The Mushroom Incident part 2
	The Trouble With Truffles
	~Cindy Toler~

	"What's wrong?"

	"What happened?"

	Akane and Kasumi came running out of the house as Ranma followed the boy out 
of the Dojo. Ryoga ran to Akane and hid his face in her skirt, crying miserably. Akane tried 
unsuccessfully to disentangle him from her dress and pick him up, but ended up standing 
helplessly, patting his head while he cried. Over Ryoga's caterwauling, she asked again, 
"What happened?"

	"I-did-n't-m-m-m-" Ryoga choked out between sobs.

	"He tried to-" Ranma began.

	"Ranma, did you do something to him?" Akane asked, sounding worried.

	"He almost burned down the Dojo!" Ranma shouted.

	"I-I-did-n't-m-m-mean-" Ryoga tried again.

	"What?" Akane asked, looking at Ranma aghast.

	"I didn't mean to be bad!!!" Ryoga finally wailed. Ranma knelt beside him and the 
boy hid behind Akane with a muffled shriek. Akane shot Ranma an accusing glare and he 
sighed wearily, wondering if this was how his father felt sometimes.

	"Ryoga, you're not bad," Ranma said, then had to repeat it to be sure he1d been 
heard over the loud sobbing. "You did a bad thing, but it's over now and we still like you."

	Ryoga lifted his tear-streaked little face out of Akane's skirt. "You do?" he sniffled.

	"We love you, Ryoga," Akane amended softly, finally succeeding in getting her 
skirt free. She knelt down beside the boy and put her hands on his thin shoulders. 
Kasumi's hand came to rest lightly on Akane's shoulder.

	"That's right, dear," Kasumi added mildly. Ryoga leaped to throw his arms around 
Akane's neck, sobbing even louder than before and knocking the breath out of her. Ranma 
knelt for a moment more and then stood awkwardly, feeling left out.

	"What's all the commotion about?" said a masculine voice behind him. Ranma 
turned to see Soun and his father, in Panda form, entering the yard.

	"Hey, ain't you guys back early?" Ranma asked. 

	The Panda held up a sign that said, "Ran out of provisions." Suddenly, an ear-
splitting scream rang out, and Ranma felt Ryoga's little arms wrapping around his knees.

	"Ryoga, wh-?" Ranma gasped, waving his arms wildly to try and keep his balance.

	"Ryoga's young again! Oh, it's almost like having a son!" Soun interrupted 
joyfully, dropping his gear and running over with his arms outstretched. Ryoga held on to 
Ranma even tighter.

	"It's a BEAR!!!" Ryoga yelled at the top of his lungs. "Don't let it eat me!" Soun 
skidded to a halt and looked around, confused. Ranma looked at his father, who was 
shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another, then down at the little boy's hands, 
white-knuckled around fistfuls of his pants legs. Then he looked back at the Panda and l
aughed. 

	"Oh, don't be afraid of Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said blithely. "He's really very gentle."

	"Does he eat little boys?"

	"Naw," Ranma said, still laughing. "But he'll steal your breakfast if you're not 
paying attention."

	"Oh, my, I forgot about breakfast!" Kasumi said, hurrying back into the house.

	The Panda held up a sign that read, "It's good training, boy."

	"A little breakfast would be good about now, right, Saotome?" Soun said 
cheerfully to the Panda, crossing the yard to retrieve his gear and then following Kasumi 
into the house. He decided to wash up quickly and then see if he couldn't find some toys 
to entertain little Ryoga with. He all but ran to the house, grinning with glee.

	"I don't want him to eat me or my breakfast!" Ryoga cried unhappily. The Panda 
ducked his head, looking embarassed, and Ranma started to laugh again.

	"Ranma, it's not funny," Akane said disapprovingly. "Ryoga, don't worry. I'm 
sure Mr. Panda won't eat your breakfast. He's a very nice bear. Would you like to meet him?"

	"I don't want to," Ryoga said, clutching Ranma's pants legs even tighter. Ranma 
stopped laughing and jerked at his trousers' waistband as he felt them start to slip.

	"Hey, Ryoga, quit that!" Ranma snapped. Ryoga let go and jumped away, 
running to hide behind Akane again.

	"Ranma, stop scaring him!" Akane said angrily.

	"He could quit trying to pull my pants off!" Ranma replied. "And you can quit 
hiding behind Akane, too. A man faces his fears." With that, Ranma reached around 
Akane, grabbed the little boy around the waist, and carried him over to the Panda, kicking 
and screaming.

	"Ranma, stop it!" Akane shrieked, running after them. Ranma grabbed one of 
Ryoga's little hands and placed it on the Panda's furry nose.

	"You see?" he shouted over Ryoga's screams. "He won't eat you!"

	"Ranma, that's enough!" Akane yelled, grabbing Ryoga out of his arms. "Stop 
bullying him!"

	"You stop babying him!" Ranma shouted back. "You're teaching him to act like a 
girl!"

	"He's just a little boy!" Akane bellowed. "He's allowed to be scared!"

	"Please don't fight!" Ryoga cried. "I didn't mean to make you fight!"

	"Ryoga," Akane said, her anger quickly fading. "You didn't make us..."

	"If I touch the bear, will you stop being mad?" Ryoga asked, looking up at Ranma 
with serious, huge brown eyes.

	"Sure, let's see you do it," Ranma said, crossing his arms. Ryoga sniffled, 
scrubbed his tears away with his fists, and then walked toward the Panda slowly, trembling
 even more than when he had faced Ranma in the Dojo.

	"Please don't bite me, Mr. Panda," the boy said in a tiny squeak, and then he 
reached out and placed his hand on the Panda's furry shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. 
When nothing happened, he opened his eyes again to see the Panda looking at him mildly.

	"Now, you see?" Ranma said softly. "He won't eat you."
	
	"You are so brave, Ryoga!" Akane whispered, a little awed.

	"Nice bear," Ryoga said, slowly starting to pat the Panda's shoulder. "You won't 
eat me, will you?" The Panda shook his head, and Ryoga laughed.
	
	"He said no!" Ryoga cried, turning around to flash a wide, toothy smile at Ranma 
and Akane. "Will you be my friend, Mr. Panda?" Ryoga asked. The Panda nodded, and 
the delighted boy hugged him. In a matter of moments, Ryoga had clambered up onto the 
Panda's back and begun riding him around the yard, squealing with delight while Ranma 
and Akane looked on with big grins. From her room, Nabiki watched through the window 
with a serious expression.

*******

	A few hours later, Nabiki glared down at the blank page that was supposed to 
contain her school report.

	"Ryoga, don't you think it's time to get down off the Panda?" Akane's voice 
carried through the window, asking the same stupid question for about the hundredth time. 
That kid was never going to agree with her. 

	"No! I wanna ride him again! I WANT MR.PANDA!!!"

	Nabiki sighed as Ryoga's clear, high-pitched voice rang in her ears. Out in the 
yard, Ranma and Akane were still trying to pry Ryoga away from Genma. They had 
missed breakfast, and now it was nearly lunchtime, and Nabiki's school work was not going 
well with all the distractions. Ranma started to physically pull the little boy away from the
 weary Panda, and the resulting shrieks made Nabiki grit her teeth. She looked down in time 
to see the snapped halves of her pencil landing on top of the still-blank page.

	"That's it, I'm going to the Library," Nabiki said grimly. She quickly gathered her 
books and carried them downstairs. Ranma and Akane were just coming inside with 
Ryoga, who was stomping his feet and pouting angrily.

	"Ryoga, Mr. Panda needs to rest..." Akane was saying in a conciliatory way.

	"Akane, will you quit babying him?" Ranma asked grumpily.

	"I'm not babying him, I'm just trying to explain..."

	"He doesn't need any explanation!" Ranma snapped. "He's a kid, he'll do as he's 
told! He can't ride the Panda right now, and that's that!"

	"Please don't fight..." Ryoga said, forgetting his own anger.

	"Look, he can't help it that he's a little boy right now!" Akane yelled. "Not only 
that, he's a little boy who hasn't slept in almost 24 hours!"

	"Please, don't," Ryoga tried again, shrinking back as Ranma and Akane glared 
poisonously at each other.

	"That's no excuse!" Ranma was saying. "He should still act his age!"

	"He IS acting his age!" Akane bellowed.

	"Stop fighting!" Ryoga shouted, grabbing Ranma's shirt-tail and trying to pull him away.

	"Quit that!" Ranma said, jerking away from Ryoga. "And be more respectful! You 
don't want another spanking, do you?" Ryoga backed away, shaking his head silently.

	"You spanked him?" Akane cried, appalled. "How could you raise your hand-"

	"Hey, YOU spanked ME when I was a kid! Don't you start-"

	"That was different!" Akane snapped. "You still had your own mind, and you 
were bullying him!!!"

	"ENOUGH!" Nabiki yelled, reaching over to place a hand on Ryoga's shoulder. 
Ranma and Akane gaped at her, startled. "Ryoga," Nabiki said gently, "why don't you go 
see if Auntie Kasumi needs any help with lunch?"

	"Okay," Ryoga said soberly, and left the room looking upset. As soon as he had 
cleared the door, Nabiki turned to glare at Ranma and Akane.

	"All right, you two. Enough is enough," she hissed furiously. Ranma opened his 
mouth to reply, but Nabiki cut him off with a sharp, angry gesture. 

	"I've waited and waited for you two to start acting like adults, and I'm tired of 
waiting," Nabiki said. "Whatever you might think of him at his normal age, right now 
Ryoga is a lost little boy. And that boy needs a loving home!" She paused to draw a deep 
breath, noting that Ranma was looking guilty and Akane was wringing her hands. "From 
now on," Nabiki continued, "you two will not fight in front of him. It's not proper, and I 
won't stand for it. Do you have any idea how much it hurt him to witness that little show?"

	"You're right, Nabiki," Ranma said quietly.

	"I'm sorry," Akane added. "I-I was wrong and I'm sorry."

	"There's something else that the two of you should consider," Nabiki said. "Has 
it occurred to either of you that you're acting just like your fathers?" Ranma staggered a 
half-step backward in shock. She was right! He couldn't even remember the number of 
times he had gone to his father for help and comfort, only to be told to act like a man...

	"Now, don't get me wrong," Nabiki was saying. "Our dads are nice people, and 
they did their best to raise us. But the fact is that they made some mistakes. I don't expect 
you to be perfect, but you could try to learn from those mistakes instead of repeating them. 
Maybe the two of you could even work as a team?"

	Akane and Ranma looked at each other silently for a long moment.

	"Ranma," Nabiki said, "when you first brought Ryoga here you said he'd be 
better off with us than his family, because his parents fought a lot and left him alone a lot. 
Well, this is our chance to undo some of that. These might be his last few days alive, if 
Cologne's theory doesn't work or if they don't get back in time. I'd like to see the kid have 
a happy childhood, for at least those few days."

	Nabiki paused and took another deep breath, surprised to find that she was 
shaking. She couldn't recall ever being so angry in her life; she actually felt sick to her 
stomach.

	"I'm going to go get some lunch," Nabiki finally said. "I have my project to work 
on for school and I'm-" she glanced at her watch, "about half a day behind schedule." With 
that, she left the room. Ranma and Akane watched her walk out, then turned to each other 
with guilty expressions.

	"Akane..." Ranma tried, then stopped. He really didn't know what to say.

	"She's right," Akane whispered. "We have to promise not to fight in front of him 
like that." 

	"I promise," Ranma said quietly.

	"I promise, too."

*******

	Ranma and Akane went to the dining room and sat quietly at the table. Ryoga 
looked up from his spot by Kasumi as the two of them began eating.

	"Are you still mad?" the little boy asked timidly. Akane shot a questioning glance 
at Ranma, who shrugged.

	"No, we're not mad any more, Ryoga," Akane answered. "We won't fight like that 
any more." Ryoga looked relieved, and started eating his lunch with enthusiasm.

	"I wanna play with Mr. Panda after lunch," he announced around a mouthful of 
rice.

	"Mr. Panda's probably going to be taking a nap," Ranma said wryly. He'd be 
willing to bet the Panda wouldn't show his face around here for a while.

	"Well, then I can take a nap with Mr. Panda!" Ryoga said with a grin, thinking 
that as long as they played quietly, nobody would mind if they didn't sleep.

	"No nap!" Ranma said a little too forcefully. Ryoga dropped his chopsticks and 
his eyes filled with tears.

	"You're a meanie!" he shouted as he ran from the room. "I'm not your friend 
anymore!"

	"Ranma," Akane said, laying a hand on his arm as he started to get up. "Just 
remember he's only a little boy, OK?"

	"I know," Ranma said ruefully.

	"And he got even less sleep than you, so he's entitled to be a little crankier," 
Nabiki said with her customary sly grin. Ranma's face flushed a deep red, but he didn't 
deny having fallen asleep.

	"Hey, Ryoga," he called softly as he went to the living room.

	"Go away," Ryoga mumbled, crossing his arms angrily.

	"You can't have a nap with Mr. Panda, but maybe we can play while he's 
sleeping."

	"You and me and Akane?" Ryoga asked, slowly uncrossing his arms.

	"Uh...Ok," Ranma said. "We'll have to ask her if she wants to, OK?"

	"Ok!" Ryoga grinned.

	"Now, let's go finish lunch," Ranma said.

	"I'm sorry I called you a meanie," Ryoga said quietly, placing his hand in Ranma's 
as they walked back to the dining room.

	"That's Ok," Ranma said. "You gonna be my friend again?"

	"Ok!" Ryoga beamed up at him, then ran to his place at the table.

*****

	"Ranma, be careful!" Akane called. It had been a long afternoon, and now it was 
almost time for dinner. The three of them were at the park, and Ranma was pushing Ryoga 
on a swing, almost high enough to send him over the bar of the swing set. Ryoga shrieked 
with laughter, and Ranma ignored Akane's protests. If the boy wasn't afraid, what was the 
harm in it?

	"Aren't you two getting hungry?" Akane asked.

	"Yes!" Ryoga called. Ranma brought the swing to a stop, and Ryoga jumped 
down. The two of them walked over to Akane, grinning impishly at her. 

	"You two are a sight!" Akane said with a smile, knowing that the same applied to 
herself. Between exploring the walking trails, playing Godzilla in the sandbox, and climbing 
on the playground equipment, all three of them had acquired a layer of sandy grime. "We'd 
better get baths before dinner, or Kasumi will have a fit!"

	"Oh, my!" Ranma said in a falsetto, grinning at her. Akane laughed.

	"Oh, my!" Ryoga echoed happily. "Hey, can I have a piggy-back ride?"

	"Ok," Ranma and Akane answered in unison. They each bent down, then smiled 
awkwardly at each other.

	"Why don't we take turns?" Akane suggested. "I'll carry him partway, and you 
can carry him the rest."

	"Sounds like a plan to me," Ranma said cheerfully, giving Ryoga a boost up onto 
Akane's back. Akane stood and headed off toward home, and Ranma paused a moment to 
watch the two of them before jogging to catch up. It had been a good afternoon.