Don't own Ranma and nor do I own any of characters that I've used in this fic of mine.
This is more like a side project of mine and is very raw and un pre-read, but I'm kinda confident that you the readers would get the idea.
This fic is actually based on a Music video from a Korean pop group called KISS; it's to the song Because I'm a girl (that's the English translation to the original title). When I saw it again a few weeks back I went to work on this story…Oh I don't own this either...I just lovedthe idea...the director of this video is a genius.
If you've managed to download the video you'd know what to expect…in this fic as it follows the main storyline with just the right amount of Ranma-ish add ins.
Enjoy…
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A picture of beauty
By
Himura Alucard
Chapter 1
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The brown leaves of autumn were falling all around him softly landing onto the worn street underneath him, the perfect setting for a photo shoot…
Ranma had waited weeks for this opportunity, the chance for everything to be just right for the perfect picture…the surrounding atmosphere, the lighting, the right amount of people walking around…
He had chosen this specific time to take the shoot to minimize the chance of being disturbed by pedestrian traffic.
"Okay Ucchan…just move your body a little more to your left…yup like that and your face I want you to look at me…" as he gestured to the model who was a few feet away from him.
Ranma looked through his viewfinder his face etched with concentration and smiled it was just right and pressed hard.
Click
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'Funny how when even I'm not doing my household chores I still find myself wearing an apron…' wondered the young girl as she walked hurriedly across the streets of Nerima. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry and her manager wasn't the kind of lady who liked her new employees being late.
Her haste was the only thing that made the young lady unaware of her current surroundings and as she walked right into the line of sight of a camera that was aimed well and true…
Click
The soft yet audible sound made her turn and as she did Kasumi found herself staring right at the lens of a camera.
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Normally Ranma would be well pissed off that his 'perfect shot' was ruined but as he looked up from his camera to the girl wearing a black apron standing in front of him far from being pissed, right now he didn't know what he was feeling as he simply stared at the girl.
Kasumi after hearing the audible clicking sound was surprised to see that a camera was pointed right at her as she looked at the young man had been hiding behind it who was now looking up at her and then she quickly turned to her right and saw a man holding up a reflector and a young well dressed girl who were both looking a little bewildered at her.
She quickly turned back to the youth man holding up the camera and bowed deeply towards him…
Ranma cocked a smile as he bowed his head lightly to accept the girl's apology, he would usually be blowing his top right now but he just couldn't help smiling like silly for some unknown reason.
Kasumi then quickly started to make her way away from the rather embarrassing moment while adjusting her hair which had been unsettled by her deep bow.
As she walked past the other two Kasumi did another bow but this time it was a little weaker then the one she had given earlier but it held the same meaning.
Ranma stood glued to where he was, smiling and unable to keep his eyes of the mystery girl's back who had walked right into his shot. He remained like that until…
"Hey Ranma, how much longer do you want me to hold this up damn thing…?" screamed the bandana wearing boy.
"Huh…?" as Ranma broke out of his revere, "Oh…yeah…erm…I guess that's it for today I mean I have enough pictures…thanks Ryoga for volunteering…and thanks Ucchan for posing for me…"
"My pleasure…Ranchan…always…" replied Ukyo as she walked over to Ranma and slung a slender arm around his.
"How about we get something to drink…?"
Ranma who had been busily repacking his camera responded negatively to her request, "Sorry Ucchan…I really need to get these pictures developed if I'm to make tomorrow's deadline…"
Kasumi was glad that she had made it back to the shop just in time and was about to walk over to her chair when a not so welcoming voice came out beside her.
"I didn't hire you to just make it in time for work if you didn't notice…"
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Ranma stood inside the small room which was bathed in red light as he waited for the white piece of paper resting in the middle of the small bath of solution to develop. He had a lot of other pictures behind him hung out on a make shift clothesline but this one picture was the one he was waiting for with eager anticipation.
'Did I get it in time…? Will it turn out blurred…?' Ranma thought to himself to pass the time.
He picked up the pair of nearby plastic thongs and shook the paper around and picked the edge up of the paper and as he flipped it over…
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"Kasumi…chair 3 wants a full treatment wash…" shouted one of the girls as she rushed around the bustling salon.
Kasumi who had just finished putting the finishing touches on her customer's red hair dying procedure, "Alright…coming…"
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Ranma looked down at the picture floating inside the bath and wondered why he couldn't stop smiling at the picture. He was glad that it came out perfectly, the moment was just right for that picture…
'The way she had her face turned to the camera, the flight of her hair, her eyes…I mean everything is perfect…' he said to himself deep inside his head.
He was going to keep this one picture for his own collection; it was one of the few pictures among the millions that Ranma had taken before this one that he really felt like keeping.
As he delicately picked the picture out from the bath Ranma carefully hung it on it's own on an uncluttered line right above the bath.
Standing back a little to get a better look Ranma smiled once more, "Why am I even smiling by just looking at her picture…I mean I don't even know who she is…?"
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It was early evening by the time the last customer left the salon and as the small collection of girls finally were able to get off their feet they all let out a collective groan…
"Ahhh….! Sitting down has never been this good…!" said one of them.
"Man…I have to go clubbing later and with the way how my feet are killing me I don't think I can last the night…" said the other.
"Hey Kasumi…what's with you today…?"
Kasumi looking over to the dyed blonde girl, Mayu her best friend inside the salon and shook her head.
"Nothing Mayu…I mean nothing is with me today…" she replied innocently.
Mayu wasn't so sure, "You don't wear a goofy look that often Kasumi…did you met some handsome guy somewhere in-between the time when you were going home for lunch and now you have a hot date set for tonight?"
Kasumi blushed and shook her head even more, "Mayu…all I have set for tonight is a date with the stove, ironing board and hopefully my bed…"
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Ranma who was looking rather bored with his current position tried not to yawn out loud. He always hated how Ukyo always managed to drag him to these high-fashion society parties which he hated so much.
Sure he was a photographer, but he hated photography associated with fashion and he hated even more the designers who think so highly of themselves.
Ukyo was now an up and coming model, a status that was helped in much due to Ranma's impromptu photograph of her during her high-school graduation ceremony which was later published into posters which lined all high-schools notice boards across Japan.
He had been in the party for an hour now and was already dying to get out…
"Ukyo-chan…muah…muah…you grace me with your beauty…" greeted an underdressed and overly made up middle aged woman.
Ranma who was standing beside Ukyo was trying to block everything out by thinking of what themes and scenery he could use for his next shoot which he was really looking forward to doing to notice the woman who had just walked up.
"Ranma-san…my word how you've let yourself go in fashion…you're a genius when it comes to taking pictures but when your surrounded by all those beautiful clothes I would have thought that you'd pick up on the current trends…I mean really a pigtail? You need to get that cut off…those are so way passé and your shirt…urgh…did you get that from a thrift shop…?" mocked the designer.
That was the final straw as Ranma just stuffed his hands into his pocket smiled dryly and turned his whole back on the woman and started to walk away.
"Ranchan…"
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Kasumi was glad to be finally able to lie down on her bed, it was almost eleven at night now and in total she had only rested for less then an hour since she had woken up that morning.
Other then that she had been walking, working, cooking, ironing, drying…you name it she's done it today. But then again she couldn't complain much about it; it's her job both at work and at home.
She being the only one working and brining an income and the one who had been entrusted by her late mother to take care of the family daily needs. Kasumi had to even forgo University to find a job so that her two younger sisters would be able to go to high-school and university.
Her father was still in mourning over her mother's death and wasn't ready to teach the arts again…
'Well tomorrow's another day…' Kasumi said to herself as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ranma looked out of his apartment's balcony holding a glass of cold milk in his hand and sighed, 'I wonder if I'm ever going to see her again…?'
"And maybe I really should really get a haircut…"
---
Kasumi was already tired nearing lunchtime, not only did she forget to set her alarm clock to wake her up last night she had accidentally forgotten to put the cold compress towels into the freezer last night seeing as how it was her turn to.
Seemed like Kasumi was the only one with customers today as Mayu and the other two girls were just sitting down idly with nothing to do, but just then as the bell by the door rang out...
"There you go Misses Yukiko, all done and I must admit the color does suit you nicely…" Kasumi said out politely as no matter how ridiculous or how mismatched the dye color they had chosen she had to say something nice for the customer was always right.
Just as Kasumi was about to take break for lunch she caught the refection of a young man wearing a baseball cap that looked awfully familiar in the mirror and turning around she saw Mayu leading him away to the sinks where they would do the hair washing.
Kasumi looked behind her to see for her own eyes and it wasn't a mistake it was the same man from yesterday….
A little fight had taken place moments ago when the three girls who had nothing to do looked up to see who had walked in and when they saw Ranma the three all stood up and walked to him asking him what he wanted.
"If it's not a bother maybe just a little cut here and there and maybe a wash…?"
The three girls then jostled among themselves to see who would get to wash and cut his hair but in the end after a game of every twisted rock, paper and scissors Mayu won out.
"Okay sir, would you mind taking off your cap and just lie down here…" shyly prompted Mayu as she guided Ranma by the shoulders onto the chair.
Ranma took off his cap and placed it on the empty seat beside him and allowed the girl to place a towel over his shoulders before laying down on the long chair and looked up to the now slightly red cheeked Mayu who was looking down at him holding up a bottle of shampoo.
"You might want to close your eyes…sir…" Mayu uttered out as she tired to open the cap of the shampoo that seemed to be stuck.
Ranma did as she wanted and closed his eyes and just as she was about to start Mayu felt a tug on her shirt…
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Ranma was wondering why there was a short pause before anything was started but just as he was about to open his eyes to see what was going on he felt someone softly pulling off the band that held his pigtail together and the sound of flowing water behind him.
He then felt a pair of very gentle hands caressing his hair, mixing them in with the shampoo to a full lather. Ranma usually had his hair cut by the local barber but seeing as how last night's little remark had stung his pride a little Ranma decided to get a little professional help with his hair.
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Kasumi carefully worked the raven black shoulder length soft hair around in her hands making sure each strain of hair was covered by the nourishing cleanser. She usually didn't like washing men's hair for some might take advantage of it but she didn't mind this one time.
She didn't really pay much attention to the details of how she washed someone hair's but this time she did. Kasumi made sure that the water was just the right temperature and even made sure that the shampoo she was using suited his hair type the best.
In fact she even went as far as to even take a closer look at the man's features even getting as close as breathe away from his face as her hand subtly worked the shampoo into an even fuller lather. Kasumi's lips curved into a small smile as the young man suddenly giggled and shifted a bit in the seat as she brushed her hands over the back of his ears.
"Sorry…but I'm a little bit ticklish over there…" he explained.
"It's alright…" she replied.
Kasumi was paying too much attention to the man's face that she didn't realize that she was pushing a rather large amount of excess foam over to the man's right eye and as she stroked the forehead the foam blanketed the eye and seeped into it.
"Ouch…" as he sat up trying to wipe away the foreign matter from his right eye.
Started by the man's soft cry Kasumi tried to then sit the man back down and try to avoid a situation but it was too late, her supervisor was nearby and heard the sounds of discomfort from a paying customer.
Rushing in Mrs. Emiko saw everything, from Kasumi with foam on her hands to Ranma's right eye covered with the same foam.
"Kasumi…! Look what have you done by your carelessness…" yelled the proprietor as she poked Kasumi harshly on her shoulder a few times.
"Sorry Sir, but are you alright, please don't get angry by the carelessness of my novice employee…I'd ask someone else to come over and continue if that'd make you happy…"
"It's okay…just a little foam around the eye…nothing serious…" protested Ranma who was turning around with both eyes now open.
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After turning around Ranma realized that the girl who had been washing his hair wasn't the same girl as he had closed his eyes to, in fact he was rather surprised to see who it was…
"Ma'am…it's alright…I don't want to change…she didn't mean it…" said Ranma while looking directly at the girl who was trying hard not to cry.
"As you wish…" smiled the lady but as she dragged Kasumi over to the other side of the salon with her, Kasumi only reappeared after a long minute.
"Sorry…" apologized Kasumi with a bow and when she straightened herself her instinctively brushed back her loose hair behind her ears.
"Err…miss you got some…over you're…" mumbled Ranma as he gestured to his own left ear.
Kasumi fretted her brow at the display and brushed her hand over her right ear some more.
"Here…let me…" he relented.
Ranma then stood up and took the towel over his shoulder and started to wipe the foam around the poor girl's hair and ear.
Kasumi was getting flush by the motion of his hands but the look of careful attention he was giving her was added up to her cheeks becoming as red as they could be.
"You forgot you got foam on your hands and you were brushing it all over your hair and ears…" Ranma explained as he stood back a little.
"Thank you, sir but I better wash that off now…" as Kasumi pointed over to his head.
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Pretty soon the salon was quiet with almost everyone leaving for lunch expect for Ranma and Kasumi who were seated side by side.
"So what style do you want me to cut your hair…sir?" asked Kasumi.
"Ranma…"
"I don't think I know the 'Ranma' style of cut, sir…but if you can describe it for me…"
The young man started to giggle heavily in his seat, "It's not a hairstyle…it's my name…I don't particularly like being called sir…makes me feel old and stuffy…I don't look that old do I?" he asked looking back at her refection in the mirror.
Kasumi did one more bow of her head, "No sir…I mean Ranma-san…you don't look old at all…I mean you look very handsome…" she then caught her words and blushed once more.
"Thank you…but I think I want to keep my old hairstyle and I don't to waste your time, seeing as how its lunch time…"
The brown haired girl shook her head, "Its okay…I mean the customer is always right and I don't eat lunch anyway…"
Just then Kasumi's stomach made a very decision to make it known that it was running on empty…
Growl
Kasumi reddened…
"'Sorry…"
Ranma nodded understandingly, "It's okay…how about this…you cut my hair and after that how about you and I get some lunch…my treat…so what you say, Kasumi-san?"
"No…that's okay I mean…I'm not that hungry…"
Her stomach didn't think so…
Groooowl
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Sitting down inside the café two shops down from the salon Kasumi who was still wearing the salon apron and Ranma received their individual orders.
"I'm really sorry about yesterday…I mean I didn't realize that I had walked into your picture…"
Ranma after taking a bite from his sandwich he raised his hands in front of him and waved her off, "Think nothing of it…I mean I had enough pictures as it is…"
After a five minute bout of silence, "Were you doing a course assignment…?"
"Huh?" wondered Ranma.
"Nothing Ranma-san, sorry…I mean you just look like a University student so I thought that that you were taking pictures for the Photography club…"
"Actually I never even finished high-school, my dad died while I was in my last year of high-school and since we weren't that well to do I had to take over my father's job…" replied Ranma.
"Sorry, I didn't know…"
"It's okay…"
"So your father was a photographer too then…" added Kasumi.
Ranma laughed a bit, "Sort off…let's just say I prefer the pictures that I'm taking right now then those of a few years ago…"
Kasumi was little confused by what Ranma had meant but as she caught the time on the café's clock…
"Oh my…it's that late already…?" she exclaimed unbelievably as Kasumi shot up from her seat.
"I…have to go Ranma-san…really thank you for the lunch…maybe I'd give you a free hair cut sometime in return…" she trailed off.
Ranma just smiled as he watched her ran out of the café door almost knocking into another customer on her way out.
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