Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi I just write about my hero Ryoga Hibiki . . . .mostly.
"I wonder why these things happen to me all the time. When I think I finally meet a beautiful girl who I like, and that stupid Saotome has to come and screw everything up. . . . .why do I remember two Ranma's anyway. . . . .grrrr! "
Walking slouched with his bouquet of red roses falling behind, Ryoga Hibiki, remembered one of the most humiliating moments in his life, and to make matters worst, those who met him talked about the incident in a demeaning way the lost boy was so accustomed all thanks to his rival.
( Flashback ) *
Earlier in the day, a love inspired boy sat on a bench far from any other people. The boy minded his own business, and waiting for his date to meet him. The poor boy had problems with his sense of direction and so, he decided to meet his date staying put and letting her finding him.
He looked tense just as any teenager would be in a situation as such, but he was a special case. Someone not used to company, always lost in the world with no one to call close. This definitely was his first time. . . . . For everything.
"Ahhhh . . . .(sigh) . . . . . It's a miracle . . . . .I got somewhere without getting lost. . . "
Images of the new girl bathed in his mind. Nothing dirty, just the greatest declaration of love an innocent human being starved for affection wished about himself. In his mind the girl he knew as Akari ran at his side and held him close. When they were together there was only one thought left in Ryoga's head. " I'm going to . . . . . .get my first kiss! "
Everything felt right, that is until someone jumped on him from above, someone with a red pigtail and dressed in a very provocative negligée, transparent and seductive, like the ones adult models would wear or wives after the tired husband gets home.
The first reaction was the sanest and most needed.
" AAAAAHHHHHHHH . . . . . . . . ."
Then as if for magic, another Ranma in his usual attire popped from behind and hit the first, sensual Ranma on the head. WHACK!. . SMACK! . .BONK! . .
"What're you doing? ? " The giant fan Ranma had suddenly vanished, just like that powerful mallet Akane manages to summon when is mad. The two Ranma's kept looking at Ryoga, one head locking the other, and from their empty expressions, the only one capable to talk was the latter one.
"Are you ok Ryoga? . . . . . .At a place like this . . . .fainting . . . .! "
The boy was gone. His dreams shattered by his one and only enemy. Everything fell from his dream. His honor as a man, his dreams for the girl and any forgiveness from the pigtailed menace. Only one answer was left.
"Why you RANMA . . . . . .! "
When Ranma flew through the air from the high-powered punch the only comeback Ryoga heard was. " It wasn't me-! " while the other sexy Ranma kept tabs on the flying look-alike. Moments later Akira arrived, and turned a very bad situation into a worse one.
"No . .she saw us. . .what will she think ? " (Added)
"Ryoga. . . "
"Akari . . .don't come near me . . . ." Than the tears completely broke him down and he poured them on his way out of his hell. " Just now I . . . . . . . . . .I disgraced myself! ! ! ! "
In that moment several things made a lot of sense. He no longer wanted anything to do with the girl. This would be the last time he'd cross paths with Ranma, but most importantly, Akane was there as well, and the only reaction from his adored girl was "Poor Ryoga . . . ." Right after going back to her business with that pair of Saotome's. . . . . .wait, why were there two? . . . .né who cares."
( End of flashback. . . )
There was nothing left but misery and depression in front of him. friends loved to look down on him, treat him as a tool, and make fun of what he believed it was an unstoppable martial art. But in the end, he would get lost into the wilderness, to lick his wounds, while Ranma would go back to his fiancée, warm home . . . . .warm food . . . . . . .and family. . . . . .
That was it, walking with no direction, to no one in particular with the only hope that something or someone could welcome him. The funny thing was about to unfurl for the poor soul. Not yet far from civilization, Ryoga managed to meet those people who stayed in the background of the town called Nerima.
"See that boy? . . . .well , wouldn't you believe he likes men? . . . .yes! I know what I'm telling you, I saw him kissing that boy who turns into a girl. . . .! "
"Oh my . . . . Poor child. He seems so cute and manly . . . . .but now that you mention it, it makes sense. He's always goading him and when the other so-called boy answers back, the girl dressed seductively appears and seduce him with lies of long lost fiancees, girlfriends and even sisters. . . . . . .seriously . . . . .how many redheaded girls you know on this district. No one. . .except by that crossdresser. . . ."
Pointing fingers and whispering kept chipping whatever self-esteem the boy had away and the desperation finally overtook him. Pain; dishonor, humiliation and tears filled him and there was nothing but the cold touch of the branches and bushes guiding him into the nothing he was so used to live in.
What else could go wrong. His hell returned full force and there was no one to share it with. Just when he felt his strength slipping away, that part of him that reminded him how low in humanity he belonged showed his ugly face.
. . . . . . .BROOMMMM! ! . . . . . . .
The saddest, sorriest piglet sat in the mud looking down and letting its gates finally open, and he cried under the cold, hard rain.
Morning came and with it Ryoga woke up to stare into the inside of a tent, the place looked familiar, much like the kind of tent he owns, but this one seemed more equipped. It had room for up to three more occupants, and he was laying on an inflated bed. The place warmed him and made him feel at home, and the smell . . . . .When was the last time he smelled that?
When he turned to the entrance, a girl was fixing food in the fire outside the tent. The sun was up and bright. Bright enough to let him know the girl had long flowing red hair. For a moment he thought of Ranma, but this was a different kind of red, a darker one.
"Ryo, I'm glad you feel much better. I hope you're hungry since I remember my auntie saying this was your favorite breakfast food." Finished the strange girl while offering him a plate with Tamagoyaki (rolled omelet ) with daikon radish and a broiled fish. " No wonder you grew like a bull."
The lost boy's eyes grew and closed after holding his own hands and catching a really strong whiff at the meal. Promptly jumping at the plate and slowly enjoying it, the boy soon project himself as a dirty smiling little boy just lost for a few hours away from home, and the worry stricken mother yelling at him, just before kneeling down and hugging him tightly and telling him she'd always be there for him.
Memories flooded into his eyes and the often broken leak dared to show again. This time strong arms took him and didn't let him go, tears stopped and a blush crept to a point where a trickle of blood warned him of an imminent gushing torrent.
"Calm down Ryoga, I know of your problems, but I'm not a girl so don't get all weak on me."
The declaration hit him hard and as politely as he could muster, took her arms from around him and set them away. "Ok care to explain because I know someone who pretends to be a girl when in reality is just a piece of work."
The auburn girl held the sides of her waist and stared at the familiar boy. This would be fun.
"My name is Akira Hibiki, and my mother is your mom's sister. I met her a few years back and she told me of how hard the family curse affected you. . . .Ryoga . . . .I swore to your parents that I would look after you, but what I tracked you, I lost you in China."
Finally Ryoga recognized the fate of those who wander into the forbidden, inhospitable areas of China. "So, you fell into that accursed spring too?"
The girl smiled and moved to where the tent was. She began to clean the area and the rest of the fire. "Nah. . . .something a lot worse happened to me . . . .let's just say I went through that but instead of transforming back, I'm stuck in female mode." Said as her smile grew and the Hibiki trademark popped up.
"Anyway. I've tracked you ever since, and I know of your piglet curse, but mostly of the deplorable treatment your so called friends show. . . .specially that guy. Ranma Saotome has been in your life from childhood, but I know your loneliness made you cling to whatever or whoever you thought as family. This is changing from now and on, and there is no other way for you to see. I witness how down and sad you were when I found you."
"By the way. You should know Ranma and his friends are back home safe and sound. . . .completely unaware of your state. . . . ."
The last comment took the effect the girl was counting on. Ryoga clenched his teeth and looked to the ground, it wasn't like he could do something about it. "Even if I refuse this hell, I'll end up in Nerima in no time."
"Nope. . .didn't I tell you I promised uncle I would look after you? . . .sorry but you are stuck with me." The boy could see the looks and the fangs wouldn't lie either. The girl was shorter than him but taller than Ranma and even though the chest on "his" enemy was huge, this girl looked more proportionate to a regular fourteen or fifteen year old girl.
"Ok, tell me your story. I never heard my dad or mom tell me of an aunt, or cousin for that matter. I'm sure I would've remember you myself." The girl sat besides the tent and motion the lost boy to sit at her side.
"Well all my hell begun a long time ago. . . . .on another world."
The hibiki boy kept looking at the girl suspiciously. If she had told him she came from the future and was her daughter, that would have been a more believable lie.
"So. From where you are, I'm a powerful being who uses the elements as my techniques, I turn into a blonde girl with green eyes and, I'm married to Ranma Saotome. . . . . .and . . . .I have a daughter from him . . . . .?"
"You better be kidding me. First you try to save me from that egomaniac and now you tell me I'm destined to save my other self from hell so I can reunite her to the alternate form of my worst enemy. . . .is that correct.?"
"Yup, in a nutshell. Anyway. I swore I would sort the problems of the different Ryoga's I'd meet on my travels, so without further ado, is time for you and I to have a family moment, but not here. We need to go back."
The girl stood and prepared the inflatable bed and tent back into a backpack so small and light that Ryoga could not believe. "Wow, is that a backpack from the future?" The girl shook her head and giggled at the question. "Nah, you get these stuff on the survival isle from a good sport store. In time I'll teach you about so many details you're missing in life."
A few days later, the teens arrived to a place vaguely familiar to Ryoga. He had been through Hokaido in more times he could count on, and never thought some relative could live there. Walking into the center of the city, the sight of a very tall, old style Japanese house made the boy almost fall backwards. At the entrance an old man in an intricate get-up waited on the couple.
The man bowed respectfully and guided the two into the main hall. Portraits and old furniture adorned the place with class and dignity. When they sat on the biggest couch, the man left, and moments later an old woman very well dressed appeared into the room. The girl stood and bowed at the woman while signaling at her companion to do the same. Which he did right on cue.
"So, this is my grand-child Akira-chan. Impressive."
The old woman looked somehow familiar. Ryoga felt the nagging sensation of remembering a family album he shared with his parents right before his curse began to take him away from them. She looked old, but strong in a very peculiar way. When Ryoga raised again and smiled at his grandmother, he understood the woman was far from old and weak.
Without any warning and the awe the boy felt from the place, he didn't notice when the woman took a bokken from the side of the room and struck him with what seemed all her strength on top of the boy's head.
Ryoga tilted his head, smiled again and scratched the area where the bokken broke like it was a fly or something. "Remarkable, you sure are very resilient. . .yet. . .I keep hearing our name running through the mud on the Nerima district. I expect that to change. . . ."
After that display, the old woman called the redhead for a more personal discussion. " Akira. Are you sure he doesn't know anything? he looks like a well seasoned fighter.?"
"Grandmother, he is very strong and capable, but he is missing what makes him a master. He should be one, but lacks "our way" ."
At that point Ryoga was confused beyond reason. He endured grueling training sessions and learned on his travels from masters willing to teach. What where they talking about then?. The old woman looked at the boy and answered his thought.
"Discipline Ryoga. All those who master an art passed by the same method. A master gives the instruction, shares the knowledge, and most importantly, lives with the student. He makes the apprentice "breathe" the art, wakes with him, fights during the day and sleeps besides his comrade. That's what you lack. constant direction."
"At certain age, the Hibiki's take their children and intern them into the family school. Sadly, your parents passed for hard times, and while trying to solve their marital problems, you got lost in between the lines."
"This time is different. I am accepting you as part of my family and you will live here, but be warned, this is not a life for accommodated people. There will be no servants to tend your needs or riches for you to squander. I will give you the tools, and you will do the rest."
Ryoga smiled and nodded. Hardship was his friend and there was nothing it hid from his reach. "I will do as you wish, grandmother, but . . . . ."
The doubtful youngster stopped in his tracks. The old woman spoke as matriarch of the family. "Akira is your guide and sensei, you will abide to her, and she will be your guard." With that, she left the room.
Moments later, the old man took them to their respective rooms and after some time for refreshments and touring the place, Akira met Ryoga while trying to get out of a closet on the main corridor. After breaking brooms and mops, the new addition to the family stared angry at the laughs thrown at him from the girl right outside the closet.
"That's not funny. . . . .stop it ! ! " The girl stopped and went into the closet, taking the dizzy boy out of it. "Don't be mad Ryo. . .I was just teasing. . .promise I won't do it again." If the beautiful girl had acted cute, he would have stuttered all over, but as soon as he saw the girl as another "Saotome", the cute effect soon fell out of the picture.
"So, does grandma' knows about your story, or what you really are?" The girl hurriedly ran by him and covered his mouth with her hand. "Don't you even think about it. I have my own problems as it is, if she knew, it would be the end of me." Concerned, he had to ask.
"Problems . . . .?"
"Yes. You think it's easy to pass as a "female" in front of a woman who knows high-class etiquette? . .Just by the way I dress and my constant traveling alone makes me the target of many remarks about my femininity and behavior, so, I guess we reached an understanding. I won't bother her and she won't bother me."
Ryoga was the one laughing and the girl let him. Not too long ago, the poor guy was waist deep in mud with his entire world sunk beneath him. He didn't know, but she cared for her cousin more than any other person. All thanks to hers other worldly voyages.
"Ok. Tell me what needs done so I can help you rescue "me" from the other dimension?" Akira finally accepted the good spirited mood of the boy, but this would be hard to explain.
"Well you see. There are other worlds with other Ryoga's. Some have chosen evil, where others good. In my world I consider you like my sister since there you are locked as a female like me, and I want to rescue her from a very evil being."
"The problem is, she is lost right now and I can't find her. The only solution to release her from her prison is to journey through hell, and to do that, I need nine alter you's. Each for one of the nine levels in hell."
The explanation could not be anymore clearer, but the implications were hidden in it as well. "So, there are nine levels in hell?"
"In the world where I come from, yes. Where I belong a powerful being named Lord Hades is the king of the gates in hell, and has my sister trapped in it." The boy had to keep digging. "Then, the mythological monster is real, as the other Greek gods are? I think if that's true, we are screwed. They are gods, and we are humans. There is no way we can win that."
With the reasonable fear on her cousin, Akira knew there would be risks, but she could never destroy a life to save a life. She would never endanger her blood. "Ryo. I know how you feel, but think about it. Gods are nothing but bloated beings exalting themselves high above everyone else. There is no such a thing as a god who lived as a human, and besides, we have friends and powerful ones."
His demeanor changed. Every time a more powerful bully would come his way, he had to defeat him. Herb and company were considered unstoppable and yet, he managed it, with Saotome's help, but he did. "Sure. They must be strong, but that's the next challenge isn't.?"
Akira smiled at his change, she knew Ryoga had passed for worse, and she knew he would endure just as well. "Thanks Ryo. For now, we need to focus on you. As long as I live in an alternate world, my time belongs to that time, so we have plenty of it to shape you into a great master."
"First, you need to learn an all around discipline so, first we are going to try a more advanced technique based on the Bakusai Tenketsu. Then, we'll turn you into a better person. Is time the name Ryoga Hibiki resurface once again."
The way Akira understood Ryoga's breaking point and the ability she learned from the element earth helped her develop a new form based on the passive state of the technique. The couple began to practice in mines and nearby mountains and with time Ryoga learned the need for a friend willing to teach and live by his side. Days passed and the link between the two grew stronger, and in time the teacher-student relationship ceased.
The technique taught him to control his emotions and to orient himself without even looking. He used it to pinpoint the breaking point not on a rock, but on the whole area. The longer he practiced, the easier was to recognize small amounts of gold and precious gems. At the end of the day Ryoga learned to find, shape and craft intricate rings and jewelry.
As promised to the matriarch, Ryoga and Akira built their own store where people all around Hokkaido would look through a huge front window how the boy used his enormous strength to shape hot malleable gold without any concern for the heat and with the ease of a master and turn it into the most beautiful shapes. Gems were cut just as the same, giving the perfect form using only his fingers.
At the end of the month. Ryoga became a renowned master jeweler. Of course that was not the first idea, but Akira taught him about life, and the world out there. Martial arts are a way of life, not a way to fight. Finally Ryoga understood Ranma as well.
Ranma was better hands down, and he always accepted that, yet he would never give up. Now he knew why. No matter how demeaning and evil his father looked, in the end he was his constant teacher. He forced him to live the art, and that's why he wasn't as good. With time Ryoga forgot about all that and moved on with his life.
Changes slowly took over the boy. He received etiquette lessons from his grandmother and attended parties and balls. Met distinguished men that praised his work and started to dedicate his life into more of the school he missed so much. Time and discipline taught him to order his thoughts and the breaking point applied to the finding of the gems and gold gave him the orientation around. He no longer got lost, but had to still concentrate on his senses.
Akira accompanied him everywhere anyway and made sure to always practice his family's techniques and his studies. She grew proud of her cousin. . . .finally the recognition he deserved.
After three months of rigorous training the relatives joined in the main house for the first time in a long time.
Tears decorated Ryoga's face all over again, but this time from joy. His parents finally reunited after a long period of marital fights, and were accepted as part of the family. In the party and away from everyone the ex-lost boy had some questions still lingering in his brain.
"Akira. How did it happen . . . . .I mean . . . . ."
"Yeah, I know. Well like I said, a long time ago I decided to fight a so call god on my own, and I lost. As a consequence, that being burned away my real body and trapped me on this form. So you see, there is no changing back for me since I have not body to go back to."
Ryoga sadden at the story and grabbed his cousin by the shoulder. "Who was it? . . . .I swear . . ."
"Don't Ryo. The one who did this to me is very strong and the best part is I need him to rescue my sister. By the way. He is the one who explained the whole thing and confess the true power in the Hibiki's line. That's why I can move between worlds."
The question remained in the air and Akira knew this too, grabbing Ryoga's hand, she closed the distance and whispered. "Lord Jusenkyo."
* Ranma 1/2, volume 35, pages 13, 14, 15. : Two Ranma's