Updated Part

Title: Ranma 1/2-Different Life, Different Love
Author: Opus
Part: 1
Warnings: Strong R, massive spoilers for the manga
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and heaven forbid she find out what I've been doing with them.
Summary: It's basically yet another AU rewriting the Ranma story from the beginning. The first few pages are straight from the manga with only minor adjustments to explain how things went differently. Basically, all the questionable things he did in the original, i.e. stealing food, tricking Ryouga, he didn't do in this universe. And he is a real girl in girl form, but the only difference in personality is that he is actually somewhat considerate and knows when to keep his mouth shut when he's a girl. Anyway, hope you enjoy the story.
Pairing:Ranma/Ryouga (for now)
Misc. Author notes: Hey, I'm still looking for a beta, if for nothing else than to make sure my story doesn't resemble any other of the many Ranma stories out there too much. Pretty please?
Archive: Yes, please.

//-indicates flashback
** Indicates thoughts

*******************

//"Me? Marry that pervert?! Never!!" The short haired girl was saying to her sisters. Ranma's blood began to boil.

"Say-- Whaddya mean, 'pervert'?" he said, confronting her.

"You looked at my body, PERVERT!"

"Hold it! You walked in on me!" he argued.

"It's different when a girl sees a boy," she insisted.

"They're already a perfect couple," Soun commented, laughing.

"He's a couple by himself! And if you ever..." she didn't get a chance to finish.

"Goodbye!" Ranma had had enough. He didn't need this. He turned and started to walk out the door.

"Where are you going, boy?" Genma demanded.

"Back to China! To find a way to change back for good! This is no time for 'fiancees'." Then because he didn't like the fact that this Akane girl thought he was some kind of lech, he added, "By the way...you took a pretty good look at me, too. Besides, it's no big deal for me to see a naked girl. I mean, I've seen myself plenty of times, right?"

Akane had to admit, the boy/girl had a point.

"Anyway, nice meeting you all. See ya." Then he was out the door. Akane ran out after him.

"Wait! I'm sorry I called you a pervert."

Ranma turned to face her. "It's okay. But I still need to find a cure for this curse."

Akane looked down at the ground and said softly, "It's not so bad..." She then lifted her head and looked straight at him. "I meant it when I said I wanted to be friends. You just caught me a little off guard, that's all. Believe me, marriage is the last thing on my mind too, but there's no reason for us to be enemies. Besides, what are you going to accomplish by running off tonight at this hour?"

Ranma thought about it. She made a good argument-and the prospect of a warm bed and decent food for once was tempting- not to mention a break from being chased. Crazy Chinese bimbo. "Well...okay, I guess," he said.

"Great!" She grabbed Ranma-chan by the wrist and dragged her into the house.//

And so it all started...

*********************

Some time later...

"Where is Furinkan high school?"

The startled student pointed at the sign right next to them. Looking sheepish, Ryouga asked where he could find Ranma Saotome.

The boy pointed to where the martial artist was walking with his fiancee.

***

*Man, what a week,* Ranma thought. First, having an engagement dumped in his lap, then being challenged by a crazy kenpo freak, followed by being hit on in female form by same said freak. On top of that, he had missed several days of school thanks to getting stuck as a girl while having his first period, which sucked in of itself, but now Kuno was calling him a coward, thinking that he had stayed home just to avoid fighting him. Akane walked beside him, but wasn't speaking to him since she discovered he was better proportioned than she was. *and it wasn't like I said nothin' about it either. How is it my fault that her clothes don't fit me in the right places? Man, can my life get any worse?*

In the Takahashi universe, the answer to that question is always yes.

"RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"

The pony-tailed boy barely jumped out of the way in time as the mysterious figure made a large crater in the ground right where he had just been. "You!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"You haven't changed, Ranma," the newcomer said, "You're still good at running away."

"Someone you know?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, remember I told you I knocked someone into Jusenkyo by mistake? Well, this is him." He turned back to the lost boy. "I'm glad to see you're alright. I climbed down and looked for you, but you were no where to be found."

Ryouga blinked, taken aback for a moment. "W-wait. It was a girl and a panda who did that..."

Akane facefaulted.

"Ummm..." Then Ranma took notice of the crowd gathering around them. "Hey, this is personal, people! Go away!" He grabbed the still bewildered Ryouga by the wrist and dragged him off to a more quiet area, with Akane following.

"Okay," Ranma said when they had reached a fairly private spot. "Pops and I both got cursed at Jusenkyo. I turn into a girl, he turns into a panda. So anyway, I was really pissed off at him for taking us there, which was why I was chasing him, and I didn't see you until the last second...

//Ryouga was walking along the edge of the cliff above the accursed pools of Jusenkyo. Suddenly a large panda blew by, knocking him off balance. "Get back here Pops, and take your punishment like a man!" Came a feminine voice from behind him as he tried to regain his footing. "Oh shit, watch out!" It was the same voice, and Ryouga looked up to see a red-headed girl in a gi coming straight at him in spite of her efforts to change direction mid-air.

He dove for the ground, but slid off the edge instead, catching himself on a root a few feet down. Forgetting her patricidal rage for a moment, Ranma-chan threw herself to the ground and reached down to the lost boy. "Here, grab my hand," she said. "You really don't want to fall down there, trust me." Ryouga braced his legs against the side of the cliff and reached up for her, their fingers missing by a mere inch as the root chose that moment to give way and send the boy plummeting down to the water, to the horror of them both.//

"So it was you..." Ryouga said, closing his eyes as the rage built up inside him.

"Um, yeah. I-I'm really, uh, really, s-sorry." Man, it was hard to get that word out.

"Wait," Akane interrupted, "So if you didn't know it was Ranma who got you cursed, then why did you attack him?"

"Because he ran out on our fight!" Ryouga yelled, glaring at Ranma.

"Our fight..." Ranma blinked. "Ryouga Hibiki! I knew you looked familiar! You were the one in my class at my last high school!" For a moment, he was thrilled to discover that the boy was what he considered an old friend, but deflated as he remembered this guy hated him now.

"That's him?" Akane asked quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Just tell me one thing Ranma," Ryouga said, quivering with rage, "Why did you run out on our fight!?"

"Um, Ryouga, I waited 3 days at the appointed place, then the old man dragged me off to China."

"3 days?" Akane asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes! And when I came on the 4th day, you had already run away!"

"I told you already, my Pops dragged me off! Literally! I was looking forward to that fight. Why did it take you so long, anyway? Your house was what, 500 meters away?"

"Why you..." Then Ryouga went into a rant about all his wanderings. Oh yeah. Ranma had forgotten that the other boy had no sense of direction.

"You can't just blame him because you get lost easily!" Akane said, trying to defend her friend.

In his heart, he knew she was right, but Ryouga had blamed all his misery on Ranma for so long, he couldn't just drop it now. He even knew it wasn't entirely Ranma's fault he fell into Jusenkyo, but he had to vent his anger and depression somehow.

"SHUT UP! I will have my vengeance!" He swung his umbrella and hit Ranma square in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

*What? He didn't even try to dodge,* Akane thought.

"Get up and fight me!" Ryouga demanded.

"No," Ranma gasped out. "You can beat the crap outta me for getting you cursed, I deserve that, but I ain't fighting you, Ryouga."

"Have it your way then," Ryouga said, cracking his knuckles...

**************

That evening at the Tendo residence:

"You don't understand, he humiliated me daily!"

"And I'm saying, he didn't see it that way." Akane and Ryouga were sitting next to the futon where Ranma was recovering from his injuries. Akane had managed to stop the lost boy short of killing Ranma. After all, his death wouldn't get rid of the curse, nor would it solve any of his other problems, she had reasoned. And by some miracle Ryouga had listened. "He really thought it was just friendly competition. Look, I haven't known him and his dad for very long, but I can tell you Genma Saotome is a real jerk. If you watch him and Ranma, they don't interact except by sparring with each other. Not only to they fight in the dojo, they fight over food, in fact, anything they can fight over, they do. And this is the guy Ranma's spent most of his life with. He doesn't know how to interact with people any way other than fighting, physically or verbally. Believe me, I have to turn him into a girl to have a decent conversation with him. Otherwise, we both just end up getting pissed off."

"Hmph." Was the only reply.

"I'm serious! I don't know why, but he's a little different when he's female. Nicer. A lack of testosterone, I suppose. But I've been getting him to tell me about himself, and he did mention you, but not as the pathetic loser you think he considers you to be. In fact, he spoke rather highly of you. He thought you were a really good opponent, and even considered you a friend." Ryouga snorted at that. Look, I'll talk to him when he wakes up. I don't think he honestly understood why you were upset with him."

Ryouga stood up. "Look, I did what I came to do. There is nothing more between me and him, Miss Tendo. I bid you farewell. You won't be seeing me again." He walked over to the door.

"Um, that's the closet, Ryouga-san." Akane pointed out.

"Eh-heh."

"Are you sure you want to go out right now? It's raining."

"I'll be fine." Then, looking embarrassed, he asked, "Could you show me to the door, please?"

Akana tried not to giggle, and complied.

**************

//"So you don't think he's coming back?" Ranma had said, as they walked to school that morning. Well, she was walking, he was balancing on the fence, as usual.

"He sounded pretty final," Akane had replied.

"That's a shame- I was hoping to patch things up with him. He's really a great guy."

"Ranma, he's obsessively violent."

"And you're just violent. What's your point?" Ranma had teased, grinning.

"Oh, you-" she swung her bookbag at him, which he dodged easily.

"See what I mean?" he had laughed.//

Ranma ended walking home alone that day, since Akane had a meeting with one of her teachers. A flash of red in an alley caught his attention, and he walked over to investigate. Yep, that was definitely Ryouga's umbrella, along with his pack, so that large, gray, depressed looking wolf with the bandanna curled up next to them must be- "Ryouga? Is that you, man?"

The wolf lifted his head and snarled.

"Yep, it's definitely you. Hey, look on the bright side, it could be worse. At least you're not a piglet or something lower on the food chain." Ranma smirked and reached out to scratch the lost boy behind the ears. The next thing he knew he was on his back, with wolf jaws firmly clamped on to his throat. At first he panicked, trying to figure out how to get out of his predicament, but then he realized Ryouga wasn't doing anything, just pressing those sharp teeth to his neck.

"All right, Fang, you scared the shit outta me. Happy? Now get offa me!!"

Ryouga chuckled, or rather tried to, but it came out as a very strange chortling growl, and let go of Ranma's throat, moving to sit at his side.

The pony-tailed boy sat up, rubbing his throat. No blood, that was good. "Ungh, jerk." He glared at the smug looking boy-turned- wolf. "An' I was gonna offer to take you home, too."

Ryouga's ears perked up at that. He made a questioning growl.

"Yeah, of course I remember where your house is. I must've taken you home over a hundred times when you got lost."

Ryouga walked over to his belongings, but Ranma picked them up first. "I got it," he said, "It's going to look strange enough walking down the street with a wolf, without you carrying a pack and umbrella as well."

Ryouga snorted. *Have it your way.*

"Maybe I should get a leash for you," he teased, "It might keep you from getting lost so much- whoa!" He jumped out of the way as Ryouga growled and snapped at him. "Just kidding. Sheez, can't you take a joke?"

****

Ranma took the lost boy home without further incident, and only a minimum of staring from the locals. As they approached the gate, the family dog came out to greet them eagerly. Checkers was a little shocked by her master's current form, but soon got over it, and was happily slobbering all over him.

"Hey wolf-boy, I think your dog's expecting." Ranma said. Ryouga had to agree. He hoped he would be around when she had the puppies.

The martial artist casually stepped into the yard. "You need me to show you the way to the bath- AAHHH!!!" Ranma had set off one of the booby traps and was saved only by his quick reflexes. He dodged several others before safely landing on the porch. Huffing, he stared incredulously at Ryouga, who trotted up to him. "Did you put those up?!!"

The wolf shook his head. Then the door opened behind him.

"Oh my," said the kindly looking woman in the doorway, "you weren't hurt, were you?"

"Uh, no. Are you Mrs. Hibiki?"

"Why, yes. And you are...?"

"Ranma Saotome. I used to go to high school with your son."

"He's not here right now. Is there something I can help you with?"

Ranma exchanged a look w/ Ryouga. "This is going to sound strange, ma'am, but could you get some hot water, please? I need to show ya somethin'."

A few minutes later there was a thump as Ryouga's mother fell to the floor in a dead faint.

********

Not too long after that the two teenagers were headed to the furo...

"You nearly gave my mom a heart attack!!"

"What was I supposed to do? What would she have said if I had pointed at ya and said, 'Ma'am, that wolf there is your son, huh?"

Ryouga growled, but didn't say anything. He knew Ranma was right, but he would be the last one to admit it.

"Why did you have to accept when Mom asked you to spend the night?" the lost boy complained, shutting the bathroom door behind them. "What to you want from me?"

"I want to be friends with you, of course. I mean, I know up to this point I've been screwing it up, but maybe we can start over or somethin'." He finished taking off his clothes and slid into the hot water.

Ryouga closed his eyes for a second, trying to control his emotions and got into the other side of the furo. "Why?" he asked. The truth was, he was incredibly lonely, and did crave friendship. Especially from the other martial artist, though he tried not to think about that.

"Why what?" Ranma asked.

"Why do you want to be friends with a guy like me?" Ryouga was going into depressed mode again. "You have a perfect life, a cute fiancee, and I'm just-"

"A guy I happen to like a lot. An' if you think my life is perfect, you have a lot to learn about me."

"Y-you do? Even after I beat you up like that?"

"Hey, like I said, I deserved it for getting you cursed. That was really crappy of me. Besides, there aren't many guys I consider a challenge in a match, and you're one of them. You wanna spar sometime?"

The ice in Ryouga's heart was melting. Ranma honestly wanted to be friends with him! A slight smile turned up the corners of his mouth, and tears started to stream down his face.

Ranma was caught by surprise. He'd never seen another guy cry before. "Whoa! What's the matter, man? Are you okay?" He reached over and wiped some of the wetness from Ryouga's cheek. The lost boy pulled him into a near bone-crushing embrace, much to his surprise. Physical affection between guys was a big no-no with his old man. Nevertheless, after a few seconds he relaxed and returned the hug as Ryouga sobbed on his shoulder.

Ranma had no idea how good it felt to hold and be held by someone he was really fond of. He absently traced the outlines of the muscles in Ryouga's back as he waited for his friend to finish his cry. After a while, he noticed that a certain part of him had gotten hard, and he was feeling pleasure every time that said part of him brushed against Ryouga. He wondered if that was normal, until he felt the lost boy's equally aroused erection against his own.

Nobody had explained the birds and the bees to him, so Ranma had no idea what he was doing when he wrapped his legs around the other boy's hips in an attempt to bring them closer together. He felt Ryouga gasp against his shoulder, even as he felt a thrill go through him at this new kind of contact.

Ryouga instinctively responded by moving his grip lower, as low as he could go without grabbing the other boy's buttocks, and thrust against him experimentally. He lifted his head and as he looked into Ranma's eyes he saw the same shocked pleasure that he himself was feeling. More confident, he rested his head on his friend's shoulder once more and started to thrust steadily.

The bathroom was silent save for their harsh, heavy breathing as they clutched each other, lost in this new world of sensation. Then Ranma started thrashing in Ryouga's iron grip, trying hard not to moan with the intensity of the experience.

Ryouga roughly shoved him up against the side and pumped himself against him for all he was worth. He bit down on Ranma's shoulder as the pleasure came to a peak and exploded behind his eyes. Ranma whimpered slightly as his body released itself as well, and relaxed into his friend's arms. For a minute, all they could do was try to get their breathing back under control.

Reluctantly, they disengaged themselves. Ranma winced at the movement. "Man, Ryouga,I'm bleeding," he said, "You sure do like to play rough!"

Ryouga had missed Sex Ed. as well, but he at least was aware that they had done something extremely intimate. Ranma, on the other hand, was completely clueless.

"Where are you going?" Ryouga asked as the pony-tailed martial artist started to climb out of the tub.

"It's hot in here, I gotta cool off." Ranma got out and made it about two steps before the cold water hit him.

She turned around to see the lost boy grinning like a maniac, holding the shower head in his hand. "What'dja do that for?!"

"You're cooled off now, aren't you? Your fiancee said you were more talkative when female, and I think I do want to talk, after all."

"Oh, okay. Just let me get dressed. Don't want you drooling all over my female form, you know," he joked.

"At least you're cute when you change."

"At least you're still male."

"I think I would prefer to be human, even as a girl."

"Well, the grass is always greener, they say."

Ryouga actually laughed and followed Ranma out of the bathroom.

*****************

Notes: Just to explain why a couple things are different in this universe. Akane's hair is short because she never had a crush on Dr. Tofu. Ranma still has a ponytail because he never ate the dragon whisker.

*****************************

Ryouga's Dad had put a nintendo into his room while he was gone, so he and Ranma were playing SuperMario (neither Ryouga or his Dad had been home in quite a while) as the lost boy listened to the other martial artist's life story.

"...so this guide was taking us to this amazon village, cuz there was this martial arts tournament there."

"Amazon?"

"Yeah, warrior women. Most of them were pretty scary looking. Anyway, by the time we got there, Pops and I were absolutely starving. First thing we see is this table completely covered with food. Without even so much as an 'excuse me', the old panda just sits down and starts scarfing it down. So I go, 'Hey old man, don'tcha think we should ask before eating their food? They might get upset.' He didn't listen of course, and sure enough, this Amazon chick comes up all pissed off cuz my panda is eating her prize."

"Ugly as sin?"

"Come to think of it, she was actually very pretty."

It should be pointed out that both Ranma-chan and Ryoga were sitting on his bed while all this was going on. And the bed being too narrow for them to sit side by side, Ranma had opted to sit between the lost boy's legs and use him for a backrest. Both of them had been quite comfortable, but Ranma chose this moment to shift around and snuggle closer to his buddy. (Which was what he considered Ryouga to be) Never mind they were both in pajamas, and Ranma was only wearing the top to one of the lost boy's.

Then he continued. "My first thought was to offer the old man to be chopped up into dog food, but I decided that wouldn't be right, no matter how tempting, so I told her I'd fight her for the championship. I won of course, but then she comes up and kisses me on the cheek, which was really weird, since I was in girl form."

Ryouga's hand slipped, and he nearly sent Luigi flying off a cliff. "What?!"

"Yeah, and the guide freaked out and told me it was the kiss of death, and dragged us out of there. And ever since she's been chasing me. I guess it's really dishonorable for an Amazon to get her ass kicked by an outside female."

"She doesn't know you're a guy?"

"She's never given me the chance to explain the curse to her. 'Sides, I don't know if it would even make a difference."

"Did she follow you here to Japan?"

"I dunno. I haven't seen her since I left China. Actually, I think that's why the old man dragged me back here to meet my fiancee all of a sudden. Personally, I would've stayed in China until I found a cure. Pops- I don't think he minds his curse. In fact, I think he would just loaf around in panda form for the rest of his life if he could get away with it."

"What about your training?"

"Oh, he just stays in panda form when we spar. He's pretty much only human now when he plays 'go' with Mr. Tendo, but I saw him playing as a panda the other day, so I'm thinking eventually he'll only be human when he takes a bath."

"I don't know how he can do that. When I turn into a wolf, I have the instincts of a wolf, and it scares me. I try to spend as little time in cursed form as possible. I mean, it's useful, when I'm out in the wilderness, but I don't like it."

"Well, what do you think a panda's instincts would be? All they do is sit around and eat bamboo all day. I think that fits my father's personality perfectly!"

Ryouga chuckled. "You really think he's that shiftless?"

"In everything but martial arts, and I think he's winding down on that, too. Pretty soon I'll be able to beat him every time."

"Hmm. I suppose I'll just have to keep you on your toes, then."

"Think your mom will let us spar out in the yard tomorrow?"

"Probably. If she hasn't gotten herself lost. We'd need to ask her where she put all the traps. Unless you want to dodge them as part of the challenge," Ryouga said with a grin.

Ranma yawned. It was well after midnight. "Either way. I don't care. I'm about ready for bed, how 'bout you?"

The lost boy nodded and turned off the system. Both boys, er, boy and girl scooted under the covers, and shifted around a bit, finally settling together spoon-fashion. Ryouga reached over and turned off the lamp, then casually draped his arm across Ranma-chan's shoulder.

For a moment, Ranma had the nagging feeling that maybe he shouldn't be in bed being held by another guy, expecially in female form. It passed quickly though, as he reminded himself that they were both really guys, so it was okay, and if Ryouga had had any funny ideas, he would've booted him across town already, like every other guy who tried to touch him in girl form.

Both martial artists fell asleep very quickly, feeling warm and content.

****************

Ranma woke up a few hours later to the sensation of hot lips pressed to her own. Male lips, at that, and Ryouga's masculine scent filled her nostrils. In her mind she knew the proper response was to freak out and beat the utter crap outta him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. For one thing, after the first few groggy moments, she realized it was just Ryouga, and she didn't want to hurt him. The other thing, which was by far the more disturbing, was her female body's response to him. The room had suddenly become much hotter, and a pleasurable ache had started between her legs. And the worst part was, she didn't want him to stop kissing her!

She whimpered as Ryouga released her mouth. She was about to say something, but then her bedmate started to snore lightly. *He's asleep...? I guess he didn't even know it was me, then.*

Ranma-chan thought she should be relieved, but there was that disappointed feeling in the bottom of her gut instead. With a sigh she willed herself to relax and settled back into the lost boy's embrace.

A few minutes later, just as she was slipping back into the world of dreams, she awoke once again, this time to having a breast fondled. Not that she really minded him touching her there, but there was no way she could sleep like that. *Okay, this is getting ridiculous,* she thought. *I'm going to go sleep on the floor.* Unfortunately, getting out of Ryouga's iron hold was not a possibility. The more she tried to squirm away, the tighter he wrapped himself around her. The small, rational part of Ranma's brain took note for future reference. *Never let him get a grip on me. Ever.* she thought glumly.

As soon as she stopped struggling, Ryouga loosened up, and his hands started to roam aimlessly over her torso. Ranma-chan seriously thought about waking the lost boy up, but she had just become friends with him again, and she didn't want to make things awkward between them by embarassing him. She tried to stay quiet as large hands worked their way under the shirt, their heat slowly setting her body on fire. Ryouga moaned softly in his sleep and she could feel his hot breath on the nape of her neck. Ranma-chan blushed furiously and gasped for breath. She couldn't believe she was letting him do this to her!

The lost boy's hands finally rested on her breast and inner thigh, pulling her down to his hips. The redhead could feel his hardness against her posterior, and blushed even harder, if that was possible. *What does he think he's doing?!* she thought, with a mixture of fear and anticipation. She found out quickly enough. Ryouga's hand moved from her thigh to her crotch, and he started to rub her between the legs. Ranma made a slight squeak, and prayed that Ryouga's mother was a sound sleeper.

Ryouga continued to stroke her through her boxers, thrusting against her gently. Ranma-chan tightly gripped the sheets and buried her face in the mattress to stifle the moans. It felt like what she had done with the lost boy as a guy, only different, somehow. She didn't have time to analyze, as waves of pleasure pounded through her body, crashing harder and harder as the tide came in. Her vision nearly went black, as the last wave came crashing in for what seemed like forever, nearly drowning her before washing her back up on shore.

Ranma gasped for breath for a minute, then sat up. Ryouga was still fast asleep next to her, but there was a wet spot on his boxers. Ranma could feel that hers were drenched, too. *Ick,* she thought. She looked at the peaceful expression on the sleeping Ryouga's face, and to her horror found herself thinking him handsome. Her hand seemed to reach out of its own volition to caress her friend's (boyfriend's?) cheek.

"mmm...Ranma..." Ryouga murmured sleepily, then went back to his soft snoring. That broke the spell, and the martial artist fled to the bathroom like a deer at a hunter's convention.

*gottagetridofthiscurseIgottagetridofthiscurse..* Ranma repeated to himself as he dashed through the bathroom door and turned himself back into a guy. Because of course, all his weird feelings for Ryouga were coming from his girl side, or so he thought. He felt a little better, being back in guy form, except for the wet, sticky shorts, of course.

He sat down against the bathroom wall to think. *He was dreaming about me the whole time...but he did admit he thinks I'm pretty in girl form. I guess I shoulda changed back before going to bed. Nah, that would've been worse. My first kiss...and it was with a guy...at least it wasn't Kunou or somethin'..." The next thing he knew he had fallen asleep.

**************

Someone was shaking him. He wished they would stop. "Huh? Wha-?" Ranma opened his eyes to look straight into Ryouga's.

"Why were you sleeping in here?" the lost boy asked. He was a little worried. He'd had this weird dream about Ranma...

"Uh, I got up to go to the bathroom. Looks like I didn't make it back." Ranma put his hand behind his head, and laughed nervously.

"Oh," Ryouga breathed a sigh of relief. It was surreal. The guy he'd forced himself to hate for so long, and now all he wanted to do was kiss him. But Ranma would kill him if he tried; guys just weren't supposed to fall in love with other guys. It was just so depressing...

His dark funk was interrupted as Ranma got up and clasped his shoulder in a friendly fashion. "Hey, how about a little spar before breakfast..."

*********

End part two

Title: Ranma 1/2-Different life, Different love
Author: Opus
Part: 3/?
Warnings: PG-13, Brief yuri, massive spoilers for the manga
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and heaven forbid she find out what I've been doing with them.
Summary: It's basically yet another AU rewriting the Ranma story from the beginning. Ranma has a stronger moral sense in this universe, meaning, all the questionable things he did in the original, i.e. stealing food, tricking Ryouga, he didn't do in this universe. This part starts to cover the match against Kodachi.
Pairing:Ryouga/Ranma-kun
(mostly)
Misc. Author notes: Again, some of the scenes are taken straight from the manga before I mangle them.
Archive: Yes, please.

C&C craved and much appreciated.

//-indicates flashback
** Indicates thoughts

*****************************

"...You shouldn't have agreed so quick," Ranma was saying, "Do you even know how to use these things?"

"You just watch!" Akane said confidently.

They were interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and Ryouga trotting up in his cursed form.

"What's up, Ryo-kun?" Ranma asked. The answer came in the form of being pounced, and the now familiar pressing of teeth to his neck. "Ugh...get offa me. The bathroom's that way, dolt."

A few minutes later, Soun Tendo watched nonplussed as the wolf hopped into the tub with him and emerged as the lost boy.

***

"Why does he always do that?" Ranma complained after Ryouga wandered off.

"Beats me. Okay, now watch this!" She tossed a couple of clubs into the air only to have them clatter to the floor.

"Are you supposed to let them drop?"

"Very funny. Let's try the ribbon." She twirled it and promptly became immobilized.

"Are you supposed to get tangled up?"

"Shut UP!" She kicked the obligatory bucket of water that was always sitting in the dojo at him.

Then she proceeded to break the hoop.

"Aargh!! I'm a klutz! I'm a klutz!!"

"Come on Akane, I've seen you fight. I know you're coordinated enough to do this, even if it is a bit feminine for you," Ranma-chan said, regretting the last part the instant it came out of her mouth.

"Look you..."

"I can instruct you." Both of them turned to look at Ryouga.

"Where did you learn gymnastic martial arts, Fang?" Ranma asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, I was kinda lost at the time..." The lost boy scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you so much, Ryouga." Akane said.

"No problem." Ryouga said. Inside he thought, *I hope helping your fiancee makes you happy, Ranma.* His mind no longer blinded by self-imposed rage, he could now clearly see why he had forced himself to hate Ranma. He was deeply and hopelessly in love with his friend. A friend who obviously didn't love him return and was engaged to boot. Oh, He could count on the other martial artist for affection, and a kind of brotherly love, but that was it. It made him depressed just thinking about it.

Ranma startled him by clasping his shoulder. "Good luck teaching her, buddy...you're going to need it."

*******************

Later that night...

"That's enough drilling with the ribbon. You're improving, Akane. I'm sure you'll be ready in time for the match." Ryouga said.

"Really?" Akane asked. Ryouga nodded.

"You're still upright, that's good." Ranma-chan said, noting that Akane was still tangling herself up in the ribbon, but genuinely trying to be encouraging without lying outright.

"Shut up, Ranma!"

*************

The two martial artists were walking down the hall to Ranma's room.

"It's embarassing to watch. I think you're being overly optimistic."

"Making her feel bad isn't going to do any good. You don't want her to give up, do you?"

"No...but I don't want her to get her ass kicked...Hey, did you just hear something from Akane's room?"

They both rushed in to find Akane standing facing the window as black rose petals swirled around her.

"Who do you think is going to clean up this room!!" She yelled after the retreating figure.

"I suppose Ryo-kun and I could help," Ranma-chan said. Ryouga gave her a 'what-are-you-talking-about' look.

Akane turned in surprise. "What are you two doing in here?"

"We heard something crash, so we came to see if you were okay," Ryouga said.

"Oh, thank you. That crazy girl Kodachi tried to ambush me, but I got rid of her. Um, could one of you get a broom, please? Not you, Ryouga-kun. I want to get this done quickly."

****************

Ryouga was already stripped down to his boxers and undershirt and in Ranma's futon when he returned from the bath in guy form. Ranma hesitated for a moment, remembering the last time they shared a bed, but not wanting his friend to think that anything was wrong, he shrugged and got under the covers with the lost boy. Ryouga immediately rolled over to give him a hug. His buddy tended to hug him a lot, and Ranma loved it, once he got used to being touched in a way that was not intended to cause damage. He wondered though- none of his male friends at school ever did. Which was a shame, since it gave him a nice feeling- he felt cared for, wanted. He didn't understand it, he saw girls hugging each other all the time. Even Akane had hugged him a couple of times when he was in girl form.

He sighed and buried his face in the lost boy's shoulder. Even in guy form Ryouga smelled good to him, a warm, earthy scent-very masculine and uniquely Ryouga. The memory of the other boy's kiss still burned on Ranma's lips like a brand, and stirred feelings in him he was by now fairly sure he wasn't supposed to be having. Reluctantly he pulled away and rolled over. "G'night, Ryo-kun," he said.

"Sleep well, Ran-chan." Ryouga was disappointed that the long-haired martial artist hadn't wanted to cuddle more, but he knew Ranma wasn't a pervert. Not like him. Why did he have to go and fall for another guy? It wasn't as if girls didn't interest him at all. He certaintly found Ranma's girl side attractive enough. He sighed and stared at Ranma's back, his eyes tracing the lines of the toned muscular form in front of him, longing to touch him, kiss him, tell him how much he loved him. But he couldn't. Ranma would be disgusted and remind him he was engaged to a girl; it would be the end of their friendship forever.

Ryouga sat up. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep anytime soon. *Maybe I should just disappear...never see him again.* He grabbed his pack and clothes and slipped out of the room, and eventually into the night. (With a few detours along the way)

************

Ranma and Akane were walking to school the next day.

"Do ya always hafta wake me up with a bucket of water?" Ranma was complaining.

"I've tried being nice about it, and yelling 'WAKE UP DOOFUS' doesn't seem to work, so it's either that or hitting you on the head with something. By the way, where's Ryouga? I thought he was staying over."

"I think he must've gotten lost going to the privy in the middle of the night or something. I'm sure he'll be back soon, tho."

"Before the match, I hope. He's been a great help so far."

*Helped keep the damage down, but otherwise...* "Incoming, Akane!"

Kodachi was indeed coming in for the kill, but Akane easily caught the bokken aimed at her head and sent Kunou's sisiter flying- straight into Ranma.

"Oof!" Ranma landed on his butt with the Black Rose sprawled out all over him.

Kodachi took a good, long look at him, and deemed him gorgeous. At last, she had met a handsome man to fall in love with. "Ohohoho, thank you kind sir, for breaking my fall. Let me repay you..."

"Um, getting off of me would do just fine." He noted that after ridding herself of the psycho, Akane had simply kept going.

"Oh no, please tell me your name."

"Er, Ranma. Will you please get off, I'm going to be late."

"Then these are for you, dear Ranma," she said, handing him a bouquet of black roses, never mind where she pulled them out from.

Ranma got a whiff of the scent and found himself unable to move. "What the?"

"Not to worry dear, it's just a little paralysis gas."

"Are you crazy?!!!" Ranma gasped out.

"Now, be brave," she said leaning over him, "And take these lips of mine."

"GYEEEEE!!!" Was all the protest the young man could make.

Then she kissed him.

"Ooooooo...." About half the school was watching, too. A split appeared in the crowd and Tatewaki Kunou stepped forth.

"Hmmm..." He looked the two over. Then he clapped his hands together. "Yes!"

"Oh, Ranma-dear and I can go steady then?" Kodachi asked eagerly. Kunou nodded.

"Wonderful! I must tell my classmates." She bounced off in a flurry of black rose petals and maniacal giggles.

Kunou watched her go. "Really, that girl is such a deviant, but even so, Ranma Saotome, take care of my little sister." He gave Ranma's shoulder a quick squeeze and walked off.

"???" Come to think of it, Ranma could see the family resemblance.

The crowd around him waited for him to show some kind of response. Whispers started. "Did he just dump Akane?" "That must've been some kiss to put him in shock like that." "Wait, I think there's something wrong with him."

Finally a couple of his buddies figured out he couldn't move and carried him to the nurses office. The gas eventually wore off and he was able to go to class. He sat down in his usual spot next to Akane, cheeks burning with shame.

His fiancee didn't say a word to him until school was over and they were walking home.

"So," Akane began, "How was it?"

"Huh?!" Ranma was expecting to have his ass chewed, not asked his opinion on the matter.

"The kiss, silly, how was it?"

"You know I couldn't have avoided it."

"I know, but I'm still curious."

"Uh, I'll have you know that freak was not the first girl I wanted to kiss, or last even."

"First kiss? Really?"

"With a girl, yeah."

"And you didn't like it, even though she's pretty?"

"Pretty doesn't come into it." Ranma shuddered. "I mean, she *forced* herself on me. I feel so dirty."

Akane giggled. "It's not funny!" Ranma yelled and dashed off so she couldn't keep up.

****

Akane found him, well actually her, in the dojo. "Hey Ranma, sorry I laughed at you back there. It's just, well, I never thought I'd hear a guy say he felt dirty."

"S'okay," Ranma-chan mumbled. "It's just, I wish it had been someone I liked."

"Do you like me?" Akane asked. Ranma's head shot up.

"Of course I do. We're friends, right---mmph?" Ranma-chan's eye's grew wide as saucers as she was kissed by her fiancee. *Oh wow,* she thought. This was much, much better. She wrapped her arms around Akane's waist and held her close. Thoughts of Ryouga came to her unbidden, but she pointedly ignored them.

After a minute Akane broke off the kiss and pulled a dazed Ranma-chan to her feet, and took her upstairs.

As they went into Akane's room, Ranma realized she was still in girl form...

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