ALTERNATIONS Chapter 2

Enter Ryouga
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Paul G Harrison
#include <Standard_disclaimer.h>
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Hibiki Ryouga wandered through the forest without a clue as to where he
was going. His pack hung heavily on his back, but to him the weight was
negligable. He had opened his bamboo umbrella a short time ago to protect
himself from the drizzle that managed to make its way down to the ground.
He had been traveling for a long time, almost forever it seemed sometimes.
He had only one thought on his mind, to find the one who had insulted him,
and extract retribution.

"HEY, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" yelled a voice, breaking Ryouga's train of
thought. He focused once more on his surroundings. He was walking down the
main street in a small village. People in front of him were scrambling to
get off the street. <That's odd.> Ryouga thought, <Are they afraid of me?
Hey, it's stopped raining!> As he reached up to close his umbrella, he
became consciuos of a commotion behind him. It sounded like a wild animal
tearing down the street after him.

Whipping his umbrella down, he spun and thrust it out in front of him. It
ended up planted in the snout of the largest boar Ryouga had ever seen. The
umbrella caused the boar to screetch to a stop. Gasps of amazement were
heard from all around. Ryouga stared at the boar for several seconds before
flicking his wrist slightly, and sending the boar flying back into the
forest.

The villagers poured back onto the street and began praising Ryouga. Ryouga
was a bit embarassed by this, but managed to say, "Really, it was nothing.
By the way, can anyone tell me where to find the Tendou doujou? I think it's
in Nerima."

"Nerima? That's in Tokyo, about 100 km northeast of here." one of the
villagers replyed.

"Thanks a lot mister." Ryouga started to head off to the southwest.

"Um, Tokyo is the other way." The villager pointed out.

"Oh yeah, right. Ha ha ha..." Ryouga turned around and headed for Tokyo.
<Soon I will have my revenge on you, Saotome Ranma! Just you wait, I'm
coming for you!>

***

A week later saw Ryouga wandering around through a large city. He paused
to read the name of the building he was passing. "Furinken High School" he
read. "Maybe someone here can give me directions." He walked over to the
main gate and grabbed the first guy who walked out. "Hey you, where is the
Tendou doujou? And where is Saotome Ranma?" The guy was shaking, but managed
to point back through the gate. Ryouga released him and entered the gate.

Looking down the walkway, he saw Ranma walking with a girl. <Heh. You are
mine, now!> He pulled out his umbrella and leapt into the air. "Saotome,
defend yourself!"

Ranma looked up and saw a dark figure descending upon him. Grabbing Akane,
he leapt out of the way. "Hey, what's the idea of attacking me like that?
Who the heck are you?"

"Don't play dumb Saotome!" Ryouga yelled.

"Is that someone you know?" asked Akane. She peered at Ranma, and saw a
look of confusion be replaced by a look of concentration.

Ranma suddenly blinked, and a smile spread across his face. "I remember.
This is Hibiki Ryouga. He was in my class at the school I went to before
my trip to China. We were sort of friends." Ranma turned fron Akane to
Ryouga. "How's it going, buddy? Long time no see."

"You've got some nerve, Saotome." spat Ryouga. "How dare you run out on a
duel. You broke a man to man promise."

"I waited in the vacant lot behind your house for three days." Ranma
explained.

"Three DAYS?" asked Akane.

Ignoring Akane, Ryouga said, "Yeah, and when I got there on the fourth day,
you had already fled to China with your father."

"Ryouga," Ranma asked in what he hoped was a reasonable tone of voice, "would
YOU have waited for me for three days if you had arrived first? I mean, we've
had many duels, and you had never been more than a day or so late before.
Look, why don't we go back to the Tendou's. If you want to have a match, we
can use the doujou."

"FOOL! I could care less about our duel, now! I want revenge!" Ryouga
screamed. He brandished his umbrella, and charged at Ranma, missing by a
wide margin, and continuing into the main building.

Ranma turned to Akane. "Come on, let's head home."

Akane looked at him in surprise. "What about Hibiki-san?"

"Don't worry about him. He's a honorable guy. He wouldn't hurt anyone who
didn't deserve it. I just wish I knew why he's mad at me. I mean it really
was his fault that we didn't have our last duel." Ranma sighed. "Well, I'm
sure I be bumping into him again real soon."

***

Ryouga was halfway through the main school building when he realize he
hadn't connected with Ranma yet. He stopped and looked around. <How did
I end up in this building?> He heard a commotion from off to one side.
He glanced down the hallway and saw a rather pretty girl being chased by
a guy wearing a bokken on his belt, and carrying a bouquet of red roses
in his hand. The girl was yelling at him to leave her alone. <What a jerk!>
Ryouga thought as he threw his umbrella at the rose-carying idiot. The
umbrella impacted on the guy's skull, rendering him unconscious. The girl
came to a stop and leaned against the lockers, trying to catch her breath.

Ryouga looked at her in concern. "Are you alright, miss?"

The girl caught her breath. "Y-yes, thanks. I'm Tendou Nabiki. I haven't
seen you here before. Are you a transfer student?" <He's really cute.>

Ryouga replied, "No, I'm just here to find an old acquaintance. I saw him
earlier, but I guess I got lost. I'll find him again, eventually. I'm Hibiki
Ryouga." <She's really pretty. Maybe....> "Um... are you sure you're alright?
You look kind of shaken. Would you like me to walk you home to make sure
this guy doesn't bother you again? And... and maybe we could stop for a soda
on the way?"

Nabiki's heart did a little flipflop. Most guys avoided her because of her
financial dealings of years ago. Her family had needed money after her
mother's death, so she had helped out as best she could. After her father
had begun teaching again, however, she had left most of her business
dealings behind her, keeping only a few of the less complex ones going to
finance her college education. Guys still avoided her though, not all, but
most. She hadn't been on more than a dozen dates. <And here is this really
cute guy wanting to walk me home and buy a soda.>

"O-okay" she said.

"Great!" Ryouga exclaimed. His face clouded, "Ah, you'll have to lead the
way out of here I'm afraid. I'm no good with directions."

Nabiki took his hand and guided him out the door. <This has been a great
day. Maybe I can convince him to transfer here. Between Hibiki-san and
Ranma-kun, maybe Kunou will get the hint and go find someone else to bother.>

***

Nabiki led Ryouga into the ice cream parlor nearby that was the current
fashionable spot for Furinken High students to hang out after school. For
some reason, however, it was nearly deserted. That suited Nabiki just fine.
She pulled Ryoga into a corner booth. After ordering a couple of ice cream
sodas, they sat and talked.

"I want to thank you for stopping Kunou back there." Nabiki said. "He used
to chase after my younger sister all the time, but now he wants me to go
out with him." Nabiki shivered. "So, where do you go to school?" <I hope
it's not to far away.>

"Well, I haven't been going to school recently. Actually, I very seldom
went to school at all. I, well, I get lost real easily. Last year there
were a couple of guys living next door to me who went to the same school
as I was supposed to. They helped me get there and back every day." Ryouga
looked up at Nabiki. "They were really great about it."

"You mentioned that you were looking for someone?" Nabiki queried.

"Yeah." Ryouga explained. "About six months ago, I was supposed to have a
duel with this guy in my class. We had had several duels before, but they
were never serious. They helped me ease the depression I felt at getting
lost all the time. I think he knew that too, 'cause I don't think he ever
went all out. Usually we would fight until we were both exhausted. However,
I got lost on my way to our last duel, and so I was a bit late. When I got
there, he had left already."

"How late were you?" Nabiki asked.

Ryouga looked embarassed. "Um... Four days."

Nabiki stared at him. At that moment, her watch beeped at her, reminding
her of the time. "We're going to have to get going. Oneechan will have
dinner ready soon." A thought occured to Nabiki. "Say, would you like to
have dinner with us? The fare may be simple, but oneechan is the best cook
I've ever met."

<Does... does she like me?> Ryouga thought. <But I should really go look
for Ranma. Ah, I forgot. I was going to walk her home anyway. I can find
Ranma later.> "That's very kind of you Nabiki-san. I would be happy to
accept."

They quickly finished their sodas, and Nabiki led the way back to the Tendou's.

***

Ranma and Akane were strolling around the backyard, watching the sun set.
Ranma was lost in thought. <Oyaji sure has changed in the last few years.
Imagine him getting a part-time job, and actually being fairly good at it!
I guess he really does want my respect.> He thought of the promise he had
made to his father a month ago to give the engagement a fair chance. <We
seem to get along okay, but I guess I haven't done anything except maintain
the status quo. Oyaji mentioned something about an allowance now that he
has a source of income. Maybe Akane and I can go do something this weekend.>

As Ranma glanced at Akane, a thought occured to him. "Um... Akane?"

"Hmm?" replied Akane, still watching the setting sun.

Ranma touched her shoulder, causing her to turn towards him. "Have you ever
been iceskating?"

Akane smiled. "Sure, I used to go iceskating once or twice a month when the
rink downtown was still opened. It closed two years ago, and so I haven't
been skating recently."

Ranma swollowed at this, thinking he would embarass himself since he wasn't
very good, but he was determined to at least try. "I heard that the rink was
re-opening today, so I was wondering if you would like to go skating with me
tomorrow?"

Akane frowned slightly. She was comfortable with their relationship the way
it was now, and didn't know if she wanted to risk changing it. Still, she
loved to skate, and it had been a while. "Okay, Ranma. What time did you
want to go?"

"How about one o'clock? The rink is reserved for some type of competition
or something after three, so that would give us two hours or so. Maybe
Kasumi could make lunch a little earlier so we can be there at one." Ranma
was happy that she had accepted.

"That sound great, Ranma." Akane heard the back door open. "Nabiki-oneechan,
is that you?"

Nabiki and Ryouga stepped out into the yard. Nabiki waved to Akane. "Yeah,
I just got home. I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. Ryouga-kun, this is
my sister, Akane, and her iinazuke, Saotome Ranma. And this is Hibiki
Ryouga."

Ryouga stared at Ranma and Akane. Ranma and Akane stared at Ryouga. Shock
registered on all of their faces. Time seemed to stand still as they tried
to think of what to do. Ryouga found his voice first. "RANMA! I'm going to
kill you!" With that, he leapt a Ranma, his face a mask of pure rage.

Ranma was so surprised that he almost just stood there and let Ryouga hit
him. Recovering at the last second, however, he dropped to the ground and
let Ryouga fly over him. He sprang to his feet quickly and jumped to one
side. Unfortunately, Ryouga had expected that, and was already aiming a
blow at Ranma's new position. Ranma saw it coming, but, since he was still
in the midst of jumping to one side, all he could do was brace himself for
the blow. It connected with his stomach with a resounding thud. <Man, that
really hurt!> though Ranma as he flew across the yard. <Oh, no, not the
pool!> With a splash, Ranma fell into the Tendou's koi pond.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled, racing to the pool to see if he was okay.

Nabiki found her voice, and stepped in front to Ryouga, who was also headed
for the pool. "Ryouga-kun! What are you doing? Is this how you behave as a
guest? And here I thought I liked you! Well, what do you have to say for
yourself?"

<Oh, no! I've blown it! She'll hate me now.> Ryouga thought, his depression
growing. "But... he... I mean we... I just..." While he was babbling, he
failed to notice Ranma, now a girl, coming towards him, looking extremely
annoyed. He was therefore very surprised to find himself being picked up
and tossed away by a strange girl. He glanced down and noticed his landing
point. "NO!! Not the pool!"

Ryouga landed in the pool with a trmendous splash. Water shot into the air.
When it had settled down a bit, Ryouga's belonings were floating near the
edge of the pool. Amidst them, struggling to get to shore, was a small black
piglet. Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki stared. "Ryouga?" Ranma asked, plucking the
piglet from the water. The piglet just nodded.

***

Nabiki had brought Ryouga-piglet into the bathroom and left him with some
spare clothes she had removed from his pack. His pack was apparently
waterproof, so they were still dry. He quickly dove into the bath, changing
back to his original form. He got out and dressed hurriedly, wondering if
there was any chance of Nabiki still liking him after learning of his curse.
That Ranma was cursed too had surprised him. Ranma, however got to change
into a really cute girl, not a pig like he did.

Ryouga finished dressing, and went outside again. Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki
were waiting for him. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"Well," Nabiki said, "would you care to explain why you attacked my sister's
iinazuke?"

<Ranma's engaged now, hmm?> thought Ryouga. "Well, it's a long story, and
parts are kind of embarassing. Just try not to interrupt, okay?"

The others nodded, and Ryouga began his tale. "I met Ranma about eleven
months ago. We were sort of friends, but we were always competing. About
once a week we would have a duel. I get lost easily, and that depresses me.
Our duels helped make me feel better. We were going to have a duel about
six months ago, but I got lost, and when I finally got there, Ranma had
gone off to China with his father. Fool that I am, I followed them. I had
wandered around China for many weeks, when I finally spotted Ranma. He and
his father were heading to a place called Jusenkyou. It was there that a
huge panda knocked me into the heitouenniichuan. A little while later, this
Chinese guy picked me up and was going to cook me for dinner. Luckily he
spilled some hot water on me, changing me back. After I had dressed, he
told me where to find the nanniichuan. He said that would cure me, but I
GOT LOST AGAIN! I ended up in a place called Joketsuzoku. Those Amazon
women made me a slave. Ugh, the things..." Ryouga shivered violently.
"Anyway, after about four weeks of that I managed to escape, and came here
looking for you, Ranma. I had heard your father mention Nerima and the
Tendou doujou at Jusenkyou. I blamed you for all my problems, I guess. I'm
sorry."

Ranma looked at his sometimes friend with sympathy. "Gee, that's rough. I
don't get it though. Oyaji and I went through Joketsuzoku and didn't have
that kind of problem." Ranma was interrupted at that point by Kasumi calling
everyone to dinner. "We can discuss this after dinner, okay?"

Ryouga nodded, "That'd be great. Uh... if I'm still invited, that is." He
glanced at Nabiki who nodded. Ryouga was relieved. "Um... you guys won't
tell anyone else about my curse, will you?"

Nabiki glanced at Akane, and then at Ranma. Seeing ascent on their faces
she replied, "We promise, Ryouga-kun. Let's go eat."

***

As Ryouga, having declined an invitation to spend the night, was leaving, he
accidently walked straight into the pool again. Struggling to the edge of
the pool, he sqealed in exasperation. <Why me!?> His squeal had attracted
someone's attention, for the back door slid open and Tendou Kasumi stepped
out into the yard.

Kasumi looked over by the pool and was startled to see the little black pig.
"Ahh... Kawaii. Where did you come from, I wonder?" She picked the pig up
and reentered the house. "Oh, you're all wet. I'll dry you off. I've always
wanted a pet." Ryouga wiggled in her grasp, but she maintained her grip.
Kasumi got a towel and began to dry the pig, now walking towards her room.
She entered her room and closed the door. She began to get ready for bed.

Ryouga was in a near panic. There was no way out. The door was shut, and
the windows were closed, and he couldn't open them. <Why!? Why me!?
Nabiki-san is going to hate me.> Seeing no way out, he did the only
honorable thing he could think of: he crawled under her bed and closed his
eyes tight.

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

Ranma 1/2 Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty Fuji TV etc.
Used without permission. No offence intended

---------------------------------------
Paul G Harrison <root@pgh.vip.best.com>