"Would you like a piggy-back ride?" Akane said to the little boy,
grinning as a smile lit up his face.
        "Let him walk.  He's got to learn to act like a man, you know,"
Ranma said.  The smile faded from Ryoga's face, and he got up slowly.
        "No, thank you, I can walk," he said quietly, looking at the floor.
        "You could trip with those long pants," Akane said, shooting Ranma
a warning glare.  "I think it would be better for you to ride piggy-back."
        Ryoga glanced up at Ranma, who scowled at Akane but offered no
further comment.  "Ok!" the boy said happily, and clambered up onto Akane's
back.  Ranma followed, carrying the Lost Boy's pack.

*******

        "Well, that outfit certainly suits you, Ryoga," Kasumi said as she
began serving dinner.  Ryoga smiled shyly up at her.  He had one of Akane's
old jumpsuits on, with the pants legs folded up a few turns.
        "Yeah, it doesn't look TOO girly," Ranma said indifferently.
        "Ranma!" Akane hissed.  Luckily, the little boy hadn't heard the
exchange, but was digging into his dinner with enthusiasm.
        "So if the...change happens when he sleeps,"  Nabiki said, "Who's
going to stay up with him tonight?"
        "That's right, we can't let him sleep," Akane said.
        "I'll stay up with him, no problem," Ranma said.
        "Ranma, are you sure?  Maybe we should take turns or something,"
Akane said.
        "Nah, I can handle it.  It's no problem for a Martial Artist."
        "Hey, I'm a Martial Artist, too..." Akane began.
        "Akane, why are you complaining?" Nabiki said wryly.  "You get to
sleep."
        "Well, I guess if you're sure..."
        "Akane, will you quit it?  I'm telling you, I can handle it!"
Ranma insisted.

*******

        "Aw, man, I can't handle this," Ranma muttered several hours later.
Half the time, Ryoga seemed to experience bursts of frantic energy,
running around the Dojo floor with the toys Akane had found for him and
laughing like a lunatic.  The other half of the time he started to nod off,
and whined and complained when Ranma wouldn't leave him alone and let him
sleep.
        "Hey, tell me a story!" Ryoga demanded breathlessly, skidding to a
halt in front of Ranma.
        "This is gonna be a long night..." Ranma muttered.

*******

        Around four the next morning, Ranma sat cross-legged on the floor,
propping his head up with one arm.  His eyes burned and he yawned every few
minutes, while Ryoga pushed a toy car around on the floor.
        "Maybe if I just rested for a few minutes," Ranma muttered.  "I'll
just wake up before he hits the sleepy phase again."  With that, Ranma
curled up on the hard floor, ignoring Ryoga as he ran the car in circles
around him.

*******

        Akane woke at around six, and went to take her bath, yawning and
rubbing her eyes.  She noticed Ryoga's pack in the hallway, and the sight
of it reminded her to be quick about her bath.  Ranma must be ready for her
to take over by now.

*******

        Ryoga fell asleep propped up against Ranma's back.  He drooped
forward slowly, then woke with a start when his head bumped the floor.  He
looked around curiously.  Just behind him was a sleeping man with his hair
bound up in a pigtail.  The man was curled up on the floor, shivering in
the predawn cold.
        "Poor man," the three-year-old said.  "He's cold."
        Ryoga thought for a few minutes, then took off with a grin as an
idea occurred to him.

*******

        "Good morning, Akane," Kasumi said, as her younger sister walked
past the kitchen.
        "Good morning, Kasumi," Akane answered with a smile.  "Have you
seen Ranma and Ryoga yet today?"
        "No, I haven't," Kasumi said.  "I assume they're still playing in
the Dojo.  I was wondering, though, have you seen my matches?  I left them
right here on the counter last night..."
        "No, I haven't seen them," Akane answered, puzzled.  She supposed
that Ranma had taken them, but why would he need matches?

*******

        Ranma woke to the smell of something burning.  He opened his eyes
to find himself a foot away from a small campfire.
        "Yah!"  Ranma cried, jumping up and running for water.  He tossed a
nearby bucket of water on the flames and stomped the doused embers for good
measure.  There was a small charred spot on the Dojo floor now.  A muffled
sound drew Ranma's attention to the little boy huddled in a corner of the
room, staring at him wide-eyed.
        "Ryoga, come here," Ranma said sternly, a frown darkening his face.
The boy pressed both fists against his mouth and took a tiny, hesitant
step forward.
        "I don't want to," he said timidly.
        "Come here,"  Ranma repeated, a note of anger creeping into his
voice.  Ryoga took another step, and then another, slowly walking forward
on shaking legs.
        "Come on," Ranma said impatiently.  "A man faces the consequences
of his actions."
        Dragging his feet, Ryoga slowly closed the rest of the distance
between them.  Ranma knelt down to meet Ryoga's wide brown eyes with his
own angry blue glare.
        "You know what you did was bad," Ranma said.  The boy lowered his
gaze to the floor and nodded mutely, biting down on his knuckles.  "I'm
going to have to punish you now," Ranma added.  Ryoga glanced up to see the
seriousness in Ranma's eyes, and he shook his head fearfully.
        Ranma looked down into the boy's terrified eyes, and decided out of
pity to get it over with quickly.  He hefted the boy up over his knee,
pausing just long enough to notice the tenseness in the small, trembling
body, the heartbeat racing with fear against his leg.  Ranma forced himself
to recall that he was angry, then he delivered several hard spanks while
Ryoga hung over his leg, a tense, silent, unprotesting bundle.  Ranma set
the boy back on his own two feet and heaved a deep sigh.  He had often
beaten Ryoga in sparring matches and duels, and often wondered if a good
spanking wasn't what the Lost Boy needed to take him down a few notches -
but he found he couldn't take any satisfaction in meting out this form of
discipline.
        Ryoga looked up at him silently for a long moment, while his big
brown eyes welled up with tears and his lower lip trembled.  Then he opened
his mouth wide, revealing his tiny fangs, and wailed.  Tears streamed down
his face as he ran out of the Dojo, his heartbroken sobs echoing across the
neighborhood.
        "What's wrong?"
        "What happened?"
        Akane and Kasumi came running out of the house as Ranma followed
the boy out of the Dojo.  Ryoga ran to Akane and hid his face in her skirt,
crying miserably.  Akane tried unsuccessfully to disentangle him from her
dress and pick him up, but ended up standing helplessly, patting his head
while he cried.  Over Ryoga's caterwauling, she asked again, "What
happened?"
        "I-did-n't-m-m-m-" Ryoga choked out between sobs.
        "He tried to-" Ranma began.
        "Ranma, did you do something to him?" Akane asked, sounding worried.
        "He almost burned down the Dojo!" Ranma shouted.
        "I-I-did-n't-m-m-mean-" Ryoga tried again.
        "What?" Akane asked, looking at Ranma aghast.
        "I didn't mean to be bad!!!" Ryoga finally wailed.  Ranma knelt
beside him and  the boy hid behind Akane with a muffled shriek.  Akane shot
Ranma an accusing glare and he sighed wearily, wondering if this was how
his father felt sometimes.
        "Ryoga, you're not bad," Ranma said, then had to repeat it to be
sure he'd been heard over the loud sobbing.  "You did a bad thing, but it's
over now and we still like you."
        Ryoga lifted his tear-streaked little face out of Akane's skirt.
"You do?" he sniffled.
        "We love you, Ryoga," Akane amended softly, finally succeeding in
getting her skirt free.  She knelt down beside the boy and put her hands on
his thin shoulders.  Kasumi's hand came to rest lightly on Akane's
shoulder.
        "That's right, dear," Kasumi added mildly.  Ryoga leaped to throw
his arms around Akane's neck, sobbing even louder than before and knocking
the breath out of her.  Ranma knelt for a moment more and then stood
awkwardly, feeling left out.
        "What's all the commotion about?" said a masculine voice behind
him.  Ranma turned to see Soun and his father, in Panda form, entering the
yard.
        "Hey, ain't you guys back early?" Ranma asked.
        The Panda held up a sign that said, "Ran out of provisions."
Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream rang out, and Ranma felt Ryoga's little
arms wrapping around his knees.
        "Ryoga, wh-?" Ranma gasped, waving his arms wildly to try and keep
his balance.
        "Ryoga's young again!  Oh, it's almost like having a son!" Soun
interrupted joyfully, dropping his gear and running over with his arms
outstretched.  Ryoga held on to Ranma even tighter.
        "It's a BEAR!!!"  Ryoga yelled at the top of his lungs.  "Don't let
it eat me!"  Soun skidded to a halt and looked around, confused.  Ranma
looked at his father, who was shifting uncomfortably from one foot to
another, then down at the little boy's hands, white-knuckled around
fistfuls of his pants legs.  Then he looked back at the Panda and laughed.

        "Oh, don't be afraid of Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said blithely.  "He's
really very gentle."
        "Does he eat little boys?"
        "Naw," Ranma said, still laughing.  "But he'll steal your breakfast
if you're not paying attention."
        "Oh, my, I forgot about breakfast!" Kasumi said, hurrying back into
the house.
        The Panda held up a sign that read, "It's good training, boy."
        "A little breakfast would be good about now, right, Saotome?" Soun
said cheerfully to the Panda, crossing the yard to retrieve his gear and
then following Kasumi into the house.  He decided to wash up quickly and
then see if he couldn't find some toys to entertain little Ryoga with.  He
all but ran to the house, grinning with glee.
        "I don't want him to eat me or my breakfast!" Ryoga cried
unhappily.  The Panda ducked his head, looking embarassed, and Ranma
started to laugh again.
        "Ranma, it's not funny," Akane said disapprovingly.  "Ryoga, don't
worry.  I'm sure Mr. Panda won't eat your breakfast.  He's a very nice
bear.  Would you like to meet him?"
        "I don't want to," Ryoga said, clutching Ranma's pants legs even
tighter.  Ranma stopped laughing and jerked at his trousers' waistband as
he felt them start to slip.
        "Hey, Ryoga, quit that!" Ranma snapped.  Ryoga let go and jumped
away, running to hide behind Akane again.
        "Ranma, stop scaring him!" Akane said angrily.
        "He could quit trying to pull my pants off!" Ranma replied.  "And
you can quit hiding behind Akane, too.  A man faces his fears."  With that,
Ranma reached around Akane, grabbed the little boy around the waist, and
carried him over to the Panda, kicking and screaming.
        "Ranma, stop it!" Akane shrieked, running after them.  Ranma
grabbed one of Ryoga's little hands and placed it on the Panda's furry
nose.
        "You see?" he shouted over Ryoga's screams.  "He won't eat you!"
        "Ranma, that's enough!" Akane yelled, grabbing Ryoga out of his
arms.  "Stop bullying him!"
        "You stop babying him!" Ranma shouted back.  "You're teaching him
to act like a girl!"
        "He's just a little boy!" Akane bellowed.  "He's allowed to be scared!"
        "Please don't fight!" Ryoga cried.  "I didn't mean to make you fight!"
        "Ryoga," Akane said, her anger quickly fading.  "You didn't make us..."
        "If I touch the bear, will you stop being mad?" Ryoga asked,
looking up at Ranma with serious, huge brown eyes.
        "Sure, let's see you do it," Ranma said, crossing his arms.  Ryoga
sniffled, scrubbed his tears away with his fists, and then walked toward
the Panda slowly, trembling even more than when he had faced Ranma in the
Dojo.
        "Please don't bite me, Mr. Panda," the boy said in a tiny squeak,
and then he reached out and placed his hand on the Panda's furry shoulder,
squeezing his eyes shut.  When nothing happened, he opened his eyes again
to see the Panda looking at him mildly.
        "Now, you see?" Ranma said softly.  "He won't eat you."
        "You are so brave, Ryoga!" Akane whispered, a little awed.
        "Nice bear," Ryoga said, slowly starting to pat the Panda's
shoulder.  "You won't eat me, will you?"  The Panda shook his head, and
Ryoga laughed.
        "He said no!" Ryoga cried, turning around to flash a wide, toothy
smile at Ranma and Akane.  "Will you be my friend, Mr. Panda?" Ryoga asked.
The Panda nodded, and the delighted boy hugged him.  In a matter of
moments, Ryoga had clambered up onto the Panda's back and begun riding him
around the yard, squealing with delight while Ranma and Akane looked on
with big grins.  From her room, Nabiki watched through the window with a
serious expression.

*******

        A few hours later, Nabiki glared down at the blank page that was
supposed to contain her school report.
        "Ryoga, don't you think it's time to get down off the Panda?"
Akane's voice carried through the window, asking the same stupid question
for about the hundredth time.  That kid was never going to agree with her.

        "No!  I wanna ride him again!  I WANT MR.PANDA!!!"
        Nabiki sighed as Ryoga's clear, high-pitched voice rang in her
ears.  Out in the yard, Ranma and Akane were still trying to pry Ryoga away
from Genma.  They had missed breakfast, and now it was nearly lunchtime,
and Nabiki's school work was not going well with all the distractions.
Ranma started to physically pull the little boy away from the weary Panda,
and the resulting shrieks made Nabiki grit her teeth.  She looked down in
time to see the snapped halves of her pencil landing on top of the
still-blank page.
        "That's it, I'm going to the Library," Nabiki said grimly.  She
quickly gathered her books and carried them downstairs.  Ranma and Akane
were just coming inside with Ryoga, who was stomping his feet and pouting
angrily.
        "Ryoga, Mr. Panda needs to rest..." Akane was saying in a
conciliatory way.
        "Akane, will you quit babying him?" Ranma asked grumpily.
        "I'm not babying him, I'm just trying to explain..."
        "He doesn't need any explanation!" Ranma snapped.  "He's a kid,
he'll do as he's told!  He can't ride the Panda right now, and that's
that!"
        "Please don't fight..." Ryoga said, forgetting his own anger.
        "Look, he can't help it that he's a little boy right now!" Akane
yelled.  "Not only that, he's a little boy who hasn't slept in almost 24
hours!"
        "Please, don't," Ryoga tried again, shrinking back as Ranma and
Akane glared poisonously at each other.
        "That's no excuse!" Ranma was saying.  "He should still act his age!"
        "He IS acting his age!" Akane bellowed.
        "Stop fighting!" Ryoga shouted, grabbing Ranma's shirt-tail and
trying to pull him away.
        "Quit that!" Ranma said, jerking away from Ryoga.  "And be more
respectful!  You don't want another spanking, do you?"  Ryoga backed away,
shaking his head silently.
        "You spanked him?" Akane cried, appalled.  "How could you raise
your hand-"
        "Hey, YOU spanked ME when I was a kid!  Don't you start-"
        "That was different!" Akane snapped.  "You still had your own mind,
and you were bullying him!!!"
        "ENOUGH!" Nabiki yelled, reaching over to place a hand on Ryoga's
shoulder.  Ranma and Akane gaped at her, startled.  "Ryoga," Nabiki said
gently, "why don't you go see if Auntie Kasumi needs any help with lunch?"
        "Okay," Ryoga said soberly, and left the room looking upset.  As
soon as he had cleared the door, Nabiki turned to glare at Ranma and Akane.
        "All right, you two.  Enough is enough," she hissed furiously.
Ranma opened his mouth to reply, but Nabiki cut him off with a sharp, angry
gesture.
        "I've waited and waited for you two to start acting like adults,
and I'm tired of waiting," Nabiki said.  "Whatever you might think of him
at his normal age, right now Ryoga is a lost little boy.  And that boy
needs a loving home!"  She paused to draw a deep breath, noting that Ranma
was looking guilty and Akane was wringing her hands.  "From now on," Nabiki
continued, "you two will not fight in front of him.  It's not proper, and I
won't stand for it.  Do you have any idea how much it hurt him to witness
that little show?"
        "You're right, Nabiki," Ranma said quietly.
        "I'm sorry," Akane added.  "I-I was wrong and I'm sorry."
        "There's something else that the two of you should consider,"
Nabiki said.  "Has it occurred to either of you that you're acting just
like your fathers?"  Ranma staggered a half-step backward in shock.  She
was right!  He couldn't even remember the number of times he had gone to
his father for help and comfort, only to be told to act like a man...
        "Now, don't get me wrong," Nabiki was saying.  "Our dads are nice
people, and they did their best to raise us.  But the fact is that they
made some mistakes.  I don't expect you to be perfect, but you could try to
learn from those mistakes instead of repeating them.  Maybe the two of you
could even work as a team?"
        Akane and Ranma looked at each other silently for a long moment.
        "Ranma," Nabiki said, "when you first brought Ryoga here you said
he'd be better off with us than his family, because his parents fought a
lot and left him alone a lot.  Well, this is our chance to undo some of
that.  These might be his last few days alive, if Cologne's theory doesn't
work or if they don't get back in time.  I'd like to see the kid have a
happy childhood, for at least those few days."
        Nabiki paused and took another deep breath, surprised to find that
she was shaking.  She couldn't recall ever being so angry in her life; she
actually felt sick to her stomach.
        "I'm going to go get some lunch," Nabiki finally said.  "I have my
project to work on for school and I'm-" she glanced at her watch, "about
half a day behind schedule."  With that, she left the room.  Ranma and
Akane watched her walk out, then turned to each other with guilty
expressions.
        "Akane..." Ranma tried, then stopped.  He really didn't know what
to say.
        "She's right," Akane whispered.  "We have to promise not to fight
in front of him like that."
        "I  promise," Ranma said quietly.
        "I promise, too."

*******

        Ranma and Akane went to the dining room and sat quietly at the
table.  Ryoga looked up from his spot by Kasumi as the two of them began
eating.
        "Are you still mad?" the little boy asked timidly.  Akane shot a
questioning glance at Ranma, who shrugged.
        "No, we're not mad any more, Ryoga," Akane answered.  "We won't
fight like that any more."  Ryoga looked relieved, and started eating his
lunch with enthusiasm.
        "I wanna play with Mr. Panda after lunch," he announced around a
mouthful of rice.
        "Mr. Panda's probably going to be taking a nap," Ranma said wryly.
He'd be willing to bet the Panda wouldn't show his face around here for a
while.
        "Well, then I can take a nap with Mr. Panda!" Ryoga said with a
grin, thinking that as long as they played quietly, nobody would mind if
they didn't sleep.
        "No nap!" Ranma said a little too forcefully.  Ryoga dropped his
chopsticks and his eyes filled with tears.
        "You're a meanie!" he shouted as he ran from the room.  "I'm not
your friend anymore!"
        "Ranma," Akane said, laying a hand on his arm as he started to get
up.  "Just remember he's only a little boy, OK?"
        "I know," Ranma said ruefully.
        "And he got even less sleep than you, so he's entitled to be a
little crankier," Nabiki said with her customary sly grin.  Ranma's face
flushed a deep red, but he didn't deny having fallen asleep.
        "Hey, Ryoga," he called softly as he went to the living room.
        "Go away," Ryoga mumbled, crossing his arms angrily.
        "You can't have a nap with Mr. Panda, but maybe we can play while
he's sleeping."
        "You and me and Akane?" Ryoga asked, slowly uncrossing his arms.
        "Uh...Ok," Ranma said.  "We'll have to ask her if she wants to, OK?"
        "Ok!" Ryoga grinned.
        "Now, let's go finish lunch," Ranma said.
        "I'm sorry I called you a meanie," Ryoga said quietly, placing his
hand in Ranma's as they walked back to the dining room.
        "That's Ok," Ranma said.  "You gonna be my friend again?"
        "Ok!" Ryoga beamed up at him, then ran to his place at the table.

*****

        "Ranma, be careful!" Akane called.  It had been a long afternoon,
and now it was almost time for dinner.  The three of them were at the park,
and Ranma was pushing Ryoga on a swing, almost high enough to send him over
the bar of the swing set.  Ryoga shrieked with laughter, and Ranma ignored
Akane's protests.  If the boy wasn't afraid, what was the harm in it?
        "Aren't you two getting hungry?" Akane asked.
        "Yes!" Ryoga called.  Ranma brought the swing to a stop, and Ryoga
jumped down.  The two of them walked over to Akane, grinning impishly at
her.
        "You two are a sight!" Akane said with a smile, knowing that the
same applied to herself.  Between exploring the walking trails, playing
Godzilla in the sandbox, and climbing on the playground equipment, all
three of them had acquired a layer of sandy grime.  "We'd better get baths
before dinner, or Kasumi will have a fit!"
        "Oh, my!" Ranma said in a falsetto, grinning at her.  Akane laughed.
        "Oh, my!" Ryoga echoed happily.  "Hey, can I have a piggy-back ride?"
        "Ok," Ranma and Akane answered in unison.  They each bent down,
then smiled awkwardly at each other.
        "Why don't we take turns?" Akane suggested.  "I'll carry him
partway, and you can carry him the rest."
        "Sounds like a plan to me," Ranma said cheerfully, giving Ryoga a
boost up onto Akane's back.  Akane stood and headed off toward home, and
Ranma paused a moment to watch the two of them before jogging to catch up.
It had been a good afternoon.

*****

        "Ranma, how about if I go first?" Akane asked as they entered the
Tendo yard.
        "Can I have a bath with you?" Ryoga asked innocently.
        "No way!" Ranma said.  Akane gave him a pointed glare.  "Uh...I
mean...you and I have to go find some bath toys for you to use, and you'll
want to have the tub all to yourself."
        "Ok," Ryoga said cheerfully.  Ranma heaved a sigh of relief.  It
wasn't easy, not fighting...but he'd be damned if he'd let Ryoga take a
bath with Akane, little boy or not!

*****