A Ranma/Ryouga fic with a twist I've never read of...

[frice2000]

This is going to be a story with a slightly odd pairing.  Often I've read stories with Ranma/Ryouga as a couple and many of them are just plain awful.  On occasion there are some pretty good ones but for the most part they're either Yaoi (something I just don't enjoy although this idea may classify as that from a certain perspective which is creepy) or grossly out of character.  My goal with this fic isn't to make it a extremely in character 'slash' fic between Ranma and Ryouga as I don't believe that is really possible but to make someone else other then poor Ranma the person who is grossly out of character and takes over the role of the 'girl' in the relationship. To that end Ranma IS NOT going to want to engage in a relationship with another man. This is not something he wants at all. But being who he is...well you'll see if you read the rest of this post.
 
Anyway, below is what was going to be the start of this fic (pre-proofread so yelling at me about grammar/spelling perspectives changing on the fly in the outline below doesn't matter as now it's simply an outline) but in the end it became more an outline as I was doing way too much telling and not showing. I'm thinking I'd jump in with Ranma arriving at the school a year late and having the character relationships develop from there with background later rather then saying right away why everything is a year different.

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Fate has a funny way of working sometimes.  For Genma Saotome a plan was reached to send his son to an all boy's school with a reputation for massive amounts of fights and mayhem.  His plan was to ditch the dojo the two were currently staying at and the boy 'acquiring' techniques as a new practitioner to its dying style.  Ranma as his usual quick study had quickly absorbed most of the techniques of this style.  In most versions of this story the two left in the night and the dojo master lamented the lost pupil but did not press the issue or try to reclaim his student.  However, Genma this time noticed a book that the old master was reading techniques out of and decided to acquire it.  This angered the old man greatly and he used his considerable political clout to make Genma's next stop on their trip quite impossible as they'd be quickly tracked down by the police or other authorities.  Due to this Genma decided to go to China a year early.  Of course the boy was not yet ready for the advanced techniques they'd no doubt discover there he'd at least have an opportunity to let the heat die down in Japan to a degree.  I mean the school would still be there in a year right?
 
Thus the two arrived in Jusenkyou with a 14 year old Ranma and not a more experienced and stronger 15 year old version.  Thus Ranma lost their fight over the springs and Genma managed to escape without a curse.  Ranma on the other hand became a busty 14 year old girl.  
 
The guide who worked at the springs took them to an Amazon Village that he believed may know of a cure for Ranma's condition.  It being a year and some months earlier there was no martial arts tournament and Ranma managed to enter the village in his male form.  The guide had warned them of some of the strange laws of the village and thus Ranma was wise enough to avoid any unwanted marriage entanglements.  Shampoo still managed to gain a fight out of him when agreeing to only a spar and not a possible marriage challenge which Ranma managed to win.  The young Amazon girl was amazed by his martial prowess and strongly desired him as a husband.  Cologne learning of this desire and pleased beyond measure that he could also become a woman and thus have a higher degree of status in their matriarchal society began to train both of his forms in the hopes of bringing him into the tribe in a conventional method while also allowing her grand-daughter the attempt to win him simply by being around him.  In this she was slightly successful as Ranma saw Shampoo as a good friend.  Sadly, Mousse would challenge Ranma in anger over what he perceived to be his pursuit of his beloved Shampoo.  Due to a freak passing storm Ranma defeated Mousse in his cursed form and due to this Mousse was forced to give the red-headed girl a Kiss of Marriage which could only be revoked if he lost a challenge to Ranma's male form and could thus give him the Kiss of Death.
 
Genma witnessing this interchange decided to run out of China and the Amazons village and brought Ranma back to Japan.  There Genma enlisted Ranma in an all boys school.  Ranma met Ryouga and they began their quasi-friendship/rivalry.  Water as always found Ranma on occasion however.  Ryouga being slightly thick in the head as usual and Ranma not wanting to tell him about his embracing affliction said that she was Ranma's sister 'Sou Pai' (her Amazon given honorary name).  Ryouga began to fall in love with this girl as she would often lead him home and would also spar with him on occasion.  He never got the guts to confess his attraction however, and Ranma was totally ignorant of his affections.  One day while walking with her home from school a hot water pipe burst and splashed her.  'Sou Pai' became Ranma.  Ryouga was shocked, angry, and disheartened at this.  Ranma explained the curse and apologized for misleading Ryouga about it as he finds the change very embarrassing indeed.  Ryouga challenged Ranma to a fight and as per cannon failed to arrive.  Genma drags Ranma to Nerima to meet with the Tendo's.  
 
When Ryouga finally arrives and finds Ranma gone instead of being overly angry he reconsiders his feelings.  He feels that Ranma is still the only girl that has ever loved him regardless of if Ranma is on occasion male.  Through his usual rose colored glasses for his 'love' and his ability to ignore all negatives in his loves character he determines that Ranma must love him as well and is simply embarrassed by this and just didn't tell him.  To be the best boyfriend he can be he decides to set off for Jusenkyou to get a curse for himself so that they can be even more compatible.  He manages to locate Jusenkyou and willingly curses himself with Nyannichaun.  He then sets off for the Tendou Dojo to locate Ranma and begin their relationship again.
 
When Ryouga arrives in his female form Ranma of course doesn't know who this is.  The girl shows him a lot of affection and when it's revealed that it's Ryouga he's shocked.  Especially when Ryouga attempts to kiss his female form while he's in his male form.  Ranma is sickened by this relationship but he really doesn't know how to go about telling the obviously devoted Ryouga this.  Ryouga detests Akane and sees her as an obstacle to his love with Ranma and is antagonistic to her in the same way he was to Ranma in cannon.  Insulting her, fighting her (only once at which point she has shown Akane how much he/she outclasses her), and then learning feminine skills to beat her in.  This angers Akane and she attempts to fight with Ryouga on whatever 'feminine' challenges he sets.  Ranma is flabbergasted by all of this.  
 
Mousse eventually arrives but is by no means actively seeking his affections simply trying to find a way out of the situation.  Ryouga though sees him as a rival.  Thus, most of Ranma's cannon plot points is made up of Ryouga fighting a lot of battles.  Throughout this Ranma really doesn't develop much 'affection' for Ryouga but he is impressed by his devotion to him.  This I think is cannon in that yes Ranma isn't gay and yes the love aspect is not something he desires but never in his life has be had someone so devoted to him and so wanting to make him happy at the costs of their own desires so he deals with the situation and never tells Ryouga to get lost.
 
Ranma's other fiancees come into the picture and Ryouga takes an instant dislike to them as well.  Whenever Ranma is locked in his cursed form Ryouga always is 'there' for her.
 
Not sure where the end point will be.  Not sure how I'd write this out from that point.  I know none of this is in character for Ryouga but my goal is to make this in character for Ranma and the rest of the cast.  So, so many fics have Ranma-chan acting incredibly girly and out of character for no reason.  I thought it'd be fun to do the opposite.  While there are a couple good Ryouga as a girl fics out there none of them that I'm aware of has him do this intentionally and none of them have him out and out loving Ranma in either form.  Thought it'd be a interesting change.  So ideas? Criticism? Disgust? Interested? Other opinions?

Thanks for whatever input you give guys.

[Spokavriel]

I don't really see the Amazon situation working if they see Ranma as a guy. There are a few fics where a Younger Ranma comes into the village cursed and Cologne helps it be concealed and that I could see working on the Mousse angle but with it known It just doesn't seem right. Ranma is a guy cursed to become a girl. Not an outsider girl. And they know that so I don't see how that could work.

Shampoo wants Ranma as a husband still. That kinda kills the usual Mousee Shampoo dynamic.

I think it might be better if you have Genma flee Japan a couple years even earlier. It will give you more time and maybe even have Ranma and Shampoo's time together back before girls bother thinking about guys in that way. Easier to set up the dynamics that way and with Mousse's ability to get obsessed with people who are nice to him there are allot of other ways to work it.

It would also allow you to keep middle school around the same time frame it is in cannon. Just padd the remaining year or so with Genma hunting out rumors of temples and mystic sites that are known to cure curses.

[frice2000]

Hrm...making him younger could work. It's just that if I make him too young I think getting a curse like that becomes less of an issue especially if he goes through two versions of puberty. Sure being a girl isn't what he was born as but its more shocking if you've already gone through puberty and suddenly boom you're a girl then both forms developing. Thus, making him too young makes it awkward for me as I'd think that then Ranma might possibly be much more open to engaging in a relationship with a Ryouga with two forms (which really wasn't my plan). Also too young and the Amazons could concieveably be seen as stronger parental figures then Genma and it creates some problems.

You're right though the Amazons as I have it outlined would be a problem.

[Spokavriel]

Would going through puberty both ways really open Ranma up to playing both sides of the field or just make it so that Genma's training and force on the Man Among Men issue is that much harsher training Ranma to hate and fear feminine reactions in herself when a girl even more?

It can be written both ways although my suggestion is obviously harder.

[Spokavriel]

The way the Pre-puberty cursing suggestion works is that Ranma has an even younger more vulnerable mind with Genma reacting not just to the curse but trying to undo what he sees as damage done by the amazons.

It makes it so Genma becomes actually abusive to Ranma's girl side instead of just having girl insults once in a while. And then things like going to the All Boys school and possibly other places to reinforce Ranma's masculinity while seeking a cure for the curse end up leaving Ranma close to cannon but even more emotionally messed up in an Anti-girl way.