"Life is Real, Life is Earnest,
If you're Cold, Turn up the Furnace."

- Herman Munster


PROLOGUE

MAY 1
SOMEWHERE IN CHINA
10:00 P.M.

     	The crescent moon shone clearly in the evening sky as a 
lone figure stoked his campfire, staring into the black center of the 
dancing orange flames.  It was a young man, well built and healthy, 
his eyes dark and intense but with a haunted look to them.  

	He sat, shoulders slightly hunched, as if deeply absorbed in thought,
all his attention concentrated on the fire as if attempting to figure
out some hidden meaning to a complex puzzle.  

	Finally he relaxed enough to release a long sigh and look 
resigned as if he had solved the unseen jigsaw puzzle but didn't like 
the picture that it had formed.

     	"There's no getting around it.  I have to face the truth." 

     	The young man continued to study the fire for a long 
moment.  Finally he stood up, moving slowly over to a large 
backpack.  He briefly ruffled through it until he found a sleeping bag 
which he rolled out near the fire.  

	A thin, cold breeze whispered past him as he did so, causing him to
involuntarily shiver as he climbed into the sleeping bag and stared up
into the sea of stars.

	"I was so close.  Maybe....No, I've been gone too long as it 
is.  I have to go home and be with her."

	The young man smiled for a moment as thoughts of his 
beloved drifted through his clouded mind.  He pictured her smiling 
face as she awoke by his side in the morning, greeting him with a 
warm hug, holding him close to her and sleeping in her gentle embrace.  
His eyes slowly closed as he gently drifted off to sleep and continued
to dream of being with the one he loved most....

	Several hours later, the moon had reached the highest point 
of the sky and was beginning its slow descent downwards.  The 
young man slept with a peaceful look on his face, his chest rising and 
falling with each even breath he took, even as a shadow suddenly 
fell over him.  

	The shadow was attached to a short young female, although 
only modestly built.  The girl smiled down at the form of the young man, 
her eyes brimming with both amusement and affection.  She knelt down 
next to the boy's head and softly stroked his hair with one of her soft 
hands.  The boy stirred lightly at the sensation and the smile
reappeared on his face.  and then, in a soft voice, the boy murmured...

	"Akane...."

	The girl paused for a moment, as if mulling something over, 
and then she leaned down and whispered in the boy's ear.

	"Yes, Ryouga....It's me.  Wake up."

	Ryouga Hibiki slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the 
face of Akane Tendo.  He blinked several times, trying to decide if he 
was dreaming or not.

	I must be dreaming.  Ryouga thought to himself.   What 
would Akane be doing here in China?  "Uh....Hello Akane."  Ryouga 
quietly said. 

	"Hello yourself."  Akane replied with a grin as she continued 
to lightly stroke Ryouga's hair.  Ryouga started to sit up but then 
remembered something and lay back down, an expression of sorrow 
crossing over his features.  She noticed this and asked.  "What's 
wrong?"

	Ryouga sighed before replying.  "This is a dream isn't it?  
Everytime I have a dream like this, you disappear before I can say or 
do anything."

	"This isn't a dream, Ryouga-Kun."  Akane replied softly.

	"Oh yeah?"  Ryouga retorted.  "Then what are you doing in China?"

	"I felt your pain earlier and came to comfort you.  I missed 
you and P-Chan for weeks now."  Akane replied with concern in her 
voice.

	Ryouga's eyes grew wide with shock.  The dark secret he had 
tried so hard not to reveal to her was finally out in the open!

	"Y..Y...YOU KNOW....?"  Ryouga stammered.

	Akane laughed softly while placing her other hand on his 
cheek, caressing it lightly as she spoke.

	"About you turning into P-Chan?  Of course silly!  I've known 
for a long time now."

	Ryouga could not help but wonder why Akane was being so 
nice to him after he had slept in her bed so many times as a pig.  
Then Ryouga figured it must be the calm before the storm and 
decided he should at least apologize before she killed him.  

	Ryouga quickly sat up, startling Akane as he closed his eyes 
and bowed before her in apology, his head touching the ground as words
quickly spilled out of his mouth.

	"I'm so sorry I wanted to tell you but I thought you 
would hate me and never want to talk to me again so I kept my 
mouth shut but then I was afraid you would be mad at me for not 
telling you before and then Ranma....!"

	"R....Ryouga, it's okay!  Calm down!  I'm not mad at you!  
Honest!"  Akane tried to reassure a near-hysterical Ryouga.    

	Ryouga stopped babbling and looked up at Akane, wanting 
to believe.  Seeing him calm down, Akane pressed forward. 

        "I understand your reasons for doing it and why you felt you
couldn't tell me.  I'm not mad at you."  Akane reassured him.

	"Are....Are you sure?"  Ryouga asked cautiously

	"Positive."  Akane firmly replied.

	"But how....I mean....If this REALLY isn't a dream....How 
did you get here?"  Ryouga said, confused.

	"Well, how did you get here?  Akane asked.

	"Me?  I just....well....I was walking in a certain direction, 
I zoned out for a while I guess, next thing I know I'm in China."  
Ryouga recalled as he rose to a kneeling position in front of Akane 
and sighed before continuing.      

	"I've spent the last two weeks looking for Jusenkyou so I 
could finally find a cure to my curse and be normal.  The last time I
was in China was when I got my curse in the first place and until now,
I've never been able to find my way back here...."

	Tears began to form in Ryouga's eyes as he finally 
revealed the cause for his current depression.  A familiar green 
aura began to form around him and he suddenly rose to his feet.

	"But....even though I'm in China....even though I've spent 
the last 3 weeks walking across China....I STILL CAN'T FIND THE 
STUPID NANNICHUAN!!!!!"  Ryouga screamed with utter 
frustration.   

	And with that, Ryouga sent a Ki-Blast into the sky, briefly
illuminating the surrounding mountains and sending several wild 
animals running in fear.  After several moments, the heaviness of the 
ki caused the blast to fall back down, enveloping Ryouga and the 
ground around him in a pillar of greenish ki-energy.  

	When the blast faded, there was a ten meter long crater with Ryouga in
the center of it.  Then Ryouga began to collapse from the energy
discharge and Akane rushed forward to catch him before he fell.   	
	"RYOUGA!"  Akane looked at him with intense concern.  "You...You don't
have to get rid of P-Chan!"

	Ryouga was still in tears as he sobbed  "Yes I do!"  "I'll 
never be a whole man again until I do!"  "I can never tell you how 
much I....how much I want to hold you....to protect you....to tell you 
I..I....I...lo....!"

        Tears formed in Akane's eyes as she realized what Ryouga 
was trying to say to her.  Ryouga closed his own eyes in shame and 
embarrassment.

        I can't even tell her how I feel in my dreams.  How pathetic. 
Ryouga thought to himself bitterly.  

	"Ryouga...."	            

	Ryouga couldn't bring himself to respond to Akane's voice.  Then he
felt her hands gently lift his chin to look at her.  Akane smiled at him
as tears gently fell from her eyes. 	

	"Ryouga, I love you." 

        "W....What?"  Ryouga managed to choke out as he stared into
Akane's eyes.  He saw concern there as well as something he didn't
recognize, but something that made his heart of glass melt away.

	"I....I love you, Ryouga Hibiki."  "Both as a pig....and as a 
man."   
          
	Ryouga could only stare at Akane in shock.  It happened.  
The moment he has waited for so long has finally happened.  What does
one say when confronted with such a happy revelation?

	"N....No way!"  "This HAS to be a dream!"  "A good, no, a 
GREAT one, but a dream....This....This can't be happening!"  
Ryouga's voice was on the verge of panic again, so confused by what was
happening.

	Akane reply had no words as she gently cupped Ryouga's face with her
hands and then leaned over to deliver a kiss on his lips.  Ryouga's eyes
glazed over completely and his brain went into instant shutdown as he
felt the warmth of her soft lips against his.  His heart felt like it
was going to burst, it was pounding so hard.  

	They kissed for quite a while, Ryouga being too shocked to move a
muscle and Akane not wanting to release her embrace.  Finally, Ryouga
recovered enough from his shock for his brain to start working again.

	Maybe....just maybe this once....it wasn't a dream....

	IT'S NOT A DREAM!?!?  

	Finally it hit him.

	If this wasn't a dream then he was kissing Akane for REAL!  

	WHICH MEANT....

	Ryouga instantly passed out.  Surprisingly, even though he 
was out cold, he could still see Akane embracing him, only this time 
from a distance.   She finally released the kiss and stared at his 
unconscious self in confusion for a moment and then realizing he 
was out cold, she sighed to herself.

	"Oh, P-Chan....Why'd you have to pass out now?"  Akane 
sighed, her voice laced with disappointment.

	Knowing Ryouga was out for the night, Akane gently 
lowered Ryouga onto his sleeping bag.  Then, without another word, 
she snuggled up next to him and drifted off to sleep.  

	Ryouga wanted to hold her, to tell her he was right here and they could
still continue.

	But for some reason, Ryouga couldn't move his legs.


(Fade to Opening Credits)


"WISHING UPON THE SAME STAR"

(A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic)

>From the Desk of Megane 6.7 (Fcasper)

This is a work of Fiction.  All Characters and Landmarks, with the 
exception of Taimak, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, 
Shogakukan Video, Kitty Films, Viz Video, Shonen Sunday, and 
anyone else who legally owns the rights.  

Any excerpts from Hamlet are the property of William Shakespeare 
or Sir Francis Bacon.  Either way, they're not mine.

Historian's Note: This story takes place after the battle with Herb but
before Vol. 38.  If I make a minor error in the timeline, please ignore 
it.


PART 1:  AN ACT OF KINDNESS IS RYOUGA'S REWARD

MAY 2
RYOUGA'S CAMPSITE
5:15 A.M.

	A thin ray of sunlight shone down from the cloudy sky to 
illuminate the prone form of Ryouga.  He was still sleeping with a 
peaceful look on his face; then he began to stir as he heard the 
sound of the birds and the light fell over his eyes.  He slowly 
opened them and blinked several times, adjusting them to the 
morning light.  

	He then wiped the crud out of his eyes and rolled out 
of his futon.  He stretched out and yawned, getting out any kinks 
from his muscular frame, and then glanced beside him to see....an 
empty space.  Ryouga then looked all around him, seeing no evidence 
of the Full Shishihokoudan he had seemingly performed last night....  

	Ryouga sighed to himself.  "I guess it was a dream after all. 
I should have known better.  Still it seemed so real...."

	He could still picture Akane leaning over him, running her 
slender finger through his hair and the kiss....the first kiss he had 
ever received from Akane as a man and not as a pig.

	"Too bad it was only a dream...."

	He sighed again and then stood up, preparing to clean up 
his campsite and move on.

	"I guess I'm just going to have to live with this damn curse 
a little while longer."  Ryouga muttered to himself.   "I've left Akane 
alone for far too long....there's no telling what Ranma's gotten her 
into since I left.  At least I have a new technique to try out on him.  
I hope it's enough this time."  Ryouga paused to glance up at the 
clouds again, checking to see any sign of a storm brewing.  "Maybe 
I'd better practice it one more time during my regular workout...."

	Ryouga walked a short distance away from his campsite and 
searched for a clearing to practice his techniques, not wishing to 
disturb any innocent animals.  He wouldn't have cared less if he were 
in the city, but spending so much time lost in the mountains and 
forests, he had developed an appreciation and respect for nature and
knew enough not to disturb it too much.  

	Then he found the place he was looking for, a wide spacious clearing
yet close enough to his campsite to find his way back without too much
difficultly.

	Over the next few hours, Ryouga went through his daily 
workout, struggling to improve his speed, skill, strength and endurance 
through various techniques.  

	Then Ryouga practiced his various ki-based attacks, breaking off large
chunks of the ground and blasting holes of various sizes, only stopping
at his most powerful techique since that tended to drain him of his ki
completely and required considerable depression to accomplish....       	
	When Ryouga was finished, he was sweating from the exertion
and wished yet again that he could take a swim in the stream without 
turning into P-Chan.  When Ryouga had somewhat cooled down from 
his exercise, he decided to use his newest techinque....

	"Okay.  Now, how did it go again?" Ryouga struggled until 
he remembered.

	He forced himself to relax, to release his doubts and 
concentrate on the task at hand.  Then he opened his senses to 
everything around him, the smells, the sounds, the sights, the 
sensations; he became one with the forest.  Then he glanced down 
at himself and was delighted to see he had turned invisible!  The 
technique worked perfectly!  Ranma wouldn't be able to see what hit 
him....literally!  Except....

	Ryouga became visible again as the drawback of this 
technique weighed down on him, breaking his concentration.   
Although the technique would make him invisible to almost any form 
of direct and/or inner sight, it required a great deal of concentration 
and Ryouga had found he had to remain almost motionless in order to 
do it properly, which made attacking with it virtually impossible.
	
	Besides that, it was dishonorable to attack someone from the 
blind side, no matter how much the opponent deserved it.  Ryouga 
would not smear his honor if he could help it, just as he hadn't when 
Genma, Ranma's cowardly father, had once tried to tell Ryouga about 
Ranma's weaknesses in order to get revenge for something or another.  

	Ryouga had once even saved Ranma's life when Happosai 
managed to rob him of his strength with a pressure point.  And how did 
Ranma repay his kindness?  A Hiryu Shoten Ha to the face, that's how.
	
	Ryouga had learned this invisibility technique by telling 
himself that Ranma used his weakness of turning into a pig all the 
time and thus attacking invisible was justified, but now that he had 
learned it, he was having mixed feelings for allowing himself to be 
dragged down to Ranma's level.  Not that the technique had much use as 
a weapon anyway but still, he wanted to beat Ranma honorably if he 
could.

	Ryouga was still lost in this train of thought when a loud 
crash behind him caught his attention.  Ryouga walked towards the 
sound and was surprised to see a small animal hanging upside down by 
one leg, having stepped into a handmade snare, and now looking quite 
terrified.  

	The animal looked like a cross between a owl and a baby fox 
and its soft fur was a snow white color, Ryouga had never seen an 
animal like it, not in China or Japan.  Not anywhere.  The animal was 
so small and bony, Ryouga doubted it was being trapped for food, which 
meant they most likely wanted the fur.  Ryouga wondered if he should 
free him when he received the shock of his life.

	"Help me!"  The animal cried out in perfect Japanese.

	Ryouga was startled to say the least.  As he recovered, Ryouga 
tried to make sense of it.

	"He must have fallen into a Jusenkyou spring!"  Ryouga 
pondered.  "Wait a minute!  I can't talk when I'm P-Chan!  This 
must be something else...."

	The strange animal pleaded to him again.

	"Please, kind sir!  Whoever set this trap will come for me
soon!  I do not wish to die today!!"	

	Ryouga hesitated briefly, then walked over to the animal 
and gently loosened the vine tying his legs together.  Once free, the 
animal quickly took flight into the sky and was soon out of sight.

	"You're welcome."  Ryouga sarcastically replied to the 
empty sky.   

	Ryouga shrugged and decided to head back to his campsite, 
pack up his stuff and begin what would surely be a long dangerous 
journey to find his way back to the Tendo Dojo in Japan and his 
beloved Akane.  When he arrived a hour later, he was surprised to see 
the animal he saved perched on top of his backpack staring curiously at 
him.

	"Oh, so you came back?"  noted Ryouga.

	"Yes.  Please pardon my rudeness for not immediately 
thanking you for saving my life.  I was too caught up in my 
freedom to notice.  Freedom is a wonderful thing, you know?"
The animal replied.
	
	"Uh....I guess so."  Ryouga shrugged again.  "Umm....could 
you get off my backpack?  I have to be going shortly."

	The animal rose an eyebrow at that and seems truly stunned 
that Ryouga would suggest such a thing.

	"Leaving?  I thought you would want to stay here forever!"  
The animal replied in disbelief.

	"What?"  Ryouga shook his head  "No, I mean, I have 
somewhere I have to get to....Someone I want to be with."

	"Ah....Would this someone be a girl?"  the animal asked 
knowingly.

	"Um....yeah." Ryouga blushed involuntarily.

	"I see.   Only for true love would someone leave this 
paradise and go elsewhere."  the animal said in a wistful tone of 
voice.  "Does this girl love you?"  he inquired. 

	Ryouga's shoulders slumped and his eyes grew misty, as he 
had asked himself this question many times and still had no clue to 
how Akane really felt about him.

	Ryouga bowed his head as he replied.  "I....I don't know.  I 
wish I did."

	"Really?"  The animal said curiously.  "Tell me....What is 
your name?"

	"Hibiki Ryouga."

	"Hmm.  Well, Ryouga, my name is Taimak....I'm afraid 
my last name is a bit difficult for humans to understand.   So let's 
stick with Taimak, shall we?"  Taimak said in a friendly tone of 
voice.  "I never was one for formalities."   

	"Okay, Taimak."  Ryouga agreed.

	"Good.   Now that we've cleared that up, allow me to 
properly thank you for saving me."  Taimak paused to take a breath.    
"I have it within my power to grant you one wish and one wish only."  
Taimak's tone grew harsh for a moment.  "Once it is used, it can be
neither changed or recalled.  However...."  Taimak's voice grew quiet 
again.  "Since my intentions are to reward you, I will not grant the 
wish until you have specifically and precisely told me what it is you 
want, so there will be no misunderstandings or accidents."

	"A wish?"  Ryouga said with a blank face.

	"A bit slow are we?  That's quite all right.  Having the 
power to wish for anything you want is a bit overwhelming after all."
An amused Taimak replied.

	"I can wish for anything I want?"  Ryouga said, excitement 
growing in his voice.

	Taimak beamed  "Anything you want.  For example, you 
could be the ruler of the world...."

	Taimak paused in mid-sentence and looked closely at 
Ryouga, sizing him up. 

	"However, I think the world might be better off on it's 
own....no offense intended."  Taimak cautiously pointed out.

	"None taken....I guess."  Ryouga frowned.

	"Or if you want you could wish for a harem of women to 
satisfy your every...."  Taimak stopped in mid-sentence and seemed 
to blush.  "Oh!  I forgot, you already have a true love don't you?"  
Taimak backtracked.  "Never mind then.  You could also wish for 
riches beyond your wildest...."

	"I....I think I know what I want to wish for."  Ryouga 
interrupted.

	Taimak cocked an eyebrow, or at least made the same 
motion with his forehead.  "Already?  My!  That was quick! 
Are you certain, young man?"  Taimak asked with a note of worry 
in his voice.  "Remember, once you've made the wish you can't take 
it back!"

	"I know."  Ryouga said confidently  "I know what I want."

	"Very well."  Taimak gazed intently into Ryouga's eyes.   
"What is your wish?  Be specific and precise now!" he admonished.  

	"And you're sure I can wish for ANYTHING I want?"  
Ryouga asked, excitement creeping into his voice again.

	"Ask me again and I'll tell you the same."  Taimak replied 
matter-of-factly. 

	"O....Okay then."   

	Ryouga mulled over the wish in his mind.  While he was 
tempted to make at least two other wishes that would guarantee his 
happiness, he remembered what Taimak said about 
misunderstandings and having only one chance at this.  And if this 
creature could truly grant him this....

Ryouga took a deep breath and made his wish....


(Fade to Black)


TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2....


I hope you've enjoyed this so far.  C&C is very welcome.   :) 

Special Thanks to Bridget Ellen Bengman, Raphael See, Odie 3100, 
and Webdragon for their valuable C&C during the early stages of this
story and to Robin "Lunari" Seabaugh and Gary Kleppe for their addition
help during the later stages and revisions.  This fanfic is dedicated to
all of them.  See you in Part 2!  ;)