Ryoga's Girlfriend Ch4(RanmaXRyoga)

Mewtwo is seen, then following him is Mew as they seem to be traveling near the moon's orbit. Then the screen cuts to a side close up of Ryoga's face as he's dressed as Poke'mon's main protagonist; Ash Ketchum. Background music is heard throughout this screen.

I wanna' be! … the very best! Like no one ever was!

Ryoga's head was tilted down with his eyes closed, that was until he opened them with a firm determination and tilted his head upwards, the camera then cuts to a shot of Ryoga standing in an empty Poke'mon stadium, all the lights flashed on him while the camera pulls back.

To catch them is my real test! To train them is my cau-

The entire screen changes into static, the static vanishes and is replaced by a black screen. Big red words flash over the screen...

Error! Error! Error!

Cuts to the Ranma ½ opening theme song. And thus, the real story begins...

Nekohaten

Humiliation was one of the very few words Mousse had come to accept as being part of his life. He was the proud future husband of the beautiful Shampoo... and here he was, stuck in a cage and being fed table scraps. People have a certain amount of dignity and when it came to Mousse now... he had about as much dignity as an unhappily married man did, minus the interaction between him and Shampoo. At least an unhappily married man was given some time to his woman, so, he had less dignity than a man like that. That didn't sit too well with Mousse, but there wasn't much he could do about his current predicament. Mousse was a master of hidden weapon, not an escape artist.

The feathered martial artist lowered his head and flipped his wings weakly, his flap accompanied with a weak quack. 'My darling Shampoo, what have I done to deserve this!' he thought as he tilted his head upwards and quacking yet again.

Cologne was near the feathered fowl at the time and found herself staring at him. The aged martial artist shook her head and made her way over to him, she stopped in front of the caged Mousse and watched him from behind as he continued to cry out in his quack based form of agony. Her first thought was to slap the cage and silence him, following with a threat; much like a drunken mother hits their child.

'Shampoo! W-why won't you give me a chance! What did I do to deserve this! Why do you only ever follow your honor than your heart! Tell me!' Mousse shouted but the only words that came from his mouth were. "Quack! Quack! Wak! Quack! Wak! Quuuuaaaakkkkeee!"

There was something about this scene that Cologne couldn't ignore, she was still human. Her remorse finally managed to seep through all the cruelness that she contained and maybe it was the time she informed the hidden weapons master about her plan. "Look..."

Mousse only continued to cry out in duck language, not even taking the time to notice Cologne's words.

This bothered Cologne; she didn't like to be ignored, so, she slapped the cage with her cane and watched as the bird within it quacked in fear before turning around and noticing Cologne. Her action put Mousse on the defensive; as odd as that looked, coming from a duck.

"Save your energy, Child... err... duck... you probably wish to know why we've kept you in this cage for so long, right?" Cologne asked.

Mousse noticed that she only wanted to discuss something with him and although he would have preferred to talk to her 'human' face to face, he'd have to settle for duck face to mummy face. He nodded his head and waited for her to continue.

"I know you're eager to challenge Kuno, you wish to take his position and marry Shampoo, correct?" Cologne asked, narrowing her eyes.

Mousse nodded his head with all the might his duck body could offer.

"I merely wish to give this Kuno lad a chance... you see, where you have nothing to support a family with Shampoo, Kuno has the funds to make such a happy and productive family with Shampoo, he can offer her what you fail to do..." Cologne explained, watching as the duck glared at her now or as far as she could tell from the look on his face; his glasses didn't help to make him seem intimidating. Though she continued, "I'm aware of what you could do in China to make ends meet but this Kuno child has proven to not only be capable of supporting a family but as well as manage a family, he may seem insane, but there has to be a reason why he can keep on being wealthy and being as deluded as he is..."

Mousse tried to argue with a quack but found himself at a loss for words. He lowered his head in defeat, why wasn't a standard why of living okay? Ranma wasn't rich! There had to be something else!

"I understand what you're thinking... Ranma was not too wealthy either but his skills would have been enough to land him a top position within the tribes, therefore helping him reach above standard wages and not only that provide us with a child of equally great potential," At this point she was able to notice that a dark aura cloud was surrounding him.

"My point is... I'm going to allow you to exit this cage when I feel the time is right, this 'Kuno' deserves a fighting chance and he shall fight you when he has received proper training and I am fully aware of what you plan to do if you come out of your cage," Cologne stated.

The duck in the cage quacked in annoyance, pretty much confirming Cologne's idea. "Patience child... your time will come and when it does, we shall see who is truly deserving of my granddaughter's hand in marriage..."

Cologne knew that she was risking a lot on this actually working, Kuno and Shampoo had yet to accept any possible feelings for one another. Hopefully, she could get that Kuno child to follow her training; long enough for her to make him a more formidable opponent... or at least strong enough to take on a hidden weapons master. This would be certainly one of her greatest challenges but maybe she had to break his mental barriers and get him to accept that he isn't that great of a warrior, 'Only then will his abilities flourish...' Cologne thought.

Happosai, Genma & Soun

Maturity didn't really suit the three eldest members of the house since they wanted to be duke it out over a romantic pairing in a series about Pocket monsters, which was the English translation or shortened phrase for Poke'mon. If only to add insult to injury, Soun retrieved his custom made fan, which upon flipping open, revealed a pink heart with the words 'MistyXBrock' on it.

"You dare bring that out in front of me! Your grand master!" Happosai shouted, reaching his boiling point. Often times he would prefer to be matched with the woman he saw, but since it was a series he was able to pick who was best suited for being with someone. It was a common practice for him when it came to soap operas... why had he gotten into soap operas? Kasumi happened to be watching one and Happosai came in during an undressing scene and saw the main character in nothing but her unmentionables.

Genma in his panda, Pikachu colored state charged the Brock cosplayer and attempted to do a tackle.

"I dare!" Soun shouted before dodging out-of-the-way and making Genma exit the Tendo home from the back porch.

Genma swiftly managed to control himself and shift his massive panda weight, well enough to turn around.

"Whoa!" Happosai cried, holding on the Panda's shoulder, as best as he could. The grand master composed himself and glared at Soun for a moment before hopping off Genma's shoulder. Happosai was already insulted enough and he intended to end this battle in the most epic way he knew how.

"First, you dare to hold something like that right in front of my face, not only that... you dishonor our school," he said, although he didn't have the right to say what was honorable or not for the school, he still felt that he could say that since he was the most experienced martial artist. "No member of the School of Anything Goes is a MistyXBrock lover!"

Soun glared and although he had no chance against the grand master, he would stand his ground for the pairing he believed most. "Then perhaps I have forsaken the art..."

"Yer done for!" Happosai shouted, placing his hand in his purple Gi and pulling out what seemed to be a small makeup kit. Then with his other hand he tore off his purple Gi; much like a James Bond movie, in order to show the entire house his cosplay out of Charmander.

Genma took notice of the fake Charmander tail popping out from behind Happosai's back. It was then that the grand master twisted the lid off the small makeup kit and began to quickly apply the orange makeup to his face.

"Charmander!" Happosai shouted.

Anyone other than Kasumi would have found this scene downright ridiculous, but she thought it was all in good nature. She wasn't even one to speak, since she was wearing a Nurse Joy outfit, only because she felt it made her feel cute. The eldest sister blinked for a moment when she saw Happosai dressed as Charmander.

"That doesn't look too bad on him..." she commented.

Nabiki now entered the room with a plate in her hands. She didn't seem all too concerned with the scene of utter chaos, it was part of her everyday life now. "Let'em finish this..." Nabiki commented, taking another bite of her food. "More food for us then."

"Now that would just be rude, Nabiki," Kasumi stated and shaking her head, disagreeing. "I'm sure they'll finish soon."

Soun stared at Happosai before placing his hand over his mouth, trying to keep his fits of giggles under control. Not even realizing that he was probably at the same level of stupid looking.

"Laugh now! But let's see how ya' laugh after this!" Happosai shouted, jumping up into the air and pulling out a spherical object. "Happo-Fire-" Happosai shock his head before correcting himself, "Flamethrower!"

Soun didn't even take notice of Happosai's attack before it was too late, his Happo-Fire... er... Flamethrower blew up on the hated MistyXBrock shipper. Soun fell to the ground, his eyes twitching as he was covered in a small anime layer of ash.

"That'll learn ya'..." Happosai stated, dusting off his hands off. "Now... who are ya' into?"

Sound's body gave a spasm before he groaned out the following words, "Ash and Misty were meant to be with one another... their love is sacred as the temple Buddha," Soun said, using his poetic talk in order to sooth his already irritated master.

Happosai chuckled and placed hands on his hips, victory for his pairing achieved.

Genma pranced around the fallen Soun with several celebration poppers going off. Genma was so proud that he even ended taking the MistyXBrock fan and crossing the name Brock out and replacing it with Ash.

Kasumi throughout this entire display tilted her head, perhaps this whole Poke'mon thing was getting out of hand. Was it really bad that Soun's opinion differed from theirs? Was it worth using martial arts techniques in order to defeat someone over an argument? She did have to factor in the fact that their martial arts style was called, the 'Anything Goes' school of martial arts. This must have been one of those moments where they could break the rules, so, Happosai was within in his rights to abuse his abilities. In her mind it was a bit silly, which made it amusing since Genma, Soun and Happosai were all used to the damage their skills brought.

"I believe the Poke'Center is now serving breakfast!" Kasumi said, bowing once with her hands together.

Happosai slapped his hands to his cheeks, maintaining his composure in front of the adorably beautiful Nurse Joy impersonator. "Y-ya' got it, Nurse Joy!" Happosai exclaimed, marching over to her in a very peculiar fashion. "Would you carry me?" he paused, placing his behind his back and kicking an imaginary rock. "I'm just a little Charmander."

Kasumi chuckled before reaching down and taking the grand master in her hands. "Just this once... okay?"

Happosai smiled and nodded his head, "You're really too kind to an old man like me... er... I mean... Charmander!"

Genma's panda stomach growled at the mention of food. "Bwa!" Genma groaned, before raising up one of his trademark signs. "Finally! I'm starving!"

The entire group entered the house, ready to begin their day. Though it didn't occur to anyone what happened to Ranma and Ryoga or even Akane for that matter.

Akane

Akane returned to her room, sitting on the edge of her bed she contemplated many thoughts that swarmed her mind. Did she really just confess to Ranma while Ryoga was around? And no doubt she had also rejected his old feelings for her. Why did she lash out without really considering the amount of damage she could do? She knew it was within her abilities, but whenever something that involved Ranma came around, that sense of reason escaped her. The answer was simple but she refused to fully address it until her mind finished sorting everything out.

At the beginning, she fought tooth and nail to defy her marriage to Ranma since she had her own personal vendetta against men but as time went on she became closer to men. The most important thing to consider was... what brought this out? Reluctantly Akane admitted to Ranma playing a part in that. He showed her that although men can be jerks, they did often times have a noble side to them and even though they could be some of the most perverted creatures on the face of the planet, they could be caring and gentle. Though maybe she already knew that but choose to ignore it, she even contradicted herself by thinking such thoughts, because at one point she had a crush on Doctor Tofu. 'Doctor Tofu...' Akane thought. 'That really brings back some memories' Akane then sighed, her trip down memory lane wasn't going too well.

Then he came along and changed her view, Ranma's very presence disrupted the natural flow of things. Chaos follows him whenever he went and due to his existence within Nerima, Akane was shown that women could be just as stupid as men. Did she consider herself part of the bullheaded women of Nerima? 'N-no... I-I couldn't be... that's impossible...' Akane continued to ponder, but she herself had also jumped the gun and contributed to the absurd challenges the other wackos in Nerima have been doing. Though sometimes she was roped in, against her will. Through it all... Ranma was there for her, whether being a jerk to her or helping in her time of need. At times they would even have their moments with one another and Akane although she'd never admit it out loud, she treasured those moments of gentleness between them. Times where she and Ranma would allow their personal barriers down and just enjoy their company.

Then, of course, there was Ryoga to think about and even then she wasn't sure what to feel about him. They had gone out on a few dates and she even liked the fact that Ranma seemed to follow her around, his claims about him just being a pervert might have been right but that was possible because she didn't know what to make of Ranma at the moment. All those lies he just kept giving her hindered her from trusting him... especially since she lied about everything that was going on between Ryoga and him.

That caused a tightening in her chest as if her heart was a harp and someone was playing her terribly. The blue haired Tendo child closed her eyes and tried to relax, now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time that she truly came to terms with it, she loved Ranma Saotome. The man amongst men of the martial artist and no matter how many times she claimed that she didn't care about him, it was really her crying out for his attention, crying out to be noticed by him and have him embrace her on her feelings, since she believed that the feelings of romance were neutral for one another.

And she also came to the conclusion that she didn't hate Ryoga, whether he was there to just comfort her... he was still a caring person she needed around. The lengths Ryoga went for her were impressive and half of the men in Nerima wouldn't go that far anyone, yet alone a woman who doesn't even recognize their feelings, only till they involve someone they care about 'but' now the biggest question was... was she ready to have her life do a complete one-eighty?

Akane lowered her head and figured now wasn't the time for her to bother Ranma with her love, after her last actions she figured this would be the time period in which she and Ranma could really build a deep friendship, which she would take to another level... soon enough. A part of her wanted them to be closer, as friends, hell, even with Ryoga.

Didn't they deserve to have really close friends that depended on one another? Akane did have her other two friends at school... but Ranma and Ryoga were a different story. And now she knew what she had to do, apologize and hopefully be able to start anew.

"When you get here Ryoga, I'm gonna' tell you how sorry I am..."

Ranma & Ryoga

There was a thick hinting of romance between Ranma and Ryoga now. Ryoga managed to force his composure and released Ranma's cheek, feeling embarrassed for technically caressing Ranma, in more ways than one. "You can get off now..." Ryoga whispered, keeping his head down and his emotions in control.

Ranma blushed before doing so, moving away him, she reached her hand out to him. "Come on... let's go back to the house," Ranma stated, hoping her hand out would be accepted.

Ryoga shook his head and stood up on his own, it felt too awkward to make any physical contact with Ranma. "Alright."

Ranma sighed and figured maybe he had a good reason for not wanting to take her help, but if they were going to be friends that had to accept friendly gestures. "Yeah..."

The dynamic duo began their journey back home, which wasn't much of a journey since neither seemed to wanna' say anything. Ryoga, of course, was able to follow Ranma without the need of her hand on his, that was an improvement. Although it never seemed to be an issue, the original reason was so Ranma could mess with him, also Ryoga's reasoning could almost be too easily swayed but his stability didn't hold out for too long, she wanted to discuss this with him but felt rather awkward... it wasn't easy asking someone about why they're being so dramatic. Ryoga's case was a rare one, being alone and constantly lost had to be a burden that plagued him constantly. All the times he must have been called stupid for his bad sense of direction, his distracted mind, his confused feelings, his need to cling to things and his Akane like need to jump the gun and assault all those who even mess with him. Though surely she couldn't have been the only one who's messed with Ryoga this mess? Why was she so special? Was it because she was actually a challenge to him? Was Ryoga living in some made up world where he believed himself to be the hero and him as the antagonist? Was Akane the damsel in this story? 'Huh... guess she isn't anymore after all dat happened...' Ranma thought. 'What's he thinkin'? He tells me he doesn't want Akane now and now runs off to try and get away from us... just make up your mind!... and stop touching me! Oh, Kami-sama... why do I have to endure hell to have a friend? Argh!' Ranma thought.

Ryoga watched Ranma's frustrated looks and knew that they had something to do with him and his 'special touches' and like any good martial artist he had to apologize. "Hey, Ranma... can we forget what happened?"

Ranma was broken from her thoughts from the suggestion Ryoga made and she had to admit that was one of the better things of the day, which came as a great relief. If they were willing to put things behind them, then maybe there was a chance for their friendship to actually happen. "Forget what happened?" Ranma asked, looking over her shoulder and grinning, raising her thumb up.

Ryoga was glad that she was willing to ignore the events of this day but was in no way ready to smile at this moment.

Ranma knew there one last thing they had to deal with before they could truly put this day behind them. "But ya' know Kane's gonna' wanna' talk with you..."

Ryoga sighed and for the first time in a while he placed his hands in his pockets, feeling the tension of the moment get to him. "Fine..."

Ranma slowed her pace just enough to match Ryoga's and be standing next to him. "Hey... she ain't gonna' give you too many problems, and if she does," Ranma stated, "I'm here for ya', pal."

It was odd enough just having Ranma defend him, but it felt like the first time she defended him. It still couldn't possibly mean anything, since Ranma wasn't a real woman and that meant less than having a real girl say that kind, kind words. At least that's what he wanted to feel, her words left more of an impact on him. "I can't be worth all this effort Saotome,"

Ranma tilted her head and seemed confused. "Huh?"

"Just a while ago you'd never say any of these things... what happened to us?" Ryoga asked.

Ranma sighed and placed her hands behind her head since that seemed like a good way to keep Ryoga's from landing on her. "Yeah... I get where you're coming from." Ranma replied, pondering the question a little more. "Like I said... I guess I care about ja, your one of the few people I wanna' have as a friend, I ain't sure if it's because we have a history or because we're both rivals but I know it'd suck to not have you around, Ryoga."

Ryoga felt himself blush but this time, it wasn't the awkward feeling he felt when he was forced into a romantic situation with Ranma, this was a feeling of acknowledgment. All the times he had to endure those insults and seeming weak against Ranma, not to mention all those times Ranma would make him change into a pig in order to not have to deal with him, and the training... and the shishihoukudan training. This was a sense of accomplishment. Although he wasn't going to let Ranma know about that.

"Whatever..." Ryoga scuffed.

Ranma chuckled and before grinning widely, "You're a real softie for compliments, ain't ya', pig-breath?"

Ryoga buried his conflicted feelings and turned to Ranma, staring at her for a moment before shaking his head. He would respond to Ranma's statement, but much like a politician, he ignored the subject and looked for the nearest thing to talk about and lo and behold, the Tendo home was a small distance away. "We're back."

Ranma reached out her hand and placed it on Ryoga's shoulder, nodding her head with a strong confidence. They would have gone further had they not seen something truly bizarre.

Then quicker than anyone expected, Genma(Panda form), Soun and Happosai hopped over the Tendo fence, Genma still dressed as a Pikachu, Happosai now dressed as a Charmander and Soun was also in his last outfit; Brock's.

"Are you really related to him?" Ryoga asked, looking towards the annoyed redhead.

Ranma slapped her forehead and lowered her head, "I don't want to talk about it..."

From there the Tendo gate opened and out stepped Akane Tendo, the blue haired girl looked like she had just been told that her father was an anime fan. And that was true to an extent and that made her feelings towards his awkwardness even worse. She sensed that someone was staring at her and looked over her shoulder, spotting Ryoga and Ranma.

"Oh... hey there," Akane said, a bit timidly."

Ukyo

Ukyo felt as though her time to save Ranma from Ryoga was escaping her. Akane wasn't willing to help her and there weren't many options remaining at this point. Had she thought about going straight up to Ryoga and demanding that he stop trying to see Ranma as something more than a friend? What chance did she stand? She knew that Ranma would only try to fill her mind with useless excuses and would keep lying to her. Her best option was to eliminate Ryoga by defeating him and then hiding him so they could bring Ryoga to his senses and that would in turn cause Ranma to fall in love with her. It was to the point where she had a daydream about Ranma thanking her for saving him from turning into an odd pervert like Ryoga.

She was used to having a cohort assisting her, but she pictured herself more like a cliche, hero duo rather than two villains plotting. Though she had to admit planning and scheming in the background was rather underhanded, but to her this was the battlefield of love and she would conquer with her superior plotting. Now all she had to do was list her options and try to get some help, Ryoga was certainly out and Shampoo was nowhere to be seen. That struck her as flat out strange, but her experience with Shampoo told her that it probably wouldn't work out with her. Both of their personalities would try to dominate the other, take Ranma as the prize and barely even work together. Had that stopped them before? It was worth a shot... that or she would work with Kodachi.

"Shampoo it is..." Ukyo sighed. Ukyo knew that if it ever came down to working with Kodachi, she'd probably need to see a therapist. She just hoped it wasn't going to be one of those desperate times called for desperate measures kind of thing.

Kodachi

The black rose of St. Heberke High School stood before her gate and pressed the intercom button at the front. She waited for a few seconds before the intercom came went live and Sasuke answered. "Hello?"

"Sasuke... I have returned from my trip, please alert my dimwitted brother and open the gate, thank you," she smiled.

A stuttering Sasuke was heard over the intercom, "Well... you see... Master Kuno isn't here, he's busy," Sasuke replied, before pushing the button to allow the gate doors to open.

Kodachi's mind had to register the new information that her intelligence was receiving. She stood there for a whole ten second before widening her eyes. "Stop fooling around, Sasuke!" Kodachi chuckled, placing the back of her hand against her mouth; her mind took the information as false.

Sasuke opened the door to the Kuno manor and shook his head, "I'm entirely serious, he's busy with a woman," he replied.

Of all the things she could come home to, she had to come home with the idea of her brother actually have a social life. There was no reason for Kuno to have a social life, at least not before her! "Perhaps she pities him and wishes to only take him for his money..." she momentarily stopped to consider who it could be.

"Please tell me my brother has not gotten the affection of that cheap red headed harlot!" Kodachi exclaimed, hoping that her crazy brother had stooped as low as someone like her.

Sasuke shook his head, "No... this girl is much more different, but in no means the pig-tailed girl," Sasuke stated, before coughing and continuing. "He's gone with that Shampoo girl, I'm sure you're aware of the girl with the poor grammar."

Kodachi cupped her chin, trying to remember which girl it was. "Ah yes... the barbaric one who wishes to steal Ranma darling from me, but of course she has no chance against, moi," she said, going on the french word for 'me' as was her strange and pretentious ways. "But I'm getting to the bottom of this..." Kodachi exclaimed before going into the house.

"I will need different attire for this..." she said, mentioning the fact that she was in her gymnastics uniform. Though she would have preferred to wear something more stunning and awe-striking, she thought something like that was too glamorous for such a commoners' restaurant.

Akane, Ranma & Ryoga

Akane's pride only ever seemed to apply anything pertaining to Ranma and this was one of those rare moments where Akane had to give and allow herself to be truly gentle. This was Ryoga and even though he had a different motive and was just one of those guys chasing after her emotions, he was still there to listen without implying too much of his romantic interest in her.

Bracing herself she stepped forward to the lost boy, who seemed frozen in fear by her very presence and she couldn't very well blame him since she just yelled at him like an escaped patient and made him cry. "Look Ryoga... I'm sorry..."

Ryoga had expected to receive some more harsh words before they'd get to the gentle talk, but to his surprise Akane didn't. Though he remained silent, unsure of what to say.

Ranma sighed and knew this wouldn't have been as easy as a simple apology, 'I kinda' don't blame ya' pal... what she said was just flat out harsh to you and not to mention he used to have such a crush on you, then she goes on about me, right in front of you...' Ranma thought.

"Akane... t-thank you, but if you don't mind... I don't wanna' see you right now," Ryoga replied, hoping to get passed this as painlessly as possible.

Akane sighed and knew this was going to be difficult, like many things in Nerima. There had to be something she could do! Without further complicating things but the question was easier asked than answered. "I understand what you're feeling Ryoga..."

Ryoga shook his head, "I don't think you do Akane... because even I don't understand."

Ranma placed her hand on Ryoga's shoulder. "Let's just get this outta' the way, guys... forget about everything that happened today and just hang out like friends, kay?" Ranma asked.

Akane lowered her head a bit, her eyes becoming a bit misty before she came to the conclusion that Ranma was right. Things felt too rushed and weird at this time, "Y-Yeah... that sounds good," Akane smiled, her tears building up and falling from her cheeks as she forced her smile. "But I have to know something first..."

Both Ranma and Ryoga gulped when she had questions they were usually very bad.

"Ryoga..." Akane started, standing before Ryoga. "Do you like Ranma... romantically?"

Ryoga's face became as hard as stone when she asked her question and by the look on Akane's face, she wanted him to outright deny it. Though his voice got caught his throat and he wasn't able to answer as quickly as he wanted to. His breathing became panicked and he felt his cheeks redden at the idea of him with the pig-tailed girl.

"Hey Akane, ya' ain't gotta' ask em'-" Ranma tried to answer but saw that Ryoga held his hand out in front of her; causing her to blink in surprise.

From Ranma's angle, she could see that Ryoga's head was tilted downward, so his hair could cover his eyes. "No, Akane... I don't see Ranma romantically and I never will, Ranma is nothing more to me than a friend."

Ranma found her eyes looking towards the ground, feeling depressed all of a sudden. 'I... this is okay, got em' as a friend... so... I guess everything's okay, sorta'...' Ranma thought, sighing with a slouch.

Akane was completely oblivious to Ranma's posture since she felt that there was no competition for Ranma's love.