Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ One-Half a Wing and a Prayer ❯ A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste ( Chapter 7 )

Author’s Note: Ranma and friends were created by Rumiko Takahashi, produced by Kitty in Japan, and was licensed in the U.S. by Viz Communications, I do not own, rent, or lease them. This was written purely for the entertainment of all of the Ranma fans out there. This work may contain material of a sexual nature, only those 21 and older are legally allowed to read, so check the ID’s at the door.
P.S.: for Janice.


Morning came all too early for the residents of the Tendo dojo. Ranma had quietly disengaged herself from Nabiki, and was sneaking back into the room she shared with her father. Pulling on a clean pair of boxers and a fresh tank top, she slid back under the light sheet of her futon. She lay back with a contented smile on her face knowing that Nabiki did seem to care about her, and she had a full charge of energy from the night’s activities. She began to let herself drift back to sleep, figuring she could get another hour in before the hustle of the day started.

Suddenly she found herself airborne and through the window, her father a jump behind her in full battle mode. Figuring the old fool had thrown her as part of training, she decided to show what she could do now and let her wings appear. Reversing her direction and kicking off her sheet, she met her oncoming father in mid-air to deliver a driving kick to his defensively crossed arms.

Genma was pushed to the ground outside the house, while Ranma gained altitude, hovering over her father and smirking. She was even with the second story windows, and saw that the noise created by Genma’s crash landing had awoken the rest of the residents. Nabiki stood nude looking out the window at the flying girl, her eyes wide and mouth open, having never seen Ranma fly before. She quickly disappeared from view and reappeared downstairs wearing a bathrobe and joining Kasumi on the porch.

“They’re at it again,” she said. Kasumi nodded and stood with her as they watched Genma jump up and try to attack his female son, only to get kicked in the head and sent into the pond again. “I guess that this will take a while, you need any help with breakfast, Sis?”

Kasumi refused to meet Nabiki’s gaze and quickly answered, “No, that’s all right.” She then bustled out to the kitchen to finish preparations.

Outside, Ranma swooped in low to attack with a high speed punch, and was met by a wall of water as Genma splashed heavily and obscured his image. She flew through the water, and before she could correct her trajectory, found herself kicked by the waterlogged panda. Rolling away, she gathered herself for another go.

Suddenly Kasumi yelled out, “Breakfast is ready!”

The panda instantly started to happily hop towards the house, and Ranma took the opportunity to jump, land on his shoulders, and kick him in the back of the head. As the panda fell, she bounced away and landed in front of Nabiki.

“That’s how you end a practice session, not by running away to get a meal.”

She saw that Nabiki’s eyes were drawn downward, and checked herself. She found that her white tank top was soaked to the point of translucency, and her nipples stood proud and erect due to the cold water. Sighing, she pulled off her top and began to wring it out on the grass.

Mister Tendo was walking in, sipping his morning coffee, and saw that Genma was out cold on the ground. He also saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye, and said, “Sparring first thing? Good to see you enthusiastic, Ranma.”

“Thanks Mr. Tendo,” chirped Ranma, drawing attention to herself. Soun saw the almost nude girl, and sprayed a fine mist of brown liquid into the air as he keeled over, passed out.


One Half a Wing and a Prayer
By Seth

Chapter 7
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste


Akane had come down the stairs in time to see her father pass out and stormed over to the topless redhead growling, “Put your shirt on! Don’t you have any feminine modesty?!”

Spreading her wings, Ranma looked at her funny and answered, “Duh, guy who turns into a sex demon. Why should I?”

Akane angrily shouted, “Have some shame!”

“Ease up, Akane,” Nabiki soothed, “Ranma hasn’t done anything wrong. Besides, she’s my concern, not yours.” Ranma used Nabiki’s distraction to duck upstairs, change gender, and get dressed. He passed Nabiki on her way to her room, and she gave him a sly smile, which Ranma returned with warmth. He passed her, and almost jumped when he felt her hand pinch his behind.

He turned and saw her enter her room, sliding down her robe to expose her bare shoulder, and giving him a smokey look. As she closed her door, Ranma shivered and wondered what he had gotten into.

After breakfast, he quickly got ready for school, and waited for Nabiki at the door.

She came to put on her shoes and asked, “What’s up?”

“I just don’t want to deal with Akane’s attitude again. I’d rather go with you.”

Nabiki sighed, “All right, but I have a lot to do before class, so don’t get any ideas.”

Ranma nodded and said, “I just want to get to know you, even if it’s a little late…you know…”

“That almost sounds like regret,” she commented, “You have a problem?”

Now it was Ranma’s turn to sigh as they went out the door, “No, I just don’t think that this is how normal relationships are supposed to go.”

They continued on to school talking quietly. Ranma showed he was truly worried that he was forcing Nabiki into everything that had happened, and Nabiki knew that he meant well, but by the time they got to the school, she had reached her limit.

“Look Ranma, you’re a little late to feel guilty about screwing me,” Ranma blanched at her bluntness, but she continued, “I know that you’ve been alone most of your life, and this apologizing crap is the only way you know how to handle a situation like this, but it has to stop. You didn’t use Shampoo, and you didn’t use me, we both chose to be with you. So if you don’t knock it off, I’m gonna start getting pissed.”

Ranma was about to say he was sorry, but the look in Nabiki’s eye told him he’d regret it, so he clamed up. The two entered the school grounds in silence, until Ranma decided to try a new approach.

“Do you think that Dr. Tofu knows anything about demons, or maybe he can tell if I’m just going a little nuts?”

Nabiki looked at him in surprise and asked, “You want to tell him about the curse?”

“If he’s going to be my doctor, he’ll find out eventually,” he concluded, “Why not get it out of the way?” They agreed to see the doctor after class, and separated to go to class.

Before he left, however, Nabiki said, “I think I like you Ranma, boy and girl, so lighten up on yourself, ok?” He nodded in understanding, and turned to walk away, only to be hit with a spray of cold water as one of the nearby sprinkler heads burst.

“Oh come on,” she groused at the sky. She bolted around the school to look for hot water, and saw Akane going through her morning workout. Tossing a wave to the embattled girl, she turned to run into the building, and ran into a mummified Kuno instead.

From bad to terrible, she thought, and tried to go around him, but he reached out and engulfed her in a hug.

Through the bandages, she heard him mumbling, “Pigtailed girl, you show your true feelings for me. I knew that cur would fear my prowess after his defeat and you would be free.”

Her pigtail standing on end, Ranma grabbed his shoulders, and proceeded to drive her knee into his groin. She then kicked him towards Akane shouting, “Your girlfriend is over there!”

Akane saw the incoming kendoist, and delivered a counter kick sending him back towards Ranma yelling, “Oh no, you want the pigtailed pervert over there!”

The two girls spent a few minutes simply kicking the boy back and forth, ignoring the other boys that normally participated in the morning brawl. They stood well to one side, not wanting to get between two angry girls in a mood for violence.

One of their number summed up the spectacle they were witness to, “Kuno Hackey Sack…Cool.” As a group, they came to the conclusion that things were getting a little out of hand, and a truce was drawn up by the business club. The various team captains each signed, and shook hands. Akane Tendo was no longer a target due to fear of extreme Hackeyitis, i.e. the fear of being turned into a small, malleable object that is kicked around by pissed off females.

As they dispersed, Ranma decided to end the game, and punted Kuno over the school wall as the bell rang, and the gate closed. She waved again to Akane and ran into the building. She stealthily entered the cafeteria and used every bit of skill she had to avoid the attendant’s view. Quickly she retrieved a small paper cup of hot water and retreated from the room, splashing herself as she ran to class.

He slid into homeroom just as the teacher called his name, barely avoiding detention. The class proceeded normally from there, as Ranma fought to stay awake. He did manage to take a few notes, but kept drifting into thought about his current problem. Every time he turned into a girl, a different set of instincts took over, all of them centered on feeling sensual pleasure. He knew that this wasn’t always a bad thing, but when he changed back, all that knowledge and drive was gone. He needed to figure a way to balance it out, not losing the incredible feelings that had developed while gaining control in both forms.

Unfortunately he just kept running his thoughts in circles, unable to find any answers. By the time the last class was complete, he was beginning to worry that he really was going to go nuts, but worse yet, he was only going to go nuts in his male form, leaving his demon girl side loose to do whatever demon girls do.

He met Nabiki outside, and instantly she could tell that his worries were eating away at him. She clasped his shoulder and spoke mentally, “You are stronger then this. Don’t let it stop you.” He took the mental encouragement, and smiled at the older girl. The two teens then headed out to Dr. Tofu’s clinic.

Soon they sat with the young doctor and Ranma began, “I have a few secrets that I need help with, will you keep them?”

“My oaths as a doctor prevents me from revealing anything about my patients, Ranma,” Tofu said, sitting down across from the nervous boy. Nabiki stood leaning against the wall, giving an encouraging smile to Ranma.

He’s like a live grenade in a steel bunker, she thought looking at him, He could blow up anytime and destroy himself emotionally.

Ranma sighed and started, “It all began in China when my idiot father took me to this training ground…” He went on for some time, telling the entire story, blushing through most of it. Tofu sat, taking it all in. He only spoke to ask for clarification on a vague point or for an explanation of Ranma’s moods during certain incidents.

Meanwhile, Nabiki was enthralled by the tale, knowing some of it, but not all. She felt warmth at his descriptions of her and Shampoo as the first people he could remember that were willing to care about him. She also felt dread at the description of the rouge Amazon Elder, Enema, and the near suicidal lengths that Ranma went to in defeating her.

Once the entire story was told, Tofu asked for a demonstration of the curse. Ranma had soon changed back and forth a number of times, and even showed the doctor her wings. The doctor then shooed Nabiki out of the room and gave Ranma a dual full physical, one as a male, one as a female. After that was complete, Nabiki came back in, and Tofu gave them his findings.

“Physically speaking, Ranma is in excellent condition in both forms, though his demon side exhibits a faster healing rate, and a few other anomalies.”

The currently male sheepishly grinned and told Nabiki, “My wings are really ticklish, it almost hurt.”

The doctor continued, “Also, as a demon, Ranma’s ki flows much differently. This is no great surprise, but may be one reason he feels out of balance emotionally. When his body shifts from one form to the other, his ki switches pathways rapidly causing a temporary imbalance. The other reason is a little more esoteric.” He took a deep breath and continued, “Every time he assumes the demon form, his own nature comes into conflict with the inner nature of the demon. It is a sexual predator, and that goes against Ranma’s true spirit as a protector. The only thing I can recommend is deep meditation or hypnosis to face this dual nature, and find a compromise.”

Ranma fell into thought, so Nabiki said, “Thanks Doc, I think you helped out a little just by letting Ranma know that it isn’t his fault.”

“Of course,” he replied, “and if there is anything else, don’t be afraid to ask. For now, I’ll see if I can dig up anything else that may help you in the texts I have.”

The teens got up and began to head out, when Kasumi entered the waiting room. Instantly the doctor stiffened up, his glasses fogging over as he greeted the eldest Tendo daughter.

“Hello Kasumi, what a coincidence it is to meet you in a place like this.”

Kasumi smiled and said, “Hello Doctor, I’ve come to return the book you lent me last week.” She noticed the two teens and continued, “Ranma, Nabiki, I didn’t know you were stopping by today.”

Nabiki quickly started shoving Ranma to the door and replied, “Yea, just getting Ranma set up with a quick check up. We have to get to homework, so we’ll see you later. Bye Sis.” Once outside she breathed a huge sigh of relief and began to put some distance between them and the clinic.

“What was that all about,” Ranma asked.

“Remember how I said he likes someone?”

Ranma thought for a moment and asked, “Kasumi?”

“Oh yeah,” she continued, “ever since she was about sixteen. He’s actually only a few years older then her. He’s a real genius and graduated from med school at eighteen. He took over the clinic from his father and interns at the hospital every other day. It just started one day, she walks in, and he goes gaga. It’s real dangerous to be around him like that if you aren’t Kasumi.”

“Why?”

Nabiki shivered, “He bends people…”

“You mean he…”

“I saw him twist one old lady into a pretzel. It took her three months in traction to recover. He doesn’t even know he’s doing it, his brain just takes a walk whenever she’s around.”

Ranma shivered, “Now that’s scary.”

Later that night, Ranma left his father sleeping in their room and went down to the dojo. He had thought over what the Doctor had told him, and decided that there was no time like the present to try it. He found the dojo dark and empty, and without turning the light on, he entered and sat in the middle.

Meditation had never really been one of his father’s teachings, though Ranma had picked up the basics from the various schools they had visited over the years. It wasn’t until his stay in the Amazon village that he had ever really been trained properly to meditate. Cologne had shown that a superior warrior had to both strong in mind and body to truly excel.

He took those teachings and put them to practice here, lowering his mind into a deep state of being, pulling everything he was inward. Time seemed to slow down, and for a while, Ranma was unsure he could do it, or even fall asleep. Eventually though, he had closed everything off, no sight, sound, or sensation.

He stood nude on a field of nothing, and looked around. Soon he came upon what he was looking for. She was about twenty feet away, as nude as he was, her red hair unbound, and her wings stretched out, her eyes faintly glowing in the dark.

“Hello, Ranma,” she said, oozing sensuality, “for the moment, you may call me Amnara.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess,” he told her.

She looked at him quizzically, “This is what you wanted, to find me, yes?”

“I’m not sure what I was looking for, I just wanted to get control back.”

She gave a wicked smile, “So do I. But you are not going to let me take over, are you?” He shook his head and she smiled wider, “Then let’s reduce this to the basics so you can understand. Only one of us is going back alive, and that one gets control.” With that, she lunged, attacking him.

Meanwhile, Nabiki was also trying to meditate. Instead of turning inward, she was trying to harness her new abilities to reach out, skimming the dreams of those around her, learning what she could, and couldn’t do. It had taken many tries, but she was ready for another attempt, and went for the closest target, her sister Akane in the next room.

She felt the brush of another mind, and opened her mind’s eye to the dreamscape before her. It was an almost cartoonish grass field, and Nabiki swore that she heard some Disney music coming from nowhere. She would have thought the whole thing was just a cute dream, save for one thing. On top of the nearby hill, a child like Akane was dancing in a circle with a group of smiling cartoon mallets. Every now and then, she would grab one and use it to bash the plushy looking forms of Kuno, Ranma, and a dozen or so other boys as they randomly popped out of the ground. All the while, Akane laughed, enjoying the game and the day.

Nabiki pulled her mind back, and opened her eyes in the real world.

Shivering, she told the night, “There is something very wrong with that girl.”

She cleared he mind, and once more reached out, seeking the next dream. This time she entered her father’s mind, but mentally fled almost as quickly as she entered. The dream was of a time long ago, before the number of people in the house had been reduced to four. She had almost instantly sensed what her father was remembering in his dreams, and didn’t want to dig up her own painful memories.

She decided to try Kasumi next, figuring that she would wind up in another cartoon like dream where Kasumi was the princess. Instead, she found herself in Dr. Tofu’s clinic, where she heard a low grunting noise. She followed the noise into one of the examination rooms, where she saw the doctor tied to the examination table, stripped from the waist down. Riding on top of him, impaling herself on his erect member was Kasumi wearing a leather corset, and holding a chain that led to a collar around Tofu’s neck.

Nabiki boggled as she watched Kasumi bounce up and down, and almost dropped her jaw at what she heard.

Kasumi screamed out, “Fuck my wet pussy, my little slave…ohhh…more…Harder you piece of shit, I want more!” Tofu seemed invigorated by this and thrust upward to please her. Nabiki almost went limp after that, when she saw Kasumi tug on two other chains, pulling a nude dream Nabiki and girl-type Ranma into view.

“Pleasure your Mistress, you dirty little sluts.” The two girls both bent over and began loudly sucking on Kasumi’s breasts as she continued to ride the tied up doctor.

Nabiki had seen enough, and rapidly withdrew from the dream, breathing heavy. The experience had thrown her for a loop, and left her more then a little horny. The idea that her proper little housewife sister was a closet raging domination queen was almost too much to swallow, but it certainly explained Tofu’s reaction to her, if even a fraction of it was true. After regaining her balance, she decide to find Ranma’s dream, and try to see if she could actually participate, perhaps even spice it up a little. She reached out to the room Ranma shared with his father, but only sensed the lazy old man sleeping there. She did not want to see what he had in his mind, so she withdrew and looked elsewhere.

When she finally found him, it was distant, at the edge of her range, but the intensity of emotion pulled her in. Because of the physical distance, she could only sense what was happening, and that was only that…

“Ranma’s in danger.”

She instantly snapped awake, and jumped from bed. Pulling on a bathrobe, she barreled outside to the dojo to find Ranma sitting in the center. On his face was an expression of pain. She sat down across from him and closed her eyes in an attempt to enter, but she could only come close enough to hear the sound of battle, and a few exchanges of words.

A high voice that Nabiki recognized as Ranma’s girl voice said, “Face it, you can’t beat me, and you never will. You’ve only touched the tiniest amount of power I can channel.”

A loud explosion could be heard, and Ranma’s male voice shouted back, “Doesn’t matter, I’ll never let you win. I won’t let you hurt anyone.”

Nabiki pulled back. She couldn’t get any closer to the conflict, but she knew that Ranma needed help. She could feel him tire, and knew that if the demon won this battle, Ranma may not be able to recover from it.

“I hope this works,” she said, reaching over to Ranma, and placing her hands on either side of his head. She then opened herself completely, as she had only once before, and dove into Ranma’s mind.

Ranma and Amnara were evenly matched as far as skill went, but Ranma knew he was at a disadvantage. He was stronger, but she was lightning quick, and for every blow she shrugged off, two more landed on him that felt like a ton of bricks. In addition, she had started throwing balls of demonic fire at him, and he was barely able to dodge them as he looked for any opening. There was also the distraction of her jiggling anatomy, which she knew distracted him, so she made it jiggle that much more.

Her speed and powers were wearing him down, and he knew that for all his bluster, it was only a matter of time. He cursed himself for getting into a fight he was in no way ready for, but he had to continue. If this monster got out it would drain Nabiki, Shampoo, and anyone it could get its hands on. This was what he feared becoming, and this was why he could not lose.

Suddenly he felt a rush, and one thing entered his mind.

“You won’t fight alone.”

Amnara paused as she felt Ranma regain his strength, and saw the shadow of a female form melt into him. Soon, Ranma was looking stronger then when the fight had started.

“That psychic bitch, Nabiki,” she growled out, and charged.

Nabiki was inside Ranma, feeling what he felt, seeing what he saw, and she began to use that to their advantage. Ranma was no slouch as far as tactics went, but she could think outside the box, finding ideas in the most unlikely of places, and she added that to Ranma’s own combat sense.

Ranma saw the flaming fist flying at him, and grabbed for the wrist, avoiding the flame and spinning the demon past him in a classic judo throw. Before Amnara could recover, he was attacking. Kicking and punching in a random combination that kept the demon off balance until she left an opening. Ranma then launched a monster uppercut that blew past her defenses, sending the redhead into the air. When she fell, Ranma was on top of her, driving a knee into the small of her back and sitting down to keep her pinned.

Nabiki knew that Ranma didn’t want to kill, even in his own mind, so she looked for another way to end this while Ranma concentrated on keeping the demon immobilized. Soon she came to a simple answer, and Ranma reached for the demon’s wings. He began to use his fingertips to rub lightly along the leading edge of the leathery wings, brushing along their surface, and dancing across the membrane.

The redhead stopped grunting in discomfort from being pinned, and started to chuckle at the sensation shooting into her back. Soon the chuckle dissolved into giggles, then melted into laughter.

“Stop it,” she cried out, “No fair!”

Ranma answered with a little smirk, “Anything Goes, remember?”

The redhead was soon crying between bursts of loud laughter, unable to control herself under the onslaught. Her lungs were burning, and her head was swimming, so she did the only thing she could think of.

“I yield!”

Ranma stopped, but kept a light grip on her wings to let her know he meant business, “What was that?”

Amnara turned her head to see him out the corner of her eye, “I surrender. I know you aren’t going to kill me, and I can’t win, so you get what you want, me, under your control.”

“How do I know you won’t just jump up and drain me?”

She rolled her eyes and said, “I am you, dummy. I can’t drain myself.”

Nabiki gave Ranma the go ahead, and he stood, releasing the downed succubus. She stood and looked Ranma up and down. Ranma was about to cover himself, but Nabiki gave him encouragement and pride in his appearance, so he stood tall. Amnara nodded.

“The two of you are formidable as one. I’m glad I don’t have to face you again after this.”

Ranma asked, “How did you shoot those fireballs at me?”

The demon laughed, “You have to figure that one out yourself. As I said, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what I can do.”

Ranma shrugged, and he and Nabiki were about to leave, when the redhead stopped their form.

“You sure you don’t want to stay for a bit?”

Ranma looked confused and asked, “What for?”

Amnara spread her stance slightly, and put her hands on her hips. She thrust her chest out and struck a sexy pose, “What do you think, stud. You’ll never get a chance like this again to fuck me, and I’m sure Nabiki will enjoy riding behind your eyes for this.”

Ranma stood in shock as the implications ran through his head. His sexy girl side was offering herself to him, and Nabiki was so far in his mind that they were almost one person. He could feel her curiosity as they examined the succubus, from the dripping wet red haired mound between her legs, to the dark nipples capping her large breasts, heaving with heavy breath in anticipation, and finally the look of unadulterated lust on her face.

Nabiki decided, and opened herself completely to Ranma’s senses, giving him a mental shove in the direction of the redhead girl. This time, there was no confusion, no conflict, he knew what to do. He gathered the smaller girl into an embrace, her breasts pressing into his chest and she lifted her head to kiss him.

As their tongues danced around each other, Amnara reached down and began to massage Ranma’s member. Not wanting to be outdone, Ranma let his hands wander down her body to gently squeeze her full buttocks. They moaned into each others mouths, and Ranma began to lower them to the ground.

Ranma’s hands, and then mouth, began to tend to the demon’s breasts. As his activities increased in pace and intensity, Amnara began to shiver in anticipation, and when he nibbled lightly on her nipple she gasped and spread her legs wide for him.

Nabiki was swimming in sensations as she felt Ranma’s throbbing penis brush against Amnara’s moist pussy, and shared a groan of pleasure with Ranma as the head brushed along the insides of the demon’s lips. When all were ready, Ranma pushed into the girl beneath him, entering her slowly and savoring the feeling of suction and pressure on his rock hard phallus. Soon he reached as far as he could and paused, the walls of Amnara quivering around him, sending little shivers between his legs and up his spine.

As for the demon, she sighed out, “So full…”

She started to wiggle underneath him, and he understood what was required next. Slowly he reversed the direction of his thrust, pulling out until only the head remained in her, and the feeling of suction increased as she shivered again. Reversing again, he pushed back into her, watching as she closed her eyes and moaned his name into the darkness of the dreamscape.

Nabiki saw the girl was in heaven, guessing that Ranma’s size was pleasantly pressing against the inner walls of the redhead, causing all kinds of mind blowing sensations to wash over her, but Nabiki was also losing herself to the feeling rushing through Ranma’s body as his cock was squeezed by those same soft inner walls.

Soon the pace began to quicken, Ranma’s thrusts came faster and harder. His grunting and Amnara’s moaning were joined by the wet sound of their bodies slapping together. She wrapped her legs around his waist, driving herself on to him further with every stoke, while he grabbed her hips to pull them together, causing her breasts to violently bounce up and down as they accelerated their lovemaking.

Nabiki felt a pressure build up inside Ranma’s loins, and with a final thrust, he buried himself deep into Amnara. Her walls began to convulse as his cock throbbed out and pulsed seed deep into her. Nabiki was overwhelmed by the pleasure; shorter lived but more intense then her own orgasmic experiences.

As they came together, Amnara shouted out, “MY MASTER!!!”

The two halves of one person rode the euphoric high, and for a moment all three, Ranma, Nabiki and Amnara were as one. As they slowly recovered, each experiencing mild shivers of post orgasmic bliss, Amnara looked up at Ranma.

“Soon, you will discover many things about your powers,” she said, “And know that in the end, you will be loved by few, and hated by many, for tonight you have become a true succubus in my form.” With that she slowly faded away. Soon Ranma was alone in his own mind with Nabiki inside him. She also began to withdraw, letting him know that she would be there when he awoke.

As they returned to the real world, they looked at each other, sharing the closeness of the moment. Nabiki lowered her hands from his head, but he caught them, and pulled her into a hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered into her ear.

She shifted to sit in his lap and mold her body to his and answered, “Anytime. How do you feel?”

“Whole.”

They looked into each others eyes, and knew the other’s pain, loneliness, joy and hope. They shared a tender kiss, and Nabiki found that Ranma was just as good a kisser in his guy form as he was as a girl. They sat like that for a time, until Nabiki started to giggle lightly in the dark.

Ranma asked, “What?”

Nabiki stopped for a moment and replied, a smile in her voice, “That had to be the most narcissistic thing I’ve ever seen.”

Ranma looked at her, not comprehending, and she burst into another fit of giggles. He thought about questioning her further, but shrugged his shoulders instead. He figured that it was a joke he just wasn’t ready for.

As the two teens settled in for the night, both feeling a little more at ease, another figure was walking through the night. The young man wore a tattered bandana, and a monumentally large backpack. He read a road sign as he walked along the side of a highway, and it declared ‘Tokyo Exchange: Nerima Next Right’.

He gave a smile as he thought of his two quests. The first was to find Ranma Saotome and finish the battle that had begun two years ago. The other was to find the beautiful Amazon redhead that had fled China, and make sure she was safe. He had seen her once after Jusenkyo, she was jumping into the ocean with her pet panda, obviously on the run from the oppressive village that the Amazons lived in.

It was hard to decide which goal was greater to him, revenge or his duty to see to the safety of a young, attractive girl. Then he remembered her almost flashing him, and all thoughts of Ranma dribbled out his nose.

He asked the sky, “Is this what it is to be in love?”

Suddenly a car honked at him, startling him out of his reverie. The driver let fly with a long string of curses in English, flipped Ryoga off, and drove around him.

Ryoga looked around to get his bearings, and walked over to a convenience store. Two young men leaned against the wall, one tall and wearing a backwards baseball cap to cover his long hair, the other was shorter, with a beard and wore a heavy trench coat.

In English he asked, “Do you know the way to Nerima?”

The taller one answered, “Dude, don’t know a Nerima, but Jersey City is back the other way.” The shorter one pointed back along the road. Ryoga bowed politely and headed back. After he left, the short one shrugged his shoulders and gave a questioning look at his friend.

“No shit, man. He must be from fucking Canada or something.” They continued their vigil, leaning against the storefront as Ryoga disappeared from sight. An hour later, they saw him pass again, this time coming from the opposite direction wearing a parka. An hour after that, Ryoga walked out of the store wearing a Hawaiian shirt, looked around and headed down an ally.

They blinked and the tall one asked, “Christ, Bob, what you put in my weed this morning?” The other shrugged and pulled out a small bag of joints and tossed them in the trash. “Good call, there’s something wrong with that shit.”


To be continued.