Oscir portion provided by Matthew Lewis who is also editor of The Other
Cheek from which this story is a part of. The Other Cheek is in turn a
sequel to The Butt, of which Gary Kleppe is the editor of.
C & C welcomed.
-------------------------------------------------
Ryoga sighed as he spotted the farmer. It was not that he hated the
guy, but this was the third time in six hours he had somehow managed to
bump into the guy again.
The farmer glanced up and saw the boy that he had met early in the
morning coming towards him again. If he had not seen it with his own
eyes he would have thought the boy was pulling some kind of practical
joke on him. The kid came from the opposite direction from which he had
left the first time. "You again? Look, why don't you wait a couple of
hours until I'm done and I'll take you into town."
Ryoga nodded sheepishly and quickly set his pack down to help the
man finish his chores faster. The faster he got on his way the faster he
would find Ranma again. *Don't worry, I'll save you,* Ryoga thought.
*That idiot of a father you have better not have hurt you again.*
* * * * *
Genma sneezed. This caused enough of a hesitation that allowed his
son to tag him with a roundhouse kick knocking him into the pool,
effectively ending their morning sparring. He frowned as Ranma
immediately began apologizing and helped him out of the pool. *Where
did I go wrong,* Genma thought as he looked up at the sky. Every one of
his teachings Ranma had either ignored or did the opposite.
"Are you alright, Pop?" Ranma asked as she helped Genma up. She
waited for the inevitable 'Saotome Counter' and left herself wide open to it.
She knew her Pop's ego always made him want to get the last hit in. She
was surprised as he just gave her a nod and proceeded inside towards the
bath.
Genma shook his head in disgust with himself. How in the world he
managed to raise such a sweet daugh... son he could never figure out.
He forced himself to ignore the pleasant feeling he got when he recalled
Ranma's concerned face. His wife, Nodoka's face then forced itself into
his mind. *This would not do at all,* he thought soberly. Nodoka had
strange ideas of what was manly and what wasn't, but turning into a girl
he was sure did not fall in to the former category.
* * * * *
"Ack... what are you doing here?" Akane asked as she nearly jumped
out of her skin. She hadn't expected anyone else to be down here so soon.
"Uh... just washing my bed sheets and some clothes. I accidentally
knocked over the glass of water I had on my night stand," Nabiki said
hurriedly.
"What a coincidence! I did the same thing. Hehehe!" Akane laughed
nervously.
"You go ahead and finish. I get to it after you're done," Nabiki
said smoothly now that she had regained her control after being surprised by
her younger sister. She had never noticed that Akane did her own
laundry before, but then again she had never went to the laundry room
except to find a pair of socks before either.
Akane waited until she was sure Nabiki was out of the room before
unveiling the sheets she had used to cover her undergarments with.
*What had happened last night,* she wondered and scrunched up her nose
at the musky scent coming from them. She would need to wash her hands
after this.
* * * * *
Kasumi stretched out lazily as she awoke. *That was a most
wonderful dream,* she thought and blushed red as recollections of it came
to her. She almost slid her hand down to her bottom to feel if it was sore.
She blushed again as thoughts of a redhead spanking her emerged. She snuck
a peek to her side to see if Ranma was up yet and was surprised to see
no one there. She looked at the clock. It was already eight in the
morning!
She raced out of her room and found everyone at the table eating
already. Someone had already cooked it seemed. It was then she noticed
everyone staring at her. She looked down. "Eep!"
Nabiki's thoughts turned from shock to outrage as she watched Kasumi
race back to her room. She rapped on the table with her chopstick
getting her father's and Uncle Saotome's attention. The both of them
still sat there staring slack jawed at the spot where Kasumi had stood
standing in that teddy Nabiki had bought for Ranma. She finally pulled
out a hammer and bopped Uncle with it while Akane did the same to their
father.
Ranma came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of soup and another
one with rice. "I thought I heard Kasumi's cry right now. She's not up
yet?"
Nabiki gave Ranma a suspicious glance. She could recognize Kasumi's
'cry'? "She went back to her room to change. She was wearing something
very interesting this morning."
Ranma noted the hard edge in Nabiki's voice. She looked helplessly
at Akane for support but found the younger Tendo also having a cross look
on her face. "Ah. She had all of her pajamas in the wash, so I lent
her one of mine."
Kasumi's face remained a rosy red when she finally got dressed and
came back to the table. Fortunately, her father and Uncle were back to
playing shogi in another room so she only had to explain herself to her
sisters. "I guess I slept in this morning."
Ranma could see how flustered Kasumi was so she quickly interrupted,
"Don't blame yourself, Kasumi. I woke up early this morning and I saw
how peaceful you looked sleeping, so I decided to give you a break and
cook breakfast myself."
Nabiki could also see how uncomfortable Kasumi was and pushed the
jealousy she had felt earlier away. Of course her proper sister
wouldn't have worn something so sexy unless there was good reason.
Kasumi couldn't be after Ranma. The thought nearly made Nabiki laugh.
"Ranma's right. You must have been tired from all the preparation you
did for Ranma's room along with your usual chores. You deserved to
sleep in once in awhile." Akane nodded in agreement at Nabiki's words.
Kasumi flashed Nabiki and Akane a smile. She gave Ranma one also as
the redhead passed her a bowl of soup. "Oh my! This is wonderful.
You're a very good cook Ranma."
Ranma blushed and waved her hand in embarrassment. "No, I'm not.
I'm really a hack at this. Pop was always complaining about the way the
both of us cooked so I've practiced whenever I had the chance."
Nabiki shook her head in wonder. "No offence, Ranma. But how could
someone like Uncle raise a girl like you."
Ranma smiled when she heard no hesitation in Nabiki's voice over the
word 'girl'. "Simple. Aside from the art and our school, I did the
opposite of whatever he told me to. Back then I thought that if what he
told me to do was manly, the opposite must be feminine. This wasn't
always true I found, but the habit kind of stuck to me."
"I could see that," Akane said, nodding her head. "A quiet, gentle,
sensitive, and modest girl to the loud, brash, blunt, and boastful man."
"Akane," Kasumi chided, but silently agreed.
"He didn't mind it too much as long as I listened to him when he
trained me in the art. He cares more about my skills then the way I
act, but I think he kind of likes it, even if he won't admit it. I
don't know how I would have survived if I acted like him during our
travels. I make more friends being nice," Ranma said and beamed as all
three Tendo sisters agreed with her.
* * * * *
Ranma couldn't believe how many friends she was making. It seemed
that Akane was as popular among the girls as she was among the guys. Ranma's
reputation was helped with the two of them being together. "Thank you
for your notes Yuka. I need all the help I can get."
Yuka managed a squeaky 'you're welcome' before developing a sudden
case of shyness and went back to her desk. She sighed as she watched a girl
fill her empty spot in the crowd that had formed around the girl. Even
after Nabiki explained the engagement was some plot of hers to cut Akane
a little slack among the boys, Yuka still felt slightly envious for her
best friend.
"Man, she's sooo cuuute!" Hiroshi whined again at Daisuke. His
friend was busy drooling over a select photograph that he had bought from
Nabiki. It didn't show as much skin as the photos Nabiki usually dealt
them, but that didn't stop it from being the day's best seller.
"I think Nabiki's holding out on us. There's no way that she
couldn't even get one picture of her in a bikini or a tank top or even a
T-shirt. This is Nabiki we're talking about," Daisuke complained but
still kept staring into the picture of Ranma in her usual clothes doing
some sort of martial arts kata. The only thing that made this picture
better than just looking at Ranma was that the clothes clung to her body
because of sweat in the photo and her scrumptious form could easily be
seen.
"Maybe she is. You know how she likes to drive up the price. I
can't imagine how much a photo showing some skin might cost. If I didn't
see Ranma pasting Kuno to that tree yesterday, I might be tempted to bring
my camera to school," Hiroshi sighed along with Daisuke as they and the
rest of the boys in the class looked at the new girl that had graced
their worthless lives.
Gosunkugi sighed forlornly at his camera. Nabiki had given him a
direct threat and forbade him to use it to take photos of Ranma,
something that she had never done before. Akane was still within his
limits, the mercenary had told him though. Even though he knew that
Ranma's engagement to Akane must be a sham, he felt slightly jealous of
the girl. It was then the idea of the two girls together that changed
his feelings, along with everyone else. He looked at the one picture he
had taken the day before, before Nabiki had barred him from his usual
hobbies. In it, Akane held Ranma's hand and she wore a smile that
Gosunkugi had never seen before.
* * * * *
Akane was happy for Ranma as they walked out of the school grounds.
Ranma was fast becoming popular and making many new friends. "Nabiki
should be out in a few moments."
"I don't mind waiting," Ranma said. It gave her time to wave to a
few of the new friends she had made. Nearly everyone in school was taking
her engagement to Akane none to seriously and it had made for a great
conversation starter. Akane had been right about some of the more pig
headed boys. Even after beating them up quite badly, they came up for
more and she had guessed that it would continue for some time. Other
than the few slight brawls that had erupted among the boys, the day had
gone by perfectly.
"Ranma there you are! Have you seen Nabiki? The girl told me I had
some forms to sign," Genma grumbled as he ran towards his son and his
fiancée. He grimaced at how nice Ranma looked today. His only
consolation was that the boy wasn't wearing a dress to school.
"We're waiting for her also...," Akane started to reply before and
loud cry cut her off.
"Die, Saotome!"
Genma felt a chill run down his spine and looked up only to have a
fist planted into it. "Er, hello boy. Long time no see."
Ranma jerked her head at the sound of a familiar sounding voice. It
was him! "Ryoga!"
<Glomp>
That was when all activity in the area just simply stopped. All the
boys in the area fainted at the sight of their goddess wrapping her arms
around another man. Half the girls also fainted for that matter.
* * * * *
Nabiki's face was absolutely blank as she walked up to her sister
and Ranma who was currently latched onto a boy. She had just come out from
the school to meet up with Uncle when she had seen this strange and
wholly unpleasant sight. Thoughts of finding out the name of the boy
and exacting revenge played in her mind. "Hello and who might you be?"
Unfortunately, Ryoga had froze upon contact with what he thought was
a very cute girl. A trail of blood formed below his nose as his body sent
him signals telling him that the girls curves were very comfortable.
"Um... ah... hehe... I...."
Ranma could feel the temperature around them drop suddenly at
Nabiki's appearance. She quickly let go for Ryoga. "This is my best friend,
Hibiki Ryoga. He just showed up."
Ryoga's mind was once again under his control as the girl let go of
him. "Um, you must be mistaken miss. I've never seen you before in my
life."
"Huh?"
"Ranma, you're in your cursed body right now," Akane whispered to
her friend.
"Oh, that's right! It's me, Ranma. I got cursed in China recently.
I turn into a girl when I get hit with cold water. Isn't it great? Now I
can be a girl forever," Ranma said after she finally understood.
Nabiki slapped her forehead. "Ranma, do you think you might want a
microphone? I don't think everybody in school heard."
Ryoga blinked in confusion. The words China, curse, and cold water
brought back painful memories of a black pot to him. "Jusenkyo?"
"Yeah, how'd you know about...," before Ranma could finish, Ryoga
let out a growl that made her step back.
"Saotome Genma! This must be all your fault!" Ryoga cried out. He
had always known his friend acted a bit feminine, but this was ridiculous.
His best friend was one hundred percent male. Genma's training must
have snapped Ranma's poor mind.
Genma had been slowly backing away when Ryoga's attention had been
turned, but now he ran away from the scene at full tilt. Ranma's friend
had always been a tad fanatical. "Hey, it wasn't my fault! You think I
want him to be a girl?"
"Come back here!" Ryoga ran right after Genma. He risked a glance
back at his friend. How could he not recognize the girl? Her features
resembled that of his best friend, particulary in the eyes. They held the
same kindness. He would avenge Ranma if it was the last thing he did.
* * * * *
Ranma hurriedly explained his history with Ryoga as both Tendo girls
were giving him a glare that would have curdled milk. "He's the boy I
said that was the only one that I had for a friend. I met him in an all
boys school back in junior high. I hadn't wanted to go there, but I
promised my Pop to give it a try. It was there I met this boy who
seemed terminally lost even though he had been going to this school for
a year by that time. He had been trying to get to the cafeteria and
seeing how he was always late, there was one piece of bread left which I
had taken. I offered to share with him when he had challenged me for it
afterwards. I later helped take him home and to school for about the
rest of the school year. We became best friends."
Akane softened her gaze. She squashed the feelings of jealousy
down. Over the course of a couple of days she had already given up on 'fixing'
Ranma's identity problem, but not her hatred for her real gender. Akane
could tell though that Ranma probably considered Ryoga to be one in a
million and he did not change her opinion of boys, but it would not hurt
to try. "See, some boys are good."
Ranma shrugged. "Maybe. Not that I've seen but Ryoga is pretty
nice to me. That's why he doesn't like Pop very much. He tries to protect
me from all the training Pop gives me. I think Ryoga feels sorry for me
if that is possible given what he goes through. This guy can get lost
in a room with only one door. He's that bad. In fact, the last time we
saw each other I was waiting for him to come to our weekly practice
sessions. After the third day waiting, Pop got tired and said it was
time to leave."
Nabiki couldn't see anything to indicate there was anything other
than friendship in Ranma's eyes as she talked about Ryoga. She grudgingly
let go of her dark thoughts of the boy. No sooner did she finish her
thoughts than Ryoga and Uncle, now in panda form, came running past
them. He must have gotten wet during the fight. She suddenly felt
herself being pushed to the ground.
"Get down," Ranma yelled out as soon she saw a swirling bandana
flying through the air. Ryoga must really be mad if he was using this
dangerous move in an open area. His old friend did look even angrier
this time around.
Nabiki looked up to see what looked to be a swirling piece of cloth
coming towards her. "Don't worry, Ranma. It's nothing."
"No, Nabiki. It's too dangerous!" Akane yelled out. She had
noticed there was something strange with the way the bandana moved. The
speed at which it was traveling and its rigidity suggested to her how good a
martial artist this Ryoga was.
Nabiki blinked. Time seemed to standstill as she felt Ranma lunge
at her. The next thing she saw was a red pigtail flying in the air. It
was not attached to anything. "Oh no, Ranma!"
Ranma frowned as she got up and touched her hair. "It's no biggie,"
she said and proceeded to look around the ground for her chopped off
hair.
Akane had seen the whole thing and anger clouded her eyes. She
touched her own long locks and knew how important hair was to her. She
watched as Ranma's head bowed down to the ground. Her fiancée was crying!
She immediately ran over to where Ryoga had trapped Uncle in the tree. "Did
you see what you just did? You cut your _friend's_ hair off with those
stupid bandanas of yours! You could have hurt her."
"What?" Ryoga asked as he quickly looked back. If he hadn't been
chasing Genma this wouldn't have happened. "It's all my fault!"
"Wait, Ryoga!" Ranma ran up to where Akane stood. "Damn. He's run
off. There's no way telling when he'll get back with that direction
sense of his. It doesn't hurt me to have my hair cut."
"Huh?" Akane asked intelligibly. "Ranma, you don't mind?" Akane
could still remember the image of Ranma's flowing hair in the shower the
other day. It was now all gone.
"Oh, I liked my hair, but I've got it covered. Let's just go home
and I'll explain it. Pop, you can come down from that tree now. He's
gone."
[Nobody but us pandas,] Genma wrote on a board. Something he had
developed to communicate when he was stuck in his cursed form. Knowing
that boy's ability to get lost, Ryoga could be back any second since he
had wanted to get away from here. Genma shuddered as he remembered the
cold look in Ryoga's eyes as that water fountain had burst and covered
them with water. The boy didn't get wet since he had used the umbrella
he had with him, but Genma had. It seemed Ryoga still remembered the
panda that had tried to eat him.
* * * * *
Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane really didn't think Ranma could surprise
them anymore, but he did it again.
Ranma-kun grinned as he quickly tied his hair back up with the
dragon hair he had picked up in China. "I didn't see anyone around at the
time and I was _really_ hungry. I found out later that it was cure for
baldness for men since it made your hair grow, but it would not stop
growing unless I wore this dragon hair in my hair or I was in girl
form."
"Wait," Kasumi said as Ranma reached for the glass of cold water.
She hesitantly reached for the dragon hair and untied it. She waited until
Ranma's hair grew to her waist before tying it back up again. "I think
you would look better with long hair."
Ranma blushed. He poured the water over her head. She looked into
the handheld mirror that they had let her use. "Really? You think so?"
In answer, Nabiki gently brought her fingers to Ranma's hair and
caressed it along its length. She soon found her hands colliding with
Akane's. She brought her hands back as if she had been stung and
noticed Akane had done the same. The both of them blushed and Nabiki
wondered what came over her.
Kasumi undid the tie again and began weaving the dragon hair
underneath where it wasn't noticeable. "Yes, I think this looks very nice.
I'll have to trim it a bit so that the style won't look too silly for your
male form."
"Thank you, Kasumi," Ranma said gratefully. She swished her hair
from side to side while looking at the mirror. She didn't know how, but this
very little act of having her hair done made her feel very feminine.
She mussed up her hair and looked at the girls in front of her through
half lidded eyes. The sight of three jaws dropping did more to ease her
worries than Kasumi's words had.
* * * * *
Akane looked down at herself. The pajamas made her look frumpy she
felt. When compared to how Kasumi looked this morning, Akane almost
felt as if she were a boy. However, she definitely did not want to wear
either that blue thing or that leather ensemble. *I'd die if anyone
ever saw me dressed like that,* Akane thought, blushing.
She picked at her clothes with her fingers while trying to figure
out what to do. She didn't know why she was making such a big deal about
her clothes in the first place. She sighed as she looked at the
sleeping mat that lay beside her bed. *Ranma would like it if I wore
something special,* Akane thought answering her own question and shocked
at herself again for even thinking it. Frustrated with herself, Akane
decided to keep the clothes she had on now.
Ranma stood outside Akane's door wondering if she should knock. The
other girl was expecting her after all. However, she could tell Akane
was the type that might be uncomfortable if she was caught unawares.
*Ranma, you've seen her naked at least twice,* Ranma berated herself.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma plunged in to her fate. She kept the
disappointment of seeing Akane already dressed for bed from her face.
"Did you want the bed, Ranma?" Akane asked while she set and reset
the sleeping mat by the bed over and over again. She self consciously
rubbed her arms as she looked away from Ranma. The other girl was
gorgeous as usual even in a pair of boxers and undershirt. It was
better than the bra and panties Ranma had suggested and been willing to
try since she had a distinct lack of real sleepwear. Akane didn't know
what her reactions to seeing all that skin yet none of the important
parts would have been like.
"That's okay, Akane. I prefer the floor. I'm been sleeping on the
ground for ten years so I'm used to it," Ranma said warmly. Akane was
such a nice girl, always worrying after her. She crossed the room to
sit on the bed by Akane.
Akane unconsciously pulled back as Ranma sat beside her, not quite
touching. Ranma had a mysterious glint in her eyes. "W-what is it?"
Akane stammered, her hand balled in a fist holding on to the blanket on
her bed as hard as she could.
"Nothing," Ranma giggled, "just glad to be here with you. I can't
thank you and your sisters enough for staying with me until I get used
to sleeping alone."
"Oh," Akane said, relaxing a bit. For a moment there, she had
though Ranma might have been trying to do 'something' with her. *Not that
that might be a bad thing,* Akane felt.
"Well, you want to call it a night? With you here, I'm sure I can a
good nights sleep," Ranma said truthfully, looking Akane into the eyes.
Unlike Nabiki, Akane's gaze didn't contain the same calculating eyes of
a predator. Her comforting gaze resembled that of Kasumi and Ranma felt
very at ease underneath it.
Akane felt her heart ache at Ranma's words. She was again reminded
of what Ranma had gone through for the past several years. No girl, or boy
at the time, should have to got through that. Sometimes, she felt that
Ranma had not told them everything about her hardships. Those eyes of
hers held an untold story of a very strong underlying pain. She placed
her hand on Ranma's arms. Concentrating on the gaze of the other girl,
Akane managed not to flinch from the tingling feeling she got when their
bodies came in contact. "Would you like to share my bed? I know you
and your father sleep pretty close to each other. If you'll feel more
comfortable that way, I won't mind."
Ranma was surprised at the boldness of the sister that she felt had
the most reservations of her being born a boy. She could tell that Akane
felt bad about these feelings towards the other gender. But, is was
just something that Ranma couldn't help feeling. Boys had shunned her
for most of her life for the dumbest of reasons; She had no tolerance
for bullies and consistently showed up many of the more popular
students. "Thanks, Akane. I would like that."
* * * * *
Akane had been told many times by Nabiki that she slept very
awkwardly, but she could not see herself sleeping worse than Ranma was doing.
Akane's heart skipped a beat as she felt that hand that rested on her
stomach creep lower. Was the girl doing this on purpose? She felt
goosebumps rise along her arms as Ranma's face, which had already been
inches from her face, came in even closer. The girl's hot breath on her
cheek was severely destroying her already wracked nerves.
"Hold still, Saotome!"
Akane sat up in her bed as a loud crash accompanied the cry. It was
that Ryoga boy from the previous afternoon. She blushed furiously as
she suddenly realized where Ranma's hand landed, upon her sitting up.
Carefully, she picked Ranma's errant arm and placed it to the girl's
side. Akane decided to let Ranma get her rest and there was no telling
what seeing her father and her best friend fighting would do to her
already low opinion of boys.
She grabbed her raincoat from her closet and ran downstairs. The
pitter patter of the rain drops on the roof making the only sound. What
was happening out there? It had gotten so silent so quickly. She
noticed Kasumi and Nabiki also downstairs looking into the yard.
"What's happening?"
"I think Uncle is fighting with someone outside," Kasumi said in a
worried voice.
* * * * *
"Saotome Secret Technique!" Genma cried out and immediately high
tailed it back towards the house. One thing he had learned in his experience
with Ranma's friend was that the boy let his anger cloud his judgement
very often. When he was sure Ryoga was right behind him stopped and
turned towards the koi pond. He then jumped straight in laying his body
as flat as possible to create a great splash. The boy may have an
umbrella to protect him from the rain, but the splash for the water was
a different story.
Ryoga cursed as soon as he saw what the bastard had up his sleeve.
Not again! He could dimly remember the drool coming from the panda's mouth
back in China.
<Clonk>
"Akane, you killed him," Kasumi whispered as she came out into the
yard.
"It's only Uncle," Nabiki said relieved. If Akane had hurt someone
that actually mattered, a lawsuit could have been handed to them.
"We better get him inside." Akane looked around the yard for
Uncle's attacker. Where was Ryoga? She glanced at the ground and saw a set
of clothes that resembled the ones that the lost boy wore. Did Ryoga have
a curse like Ranma and his father? She pushed that thought aside for
the time being and helped her sisters drag Uncle's body back into the
dojo.
* * * * *
"What was that all about?" Ranma asked as she stepped into the
living room, rubbing her eyes in tiredness.
"A boy, I think, and Uncle had a little chat," Kasumi replied.
"That's putting it lightly. It was your friend Ryoga," Nabiki said
rolling her eyes at Kasumi's understatement.
"I wish they would get along," Ranma sighed, before heading back to
Akane's room. "You can just put him there on the ground. Pop's tougher
than he looks. You coming, Akane?"
"Yep," Akane said quickly and followed after the girl.
Nabiki frowned at the quickness in Akane's reply. What had her
sister been doing up in the first place. It usually takes quite a bit of
noise to wake someone that sleeps as deep as Akane. Nabiki also did not like
how disarrayed Ranma's clothes looked.
* * * * *
Ranma placed her hand on the door, her expression serious. "Akane,
I think there's someone inside. Wait a second."
"Don't be silly, Ranma. I'm a martial artist too remember," Akane
puffed.
"Of course, I didn't mean it like that," Ranma smiled and said
quickly. "It would just feel better on my conscience knowing that you
were safe."
Akane's heart fluttered as Ranma again looked at her with those
soulful blue eyes. "Ranma..."
"Bwee!"
"Watch out!" Ranma's hand shot out and slammed on a black blur that
had headed towards them.
"Bwee..." the black piglet managed to squeak out before slumping
down.
"Damn, it's only an animal," Ranma cursed and quickly picked up the
poor little piglet that had somehow managed to get into Akane's room.
It was probably trying to get away from the rain outside.
Akane stared at the polka dotted bandana that was around the
piglet's head. It was the same as the one Ryoga had. "Ranma, I think
that's..."
"Mmmph," Ranma let out an exaggerated noise as she kissed the little
bruise that formed on the head of the piglet, "there, all better."
Akane stopped as she saw her fiancée's lips descend on what she was
sure was Ryoga. She could just imagine the reaction Ranma would have if
he found out that her new 'pet' was in reality her best friend. This
might turn Ranma totally away from her birth gender for sure.
"That's what?" Ranma asked as she hugged the anime into her bosom.
She had always wanted a pet but her journeys could never allow her to have
one. Maybe now that they had a place to stay, she could keep one.
Ryoga lay limp in Ranma's arms. Every bone in his body had melted
at the touch of his best friend's lips. It was hard to imagine this cute
girl was in reality the gentle boy that he swore to protect from Genma.
He then saw the girl look at him with recognition. *No,* he thought.
He knew of Ranma's hatred for most boys in general over the course of
the months they had spent together in that all boys' school. It
continually surprised him sometimes how Ranma could like him as he
didn't see himself as a great representation of his sex.
Akane looked at the struggling piglet with sympathy. "...that's a
boy piglet," Akane finished lamely.
Ranma laughed. "That's different, Akane. Don't worry, I won't
treat him bad." She emphasized her point by giving the piglet another
squeeze. She couldn't keep calling it piglet, Ranma decided. "How does
P-Chan sound for a name?"
'P-Chan' was bleeding to death, Akane shook her head in disgust. A
geyser of blood rushed out of P-Chan's nose at Ranma's rather
affectionate touch. *This boy must never have had a girl friend
before,* Akane thought correctly.
Ryoga wondered what was wrong with him. This was his friend, Ranma.
His _male_ friend Ranma. How could he be responding in this way? He
felt himself being lifted up and placed on the bed.
"Ranma, I sleep very sloppily. We might crush him if he slept with
us," Akane said as she figured out Ranma's intent.
Ranma's looked down at her new pet and feelings warred with in her.
She really wanted to be with P-Chan. The poor baby was also hurt
because of her. On the other hand, she looked over at Akane who was
stretching and getting ready for bed, she really wanted to sleep with
her youngest fiancée. That made her decision easier. "You stay right
here okay, P-Chan? I'll get you something nice to eat in the morning."
Ryoga gave Akane a look as he heard what she said. The two girls
were going to sleep with each other? Normally, the very idea would have had
him passed out on the ground, but this only made his blood boil. In all
the time that he had been here he had not once seen Ranma take his real
form. His words in the afternoon rang in Ryoga's mind: Isn't it
great? Now I can be a girl forever.
Genma for all his faults as a parent would never wish Ranma to be
female. It had to be this girl and her sister. The two that had been
hanging all over his friend. It was clear to him what was happening.
These girls were taking advantage of his friend's trauma filled mind
from being cursed and subverting Ranma to their will.
* * * * *
Akane made sure Ranma was asleep before getting out of bed and
picking up the sleeping P-Chan off the floor. The piglet awoke at her
jostling. "Quiet, you want Ranma to know your secret? Good, then."
Ryoga found himself being taken to the furo. He saw what this Akane
was planning on and waited patiently by the side. Akane stood there
watching him as she waited for the furo to be filled with hot water.
She then placed the clothes that she had brought in earlier on a stool
and closed her eyes. Ryoga wasted no time and jumped in, becoming human
again. He quickly put his clothes and spoke to let Akane know he was
decent. "What are you to Ranma? What are you doing to make him act so
funny?"
"I'm her fiancée. Well one of them. Ranma is to be engaged to one
of us," Akane explained. "And I am not making her act funny. She's always
been this way since we met her."
"_Her_? What's with that? She's a boy and my best friend. Don't
you think I know how my friend acts? He's acting like a girl, not at all
like the boy I know."
*Of course,* Akane thought. Ranma would not act so girlish in her
real form. "I think she may be overcompensating a bit. Hasn't she ever told
you that she always wanted to be a girl?"
"He! Sure, he has, but I don't blame him. Back at our school,
Ranma was given the silent treatment because of how he stood up to bullies and
beat them up when they got out of line with those weaker than them. Not
to mention his joke of a father. Did you know he once tied Ranma to a
train to make Ranma run faster? I wouldn't want to be a man too if I
was treated that way all the time. I think being with me and sometimes
seeing my dad when he was around was starting to change Ranma's opinion,
but then that jerk Genma took off again."
Akane flinched at the scowl Ryoga gave her as if their being kind to
Ranma was making up the girl's mind. "Well, it's not going to help if
he finds out he just kissed a boy!"
Ryoga blanched. "I... I couldn't do anything."
"I know," Akane relented after a moment of looking at the pitiful
look on the lost boy's face.
"Can I see _him_?" Ryoga asked as a dull silence fell over them. "I
won't bother him again tonight."
Akane sighed and nodded. "Come with me."
* * * * *
Ryoga sat on the roof watching the sunrise. *I'll find a cure,
Ranma, for the both of us,* Ryoga promised to himself. He bent over so that
he could another look look into the window. Ranma-kun lay there sleeping
peacefully. A scowl crossed his face as Akane looked back at him
holding a glass of cold water, he guessed, glaring back at him. *But
not until I save you from these perverts!*
* * * * *
Ranma got up and felt very uncomfortable. Akane slept like a log
beside her. Ranma's clothes were plastered on her skin. She felt
around the bed and found it to be wet. Did she have one of those
'dreams' again? She quickly got up off the bed and took the sheets off
the bed. Maybe she could get them cleaned before anyone was the wiser.
Akane surprisingly stayed asleep through all this. *She must have been
tired from taking care of Pop last night,* Ranma figured.
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