Ryoga's Girlfriend Ch5(RanmaXRyoga)

Kuno, Shampoo & Cologne

Cologne for a reason beyond her understanding decided to not visit the Kuno manor. It confounded her to no end but she knew better not to question this thought, often times her judgments where correct. Though Ranma challenged her instincts and defied them most of the time, effectively proving her wrong... she would still trust all her other gut feelings.

She decided to tell Kuno about her choice to delay their training and now that she thought about it, he probably wasn't in a good enough condition for training. There was no doubt that his body was resilient but it would at least need another day of recovery to get over his wounds, which was still pretty astounding for someone like him.

When she spotted Kuno she saw that he was leaning against the cement wall from across the Nekohaten, along with him was Shampoo, Kuno seemed uninterested in the training and looking as though he had much better things to do. Shampoo, on the other hand, was just standing next to him, a dull and uninterested look on her face as she seemed to be staring into blank space; lacking any enthusiasm for the training. Cologne figured that was because she was still unsure about her feelings towards the Kuno boy but it was to be expected, Kuno had just gotten an advantage when Shampoo's pride was wounded by Ranma. 'Perhaps all of this could have been avoided, had I taught Shampoo to control her feelings... many warriors lives could have been spared if they had just tempered their feelings.' Cologne thought as she approached the door. Though before she could reach her cane out to pull the exit door out she noticed that Shampoo had secretly made the gap between her and Kuno, smaller.

Cologne chuckled and lowered her head, shaking it gently. "Perhaps this outcome was fate's strange doing..." she whispered to herself then opened the door. "Shampoo, I find it quite odd that you would stand next to this Kuno fellow, wouldn't you rather do something else then watch me try and train this delusional man?" she asked, smirking.

Shampoo huffed and crossed her arms, "Shampoo feel bad, no is other reason..." she replied, not sure if 'she' believed what she said.

Kuno chuckled and brushed his hair back, "It is as she had said... she merely feels remorse for what she has done, nothing less, nothing more..." Kuno stated.

"You protest too much to be uninterested in one another... but I suppose I'll drop the subject for a moment, it's come to my attention that you Kuno, might not be ready for training; at least not with your in juries, courtesy of great-granddaughter, of course," Cologne stated, narrowing her eyes at the purple haired amazon.

Shampoo blushed before staring at the ground, not liking the fact that she had to be constantly reminded of her blunder. Shampoo figured it was understandable for her to his misunderstood his reason for laughing, he didn't clarify... then again she hadn't allowed him the opportunity to really explain, seeing as she lashed out at him and slashed him across the face. That was a reminder she could live without, but too bad for her that Kuno's face still had faint scratch marks, serving as an another reminder she'd rather have gone.

Kuno sensing her distress decided to address it, as he had done many times before. There was something about him needing to support her that he couldn't quite explain. "That is merely in the past and although it has caused my current predicament I harbor no ill-will towards her... in fact, I am quite thankful..." Kuno stated, sighing contently. "I'd rather avoid being tortured for the day."

Support was the key to achieving a happy life together and although Ranma had shown Shampoo support in the past, it was never like this. His was often filled with complete denial that would never evolve from stage one and her Cologne would have to say that Kuno had gone as far as stage two. Now she wondered if probing him for answers would worsen the conditions for Shampoo and Kuno. "Well... now that makes me want to get you started even sooner, I suppose I can dig up some special herbs... of the magical varity..." Cologne chuckled deeply, if somewhat sinisterly.

Kuno shuttered at the idea, he already had enough magical experiences and even though he failed to defeat the wicked Ranma Saotome, he was still trying to figure out his feelings on this Shampoo girl. There was obviously something here for him to explore, a whole new realm in which he could probably grow from and become even greater than he already was or at least viewed himself to be.

"We's can be doing that great grandmother!" Shampoo then turned to Kuno and smiled. "Chinese medicine fix all wounds!" she exclaimed, but then found herself a little too happy for comfort; mostly at the thought of Kuno being back to working condition. "Uh... is because you suppose to be strong!" she shouted, blushing and turning away, her arms crossing.

It seemed as though Shampoo was running out of excuses for her concern and Cologne couldn't help but want to snicker. She decided to dismiss this training session and thought that maybe Kuno would like to get used to the Nekohaten and visiting her and Shampoo. "As clever as that was... we could, in fact, start your training with some special herbs I've got in the back, but I'd like for you to get used to this place first, cause you're going to come around here, quite a bit..." Cologne stated.

Kuno sighed and bowed his head once. For some reason, he dreaded being trained by Cologne, not because he had an agenda to attend to but because the idea of an elderly woman training a master bokken user, such as himself, well... let's say it left a bitter taste in the kendoist's mouth.

"Oh! Dear brother!" Kodachi waved as she approached them from a distance, waving her hand as she was jogging over to them. Though instead of her gymnastics uniform she was wearing the school uniform for high school.

The eldest brother of the Kuno siblings stopped dead in his tracks, he hadn't expected his sister to come and search for him. He knew that whenever she referred to him as her 'dear brother' there was always another motive... that or she wished to pester him by demeaning him and mocking him at every turn. "I don't have the time to deal with you!" Kuno paused before lowering his head ever so slightly. "Dear sister..." Kuno replied, narrowing his eyes as his voice dripped with venom. There was something that perplexed him though, why was he so angry at her appearance? Was he actually worried that Kodachi would find some way of ruining his time with Shampoo? Did he want Kodachi to ruin his time with Shampoo?

"My, my... what happened to your manners, brother?" Kodachi stopped and then turned to Shampoo and crossed her arms, giving the purple haired girl a once over.

Cologne also found herself staring at Kodachi, there was nothing but a wicked air to her. The aged martial artist sensed this not because she was intimidated by Kodachi sudden appearance but because she could sense a darkness to her, a kind of darkness that seeks to ruin things for others and take from others through unfair means. That was just a hunch, she needed more in order to confirm her suspicion.

Shampoo awkwardly awaited for Kodachi to pass judgment on her. Shampoo couldn't tell why but she kind of wanted the approval of one of Kuno's family members. There was no such luck for her, this was the ever stuck up sister known as Kodachi.

"Oh! I approve Kuno!" Kodachi stated, clapping her hands together and pulling out what appeared to be a celebration popper. It came as a shock to everyone, even Cologne. "This woman is perfect for you! Dresses tacky and has poor grammar and the mannerisms of a bore!"

Shampoo at first was delighted to see that she was being complimented but when she explained why Shampoo was perfect for him she suddenly felt her anger raise, maybe even more than when she was angry at Kuno for him laughing at her. Except her anger didn't come immediately, it gradually grew. It started with her face becoming shocked and her mouth hanging open as her left eye twitched and slowly that expression dropped into an awkward smile and them her eyes narrowed as she clenched her jaw, baring her own version of Ryoga fangs; only smaller.

"Who is you calling, tacky?" Shampoo demanded, stomping her foot out and holding up a clenched fist to Kodachi.

Kodachi didn't even consider her a threat, she made that plainly obvious with how little respect she seemed to have for Shampoo and the fact that she had the back of her hand suppress her small fits of giggles. "Darling that's nothing to be concerned about, you're still with a member of the Kuno family, even though he's one of the lower denominations pf the family tree, he is still very much a Kuno..."

It was then that Kuno found his anger raising, there was something about the way she spoke to Shampoo that set his defenses blazing with a heat of passion. Much like all the other times his passion rose, but in this sense it was to protect with his words and actions, instead of using his bokken and some poetic speeches. "I will not stand idly by while you belittle my soon-to-be spouse!" Kuno exclaimed, standing forth and placing his arm out in front of Shampoo; mostly keeping her from thrashing his little sister.

There was a moment of silence while everyone stared, even Kodachi needed a second to compose herself. "I-I beg your pardon... brother?"

Kuno's eyes widened when he saw that all eyes were on him, especially Shampoo. Who at this very moment was only staring at Kuno, her eyes filled with wonder? Though she seemed to be in a trance while staring at Kuno, there was no way to tell if her trance like state was positive towards the bokken wielder.

"I must leave, now..." Kuno stated, looking away from Shampoo. If anyone looked close enough they would see that Kuno was unsure of his actions. The blue thunder twirled around and grabbed Shampoo's hand, snapping her out of her strange empty stare.

"Hey! Shampoo no is-"

"I am quite aware of what you wish to do!" Kuno shouted, towering over the amazonian girl. "But I am your soon to be husband, I demand that you listen to me, if only this once!"

Shampoo felt extremely compelled to follow Kuno's order, which came to her as alien and responded accordingly with her thoughts. Her mind instantly went to the obey function in her mind and she immediately allowed herself to be dragged away from the others. Her mind was trying to tell her to fight off this function she had but regrettably, her thought process vanished, for the meantime, she would obey her soon-to-be husband.

Many words came to mind but none had the impact needed to describe this moment and it's insanity that oozed from it's very core. There were only two people who could watch and stare at the scene without being stuck in a shocked position. Kodachi because she wasn't all too concerned and Cologne who viewed this touching little scene as improvement between these two.

"You could scour the world over and there would never be a stranger love..." Cologne stated, snickering as smile pushed her old wrinkled skin up; displaying an over delighted old person face.

Kodachi placed her hand over her mouth, snickering. "And here I thought my brother had captured a powerful lover... but if he wishes to choose such barbaric girls, then who am I to oppose?" Kodachi playfully asked, her hand over her chest as she made a look of innocence.

It was at that moment that Cologne sighed and shook her head, "Perhaps I've found some in more denial than the Kuno boy..." she commented, turning around and walking back into the nekohaten. 'Though your battle is delayed Mousse... I believe it will not be necessary for you to defeat Kuno, if he has already smitten her...' Cologne thought, humming as he mulled her thoughts over. She was about traditional customs and customs called for battles and tests of skill... was it okay for her to drop these for Shampoo? The question was much too difficult to answer now. "Nevertheless, I shall train him..." she whispered.

Kodachi felt a vein twitch in her head, of all the amazing things she believed herself to be, she was not in denial. "My word... this world has gone completely insane..."

"Yeah, you're right..." Ukyo softly said, stepping forth and appearing to have walked over to Kodachi; without her noticing.

"My... it appears there are those who don't know how to mind their own business, perhaps you wish to gain the affection of my brother as well?" Kodachi asked, her snide attitude not going unnoticed. There was an awkward silence while Ukyo seemed to try and understand the situation that Kodachi was presenting him.

Her actions followed as such "Ha!" Ukyo laughed, holding her stomach and containing her laughter as best as she could. "Me and Kuno?" she asked, pointing to herself and smiling. The idea was just so absurd that she couldn't take the idea seriously enough.

Kodachi for a moment felt like asking what was so darn funny, but when Ukyo clarified she too admitted the idea of anyone being with her brother as humorous. "My word... t-this laughter is contiguous!"

After the two composed themselves and stopped snorting, Ukyo decided that now was the time to go through with her plan; rather reluctantly. "Okay... okay..." she sighed, taking a deep breath. "There's something I have to talk to you about."

Kodachi raised a brow, "If this is about sponsoring your restaurant then I believe you have the wrong person, members of the Kuno family do not endorse such low level eating establishments." she stated, making sure that Ukyo wouldn't try to squeeze any money out of her. In fact, she found it rather odd that she was even paying attention to this urchin, 'Perhaps that uncontrolled laughter put me in a more than pleasant mood,' Kodachi thought.

Ukyo felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, already have second thoughts about this little plan. Though she was reluctant to do so that didn't take away the fact that Ranma's virginity was in constant danger with Ryoga around and she'd be damned if she'd let Ryoga have that honor; the rightful honor she believed belonged to her, the cute fiance. "It's not about that... and even if it was I'd rather make it on my own terms," Ukyo explained, only saying that because one of her partnerships fell through and canceled on her at the last moment.

"I suggest you continue and quickly... my patience is wearing thin," Kodachi responded in a less than amused tone.

"Brace yourself... this isn't gonna' be easy," Ukyo warned.

Kodachi nodded her head, this had better be worth her time. There were many rich type things she had to do and there was only very little things in the world that could keep her from achieving those activities. Little did she know that she was in for a world of confusion.

Akane, Ranma & Ryoga

Events unfolded and told the strangest of tales, the tale of one man's conflicted emotions and odd standing point for a relationship. Ryoga Hibiki was caught in a crossroads of sorts, since as time went on, it became increasingly obvious that secret emotions were surfaces from the depths of his soul. Those emotions may have been there lingering for awhile or may have only been given birth recently, whatever the case was... Ryoga knew that he had to come to terms with his feelings. Though there was a sliver of hope for him, perhaps he was only confused. The conditions of his interest for a certain red head were unique and could be attributed to mere confusion, that was mostly Ryoga's excuse.

Now they were all going to the Tendo home, neither of them sure what to do with their spare time. After everything that happened, it was really strange to say anything. Though this was the case, Akane was rather relieved to think that Ryoga wasn't romantically involved with Ranma.

The biggest question she had to ask herself, was... did Ryoga really mean what he said? Did she jump the gun yet again in this moment? Replaying that odd confession, Akane couldn't help but wonder if she was being given half-truths. There was so much hesitation in Ryoga's words... why had she noticed just now? Because that little voice at the back of her head told her to consider everything before making such a rash decision to accept Ryoga's response. That isn't what she wanted! She wanted to build her relationship with Ranma as friends first... but how could she when she knew she was hopelessly in love with him?

Each seemed to be spacing out at the moment as they all walked to the Tendo home, Ryoga contemplating his next course of action whereas Ranma was trying to make sense of her earlier disappointment. Akane was much more skilled with emotional concealing but that was only because she lived for the role of denying any feelings for Ranma, but one would wonder why Ranma seemed to be having a difficult time accepting her jumbled feelings? The answer was simple, she only knew how to play the part of Akane's fiance, as a man. Doing this for Ryoga was on an entirely different playing field.

"So... what now?" Akane asked, meekly meeting her stare with that of Ryoga's and Ranma's.

The two looked up from the concrete ground beneath them and raised a brow; unintentionally mimicking each others action. "I dun know..." Ranma was the first to speak, "maybe, spare or somethin'?" she asked turning to Ryoga.

Ryoga hummed in thought before shrugging, "Might be good... I need to get some pent up anger out anyways," Ryoga stated, cracking his neck to the side as he figured he might as well get his stretching in.

Akane smiled, feeling a sense of nostalgia. Though it had only been small while back, Akane actually missed seeing Ryoga and Ranma sparing. It showed that they had their strange and awkward friendship.

Ranma forced her usual competitive smirk, a glint in her eye as she cracked her knuckles. "About time, you came around, bacon breath..."

Ryoga narrowed his eyes, "Don't get too cocky Saotome... the only reason you've been spared from my wrath is because we had that whole mess to deal with, but now we're going to see who's stronger..." locking eyes with her he already confirmed their challenge.

Ranma waited before trying to speak, expecting Ryoga to say the following 'Prepare to die, Ranma!' line she had been oh... so been used to. He hadn't said it, which made for a very awkward staring scene, that anyone could mistake as two teenagers taking an interest in each other would do.

Realizing how much interest their moment implied, both ended up, yet again, copying each others moments. "Why didn't you say anything?" Ryoga said, crossing his arms, a light blush gracing his features.

"I-I thought you were gonna' say some more stuff!" Ranma countered, "Y'know, cause you're such a blow hard!"

Ryoga turned back in the direction of the house,"Whatever, I'm making you regret those words, Saotome."

"Bring it!" Ranma declared, getting ready to jump back and prepare for an all-out attack.

Akane watches their little banter and couldn't help but understand everything that was going on between them. Now that she was willing to question things more, she saw something... something she was afraid she couldn't have with Ranma, a weird sort of deep understanding between one another, at least in terms of being a martial artist.

"Wait!" Akane shouted, holding her arms out. "Not on the streets! We can't keep explaining why there's so much property damage on the streets anymore!"

Both Ranma and Ryoga paused for a second and admitted that fighting on the streets could cause a few issues. "Then... the dojo?" Ranma asked, seeking Ryoga's approval.

"Alright."

Tendo Dojo

Akane was seated on a cushion as she watched the little intimidation ritual both Ranma and Ryoga had been accustomed to. Though this was only when the most serious of moments came into play, like two tigers waiting for the other to foul up and leave themselves open for an attack. The only thing Akane was happy to see in this fight; was that Ranma was actually a guy for this fight, so he had his strength advantage rather than his speed advantage he had when he was a girl, but that didn't change things, Ranma was stil faster than Ryoga was but admittedly Ryoga's strength was still on a higher level than Ranma's.

Ryoga stopped his stance and raised his finger, his eyes narrowing sharply. This was a rather unconventional stance for beginning a fight and he was hoping it'd do it's the job of confounding Ranma and confound Ranma it did since he paused to stare.

"Huh?" Ranma wondered and shook his head. Maybe he should have been expecting this, Ryoga was Ryoga after all. "And I thought you got some new moves, Ryoga, but I guess that was askin' for too much, huh?" Ranma said, smirking as he was already well prepared for Ryoga's breaking point fighting style, because it just usually involved him and Ryoga dodging one another, Ranma avoiding Ryoga's breaking point and then delivering enough strikes to eventually take him down.

'Sometimes he never learns!' Ranma thought as he charged forward and aimed to jump and flank Ryoga.

Ryoga's eyes widened as his eyes caught Ranma moment's before he could even make and pointed his finger to Ranma's breaking point or rather pressure point; seeing as humans can't be broken with the technique. "Lion's beam!" Ryoga shouted, laughing a thin but barely visible red beam from his finger, the speed of the trick was so quick that Ranma barely even glimpsed at it when it hit him.

The force of the attack sent Ranma flying back and over to the corner of the room, smacking into the wall and falling down, gripping his stomach area, pushing back the urge to scream in agony.

Ryoga panted and felt sweat come flowing from his brow as he fell to his knees, shooting out his arms, only to keep his face from hitting the ground. "D-Damn... still too early for it..." Ryoga commented, winded from using his new 'Lion's Beam'. 'Damn it... at least I actually got to use it, instead of it blowing up in my face, like all those other times...' Ryoga thought, really glad to see that his move paid off.

For Ranma it seemed to be worse, every nerve in his body was screaming for relief. At the moment he was numb all over and felt as though his entire body was like a sleeping leg; feeling like he was on pins and needles, coupled with fatigue at the same time. Did Ryoga somehow attack his entire nervous system?

Akane throughout the entire battle had honestly expected it to go differently, but right now she was more concerned about Ranma's condition. "Ranma!" she cried, going over to him and tenderly going over to place her hand on his shoulder and maybe help him out but the moment she touched him she saw him cringe.

"Argh! D-Don't touch me!" Ranma seethed, as he was starting to system seemed to be resetting.

Ryoga now filed by his old feelings for Akane forced his tired body to stand up, shaking a bit as he made his way over to Ranma. Akane seemed to be on the defensive as she stood before him and shot her arms out, standing before the two. "That's enough, Ryoga! You already won... just don't hurt him anymore," Akane begged.

"I-It's not over..." Ranma mouthed out, ignoring the pain shooting pain throughout his body.

Akane then turned to Ranma and glared, "Is it worth everything your body is going through? Don't you know what his tricks do? He used something with Lion's roar shot and the Breaking point technique!"

Ranma mulled it over with what little thought he was able to get through with all the pain traveling in his body. This was one of the moments where he had to admit defeat, by now Ryoga could have walked over and knocked Ranma out with a weak kick to the face. Ranma knew he wasn't as exhausted as Ryoga, but he was certainly more vulnerable than Ryoga.

It was then that Kasumi opened the door, a panicked look on her face as she entered the room; for some reason still wearing the nurse Joy outfit from before. "Oh my... Ranma!"

Akane instantly stepped in, keeping her from causing further harm to Ranma. "Wait Kasumi! Ranma screams when anyone touches him..."

Kasumi sighed and lowered her head, shaking it. Then she noticed how tired Ryoga seemed to be and he seemed to be forcing himself to stand, "Ryoga, do you need some help..." she asked, taking a few cautious steps as approached Ryoga, not sure if he was in Ranma's condition as well.

Ryoga's eyes went to the back of his head as he no longer had the energy to stand, "Ugh..."

Kasumi's eyes widened as she reached out for him, catching him in her arms. The lost boy's head ended up landing in her bosom, many men in this position would be rather excited but Ryoga was far too tired to really do anything about it or even care for that matter. His objective was trying to remain conscious but that proved to be a much more difficult task than ever before.

"R-Ryoga?" Kasumi urged, shaking Ryoga in order to get a response from him. Fearing the worst she tried to reach over to his neck and check his pulse before she could she heard a faint breath from Ryoga, sleeping soundly.

Ranma gritted his teeth and sighed, his chance at taking down Ryoga would come again. It was then that he felt a feeling he hadn't felt in awhile, a challenge, someone to contend with and maybe something else. It didn't bother Ranma as much as it would have before, why wasn't he shouting and demanding for Ryoga to get off his lazy ass and fight him?

Silently Kasumi decided to take Ryoga to Ranma's and Genma's room.

"W-Wait..." Ranma groaned, suddenly being reminded that he couldn't really act like his usual self, even if he wanted to, his body was in no condition to really challenge anybody. Ranma felt his body adjust to the damage and allowed a very numb feeling to travel throughout his body, "I-I can move a little..." Ranma stated, shutting his eyes, trying to stand up.

Akane noticed Ranma's strained movements and found herself blushing, this was their moment. To her this must have been the perfect setting, with Ranma's limited range of movement, Ranma was unable to avoid the topic of 'them', it went against her earlier claims but it could probably serve as a way to deepen their relationship.

"Ranma... there's something I have to talk to you about," Akane began, finding her voice caught in her throat. "I-It's not like-" she stopped, forcing her old habits back and maintaining her focus. "W-What I mean is..." Akane sighed, lowering her head and staring at the hardwood surface of the dojo.

Ranma suddenly became alerted and averted his eyes from Akane, hoping she didn't want to start a deep conversation. Especially now of all times. "Y-You don't have to say anything, Akane..." Ranma replied, wishing Akane would leave this discussion for some other time.

"But I have to!" Akane stated, scooting over to the pig tailed boy, her eyes watering with a longing look. Her breath came out haggard as she gulped from what she was trying to force herself to say. Reaffirming her determination with a strained look, she reached over and placed her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Ranma... remember what I said before Ryoga ran off...?"

Ranma tried to lean back, shocked with the current circumstances.

"I meant what I said about you..."

Nabiki & Kasumi

Nabiki and Kasumi ended up taking Ryoga over to his room. A concerning question was, why was Nabiki helping Kasumi with Ryoga? The simple answer was that there was some profit to be gained from Ryoga, being that Nabiki still had a bet to win and whatever she could do to make things proceed smoother was certainly going to be within her power.

During their little walk to Ryoga's room, Kasumi appeared to be worried. "My... whatever Ryoga did must be unhealthy, he passed out in my arms," Kasumi stated. "I hope he gets well soon..."

"To make Ranma scream like that? You must've paid a heavy price." Nabiki commented as they reached Ranma's room. The middle Tendo sister reached her hand out and turned the knob, opening the door. The two softly walked over to the futon Ryoga owned and gently placed him down on it, Kasumi being the kindhearted person she was, tucked him in.

Nabiki eyed him as he rested, crossing her arms she shook her head. "Maybe I'm betting too much on you..." Nabiki commented, with a static look on her face.

"Ranma..." Ryoga groaned, gritting his teeth while he slept.

"Or maybe I'm not..." Nabiki stated, smiling before turning and exiting the room 'There might be hope for you yet...'.

Dream Sequence

The dawning of truth's waking breath echoes through the halls of a person's mind. Leaving an impact greater than any wound, but depending on how the person reacts to these impacts, might be the key, coming with a horrible truth or a great epiphany, an epiphany which may lead to great turmoil in the long run. Dreams in their nature are wild, truthful, misleading, confusing, lustful and can be most revealing about one's character.

Inside Ryoga's mind was an exact replica of Nermia, there were differences Ryoga's version. Though it resembled Nermia in many ways, the differences were that it was silent enough to actually consider a pin needle dropping as a loud ruckus and that Nermia appeared to be devoid of any bright colors.

In the middle of this world, stood Ryoga. Appearing as though he winked into existence, the lost boy hand came up to touch the side of his face, trying to recall any events prior to this but found that nothing was surfacing from his conscious. That meant that he would only live in this moment.

"Where the hell am I?" Ryoga asked, his voice coming out faint. That faint sound returned to him as it echoed through the lifeless Nermia district.

"Ryogggaaa..."

Ryoga came to laugh and turned in the direction of a voice he heard in the distance, the voice coming out as familiar but not someone he could recognize at the moment. "Who's voice is that?" Ryoga asked himself before noticing his surroundings. Gasping he looked down to his own hands and found them as colorless as the world around him.

Then before he knew it voices began bombarding his head as they called out his name, each voice belonging to someone in the district of Nermia.

"Ryoga..."

"Ryoga!"

"Ryoga!"

"Ryogaaaa...!"

"Ryoga!"

"Ryoga."

"Ryoga...?" the voice asked, sounding perplexed.

"Is Ryoga..."

"My word, Ryoga!"

"Ryogaaa..."

"How dare you, Ryoga!"

Each voice came screaming through his ears, ringing in his eardrums as there seemed to be no end to the constant hate filled voices, that called his name. Ryoga couldn't hold his own against these voices, "Stop it!" he shouted, arching his head back, his mouth open as though he were roaring for them to stop.

Silence fell but so had the world around Ryoga and now he had become what he hated most his pig form. The small pig's eyes widened when he was standing on two hoofs and standing in a world of endless darkness, panicking the small pig ran on all fours, wanting to find some sort of light at the end of this tunnel... that was if he could find the beginning of the tunnel.

As he ran in whatever direction he could, he squealed and panted, traveling as far as his hated form could stand. Throughout his run spectators appeared and hovered above him, staring down at him with scornful looks across their faces.

"If you think I'd let a filthy pervert like you touch my son, then you're as stupid as you look!" the Genma spectator shouted.

"At least I was in a delusional world.. you are fully aware of your interest in another man," said Kuno.

"You is gross, Ranma no fall for stupid boy!"

"Do you honestly think my Ranma-honey could ever love you?"

"Hm... I never pictured you to be into guys, maybe I should take photos of Ranma as a guy, just for you."

"This is most unbecoming of a martial artist... you are a disgrace."

"Hahaha! I knew this fool preferred the courtship of other men, not as if my Ranma darling would fall for such a man."

"Ryoga... you're not supposed to be with Ranma, please! It's for your own good!"

"You're disgusting, have you no honor!Love should be between a man and a woman!"

"How disappointing, you had such promise as Ranma's rival, child."

It was that Ryoga appeared back to the colorless Nermia. Thankfully he was back into his human form, safe from the ridicule of all those people in his life. Ryoga was clenching the sides of his head as he stared down at the pavement beneath him. His heart thumped a mile a minute as he tried to keep those words from replaying in his mind, which was ultimately driving him over the edge.

"Ryoga..." Akane's voice rang throughout his ears as she swiftly turned in her direction. She like much of this world was devoid of color as she reached her hand out to him, but she seemed to be standing under an umbrella. Akane's head was aimed downwards as her hand was extended out for him to take.

As if on cue, the dismal world began raining as if crying out to him, trying to tell him something. There was something about this that he couldn't make out, how had she known that she'd need an umbrella? Could this world be losing symbolic meaning? No... it meant something but Ryoga was having a hard time deciphering it.

Ryoga was now covered in the rain as he examined the former angel of his life, a longing look on his face as the rain continued to pour onto him. With a glazed look in his eyes, he was unable to meet her request, there was too much between them now. "I-I... Akane... you..." he stopped, gritting his teeth in anguish as forced his meaningless feelings down.

"Ryoga..." another voice came, or rather two voices appeared as Ranma called to Ryoga from behind him. The alleyway became silent once again, nothing but the sound of rain being the only sound in Ryoga's world.

Slowly looking over his shoulder, Ryoga came across Ranma. Though instead of being only one of his forms, both stood in the rain, their hands extended to him as their hair became damp, covering their eyes as they couldn't meet his for some unknown reason. Though both Ranma's looks appeared to be strained, seeming as though they were in pain if he didn't accept their hands.

Ryoga looked back to Akane, then back to Ranma and continued to do so, until he found the answer he was searching for. His mind went through every single thought he had ever had about Ranma and Akane, Akane's being the reason as to why he took so long to decide.

Ryoga's body acted on its own and carried him to his chosen interest, Ryoga stopped in front of Ranma and placed his hand's on the red head's shoulders.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes the only other color in the world. She stared into his eyes, uncertain of what Ryoga was going to say to her.

Ranma's boy form faded into Ranma's girl form; leaving only one perplexed red headed girl. "Ryoga...?" dream Ranma asked.

Ryoga softened his gaze and smiled softly before leaning in. "Ranma Saotome, I love you..." he confessed before pressing his lips to the red head, the rain continuing to go on as they seemed to enjoy each other's company.

The gray Akane vanished as she left Ryoga to his revelation.

End Dream Sequence

Ryoga shot up from the bed and panted deeply as sweat dripped from his brow, panting deeply as inspected his surroundings.

'D-Damn it... I... I love Ranma...' Ryoga thought, placing one of his hands over his eyes, shutting his eyes as a few tears went down his face, knowing his dream was nowhere within his reach. Not only that he fell for the person he claimed to have always hated. The world was cruel to him, leaving him to another person he knew could never love him.

Or perhaps his prediction was far too early to be said.