============================== PART XIV Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am Stuck in the middle with you ============================== The grill was sizzling, the sauce was steaming, and the okonomiyaki was flying through the air with marksmanlike precision. It was a surprisingly busy night at Ucchan's. Ukyou was barely able to keep up with the orders, despite the hectic action. People zoomed in and zoomed out, faces were a blur, but at least they were paying. It would have been easier on her if Ryouga had been there, but he'd somehow gotten lost again and she didn't have the time to look for him. Finally, after several long and frantic hours, things settled down, leaving only three people in the restaraunt. One was a boy with somewhat long hair and round-rimmed eyeglasses, dressed in loose jeans, a t-shirt, and with a guitar case next to him. The second was a young girl, maybe 12 years old, with long, flowing brown hair and a bubbly, happy sort of persona radiating from her. The third was a girl at about Ukyou's age, with short, tomboyish hair, wearing overalls, and idly twirling a yo-yo while waiting for the other two to finish eating. This one looked slightly nervous. The three didn't look familiar to Ukyou at all. "Go on, ask'er," said the boy in glasses. The little girl nodded in agreement, urging the elder one on. "Excuse me... Miss?" said the girl, waving at Ukyou. "Yes, is there anything you need?" replied Ukyou, walking over. "Refill on the drinks? Something else to order?" "Actually... ah... I was wondering... did you know a person named... Ryouga Hibiki?" "Ryouga?" Ukyou blinked. What did this girl want with him? "Yeah, I do. Why?" "Well... before he died..." "Died? He's not dead." The girl's expression turned from nervousness to hope. "He's not? But... we watched the fight..." "He just fell into the river and got lost for a while," said Ukyou. "He's okay! He's alive! That's GREAT!" The girl stopd up and hugged Ukyou happily, then realized that might've been an awkward thing to do. "Oh! I'm sorry... I'm just happy to hear the news." "Who are you?" asked Ukyou. "Friend of his?" "Well... sort of... although it's been a while since we met. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? Sorry. I'm Ryoko, this is my younger brother Megane and sister Kyoko." The boy grunted a reply, otherwise ignoring the scene and munching on his okonomiyaki. The little girl cheerfully waved hello. "How do you know Ryouga?" wondered Ukyou. There was a nagging feeling that she had that she refused to identify as jealousy. "Well... it was a few years back..." *** [Unorthodox Weaponry School of Martial Arts, the past] Ryoko walked idly through the various dojos and other buildings that was the UWSMA, having nothing to do for the day and she certainly didn't want to be near her older brother, and her other siblings were out on some sort of training trip with their sensei. "Um... excuse me..." Ryoko turned around to see a rather cute looking boy, clad in a bandanna, looking very lost. "Yes?" she asked. "Could you tell me where I could find..." he took out a piece of paper, "Sensei Miyaji?" Sensei Miyaji? She looked at him more carefully. The bandanna, the fangs, that certain lost look... "You're Ryouga Hibiki, aren't you?" she guessed. Ryouga blinked. "Yes... have we met?" he said, sounding a bit confused. Ryoko smiled. She was beginning to like this boy already. "You're the one that beat Ryo, aren't you?" "Yeah, I guess," he said, shrugging. "You're kinda famous around here, y'know," she said. "Among the students, Ryo was unbeatable until you came along. You're kinda like a hero now." "I-I am? I didn't do much, really." "Modest too. I like that in a guy," she said, winking at him. Amazingly, he missed seeing it. She sighed and took him by the arm. "Come on, I'll show you the way..." *** "... and after a while, I became his... what's the word... navigator, showing him around whenever he'd get lost," said Ryoko with a sentimental smile. "I hadn't seen him in a while, and was back in town to visit." "So you came all this way to visit him?" asked Ukyou. "That's... nice." "Well... that... and... er..." Ryoko fidgeted nervously. "Well... it's like this..." *** Ryoko, clad in a gi, sat in the dojo with an elderly man in robes, with a flowing white beard accenting his face. "... and so I've come to you to ask what you can do, sensei," said she. The elder man sighed and stroked his beard. "I did not approve of this in the first place, Ryo's assignment to defeat Hibiki. But some of the more pride-driven sensei insisted on it. I cannot call Ryo back." Ryoko sighed, frowning. "Then I guess I'll just have to hope Ryouga's stayed in fighting form." "Well..." said the old man, "if you could somehow bring Ryouga back into the fold, it would appease the others." "Bring him back... how?" "Oh... I don't know," he said, shrugging. "Ask him nicely, beg him, get him to marry you perhaps?" He gave a tired laugh, then sighed. Ryoko, on the other hand, had a sharp, calculating look. "Did you say... marry?" "Hrm? Oh, yes, yes, just a joke..." "But it would get him out of trouble, right?" asked Ryoko. "Well, yes, but..." "Thank you Sensei!" she said, springing to her feet. "I won't let you down!" "Ah.. wait a minute, wait! That's not what I..." *** "... and so my sensei sent me off, hoping to end the conflict peacefully," said Ryoko proudly. "And marry Ryouga?" asked Ukyou, looking a little puzzled. "Well," she replied, blushing with a smile, "that too." Meanwhie, a pale, somewhat gaunt figure slipped into Ucchan's silently. Ryoko seemed startled by his entrance while Ukyou smiled. "Hey, Gosunkugi, welcome back!" she said. "Gosunkugi?" asked Ryoko as she stared at the voodoo practicioner. "Oh... I thought he was someone else..." "So," said Ukyou, "how was vacation?" "It was nice," he said shyly. This, he felt, was the important moment. He was going to ask Ukyou for a date. It wasn't that he was particularly obsessed with her, not as much as he was with Akane, anyways, but he felt he had something to prove to himself: he could indeed be bold enough to ask a girl to a date. And it just happened to be that Ukyou seemed to be a nice person. "U...Ukyou... I was w-wondering.. ah... "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NO-..." Everyone in the resteraunt froze as those words were roared. Megane and Kyoko blinked, shrugged, then resumed eating. "That... sounded like Ryouga," said Ukyou, smiling. She headed for the front door, with Ryoko following. "R-ryouga? I-it can't be!" mumbled Gosnkugi. *** "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NO- oh... Fujiwara street... let's see...." Ryouga unfolded a map and began tracing his current location. "Oh... I see... then I go south," he said as he turned west, "then I turn west at the next light." He reached the next light and turned south. Miraculously, despite the wrong directions, he got to where he was headed anyways. Unfortunately, he didn't notice. "Where is Ucchan's from here..." he muttered, getting angry at himself for getting lost to begin with, while right behind him a large sign with lights reading 'UCCHAN'S' flashed quietly. "Damn it... I HATE GETTING LOST!" He felt the anger surge in him, and tried to calm down again. If anything, he learned that loosing control of his temper was a Bad Thing. He began to notice that there seemed to be a slight glow of eerie purple light slightly tainting the area. He heard behind him a door open, and turned around. "Ukyou? Is that you?" Ukyou stood there, in the door way to Ucchan's, with a shocked expression on her face. Her hand was pointed... Ryouga couldn't tell, at him? Above him? What, he wondered, was bothering her? "Ryouga! Look out!" Ryouga dodged to the left just as something glowing an unnatural purple slammed into the pavement. Ryouga stood in a defensive position as the purple blaze of fire dimmed, revelaing a sneering, lanky, pale figure in a black suit. "Hello, Ryouga." The figure held out his hand and suddenly an ebony umbrella with a razor-sharp tip appeared in his hand. His eyes were alight with the otherworldly aura, and it seemed as if he was actually leaking energy. His hair was swept back, but spiked by the energy. He fixed his two empty burning eyes on Ryouga, and grinned. "Ryo?!" yelled Ryouga. "You...you were dead!" "I'm feeling better now," said Ryo. "Time to die." "RYO!" The Gosunkugi-lookalike from hell paused, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, Ryoko ran forward and stood between the two. "Don't you dare hurt him!" she yelled, glaring at him defiantly. Ryouga stared at her, surprised at her actions. She seemed... familiar to him somehow. "Ryoko? Is that you?" he asked. "Not now!" she hissed. "I'm trying to save your life." Ryo leveled a gaze at her that would, in other circumstances, kill. For some reason, though, he seemed to soften his glare slightly. "And why do you defend him?" "I... I..." she said slowly, "Well... I'm... I'M IN LOVE HIM!" There was a moment of absolute silence. Ukyou and Ryouga were in shock. Gosunkugi peeked through the doorway and was stunned into silence as well: seeing a demonic version of himself was incredibly alarming to him. Ryo's expression was unreadable. Finally, Ryo spoke. "You," he said flatly, looking at her. Ryoko nodded. "And him," he said, glancing briefly at Ryouga. Ryoko nodded again. "Ryouga... I'LL KILL YOU!!!" He lunged forward quickly. Ryoko tried to stop him, but he tossed her aside with ease and began slashing wildly at Ryouga, who blocked with his own umbrella. Ryouga saw openings in Ryo's attack, now that he was attacking purely from anger, and readied himself to end the fight with a solid hit to the skull. Ryo stepped back a moment, then moved forward with a low slash. Ryouga saw his opening and let loose a hard punch, not holding back on his strength. Meanwhile, Ryo's slash revealed itself to be a feint, as his grip suddenly rotated so that the handle was now at the front, and it raced towards Ryouga's face blazing with dark energy. *WHAM* Ryouga went sailing through the sky and over a few blocks, while Ryo was flung back into Ucchan's, breaking through the doors and stopping at the back wall. "Wow," said Ryoko. "Cross-counter punch!" Ukyou looked at the damage done to her establishmetn and winced. "My restaraunt! Look what they've done!" Ryoko handed her a credit card. "Here." "What's this?" "Ryo's credit card." "Ooh." Meanwhile, at the back of Ucchan's, Ryo shook his head, winced, and struggled to get up. It was at this point that he finally realized he landed on somebody. He looked back at the crater he made in the wall and examined the curious other person that was in the hole. "What's this?" He reached down and grabbed the figure by the collar, looking him over like a lab specimen. "You... must be Gosunkugi." Gosunkugi picked this most inopportune moment to regain consciousness, and his eyes opened to reveal the hellspawn version of himself staring right at him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed in sheer terror, loud enough to irritate Ryo, who promptly booted him through the ceiling and across town. "To think I look like _him_" Ryo muttered. He suddenly felt _very_ weary, the purple and red flames around him flickering away to nothingness. "Over... exertion... maybe?" he muttered as he felt his own consciousness flicker and fade into black. "Well," said Ukyou, "what do we do with him now?" Ryoko put her hand on her chin and hmmed for a while. "Ah. I know. Got any ropes?" *** "Ow. Owowowoww..." Gosunkugi groaned, pulling himself from the wreckage. That... whatever that was... could it be the thing that he had tried to summon before? Hadn't he cancelled the summoning? He had to prepare himself... things were going wrong. In times like that, he wished he really knew magic. It would have certainly come in handy a minute ago, wouldn't it? He began to hear a call, a whisper in his head. Then it was interrupted. "THERE YOU ARE, EVIL SORCERER!" Kunou bellowed. Gosunkugi turned a paler shade of white. Kunou was charging at him, surrounded by a dark swirling aura. His bokken seemed to be engulfed with purple, red, and blue fire, and twice as long as usual. "I know the true nature of your existence, foul demon! I shall vanquish you now!" Kunou yelled, slashing with his sword. A black ribbon of energy surged forth off of Kunou's bokken and slammed into the wall next to Gosunkugi. The wall shattered. "GAAAAH!" screamed Gosunkugi as he ran down the street faster than he ever ran before in his whole life. *** Ryo wasn't feeling well. In fact, he felt distinctly tired. Perhaps, he thought, he was tapping into his newfound power too much? He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, and that's when he finally noticed his dilema. He was chained, tightly, to a chair. As Ryo's vision cleared, he saw he was in the establishment known as Ucchan's. With four familiar people sitting near by. "Oh. _You_ people." Sitting at a nearby table was Ukyou, Ryoko, Megane, and Kyoko. Ukyou watched him warily, while the other three gave him a nonchalant glance. "Hellllllo, Ryo," said Ryoko casually. "Are you calm yet?" "If you would... remove these chains... _now_." "Oh no. Not yet. First, you calm down." "I am calm," he said in a monotone voice. "Now release me before I shall have to hurt you." "Next," said Ryoko, "you tell us where you've been." Without warning, Ryo surged forward, trying to break out of his bonds. Ukyou quickly slammed his head with her spatula, and all went dark. A minute later, his lights came back on. "You shouldn't have done that," said Ryoko. "Had to try," he replied with a shrug. "Now," said Ukyou. "How'd you survive that blast at the bridge? What happened to you? And what was with that strange aura?" Ryo hmmmed. There didn't seem to be too much harm in telling them. He thought of the possibilities, but no, no harm to be done at all. "We were... at the bridge. My memory is hazy at this point, there are things I remember that aren't right. Ryouga... turned into a pig... but that can't be right." Ukyou coughed violently for a brief second. "The bridge was collapsing..." continued Ryo, "and then I was... somewhere. It's all a blur. I wandered for weeks... I think I was in China. Then, one day, it all changed..." *** [the recent past] Ryo angrily stomped through the thick foliage of the jungle, limping and looking very much on the edge of madness. Damn this green... green... stuff! He swore he'd join the "Pave the Earth" foundation if he ever got out of there. And if he'd ever get his memory straight. He was getting hurt, alot, because of some of the hazzards that the plants sometimes covered up. He almost fell off of a cliff once. Then there were the unexpected nuisances. He was stomping around minding his own business when a group of gaijin lunatics pop out of the bush and start yelling at him about getting in the way of their cameras and the pandas. A film about pandas! How mundane! He muttered a silent curse against all gaijins as he stomped through the wilderness. He swatted some tall grass with the red umbrellla (he picked it up in China) angrily and stomped onward. Suddenly, he felt a chill and turned around. A large figure, clad in a black military outfit and matching cape stood there. No, that wasn't quite right. The dark figure _hovered_ there. He also was surrounded by a fiery energy that pulsed blue, purple, and deep red. "You," the dark man rumbled, "have great potential. I extend to you an invitation to join my ranks." "Why should I?" "Join me, and I will give you wealth, prestige, and show you true power. The dark powers of the soul. Psycho power." "Psycho Power?" Ryo sneered, "It's nothing I've heard of." "Oh?" The dark man began to flare. He grinned evily. "But then, in your current state, you've heard of very little. Isn't that true?" He had to admit, that was true. The Shadoloo Lord considered the boy before him carefully. "Perhaps I am being too generous... but I shall aid you. I sense a kindrid spirit in you. It pleases me to see such a thing." "What... kinda of aid do you offer?" Ryo couldn't help but look into his eyes. They were so... hypnotic. "Come closer, and I will show you." The Shadoloo Lord's armored hands began to glow with an unnatural purple, red, and black flame. The boy felt compelled to step forward, despite the fear he felt. He moved as if pulled by puppet strings. The military man reached forward quick as lightining and grabbed him by the skull. Dark flames flared around them. Two voices were heard in the deep of the jungle: the bellowing laughter of the Lord of the Shadoloo, and the agonizing screams of Ryo Muhoshin. After a few seconds of agonizing contact, Ryo's head was released. His smoking body fell to the ground and his mind was on fire with memories of old, surging back all at once. This was hurting far worse than he expected. As Ryo writhed on the ground in pain, he could have sword he heard someone say, "oops." "D..did you j-just say... oops?" he muttered weakly. The crime lord didn't dignify that question with an answer. Instead, he gave a typical villianous speech. "I give you a taste of true power... and your memories restored. I leave the rest to you, although... I know you will not dissapoint me." *** "... and here I am today. Simple, yes?" Ukyou looked at him as if he was insane. "Aaaaand, since then, I've been busy. A little walk by the harbor, a stroll down the street... just getting ready..." Ryoko regarded him warily. "What do you mean by that?" "Considering I was a bit messy, you just might find out later," he muttered. Ryoko continued to eye him with much distrust. Megane and Kyoko were looking over the desserts menu. There was something wrong with this scene, thought Ryo. "How, may I ask, are you paying for this dinner?" he asked. Ryoko quickly put his credit card in her back pocket. Unfortunately, he noticed. "And how of my money have you used?" he asked, eyes narrowed. That decidedly unnatural dark aura was slowly beginning to return to him. "H-hey... we thought you were dead!" protested Ryoko. "You stole from him?" wondered Ukyou quietly. "_How_Much?_" said Ryo with a strain in his voice. That disturbing aura got a shade brighter. "Aheh... well... we did think you were dead," she said nervously. Ryo frowned. "All of it." Ryoko slowly nodded. Kyoko ordered a milkshake. Megane ordered a pina-colada. Ukyou finished her tally of the damage to Ucchan's, and sent the estimate, complete with Ryo's credit card number. "And... let's see... what else... oh yes. You're in love with... _Ryouga_." Once more, he was alight in purple and ebony flames, and his eyes were obscured by demonic light. "Ryo... calm down," said Ryoko nervously. "I almossst forgot about Ryougaaaaa." With a blinding flash of light, he vanished, leaving empty chains in the chair. "Uh oh," muttered Ryoko. "And, Ryoko, I want my wallet back later," said the disembodied voice of Ryo Muhoshin. "Baibai, oniichan!" yelled Kyoko. "Hey, how do you know Ryo anyways?" Ukyou asked Ryoko. "He's... ah... he's my... well... he's my brother." Ukyou was surprised. There wasn't any family resemblance. "Was he adopted?" she wondered. "We wonder that a lot ourselves." *** In his room, Gosunkugi opened a long untouched book. For some reason, the call was stronger than ever. It demanded to be opened, and Gosunkugi couldn't ignore it. He flung the book open and it shot forth a bright blue light, engulfing him. One moment, he was in his room. The next, he was... nowhere. WELCOME, HIKARU GOSUNKUGI. *** The women of the apartments screamed in terror. They were running through the halls, screaming, looking for deadly weaponry, and looking very angry. "What's the matter, ladies? Aren't you glad I'm back? Wheee!" Happosai gleefully said. He darted past a barrage of kitchen knives, dove under a wall of women armed with baseball bats, and crashed out a window. "See you pretty ladies later, okay? Hahahahaha! What a haul! What a..." Suddenly, Happosai stopped. "Hm. Wait. I sense something.... HE is ba-*ACK*" Unfortunately, he stopped long enough for an angry mob of women to catch up to him.... *** [some days later] A cruise ship sailed into the harbors of Tokyo. Crowds surged on the edges of the boat to have a look at this city's bright lights. One particular girl looked out at the city with hope in her eyes. Manami Hinako looked out, across the waters, across the towers, across the miles of streets, looking for her first true love. It seemed destined that they be together again. Manami was already happily astonished when her father told her that they'd have to move back to Tokyo because the company had changed it's mind. She felt lightheaded at the now very realistic possibility of their reuinion. Manami looked down at the photograph of the bandanna-clad boy which she kept in her locket and whispered, "Where are you now?" *** Gosunkugi sat in his room, in a blank state of mind. Ever since he... came back from... Nowhere... he hadn't budged an inch. Candles were once again tied up on his forehead, but unlit. At the moment, Gosunkugi was speechless. Being told that you're supposed to be the next great sorcerer tends to have that effect. It all seemed to make sense somehow, all the reasons why his magic so far has been woefully unsuccessfull. He just wasn't doing it right. Almost right, but not exactly right. He chanted silently in his head and gestured with his arms. The candles on his forehead lit up, but not with flame. Instead, a light, no warmth coming from it, was attached to each end of the candle, glowing blue. Well, that was the simple stuff. Easy. He could never have done that in the past. He looked at a doll and remembered all his past failures, and smiled at how stupid he was. Then he looked at the stack of self-help books and frowned. He'd resorted to those silly things when he thougth magic had totally failed him. Now he knew better. With a dramatic swing of his arm he gestured towards the books. He gestured again. Nothing. He took a deep breath, looked at the books carefully, and then slowly waved his arm in their direction. The books dissapeared in a puff of smoke. Gosunkugi smiled. He had been given the ability to better comprehend the technicalities of magic. Maybe he couldn't yet do great feats of wonder, but he was more powerfull now than he'd ever been.* *(of course, before he was about as powerful as a feather...) Life seemed, to him, to be taking a magnificently great turn for the better. If those bullies ever even tried to mess with them again there'd be hell to pay. In fact, why not get a little revenge? Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? And Akane... ah... no. That's over. But what about Ukyou? Gosunkugi slowly formed a possible love spell, but then dismissed it. Maybe he was desperate and dateless, but he didn't want an artificial substitute. He was determined to do this the right way, he'd win her heart, he'd charm her socks off, he'd be suaaaave. Then he frowned. He'd have to get rid of Ryouga. And that rampaging demon too. For a few minutes, Gosunkugi looked through the book, picking, choosing, and memorizing what spells looked particularly helpful against anything that might have come straight from hell: exorcism, holy touch, protection spells against all sorts of danger, including evil, demons, and magic, healing spells, and other interesting items. Out of habit, he brought along his mallet, spike, and voodoo doll, as well as a few shinto wards. And for Ryouga, he had a few different spells in mind. Mostly of a destructive nature. Gosunkugi started humming a happy tune and strolled out the door. *** Breakfast with the Muhoshins. Toast, milk, cereal, newspapers, and of course the television. Today was the last day that they'd be in the hotel suite, after which they'd have to start looking for a place. //... and Mishima stock rose today six points on the Nikkei exchange.../// "Pass the eggos please!" said Kyoko cheerfully. Megane grumbled, groped around for the plate of eggos, and placed them in the general area where his younger sister sat. He wasn't a morning person. He detested the mornings, and felt that, contrary to popular belief, mankind wasn't meant to see the sun rise. //... another scandle hits the ruling party of... // "Need more coffee, Megs?" asked Ryoko. She, like her sister, and unlike her brother, was a morning person. Megs grumbled in response and groped around for the coffee pot. //... gruesome discovery, as a warehouse full of slain yakusa was found by the harbor this morning...// "Newspaper," Megs managed to grumble. Kyoko handed it to him, then resumed plowing into her waffles. "Hey," he mumbled, "wherz'sports section?" //... only evidence found, an umbrella, which seems to have been the murder weapon... // Ryoko blinked. Megane lowered his paper briefly, a puzzled look on his face. Kyoko finished her waffle. "Want more!" Ryoko handed her the rest of the waffles, then stared at the screen with a worried expression on her face. Her brother's words were echoing in her mind... {"a walk by the harbor"... "just getting ready"... "Considering I was a bit messy, you just might find out later"} She looked, worried, towards Megane, who also had a somewhat concerned expression. "You don't think," she said, "that our bro's gone over the deep end...?" Megs looked as puzzled as she did. "Hrm." "By the harbor.. really messy..." she muttered. "I mean... he..." "No... no way," said Megs. "He's never killed before, though th'guy keeps on talkin' like he will... he never has. You told me yourself, he coulda killed Ryouga a couple'a years back." "I... guess you're right." "Of course I'm right. He ain't a killer, an'he never will be," said Megane with increasing confidence. "Might break a few bones, but not a killer..." "Well... he _really_ doesn't like Ryouga," she said nervously. "And then there's that umbrella..." "Er... aheheh..." Megane laughed nervously for a moment. "Er.. ah.. maybe he got brainwashed while he had amnesia by some vast criminal organization and is now an unsuspecting pawn involved in a greater scheme, all the while ignorant of the dark schemes revolving around him?" Ryoko stared at him. "Then again," he said, "maybe not." "Been readin' too much of that science fiction stuff again, Megs." "Hey, just speculating. But trust me, he don't have the guts to be a murderer." "Hope you're right," she said quietly. "Hope you're right." *** A girl and her rather *vicious looking pig walked down the streets of Nerima. She sat down, looking sad. "I don't know," she said to the pig, "I don't think I'll ever find a worthy husband. Grandfather would have been dissapointed." The pig snorted. *(It was as tall as an average basketball player and had big, menacing, blank eyes. It also weighted almost as much as a small car.) "We've been traveling for such a long time. It's amazing how many people can't beat you, Katsu-Nigiri. You're a strong one, aren't you." She said, scratching behind one of the pigs ears. It squealed proudly. "I really was hoping that Shutaro Mendo would be the one. It would have been nice to be rich. I wanted to stop wandering around so much." The pig grunted and glared at her. "I know, Katsu-Nigiri, I shouldn't give up." The pig squealed. "I'll find the man of my dreams if it's the last thing I do!" she said, standing up and yelling at the sky. She sat down on the sidewalk. "But where on earth is he, anyways?" Somebody bumped into her, knocking her over. "Ow!" she yelled, falling down. The pig snorted in a rather hostile manner at a bandanna-clad figure. "Oh, sorry." He said, reaching out to help her up. "Really, I am." {He's... cute} she thought. "Er... interesting pig you've got there," he awkwardly said. The pig glared at him in a very unfriendly fashion. "He's a sumo pig." she said proudly. "Hi, um... my name's Akari... Akari Unryuu. Sorry I got in your way." "Oh, not at all. I just wasn't looking at where I was going. My name's Ryouga Hibiki." he said. "If you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back home soon." "Do you live in this city?" Akari asked. "Yeah, I'm working at Ucchan's resteraunt. Drop in some time." Ryouga said, smiling, and wandered away. Akari looked at him with an appraising eye. "He's so hansome!" she squealed. "So, what do you think?" she asked her pig. The pig grunted. "Well, one way to find out. Let's go!" she said, and the pig charged. *** Ukyou stood at the doorway of her resteraunt, watching the sunset. She thought about the events of the past several days, and about how she reacted to them. They were rather hectic days, really. Just when things were settling down to an eerie sort of normality, it got weird again. Maybe it was weird, but it felt like the _right_ kind of weirdness to her. She closed her eyes, and a boy's smile came to mind. It wasn't Ranma's. Ukyou adjusted the yellow and black bandanna that held her hair back. She looked out into the streets, searching for a bandanna-clad figure, and sighed. "I hope that idiot didn't leave Japan," she said affectionately. *** And so Ryouga wandered through the streets, feeling pretty good in general. Admittedly, picking up several love interests and finding out that your worst enemies seemed to have gotten a major power boost was not good. That wasn't important at the moment. It felt pretty damn good to be _here_ in this city, this district, this little corner of the world. It was a nice feeling, right here right now. A girl's smile came to form in his mind. It wasn't Akane's. Ryouga smiled and it seemed that somewhere in the universe there was a *snap* as if a loop was being closed or a boulder started to roll again after being held back by a small twig. He hummed a little tune he heard once when he passing through America. He didn't notice the sumo-pig charging at him a block away. He didn't notice a young girl named Manami behind a window of a restaurant holding a locket which held a picture of her first love. She stared at Ryouga as he past by, in shock as she realizes that the boy who just walked by matched the photo perfectly. He didn't notice Tatewaki Kunou glowing with dark ki energy charging at him with a frighteningly fiery bokken. He didn't notice Kodachi Kunou with her bouquet of toxic flowers and fiery obsession in her eyes. He didn't notice Gosunkugi perched high atop a building nearby, candles once again tied to his head but this time burning a supernatural blue. He was aiming a rather nasty curse at Ryouga. He didn't notice Ryo Muhoshin struggling to run at him, being held back by Megane and Kyoko. Ryo didn't notice Happosai charging at him from behind. He didn't notice Ryoko bounding towards him and calling his name. He didn't notice Ranma rocketing across the skyline in yet another Akane-induced crosstown flight. He didn't hear Ranma either, as he yelled "Heeeeeey Ryooooooougaaaa!" He didn't notice the trash can that suddenly sprouted robotic arms, spidery legs, several interesting bits of weaponry, and had a maniacal transvestite at the helm. Ryouga went on, still happily humming and occasionally singing a song. "Da da-da, Da da-da....dadadumdadadumdadadumdadadumdadadum..." He might have been happy, but he was not musically inclined. Fortunately, nobody heard him display this astounding lack of talent. He dug into his shirt and pulled out a little compass necklace. He looked at it and smiled. "Guess I'd better find my way back." he said, and started walking again, hopefully in the right direction. After all, he had to get back home. ****************** [keep sound of Ryouga humming] [Fade out from scene] [Roll credits] [Start credits sequence] [Ryouga's humming tune merges with a song that begins playing, getting louder as it begins, and soon the humming is replaced by...] "I'm gonna be (500 miles)" by The Proclaimers from Sunshine on Leith When I wake up [Scene from Part I where Ryouga gets yeah I know I'm gonna be awakened rather violently when Ukyou I'm gonna be the man hits him with the spatula.] who wakes up next to you When I go out [Scene of Ryouga and Ukyou in the movie yeah I know I'm gonna be theater, sitting in the theater and I'm gonna be the man enjoying the movie.] who goes along with you ==================================== MANY THANKS TO: RUMIKO TAKAHASHI... ==================================== If I get drunk [Flashback of Ryouga entering Ucchan's yes I know I'm gonna be while somewhat drunk, then he gets I'm gonna be the man dragged away quickly by Ukyou.] who gets drunk next to you ============================= ...THE FANFIC MAILING LIST... ============================= And if I haver [Show flashback of Ryouga and Ukyou yeah I know I'm gonna be in the woods talking while Ryouga I'm gonna be the man practices with his umbrella.] who's havering to you ============================ ...THE RANMA MAILING LIST... ============================ But I would walk 500 miles [Show flashback clip of Ryouga's tour And I would walk 500 more around the world, Paris, Seattle, etc] Just to be the man who walked 1,000 miles To fall down at your door ======================================== ...MY BOSSES, WHO NEVER BUGGED ME WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS INSTEAD OF WORKING... ======================================== When I'm working [Show flashback clips of Ryouga working the yes I know I'm gonna be tables, cleaning dishes, lifting heavy I'm gonna be the man equipment, etc etc at Ucchan's.] who's working hard for you And when the money comes in for the work I'll do I'll pass almost every penny on to you ======================= AND FINALLY, COCA-COLA! ======================= When I come home [Ryouga walks down the street, using Ukyou's yeah I know I'm gonna be compass to guide him. He's smiling a bit. I'm gonna be the man who From far behind, a massive war party comes back home to you including Ryo, Kunou, Kodachi, Mecha-Tsubasa, And if I grow old Ryoko, Sumo-pig, etc etc etc are charging at well I know I'm gonna be Ryouga and catching up to him. Ryouga doesn't I'm gonna be the man notice.] who's growing old with you When I'm lonely [Show Ukyou standing at the restaurant door yes I know I'm gonna be fiddling with the bandanna that ties her hair I'm gonna be up. Camera shifts to over-her-shoulder view. the man who's lonely Ryouga appears, walking from around a corner, without you smiling and waving.] When I'm dreaming [Ukyou smiles. Then the rest of the war yes I know I'm gonna dream party become visible. She frowns Dream about the time and retreats into the store, closing when I'm with you the door quickly.] [Fade out as the camera does a closeup of Ryouga's hand reaching for the door. There's one second of black and silence There's one second of black and silence and then Loud Violent Fighting Noises (TM) erupt.] [End with Ryouga screaming.] ================================ ======== A NEW BEGINNING ======= ================================