Here ya go! Fanfic review, of sorts. ^_^ Feel free to post it, if you want… Will: Why are we here? Cherden: You mean you didn’t know? Dannysmartful: We’re here to review a rough draft for an anime fanfic. Will: Why? This is silly. We’re anime ourselves, we can’t do that! I mean… we would be… but we’re a story instead. Anyway, it’s silly! I’m leaving; I got called out of a date with Delphia for this. Nephadia: I wouldn’t do that. All-Powerful Sounding Voice: No one leaves until this is over. Will: What was that? Ardweden: The author. I wouldn’t suggest trying again; she might write you as a newt. Will: All right! I’ll review the stupid thing. When’s it going to start? All-Powerful Sounding Voice (also known as the current Author): When I want it to. Author: All right, all right. Here we go! A Feather in the Wind Chapter 9 Cherden: Hey, didn’t we do this before? Dannysmartful: Yeah, Chapter 8. Ardweden: Too bad we didn’t get to catch Ryouga the Werewolf. That close encounter with Jusenkyo was kind of fun… Nephadia: Don’t remind me. Pepper and I almost turned into a drowned fish. That would have made her extremely happy. Will: Shush! Ryouga-chan sat unmoving in the rain as the others gathered around her in concern. "C'mon man, your freaking me out," Ranma-chan said, as Ryouga- chan did not seem to react to them. Akane shivered a little. "Let's get her inside for now, Ranma," Ranma-chan shrugged and tried to drag Ryouga-chan into the dojo, but she stood on her own and walked stiffly into the dojo. She absently picked up her ruck and turned back towards the door. Her movements seemed to be slow and careful as she pulled her ruck on and cinched the straps. Ardweden: Ruck? What’s a ruck? Cherden: I think it’s a kind of toothpaste… hmm… haven’t checked on the competition for a while. Dannysmartful: I think it’s his… er… her backpack. Ardweden: Oh. Why didn’t they say so? "Where are you going Ryouga?" Akane sounded worried, but Ryouga- chan ignored her as she pulled out her umbrella and slowly opened it. "Ryouga? Hey! Are you listening to us?" Ranma-chan waved her hand in front of Ryouga-chan's face. She showed absolutely no reaction as she walked outside. Once she was a few steps from the door, she leapt over the fence. "Damn it Ryouga! Come back here!" Ranma-chan yelled as she leapt over the fence after her. Akane and Feather also gave chase. Ryouga-chan ran at a dizzying pace, turning in random directions at corners, and sometimes just smashing through the walls. Eventually, Akane and Feather fell behind, and shortly they lost sight of the 'boys'. Nephadia: What’s eating her? Will: I think it’s the whole changing into a girl thing. Nephadia: Come on, being a girl’s not so bad. Dannysmartful: For you, maybe. But for him? Cherden: Oh… poor Ryouga… Ardweden: Whatever. It has to be better than changing into a small, edible animal, right? "I didn't think Ryouga could run so fast!" Akane gasped out. Feather shook her head. "I didn't think so either. He never ran that fast when I was with him. Now what do we do?" Ardweden: Duh. He wanted you to keep up. "Head back to the dojo I guess," Akane said as she looked down the street that Ryouga-chan had sprinted down. "There isn't much point in running after them now." Feather nodded. As they walked, they noticed they were in a less prosperous part of town. Dannysmartful: Let’s start that sentence with let’s, shall we? There are lots of uses for the word “let’s”. For instance: Ardweden: Let’s take over the world. Nephadia: Let’s go to the zoo. Will: Let’s run away from home to avoid forced labor. Cherden: Let’s get more popcorn. Dannysmartful: See? Lots of uses. Some which Akane can use. Now, let’s head back to the dojo. "I don't like this Akane," Feather murmured quietly. Will: I wonder why? Ya think it’s because Ryoga’s suddenly run off for no apparent reason and they probably won’t find him for another month? Everyone else: Nah. "Don't worry, we're getting close to Ucchan's now, so we'll be able to get out of the rain. We only have about ten more blocks to go." Akane straightened her shoulders as she started to walk. Feather jogged a few steps to catch up. "Ten blocks? How far did we run anyway?" "I'd say we're about three kilometers away from the dojo," "I thought we ran further than that," "It was all those turns we took," They lapsed into silence as they continued to walk. Feather kept glancing about nervously, half expecting someone to try and jump them. Akane was not worried and she walked with a confident air. The few other people out in the rain seemed more interested in getting where they were going than two young girls in gi. Dannysmartful: When one walks with a confident air, it is only assumed that one would not be worried. Nephadia: Or at least not look worried. Ryouga-chan was running blindly. She didn't care if she got lost and stayed lost. Whenever she reached a barrier, she either turned, or destroyed it. Nephadia: I think, there’s lots of commas, in that sentence. Fortunately for the rest of the town, she usually turned. Her tears melded with the rain, disguising the fact that she had even cried at all. Cherden: Oh no! Ryouga’s crying! Ardweden: And he’s disgusted, too. I thought he wasn’t ashamed to cry, though… could he be turning into Ranma? Nephadia: Maybe he thinks it’s not manly. Dannysmartful: Let this be a lesson to you, boys and girls. Just because someone cries doesn’t mean they’re not manly. I mean, look at Will. He cries all the time. Will: What? Dannysmartful: Scratch that last message. Ranma-chan was doing her best to keep up, but the rubble from the walls that Ryouga-chan destroyed kept slowing her down, and it was not much longer before she lost sight of her. "Damn it!" Ranma-chan swore as she looked around and noticed that the girls were nowhere in sight. She started to walk back the way she came, and then stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Good luck Ryouga, I hope you find what you need." She said softly before walking off in the general direction of the dojo. Cherden: What does he need? Everyone else: A cure! Cherden: Where will he get it? Everyone else: Jusenkyo! Cherden: How will he get there? Everyone else: By wandering aimlessly! Akane and Feather were shivering by the time they reached the Ucchan's. When they slid open the door, they saw that Ukyou still had quite a few customers. Ukyou still noticed them, however, and called out to them. Dannysmartful: And it was all very still. "Hi there you two! Have a seat, and I'll be right there!" The girls made their way over to an empty table and sat down. After a few minutes, Ukyou came over to where they were seated. "What can I do for you today?" Ukyou smiled at them. Ardweden: What, no “You can’t have my Ran-chan” rivalry? Cherden: I think that only happens when he’s around. Ardweden: Ah… "We really could use a place to dry off Ukyou, we're really soaked to the bone," Akane said. "Sure thing hon. My place is upstairs, why don't you two take a bath and warm up ok?" Ukyou showed them to the stairs before she turned back to dealing with her customers. Nephadia: She’s being very nice to them. Will: Yeah. Think she’s planning to kill Akane in her sleep? Ardweden: Now that would be a plot twist. Akane started to draw the bath while Feather wrung out their wet clothes. Akane spared a quick glance over at Feather, and easily noticed the scar. ::I'll have to ask her about that sometime,:: she thought. After a quick rinse off, they sank into the furo with a grateful sigh. "I hope Ryouga's ok," Feather said as they let the hot water soak warmth back into them. Akane smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure Ranma will bring him back. I thought I saw him gaining before we pooped out." They soaked in silence for a few minutes. "Hey Akane, what do you think about Ranma?" Feather asked suddenly. Akane started a bit at the redhead's question. Cherden: Uh oh… "What makes you ask that?" Cherden: Phew. No angry retort. Dannysmartful: Remember, this fanfic Akane is less angry than the anime one. Cherden: Oh yeah, I forgot. "Well, you two are supposed to be engaged, and I've seen you two get along really well sometimes," Feather paused to twirl a lock of her hair, "Then you two are arguing again. I guess I'm just trying to figure you two out." Ardweden: Will, I think Delphia’s wonderful, even if she does whine a lot. You two should go out more often. Will: I try, but you two should get to know each other first. Cherden: Which two? I’m confused. Dannysmartful: I think they were illustrating word repetition. Cherden: Oh. "How do I feel about Ranma? He's such an insensitive jerk, and he's always insulting me. But then, sometimes, he can be so sweet, and no matter what he says he'll always at least try my cooking," Akane paused when she saw the huge smile on Feather's face, "What?" Cherden: Girl talk! Nephadia: No secret is safe. "Oh, nothing," Feather continued to smile. "Since we're talking about sensitive subjects, what's with that scar on your back? Ranma won't tell me what Ukyou said to him," Feather's smile faded, "I just want to be able to help." Akane said gently as Feather sighed. "I, I don't want to talk about it. Ask Ukyou if you have to, but please don't make me think about it." Feather looked away as she spoke. Akane leaned back as they lapsed into silence. Ardweden: Aww… and it was just getting good, too. Cherden: Yeah, very sensitive. Almost like Pepper and… water. Nephadia: You’d better be glad I’m in charge right now, Cherden. Pepper wants to rip you to shreds. After a good long soak, the girls climbed out of the furo and donned some bathrobes that had been laid out for them. Will: They just soaked the warmth back into them, didn’t they? Dannysmartful: I think that was mentioned before. "Our gi are still wet Akane," Feather called out as she felt the damp cloth between her fingers. "I guess we'll just have to stay up here for a while. I'm sure Ukyou would get mad if we walked into her restaurant wearing her bathrobes!" The girls giggled for a couple of minutes as they imagined what the customers' reactions would have been. Ardweden: Surprise. Nephadia: Shock. Will: At who? Them or the old man carrying a bag of panties that suddenly appears and latches onto them? As the last breakfast customer left the Ucchan's, Ranma-chan trudged through the door. Ukyou smiled warmly as she bounced over to her fiancee. "Hiya Ranchan! What can I do for you today?" Ukyou sounded as cheerful as ever. Ranma-chan wiped some water off of her face. Cherden: That’s pretty cheerful. "Hi Ucchan, I could really use a towel. I got soaked to the bone chasin' after Ryouga." Ukyou looked a little startled as she ducked behind the counter to fetch a towel. Nephadia: My, my. Everyone’s soaked to the bone today. "What's wrong with Ryouga?" Ranma-chan shrugged as Ukyou passed her the towel. "He kinda freaked out. I guess he wasn't prepared for how much of a shock it is to change like that." "I thought he was dealing with turning into a wolf fairly well," Ukyou sounded confused, "So why did he flip out today?" Ranma-chan snapped her fingers. Will: So she sounded cheerful, looked startled, and sounded confused. Is she or isn’t she? Ardweden: She isn’t. It’s all a ploy to get Ranma to marry her. What she’s really thinking about is killing Akane later. "That's right, you haven't heard yet. We kinda had to run to Ryugenzowa to get a cure for an infection Mousse got. Well, while we were there we found out that Ryouga doesn't turn into any old wolf." "No?" "Yeah, he turns into a werewolf. That isn't what fazed him though, what got to him was the fact that he turns into as female werewolf." Ukyou looked shocked. "He does?" Her face turned comical shortly before she burst out laughing, "And he always gave you such a hard time about your curse!" Ranma-chan scratched the back of her head. Ardweden: Yes! Now’s your chance to get back at Ryouga, Ranma! After all, he was jealous of your curse, and now that he has it, he knows how bad you feel! Rub it in his face! Dannysmartful: He wouldn’t do that. He’s a nice guy. Cherden: Jealous, conceited, arrogant… Nephadia: But a nice guy. Ardweden: I guess you’re right. "Yeah, well..." "Wait a sec," Ukyou stopped laughing and a thoughtful look grew on her face, "How does the whole werewolf thing work? Is he a wolf until a full moon, and then he goes nuts?" "Naw. Near as we can tell, when it's a full moon he turns into a wolf, the rest of the time he's a girl; except for something that turns him into that weird looking mix between them." "So that's why he freaked today. The last night of the full moon was a day or two ago, and today was the first time he turned into a girl!" "You got it! The jerk was moving like a zombie; you know all slow and deliberate. He went and got his pack, and then took off! Went and leapt over the wall and then ran like crazy. I lost track of 'm just a little while ago." Ranma-chan started to vigorously dry her hair as Ukyou proceeded to clean her counter. "Oh yeah, Feather and Akane are upstairs. They came by here a while back soaked to the bone and worn out. I told them to take a bath and warm up." Ranma-chan grunted her acknowledgement. Ardweden: No! You weren’t supposed to do that, Ukyou! Cherden: Relax. It’s probably part of her plan, you know… lure them into false security. Ardweden: Oh. Okay. It was nearly evening before Ryouga-chan stopped running. She looked around with a confused expression on her face. "Now where am I? How did I get here?" She mumbled to herself as she looked at the rural town she was in. It looked vaguely familiar. ::Why do I think I should know this place?:: She mused as she started to look around for someone to ask directions from, but with it still raining, there were not very many people out and about, and they disappeared indoors before Ryouga-chan could catch up with them. Nephadia: More commas, I wonder, when will it end? She decided to look for somewhere to dry off, maybe get some hot water to be normal again. It didn't seem like any of the buildings she was near were more than simple homes, so she walked along the dirt road hoping to find an inn or restaurant just to get out of the rain. After wandering aimlessly in the town for an hour, she finally found a general store. "Good enough," she shrugged as she stepped inside. The interior of the store was small and had a down home feeling to it. The shelves were little more than shipping crates nailed together, and all of the price signs were neatly hand written and tacked in odd places. The shelves contained all of the little things you might need to run a farm. There was even a plow sitting in the corner. Nephadia: How quaint. Will: Bet it’s run by a grandmotherly-type. "Hello?" Ryouga-chan asked tenatively as she looked around for the proprietor. "Just a second!" a rusty voice called from somewhere in the back of the store. Ryouga-chan stood patiently until an old man peeked around a doorframe. Will: Grandfather. Close enough. "Hi there sweetie, what can I do fer ya?" He asked while giving a toothy grin. "I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find a place to sleep?" The old man rubbed at his chin. "Well, tha tavern's got a few rooms. I was about ta head over there and git me a drink, I could show ya tha way iffen you can wait a sec. You don't mind waiting, do ya sweetie?" Ryouga-chan smiled in relief. Ardweden: Tavern? As in drinking? Isn’t she underage? Dannysmartful: Didn’t stop her before. "I can wait." The old man cackled as he walked back to the counter and finished making a few entries into a large ledger. Cherden: Cackled? The only people I heard cackle are witches. Ardweden: Maybe he’s a witch in disguise? Nephadia: Maybe he meant to chuckle. "It'll be a sec. Gotta get finished up with tha books before I go," He peered at her, "Be a dear and turn tha sign around?" Ryouga- chan nodded and turned the cardboard sign around in the window. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with the old man. She yelped and fell over backwards. The old man cackled again as he offered a hand to help her up. Ardweden: Definitely a witch in disguise. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to startle ya, don't ya worry none I'm harmless." Ryouga-chan struggled to her feet. "That's all right, I just thought it would take you longer to finish up. Lead the way." She opened her umbrella and held it over the man as he locked the door. As they walked down the road, the old man prattled on about little day to day things. The tavern was a two story wooden building with a cheery column of smoke coming from the chimney, indicating that there was a cheery fire inside. Dannysmartful: Cheery fire makes cheery smoke, which means the tavern must be cheery. Will: Makes perfect sense to me. Dannysmartful: It would. The storekeeper held opened the door for Ryouga-chan, who was a little flustered at the attention the old man was giving her. Cherden: Think he likes her? Ardweden: Duh. Inside, it seemed more like an oversized living room than a tavern. There was a bar on the far wall, and around the fireplace there were several couches with small tables in front of them. The tables had various game boards on them, everything from checkers to go. A few of the games were occupied by men of various ages cheerfully talking and smoking as they played. In one corner, a child no older than twelve was playing a cheerful tune on a piano. Scattered around the rest of the room were small tables. Upon the walls were old paintings with ornate wooden frames right next to old tools and lengths of rope. The peculiar odor of hickory and tobacco smoke lingered in the air. Nephadia: It’s all so cheerful! Ardweden: I thought she was the sane one. "This is a tavern?" Ryouga-chan asked unbelievingly. The old man laughed at her comment. "Were ya expectin' to see one of those seedy bars you find in tha city?" "Well, not really. I just haven't ever seen a place quite like this." She scratched the back of her head nervously. The old man cackled again, and gently pushed her inside. A rather stout man behind the bar waved at them. Ardweden: I’m not going to say it… I’m not going to say it… Cherden: He’s a witch. Ardweden: Phew. Didn’t have to say it. "Hey there OM, who's the cutie with you?" The man spoke loudly, and was grinning wickedly at Ryouga-chan. OM claimed a stool, and sat on it with apparent relief. "She says she's lookin' fer a place ta spend tha night, and I think she means alone BK," Om cackles as he gives BK a broad wink. Ryouga-chan looked flustered at their exchange, and the bar keep noticed this. "Now now, don't get yourself worked up. We're just two old friends digging at each other over something that happened a long time ago," He waves at a chalkboard behind him, "All of my prices are right there, and if you don't have enough cash I'm sure I can find an odd job or two for you to work for your room." "Thanks," Ryouga-chan said as she dug her wallet out. She pulled out several bills and handed them to BK, "Is that enough for dinner and the room?" the man grinned. "More than enough sweetie! Why don't you take a seat, and I'll get ye some food." Ryouga-chan nodded and walked to the nearest table. She dropped her ruck before sinking into the chair with a sigh. She didn't realize how tired she was until she had sat down. It didn't take very long for her to drift into a deep sleep. The barkeep chuckled to himself as he watched her fall asleep in the chair. He gestured to the old man. Ardweden: Yay! He didn’t cackle! "Come on, let's let her rest while we play a game of shoji." "Hah, you ain't gonna win this one!" The old man cackled as he rose and followed his friend over to the couches. Nephadia: Now, that was nice. Cherden: Very nice. Dannysmartful: There’s no other way to describe it. Will: I think it’s rural hospitality. At the opposite side of the room, a burly man sat glaring around the room and drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey. The waitresses avoided even looking in his direction, and the unfortunate ones that he waved down or called over could not escape without a pat on the butt from him. He had the kind of huge muscles people get when all they do all day long is carry heavy sacks around or digging ditches. Unfortunately for him, his face was twisted and scarred from an accident involving some wild dogs. Now no girl would even spare him a second glance. Cherden: Poor guy. Ardweden: Poor guy? He’s molesting waitresses! Nephadia: You don’t like wasting time with sympathy, do you? Ardweden: Not unless the sympathy’s deserved. He growled to himself as he took another pull from the bottle, hoping to drown his sorrows in the strong drink. He looked around the room again, hoping for a miracle, but all he saw was the same old crowd. Then he spied Ryouga-chan snoozing peacefully away, oblivious to the world. He took a quick pull from the bottle to gather his courage before he approached her. Dannysmartful: With alcohol comes a semblance courage and a sense of identity. Nephadia: I pity anyone who needs to drink just to get that. Ardweden: I don’t like wasting my time on them. When he reached her table, he noticed how her soaked shirt clung to her skin. His drunken mind slowly pondered the situation. Here was a girl that was a stranger in town, probably drunk, and would not be missed by a companion. He looked about the room and saw that no one was paying attention to him. With a drunken smile, he picked up her ruck and slung it over his shoulder before he gathered her into his arms. Ryouga-chan only shifted slightly in her sleep. The man swaggered towards the stairs and managed to get upstairs and out of sight before anyone spotted him. He moved into one of the guestrooms and barred the door before setting Ryouga-chan onto the bed. He stood there looking at her for a minute, drinking in the sight of her. He then moved into a position over her, slipped a hand into her shirt and began to kiss her deeply... Cherden: And nobody noticed this? Will: I guess they were too busy playing Shoji. Ardweden: Ryouga’s about to find out how Ranma felt when Mikado kissed him. Ryouga-chan's pleasant dream turned suddenly into a nightmare. A gigantic python was wrapping itself around her, moving in and out of her clothes. Her skin crawled as the cold scales slid smoothly across her skin. She struggled against the coils, but they only tightened around her. The snakes massive head moved to look her in the eye, it's tongue darting in and out of her mouth. Disgusted, she tried to turn her head, but the snake merely move a coil to hold her head in place. With a sudden move, the snake lunged to take her head into its mouth... Ryouga-chan's eyes opened to a different type of nightmare. What she had dreamt was a snakes coils was actually the man moving his hands over her body, and the man was kissing her. Her eyes burned with an inner rage as she head butted the man. His head snapped back, but he remained conscious. He slapped her hard enough to stun her momentarily. "Learn your place woman!" he snapped. Ryouga-chan kicked him solidly in the chest, but he didn't move. He laughed at her efforts. "Horses have kicked me in the chest for years! You ain't gonna hurt me that way!" he chuckled as he moved to restrain her again. An inarticulate growl sounded from Ryouga-chan's throat as fur quickly grew across her body. Her once slender arms suddenly grew to massive proportions, and her face elongated into a muzzle. The fangs that once served to make her look cute grew in length. Her delicate looking hands became vicious looking claws. To top off the transformation, two furry ears popped out of her head above her bandanna. Will: He’s dead. Cherden: Good riddance. Ardweden: What, no sympathy? The man gaped at Ryouga-lupine until she backhanded him. To his surprise, he flew to one side and crashed into the wall. He struggled to his feet as Ryouga-lupine gathered herself into a crouch, her bushy tail swishing back and forth in agitation. "What the hell are you?" The man asked a split second before Ryouga-lupine pounced him with a feral cry. Dannysmartful: A victim of Jusenkyo. Ardweden: A transforming freak. Cherden: Ryouga. Nephadia: Human. Most of the time. Will: A female werewolf. Only when splashed with cold water, of course. All the patrons in the tavern stopped cold when they heard a tremendous crash from upstairs. The old storekeeper glanced over to where they had left Ryouga-chan. He cursed when he saw that the table was empty, and a quick glance around the room verified that the blond girl was not in the crowd. Screams of pain from upstairs galvanized the people into motion. They rushed up the stairs and gathered around the door that the farm hand had gone through. As they approached the door, it exploded into a thousand splintered pieces as the farm hand crashed through it and lay there screaming. His body was covered with small scratches and bruises. As they were gaping at him, they heard something smash through the window. The barkeep ran into the room to survey the damage. The mattress had a huge rent in it, exposing the springs. Ardweden: Mattress for rent! Mattress for rent! Only a dollar an hour; it’s nice and soft! The rest of the furniture had been smashed. the glass window was broken and it had one shutter hanging limply by a single hinge. As the barkeep approached the window, the hinge gave way and the shutter clattered to the ground below. He peered out a window and barely caught a glimpse of a red bamboo umbrella with what looked like a bushy gray tail peeking out from under it before it disappeared around the corner. Several of the waitresses were trying to help the farm hand, but he had curled into a fetal position and was gibbering in fear. They rolled him over to see if there were any more cuts on him, and what they saw made them scream in terror. There were three bloody gashes going from his forehead to his chin and his eye had been reduced to a bloody mass. "My lord..." one of the men there breathed. Nephadia: Eeewww… Dannysmartful: Let this be a lesson, boys and girls. Will: Don’t try to rape werewolves. Dannysmartful: Um… yeah. Ryouga-lupine was sprinting through the forest, not daring to look back. The air was cold, but her fur kept her warm, even though the rain had soaked her despite the umbrella. ::Gotta get away before they see me!:: Ryouga-lupine thought. Dannysmartful: So he can think in that form! How interesting; I thought he just went into a rage. Nephadia: So he knew what he was doing to that man? Let go of me! Ardweden: I think a lightning bolt would hurt you a lot more than Will. Nephadia: All right, I wasn’t going to do anything drastic. I don’t have the heart to. Nephadia: I was just going to let Pepper take over. Eventually, she stumbled and fell. She rolled into a crouching position and looked around, eyes and ears straining for any signs of pursuit or danger. Sensing nothing, Ryouga-lupine relaxed and took in her surroundings. She was in a small clearing with several large rocks scattered about. A quick glance confirmed that she had tripped over a fire pit with rocks around it in a rough circle. "Son of a... I'm back at the place where I started to train Feather." Heartened a little by this discovery, she broke out her tent and quickly set it up. Just as Ryouga-lupine finished tying the last line, the rain ceased. She glared up into the night sky and shook a clawed fist. "Figures you'd wait till I was done getting shelter!!" She shouted before she pulled a towel from inside the ruck, dried off and retired for the night. Ardweden: Not like it matters. She’s lost either way. Ryouga-lupine woke sometime the next morning, thanks to someone poking at her with a pitchfork. She reacted instantly by snapping the end of the pitchfork off and kicking her unwanted visitor in the stomach. The person that had poked at Ryouga-lupine gasped in shock and surprise as they fell out of the tent. Ryouga-lupine burst from the tent only to see an unconscious young woman, still grasping the broken haft of the pitchfork. Cherden: Shouldn’t she have changed back by now? She’s not angry anymore. Dannysmartful: Maybe it’s an effect of the curse. Who knows how it works? "Just great," Ryouga-lupine sighed to herself as she started to build a small fire. Once the fire was started, she pulled her sleeping bag out of the tent and draped it over her unconscious visitor. As she did so, she noticed that the girl's black hair was interrupted at the temples by a pink stripe on either side. She turned and started to heat some water over the fire. ::I think I'm going to need this fast..:: Ryouga-lupine glanced back at the girl, ready to bolt if she woke before the water was warm enough. After what seemed like an eternity, the water was hot enough and she dumped the water over herself quickly. "That's more like it!" Ryouga exclaimed as he hit his shoulder a few times with his fist. A crashing noise in the bushes caused him to stop congratulating himself and drop into a ready stance. He strained his ears for any other noises, and is rewarded by another crash behind him. Ryouga spun on his heel and came nose to snout with the biggest pig he'd ever seen! The pig squealed angrily and charged Ryouga. Will: Oink. Ardweden: Can’t he use pig talk to calm it down or something? Nephadia: I think that’d only work if he were a pig. Ardweden: Oh. "Gyaah!" Ryouga dodged the pig's attack and grabbed his umbrella. The pig trampled his tent as it turned to attack him again. Ryouga snarled at it and kicked it in the head followed by a crushing blow from his umbrella. The pig snorted at him and started to charge. "Leave off you hard headed beast!" Ryouga yelled as he headbutted the pig. The pig's eyes glazed over and collapsed. Ryouga snorted as he grabbed his ruck and left, forgetting about the girl under his sleeping bag... Ardweden: I guess Ryouga’s more hard headed than the pig! Cherden: Hey! Be nice to Ryouga! Dannysmartful: Since when did he talk like Kuno? Akari Unryuu woke with a splitting headache. She groaned as she sat up, clutching at the sleeping bag that she was under. ::Sleeping bag?:: She thought as she blinked her eyes into focus. What she saw stunned her. The clearing had bits and pieces of the tent she was investigating all over, and her prize pig, Katsunishiki was plopped onto one side. Nephadia: Say Katsunishiki five times fast. Will: Katsunishiki Katsunishishi Katsunikiki… "Katsunishiki!" She cried out as she scrambled over to the fallen pig, "Are you alright?" she asked the pig gently as she lifted its huge head onto her lap. She glanced about and noticed that there was no sign of whomever was in the tent. She sighed. Dannysmartful: Who’s whomever? "All I wanted was to find out if they wanted to have breakfast at the farm, and if it was a boy, maybe fight Katsunishiki..." Will: She wanted to fight her pig? She looked at the sleeping bag, "I guess they felt bad about hitting me, and put their sleeping bag over me because they were worried I'd catch cold; but Katsunishiki must've scared them off." She stood with a determined expression on her face. "I'll find you! I'll never forget your kindness of heart nor your strength!" She declared to the sky. Somewhere in the distance, Ryouga sneezed. Cherden: He sneezed because she was talking about him? Ardweden: I think it’s a running joke. Classes were just about to start one morning a few days later at Furinkan High when Ranma, Akane and Feather dashed into the classroom. Dannysmartful: Maybe “A few days later, classes were just about to start a Furinkan High when Ranma, Akane, and Feather dashed into the classroom.” would sound better. It’s a little less repetitive. "Hurry up and sit down!" Ukyou hissed at them, "Someone said that Miss Hinako is in a bad mood this morning." Ranma snickered. "I wonder why?" Ukyou shot a startled look at her fiancee. "What happened Ran-chan?" "Oh, nothing..." Ranma trailed off when Miss Hinako walked into the room. The diminutive teacher was covered from head to toe in mud. She tried to smile for the class while the class tried to hold back their laughter. Dannysmartful: Once again: “She tried to smile for the class while they tried to hold back their laughter.” Ardweden: Wow, Dannysmartful, you’re good at this. Dannysmartful: I try. Ardweden: But that’s about all you’re good that. Dannysmartful: Take that back. Ardweden: No. "Good morning class! I just want to remind all of you to stay away from the mud puddles! They're deeper than they look..." The class couldn't take it anymore when they realized that she knew that from personal experience and they burst into laughter . Miss Hinako frowned at the class, causing an instant silence. Cherden: They can just feel the ki draining out of them. Draining… Nephadia: I feel so weak and woozy all of a sudden. "Ok, that's better. This mornings class will be a self study period, so study hard boys and girls!" Miss Hinako waved as she left the room. The students waited a minute before to be sure she was gone before letting out a cheer. The teens quickly formed groups and started talking or playing cards, very little studying was actually done. Several of the girls in the class, including Akane, Feather and Ukyou, were giggling as they read a tabloid. Ukyou frowned as she read one. "Hey, check this one out... 'Man mauled by werewolf girl-friend, lost his eye in battle' hmm..." Under the headline was a picture of an obviously fake werewolf, and a man with one side of his face covered in bloody bandages. Ukyou shot a glance at Akane and Feather before she continued, "It says here that this guy was ending a fun date with his girlfriend when they noticed that a full moon was rising. He said she started to growl low in her throat at him and started to grow fur. Less than a second later, she was a combination of a wolf and a woman and doing her best to bite him. He claims to have fended her off with a silver belt buckle," Ukyou snorted, "Can you girls believe this stuff?" Will: I don’t know. It could be real. Cherden: It’s all real. "Ooh, it sounds scary!" Kameko faked a trembly voice before she started to giggle uncontrollably. While the girls were still giggling over that, Ranma walked over with a newspaper. "Hey, check this out," Ranma plopped the paper over the tabloid, "Check out what happened to this dude from a village near Osaka." Ranma pointed to a small article, "It says here that this guy apparently tried to force himself on a girl that was passing through town but she was like a kunnoichi or something. Says here that she slashed him in the face with some metal claws. Check out the police drawing of her." Ranma pointed to a rough sketch of a girl. Despite the vagueness of the sketch, it was easily recognizable to Akane and Feather. "Oh my word!" Feather exclaimed as she snatched the paper out of his hands. She frantically read the whole article. Kameko looked over Feather's shoulder and let out her own gasp of surprise. "Check this out! Look at this picture of the guy in the paper, and this one here in our tabloid," she moved the pictures side by side, and they saw it was the same photo. Cherden: It’s all real. Nephadia: You already said that. Cherden: It was worth repeating. They missed it. Ranma ran a quick eye over the tabloid story. Feather sat mutely in her chair, seemingly staring at the wall. Akane watched Feather with growing worry. She thought that the red headed girl might get a little rash. Akane's fears were realized when Feather stood suddenly, startling the others. She snatched the page that had the police sketch of Ryouga-chan. "Ranma, tell the teacher I had to go," Feather said as she sprinted for the window. Ranma made a grab for her, but the desks slowed him enough to allow Feather to jump out the window and into the branches of the tree. "Feather! Where are you going?" Akane yelled as Ranma leapt out the window after his sister. There was no response other than the tree branches shaking violently as Ranma tried desperately to prevent Feather from running off. Dannysmartful: People are running away all over the place. Will: Yeah. And with no explanation. It’s sad. Autumn leaves exploded violently as Ranma and Feather leapt straight into the air. Feather snapped her wings out causing her to slow down just enough for Ranma to grab onto her foot. Feather flapped her wings rapidly to make up for his weight. "Damn it Feather, think about this for a minute! This is Ryouga we're talking about here, he could be anywhere by now!" Ranma shouted as Feather gained altitude and started to fly in the general direction of Osaka. "Yes, he could be anywhere, or he could be hurt badly. We don't know exactly how much that guy was able to do before Ryouga was able to change." Feather reached down for Ranma's hand. Ranma gave her a blank look. "Come on dummy, as long as you're with me, you can help. But you can't do that if you accidentally let go of my leg!" Ranma grimaced at her a little before his face fell into a resigned expression. "Fine, how do you want to do this? I uh, I'm not sure how I should hold on..." She yanked him till they were almost face to face. "Just wrap your arms around my shoulders. I'll loop my arms under yours." Dannysmartful: Theoretically, she shouldn’t be able to hold his weight at all. Ardweden: How can a five ounce bird carry a one pound coconut? Dannysmartful: Exactly. "Can't we just walk?" He asked a little plaintively as he looked down. Feather shook her head. "We can move a lot faster this way. Look around Ranma." Ranma looked down and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He looked around rapidly. "I don't see a sign of Tokyo! Nothing but woods, this is incredible!" Ranma exclaimed. Feather laughed at Ranma's excitement. "Did you think they were just for show?" She had a faint frown, "I found out fast I could fly last time I went looking for Ryouga." "Pretty useful at that," Ranma said quietly as he looked at the rapidly moving countryside. "Head for Osaka first. Sometimes it takes him a week just to get out of town." Will: Most of the time it takes him a day just to get to Albuquerque. Nephadia: I don’t think they want to think about that. "Right!" she flapped her wings harder in excitement. Ranma shook his head a little. "Save your strength, we'll need it to get back to the dojo tonight," Ranma cautioned. Ardweden: Uh huh. And how is she going to carry both Ryouga and Ranma? Cherden: Great planning, ne? "We're not going back until we find him!" "Without any supplies and such a pitiful amount of money between us that we can barely afford one meal, maybe two? Come on, let's be realistic here, we need supplies and we have nothing to get them with." Feather slowed to hover in the air. "I uh... I guess I wasn't thinking..." Feather said sheepishly. Everyone: Duh! "Don't worry about it. Let's head back to the dojo, ok? Ryouga'll be just fine." Ranma said reassuringly. Feather slowly circled around to make their way back to the dojo. She did not fly as rapidly though. Ryouga cursed that huge pig for the umpteenth time as he wove together branches to make a lean-to. Time and time again a branch would snap out of the weave to hit Ryouga in the face, and each time that happened Ryouga would walk a few steps away from his task to keep himself from destroying it. With a growl of determination, Ryouga tied the branch that kept snapping out into the weave with a small bit of red string. "That'll hold you down!" He grinned triumphantly at the stubborn branch. He continued on his task, and absently kept watch on the errant branch. The branch would wiggle and shift within the constraints of the string. Then, with an audible snap, the branch broke from the strain. Ryouga snorted at the branch and then he paused. He looked over at the red string that was slowly unraveling itself from the branches. The string was held up partially by the wind, and almost seemed to be weeping. Apparently making a decision, he untangled the string from the weave, removed the broken bit of branch and wrapped the red string around the top of the piece of wood securely. He rummaged through his ruck until he found a ball of twine, and he took about an arm length from the ball. He then tied the twine to the red string and held his impromptu amulet before his eyes. "This branch is what my life is like, always fighting the inevitable it seems," Ryouga ran his callused thumb over the rough piece of wood, "Will I be broken too, like this wood?" he muttered under his breath before he slipped the twine over his head and then continued on his work. He used the twine to carefully tie leaves together and lashed them onto his weave of branches. A short time later, he huddled underneath the lean-to wrapped tightly in his travel cloak. Ardweden: That’s pretty philosophical. Cherden: Don’t underestimate Ryouga! Ardweden: I’m not. I think he’s emotionally unstable, thinks the worst of any given situation, gets lost in his closet, blames everything on others… Dannysmartful: And overall is a pretty nice guy. Ardweden: Exactly. "How could I have forgotten that I put my sleeping bag over that girl?" His teeth chattered as he mumbled to himself. He grunted as he pulled the cloak tighter around himself and tried to get to sleep. He had barely closed his eyes when he heard a crashing noise. Ryouga sat up sharply, his eyes and ears straining for any other sign of disturbance. Less than a minute later he heard another crashing noise from a short distance away. Ryouga tensed, ready for anything... Or he thought he was ready for anything. A tremendously huge pig burst out of the bushes in front of him. Ryouga yelled in surprise and dove for his umbrella. He snatched it and stood protectively in front of his lean-to. "Oh no you don't you oversized porker!" He growled, "You ain't wrecking this one!" The pig snorted at him, and he heard a feminine giggle. He shifted his gaze and could now make out a young woman riding the back of the pig. "I'm sorry about your tent sir," she said as she slid off the back off the pig, "And I wanted to return this to you." She took a step forward, and the moonlight played across her face. Ryouga's eyes widened in recognition. "You! You're the one that poked me with a pitchfork a couple of days ago, right before that pig trampled my tent!" Ryouga snarled at the pig. Akari took a step back, sensing the hostility in the air. Katsunishiki snorted at him and charged. Ryouga danced out of the pig's way, and grabbed its curly tail. "You ain't wrecking this one swine!" Ryouga yelled as he pulled. Nephadia: He’s not very nice to the pig, especially considering the fact that he was one himself. Will: Maybe he doesn’t like pigs. The pig grunted and turned to face the lost boy. The gargantuan pig reared back to trample his opponent. It let out a startled squeal when Ryouga leaped between its legs to grapple with it directly. Ryouga grunted with the exertion of lifting the pig over his head before he slammed it to the ground. The ground trembled slightly from the impact, causing Akari to lose her balance. "That'll teach you pig." Ryouga growled at it before he turned back towards his lean-to. Akari rushed up to him. "That was amazing! Here," She handed him his sleeping bag and a small note, "Come Katsunishiki, let's go," The pig did not move, "Katsunishiki?" She asked softly as she gingerly walked over to the giant pig. Ryouga dropped his sleeping bag under the lean-to and walked over to where Akari was kneeling next to the pig. "What's wrong?" He asked. She faced him with a forlorn look. "I think Katsunishiki might be hurt..." Ryouga almost said something derogatory about the pig, but stopped himself before he totally put his foot in his mouth and bit down hard. Cherden: This is the difference between Ryouga and Ranma. Ardweden: Not very big, is it? Instead he carefully looked the pig over and noted it's shallow breathing. Akari jumped into action as well, and began to examine the pig. "I think he just got the wind knocked out of him," Ryouga said finally, "I can't find anything obvious." Akari peeked over the other side of the pig. "I think your right. I guess he's never been hit that hard before." Ryouga looked up at her. "What was that all about anyway? It seems like every time I see this pig, it tries to kill me. What is it, an attack pig?" Akari giggled at him. "He's a sumo pig," Ryouga gave her a blank stare, "They're fighting pigs. The biggest and the best have come from my family's farm for generations. I'm Akari Unryuu." She held a hand out to Ryouga. "Ryouga Hibiki," He gently shook her hand, "Uhm, look. I'm sorry I beat up your ride home. Why don't you rest here tonight, and I'll take you home tomorrow ok?" Akari looked startled. Everyone: WHAT?! Ardweden: Uh oh… Cherden: He’s going to get lost. Dannysmartful: He’ll probably find his way here! Will: He’ll be bitten by sidewinders. Cracklies and booblums will eat them in their sleep! Nephadia: I’m sure everything’ll be fine. "Oh. I guess that would be ok," Akari looked a little flustered. "I'll keep watch for a while." Ryouga walked over to a rock and sat upon it. Akari smiled at him and settled into the sleeping bag for the night. Early the next morning, Akari was rudely awakened by Ryouga. He was roughly shaking her shoulder and yelling. "We have to go! Now!" He yelled. She could hear Katsunishiki squealing in panic, and could smell smoke. "What, what's going on?" She asked blearily. Ryouga quickly picked her up and started to run, the pig right behind him. "Looks like a forest fire started last night," He nodded his head towards a red glow in the early dawn sky, "It's too early for sunrise, and I smell smoke." Akari grabbed around his neck in fright. Ardweden: A forest fire. Isn’t that too convenient? Dannysmartful: Remember kids, only you can prevent forest fires. Will: What he means is: don’t have sex. Dannysmartful: Er… yeah. Hey! "What can we do? If there is a fire, it'll overtake us before we get clear of the woods!" "I'll figure something out!" Ryouga said as he leapt over a gully, "I have no intention of dying here!" Akari looked behind them and saw that smoke was obscuring the sky behind them. The early morning chill was slowly giving way to the heat from the fire. He ran headlong through the woods, holding Akari with one arm and fiercely smacking branches out of his way with the other. They could hear the crackle of the fire now. Akari watched as her prize pig thundered up behind them. "Katsunishiki! Find water! Water!" She screamed. The pig grunted and charged ahead of Ryouga. "Follow Katsunishiki Ryouga! He'll find us a river or a lake to take refuge in from the fire!" Ryouga nodded and changed course to follow the pig. Flights of birds took off as they passed, startled by their passing. Akari glanced behind them and swallowed hard. "Uhm, Ryouga?" "What?" "Can you run any faster? That fire is catching up with us..." Ryouga spared a glance. Ryouga muttered a curse and started to run faster. Will: Run, Ryouga! Run like you’ve never run before! Nephadia: At least run as fast as you did earlier. Cherden: Go Ryouga! Katsunishiki crashed through a thicket almost ten meters in front of them and disappeared from sight with a startled squeal. Ryouga gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could while he pulled his umbrella off of the top of his pack. "Hang on tight!" He said as he ran through the thicket. Akari buried her face in his shoulder and clung to him with all her strength. Suddenly they burst out of the thicket and were two paces away from a cliff. With a resounding yell, he leapt off of the cliff... Fire fighters tramped through the charred remains of the forest. They were looking for any signs of campers that might have been in the area. Several of them were talking as they searched. "Good thing we had that rain not that long ago, this coulda been worse." "No kidding. It made it to the cliff before we were able to contain it." They walked a little further in silence when they came across a partially melted kettle. One of them looked around a little and saw the remains of a small fire pit. "Damn. Looks like there were campers here." "This ain't the area where it started is it?" The other shook his head. "Naw, it started almost a kilometer from here." They rummaged through the ashes, looking for anything else. One of them stopped digging through the ashes and held up a partially burnt sleeping bag. He turned it slightly and read aloud the tag that was on it. " 'Property of Ryouga Hibiki. If found, please return to the Tendo Dojo.' Crap, looks like this guy left in a hurry," A younger firefighter spoke up then. "Maybe he made it to safety..." A veteran shook his head. "The only way he could've escaped was to run like a madman to the cliff and jump off. Unless this guy was a cliff diver or had a parachute, I don't think he made it." They hung their heads a little. The veteran fireman spoke up again. "Ok guys, you know the drill," He held out a fistful of straws, "Shortest one informs the next of kin..." Everyone: Uh oh… Cherden: Ryouga… died? Ardweden: Nah. He’s too stupid. Cherden: Good… hey! Take that back! Ranma Akane and Feather were on their way home from school when they noticed a firefighter, still in soot stained clothes, gathering the courage to knock on the gate. He was holding a black plastic bag and had a dejected look on his face. Akane approached the man. Dannysmartful: That was quick. Will: I guess he wasn’t that far away after all. "Can I help you sir?" She asked evenly. The firefighter turned towards her. "Is this the Tendo Dojo?" Akane nodded, "I, uh, I'm here to... Damn I hate this..." Akane gave him a curious look. "Hate what?" She asked. He didn't answer directly, instead he opened the plastic bag and pulled out a burnt sleeping bag and handed it to Akane. "Did you hear about the forest fire this morning?" Akane nodded, "We found that in the ashes. I'm sorry." He bowed to her. Ranma and Feather stood on either side of Akane as she turned the sleeping bag over in her hands and saw the label. The reaction was instantaneous. Akane sank to her knees and began to cry while Feather pushed her way past them and dashed into the dojo. "Aww man," Ranma said as he crouched next to Akane, "Come on, let's get you inside..." Once Akane was on her way into the dojo. Ranma turned to face the firefighter. "Any sign of, you know... Uhm, did you find any real proof that he died?" "Well, the only way he could have escaped was to sprint through the woods and jump off a cliff and survive landing in the lake below. We hadn't found anything when I came out here, and they were making their way around the cliff to see if he did make it there and jumped. Right now, he's been declared missing. We'll continue searching until we find something." Ranma nodded. Dannysmartful: There is a third way he could have survived. Cherden: What’s that? Dannysmartful: Blind luck. With his sense of direction, he’s probably made his way to Antarctica. Lots of cold water there. "Let us know if you find anything alright?" The fireman nodded as he turned to leave. Ranma sighed and walked into the dojo to try and calm down the girls. Akane was sitting in the living room, crying onto Kasumi's shoulder. Kasumi looked up as he entered with an expression that seemed to scream 'What's going on here?' Ranma sat down next to Akane before he spoke. Will: A new expression! Nephadia: Oh my! I thought Kasumi had only two expressions: vacant and extra vacant. "Some fireman was just here sayin' they think Ryouga might've died in a forest fire. They haven't found a body, and he's been declared missing." "Oh my, maybe you should go help look for him, Ranma," Kasumi said softly. Ranma looked a little aghast at her words. "What? Why? The firemen are already looking, how would that help?" "They don't know Ryouga as well as you do. They don't know about his... problem." Ranma's eyes opened wide. "Your right Kasumi, and he wouldn't tell them even if they did find'em. I'll go tell Feather and pack to go." Akane dashed her tears with the back of her fist. Nephadia: Why wouldn’t he tell them? Ardweden: It’s that stupid male pride thing. Nephadia: Ah. "You mean he might be alive?" Ranma nodded. "I'll find him one way or another." He said as he dashed upstairs. Once up there, he tapped gently on Feather's door. When there was no answer, he opened it quickly and dashed into the room. Feather was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling. He could see the tracks of her tears as he approached the bed. "What do you want Ranma?" She asked in a dead voice. He sat on the bed next to her. "You ran off before the fireman could finish explaining," He said gently, "There's a chance that Ryouga is still alive, and I'm going to go look for him." Feather sat up quickly. "I'm going with you!" She declared, but Ranma shook his head. Cherden: No, Feather. I’m afraid your scouting ability is much too useful. Dannysmartful: You don’t really want to visit Antarctica, do you? Will: Can’t you see that I’m trying to be the overprotective big brother here? Let me do my job, okay? "No, I need you to stay here. Trust me on this, ok sis?" She looked like she was about to argue with him, but Ranma held up a hand. "This ain't going to be easy, and I really need you to be here for Akane." Feather nodded mutely at his words before she embraced him fiercely. Ardweden: More like Akane needs to be there for Feather. "Be careful Ranma." Ranma stood and left the room quietly. Feather laid back down on the bed, a faint spark of hope was all that kept her from crying again. She uttered a silent prayer that Ryouga would be just fine. A pair of mud covered figures lay close to the shore of the lake. Katsunishiki nudged one of them with his snout a few times before a giggle erupted. "I'm ok Katsunishiki!" Akari laughed as she hugged the great pig around its neck. She then looked over to where Ryouga still lay in the soft mud. "Ryouga? Are you all right?" She crawled over to kneel next to him. She tried to pull the ruck off, but lacked the strength. She gestured to the pig, and it grabbed the ruck in its teeth and pulled while Akari freed Ryouga's arms from the pack. She turned Ryouga over and embraced him fiercely. "I thought I was going to die back there! Thank you so much!" She said gratefully. She paused, however, when she noticed something didn't feel quite right. She separated from Ryouga and held her shoulders. "Who... Who are you?" She asked the mud-covered girl in front of her. "I'm Ryouga Hibiki, sorry 'bout this..." She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. Dannysmartful: Um… Nephadia: Is it just me, or did Ryouga just turn into Ranma? Cherden: No! Ryouga can’t be just like Ranma, he can’t! Ardweden: Relax. Maybe Ranma’s reactions are responses all guys have. Will: What’d ya do that for? Now I’m soaked to the bone! Ardweden: I rest my case. Cherden: Ack! Everyone’s turning into Ranma! Akari's jaw dropped and she leaned to take a closer look. Ryouga-chan wiped some of the mud off of her face and managed a weak smile. "Ryouga? What happened to you? Can you change back? Are you really a girl?" Ryouga-chan held up a hand to ward off the questions. "Whoa! Why don't we get cleaned up, and I'll tell you then ok?" Akari nodded mutely and they waded back into the lake. Quite a while later, they had a fire going, and were trying to dry out Ryouga-chan's spare clothes. She told Akari her story as she worked on building another lean-to. Akari was huddled against Katsunishiki next to the fire. Will: You see, Akari, I used to turn into a little black piglet, and I fell in love with this one girl, Akane, who took me in as her pet. But she didn’t know it was me, and took me to bed with her on multiple occasions, and she’s the fiancee of my rival and best friend, Ranma. We were always fighting over her, and I made him promise not to tell her about my curse, and tortured him with it daily, as I got to be extremely close to her… Cherden: I don’t think he means that story. That’s a little too uncomfortable. Ardweden: It’s making me uncomfortable. "That's quite a story Ryouga," Akari said when Ryouga-chan finished talking. The blond girl nodded and bent to her task. Akari glanced up when she heard a helicopter go overhead, but thought nothing of it. Once Ryouga-chan was done with the lean-to, she rummaged through her pack and found her tin mug. "What's that for?" Akari asked. "I can't find my kettle, and I want to change back." She replied as she placed the cup next to the fire and poured water from a canteen into it. As soon as the water was warm enough, she dumped it over herself and sighed with relief. "That's so neat Ryouga!" Ryouga looked embarassed at her excitement. "Yeah, well it ain't that much fun for me..." Nephadia: Now he REALLY sounds like Ranma. Dannysmartful: What gives you that idea, Nephadia? I ain’t got no idea what you’re talkin’ about. He let his words trail off when he heard something. Akari noticed and looked around. A few seconds later they heard some people yelling and more crashing through the bushes. Ryouga grabbed his umbrella and tensed. A minute later a group of firemen burst upon their camp. While two of them rushed over to where Akari and Ryouga were, the last one spoke into a walkie-talkie. "We think we found them." Dannysmartful: They were supposed to make it to Antarctica. Ranma was just preparing to leave the dojo when the phone rang. Kasumi broke away from the farewells to answer it. "Hello Tendo Dojo, may I help you?" She asked sweetly. She nodded a few times as she spoke over the phone. Less than a minute later, she had hung up the phone and walked out to where Ranma and the others were. "You can put your things away Ranma," He looked at her with a blank expression. "What do you mean Kasumi?" "That was from the fire department. They found Ryouga and a friend of his, and they are bringing them here. Isn't that sweet of them?" Ranma fell over backwards at the news. Feather suddenly wore a bright smile. Ardweden: So they found him within minutes? Nephadia: I think it’d be a little difficult for Ryouga to tell Akari the whole curse story in the span of a few minutes. Ardweden: But Ranma was just going to leave, and when he goes, he goes immediately. Cherden: Maybe the chronology’s mixed up? Dannysmartful: Makes sense. "They found him? How long until they bring him home? Is he alright?" Kasumi laughed as the flood of questions washed over her when the rest of the family found their voices. "He's fine, and they are going to bring them here once they get done making sure they are ok." Nabiki got a thoughtful look on her face. Will: Nabiki always has a thoughtful look on her face. Ardweden: And Kasumi always has a vacant one. Nephadia: Oh my. That’s not very nice. "You keep saying 'they' Kasumi. Who's with Ryouga?" "I'm not sure. A friend of Ryouga's I think." Ranma threw his hands up in the air. "Who cares! The important thing is that he's ok, right?" Akane nodded. "Right!" They settled into the living room to wait. Time seemed to pass slowly as they stared at each other in silence. After a short time, Soun and Genma started to play shoji. Soon, everyone was watching the game with feigned interest. "You should move that piece there Uncle Saotome," Nabiki pointed to a piece. Genma nodded gravely and moved the piece. Soun glared at Nabiki. "What do you have against your father Nabiki?" "Oh nothing..." Nabiki smiled at her father. Ardweden: You just whine, cry, get drunk constantly, are a total incompetent… Cherden: Nothing at all. "I'm going to start fixing dinner." Kasumi announced as she stood. Soun nodded absently as he considered his next move. With a grand fourish, he took the piece that Nabiki had advised Genma to move. "There! That will teach you!" He crowed with delight over his victory. Nabiki shook her head. "You might as well concede Daddy, he'll win in ten turns." "Have faith in your father Nabiki," Soun said seriously. Nabiki hid a small smile behind her hand as she watched the two men cheat against each other outrageously. Akane, Feather and Ranma had taken to watching the television when they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" Feather yelled as she leapt to her feet and ran for the door. Akane and Ranma were right behind her. Feather yanked the door open and looked outside, before she fell backwards with a startled shout. Sitting on the doorstep was the biggest pig she had ever seen. Ranma came around the corner, and when he say the pig he let out a low whistle. "Whoa! Hey P-chan, you've gotten a little fat!" He started to laugh before Akane hit him on the back of his head. "That's not P-chan you idiot!" She snarled before she walked up to the door, "Hello?" Will: He was only joking. Dannysmartful: Looks like this Akane’s still likely to blow up at Ranma. Cherden: Some things never change. "Akane! Hi there!" Ryouga said cheerfully as he stepped around the pig. Akari stepped into sight as well. "Ryouga! Glad to see you're ok." Akane said cheerfully before she turned to yell into the house, "Ryouga's back!" Akari stepped back nervously as Feather and Ranma rushed out to greet Ryouga. "Hey man, glad you ain't dead!" Ranma chuckled. "Shut up Ranma!" Ryouga said in a mock serious tone. Feather just stood there smiling happily, waiting for Ryouga to say something. Ardweden: He did. Will: Shut up Ranma! "Who is that with you?" Akane said as she noticed Akari. Akari stepped forward and gave a little bow. "Hi, my name is Akari Unryuu, and I'm Ryouga's fiancee!" Nephadia: Oh my. End of chapter 9 And the heavy end of the hammer falls, ne? Please let me know if there is anything that needs to be done to this before its released. Thanks! Ben Ardweden: Well, Ben, I think… we have to get out of here! Everyone: Ow… Author: Oh, I forgot to turn that off… hang on, where’s the switch…? Cherden: Well, I liked it! It’s based on Ryouga, and my favorite character’s Ryouga. Ardweden: Feh. He’s not that great. I like Mousse, myself. How about you, Dannysmartful? Dannysmartful: Shampoo. Definitely Shampoo. Ardweden: Ha! Mousse can beat up Shampoo any day of the week! Dannysmartful: Then why didn’t he? Ardweden: He doesn’t want her hurt. Dannysmartful: No… Cherden: What about you, Nephadia. Nephadia: Oh, I like Ukyou. And Pepper likes Akane. What do you think, Will? Will: Huh? Oh… I wasn’t paying attention. Pepperalki: Oh, I’ll get the truth out of you. Ardweden: Come, Cherden. We must prepare for tomorrow night. Cherden Why, Ardweden? What are we going to do tomorrow night? Ardweden: The same thing we do every night, Cherden. Try to take over the world! They’re Cherden, they’re Cherden and Ardweden weden weden weden weden weden weden weden NARF!