Broken Chains

by Hoyo476

Two rivals becoming more than friends, achieving what seemed impossible. But to have a sought happiness they'll have to face the prejudices and traditions of Ranma's family and the intolerance of his own classmates. Will they cross paths with a misterious organization that kidnaps young girls? Who is behind it, and why are they taking this girls away? Warning: Adult themes

8. Chapter 8 Locked

AUTHOR NOTES

Hi everyone. I finally can publish a new chapter. This one ended up pretty longer than the previous ones, nearly 16400 words, and once I finished the first draft, the polishing and editing phase took a lot of time because of its length. On top of that I've been hospitalized for a week (I have Crohn's Disease and this happen from time to time), and I could not work on the story in the hospital. Anyway, here it is, chapter 8. I hope you like it.
Regards!

---

She opened her eyes, slowly, staring at the ceiling, then closed them again, but she didn't want to sleep more. She felt disoriented. Was she still on the living room's floor? No, she was resting on something soft and comfortable. Was it their bed? Then Ranma opened her eyes again and kept them open. She definitively was on a bed. She had something around her neck, some sort of belt, holding her arm. That made her remember that her arm was broken. She then tilted her head to the left to take a look at her surroundings. The room was illuminated by artificial light. It was ample and clean. A hospital room. She felt the damned headache again, and her chest and back were hurting quite a bit. She tried to ignore the pain, and looked to the other side. She saw Ryoga, seated on a chair, staring at the floor with his arms crossed. Akane was next to him, seated as well, reading a magazine. He mother was there too, next to Akane, looking through a window.

"Where am I? Is this the hospital?" she asked, and the three of them immediately stared at her.

"Ranma!" they said in unison.

Then they went to the bed, and her mother was the first to greet her with a kiss on her forehead.

"My baby! I was so worried. You're in Dr. Tofu's clinic, dear. How are you feeling?" asked Nodoka relieved to finally see her child awake.

"My chest and my back hurts, and I can't move my arm." Replied the redhead.

"That's because your arm is broken dear. Dr. Tofu has splinted it so try not to move it, ok?"

"Yeah, ok mom." Then she saw the Tendo girl looking at her smiling. "Hi Akane." She greeted her with a smile.

"Hi Ranma. Thank Kami you're awake. You have given us quite a scare." Told the Tendo girl, relieved as well.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Said the redhead.

"Don't be silly. You have nothing to apologize." Replied Akane.

Then Ranma's eyes rested on Ryoga, who had walked to the other side of the bed to be by her side. He smiled at her.

"Hi, handsome." she told him, a timid smirk on her face.

"Hi, beauty." The Lost Boy replied, feeling a burst of happiness at seeing his girlfriend awake and talking. Then he closed the distance to her lips and kissed her tenderly, a few tears falling from his eyes.

"Sorry to make you worry." She said, feeling a bit guilty.

Ryoga caressed her cheek. "Don't say that. None of this is your fault." He said in a comforting tone.

Nodoka observed the two lovers, and couldn't repress a few tears of her own. She was so happy now.

"I'll let the Doctor and the others know that you are awake." Said Akane, and she exited the room. A moment later, she entered along with Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun.

"Ranma, we were so worried when your mother told us that you were attacked. I'm so happy to see you better." Said Kasumi.

"Did not I told you to stay out of trouble kiddo?" said Nabiki jokingly.

"I'm sorry Nabiki, I couldn't avoid it." Replied Ranma lowering her stare.

"Kasumi, you should go home now so the Doctor can come here and see Ranma. Otherwise, with you here, he will keep acting funny." Said Soun to her daughter.

"You are right father. I have to get dinner ready. Goodbye Ranma. Please rest and get better." Said the oldest Tendo girl.

"Thanks Kasumi, bye." The redhead replied, and then, the oldest Tendo girl exited the room.

A moment later, Akane came back with the Doctor, who still had his glasses fogged up, but was starting to behave normally.

"Ranma, I'm glad that you are finally… I mean… awake. How… are you feeling?" said the Doctor with some difficulty. After a few moments, his glasses were normal, along with his behaviour.

"I feel beat up doc. My head, my chest and my back hurt. But I see that you patched me up well. Thanks." Ranma answered.

"Yes, you came here in a pretty rough state, Ranma. You have your right arm broken, and a vertebra fissured in your spine. Your body must be really durable though, because the fracture in your arm is just a small fragment of the Radius that didn't move from its place, so you'll only need the splint. With a little care it'll heal perfectly. Aside from that, you have three big hematomas from the blows you received, but with some anti-inflammatory medication they'll heal fine too. Wait a moment, I'll get you something for the pain." Said the doctor, and walked to the examination room.

"Ranma, who did this? Who did attack you?" asked her Ryoga, a question everyone had in mind.

"It was Jiro, Jiro Hasegawa, and other five guys. All armed with baseball bats and metal pipes." She answered.

"You know him?" asked again Ryoga.

"Yeah. He's a classmate. He mocked me and called me faggot a few days ago and I punched him in front of the class. I guess he holds a grudge against me for that." she said with a thoughtful look.

"What about the others?" inquired Ryoga.

She negated with her head. "I just know one of them, Haru. He's from another classroom. The rest, I never saw them before, but they must be some kind of fighters. They looked strong, with broad shoulders. Tough guys." Ranma explained, looking at Ryoga. "They followed me after I left Akane at the Dojo. Then one of them splashed me with water and turned me into female. They thought they could beat me easier if I was a girl. Jiro's idea probably. They couldn't be any luckier. If I hadn't been sick with the damned p…" she then went silent, realizing that she almost revealed her secret.

"Ranma, it's ok. They already know about your period." Said Ryoga.

"You told them?!" said the redhead angry and embarrassed, her face red as her hair.

"He didn't tell us Ranma. I saw blood on your pants, on your groin area, and I guessed it." Dr. Tofu quickly interrupted, who came back with a pill and a glass of water, saving Ryoga from his girlfriend's anger.

"I had blood on my pants? Oh Kami, how embarrassing…" she said, covering her face with her left hand.

"There's nothing to feel embarrassed of, dear. Every young woman goes through the same as you're going and they don't feel any shame." Said her mother. "What I don't understand is, why you didn't wear panties and a pad to avoid staining you pants?" Nodoka reprimanded her child.

"Because I stay as a boy as long as I can during these days. The period doesn't affect my male body and I don't need to wear… wait a minute." Ranma said. Her eyes went wide, and she took a look under the bed sheets. She was wearing a hospital gown that covered her down to mid thighs. She pulled up the gown's bottom and saw that she was wearing panties, but there was something else. She palped the panties and confirmed that she was wearing a pad as well. "I'm wearing a compress! Why did you put that there?" she said feeling more embarrassed than before.

"It's the feminine hygiene basics you should wear while you have a period dear. Otherwise you would have stained your panties and the bed sheets." Replied Nodoka.

"And before you ask, your mother dressed you and put the pad. Meanwhile, everybody else went out of the room." Said Ryoga.

"Here, swallow this pill." Said the doctor giving Ranma the pill and the glass of water, which she quickly tossed into her mouth and swallowed with the aid of the water.

"But I just need to change to my male form and the problem is gone, as long as I stay male at least." The redhead said after returning the glass to Tofu.

"You cannot change to male, Ranma." Said the Doctor.

"Whaaaat?! What happened? How am I locked again?" asked Ranma shocked.

"Sorry, poor choice of words. What I meant is that you should not change to male. Your bones in male form are bigger a longer than in female form. If you would change back to male, the bone fragment that fractured would displace itself from its original position, and it would require surgery to put it back in its place. And the fissure in your column could get worse. So you must not change to male under any circumstance until your bone is completely healed." Explained Dr. Tofu.

"Ok Doctor. Jeez, you scared me." Said the redheaded girl sighing. "But I can turn to male accidentally. And I'll have to use cold water to shower."

"You can use the waterproof soap to remain in girl form for as long as your bones need to heal." Said Ryoga, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I already called Cologne to ask her if she had some soap, and she told me that she has a full box of it, and that she can order more if we need it." Explained Ryoga smiling, soothing his girlfriend's worries.

"Great then. I don't mind to remain a girl for a few weeks. The problem is that I'll have to endure this damned period the whole time." She regretted.

"C'mon Ranma, don't make a fuss about it. We have been dealing with our periods for much longer than you've been, and we survived, so quit whining." Nabiki scolded.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. By the way, how long do I have to wear this thing in my arm, doc?

"Three weeks." Replied Tofu. "I can give you some guidelines to mitigate the symptoms of your period. And for the headaches, I'll prescribe you something. They will get much better with it."

"Thanks doc." Said the redhead, and then realized something. "Where's my father? He didn't come?" she asked.

Nodoka turned her gaze down, then looked at her daughter. "He refused to come with me, dear. I'm sorry."

Ranma looked down, disappointed. She thought that at least, for something like this, her father would forget momentarily his grudge against her, but it appeared that he didn't.

"No, I'm here." Someone said from the door. Everybody turned their eyes to the person who spoke, and they were shocked to see it was Genma.

"Pops…" Ranma said, a timid smile on her face.

Genma walked between the rest of the family to the bed. Ryoga was staring at him with distrust, ready to kick him out of the clinic the moment he said something ugly to Ranma.

"How… how are you, son?" asked the veteran martial artist with nervousness.

"I'm fine, pops… A little beat up and tired." Replied the redheaded girl sheepishly.

Genma nodded. "Ok, boy. You just… just rest and get better, ok?" Was all he could say, quite embarrassed and sweating.

"Ok. Thank you for coming, pops. It means a lot." She replied, still timidly smiling. She knew how hard must have been for him to swallow his pride and come here to see her, so to the redheaded girl, it was enough and she was happy.

"This doesn't mean I'm ok with what you did or that I approve your relationship with this boy." He said, gaining a few worried stares from the people around him, seeing he was starting to put his foot in his mouth again. Ryoga tensed, readying himself for whatever he could say next. Ranma place her hand on his arm and looked at him, her eyes pleading him to relax. Then Genma continued. "But you're my son, and… you may not believe it, but I… I worry about you." He said, then he walked to one of the walls of the room and laid against it, crossing his arms and looking at the floor.

Ryoga sighed, relieved that he didn't say anything more. 'I guess this is as much as you can get from him.' He thought. Ranma looked happy that her father came, so to him that was more than enough.

"Ok. Now, some recommendations for those hematomas." Started Dr. Tofu. "Don't use tight shirts or t-shirts. Wear loose-fitting comfortable clothing so the wounds do not bother you, especially the one on the chest. And don't wear bras for a couple of weeks, again because of that injury on your chest. I'll write a report with the guidelines to handle the period symptoms and I'll prescribe a painkiller to soothe the headaches and the pain from the hematomas, while the one I gave you does its magic. As soon as you feel fine, you can go home. Just visit me in four or five days so I can take a look at those bruises, and I treat your vertebra fissure with some massages.

"Do you mean that I have another broken bone?" asked Ranma worried.

"It's not broken. There's a small fissure in your T12 vertebra, around the centre zone of your back, where the blow landed. You'll just have to take the anti-inflammatory medication I prescribed you, and I'll give you some chiropractic treatment. Don't worry. It will heal fine."

"O.. Ok. Thank you doc." The young martial artist replied.

While Tofu wrote his report, Akane asked Ranma how the fight with Jiro and his goons was, and the redheaded girl explained the ambush in detail. How they splashed her, how they attacked her all at the same time afterwards, and how she did the best she could to defend herself considering how sick she was feeling. Ryoga asked her about her shirt, about how did it got torn. Ranma explained him that Jiro grabbed her shirt and it got ripped when she launched him a few meters away with an elbow to his chin. This definitely calmed his fear that they might have tried to abuse her.

Everyone was listening carefully to her tale, even her father, who didn't lost detail from the back of the room. She explained how she used the Moko Takabisha to stunt her enemies and escape when she realized she couldn't win. She told too that she used the Umi-Sen Ken technique to hide her presence and avoid her pursuers, which allowed her to finally get home without been seen. Nobody noticed it, being everybody looking at Ranma at that moment, but Genma smiled when his child told how she used these techniques to best her opponents, feeling proud of how smartly she used her abilities to get to safety, when she had everything against her.

Soun walked to where Genma was to greet him. He placed his hand on Genma's shoulder and smiled to him.

"Saotome. I'm glad that you finally came. Your son was clearly happy to see you." Soun told him.

"I know Tendo. I wasn't sure if I could come, but what kind of father I would be if I had stayed at home. It's just that this time he messed it up for good. He ruined our chances of uniting the schools. Besides, I feared things like this would happen when people found out he likes boys. Nodoka told me that he has been bullied at school. This boy has been giving me headaches since he was a kid."

"You have given him your fair share of that too, old friend. Don't worry about these things now. Just be thankful that your child is ok." Replied Soun, and Genma nodded.

Dr. Tofu came back and walked to the bed, carrying several papers. He handed to Ryoga the report and the prescription papers for the painkillers and an anti-inflammatory gel. Then spoke to Ranma.

"So Ranma, how are you feeling. Is your pain better?"

"Yeah doc, that pill has given me a lot of relief. My head barely hurts. My chest and back too. Thanks." She answered, having her mood improved.

"Then, do you want to go home?" asked again the Doctor.

"That would be great. I'm feeling good enough. Yeah, I want to go home."

"Ok, then we'll leave the room to give you some privacy so you can change into something more suitable than that hospital gown. Akane brought you some clean clothes while you were unconscious.

"Yes, I picked for you a dress and some pants and a blouse from my wardrobe, so you can choose. You can return them whenever you want." Said the black haired girl. Then picked a shopping bag next to the wall where they were seated waiting for Ranma to wake up, and gave it to the redhead.

"And she has brought you this." Said Nodoka, giving her daughter a cardboard box a little smaller than the size of a milk brick.

Ranma inspected the box, and the covering showed images of a smiling young woman on a light blue background. It was a box of pads. The redheaded girl gulped.

"Since you're not going to change to male in a few weeks, you'll need them, dear." Said Nodoka, amused by the astonished expression of her daughter.

"O.. Ok, mom." She replied while blushing.

Then everyone except Nodoka exited the room, leaving the Saotome matriarch to aid Ranma to dress, since she couldn't move her right arm, and after being a few hours in bed she could had her balance still a little off. Ranma decided for the red pants and white blouse. She liked the dress too, but it showed some cleavage, and her chest hematoma would be visible to everyone who walked the streets. Nodoka helped her with her splinted arm, so she didn't need to move it, and then took off the gown, leaving Ranma with nothing more than the panties.

"Oh Kami…" said Nodoka when she saw again the wounds. They were now of an intense purple colour and she could see how big they were. The blows had to be terrible. "Why they did this to you? I don't understand it."

"They hate me, mom. They hate me because I love another boy. I guess they can't stand the fact that I'm different from them."

She tried to repress a burst of anger. This was so unfair to her child. But she felt guilt too, because her first reaction when she knew about her son dating another boy was rejection and disgust.

"Ranma, I'm sorry." Said Nodoka moved.

"Mom, why?"

"Because when I learned about you and Ryoga, my reaction was… I felt…" She couldn't go on, tears forming in her eyes.

Ranma understood what she meant, and embraced her mother with her arm, rubbing her hand on her back, trying to sooth her guilt. "Mom, you don't feel like that anymore, so I'm ok. C'mon, let's forget about that. That's the past."

The Saotome matriarch looked at her daughter and smiled, feeling better. When she calmed down, she caressed her daughter's cheek.

"Thank you dear." She said to her child. Then Nodoka tried to focus at the task at hand, help Ranma to dress. Still a bit emotional, she grabbed the pants, and kneeled and prepared the garment so the redheaded girl could insert her legs, offering her back as support. In a few seconds she had the pants on. A minute later, she was totally dressed, and mother and daughter exited the room. The Tendo family, Genma, Dr. Tofu and Ryoga were waiting for them in the waiting room.

"You look much better now, Ranma." Said Akane with a smile.

"Thanks Akane. I guess so. But my hair must be horrible with all that happened."

"Don't worry for that. I'll help you have a shower when we get home. You'll feel much better." Ryoga said, kissing her in the cheek.

"I have a comb. Do you want me to brush it?" said Akane.

"That would be great Akane. Thanks." Replied Ranma with a soft smile. Then with her left hand reached her pigtail and undid the braid.

"Ryoga, I called the cab as you asked me. It will be here soon. Oh, and since you are talking about having a shower, be very careful to not get the splint wet. Use a plastic bag to cover the arm, ok?" explained Dr. Tofu.

"Ok Doctor, we'll be careful." Replied Ryoga.

While Akane was finishing brushing Ranma's hair, the redheaded girl's eyes went wide like remembering something important. "Mom, I just remembered, what about the dinner tomorrow?"

"Oh, come on dear, we can celebrate the dinner a few days or weeks later, when you get better. Right Soun?

"Of course, Nodoka. Ranma, something like a dinner can wait right now. Don't worry with that, son." Said Soun to the redhead trying to comfort her.

A few minutes later, the cab arrived. It was already dark outside, and after saying good bye, the Tendo and the Saotome got back home, with Nodoka promising her daughter she would call her tomorrow to check on her. Ryoga helped Ranma to get in the cab, and then he got inside too. While the car was taking them home, Ryoga turned his eyes to the redhead beside him. With her hair brushed and combed by Akane, her looks improved greatly, and she recovered her usual beauty. She was looking through the window, distracted, probably thinking about what happened today. She looked really tired, and made the Lost Boy feel a deep sympathy for her. In his mind, Ryoga was weaving a plan. Now he had a name to start looking for: Jiro Hasegawa. Nabiki could help to locate him, and catching him, that would lead the martial artist to the rest of goons who attacked Ranma.

Ryoga placed his hand on hers, taking her out of her thoughts and making her to stare at him. When their eyes met, they smiled to each other. The redheaded girl then laid on him, resting her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes, trying to relax. Soon they would be at home.

---

The light of the morning sun was entering through the windows, illuminating the room with its warmness. Ryoga was lying face up on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He had been awake for quite a while now, going over and over what happened yesterday. Ranma could have been killed. Maybe it was their intention. First they insult her, then they humiliate her with that horrible drawing, and now six guys beat her up armed with baseball bats and pipes. They won't stop here, he concluded. They'll try to attack her again, unless he makes them stop.

Ryoga looked at the red headed sleeping beauty resting to his side. She was laying on her left side, facing him, and her splinted arm resting on her right hip. She was wearing a green summer pajamas, consisting of some shorts and a tank top. He admired that beautiful face, with flocks of red hair covering her face. She seemed so peaceful, like nothing happened yesterday. He moved the hair from her eyes really careful to not wake her up. He could now see her face in all her beauty, and he felt the luckiest man alive. During his last years, he knew nothing more than solitude, sadness and rejection. But when he met Ranma again, with time, he felt something close to a friendship. A friendship that endured his angriness and frustration, his depressive attitude and Ranma's lack of social abilities. Then when she finally loved him, when they first kissed, that loneliness, that depression was gone. He felt accepted, without prejudices. He had someone who didn't care for his directional problem or his curse, someone that cared for him, and whom he cared for. He couldn't bear the idea of losing her, or to see her being hurt or mistreated again.

The Lost Boy got up from the bed carefully, and went downstairs, to the living room. He picked up the address book and searched for the phone number of the Tendo Household. He found it quickly, because they had noted just a few numbers and addresses. He looked at the wall clock in the room, that said 9:30 a.m. It was early for a Saturday, but he knew she was already awake. He dialled the number and waited.

"Hello? Tendo residence. Who's this?" Greeted Kasumi.

"Kasumi? Hi there, I'm Ryoga." He answered.

"Ryoga! How was Ranma's night? I hope she could sleep well."

"She slept well. In fact she's still sleeping. The painkillers prescribed by Dr. Tofu work really well. Hey Kasumi, is Nabiki there? Can I speak to her?"

"Of course Ryoga. She's having breakfast and watching TV. I'll tell her to pick up the phone."

"Thanks Kasumi."

"Hey, Ryoga boy." greeted the mercenary girl after a few moments of waiting. "Ranma is ok, right?"

"Hi Nabiki. Yeah, she's ok. She's sleeping right now."

"Then I guess you want something from me, so shoot." She said in her usual direct style.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something. See, this Jiro Hasegawa who attacked Ranma, I'm sure he'll try it again. I want to catch him before that, and convince him to let Ranma alone for good. I won't let him hurt her again." Explained the Lost Boy.

"And how do you plan to convince him?"

"I'm going to give him the beating of his life. That's how. And then I'll make him swear to me to not get close to Ranma ever again." Said the martial artist with determination.

"And you want me to help you find that moron." She said seriously.

"I'm sure you can locate him easily. I know I can just go to the school and look for him in Ranma's classroom, but that would embarrass her, and besides it's probable that she won't agree with any of this. She told me once that she didn't want me to fight her battles. But she's in no condition to fight any battles right now."

"So you want to get him where he spends his free time, with his friends." She concluded.

"Yeah, and if I could get him along with the others who helped him, that would be an extra. Do you think they will go out together after school?" asked Ryoga.

"It's very likely. Ok, let me do some phone calls. I guess you don't want Ranma to know about this, right?" Nabiki said.

"No, she mustn't know." Said Ryoga categorically.

"Then call me back tomorrow. I'll tell you what I got about those pricks."

"Thank you Nabiki. I owe you a big one." Said Ryoga honestly.

"You don't owe me nothing, Ryoga boy. Ranma is family to me, and I hate what they are doing to him. I want that Jiro to taste a sample of his own medicine, him and his goons. You just give them what they deserve and we'll be even."

"You can count on that. You're not so bad as your reputation says, Nabiki. You know that right?" Said Ryoga in a joking tone.

"Yeah I know. Just keep it between you and me, ok?" she replied in the same tone.

"Of course. I'll call you tomorrow. Good bye Nabiki." Said Ryoga, hanging up the phone after she did the same.

Well, that went fine. Ryoga was certain that Nabiki would find those bastards. The problem was going to be to get to the place where they do whatever they do to spend time, with his lack of orientation. He couldn't use Shirokuro to take him to the place. He would have to resort to a cab again to get there.

With the call to Nabiki solved, Ryoga thought what he could do now. He knew that Ranma woke up late on weekends, and considering how tired she was from yesterday, he would let her sleep all the time she needed. He really wanted to be with his girlfriend, so he decided to go upstairs and sleep with her some more. Once he wakes up again, he could prepare launch for them. Time didn't matter to Ryoga today.

The Lost Boy opened the door to their room. He found the redheaded girl in the same pose he left her before making the phone call. He laid on the bed with care, on his side facing Ranma. He could smell the scent of the girl's hair: she smelled like flowers. It was the same scent she had in their first date. Then he gently caressed her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin, paying attention to her breathing. It was calm and soft, sounding very feminine. Ryoga found harder and harder to remember clearly the old Ranma. The one who gloated in his manhood, the one who hated his female form. In many aspects she was so different now. He was very different from his old self too. Both had matured over the last few months, polishing their problems and insecurities, and he was happy of how far they had come. Ryoga placed his hand on Ranma's left one, smiled, and closed his eyes.

---

Before lunch, Ranma received a call from her mother to check on her, and they talked for a while. Now that they had finished having lunch, Ryoga was doing the dishes while Ranma store them in the counters with her good arm. But she was doing it automatically, being her mind in other place. Ryoga looked at her and noticed, seeing she was storing dishes and glasses of different sizes in any order. He approached her and placed his hand on hers, making her to realize that he was there and taking her out from her distracted state.

"Are you thinking about yesterday?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah. I was thinking that those guys didn't hold back. They attacked me without any regards for my life. If one of those blows would have hit me in the head, which a few almost did, I would be a goner."

Her boyfriend embraced her, and squeezed her softly. "I know. That's why I'm so thankful that you are such a formidable fighter. Even in your weakened state you knocked some of them out, and they couldn't beat you."

"Yeah, but I run away."

"Do you mean that you should have kept fighting until they would kill you? Ranma please, this is not a movie. You were in no condition to fight, and you picked the wisest decision possible: to save your life. Don't be ashamed of that." Ryoga tried to reassure her.

She sighed, pondering his words. "Ok, you're right. When I get back to school, I'm going to wipe the floor with Jiro. That bastard…" said the pigtailed girl with anger.

"And a coward." Her boyfriend pointed out.

"Yeah, that too."

"Hey, now that I remember, I need to go to the Cat Café to get the waterproof soap. You stay here watching something on the TV, ok? Don't get out of the house, please. You need to rest."

"No way, I'm going with you. I had more than enough rest. Besides, I feel fine. The painkiller Tofu prescribed me mitigate the headaches and the pain from the wounds quite well." protested the redhead.

"Please. You have a broken arm and a fissured vertebra. At least stay a couple of days in home.

"But I'm fine…" she tried to argue again.

"Ranma, I beg you." Interrupted Ryoga. "At least just today, ok? Besides, I'll be back before you notice."

"Ok piggy" she said frowning, not happy. "Jeez, I hate when you treat me like a weak girl."

"I'm treating you like an injured girl that needs to recover. And I do it because I love you and I care for you." Said the Lost Boy, trying to make her see reason.

"Ok, ok, I get it. I'll stay here today. Tomorrow we'll see." She conceded.

"Thanks" said Ryoga, relieved to have managed to convince her. "I'll come back soon." Ryoga said, before picking up the phone to call a cab.

---

The young martial artist crossed the doors of the Cat Café, looking at the decoration of the restaurant, with its white walls and red columns, and those details with geometrical patterns. Ryoga noticed there was not much activity right now. Something logical considering that it was a couple of hours ahead of dinner time. He saw Shampoo preparing the tables, setting the tablecloths and napkins, and placing a menu card in each one. When she noticed him, she came to meet him with a wary expression.

"Hi Shampoo. How are you?" asked Ryoga, seeing that the amazon still had some band-aids on her arms and one on her cheek.

"Shampoo is ok. Strong amazons heal fast. Great-grandmother told me Ranma is injured. That several guys attacked him." Said the young amazon, looking a little irritated.

"Y.. yes, she was ambushed when she was coming back from school. Luckily none of her injuries are severe. She's at home right now, resting." He explained sheepishly.

"And where were you pig boy? You not his boyfriend? Why didn't you help Ranma?" asked angrily Shampoo.

The Lost Boy felt a pang of rage at the unfair accusation, but it deflated quickly. In his mind she was right. He should have been with her. He should have protected her. Ryoga lowered his gaze ashamed.

"I was at work. I found out when I came back home and found her." Ryoga explained, not raising his stare.

"Shampoo, get back to your duties, child." Ordered Cologne behind her. The purple haired girl obeyed reluctantly and pouting, and returned to preparing the tables. Then the amazon matriarch approached the black haired boy hopping on her cane. "Hi Ryoga. How is Ranma?"

"Hi Cologne." Greeted back Ryoga, making a bow. "She's fine, at least as fine as one can be with a broken arm and a fissured vertebra. She wanted to come with me, but I convinced her to stay at home and rest." The Lost Boy told to the old amazon.

"I'm glad that he… she is getting better. You told me that she needs to be locked in her female form until her bones heal. I have the box of water-proof soap behind the counter. Come with me." She said, and then turned around and hopped behind the long counter in the back of the big dining room.

A cardboard box of about 20x20 centimeters rested on the floor, where Cologne said it would be. Ryoga leaned and picked it up.

"Ryoga, I wanted to ask you, how could be possible that 6 regular goons could harm so much someone as skilled as Ranma? You didn't gave me details when we talked by phone." Asked the old amazon, wanting an explanation.

Ryoga knew that Ranma would be mad for telling her the truth, but the amazon was helping them. She even didn't want to charge him for the water-proof soap. It was fair that at least she knew. Besides, Ryoga had a great respect for Cologne. She had been his sensei when she taught him the Bakusai Tenketsu technique after all. He looked around. Didn't see Mousse, who had to be in the kitchen, and Shampoo was far from them.

"She… she was sick, with a headache, and was really exhausted… She is having a period." Cologne eyes went wide.

"Ranma is having a period?" repeated the elder in calmed tone to make sure she heard him correctly.

"Yeah, when he is a girl. It doesn't affect her male body. Who attacked Ranma splashed him turning him into a girl, and the symptoms from her period weakened her. I don't think that they knew about it. They just thought that she would be weaker while being a girl. They got lucky, those bastards. Otherwise Ranma would have swept the floor with them." Told her the Lost Boy.

"I see. That explains it. It's just I never imagined it would be that. So she can have periods. Then she can get pregnant." said Cologne.

Ryoga nodded timidly.

"That's… interesting. Now that you are a couple, you can have a family, someday. I wonder what Ranma thinks about this." The elder amazon thought aloud.

"She is open to consider it in the future, as long as it's with me." Said the Lost Boy embarrassed, his cheeks pink.

"And what's your take on this? Do you want to have a baby with her?" she asked Ryoga, who blushed intensely.

"Ye…yeah, I'd love to." He said timidly.

"I guessed you would. Jusenkyo curses are really curious. For most people they can ruin their lives. That's usually the purpose of curses. But a few can find them useful, like Pantyhose Taro, and very few embrace them, giving them a new life." Cologne reflected, a Ryoga agreed. Unlike himself, Ranma's curse not only allowed her to function, but to experience life from both sides, from both genres.

"Cologne, regarding her period, please, don't tell anyone. This embarrasses Ranma quite a bit." He said with pleading eyes.

"Don't worry child. I don't like gossiping, and I understand that this must be hard for Ranma." She paused a few seconds. "There's another thing I wanted to ask you."

Ryoga placed the box on the counter and looked at the amazon matriarch.

"Of course, go ahead." Ryoga said expectant.

"Have you considered that the people who attacked Ranma, may try to attack her again?" asked the matriarch. If she knew the Lost Boy well enough, and she believed she did, she already knew the answer.

"I haven't thought about anything else since we got back from the clinic, Cologne." Replied the boy, showing his concern on his face.

"Good. Then you can anticipate them. What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Ranma will probably return to school in a couple of days, once she feels well enough. I know her. She won't want to stay at home more than that and give her classmates the impression that she is afraid of school. The main problem is when she finishes classes and walks back home, alone. During that half an hour I'm at work, and I can't protect her. That's what happened yesterday. They knew she would be alone." He explained, frustrated. "I won't let that happen again. I would quit my job to be with her before that would happen. But I have other idea."

"Interesting. Tell me child, what are you planning?" Said the elder amazon.

"I asked Nabiki to find out where those bastards spend their time, where they gather. Once I know, I will go there and I'll beat the crap out of them, until they swear to not get close to Ranma ever again."

"I see. You make sure they won't hurt her again, and you get some revenge in the process. You would have been a great addition to our tribe. Do you need help? I can ask Mousse to help you beat those goons.

"I appreciate the offer Cologne, but that won't be necessary. I'll deal with them myself." Replied the Lost Boy.

"Ok. Then good luck to you. I hope you can end this situation."

"Thank you. I hope so too. I'll take my leave now. I don't want to leave Ranma alone for too long, and I asked the taxi driver to wait for me."

"Ok child. Oh, I almost forget, take this." She said, hopping again on her cane to the counter and coming back, giving Ryoga a strange glass jar ending in a thin neck with a cork stopper, containing a dense green liquid.

"What's this?" asked Ryoga.

"It's a remedy to cure bruises and hematomas. My people has used it to treat warrior's injuries for more than 2000 years. Use it with Ranma two times a day, and though it won't work to cure fractures, at least the other blows she received will heal really quick." She explained.

"Thank you Cologne. You're very kind." Said the Lost Boy.

"Oh, no problem. I grew fond of Ranma and I care for that stubborn child. Now go back to her." Said the amazon matriarch. Ryoga nodded, put the jar in his pocket and picked the cardboard box, thanked her again, making a bow, and walked out of the restaurant.

---

"Tadaima!" called Ryoga when he opened the door to their home.

"Okaeri-nasai!" replied Ranma from the kitchen.

When Ryoga entered the living room, Ranma appeared at the kitchen's door with an ice cream tub held by her splinted arm's hand and licking a small spoon held by her other hand. Luckily for her, her hand wasn't totally immobilized by the splint and she could grab things, provided she didn't move the arm. The Lost Boy stared at the ice cream smiling.

"What? I was getting bored and I got the craving for ice cream." She replied, smiling back. "Do you want some?"

Ryoga left the waterproof soap box and the glass jar on the table in front of the couch, and walked to the redhead. "What flavour is that?"

"Nougat"

"That's one of my favourites." He said, getting just a step from her.

She dug the spoon in the ice cream and placed it loaded inside Ryoga's mouth. He closed his lips and savoured the tasty dessert. Then he closed his eyes and let out a soft moan. "Mmmm, delicious."

The redheaded girl took another spoonful of ice cream and ate it. Then she licked the spoon in a seductive way, slowly, with her eyes narrowed while not averting them from Ryoga's, making him starting to sweat. On top of that, she looked really sexy on her summer green pajamas, with the tank top barely containing her bust and the shorts showing her beautiful long legs.

"Oh Kami, how I would love to tear your clothes off and make love to you right here." He confessed, flushing as he usually does when Ranma play this with him.

"And what's stopping you?" replied Ranma with a naughty smile, leaning into him and pressing her breasts against his chest, her face very close to his.

"Ranma don't do this to me. You know you always win when you do it." He said almost pleading, noticing that something down there was already reacting.

"And what am I doing?" she asked, and then she kissed softly his lower lip, grabbing his hand and placing it on her belly, under the tank top, with Ryoga feeling her bare soft skin.

"Seducing me, and you don't need too much to succeed. But you're healing from your injuries. I don't think that sex would be a good idea right now." He said, asking forgiveness with his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon Ryo. I'm not made of glass. And I can see that your body likes it." She said, not dropping the seductive behaviour and looking down at his pants.

"Can you blame me?" he said smiling timidly. "And yeah, I know you're not made of glass, but I could hurt you anyway, especially with that back injury." He said, making a big effort to resist her advances. "We'll have plenty of time for that. Wait a couple days at least, and I promise I'll make it up to you."

The red headed girl rolled her eyes, admitting defeat. "Ok boy scout. I'll take your word on that." she said savouring another spoonful of ice cream. The Lost Boy sighed deeply, already regretting not taking the chance. Ranma then walked over to the couch and sat down on it. "Is that the water-proof soap? And what's in that jar?" she said looking at the objects on the table.

"Yeah, it is. Cologne gave me enough for a few months. The liquid in the jar is an amazon remedy to cure bruises and hematomas. She said it would heal yours faster. And she didn't ask me anything in return." Told her the Lost Boy while seating next to her.

"I guess granny has a soft side."

"Believe it or not, she cares about you." Ryoga paused for a few seconds. "There's something I wanted to tell you."

"Ok. Tell me then?" asked the redhead with curiosity.

"I think that those guys who attacked you will try it again, sooner than later. Did this occur to you?"

"Yeah, I considered it. They didn't achieve what they wanted, beat me to a pulp, so yeah, it's probable." Admitted Ranma, lowering her gaze.

Ryoga lifted her chin and made her look at him. "I swear they won't hurt you again. I was going to quit the job so I can be with you and protect you…"

"No, you're not!" interrupted the redhead. "I don't want you to quit your job for me!"

"Ranma, it's just a job. Let me finish. I thought of an alternative." He told her to sooth her concern.

"An alternative?" asked curious the redheaded girl.

"Can you stay in the Tendo Dojo until I come back from work? The cab I call to get back home will take me instead to the dojo to pick you up and then we can go home together, taking a walk, or I can tell the taxi driver to wait and he can take us here."

"I don't know Ryoga." The redheaded girl said with doubtful eyes. "I would rather come straight here."

"Just until you recover. Please Ranma. You would only have to stay at the Tendo's for an hour. I won't be reassured unless I know you're going to be ok." He said with pleading eyes.

As much as she hated to admit, she was in bad condition to face Jiro and his bullies if they try to beat her again. Fighting with one arm splinted would be a problem but she was sure she could beat 6 idiots even with that handicap. The main problem was that she still had a one or two period days left, and that weakened her seriously, even with the medication Tofu prescribed to her, that worked fine with the headaches, but did nothing to the exhaustion and dizziness. It was that or Ryoga should have to quit his job to protect her, and she didn't want that. Damn, she hated this situation.

"Ok, I'll wait for you at the Tendo's." She conceded, making Ryoga smile.

"Thank you, beauty." Ryoga said, happiness shining on his face. He gave her a quick kiss.

"But just until this damned period goes away."

"Ranma… I thought we had reached an agreement." He said frustrated.

"And we did, but up until my period ends. After that, I'm more than capable to pound those idiots even with just one arm, and I don't want to hide or have you as my babysitter."

'Ranma, why do you have to be so stubborn?' asked himself Ryoga. This left him with less time to catch Jiro and the others, because despite Ranma's self-confidence, he wasn't going to risk her getting injured again. Those guys were ruthless. Who knows what they could try the next time? It would be lucky if they attacked Ranma while he was with her. That way he didn't need to look for them. But it would be too risky too. Ranma no doubt would want to fight, and that could lead her to get injured again. No, he had to get them alone, without having to be worried about Ranma.

---

After Ranma and Ryoga enjoyed dinner, they went to the bathroom upstairs so the redhead got washed up with the waterproof soap. They wrapped tightly her splinted arm with a plastic bag and tape so it could not get wet. Ryoga had to repress a nosebleed seeing his girlfriend totally naked, but he thought to himself that this was to keep her injuries safe, and it helped, kind of. Ranma was quite amused seeing how flushed her boyfriend was while rubbing the soap over her body, something that she loved, being teasing Ryoga one of her favourites pastimes.

Once they were done, with Ranma dry and with a towel wrapping her hair, they moved to the second task they had to do, which was applying the remedy Cologne gave to Ryoga for Ranma's bruises. They did it in their bedroom, with Ranma lying face down on the bed, just some panties to cover her nudity. Ryoga, sweating a little, poured some of the liquid on his hand, surprised that it didn't stink but actually smelling good, like fruits, and started a soft massage over the injury in Ranma's back, being very careful of applying the minimum pressure to not aggravate the fissured vertebra and not hurt his girlfriend. In a couple of minutes, he was done, and helped Ranma to turn around to lay face up, exposing her bare chest and belly. Again, now sweating quite a bit, Ryoga tried to keep his cool and applied again the remedy with great care to not hurt the girl over the large bruises, but when he moved to her breasts he had a nosebleed and had to stop for a moment to get a tissue. Ranma laughed out loud at the reaction of her boyfriend, especially considering what they already had done together. After recomposing himself, and several minutes later, they were done, and Ryoga helped Ranma to put on other summer pajamas.

"Not bad Ryo. You could be a good nurse as long as your patient is not a pretty girl." Said the redhead joking.

"You enjoy to put me in a tight spot, right?" replied the Lost Boy smiling while wiping the sweat of his forehead.

"Of course I do. I love how cute you look all flushed and shy, and your nosebleeds are hilarious." Said Ranma with a naughty smile. Then she kissed him tenderly, which Ryoga thanked her kissing her back.

The couple went to bed early, feeling Ranma quite tired, so Ryoga went to bed with her. Once on the bed, the redheaded girl fell asleep almost instantly, but Ryoga stayed awake a little longer, remembering to himself that he had to wake up before Ranma and call Nabiki early in the morning. The Lost Boy hoped that the mercenary girl had had enough time to find out what he needed to put in motion his plan.

---

Ryoga, being a morning person, woke up again while Ranma was still sleeping. He got up from the bed carefully to not wake her up, took a look at the digital clock in the room, which said 9:20 a.m., and went downstairs to the living room. He picked up the phone and dialled the Tendo Residence's phone number, waiting a few seconds. This time was Nabiki who answered the call.

"Tendo Residence. Is that you, Ryoga boy?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me Nabiki. Are you a fortune teller now?" the Lost Boy replied cheerfully.

"I just bet that you would call at the same time as yesterday, considering that Ranma would still be sleeping, and you know I never bet on a losing horse."

"You're right. So, did you find anything about those jerks?" he asked eagerly.

"In fact I did. According to my sources, Jiro and his friends use to hang out in a park close to Fujimidai Station, in front of Sato Dry Cleaners. The name of the park is Kamisagi East Park. How are you planning to get there without getting lost?"

"Lately I'm using taxi cabs to move around without risking to get lost, and it's working fine so far, so I'll do the same. I'll call a cab and I'll give the taxi driver this address." Explained Ryoga.

"That's a surprisingly clever solution, especially coming from you my dude." Said Nabiki, offending a little the Lost Boy's pride.

"Yeah, I have my moments." Replied Ryoga with sarcasm.

"I'm sure of it. Ok, you have to consider that they gather in that park usually in school days. I say this in case you're thinking to go there this afternoon. It would be better to try to catch them a weekday, maybe tomorrow Monday."

"Ok, yeah, the sooner the better. I'll go to that park tomorrow afternoon. I don't have too much time to catch them. I convinced Ranma to wait for me in your home when she gets back from school. That way I can bring her safely here, but she doesn't want me to be her babysitter, and she will only do that until her period ends. Then she says she can beat them even with just one arm, and probably she's right, but I'm not going to risk her well-being just because she's too proud to accept help."

"Yep, that sounds very Ranma to me. She's as stubborn as a mule. Ok, then where do we meet tomorrow? Since you'll need me." Said Nabiki.

"Wait, what? You're coming? No way. It's very dangerous." Said categorically the Lost Boy.

"Of course I'm coming. You don't know how Jiro looks like, right?" asked the mercenary girl pretty confident.

"No, I don't." replied Ryoga reluctantly.

"Then you need me, unless you want to risk beating up the wrong person. End of discussion. Besides, I want to watch how this Jiro bites the dust. I repeat, where do we meet?"

Royga let a long sigh out. "Ok, meet me at the grocery store in Ekoda-dori street. You won't have trouble finding it."

"I know Ekoda-dori." Replied the mercenary girl.

"How far is the park from there?" asked her Ryoga.

"Let me think. From Ekoda-dori… the park is about… 20 minutes away walking." Answered Nabiki, who did a quick calculation.

"Ok, is not far away. We won't need a cab after all. But you'll stay as far away as possible when the fight starts, preferably hundreds of metres away and outside of the park, you hear me?" He replied, not happy to have to be worried about Nabiki's safety when fighting Jiro and his goons.

"Perfect. Bye bye, Ryoga boy…" she said, and hanged up.

"Damn it." Ryoga said after hanging up the phone. "I hope she doesn't take this lightly."

He sighed again, and took a look at the clock. Considering that it was still early in the morning, and that Ranma would still be sleeping for at least another hour, the Lost Boy decided to do a kata in the backyard. He opened the backdoor and greeted Shirokuro. Placed some food on her bowl and changed her water supply. A moment later he went to the backyard, and adopted a starting position. Then closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Once ready, he executed a succession of punches and kicks at incredible speed against imaginary enemies. In his mind, though he didn't know their faces, Ryoga imagined those strikes were hitting Jiro and his goons. He visualized punching their faces, turning them into a bloody mess. Without realizing, his moves were more violent each time, his speed accentuating and his rage increasing as he imagined pummelling those bastards to a pulp. During half an hour, he continued the kata, getting more exhausted each passing minute, and when he finished, he was breathing heavily and sweating profusely, kneeling on the backyard's ground, catching his breath.

After several minutes, he recovered. Then he got up and went upstairs to the bathroom to have a shower. The hot water running down his body calmed his mind and helped him to relax.

Once washed and with new clothes, he went downstairs to prepare something for breakfast. He decided that omelette and rice with curry would be a good choice. Ranma appeared in the kitchen when he just finished cooking the meal, still a little sleepy. She walked to him and kissed him softly.

"Morning handsome." She said, yawning afterwards.

"Good morning beauty. How do you feel?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm fine. My head doesn't hurt right now, and for the moment I don't feel tired." She answered him.

"And your injuries? Let me see them."

Ranma lifted up her pajamas' top, and they found with great surprise that the bruises had indeed decreased their size noticeably, and their colour was now lighter. Ranma touched softly the bruises and felt less pain than yesterday. The couple had to agree that the amazon's knowledge about healing remedies were impressive.

"It's amazing. That old amazon knows her craft." Ryoga said impressed.

"Yeah, they look much better. They feel much better. Shame that don't work on broken bones too."

"Don't worry. Your arm and back will heal perfectly fine too. They'll just take a little more time. What are you going to do regarding school?" asked the Lost Boy. This was something that worried him, preferring that Ranma would wait a couple days more before attending classes.

"You mean if I'll go back tomorrow? Yeah, I think I will. I don't want Jiro to think that I'm afraid or that he hurt me badly."

"Won't he try something in the school?"

"No, I don't think so. He'll want to catch me alone, and the school is too public. If he tried to beat me there he would be punished by the principal."

"The more reason for you to stay at the Tendo's when you finish classes."

"Yeah, I know. I already said that I will stay there. Easy pretty boy." She said resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Ok, ok. It's just that I think that you shouldn't go back to school so soon."

"I already told you. I'm fine. It's just a broken arm and a few bruises that are better now. I've been worse than this, and you know it. C'mon, let's eat. I'm hungry." She said smiling to the concerned boy, tired of talking about this topic. Ryoga had no choice but to smile her back and oblige.

The unexpected improvement of Ranma's injuries lightened the mood of the couple, and after finishing breakfast and applying again the amazon's remedy, Ranma insisted that she needed to breath some fresh air, and Ryoga had to agree with her, so they enjoyed the Sunday morning walking the streets of Nerima, not getting too far away from home, and tasting good food having lunch at a well-known restaurant in the area.

The rest of the day went as peaceful as the morning, but Ranma started to feel again the headache and the tiredness in her body, so they opted for spending the afternoon-evening at home, laying on the couch watching a movie Ryoga had in VHS. But they paid little attention to the movie, being each one lost in their own thoughts.

Ranma was thinking what would she do when she saw Jiro. She should kick his ass as soon as she laid eyes on him. Even with the headache, the tiredness and her injuries, she had no doubt she could pound a small fry bully like Jiro. But that could bring her trouble with the principal. It would be worth it though. And what would her classmates think when they see her with her arm broken? Even worse, learn that was Jiro who did it? Would they feel sympathy for her, or would they think she deserved it for liking men? Fuck'em. She didn't care anymore what they could think about her. The only ones that mattered were her friends, her family and Ryoga.

Ryoga was worried that Jiro could try something in the school, or on the way to the Tendo's. At least Ranma would have by her side Akane and Ukyo. What would those thugs do? He wished he could know. Oh, how he longed to get his hands on them. Hopefully Nabiki's source will be reliable. They would check it tomorrow. But there was also the chance that the information was true but for some reason those goons decided to go somewhere else tomorrow. That would be really bad luck.

---

Every student turned their eyes to the redheaded girl when she entered the school's main building, on her way to her classroom. It caught their attention that she had her arm splinted, and the news spread fast, wondering if it had been because of a fight or an accident. She was wearing her hair braided by Ryoga, since she taught her boyfriend how to do it, and carrying a small backpack with a few notebooks that Ryoga gave her. She had to ask Akane for her class notes to copy them to substitute her own notes, and she would have to buy again two text books, all of which were inside her school bag when she lost it during her fight with Jiro.

When Ranma entered her classroom, a similar reaction occurred, provoking a big murmur among her classmates. The first thing she did was to look for Jiro, but he wasn't in the classroom. Strange. He usually is there early. Among her friends, Ukyo was the first who saw her. She was talking with Akane, Hiroshi and Daisuke around her desk. The two girls walked quickly to her, with Ukyo visibly worried. Hiroshi and Daisuke joined them as soon as they saw the redhead.

"Akane told us. That Jiro is a bastard and a coward. How are you Ranchan?" asked Ukyo.

"I'm better. Cologne gave Ryoga a remedy for the bruises and it works really well. And the arm, as long as I don't move it too much it doesn't hurt." Replied Ranma to her friend.

"Jiro hasn't showed up here Ranma. I'm sure the chicken is afraid of what you could do to him without his friends to help him." Said Hiroshi.

"It seems so, that slimebag. I didn't expect this. It doesn't matter. He can't miss classes forever." Said the redhead.

"Ranma, did you use the waterproof soap?" asked Akane.

"Yeah, I did. I'll stay a while as a girl. At least I don't have to worry about the bone."

"You're staying a girl Ranma? And what do you mean about the bone?" asked Daisuke.

"When they broke my arm, a small fragment of bone fractured, but didn't move from its place. Dr. Tofu splinted my arm, so the fragment welds fine to the bone, but if I turned into a boy, my bones would grow in size, so the fragment would move from its place and I would need surgery to fix it. This waterproof soap locks me in my girl form as long as I wash up with it. I'll need to stay a girl until my bone heals completely. That would be at least three weeks" Explained the redheaded girl.

"Ok, lucky that you have that soap then. You constantly have accidents that change you." Replied Daisuke.

Ranma nodded. "Cologne has been surprisingly kind with me giving me the soap and the remedy for the injuries."

"She likes you, Ranma. It's just that before, she was obsessed with making you into a husband for Shampoo, and now that's gone." Said Akane.

The teacher entered the classroom and the group of friends had to leave their conversation for later, going everyone to their desks. After the roll call, the teacher started the lesson, and Ranma tried to concentrate in the class, but couldn't. Her head hurt, and she was feeling a bit dizzy. The redheaded girl prayed for these days to pass quickly and her period disappearing once and for all, until the next month. At least she could change to her boy form by then.

---

Professor Keita Shinsato was explaning the Tokugawa Shogunate, during the Edo period, an age of prosperity and isolationist policies from the rest of the world. Today's lesson was about Ieyasu Tokugawa son's rule, Hideata. Ranma was absorbed by professor Shinsato's narration, taking notes from time to time about things she considered important and that she should remember regarding the test that would take place in several weeks. Then the bell rang announcing launch break, and Shinsato stopped the lesson and told the students they could go out. Everybody immediately got up and walked out of the classroom, eager to eat their meals and chat in the schoolyard.

As it had become a custom since Ranma's relationship with Ryoga went public in the school, she, Akane, Ukyo, Hiroshi and Daisuke went together to their spot in the school yard. Today Ranma had a bento Ryoga prepared for her, so she didn't have the need to fight in the cantina for her launch. When the group of friends were exiting the main building into the schoolyard, the speakers of the school announced: "RANMA SAOTOME, RANMA SAOTOME, PRESENT IMMEDIATELY AT THE SECRETARY'S OFFICE. YOU HAVE A PHONE CALL."

Everybody in the group looked at Ranma surprised, being Ranma herself the most surprised among them.

"Who would call you to the school Ranchan?" asked Ukyo.

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to go to find out. I'll come back as soon as I can." Ranma said, and walked quickly inside the main building again, heading towards the Secretary's Office.

Once the young martial artist got into the office she saw a woman with glasses in her fifties, behind a desk, typing her computer's keyboard. When she saw her, she waved her hand to her to come closer.

"Mr. Saotome, your father is waiting to speak with you. He said it was urgent. You can pick up that phone there." She said, pointing to a telephone resting on a table in a corner of the room.

"My father?" she asked startled. "He said he is my father? Are you sure, Mrs. Kaneshiro?"

"Yes, Mr. Saotome. He clearly identified as your father, Genma Saotome." The secretary replied.

"Ok." Said Ranma, and gulped. She walked to the phone wondering why on earth would her father call her to the school. She was puzzled. Once she was by the phone, she picked it and talked.

"H…Hi pops." She said nervously.

"Hi beauty." Said a familiar and unexpected voice on the other side.

"Ryoga? Baka, I almost had a heart attack! Why did you say you were my father? And how did they believe you?"

"Hahaha, sorry. I faked an old man's voice and said I was your father because I feared they wouldn't let me talk to you if I presented myself as your boyfriend. And I didn't want to attract more attention upon you. How are you?" asked the Lost Boy.

"The usual routine: my head hurts, and I feel a bit dizzy and tired. Did you called me to school to just ask me how I am?"

"Well, yes. I couldn't wait to know how it went when you saw that Jiro guy, and I needed to know you were ok." Answered her boyfriend.

Ryoga's concern warmed Ranma's heart, and now it made sense to her that he called.

"Jiro hasn't showed up today at school. Probably he feared I could kick his ass as soon as I saw him." The redheaded girl replied. This calmed a bit Ryoga's concern, but not entirely.

"He skipped classes? What about the other guy that's in your school too?" asked Ryoga.

"Haro. I asked Nabiki, and she told me that he skipped classes today too."

Ryoga felt a pang of uneasiness. "Ranma, when you finish classes, go quickly with Akane to the Tendo's. Don't lose any time, ok?"

"Ok, but why? What are you thinking Ryoga?" asked Ranma, now worried by Ryoga's sudden change of mood.

"I don't know, maybe it's nothing. Maybe they got scared of what you could do to them like you said. But maybe they're scheming something. Please, promise me that you will go straight to the Tendo's, and won't go alone." Asked of her the Lost Boy.

"Ok, ok, big guy, I promise. Akane and I always go together. But I think they just shat their pants, so don't worry too much, ok?" she replied.

"Ok, but just in case, take my advice. And stay alert. I need to get back to work. I'll pick you up at the Tendo's later. I love you." Ryoga said his goodbyes.

"Yeah, I'll see you then. I love you too." She said, and she heard Ryoga hanging up the phone on the other side of the line.

What Ryoga said left her thinking about it while she got back to her friends. What if he was right about Jiro and his absence? Now that she thinks about it, it's too much of a coincidence that Haro skipped classes too. What could they be planning? She would have to be alert until she and Akane made it to the Dojo.

---

A mass of students was leaving the school heading to their homes. The streets near Furinkan High were populated by young people in school uniform chatting animatedly minding their own business. Among all those youngsters, two pretty girls, one with short black hair and the other with intense red hair braided in a pigtail were walking to their home as well. Ranma did not look good. She was sweating, and not just because of the hot weather. As much as she wanted to walk quickly to the Tendo's as Ryoga asked her, she couldn't due to feeling pretty woozy. Akane had offered her arm as support to the redheaded girl, and she gratefully accepted it.

"Ranma, I don't understand why your period is hitting you so badly. I don't get so sick when I have mine. Didn't Dr. Tofu prescribed something to alleviate the symptoms?" asked with concern Akane, looking at the tired expression on her friend's face.

"He prescribed me painkillers, for the headaches and the injurie's pain, and they work. The pain is not as severe as before. But they are useless with the dizziness and the exhaustion. And it's around this moment of the day when I feel the sickest. I'm longing to arrive home and throw myself on the couch." Ranma explained.

"Do you really think that Jiro will try to do something on our way to my home?" the Tendo girl asked, turning her head to look around, but not spotting him.

"I don't know, but it might be. We must stay alert and get to your home as soon as we can. I'm sorry I can't walk faster, but my head feels weird and I'm very tired."

"Don't be silly. It's just that I think that you should have stayed at home for a few more days, resting. I'm sure that Ryoga insisted too, but you didn't listen to him." Akane scolded her friend, and Ranma knew she was right.

"Yeah, he did, but I didn't want Jiro thinking that I was afraid of him. In the end that cockroach didn't show up." The redhead said.

The two friends kept walking, there being fewer students in the streets as they drove away from the school and got closer to the Dojo. In fact, they were just a couple of streets away from Akane's home. Suddenly, the two girls felt a shiver running down their spine, their danger sense tingling.

"Hey, Saotome! The cockroach is here!" someone yelled behind them. The two girls froze in place, then turned around to face the source of that voice, who's owner they already knew who it was.

Ranma saw Jiro standing about thirty to forty metres away from them, accompanied by the same 5 guys from the other day; Haro, Youta and the 3 big guys that looked like fighters. They were armed with baseball bats and metal pipes, just like the last time.

"You again! Did you not get enough with breaking my arm? What do you want now?" asked the redheaded girl, with Akane close to her.

"I already told you last time. I want to break every bone in your body. I want you to beg me to stop hurting you. And you hurt some of us pretty bad the last time, so we want to repay you the favour. Akane! This has nothing to do with you! Get the fuck out of here and you won't get harmed." Threatened Jiro.

"If you think I'm going to leave Ranma alone, then you are more stupid than you look, dipshit." Ranma smiled at that. It was the first time she heard Akane say something like dipshit since they met, and Akane had always been someone prone to insults, just like herself. Right now Akane was like a lioness defending her cub. "Ranma, stay close to me." She whispered to the redheaded girl, who nodded.

"You'll pay for that, bitch. Guys!" screamed Jiro, and the six goons run towards the two girls, screaming, spreading trying to surround them.

Akane launched herself towards Jiro dodging his strike with the bat which left his left side exposed. The martial artist took advantage of the opening and connected a strong side kick to his cheek which sent him flying spinning a couple meters away. Then Haro tried to hit her in the back with his metal pipe, but with barely any time to react, Akane ducked and the swing of the pipe passed over her head, which she took the opportunity to throw an uppercut to his chin sending him flying in the air and leaving him unconscious. One of the boxers, still surprised by how quickly she took out two of his companions, run to the black haired girl screaming.

At the same time this was happening, Ranma adopted a defensive stance since her physical condition wouldn't allow her an offensive strategy, while two boxers and Youta launched themselves towards her. One of the boxers tried to hit her on her chest, but she moved away from the blow. When she was about to launch a front kick to the guy, another boxer swung his bat vertically directly to her head. By a hair's breadth, she dodged the blow and threw with all the strength she could gather a side kick to his liver, which fully impacted him and made the guy bend over himself with his hands over his right side screaming in agony. Then payed attention to her first target who was looking at the one Ranma just hit, and with great speed despite her condition, she launched a round house kick that hit with violence the guy on his neck, throwing him directly to the ground face down. Unfortunately, Ranma's weakened senses didn't notice Youta, who waited his chance, approaching her from behind, and swinging his metal pipe towards her right shoulder. Akane saw him from the corner of her eye, and after dodging a blow from the only guy left that was attacking her, she run towards Ranma and jumped to connect a flying kick to Youta's head's temple, which interrupted the blow directed to the Ranma and sent the bully several meters away from the redheaded girl. Ranma finally notice this and how Akane saved her, and she thanked the Tendo girl with a thumbs up.

The boxer still standing saw his accomplices laying on the ground, some unconscious, some twisting in pain. He looked around one more time, then looked at the two martial artists in front of him and dropped his weapon, raising his hands as a sign of surrender.

"Leave the bats and the pipes on the ground and pick up what's left of your friends, and go away. And I swear to Kami that if you try to attack Ranma again you'll end up worse than this." Said Akane, warning them.

The boxer helped to get up the ones that were on the ground, waking up those unconscious. Youta held Jiro, who had a big bruise on his cheek, wrapping his arm around his back and putting Jiro's arm over his shoulders. Ranma saw the pure hatred the boy had in his eyes while staring at her as they walked away from there along with the rest of the group.

When they disappeared from their sight, Ranma asked Akane. "You're ok, Akane? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm ok, but that should be my line." replied the black haired girl.

"I'm ok too. You gave them a good beating." Said Ranma.

"You did it well too. I hope they leave you alone from now on."

"Yeah, me too. But I don't know." Ranma said, not too convinced after seeing the stare Jiro gave her before leaving. "Damn, it's so uncomfortable to fight with a pad under my panties. Damned period…"

"How many days since it started?" asked Akane.

"It started last Thursday, so five days including today. Many times, this would be the last day, but sometimes it lasted longer." Explained the redhead.

"Don't worry, it's almost over, just a couple days as much. Let's go home. Dad and my sisters must be wondering why we are late."

Ranma nodded, and Akane offered her again her arm as support. Still feeling dizzy, the pigtailed girl accepted it with a smile, and the two girls walked together to the Dojo, content that they successfully defended themselves from Jiro and his bullies. Deep inside, Ranma thanked that this time she had Akane by her side. She had to admit that if it weren't for her, things would have gotten ugly.

---

After arriving at the Tendo Dojo, Ranma and Akane explained to Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun what had happened. All of them showed worried expressions at their tale. That Jiro guy seemed to have become obsessed with Ranma, and he didn't show any sign of wanting to stop his harassing.

Soun recommended Ranma to bring the issue to the Police, but the pigtailed girl refused. Jiro had made this a personal matter, and she didn't want him to think that she was going to chicken out over it, going to the Police. This was not different from other challenges she had faced in the past. She'll deal with him, in due time, when she gets better.

Nabiki had observed the conversation between Soun and Ranma without saying a word. She had in her mind Ryoga's plan.

Kasumi noticing that Ranma looked tired, she accommodated the redhead in a sofa the family purchased a few months ago to watch TV, placed in the washitsu. There she could comfortably wait for her boyfriend. She offered the redheaded girl a cup of tea as well, but she refused politely. She just wanted to close her eyes and get some rest.

One hour later, Ryoga arrived at the Dojo to pick up Ranma. He learned of the attack, and his face turned red with anger. He wasn't wrong when he found odd that Jiro skipped classes. The Lost Boy thanked Akane for helping Ranma and protecting her. Then went to Ranma and sat beside her. He looked at his girlfriend, not saying a word, but his eyes were telling to the redhead how sorry he was for not being with her again when she needed him. Ranma placed her good hand on his cheek, and negated with her head, trying to alleviate his guilt, telling him that it wasn't his fault.

A while later, while Akane was talking with Ranma, Nabiki seized the opportunity and took Ryoga to another room to talk to him privately. What happened made the mercenary girl more determined than ever to carry out their plan, and Ryoga even more. Ranma noticed their absence, but was quickly distracted again by another question from Akane.

A moment later, Ryoga and Nabiki came back, and the Lost Boy told Ranma that they should go home. He had asked the taxi driver to wait for them, just as he had been doing lately when he didn't expect to keep the cab waiting too much time, so the couple said goodbye to everyone, ready to go home.

Ten minutes later, both youngsters were at their home. Ryoga opened the door and Ranma went straight to the couch, plopping down on it. Ryoga walked to the kitchen and opened the back door to the backyard to let Shirokuro in. The dog started to cheerfully walk around Ryoga, asking for a pet, which Ryoga obliged happily. He then turned his eyes to the redhead on the couch, and saw that she had her eyes closed, and a very tired expression on her face. This pained him deeply, because he knew how hard had been these days for her, taking their toll on the pigtailed girl. The Lost Boy walked to her and sat down by her side on the couch, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. This made the girl to smile, keeping her eyes closed.

"We're home now. Relax, and rest." He said, holding her close to him. After a couple minutes just enjoying the silence, Ryoga spoke again. "That bastard has made his bullying towards you into something personal." He said to her.

"Yeah, he really hates me." Ranma said, remembering how he stared at her when Jiro's friends took him. "At least now he knows it's a bad idea to try to attack me while Akane is with me. But I was so afraid they could hurt her, Ryoga. I couldn't forgive myself if she got wounded because of me." She said, opening her eyes and lowering her gaze.

"Don't punish yourself with that Ranma. None of those maggots are any match for Akane, or you, even in your condition." Ryoga wanted to tell her that after he would deal with Jiro he wouldn't be a threat to her or any other ever again, but he couldn't. Not until it was done, or she would try to stop him, or worse, she would try to come with him. "Listen Ranma, why don't you go upstairs and take a nap? You look tired, and some rest will do you good. In the meantime, I'll go and purchase a few things we need. Ok?"

"You're right. I'm dead tired. Can you prepare dinner?" asked the redheaded beauty.

"Of course. That's the idea behind going to buy some groceries. Do you intend to sleep until then?" asked the fanged boy.

"Man, I could sleep all the way until next morning, but don't worry. I'll be ok just until dinner, maybe earlier." Replied Ranma smirking.

"Ok. Sleep all the time you need. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up."

"Then I'll go upstairs, but I need a shower first. Can you help me, pretty boy?" asked the pigtailed girl with an innocent stare.

Ryoga gulped, because he knew what was going to happen. "Of c-course, beauty. Let's go and get fresh clothes."

---

"Do you know how distracting is to try to wash myself while constantly seeing your huge boner?" Ranma was scolding her boyfriend while he was helping her to get dressed in some pajamas, when in reality she was just messing with him. She got aroused while seeing him with a 'tent' in his pants, and wished he hadn't had so much self-control, jumping into the shower tray and taking her right there. He was avoiding her advances for the last couple days, and she understood him. He feared he could hurt her considering her injuries, but she thought he was overreacting. She wasn't a porcelain doll after all. She wanted him so badly, and she knew he wanted her too, despite his excuses. His body's reactions gave him away.

"I'm sorry Ranma. I couldn't help it. I'll close my eyes next time." He said chuckling nervously.

"Oh, c'mon, where's the fun if you can't see me? Nope, next time you have a boner we'll deal with it in a proper way." The redheaded beauty said, winking at him.

Ryoga gulped, and his face turned intense red.

'We've had sex a few times already, and he still blushes when I tease him with it. I love it. He's so adorable.' Ranma thought, biting her lower lip. She then approached him and kissed him softly, tasting his lips. Ryoga placed one hand on her left hip and another hand on the back of her head, stroking her loose intense red mane. Then she parted lips with him. "Ok handsome, I'm going to bed. If I'm not awake when you start preparing dinner, wake me up."

"Fine. Get some rest. I'll be back in an hour." He replied. Then the redhead jumped on the bed and covered herself with the sheets, and Ryoga went downstairs, to get ready to go out.

Ryoga attached the leash to Shirokuro. He had agreed with Nabiki to meet her in the groceries store he usually goes, and he only had 15 minutes left. Considering that he didn't want to keep the mercenary girl waiting, he grabbed his keys and exited the house quickly.

10 minutes later he was at the store's door, thanks to Shirokuro's leading. Nabiki didn't arrive yet, so he waited. Many things were passing through his mind. The more concerning one was the possibility that the guys wouldn't be at the park, but Nabiki was pretty sure they would want to talk about the fiasco of today and plan something else, and her sources confirmed that they always met at that park.

"Hi Ryoga boy." Someone greeted him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned his eyes to the source of the greeting, to meet with Nabiki, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie.

"Hi Nabiki. What's with that getup?" asked puzzled the Lost Boy.

"I don't want those thugs to recognize me. Just a precaution. And why are you bringing your dog? Curious colour pattern, by the way." She said, observing the half-black half-white dog.

"How do you think I got here without getting lost?" replied Ryoga smiling.

"Oh, right. A clever dog, I see." She said looking at Shirokuro.

"Yeah, she's a smart girl." He said petting her, which the dog thanked wagging her tail happily. "Well, should we go now? Do you think they will be at the park?" asked the Lost Boy.

"I would say that it's highly probable. They will be licking their wounds and planning another way to beat Ranma. C'mon Hibiki. It's time for some payback."

---

Jiro was rabid. His face red of anger and frustration. Why was so hard to beat a single guy, no matter how much of a martial artist he would be? They were six, and had bats and metal pipes. And he was a girl the two times they attacked him. And now another girl beat the shit up of them too? Six strong guys armed beaten by two fucking girls? To Jiro's mind it was inconceivable.

"Calm down Jiro. The first time we were close to beat him. Everybody in the school know that Akane is really tough and a very good martial artist. We just need to caught him alone again." Tried to reassure him Haro. Youta and his three friends nodded in agreement.

"Oh, really!? And when would that be!? He will ask help to his friends to protect him. He's afraid of us, and he won't risk to be alone anymore." Jiro yelled, intimidating his friend.

"Then we can wait. Let him think we gave up. Sooner or later he will become confident and let his guard down." Explained Youta, failing to relax his angry friend.

"No! I won't wait. We won't wait. We've been too soft with him. We'll bring this next time." Jiro said, taking out from his pocket a butterfly razor and making the rest of the group's eyes go wide. "I'll stick this in his guts. I'm gonna kill that bitch! And that Akane whore too if she gets in the way."

"Jiro, keep it down man. We're in a public park." Warned Youta. This was getting out of hand, he thought. "Jiro, are you sure you want to kill that guy? Everybody will know it was us. Think straight man."

"Yeah, I'm sure idiot. It's what the ones like him deserve. I want him dead!" he cried, blind to any reason.

"You'll have to kill me first, bastard!" someone said behind them. The six guys turned their eyes to look at the one who said that, with Jiro hiding the knife behind his back instinctively. A tall young man was standing a few meters away from them, with an eye catching yellow and black bandana around his head. He looked tough, and his gaze was frightening.

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Jiro still confused.

"You don't know?" Ryoga replied in a dry tone.

"Oh, yeah. You are that faggot's boyfriend. I remember you from the photos. The one that fucks his ass. Or it's him who fucks yours?" Jiro said while laughing, with his friends smiling.

"Today it's you who's going to get fucked, but with this." Ryoga said, rising his fist. "I'm not sick, nor I have a broken arm, so let's see how you fare against me."

"I'll gut you just like I'm going to do with your girly boyfriend." said Jiro defiantly showing him the razor, while the rest of the group prepared to fight.

When Ryoga saw the knife, he understood he wasn't bluffing. He really intended to kill Ranma. He wanted to kill her… The thought horrified him. The Lost Boy's jaw tensed, gritting his teeth until he started to taste his own blood. A red aura formed around him, pulsating like flames in a bonfire, and his eyes turned white, with ki threads flowing out of them. Never in his life he hated someone as much as he hated this maggot who dared to threat the life of Ranma. And the reason why he was threatening her enraged him even more.

A familiar feeling started to invade his body. Something he felt when Mikado Sanzenin threatened to hurt the pigtailed girl. The battle aura inflamed, reaching several meters in height, and the regular people in the park run away frightened and not believing what they were seeing. Jiro and the others froze in place. They had saw ki in action when Ranma threw at them the Moko Takabisha, but this was something entirely different. It was terrifying.

Nabiki was hiding behind a car parked right beside the park, close enough to watch the whole scene (disobeying Ryoga's orders to stay away), and felt a shiver down her spine when she saw Ryoga's battle aura inflame. She was used to see ki in display, having lived with Ranma for almost two years, but all that energy Ryoga was expelling was impressive, and frightening.

The first one to react was Jiro, who looked at his friends and saw them staring at Ryoga paralyzed.

"Hey! Snap out of it! It's just fair lights. Attack him already! Daigo, Haruka, Nobu! Are you not boxers? He's just one guy!" screamed Jiro furious to his friends. Seeing they were still hesitant, he decided to take initiative and run to Ryoga willing to stab him with his knife.

Ryoga didn't move an inch, and when Jiro got close enough, the bully thrusted the knife directly at the Lost Boy's stomach. A fraction of a second before the blade could pierce Ryoga's flesh he moved at stunning speed his hand to grab Jiro's arm, and lifted it, squeezing it with a terrible strength, making Jiro scream in pain, dropping the knife to the ground. With his free hand Jiro punched with all the strength he could muster Ryoga's face. He felt like hitting a solid rock, and Ryoga barely felt it. The Lost Boy kept increasing the pressure of his grip on the bully's arm, until the bone could not resist anymore, and a sounding crack could be heard and Jiro's forearm bent in an impossible angle. This made the boy scream in terror and pain, crying and begging Ryoga to stop.

"We're even now." Said to him the martial artist. Then he noticed how the rest of the group started to move back, frightened and realizing this was an opponent they should had not messed with.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere!" yelled the lost boy to the others, releasing Jiro from his grip and punching him in his face to get him out of his way. Jiro felt like being hit with a sledgehammer, losing several teeth, and fell to the ground roughly, spitting blood. Then Ryoga run directly towards his friends at full speed. Daigo, Haruka and Nobu where together, and Ryoga head towards them first, kneeling before them and touching the ground with his index finger, yelling 'Bakusai Tenketsu!'. A huge explosion of dirt hit the three boxers, the impressive shockwave throwing them several meters away and knocking them out.

Haro and Youta saw speechless what Ryoga did, and how the three big guys where sent flying through the air to land on the ground a few meters away unconscious. This was more than they could stand, and run away as fast as they could. But when Youta had run four or five metres, a blurred shadow appeared at his right and a strong kick to his right thigh shattered the bone and made the boy to fall violently to the ground yelling in agony. Haro kept running, not looking back. He run until his lungs were burning, until his heart felt that it could jump out of his chest, but it wasn't enough. Ryoga was way faster than him.

The Lost Boy caught up with him at once, grabbing him by his hair and making him stop in his tracks. Haro was crying, begging his opponent to not hurt him, but Ryoga wasn't listening. He threw his knee directly at his belly, so strong that when impacted his diaphragm, it took all the air from his lungs. Haro fell to the ground, struggling to breath, feeling an agony he had never felt before.

Seeing that one of the boxers was regaining consciousness, Ryoga walked to him. Daigo got up with some difficulty, and saw Ryoga approaching him. He raised his fists in classic defensive stance, and when Ryoga was close enough, the boxer threw a combination of punches that the Lost Boy blocked easily. Then the bandana boy launched a fast uppercut that surpassed Daigo's defences and made a full impact on his jaw, fracturing it and sending several teeth flying through the air, along with a good amount of blood. The boxer fell to the ground back first and couldn't even yell in pain, his mouth all splattered in blood.

Ryoga looked around. Everyone was laying on the ground and it didn't seem that any of them could get up anymore. So he decided it was time he and Jiro had a few words. He walked to the boy, who was still on the dirt holding his broken arm, his mouth all bloody, and he was whining pathetically. When he saw him approaching, his whining became louder. Ryoga kneeled in front of him, and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, lifting him so his face was in front of his.

"You're not so brave now, right Jiro? How dare you hurt the person I love, and then have the balls to threaten her life? I should kill you right here… but I know Ranma would not want that, despite all you did to her. So now I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. Are you listening to me, little piece of shit?!" asked Ryoga rising his voice in a threatening tone.

"Yes, yes! But please, don't hurt me anymore! Please!" Jiro begged crying, showing his nicked and bloody teeth.

"You're going to stay away from Ranma. I know you're both in the same class. While in school, you won't talk to her, you won't get close to her, you won't dare to look at her. Same for that other bastard that is in another classroom, Haro. Is that clear?!"

"Yes!" he cried.

"Outside of school, if you ever dare, you and your friends, to get even closer than 500 metres from her, I'll come back and finish what I did today to you. You'll have to eat with a straw for the rest of your life. Prey to Kami that Ranma never tells me that she saw you or your friends outside of school, because now you know what will happen. Do you understand me?" Ryoga's face was almost touching Jiro's.

"Yes! Yes! We'll stay away, as far away from her as we can. I swear! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I did to her." The boy said not able to contain his tears. "I'm sorry…" he said crying loudly.

"Now you're saying you're sorry? I don't give a fuck about your apologies. The only thing I want from you is you staying out of Ranma's life forever. Remember this conversation, and warn your friends as well."

"I'll do, I swear!"

"One last thing... If you ever try to take revenge for this, if you ever try to hurt her or threat her life again, I'll kill every one of you, bastards." Then Ryoga threw the bully against the ground, got up, and he walked out of the park, not wanting to looking back at the mess he did with those guys. When he was getting out through the park's entrance, Nabiki met him, and his looks left her speechless, with his hands and clothes stained of blood. He even had blood on his face.

"Ryoga…" was all she could say when she saw him.

He looked at her with a distracted, absent expression. "Nabiki, I told you to stay away of the park. You shouldn't have seen this."

"Was it necessary?" she asked, still digesting what happened.

"What?" was his answer, not understanding what she meant.

"Did you… did you have to be so… ruthless? Ryoga, you didn't hold back. You could have killed them."

"He had a knife, Jiro, and said he was going to kill Ranma. What was I supposed to do Nabiki? Let them do it? And I did hold back. They are alive, right?" Ryoga said with a pained expression.

"But…" Nabiki didn't know what to say. Deep down, she knew he was right. If someone would try to kill Akane or Kasumi, wouldn't she do whatever necessary to prevent it? But everything comes with a cost. She could see that this took its toll on the Lost Boy. Ryoga had a kind and naïve nature, and despite his anger issues, Nabiki knew that this display of violence was something out of character for him. He had to behave like someone he wasn't to make sure those bullies didn't threaten Ranma's life ever again. "Ryoga, let's get out of here. Come on." She finally said, showing him a sympathetic expression and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to make him walk away from that place.

---

END OF CHAPTER NOTES

The clinic part was going to be much longer originally, but I ended up removing three pages from the beginning that were basically Dr. Tofu examining Ranma's wounds and treating them, accompanied by Ryoga and Nodoka. I did quite a bit of reserach so the way of treating Ranma's wounds would be as accurate as possible as it would be for real. The problem is that it didn't add too much to the story, and it was a bit boring, so I took it out, and I think it improved the overall feeling and pace of that part.
To tell you the truth, there's been a lot of editing and changes compared to what I first wrote for this chapter. The ending was going to be very different too (the outcome was going to be the same, Jiro's gang defeated, but the how was going to happen I thought initially was different).