The first rays of sunlight pierced through the morning fog, illuminating the dew on the greenery around the countryside. Everything was quite save the chirping of the early morning birds, and a few lone crickets. A boy walked down an old country road savoring the scent of the new day.
He opened his eyes and looked at the farm on the right side of the road. It seemed somehow familiar. He figured he had probably walked past it once or twice in his travels.
"Hey Ryoga! It's been awhile." The boy in question turned his head to look at the sunburned farmer leaning against the fence surrounding the perimeter of the farm's acreage. Ryoga smiled as he recognized the man calling him. "Hey Mr. Oshida. How's it been going?" he said as he walked towards the farmer.
"Oh not bad, not bad. Crops are good. Livestock is thriving. And how are you son?" he asked good-naturedly. "Still in search for Tokyo?" Ryoga grinned.
"Nah. I just got lost and am wondering around at the moment. Don't really have any place to go as of now." He replied. The farmer smiled.
"Well why don't you come in and have breakfast with us? Midori has been wondering where you've been." Ryoga gratefully obliged to the invitation.
"Thanks. I've missed eating Mrs. Oshida's cooking." He said as he vaulted over the fence. Mr. Oshida threw a friendly arm over the boy's shoulders. "Ah Ryoga, you know to call us Midori and Jun. You're family to us!"
Ryoga disliked getting lost, but he did have to admit that visiting the country with all of its kind inhabitants was always a pleasure. They stomped up the back steps and Jun threw open the back screen door. "Hey Midori! Guess who's come to see us!" he yelled into the house. A kind face poked itself around a corner and immediately broke into a huge smile after spying the young man accompanying her husband.
"Why Ryoga Hibiki! It's has been to long! Where've you been dear? How are you?" Ryoga grinned and pushed his hand behind his head. "Well, uh. I've been busy. I - oof!" he would have finished his sentence, but the plump women had scooped him up in a bear hug. "Well you just tell us all about your travels over breakfast. It's almost ready by now. We're having French toast. You happened to come by on the right day. I'm trying out recipes in my Western style cookbook that my sister sent me. Surely you remember Yuri?" Ryoga nodded. He liked this family. They always took him in with a kind word and a good meal. One time he showed up accidentally at one of their family gatherings. He attempted to leave, with an apology for interrupting the event, but the Oshidas' would not hear of it. They included him insisting that he was one of the family. He quickly became a favorite of the many little ones running around the place, what with his incredible feats of strength and interesting techniques and talents. After the party, the Oshidas' and their kin told him not to make a stranger of himself and he was always welcome.
After Midori had put him down, she walked into the kitchen to check on breakfast. She came back in a few minutes later and placed a huge plate of steaming food in front of them. "Now you boys eat up. Especially you Ryoga dear. I don't have to worry about Jun here being well fed, but I can't keep a proper eye on you, so you just eat to your hearts content." She said with a mock threat of her spatula. Ryoga grinned.
"Trust me Midori, I don't really feel threatened by your spatula. I'm threatened almost every day with spatulas and a lot worse back in Nerima." He said with a chuckle. Midori sighed and settled for serving him instead. "Well I guess the only way I can threaten you is to get you to go muck out the barns if you don't tell me and Jun what's been going on since the last time we saw you." She said with a laugh.
"Now" she said. "Tell us what you've been doing lately."
Ryoga swallowed what he had in his mouth. "Well, I'm kind of over Akane. I miss her, but I've accepted the fact that she and Ranma love each other." He looked away then. "Since I realized that I've just kind of wandered around without a purpose. I still visit Nerima when I'm in the area and when I can find it. Every once in a while I'll run into my parents. I still visit Akari, but that's all it is because I also realized that she only loves me for my curse. I can't handle that. I need someone who wants me for who I am and not for what I become. I'm still hoping to wonder into China one of these days. Then I can find a cure and send some to Ranma, his father, Mousse, Shampoo, and Taro. Until then, I just keep walking." He finished with a sniff. Midori smiled, reached over and squeezed his hand. "We all go through hard times dear. One of these days you'll find the girl that needs you as much as you need her." Jun patted him on the back. "Yep, and I'm sure you two will be very happy together. But for now, finish eating. And you can stay here as long as you like. You know you're always welcome in our house." Ryoga smiled gratefully. "You are always so kind to me. I thank you for every thing you've done."
"Well, let's finish up here, and then we can take a walk around the farm, you can take a look at the livestock. We can have some pork chops tonight if you want them."
He laughed, as Ryoga turned slightly green. "I'm just kidding son, you know we wouldn't do that to you." Ryoga smiled weakly.
About half an hour later, Ryoga met Jun behind the house in some old clothes that Jun had let him borrow and a pair of old boots.
"Alright, you ready? Let's go." They started off towards the horse corral. Jun found it easier to move around the farm on horseback. It saved time and manpower. Ryoga could care less considering he was used to trekking around on foot all of the time.
Ryoga was on a buckskin gelding while Jun was on a Palomino mare. They trotted around the perimeter of the farm looking at the livestock, the crops, and chatting in general. They were at the far reaches of the property when something very large rustled in the bushes. They pulled their horses up short and stared warily at the undergrowth. Suddenly a huge bear busted out of the foliage and lunged for Jun and his horse. The horse reared and threw Jun off its back and then bolted. Jun scrambled to get out of the way and ran into Ryoga's horse. The horse trumpeted and reared. Ryoga managed to stay on but he jumped off as soon as the horse stopped lunging. The bear charged for anything moving.
"Jun! Run! I'll take care of this thing!" Ryoga yelled at the man trying to stay away from the bears huge blunt claws and seeking jaws. "But Ryoga I…" he was cut off as Ryoga yelled at him as he dodged the bear attempting to rip his head off. "Just GO! I can handle this!" He suddenly cried out as the bear slammed him on his back and grabbed his shoulder in its mouth. There was an audible crunch and Ryoga bit back a scream of agony. He powered up a small chi blast and fired it into the bear's stomach, knocking the creature off. He stumbled to his feet and prepared another blast. He just thought back to all of the depressing things that had happened to him this past year and he soon had a sizable sphere of energy swirling in his palm.
"Shi Shi Houkodan!!"
The chi blast hit the bear in the chest causing it to fly backwards several feet. It decided that it had had enough and ran off into the forest. Ryoga stumbled over to the fence and threw a downed tree into the broken length of it to keep the animals in the pasture. He then turned back to see if Jun was all right.
"Jun, are you okay?" he asked. Jun nodded if a bit shaky. He got to his feet and started to walk towards Ryoga. "I'm fine but I think we need to get you to a hospital." He said placing a hand gently on Ryoga's shoulder. Ryoga drew his breath in sharply as the pain hit him. Jun probed the shoulder a bit. Ryoga's head swirled as white, hot agony tore through his upper body.
"Well, I think it's probably safe to say that this shoulder is broken." Jun said choosing not to mention the bone jutting through Ryoga's skin. Ryoga groaned. He carefully cradled his arm, which was now hanging useless at his side. Jun looked around.
"Well it appears that the horses have run back to the house. I'm afraid we're going to have to walk back. Can you make it Ryoga?" Ryoga nodded. "Yeah, I've been through a lot worse… I think."
They started off towards the ranch house. About halfway there Ryoga stumbled. Jun looked at Ryoga who was breathing rather hard. His shoulder was now very swollen and bruised. Blood pulsed through his torn skin in a steady stream. Jun looked worriedly at the amount of blood that Ryoga was losing.
"Ryoga? Do you have anything that we could use as a tourniquet?" he asked.
Ryoga nodded. "Yeah, my bandannas should work." He pulled a couple from his brow and handed them to Jun, who tied them around his arm tightly. Ryoga grimaced at the pressure but said nothing.
"All right we're about halfway there. Let's get going. Come on." They resumed walking.
Ryoga didn't dispute the fact that he needed the proper medical attention, but his pride still stung him a bit. He decided that as soon as he got near a phone he would call his home in hopes that his parent might be home. They could wire him some money. If that failed then he would find a way to pay Jun and his wife back somehow.
He took a wrong step, tripped and fell to his knees. He gasped in pain as his arm was jarred.
"Ok ow ow ow ow…. ow a lot!" Ryoga said. He got back to his feet. "Ok let's get back to the house so I can find some aspirin." Jun laughed. "Yes I know, Advil makes it all better. That and a band-aid." Ryoga smiled.
They finally staggered up the back porch steps and into the kitchen. Midori turned around with a pleasant smile but gasped as soon as she saw her husband supporting a profusely bleeding Ryoga.
"Oh my Lord! Jun! What happened!?" she yelled. Jun gently sat Ryoga on a chair.
"A bear attacked. I'll go into the gory details later. Right now we need to call an ambulance." Midori already had a phone in her hand and was dialing the right number. She hung the phone up a minute later. "Ok. They're on their way. You just hold on Ryoga honey, we'll take care of ya." She said as she sat down next to him and gently placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder. Ryoga shook his head.
"If I could use your phone Midori, I would appreciate it." He said, holding back a moan. "Sure, sure." She said and picked up the receiver. "What's the number honey?" Ryoga gave her the correct number and gripped the receiver when she handed it to him. He counted the rings as they went by, and groaned when the answering machine picked up.
"Hello, you have reached the Hibiki residence. I'm sorry but we cannot be reached at this time, but if you will leave your name, number, and time you called, we will get in touch with you as soon as one of us can find our way home again. Thank you… BEEP."
Ryoga rolled his eyes. He gave the machine his location and request for the money and hung up. He groaned again and laid his head on the cool surface of the table. Pretty soon, sirens could be heard could be heard coming up the drive. Jun met the paramedics at the door. They entered the kitchen with a stretcher and sat Ryoga on it. They covered him in a blanket, took him outside and loaded him in the ambulance.
Once inside the ambulance, they inserted an IV and put an oxygen mask on his face to help his strength until they could arrange a blood transfusion. Ryoga just lied back and waited to get to the hospital. This wouldn't be his first visit. His lips twitched a little as he remembered his mother and him finally making it to one to have his tonsils out. Now that had been an interesting ordeal.
He closed his eyes and let the drug they had given him do its job.
When Ryoga woke up, he was in a strange room. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness and pain washed over him. He flopped back down with a groan. Someone picked up his hand and held it. He opened his eyes and tried to focus, all he saw was a human shaped blur sitting near him.
"Wh-whaz goin' on?" he managed in slurred speech.
"Shhh. It's ok Ryoga. You're in the recovery room of Yokahama District Hospital. You have just been released from the Operating Room." The person said. Her voice sounded kind. And familiar, now that he thought about it. He tried focus again to make out some distinguishing features, but gave up after a minute and let the welcome darkness send him tumbling headlong back into sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Midori looked worriedly after Ryoga's retreating form. She turned to Jun.
"Darling, we have to call someone for him. You know his parents won't get his message for who knows how long, he doesn't have any money, and he's too proud to let us take care of him." Jun only nodded in response.
"Your right, we'll have to call someone he knows and trusts. I know he won't want us to, but the only people I can think of are Ranma and Akane." Midori nodded sadly. "Your right. He won't like it." She walked over to his pack, which was brought along just in case and fished around in it. She came back up. "Aha." She held up a little black address book. She flipped around in it and then walked over to a pay phone and dialed a number. She waited as the phone rang. It picked up.
"Hello? Tendo residense. Akane speaking."
"Yes Akane? My name is Midori Oshida, I'm a friend of Ryoga Hibiki's."
Back in Nerima Akane listened intently as Midori relayed what had happened to her friend.
Ranma chose that moment to walk into the room. He was about to open his mouth to say something snide to Akane, but shut his mouth as soon as he saw her face. He put a hand on her shoulder with a worried expression. "Akane what's wrong? What's happened?" he asked with concern in his voice. Akane finished up her phone call and hung the receiver back on the cradle. She turned to Ranma and leaned into him, placing her head on his chest.
"Akane are you okay?" he asked. She looked up at him and nodded.
"Ranma, Ryoga has been in an accident. Right now he's in Yokahama District Hospital."
Ranma sat Akane down. "Well do you know what happened?"
Akane shrugged. "Mrs. Higami didn't go into a whole lot of detail, but what I got from it was Ryoga and her husband were riding around the perimeter of their farm and a bear attacked them. Ryoga fought it off but not before it totally crushed his shoulder. He lost a lot of blood and right now he's in surgery." She paused and leaned back against Ranma's chest. "We have to go help him. Now." Ranma nodded. "I'll tell Pop and we'll go as soon as we're packed." "Yeah." They separated and got up.
Pretty soon they were on a train headed to Yokahama with a few day's provisions and some money. Akane softly sang to herself as Ranma read a manga that he purchased a few days before. Akane soon fell asleep against Ranma's shoulder. Ranma shook her awake when they reached the train station at which they were scheduled to disembark at.
Before long they reached the hospital and ran up to the nurse's desk.
"Excuse me ma'am. But Ryoga Hibiki was admitted here a few hours ago, and we're his friends. Could you tell us which room he's in please?"
"Well," the nurse responded, "Right now he's in the Operating Room, but he should be moved to the recovery room before long." They thanked the nurse and the moved over to the waiting room to sit down. The sat next to a couple that looked worried and anxious. The woman looked around the room and her eyes lighted on Akane and Ranma.
"Excuse me," she said, "Are you Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo by any chance?" Ranma and Akane blinked. "Yeah that's us." Ranma said, nodding. Midori got up and sat down next to them followed closely by Jun. "We are Midori and Jun Oshida. We called you?" Akane nodded and grabbed one of Midori's hands. "Yes, Mrs. Oshida, thank you so much for calling us and telling us where he is. Can you tell us what happened?"
Midori smiled. "Thank you for coming, and you can just call us Midori and Jun. And I know just about as much as you do." Jun agreed. "That's right, the bear attacked Ryoga defended. Maybe when he recovers he can fill you in a little better than we could."
A nurse came up and bowed slightly. "Excuse me, but Hibiki-san has now been moved to the recovery room." Akane got up.
"Um, if it would be ok, could I go in and sit with him, at least until he wakes up?" she asked.
The nurse looked thoughtful for a minute. "I think that would be alright, but let me check with his doctor." She said, and then walked away. A few minutes later she returned with a woman in a green operating gown covered by a white coat. Although the coat hid most of the gown, Akane couldn't help but wince at the blood that stood out against the pail green.
The doctor shook all of their hands in turn then introduced herself. "I am Ryoga's doctor, Ritsko Marimoto. Well your friend is a very tough young man. I know I wouldn't have been able to go that far in his condition." Akane and the others leaned forward expectantly. " He shoulder was totally crushed and he lost a lot of blood. Frankly I'm surprised he didn't just die due to blood loss alone." Akane and Midori were trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over onto their cheeks. Jun had his head in his hands and was rocking back and forth, while Ranma was sitting up tall and rigid while his face had lost all color. Dr. Marimoto continued. "However his strength is incredible and we were able to stabilize him with hardly any problems. He is truly a young man to be admired. After some of his strength returns we will try to reconstruct his shoulder. Right now he is resting in the recovery room." Akane wiped her eyes.
"Excuse me Dr. Marimoto. Do you think it would be all right if I went in and sat with Ryoga? I want to be there with him when he wakes up. I know he would want to wake up to a familiar face." She said. Dr. Marimoto looked thoughtful. Then she nodded. "I think you're right. We want him to be as comfortable as we can make him. And you're also right about waking up next to a familiar face. If you'll follow me I'll take you to him." Akane nodded. She looked at Ranma and squeezed his hand before she got up and followed the doctor.
Dr. Marimoto led the young girl to a room where she could change into a set of hospital scrubs and clean up before she led her to the room where Ryoga Hibiki was recovering. She meant what she said to his friends. Normal people would have died, if not been in a more serious state if they went through what Ryoga had endured. And she did admire him for that.
She opened the door to his room and led Akane in. "Now if he wakes up just keep him quite and alert the hospital staff. Ok?" Akane nodded and them walked in.
The room smelled like disinfectant. The walls were a dull cream color and barren of life. Electronic gadgets and monitors beeped at her from the side of the bed. She swallowed and looked down at her sleeping friend. She gasped and about broke down crying at the sight of him. His skin had a sickly gray pallor and his breathing was ragged. They had removed all of his bandannas and he was dressed in a white hospital gown instead of his usual yellow tank. Half of his upper torso was bandaged, wrapped, taped, and immobilized. He looked far different from the usual Ryoga who she knew and loved. He was just so pale and lifeless.
She sat down and took his hand, taking care not to jar the IV jutting from his vein. Akane reached over and stroked his cheek, just wishing that she could remove the tubes surrounding his face. She smiled. She knew how mortified Ryoga would be if Ranma saw him like this. He would probably try to wonder off and disappear from the world forever.
She knew what was going on in his hard head. She knew about P-chan and how much he loved her. She felt so guilty about not letting him know that she knew about his feelings. But she didn't know how he would take it. She was just too in love with Ranma to endanger what they had worked so hard to find. She knew Ryoga would just try to break them up if he knew that he had a chance. But that was over. It was she and Ranma now. Ranma and Akane that was how it was going to be.
She also found out about P-chan some time ago, despite how stupid and dense people thought she was. She was mad about it, sure, but Ryoga had been away at the time it finally hit her. Ranma was the one who suffered because he had kept it a secret. By the time Ryoga had showed up again she had cooled down. One of these days she would tell him she knew. But not today, not now.
Meanwhile in the waiting room, Ranma was thinking. (Amazing feat that it was) He really admired Ryoga for what he had done for the couple sitting next to him. He knew that if Ryoga had not been there, Jun would have been killed no questions asked. He knew Ryoga was a jerk most of the time, but he had his moments. All the pig felt was anger, self-doubt, and depression. Oh. And lust for Akane. Well he was just going to get over that. But for right now Ranma was going to take it easy on Ryoga. He knew, just as Akane did, Ryoga was in a very insecure place.
Akane gasped as she heard a groan emit from the bed. Ryoga opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, but after one feeble attempt collapsed back into the bed. She reached down and picked up his hand, causing him to look over in her general direction.
"W-whaz goin' on?" he rasped. Akane smiled gently and told him where he was. She let the tears fall down her cheeks when he laid back and closed his eyes. Pretty soon his breathing evened out and deepened so she knew he was sleeping again. She sniffed and reached over and pressed the nurses button to alert them that Ryoga had awakened.
The doctor soon arrived and checked all of Ryoga's signs. She turned to Akane.
"He should be alright. We're going to move him to his hospital room now. You should go home for now. He'll probably sleep for a good while yet, but we'll call you when he's ready for visitors." Akane bowed to Ryoga's doctor and then thanked her.
She made her way back to the waiting room Dr. Marimoto was right. She was tired and she was sure that the others were exhausted as well. She passed through the door and smiled as Ranma and the Oshidas' got to their feet with worried expressions on their faces. She gratefully fell into Ranma's arms.
"How is he?" he whispered into her ear.
"He's going to be okay." She said loud enough so Jun and Midori could hear. "He's sleeping now. Dr. Marimoto has moved him to his own room now. She suggested that we all go home and get some rest."
Ranma smiled. "She's right. Let's go find a hotel and then go get something to eat." Midori heard this.
"You and Akane will stay at our farm. There is no sense in you to spending that money for a hotel when you have friends right down the road."
Akane and Ranma smiled and bowed gratefully.
Just then Dr. Marimoto walked in.
"Well we've moved him to his own room. He is recovering with incredible speed. He's awake but not surprisingly he's not all that coherent, but you can see him if you want to." She got a unanimous group nod. She smiled. "Well follow me if you please."
She took them to Ryoga's room and opened the door, gesturing for them to be quiet. Midori lead the way in with tears in her eyes. She stepped over to Ryoga's bed cautiously, then bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She gripped his hand in her hand while she smoothed back his hair with her other. She broke down crying when he squeezed her hand weakly as he opened his eyes and smiled. Jun came up behind her and patted Ryoga gently on the shoulder.
"Hey son, how are you feeling?" Ryoga breathed in deeply before croaking out:
"I've been better." Jun smile widened. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. You saved my life and we are in your debt." Ryoga smiled tiredly. "Think nothing of it Jun."
Midori squeezed his hand and then turned around and had to step into the hall with Jun, before she drowned Ryoga with her tears. Akane took her place.
She reached over and took Ryoga's hand. His eyes widened when he finally recognized who it was. They widened even further when Ranma appeared behind her, leaned down and gently punched him on his good shoulder.
"Hey guy, you got yourself in quite a predicament huh?" Akane elbowed him in the gut.
"Ryoga how are you feeling? We came as soon as we heard you were hurt." She stroked his hair out of his face. Ryoga sighed.
"I'm alright. It just took us by surprise. We didn't expect it. I should have been ready."
A tear welled up in Akane's eye. "Ryoga, you did a great thing by saving Jun. There is now way he would have lived if you had not been there. By you taking that blow," she gestured at Ryoga's shoulder, "you saved a man's life."
Ryoga sighed again and closed his eyes. Ranma came over again. "Hey man, you did great, from the way Jun raved on about how you kicked that bear's butt… man I was impressed." Akane looked at Ranma in surprise. Ranma winked back. She looked down as she felt Ryoga's hand go limp. He was breathing deeply. He had fallen asleep again.
A nurse came in a few minutes later. She checked all of his signs and changed out his I.V. drip. She turned to Ranma and Akane. "You two might want to go get some rest, he won't be waking up for awhile." Akane nodded and followed Ranma out of the room.