And now, more evil review!

a soft voice, the soft voice that he loved so much.

Yoiko:  But was it a soft voice?

It was the voice
that cared for him so many times when he was down or injured. "You
okay Ryouga?"
       Ryouga came to and looked around. He was in the Tendo's living
room, and above him was his one and only love.

Yoiko:  Must be Lum, if she's floating over him.

Akane.

Yoiko:  Oh, yeah.  Her.

Mayuka: He seems to be obsessed with Ranma, really.

"Yeah," he
muttered faintly. He sat up and looked Akane smiling at him.

Yoiko:  You mean looked at Akane?

Mayuka: He's always looked a little strange to me.  Maybe he had an
    encounter with the Akaneniichuan?

'Can this
be a dream? I'm with her and I'm not a pig! She seems happy to see
me!' He then noticed Ranma a few feet back and realized the gravity of
the situation. "Is it true Akane? Your getting married?"

Yoiko:  You're

       Akane's eyes dazzled and she beamed a beautiful smile at him.

Yoiko:  Her eyes dazzled him?  ...She beamed a smile.  Scotty must've
        replaced the dilithium crystals or something.

Mayuka: Pity it missed.

"Yes! We're getting married in the spring!" That was like a dagger in
the heart to poor Ryouga who lay back.

Yoiko:  Ryoga, who lay back...  needs something there.  Some kind of
        adverb.

Ranma had won. Ranma had won
a battle so final that there was no surviving, no second chances.

Yoiko:  No second chance.

Mayuka: Well nowdays English allows any number of second chances.  Just
    look at the speaker of the house.

His mouth ran dry and his thoughts simply vanished. She was marrying
his most hated enemy.
       Ranma also came over and smiled at him but Ryouga's icy return
cause him to back off.

Mayuka: "caused?  Seems to be a systematic grammar disorder here."

"I'm going to head out. I'll be back soon
Akane." Ranma's departure enabled Ryouga to breath once more. How
could this be happening?

Yoiko:  It's breathe.

Mayuka: Or draw breath, depends on how hard he's been hit.

       A few moments passed and Akane stood up. "Can I get you some
tea or water Ryouga? You've been out for most of the day."

Yoiko:  So he can't have just fainted, then.  It doesn't take that long to
        wake back up.

He knew
what he had to do. "Ryouga?" Akane pressed her hand against his
forehead trying to feel for a temperature. "You don't have a fever."
He stood up next to her and grabbed her hands gently.
       "Akane... I... I... I'm sorry. I have to go for good this
time." She looked at him with a compassion that only she could show to
him, the lost boy. She tried to stop him as he turned and fled.

Mayuka: "Wait!  Give me back those hands you're still gently grabbing!"

       "Ryouga wait! Please don't go!" Her pleas turned his heart to
mush as he ran from the accursed dojo. "Ryouga! Please stop..." He ran
as fast as he could, putting as much distance as he could between him
and her.

Yoiko:  Between them.  Or between Akane and himself.

Tears flooded his eyes and he had no idea where he was going,
but he didn't care anymore. His heart of glass was shattered, and it
was all HIS own fault. He never had the nerve to tell Akane his true
feelings, and Ranma beat him to the punch. Wandering forever sounded
good right now.

Mayuka: "Well, it is your speciality."

               *               *               *

       Ranma Saotome left the dojo in low spirits. He didn't want to
be on bad terms with any of his old friends, especially not so near to
his wedding. Ryouga showed up on que

Yoiko:  I believe it's "on cue."

Mayuka: Maybe there's a queue of folks looking for vengeance?  "Take a
    number Ryouga!"

and he expected the pig-boy to
listen to reason and just live on. 'I expected that? from Ryouga?' He
laughed inwardly, but he found little humor in it. He set his mind up
for what he was doing next.
       Ukyou Kounji, his best friend, was leaving town today and he
was going to her restaurant to wish her farewell. Another friend was
leaving his life today. She had refused his invitation to the wedding
stating that it would be too painful, and that she needed to move on
into the next chapter of her life. Life without her wouldn't be as
pleasant but life always goes on.

Mayuka: "It was fairly painful to the people who caught her bombs at the
    last wedding."

       He neared Ucchan's, Ukyou's restaurant and his pet name for
her.

Yoiko:  How about, the resaturant she had named after his pet name for
        her?  That's kind of awkward, too...

There were no customers today, for she was packing up and moving
out. As he walked in he received his familiar greeting, "You came,
Ranchan."

Yoiko:  O.O  And she says this to him all the time?

She seemed to say that to reassure herself more then
anything. She smiled and greeted him with a hug.
       "Of course I did Ukyou! What are best friends for?" His last
words seemed to make the mood a little more dim, but she brightened
up quickly. "I'm sad that you have to leave Nerima... I'll miss ya."
He smiled faintly at her, and she beamed one back.

Yoiko:  There's a lot of beaming going on in this story...

       "You'll have very little time on your hands, especially with
Akane becoming your wife and running the dojo."

Mayuka: "Well, there never was any doubt that Akane would be running the
    dojo, right?"

Yoiko:  That's as it should be.  Can you imagine what would happen if they
        left RANMA in charge?

He nodded but it was
only half sincere. "Since your here,

Yoiko:  You're

why don't you help me pack?"  He
nodded and they went about most of the day packing her stores
equipment, and other items.

Mayuka: "Went about would imply..."

Yoiko:  Ahem.

Mayuka: "OK, OK, not another word about grammar.  I promise."

Yoiko:  Right.  I guess it's up to me, then. ^_~

       Day turned to night and their job was finished. "Thanks
Ranma."

Yoiko:  Need a comma after "Thanks."

She walked over to him from her seat at the grill. "I'm going
to miss you so much." Tears started to flow from her eyes and she
reached out for him.
       "Don't cry Ucchan... I'll always be there for you when you
need me." He always hated when girls cried, especially when he was to
blame. He held her tightly, and then she tilted her head and kissed
him fully on the lips causing him to look back in shock.

Yoiko:  Caused him to look back?  That sounds really odd.  You mean he's
        gaping at her, or what?

       "You have my promise that I will never interfere with yours
and Akane's lives again."

Yoiko:  I think "your life with Akane" would be a little smoother here.

Mayuka: Maybe there's a plan to seperate them so she won't interfere with
    their now seperate lives?

He nodded sorrowfully as she walked him
out of her shop and closed the doors behind him. Tomorrow would be
a day of new beginnings for her, and he only could hope and pray that

Yoiko:  He could only hope...

she would be okay.

Yoiko: Contrary to popular belief, I think there is life after Ranma.

       He headed back to the dojo not noticing the figure whom stood
across the street, witnessing the whole scene.

Yoiko:  The dojo, not noticing the figure who witnessed the whole scene
        from across the street.

               *               *               *

       Night fell upon the lost boy,

Mayuka: "That had to smart."

Yoiko:  Not too smart.  We are talking about Ryo-chan here. ^_~

Mayuka: And he's used to camping out anyway.

and he once more knew not where
he was.

Yoiko:  He's once more infected with Kuno's vocabulary.  Next thing you
        know, he'll start talking about smiting Ranma.

His eyes still red from a recent cry, scanned his
surroundings, which were still within a city.

Yoiko:  Awkward.  Either "His eyes, still red from a recent cry, scanned"
        or "His eyes still red from a recent cry, he scanned..."

Mayuka: Scanned with what, a tricorder?

He noticed the signs
were still in Japanese, so he couldn't have wandered too far from
Nerima, even though that was his intent.

Yoiko:  He could be anywhere in Japan...

Mayuka: Which is just down the block, in Ryouga terms.

       As he chose to lose himself in the vastness of the world, fate
took over and guided him to where he was meant to be at the right
moment.

Yoiko:  The down side of the directional curse.

Ryouga never supposed that he ever went places without purpose
but that simply wasn't true, for he had saved more people without
trying then Jackie Chan had in all of his movies put together. Ryouga
never thought twice about this and therefore was given renewed hope of
life with meaning.

Yoiko:  Huh?

Mayuka: The alternative being that he has a meaningful life, but it's in a
    remake of the Kung Fool series and he has to say: "Damn it, I'm
    Japanese, not Chinese!" everytime somebody makes a racial slur at him.

       Why he ended up at Ucchan's he did not know but he decided to
approach it and maybe get a few bites to eat. Ukyou was always a good
friend to him when it came to feeding him.
       He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the young man in the
red Chinese shirt, and baggy pants that he knew too well for his own
liking.

Yoiko:  Yes, we all know those baggy pants, and nobody likes them. ^_~

Mayuka: Does this mean that Ryouga knows the pants too well because he's
    accidently put them on too many times after an encounter with Ranma?

"Rannnnma," he growled under his breath in an attempt to not
catch anyone's attention. He watched intently on the scene before him.

Yoiko:  He watched the scene before him intently.  Also, it might be better
        to say an attempt to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Ranma and Ukyou were talking when suddenly they embraced and he saw
them began to kiss deeply. His thoughts burned with hatred and renewed
anger for Ranma Saotome.

Mayuka: "So Ryouga does want all four girls?"

Yoiko:  No, it's me, I tell you!  Me!

He would kill him right now if he were able
but that would only bring more trouble then good

Yoiko:  More trouble than

it could possibly do,
as of now anyway. 'Ranma will pay for his unfaithfulness to Akane!'

Mayuka: "Oh."

Yoiko:  Oh.  *9_9*  I should've known...

       He concealed himself in the shadows as Ranma exited Ucchan's
and walked down the street. He thought about following for a moment,
but it was already too late for

Yoiko:  Too late, for

Ranma disappeared out of sight. Maybe
it wasn't such a good idea to visit Ukyou after all.

Yoiko:  But Ryoga's not generally known for having brilliant ideas... ^_~

               *               *               *

Four days later.

Yoiko:  He finally found his way out of the alley he was spying from.

       It was another one of those long days for young Ranma Saotome.
He was woken up early, like always, for practice with his father. As

Yoiko:  Usually, it's best to avoid passive tense like "was woken."

always, he fell into the koi pond then requiring hot water for his
curse. Unfortunately, he never got to use it for Akane punted him far
away for some reason he did not know.

Yoiko:  I think he usually knows why, though.  He might not understand, but
        she usually yells at him before sending him sailing.

He landed squarely on Kuno, who
chased him around Nerima for a good half an hour before he could get
back to the dojo and change back with the hot water he had prepared
earlier. Now he was off to try and convince Cologne and Shampoo, for
the thousandth time, to back off and let him marry Akane.

Yoiko:  *snort*  Fat chance.

       "Airen!" The expected cry came from the restaurant that he
was approaching and a familiar purple-haired girl came rushing at
him. He sighed an prepared

Yoiko:  And prepared.

for the upcoming glomp, but it never
came.

Yoiko:  She DIDN'T  glomp him?  She must be sick or something...

"You get rid of Violent Tomboy and marry Shampoo now, yes?"
       Ranma sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy task,
but it had to be done. "Shampoo, please listen to me for a minute."
She nodded in consent and he continued. 'Shampoo, I can't marry
you. I love Akane, and nothing is going to break the bond that we
share. Great, now all I have to do is say it!' "Umm... Shampoo?"

Yoiko:  No, you should say it in language she can understand.  "Shampoo, I
        no can marry you..."

       "Hai?" She smiled at him affectionately.
       "I don't love you." He regretted his words right after he said
them. 'Good going slick,' He thought to himself. She only stared at
him in disbelief. She was about to say something but he cut her off.
"I l... love Akane, and nothing anyone can do will ever make me
change my mind." His heart beat quickly as he held his breath, waiting
for a reaction.
       She sighed aloud and spoke, "Great Grandma prepare Shampoo for
this moment last night. Shampoo no cry." He finally took in a breath.
He hated seeing women cry. "Come here Ranma." She pulled him by the
collar of his blue Chinese shirt that he wore today

Yoiko:  I think we were assuming he was wearing it.

and into a side
alley that was currently unoccupied by anything.

Yoiko:  Into a vacant side alley.

Mayuka: Shampoo enter room.  No amazons in room.  Nothing in room.  (What
    was it that Ataru had said about form but no substance?)

She looked at him
long and hard and drew him close into an embrace and kissed him for
a moment and then released.

Yoiko:  You could replace at least one "and" with a comma.

       "What was that for Shampoo?" he wondered how the old Ghoul had
prepared her for him and he started to panic even more. Shampoo let
him take a few steps back then she sighed.
       "That how Shampoo say good bye Air... Ranma."

Yoiko:  I thought she said "Bie Liao."

Mayuka: "What, no going back to the death hunt?"

Yoiko:  She make new Amazon tradition, the Kiss of Farewell.  Make rivals
        very jealous, then they do killing for her.  Is way to get around
        obstacle. ^_~

               *               *               *

       From across the street, once more Ryouga watched Ranma take
advantage of another girl! His day of death is now!!

Mayuka: "Either that last bit is thought or..."

Yoiko:  Or the author really has a problem with Ranma at this point. ^_~

Mayuka: "OK, OK, no more grammar!"

Yoiko:  That's what you said last time.

               *               *               *

       Ranma started to make his way away from Shampoo and back to
the Tendo Dojo when he heard a familiar battle cry. "Die Ranma!" He

Yoiko:  Need a comma after "Die."

rolled his eyes and took a defensive stance as Ryouga charged him.
"You'll pay for what you've done to Akane!" Ryouga closed the ground
between them quickly and Ranma prepared for Ryouga's very anticipated
attack. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" The ground exploded, spraying pieces of
concrete everywhere but Ranma was well aware of the range that
Ryouga's over used move gave him.

Yoiko:  Need to hyphenate very-anticipated and over-used, I think.

Mayuka: Actually I think that overused has been used so much that it's
    merged into a single word by now.

"Die for Akane!" He rushed Ranma
like the fool he was and jumped into the air bringing his foot down
to crush the life from his victim.

Yoiko:  Need a comma after "air."  Also, Ryoga's not really a fool.  He
        just...acts that way sometimes...

       Ranma dodge this attack,

Yoiko:  Dodged.

Mayuka: Shampoo provide good description of fight?

moving just far enough not to get hit
then closed in on Ryouga. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ryouga managed
to block a few of the punches, but nearly one hundred slipped through
his defense.
       "Gah!" Ryouga, taking the beating, then attacked Ranma with a
few swipes of his umbrella but Ranma again dodged his strikes and
then countered with several punches that struck Ryouga.

Mayuka: "This is a VERY early fight.  There is a BIG story here somewhere
    about how Ranma and Akane gave in so soon."

       Ranma knew he had won this battle even before it started as
Ryouga fell back stunned. "Come on man, lets talk about this?"
Ranma offered which Ryouga answered with a rising battle aura.
'Damn it! He's going to use the Shishi Houkou Dan! He'll level
the whole area for sure!' Unwantingly, Ranma charged Ryouga and
leveled him with a kick that could've destroyed a brick wall.

Yoiko:  I don't think "unwantingly" is a word.

Mayuka: Well, I certainly don't want it.

       Ryouga fell the the floor obviously unconscious and beaten.
"Stupid P-chan! Why do you gotta always go pickin' fights with me?"
He looked at Ryouga's limp form and decided he'd had enough of
him and left him on the street.

Yoiko:  That actually seemed a little too easy for Ranma.  Ryoga's usually
        enough of a challenge for him that you'd at least see him panting
        or sweating - or somehow indicating that it wasn't just a piece of
        cake.

               *               *               *

       "Ryouga... are you okay?" He heard a voice interrupting his
nightmares and giving him a single ray of hope. Pain flushed away
his conscious mind again, not allowing him to answer the voice.

Yoiko:  I'm not so sure you have nightmares when you're knocked out.  I
        think you're just out until you're not. ^_^

"Ryouga, please wake up?" The voice seemed sad, and concerned for
him. He so desperately wanted to answer its call. He managed to shift
one eyes open, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't see much.

Yoiko:  One eye.

       'How many times this week will I need to be revived?' he
wondered.

Yoiko:  I dunno.  How many days are there left in the week?

He shifted his other eye open and tried to focus on what
was in front of him. White. A white ceiling was what he stared at.
"Your going to be okay Ryouga."

Yoiko:  You're...okay, Ryoga."

A familiar voice reassured him. "You
just had a nasty concussion, but you should heal pretty quickly
and be ready to leave tomorrow." He returned Dr. Tofu's stare.
       He tried to pull himself into a sitting position but Tofu
held him down. "Try not to strain yourself. You'll recover quicker
that way." Yes. He must recover to exact revenge on Ranma somehow.
All of a sudden he felt very drowsy  'I... can't stay... awake.'
       Ryouga's eyes shot open and he sat up immediately. He felt
strangely refreshed, and his head barely hurt at all.

Yoiko:  Someone used the memory-erasing shampoo on him? ^_~

He remembered
the day before's events

Yoiko:  The events of the day before.

and he tried to hold back his anger. 'No
reason to get upset now... I must concentrate and get revenge on
that filthy cheating bastard.'
       "I'm glad your awake.

Yoiko:  You're

You can go whenever you want now for
I held you back a couple more days so you could at least be in
good shape before you go out charging into a fray once again."

Yoiko:  That was one long sentence.

Dr. Tofu knew him too well. Ryouga gathered his gear after
thanking the good doctor and made his away

Yoiko:  His way.

towards the Tendo
Dojo which, because of fate, he would not see for a good deal of
time.

Yoiko:  And that's it! ^_^

______________________________________________________________________

This series is far from over as you will see.
In the next part Ryouga wanders and finds himself
in China, with a cure to all of his problems.
Thanks to Sam Vilsmeier (who wrote Ranma x2, a
very funny/trippy fic), for letting me use his
fanfic idea, couldn't have done it without'em.
(Contact Sam at sam_74@email.msn.com)


C&C to
Email:         ryanerik59@hotmail.com or
               magusbloodstone@hotmail.com (this one
              gets kind've spammed with FFML emails)

Mayuka: "Hmmm.... Needs rewrite."

Yoiko:  Mostly grammatical stuff, though.  I've been saving the next two
        parts of the fic till after I finished this, so I'm looking forward
        to reading them.  We'll see just how dark it goes. ^_^  Thanks for
        the story!