An idea for another alternative that struck me as I was pondering
how to continue my Ukyou-alternaverse "Knife Twisted". No, I
don't think this has the potential to be turned into a full
story.

---

Ranma wasn't good at remembering faces OR names, but how could he
possibly forget one so important to him as this?

Thus, as soon as their eyes met, he ran towards his old friend,
tears of joy flowing freely down his cheeks. "Ucchan!" he cried.
"You're back! I never thought we'd meet again! I've been so
lonely without you these past few years..."

Ukyou squirmed in a vain attempt to get free of the tight embrace.
"Erm," he tried, "just who the hell are you?"

Ranma reangled his head to look into the other boy's eyes. "D-don't
you recognize me?" he stuttered, the tears of joy in his ears
rapidly changing to an anxious, sorrowful stare, and he sniffed,
trying to keep the awaiting flood back. "I-it's me, Ranma, don't
you remember me?"

"But you're a BOY!" Ukyou protested.

"Yes?" Ranma scratched the back of his head, confused.

Ukyou gave the other boy a hard glare. "I always thought you were
a girl!"

"A girl? ME?" Releasing his old friend, Ranma stood back up, huffing.
"How on earth could you think that? Besides, Ranma is hardly a
girl's name, is it?"

"Well..." Ukyou bigsweated. "We were so small, it was hard to
tell, and I always figured 'Ranma' was just a nickname... I never
thought that you could be a boy..."

"Wait a minute." A realization suddenly struck Ranma. "You thought
I was a girl..."

Ukyou nodded.

"Then that means..."

Again, Ukyou nodded, noticing that his old friend began to look at
him with a certain disgust. _Did it take him this long understand?_

"Ukyou, you're a LESBIAN!?"

As soon as Ukyou recovered from her facefault, he bapped his old
friend over the head with his spatula. "Of course not!"

"But, you're a girl, and you always told me you loved me as much
as I loved you... were those just empty lies, then? I've longed
to meet you again for all these years, my empty heart has ached
this long, all for nothing?" Vainly, Ranma tried to wipe the
tears from his eyes.

Again, Ukyou had to hit him over the head. "Look, you idiot," he
hissed, wearily. "Yes, I know I have long hair, and my voice might
sound a bit lighter than yours, but for gods sake, *I'M* a boy,
too!"

"... ... ... oh."

---
Ronny Hedin, thark@mangakai.org, http://nabiki.newberry.edu/thark/
...20/980...    "Momomoto, famous japanese, can swallow his nose."