Chapter 4

Ranma sat on a moss-covered log and looked down at his feet. Here he was, in the middle of nowhere (although he could tell he was in some sort of forest). He hadn't even had time to pack food before his flight from the Tendo household, let alone his pop's tent. He had run so far and so long he wasn't sure he was even in Nerima anymore. At least things couldn't possibly get any worse…

As if to in response a 10 by 10 foot section of theground to his left exploded, sending him flying. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" he screamed as he reached for an imaginary grenade on his belt. It took a few a few seconds, and then he remembered he wasn't playing Call of Duty 2, this was real life. So what the hell was happening?

That answer came in the form of a dark, muscular figure emerging from the hole in the ground.

"Now where am I?"

Ranma recognized that voice. It was his sometimes pal and often-times enemy Ryoga.

"Hey Ryoga!"

"Ranma! What are you doing here? And, uh, where is 'here' exactly?"

"I'm not so sure myself." After a moment of thought, Ranma added, "Ryoga…um, you wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you for a bit."

"Sure. Although I just hope you're not in trouble or nothing. 'Cause I don't wanna be harboring a fugitive."

Ranma sweatdropped. "Ha-ha. Don't be silly. Seriously, let's not ever talk about that again, ever, okay?"

"Sure."

Ranma paused and thought about what an all-around decent guy Ryoga could be. He turned around to tell Ryoga this and his train of thought derailed as he noticed Ryoga kicking a squirrel into the distance while laughing giddily.

"Huh-huh. Hey Ranma, did you see the part where I kicked the squirrel?"

"Uh Ryoga- not to be critical or anything, but are you feeling alright?"

Ryoga gasped. "You're right! I forgot to take my…" He trailed off.

"Your what?" Ranma asked quizzically

"My nothing! Just stay here for a second! Okay?" Ryoga yelled as he ran behind a tree.

Now Ranma was puzzled. What the hell was Ryoga talking about? Intrigued, he crept close to the tree just in time to see Ryoga swallowing a handful of mysterious pills. Ranma gasped, covered his mouth, and raced back to the place next to hole where he had been standing.

As Ryoga emerged from behind the tree, a possibility struck Ranma. But it couldn't possibly be true. Sweet, innocent Ryoga couldn't possibly be…a druggie!?


"Ah, now I feel much better," Ryoga said." Did you just say something, Ranma?"

Ranma was whistling nonchalantly. "O-of course not Ryoga. Why?"

"Hang on, I gotta take a leak. Would you mind watching my backpack for just a second?"

"Of course."

Ranma waited until Ryoga was a safe distance away, and then immediately began digging through his backpack. To his simultaneous expectance and surprise, he saw pill cases. Dozens of them.

But there was something amiss. These cases all had pharmaceutical labels on them. And there was a sheet of paper.

"Patient diagnosis-Ryoga Hibiki," Ranma read aloud. "ADHD, Alzheimer's, Aspergers…THIS THING GOES ON FOR TWENTY-SIX PAGES!" Ranma was stunned yet somehow relieved. This explained a lot. His atrocious sense of direction, his mood swings, his somewhat unpredictable behavior-

Ranma's brain melted as he noticed Ryoga standing over him.

"Ryoga-I-I didn't mean to read it on purpose!" Ranma lied.

"Then tell me…HOW DO YOU READ SOMETHING 'ACCIDENTALLY'!?"

"Ranma," Ryogas's voice dropped, "Ranma…"

After a long pause Ranma hesitantly asked, "Yes?…"

This was it. He was gonna die. Ranma opened his eyes to see Ryoga…

With his hands and knees, on the ground,. He said in a pleading voice, "Ranma, please don't tell anyone! Only my parents know about this. MY NORMAL APPEARANCE IS ALL I HAVE!!!", he said sobbing.

Ranma was struck by Ryogas's painful inability to recognize the obvious. Ranma had rarely seen Ryoga act 'normally', or thought of him as an ordinary person. He had never looked down on him, just thought of him as a little odd. Even Akane always seemed to treat him with a certain degree of caution.

Of course Ryoga, being Ryoga hadn't noticed any of this. And Ranma got the feeling that he might be staying with him for a while.

"Yes, Ryoga. I'll keep your secret," Ranma replied. He sighed and thought to himself that this whole thing kept getting weirder…