Nullifier, Part 5
Part Five : One Thing Leads to Another
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A shrill ringing noise woke Akane. She sighed a little and opened her eyes
slightly. It immediately struck her, as it always did whenever she woke up,
just how *warm* and *inviting* her bed really was at this time. But she was
finding it harder and harder by the minute to stay asleep. The morning sun
on her face, plus the insistent shrill of the alarm clock, were urging her
to open her eyes and wake up. She yawned and reached over to her desk to
slap the alarm clock, but she encountered an obstacle in her path. It was
warm and soft, much like her bed, but it also moved a bit under her touch.
With no more than a cursory glance at whatever it was that had blocked her,
Akane simply reached further, leaning on the strange, soft thing for
support, and turned the alarm clock off. Then she fell back to the bed and
sighed with pleasure. <Just a few more minutes. Then I'll wake up.> She
would have gone back to sleep at that moment but for that nagging feeling at
the back of her mind, urging her to take a closer look at that *something*
before her on the bed, the same *thing* that had moved when she had touched
it.
Her first thought was that it had been P-chan, but it was quickly disproved
when Akane reached over with her hands and touched...whatever it was. It
was not only much bigger than P-chan, but it was also smooth and silky-like.
That was also the moment she opened her eyes to take a look at it.
Ranma-chan lay curled on the bed beside her. Her face was calm in repose,
every feature softened in sleep. Her silky hair, brilliant red in the
morning light, was in disarray - her pigtail hung over her face with its tip
tickling her petite nose.
"Yeeek!" cried Akane as she quickly withdrew her hands from Ranma-chan's
body and threw herself to one side of the bed, pulling the blanket with her.
And there she crouched, her hands reaching for a conveniently placed shinai
at the head of her bed, her heart pounding with fear. Just what was she
doing in her room?!
Ranma-chan mumbled something and she rolled onto her back, facing the
morning light. Then she stretched her arms and yawned, opening her eyes
slowly, to adjust to the sunlight. And the first thing...or rather,
person...she noticed was Akane looming over her with the shinai clutched in
both hands, its tip pointing at her.
"A-Akane! W-w-wait! Lemme explain!" cried Ranma-chan as she bolted upright
and awake, one hand outstretched towards Akane as if to hold her back.
"What - are - you - doing - in - *MY* - room - Ranma!?!" cried Akane, her
voice getting louder and more dangerous with each word, her shinai rising
bit by bit until she held it poised in the high stance.
"Well...uh...that's...ummm..." stuttered Ranma-chan, looking away from
Akane, her face as red as a tomato.
"Embarrassing?! I think *feeling* embarrassed is going to be the LAST thing
on your mind!!"
"W-w-wait a minute!" said Ranma-chan as she began to back off from Akane,
her feet finding the floor, "You don't understand!"
"That's right! I *don't* understand why you were SLEEPING in my room with
me! Care to explain??" gritted Akane through clenched teeth as she advanced
menacingly towards the other girl.
"N-not right now, Akane...not that anything I say will matter
anyhow...umm...SEEYA!!" cried Ranma-chan as she dashed for the window with
Akane hot on her heels, the shinai swishing mere inches behind her. She
threw open the window and leapt out, catching the roof overhang with both
hands and flipping over onto the roof in one smooth motion.
"Ranma-a-a!!" yelled Akane from her room window.
"Maybe you'll listen to me when you've chilled out a bit, okay Akane?"
called Ranma-chan as she hopped off the roof and landed cat-like on the
ground. She entered the house through the living room. Ranma was stretched
out on the couch, fast asleep. <Ah hah. So THAT'S where he was last night>
she thought. Ranma-chan made her way over to him and knelt down by the
couch.
"Wakey-wakey," she cooed as she poked him in the nose repeatedly. Ranma
only grunted and turned over, away from Ranma-chan.
"Foo. Doesn't he EVER wake up on time?" complained Ranma-chan to nobody in
particular. She sat on the edge of the couch and leaned back, using Ranma
as a back rest.
"Whozzat?" murmured Ranma sleepily.
"Just me," replied Ranma-chan. She turned on her side and lay on Ranma,
"It's time to wake up for school, stupid."
"Gimme five minutes...then I'll wake up," he muttered.
"No, you're waking up now," she said in a firm tone and shook him slightly.
"Akane, we never make it to school on time anyways so why start now?" he
whined, his eyes still tightly shut.
"Okay, I can understand *that*, but lemme ask you one thing." Ranma-chan
put her face close to Ranma's, "Who do you think I am, again?"
"Akane."
"Guess again." Ranma-chan let her pigtail brush Ranma's hand. He grabbed
it and felt it all over. That was when he decided to open his eyes.
"Y-you? Umm..I...err...thought it was Akane!" Ranma suddenly noticed that
the beauteous female lying on him had her ample bosom pressing against his
arm. He turned red almost instantly.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Ranma-chan got off self-consciously. She let a sly grin
play on her face as she adjusted her shirt. "Shame on you for thinking such
thoughts."
"It's not MY fault, is it? You're the one all over me like a cheap suit!"
"Cheap suit?! Is that all I am now??" cried Ranma-chan indignantly. At
first glance she appeared quite angry - but she was still grinning, and that
made all the difference. "I thought it was 'bath towel'!"
Ranma thought about that for a sec, then he reddened even more. Ranma-chan
giggled to herself as *that* image popped into her head. She stood up and
brushed her hair back with one hand.
"Well. It seems like a nice day today. You kids have fun in school!"
Ranma-chan walked away with a wave of her hand.
"What?! What the heck does that mean?" asked Ranma as he followed her to
their room.
"I mean, I'm not going to school today." Ranma-chan went up the stairs and
pulled her room door open. She stepped inside, Ranma following closely.
"You have to! You're not sick or anything...I mean...umm...." said Ranma.
The expression on his face told everything - he had just remembered that
Ranma-chan was *supposed* to be ill.
"You got it. I'm gonna go have a bath. You wanna join me?" Ranma-chan
twirled a panty around and around her index finger, all the while assuming a
come-hither pose - her left leg was bent slightly and she tilted her head to
one side, a smile on her face and her eyes lowered seductively. Ranma shook
his head furiously.
"N-no! You're a...I mean..."
"Never mind. I was just playing with you, that's all." She patted him on
the shoulder as she headed for the bath. "See you later."
Ranma-chan stepped out of her room - and right next to Akane. Apparently
she had just been walking by at that moment. Ranma-chan instinctively took
a step back and checked Akane's hands for weapons of any kind. She found
none and breathed a sigh of relief - she had probably been forgiven already.
"Akane. Going to the bathroom?" asked Ranma-chan for while Akane wasn't
armed she DID have a bath towel in one hand and a bath bucket in the other.
"Yes." She sounded a bit distracted. Ranma-chan took the initiative and
grabbed her arm.
"Well, come on then! You're gonna be late if you don't hurry!" said
Ranma-chan playfully as she pulled Akane along to the bath. Out of the
corner of her eye she saw Ranma watching the both of them. She ignored him
and led a silent Akane away.
Ranma scratched his head and wondered whether or not Akane had heard their
conversation. He shrugged and headed for the bathroom upstairs - he'd worry
about it after he was safely in school, on time.
Meanwhile Akane was quietly taking her clothes off in the bathroom.
Ranma-chan was saying something but she might as well have been talking to
the wall. Akane glanced at Ranma-chan - who was already naked and waiting -
and she felt a stab of jealousy. She compared breast sizes and found
Ranma-chan's to be bigger. She compared a whole slew of other things known
only to women...and in every case Ranma-chan won out. <Hold it, Akane> she
told herself <This is a GUY, remember? It doesn't count! Nothing counts!>
"Yeah, right," she muttered to herself. Anybody mistaking Ranma-chan for a
guy was deaf, blind and dead. Her perfectly shaped body was proportioned
correctly in all the right places. Every curve as if it had been sculpted
by Kami-sama Himself - and everybody knew Kami-sama was perfect in
everything He did.
"Akane, what's wrong with you? Why're you standing there like that?" asked
Ranma-chan as she slid the door open. The bath had already been drawn and it
was steamy inside. Kasumi had an excellent sense of timing.
"Nothing," said Akane. She followed Ranma-chan inside and slid the door
shut behind her.
Ranma-chan hummed a little tune to herself as she washed herself. There was
not one spot of red on her face as she soaped her entire body in front of
Akane, who was actually having trouble focusing on *her* body. She kept
thinking about what she had seen and heard in Ranma's room just five minutes
ago. Was it true that...that Ranma-chan was actually *attracted* to Ranma?!
Akane clapped a hand over her mouth. She stared at Ranma-chan for a long
moment. <No way. She's the same person...they both have the same minds and
memories.>
Maybe it was an attraction on a biological level, a woman to man thing, but
that still didn't make it any better for Akane. Deep down inside her,
locked away by mental barriers and kept in check at all times, she
considered Ranma *hers*. Ranma belonged to nobody else but her and she
intended to keep it that way! She swiped a soap-filled hand over herself
briskly and showered off. Then she slid into the bath. Moments later
Ranma-chan followed her in.
"Ahh. I've never actually had time to enjoy a nice, long soak in the furo
in the morning. Feels great," commented Ranma-chan.
"That it does." Akane self-consciously folded her legs to herself and
hugged them. Ranma-chan simply let her legs sprawl out on the floor of the
furo, her arms resting behind her on the edge of the bath as she leaned
back. The minutes passed in silence as Ranma-chan and Akane sat side by
side and relaxed in the soothing heat of the bath. Finally, Akane could
stand it no longer and she turned to the other girl.
"Ranma...are you alright?" asked Akane. She edged closer to the other girl.
"Huh?" Ranma-chan looked over at her.
"I said, are you alright? I mean...."
"If you're talking about last night, yeah. I'm alright. Why do you ask?"
"No, I mean...*alright* alright." Akane lapsed into silence and looked at
Ranma-chan expectantly.
"Is this like a girl thing or something? I mean, you don't explain what
you're talking about and expect me to give the right answer?"
"No...I..." Akane felt frustrated. She tried again. "I mean...how do you
feel as a girl?"
"How do I feel as a girl? You mean...how I'm coping as a girl?"
A nod. Ranma-chan looked down at her breasts...then between her legs. She
held her thin arms and delicate hands in front of her and examined them.
"Well?" asked Akane impatiently, "How do you feel?"
"Pretty stupid staring at myself," muttered Ranma-chan under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Ranma-chan sighed. "I dunno, really. I mean, I know I'm really
a guy but only if I think about it. At any other time, I feel...just like I
am."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean...I'm just me." Ranma-chan frowned. "But come to think of it, I do
feel a bit different somehow...but not as if I have changed a whole lot."
"Oh, really?" said Akane skeptically as she stared pointedly at Ranma-chan's
breasts. "You don't say."
"I wasn't talking about my body, idiot! It's my...
whatchamacallit...personality or mind, or something. Me." Ranma-chan
gestured at herself. "*I'm changed inside. But how and in what way I've
changed, I don't know."
Akane nodded her head. She took a deep breath.
"I see. D-does it have anything to do with Ranma?" said Akane. She had
practically forced herself to say it. Ranma-chan looked at her in surprise.
"Akane! Thinking such thoughts...you should be ashamed of yourself!"
stalled Ranma-chan as she searched for a topic to distract Akane with.
"Answer the question," said Akane fiercely.
"Why is it any of your business? I thought you didn't like a macho jerk
like him anyhow!" Ranma-chan shot back. She lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, I see.
You're jealous, aren't you?"
"What!? I'm *not* jealous!" cried Akane furiously. "And don't change the
subject! Is Ranma in the picture or isn't he?"
"Well...*I* am...but I guess you mean the *male* Ranma, right?" Ranma-chan
waited for a reply but she didn't get one. She sighed. "Akane, you're
making a mountain out of a molehill, you know?"
A pause.
"So what you're saying is that your flirting with him is just a joke? It's
just for fun?"
"Flirting?! What the heck do you mean by that?"
"I mean, when a girl acts as if she likes the guy...and she touches him,
shows him a little leg, smiles, tosses her hair...you know, all those little
things that get him excited."
"And you're saying that I'm doing it to Ranma?" asked Ranma-chan, putting a
hand on her chest for emphasis.
"Yes, you are! Don't try to be coy with me. I've seen enough of it to know
what's going on. You're flirting with him and don't you deny it." Akane
stared hard at Ranma-chan, who met her gaze for a moment...then turned away.
"Well, I guess so." A pause. "I mean...it's not as if I plan it all out or
something. It just *happens*. Anyways, why does it matter so much to you?
I-I can flirt with anybody I like."
"But with yourself?"
"He's like me...but somehow *not* like me! I mean, we share the same
memories, but our personalities are different! We think differently now,
you know? Because of that..."
"That gives you the right to flirt with him? Give me a break!"
"Hey, what gives YOU the right to tell me what to do?" demanded Ranma-chan
as she rose halfway out of the water.
"The fact that I'm his....umm...I mean..." Akane faltered again and
Ranma-chan pressed home her advantage.
"Say it, Akane. Or don't you think I know what you're going to say anyways?
Being a girl lets me acknowledge some things I didn't want to recognize
before...like the fact that you *really* want Ranma."
"I do *not* WANT that jerk!! Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?!"
cried Akane.
"From watching you. I know all about it, Akane, and whether you want to
admit it or not, it's completely true." Ranma-chan sat back in the soothing
warmth of the water. "Anyhow, what were we yelling about?"
"About why YOU shouldn't be flirting with Ranma!"
"And *why* not?"
"Because you're him, and he's you! You can't go flirting with yourself, you
know that?"
"But he's NOT myself!" insisted Ranma-chan, "I'm my own person now! I exist
apart from him, I think differently from him and I *feel* differently."
Akane still looked doubtful.
"Akane, I'm a girl, okay? What do you see here? Tell me, Akane," said
Ranma-chan as she cupped her breasts. Akane blushed furiously.
"But you're...you're still Ranma..." began Akane, but Ranma-chan cut her
off.
"I'm NOT that Ranma, Akane. Get it through your head. I - am - not -
that - Ranma! I am still Ranma, but not like the male Ranma anymore!"
Ranma-chan was getting frustrated. "Why won't you accept that *I've*
changed?"
"The Ranma I know wouldn't give up! Not now, not ever!" blurted Akane.
"It's all very hard for me to understand with you and Ranma running around,
but I know this at least - Ranma wouldn't have just accepted being a girl
for the rest of his life! He would have gone on a quest for a cure or
something!"
"That's MY point! If I were Ranma now *I* wouldn't wanna be a girl for the
rest of my life! But I'm NOT the original Ranma...and I'm not turned off by
the idea of being a girl for the rest of my life. I actually like it, to
tell you the truth. And you've got to understand, my determination and my
will to succeed is still here, inside me!" Ranma-chan touched her chest
with a hand. "And so, in this way I'm NOT Ranma, but I'm still a bit like
him."
Akane just shook her head wordlessly in silent denial. Ranma-chan cursed
and got out of the bath. She stepped out of the bath, put an arm across her
breasts and half-turned to Akane. "Akane, just accept it. I'm a girl, I'm
here to stay and I'm most certainly NOT Ranma anymore."
"Oh, and does that mean that you're somehow ENTITLED to flirt with him?"
Akane too stepped out of the bath and walked up close to Ranma-chan, both
her arms crossed over her chest, and stared the redhead eye to eye.
"Jeez, there you go again trying to control me! You want me to wear a
collar and a leash or something? That way you'd be able to rein me in
whenever you feel like it!" Ranma-chan glared at Akane.
Akane flushed in embarrassment. "That's NOT what I meant! I don't want to
control you, and certainly not in the way you described, but...but..."
"But what?" challenged Ranma-chan.
Akane sighed. "Just leave Ranma alone. He's having enough girl trouble as
it is."
"Gee, Akane. That's a first. I've never heard you say that before..."
mused Ranma-chan.
"Just *stay* away from Ranma, okay??" Akane leaned close to Ranma-chan.
"I'm not saying that you two shouldn't talk or anything, but...but just
don't *flirt* or do anything like that with him!"
"And why not? You don't control me, Akane. Nobody controls me but myself.
I thought you knew this by now, Akane. Nobody's going to tell me what to
do, not even you." Ranma-chan's gaze never faltered, and neither did
Akane's. They stared at one another for what seemed like hours, but in
reality it was only seconds.
"Fine then." Akane's eyes shimmered with tears. "I-if that's the way you
want it, then be that way. See if I care!" She started to shove past
Ranma-chan.
Ranma-chan was taken aback. Had she gone too far? Ranma-chan hadn't really
wanted to hurt her...but she must have gotten carried away. <Gotta learn
when to shut up.> She put a hand on Akane's shoulder. "A-Akane...wait..."
Akane whirled around and slapped Ranma-chan. Too shocked to cry out in
pain, Ranma-chan could only watch as Akane wiped tears from her eyes and ran
out of the bath area. The sliding door shut with a note of finality.
By the time Ranma-chan had collected herself and stepped in to change, Akane
was already gone.
Ranma-chan went to her room, dressed up and walked downstairs. She sat down
to breakfast in stony silence on one side of Ranma. Akane sat on the other
side, her best poker face on. The rest of the family were their usual
selves and did not notice anything wrong at all. But if anybody could look
close enough, they would swear they could see an aura of fire around both
girls. Wherever Akane's chopsticks touched a dish of food, Ranma-chan's did
not come near and vice versa. Which left Ranma with more food than he was
accustomed to getting, something which he was quick to take advantage of.
"I'm done. Thanks, Kasumi." Ranma-chan got up and left without a backwards
glance.
"Me too. Great breakfast, Kasumi." Akane stood up, grabbed her school bag
and left in the opposite direction of Ranma-chan.
"Akane...that's the wrong way. It's this way," said Ranma, pointing in
Ranma-chan's direction.
"So? You have a problem with going *this* way instead?" Akane stubbornly
followed her course and left. Ranma shrugged his shoulders, shouldered his
bag and went his normal route. If he had paid closer attention, he might
have thought twice about following Ranma-chan. He caught up with the
redhead.
"So what the heck's up with Akane anyways? I mean, she's going the long
way...and she's gonna be late!" asked Ranma.
"Why're you asking me? Do I look like Akane to you?" retorted Ranma-chan,
not bothering to look at Ranma.
"Jeez! Can't even get a straight answer without getting my head bit off.
Women," muttered Ranma as he sped away. He took a different route this time
to meet up with Akane.
"Women indeed," murmured Ranma-chan. She touched her cheek and winced in
pain. "Damn it, Akane. You idiot."
She hopped over a wall and made her way up a sidewalk. Off in the distance
was Furinkan High School, its bell tower seemingly touching the blue sky.
Ranma-chan bunched her legs and leapt high up to the top of the telephone
pole. She stood there, hands on her hips and facing the wind as she picked
out students by their faces. There was Sayuri and Anemi, Ichio,
Daisuke...and Hiroshi. She watched them in silence as memories ran through
her head. That party over at Daisuke's house just two months back...hanging
out at the local manga store...eating free lunch together at the Nekohanten
or Ucchan's...
Ranma-chan sighed and touched her hair briefly. That all seemed like a long
time ago. Things had changed now. Her old friends weren't her friends
anymore. It was a whole different ballgame from here on in.
"Ranma, what the heck are you doing up there?"
Ranma-chan glanced down. It was Ukyo in her usual guy's school uniform and
with her long hair tied back. Hard to believe that she had once fooled
schools around Japan into believing that she was a guy. Of course, that
bandage around her chest helped alot...but still...
"Hi, Ucchan. What's up?" Ranma-chan smiled weakly.
"You are. Come down here and talk."
Ranma-chan hopped down. Then she turned to Ukyo.
"Okay. What was it you wanted to talk about?" Ranma-chan folded her arms
across her chest.
"First things first. Where's your school bag?"
"I left it at home. I'm not going to school today, Ucchan."
"Why?" Ukyo began walking towards Furinkan High, indicating that Ranma-chan
should follow.
"It's a long story, Ucchan. A long story in more ways than one."
Ranma-chan sighed and touched her cheek. It still stung quite a bit. Ukyo
reached out and grabbed her hand...then she peered at the slap mark.
"Wow. That's the reddest I've seen yet. And since there're two of you,
might I ask why *you* were the lucky prize winner?"
"That's another long story, Ucchan."
"Uh huh." Ukyo walked a little more in silence, then she turned to
Ranma-chan. She put a hand on Ranma-chan's arm. "Say, why don't you come
over later? The restaurant will be closed after six as I'll be doing
inventory. It's gonna take a while and it does get a bit lonely. I'll even
throw in free dinner, how's that?"
Ranma-chan considered Ukyo's offer for about a moment. <Free food....> She
nodded in reply. "Okay. After six, then?"
"Yeah. After six. See you later, okay?" Ukyo smiled and jogged off to
school.
Ranma-chan scratched her head, wondering what was up with Ukyo. This was
the first time she had ever invited her over to the restaurant just to keep
her company. And the strange thing was, she had readily accepted. She
could still remember a time when she would stammer an excuse and make
herself scarce...but not now. Ranma-chan sighed and shook her head. She'd
worry about Ucchan later. She looked up at the sky and wondered if she
should do some training today. <Yeah, I think I will. What the heck else is
there to do?> With that, Ranma-chan left to find a suitable spot to practice
her martial arts.
* * *
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
Ranma leaned back in his chair, a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a slice
of eel held in mid-air, and he peered up at Akane.
"I...want to talk to you about something." Akane looked uncomfortable.
Ranma laid his eel slice back in his bento, lunch box.
"What's it about?" said Ranma carefully.
"Finish your lunch first, okay?" Akane pulled a chair up and sat on the
opposite side of Ranma's desk.
Ranma shrugged and continued eating. But not for very long. Maybe it was
the way Akane was watching him eat, or maybe it was something else
altogether; the point was, he had suddenly lost his appetite - and it took
something extraordinary to do *that* to him. He suddenly sensed that this
thing Akane wanted to talk about was somehow connected to himself.
"I'm done. Now tell me what this is all about," he said as he looked around
to make sure nobody else was eavesdropping.
"You still haven't finished that eel yet," said Akane, pointing it out with
a finger.
"You can have it if you want. Just tell me what you want to talk about."
Ranma fidgeted in his seat.
Akane leaned on Ranma's desk and just looked at him, a strange expression on
her face. That made him uncomfortable. Quite uncomfortable. He
self-consciously wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Well?" he pressed once more.
"Nothing. It's nothing." Akane slowly got up and left. She joined Sayuri
and her friends, but she turned around once - just once - and glanced at
him. Then she turned back and left with the girls.
Ranma looked down into his bento. Three tempura shrimp, two slices of
sashimi, a small dollop of wasabi (horseradish paste), some rice, and of
course the one remaining slice of eel kabayaki. It looked delicious and
smelt even better too.
But he wasn't hungry anymore.
"Hey, Ranma. What's wrong? Can't finish your food?" Daisuke leaned over
Ranma's shoulder and stared at the food hungrily.
"You want it? Here." Ranma stood up and walked over to the window. He
heard Daisuke say something like 'Thanks, buddy! Man, Kasumi sure makes
good food!' followed by scarfing sounds as his friend devoured what remained
of his lunch.
Ranma had other things on his mind than a lost lunch. What did Akane want?
Why did she give him that look? He couldn't figure it out; he was sure that
she had given him some sort of clue...but what? He thought back to how
Akane had stubbornly taken the other, long way to school...then had
proceeded to give him the cold shoulder all the way to the classroom. At
any other time he would have dismissed it as nothing more than Akane being
Akane - that is, to put it bluntly, 'hard to understand'. But something
inside himself told him that this was different; this was special, somehow.
A sixth sense told him that somebody was looking at him. He peered out of
the corner of his eye...and saw it was Ukyo. Again, he would have paid
little or no attention to that fact - Ukyo always looked at him whenever she
thought he wasn't watching. Yet this time, it was different - as different
as Akane's sudden insistence about talking to him, followed by her equally
sudden about-face. He turned to face Ukyo, who whipped her head away to
stare out the window. Her fast-reddening cheeks betrayed her, however.
<Women...> thought Ranma with a mental sigh.
* * *
Shampoo coasted down a side street on her bicycle. Her delivery schedule
was chock full as was her delivery box. She had to make it to Matsuda's in
three minutes, take the short cut over a couple roof tops to get to
Yoshitaki's, then ride like crazy back to the Nekohanten to pick up the next
set of orders waiting to be delivered. <Too bad> thought Shampoo in her
native Chinese, <I'd go and deliver a bowl of ramen to Ranma since its lunch
time, but I'm just so *busy*!>
*Chrrring* *Chrrring* went her bell as she passed an alleyway. She had the
reflexes to dodge anything that came out, but better safe than sorry.
Something registered in her mind as she passed the alleyway and she quickly
screeched to a halt.
"Ranma?" Shampoo backed up and saw Ranma-chan standing there.
"Hi, Shampoo. What's up?" Ranma-chan walked up to the other girl and
peered at the delivery box. "What's inside? Smells good, doesn't it?"
The wheels and gears began to turn in Shampoo's devious mind.
"So sorry, girl-type Ranma. Shampoo in big hurry...but drop by Nekohanten,
okay? Shampoo see you there in five minute!" Shampoo raced off, her mind
already working on a plan.
Ranma-chan scratched her head but headed for the Nekohanten like Shampoo
asked. She waited a bit, then Shampoo pushed the drapes aside and walked
in.
"Girl-type Ranma, Shampoo have too-too big favor to ask," began the Amazon
with a smile and a bounce in her step.
"What is it? What do I have to do?" Ranma-chan sat down at one of the
tables. Shampoo sat beside her.
"Is simple. Shampoo give girl-type Ranma two too-too delicious bowls of
ramen...one for girl-type Ranma...the other for boy-type Ranma. Is lunch
time at school. Girl-type Ranma deliver for Shampoo, okay? Shampoo real
busy."
"Umm...you mean, I gotta go to the school and give it to Ranma? I
dunno...." began Ranma-chan uncertainly.
"Is *real* good ramen. Have lots and lots of fish cake, green onions, beef
strips and seasoning...!" purred Shampoo enticingly.
"On the other hand, why not? I'm not doing anything right now." But
Ranma-chan's mouth was watering. Shampoo had pulled a below the belt by
listing all four of Ranma-chan's favorite items in any ramen in one
sentence.
"Is done deal. Shampoo get ramen ready!" Shampoo patted Ranma-chan's hand,
bounced up and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back
with a delivery box, which she handed to Ranma-chan. "Here go, girl-type
Ranma. No be late, okay?"
"Don't worry. I'll be in and out before you know it." Ranma-chan hefted
the delivery box and left the Nekohanten.
"Is it wise, Shampoo, to let her deliver food to my son-in-law?" rasped the
ancient Amazon as she clung to her stick and performed a near-impossible
balancing act with ease.
"Don't worry, great-great-grandmother," said Shampoo in Chinese, "She's not
like the others."
"I hope you're right, Shampoo," replied Cologne, "But enough about them.
You have a lot of deliveries to make today."
<I think> Shampoo turned that thought over and over in her mind, then she
set it aside for another day. Like her great-great-grandmother said, she
had a lot of things to do before her day was done.
* * *
Ranma-chan hopped from house to house, the delivery box balanced on her head
like a hat. She could feel the ramen's heat through the box and the mere
thought of the food was tempting her to stop, open the box and devour her
share. But she had a deadline to keep and she had made a promise to
Shampoo. She'd have plenty of time to chow down *after* she made the
delivery.
"Okay, here goes." Ranma-chan hopped from window ledge to window ledge as
she made her way higher and higher. She moved fast enough to appear like a
blur of movement, but not so fast that she spilled the ramen inside the box
she was holding in one hand. She bounced to the rooftop, set the box beside
her, wrapped her legs around a pipe and lowered the upper part of her body
over the side of the building. She peered upside down into the classroom.
Ranma was nowhere to be seen.
"Darn it. Where'd he go to this time?" she muttered to herself as she
pulled herself back up.
"Hey, what're you doing here?"
"Eeek!" cried Ranma-chan, jumping in fright. She whirled around...to see
Ranma standing there, hands in his pockets. "You jerk! Don't scare me like
that!"
Ranma grinned.
"Don't do it again," warned Ranma-chan, "Here's a special delivery, courtesy
of Shampoo. Our favorite ramen." She opened the box to reveal two bowls of
ramen. There was a large bowl and a medium one - beside the large bowl were
three slices of carrot lovingly cut to resemble a floral bouquet. The
medium sized bowl had no such embellishments accompanying it.
"Gee, I wonder which is mine," muttered Ranma-chan. She pulled both bowls
out and handed the larger one to Ranma. "Here ya go."
"How'd you get them? How much were they?" Ranma took his bowl but did not
begin eating.
"Free. Shampoo gave one bowl to me to deliver to you and in return she gave
me this bowl too. Great stuff, huh?" Ranma-chan began chowing down. At
least it still contained liberal portions of all her favorite items. She
was about halfway through her meal when she noticed that Ranma hadn't even
touched his food.
"What's wrong?" she asked after wiping her mouth with the back of her hand,
"Don't like it or something?"
"No. I'm just...not hungry." Ranma put his bowl down and sat crosslegged
next to it.
"You? Not hungry?" Ranma-chan stopped eating and looked at Ranma
strangely. "Since when were you ever full?"
"I'm not full or anything...I just don't feel like eating, that's all."
"You have *got* to be kidding me. If you don't eat, you'll get
gastrointestinal problems."
"Gastro wha...?"
"Your tummy-tummy will hurt-hurt," cooed Ranma-chan as she leaned over and
poked him in the stomach. It was like poking a brick wall.
"Oh." Ranma found it to be a not-unpleasant sensation, being touched by
Ranma-chan like that.
"Don't 'oh' me. You have to eat, especially since you only had a light
breakfast this morning. Here, try some and you'll change your mind."
Ranma-chan reached in to Ranma's bowl with her chopsticks, snagged a bit of
ramen along with a slice of fishcake and brought it up to Ranma's mouth.
"Eat it."
"But...but you just used those chopsticks!"
"So what? Eat or I'll make you eat it," mock-threatened Ranma-chan.
"Okay, but just a little bit." He opened his mouth and Ranma-chan fed him.
She watched him chew his food for a bit.
"Like it?" she prompted when he didn't say a word.
"It's good," offered Ranma after a while
"Want some more?"
"Umm...."
"Lemme know if you do. I'm starving." Ranma-chan resumed eating, but her
eyes were never far from Ranma.
* * *
"Hey, Sayuri. Where's Ranma?" asked Akane.
"I don't know. He was in here just a minute ago, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, but I saw him head out the window and up. Maybe he's on the roof,"
said another girl, as if jumping out a window and hopping some fifteen feet
up to the roof was an every day thing.
"Figures. Why can't he take the stairs like everyone else?" muttered Akane
to herself as she left the classroom and headed for the stairs leading to
the roof.
* * *
"Okay, you can stop feeding me now. I'm sure I can do it myself, thank you
very much."
"But it's so fun! Why should I stop?" Ranma-chan picked up a slice of fish
and held it up to Ranma's mouth. She was sitting with her legs folded
beneath her with one hand holding Ranma's bowl and the other clutching a
pair of chopsticks.
"Just because! Jeez, what if someone sees us? I can't be seen getting fed
by a girl..." blurted Ranma.
"Oh, I see! You're doing this because I'm only a *girl*, is that it? You
have something against women, right? Right?!"
"No, no, no! I didn't mean *that*....I guess what I meant to say
was...umm...I can feed myself so I don't need you to help me." Ranma
reached for the bowl but Ranma-chan leaned backwards out of reach and Ranma
found himself in the interesting predicament of leaning OVER Ranma-chan.
"Say please," said Ranma-chan with a grin on her face.
"Please, your worshipness, may I have be allowed to touch the sacred ramen
bowl and use the holy chopsticks to feed this unworthy wretch?" said Ranma
rather melodramatically.
"You may," said Ranma-chan, playing along, "Here you go, sinner." She gave
him the food and he began to eat it. She set her empty bowl and chopsticks
back inside the delivery box and she stood up. "What are you doing after
lunch?"
"English," replied Ranma, rolling his eyes in despair.
"Oh." She paused for a moment longer, then she turned away from him.
"Is...is Akane there? I mean...she's there, right?"
"Yeah. Why? Want to talk to her?"
Ranma-chan shook her head.
"No, that's okay. She hesitated again. "Did...did she say anything to you?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno. *Anything*. Did she?" Ranma-chan looked over her shoulder and
into Ranma's eyes.
"She did say she wanted to talk to me about something...but I guess she
changed her mind. Do *you* know what it was about?"
"N-no. Sorry, I don't." She turned away again and sighed. "You know
Akane. Hard to figure out and all that."
"Sure." Ranma paused a bit. "By the way...what was it with you two this
morning?"
"Say again?"
"I've only just figured it out. You two are fighting, aren't you?"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Ranma-chan cautiously.
"Don't give me that. I know something's wrong...right?"
"Whatever." Ranma-chan hugged her knees. "She's in one of her moods again.
Watch out, she's pretty handy with her mallet."
"No need to tell me that," said Ranma dryly.
Ranma-chan sighed and uncurled herself. She shifted close to Ranma - so
close that she could feel the presence of his body next to hers. She
wondered how to tell him how she felt but the words would not come, and as
time ticked away second by second she found the silence more and more
confining. At last she decided to come out with it.
"Ranma...I've...I've been wondering," said Ranma-chan hesitantly, "Is it
okay...I mean, is it alright for me to...you know..." She looked him up and
down. "To...be with you and stuff like that?"
"W-why do you ask that? Why ask me?" Ranma's face was flushed with
embarrassment.
"Because...because I like being with you," whispered Ranma-chan, her hand
tracing a line on the ground, "And...and I'm wondering if
you...y'know...ummm....feel the same way too?"
Ranma was speechless for a moment, stunned by this simple but profound
declaration from a girl's heart, but it was long enough to scare Ranma-chan
away. She shifted away from Ranma and sat by herself.
"Forget about it," said Ranma-chan, "Boy, do I ever feel stupid or what..."
Ranma was about to reply but he heard the door to the roof open. Both of
them watched as it opened...and Akane walked out of the stairwell. She
looked around for a moment, spotted Ranma and started walking towards him.
And she stopped when she saw a certain slight, feminine figure sitting next
to him.
"Ranma!" said Akane after a moment of hesitation, "What are y-you two doing
up here?"
Ranma-chan got up and she walked a little away from Ranma before standing
with one hand resting on her hip, facing Akane squarely. Ranma could almost
feel the sizzling air between the two girls even though they must have been
fifteen feet apart. A war of wills was underway and Ranma resolved not to
get sucked into it...so he sat still and stayed quiet.
"You mean, what am *I* doing here at all," said Ranma-chan, "Well, we were
having lunch together. See?" She gestured to the empty ramen bowls and the
delivery box.
"I can see that, thank you very much," replied Akane scathingly, "Now, what
are you doing here in the first place? I thought you were going to play
hooky?"
"I got bored and came to visit Ranma." Ranma-chan sauntered over to Ranma,
bent over and leaned on him sexily, her ample chest straining at her tight
and sleeveless shirt, "We were just having a conversation when you
interrupted."
Ranma gulped as he felt - rather than saw - female cleavage not two inches
from his head. He swallowed even more when Ranma-chan dug her fingers into
his shoulder. Akane's eyes widened and a dangerous look got onto her face.
Then she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Then another.
"Ranma, classes are about to start. Better hurry and get inside, or else,"
said Akane in an emotionless voice as she turned around and stalked back
down the stairs.
When Akane was gone Ranma-chan straightened and stared after her, the
sex-kitten act gone as if it had never been.
"Well, she took it better than I expected," she said to herself.
"What was that about??" demanded Ranma, "Now you've got her mad at me!"
"She would have gotten mad at you *anyhow*, silly." Ranma-chan knelt down
beside Ranma. "In any case it's between me and her...and you know better
than to get between the two of us when we're like this."
"You...I mean, we have never been like this. Not this bad anyways. What is
it about girls? When they fight, they *really* fight...and half the time we
guys don't know what they're fighting about!" Ranma got up and headed to
the stairs.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find out," muttered Ranma-chan under her breath. She
stood up and patted the small of his back with her hand. "Go on. You're
gonna be late if you don't get moving."
"Uh, yeah." Ranma paused for a bit...then he turned back to Ranma-chan,
"Umm, listen..."
"Yes?" Ranma-chan clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head at
Ranma cutely.
"I don't know, or really want to know, about what you two are fighting
about...but please, stop, okay?" pleaded Ranma, looking quite uncomfortable
at the same time, "Akane...Akane doesn't deserve to be...to be.....*treated*
like this. You know?"
"Oh. Sure. Okay, I understand," said Ranma-chan, two fingers crossed
behind her back.
"Let me see your hands." Ranma stepped up to Ranma-chan.
"No, why should I?" Ranma-chan dodged around Ranma, a smile beginning to
form on her face.
"Because, I know you!" Ranma made a grab for Ranma-chan, but he missed.
"Oh, do you really?" she teased.
"Yes I do!" Ranma grabbed Ranma-chan by the shoulders. She shrieked aloud,
then broke down laughing as Ranma turned her around and grabbed her wrists.
"See? Here's the proof!"
"What proof?" Ranma-chan turned around and held a hand up to Ranma's face.
"You shouldn't joke about things like these, you know. I'm being serious."
Ranma let her hand go.
"Yeah. I know. But..." Ranma-chan suddenly darted forward and planted a
quick kiss on Ranma's lips, at the same time pressing her body up to his in
a very interesting way. She broke the kiss just as Ranma began to
comprehend what she was doing with him. "...I'm being serious, too."
Ranma started to say something but Ranma-chan hustled him into the stairs
and shut the door on him. She leaned on the door and looked up into the
sky, grinning all the while. <Damn, that felt good.> She stood still for a
moment longer to savor the fading wisps of the kiss, then she picked up the
ramen bowls and put them back in the box. Balacing the whole thing on her
head she hopped down from the school roof, using window ledges as steps, and
she headed off to the Nekohanten to return the stuff.
* * *
Akane stared at the open English book on her desk, the foreign words making
no sense in her mind. In fact the words seemed to twist and change shape,
becoming a scene which she would never forget. That image of Ranma-chan
leaning on Ranma's shoulder. No matter that Ranma seemed quite...unnerved
by Ranma-chan's moves on him. Bad enough that Ranma-chan did it in the
first place!
She turned, as if to look at the clock above the door but she secretly snuck
a peek at Ranma. He too was staring at his book with that faraway look in
his eyes...but he was touching his lips every once in a while with his hand.
Akane slowly swiveled her head back to the front...and it was only then when
she noticed that her fists were clenched very tightly.
* * *
"Hey, Ranma...?"
Ranma came to a halt and turned to face Akane. She didn't look at him
directly as she tried to calm her pounding heart and get control of her
thoughts.
"Yeah, Akane?"
"Ummm..." began Akane, "I...I was wondering....if you wanted to get
something to eat!"
"But isn't there food at home?" asked Ranma.
"I can't wait, Ranma. I'm too hungry. Come on, it'll be my treat!" Akane
knew Ranma couldn't turn down free food.
"Why didn't you say so? Okay, let's go."
They walked in silence, dodging around people as they made their way into
the heart of downtown Nerima, but Akane never strayed too far from Ranma's
side. They picked a fast food joint and ordered their food. Soon they were
sitting at a corner table in the tightly packed restaurant, their burgers,
fries and soft drinks on the table before them.
Neither had yet said anything to one another. Ranma *knew* something was
going on. He was able to tell whether or not he was in big trouble...but at
the moment he wasn't quite sure. He finally decided to sit and wait. He
hadn't finished his second burger before Akane began to speak.
"Ranma?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah?" he replied apprehensively. It had always disturbed him whenever
Akane got this way. Maybe it was because she seemed to become a different
Akane altogether, and it frightened him. Just a bit. Still, it upset
everything he thought he knew about Akane because it made her unpredictable
as heck. At least he knew what to expect when she was acting like a
tomboy...but when she became quiet and introspective...
"H-how long have you been living with us?"
Ranma scratched his head for an answer. "Umm...about two years, I guess. I
came here when I was sixteen...and now I'm eighteen. So, yeah. Two years.
Why?"
"Do you remember the time you stepped inside the Tendo Dojo?" Akane had this
intense look on her face which told him that he had better not joke around.
"Well, yeah. Pop sorta barged in and dropped me right in front of you
guys."
"How did you feel when you arrived?" Akane sipped at her soft drink and
looked at Ranma expectantly.
"What? You mean, what was I thinking? Stuff like that?"
Akane nodded. Ranma put his half-eaten burger down on the wrapper. He
leaned back and put his hands behind his head to support it. Then he spoke.
"I...was kinda angry. I mean, here I was with this Jyusenkyo curse, I'm not
even a true MAN for crying out loud, and all Pop could think of was carting
me all the way BACK from China to meet some stupid fiancee...." Ranma
caught himself and looked up at Akane. "Ah....I'm sorry. Just got carried
away."
"That's okay, Ranma. Go on." Akane put her elbows on the table and rested
her chin on her hands.
"Umm, yeah. Well...anyhow, I remember standing in front of your dad and
thinking 'Oh God. They're gonna laugh at me. They're gonna split their
sides laughing at me!'"
"Then dad hugged you. And that was where it all began, right?"
"Where what began, Akane? How I got my Jysenkyo curse, you mean?" Ranma
was confused. What was she getting at?
"No, silly. It was your very first introduction to us. Dad, Kasumi,
Nabiki...and me." Akane smiled. "I can still remember thinking to myself
'Ranma's a girl. Maybe we can be friends!'"
"Yeah, until that bathroom thing, where you walked in on me."
Akane giggled and Ranma turned red. They had NEVER spoken about *that*
event. Not once in all of two years...until now.
"I'm surprised, Ranma. You adapted to our household pretty quickly for
someone who has been on the road for over a decade."
"Come to think of it, yeah. I never stopped to think about it, but you're
right." Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe I needed to find a place to call
home."
"What about your real home? Where your mother lives?"
"I don't even remember a thing about it, Akane. It's been so long now. The
Tendo Dojo is my home now, I guess."
Akane smiled. "Home is where the heart is, right?"
"I...guess so." Ranma looked away uncomfortably.
"Do you like living with us, Ranma?" pressed Akane relentlessly.
"Well...yeah, I guess. I mean, it's never boring, if that's what you mean."
Akane's face fell and she turned away. "No. It's...it's not what I meant."
"Okay, then what DID you mean, Akane?" Ranma searched Akane's face for
answers and came up empty.
"Nothing," said Akane quickly. She smiled again. "I'm glad for you, Ranma.
You've changed a lot since you came to Nerima two years ago."
"What?" Ranma scratched his head. "Have I really?"
"Yes, you have." Akane looked at Ranma...and somehow she didn't see what
she was accustomed to seeing. Here, for the moment at least, was a boy
without that macho attitude, the braggadocio laced with overblown fantasies
of his manly virility. Here, right now and at this moment, was the side of
Ranma she had come to love.
And she wanted to tell him, too. But the words just would not come. Why
wouldn't they come? Because, a voice whispered in her head, he might throw
his head back and laugh at you. Akane was more afraid of this happening than
anything else in the world. What if she somehow managed to admit her
feelings for him...and the feeling wasn't mutual? What if he didn't really
like her at all?
"Ranma?" she ventured again.
"Yeah?" There was none of the apprehension present before. It was as if
the small talk had broken the ice.
Akane strove to master her fear...but it was still too strong. She couldn't
say the words she REALLY wanted to say, so she floundered a bit.
"Let's...let's head home, okay?" Akane stood up and grabbed her tray to
empty it.
"Sure, whatever you say." Ranma stood up with Akane and they left together.
They walked home in their usual manner, Akane leading the way and Ranma
tagging behind her on the fence. Yet something was different this
time...and it began to show itself as they gradually came to walk side by
side. They turned onto a path parallel to the river and they began to
follow it back to the Dojo.
*BWO-O-O-O-O!*
The mournful call of a tugboat echoed through the houses. Akane turned
towards the river and she watched the tugboat cruise downstream.
"Ranma...let's go sit by the river for a bit, okay?" said Akane.
"Why would you want to do that? I thought you said we were going home."
"Well...yeah, but I want to go sit by the river." Akane paused for effect.
"You can go on home...if you want."
"That's okay, Akane. I'll come along too."
Ranma and Akane settled themselves by the riverside and they basked for a
bit under the warm sun, the gentle breeze and the soothing sound of the
river lapping at their feet. Akane picked up a small rock and she tossed it
into the water. It made a splash and some ripples which quickly
disappeared.
She snuck a glance at Ranma. His eyes were closed and his head tilted back
with his pigtail pointing down to the ground. Was he thinking the same
thoughts? Or was he just being his usual self - insensitive and
self-centered? She had no way of knowing - at least, not without
embarrassing herself. There were no words to describe her longing for Ranma
to open his eyes and speak to her about *anything*.
Another thought entered her head - what if he wasn't thinking about himself
or her, but about Ranma-chan? It was enough to get her steaming about the
way Ranma-chan had been acting around Ranma these past few days. How could
she? For starters, Akane knew she couldn't compete with Ranma-chan in THAT
category. In fact, come to think of it, she didn't know what she was better
at than Ranma-chan. She wasn't as skilled, didn't know how to cook (it hurt
to admit THAT to herself) and...and just didn't have the right figure!
"What's wrong, Akane? You look angry over something."
Akane blushed and turned away. "It's nothing. Just thinking, that's all."
There was a pause, then Ranma shifted to face Akane.
"It's about the female Ranma, isn't it?" It was a statement, not a
question.
"So *what* if it is?" challenged Akane as she picked up a bigger rock and
tossed it into the river, "I'm sure you know all about it anyhow."
"That's not being fair, Akane. I never asked for this."
"Neither did I."
Ranma coughed in embarrassment.. "I'm sorry, Akane. But what am I supposed
to do? I can't control her or nothing..."
"No, but you COULD control yourself." Akane turned to glare at Ranma over
her shoulder.
"Wha....what did *I* do, huh? If you notice, it ain't me who's coming onto
anybody!" Ranma was blushing furiously.
"Maybe, but...but...." Akane turned away. "I don't know."
Akane picked up a rock the size of a peach and she chucked it one handed.
It splashed into the river about fifty yards from the shore.
"I guess I don't like things like these when they happen, you know?"
murmured Akane half to Ranma, half to herself.
"Yeah, I know," said Ranma absently, "I usually end up getting pounded by
you, if you recall."
"That's not what I was trying to get at." Akane shook her head in
frustration. "What I'm trying to say is..."
"You're trying to say that you won't hit me anymore when stuff like this
happens? I'd really like that."
"No, that's STILL not it!!" cried Akane angrily, "OOOHH, I give *up*! I'm
going home!" Akane shot to her feet and she began to stomp away.
"Akane, wait!" Ranma scrambled to his feet and he followed behind Akane.
"W-what did I say?"
"Nothing, that's what! You're an insensitive jerk, you know that?" Akane's
cheeks burned with shame. <Ranma, you *idiot*! How dense can you be?!>
"Insensitive?! What the heck were you trying to tell me back there? Did I
miss something?"
"It's nothing. Forget about it." Akane kept her gaze forward, neither
looking left nor right.
They walked that way for a tense five minutes.
Without any warning, as if he had simply teleported, Ranma appeared in front
of her. She knew that he had leapt over her head so fast and landed so
smoothly that he looked as if he had never moved at all. Except he was
right in front of her, right in her face. She came to a halt and looked
away from him, schoolbag held with both hands in front of her defensively.
There was silence for a few tense moments.
"W-what are you looking at?" she asked somewhat angrily as she blushed
again.
"N-nothing." Ranma took a deep breath.
"Then why're you looking at me for?" Akane started to push past Ranma...but
he wasn't about to move. "Ranma..." she said warningly.
All of a sudden he put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up in shock.
Akane's heart stopped for a moment, then it began to pound crazily. "Ranma,
what..."
"Akane," said Ranma as he steeled himself, "I...I...."
"Go on," she whispered after a while. All around them the world had
suddenly faded away. Gone were the houses, the river, the wind,
trees...everything. Her world was Ranma and the space, that near
unbridgeable gulf between the two of them. She tried to look him in the
eye...but she couldn't. It was as if his eyes were the mirrors of his
soul...and she was afraid to see what was there. Look!, cried her mind,
stare deep into his eyes and know the truth of all that matters! Does
he...or doesn't he? Akane tried to obey but she just...couldn't.
All the words Ranma had so carefully prepared were gone. His palms were
sweaty and he knew that his face was as red as his shirt. He tried to meet
Akane's gaze but for some reason...he couldn't. His hands were as shaky as
hell as they rested lightly on Akane's slim shoulders. She was looking at
him...yet not at him. Still the pressure was on. He had to say something,
do something, lest he be rooted to the spot like a statue. He shifted his
feet and he took another breath as he tried again. Nothing.
"Akane...I..." he stammered again.
Akane tried to say something to encourage Ranma but her vocal cords had
somehow deserted her in her hour of need. She couldn't say a thing and
couldn't do a thing except stare up into Ranma's face, stare without looking
into his eyes and seeing herself reflected in them, and hope for the
impossible. Her heart was going a million beats a minute and she couldn't
seem to blink no matter how much she tried.
They remained that way for long, long minutes...then Ranma abruptly let go
of Akane. He turned away from her and stared at the now-choppy river,
churned by the wake of a passing tugboat. Damn it. He just couldn't do it.
All the courage he had felt earlier had suddenly evaporated into thin air,
leaving him stranded.
"S-sorry," he stammered as he wrung his hands in embarrassment.
"Oh, I *see*," said Akane dangerously, "I'm not _good_ enough for you, is
that it?"
"Jeez, Akane, that's not what I meant!" cried Ranma as he whirled on her.
Akane began to walk away really fast and Ranma played catch-up. "Wait,
Akane!"
"Go away! Leave me alone!!" she cried.
"But..." began Ranma. He laid a hand on Akane's shoulder.
"I...said..." growled Akane as she turned around, "Leave me alone!!"
Her foot came flying up, struck Ranma and sent him flying high into the air.
She lowered her foot and watched as Ranma became a small dot in the sky.
"Ranma, you *idiot*!!!" she shouted after him.
* * *
"Akane, you idiot," muttered Ranma to himself as he sailed through the air,
"Why didja have to do that, huh?"
In one of those rare epiphanies received while one is imitating an ICBM,
Ranma realized that he had screwed up royally. Nobody had been around to
interrupt the two of them...nothing had yet happened to spoil the moment.
The scene and setting had been perfect...and he had managed to touch Akane
without being mashed into a pulp. It had all come down onto his
shoulders...but he had screwed it up!! Ranma was tempted to punch his
forehead repeatedly...but he soon realized that it would only be a futile
and painful gesture.
His trajectory began to take a downturn and his world turned upside down
as - predictably - he began to fall headfirst toward the ground. He crossed
his arms and thought back to what he had done wrong. He looked at the
situation from every angle...and he still came up with the same conclusion.
Ranma Saotome, martial artist extraordinaire, had blundered yet again into
Akane's black book.
<I'm an idiot!> he thought just as he splashed into a fountain and sent
water flying everywhere.
"Eeeeeek!" It was a female scream.
Ranma rose to the surface and shook the water from his face. He looked
around to find the girl he had splashed.
"Hey you, what's the big idea?!" she cried indignantly. Ranma felt a slap
on the back of his head - not painful but just enough to get the point
across.
"I'm sorry, I...." he began as he turned around.
Ranma-chan, who was soaking wet right through her sleeveless shirt and
shorts, flicked her pigtail over her shoulder and glared angrily at Ranma.
Ranma suddenly found that he couldn't take his eyes off her chest. Because
of the water, it was obvious that she was not wearing a bra under her shirt.
He could clearly see the swell of her breasts and the tips of her nipples
peeking out shyly from behind the fabric.
"Well? I'm waiting...!" Ranma-chan crossed her arms over her chest and
tapped her foot impatiently.
"Akane went and kicked me. Don't ask," he said as he hauled himself out of
the fountain.
"Don't tell. There's no need whenever Akane's involved." Ranma-chan walked
up to Ranma and helped him out. "But it's all YOUR fault that I'm soaking
wet."
"How is it MY fault?" he complained.
"Because it is!" she insisted. Ranma-chan sat on a nearby bench and leaned
back to let the sun's rays dry her off. After a short while Ranma sat by
her, took his long-sleeved shirt off and began to wring it
dry.
"You know, I never would have thought that I would still have problems with
water..." he said ruefully.
"Never say never," admonished Ranma-chan, "It's likely to come back and bite
you on the butt."
"Yeah. Ain't that the truth." Ranma looked over at Ranma-chan, but he
turned away just as quickly. Up close and leaning back the way she was, it
was *impossible* for any red-blooded male NOT to stare at her chest,
especially since the front of her shirt clung to them like transparent
plastic wrap.
"What're you doing later? Not homework, I hope." Then before Ranma could
answer, she added, "I'm going over to Ucchan's at around six."
"What for? She offered you free food or something?"
"That...and because she wanted me to keep her company. She'll be doing some
inventory thing and it'll probably take the whole night, so she wants
someone else around to be with her." Ranma-chan seemed to look off into the
distance. "You know, it would be considered a date even if we're both
girls...just not the same kind like...you know..."
"Don't count on it. Maybe she's making a pass at you," joked Ranma.
Ranma-chan swiped at him and missed.
"Idiot. She's not like that and you know it." She paused and turned toward
Ranma. "Have we EVER gone out on a date with her?"
Ranma gave Ranma-chan a look that said 'Are you crazy or something...?'.
Ranma-chan suddenly had an image of an angry Akane clutching a HUGE mallet
in both hands.
"Oh. Well...I feel sorry for the poor girl." Ranma-chan poked Ranma in the
side. "She wants *you*, you know."
"What am I supposed to do? Take her out on a pity date? That's insulting."
Ranma sighed. "Besides, even though she's cute and everything...it's just
that she's my...our friend and...I dunno. I can't see her as being anything
more than that, I guess."
"How brutally honest of you, Ranma. I'm sure she'll be *thrilled* to hear
that," said Ranma-chan in an ominous tone.
"Don't you go tell her!" cried Ranma, "I don't need TWO angry females trying
to kill me! One's enough, thank you very much!"
"Okay, okay! Jeez, calm down. I'm not going to tell her." Ranma-chan
inched closer to Ranma. "But only if you do something for me."
Ranma froze like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. He was
quite aware of Ranma-chan's proximity to him and a number of thoughts ran
through his head. Although some were actually appealing, he somehow managed
to veto them all and opt for the strong, silent reaction. In other words,
he remained frozen like the abovementioned deer.
"Tape that show that's going to be on at 9 tonight, will you? It's channel
34 or 35," said Ranma-chan. She poked him in the chest. "Don't you forget
to, okay?"
"Wha....? Oh, sure. Count on me."
"I'd do more than that," purred Ranma-chan, "But we're in a public place."
Ranma felt himself blush in embarrassment as Ranma-chan's hand suddenly
travelled a silky path down his body to his thigh, where it rested
possessively. He felt her squeeze just a bit, not too hard but just enough
to arouse a fierce desire within him. She glanced up at him and smiled.
"Don't deny it any longer. You *like* this, don't you?" she said as she
traced a circle round and round on his leg. Ranma found that he couldn't
say a word...but he felt himself responding all the same. He knew what she
said was true - he did like it - but, at the same time, there was something
fundamentally wrong about all of this. It wasn't the fact that she was his
female side...that had long since become moot. No, it was something
else...something more profound and meaningful.
Ranma-chan saw the look in his eyes and she made a little moue on her face
in response. <The mood isn't there>, she told herself in an effort to stave
off disappointment, <It just isn't the time.>
"Maybe later," she said with a note of regret in her voice. Ranma-chan
patted his leg, stood up and flapped the front of her shirt. "Should be
just dry enough to get me by. What time is it?"
Ranma glanced at a clock in the distance. "Five thirty. You still have
half an hour left."
"What's half an hour? I'll walk there. Want to keep me company on the way
there?"
Ranma weighed his options and he found that he didn't really feel like going
home to face Akane's wrath just yet. Ranma-chan laced her fingers and
stretched, her eyes still on Ranma and asking him a silent question - 'Will
you'?
"Sure. Let's go." Ranma stood up and Ranma-chan fell in beside him. They
left in the direction of the Ucchan.
As the two left, a figure stepped out from behind a tree and watched them
walk away. Hazel eyes burned angrily as lavendar hair whipped to and fro in
the wind, like the lashing tail of an angry tigress. Shampoo narrowed her
eyes as she focused on Ranma-chan, who was walking beside Shampoo's beloved.
Ranma-chan was now Shampoo's biggest stumbling block in her quest to snare
Ranma for her husband. Shampoo had come to that reasoning based not on
beauty or personality but on fighting prowess. There was no doubt that the
female Ranma possessed all the skill and twice the speed of her
beloved...and everyone knew her beloved was *very* good in martial arts.
She was far more dangerous than Kodachi, Ukyo and Akane put together.
Shampoo had left her erstwhile rivals alone solely because she knew she
could defeat any one of them in single combat. She couldn't boast the same
when it came to dealing with Ranma-chan, that much Shampoo knew. She
mounted her bike and resumed her deliveries as if nothing had happened but
she kept the incident tucked away carefully in a corner of her mind, along
with a reminder to tell her great-great-grandmother about this new turn in
events.
* * *
Ranma-chan stopped before the Ucchan and she glanced at a clock on a
billboard nearby. It read six p.m. and it gained a minute as she watched.
She turned to Ranma.
"Are you sure you don't wanna come in? It'll be good to visit Ucchan, don't
you think?" Ranma-chan put a hand on Ranma's arm and tugged. "Come on.
Just a few minutes, okay?"
"No, I can't. I gotta be getting home...got some English homework to do
tomorrow." Ranma shifted uncomfortably.
"Aww, you're no fun." Ranma-chan pouted and folded her arms. "And here I
thought you *wanted* to see Ucchan."
"It's not that...it's just something else." Ranma looked at the restaurant
before him.
"What is it then?" asked Ranma-chan, a puzzled look on her face.
"Nothing. Remember not to say anything about what I said, okay?"
"You bet." Ranma-chan winked at him. "Just tape that show for me."
"Yeah."
"You're the greatest," said Ranma-chan as she patted his arm, "See you
later."
She waved to him as she slid the door open, ignoring the sign that read
'Closed for inventory'. Shutting the door behind her, she walked up to the
front counter and looked around for Ukyo but she was nowhere to be seen.
Ranma-chan sat on a chair, crossed her legs and waited patiently for Ukyo to
show up.
At present she heard some footsteps on the stairs which lead up to Ukyo's
room and Ranma-chan went over to take a look. Ukyo was walking down the
stairs with a small plastic tub in her hand and a towel draped over an arm.
She was wearing a blue shirt which contrasted nicely with her light-brown
khaki shorts. Her hair flowed free and unfettered by her customary white
ribbon. She started when she saw Ranma-chan standing there.
"Ranchan! Glad you made it, sugar," she said, smiling happily, "I was just
about to go to the baths."
"Go to the baths?" echoed Ranma-chan, "I thought you were going to do
inventory."
"I am, but just not right now." Ukyo tossed her hair with a hand. "I need a
nice warm soak...and my dinky little place doesn't have much in the way of
bathing facilities." Ukyo hesitated for a moment. "Umm...wanna join me?
I'll pay for us both, if you want."
"Uh...sure, I guess," said Ranma-chan as she fell in step beside her friend,
"You should have told me, you know. I would have brought my bath stuff
along."
"Don't worry, the baths have all you need." Ukyo looked over at Ranma-chan
for a second, as if she were about to say something more, then she looked
away. "Anyhow, there's no denying that a nice hot bath does wonders for a
body."
"Especially if it's free," joked Ranma-chan.
"Yeah, especially that!" Ukyo laughed along.
They talked a bit as they walked to the baths. They spoke about the
weather, school affairs, upcoming events and even about shopping...but
nowhere did their conversation come close to mentioning Ranma or Akane. It
was perhaps by mutual consent they avoided talking about them, though their
separate reasons for not doing so might be very different in nature.
"Ranchan," said Ukyo abruptly after they had been walking a good five
minutes in silence, "I was wondering..."
"Hm?" Ranma-chan looked over at Ukyo.
"I...was wondering if you...umm..." Ukyo hesitated and looked away, a faint
blush spreading on her cheeks, "If you like being with me."
"Sure, Ucchan," replied Ranma-chan easily, "You're my friend, right?"
Somehow she didn't find it nearly as hard as she thought to admit out loud
that Ukyo was her friend.
"Right," replied Ukyo, a relieved smile on her face, "Childhood
friends...although things are just a little bit different now."
"How so?" Ranma-chan cocked her head at Ukyo.
"You're a girl. The Ranma I grew up with was a boy." Ukyo paused and
looked at Ranma-chan.
There was a sudden tenseness...and Ranma-chan knew that she was on the brink
of making an important reply. There was no hesitation on her part. She
simply spoke from the heart.
"Ucchan, should it matter?" replied Ranma-chan, her hand moving to touch
Ukyo's, "I'm still your friend...if you'll accept me."
"I...I do, Ranchan, but it's just....never mind." Ukyo patted Ranma-chan's
hand and curled her fingers around them. "Thanks, Ranchan."
"Sure, Ucchan," replied Ranma-chan. She was confused. Just what was it
that was bothering Ukyo?
Ukyo caught the questioning look on Ranma-chan's face and she smiled
reassuringly at the other girl. But she raged on the inside with the urge
to speak her mind. <I can't...> Ukyo let out a sigh. <I can't even face
myself, let alone...her.>
It didn't take them long to reach the baths and they walked in together.
Ukyo paid the door attendant and the two girls were soon on their way to the
change rooms. They found a pair of lockers side by side. Ranma-chan put
her bath items on the bench and she began to take her clothes off...but she
caught Ukyo looking at her and she stopped halfway.
"What?" asked Ranma-chan, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She
instinctively clutched her shirt to her chest even though logic told her
that she had no need to, since Ukyo was also female.
"You don't...you don't feel embarrassed or anything, Ranchan?" Ukyo blushed
a bit. "I mean...you ARE a girl and all...but..."
"That's just it, Ucchan." Ranma-chan pulled her shirt off. She wasn't
wearing a bra underneath. "I am a girl...and I might as well get used to
being one."
"You don't want to turn back into a guy, is that it?" There was a bit of a
reproachful tinge in Ukyo's voice, but Ranma-chan missed it completely.
Ranma-chan stuffed her shirt into the locker. Then she replied,
"I'm...afraid to lose all that I've worked for so far."
Ukyo was puzzled. Didn't she lose a lot already when she became stuck as a
girl? She opened her mouth to say so but Ranma-chan held a hand up.
"No, I know what you're gonna say, Ucchan." Ranma-chan undid the cord on
her pants and she let them fall about her ankles. "I've come too far to
think of a cure. Actually, I don't know if turning back into a guy would be
a cure...it'd probably be more like a *curse*."
"But...but I remember that time when Cologne nailed you with the cat's
tongue technique, and..."
"There's a difference, Ucchan. Back then all I could think about was
becoming 'normal' again. But now...now I'm not so sure. I mean, I'm a
GIRL, Ukyo. I'm not half and half anymore..." Ranma-chan trailed off and
let Ukyo fill in the pieces.
Ukyo shrugged, then she pulled her shirt off and worked at her bra. It
literally popped off after quite a bit of fingertip-numbing fumbling with
the catch, and she hung it inside the locker. She took her pants off and
was about to slide her panties down when *she* caught Ranma-chan looking at
her this time. She blushed in embarrassment again.
"What're you looking at, sugar?"
"Now it's MY turn," said Ranma-chan wryly, "Aren't *you* embarrassed,
Ucchan?"
"W-what's there to be a-ashamed about?" Ukyo swallowed past a lump in her
throat and she quickly pushed down with her hands. Her panties slid off and
she hung them inside the locker. Out of the corner of her eye she watched
as Ranma-chan hesitated, then followed Ukyo's lead and took her panties off.
The two girls looked at each other uncertainly, then they grabbed their
towels and headed into the bath proper.
The scent of fresh soap, perfumed shampoos and clean, hot water greeted them
as they slid the adjoining door open and walked into the bathing area.
There was plenty of light from the lamps above - a stark contrast to the
fast-encroaching darkness visible through some frosted-glass windows ten
feet off the ground. The generous amount of light - though not so much that
it blinded or dazzled - made everyone and everything seem so vibrant and
healthy.
There were eight rows perpendicular to the sliding door where bathers sat on
little chairs and either soaped or shampooed, rinsing off with a little
shower head provided just for that purpose at each 'booth'. Beyond these
were the hot water baths, divided into rectangular shapes and numbering six
in total. Steam curled off the surface of the hot water and gathered into
billowing clouds which either hung around the baths or rose to the ceiling
and were sucked away by the ventilators above. There weren't many bathers
at all, at most fifteen or twenty adult women and teenagers like themselves.
"Ranchan, hold this for a sec, willya?" Ukyo handed Ranma-chan her towel.
Ranma-chan watched as Ukyo took an elastic off her wrist and proceeded to
tie her lustrous raven hair into a bun.
Ukyo watched Ranma-chan carefully as she did her hair. She noted that while
Ranma-chan affected disinterest, she was also sneaking a peek or two
whenever she thought Ukyo wasn't looking. Ukyo frowned. What did that
mean? Was it jealousy and envy behind those sneak peeks...or something
else? Ukyo shrugged. Too late to change anything now. Ranma-chan had
finally seen her naked and there was no changing what was done.
"Done." Ukyo took back her towel and led Ranma-chan to two adjoining
booths. They pulled up chairs and sat down and they began to wash
themselves in preparation for a hot soak.
Ranma-chan filled a bucket full of cold water and she upended it on herself.
She shivered with the impact of the cold water on her skin and she let out a
small cry of shock and pleasure mixed into one. She soaped her hands and
began to run them over her body. She took her time doing this, making sure
her fingers reached every accessible part of her body.
"Ranchan, could you wash my back for me?" Ukyo turned to Ranma-chan and
beckoned.
"Coming," Ranma-chan knelt behind the other girl and hesitantly touched
Ukyo's back.
"I'm not gonna bite you, Ranchan," joked Ukyo, looking over her shoulder,
"Now get on with it or there'll be no supper for you."
"Hey! I thought my food was free no matter what!" cried Ranma-chan
indignantly.
"I lied," lied Ukyo glibly. She smiled at the confused look on Ranma-chan's
face. "I'm kidding! Come on, can't you take a joke?"
In response Ranma-chan dug her fingers into Ukyo's back.
"Hey, watch it with those claws!" warned Ukyo, "Don't forget that I still
have to wash your back, sugar!"
"Oh no, I'm *so* scared!" Ranma-chan broke down laughing, and Ukyo joined
in too.
They finished washing up and slipped into the hot water after. The soothing
warmth and the supporting buoyancy of the water refreshed and relaxed both
girls, who were sitting side by side, almost touching.
Ukyo suddenly turned to Ranma-chan.
"Ranchan?" she said tentatively. Ranma-chan opened her eyes.
"Yeah?" replied Ranma-chan.
"You're coming over later, right?"
"Right."
"Can you...." Ukyo looked embarrassed and she stuttered, "C-can you s-stay
over tonight? We'll go to school tomorrow together, okay?"
"Why?" Ranma-chan had closed her eyes again and was in a half-dozing state.
<This is beautiful> she thought to herself <I can stay in this bath
forever...>
"It gets lonely sometimes, and I'd like somebody to talk to. Maybe we'll
play cards or something..."
Seeing no response from Ranma-chan, Ukyo sighed and sank deeper into the
water. <I'll take that as a 'yes'> she thought.
After a while Ukyo and Ranma-chan got out, dried off and went back to the
change rooms. The two girls quickly dressed up and headed back to the
Ucchan's, whereupon Ukyo produced a key and unlocked the front door.
"I bet you must be starving," said Ukyo with a smile as she turned around
and ushered Ranma-chan inside. The redhead smiled in return and nodded
enthusiastically.
"Yep! That I am!"
Ukyo locked the door behind her. She went upstairs to her room and changed
into her cooking uniform, then she walked into the kitchen and fired up the
hot plate. She got all the ingredients ready and she began to scrape the
cooking surface with a spatula.
The night was especially peaceful, and the temperature was just right. It
was neither too hot or too cold...it was simply perfect. There was a slow
breeze that murmured through the leaves of the trees and blew in through an
open window in the Ucchan, stirring up the air and bringing a sense of calm
to the two girls inside.
"Ranchan, do you ever think about how things might have turned out if you
hadn't been split into two?" asked Ukyo abruptly. Caught off guard,
Ranma-chan could only stare at her hands as she tried to think of something
to say.
"N-no, not really," she said at last, "At least, not until now."
"What do you mean by that?" Ukyo scraped the last of the ashes and carbon
residue from the hot plate and she put the palm of her hand an inch from its
surface. <Hmm...nearly ready> she thought.
"Ummm...I...guess that I'd probably go on living the way I used to. No
changes, you know?"
"I see." Ukyo looked disappointed. "Not a change, right?"
"That's right."
Ukyo sighed and let her eyes linger on Ranma-chan's face. She could see
definite traces of Ranma in her, but most of the familiar features had been
softened. Her skin had the complexion and smoothness of a peach, her lips
were full and red, her eyelashes were longer and more prominent, her hair
shone healthily and her cheekbones were petite and less harsh. It was weird
to compare the facial features of female Ranma and male Ranma - they were
very different, yet similar at the same time.
And when Ranma-chan smiled, it seemed as if her entire face lit up. The
most captivating of all her facial features were her eyes. They were a
light blue in colour and they danced with life. They were not the same as
Ranma's, nor did they have that depth which Ukyo - and many other girls -
found fascinating, but they were equally as beautiful and pleasing to look
into. Ukyo glanced at Ranma-chan's pigtail, and she was suddenly seized by
the urge to see the other girl without it.
"Ranchan, take off your pigtail for a sec, willya?" asked Ukyo.
Ranma-chan looked strangely at Ukyo.
"What's the point?" she asked.
"Just do it. I want to see how you look like without it." Ukyo smiled.
"Please, Ranchan?"
Ranma-chan rolled her eyes, then she undid her hair tie and she allowed her
hair to untwirl and hang around her shoulders and down her back in lush
curls. Her hair was nearly halfway down her back and it caressed her slim
shoulders with soft and silky arms. It was startling to see how much
difference her pigtail had made in her appearance. She was cute, pert and
sexy when she had the pigtail, but when it was off she appeared closer in
appearance to the beautiful woman she would become, given time. Her beauty
was not that of youth but more of a mature and adult kind. She was no
supermodel, but supermodels possessed a near-inhuman fairness of face and
figure while Ranma-chan's attractiveness was at the boundary of the possible
and the impossible.
Ranma-chan noticed Ukyo's unusually intense look and she blushed.
"Ucchan, can I tie it up now?" Ranma-chan touched her hair briefly with one
hand. She looked away from Ukyo shyly.
"Yeah," said Ukyo. She watched Ranma-chan gather her hair up in both hands
and begin to braid it. "Will you let me do it?"
"Umm...sure, I guess." Ranma-chan turned around and Ukyo leaned over the
counter.
Ukyo gathered up Ranma-chan' hair and separated it into two handfuls. Then
she slowly began to braid it, savoring the feel of beautiful hair in her
hands. Ranma-chan' hair was so luxurious and well kept that it felt like
silk. She lifted a portion of it to her nose and sniffed.
"Ucchan, what are..." began Ranma-chan but Ukyo hushed her with a soft touch
on the back of her neck.
"Don't you mind me, Ranchan. I'm just playing with you."
Ukyo noted the hint of blushing on Ranma-chan's soft neck and she laughed
softly. Then she quickly finished the pigtail and she patted Ranma-chan on
the shoulder when she was done.
"Looks like it's ready," she commented to herself and for Ranma-chan's
benefit. Ukyo mixed the bowl of batter with a fork then she poured a
portion of it onto the hot plate. The batter sizzled and spread out to form
a near perfect circle, which began to bubble at the edges. The heady aroma
of cooking okonomiyaki wafted into the air and Ranma-chan's mouth began to
water.
Ukyo smiled at the look on Ranma-chan's face. She picked up a handful of
ingredients and sprinkled them generously on the okonomiyaki forming on the
hot plate. She cooked it for a minute longer, then she flipped it onto a
plate and put it before Ranma-chan.
"Enjoy, sugar."
And Ranma-chan did. Ukyo began to cook another okonomiyaki for herself, and
at the same time she watched Ranma-chan eat her food. Ranma-chan was eating
like a starved wolf. How much like Ranma she is, yet how different! Even
the way she cut up the okonomiyaki with her fork and knife were the same.
She watched the same medley of emotions play across Ranma-chan's face as she
guzzled the okonomiyaki - Ranma's emotions had always been easy to read.
Ukyo did not doubt that Ranma-chan was the same in that respect, at least.
Curiousity seized her and directed her to find out just how much of Ranma
that Ranma-chan retained...but how to ask? She pondered this as she cooked
her food.
Meanwhile Ranma-chan was also doing some thinking of her own. Something was
definitely going on with Ukyo. She glanced up from her food and searched
Ukyo's face for answers, but the other girl was also lost in her thoughts
and didn't pay much attention to her. Ranma-chan sighed and stared down at
her food again.
"Are you finished, sugar?" Ukyo held out her hand for Ranma-chan's empty
plate.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ucchan." Ranma-chan handed her plate to Ukyo, who
took it and put it into the automatic dishwasher.
"Okay, I'm going to start the inventory. You can help me, if you want to."
Ukyo's voice had a hopeful tone to it.
"Sure. It's the least I can do, right?" Ranma-chan smiled and she followed
Ukyo into the kitchen.
The two girls spent the next hour-and-a-half going over every item in the
kitchen and in the basement storage area. Ranma-chan held the clipboard and
recorded while Ukyo went over the inventory with a sharp eye. They worked
as one person almost from the very beginning and the time flew by quickly.
Ukyo gratefully closed the last cupboard and Ranma-chan replaced the pen in
its holder on the clipboard.
"Thanks, Ranchan. I would never have finished this fast if it weren't for
you. You're the greatest, you know that?" Ukyo stepped closer to
Ranma-chan.
"I didn't do very much, to tell the truth. I just stood here and took
notes, that's all." Ranma-chan blushed in embarrassment from Ukyo's
compliment.
"Notes that would have taken up time if I had to write them myself. This
way all I had to do was to call out the number of items, and you'd write
them down. This usually takes me a hour." Ukyo smiled hesitantly.
"There's also another reason, you know."
"Reason for what?" Ranma-chan looked perplexed.
"Silly! It's for company. It gets dark and too quiet around here without
somebody else to talk to." Ukyo drew Ranma-chan into an impulse hug.
"Thanks, Ranchan."
"Umm...yeah. Anytime." Ranma-chan hugged back uncertainly. The sensation
of hugging as well-endowed a girl as Ukyo was not lost on Ranma-chan and, to
her surprise, she actually found herself *liking* it. It wasn't erotic in
any sense, but the feeling of Ukyo's body pressed against hers was sensual
and comforting. She let herself melt into the hug gratefully, and she
allowed the warmth of Ukyo's body to warm her, to support her. The smell of
her perfume and shampoo washed over her nostrils with a tantalizing whiff of
lilac.
"You're a good friend, Ranchan. You really are." Ukyo broke the hug but
her arms lingered for a moment longer around Ranma-chan's shoulders, as if
Ukyo were uncertain whether to hold on, or to let go as decency dictated.
"Thanks, Ucchan." Ranma-chan disengaged herself from Ukyo.
"Okay. Our work's done...so let's head on upstairs and get ready, okay?
Don't worry about night clothes - I think I've got a pair that will fit you
just fine..."
Ukyo and Ranma-chan went upstairs together. Ukyo poked around in a drawer
and finally came up with a set of nighties. They were a light pink in
colour and there were little designs all over it - polka dots, triangles and
the ubiquitous Japanese fishcake design sprinkled generously here and there.
"Okay, this looks like it might fit you. Put it on and see, why don't you?"
Ukyo handed it to Ranma-chan, who took it uncertainly and examined it.
"I don't know..." murmured Ranma-chan, but Ukyo nodded enthusiastically.
"It'll fit, I know it will. Put it on already, willya?"
Ranma-chan hesitated for a second, then she began to take her clothes off.
Wearing only her underwear, she pulled the nighties on. They felt like silk
on her skin, was just as light, and was gossamer soft. It probably WAS
silk, for all she knew. Ranma-chan could hardly feel their weight and she
had to look twice to make sure she wasn't naked. She looked over at Ukyo,
and was not surprised to see a self-indulgent smile on her friend's face.
"H-how do I look?" asked Ranma-chan.
"Should it matter how you look like before going to bed?" Ukyo shrugged.
"With all that moving and rolling around, it's hard to look good in bed, let
alone OUT of bed."
"True." Ranma-chan plopped down beside Ukyo and she smoothed her nighties.
"Aren't you going to change?"
"I was about to." Ukyo got up and began to strip. She hung her chef's
uniform and spatula on a hook, then she walked over to a drawer and began to
search through it. After a moment or two she came up with hers. "Found
it."
"Uh huh." Ranma-chan folded her legs and watched as Ukyo slowly slipped
into her nighties. "You know, you look good in those."
"Really?" came Ukyo's excited reply, "You really think so?"
"Yeah. I mean, that light blue outfit just looks good on you."
"Thanks, Ranchan," said Ukyo happily. She sat down beside Ranma-chan and
leaned back on her bed. "Ah...it feels so good to get out of those clothes
and into these, doesn't it?"
"This outfit is so light I can hardly feel it."
"Is that a complaint I hear, Ranchan?"
"No, not really. I kinda like it, in a way."
There was a moment of silence, then Ukyo coughed politely and turned towards
Ranma-chan.
"Okay, like you promised today, why don't you tell me about that slap mark
you got from Akane? Come on, tell me. I'm dying to hear it." Ukyo smiled
reassuringly as she reached up and stroked Ranma-chan's face with her
fingers. Ranma-chan jumped, startled by the touch.
"Ranchan, what's wrong?" Ukyo cocked her head at Ranma-chan.
"No. Nothing." Her hand involuntarily stole to her face and touched the
spot where Ukyo was touching her.
"Does it STILL hurt?" Ukyo took Ranma-chan's face in her hands and turned
her so that she could look directly at Ranma-chan's cheek. "It looks like
it's completely gone."
"Y-yeah. I guess." Ranma-chan smiled weakly. "After all, it DID happen
this morning, you know."
Ranma-chan told Ukyo the story, then Ukyo sat back and folded her arms
across her chest thoughtfully.
"Well, if you ask me...she was acting like a total bitch," said Ukyo
vehemently. "I mean, she had no real reason to slap you, you know?"
"But...I always get slapped by her." Ranma-chan shrugged. "It's no big
deal, now that I think about it."
"It IS a big deal. Girls don't slap girls without a good reason! I mean,
we're allowed to slap the guys if they get too uppity but other girls..."
Ukyo looked over at Ranma-chan meaningfully.
"Whatever." Ranma-chan turned and fell back onto the cool, soft bed.
"Should I call back and tell them where I am?"
"There's no need, Ranchan," said Ukyo as she moved closer to Ranma-chan and
looked down at her. "By this time I'm sure they know where you are and that
you're sleeping over."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Ranma-chan looked into Ukyo's face, framed
by her long, hazel hair, and she saw something in her eyes that...that made
her feel....strange. She felt vulnerable the way she was positioned on the
bed, especially since she could hardly feel her clothes at all, so she
defensively crossed her legs and folded her arms. "You sure you don't mind
me sleeping over?"
"Positive."
Ukyo plopped down beside Ranma-chan, and the other girl relaxed now that
Ukyo was at her level. The two girls - Ranma-chan the smaller of the two -
lay side by side and stared at the ceiling together. At length Ukyo turned
to face Ranma-chan and a hand stole out to touch the other girl's hair.
"Ranchan, will you untie your pigtail again?" asked Ukyo.
"If you want." Ranma-chan shrugged and undid her pigtail. Then she turned
away from Ukyo and looked in the direction of the door as Ukyo gathered up
her silky-soft hair and began to play with it.
"Your hair is so beautiful, Ranchan. It seems so...healthy, and alive."
Ukyo stroked it lovingly. "And it smells so nice, too. What shampoo do you
use?"
"Any kind of shampoo that is available. It doesn't matter to me."
"Mmmm," purred Ukyo with pleasure as she braided Ranma-chan's hair. Then
she let the pigtail fall from her hands. After a moment of hesitation, she
shifted closer to Ranma-chan and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Ranchan?" she asked.
"Yeah?" Ranma-chan turned over so that she was facing Ukyo.
"I...I don't know how to say this..." Ukyo's face turned red with
embarrassment. "You know that I love you, right?"
"Well, yeah..." Ranma-chan sounded hesitant
"You're a girl, I know. But...I asked myself a question which was difficult
to answer. I asked myself if love had anything to do with the physical
appearance of the other person." Ukyo looked directly at the other girl;
Ranma-chan flushed as she noticed that Ukyo's gaze was focused on her
breasts.
"And?" prompted Ranma-chan as she too reached out a hand and touched a lock
of Ukyo's hair which had found its way close to her face.
"And the answer was 'no'. I know this sounds sappy, but true love means
loving the other person regardless of how he...or she looks! Otherwise it is
not true love but lust." Ukyo stared at her hands. "That is easier said
than done. I...I'm not sure if I believe it completely."
"Ucchan, what're you trying to say?" replied Ranma-chan. She twirled the
lock of Ukyo's hair around her finger playfully.
"What I mean is that I am trying to love you...but, at the same time, it's
sort of...I don't know....new to me. It feels strange, you know? I mean, I
KNOW you are my Ranchan deep down inside, but at the same time you're not
the boy I knew from so long ago! Wherever he is, he's gone and you're here
to stay. You're all I have left."
"Why me?" replied Ranma-chan as she let Ukyo's hair go, "The other Ranma is
still available!"
"Is he really?" replied Ukyo in a sad tone. "All he loves about me is my
cooking."
"That's not true, he...." Ranma-chan trailed off in mid-sentence.
"You see? To HIM," Ukyo stressed the word, "I'm just his childhood friend.
The thought of him going out with me seems to turn him off. It's like he
still thinks of me as a boy...the same 'boy' he played with as a kid ten
years ago."
Ukyo looked at Ranma-chan and sighed. "But you're different. You think of
me as a girl...and you don't know how comforting it is for me to know that
you acknowledge the fact that I'm female."
Suddenly, belatedly, Ranma-chan knew where all of this was heading. Her
heart beating a staccato rhythm somewhere around a thousand times a second
(or so it seemed to her), Ranma-chan could only stare at Ukyo with her mouth
open as she tried to think of something to say. Ukyo's hand, which was
still on Ranma-chan's shoulder, travelled silkily down her arm.
"But...but I'm a GIRL too, Ukyo!" Ranma-chan was even more flustered by the
feel of Ukyo's hand travelling down her arm.
"I'm not so sure if its something that should stop me from loving you..."
began Ukyo as her hand slid onto Ranma-chan's firm side and remained there
possessively, "I DO want you, and even though I don't want to favour you
over the other Ranma, I...I can't help it. You two are my Ranchans, but YOU
acknowledge me as a girl whereas he thinks of me as a 'guy'."
Ranma-chan opened her mouth to say something, but she suddenly realized that
what Ukyo said was true. She DID see Ukyo as a girl while she knew, for a
fact, that the male Ranma only saw Ukyo as a female friend...not as a
girlfriend.
"You see?" said Ukyo as she sat up and drew Ranma-chan up into a sitting
position across from her, "I just want my Ranchan...even if he has turned
into a girl."
"Ukyo..." pleaded Ranma-chan, her heart pounding crazily as she squirmed in
Ukyo's grasp. This was wrong! Or was it? Ranma-chan was not so sure
anymore...and that scared her more than anything else.
"Please, Ranchan. Don't deny me this. Please." Ukyo put both hands on
Ranma-chan's shoulders and drew herself in.
"Ukyo, I don't think...." began Ranma-chan in a small voice. She tried to
move away but her body was frozen.
Ukyo's lips brushed Ranma-chan's slightly, almost shyly, then as if she was
suddenly sure of herself, Ukyo kissed Ranma-chan on the lips. Ranma-chan
was shocked...but not angry. In fact, the kiss was...amazingly sweet, as if
something she had expected to be horrible had turned out to be one of the
best things ever. Still unsure of herself, she only let herself be kissed
and did not kiss back...although she did feel herself reacting in other
ways - ways which were not unwelcome.
The room temperature had suddenly gone up a few degrees as Ranma-chan sat on
the bed, legs bent and spread out on either side, her hands between her legs
and resting on the bed, and let Ukyo have her way with her. Ukyo's hands
moved down Ranma-chan's sides and clasped the other girl around the waist,
drawing her closer...and Ranma-chan could actually feel Ukyo's nipples -
hard and erect - pressing against her own.
Ukyo broke the kiss first and sat back to catch her breath and to savor the
lingering effects of the kiss. She opened her eyes and looked lovingly into
Ranma-chan's face.
"Well...?" she asked, "What did you think, Ranchan, of our first kiss?"
"It...wasn't what I had expected it to be," replied Ranma-chan. Her hand
stole to her lips and touched them.
"Did you like it?" Ukyo looked closely at Ranma-chan's face, "Tell me the
truth, Ranchan. Was it good for you too?"
Ranma-chan considered lying and telling her that it was terrible, but the
look on Ukyo's face made her reconsider. Ranma-chan was uncertain about
herself now...she thought she only liked guys but Ukyo was an exception.
Sure, she was a girl and everything...but Ukyo was not only her friend but
her fiancee as well.
"Ukyo...it was..." Ranma-chan looked away, her cheeks blushing furiously.
"Ranchan, I just want you to know that...that I never wanted to hurt you and
don't ever want to hurt you. Tell me, right now, if you didn't like it.
I'll understand if you didn't like it, Ranchan, and I'll leave you alone
from now on. Tell me whatever you feel, but tell me something!" Ukyo's
tone of voice had become slightly desperate and her fingers tightened on
Ranma-chan's shoulders.
"It...it..." began Ranma-chan uncertainly. She sighed and lowered her eyes
to the bed, not meeting Ukyo's gaze. "I mean...I liked it....but..."
"But...?" echoed Ukyo questioningly.
Ranma-chan could not think of something to say. Her mind was a jumble of
words and emotions waiting to be released. Her body was definitely aroused
by Ukyo's actions, but at the same time she wanted to deny that it was
happening to her. How could this be? Was she or wasn't she completely
female? Girls don't normally get THIS close...! Ranma-chan was confused.
On one hand she was attracted to guys...on the other hand she was also
attracted to Ukyo. Which impulse should she follow?
She thought more on the matter. Generally, she found herself turned on by
guys...but not by girls. Except Ukyo. She put a hand to her forehead and
massaged it. She didn't have the foggiest idea of what to do next...and
Ukyo was waiting for an answer. She looked up into Ukyo's searching eyes,
wanting to go with her yet, at the same time, NOT wanting to go with the
other girl.
"Ranchan?" Ukyo shook Ranma-chan lightly.
"Ukyo...I...." Ranma-chan cleared her throat. "I need more time. Please."
Ukyo sighed and let Ranma-chan go. "Somehow, I knew you would say that."
"Are you mad at me, Ukyo?"
"No, I'm not," said Ukyo as she drew away defensively.
"Then are you disappointed?" Ranma-chan leaned closer to Ukyo. "There's no
use hiding it, Ukyo.
"I'm not, I tell you," insisted Ukyo, "I understand your position, Ranchan.
I...I know how you feel."
Ranma-chan didn't know what else to say. What was she supposed to do next?
Leave or stay? If she stayed, something else might happen between the two
of them. If she left, she'd be abandoning Ukyo and Ranma-chan did not want
to hurt her friend. She floundered a bit on that decision as she avoided
making eye contact with Ukyo.
Ukyo WAS a bit disappointed that things hadn't turned out the way she had
envisioned. She had planned to play cards for a bit, look over a few
magazines with Ranma-chan and then spring the question on her AFTER
everything else. But her nervousness had forced her to make a hasty
decision...and now she was paying for it.
The act of kissing Ranma-chan - no less a girl than she was - was just about
one of the hardest things she had ever done. All the other incidental
stuff, like hugging Ranma-chan and playing with her hair, were easy enough
to perform...but she had almost faltered when it came time to kiss her. Yet
somehow after she had committed herself to the deed she had found that she
had actually LIKED it, and thereby threw all caution to the winds and did
with Ranma-chan as she wanted.
Now Ukyo wanted more than ever for Ranma-chan to return her feelings. It
mattered not that she was a girl...Ukyo had suddenly found that she could
live with that, as long as it was Ranchan. She just wanted to be with
Ranchan...in any way she could take her. She looked up at Ranma-chan again.
The redhead was looking confused and more than a little scared, and Ukyo had
a sudden urge to reach out and draw the other girl close to her, but she
restrained herself. Ranma-chan might take it the wrong way and Ukyo did not
want to scare her friend off.
"Umm...." said Ranma-chan nervously, "So now what?"
Ukyo sighed unhappily. "I was afraid you might say that," she said as she
got up from the bed and opened her window to let the night breeze in. "To
tell you the truth...I don't really know. I mean, I had planned to do a few
other things tonight..."
Ranma-chan blushed deeply and looked away from Ukyo.
"No, no, no!" assured Ukyo hastily, "Not THAT kind of stuff! I mean, like
playing cards, watching TV, girl talk..."
"Oh....really?" said Ranma-chan somewhat skeptically. She smoothed down the
front of her nighties and settled more comfortably on Ukyo's bed.
"Really." Ukyo reached under her bed and pulled out a small stack of
magazines. Then she lay down on the bed and motioned for Ranma-chan to come
closer.
After a moment of hesitation, Ranma-chan cautiously inched her way across
the bed and over to Ukyo's side. Ukyo picked out the first magazine and
flipped it open.
"Look, Ranchan. Isn't that beautiful?" said Ukyo as she pointed at a
picture inside. Ranma-chan took a look.
It was a picture of a number of cherry trees in full bloom, the heart-shaped
petals seeming to glow with a vibrant richness, a shower of fluttering pink
blanketing the air and covering the ground.
"Where is it?" asked Ranma-chan, captivated by the poetic beauty of the
photograph.
"Just outside of Osaka. You know, I've been there myself. Let me tell you,
sugar, the experience is worth a thousand photos like these." Ukyo flipped
the page.
The next was a picture of a placid, steaming hot springs resort. The calm,
inviting waters were partially surrounded by weather-beaten rocks. The
wisps of steam curled across the water like miniature clouds, above a sky
reflected on the water's surface. The entire scene looked serene and
meditative, cleansing for both the body and the mind.
"Ukyo, why do you have these travel magazines?" asked Ranma-chan. Ukyo
looked embarrassed.
"Well...umm...I've always dreamed of taking you to these places. You know,
get away from it all for a day or two," said Ukyo in a small voice, "But I
just never found the time to, you know. Every day I have to think of how
much money I have to make in order to keep this place running...and I also
have to do my homework, the house cleaning, dish washing and chores by
myself."
"But...but if you're so busy doing stuff, why even bother having these
magazines around?" Ranma-chan reached over and turned the page. Ukyo
looked even more embarrassed.
"After I get everything done for the day...I kinda like to kick back and
relax. What better way to relax than to read these magazines and imagine
that I'm actually there, in person?" Ukyo coughed a bit. "And I kinda like
to imagine that...umm...that you're with me too."
Ranma-chan absently lay down beside Ukyo and pulled the travel magazine
closer to herself. Ukyo happily obliged by shifting so that the two of them
could read the magazines easily.
Ukyo loved the closeness of Ranma-chan's body next to hers, a sort of a warm
presence that comforted her in the knowledge that, at least for this night,
she wasn't alone. More than once she caught herself looking at Ranma-chan
instead of at the magazines they were reading together. Ranma-chan, for her
part, did not seem to object to Ukyo's constant attentions, but it was an
unspoken agreement that it would not go any further than that - at least for
now.
The hours ticked by and the night grew darker and darker. Ukyo didn't know
when it had happened but Ranma-chan had fallen asleep, her body curled up
and facing Ukyo. Ukyo slowly put the magazines back under the bed and she
lay down beside Ranma-chan. She reached out a hand and stroked Ranma-chan's
face, noting how peaceful she looked when asleep. She leaned in and kissed
her softly on the cheek.
Ranma-chan mumbled something and shifted a bit, but she did not wake. Ukyo
slowly got up from the bed, so as not to disturb Ranma-chan's sleep, and she
closed the window and drew the blinds. Then she pulled out a comforter from
the closet and she gently draped it over Ranma-chan's sleeping form, making
sure to tuck the edges in snugly. Then she turned the lights off, went over
to the bed and lay down beside Ranma-chan. Slowly, carefully, she drew part
of the comforter over herself and snuggled into its folds, grateful for
Ranma-chan's added bodily warmth. She reached out and put an arm around
Ranma-chan, and she drew the other girl close to herself. Comforted at last
by the feel of Ranma-chan's body next to her own, Ukyo abandoned herself to
sleep, and to whatever dreams may come.
* * *
I hope you liked it. ^_^
The next project I'll be working on is Nullifier Part 6.
WORK IN PROGRESS : Nullifier 122, Part 6
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