It was a tranquil morning at the Tendo family home.

"Ranma, prepare to die!"

Well, tranquil for mornings at the Tendo family home.

Ranma, currently a she, rolled her eyes. "Geez, Ryoga, at least get a new line. Makes me not even wanna bother with a fight."

Ryoga just glared. "It took me a week to get back here, Saotome. I won't throw away a chance at vengeance just because you're bored!"

"All that time and you still couldn't think of something snappy?" Ranma shrugged. "For shame, pork-butt."

Ryoga growled, and charged. Ranma snorted, and parried his first few strikes with barely a second thought. "Come on, buddy. It's like you're not even trying." Ryoga predictably intensified his attacks at her prodding, and even managed to land a glancing blow on Ranma's shoulder.

"Try not to break any of the walls, you two." Kasumi called out from the living room.

"You got it, Kasumi!" Ranma jumped up onto the wall above the Tendo pond, and Ryoga pursued. They continued their battle while balancing on the edge of the tiles for the next few minutes. The fight was a decent warm up, and on its way to becoming a good challenge, as Ryoga always delivered. Way better than Genma's morning ritual of throwing her into the pond.

Glancing down, the Tendo family didn't seem to share Ranma's enthusiasm. Nabiki was hurrying to school early as usual. Kasumi and Akane were eating breakfast, idly chatting about something. Soun hadn't looked up from his newspaper. And Genma had wandered off with some bamboo—

Ryoga's fist whizzed past Ranma's face as she refocused just in time. It was a good fight, but school would be starting soon. The fight would have to be cut short, no matter how much she'd prefer to continue. Ranma quickly glanced down to the pond to make sure her aim was on point, ducked Ryoga's kick, and swept his leg, which would force him to fall into the water and—

Except that didn't happen. Ryoga jumped over her attack, landing right where he had been and responding with a strike of his own that forced Ranma back. "Gonna have to try harder than that!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Look, man. I've got to get going soon, so if you could just lose, that'd be real nice of 'ya."

"I've been lost for a whole stinking week, Ranma! I'm not giving up!"

"Really…" Time for some old anything-goes to speed things along. Ranma leaned forward, batting her eyes a little as one hand fell on her shirt clasp. "But if you let me go this once, i'll give you a little peak~"

Predictably, Ryoga's cheeks flashed red as he sputtered. "R-ranma! Do you have no shame at all?" Predictably, his cute little eyes started moving from her face, to where her hand lay over her chest, to somewhere that wasn't there, and back again. "I know you don't care about Akane's feelings, but this—" And predictably, he stopped paying attention to her foot, which was right back on course for the sweep. It was all so—

Wait, what? Did she just think that Ryoga had 'cute eyes'? When did—

In the next second Ranma was sent sailing down into the pond herself. When she emerged, Ryoga was staring down at her with a smug look on his face. "Serves you right."

Thankfully, his eyes looked anything but cute right now, full of confidence and bravado. The ass was even striking a pose, standing on the very edge of the tiles with just one foot, arms folded. The very opposite of cute. If anything, she thought he looked kind of hands—

Nononono she didn't. "You got lucky, jerk." Ranma glared up at Ryoga as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment—from making such a simple screw-up, of course.

"I'm leaving, Ranma!" Akane called out. She was already walking out the door, not even bothering to glance behind her.

Ranma sighed as Ryoga continued to preen. She was going to be late for class again because she had to beat up her rival, she just knew it.

With a quick push against the rocks, Ranma jumped up and socked Ryoga in the mouth, knocking that big stupid grin off his face. At least the cold soak would take care of those weird thoughts that had suddenly popped into her head…

Several fights later, the weird thoughts did not go away.

—a confident, playful smirk that revealed his cute little fangs—

—Ranma readied his Mōko Takabisha, and Ryouga's well-toned muscles tensed—

—Cut off Ryoga's shirt, which revealed his muscular body, right down to where his stomach met his cro—

Ranma stabbed her spoon down into the ice cream parfait as she sulked in the corner booth. Whatever was wrong with her didn't connected to how many times she punched Ryoga in the face. Worse still, the thoughts had started to spread to his male form.

She'd checked her body several times over in both forms, and couldn't find any sign of a magic koi rod or anything. The old ghoul hadn't made any moves so it probably wasn't some amazon nonsense. And she hadn't seen any other magicians or mystic herbs or whatever. So if it wasn't magical, that meant it had to be…

NopeNopeNopeNopeNope. This had never happened before, and Ranma had plenty of time to crush on boys, which she didn't and never would because she was a man amongst men. Even if she turned into a woman from time to time.

Just to humor the insane idea, she ran through a list of all the other boys she'd met:

Kuno? Please.

Mousse? Bleh. Obsessed with Shampoo to an obnoxious degree.

Daisuke and Kensuke? Nice enough, but too boring.

Taro? Just a dick, plain and simple.

Plus all the idiots and morons who wanted to marry Akane for some stupid reason. Losers, every last one of them.

And that left Ryoga. Dumb as rocks, always hopelessly lost, easily manipulated by a pretty face, constantly trying to win other girls…

Ranma kept stirring her ice cream.

He had his good points: the guy was surprisingly dependable, and always gave her a good challenge without having to put Akane or anyone else in danger. He was endearing like a lost puppy, and his smile—

Ranma started stirring faster.

The thoughts always invaded when they were fighting, right? It was just the martial artist in her that appreciated Ryoga's strength! Those constant flashes weren't…whatever they were, it was just admiration! Long months alone spent mastering his art, triumphing over adversity left Ryoga with a body worth admiring! It was simple! A convenient misunderstanding, that was all! That was all. It was—

"Uh…miss?" the guy at the cash register spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Ranma looked down to see that she had stabbed straight through her paper cup half a dozen times over. "Oops. Sorry…" She gave a sheepish chuckle. "I've been having a really rough day, I didn't mean to make a mess for you." Add in some batted eyelashes, force a blush, and stammer a bit… "Do you need me to clean it up for you? You've already been so nice to me, I don't want—"

"Oh no no no!" The cashier stammered. "No, not at all miss! Cleaning up is what they pay me for, after all! Ha ha ha…"

Typical. Ranma gave the guy one last cutesy smile before returning to her thoughts.

That was how interactions with men were supposed to go in her female body. She'd ask them sweetly, or show some skin, and then they'd do little favors for her. Why couldn't Ryoga be more like that? Whenever she needed to do something, or was in the middle of a fight with someone else, he'd pigheadedly refuse to leave her alone and…

…Wait…was that the reason she kept getting distracted by Ryoga? She'd teased him during their matches, but nothing too serious. They were mostly straight-up fights. She hadn't pranked him in a long while.

That must be it. Ryoga was easy to wrap around her finger, even without some disguise. That's what she needed to do to get over this! It was all her brain's way of telling her that she needed to take advantage of the stupid lug! WIth her next steps in mind, Ranma stood up and gave a flirty wave to the cashier, who smiled back and forgot to ask her to pay for her ice cream.

Ranma grinned and cracked her knuckles. This was going to be fun.

…And in typical Ryoga fashion, an opportunity didn't present itself until nearly a week later. Ranma had been hopping along rooftops to get the drop on the lost boy for the past few days. And as luck would have it, he finally spotted him wandering an alleyway in the east side of Nerima, close to a shopping mall. Perfect. After quickly pulling out his thermos and changing into his girl form, Ranma descended to the street behind Ryoga, who was busy looking at a map of…was that Australia or South Africa?

"Heya, P-chan!" Ranma chirped, causing Ryoga to jump. "How's it hanging?"

"Ranma?" Ryoga growled. "What are you doing in—never mind. Prepare to—"

"Hey! Relax, man." Ranma raised her hands up. "I'm out to lunch, and there's a food court a few streets away." She cocked her head. "Interested?"

Ryoga's eyes narrowed. He glanced up and down, trying to sniff out some punchline, but was getting frustrated that he wasn't finding any. "What's your game, Saotome?"

"You know, I was thinking of hitting up an arcade." She rolled her neck. "But, if you're so busy, I guess I can go by my lonesome self."

Ryoga stared at her for a few more seconds, before sighing. "Alright, fine. Lead the way."

"Great!" Ranma said as she reached down and grabbed his hand. "I think this place is supposed to have a Korean Barbeque, so we can try that."

"R-ranma, what are you doing?" Ryoga protested as she dragged him along. "I'm not a child—"

"That's right, you're even worse. Now stop complaining like one and let a bunch of strangers look jealous while a cute chick brings you to lunch!"

"I don't—" Ryoga's stomach chose that exact moment to betray him with a grumble. "...Tch. Fine…"

"That's more like it." Ranma resumed dragging him along. Before long, they had arrived at the promised food court, with the promised barbeque restaurant. Ryoga was remarkably well behaved, probably due to the promised food.

"Hey Ranma." He asked once they had finished eating. "How come you've been a girl so much lately? Every fight we've had for the past few weeks has been with your cursed form."

"Dunno, pork-breath. How come you've been a human so much lately?" Ranma rolled her eyes. "Not my fault you only show up after I've been splashed."

"Your bill, sir." A waiter said as he deposited their receipt.

"Not my fault that I have more than one curse, Saotome." Ryoga said as he dropped a few bills. "Now pay up your half and we can go on our way."

"Oh fine." Ranma made a show of searching her pockets. "Darn, looks like I forgot my wallet." Ryoga looked unimpressed.

"Please, Ryoga? Just this once?" Ranma batted her eyes. "If you do, I promise I'll go easy on you next time."

"Like I need you to tie an arm behind your back!" His eyebrow twitched. "I ought to knock you into next week!"

Several people sitting next to them looked up at that remark. Ryoga caught onto the stares rather quickly, and panic followed shortly after that. "Uh, I mean…"

"Oh Ryoga, you're so silly sometimes. You could never lay a hand on me!" Ranma said loudly with a twinkle in her eye, before adding: "So pay and these nice people will let you go, no questions asked."

Ryoga's face scrunched up as he glanced at the other people staring at them before he gave up. "You got me Ranma, ha ha ha…"

With the bill fully paid for, Ranma was feeling on top of the world as she walked down the street, Ryoga in hand. "So, what's next P-chan?"

Ryoga eyed her curiously. "Aren't we going to fight now?"

"Nah, we've been fighting plenty. I wanna mix things up. See a movie, explore the city, anything!"

Coincidentally, they passed by a woman's fashion boutique. "Looking to expand your wardrobe, Ranma?" Ryoga snorted. "You dress up as a girl for me often enough."

"Puh-lease. That was only…" Ranma frowned. "Three…four…no, the time in front of the whole school doesn't count…"

"So often you've lost track, then." Ryoga laughed. It grated. "It's a wonder you ever try to cure yourself."

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not the stupid idiot who falls hook, line, and sinker whenever I put on a dress!"

Ryoga ignored her as he looked into the store window. "It's just as well. You lack the feminine grace of Akane. She could wear anything and be just as beautiful."

Something in Ryoga's voice just ticked Ranma off. Her first instinct was to kick Ryoga through the window and into the yellow sundress he was staring at. If he wanted to get Akane a dress so badly, he could pay for the damages too, damnit!

But when her foot was halfway to Ryoga's ass, Ranma suddenly paused. In the window, the faintest bit of her reflection was visible, her head lining up perfectly with the mannequin in the dress Ryoga was staring at.

A more devious idea struck. "What a thoughtful idea, Ryoga. Getting Akane a surprise gift will make her adore you!"

"Mm-hmm." He didn't react.

"But how will you know if it fits? You don't want Akane to have to return it, do ya?"

Ryoga glanced back at her. "Saotome, what—"

"I know!" Ranma grabbed Ryoga's arm and dragged him into the store. "Akane is about my size, so I'll try them on for her!"

"Of all the—!" Ryoga sputtered. "Are you out of your damn mind, Ranma?"

"What's the matter, pork-breath? Weren't you talking about how I loved to cross-dress a few minutes ago?" Ranma let out a girlish giggle as they approached the saleswoman. "Well now you get to see me in action, and get the perfect gift after!"

"But—"

"Why hello there!" The saleswoman said. "How can I help you two today?"

"I—"

Ranma forcefully pulled Ryoga closer. "Hi there! My boy—" Ranma slyly glanced up at her victim. Ryoga had gone pale at the word 'boy'. Excellent. "—who-is-a-friend wanted to see me in some dresses, so I decided to treat him!" She gave a conspiratorial wink to the saleswoman, and then faux-whispered: "And then he's going to treat me to it."

"What—"

"Of course." The Saleswoman winked back. "Is there anything in particular you are looking for?"

"But—"

"Oh, just the latest and greatest dresses you have available!" She pulled one promising looking dress from the closest line and dumped it on Ryoga. "Be sure to hand everything to the big lug, he loves carrying things!"

"It—"

"What a charming young man." The saleswoman smiled, and handed him a few more. Ranma smirked as she watched Ryoga continue to malfunction. This was paying off wonderfully…

Ranma spent a half hour trying on various dresses in the changing room, all while Ryoga stared dumbly on. It was tricky to keep him engaged enough so he wouldn't run away, but she always found a way.

"How about this one, Ryoga? It contrasts with my eyes!" Ranma said as she stepped out of the changing room in an orange skirt and an unbuttoned white shirt.

"B-but this was supposed to be for Akane…" Ryoga managed while desperately trying not to look at Ranma's chest.

"And it'll do the same with her hair!" Ranma said with a flick. "Don't worry, get a good look!"

Watching the lost boy desperately try to pretend disinterest was a great use of an afternoon. Normally, Ranma wouldn't let herself be caught dead anywhere near a store like this: It was entirely too girlish for any respecting man amongst men.

But having Ryoga squirm while he couldn't bring himself to look away? It was just what her ego wanted. He'd been making her life miserable for the past few weeks, and turnabout was fair play. And though she would never admit it out loud, Ranma knew she loved the spotlight, even as a girl surrounded by men. In fact, her girl form gave her something her male half could never have lest a dozen new fiances came crawling out of the woodwork: cheap romantic thrills.

As a girl, she had the freedom to flirt to her heart's content, wrapping shopkeepers and schoolboys around her fingers, with the safety of knowing that none of it was real. That she could always retreat back to her male form. It was brilliant, really. Exciting. And with all the yen Nabiki squeezed out of her, a way to keep afloat.

"R-ranma, this has been going on way too long." Ryoga managed. "Let me just get Akane a gift and we can get out of here."

Akane, Akane, Akane. He really did need new material. "Don't you worry, P-chan. I've got you covered. One last dress, and then we can head out."

"You said that four dresses ago!" Ryoga growled. "I swear, if you don't come out right now, I'm leaving—"

Ranma emerged from the changing room in her coup de grace: a light blue sundress that hugged her curves just right. She smirked as Ryoga desperately tried to recover, working his jaw and failing badly.

"Like what you see, buddy?" Ranma did a little spin, and the fabric floated nicely through the air. She stopped in front of him, and adjusted the dress straps, framing a tasteful amount of cleavage.

"I—it—that—" Ryoga stopped and started, desperately trying to hide his flustered blush. It took a minute, but he actually managed to settle. "—It'll look great."

Ranma playfully tilted her head. "On Akane?"

And just like that, Ryoga's blush came back in full force. "Of course on Akane!" He managed. "Who else would be wearing it!"

Ranma smirked. Too easy. "Oh miss saleswoman!"

The dress turned out to be relatively cheap, which Ryoga appreciated. Of course, fate was kind enough to give Ranma another opportunity to twist the knife.

"Do you want to wear it out?" The Saleswoman asked. "It is a lovely day, and it is a marvelous fit." She leaned closer to Ranma, and then said in a faux-whisper: "And it seems the young gentleman might like it."

"No I wouldn't!" Ryoga shouted, his face beet-red. Ranma just smiled.

"Ranma, this has gone on long enough!" Ryoga hissed as the two walked along the streets, hand in hand. "I can take paying for lunch, I can take spending an hour watching you change clothes, but this? That dress is supposed to be for Akane! And people think we're a couple!"

"Oh, quit whining." Ranma rolled her eyes. "I'll change back before we arrive. Besides, this is the only way to make sure you don't wander off." She gave him a playful poke as she gestured down her body. "And I don't remember you complaining that much when you bought this piece."

Idly, Ranma began to think about the days events while tuning out Ryoga's squawking. What on earth had possessed her to do all of this? Ryoga was correct, she was acting completely out of character. There was no scroll with a new martial arts technique, no revenge she could serve—this was just her screwing with Ryoga by acting as his—his—

His girl-who-is-a-friend. Right. And while it was true that she hadn't experienced one of those weird thoughts since the day started, there had to be easier ways to find out that she didn't have a crush. And while it had been fun to watch Ryoga twist and turn, this seemed above and beyond her usual desire to manipulate.

A car raced by them just as the crosswalk turned green, honking its horn wildly. "Huh, what was that all about?" Ryoga asked as he looked after the vehicle.

Ranma used the opportunity to study Ryoga's face. It was the same one he always had, bandana in his black hair and fangs in his mouth. But no weird flash focusing on how 'attractive' he was.

Maybe it was just something in the air? Some nonsense Shampoo had cooked up and then given up on when she realized it wasn't working? Or maybe Kodachi just poisoned the water supply. Ranma huffed as she stepped off the sidewalk—

"Ranma look out!" Ryoga shouted. She turned. Another car was barreling down the street, not giving a damn that the light had turned red for it. A cop car was in the distance, blaring its sirens, but nowhere close enough.

And Ranma was about to be struck dead-on by the car. Her first instinct was to jump out of the way, but the momentum was all wrong, with one of her feet halfway in the air. She could try to stop it dead with brute force, but she had no windup. And given the speed the car was moving, her best bet was probably to brace herself and prepare for some seriously ugly scabs when it hit her—

But Ranma never had to. Just as the car was about to hit her, Ryoga rushed in front of her and slammed his fist down into the car's hood. The metal creaked and bent under his blow, and the force carried the back of the car up into the air, before it all came crashing down in front of them. Once the vehicle came to a stop, Ryoga turned around. "Are you okay, Ranma?"

She stared at him in shock. This was the point where she would usually say something clever, or laugh off and downplay everything, but for the life of her, all Ranma could do was stammer out a weak affirmative.

The driver was bolting out of the remnants of his car with a bag of money. Ryoga quickly pulled out a bandana to throw around the thief's ankles. "You sure?" It almost sounded like genuine concern in Ryoga's voice. "It isn't like you to be taken unaware."

"J-just…" Ranma couldn't help but meet the lost boy's eyes. They were studying her, and seemed as confused as she felt. "I got lost in my own head, I guess." More disturbingly, two new lines of thought were wrestling inside of Ranma: the desire to keep staring, to soak up the worry written on Ryoga's face, and the wish to turn away and hide like a lovestruck schoolgirl. And her heart—

Oh no. The feeling was back. A hundred times worse than before.

Ryoga pressed his lips together as the sirens started to get louder. "Let's get out of here. You're looking spooked, Saotome."

The two quickly moved to a nearby alleyway as Ranma tried to process everything that had just happened. The day had been going so well. She had buried the feelings that had been distracting her, but suddenly, Ryoga had saved her from…well, with her toughness she'd probably suffer no more than a sprained ankle and a few bruises. But still, he saved her.

Which made the whole thing even more ridiculous! Ranma could get any other girl falling for a guy who was strong enough to crush a truck without breaking a sweat, but that wasn't that impressive in Nerima! And more to the point, her sudden…feelings…were from a totally different situation then her previous bouts.

…Or were they? Both the car and the fights were displays of Ryoga's strength. They weren't that far apart. And that meant…what? That Ranma was…attracted…to strong…people?

But that also didn't make any sense. Ranma was constantly getting into fights with all sorts of weirdos and idiots. Why did she never get these sensations with them? They were all…err…well, not tough, but they could be annoying. Challenging because of all the stupid nonsense and ridiculous rules Ranma had to follow so the fights weren't total blowouts.

But that was the difference, wasn't it? Ryoga was the only one of Ranma's rivals or fiances that could ever keep up with her in either form. Everyone else either needed to cheat somehow, but day in and day out, come rain or shine, Ranma could always count on Ryoga to give her a decent fight. Someone who could push her to innovate martial arts, not sleight of hand bullshit (when Ryoga wasn't dabbling in bullshit himself). He was…a pain in the ass. But a refreshing pain in the ass.

Ranma shook her head vigorously. This was becoming uncomfortably close to saying that Ranma Saotome, man amongst men, was attracted to another man. And that couldn't be right. Even with the curse.

But now what to do? These…feelings were only going to continue, at this rate. Ranma had to do something to put a stop to them. There was no way she could afford to keep getting distracted by him. She had to put an end to this once and for all.

But what? She clearly couldn't control her own feelings, and they were going to fight again soon enough. Maybe she could manipulate Ryoga's? If he went berserk, Ranma wouldn't have any time to be distracted after a couple of hits. Misery was her greatest teacher, after all.

Ranma had to find some way to make the lost boy hate her even more than he already did, so that these flare ups would be quashed before they had a chance to grow. Doubling down would make it better. Definitely. But how to do that…

"Saotome?" Ryoga's concerned voice brought Ranma out of it. "You sure that you're fine?" His face was close to Ranma's. Like he was inspecting her for any wounds. Coincidentally, it was the same range people would start at when they tried to kiss Ranma.

…Wait, Ryoga had never kissed anyone, had he? Ryoga was exactly the kind of annoying asshat to never shut up about something like that. Plus, he was an old fashion prude, despite his bursts of perversion. The pig probably wanted his first time to be with Akane, or whichever girl he fooled himself into thinking was his one true love…

That should be it, then! Ranma would steal his first time, and then rub it in Ryoga's face. The embarrassment of it being Ranma, his most hated rival, would guarantee that Ryoga would hate her forever! It was foolproof!

And it meant that Ranma would kiss another guy.

…No. No, no, no it didn't. Ranma had always used his girl form to get what he wanted. This was no different. His girl form was a curse, which meant it wasn't real. And if it wasn't real, that meant anything important like first kisses didn't count.

It was just using this body to get what Ranma needed. Just like ice cream. So what if it was a bit more uncomfortable? Besides, she'd done way more humiliating things than kiss a guy, even if it was on the lips. And it's not like Ryoga would ever tell anyone. And even if he did admit to being kissed by a boy, especially Ranma, it's not like anyone would believe him. Right?

"Hello? You there?" Ryoga asked again.

Right. Finally, there was the added benefit of giving that stupid part of her brain what it wanted. Ryoga was going to be a crappy kisser, and dashed expectations was the best way to kill something like this.

Her heart was beating fast as she gripped his fingers. She leaned in closer, testing the waters. Ryoga was confused, but didn't move his head back yet. "Ranma, what are you—"

She snaked her arm around his neck. "Shut up, Ryoga." She took a deep breath, and closed the distance.

This kiss was soft, but firm. Nothing like the forcefulness of Shampoo's kisses, or any of the smarminess of that time with the ice-skater douche. This kiss was…pleasant, in a strange new way. Ranma could see why all her fiances always wanted to do it with her.

Ryoga looked like he wanted to scream, or shove her away, or shrivel up and die.

But he didn't. And neither did Ranma.

Maybe he was too stunned to do anything but remain liplocked. Maybe Ryoga's rage was building to a boiling point and he was about to send Ranma into the stratosphere. Or maybe he was just as pleasantly surprised as Ranma.

Faintly, she realized one of them was pressing into the kiss more.

It ended about as quickly as it had started. Ranma couldn't tell if she or Ryoga moved away first. She glanced up at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

But there was none. Ryoga just stood, staring down at her. Ranma wanted to say he was quivering, shaking, ready to explode. But he wasn't. The lost boy stood perfectly stock-still.

Ranma felt her lips dry out. Whatever had been plaguing her had vanished, replaced with something wholly new and alien. It felt…something like fear, but less so? she didn't know what she was supposed to feel, or what exactly she was feeling.

But Ryoga wasn't doing anything. And no matter how long she waited, he still wouldn't do anything. It was up to her to make the first move. Like always.

"How'd you like that, P-chan?" Ranma began with her usual bravado. "Am I enough of a woman for ya?"

Ryoga didn't blink.

"The look on your face is something else, man." She felt like she should laugh, but didn't. "You got to be the brave hero, and rewarded by the fair maiden! Come on, laugh it up!"

No movement.

"I know you're a romantic guy, but it's not like you can't have practice for your one true love, right?" Ranma managed a chuckle. "Don't worry though. It didn't mean anything. It's not like I'm—"

There was a subtle, silent shift in Ryoga's expression. A slight tightening of his lips. A minuscule narrowing of his eyes. Maybe it was just a sudden tremble that ran across his face. Ranma couldn't say what it was for certain.

But whatever happened made Ranma's heart twist like it never had before. Whatever she was about to say died on her lips. The smirk fell off her face. Just like Ryoga, she froze. Like an old photograph in a history book.

Ryoga stared at her long and hard. For the first time in a long while, Ranma felt small.

Then it was over. Ryoga turned, and walked away. Ranma tried to follow, but her feet refused to move.

"Ryoga." She managed. He didn't respond.

"Ryoga!" She tried again. He was almost at the corner now. "RYOGA!"

Finally, he stopped, and slowly turned his head to look at her. Ranma's heartbeat, which had been hammering in her chest a second ago, froze.

Ryoga's eyes were boring into hers, burning something cold and terrible into Ranma's heart.

"I—whatever it was—" The heaviness in her chest was spreading. It changed into a lump once it hit her throat. "—What I said, that was wrong, I—" What had been wrong? "—I-I didn't mean—" If she didn't know what she'd said wrong, how could she not mean it? "—I—"

Ranma turned and ran before she had to watch Ryoga disappear.

An attempt at a Ranma fic, after so many years of watching in the wings of the fandom. This is pretty well-tread ground, but this is fanfiction, and everyone gets one. Plus, I need to get something out of my system. Tune in next time for the conclusion.