Saturday morning represented a new day for Ryoga. The previous night fate tried to play a wild card on the lost boy, but He prevailed and realized the point for the change was to start from zero.

"Good morning!" The girls greeted the day in the now regular way. Morning practice and breakfast took most of the earlier day and then, Their leader got into business. "Guys. There was an intruder last night. Luckily it was Ranma but that got me thinking on our defensive capabilities."

"We need to keep our post even when no one knows who we really are. Reiko, I need an electronic net all over the city . . . I want to know who comes and goes, specially Ranma." The boy handed her a set of paperwork and a check with a defined amount as her main funding.

"Bunko, I need to know every communication, from the school to the town's mayor and in between." When the rest of the girls moved to their own schedule someone else arrived at the door. Hideko answered it and Isaac McDougal came in with his baggage.

"Isaac . . . Is good to see you found the place, please take Akira's room . . . She'll tell you where it is." Ryoga helped the old man and Akira moved all her things to the lost boy's bedroom. "Tell me master alchemist . . . Have you found anything about your ability in your world and in here?"

The man proved in the past his capability on the battlefield with the use of freezing and heating liquids. When He arrived to this world, Ryoga accepted him, paid for his research and taught him about Chi. The man learned to use it and fueled it instead of the alchemic power from where he came.

"Yes Ryoga-san. Just like I learn to use it by your Chi training, I found a way for you to develop a somewhat variation of the signs." The boy interest peaked and he prepared the research books, "Good, please join me and Akira to compare notes." The three people left the bedroom after fixing it for the alchemist and moved to a more private area on the back of the living room.

Isaac designed a different kind of signs based on the same principals but the elements were ordered differently. "As you can guess this world has a very peculiar form to manipulate the elemental properties on the matter. The density here is about the same then in my world, but there, is more powerful using alchemy."

"Here, the power resides on the energy extracted from your body and soul. And so, using this . . .this . . . And this. We should be able to apply the same knowledge." The man pointed at three previously drawn signs combined with kung fu exercises.

Ryoga studied the final pieces and kept them secured. "Isaac-kun, we need to save this from anyone else and if there happen to be a way for you to return home. You need to swear to never reveal such combinations." The man agreed but reassured the boy that he didn't plan on returning back.

A semi-silent noise alerted Ryoga of an important call and the fanged agent grabbed a small device and set it inside his ear. "Director . . . How are things going without us? . . . Ok I see . . . Fine, I'll let them know and we'll meet this afternoon back on the base. . . Great, see you soon."

"What is it Ryoga-kun?" The boy looked at the remaining girls and nod with their mission. "We have a new assignation and we need to regroup this afternoon for a briefing." Hideko, Mai and Akira left to their rooms and changed into their respective agent attires.

Ryoga waited for Akira to change since he decided to let her stay with him for the time being. After the redhead left, the boy went in and dressed in his black suit, leaving behind his old clothes. "Ok guys, Hide-chan . . . Go help Reiko with the electronic net and let her know of our reunion point. Mai . . . Get ready for all the medical profiles and contact the base. Tell them to send the black hawk in autopilot."

"Akira, go after Bunko and help her with the rest of the communication towers. We'll meet here at fifteen hundred hours."

The girls scrambled and the boy took Isaac to the kitchen to debrief him about the mission. "Isaac. A small but powerful agency managed to steal five warheads and two nuclear detonators. They have holed up on a base near Iceland, so remember, we need to be careful. This time we are going to try stealth mode until we can find all the objectives."

"Stay in contact and we might try some of those symbols to transmute the radioactive elements from the detonators." The man gasped at the seriousness of the mission. In his world, the strongest power was a philosopher stone, but that was created by the death of many people."

"In this case, men from this world managed to create something just as dangerous and lethal but with the natural elements and fusion. "Fine Ryoga-kun. I'll keep an eye on the alchemic elements on those objects and I'll try to calculate a way to transmute them."

In the Tendo Dojo, the atmosphere was happy and cheerful. Genma and Nodoka celebrated the last wedding they hoped Ranma would pass through while Soun arranged the festivities and assigned the tables and chairs on the Furinkan high school.

Inside the house and upstairs, a very nervous Akane sat by her window staring at the wind and the movement it did on the tree. The girl always wanted a later time to do a wedding but the impetus on her father and the Saotomes pushed the girl forward.

Ranma was the same distracted boy. This time the tux gave him that air of good looking and he kept gazing at the clock on the living room. Time ran slower than usual and the boy promised his parents about his behavior until the ceremony would be consumed.

Ukyo arrived at the house and Shampoo dropped in unannounced. "Ran-chan . . . I can't believe you are still going through this . . .There hasn't been any satisfactory decision on my part." The purple girl jumped from the wall to the entrance and the girl launched and groped the groom.

"Airen belong to me . . . Ceremony not fair, violent girl want Ranma . . . She fight me first." The boy tried to move away but under the promise to not start anything and the real reasons on the girls, he froze in place and let the hugging and grabbing continue.

Akane saw that from upstairs and when the boy tried to guess his next move, a set of three books hit him on the back, sending him flying against the door. "Not today Ranma . . . I am doing this mostly for you so don't screw this up like last time."

The pigtailed boy got up and yelled back at the girl. "It ain't my fault 'kane. They came at me and demanded their rights." Ranma saw the girls and, in a desperate move, he push them against his parents. "Uchan . . . This old man is the one who took your cart and made the promise . . . You know what to do."

When Ukyo stared at Genma angry she sighed and accepted her loosing battle. Shampoo readied for battle with the bride but Ranma intervened in the matter. "Sorry Shampoo . . . I don' know how to fix your honor. Is there other way for me to fix this without another wedding?"

The Chinese girl grinned and looked at the bride while propping her weapons. "Aye . . . There is one" Akane wasn't afraid of the girl, but this was her day and there was no point on having it if the other girl demanded the same thing.

"Fine Shampoo, I'll accept your challenge, but do it fast . . . There are just a few hours left for the ceremony." Akane went back to her bedroom and began to change into her usual attire. Ranma tried to stop her but this was a personal duel and it wouldn't be fair.

Genma stared at the cook and tried to find a way to cheat on the girl. "Ukyo . . . I . . . I really wanted but." The girl pulled her spatula with force with the idea to make a point. "Shut it old man. You accepted my father's business and his promise is a valid one, way before Akane's . . . So why am I the one loosing here?"

Nodoka didn't know this and the matriarch tagged teamed with the old man. "Miss Konji is it? . . . I would like to know about that dealing." The girl bowed to the older woman and they walked inside the house. Genma knew all this was his fault and the master of deception grabbed his backpack while screaming at his boy.

"Ranma . . . Endure son, the path of a master is frail with peril . . . I'll wait for you at the party!" After the fatherly advice, the man jumped the wall and left in a hurry. A few minutes later Nodoka came out with Ukyo. The older woman looked distraught and when she stared at Akane the feeling passed to the family as well.

"I'm sorry Akane-chan. Her demands are valid and for what Shampoo's grandmother told me, Ranma broke a foreign law . . . Without his knowledge but he did. I believe every fiancée has her own right and the wedding should be postponed . . . Again."

The hidden feeling between the bride and the groom was real, but the legality of their conflicts made a much bigger impression on the celebration. Soun held his place defiantly and the man argued back in Akane's favor.

"I may agree with the presents, but the pledge with my daughter demands an union at least by the law. According to my research, Chinese law does not apply in Japan, and the Union made by Ukyo-chan and Ranma was to take the girl through his father's directions."

The man tried to separate the two different weddings with a technicality and hoped for the best. "Nodoka is in charge of the groom's decision and by so, his marriage is instructed by matriarchy and with no dependency of the father's honor."

The man sounded solemn and true but in the end there was nothing but two marriages accepted through lies. The Chef frowned mad at her exclusion and hit the ground with her spatula. "Fine Mr. Tendo . . . Wanna play like that . . . I can do that too." The girl walked by the boy and stopped at his side.

"If you considered Akane the rightful bride, I abide my vote as his "second" rightful bride." Everyone gaped at the idea and even Ranma tried to understand the consequence. Akane hit her forehead with her open palm and told the boy the new deal.

"Ranma . . . She want to marry "us" . . ." The boy fell to the ground from the idea and gave a desperate laugh. "You kiddin' right?" Ukyo stayed in place and so did Akane.

The Chef tried as hard to avoid this but there was nothing left and she needed that. "Mrs. Saotome. I have lived and worked my soul in Nerima with the aim to accept Ran-chan's proposition. I will not lose face or my rightful name so . . . With all my heart, I would like to invoke the right of Concubinage."

Nodoka knew of this ancient law and the woman did nothing to fight it. "Ukyo, there is no problem with me and I accept your right as mother in law." The matriarch turned to look at Soun. The man was cornered to his word and there was nothing that could spare him from rejecting the idea.

"Fine. This afternoon Ranma Saotome will marry my daughter and Ukyo." Akane tried to say something but she just scuffed exasperated and went back to her room. Ranma never had been more confused, the girl bowed at him and ran out of the house to her restaurant to change for the wedding.

Shampoo bared her teeth and spat in anger. "This not over . . .Airen mine." The girl left and the rest of the preparative's went underway.

At six in the afternoon, the girls and Ryoga rendezvous in front of the school. They kept hidden until all the guests arrived and when the groom and the . . . Brides? Went in, the rest followed behind.

"Ryoga-kun, did you notice two girls dressed in white? . . . Is there a special tradition I'm not aware of?" Mai waited for the boy's theory but Ryoga draw a blank like the rest of the agents. Inside, the city's representative declared the matrimony legal and according with old laws, the man accepted Ukyo as Ranma's official concubine.

Ryoga chocked at the idea and shook his head in anger. He wanted to rescue poor Akane from the clutches of the gender confused groom, but he walked back to the open bar and sat besides his friends. "What do you know . . .In the end fate rewards him. . . Lucky bastard."

The girls knew of the prideful life the pigtailed boy had and understood the pain in their leader's words. "Don't worry Ryo-kun, remember we could try something like that too!" Bunko always tried to find a way to cheer him up, but she knew Ryoga was a "one woman" lover. Ryoga smiled back and asserted at her idea.

'Don't worry Bunny-chan, if he wants to live like that . . . Well that's his life. I quitted mopping for Akane-san and the rest a long time ago." Everyone in the team Revolt turned around and the boss offered a toast. When the girls and the lost boy raised their glasses of alcohol, everyone looked at them since they were still underage.

Ranma saw the lost boy and his heart fluttered from the emotion. "Ryoga . . .Buddy, you came at my wedding! . . . I really need a best man." The boy looked at the groom and laughed out loud. "Sorry Ranma, I just came to congratulate you . . . Finally!"

The boy emptied his glass and the rest of the girls did the same. Ranma tilted his head at his friend and Ryoga saw him and smiled to no one else but himself. Like the old western movies, time slowed down and Ryoga stood from his stool. His trench coat flew up like it had a life of its own and the boy slowly grabbed his black Jingasa, put it on and began to walk out of the school building.

Everyone gasped at how cool the boy looked in black leather and even the female guests asked among them about the boy. Ranma lost his place for a moment and when the pigtailed boy stared at the effect on the other boy's extravagant clothes, his face turned a shade of pink.

Ryoga looked down and fixed his hat in a lower angle as well, completely erasing his face from view. The girls walked at his side and their outfits changed to the darker colors of their respective type. When everyone in the reunion had full attention on them, a giant vehicle part a jet and a helicopter descended on top of them and threw several ropes in their direction.

"Well Ranma . . . I hope you can live happily ever after this time." The boy nodded by grabbing his hat and the aircraft lift the group and took them away. "What the hell was that?" Ranma's jaw dropped from the effect on the new Ryoga and the rest of the guests went back to chatting about the strange ceremony with two wives.

Ryoga set his headphones and talked to HQ. "Guys we are in our way. We need debriefing right away and one more thing director . . . I need to make an appointment with the Nerima's political leader. There are some changes I need to discuss about the city."

The boy changed tactical information with the rest of the girls and gave their respective assignations. When the supersonic vehicle arrived to an inhospitable area, north side of the island. Ryoga nodded and Mai lead the expedition through the freezing tundra environment.

The descent was fast and the base ruled a few miles away. Bunko and Hideko setup camp in a rather close distance to the enemy base. Akira played the tracking beacon and the girl walked on the surface knowing full well that the extreme freezing conditions meant nothing to her immortal body.

Ryoga took Reiko and Mai forming the main tactical cell and they were nearing the base camp underground. Reiko was the electronic savvy and expert on emulate the excavating sounds like the tundra animals hibernating.

After the team hid on several points near the main fence, Ryoga tapped in his earpiece three times. Akira got the signal and the girl began to sneak among the guards carefully. The freezing wind helped her with the aroma left on her way. She managed to fool the dog's noses, and whatever sound a guard noticed he scuffed it as nothing.

The man saw his watch/thermometer and realized he was almost freezing to death at minus fifty degrees. "Na it was nothing central . . . A cub or a wolf stuck in the lake." The guard's radio told him to keep a watchful eye and the man went back to his patrol.

Akira set the explosives and the small bugs in the wiring. As soon as the girl tapped twice, Reiko's receptor began to beep and the girl started to extract security codes and locking commands. "Hideko-chan . . . Be ready for a small black popsicle."

The girl confirmed the order with her own type of tapping by radio and Ryoga looked at Mai. "Ok Mai-chan, the tunnel is set and the rest is on me. Go back to camp and wait for me. . . Reiko-chan, as soon as you disable the alarms, tap me and the extraction will commence."

A few inches away from the base lowest floor, a freezing piglet waited his orders. The animal shook from the temperature and when Reiko gave the green light, the mission began.

"Bwee . . .Bwwee." Reiko heard that and she translated the codes. "Ryo-kun, the lowest floor has coded pressing plates, the codes are these . . ." The piglet moved in order and the setup on the plates made the job easier.

Once inside, the small animal sneaked into the ventilation shaft and quickly moved between rooms. From all the different chambers, some had weaponry and defensive armored suits. These people were ready for war it seemed.

P-chan kept running through wiring and disabling every silent alarm by his way. In the end of the corridor, the last chamber held the detonators and the warheads. The piglet slid by the vent and carefully danced with the lasers passing around his objectives.

"Bwee! . . . Bwweeww." Mai got the message and the girl shared her calculations. "Remember Ryo, Pigs are mammals as well, you have another five minutes before hypothermia sets in your tinier body." The piglet tapped with a hoof and the next in line told him of the progress.

"Ryo . . . Communications are active and we are under the radar. After the last sequence Reiko should be able to pass all the codes to deactivate the warheads." A few seconds later Akira tried to talk but her aching body had no heat and her tapping was slow. "Tap . . .tap, tap . . .Tap!" Everyone was in place and Bunko passed the line from Isaac in Japan directly to the piglet.

"Ok Ryoga-kun, the only way to fully neutralize a nuclear device is with a neutrino weapon like the one set on your back. Remember to aim carefully and avoid any contact with the electric blast." The piglet used the weapon as a cannon on his back and the sequencer in the heads and the detonators turned off after Reiko disabled the last security codes.

Seconds later, scientists arrived to the main chamber and when they saw the disabled and worthless weapons the alarm activated the rest of the guards. In that moment, three helicopters and several well armored trucks rode the perimeter of the base and Akira jumped out of the hole she was in and the girl activated mines and traps previously off.

The distraction made most of the troops chase after the girl and Ryoga ran back to the camp where Mai retrieved him and put him in a glass chamber. "Sorry Ryo . . . But You can't use hot water to transform back or you'll die in the spot. This chamber should help your temperature gain normal readings." The girl confirmed the piglet was safe and Hideko and Akira joined forces to distract the enemy while Bunny-chan scrambled all the guard's communications.

There was chaos out there. Enemy agents were lost in the freezing land and an hour later NATO forces arrived to the scene. The girls moved back to camp and when Ryoga was stable, Mia transformed him back and helped him present the mission.

Agent Black sat besides director Yamamoto and the leaders from foreign affairs gave their report. "So, this means we can go back to business?" The men bowed, thanking the situation was averted but they left the Director with new orders.

"Sorry Ryoga-san. The directive stays and you with your team will stay in the district of Nerima from now on. We have come to the agreement that the local hero in that vicinity "will" take all the credit for future missions by your team."

The boy refused to accept it but orders were orders. "Fine but we'll choose the missions and we are doing some of our own volition." The Director Yamamoto took some time to think and finally he acceded with the deal.

The Black hawk arrived and picked the girls, the boss and a freezing cadaver back to base HQ in Japan. As soon as they went in, Akira was taken to a special chamber where her blood was reanimated and she was "defrosted".

Everyone waited on the other side of the chamber and wondered about the possibility of a human body to come back from a cryogenic state. The redhead shook the rest of the ice and began to move in place, warming up her body.

Isaac's fascination with the girl took him inside of the chamber to examine her. Mai went in as well and checked on the girl and her vital signs. "Akira-chan, everything seems normal. I need to apply some cognitive tests but those can wait for later." The green haired girl injected her with vitamins and iron, helping her body build faster immune anti-bodies.

The old man held the girl's chin and moved her face to each side. Isaac stared at the girl's eye contact reaction and any side effects from the hibernating side effects. After the tests were done, the girl joined the rest on the other side of the chamber.

Ryoga smiled at Akira and then the boy blew a sneeze he didn't know was hidden. Everyone laughed and the boy knew that meant something. "Ho no . . . I think I'm going to get sick." Mai smiled at him and took him to his room.

Later on the rest of the team discussed their involvement on the mission. "I think the department is using us to enrich themselves." Bunko had an idea of the exterior influence. When she was a new agent, her intelligence intimidated many male agents an ridiculed her bosses. This sent the girl to a desk job in the bowels of the agency.

Ryoga found her and offered her a new kind of job where the service and protection of the world was performed over publicity and fame. The girl accepted his offer and joined the team the next day.

Mai was ignored as a woman and a teenager as well. The girl showed determination and skill on risky missions while being the minor partner. This of course made her superior partner the laughing stock in the precinct. The leaders left the girl as a nurse and locked her on the old veteran program.

Hideko is a brilliant strategist but for a world where men reign, that was the ultimate insult. The girl passed most of her year in exchange teams as a minor assistant and consultant.

Reiko was the wild and defying agent who everyone hated. The girl is an expert in electronic devices and her darker looks made the agent a target from perverted senior agents. The girl refuse and was consigned to the maintenance of the communication a computer servers.

Ryoga made the change when offering them a chance as a unique team. The boy came to the department as a joke from an agent in Nerima while the implication of a foreign prince with some so called magical artifacts.

Prince Herb made an impression on Internal affairs, but the royalty and her subjects beat every agent assigned to track them down. Ryoga offered the chance to tail the girl and in the end, the agency managed to send the warrior back to her land.

Since then Ryoga worked undercover and used his "lost times" to perform dangerous missions other agents refused to do. The young man became used to the pay and the help he got to travel all over the world. There were times when the boy was bored and he decided to use Nerima as his "recreational area"

The times Ryoga stayed away from the town, he used it to become better as a fighter and as an agent. When he needed a break, Ryoga would go back and acted as his alter ego. The dumb and gullible lost boy.

Agent black walked out of the meeting room and joined the rest of the team. They prepared the rest of the equipment needed for the new special research on alchemy. At the end of the day Ryoga walked away one last time from his Headquarters and resigned his status from secret assigned agent to a normal Japanese citizen.

The trek back was as boring as the first time but the girls finally arrived home and dropped dead on their respective rooms. Isaac saw the teenagers with different eyes, in his time, heroic displays like saving the day from a doomsday device meant recognition and fame, here meant just a pat on their backs and a good bye until the next time.

"Hang in there children. You are still young and there's a long road ahead of yours." Ryoga agreed with the man . . . To be honest, he never liked the publicity and fame in the first place. "Thanks Isaac-san, the good thing of all this will be the peace and tranquility we'll enjoy from the agencies and our new missions will be more interesting."

Sounds of joy and festivity filled the air in the Tendo House. Akane and Ranma finally shared a bedroom while trying to figure out a place for their honeymoon. Ukyo took the guest room and Genma was forced to leave the house with his wife back to their old home.

Akane sat stiffed on one side of the bed and giving her back to the boy who stared away to the wall, they were angry and confused at the after wedding process. "If you think you can get past me, you are suddenly mistaken." The girl knew Ranma was now her husband but she would never go down easily.

"Like if I wanted to do something to a tomboy in the first place!" The boy growled silently and looked up at the ceiling. "All those times tryin' to save you, an' the enemies I colleted durin' those times sure were a blast."

The girl remembered the prince looking for concubines and the prince who ate nothing but pickles. They shared moments and the air around them began to change. Laughs and giggles made the couple ease to each other and when Ranma moved his hands back, trying to support his back, a few fingers landed on the girl's hand.

Akane felt the contact and, trying to show the feeling of friendship with the boy, let his hand rest on hers. The pigtailed boy completely froze and didn't dare to move, afraid of the mallet his newly wed had hidden somewhere.

"Ok Ranma . . . What's next?" The girl grew impatient and very sensually turned her head around expecting to see the boy in a romantic scene kneeling on the bad and reaching for her lips. The boy had moved away from the bed and was shaking while trying to move his hand from the girl.

"Ranma?" The pigtailed boy swallowed hard and frowned at the bride. "Hey! . . . It ain't my fault my hand landed in your fat fingers." Deep down Ranma regretted saying that but what done was done. "Damn it, why did I said that . . . Dumb . . .Dumb . . . Dumb!"

The girl's mood changed radically and the window crashed after the blinding sound of a solid object connecting with flesh. "Serves you well, and if you want to try again go and use your concubine this time." The boy flew . . . And flew until landing three blocks away from the house.

Soun and Kasumi sweat dropped and Nabiki opened her hand and claimed her prize. "Told you Daddy. Not a minute later and our dear brother in law crashed his own honeymoon." The sadden father slumped and forked the five hundred yen bill to the girl.

In the distance, a redheaded girl meditated upside down on top of the park's fountain. "Stupid Akane. We're hitched an' she stills treat me like a kid!" The girl jumped form her landing zone and walked back home.

Walking away trying to better clear his mind, Ranma arrived close to the Hibiki house. The girl saw lights in the residence and she opted to visit a friend instead.

Beep! . . . Beep! . . . Beep! An alarm told Ryoga that his ex-rival came this way. The girls bowed to the boy and he left the house in a hurry. Knock knock knock. Hideko answered the door and the redhead bowed politely. "Hey girl . . . Is Ryoga in?" The girl scowled at the new comer and turned to see the clock.

"You are welcome to enter, but what are you doing at ten at night and specially you? . . . Shouldn't you be with your wife?" The girl blushed from the inquisitive questions on the girl and Ranma chuckled at her. "We had a fight . . . Our first fight I guess, an' I was thinking on take my buddy for a walk . . . You know . . . To celebrate my day."

"Well I am sorry four your personal dealings, but my boss is out now . . . "Personal business" . . ." The girl scowled back suspiciously and ignoring the brunette, Ranma went into the house. Hideko let her in and the redhead looked all over the place. Tired of finding nothing, the pigtailed girl walked out of the house slouching.

"Tell him . . . Tell him . . .Oh, never mind!" Ranma let the door slam behind her and the girl walked back into the night. She still didn't feel the need to go into his room and expect an even bigger fight if Ukyo tried to seduce him after Akane's tantrum.

The new Saotome husband walked into the Zoo's entrance and she noticed a shadow roaming by the lion's open area. The girl closed the distance and found Ryoga dressed in a black tight suit and smearing something on his body.

"What the hell is he thinking' . . .?" The girl carefully tiptoed to the other side of the open space where the new excited lions roared angrily at the boy. "Is that . . . Fish? . . .I smell fresh red meat and fish. Why is he tying meat around him?"

Ranma hit an old memory from his childhood in that moment. "I remember the old ghoul telling me about Ryoga's interest in my trainings, but the Nekoken was a miserable practice. There's nothing to learn from that an' why would he use actual lions for it . . .?" Ranma tried to go at him and convince him that what he was about to do was suicide but there was a twist that not even Ranma saw.

The lost boy smeared the rest of the meat juices all over him. The blood and fluids were cold enough to transform him into P-chan and when the redhead saw this, she ran to get him. "Ryoga! . . .Don' jump!" P-chan turned to look at the scared girl and frowned angrily at the trouble maker.

The piglet jumped away from her grasp and fell into the pit of lions. Roaring and feline challenging sounds made the piglet run away and the giant cats went in the chase. At first Ranma trembled from the demise of her friend and she tried to jump in to help him, but whenever the girl moved, P-chan bweed madly and Ranma understood he didn't want to be saved.

For almost fifteen minutes the piglet ran, avoid and taunted his hunters. The redhead noticed something in the small animal, Ryoga wasn't trying to kill himself and he didn't look afraid at his situation. The girl stared carefully at the piglet eyes which were bright red. The small mammal moved between predators and, while skidding away from harm's way, his small hooves sent the bigger animal away and hurt.

After twenty minutes the lions preferred to ignore the nuisance and gave up on the pursuit altogether. Tired from the "practice" and a few scratches, the piglet came out of the pit and walked to a public shower near the zoo.

Ranma followed closely talking to the stubborn friend. "What the hell Ryoga! . . . You could've died you moron." The piglet ignored the girl and, trying to jump at the hot water's cord, he fell on his back and wince from his wounds.

The pigtailed girl chuckled and helped him up. Ryoga closed his eyes and accepted her help when the stream of hot water hit the small piglet, transforming him into a bigger, but still hurt Ryoga. "Ow! . . .Damn it, that last claw almost got me." His arm gushed with blood and the boy used his other hand to close the wound until he got home.

"Ryoga . . . What were you tryin' to accomplish? . . . Do you have a death wish?" The boy looked at the familiar girl. Ranma looked adorable when worried and the moonlight gave her that glowing effect on her hair that made the boy smile dumbly.

Ranma guessed his thought and smiled at the lost boy. "Gosh . . . I can' believe you can' get over me after all this time . . . Buddy?" The boy snapped into reality and scowled at the girl. "And what would you know? . . . You are a mirage. A figment of my imagination and I need to destroy that from my mind!"

The girl half closed her eyes, giving the sensual effects she was so accustomed to use against men. Ryoga knew where she was going and he had to break the spell. "Oh no Ranma . . . I may love you but that is going to change soon enough."

The girl walked closer to the boy and Ryoga smiled at her. "That's it Ryoga . . . Lower your guard an' let me feel what I felt before." The lost boy had a more stable control over his feelings thanks to his special training. When the girl was inches away, Ryoga slowly walked back and when Ranma closed her eyes to seal her lips with the boy, Ryoga stopped her in place.

Ranma opened her eyes and when the fanged boy looked up, so she did. The water was hot and the girl went away, leaving back the pigtailed boy instead. The spell broke and Ryoga chuckled. "See Ranma. You may try to experience that accursed girl form, but I am moving on with my life."

The boy walked away from the wet Saotome and told him something else while leaving him alone. "Your Neko-ken is impressive . . . Mine just made me even more powerful." Ranma stared away at the boy and in his mind something alerted him of what Ryoga really meant. "He . . . Mastered it? . . . Zhe mastered the Neko-ken?"

AN hour later, almost midnight, Ryoga sneaked through the house with bigger droplets of blood decorated his path. "What is that? . . . Ryo-kun, are you bleeding?" Mai rushed at the boy and brought him to her room where she treated him from the giant scratch. "You did . . . Didn't you? You went back to tat stupid training your rival passed when child?"

Ryoga giggled and looked at the worried teen. "Yes I did, but this time I mastered the technique . . . I perfected the Neko-ken!" Mai shook her head disappointed but knew the boy got to where he was thanks to his sheer madness to reach new heights.

"Please Ryo-kun . . .Please promise me that you'll at least be careful on your crazy missions?" The boy looked at the girl and say the devotion from a friend. Ryoga pondered at that and tried to imagine a way to have someone like Mai with the looks of Ranma's girl side. The boy fluttered his head negatively and buried that thoughgt deep in his mind.

Almost at one in the morning Ranma got home and he didn't care for the noise or the sounds of intrusion. Soun sat on the living room witrh a bottle of sake on his hand and mumbling things about forced marriages and unhappy daughters.

The boy walked upstairs until a hand pulled him into another room. Ukyo lead him into her bed and the girl's skimpy and transparent outfit told the boy he was in for a treat. "Ran-chan . . . Forget that mule of a wife and let's have a good time." The girl moved on top of the boy and kissed him passionately. Ranma responded to the kiss, but there was something in his mind as well.

"This is nice . . . But, why am I thinking about Ryoga? . . . I should be enjoying this an' the jerk is pulling me away from the moment." Ranma fought desperately to feel the girl and the nervousness on Ukyo told him she was new at all this too. The boy kissed her back and when Ukyo tried to go on the offensive, the girl grabbed his face and played with the edges of his cheek.

"Oh . . .R-Ryoga! . . ." Ukyo stopped instantly and the girl stared directly into Ranma's eyes. The pigtailed boy frowned at the sudden stop of caressing and kisses and opened his eyes dumbfounded. "what's goin' on Uchan?" The Chef moved back and subtly grabbed her spatula.

"Ryoga? . . .Did you just call me . . . Ryoga?" Ranma didn't even think about that, he was lost in the trance and he didn't feel the difference between being a girl or a boy, but from that to mention "his" name in the middle of a love making session, was beyond forgiving.

"Did I say . . . Did I say that? . . .No you must have confused me with something else, Uchan!" The girl closed her eyes, disgusted at the thought and swung her spatula high in the air. "No! . . . I did not confused it you jackass . . . I kissed you with all my soul and you "begged" Ryoga's name? . . ." The girl began to tear jerk and the boy felt awful. "Listen Uchan . . . I . . ."

That was the last thing Ranma said before being launched out of the window and into the pond. Outside Soun gushed a stream of tears when a sleep walking Nabiki passed by the living room with her eyes closed. The father raised another five hundred bill to the air and the sleepy girl grabbed it and returned to bed.

The next day Ranma massaged his back from the beating he had by his two wives. Akane looked pissed and ignored the boy while preparing breakfast. Kasumi tried to help but the girl told her about the duties of a wife. Ukyo stepped in too and she just drank tea and left to work on her restaurant.

Ranma sat at the table and a bubbling miso soup stared back at the boy. His wife stalked from his side like a hawk waiting to fly at her prey. "Well? . . ." The boy swallowed and took a sip of the horrendous concoction. Ranma smiled and tuned dark blue. He held it for as long as he could and then the boy spat the deadly combination out.

Akane fumed and, grabbing the whole casserole, the girl chase the boy from the house. "Great, a Sunday morning an' I'm starving. I can't go to Uchan's or I'll get killed and I can't try Shampoo or they will eat me alive . . . I know. My good old buddy might want to invite me lunch."

Ranma arrived to the Hibiki home and when he knocked, Ryoga opened the door. "What do you want Ranma?" The boy saw the antics on the pigtailed boy and the more he talked the more he wished to had left before he knocked. "I should have left . . . I hate being alone!"

"An' you see Ryoga buddy . . . I can't stay home and I can't go no where else." The boy moved aside and let Ranma passed, then in the last moment Ryoga grabbed his guest by his shoulder. "Ranma, I'm inviting you as a friend . . . Do you understand?. No tricks and do not change into "her" . . . Do we understand each other?"

The boy tried to laugh at his host but he was too hungry to be trown out from there too. "Sure buddy . . . No problem." Ranma sat on the table and wondered where were the other girls. Ryoga read his mind and started the conversation while serving vast amounts of meats and fruits.

"They were assigned to a different mission but they'll be back tonight." The giant chunks of tender and juicy meat and fresh fruits made the boy salivate. Ryoga nodded away and the boy charged at the table. Ryoga grabbed some of the food as well and took his time to enjoy the dishes.

"Tell me Ryoga, since when do you dressed all tough guy and play the secret agent stuff?" Ryoga cleaned some of the small pieces of meat from his shirt, spat by the pigtailed boy. "I have worked for the agency for almost three years now." Ranma made his own calculations and swallowed his food before asking again.

"But . . . That makes you a crime fighter when we barely met the first time in Furinkan . . . Right?" The boy took some of the well cooked steak and ate it piece by piece. "I was on your trial a long time before I found you, but I had other missions to fulfill, that's why I had to constantly leave."

"You may have pushed me into the Heitowennichuan, but I embraced my curse and it has helped me in my "line" of job. Later on I kept tabs in you and the gang when I wanted a break time from all the problems at work and so here I am . . . Retired at the age of seventeen." Ranma chewed and paid attention at his story.

His mind began to work like the prideful boy he's always been. "So . . . All those defeats from our challenges say I am stronger then you, even when you are a secret agent?" The smile in Ranma's face filled the boy's ego even more.

Ryoga smiled at him and shrugged indifferently. "Sure . . . "If" you say so." The pigtailed boy change his demeanor into a quiet stare. "You mean . . . You faked every fight?" Ryoga knew the thinking on the boy and he tried to defuse his pride.

"No! . . .No Ranma, you are the strongest and fastest of the two of us!" Ranma felt the lying sense in his words and the boy stood up, enraged at his distrust. "Why . . . Why would you lie and not fight me like a man! . . . I . . .I challenge you, right now" The pigtailed boy flared in anger, but Ryoga kept eating his plate.

"Ranma . . . You promise to behave in my house so stop that and go back to eat." The boy walked around of the table and stood right in front of the other boy. "Or what . . . Will you beat me up if I don'? . . ." Ryoga knew he was beyond fixing this problem. "Me and My big mouth . . . I can't afford to blow my cover now."

"Fine, but with one condition . . . I win and there will be no more fights or re-matches. I loose, and there will be no more fights or re-matches . . . Agreed?" Ranma thought for as long as he could but his pride always governed the boy. "Deal . . .but, if I win . . . I get to experiment with you, in my "other" form."

Ryoga didn't expect that, but he had his own plans away from the Saotome heir. "That's . . . That's a lot to ask, but fine let's do it your way.

The boys decided to travel away from the city and into a forest nearby. They set camp near a hot spring. Moved into position.

"Ready Ryoga Hibiki?" The boy took all of his clothes and faced Ranma with only his black tight suit. "Ready Ranma Saotome."

Ranma's experience with Saffron gave him the confidence of his new techniques to be more powerful. The pigtailed boy lunged at the lost one and a barrage of fast punches rained on Ryoga. The fanged boy received every single punch directly on his chest and he was thrown away with force, impacting on several trees.

"Sorry buddy . . . But if this is your best, This fight will end sooner than I thought." Ryoga moved back to the battlefield and without saying a word the boy ran at his opponent. This time there was no screams of "Bakusai Tenketsu!" or yells of "prepare to die!". The boy ran while touching several spots on the ground and the trees, when they got close enough, a combination of ballistic fists forced the faster boy to skip away.

Ranma kept moving and avoiding the hits coming at him. When the boy landed on the previously set up point by Ryoga, the ground exploded and a shower of rocks send the pigtailed flying against a tree, which exploded as well. The hidden sets of trapped mines were difficult for Ranma to avoid and the scrapping of the debris hurt his arms and legs.

Ryoga kept silent and touching every other spot on the ground and the trees while nearing his own punishment on the boy. Tired from the beating, Ranma closed his eyes and after a second, the boy vanished in thin air.

Ryoga had extensive research files about the Saotome exploits during his absence in Nerima. Ryoga finished setting up more hidden mines and stopped in the middle of the camp. "Ranma! . . .I'm right here . . . Do your worst!" The fanged boy didn't move, he just stood there with his hands down and open to any attack.

After some time, out of nowhere, a tremendous kick sent him flying against a rock, breaking it with his back. The lost boy stood up again and closed his eyes, trying to make sense of the other fighter's technique. When Ryoga felt the incoming blow, he managed to dodge it and grab Ranma's arm at the same time.

Ryoga didn't let go, but the boy pulled the pigtailed fighter at him and with the other hand, plummeted his body with him on top against the ground. Ranma screamed from the pain and spat some blood from the impact.

The lost boy raised from the fallen fighter and walked back to his safe zone. "C'mon Saotome. The day is young and you still have lots of energy." Ranma barely stood up with the help of a tree and wondered at the other boy disconcerted.

"How . . . How did you see through the illusion?" The secret agent stopped and answered back without turning around. "Beat me and I'll tell you."

Ranma felt even more determined to find out and to win this challenge. "This ain't over Ryoga! . . . I'm far from defeated." The boy turned around and stared defiantly at his opponent. "Hot air . . . That's just hot air coming from your throat."

Ranma bared his teeth and launched at his opponent. This time he managed to avoid all the explosions from the hidden mines in the ground and trees. Every step marked the closer goal at his most devastating move. The pigtailed boy focused his soul of ice and he concentrated on the biggest amount of heat around Ryoga.

What Ranma didn't see was all the smoke left by the detonations. When his body was ready for the last move, Ryoga popped in sight from the smoke with his arm open and the boy hooked his around Ranma's neck. "Ranma this should be interesting." The boy smiled and he did not yell but simply said "Crooked arm lariat!"

There was no special move or secret technique. The special lock was a wrestling move learned in his regular training, but applied with his greater strength. Ranma flew by his side and the Lost boy passed tree after tree, braking them on the back of the boy.

Ryoga stopped and let Ranma fall to the ground. The pigtailed boy began to stand up and his moves where slow and painful. "Damn it Ranma . . . Stop or I will kill you!" The Saotome heir didn't care for bluffs.

"Don' care Ryoga . . . I am winning or I'm winning . . . Take it or leave it." Ranma ran at the boy while a gust of cold air filled his body. Ryoga closed his eyes and focused in his mind. "He is using "that" move. Ok McDougal . . . This better work."

The lost boy waited for the incoming blast. His energy almost depleted told him that if Ranma's punch connected, he would win for sure, but when the pigtailed boy was mere inches from his rival, Ryoga bent down and touched the previously drawn symbol on the ground.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha! !" The boy turned his freezing gust with the help of the hot depleted energy around Ryoga into an amazingly bright blue tower of energy. The massive blast was about to touch Ryoga and send him flying in pieces all over the forest.

"Energy blast . . . Transmute!" The symbol drawn on the ground turned into a bright red glow and in the center an even darker red hole opened. The hole absorbed every kind of loose energy around the circle. Ranma's special move vanished into the suction and the pigtail's boy own energy and Ryoga's were absorbed by the sign.

In the end, the symbol changed at its original state and the only ones standing on top where the two boys. "Sorry Ranma, that move absorbed all of our energy and depleted it for an hour or so. The difference is that I have trained beyond the need to use my Chi . . . Have you?"

Ranma tried to run at him, but even when trying to move hurt the boy. Ryoga walked to him and hugged him, trying to keep him from falling. "Please old friend . . . Accept defeat . . . I beg you." Ranma tried not to cry but he was failing miserably.

"Ryoga . . .I want . . . I want a rematch." The fanged boy smiled and talked in his ear. "Sure buddy, but not for your pride or your honor . . .friend." Ranma smiled back and told him. "I like that . . . Friend"

Ryoga took the now tired and sleeping boy back to the tent and fixed him on his sleeping bag. The boy dragged himself to his own and fell asleep from the extra exertion on his part. In the middle of the night the lost boy felt something on top of him. When he opened his eyes, he found a tired redhead at his side.

"You never give up don't you?" Ranma smiled and rested her head on the boy. "For you . . . Never" The rest of the night trapped their consciousness into two separate bubbles. In Ryoga's bubble the boy thought about the redheaded girl at his side. "Damn it she is Ranma and I am not going to disrespect him. I must fight this for the both of us."

Ranma's bubble filled him with satisfaction. "Ryoga likes me, but I got my own family . . .this is goin' to be a hard move, but I got to play it right . . . I don' wanna loose Akane and Ukyo, and I will not loose him!"

The next morning, early at five, Ryoga shook the girl and when she woke up her smile made him feel warm. Damn it . . . Snap out of it!" Ryoga moved away from the girl and patted her on the hair. "Buddy, we need to go. School should be up in another three hours." The girl stretched and stared at the boy.

"Why are we fighting over this? I like you and you like me." The boy sure liked Ranma but life dealt the cards and they had to play accordingly. "Sorry beautiful, but you are a married man and with "two" beautiful girls . . . Why would you need me for?"

The girl pondered that and came to a conclusion. "Ryo . . . If I'd tell you that I like women and . . . You. Would you think I'm crazy?" The boy knew that his curse would cornered him to that point if he kept poking at it. Ryoga scratched her head and smiled. "No I don't think it makes you crazy . . . I think it makes you "greedy" . . ." He laughed and the girl pouted.

An hour later they were on their way back. Ryoga held Ranma's hand all the way and when arriving to the city, they parted ways a block away from Ryoga's house. Ranma ran at his house, fixed himself and walked the last fifteen minutes back to school, completely dishing out Akane and Ukyo.

At school, Ranma sat on his desk five minutes before the bell and everyone stared at the strange boy. Akane and Ukyo looked amiss too but they complied and sat near the boy. "Ranma . . . Why are you here on time?"

The boy had those lost in time eyes and he just answered despondent. "Maybe 'cuse you kicked me out and Ukyo too and I had no other place to go?" The girl felt bad and tried to make it up to the boy. "Sorry Ranma . . .wait, and why did Ukyo kicked you too?" The boy scuffed away angry. "Because what I said about . . ." Ranma stopped and swallowed his next word. "Nothing' . . .She just did."