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Akane had just left Furinkan High School when she noticed Ranma leaning against a tree, looking bored.
"What are you waiting around for?"
Ranma sighed. "Ryoga, unfortunately. He told me to meet me in the courtyard on Thursday, the 5tth, at 4PM sharp."
Akane tapped her chin while pondering. "But today's Tuesday the 10th."
"Mm-hmm! So I've been waiting around every day at 4 for that pighead to do whatever it is he needs to do."
Ranma gave up on the chances of Ryoga actually coming that day and walked with Akane.
"He's late even by his own standards," Akane said. "Five days late, tattered and scratched, covered in stickers from another prefecture is pretty typical."
"Makes you wonder when he's even coming, if at all."
On a completely different continent, millions of years before Ranma's saga, a ragtag clan of bulky, hardened ape-like men were huddled around a fire, roasting and chewing chunks of zebra meat as if they were marshmallows. Normally, this would have no direct effect on anyone Ranma might know. It is here, however, that Ryoga has shown up. Defying his usual navigational troubles, he surpassed the logistics of space-time and limped his way through a barren prehistoric desert. He was exhausted, starving, needed to pee again already, and was peeved from separate encounters he had with a viking and a sentient android. At no point did it occur to him that he had left Japan nor the 20th century. Upon noticing the hominids in his midst, he thought they looked reliable enough.
"Hey. Would any of you guys know which way Furinkan High School is?"
One of the men turned his head back to answer his question, in the most succinct manner possible: "Uho."
"...Eh? I'm not even on the same continent as Furinkan?"
"Uho, uho-ho."
Ryoga slapped his forehead. "And neither it or all of Japan exist yet?! What are you talking about?! I-"
Before he could finish that thought, a mammoth stomped just yards away from Ryoga's back, trumpeting proudly. Ryoga did a double take in shock, including that one pose with the double peace signs.
"-see what you mean now!" Ryoga, weathered from his long journey, took an iron pan and a raw fish out of his oversized backpack. "I'm already running late. You guys wouldn't mind if I took a rest here for the night?"
The hominids murmured amongst themselves. They ultimately decided to scooch over to make room. Ryoga bowed out of gratitude before taking a seat.
"Bless you till the end of time," he said as he started frying his fish.
Perhaps it was a testament to the inherent empathy and sense of community all humans have harbored since their origin, or perhaps they felt a kinship with Ryoga because he was also a nomad with a brain the size of an orange. Either way, Ryoga had way too much time to burn before he'd finally get to meet Ranma at the high school when he was supposed to. Way, way too much. Or way, way too little if he slipped the wrong way. Who knows?