Ryoga's Girlfriend

Chapter 15: The End

The trio ran across school grounds until they were finally out, now officially ditching school; not like it was their first time anyways. Both Ranma and Akane now being hoisted off the ground with how fast Ryoga was going, clearly he had some things to get off his chest.

Eventually, they were far away enough from the school to have a private conversation, which coincidentally led them to their local park, thankfully only old people and birds were the only ones around as school wasn't even over yet.

Ryoga came to a screeching halt, turning around to address the two, Ranma's eyes wide and Akane breathing just a little deeply, "Alright you two, let's talk." Ryoga commented, showing how confident he had become.

"We were trying to! But you just kept running!" Ranma barked, annoyed that Ryoga had pretty much dragged the two across the district without letting them get a word in.

"So... the park?" Akane questioned, panting a little, until composing herself.

"Honestly, I really didn't think this far ahead, cause I know Ranma here," the fang toothed boy gestures to Ranma, "Freaks out whenever anyone's looking." Ryoga expanded on.

Ranma's eyes widened for a second before he crossed his arms and looked to the side, a light tinge of red on his cheeks. Akane, for her part, looked down a little, she was kind of the same, which is why most of her near romantic moments with Ranma didn't always involve an audience or rather she'd like it to be a private moment, however, fate was cruel to her, for whatever reason.

"I'm tired of all this beating around the bush..." Ryoga turned to Ranma, as did Akane, "You both know why we're here."

Silence befell the three, both Akane and Ranma suddenly becoming a little stiff.

Ryoga sighed and tilted his head down for a second before picking it up again, "Fine. I'll start," Ryoga looked towards Akane. "Akane, what I said still stands, as long as you're trying to get with Ranma, you're my rival and I won't let you have him without a fight." Before Ranma could protest, Ryoga's eyes darted to the pig-tailed boy. "Even with what you said to me before, Ranma!"

Ranma flinched in response to Ryoga's outburst but shot back, "I already told you-"

"Don't give me that Ranma!" Ryoga shot back, taking a step towards the pig-tailed boy, glaring and baring his fangs as if he were looking for a fight.

"But how do you know, Ryoga!?" Akane exclaimed, making herself known, blushing a bit as she saw Ranma noticing her stand up for the idea as the two of them being a couple, Akane gulped before continuing. "How do you know if Ranma really doesn't mean what he said?"

Ranma's breath quickened as it showed a level of fear when the prospect of not exploring his feelings towards Ryoga surfaced.

"Because Akane, people often speak without words..." Ryoga replied, having watched Ranma the moment Akane asked her question. "I just saw Ranma's breath cut short, the look in his eyes, all signs that he doesn't think the same, at least, not completely I hope." the Lost Boy added somewhat hesitantly.

Ranma found himself feeling embarrassed for being so easy to read, as being a martial artist usually meant that he had to keep his composure or risk letting enemies in on his attacks, in this case, however, there was no fist to fist contact, there was simply three people trying to make sense out of their strange predicament.

Akane just so happened to look at Ranma when Ryoga spoke, only to see how he was fairing in this discussion, she saw that Ryoga was indeed right. The signs were all there, it wasn't as simple as just stating what you felt, sometimes body language factored into it.

"That's something you really should have understood about yourself Akane," Ryoga commented, bringing up old wounds, the lost boy showing some uncertainty in his words. "How many times did I show you that-that I wanted to be more than friends, huh?" he questioned with a downtrodden look to him.

Akane felt backed into a corner, unable to say anything in retaliation to Ryoga's words. She looked towards Ranma for help but saw that he was going through his own things at the moment.

"That's your biggest problem Akane, you can't read people! All you do is jump the gun whenever someone challenges your precious way of life!" Ryoga exclaimed with enraged but hurt looking eyes, pointing at her.

"What about you!?" Ranma shouted, finally having something to say. "That's what you do too, how many times have you shouted "Prepare to Die!"? Without even knowing what's going on!?" Ranma roared in some hopes of keeping his own feelings at bay.

Ryoga took a step back, seeing Ranma defend Akane, "I'm not going to lie anymore Ranma, you're right," Ryoga lowered his head a bit. "I-I... need to stop being such a damn hypocrite!" Ryoga declared, raising his head and baring his teeth.

"There's no running from it! No matter how much I want to!" Ryoga added, choking as he spoke.

Ranma's only tool for fighting was immediately shot down, all he could do was remain speechless, feeling just as cornered as Akane was.

Ryoga breathed heavily, feeling as though he lost some oxygen to his head, swearing internally that being this honest was somehow shortening his lifespan; an embarrassed blush on his face.

"Why are you saying all this, Ryoga?" Akane asked, now seeming a bit more timid, quite vulnerable now that Ryoga had managed to drop so many barriers.

Ryoga paused for a moment, taking a shallow breath as he readied himself, "What I wanted to get at was... I'm sorry I've been lying to you for so long, Akane..." Ryoga gave a pause to allow Akane to gasp, as her reaction got a rise of fear out of him, but he urged himself to continue, "I'm sorry if it looks like I'm attacking you, it's just that, I just wish we could still be friends too..." he yellow-clad man admitted.

Akane seeing this, felt a pain in her heart as she remembered something from a while back, missing her conversations with Ryoga, he was someone she could vent her problems out to, someone who would offer support even in her worst moments.

This was genuine, this was him actually reaching out to her and letting her know that though things between them were estranged, he still enjoyed the time they spent together. However, they knew that a relationship like that wasn't impossible, given the simple fact that they were there for who got to be with Ranma.

"And what do you got to say to me, huh?" Ranma asked, sounding somewhat defensive.

"What's there left to say, Ranma?" Ryoga asked, looking into his eyes. "We've already said everything..." the lost-boy blushed, then looked away. "At this point it'd just be so Akane hears it..."

"Ryoga... this isn't just about you saying you're sorry to me, is it?" Akane asked, sounding scared but knowing that they had to continue, because honestly, she wanted to reach a conclusion just as much as Ryoga.

Both Ryoga and Akane looked towards Ranma, who noticed their eyes settling on him. The boy in question leaned back as he was now the center of attention. "W-what?"

Akane and Ryoga looked at one another, sighing in frustration, "Ranma, who do you actually want to be with?" Ryoga asked.

"We have a right to know," Akane stated, giving a somewhat harsh expression to her.

Ranma took this in and found himself closing his eyes, trying to make sense of it all, here he was, trying to decide whether to end up with Akane or Ryoga.

Akane had quite a few moments where they nearly found one another falling into a deeply romantic moment, however, Ryoga had history along with a strange rival slash friend angle, someone who could understand Ranma at the same level as a martial artist.

But what about all the times he had called her name? And where she had done the same? Ranma's mind thought back to those times. The way he cared so much about her, what his life would mean without her, though thankfully he never had to imagine it for too long.

Though like a sudden blip in the darkest recess of the oceans, the memories between Ranma and Ryoga resurfaced. All that Pigtailed boy had failed to recall between their reunion.

Despite everything between them, no matter what came between them, they were always pushing each other into new heights.

It was far from perfect or even what either had expected but little by little, mutual trust began to take place between them. All of these coincidences began to take on romantic airs within Ranma's mind, since there were definite moments of weakness between them.

Moments of denial, only serving to drive the tension between them to near inappropriate heights. Some of which were so strong, Ranma couldn't help but look off to the side with a disgruntled blushing face.

Compelling all these feelings and all these memories around the two, Ranma was finally allowed the weight of each instance to stew.

All the while, Akane and Ryoga waited patiently for their answer. For once, both were stone faced and looked ready for whatever their answer was. Still, there was little more they could do but wait for inevitable results.

Time continued to tick on though, each passing second more unbearable than the last. For both knew that if Ranma lost his nerve again, they could possibly be stuck in another relationship limbo.

"Ran-" Akane's stone face faltered, her expression softening as the question posed seemed too much for Ranma.

"Akane," Ryoga called to her quietly, eyes glued to the blue-eyed boy's.

Seizing her attempt at gaining Ranma's attention, the youngest of the Tendo's peaked at Ryoga from the corner of her eye, seeing that he hadn't stopped waiting for Ranma to make up his mind.

"Don't…" Ryoga's voice trailed softly as his eyes gently narrowed, showing his own signs of concern but letting her know that they had little choice but to stay still.

"After everything we've been through, after all the times we've fought, you know, I've always had your back…" Ranma spoke out a somewhat hitched and hoarse voice, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

Pulled back from the pits of despair the two hopefuls eyes widened, Ranma was talking about one of them! Though when their study returned to the pigtailed boy, they saw him clench his fists in frightened determination.

Terrified at the implications of Ranma's next words, their fight or flight instincts failed them as they stood still. It was now or never but knowing one could still stand a chance at staying by Ranma's side, well, it was enough for them to hold their ground and close their eyes.

With silent tears in their eyes, Ranma began to walk towards them. Both Akane's and Ryoga gasped as the sound of Ranma's hands clapping against fabric was heard.

"Akane…" Ranma's throaty voice called out painfully.

The blue haired girl felt her face going red, her eyes splitting the tears she had built up, opening them to see the man she had secretly yearned for.

"What R-Ranma?" Akane questioned, feeling her heart pounding in her chest to the point she swore her ears went a little numb as well.

Sadly, however, she wasn't greeted with a warm or comforting expression from Ranma. What she actually saw was a man gritting his teeth, a single tear coming down the side of his face.

The more she watched, the more inner turmoil she witnessed, his breathing was hurried as well as panicked, his blue orbs darting left then right frantically, as if disarming some bomb before taking a quick but deep breath.

Ranma steeled his resolve! For what though? That was what Akane dreaded most. "I used to think that maybe, maybe you and I could be more than just friends, that maybe, we were sorta' meant to be," Ranma said, his face softening to a melodramatic frown.

"Used to?" Akane's voice asked, sounding defeated as her vision blurred, new tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

Watching from the sidelines was the Lost Boy, looking as though he wanted to act but the two he'd have to confront were very dear to the confused yellow-clad teen. All he could do was let Ranma say his peace then wait for his turn.

"Then I thought about how much we liked one another, how much we had in common, but that was the problem you see…" Ranma's voice trailed as he explained, feeling a great weight begin to ease off his shoulders.

"H-how can having things in common be a problem, Ranma?" Akane questioned in disbelief, blinking in confusion.

"We got things in common but not in the right way," Ranma answered, avoiding Akane's pleading eyes that threatened to bawl out in tears.

"Right, way?" Akane's strong demeanor collapsed from what she was hearing, her shoulders dropping as all her defenses had come tumbling down.

"Akane, fighting is my life, I've always wanted to show the world how strong I can be," Ranma revealed, finally saying all that had been bothering him.

The girl with the Azul hair remained silent, she didn't want to be the best that there ever was; she could only be Akane.

"But ever since Pops and Soun said we were engaged, I forgot about that, I started settling into a different kind of life ya know, one that wasn't me…" Ranma explained further, tightening his grip on Akane's shoulder, though, not painfully by the looks of it.

"So it's not enough for you," Akane mumbled softly, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"I felt trapped, like no matter what I did, even if I think about settling down like everyone else I'm always going to want to be honest with myself…" Ranma said, his eyes softening.

Ranma's words sank into the two, he was finally letting go of the insecurities that kept them from moving on.

"I guess t-that means the engagement is off then, huh?" Akane asked with a hurt voice, averting her gaze to hopefully spare herself some pain.

Ryoga looked away, of course, on a certain level he felt bad for everything but just because they were an unusual coupling, that doesn't mean that they didn't deserve a shot at each other's happiness.

The fang toothed boy gasped silently as he looked at Ranma and Akane, hearing the sound of two bodies colliding.

Right in front of him was the pigtailed teen and his former crush but they were hugging! However, it wasn't as he expected, from the looks of it they were both hugging the other apologetically.

Akane's arms were wrapped around Ranma's torso while he had one arm wrapped around her back but the other on top of his former fiancé's head. This was their moment, their time to bask in the idea one last time before their embers of passion faded into quiet non-existence.

Though they could not bridge the gap, they grew accustomed to one another, maybe they weren't the best of friends but their time together would be burnt into their minds and souls for the rest of their natural lives.

As they lingered, they recalled all the moments they genuinely enjoyed together, how they could sometimes put their issues aside and just stand together as friends.

Tears cascaded from their eyes, they slowly pulled back from one another. They knew that the other had been crying but for once, that didn't mean anything anymore, the barriers between them no longer served a purpose.

"I'll let you tell my Dad how you want to break it off," Akane said, being the first one to speak, using her index finger to wipe her tears off.

"Thanks for everything, Akane…" Ranma's voice trailed as he lowered his head, pulling away from her.

Wordlessy Akane tilted her head, a melancholic smile to her face forming before she closed her eyes and bowed her head, taking her leave right after.

Ranma raised his hand as if reaching out to her but about half-way through, his arm fell as he looked away from her.

The pigtailed teen lowered his head, taking a shuddering breath as he looked deep in thought.

Ryoga's eyes trembled as now it was his turn to receive an answer, with nothing to see as a positive he braced himself by freezing again, not even daring to blink as he watched his former crush politely excuse herself.

Tap!Tap!

Much like a movie character getting snuck up by the movie's monster, the fang toothed tee's eyes widened in slow terror. His eyes scanned Ranma's face for any signs again, anything he could use to let him breathe again!

Moving so that Ranma could stand in front of him, the lost teen cursed his luck, even when confessing, Ranma was still insufferably good at hiding his true feelings.

In truth, Ranma couldn't bear to meet Ryoga eye to eye, 'Really glad I haven't gotten a haircut in a while, now I can prepare for this…' he thought.

"Ryoga…" Ranma's voice trailed as he said the other male's name.

"Y-yes! R-Ranma?" Ryoga stuttered as he looked down, blushing with wide eyes.

"First off, I wanna' ask you sumthin'." Ranma started in a low rumbling voice, averting his eyes.

"What's that?" Ryoga asked, leaning his head back a little as he had expected Ranma to wait a little longer before continuing.

"You know I only acted girly to mess with you, if we get together, that'd change, and you'd be stuck with me, just me…" Ranma's voice trailed in uncertainty, wondering if that'd be utter torture for Ryoga.

"I don't see a problem with that," Ryoga answered softly, reaching up to scratch his cheek.

"Even if people call you a pervert? A freak? Some weirdo?" Ranma inquired with a quaking but skeptical tone, showing some resistance.

"I'm stuck wandering this world, I've been called everything under the sun in languages I never even knew existed," Ryoga answered, a melodramatic frown taking shape. "Being called a freak or pervert is nothing compared to missing out on our chance together…" The Lost Boy finished answering the question, stuffing one hand in his pocket and rubbing the back of his neck with the other.

"W-what makes you think we got a chance together?" Ranma questioned, trying to keep Ryoga from getting ahead of himself.

"The fact you haven't told me to get lost yet," Ryoga replied, raising his head to meet Ranma's trembling blue spheres.

Ranma's pigtail rose as if it had suddenly come to life, leaning his head back enough to reveal his lightly blushing face. "Maybe I was waiting until now," Ranma managed to say after taking a quick breath.

Ryoga went over to Ranma, no fear, no hesitation as he stopped before him, his longing look remaining. "Then do it, I'm ready…" Ryoga remarked, he knew what he was here for and now was the time to stop stalling.

Unexpectedly the blue eyed male leaned his head back, "If we're doing this, then I gotta' do it as the fake girl you were pretending to date…" Ranma answered, letting his voice trail as he made his way over to the nearest drinking fountain.

Ryoga couldn't help but swallow, Ranma hadn't outright rejected him like he was expecting but now he was trying to do what he needed as a girl? He lowered his head a little, 'Well, if our fake relationship has to come to an end, guess it's going to end the same way it started, I get it now…' the Lost Boy thought, his throat closing from the pain building up inside his heart.

The sound of hands slapping against a metal surface rang in Ryoga's ears. He lazily looked at her, his mind already expecting to see a face ready to push him away, instead he saw Ranma's hands on the edges of the drinking fountain.

She was hunched over, water dripping from her hair and face like little droplets of rain. From what he could see, she was taking in a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

Ryoga wanted to run, to do as he had been told to do before and live up to his title as the Lost Boy. Though he couldn't move from his spot, his pride and hopes wouldn't let him. His breathing quivered, baring his fangs but keeping his eyes glued to the concrete beneath him.

His thoughts ran frantically, trying to remember all the times Ranma had made his heart beat to what he would call to the rhythm of an intense drum. How she eventually wanted to become his friend, how they had shared heated kisses, be it to deter Kuno or ward off anyone else.

The way Ranma held onto him all those times, how despite her teasing getting on his nerves, there was something different about it, this time he knew there might have been something between them.

Now here he was, practically standing at the final door at the end of a long journey.

Ranma's soft footsteps hit his ears, each step like the ticking of a clock, there was no malice, no aggression. Ryoga flinched as he felt a hand touching his cheek, opening his eyes as he looked down to the damp redhead.

Even if Ryoga was scared out of his mind, that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate how beautiful Ranma was right now. "A-are you touching my face?" Ryoga questioned while leaning back a little.

The girl in front of him looked rather peeved but even if she appeared that way, she was still tenderly caressing his left cheek with her right palm. "Yeah? What about it?" Ranma asked in a slight huff.

"W-why are you though?" Ryoga inquired, clenching his fists as he had to keep himself from wanting to lean his face into her delicate but strong hand.

"I'm trying to get a good look at you, any more questions?" she inquired, raising an insulted looking eyebrow.

"Why do you need a good look at me?" Ryoga asked in annoyance, feeling a familiar flame rumble in his belly, 'Why does she always want to mess with me first! For once can't she just be direct!' he pondered in utter frustration.

"I need to know what I see in this ugly mug of yours…" Ranma's voice trailed as she redirected his eyes so that they were aligned with her.

"See in?" Ryoga asked, his mouth agape as it slowly dawned on him.

"You still ain't get it?" Ranma asked incredulously as she then tugged his ear down to her level.

"Ah!" Ryoga screamed as he was yanked down to her so his ear could be nearly against her mouth.

"I like you! You stupid pig-brained oaf! Hell I think I even lo-" Ranma exclaimed loudly into his ear, making sure the lost oblivious anime male protagonist could understand.

Being damn near to drawing to the same conclusion as Ranma, Ryoga found himself getting smacked by the news in the form of her screeching in his ear. Gritting his teeth while hunched over uncomfortably he managed to catch her last words.

'I think I even lo-'

Clasping her hands over her mouth she leaned back in horror, hating how Ryoga was able to make her poker face crumble so easily sometimes.

With Ranma's hand no longer painfully yanking his ear, he was able to recognize what she had almost said. "What did you almost say?" Ryoga inquired, eyes glistening as he felt the world around him begin to melt into the infinite nothingness.

With the cat out of the bag, she knew that she could say something, he was gullible enough but was she really choosing to ignore his warning? This was her chance to be honest. "I think, I think I l-lo-" Ranma swallowed painfully, leaning back with terrified but trembling eyes.

"Loathe?" Ryoga asked with a crestfallen face, losing his momentum. "But you still like me?" he seemed baffled for a moment.

Blushing Ranma narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth in sheer frustration, she was breathing heavily, to think he could still be this dense. "I love you! Okay! I didn't want to believe it! I didn't think I could!" Ranma confessed loudly, tipping herself forward a little from how agitated she was throughout.

"But here we are! And-And I don't know what to do!" she exclaimed in a defeated sounding voice.

The lost steam Ryoga had dropped slowly returned as he allowed Ranma's words to stick into his heart and soul. "When did you realize you could love me back?" he asked without thinking, letting himself speak from the heart.

"I-I aint sure, I think the time I started to feel it most was when you told me to put my mouth to better use," She awkwardly revealed while looking down.

Ryoga's eyes widened as his mind flashed back into that instant, especially what happened after that. "O-oh…"

"I also started feeling weird after Akane asked if there was something between us, but I gotta' know then pig-brain, did you lie?" Ranma wanted to know as she forced herself to take a step closer to Ryoga.

It was all out in the open now, but what were they to do with this? Now Ryoga was being pressed for an answer that he never thought he'd have to answer. "I-I did, I-I just didn't think you were interested in me then…" he replied in a solemn way.

"To be honest, I'd have probably freaked out if you asked then…" Ranma admitted averting her eyes, she put her arm behind her back to grab her elbow.

"Not everyday two rivals fall for each other," Ryoga mumbled as he gazed into the eyes he had called to battle so many times before.

"Ones that forget you, say you'll kill them, almost fall for the same girl…" Ranma said, listing off the things wrong with them getting together but still there was no hint in her voice that she was necessarily upset by all these facts.

Things were different now, they knew they were interested but could not bring themselves to act. Neither knew what else to say, they felt like they were stuck in a twilight world. It was neither day nor night, sounds were optional, all they could hear was the moment.

"Ones that wish you had ended up being friends, instead of enemies…" Ryoga's voice trailed as he got a smidge closer to the redhead before him.

"Ones that win you over, little by little…" Ranma's voice trailed while mumbling, reaching her hands up to rest them against Ryoga's chest.

"The ones you had wished you had told them you wanted to be friends sooner," Ryoga continued listing things, reaching his arms up to bring the redhead into his arms.

"Ryoga, since we're both actually guys, who's supposed to ask the other out?" Ranma asked curiously, looking off to the side as she looked nervous to the point she couldn't maintain basic eye contact.

"Me, of course," Ryoga answered with a deep voice.

"So, are you gonna'?" Ranma after a moment's hesitation.

Ryoga shut his eyes, feeling tears running down his eyes as a smile spread across his face but he couldn't help but feel better after getting everything out of the way. "Ranma Saotome, will you go out with me?" the raven haired teen inquired softly.

"Hmm," Ranma looked to think it over after all the things they had just been through. "Lose my house and home for someone I'm really into?" Ranma inquired to herself, blushing deeply but looking to be thinking it over in a playful way.

Ryoga felt that it had been smooth sailing after their most recent words but after hearing that after all this, Ranma was still willing to mess with him! Feeling like a nerve was about to burst, he clenched his fist with his eyes closed.

Ranma pulled her head back, her eyes shut as she waited for him to respond.

"D-did you just?" Ryoga questioned as one of his hands reached up to touch his cheek.

"I just said yes so be grateful dam–" Ranma responded with an agitated voice, shutting her eyes.

Before the redheaded beauty could continue, she was stopped by the fact she felt Ryoga's hand on her chin, tilting her head up to see Ryoga's closed eyes as he pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes shut but they still quaked in fear before eventually melting into a more relaxed look.

As they kissed the pressure and tension from all their previous encounters replayed in their minds, but despite all that separated them, they could finally focus on the moments between them where they knew the other felt the same.

Was this against everything Ranma was taught? Was this a risk on Ryoga's hopes of ever starting a family of his own? Yes. That didn't matter to the two fated martial artists, their lives brought them together in ways the two could never have expected.

Now they were going to find out what it means for them to throw away the shackles of expectations. The weight of their fathers wasn't something for them to be burdened with anymore, they were closer than friends.

Neither noticed as the light of a camera flashed briefly around them.

The ringing in their ears and the explosive relief washing over them took hold, refusing to let go as they continued to allow their instincts and passion to drive them. Unwilling to let up, Ryoga briefly remembered how he had also hurt Akane with his strength, so he could gently dip the redhead in his arms.

Ranma's focus remained on the simple task of kissing, that when she felt herself getting lowered a little she was pleasantly surprised by moaning a little louder when she was. For once, she was scared to be vulnerable but rather excited by it since she knew the person making her feel this way had only deep passionate reasons to do this to her.

"Mmm!" Ranma squinted her eyes as she felt Ryoga taking more charge, causing her disgruntled face to quickly vanish, replacing it with a look of calm but blushing face.

Instinctually she raised her leg along with her pigtail.

At first, Ranma was somewhat resistant, however, that familiar feeling sank in and allowed her mind to go blank as Ryoga took her breath away.

To Ryoga, this wasn't a kiss just to be fair, this was a lover's kiss.

Ranma was now at the point where she was just as into it as Ryoga, tilting her head to the side, parting her lips ever so gently as to keep going back in for more. Doing that, though, only caused Ryoga to become more confident, which in turn led to him French kissing the redhead in his arms.

Ryoga smiled tenderly when he felt her part her lips, after his smile the lost-boy took the redhead into his arms, one hand on her hip and the other on her cheek. Ranma flinched noticeably, her hair standing on end.

They both retracted from the other, desperately needing air at that point.

Panting heavily they gazed into each other's eyes, "T-take a breather there, w-we ain't even gone our first real date yet…" Ranma's voice trailed softly as she spoke through haggard breaths.

"A-are you really asking me to be classy for our first-first date after what we just did, Ranma?" Ryoga inquired with a smile and a light huffing.

"That was the only freebie Bacon-breath, next one ya' gotta' earn." Ranma replied, smirking softly with a coy but cat-like smile.

Ryoga's eyes softened as he gazed into his unexpected beauty's eyes, smiling as the tinge of pink on his cheeks darkened a little, "Alright," Ryoga said, shortly after answering he closed his eyes.

Both Ranma and Ryoga knew that the road ahead of them wasn't going to be an easy one, but since when were they known for doing things the easy way?

It's just who they were, it's what helped them come together.

What else could anyone have expected from…

Ryoga's Girlfriend.

THE END