Yearning

AN: Wow, did not expect my motivation for this to keep as strong as it has. However, between some awesome reviews and starting to re-watch the anime, my motivation has stayed strong enough to get you all another chapter.

Without further ado, enjoy!


When Ranma woke up, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She had been woken up by a splash of cold water like she often was, but she definitely was not in the Tendo's guest room.

"Were you planning to sleep all day, Saotome?" Ryoga asked with a smirk, as he balanced the now empty bucket he had on one of his fingers.

As the events of the previous day came back to her, Ranma scowled at him and said, "Well, looks like one of us is feeling better, at least." Without a second thought, she pulled off her soaked shirt and began to wring it out. when she did not hear any rebuttal, Ranma glanced over to see Ryoga looking away with a blush on his face. Rolling her eyes, the redhead added, "Geez, it's just me, ya pig. Usually ya ain't that easy unless I've got some disguise on..."

"Y-Yeah, well..." Ryoga stuttered, before hurrying out of the room. "I, uh, I'm going to go get breakfast ready!"

"Huh. He's acting weirder than usual," Ranma muttered to herself. She pulled her still damp shirt back on just as something occurred to her. Rushing outside, she caught up with Ryoga just before he reached the street. "Where'd ya think ya were getting breakfast, Okinawa?"

Blinking in surprise as he realized he had left his house, the Lost Boy blushed as he turned to her, suggesting, "Maybe, we should just get breakfast at the Nekohanten?"

Rolling her eyes again, Ranma said, "Yeah, that's probably the only way ta keep ya from taking a detour ta Hokkaido before we talk ta Cologne." With that, she grabbed his hand and started dragging him down the street, not noticing the goofy grin on his face as she-


-stared into his deep brown eyes. He chuckled nervously, as they danced to the music, saying, "I can feel them staring at us. It's a bit..."

"Let them stare," Ranma replied with a grin. "They're just jealous 'cause we're the hottest guy and girl in the room!"

"Did you just admit that I'm the 'hottest guy in the room'?" Ryoga asked in amusement.

"Only 'cause I'm a girl right now. A splash of hot water and you'd be in second place," Ranma shot back, rolling her eyes, before-


-a bicycle wheel collided with her head, snapping her out of the vision as she heard Shampoo's voice say, "Nihao, Ranma! You come for too, too delicious ramen? Shampoo just come back from early morning order. Make bowl just for you when get back inside!"

As Ranma extricated herself, she opened her mouth to replied, but Ryoga was quicker for once, saying "Watch where you're going, Shampoo! Besides, we came to talk to Cologne, not you!"

Hopping back to her feet, Ranma said, "Calm down, Bacon Breath. Besides, compared ta your punches, that was nothing." Licking her lips she added, "Besides, nothing wrong with some free ramen while we wait for the old ghoul!"

As the trio headed inside the restaurant, Shampoo latched on to Ranma's arm, while Ryoga glared at the amazon. Ranma glanced at her rival and asked, "Ya okay, P-chan? You've been acting weird all morning."

Immediately, Ryoga's glare vanished. "Ah! No, I'm fine, Ranma," he said with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Rather than be reassured, however, Ranma was more sure than ever that something was wrong. 'He almost never calls me just "Ranma" unless it's followed by "prepare to die",' the redhead thought to herself. 'It's not like he never acts like this, but it's usually only around Akane...' As that thought occurred to her, Ranma went pale as she remembered Ryoga's description of the strange object he swallowed.

"I bit down on something hard in the tuna, like a rock, only... smoother..."

"Like a pill... but there's no way that could have happened, right?" Ranma muttered to herself.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by Shampoo letting go of her arm and saying, "Airen and Lost Boy find table. Shampoo let Great-Grandmother know you here then bring too, too delicious ramen bowl." With that she hurried off to the kitchen.

Ranma did as suggested, but as Ryoga sat across from her, a dreamy expression on his face, Ranma could not help but be reminded of similar expressions he had worn when on 'dates' with Akane. 'Dammit! Is the real curse that I'm only gonna see things I can't avoid? There's no way that's true, is it? ...No. I ain't gonna stand by and let some stupid vision tell me how my life's gonna go!' Ranma thought, burying her worry behind a wall of self-righteous anger.

"My, my, quite the dour expression this morning, Son-in-Law," Cologne said, startling the redhead out of her thoughts once more. "I don't suppose you've come to tell me you decided to marry my grandaughter and join the tribe, have you?"

"There's no way Ranma would do that!" Ryoga declared, glaring at the old woman, before glancing across the table and adding nervously, "Er, you wouldn't, right, Ranma?"

Ranma buried her face in her hands and groaned, as that outburst all but confirmed her fears. Raising an eyebrow questioningly, Cologne turned to the redhead and asked, "Looking for a cure to some love potion gone awry, I take it?"

"Something like that," Ranma admitted. "I think this idiot swallowed one of those Amazon Love Pills that showed up a while back."

"I did?" Ryoga asked in confusion.

"That seems unlikely," Cologne said to Ranma, ignoring the Lost Boy for the moment. "As you are well aware, two of the pills were used during that incident, and the recipe to make more is back in my village. Even I do not have it memorized, and I certainly don't have a copy lying around."

"What about the one that wasn't used?" Ranma asked. "Ya still got it, right? Could Mousse or somebody have swiped it when ya weren't looking?"

"Actually, I decided that the Day Pill would have little use on its own, and was too much trouble to keep around after the other two were use," Cologne explained. "So, I threw it in the ocean with the Lifetime pill. So, unless a fish swallowed it, got caught, and then this boy ate that fish, it is quite unlikely, like I said."

The sound of Ranma's face hitting the table echoed throughout the mostly empty restaurant, as the redhead heard those words.

"Well, at least it'll only last a day," Ranma grumbled as she sat up once more.

"If you don't mind, son-in-law, I'd like to know exactly how this happened. I'm surprised you would even think of the pills," Cologne said with a frown. Ranma went on to explain about the seer, the visions, and the events of the previous night, as it gave her an excuse not to focus on the guy staring at her the entire time. Once the redhead had finished, Cologne said, "I have heard of the Seer's Curse before. Usually it is a death curse cast upon those that would kill one who can see the future. For one who was still living to cast it upon you, either they must have been incredibly powerful, or else the artifact you destroyed was."

"Is there any cure?" Ranma asked.

"The only way to stop the visions is to be pardoned by the one who cast the curse," Cologne explained. "So, usually not, at least not without a seance. However, if the seer that cursed you still lives, then it may be possible." Glancing at Ryoga, she gave a mischievous grin and added, "But I think that is a concern for another day. Based on what you told me, the pill should wear off around sunset. So, I expect that you will have a busy day ahead of you, Son-in Law."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Ranma groaned, as the old woman leapt atop her staff, cackling as she bounced away.

When the old woman reached the kitchen, Cologne turned to the eavesdropping Shampoo and said, "If you don't take that ramen out soon, child, it will go cold."

"Is Great-Grandmother really no stop Lost Boy from loving Airen?" Shampoo asked with a frown.

"Even if I wanted to, the recipe for the antidote is back home in China," the Elder Amazon replied. "Besides you know how Son-in-Law reacts to advances from men. Today will be an embarrassment, but tomorrow everything will be back to normal, although the Hibiki boy may be a bit more bruised if he tries something."

Shampoo relaxed as she heard those reassuring words. Heading over to the table with a slightly cooled bowl of ramen, she smiled and said, "Sorry for wait! Hope Airen enjoy!"

"Thanks, Shampoo!" Ranma said, immediately pulled from her bad mood by the smell of good food.

Shampoo pulled out a chair to sit down next to Ranma, but before she could follow through, a new group of customers walked in. Suppressing a sigh of frustration, she smiled at the redhead and said, "Shampoo have go work now, but Airen date Shampoo later, yes?"

Ranma hesitated as Shampoo hurried over to the new customers, expecting another outburst from Ryoga. However, when none came, she turned toward him, looking at the Lost Boy for the first time since she had started explaining things to Cologne. Rather than angry, though, her rival only looked depressed.

"It's only because of a magic pill, huh?" Ryoga mumbled, completely oblivious of his surroundings. "That's really the only reason I feel this way when I seen your adorable figure?"

Ranma's eyes widened as his words triggered a memory she had not thought about in a long time.

"That... you call a curse? Whining about your misery... with such an adorable figure!"

'He... he said I was 'adorable' the first time he saw me in this form, too,' Ranma thought to herself, as her face heated up in embarrassment. Scowling across the table, Ranma said, "Why do ya gotta say stupid stuff like that, huh? Besides, you'll be back ta normal tonight, so why don't we just treat it like a cold and find ya some place ta sleep it off, what do ya say?"

"That makes sense. I mean, now that I think about it, I don't remember feeling quite like this before last night. But, the thought of just staying away from you until this feeling fades..." Ryoga trailed off and gripped the front of his shirt over his heart, as if the idea alone caused him physical pain.

Ranma rolled her eyes at the melodramatic gesture, but frowned as she said, "I suppose that is kinda like running away, huh?"

"Ranma... if it really is only for one day... can I please spend it with you?" Ryoga pleaded. A moment later he blushed and hurried to add, "Not doing anything weird of course! We could see a movie, or walk in the park, or just spend the day sparring. Whatever you want!"

At first Ranma wanted to outright refuse. After all, she had no desire to let the vision of them kissing come true. Then, a thought occurred to her. 'I tried ta stop him from swallowing the pill, and that only made it happen, or at least sooner. Maybe if I go along with this instead of fighting it, then the kiss won't actually happen! Besides, the alternative is going ta school, and I've already missed the morning classes, anyway.' Out loud, Ranma said, "Ya know what? Sure, I could use a day ta relax. But if ya try anything funny, I'll kick your ass, got it?"

"Of course!" Ryoga said happily, her threat doing nothing to dampen his joy at her acceptance.

As the two left the restaurant, neither noticed a suspicious pair of eyes following them, nor a figure slipping out behind them to trail the pair...


AN: There we go! Honestly, I am surprised more authors who write for the pair don't reference Ryoga's words when he first sees Ranma's cursed form. In the dubbed anime, he calls her 'beautiful', in the subbed version it is translated as a 'cute, huggable body', and in the manga he says she has an 'adorable form'. So, regardless of which version you draw on, it is great material. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised I didn't think to use it sooner myself!

What will happen between the pair before sundown? Who is following them? Find out in future chapters of 'Yearning'!