DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Ranma 1/2 series, Rumiko Takahashi and Viz comics do and I wish they could give me the one I lost...((sob)) Anyway, ((returns to Chibi Lee-kun)) form the names that appear here are superficial; any similarities blah, blah, blah...

LEGEND:
/thoughts/
"quotes"
Chibi Lee-kun's comments
((actions))

As usual, Hibiki Ryoga, the Eternally Lost Boy, was wandering into some unknown and uninhabitable places in Japan. Forever searching for his destination, Ryoga manages to set up camp in a mountain forest, unchartered on his own map (if he has one).

Around seventeen years old, Ryoga may not look like someone who can survive on his own in the wild. On the contrary, he had been living alone on his hunted game in his long travels (which, often unintended to be long) with the aid of his power fighting skills. This young man, whose looks suit his quick temper, thrives in the misery of having no girlfriends to like him, and a curse that always wounds his pride. Ryoga fell in the Heituennichuan (by a certain someone who caused his misery), a cursed lake that transforms those who drown in it into a black piglet whenever that person gets splashed by cold water.

/Akane-san. Forgive me for not seeing you in three weeks,/ Ryoga thought while nibbling on a recently-caught rabbit. /I have been trying to attain peace and clarity of mind so that when I see you again, I...I.../

"I can tell you how much I l...lo...lov...love you! Akane-sa---" ((cough)) ((cough)) ((splutter)) ((sigh))

/When will I ever see you again? Akane-san, I've been dreaming of you night and day, and I haven't experienced a time spent not thinking about you after I set my gaze upon your lovely face... Akane-san...you're my sole reason for enduring the burden of my curse. I experienced heaven by your side (or bosom) as your loyal pet, and hell because of that RANMA.../

Ryoga, shaking his fist violently, managed to break a nearby tree like a matchstick and ended up on top of his head.

"Ouch..." he cried while massaging his newly formed lump.

/Akane-san, I'll endure anything for you. Even if I become P-chan for life, I'll do it in exchange for just a hint of your feelings toward me./

His train of thought was interrupted a short while later when he heard a rustle of dried leaves near his camp. Two figures whom Ryoga knew from acquaintance approached him, an old crone less than four feet tall sporting a long, white hair and eyes much larger than his fist, and clutching a weather-beaten staff by the smaller end at the bottom. The other is a girl of his age, owner of a vibrant purple hair; a cute, silken face with a noticeable Chinese descent; wielding a chest plate with intricate Chinese Amazon designs, and dual heavy, rainbow-colored maces on each hand.

"Whoa...I didn't expect Hibiki Ryoga to be around here on Mt. Terror!" exclaimed Cologne, the hundred-or-so-year old Chinese Amazon. Mt. Terror? I thought I'm in Mt. Aso...

"Nihao, Ryoga. Are you also training here by chance?" greeted Shampoo, the WAY younger Amazon. chibi Lee-kun gets bonked on the head by Cologne

Ryoga, without any alibis in his head to counter her query, just nodded in agreement.

"Aiyaa! No matter how hard you train, you cannot defeat my future husband Ranma. Ryoga stupid. Ryoga just likes Akane," Shampoo mocked that came along with a snicker.

"Shut up!"

"I never expected you to return to your training site back then when you were mastering the Bakusai Tenketsu. Are you here because you thought this is Mt. Aso or are you lost or something?"

/I swear that old monkey could read minds...A bonk on the head answered his question./

"Stop looking at me like I'm an old witch! Are you lost?"

Ryoga, caressing his two lumps said, "Ye...I mean, NO! I've been training here for a week now in order to defeat Ranma...nyahahaha!"

"Hmm...I wouldn't say that is really your purpose here, since we saw some peculiar things along this path..." the old Amazon quoted.

"Hehe...like what?" he innocently asked with his usual finger-twirling habit of uneasiness. Shampoo went back to the path they came from and reappeared a little while later lifting a huge boulder in her arms. She casually placed it in front of Ryoga who was missed by a few inches. Not that she cared though. It was difficult to notice if he nearly had a heart attack because of Shampoo's near miss or the words "Tendo Akane" written in a cluster of holes on the rock.

"Ryoga likes Tendo Akane, right? Grandma has perfect plan for you."

"Tch. I, Hibiki Ryoga, do not ask for help when I can solve my problem alone. Ranma, you'd better watch out the next time I---"

A sharp blow at the head interrupted Ryoga. Now he has an already deformed skull to thrive his misery with.

"You stubborn fool! Don't you know that you could never defeat my future son-in-law in your lifetime both in fighting and in women?" Cologne scolded. He just managed to utter a "Tch!" and look away after knowing the harsh facts of reality. "Ryoga, why don't we coincide forces, since we have similar goals? Tell you what," she explained as she moved closer to him. "I'll offer you a deal."

"A deal? For what?"

"You get Tendo Akane while Shampoo gets son-in-law. We need your help to concretize our plan. What do you say, Ryoga?"

/Akane-san, will you ever look at me the way you look at Ranma? Will you ever change your feelings towards me more than as a pet? Akane-san...I like you so much, and yet...I don't see the same look in your face that I have towards you.../

"Ryoga, Tendo Akane's much too good for you with Airen around," Shampoo teased.

/If I could just.../

"Ryoga, what do you say?!!"

/Akane-san...for you...if I could.../

End of Chapter 1

Ryoga (pointing to chibi Lee-kun): Oi.

chibi Lee-kun: Nani?

Ryoga (presses finger on top of Lee-kun's head): Explain to me why you have this mania to fracture my head...

chibi Lee-kun: ...

Ryoga: And...you did not make me dramatic enough...(clutching Lee-kun's head by a palm)

chibi Lee-kun: Waaah...it was my very first fic okay? (cries a waterfall) so mean...

Ryoga: Oh yeah...I want payback for making me a target practice...hehehe...

(Ryoga continuously pokes chibi Lee-kun on the head while pronouncing Bakusai Tenketsu as fast as he can)

chibi Lee-kun: Itai...itai...((squeak)) ((squeak)) ((squeak))...see ya'll next time! Itai...