Chapter 38 The Difference Between Boys and Girls
A/N – Chronologically, this happens immediately after the scene in Chapter 36 with Ryoga and Ukyo
Ukyo slowly roused herself from sleep and gazed owlishly at the mop of long brown hair on the head next to her. "Good morning, sugar," Ukyo said as she crawled out of the futon and made her way over to her closet to find the clothes for the day. Ukyo hesitated, then shrugged her shoulders, thinking, 'Well, after yesterday, it doesn't matter. Ryo-chan's a girl now and she's seen everything that I've got.' Ukyo took her pajamas off, leaving her in clad in just her panties.
Ryoga squawked, saying, "Ucchan, what are you doing?" Ryoga closed her eyes, but the memory of what she had seen brought a rosy hue to her cheeks.
"Ryo-chan, I know that you're still a guy inside that body, but you need to get used to this. There are going to be times when you'll have to go to the public baths, like when we go to the beach," Ukyo said. Then with an impish smile, "Besides, I kinda like showing you my body anyway," she admitted, as her cheeks turned pink. "Anyway, after the show and tell we did yesterday, there isn't anything here that you haven't already seen," she finished.
Ryoga blushed even redder at that memory. Thinking back to yesterday, when her entire life changed. Ranma and Akane had left, leaving Ukyo to explain the facts of life to the newly transformed girl.
Flashback
As they watched Ranma and Akane leave the apartment, Ukyo turned to Ryoga and asked, "Okay, sugar. Now that those two have left, leaving me to tell you about being a girl, what do you know about our bodies?"
Ryoga blushed, as she said, "Not much actually. I just hope I don't get a nosebleed every time I undress. Seriously, though, I can tell that I have a lot to learn just from how I feel."
Ukyo stood up and walked to her door and locked it. "Okay, that's a start. One thing Ranchan did tell me is that the change is complete. That means, Ryo-chan, that you are a complete female in that body, from your head all the way down to your toenails. Intellectually, I think you know that. I doubt that you realize what that means, though. Ranma very carefully skipped over this, but by being a woman, you ovulate and have periods, just like me."
"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!!!" the shocked Ryoga screamed.
Ukyo giggled as she said, "Now you know why he ran away. Don't worry, sugar, I'll be there for you when it happens."
Ryoga calmed down and then giggled. "Ranma, the man among men, also has periods when he stays female for a while, doesn't he?" Joining in the giggling, Ukyo just nodded. Ryoga relaxed and replied, "Well, if he can live through it, I imagine that I can as well. What else do I need to know that he carefully omitted?"
"That's it mostly. You need to realize though that this body won't react the same way as the old body, so you'll need to get used to it. First thing first, though, is for you to get used to the way it looks and feels. Why don't you undress and see if you can handle that?" Ukyo replied.
Ryoga stammered, "Right here in front of you?"
"Sugar, you're a girl, now. I know what that looks like remember. I see my body every day," Ukyo said in exasperation.
Ryoga slowly began to unbutton her shirt. Sliding it off her shoulders, she blushed as she saw her breasts for the first time. Ukyo hesitated, and then removed her blouse and bra as well. Ryoga's eyes bulged and her nose began to bleed. Ryoga pinched her nose, willing it to quit. Ukyo walked over and stood next to Ryoga comparing. "Damn," Ukyo said, "Are you sure that wasn't the Spring of B-movie Bimbo Starlets that he poured on you? Both you and Ranma are bigger than me!"
Ryoga brought her hands up, and slid her hands over breasts in wonder. She blushed as she realized what she was doing and quickly dropped her hands. "I'm sorry, Ucchan. I'm very nervous about this. Maybe changing curses was a mistake," Ryoga said.
"No sugar, this isn't a mistake, you're still the person I love," Ukyo said. Heedlessly, Ukyo hugged Ryoga, who promptly fainted from the feel of Ukyo's bare breasts against hers. "Sorry, sugar, I wasn't thinking," Ukyo whispered as she laid Ryoga back on the couch. Ukyo sat there, lost in thought, waiting for Ryoga to come to.
Ryoga roused, and opened her eyes. She found that she was staring at Ukyo's eyes and almost lost herself in the worry and love she saw there. Ryoga reached up and kissed Ukyo, who froze for a second and then returned the kiss. Blushing, Ukyo pulled away and mused, "Well, that wasn't bad. I definitely like it better when you're a guy when you kiss me, but I liked that."
Ryoga blushed as she realized that she had just kissed Ukyo. "I'm sorry, Ucchan, I guess I forgot."
"That's okay sugar. So long as we both enjoyed it, I don't care what body you're wearing. Speaking of which, lets see what else you got," Ukyo said.
Continuing to blush, Ryoga took off her pants and boxers. Staring at the dark fuzz covering her groin, Ryoga felt her hands involuntarily moving to check what was missing. She froze, thinking to herself, 'Okay, now I'm officially freaking out!' She asked, her voice quavering, "Uh, is this what I'm supposed to look like?"
"Oh, for Kami's sake, did you not get any sex education while you were in school?" Ukyo fumed.
Ryoga bashfully nodded her head and said, "I caught a few classes, but we only learned about guys. I went to an all-boys school for junior high, and that was the last school I attended, remember?"
Ukyo sighed. "Damn, remind me to take you over to Doctor Ono's clinic later," she said, "Wait here a minute." She disappeared into the bathroom and then several minutes later came out with some supplies.
Ryoga spent several uncomfortable minutes while Ukyo went over the details of her new gender, and then nearly climbed the walls as Ukyo described what the various feminine products that she had brought out were used for. It had suddenly registered what becoming fully female meant at that point. Once that happened, Ryoga started shivering, almost in fear.
Ukyo held Ryoga, waiting for her to calm down. Finally, Ryoga collapsed into Ukyo's arms, the worst over with. Ukyo said softly, "Go ahead and get ready for bed. There's a set of pajamas that you can borrow if you want." Ryoga got up and slowly entered the bedroom, where she changed into the pajamas that Ukyo had mentioned. Ukyo followed and changed as well, and then led Ryoga by the hand back into the living room, where she poured the two of them some sake.
"This is still got to be better than turning into a pig, Ryo-chan. Really, if we women can put up with this, surely you can," Ukyo said softly, as she stared at the still scared Ryoga.
Ryoga slowly raised her eyes, after gulping her sake, and said, "Yes, Ucchan. Turning into a pig was no picnic. I'm strong enough to get through this. I have to admit, I'm glad Ranma didn't tell me everything up front, though, because I'm not sure I could have gone through with it. I'm also glad I have a girlfriend like you to help me through as well."
Ukyo hesitated and then said, "One of the things that Akane told me is that you shouldn't try to avoid having that time of the month. Apparently Ranma tried to skip it once it started by changing back into his male form. The next time he was in his female form and her period came, it was extremely painful." Ukyo held her arms out, and Ryoga gladly fell into them.
Ryoga was silent for a while and then giggled. Ukyo raised an eyebrow and asked, "A yen for your thoughts."
"I just realized something, and I wondered if it will happen to us as well. I've noticed that Ranma and Akane tend to switch roles depending on whether Ranma is a boy or a girl. He still wants to protect Akane either way, but aside from that, when he is a she, Akane tends to be more of a leader in the relationship," Ryoga said, "I think I've seen some of the same tendencies with you, not that I'm complaining mind you. It's kinda nice being taken care of and you seem to slide into that role very easily. I definitely could get used to that."
"I think in their case, it's a definite role reversal because he is so much smaller as a girl. You stay pretty much the same size, fortunately. But yeah, I've noticed that I feel more protective of you like this," Ukyo said tenderly.
Ryoga leaned over and kissed Ukyo. Then she said, "Ucchan, thanks for seeing me through this. It means a lot to me that you love me enough to put up with my curse. I don't know if I've told you that enough. I love you so much it hurts."
"This has been an event filled day, sugar," Ukyo said, "I don't know about you, but I think I'm ready for bed." She stood up, and then held out her hand, saying, "Come on sugar, my bed is big enough for both of us."
Ryoga looked at her in surprise, and asked, simply, "Why?"
"You look like you still need to be held, sugar. Don't give me any of that macho attitude, either, you're not built for it right now," Ukyo replied.
Ryoga smiled quickly, and said, "Thanks Ucchan. I wanted to ask, but I was afraid that you would take it the wrong way."
Ukyo said, "Sugar, I've thought about you sharing my bed for some time now. I have to admit this wasn't exactly the image I had in mind though." Ryoga took her hand and stood up and they walked hand in hand into the bedroom.
End Flashback
"Come on Sugar. Hey, Earth to Ryoga, it's time for you to get up," Ukyo called bringing Ryoga out of her memories.
"Sorry, Ucchan. I was just thinking about yesterday," Ryoga replied as she pulled herself from the warmth of the bed.
Ukyo smiled as she said, "You're taking everything surprisingly well, Ryo-chan. I halfway expected you to wake up screaming this morning once everything sunk in from yesterday."
"Well, remember I spent over a year changing into a pig. The first few times that happened did knock me for a loop. This isn't anywhere near as traumatic a change, plus now I've got you to help me work through it. It's amazing how much that helps," Ryoga said to her girlfriend, gazing at her fondly. She walked over to Ukyo and hugged her, holding her tightly, ignoring the feel of Ukyo's breasts through the thin material of the pajamas. "So long as I have you and we can do this, I can handle anything," Ryoga continued, "Now you go shower while I go downstairs to find something to wear."
"Bring up all of your stuff, Ryo-chan, you're moving in with me," Ukyo said, "I've got plenty of room in the closets for your clothing. Most of your shirts and pants will still fit you reasonably well, based on what you were wearing yesterday when you changed. We'll still need to go out and buy you several things, though. You can't wear much of my stuff, our dimensions are too different." She kissed Ryoga lightly on the cheek and headed for the bathroom.
Ryoga followed her out of the bedroom and followed the colored tape that Ukyo had finally placed on the floor a few days ago. Ryoga was glad that she had come up with the idea. So long as she followed the correct color-coded tape, she didn't get lost walking from room to room in the restaurant. After making her way to the small cubby off of the kitchen that she had called her room, Ryoga packed up the several items into her backpack, and rolled up the pad that she had been sleeping on. After hoisting the backpack onto her back, she carried the heavy load easily up the stairs and to their apartment. Ryoga stopped with her hand on the doorknob as her face heated up with pleasure at that thought. 'I like the sound of that,' Ryoga thought, 'Our apartment.'
Ryoga went on in and found Ukyo already in the bedroom, putting on the outfit that she had selected. Ryoga had noticed that except for when she was cooking, Ukyo had started wearing more and more feminine clothing. Ryoga began putting her clothing away in the closet, leaving out the pants and shirt that she wanted to wear, as well as one of her yellow polka-dotted bandanas. After exchanging a hug and a quick kiss, Ukyo headed downstairs to begin preparing breakfast, leaving Ryoga to straighten up the apartment after she got dressed. Once Ryoga was finished, she headed downstairs to see if Ukyo needed any help, but she was just putting the dishes of food out.
After they finished breakfast, and cleaned up the kitchen, the two of them headed off to the mall. Ukyo made sure she was holding onto Ryoga's hand so that the lost girl couldn't wander off. Once they arrived at the mall, Ukyo took Ryoga around to several of the clothing stores. She gently cajoled Ryoga into trying on several plain skirts and blouses, recognizing that Ryoga would balk at anything too girlish. Ryoga actually began to enjoy herself, though it was mostly because of Ukyo's high spirits and the fact that Ukyo insisted on modeling several outfits for Ryoga as well.
During one visit to the dressing room to try on a skirt, Ryoga began to giggle. Ukyo asked, "Okay, what's so funny, Sugar?"
"Well, it suddenly struck me as funny that you're the one helping me try on these clothes. After all, up until recently, you mostly wore men's clothing. I'm just glad your tastes in clothing are still pretty mild. While you've started wearing some frilly things, you haven't gone overboard," Ryoga answered.
Ukyo giggled in response. "I know I spent a long time pretending to be a boy, Sugar, but I'm just taking my time to get my new wardrobe. Obviously, you haven't seen the latest dress that I bought," she said, "It definitely shows that I'm one hundred percent woman."
Finally, Ukyo said that she was satisfied with what they had bought. Ryoga had selected a few blouses that she could wear with her existing pants as well as a couple of skirts and one nice dress that Ukyo insisted she buy. Ryoga picked up a pair of sports bras as well as a regular bra to wear with the dress.
As they were walking out of the woman's section, a plain, white blouse with a yellow polka-dotted scarf loosely knotted around it caught Ryoga's eye. "I've got to have that Ucchan for when I can't wear this bandana," Ryoga enthused to Ukyo's private amusement.
"Go ahead, Sugar. You're right, that is your trademark look," Ukyo said with a smile, "Nobody would recognize you without it." Ryoga smiled her thanks at Ukyo as she browsed through the blouses to find one the right size. Finding one, and then selecting a scarf, Ryoga walked over to the register and made her purchase.
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Shampoo walked into Ucchan's Restaurant, through the back door, ready to start cooking for the day. To her surprise, Ukyo and Ryoga weren't downstairs preparing the ingredients for the items on the menu. She made her way over to the cubby where Ryoga slept and discovered that his things were missing and the pad was rolled up. 'That's odd,' she thought, "He didn't say anything about leaving. I wonder if it had anything to do with what Ranma and Akane were over here for.' Finally she shrugged her shoulders, consigning the mystery to something she would ask about later. She began pulling out the vegetables and meats that she needed to cut up for the ramen and soups that they had on the menu. As she came back from the refrigerator with the second load, the back door opened and a breathless Ukyo rushed in, followed by a strange girl. The girl had long, brown hair, pulled back by a yellow polka-dotted bandana, carrying several packages. Shampoo thought she looked strangely familiar. The girl was grinning at Ukyo, showing two little fangs as she smiled.
Shampoo's eyes widened in shock as the bandana, hair color and fangs suddenly clicked in her mind. "Aiyee, that's why Ranma wanted that second cask of Nyannichuan water!" she screamed. The girl jumped and spilled her packages. "Sorry, but you're Ryoga, right?" Shampoo asked. At Ryoga's nod, Shampoo said apologetically, "Ranma and Akane didn't say anything about this, and it surprised me." She set the tray of food down on the counter and asked, "So how does it feel?"
Ryoga giggled and said, "Well, except for still feeling top heavy, it hasn't been bad. I need to do some sparring later to see how that feels, since I can tell that my hips don't move the same way. By the way, don't let anyone else know about this. I want to get used to all of this without interference."
"Sure, Ryoga," Shampoo replied. Then she snickered.
"Okay, what's so funny?" Ukyo said.
"You two are getting married one of these days, aren't ya?" Shampoo asked.
"We've talked about getting married some, but I haven't actually asked her yet, but I hope so," Ryoga replied.
"Well, I was just wondering which of ya was gonna wear the wedding dress," Shampoo said, giggling.
Ryoga and Ukyo exchanged smiles and then Ryoga said, "We'll flip a coin. Heads I'll wear it, and tails, Ucchan will."
"Very funny, Sugar," Ukyo said with a smile.
"We'd better finish getting ready for the lunch crowd," Shampoo said, looking at the clock. The three of them hurriedly prepared the various ingredients. Ukyo started preparing her batter for her okonomiyaki, while Shampoo started water on to boil for her ramen noodle dishes. Ryoga started a pot of broth to boil for the soup.
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A few days later, Ranma and Akane entered the restaurant after school. Ukyo waved at them from the grill and called, "Hi you guys, find yourself a place to sit and we can talk when I'm done here."
"Sure, Ucchan," Ranma replied as they found a booth in the back of the restaurant and sat down.
Ryoga came in from the back carrying an order of soup and ramen for one of the tables. Once she delivered them, she stopped by Ranma and Akane and sat down with them. She was wearing her new white blouse and scarf, with her hair pulled back loosely.
"Hey buddy, we just came by to see how you were doing," Ranma said, "Now that you've had a few days to get used to it, we wanted to know if you were okay still."
Ryoga smiled and said, "I think I'm handling this pretty well. Ucchan talked me through all of the things you carefully didn't tell me about. You were right though, if I have to have a curse, this is way better than being a pig. Ucchan never said anything about it, but I could tell that it bothered her. I guess that's the reason I never proposed to her before."
"Well you certainly seem to have adjusted to a woman's body a lot quicker than I did," Ranma said with an easy smile.
Ryoga grinned and answered, "You don't mean I did something better than the great Ranma Saotome." The three friends laughed at that. Ukyo walked over to see what was so funny.
"Good, now that both of you are here, the other thing that we wanted to let you know is that we are getting married this Friday after school," Akane said.
"That's great, you two!" Ryoga exclaimed, a big smile lighting her face.
Ukyo asked, "I thought the two of you were going to wait? I'm happy for you, but isn't it a bit sudden?"
Ranma grimaced briefly, and replied, "Apparently Pop is trying to cause problems still. Yesterday another fiancée showed up at the house and it sounded like Pop was the one who pointed them our way. We decided the best thing was to go ahead and get married now instead of later. That way, if more of them show up, it'll be too late."
Akane blushed and added, "Besides, we're both getting tired of taking cold showers. Anyway, Father is planning a small reception and we want the two of you there."
"We'll both be there, Sugar. We wouldn't miss it for the world," Ukyo said. She hugged Ranma and Akane in congratulations and then looked up as more people entered the restaurant. "Okay, looks like the break is over. I'll see you two at school tomorrow and you can fill me in on the details then. Come on Ryo-chan, time to earn our keep."
"Okay, see you then," Akane said as she stood up. Akane and Ranma headed toward the door, Ryoga headed back to the kitchen to check with Shampoo and Ukyo walked over to greet the new customers.
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Friday afternoon, Ukyo and Ryoga closed up the restaurant early. Shampoo had left earlier, taking a portion of the food that they had prepared. Ukyo had taken considerable pains with both of their appearances. Ryoga was in her new dress, with her hair brushed back, flowing loosely down her shoulders. Fortunately, the yellow scarf went well with the dress, so she was wearing it loosely around her neck. Ukyo had changed into one of her new dresses, and had twirled around showing it off to Ryoga. Catching her by the waist, Ryoga held her tight, and gazed into her eyes. "Ucchan, you are beautiful, have I told you that lately?"
"Yes, but I still love hearing you tell me that, Sugar," Ukyo replied as she kissed her girlfriend. After several long moments, they parted, Ryoga breathing hard. The two girls headed downstairs to the kitchen, where they picked up the remainder of the food that they had prepared. They quickly made their way to the Tendo home, and knocked on the door.
Kasumi came to the door and opened it, to find Ukyo and a strange girl carrying boxes of food standing there. "Hi, Ukyo, come on in. Then you can introduce me to your friend," Kasumi said pleasantly. Ukyo and Ryoga entered the hall, taking their shoes off and headed off to the kitchen to drop off their food. Kasumi entered the kitchen, followed by Nabiki.
"Hi Ukyo, nice dress," Nabiki said as she tried to sneak a taste, only to get her hand swatted away by Kasumi.
"You can wait, Sis, until we serve the food," Kasumi chided gently. Then turning to Ryoga, she asked, "Are you a friend of Ranma or Akane?"
Ryoga replied, "Yes, I'm a friend of both of them actually."
Nabiki said, "I haven't seen you with them though, so who are you?"
Ryoga pouted prettily as she said, "You don't recognize me?"
"Oh my," Nabiki said, as she noticed the yellow polka-dotted scarf for the first time, "You're Ryoga!!" Nabiki face-faulted in shock.
"Er, yes, I guess you could say I had a bit of a makeover," Ryoga said simply.
"How long have you been like this?" Kasumi asked.
Ryoga said, "A little over a week. The four of us talked this over and I decided I didn't want to be cursed to change into a piglet anymore. You can't imagine how helpless I felt when I changed before. This is much better all around."
"Why didn't anyone tell us about this?" Nabiki demanded.
"Because I asked them not to. I wanted some time to get used to how everything works, and to learn how to be a proper woman, before I came out in public," Ryoga answered, "I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with who I am now."
Nabiki frowned and asked, "But why are you still a girl? I mean you can change back into a guy can't you?"
"Ranma suggested that I stay this way as much as possible for at least a month. But yeah, I can change back. Ucchan and I would really be disappointed otherwise," Ryoga said, with a giggle.
Ukyo blushed, and then swatted Ryoga. "Baka, don't embarrass me," she said.
"Ouch, that hurt," Ryoga complained.
Nabiki snickered, and said, "Oh, the poor mistreated martial artist can't handle a little pain."
Nodoka stuck her head in the kitchen and said, "Ranma and Akane are here finally. We can get the reception started."