One of the few pieces of advice Ranma has ever liked from her father had been: 'Every day is a new challenge'. While not necessarily literally true, it tended to resonate with Ranma. Sure, Ranma would claim that she wasn't as much the cause of so many of her problems as her father was, that instead stuff would just happen to her out of nowhere, but regardless it was still something that stuck in her head. And on the morning after her second date with Akane Tendo, after they'd agreed they were for-real dating now, It was definitely running through her head.

After all, it was now a girl day. Great timing on her part, truly. It was a Sunday, which meant no school, but that also meant Akane and Ranma were going to be spending the day together, and inside. There was little choice otherwise, as the humidity had been climbing, and by breakfast time a downpour had begun. Neither ate their first meal of the day at the same time, which definitely was not because Ranma made absolutely sure Akane wasn't in the kitchen before grabbing her food.

Okay, so, if she absolutely had to be honest with herself, yeah, she was worried. Them being, like, actually romantic was new. And Ranma's curse was an unknown factor. Sure, it had worked out pretty well with them as friends. Hell, in some ways, as a girl Ranma was a way better friend for Akane than guy Ranma was. But they were still one person, and that one person was dating Akane. Would Akane still like girl Ranma the same way she liked her as a guy? Would Ranma still feel romantic for her when she was a girl? Ranma didn't know, and she didn't like things she didn't know, as a matter of course.

Ranma was pacing through the hallways of the Tendo estate, still unsure about what to do about Akane, when she turned a corner and saw Ryoga. Apparently, the dunderhead had been out, doing his chores as normal, when the rain had hit. Hence why his usual outfit was soaked. Which was also why, the first thing Ranma saw from him as she turned the corner was Ryoga, leaning against a wooden support pillar in the area that directly connected to the back yard, shirtless, twisting his shirt to remove the water from it.

The first thing that went through Ranma's mind was, 'Wow. Nice,' while her eyes lingered on Ryoga's bare chest. The second thought wasn't too different, as her focus shifted to the rich musculature on his arms as he strained to dry out his shirt, 'Damn.' It was only after she'd ogled him in stunned silence for a little that she suddenly remembered: she had a girlfriend now! Ryoga may have been eye candy, but he was forbidden eye candy. Of course, this being Ranma, forbidding herself from anything was a doomed endeavor. Still, she approached Ryoga, who hadn't noticed her presence, while doing her best not to look like she'd just been checking her out. "Yo." That was all the greeting she gave, and frankly all the greeting she usually had for Ryoga anyway.

He didn't look at her, his raven black eyes instead gazing out at the rain. "Hey." Ranma wasn't sure if his words were actually clipped, or if she was just reading that into him. They just kind of stood there, together, for a little while, before Ryoga put his shirt back on. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to pull your own weight around here too."

A thousand witty retorts flew through Ranma's head as she considered what to go with. Anything about reminding him that the reason she got to stay here without chores was because of the whole engagement thing went out the window first, she knew that was a weird sore spot for Ryoga. Instead, she gave him a pout and told him, "Don't you remember? I'm too cute for that kind of physical stuff." Ryoga rolled his eyes, though Ranma couldn't help but notice the barest blush starting to form on his cheeks. Emboldened, she added, "Why are you putting your shirt back on, anyway? I was enjoying the show."

Even Ranma knew that, when it came to playful flirting, that might have actually passed the line a little past what was really acceptable, but she couldn't help herself, it just slipped out! But instead of making Ryoga's embarrassment shoot up, like her flirting usually did, he actually started looking...angry. Suddenly, his eyes were on her, fire dancing in his pupils. "Why do you always do that?!" he asked, and Ranma almost idly noticed his hands clenching into fists. Once she saw that, she readied herself in a defense position, ready for a fight, but then Ryoga's tension disappeared. "Just...go away, Ranma."

Feeling confused and concerned, Ranma did as she was asked, unsure what the hell was eating her friend. He'd never reacted to her teasing and prodding like that before. Unsure what else to do, Ranma resolved to ask him about it later, once he'd cooled off. Maybe when she was a guy again? That could make the conversation easier for the big lug.

Moving through the house once more, Ranma started thinking about the whole gender thing. It was so weird. Back when she'd first gotten the curse, it had seemed like the worst thing in the world, and her pop's attitude hadn't exactly helped. But then she'd met Akane, and she'd been the first person to just...accept it. After months of living with the Tendo's, who had all been pretty cool about the whole thing, Ranma didn't even think of it as a bad thing anymore. It wasn't something to cure, it was just part of who she was. It made life a little more complicated sometimes, but not in a bad way. Guy or girl, she was Ranma.

Ranma had almost made it back to her bedroom, which also happened to be Ryoga's bedroom, when Akane came out of it, and they both froze. In that still moment, Ranma just looked at her. She was a few inches shorter than Ranma was as a girl, and she'd gotten a haircut that turned her cascade of dark blue hair into a well-maintained look, cropped close to her head, never going longer than the nape of her neck. She was wearing clothes so casual they were basically pajamas, a pair of grey sweatpants paired with a white tank top with a cartoon red panda printed on it. It left her pale arms bare, letting Ranma see in naked detail her martial artist strength, which Akane wore with pride and distinction. The cut of the top also made sure Ranma could see the straps of her bra, and from that she knew Akane was wearing her most plain, boring, practical white bra, something comfortable that looked like it was made for a forty-year old housewife. (Ranma's taste in bras tended either for pure practicality, sports bras and the like, or lacy numbers that made her feel pretty, and nothing in-between.)

It was clear Akane hadn't done anything resembling a usual bathroom routine, with her hair still a little messy from bedhead and her face bare of even the minimalist make-up she occasionally put on. This was Akane at her most Akane, in a way, Ranma thought to herself. She also looked beautiful. Not in a model, storybook princess, or famous actress kind of way. But in an earthy, physical, real sense that radiated from her in waves. Looking at her girlfriend, Ranma realized the question of attraction was mute, at least on her end: she liked Akane damn well either way.

Her introspection was interrupted when Akane took a step forward, her face slightly tense with conflict. What exactly was running through her head was a mystery to Ranma, and she wanted to hear what Akane had to say. "Do you...want to head up to my room?" It was something they'd done a million times before, with Ranma as a guy and as a girl, but like so many other things, it felt pretty damn different after what they'd talked about the day before. Still, Ranma nodded, and followed Akane up the steps to the second floor.

Like a lot of people, looking around Akane's room was a pretty good way to get a grasp on who she was as a person. She had three different bookshelves lining the wall, some lined with notebooks and old textbooks, but most filled with literature, science books, history books, and even a few slimmer volumes on martial arts history. Her bed had a light blue comforter, and there were more than a few stuffed animals strewn about the top of it, as well as more on the ground. Some were ones she'd had since she was a kid, others Ranma had won for her at the arcade. The most recurring animal among them were cows and ox, part of an ongoing joke Ranma had with her that she was as strong as either animal. Aside from light rolling of the eyes, Akane had never complained.

The room's occupant sat down on the bed, and Ranma took the rolly chair at her desk, where Akane's laptop was sitting, closed. They looked at each other for a little bit, and Ranma decided to go first this time, clearing her throat and starting with, "So, uh, yeah. We're dating now. That's a thing that happened. But we, we really didn't discuss how my girl days are going to affect that."

Akane nodded, then started biting her lip. The sight of that made Ranma's heart rate go up a little, it was a telltale sign on Akane that she was stressed about something. "I know you might not want to be romantic with me as a girl, Ranma. I was expecting that, when I agreed to the second date." That made Ranma confused, and it must have shown on her face, because Akane continued, "Well, when we first met, you told me you liked guys when you're a girl."

Thumping the side of her head, Ranma cursed her past self for causing problems for the present her. A frequent issue when one's name was Ranma Saotome. Shaking her head, Ranma did her best to clear that up. "Geeze Akane, I'm...it's more complicated than that. It's more like..." Searching for a good metaphor, Ranma suddenly thought of one and held up her thumb and index finger as far as they could get from each other. "It's like, when I'm a guy, I like girls this much," Ranma then moved her fingers closer together, until they were about half as close as before, "But when I'm a girl I like other girls this much."

The news didn't seem to make Akane look very happy, and for a second, it looked like she was going to start crying. Crossing her arms in front of her torso, Akane looked down and said quietly, "Oh, okay...so it's not that I'm a girl. I guess I can get that. I mean, when you're a girl, you can just compare me to you. I'd see how that would make it harder to see me that way. I'm flatter than you, you've got a better fashion sense than me, you actually act like a girl-"

Before Akane could even finish that sentence, Ranma couldn't take it anymore, and did something impulsive. She got up, crossed the room, sat on the bed next to Akane, put one hand on Akane's back, and leaned in to kiss her. There was a moment of shock, but then the other girl leaned into it. With so little time between the two, Ranma was able to directly compare the kiss to the one she'd had with this same girl as a guy just the day before, and it was so different, yet still much the same. Her body was different, the tactile sensation was different, but the two people were the same. When the kiss finally broke. Ranma stared into Akane's eyes. "I hate hearing you talk about yourself like that. You're cute. You're so freaking cute that sometimes you're all I can think about, guy or girl. If you're okay dating me when I'm a girl, then I want that too. But if you're not okay being with a girl, I can...live with that."

The words had barely left Ranma's mouth when Akane scooped her into a hug, and Ranma could feel the relief in her girlfriend as her tension melted away. "I was so scared," she said, her voice still quiet, "Scared you wouldn't like me the same way I liked you, when you were like this. You're so gorgeous and amazing and..." her words trailed off, cutting off how much she was inflating Ranma's already large ego, as a guy or a girl. They cuddled on her bed together for a little bit, before Akane suggested, "Did you...want to kiss some more?" It made Ranma want to roll her eyes, but instead she nodded, and they spent the rest of the day never more than a few steps away from each other, each giddy and elated by how unbelievably well things had gone so far. For the two martial artists, it felt like nothing in the world could interrupt their serene bliss. This was, of course, utterly ridiculous, and the universe wasted no time in proving this horribly, disastrously, incorrect.