Nerima had always been a place where the impossible felt normal.
People flew through the air. Engagements happened before introductions. Water could change bodies, destinies, and sometimes common sense. So when a foreign girl stood outside the Tendo dojo, staring at the sign like it might suddenly rearrange itself, no one screamed.
No one—except Ryoga Hibiki—paid real attention.
Mostly because he had been standing there too.
"…So," the girl said finally, turning toward him, "either this place keeps moving, or you've been following me."
Ryoga nearly jumped out of his skin. "N-No! I mean—yes, but not like that!"
She blinked. "That didn't help."
Ryoga took a breath and slumped. "I'm lost."
She studied him for a moment, then laughed. Not mockingly. Not cruelly. Just… genuinely amused.
"I'm Carmen," she said. "I came all the way from Mexico, and somehow I think you're more confused than I am."
Ryoga scratched the back of his head. "I get that a lot."
And for once, it didn't feel like an insult.
---
Ranma Saotome noticed them later that afternoon.
Ryoga was walking down the street.
Straight.
Not zigzagging. Not panicking. Not arguing.
Walking beside a girl, listening as she talked, occasionally nodding like he actually knew where he was going.
Ranma stopped dead.
"Akane," he said slowly, "tell me you're seeing that."
Akane followed his gaze and frowned. "…Why does Ryoga look happy?"
"That's unnatural," Ranma muttered.
Carmen didn't act like anyone Ranma knew. She wasn't violent. She wasn't yelling. She wasn't challenging anyone to a duel. She was calm, observant, curious.
Which somehow made Ranma more uncomfortable.
"So who's the tourist?" Ranma asked loudly, stepping into their path.
Carmen smiled politely. "Carmen."
Ranma grinned. "Ranma. And this guy your guide?"
Ryoga bristled. "Shut up!"
Akane rushed in before punches flew. "Welcome to Nerima," she said apologetically. "Ignore them."
Carmen glanced between Ranma and Ryoga. "You two fight a lot?"
"All the time," Akane sighed.
Ranma shrugged. "It's tradition."
Carmen raised an eyebrow. "This town is strange."
Ryoga nodded seriously. "You get used to it. Kind of."
---
Chaos followed, as it always did.
Ranma picked at Ryoga. Ryoga snapped back. Akane yelled. A wall cracked. A fence collapsed. Carmen watched it all with wide eyes.
Later, she found Ryoga sitting alone by the river, bruised and quiet.
"Does it ever stop?" she asked.
Ryoga shook his head. "Not really."
"Then why stay?"
The question hit harder than any punch.
"…Because I don't know where else to go."
Carmen sat beside him. "I came here hoping Japan would give me answers. Instead, I just feel lost."
Ryoga gave a small, tired laugh. "You fit right in."
---
(Extended Scene – New)
Over the next few days, Carmen saw sides of Ryoga no one else ever seemed to notice.
She saw how he always stepped aside for strangers. How he apologized even when things weren't his fault. How he trained alone at night, long after everyone else had gone home.
One evening, she found him practicing under a dim streetlight.
"You don't have to do that," she said, sitting on a nearby bench.
Ryoga stopped, panting. "If I stop, I start thinking."
"About what?"
"…About how everyone else seems to know where they're going."
Carmen watched him carefully. "You know," she said slowly, "where I come from, people say being lost isn't a weakness. It just means you haven't chosen yet."
Ryoga stared at her.
No one had ever said that to him before.
"When I'm with you," he admitted quietly, "I don't feel like I'm chasing someone anymore."
Carmen smiled. "Maybe you don't have to."
That night, Ryoga slept peacefully for the first time in years.
---
Days passed.
Carmen stayed longer than she planned. Ryoga found himself looking forward to each morning. Somehow, when he was with her, he didn't get lost as often. Or maybe he just didn't care as much.
Ranma noticed.
"You've changed," he said one afternoon.
Ryoga frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ranma shrugged. "You don't look so miserable anymore."
That annoyed Ryoga more than it should have.
---
The turning point came quietly.
Carmen told Ryoga she was leaving Nerima.
"I can't live in chaos forever," she said gently. "I need stability."
The word echoed inside him.
Stable.
Everyone he cared about always had somewhere else to go. Somewhere better.
Ranma overheard. "Probably smart," he said casually. "This place eats people alive."
Ryoga snapped.
The fight that followed wasn't about pride or rivalry. It was about direction. About being tired of wandering. About wanting something solid.
When it ended, Ryoga was on his knees, breathing hard.
"I don't want to be lost anymore," he said aloud. "I don't want to keep drifting."
Carmen froze.
Ryoga stood, fists trembling—not with anger, but fear.
"If you leave," he said, "I'll lose the only place that's ever felt right."
Silence.
Then Carmen smiled softly. "Then come with me."
Ryoga blinked. "What?"
"Or stay," she said. "But choose. For once, choose."
Ryoga looked at Nerima.
At Ranma.
At Akane.
At the chaos.
Then at her.
"I choose you."
---
The wedding happened quickly.
Too quickly for Ranma's liking.
"Marriage?!" he yelled. "That idiot can't even find the kitchen!"
Akane smacked him. "Shut up."
The ceremony was small. Loud. Ridiculous.
Perfect.
When Ryoga stood beside Carmen, he felt something he had never felt before.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Certainty.
Ranma crossed his arms. "Don't get lost on the honeymoon."
Ryoga smirked. "Already found my destination."
Carmen squeezed his hand.
And for the first time in his life—
Ryoga Hibiki knew exactly where he was.