Title: Wishful Thinking

Setting: During "Assault on the Girls' Locker Room." What if things had played out a little differently? How far is Ranma really willing to go for the Nan'niichuan?

Pairing: The romantic pairing here is Ranma/Akane. However, if you've got issues with "stuff" happening between Girl-type Ranma and Ryoga, turn back before it's too late!

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction. Fanfiction authors borrow characters from published works and write stories involving them in a not-for-profit capacity under the "fair use" clauses of various intellectual property laws. It's all for fun, folks.

Author's Note: I knew that, if I kept writing Ranma fanfiction, at some point I would have to do a Ranma/Ryoga story. It was an inevitable fact. So I decided to confront my destiny and write the darn thing, but do it on my terms. My terms were thus:

1. As a Ranma/Akane 'shipper, I cannot write a story that negates or undermines their relationship (such as it is).

2. I have to try, at least, to make it in-character and feasible; i.e. no changes in the implied-canon sexual orientations of the characters. (And yes, in my opinion, the characters involved are heterosexual as far as canon is concerned. That's part of what makes Ranma's curse so funny, I think. The boy's painfully straight.)

Disclaimer: I don't have any problem with yaoi, slash, shounen-ai, or whatever-you-wanna-call it. I do read and enjoy the occasional Ranma/Ryoga story. I just personally consider it to be out-of-character, and I couldn't bring myself to write the characters that OOC on purpose. (Inadvertent OOC-ness happens to me as much as to anyone else. I just try not to do it deliberately.)

Warning: This story is getting posted un-beta'ed, because I don't think I could, in good conscience, subject my beta-readers to it. Also, I'm ad-libbing the dialogue from the episode, since my computer's been misbehaving enough lately for me not to trust it with playing back the episode. Besides, that way I can elaborate some. You'll get the gist.

Anyway, I'm going to stop trying to explain away this story now, for as the Bard said, "Never excuse, for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed." (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Continuity Note: I've got girl-type Ranma as a redhead, but for simplicity's sake I'm going with the version of the storyline from the manga, instead of the series. No wild goose chase for three urns in this one; easier that way.

o o o o o

Ranma adjusted his perch on one of the upper branches of the tree behind Furinkan High School, glaring down at the building below him. It looked innocent enough, just sitting there minding its own business. However, Ranma knew better than most how deceiving appearances can be. Beneath this seemingly-innocuous edifice lay buried a spring that could cure his curse. Within its walls lurked a horde of angry girls who were convinced that he was a pervert and a panty-thief. Among them, waiting for him, sat the greatest obstacle to his restored manhood.

Ryoga.

"That idiot," Ranma growled to himself, adjusting his skirt. Has he forgotten what we're here for? He wants the Nan'niichuan as bad as I do; he was the one that found the stupid map. He looked down at his female body, clad in a girl's school uniform. "I hate being a girl." He sighed, putting the last piece of his disguise, a large pair of wire-rimmed glasses, in place. "Well, hopefully this'll be the last time."

He moved to leap down from the tree, but his warrior instincts made him pause. Wait for it, he told himself.

A minute passed; then two. Then five. He was about to move again, when he noticed a figure approaching the building from the athletic field. As it drew closer, Ranma recognized it as the female P.E. teacher. And she looked annoyed.

He watched the rather intimidating woman slam open the door of the locker room. When she spoke, he could hear her clearly even from his position forty feet from the ground; Ranma guessed this woman was used to yelling. That could be Akane someday, he thought wryly. She's got the thighs for it.

"Where are you brats!" Ranma winced at the grating quality of the teacher's voice. "If you ladies think you all can skip out on my class, you're sorely mistaken! Everybody outside, on the double! I want twenty laps out of all of you!"

As Ranma watched, the entire girls' gym class filed out of the locker room and headed for the track, heads hanging. The boy in the red-haired girl's body smirked. So much for their ambush. Now all I gotta deal with is P-brain.

He waited until the teacher had followed the last straggling student out to the athletic field. Then he tucked his books under one arm, took a firm grip on his hat with the other hand, and jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet. He headed for the door. Now, let's see if all that acting I did for Romeo and Juliet will pay off.

o o o o o

He barely got the door open before a stool came hurling at him. It caught him off-guard and he dropped the books, falling to the floor with a feminine, "Ah!" Inside, Ranma was worried. Oh no! Don't tell me that idiot recognized me! I thought for sure this disguise would fool— The thought was interrupted by the gentle pressure of a hand clasping his arm, carefully easing him up from the ground.

"I'm sorry, miss! I thought you were a pervert named Ranma."

Whew! Had me worried there for a minute… He looked up into Ryoga's face, silently cursing the fact that Ryoga was so much taller than his girl body, and saw the confusion written there in broad strokes. Good. Better keep him off-balance. He leapt into Ryoga's arms with a glomp that would've made Shampoo proud. "I love you!"

Ryoga backpedaled, confusion rapidly giving way to panic. "Wh-what? You can't— I mean— we've only just met!"

Ranma met the short-haired boy's eyes with that vulnerable, limpid gaze that had won his girl-body so many free scoops of ice cream in the past, and smiled. "But I've been admiring you from afar for months!"

"You have? But I— and you— I can't—" Ryoga spluttered helplessly, quite clearly out of his depth.

"Oh," Ranma murmured, drawing back one of "her" hands from the boy's shoulders to cover her mouth, as though to forestall a sob. She turned her head aside and let her gaze drift to the floor, breaking eye contact with Ryoga. "Do girls with glasses displease you?"

"No!" came the expected protest. "It's not that… it's… just that… I already have someone… that I like, and…" Ryoga trailed off uncertainly.

Though she took care not to let it show in her face, Ranma seethed with frustration. Geez, I'd have thought the poor sap was so desperate that he'd jump at the thought of a girl liking him. I can't have him thinking about Akane right now; it'll blow the whole thing! I'd better turn up the heat a bit. She smiled at Ryoga and leaned in to hug him around the neck, her breasts pressing against his chest. "That's okay, I don't mind!"

Her hand curled around the back of Ryoga's neck. I wish I knew how to do that pressure-point thing that Happosai did to knock him out. Then I could just look for the darn spring myself. She gave a mental shrug. Guess I'll just have to "convince" him to do it for me. She dropped her voice to a whisper, her breath warm against her victim's ear. "You're worth waiting for, Ryoga."

That seemed to do the trick. The next thing Ranma knew, Ryoga was gazing into her eyes, all thoughts of Akane and the rest of the world forgotten. "Do you mean that? I mean, do you really… like me?"

There was something in Ryoga's voice that was so unusual that it took Ranma a moment to place it. Hope. A stab of guilt flashed through her sternum as she realized the fall she was setting him up for. The poor bastard has never had a girl care about him like that, has he? It'll kill him when he finds out it's me.

That thought didn't sit entirely well with Ranma. Sure, Ryoga was a pain in the ass, and had tried to kill him on more than one occasion, but… Ranma just couldn't bring himself to blame the boy with the broken mental compass. Ryoga really was a decent guy, at the end of the day, and he had a rough time of things. He deserved a break. Maybe I can pull this off without him finding out it's me, Ranma thought. And that way, he won't kill me afterwards.

Suddenly Ranma remembered that she had been asked a question. She met Ryoga's eyes and saw that hope blazing out at her from their depths. Tilting her head down, she looked up at him shyly through her eyelashes, and tried to force a blush. "Of course I do, silly!" Quick, Ranma, think! What are all those things that Akane always says about Ryoga when I mention what a jerk he is? …Oh yeah… The recollection made Ranma's cheeks burn, accomplishing the flush she'd failed to counterfeit a moment before. She stifled the accompanying growl, and slipped back into character. "Why shouldn't I? You're sweet, and generous, and sensitive, and kind…" Behind Ryoga's shoulders, Ranma pinched the back of her own hand, hard. Say it, Saotome. You need to make him fall for you, if this is gonna work. "…and handsome." She broke eye contact, not needing to feign her embarrassment.

Ranma found the breath squeezed out of her lungs as Ryoga hugged her. Joy radiated from the boy in almost-palpable waves. "Oh, my love! You've made me so happy, my sweet…" He paused, blinked, and cocked his head to one side, looking at her. "Forgive me, my darling, but I don't even know your name."

Well, he's one up on Kuno, actually thinking to ask, she thought cynically. I need a name… Blue eyes sought and held brown again, and she whispered the first word that came into her mind. "Kibou."

Ryoga smiled, tracing the side of her cheek with his finger. "Kibou…" he breathed, as though the word had barely been able to slip past the emotion knotted in his throat.

Ranma swallowed hard, and forced herself not to pull away from his touch. She needed to take back control of the situation before she panicked and ran screaming from the locker room. And there was really only one direction she could think to take this from here. The Nan'niichuan. It's for the Nan'niichuan. You can do this, Saotome. For the Nan'niichuan. Besides, she told herself, it's gotta be better than Sanzenin. At least P-brain's harmless. Squeezing her eyes shut before she lost her nerve, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Ryoga's.

Every muscle in Ryoga's body went rigid. His eyes widened, staring at the beautiful young woman who was currently, against every law of nature that he understood, kissing him. Very slowly, as if they were operated by a man who was only just now remembering that they were under his control, Ryoga's arms slid around the girl's body, one hand at the base of her neck and the other on her back. The girl's limbs remained locked around his body, and held her aloft without his assistance. Equally slowly, Ryoga's eyes closed and his lips parted, responding to the pressure of the redhead's mouth.

Any thoughts Ranma harbored about Ryoga being "harmless" quickly flew out the proverbial window. Where the heck did he learn to kiss like that! her mind demanded as a tongue gently parted her lips and darted furtively past them. One coherent thought raised its head above the general din of confusion and alarm that persisted in Ranma's mind: I must keep this man away from Akane.

The next thing she was aware of was the tingle of empty air against her lips as Ryoga drew away from her, breaking the kiss. Ranma unwound her legs from around his waist, setting her feet on the floor. "Ryoga? What's the matter?"

"There's… there's something I need to tell you, Kibou, before we can take things any farther." The short-haired boy wasn't meeting her eyes; Ranma had known him long enough to recognize that Ryoga was undergoing an inner struggle, and she had a fair guess as to the cause.

"You mean your curse?" She asked a moment before her mind caught up with her mouth.

Ryoga leapt back as though he'd been stung. His face was a mask of terror. "Y-y-you know?"

Oh crap, Ranma thought, I've blown it now. How am I gonna get out of this? I really wish I had Nabiki's quick-thinking skills going for me right now… She'd say something like—

"Of course I do. I said I've been admiring you for months, didn't I? I saw you change once." She smiled sweetly.

Ryoga blinked. "A-a-and it doesn't bother you?"

Now Ranma tried to approximate one of Kasumi's "oh, what a charming, but ultimately silly, idea" smiles. "Why should it bother me? I'm afraid I don't really understand how it works, though." She batted her eyelashes at him. See, Ryoga? I'm not weirdly omniscient or anything. Now, be a good boy and explain things to sweet little me, and forget all about being suspicious.

Obediently, Ryoga did so. While he launched into a heavily-edited version of his tragic experience at Jusenkyo, Ranma's mind raced ahead. I have to find a way to get him to start thinking about the Nan'niichuan and a cure, without making it seem like I'm rejecting him for his curse… Now how the hell do I do that? No sooner did he ask, but Ranma was blindsided by another flash of insight. Remembering "P-chan's" sudden nosebleed earlier, the redhead fought back a grin. Perfect.

"So, you turn into a piglet every time you get splashed with cold water?" She let only the barest hint of disappointment creep into her voice.

"Yes… why?" Ryoga asked, suddenly worried again.

"Well, it's just—oh, never mind, you'll just laugh at me." She looked at the floor, an embarrassed smile tugging at her lips.

"No I won't, I promise. What?"

Here goes nothin'… "Well, it's really just a childish dream, but… I've always had this… well… I've always thought that my first… when my husband and I… the first time… my first experience…" she stammered over the proper phrasing, deliberately making the reference awkward so that the equally-awkward Ryoga would catch it. Now to lay it on real thick. I've gotta sound like a silly little schoolgirl. "I've always imagined that it would be under a waterfall. The rushing music of the water, the gentle spray raining down on us, the mist making little rainbows everywhere… it would be so beautiful." Her voice dropped to a whisper, so that Ryoga had to strain to hear. "…I read something like that in a romance novel once."

When she looked up into Ryoga's face again, she saw him blushing as red as her hair. She had to bite back a chuckle. Hook, line, and sinker.

Ryoga swallowed hard. "Well, um, see… I, ah… there might be… maybe… a cure."

"A cure?"

The furiously-blushing boy nodded. "I found this map, that said… there's supposed to be a Spring of Drowned Man… under this building, actually."

"Really?" If her smile was more smug than demure, Ryoga didn't notice. He nodded, staring shyly at the floor.

This time, Ranma tried to emulate that sweet, sincere, and heartbreakingly beautiful smile that Akane graced him with once in a very long while—usually right before pushing him into the canal. "Ryoga… I hope you find it."

Then she turned and headed for the door, picking up the books she'd dropped on the way in. "I should get going. I don't want the teacher coming back to find that I skipped gym class and spent the period in the locker room with a boy!" Satisfied that Ryoga would seek out the Nan'niichuan once she'd left, she reached for the door handle, but something made her look back over her shoulder at the cursed boy, who was still staring at his feet in silence.

"Ryoga," she said softly.

Finally he raised his eyes, to see her cross the room toward him once again. Ranma took a deep breath, wet her lips, and looked up at him. "Whatever happens, Ryoga, I want you to remember one thing."

"Yes?"

Standing on tiptoe, Ranma gave him a gentle but firm kiss on the lips, allowing the contact to linger for a few moments. Then, without another word, she fled from the building.

o o o o o

Translation Note: "Kibou," according to an online translator, has two meanings. The first is, "hope, wish, aspiration." The second is "trick, ruse." I thought it was appropriate.