I don't own any of these characters or situations. They belong to someone else. Also this is done purely for fun, not profit. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, yet to be born, or visiting from other dimensions is purely coincidental. I'm doing this for fun.
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
I would like to thank the following from FukuFics 'dot' com for their input an pre reading (listed in order of appearance): Stratagemini, WarGiver, gsteemso, Yrael, J. St.C. Patrick, and Phoenix. If I miss listing anyone, I apologize (sorry for misspelling your name Strat's).
Just to answer the question: Yes. I am working on part ten of the University section of Aftermath. It is out to the pre-readers for a second pass at this very moment.
Boldly going where others had gone before and meekly going where few have been.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
Final Approach Ranma
Chapter 3
A Ranma/Futaba-kun Change crossover/fusion/whatever with a touch of Final Approach thrown in
-o-o-o-o-o-o
-o-o-o-o-o-o
It had been around a month since Ranma came to live with the Shimerus and everything she thought she knew about men and women was, to put it lightly, thrown out the window. The window wasn't far enough to really describe how far her notions were thrown, out of Japan maybe - hell, the Pacific rim. No, all of Ranma's ideas about men and women were merrily waving at space probe Voyager as it passed it by, on its way out of the solar system.
During her stay, Ranma had taken note of how Mr. Shimeru behaved when he was a she. It was like it was still him, but it wasn't. It would be like he just would feminize his behavior, but underneath it all it was still Mr. Shimeru. When he was a he, he was definitely a he. He? She? Whatever.
Ranma also noticed the way Futaba acted when he was a she and the same applied. When Futaba was a guy, there was no doubt that he was a guy. When Futaba changed forms it was... he, or she was still Futaba but she was also definitely a girl too. A good looking girl for that matter, Ranma noticed. But no matter what form Futaba was in, Misaki was willing to stand by her... him... whatever.
As for Futana, the less Ranma saw of her, especially him, the better. Futana seemed the least changed when she, uh - changed. She acted like a pervert when she was a she as well as when she was a he. Futana seemed to enjoy teasing Ranma with her female body and making Ranma feel in ways she wasn't ready to explore yet. Or worse, Futana would also come on to Ranma in her male body, definitely raising questions that Ranma didn't even want to think about yet.
Life was confusing enough for Ranma just trying to keep everybody's his/her selves straight...
... and the pronouns were killing her.
In spite of the problems with Futana and the gender issues, or maybe because of the gender issues, Ranma found herself in the unthinkable position of being surrounded by people who actually understood how she felt. Right now, Ranma found herself doing something that would have been out of character for her just a little over a month ago: Talking. No death threats, no name calling, nothing leading to violence of any kind. Just plain ol' talking and enjoying herself because of it.
Futaba and Misaki were in the guest room as Ranma was going through her things. They were making small talk and comparing notes on the meditation techniques that Ranma was trying to teach Futaba. They had been making progress and Misaki often joined them in the exercises. As they were talking, Ranma was sorting through her underwear trying to separate them into two piles: One she can barely tolerate and the other was too painful to tolerate.
"Why do you wear underwear like this anyway?" Misaki asked, looking over Ranma's collection. "It can't be comfortable all the time."
"Tell that to my mom," Ranma answered despondently. "She thinks it'll help make an impression."
"Oh, it makes an impression all right," Misaki giggled.
"If you've been wearing these things at night," Futaba added while holding up something sheer, "No wonder Futana's been sneaking in here so much. To her, this is like an open wound in shark infested waters - and she's the shark."
"Yeah, but my mom-," Ranma began before being cut off by Misaki.
"This is the same mom that expected you to be raised as a man among men by your father?" Misaki asked pointedly. "The same father who sold you for some fish and rice?"
"Um... yeah," Ranma replied uncertain, "and pickles."
"You, me and Futaba are going underwear shopping for you next Saturday," Misaki announced.
"No... that's all right," Ranma said nervously, being more unsettled by the idea of shopping for underwear.
"Ranma," Misaki said while leaning forward. "Trust me, unless you're intending on bedding someone, no one wears underwear like this everyday."
Ranma's eyes widened on that before nodding in consent. "Okay, but can you help me though? I know nothing except what my mom told me."
Misaki nodded. "Yes we'll help you. It's settled then: This Saturday, we go shopping for some real underwear for you."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma was chatting with Misaki and her friend, Negiri as Futaba was pulled aside by Motomura, the Wrestling Team's captain. As Ranma was only half paying attention to Negiri as she described the possible money making opportunities on fencing hair gel that she bought at a discount, Ranma was really keeping one eye on what was going on in the corner where Futaba was. The discussion seemed somewhat heated from where Ranma was sitting, but she remained with her female friends at the moment. After a few moments, Futaba returned to the group.
"What was that all about?" asked a curious Ranma.
"Oh, they just wanted me to ask you to join the Wrestling Team again," Futaba answered. "I told them you made it clear that you were not interested, but they made me promise to ask you anyway."
Ranma snorted. "I'm a martial artist, not a wrestler."
"That may be true," Misaki interjected. "But you impressed the hell out of Motomura when you pinned him down in nothing flat."
Negiri eyes widened as an obvious thought crossed her mind. "You'll do it!" she announced. She placed both hands on Ranma's shoulder's, forcing her attention on the redhead. "Think of the money making opportunities I'll - I mean - you'll have. I'll be your manager and-"
"No," Ranma said flatly. Negiri was too much like Nabiki at times for her tastes, and this was one of those times.
"No? C'mon it'll be-"
"No," Ranma repeated just as flatly. "I'm not going to make money off of my martial arts. It's there to protect the weak."
Negiri blink-blinked at Ranma. "You gotta be kidding. If it's only there to protect the weak, how are you going to make a living?"
Ranma considered that for a moment. It was true that it was drilled into her that martial arts was there to protect the weak, but on the other hand her father was all fired up about marrying her off to one of the Tendo's to inherit the dojo. You wouldn't need a dojo unless you were planning on teaching the art and you wouldn't be teaching the art unless you could make money off of it. Making money off of martial arts.
Whatta concept.
"I don't know," Ranma answered, now uncertain about what she was talking about. "But not by using martial arts - at least not yet."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The school day was over and Ranma and Misaki were sitting on low wall watching the wrestling team practice. Misaki was on the team, but had been sitting out this practice, so both of them were watching. Or in reality, it was Misaki watching Futaba while Ranma watched the team. After a while, Ranma got bored and started to consider some of the things that had happened to her in the last few weeks. Very little used to faze Ranma if it didn't involve martial arts, but lately she'd had time to reflect on some of the not-so-finer points of her life. Now she realized that there was a whole lot of other stuff that was just as important as martial arts and even, unbelievably, more important.
"M-misaki?" Ranma asked tentively. "Can I ask you something?'
Misaki blinked at the uncomfortable looking redhead that now wore a troubled expression on her face.
"Sure," she replied. "Is there something the matter?"
"Well, it's about - girl stuff," Ranma said embarrassingly. "I just need some answers, that's all."
"Sure," Misaki said as she motioned for Ranma to sit next to her. "What do you need to know?'
"Well, you're a girl, right?" Ranma began, then stopped when she noticed Misaki bemused expression. "I mean - you're a real girl, right?"
Misaki giggled lightly at Ranma's discomfort and waved her off. "It's okay, Ranma. I understand why you would say such a thing. What can this 'real girl' do to help you?"
"Well," Ranma started, feeling uncomfortable that she started the last two comments with 'well'. "It's just that my mom - before I came over, she tried to teach me to be a 'woman among women' and after hanging around - real girls for a while, I'm confused."
"Want do you mean?"
"Well," Ranma began, not feeling particularly creative on how to start her sentences. "My mom had pop raise me to be a 'man among men' and when I tried to ask my mom about some of the things that she taught me that - bugged me... well, she didn't really answer my questions."
Misaki at this point was a little lost. "Ranma could you start from the beginning?"
"Ahh.. sure," the redhead said. "It started right after those government men left..."
Ten minutes later.
"... and when I asked my mom about it, she says 'that's the way it always has been' or something or other. I don't know, but ta me it just seems the whole thing seems... wrong."
Misaki sat and digested everything Ranma told her of Nodoka's 'woman among women' training and shook her head. She was also comparing that to what Ranma has told her of being a 'man among men' and came to the obvious conclusion.
"Ranma," Misaki said sharply. "Your mother is nuts."
The silence that fell between the two girls was absolute.
"Wh-whatdaya mean?" Ranma asked, fearing that she had offended Misaki in someway.
"I mean that 'women among woman' and 'man among men' crap. I'm sorry Ranma, but your mother is about sixty years too late with her thinking. Besides, most girls won't put up with the kind of crap that your mother defines as a 'man among men'."
Ranma remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. "Yeah," she finally said. "I think you're right. Ya know, when I asked my mom if my pop had any mistresses, she said he'd better not or she would have to kill him."
"See?" Misaki pointed out. "She herself wouldn't put up with your father being a man among men."
They fell into silence again as Ranma considered that.
"I don't understand why she is the way she is then," Ranma said with a shake of her head. "It doesn't make sense."
"Of course it doesn't make sense," Misaki said. "What your mother has is what's called a double standard. She expects and thinks it's okay for men to act one way and women another." Ranma nodded in understanding as Misaki stopped and pondered something before continuing. "It's more like a triple standard. She also expects your male half to act like a 'man among men', your father to act completely differently from that, and your girl half still act another way."
Ranma stared off into space, brooding over Misaki's words. "Triple standard? Mom does want me to act like... Futana does when I'm a guy, yet won't put up with that outta pop." She cocked her head and looked at Misaki, who was back watching Futaba as he pinned Chima, the Silent Bleeding Man, to the matt. "And how she expects me to act as a 'proper girl' during all this..."
Misaki did clear somethings up, but Ranma was still far from her major concern. Ranma sat and sighed. "Then what is the right way? I mean... how am I supposed to act?"
"Just have some confidence in yourself and be you," came Misaki's answer as she kept an eye on Futaba's practice.
"I'm not sure what I am anymore," Ranma mumbled lowly, but Misaki heard her anyway.
"Well," Misaki said turning her attention to the redhead. "You're away from the pressures of your family and friends - this would be a good time for you to find out."
Ranma and Misaki stared at each other for a brief moment. Misaki smiled warmly at Ranma in a way that made her feel funny before turning back to continue watching Futaba as he finished up. Ranma stared at Misaki's profile, looking at how she looked at Futaba, with a certain light - no, joy in her eyes. Ranma looked away and at the ground, feeling a particularly empty spot in her heart for the first time.
An empty spot Ranma couldn't really define.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma rose before dawn, stretching as she did so, popping the stiffness out of her joints. She blinked and looked about her in the dimly lit guest room and, interlocking her fingers, she stretched her arms again in front of her before dropping them into her lap. She sighed as the warmth of the stretch moved through her, relaxing her.
"Another day," she thought, groggily with sleep. "Whoopee."
She absently scratched an itch on her left breast with her right hand while covering her mouth with her left hand as she yawned. Removing her hand from her breast, she use it to wipe some sleep out of her eyes as her left arm headed toward the ceiling as she stretched that part of her body again. Her other left hand took over and continued to scratch her left breast as her other right hand relieved the itch on her other breast. All four hands were occupied.
All four hands?
Ranma blinked sleepily. Did she have four hands?
She blinked again and counted through her half awake haze: One, two, three, four. Four hands. How'd that happen?
"Wait a minute," she thought with half a brain. "Two of those hands are male. I'm a girl right now - right?"
Ranma looked down and confirmed two things: One, she was definitely a she, and two, those were definitely male hands massaging her confirmation that she was a she. The sensations from the gently, yet firm manipulations of her breasts combined with her sleepiness and the relaxed state, kept her from coming to any obvious conclusions.
Ranma sighed.
"It does feel kinda good though," she thought drowsily as she stretch again running her fingers through her hair. The stretch only increased the contact with her other hands. "It's kinda of a weird good, but still good."
Her male hands undid the top buttons of Ranma's short nightshirt, exposing her breasts and now stimulated them with flesh-to-flesh contact. As Ranma's two extra hands slowly and gently squeezed Ranma's breasts, the fingers firmly tweaked at the her hardening nipples. Ranma inhaled sharply at the pleasant sensation and let out a gasp involuntarily.
"Whoa," Ranma thought as another sigh escaped her lips. She was becoming aware of the growing warmth of the room. "That definitely was interesting."
In her half sleep, Ranma's two free, female hands started started to move on their own accord, downward past her midriff, to where a different type of itch was making itself known. Then it hit her: Four hands.
She didn't have four hands.
Nobody had four hands.
Suddenly wide awake with eyes that threatened to pop out of their sockets at the realization, Ranma let out a very girlish 'eep' and suddenly found herself clinging to the ceiling. Looking down, red faced, she scowled at the male Futana who was sitting behind the spot that Ranma just vacated, hands frozen in the position of where Ranma's breasts used to be.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ranma demanded as she looked down.
Futana looked up with a broad smile on his face. "Just saying good morning," he said quite innocently. "I thought a little massage would be a good way to start the day."
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Get out."
"Why?" Futana answered coyly. "I like the view."
"Get out," Ranma repeated louder.
"You're too modest, you have a great rack there."
"Get out!" Ranma all but yelled.
Futana pouted and crossed her now female arms. "You're no fun." Futana rose from her perch on Ranma's bed. She looked up at the redhead, who was still clinging to the ceiling, her face was one of seriouness. "There is one thing I think you should know."
Ranma blink-blinked at Futana, disarmed by Futana's sudden seriousness. "What's that?"
Futana serious face broke into a broad smile. She reached up and pinched one of Ranma's ass cheeks that was hanging out from her thong underwear and exposed from her overhead position. This surprise attack was enough to make Ranma let out an exceptionally loud 'eep', lose her grip on the ceiling beam, and fall back onto the bed with a bounce and a light 'oof'.
"You have an adorable ass," Futana giggled as she exited Ranma's quarters.
Ranma lay there on the bed, fuming and thought the unthinkable: "She's worse than Happosai." As her fuming calmed to an irritation, Ranma caught herself absently rubbing her breasts. She stopped, blinked, then rubbed them again. She then stopped and blushed from the guilty pleasure.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
It was between classes and Ranma moved through the hallway making her way to where no man has gone before, the undiscovered country, the no man's land: The ladies room. When she first started school at Komatane, Ranma had tried to hold it until she got home. After the first two weeks though, she had relaxed enough in with her female form to allow herself the luxury of using the rest rooms at the school. Ranma had discovered that her attitude about her cursed form was changing. Changing due to her the environment she found herself in.
Back at the Tendos, her girl side was considered a curse and a burden that she had to bear. At the Tendos, Ranma's curse form was unmanly, a freak, a pervert, weak - an outcast. Looking back, Ranma could easily tell by the way the Tendos had treated her, even Kasumi, that she was never wholly accepted. Though Kasumi was the perfect hostess, she never took the time to really help Ranma deal with what she had to go through and Ranma ended up having to go through her troubles mostly alone.
In a nutshell, Ranma realized that she was rejected by the Tendo's the first day there and it never really got any better. There were moments - hopeful moments - that looked promising, but in the end it never really amounted to anything. That was something in the back of her mind that tore at her self-confidence little by little, that Ranma felt the need to overcompensate by doing something 'manly' - mostly getting into fights or overcome a challenge to prove to himself that he was still a man. It was only after that, her confidence would be restored.
Ranma pushed the door open to the ladies room and entered.
"Here, with the Shimerus, I don't have a curse," Ranma thought as she entered one of the vacate stalls. "It's just a variation of what is normal for them."
Ranma straddled the Japanese style toilets that were found in this school.
"Strange," Ranma thought. "I am still me - the curse hasn't really changed me. I'm still the best martial artist I know, I just don't feel the need to have to prove it like I use to."
Ranma finished her business and flushed. For some odd reason the sound made her feel very zen-like.
"Maybe I'm finally trying to find myself - maybe... figure out what I want outta life. For me - not anyone else."
-o-o-o-o-o-o
This particular Saturday wasn't a school day as Ranma finished up a vigorous set of katas in a nearby and conveniently placed vacant lot. She toweled herself off and was just starting to head back the the Shimerus for breakfast. The exercise was just what she needed to help relieve her morning frustrations that were created by Futana's actions - again.
This morning Ranma awoke to find Futana curled up beside her, butt naked. Being used to Shampoo sneaking in her bed, Ranma should have been used to it, but Futana had a way of getting to her on a level that no one else had been able to before.
Ranma found that Futana had a way of creeping her out and tantalizing her at the same time.
Ranma managed to get the sleepy, but still flirtatious, Futana out of her room before dressing. At least this time Futana was sleepy enough that she kept her hands to herself, much to Ranma's relief, but she often wondered why Futana was the way she was. There was something more troubling to Ranma than the actual actions of Futana: That was her feelings about Futana's actions.
"She acting like... a letch," Ranma thought as she watched the morning sun peek over a nearby roof. "But that morning..." Ranma thoughts drifted back to the morning when Futana 'massaged' her. "It felt good... but I'm a guy... but... yeah... it felt good. Is that wrong? Is it wrong to feel good like that?"
Ranma shook her head. This was getting her nowhere. Futana was obviously trying to get to Ranma by messing with her mind by messing with her body, and it was working. Ranma would be damned if she loses a fight because someone... well she took that back. People outsmarted her all the time, but she still didn't lose.
Lose?
Was this even a fight?
"I need think on this some more," Ranma groused. "Avoiding it is getting me nowhere."
"RANMA! PREPARE TO MEET THY END!"
Ranma blinked at her fang toothed full-time rival and part-time friend as he landed before her. This was not the normal greeting that she'd grown know and love and wondered where he'd could have possibly gotten lost to this time. Noting his highly agitated state, Ranma decided to try and be nice to Ryoga. She watched as he removed the heavy umbrella from his pack and prepare for battle.
"Hey ya P-, er... Ryoga, where've you been?" she asked, genuinely curious. She decided the best approach would be not to tease Ryoga like she used to. Doing so seemed childish to her now for some reason.
"Because of you," Ryoga began. "I've seen-"
"Let me guess," Ranma said drolly, interrupting Ryoga with an upturned hand. "You've seen hell."
Ryoga shook his head angrily.
"Detroit?"
Another shake of the head - this one vigorous.
Ranma ponder for a moment. "Hmmm. Not as bad as Detroit, but worse than hell. What could it be?" Ranma cocked an eyebrow and ventured, "You didn't didn't end up as Azusa's little Charlotte again, did you?"
"NO!" Ryoga yelled.
Ranma screwed her face up in thought and looked remarkably cute doing so. "Okay," she finally conceded. "I give up."
Ryoga seemed to steel himself for what he was about to say. After a moment of shaking in what seemed an internal battle, Ryoga spoke in a way that was hauntingly familiar to Ranma.
"The vengeance of heaven is slow, but sure. Because your foul existence has plagued and corrupted the very nature and moral fiber of this noble and righteous land," Ryoga said pompously, "I, Ryoga Hibiki - The Plaid Mountain of Nerima, will strike you down in the name of justice."
Ranma stared stupidly at Ryoga as he held his umbrella high, toward the sky. In the distance, the banging of a garbage truck was heard, sounding suspiciously close to the way thunder would sound. Furrowing her brow Ranma try to sort out what Ryoga had just said, it sounded too much like...
"Kuno?" Ranma questioned incredulously. "You've been taking lessons from Kuno or something?"
"NO!" Ryoga roared. "Because of your foul influence, I found myself disoriented in the chambers of the nobel Tatewaki Kuno for a fortnight! Now my manner of conversing has changed into this horrific manner."
Silence fell between the two as Ranma once again stared dumbly at Ryoga. The moment stretched long enough that, inexplicably, a tumbleweed came out of nowhere and rolled by. The birds continued their songs in the trees like they always had, dogs howled sorrowfully in the distant, and the wail of a baby's cry could be heard from somewhere.
"Ah... you've been in Kuno's room for... umm, two weeks and he didn't notice you?"
"Of course he didn't!" Ryoga snapped. "The Blue Thunder was so preoccupied in composing sonnets that he dedicated to his two loves, that he never perceived my presence."
Ranma's eyebrow began to twitch. She knew who Kuno's 'two loves' were and didn't care to know that the idiot was writing love songs, poems or whatever about her. She was also now fearing greatly for the lost boy's sanity.
"And now that I have located you, my unworthy foe, prepare yourself for a sound thrashing." Ryoga finished with flare in another ridiculous pose.
"Wait a minute!" Ranma objected as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How is getting lost in Kuno's room MY fault when I haven't even seen you in over three weeks!"
"Tis your fault! For I had spied you on a field of honor," Ryoga said as he posed in yet another dramatic way with his umbrella held high like a bokken - it still wasn't working for him and he looked fairly silly doing it. "Using foul magic to defeat your opponents."
"What?"
"I saw you outside when you were showing a bunch of guys some of your martial arts moves," Ryoga said with great effort while coming out of his silly pose, fists clenched.
"Oh."
"And when I went in pursuit of you to deliver the righteous vengeance of the heavens, you used your magic to disappear before my eyes."
Ranma's face screwed up as she mentally did the translations. "In other words, you saw me helping out the Martial Arts team, tried to chase me down and got lost."
"Yes!" Ryoga grounded out in frustration.
Ranma rubbed her temples with one hand and sighed. She was getting used to not having to deal with this... this... insanity everyday and it showed in her current mental processes. Though the distraction would be nice, Ranma felt she was dealing with more important issues than Ryoga right now and was in no real mood to fight him. It was clear that Ryoga was... stressed from his misadventures at the Kuno mansion and after staying at the relative sanity of the Shimeru's, Ranma was becoming aware of how weird the people in her life in Nerima truly were.
This was one of the reasons she was dreading her obligatory visit to her mother at the Tendo's next weekend, and Ryoga being here only served to remind her why.
"Look man," Ranma said evenly. "I don't have time for this crap. I gotta get back to the Shimerus."
"So, the foul sorcerer shows his true colors and yields to the might of Ryoga Hibiki, The Plaid Mountain of Nerima?"
Ranma's eyebrow twitched even more. Not because she was just called a coward in a round about way, but because Ryoga was sounding worse than she remembered Kuno ever being. She sighed. "Yeah, right - whatever," she answered still hoping to defuse the situation. "Listen, you hungry or something? 'Cause Mrs. Shimeru makes a hell of a spread."
"I have no need for sustenance at present, but I thank you for your generous offer," Ryoga answered haughtily as he brought his umbrella forward in an offensive way. "But enough conversing! Let us engage in honorable combat!"
"Oh brother."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ranma made it back to the Shimeru's after pounding on the "Plaid Mountain of Nerima". Even after the delay, it was still fairly early and she was a little tired and weary, but in a good way for the fight only proved to her that she was still the best martial artist out there. Overall it wasn't too bad of a fight and they managed to keep the property damage down to almost nothing - that in itself being a miraculous feat. In the end, the fight ended, as they always did, with Ranma winning, this time using a variation of the Hiryu Shoten Ha, sending Ryoga skyward.
She just hoped that Ryoga wouldn't end up back at the Kuno's. No one deserved such a fate and one Kuno-like nut-job was bad enough.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
Ranma had just entered the family room after taking a quick bath. After this morning's activities, she had worked up quite a sweat and after pounding on Ryoga, Ranma found that she missed the morning sparing sessions with her pop. She also discovered that getting a full night's sleep without worrying about another stupid early morning 'surprise attack' in the name of training was wonderful.
Ranma was finding it nice to relax for a change, instead of having to tend to so many rapid-fire events going on in her life that she couldn't possibly keep them all straight. Not only that, but proper rest was doing wonders for her attention span in class and her rising grades were starting to reflect that.
"Ranma," Mrs. Shimeru called from the kitchen. "Could you please get Futaba for breakfast? If both of you are going to meet Misaki for shopping, you'd better get an early start."
"Sure thing, Mrs. Shimeru," Ranma answered as she made a dash up the stairs.
Walking down the hallway, Ranma realized something: Except for being shown where everything was the first day, she had never been in Futaba's room and really didn't recall which one it was. Not wanting another encounter with Futana, for once a morning was enough, she came upon a strategy to find the right room.
"Futaba's a guy," Ranma reasoned. "I should be able to tell by just looking at the room."
Ranma came to the first door and gingerly opened it. Poking her head in, she waited for her eyes to get accustomed to the half light in the room. What she found floored her.
"Wow," she thought. "I never thought Futaba would have a room like this."
The room was definitely a guy's room: Messy, littered with books, and clothes on the floor. The walls, and even the ceiling, was covered in posters of women. But not just any women, but naked women. And not just naked women, but uncensored posters of naked women - all in nosebleed quality poses.
"I wonder if Misaki knows Futaba is like this?" Ranma thought with just a little anger. "He has someone as great as Misaki and he has all... all this? That's like cheating on her or something! I never thought he'd be a jerk!"
Ranma entered the room and carefuly stepped over the piles of discarded clothes and other debris that were scattered on the floor. She almost slid on a girly magazine when she stepped on it as she neared the bed and at the snoring lump that was on in.
"I'm gonna have to talk to him about this," Ranma thought with a determined and now self-righteous anger. "He can't be havin' pictures of naked women everywhere like this - what about Misaki's feelings?"
A stray feeling came out of nowhere: What if Misaki found out, got angry and dumped Futaba? Would Ranma try to take Futaba's place? Ranma froze at the very idea - and then berated herself harshly for being such a traitor to her new friend. Misaki was a great girl but she... she loved Futaba in spite of his condition.
"Misaki is happy with Futaba," Ranma thought with a bit of jealously. "She cares for him as a person, no matter what form his is in."
Ranma froze again in mid-step as her eye's widened, not at the thought, but the feeling: Jealousy? No. She was bigger than that - right? She couldn't be jealous - that would be absurd. Still, after the stray feeling invaded her, Ranma had to take a moment to collected herself and shake it off before marching over to the bed and shaking the lump on it.
"Futaba," she said in a somewhat loud voice. "Futaba, get up."
The lump groaned.
"Futaba," Ranma insisted. "Get up."
The next groan came a bit louder, but there was no sign that Futaba was budging.
"Jezz," Ranma complained while shaking the lump again. "You sleep worse than Nabiki does. Get up!"
"Huh?" came a voice from under the covers
"It's time to get up," Ranma said. "Your mom has breakfast ready. We gotta eat and met Misaki - we're going shopping, remember?"
A hand snaked out from under the pile of blanets and snagged Ranma by the forearm. Before Ranma could protest, she was dragged onto the bed as the lump rolled over. Before Ranma knew it, she was on top of, and face to face with a very naked Futana.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" a surprised Ranma asked as she concentrated on ignoring Futana's breasts pressing against hers. It was surprisingly easy to do as Ranma's was attention was captured by Futana's shining eyes and the sensation of her breath as it brushed against Ranma's cheek. It was unexpectedly stimulating.
"What I'm I doing here? This is my room," Futana smoothy answered while snaking one hand under the back of Ranma's shirt and cupping her bare buttocks, that was exposed by the thong underwear under her skirt, with the other. "Have you come to get a morning workout?"
"No! I already did my exercises," Ranma objected, in an almost-but-not-quite-clueless-way, as she tried to untangle herself from Futaba's sister. "I thought this was Futaba's room. Let go of me!"
"Okay," Futana said with a mask of mock disappointment, before cocking an eyebrow and smirking. "But, before I do. Say 'oh'."
"Huh?" a confused Ranma.
"Just say 'oh'," Futana repeated quite innocently.
The request was unusal, but Ranma couldn't see nothing wrong with it. Ranma sighed, shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth, "Oh."
Futana immediately captured Ranma's lips in an open mouth kiss. Ranma's eyes bugged out at the unexpected contact and almost fell out of their sockets when Futana added her tongue to the kiss. Things got real interesting right then and the room seemed to warm considerably.
Not since Mikado Sanzenin surprised her on the ice rink, had Ranma ever been caught off guard like this. Futana's kiss however, was deep and passionate and took kissing to a whole new level that made Sanzenin's unwanted kiss seem like the slobbering of a rabid dog. Ranma's higher mental processes chose that moment to go on vacation to a nice beach somewhere, allowing another part of Ranma's mind to take over. What happened next was shocking, unexpected and emotionally troubling for the boy turned girl: She returned the kiss.
They stayed like that for a few heartbeats.
"Not too bad," Futana said breathlessly as she broke the kiss. "Especially when you helped."
Futana then pushed a now stunned and senseless Ranma off of her before leading her to the door. "Come back whenever you feel like it," she said playfully as she sent Ranma on her way with a gentle pat/grope on the behind.
Ranma stood in the hallway trying to get a grip on... whatever she needed to get a grip on. Ranma had been kissed before: Kiss of death, kiss of marriage, Sanzenin's one sided slobber and other ones that she never really cared to remembered. But she'd never been kissed in a passionate, full-blown, knock-your-socks-off kinda kiss that left her feeling... wanting more?
Ranma staggered down the hall, weaving from one side to the other like a drunken man, finally making her way over to the correct room. Instead of poking her head in this time, she knocked loudly on the door. An affirming answer from the other side let Ranma know that Futaba was up and dressed and would be downstairs in a moment.
Turning and heading for the stairs, Ranma pulled enough of herself together to straighten her clothes that had gotten rumpled with her exchange with Futana. Ranma took a deep, calming breath as she walked, in a straight line, back toward the stairs.
She tried to come to grips with what was going on, not only with Futana - which was obvious to someone even as dense as her - but to what was going on inside her. It was true that any affection was something that was either extremely rare or missing altogether from Ranma's life - before and especially after she got cursed. She had all but gave up any hope that anybody would love a sex changing freak like her. Then she met Futaba and Misaki - and found a renewed sense of hope. If someone like Misaki could accept Futaba and his condition, could there be others like Misaki that could accept Ranma with the curse? Maybe someone out there...
... that could love her as a person?
Ranma touched a dainty hand to her lips, caressing her fingers over the softness of them. It made her whole body feel tingly.
The kiss.
The kiss was something else - it wasn't something that she could handle on the rational level and barely on the emotional one. This was something that Ranma really never experienced before and the more she thought back on it, the more she found herself feeling surprisingly... excited by it and wanting more of it. A hot passionate, wet kiss delivered by such a gorgeous and very sexy woman like Futana...
... then suddenly Ranma's eyes widened as a detail of what happened hit her: During the kiss, Futana was a guy.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
"She didn't puke in your mouth or anything, did she?" Futaba asked worriedly after Ranma told him an edited version of her encounter with Futana. Ranma had hoped that speaking with Futaba would help her come to terms with how she was feeling.
"No!" Ranma objected. "That's gross! What would make you think of such a thing?"
"Because she's done it before," Futaba answered dryly.
Ranma stared at her fiancé. "Oh," was the only reply that came to mind.
Silence fell between them for a moment before Futaba rose from his seat. "Well, if we're going shopping, then I need to change. Can't go shopping for bras and panties as a guy, can I?"
Ranma agreed with a nod. "You going to try changing using that meditation we've been working on?" she asked.
Futaba nodded with a smile. "Yes - and if that doesn't work, I'll just think of Misaki."
Ranma watched Futaba leave the room as a spike of jealously coursed through her. "I am not jealous!" Ranma's mind scolded her emotions. Ranma rested her elbows on the table and propped her head up with her hands. She was going to face this before it got out of hand.
"Okay - I am a little jealous," she concluded to herself. "Futaba has everything: A family who cares, understands and supports him. A girlfriend that forgave him for keeping his condition secret and still accepts him no matter what form he's in."
Ranma dropped a hand down and started idly playing with a chopstick, lost in a mixture of thoughts and emotions. "I never really thought that my life was so empty until I came here." Ranma twirled the chopstick in her hand. "I don't want my life to be loveless, but what can I do to change it?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o
Ranma, Futaba in girl form, and Misaki entered the newly reopened Women's Expression Fashion Bazaar. The outside had a giant banner proclaiming 'grand reopening' on it. Upon entering, the smell of new paint and carpeting assaulted Ranma's senses as the trio made their way deeper into the store. New displays were laid out showing off their products while saleswomen stood behind the counters ready to assist shoppers.
Ranma had changed out of the outfit she was wearing and now sported blue slacks and a matching button up sleeveless shirt. The shade of blue brought out her eyes and made her loosely worn red hair stand out more. Misaki was in a short sleeved blue pullover dress that complimented her figure. Futaba was wearing jeans and a white button up shirt.
"I hope that crazy, chain smoking woman isn't working here," Futaba commented as the girls made their way up the escalator. "One fire was enough."
"Yeah, I'd hate to go through what we went through the last time we were here," Misaki said with a slight giggle.
Ranma felt a little left out of what seemed a private joke, but didn't feel like intruding. Passing the cosmetics, Ranma stopped as she spied someone familiar. "Hey," she said. "Isn't that your dad?"
The girls stopped in front of a large picture of picture of a very lovely women with red hair and blue, penetrating eyes that drew you in.
"Yes," Futaba said. "She's a model and goes by the name Iroka Kahoru. Remember when I told you about the whole idol star thing I have going on the side?"
Ranma nodded. "I remember that you said something about that and taking a break from it for a while."
"Yeah," Futaba confirmed. "Between school, the wrestling team, this whole engagement thing, and," Futaba shot a look at Misaki, "other important things, I needed a break."
Ranma stared at the picture of Futaba father, mother - whatever. She had seen Mr. Shimeru in his female form before, but not all dressed up like she was in the poster. "Wow," Ranma thought. "She's beautiful."
"C'mon," Misaki said. "They moved the undergarments on this floor to the far corner."
Soon the girls were in, all intents and purposes, no-mans land. Here, there were racks of bras, bins of panties and other unmentionables that won't be mentioned. The girls moved among the displays with Misaki leading the way, picking through the selections here and there, finally stopping where the plain lingerie was kept.
"What are your sizes?" Futaba asked Ranma as she picked through a rack of comfortable looking bras.
"My sizes?"
"Yes," Misaki said. "It would be three numbers. Your mother probably told you when you went shopping with her."
"Well... I remember her telling me something, but I didn't think nothing of it," Ranma answered sheepishly with a shrug. "To be honest with you, I was so uncomfortable shopping with my mom that..." Ranma's voice trailed off into uncertainty.
"Ah. You don't remember," Futaba concluded.
Ranma confirmed this with a nod.
"Well thats easy to fix," Misaki said brightly. "Let's grab a changing room and find a tape measure and get your measurements."
Soon Ranma found herself in a small, curtained room in her bra and panties with Misaki and Futaba crowded in with her. Misaki motioned for Ranma to remove her bra, which she did as Misaki took one end of the tape and wrapped it across the largest part of Ranma's breasts. Futaba assisted by taking the other end of the tape and passing it behind Ranma and meeting Misaki in front, between Ranma's breasts.
"Ah... what's my size?" Ranma asked.
Futaba and Misaki looked at one another in what Ranma could only perceived as a stunned silence. "So big..." whispered one of them. Which one, Ranma wasn't sure.
"Is... is that good?" Ranma asked uncertain about the meaning.
Two pairs of haunted eyes looked up at her and nodded.
Half an hour later, Ranma came away surprisingly pleased with several sets of plain cotton panties and bras. Definitely more comfortable to wear and having more coverage than Nodokas selections ever were. The three girls were making their way back through the cosmetics department to the escalators when Ranma stopped as she spied someone she recognized, this time a real person and not a poster.
"Excuse me guys, " Ranma said with a broad grin across her face. "There is someone I want to say 'hi' to."
Ranma broke from her friends and approached three girls that were crowded around a display of lipsticks. All three girls were about the same height and had their backs to Ranma and her friends. Two had brown hair, one a shade darker than the other, the third had dark blue hair. Ranma came up behind the dark blue haired girl and tapped her gently on the shoulder.
"Hi Akane," Ranma said merrily. "How're you doing?"
Akane turned and furrowed her brow at Ranma before an unreadable expression crossed her face. "Ranma?" she said softly before blinking and noticing Ranma's companions. "What are you doing here?" the short haired girl demanded with narrowing eyes. "You aren't picking up anymore fiancées are you?"
Akane's lack of self control was evident to all, as well as the anger in her voice. Ranma felt a pang deep inside her chest at Akane's accusatons. For no reason, Akane had jumped to the wrong conclusion and for some reason her words had hurt this time. Really hurt. Ranma hadn't seen her in about a month and this is how Akane greets her? Accusing her right off the bat that she was picking up girls? With no provocation or evidence? And berating her in front of her friends about it?
Why can't Akane be more like Misaki?
If this was two months ago Ranma might have either brushed Akane's words off or worse, said something to make the situation escalate into violence, like name calling. Ranma now realized that it childish and stupid then, and that's exactly how Akane was acting right now.
"Well? I'm waiting for an answer," Akane demanded, bringing Ranma out of her thoughts.
"Why are you here?" Ranma coolly asked her former fiancée as she contained her own ire. Ranma would have crossed her arms, except that she had a bag of undies in one hand. Having spent time around comparatively civil people who took the time to actually be nice to one another and listen, Ranma found that she was fast growing impatient with Akane's attitude.
"What I'm doing here is none of your business," Akane responded sharply and in an irate manner. "I asked you. You better not be doing something perver-"
"Then it's none of your business what I'm doing here either!" Ranma snapped back loudly at Akane, cutting her off and drawing looks from several other customers around them. "I just saw you standing here and thought it would be nice to say 'hi' to you, but you had to go and ruin it by acting like a jerk! Well if that's the way you're are going to be about this, then fine! Who needs you anyway?"
On that Ranma stormed off leaving an opened mouthed and stunned Akane and Akane's friends in her wake. Misaki and Futaba looked at one another before giving one last glance at Akane and taking after their redheaded friend.
"What was all that about?" Futaba asked as she caught up to Ranma outside.
"Nothin'," Ranma answered while she walked briskly through the crowded street.
"Ranma," Futaba insisted as she grasped at Ranma's shoulder, slowing her walk. "Let me help - please."
Ranma lessened her stride to a slow stroll. Futaba moved up next to Ranma on her right, Misaki took the other side. They walked together in silence as Misaki steered them to a bench. Laying claim to the bench the three girls sat down, Ranma with a sigh.
"Who was that girl?" Futaba asked. "And why was she so mad at you?"
Ranma stared at the sidewalk, watching the feet of the masses pass by, lost in her thoughts for a moment. "That girl," Ranma finally said in a voice thick with emotion, "was my ex-fiancée."
Misaki looked at the redhead and waited for her to continue. Ranma visibly started to shake. Whether it was from anger, frustration or another emotion, Futaba couldn't tell, but it was clear that Ranma was upset. Futaba put a comforting arm around Ranma's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Misaki did the same.
"I mean, I don't understand her...," Ranma said mostly to herself than anyone else. She took a deep breath and began to ramble. "She's always callin' me a pervert when she's the one who walked in on me in the bath. She's always getting mad at me for things I have no control over. She's always hitting me for no reason and gets mad at me because I can cook better than her and blames me because she's not the martial artist I am..."
Ranma shook her head at that point and looked at each of her two friends at her side.
"You know, when I first spotted her, I was actually kinda glad to see her? I was kinda hoping that after a month apart that maybe she would've changed - maybe she'd be more understanding... maybe... be more like... you guys." Ranma said sadly with a shake of her head. "Then she opened her mouth and ruined it all. I just don't understand what her problem is."
The three girls sat in silence as the city passed them by.
"It sounds to me that Akane is immature," Misaki commented. "I bet she has her sweet moments, but she throws fits when things don't go her way."
Ranma thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Did I hear you right, that she walked in on you in the bath and she called you a pervert for it?" Futaba asked.
Ranma nodded again.
"Has she ever apologized for that?"
Ranma shook her head.
Futaba sighed and shook her head. "She's probably just jealous that you're better built than she is."
Ranma turned her head sharply at Futaba with a wide-eyed expression. After a heartbeat of staring, Ranma broke into a fit of giggles.
"What?" Misaki asked, curious to what seemed to lift Ranma's spirits suddenly.
"It's just that," Ranma worked out between giggles. "That's exactly what I said to her afterward."
The two other girls broke into wide grins and add their laughter to Ranma's.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
After the mood had lightened the three girls stopped at a nearby ice cream parlor. After loading up on cones, two normal and one of outrageous proportions, the three strolled down a side lane with less people on it as they headed back toward the direction of the bus stop.
"I can't believe you did that," Misaki exclaimed with much humor in her voice.
"Did what?" Ranma asked, taking a lick from her cone.
"You know," Misaki said as she switched to a 'cute voice'. "Gee, mister! Thanks for the extra scoop." Misaki finished with a batting of her eyelashes.
"Uh... I can't help it if guys are a soft touch," Ranma said, slightly embarrassed, while finishing her cone. "It just comes natural."
"Too natural," Futaba pointed out with mirth.
That gave Ranma thought to pause. Maybe she was becoming too comfortable in her girl form? Maybe she should switch to her guy form for the night? No one would know and it wouldn't hurt anything. No. She had made a promise and she was sticking to it come hell or high water. Breaking promises is something her old man did and she was better than him. She had more honor than Genma and she was going to prove it. Before Ranma could contemplate deeper on this, her train of thought was derailed.
"Futaba!" A voice rang out. "I knew it was you."
The three girls turned as one and faced a stocky man with dark sunglasses and a goatee. He had a slightly oily appearance and sported a cigarette that was dangling out of the corner of his mouth. He has a large bag of take-out in his hand.
"How are you doing?" the man asked. "Are you about ready to come back to work?"
"Not really, Mr. Gyoka," Futaba answered cheerfully. "I'm enjoying my time off."
"Well don't take too much time off, you know how fickle the public can be."
"Don't worry," Futaba said with a sigh. "My da-, mom won't let me take too long off."
Mr. Gyoka nodded and looked over at Futaba's companions. The dark haired girl, he'd seen before, but the redhead... her eyes, her hair, her build. Wow.
"Who are your friends, Futaba?" he asked as he appraised the redhead. "I recall you," he said to Misaki, "but I don't remember you," he said to Ranma.
"I'm Ranma Saotome," the redhead answered. "I'm Futaba's fian-friend."
"Ranma, huh?" the man said to himself. "Well, I wouldn't mind standing and talking, but I gotta get this grub back to the shoot."
With that and a slight bow the man took off down the street.
-o-o-o-o-o-o
It was evening and Futana, Futaba and Ranma were sitting in the family room as Mrs. Shimeru was preparing dinner. It had been a hard day of shopping and with Sunday being the next day, Ranma and Futaba were looking forward to winding down a bit before school kicked in. In spite of Ranma only being at the Shimeru's a comparatively short time, she had started to grow comfortable being there. Ranma was also enjoying the comfortable feel of her new underwear as all three were relaxing and making light conversation.
Occasionally the topic would stray to their 'conditions' and for Futana, that included bodily functions.
"What do you do about your period?" Futana asked idly.
"My what?" Ranma asked.
"Your period," Futana repeated. "You know - the monthlies."
With a blank stare, Ranma blink-blinked at Futana before turning to her fiance. She blink-blinked at him also, seeing that he understood what Futana was talking about by the look on his face. An errand thought passed through the redhead that she'd been doing an awful lot of blink-blinking lately. The moment dragged on for a few heartbeats before Ranma turned to Futana and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Futana started to giggle before going to a full blown laughter. "Oh she going to by so much fun once she loosens up," she thought to herself. She stopped laughing and looked over Ranma's very feminine form. "So much fun."
Futaba on the other hand was trying to find a tactful way to fill in the huge gaps of knowledge that the redhead apparently had. He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat a bit. "Maybe this is something my dad can explain better than I could." he thought.
"Ranma," Futana broke in. "What's the longest you have stayed a girl?"
Ranma gave Fatana a puzzled look and screwed her face up as she thought. Moving her hands before her, she splayed her fingers and lowered each as she counted. Ranma stopped in her counting as she visibly tried to remember something. She then kicked off the house shoes and resumed counting, adding her toes in well. All during this the Shimeru siblings watched.
"I think the longest I've been a girl was when Herb locked me in my curse form," Ranma explained absently as she finished counting. "That was about seventeen, maybe up to nineteen days. Why?"
"So your probably just missed yours," Futana concluded.
"Missed my what?" Ranma asked.
"Your... ah, period," Futaba answered.
Ranma gazed at him with the same blank look she had before. "Um. What's a period?"
Silence drew between the three as Futaba mentally fumbled around. "Ahh... Maybe we should wait for dad to come home. He really good at explain-" Futaba started before he was cut off by Futana.
"I'll tell you," she said, leaning toward Ranma, with eyes filled with mirth. "You see, about every month..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Mr. Shimeru entered the family room after greeting his wife, who was on her way out to take care of some government matters. In dealing with such things, he knew his wife was a master at it and she had worked in keeping the clan safe from the public eye. Mr. Shimeru stripped his jacket off and hung it with care on the small hook by the front entryway. Moving deeper into the house, he relaxed. He spent most of the day hard at work modeling a new line of swim wear as Iroka Kahoru, his famous female alter-ego.
Of course it helped that he was also his own manager. By switching from his female to male form, he was able to move anonymously out of the studio without fear of news rags or paparazzi trying to invade "her" privacy. Also by being his alter-ego's own business manager, he also got a healthy chunk of change for managing himself.
This also gave him a sharp business mind. When Mr. Gyokai returned with lunch during the shoot, he mentioned that he had run across Futaba's and her friends on the street and noted that Futaba's friend Ranma was a 'real knockout' and could be the 'next big thing'. This got Mr. Shimeru's business mind turning and he pondered the possibility of convincing Ranma to try some modeling. Ranma's female form was more than lovely enough to convince a few agencies to try Ranma out on a few photo shoots. As the manager of the famous Iroka Kahoru and her daughter Futaba, it would pose no problem to get her in to meet a few key people. He idly wondered if Ranma had other talents like singing and would make a point in finding out. Either way, he could negotiate a good rate for Ranma, so the money would be good.
He would also get a percentage as her manager, of course.
He smiled at that and considered what would be a good time to broach the subject with Ranma.
The sight that greeted him when he entered the family room was unexpected. His two children were hovering over a prone Ranma, who was laid out on the couch with a cold compress on her forehead. It was a scene that was reminiscent of when Ranma first arrived when Futana changed in front of her. Hovering over the prone girl, Futaba wore a mask of worry while Futana had one of bemusement.
"What happened?" Mr. Shimeru asked.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Is she all right?" Futaba asked as his father closed the door to the guest room where Ranma was staying.
The older man nodded. "Yes, she'll be fine. I explained everything to her."
"Sorry dad," the young man said. "We were talking and comparing our conditions when it just popped up, I can't believe that nobody told her."
"Well it's good that the gaps in her education are being filled," Mr. Shimeru said as both men moved down the hallway, toward the stairs. "It's better she find out now and not like you did."
Futaba nodded, remembering the first time he had his period. "I wonder if she'll be locked in her female form like we do."
Mr. Shimeru stopped and though about it. "I don't know," he answered with a shake of his head. "Ranma's condition is similar, but different from ours. We'll have to wait and see."
Futaba nodded as they descended the stairs.
"Remember," Futaba's father said. "Whatever happens, she'll need support from all of us. Understand?"
Futaba nodded again.
"I've a feeling that the gaps in her education are deliberate," Mr. Shimeru continued. "It's like Ranma was raised in a cave, knowing as little about life she does."
"Yeah," Futaba agreed. "But she'll be all right - anyone who can come away from being thrown into a pit of hungry cats is pretty tough."
That arrested Mr. Shimeru decent. "What?"
"Yeah, Ranma has been telling all about his, er - her, ah, whatever, life," Futaba explained. "From the way she tells it, she pretty tough."
Mr. Shimeru stared at his yougest child. "I don't recall Ranma saying anything like that."
"Well, she keeps a lot of what happened to her to herself," Futaba said. "She didn't really start telling me any details about her life until about a week and a half ago - when she warmed up to Misaki and I."
Mr. Shimeru pondered this breifly. "Tell me more about Ranma's life."
Forty minutes later, after hearing a more detailed story of Ranma's life as told by Futaba with side comments from Futana, Mr. Shimeru had one thought: "Maybe I should look into what kind of parents Ranma has..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
-o-o-o-o-o-o-