Akane hadn't planned on having a girls' day out with Akari, but circumstances (Ryoga being lost and unable to meet his girlfriend) led to it, and she had to admit it was fun. Akari was a complete sweetheart, and Akane enjoyed spending time with her.
They had visited an aquarium earlier, done some karaoke and were now chatting as they window-shopped.
"I don't know if I'd dare wear something like that," Akari pointed at a bikini on display. "I've only ever worn a one-piece."
"It takes some getting used to. I prefer a one-piece for swimming. Or," she continued sheepishly, "you know, attempting to swim. A bikini is nice for sunbathing, though. As long as the boys aren't being gross."
"You should come to the beach with me and Katsunishiki. I always feel safe with him near. He's an excellent watchpig." Akari sighed. "I wish Ryoga would take me to the beach sometime, but he won't go anywhere near the water."
Akane frowned slightly. "Talking of Ryoga, there was something I wanted to ask you, just us girls. You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but…"
"Go ahead, Akane!" Akari was so forthright about things, it was almost scary. Akane could hardly imagine herself as frank as her friend. Maybe it was something to do with her upbringing.
"So, I want to start off by saying that Ryoga is one of my best friends, and I like him very much. Platonically, of course! But Ryoga's got a little bit of a problem."
"You mean how he gets lost?"
Akane sighed. "I hadn't really meant that, but good point. Then Ryoga's got two problems."
"What could the second one be? I can't really think of anything else–maybe that he's overly shy? I sort of have to take all the first steps myself and wait for him to follow." She leaned over and spoke quietly, in confidence. "Don't tell anyone, but he hasn't even hugged me yet."
"That's on the nose to what I was leading. You know how Ryoga's really strong, right?"
"Strong as a…"
"As a pig, of course. But being really strong can be a problem if you don't control it. And as we know, Ryoga can also get very emotional, and he doesn't have the best control when he's emotional. For instance, there was a time…"
Akane realized that she was treading on dangerous ground: did she want to tell Akari that Ryoga had been attempting to hug her? It might come across as bragging or threatening or… something. "So, this one time, there was a person who was trying to manipulate Ryoga."
Akari gasped, scandalized.
"Right? And they made Ryoga think that this other girl wanted him to hug her." Akane continued, carefully erasing her own presence from the memory. "And when he tried to hug her, he started destroying things. Like, metal and concrete things. The girl he was trying to hug was scared for her life. Luckily, everything got cleared up, nobody was hurt, and everybody's still friends, but the fact remains…"
Akari had a look of recognition. "Oh, you must be talking about the time you and Ranma and Ryoga and Shampoo visited the Healthy Leisure Land. But why did you tell the story like it was someone else?"
Akane felt momentarily like she might fall on her face. "I didn't realize he told you that story. Sorry–I didn't want to make you think there was anything between Ryoga and myself."
Akari shrugged. "It doesn't bother me. After all, that all happened before I met him. It'd be silly for me to be jealous. Besides, I know that you're close, but it's not in that kind of way."
Akane waved her hands as if manually trying to return to the point. "I think I'm getting sidetracked: I want you to really be careful when…" Akane stopped when she felt the raindrop hit her face. She looked up: the sky had clouded over before she had even noticed it. "Oh no, I didn't think it was going to rain." She looked around. "Is there a convenience store near here? I didn't bring an umbrella."
"Never mind that, I've got one!" From her shoulder bag, Akari pulled out a traditional Japanese umbrella and opened it up.
"You've got an umbrella that matches Ryoga's?" Akane smiled. "That's cute!"
"Actually, this is one of Ryoga's. I was planning on returning it to him."
Akane's face registered surprise. "It's his? But isn't his umbrella really heavy?"
Akari shook her head. "Not really. Here, feel it for yourself."
'Maybe he uses normal ones now,' Akane thought. 'Because there's no way a tiny thing like…' Akane's arm shot down to the ground as soon as she took the umbrella from Akari's hand. "It's heavier than before!" she screeched. She could barely support it using both hands.
"Really? That's odd." Akari took the umbrella back out of Akane's shaky grip. "But now that you mention it, his other umbrellas are a bit lighter than this one." She balanced the umbrella on her pinky finger.
'She's playing with it? What kind of muscles does this girl have?'
"Sorry, Akane, I didn't mean to sidetrack you. There was something you wanted to tell me a bit earlier?"
Akane was still lost in awe at her friend's newly revealed strength. "What was I… oh yeah. So I was saying, when Ryoga does hug you, please, please be very gentle. I don't want y— him getting hurt."
After all, while she may have been wrong about who the vulnerable one was, it was still a message worth conveying.