The conversation with Ryoga didn't last long past him handing off the challenge letter. "Ranko" said she was sure her "brother" would accept, and Ryoga declared the fight would be "at noon tomorrow, in front of Furinkan High. Assuming the coward doesn't run away again." Ranma only barely restrained himself from punching the jerk in his stupid face.
"You're sure about this?" Akane asked, as the two of them returned to the Tendo residence.
With the smallest of shrugs, Ranma said, "These sorta problems don't go away by ignorin' 'em. If a fight'll get him off my back, then I'm game. Least he's not tryin' ta kill me."
Silence.
After a few moments, Akane softly said, "Are there people like that?"
"Huh?" he said, glancing at her.
She looked concerned; he hated when she looked at him like that. "Trying to kill you, I mean."
He looked away, refusing to look back even though he could feel her eyes boring holes into the side of his head. Trying for as even an expression and tone as he could manage, he said, "One, at least, yeah."
Given the next day was a school day, Ranma had little choice but to skip, to ensure he was available for the fight. Akane made her disapproval of this decision known - loudly - but she had no hope of dissuading him. This was what had to be done.
He didn't bother leaving the house until about 11, figuring he'd get there a bit early, just in case. But he needn't have worried. Noon came and went, with no sign of the fang-toothed challenger. Ranma was no child, though - just because his opponent was late didn't mean he was going to flake out on the fight. He'd wait all day if need be.
An hour later, he was already regretting that decision. He'd gone through several stretches and katas while waiting, wanting to keep his body primed, but waiting around like this was indescribably boring. "That jerk better show soon," he grumbled quietly to himself.
By the time the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, Ranma was dozing on the sun-baked ground, leaning against the wall that bordered the school with his legs and arms crossed. He awoke with a start when someone lightly kicked his foot.
"Huh-wha?" he mumbled, staring up at Akane with bleary eyes.
"You're still out here?" she said, arms crossed and a frown on her face. "It's been hours since you were supposed to fight."
Pushing himself to his feet, Ranma stretched a little, not answering at first. "...Yeah, he never showed."
"What a jerk," Akane said, frown deepening. After a moment, her expression suddenly shifted to a warm smile. "Do you wanna walk home, then?"
Sighing, Ranma shook his head side-to-side. "Nah. I mean, I'd like to, but I'm gonna keep waiting."
"Still?" she said, incredulous. "You really think he's going to show?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. If I can just get this over with, I won't hafta worry about it no more, so…"
It was Akane's turn to sigh, which she followed with a roll of the eyes. "Fine… I'm heading home, though. See you later."
By the time the sun had set and a chill had begun blowing through the air, Ranma found his regret had grown to monstrous size. He should've brought a blanket. ...Except why the hell would he have thought to do that, when the fight was supposed to be at noon!? Ugh, this whole thing was ridiculous. Whatever Ryoga's reason to pick a fight was, Ranma felt sure it was stupid, and not worth all this.
Pouting, he sat back down on the ground and pulled his knees to his chest, shivering. This sucked. If the asshole would just finally show, then he could say that wasting the entire day was at least a little bit worth it. He glared daggers at the ground a few feet away, as though it were the ground's fault that Ryoga didn't stand upon it.
"Still nothing?" said a soft voice from behind. He didn't have to look to know it was Akane.
"Y-yeah," he muttered, teeth chattering.
Her feet stopped right next to him, and a moment later, he felt something warm being draped over his shoulders. He glanced from side to side, surprised that he was now covered by a blanket. When he looked back toward Akane, he found she'd taken a seat right next to him, and that she was wearing a cute yellow jacket. Also, she gripped something in her hands… something pink.
"For you," she said, jutting her arms out. It was a small pink lunch box, with Akane's name written in sharpie on the side. He took it and flipped it open, his face lighting up in ecstacy.
Stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, Akane looked away, at nothing in particular. "It's probably a bit cold now, but I figured you hadn't eaten since this morning."
Before she was even halfway through the sentence, Ranma had started stuffing the food into his mouth, making absolutely no attempt to do so politely. After swallowing a particularly large mouthful, he looked over at her and smiled a big, goofy grin.
"It's delicious! Gotta make sure to thank Kasumi later." He looked away again, stuffing some more food into his face, only realizing a moment later that he'd forgotten something. After swallowing his food again, and without looking at her, he quietly added, "And, um… thanks to you, too. I really... 'preciate it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile. It made him feel… light.
They sat in relative silence for a while, aside from Ranma's disgusting mouth sounds as he finished inhaling his food. Once it was gone, he closed the box, wiped his mouth off on his sleeve, and pulled his knees up again, resting his chin on them.
"...Are you going to wait all night?" Akane asked.
"If that's what it takes."
Silence, again. Then, without warning, he felt an unexpected weight push against his side. A small cloud of exhaled air floated nearby, and he felt the weight against him shift as Akane made herself comfortable. Part of him was screaming that either he or she needed to move, that this was too much, that this uncute girl needed to back off and not assume he was okay with… with this. But then the other part of him… didn't mind it. Welcomed it, even. Afterall, he could use the extra body heat... and it didn't have to mean anything.
The latter part won out.
Silence reigned as time continued to pass all too slowly. Ranma couldn't even venture a guess at how long they continued to wait - it felt like an eternity. Once or twice he thought he heard something - footsteps - but no one ever appeared. At some point, Akane started softly snoring, her weight pressing even harder against his side. Admittedly, it was… kinda cute. In an irritating sort of way.
Finally, it hit him, out of nowhere. Letting loose an annoyed groan, he lightly shook Akane awake.
"Izzhe here?" she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"No," Ranma said, helping her to her feet. "He's not coming. Not anytime soon, at least."
After a big yawn, she looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "You're sure of that, suddenly?"
"Yeah." He sighed, irritation in every line of his face. "I remember this idiot."
The next day, Ranma decided to attend school like normal. There was no point waiting around for Ryoga - Ranma remembered now that the guy had such an awful sense of direction that he could get lost in his own home. He could show up today, tomorrow, a month from now… there was no telling. And there was no point in Ranma putting his life on hold for something that could happen at any time.
It was odd, though, returning to school after his day spent there as "Ranko." All of a sudden he was back to being mostly ignored, and he hadn't expected to be bothered by that. In fact, he'd expected to enjoy it… yet that wasn't what was happening. He actually missed the attention, and he didn't know what to do with that fact. There wasn't much he could do about it right now, really.
The ringing of the lunch bell that day made him happier than it ever had in his life. It was such a relief to get away from his desk that Ranma paid little attention to where he was going until he realized, with a start, that he was standing next to Yuka.
"Can I… help you, Saotome?" she said, looking at him with a mix of confusion and irritation. Now that he was paying attention, it looked like her, Sayuri, and Akane had all been fixing to leave the room, and now all three of them were staring at him in confusion.
"Oh, uh… I was just…" He was just going to, what, sit with them like the other day? Chat with them, like they were all friends? But they weren't. Ranko was, but not him. Not Ranma. "I just... needed to talk to Akane, sorry."
Yuka shrugged, and Akane walked over, more annoyed than confused. "What?"
"I… just wanted to thank you for last night?" he said, with an insincere smile. She stared at him as though he had just asked her to solve an impossible riddle.
"You're… welcome?" They stared at each other for a few more seconds before abruptly turning away and walking in different directions.
The next day, on the way to school, Ranma happened to get splashed by that plant-watering old lady. Since they were doing well on time, Akane said they could stop by Dr. Tofu's for some hot water, but Ranma waved the suggestion off. "I'll just deal with it," he said.
The rest of that week, and for the week after that, Ranma went back and forth each day with his forms, quickly finding that days spent as Ranko were always more enjoyable. Akane had been a little weird about it at first, now that she was hanging with Yuka and Sayuri again, but she and Ranma quickly settled into a friendly rhythm. He found that they tended to fight a lot less on Ranko days, too.
Ranko days were also much better for dealing with Kuno. Whenever Kuno locked eyes with Ranma, her expression immediately soured, and on more than one occasion she had marched over and demanded a fight. Ranma always refused - he wasn't dealing with her dirty tactics again if he could help it. But on Ranko days, Kuno's looks were filled with love and desire, and it made Ranko feel ways that she didn't fully understand... but mostly liked. Kuno often professed her love for Ranko loud enough for the whole school to hear, and though Ranko never returned the sentiment, she did nothing to discourage it, either.
The second week since the whole Ranko thing started, Yuka grew even more insistent about taking her on a shopping trip. By the end of that week, Ranko finally agreed to it.
"You're sure about this?" Akane said on Saturday morning, arms crossed.
"I mean no, but, like, Yuka won't shut up 'bout it, and I agreed, so I gotta." Staring at Akane defiantly with his hands on his wide hips, Ranma added, "A man doesn't go back on his word."
Akane cocked an eyebrow. "You're really gonna throw that line at me? Looking like that, and in this situation?"
Crossing his arms and poking his tongue at her, Ranma said, "Ain't nothin' more manly than facin' your fears."
Akane continued to stare, unimpressed. "Is it the shopping or the clothes that you're scared of?"
Throwing his hands up, Ranma marched toward the door. "Ya just don't get it."
Shopping with Yuka and Sayuri was slightly less nerve-wracking that Ranko had anticipated. The fact that Akane had chosen to sit this one out was probably a big factor in that; it would've been much more difficult with her judging eyes watching Ranko's every move.
Still, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable just existing in the women's section of a store. Actively browsing one was terrifying, like she was doing something inherently wrong and being judged for it by unseen, knowing eyes. Yuka instructed her to "chill" many, many times, to minimal effect.
Ranko made it clear early on that she was particularly uncomfortable with the more overtly "girly" things, and fortunately, Yuka and Sayuri seemed receptive to that. They did their best to find the most unisex, non-frilly items that they could, and Ranko appreciated it more than she managed to say.
But, eventually, they ended up looking at what Ranko most dreaded - underwear. Despite her pleas to avoid it, Yuka insisted.
"When was the last time you bought a bra?" she said, glaring. "Sometime when you, your dad, and your brother were walking all over the world?"
Ranko's mind briefly flashed back to a hurried trip into a tiny Chinese clothing store, where she'd spent all of a minute looking for a bra that 'looked about right' before buying it and leaving as quickly as she could. She'd never bought another.
"Um… yes."
"Yeah, and I doubt those two were any help." She gestured at herself and Sayuri. "We know way more about bra shopping than they do, I'm sure, so c'mon, let us help!"
With a deep, defeated sigh, Ranko nodded. "Okay."
The other two girls picked out two or three different bras, tending toward those of the 'sports' variety. "Since you're so physically active," Sayuri said.
Once alone in the dressing room, Ranko begrudgingly took her old bra off, and then grabbed one of the new ones. This seemed much easier to put on - she hated putting her old one on backwards, clasping it, and then pulling it around and over her boobs. So tedious. This one she could just slip on like a shirt, it seemed like. A tight shirt... but still.
She got it on with minimal effort, and then glanced at the mirror. It always felt so strange to see herself in this form. Especially so… exposed. And wearing a bra. She had tried so hard to avoid wearing one, hating the very idea of it. But the pain in her back that started forming insisted she reconsider. At least this new one looked less girly, even if it didn't feel any more comfortable. That was just how bras were, she supposed.
Pulling the bra off, she glanced down at the other two. The idea of wasting more time trying them both on to achieve the same result drove her up the wall, but recent experience had taught her that if she left the dressing room too soon Yuka would just send her right back. So, reluctantly, she grabbed another one, and pulled it on.
Her eyes went wide. This… this was different. This felt… right. It didn't feel tight against her breasts like the other two. She could breathe comfortably, move comfortably. She'd gotten so used to physical discomfort being the norm when in girl mode, that this newfound lack of it felt like one of the most amazing things that had ever happened to her. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She never wanted to take it off.
Hurriedly, but reluctantly, she yanked it off anyway, and threw her shirt on, practically sprinting out of the room. Sayuri was patiently waiting outside, with Yuka not too far off, browsing. Ranko rushed up to them, brandishing the comfy bra like a prize fish.
"I want five!" she said, beaming.
A while later, after Sayuri had been kind enough to buy Ranko's bras ("I've got money, don't worry about it."), Ranko waited patiently as Yuka browsed in another, women-focused shop. At this point, she was doing it more for herself than for Ranko, but that was fine, Ranko had no problem waiting, especially after all the help her friends had given her. But then, a certain yellow-bandana-clad head popped into view.
"Oh no," she said, her face mirroring the dread that gripped her heart. Why here? Why now?
He looked her way, and she felt her heart drop. A smile appeared on his face, and he waved, immediately heading for her. "Oh, Ranko! I can't believe I found you!"
"I can't either," she mumbled, before he was close enough to hear.
Smiling sweetly like she always did when meeting someone new, Sayuri said, "Is this a friend of yours?"
"I wouldn't say-"
"Yeah!" Ryoga said, seemingly not noticing that Ranko was talking. "We met, um… a while ago?" His face scrunched in concentration. "How long ago was that?"
Ranko glared daggers at him. "Almost two weeks."
"Hah, was it!?" He laughed a little - a loud, rumbling sort of thing. "Time tends to blur together when you're travelin'."
"I'll bet," Ranko muttered under her breath.
Expression turning to sorrow, Ryoga said, "Hey, so, I'm sorry I missed the fight I was s'pposed to have with your brother. I wanted to be there, I just-"
"Got lost?" Ranko finished, still glaring.
He stared at the ground, expression dark. "Yes. I used to consider it my curse, before…" He trailed off.
The conversation seemed to have caught Yuka's ear, as she was suddenly standing with the rest of them, staring up at the fang-toothed boy. "You got lost and ended up here?" She gestured around at all the women's clothes. Ryoga's eyes followed her arm movements, and went wide as realization struck. His cheeks flushed, and he suddenly seemed incredibly nervous.
"Oh, uh, yes. I should… I should go." Before he did so, however, he paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. His eyelids snapped open, and he stared directly into Ranko's eyes, a fierce determination burning within his own. "Despite all that, I still fully intend to fight Ranma! Tell him that tomorrow, for sure, I'll meet him outside Furinkan High, at noon!"
She wanted to believe him. He clearly meant it, even if it was a promise he couldn't keep. She sighed. "Fine, I'll tell him."
"Thank you so much!" he cried, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm going to head straight there, and wait until our fight. Nothing will stop me!"
He let her hand go and stuck a foot out, face filled with determination. Then he walked directly toward the dressing rooms.
