HEARTS AND MINDS PRELUDE FOUR
		 HIBIKI RYOGA AND UNRYU AKARI: THE GIFT

		       Ranma 1/2 manga fanfiction
			     by Gary Kleppe

	The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful
property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission.
This story may be freely redistributed, but it should not be altered
substantially or used for profit in any way.

				 ______


	"You want more, Yoiko?"

	"Uh huh!" The four year old nodded eagerly. Her father, Hibiki
Ryoga, scooped another spoonful of rice onto her plate. She moved
forward in her chair as she started to shape the rice into the form of a
pyramid.

	"Sit back in your chair, Yoiko-chan," Ryoga said. "You don't
want to fall and hurt yourself." Though Yoiko seemed like the world's
most durable child, her parents weren't about to put her to the test if
they could avoid it.

	Ryoga's wife came over with a fresh pot of tea and poured it.
"Did you see the picture Yoiko drew today, honey?" She showed him a
piece of paper with mostly illegible crayon scribble. "She's going to be
a great artist someday. Just look at this cute little piggy!"

	"Not a piggy, Mommy! A kitty!" Yoiko continued to form her rice
into some unidentifiable shape.

	Ryoga finished his food and set his empty plate on the table.
"There was another call from Kuno Tatewaki today, Akari-chan." He wiped
his face with his napkin. "He's asking everyone to meet tomorrow evening
at the Tendo dojo."

	"Are you planning on going?" Akari asked.

	"I think so... though I hate to leave you two here all by
yourselves."

	"Don't worry about it, honey. I've been handling farm animals
for a long time."  She smiled playfully at little Yoiko as the rice
structure she had built collapsed onto her plate, part of it spilling
onto the table. "Though *some* animals are more trouble than others."

	Yoiko looked up at her father. "Daddy going away?"

	"It looks that way, kiddo," Ryoga said. "Some friends of mine
are in trouble and I need to go help them."

	"Aunt Akane? And Aunt Ranma?"

	"Ranma's an uncle, honey." Ryoga resisted the urge to chuckle.
"No, it's not them. They're going with Daddy to help our other friends.
Mommy will have to take care of everything here until I get back. You'll
need to be a good girl for her. 'Kay?"

	"'Kay, Daddy. Can we watch Barney dubs now?"

	"Nope." Akari picked Yoiko up in her arms. "Five times a day is
the limit, remember? It's bath time for you, while your Daddy cleans up
here."

	The little girl giggled as Ryoga playfully mussed her hair. Her
mother carried her out of the room.

	Ryoga started cleaning off the dining table. He hoped his wife
and daughter would be all right while he was gone.

	He and Akari had built their farm up into a pretty good business
over the last several years. They bred pigs, both for food and as sumo
wrestlers. Their pork couldn't compete pricewise with the big
agribusiness companies, but it was much better in terms of quality and
taste. They sold a lot to upscale restaurants and gourmet food stores.

	Ryoga never imagined that he'd be living this kind of life. He
thought back to those old days. Most of the time he had wandered the
countryside aimlessly, only occasionally seeing a familiar face...

				 ______


	"Why, hello, Ryoga! Goodness, we haven't seen you in such a long
time! Won't you come in?"

	"Uh, hi, Kasumi. I just stopped by to say hello to Akane."
Actually it had been pure chance, or perhaps fate, that had led Ryoga to
the Tendo home. After Ranma's wedding fiasco he had simply set out
walking. Now, weeks later, he was back in the same place.

	"Oh dear, I'm afraid she's still at school. She'll be back soon,
though. Make yourself at home, and I'll get you some tea."

	Ryoga dragged himself into the Tendo family room as Kasumi went
to the kitchen. He unceremoniously plopped his weary body down onto the
floor mat.

	He wondered what it would be like to be Kasumi. The life she led
was so different from his -- always taking care of the household and her
family, rarely even leaving the house. He, on the other hand, hardly
ever managed to stay in the same place for more than a day or so.

	Make himself at home, she had said. He would do that for now.
While he could.

	"Ryoga."

	Ryoga turned to see Mr. Tendo, with Ranma's father right behind
him. "Hello, sir."

	"We need to talk, son." Mr. Tendo's voice had a nervous edge to
it, the kind that told Ryoga that the conversation they were going to
have wasn't going to be pleasant.

	"Er... okay."

	"I don't know how to put this kindly, so I'll just come right
out with it. I want you to stop sleeping with my daughter."

	"Huh? I... er... What..."

	"I know all about what you've been doing, son. I've seen you
change back from pig to human several times in our bathroom. Saotome
here saw it happen in Jusenkyo. We let you go on with it in hopes that
it would make Ranma jealous enough to admit his feelings for Akane. Now
that they're getting married, I have to say that enough is enough. If
I see P-chan around here any more, I'm afraid I'll have to expose you."

	"Try to do the honorable thing, son," Genma said. "A true
martial artist doesn't hide himself inside the form of an animal."

	Ryoga stood. Part of him wanted to pound the two men into the
floor. How dare they? He had already given up on Akane after their last
trip to China. All he wanted here was the chance to relax a little.

	But there was nothing he could do. Lashing out at Mr. Tendo
would only make Akane feel bad. Besides, they were right. Pretending to
be Akane's pet *was* a despicable thing to do. He had known that all
along. Why had he just kept on doing it?

	This was it, then. It had been nice while it lasted. Sometimes
he had almost felt as if he actually belonged here.

	Kasumi came out bearing a steaming kettle as Ryoga reached the
front door. "Oh my, don't you want your tea?"

	"I have to go." He slid open the door, stepping one of his feet
outside. "Tell Akane I'm sorry I missed her. Tell her I'm sorry... for
everything."

				 ______


	The world was a blur as Ryoga trudged down the streets. He
didn't care where he would end up; he just had to keep moving, though it
didn't seem to help. No matter which direction he went, he couldn't get
away from the terrible truth. He couldn't be with Akane any more. Not
even as a friend. When it came down to it, he didn't really have any
friends anywhere.

	He remembered having felt like this once before, a long time
ago.

	As a child, Ryoga's grandmother had taken him to school every
day. She was always waiting outside when school was over, to take him
home.

	One day he came out and she wasn't there.

	Looking for his grandmother, the six year-old Ryoga noticed a
crowd of grown-ups gathered down the block. There was an ambulance. He
tried to listen to the voices in the crowd, peering around the people's
legs to see who they were looking at.

	All at once, he knew where his grandmother was.

	The official report would list the cause of death as a heart
attack. Hibiki Kodama, deceased at seventy-eight years of age. Ryoga, at
the time, didn't understand any of this. All he knew was that he needed
Grandma to take him home, and they were carrying her into the back of
the big car, and he couldn't get to her because there were so many
people.

	The ambulance's doors swung shut, and it pulled away from the
scene. Ryoga ran after it. He had to catch up to them and get his
grandmother back! He ran until he was too exhausted to keep going, but
the ambulance was nowhere to be seen.

	He stopped and looked around. He didn't know where he was, or
which way he needed to go to get home. Grandmother had always taken him
wherever he needed to go. All the roads, all the buildings looked
exactly alike.

	Ryoga wandered around for hours and hours. The sky darkened, His
legs hurt, and home was still nowhere in sight. He sat himself down on
the sidewalk with his back against a fence, crying as he thought of how
he would have to stay by himself out on the street forever and it would
turn freezing cold and he'd never see his mother or father again.

	Then he heard a familiar noise. "Arowf! Arowf!"

	"Kuroshiro!"

	The half-black, half-white dog ran down the sidewalk, tongue
flapping, tail wagging. It jumped joyfully into the air as it reached
Ryoga. The boy hugged the dog as it licked his face. He was rescued!
Kuroshiro could take him home!

	The boy eagerly followed the dog down block after block, until
they reached a familiar house. It was his house! He was home! "Mom!
Dad!" he cried as he ran inside. Now that he was with his family,
everything would be all right.

	Ryoga found no one inside the house. The telephone rang as he
came into the family room.

	"Hello?"

	"Ryoga? Is that you, son?"

	"Daddy?"

	"Son, your mother and I don't know where we are right now. We'll
be home to see you as soon as we can. Just a few days, son... we hope.
Tell your grandmother."


	Ryoga had gotten lost regularly ever since then. His parents
never came to help him. They were as lost as he was. It was up to him to
find his way. Nobody was going to come looking for him...

	"Hey, Ryoga. So there you are."

	"Ranma!" Ryoga shouted as he turned, tensed for battle. "What do
you want?!"

	"Take it easy," Ranma said. "I ain't lookin' for a fight. Your
girlfriend's been lookin' for you, y'know. I thought I'd help you get to
her place."

	Ryoga steamed with rage at this taunt. "You know very well that
Akane is *not* my girlfriend!" Ranma had won her, and now he was rubbing
it in his former rival's face.

	"Huh? That's not...."

	Ryoga stretched his arms out in front of him, his palms facing
outward. "SHISHI HOKODAN!" He dug into the black depths of his pain and
depression, pushing forward until they coalesced into a solid mass. The
energy erupted toward the pig-tailed boy, driving into a tree with
hurricane force.

	Ranma stood, dusting himself off. "I'm talking about Akari,
idiot! She's been looking for you."

	"Akari... wants to see me?" It had been weeks, maybe months,
since Ryoga had seen her. He had naturally assumed that she'd given up
on him.

	"Of course! She really likes you, y'know. Wanna go see her, or
should I just leave you here?"

				 ______


	Ranma leapt down the road towards Akari's farm, with Ryoga
following close behind. Now that Pop and Mr. Tendo were threatening to
blow the whistle on P-chan, bandanna boy was going to need something to
keep him occupied. Hopefully, Akari would be just the thing.

	Akari had come to Furinkan a couple of weeks earlier, hoping to
find Ryoga; her "big pig", as she sometimes called him. If anyone else
had said that, it would've been an insult.

	Akane tried to tell Akari that Ryoga would be back as soon as he
could. She was looking for P-chan, her *little* pig, who *she* hadn't
seen recently. Ranma watched with Hiroshi and Daisuke as the women
talked. He prayed to any deities that might be listening for Akari not
to spill the beans about Ryoga's curse.

	"It's my fault he hasn't come to see me, I know it is. I must
have said something that offended him." Akari wiped her teary eyes. "I
miss darling Ryoga so much! He's just so perfect! Every time I hear the
word 'pig' it reminds me of him."

	"Hey, he's probably just lost again." Ranma hoped Akane wouldn't
ask why Ryoga should be associated with that word. But with Akari, it
probably made sense even without the curse. "He'll come back eventually.
I'd bet my pig-tail on it."

	Akari started to cry.

	"C'mon, Akari. Ryoga likes you. He's a good guy, even if he can
be kinda pig-headed sometimes."

	Akari cried harder. Ranma didn't understand why.

	"Ranma!" Akane said irritatedly. "You just have a gift for
saying the wrong thing, don't you?"

	"Huh? What'd I do?"

	"Stop saying... you know."

	"Stop saying what? I don't get it!"

	"Don't say..." Akane rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated
sigh. "Ont-day ay-say ig-pay! Understand? Ont-day ay-say ig-pay!"

	Akari gave a wail worthy of Tendo Soun as she ran out of the
schoolyard.

	"Huh? What was that for?" Akane asked.

	"It might've been the way you were talking," Daisuke said.

	"Oh yeah," Hiroshi said. "You know, 'pig latin'?"

	Realization crossed Akane's face. "Oops."

	"Umb-day, Akan-e," Ranma sniggered. Then he moved away in a
hurry, to avoid the pounding he was about to get.

	Now he was approaching the Unryu farm with Ryoga.

	He hoped he was doing the right thing. He had made some pretty
big screw-ups lately. Ucchan might never want to talk with him again
because of the boneheaded way he had handled that situation. Kodachi...
well, it remained to be seen whether she'd be back, and what would
happen then. And Kuno... he ran off to Jusenkyo. Ranma didn't see how
that one could be called his fault -- he hadn't exactly been in good
enough mental condition at the time to do anything about it -- but he
still wished it hadn't happened.

	Now he was trying to fix up Ryoga with Akari. She had a lot
going for her; she was cute, spunky, and definitely seemed like the
loyal type. On the other hand, she was obsessive enough to qualify as a
Kuno and then some. There was no way to tell what could go wrong with
the two of them together. Whatever it was, Ranma was sure that he'd get
blamed for it, even if it wasn't his fault. Ryoga just wasn't the family
type, that's all. The day he'd settle down and raise kids would be the
day that pigs flew.

	It had been so much easier before. In the old days, nothing
Ranma did seemed to matter all that much. Things hardly ever changed,
and when they did it wasn't usually because of anything he did. Now
things he said and did suddenly mattered. He had to learn to be careful,
and that was hard to do.

	"We're here." Ranma knocked on the door. Moments later, it
opened.

	Akari came out onto her porch. She saw Ryoga and got a look in
her eyes, like she was starving and Ryoga was the main course. Ranma
recognized it as the look Shampoo used to give him. He decided it would
be best to exit quietly.

				 ______


	"You're really pigging out, Ryoga-sama. Feeling good?" Akari
asked.

	"Are you kidding?" He had just spent hours being stuffed with
tasty food by a beautiful, adoring woman. "I'm in hog heaven." He
thought she'd appreciate the expression.

	"Me too. Although..." Akari gave a naughty smile with a touch of
embarrassment. "... I like you better as a pig than a hog, honey."

	Ryoga didn't understand. "Er... is there a difference? Do you
get better pork from one of them?" This seemed to embarrass her even
more for some reason. "Anyway, everything was delicious. You'll make
someone a great wife." The way she looked at him after he said that
almost made his nose start bleeding. "Uh... that is to say..."

	Akari took Ryoga's hand. "I have to come right out and say it. I
want to be *your* wife, Ryoga-sama. I want to be the mother of your
piglets."

	"Akari, I... can't. I'm sorry."

	Akari turned away dejectedly. "It's my fault. I guess I just had
the wrong idea. That's okay."

	"No! It's not you, it's *me*! Do you understand? ME!" Ryoga
leaned over so that Akari would be looking at him. "Do you know why I
haven't been to see you in so long?"

	"I figured it was because you had somewhere better to go."

	"No! It was because I couldn't *find* you! I have the world's
worst sense of direction, Akari. I've been known to need days to get
across the street. I was once lost for two days inside a grocery store!"

	"Ryoga... you don't have to..."

	"Akari, you're a wonderful person. I'd be happy to marry you if
you'll have me. Really. But I *won't* raise any children. Not when I
won't be able to be there for them when they need me."

				 ______


	The next morning, as if to prove his point, Ryoga was lost
again.

	He wasn't sure how it had happened. He hadn't even intended to
leave the house. Akari was gone when he had gotten up from her guest
bedroom. There was a note that said that she was taking care of some
errand and would be back soon. Ryoga went looking for the bathroom, and
before he knew it he was on the road again.

	Fortunately, he hadn't gone too far yet, and he had Akari's
phone number written down. All he had to do was find somewhere from
which he could call.

	For Ryoga, who had never had a woman really like him before,
Akari was nothing short of miraculous. She seemed to be crazy about him.
But that was also a little frightening. She put him up on a pedestal.
What would happen when she discovered the person he really was? Would
she accuse him of having deceived her? Would she be right?

	At least he knew one thing, that Akari wasn't really Ranma in
disguise. He could just imagine Akari taking off a wig and revealing his
nemesis. *Ha! You thought there was someone who loved you? You dope!* He
had been fooled that way too many times.

	No, Ryoga had seen the two of them together more than once.
Akari was real. The question now was what kind of disguise *she* saw
*him* in, and how she would react when she saw who was really
underneath.

	Of course, the way Akari saw Ryoga probably wasn't much
different than the way he saw Akane. In his mind he knew that he was
idealizing her, but he couldn't stop from seeing her as a beautiful
angel in his heart.

	Then there was Ranma. He had been the one on whom Ryoga had
blamed everything bad in his life. That seemed pretty pointless now.
Akane was going to marry Ranma. That was settled. Beating up on him
would only make her sad. No matter what he'd done, it was time to forget
him and move on.

	Ryoga walked up to the front door of a house. Hopefully they
would let him call Akari and wait for her here. Strangely enough, though
he spent a lot of time just walking, he rarely found himself using any
of that time to think, as he just had. He ought to do it more often, he
decided.

	The door opened. Ryoga was greeted by a splash of water.

				 ______


	Akari walked through the temple, finding the room she had been
directed to. "Excuse me... are you Priestess Kaede?"

	"Yes. Please come in." She was an old woman in plain brown
robes, with the trim body of a younger person. Her face was wrinkled,
but her gaze firm. "How can I help you?"

	"I have this... friend." Though the room looked ordinary enough,
Akari entered with trepidation. She had heard stories of people who
dabbled in mysticism and met terrible fates. Still, she had to do
anything she could to help Ryoga. "I think he might be under a curse or
something. They said you might be the one to help."

	"I do know a little about the ancient ways. Not many people do
these days. Sorcery is fast becoming a dying art. But you didn't come
here to listen to an old woman ramble. Please, tell me about your
friend."

	"His name's Ryoga. He's the most wonderful man I've ever met.
He's strong like a pig, brave like a pig, smart like..."

	Kaede nodded, indicating that she got the idea. "I once knew a
man who I felt like that about. A long time ago. Go on, please."

	Akari sat down on the floor, feeling a bit more relaxed. "Ryoga
even turns into an adorable little pig, because of some spring he fell
in at a place in China called Jusenkyo."

	"Interesting. I've heard stories of the cursed springs, but
never met anyone who'd actually been transformed by one of them. A
little pig, eh? To be honest, I'm not sure whether anything can be done.
I'd need to do a little research to find out if there's any way to
remove your friend's Jusenkyo curse."

	"NO! Er, I'm sorry, but that's not what I mean."

	"Then what...."

	"Ryoga has a problem with directions. According to what he said,
he can't find his way anywhere without getting lost. Apparently it's
hereditary."

	"Hmm... it does sound like it might be a curse of some kind.
Hereditary, you say? Mother's side, or father's?"

	"Both. Do you think you can help?"

	"Perhaps." Kaede moved back in her chair. "My particular school
teaches that all physical objects are inhabited by spirits. Usually they
can't be seen or otherwise perceived, but under the right conditions
they can have noticeable effects. It may be that some such spirits
haunting your friend's family line are responsible for his troubles. If
that's the case, I might be able to exorcise them. I'll have to examine
him. Then we'll see what can be done."

	"Oh, thank you. I'll go back home and get him. He should be
waiting there." *I hope,* she added mentally.

				 ______


	"What is it, Grandma?" the cute teenage girl asked, as Ryoga
shook the water off his pig body.

	"Goodness, it looks like some sort of animal," the little old
woman said. "I'm afraid I hit it with my dishwater and got it wet. We
ought to find out who owns it."

	"Look at these old clothes it's wrapped in. Somebody left it
here for us to, like, take care of. I've read these stories in school
where people did that with babies."

	"You'd better talk to your mother if you want to keep it, Keiko.
And if the owner comes looking for it, you'll have to give it back. In
the meantime, I'm going to go wash these clothes."

	"'Kay, Grandma." Keiko scooped Ryoga up in her arms and took him
into the house. "Now, what should I call you?"

				 ______


	"Hamlet. That's what I'm calling him. Get it?" Keiko spoke into
the phone. From what Ryoga had been able to gather, some girlfriend of
hers from school was on the other end. "It's like this play that we're
reading in class next week."

	Ryoga sat next to her as she scratched him behind the ear. It
was deja vu. Same situation, different place. Maybe this was a second
chance; another chance for the only kind of life he could have. Maybe he
had just been kidding himself about being able to marry someone like
Akari and being able to live as a man.

	"Yoshi? I'm not going out with him any more. Not after the way
he insulted me. That jerk better not come around here anymore. Not now
that I've got my Hamlet to protect me." The girl giggled.

	Ryoga could picture Yoshi in his mind. Why were so many men like
that? How could anyone treat a lovely girl like Keiko so badly? Yes, he
would be her protector. He'd make this Yoshi treat her with respect if
he had to beat it into him.

	Then he realized what he was thinking, the choice he was making.
To be a man or to be a housepet. This was a road that he'd been down
before, and if he went any farther he might not be able to return.

	A second chance. That's exactly what it was.

	Keiko hung up the phone in surprise as her pig bolted for the
door and ran out of the room. He headed up the stairs and, miraculously,
ended up in the bathroom. His small appendages turned the hot water
faucet as the girl followed him into the room.

	Keiko gaped at what she saw next. Ryoga stood in the bath, in
human form, wearing only his bandanna, his hands held low.

	"Er-- may I please use your phone?" he asked, unable to think of
anything better to say. "And could I have my clothes back please?"

				 ______


	Ryoga sat behind Akari, riding on her champion sumo pig.

	"I'm so glad you're all right," she said. "I was so worried when
I got home and you weren't there."

	"Akari, I want to marry you. But I need you to understand what
you're getting into. Do you really want a husband who'll be gone most of
the time because he can't find his own house?"

	She beamed with a carefree smile. "It's not such a bad trade-off
for a husband who's kind, and honest, and courageous, and..."

	"Damn it, I'm not those things! At least not always!" This was
it. Akari had to be told who she was marrying. "You don't know some of
the things I've done!"

	"I'm sure whatever you've done wasn't so bad."

	"Oh yeah? How about masquerading as a girl's housepet? How's
that for honesty and courageousness?"

	"You already told me about Keiko."

	Ryoga took a deep breath, trying to summon all the courage he
had. "That's not what I'm talking about..."

				 ______


	Akari dismounted from the giant pig as it stopped at her front
door. "So... you were Akane's pet P-chan?"

	"Yeah." Ryoga slid off the pig, letting gravity carry him down
until his feet hit the ground. He had told the whole story quickly,
trying not to think about what Akari might think of him. Now he was
about to find out.

	Akari said nothing as she stared at Ryoga. Her eyes held nothing
for him, no love, no recognition. She was seeing a stranger in his
clothes.

	"I guess... I'll be going now." He slung his pack over his
shoulder, and started to trudge down the road.

	"Wait."

	Ryoga paused, tentatively turning his head back towards Akari.

	"Okay. Maybe I haven't been seeing the real you. Maybe I'm like
the man in the ancient Greek legend who sculpted a statue and fell in
love with it. I created an image in my mind of a perfect man and tried
to make you into it. That's not what you are. But I still think you're
pretty special. I'd like to get to know the real Hibiki Ryoga."

	Ryoga glanced behind him. The open road stretched out towards
the horizon, beckoning him to follow. It offered no promises, no false
hopes or chance of rejection. He could walk away from here and start
over. A fresh beginning, with no Akane and no Akari.

	But he was so tired of walking....

	"Okay." He lowered his pack onto his lower arm. "I'll stay for a
little while. Just until you want me to leave."

	"That might be more than a little while, honey." She grinned as
she took him by the hand and led him indoors.

	"I didn't know you knew any ancient Greek mythology, Akari."

	"Well, I don't know too much. But that story's one I always
liked. Pig-malion."

				 ______


	Ranma and Akane paused in their training session as Kasumi
entered the dojo. "We have some visitors!" she said brightly, as Ryoga
and Akari stepped in behind her. It had been two weeks since they had
been seen.

	Akari's face shone with a Kasumi-like smile. "Ranma! Akane! We
have wonderful news! We're getting married!"

	"That's great!" Akane exclaimed. "I'm happy for the two of you!"

	"Ranma, we want you to be the bridesmaid." Ryoga laughed. "Just
kidding, it's going to be a Shinto wedding. But we'd like both of you to
come."

	"Wouldn't miss it, buddy," Ranma said. Ryoga was acting friendly
toward him for a change; he hoped it would stay that way.

	"We've got another surprise for you, Akane," Akari said. "Close
your eyes."

	Akane did so, and Akari placed something small and black in her
outstretched arms. "P-Chan!" she cried as she opened her eyes. "How--
how did you find him?!"

	"It wasn't easy," Ryoga said.

	It was pretty obvious to Ranma what they had really done. They
found a real pig that looked like Ryoga's cursed form. He could tell
from its expression and the way it moved that it was a real animal.

	As Akane looked more closely at the pig cradled in her arms, a
sudden trace of disappointment came over her face. It disappeared as
quickly as it had come. "This is so sweet of you two. Even if it's not
really my P-chan."

	"Not... what?" Ryoga stammered.

	"You know how much time I've spent with P-chan. Don't you think
I can recognize him when I'm looking right at him?"

	Ryoga paused for a moment, then gave a loud nervous laugh.

	Ranma remembered a time when he had suspected that Akane had
known the truth about P-chan all along. He dismissed the thought now,
just as he had back then. It didn't really matter anyway.

	"Giving me this new pet was a lovely thing to do, Ryoga." Akane
kissed him on the cheek. "I'll love my new pet and look after him like
the old one. Better, I hope. I'll try to make sure I don't let this one
wander off and get lost. I just hope the old P-chan will be all right.
It's sad, you know. Like this little, vulnerable creature was depending
on me and I failed him. I hope that he found a new home. A good home
where he'll get what he needs."

	"He did, Akane." Ryoga glanced quickly at Akari, and smiled.
"I'm sure of it."

	"I guess we should be going." Akari took Ryoga by the arm. "I'm
trying to scrape up enough money so that we can honeymoon in Hawaii.
I've got an uncle who's really crazy about the place, and he says he can
get us cheap tickets. I'm sorry for trying to fool you, Akane, and I'm
so glad you like your new pet."

	"Catch ya later, Akari." Ranma shook her hand and grinned. "I
guess you're really happy now that you've found your perfect man."

	"Not perfect." Akari smiled back at Ryoga. "But that's okay."

	The couple exited, leaving Ranma and Akane to continue their
training session. They had barely time to strike combat stances when
Genma and Soun burst in.

	Soun raised a kettle over the piglet. "I'm sorry you had to see
this, Akane, but enough is enough."

	Steaming water trickled down onto the pig. It sounded an
irritated "bwee" and shook itself.

	"Dad! Stop it! What am I supposed to be seeing, anyway?"

	"Er... uh...." Soun grinned feebly. "The importance of good pet
hygiene!"

	Ranma chuckled a bit, thinking about Ryoga. So he was finally
settling down to a stable family life. Maybe pigs did fly after all.

	Of course, he might still have a few problems to solve....

				 ______


	Akari knocked lightly on the door to her guest room. It was the
morning of her wedding day, the last day that Ryoga would have to sleep
in that room. She shook with nervous excitement, like a schoolgirl.

	The past few weeks with Ryoga had been the most wonderful time
of her life. Finding out about his secret life as P-chan, once she had
understood *why* he had done it, only made her feel closer to him. He
was a strong man, but he had his weaknesses. Maybe he would need her
more because of them.

	"Ryoga?" she called. "Are you awake, honey?" Akari was still a
bit sleepy herself. She had just gotten up from a few hours sleep, after
having stayed awake with Priestess Kaede much of the previous night. But
if the little surprise they had come up with did what it was supposed
to.... "I want to give you my wedding present."

	Akari thought back to her conversation with Kaede the previous
night.


	"I've examined your fiance's aura," the aged priestess said. "I
don't know if I can do anything to help him. It could indeed be a family
curse that causes his problems with directions, but if it is then it's
so tightly embedded into his self that I don't think I can remove it."

	Akari sighed in resigned disappointment. Ryoga had seemed happy
with her the past few days, but he had had to stay inside the house most
of the time, with her keeping a close watch on him every time he had
gone outdoors. As long as Ryoga had his problem with directions, she
would have to treat him like the housepet he had pretended to be for
Akane. That wasn't the kind of married life Akari had dreamed of, though
she would put up with it if she had to.

	"Tell me," Kaede continued, "does Ryoga harbor a lot of negative
emotions? Hate, anger, that sort of thing?"

	"Well, I'm not sure...." Akari still didn't want to think about
her fiance's possible faults. Maybe that meant she was buying a pig in a
poke, but that was her chance to take. "I guess I have heard him talk
that way about Ranma sometimes."

	"I suspected so. Those kinds of emotions can be an anchor for
curse spirits. Perhaps in the future if Ryoga lets go of some of his
anger, his problem might be curable, but I don't think it is now."

	"So there's nothing we can do?"

	"I didn't say that, young lady. There is a way you might be able
to help. It may be dangerous. It involves extracting a small piece of
your own essence, and bonding it to something your fiance carries. Are
you willing to give up part of yourself for Ryoga?"

	Akari smiled. "I already have."


	Back in the present, Akari's reverie was interrupted as Ryoga's
head popped out through the guest bedroom door.

	"Er... good morning!" he said sleepily. "Is it time to get ready
for the ceremony?"

	"Almost. I brought you a gift, dear." She held out a small
wrapped box, about the size one might use for a necktie or handkerchief.

	Ryoga tore open the wrapping and pulled out a bandanna. "Um...
isn't this..." He felt his forehead and found it bare. "Isn't this my
bandanna? The same one I always wear?"

	Akari just smiled, nodded yes, and giggled coyly. Ryoga stood
confused for several moments, then started laughing. He obviously didn't
understand what was going on. Soon he would.

				 ______


	Ryoga came out of the guest room, dressed in the formal wedding
kimono that they had obtained for the occasion. He still wore the
bandanna, as Akari had insisted he do. To his surprise, he saw neither
her nor anyone else in the house.

	He saw a note on the table: "Ryoga-sama: We've set up outside,
in the area just behind the house. Join us as soon as you're dressed.
Love, Akari."

	"Nooo!" Ryoga cried. Why would she do such a thing? She had to
know that he'd never be able to get there with his sense of direction!
Was this her way of getting rid of him? Maybe she really didn't want to
marry him at all, and everything she did had just been a joke.

	Or maybe it was a test. A test to see whether he was really
worthy of being her husband. That made sense. Okay, he thought, he would
try. He would step outside and find his way to the wedding party!

	About ten minutes later, Ryoga could see neither the wedding
party, nor the house, nor anything that looked like any part of Akari's
pig farm.

	He stopped and sat at the side of the road, just as he had done
as a child so many years ago. He closed his eyes and hung his head in
frustration, ready to cry, or to lash out with a shishi hokodan. If he
was being tested, he had unquestionably failed. Whom had he been
kidding? Someone like him could never lead a normal life.

	Abruptly, Ryoga felt some sort of strange sensation prickling at
the corners of his mind. There was something there that he couldn't see,
couldn't focus on. It was a feeling vaguely similar to his breaking
point technique; an awareness beyond the senses.

	He kept his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on it. It was a
brilliant white light that shone through the bandanna that he wore,
emanating from a point some distance away in a particular direction. A
direction! He could follow the light and it would lead him somewhere!

	Ryoga walked briskly along over rolling hills. His pace picked
up as he sensed that he was getting closer to whatever it was. It was
just over the next ridge. He could hear voices coming from there.

	"It's a great wedding, ain't it. All it needs is a groom, and
someone to officiate. Ryoga's probably halfway to Sapporo by now."

	"Ranma! Couldn't you have just a *little* sensitivity?!"

	"It's all right, Akane. He's actually quite near. He should be
here right about...."

	Ryoga looked to see his wedding entourage. They looked surprised
to see him, all except for his bride-to-be, who just smiled at him.
"Like your present, darling?"

	"Present?" The bandanna. More than just a bandanna. It was a
home. It was a future, a life filled with more than just aimless
wandering.

	"It's beautiful." Ryoga gazed at Akari. She wasn't the woman
whose name sounded a little like hers, the one who he had adored for
many months. It didn't matter. In her own way, she was every bit as
wonderful. "Really beautiful."

				 ______


	Priestess Kaede walked up. "Sorry I'm late. A man and a woman
stopped me just over the last hill, asking me how to get to Tokyo. They
were pretty confused, but I think I straightened them out. Shall we
begin the ceremony?"

	Ryoga's eyes widened in amazement. "A man and a woman? Asking
for directions?"

	"Yes, they looked to be in their forties or fifties."

	It couldn't be, Ryoga thought. He leapt up toward the direction
from which Kaede had come, running over hills and valleys. It took only
moments before he spotted them.

	The couple turned. "Ryoga?"

	"Mom? Dad?!"

	That's how the Hibiki sense of direction worked. Or maybe it was
just fate.

				 ______


	The pig trudged down the road, toward the Tendo dojo, with
Ryoga, Akari, and Yoiko on board. "Wheee!!!" Yoiko shouted. She always
loved riding on Katsunishiki.

	Ryoga leaned over toward his daughter. "Yoiko-chan, I'm counting
on you to look after your Mommy while I'm gone."

	"'Kay, Daddy." Yoiko tweaked her father's nose.

	Akari picked up the little girl into her arms. "Your Daddy will
be back, honey. As soon as he helps his friends, he'll come straight
back to us."

	Ryoga smiled. He'd be able to come back to his family. That was
the most beautiful thing about the gift.

				 ______


	STORY NOTES: The version of Shinto portrayed here is not meant
to represent "real" Shinto (by which I mean anyone's real beliefs about
Shinto). It is simply something which works for this story, and fits
more or less into Ranmaverse lore.

	Kuroshiro is the mother of Shirokuro, the dog who is seen in the
Ranma manga.

	Kaede the priestess is (sort of) based on a character of the
same name from Inu-Yasha. We'll get to know her better as this series
progresses.

	NEXT: Tendo Akane.