A Ranma by any Other Name

by Night Hunter MGS

Author notes: Why God? Why did you have to go and totally FUBAR all of my hard, saved work? Hey gang, sorry it's been so long between updates, but as you can probably guess I've been experiencing "technical difficulties", so I've had to write my finished work all over again. Hopefully it's worth my effort and your wait.

Disclaimer: Listen carefully, all you lawyers out there; I. OWN. NOTHING. So scram!

Summary: In the last story of "A Ranma by any Other Name", Ranma met his uncle Iwao, a teacher at Daimon High School, and due to that event met Ryoko Mitsurugi, the "samurai girl". Out of jealousy, Shampoo murdered Ryoko, sending Ranma into a rage in which he killed the purple haired Amazon, got Nabiki and Daisaku thrown in jail, seriously injured the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, and finally killed himself in atonement. This tale is about how the story was supposed to end. We pick up from the last story at a critical moment, where a certain young girl has to make a choice which will have consequences she can barely imagine.

Story 3: The Transfer Student- Alternate Ending

Nabiki Tendo, the true breadwinner of the Tendo family, sighed as she regarded the photograph clenched in her hand. Poor Ranma, he really never had a chance of getting away from her. Daisaku was just one out of dozens of contacts she had throughout the Japanese educational system. No matter what school Ranma went to, she'd have had someone there who'd let her know about it. He couldn't escape her web. She knew where Ranma was now, and that information could be sold for top price.

Normally, Nabiki wouldn't hesitate to sell Ranma out. But the picture she was holding gave her pause. In it, Ranma was talking to a beautiful, athletic looking girl that Daisaku had identified in his report as Ryoko Mitsurugi, the top fighter and idol of Daimon High School. According to her research, Ryoko was a first class kendoist who was lightyears ahead of Akane and Kuno in terms of skill, speed, power, control, and commitment. Ryoko was possibly even a little better than Kodachi and Ukyou, but no match for Shampoo or the others. She was also very much involved in other activities, was a model student, and although reports indicated that she wasn't that good of a cook at least she wasn't deluded about her abilities like Akane was and had a fair control over her temper. But what really struck Nabiki was how the girl appeared in the photograph, talking to Ranma. She was smiling at Ranma, a genuine smile without any sort of plotting or scheming behind it, a smile that said that she respected Ranma as a person, that she trusted him, that she believed in him. Nabiki had never seen any of the other girls ever smile at Ranma like that, they were all too concerned with what they could get out of the pigtailed boy.

Closing her eyes, she remembered the time when the engagement had been transferred over to her. Sure, she took advantage of Ranma during that time, but... he never complained. He'd done his best to protect her, to make her happy, despite what she was doing to him. It was around that time that she finally understood just how special Ranma really was. If it hadn't been for Akane, she actually might have tried to make it work between the two of them, but she'd believed that Akane loved Ranma and she wasn't willing to sacrafice her little sister's happiness for the remote possibility of a relationchip with Ranma. But now she could see that despite what they believed, none of the girls, Akane included, truly loved Ranma for who he was; they loved what he represented and what winning his heart could do for them. And she had also realized that deep down, Ranma knew that they didn't really love him, but still he tried to make all of them happy at his own expense. Her eyes opened and once again she looked at the picture, this time focusing on Ranma. There wasn't any strain in his eyes, no lines of worry across his brow, only a content grin that she'd never seen him wear in Nerima. She could tell that his happiness, his peace, was not faked like it had been here.

Without another thought, she tore the picture in two and threw it into the waste basket. For once in her life, she was going to do the decent thing and let him have some of the happiness that had been denied to him for so long. Looking out the window towards the direction of Daimon High, the Ice Queen let a single tear roll down her cheek as she whispered out a heartfelt wish. "Be happy, Ranma. Be happy."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months as time passed at Daimon High. It had been just over five months since the school year started and the martial artist known as Ranma Saotome had been unleashed upon the student body. In that time, the Extreme Martial Artists Club had grown and matured into the true power at the school.

Ranma smirked as he saw some of the more violent troublemakers cringe out of his path as he walked through the halls. Taking the advice of Ryoko, Daichi, and his uncle, he'd organized the club into an unofficial disciplinary unit. People who tried to cheat at K-Fights, bullies who terrorized the less martially able students with their skills, and punks who threatened the members of the teaching staff who couldn't defend themselves would find themselves on the wrong side of the EMA's fists, feet, and weapons. At first he'd been worried about taking matters into their own hands, but Principal Todo had been ecstatic about his initiative. It really made him want to laugh; the same things that got him into trouble at Furinkan made him the most popular student and teacher's pet here at Daimon. He coucld freely admit now that he loved it here, and that he wouldn't leave the new life that he had found for anything.

Sadly, in the life of one Ranma Saotome, the peaceful times never last.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Daisaku was practically skipping on his way home from school. He'd felt certain that Nabiki Tendo was going to start trouble once she learned about Ranma attending Daimon, but instead she made him promise to try and keep Ranma out of too much trouble and cancelled all of his debts. It was then that the junior papparazzi was given a clue about how special Ranma was, if the infamous Ice Queen herself didn't want to intrude upon his new life. He started to follow Ranma just like he followed Ryoko, and he wasn't disappointed with what he saw. The curse and his unbelievable skill in the martial arts was enough to make Ranma interesting, but the different facets of the pigtailed boy's personality, like those of a shining diamond, kept his interest. After a few weeks of following Ranma around, the martial artist made him a deal; if Daisaku stopped following him like that, then Ranma would take him on as a student. Dasiaku had yet to regret accepting that offer. Ranma taught him everything that he'd learned from Nabiki's photographing, videotaping, and intelligence gathering techniques as well as some basic ninjitsu. Now, Daisaku could hang upside down outside of a window and videotape the people inside without them ever noticing him although he'd also learned to use restraint in his activities, and it was all thanks to Ranma. Anyone could see that Daisaku looked up to Ranma as a role model, a mentor, a friend, and even as a sort of big brother.

Suddenly the small boy was wrenched out of his thoughts by a rough hand grabbing the front of his shirt and lifting him off of his feet. Struggling in his captor's grasp, the first thing that Daisaku noticed was the unruly black hair held back by a tiger striped bandanna. The next thing he noticed was the fangs protruding from his assailant's mouth as his teeth ground together in anger. But what caught his gaze and held it, what sent unbridled terror coursing through his body, were the eyes, burning fiercely with hatred and psychotic rage. The boy who'd grabbed him growled lowly, then brought Daisaku's face up to his own. "Where is Ranma Saotome?"

Daisaku's terror was quickly skyrocketing. Who was this monster? Why was he looking for Daisaku's friend and teacher? "W-wh-wh-why a-a-ar-are y-you l-l-looking f-f-f-f-for R-r-r-r-ran-ranma? W-who, who are y-y-y-you?"

A grin of evil triumph spread across the boy's face as he glared at the cringing boy. "Ranma? You know him personally? So he is in this area! Bwahahaha! Yes! Finally Ranma, I'm going to find you, and this time you will die for all you've done!"

Hearing those words, disbelief warred with Daisaku's fear. "Y-you're going to... k-k-kill him?!"

Pride and anticipation shone on the stranger's face. "Yes, I'm going to kill him! I won't stop until Ranma Saotome lies dead before my feet and everything he loves is destroyed!"

And with that, Daisaku was no longer afraid. He had been taught many things by Ranma, and not all of them dealing with the physical arts. Ranma had strengthened and polished Daisaku's spirit, and installed the principles of a true martial artist within him. He had taught the weaker boy that no matter how strong or weak they were, a martial artist defended the things and people who were valuable to him or herself, with their life if nescessary. Determination flooded his veins, and the young boy screamed out in anger as he pulled a tanto from a hidden sheath in his sleeve. His training had focused upon stealth rather than combat, but he'd still been taught how to fight as a ninja. The blade slashed across the insane boy's arm, drawing a thin line of blood and forcing him to let Daisaku go. Springing away from his opponent, Daisaku took a defensive stance and pulled out a handful of shuriken from his pocket. "I will not let you go after Ranma. You will have to beat me first."

A growl of rage thundered through the boy's throat as he unlimbered the umbrella strapped to his backpack. "Then your broken body will be my message to Ranma, that I'm here and that I mean business."

And with that the hulking behemoth lunged towards his slender victim.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Two blurs, one red and one black, zoomed through the hospital doors and before the nurse on duty knew what was happening, a couple of teenaged boys with panic clearly written on their faces were clutching at the desk in front of her as they both spoke at once. "WHERE'S DAISAKU KAMIYA?!"

The poor woman instantly proceeded to set a world record for finding a particular hospital file. In under a second, her trembling hands held a folder with Daisaku's name printed on the side. "H-he's just be-been released from Emergency Surgery. He's in the Intensive Care Unit, on the fifth level. Room 517A. Access is restricted..."

But the two boys didn't hear the last part, they were running for the nearest stairwell as soon as they heard what room their friend was in. They ran straight up the five flights of stairs and into the ICU, stopping only when a uniformed police officer set himself in their path. "Whoa boys, only family and a few select people are allowed to see this patient."

The boy with the pigtail instantly stepped forward, his eyes pleading. "Please, we're some of Daisaku's friends. My name is Ranma Saotome, and this is Shizuma Kusanagi. Please, he's our friend, we need to see him."

The officer stared at Ranma in surprise, waving to a previously unnoticed group of policemen standing in the corner to come over. "You say you're Ranma Saotome?"

Ranma had barely nodded in acknowledgement before the officer was practically shoving him and Shizuma through the door into the hospital room, the other police officers moving to stand between the occupants of the room and the rest of the hospital with hands on their weapons. The boys were about to protest the rough treatment, but the sight that greeted their eyes left them numb. A couple of adults whose features resembled Daisaku's, obviously long married by the way they held each others hands to comfort one another and the matching wedding bands on their ring fingers, were sitting next to a hospital bed, their faces stoic and composed save for the tears that streamed unchecked from their red and puffy eyes. In the corner, Hitomi was weeping with her face cradled in her hands, Ryoko sitting next to her utterly frozen in shock and disbelief. And lying there on the bed, right in the middle of all the chaos and confusion, was Daisaku.

Ranma walked towards his friend slowly, his gaze unfoused and his body staggering slightly. Bruises and cuts covered Daisaku's face, his eyes swollen shut and his nose shattered. His head had been shaved and wrapped tightly in gauze and medical tape. A neck brace supported his small neck and dozens of wires and tubes protruded from various spots, monitoring his condition and pumping blood, nutrients, and air into his broken body. And as for the rest of his body, it was completely covered in casts and bandages. When he'd heard that Daisaku was in the hospital, Ranma knew that something bad must have happened to him, but he could have never imagined something like this in his darkest nightmares. The cop that had escorted them in leaned in closely and whispered into Ranma's ear. "He was found in the streets by Miss Hitomi over there. His arms and legs were broken or shattered in several places, his skull suffered a hairline fracture, several ribs were broken or snapped, one of the ribs punctured his left lung, the stomach and a kidney were ruptured, there were half a dozen serious gashes on his torso, internal bleeding, and untold bruises, scrapes, and cuts. I tell you, whoever did this to the kid must have been some kind of sadist or something. He's been unconscious since they brought him into surgery, but before that he kept screaming something about finding Ranma, that he had to warn Ranma. After we interviewed Miss Hitomi and later Miss Ryoko, we concluded that he was referring to his friend, Ranma Saotome. That's why I let you in when I heard your name."

The pigtialed boy just nodded numbly, his eyes riveted on Daisaku's body. Suddenly the injured boy's eyes snapped open, and they instantly landed on Ranma. His voice distorted by weakness, pain, and the breathing tube inserted into his ruined nostrils, Daisaku croaked out a desperate warning to Ranma. "Ranma... must... run... he's... monster... couldn't stop him... want's to... kill you... Run, Ranma... run... he's coming... kill... you... kill... kill... he's... coming... coming... can't... be stopped... coming..."

Faster than the eye could move, Ranma was by Daisaku's side, grasping the smaller boy's hand tightly. "Who, Daisaku? Who's coming to kill me? Who did this to you?"

Eyelids fluttering, Daisaku struggled to stay awake, to warn Ranma of just what sort of monstrosity was after him. "Hand... shattered when I... hit him... felt like punching rock... Made ground... blow up... just by touching it with his finger... Used cloth... belt... bandannas... like blades... cut right through streetlights... Bandannas... colored... patterned... like Shizuma's... Fangs too... Backpack... umbrella... weigh a ton... strong as an ogre... can't beat him... want's to kill you... says you ruined life... you must... run, run away, Ranma..."

With his final plea for Ranma to take flight, Daisaku lapsed back into unconsciousness. Standing stiffly, Ranma's face was totally blank as he addressed his friends. "Shizuma, call Daichi, I want the two of you keeping watch over Daisaku. Ryoko, take Hitomi to stay with you at your aunt's for a few days, and call the rest of the club members, let them know to stay at home and not to go outside for awhile. If anybody has to leave their home for something, tell them to call some other club members, and to stay in groups of at least four club members each, alright?"

Turning to leave, Ranma was stopped once again by the police officer that let him and Shizuma in. "Wait just a second boy! It sounds to me like you know who did this!"

A light push shoved the officer out of Ranma's way, and he walked towards the door. "Stay out of this, you won't be able to handle it."

Staring in at Ranma's cold visage in shock, Ryoko whispered a question. "Ranma... what are you going to do?"

His eyes met hers, and for a second she could see a flash of intense pain in his ice blue orbs. "I'm going to finish something that started long ago."

Then he turned and strode out of the deathly silent room, grim purpose radiating off of his body like an aura of doom.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Out in the woods, a lone figure sat huddled in front of a campfire. Somewhere behind him, there was a sharp crack as a twig snapped. Not turning around to face the intruder upon his solitude, the person spoke out into the dark, night filled treeline. "So, I take it you got my little 'message', eh Ranma?"

Emerging from the forest like a wraith, Ranma slowly glided towards his quarry. "I was somehow able to track you from the place where Daisaku was attacked. You nearly killed him, Ryouga. He'll be lucky if he can walk again, or if he can even use his arms and hands."

Now the figure did turn, showing the psychotic visage of Ryouga Hiniki as he stood to face his great enemy. "The brat actually had the nerve to try and defend somebody like you, Ranma. He deserved everything he got."

Cold fury sparked in Ranma's eyes as he sent a death glare at Ryouga, anger pulsing off of him in waves. "I never really took you seriously, Ryouga. I always thought that the death threats, the attempts to kill me, that it was all just one big joke. But it wasn't, you were always deadly serious, weren't you, serious enough to hurt someone much weaker than you so badly that they might possibly be crippled for life. Yes, I never thought that you were a real threat, and for that ignorance I'm as guiltly as you for Daisaku being in the hospital. I'm guilty because I didn't put you down long before this happened. I'm here to rectify that mistake."

Ryouga's answer was a feral snarl. "Fine, I'll finally have my fight with you, coward!"

Ranma never flinched, he just stared murderously at the boy he'd once called friend, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails were beginning to draw blood from his palms. "You don't understand, Ryouga. This isn't another fight. This is judgement."

The bandanna clad fighter never saw Ranma move, he was just suddenly right in front of him, his outstretched fist sending him sprawling to the ground. Ryouga roared in fury and struggled to stand again, but a swift and brutal kick from Ranma snapped his kneecaps like brittle noodles and he fell back to the ground. Ranma was standing over him again, this time holding a tanto, the very knife that Daisaku had tried to defend himself with. Seeing the coldness of Ranma's expression, the icy tones of his voice, the glacier coolness of his eyes, Ryouga felt afraid for possibly the first time in his life. Ranma looked down at him, like he was looking down on some sort of loathsome insect, or a rabid dog, and spoke with a voice capable of freezing the blood in a person's veins and sapping all warmth from their heart. "You just don't get it, boy. This isn't a fighting ground, it's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon."

Then he bent down to his gruesome but nescessary work, and the forest resounded with terrified screams of pain for the next half hour.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ryoko was awoken from her restless sleep by a soft tapping at her window pane. Padding over to the window, she parted the curtains to reveal the tired visage of Ranma Saotome, his shirt and hands spattered with blood. In an instant, Ryoko had the window open, dragged the boy inside, and was patting down every inch of his body in search of injuries. "Ranma! What happened?! Are you alright?! You're covered in blood!"

She was frozen by his dead, emotionless voice as he responded to her queries. "Don't worry about me, it's not my blood."

He pulled away from her and stood in front of the window again, his back turned to her. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving, Ryoko. I don't know where I'll go, but I can't stay. I can't put all of you at Daimon in danger anymore. Daisaku might be stuck in a hospital bed for the rest of his life because he became close to me. Next time it might be Tamaki from the journalism club, one of the other Extreme Martial Artist Club members, a student not even in the club, my uncle, Daichi, Shizuma, or even... you. I'll die before I see that happen, Ryoko. I'm leaving you in charge of the club. Goodbye."

Just as he was about to spring back out into the night, he felt two strong but definitely feminine arms wrap around his waist, and the pleasant pressure of the well figured Ryoko leaning her body into his back. Her voice was a soft, gentle whisper, a quiet plea sent out to touch Ranma's troubled heart. "When you first met me, I was crying. I was crying because the boy that I loved had gone away, and I couldn't be a part of his life anymore. That loss nearly broke me. Every night for over a month, I cried myself to sleep, afraid that I would dream of him, and that the pain would only get worse when I woke up because all it could ever be was a dream. And then... you came. You dried away my tears, made me smile, made me laugh again. From the instant I met you, I thought how similar you were to Tatsuya, your strength, commitment, and kindness. When I was around you, the pain just went away little by little, because I could so easily compare you to Tatsuya. And then, somewhere along the line, I realized that I wasn't comparing you to Tatsuya anymore, but was comparing Tatsuya to you. Somehow, you'd slowly taken his place in my heart, and filled it better than he ever did. I never said anything, because I was afraid, but I'm not afraid anymore. I can't possibly be afraid as long as you're there. I love you Ranma, so please, no matter what, don't leave me."

There was slience between them for a moment, before Ranma spoke again, his voice strained. "Don't say that, Ryoko. You can't possibly love me. You don't even know anything about me."

Again, she rebuted him. "I know enough. I know what sort of man you are. I know about your present, I know about what you hope for the future. You might have never told me about your past, but what does the past matter? It's in the past after all, and has less grip on the present than you might imagine. I don't need to see your history Ranma, I've seen your heart, and in that heart resides a man that I can respect and love for as long as I live."

Now, his shoulders began to shake, his voice beginning to waver ever so slightly. "What about the curse? How can you love a freak?"

"Ranma, I don't love your body, I love you, the true you that can never be changed by either hot or cold water."

"B-but... but... if I t-tell you... if I tell you everything, if you really knew, then you'd hate me."

"Ranma, what did I say? The past doesn't matter, what you've done doesn't matter, over the months I've gotten to know the true you, and I love you."

Those last words finally completed the job, and Ranma broke down weeping softly, his body slumping against Ryoko. Gently, she guided him to her bed and got him to sit down on it. She remembered how he'd rescued her soul from despair months ago, now she would do the same for him. Easing his mussed hair away from his brow, she whispered to him, softly, soothingly. "Now, tell me what happened."

And he did. "The guy who hurt Daisaku... He was an old sparring partner, I thought he was my friend. But all this time, he really has been trying to kill me, to destroy my happiness. I think... I think that in the end, his obsession with beating me drove him insane. I couldn't imagine Ryouga doing something like what he did to Daisaku... but he did. I hunted him down, and... I made sure he'll never hurt anyone again. I pinned him to the ground, I took Daisaku's knife, and I... I... I sliced the tendons in his legs... his arms... his hands... He'll recover eventually, with the help of a lot of good doctors, but... He'll... He'll never... never be able to practice the Art, ever again. The thing that mattered most in his life, in my life, and I took it away from him. It would have been kinder if I'd just killed him. I destroyed him, Ryoko... my own friend... I... I destroyed him..."

Ryoko felt a cold dread squeeze her heart as she watched Ranma sob into his hands. No wonder he was so distraught, what he'd done had been cruel, calculated, brutal... and absolutely nescessary. She could see it clearly now, looking at him. He held himself responsible for it all, for Daisaku being hurt, for not being able to find another way to stop his former friend, for everything. Some at Daimon had accused Ranma of not caring about others, but the stark truth that was revealed to Ryoko was that he really cared too much. He cared enough to hold himself responsible for everyone's happiness, to sacrafice his own soul for the good of others. And this realization made her love him even more. Tenderly, she held him to her, lending him comfort. "It wasn't your fault, Ranma. You did what you had to, no more and no less. If you'd been looking for revenge, you'd have killed him."

Fresh sobs broke out now and he looked at her with pain etched into his face. "You say that like I've never killed before, Ryoko. You're wrong; I have. I have killed."

Again, she was stunned. Ranma, a killer? No, it couldn't be... despite his tough guy facade he was far too gentle to cause harm to someone if it could be avoided. Ignoring her now, he rambled on, his eyes staring out into space. "His name was Saffron, ruler of the Phoenix people of Mount Phoenix, in China. We went poking around in his territory, looking for a cure to the curse, and he got angry. He hit somebody close to me with a curse that was killing them, and the only cure was the magical waters of healing guarded by his people. He stood between me and the water I needed, and I ripped him in two. Saffron was the leader, the guide, the heart and soul of his people. Without him the entire tribe could be destroyed. Fortunately, he was a true phoenix, and was reborn, but that doesn't change the fact that I killed him, and that it has threatened an entire race of people. How can I possibly be forgiven for that?"

Ryoko's heart welled with pity, respect, and love for him. He cared so much, even about his enemies. This, this was the heart of a true samurai, the very thing she longed to be. Gently, she whispered into his ear as she rocked his body back and forth, words spilling forth not from her mind but from the very core of her being. "Ranma, once again, you did what was nescessary. What Saffron did was cold, calculated, and some might consider it to be downright evil. Was there malice in your heart when you struck Saffron down? No, I know you better than that. I know that you regretted it from the moment you knew that you had to kill him to save others. And to spare others the pain of dealing with your confused, angry, painful feelings and troubled mind, you kept it to yourself and let your pain fester, all for the good of others, never for your own benefit. And that's why I've come to love you, Ranma."

She brought her lips up close to his, but he turned away, still racked by turmoil and grief. "Don't, Ryoko. Please, please don't. I... I can't love you."

In that instant, Ryoko's heart was shattered more than Tatsuya's goodbye could have ever accomplished. She knew that she was truly and honestly in love with this boy, this boy that had bared his soul to her, and he didn't love her. She wanted to run away crying, but somehow, her inner strength once again came through, and she was able to ask a simple question through her tears. "Why?"

Now it was Ranma that embraced her, that tried to give her some comfort. "Ryoko, you say the past doesn't matter, but it does. It matters so terribly much. My father engaged me to the daughter of a friend of his before the two of us were even born. Later, he engaged me to my childhood best friend, a girl named Ukyou. And when I was in China, I accidentally got engaged to a village girl named Shampoo, not to mention all the other girls that want a piece of me. And most of them would try to kill you if they thought that I'd fallen in love with you or if you loved me. Honor demands I marry one of them. So I can't love you, Ryoko."

"Ranma... those girls... do you love them?"

Silence met her whispered, tearful question for a long moment, before he answered. "No, I don't. Some I consider friends, but I could never love them. And despite what they might think, I know that they don't really love me, the true me, either."

Ryoko looked up into his eyes, her cheeks lined by tears. "But you'd marry them?"

"Honor demands it."

She buried her face into his chest and cried. "But how can there be honor if you're not true to your feelings?! Ranma, please, for yourself if not for me!"

Again, there was silence, then he began to talk, his voice a whisper. "Six months ago, I was at the end of my rope. I'd done everything I could think of to keep everyone's honor intact, to make everybody happy, but it hadn't done any good at all. One day, I found myself honestly thinking about seppeku, as the only honorable way out of the mess my life had become. But then my mother came and told me that I'd be living with my uncle for awhile. When I was away from Nerima, I was able to feel hope again. I learned so much from Uncle Iwao in just a short amount of time, and it made me into a better person. Then, on my way to the first day of school, I saw a beautiful young woman in an alley, crying by herself. If Nerima had taught me anything, it was that no good ever came from helping a crying girl. But I couldn't stop myself, something pulled me towards her. When I saw her smile for the first time, I knew that I'd do anything to be able to see that beautiful smile again. Then, she showed up to become part of the club I was forming, and when she smiled again I knew I was hooked. Despite knowing that I shouldn't, I found myself falling in love with her. She trusted me, she believed in me, she treated me with kindness, consideration, and respect. And I knew that she could never possibly love me, so when I heard her say just now that she did, I couldn't believe it."

Now he took her chin in his hand and raised her face to look into his. "But it's true, isn't it? You really do love me, and I love you. And nothing will change that."

This time it was Ranma who brought their lips together, and Ryoko responded with all the joy in her heart. Two lonely souls had finally found comfort in each other.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Madoka Mitsurugi, Ryoko's aunt, was worried. She'd spent the night trying to calm Hitomi down before she was finally forced to give the poor girl a sedative, so she hadn't had a chance to talk to Ryoko and calm her mind over what happened to Daisaku. Now, it was nearly noon, and the normally early rising girl was apparently still in bed. Madoka was about to knock on the door and see if Ryoko was alright, when the door opened and Ryoko walked out yawning, clothed only in a silk Chinese shirt. Immediately, warning signals began ringing in her brain. Ryoko didn't own any shirts like that, and it was so baggy that it just had to be a boy's shirt. Her thoughts were confirmed when a young boy wearing only black pants exited the door as well to stand next to the equally sleepy Ryoko, and he reached out to hold Ryoko's hand in the manner shared by lovers across the world. It was at that moment that the two of them finally noticed her, and they both went as red as a beet.

"A-aunt Madoka, this isn't really what it..."

"Er, hello ma'am... I'm... well, uh..."

Their stuttered explanations stopped suddenly as Madoka let out a whoop of delight and started dancing around with a pair of victory fans that appeared out of nowhere. "Waaaahaa! My neice is so womanly!"

Ryoko firmly planted her face in the floor as Ranma looked on in shock, a sweatdrop running down the back of his skull. "Whoa, deja vu. I wonder if she knows mom?"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

When he looked at his therapist's eyes, Daisaku felt hope that today would be the day. For nearly two years, he'd struggled night and day, despair threatening to consume him, but he'd never given up. Of course, he could never have come so far without Ranma and his friends in the Extreme Martial Artists Club. They'd started up a charity that helped to pay the medical bills of injured martial artists, rasing money through various fundraisers and martial arts tournaments, and Daisaku had been their very first charity case. With the charity money and other donations, Daisaku's parents were able to afford the best doctors in Japan, and within a year his injuries had healed and he'd become as strong as he ever was, except for his legs.

Even after all of the surgeries and all of the therapy he'd gone through, he remained bound to a wheelchair, his legs too magled to move. Everyone said that it was hopeless, that he'd never walk again, but Ranma and the others kept looking for a way. Finally, two months ago, Ranma found a surgeon whose medical skills were legendary, a surgeon who'd been reported to easily pull off feats that other doctors wouldn't dare to attempt. The only problem was money. The surgeon wouldn't work for any less than five million yen, a small fortune. Once again, Daisaku's friends pulled through for him. They entered every major martial arts tournament in Japan with large cash prizes, and some of them even entered illegal pit fights where people gambled thousands of yen on their favorite fighters and the winners of the matches were paid enormous amounts of money for their participation. In just over a month, they'd managed to successfully raise the needed money. The doctor, a man who simply called himself Blackjack, began the operation as soon as his fee was ready. Several other surgeries took place, repairing the damage to his legs little by little, with the last surgical procedure finishing two days ago. Now, it was time to see if Blackjack was as good as they said he was.

Looking to the side, he saw Ranma and Ryoko standing together hand in hand, Hitomi with her hands clasped in silent prayer, Shizuma and Daichi looking on in excitement, and his parents with hope sparkling in their eyes. They were all with him, all of them lending him their strength, giving him their support. How could he possibly fail? Lifting himself out of the chair with arms strengthened by constant use, Daisaku put first one foot on the ground, then the other. Determined, he let go of the chair's support and took a step forward, then another, and another, and before he knew it he was nearly sprinting across the room towards his mother, arms spread wide. Holding his mother close in his arms, Daisaku was once again reminded of what a special person Ranma Saotome was. After all, he'd helped make a miracle happen.

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Nabiki sat in her office, secure in her role as CEO for a major technology business. As she sat, she reflected on the changes that had occurred in Nerima over the past few years. Kasumi, frustrated and alone, had finally left the house, hunted down Dr. Tofu, and pulled him into a shotgun wedding; literally, she had a pump action automatic shotgun trained on him the whole time. Nabiki had to hand it to her older sister, she really hadn't seen that one coming. Apparently, the threat of violence had been all that was nescessary to snap Tofu out of his love induced delerium, and the two of them were very happy together. Akane's story wasn't quite as fortunate however. One night Kuno had invited Soun over for dinner, gotten him really drunk, and then offered him ten million yen to arrange an engagement between him and Akane. Considering the pillar of strength and sensibility that Soun Tendo was, it didn't surprise anyone when he agreed despite Akane's engagement to Ranma. Since Ranma hadn't been anywhere to be found, Akane was forced to marry Kuno. After a year of "wedded bliss", the youngest Tendo fled to America and got a job as a waitress there. After "losing" his daughters, Soun became a wreck who couldn't do anything but drink and sleep all day. Genma continued searching all over Japan for Ranma, until he finally slipped up in one of his cases of petty theft and was arrested. Once Genma's full criminal past came to light, Nodoka divorced him and went to live with his brother Iwao, who also disowned Genma as a disgrace to the Saotome name. With Genma behind bars, Ukyou's father decided that revenge against the Saotomes had been achieved, and told Ukyou to return home, as a girl. The Amazons also never stopped searching for Ranma, until Nabiki finally called immigration services and had them deported as illegal aliens. As for Kodaichi, like Genma she searched everywhere for Ranma, and was also finally arrested and placed in an insane asylum. Finally, Ryouga appeared in Nerima, hospitalized due to severe muscle and nerve trauma, a trauma so severe that he had total and complete amnesia about what happened to him. And while he could walk and use his arms and hands without difficulty, if he did anything physical besides normal, everyday activity then he risked reinjuring himself beyond all recovery. For Ryouga, his martial artist days were in the past. As she was thinking about the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, her thoughts naturally turned to Ranma. She hadn't heard anything about him for years, the last thing she'd heard about him was a rumor that he was dating Ryoko Mitsurugi, and she'd heard that four years ago. It had been such a long time, he'd be out of college by now.

A knock on the door startled Nabiki out of her thoughts, and her secretary came in with a plain white envelope. Opening it, Nabiki scanned the contents of the letter and grinned broadly. It was nice to know that the first unselfish, right thing that she'd done since her mother died was now bearing fruit years later. In the envelope was a single piece of stationary. On it was carefully printed just over a dozen words, a dozen words that spoke volumes to Nabiki. Similing happily, she let a joyful tear creep out of her eye as she read the invitation out loud. "You are cordially invited to the wedding of Ranma Saotome and Ryoko Mitsurugi."

End of Story 3- Alternate Ending

Author notes: Yatta! It's finished, it's finished! Considering the response I got for the original story, I knew that I had to make this one just as great if not better. I wrote several drafts of this story, all of which were tragically lost due to data corruption. Also, it's been impossible to get online to post anything lately since the internet has been acting up and my access to it has been heavily restricted. In the next story, Ranma gets adopted by the most feared individual in the known universe; the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Be sure to read it!