Hunters

Ryouga Yagami

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

'I'm hungry. I think I don't eat a decent meal since...', the bandanned man dressed with a black shirt and pants, holding an umbrella and a backpack tried to remember his last good meal, 'Forget it, maybe the last good meal I had was before I left Liaris. And her...', he shook his head, 'But this was two years ago, she must not remember me anymore', he thought with a sad smile.

The bandanned man walked some meters and looked at a sign, 'Yusan... well, it doesn't matter where... I'm going to, I need to... find that demon... and rest too'

The man walked through the streets under the glares of everyone.

"He is strange, isn't?", he heard someone comment.

"Look at his backpack, it's huge. And why is he with that umbrella? The sky is so blue that I'm sure it will not rain today", another guy said.

'Stupid people, they should care about theirselves before talking about me', the man thought. Suddenly, a scream caught everyone's attention, 'Someone is in danger... but I don't have... energy...', he closed his eyes and his aura was visible. Somehow, he got forces to run to where the scream came.

---

"HELP!", a little girl screamed. In front of her, a hungry dog was staring at her. He already bit her arm, and ripped part of her dress but she escaped. Everyone around was static.

"My baby, someone, please, save my baby!", a woman yelled, but people around her just looked away or pretended they were not seeing the scene. The woman ran to her daughter, but something caught her attention.

An umbrella.

And it hit the dog, just when he was ready to catch the little girl.

Everyone turned their heads to where the umbrella came. There was a man, visible tired, doing an incredible effort to keep on his feet. He walked and stayed between the little girl and the dog.

From distant, a woman was watching the scene amused, 'Maybe he is the man', she thought and watched.

The dog and the man were glaring at each other. The dog jumped towards the man, but was punched away. This was not enough to knock the dog out, as he was ready to combat again. The dog jumped again, but when he was about to reach the man, his instincts told him to stop the attack. It was late as the man caught the dog with his belt and threw him away. The dog landed on his feet and was about to try again, but the man's eyes were full of anger.

'What a stubborn dog!', the man thought and looked inside the dog's eyes. "Get out of here", he ordered and continued to glare at the dog.

The dog's glare was full of hatred, but his instincts warned him to go away. And that was what the dog did. He ran away.

The man looked to the girl and being sure that she was fine he smiled, "At least, my efforts weren't in vain", he said and collapsed.

Before anyone could help the man, two soldiers came and got him.

"Hey, where are you taking him?", the little girl asked and one of the soldiers kicked her out of the way.

"This is not of your business", the men walked away.

Behind them, the woman holding a ribbon and a ball smiled, 'He is perfect for me', she thought and laughed.

THE FEARLESS UMBRELLA, RYOGA

Yusan, lunchtime

"Ah, finally meat!", Ranma yelled and began to eat like there was no tomorrow.

"Ranma! Watch your manners, use the utensils!", Hakeda punched him on the head.

"Stop, Hakeda! What did you want me to do? We passed twenty days on the sea and ate just potatoes! Potatoes! I don't want to see potatoes for the rest of my life"

Hakeda crossed his arms as he had finished his meal, "I can't blame you for that. But at least we know how to do any dish with them", he smiled, but Ranma didn't pay attention to him, just to the meat, "Did you hear what I said?"

Ranma looked at Hakeda, "Huh? Oh yeah, whatever", he said and ate again.

Hakeda sighed and waited Ranma finish his meal.

"Ah, that was good. And I still have some space for dessert", when Hakeda looked at him wide eyed he laughed, "I'm serious, man, but right now I don't want anything", then he looked around, "Wow, this city is full of life. Lots of people"

"Well, Yusan is the only sea side city of Kazima. It's natural to be like this", Hakeda said.

Ranma sighed, "But I still miss the calmness of Kusanagi. I have to go back, no matter what"

"You will go back, don't worry. It's jus...", Hakeda stopped to talk when a man ran through the streets yelling.

"People of Yusan! Ryoga Hibiki, the dangerous hunter, was captured yesterday by our loyal soldiers!", people around him yelled and cheered.

"Dangerous hunter?", Ranma asked Hakeda.

"Yeah", he answered still looking at the street, "Ryoga Hibiki killed several soldiers of these lands. It seems even army is looking for his head"

"Army? You must be kidding", Ranma said, but when Hakeda shot him a blank look he understood he was not, "Wow, this guy must be cruel"

"People say that he is cursed, just like you"

"Cursed? That would not be very strange", Ranma said and remembered his father telling him a story of a man that turned into a panda and in his panda form the guy got out of control, "What is his curse?"

"Nobody knows. Nobody survived in a fight against Ryoga Hibiki in his cursed form. Must be something very dangerous. Usually he transforms when it's raining"

Ranma's eyes widened, "Raining? Then his curse...", suddenly he stopped.

"What's wrong Ranma?", Hakeda asked.

"I need to talk to him, maybe his curse is the same as mine"

"Are you crazy? This is Ryoga Hibiki we are talking about!", Hakeda exasperated. He even stood up. Then he looked around and noticed that everybody was looking at him, "er... ah... I mean, Ryuga Hiniki... my cousin...", then everybody went to talk about other subjects, "Ranma", Hakeda murmured, "Ryoga Hibiki is not someone you can talk. He is very dangerous. Maybe he doesn't even know a human language"

"How do you know? Have you ever talked to him?"

Hakeda blinked, "No, but killing lots of soldiers..."

"Then, we are going. Or at least me"

Seeing that Ranma would not give up of this idea, Hakeda just sighed, "Ok, but don't tell that I didn't warn you"

Ranma smiled, "I knew you would agree, now let's go"

"You can go anywhere you want after paying for what you ate", a muscular man said and held Ranma by his collar.

"What the...", when Ranma saw the guy who was holding him, he thought it would be better talk to him in a polite way, "Oh, of course. Hakeda, pay the man, please", Ranma said, but got nothing from Hakeda, except a surprised expression. Then, he looked at the man again, 'No way I can beat him after eating so much', he thought.

"Well, where are the dishes?"

---

In a fort, a semi-dark room, morning

"I can't do it and... I don't want to", Ryoga Hibiki said and was punished again. One of the soldiers didn't feel any guilty in using his whip on an already injured and tired man, 'You will pay for this', he thought.

"Too bad", the woman in black leotard and a red mantle said. She approached Ryoga and put a hand on his face, "What's the problem with you? Am I not so gorgeous and spectacular?", the woman asked with a seductive smile on her face.

Ryoga spat some blood out, "Listen, miss Kodachi", his eyes were covered by his hair, "I don't want... to marry... you", and after sometime he said it, he passed out.

Lady Kodachi put a hand over her chest, "Oh, such love he feels for me and don't know how to express it...", she said, then turned to a soldier, "Put him on the cross and let him under the sun. Maybe the heat can put some sense in his head"

"Yes, Lady Kodachi", the soldier said and left.

Lady Kodachi looked at Ryoga again, "So shy to confess...", she said and left too.

---

Yusan, restaurant, kitchen

Ranma and Hakeda were doing the dishes in silence. Suddenly they looked at each other, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!", they said in unison.

"I thought you had the money", Hakeda said after sometime.

"Humpf, Captain Gambarou paid you, not me", Ranma said.

Hakeda's eyes widened, "What!", he exasperated, "I talked to Captain Gambarou and he said that he paid everything to you!"

"What are you talking about!" Ranma yelled, "I talked to him and he said that he gave my part to you since we were going to travel together"

Silence.

"He fooled us!"

---

In a fort, patio

From where the soldiers were training, under the sun, they could see the image of a man tied on a cross, with an umbrella on the ground. Ryoga Hibiki was in a state of almost sleeping, where reality and dreams are not well defined. He looked at the soldiers training and saw people of Liaris, his homeland, working.

He worked with his father breaking rocks and trained the Umbrella Martial Arts. His mother died when he had three because of a sickness. He smiled as he remembered his father. He was always there for him. Especially because of his directional curse, a way Ryoga's father found to seal a demon. All the males after Ryoga's father would have this curse so the demon would be sealed. To keep the seal, Ryoga had to have a son and so on. He didn't complain, since his father was a good man, but still needed to win his shyness and find a girl who would not care about this problem and have a son.

Ryoga found this girl. He met Ukyo when he was eight. She was running, trying to get a thief that robbed her father. Ryoga was on the thief's way and stopped him. The thief had a pendant in a hand and Ryoga got it. This was the first time they saw each other. The boy blushed when he handed the beautiful girl in front of him the pendant. Ukyo didn't understand why the boy was so red, so she thought that he had a fever. She took his hand (this did Ryoga blush even more) and brought him to her house, so she could take care of him. Since then, both became friends. Some years later they were in love, even if they didn't admit it. After many tries and training in front of a mirror that once was his mother's, Ryoga admitted his feelings for Ukyo. She accepted him and everything seemed to be going well. But destiny had to interfere...

In the middle of his thoughts, he heard footsteps. His vision was blurry, but he knew there was a woman and three soldiers in front of him, "What... do you want?", he asked.

"I can see that you are breathing", Lady Kodachi said, "I'm here to hear you say that you will marry me"

Ryoga smirked, "Forget... about it... I'm not marrying you"

"Such stubborn guy...", Kodachi sighed, "And fell in love with me", she put a hand over her forehead, "But he is very shy to admit he love me", she said looking at the sky, "Or...", she paused and looked at Ryoga, "maybe he thinks he is not worth of a person like me... this is so sad, so tragic"

'You are the sad and tragic person here', Ryoga thought.

"Let's make a deal, my dear Ryoga. If you survive twenty one days in this cross, then I let you are free"

"Twenty.. one?"

"I like the number", Kodachi said and her soldiers facefaulted, "Quiet! And get his umbrella", then turned to Ryoga, "So, what do you think?"

"I'll face this as a challenge... and I accept it", he said.

"You have no chance dear", she said and laughed, "Bye bye, Ryoga dear", and left.

"Hey, we need more people to help to carry this!", a soldier yelled and more five soldiers came to carry Ryoga's umbrella.

Ryouga lifted his head and looked at the blue sky, 'Damn it, no rain. Ironic, the beast I hate is my only salvation', then he felt fatigue over his bones and pain in his muscles.

"I... can't... give up..."

---

The same fort, night

"Ranma, this is not a good idea", Hakeda said.

"Stop being a chicken, man. We are only going to talk", Ranma jumped the wall and helped Hakeda.

"I know, but they say Lady Kodachi is not a very kind hearted woman"

"I don't care...", then Ranma saw the cross, "Look, there is a guy...!"

Hakeda put a hand over Ranma's mouth and whispered, "Do you want them to wake up and come to get us?"

Ranma took Hakeda's hand out of his mouth, "Oh, shut up, man", suddenly he saw a shadow moving, "Hey, Hakeda", Ranma pointed the little shadow.

Hakeda looked at the place Ranma pointed and his expression was of surprise, "A little girl? What is she doing here?"

"Don't know, but we are going to investigate", Ranma said and jumped inside the fort.

"Hey, wait... this Ranma", Hakeda sighed and jumped.

They walked trying not to be noisy. They were behind a building, very near to the cross, when they heard the man on the cross saying:

"Who is there?"

---

Ryoga and Ukyo were in a forest talking and having a good moment. Suddenly she was crying and saying that she didn't love him. She transformed in the demon that cursed Ryoga and said, "Cursed...", very slowly and opened his mouth ready to eat him.

"Huh?", Ryoga looked around, 'That nightmare again. Since I left her...', he closed his eyes. A noise caught his attention, "Who is there?", he asked and opened his eyes again. He saw the little girl he saved the day before from a dog.

"H... hi...", she said shyly. Ryoga was going to send her home, but the look in the girl's face melted his heart.

"Hi. Are you ok?", he asked after noticed some bandages on her body.

"Yes... thanks for saving me. Mother is very happy I live"

Even if it was night he could see that she was blushing, "What... are you doing here?", he asked after a moment of silence.

The girl got her bag and took out a bread, "I... brought you food", she said.

Behind the building, Ranma and Hakeda were hearing the conversation, "It seems that even bad guys have some fans", Hakeda said.

"Seems that Ryoga saved that girl from something"

"Yeah, I heard that too. But this doesn't mean he is not a bad guy"

The little girl tried to put the bread on Ryoga's mouth, but he was very high for her to reach. Seeing that she would not have success she began to cry silently.

"Why are you crying?", Ryoga asked.

"I... can't help you... even food...", she said under her sobs.

"Nonsense", Ryoga said.

The little girl looked at him surprised.

"Just you coming here is a great help. Thanks", the little girl continued to cry, "Now, go home before someone see you here"

"But..."

"No more... buts. Go, before I get... angry"

The little girl smiled to Ryoga, "I... I want you to be ok"

Ryoga smiled back, "I promise I will", and then, the little girl walked away.

"That was so... beautiful...", Hakeda said as Ranma handed him a handkerchief.

When she was distant enough, Ryoga closed his eyes again, "Ok, now you can get out of there", he said. Ranma and Hakeda were surprised, but appeared.

"And who... are you?", he asked.

"Ranma Saotome and Kouzou Hakeda", Ranma said, "We came here to talk"

"Did you have to say my name?", Hakeda complained.

"Talk? With a man almost destined to death?"

"Maybe you want us to release you", Ranma said and Hakeda froze.

Ryoga studied Ranma, "No, that Kodachi said that if I stayed here twenty one days, I would be free. And I said that I will do it"

Ranma blinked, "Twenty one?"

"Yeah, she likes the number"

Hakeda rolled eyes, "Yeah, good excuse"

"Anyway, I need to talk to you about your curse"

"Ranma, take it easy, maybe he doesn't like to talk about it", Hakeda whispered to him.

Ryoga looked at Ranma, "What... do you want to know?"

"Is it true that you change into a beast in contact with water"

Ryouga winced as he remembered his cursed form, "Yeah... Why do you ask?"

"Because... I have this problem too...", Ranma blushed a little, he didn't like to seem weak near people, "I was cursed during a fight..."

"Just like me", Ryoga said.

Ranma blinked, "You too? Well, I was cursed by a demon, but I killed it after that..."

"You... didn't"

Ranma looked at Ryouga, "What do you mean?"

"When you are... cursed by a demon... the only way to be cured is... killing him", Hakeda noted that Ryoga seemed very tired.

"There's no way, I... I...", Ranma tried to finish, but couldn't. He didn't want to believe that actually he didn't kill that demon, "But..."

"Ranma"

"What is now, Hakeda!", he asked angrily.

"He is tired and we are risking to much staying here. Let's go now", he walked away.

"But... I... I have more things to ask"

"You can ask him later. He is already in that cross, he doesn't need to be interrogated", 'And it isn't like he's going anywhere… thank god', Hakeda thought when he saw that the man in front of them was indeed strong.

"Hey", Ryoga said interfering in their discussion, "Get that bag, please", he asked. Ranma got the bag and looked at the contents inside, "What does it have?"

"Cookies, bread and some water", Ranma said.

"Good, now take these cookies and put them on my mouth", he said as he opened his mouth the more he could.

"Are you sure?"

"C'mon, man. I'm saying you can do it"

Ranma put five cookies inside and watched as Ryoga ate them. He gulped and said, "Now the water"

Ranma got the bottle and put it in his mouth. He drank all the liquid and seemed satisfied,

"Thanks"

---

Yusan, next day

"Such a strange guy, isn't?", Hakeda asked.

They were in a tree where they had to pass the night since they had no money, "I think he is not what people say", Ranma got a fruit and ate it, "But he said something... is there any chance of that demon...", he paused, "C'mon let's take a walk"

Both were in silence. Ranma very worried about what to do, 'And if I really didn't kill that demon? I don't even remember his name... barely can remember his face... damn it!', he thought.

Hakeda tried to comfort his friend, "Don't worry about it, Ranma. Maybe it's better for you look for this demon. Maybe what Ryoga said has some sense"

"Maybe...", then Ranma heard two soldiers talking.

"... at the end of the week, that guy is dead", Ranma stopped to hear better.

"Ryoga? But I thought that he had twenty days yet", another soldier said.

"And do you think Lady Kodachi can wait that much? She already called mister Keita to finish him tomorrow"

"What!", Ranma yelled and looked at the soldiers. They looked back and Ranma realized he put himself in problem. But he was very angry with the soldiers and wasn't on the mood to say something. They say actions speak better than words.

The soldiers fell on the ground unconscious after Ranma's attacks. Hakeda yelled behind Ranma, "Hey, what are you doing!", and both ran away.

"I'm decided, Hakeda. I'll take Ryoga out of that cross. Or my name is not Ranma Saotome"

---

If you read One Piece by Eichiro Oda, you know this was based on where Ruffy meets Roronoa Zoro.