The promised side story to Playfair.
You should not need to read that story to understand this one though.

                        RIAFYALP
		by Scott K. Jamison
(Note:  Ranma 1/2 and its characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.  No 
infringement intended.)

	A scream woke Ranma in the early morning dark.  Akane's scream!  
Simultaneously cursing her inconsideration and praying she'd be all 
right, he sped out of the guest room.
	When he realized the shrieking was coming from the bathroom, he 
halted and carefully cracked open the door for a peek inside.  Yep, Akane 
was naked and no one else in sight.
	"No way I'm walking into that one.  Kasumi, you do the honors."  
The eldest Tendou daughter entered while Ranma studiously looked away, 
then shut the door and started listening.
	"Good morning Akane.  What seems to be the problem?"
	"Are you *blind*?  Look at me!"
	"You look fine, dear.  Did Ranma tamper with the scale again?"
	"Dammit, Kasumi, I'm a girl! *SPLASH* And I'm still a girl!"
	"That's right Akane, and a very pretty one."
	"But hot water is supposed to change me back!"
	Whoops, thought Ranma.  I smell trouble.  He knocked.
	"Kasumi, help her get decent, I'm coming in."
	"Who's that?  Watch it with the hands, sister!"
	Kasumi had done wonders with only a few seconds and damp towels.  
Akane was modestly covered and yet--Ranma forced himself to think, 
Uncute, uncute.
	"Who's this jerk?" asked Akane, in a very un-Akane tone of voice.
	"Don't you remember Ranma Saotome?  Your fiancee?"
	"Duh!  Ranma's a girl, and...actually he does look a little like 
Ranma."  Comphrehension began to dawn in her eyes.
	"Let me guess.  You were born a boy, but on a trip to China, you 
fell into a cursed pool.  Ever since you turn into a girl when doused 
with cold water."
	"yeah, but--"
	"Welcome to the club.  So this is your first time on a parallel 
world, huh?"
	"Pa-ra-re-ru Wa-a-ru-do?"  Ranma briefly explained the multiple 
Earths theory.
	"Apparently, the more bizarre your life is already, the more 
likely you are to cross over every so often.  I've done it five or six 
times now, depending whether you count alternate futures."
	The family grumbled at being late to breakfast, and Akane did not 
seem at all comfortable in her school uniform.  Then she dumped water on 
Soun!
	"Whoa, Pops didn't go panda!  It's true then!"
	"Akane dearest, whatever I did, I'm sorry, but please don't do 
that again!"
	"No sweat, Pops."  Definitely not the normal Akane.
	On the way to school, Akane leapt up on the fence in front of 
Ranma, but soon found herself slipping.  
	"It's those shoes, Akane.  They don't grip surfaces like these 
slippers do."
	Akane quickly removed her shoes and socks, and ran down the fence 
barefoot.  "Darned if I'm going to be grounded."
	Ranma was so busy keeping up, he failed to notice the Shampoo 
ambush.  She soon had him in an uncomfortably tight clinch.
	"Nihao!  Shampoo love Ranma!  Ranma dump Akane, marry Shampoo, 
yes?"  Ranma held his breath, waiting for Akane to clobber him.
	instead, there was an amused look on her face, one Ranma thought 
was a bit evil.  "That's fine with me.  After all, *I'm* not interested 
in boys."  She strode off.
	"Akane you bastard!  You can't do this to me!"
	"Oh happy day!"  exclaimed Shampoo.  "Violent pervert girl finally 
give up!  Now Ranma like Shampoo, yes?  
	"Uh, Ranma like Shampoo not so much."  The ensuing entanglement 
cost precious time and Ranma arrived at Furinkan High just in time to see 
Akane face off against Kunou.  Apparently, the swordsman had seen her 
arrive alone and jumped to the conclusion she was available again.
	Her stance seemed familiar, though it wasn't one Ranma had seen 
her use before.  Then she smote Kunou with the Tenshin Amaguriken.  Of 
course!  This Akane's got my moves.  Scary.
	"And don't call Ranma 'pig-tailed girl' anymore!  Only I get to 
do that!"  Kunou wasn't listening too well, being comatose at the moment.
	Of course they were late, and the pair found themselves on hall 
bucket duty again.
	"You're even more violent and unfeminine than the regular Akane."
	"I should be.  I didn't get asked if I wanted a girl's body."
	"Neither did I."
	"Hey, that's right!  Let's take a look!"  *SPLOOSH*
	Ranma felt the familiar tingling.
	"Whoa, Ranma, It *is* you.  Man, I never thought I'd be so happy 
to see your uncute face."
	"Uncute!?  I'd dump a bathtub over your head, if I thought it 
would do any good.  Say, do you have the same problem I do with saying 'I 
l-lu-lh--"
	"To my Ranma, yeah.  Even though we fight all the time, I want to 
hold her and tell her how I feel inside.  But then I can't quite get it 
out, and I insult her instead, or something interrupts."
	"Me too. Cover me while I find some hot water."
	The rest of the day went fairly smoothly, absent Akane riling up 
Yuka and Sayuri by"cutting" them accidentally.  Turned out this Akane 
didn't know them that well.  Ranma met Akane at the final bell.  She was 
wolfing down something from a bag.
	"Like a croquette?  We *munch* made 'em in home ec today."
	"You cooked these yourself?  Ggh.  I don't--*mmph*" as Akane 
tossed one into his mouth.
	"Hey, that was actually edible!  Are you sure this is *your* 
cooking?" 
	"What do you mean, am I sure--I get it, your Akane's not a good 
cook, is she?"
	"Um, no."
	"Neither is my Ranma."
	They laughed at the cosmic joke.
	As they walked home, Ranma heard a faint "bwee."
	"Hey, look, Akane, it's P-chan."
	"Yeah, so?"  The piglet ran up to his beloved mistress, only to 
be stomped on.
	"And take that!  And that!"  The pig's eyes were filled with 
tears.  What had he done to anger Akane?
	"Enough already!  Geez, I know Ryouga's a jerk, but he was just 
trying to be friendly."  P-chan looked up, confused.  She knew his 
secret?  He was a dead man.
	"But he's been sleeping with my fiancee!"
	"No, this one sleeps with my fiancee, so if anyone has the right 
to beat him up, it's me."
	"Bwee?"
	"Um, Ryouga, this is going to be a bit hard to believe, but this 
isn't the Akane you know.  Well, she sorta is, but her brain's been 
switched with an Akane from a world where she's a guy."
	"Bwee!"
	"Yeah.  me too.  Why don't we get back to the dojo, get you 
changed, and we can discuss this like men, er two men and a woman, uh, 
never mind.  Just for today, I promise I won't hit you."
 	After supper, the three young martial artists sparred a bit.  
Ryouga was at a severe disadvantage.  While he still could not bring 
himself to strike Akane, she had no such qualms about him.  Ranma was 
challenged too.  For the first time he got a real feel for how people 
felt when facing his female form.
	Speaking of which--he ducked into the pond.  Sure enough, Akane 
held back just a little more against what looked like her fiancee, making 
the match equal.
	Later, they talked.
	"Yeah, when I got my first period, I hadn't a clue what was going 
on.  I thought I was going to die!"
	"Me too, but Kasumi figured out what was wrong and helped me 
through it."
	"Must be nice to have a big sister to help you.  I can't even 
show myself to my mother--hey!  If I've always been a girl in your world, 
then I don't have to hide from her.  What's my mom like?"
	"I'm sorry, Ranma, but Auntie Saotome died a couple of years 
ago.  The medical bills ate up all the money your family had, which is 
why you and your father live with us.  I was off on that training trip, 
so I never even got to meet her."
	"Mom..."  Ranma forced back tears.  He had to be a man!
	"I know.  Mine died when I was just a little boy, and by the way 
this Kasumi acts, the same thing happened here.  What about your mother, 
Ryouga?  I've never bothered to ask about your family."
	The wandering kid fell into the pool (or was it a jump?) and his 
squeals were no real answer.
	Akane and Ranma laughed.
	At bedtime, Ranma overheard, "Okay, okay, you can sleep in the 
room, but no touching, or you're sausage, got it?"
	"Bwee."
	Ranma wondered for a bit just why it was Ryouga never even talked 
about going home, then dismissed it as a topic for another day.
	The sound of splashes and giggling awoke him.  That was Akane's 
giggling!  She was back to normal.  Ranma grinned as he got up to greet 
her.  The other Akane had been fun for a day, but he was glad to have his 
own Akane back.  Maybe, just maybe this time he'd be able to say "I love 
you."

		THE END

Author's Note:  Since I originally wrote this story, I have learned 
there is a chapter in the manga that shows Ryouga's home, if not his home 
life.  Still waiting to actually see it before writing "what Akane does 
to Ryouga when she gets back."

SKJAM!
"What if...everyone in the Ranmaverse woke up one morning with common sense?"

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