DISCLAIMER: Noooo, not mine, I'm just playing, I swear.. _' Non-profitable games, of course.

There

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

Pfft, yeah, riiight. You keep saying it, Ryoga, don't you mind that smirk I'm wearing. I can't help it if it's funny how you always come back after I beat you, just to be beaten up again. If I hadn't known better, I'd say you're a masochist… or just plain stupid. And, frankly, the latter looks like truth to me. I mean, just look at yourself: drooling over Akane and every other kind thing she says to you, not able to beat me into a pulp even when I know you have the guts to do so (even if you yourself don't know that.. and oh I hope you will NEVER find out…), and the way you cry over your curse.. You think being a pig is worse than turning into a girl at the most inconvenient moments? Well.. Maybe. If I'm lucky, I'll never know how you feel, compassion be damned.

However you look at it, I'm surrounded by crazy people. Take Pops as an example. He does nothing but lie around doing nothing, eat, sleep, cheat in those stupid games, eat some more, and – ocasionally! – train with me. Oh, and almost forgot: the panda thing. What, you really think he doesn't enjoy being a panda? Wrooooong. I know he likes it. Even if he is a bit disturbed by the fact itself, the whole thing doesn't make his life any worse. In other words, he's pretty satisfied, trust me on this one.

Then, there's people like Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi. I am a guy after all, I don't mind the whole 'affection' thing as much as I'm showing, and being hugged and fought for by cute girls can really boost one's ego, but you have to admit: these people are far from normal. Passionate, yes. Sick-minded, definitely.

Kuno or Mousse really can get on my nerves sometimes, but at the very least it's fun (except for the times when the-girl-me is strangled by the Kuno jerk, of course, which happens far too often for my liking).

And then there's the Ryoga guy again. I guess he's the one who is one of the most passionate here. I mean, who would be a traveler with that excuse for a sense of direction? Right, Ryoga. He blushes waaaaay to often, by the way. And distracts himself when fighting. That's why he keeps losing. I know about his concentrating skills, and they're pretty darn good, but he still thinks about too many things at once and it keeps him distracted, though he probably will never notice this. Good, more winning for me.

He's.. I don't know. Kind of a nice guy, actually. Now don't get me wrong, I may look like a girl sometimes, but my mind is still – thankfully! – male, so it's not the frilly-frilly girlish ideas that have come over me. It's just… He's Ryoga, what's not to like about a guy like that?

I really appreciate that he's there for us. He'd just rush and help whoever he sees, not caring that most people hate him or want to eat him when he's a pig. He's still too kind-hearted for his own good. And when he gets a tiny little bit of sympathy back, he's all blushing and shy and confused. You can see he's not used to being at the receiving end of that kind of emotions. I guess that's what Akane would call 'cute'. I would rather use a different word for it, not sure which one, but definitely not 'cute' – it doesn't suit the guy at all. No matter what his soft sides are, he's still (am I really gonna say it!? Damn, maybe the girl side really is getting on me) manly, I mean, strong, both physically and mentally, really strong-willed; pretty determined, never breaks his promises, and hell, you can't say he's on the ugly side. I'm sure that there are many girls out there that would drool all over his picture.

And he is.. well.. comforting. Soothing, I'd say. Not the I-will-drown-you-in-my-kindness-and-innocent-smile type like Kasumi, but rather a pleasant one. He's just, you know, kind of.. there. He's always there when he's needed. I don't know if it's his aura or some other crap, but his presence is often the only thing you need to calm down. Yeah, he's stupid sometimes, and a jerk too, and utterly insane even at times (aren't we all?..), and can really get on your last nerve, and annoying with his goody-goody attitude, but hey.. He's Ryoga. Nobody's perfect, and with all those crappy sides of his, I'm still happy he's there. Yep, that's the word: happy.

---end.

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A/N. Yeeeah... *sweatdrop*. It kind of hit me.

About the whole genre thing now. (If you are a homophobe, I really suggest you to stop reading now, PLEASE, 'cause I won't change my mind whatever you say, and let's just keep out nerves intact and not say anything to each other at all on the matter. Because yes, I AM about to talk about yaoi.)

As it is written very mildly, you can really see what normal people, to the group of which I do not belong to, would call 'friendship'. Yeah, I guess it's there. But me being a complete yaoi-fangirl, I put a bit of pre-slash in here. I don't mind the original pairings, and the whole Ranma-Akane love thing as well, I even cheer for them when watching the anime, but I really would enjoy the Ranma-Ryoga line as well, even if this little dream is about to come true only in fanart and fanfiction, bless these creations.. *dreamy smile*. They do make a wonderful couple, these two guys, don't they?)) Of course, if you don't like the yaoi coloring, it's possible to see this little ficlet as a friendship one, nothing more, but I still think that this feeling may as well be love, even if unnoticed and.. special? Small? ..Naaah, can't think of a word. As always)))

Well, anyways, these are Ranma's thoughts on his surroundings in general and especially on that one dark-eyed guy with the umbrella) I tried to make it as in-character as possible, and it didn't really turn out as good as I expected it too, but this little phylosophical moment is still kind of... sweet. (I started writing this because words like 'he's just... sorta.. there' popped into my head, but since I forgot them the moment I turned on my computer, that particular line isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I can't remember it exactly the way it came to me, so it'll have to do. Of well..)

Oh yeah, please review if you have a comment in mind, I'd appreciate it)))