Go, light a fire…
And sing what you desire!
'I desire a good life'
Ryouga watched as the petite redhead ate and ate. And ate.
He was positive she was using some kind of Martial Arts Dining skills because though she appeared to be eating politely and slowly, the food was still disappearing at a prodigious rate as Nabiki and she took turns telling the story.
"It really is like you to bullshit up a meditation method from every martial art, anime and crappy kung fu movies and actually have it work." Ryouga commented, shaking his head. Ranko laughed richly.
"Oh yeah, I never expected it to work at all. But… it did." She smiled broadly at him. "And it helped."
Ryouga nodded at her. "…Yeah. It sounds like you had a rough time of it. I can't… really imagine how you must have felt. All that 'man amongst men' crap and being a macho jerk… To have it all just…" He sighed. "I can't imagine how world-shattering it all is."
Ranko's expression clouded, but she nodded. "Yeah, well, when you realise you're nothing but a lie it's pretty fundamentally shaking. Sometimes it feels like shit Pop programmed into me. Still catch myself thinkin' the same stuff even now. After that… I guess actually being a girl was kinda an afterthought. A good one, and one I needed after all that crap."
Ryouga paused. Swallowed. Thought a moment and then swallowed again. He mumbled something and Ranko cocked her head at him, looking curious.
"Y'alright there, Ryouga?"
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. It sounded sincere, mostly because it also sounded like it had been dragged out of him with torture implements. "I've attacked and blamed you for all sorts of things, and you were in all that pain all that time and… I'm just sorry about it all, you know?" He shook his head.
Ranko grinned at him, cheeks tinged a little pink. "Ahh, thanks, I guess? I mean it ain't like I didn't deserve half the stuff you were doing to me. I was a little shit, too." She smiled more genuinely. "So I'm sorry for bein' such a shit to you, too."
"Apology accepted." Ryouga nodded. He grinned suddenly. "But don't think I'm gonna go easy on you next time I try to kill you."
Ranko smirked back. "Oh, I'm countin' on it, P-chan." She said, cracking her knuckles. She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Oh hey, you've not seen me practice these days have you? I don't do a lot of the old grapplin' stuff so much."
Ryouga blinked. "You… don't do martial arts anymore?" He asked faintly. "Jeez, I knew your world fell in on itself but that's…"
Ranko bapped him on the back of the head. "Idiot, that's not what I said. I don't do as much as I used to because all that shit was Pop's dream, not mine, sure, but the Art's like… I dunno, breathin'. S'just something I just do and am. But my techniques nowadays are real different and I use different tools now." She grinned. Ryouga looked confused. "Oh, we actually do some similar stuff. Let's just say I take after my mother more than I thought."
Ryouga shrugged. "If you say so. I'd like to see."
"Sure. I'll let you watch me practice tomorrow. We're doing a video shoot on one of the stops for the ship, so we'll have solid ground. Might even deign to spar a little! You'll enjoy watching the Path of the Silken Breeze, trust me. It's pretty cool if I say so myself." Ranko smiled at him and went back to eating.
Nabiki was checking something on a phone and pursed her lips.
"Ranchan I'm not sure on that fashion magazine issue." The middle Tendou daughter said suddenly, putting her phone away. "They're being weirdly insistent on pushing the timeframe up."
Ranko shrugged, fork halfway to her mouth, putting it back down a moment, demeanour changing entirely into a professionalism that was made Ryouga look twice. "Hmm. Not much we can really do from here, and it's a pretty out of the way mag. You worried it might show up back home?"
Nabiki shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe. It does circulate in Tokyo, but Nerima's not exactly Harajuku when it comes to fashion."
Ranko shrugged. "Eh, then let 'em. If they're that keen to use my image, it means we can keep 'em sweet for later pics. We're not so well-in with that one that we can afford the bad rap."
"I'm not so sure but you're the model. I'm just the manager." Nabiki stuck her tongue out at Ranko, who shrugged.
"We're far enough away now that they'll have no idea how to get to me, and we're almost go for Phase 2 as it is." The redhead flicked her eyes to Ryouga. "Providing he agrees."
Ryouga cleared his throat. "Agrees to what?"
Ranko smiled at him. "We'll ask after the tale's been told. That OK?" He nodded. She turned back to Nabiki. "Tell 'em it's fine, Nabs, but they owe us a favour for pushing the timeframe forward."
Nabiki nodded and pulled her phone out again, dialling and starting a clipped conversation. Ranko seemed to melt from the professional demeanour back to the seemingly carefree wild girl that had been talking before.
"Well, while Nabs gets some business out the way, how about we talk that trip?"
"Sure." Ryouga said, shrugging. "You look happy to share this bit."
"Eh, that's because unlike a lotta bullshit that's happened the past six months this was nearly one hundred percent great. Apart from a couple of perverts on a train I had to convince to maybe not grope."
Ryouga laughed nastily. "Oh, I bet they regretted trying it on you."
Ranko smiled back just as evilly. "Broken hands ain't no joke. Still, apart from those hiccups it was pretty good. Actually, I went from your house because it ain't Nabs if she doesn't make some over-complicated plan."
"My house?"
"Yeah. I was pretty familiar with it, someone had to feed Shirokuro when you weren't about."
Ryouga blinked. "That was you? I always thought it was Mom and Dad."
Ranko grinned at him. "Surprise! It was your adorable redheaded friend. Didn't your Mom tell you? She thought I was your girlfriend the one time I caught her at home."
Ryouga went red and stammered and Ranko laughed, patting his arm. "Ahh, I set her straight and told her we were just rivals. And that I had a fiancée and was looking forwards to getting married to her." Ranko gave another of the giggles that had gotten him bothered the night before and it still didn't help. "So your Mom thinks I'm a lesbian."
"…Aren't you?" Ryouga managed after a moment. "I mean, you always liked girls and was always yelling you didn't want boys… And you're actually a girl so…" Ranko shrugged.
"Eh, I'm more pan these days than lesbian. I kinda like girls a tiny bit more I guess? They're softer. But a guy's pretty good to cuddle with too. Prefer athletes either way, somethin' about hard muscle holdin' ya softly…" Her face went dreamy a moment. Ryouga's brain short-circuited a moment. What the hell.
"You've uh… y'know…?" Ryouga asked, going scarlet and putting a hand to his nose.
Ranko snickered. "Hah! That'd be telling." She said, shrugging, then seemed to decide something. "Well, alright. Yeah. No strings attached." She took in a breath and went a little red, "I've… been… 'with' a couple of people on this cruise. Men, women. Not gonna name names or point 'em out, but it definitely weren't Nabs. We're sisters and that'd be seriously messed up." She made a face. "Bleh, that ain't the worst mental image I've had but it's up there."
Ryouga felt a little faint but nodded. Ranko trailed some of the condensation from her water glass on the table. "I guess… Well, I mean, as 'Ranma' I was always, yanno, afraid of contact with people. A kiss was a real big thing? But I mean, all that got me was bein' lonely and unhappy. A whole bunch of idiot assholes chasin' me either to beat me up or marry me, or both, and to hell with what I wanted."
Ryouga sighed softly and looked ashamed. "…Yeah. Sorry."
"Ah, you apologised already. Besides we really were just bad to each other in general. Anyway, I figured since I'm looking for a new start I'd at least try some new things like intimacy. If I didn't like treatin' it so casual, I'd stop until I got serious with someone, yanno?"
Ryouga nodded. "So?"
Ranko smiled and stretched languidly, obviously very aware of what that stretching was doing to him and enjoying every moment of the teasing. Part of him told him honestly he was still enjoying the view, even if it was his chief rival. "It's… actually kinda nice. Pleasurable, even. Really good workout if you get someone with some stamina." She paused a moment and laughed. "…Not a lotta folks can keep up with me. But it's… I dunno, just fun to fool around. Long as you're careful, yanno, protection and the like." Ranko laughed embarrassedly. "It takes a lot of discipline not to get all worked up about it like I used to, but I decided that I at least deserve to try the whole physical intimacy thing and enjoy it while I'm here. Vegas Rules an' all that."
Ryouga cleared his throat awkwardly after a moment of his imagination running away with him and she started. "…Yeah, um, sorry, enough on my sex life." She drank down her water and grinned. "So that weekend…"
Ranko woke up on the Friday they were to leave with excitement in her heart. It felt like it was hammering in her chest and she was both elated and nervous at the same time.
Nabiki had gone over a plan with her the night before – she was to approach a different train station to Nabiki and join her train there. She'd decided to go from Ryouga's house since it was familiar to her but no one else, including Akane given that Ranko had had to guide her there and back before.
It was still extremely early, so she had the house to herself as she washed herself down and returned to her room.
Grinning slightly to herself, she pulled out then dungaree dress that she'd worn as 'Hibiki Yoiko' and set it on her bed, then, looking around to make sure she wasn't being watched, rummaged in the lingerie drawer her mother had insisted be filled when she'd realised 'Tendou Ranko' was so much of a tomboy, she had nothing but boy's boxers. Being somewhat indifferent to fashion previously, Ranko had just gone along with whatever Nodoka had said to get, to the point that she had some extremely racy underwear sitting in a drawer in her room that she'd never intended on wearing.
Until now. Ranko sighed, then summoned her courage and picked out underwear that looked a little less racy than most of it, but still nice to her but she still didn't really understand fashion.
Not that she thought her mother did either. Nodoka's clothing tastes tended to the ultra-feminine and modest while her underwear tended to be full on lingerie, no holds barred. And she'd thought Akane was repressed…
She looked at the garments and fear flooded her again. She could just hear the words in the back of her head. Pervert. Freak. Weak girl. She tensed and tried to force herself to move, to put the garments on.
They were hers, she kept repeating in her head. They were hers and she was a girl and it was fine to wear them. She'd worn them before, no problem, what was different now.
Pervert. Freak. Weakling.
Ranko grit her teeth. "No." She growled. "I am not." She finally moved her hands and started determinedly putting the underwear on.
She'd just changed into it and matching bra, wondering at how snug and comfortable the panties felt on her girl's body as opposed to her boxers, trying not to let the words cascade through her mind again and make her take them off, when her room door opened and Nabiki strode in like she owned the place.
The middle Tendou stopped as she saw Ranko standing in her girl's underwear and blinked, then went slightly red. "Oh wow, I uh… sorry. Wasn't thinking." She snickered after a moment. "But blue stripey ones, really?"
Ranko went slightly red as well but calmed the hammering of her heart and the panic seeping in her mind. "Y-yeah w-well, I'm glad you ain't 'Kane. She'd have malleted me. And hey! They go with the outfit." She paused. "I think. Either way, have you seen the other stuff Mom bought? It's either lace lace lace or 'yamato nadeshiko with one hell of a night life' and no in between. These're about the sanest set I own, and I figured now that I know I'm a girl I should start thinkin' about what I wear." She laughed. "How fuckin' weird is this? I feel like I should be nervous bein' in my bra and panties with you there but it don't matter." She tried not to let it show that she was nervous, but like always she was playing a part.
Nabiki laughed. "Well, that's being a girl when other girls are around I guess. They're fine."
"They're comfy, is what they are. Can't believe I've gone this long without wearin' proper underwear for my forms. Goodbye back pain. I hope."
Nabiki laughed again and closed the door behind her. "Right. Let's talk something else or I'm just going to get weirded out with you talking like that." She shook her head. "Well. Let's go over the plan one last time." Ranko nodded and started putting on the clothes while Nabiki sat on the bed and went through it point-by-point. Thigh-high black socks, a mid-length sleeved tee shirt with horizontal black and white stripes and short dungaree dress over. She tied her hair into two long braids and then looked into the mirror.
Nabiki grinned as Ranko made a noise of approval. "Kami-sama you look adorable." She said. "All sugary-sweet. Like someone's overdeveloped little sister."
Ranko laughed. "I used this outfit on Ryouga, watch." She rummaged around in another drawer for a red and black bandanna, tying it into her hair, then found the fake fangs she'd used in the 'Yoiko' disguise, putting them in. She grinned at Nabiki.
"I'm Hibiki Yoiko, pleased to meet'cha onii-chan!" She made a 'V' sign.
Nabiki stared. "Are you sure you're not wanting to go into acting?" She asked. "You just… totally morphed into someone else in front of me."
Ranko grinned, returning back to herself but keeping the fangs. "Anything Goes Martial Arts Acting." She says proudly. "I dunno, I kinda enjoy it. And tricking Ryouga ain't too hard, he's tricked with a wig and glasses. I think he's got that… face blindness thing…"
Nabiki shrugged. "Fair. That'll help. So while we're out you can be Tendou Ranko, OK?"
"Yup. Got that one down. I'll be the overdeveloped little cousin instead." She smirked.
Nabiki laughed. "Alright then. So, you go from Ryouga's and meet me at the next station from Furinkan. We'll take the train to the central station, where we'll find a bathroom for you to change into less obvious clothes and get you made up so as to be unrecognisable. Then after a few different changes of train and one final meet at the last station, it's off to the beach."
Ranko got a questioning look on her face. "It seems really complicated, onee-san."
Nabiki nodded at her. "It is, but we have to be careful extracting you." She smiled at the happiness that crossed Ranko's face, the excitement. "Got something else to let you know. You ever heard of 'Vegas Rules'?"
Ranko shook her head as she sat down next to Nabiki on the bed.
"It's like this. Las Vegas is a place in America where there's a lot of casinos and stuff, and one rule some people have is that 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'."
Ranko looked at her curiously. "We ain't going to Vegas though."
"Still stands. This weekend's for us to cut loose and really, we both need to get out of our own headspace. I've still got a headache from controlling the Chaos Engine."
"…That sounds like a video game." Ranko mused. Nabiki laughed.
"It's what I call the madness that surrounds you. You're the fuel, the catalyst that keeps it running. Be funny to see what happens when we take you out of it. Extracting you's at least as dangerous as siphoning fuel from a car with a straw."
Ranko laughed and Nabiki put a companionable arm over her shoulder. "I'm glad I'm able to help you, squirt." She said warmly, losing her 'ice queen' demeanour. "Honestly. You're way more interesting than you ever let on." She grinned cheekily, "Imouto-chan."
Ranko seemed on the verge of saying something before she blushed and looked down, a pleased smile on her face. Nabiki could guess the emotions running through her and knew how her trans friends had craved that kind of validation. "Well, anyway, this trip's under Vegas Rules. I'm not going to say anything to anyone about what happens here unless you agree and vice versa. Pinky swear."
She held out her little finger and Ranko took it with her own. "Thousand needles to the eye, onee-chan." The redhead said. Nabiki squeezed her close once.
"Alright, let's get breakfast and you headed out early."
"I'm going to try to teach Akane to cook again." Kasumi said sweetly when Ranko and Nabiki both turned up to the breakfast table, Ranko in her first outfit of the day. The two suitcases Nabiki was rolling behind her had the actual clothing she would wear. Among other stuff. "You two had best move quickly though. I packed breakfast so you can eat on the go."
Ranko stared at the eldest Tendou in amazement. "…I'm buying you something really nice while we're out, onee-chan." She said quietly. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that for me."
Kasumi put her hands on Ranko's shoulders and smiled into her eyes. "I'm glad you found yourself, imouto-chan." She said, then brought her into a hug. "I'll run interference this weekend, I just want you two to have a nice time."
Ranko stared, a thrill of fear going through her. "H-how… How do you…?"
Kasumi gave her a squeeze. "I'm the big sister, imouto-chan. I just know. Come and talk to me when you two get home." She let Ranko step back. "And don't let my sister corrupt you too much into her wanton ways!" She giggled, and Ranko found herself giggling too. She stopped and put a hand to her mouth.
Nabiki's grin was like the cat that ate the canary, and Ranko went red. Kasumi's giggles intensified and the three enjoyed a moment together.
"I really do hope you enjoy yourselves." Kasumi said as she got herself under control.
"We will." Nabiki said with a grin. "Best get moving, squirt." She made a shooing motion and Ranko nodded, stepping onto the genkan and then leaving to head to Ryouga's house.
She walked quickly but didn't do her usual fence-walking. Nabiki had said to try to keep an illusion of being someone else up, so she switched to skipping and humming, playing into the Yoiko role.
Kuonji Ukyou was out for a morning walk before opening up Ucchan's and wondering, not for the first time, why Tendou Nabiki had simply asked her to give Ranma some space. Nabiki had shrugged at the time and just told her the pigtailed boy was going through some things after that whole wedding debacle and the thing with Saffron.
She wasn't originally going to listen to Nabiki until she remembered that he'd not really been the same since. Distant, and obviously very unhappy. So, she'd done so, left her Ranchan alone. It had pained her to do so but she wasn't going to be the fiancée that tipped him over the edge. She was better than that, she should have been better than that at the wedding.
Sighing to herself, she carried on walking, stretching in the early morning sun and rolling her neck. She caught sight of a young girl in a dungaree dress and with bright red hair that reminded her of Ranma's female form. Though this obviously wasn't him. Ranma never skipped.
Or looked happy and carefree anymore.
Damn, that guilt kept coming.
The girl was skipping and humming happily, trailing her hands across a hedge. Her hair was in twin braids with a bandanna keeping a fringe out of her eyes and Ukyou internally squee'd at how adorable and carefree she was.
"Good morning, miss!" The girl called politely as she got closer to Ukyou, a beaming smile on her face showing pointed little fangs. "It's going to be a lovely day! Yoiko's real happy about that!"
Ukyou gave a smile. "Good morning to you too, miss… Yoiko was it?"
"Yeppers!" The girl nodded excitedly. Ukyou saw that she wasn't so much younger than Ukyou, maybe a few years, just short. Though she was certainly… overdeveloped in other ways. Ukyou was almost jealous, but the girl didn't seem to notice that she was. "Well, Yoiko's gotta go feed her doggy!" She said and skipped off.
Ukyou smiled and carried on walking, shaking her head. That girl was probably going to be a holy terror later on in life. She'd looked a little like Ryouga… Maybe the next time the lost boy found his way to her shop she'd ask, probably a cousin with those fangs.
Ryouga laughed, half disbelievingly. "Oh you didn't. You tricked Ukyou by pretending to be Yoiko again? You asshole, I can't believe you did that!"
Ranko giggled again, "Oh I did. You've no idea how terrifying it was to trick Ucchan. But I did it. Trickin' you is one thing; you've got a shitty memory for faces. But Ucchan?"
"That's… annoyingly true. Stop making me agree with you." Ryouga groused. Ranko laughed again.
"You seem to latch onto other stuff, hair and clothes, probably why you didn't recognise me at first…"
That's because I don't expect you to be smoking hot and wearing a dress that would kill every male in Nerima with chronic bloodloss. Ryouga thought. Then he paused at Ranko's insufferably pleased expression. "Oh kami-sama, I said that out loud didn't I?"
Ranko's eyes glittered. "Smoking hot, Ryouga?" She grinned and mock-fanned herself, "Wow. A lady could get hot and bothered herself with that compliment." She looked him over and 'hmm'ed. "Yanno… You're not so bad yourself." She said in a throaty whisper. "Not bad at all. If that shirt was any tighter it'd be painted on them muscles. And boy, I am a fan of muscles lemme tell ya."
Ryouga moved slightly away, flushing again. "Ranm-ko!" He said, "What the hell, can you just switch on that act or…?"
Ranko sat back and snickered. "Not an act, Ryouga. You, my friend, are A-grade hotness, at least in the looks department. I'd'a killed for that musculature when I was a boy. Now I'd kill to have it wrapped around me. Pity about your dress sense but you somehow make those tunics work."
Ryouga's flush deepened. "Stop playing with me." He demanded angrily and she actually looked hurt. But she didn't react with anger.
"I'm not playing with you, Ryouga." She said calmly. "We're adults now. Well, almost I guess, one year for back home, though technically we're adults where we are. But we can have adult conversations, and one of those conversations has to do with our relative attractiveness." She picked up a glass of juice that she'd obtained somewhere during her telling the story. "Plus, I kinda stopped bein' bashful about admitting attraction when I decided to see who I was."
"You're… attracted… to me?" Ryouga asked in a faint voice. "Oh, that's just weird to hear, Ranko."
"Good, though, I hope." She shrugged. "I ain't gonna lie to you, Ryouga. I wouldn't do that to ya." She grinned at him. "Don't worry, I won't try to jump ya bones if you don't want me to." She winked. "But let me know if you'd be up for it, alright? Don't have to have strings attached to enjoy company."
Nabiki prodded Ranko. "Alright stop blowing the poor boy's mind, Ranchan, or he'll explode. This tablecloth really doesn't need blood all over it."
Ranko sighed. "Ah well. Anyway, where were we…?"
Shirokuro was as affectionate as ever and Ranko took a moment to put some food and water into her bowls and give the patchwork dog a good fuss. She got a few cute 'awoo's in return and considered it a completed work. "Good girl." Ranko said happily, then locked the house back up as she ran to the local train station, waiting for Nabiki's train.
Once on board she spotted the middle Tendou sister and clambered into the window seat next to her, radiating 'excited little sister' energy as much as she could. "Nabiki-nee-chan!" She exclaimed loudly as Nabiki sighed at her appearance.
"Ranko, stop climbing everywhere, you'll flash everyone again!" Nabiki scolded, getting into her own act. Ranko actually pouted and sat with her arms folded, still clearly invested in her 'Yoiko' guise.
"'Kay, but it's boooooring." She huffed.
"Well, be good, or I'll not buy you ice cream when we get there."
Ranko's face fell and Nabiki laughed. She leaned in close. "Clean break, squirt?" She asked quietly. Ranko nodded and giggled suddenly.
"I ran into Ucchan." She whispered. "She must've thought I was Ryouga's sister because she didn't recognise me."
Nabiki's heart rate rose slightly. "If she recognised you at all or realises it's going to be hell."
Ranko laughed. "Naw, she was too busy gawking at a cute girl skipping down the road."
The rest of the first train journey passed in companionable silence broken only by Ranko acting the excited little sister. How much of it was an act, Nabiki didn't know but she was certainly entertained by it.
The next station they reached, Nabiki pushed Ranko into the ladies' room despite her whispered protests and blush, and Nabiki passed over a green sundress and ribbon, telling Ranko to tie her hair up in a bow. She also passed over new shoes and bundled the 'Yoiko' outfit into the suitcases, then she handed Ranko a compact makeup case.
She watched with some amazement as Ranko expertly applied her own makeup, though Nabiki added some final touches of her own.
"Where'd you learn all that, squirt?" She asked, smiling at the effect that Ranko looking in the mirror had on the redhead's confidence. Her shoulders straightened and her nerves seemed to disappear. Ranko shrugged as she adjusted the straps of the sundress.
"Here and there. There was a kunoichi once… and I sometimes hang out with Konatsu when I go to Ucchan's and Ukyou's busy. I figured at the times I was learning that since he's there I might as well get some training in for if I ever had to do something with my girl-mode." She blushed prettily and tied her hair up with the ribbon. Nabiki stared at the curls falling down Ranko's back, reaching further than usual now they were out of the pigtail.
"Wow, I'm an idiot. How do I not know your hair's curled?" She asked, grabbing the ends and studying them.
"Always up in braids or pigtail." Ranko shrugged and finished tying the bow. Nabiki offered her a small powder blue bolero to go over the top of the sundress to protect Ranko from the sun and the redhead twirled in front of her. "How do I look?"
"Gorgeous, actually." Nabiki managed to say after a moment. "If you weren't actually a girl, it'd be so unfair." She laughed as Ranko blushed again. "You're really easy to embarrass, squirt. Come on, we've got a lot of changes." She held out a list to Ranko with trains and times to catch. "Catch you on the platform before we head off proper."
Ranko grabbed one of the suitcases and wheeled it out behind her, then waited for Nabiki to pass her before looking at the paper. The two separated, one suitcase each and boarded two different trains heading to different stations. Ranko found it a headache to follow the route, but after a couple more stops and changes, they both boarded the same train from the same platform and the two girls sat down on their proper train, sighing in relief.
"Thank the kami that's done with." Ranko said, massaging her temples. "I don't think I could've taken more train changes, onee-chan."
Nabiki leaned back in the comfortable seat she was in and nodded wearily. "I had three more train changes than you, squirt, stop complaining. But I think we're good. Didn't see any of the wrecking crew around, and no one's attacked you yet, so I'd hope we've made a clean break."
"How'd you distract everyone?" Ranko asked, leaning on the table and playing with the can of coffee she'd bought at the station. The bentou that Kasumi had given them with their breakfast lay devastated and empty next to Ranko.
Then she grinned. "Well, the Amazons are still in China and will be for a few more weeks. Kasumi's taking care of Akane. Here's hoping she gets cooking through the girl's skull this time."
"I meant it when I said we're buying her something really nice. I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, never mind someone as wonderful as Kasumi-nee-chan."
Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, when you're right you're right, squirt. As to Ukyou, I just asked her to leave you alone as you'd had a lot on your mind since Saffron and the Wedding. She's always the easiest to deal with."
Ranko nodded and then sighed. "Ucchan's my best friend. I just wish she'd stop trying to marry me. I'm not interested in her."
Nabiki shrugged. "We'll figure it out." She said, and found she meant it. All the Chaos Engine ever did was hurt Ranko, and now that she'd more or less informally adopted Ranko as her sister, that meant it was hurting her family.
Nabiki took care of things that hurt her family.
"As to the Kunous, I got Kodachi institutionalised and her brother found out about you going to China."
"…I didn't go to China." Ranko said, wide-eyed.
"Kunou-baby doesn't know that." Nabiki said, grinning.
Ranko shuddered. "I'm glad we're friends, onee-chan. I'd hate to be your enemy. You're scary as hell."
Nabiki just laughed. "Well, like it or lump it, squirt, I'm on your side now, so your enemies should be worried. Big sis has to look after her little sis, and frankly I've been shitty about it. To you and Akane, and I really should have been better." Ranko blinked. Nabiki shrugged. "Guess it wasn't just you having introspective times and not liking what she found." Nabiki smiled at her and held out her little finger. "I've got your back, imouto-chan. Hell or high water."
Ranko blushed and took the finger with her own little one. "Hell or high water." She echoed. "You need muscle if someone's tryin'a hurt you, onee-chan. I'll hurt them back. I'm no 'man amongst men' but I can still kick ass."
The two sat back and then both started giggling at how serious they'd gotten, relaxing as the countryside sped past.
Eventually they reached their destination – a small beach town, and Ranko effortlessly lifted both fairly heavy suitcases in her arms and the two wandered down the road to their hotel.
Once they got into the room, Ranko walked into the room, dropped the cases and went to the bathroom. She stepped out after washing her hands, grinning at Nabiki. "Alright, so what fir-?" Nabiki was calmly changing into her swimwear, and Ranko turned around, slapping her hands over her eyes.
"Sorry! Sorry!" She babbled, "Shouldn't have looked! Please don't hit me!"
Nabiki shook her head. "Ranko, it's perfectly fine for two girls to change at the same time. You know I haven't got anything you don't currently have. Speaking of currently having things, you did pack the soap?"
Ranko nodded, hands still over her eyes, her confident bearing from earlier crumbled away. "Used it this morning, it should last until the day after tomorrow, but I'll still keep using it each night so I don't turn into my cursed form. I just…"
Nabiki finished changing into her rather daring swimwear, putting an overly long shirt on top and walked over to Ranko, pulling the redheaded girl's hands from her eyes. Ranko trembled and Nabiki sighed.
"Where's all that confidence from earlier gone, squirt?" She asked.
Ranko shook her head. "I-I was…" She swallowed. "Mostly j-j-j-just acting. I'm t-t-terrified." Nabiki was impressed she'd admitted it, "If you'd b-b-been Akane…"
Nabiki shook her head at Ranko. "I'm not, and I think I'm going to have words with my darling sister if she's trained you to be that afraid of seeing someone naked. That's something we'll have to break you of."
Ranko shivered and Nabiki smiled at her. "Ranko, you're a girl. I know you're a girl, I watched you realise you were a girl, fully. I've had trans friends before, some of them went through how you're feeling now. You're not a pervert, you're not a freak. OK?" She shook Ranko's hands in hers. "I need you to not be a basket case on me here. Can you pull yourself together for me? We're here to relax and have a normal weekend like two normal sisters at the beach. You know, sunning ourselves, driving the boys -and girls- mad, and using that cute face of yours to destroy the local ice cream businesses." She grinned.
Ranko sucked in a deep breath and then let it out. "O-OK. I'll try." She said, shivering again. "It's just… all that stuff Pop programmed into me a-and Akane's constantly hitting me…"
"I get it, don't worry. And I'm going to tell her to stop calling you a pervert. Given your reactions, I'd bet you don't even… er…. 'explore' yourself." Ranko blushed beet red and shook her head. Nabiki coughed awkwardly and let go of the redhead's hands. "Well, I'm going to tell you now, my sister's incredibly repressed and I feel bad for whoever is her first time because that is going to be explosive. Whether it ends well or not I really hope they survive." Nabiki shrugged. "Most everyone explores themselves. I do it. I'd bet Kasumi does it. Hell, I bet your mom does it given her husband's been away for twelve years."
Ranko made a face, grossed out and Nabiki laughed. "Oh come on, she can't buy that kind of lingerie for you and not be… how did you put it… 'Yamato Nadeshiko with one hell of a night life'!"
Ranko blushed even deeper and Nabiki laughed, walking to the other side of the room. She unzipped one of the suitcases and knelt by it as she rummaged. "Now. I've brought a variety of clothing for you, but we're going to take a swim first. So I got you these." She pulled out two swimsuits – a one piece and a bikini. The one-piece had the characters for Ranko's new name stitched on then in gold lettering and was black with a green highlight on the side. It was a lot like her old 'Boy' marked swimsuit.
The bikini was a halter-neck one in jade green with a bow decoration on the top and a side-tied tanga. "Your choice, squirt. Bikini or one-piece?"
Ranko stared at them both, thumbs twiddling a moment. She swallowed. "A-ah…" She said, shyly. "I d-don't know."
"Come on… Ranchan…" Nabiki smiled as Ranko started at her best friend's nickname coming from the middle Tendou, "You'd be cute in either. Don't worry about sun protection, we've got these!" She pulled out two straw hats, another oversized white shirt and two pairs of sunglasses, plus sunblock. "I'd personally recommend the bikini, since we'd match, but it's really up to you."
Ranko still stared. "Um." She said, sounding unsure still. "I g-guess the bikini then?" She tried to smile but it was a fleeting thing. Nabiki grinned and tossed the bikini and the shirt to her and waited. Ranko went red and turned around to take her clothes off. Nabiki sighed.
"You were in your underwear with me earlier, Ranko, what's changed about that?"
"I-I don't know. I'm j-just scared." Ranko said softly. "It's like I'm fighting Pop and… and Akane's voices in my head telling me I'm a pervert…" She grit her teeth and Nabiki nodded to herself.
"Take it as a challenge. I know you're not doing the whole stupid bullshit now you know it's not really your responsibility, but how's this for a personal challenge? Beat those voices. They're wrong. There's nothing wrong with you, nothing freaky, nothing perverted. And who the hell cares anyway? Everyone can be a little perverted." Nabiki didn't realise she was ranting until she shut herself up and saw Ranko had turned and looked at her wide-eyed, mostly undressed.
"O-oh." She said. Nabiki tossed her head.
"I'm going to kill your father when I get my hands on him. Make a nice panda-skin rug." Nabiki snarled. "What a piece of shit, this with the neko-ken, all the other crap he put into your head, all the stupid shit that makes you unhappy. Damn him, and damn your mother for that stupid fucking contract!"
Ranko started backing off, looking genuinely scared and Nabiki reigned in her temper. "And damn me for letting all this shit with Akane happen under my watch." She said, miserably. Ranko tentatively walked over and reached a trembling hand out. Then she swallowed and hugged Nabiki who relaxed into the hug. "Sorry, squirt. Like I said, I looked inside and didn't like what I found either." She pushed Ranko away, trying to lighten the mood. "Now get changed, we've got beach life to catch up on!"