Author's notes…. As always, the original copyright holders retain their rights, and this is intended for the non-commercial enjoyment of the readers. Comments and reviews are always welcome, as long as they bear in mind that I am not a perfect typist, do not always get timelines right, muddle items from manga and anime without regard for canon, and have other personal quirks like my low sense of humour. I plan on staying on the ecchi side of things, but these last few entries are definitely mature in outlook.

SIEGE PERILOUS – WIKI article: In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous (also known as The Perilous Seat) is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy Grail. The English word "siege" originally meant "seat or throne," coming from the Old French sege (modern French siège); the modern military sense of a prolonged assault comes from the conception of an army "sitting down" before a fortress.

Ranko was huddled in a dark corner of the local parkette when Ryoga threaded his way through the bushes and squatted down in front of her. His right hand reached out and wiped the tears streaming down her cheek and cupped her cheek.

Gently reaching out, Ryoga pulled her unto his lap and shifted to a sitting position. Ranko grabbed his shirt and pulled herself into his chest and then leaned on his shoulder and started crying, howling from the depths of her foul.

Finally subsiding to hiccups and sniffles, Ranko wiped her nose on his shirt and then realized what a mess she'd made and started to snicker.

Shifting so that she was facing him while still sitting on his lap, she leaned her forehead against his and then sighed.

"I can't do this anymore, I just can't. What do I do, Ryoga?"

Ryoga looked back, closed his eyes and thought, the opened them again. "What do you want?"

Ranko hiccupped and covered her mouth, swallowed and then looked down, twiddling her fingers. "I want it all to stop. No more quests. No more adventures. No more battles against unconquerable odds. No more death and destruction. No more being a chaos magnet, that just keeps on escalating and escalating, no tie for a break. Heck, even when I take a break, things go crazy and I wind up in bride contest in order to rescue everyone when the boat gets wrecked on a desert island. How long as the craziness been going on? I can tell you, since Dad took me to the Jusenkyo 'training ground' and we got splashed."

Looking at Ryoga, she took a breath. "Sorry, the craziness started even before that with the food fights at lunchtime and then your challenge for a fight in the empty lot behind your parents' house."

Ryoga nodded. "Okay, no more craziness. I get that. Anything else, like World Peace?"

Ranko poked him hard in the chest then did a forehead flick between Ryoga's eyebrows. "That would be great but really just peace for me and those around me. Time for me to gather my breath and actually decide what I want from life, not reacting to challenges and events and….. and…. more craziness."

Ryoga rubbed where he'd been flicked and mock-glared at Ranko. "Funny, Ranko, but noted. Come on, let's get you home and I'll get you settled and then see what we can do..."

Ranko smiled at Ryoga. "We? Does this mean... I mean, I thought that you and Akari were... Oh crap! I'm not making sense."

Ryoga snickered. "Akari and I had a heart-to-heart talk a month ago. She'd noticed that you'd been becoming even more remote than usual, and massively so compared to our old days in Nerima. So, she cornered me and hit me with the really hard questions: if Ranko suddenly disappeared, would you drop everything and chase after; and do you really love me? Long story short, no matter what, I go with you wherever you wind up. Not really in the romantic sense but we've been through so much that we're pretty well joined hip-and-thigh for the rest of our lives, maybe even beyond that."

Ranko threw her arms around Ryoga's neck and enveloped him in a massive hug. "As corny as that sounds, I'm glad. I'm also sad that this sounds like you and Akari are breaking up."

Ryoga scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but wanna bet that the next time that I get lost, I'll wind up popping up in the pig farm, get soaked with cold water and run afoul of whatever of Katsunishiki's grandkids is currently holding down the yokozuna rank before Akari finally stops laughing and opens the kitchen door and fetches the kettle, then calls you to come and pick me up."

Ranko nodded. "Considering your track record over the years, I've been calling her when you disappear and before we more than exchange hellos, you can hear the pigs squealing and the scratching at the door start up."

"Well, on that note, time for us to get back to our digs and you into the furo for a long soak. Need anyone to wash your back?"

Ranko smirked. "And you wonder why people say that the three of us are married when you say things like that? Come on, you big lug, let's get home and you can join me in the furo."

Ryoga clamped his nose as blood started trickling while Ranko laughed.