Sendai
By M. Zephyr
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Ranma x Akane. See the bottom of Chapter 1 for an author's note dealing with the entirety of this story.
Chapter 5. Confession
As the days passed, they fell into a routine. Akane and Ranma would get up early, to walk over to the dojo to get in some intense training. Hikari-sensei had gone so far as to provide them with keys so that they could go in and practice before he arrived for the day. Ranma made a point of training and sparring in both his male and female forms and so the sensei had soon learned of the boy's curse. Additionally, Ranma was taking his fiancée's training a lot more seriously. They had been discussing the possible reactions of the fiancées to their living together, and Ranma had particularly stressed Shampoo's homicidal nature as well as her high level of skill. While Akane was never particularly willing to admit to Shampoo's superiority over her own skills, she had seized upon this point and demanded his efforts to help her improve. After a heated argument, in which he had trotted out his old excuse about not wanting to hurt any female, she had prevailed. Akane noticed a number of ways in which she had improved after just a few days, and looked happily upon the bruises she received as an emblem of this moral victory.
After their workout, before the first students were due to arrive, they would shower in the dojo's facilities. When they left, they would head home to have breakfast with Kasumi and Tofu, before those two had to leave to go to work. Akane and Ranma spent the morning and early afternoon in various ways, cleaning the apartment, shopping for school supplies and other necessities, and long walks to familiarize themselves with their neighborhood and other areas of the city. Mostly, however, they stayed home while, with Akane's help, Ranma reviewed material he should have learned more thoroughly in school subjects he'd had in previous years.
Mid-afternoon the two teenagers would board the bus to go to their part-time jobs at the medical center and hospital. In the evening they would meet Kasumi and Tofu to drive back home to their apartment. After dinner, Akane and Ranma would again go to the dojo for more practice, and to fulfill their agreement to work out with Saeto Hikari. Tofu and Kasumi would occasionally join them there and do some training as well. Afterward they would go home and relax before bed with some reading or television, with Ranma spending part of the time in female form.
One evening while Ranma was reflecting on how well he and Akane were getting along, he remembered what he had said to her on their walk that first Sunday in the city, and decided that perhaps it was time to deal with that matter. The red-haired girl turned away from the somewhat boring television show he had been watching, and looked over to where his fiancée was reading.
"Akane, could you join me back in your bedroom? There's something that I would like to discuss with you."
Tofu and Akane both raised their eyebrows at that, although Kasumi seemed to take no notice. Wondering what he needed to discuss so suddenly when he had been sitting there doing nothing for the last half hour, Akane nonetheless smiled in agreement, stood up, and walked with him back to her bedroom. She seated herself cross-legged on her futon, while Ranma took up a similar position on Kasumi's. He looked down into his lap for several minutes, clearly getting his thoughts in order.
Becoming impatient, Akane asked mischievously, "Did you just call me in here to watch you contemplate your navel?"
"No! That is, no. Just ... do you remember when we were out walking the other day, and I said I really did need to explain more about why Ryoga and I don't get along? When I said that I was in too good a mood to do so then?"
"No ... oh, wait a minute. Yes. I do remember that. Was there some significance to that comment? I always assumed it was just testosterone that had the two of you quarreling all of the time. But now you're making it sound like there was more than that."
"Yeah, there is, and I need to tell you about it, but I need to tell it right, so please bear with me on this. I should have told you about it a long time ago. But it's going to be really hard for me. So try to be patient, while I slowly get it out. Please. Also, you're going to have every right to be mad about this, well, furious really, and I'll take whatever I've got coming, but please try to hold off until I finish."
"Okayyy." There was a definitely apprehensive note in Akane's voice now.
"To start with, you know what my old man is like. He never met a promise he couldn't break. A lifetime of living with that left scars. I once swore to myself to be his opposite in that respect, so my honor is very important to me, and I never want to break any promise that I make. In a perfect world, I could live up to that ideal, but of course the world is far from perfect. In short, I made a promise, I swore an oath to keep a secret, but that oath was then abused. However, I was so caught up in my ideal of never breaking a promise, that I allowed a situation to develop that I never should have permitted. In so doing, I made the wrong decision, and have no excuse other than my own immaturity. I should have broken my oath and revealed the secret right away."
Akane was looking rather puzzled, as well she might.
"Sorry if I seem to be beating around the bush but this isn't easy for me. I don't ... it's hard for me to go back on my word, even to someone like Ryoga. Anyway, to really explain it, we need to go back to when I was in middle school. Do you remember how I was supposed to meet Ryoga for a duel? That I waited there for three days until my father dragged me off to China, and, of course, Ryoga showed up on the fourth day?"
"Yes, of course I remember all of that. You don't blame yourself, do you? Ryoga forfeited by not showing up at the designated time." She shrugged. "Any reasonable person would agree."
"Yeah, well, try convincing Ryoga of that," Ranma said wryly.
Akane unfolded her legs, preparing to stand. "If that's all you wanted to say, I'm going back to my book."
No, wait! There's more to the story, stuff that I learned after Ryoga showed up in Nerima. You remember the night of the rainstorm after he arrived, when we were fighting out in the yard and you brained him with the dumbbell?"
She settled back into her former position, a little ashamed of herself, remembering. "Yes."
"Well, I had just learned that when Ryoga arrived at the place for our duel and found that I had gone, he followed me. All the way to China. All the way to ... Jusenkyo."
Akane blinked several times. "Are you trying to tell me that Ryoga has a Jusenkyo curse, too?"
Ranma sighed and slowly nodded. "According to his story, he was standing on a cliff when a red-haired girl chasing a panda ran by and knocked him off into a pool. I don't remember anything like that, but I was out of my mind with rage at the time - that would have been before I discovered that I could change back into a boy with hot water. Since Ryoga told me this before he learned of my father's cursed form of a panda bear, I don't see any reason to doubt his story. So I felt kind of like I bear some of the blame for him being cursed."
"Well, maybe a little, by that account," Akane said thoughtfully. "But it's his fault if he followed you there over that stupid bread-feud duel. Not to mention that he was standing so close to the cliff edge or wasn't a good enough martial artist to get out of the way. For that matter, why was he knocked off by your somewhat small girl form, if a giant panda bear hadn't done so?"
Ranma blinked over that thought. "I don't know. I never asked him. But to get on with the story, his cursed form is rather small and weak. He would have a real reason to fear if any enemy knew about it - it would be easy to defeat him just by splashing him with some cold water. So I swore an oath that I would never reveal his curse to anyone."
Ranma sighed again, deeply. "An oath which I am now breaking."
Akane reached an arm across the space between them, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Ranma, you don't have to tell me any more if you don't want to. I don't see that I need to know any of this. Although, at least now I can understand a little better why Ryoga blames you so much, even if I think he isn't being quite fair to do so."
Ranma grimaced. "No, Akane, I do have to tell you, because there's more. You see ... it's ... God, I knew this was going to be hard. There's part of me that's still demanding that I not say anything more. I should have done this immediately, and I'll be damned if I keep this secret any longer!"
He took another deep breath, gathering his courage.
"Akane. Ryoga's cursed form is a small, black piglet. All of those times that I've called P-chan Ryoga, or vice versa, it wasn't just teasing. Your pet P-chan is Ryoga. The very same night that I swore that oath to keep his secret, he allowed himself to be adopted as your pet pig."
Akane laughed, relaxing back on the bed slightly. "That's a pretty sick joke, Ranma. I mean, after all, Ryoga is my friend. He would never betray me like that. Maybe you," she added while grinning, "but not me."
"I'm afraid it is true," Ranma whispered painfully. "Think. There's that bandanna they both wear, the way they both get lost, the way your pet seems to understand speech and," his voice broke slightly and he had to force himself to continue, "the way he hates me."
It was the pain in his voice, more than his insistent words, that convinced her. Her wide eyes fixed on his face, she shook her head slowly from side to side. "Oh, no. No, no, no!" Akane's voice was trembling. "This isn't funny, Ranma. It's not. ... Please tell me it isn't true. Tell me you're just making this up because you don't like him."
"I'm sorry, Akane," was all that he could say.
With that, the young woman threw herself face down on the covers and burst into tears. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? Because of some stupid oath? You let another man sleep in my bed because you promised to keep a secret? You let him watch me undress because your honor was more important to you than mine? How could you?"
Her words were muffled but their meaning was crystal clear. Akane felt that Ranma had never considered the assault that Ryoga's actions made on her own honor. He'd been too worried about what it meant for his own honor to bother worrying about hers. The hell of it was, that this was precisely true of his initial decisions. He had later come to realize what it would mean for her, but by then had dug himself into a deep pit, and was afraid of bringing about just such a scene as was now happening. Out of a desire to avoid her temper or her tears, he had cowardly avoided the situation. Until now.
"I'm sorry, Akane. I'm really really sorry. Please don't ... don't cry."
"How could you?" she repeated in a heartbroken and heartbreaking wail.
"I don't know!" he answered wildly, almost panicked by the emotional outburst. He'd expected her to get mad and hit him, not to cry like this. He didn't know what to do. "I suppose because I really was an immature baka. At first I was too stupid to think it through. Later I was too scared of how you would react. I never meant to hurt you. Please don't cry."
"Oh, God. You kept this from me. You ... Who else knew? How many people knew about this? How many people were laughing at me behind my back?" She was becoming angry now. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. If she got angry with him then there was a chance that they would end up fighting, and he felt he could handle that.
"I don't know the answer to that. Other people might have known but been keeping the secret for their own reasons. The Chinese Amazons know, but they're not about to tell you anything. Akari knows, but she might have assumed you already knew about it, and I'm not sure that she knew you were keeping him as a pet. Aside from them, the only other person that I know of is ... your father."
"Daddy?" There was a sound of real horror in her voice. "Daddy knew and didn't stop him? Why?"
"I don't know why. We never discussed it. He probably thought it would make me jealous, which it did, and he may have hoped it would make me do something more definite about our engagement."
"Oh, God, I can't take this." Her voice was getting louder, painfully shrill. "Get out! Just get out right now! Leave me alone."
Ranma stood, feeling like he had ripped his own heart out of his chest. He quietly left the bedroom, and went out into the living room.
"Kasumi?" he said quietly. "I just told Akane something which upset her quite a lot. Could you go back there? I'm not sure that there's anything that you can do, but it will probably help her just to have you there."
At the first call of her name, Kasumi had put her book aside. Now she stood, unhurried, graceful. "Of course, Ranma. But you'd better be prepared to explain later." There was a distinct note of ice in her voice. Ranma shuddered.
"Care to explain to me, Ranma?" Tofu asked, as Kasumi disappeared into the bedroom, from which the men could hear the sounds of Akane crying.
Ranma shook his head. "I just broke an oath in order to tell Akane what I did, and it nearly killed me to do it. I can't ... I couldn't bear to do it again. She'll probably tell Kasumi. Ask one of them. Please."
Ranma sat down and started watching the television again, although he retained no memory of the show afterward.
Back in the bedroom, Kasumi held Akane until her sobs quieted enough for her to tearfully relate the story which Ranma had told her. The only information which Akane withheld was the knowledge of her father's betrayal, as it was too painful to discuss and she didn't wish to burden her sister with it. Kasumi was honestly shocked that Ryoga could have treated her younger sister so dishonorably; he had always seemed like such a nice young man. She was also somewhat disappointed with Ranma, but understood him perhaps a bit better than Akane did.
"Why, Kasumi? Why didn't he tell me? Why did he allow something like that to go on for so long? Did he really care so little about me?"
"I'm sure that he cares a great deal for you, Akane. But in this matter I think that he was ... very confused. I think that he found himself in a situation where he didn't know what to do."
"He should have told me! I would have told him! That's what any normal person would have done. Only a total idiot would keep such a secret!"
Kasumi sighed, then shook her head at her younger sister, frowning slightly. "But Ranma isn't you, Akane." Ignoring the muffled comment of bitter agreement, she continued, speaking hesitantly as she felt her way to the words that would express what she felt without further hurting the younger girl. "You always do that, you know. Judge Ranma by what you would do, by how you feel, by what you think he's thinking. You don't try to look at things from his point of view, to get inside of his head."
"His head is so big that if I tried to get inside of it I'd get lost," Akane replied with some heat. "It shouldn't matter, Kasumi. There's a right way to behave and a wrong way, and he usually picks the wrong way!"
"That's not true, and I believe you are deliberately missing my point. Think about it Akane. Ranma has had a very hard life, raised by an abusive and incompetent father. When he first arrived at our home, he was insensitive, arrogant, childish, and knew nothing about interacting with other people. His social skills were, to put it bluntly, primitive to nonexistent. Try to remember what he was like then, and compare that young man to who he is now. Ranma has grown up a great deal since then, although he does still have a ways to go, not surprisingly considering his starting point.
"I am not at all surprised that the young man he was then would decide to keep this secret from you in order not to break his oath. Everything he knows about honor comes from observing what his father is not. And since his father breaks his word nearly every time he opens his mouth, Ranma sees it as overwhelmingly important never to break a promise. I am a little disappointed, but find it very predictable that he would initially choose to keep this from you rather than go back on his word. After that, it probably became habit to keep the secret. Try to remember that he has finally done the right thing, that he decided, on his own with no prompting from anyone else, to reveal the truth to you. I saw the look on his face when he came out of this room; he fears what your reaction to him might be over this, and yet he told you anyway.
"And now I have to wonder if he truly wanted to keep this secret even at the start. He dropped lots of hints, didn't he? Aside from making pig-related insults about Hibiki, didn't he even directly call that young man P-chan right in front of us, and use the name Ryoga for your pet pig? Didn't he talk about P-chan's sense of direction as if it were as bad as Hibiki's."
Akane got a thoughtful look in her eyes. Speaking haltingly, she related, "That first night I adopted P-chan, I woke up to find Ranma lying on top of me, with a kettle in his hand. I called him a pervert and knocked him out of the window, but now that I know the truth about P-chan, I have to wonder why Ranma had a kettle with him. He didn't need it for himself - he was already male. I wonder if he was planning to pour it on P-chan to change him back, knowing that that would force him to leave my room."
"It's possible," Kasumi agreed, "although you could always ask the person who knows best."
"I'm not ready to talk with him yet," Akane said coldly then softened and sighed. "I think you may be right about some of the things you've said, and I guess that I'll probably forgive him some day, but I can't yet." Her voice became even colder. "Ryoga, on the other hand, is going to regret this very, very deeply, the next time I see him."
"I fully agree with you there," Kasumi added. "We will need to consider carefully how to best make him realize just how serious his transgressions are."
Akane nodded, new tears forming in her eyes. "You know, I'm still realizing the full extent of his betrayal. I whispered most of my secrets into P-chan's ears. He has violated me more thoroughly than if he read my diary. Also, I can remember several incidents where he or Ranma's other fiancées knew things that I thought only I knew, and used them against Ranma. Now I realize that I told those secrets to P-chan and he must have turned around and used that knowledge or given it to the other girls to use." Her hands had slowly clenched into tight fists as she spoke, her voice roughening. Now she growled, "I swear I'm going to geld that bastard when I see him next!"
"Akane, language!" She softened the reprimand immediately with the admission, "Although I admit that I sympathize with the sentiment entirely."
The two lapsed into silence. Akane took comfort in the embrace of her older sister, while the occasional tear continued to slide down her cheek.
The next morning, Akane emerged from her room at the usual time to join Ranma for their practice in the dojo. He eyed her warily, waiting for her to make the first move, but she barely acknowledged his presence, and they left the apartment in silence. After entering the dojo, Akane stopped short, forcing Ranma to turn to face her.
"Okay, buster, we need to talk before we start. It's not going to do us any good to work out with this stuff lying between us."
Ranma rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You're right about that."
Akane regarded him closely through narrowed eyes, then looked away, shaking her head and sighing sadly. "Okay, I think I may understand why you made the promise in the first place but I don't understand at all why you kept it when you saw what he was doing! You should have told me right off." Ranma winced then nodded, reluctantly. Akane drew in a quick hurt breath at his reaction. "You should have!" she insisted hotly. This time there was no hesitation. Ranma nodded. Satisfied, Akane nodded back and continued the speech she had practiced in her head through the long sleepless night.
"Like I said, I think I understand why you made that promise and even, a little, why you felt you had to keep it. Because it touched your honor, even though Hibiki proved he was lacking in all honor himself. And you did try to let me know, all the hints you dropped. But when all is said and done, you were still wrong not to tell me right away, and you'd better understand that!"
Ranma nodded again in solemn agreement.
Akane sighed deeply. Looking at the floor off to one side, speaking almost to herself, she continued. "I'm a bit upset with myself for never having figured it out. In retrospect, it was all pretty obvious, and I'm feeling pretty stupid." Her head shot up quickly, looking to stave off any agreement he might be stupid enough to make, and she spoke a direct warning to him. "Which only makes me feel more mad." Ranma spread his hands in surrender, conceding the point. Akane winced, realizing that she'd done it again, what Kasumi had said she did, reacting to what she thought Ranma might be thinking instead of what he was saying. Or in this case, not saying. She grimaced in apology and went on in a softer voice. "I am proud of you for finally doing the right thing and telling me the truth, especially knowing how I was likely to react. I'm still mad at you, but I'll get over that.
"One more thing though. You will swear an oath to me, right now, that you will never keep something like this from me again."
Ranma swallowed. "I swear that I will never again keep a secret from you that affects your honor or mine."
Akane studied him closely for several seconds. "Why did you phrase it that way?"
Ranma twisted his pigtail around a finger, his mouth wry. "Well, I've got to be able to keep some secrets from you. Birthday presents, things like that."
She nodded, accepting his amendment. "Okay. But ... you don't have any other secrets you're keeping from me right now?"
"None that I know of. I swear it, on my honor."
Akane sighed. "Okay then. I guess ... I'll forgive you this time. But I won't forget. Not yet." She started to move out onto the floor, then stopped and turned back. "But, one more thing. That first night that I adopted P-chan, when I woke up to find you lying on top of me, and assumed you were just being a pervert. You were just trying to change him back, weren't you? And being clumsy?"
Ranma gave a lopsided grin and blushed, unable to meet her eyes, remembering the feel of her body underneath his that night. "Well, that bastard was sleeping in your room with you, and I didn't want him to. I should have told you the truth, but we've already gone over that. So I slipped into your room with a kettle of hot water, intending to pour it on him. I figured if I changed him back to human, a naked guy at that, or even just threatened it, then he'd have no choice but to run for it. Only problem is that I didn't manage to take him by surprise and the little porker proved more agile than I was counting on. We fought, and although he was getting the worst of it, at one point he managed to knock me down. Well, I fell on top of you, which naturally woke you up, and you know what happened after that."
Akane nodded. "I'm sorry I called you a pervert about that incident, although you deserved it for being so stupid about all of this." This time she did walk out into the middle of the floor, and mentally prepared herself to mete out punishment. "So, how about some sparring, sensei?"
Ranma shook his head. "I don't think so, not yet. Emotions are still a bit too high. Let's do a little meditation first, then some katas. After that we should be calm enough to do some sparring, if we still have time."
She agreed, and the two of them sat down facing one another, prepared to start their meditation.
The following morning, Akane and Ranma were walking through a park a little before lunch. They paused on a footbridge over a small stream, and while they stood watching the water gurgling over the rocks Ranma was struck by a sudden thought. He glanced over at Akane, who was leaning on the railing, enrapt in the play of light on the ripples.
"Akane, these walks we've been taking, do they count as dates?"
The girl stiffened slightly as she considered the thought, then relaxed, slowly standing upright even though she kept her eyes on the stream. "Um, well, sort of I suppose, maybe. I mean, they're not really what most people would think of as dates. Why?"
"Well, we've talked about how we sort of, maybe, you know, kinda love ... like one another, and we'd like to get to know one another better, but we've never been on any official dates. I was thinking that maybe we ought to. So, um, would you like to go out tomorrow night? See a movie, maybe go out to eat?"
Akane looked up at him, and smiled that beautiful smile. "Yes. I think I'd like that. Why tomorrow? Why not tonight?"
"Oh, just wasn't sure if Kasumi might already have plans about supper tonight. Besides, tomorrow is Friday, and Friday night seems a little more traditional for a first date. Also, there's a new martial arts movie starting tomorrow that I want to see."
"You mean the new Jet Li movie? Oh, I'd love to see that one. And I suppose Tofu will be back from Tokyo in time for dinner, so Kasumi won't have to eat all by herself."
Ranma smacked himself in the head. "I completely forgot that he said he was leaving tonight to go down to that conference tomorrow morning. Are you sure he'll be back in time?"
"He said he'd be back by six o'clock, so there shouldn't be a problem."
"So, tomorrow night then?"
"Yep." She chuckled, "It's a date."
Friday morning arrived with sunny, beautiful weather. Akane and Ranma were preparing to go out to do some shopping, but just as they were about to head out the door, the telephone rang. Ranma answered it. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Saotome-san?"
"Yes it is."
"Good, this is Principal Bansui at the high school. I am calling to let you know that your school records from Furinkan arrived, so you're all set in that regard. The reason I am calling in person, rather than leaving it to a secretary, is because I looked over those records. Although Tendo-san's grades are quite reasonable, I was less impressed by your own results. I want some reassurance that you intend to devote yourself to your studies more strongly than the evidence suggests you have in the past."
Ranma, breaking out into a sweat, swallowed heavily. The implication was obvious. The principal would have to be satisfied on this point before they, or rather he, would be allowed to join the student body at the new school.
"Yes sir, I have every intention of doing so. In fact, I've already started reviewing some of the stuff from last year, trying to get caught up before this year begins. I'm hoping to get into college next year, and I know I have to do better than I have before, sir."
"Very good, I'm glad to hear it. I plan to keep a close eye on you, young man."
"Yes sir, I won't let you down, I promise."
"Okay then, good-bye."
"Good-bye sir." The principal hung up the telephone.
"Who was that? Was that the school, Ranma?"
Ranma realized that he was standing there listening to a dial tone. He replaced the handset carefully before answering. "Yeah, Principal Bansui. He was calling to let us know that they got our records from Furinkan." He decided he didn't need to tell her the rest. He was right, there was no need. She guessed it.
Akane smiled. "I bet he called just to make sure he wasn't making a mistake by letting you in."
"Yeah, well ... yeah. Hopefully I've reassured him a little."
Akane laughed. "Considering the grades you got, you should have aimed to reassure him a lot."
Ranma stuck his tongue out at her, then they left on their shopping trip. They had planned to visit the clothing store which the guidance counselor had recommended to them for their school uniforms, even before they knew that they were officially in. Now they felt justified in doing so.
"So Ranma," Akane asked brightly, "are you planning to buy uniforms for both genders, or just the guys' stuff?"
Ranma growled, giving her a dirty look. "Just the guys' of course. If I have anything to say about it, the students here will never know about my curse. I certainly don't intend to come to school as a girl that nobody has ever met."
Akane smirked, amused by his show of temper. "I suppose you know how likely you are to succeed at that?" She paused, her brow wrinkling in a quick frown. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty amazed at how seldom you've changed by accident the last few weeks; your idea about spending a little time as a girl each night seems to be paying off. Still, I don't think you have any chance at all of keeping that up the whole school year. Why not just announce it the first day of class and get it over with?"
"Look, Akane, you may have gotten used to my curse, but other people haven't. I don't want people looking at me like a freak if I can help it. I'll keep it a secret as long as I can, and only explain if and when I have to."
She decided to stop baiting him. After all, she was no more anxious than he for the other students to know about his curse. "All right, Ranma, all right. I'm sorry I was teasing you, and I'll help you keep it a secret as much as I can."
"Thanks. Still, talking about women's clothes, I probably ought to buy some. Not school uniforms, but some everyday stuff." He added with a scowl, "Including underclothes." He then went on, "It does seem like I sometimes end up needing that sort of thing, and most of what I have is stuff my mom insisted on buying that's too frilly and ... stuff. I wouldn't be comfortable wearing it. Would you, um, help me pick some stuff out that looks good but isn't too cutesy or anything?"
Akane smiled gently, knowing what such a request cost him. "Sure Ranma, I'll be happy to help."
In the store it didn't take them long to find the school uniforms, and they bought several sets each. Privately, Ranma thought that the dark blue color would suit Akane better than the old Furinkan uniforms had. Ranma then splashed himself at a water fountain, and the two girls went to look at the other clothing. They each selected a couple of pairs of jeans, as well as a couple of shirts and a dress for Ranma. He was a bit embarrassed trying them on, especially stepping out of the dressing room to show Akane how they looked, but he survived the ordeal.
They next went over to look at the underwear, and selected some plain white panties for Ranma. They encountered a stumbling block, however, with the bras.
"What do you mean, you don't know your bra size, Ranma?" Akane asked, bemusedly. "I thought you said your mother had bought you several, even if they are a bit too 'girly'."
"Owning them isn't the same as knowing what size they are. I never looked."
Akane shook her head, then went to find a store clerk, and borrowed a tape measure. "Come on back into the dressing room with me, Ranma. I'll measure you and we'll get your size."
They went back into one of the dressing rooms together, where Ranma, blushing slightly, pulled off the Chinese shirt he was wearing. This left the redheaded girl standing there topless.
"Okay, Ranma. Lift your arms so that I can take the measurements. Let's see. 95 cm. And here. Umm. Okay, looks like your size is 95D. You can put your shirt back on now."
Akane paused, then turned rather red. "Could you leave me alone in here for a few minutes, Ranma?"
"Huh? What is it Akane? Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. It's just, um, ..." She was turning even redder. "Lately, my own bras have been feeling too tight. I want to check my own measurements."
"Oh. Um, sorry I pried." Ranma left hastily.
A few minutes later, Akane walked out, still blushing. They headed back over to the underwear section, and she helped him to pick out some bras in the correct size which should provide enough support for his overly endowed figure. She then reached out and grabbed several new bras for herself, rather self-consciously. Ranma looked the other way, but not before noting that the ones she was taking were marked 90B. He found that he couldn't stop himself from wondering if it was the 90, the B, or both which represented an increase.
That night, Akane and Ranma enjoyed a dinner at a quiet restaurant which had been recommended by Tofu. They talked about some of the events they had survived together back in Nerima, sharing what things had looked like from the other person's perspective, and also discussed the upcoming school term. After a very enjoyable meal, they went to the theater and settled in to watch the movie. A little while after the lights went down, Ranma put his arm around Akane and she leaned into him, and they stayed like that until the credits rolled at the end.
They both felt that it had been a wonderful date, and not the least of the reasons was a total absence of Amazons, chefs and gymnasts. They walked all the way home with his arm around her shoulders, at least until they were a couple of doors down when a passing car splashed them, so that they arrived home as two rather damp girls.
Kasumi smiled to herself as Akane came into their bedroom humming, practically dancing as she undressed and changed into her pajamas. She kept quiet however, determined to allow the couple to have the privacy which they had gone to such lengths to attain.