Merely thinking of his request caused Ryoga's heart to flutter, he looked down as Ranma relaxed her grip on his collar, having suddenly become quiet as she agreed to make his request become a reality, the tension thick as Ryoga gulped, becoming nervous. 'Please don't let this be too much...' Ryoga thought desperately, his thoughts reflecting through his actions, so as he closed his eyes tightly and grit his teeth.

Now it was Ranma's turn to shallow thickly, 'Ah... damn it! Should I still do this? What if he...' she thought, raising her head to clear her face, seeing that Ryoga appeared uncertain, which came off as a little strange considering how eager he had been a moment ago. She was certain that her line about not willing to do anything was probably the cause for Ryoga's hold up.

"R-Ranma..." Ryoga's eyes were wide with fright, they trembled almost as much as he did, there was no backing out now, "I want to..." Ryoga began but hesitated a little, closing his eyes for a second to compose himself, "go on a date with you," he finished, showing her that he meant business.

Ranma's eyes bulged for what she felt was an uncomfortable amount of time, nonetheless, she still quite shocked to see this would be his request, she closed her eyes and grit her teeth seemingly in annoyance as she lowered her head a little, a light blush across her face.

From the looks of things, Ryoga wasn't so sure he'd ever live to see his request become a reality, given the way she was reacting as of this moment.

"Geez... alright, fine..." Ranma sighed, lowering her head and relaxing against Ryoga, "Just promise you'll visit us if you're not coming back... alright?" Ranma pleaded, just enjoying some time together with the boy she had spent so much time way from.

Here he was making a request yet he wasn't willing to do anything in return, he paused for a brief moment, "I don't know if I can see Nodoka, again..." Ryoga muttered, lowering his head slightly, "I promise, I'll visit you," Ryoga said, assuring the girl in front of him with a nod of his head.

Ranma sighed heavily, she wasn't able to get him to talk to Nodoka but at the very least she got him back into her life, which made her hold him a little tighter, although, she was sure he could feel it, as he stiffened noticeably from that, to which Ryoga answered with a gentle squeeze of his own, her head rested on his shoulder, Ranma looking to the side and feeling awkward as not only had she made out with a man, she went as far as letting him kiss her on the neck, 'And now I've got a date, if he can get those masters to teach me... they better be worth it...' Ranma thought, although wanting her inner voice to come off as more disappointed and upset, found that she simply didn't have it in her at the moment.

Ryoga took a calming breath as all this interaction was quite enjoyable for the lost boy, to not only be able to express his frustration but to be able to assure a legit chance to close the gap between them, it was all so much for him to process, 'I feel like I could die happy now...' Ryoga thought.

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Each and every leap they took would draw them closer and closer to what they thought was the sound of Ryoga fighting, even going as far as hearing grunting noises and finally a thunderous boom, one they were quite familiar with as they when it had happened they began to wonder where to go, the three jumped from branch to branch, hopping around as three little high-speed stumps, almost mistakable for tanukis given how fast they were moving.

They arrive at what looked like an explosion in the ground, the men were cautious as they approached, what they peered into was a girl with a redhead, in what the arms of what they could confirm as Ryoga. They froze in place and descended back down, no longer in view.

Happosai sat flat on his butt and looked upward, his eyes thinking to the rear end of the girl he had just seen, 'Is that the guy? Whatta' curse!' he thought, bursting with energy and excitement.

Chingensai stared blankly in front of him from what they could see, given how much facial hair was in the way, however, it didn't seem that he was in too much more rather it looked as though he had looked in on something he shouldn't have.

Matsu, on the other hand, clasped his palms together, seeing how the two looked together caused him to go speechless, 'Aw... I don't know much about her but... I've never seen him so happy before!' he thought. The middle-aged master took a deep breath and felt that now would be the time to act,'Guess I'm going to have to nterrupt thos-' Matsu thought.

"Well, well... looks like you went and got yourself a girlfriend, Ryoga!" Happosai exclaimed, now at the edge of the dirt hole from which the two intimate looking martial stopped and froze in place.

Ranma going bright red as she pulled away from the lost boy,"I-I can explain!" she snapped.

Once Ranma left Ryoga's hands the lost boy found himself feeling cold and held the air from which she had just been in and lowered his head, quite sad about having lost that position, when he saw that she was watching him, he quickly rose to his feet and dusted himself off. Matsu only grinned widely at the fang-toothed boy, as if congratulating him for having chosen such a lovely looking cursed girl.

"No need!" Matsu interrupted cheerfully, clapping his hands together and causing the two to look at him.

"You must be this Ranma, Ryoga keeps yammering about..." Chingensai commented, pulling out his pipe from his gi and retrieving his trusty smoking pipe, taking a drag from it,'Hm... gotta' say, I'm tempted in seeing more but... she's Ryoga's...' he thought, pausing momentarily in his mind to find his thoughts wandering,'That doesn't mean I can't be nearby when an accident or something happens...' the aged master thought.

"Yeah..." Ranma replied, then looked at the three men, starting with Matsu who appeared kind enough to her, except for maybe the oldest and oddest looking of them all, he was eyeing her and even seeming to stare, she eventually followed his eyes and saw that he was staring at her bosom, to which she uncomfortably crossed her arms.

"Masters!" Ryoga exclaimed, standing at the position of attention, the lost boy bowed his head,"Please train, Ranma! I can promise you he has just as much potential as me!" he then raised his head and then looked to them.

To say that Ranma didn't feel a least a little flattered would be a flat out lie,'There he goes trying to butter me up...' Ranma thought, about to correct the lost boy until she heard a loud throat clearing from the one that had been staring at her.

"So, you want us to teach this girl?" Happosai said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"First off... I'm a guy and yeah, I do!" Ranma replied firmly, gesturing to herself with her thumb.

"Are you sure you're willing? Ryoga has shown us his resolve... what of you, Ranma?" Happosai asked, narrowing his eyes,"Are you willing to prove your resolve!?" he asked, a fire within him seemingly lit-up.

His burning passion was a fierce determination from Ranma as if expressing her willingness to learn from the masters with it, that was, until, Happosai vanished from their sight, causing both Ranma and Ryoga to blink in unison.

"Where'd he-" Ryoga began but was interrupted as Ranma screamed, her spine crawling in a very unpleasant way.

She spun around and struck the old pervert hugging her rear, her eyes wide,"What the hell's the matter with you, ya' old freak!?" Ranma demanded, clenching her fist as then punched him, covering her bottom with her hands after, feeling such shame and embarrassment from being touched as though she were just a piece of meat, especially there.

The elder fell off as though he had been a fly being swatted, he twitched his leg, suddenly being gone in the blink of an eye.

Ryoga all the while found his eye twitching as this happened, it quickly evolved to a powerful anger,"Master..." Ryoga growled upon seeing Master Happosai touched Ranma, invoking a familiar feeling within him, the same burning rage that fueled him when he first saw Shampoo kiss Ranma's cheek.

Chingensai tilted his head up, pipe in hand as he was about to speak up until Happosai vanished in the blink of an eye, then suddenly appeared on Ranma's bosom, nearly motor-boating the poor cursed martial artist,"Show some self-control, Happy!" Chingensai demanded, shaking his head and clearing his pipe by turning it around and hitting the bottom part of his pipe bowl.

Ranma was about to strike the aging martial artist until another fist came flying towards Happosai, even shocking Happosai, who before Ranma even strike saw her attack coming, his eyes narrowing, that was up until he felt his cheek being struck, time slowing down for him as the force of the hit sent him flying further than the first punch he'd taken, zooming by as if he were a high-speed projectile, smashing him into a nearby tree, toppling it over.

The lost boy stood frozen in place after his attack on the aged martial artist, his eyes shadowed by the front of his hair as he then straightened his posture and turned to Ranma, bringing her into his arms,"Hands off!" Ryoga shouted, glaring at Master Happosai when landed on the ground, unconscious by the looks of it.

"Alright, it's time to be serious..." Happosai stated, standing next to Chingensai, a small bruise on his cheek.

Ranma and Ryoga looked at him, shocked that he was still able to stand after such an out lash, it also made it so that Ryoga felt a little bitter that his attack hadn't done as much as he would have liked. Almost forgetting the fact that he was going to apologize for striking him.

"Please! Let's focus here..." Matsu waving his arms around and having a nervous sweatdrop come from his head,"We're here cause our student Ryoga has asked us to train Ranma... I get why Ranma would like to train with us but doesn't this kinda' go against the entire reason as to why you're here, Ryoga?" Matsu asked, hoping to get an answer as this was a sudden and counter-intuitive from Matsu's point of view.

The redhead became nervous as she was uncertain as to whether or not Ryoga would tell them about their deal if they were to dig any deeper.

"I know, I just think maybe it's time I went back to training with Ranma..." Ryoga looked to Chingensai, as he remembered the discussion they had before all this,'Maybe he's right about being with Ranma... I just, I can't let go...' Ryoga thought, lowering his head as he took a moment to release not only was he getting to spend time with Ranma again but to know they had a date planned, the knowledge alone was enough to send Ryoga's heart soaring as high an eagle.

It looked as though Ryoga wasn't going to divulge their special deal, seeing as that wasn't the case, that instantly put the martial artist at ease,'What do I do about that kiss I gave him? Does he still think we should... but do I...?' Ranma thought. At that moment Matsu decided to turn to his fellow masters, both Chingensai and Matsu met gazes, the two paused to consider until they looked to Master Happosai who was only rubbing his chin and admiring the new student.

"Hm... looks like we've got another one..." Chingensai chuckled, shaking his head and then turning around,"We came to make sure Ryoga was alright, now we got a new student to teach..." Chingensai stated as he began walking the way they came, causing Matsu to stare for a second before following, looking over his shoulder as well and with a wave of his hand, ushering them to follow.

Happosai was about to do something until he was smacked on the back of his head by Chingensai, keeping the lecherous old pervert at bay, the redheaded girl noticed and grumbled to herself, the lost boy appearing nervous as she becomes irritated.

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Genma & Nodoka

Mousse, while cooking, looked to the clock on the wall, the cat-shaped clock on the wall, he sighed contently and saw that attention for their stand was dying down a little, patiently he watched as it was finally time for his scheduled break. He looked to the mother of the Saotome's and reached behind him to undo his apron, lifting it up and over his head, moving over to wall mounted coat rack he looped the top half of the apron on a hook and began to roll down his sleeves.

"It's time for my break... can you handle the rest?" Mousse asked, then began to walk away, as if he actually cared about her response but figuring he'd do her the courtesy.

It went unappreciated as this clearly wasn't the first time the master of hidden weapons had done this, she waved him off with a quick smile and nod, then proceeded to lazily hang around the kitchen area, just in case there were any potential customers at this time of the event, this being the point where things were starting to wind down, 'I wish we could just talk about this... isn't that what a husband's supposed to do?' she thought, moving over to the stove she lowered the heat so they were set to simmer if only to keep whatever they had in relative warmth.

From just within the main walkway, where the ground was nearly devoid of any grass due to how often people walked on it, Genma still balanced on his ball, juggling in an almost lazy manner, at this point, a balancing expert by his casually he executed his performance. He was approached by a boy who was rolling his sleeves down and working out a kink in his neck before releasing some pressure in his neck with a popping noise, looking at the panda, who didn't even seem to notice him as he was readying his rotten tomato.

"Hey, break time! Cologne gave me a memo! Saying if you want to get paid, you'd better be at our stand when she gets there!" Mousse shouted that he was within safe breathing distance from the smell of the no doubt rotting vegetables surrounding their mascot, cleaning his glasses off before walking off.

Genma swore that there was no more black fur around his eyes since the panda's eyes had widened so far that they now occupied the space where it once was. He panicked and fell on his ball, his balls falling and bouncing off his panda belly,'Aw great...' Genma thought, knowing that he'd have to face the music and actually talk about Ryoga.

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Ranma & Ryoga

The group of five made their way through the forest, sprinting as quickly as they could, Chingensai leading the pack as Matsu and Happosai followed closely behind. To the back of the group Ryoga's pace matched that of Ranma's, eventually, they came to a different clearing than Ranma's, where Ranma's was a natural clearing that lead to quite a few roads, this one appeared to have unfinished roads. On top of that, several nearly finished looking huts.

Ranma looked to all this and even noticed some machinery laying around,"Are you guys really masters or construction workers?" Ranma blinked, staring at the construction sight before her, almost wondering if striking her deal with Ryoga was a mistake.

"I've seen what they can do, Ranma..." Ryoga commented then looked to her, his hands to his sides,"They haven't even needed most of this machinery..."

Ranma thought about it and Happosai was strangely able to recover from her attack, the only person elderly person she was at least fairly certain that could survive a strike from Ryoga, it'd be Cologne, other than that there was Happosai, 'Guess I gotta' deal with this freak,' Ranma thought then found her eyes widening as Happosai had put himself on Ranma's bosom, keeping himself latched on to her breasts as he nuzzled his head in between her dirty pillows. Ryoga was about to deliver punishment.

Happosai's actions were met with a swift strike from the redhead, punching him down to the ground and then proceeding to stomp him violently, causing the old master to cry out in pain, the lost boy only blinking as he joined the girl and also stomped him into the ground, Ryoga's added force began to make a crater on the ground, showing not only how strong the two were together but also how resilient and stubborn Happosai's body was.

Chingensai and Matsu sighed at the same time, to see their fellow master act in such a way, Matsu shook his head in disappointment. Chingensai, on the other hand, was thinking something else, 'Honestly no class in the way you're handling it... not even being subtle about it,' he thought.

"Keep this pervert off me!" Ranma exclaimed, panting a little as she looked down, both Ranma and Ryoga paused as he laid there, leg twitching as if he were, in fact, a roach to be stomped on.

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"Alright then, that means I'll train you," Chingensai said, now facing Ranma directly and taking a drag of his pipe.

"I'd suggest being careful around this one too, Ranma... maybe you want to change back into a bo-" Matsu only got as far as saying before Happosai was standing before him, clenching his fist and glaring the middle-aged master down.

"Let's not talk crazy!" Happosai said, losing the intense flare to him, then looked over his shoulder to see Ranma and Ryoga walking past them and towards where they had set up their camp.

His first response was to try and talk to the two students but before he even got the chance, Chingensai vanished and then reappeared just above Happosai, bashing the underside of his pipe on the noggin of the purple-clad deviant.

"So, do we have to get the fire ready for some warm water?" Ranma asked, walking alongside Ryoga as he nodded his head in response to her, looking annoyed.

"I've lost some respect for Master Happosai..." Ryoga commented, thoroughly disturbed by the fact that his master would do something like that and to a pupil, no less. He was almost glad to have been cursed male, the idea of being touched in such a way, without one's consent, 'Not like I even tell him what I'm fighting for!' Ryoga thought begrudgingly.

'Just like you did...'

Thankfully Ranma's only response at the time was simply to nod and agree with a lighting humming.

Ryoga stopped to consider what that thought he just had, although, his pause was only mental as Ryoga was still leading them to the campsite, 'I can't let these thoughts get to me...' Ryoga continued to think as he guided them, eventually reaching northern end of the site where all their personal belongings sat, even where Ryoga had left the backpack he took from home.

Chingensai watched as they continued to walk, the fuzzy dwarf of a master looked to Matsu in order to see that he was already following the two martial artists towards camp. He saw this as his opportunity and leaned down,"Don't touch her so much Happy... besides, I think we should have a test for these two..." he whispered giving a somewhat devious smile.

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Genma & Nodoka

Inside the kitchen, Nodoka could see that business was slowing down for the night, fewer people were walking by, trash littered about, already getting picked up by the local garbagemen.

She heard clicking and turning noises, she looked to the corner of her eyes and sighed as she began to turn off the few stoves they had on and began to put all the ingredients away, finally, the door opened and in came the large black and white bear. He tried to slide his back against the wall, trying to be as quiet as possible,"Honestly dear... when has this ever worked?" Nodoka asked, sighing and shaking her head.

Genma stopped as he was in mid-step along the wall, he detached himself from it, to lower his head in shame,"I'm sorry..." his sign read, however, he hadn't much time to sulk as a bear as he suddenly felt someone drizzling hot water on his head.

"Ye-ouch!" the bald martial artist cried, trying to fan his head with his hands, eyes wide and clearly very alert now.

"Good... maybe you'll finally listen..." she sighed, closing her eyes as she capped a steel thermos shut.

Genma, for some reason, fully clothed, leaned his head back as now he wasn't granted the luxury of getting to think a little before answering with a well-thought out a sign; one of the few perks of being unable to speak human as an animal. He sighed in defeat and lowered his head,"Hey... Nodoka dear..."

"Genma, honey... please stop acting like you don't know what this is about..." Nodoka began, closing her eyes and figuring she was going to have to start them off.

The father of the Saotome's noticeably cringed as he prepared himself, 'I guess this day's been coming for a long time...' he thought, squinting his eyes.

"Why can't you accept Ryoga?" Nodoka asked, her voice sounding as if she was pleading with him to reconsider his feelings on the matter. She noticed that Genma flinched as if trying to shield his face from any incoming appliances or beatings.

Shortly after he lowered his arms from his face and looked at her, seeing the look of hurt on her face, this was a genuine conversation she wanted, 'My poor Nodoka... guess I can't keep you safe forever...' he thought reluctantly, then narrowed his eyes, seeing that she loosely held her hands to her sides, as if she knew that this was the calm before the storm.

"Stop trying to accept him when he's causing our family so many problems! I'm pretty damn sure he's turning our son into a woman! I'm not blind! I've seen it as he's been growing up and even before he left! I'll admit the boy's got an eye for more just 'than' our boy's, he's got fighting instinct!" Genma exclaimed, one arm clenched near his chest, the other he shot out to his side.

"He-He's just confused! He doesn't know any better!" she shot back, taking a step forward and stomping her heel into the dirt.

"Doesn't know any-" Genma after hearing what he thoroughly believed to be naive rubbish, shook his head in protest,"He might be an animal too but he's thinking like a person! How would this even work!?" Genma demanded, actually stepping forward to Nodoka and causing her to lean back, as he was about to bring up something else.

"W-what do you mean?" Nodoka inquired, her tone cautious and nervous sounding as though she were choking very faintly.

"We were all born in Japan, how would he even get his life started over there!? Marry some woman? Oh wait... he doesn't want some woman, he wants our son!" he shouted, then averted his eyes from Nodoka, no longer able to bare seeing that face on her, he wanted to comfort her but knew if he did he'd only receive a thorough thrashing, typically with a blunt object she would either shatter on him or repeatedly beat him with.

Nodoka's eyes widened as she heard this, she was also aware of how much a visa could cost, technically, Ryoga wasn't even registered anywhere and if that was the case, Ryoga would only have more reason to try and marry his what she had hoped, could have been Ryoga's brother. She desperately wanted to believe that this wasn't the case but it was her grim reality.

"What? Don't got sumthin' ta' say!?" Genma asked as if provoking her, if only due to his own frustration.

He was only met with silence as the mother of the Saotome's shook her head and placed her hands on the sides of her head, 'How can my son be manly if he's with another man...?' she thought, finding it hard to be a man when one was gay, though the future of her two children's welfare hung in the balance, what was a mother to do? To choose between her two sons? How could a caring mother's heart, bear such a burden?

"Do you want this for our son!? He's going down the wrong path, why can't you see that!?" Genma demanded, reaching out to Nodoka, putting his hands on her shoulders as he leaned her back a little so she could actually look him dead in the eyes, he knew she was too distraught to try and push him away, besides, this conversation was overdue in Genma's book,"Do you want our son to take the wrong path?"

Nodoka stared in horror at Genma and at the very same time, she was taking a cold hard look at herself as a mother, not only through Genma's words but by her own reflection in his glasses as well, she looked as though she was on the brink of crying, doing as best as she could to keep her bottom lip from protruding outwards, she closed her eyes and tried to make sense of all these feelings, 'What do I do, Kami-sama!? Isn't a mother supposed to know best?' she thought, not actually calling to the spiritual entity, only hoping to find the right answer without losing her boys.

'Is it really... the wrong path...?' Nodoka's own inner voice echoed.

The mother of the Saotome's squinted her eyes shut and found the strength to pull away from Genma, his hands went limp as she walked past him to get to the back exit, his hands holding the air as if shocked that it had come to this, clearly not what he had expected.

Genma froze in place as Nodoka had shoved him off her and then simply walked past him, opening her eyes as she walked past him, the back of her palm wiping the small teardrops that threatened to fall from her face, the door slamming behind her. That made Genma flinch a little as his back was to her, just in shock that her immediate response wasn't to consider taking Ryoga off the family tree, 'Damn it, Ryoga... you're tearing my family apart...' he thought, balling his fists and trembling them with anger before groaning in annoyance and lowering his head, he lazily reached out to a nearby broom and began to tidy up.

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Ranma & Ryoga

At the center of the sleeping area, Ranma saw that there sat a campfire with four tents circling it nearby. The tents looked as though they were lined up in a square pattern, each tent taking their respective spots at the corners of the campfire. Ryoga lead them to one of the tents and walked over to the side of it, he squatted over and began to reach for everything he would need.

Starting with a large golden tea kettle, grabbing it by the handle he leaned down and undid the buckle to the satchel, opening it, allowing him to reach around inside and dig around, his eyes widened as he found what he was looking for,"Ranma... can you get me some water from that jug over there?" Ryoga asked, gesturing to its location with his head.

"Alright," Ranma replied, moving over to the large ceramic jug sitting in between two tents, with proper technique, she hoisted it up and calmly walked over to the fire, whereupon placing the large water container down, she saw that Ryoga was down on one knee, striking a match before gently bringing it down to a bundle of tinder beneath the pile of campfire wood.

The lost boy could be seen, hunched over, blowing on the dry material, causing embers to form, finding the right amount of air flow he was able to manipulate the fire enough to spread, a little smoke rising from the base of the wood before he lifted his head, rising from his kneeled position he reached over to the teapot on the stick stand where it was placed and opened the lid, looking to the redhead, smiling gently.

Ranma poured it in, she looked to Ryoga and quirked a brow as it looked as though he was chuckling a little,"What?" she asked, quirking a brow.

"You look so small pouring such a big thing..." Ryoga commented, chuckling a little as Ranma looked to him and smirked.

"Shut up..." Ranma replied, putting it down with a playful smile. She tilted her head down looking to the teapot as it prepared the key to her birth form. She felt a warm feeling within her as she felt that things felt less tense than before, her mind wandering back to her kiss with Ryoga, her eyes widened as an intense blush made the girl light up like a Christmas light, 'And I still have that date with him...' Ranma thought.

Ryoga looked to Ranma and noticed that her cheeks were red, being quite familiar with the feeling and the look, considering how up close and personal he's gotten with her in the past and also quite recently, 'I wonder when we can have our date, Ranma did kiss back, after all...' Ryoga thought, Ryoga felt an unease in his chest as he thought this, not entirely sure what this feeling that he had becoming overwhelmed with was, uncertain as to how to deal with it, he decided to shrug it off for the meantime since he couldn't completely understand it himself.

It was then that Ryoga remembered that the water didn't need to be so hot and at his rate, the water would certainly boil if he stalled any longer,"Should be about ready..." Ryoga said, clearing his throat and picking the up and away from the fire, he took a moment to placing his one free hand to the side of the pot and felt it, measuring how hot it was with his bare hand, then looking to Ranma.

She looked to him and he nodded, then she put her hands to her sides, closing her eyes, bowing in front of him.

At that very moment, Happosai and Chingensai were making their way over to tent area, Happosai's eyes widened as he got a view of a gorgeous site to behold, he quickly dashed past Chingensai, zooming by as he jumped towards the redhead's rear, the bushy haired master sighed in annoyance.

It was at that moment that warm water came pouring down on Ranma's head before Happosai could even make contact, he found his face not meeting a soft and firm combination, more firm than anything, even somewhat rockhard.

Ranma looked over his shoulder to see that Happosai had been groping his ass, to which he responded with a swift punch but saw that the Master had gone down like he had before, a cockroach, flat and unmoving.

This confused Ryoga for a moment before he realized, that Happosai probably only favored women, 'So I guess that means no training with girl Ranma...' Ryoga thought, feeling disappointed in the fact that another obstacle stood in his way.

"Serves you right!" Ranma exclaimed, stomping the Master again, not missing the opportunity to inflict pain on the man who deemed it alright to touch him, 'Take that! And that! Touching me! No man touches-' Ranma stopped mid thought, knowing that was untrue by how Ranma's subconscious liked to remind him that being a hypocrite was not the path to be a true martial artist, his mind recognized this and as if to remind him of the situation, by flashing various instances of intimacy with his cursed friend.

Ryoga while still holding the teapot by the handle, joined the raven haired teen, causing Ranma to pause momentarily as he turned to Ryoga and smiled, a warmth and kindness to the vicious act he was about to perform, his peaceful expression was somewhat contagious as Ranma found himself forgetting his worries, enjoying some much-belated bonding time with the boy he had once called family.

From the corner of Ryoga's eye, he could see how Ranma looked with damp hair, his eyes widened for a second before he looked away, smiling nervously and laughing somewhat awkwardly, hoping Ranma wouldn't notice, his stomping being more mechanical a pattern. The two finally stopped to catch their breaths, they looked to the crater and saw that their supposed master was unconscious, his leg twitching just the slightest bit, his eyes closed.

Matsu placed his hand to the side of his head, closing his eyes as he then looked to Ryoga, noticing how happy he was to be near the very person he was fighting for, 'Good luck, Ryoga...' Matsu thought, smiling softly as he noticed how cute the two would be as a couple.

Chingensai only watched in amusement, finding it quite humorous that Happosai was able to get his way, only to knocked unconscious shortly after, 'I gotta' say... even this old fool wants to believe in you...' he thought, looking to the lost boy with a feeling of admiration, 'It's a wonder he turned out so sweet, given the world we live in...' he continued to ponder.

They looked to one another, panting with uncertain expressions, then turned back to look at his fallen form, they breathed a sigh of relief, the students closing their eyes.

Happosai suddenly smirked as though he were a hyena pancake, his pipe flew through the air in such a way that the impact would cause the teapot to cave inwards, making the spout jettison water like a broken faucet. Her eyes were wide, a fiery rage building in her, not only that, the lost boy was going through a similar experience.

There was a bright gleam in both Ranma and Ryoga's eyes, right before, they stomped Happosai so far into the ground, it created a dirt cloud.

Happosai giving one last loud groan before his eyes swirled in a typical anime fashion, finally at his limit.

Ranma lowered her head, she looked around and saw that Matsu and Chingensai had only been watching, Chingensai waving to her as she did, then she turned back to Ryoga and swallowed hard, she composed herself, dusting her pants leg off, as well as her bosom and one quick pat to her rear, feeling like she needed to shake off any disease or filth Happosai might have left on her.

Ryoga had been looking to her but averted his eyes when she patted her bosom, his eyes a little wide until she stopped and looked to him.

"Hey... I still wanna' train with you Ryoga," Ranma said, causing Ryoga to flinch a little a then look to her, surprised,"Even if this old freak's here!" Ranma added, holding a clenched fist up as it trembled, a vein in her hand noticeably rising, making sweatdrops appear over the conscious martial artist's heads.

"Thank you! Master Chingensai will train you..." Matsu began, gesturing to the master, who stood proudly upon being presented, tilting his head back a little and standing on his heels to sway his hips back and forth,"with my supervision!" he said, narrowing his eyes a little at the old pervert.

"Alright," Ranma answered, then prepared herself for the following as she knew it was going to be brought up anyways,"I ain't spending the night here, just so you know! Especially with that crazy geezer!" Ranma exclaimed, earning respectful nods of confirmation from Matsu and Chingensai.

Ryoga appeared quite bashful at that moment he then looked to other two masters before swallowing rather hard.

"Ryoga whats-" Ranma tried to question only to hear Ryoga speak up.

"Thank you! Master Matsu and Master Chingensai! If you two wouldn't mind taking care of Master Happosai... there's something I want to talk to Ranma about-" he found himself being stopped as he saw that Matsu raised his hand, a somewhat flat look on his face.

"Say no more!" Matsu answered quickly, running over to a nearby brown bag and retrieving some rope, Chingensai and Matsu disappeared into the crater, no doubt making sure Happosai wouldn't interfere with anything Ryoga needed to do.

Ranma quirked a brow, unaware of what Ryoga had to say, she noticed him starting to walk towards the woods and also in the direction they first came through, once at a safe enough distance, he stopped.

In that time Ranma put her hands behind her head and followed Ryoga, looking to the side and wondering what he could possibly want to say, 'Probably wants to say good night or sumethin'...' she thought, coming to a halt shortly after the lost boy had.

"Ranma," Ryoga began calmly before looking over his shoulder and turning around, looking hesitant before he continued,"when can we go on our date?" he asked, building a hopeful smile as he took a step closer to Ranma.

To which the redheaded girl responded with a nervous stare, she tilted her head down a little, 'Damn it... even I forgot after...' Ranma thought, narrowing her eyes a little as she had averted her eyes at some point in the middle of her thoughts. She needed to give him an answer, though,"I-I don't know! I've never been on a date before..." Ranma paused and crossed her arms.

"How about... after training tomorrow?" Ryoga asked, looking uncertain as that meant there wouldn't be much time to prepare.

Ranma stopped to consider, she hadn't actually prepared any time and day for their date so he could technically request it for the following morning. She took a shuttering breath as she knew that she had promised this, 'I can't believe I'm doing this... I can't believe half the things I've gone and done...' she thought, taking a deep breath as she tried to steady the beating drum that was now her heart.

Ryoga was in awe of how beautiful Ranma looked with the moonlight gently bouncing off her, in Ryoga's opinion, porcelain skin, her blush only adding a cute effect to her already alluring looks, seeing as she was taking a little while to reply, the boy grew nervous, losing confidence as she stalled.

"Okay..." she replied, looking down to the ground as she clenched her hands to her sides, 'It's just one date, Saotome... can't be so bad, right?' she thought, trying to make light of the situation and calm her tense nerves but couldn't shake that nervous panic growing in her chest.

She found herself looking up as she saw Ryoga's leg come into her view, she noticed the lost boy getting close, to which her pigtail rose up in fear, her eyes somewhat faded looking,"Ryo-" she paused, eyes widening as her chin rested on his shoulder, the lost boy giving her a tight embrace, as if she were a long lost friend,"ga..." she finished, her expression going soft.

"I'm sorry for everything... I've missed you so much..." Ryoga confessed, stubbornly keeping his emotions in check, subconsciously wanting to be strong for the girl in his arms.

Ranma allowed herself to be held, hearing that from Ryoga, her expression became soft as she found herself hugging him back, right before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder.

'Me too...'

----------------------------------------

Mousse

Tired and overworked was Mousse's current mindset, he sighed as he walked over to the furthest part of the village and stopped as he was now in the front yard of the wise elder's home. He looked to the stone steps that lead to her door and he walked over to them, stopping as he was about to knock on her door, however, he stopped, hearing a faint voice inside he leaned his head in and tried to listen, 'If it's one of the mummy's secrets, it could be worth something...' he thought, closing his eyes and trying his best to listen in.

"Tomorrow's weather calls for rain, possibly sometime in the-"

"Sorry for the background noise, as I was saying, we can assure you we have an excellent reason... I wouldn't be asking if I didn't need it..." Cologne stopped herself mid-sentence, her voice was silent.

From beneath her window frame, Mousse had gone deathly silent, his sleeves over his mouth as his glasses had become transparent, his eyes visibly scared, 'S-so close... life, flashed before, eyes... too many regrets...' he thought, then with a silent nod to himself, he lowered his head, focusing on his hearing.

"About the artifact... the one for sealing curses..."