Kasumi sighed as she prepared the tea service. The last episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/2 had caused quite a stir. Those people could sit out there and watch as all sorts of ugly things happened to Ranma without expressing a word of distress, but the minute it looked like Ranma might have a chance at happiness they all condemned him, including her little sister. Kasumi fully understood the sentiments Ranma had expressed about not wanting to come back. She wouldn't either if she had a chance to escape from such selfish people. Kasumi fervently hoped that Ranma would find happiness with that Rei girl, at least for a little while, otherwise he might never be able to be happy with any woman. Pasting her pleasant smile back on her face, Kasumi picked up the tea service and headed back out to the table. After everyone got their refreshments, Nabiki started the tape again. (oO\O/Oo) Ranma and Rei were seated at the table eating breakfast. Rei's training had begun and while she was a rank beginner, Ranma was impressed with her speed and strength. Not only that, she had a focus and a learning curve that matched his own. After he had shown her a kata and corrected her movements, she performed them perfectly every time with her trademark mechanical precision. Misato's door opened and the living dead shambled out. The zombie, whose hair was standing up on one side in a giant cowlick, scratched the underside of her left breast as she plopped bonelessly down at her place at the table. Cracking open the beer in front of her, she upended it, slamming the entire contents in one long pull. It always amazed Ranma to watch the process. He could practically see her energy level rising as the beer level dropped. "YEEEEHAWWW!" Misato belted out, slamming the empty can down on the table. "That's the stuff!" The zombie returned to life; her morning resurrection ritual completed. Misato then began to eat her breakfast as Rei gave her an odd look and Ranma chuckled. "Don't worry about it," Ranma grinned at Rei. "Ya get used to it after a while." Rei nodded and returned to her breakfast, finishing up the last of it as the doorbell rang. Misato looked up and started to lever herself up. "Um, Misato, I know I ain't got no feminine modesty, but are you sure you wanna answer the door like that?" Ranma laughed. "What's the matter?" Misato teased. "You wanna keep Rei and me all for yourself?" Ranma blushed and laughed nervously before smirking. "Ya got me, Mi-chan," Ranma said with his lady-killer smile. "I'm startin' a harem and you and Rei are the first members." Ranma rolled his eyes. "Give me a break. I'll get the door." The door opened to reveal Toji and Kensuke, otherwise known as the slavering perverts. "Hiya guys," Ranma greeted. "What's up?" "Morning, Ranma," Toji said. "We just came by to walk with ya to school." "Oh, really?" Ranma smirked. "I rate an escort now? And you didn't just come by to see Misato?" "Misato's here?" Kensuke asked as if surprised. "Helloooo, Misato!" the two perverts said leaning in the door. "Hi Boooys," Misato sang back from the dining room. "You're so lucky, Ranma," Toji gushed. "Yeah, yeah," Ranma smirked then looked back toward the dining room. "Rei, you ready to go?" Rei appeared from the dining room with their school bags and walked up beside Ranma handing him his. Toji and Kensuke blinked. "I am ready," she said softly. "Alright, let's get going then," Ranma said cheerfully. "Hey Ranma, what was Rei doing at your place?" Toji asked as they walked down the sidewalk. "Oh, she lives there now," Ranma mentioned casually. "You're living with TWO women now?" Kensuke asked. "Geez, you make it sound like we're all sleepin' in the same bed," Ranma snorted. "We all have separate bedrooms and ain't nothin' goin' on. Rei moved in because I'm trainin' her in the art and this way we get in some training in the morning before school." "You're training in the martial arts, Rei?" Toji asked the impassive girl in surprise. "Yes," Rei stated. "Ranma has proven that his training in the martial arts has made him a more efficient pilot. I, too, wish to become a more efficient pilot." Kensuke jumped in front of Ranma on his knees, his hands together under his chin in supplication as tears poured out of his eyes. "Ranma, please train me too. I wanna be an Eva pilot too!" the bespectacled boy pleaded, causing Ranma to roll his eyes. "I kinda want to focus on Rei right now," Ranma declined. "I've never trained anyone before so I don't wanna get in over my head." After all, he did have to get Rei up to speed for when Asuka arrived. That way they could act as sparring partners. "Man, Ranma, you just don't know how good you've got it," Toji sighed. "I mean, Misato's like a total babe. I'd give anything to live with her and get to see her every day. And now you're living with Ayanami too." "Geez, wipe the drool off your chin, Toji," Ranma said in exasperation. "Sorry, Rei, they're good guys but they can be a bit on the perverted side sometimes." "I am not offended," Rei said coolly. (oO\O/Oo) Ranma smirked as he heard the squeal of tires out in the parking lot. He knew exactly who that was and didn't bother to get up. "Hey, it's Misato and damn she looks good," Kensuke called out. He and Toji were practically hanging out the window waving and calling out to her. Just about every boy in the class stampeded to the windows to look. "Slavering perverts," Ranma said, rolling his eyes before continuing his conversation with Rei. "Do you think Captain Katsuragi is unattractive?" Rei asked. "No, it's not that," Ranma denied. "Misato is definitely attractive, a little ditzy sometimes, but attractive." "Why then do you not act like the other boys?" Rei asked. "Why would I want to act like a hormone-crazed idiot?" Ranma asked. "It just always struck me as stupid to act like that. Maybe it's because, as martial artist, I have to be in control of my body, or maybe because my 'condition' has taken all the mystery out of the female body for me. I guess it just takes more than a nice body and a pretty face to turn my head." 'Or maybe it's because I've been conditioned that if I even look at a girl sideways, I end up with another fiancée or a blunt object to the head; sometimes both,' Ranma added mentally. "What qualities do you find attractive in a female," Rei inquired. "I dunno," Ranma said pensively. "I guess the girl I'm attracted to would be someone who listens to me and doesn't jump to any conclusions. She'd ask my opinion instead assumin' she knows what I think. She wouldn't be all possessive like she owns me or somethin'. She wouldn't be all violent every time my opinion isn't the same as hers. I guess that's about it." Meanwhile, Rei was measuring herself against his standards. A small smile curved her lips as she discovered that she scored quite well in the assessment. Ranma had no clue why Rei was smiling, but it was something he liked to see on the unnaturally dispassionate girl, so he returned her smile. Several girls in the class that had been covertly watching wanted to cry out to the gods about the injustice of it all. In their estimation, Ranma was a total hunk and they couldn't understand how he could possibly ignore their various attempts to capture his attention and yet a girl that had less emotional depth than the average rock managed to catch his interest. (oO\O/Oo) "Wow, it looks great," Ranma enthused. "I never was too fond of that purple color. Reminds me of someone I'd just as soon forget about." Ranma, Dr. Akagi, and Rei were currently looking over the repaired and repainted Unit 01. It was now a dark blue color with the same green and black trim as it had before. "I thought you might like it," Dr. Akagi smiled. "I remember you mentioning that you didn't like the purple so since we had to repaint the whole thing anyway, I had them change it." "Thanks, Doc," Ranma smiled broadly. "That was real nice of you." "It wasn't a problem," the blonde said giving the pigtailed pilot a warm smile. "Besides, maybe now you'll try harder to keep the paint from being burnt off it." Ranma chuckled and scratched the base of his pigtail. "Maybe," he said. "Well, now that you've seen your Eva's new look, I believe we have a Sync Test for you and Rei to get to," Dr. Akagi laughed. "After that, I thought we could do some testing with the naginata." "Okay, sure," Ranma agreed. (oO\O/Oo) "Captain Katsuragi reporting as ordered, Sir," Misato announced as she stood before Gendo's desk. "Rei Ayanami has moved in with you and the Third Child. Why?" Gendo questioned succinctly. "Sir, I overheard them discussing Rei moving closer so that they could meet in the mornings to train," Misato answered. "Rei has asked Ranma to teach her his martial arts to make her a better Eva pilot. Since you ordered that the Third Child be stressed as little as possible, I offered to let Rei move into the remaining bedroom at my place so that they could maximize their time together." "I see," Gendo said. "And what is the relationship between Rei and the Third Child?" "I'm not sure what you mean, Sir," Misato said. "As far as I know, Ranma seems pretty oblivious to female interest, which there's a lot of. As for Rei, I couldn't say. She's pretty unreadable, but she does seem to be interested in what Ranma can teach her." "Very well, I will allow it for now," Gendo said, thinking that if the boy is concentrating on training Rei, he'll have less time to see to Gendo's 'exercise'. After Misato left the office, Fuyutsuki appeared out of the shadows. "Do you think the Third Child is trying to form some sort of romantic relationship with Ayanami?" the older man asked. "If he is, he will find out soon enough that Rei is incapable of forming such a bond," Gendo said. "From what the Captain says, the boy may not be capable of such a bond either. It won't be a problem as long as it doesn't affect their ability to pilot." (oO\O/Oo) Rei and Ranma had just entered the apartment from their morning workout on the roof of the building when Misato's door slid open and Misato walked out. Ranma was expecting it but it hadn't prepared him for the reality. Misato was wearing her conservative NERV dress uniform, looking every inch the consummate professional from the hem of her long skirt to the fact that she had her game face on. "Whoa, looking good, Misato," Ranma said. "You clean up pretty good." "I'm going to be in Old Tokyo at a meeting all day," Misato said in a tone that was all business. "I won't be home until late so don't bother making dinner for me. I'll probably have something there." "'Kay, well, good luck and call me if you need me," Ranma smirked. Misato nodded and left. "Rei, you go ahead and get a bath while I make breakfast," Ranma said. "After I bathe we'll head in to NERV. I don't know why they want us hanging out there today. It's almost like they expect something." (oO\O/Oo) Misato and Ritsuko entered the large convention hall and quickly located the table with the sign reading NERV on it. The pair looked rather isolated being seated at such a large table with only the two of them. Misato figured it was something of a snub that Gendo had only sent herself and Ritsuko to an event that the hosts obviously felt was of great importance. Indeed, it was of great importance to NERV because if things went well today for the Jet Alone project and their backers, it would detrimentally cut into NERV's UN funding. The presentation began with the company mouthpiece scientist giving the gathered audience an overview of the benefits and capabilities of the Jet Alone mecha. When he got to the part detailing the power source, an onboard nuclear reactor, Ritsuko raised a question. "Do you really think it's safe to have a nuclear reactor onboard this machine?" Ritsuko asked in a slightly condescending tone. "Ah, our esteemed guests from NERV," the scientist said in a matching tone. "I can assure you it's entirely safe and a lot less cumbersome than having to drag a power cord around." The two then proceeded to get into a technical discussion where in they both took shots at each other pointing out the deficiencies in both approaches. Finally, Ritsuko played her trump card. "The fact remains that NERV is the only one capable of countering the threat the angels pose," she said smugly. "Ah, you must be referring to your 'AT' field," the man smirked knowingly at the stunned NERV attendees. "Rest assured, you may have the advantage now, but that won't last forever." Of course, Ritsuko knew there was no way they could duplicate the AT field because it was a product of what the Eva's really were, not an effect produced by a piece of machinery. Misato, on the other hand, was furious because it seemed someone was leaking NERV secrets. (oO\O/Oo) After a break for lunch, everyone had gathered in the control bunker to observe the first public demonstration of the Jet Alone mecha. Much pomp and fanfare accompanied the large hanger splitting down the middle as the halves rolled away to reveal a large humanoid mecha. It had a hunchbacked appearance, its red faceplate set low between the shoulders. The shoulders were painted red while the arms, angular torso and upper legs were a dull metallic gray. The lower legs were colored dark blue. The spokesman began giving a play-by-play as the team of scientists and techs began the startup procedure. Slowly, four rods extended from the mecha's back and shoulders. The spokesman explained that they had pulled the control rods from the fission pile and the reactor was now powering up. As the giant mecha took a step the spokesman gushed like he had just seen his child take its first step. Misato was less than impressed where she leaned against the wall aloofly. "Yeah, yeah, so it took a step. Big deal," she sneered. "But can it fight is the question." Suddenly there was some consternation among the techs and scientists controlling Jet Alone. It seems that the mecha had continued walking after they gave it the command to stop. Nothing they tried seemed to work and people scattered as Jet Alone came crashing through the convention center. "Sir, we have another problem," one of the Jet Alone techs called out. "We can't reinsert the control rods and the reactor's core temperature is rising. If we can't get those rods in soon the reactor will...oh no!" "What is it? What's happening?" the spokesman demanded. "If Jet Alone stays on its present course and speed, it will be in the middle of Atsugi City when the core melts down," the horrified tech said. "Oh no," the spokesman scientist lamented, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "What are we going to do? This is terrible." Misato finally had enough as the Jet Alone personnel all but gave up and began having a pity party. She whipped out her cell phone and called up NERV. "This is Captain Katsuragi," she said into the phone. "We've got a problem here. The Jet Alone robot has run out of control and is going to have a nuclear meltdown in Atsugi City if we don't stop it. I need Ranma and Unit 01 here ASAP, and have them bring a radiation suit." Misato hung up the phone and took charge of the situation. "Okay, listen up," Misato barked out, getting the depressed Jet Alone people's attention. "Look, Jet Alone is not accepting transmitted commands, right? Well, if I can get aboard, I can enter the commands to shut down the reactor directly. I just need the password for the system." "I'm not authorized to give you the password," the lead scientist/spokesman said miserably. "Well I suggest you call someone who is, because unless I get the password a lot of people are going to die," Misato growled. The man gulped, pulled out his cell phone, and began making calls. (oO\O/Oo) "So why can't I just destroy it, Misato?" Ranma asked her. "It'd be a lot easier than this stunt you're about to pull." "Because, Ranma, we want to avoid irradiating the countryside with a nuclear meltdown," Misato said in an overly patient tone as she pulled on the radiation suit. "Oh," Ranma said. He had always wondered why they didn't just blow the thing to pieces. "And we're the only ones that can not only get aboard Jet Alone and enter the commands directly to its onboard computer, but also stop Jet Alone's progress toward Atsugi City while we do it," Misato continued. "Oh, okay," Ranma shrugged. "Well, no problem. It'll be a walk in the park." "Says the boy who will be nice and safe in his Eva behind an AT field," Misato groused. "Hey, you could've had Rei come along to pilot Unit 01 and I could've gotten in the thing to shut it down," Ranma pointed out. "I am a lot stronger and physically capable than you." Misato looked at him, her eye twitching at being called less physically capable than a 14-year-old boy, no matter whether it was true or not. "Yeah, well, you don't have the computer skills that I do and Rei was needed in case an angel attacks while we're busy," Misato shot back. "Yeah, well, I think you just wanna play the hero for a change," Ranma smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "The thought never crossed my mind," Misato sniffed. "Riiight," Ranma drawled with a grin. "Um...Captain Katsuragi?" a tentative voice called out as a defeated looking man walked up to them. "What is it?" Misato said in a short, irritated tone. "Are you really going to do this?" the man asked. "Somebody has to try to stop your little runaway project before it kills a lot of people," Misato replied. The man sighed heavily. "I know," he said quietly. "The password is 'Hope'. I'm sorry." Misato just nodded and the man turned and walked away. (oO\O/Oo) Jet Alone came into view as the plane carrying Unit 01, Ranma, and Misato approached. It was striding along like it had a sense of determination. "We're approaching the drop point," the pilot said. "Get ready." "You ready, Misato?" Ranma asked, looking down at where the woman was clutched lightly in Unit 01's hand. "All set here," Misato said, giving Ranma a thumbs-up. "We'll be dropping in 3...2...1...Eva released," the pilot said as Unit 01 slid back on the drop booms and was released to free fall to the ground. Ranma tried to protect Misato as well as possible as the Eva hit the ground with a bone-jarring impact. The massive mecha skidded a short ways before Ranma broke into a run, headed for Jet Alone as fast as possible. "You okay, Misato?" Ranma asked as he ran. "I'm fine, Ranma," Misato reported. "Gonna feel it in the morning, but I'm fine for now." "Going soft on me, Misato?" Ranma chuckled. "This hero stuff hurts, don't it?" "Whatever, Ranma," Misato shot back. "Just get me to Jet Alone and I'll take care of the rest." "Roger," Ranma said, still chuckling at Misato's game attitude. Before long, the newly painted midnight-blue and green Eva caught up to the giant Jet Alone mecha and grabbed hold of it. Ranma reached out and placed Misato on the robot's back. Misato grabbed the handholds and began to scale the machine toward the personnel access located at the top. "Careful, Misato," Ranma cautioned as she slipped and barely caught herself from a nasty fatal fall. Misato regained her footing and shot Ranma a quick wink and a victory sign before resuming her climb. Once at the top, she popped the access hatch and slipped inside. Ranma repositioned Unit 01 to block Jet Alone's forward progress. Placing the Eva's hands on Jet Alone's chest, Ranma planted the Eva's feet and braced. Jet Alone continued to move forward a short ways, the Eva's feet sliding back along the ground. Growling, Ranma shifted his grip. Dropping lower, the Eva's arms locked around Jet Alone's waist and Ranma placed the Eva's shoulder against Jet Alone's lower torso. With a grunt, Ranma heaved the giant mecha off its feet, halting its progress. Inside, Misato bounced off a bulkhead, cursing. "Dammit, Ranma, hold this thing still," she yelled as the floor canted and set her sliding again. "Sorry, Misato," Ranma apologized. "I got it now. You should be good." Misato picked herself up and carefully made her way to the computer terminal along the canted deck. Pulling up the login screen, she entered the password. After a pregnant pause, the screen flashed that access was denied. "It's not accepting the password!" Misato reported. "I'm going to try again. Come on you piece of junk take the code. Man, it's hot in here." While Misato was trying to access the computer, Ranma had an idea. He slipped into the Soul of Ice and forced it into his AT field and into Jet Alone. The temperature rise slowed, buying them some time before the reactor went into meltdown. "The temperature rise is slowing," one of the techs monitoring Jet Alone reported. "Have the control rods been reinserted?" the lead scientist asked. "Negative," the tech reported. "I can't explain it. The whole thing just seems to be cooling down from the outside. Whatever it is, it's not enough though. It'll buy us some time, but that's about it." Inside Jet Alone, Misato breathed a sigh of relief as a wave of cool washed over her. She continued to attempt to access the system but, again, it denied her access. Punching the terminal in frustration, she decided on another plan. "I can't access the system," Misato reported. "I'm gonna try something else." "Just hurry," Ranma said in a strained tone. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this thing and keep the Soul of Ice up." "Roger," Misato said as she moved over to the extended control rods. Grunting with effort, she began to try and push the rods back in. Slowly, too slowly, the first rod began to move as Misato put every ounce of force she could muster behind it. Once she got that one in her muscles and joints shrieked in agony at being taxed to their limits. After about 3 minutes, Misato had managed to force only one of the rods back in. She had just moved to the next one when Ranma spoke up sounding exhausted. "I can't hold the Soul of Ice at this level anymore, Misato," Ranma gasped out apologetically. "Hope it was enough..." He trailed off, only keeping Jet Alone held off the ground in the Eva's grasp by force of will. Misato felt the temperature spike rapidly as Ranma dropped his technique. Urgently, she began to push on the next rod, but her body was failing her. She strained fruitlessly against the rod as sweat dripped into her eyes. 'This is it,' Misato thought as tears began to run down her cheeks to mix with the sweat. 'This is where I'm gonna die. At least Ranma will be protected by the AT field.' Misato slumped against the wall as she watched the temperature readout reach the meltdown point. Just before it did though, the control rods suddenly retracted themselves and the reactor shut down. She sighed in relief, but Misato was too tired to do more than that. (oO\O/Oo) Ritsuko sighed as she closed her laptop. Gendo wasn't going to be happy, but Ritsuko, while willing to follow through with the plan initially, found herself unwilling to sacrifice her friend or risk Ranma's AT field not protecting him and Unit 01. A city full of strangers is one thing, her friends were quite another. That didn't mean she was looking forward to explaining this to Gendo. While she knew that she was too important to NERV for Gendo to do anything...extreme...she knew that going against the man's plans was not generally healthy and not just to one's career. Perhaps Ranma was right. Perhaps she should start watching her back around Gendo Ikari. It wasn't lost on her that he was perfectly willing to sacrifice Misato and risk harm to Ranma and Unit 01, both of which were integral to his plans, just to discredit the Jet Alone project. Yes, in the future, she would watch her back around the manipulative bastard. (oO\O/Oo) Ranma sighed heavily. It was Sunday and everyone had the day off. Well, almost everyone, Ranma corrected himself as Misato called for him from her bedroom. She had been a perfect pain in the ass since the day following the Jet Alone incident when she woke up to discover the price she had paid for her efforts. Misato was convalescing in her bed, unable to move without a significant amount of pain thanks to the bruising and strained or pulled muscles she had received for her efforts. Somehow, she had come to the conclusion that it was Ranma's responsibility to nurse her back to health. "Yeah, whadda ya want now, Misato?" Ranma asked with a tone of resignation. "I was wondering if you could give me another of those wonderful rubdowns," Misato mewled pathetically, while giving him a little girl pout. Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Misato," Ranma sighed again. "I'll just go get some water." "Could you please do it in that form," Misato pleaded, turning the pout on him again. "Okay, Misato, just this one time," Ranma growled, picking up the liniment. "But it's been three days. It's my day off and I don't plan on spendin' it around here waitin' on you hand and foot." "You're absolutely right, Ranma," Misato beamed. "After you give me my rubdown, you can set me up on the balcony with a cooler of beer and you can go do whatever you like." Ranma gulped as Misato levered herself up and painfully peeled off her shirt before laying face down on her futon clad in only her, rather skimpy, panties. When Ranma had protested this the first time, Misato had dismissed the protest since Ranma had his own set of female body parts and Misato couldn't see any reason why she should be any more modest than she would be in front of any other woman. Of course, Ranma had been in girl form at the time, but evidently Misato wasn't making a distinction. On the other hand, Ranma figured she was probably enjoying teasing him, especially with the way she would moan his name sensually as he worked the analgesic into her sore muscles. It was effective too. Misato was without a doubt a certifiable babe, like his perverted friends were so fond of pointing out. It took every bit of Ranma's self-control not to show a reaction to having her soft skin under his hands. Ranma had to smirk though. She may have enjoyed teasing him, but she ended up being the one frustrated. He knew a lot of massage techniques and pressure points that he had learned from Doctor Toufuu. Some of them were quite sensual when used just so. Thanks to his familiarity with the female body, Ranma was quite aware of the effect he was having on Misato, knowing the signs to look for, both in her ki and her body. Yes, she may have been teasing him, but she was the one left with damp panties, flushed and panting with arousal. (oO\O/Oo) Ranma finished with Misato, leaving her a quivering mass of frustrated female hormones and went to clean up. After washing the liniment off his hands, he walked by Rei's room to see her laying on her futon staring at the ceiling. It was the same position she had been in since completing their morning workout and finishing breakfast. "Rei?" Ranma asked from the door. She looked over at him. "Are you going to stay there all day?" Ranma asked the blue-haired girl. "I mean, it's your day off. Don't you wanna do anything for fun?" "I do not understand," Rei replied. "We have completed our morning training and have had breakfast. What else are we required to do?" "Well, that's sort of the point," Ranma said. "We don't have to do anything. We can do somethin' just for fun." "I do not understand," Rei said. "You mean you've never done anything that you weren't ordered to just because it made you feel happy?" Ranma asked. Rei cogitated on this for a while before a light blush bloomed on her face. She had indeed done things she wasn't ordered to because they made her feel good, but for some reason, she was reluctant to tell the pigtailed pilot about them. "No," Rei said at last. "Well, it's about time you started," Ranma grinned cheerfully. "Come on. Get up and get dressed. I'm gonna introduce you to the art of having fun, starting with an education in the joys of ice cream!" (oO\O/Oo) A half an hour later found two girls walking down the street. They appeared to be polar opposites of each other. One had light blue hair and crimson eyes while the other had vibrant crimson hair and bright blue eyes. It didn't stop there. While one was stoic and reserved, with her face in a neutral set, the other had an easy smile and a vivacious attitude. Rei was wearing a pair of powder-blue shorts and a red top that was short enough to flash glimpses of her flat midriff. On her feet were her strappy, white sandals. Ranma was wearing a pair of black, stretch, denim shorts and an azure blue, tailored, sleeveless top that displayed her impressive assets nicely. The neckline was low enough for a tantalizing hint of cleavage to be seen. She was also wearing a pair of strappy sandals except hers were black. The redhead was currently engaged in an animated explanation of the finer points of scoring extra treats by use of the devastating "doe-eyed" technique. This technique could be used with great effect when coupled with the judicious application of the "chest bounce" technique, which, the redhead assured the stoic blue-haired girl, was enough to send any male ice cream attendant with a libido scrambling to provide an extra scoop of Turtle Tracks, extra fruit in a parfait, or double the hot fudge on a sundae or banana split. After a demonstration of the techniques, Rei was forced to conclude that they were indeed effective as even she was filled with the desire to make her redheaded companion happy, even if she didn't fully understand how. She also wondered why it suddenly felt uncomfortably warm out. The girls had just reached the entertainment district when they saw two familiar boys. "Hey Toji. Hey Kensuke," Ranma chirped cheerfully. The two in question turned toward the girl who had greeted them. Catching sight of Ranma and Rei, their jaws dropped. "R-Ranma?" Toji stammered. "Uh...hi. W-what's going on?" "Rei and I were just going for some ice cream," Ranma explained. "W-why are you a girl?" Toji blurted. "And why are you dressed like that?" "Oh this ole thing?" Ranma smiled mischievously. "I just threw this on. Anyway, ice cream tastes much better as a girl. I dunno why, but it does. Chocolate becomes like a religious experience." Ranma's face took on a dreamy look as she contemplated the virtues of chocolate. The two boys felt their hormone levels spike in spite of the fact they knew Ranma was a guy...mostly. "W-would you mind if we joined you?" Kensuke stuttered, trying desperately to keep from blushing. "Sure, why not," Ranma chirped happily. (oO\O/Oo) Fifteen minutes later, the two boys gaped as Ranma was engaged in the sensual experience of wolfing down a bowl of ice cream of monolithic proportions. Rei sat beside her, across from the boys, having her own religious experience. While her serving wasn't nearly as large as Ranma's and she hadn't been able to bring herself to employ the techniques Ranma had demonstrated, she had still netted a double portion of hot fudge and an extra cherry because Ranma had ordered hers for her since she had no idea what to order. Not that she knew any better, never having had such a confection before. With her first spoonful, Rei discovered nirvana. Surely, this was the food of the gods. Rei had actually whimpered in pleasure as the sweet, creamy taste exploded on her palette. Glancing over, she found Ranma's sparkling blue-gray eyes meeting hers. The redhead sported a wide, knowing smile, which prompted Rei's face to bloom into her first true smile. For Ranma, seeing Rei's smile of true pleasure, which not only graced her lips but was also reflected in her eyes, was a thing of beauty. It made Ranma unbelievably happy to have been the one to put that smile on the stoic girl's face. That alone made it worth all her efforts to befriend the blue-haired girl. The boys could only look on in shock at seeing Rei acting like a real person rather than the emotionless automaton they had become familiar with from class. For the first time they saw how attractive she really was. They were both in awe, both of Rei and of Ranma who seemed to have melted the ice maiden somehow. "So boys," Ranma grinned as she polished off her ice cream, "my mission today is to teach Rei how to have a little fun. I got to thinkin' though; I'm not much an authority on that myself. My idea of fun has always been trainin' or fightin'. I'm curious what normal people do for fun. You guys got any ideas?" (oO\O/Oo) As it happened the guys did have some ideas. Toji seemed to have the best ones since Kensuke's ideas of fun were running around in the woods playing war or ogling military equipment. Ranma had nixed the "laser tag" and arcade ideas due to that being a little too close to what they did at NERV. Thus the pair of girls and the two boys found themselves playing miniature golf. This was something that Ranma found herself enjoying a lot. The various challenges presented tested her skills and made for some humorous blunders on behalf of the guys. Neither of them could compete with Rei's logical analysis of the angles and trajectories necessary to put the ball on course for the hole nor Ranma's intuitive understanding of the same and her precision in hitting the ball on target. Kensuke was currently taking his turn when things became interesting. "Toji!" a female voice called out. Everyone turned to see Hikari Horaki approaching the group. The girl shot a withering glare at Ranma before she smiled brightly at Toji. "Hi Toji," the girl said brightly. "What are you doing here? Who's your date? I don't think I've ever seen her around before." Toji laughed nervously. "Oh, um this is Ranma..." Toji started before Ranma interrupted. "I'm Ranma's sister, Ranko," Ranma said quickly. "And he ain't my date. They are just showing Rei and me some places to have fun around here." Hikari blinked, then blinked again. She was trying to wrap her mind around someone using Rei and fun in the same sentence and was failing miserably. "I...see," the confused girl said faintly before brightening. "Then you won't mind if I join you then?" Not only would she get to spend some social time with Toji, but Rei having fun was just something she had to witness for herself. "Sure," Ranma chirped. "The more the merrier." (oO\O/Oo) By the end of the day, the five teens had managed to have a lot of fun together. Toji and Kensuke had left the three girls to head home when Hikari took the opportunity to ask about something she had noticed. "Ranko?" the brunette asked hesitantly as they walked together. "Why do Toji, Kensuke, and Rei all call you Ranma sometimes?" Ranma sighed heavily before looking at the girl speculatively. "Ya wouldn't believe me if I told ya," Ranma said finally. "Look, I don't want this to get out all over the school 'cause it would just cause me problems. Can I trust ya to keep it a secret?" "I-I suppose so," Hikari said, confused. She wondered what the girl had to tell her. It couldn't be that she was a lesbian. Her brother pretty much declared that on the first day of class. Come to think of it, Hikari never saw the girl in any classes at school. "Hikari, I am Ranma," Ranma said. The class rep couldn't have been more shocked. All she could do was stare at the obviously insane girl. There was no way in hell the petite redhead was that hunky guy in drag. As the redhead began to explain about Chinese curses and magic, Hikari began to wonder if the reason she hadn't seen the girl in school was because she had escaped from some mental institution. "Well, I can see ya don't believe me," Ranma grinned wryly. "I can prove it if you want to stop by for a few minutes." "This I have to see," Hikari replied. Twenty minutes later, Hikari was coming to with the scent of smelling salts in her nose. "Believe me now?" Ranma asked. "And please don't go accusin' me of being some kind of pervert. I never asked for this but I'm stuck with it. Believe me, I know too much about what dealing with perverts is like to even think of acting that way myself." "This is...weird," Hikari said. "Heh, tell me about it," Ranma snorted. "You should see what it's like from this end. I know more about girls than any guy has a right to. It's really important that you don't tell anyone about this. Once it got out at my old school the showers became a nightmare. Even though I beat the crap out of anyone who tried it, the fact that there was a gorgeous naked girl just a splash of cold water away was too much for most of those perverts to resist." "Oh my," Hikari said with wide-eyes. "I never thought of that. It must have been awful." "It was, believe me," Ranma said. "If I wasn't the best martial artist in Japan there's no telling how many times I would have been sexually assaulted." "Don't worry," Hikari assured him. "I won't tell anyone. Thanks for trusting me with your secret. I have to ask, why were you a girl today?" "Because Rei and I were going for ice cream when we ran into Toji and Kensuke," Ranma explained. "They both know, by the way, so you don't have to worry about me and Toji. It's pretty obvious that you got a thing for him." Hikari blushed. "Anyway, I always eat ice cream in girl form because for some reason it tastes a lot better that way." "Oh, well, that's nice to know," Hikari smiled. "You should call me up the next time you go out for ice cream. Then I can show you and Rei what girls do for fun." "You mean it? You don't think I'm some sort of freak and you wanna be my friend?" Ranma asked in surprise. "Sure, why not?" Hikari asked. "It's just that most girls feel like I'm trying to take advantage of them because of the curse," Ranma explained. "They tend to get a bit violent, like I went out of my way to deceive them. But I'm not like that. I know a guy that turns into a little black piglet and he uses it to slip into a girl's bed to sleep with her and to nuzzle her breasts. It makes me really mad when it happens but I can't say anything to her because before he started deceiving her, I had promised him on my honor that I wouldn't tell anyone about it because he's pretty much helpless in that form." "That's horrible," Hikari said in disgust. "And the way he used your word of honor against you makes him a complete low-life as well as a cad. It must have been hard for you not to say anything." "I tried giving hints and stuff, but the girl never could catch on," Ranma shook his head sadly. "The worst part about it was she always took his side over mine and would get mad at me when the guy attacked me either as a guy or as her pet pig." "Well, I must say, his curse suited his true personality," Hikari commented. "Anyway, I don't think you're anything like that. You're probably the one guy that can really understand what it's like for a girl. I think that's kinda neat, so yes, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you and Rei." "Thanks," Ranma smiled, glancing over at Rei, who also gave Hikari a small smile. (oO\O/Oo) Akane held P-chan up by the bandana and looked into the piglet's eyes. They were wide and full of fear. She shakily reached over and picked up her cup of tea and dumped it on the struggling piglet. "You unbelievable BASTARD!" Akane screamed at the naked Ryoga as her aura exploded around her. Jumping to her feet she produced the biggest mallet ever seen, mallet-sama plus 5 verses perverts. It had a depleted uranium core with titanium faces and was guaranteed to put the smack down on Godzilla. Thor would have been proud to wield it. Ryoga began running. Akane began to pursue. The rest of the people in the room cheered Akane on as her rage was being directed at a deserving target this time. Everyone except Shampoo, who seemed oddly subdued. Cologne looked at her great granddaughter in sympathy. She had long known that the girl wouldn't be the one to capture Ranma's heart, but that was a brutal way to find out the man you loved didn't return the sentiment. Not that she blamed Ranma. She knew the boy was too kind-hearted to be that cruel intentionally, but he had no way of knowing that they were watching his adventure. Cologne suspected that all the girls would be hearing a few harsh truths about where they stood in Ranma's candid thoughts. She just hoped for their sake the truth wouldn't be as cruel as hearing the man they loved say he would just as soon forget about them.
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