Title: Different Life, Different Love
Author:
Warnings: Not much. Mild language, shounen-ai
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all, no money, no sue.
Pairing: Ranma/Ryouga
Summary: Ranma meets a mysterious woman who turns out to be one of Ryouga's neighbors.
Author Notes: Thanks to those of you who have left reviews, and enjoy the story.


Chapter 8: Who's that lady?


Weeks passed.

Ranma and Ryouga were going to school in a different district now, with some help from Nabiki in taking care of the paperwork.

Life had been very quiet. Ranma was still hurting over the loss of Akane, but otherwise things had never been better for him. Yeah, his Dad came over a couple times to ‘lecture’ him, but he was no match for the two young men. Over time, the martial artist’s panda side had been slowly taking over, and it was adversely affecting his fighting abilites. Kasumi even sent them a cheery note in which she bubbled about how having Ranma’s father around was like having an exotic pet. The two young men had a good laugh over that. Nevertheless, even if Genma had been at full strength, his son had been honing his skills against Ryouga, and Ranma still could have taken him easily.

As for the younger Saotome, Ranma went to work almost every night after school. Despite the annoyance having to pretend to be a real girl, he actually enjoyed it. The people there were so friendly, coworker and customer alike. He felt bad spending so much time away from his best friend, but Ryouga was kept busy trying to catch up with his schoolwork, so it worked out.

Another good thing about staying at Ryouga's house, besides the privacy for the two of them, of course, was that it was a lot shorter trip to work and back. Late one evening Ranma-chan was on her way home and she whistled cheerfully as she balanced along the fence bordering the canal.

Unexpectedly, a piece of the fence gave way under her. She flipped in the air and landed on her feet- waist deep in the canal. "Aw, crap," she muttered. It was a good thing she had more than one uniform.

"Hello, dear. Would you like some help?" A pleasant woman's voice came from above. Ranma looked up to see the form of an attractive older woman dressed in a kimono illuminated by the moonlight.

"Um, thanks ma'am." She grabbed the proffered hand and tried to pull herself up. Unfortunately the other woman wasn't strong enough and they both ended up back in the canal.

Ranma freaked, of course. "Oh, I'm so sorry!!" she said, bowing in apology. The kimono clad lady stood up calmly and faced her.

"Don't worry about it, dear. These things happen. Let's find another way out, shall we?"

"I think that's a ladder down that way, ma'am," Ranma-chan said pointing the way.

"Really? Let's go see then."

It was indeed a ladder, and they both climbed back up to the street. "It's late, dear. Would you like me to walk you home?"

"I'm almost there, ma'am."

"Are you sure? Where are you staying, dear?""

"I'm living at the Hibiki's place for now. I- I sort of had a falling out with my old...with my father," she corrected herself. For some reason she really didn't want to come across as a tomboy to this very traditional seeming woman.

"I'm sorry to hear that dear. We might as well walk there together; my house is just across the street. It doesn't bother you to be walking alone at night?"

"I'm a martial artist, ma'am, I can take care of myself just fine."

"Oh really? My husband was a martial artist, too." She sighed sadly. "I haven't seen him in so long...Is Mrs. Hibiki home? I haven't had the chance to meet her yet, though I've lived here several years. Nobody ever seems to be home."

"Um, the Hibiki's get lost very easily for some reason, so they're not home a lot. Mrs. Hibiki was home for a short while, but she got lost again last week. As it is, it's all I can do to keep my friend Ryouga from getting lost so he can keep up with school."

Ranma's neighbor laughed softly, but sobered quickly. "That's terrible. Well, the next time she comes home, do bring her over for tea."

They stopped in front of the gate to Ryouga's house. "I'll be sure to do that, ma'am," Ranma said.

"Well, you have a good night dear. Don't hesitate to come by if you need anything."

"Thank you ma'am, have a good night."

Nodoka smiled and went across the street to her own home. Ranma watched her until she went inside and out of sight.

*What a nice lady, and I bet she's a wonderful mother, too. I wonder what mine is like?* She wondered as she entered the house.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later Ranma entered the bedroom he shared with Ryouga. The lost boy was concentrating on his studies at the desk. The long haired martial artist came up behind him and gave him a warm hug. "Whatcha studying?" He asked.

"Algebra." Ryouga absently chewed the end of his pencil as he concentrated.

"Ick. That reminds me, we have a test in that soon, don't we?"

"Uh-huh."

Ranma sighed and pulled up a chair. "Man, I hate studying. Hey Ryo-kun, do you know that lady across the street?"

"Mmm...no. I only know the neighbors that have been living here since I was little. I think she moved in the day before I made it to our duel. Why?"

"Just wondering. I walked home from work with her and she seemed really nice. I feel kinda bad though, I forgot to introduce myself."

"If she's just across the street, you can introduce yourself tomorrow."

"Hm," Ranma said, casually running his fingers through his friend's hair. "That's true. I wonder if I should explain the curse."

Ryouga laughed. "That's up to you, Ran-kun. It might make things simpler if you did, rather than having her wonder why she never sees your girl and guy sides together."

Ranma smiled, but without humor.

After about an hour of studying, they gave up and went to bed, happily snuggled together.

*****

TBC

Yes, it's kinda short, but it sounded like people were getting impatient. ^-^