WARNING: While there will be no actual 'Lemon' content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

Disclaimer: The rights to 'Ranma 1/2' are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. The rights to 'Gold Digger' are owned by its creator, Fred Perry. The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators. This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.

Notes: While drawing primarily from the original 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series, some elements and characters from the 'Ranma 1/2' Anime series may also be utilized. This is BOTH a 'Continuation' and an 'Alternate Universe' fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of 'Ranma 1/2' and 'Gold Digger', meaning: the characters WILL be 'Out-of-Character' to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree. This fan-fiction is also a 'Crossover', combining elements from the two aforementioned sources. For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry's 'Gold Digger' series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.

Furthermore, it is 'presumed' that the events of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series take place over a span of less than one year, as there is little, if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon. Therefore, Ranma and Akane are still freshmen at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kunou are juniors.

Timeframe: Immediately following the failed wedding attempt at the end of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series; there are several months remaining until the end of the current school year at Furinkan High... ('Gold Digger' timeframe will become apparent when introduced into the story.)

WARNING: This is self-beta'd if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, please PM me with the paragraph and fix.

BATTLE MAGE

By

Ryan Slicer

(original story concept, writing and guidance)

Book One: Control

Part Five: Female Problems and a Shopping Trip

Nabiki woke up to the sun shining in her window. And very surprised that she wasn't woken up by the sounds of a battle being waged across the back yard. She took the moment to stretch her arms before slipping out of bed. She started gathering her morning toiletries before a shrill shriek came from down the hall. She dropped her items and ran to the guest room, where the sound came from, noticing that no one else was there before she arrived. She knocked on the door before sliding it open. She saw Ranma-chan looking down at herself. Her hand was rubbing just below her belly, as she made a face that looked very disgusted at her shorts. Ranma pulled her shorts away before groaning and grumbling.

"This is so gross." Ranma's female voice spoke quietly to herself, not realizing she had a small audience. Nabiki also didn't notice her sisters right behind her before her eyes went wide with a thought. Ranma looked up and over at the door, finally seeing all three sisters staring at the door. She started blushing at what she was dealing with and was almost embarrassed that the three sisters were seeing her in such a state.

"Just hold on a minute, Ranma." Nabiki spoke, before pushing past her sisters and back to her room. Kasumi looked at her sister as she walked away and was about to ask what was wrong before looking back at the young redheaded girl on the futon mattress. Suddenly she brought her hands to her mouth just as Nabiki strode past her again and sat down next to Ranma. "How are you feeling, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, her concern showing in her voice, something that Kasumi had started to notice the more they interacted with each other.

"Just gross and nauseous." Ranma replies, "Kinda like I wet myself or having water and honey poured on me in that area." She blushed slightly red before finally looking at Nabiki and what was in her hands. She noticed a folded paper that looked like a pad and, "Are you trying to push your luck with that?" pointing at the pair of plain panties that was also held in her hand. "Because I'll tell you like I tell the old fart who steals them, no way." Ranma grumbled, almost shooting Nabiki a look that was almost like betrayal. Nabiki did notice that Ranma was looking at her hands, and was about to say something before her younger sister decided to speak her mind.

"So, you finally get it, don't you?" Akane started, noticing what Nabiki had in her hands. Her face made a slight frown before it curled upwards just slightly at a way to get back at the aquatransexual. Akane was a bit frustrated over the course of the last few weeks because Ranma wasn't spending much time with her, and was seen more with Nabiki and Kasumi. She thought that the casanova was trying to bring both of her sisters over to him, like he was sweet talking them into liking him more. 'Now I can get him back for not spending any time with me.' she thought. Before she was going to finish her sentence, she noticed both of her sisters had turned towards her and the look on both of their faces almost screamed at her, telling Akane to not finish what she was thinking. 'What the hell is wrong with them?' her thoughts started before she saw Kasumi's face and her throat started to feel dry, her mind finally processing why Kasumi would look at her like that, 'It has been a while since she gave me that look.'

Kasumi gave a soft click of her tongue towards her younger sister, showing a displeased frown that wouldn't normally be on her face, that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. "Akane," Kasumi started, her voice not calm and serene as it usually was, "I think we need to have a little talk back in my room." She told the younger girl before Kasumi took a hold of her sister's arm and dragged her to said room to have their little discussion, leaving the middle Tendo sister to deal with the mess in front of her.

Nabiki shook her head and looked back at Ranma before talking to her, "Look, I know that you don't like wearing them, but believe me, they will make you feel so much better if you did this my way, rather than to macho it out."

Ranma gave out a sigh before she looked at the middle sister, locking her eyes with Nabiki's. "Look, I've been through them before without this stuff. Not like I haven't had this my entire time through China after I got the curse." Just before Ranma was about to continue his little rant about having gone through her periods, Nabiki reached out and placed a finger against the redhead's lips.

"But I bet you don't know what to do with them right?" Nabiki mentioned respectfully. While the slightly older girl figured that Ranma's female form did have the biological parts and requirements of a woman, she also wondered if she did have her period and was on a cycle. Though with Ranma's ability to change between both forms on an almost constant daily basis, she also wondered if her cycles were different. "Trust me, you'll want to listen to me on this."

Ranma looked at Nabiki's finger on her lips, trailing it down her arm and back to the middle sister's eyes, noticing that she was not looking at her to get more money or information off of her. But genuinely giving Ranma the respect of knowing she had womanly issues and was willing to help her, even though everything that Ranma had been taught about being a man told her to tough it out. It confused her greatly sometimes that there would be someone who was going through the same things as her, that would be willing to help. She gave a slight nod, pushing Nabiki's hand away from her before she spoke, "Alright, Nabs," she spoke quietly, almost sounding vulnerable to Nabiki in her mind, "Let's do this." And with that, she stood up, only just barely remembering what was still gross in her boxer shorts. Ranma groaned as Nabiki held a towel out for her.

"Just take them off and wrap that around you." Nabiki softly said, trying not to arouse any more suspicion about her thoughts on teaching Ranma about periods and how to clean up after a mess like that. 'Although, I would like to know how it feels for him from a guy's perspective.' she thought, wondering if she could take that and truly get a bead on Ranma while dealing with female issues and problems. Nabiki then stood up herself and backed out of the room, "Meet me in the bath and I'll explain there."

Ranma gave one more nod to Nabiki, before the middle Tendo sister shut the door behind her, giving Ranma the privacy to cover up. Ranma was now very thankful that his old man wasn't there when this happened. The last time Genma caught Ranma on her period he just told her to tough it out and wash the clothes more diligently so as not to leave stains. Ranma growled out her frustration at Genma's idea of dealing with things was to just ignore it until it goes away, or to push past the problem. The redhead took a deep breath, reminding herself that Nabiki was willing to help him, and was going to make sure that he knew what to do for next time.

-LINE BREAK-

Nabiki had gone back to her bedroom, gathering her toiletries and clothing once more and headed downstairs to the bath. As she passed by Kasumi's room, she heard Kasumi quietly chiding their sister about decorum and appropriate behavior to their guest, especially when he was still learning about his other body. Nabiki gave a soft smile at Kasumi's handling of the situation, and would have done the same, except there would be an exchange of some kind that might have left a mark on Akane if she was going to bull through the accusation.

Still Nabiki wasn't as glad about taking on the task to explain what to do while Ranma was on her period, and was not expecting to do so until she had kids of her own. 'But it'll be good practice, regardless of what Ranma says or does.' She walked down the steps and turned towards the bath, taking a quick breath before stepping past the first threshold into the bathing area. Once she was in, she saw that Ranma's clothes were in the hamper, with the soiled boxers on top so as not to ruin anything else in the laundry. She decided that since she was already seen by Ranma naked, that it didn't matter to her if she got in the bath as well. She needed a quick one though as they still had to go to school today. She stripped down and had her clothes set next to Ranma's. She stepped into the bathing area and made sure that the occupied sign was up before she slid the door shut. Once inside, Nabiki noticed that Ranma was staring at the tub of hot water with a look that confused Nabiki. It was a look of thought and almost sadness. 'You would have thought he would have changed back.' her mind brought up, thinking that would be the easier way of dealing with it, she almost narrowed her eyes at the fact that Ranma could get rid of that problem with a simple application of water before shaking her head to remove such thoughts. "Yen for your thoughts?" She asked the redhead.

Ranma shook her head and grumbled for a moment before speaking to Nabiki. "Might as well stay in this form for the next few days."

"Oh?" Nabiki questioned, wondering why he would willingly stay in his female form. "Why would that be? I would have thought you would be jumping into that tub without a second thought." She pulled up a stool and sat down next to the redhead, putting her toiletries next to her before taking her bucket and filling it up with warm water.

Ranma shook her head before she turned to face Nabiki, no hint of modesty shown towards her. "Well, yes and no." She took a moment to look down at herself, "You see, this still affects me while in both forms." Ranma started, before grabbing the small bucket used to rinse off, "It took me a few months of switching between both forms to figure out how it affects me, but I know that when I'm feeling like this, I'm more upset." She took a moment to collect her thoughts, "I also get into more fights when I'm a guy during this time. But I only get like that when I'm a girl and then change into a guy."

"So, you feel more upset when you are on your period?" Nabiki questioned, wondering if Ranma had a normal cycle or an abnormal one because she doesn't stay in her current form long enough for a month for her visitor to arrive.

"Yeah, pretty much." Ranma shrugged, filling up the bucket with cold water and looking at her reflection in it, "but when I'm a girl, and stay one, I'm a little more in control than as a guy. It's like I'm having a war with myself if I switch while I'm on my period." He looked over at Nabiki, "Is that making any sense to you?"

Nabiki thought it over, pouring the warm water over her and starting to lather up before turning towards Ranma, "I think I understand, but you really are the only one who might be able to explain it better." She watched the redhead sigh before she started to clean herself. Once both were clean, Ranma made to get up before a hand rested on her knee. "I still need to explain what you need to do during your period." Nabiki started, before taking a deep breath, 'Okay Tendo, you can do this." She thought before focusing on Ranma. "First you need to fully clean yourself or you're going to have some issues later on if you don't."

Ranma nodded and began to clean up a bit more, with Nabiki coaching her. Once she was fully rinsed off, she looked at the older girl for the next step. "Okay, what's next?"

Nabiki, for her part, was cleaning herself up as well. Once she rinsed off, she motioned for Ranma to get into the furo with her. "You'll need to relax a bit, which might help you as a boy too." She climbed into the furo and sank into the warm water, letting it relax her body. She looked over at Ranma, who hesitantly moved closer to the furo. "Ranma?" Nabiki spoke softly, now she was very concerned before realizing as she sat in the furo that being in the same furo as Ranma would possibly cause issues within the rest of the household. She took that moment to curse herself for thinking of it before getting out of the furo. She sat next to the young woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your right, changing now would cause issues, aside from the ones you mentioned." Ranma gave a smile and a nod to the Tendo sister and they both got up and left to furo, making sure it was cleaned up before leaving. When they stepped into the other room, Nabiki started to get dressed as she looked at Ranma holding the pair of panties.

"Do I really have'ta wear them?" Ranma asked, showing some form of disgust across her face, "I don't even let the old letch get me to wear these for him."

"Well, you did wear them to get your strength back, didn't you?" Nabiki casually mentioned with a sly smile, having kept the negatives of the endeavor.

Ranma blanched, almost forgetting that he did do that to wind up Happosai into a lust filled rage to do the Hiryū Shōten Ha against him. "You had to remind me." He saw that look in Nabiki's eyes about that reminder before groaning. "But are you sure there isn't another way?" He asked, not sure if he would willing go with either way at this point.

"Oh, sure there is another way." Nabiki had planned for this as well and pulled out a thin, marker-like package from her toiletries box she brought down. "You could always wear a tampon." She looked at Ranma and saw her slight interest in it, "However, this goes inside of you and you have to replace it just as often as the pad." She saw Ranma's face start to drain as she continued the explanation of what to do with it before Ranma waved her hands in front of Nabiki.

"Alright, alright already." Ranma sighed and looked at the panties, and the pad that she was given. "If I gotta do it, I'll do it, so I don't have to change shorts every so often." She held the panties up and looked at the middle sister, "Go ahead and explain."

Nabiki nodded, putting back the tampon before starting her explanation of how to put the pad in the panties and making sure that the pad was in the right place to get everything coming out, before she and Ranma finished getting ready for school.

-LINE BREAK-

While Nabiki was educating Ranma on the proper way to clean up after a mess, Kasumi had the youngest sister sitting on her bed. The eldest Tendo daughter stood before her sister in a way that most people never saw. It reminded Akane of the one time she saw their father get upset with someone who was bothering Kasumi before she graduated from high school. The look that her father put out before his demon-head technique came out and scared the poor boy from coming back to the Tendo-ke.

"I'm very disappointed with how you responded to Ranma-kun's predicament." Kasumi started, trying to best explain to her sister that her beginning remarks shouldn't have even appeared in her mind. "You know that he has been dealing with this curse since he received it. And I know Uncle Genma wouldn't have taught Ranma-kun about these things." She slowly reached out to Akane's hand before stopping herself from completing that action, 'I should be stricter with her, especially about this if she does marry Ranma-kun.' She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts as she continued, "You wouldn't act like that with one of our friends who just started or had issues with her period, would you?"

Akane looked at her sister and then looked away, noting that she wouldn't have done that to one of her friends who was having a bad day. She took a short breath and let it out slowly before looking back up at Kasumi. "No, I wouldn't have, Onee-san."

"So, it seems." Kasumi replied, "Why did you think this was any different?" Kasumi's voice took a colder turn as she folded her arms under her breasts, "Because I don't see it being any different than one of your friends who started and didn't have her necessities with her and asked to borrow one of yours."

Akane flinched at that and kept her head down, tears started to roll down her nose and fall on to her hands that were clenching her skirt she was wearing. 'Why would I purposely antagonize Ranma over something that we have every month? He must have had his cycles when he was in China and didn't tell anyone.' she thought to herself, "Your right, Onee-san. I should have tried to help him instead of making things worse." She looked up at Kasumi, who started to smile before reaching out to Akane and patting her softly on the top of her head.

"Maybe next time, you'll let your mind think about what she is going through like you did when you found things that you didn't understand." She stepped away from Akane and opened the door, "When Nabiki and Ranma are done, I think you know what to do."

Akane nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes and got up from Kasumi's bed. "Yes, I do." She walked out of Kasumi's room and started towards her room when she saw Nabiki and Ranma coming up the stairs, both looking like they just got out of the bath. 'That.. that... PERVERT!' her mind yelled out, she turned towards them and was about to give Ranma a piece of her mind when she saw Kasumi give her the same look that she had earlier. She stopped before walking away and back to her room to get ready for the day. Her door slamming shut as she left the scene in front of her.

Nabiki and Ranma looked up from their quiet conversation as they heard the door slam, before they noticed Kasumi shaking her head.

"What's wrong, Kasumi?" Nabiki asked, watching as her older sister took a quiet breath and placed her hands in the apron pockets.

"Just Akane being her usual self." She mentioned as she looked at the two. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice that you were having issues until after Nabiki came back. Are you okay now, Ranma-kun?"

Ranma nodded and gave her a smile, actually understanding what Nabiki was trying to tell her about the panties she was wearing. "I'm doing better now." She nodded to Nabiki who returned the nod before they split apart to get their school supplies. Kasumi gave a smile before she headed downstairs to start on breakfast.

-LINE BREAK-

As the high schoolers continued to get ready for the day, Soun got up and started to think about what was happening within his household. It wasn't that things were bad, but they weren't going the way he expected. His training partner had left with his wife, to spend some time going over the new home that was built. While that wasn't the big issue, and it left Ranma to spend proper time with his fiancée. However, it seemed that Ranma wasn't doing so as planned either. Soun gave a sigh before he finished getting ready for the day and headed to the main room in the house.

Once he turned to cross the threshold, he saw his daughters sitting there, breakfast laid out and ready for them all, but what was different in this picture was the young man, as he should have been, was now a young woman who was dressed up and ready for school, "I hope that everything is okay, Ranma-kun." Sound mentioned as he sat down.

Ranma looked at the older man and almost gave a slight blush before Nabiki chimed in for him.

"He's having a rough morning; he'll change before we get to school." This shocked both Akane and Ranma, before Ranma nodded her head in acknowledgement of what Nabiki said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine once I'm at school." She replied, eating her breakfast before she said anything that was too embarrassing at the moment. This was the first time that she was caught on her period and an adult had questioned her. She was very grateful to Nabiki for covering her issues before they finished breakfast. Once they were done, Akane left the house without talking to both Ranma and Nabiki, intending on not being around them. Nabiki looked over at Ranma, then Kasumi as her older sister handed their lunches to them.

-LINE BREAK-

Akane had gone ahead and decided that she didn't want to be seen with Ranma, after seeing her and her sister coming from the bath. She was almost ready to pound Ranma for even being in the same room as Nabiki, but knew she would disappoint Kasumi after the talk she just had with her. 'Why is he always causing issues between us?' she thought as she walked into the courtyard of Furinkan High School. 'And why did he have a bath with Nabiki of all people.' She then took a deep breath and then let it out. 'Kasumi reminded me that Nabiki was explaining to Ranma how to use feminine products. But still..' Akane ground her teeth together, 'that's no excuse for him at all to have been in the bath with Nabiki.' Akane squeezed her hand into a tight fist as she thought of what Ranma and Nabiki were doing in the bath. 'I still say I should have pounded him for even being in the bath at all. And Kasumi was lecturing me about how I responded!' Akane finally unclenched her hand as she reached her footlocker, pulling out her school shoes before putting her normal shoes in the locker. She looked down at her feet and gave a sigh at the scene she saw with Nabiki and Ranma coming up the stairs from the bath. She felt angrier at herself than at Ranma after taking the time to think over the scene. 'Why is it that he trusted Nabiki with his period than me?' she thought, remembering that they were having some conversation before she stormed off. 'It looked like he was enjoying the conversation.' She shook her head and finished up getting her school shoes on before disappearing from the locker room and up to her homeroom, not noticing Nabiki and Ranma entering just as she left.

-LINE BREAK-

Nabiki and Ranma entered the school grounds without any issues that morning. Well, none that usually plagued Ranma as she was still her redheaded buxom self when she left then Tendo-ke. Once they got to the locker room, Nabiki just managed to catch Akane leaving to go to her homeroom, while Ranma headed to her footlocker. Nabiki shook her head to ignore her younger sister's attitude from this morning and went over to her footlocker.

As she was getting her school shoes together, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Nabiki turned and looked at her friend and cohort Ryonami.

"Morning, Senpai." her cheerful subordinate smiled, noticing that Nabiki had come to school later than usual, and with Ranma. "So, what happened that made you late and with Ranma of all people?" Ryonami gave Nabiki a sly smile, "Did Akane decide that Ranma wasn't worth all his cheating and passed the torch to you again?"

Nabiki chuckled and finished putting on her shoes, placing her other ones in the footlocker. "As if. If she did, do you think I'd be over here talking to you?" Nabiki smiled back at her friend. "But no, Akane still has the reins on that part."

"So, what happened? And why isn't he trying to find hot water?" Ryonami noticed that Ranma was walking in and to his homeroom. "You'd think he'd be running into the boy's bathroom and changing."

"Funny thing about that." Nabiki said, walking into the school and up to her own homeroom with Ryonami following behind her. "Lets just say that if she's like that for more than a few days, you'll understand why." She gave her friend a wink and entered the classroom. "We'll talk during lunch."

Ryonami took Nabiki's words and tried to think about them as she headed to her classroom. 'Something that would keep her like that for more than a few days.' Ryonami shook her head and wondered if this was Nabiki being her usual self, or that there was something going on with Ranma.

-LINE BREAK-

As Ranma sat down in her seat, a few of the boys in class noticed that Ranma was willingly female today. Now for the most part, Ranma had always tried not to be in his female form for obvious reasons, but for him to go to school as a girl and stay one once he got to class, that started to raise some eyebrows.

The girls in the classroom also noticed that Ranma was a girl today, and also wondered the same thing, but most of their thoughts wandered to the fact that Ranma obviously didn't care how she looked or dressed regardless of sex, but that she wasn't as boastful this morning either. And the fact that she wasn't walking with Akane made them wonder if he was on the free market now. While most of the girls knew that they would be okay with her male form, there were a few who wouldn't mind him staying a girl because of the exact reason why she was in her female form in the first place.

As the class was undecided of why Ranma was still a girl this morning, the homeroom teacher entered. Her yellow dress covered her whole body, which made her look like a nine or ten-year-old, and she jumped up on the little stool that was made specifically for her to stand on while she was in her younger form.

Miss Hinako Ninomiya overlooked her class after they had greeted her and placed the roll book on the podium in front of her. "Alright class, once I call roll, we'll get started." She started through the roll, looking up once or twice to make sure she heard the students. When she got to "Saotome, Ranma?" she looked up.

"I'm here, Teach." Ranma's feminine voice reached Hinako's ears, she then looked over at where Ranma was sitting and her eyes narrowed before she dropped down from her stool and walked over to Ranma.

"Mr. Saotome, why haven't you changed into your normal form?" She asked, sizing up the girl in front of her.

Ranma scratched the base of her pigtail and gave a light chuckle, "It's a little personal here, Teach." Ranma watched as the younger Hinako looked her up and down before giving her a nod.

"Fine then, as long as it doesn't disrupt class." She went back to her stool and podium and began to teach the lesson.

-LINE BREAK-

Lunch had arrived for the classes of Furinkan, and no one was more ready than Ranma. While she tried to stay awake through most of her classes, and partially succeeded, she found time to get up and drop Akane's bento that he received from Kasumi before walking out of the classroom and out to her usual spot.

Nabiki, however, was stopped before she got out of her desk to go have lunch with Ryonami. "So, are you going to Sato's party?" A girl with light brown hair and a darker complexion asked Nabiki, who took a few moments to remember who this girl was before her name popped into her head. 'Toriyama, but why would she be asking me about a party?'

It took Nabiki a few moments to figure out who Toriyama was talking about. "You mean Hiro Sato? Isn't he a senior?" The girl nodded at Nabiki's question. "But why ask if I'm going?" Nabiki couldn't figure out why this girl was asking her. She didn't think that Hiro Sato would even ask a junior, let alone her, to any party.

"Well, you are the designated queen of Furinkan High aren't you?" Nabiki gave a slight shrug before wondering why this girl was suggesting that she was the queen of Furinkan.

"Not that I know of." Nabiki thought for a moment, 'I might need to track that down. I'll ask Ryonami to look into it.'

"Well, you have to come. He's holding the party as a pre-graduation for all the seniors this weekend. I was also told that he's asking all the senior class mates who to bring and everyone mentioned the queen of Furinkan." The girl bubbled out before she slid a flyer to Nabiki. Before the middle Tendo sister could say something, the girl waved and left her desk, "See you at the party!"

Nabiki blinked at the flyer and then back at the door where the junior student had just left through, wondering if she should go to this party. Nabiki took the flyer and left her desk with her lunch to go find Ryonami.

-LINE BREAK-

Ukyo stepped out into the courtyard and was about to set up her grill when she saw Ranma walking out of the school. This piqued her interest because normally Ranma would have already changed back to male, but the fact that she walked out of the school still a female and was going to her normal spot, as if nothing changes, Ukyo figured that she should go talk to the redhead. She wasn't there for morning classes, so she didn't know that Ranma had stayed female for most of the day.

As Ranma walked towards the tree she normally ate at, she felt the presence of someone walking towards her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ukyo heading her way. Ranma let out a sigh and tried to ignore her but knew Ukyo would keep bothering her. The redhead stopped about halfway to her tree and turned around to face her supposed friend. 'Now is not really the time for this.' she thought. Once Ukyo caught up with her, the taller brunette looked down at Ranma.

"Ranma, I really want to talk to you." Ukyo started; her eyes downcast while she got her thoughts. "Especially since we talked last week."

"Well, spit it out, Ukyo." Ranma's frustration about her discussion last week with the okonomiyaki chef bled out of her voice. She stood there looking up at her friend's face with a guarded look.

"Look, you gotta understand, Sugar." Ukyo started, "I was promised by dad that I would be going with you and your dad that day when you left." Her hands tightened into fists as she tried to not bring up her emotions of that fiasco, "I know we sorted that out and took a pound of flesh outta your dad, but that still doesn't deny the fact that I still wanted to be your fiancée." She looked up and faced the redhead. "I expected things to happen. I also expected to kick your ass when I caught up to you." Ukyo tried to smile at that, hoping that the little joke between them might soften Ranma's attitude. However, the look in Ranma's eyes didn't soften as much as she wanted. She gave a quiet sigh and continued on, "I had hoped that after we cleared the air, you would see that I would have been good for you. And we could have ran the restaurant together, especially after I saw how good you were taking care of the customers in that martial arts competition." Before she could finish what, she wanted to say, Ranma's hand came up to stop her.

"Did you even ask if that was something I wanted?" Ranma started, her feminine voice being even and calm for this, "You knew I had been wandering around Japan since I was little. Did you think that I would be willing to settle down and just run a restaurant with you?" She placed her hand upon her hip, with her other hand holding her lunch at her side. "That's just like what the Old Ghoul would do to me. Keep me from doing something I wanted."

"But I thought you wanted to be with me because I made good food."

"I was around six, Ukyo." Ranma growled out, "I was nearly starved every day of my life because of my jerk of an old man!" She spoke, growling out her frustration, "Of course I would want to be with anyone who fed me at that age. I got lunch every time that I got past you and got to your father." She shook her head to ward off anymore of her memories before the cat fist. "But that's not what I want to do for the rest of my life."

"Well, what do you expect me to do if we get married?" Ukyo exclaimed, "I'm not going to be moving from city to city with a yatai just to cover our expenses!" She cried out, causing several students to look towards their discussion, "I spent too many years doing that until dad got his business running as it is now." She reached back to the large battle spatula against her back. "I don't expect you to understand how hard it was until my dad broke through and got that lucky break, and I'm not going back to that."

"And I don't want to be tied down and work at a restaurant." Ranma almost yelled at her, "I don't even know exactly what I want, and you're trying to saddle me with a job right as soon as we get married." Ranma reached out and poked his 'friend' in the chest, "You seem to think that I would be willing to follow through with what you want because that's what you expect."

"Oh, and you inheriting that dojo at the Tendo's wasn't in your mind too?" Ukyo glared back at the redhead, deciding to hit below the belt this time as her feelings were hurt at the accusations. "You were just as willing to stay tied down to their damned dojo if you did marry Akane, but not be willing to settle in a restaurant business with me?" Ukyo used the slight height advantage, thrusting her chest out and had it push back on Ranma's finger, "You have a lot of nerve suggesting that you don't want to be tied down, when you would be with that dojo."

"At least I wouldn't have to teach in the dojo if I didn't want to." Ranma growled at Ukyo, the sound almost coming out as a feline hiss, "I would have had time to decide if I wanted to teach or study for some other option, and the dojo would be something I could do if I wanted to." By now, most of the school was watching the disaster happen before their eyes. A large train wreck was about to happen and no one wanted to miss this. "You had your idea of a perfect life regardless of my own feelings, just like what you did at the failed wedding. You didn't take into account my wants or desires. You assumed that I will go with you on whatever you think is best without even discussing it." Ranma's voice took almost a shrill screech as she was finishing her rant, "You have your wants and desires, and I'm still finding mine. And until you realize that what we both want right now is not going to match up, I don't want to talk to you." Ranma turned away from Ukyo, trying hard not to cry as she was fighting it.

Ukyo looked at the redhead as she walked away, her voice caught in her throat as she tried to form the words, she wanted to take back what she did. 'What have I done?' she thought, as she watched as Ranma sat down at the base of the tree, before she saw Nabiki come up with a few of her friends, sitting down next to Ranma, who brightened up and started talking with the middle sister. Her eyes narrowed at the middle sister, remembering what Akane said last week. 'Maybe what Akane said about Nabiki wasn't just her imagination.'

-LINE BREAK-

Nabiki sat with Ranma and Ryonami under the big tree in the courtyard of the school. She heard most of the conversation between Ranma and Ukyo, but didn't want to upset Ranma anymore than what she already was. 'It almost looks like he's about to cry.' Nabiki thought as she watched the redhead quietly eat her food, while listening to Ryonami talk.

Ranma's eyes were downcast, only nodding or making appropriate responses while she was listening. She took small bites as she didn't have much of an appetite. This caused some concern with the middle Tendo sister as she knew Ranma would have eaten his meal and would be eyeing Nabiki's. Though granted, they weren't that close yet for her to start sharing meals at lunch time. Nabiki took a moment to decide if she should put a hand on the girl's knee to show some understanding, or some sort of concern before squashing it down. 'Now is not the time to act like a concerned girlfriend.' She reminded herself, 'More than enough people think that Akane dropped the engagement to me this morning.' Nabiki was about to speak up but the lunch bell rang and Ranma packed up the rest of her lunch. Nabiki noticed that she didn't even eat half of her bento as she put it away. Once Ranma got up, she held her hand out to Nabiki, who accepted it and got up, with Ranma doing the same to Ryonami.

Ranma walked both girls back to the entrance to the school, where she thanked them quietly for spending time with her before heading to his class. She stopped at the classroom door and noticed Akane standing there, looking at her with a bit of frost in her eyes. "What now, Akane?" She said, not in the mood to deal with another of his "fiancées" at this time.

Akane looked down at Ranma as she felt the glare upon her, knowing that Ukyo had just gotten her comeuppance from what everyone heard during lunch. She knew that she had to apologize for this morning and it gave her time to think during the rest of the morning and into lunch, "Ranma, I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't realize that this was something that you experience too."

Ranma gave her another look, this time without any hate or glaring that was caused by Ukyo or Akane, 'At least she's trying to make amends, unlike her usual response of ignoring me and waiting for me to apologize.' Ranma thought before she replied to the apology, "It's fine, Akane." She started, rubbing the back of her head before looking up at the ceiling, "Not really something that I would advertize anyway." Akane nods with the same embarrassed look in her eyes before they both entered their classroom and sat down. Once the bell rang and class started, Akane looked over to see the empty desk next to Ranma and frowned. It was empty

-LINE BREAK-

Back at the Tendo-ke, Soun sat at the veranda and looked out into the yard. The kids had returned from school a little bit ago and Kasumi was making dinner, when his middle daughter came over and sat down next to him.

"Daddy?" Nabiki started.

"Yes, Nabiki?" Soun answered his daughter.

"I was invited to a party this weekend. It's on the other side of town and I probably won't be back until late." Nabiki started while looking out at the yard with her father. This was probably one of the few times she asked her father for anything. But she also knew that if she sneaked out of the house for this one and was caught, it would spell big trouble for her and cause Soun to make sure she doesn't sneak out anymore.

'A party huh.' Soun thought as he stroked his chin in thought, 'I know that Nabiki is at that age where she would want to go to such a party. But I wouldn't trust her to go alone' Soun brought his hand down from his chin and turned to face his daughter. "You can go if you find a suitable escort to and from the party."

'Great, now I gotta find someone this late to go to the party with.' Nabiki mentally groaned, but she knew that she could ask Ryonami to go with her no problems. "I was thinking of having Ryonami come with me." Nabiki mentioned, as she turned as well to face Soun.

Soun shook his head, noticing that Ranma and Akane had just entered the main living room. "You'd be going to and from a party late at night. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. And two girls going to a party, I just don't feel comfortable with you going out like that."

'Not like you didn't notice the times I went out clubbing' Nabiki grumbled in her head before she saw her younger sister and her fiancé. "Who am I going to find that would go to the party with me that you would accept?" Nabiki responded, wondering if he would suggest someone, however the suggestion came from Akane.

"Why not ask Kuno?" Akane asked, 'It's not like they don't know each other and Kuno is usually very protective when he doesn't act like a samurai lord half the time.' Akane thought, but as she was about to voice said thoughts, she looked at her sister who had the most venomous look pointed right at her.

"Don't you dare suggest that I go with that overbearing, fantasy-crazed lunatic." Nabiki nearly shouted at her sister, almost scaring both Akane and Ranma, who had started to ponder herself why she wouldn't go with him, until she remembered exactly why and especially with the words, she described him as.

"I don't see what the problem is with that?" Akane replied, giving her sister a questioning look. She noticed that Nabiki continued to look even more angry, but ignored it as she kept going, "I mean, you already know him and so does Daddy, he's always been helpful when asked to do something."

"That pompous asshole only does things that suit him and that he can get away with." Nabiki growled out, "I will not go out with him no matter how many 'good' points that you try to bring up." She got up and walked over to Akane and Ranma, leaning in closely to Akane so that she was near her ear, "And if you bring that up again for any reason, I will spread that specific rumor so fast, there will be no doubt that it's true."

Akane's eyes widened before she stepped back, almost into Ranma before she turned and stomped off, like she was trying to put up the attitude she was displaying as she retreated back up to her room.

Nabiki closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes to see Ranma still there. Her face turned slightly crimson at her outburst and with Ranma staring she knew one day she would have to explain, just like with the wedding. She shifted to face her father after calming down, "Then who do you expect me to take?" Nabiki started, "You heard I won't take Kuno." She crossed her arms, keeping her hands hidden to remove any signs of her frustration.

Soun took a moment before looking at Ranma, which he started to notice that Ranma was still a girl, but let that thought slide as he slammed his fist on his opened palm. "Why not take Ranma? At least he's someone you know and he is a good protector. He'll escort you to and from the party. Even keep an eye out for you too." Soun nodded before looking over at Ranma, "How about it, Son, can you escort Nabiki to this party and make sure she gets back safely."

Ranma briefly got caught like a deer facing headlights and took a moment to restart her mind. She looked over at Nabiki who started to shake her head, "Well, I don't know. I mean they're all going to be upper years right, I wouldn't know anyone there." She started before Nabiki chimed in.

"Ryonami and I would be fine, Daddy. She and I go lots of places and we are pretty good at keeping an eye out for each other." Nabiki continued, then took what Ranma said and added to it. "Besides, Ranma wouldn't know most of the people there and wouldn't be able to know who to watch out for if something were to happen."

Soun shook his head at the two arguing about who Nabiki should take to this party. "Nabiki, I do not feel comfortable with you or your friend being out late at night without some measure of protection. I would rather Ranma go, even as a girl, than for you or your friend to go alone to this party." He stared at the two of them before making his resolution to the both of them. "If you don't want this Kuno to take you then I suggest you take Ranma or you don't go at all. And that is my final word on the matter."

Nabiki and Ranma looked at each other before Nabiki thought about it, 'It's not like Daddy is wrong. Even in his girl form he would still be able to protect me from any thug or demanding man that would want to take advantage of me.' Nabiki gave a soft sigh before nodding. "Fine, Daddy, I'll have Ranma come with me to the party." To which she faced Ranma and gave her a slight smile, "Is that okay, Ranma?"

Ranma took that moment to realize that Nabiki was asking her what her opinion was and if she wanted to go, even after Soun made the ultimatum to allow Nabiki to go to the party. Ranma felt elated that she was asking her and not telling her what to do, which showed on the smile she gave Nabiki after she asked him. "Uh... sure Nabiki, I'll take ya to the party." This caused Ranma to feel good about the decision, ultimately knowing that she was finally getting the chance to control something in her life, even if it was about taking Nabiki to a party.

Nabiki returned the smile, knowing that giving Ranma the choice of going or not was something very little he had in his life. She stood up and walked over to the redhead and patted her on the shoulder, "Thank you, Ranma. We'll talk after dinner about what we're going to do before the party." And with that, she walked past Ranma and back up the stairs to her room.

Ranma took a moment to watch Nabiki before turning and facing Soun. Who watched the young girl in front of him, "Ranma-kun, I hope you understand why I asked you to watch Nabiki while she's at this party?" Ranma nodded to what Soun asked. "Then I expect you to be a gentleman and take good care of her."

"Of course, Mr. Tendo." Ranma responded before Kasumi called the family for dinner.

-LINE BREAK-

Ranma saw Nabiki at the school gates the next day after school was over. She caught up with the middle Tendo sister with her school bag up over her head as she stretched her arms. "You ready, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, taking the time to straighten her skirt once the redhead met her.

"Sure, though I'm not sure why I should tag along with you and Kasumi for a dress that you're getting." Ranma replied, her blue Chinese shirt covering most of her body and the black pants almost looked like she was swimming in them.

"Well, you are coming with me to the party. Instead of you figuring out what I'm wearing so you can match, I figure you can come with us and see for yourself." Nabiki smiled, letting the redhead know that she didn't mind either way.

As the two left the school grounds, Ukyo noticed that they left together and they weren't with Akane. She thought she should follow both of them, but after the discussion with Ranma yesterday, she didn't want to have another yelling match between herself and Ranma. She picked up her portable grill and headed back to her restaurant to open up for the dinner rush.

Akane also saw the two of them leave together and wondered herself if she should follow them as well, but shrugged it off. 'Besides it's not like they're going on a date or anything' Akane thought before heading to her after school activities.

-LINE BREAK-

Kasumi stood near the entrance to the town marketplace where she normally went to pick up groceries for the family. She stood there in a conservative brown skirt, a plain white blouse with a few ruffles around her abdomen. She had a plain brown purse on her arm and was letting it swing slightly from side to side as she stood there. Many of the usual locals saw her and wondered if she finally got herself a boyfriend, but knowing Soun Tendo they thought it might just be some friends she was meeting. Kasumi looked around and saw her sister and Ranma walking towards her. She raised her hand and waved to get their attention, causing some of the young men around her to run into a few poles or walls. They couldn't believe that the angelic Kasumi could look even more of an angel when she smiled so earnestly.

"Ranma! Nabiki! Over here." Kasumi continued to wave, when most of the young men who didn't crash into anything heard the name Ranma, they groaned in their heads before looking in the same direction she was facing. What they saw was not what they were expecting.

They saw a brunette with a bob-cut hairstyle in a Furinkan school uniform, and next to her was a redhead in a red Chinese silk shirt and black silk pants. While many who lived in the district knew the redhead was none other than the infamous Ranma Saotome, destroyer of food stalls, and all-around tomboy extraordinaire, most of the men visiting the district for various reasons only saw the redhead and wondered if she was dating anyone. That was, of course, after they had walked into a few more things and they stopped to realize they didn't have a concussion.

The two girls ignored the chaos surrounding them and Kasumi before they reached the older Tendo sister, with Nabiki looking at her sister's outfit. Nabiki gave a bit of a smirk before she grabbed her sister's arm and started to drag her down the road towards the clothing stores, "We're going to update your wardrobe too if we can Sis."

"I thought we were going to just pick up your outfit for the party?" Ranma asked as she followed the two sisters, stepping up to Nabiki's other side, looking a bit perplexed at the idea that Nabiki was suggesting.

"Saotome, you're going to have to learn, most girls love to shop because it makes us feel good about ourselves." Nabiki mentioned as she continued to guide the party to a shop, she usually frequents with Ryonami to get outfits for her clubbing. "And then there is me, who loves to shop but usually I don't keep most of my outfits."

"She likes to do window shopping, Ranma-kun." Kasumi remarked, "She enjoys the shopping idea and trying on outfits, but only if she really likes the outfit will she buy it."

Ranma looked at both Kasumi and Nabiki before shrugging, following them into the store. "Whatever floats your boat, Nabiki." Her remark caused Nabiki to elbow her slightly in the gut.

"You just might enjoy it too, if we can find something in your style." Nabiki smiled before letting go of her sister's arm and started browsing through the clothing racks, pulling up shirts and pants outfits for herself, while Kasumi also browsed around, looking for skirts and blouses that would match her style. Once Nabiki picked up her three outfits, she walked over to Ranma and looked at her, "Why don't you find something that you like?"

Ranma looked at her and shrugged, looking over the outfits and wasn't sure where to look. "Anything for guys in this place?" Ranma mentioned as she walked through some of the racks with Nabiki trailing behind her.

Nabiki smiled and then grabbed the redhead by the arm and walked her over to a section of the store, "Not really, but here's some outfits that are close enough." She showed Ranma some blouse and slacks that would look good on her, before grabbing a nice short skirt and blouse as well. 'We'll see if he's willing to try something different. He did dress up in a few dresses when he needed to.' Nabiki thought as she grabbed one more item and began to drag Ranma to the dressing rooms. She spotted her sister already entering one of the rooms herself before Nabiki stopped at one of the stalls. "I'll be in here, Ranma." And with that she passed along the other clothes she picked for Ranma, "Try these on and see how they fit." She then waved Ranma to the next stall before entering her own, closing the door with a soft click. Ranma looked at the clothes, not sure about them, but if Nabiki wanted him to try them out while he was a girl, then he would at least try it out.

As Ranma entered the stall next to Nabiki, she opened her door to confirm Ranma wasn't there before smiling slightly, going back into her dressing room before she heard a knocking noise next to her.

"Nabiki!" She heard Ranma exclaim in a quiet voice loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki replied, as if she didn't know what Ranma was getting on her for.

"I really hope you didn't put this skirt in with my pile of clothes."

"Why? Did you need help getting it on?" This caused Ranma to stutter before the redhead heard a knock on her door. She opened it, thinking it was one of the store clerks to help customers out. What she saw was Nabiki, clad in a skirt and top as she slipped into the dressing room with Ranma.

"Really, Ranma, getting your panties in a bunch because of the skirt." Nabiki smiled as she looked over the partially dressed red-head, "I said, you never know if you don't try it."

"Nabiki." Ranma growled slightly, her feminine voice almost making it sound like a soft rumble at the back of her throat, "Are you trying to piss me off?" She was about to continue when Nabiki casually flicked her nose and caused her to wrinkle said nose from the flick.

"Ranma, just try it on. I know you've dressed up in skirts and dresses before." She held up the light blue blouse she picked out, "Don't you remember Toma?"

"Yeah, but all those had very specific reasons why I did it. Like with Picolet Chardin." Ranma poked Nabiki in the chest, conveniently ignoring that she was pushing the middle Tendo daughter up against the door, "Or would you like me to bring up others who have gone after you specifically."

Nabiki gave a shudder at the thought of Picolet Chardin becoming one of their prospective fiancés if it wasn't for Ranma. "At least this time you're not rushed into it." She managed to say. "Still, at least try on the slacks and blouse." She pushed Ranma back a bit and held out said blouse. "You've got nothing to lose." She smiled that grin as she came to call it, the catty grin.

Ranma looked at the blouse in front of her, and then the skirt in her other hand before slightly relenting. "Right now. Only for you to see."

"Ranma? Nabiki? Are you still changing?" The calm voice of Kasumi spoke outside the door.

"Just a moment, Kasumi." Nabiki replied before Ranma could, "Ranma's having a little trouble with one of the outfits." Nabiki turned to Ranma and continued to smile at her. "You wouldn't want to disappoint Kasumi now, would you?"

Ranma took the moment to realize what Nabiki had done, especially with bringing Kasumi along. Ranma wouldn't have the heart to ignore Kasumi's request to show off an outfit she was looking at. She gave a sigh of resignation and slipped out of the rest of her clothes before looking at Nabiki. "Well if you're gonna help, then show me where I make a mistake."

A few moments later, both girls stepped out of the dressing room Ranma was in and Kasumi smiled at the two. Nabiki's outfit she had on was a black satin tube top, leaving her shoulders exposed and her upper chest filling out the top, a mini faux leather skirt with a set of crossing strings at each side showing her bare thighs, while she was wearing a pair of white panties to at least keep the clothing from getting messed up if she didn't get it, she knew that this would be either a string, or no panties dress. She was barefoot but knew that if she was getting this for herself, black high heels would be the preference.

Ranma came out in a blue blouse with a black mini skirt just past her knees, she walked slightly uncertain of how the skirt was supposed to be, as most of the dresses she wore had some sort of slit for her legs for ease of movement. When Ranma looked up at Kasumi, she saw the eldest sister smile with her hand up near her mouth.

"Oh Ranma, you look wonderful." Kasumi mentioned. Ranma managed to look over what Kasumi was wearing, an off the shoulder white blouse with a knot off her left hip, and a floral mini that hugged her legs enough to show that she could flaunt it just as well as any girl in the store. Those conservative outfits she wore didn't leave much to people's imagination, but this outfit would have caused more accidents than what was done earlier.

Ranma gave Kasumi a slight blush at the comment, as Nabiki came up behind her. Kasumi looked at Nabiki's outfit and gave a soft click of her tongue before shaking her head. "You look like one of those foreign business women I keep hearing about." Kasumi gave her sister a thumbs down at the outfit.

"Well, it was a good thought. Maybe for clubbing with Ryonami." Nabiki said as she went back to the dressing room, dragging a reluctant Ranma to change her outfit.

Nabiki pushed Ranma into the stall they came out of, and proceeded to her own room when she saw Kasumi enter her dressing room. She gave a smile at that, trying to remember when the last time Kasumi had gone shopping like this before. She slipped into the room and quietly changed into another outfit, this time a skimpy form-fitting black sequined tube-dress. She looked into the mirror and turned around in it before smiling at it. 'Now this is the dress.' she grinned even more as she took the dress off. She heard a rapping of knuckles on her door. She opened the door a crack and saw Ranma standing outside. "Yes, Ranma-kun?" She asked, keeping the door closed enough to not flash the entire department store, "Do you need help? Or did you come to help me?" Nabiki gave a catty grin back at how flustered Ranma started acting. Even though Ranma had seen her naked a while ago, she still blushed an interesting shade of red when she showed some skin around the redhead.

"No, but Kasumi wants to show you her outfit in her dressing room, and said she didn't think the outfit looked right on her." Ranma said, turning away as she saw Nabiki's upper body and very clearly saw she wasn't dressed. "I..I'll just be out near the mirrors when you two are ready."

Nabiki managed to raise an eyebrow before sticking her head out further, seeing that Ranma had changed into the plain white slacks and black buttoned-up blouse she helped the redhead pick out. Ranma left the top two buttons open as it looked like the blouse was straining to keep her bosom in place. 'Maybe a size bigger for her. I thought it was just right for her." Nabiki thought, watching the redhead's chest heave a few times when Ranma moved. Nabiki shook her head and groaned at her hormones that decided to appear. "Okay, Ranma. Once I'm dressed, I'll see her." With that she closed the door, not wanting Ranma to see the blush that apparently started to appear. 'Maybe Kasumi was right. Maybe I am getting a bit too comfortable with Ranma that it looks like we're married.'

Ranma watched the door close before letting out the breath she was holding. Ranma stepped over to the mirror and looked over the second outfit that Nabiki gave her. She turned one way, then another as she saw how the slacks made her look taller, even without the need for heels or pump shoes, and the blouse felt right around her torso. Ranma moved her arms in a full range of motion and found that the tightness of the shirt hindered her movement in a few ways. 'It's not too bad, but maybe a size bigger?' Ranma thought, not realizing that Nabiki had thought about the same thing, but from a different perspective. 'I probably wouldn't wear this around Akane or Mom, but it does look good on me.' The redhead smiled before she saw Kasumi standing behind her. Ranma turned and saw the homely woman now dressed in something that Nabiki would have worn to a club herself. Kasumi had a light blue, v-neck collared, sleeveless dress, which Kasumi left the buttons open past her breasts, showing Ranma her bra and cleavage. Ranma swallowed what saliva was in her mouth, almost as if she was about to drool at the eldest Tendo daughter. The dress itself stopped at mid-thigh and was tied at the waist with a simple cloth belt the same color as the dress.

Kasumi gave Ranma a smile and saw Ranma's reflection in the mirror. Liking the outfit on Ranma that she could see in the mirror and it did suit the redhead very well. "Ranma-kun, you look very dashing in that outfit." Kasumi started as she came up even closer to Ranma, she gently patted down some imaginary lines and smoothed the shirt out so it fell naturally against the shorter girl's shoulders. "Has Nabiki seen you yet?"

Ranma shook her head, "Not fully, I think she's still getting into an outfit." Ranma stated, blushing slightly before she turned to Kasumi. "You look good in that dress too, ya know." Ranma pointed out.

"Thank you, Ranma-kun," Kasumi smiled, showing Ranma that she was indeed pleased with her outfit, "but I don't think it's the outfit for me." She twirled around a bit, letting the skirt fly up slightly, but not enough to show her panties. "It isn't my style."

"I think Ranma is right there, big sis." Nabiki mentioned as she stepped out of the stall she was in and looked at Kasumi herself. Nabiki stood there in a knee-length white pleated skirt with a loose blue button-up blouse tied around her waist, with the top left opened to show her neck. She walked up to the duo and looked them both over before giving Ranma a smile for approval. "I think you should at least buy that outfit. It suits you very well." Nabiki mentioned before she took in exactly what her sister was wearing. "Seriously Sis, that's a good outfit for you. Maybe use that when you want to get out of the house." Nabiki nodded as she twirled around as well. "Like what you see, Ranma-kun?"

Ranma did nod her acknowledgement that the outfit did look good on Nabiki. "Didn't fancy you wearing skirts like Kasumi." Ranma started as she looked at the middle Tendo sister appreciatively.

Kasumi also nodded at Ranma's comment. "You do look good in that, but that's not the dress, right?" Nabiki nodded and gave her sister a point with her finger in the air.

"Already found it. So, I'll be getting that. What about you Saotome? Did you like the other dress or this outfit?"

Ranma looked back at the mirror and shrugged, "Aside from the shirt being too tight, it looks good to me." Ranma casually mentioned, running a hand down the front and side of her outfit. "I like this one the best, but I did like the skirt too. Just not the shirt with it." Ranma shook her head as she turned back to Nabiki and almost gave her a smile before she waved her hands in front of her, "Not that I would wear such a girly outfit mind you." Ranma started to ramble, "But if I was a girl, it did look okay." She placed her hands down and then rubbed her left arm slightly as she turned away from the two sisters. Both of whom were looking at Ranma in a new light.

"Something wrong, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked, walking up to the short redhead. She placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at Ranma with concern in her eyes.

Ranma brought her hand up and rubbed her eyes with her fingers, getting rid of the tears that started to fall. "I'm not sure." She whispered, finally looking at both Nabiki and Kasumi, "This isn't right. I'm a guy and I shouldn't be feeling like this." Ranma said as she pulled on the shirt she was wearing. "I just feel weird, like this outfit isn't something that I would wear normally, but it feels nice to wear."

Nabiki gave a soft frown, wondering if that while Ranma was smart, showing his intellect to her every time they went out or talked, that he was missing the social graces that he would normally get while being around others his own age. 'And the curse doesn't help either when you have a father and mother constantly harping about being manly in front of someone who is technically both a son and daughter.' Nabiki thought as she came up to Ranma as well, 'and having all the hormones of a woman and a man "fighting" every so often when he changes doesn't make the problem go away either.' She reached out to the redhead and gave her a hug before Kasumi could after Ranma finished her thoughts. Ranma looked up at Nabiki with a questioning look before her own hands came up to hold the middle Tendo sister. "I don't know the answer to that, Ranma, but we'll talk about it when you're ready." Nabiki answered in a soft whisper before turning the redhead back towards the dressing room. "If you want one of the outfits, you can get it. If not, no big deal, right?"

Ranma finally smiled at Nabiki before she wiped her hand over her face, "Right." Ranma replied, getting herself back to normal for her. Which right now would be her arrogant self. "If you find a better top, I'll take this one." She said her hand down her shirt and pants, "I still feel like I'm a guy in these clothes at least."

Nabiki and Kasumi smiled and nodded at the redhead's bounce back to what amounted to normal for her. Kasumi went back to her dressing room and Nabiki pushed Ranma back into the dressing room she came out of, "Take the shirt off and I'll have one of the store clerks get a size bigger to see if it fits you better." Nabiki said as she started to close the door. Ranma gave a feminine grunt of approval as she hurried to remove the constricting shirt. Nabiki stepped towards the entrance to the dressing rooms and flagged down the attendant. She walked her back to Ranma's room, who just opened the door wide enough to pass Nabiki the shirt. "Can we get a size larger for this one? It seems to be a little tight around her chest."

"Of course, we'll happily find a few shirts a size larger for her to try before her purchase." The attendant said, before heading over to where the shirts were and grabbing a few larger versions of the shirt. Nabiki stood there waiting to make sure that Ranma would be fine after making the shirt selection before she changed back into her school outfit. Once the attendant came back with the shirts, Nabiki handed them over to Ranma through the door opening before the door was shut and headed back to her room to change back.

-LINE BREAK-

The trio of women walked out of the store with one bag each. They continued to chat and discuss the party before Nabiki steered them into a salon. As they entered the salon, a young woman behind the counter looked at them before smiling at them. "Welcome to Assort, how may I help you?"

Nabiki returned the smile to the receptionist as she walked closer to her, "I would like to see what make-up styles would look good for a dress." She brought up her bag and showed the receptionist the dress.

The woman behind the desk looked at the dress and looked back at the Tendo daughter before waving her hand. "Right this way." As Nabiki was being seated, Ranma and Kasumi started to sit down at the waiting area when one of the free stylists walked up to the counter to ask the other two women if they wanted to get their hair or make-up done before her eyes focused on Ranma.

"You!" She exclaimed, pointing at Ranma with a manicured finger. The woman walked around the counter and grabbed Ranma's hands and her eyes widened with awe and shock. "I must simply style your hair right away."

Ranma looked at the woman as if she was possessed before being dragged over to the station where she came from and sat the redhead down in the chair. Before Ranma could even voice her opinion, her hair was released from its pigtail and ran her fingers through her hair. "I normally don't see many women with different hair colors, but this vibrant red. I know the perfect style to work with this."

The redhead finally got her voice to come out as she responded to the woman's incentive to style her hair. "Now look here..." She got started before the woman turned Ranma around to face her.

"Darlin' I'm going to get you all dressed up properly because you're worth it." The stylist said, ignoring the redhead's stuttering, "I never get the chance to do a style with long, natural colored hair like this one and I have just the way to make this look so awe inspiring that men will drool and some women will be jealous with so much envy." The woman took a lock of Ranma's red hair and twirled it in front of Ranma's eyes. "No charge. All I want you to do is wear it and if anyone asks where you got your hair and make-up done, you tell them Assort."

Ranma gaped at the woman as she talked about a mile a minute, the woman with blond, short hair was confident that she could make Ranma look good with her hair. As the woman was running her fingers through her hair to loosen it up, Ranma noticed Kasumi getting up and walking towards them before she raised a hand to stop her from interfering. "Just don't cut the hair. I like it long, Miss..."

The woman smiled as she finished getting some of the tangles out of Ranma's hair, "Anjou. No Miss though." She brought her left hand up to show her plain wedding band on her finger, "But still, you sure I can't cut it? I'll just trim the edges to clean up the split ends if that's what you want."

Ranma looked at Anjou and what she was holding in her hand as she showed her ring off. She was holding a portion of her hair that did look like it was really bad looking. Ranma gave a soft sigh and nodded her head, "Just the ends please." And with that, Anjou got her model to pose for her artistic work.

-LINE BREAK-

The three women walked out of the salon with a few ideas and new makeup upon their faces, Nabiki just got a lighter foundation with some eyeliner to help with her look, while Kasumi had a darker eyeliner that made her brown eyes more pronounced.

The biggest change out of the three was Ranma, her hair pulled up slightly with more volume that cascaded down her back and shoulders, the sides of her hair were pulled up and back into a small braid in the middle of her hair. While her makeup was artfully done with the barest of foundation and eyeliner, as Ranma was very adamant that she didn't want any makeup at all but saw the difference in how she looked when Anjou was finished. Kasumi mentioned that it would look great in her new outfit that she got with the skirt, so Ranma changed into the skirt and blouse she bought, wondering if she looked good and Anjou grinned and gave her a thumbs up along with Kasumi and Nabiki nodding that she looked really good. This boosted Ranma's confidence and she finally let out a real smile that day.

As they continued down the street towards the Tendo-ke, they spotted a familiar backpack and umbrella in the crowd, turning this way and that as if to get their bearings. As they caught up to him, he turned around and saw the trio.

"Nabiki! Kasumi! Thank goodness, can you help me get back to the dojo. I forgot something there and I know Ranma would have kept a hold of it." Ryouga started before he noticed the redhead next to them. "Who is this?" He asked before either girl could answer his question.

Before any of the girls could answer Ryouga, another young man walked near them before stopping. "Hark, but do my eyes deceive me? Three shining stars upon the street of the common rabble." Of course, the whole party knew who was there, but Tatewaki Kuno stood in front of the group. He wasn't dressed in his usual kendogi, but rather in a pair of clean, blue slacks and a white collared polo. His bokken was nowhere in sight either so he must have come from somewhere that didn't like him in his kendo uniform. As Kuno looked at the three girls, he happened to notice Nabiki and recognized her, "Oh but I digress, tis but two shining stars, with a dull satellite that has fallen to the earth."

"I'm so glad that you think so highly of me, Kuno-baby." Nabiki responded sarcastically at Kuno's response to her, looking over at Ranma and Kasumi, "Come on, let's head back home before this high and mighty lord figures out that we're all 'common rabble'

"Are you still going to help me back to the dojo?" Ryouga started to ask, "and maybe you can tell me who your friend is?" He asked again, hoping that this was another fiancé for him to get back at Ranma for.

"Nay, the two beauties shall follow me, away from the mercenary Tendo that seems to keep me from my true loves. Taking these down into her vile clutches and turning them against me like that cur Saotome."

Nabiki looked aghast, along with her sister and Ranma, finally seeing Kuno as heartless as he was those many years ago. Nabiki knew that Kuno was an uptight twit about things he thought were his by default, but after the idea of getting him back for what he did, that last comment broke the camel's back this time. As she was about to take a swing at Kuno, Ranma intervened by taking her purchases and swinging it to knock Kuno upside his head. This caused Kuno to step back a bit, as the bag wasn't that heavy to do damage to him, but with Ranma infusing it with his Ki, Kuno felt that it hit like a small boulder.

"What angers thee, oh Aphrodite?" Kuno asks, figuring out that the red-head had some fighting prowess like another red-head pigtailed goddess.

"Now look here, asshole." Ranma called him out, "I really don't appreciate what you just said about Nabiki here." He stepped up to Kuno and poked him in the chest while glaring up at him. "I don't care if you knew her to be like this to you at all, or if she's changed recently. You don't talk about a woman like that EVER." She then proceeded to take her foot and stomp on his, causing the older boy to cry out in pain before Ranma grabbed Nabiki's hand and started to take her back to the dojo, when Akane appeared around the corner. The duo stopped with Kasumi and Ryouga right behind them as they nearly collided with the youngest Tendo sister.

Akane looked up from the street, wondering if she should have gone with her friends to the arcade that recently opened when she saw her sister's, Ryouga and a redhead that looked somewhat familiar. She took a moment to see that her sisters were holding bags and so was the redhead. But something was telling her she knew who this girl was. "Nabiki, what are you doing?" She asked, firmly looking at her sister and the hand that was holding Nabiki's.

"Just a little bit of shopping for the party, Akane." She mentioned casually, "You know the one I asked Daddy to let me go to?"

Akane nodded as she remembered, but didn't find out what her father's response was to it. "So, he let you go? That was quick." She then looked at the redhead and then finally she recognized who she was, "Ranma! What are you doing wearing that dress and holding Nabiki's hand!"

This caused Ryouga and Kuno to look at the redhead once more before Ryouga responded first. "Why are you dressed like that, Ranma?" He asked, not actually concerned that Akane was angry this time. Normally he would be just as upset as her, but it's not like they were holding that info from him. Kuno was the one interrupting the discussion. That and he really wanted his kettle back that he accidentally left.

Kuno, on the other hand, turned and looked at Akane and was about to speak when a few people got in front of him, blocking the path to get to the group.

"Well, Ranma?" Akane growled, showing her frustration even more.

Ranma started to go into his normal response to Akane when she felt her hand being squeezed by Nabiki, she looked back at the middle Tendo sister and saw her giving a slight nod in acknowledgement. Ranma took a breath and looked at Akane. "I went with them so that I could see what Nabiki was getting." She started to reply before Akane barged in the middle of Ranma's explanation.

"And why would you be wondering what Nabiki would be wearing to this party?"

Kasumi and Nabiki had just about enough of their sister and stepped in front of Ranma before things escalated further. "That's because Ranma is escorting her to the party, so we thought it would be easier for Ranma to match Nabiki with the dress that she was getting." Kasumi stated.

"He's WHAT?" Akane fumed, her aura starting to show to the visible spectrum. "Why would this jerk be taking you to a party in the first place?!"

Nabiki stepped up to her sister, just a little taller than the Akane, she glared at the girl who was screaming her head off about something that wasn't about her. "Daddy suggested it after I told you flat out, I would NOT be taking Kuno under any circumstances." She stepped even closer, causing Akane to back up a bit while her older sister continued to get into her face, "And why would you be interested in what we do to get ready for this party? I brought him along so he would know what to get when he's back to being a guy and we can get him a good outfit. He was with us when we got our makeup and the stylist showed him what he could do to look better. Even if he is a girl at the moment."

"And the dress?" Akane commented, looking back at Ranma who was still holding Nabiki's hand, 'Why hasn't he let go of her hand, he doesn't do that with me.' Akane thought as she continued to glare at the redhead.

"It's just something we bought for her." Nabiki mentioned with a slight chilly tone to her voice, "She has a few dresses from some of her fights. Is it wrong of her to buy a dress or something else that's not her usual silk shirts and pants?"

"But Ranma's a guy!" Akane finally blurted out, taking the comment Ranma would normally say if she was in her female form and was told to dress up, "And what about his mother? She'll have him commit seppuku if she catches him looking like that."

"We'll figure that out when we get home, as you already know why she hasn't changed back into a guy yet." Nabiki finished the discussion before walking past Akane with Ranma in tow. Kasumi gave her younger sister a cold stare like she had done the day before and clicked her tongue.

"Do we need to have that discussion again, Akane?" She asked, reaching out to grab Ryouga before he wandered off. Kasumi was always willing to help others, and while they hadn't exactly said they would help him, he didn't go after Ranma half-cocked in anger because of some issue, which was a point in Kasumi's book.

Akane looked at Kasumi and her eyes went wide at the look she was getting from her sister. She then bowed her head in shame as Kasumi would be the only person who could make her feel regret about what she did with a small frown or glace. "No, no we don't, Onee-san."

"Let's not make that same mistake again or there will be consequences." Kasumi said before walking past Akane, taking Ryouga with her. "I will see you at home."

-LINE BREAK-

Nabiki and Ranma got to the Tendo-ke first as Nabiki hadn't stopped while she was dragging Ranma away from her sister. 'The nerve of her. Throwing the fact that Ranma was in a dress and had makeup and her hair done.' Nabiki grumbled in her head, 'And especially with yesterday throwing that he actually has the same biological issues we have right back at him, she's getting to be a real bitch right now.' Nabiki and Ranma crossed the gate's threshold and stood in front of the house entrance before Nabiki turned and looked at Ranma.

Ranma had a look about her face as she realized what Akane had said, wondering if her mother would actually have her commit seppuku even though she did declare him "manly" and that the contract was fulfilled. However, there were times where Ranma had noticed that she did grip the Saotome family sword a little tighter whenever she was a girl before she relaxed her grip. Ranma just hoped that her mom would understand. 'I don't want to deal with that damned contract ever again' Ranma thought as she forced herself to take a breath once more to calm herself. As she did so, she saw Nabiki watch her with a look of concern.

"You ready?" Nabiki said before grabbing the door.

"Sure. I gotta face everyone anyway when this happens again."

"You'll be fine, Ranma-kun." They both heard Kasumi as she and Ryouga entered the complex, she came up to Ranma and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You have us to help you."

Ranma felt better after Kasumi's declaration before they entered the home. Once inside, Kasumi turned to Ryouga and stated firmly to him, "You need to stay here and Ranma will take you upstairs to get that which you left." And with that she started for the kitchen when Nodoka rounded the corner to the genkan.

"Welcome back everyone." Nodoka started, looking at the four while noticing that Ranma was still a girl, 'And wearing a dress with hair and makeup done.' she thought, her hand clenched slightly before realizing she didn't have the family sword with her, 'I'll have to discuss this... disappointment with him later.' She stepped closer to the young girl who was currently her daughter, "Why are you still a girl, Ranma?"

Nabiki once more stepped in front of Ranma as she looked at Nodoka, "She is having one of her bad days. She should be back to normal soon." Hoping that Nodoka got the hint. As soon as Nabiki finished her answer, she heard Nodoka give a soft gasp as if she didn't realize that Ranma would also have womanly issues.

With a quiet nod to the middle sister, she looked at Kasumi and gave the eldest sister a smile. "Kasumi, would you like help with dinner tonight?"

"That would be lovely." Kasumi gave the Saotome matriarch a waning smile as she had noticed the woman clenching her hand as if she held the honor blade like she had done so during her visits. She led the elder Saotome to the kitchen while she talked to her about the dinner plans, she had set aside for the evening.

Nabiki and Ranma looked at Kasumi in a new light before they walked up the stairs. Once they reached the landing and walked up to the guest room, Nabiki opened the door and gently pushed Ranma inside before closing the door behind her. "You okay there, Ranma?"

Ranma took a moment to take a deep breath, she also noticed Nodoka clenching her hand as if she held the blade, she always carried with her. She started to shiver a bit as she looked up at Nabiki, "Not sure. You sure I shouldn't just change now and deal with the consequences?" Ranma said as she fingered and grasped the dress in her hand, "She's never seen me in a dress purposefully once she knew I was Ranko." Her free hand came up and started to twirl a strand of hair. "I mean, I feel better now than when I started so I don't think I'll have any issues afterwards..." Ranma trailed off before Nabiki placed her hand on her arm, stopping Ranma from twirling her hair.

"I'm sure it would be okay to finish tonight and in the morning change back. Maybe it'll help keep that weird storm that appears when you've been a boy for too long." Nabiki cracked a smile at that, but mentally was almost ready to curse Nodoka for causing Ranma to almost retreat into himself. 'Not like I have anything else to stand on with the things I've done to her.' Nabiki responded to her thoughts. "Still if you're okay for tomorrow, we need to get you an outfit as well." Nabiki continued, gently squeezing Ranma's arm that she still held, "I know you have outfits, but I think a new one would make you very dashing as we go to the party."

"So, my son is going to get a new outfit?" Nodoka asked, with Ryouga behind her as she led the young man to the guest room, "And for a party no less?"

Nabiki and Ranma almost jumped at Nodoka asking the questions, not realizing that she had come up or was right behind them. Nabiki turned and looked at the Saotome matriarch before she replied. "Yes, Ranma's escorting me to a party as I couldn't find a date that would meet Daddy's requirements." She squeezed Ranma's arm once more, just to assure the young woman that she had everything in hand.

"That sounds wonderful. You don't mind if I join you guys so I can help my manly son get a good outfit for this party?" Nodoka said, putting emphasis on the manly as she hadn't seen her son for the past week.

"Of course, Mom," Ranma meekly spoke, knowing that if she didn't get to join, there would be an even harder time to deal with what she was doing today.

With that out of the way, Nodoka left the room, leaving the two to look at each other before they let out a sigh of relief that they didn't know they were holding. Ranma then took the hand that was grasping her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze, both not realizing that they have been giving each other some form of comfort whenever there was an issue.

"Come on in Ryouga." Ranma said, as she looked around Nabiki to the Lost Boy, "Whaddya leave behind as there's a lot of things you've left."

Ryouga blinked as he looked inside before crossing the threshold of the guest room, "I think it was the kettle holder." He said, putting his backpack down and started going through his pack. Once he looked up from it, he saw Ranma with what he was specifically asking for. "Yeah, that's it."

"Well, here ya go. Did you want some of the other things you left?" Ranma said as she handed over the camping tool.

Ryouga just shook his head as he put everything back into the pack. "Keep 'em, I might need them if I don't have my pack." This caused Ranma to shrug and nod at the idea.

"Sure, did ya want to stay for dinner?" Ranma asked as she looked over at Nabiki to get some form of approval. The Tendo sister gave a nod herself before she grabbed Ryouga's arm.

"Come on, I'll lead you down while Ranma changes out into her usual outfit." And with that the two left Ranma to change her clothes back into her Chinese silk pants and shirt.

-LINE BREAK-

Dinner was a lively affair with Gemma and Ranma doing their usual antics of chopstick-fu. Except Ranma was guarding not only his plate, but Nabiki's as well, who happened to sit next to him, with Ryouga sitting next to her and Akane after that. It was a little cramped, bit by now the Tendos and Saotomes were used to it. Kasumi did an excellent job of keeping things well organized, with Nodoka helping to pass rice over to other individuals around the table. Soun took in the atmosphere and saw that things were slowly going back to before the wedding and hoped his friend didn't decide to push Ranma and Akane together until they had a good plan in place to get the two to admit their feelings.

Akane looked over at Ranma and Nabiki as Ranma was deflecting her father's chopsticks away for what seemed like the 20th or 30th time. She almost snapped her chopsticks as she saw Nabiki and Ranma talking amongst themselves about what they were going to do tomorrow. As she was about to get on Ranma for not letting her know that he was taking Nabiki to this party, she heard her name called by Nodoka.

Nodoka watched Nabiki, Ranma and Akane and was glad that Ranma was so manly that he had both sister's vying for him, even if he was a female, but that curse would be gone temporarily in the morning. She knew that if she invited herself to pick out the outfit for Ranma, she could gauge what both girls could mean to her son. "Akane, would you like to join us on our shopping excursion?"

"Why? So Ranma can get more dresses?" Akane snidely replied before she could stop herself.

"Actually, it's so that Ranma can have at least a matching outfit for my dress. I know he doesn't have an outfit to match mine very well, so we thought we could get him one that would make him look good." Nabiki replied, forcing the youngest sister to reel back from the reply because of how cold and dangerous Nabiki sounded.

"I don't see why I have to come, it's not like I was invited to the party, so why should I care what he wears."

"Maybe it'll help you two to grow closer if you do something normal like shopping for clothes and provide your input into the decision." Nodoka responded, "I'll be going as well to see how my manly son will look." She held her hands together as she dreamed how Ranma would look in a nice set of slacks and a button up shirt.

Akane almost started to grind her teeth at the thought of Ranma taking Nabiki to this party before she registered the words that Nodoka said. 'It'll give me time with Ranma that the other girls won't get. And maybe Ranma will finally tell me his true feelings.' Akane thought before she replied, "Fine, but if I don't like the outfit, he's not going to get it." Akane started as she explained why. "Because he'll attract more girls, like the pervert he is."

This caused both Ranma and Nabiki to look at Akane with a very concerned look, both of them thinking the same thing, 'Is she serious about what she said?'

"Just remember, Akane." Nabiki started to reply, "I have final say to his outfit as I don't want him to look like he usually does and make me look bad." He pointed a finger at Akane, "It is, as you said, a party I was invited to. So, I need to like the outfit before you tell me otherwise."

Akane sat there with her chopsticks in her mouth, glaring at Nabiki and Ranma, 'I bet that Nabiki is doing this to make me have her take him like when he ignored me for her.' she thought before slamming her chopsticks down, "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you that he's a womanizing pervert and leaves you for some hussy." With that she left the table, giving Kasumi a quiet thank you for the meal before stomping to her room.

Nabiki looked back at Nodoka, almost as if she was deciding fire was a fun thing to play with, instead of leaving things alone. 'I don't want Akane bringing this down and causing problems. What in the world is Ranma's mother thinking.' she thought before she turned to Ranma, who had stopped deflecting Genma's attempt to steal his food. "I guess we'll meet up at the local market like we did today after school so we can go to a store I saw as we were out that looked like it could have something good for Ranma."

Ranma switched between Nabiki and his mother as Nodoka nodded at the suggestion before realizing that she would have not only Nabiki and her mother, but also Akane who could ruin the whole trip. 'I hope to God that the other girls don't come, I'll already be tempting fate that there will be a fight between them and Akane while Nabiki is trying to find a good outfit for me.'

Little did he know, Fate has other things for him to worry about.