I don't own rnma 1/2.

Two days later, it was Akane's birthday and she wanted a birthday cake, but her father and Mr. Saotome had other ideas. Soun said, "You know Saotome, what more perfect way for Akane to celebrate her birthday than with a date with Ranma?"

Genma remarked, "You're absolutely right Tendo."

Unfortunately, Ranma and Akane weren't happy about what they heard. Akane cried, "Dad!"

At the same time, Ranma was getting majorly pissed at Genma, "Yo, Pop! What's the big idea!"

Genma's excuse was, "It's your duty, as Akane's fiancée, to show her a good time on her birthday."

Both Ranma and Akane rolled their eyes and sarcastically said, "Oh, great."

So both Soun and Genma started pushing their children out of the house with Soun saying, "Now I want you kids to have fun and don't come home till at least 9:00." Then the door slammed behind them."

Akane started up, "This is just great! I have to spend the evening with the biggest jerk in all Nerima!"

Ranma replied, "Oh, look who's talking? Do you think I want to go on a date with someone so uncute?"

"Why you," Akane screamed as she tried to whack Ranma with her purse!

Ranma sis a good job of dodging her until he saw someone. BAM! Ranma took a direct blow to the head. Ranma cried, "Oww! That hurt, you know!"

But Akane wasn't paying attention to him. She was starting to see the same person he was. Walking about 30 feet ahead of them was Ryoga. He had a piece of paper in his hand and he turned his head from side to side, as if confused about where to go. Does that suprise you? He turned around when he heard Ranma's voice, waved at them and called out, "Ranma, Akane!"

Akane motioned for Ryoga to come over and he did. Akane smiled and asked, "Ryoga, what's going on?"

Ranma, even though he heard Ryoga renounce his love for Akane, expected Ryoga to be trying to impress her. But he acted as if he was totally uninterested by simply asking, "Do you know where the Gambling King's Casino and Karaoke Club is? I'm trying to find it."

Ranma looked at him strangely and exclaimed, "What are you doing going to a casino! You're to young to gamble!"

Ryoga looked at him questionly and stated calmly, "Who said anything about gambling? Kayley works there."

Ranma asked, "Going to visit her, hmm?"

Akane had a sudden thought, "Hey, since Ryoga's looking for this place anyway. Why don't we yust go there too?" She asked, "Ryoga, can we come with you?"

He answered, "Sure, that's fine with me."

Ranma kept his eyes on Ryoga for 2 reasons; 1.) He was afraid that Ryoga might be eyeing Akane. He still can't believe Ryoga would give up on her so easily. 2.) Ryoga has a horrendous sense of direction. Without close supervision, Ryoga was bound to get lost. So after having to steer Ryoga back in the right direction three times, Ranma was dragging him along.

Akane noticed that Ryoga was constantly staring at a piece of paper in his hands. She asked, "Ryoga, what are you looking at?"

Ryoga said, "It's a letter from Kayley."

Akane took the paper and read;

Ryoga:

I got a job working at The Gambling King's Casino and Karaoke Club. I would really like you to come and visit me.

Kayley

Kayley smirked and handed it back to Ryoga and said, "I guess you've finally told her how you feel."

A...Akane. How did you...I mean...did Kayley...?"

Akane gigled and explained, "No, no, Ryoga, she didn't tell. I saw those looks you gave each other. Besides, girls know this kind of stuff."

Ryoga simply said, "Oh."

When they got there, it was almost 8:00. The Casino was very bright and very loud. On the casino end, they could hear kachinging sounds from the slot machines. On the Karaoke side, music blared from inside. Ryoga commented, "This is a lot like Los Vegas."

Ranma thought to himself as they entered the Karaoke side, "Man, Ryoga. Where HAVEN'T you been?"

They saw that Kayley was busy conducting music. Ranma whispered to Akane, "So, that's how she was able to do that song."

No sooner does the song end, then a girl named Tsubasa, the very thorn in Ukyo's side, taps Kayley on the shoulder. For those of you who aren't familiar with her. She is actually a boy who likes to crossdress as a girl. She requested a certain song that they didn't have a cd for, so they had to play it manually. As the music started, Tsubasa, in a slight and energetic tone, announced, "I'll sing Red Poppy. And this is for my Ukyo-sama and Akane-chan."

Her voice suddenly got really deep as she sang only the first word, before she got gonged.

When she had a chance to take a break, Kayley saw Ryoga, Ranma and Akane. She waved and ran straight to Ryoga. They hugged each other as Kayley said happily, "I'm so glad you made it."

She led them to an empty table and finally acknowledged Ranma and Akane, "Hey, what are you two doing here?"

Ranma spoke up, "We saw Ryoga and SHE," pointing to Akane, "decided that we should come here."

Kayley teased, "So I guess this is a double date."

Ranma piped, "ME! Date her! Get real!"

Akane was ready to belt Ranma, screaming, "What does THAT mean?"

Ryoga rolled his eyes and commented to Kayley, "They'll never make it as a married couple."

Kayley smiled at Ryoga and said, "Actually, I think they make a perfect couple."

This made Ryoga wonder, (Do girls really know this stuff?)

Akane whispered something about being bored and Kayley whispered back. Then all of a sudden Akane asked, "Ryoga, why don't you sing something for us?"

Kayley's eyes lit up as she begged, "Oh, yes! Please! I want to here how you sound."

Ryoga looked at her like he didn't want to, but then he noticed how excited Kayley was. That look was all it took. Ryoga smiled and said, "Alright."

Now nervous isn't the word for how Ryoga was feeling. Panic was more like it. Even so, he walked on stage and was instantly frozen by fear.Kayley decided to give him a confidence boost. She walked up on stage to him and said, "Ryoga, all you have to do is close your eyes and drown out everybody else from your mind." He did that, "Now, all you have to do is think about what you want to sing." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked back to her seat.

Ryoga was much calmer noe. He went over to the musicians to talk about a song and one of them held up a cd with the song he requested. He announced, "I am Ryoga Hibiki and I will sing Present." For those of you who know this song, it is the Ryoga image song from the Kakutou Kauruta cd. You can also sing along to this one too. The music began and he sang:

Oh, please accept My Song

It's just a very tiny PRESENT for you now

To you I give I Love You

I hear the alarm clock ringing

I see the morning light is brightly shinging in

And the sparrows are flying and singing their happy little song

What a feeling!

I hear our voices overlap, here in our hearts, in this one place

Isn't it just great!

Oh, please accept My Song

It's just a very little PRESENT for you

Oh, please accept My Song

It's just A very tiny PRESENT for you now

To you I give I Love You

Even Ranma had to admit that Ryoga was pretty good. Akane's jaw flapped open because she didn't believe he was the type that could sing. Kayley was just proud of him.

Ryoga made his way back to the table and Kayley ordered them food and colas. As they waited, Ranma asked, "What in the worl are we doing in a casino? The three of us aren't even 18."

Kayley explained, "Well, you see that man over there?" She pointed to a man with dirty blonde hair, a thick beard and a funky top hat. She continued, "He owns this place. Now you can't gamble anywhere, if you're not 21, except at his table. He lets anyone with money and a gambling habit play him."

Akane asked increduously, "Isn't that illegal!"

Kayley laughed and mentioned, "According to him, it's not." She whispered to Akane, "Can you get rid of the boys for a little bit? I want to ask you some stuff."

Akane turned to Ranma and bluntly requested, "Amscray!"

Kayley gently asked, "Ryoga, Honey, could you and Ranma go Karaoke for a while? Akane and I have to talk."

Meanwhile, Ranma griped, "Excuse me!"

"You heard me. Beat it, before I splash you!"

Ranma didn't want everyone and their dog to find out about his curse and he sure wasn't about to give Ryoga the chance to tease him. He grabbed Ryoga's sleave and grumbled all the way to the stage.

Now that they were free to talk, Kayley asked, "You've known Ryoga longer than I have. Could you tell me why he has risked his life for me? I don't understand why he has been so good to me."

Akane looked at Kayley strangely, but then she thought, (well, I guess if I was without a friend for so long, I wouldn't understand either.)

She thought for a moment before she spoke, "Well, Ryoga is kind and protective by nature. But with you it's different. He loves you and when someone's in love, they want to protect that person because they don't want to lose them. You love Ryoga, don't you?"

Kayley replied, "Yes, of course."

Then Akane continued, "Well, if the time ever came, would you risk your life for him?"

Kayley didn't respond. She had never thought about it before. Thankfully, a distraction kept her from answering. Up on stage, Ranma and Ryoga were gonged in the middle of a song. At first they started blaming each other for messing up the song. Then they started calling each other names that shouldn't be repeated in a polite conversation.

Akane rolled her eyes and commented, "Don't those two ever quit fighting?"

Ranma said something about Ryoga acting like a pig and that got Ryoga really mad. He grabbed the nearest glass of cold water and raised it threateningly at Ranma, while saying, "You wanna apologize?"

Akane saw a flicker of anger in Kayley's eyes a split-second before she threw a fork at them. The fork jammed itself into the wall right between Ranma and Ryoga. They both turn toward their attacker just before she barked, "Stopit! Both of you! You're martial artists, not little children!" She turned and walked off.

Akane called out as she followed, "Wait for me." This left Ranma and Ryoga rather embarrassed.

"Kayley! Stop! Wait for me," Akane called out! Kayley let her catch up. Akane asked, "You were a bit rough on them. They are boys after all." No offense to all male readers, but that is usually how a girl will respond.

Kayley said, "Maybe, but they don't have to be constantly fighting and make a fool out of themselves."

Akane put her hand on Kayley's shoulder and said, "Let's go check on the boys. Who knows what they might have gotten into."

A moment later, heard Ryoga cry out, "Oh, no!"

They saw Ryoga handing over all his and Ranma's money while Ranma slapped him on the back of the head gripeing, "'I know how to play this game,' You said. 'Don't worry,' You said."

Ryoga turned back to Ranma as the Gambling King happily took their money. Ryoga complained, "I said I knew this game. I didn't say I was very good."

Kayley came up to them and asked, "What's going on here?"

The Gambling King said, "HA!HA! Nice doing buisiness with you."

Ranma commented angrily, "More like we were given the business."

Akane broke in, "I can't believe you're so stupid, Ranma. Do you have any money left?"

Ryoga answered for him, "Sorry, Akane. He took all our money."

Kayley clapped her hand to her head and mumbled, "Oh, man. I can't believe..." She then sat down where Ryoga was.

Ryoga asked, "Uh, Kayley. What are you doing?"

Kayley was a bit annoyed, so it was no suprise that she was snappy, "I'm trying toget your money back."

The Gambling King asked, "HA!HA! What will it be, Missy?"

Kayley decided to lay down the law, "Okay, here are the rules. We play one game of Poker. If I win, I get all the money back that Ranma and Ryoga lost."

The Gambling King asked, "And what if I win?"

Kayley answered calmly, "You get the deed to my house."

Ryoga exclaimed, "No, Kayley! Don't bet your home over $150!"

Kayley told him, "Ryoga, when dealing with an expert gambler. You must be willing to up the stakes." She turned back to the Gambling King and told him, "Alright, deal."

He smiled and said, "I like your attitude, but you'll still lose."

The Gambling King started flicking out cards and all the while, Kayley was carefully watching him until he was finished. She did something strange then. She turned her head to the left to where she could only see out of the corner of her eye. After careful consideration, she threw away 3 cards.

Now the Gambling King thought he was being sneaky. He tried to slink his hand toward a different pack of cards, but a fist whizzed toward his hand and slammed into the table just in front of his hand. Shocked, he stared at his opponent. Kayley, who was in the exact position, responded, "You've got a perfectly good deck in front of you. Use it!"

Ryoga had been watching the entire thing, and not once did she look away from her cards. Or did she? He couldn't help but think, (What is she doing?)

The Gambling King plopped down his 2 cards and then tried to reach into his pocket, but Kayley snapped, "Don't even think about it, Pal."

He grumbled as he got his cards from the appropriate deck. When he looked at his new hand, he laughed and showed it, saying, "I have 3 kings."

Kayley smirked as she told him, "Heh, I've got a Royal Flush. So hand over that $150."

Ranma and Ryoga split their money, offly enough, Ryoga had $100.l As he counted his money, Akane watched, dumbfoundedly, "Where did you get all that money, Ryoga?"

Something you should know is that Ryoga's dad is a wealthy businessman. No joke. Have you seen Ryoga's house? It's very nice. So therefore, Ryoga is actually well off. He said, "I got it out of a ATM machine." He showed them his ATM card.

Akane said, "Thank you for helping the boys. Isn't that right, Ranma?"

Ranma sort of grumbled his thank you and Akane smackex him on the back of the head. I guess he still doesn't trust Kayley. Ryoga also gave his heartfelt thanks and Akane asked, "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Kayley asked, "Well, it's late. Could I...Have some company going home." So they all agreed.

As they left the casino, Kayleycasually put her arm around Ryoga's and smiled. Ryoga asked, "You're not mad?"

She said, "Well,to be candid, I was a bit annoyed. But everyone makes mistakes and they learn from them."

Akane heard Ranma comment, "I don't get her. One minute she's really mad, the next she's not."

Akane didn't really have an answer for that question. (Maybe she's the forgiving type,) She thought.

Akane decided to make casual conversation, "Kayley, I hear you've been to alot of places. Which one is your favorite?"

kayley sighed, "Oh, that would have to be Colorado. Imagine a place where the water is like a mirror. The air is so sweet and the ground is saturated with gold."

Akane sighed, "Oh, wow! I want to go there."

Meanwhile, Ranma snickered, "Give me a break. GAAK!"

Akane had just belted Ranma over the head with a mallet. Where does she get those things? More importantly, where does she keep them? She screamed, "You insensitive jerk!"

Ryoga shook his head and raised it again to find something unusual. He brought it to Kayley's attention, "Hey, look! Something's on fire."

Kayley saw what Ryoga was looking at and cried out, "Oh, no! My house!"

Kayley was running as fast as she could with Ryoga and the others following closely behind. It was just as Kayley thought. her house was on fire.

When the others caught up to her, she was in a total state of shock. Ryoga put his hand on her shoulder and said, "kayley?" She slowly turned around to face him and he asked, "Are you okay?"

kayley's eyes swelled with tears as she wrapped her arms around Ryoga and cried miserably. Ryoga tried to comfort her in a soothing tone. Just when she was starting to calm down, Ryoga heard a whizzing sound just before Kayley let out a gasp and quickly fell limp. Ryoga saw a dart stuck in her back.

He saw a strange young man appear in front of the burning house. Ranma and Ryoga both felt a powerfull, evil ki from within him. Ryoga quickly set Kayley out of the way, then he and Ranma quickly got into their fighting stances. Without turnign his head, Ranma told Akane, "Akane you better get out of here."

Now Akane thought that Ranma was saying that she would be in the way, but that wasn't the case. As I mentioned earlier, Ryoga wasn't stupid. Ryoga deiced to use reverse psycology, "Akane, I really need you to Take care of Kayley. Pleas?"

Akane nodded and ran over to Kayley. Meanwhile, the man demanded, "Give the girl back. her master is impatient and wants her back."

Akane said, "Master! Kayley is a person, not a pet. If she belongs to anyone, she belongs to Ryoga."

The man objected, "That's where you are mistaken, young woman."

He started towards Akane and Kayley and Ranma leaped at the man, yelling, "Oh, no you don't!" he then proceeded to use his Chestnut Fist against him, but the man easily evaded the punches. The man roundhoused Ranma, knocking him into the ground.

Ryoga knew right away that this man was trouble by the was he easily took out Ranma. So Ryoga had to find a wayto defeat him and fast. Then he saw his opportunity. He jumped over the man and managed a midair roundhouse, knocking him into Kayley's shed. That was the only thing of hers that wasn't on fire. He then yelled, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" He aimed his index finger at the shed and jumped over the man.

As Ryoga's finger hit the shed, the whole thing exploded. Ryoga made a quick rebound while the shed colasped on the man.

Ranma was composed again so while Ryoga was picking up Kayley, Ranma said, "Akane, let's get out of her! Now!"

Normally, Akane would have popped off to Ranma, but under the circumstances, she didn't argue.

As they ran, Kayley was slowly acting like the dart was trying to wear off. Akane, meanwhile, commented sadly, 'This is horrible. I can't believe someone would burn her home."

Then Ranma cynically added, "Believe it, Akane. There are cruel people out there capable of anything."

Ryoga got to thinking, (I've got a home. I can't find it most of the time, but at least I know I've got it. Dear Kayley has lost everything. I've got to do something.)

Kayley was slightly more alert now, so Ryoga made a decision. He told her, "Kayley, you're coming to stay with me. I'll take care of you from now on."

Kayley's brain was so fogged up, she didn't really know what Ryoga was saying. She only knew that she could hear his comforting voice. So she simply smiled.

Ranma and Akane exchanged worried glances and Akane ran forward to Ryoga and asked, "Ryoga, don't you think that Kayley needs to stay in school?"

Ryoga said, "Yeah, I guess so. But how is she gonna survive without a place to live?"

Akane knew that Ryoga was right so she offered, "She's gonna stay at my house."

Ranma literally blew a gasket, "She's NOT staying with us!"

Akane retorted, "You're going to let her stay or Nabiki will find out that you flirted with Kuno when you were trying to get him to shave his head." For those of you who don't recognize the reference. Read the manga issue titled "One Hairy Day."

Ranma shook in horror. A fight with an evil Oni, that he could handle. Staring down death, that was fine by him. But Nabiki, information in her hands meant almost certain humiliation or bankruptcy. Whichever came first. So Ranma grumbled out his permission.

Several times, Ranma would have to go after Ryoga, because he would take wrondg turns until finally, Ranma was getting pretty mad. Ryoga was still carrying Kayley because she was still really out of it. The last straw for Ranma was when he, and Akane took a left and Ryoga started to take a right. Ranma grabbed Ryoga's arm and Kayley slipped out of his hands.

Luckily, Ryoga was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Ryoga made sure Kayley was okay before his anger turned to Ranma, "Don't EVER do that again!"

Ranma involentarily stepped backwards. He could feel Ryoga's overwhelming anger, not only anger, but sadness as well. Ranma knew Ryoga was prone to bouts of depression, but this was different, more harsh. Akane must have sensed the same thing because she begged, "Please forgive Ranma. He wasn't trying to hurt Kayley but it's been a long day."

Ryoga added, "It's been even longer for her." He turned to address Ranma, "Kayley told me that you hate her and I don't know why. She just helped us get our money back. She helped your entire school keep from cleaning toilets. She even forgave you for that bathroom incident. What has she done to you?"

It was true, he did hate her. But he had to ask himself why. Was it because of her connection to Saffron? Or was it because she knows a technique that could take down even the strongest of men?

Instead of answering, he started to stare at his feet. The rest of the way they remained deathly quiet.

At the dojo, Ryoga layed Kayley on a cot that Akane had made. When he started to get up, he felt a tug at his sleave. She was awake, but obviously very upset as she begged, "Ryoga, don't go. Don't leave me."

Ryoga really didn't want to leave her, but he didn't think he could stay, "Kayley, I really don't think that Ranma will..."

At that very moment, Ranma interrupted him, "Ryoga, there's no use in sending you you away this late at night. I think that there's a spare room you can use for tonight."

Ryoga's eyes became thoughtful. He would never admit it to Ranma, but he was grateful to him at that moment. As Ranma and Akane left to give them some privacy, Ryoga layed next to her and said, "I'll stay right here till you fall asleep."

Kayley smiled as she tried to go to sleep and whispered, "I love you so much, Ryoga."

After she finally went to sleep Ryoga, fearing that if he wasn't guided to his room that hr would get lost, made sure Kayley was warm then fell asleep next to her with his cheek touching her's.



How touching but will they be able to live happily ever after?