I don't know how most of this spawned, but the plot bunnies have blessed it. Also thanks to danielson8089 following!
Disclaimer: Plot bunnies do not make great pets. I also don't have ownership of Ranma ½.
Nabiki's POV
Given everything I had heard on that recording of Ryu's, even I wasn't heartless enough to make use of that information right away. Ice Queen Mercenary of Furinkan I may be, but an absolute monster, I was not. I waited three days for the dust to settle before I approached Kirara with my proposal. The wicked gleam in her eyes when I laid out my scheme made me think I had found a kindred soul. Ryu wouldn't stand a chance.
Ryu's POV
Nabiki and I don't, and will probably never, agree on a lot of things. But one thing we can both agree on is that mornings are a thing of evil. So it was on that particular morning I semi-consciously dragged myself to the bathroom and took a shower. It wasn't until I had started drying myself off that I noticed something was wrong. For one thing, my towel wasn't usually bigger than I was. For another, there was a definite squishy area on my chest that hadn't been there before. It wasn't until I saw myself in the mirror that my sleepy brain pieced it together.
"NABIKIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" I roared as well as I could in my new, soft, feminine voice. Supposing she had slipped a packet of instant Nyannichuan into my shower head, I headed to the kitchen and tried to use hot water from there to change back. No dice. I was still a girl. I couldn't even start guessing how she had infected my entire water supply, so I made and downed a quick cup of hot chocolate, got dressed, and headed out the door.
Ukyo's POV
I was getting ready to open Ucchan's for the breakfast rush before school when there was a knock on the door. I poked my head out and saw a tiny girl standing there. She had to be no taller than 4' 5" and her clothes hung off her like a child playing dress up in their parent's clothes. But despite her height, it was clear she was around my age due to her figure. While not as voluptuous as Ranchan's female form, her stature accentuated her assets. She also seemed somewhat annoyed.
"Ukyo, let me in," She said.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for another fifteen minutes," I replied and she facepalmed.
"Right…Ukyo, it's me, Ryu," It spoke to how crazy Nerima is that I didn't instantly reject the idea.
"What happened?" I asked
"Nabiki…" Ryu growled, which sounded surprisingly cute in his new voice. "She somehow tainted my enter water supply with Nyannichuan and you're the only one I can trust not to make a fuss and keep your silence. You wouldn't believe how many times I tripped because of these baggy clothes and different center of gravity." Ryu complained.
I ushered him inside and quickly heated some water. He gratefully took it and poured it on himself…only for nothing to happen.
"Fuck me," He groaned.
"How is this possible?" I was absolutely baffled.
"I'm gonna have to go to school like this and ask Nabiki what the hell she did. In the meantime, can you help me tie up my shirt and pants? I don't want to eat a bunch of sidewalk on the way to school,"
Eventually, it was time for us to head to school and on the way we met up with Ranchan and Akane.
"Hey Ukyo, who's this?" Akane greeted us. Ryu piped up before I could answer.
"I'm Ukyo's cousin, Ryu Tomoe," The corners of his mouth were twitching wildly as he tried to keep a straight face.
"RYU?!" they both shouted in surprise.
"Hey Scarlet, how do you feel about having one less sister?" Ryu asked brightly.
"Why haven't you changed back?" Ranchan asked. I could tell Ryu wanted to snap back with a witty retort, but he controlled himself.
"I tried; Nabiki did something so I can't. So I have to go to school like this to get answers out of her," Ryu answered sourly.
"Well, at least you're a cute girl," Akane quipped. Ryu turned to her with a glassy, dead eyed look.
"Scarlet, you do realize I still have some instant Nannichuan and you do realize sooner or later I'll figure out how Nabiki made this stick, don't you?" Akane quickly shut up after that.
We made it to school without much incident and made our way to Nabiki's classroom.
"Oh, hello you guys! And this must be Ryu. You turned out even better than I had hoped," Nabiki chirped happily.
"What did you do to me?" Ryu asked wearily.
"I didn't do anything to you. I just gave your mother a packet of instant Nyannichuan. I couldn't tell you what she did with it," Nabiki's smile turned predatory.
"YOU CORRUPTED MY MOM?!" Ryu spluttered in sheer outrage.
"Our interests just so happened to coincide," Nabiki replied. "I honestly can't tell you why Kirara wanted the Nyannichuan powder. Maybe you could ask her?"
"My vengeance will be slow and terrible!" Ryu vowed and stormed off. We followed him out to the grounds.
"I'm going home. I need to talk to Mom." We decided to respect Ryu's wishes and headed to class.
Ryu's POV
I was upset and I wanted answers. But I also knew Mom had my best interests at heart…most of the time. There was a nagging suspicion that she was doing this purely for her own amusement. She may not be a kitsune, but she sure could possess the mischievousness of one. With these things in mind, I opened the door.
"Ah, Ryu, I was wondering when you'd be back. You haven't had breakfast," The smell of my mom's cooking quickly caused my stomach to growl. I took a seat at the table and started loading a plate.
"Why?" I asked as she started on her pile of pancakes.
"Why what, dear?" I scowled at Mom and took a bite of my sausage.
"You know what, or did you miss these?" I asked, gesturing to my chest.
"I did notice that you make a lovely young woman," Mom remarked, "Now if only you had clothes that fit…"
"How long do you plan to keep me like this," I knew it was pointless to try and get an answer out of Mom when she wants to talk in endless circles.
"Oh, I don't know, a week at least. I thought every pubescent male wanted a female to enjoy whenever he pleased," I didn't even dignify that with a response as I ate my breakfast. We had been through this kind of song and dance often enough that I knew she was trying to goad me. However, since the major bone of contention in my life, keeping my past a secret, was gone, I couldn't figure out why. Given the circumstances, my temper was on a shorter fuse than usual.
"Maybe I could have that Kuno boy come over…" At that I was instantly out the door. I wasn't in any kind of mood for my Mom's usual therapy methods.
Ukyo's POV
When I got home from school, I wasn't terribly surprise to find Ryu, still female, sitting with his face on the counter.
"I take it your talk with your mom didn't go so well?" I asked. He sighed.
"She said she's gonna keep me like this for a week. She's trying to help me with something. I can't figure out what, but since her usual method of helping includes getting me hopping mad until I get whatever is bothering me out of my system, that's not surprising."
"That…doesn't sound all that helpful," I remarked.
"It works for us," He shrugged, still face down, "I'm just not in the mood for it."
"Would you like an okonomiyaki?" I asked as I got behind the counter.
"Octopus please. You're so generous, Ukyo," I cocked an eyebrow at the unexpected compliment. Ryu seemed surprised at himself.
"Just when I think I'm ready for all her tricks…" He muttered to himself.
"What are you talking about?" I questioned.
"Mom must've spiked my food again. I wasn't expecting it because she does it so rarely," Ryu answered.
"Spiked your food?! Wait…again?!" I shouted in surprise.
"Mom says self-deception is the worst kind of deception. So when I'm being too stubborn to admit something to myself, she feeds me some kind of demon herb. It makes me docile and mutes any kind of embarrassment or social awareness. Things that would stop me from talking about something," Ryu explained. "It's like getting drunk without the decrease in mental capacity or the hangover."
"How docile?" I wondered.
"You could do anything or ask anything and I wouldn't refuse you. But I trust you to not do anything too terrible, Ukyo," He answered blithely. "Mom must really like you. She always kicked Koga out of the house whenever she used it on me when we were younger. Must've known I'd come here if she pissed me off enough."
"OK, I'm taking you upstairs before you get into trouble," I decided and started ushering him to my living space above the restaurant.
"Oh my, Ukyo, how forward," The fact he sounded a lot like Kasumi at that moment did nothing to help my blush.
"You. Sit." I ordered him to my bed. "How long until this wears off?"
"Depends on how much Mom put in the food. Sometime late tonight I'd imagine. She'd want to give us plenty of time to talk after you close for the night," Ryu replied.
"OK, just stay here until I'm done with the after school crowd and then we'll talk," I was going to have words with Kirara after all was said and done, but at the moment I had to keep Ryu from being taken advantage of.
Once the after school crowd was dealt with, I closed down and headed upstairs, where I found Ryu still sitting on my bed. I saw no evidence he had moved.
"Ryu, have you sat on my bed this entire time?" I asked
"You told me to," He answered.
"I don't know if you're being funny or if it's the drug. That concerns me," I deadpanned.
"I'm being funny. I'm docile, not brainwashed," Ryu assured me. I wasn't amused. I plopped on my bed next to her.
"Alright, come here you," I had been curious about something since we found out Ryu had been raised by a nekomata and his sometimes cat-like behavior. So I reached out and started scratching him behind the ear like I would with a cat. He instantly melted at the touch and came to rest with his head on my lap.
"Nrg, Ukyo, no fair," Ryu complained softly before he started purring. I felt a wicked thrill go up my spine. Ryu seemed to pick up on this.
"Ukyo, do you like me like this?" He asked and I could feel myself blushing.
"What do you mean?" I tried to play dumb, only for Ryu to show I wasn't playing.
"As a girl, silly, do you think I'm cute?"
"Why would you care what I think about you as a girl?" I asked, utterly confused, still scratching behind his ear.
"Because I don't care what I look like. Only reason I was upset earlier is 'cause Nabiki got Mom in on the prank war and I felt that was unfair. Also I'm very short, which I find annoying. Anyway, I figure since I don't care, I should make someone else happy. I'd jump into just about any Jusenkyo spring if you wanted, Ukyo. Except that Buddhist Priest one. That spring is goddamn creepy," Ryu said as if he were talking about the weather.
"Is that the drug talking?" I asked hesitantly.
"Oh no, I told you, it doesn't compromise cognizant function. I figured out I just didn't care about what I am when I told Mom I wanted to be a nekomata the first time Mom used this stuff on me," Ryu answered. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Why would you care what I think?" I repeated. Ryu turned his head to look up at me.
"Because I think I love you,"
"L-l-l-love?! We've been dating for only three weeks!" I protested, turning completely red. "If you're so in love, then what, exactly, is so great about me?!" I did not like the smile Ryu gave me. It was entirely too serene and cute for his own good.
"You're sixteen and you already own and operate your own restaurant; that in and of itself is amazing. You're driven to succeed. You also stuck around after you found out I was lying to you guys, which means a lot to me. As I said before, you're also very generous. Whether it is your time or just an okonomiyaki, you always have something for your friends. You're also very passionate. When I look into your eyes when you're practicing your craft…I want to bottle up that passion and have it keep me warm at night." Who wouldn't be flattered by that? "You can also be hardheaded and can let your mouth run away with you. You can also be kinda oblivious."
I felt like I had been hit by lighting. Before my own mother died, one of the last things we talked about was what love is. Being a naive six year old, I had asked after hearing two teens talking about it on a park bench while I was playing nearby. My mom had sat me on my lap and told me something I would never forget.
"Ukyo, love isn't just seeing everything that is good in the other person. Real love, in my opinion, is being able to see the good and the bad and still caring about them." I didn't understand it at the time. At that moment, with Ryu on my lap under the influence of something that killed any sense of embarrassment, I understood. I bent down and kissed Ryu full on. When I broke it off, Ryu looked dazed.
"I guess we can add impulsive to that list…" He said and then came up to kiss me. Since we were both ready for it this time, this kiss had a little more heat.
"Are you alright with kissing me as a girl?" Ryu asked after we finished. In the face of such a dumb question, there was only one thing I could do. I shoved him onto the floor.
"If I wasn't OK with it, jackass, I wouldn't have kissed you to begin with!" I barked.
"That came out wrong. What I meant was 'did you enjoy it'." Ryu clarified.
"Yes…" I answered honestly, my face feeling like it was on fire. I was embarrassed I had enjoyed kissing Ryu as a girl as much as I had. I had kissed other girls before, on pretense of being a boy, and not minded it, but I hadn't enjoyed it like I had just enjoyed kissing Ryu. I didn't know if it was because Ryu was really a boy or not, but I was embarrassed either way.
"Well, I don't mind being a girl, height aside, and you like kissing me like this, so I might stay like this for a while," Ryu decided.
"Before or after your mom gives you a choice?" I deadpanned.
"…oh yeah, I forgot Mom put an embargo on my manhood." Ryu said absently. Then a question popped into my mind.
"Is there anything you enjoy about being a girl or things you'd prefer as a guy?" Ryu mulled it over for a minute or two.
"I like the novelty of being a girl a lot. Everything feels a bit different. I could go on, but I think it all boils down to the novelty of this and that. Although the kiss was very nice, I'd have to kiss you as a guy to get a feel for any difference there. As for being a guy, I will once again say I don't like being a midget. Moving around is easier, but that's mostly due to familiarity and having to fight my clothes,"
"Speaking of clothes, if your mom is gonna keep you like this, you need things that fit," I pointed out.
"So says Ms. Wears-A-Male-Uniform," Ryu quipped
"At least my male uniform is sized to fit me and I don't look like a refugee who fished her clothes out of the nearest dumpster," I shot back. Ryu looked down at himself.
"Now that you mention it, my clothes are dirty from eating sidewalk…"
"Also I'm small enough up top that I can just wrap up. It's hard to tell with how short you are, but I don't think you can do the same." I pointed out.
"I wouldn't have any idea about that sort of thing. If you say so, I trust you. Things I never thought I would do: get sized for a bra. I just have to figure out how to keep Happosai off my case." Ryu babbled in a stream of consciousness.
"If your mom is powerful enough to mess with Jusenkyo curses, then can't she put a stop to him?" I wondered.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure Mom was only able to pull this off because she was using the instant powder as a base. When I asked Mom about Jusenkyo cures after Ranma first showed up in Nerima, she told me she had no way to cure the curse. She may be a four tailed nekomata, but still a nekomata. There are just things her magic isn't meant to do," Ryu shrugged, "Speaking of Ranma and tangentially back on topic; you never did answer if you thought I made a cute girl."
"And I repeat, for the third time, why do you care? I know why you want to know what I think, but that doesn't answer why you asked it in the first place. And what does that have to do with Ranchan?"
"Well, it's weird if someone is sexually attracted to themselves, although the whole Jusenkyo curse thing makes the situation very different, I wanted to know if I had any kind of basis or if I'm just outta my mind. As for what that has to do with Ranma, well, despite coming a long way since the Cat Tongue incident, but I get the feeling he still refuses to think of his female form as female. So in order to help him with that, I need to know where I stand, thus the question." Ryu answered.
"Wait, wait, wait, and let me get this straight. You think your girl form is hot and think Ranchan is in denial about his own girl form being attractive to him. Therefore, you want my opinion on if you're crazy or not." I summarized.
"To put it simply," Ryu agreed. I gave him a half lidded glare.
"Ryu, I can assure you that you are crazy for a number of different reasons. However, as a heterosexual male, I can say you are perfectly within reason to find girls attractive. Hence the whole 'heterosexual male' part. I don't see why it matters if you find your girl form attractive. Of course, I spent way too much time around hormonal teenage boys, so my opinion is probably warped."
"That's true. I suppose as long as I don't start trying to make out with myself in the mirror or something similarly insane, it's a reasonable feeling." Ryu mused.
"I will be glad when that stuff wears off. I think I've hit my limit for existential conversation." I sighed.
"What existential conversation?" Ryu asked, confused.
"I was exaggerating, you goof,"
A few hours later, after we were sure Ryu had worked the drug out of his system, we headed out into the evening.
"So, any idea as to what you'd like to wear?" I asked.
"Lots of pink and ribbons and bows," Ryu replied with a completely straight face.
"Ha ha, you're so funny," I quipped.
"I mean, if I'm going to be a girl, I might as well get the full experience,"
"I am not using Nannichuan," I said quickly and cause Ryu to burst out laughing.
"Alright, you win this round," He conceded, "Ideally, I'd like to find unisex stuff, but given I'm essentially a loli with somewhat generous assets, I'm worried about a lack of options."
"That's one way of putting it," I said with a snort. Unfortunately, Ryu's worries proved to not be unfounded, but eventually we managed to find thing that weren't so girly that they offended both our sensibilities. When we got back to my place, it was just past midnight and we were exhausted and collapsed into bed.
Needless to say, we were both thoroughly embarrassed when we woke up the next morning.
Akane's POV
I wasn't very surprised to find Ryu was still a girl the next day, when I spotted him standing next to one of the trees in the courtyard muttering to himself.
"I am a man! I am a man! I am a m- OW! What was that for Scarlet?!" Ryu whined while holding the back of his head, where I smacked him with my book bag.
"Someone had to stop you from hurting yourself," I deadpanned, "So what are you psyching yourself up for?"
"None of your beeswax Scarlet," Ryu answered crossly and walked off. I decided that Ryu's behavior warranted…observation, so I rounded up as many of the Wrecking Crew as I could find except Ukyo. I had a suspicion.
Ryu's POV
I was standing alone in an unused classroom, waiting for Ukyo. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest. I had made my feelings clear to Ukyo the day before, but that didn't make taking this next step any easier. Too be honest, that was probably exactly why Mom had drugged me. Otherwise I might have hemmed and hawed for far too long.
The door opened and Ukyo stepped in and closed it behind her.
"You wanted to talk to me?" The note of nervousness in her voice suggested she had an idea of why I had called her here. I swallowed my own nervousness.
"I'm going to just say it before I lose my nerve. Ukyo, will you be my girlfriend?" Not the most romantic, but I knew myself well enough that if I had tried to go for flowery prose, I would have never gotten to the point for nerves.
God, the way her eyes suddenly lit up…I won't ever forget it.
"Yes," She answered and we closed the distance between us and were about the kiss when-
"Way to go Ucchan!" We sprang apart as if on fire.
"I knew you had it in you, Ryu,"
"Shampoo is too too happy for you both!"
"What the hell is going on!?"
"We already told you beacon breath!" Ukyo and I were both so red as to put a tomato to shame.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE?!" We both roared at the peanut gallery. They all pointed at Scarlet. Our glares turned to the Tendo girl.
"Well, you were acting so weird this morning, I figured I should get everyone together to see if we could help," Scarlet said innocently. I almost would have believed her too, if it weren't for the way she was messing with her hair giving her away.
"There will be a reckoning for this, Scarlet," I swore, but she just gave an impish grin.
"Alright, shows over folks, get outta here!" Ukyo barked just as the bell rang. Those of us who had classes to return to did so. However, even after being interrupted, happy warmth remained that caused me to smile a silly little smile. Suddenly everything in my life seemed to be coming up aces. Was it a high school romance or something so much more? Whatever the answer, I was content to find out along with Ukyo.
I had originally wanted to get this out on Valentine's Day, given the more relationship focused content, but there was no way I was going to be able to do that with my work schedule this week being what it was and the length of the chapter.
As for the chapter itself, I don't think I'm good at writing romance, but I think I outdid myself here. This means I hope it's barely acceptable. Tell me what you all think in the reviews!
Next time on Curiosity Killed the Cat: One of my favorite characters in the Ranma ½ universe is showing up a little early. Until then!