "I've lost
her.  I never had a chance."  Collapsing, Ryoga buried his head in his
arms.  "I'm too late, it's all over."  He blinked up at her, tears
flowing down his cheeks and falling to the earth unheeded. "I heard her.
Heard them.  Ranma and Akane.  He, he said he loved her, and she said
she loved him as well..."  with a moan he let his head drop again.  His
shoulders shook with soundless sobs.  "There's nothing left for me.  I'm
alone.  Alone forever.  Do you hear it, Neko...?"

She cocked her head, not understanding.  "Hear...what...?"

"That's the sound...of my heart breaking."

Not knowing what to do or say, Neko reached out and put her arms around
him.  As if her touch was burning hot, Ryoga jerked up and away.  "Don't
look at me like that, I can't bear it!" he said.  "Not, not with--with
pity--" he held out a hand, palm out, as if to ward her off.

"Ryoga, please," Neko pleaded, her own heart tearing at the sight of
him.  "It's not--I don't pity you.  I'm not trying to treat you like
that.  I know it hurts.  It hurts worse than anything you ever thought
of.  When you love someone that doesn't love you back..."  she choked,
couldn't go on.

"I suppose next you'll say you know exactly how I feel."  Ryoga savagely
raked his bangs back, fighting to control the tears.

"No, I'm not.  I don't know 'exactly how you feel'.  I'm not you.  But I
know all about hurting, and being alone.  I want to help."

"Why?"  Suddenly he was in her face, teeth bared, voice as sharp as a
knife.  "What do you care, anyway?  What business is it of yours?"

Neko's ears flattened and her tail whipped from side to side, but she
repressed the urge to hiss and bare her teeth back at Ryoga.  "I'm
your--your friend," she answered softly.  "That makes your problems my
problems.   I _care_ about you!"

Something half-mad and animal-wild flickered up in Ryoga's gaze, then
subsided.  He slumped.  "Of course."  He ran shaky fingers through his
hair again.  "And listen to me, all but tearing your throat out for
being kind to me.  I must've lost my mind.  I've never spoken that
cruelly to a woman before... I'm not worthy of your concern.  I'm not
worthy of anyone's concern."

"Yes you are.  You are.  Please try to believe me."  Neko reached out to
him again.  This time Ryoga suffered her to draw close, put her arms
around him.  Leaning his head on her shoulder, he wept scalding tears of
loss and heartbreak.  Neko held him, only just keeping her own tears
from falling.  "It's..." she struggled to make her voice stay even.
"It's all right.  I won't tell anyone.  I'll never tell, I promise.  Go
ahead and cry, there's no one here but me..."

Finally Ryoga straightened, his expression something resembling the
usual mix of calm focus and bleak irony.  "I'm sorry," he said.  "I
never meant to speak that sharply to you.  You don't deserve that.  You
could never deserve such harshness."  The corner of his mouth twisted
wryly.  "And you befriend me, the one person in the world least
deserving of your faith..."  He shook his head.  "The Fates truly do
laugh at us."  

(No, no,) Neko thought, feeling the tears pushing, wanting to run free.
(I can't cry, I mustn't cry... not now...)

Seeing her distress, Ryoga patted Neko on the shoulder.  "Don't worry
so.  I'll be all right.  I always survive.  It's funny, almost, you
know.  I let myself believe I had a chance to be happy.  That was the
opening in my defense.  The world is a cold and lonely place, and I'm
condemned to never know peace.  I should've accepted that by now."  He
drew a deep, shuddering breath.  "But now I have a new problem.  How can
I return to Akane?  How can I stand to be close to her day after day as
P-chan?"

"We'll think of something," Neko forced out.

"We?"

"Remember, I said your problems were my problems?"

"Oh. Yes. *heh*  Sure you want that?  You may be letting yourself in for
more than you realize."

"It doesn't matter!"  Neko clenched her fists.  "When will you realize
that I--that you--you're very special to me, Ryoga!  And I won't be
pushed out of your life like an old shoe!"  The fierce words were out
before she could call them back.

Ryoga stared at her; relaxed.  A soft half-laugh escaped him.  "You're
no tame housecat," he said, voice full of admiration.  "You're a
tigress.  All right, Neko.  I... I could use a... a friend like you."
He clasped her hands.  "But right now I need some cold water.  I have to
get back before I worry Akane..  Though being near her will be agony, I
have to think of her and not myself right now.  Once we return to Tokyo,
I can think of something else to do."  He climbed out of the tub, picked
up a bucket of water, and upended it over himself, promptly being
trapped under the pail as he changed.

Walking over, Neko tipped the bucket up so P-chan could get out.  The
pig looked up at her, rubbed against her ankle briefly by way of saying
thanks, and promptly headed off in the wrong direction just as Akane and
Ranma emerged from the woods. Shaking her head, Neko walked over, picked
P-chan up, and turned him so he could see the pair.  "That way," she
corrected him gently.

P-chan let out a quiet groan and slumped in her hands.

"Oh, P-chan!  Were you looking for me, baby?  Did you think I'd wander
off and you had to find me?"  Akane reached out and patted the tiny
piglet.  "Oh, baby, you're crying.  You're scared of these woods, aren't
you?  Don't you worry.  Everything's going to be all right now. --Neko,
would you do me a favor?  P-chan really seems to like you a lot, and you
can keep up with him.  I've got to finish cooking dinner.  Would you
mind looking after him for me for a while?"

"Not at all."  Neko cradled P-chan to her chest.  "I like taking care of
him; he's very easy to care about.  It's almost as if he were mine."

Akane smiled and nodded.  "Great!"  Hand in hand with Ranma, she went
back into the cabin.  

Just as they were walking in, Shinnosuke hurried out.  Catching sight of
Ranma, he sighed.  "Good.  There you are.  I need to talk to you, um...
er.... what's your name again?"

"Ranma."  With a sigh Ranma motioned Akane on.  "Gimme a sec, okay?"

Akane nodded and went in.

"So, what's up, Shinnosuke?"

"Ranma, I need your advice."

"Huh.  That's a switch.  Most people want to give me advice, not get
any.  So what'cha wanna ask about?"

"It's... it's the old man inside."

"Oh, your grandpa?"

"Is that who he is?"

"*sigh* Yeah, that's him."

"He hasn't said anything, but... I know he's very glad to see you.  He's
glad of the company.  I know it must be lonely out here for him.
Sometimes he tells me stories about living in town.  He always seems to
like those stories. I think sometimes he wishes he could go back and
live in town again, but--"

"The monsters."

"Yes."  Shinnosuke looked off into the night.  "And that's something
else.  Grandpa--well, he's not getting any younger.  It's getting harder
for him to keep up with me.  He works at it, but I can tell some days
it's a strain.  I keep wondering what will happen when he's... when he's
too weak to keep up our patrols.  We could leave if the creatures here
were under control, but they're not.  I wanted to ask you to help me
think of a way to make that happen--getting everything set right, I
mean."

"Whoa.  Tall order.  --Lemme think about it, okay?  I mean, I ain't got
a problem helping you with it.  It's just figuring out how that's the
tough part."

Shinnosuke smiled.  "Thank you, Ranma.  I appreciate it."


The next morning was a wreath of fog that made the leaves glisten with a
thousand silver drops in the dawn.
Ranma opened his eyes, knowing something was different about his
immediate environment.  The source wasn't hard to deduce; it was warm,
soft, and snuggled into his side.  With infinite care he rolled towards
her and carefully shook her.  In a moment or two she made a sleepy
murmur and opened her eyes, smiled at him.  "Ranma...?"

He put a finger on her lips.  "I got one thing to ask, and I want an
honest answer," he whispered.  "You can do that for me, right?  I
promise I won't get mad or nothin', okay?"

She nodded, and he took his finger away.  "Akane...what're you doin' in
my bed?  I mean, it ain't that I mind or nothin', but I just, you know,
wanted to know.  You just--you just never seemed like the kinda girl
who'd do that, y'know?  Sneak into a guy's bed, I mean."

"Ranma..." Akane pointed at the pallet next to hers.  Ranma glanced
up and saw Neko in it, both fast asleep.  He frowned, then looked over
her to the other side of the room, at the sleeping form of Shinnosuke
and the empty pallet beside him.  "Wha..."

"This isn't your bed," Akane breathed, "it's mine."

For the space of three heartbeats Ranma just stared at her.  A faint
blush crept across the bridge of his nose and he sat up quickly.  "Hey,
it ain't what it looks like!" he hissed frantically.  "I mean, I wasn't
tryin' nothing!  I don't know how I got over here, honest."

Akane also sat up, reached out to touch his cheek.  "I know that," she
murmured.  "Ranma, it's okay.  I didn't think you were trying anything.
Though..." she began turning pink herself.  "It was very nice, waking up
next to you..."  she put her face down, blushing furiously.

"I'm not a pervert or nothin', y'know--really?"  Ranma stopped in
mid-denial.  "You... you liked it?  You ain't mad?  You ain't gonna
scream or hit me or anything?"

"No, of course not.  Well, if you wanted me to I could..."

"No no no no no!  That's okay."  He forced a smile.  "Guess I better get
back on my side, huh?" 

Akane giggled a little.  "At least until we're married!"

"Yeah." Ranma turned, found himself nose to nose with Grandpa. "Married,
eh?" the old man asked.

Ranma swallowed hard and nodded.

Grandpa leapt from his futon and embraced Akane, tears fountaining.
"Akane, my child!  What a wonderful thing to happen to you!  Boy finally
got some sense in him, eh? This is cause for a real celebration!  We'll
have a party.  I know I've got some fireworks here somewhere..." the old
man danced over to a chest, out of which he began to toss an amazing
assortment of odds and ends.  

"Grandpa..."  Shinn said, watching.

"We'll have little hats, and sing songs, and Akane will cook us
something wonderful to eat--"

"Grandpa..."

"And the sake, I mustn't forget the sake for the toasts--"

"Grandpa."  Shinn took his grandfather by the shoulders.  "There's still
a problem."

"Eh?  What's that?  You don't like sake?"

"No, it's that-- um, I--"  he looked over at Ranma desperately.

"Um, it's the animals!" Ranma jumped in.  "There seem to be an awful lot
more of them this year."

"That's very true."  Grandpa sighed.  "Soon it may be too much for us to
handle. If only we could think of a way to take care of the problem
permanently, Shinnosuke and I could move down to the village with a
clear conscience."

Silence descended.

"Well, there has to be something we can do," Neko said finally.  

P-chan launched into a sudden frantic squealing and grunting.  Akane
looked over at him curiously.  "P-chan?  What is it, baby?  Did
something scare you?"

P-chan rolled his eyes as Akane picked him up and cuddled him.  He
looked over at Neko and grunted significantly.

Neko cocked her head, ears swivelling in that direction, obviously
paying careful attention to the little pig's squealing.  Then she
brightened and straightened up.  "Oh!"

"What is it, Neko?"  Akane stepped closer, still holding P-chan.

"Mr....um..."  Neko turned uncertainly towards the old man.

"Oh, just call me Grandpa...everybody does," he said, waving a gnarled
hand.

"The animals in the forest...the ones that are so big...why _are_ they
big?"

"The Water of Life."  The old man's face grew solemn.  "It caused the
animals to grow to enormous size.  It has strange powers that are not
fully understood."

"Are all the animals in the forest that big?"

"No," Shinnosuke answered.  "Just the ones Grandpa brought here as
pets."

"The native wildlife isn't affected by the magical water," the old man
explained.  "Only the animals not indigenous to the area."

"Okay..."  Neko looked at P-chan, who seemed to be grunting
encouragingly at her.  "So...if we kept the big animals from drinking
the Water of Life, would they return to normal size again?"

The old man's bushy eyebrows drew close together.  "It would seem a
logical supposition.  If we could prevent them from drinking the Water
of Life for a day or so, they should become normal again as quickly as
the Water made them huge."  He winked at Neko.  "You're a very bright
young lady."

"Oh, well, it wasn't--"  Neko broke off short as P-chan let out a sharp
squeal.  "Um...thank you."  She ducked her head, as though suddenly
embarrassed.

"That's it, Akane!"  Shinnosuke turned and clasped Akane's shoulders.
"That's the answer!  If we can return the animals to normal, and then
take them away from Ryugenzawa, then there won't be any more reason for
Grandpa and me to stay here!  We can actually leave!  We can live in a
town somewhere, just like normal people..."

Akane nodded, eyes shining with happiness.  "Yes!"

"And just how're we supposed to keep these animals away from the Water
of Life?"  Ranma asked.  "There's an awful lot of them, and only so many
of us, y'know."

"We might be able to stop up the springs," Shinnosuke suggested.

But the old man shook his head.  "Too dangerous, I'm afraid.  The water
pressure could build up and cause a sudden outburst.  Better to leave
the springs alone...considering what we could be disturbing if we
tampered with them."

Shinnosuke, Akane and Ranma looked suddenly uneasy.  Neko noticed that
even P-chan had fallen quiet.  Whatever the old man was talking about,
it was obviously something they were familiar with, and didn't care for.
"Maybe if we could round the animals up somewhere?"

"But where?"  Ranma shrugged.  "We can't build a pen big enough to hold
'em all.  It'd have to be as big as the forest itself."

"There's got to be some way."  Akane looked up at Shinnosuke.  "We've
got to find an answer..."

The old man scratched his chin thoughtfully.  "There might be a way..."

He immediately had everyone's attention.  "Well, don't just stand there,
give it up!"  Ranma demanded.  "We ain't got all day!"

A slide projector threw a map of Ryugenzawa up on the far wall.  The old
man pulled out a pointer and indicated a clear area north of the forest.
"This is the site of an old quarry, mined out years ago.  It's a
rabbit's warren of caves and caverns.  The whole place has been closed
up for years, but if we can find a way to dig through to the central
cavern, it should be big enough to hold all of the animals, even the
airborne ones.  The underground river there flows down from the
mountains; it has no connection with the Water of Life springs."

"So what're we gonna dig with?  Soup spoons?"  Ranma asked, just before
Akane shot a sideways punch at him that knocked him into the wall.

P-chan struggled himself out from between Shinn and Akane and stumbled
over to Neko.  She picked him up, listening intently to his squeals and
grunts.  "Um...Akane, would you like me to take P-chan for a walk?  I
promise to take care of him.  I won't let him run off."

"Sure, Neko, go ahead.  I trust you."

"We might as well get started; there are a lot of animals to round up."
The old man shrugged into a black jacket much like Shinnosuke's.  "We'll
start at the southern end of the forest and drive them towards the
north.  There's a valley with a bottle-neck passage between the forest
and the quarry; we should be able to hold them there, if we keep a
special close eye on the airborne animals.  Most of those aren't
aggressive, though; if we feed them, they'll stay where they are."

"Got any super-sized bird seed handy, old man?"  Ranma mumbled.  Akane
threw him a look and he shrugged.  "Just an idea..."

"Keep those kinds of ideas to yourself, okay, Ranma?"

                *                           *
*

"Um..."  carefully averting her eyes from the steaming tub, Neko held
out a fresh change of clothes for Ryoga.  "I found your pack while you
were bathing...I thought you might need something to wear."
"Thank you...you're very kind."  Ryoga finished drying himself off and
took the clothes from Neko's hands.  She then turned her back, obviously
allowing him his privacy.  

When he was dressed, he stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm very grateful.  If there's...anything I can ever do for
you...you'll let me know, won't you?"

Neko looked around and up at him, her green-gold eyes glittering
suspiciously.  "Ryoga...I...I just want you to be happy, that's all."

He chuckled without humor.  "You shouldn't ask the impossible."  He
straightened up.  "Now then...where did the old man say that quarry
was?"

"North.  I can show you."  Neko reached out and took his hand.  He
didn't resist, but let her lead him along the twisted forest paths.

"How can you possibly know where it is?"  he asked.  "Have you been
there?"

"Not yet...but I got a good look at the map he showed us, and I know
where we can find it."

Ryoga's eyes grew misty.  "It must be wonderful..."

Neko looked back at him.  "What?"

"To be able to look at a map, and know which way to go..."  He sighed,
wistful.  "I'd love to be able to do that, just once..."

She squeezed his hand.  "Don't worry...I won't let you lose your way,
Ryoga."

They traveled the rest of the way in relative silence, dodging the
occasional monstrosity, until suddenly the forest cover broke and they
found themselves facing a wide, stripped-out valley that was bare of all
but the most meager grass.  Half a kilometer away stood a barren
cliff-face with a rockfall of boulders blocking what must have once been
a cave entrance.

"I seem to remember there was a cavern inside that mountain, a big one."
Ryoga studied the hillside carefully.  "If only I could remember which
side it was on..."

"I can."

"Good.  Will you show me, please?"

Neko beamed at him.  "Of course!"

The pair walked across the barren valley until they faced a featureless
slab of rock to the east of the rockfall.  The sheer rock rose straight
up several hundred feet without a break.  "It should be just here," Neko
said, pointing.  "Unfortunately, there's about two meters of solid rock
between us and it."

Ryoga showed a narrow half-smile.  "As if that were a problem."  He
reached out and tapped the rock-face sharply with one finger.

"What--?  OH!"  Neko gasped as Ryoga grabbed her around the waist and
leaped back with her in time to avoid a sudden avalanche of small rocks
and dust.  Where seconds ago, a solid wall of rock had stood, there was
now a fifteen-feet-wide opening that went straight through to the
enormous underground cavern beyond.  Neko's nose twitched as stale cave
air and the tang of water reached her nostrils.  She sneezed once from
the dust, and shook her head. "That...that was amazing!"

"Thank you."  Ryoga pulled out his umbrella, shouldered it, and smiled
at Neko--a real smile, not the mirthless smirk he usually assumed.
"Shall we go help with the round-up?"  He turned and started off.

"Um...Ryoga...?"

He stopped dead in his tracks.  His shoulders sagged, his newfound
confidence draining out of him.  "I know, I know...I'm going the wrong
way."

Without a word, Neko slipped an arm through his and led him off.

                *                       *                       *

"Shoo!  Get moving!  ÃÃGo onÄÄ!"  Akane whapped at the enormous otter
with the bristle end of the broom she'd borrowed from Shinnosuke.
"That's it, get a move on!  Scat!"

The creature huffed a little, but continued on its way.  Akane paused
long enough to swipe at her brow.  She studied her palm critically.
"Hey, I think I'm actually getting blisters!"

"You want to rest for a while?  I can handle this by myself, y'know."
Ranma gave a slow-moving ground sloth a good firm kick in its rump.
"You shouldn't overdo it."

"Are you kidding?  I can handle hard work just as easily as you can,
Ranma"  Akane punctuated her remark with a swipe at an enormous white
jackrabbit.  "At least they're pretty tame, in a way."

"We're lucky it's nearly summer; the animals are always quieter then."
The old man took a long swig from the canteen at his belt.

"You know, I've always been meaning to ask...why the brooms?  Why not
use real weapons?"  Akane whapped a giant garter-snake on its way before
it could entangle her.  "Gigantic or not, these creatures were my pets
once.  My only company, for a while, anyway.  I couldn't bear to hurt
them."  The old man kept pace with Akane, although it was obviously a
bit of a struggle for him.  Akane slowed deliberately and listened as he
continued.  "The animals have come to see the broom as a symbol of
authority, I suppose.  It makes them easier to handle."

"Speak for yourself, old man!"  Ranma called through the trees.  "Become
too dependent on a weapon, any weapon, and you become vulnerable.  A
weapon ain't nothin' but a crutch.  What happens if somebody takes it
away?  Then where are ya, huh?--Hey!" he yelled as a long red tongue
snaked down from above, whipped around his waist, and hauled him up into
the air.

"Up a tree, I'd say," the old man calmly remarked, stopping to watch.

"Ranma!!"  Akane shouted, ready to fire her broom up at the treeªlizard
who had decided her boyfriend would make a proper lunch.

Ranma drew back his leg, ready to kick himself free when he got within
range.  Before he was close enough, though, someone landed with both
feet on top of the tree-lizard's head.  Its tongue loosened, and Ranma
dropped.  He landed lightly on his feet and looked up.  "Ryoga...?"

He sat straddling the lizard, his umbrella held jauntily over one
shoulder.  "Very careless of you, Saotome.  But if you think I'm going
to let some stupidly huge animal eat you before I give you the beating
you deserve...think again."

"Why, you--!"  Ranma crouched, preparing to jump.

"Guys, could you finish this later?"  Akane demanded.  "We've got work
to do, or have you forgotten?"

"Yeah, whatever."  Ranma gave the sloth another kick to get it going
again.  "The sooner we finish this up, the sooner we can all go home,
right?"

The ground beneath their feet shuddered.  Akane gasped.  "An
earthquake!?"

"Yeah..."  Ranma brightened as the animals broke into a wild run.  "Hey,
at least it's makin' our job easier!  They're even running in the right
direction and everything!"  He ran off after them, laughing.

"Ranma, wait--it could be dangerous!"  Akane called after him.  "Ranma--
oh, why do I bother?"  She looked around.  "Neko, is that you up there?"

The cat-girl waved from the treetop while Ryoga pushed the half-stunned
lizard to the ground and drove it on its way with his umbrella.  "I'm
here, Akane."

"Where's P-chan?"

"Um...he's back at the cabin.  Don't worry, he's safe."  Neko hated
lying to her friend, but she had promised Ryoga to help him keep his
secret.

"Oh.  Okay."  Akane went after the others, with Neko following along
overhead, leaping nimbly from branch to branch, helping to point out
stragglers to those herding the animals north.

Left alone, the old man frowned and looked down at the ground beneath
his feet.  No more tremors threatened...at least, not yet.

An earthquake?

"I hope so," he muttered.  "I hope that's all it was."

                *                                  *
*

By midday, the last of the giant animals had been secured inside the
cavern.  A group of giant gulls followed Shinnosuke in, led by the
promise of the several large loaves of bread he waved at them. When they
were safely inside, he jumped out, broom at the ready.  "That's the last
of them," he said.  "Even the fish have been put in the underground
pool."

"Yeah, and it wasn't easy, either."  Ranma (now red-haired, buxom, and
female) took a copper kettle from a quickly-kindled fire and poured it
over her head.  "Man," he said, tossing the kettle aside and shaking out
his wet black bangs, "that was rough!"

"Wrangling the fish?"  asked Akane.

"All of it!"

"But we did it.  Only...how're we going to keep them in there now?"

"Not a problem."  Ryoga walked over to the rockfall, selected the
biggest boulder he could reach, picked it up as though it weighed a
tenth of what it did, and tossed it into place in front of the opening.
It fit snugly enough on both sides, and left a gap of only a few inches
at the top.  "There!  That stone's far too heavy for any of those
animals to move, and even at normal size they can't get out, but they'll
have air to breathe in the meantime."

"How long will it take the animals to return to normal?"  Akane asked
the old man.

"Only a day or two.  Without the magic of the Water of Life, they'll
quickly--"  Another tremor made the old man fall silent.  This time it
didn't cease immediately, but went on and on, neither fading nor
increasing in intensity. "Another earthquake?"  Akane looked at Ranma,
who frowned even as he put an arm around her to steady her.  "Ranma?"

"This don't feel like no ordinary earthquake.  It's almost like--"

"What's going on?"  Neko felt her hackles rise.  She dropped into a
crouch, one ear flattening back.  "What is it?"

"What I most feared," the old man breathed.  A stand of tree-tops
shuddered as though disturbed from within.  He pointed in that
direction.  "Look!"

Something erupted from the sea of green leaves--something like a
serpent's head, on a gigantic, sinuous neck, with wide staring eyes and
a silken beard the color of pale gray moss.  It let out an unearthly
roar.

"It's awake," Shinnosuke gasped.  "The yamato no orochi..."

Neko hissed.  Ranma and Akane looked at each other.  Ryoga bared his
fang-tipped teeth.  Shinnosuke took a ready stance, brows drawing
together.

Then the horror increased, as the first head was joined by another.  And
another.  And then still another...until seven dragon-like heads wavered
above the forest, shrieking outrage to the clear blue sky.

And then it saw them.

"Aw, shit!"  Ranma grabbed Akane and leapt away as a head plunged down,
mouth gaping wide, and smashed into the ground. "What the hell is it
doing awake?"

"The whistle!" cried Shinnosuke.  "It's our only chance!"  He reached
down his shirtfront, fumbling out a small horn on a leather thong.  Just
as he set it to his lips, a second and third head lashed out at him.  He
dodged, but the impact of the orochi's strike shook the ground and
knocked him off his feet.  The whistle flew out of his hands and
vanished in the grass.  "No!"

"I'll get it!" Neko scrabbled desperately through the growth.  "Please,
oh please--"

"Look out, Neko!"  Ryoga jumped, knocking her flat, as a long tongue
wrapped through the air where she'd been a second ago.

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Neko stammered.

"It's called--" Ranma started.

"I know what it's called!  I heard Shinnosuke.  But what is it?"

"The guardian of the forest!" Grandpa shouted.  "The moss that grows on
its eighth head changes the normal water of the springs that flow here
into the Water of Life.  It must've been disturbed by something--maybe
by the animals all moving this way at once."

"I don't think that's real important right now!"  Ranma twisted himself
and Akane aside as a head flashed past them.  "Neko!  You and Ryoga
gotta find that whistle quick!"

"We're trying, Ranma!  If you think you can do any better, then you get
over here!"  Angrily Ryoga swatted the grasses aside, feeling through
them frantically. "We have to distract it.  Ranma!  Change back into a
girl!" Ryoga whipped his umbrella at a huge sinuous neck.  "Then you can
draw its attention!"

"Oh yeah, right!  Like I want that thing chasin' me!"  Even as he said
it, Ranma knew Ryoga was right.  He was the fastest of them.  He'd stand
the best chance of staying out of the orochi's way while the others
tried to find the weasel horn that could put the beast back to sleep.
He jumped behind a fallen trunk with Akane, put her down.  "Stay here,
and stay quiet," he ordered.  "Remember, the orochi eats girls."

"Do you really expect me to just stand here and do nothing?  What do you
take me for?  I can take care of myself, Ranma!"

"Please, Akane... just once, do what I ask!  I'm not sayin' you're a bad
martial artist, okay?  I just-- I just want you to be safe!"

Akane hesitated, seeing the urgency in Ranma's face.  "O-okay," she
faltered.  "I'll try."

"Thanks."  Darting through a forest of waving necks, Ranma made his way
to Ryoga's side.  "You got a canteen?"

"Here."  Ryoga lobbed the container to him.  Ranma screwed off the top,
hesitated, then drenched his head.  "Oh, Mr. Orochi!" she carolled
merrily, dropping the canteen and pirouetting.  "Over heeere!"

All seven heads whipped around to lock in on her.  Ran-chan leapt up,
spinning in mid-air, wriggling her fingers at it flirtatiously.  The
orochi responded by coming at her.  It took everything she could muster
to keep out of the multiple jaws reaching greedily for her.

"Look, it's working!" Grandpa yelled.  "It absolutely can't resist such
a tempting morsel.  It's practically falling all over itself to be close
to her!"

Just then a thin scream cut through the air.  "Ryoga!!"

"N-Neko?"  Ryoga froze, eyes tracking upward to where a single head held
a frantically struggling kitty-girl prisoner in its tongue.  "NOOOOOO!"
Gaze wild, he leapt up, bringing the umbrella around to smash fiercely
down between the orochi's eyes.  It blinked and waggled back and forth,
then flailed around and sent him flying backward to crash into the
cliffside.  He slid down, shaking his head, fighting to clear it.

Another head, disregarding Ran-chan for the moment, undulated across the
ground towards Akane, who stood motionless, apparently paralyzed at its
approach.  As it drew close to her, however, she leapt up in the air and
came down, slamming her broom into the corner of its eyes.  It howled
and jerked back.

"Got it!"  Akane landed and rolled.  "That'll teach--aaaaaa!"  A long
red tongue was sliding around her waist and snatching her up.  "No!
Ranma!  Help me!"

"Akane!"  Shinnosuke flung himself upward, raining blows from his broom
on the serpent's head.  It hardly noticed him, flipping him off with a
single casual shake.  He dropped, regained his feet, and tried again.
This time it rammed him aside; he fell heavily and lay there, half
stunned.  

"Hey, Mr. Orochi!  Come on, you big silly!  Don't you want to play with
me?"  Ran-chan leapt up and performed a graceful mid-air spin in front
of the head holding Akane.  Akane tried to scream her name, but the
orochi's tongue was tightening on her, forcing the breath out of her.
It would not let her go.

"Stupid thing's not interested in me!" Ran-chan snarled.  

"It must remember that you change into a male from the last time we
fought it!"  Grandpa stopped, a thoughtful look creasing his features.
"You know, that's very interesting.  Who would have thought the orochi
had that much awareness?"

"Contemplate the damn thing's intelligence later!" shrieked Ryoga.  "It
has Neko and Akane!  How are we going to stop it??  It doesn't even feel
our blows!!"

Ran-chan landed near the fire and kettle, praying there was still enough
hot water around to do her some good.  There was, barely.  Tossing it
aside, he turned, yelled, "Try the Breaking Point!"

"That doesn't work on living things, you fool!"

"Not on the orochi--on the ground!  Throw it off balance!"

"What?  --Yes!"  One finger stabbed down.  With a thunderous explosion
of force a crack shot out from where Ryoga stood and raced at the
multi-headed serpent, tossing huge chunks of rock into the sky as the
earth shattered.  Four of the orochi's heads either hit the ground as
they miscalculated their dodge or were clipped by flying boulders.
Three remained aloft.  

Ranma gritted his teeth, heart wrenching inside him.  He desperately
tried to stay calm and clear his thoughts.  The orochi had to have a
weak spot.  There had to be a way for them to beat it without the
whistle.  But what could it be?  The girls' lives depended on finding
that technique, and finding it now.  He had to concentrate...

Concentrate.

His head rose.  "Ryoga."

"What?"  The other boy was nearly incoherent, pupils contracted to
pinpricks.

"We got one chance. Keep using the bakusai tenketsu until you make it
mad enough to come all the way out of hiding.  Then we gotta hit the
main head at the same time and the same place with everything we've got.
Remember, the other heads didn't eat me or Akane.  It was the eighth
head.  That's the one that runs all the others.  If we can take it out,
we got it made." 
"What if you're wrong?"

"We ain't got time for this!  Just do it!"

Ryoga clenched his fists, extended both index fingers, and hit the earth
with them.  It felt as if an earthquake had hit as the Breaking Point
technique he'd learned from Cologne shattered the rock into fragments
with all the power of high explosive.  The others struggled to keep
their feet.

Abruptly the trembling ground burst open and a head that dwarfed all the
others rose, its roar like thunder.  "Okay, Saotome, you've gotten your
wish!" Ryoga howled.  "This had better work!"

"Shinnosuke!"  Ranma shouted across to the young man struggling to his
feet.  "Find that stupid whistle!  Quick!  --You ready, Ryoga?"

"Let's do it."

Ranma concentrated, his battle aura flickering into the visible
spectrum.  Beside him, Ryoga did the same.  In the palms of their
upturned hands globes of energy winked into being and grew. 

The three heads still moving turned and reached upwards, holding out the
girls (Akane still fighting feebly, Neko dangling unconscious) to the
waiting fangs of the master head--

"Moko takabisha!!" Ranma shouted, golden fire leaping out from his
fists.

"Shishi hoko-dan!!" Ryoga shouted at the same time, blue fire reaching
out and twining around Ranma's ki blast, joining, combining, striking
square in the center of the orochi's eighth head.  As the light faded
Ranma and Ryoga dropped to their knees, exhausted.  "It... it didn't
work, Ranma," Ryoga panted.  "It didn't work..."

Ranma shook his head.  (What?  What does it take to put this thing down?
I haven't--we haven't--got anything left to hit it with!)  He peered
upwards, praying for a miracle.

He got one.

The orochi's eyes wavered, grew blank and unfocussed.  All at once the
master head plunged slowly down, landing with a crash that tossed the
foursome around like peas in a pod.  The smaller heads now wavered as
well, moving aimlessly.  The girls dropped free  as the tongues' grip on
each loosened.

At the same time Shinnosuke's hand fell on something smooth and
polished.  He snatched it up, put it to his lips.  The strange, haunting
trill of the horned weasel whistle filled the air.  Instantly the eyes
of the orochi's remaining heads dulled, and it slid slowly back into its
burrow, vanishing into the underground depths of its lair.

"Did too work," Ranma muttered in the silence that followed.  "Orochi's
just too stupid to know when it's beaten."

"Like you, huh?"

"Aw, shut up, Ryoga."  Ranma crawled along to where Akane had fallen.
She seemed unhurt, but she was so still...  With a sound that was almost
a sob, he gathered her into his arms and gently patted one cheek.
"Akane?" he pleaded.  "C'mon, you gotta wake up now.  You just gotta."

Brown eyes fluttered open.  "R-Ranma?"

"I'm here."  He cradled her close.  "We won."

Meanwhile, Ryoga had dragged himself over to Neko.  She was still
unconscious, a crumpled heap.  He tenderly straightened her out, making
her as comfortable as he could.  Looking at the still, silent face, he
whispered, "Neko... you've been so wonderful to me.  I don't deserve
someone like you, not even as a friend.  And... you could be so much
more to me.  But it wouldn't be true, not now.  I would be running to
you to ease my loss, and that isn't right.  You deserve someone who
loves you and you alone, someone who can devote his entire life to you.
I have nothing to offer you."  He reached up, took off one of his
bandannas, laid it in her hand, and closed the delicate fist about it.
"Take this, and try to remember me kindly.  I know I'll never forget
you."  Looking around, he saw that no one was paying him any attention.
It was easy enough for him to slip away into the forest and be gone long
before he was missed.

He paused at the edge of the treeline and looked back one last time.  He
saw Ranma cradling Akane in his arms as though she were the most
precious thing in the world, and he hastily tore his eyes away.  His
gaze landed on Neko, who was just beginning to stir. "It hurts too much
to be human," he whispered softly.  His hands curled into fists, his
arms ramrod-straight at his sides.  "From this day forward...I will
never be a man again."  He blinked as tears blurred his vision.
"Goodbye..."  He turned and was gone without another sound.

                *                           *
*

"I think she's coming around now."

Neko's ears twisted to catch the familiar voice.  "Akane?" she
murmured.  "My head hurts--"

"It oughta," another voice said, "you knocked it hard enough."

"Hush, Ranma."  Something cool passed over Neko's face.  She managed to
get her eyes open, tried to sit up.  A pair of arms helped her. "Did we,
did we win?" she faltered.

Shinnosuke held out a cup to her.  "Drink this."

Obediently Neko sipped at the cup's contents.  The cool water seemed to
flow into her, easing all the aches and pains away.  "Did we win?" she
asked again.

Akane, seated beside her, nodded.  "We sure did.  Well, Ranma and Ryoga
did, anyway.  From what I hear, they took out the orochi all by
themselves.  I wish I'd been awake to see it!"

"Ryoga..." Neko looked around.  "Where is he?"

An uncomfortable silence.  Finally Akane said, "He... he's not here,
Neko.  He left."

"What? But where did he go?"

"Who knows?"  Ranma shrugged.  "We were all too busy pickin' ourselves
up and makin' sure you were okay.  You've been out cold for hours."

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Neko let her gaze fall to her lap.  In
one hand she still clutched a leopard-spotted bandanna.  She stared at
it for a heartbeat, then pushed herself to her feet.  "I'll be right
back," she said, and ran out the door.

"Neko!"  Akane started after her, to be stopped by Shinnosuke.  "Don't,"
he said simply.  "This is something she has to do."

At top speed, Neko ran through the forest, trying to find some trace,
any trace, of Ryoga.  But obviously he'd been expecting her to follow
him; what slight traces she found were hopelessly, deliberately muddled.
He could have gone in any direction, and she couldn't tell which was the
true way.
Exhausted, she reached a hill that overlooked most of Ryugenzawa and
stood there, panting.  Nothing moved in the forest but what belonged
there.  In despair she drew breath and shouted, "Ryoga!"

Ryoga... Ryoga... the echoes came back to her.

"RYOOOOGAAAAA!"

Again, nothing but echoes.

Devastated, Neko fell to her knees, hugging the kerchief to her as if it
were the one who'd given it to her.  "Ryoga... please don't go..."

Only the wind answered her plea.

With a little broken sound Neko turned and made her way back to Shinn's
cabin.  "He's gone," she said simply.  "I, I wanted to thank him for
saving me...."

"Figures."  Ranma shrugged.  "He'll show back up eventually."

Neko nodded.

"I guess we're ready to go..."  Akane leaned up on tip-toe and pressed a
kiss to Grandpa's cheek.  "Come to the dojo sometime and see us!  We'd
love to have you and Shinn visit."

"We will," Shinn promised.

"Got everything we came here with?" Ranma asked as they shouldered their
packs.

"Has anyone seen P-chan?" Akane looked around.  "In all the confusion, I
lost track of him."

As if on cue, a feeble scratching came from outside.  Opening the door,
Akane smiled.  "P-chan!"

A dusty, weary little piglet tottered forward and collapsed at her feet.



Back in Tokyo, a car pulled up at an abandoned building.  Two people got
out; one an older man, face marked by some deep concern, the other a
young man, possibly 18 or 19, who looked at the building calmly.  "It's
big enough, Father," he said at last, "but it'll take a lot of work."

The man he'd called 'Father' nodded twice.  "Yes, it will.  But we have
time to get it just the way we want it."

"And then?"
"Why, then, my son, we proceed to run the Tendo dojo out of business...
and see how good a warrior Ranma Saotome really is."

=======================
 *  TO BE CONTINUED  *
=======================