All aboard the crazy train!

Disclaimer: I don't own any trains and I don't own Ranma ½.

Ryu's POV

I closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to look at Ukyo as I told her my story. I was sure her eyes would be filled with contempt by the end and I childishly hoped to postpone seeing it while I was still able. I felt ill, like I wanted to throw up. I wanted to stop talking, but it was already far too late for that.

"When I died I remember feeling extremely disappointed. I wanted so badly to live a life. But when I got to the Gates, instead of being sent in, I was greeted by the angel Gabriel. I was given an option. If I agreed to be sent back, I would be given a task at some point in the future. He wouldn't say anything other than that, but obviously I agreed.

"The doctors thought it was a miracle when a child declared dead suddenly came back to life. My parents, on the other hand…" I swallowed as tears threatened to spill, "My parents thought their child's corpse had been possessed by a demon. As such, they spent the next five months traveling around Japan trying to get me exorcised. When none of the holy men of Japan could do so, they decided to try in America. When that failed, they simply threw me in the woods to die before returning to Japan." I could sense Ukyo about to blurt something out, but she kept her peace and her promise. I was trembling at this point. I hated thinking about those memories.

"Fortunately, I was being watched over. A nekomata and her kits were in the area. She took me in and raised me," Ukyo gave a sharp intake of breath, "Yeah, Kirara is that nekomata. She's been more a mother to me than the woman who gave birth to me ever was. But I digress.

"When I was almost six, I was found by Koga, who was seventeen at the time. To this day, he won't tell me how he found out about me, or found me, or even how he got the plane tickets. All I can presume is that God had something to do with it." I was delaying it. The point when I knew she would start to hate me. But I could delay no longer.

"When Koga and I showed up it was very late. My parents pretended to be overjoyed. I thought…I thought they wanted us to be a family. I believed them. They sent us to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I missed mom and my nekomata siblings and was too excited. So I snuck out of Koga's bed without waking him and went to explore the house. I found my parents just as they were finishing committing seppuku." I couldn't stop the tears now.

"They made it clear in their last letter that they believed their failure to destroy me was a stain on their honor only reparable by committing seppuku. It's my fault Koga lost his mom and dad.

"After the funeral was held a few days later, I was sure we were both going to be placed in an orphanage. Then, Mom showed up and saved the day. She had followed us to make sure I was adjusting well. She was able to pose as our aunt and take custody of us. The rest is history and now you know." I could take it anymore and fled to my room.

Ukyo's POV

I sat there, stunned. I thought Ranchan's dad was bad! What Ryu's birth parents had done, I consider truly evil. It confused me that Ryu felt responsible for his parent's ritual suicide, but I couldn't do anything about that on my own.

I snatched up the recording device and ran as fast as I could to the Tendo Compound.

"What's up-"

"No time!" I cut off Akane as I rushed in through the back door, "You guys need to listen to this!" I put the recording on the table and hit play. There was no time to be picky about who would overhear it. When it finished, a deathly silence settled over everyone.

"Where is Ryu now?" Akane finally broke the silence.

"In his room, so far as I know. He's convinced we'll hate him for some reason," I answered.

"Then what the hell are we waiting around here for?!" Ranma, ever a man of action, was already heading out the door. Akane and I were close behind. When we got to Ryu's house, Ranchan barged right in, but there was a man I didn't know there.

"Hey, Koga," Akane greeted him.

"So, he's finally told you?" the now named Koga, Ryu's older brother, asked.

"He did," Akane answered. Koga nodded and directed us to go ahead. Ranchan showed no hesitation in bursting into Ryu's room, but recoiled as soon as he got a good look inside. Apparently a cat woman was enough to trigger his ailurophobia, even if only temporarily, because that's what was sitting on Ryu's bed, with his head on her lap. Somehow he was still asleep after all the ruckus Ranchan had made and she was petting Ryu's head while looking at us expectantly.

"Umm, Kirara?" Akane asked hesitantly. She nodded.

"It is good to finally meet you all in person. My son has told me much about you, but I find firsthand experience to be much more satisfying." She greeted us.

"Is Ryu alright?" I asked.

"Ryu has wrongly blamed himself for the decisions of his birth parents for so long he's convinced himself that others should blame him for it as well," Kirara's tails were thrashing about irritably. I felt much the same. "Hopefully, now that you are here, you can help him rid himself of that foolish notion."

"This idiot, he's so hopeless," Akane sighed affectionately. Kirara started to gently shake Ryu.

"Honey, wake up, your friends are here, just as I told you they would be," Ryu blearily opened his eyes and made the most pitiful mewling sound.

"You don't hate me?" He asked hesitantly.

"Ryu, you idiot!" Akane barked, "Why on earth would we hate you?! I've been your best friend since we were in grade school! I, for one, am insulted you think our bonds of friendship are so weak!" We all knew Akane's bluster for what it was and Ryu seemed to appreciate it.

"You never hated me for all the crap my old man has pulled. Why would we feel any differently about the stuff that your folks did, which, as much as I hate ta say it, makes Pops look like a saint." Ranma added his two cents.

"You are Ryu Tomoe, insofar as I'm concerned, what your ancestors did or didn't do means jack shit. The only thing that matters is your own choices and actions. They shouldn't reflect on your family and their actions shouldn't reflect on you," I quoted back to him what he had said to me the first time we met. Ryu flinched like he had been shocked.

"I…am a goddamn idiot."

"I've been telling you that for years, Honey," Kirara said with an amused look about her.

"Yes, Mom, you were right," Ryu sounded properly chastised.

"I'm a mother. It's my job to be right,"

A bit of a shorter chapter, but it's mostly just a wrap up of last chapter's events, so I think it's OK.

Next time things get fun. Stay tuned for NABIKI'S REVENGE!