Sunlight filtered through the thick overhead foliage and the hanging vines. Wisps of vapor rose from the dank ground, making the air stifling and humid. While Ranma and Akane were busy making friends with their new schoolmates, Ryouga was desperately trashing in the muddy, godforsaken jungles somewhere…

*Of all places, I had to get lost here…* Ryouga sighed.

It had all started the night after Akane's supposed wedding. Akane's near tears upon looking at her wedding gown…Ranma hiding behind Akane's bedroom door, watching her sleep…and he, foolishly thinking Akane was giving him a chance had made his way back to Nerima somehow, only to realize he never had a chance. It had been too much for him. After managing to making his way out of the Dojo before daybreak, he had just tried to get as far away from Akane and Ranma as possible, and had actually succeeded. He hadn't thought much of that fateful night after that. He didn't want to. In the meantime, he decided getting out of here and going off to find Asuka would be the best thing to do.

"CRASH!" Using his "Breaking Point Technique", he managed to clear some of the damn foliage out of his way. This skill Cologne had taught him might not have been much use in battle, but it sure helped him clear his way when he got lost. "CRASH!"…

"Argh! Get it off me! Help!" Ryouga shouted in his dream (or should we say nightmare?). He woke up to find himself all tangled up in his collapsed tent.

*Whew. So it was only a dream.* He heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn't imagine what had made him dream of the blanket of falling snow. It wasn't even winter yet. He checked the wristwatch Asuka had given him for his birthday. Time to move on and get out of this stupid jungle. Slowly, he packed up his things and checked the map Asuka had given him. Taking out the compass and carefully checking the direction, he set off…in a totally different direction.

"Huff…huff…huff…this must be a really big jungle." Muttered an out-of-breath Ryouga.
He had been walking for at least a week and still couldn't find his way out. He sat down on a nearby tree stump and groaned when he saw the remains of the campfire he had made the night before. He had been going round in circles all the time. Disgusted, he threw his compass into the bushes. There must be something wrong with it, he decided. Picking himself up, he trudged slowly towards the setting sun.

*There, that's better. *Ryouga thought as he eased down onto the stony ground at the mouth of the cave, admiring the burning ball of red that was setting the sky on fire. *I'm finally got out of that stupid jungle. Maybe I'm getting a better sense of direction.* He smiled to himself and got up. Now he would have a cave to sleep in. Rummaging through his bag, he finally found a packet of instant noodles and took out his water bottle, ready to make his lonely evening meal.

As the sky grew dark, Ryouga started a fire and huddled beside it. As winter approached, the nights got colder. He would have to find some lodging soon. He couldn't sleep in caves or his tent in winter! Ryouga sighed. If only he were back in Nerima! But he would never be able to go back there with the knowledge that Akane liked Ranma. They would be happier without him around. Ryouga gazed forlornly at the stars above.

Back in Nerima, someone else was gazing at the same stars and crying, as heartbroken as Ryouga. Crying because she had seen Ranma looking at Akane with something that looked like love in his eyes, then blushing and looking away when Akane noticed. Crying because everybody in school knew. Crying because her Ran-chan had abandoned her again. That someone was Ukyou. She had pretended not to notice. She had tried to hint to Ranma that she was the one he should love, not Akane. But Ranma (who should get the "Baka Of The Year" or "Mr. Insensitive" award) had told her something he had not dared to say to anyone, not even Akane -- He loved Akane. He, who had always thought of her as his best friend, had told her his greatest secret, and shattered all her hopes and dreams, and with them, her fragile heart.

Ryouga was awakened from his sleep by a strange dripping sound coming from the back of the cave. Ryouga had never been of the inquisitive sort, so he just packed his stuff and turned towards the rays of the morning sun coming from the mouth of the cave. However, before he could do so, he tripped on something and fell hard on the stony floor of the cave with a thump. "Ouch! Stupid piece of stone!" He shouted and kicked it with all his might. The long, flat piece of stone flipped over to reveal some Chinese characters…

"Zhou Quan Xiang?" Ryouga muttered. "What's that? 'Zhou Quan Xiang' …Zhou…ju…sen…JUSENKYO!" Ryouga shouted excitedly. "Maybe the end of this cave leads to Jusenkyo! I cure my curse!" Then Ryouga realized something…

*Maybe if I manage to cure my curse, Akane will choose me over Ranma! I can go back to Nerima and slowly make her accept and love me as Ryouga instead of "P-chan"! Maybe…* Truly excited by his realizations, and with Asuka totally forgotten, Ryouga quickly lit a torch and cautiously made his way into the dark and eerie depths of the cave…

Ryouga gulped. He had never been of the extremely courageous sort, and being alone in a dark and eerie tunnel didn't appeal to his imagination. Ryouga cringed at the shadows cast by the flickering torch and nearly screamed when a drop of water from the roof of the tunnel fell on him and trickled down his neck. Luckily that hadn't been enough to turn him into a wriggling black pig, or else, he might have fainted from the fear. Despite all these, the thought of winning Akane's heart spurred him on, giving him the strength and courage he lacked.

Finally, after what seemed like a million sleepless nights to Ryouga, he spotted a ray of light in front of him. He nearly squealed with joy as he ran towards the source, not even glancing at any of the side tunnels (amazing what being in a dark tunnel for a couple of days does for a person's sense of direction). Ryouga rushed out into the bright afternoon sunlight, and breathed deeply.*Finally out of that hellhole!* Ryouga thought as he looked at the familiar scenery of Jusenkyo, the traditional training ground of countless pugilists, with its familiar bamboo poles sticking out of the many cursed pools. Ryouga was so happy he forgot to see where he was going, and…
"SPLASH! Bubble…bubble…bubble…"

When Ryouga finally burst to the surface gasping for breath, he noticed something…there was something very wrong with his body…dark fur…small body…leathery wings. Okay, not being in the form of a little black pig was good, but being a fruit bat didn't help very much either. He groaned inwardly. Why hadn't he looked at where he had been going? Now he had to find the Chinese guide to help him in the form of a bat. He hoped the guide didn't eat bats. Being cooked as a pig was bad enough.

Ryouga spread his wings uncertainly and flew towards the grass hut in the distance. Being able to fly was kind of cool, and so was having a sense of direction, but he didn't want to fly back to Nerima and be named "B-chan" by Akane. The guide didn't seem to be home, but there was a piece of paper on his door. Ryouga slowly flew down to read the clumsily written Japanese…

Honorable Guest,
I sorry not to be able look after Honorable Guest, but family require attention so I be back maybe after winter. Honorable Guest is free to use humble hut. A thousand apologizes.

Yours,
Guide of Jusenkyo

*Oh my god. How did I get myself in this mess? *Groaned Ryouga. Fortunately for him, the guide had left one of his ridiculously flimsy windows open. Ryouga squeezed into through it, and in the process, knocked the window off. Then Ryouga saw a hot water flask on the table. His eyes lit up. Hopefully, the water would still be reasonably warm so he could change back. He knocked hard at the flask and gasped when the scalding water spilled all over him.

"Ouch! Why is the water still so hot! Ouch!" Ryouga shouted as he hopped around the hut. "The guide should have left some time ago! That water flask must have extra good insulation man!" Ryouga muttered as he rummaged his backpack for a set of clothes. After he finally got dressed, Ryouga picked up a few sets of winter clothes, a new compass, a map, food and water (he certainly wasn't going to drink from those curse pools) from a town he had found after walking for about half a day. The rest of his day was spent talking to a young girl he had asked to bring him back to Jusenkyo. She was from the nearby village Senki, and quite talkative. She was very pretty, with a pair of warm brown eyes, long brown hair that fell almost to her waist and a cute smile. Even Ryouga, who was usually shy and reserved around girls, told her some things about himself and his family, which made her laugh.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how do you manage to have a family like that?" She asked relentlessly, to which Ryouga could only shrug. He didn't know either. "Must have something to do with your genes." She mused.
When they finally reached the hut, it was already nightfall. Just before she left, she suddenly turned towards him and asked him, "What's your name anyway?"
"I'm Ryouga Hibiki. Thank you very much for bringing me here." Ryouga answered. Then on impulse, Ryouga asked for her name. "My name is Yume, Yume Kori." She called out as she ran into the night.

*Oh my god.* Ryouga thought as he looked disgustedly at himself. Ryouga had spent the whole morning armed with a dozen kettles of water jumping into every cursed pool he came across, and was presently in the form of a giant octopus. *How in the world did the octopus drown in this tiny pool? * Ryouga wondered. But he supposed he should stop being amazed by now. The creatures he had turned into included a frog, monkey, panda, cat, duck, chicken, crane-bull-eel-ape, phoenix (how did it get in there?), turtle (another wonder), ant, penguin (in China?) and even a goldfish! How could a fish drown? Ryouga slowly dragged himself, heavy tentacles and all, on the bank and knocked the last kettle of water over himself. *Okay, last pool.* Ryouga thought, and jumped into the nearby pool.
"SPLASH! Bubble…bubble…bubble…bubble…bubble…"
"Ah!" Gasped the figure as it came out of the water.

"Human…"Ryouga whispered. But there was something very wrong…his chest had somehow inflated and he had seemed to have shorter arms and legs. "A girl!" Ryouga-chan gasped. "I jumped into Nyannichuan!" Ryouga-chan quickly struggled out of the pool and collapsed on the bank. Just as he feared…Nannichuan was one of the pools that had been flooded due to the recent rainy season. Should he go back in this form? Ryouga looked at his reflection in the pool. Enormous dark blue eyes stared back at him as he looked wonderingly at the figure with a head of dark orange-brown hair instead of his usual black and a face as cute as Ranma-chan.*I don't look half bad.*Ryouga-chan thought. But to go back to Nerima in this form? As a hentai? "At least I'll be on par with Ranma." Ryouga-chan muttered. She picked up the kettles strewn along the way and actually managed to get back to the hut before sunrise.*This time, Akane will be mine.* Ryouga-chan decided. Meanwhile, somewhere in the trees, laughter that sounded like peals of bells rang out…and a girl called Yume Kori rushed back to her village to pack some clothes so she could follow Ryouga-san to Nerima. It would be fun and maybe she would be able to find her sister. Wouldn't Tenshi be shocked to see her, Yume Kori in Nerima. If there was one thing Yume liked best, it was having fun.