Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, Ranma 1/2 or any of the related plots and characters. I make no money from writing this. Holds up a sign that says "Poor Student" Sue me and you'll get a brown lemon, three water biscuits and a tattered issue of "Tv Zone".

When Curses Collide

Ranma woke before dawn, just as he always did. What made this day different was that he did not have to dodge a single punch or kick as soon as his eyes opened. Even though two months had passed, he lay there every morning expecting the attack to come; then his memories came back to him, and he remembered that his father was long gone, and that there was little if ever chance of seeing him again.

"Stupid panda..." He grumbled, sitting bolt upright in his annoyance and bashing his head on the low pole holding up his tent. Cursing, he stumbled out of bed and went about the rather boring task of heating up some hot water on the tiny stove. As he did a few warm up exercises he thought over the sorry mess that had led him to be stuck by himself in a tent with a lump on his head in the first place.

Jusenkyo, for one. He could have killed his father then; taking them to that training ground without even knowing what waited for them there! Surely if he had known they wouldn't have gone within miles of it, but no - his father hadn't bothered to learn even a word of Chinese and had gotten them in springs and cursed as quick as you can say "Drowned Girl." After that things went even further downhill. Literally. After chasing a terrified panda for two days all the way down the mountain, he found out the hard way via a steaming bowl of ramen and an unfortunate roadside vendor that the curse was only temporary, and water activated. Of course by then relations with his father were... strained to say the least.

Even after getting both of them transformed back, and going back to the guide to get some information, (Okay, threatening to kill him unless he helped them was slightly more accurate.) the knowledge that the curses were at present incurable was too much for his father to take. This was the part that had puzzled Ranma the most. He'd thought his dad was made of sterner stuff. It did piss him off that his dad seemed more worried about his son's curse than his own though. He'd kept blathering about how he'd raised Ranma to be "a man among men" and what a "tragedy" it was. Ranma was fully aware of the tragic implications of his curse, but to hear his dad saying that he was a weakling had been too much to bear, and an argument had quickly started. Then even more information had come to light, like how Ranma had been engaged without his knowledge to a bunch of women he had never even met, how his mother couldn't know about his curse or she'd force both him and his father to commit ritual suicide, and just how inferior his father felt girls, (even half-girls) to be.

Much raising of voices and one unconscious panda later, and Ranma had packed up his things and left. He'd gotten back to Japan several weeks later through a combination of breaking the law and being too fast to get caught. The only times he thought well of his father were when he silently thanked him for the training that allowed him to escape cruise ship security, police officers at Customs, shop owners (Usually the ones unlucky enough to sell fresh okonomiyaki) and one very persistent guy who had tried to ask Ranma out on a date in a rainstorm and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Ranma still had nightmares about that one...

Now it was just over eleven weeks since he had first fallen into the Jusenkyo spring, and Ranma still hadn't heard from Genma. He would barely even admit it to himself but beneath all the anger he did miss the old man, and planned to try to track him down eventually.

"First things first though. I gotta build a life for myself somewhere." He had promised himself a fresh start, travelling across Japan until he found a likely place to call home. On the outskirts of a town there was a huge area of countryside where he could pitch his tent and live without being noticed. He had got himself a job as a janitor in one of the offices in a nearby business district, but in order for him to get the job, they had wanted to know which school he was attending and so he'd been forced to enrol in the local high school. He really hadn't wanted to bother with school - he had no idea how he'd hide his curse from all the students, and he wasn't very good with lessons anyway, especially after spending years on the road with his father. It was only after he thought it through that he made up his mind. His father was the reason he was in this mess. Ignoring his parent's skewed views of academics and getting an education might be the best thing for him right now.

So here he was, about to start his first day at a new school, and his head was already hurting before he'd even left.

"I knew education was nothing but a pain." He moaned, packing away his breakfast things and setting off down the forest trail. He had glimpsed a road that led towards the school a few days ago along the same route. When he did come to the road he was surprised to see that while it was certainly more than just a track it was obviously used little and wasn't for heavy traffic.

"Odd, I was sure this is the right direction..."

Then he noticed a house, just visible through the enormous trees to his left. It was large and had beautiful landscaped gardens, but was seemingly placed at random in the middle of nowhere, despite the gates and mailbox that said simply "Sohma."

Curious, Ranma peered through the gates as he walked past, wondering what sort of people lived so far away from the town. As he did so, he almost bumped into a boy running in the opposite direction, and yelling at the top of a very good set of lungs.

"I told you already! I'm not goi - Aaahh!"

Ranma managed to dodge nimbly out of the way, but the boy swerved too violently and collided with the gate post. Ranma turned, and was about to ask if he was okay but the last thing he saw was a blur of bright orange hair as the sped off in the direction of the forest, accompanied by a shouted "I'm just NOT going! You hear me!"

A bemused Ranma considered going after him for a second, but was brought out of his thoughts by an exasperated sigh from behind him. This time it was another boy, this time dressed in a school uniform. His hair and eyes were a peculiar mix of grey and violet, and he was incredibly handsome in a feminine sort of way. He looked vaguely in the direction the first boy had gone and sighed again.

"That stupid cat..."

Ranma tensed.

"Cat! Where!"

"Oh, nowhere. Never mind." The boy said, looking surprised and nervous, as if he had been caught at something. "Sorry; can I help you?"

"Er no, sorry, I was just passing by." Ranma stammered, not wanting to admit he was being nosy.

"Passing by? This place is a bit far out of the way for walks."

"I ...er, live near here..." Ranma said, looking back at the dense forest and wishing he had thought this excuse through a bit more.

The boy looked understandably confused, and there was an awkward silence.

"Um, this road; it leads to the main street with the high school, right?" Ranma said at last.

"Yes it does. I take it you're trying to get to the school?"

"Yeah, I'm a new student as of today."

"Oh! Well I'll take you, if you like. In fact, you may be the person our President told me I'd be looking after today. What's your name?" the boy asked. He had a quiet sense of responsibility about him, and Ranma found himself being unusually trusting.

"Ranma Saotome." he said, offering his hand.

"Yes, that's right. You'll be in my classes. I'm Yuki Sohma. Sorry about the commotion." Yuki took his hand rather gingerly, but his grip was strong and Raman carefully matched it.

"Geez, he may be skinny but he's stronger than he looks!" Ranma thought to himself.

"No need to apologise or nothin'. I'm just glad I found someone who knows where they're going." he said aloud. Gesturing for Yuki to lead the way, he fell in step beside him, and failed to notice the amber eyes boring into his back as he walked away.

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As they rounded a corner onto the main street, Ranma was surprised to see Yuki suddenly looking very nervous. He had dug his hands into his pockets, and was glancing around as if expecting an attack any moment.

"Hey, what is it man?" Ranma asked. "Somethin' wrong?"

Yuki didn't seem to hear him, but muttered to himself "I hope they're not here today..."

"Who?" Ranma said, puzzled.

"Oh, erm..." Yuki stammered, embarrassed.

He began to say something else, but Ranma never discovered what it was. At that moment, three girls burst out of a hedge in front of them. They were dressed in school uniforms, and looked none the worse for wear after their shrubervian shortcut. However, they did take the time to primp themselves a little (a lightning-fast manoeuvre that took less than a second) before launching into... a cheerleading routine. Ranma just stood, mouth agape as the three girls whisked out some pompoms and began to chant:

"L-O-V-E!

We love Yuki!

Love! Love! Love!

Yuki!

Love! Love! Love!

L-O-V-E!"

They finished with a triumvirate hi-five and stood, their legs bent in painful gymnastic angles, eyes focused with brain-bleeding intensity on Yuki - who for the most part, looked like he wanted to die.

"Good Morning." he said, nodding his head politely and pulling Ranma along with him as he deftly sidestepped around them and moved off at a fast walk. By the time they had managed to unlock their joints and overcome their shock, Yuki and Ranma were a quarter of a mile up the street and couldn't hear their exclamations. Much.

"Did you hear that? Prince Yuki said "Good Morning" to us!"

"Did you see that exotic guy with him?"

"Our President must hear of this!"

Eventually their voices faded, and silence descended upon the boys once more. Ranma was the first to break it.

"Wow...just, wow!" he said softly, his eyes wide.

"Please, don't ask..." Yuki almost whispered, sure he was blushing and furious with himself for seeming weak.

"No man I mean it - How do you manage to make "Good Morning" also sound like "Oh no, not again!" and "I wish you'd go away!" and "I hate Mondays!" all at the same time? You have talent!" Ranma laughed at Yuki's confused face, and then they both grinned.

"It takes practice." Yuki said. "They do that every day."

"What? Every day?" Ranma exclaimed. "That's scary!"

"I know." Yuki sighed. "At least we got away quickly enough. We won't be late."

"That's good." Ranma agreed. "I don't want to make a bad impression on my first da - WHOAH!"

He only just dodged the spray from the watering can, and it's owner jerked back in surprise.

"Sorry! Didn't see you!"

"Tha - at's o-okay..." Ranma panted, his heart starting to beat again. That had been too close! He saw Yuki giving him an odd look, then realised he'd looked a bit strange, leaping several metres into the air just to avoid a little splash of water.

"Like I said, I don't want to give them a bad impression." He said, laughing nervously.

"You'll be fine." Said Yuki reassuringly, as they continued their walk, though his mind was now elsewhere. He kept thinking about Ranma - his sudden appearance, his odd behaviour, and now his frightened leap. Any further and Yuki was sure that he would have broken some sort of record. Ranma was no ordinary student, that's for sure!

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The rest of the day passed in the usual confused blur that any new high school student must experience. Ranma was relieved to have Yuki on hand to help him with things. At the very least it meant that he never got lost on the way to his classes. He was worried by some of the looks some of the girls were giving him. Not being able to read their expressions very well he assumed they were mad at him about something. He decided for the most part to stay out of their way. The last thing he needed while he was here was trouble. Yuki hadn't mentioned their hectic journey to the school at all, not even the orange haired boy that he had been with earlier. Ranma hadn't seen him at the school, but then he had said he wasn't going to go... somewhere. Why not school? Yuki didn't seem worried, so Ranma decided not to bring the matter up. He hadn't had much chance for a quiet chat anyway, what with all the dodging he was having to do. Who would have thought a school could hold so much water! He was sure it was the curse, but of course he couldn't do anything about it except try his hardest not to get splashed. The last time with the vase of flowers in the maths lesson had required agility he didn't know he possessed, and he was already getting sympathetic "Unlucky, aren't you?" comments.

"You don't know the half of it..." He grumbled to himself after the third such sympathetic conversation. At least it was time to go home, and Yuki had promised to meet him at the gate so they could walk back. They met as planned, with Yuki wearing an unusually enthusiastic smile.

"I saw them leave - the Fan Club members." he said, in answer to Ranma's questioning look. Ranma nodded in sympathy. He'd heard about the "Prince Yuki Fan Club" from the other students. The guy had it rough.

"I think I'm with you when I say I'm quite relieved!" Ranma said with a grin, Talking companionably, Yuki and Ranma left the school grounds just as the sun began to touch the distant rooftops.

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"Man! What a long day!" Ranma flopped onto his sleeping bag and reached for a bag of sweets he'd stashed under his pack.

He'd managed to leave Yuki at the gates to the Sohma house. The other boy had seemed very curious about where exactly Ranma lived, and he'd had to think fast to avoid too many awkward questions - namely making an excuse that he had to go in a hurry and sprinting up the road before a surprised Yuki could say anything in reply. Once out of sight of the house he had cut into the forest, keeping an eye out for anyone who would see him.

"Phew! I made it!" He said happily. A whole day without his curse! It had been hard, and several times he'd thought he wouldn't manage it, but he'd done it! Now all he had to do was keep it up every day for two years and he'd be home free.

"It won't be so bad..." he muttered, trying to convince himself. "I did it once, I can do it again. Maybe I can work out extra security measures..." he lay back, and began to formulate plans in his head.

He was still thinking of his new design for waterproof trousers when the landslide hit him.

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Shigure Sohma looked up abruptly from his newspaper, startling a nearby Yuki who had been scanning the headlines from across the table.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing his cousin's concerned frown.

"Landslide." Shigure's features were scrunched slightly in concentration. "The ridge in the clearing on the south side of the forest."

"Is it bad?"

"I'm not sure. We should go and check, in case the rocks are unsafe. We don't want people getting hurt."

"Yes. That stupid cat is out tonight. It would be just like him to let a rock land on his head." Yuki's voice held more than a touch of malice.

"Now now, Yuki." said his cousin mildly. "I'm sure Kyo is able to look after himself. Nevertheless, we had better go and see what damage has been done. It's caused a lot of disturbance."

Yuki didn't look too cheered by Shigure's words, but followed him out of the house and into the forest. His older cousin led him swiftly and surely through the trees, and it wasn't long before they found the pile of rubble and debris that marked the slide. However, there was something there they hadn't bargained for, sticking out of the mound.

"A tent pole!" exclaimed Shigure. "Who on earth is camping out here?"

Yuki slowly approached the pile of mud and rocks. "I think I know who..." he said softly, bending to inspect the rags of cloth and squashed articles on the edge of the mound. Suddenly a hand broke the surface, clawing wildly at air.

"Gods! There's someone in there!" yelled Shigure, darting forward and working frantically to try and clear the rocks. Yuki pitched in, and soon a very battered and muddy Ranma dragged himself out of the rubble, gasping.

"Thanks...thought I was gonna ...die in ...there." he panted. Yuki and Shigure helped him stand, where he made a pitiful attempt to brush the mud off his trousers.

"Ranma, are you alright?" asked Yuki. "That was very dangerous, you could have been killed!"

"I'm...fine. Tougher than... I look." Ranma managed a small smile, and gently removed Yuki's grip, allowing himself to stand without support.

"What are you doing living out here, Ranma?" said Yuki, puzzled. "Shigure, this is Ranma Saotome. He was new to my classes today at school. Ranma, this is Shigure Sohma, my cousin. "

"Nice to meet you Ranma, although it could have been in better circumstances." Shigure smiled. "Well I don't suppose you know it, but all this land here is Sohma property. I don't mind, but I can't work out why a boy of your age would be living in the woods."

"It's a kinda long story..." said Ranma, looking a bit uncomfortable. He didn't really want to explain everything to these people, nice though they were.

"You can explain later, Ranma. Right now I think you need to get cleaned up and get some rest. Come on." Yuki gently took Ranma's arm and began to lead him away.

"Hey! What are ya doin'?" said Ranma in surprise.

"Taking you back to the house, of course." said Yuki patiently. "You can't stay here. We can come back for your things in the morning. In the meantime I think you need to rest. You've just had a rather nasty accident." Shigure nodded agreement

"Come on Ranma." he said "You can stay with us tonight. It's no trouble." He took the protesting Ranma's other arm, and between them they escorted him out of the forest.

It wasn't until they were almost at the house that Ranma thought of something.

"Hey, how did you guys know there was a landslide? It's kinda far from your house."

The two cousins exchanged glances.

"It's a ...er...'gift', I guess." said Shigure wryly. They didn't speak again until they reached home.

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As soon as they got back, Shigure insisted that Ranma take a bath.

"You'll need some clean clothes while yours are washed." he said, bustling around the cupboards in the laundry room, and finally digging out a pile of things for Ranma to wear. "Here you go."

"But Shigure," said Yuki, worried. "Aren't those - "

" - It'll be fine, Yuki." said Shigure, cutting him off. Walking past Yuki, he whispered in his ear. "I'll have a word with him." to which Yuki only sighed.

Ranma watched the exchange, bewildered. He glanced down at the clothes. They didn't seem to be the sort of thing either Yuki or Shigure wore, which made sense since neither of them were close to his size. He wondered vaguely who they belonged to, but shrugged it off as the sounds of a nice steaming hot bath caught his attention.

"Go in now Ranma." called Shigure cheerfully. "You'll feel much better afterwards." Ranma thanked him, and went into the bathroom, softly closing the door.

Once in, he undressed quickly and surveyed the bathroom. he hadn't stayed in a house for as long as he could remember, and he was looking forward to a hot bath - a luxury he had rarely experienced. First though, he had to rinse off the worst of the mud. Walking over to the taps, he wrinkled his nose in confusion. There were many different dials, and he wasn't sure where to begin. He decided to just pick one and hope for the best. Just as he reached for it, a huge bang sounded somewhere else in the house, and several seconds later a familiar voice could be heard.

"You did WHAT!"it was the orange-haired boy's voice, and he didn't sound happy. "How dumb can you get, inviting someone back here!"

There was a low murmuring, Ranma presumed it was Shigure and Yuki trying to calm the boy down. It didn't seem to be working very well. He kept on shouting, and there were a few thumps and bangs, as if things were being slammed, punched or thrown. Ranma decided to finish up quickly and make himself scarce. Not thinking, he twisted the dial under his hand violently, sending a spray of freezing water across the room.

"Aw, crap!" he said, now cold and in his cursed form to boot. He decided to just finish rinsing away the mud with the water he had, but then a particularly vicious shout caught his attention.

"FINE! I'm going in the bath!"

"Damn!" Ranma thought, now in a panic. "I didn't put a sign on the door! If he comes in here...!" He scrambled to his feet, still dripping wet, and made to hold the door closed. his fingertips had all but brushed the handle, when the door slid swiftly open and he collided with someone on the other side, slipping in the water and landing in a heap on the floor. He had barely time to curse and start thinking of an explanation, when he noticed that the boy who SHOULD also be lying next to him wasn't there.

"Huh, wha -?"

But his confused question died in his throat, as he noticed the small orange animal in his lap, glaring at him with an extremely pissed off expression.

"C-C-C...CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!"

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Author's Notes: Please for the love of everything don't take this too seriously, since I certainly didn't! Comments and constructive criticism is fine, but flames will keep me warm at night. I haven't read anything like this before, so sorry if it's a repeat. Yes, I know that it's basically a combination of both starting episodes of Fruits Basket and Ranma 1/2 and yes, it was supposed to be like that. It's probably just going to be a one shot, since although I had ideas on how to continue it I am too lazy to actually write it. Credit goes to BasketWeaverJesser for the title, since I was too stupid to think of a good one. Hope you enjoyed it in any case.