(Disclaimer: I don't own Ryoga. I wouldn't really want to. Someone else does, I'm just borrowing him. Don't worry, I'll put him back when I'm done and make sure he's all cleaned up and the gas tank is full)

Ryoga: Lost in...Where the heck am I NOW???!!
Chapter One: Stranger in a strange land

It was a nice day. The sun was shining, birds were singing, a soft breeze was blowing across the meadow. Yes, it was a nice day. Rob was on security detail. He liked security detail. Around here, there was hardly ever any disturbances, so it meant he could take his time strolling the borders of the ranch, sitting high atop his saddle-beast, and just enjoy nature. Yup, security detail was all-right with him.

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Crash! Another tree exploded at the tip of Ryoga's finger as he ran through the unfamiliar forest. He'd been running all-out for the last 3 hours, in a running battle against a huge pack of unusually large and aggressive wolves. He didn't know how many, exactly, but he'd guess it was about 50 animals when this all started. He'd been strolling down the streets of Nerima, happily daydreaming about Akane when he'd took a left turn to the Tendo dojo and...found himself in an unfamiliar forest. Lost AGAIN!

"Just where the heck am I now???!!" he yelled out in frustration.

Not far in front of him, he saw several very big wolves stand up, where they'd been hidden behind some tall grass. He'd disturbed their dinner it seems, and they didnt look very happy.

"uh...oops?"

Ryoga could hear them growling and then they started for him. He grinned, exposing his own oversized canines, and met their attack head on. The first went down to a chi-bandanna, the second to a roundhouse kick and third to a solid thump from his lead-infused bamboo combat umbrella. He had just started walking, intent on leaving them behind and finding his way back to Nerima, when he heard several low growls behind him.

Turning around, Ryoga could tell he was outclassed. He could see two or three wolves slowly slinking toward him, but could see the eyes of maybe 15 more in the woods surrounding him. He recognized that with those odds, which appeared to be getting worse as time went by, he'd be in a bad way soon. Deciding to pick his own battleground, Ryoga burst two trees with his Bakusai Tenketsu technique to slow the wolves down and began to run. He'd been running ever since. The wolves were keeping up with him, so whenever he saw an opening, he'd throw a bandanna to take them out from a distance. Those that came too close would get bashed by an umbrella, and whenever he could catch a few in a bunch, he'd launch a Shi shi hokodan, which were getting more powerful as the minutes went by and he got more tired and upset. Across the forest, heads popped up momentarily as a voice could be heard crying "RANMA!!! THIS HAS TO BE YOUR FAULT!!" If he could just whittle them down some more, he could stop and make a stand, but there were still too many! Ryoga turned around, releasing another wave of depression.

"Shi shi Hokodan!"

A small bunch of 5 wolves detonated with Chi energy, leaving behind a small crater. Ryoga turned to run again and tripped, his legs shaking with the effort of running and fighting. He didn't know how much more he could take. Suddenly, he came up against the face of a small cliff. Bursting with hope, he backed up and took a running leap for the top. His first jump fell short! Quickly backing up, he tried again. With all his might he ran for the cliff, but at the last second his right leg buckled under him, weakened from the constant abuse. Out of time, he turned around. With his back to the wall, he prepared to fight for his life.

"Oh, Akane," he wailed out loud, "will I ever see you again?"

Out of the woods surrounding him, he could see the now-reduced but still formidable pack of wolves, numbering in the twenties, approaching him. He could hear howling in the background, telling him there were still some out there he couldn't see. He knew that if he let them in close, he was done for. Not wanting to hinder his own movement, he took his pack off and leaned his combat umbrella against his pack, then pulled four chi-bandannas from his head, two for each hand. Suddenly the wolves attacked! A group of five ran at him from the front and four more circled in from the sides. Ryoga threw the four bandannas at the ones circling in and launched another Shi shi hokodan at those coming at him head on. The chi-bandannas struck the four circling wolves like shuriken, cutting into their heads and throats, while the ball of depressed spirit-energy detonated among the five frontal attackers, scattering them in all directions and leaving a small crater behind.

Ryoga hung his head, panting at the exertion. He'd fought Ranma many times, and his endurance was the stuff of legend, but he'd been using up Chi constantly for some time now, and it was only a matter of time before it began to affect his performance. That was the fifth Shi shi hokodan in the past half hour and he couldn't even remember how many chi-bandanna's he'd thrown. He'd have to take it easy a little to preserve what reserves he had left.

Looking out, he could see the wolves hadn't given up. His easy defeat of the first wave had given them pause, but he could see movement in the trees they'd backed up into. With a snarl, a wolf sprang at him from the left. He jumped into a forward kick, deflecting the wolf at the last minute, then followed up with spin kick that launched the wolf back the way it came. Another wolf jumped him from behind, claws digging for purchase in the flesh of his shoulders. Ryoga could feel the warm fetid breath of the wolf as it came in for the kill. Kicking backwards into a free-fall, Ryoga jammed an elbow up into the wolf's chest as they landed on the ground. With a yelp, the wolf rolled out of his way and sprang to its feet, snapping at Ryoga's hamstrings. This time, Ryoga's foot met the wolf coming in and he could hear the sickly crunch of the wolf's neck breaking as his forward snap kick impacted the overly large animal. Ryoga could sense that the wolves were backing away, unsure if they should attack again after the losses their pack had taken. This was unusually difficult prey. Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, Ryoga grabbed his umbrella and ran for the trees. He could come back for his pack some other time.

Ryoga looked worriedly through the trees into the cloudy sky.

"Oh, kami, please don't let it rain. There's no way I'll get out of this if I turn into a pig!"

He was a hundred meters ahead by the time the wolves got into solid pursuit, but his weakened state and the wolves' four legs quickly devoured the intervening space. He was once again in a running battle. It became a cycle of exploding trees, thrown bandannas and, when one got too close, swung combat umbrellas. Ryoga WAS winning, having killed or disabled more than 2/3 of the pack, but time wasn't on his side. He was slowing, and he knew it. He could feel himself weakening with every step, a state he had not experienced since the Baksai Tenketsu training under Cologne. His vision was no longer clear-things began to look blurry around the edges. Not far ahead, he could see a clearing of some kind. In a last desperate attempt, Ryoga slowed down and turned, allowing the wolves to bunch up.

"Oh Akane," cried Ryoga, "what a cruel world! Here I'm going to die, leaving you to..to..Ranma! I'm sorry. Oh, to be held in your..arms..but once more..." The world seemed to slow down for Ryoga as he thought of how sad and miserable Akane would be with him gone, without her P-chan and how she'd be left to Ranma with no one to protect her and...and...

"Ranma?! I can't let you have Akane!"

With one last gasp of effort, Ryoga put everything he had into a Shi shi Hokodan of immense proportions. The resulting blast threw him through three trees and out into the clearing. He felt something sharp hit him in the back of the head, and the last thing he saw as he blacked out was some kind of...scaly...foot?...a HUGE, scaly...foot?

Author's Note: This is my first Ranma fanfic, and I'm not the most devoted fan, so I apologize if things at times may seem a little strange compared to what you're probably used to. As far as Ryoga's personality and intelligence, I give him more credit than most. Think about it. If he's constantly getting lost, finding himself a stranger in strange places, not only does he have to be tough, he's got to be reasonably smart to handle the strange situation's he be getting into as a result. Not that I don't think he's an immature, emotionally repressed teenager, I mean, that's a given...

Reviews and feedbacks are welcome.

Thanks go to Musichowler for the pre-reads. Great suggestions!

-Wilfi