During his mad dash to the Unryu farm, Ranma shrugged off his pack and lobbed it upward to rest in a tree. It wouldn't do to lose what little food he had left to scavengers. His canteen, he kept because he had a use for it.

Upon reaching his goal, he found the farm eerily silent. No sound of pigs eating, practicing sumo, or even just enjoying a good wallow. No sign of the young woman for whom the animals were constant companions. But as he rumbled to a stop, he knew he wasn't alone. Ryoga was nearby, he could feel it in his soul, a soul that cried out for revenge.

He took a moment to search the barn. With Ryoga's navigational difficulties, being there was as likely as anyplace else. Bringing up his aura, he focused a ball of chi into his hand to act as a flashlight. Finding nothing, he left the barn and spotted Ryoga just off Akari's front porch. Surprised, the chi ball blew up in his hand. The minor explosion did no harm but did get his rapist's attention.

Ryoga glanced at Ranma, an expression somewhere between resignation and distaste crossing his features. He dropped his heavy pack on the bottom porch step, which broke, drew his combat umbrella from the loops on top, nodded once knowingly and charged.

Ranma wanted to end it quickly. A splash of water would be a far simpler and safer method of dealing with Ryoga than unleashing the rage that boiled up within him. It would also prevent the collateral damage a full bore, knock down, drag out, no holds barred would cause, a concept the rational part of his mind insisted was important.

Ranma dashed the contents of his canteen at his befanged opponent... and missed when Ryoga popped open his umbrella to block what little water he didn't avoid by leaping left. "That's... not... like... you... Ranma.., trying... to... cheapshot... me," he said, each word punctuated by a swing of his weapon.

Ranma dodged them all, perhaps not as smoothly as he'd like, but by adequate margins. Anger was clouding his judgment, and as with Akane, it was severely screwing up his accuracy. Focus. He needed focus. Hopping back out of close combat range, he demanded "Where's Akari?"

"Not here," Ryoga answered before asking, "Why should you care?" The fact the Ranma was trying to distract him pleased Ryoga immensely. Maybe he wouldn't need drugs or a new move to defeat Ranma. Maybe he could win this one on his own skill. 'And wouldn't that just beat all?' he asked himself rhetorically before making a lateral leap to close the distance between himself and his opponent.

Ranma hoped his foe told the truth as one less complication was always desirable. Ducking under a swing meant to crush his skull, he turned and buried his fist in his opponent's gut.

Ryoga flew backwards to smash into the Unryu front porch by his pack. Shaking his head to clear it, he quickly regained his feet before Ranma could close in. When Ranma didn't arrive as expected, he looked around to find his foe standing motionless.

"I don't think ya get it Ryoga," Ranma said coldly. "This ain't a fight. This is me kickin' your ass." Power and speed enhanced above his 'normal' phenomenal levels by the chi that flowed through him, the blow had been ridiculously easy to land. If he could keep control, it wouldn't be a fight between equals or near equals, it would be vengeance.

Ryoga replied, "Yeah right, whatever. You're going to have to do better than that to beat me." The blow had been stronger than expected, but still more surprising than painful. The Bakusai Tenketsu training, reinforced by frequent use of the technique, allowed him to ignore hits that would cripple most men.

"I got lots better," Ranma taunted while making 'come and get it' motions with his fingers.

Allowing himself to be goaded, Ryoga confidently approached his foe, weapon at the ready. Closing to within a meter, he thrust his umbrella at Ranma's sternum, aiming for the solar plexus, only to have Ranma grab the weapon in mid attack bringing it to a sudden halt. If it was a strength contest he wanted, Ryoga was more than happy to oblige.

Ranma, not being stupid, wanted no such thing. As soon as he felt Ryoga put significant force into moving the umbrella, he stopped all resistance. Caught off balance, Ryoga found himself flying upside down through the air toward the pig trough. With a desperate twist, he managed to avoid impact with the watery obstacle. He landed in the same mud that less than an hour earlier Strong Gal had occupied. No damage done was done except to his dignity. But if Ranma wanted to bring the curses into the fight...

'I shoulda known he'd do that', Ranma thought as Ryoga lobbed the entire trough his direction. While certain that he could still defeat Ryoga as a girl, he saw no reason to take an unnecessary hit. Ranma leapt up, touched down on the barn roof and leapt higher still out of splash range. His hope that Ryoga would nail himself with the attack went unfulfilled.

Ryoga snatched off one of his bandanas, tore it to pieces, charged those pieces with chi and threw them at the still airborne Ranma. Thus treated, they were stronger than steel and more than razor sharp. He figured that Ranma, in the middle of a ballistic trajectory, wouldn't be able to dodge all of them.

Ryoga was half right. Ranma fell as predicted, but as bandana-shuriken buzzsawed past the target, none of them came close enough to threaten injury. The moment he landed, Ranma sprang forward, somersaulted in mid-air and slid feet first toward Ryoga. Who in turn pivoted back on his right foot and as Ranma slid past, swung his weapon in the manner of a golf club. "Fore!"

Ranma's hands shot above his head, their strength absorbing most of the blow's force. What remained knocked him through the muddy area near the trough's former location. Dropping a slipper clad foot to the ground, he popped upright as if completing a particularly successful steal of second base. He spun toward his attacker, smirked and again made 'come and get it' motions with his fingers.

Ryoga was distracted just long enough for his previously thrown bandana-shuriken to return like boomerangs to their launching point. The first slashed the sleeve of his shirt before embedding itself in the mud, others he avoided, one he sucked the chi back out of, making its impact harmless. The next to last whirling piece of cloth traced a bloody scratch diagonally across the skin above Ryoga's left shoulder blade while he avoided a more serious wound from the last of chi-charged weapons.

"Moron," Ranma muttered as he drew first blood. Having wasted his best two opportunities to end the fight quickly, he decided that as long he was careful, drawing it out would be just fine.

"Real impressive Ranma," Ryoga called sarcastically after assuring himself his wound was minor. "You actually gonna do something, or are you all talk and no action?"

"At least I ain't dumb enough ta get hit by my own attacks," Ranma replied while brushing the worst of the mud off his pants. "That's half your problem right there. Ya don't pay attention."

His opponent ignored the remark and began a slow approach, considering and discarding potential attacks while making sure he wasn't being lead into a spiral. Ranma backed off at an angle seeking firmer ground before launching his next attack. Slipping on pig trampled dirt was no part of his plan. Ryoga took the tactical retreat as a sign of cowardice and confidently dashed forward, making an overhead swing capable of cracking stone with his umbrella.

Expecting this, Ranma planted his feet and leaned left. Using his right hand to guide the weapon harmlessly past him, his open left hand connected with a ringing slap to Ryoga's face. Without stopping, he turned the lean into a spin and planted his right elbow into Ryoga's back.

Stumbling forward two steps, Ryoga used his umbrella as a prop to stabilize himself for the split second required to regain his balance and once again turn toward Ranma. The slap was dismissed as a calculated insult, but the other blow was recognized for what it was, an intentional strike at a weak point, a cheapshot. While the Bakusai Tenketsu training had toughened his whole body, the parts that would be closest to an exploding boulder were naturally toughest. This did not include his back. That Ranma felt it necessary to use such tactics fueled Ryoga's confidence despite pain he felt. He smiled wolfishly, fangs and all.

Ranma stood just a little bit out of arm plus weapon's length and glared at Ryoga with a look of absolute disdain on his face. "You payin' attention yet?" he asked as they circled and not spiraled around.

"Fuck you!" Ryoga retorted. It was a nearly fatal choice of words.

A crackling red aura flared into existence, its light visible throughout the valley holding the Unryu farm. "You already did!" Ranma screamed as he launched himself, fist first, at the man he wanted to destroy.

Purely on instinct, Ryoga blocked with his umbrella. The weapon that in his hands could shatter concrete and crack boulders, the weapon that most people couldn't even lift, let alone wield, saved his life. Instead of crashing through Ryoga's rib cage and crushing his heart, the blow was robbed of power in the umbrella's destruction and deflected just enough that his training toughened body survived both the initial impact and those that followed as he was knocked through the barn and out the other side.

Somewhere in flight, Ryoga took out the main support beam for the hay loft. The straw and other supplies stored there rained to the barn floor, obscuring vision within and around the wounded structure. Ranma stood outside Ryoga's entry point, his aura already fading, and waited. He hadn't wanted to use the rage and anger he felt. It had just... come... when Ryoga goaded him. After seeing the results, Ranma knew he never wanted to let his emotions run that freely again.

Ryoga woke to a world of hurt and tried to remember what had just happened. He'd been fighting Ranma. Ranma had taunted him, something about paying attention. He'd said something... Ranma lit up brighter than Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and shouted, no screamed, something before hitting him harder than he'd ever had in his life. 'What was it?' he thought as pain signals coursed through his body.

Taking necessarily small sips of air, he began focusing his internal awareness. Easier to list what didn't hurt. His hands were okay, left better than right. Eyes functioning normally, ears ringing slightly. His toes wiggled when he told them to. But he forgot the idea of getting up anytime soon, no matter how attractive it might be. Deepening his breathing, Ryoga decided to let his body take care of itself for a moment while he tried to figure out what happened.

He'd sworn. He'd said "Fuck you!" in response to something Ranma had said. Then Ranma lit up, momentarily blinding him and screamed... What had he screamed? Ryoga muttered aloud, "I said 'Fuck you', he lights up, and screams... Screams... He screams, 'You... already... did...' Oh crap... He knows."

With that realization, Ryoga's life crumbled to dust. His growing confidence: Gone. His feelings of invulnerability: Gone. His future, no matter what direction it might take: Gone. Depression rushed into the places all those things had been. In an odd way, this gladdened him. Depression was an old friend and it was something he could work with. All he needed was a target.

Ranma obliged by stepping into sight from the damaged barn.

"PERFECTED SHI SHI HOKODAN!" Ryoga cried from the bottom of his soul. A towering pillar of green chi lit the sky more brightly than Ranma's aura had done earlier.

Ranma knew the best way to deal with Ryoga's major chi attack was to not be there when it hit. Before Ryoga finished calling his shot, Ranma engaged the Saotome Ultimate Technique and ran for it. When the heavy chi crashed to Earth, it destroyed the already damaged barn, but did nothing to its intended target.

As soon as the dust cleared enough for Ryoga to see Ranma standing unharmed, he tried again. "MAXIMUM POWER SHI SHI HOKODAN!" Seeing his first attack fail fueled his depression to new heights.

"Akari! Look out!" Ranma shouted while pointing to some point behind Ryoga.

"Huh?" the bewildered fighter grunted in concern as he whipped his head around to see what Ranma was pointing at. Akari wasn't someone he wanted hurt. Momentarily distracted and not emotionally empty, the depression attack struck Ryoga full force, not quite knocking him out, but rendering him incapable of further fighting.

"I can't believe he fell for that," Ranma muttered as he walked forward. Staring down at the person who had nearly wrecked his life, he asked, "Why'd ya do it?"

Ryoga slurred his words through bleeding lips. "Because I was tired. I was tired of you... and me... and everything we've done since the damn day we first met and I just wanted it to be over. I wanted one victory... that you couldn't take away from me. Ever. Just one."

"So ya decided to rape me!" Ranma shouted.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW!" the fallen fighter roared back. "You weren't ever supposed to know. It was my one victory... locked up inside my head... where nobody would ever find it... nobody but me."

Silence fell over the battlefield that had once been the Unryu farm.

Ranma kneeled, snatched Ryoga's remaining bandana off his head and tossed it away before slowly drawing back his own fist. Ryoga sneered in quiet defiance and awaited his death.

"KYYAAAAA!"

Ranma's hand blurred forward at an appreciable percentage of the speed of sound, stopping just above Ryoga's forehead. Chi, precisely controlled, turned his fingernails into knives. With bold, swift strokes, he carved the kanji for 'rapist' into Ryoga's forehead. Wishing for two mirrors to show Ryoga what he'd done, he settled for watching the newly created wounds bleed.

After explaining what he'd done, he told Ryoga, "I give you my solemn word, if I ever see you again, I'll kill you. If Akane ever sees you again, I'll kill you. If you ever set foot in Nerima again, I'll kill you. If you ever cover up that mark on your head, I'll kill you." In contempt, Ranma turned away from the person he'd once considered friend and walked away.

"No, you won't kill me, you're too much of a wimp," Ryoga whispered. "But I'll kill you for this," he ground out. "I'll train and I'll learn and I'll practice and someday, when you least expect it, I'll come back and I'll kill you," he raved, his voice growing shrill.

Ranma ignored him.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill everyone you hold dear. Their deaths will be all your fault. Listen to me! They'll all die and it'll be your fault!"

Ranma ignored him.

Ryoga hobbled over to the remains of the Unryu barn. Picking up chunk of board, he threw it at Ranma with all the strength he could muster. Connecting with enough force to spin his target around, he managed to get Ranma's attention.

"I see you."

END

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Epilogue:

When Ranma returned to Nerima, he found the changes in himself, in others, and in Akane's case, a lack of change, too much to bear. While he loved Akane, he realized that he would never be able to live with her. The trust issues were too great to overcome. After paying off the loan provided by Cologne, he left Nerima, returning occasionally, but never for long. 'Settling down' simply wasn't in his blood, but teaching, learning and occasionally even romance played their parts in his life for many years.

The Cat Cafe closed its doors soon after Ranma left, its purpose fulfilled, or perhaps unfulfilled but no longer necessary. Cologne returned to her position of elder, Shampoo to a new position of mother and Mousse to that of husband, but not Shampoo's husband. That she would freely choose sex with Ryoga but spurn his affections turned out to be the wedge that finally separated Mousse from his obsession with Shampoo. He and Soap got along just fine.

Ukyo Kuonji stayed in Furinkan long enough to graduate but left Nerima soon after. Konatsu stayed with her, their relationship never blossoming into romance and never needing to.

Akari Unryu mourned her losses, made peace with herself and set out to breed and train the next Yokozuna of Pigdom.

Cured of her uncontrolled transformations, Hinako Ninomiya eventually made a successful play for Soun Tendo that didn't particularly thrill Akane and Kasumi, but was accepted by them before they got on with their own lives. Both maybe a little less happy than they could have been, but probably safer in the long run. An untraceable twenty thousand yen per month each sent from Niigata soothed some wounds while exacerbating others.

Genma, cut off from his son by circumstance, his wife by divorce and his best friend by Soun's marriage, with nothing left to lose, began an epic battle with Happosai in an attempt to prove that he still had some worth as a martial artist. He lost, but the attempt and those that followed gave him something useful to do.

Nodoka managed to delude herself into forgetting she'd ever been a mother or a wife, although some would claim she had never earned either of those titles in the first place.

In the course of her investigations, Dr. Mame Suimono eventually learned most of the truth about Ranma's, 'Ranko's', Genma's and Nodoka's relationship to the most chaotic era in Nerima's history. She was quite glad not to have been more involved. Even gladder to not have accused a rape victim as a rapist. Although years later, when her first grandson wanted to begin martial arts lessons, a small school in Nerima picked up an eager student and more eager student's grandmother.

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Author's Note: This isn't the story I'd originally intended to write. I was tired of seeing every pregnancy in fanfiction being carried to term without abortion even being mentioned. So I decided to change that. Because of my familiarity with Ranma 1/2, that became the setting. To reduce potential complaints, a rape based pregnancy was called for. Ranma, being male, could have an abortion without it coming as a huge surprise and Ryoga got stuck with the role of rapist because of his actions in the Koi fishing rod story. (Normally I write him as friendly but clueless, this time he got to be a bastard.)

Then I did the research for Chapter 3. I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe how intentionally screwed up contraception is in Japan. In a desire to present accurate information, the story became quite serious and remained that way. I think it's a better story this way. To those who were expecting a laugh riot and got this instead, I won't apologize, but I can understand where you're coming from. To those who wanted detailed rape scenes, work for a week at a rape crisis center and then ask yourself if you still want them. If you do, ask somebody else because I won't write one.

Ghost in the Machine

PS. In regards to some outstanding questions in this story, you can draw your own conclusions. I won't mind. 8)