I realized that posting the fourth episode first was probably not a good 
idea so I'm posting the first three now.  All my fics are available at 
http://www.geocities.com/violetdimall/fiction.html
These pieces have not changed since they were first posted to the RAAC.  C&C 
are welcome.

-----

A lone figure regarded the rising sun in its splendid array of colors.
Another day of his travels was about to begin.  Who knew what new
places would be discovered in the course of the day?  Who knew what
new people or old friends he might run into?  Who knew where the heck
he was?

The young man stood at the edge of a forest, a wide plain stretching
out before him towards the beckoning sun.  Not a sign of inhabitance
greeted his gaze in this haven of nature.  He could smell the
freshness of the flowers and taste the morning dew in the air.  Around
him birds whistled their merry tunes without a care.  It was
beautiful, but it was something he had seen too much of as of late.

"Maybe if I head back through the woods I'll find something," he said
to himself.  "Now which way's east?"  He looked about as if there
would be something to answer his question.  With a sigh, the young man
trudged back into the forest, gripping the straps of his backpack.

Ryouga was lost and this time he feared he wouldn't find his way back.
Due to the warmth of the season, he was wearing a sleeveless yellow
shirt.  He was also clothed in his usual green pants, having little
variety in his portable wardrobe on his back.  Thin-soled, leather
shoes protected his feet from the rough terrain in the forest.

It had been days since he had seen any signs of civilization.  The
last village he had come across, nobody had understood him.  They had
spoken in a different, yet familiar language: Chinese.  He vaguely
recalled getting on a boat to cross a river some time ago.  The
captain had even nodded when he paid for passage across the river.  He
wondered why the man had deposited him in this foreign land.

He wiped the beads of sweat forming at his brow inadvertently
loosening his yellow and black bandana in the effort.  He sighed and
decided to take a rest.  He found a tree root and sat down,
un-shouldering his pack and laying it next to him.  The sounds of the
forest roared around him, as he separated his canteen from the pack
and took a deep swig.

His backpack was unusually light for this trip, Ryouga having left
several items with his friends in Nerima before this unfortunate
escapade.  He hadn't made the time to restock supplies before
Happousai had tricked him into helping the old goat.  'Well, I wasn't
exactly tricked,' he thought to himself.  Happousai had given him a
chance to defeat Ranma.  The whole thing hadn't gone well at all.  He
had almost killed some of his friends in his state of induced rage.
Shortly after losing the source of his power, Ukyou had flour-bombed
the battlefield.  He had charged after them and ended up somewhere
else.

Ryouga shrugged, regarding his baggage.  The pack only had two changes
of clothes, some cooking items and his umbrella.  It used to have food
as well but he had depleted his entire stock in this venture.  It was
a bad sign, hinting at how long he had been away.

"Curse you, Ranma!!" Ryouga shouted to a nearby tree.

He took another drink and set the canteen aside.  'Oh Akari,' he
worried.  'I may never see you again.'  He wiped his brow again and
promptly went about tightening his bandana.  He looked back to where
he thought he had came from, seeing no sign of the clearing he had
left at morning.  He glanced up hoping to see where the sun was now,
but saw only the leaves of the trees above him.  He narrowed his eyes
as he sensed something else.

A figure dropped from the tree.  Ryouga instinctively dove aside,
rolling up onto his feet and into a battle stance.  The figure landed
safely away from him and turned to regard him.  The form was clothed
in coarse, black pants and a long-sleeved, deep blue shirt to match.
Ryouga measured up his foe, preparing for the worst.

The form spoke in a deep baritone voice, but the words were gibberish.
It wasn't even Chinese.  The man was shorter than him and had blue
eyes very similar to Ranma.  The man even had long hair, though it was
the color of the sun.  The golden mane was pulled back into a ponytail
though some bangs escaped to spring up and out.  The man also had long
hair curving from where his sideburns should be in a very girlish
manner.

The man began approaching him, gesturing wildly and speaking excitedly
in a foreign tongue.  Sensing that this wasn't going to be a fight,
Ryouga waved off the man, whom he guessed was only slightly older than
himself.  The man did not seem to notice, drawing closer.

"Wait!  I don't know what you're saying!" Ryouga cried out in
frustration.  The man paused, the young girlish face screwing up in
confusion.  "Do you speak any other languages?"

Again the man answered in whatever language it was.  When Ryouga did
not respond, the man sat down on his abandoned tree stump with a pout
on his face.  Ryouga sighed and walked over to the young man.  His
visitor continued muttering in that other language, not paying him any
further notice.

He knelt down and retrieved his canteen.  "Here drink this," he said,
offering the water to his companion.  The man took the canteen and
drank.  The man's somber expression did not change despite the
refreshment.  Ryouga glanced about, wondering if there were any others
in this forest.

"Here drink this," the man said, offering him the canteen.  Ryouga
looked down puzzled.

"You speak Japanese?" he asked dubiously.

The man only shrugged in response.  Ryouga thought for a bit what to
do when something obvious occurred to him.  Ryouga put a hand on his
chest.  "My name is Ryouga Hibiki."

The man arched an eyebrow at him.  Ryouga repeated his introduction,
hoping the man would catch on.  "My name is Cas Keating."

Ryouga smiled.  The man could mimic his Japanese very well.  This
wouldn't be as bad as he feared.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryouga wasn't certain how long it had been since he met Cas, but it
seemed like it had been a long time.  The man had picked up his
language very fast, too fast for a normal person.  They were still in
the woods, his progress being severely hampered by his new companion.
Cas may be intellectually advanced but the man was at best average
when it came to the physical aspects.

"C'mon, you're lagging behind again," Ryouga called back.  The huffing
and puffing announced Cas's arrival.  The young man doubled over,
holding his knees as he gasped for breath.  Ryouga waited patiently
with a slight grin.

"Don't you," Cas gasped, "rest?"

"At your pace we will never get anywhere," Ryouga complained.

"At your pace we won't anyways get anywhere," Cas returned, mixing the
order of words.

"Don't make fun of me," Ryouga said smugly.  “I'm not the one
who got lost in the woods."  Ryouga then thought about that statement
and decided it was best not to continue.

Cas's story was quite unique.  The boy had come to China as a birthday
present from his father.  He had just turned nineteen and wanted to
see the wonders of the world and his first stop was going to be the
Great Wall of China.  Unfortunately, Cas grew weary of the nonsensical
guide that seemed intent on showing everything else in China and
decided to strike out on his own to find his goal.  Days later Cas had
luckily found him.

"Are you sure you know where the Great Wall of China is?" Cas asked
for the millionth time.

"Of course I do," Ryouga snorted.  "It's to the north."

"North," Cas panted.  "We've been going east."

"Oh.  Well uh . ." Ryouga began.  "Ha ha ha ha ha."

Cas fell to his knees.  "Stupid wall," he cursed.  "Why did I even
bother coming here?  I wish I had never come here.  I wish I was home.
I wish I was myself again."

Ryouga stopped his embarrassed laughter.  His friend's choice of words
sounded so familiar to his own circumstances but those were stemmed
from different reasons.  He also wished he had never come to China.
That way he would never had fallen into that spring in Jusenkyo.  That
way he could have lived a normal life instead of sharing it with a
little pig.

"I'm sorry, Cas," Ryouga apologized.  "This happens to me all the
time.  Maybe if you help me stay in one direction, we'll get
somewhere."

"It matters doesn't," Cas whined.  "Go back never I can.  I don't know
what I should do."

Ryouga shrugged, not knowing what he could say.  "Your father would
understand I'm sure," Ryouga said.  "There's no reason to cry about
getting lost."

There was a low rumbling in the sky above.  Ryouga looked up at the
clouds that had been crowding the sky all day long.  It would rain
soon and it would rain hard.  If he wanted to be a man after this
storm, he would need his friend's help.

"Hey Cas," Ryouga said, poking at the sobbing man's back.  "It's going
to rain soon."

"Who cares?" Cas cried.  "Let lightning strike me and end my misery."

Ryouga had heard enough.  He kicked his partner, gently but enough to
get Cas to stop his bellyaching.  "For pity's sake be a man about it!"
Ryouga shouted.

"Oh so now it's be a man," Cas growled through gritted teeth.  Cas
looked up at him with his blue eyes shining wildly.  "When at home it
was always, stop picking on all the boys and stop acting like a man."
Ryouga looked at Cas puzzled.  "Well I've had it.  I want to cry now,
so I'll cry."

"Cas," Ryouga said sternly.  "In a few minutes here I'm going to need
you to escort a little black pig and my belongings to someplace and
wait out this storm.  Once it passes I want you to pour hot water on
that pig."

"What you about talking?" Cas said with a scowl.  Lightning flashed in
the sky as the first few drops could be heard hitting the ground.
Ryouga went for his umbrella, hoping to stave off the impeding
disaster.  A roll of thunder followed as he got his weapon free of the
pack.

He looked up to the sky when plip, a drop hit his right cheek.  He
brought his umbrella up but several drops followed the first.  He saw
the sky recede as he felt his body change.  His hands hardened into
hooves, forcing him to lose grip on the umbrella.  It fell on top of
him as he shrank into his quickly collapsing clothes.  He hoped Cas
took this well.

"Ryouga!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryouga stared into the flames of the fire.  He fidgeted with his
fingers, curious as to how Cas would respond to his tale.  He had told
his friend about how he had gotten cursed and of the many ways he and
Ranma had tried to rid themselves of the curse.  It was surprising how
little time it had took to tell so much of what pained him these past
years with the exception of his feelings for certain girls of course.
He shared those thoughts with no one.

Cas sat across the fire, cross-legged.  He had a thoughtful expression
on his face.  Ryouga wondered if his newfound friend, who had proven
to be very intelligent, would be able to find a solution to his
problem.

"So it's a curse," Cas said thoughtfully.  "It sounds very flawed for
a curse."

Ryouga's jaw dropped.  "What do you mean?"

"Well how do you take a drink of water without getting your lips wet?"
Cas offered.

"I always use a bottle," Ryouga returned adroitly.

"How much water does it take to make the transformation?" Cas asked
curious.

"One drop usually isn't enough but a few will do me in."

"What temperature does the water have to be to turn you back?"

Ryouga shrugged.  "Hot water does the trick."

"How interesting," Cas responded.  He took the pot of water that he
had earlier boiled and later scalded Ryouga with.  "Let's test this
out."

"Wait!" Ryouga protested, waving off any approach his friend might
make.  Ryouga recalled a test Ukyou had performed on Ranma when she
found out about his curse and he had no intention of allowing similar
treatment done to him.

But his friend made no advance.  Instead Cas dipped a finger in the
water and swirled it around.  Then Cas cupped water between hands and
splashed it into his face.    Ryouga's eyes widened as his friend
slowly transformed.  Cas's features softened only a little but his
body became more feminine.  His waist thinned and his hips widened.
His chest enlarged and soon Ryouga's friend was undoubtedly female.

"Not much water at all," Cas said in a feminine voice, though it was
still deep for a girl's voice.  "You wouldn't believe how confused I
was at what happened to me.  I was beginning to think I'd never get my
body back."

"You're a girl!" Ryouga declared, perplexed.

"Well, what did you think Cas was short for?" she asked.

"We don't have that name in Japan," Ryouga explained.  Cas shrugged.
"You never said anything about being a girl."

"You would have thought I was crazy if I had," Cas returned.
"Remember I didn't know you were cursed similarly when I met you."
Ryouga leapt to his feet.

"But you must know where the Spring of Drowned Man is," Ryouga
persisted.  "Could you take me there?"

"Ryouga, we're lost," Cas reminded him.  "I can't even find the Great
Wall of China.  It's been days since I was at the springs.  I'm no
longer certain which direction they are from here, considering how
you've been leading me around at a pace that I can't hope to keep my
bearings."

Ryouga sighed and sat back down.  "You should have told me from the
beginning," he pouted.

Cas stood up and put her hands on her hips.  "Well what did you want
from me?" she growled with hostility.  "A life history?  Here's a
laylow of it.  My father has three sons and me.  I'm the youngest, my
mother dying shortly after my birth.  So that's that.  I was raised by
my father and three brothers.  When I turned sixteen I asked if I
could travel about the world.  My father laughed at the idea but he
gave me the money to do it this year.  So there.  You happy now?"

Ryouga shrugged.  "It doesn't matter now," he said dismissively.
"I'll take you back to the coast and we can part ways."

"Ha!" Cas barked.  "I don't need you to guide me to coast.  I can
manage heading east on my own."

"How do you speak Japanese so well all of a sudden?" Ryouga demanded
angrily.  "Explain that."

"I have a good memory and I learn fast," Cas shot back at him.  "You
can ask anybody that knows me.  My tutors said nobody could learn
latin in three weeks but I proved them wrong.  They say I have great
potential; that is except for the ones that are trying to teach me
'womanly' arts.  But sewing and cooking don't count.  A woman of this
age doesn't need those rustics anymore."

"Where are you from?"

"London."

"Where's that?"

Cas slapped a hand to her forehead.  "Nevermind."  Cas sat back down
with a huff.  A long pause followed in which only the crackling of the
flames could be heard.  Cas sighed and continued.  "My dad isn't
expecting me back for at least another four months.  I really don't
want to go back so I was wondering if I could go with you."

Ryouga grimaced at the thought of bringing another cursed soul into
Nerima.  He had no doubt she'd fit right in but the last thing he
wanted to do was add more troubles.  For instance, Cas might fall for
Ranma and add fuel to that fire.  No, it would be best to dissuade her
from such foolery.

"I really don't think that would be a good idea," he remarked.

"I really don't care what you think," she replied.

"I'm not showing you the way," Ryouga declared.

"You couldn't show me the way," Cas retorted.  "Face it.  Without my
help you might not be able to find your way back at all.  I'm helping
you if you're too blind to see it."

"You don't understand," Ryouga said with a sigh.  "I don't even
remember how to get to my home there.  You wouldn't have a place to
stay."

"I'll stay wherever you stay," Cas said simply.

Ryouga froze at the thought.  Of course she couldn't do that.  Akari
wouldn't understand.  Akane definitely wouldn't understand.  "We'll
find someplace to stay," he assured her, following his remark with a
nervous laugh.  "I'm sure you have money to rent something."

Cas frowned but offered a shrug.  'Phew, that was close,' Ryouga
thought.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Days later at nightfall, Ryouga gazed upon the ocean.  His companion
was setting up camp for the night.  Tomorrow they would head south in
hopes to find a village where they could get a fisherman to take them
to Japan.  Ryouga gazed up to the first stars of the night and thanked
the heavens for guiding him back to his home.

The weather had been kind to the cursed souls without a hint of rain.
Ryouga noted that in Cas's natural form she moved much faster and had
more endurance.  He supposed this was due to her being unfamiliar with
her new cursed form.  It really didn't matter to him as this meant
they had been able to cover much more ground than before.

They had talked a little bit about each other in the passing days,
mostly to kill time.  Ryouga had told Cas about Nerima and how most of
his 'friends' were martial artists.  Cas hadn't thought much about
this, claiming that she had been under the impression that karate and
kung fu were more of weight loss programs than anything special
nowadays.  Ryouga had been insulted, but she backed down from her
statement saying that it was probably different in Japan.

He turned to see her on all fours blowing into a new fire she had
started.  Cas could speak Japanese flawlessly now.  It was a little
unnerving but he was used to such peculiarities from the people in
Nerima.  He gazed back to the west over the sea.  'Soon.'

"Hey, hey!" cried Cas.  "Who are the ladies in the pictures?"

Ryouga turned to see Cas retrieve a set of photos from his backpack.
Ryouga turned red, and quickly dashed to snatch his prized possessions
from her clutches.  She turned aside, leaving Ryouga to dive into the
fire.  He couldn't stop and soon found himself in the flames.

"Ryouga!"

His shirt caught aflame before he could roll safely aside.  He
continued to roll, putting out the flames, but doing little for the
burns his flesh had suffered.  He coughed and moaned, the burning
sensation tingling throughout his body despite the absence of the
flames.

"I'll get you some water," Cas said in a worried voice.

Ryouga couldn't think to protest.  Bruises and poundings he could
take, but searing pain from a flame burn was unbearable.  Footsteps
came near and he was roughly rolled over.  Somewhere in that haze of
pain he could see Cas hovering over him with his canteen.  He heard
water pouring but it never touched his body.  It sounded like she was
pouring it into one of the cooking pots.

"No better time than now to try this," she said, still with that
worried tone.  Then everything went quiet except a soft hum that
started to sing nearby.  His breathing stilled as a gentle calm swept
through his soul.  Something was happening to him, or was about to.
Something Cas was doing.  The hum abruptly stopped.

"Ideyu zen'yu."  The world went white.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

He sat up quickly with a gasp.  His lungs cried out, burning as if he
hadn't breathed anything for hours.  A cool breeze wafted from the
ocean, causing him to shiver.  Ryouga panted deeply, trying to
remember what had happened.  'The fire.'  He looked at his arms and
saw not a mar upon his skin.  The chill he had felt earlier was
because he was unclothed above the waist.  "What the . . . ?"

"Oh good, you're awake," said a voice cheerfully from nearby.  He
looked over to where Cas was sitting, holding a small booklet in her
hands.  "It's been nearly an hour and you still have to tell me who
those girls are."

"My wounds, they are . . ." he trailed off, amazed at the sight of his
forearms.

"Unimportant," she finished for him.  "What is important is who those
girls are.  You never mentioned anything about having sisters or
girlfriends."

"How dare you rummage through my things!" Ryouga shouted, getting to
his feet.

Cas crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.  "What are you
going to do about it?  Beat me up?" she ventured.

Ryouga faltered, lowering his fist.  "Well, I uh . . ."

"I thought as much," Cas declared.  "So who are the girls?"  She took
his photos out of her pocket and studied them carefully.  "I like the
short haired one.  I wanted short hair myself but my dad threw a fit
when I suggested getting it cut."

He sighed in defeat.  "Her name is Akane," he imparted.  "She's a good
friend."

"Oooo, what kind of friend?" she pressed.

"Would you lay off!!!"

"Struck a nerve," Cas laughed, sticking her tongue out at him.  "So
who's the other one?"

Ryouga clenched his fist and threw his face away from her.  "I'm not
answering anything so you can torture me more with your childish
antics," he declared.

"Oh my," Cas continued.  "Two girls that you like very much, and from
the way you act I doubt neither of them knows your feelings towards
them.  You must be some sort of lech to not be able to decide between
the two."

Ryouga waved his fist at her angrily.  "I did chose!" he fumed.  "Well
. . . sorta."

Cas stuck her tongue at him again.  "Bah, they're just childhood
crushes," she remarked.  "If you were serious you'd be dating one of
them instead of being stuck here in the woods with me."

"I am serious!" he shouted at her.

"Oh be quiet," she shushed him.  "I'm trying to study this thing."
She was referring to the little pocketbook she had been reading every
night since he met her.  It was a simple looking thing, the leather
cover being cracked with age, the binding fraying at the edges.  It
didn't look that thick, so he was curious as to why it would take this
prodigy of a girl so long to read it.

He walked closer to her, watching her read the book.  He tried to get
a glimpse at the script on the yellowed pages but she promptly turned
the book away from him.  "Don't read over my shoulder," she warned
him.  "I hate it when people do that."

He stood over her, her back to him.  'It wouldn't be hard,' he
thought.  In a quick motion, he snatched the book from her loose grip
and hopped back from her.  "What is this thing anyways?"

"No!" she cried.  "Give that back!"  She charged at him and gripped
his waist.  He raised the book away from her, giving the same
treatment to her she had shown him earlier.  She moved up against him,
straining to reach it with her slender hand.  He felt her against his
skin, the brush of her swell, the touch of her breath.

"Ugh!" he grunted, doubling over as he felt her knee to his groin.
The book was taken from his fingers as he fell to one knee.  He felt
the trickle of blood on his upper lip not caused by any injury she
could have dealt him.  He wiped his nose inconspicuously.

"You jerk!" she vented.  "This thing is very old.  It's not a
plaything."

"Neither," he groaned, trying to match her tone, "are my pictures."

Cas put the book into her pants pocket and crossed her arms defiantly.
"If you must know, this book is one of the last remaining items from
a time when we mere mortals explored the realms of sorcery.  This book
describes the techniques to bring the different forms of energy under
the caster's control.  With these techniques, one can do things that
we only read about in fantasy books."

"How did you come across the book?" Ryouga asked, paying his ache more
attention than her lengthy explanation.

"One of my tutors gave this to me, saying that I was too serious and
should read something 'silly' for a change," Cas explained with a
smirk.  "He unwittingly gave me the key to something that people
ridicule nowadays: magic.  Sure, I doubt anyone could take this
seriously.  The methods are probably impossible for most people to
imagine.  But I opened my mind to this, and now I know that it works."

"Works?" Ryouga echoed dubiously.

"I healed you didn't I," Cas said.  "That was no parlor trick, no
sleight of hand.  It was magic, and now that I know it can be done,
I'm redoubling my efforts to figure out how to do more."

Ryouga hung his head.  "I don't understand a word."

Cas's jaw dropped.  Hands found his shoulders and shook him.  "What do
you mean you don't understand?" she demanded.  "A five year old could
have understood that."

Ryouga grabbed her shoulders, mostly to stop her from shaking him so
violently.  "What I meant was, I don't understand where it comes
from," Ryouga tried to explain.  "How can magic simply exist?  Why
hasn't anyone used it?"

Cas sighed.  "Well, for one thing Christianity came about and burned
most of the advocates trying to study these techniques," Cas began.
"They claim it's the work of the devil.  But ask any secret
practitioner of magic and they'll tell you they draw the powers from
nature itself.  Magic is energy controlled by a will.  Take lightbulbs
for an example.  That's a crude form of magic, though true magic would
be more like making something glow like a lightbulb with your mind.
You manipulate the energy to do what you want.  It's that simple, but
negotiating with energy is not a simple thing to do.  It takes lots of
practice or a special gift for it.  I think I have that gift."

"Energy huh?" Ryouga echoed.  "You mean like ki?  I can do that."

"Ki?" Cas said with a frown.  "The book describes six kinds of energy
that can be tampered with: solid, liquid, gaseous, heat, light and
spirit.  There's no mention of ki."

"I think that would be the same as spirit," Ryouga added helpfully,
though not certain.

Cas arched an eyebrow.  "Really?  I personally wouldn't deal with that
form of magic considering the laws of energy.  Once you use spirit
energy, what is there to replace it?" she asked him rhetorically.
"No.  I think I'll stick to the other five."

Ryouga hung his head again.  He had never questioned the usage of ki.
Knowing that Cas was serious brought new doubts to his mind.  Perhaps
Cas could teach him this magic, though for what purpose?  Defeating
Ranma was the only reason for that.  As of late they had been getting
along fine, except when the jerk called him names in front of Akane,
or did anything else that he thought was stupid.

"I know I didn't hit you that hard," Cas declared.  "Get up.  I'm in
the mood for trying something I think you'll like."

'What?' he thought in alarm.  He felt her hands on his shoulders.
Slowly they slipped underneath his arms and she began to tug up on
him.  'What is she doing?' his mind screamed.  'I mean I know we're
alone in the middle of the wilderness but she's just a friend.'

"Boy you're a sack of potatoes," Cas complained.  "Get up already."
He managed to get to his feet under her guidance.  He wasn't sure what
she wanted, his face flush and his nose acting up again.  "What are
you blushing about!?"  Smack.  A red welt formed on his cheek as he
realized her intent was different.  "Sheesh, you'd think I was making
a pass at you."

Ryouga laughed nervously not knowing what else to do.  Cas scowled at
him and trotted off to the fire.  She stuck out her tongue at him, and
then focused on the flames.  Ryouga took a step forward, but stopped
when he sensed a roaring hum rise from the depths of the burning
branches.  Everything went quiet once again, even his breathing
slowing in anticipation.  It was the same sensation he had when she
had healed him earlier.

"Cas," he whispered, his words falling dead in the roar of the hum.
The flames flickered up into the palm of her outstretched hand, as if
her hand was pulling the fire from the wood.  The fire continued its
dance, leaving the wood in favor of her hand.  It slowly condensed
into the size of a single burning flame, suspended inches above her
flesh.  Without warning the roar of the hum ceased.

"Hitodama," he heard her intone.  She tossed the flame from her hand
as if it were a ball.  It sped out into the open a long distance.
Then a huge eruption tore into his vision; a sphere of flames a
hundred times the size of the original fire that it had been formed
from.  Trees, grass, and anything within the proximity of the blast
was blackened and burning.  Such destruction at the beck and call of
this woman would be devastating.  Again he worried about bringing this
girl to Nerima, but he saw no other way he would find his way back to
the people he cared about.

"My god," he whispered.

"Now that is magic."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryouga watched the sun rise tentatively from beneath the waves, as if
checking to see if the coast was clear before exposing itself.  The
jumble of pink and purplish colors disappeared, their heralding of the
sunrise over.  It was quite beautiful, causing Ryouga to wish his
company was different to share the moment with.

Ryouga turned his eyes on the blond haired woman that lay sleeping
peacefully nearby.  She looked so innocent that way.  He knew the
truth was far from that.  This girl could harness the very power of
the elements and bend them to her will.  He didn't know how she did
it, her explanations leaving him clueless and her more frustrated with
him.  He supposed it would be like him trying to explain how he
gathered ki to a passerby on the street.

She shifted a bit under the assault of the first rays of sunshine
against her face.  Her lips parted slightly, drawing his attention.
Ryouga stared silently, his heart fluttering, as he considered what it
would be like to touch those lips with his own.

He cursed himself and looked away.  He wasn't sure what he was
feeling.  Part of him cried out that he should not be such a coward
and kiss the girl.  The rest of him berated him for even considering
the act, assuring him that kissing Cas would only be giving in, not
the act of a brave person.

'. . . lech to not be able to decide between the two.'  Her words were
hitting home in this instant.  Maybe it wasn't only Ranma leading on
women.  Maybe his 'love' for Akane wasn't love.  Maybe he didn't love
at all.  Were they just 'childhood crushes' as Cas had said; quickly
forgotten and not worth discussing further?

No.  Akari loved him and that was real.  Akane . . . .

Ryouga tightened his face and refused to think further about it.  Deep
inside of him he knew he should confront the issue, but some things he
just wasn't ready to deal with yet.  If only Ranma would be the man
Akane deserved, then none of this would matter.  The choice would be
so much easier.

He heard a yawn behind him.  Cas was rubbing her eyes with the back of
her hand, her mouth wide in a yawn.  Ryouga fought off the urge to
yawn as well as he scrutinized his companion.  He couldn't help but
think of those lips again, wondering for a brief moment if he was like
this with all girls.  Several thoughts protested but he still felt
rather depressed.

Cas's eyes fluttered open.  She yawned again, though Ryouga could tell
she was trying not to.  ". . . someone die?" she managed.

"Are you sure you want to come to Nerima?" Ryouga asked, not sure why
that was on his mind.

"Of course," she replied, sitting up.  "I don't think I could hide my
condition from my family."

"All my friends will be studying hard this summer to get into
academies, and by the end of the summer the people I told you about
won't be around," Ryouga explained, noting to himself that his
statement wasn't entirely true.  Ranma wasn't interested in furthering
his education.  To be honest, Ryouga was certain he wouldn't pass the
exam with how many years of school he had missed.

He briefly thought over the entire list of Ranma, the Tendous, and
everyone else involved in his life.  Nabiki had already spent a year
in the academy that Akane planned to attend.  He was sure the Kunos
would be off to the academies as well.  Shampoo and Mousse, well, he
wasn't even certain if they had been attending school anyways.  Ukyou
was considering an academy but wasn't certain if it would balance out
with her business.  Konatsu, Tsubasa, … just people he vaguely
knew, but had no real knowledge about or care for what they planned on
doing.

His last thoughts came to Akari.  He was startled to realize he wasn't
even certain what she was planning for this summer or hereafter.  It
was something he felt a strong need to know if he ever got back to
Nerima.

"Hello?"  He snapped out of his reverie.  "Sheesh, did you take a
wrong turn down Memory Lane because you looked completely lost to me,"
Cas remarked annoyed.

"Oh, sorry," Ryouga apologized, blushing.  "What were we talking about
again?"

Cas's jaw dropped.  "I can't believe it," she stated after a
hesitation.  She shook her head.  "Anyways, we both need baths before
we consider going into town."

Ryouga scowled at the thought.  "I'm fine as is," he declared.  "Do as
you please."

Cas shrugged looking nonchalant.  She picked up her book and began
thumbing through the pages.  Her motions seemed deliberate, as if
daring him to interfere with her study.  Ryouga didn't take the bait,
not wanting another uncomfortable situation to arise.  He knew she was
teasing him, though he hadn't the slightest idea why.

He regarded the book as if it was something dangerous.  He doubted
anybody in Nerima would benefit from possessing the object that held
the secrets to control magic.  After all it was written in a dead
language that had no influence over the modern languages of the
Orient.  He supposed it was possible that Happosai or Cologne might
know the language but both of them were so powerful that the addition
of Cas's little book would serve only to prove which of the two was
the better.

Still it was dangerous enough in Cas's capable hands.  The energy she
drew upon rivaled that of the ki and would instantly put her on par
with anybody in Nerima, possibly even Ranma.  Ryouga contemplated
destroying the book before anything else happened, but knew such
betrayal to Cas would be similar to stabbing her in her sleep.  Short
of her quick learning skills, that book was all that set her apart
from everyone else in the world and destroying that would be like
destroying Akari's love for pigs.

He noted Cas had set down her book and was staring at him intently.
He threw a questioning look at her.

"Ryouga."

"What?"

"Anything I please?" she asked with a smile that made him nervous.

Ryouga twitched as unbidden thoughts came to tantalize him.  "Um, well
I ..."

He got no further as Cas grabbed a fistful of sand from the beach and
flung it into his face.  He cursed at himself for letting down his
defenses as his hands went to the aid of his stinging eyes.  He should
have known she was up to no good, having listened to many of her
stories of how she was punished for doing really harmful things to the
local boys.

Seconds later he felt her smash into his ribcage.  Though he still
couldn't see, he knew she had thrown her entire self into him, leading
with her shoulder.  Though training had hardened him to withstand the
pain that would accompany such an act, he was still pushed onto his
back.  As the beach was sloped, the pair rolled down the sand, Cas
laughing while he cursed some more.

When they had stopped moving and his eyes had recovered enough so he
could squint a little, Ryouga took note of his position.  Cas was
catching her breath beneath him, her hair sprawled out on the beach
sand like ink from a spilt bottle.  Her breasts rose slightly with
each breath, beneath him.  His knees were pressed into damp sand as he
felt her stomach, beneath him.
Ryouga froze as realization crashed into him.

"Got ya," Cas managed, through the shortness of her breath.  The next
wave rolled in.

-----

Thank you.

Ciaow

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