The day after meeting Ryoga in a women's clothing store, Ranma stood outside Furinkan High, arms crossed. He gazed at the school's clocktower, eyes squinting in the sunlight. It was nearly 1pm, and Ryoga was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be seen. His face the picture of boredom, Ranma continued staring at the distant clock, counting the seconds as they slowly ticked by. 1pm. That was the latest he would wait. The moment the minute hand hit the giant number twelve, he booked it, not willing to waste another second that day on the directionless loser.

The days after that passed pleasantly. By Wednesday, Ranma managed to completely forget about Ryoga, just in time to catch sight of him during lunch in a hallway on the second floor of the school.

Staring at the boy incredulously, Ranma, currently Ranko, marched up to him, scowling. "Ryoga!"

He turned sharply to meet her, taken completely by surprise. "Ranko! You go to school in Kagoshima?"

"I…" Her glare instensified. "This is Furinkan, you idiot."

Eyes lighting up, Ryoga beamed. "It is!? Is your brother here!?"

Looking to the side for a split second, Ranko said, "Uh, no… not today." For a moment, she considered if it'd be worth it to go change somewhere nearby just to get the stupid fight over with... but it'd raise too many questions. Her teacher had already commented, more than once, on how unlucky it was that both Saotome siblings never seemed to be feeling well on the same day. "We keep catching each other's sick," Ranko explained, hoping the excuse would last. She'd have to start varying how many days in a row she attended school as either "sibling"... going back and forth each day wasn't going to go unnoticed much longer.

Balling his hands into fists, Ryoga said, "Damn! Well, I'll be waiting right outside. Tell him to meet me!" Before she could try to stop him, he bounded away, disappearing around a corner.

That was the last time she saw him… that week.

The following week, on a Thursday afternoon, Ranma was heading toward a café exit when the door swung open forcefully, knocking his drink right into his face.

"Ranko!" a familiar and unwelcome voice shouted. Ryoga stood in the doorway, staring at the now red-headed Ranma. "I'm so glad I found you! Your brother isn't here, is he?"

The rage burning within Ranma was tempered by the utter despair he felt while staring at his spilled beverage. "It's all gone…" he said quietly, eyes still on the cup.

"Oh no, you're all wet!" Ryoga said, eyes wide. "We should get you cleaned up!"

Ranma had no idea where Ryoga intended to do that, but apparently it was somewhere outside, as the idiot went right back out the door.

The next Ryoga sighting came remarkably quickly. Just two days after the café incident, Ranko walked into the changing room outside the furo, and directly into Ryoga. She tumbled to the ground, feeling like she's just run into a brick wall.

She heard a gasp, and looked up to see Ryoga staring at her, face bright red. Oh, right, she was still naked.

"Stop starin', ya perv!"

Shaking his head, the bandana-clad boy averted his eyes and offered a hand to help Ranko up. She slapped it away, rising to her feet by herself.

Keeping his eyes off her, his face still red as a beet, Ryoga said, "U-uh, so, R-Ranko... it's good to see you!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Crappy choice of words."

Beads of sweat formed on Ryoga's brow, his hands fumbling nervously with themselves. "S-s-sorry, I… Do you have any idea where I am?"

"In my friggin' house," Ranko said, crossing her arms but doing nothing to cover herself. "I mean, technically it's not my house, but I'm stayin' in it."

That familiar light appeared in Ryoga's eyes, even as they continued to look anywhere but at Ranko. "D-does that mean your brother is here too!?"

She grimaced. "He's… out. If you gimme a few minutes-"

"No problem!" Ryoga said, smiling awkwardly. "I'll just wait, um, o-outside..."

"Wait, don't-" But he was already out the door. Throwing on a change of clothes, Ranko tore the door open, but sure enough, Ryoga was nowhere to be found.

"...Dammit."

Three weeks later, Ranko was out shopping with Yuka and Sayuri again. She wasn't buying much this time around, but it was fun to hang out with her friends anyway. It was less fun to be back in a women's clothing store, though. She'd been dropping subtle hints for the past ten minutes that she wanted Yuka to hurry up.

"You almost done?" Ranko said for the sixth time, hovering near Yuka as she looked at the clearance section.

Not sparing Ranko a glance, Yuka said, "From now on, each time you ask that I'm staying here another minute."

Dammit. Pouting, Ranko turned away, only to lock eyes with Ryoga, standing a few meters away.

"Fuck."

Surprised by Ranko's curse, Yuka turned to look at her, and then to look in the direction she was staring. "Oh, it's that guy from a while ago! Didn't we meet him in this same store?" She frowned. "...He doesn't work here, does he?"

"No, he's just a moron," Ranko grumbled, stomping toward the lost boy, who hadn't seen her yet.

As she drew near, he finally took notice, breaking into a familiar smile. "Ran-"

Clamping a hand over his mouth, Ranko said, "No! No, we're done with that. We've gone in a damn circle with this thing, and it's over now!"

Ryoga looked utterly confused, not to mention embarrassed. When Ranko removed her hand, she found his cheeks were lightly flushed and his smile had gone goofy. "I-I didn't realize we had a… a thing…" he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Ranko clamped a hand over his mouth again. "That's enough outta you. Now look, I'm not lettin' you outta my sight until we get back to the Dojo." His eyes widened. "Yeah, we. You're comin' home with me, and stayin' there 'til you and me - ahem, my brother - have your fight."

Strong hands wrapped around Ranko's, pulling her hand away and squeezing it tight. "You would do that for - for me!?" Tears welled up in his eyes. "Never would I have expected such kindness! Your brother doesn't deserve a sibling so incredible, so compassionate!"

Despite how overwhelmingly irritated Ranko was about this entire situation, there was something strangely endearing about Ryoga. Not that she'd ever admit it. Sighing deeply, she wrenched her hand away. "I, um… thanks, I guess. Look, just… just stay right here, I need to talk to-"

"Oh, I've been standing behind you this whole time," Yuka said, wearing a shit-eating grin. Sayuri stood next to her, also throwing a huge smile Ranko's way.

"What!? Why didn't you say-"

"Psh, like we were gonna interrupt that?" Yuka said, still grinning. "That was so good I'd have paid for it, if they were selling tickets."

"We're just happy for you, is all!" Sayuri said, as though that made the situation any better.

Feeling like she was losing her mind, Ranko gripped her head with one hand, wishing she could just tear it off. "We're not - I'm not... what's happening here is not what you're thinking!"

Their smiles made it crystal clear they didn't believe her. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she turned back to Ryoga, who stood there looking confused. As he did.

"We're leavin', okay? I'll talk ta you two later." She grabbed Ryoga's hand, and immediately heard a gasp from Sayuri. Grinding her teeth, she didn't bother looking back as she yelled, "I gotta, okay! He'll get lost otherwise! ...It's not anythin' else!"

Giggles followed after her; why did she even bother?

Aside from some sputtering, Ryoga didn't make a sound as Ranko led him home. She glared back at him a couple times, but he always looked away, seemingly too nervous to do otherwise. It was exasperating… why didn't she hate it more?

Finally arriving back at the Tendo estate, Ranko led Ryoga directly to the dojo, stopping in her tracks a few meters inside when she noticed Akane there, practicing katas. It shouldn't have been surprising, but in fairness, her mind was all over the place tonight.

"You found him!" Akane said, wiping the sweat from her brow and breathing heavy. The sleeve of her gi rode up as she did so, revealing a glistening bicep, partially flexed.

"Y-yeah," Ranko said, transfixed.

Eyes following Ranko's gaze, Akane realized where the other girl was looking with a start. Snapping her arm downwards, her cheeks flushed more than they already had from the workout. "Ranm - R-ranko?"
Finally snapping out of it, Ranko shook her head and looked to Ryoga. He, too, was staring, though when he noticed Ranko had turned his way, he blushed and cast his eyes to the ground.

"Uuuuuggghhh." Ranko dropped his hand and stomped toward Akane. She was so done with this awkward blushing crap. "Could I getta word - outside?"

Blinking in surprise, Akane nodded, slowly.

Ranko turned on her heel to face Ryoga "You! Stay here! Don't ya dare try ta go anywhere else, 'kay!?" He gave no argument.

Outside, Ranko explained the situation to Akane in as few words as possible, and with minimal eye contact, her exasperation worn on her sleeve.

"Okay, I got it. I'll go let everyone else know." Her eyes flicked across Ranko's body. "I assume you're going to get some hot water first?"

Sighing, Ranko said, "Yeah. I gotta talk to this guy as my normal self, finally." After a brief nod, Akane ran off, and Ranko stuck her head back into the dojo. Ryoga was standing in the same spot as she'd left him, staring around the room. "Hey!" His eyes snapped to hers. "I'm gonna go get my brother, so… yeah, just stay there."

"Okay!" he said, smiling wide and giving a little wave. She hated that dopey grin.

It didn't take long for Ranko to get some hot water from Kasumi, so Ranma quickly found himself back in front of the dojo entrance. Finally, he could get this over with.

Kicking the door open for dramatic effect, Ranma strode confidently into the room. Instantly, Ryoga leaped at him, jabbing his umbrella forward like a spear. "Ranma! Prepare yourself!"

While Ranma had expected hostility, he hadn't expected it to be quite so... immediately violent. Barely managing to dodge out of the way, he shouted, "Hey, woah! Chill out a sec! Can't we talk 'bout this!?"

Swinging both his body and the umbrella around, the umbrella aimed at Ranma's skull, Ryoga said, "There's nothing to talk about! This has been a long time coming, so fight me, coward!"

Quickly falling onto his hand and doing a sort of one-handed cartwheel, Ranma kicked Ryoga's umbrella out of the furious boy's hands and to the ground. It crashed thunderously, tearing a hole in the wood floor of the dojo. "...The hell, man!? How heavy is that thing!?"

Still uninterested in words, Ryoga launched his arm out, towards Ranma's face. Dodging to the side, Ranma grabbed hold of the arm and used Ryoga's momentum to flip him over, right into the ground. Then he leaped away, putting some distance between them. "Ryoga, look, I get you're mad, but I don't wanna tear up the Tendo's dojo! I promise I'll fight ya tomorrow in front of Furinkan, but for now, can ya calm the heck down and tell me why ya hate me so much?"

Pushing himself to his feet, Ryoga glared at Ranma, breathing heavily. After a brief glance at the hole his umbrella had made in the floor, something seemed to click in his mind, abating his anger, or at least lowering its intensity. "Fine… If it was your dojo, I'd gladly tear it apart. But you said 'Tendo'... is that the family name of that girl who was just in here?"

"Yeah. Akane. It's her dad's dojo." He let himself relax slightly, daring to hope that Ryoga was genuinely done with his assault. Despite glaring daggers at him, Ryoga otherwise seemed fairly calm, and he'd dropped any semblance of a combat stance. "So, now that we're not trying ta hit each other anymore, ya mind tellin' me what your beef with me is?"

"YOU RAN OUT ON ME!" Ryoga bellowed, pointing accusingly, his entire body shaking in rage.

"I... uh…"

Taking a heavy step forward, Ryoga said, "Three years ago, you were supposed to meet me for a fight, but when I got there, you were nowhere to be found!"

Three years ago… Ranma had been attending a school for boys back then. As he recalled, Ryoga challenged him to fights constantly. Ranma always won, but Ryoga kept on trying. They usually fought at school, though... When had there been an alley fight…?

"Wait, I remember!" Ranma said, suddenly glaring. "I waited for you to show up for three days!"

"Ah!" Ryoga said, as though he'd won the verbal sparring match. "But when I arrived on the fourth day, you were gone!"

"Because we moved!" Ranma shouted, throwing his hands up. "I told ya we were moving! I told ya when we were moving! And the alley was right behind your house!"

"You know I have an awful sense of direction!"

"I didn't then!"

Only a few paces away from Ranma now, Ryoga clenched his fist, holding back tears. "I tried! I went through hell those four days, trying with all my might to get to the alley in time!"

Huffing, Ranma crossed his arms, his anger fading. "Look, I'm sorry it didn't work out, but I waited, and ya tried your hardest ta get there. Wasn't anythin' else that could'a been done."

Some of the tension in Ryoga's body seemed to ease, though his glare remained. "I… I suppose that's true." He looked away, lost in thought a moment, before he snapped his angry eyes back to Ranma. "But I followed after you! I tried so hard to find you these past three years, and I've gone through hell in the process!"

Unimpressed, Ranma said, "I didn't ask ya ta do that. That's on you, bud."

Anger fizzling even more, Ryoga said, "I… but! ...Hm." Pausing, he glared off to the side, lost in thought once again. When he finally looked back at Ranma, rather than angry, he looked determined. ...Like he had years ago, whenever he challenged Ranma to a fight. A strange pang of nostalgia hit Ranma's heart. "Fine, I guess, maybe, my anger is… misplaced. But!" He jabbed a finger at Ranma. "You still owe me a fight! I demand another chance to prove myself!"

Ranma sighed, but couldn't stop a small smile from forming. "Fine, fine. I already said I'd fight ya tomorrow." He grinned, his competitive edge creeping back. "But you know I'm just gonna kick your ass again, right?"

Returning the grin, Ryoga said, "Heh, underestimate me at your own peril, Saotome. It's been three years - I'm better than I used to be!"

"Heh, so am I! Better'n you still, for sure."

The two boys stared at each other, grinning and full of confidence. There was something in Ryoga's eyes other than determination… but Ranma couldn't quite place it. Which was fine, really. He was just glad Ryoga wasn't angry anymore.

"So," Ranma said, relaxing, "you good with sleepin' in here tonight? We can get you a mat and blanket, no worries."

Immediately Ryoga nodded, but a moment later his smile vanished. "But what if... " He looked at the floor, cheeks reddening again. Quietly, he said, "What if I have to use the restroom…"

That was… a good point. If Ryoga could get lost trying to get behind his own house, there was no doubt in Ranma's mind that he could get lost on the way from the dojo to the restroom. But what could they do? ...Dammit.

Sighing heavily, Ranma said, "Do you… need me to sleep in here with you?"

The light that instantly appeared in Ryoga's eyes answered the question by itself, but was confirmed twice over by emphatic nodding and the words, "Yes, that'd be great!"

Such a pain. "Fine… I'll be back soon, don't leave the room."

Returning to Kasumi, who was putting the finishing touches on dinner, Ranma briefly explained the situation and asked where he could find some extra mats and blankets. She told him where they were stored, but her face scrunched in concern.

"Have either of you eaten? Perhaps you should bring him over here for dinner with the rest of us? It's almost ready!"

Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling pretty hungry.

Five minutes later, Ranma and Ryoga were sitting next to each other at the Tendo family dining table, happily devouring their food.

"Their table manners are equally awful," Akane muttered.

Laughing, Genma said, "Ah, they're growing boys!" Akane's look indicated this wasn't a sufficient excuse.

"So, what's this I hear about a fight tomorrow?" Nabiki said, pointing her chopsticks Ranma's way.

"Ish jhust'a-"

"Swallow your food, idiot!" Akane shouted.

"He owes me a fight, from a few years ago," Ryoga said, while Ranma gulped down the food in his mouth.

After sticking his tongue out at Akane, Ranma added, "Yeah, so we're gonna fight outside the school. Pretty wide road, so hopefully not a lotta collateral damage." Shoveling more food into his mouth, his eyes lit up and he looked at Soun. "Oh, theresh'a hole in tha dhojo fler."

"What!?" Soun cried.

The rest of the meal went similarly, with Akane rebuking Ranma for talking with his mouth full at least three more times. Nabiki asked some more probing questions, like what time the fight was supposed to start, and Soun tried to get Ranma to explain more about the hole. Ryoga seemed to get along well with everyone; he was actually pleasant to be around, when he wasn't being a jerk or a complete moron.

Towards the end of the meal, Ryoga turned his head to Ranma. "Hey, where's your sister, anyway?"

Genma's head jerked to the side, eyes instantly on Ranma. "Sister?"

For a moment, time froze. Ranma was struck with the sickening realization that he hadn't thought this through. Akane's wide eyes indicated he wasn't the only one, though it was little solace. His mind raced, desperately trying to come up with a solution that would fix everything.

He had nothing.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Nabiki said, with a feral grin.

Making brief eye contact with Akane, Ranma nodded, and she nodded back. Then he grabbed Ryoga's arm and ran for it.

"Wh-what're you!?" Ryoga sputtered, too surprised to resist until they were nearly back inside the dojo.

Allowing himself to slow down, Ranma released Ryoga's arm and turned toward him. "Sorry, I, uh… didn't want to explain in front of everyone. It's awkward."
Utterly confused, Ryoga said, "What's awkward!?"

Ranma's mind flailed about for ideas, with no success. Finally, it found something. "Well, you see, my poor sister is sick!"

This didn't seem to lessen Ryoga's confusion. "She seemed fine earlier, though..."

Putting on a dramatic, sorrowful expression, Ranma said, "Yes, well… it comes and goes. Flares up so suddenly that she can't even leave her bed sometimes."

"B-but… your father-"

Working hard to prevent a fake sob, Ranma said, "Even more tragic! His memory is fading… he forgets even his daughter, sometimes!"

If Ranma had tried to sell this obvious lie to virtually anyone else, he felt sure it wouldn't have worked. But Ryoga was a trusting sort… and also not the brightest. His confusion abated, Ryoga was nearly overcome with sympathy as he grabbed hold of Ranma's hand.

"I never knew! Oh, Ranma, I'm so sorry for the way I acted earlier… I didn't realize how difficult a life you led, with your family so woefully afflicted!"

Guilt curled around Ranma's stomach, but this was a lie he had to stick to. He didn't want to risk Ryoga blabbing the Ranko secret to anyone at school... or to his dad, again. Oh, damn! Hopefully Akane had managed to smooth that out alright. ...Then there was the fact that he and Ryoga were getting along so well Ryoga that Ranko was a lie felt like the sort of thing that would send him into a rage spiral again.

"It's fine, it's fine! No need ta feel bad." Pulling his hand away, he walked a few more paces to the dojo door, and tossed it open for Ryoga. "You go ahead an' head back in there, an' I'll go grab the mats and blankets, 'kay?"

Ryoga entered and Ranma rushed back to the main house, nearly running directly into Akane on the way. Her strong arms were wrapped around a pile of bedding, her eyes barely able to see him over the blankets.

"I told your dad that Ryoga was confused, thinking some other girl from school was related to you," she said quietly, offering Ranma the bedding. "He was eager to believe it, honestly. ...Pretty sure I owe Nabiki now, though."

He grimaced. "You need me ta give ya some money?" Not that he had much to give, but the least he could do was offer.

She waved a hand at him. "No, it's fine. You just owe me one, okay?" she said, shooting him a small smile and a wink that made his heart swell.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, taking the bedding. The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, the both of them looking anywhere besides directly at each other. "I, uh… better get back…"

"Yeah. ...Yeah," Akane said, still not looking at him. Right as he started to turn, however, her eyes snapped up to meet his. She looked… worried, again? ...Why? "Just… be careful, okay?"

Before he could properly respond, she turned on her heels and walked away. "...I will," he said quietly, not sure that she could hear it.

A while later, Ranma and Ryoga lay near each other in the Tendo Dojo, one of them already fast asleep. The other, Ranma, stared up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, mind whirring. He'd been thinking about it for who knows how long now, and he still couldn't figure out why Akane had said that. What was he supposed to be careful of? He assumed it had something to do with Ryoga, but… what? Was she worried that Ranma wasn't strong enough to handle the boy? Or that Ryoga might attack Ranma while he was asleep? Or was there something else?

"Ranma…" Ryoga's sleepy voice muttered, drawing Ranma's attention. "Finally… found…." Snoring replaced the words, and Ranma rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned back to look at the ceiling. Before his thoughts could really get going again, however, the sleeping Ryoga spoke once more. "Missed you…. Happy…."

Any hope of Ranma's busy brain allowing him rest that night vanished.