Ranma started to run home to get ready for her date. It was lucky the woman who took her measurement the day before had almost finished her uniform. She'd only had to wait half an hour, although her special order items wouldn't arrive for a week. At least the boots, gloves, and main body armour was ready to be picked up, and if anything happened, they would serve her well.

It was fortunate that she had studied and improved on many of Mousse's techniques, because until she got whatever it would be to enhance her powers, she couldn't transform. It also left her without weapons and any other magical enhancements. However, with her Ki she should be able to simulate the necessary powerblasts and fake it for a while.

Come to think of it, she hoped that her cute talking companion was not one of _those_ creatures. It would take a sick Kami to come up with something like that. Then again, with her luck it might just be Shampoo.

In any case, it was almost a relief to be heading home, especially with some of the looks that the other students were giving Akane. People were used to the weirdness around her, but it disturbed Ranma that Akane was attractive to the other girls in class. Then again, the girls were also looking at Uk-chan, who had been acting more masculine than usual. Whatever happened to change the world around her was cascading rapidly. More rapidly than she expected.

Ranma just hoped that she could defeat the evil which threatened this time.

The shopkeeper sighed as she watched the young girl go. While the redhead knew what she wanted and how she wanted it, she still seemed too young and innocent for the type of world she was entering. While she did sell the equipment to keep her clientele happy, there were many times she had reservations. This was one of those times.

If it was her, she wouldn't let her daughter near any of the dominatrix equipment, much less the uniforms. However, the girl had her mother with her, and the mother just bought it without saying a word. What kind of mother would do this without a protest, especially since it seemed to be a spur of the moment purchase?

Oh well, she wasn't in business to make moral judgements. Nor was she to question why the girl wanted everything for the main costume finished so quickly. All she had to do was serve with a smile.

Smirking to herself, she wondered how the girl would do in her...

Sexual Endeavours

Part Four:

Their hearts pound and men swelter,

when a girl goes by wearing...

A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2

Saotome Ranma, Saotome Genma, Saotome Nodoka, Tendo Akane, Tendo Soun, Tendo Kasumi, Tendo Nabiki, Kuonji Ukyou, Hibiki Ryouga, P-chan, Shampoo, Shan Pu, Mousse, Mu Tsu, Cologne, Ku Lon, Kuno Tatewaki, Kuno Kodachi, Tofu-Sensei, and Hinako Sensei are copyright 1987, 2002 by Takahashi Rumiko.

Edited by Digital Civilization Multimedia Productions Group Inc.

Publishing rights: Japan by Shogakukan Inc. Tokyo

Hong Kong by Jademan (Holdings) Ltd.

North America by Viz Inc.

Written by Ichinohei Hitomi

"You look very handsome young man." Nodoka said as she looked over Ryouga who was in a tuxedo.

"That you Saotome-sama." Ryouga replied, trying his best not to grimace of pull on the collar and bow tie. He preferred clothing that was much less restrictive. The pants were fine, apparently Ranma had adjusted it for her male body, and it allowed him enough room so that he could kick in it. However, the jacket had to be replaced. No one wore tails if they could help it. Mrs. Saotome had taken the time to go out and buy him a proper fitting one. Although the arms were restrictive, as long as he did not use his full range of motion, he wouldn't rip the sleeves off.

As he looked over himself, he had to admit it made him look good. The dark black satin certainly complemented his hair and looks and showed off his muscle tone. The white shirt had small blue, hardly noticeable pin strips and was designed with cuff and collar links in mind. It combined the best of the modern era with a traditional look and feel.

"Take off that bandana, Ryouga-kun. It does not look very good, and your hair is messy with it in."

Ryouga choked, "I need my bandana, Saotome-sama. I'm not going anywhere without a few weapons."

Nodoka frowned a bit. Like certain martial artists of her acquaintance, it seemed that the young man was used to having at least a few items that would be useful to make him seem comfortable. Much like she was with the Saotome honour blade. There had to be something that could be done. "Young man, wait here, and take off that bandana. I've got a few items that may be of use to you."

As soon as she left the room, Ryouga sighed and took the thin scarfs off. The reason he didn't want to take them off was not, as he told Mrs. Saotome, that he needed the weapons on him, rather it was because he was uncomfortable without something there, having gotten used to it over the years. He had been wearing a bandana since his eighth birthday, and it came in useful for so many things, such as a mask, to wipe sweat off, and to keep the hair out of his eyes. It just felt wrong to be without them.

Grabbing a comb, he started to straighten his unruly locks, and then widened the natural partition in his hair on the left side of his face. It looked good, and also got the large amount of hair in front of his face out of the way. It still felt damn uncomfortable though. Well, he'd put them in the inside jacket pocket, they wouldn't be noticeable and he could always put them on after they left the house.

Just as he finished straightening his clothes and smiling to himself in the mirror, Nodoka came back into the room carrying a small tray of lead weights and a small plastic bag. "Here you are Ryouga-kun. These should do for weapons, at least for now. Will you help me prepare them?"

Ryouga took a look at what Mrs. Saotome brought in, and started to chuckle, and it quickly turned into a full fledge laugh. He soon sat down with Ranma's mother and had an enjoyable time preparing his new 'weapons'. The irony was that they would suit him.

***

Ranma sighed as she looked in the mirror.

On the outside, she was just a cute girl going out on a date. Short black skirt, black stockings, white silk blouse, and her hair in a different style from her usual. Her mother had even laid out the sexiest undergarments she had as well as a mini-slip. Where her mother had found the item was beyond her as she didn't even know those things existed.

Well, it was time to see if she perform the technique she thought of while coming home from the store. In a whisper, she said, "If I'm right, using a combination of the Umi-Sen-Ken and some of Colognes teachings along with Mouses hidden weapons skills, I should be able to pull this off. If not, I'll just look like a fool."

Backing away from the mirror slightly, she gathered her Chi, and focused it so that it was hidden just below the visible spectrum. She let her senses range slightly outward, keeping track of everything in the room, and the items that she had hidden. If this worked, then all she would need would be the power.

Having readied herself, she jumped slightly and whispered, "Henshin!"

The room was suddenly flooded in a blinding light that centred around Ranma's body. In the centre of the light there was an indistinct shadow of a girl, who seemed to be going through a set of fancy dance steps, and if you blinked, you would have missed the shadow when it seemed to form new clothes around the body. When the light faded, there was a masked girl, posing in front of the mirror.

Ranma smirked to herself as she twirled. It had worked. Her new transformation technique was a success. Now would the reverse hold true.

Looking at the mirror, Ranma muttered something to herself and seemed to disappear for just a second.

Unfortunately, when she reappeared, she was face down on the floor and only wearing one high healed boot and a shoe with a lower heal.

"Definitely needs some work..." she groaned as her clothing fell around her.

***

Akane grimaced as she looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn't that the image she was now projecting was bad. In fact, she looked damn good as a guy, and taking Ranma's clothing and modifying it was a low cost way of getting result. She couldn't fault her fiancee's taste in this at least. The problem was that the damn bindings that she was using to keep her breasts down hurt.

How the hell could Ukyou handle this sort of thing for years, especially with her larger bustline?

Another factor was that Ranma's female fiancees were different than usual. When she had informed Ukyou of the date, her main competition for Ranma's heart, soul, and especially, body, just nodded to herself as if to confirm her own suspicions. In fact, Ukyou thanked her and asked her if she wanted some advice in how to act like a boy!

Stranger yet, was when she confronted Shampoo, she received a reaction she never expected...

***

"What you mean, Ranma dating Ryouga?" Shampoo asked Akane, a look of awe and disgust on her face.

Akane calmly looked at the new girl in school, and said, "Well, as far as I can tell, the two of them have been having sex. Her mother seems to approve of him, and if you look at how the two of them act around one another, it's obvious that Ryouga has been trying to take Ranma away from us for some time."

Shampoo blinked. Ryouga and Ranma having sex? Ranma was dressing as a schoolgirl and everyone, except for her rivals were treating this as normal? Well, except for the spatula girl who seemed to expect this. Was this what Mousse was talking about? Could her actions, the laws of her tribe have driven the best man anywhere in the world to hate to have anything to do with women?

"Shampoo must think. Maybe Ranma be better if have date, and know that man not for her."

Akane goggled, "You WANT to have Ranma going on a date with Ryouga of all people?"

A snort came from off to the side, "I think all that we knew of Ranma went up in smoke a little while ago. We may have pushed him too hard, and this reaction is the result. You have to admit, the way we acted was hardly a good example of how ordinary women in Japan go about competition in getting a boy."

Both girls turned to see the interloper, and stared at Ukyou. "So. We make Ranma want to be girl, to get away from girls is what you saying."

"Exactly," Ukyou stated. "Ranma was pushed because of honour to trying NOT to make a decision between us. In a way, this may be Ranma's only way out, and it may be the only way he, or rather she, can actually have some companionship without facing death, or worse. Think about it carefully, all of the situations concerning us could hardly be called healthy, at least mentally speaking. It may be that Ranma's mind has cracked from all the pressure."

Akane grimaced, "Ranma may be reacting like this because she subconsciously believes it's the only way out, and that this is the only way to keep who she is, inside, intact."

"Exactly Akane-kun. Our competition for him will have to wait, or become something else. I've talked with a few people, and they were expecting Ranma to snap sooner or later. Some people are actually surprised that he didn't kill anyone."

"Aiyaaa! Ranma kill in China. Was with cause, but maybe Ranma feel guilty. Shampoo is one cause, Akane another. Only one who back Ranma in fight is Ryouga. Perhaps that why Ranma see Ryouga as boyfriend!"

Ukyou scowled at the other two, "Ranma killed someone in China, and neither of you thought to tell me about this?! Idiots! This could be a delayed reaction, combined with the wedding disaster! How could the two of you be so thoughtless!"

Akane growled at Ukyou. "And you have no blame in that, I suppose?"

"Of course I'm partially to blame! If either of you told me about this I wouldn't have done what I did. Do you realise what we may have done? Ranma's reactions yesterday, combined with the very cute schoolgirl who's here today is the result of severe trauma!"

Ukyou shook her head, "The pressure of being the heir to the Saotome Ryu, the failed wedding ceremony, the destruction of the last bit of Nanniichuan, from what I understand, what the three of us did to him over this year, and everyone pushing him to be a 'Man Among Men.' Of course he's snapped! To him, everything combined has probably made him think he'll never be a true man, so his mind retreated into this! Why couldn't you have told me this before that disaster?"

Shampoo looked stricken as she considered that. "Was only thinking of having Ranma, and of law. No consider that."

Akane looked a bit flustered, "I thought he'd bounce back as he always does. Nothing ever seems to keep Ranma down for long."

"What hobbies does he have? How many real friends does he have? He has acquaintances, Akane, not friends here. His father kept him from making any." Ukyou shuddered. "We're going to have to treat Ranma differently from now on. As far as we are concerned, Ranma is not a fiancee, but a friend. An ordinary girl. If we go after him...her, we will do so as though we are boys. We ask to go on dates, we do not pressure her, we give her flowers, candy, and gifts. We treat her as we have wanted to be treated. It may be the only way to get Ranma back to normal, and if not, then it may be the only way to convince Ranma that girls are not that bad as lovers.

"Ranma is in a unique position, and I don't think any of the girls will object to this. They see Ranma, when a girl, as possibly a friend, and this is a good thing. Don't rock the boat, and see if we can get close. Hell, everyone already thinks I'm a lesbian because of the way I dress and how I'm registered in school."

Shampoo's eyes widened, "Must be boy if want Ranma? Will be difficult."

"Don'cha worry about anything. I'll teach the both a' ya how to act like a boy, and use the proper speach."

Akane watched as her two rivals left, Shampoo hanging onto every word Ukyou was saying. Neither of of them listened to her, or let her explain her reasons for coming to the conclusion she had. They weren't going to go after Ryouga! How could such a good plan fall apart like this?!?

***

It was time.

After years of preparation, he was finally ready to start a takeover of Japan, the one country with a very competent police system, at least on the surface.

Most crooks outside of the country assumed that the statistics of the Japanese government were correct. After all, why lie, and worse, with the police intergrated with an intelligence service, and so many officers checking on the populance, even the lowest crimes were caught. And for those caught, the sentences were strict and severe.

However, what those outside of Japan failed to comprehend was that if one used their brains, and their own cultural bias against them, then even the Japanese justice system was as nothing.

To think, they believed in the stories that they told of people with super powers. What fools, and he could use it against them. He just had to choose the areas that were rumoured to have these "super-powered" warriors as these areas had less of a police presence than in other areas.

Nerima would be the perfect place in order to start an expansion of his crime empire.

***

Ryouga was waiting nervously at the table.

Not because of the date, he had accepted that. Nor because of Ranma's mother, especially given the latest looks she had given him which were a lot different from those she was wearing the night before. Neither was it because of the photo's that Nabiki was taking, although he was sure that he would be paying for that sooner or later, or at least his counterpart would.

No, it was from the looks that this Akane, who dressed and acted like a boy, and he really did not like the looks she was giving him. The grinding teeth was also an indication. The clincher, however, was the way she was cleaning the weapons that she brought out.

She had only really ever used them against Ranma or any boy that she considered hentai, at least in his universe.

Ryouga happened to glance at the stairs and spit out the tea on Akane much to her digust.

Ranma smiled with a little mischief in her eyes. "Do you like what you see, Ryouga?"

Ryouga could only gulp and nod his head up and down fast.

Akane glanced over and started to steam. HER Ranma was dressing up like that for the pervert. NO way was she going to leave them alone. Yep, she had to keep her eye on her sexy fiancee, if for no other reason than making sure that she wasn't taken advantage of.

Nabiki just wistled silently to herself as she continued to take pictures. First Ryouga in a very nice tuxedo,and now Ranma in an outfit that just screamed 'sex'. She had to admit, however, Ranma carried it of well.

A see through white blouse, semi-transparent mini skirt, very shiny, black high heels and very enticing stockings. You could see her sexy black underwear and the garters that held up the stockings. And Ranma's face...it was a work of art. Three shades of eyeshadow, ranging from white silver to pale mauve and blended perfectly, The eyes really opened up, especially with the way her liner was done and the mascarra lightly place on. Her blush was slightly darker, as was her lipstick, but matched perfectly, both with her eyeshadow and nail polish. In other words, she reeked sex and perfection.

As she came closer, an almost not there scent started to rise into the air. Slightly floral, sweet, and airy, it lifted the spirit and made Ryouga's heartbeat rise for no reason he could descern. If his Ranma was even half the girl this one was, it was likely he would have forgoten her origins and tried to date her.

Akane's reaction was much different.

As in she was actually cracking the bow in her hand as she watched the two of them share loving looks.

No way would they be left alone. Akane had to do everything she could to protect her girlfriend. Ranma was going to become her wife, not Ryouga's.

***

Three hours twenty minutes and counting.

They had meticulously planned this first operation, both in order to build a reputation, and to provide confidence in his underlings. Forget intimidation, or the regular scams that worked in America. A lot of people with muscles, guns, and no brains wouldn't work in this situation. No this had to fit into the Japanese frame of mind, something which made the crooks, heroes, and respected.

First they had to recruit the proper individuals, train them, and put them into the positions where they were best suited. Security personnel, computer programmers, alarm specialist, and an expert in martial arts. All experts in their fields, and all trained to work together in teams and then disappear back into society. Experts who had worked hard, and now were waiting for proof that their slow and careful actions were the right way to do things.

And in keeping with the Japanese mindset, he had even set up the best of his people as the "Boss". The ultimate crook who inspired the others, and the figurehead hero/villian that was necessary in this society. The Japanese would have never thought of putting the ideas that were in their cartoons and comics to actual use. They were much too insular in that manner.

He even had a costume, as per the heroic ideal.

There was no question that they would get all of the money in the bank, nor any question that they would get away with it. After all, there weren't any people who could get in the way, the police left the area alone at night, and the special effects were in place for anybody stupid enough to play hero.

Everything would be done cleanly, and no clues left behind.

It was his way, and his trademark.

Three hours and fifteen minutes and counting...

***

Ryouga looked at the stuff behind the counter, and wondered if he should get anything, and how he could get out of having sex with Ranma.

Now, normally this would not be a concern for him, as he was in a hate-rivalry relationship with his version of Ranma, but here...

Dinner had gone well. Too well. Much too well.

First, Ranma flirted with him. Making him actually wonder for a time what it would be like to have such a cute and wonderful girlfriend as Ranma. He kept the shuddering to a minimum as he beat that thought down, hopefully to never enter his head again.

The Ranma he knew would have eaten like there was no tommorow.

This Ranma had impecable and feminine manners at the dining table.

The Ranma he knew would gag at the thought of making love to a boy.

This Ranma had hinted that she would be more than willing to do so.

It was so wrong in so many ways.

Now, looking at the sales desk, he was wondering how he could come up with a way to get lost, but NOT get Saotome-Sama angry at him.

That's when he saw it. The movie they were going to was one of those silly ones girls like, one that he was planning not to pay too much attention too. He would have much preffered something along the lines of a horror movie, or the movie playing in the next box, but Ranma wanted this animated love story, and he couldn't for the life of him resist her charm.

But he could still buy a souvenier, and it would help him play around while not actually getting too mushy.

Smirking to himself, Ryouga bought his souveniers as he went to get some snacks.

***

Ranma smiled lightly. Amazingly enough, her date went well. No unwanted fights, although she would have liked that, no interruptions, although she had gone out of her way to make it possible, and no fiances, which she knew was because the Universe was messing with her again.

It made her edgy.

That was when it happened.

A small explossion, coming from the bank.

An explossion that HAD to be the work of the person who messed with her family and her life.

She quickly ran into an alleyway and shouted "HENSHIN!!!"

***

Ryouga almost had a nosebleed as he saw the swirl of lights around Ranma, and then her appearing as a Magical Girl.

Gods!!! He had to get sent into a universe where he was the boyfriend of a Magical Girl, and that meant...

Hating himself, he ducked into an alleyway as Ranma suddenly hoped to the rooftop.

***

Akane lost them. A loud sound, common enough in this area, and both of them disappeared.

"Ryouga, I'll kill you. I don't know where you took my fiancee, but I will KILL you and get her back. NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE but me will get into her panties."

Unseen behind her was one of her friends, Yuka, who heard the declaration. She shook her head and headed the other way, not wanting to get involved. "I need a drink, this is getting TOO insane for words."

***

The crooks were streaming out of the bank, only to hear a shout, "I don't think you want to make a withdrawal at this time of night!"

Looking up, they saw a red headed girl in a very sexy black leather outfit that left little to the imagination. Her breasts were clearly seen, there were some chains around her waist, and her long legs were encased in stilleto heels which were at least 4 inches high, and made her legs look heavenly. From there angle, they could even see her sexy underwear. The black mask hid the colour of her eyes and looked as though they were made out of saphres. It wasn't possible. There couldn't actually be a superhero. Could there?

The girl jumped to the street from a three story building as said calmly while making poses and pointing. "Decending upon evil like an Angel, I am GEM. I will stop your marauding and deliver you to justice."

To be continued...