Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Hold Fast To Dreams ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Ranmaverse except some compilation albums and a broken toaster. If you sue me, you will acquire nothing but my bills, as that is all I have to my name.

Mitsukiro comes from my own twisted imagination.

-^-Hold Fast To Dreams-^-

_Chapter Three_

The two boys looked at each other over the drawing of Akane. "What do you think this means?" Ryoga asked the question that was on both their minds.

Ranma shook his head. "I dunno." He grabbed the piece of paper from the Lost Boy and studied it, turning it over. "Hey, there's something written on the back of it. It looks like a challenge." Ryoga leaned over Ranma.

The note simply read: /~/To decide your fate, be here at sundown tomorrow/~/

"Sunset tomorrow... I suppose he means this clearing?" Ranma wondered aloud. Ryoga just shrugged. "I wonder who that guy is, and what the hell does Akane have to do with this? Stupid tomboy," he muttered.

"Ranmaaa," Ryoga growled, fists clenched.

"Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch, I was only kidding," Ranma said distractedly. He looked off into the distance for a few minutes, then shook his head, trying to clear the ominous feeling he had gotten. "Anyway," he grinned cartoonishly, eyes over-bright, "that guy doesn't look so tough; I bet I could take him. It's not like I was scared or nuthin'!" he yelled into the trees, whirling around to where the strange golden boy had previously stood.

Ryoga looked dubiously at the pigtailed martial artist, then began walking out of the clearing. "Ranma, do you mind? I'd like to get back to the inn before we have to camp out here. I left my pack in our room, so it's not like we have the necessary provisions for roughing it," he pointed out, motioning to the descending darkness.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. Let's just go," Ranma said flatly, automatically moving in front of the directionless martial artist and taking the lead.

--

When the two boys entered into the main dining hall, they found the large room a chaos of talking, laughing, and slurping people. Everyone had returned from their individual journeys and were eager to tell of their adventures, hence delaying both Ranma and Ryoga from finding out anything about the mysterious stranger. Once dinner was over, Ryoga was besieged by the innkeeper, demanding payment for the holes he had put in the walls earlier, and Ranma dragged Akane out into the front yard to ask her about the drawing.

"That... really _is_ me!" Akane exclaimed, gazing at the drawing in her hands. "Though I look a lot younger in it..."

"So, do you know who that guy might be?" Ranma queried. Akane shook her head as Nabiki strolled onto the lawn, eating a cup of yogurt.

"There you are, sister dear. I was _wondering_ where you two had gone off to," she said, hiking an eyebrow their way. Ranma coughed while Akane's face burned brightly.

"We weren't _doing_ anything, Nabiki. Ranma was just showing me this challenge letter." Akane waved the sketch at Nabiki, who snatched it from her.

"Oh, Ranma. Who knew you were such an artist?" Nabiki grinned mischievously as she inspected the drawing.

"Hey!" Ranma exclaimed, agitated, "I didn't draw that stupid picture! Why would I want to draw a picture of such an uncute tomboy?!"

"Like I'd _want_ you to draw me! Honestly, Ranma!" Akane's fists clenched as her voice rose shrilly. Nabiki clearing her throat brought the pair back to the situation at hand.

"Anyway, if you didn't draw it, then who _did_, hmm? Don't tell me Ryoga is our resident artiste?"

"No, it was some dumb guy in the woods earlier. He had these weird gold eyes," Ranma explained, still scowling. The spoon in Nabiki's hand fell silently to the grass, unheeded.

"Did you say 'gold eyes'?" she asked apprehensively, handing the drawing back to Akane.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, what of it?"

Nabiki looked sideways at her sister and her fiancee, deliberating. "Blonde hair and gold eyes?"

"Yes, Nabiki, why?" Ranma practically yelled, exasperated.

"I think I might have known of someone like that," was the middle Tendo daughter's elusive reply.

"I don't have any money."

"I ain't paying you a dime."

Both statements spilled out of the two martial artists' mouths simultaneously. Akane and Ranma looked at each other guiltily.

Nabiki adopted a pained expression. "Hey, I'm hurt, you guys." She sweatdropped when the sharp looks fell upon her. "Uh, yeah, anyway, about that guy," she said, deftly changing the subject. "He used to go to school with us in Nerima; in fact he was in my grade. He was unusually quiet; used to spend every lunch hour near the gardens, sketching in some notebook of his."

"I think I would have remembered a guy with glowing gold eyes at school, Nabiki," Ranma retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Baka, she means before you came here," Akane shouted, whapping Ranma on the head with the drawing. The pigtailed boy said a silent prayer that it was just the drawing and not something heavier, like her mallet-sama.

"If you two are done interrupting me," Nabiki looked disdainfully at the two bickering children before her, "I'll finish telling you what I know." She waited until she was sure they were listening, then continued. "Now, then, where was I? Oh yes, he used to stalk-- er, I mean, sketch-- near the school gardens at our old school; you know, where _you_ used to eat, Akane?" Realization dawned on the blue-haired girl's face. "Yes, now you're getting it. Anyway, he was also a decent martial artist. He was number one in the school's Kendo club, even beating out ol' Tatewaki himself, a fact which irked the poor poetry-spouter to no end."

Ranma snorted. "_That's_ not too hard a feat."

Nabiki raised an amused eyebrow Ranma's way. "Well, Kuno-baby was able to grab his spot in the limelight eventually, because a few years ago, this sketch-artist left town. Some terrible accident, they say, though I'm not clear on the details..." Nabiki looked saddened as she stated that.

"Hey, 'Biki, do you remember the guy's name?" Ranma asked.

The middle Tendo daughter paused for a second, then shook her head. "No, I sure don't. But if I did, I'd sell it to you for 3,000 yen," she said brightly. Both Ranma and Akane groaned as she sauntered back inside, her forgotten spoon still lying in the grass.

Akane turned to her fiancee. "Ranma, this is serious. If this guy is better than Kuno, he may be a real threat to you. Not like I care or anything," she said, trying to adopt a tone of indifference and failing. Ranma looked at her for a long while, making the blue-haired girl squirm. "What?" she spat out waspishly.

Ranma blinked. "Nothing," he said uncertainly. "Damn, where's Ryoga?" It had been a while since the two boys had parted ways, and Ranma felt a strange loss at the Lost Boy's lack of presence.

"I don't know," Akane said impatiently, secretly wondering the same thing. Ryoga was cute when he stammered and blushed around her. "Look, Ranma, are you going to listen to me at all? You need to train if you're going to beat this guy."

"Exactly why I was wondering where Ryoga was; he's the only one here who can be a proper opponent." Ranma seriously did not mean to offend Akane by his choice of words, but as always neatly stuck his foot in his mouth without being aware of it.

"Ranmaaa! I can be _just_ as good an opponent! Watch!" With that, Akane launched herself at the pigtailed martial artist, aiming for his head. Ranma dodged easily, not countering. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'at least I can work on my agility.' He neatly leaped over and dodged Akane's easy kicks and punches, guiding the small girl around the yard. He spotted Ryoga coming out of the side door, pocketing his wallet; Ranma narrowed his eyes, still a bit angry at the day's earlier events, and lead Akane towards the porcine martial artist. It was time to have some fun at the Lost Boy's expense.

Akane was completely oblivious to her surroundings; her entire focus was narrowed down to the swiftly moving form in front of her. She became confused as said swiftly moving form suddenly vanished before her eyes; a second later her body was being propelled forward by a sudden push from behind.

Ryoga's eyes widened as he saw Akane flying towards him. He had just enough time to wrap his arms around the blue-haired girl, cushioning her body as they fell. The only sound was a slight whooshing as all of Akane's air left her lungs with the impact. Ranma collapsed onto the ground himself, laughing hysterically. He looked up when he realized no mallet or fist had sent him into Low Earth Orbit.

Akane and Ryoga were lying tangled on the ground. Akane's hands were propped on the ground by the Lost Boy's shoulders, and they were gazing intently into each other's eyes. Ranma could see the love swimming in Ryoga's chocolate orbs, but what surprised him the most was Akane's confused, yet answering, gaze.

"Akane!" he yelled; in reality it had been the slightest of whispers, but it had sounded so very loud to his ears. He winced.

Akane nearly jumped to the roof at the sound. She looked guiltily at Ranma as she got up off of Ryoga, eyes wide. Ranma stared back at her, uncertain emotions swirling in his head. He looked past her as Ryoga slowly got up, and saw the love still hovering in those eyes, like a cup about to spill. Ryoga tore his gaze from the small girl, and looked at Ranma. For a brief moment, the pigtailed boy swore he saw that unquestioning love in the Lost Boy's eyes include him as the directionless martial artist gazed at him. Then Ryoga blinked, and Ranma had to wonder if it was ever there.

"Ranma..." Ryoga's voice tried to garner the anger it usually held for that name, but instead ended up sounding tired.

"What did you do _that_ for, idiot?!" Akane's familiar rage replaced the guilt she had felt just a moment before. She pulled her mallet-sama out of hyperspace; a second later, Ranma was airborne.

--

Making his, now her, way out of the creek she had found herself in after Akane's attack, Ranma spotted Ryoga waiting for her in front of the inn, a steaming kettle at his feet.

"Yo, Ryoga, what are you doing out here?" she asked guardedly, expecting another explosion. Ryoga just raised his shoulders up to his ears, hands stuffed in pockets. With his foot, he gestured toward the kettle that was sputtering and bubbling merrily. "Thanks," Ranma said as she picked it up and poured a little over her, now his, head. The Lost Boy just shrugged again.

Thinking Ryoga wasn't going to say anything, Ranma moved past the directionless boy. He stopped at the sound of Ryoga's voice.

"What are you going to do about this challenge? Don't you think you should train? And I mean for real this time, not just to anger Akane."

Ranma turned around. "Yeah, I guess. You'll help me train, right? I mean, if you don't mind," he added hastily. Looking out into the night, Ranma decided. "If you're willing train with me, then I suppose we should start early in the morning. Which means," he sent a pointed look the directionless boy's way, "no leaving the room to 'sleep outside' tonight. I don't want to hunt all over this place for you again."

Ranma's mention of the previous night brought the dream back vividly to Ryoga's mind, dragging with it the heated emotions it had surfaced. He quickly turned away, mumbling his assent, cheeks flaming. If Ranma noticed Ryoga's odd reaction, he didn't say anything about it.

--

When the two boys entered their shared room, they found it tidied, the pitcher full of fresh ice water and their futons carefully laid out next to each other. Ranma slid out of his clothes quickly and laid down on his bed. Ryoga hesitated.

"What?" Ranma asked, looking up at the boy.

"N-nothing," Ryoga stammered. With his foot, he inched his futon a little ways away from Ranma's. The pigtailed boy noticed this and gave Ryoga an odd look, but said nothing. He turned onto his side, facing away from his roommate. Relief flooded through Ryoga when Ranma rolled over. He, too, quickly undressed and slid into his covers, rolling opposite the pigtailed martial artist, willing his mind to stop remembering. He tried to think of the strange golden boy and who he might be, but that didn't help. That just made Ryoga think of Akane, and the incident earlier. Between the feel of Akane's body on top of him and the memory of dream-Ranma's lips all over him, Ryoga's cheeks were burning with the effort to restrain himself.

Ranma himself was lying awake, listening to Ryoga toss and turn, and fuming over the day. Why did he pretend to think him and Ryoga could ever be friends? And who the hell was that guy anyway? What does Akane have to do with it? Akane. Ranma's eyes narrowed as he seethed inwardly. Why was she looking at Ryoga like that? Does she... ? Has she always... ? Ranma couldn't even get himself to complete those thoughts. He sat up just as the door whispered open.

"Ryoga."

Two very different, yet very familiar voices pierced the uncomfortable silence. Ryoga looked from Ranma's sullen face next to him on the floor, to Akane's sorrowful one in the doorway, hands clasped in front of her.

"What is it?" he said softly to no one in particular. Ranma's eyes dropped to his blanket, while Akane seemed to think better of her intrusion and took a step back. Giving Ranma an 'I'll-be-right-back' look, Ryoga rose quietly. "Akane, wait!" he called as the girl turned and fairly fled. Clothed only in his boxer shorts and tank top, Ryoga chased Akane through the inn and outside by the hot springs. There Akane collapsed, crying. For once throwing his shyness to the wind, Ryoga gathered the small girl in his arms and comforted her while the tears fell; when the sobs subsided a bit, Ryoga drew her face up to his with a finger. His heart nearly broke at the look he saw there.

"Akane? Are you okay?"

The blue-haired girl just shook her head slowly. "No, Ryoga... I'm so afraid!" This brought on a fresh set of tears, and Akane buried her head in Ryoga's chest. The Lost Boy stroked her back soothingly, trying very hard not to think about the fact that they were both only wearing their night clothes. He didn't see, or rather, didn't sense Ranma when the other youth appeared in the doorway leading from the inn to the springs.

"I'm just s-so afraid for Ranma! What i-if he gets hurt-t-t? I could never live with myself!" Small hands beat at Ryoga's chest as Akane sobbed out the words.

The pigtailed boy in question blinked back his surprise. He had no idea that was why Akane was so upset. Ryoga made soothing noises as he continued to hold the small girl, letting her cry it out. "Akane, you know Ranma can hold his own. He's one of the best fighters out there. I'm sure he'll be fine." This, amazingly, was said without any tinge of venom or jealousy. Away from his rival, Ryoga could admit to the truth.

The blue-haired girl gripped Ryoga's shirt tightly, her eyes pleading. "Go with him tomorrow, please! I don't know, I just feel something awful's going to happen, I'm sure of it. Promise me!"

Ryoga looked deeply into those saddened eyes, and nodded. "I promise," he said softly.

Sunshine broke out over Akane's face, and before she could stop herself, she leaned up and kissed Ryoga lightly on the lips.

The Lost Boy froze at the brief contact, eyes closed, daring to open them only when he no longer felt her touch. Akane's face was flushed, and she refused to meet his gaze, but she appeared quite happy with herself as she scrambled out of Ryoga's embrace. She offered her hands to the directionless martial artist, who took them, though more for contact than help.

When they were both upright, he kept her hands clasped firmly in his, eyes a mixture of confusion, elation, and something else. Was that sorrow Akane witnessed flashing in his eyes? She reluctantly pulled her hands away, and turned towards the door.

Which was now empty.

--

Ranma's eyes were burning. He was _not_ going to cry! He swiped at them furiously as he made his way back to the room. He was so touched by Akane's concern for him, but also so very angry at Ryoga for taking something away from him again. Damn him! Ranma's fists convulsed with the need for violence. 'First, Ryoga gets all of Akane's kind words,' Ranma thought. 'While I only get malletings.' He refused to listen to the tiny part of him that said he deserved them half of the time. 'Then, she adopts the baka as P-Chan,' he made a face at this, 'and the chocolate-eyed lech gets to sleep in her bed every night! _Now_ he kisses Akane and takes yet one more thing from me!'

Body trembling, Ranma knelt and punched his hand through the floor, not caring about the damage or the sound. The crunch of the wood satisfied the martial artist as he imagined it as the sound of the Lost Boy's face being smashed in.

Ranma regretted the action instantly, and shame blossomed across his nose. He realized he had let his anger get the better of him, which resulted only in a drafty room due to the fist-sized hole in the floor. Not knowing what else he could do without harming himself, someone else, or more of the inn, the pigtailed boy flopped down on his futon and cursed. He rolled over and cursed into his pillow, banging his fists into the thin mattress. "Damn Akane for taking Ryoga away from me!"

Ranma bolted up quickly when he realized his Freudian slip. He scrambled around, picking up his pillow, messing with his sheets, _anything_ to make him forget that last thought. 'I meant damn _Ryoga_ for taking _Akane_! What the hell would I want that _boy_ for anyway?!' he thought fiercely. Humming and babbling nonsensically to drown out any response his brain might have had to that question, Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin onto the ceiling when he heard a voice behind him.

"Ranma, what are you _doing_?!" Ryoga's voice came through the air like a lightening bolt. Ranma stopped methodically folding and unfolding his blanket, mentally cursing himself for not hearing the Lost Boy come in. When Ranma didn't answer, Ryoga moved into the room fully, now able to see the brand-new hole in the bedroom floor. "What the hell happened here?" Ryoga's voice rose a notch, anger inching it's way in.

At the Lost Boy's tone, Ranma turned around, his face a mask of untamed fury. "You kissed her!"

Ryoga blinked, lost for a brief second; then his face hardened, eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?" he forced out through clenched teeth, though he knew very well what Ranma was talking about.

"You _kissed_ her! You took yet another thing away from me! You kissed her!" Ranma repeated it like a mantra, voice high with uncontrolled anger.

Ryoga stared at his pigtailed rival for a few moments before saying, "You were there? You were spying?!"

"You kissed her!"

The Lost Boy made a violent motion with his hands, arms flexing. "Is that all you can say? And she kissed _me_, Ranma, not the other way around! What, you wanted to be her first real kiss? Was that it? Huh, Ranma?" With each word, Ryoga took a step forward, until he was as close to the pigtailed boy as he could get, chests touching, noses mere centimeters apart. He stared into Ranma's cobalt eyes and let all of his rage show in his own. Rage that had cultivated itself over several years of being bested by the cocky youth; in battle, in hunger, and in love.

Ranma glared into the Lost Boy's face and tried to equal the fury he saw there. He could not, however, and took a step back; mainly because having Ryoga so close was doing things to his nervous and cardiovascular systems. His heart was beating a trillion times faster than normal, pumping copious amounts of blood to regions he rather didn't exist at the moment. Another reason Ranma backed off was because he realized for the second time that night, that he wasn't mad at Ryoga for taking Akane, but at Akane for taking Ryoga away from him. And himself, he reminded himself silently. He was mostly mad at himself for feeling the way he did. 'I really am a pervert,' he thought ruefully.

Turning so he was only half-facing the other boy, Ranma swallowed audibly. "I-I... you... it's just..." Ranma trailed off, speechless, playing with his thumbs.

Ryoga blinked at the pigtailed boy's sudden change. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes and counting to ten. When he opened them, he appeared visibly calmer. "Ranma," he began, his voice sounding very dejected. "Ranma, you probably have Akane forever. I got to have her for maybe a handful of moments, so just let me have them. Akane cares for you, not me." At the look on Ranma's face, the Lost Boy rushed onward. "If you were there while Akane and I were talking, then you know what we were talking about."

"Yeah, she doesn't think I can take care of myself," Ranma said derisively, folding his arms in front of his chest, ever the macho male.

Ryoga gave the pigtailed boy a hard look. "You know that's not it, you jackass. She's worried about you... because she doesn't want to see you hurt and... she loves you." A pained expression came over the Lost Boy's face, and he lowered his gaze from Ranma's.

Ranma's sarcastic reply died on his tongue as tears filled Ryoga's eyes. They hovered threateningly, and the directionless boy blinked furiously as he fought for the tears not to fall. Dammit, how he hated to cry in front of Ranma!

"Ryoga, buddy, are you okay?" Ranma gripped Ryoga's shoulder, looking at the stockier boy intently.

Ryoga just nodded, refusing to look at the aquatranssexual. He wanted very much to pound Ranma into the ground for having, and being, everything he ever wanted, but he was suddenly very, very tired. "Let's just go to sleep," he said, voice thick with unshed tears.

Ranma bit his bottom lip, a thousand things he wanted to say coursing through his head. Instead, he released his grip on the fanged boy and turned toward his futon. 'Another day,' he thought cryptically as he slid under his covers. He heard Ryoga scoot his pallet even further away before laying down, and for some reason, that made Ranma immeasurably sad.

----

To Be Continued...