Hero behind the scene

                           By: Andrew M. Petalik

"Damn you Ranma!" Came the shout of despair from the one everyone called
"The Eternal Lost Boy" as he sat in the middle of the forest just outside
of Nerima.
Although he hated the title, it was a necessary ruse. His secret must be
kept at all cost.

Ryouga's distress comes from a piece of knowledge he had just acquired.

"When I first joined them, I was looking for adventure... just like my
parents. Then I met Akane and my whole life changed. There was a woman who
captivated me. I finally understood why a guy could act so stupid for a
girl. Suddenly, my travels took on a new meaning as I searched for ways to
attract her attention.
Now I have to help my biggest rival for her affections to get her! This is
so unfair."

Ryouga sat down and pulled a black book out of his backpack and looked at
it balefully then threw it away from himself. The book had a simple title:
History. It landed a few feet away and fell open, ironically enough, to
"Ranma and Akane were married today."

He had been warned not to read the part pertaining to his life... but like
any kid, he had eventually given in to the temptation and found out what
happened. Boy did he regret it now.

After sulking a bit, he walked over and picked up the book and carefully
dusted it off. Having gotten his stuff together, he purposefully walked
towards the Tendou abode. He got about half way there when Akane and Ranma
came into view. Ryouga quietly moved into the shadows to watch them. They
were walking in silence... but slipped each other affectionate glances
occasionally.

Ryouga retrieved what looked like an ancient pocket-watch from a hidden
recess in his clothes. Looking at it for a moment, he traced the stylized V
that adorns the lid with his thumb. Once opened, he sees what looks to be
an incredibly intricate clock that even keeps track of the century. In the
top left-hand corner of the device, a green light burns brightly. Ryouga
sighed as he looked at the love of his life while putting the device away.
Under his breath he muttered, "Yup... they're getting along better... just
like they're supposed to. If I remember correctly, the rest of the fiancé
crew should be arriving, 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - now."

On cue, Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi arrived and draped themselves all over
the hapless young man. Akane clenched her fists and looked ready to maim.
Taking a deep calming breath, she relaxed and took a good look at Ranma. He
glanced back and mouthed to her, 'I'll catch up in a bit.'
She smiled that smile that always made his heart beat faster, then nodded
and turned away.

Ryouga noticed that the girls' attempts at getting Ranma attention were
getting more and more desperate. They knew they were losing.

Ryouga turned away and pulled out the Omni once again. 'I guess they really
do belong together,' he thinks to himself while setting the device for the
time when the three of them were in Ryugenzawa. Looking back at Akane's
retreating form, Ryouga closed the lid on the Omni and declared to himself,
"I will do anything in my power to make her happy... even if that means
getting her and Ranma together. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't beat
up on him once in a while." He smiled at the thought of giving Ranma a
piece of his mind with his fist.

He pressed the button on the side of the device while thinking to himself,
'time to go into lost boy mode.'
With a "whoosh" like sound, Ryouga disappeared.

         ---------------------------------------------------------

In another time, in a forest inhabited by abnormally large animals, a
scream is heard echoing through the woods, "Where on Earth am I now!"

Opening the Omni, he noted that the instead of the green light, the red
light on the right side was blinking this time. Stashing it once again, he
muttered to himself, "time to get to work" then headed off into the woods
where he knew he would find Ranma.

End


Hi all,

This little piece of silliness came from a dream I had last night. The
device that Ryouga uses to travel through time is called an Omni. It comes
from an old TV show called Voyagers. It starred John Eric Hexum. The story
was about a guy and a kid who jump around fixing temporal errors to ensure
that history isn't changed.

Hope you liked it.

This story lives on my story page at: http://www.sbm.org/stories/

See ya

--___________
 / Here lies:\  "Oh my god! They killed Kenny!"
|   Andrew    | http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~ttant/SouthPark/
|             | 
|   I think   |                   Andrew Petalik
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