Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to her, and her alone. I'm just kinda borrowing them. The story below is for entertainment purposes only, and not to be used commercially. ...Obviously.

"Learning Curve"

Part VI (v1.4)

by: J. Wagner

A long, pregnant silence followed the trio as they walked out of Nerima Ward and inexorably to the supposed location of Ryouga's house. Nabiki was leading, so they weren't traveling at anything approaching the clip Ryouga or even Akane were used to. But out of the three, she alone knew the way there. While walking, Nabiki took a moment to understand just how the lost boy could get so lost. Many roads in Tokyo, she had to admit, were narrow, one-way, unnamed, and had no street numbers. Wandering around outside your neighborhood, almost anyone would end up lost. Looking back at him, Nabiki checked to make sure he hadn't strayed from the group and gotten lost.

He hadn't. Though the Hibiki boy took the opportunity to brood, and every time he stole a glance at the youngest Tendo daughter, he'd quietly snarl under his breath, and his mood would darken just a little bit more. Nabiki found herself oddly frustrated by the whole thing. True, she didn't need to talk to him or even enjoy his company to get the job done, but even then... even then she'd wanted, just a little, to get to know him better. He was an outsider, who didn't seem intimidated or afraid of her. He was a mystery in many ways, and at the same time, he seemed like a nice enough person. I'd be nice, for once, to carry a non-extortionist conversation with someone.

"This is stupid!" Akane finally broke the silence.

"Huh?" Both Ryouga and Nabiki stopped and looked at her.

"I've forgiven you already," she said sharply, and whapped Ryouga in the back of the head with a small mallet. Hibiki seemed surprised, but Nabiki wasn't impressed. Small ones like that were easy - even Kasumi could 'use' them. Her father had insisted on giving a minimum of Tendo style Anything-Goes to all his daughters, though only Akane had broadened that knowledge and put it into general use. Or abuse, depending on how one looked at it.

"You may have." Ryouga watched and wondered where the small mallet had suddenly disappeared. "But I haven't. I was such an idiot. Such a... just an idiot."

"I guess it was kind of pathetic." Akane elbowed him when he bit his lip and started to glow green. He seemed to respond to violence a little better than words. "But we all do stupid things sometimes."

"Not me," Nabiki interrupted, and they started walking again.

"So why'd you do it, anyway?" Akane broached.

"Youmrsde," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"You... kissed me. As a pig." Ryouga massaged his temples, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. "It was the first ...only time a girl had kissed me. Hell, it was the only time anyone besides my parents had shown kindness to me. I guess it really is pathetic, but when you held me, I was just happy. It was like someone actually loved me. Even if I knew it wasn't me... it was P-chan. A stupid little pig. It would've been easier if you just tried to cook me, or something. At least I'd know what to do then. I've been in that situation enough times."

"Of all the people to want to cook you..."

"Nabiki!" Akane pouted, and scowled. "I'd like to be friends, Ryouga. Deep down, I know you're a nice guy, and there seem to be precious few of those in my life. Just forget about the pet pig thing. As far as I'm concerned, it never happened."

Ryouga thought briefly about arguing that point, but decided to simply nod and agree with her. "Sure."

Nabiki took this opportunity to bring up something else entirely, more along the lines of what she needed, and perhaps wanted, to know. "Are you going to be staying in Nerima, with Ukyou, for very long?"

"I dunno." Ryouga shrugged, and looked around. He vaguely remembered this place. It was a card shop he passed by all the time back when he was little, and his mother would take him shopping... until they both got lost and separated for the next intervening few weeks. "I've got the fight with Ranma, and my friends there, but I'm just not too sure. It'll depend on how things go, I guess."

"Oh. I see." Nabiki thought about that.

Ryouga laughed, half heartedly, "That's kind of the reason I came back, you know. I don't have anywhere else to go. My feud with Ranma is about the only life I have."

"What about school?" Akane asked. Had he already graduated, or...

"I dropped out of Junior High School to pursue my revenge." He gave them a serious look when he noticed the way they were looking at him. "Understand, it wasn't a difficult decision for me. The only times I ever got to school at all were when I got lucky, and found it by chance, or when I followed another student... like Ranma. When I got there, the only thing that kept me even remotely sane was my ability to defend myself."

He shrugged. "I barely passed my courses, because I missed two out of three classes, and exams, and because the teachers and staff though I was just being tardy. They said I had a fear of school, a school phobia or some nonsense. I wasn't afraid of school, I just hated going. I hated being mocked most of all... when Ranma humiliated me, over and over again, it was the last straw. I quit going altogether."

"Of course, they complained to my parents." He actually smiled at that, before settling back into a comfortable frown. "My parents had problems of their own to deal with. Dad made me promise to keep up my studies, and bought me some books to read while I wandered aimlessly. I kept my promise. I always keep my promises."

"But you never graduated?" Nabiki idly kicked a small rock aside as they kept pace.

"Nope." Ryouga brushed it off, like nothing. "There's no point. I tried to register to take the placement tests for High School once, but..."

"You got lost?" Akane finished.

"Yeah." He ran his hand through his hair, nervously. "It's ok, though. I'm used to it. You could call me home schooled; except for how little time I'm actually at home. Luckily, mom and dad bring new stuff for me, and leave it in the kitchen, or in the family room, or wherever they find themselves, so I rarely have to buy the books myself. Absentee parent teaching, I guess. There's probably a ton of stuff waiting for me when I get there."

"That's good. I don't think Ranma would even give school a second thought except that we force him to go." Akane gave his backpack a sidelong glance. "Do you...?"

"Oh, sure. I've got everything in here." He reached back, let the pack slide off his shoulders and into the crook of his arm, and rooted around with his other hand. Finally, he took out a large book, and handed it to her. The first was a study guide for the standardized tests, the same most students their age had. Then Akane stared at the cover of the second book, took a few quick steps and showed it to Nabiki. She looked at it for a few seconds, than read out loud for her sister. "Literary Classics... of the ...um..."

"Renaissance."

"Why is this in English?"

Ryouga shrugged, and took out another. "Mom always buys stuff in English. I learn languages pretty quickly... thanks the gods. Here's one in Japanese."

"Human Anatomy and Physiology?" Nabiki reeled back. "Is this a university textbook? It says it's for some introductory bio class."

"I think pop got that one from a university book store, yeah. It's all straight memorization. My parents, they get stuff that catches their eye wherever they can, I guess, and drop it off for me to pick up. No real rhyme or reason to it, just, 'Wouldn't it be nice if Ryouga knew more about electrical engineering?' And they get the thing. That particular book came with a CD, too, but I lost it a few months ago... not like I have a computer to use it with, anyway. I end up losing most of my books, sooner or later, unless I can manage to get home and put them away in my room somewhere. Most of the time I never get to finish them, too."

Nabiki skimmed through the 'biology textbook' as if the cover was a trick or something and the inside was a coloring book. A face fault followed two seconds later. Ryouga, meanwhile, took out two more books. "Here's a math one - a bunch of the pages on Chapters six and seven got soaked a while back in Thailand, though, before I could finish studying it, so I'm looking for a replacement."

Akane's eyes were wide as saucers. "Statistical Analysis? You actually read this?"

"Yeah right. Just because I have the book, doesn't mean I've learned anything from it. Especially that one. You might like it, though, Nabiki. I sure don't." He took the books and put them back in his pack, while taking some smaller soft cover ones out. "Mom also got me a bunch of English Literature stuff you've probably read before to keep me 'grounded in the arts,' as she likes to say. 'Works of Shakespeare,' 'Western International Politics 1920 to 1950,' 'Twilight of the Idols/The Anti-Christ' by a German philosopher named Nietzsche, 'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals' by Kant..."

"You've read all that stuff?" Akane thumbed through the Nietzsche book. "This isn't English..."

"Oh, that one's in German."

Nabiki had, at least, read some Shakespeare before, though never in English. She was one of the better students in her English class, and she could read parts of the book fairly well, but others didn't seem to make much sense. She handed it back to him, then thought of something. "If you read all this stuff because your parents want you to, what do you do for... you know: fun?"

"I used to own some manga when I was back in junior high... but that's all at home. It's too bulky to carry with me, and it's too delicate for most long trips. And to tell the truth, I never had much anyway. Mostly, I focus on the Art. That's pretty much all I'm good at." Ryouga busied himself by putting the books back into his backpack, and started to walk in a perpendicular direction without noticing. Fortunately, Akane acted quickly, grabbed his collar, and pointed him back in the right direction. "Though, about two years ago, I met this guy at the University of Kyoto was into science fiction, and some of that was interesting. I bought a few books to read on the road, but ended up losing them out in the woods."

Suddenly, a loud bark cut him off.

The group turned, and saw a dog, black on one side, white on the other. To the amazement of both Tendo girls, Ryouga opened his arms to receive the animal and was actually bowled over. The two Hibikis rolled and wrestled for a moment, before Ryouga lay, pinned, and had to endure a severe face licking. Struggling meekly, he pushed her away a bit before giving her a big hug. "Shirokuro!! How are ya, girl? Have you been guarding the house, Shirokuro? Did you maul anyone who tried to break in? Did you girl?"

"All right, that's enough now." He unclamped the dog's play bite on his forearm, and started to get to his feet, suddenly self-conscious. "Let me up. Come on. We've got guests."

"Hi there." Akane bent over, and reached out to the dog, a little cautious. Most animals took a liking to her, but this was still a dog she hadn't met before. There was no point being reckless. Shirokuro gave her master a quick look, before letting Akane pet her on the head and scratch behind her ear. "What a nice doggie!"

"Smartest animal I know." Ryouga beamed, proud.

"I'll say," Nabiki said and held out her hand. Shirokuro sniffed it, no doubt smelling money. "How does a dog get herself on the seven o'clock news?"

"No idea." Ryouga clasped his hand together, anxiously. "Shirokuro. Let's go home, girl. Home."

The dog gave a quick bark, and headed down the street, slow enough for everyone to easily follow. They came, quickly, to a nice looking, middle-income house, with 'Hibiki Residence' written on a sign at the front. It was comfortable looking and quite homey. It actually seemed to exude an aura of ...near normalcy. Truth be told, Nabiki had half expected either a run down shack that no one lived in, or a crazy dojo.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Ryouga took out his keys and unlocked the front door as Shirokuro went in through the dog door. The second he stepped inside, a shower of heavy furniture, assorted weights, and a whole kitchen sink buried him like an avalanche. A single piece of paper wafted down, and Nabiki caught it, carefully stepping around the mess.

"Ryouga. There are thieves everywhere. Watch out for traps. Love Mom." Nabiki tapped a finger on the upturned sink with its stereotypically exposed bent pipe. "Everything and the kitchen sink. Cute."

"Annoying, you mean!" A hand waved in the air a bit. He was tempted to Bakusai Tenketsu the hell out all the junk, but decided against it. Aside from making (more of) a mess, it might hurt Akane or Nabiki. Slowly, he removed himself from the pile, quickly moving the heavy objects to the side where his mother would generally put them back up when she found her way home. Closing the door behind him, he finally looked around and mentally congratulated himself.

Home!

He'd finally made it home!!

"Hey." Ryouga faced Nabiki, and nodded in thanks, hands clenched and eyes brimming with happy tears in a manner that reminded her of the Tendo patriarch himself. "You've fulfilled your end of the bargain, Nabiki. Thank you."

She almost said something she never intended. Almost. Dismissing all she'd done and gone through on a spur of the moment whim would be both a lie and turning back on her plans. Still, looking at him, happy for once, she couldn't help but feel good that she done something that had such an impact. Even though it had originally been for self-serving purposes, she wondered now, whether she would have done it just for free, if he'd asked. Why not? It'd be nice for someone to think kindly of her, for once.

Though not necessarily vain, Nabiki did think highly of herself - she was proud, proud of her independence, her intelligence, and her body. And the behind the back whispering and chiding she got for it never seemed to fade or go away. Sometimes she wondered if it was simply her lot in life, whether she would end up alone and ultimately unloved, in a mansion, by herself. It was an unsettling thought, and subject, because she wasn't entirely sure that such a thing wasn't her destiny.

"We made a deal." She smiled back and patted him on the shoulder. "I was just living up to my end of it."

A chorus of high-pitched yelps and barks heralded a small wave of black and white puppies, lead by Shirokuro herself. The little dogs clustered around the humans, and three jumped straight up and into Ryouga arms. He took a few moments to pet and check each one, looking for distinctive marks or coloring. He was still curious as to who the father of Shirokuro's litter was. There were numerous neighborhood dogs who could be the potential sires, and only one or two he thought really worthy of the honor. Akane had her hands full, too, with two dogs that were busy licking her face. One, however, walked slowly up to Nabiki, and yipped, demanding to be picked up.

"Not going to jump, hmm?" Nabiki knelt down and looked at the imperious little puppy. Finally, Nabiki scooped her up, and slowly stroked the dog's fur. It was soft - softer than Shirokuro's, and the black was more like brown than the dark onyx of her mother. Without even thinking about her, she scratched the puppy's chin. "Lazy little... do you have a name?"

The puppy stared up at her and panted.

"Do you want one?" Nabiki asked. Though several of their neighbors had dogs, the Tendos hadn't since Kasumi had been born. "How about 'Dollar?'"

"So... umm." Ryouga looked around and slowly got his bearings on where everything in the house (hopefully) was, as he put the puppies in his arms back down. "Do you two want anything to eat or something?"

"Sure!" Akane headed for the kitchen; putting her two back on ground level as well.

"Don't let her in there alone." Nabiki leaned over and whispered, a little hastily, still holding Dollar.

"Huh? Why?" He asked.

"She's not exactly 'at home' in the kitchen, if you catch my drift."

"I ...don't, to tell the truth." He shrugged, and headed in himself, checking the fridge. Akane seemed to be rooting through a cupboard with practiced ease. There were, all in all, always a few perishable foodstuffs in the Hibiki Home, for obvious reasons, but the family maintained a well-stocked supply of dry consumables, canned goods, and exotic preservatives. Anything that could be hoarded for a year or so without going bad was in generous supply.

Noticing a plate on the kitchen table of shriveled up noodles, he inspected it with a casual, but practiced, eye. From the consistency of the noodles, the dryness, the layer of dust, and other minutiae, Ryouga deduced the date of preparation at about eight to nine weeks ago. When he picked up the plate, it set off a small 'click' sound, revealing a well-hidden pressure-pate.

"Interesting." Leaning back, he caught the small dart in midair between his index and middle fingers. Another trap.

"Gone shopping. Eat this for lunch. Mom." Ryouga folded the note, and put it aside, along with the dart. He also noted that this table was one of their many spares. Curious. Then he saw the old table, broken in half, carefully propped against the far wall. Inspecting it, he noticed the indentation of fingernails clawing furrows in the thick English oak. His mother had always been a very strong woman, and this meant father had to have been around at the same time. He was a happy for them. He knew his parents rarely saw each other. It was a good thing they were so passionately in love, or... Ryouga didn't broach that thought further.

On the fridge itself had been a note from his father about a business trip to Hokkaido. He'd estimated being home by summer, which meant it'd be well after next Christmas before he saw him again. Ryouga nodded somberly to himself - he'd have to remember that and try and catch up to them next time. Akane still seemed busy looking for stuff to make. She was oddly eager. Strange, too, his Martial Artist's danger sense was tingling.

"I've got some things I want to drop off in my room," he called out to either of the girls. "But I, uh, don't want to..."

"I know," Nabiki volunteered, and put Dollar on the floor, allowing Akane to go back to trying to mangle a bag of crackers in an effort to open the package. "I'll make sure you don't live up to your name, lost boy."

Ryouga bit back a retort, and went up the stairs into his room. Navigating the house generally wasn't a problem. He'd been born and raised here, and actually knew his way around, but it never hurt to be careful. More than once he'd gotten overconfident in his ability to NOT get lost in the house and had ended up in someone else's' place of residence without even noticing that he'd gone outside. Or maybe he'd been in someone else's house all the time, and had mistaken for his own... whatever. Regardless, it never hurt to take along a spotter, when you happened to be a Hibiki.

Nabiki was about to open the door to the room he'd come to, when Ryouga grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. The sudden move, and the sudden closeness, made her blush. He had an arm around her waist, but her mind raced. He didn't seem the type! Kasumi would probably smile... vacantly, and Akane would probably slap him. Of the two, the latter seemed most appropriate, but why wasn't her body responding?

"Careful. It's electrified." He pointed to the tiny hidden wires attached to the knob, and disguised carefully to look like part of the door. He let go of her wrist, then her altogether, and reached up to his forehead, taking out a bandanna. It straightened into a blade on command, and he bent over, carefully cutting the current. "She's getting better at her traps. I barely saw this one."

"What? You mean like the front door?" Nabiki gladly felt her composure return.

"Yep. Mom has traps everywhere. She's a little eccentric, I suppose." He opened the door safely.

"Yeah. Just a little." Nabiki sighed - so much for normalcy. Ryouga's room was large, a little larger than her own, and lined from wall to wall with framed pictures and posters, a few of them family portraits, but most of far off lands and places, in addition, two large racks held innumerable souvenirs, many from Japan, and many from overseas. She also noticed a few College fliers, showing off university colors or teams. Almost half of an entire wall was solely devoted to a library of books. Everything looked recently cleaned, amazingly enough, since she knew Ryouga hadn't been home in well over a year. There were also a few new books lying on his bed. The calendar on the wall, proudly displaying a set of 'martial arts umbrellas' was set to the wrong date. As in wrong date: month AND year.

Ryouga started to unpack, no doubt thinking about exactly how much he was going to tell her (she doubted he'd actually tell her everything), when Nabiki noticed someone at the window. She spoke up, "Anyone you know, Ryouga-kun?"

"Huh?" He looked just in time to see the girl set off one of the traps and get electrocuted. Moving quickly, he disarmed the wires leading to the window, and opened it up, retrieving the girl who was slumped limply on a tree branch, still faintly smoking. She had black hair, done up in two pigtails, and a red and black irregularly schemed bandanna, immediately reminiscent of Ryouga's own. Overcome by immediate curiosity, he checked to see if she had layered them, but found that it was purely ornamental, and that there was only one. She had on a plain red sweater and a brown overall type dress. What was shocking, though, was her rapid breathing and recovery from the shock, and her teeth. There were two prominent canines on her upper jaw.

"Wa... What the...?" Ryouga gulped, got up, closed the window, came back, and hesitantly shook her shoulder a bit. "Miss?"

"Ryouga..." The girl's eyes opened and focused on him. There was a very brief glimmer of fear, then anger, then surprise, before she lunged and embraced him. "Ryouga! Big brother!"

"B... Big Brother? What are you talking about?"

She instantly started to sniffle. "You're so mean... how could you forget about your little sister Yoiko?"

Ryouga's lips moved but nothing came out.

"It's no surprise you don't recognize me. You're never home anymore."

"I... I have a little sister? How could I miss something like that?" Ryouga's mind raced. He had totally missed out on Shirokuro having a family. He hadn't even seen his parents in ...years. He looked the girl in his arms over. She couldn't be more than 10. Still, considering that his parents were gone more often than at home, it wasn't that much of a stretch to assume... to believe that this girl could be his sister. How else would she know his name, and know about the family curse, and have the teeth, and the family style of bandannas! His parents had never mentioned having another child, though. Then again, maybe, just maybe, this was only his half-sister. It didn't matter! He wasn't alone!

"I have a sister!" Tears began to build up and drip down his cheeks, as he caught her in an embrace. He was careful not to crush her, but also knew, in his heart of hearts, that she could take it. Hibikis were tough like that. True enough, the girl didn't seem to mind the force he was hugging her with, which would probably have broken the rib cage of a normal adult. "I'm so happy!"

"Me too, big brother!"

"Yoiko, this is Tendo Nabiki." He let her go and motioned towards Nabiki, who seemed to be looking at the new girl suspiciously.

Yoiko seemed nervous, and her hand shook a little when she waved. "Hello... Nabiki-san."

"Isn't she polite?" Ryouga smiled, pride filling his chest. What a nice sister he had!

"Nice to meet you, too... Yoiko." Nabiki gave a small, predatory smile. "Didn't you know about the traps?"

Yokio big-sweated, but Ryouga didn't seem to notice.

"I bet my big brother is really strong!" Yoiko wisely changed the subject. "Can you show me some of your Martial Arts moves, big brother? Please?"

Ryouga laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Sure! I was going to show Nabiki that stuff anyway!"

As the trio got up, and headed downstairs, Nabiki made a lunge for Yoiko's hair, but the younger girl was too quick, and caught her hand. Behind Ryouga's back, she smiled, and waved her finger back and forth, silently chiding the middle Tendo daughter. As always, Ryouga was oblivious, going on and on about how cute and nice it was to have a sibling. He waved to Akane, telling her that he'd be in the backyard, and she responded by saying she was making snacks for them. To his surprise, both Nabiki and Yoiko seemed to freeze up at that comment.

He dismissed it immediately as a quirk, and led them into the backyard. It was spacious, and while not the size of the Tendo's, of course, it was more than large enough to accommodate an area for sparring and practicing. It was also a little brisk out, but the week as a whole hadn't been that cold for late autumn. Ryouga stood by himself, and did some stretching and limbering up, while Nabiki sat down on the porch with Yoiko. After a few seconds, he faced Nabiki, his hands on his hips. "So? How versed are you in Martial Arts, Nabiki?"

"I have some cursory training in Tendo Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu." She let some pride seep through as she continued, "More than Kasumi. Less than Akane, of course."

"Sounds all right." Ryouga nodded. "Where should I start?"

"How about with your evaluation of your last little skirmish with Ranma?" Nabiki didn't need to see Yoiko, to know she was getting more nervous by the second. "Doesn't that sound good, Yoiko?"

"Umm... sure," she said, weakly. "Whoever this Ranma guy is."

"How did you know he was a guy?" Nabiki teased. 'Ranma,' after all, was one of those names either a boy or girl could have.

"Ah." Ranma/Yoiko stammered. "Well, my big brother would never fight a girl!"

"Quite right, Yoiko." Ryouga missed the nuance behind the exchange completely. "Well, when I came back from my training overseas, I'd expected Ranma would slack off with only his lazy father around. I wasn't surprised, then, when we met and exchanged words."

Yoiko frowned slightly.

"He goaded me about being more lost than usual, and a few other things. It was pretty much the same shallow drivel he always spouts when he wants to show everyone how much of a ...jerk he can be. I let the first few slide, because, in a way, I'd missed the ribbing, and I knew the idiot didn't know any better. But he kept at me and at me, until I yelled 'Saotome! Prepare to Die!' and attacked. I'd hoped that he would attack me, so I could get a good appraisal of his non-verbal offensive skills."

Nabiki laughed a bit, but Yoiko wasn't smiling.

"Instead, he let me attack. By the look in his eyes, I could see he was more than a little surprised when I tagged him on the first blow, and sent him flying back and into a wall." Ryouga chuckled softly. Of course, things hadn't quite happened that way. He'd only hit Ranma on the second try, but it was the spirit of the story as much as the letter of it. "I held back, not wanting to cripple him just yet, and let him get back up."

"He made a snide comment not quite proper around my little sister or any lady, so I won't repeat it, and attacked. I went fast, keeping myself around his level, and compared his style to what I remembered of it. It was easy to see the influence that fighting Mousse and Ukyou had on him. His movements were..." Ryouga searched for the words. "Restrictive to anti-weapon techniques. This was useful for him when I tried, though not seriously, to attack with my belt sword and bandannas, but it hindered him in open handed and close quarters combat. By now, in all likeliness, he's started to narrow the gap. His father, though as much of a coward and oaf as his son, would be quick to correct this."

Yoiko grudgingly agreed at that. Though Genma hadn't explained it, he had significantly increased the speed and power behind his blows, even though it tired him out sooner, in their training exercises. It was a subtle shift from how Ranma's father normally sparred with his son. Virtually no amount of training would much narrow the endurance gap between Ryouga and himself, but speed and strength he could work on in the time he had.

"As the fight continued, another thing became obvious. Ranma's endurance and stamina had actually somewhat decreased from before. He's obviously grown complacent fighting his father, Mousse, Kuno and Ukyou, who are all themselves lacking in that department. I can only assume that most of his fights end before he really even breaks a sweat. The difference in raw strength between us, again, has widened significantly. Even when I allowed him to hit me repeatedly with his somewhat superior version of the Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken, I barely felt the blows. As it stands, aside from pressure points and attempted lethal blows, he has no way of hurting me at all with his bare hands. This, coupled with his comparatively limited repertoire of special techniques and my expanded knowledge of different styles, and familiarity with his own, will be his biggest personal hurtle to overcome."

"And his speed?" Yoiko broached.

"He's still damn fast, I'll give him that," Ryouga admitted. "He's always been slightly faster than me, because I'm a little larger and more geared towards raw hitting power. I suspect that by the next time we fight, he'll either be on par with my new speed, or have exceeded it. However, that advantage won't help him in a fight if he can't hurt me, overpower me, or fight at full power as long as I can."

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Yoiko warned.

"I'm not," Ryouga assured her, and turned back to Nabiki. "Well? More?"

"Very interesting, Ryouga-kun. And your opinion of Ranma personally?"

"As a fighter, or as a human being?"

"Both."

"As a fighter he's formidable. In keeping with his training, and the doctrines of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, he's extremely agile and versatile, creative and opportunistic. He finds a weakness, and exploits it... often ruthlessly, from what I've observed and heard of him. While an excellent martial artist, as a human being I find him lacking. His so called 'honor' is almost non existent, in my humble opinion." Ryouga noticed Yoiko getting a bit anxious and decided to explain himself. "He promises to keep secrets, and yet he takes every opportunity to indirectly expose them. He's untrustworthy. Additionally, perhaps as part of his upbringing and training, he's also rude, short sighted, selfish, a glutton...."

"At least he isn't a pig," Yoiko blurted out. Ryouga flinched, noticeably, and Nabiki smiled.

"You're digging your own grave," The middle Tendo daughter whispered. "It's really very entertaining."

"Shut up," Yoiko whispered back, then turned to Ryouga. "Please, big brother, continue!"

"He's more animal than man in some ways. And the way he flaunts his curse to get what he wants, and to manipulate people is disgusting! True, I made a mistake. Not a night, not a day goes by that I don't loathe myself for what I did, and for what I almost kept doing. Ranma, however, seems to have no remorse for his actions, and his indecision. He goads others into fighting him, and then denies blame. He toys with Kuno, alternating encouraging him to hit on his female form, and then bashing his face in. He mocks Akane, mercilessly exploiting even the smallest fault, and never... NEVER does he show remorse. He has no concept of right and wrong... only what he wants, or does not want. He's a Prima Dona and a self absorbed egoist."

"Interesting. I agree with a lot of that Ryouga-kun. He has bad manners, too," Nabiki pointed out, enjoying the moment. She could tell by the look on Ranma's face that he was about to explode and reveal himself to the clueless lost boy. Only a little push more was needed. And when Ranma did, he'd certainly get a sound pounding, which he had coming with such a stupid trick. How long did he think Ryouga would fall for that whole Yoiko thing? Besides, it was the height of rudeness.

Ryouga nodded, agreeing with her comment. "So I've heard."

"He also runs around topless at home in his girl form. No modesty. No modesty at all."

"That sick bastard! ...Pardon my language, Yoiko."

"And he snores like a chainsaw."

"Yeah! That night I snuck in to fight him; he was really tearing it up! Thrashes around like a scared rabbit, too."

"Probably nightmares about losing his masculinity!"

Ryouga laughed. "Probably!"

Yoiko spoke through gritted teeth. "So, big brother, how about showing us some of these so called 'special techniques,' hmm?"

"Oh." He scratched behind his ear. "Right. Well, first..."

"Come and get it!" Akane walked out, carrying a tray of 'crackers.'

"Why are they green?" Nabiki quirked an eyebrow, and regarded the plate like one would an angry cobra.

"They're my own special recipe!" Akane enthused.

"Hey, crackers! I'm starving!" Ryouga didn't feel like mentioning that he was pretty much always hungry. Taking one, he saw that Yoiko was giving the food a wide berth. "Yoiko, why don't you have one? Akane here is a guest, and it's not polite to refuse the food she so graciously made for us."

"Says you. I don't feel like heartburn today, thank you kindly."

"Yoiko." Ryouga's tone became stern. Akane suddenly noticed the girl for the first time, and her eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Are you kidding?" Yoiko waved off the offering with vigor. "It looks like pieces of cement with green moss growing on it! Can't that tomboy girlfriend of yours cook?"

"You're being... very rude, little sister. Very rude." He took a step towards her. "Say you're sorry, Yoiko."

Yoiko backed up a little, looked around, and jumped up and over the fence. Ryouga watched her go with a mixture of fear and shock, and tensed to follow, when his legs simply gave out, and he fell to his knees. Without noticing, he dropping the crackers, and squeezed his eyes shut. "What have I... done? Yoiko... I'm sorry..."

"Ryouga, calm down. She'll be back." Akane put the tray down and went over to try and get that green color out of his aura. "You just kind of scared her."

"You don't understand." He looked at her, at both Tendo sisters. "She'll be lost... I'll never see her again... I... I've screwed up... Just when I find someone... I chase them away. I'm such an idiot! Wait! Akane, Nabiki... could you... could you find her for me? Bring her back? I'll do anything... I've got money..."

"She wasn't..." Nabiki began, and then thought again about telling him the truth. He might not take it well - in fact, it would've been wiser, in hindsight, if she had simply exposed Ranma right off the bat, instead of playing around. The Lost Boy seemed genuinely hurt, bordering on devastated, by 'losing' the sister he had just met. Unsure, both of the situation, and herself, she slowly crept over, and draped her arm over his broad shoulders, which were vibrating with tension and every intake of breath. Akane looked at her, then, almost with amazement, and gave a weak smile.

'Wonderful,' Nabiki thought, sharply. 'For once, this really is all Ranma's fault!'

Helping him to his feet, and no longer eager to see him show off his techniques so she could decide whether to rig things in Ranma's favor or not, she started to lead him inside, when Yoiko jumped over the wall again and into the yard, carrying one of the puppies. The phone inside rung, but Ryouga ignored it and ran over to Yoiko, catching her in a bear hug like embrace, while the puppy jumped out of her arms, saving him or herself.

Ryouga was crying, and held her even tighter. "I'm so, so sorry, Yoiko! I didn't mean to yell at you; it's just that I want you to have better manners, like a real lady! I want things to be better for you than they were for me!"

"Um... ok! Ok!" The near crushed girl gasped.

"Ryouga, phone!" Akane walked out with a wireless phone in hand. "It's your father."

"Thanks." He took the phone, let go of Yoiko, and held it to his ear. "Yeah. Hi, Dad - yes, that was a real girl. No! Yeah. Lost her around where? No... haven't seen her, but I'll keep an eye out, like usual. Oh, and I ran into Yoiko, too. ...You know, Yoiko. My sister?"

Yoiko gulped.

Akane bit her lip.

Nabiki noticed the dogs had fled to the safety of the house and that Shirokuro was watching things unfold with the canine version of a look of trepidation, while slowly nudging the back door closed. ...Smart Dog.

"You... don't... have a daughter? No, I'm sure mom wouldn't..." Ryouga looked at Yoiko again, presumably looking for features they didn't have in common. The fangs were, after all, from his mother's side.... He thought.

"Hey, pal." Ranma pulled off the wig, and took out the fake set of fangs. "Get a clue, huh?"

"I'll... talk to you later... dad." Ryouga's eyes flashed, and the phone in his hands crushed like so much tissue paper. He was literally shaking with rage. "It was... Ranma... RANMA!! You won't live to see our duel. You won't even live to see the sun set today."

"Hold on a sec, buddy!" Ranma held up his hands.

"You wanted to spy on me.... you wanted to toy with me?!" The snarl on his lips grew, exposing fully his larger than normal canine teeth. "Damn you Ranma! Damn you to hell!!"

Ranma looked from Ryouga to Akane, to Nabiki, both of which were backing off. From the look in their eyes, he wasn't exactly about to get either of their support in this. Silently cursing, he threw aside the last of his disguise, rallied his self-confidence, balled his fists, and took a fighting stance. He'd trained damn hard the last week, and he was the best he'd ever been. Even if he was in girl form, it was time to perform. Time to show them that Saotome Ranma wasn't to be trifled with and mocked. He felt a rush as his Battle Aura manifested around him, snapping to life out of thin air, sheathing him in power.

Then, Ryouga's aura began to appear.

The first signs took the form of a heaviness in the air, heavy Ki, pushing at Ranma's shoulders and knees, and flattening the grass around the Lost Boy for two or three meters. Ryouga was crouched, snarling, his arms crossed in front of him, when barely visible white crackles of electricity began to dance from his faintly glowing body to the ground, scorching the crushed grass as it hit. The faint glow manifested, then disappeared, manifested a little more, disappeared, and finally exploded like an overloaded light bulb.

The flash was almost blinding, and when it cleared, a heartbeat later, Ryouga was engulfed in an inferno of red, black, and white fire, dancing up into the air like ethereal claws reaching for the heavens. Air was kicked up, and as pieces of paper and grass neared the pyre, they caught fire and burned, even as they lazily swirled around the lost boy, paying homage and penance to his released power. Never before had Ranma seen him this angry, or manifesting this much battle aura.

'He's a monster!' Ranma blinked, hoping that what he was seeing was some kind of mirage. Calming himself, he was only consoled by the fact that, unlike Happosai, Ryouga couldn't project his aura, though the intensity was eerily similar in that both were beyond Ranma's experience with the phenomenon. The flames seemed to recede a bit, as Ryouga lowered his arms and gained more control, until they burned only a few inches from his body, now tightly under control.

Ranma moved, when he saw Ryouga's eyes finally focus on him totally, and still caught the edge of the heel kick to the abdomen. The world became blurry for a second, and he was thankful that he'd had his Ki to cushion the blow, or else it might have blown his (her) kidneys out through his back. As it was, he was damn stunned, and crashing into the wall didn't do anything to help. The pigtailed boy-turned-girl didn't see the next blow coming, but he knew it was, and focused on moving to the left. Blurring from the motion, Ranma barely avoided an axe chop that shattered the wall behind him into so much dust and gravel.

'I need time to think! Need time!' Ranma's mind raced, desperate, as Ryouga's eyes again fell on him. His elbow proved to only be a fake, and when Ranma dodged it by a hairsbreadth, the Lost Boy's knee connected with Ranma's sternum, knocking the wind out of his transformed female body, and sending him into the air. The pigtailed boy/girl got only a few inches skywards, when a backhand intercepted him and send him screaming like a misguided rocket into the ground, tearing a long furrow into the ground.

"Ryouga! STOP!"

"Damn it! You're going to kill him!"

Ryouga skip-jumped over to where Ranma lay, bruised, beaten and bloody, his head lolled off to the side slightly, a swelling eye and bloody lower lip marring the otherwise good looks of his female form. His clothes were torn and dirty as Ryouga lifted him by what was left of his collar, straight armed, and shook the body slightly. Ranma blinked, and slowly came to, his vision messed up by his left eye. He reached up, trying to pry Ryouga's fingers lose from his shirt, but found it impossible - it was like trying to bend a vice made out of inches of tempered steel. With his last bit of energy, Ranma's feet blurred in a version of his Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken, striking Ryouga's chest and midriff hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds. None of the blows seemed to even warrant the Lost Boy's attention.

A simple heat butt had Ranma seeing a miniature version of the cosmos.

"Having fun, Saotome? Was it worth it?" He shook Ranma again, harder this time. "Was it worth it? Answer me, you bastard! Because it'll be the last thing you ever say... to anyone!!"

"Freeze!"

"Put the lady down NOW!"

Ryouga's eyes moved to two police officers that had just left their car, as it was still rumbling, the engine left on. They both had pistols drawn, the usual .38 caliber revolver, aimed at him, and only then did he notice that the streets were almost deserted. Had he been in possession of a clearer head, just then, he would have realized what the situation appeared to be: a large, angry and dangerous looking man holding a beaten and battered woman up like a rag doll, shaking and yelling at her. As it was, he saw the guns and dismissed them as any threat. They were aiming at his chest. His Tekimen Kongou Gishu made him effectively immune to being shot there, and at this range he could probably dodge the low powered bullets if he had to.

Who was he to be concerned about the Law, anyway? Hadn't this always been the plan? Killing was against the law, so he'd end up facing the police sooner or later. What did he have to lose at this point in his life?

"You're more trouble than you're worth Saotome." With a sneer, he dismissed the officers and faced Ranma, leaning in closer. "I hate you, do you know that?"

Ranma spat something unintelligible, and Ryouga gave him another hard shake. "How do you like being toyed with, huh?" The lost boy then got ready to finish the job with a tried and true uppercut-to-the-sky. The final blow. "Wait for me in Hell, Ranma!"

Gunshots.

'They actually shot at me? Damnit...' It was Ryouga's experience that most Japanese officers would much sooner run at an offender with their baton out and whistle blowing. Ryouga turned, intending to take the bullets to the chest and discourage the two unusually aggressive police from interfering. It had worked before, but when the three rounds hit, instead of feeling a hard, but not piercing impact, he felt almost nothing. The impact was wrong. Not like before at all. Surprised and puzzled by this, when Ryouga looked down at his torso, he saw three red stains on his nice yellow shirt that Ukyou had given... him.

The pieces instantly fell into place, but it was too late to do anything about it. His carefully controlled aura faded like a blown out candle, and his grip on Ranma's collar disappeared. He heard some shouting - Nabiki's voice mixed with Akane's, and the police yelling something. He was still on his feet, and stumbled forward a little, when another three dull thuds, almost knocked him back and off his feet. Again, he analyzed the unique feeling, amid the growing dizziness. Running his hand down his face, and by his neck, he felt a spurt of wetness, and was distantly glad it was too warm to trigger his curse.

He blinked a few times, and felt another of the odd feelings just under his shoulder, as a fast blur hit the two things in the distance. Suddenly thirsty, he licked his lips and tasted coppery liquid that he finally connected with blood. It wasn't refreshing. He wanted some ice water, not over his head mind you, which would set off his curse, but some ice water in a nice glass. Maybe he should go to the kitchen and get some? With a straw - maybe a curly straw, like his mother used to give him. Blinking again, he found himself swaying a bit, falling out of someone's grip, and hitting the ground. It was softer than his previous experiences with concrete. Looking up, he saw brown hair and brown eyes: Nabiki. She seemed to be saying something, probably complaining about all the blood on her nice money-green shirt.

Gods, what a headache he had.

Author's Notes

The storyline is most closely following the manga, but I'm not shy to dip into the anime as a supplement. I can imagine people saying right off the bat that Ryouga's too powerful here - keep in mind the months of intense training and wandering he's gone through, and his renewed focus on beating Ranma for the sake of beating Ranma. This Ryouga is both less obsessive, less naive, and more willing to think things through, because of his greater experience, and his 'getting over' and recognition of his infatuation with Akane relatively early in the series.

Without her being the prime focus of his world, this Ryouga has become more like he initially was rather than what he eventually became. The same Ryouga who picked up his Iron Cloth techniques, weapons, etc... on his own, between chasing Ranma into China, and appearing in Nerima maybe a year or two later (or much less, if you subscribe to Genma taking Ranma straight to Jyusenkyou in China, getting cursed, and being back in Japan just a few weeks later). He also recognizes things more as they are - don't expect him to attack Ranma out of the blue yelling, 'Apologize to Akane right now!' He is, for all intents and purposes, Ryouga before Akane kissed his pig form.

This mentality, combined with his training and experience makes him extremely formidable, though it should be noted that Ranma himself is rapidly improving and starting to catch up - Ryouga knows this, and expects it almost eagerly. In earlier versions of this chapter, a rough chart was - here - with estimations of relative character strength and the like. In this, version 1.4, I've decided to move the chart to the chapter just after the Final Duel (Chapter 14) wherein I'll make a more exact version of it for those who are interested in such things. Though it is important to remember that more than fighting statistics decide who wins and loses, and who lives and dies.

The other potential bone of contention is probably how I portrayed Ryouga's intelligence and his academic standing. He never seems to go to school, and never even gives it much thought beyond being there to better know Akane. Now, either he's dismissed academics altogether, or he studies by himself. Given a non-Saotome family, even if they are absentee, I'd figure his parents would encourage the latter. His life divided then between martial arts, and his studies, and having pretty much NO knowledge of what he was supposed to learn in class... and you see how I got what I did. Those who remark to Ryouga's stupidity, I point to this: He somehow tracked Ranma all the way to the exact right part of China, survives on his own, tracked Ranma back all the way to the exact school he was attending, and numerous other things. It's largely his obsession with Akane, and his naiveté, coupled with his curses (which he cannot help) that make him foolish in the manga (anime Ryouga is far more comic in nature). Again, before his infatuation and eventual listless love with Akane, he seemed to be of above average intelligence, IMHO.

As my mother always says, there's a difference between book smarts and common sense. On the occasions Ryouga's academic standing have been brought up, though never revealed fully, he proved a dedicated student and one willing to study. His personal self-doubt, however, and constant problems with Happosai and Ranma in regards to Akane, precluded any verification of where he would, or would not stand. So, using my Writer's License (tm) to solve the issue in a manner befitting my mad schemes.