Chapter 7

A wild boar sped through a rural village without care for innocents. It knocked over stands and things of great importance to several people. Many got out of the way to avoid serious injury. Some of the villages realized that there was someone in the path of the boar. Seeing that the boar was not going to stop, they tried to warn the young man. They shouted at him to get out of the way.

The young man in question turned around and faced the boar. He pulled his umbrella from his pack and stabbed it as the boar. Everyone was shocked to see that the boar was stopped in its tracks. With a flick of the wrist, the young man sent the boar flying back toward the forest. Everyone was in awe at the boy's strength. They gathered around him.

"Thank you young man, you help the village. Please, is there anything we can do for you?" one villager asked.

"Can you point me in the direction of Furinken High School?" he asked. They complied and got a map out. They found the school and faced him.

"It is five hundred miles north of here." The villager said.

"I see, thank you for your help." He then turned in the opposite direction and walked off. The villagers were confused by why he was going in the wrong direction.


A week had passed in Nermia. Ranma had gotten used to staying in the small community. Despite the craziness that came with the ward, it was an okay place to live. His learning of Aikido was going great. It had already bore fruit as it took him less time to defeat Kuno and his father. Kuno didn't give up but he was still no match for him. He had gotten along with Kasumi and Nabiki who were very helpful of him. Dr. Tofu was another great guy. He gave him a job at his clinic after school. Nabiki also paid him a fee for using his female form. It was something that he refused to budge on since he was paying rent.

With the good, came the bad. His father and Mr. Tendo were riding his back over how he was acting. Soun never did anything but his father attempted to put him back under his thumb. He did not succeed. While Kuno was an annoyance, Akane was a huge pain. The two never got along even when he completely ignored her. She would attempt to bash him over the skull with very little success. Hell, she even blamed him for the rumor going around school that she was no longer the best fighter around. It was not his fault she attacked him in front of the school. What was he suppose to do, just let her hit him?

Either way, Ranma had a balance when it came to his life and he enjoyed it. He was making his own way in the world and he was doing it his way. He entered the school grounds and walked toward the entrance. Like clockwork, Kuno came at him with his wooden sword. He was quickly in his guard and threw Kuno to the ground. Kuno got back up and swung in a downward arc. Ranma caught his wrist and twisted it, making him release the sword. He then threw him with a simple wrist throw.

Kuno was quick to his feet and looked toward the crowd.

"Sword!" he shouted. Someone from the crowd threw him another wooden sword. Ranma just looked bored with him. Kuno struck again only to be disarmed. Kuno called out for another sword which he received. Ranma continued to disarm him for about two minutes before having enough. He hit Kuno with a five hit combo that laid him on the ground. For good measure, he hit a point on his neck to paralyze him for a while. With that done, he made his way into the school.

"Ranma, prepare to die!" a voice roared. Ranma's training immediately kicked in. He ducked his attacker's thrust and plowed his fist into their gut. The attacker skid back a few feet before grabbing his chest. Ranma actually rubbed his fist. It felt like he hit a solid brick wall. The attacker lifted his head to glare at Ranma.

Ranma looked at the boy who was very familiar to him. He was wearing green pants with the ends tied to his shin, a yellow tunic, kung-fun slippers, a large backpack, a red umbrella and a yellow and black bandana. The bandana looked real familiar. He prepared himself to fight just in case this guy attacked him again. Everyone watch with interest.

"So, any reason you're calling for my blood?" Ranma asked.

"You coward, how dare you don't recognize me? I've chased you all over the world after you bailed on our fight! Because of you, I've seen hell!" the teenager shouted.

"Fight, what the hell are you talking about? We were supposed to fight?" Ranma asked in genuine surprise. He thought long and hard before he actually remembered. "Wait a minute, Ryoga Hibiki?"

"So you finally remembered me?" Ryoga said.

"Yeah, I remember you. I also remember that I'm not to blame for that duel we were suppose to have. I also remember that it was over the fact that you weren't fast enough to get the last bread at lunch. That's hardly any reason to call for my blood." Ranma said.

"You dare to mock my suffering?" Ryoga snarled.

"Look Ryoga, if you want to finish that duel that you were late for, then let's do it after school. I'll gladly pound on you then." Ranma said.

"Fine, come three o'clock, I will have my revenge." Ryoga said and jumped over the school wall. Ranma looked ready to call out to him but sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. If he knew Ryoga, he was still the 'Eternal Lost Boy'.


"So you went to Junior High together?" Nabiki asked Ranma. Ranma was currently throwing some punches and kicks around while Nabiki watched him. She watched as his body moved in such ways that would make young girls swoon. Luckily, she wasn't one of those girls. While handsome, Ranma didn't have any prospects that were profitable.

"Yeah, I use to take him to school and home everyday." Ranma said.

"Why would you need to do that? Can't he find his way home?" Nabiki asked.

"He was called the 'Eternal Lost Boy'. Ryoga could get lost in a room with no doors or windows. He walked off the grounds one time and didn't return for a week. He had all these things from all over Japan and Indonesia." He explained.

"You're kidding, right? What about his parents?" she asked.

"It's a family curse. They have the same directional curse as him." Ranma said. Nabiki couldn't imagine how that family was.

"So, you were friends at one time right? Why is he calling for your death?" Nabiki asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The thing about that school was that lunchtime was something of a free-for-all battle. Everyone would fight for their special kind of bread. Ryoga was always a step slower than me and I always got the last one. Back then, I guess I could have shared it with him but I was still kind of stupid then. Anyway, he challenged me to a duel. It was in a lot that was behind his house. I waited three days for him to arrive. It would have been four if my old man didn't take advantage of my sleepy state." He explained.

"Well, by the code, he forfeited the duel by not arriving at the time that was set." Kasumi said. She entered with a couple of cookies in her hand. She admired Ranma's form but quickly looked away. She held out the tray to them. They took a cookie and sat down to continue talking.

"Still, to threaten your life over bread, that doesn't sound like he's angry over bread any more." Nabiki said.

"You think it was because of the duel?" Ranma asked.

"You got me but I don't think that this is about bread so bringing bread to make up for it probably won't work." Nabiki said with amusement.

"It was just a suggestion. No need to make fun of me." Ranma said with a deadpan tone. The two Tendo sisters giggled at his face. That's when Akane entered and was instantly annoyed.

"Hey you pervert, stop flirting with my sisters!" Akane exclaimed.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself. They're just so much more ladylike than you." Ranma said sarcastically. Akane roared and brought out her mallet from out of thin air. Ranma just smirked and jumped to his feet. He guessed that Akane was good for something. He continued to dodge her mallet strikes while Nabiki and Kasumi watched.


A week passed and Ranma awaited the arrival of Ryoga. He walked onto the grounds but he looked very confused as to where he was.

"Where am I now?" he exclaimed.

"You're on Furinken school grounds." Ranma answered. Ryoga whipped his head around and glared at Ranma.

"Saotome, I hope you enjoyed that little break. Now, it's time to make you pay for what you did!" Ryoga snarled.

"Before you do that, you mind telling me why you want my life for? I thought it might be about the bread duel that you set up but someone directed me to another reason for this." He said.

"If you didn't run out on our duel," Ryoga shouted.

"I waited three days for you. The lot was behind your house." Ranma corrected.

"But on the fourth day, you were gone! I was so angry that I tracked you through Japan and into China!" Ryoga shouted. Ranma eyes went wide.

"Oh my god, you stupid idiot, don't tell me that you followed us to Jusenkyo?" Ranma asked.

"Enough talk!" Ryoga spat and charged at him. Ranma quickly dropped down to his fighting stance and waited. Ryoga threw a punch which had a lot of power behind it. Ranma skillfully dodged it and countered with a punch of his own. Ryoga blocked his punch and threw another punch. This continued for a while with Ranma dancing around Ryoga and Ryoga trying to knock Ranma's head off. Suddenly, Ranma got the upper hand by falling to his Aikido skills. He tossed around Ryoga with ease which served to frustrate the Lost Boy.

Ryoga jumped back to get some distance and pulled out his umbrella. He charged at him and began to thrust his umbrella like a sword. Ranma could see these strikes coming as his fight with Kuno's Blue Thunder attack was three times faster. He caught Ryoga's wrist and twisted it. He then put him in an arm lock and drove him to his knees. Ranma was struggling to hold him down. Ryoga's strength was incredible. Ryoga got out of the hold and slammed his shoulder into Ranma. The pig-tailed martial artist hit the ground but was quickly to his feet.

Ryoga opened his umbrella and tossed it at Ranma. He moved out of the way but the umbrella kept going and didn't stop until it reached the crowd. Some people had to quickly get out of the way. Ranma saw this and wasn't happy.

"What the hell Ryoga, don't include non-combatants in this! Someone could get hurt!" Ranma shouted. Ryoga ignored him and pulled off a few bandanas and threw them at him. Ranma easily dodged it and closed in on Ryoga. He saw this and caught Ranma's wrist. He threw another full-powered punch toward Ranma's head. Ranma managed to dodge but he got a cut on his cheek. Ryoga just smiled at him and threw another punch. Ranma dropped to the ball of feet and pulled Ryoga forward. The momentum threw Ryoga off-balance. Ranma kicked both of his legs up and launched Ryoga into the air.

Ranma was pissed and tapped into that feeling he gets when meditating. Ryoga landed away from Ranma but was quick to his feet. He turned to look at Ranma. He stopped himself for a second to witness this aura around him. Ranma's eyes open and he looked directly at him. He saw that his irises were slit. He did not look happy. Ryoga glared at him in defiance and pulled out some more bandanas. He launched them in a wide arc. Ranma took off like a shot. On his way toward Ryoga, he sliced one of the bandanas to ribbons. He was within Ryoga's guard in an instant. Ryoga was surprise and then he felt pain as Ranma unleashed a devastating combination that sent him flying into the water fountain.

The water exploded up and fell on Ranma, triggering his curse. Ranma did not lose focus and looked for her opponent. The water died down and Ryoga was no where in sight. Ranma just sighed and turned back to the rest of the school. He saw the shocked looks that they were giving him. He figured that he could go a little longer before his curse was to be revealed but he was surprise that it went on this long. Now, he had to explain himself. He was also curious as to why Akane was being taking care off by her friends. He noticed some hair on the ground and recognized as hers but that couldn't be the reason she was flipping out, could it?