Akane awoke to find herself gagged and bound tightly, leaning against the wall next to her father and Mr. Saotome. Angry, she began to struggle against her bonds, but they proved too much for even her rage-fueled strength. Her anger, having failed her, slowly faded to be replaced by something else...grief. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as it hit home what she had become. She was an abuser, far worse than a pervert, and she had abused the boy she had come to love because she couldn't see past her anger and jealousy. It surprised her that she could admit she loved Ranma so easily, even if only to herself. Akane didn't know if Ranma would be coming back or not after this was over. If he did, the girls pursuing him would have to change if they wanted him. He was learning what it was like to be in a relationship based on affection and fun as opposed to violence and the dictates of honor. If any of them were to find happiness with him now, they would have to meet this new standard, assuming they could. Cologne observed the girls sadly. They were all learning harsh truths. Shampoo had been subdued ever since she heard Ranma imply that he'd rather forget her. The Kuonji girl was learning of her failings concerning the pigtailed martial artist as well. The youngest Tendo girl looked as though even she had begun to realize her own faults. Even the mercenary appeared to be considering that maybe she didn't quite know Ranma as well as she thought, and perhaps she had been too hasty to dismiss him. Nodoka pondered what she had seen thus far. It disturbed her how much at ease her son was in his female form. Worse yet was how she saw him quivering in terror when those girls had snuggled up to him. How could he be manly if he reacted like that when a girl was affectionate with him? How could he be manly at all when he obviously enjoyed being a girl so much? The only comfort Nodoka could find in the situation was that he did at least appear to be interested in girls, even if he was terrified of them. Glancing down at the family honor blade beside her, she thought about the contract. While it grieved her to think it, perhaps it would be better if he did not return. Then she would be spared having to judge her son as lacking and enforce the terms of the contract. (oO\O/Oo) "Asuka, I'm telling you, this is a waste of time," Ranma tried again as she and Rei were dragged into yet another store in search of the perfect bikini. "They ain't gonna let us go on that class trip to Okinawa. Think about it. What if an angel attacks while we're gone? Who's gonna be here to fight it?" "Of course they're going to let us go, Variable-chan," Asuka sang. "We deserve a vacation and the class trip is a very important part of a Japanese school culture. Now how does this look?" Ranma sighed as Asuka held up a tiny swatch of spandex/lycra against herself. "Why not just go naked?" Ranma asked. "It'd be cheaper and you'd still have almost as much covered. Right, Rei?" "Your idea does have merit. Perhaps, I, too, shall do as you suggest," Rei said, flashing a brief, but mischievous grin. Asuka snickered at the gaping look on Ranma's face as the girl sputtered. "Oh don't be such a prude, Ranma," Asuka chirped. "Well, that's different anyway," Ranma shrugged. "Going from being called a pervert to being a prude." "Here, go try this one on," Asuka said, handing Ranma another bikini. While this one at least wasn't a thong and had a lot more material than the last one Asuka had held up, the color was a big problem for Ranma. "No way," Ranma shook her head vigorously, her pigtail flying. "Not a chance. I don't do pink. It might look good on Rei though." "Very well, I shall try it," Rei said, plucking the suit out of Asuka's hand and heading for the dressing room. Asuka shrugged and went back to looking through the racks. Ranma just stood there rocking back and forth on her heels. "Don't just stand there, Variable-chan," Asuka said a little crossly. "You can look too, ya know?" "Yeah, yeah," Ranma snorted, but began looking through the racks herself. Rei came out of the dressing room in the bikini that Asuka had picked out and walked up to them, presenting herself for judgment. Asuka made her turn around a few times and looked at the blue-haired girl appraisingly. "The cut is great," Asuka concluded, "but the color is all wrong for you, Rei. You're so pale and this color makes you look washed out. We can do better." Rei nodded and headed back to the dressing room as Asuka turned to Ranma. "Let's see what you picked out, Variable-chan." Ranma presented her selections. "Gah! Geez, Ranma, a nun would be embarrassed to wear something that prudish and dowdy," Asuka said, rejecting Ranma's first three choices. "The other two aren't bad, but your hips beg to be displayed. So not boy-bottoms for you!" thus rejecting Ranma's remaining selections and sending her back to the racks grumbling. (oO\O/Oo) An hour later, the trio had found suits that met with Asuka's approval. Rei had ended up with a royal blue tankini that flattered her slender torso. Ranma had been talked into an emerald green bikini with high-cut bottoms and an under-wire top, which in her opinion displayed entirely too much cleavage. Asuka had chosen one with white, high-cut bottoms and a red and white striped racer-back, halter-style top. Currently, they were at the 'reward' portion of this outing; the ice cream shop. Not that Ranma was happy about it. It seemed that the owner had come up with a counter to the dreaded Anything Goes Uber-Cute Ice Cream Scamming Technique and not even the devastating Revised Twin Attack had worked for them today. Ranma looked morosely at her piteously small and plain banana split and lamented about the injustice of it all. Here she was, having been subjected to a day of shopping and being made to model twenty different skimpy outfits only to find that the new counter boy with the strange lisp seemed impervious to their collective feminine charms. She pouted cutely at how wrong this all was. What good was being a cute girl if you couldn't scam extra treats? "Oh cheer up, Variable-chan," Asuka said cheerfully. "If you're gonna pout like that, I'll buy you another one." "You really mean it, Asuka-chan?" Ranma asked in a saccharin tone, instantly brightening and looking up at Asuka with big, sparkling eyes. "Gah!" Asuka recoiled from the sheer cuteness being directed at her, while Rei snickered softly. "Uh...yeah, just stop with the cuteness before I go into insulin shock," Asuka whined. (oO\O/Oo) A bead of sweat appeared on Pen Pen's head as he was once again determined to strip Rei of her title as undisputed staring champion of the household. His training and concentration proved fruitless, however, when a nearby scream of outrage caused the hard-pressed bird to blink and lose the match yet again. "What do you mean we can't go?" Asuka wailed. "I've been looking forward to going diving again for so long now! You can't do this! It's not fair!" "I'm sorry, Asuka, but that's just the way it is," Misato said in a reasonable tone. "Your job is too important for any of you to be allowed to go on a trip that far away." "So we're on permanent stand-by?" Asuka demanded loudly. "Who's the dummkopf that decided that?" "That would be me, the Operations Planning Officer," Misato said smugly. "Ranma," Asuka pleaded, "tell her how messed up this is. Do something!" "Sorry, Asuka, I tried to warn you that this was going to happen," Ranma shook his head. "Yeah, but you like to tell the chain of command where to stick it when you don't like their ideas. So tell her," Asuka persisted. "I only do that when I think they're being morons," Ranma said. "This time I think Misato's right." Misato shot Asuka a smug look. "I know it doesn't happen often, and after that crap with the last angel, I'm beginning to wonder if any of them know what the hell they're doing." Misato's eye developed a twitch. "This time I think they're right." "What? You're taking her side?" Asuka shrieked. "How could you?" "I'm not taking anyone's side, Asuka-chan," Ranma explained placatingly. "I'm just saying, we can't fight angels if we're in Okinawa. If we don't fight, then everyone dies." "So they all get to have fun while we're stuck here waiting for an attack?" Asuka demanded. "Well, that sucks. It's not fair." "Trust me on this, life is rarely fair," Ranma said sagely. "This is the price you're paying for having the glory of defending the world. Besides, since we won't have to go to school, think of all the training we can get done!" Even Rei sweat-dropped, seeing the maniacal gleam in Ranma's eyes at the prospect of two weeks of training. He had been training Rei in the mornings and evenings for a while now and Asuka had joined them after they killed the last angel. Rei had proven herself slightly more advanced than Asuka thanks to Ranma's training and she had a lot better pain-tolerance. However, Asuka was a lot more creative and less predictable than Rei so it was often a toss up in their spars as to who came out on top. "You can also use the time to catch up on your schoolwork and pull your grades up," Misato interjected. "Don't think I haven't seen your report cards. As your guardian, I get your grades sent directly to my terminal and I am very disappointed with all of you..." "Stuff it, Misato," Ranma interrupted. "If you really want to talk about poor performance, we can discuss the last angel some more. I think that has a little more impact on the survival of the human race than whether we get good grades in school." Misato gaped at Ranma, sputtering. "Ranma's right," Asuka agreed. "It's not like I should even have to worry about going to school." "Ranma..." Misato growled. "What about our agreement? You said if I respected your abilities that you would respect my authority." "What's that got to do with this?" Ranma asked. "I'm exercising my authority to insist that you pull your grades up," Misato informed him. Ranma blinked. Technically, she had him there. When that agreement was made, Ranma had just been thinking of it as applying to his job as an Eva pilot. He hadn't considered it could apply outside of that. "Okay, Misato, but on one condition," Ranma stipulated. "What's your condition?" Misato asked. She didn't like the way Ranma grinned evilly. "You're going to be training with us, at least three hours a day," the pigtailed pilot smirked. "It doesn't have to be all at once. We can break it down to an hour and a half in the morning and another hour and a half in the evening. It'll be good for you and you'll lose that beer gut you've got going on there." "WHAT?" Misato squawked indignantly. "Ranma! You can be a real JERK sometimes, you know that?" "Well, it must run in the family," Ranma chuckled. "The world's biggest jerk is my father, after all." (oO\O/Oo) Asuka stood on the NERV gym mat in her typical aggressive stance, legs apart, hands on her hips, and a challenging look on her face as Misato flounced out of the locker room looking vaguely disgruntled. Ranma and Rei knelt in seiza position off to the side of the mat. The German redhead, dressed in the workout outfit she had adopted since she began to train with Ranma, a pair of black and red spandex shorts and a black sports bra over which she wore a red t-shirt, knotted just below her breasts, looked over the older woman appraisingly. The leggy, purple-haired woman was wearing a pair of black, silk running shorts over a pair of purple spandex shorts. On top she was wearing a black sports bra under a loose midriff-baring cut off t-shirt. Her hair was gathered in a high ponytail while Asuka had taken a cue from Ranma and was wearing hers in a braid. "It's about time, Misato," the redhead said as the woman stepped on the mat. "Variable-chan has asked me to 'evaluate' you." The evil glint in Asuka's eye suggested to Misato that this wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Her next words confirmed it. "I do have some frustrations to work off since I didn't get to go relax in Okinawa. Go ahead and get stretched out. Let me know when you’re ready." Misato wasn't intimidated. If it was Ranma, that would have been different, but this was Asuka. How much could the pigtailed martial artist have taught her in the few weeks they had been training? The older woman was certain she would come out on top. It wasn't like she was untrained or anything. However, a glance at the smirking Ranma, as she stretched, didn't do much for her confidence. After Misato stretched out, she turned to face Asuka who was looking at her with a credible version of Ranma's cocky, amused smirk. "I'm ready," Misato grunted. "Okay, this is just a sparring match to see where Misato is," Ranma spoke. "No crippling or lethal blows permitted. You will both stop immediately if I call for it. Other than that, anything goes. Understood?" "Sure thing, Variable-chan," Asuka chirped. "Right," Misato agreed. "Begin," Ranma called. The echo from Ranma's voice hadn't even faded before Misato found herself on the defensive. Asuka was on her immediately, probing her defenses with punches and kicks. The older woman grunted in pain as Asuka landed an only partially blocked spinning back kick to her ribs. Moments later, Misato found herself face down on the mat, her arm stretched out behind her in a painful joint lock as Asuka's knee rested on her spine. "Geez, Misato," Ranma commented as Asuka released her. "I thought you'd do a lot better than that. Asuka took you down in what? Less than 30 seconds? That's pretty pathetic for someone who fancies herself a soldier." "I underestimated her," Misato growled getting to her feet. "It won't happen again." "Pretty confident, ain'tcha," Asuka smirked. "We'll just see what you have to say the next time you're picking yourself up off the mat." "Begin," Ranma announced. Misato managed to last much longer that time, but inevitably, she still went down. By the time Ranma called a halt twenty minutes later, Misato felt like a punching bag. She was sweating heavily and gasping for breath. Her legs, arms, and torso would be sporting some impressive bruising by tomorrow. Her lip was split and a thin trail of blood dripped down her chin from where Asuka punched her in the mouth. Misato was just thankful she managed to raise her head so that it wasn't her nose that got hit. Not that Asuka had gotten off untouched. The redhead would also be sporting her share of bruises and Misato had managed to put her down a couple of times. In contrast, though, Asuka was lightly coated with sweat and barely panting from the exertion. She was also smiling, unlike Misato. "You're right, Variable-chan," Asuka chirped happily. "I do feel better now that I've beat on the person that ruined my diving plans." "Good, I'm glad," Ranma said giving her a warm smile before turning to Misato, who was now bent over with her hands on her knees panting heavily. "As for you, Misato, not bad for a juicer with only basic training and whose idea of strenuous exercise is wandering around NERV trying to figure out where she is." Misato would have growled at him if she had the breath to spare. "Anyway, at least we've got something to work with. We should have that body of yours toned and taut and your skill level up there in no time." (oO\O/Oo) "I don't think Misato likes you very much after today, Variable-chan," Asuka giggled as she, Ranma, and Rei relaxed in the NERV Jacuzzi. "Hey, you're the one that beat her up," Ranma grinned. "Yeah, but then you worked her like a dog doing kata afterward," Asuka pointed out. "She looked like she wanted to crawl off and die." "She'll thank me for it in a few weeks when she notices how much better she looks and feels," Ranma chuckled. "I know I do," Asuka smiled. "Hey, what are you doing?" Ranma asked, surprised. Asuka didn't say anything as she crawled into Ranma's lap and leaned back against his chest. Pulling his arms around her waist, she sighed happily as she relaxed, letting her head rest on his shoulder nuzzling his. "Just relax, Handsome," Asuka said softly. "Just doing a little more deprogramming." Rei looked at Asuka relaxing in Ranma's arms and felt envious, but she knew that it wasn't possible for her to share in the closeness at the moment. Her time would come later after they were out of sight of NERV. She was surprised when she felt a hand take hers and pull it over to rest on Asuka's tummy under cover of the water. Ranma smiled at her reassuringly and suddenly Rei felt much more at ease as the trio continued to soak quietly in the hot tub, enjoying each other's company. (oO\O/Oo) Misato groaned as she sank painfully into the chair in front of Ritsuko's desk. Ritsuko's eyes widened as she saw Misato's swollen lip and the bruise developing on her mouth. "What the hell happened to you?" Ritsuko asked in surprise. "Damn kids," Misato growled, causing Ritsuko's eyebrow to raise as she leaned forward, eager to hear this story. "You sure you don't wanna take over as their guardian?" "Not on your life," Ritsuko giggled. "What happened?" "I had to agree to let Ranma train me to get him to pull his grades up," Misato sighed. "Asuka wasn't very happy when I told her that she couldn't go to Okinawa with their class. Ranma had her 'spar' with me to 'evaluate' my skill level." "In other words, he let her beat you like a drum until she felt better, huh?" Ritsuko smirked. Misato sneered sarcastically at her. "Yeah, it was real funny," Misato groaned. "Now shut up and give me some of the good stuff." Ritsuko opened her desk drawer and extracted a bottle of painkillers, tossing them to Misato. Misato extracted two and swallowed them before tossing the bottle back. "And then the sadistic little bastard made me do kata for another hour before he dismissed me." "Now that's funny," Ritsuko said with a laugh. "Besides, it's good for you. You're not getting any younger and that bar-hopping lifestyle you lead will catch up to you if you don't start working out." "Gee thanks," Misato snorted sarcastically. "I knew I could count on my best friend for support." "Now you know what the Commander feels like when Ranma is upset," Ritsuko pointed out. "I'd just as soon not," Misato returned. "The worst part is, I have to go back for another hour and a half session this afternoon." "Aw, you poor thing," Ritsuko said insincerely. "You know, you could always admit defeat and let Ranma worry about his grades himself." "Never!" Misato said resolutely. "I'll show that little jerk he can't get the best of Misato Katsuragi! I'll take his training and I'll beat his redheaded little girlfriend down and see how he likes that!" "You realize you're talking about beating up a 14 year old girl, right?" Ritsuko asked with a large sweat-drop on her head. "Better yet, let's see how she likes it when I take her boyfriend away from her for a nice rubdown tonight," Misato cackled evilly. "Oh, good thinking," Ritsuko drawled. "Then you can have both Asuka and Rei wanting to 'evaluate' you." "Bring'em on!" Misato crowed. "I'll whip their skanky little asses and take their man from them!" Ritsuko looked at the bottle of painkillers dubiously. Perhaps she shouldn't have given Misato something that strong. She was on duty after all. (oO\O/Oo) "Arrrgh!" Ranma snarled as she sat by the pool in her new bikini doing her physics problems on her laptop. She longed to throw the infernal device into the pool and be done with it. "What's wrong, Variable-chan?" Asuka asked coming up behind Ranma and putting her arms around the other girl's shoulders. "Stupid physics," Ranma pouted. "Oh, is that all?" Asuka asked, her hand reaching out and tapping some keys on Ranma's computer. "There, see? That was easy." "Maybe for you," Ranma said. "I ain't had that much schooling. The guy Pop left me with said it was a distraction from the art and only let me go when the local authorities made him. If it's so easy, how come your grades are so bad?" "Because I have a hard time figuring out what the questions are asking," Asuka sighed. "I'm not that good at reading the Kanji." "Okay, that makes sense," Ranma nodded. "It's not like you need to go to school here anyway. I know you were in college in Germany." "Yeah, I graduated last year with my Bachelor's Degree in Science," Asuka said proudly. "Wow, you're pretty smart," Ranma smiled. "Of course," Asuka agreed. "So are you." "What? Me? Nah, I ain't all that smart," Ranma disagreed. "Sure you are, Variable-chan," Asuka ruffled Ranma's hair. "Uneducated doesn't equal stupid. I've seen you come up with some really brilliant solutions to a lot of problems we've had." "I dunno," Ranma said doubtfully. "I mean most of the things I came up with the solutions for were pretty obvious." "That's why with all the brain power they have here they came up with it before you did, right?" Asuka smirked. "I guess," Ranma agreed reluctantly. "Enough studying for now," Asuka grinned wickedly. "I wanna play." With that she grabbed Ranma and tossed her into the pool. Rei sighed sadly as she watched the redheads chase each other around the pool, giggling and shrieking as they splashed and dunked each other. She really wanted to participate too, but the security tapes would most likely be seen by the Commander. She would then have to explain her change in behavior, which could lead to her and Ranma being separated. That could not be allowed to happen. Rei's introspection was interrupted by the appearance of two redheads surfacing from the water in front of her. "What's wrong, Rei?" Ranma asked. "You look sad." "Do you wanna come play with us?" Asuka asked. "I cannot," Rei said sadly. "If I were to do so, Commander Ikari would not approve and take steps to come between us." "Aw, geez, I'm sorry, Rei," Ranma said. "I didn't think about that. How about we get out of here where we can all have fun together?" "Yeah, let's get out of here," Asuka said giving Rei a smile. "Then you guys can explain to me what you're talking about." (oO\O/Oo) Four hours later, the trio was back at NERV. They had been at home, enjoying a group snuggle, Rei taking her turn being held on Ranma's lap as she told the other two about how she had been raised by Gendo, when their phones rang to call them in. If anything, Rei's life was as bad as Ranma's, the only real difference being that the focus was on psychological abuse and conditioning rather than physical as it had been with Ranma. Asuka had looked positively green as she heard about some of the consequences Rei had faced if she had displayed any emotion or behavior other than calm obedience. Ranma was faced with a pretty eye-opening realization. Suddenly, he knew how others viewed Genma when they were told about the things Genma had done to him. He had never understood why they were so angry, sometimes even sick, when they heard. Now he knew because, for the first time, Ranma truly wanted to kill a person and take pleasure in it as he ripped them apart bit by bit. Instead, he just held Rei close as she told her disturbing tale while Asuka snuggled up to his side and held Rei's hands supportively. After Rei finished, Asuka decided that she would tell them her story, the close supportive environment they had achieved having allowed her to drop walls to some extent. Ranma had put his arm around Asuka's shoulder, still holding Rei in his lap, as Asuka told them about the father that abandoned her and her mother and how her mother had slowly gone insane before being locked in an institution with a doll that she talked to as if it were Asuka. Finally, Asuka told them about entering the room to see her mother had hung herself. Though her eyes were brimming, Asuka didn't cry. She hadn't quite let her walls down that far, but one day maybe she would. Then it was Ranma's turn to tell his story while in the comforting embrace of the two girls. When it was over, they each realized that none of them had had it any better than the others and in the end the three of them just sat quietly, enjoying the closeness and the fact that they had each other and didn't have to be alone anymore. It didn't really matter that each of them had held something back that they weren't ready to share with the others. For Rei, it was her true nature; for Asuka it had been the true depth of her pain; for Ranma it was his true origins, the fact that he was not of this world. For now, it was enough to know that they could each relate to the others, knowing that each shared the burden of a troubled, unpleasant past. So it was three subdued teens who stood before Dr. Ritsuko Akagi as she briefed them on the situation. While she filled them in on what was going on and the plans to deal with it, Ritsuko picked up on the somber air around the trio. The blonde scientist wondered what could have happened to sap the vitality that seemed to radiate from Asuka and Ranma. "So do you all understand the plan?" Ritsuko asked and received three nods. "Good, Asuka, you will be the one going in. Ranma, you will be on the top as her backup." "What are my orders?" Rei asked when they weren't forthcoming. "Rei, you will stay here just in case," Ritsuko informed her. "I understand," Rei said, her shoulders slumping a little as she looked down at the floor. Her reaction wasn't lost on Ranma. As Ritsuko led Asuka off to fit her with her heat resistant plug suit, Ranma pulled Rei aside. "What's wrong, Rei?" Ranma asked. "It is nothing," Rei replied dispassionately as always. "Is it because you're not going with us?" Ranma persisted. "You're feeling left out?" "I-I do not like being left behind," Rei said hesitantly. "I wish to be there with you and Asuka. I am being foolish." "No, you're not, Rei," Ranma disagreed. "I know if it was you and Asuka going, I'd want to be there with ya. It's because you care. Nothin' wrong with that and it ain't foolish. I promise, as soon as this is done, I'll come right back." "That will be acceptable," Rei nodded as they headed off to the locker rooms. (oO\O/Oo) "I'm not going out there like this!" Asuka wailed. "This is embarrassing!" "The suit will compress once the entry plug is pressurized," Ritsuko said tiredly. "Now let's go. We don't have much time." "But I just can't go out there!" Asuka mewled. "I can't let him see me like this! I look like a big, red beach ball!" "Let who see you like this?" Ritsuko asked in a teasing tone causing Asuka to blush as red as her suit when she realized what she had said. "Wait right here. I'll be right back." Ritsuko walked out of the room and quickly spotted Ranma in his plug suit waiting nearby. She marched up to him and grabbed his hand before dragging the confused pilot back the way she had come, into the girls' locker room. "There," Ritsuko said, grinning in triumph. "Now he's seen you so you don't have anything to worry about." "WAH? Don't look at me!" Asuka wailed as she caught sight of a wide-eyed Ranma being dragged by Ritsuko. "Why not?" Ranma asked. "Because I look so stupid," Asuka whined. "Heh," Ranma smirked as he crossed his arms and leaned against a locker. "Now you know how I feel when you drag me around in my girl form making me try on all those clothes." "But that's different!" Asuka protested. "You looked good. I just look like a fool." Ranma frowned then had a moment of inspiration. He had learned a few things about dealing with girls since he had arrived here and he had gotten much better at keeping his foot out of his mouth. "Asuka-chan," Ranma said soothingly. "It doesn't matter if that suit makes you look like a big red balloon. I know you're still the same cute girl inside it." Well, he hadn't mastered the art of keeping his foot out of his mouth quite yet, but he was doing much better. Asuka's look darkened as she heard the first part of what he said, but unlike the girls from back home, she hadn't stopped listening at the first sign of something she didn't like. Her face softened and her cheeks bloomed a light pink as the second part penetrated. "You really mean it?" Asuka asked. "You really think I'm cute?" "I...uh..." Ranma stammered softly, feeling his face heat up with his own blush and feeling really nervous all of a sudden. "Yeah, beyond cute even. Beautiful." "Oh Ranma!" Asuka said happily. "Okay, I can do this. No problem." (oO\O/Oo) "Oh my, that was so beautiful," Kasumi said, dabbing a tear from her eye as Nabiki rewound the tape. "Who would have thought Ranma had it in him?" Nabiki smirked. "Ran-chan always was a soft touch for a girl in distress," Ukyo pointed out somberly, remembering when he had told her that she was the cute fiancée. She had been crying and depressed at the time and she had grabbed on to his words like a lifeline. It was a bitter realization that they hadn't sounded nearly as sincere as the words he just said to the redhead. How had she gone so wrong with Ranma? In just a few short months, those two girls had gotten closer to and received more affection from Ranma than all the rest of them had in a year. She knew the answer. Their love didn't hurt him. They didn’t ask him to choose. They didn't throw honor in his face to try and manipulate him. They didn't compete over him and they never selfishly demanded his attention. Instead, those girls seemed content to share him, even supporting each other at times in being with him. As much as Ukyo hated them for taking the man she loved, she found she couldn't begrudge them. She had heard their stories and they deserved what happiness they could find. Maybe if Ranma came back, she could take a lesson from them on how to earn his affection.
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