Interrogations

"It's been awhile...Nabiki."

Nabiki looked a bit startled but recovered quickly, "How do you know my name?"

Ryuu smiled lightly, guiding everyone to a large lounge room, "Well, Nabs-Can I call you that?"

"Preferably not."

Ryuu shrugged and opened the door for Sasha, Sam, Nodoka, Kasumi, Nabiki and Shampoo. Mike, Jon, and him followed shortly after.

"You were a part of my life several years ago, Nabs."

Nabiki sat down on one of the seats scattered about the room and thought back on her life. It was a minute or two before she shook her head, "I don't think so, I'd like to believe I'd remember having interactions with someone like you, Ryuu-kun."

Ryuu sat down between Sasha and Kasumi and acted hurt, "Your words wound me, Nabs."

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair, "Though your lack of memory is understandable. 4 years can change a person dramatically..."

Nabiki gave Ryuu a blank stare while she tried to figure him out. Sam, who was walking to her seat, poked Ryuu in the back of the head, "Why don't you elaborate for her, dumbass."

"Fine, fine," Ryuu leaned forward as he thought about what he would say, "Let's see...last you saw me was when I was 18, a couple days before I left. Anyway, over the course of 4 years my hair, which used to be solid black, gained blue stripes and a haircut. It used to be long enough for a pony tail."

Sasha leaned over a bit and started to play with the hair near the nape of Ryuu's neck, "You're going to need a haircut soon, in another week you'll be able to wear it in a ponytail..."

Ryuu shivered at the contact, "Yes, dear."

Mike, who tried to get a seat farthest from Ryuu, made whipping noises and gestures, "Whipped!"

Ryuu, being the diplomat he is, got up and walked over to Mike. He stared him in the eyes for a second for punching him, "Jackass," He muttered as he walked back to his seat.

Kasumi leaned forward a bit to see Mike better as he lay sprawled on the floor, "Oh my. Will he be alright?"

Jon nodded, "Yeah, this happens all the time. Mike should know better by now..."

Xian was quiet for a moment before she started bouncing in her seat with her hand raised, "Oh, oh! I know what hasn't changed in over 4 years!" Ryuu raised an eyebrow and nodded for her to continue, "You're still violent!"

Nodoka nodded in agreement with Xian, "I'd have to agree with her on that note."

Ryuu groaned, "Man, now everyone's ganging on me..."

Sasha patted his head, "Now, now. You need to keep telling Tendo-san all about your changes. You can't do that if you're whining."

"I'm not whining."

Sasha nodded, but it was clear she wasn't exactly convinced. Not that he put up much of an argument either.

Ryuu sighed, "Alright, alright...um...lesse, oh! When you knew me I had this incessant fear of cats."

Kasumi smiled her trademark smile, "Don't forget how, with a simple application of cold water, you turned into a healthy young woman."

"Don't remind me."

"Why? You turn into a handsome tiger now," Sasha said.

Ryuu smiled, "Quite true, quite true."

Nabiki had been sitting there in shock as the truth hit her like a large pillow slammed into her face at 35 mph, "...R-Ranma?"

Ryuu clapped his hands, "Excellent detective work, Nabs. Would you like a cookie for your efforts?"

"But...why?"

"Why do you want a cookie or why did I leave?" Ryuu asked raising an eyebrow.

"The second one," Nabiki said.

Ryuu shrugged and leaned back in his chair, "Simple really. Akane betrayed me for the last time."

"That's why...she was engaged to Ryoga so fast after you left," Nabiki said to herself as if just realizing it.

Ryuu raised his eyebrow again, "How fast?"

"...4 days," Nabiki winced at Ryuu's look of anger.

Sasha blinked, "Girl works fast, doesn't she?"

"That bitch! It took me an entire year to get over her betrayal! She doesn't even have the decency to give me an entire week!" Ryuu started taking deep breathes trying to calm down. Both Sasha and Kasumi placed a hand on his shoulders in a comforting gesture and he gave them looks of thank before turning back to Nabiki again, "Did your father and Genma know about them?"

Nabiki shook her head, "None of us had a clue about it until you left that day."

Ryuu nodded in understanding before pausing, "How come you didn't know?"

Nabiki looked away, a bit ashamed of the reason herself, "They dated outside the Tendo-ke. Otherwise I would've found out and told you."

Ryuu smiled softly at Nabiki, "Thanks, Nabiki."

Nabiki nodded at him before he continued talking, "How did dumb and dumber react when they found out?"

She held her hands up and shrugged, "Same old, same old. One cried a river. The other cried Niagara falls."

"And what about your reaction?"

Nabiki shook her head, "I was mad at Akane. Because she betrayed you and because she didn't realize your feelings for her sooner, though you two were always pig headed."

"Glad to see the Ice Queen cares," Ryuu paused, "How'd she get Suon to agree to the engagement between her and Ryoga?"

Nabiki shook her head, "He didn't at first. He was adamant that she marry you. But Ryoga proposed, after two days of collecting courage, she accepted and was sickeningly happy. Suon, seeing his 'baby girl' so happy, couldn't hold up his resolve for very long and cracked."

Ryuu shook his head in exasperation, "Soft bastard..." he mumbled, "Never did have a spine of his own."

"Gotta admit though," Nabiki cut off his muttering, "You really didn't have one either."

"Did too!"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at him, "Really? Is that why you had 4 fiancées?"

"3. The day Kodachi counts is the day I take up a harem of young ladies and pronounce myself the pimp of pimps."

Nabiki couldn't help but laugh a little at his reference, "Alright, but you still had multiple fiancées."

Ryuu nodded, "It's not that I didn't have a spine. I just...(sigh) there was no way out of that mess without someone getting hurt."

"So you strung them along."

Ryuu nodded again, "Didn't have much of a choice. But it doesn't matter now, it all worked out in the end."

"Though you ended up with the short straw...again."

He shrugged, "Maybe I did. But I like to think I got the better half of the deal in the end."

"Oh?"

"Yep, I met some really close friends, and met a beautiful young woman who I now share a home with," He smiled at Sasha as she blushed badly at his compliment, "And what'd Akane get? Ryoga."

Nabiki nodded, "You definitely got the better deal."

Ryuu nodded (they do that a lot), "Onto another topic though. One question has been plaguing me for awhile now..."

Nabiki's eyebrow did a spock maneuver, "Really?"

"Why do you listen to our band? I mean, I'm not complaining. I'm just...curious." Everyone else nodded their head in agreement.

"A friend of mine took me to New Jersey for a week, something about my needing a vacation. Anyway, we found Uncle Dan's bar and enjoyed a couple of drinks. We were about to leave when you announced yourselves. We decided to stay and listen. We ended up enjoying the show...a lot."

Mike, having just recently returned to his seat from his position on the floor, asked, "What was your favorite part of the show?"

"It was the energetic Ryuu and the way his voice captivated the audience...You reminded me so much of Ranma and how happy he was on peaceful days," Nabiki smiled softly at Ryuu, "Now I know why."

Sasha wrapped her arms around Ryuu's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Hey, now, no flirting. He's my man now," She winked.

Nodoka got a twinkle in her eye, "Oh, my. My son's so manly!"

Ryuu groaned, "Kami, not this again..." Nabiki couldn't stifle the giggle his words brought and Ryuu raised an eyebrow at her, "Is the Ice Queen...melting?"

"I do believe you're right Ryuu-kun," Kasumi said.

Xian decided to add her own two cents, "Either that or her act is rusty."

"Or maybe being 23, almost 24, has softened her up," Sam said.

"If that's the case, Ryuu's no longer prude," Nabiki said.

Ryuu picked Sasha up and sat her in his lap, "We've already worked on that," Ryuu said smirking.

Nabiki blinked, "Oh my."

"That was unexpected..." Mike said.

Jon blinked, "Ryuu was prude?"

Kasumi giggled, "I think Nabiki stole my line."

"Line?" Sam looked around the room for something, "We use scripts!"

Everyone sweat dropped in response.

Mike shook his head, "No, Sam. Life doesn't use scripts."

Ryuu nodded, "Yeah. It's more like Who's Line Is It Anyway?"

"Except Drew Carey isn't there to tell us what to do," Sasha added.

Jon blinked again, "Wow. Today's full of surprises, ain't it?" Ryuu shot Jon a questioning gaze and he explained, "First, I find out that at some point in your life, you, of all people, were prude. Now, you shock me with an interesting philosophy of life, albeit it's a crude philosophy...but one none-the-less."

Mike blinked in response to Jon's explanation, "Wow, Jon's got a point."

"Which means I must go to work and rectify this matter!" Ryuu exclaimed. Sasha giggled in his lap and simply smiled at him.

Nabiki nodded to herself, "Today has definitely been a strange day."

(-)

This is the area where I could probably complain, and bitch, and moan about how hard the entire scene above was to write. But at the moment I have a headache and a lot of sounds are reverberating through my head...which makes a cool effect for when you listen to System of A Down and Slipknot and Breaking Benjamin...

(-)

After Ryuu had made his proclamation to rectify Jon's statement everyone had decided a better place to hang out would be someplace they could eat, in Mike's words. So they went to Nodoka's house.

Now Ryuu was sitting on the back porch with Sasha next to him, both of them conversing as he wrote down lyrics to a new song. Nodoka was doing things in the kitchen with Kasumi. And everyone else was gathered around the low table simply talking.

"So what has Ryuu been up to?" For the past hour Nabiki had been questioning Jon, Sam, Mike, and Xian about Ryuu's life, seeing as how he wasn't going to participate at the moment.

Sam shrugged, "Skate boarding, writing lyrics..."

"Torturing Matt," Mike added.

"Hanging out with us, spending personal time with Sasha," Jon said.

"And don't forget getting arrested for arson," Xian said.

"Once! You get caught once and you never live it down!" Ryuu yelled in protest from the porch.

"Once...in Japan," Sasha said.

Ryuu looked at her, "Thanks for standing up for me, Sasha."

She smiled, "Welcome, dear."

Sam decided to answer Nabiki's unsaid question, "Ryuu's been arrested 4 times for arson."

"3 times! The 4th was an accident!" Ryuu protested again.

"An accident?" Jon said, "Ryuu, you set the fucking neighbor's cat on fire."

"It isn't my fault. Mike hit in the back with a spray of ice cold water...I dropped the match in surprise," Ryuu explained sheepishly.

"Twice for trespassing," Sam said.

"Matt changes his security system 3 times a month," Mike said by way of explanation.

"And once for breaking and entering," Sam said.

"Are you serious?" Nabiki asked.

Jon shook his head, "He knows half the police force on a first name basis."

"Wow."

(-)

Later on that night found me on the roof of Mom's house. We called Robert earlier, a little after dinner I guess, and told him we'd be at my Mom's place.

Everyone was asleep in the house. Sam, Sasha, and Xian shared a room and Nabiki shared a room with Kasumi. Jon, Mike and I were in my old room. I was the only one not asleep, or so I'd thought.

(-)

Ryuu sat on the roof and stared out at the stars and moon. The only sounds heard were the nightlife around him. And if he hadn't mastered the Neko-ken he wouldn't have heard the silent sound of a ladder being propped up against the side of the house.

He waited until they were standing on the roof slightly behind him before speaking, "No matter what state or country, the roof of a house with an excellent view of the night sky will always be my favorite place to be. It's always been a place of thought and insight in my life. And for me, that held a lot of meaning, constant chaos left little room for insightful thoughts.

"The roof was always my spot. My thoughts were thought there. My feelings were released there. And the stars...were my companions...They were the only thing I've ever thought was a constant in my life. I've been all over the world, and everywhere I go, the stars are always the same."

It was silent for a minute before Ryuu spoke again, "When I came to the Tendos I envied you all. You had things that were always there; when you woke up in the morning, there was a roof over your head and breakfast to look forward to; in the evening you would go to school, and when you returned you had a home to go home to.

"You never had to worry about keeping a distance from people for fear of moving on and having to leave them behind..." he laughed wryly, "Look at me now, mister philosopher...What do you need Nabiki?"

Nabiki stepped forward and sat beside him on the roof before speaking, "Do you...still care for Akane?"

Silence reigned for several minutes before he answered, "Yes...and no. I care enough that I hope she dies a natural death. But I wouldn't mind if a few choice herbs spurred that natural death along. That and I hope Ryoga's sterile. We don't need anymore pig-headed assholes running around Japan."

Nabiki smiled softly and nods. Another moment of silence envelopes them before Nabiki breaks it, "...So, what's constant in your life now?"

Ryuu smiled, "The stars, my friends, my mother, my fans, my memories -both good and bad-, and...Sasha."

Nabiki tilted her head, "You really love her...don't you?"

He nodded, "Yes, and I don't plan on messing this time."

Nabiki smiled, "Good," She got up and started moving towards the ladder. A few ladder rungs before she disappeared from his view she stopped, "Oh, and Ryuu?"

"Hm?"

"You'll invite me to the wedding won't you?"

"Wouldn't dream of having you not go."

Nabiki smiled again and disappeared from his view. Ryuu sighed and looked up at the stars. If he closed his eyes he could see Sakura smiling down on him, happy that he'd moved on.

"For what it's worth, I still love you too, Sakura," He smirked as he imagined her reaction in his mind. She probably would've sweat dropped but kept the happy smile on her face, as forced as it would've been. Then, when they were alone, slap him upside the head before giving him a quick kiss.

And then he imagined Sasha's reaction to the same sentence, also imagining that she knew of Sakura, and found them to be very similar. The only difference being Sasha would've smacked him with a used skateboard.

He chuckled and counted windows before sneaking into the room Sasha shared with Sam and Xian through the window. He silently crept up to Sasha's futon and kneeled beside her.

He kissed her forehead before whispering in her ear, "Sleep well, Love."

(-)

Now here would be a great time to say, that it would be perfect if I'd gotten caught and bashed over the head by one of Xian's famous bonbori...but sorry to disappoint all you sadistic bastards out there, I did not get caught. At least I don't think so...

(-)

As Ryuu silently crept out the room he failed to catch the smile serene smile on Sasha's lips as she opened her eyes. As the door closed she closed her eyes, "Love you too, Ryuu."

To Be Continued...

A/N: Wai! I love writing this series! It's so fun! Anyway, as was stated before when I was pleading for your help, there are only a few more chapters left before this story is officially over. But let's not mourn until that last chapter is out, okay? Good. Now, I can officially read some fanfiction without feeling guilty about leaving this chapter half finished.

Remember all you beautiful reviewers, you! Reviews welcome! Flames not!