Morning

Deep panting could be heard as Ranma sweated profusely form the day's work, no pain, no game, this was where he needed to be strong. He could devote all his time to training, all his time to perfecting his art, all his time making sure to preserve the name of the Saotome School of martial arts, all his time knowing that if he didn't do anything about Ryoga's condition, he would have to bury his friend within fourteen years time.

The prodigy feel to his knees, his lungs being deprived of oxygen; feeling as though they would soon burst. Wheezing seemed to be the only thing Ranma could do with his time now, any further and he might pass out from sheer exhaustion. Though that was the furthest thing from his mind, what plagued his mind the most was the idea of having to marry Shampoo in order to save Ryoga, but did it even matter? What if Ryoga was gone forever? Did it mean anything anymore? Would Ryoga still come or wish to see him. It was then that Ranma squinted his eyes shut, a sudden stinging feeling overtaking him and making his eyes water very slightly. 'H-Hey can't die... b-but what should it matter me to, huh! He'll stop trying to get me to love him, I-I should be happy, I can finally be the man I want to be, I can finally be alone...' Ranma thught as he stared at the soft grass beneath him. A gentle wind picked up as Ranma stared at the blades of grass that moved like waves of water, each swaying in the current. To many it could be passed off as just a natural occurrence but to Ranma there was symbolism to this or he felt that there was, maybe his life was telling him to move with the current.

It was then that he clenched the ground beneath him and closed his eyes, the allure of the soft ground tempting him into resting his tired and weary body. "Ryoga, I miss you..." the Saotome child whispered, sighing before drifting into a calm dream state.

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Dream Sequence

Ranma couldn't remember very much about the beginning of his dream but had gotten himself into one of those dreams where you believe the dream world around you is your actual reality. The first thing Ranma noticed was that 'he' was actually now a 'she' and she appeared to be sitting down in what she could make out as a dojo.

She looked down to what she was wearing and it appeared to be a pink, floral yukata with a red sash belt around her midsection. Ranma noticed that her hand seemed to be covered with the sleeves of the dress she was wearing and stopped to examine herself. It was then that she noticed that she was wearing socks with wooden clods on her feet.

The red headed girl remained silent, not really sure what to make of the world around her. All she knew was that she was here and there had to be a reason behind it, but before she could try to gather her thoughts she noticed the door to her room slide open and Ranma mother appeared, smiling brightly.

"Oh, my little girl... are you excited?" Nodoka asked, moving over to the red headed girl and reaching her hands over to her shoulders.

"Uh... sure, I think," Ranma paused for a moment, trying to piece her memory together. All that came was fuzz and that fuzz didn't understand what was happening the world around her.

"Oh, is that really something you should say about your future husband?" Nodoka stated, quirking a brow with a rather amused look on her face. "Now don't tell me you're getting cold feet, it is just a little get together after all."

It was then that Ranma's dream created memories through her imagination and those imaginations became her version of reality, she nodded her head and could only think of one person who could possibly be her future husband. Though it was Ryoga she couldn't specifically remember anything about him, all she knew was that he was a gentle looking man who adored her and had a smile that could make her blush whenever she knew that she was the cause of his delight.

"Well, with how flushed you look honey, I'd say you remember." Nodoka giggled before moving away and taking her leave, once she was outside of the room she reached her hand up to her mouth and called out to the husband in question. "Ryoga, your blushing bride to be is waiting for you!"

Ranma's eyes widened before she held hands close to her chest, "M-mom! What the hecks wrong wit ya'!" Ranma shouted, lowering her head, her heart rate beating faster than a drum. The sounds of wooden clods could be heard approaching the room as Ryoga came into the room, now standing at the entrance of the room.

He was dressed in a yellow male kimono with a brown robe draped over his shoulders, on the left side of his robe; more specifically the side which was over his heart. There were the Japanese symbols which stood for 'Anything Goes', obviously a tribute to their art and around his forehead was the same yellow headband he constantly wore.

"Ranma," Ryoga said, stepping into the room, an air of gentle calm around him as he smiled softly at the sight of the red headed girl. To him it seemed like being near Ranma was the most important thing in the world to him.

Ranma noticed how enticed the fang toothed by seemed to be by her, she wasn't used to being looked at in such a way, it was somewhat unsettling to her but she had to remember that this was her husband and she must have chosen him for a reason. Plus, what else would explain this tight feeling in her chest?

Ryoga noticed how awkward she seemed to be about the entire thing and decided to prob, "Are you alright, Ranma?"

Sapphire eyes met forest green eyes and she felt herself becoming nervous, something was very unsettling to her. There was something wrong with this situation but she couldn't really place the feeling, so, she averted her eyes in order to avoid his gaze and actually figure out what was plaguing her.

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Ryoga's smiled slowly changed to a worried expression, it fell on him to protect his wife and do anything that was needed of him. He decided to bridge the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her frail looking form. "Ranma, what's wrong?" he asked, bringing her to his chest.

Ranma felt out of place, almost as if she wasn't supposed to be in the position she was now. Though she felt this she couldn't help but feel a level of comfort in Ryoga, but, sadly for her that wasn't the only emotions she was invoking from him, she was still scared. "I-I don't know, b-but it feels like you're going away..."

Ryoga retracted himself from their embrace and held her within arms reach. He saw how timid she looked when she said what she did and he found himself in pain as he saw her in such a way, "Ranma, I'll never leave you..."

Ranma met his eyes again before noticing how pained Ryoga's face was, "H-How?"

"Ranma, even if we're not in the same room, the same forest or even the same planet, I'll always be thinking about you..." Ryoga claimed before attempting to claim her lips.

Ranma paused for a brief moment before nodding her head and leaning into the kiss, accepting her very being as his.

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Ranma awoke from his rest and noticed the area around him, he was back to the grassy fields he had fallen asleep on. The memories of his dream played out in his mind and he found himself raising his hand to his lips. He was already familiar with Ryoga's lip, which only served to further confuse him. "I-I... do I wanna' be a girl for him?" Ranma asked, sitting up and crossing his legs before staring up at the sky, a sad and somewhat empty look to his eyes as the wind gently swayed his hair in the breeze.

There were quite a few things going on in his head, sadly, all of them involved Ryoga. The person who kept crying out for his attention, the kind of attention he, no, he wasn't sure he could give. At this point now it was getting harder and harder to admit there was certainly something there between them, but Ranma was hesitant to explore this side, since it meant that he would more than likely have to abandon his birth image. Did it mean that Ranma wanted to be a girl? There were a few things he had to think about, like, did he mostly feel an attraction to Ryoga because his girl side had a powerful influence on him? Could it be attributed to just female hormones? Was Ryoga even really interested in her or was he just trying to mate like any other animal? 'W-what the hell am I thinkin'!' Ranma blushed. There was no way Ryoga could just want her for such a purpose, not with how passionate he seemed, those were eyes that were driven by deep concern and affection, a kind of affection that came from a maturing relationship... which Ranma had hoped would have been a platonic maturing relationship.

Whatever the case was, he knew that Ryoga was deeply into the prospect of being romantically inclined to him. That did open up another question, would Ranma ever consider doing things with him as a man?

Ranma felt like he had an upset stomach from the idea and knew that perhaps his female form did contribute more to the concept of dating Ryoga.

"I can't keep thinkin' like this..." Ranma said, standing up and taking a deep breath. There wasn't much for him to do, all he could do was train and hone in his skills for any future troubles to come.

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Ryoga(Same time as Ranma's scene)

The other two aged martial artists watched as Ryoga had gotten down to his knees and begged to be trained by Matsu. Matsu in his position felt rather awkward in this moment and scratched the back of his head, "Well, I really don't know as much as you'd like to think, the real masters are right over there, but, I'm not sure if they'll even permit you to train under them."

"Hold up!" Happosai chimed in, clearing his throat. "Let's not make any assumptions, Matsu. He seems like he's full of promise, besides, it might be fun to have someone learn under us, especially, one who can help us with our work."

Chingensai chuckled and nodded his head, "I think Happosai here has a point, what better way to learn an art then to experience it?" he asked, obviously having some hidden intent.

"But masters, we usually use the Bakusai Tenketsu to smash through most boulders, do we really need the extra help?" Matsu asked, then turned to Ryoga. "And do you really think he could stand that kind of training?"

Chingensai stepped forth and stood before the martial artist in yellow and reached his hand out, taking Ryoga's hand in his and staring at it. "This boy, he has some good hands on him, certainly the hands of a construction worker, sturdy and rough, built to handle anything if you ask me..." Chingensai smiled as best as he could. "Not only do ya' have the drive to get stronger but it looks like we can make your sking stronger than anyone's here."

Ryoga met Chingensai's eyes; as best as he could and had to wonder what he meant by all that. Though he was wondering that didn't change the fact that he could gain the strength and abilities he needed to reach Ranma, 'Ranma... maybe I can close that gap between us, just wait for me, even if it takes all my remaining years, I'll get you to see me as more than your brother, I think I could die happily like that."

Each one of them stared at Ryoga, almost proud to be in his presence. Happosai smiled before clapping his hands together, "So, ya' willing to start learning, boy?"

Ryoga looked to Happosai before nodding his head.

"Alright, then, we gotta' build up that strength of yours and in order ta' do that we gotta' make your whole body stronger," Happosai began, pointing his finger upwards in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

"Yes, that why you can endure using one of our most famous techniques with having ta' break your fingers all the time," Chingensai stated.

Matsu sighed before stopping before Ryoga and staring into his eyes, "I know there's another reason that you wish to become stronger, but be careful how you handle it, decisions made in confusion or haste can leads to dangerous paths."

Ryoga stopped to ponder for a moment but shook his head, "I know what's the right choice, the right choice is to follow my feelings and let it take me to the future, my future with the one I care about most."

Matsu softened his gaze and became extremely relaxed, fighting for sake of others was certainly a good reason to become stronger. "Now my troubled mind can rest at ease."

"Alright, I see we get you fitted for some weighted training equipment and get you on the path of Martial Arts Construction!" exclaimed Happosai.

Chingensai appeared straight from no where and dropped the training equipment, which seemed to be a bunch of specially made stones with powerful looking ropes around them. "Let's get em' started!"

Ryoga's eyes widened when he saw that Chingensai had appeared from thin air and into the area with them, he hadn't even noticed that the aged martial left. There was a hint of mystery within this group, powerful mystery, the kind of mystery that could lead him back to that one person he ached for. "Thank you, everyone..."

"It's our pleasure, kiddo!" Happosa stated, before chuckling and leaning over next to Chingensai, whispering into his ear. "Once we get him trained we can finally have some more time for peeping, huh?"

Chingensai turned to Happosai and smiled, nodding his head, adding his own laugh to the fray.