The following manga and anime used in this fanfic each belongs
to their respective creators.
Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Sailor Moon belongs to
Naoko Takeuchi and AMG! belongs to Kosuke Fujishima.


This fic can be found at Tannim's site at http://tannim.anifics.com

A Different Path
Chapter 1 - Bleah I hate my life!
By Draknor

*******************

Belldandy was happily making dinner while humming a wordless tune
at the temple. Urd had gone on an errand while Skuld was madly typing
away at her computer. Keiichi had went out to look at his friend's 
motorcycle while Megumi was watching television. 

The telephone rang as Belldandy was settling the food on the dining
table. "I'll get it!" she called and picked up the phone. 

"Moshi Moshi?" 
"Hello Father." 
"Yes Father." 
"We are fine."
"Oh my, you want us at your office?"
"Alright Father, I'll see you later."
"Goodbye Father." 

Belldandy put down the phone. She called Skuld and Megumi for dinner. 

"What is it Oneechan?" Skuld asked while she picked up some food.

"Kami-sama wants to see us about a new mission after dinner. He 
already informed Oneechan."  

After dinner was over, Megumi offered to clear the dishes away. The 
two goddesses then left in their medium.

===============

"WELCOME BACK DAUGHTERS! I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU. AND URD, YOU HAVE TO
LEARN TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE."

Urd blushed at the reproach while Skuld snickered at her oldest sister.

"ENOUGH. I HAVE A FEW THINGS TO TELL YOU. FIRST THERE'S A MORTAL 
WHOSE LIFE HAVE BEEN MESSED BY BUGS AND CHAOS. ITS A WONDER THAT HE 
DIDN'T GIVE UP."

"FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN, HE IS WORTHY OF THE GIFT. HOWEVER 'SHE' MUST
BE WILLING TO ACCEPT IT."

Upon hearing of a mortal being offered the gift, the Norns gasped. 
Its extremely rare for mortals to ascend to godhood much less a mortal
given the 'gift' by the Almighty Himself.

"Father, from what you describe you don't mean Saotome Ranma do you?"

"YES SKULD. I SEE HE'S POPULAR. HE HAD BEEN AN INTERESTING CASE STUDY.
IN OTHER WORDS I AM OFFERING HER GODHOOD AND A CHANCE TO START LIFE
ANEW." Kami-sama said solenmly.

The three goddesses seemed confused as to why Kami-sama refered to 
Ranma as her instead of him. Their queries were answered when Kami-sama
spoke again. 

"I CANNOT OFFER RANMA GODHOOD AS ITS AGAINST THE ULTIMATE FORCE. HOWEVER
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE CURSE I CAN OFFER HIM A CHOICE. I CAN SPLIT HIM
INTO MALE AND FEMALE HALVES AND THE FEMALE RANMA WILL BE LIVING A NEW 
LIFE AND THUS FULFILLING WHAT I AM DOING. HOWEVER THE FEMALE RANMA MUST
GIVE UP HER MANHOOD AND OLD LIFE. THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO. TALK 
TO HER AND GIVE ADVICE. DO NOT INFLUENCE THE DECISION."

"I see. So you mean to give Ranma a chance to get rid of the curse. I 
think he will agree. He hates the curse."

"THAT'S WHY I ASK YOU TO TALK TO HIM WHEN HE IS FEMALE. ONLY SHE CAN MAKE
THE DECISION. THE MALE RANMA WILL NOT HAVE ANY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
OFFER."

"GO NOW. I WILL CONTACT YOU AGAIN WHEN YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED. BELLDANDY WILL
BE THE ONE TO TALK TO HER. THE THREE OF YOU WILL TAKE CHARGE OF HER 
GODDESS TRAINING. I AWAIT YOUR GOOD NEWS. FARE THEE WELL DAUGHTERS."

"Yes Father. We will do as you say. Goodbye Father."     

The three goddesses went back to the temple. It will be a long day for 
the, on the morrow. Kami-sama turned back to His console and typed in
a few commands for Yggdrassil to process. That should help her decide,
He mused while sipping a nice cup of tea. 

================

"Ranma No Baka! What are you doing stringing three girls around?" 

Akane Tendou was her usual self. Angry and jealous at her fiance when it 
wasn't his fault. What made her this way today was a triple whooper mega
glomp on said fiance by his three other suitors. 

The Chinese Amazon, the Okonomiyaki chef and the crazed gynmast all
glomped onto him with such passion it made Akane jealous and redfaced and
all it did to him was a mallet before he could explain and into the canal 
near Furinkan High. 

The now female pigtailed martial artist was unusually miffed and seemed to 
be thinking as she leaped out of the canal.

"I am sorry Akane. But if you will listen to me patiently this would go 
better. Please forgive me and excuse me." She was using polite speech as 
she apologised to a still fuming Akane. Then she walked in the direction
of the Tendou Dojo.

Akane was waiting for the insults to come and after a few minutes of 
no 'kawaiikune tomboy' insults, she did a double take. Ranma not 
insulting? Ranma apologising even though he doesn't start the fight? 

No wait that can't be right. Something's going on here. He must be hiding
something or plotting to embarass her or both. She followed the redhead 
to find out the truth or what she PERCIEVED to be the truth.

Unfortunately for Ranma, most others have similar conclusions whenever 
he's not behaving or acting like he did "normally". 

The red haired girl meanwhile was contemplating and muttering to herself. 

"Well its always my fault isnt it. I have apologised to her and she's 
still suspicious. *Sigh* I felt different when i am in this body. Its 
like i am a different person. I felt more carefree and polite when i am 
a girl. I don't insult Akane or Ryouga alot when i am female. In fact
come to think of it, it is in boy form that i insult them most."
 
"And Cologne seems to like me as if i am her great granddaughter. I get
along better in this form with Nabiki. Bad that Happousai likes the body. 
Ah its nice to be different even for a few moments."

An idea began to form on her mind. Heh better not let Pops find out. He will
scream about being weak and stupid all over again. I hope he's not home. 

She reached behind to touch her pigtail. With a touch the dragon whisker 
came off and her hair flowed down to her shoulders lightly. After a while,
she reached the Dojo. Greeting Kasumi in the kitchen, she went to the furo.

Akane walked into the Dojo a few minutes later. Greeting Kasumi who now sat 
in the living room reading a book, she asked her sister where Ranma went. 

"Oh Akane. She is in the furo taking a bath. Will you like some tea? Akane?
You look disturbed about something. Do you want to talk about it?"  

Akane nodded once and told Kasumi about the glomp, Ranma not insulting her
and even apologising to her and even asking her to forgive him.

"Oneechan Ranma has been acting weird. I mean he's been more polite and 
considerate when in girl form. I am sure it was just some stupid plan 
of the baka." Akane fumed. 

"Akane-chan why do you think its a plot when Ranma-chan has been trying to 
be nice to you? I feel she is breaking down and if we dont do something,
sooner or later she will have a nervous breakdown." Kasumi shook her
her head sadly at her sister's naivete. 

Before Akane could answer they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and
looked up. What they saw there stunned Akane. 

Ranma was wearing a blue blouse with a yellow pleated skirt. From what could
be seen of the curves was evident that she was wearing a bra and probably
even panties. A silver rope necklace dangled on her bosom and she was 
wearing a pair of sneakers. She even applied blush, eyeliner, and even a 
hint of lip gloss. Her fire red hair hung loosely around her shoulders.

Kasumi beamed and gushed. "OH MY! Ranma-chan, you look beautiful! If only 
you were willing to dress like this before." The red haired girl blushed
at the compliments.

Akane fumed at the transformed girl before her. How dare he look better than
me even as a girl! He had the nerve to be better than her in everything!

"What are you doing dressed like that you PERVERT! You don't have my 
permission to wear my clothes and use my things!" Akane howled angrily.

"Akane look i didn't touch any of your things.  These are mine. The makeup 
i borrow from Kasumi-neechan. Now if you excuse me, i need to go. 
Kasumi-neechan i won't be eating dinner." Ranma then left the house.

Again Akane stood there surprised that Ranma not only did not insult her
but also explain to her carefully, something not common. What surprised 
her the most was her listening to what he said and not reacting the usual
way.

Snapping out of her stupor, Akane realised something. Didn't Ranma go out 
in girl form and wearing feminine clothes?    

=====================

Walking to the shopping district of Furinkan, Ranma enjoyed the soft breeze
blowing and caressing her red hair like a fire. She sighed contentedly 
and silently prayed that this beautiful time will last as long as she 
wants. Suddenly her danger sense perked up. She looked around for possible 
attacks. All hell broke loose but strangely left her unscathed. 

A purple haired blur was riding a bicycle on the fence looking for her 
Airen. Not seeing her target she rode away, turning her head left and right 
searching. 

A bandanna clad boy with fanged teeth approached her carrying a map of 
France and asked her "Excuse Miss but can you direct me to the Tendou
Dojo?" 

She sighed and thought about it. After Ryouga's "Miss?" she decided that
the proper directions will never work. So she gave him the OPPOSITE
directions to the Tendou Dojo (i.e. when its north she said south, left 
she told him go right). 

She strode on after Ukyou appeared and dragged the Lost Boy off. Another 
person not recognising her? Silently thanking Kami-sama for her good 
luck, she encounter Kuno AND Kodachi. Kuno hit on her but thought it 
a mistaken identity for his pigtailed goddess. Kodachi snorted at the 
litany and vowed to free her brother from the 'pigtailed harlot'. 

Chuckling softly, she found it amusing that the two wanted to 'free' both 
her forms and defeat both her forms. 

Amazingly its been a quiet night. She stopped at a coffee house and ordered
a cappucino. She have not had a chance to taste the finer things of life 
as Nabiki put it while she was male. Now she savored the fragance of the 
brew as she sipped delicately, unlike the usual fast eating habits. 

As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she asked herself. Who am i?
What did i want to do in my life if i had a choice? Martial arts are 
important but what else can i do besides martial arts? 

I heard some masters excelled in another thing as well as martial arts.
Was what Pops said wrong? To excel in martial arts you must exclude
all else. Fey Pops doesn't know everything.   

She didn't notice the mirror glowing as she mused about her life. Belldandy
stepped through the glow and sat down next to Ranma before the latter even
realised she got company. 

"Konnichiwa, Saotome-san."

"Wah? Who the heck are you? How did you know my name?"

"Gomen Nasai, Saotome-san. My name is Belldandy. And as to how i know your
name, let's say i have something to discuss with you. Shall we find a quiet
place? I don't want to have you shouting and screaming after what i told 
you." 

Nodding, Ranma left some money on the table and followed Belldandy out of
the cafe. Noting she was walking towards Juuban Park and not stopping for 
a breather, she decided to wait until Belldandy could tell her.

===================

The two of them were sitting on a bench in Juuban District Recreational
Park. A few kilometers from Nerima, Juuban also attracted strange events 
but not as strange as Nerima or Fuurinkan-cho. 

Despite the fact that most people who know Saotome Ranma thought him to be
rather limited in knowledge except martial arts, he did read newspapers and
magazines to acquire general knowledge. 

The Sailor Senshi were famous in Juuban, some reports even said they saved
a lot of lives and a rumour that they managed to save the world from 
destruction several times. They were brave female warriors who sacrificed
their lives to save innocents. 

Ranma always wanted to emulate these heroines despite imagining him 
wearing a senshi body suit and short miniskirts and shouting weird but cute 
battle cries. 

If there's one thing Genma did right, its to instill into Ranma's mind the 
importance of saving lives, the importance of protecting the weak and
innocents, protecting those who cannot protect themselves. 

What use is martial arts when you couldn't perform that simple task? What
use is dedicating your whole life to it when you couldn't fight evil? 
Who better to know and fight evil than the Sailor Senshi? The girls 
themselves must be very close to each other. 

Ranma had always wanted some true friends like the Senshi were. Ryouga 
would be considered a friend. But the way he blamed her for everything 
put a strain on the fragile friendship. Nabiki surprised her with the
change in attitude. The middle Tendou sister warmed to her after months
of cool. Later she found out that Nabiki was much like her. Without any
real friends and so on. All her acquaintances knew her as a cold blooded 
bitch who only cared for money. 

It was that day that Ranma noticed Nabiki's human side. Getting ready for 
another photo shoot, Ranma knocked on Nabiki's door. Hearing miffled sounds
inside, she quietly opened the door and stepped in, closing it after her.
There on her bed was Nabiki sniffling softly on the pillows. 

Gently prodding the older girl, Ranma comforted her as best she could. After
a full ten minutes, Nabiki stopped her crying. Looking up at the redhead, 
she croaked "Oh its you Ranma. I never would have thought of all people 
you will see me like this." 

"Nabiki-chan, what's wrong? You can tell me. Don't worry. I won't divulge it
to anyone." 

Nabiki was surprised at Ranma's speech. Gathering up enough strength she 
said in a low voice.

"Ranma? What happened to you? You seem more polite and softspoken. Almost
....."

"Feminine? Hai. When i was a guy i don't feel that way. This body makes me
pour out my emotions and all the trapped traits of my self. In other words
i am both male and female. Yin and Yang. Pop's training have divided my own
soul. Cold water changed my mindset. Being female makes me more 
appreciative of life and enjoying it." 

Nabiki had a wry look. She stood up and walked up to Ranma, looking the 
shorter girl up and down. A grin came up to her face. 

"Hi, I am Nabiki. Want to be friends?" 

Both of them giggled and then burst into full blown laughter as Nabiki 
imitated Akane's greeting that fateful day.

She was shaken out of her recollections when Belldandy asked her a question.

"Pardon me Belldandy-san, but could you please repeat your question?"

"Yes Saotome-san. I asked you how you feel as a girl and if there's a 
chance for you to lead a new life, will you take it?"

"Well as a guy my mind seems to be dead set on being manly. It made me hate
this curse and this body. And Akane couldn't stand a pervert like me. She
always thought i was trying to embarass her or something. As a girl, i 
was more carefree, better appreciative of life and more caring. I also
like the friendship I have with Kasumi and Nabiki. If i had a chance to 
lead a new life i will definitely consider taking it."

"What about your manhood? Or your parents? Or your friends? Didn't you 
care about these things? What about martial arts?" 

Ranma sighed sadly before she answered. 

"I care less about my manhood when i am a girl. I never got close to Pops
and i hardly knew my mother even though the curse keep me away from her. 
I dont really have a true friend except Ucchan but she seems to want 
more than friendship, something i cant give her. Martial arts have been my
whole life but it will be a good to do something besides martial arts. 
I can even consider doing martial arts and something else." 

"I guess that is my cue Ranma-chan." Belldandy smiled at her and her 
Goddess marks are now visible. 

"You see I am the Goddess of the Present. First class first category 
Unlimited. Kami-sama asked me to speak to you first before He made His 
offer." Belldandy waited for Ranma to get over her shock.

"What kind of offer? It better not be engagement to Goddesses. I will
scream if its that." Ranma said wearily.

"Oh no Ranma-chan. Its nothing like that. Kami-sama wants you to be a 
goddess. In exchange for splitting you into your male and female halves. 
Your male half will be the same as when you were uncursed. He will have no
recollection of this or any other feminine traits. In other words, he 
thinks he is manly even when female. He will be Saotome Ranma the man 
amongst man Akane is engaged to and the man your father promised your 
mother of. He will have all the engagements to saddle with"

"As for the female you, Kami-sama will like to tell you personally. He has
some plans for you in view of your honour and bravery and overall goodness.
You will still have the martial arts knowledge plus some other martial arts
only Kami-sama permits to learn. I think He has some surprises for you.
However a pity that most others will not know you existed still. They will
have thought Ranma was cured. You can choose who knows of your continued
existence. I will leave you to decide." 

"Actually Belldandy-chan, i have already made my decision. The offer to 
start a new life is great. Since Kami-sama has trusted me to make the 
right choice, i am happy to please Him. Yes i agree to be a goddess."

Suddenly Belldandy glowed and a shaft of light shot forth from her forehead
into the heavens. A moment later they heard "Wish Granted" and "Welcome
Daughter." 

Ranma felt a familiar tingling swept over her and when the feeling 
subsided, she saw her male self with his trademark red chinese silk shirt
and black pants lying on the bench next to hers. 

Shaking her head, her eyes became moist as she shed a few tears of sadness
and happiness. Seeing Belldandy smiling at her she reached out to hold the
Goddess's hand. 

"Let's go home Bell-chan." She said as they disappeared with a flash of 
light. 

An hour later Ranma-kun woke up. Feeling his head, he stood up groggily. 
Ugh, that kawaiikune tomboy must have hit me hard. Noticing his 
surrounding for the first time, he looked around. What am i doing in the 
park? Why cant i remember anything before yesterday? Shrugging, he hopped
to the nearest roof and began his way home. 

=================

Next Chapter: See the Jusenkyo crew hound Ranma for his 'cure'. Nodoka 
Saotome appears to find her son back and sad that 'Ranko' is gone. 
Nabiki, Cologne and Kasumi felt sad too that the red haired girl who 
affected their lives deeply was gone forever. Or is she? 

Author's Notes:

I am sorry for this long winded chapter but i want to bring out the 
feeling Ranma-chan had bottled up. Again any comments and criticism
will be welcome.

Draknor
jumeau@pacific.net.sg