Ranko forever

What is it I feel?

------------ Ranma

As I ran, I could feel the tears rolling down my face. I swatted at them, running even faster when I heard Ryoga call out my name. Why would he care? Not like he wanted me cured in the first place. Akane would never marry me, whether if she had ever wanted to or not.

When I was far enough away, I looked for a place to hide, just in case they decided to come looking for me after all. I saw a thick log from a tree lying on the ground. That would be all I needed. I sat behind, it would shield me from the sight of the others.

I sat in silence, I knew they wouldn't look for me. At most Shampoo would, but Mousse would not allow it. So the best he could probably do was hinder her search for me. Pop wouldn't be as determined but I guess he would look for me the hardest. Ryoga probably already went home to Akane. I was no longer in his way so there was no reason he needed to go searching for me.

I could feel more tears filling my eyes. It felt so lonely here. Ever since I had touched the surface of the springs, I felt different. I guess I now knew why. Something had left me. I was more than a little sure that it was my male half. I no longer had the thoughts that I once had. Not the same views either. It was as if I was now thinking as a women. I guess that really meant that I could never turn back into a man again.

I heard my name come from somewhere. It sounded like the others were searching for me after all. As though they were actually worried for me. I could even here Mousse. From what I could hear, it sounded like he found me every few feet. Guess that's to be expected from a nearly blind idiot. But it made me smile. Everyone was actually looking for me. Not like I would let them find me. I hid myself more. Of course I wanted them to find me, but I also didn't want them to find me. It's hard to explain what I was thinking.

I sighed, relaxing myself. The night went on and the voices quieted. It sounded like they had stopped looking for me. The sun had gone to so it was probably too dark for them to find me now.

"Ranma?" I heard his voice, but I couldn't believe it. Ryoga was still searching for me? And he was close too. I kept quiet as I peeked from my hiding spot.

When I looked in the direction his voice came from, I found no one. Was it just my imagination then? I slumped back to the ground, pulling my knees up and closing my eyes. Maybe I should stay out here till they left. I could just go to another country. How far was America?

"So there you are Ranma!" I looked up to see that Ryoga had found me. I was so startled I actually fell over.

"How- how did you find me?" I stammered. Did he really call out my name then? I guess he had never stopped looking for me.

"It was actually pretty easy. You make a lot of noise when your sad." He sat down next to me.

"Why did you look for me? What did you have to gain?"

"Oh, absolutely nothing at all."

"Is that right?" I asked, for some reason it felt like the temperature had risen. Maybe just because Ryoga's body heat was hotter than mine because he had been moving around. Whatever the case, I did feel happy that he had finally found me.

"With you a girl, I had thought, no one would stand in my way of finally marrying Akane. So there was nothing to lose if I found you. Besides, Akane would never forgive me for leaving you alone in the forest."

"Oh, so that's why." I sighed, feeling foolish for my thoughts. It didn't seem like he really cared to find me.

"Say Ranma, what was it you were talking about earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just, you were saying you felt different. That you had lost something."

"Oh, that. Well, when I touched the water, something happened. Like my attitude and outlook had been changed. I think it was because I lost my male half."