It was a nightmare...it had to be...

Ryouga eyed his surroundings and trembled in fear. He remembered this place...those large, endless corridors with the windows on one side that mocked him with its promise of freedom. On the other side were the doorways to long, grueling hours of confinement where he would be locked in with twenty or so other prisoners. There, the large, looming master of the room would drill each relentlessly, glaring at them with a sneering condescension that would always drive him crazy.

He remembered this was the place that he met the bane of his existence. Though a fellow prisoner at this place, this person was different than most others. This person was a freer spirit than the others who found themselves confined to this place during the morning hours and this person seemed bent on using his free spirit to torment Ryouga to no end. He just blew in with the wind, made a life that was already tormented a living hell and blew away just as quickly.

But when his tormentor left, Ryouga followed. Though it was a quest of vengeance, it was also one of liberation. No longer would he be confined to that prison with the smug overseers and soulless co-prisoners. He had been freed to see the world for himself. Freed to learn life's lessons and to discover paths he wasn't aware was available to him before.

Even though his future seemed bright, the ghosts of the past always haunted his dreams. There were nights when he found himself back in those prison cells with those overseers, letting him know he would never truly be free of them; letting him know in their own way that sooner or later, he'd be back in their clutches when he leased expected it. Those dreams came frequently, until a new nightmare took its place; the one where he fell in a particular spring over and over...in as a man, out as a pig. That, in turn, was followed by nightmares of becoming a meal for a large predator, or some slob who had a taste for pork chops.

But now, with a series of events that had taken place recently, those old haunting dreams have returned. All of a sudden, he was back in those endless corridors. The large, looming overseers reappeared, smiling smugly, as if to say "You see? Just as we promised, you are back in our hands. And this time, there will be NO escape."

Ryouga awoke with a start. With a sigh of relief, he recognized he was still in the room given to him by Ukyou. Wiping his brow, he laid back down and tried to relax. He didn't understand what was causing him to react this way. Things weren't the same as they were then. He was a warrior now. He had faced some of the fiercest opponents out there and emerged victorious. He even survived his attempt at self-destruction. This should be no trouble at all for him. Those corridors and overseers shouldn't be so large now. Reassuring himself that things weren't going to be so bad, he slowly drifted back to sleep. Unfortunately, he didn't get far as there was a knock on the door. All of the dread he worked out of his system returned in earnest as the news he feared the most was relayed by this 'landlord'.

"Hey, hon! Time to wake up! We gotta get ready for school."

It was a nightmare...it had to be...

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"The First Daze of School"

-

School. It's been so long since he attended one last...one that didn't have martial arts as a basis anyway. Even then, it had been a few years. Ever since he left to chase Ranma, he hadn't even given his past life in school a thought. But now, with his first day in high school looming, he was reminded of just how much he hated having to go to school. Just getting there was usually an adventure. Even though he lived less than a mile away and could've easily walked there, it always took him a few hours to traverse from his house to campus...on a good day. And when he actually got there, he could never find his way around the huge buildings. The kids never let an opportunity to pick on him pass when it came to his lousy sense of direction.

Of course, being the target of other kids insults also made him a target for bullies. Every day he made it to school, he'd have to deal with a group of kids beating him up. That was the whole reason he took up martial arts in the first place. Once he became proficient in the art, he taught those bullies a lesson they never forgot. Coincidentally, after he finally beat down those bullies good, the other kids stopped picking on him. But since that time, Ryouga had always hated the idea of someone using their power to pick on those weaker than they were. From that time, he had taken to confronting any bullies that tried to assert themselves and teaching them similar lessons.

Then, came middle school...and Ranma Saotome. At first, Ryouga didn't pay him any attention. He wasn't a bully, after all; in fact, he seemed to have the same distain for them. But then those stupid bread feuds started and Ranma started throwing his weight around. It was absolute hell...no matter what he did, he could never get the best of Ranma in those days. After about a month of being embarrassed at Saotome's hands, he finally decided to challenge the pony-tailed martial artist. Of course, the coward couldn't wait the four days it took Ryouga to travel from his house to the lot in his back yard.

That was the last time he attended school. And now, he's getting ready to go back and ironically, he's going to be attending school with Ranma again. The whole reason why he was going to go back to school and finish his education was the plot he and Ukyou were cooking up to split Ranma and Akane up. Now that the plot had come apart before it could even come to fruition, Ryouga didn't see much reason to go through with it. But while he was nursing Ukyou back to health, she insisted their deal stay in place...that he would stay and help her run the restaurant while she helped him in school. As he was the reason she was bedridden in the first place, he didn't have it in him to refuse.

Ryouga looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He really wasn't looking forward to this, but a promise was a promise. He wasn't going to go back on his word...no matter how unpleasant it was going to be for him. With a sigh, he dampened a rag with heated water and cleaned his face. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Not even before battle had he ever felt this nervous. The only thing that could compare was all the times he tried to confess his love for Akane. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. With all the things he had experienced in his young life, there was nothing school could throw at him that could be of any real consequence, was there? What could possibly go wrong?

"..."

After those famous last words crossed his mind Ryouga went right back to bed. Now that the question was out there, there was no way he was going to find out. Unfortunately, his resolve to stay in bed crumbled with the combination of his loudly protesting stomach and the wonderful aroma that was coming from downstairs. What to do? Would he stay in bed and avoid finding out "what could possibly go wrong"? Or would he go downstairs, eat and leave with Ukyou (who would definitely not leave without him) to find out?

He got up and got dressed. His stomach won.

----+----

As he straightened out his usual yellow shirt, Ryouga made his way down the stairs. He was greeted by a wondrous array of scents emanating from the kitchen. There, he found Ukyou in her natural habitat, behind the grill working her culinary magic. He stood, mesmerized by her dance of flashing metal, using knives, forks and of course, her spatulas as a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel to create a sensory masterpiece.

Ukyou chanced a glance upward and noticed him watching. She favored him with a smile and said, "Good morning. I was wondering when you were going to get up. For a moment, I thought I would've had to go up there and haul you out of bed myself."

Ryouga sat down at the bar right in front of the grill. "How are you doing this morning?"

"You don't have to keep asking that, you know. I'm fine now. All the bruises are gone. I'm not even stiff anymore...I'm fine."

Ryouga nodded, "That's good. I still can't believe I was responsible for so much damage."

"Past is past, sugar. Nobody was seriously hurt and all the damage has been repaired. I'm surprised, I've never known you to be so concerned about one of your attacks before, no matter how much damage resulted from them."

"That was because my previous attacks were usually focused on Ranma. I've never just lashed out at everyone before. I was...just intent on making everyone hurt the way I was hurting at the time and I didn't care who my target was." That wasn't entirely true and he knew it.

"I think that was just the booze working though you. I wouldn't worry about it." Ukyou pointed one of her mini-spatulas at him and continued, "But if I were you, I'd stay away from that stuff from now on."

"No problem there."

"Good. Now, let's stop all this talk about the past and focus on the future. Have you gotten your schedule, telling you what classes you're going to be going to?"

"Not yet."

"Well, we'll just have to get there early so we can stop by the office to get you one." She noticed he started fidgeting. "What's wrong?"

Ryouga looked down at his hands. "I...I'm not looking forward to going back to school. I've never had good experiences at any of the schools I've been to before. I know I promised you I'd stick to the deal, but I don't think I can go through with this."

Ukyou shook her head, "Its just nerves, hon. You're going into an environment you haven't been in for a long time. Don't worry about it. And with me helping you out, it'll be a breeze. Now here, eat up." She handed Ryouga a plate of okonomiyaki.

Picking up a knife and fork, Ryouga cut a piece and placed it in his mouth. "Wow...this is great. What is it?"

She flashed him an evil grin. "My best okonomiyaki dish...made with grilled pork."

He dropped his fork and ran to the bathroom, nearly choking.

----+----

The day was sunny and bright without a single cloud in the sky. For the Jusenkyo cursed among the population it was a good sign. Children of all ages were strolling along, chatting happily with their friends on their way to their various institutions of learning. Ukyou and Ryouga walked among them, with the okonomiyaki chef leading the perpetually lost boy by the hand. He, of course, wasn't particularly happy with her at the moment because of the prank she pulled.

"That wasn't very funny, you know," he said.

"You should've seen it from my angle. It looked pretty funny."

Ryouga shook his head. "You know about my...circumstances. Why would you do such a thing?"

"Oh, come off it, sugar. You're lucky that's all that happened. So, what in the world possessed you to become Akane's pet?"

"It wasn't something I planned. It...just...sort've happened. It was my first time back in town since following Ranma to China. After many days of searching, I found him and we fought. An incident involving Akane cut our fight short and they went home. I followed him there and tried to finish the fight that night, but it was raining and I changed before we could continue. She found me and eventually adopted me as a pet...calling me P-Chan."

Ukyou laughed, "P-Chan, huh? That's pretty cute."

"I didn't think so. But in that moment, she touched my heart in a way no one ever had before." Ukyou's jovial expression dropped at that part. Ryouga continued, "I just couldn't stop myself from playing the part of her pet. Besides, with Ranma and Happousai there, I thought it best that I stayed and protect her."

She glared at him, "'Protect her' huh? That's your story and you're sticking to it, right?"

Ryouga shrugged. "That's how it happened. Course, now with them...together...I don't think P-Chan will be making any more appearances. It'd just be too painful seeing them together."

He was heading towards a subject that was still rather touchy for both of them. It was time to steer the story in another direction. "So why in the world did you follow Ranma to China."

"It was a matter of honor. I challenged him to a duel in the lot behind my house and before I could get there, he ran away."

Ukyou blinked. "He ran? That certainly doesn't sound like Ranchan."

"Well, he did. He used it taking me four days to get there as an excuse for his cowardice."

She nearly fell over. "It took you FOUR DAYS to get to your back yard? I knew your sense of direction was bad, but give me a break."

"It took me another month before I found out he and his father were heading to China on a training trip. I followed them, but it took me three years before I was able to catch up with them in Jusenkyo. When I did, they had already fallen into the pools themselves. I didn't recognize them and they caught me off guard. The next thing I knew, a girl, whom I later found out was Ranma, knocked me into one of the pools also."

Ukyou nodded. "I guess I understand why you're always fighting with him now. Heh, during all that time, I was searching for Ranma and his father here in Japan. I never did find out they went to China. I guess it was a stroke of good luck that I never did. Otherwise, I probably would have a curse too."

Before their conversation developed any further, they arrived at Furinkan High School. Ryouga looked up at the clock tower, which read 7:40 am. This wasn't the first time he had been to this school, but it was always as a visitor. Now that he was a student, the building seemed different...more imposing. Once again, he felt as if he couldn't go through with it. Sensing Ryouga's trepidation, Ukyou gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Seeing that it wasn't helping, she sighed, held his hand as tight as she could and drug him to the entrance.

"Hold, scoundrel!"

Kuno, huh? It must be time for his daily pounding by Ranma and/or Akane. Strange, though, since they usually arrived to school closer to 8am than this. And was it Ukyou's imagination, or was Kuno waving his bokken at them?

"You there," Kuno called again. "You are that Hibiki fellow, are you not?"

Ryouga snapped out of his daze. "Yeah? What's this about?"

"Do not feign ignorance with me, you knave," boomed Kuno. "I remember our last encounter where you threatened our very lives with your evil power. I remember how you so brazenly mistreated the pigtailed girl. Do you think you could just get away with those crimes without being penalized for them?"

Ever the hero, that Kuno was, wasn't he? "Simmer down, Kuno," Ukyou said, trying to keep the peace. "Ryouga's already paid his debt for that. I made sure of it."

"That may be able to satiate you, but not I. He needs to be brought to justice and I will see to it that he will have justice meted out to him!"

Ryouga pushed Ukyou out of the way. "Well, this is an environment I'm more comfortable with. Whenever you're ready, Kuno." At Ryouga goading, Kuno charged with his bokken crackling with electricity. Just as he was poised to strike, Ukyou stepped back between them with her mega-spatula in hand and walloped Kuno into the stratosphere.

"Feh...idiot," went Ukyou, as she put her mega-spatula back in its resting place.

"Hey, I was gonna do that!" complained Ryouga.

"No time for any drawn out fights, hon. Now let's hurry before you're late."

----+----

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Huh...Kuno's early this morning, isn't he?" asked Autumn, who was working in her back room with the window open.

"Yep," answered Mousse, who was in Autumn's backyard studying the scroll Cologne gave him.

----+----

With Ryouga's schedule in hand, Ukyou lead him to his homeroom class. From the looks of it, they were going to have a few classes in common, which was good. It would save time for her having to lead him back and fourth. However, they didn't share homeroom classes, so she had to drop him off before heading to hers. "Here you go, hon."

"Thanks."

"Good luck. You're going to need it." She patted him on the shoulder and made a hasty retreat.

"Huh? What did she mean by that?" Ryouga walked into the classroom and was met with two surprises. The first was the teacher in the class...a familiar looking female with brown hair, a one piece mini-dress that almost looked like a gown on her four foot, child-like form. "Oh no..."

"Good morning!" the teacher sang. "You must be Mr. Hibiki. I've been expecting you. Welcome to Furinkan High. My name is-"

"Oh, I know who you are," said Ryouga. "You're Hinako Ninomiya!"

Hinako blinked. "Yes, that's right. How did you know that? You aren't a bad boy that I had to punish once before, are you?"

He waved his hands in the air frantically, "Oh no! No! I'm a good boy...I mean, I'm a good person. I won't be any trouble."

Hinako smiled, "That's great! Now, since this is a packed class, there aren't very many seats available for new students. Come to think of it, there's only one open seat left. Right there in front of-"

"Ranma?" Ryouga's jaw dropped as he was met with the second surprise. It was no wonder he never liked surprises...they were hardly ever good.

"Yo, Ryouga," Ranma said. "What's up?"

"W-what are you doing here?"

"I ask myself that same question almost every day," Ranma quipped. "I don't think there's any need for it, but pops and Akane insist on it."

Akane, who was sitting in the seat next to him, gave her fiancée a glare. "Martial arts can't save you all the time, Ranma. One day, you'll actually have to use your brain to solve a problem." Ranma rolled his eyes. "At any rate," she continued, "we didn't expect to be here so early. We thought we'd have to deal with Kuno, like we always did, but he wasn't there today for some reason." Ryouga chuckled knowingly. "So, what are you doing here?"

Ryouga rubbed the back of his head. "Well...I'm, sort've staying at Ukyou's now to help her out. One of the conditions of me staying there is that I go to school and finish my education."

"Well, I know you're going to do exceptionally here."

"Eh heh..." Ryouga tried to laugh, knowing what she said had already proven itself to be untrue. Now, he was going to be stuck in the same class with his rival and his lost love. Exceptional definitely wasn't the word for the situation he was in.

----+----

The day droned on, with the teacher in front of class teaching...something with that overly peppy demeanor of hers. Ryouga found himself unable to focus on what was happening in front of him as what was happening behind him soured his mood. Usually, they would verbally spar back and forth, the way they've done for as long as he'd known them. But then, some moment would come up where something nauseatingly sweet would be said, or there was a sudden burst of laughter between them. Every time, Ryouga would think 'that should've been me'.

Near the end of the school day, nothing that was said around him registered. What, he wondered, could he have done to warrant such a fate? It was one thing if he had to suffer some sort of punishment for a crime, say his nearly blowing up half of Tokyo. But to be placed so close to a couple that had caused him so much grief...so close to those he wanted to be as far as possible away from; it was torment worse than anything he had ever experienced before. Worse, even, than when he was cursed to become a pig.

It was good that there were class changes during the day, so he wouldn't have to sit there and suffer through the two of them together. But the very beginning and very end of the day, he was sitting right there in front of them, having a little bit more of his soul ripped out. He leaned forward, resting his head in one hand with his eyes closed, wishing some miracle would happen to end the day early...or, if not, that time would speed up so the last bell of the day would ring.

So lost was he in his own little world of despair, he didn't notice that Ranma was addressing him until he felt one of those extra large textbooks bounce off of his head.

Rubbing the spot where the book hit, he shot a glare behind him. "What?" he whispered.

Ranma glared back at him, "You're startin' to glow. Look, buddy, in case ya haven't learned this the last time, we don't like the thought of getting blown up. So, whatever it is that you're thinkin' about that's makin' you so depressed, stop thinking about it!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ryouga shot back. Ranma was such an idiot. Sure, he'd love to be able to magically stop dwelling on the situation. But it was rather hard when the 'situation' was sitting behind him constantly reminding him of how he was always the loser in life and love.

Ranma scowled at him, "Look, P-Chan, I'm tryin' to be nice about this, since I know what you're goin' through."

That got Ryouga riled. He picked up a textbook of his own and threw it behind him, hitting Ranma in the face. "You don't have the slightest idea what I'm going through! And STOP calling me 'P-Chan'!"

The pigtailed martial artist picked up a third textbook and hit Ryouga over the head with it as well. "Whatever, piggy. Just calm down! And for goodness sakes, lower your voice before you get us into trouble."

Ryouga stood up, spun around and hauled Ranma to his feet. "You're already in trouble!" he yelled. "I've had enough of your tormenting me! I'm going to make you pay now!"

Neither noticed the teacher in front of the class until it was too late. "HAPPO-FIVE YEN-SHIATSU!"

----+----

What in the world was taking him so long? Ukyou stood in front of the schools' front gate, tapping her foot impatiently. She figured it was going to take a while for him to get out of class, as the teachers probably had to speak to him about make-up work to catch him up with the rest of the class. But that was nearly a half an hour ago. It shouldn't take so long. For a guy that didn't want to come in today, it sure seemed like he didn't want to leave. Not to mention the looks she was getting from the various students made her rather uncomfortable as well. She could tell they wanted to ask her something, but decided against it from the look on her face. She'd have to worry about them later.

It was then the thought struck her: what if he was gone already? They met for lunch, but she had to get back to class early herself to meet with a teacher for some make-up work because of the time she missed while bed-ridden. He probably couldn't find his way back to the classroom and was probably half way around the world by now. Ukyou shook her head. She'd probably have to get a GPS system so she could keep track of him, or something.

Just as she was getting ready to give up waiting and leave, she heard him call for her. "Ukyou!"

"It's about time you showed up. I was just about to..." She turned around, but she didn't see him. She looked all around the schoolyard, but still didn't see him.

"Up here..."

She looked up and found her roommate sucked clean of his battle aura fluttering down to her. Ukyou shook her head. "Geez. You mean to tell me you couldn't go without getting into trouble even on your first day?"

"You could've warned me that I was going to be in class with Hinako and Ranma."

Ukyou's demeanor fell somewhat. "I thought you would've known better than to get on her bad side after your first run-in with her. I forgot Ranma was in that class though..." She sighed and grabbed him by the leg. "Come on. We have to get the restaurant open." As they headed back, Ryouga, flapping gently in the breeze behind her, quietly lamented his situation. Just as he feared, he found out exactly "what could possibly go wrong" and there was quite a lot that did. If this was how his first day of school went, what could possibly happen next?

'Oh no,' thought Ryouga. "I did it again! I'm doomed..."

----+----+----+----+----

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