Chapter 3: When We Fight (A Kind of Heat)

Akane was lying in her bed flicking through the pages of a teen magazine. A few years ago, when she had decided to grow her hair longer and try to be girly-er, she had stockpiled a bunch of these magazines in a desperate bid to find an instruction manual for femininity. At some point between then and now, they had ended up banished into a box in the back of her closet.

Inside her stubborn head, she knew that she probably would be better of talking to one of her sisters for this kind of advice. But after talking with Kasumi, she wasn't certain that she could make it through such a conversation without slipping up and saying something that would reveal her sapphic desires. But something Kasumi said did stick with her –- to look at Ranma as a person first, rather than as a boy or a girl, and to go from there. With that in mind, she was pretty sure she could just take the advice found written in the pages of these magazines and then improvise a little.

The first thing she noticed was how straight everything was. Everything assumed that she wanted to get a guy to notice her. That had seemed entirely normal to her back in the day, as she hadn't even known the world could be any other way. Now, though, it bothered her, in a quiet and subtle way The second thing she noticed was how pretty all of the models were. The magazines sexualized the models even though they were supposed marketed towards straight girls. And that pissed off Akane on a level – but a part of her enjoyed the visuals nonetheless.

But her dirty mind got the best of her. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. All she could think about was Ranma, in her feminine body. She was a little disappointed at how fleeting their intimate encounter had been. Akane had got to explore so little of her fiancé's body. And she was also a little disappointed at how shy Ranma could be. Despite all of his bravado, he had never really tried to make any moves on anyone without being under the influence of some magical spell. She wanted Ranma to touch her, too. But it would be bad form to just shout at him, "Touch me, you idiot!" And she was afraid that if she came on too strong, Ranma would retreat.

Returning to the magazines, she froze at a page with a girl standing in a see-through robe and some glittering lingerie. It took her a minute to see the name of the article: "Make him Want your Body – Lingerie to draw his eye and Invite his hands." Akane turned and looked at her closet. All of her underwear was functional, and she had chosen all her pajamas for comfort – not overly tomboyish, but also not sexual in the least.

"This might work," Akane said.

She'd felt that "Sex Goddess" energy the night before. Maybe she could harness that energy, and combine it with the power of some eye-popping underwear. Maybe she could make herself so irresistible that Ranma would abandon his hang-ups and surrender to lust.

Akane went downstairs to find her family milling about. Oddly, though, her father and Mr. Saotome weren't playing a game of Shogi. Ranma's father hunched over a tea table playing a game of solitaire and her father was sitting with his back to his best friend reading a newspaper. Neither of them noticed the youngest Tendo daughter enter the room. Kasumi, however, did, and silently moved to her side.

"Akane, did something happen between father and Mr. Saotome? They haven't spoken a word to one another."

"Ranma," Akane said. "He planted some seeds in their head, and now they're scared that they're gay."

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, and looked on with concern.

"Hey, I'm going to the mall," Akane announced.

Her father looked up from his newspaper. "Isn't it a school day?"

"Well, it should be," Akane said. "But those martial-artist rugby ghosts are still at Furinkan High, and Principal Kuno is too cheap to pay for an exorcist. He thinks he can beat them himself."

"Hmm," her father grumbled in response as his gaze sunk back into his newspaper.

As Akane left the dojo and started walking to the mall, she started to realize there were some flaws to her plan. One, she was going to have to try on the lingerie. What if somebody from school saw her? It wasn't exactly a crime, but it would be embarrassing to her, as it would be obvious to anyone that knew her that she wasn't doing it for herself. And the entire school knew about her arranged marriage – this would only fuel more rumors about their sex life.

But her plan was still doable. She could just go to one of the malls further out in Nerima. Someplace on the edge of the bus route that her classmates would never think of visiting. She was going to make this happen. Yes, she told herself, the ascension of Sex-Goddess Akane was inevitable. Nothing was going to stop her.

…Even if she was a little bit terrified.

Ranma splashed his face with cold water from the fountain. He glanced over his shoulder – the park was still empty, and his transformation had gone without witness. This Park was on the outskirts of Nerima and didn't see much traffic, which meant it was the perfect place for him to go when he needed some space to himself and some time to think. There wasn't much to draw people to it, anyway – it was just a few slides, a swing set, and some benches.

And it just so happened that Ranma found swinging to be quite relaxing. He would never let anyone catch him doing it in his guy form, of course, and if anyone did catch him in the act he would claim that it was a good workout for his leg muscles. All lies, of course, designed to cushion a fragile ego. He sat down on a swing, checked once more to see if anyone was around, and then let his mind wander as he fell into the familiar rhythm of swinging.

It was funny. Would people be any more judgmental of Ranma if he did things like this in his guy form? Or eat really girly ice creams and deserts? They might. But even if they didn't, Ranma had a hard time imagining himself enjoying any of those things half as much in his guy form. He seemed to have more fun in his female form. Flirting was something else he never really did in his guy form but loved doing in his girl form. Either when working as a waitress for Ukyo or Shampoo, or just begging for free stuff, or playing a prank on Ryoga.

The question lingered - why wasn't it fun for him to flirt in his guy form?

There was a storm brewing inside of him – a great hurricane of thoughts and emotions. He was terrified of looking directly at any one of them, afraid of what they might mean, and yet they kept bubbling up to the surface. He had blurted out some strange things to both Akane and Takara. How many times had he accidentally referred to himself as a girl yesterday? Why had he said that he wished he could be in his girl form more often? Why did he tell Akane he wasn't sure he wanted a cure for the curse? He felt conviction when he had said those things, and yet, the reason as to why the words left his mouth escaped him.

But the most disturbing was how he had longed to be physical with Takara even when she was in her guy form. He knew he was attracted to girls. He'd thought Akane was cute the moment he laid eyes on her, but he was too proud and too stubborn to ever admit that to her. But guys? The thought of him liking guys was hard for him to stomach. His father had trained him to be a man among men, and a man among men didn't sleep with other men. And even if he was beginning to see how much of that philosophy was utter nonsense, the shame and revulsion he felt at the notion remained.

"Hey, Ranma, what are you doing in Kyoto?"

Ranma was so shocked that he leaped out of the swing at the height of its arc and tumbled into a forward summersault landing on his feet. The landing appeared graceful, but it hurt, forcing his weight down like that.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Ryoga, the eternally lost boy, was standing in front of Ranma carrying his travel pack and wearing his usual long-sleeved yellow tunic and black pants. The lost boy's eyes were wide with confusion –- he clearly hadn't meant to elicit this reaction from his rival.

"Does this look Kyoto to you?" Ranma gestured at the surrounding scenery.

Ryoga put a hand to his chin and thought about it as he turned about.

"A little?"

"You're back in Nerima, genius," Ranma sighed.

His confusion was almost cute, Ranma thought as his irritation subsided. Which brought his train of thought back to the track it had been gliding down before it had been so rudely derailed. Was he attracted to guys? He looked over Ryoga with a different set of eyes. Ryoga had all the physical traits that were generally considered attractive – he was tall, his body was well-toned with muscles, and his face was pleasing to the eye. When he smiled, you could see his single fang, and despite it being asymmetrical, there was something aesthetically pleasing about it.

"Ranma," Ryoga said slowly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ranma locked eyes with him.

"Do you find me attractive?"

Ryoga took a step back and lost his balance.

"What?" He shouted.

"You heard me," Ranma. "Do you find me attractive? Y'know...like sexy?"

"I, uh," Ryoga stammered. "Not in your guy form, of course. And your girl form is – uh, well, you're-,"

Ryoga tried and failed to finish the sentence.

"Have you ever fantasized about like, kissing me, or touching me?"

"No," Ryoga said far too quickly, and his face reddened. "Not even once, in a dream. Never."

Ranma shrugged and looked down. "'Cause if you did, and you wanted to try something…"

"Are you offering to make out?"

"Yeah. If you wanted to try anything," Ranma said nonchalantly.

"But…I'm a guy, and you're a guy…"

Ranma pressed his breasts together.

"Do I look like a guy to you?"

"No," Ryoga admitted with a blush. "But do you really want to make out with a guy?"

Ranma paused. "Maybe? I don't know anymore."

Ryoga processed the information stoically.

"Maybe the Jusenkyo curse has affected your judgment…"

Ranma ignored the comment and thought back to all of their battles. They had been rivals for a long time – since they were in middle school, in fact – and fights with him had always been the most fulfilling. He felt a certain heat overcome his body when they fought. He'd just thought that was the thrill of a fierce battle enveloped him, but maybe that was a sexual desire that he had misunderstood?

"I mean…When we fight, don't you feel something? Like, a kind of heat?"

"Y-y-eah," Ryoga stuttered. "But that's just the thrill of battle."

"Is it?"

Ranma took a few steps forward and swung his hips in a suggestive matter and gave Ryoga his cutest smile.

"Think about it…You followed me across Japan, to China, and all the way back looking for the thrill of battle. Are you sure it was really just revenge that motivated you?"

Ryoga took two more steps back.

"You'd really be helping me out," Ranma said in his sweetest voice. "How about just a kiss? Or, if you're feeling daring, you could touch my breasts. I found out recently just how tender they can be…"

Ryoga put out his hands defensively. "You're freaking me out, Ranma. Are you feeling alright? Did you get hit by like a love dart by Shampoo? Or drink a weird potion from Happosai?"

Ranma folded her arms and snorted. "Okay. How about this. I challenge you to a battle. The winner gets to make out with the loser."

"But I don't want to make out with you!"

"Fine. If you win, you don't have to make out with me."

Ryoga considered this and narrowed his eyes.

"But," Ryoga hesitated. "You're going to fight me as a girl? You know how I feel about fighting girls."

Ranma shrugged. He didn't really feel like changing back into a guy right now and was pretty sure he could take on his rival in either form.

"So I'm at a slight disadvantage. You gonna complain about that?"

Ryoga nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. I accept your challenge. Not because I want to – you know, or anything – but because maybe a good beating will knock you back to your senses."

The two of them bowed to each other.

Ryoga started the battle with a flurry of punches directed at Ranma. He easily dodged them, but he could feel the air rushing past his face with each attempted blow. He was at a disadvantage while in his feminine form. Ryoga had the weight advantage, and while he didn't have the imagination or versatility, he made up for it by doubling down on power. Maybe Ranma could shrug off one full-force blow from his rival, but he'd be down for the count if he took two blows.

Ranma thought it would be the perfect time to launch himself into a flying kick. He didn't see an advantage in waiting to attack – the chances of Ryoga landing a blow increased with the number of punches thrown and this was his opportunity to interrupt his rival's flow. Surprisingly, though, Ryoga grabbed his leg right before it connected with his head and tossed the feminine fighter behind his back. Mid-air acrobatics had always been a strength of Ranma's, so he had no problem falling into a roll. What startled Ranma, however, was seeing how close he had come to ramming his head into an iron bench. As he contemplated the serious head trauma he had narrowly avoided, he saw something else he needed to dodge – Ryoga flying through the sky at him fist-first.

He rolled to the side and hopped to his feet just in time. The force of Ryoga's attack made the bench explode into a shower of broken shards of metal. The sight sobered Ranma –- Ryoga was in such a fury that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and was using his full force without considering the consequences. That had to have hurt Ryoga's hands, yet the fighter was so into the battle that he was oblivious to his own pain.

Ranma felt his heart beating faster and he could feel his body filling with heat. Was this adrenaline? The warmth of his battle aura? Or was this sexual tension? With all of the blood pumping, his mind was moving faster than his body, and he formulated a quick plan. He jumped backward to another bench and stuck out his tongue and taunted Ryoga.

"Over here, pig boy!"

Ryoga responded with a guttural roar and did another flying punch destroying another bench. Ranma repeated this process with the other three remaining benches in the park and shouting pig-related insults as hopped to each one. This tactic ultimately had the effect that Ranma had hoped for – the pain that Ryoga had been ignoring finally became so strong that it broke through his bullheaded rage.

"Owwwww," Ryoga whined as he looked down at his aching hands and rubbed them together.

This was a setup for a disarming attack. Ranma ran forward and jumped at his rival, who braced for a ramming attack. But instead, Ranma shifted his weight and stopped at just the right juncture where his lips met Ryoga's, and he gave him the most passionate kiss that he could muster. Ryoga's entire face turned the shade of a ripe tomato, and he simply laughed nervously in confusion.

Ranma considered the kiss. It certainly hadn't been as hot as the kiss he had shared with Takara, and it didn't even rank on the few kisses he had enjoyed. Disappointment filled, Ranma. He looked up and saw that Ryoga was still paralyzed in a mumbling stupor, and gave him a solid high kick to the chin and knocked Ryoga back through a chain-link fence. The supine martial artist went sliding across the ground until he met with a violent collision with an innocent tree that was minding its own business.

Sighing, Ranma ran over to him and helped him up, brushing chunks of bark, tree branches, and metal links from the fence off of him. He helped Ryoga to his feet and gently slapped the unconscious fighter's cheeks until his opponent snapped back into consciousness. Confused, Ryoga took in his environment and surmised that he had lost the battle. He jumped up and bowed to Ranma.

"You've won again, Ranma," he said. "I guess if you want a kiss, or to make out, or whatever, that I am honor-bound to reciprocate."

Ranma turned away and folded his arms beneath his breasts.

"No, that's okay. I don't need to," he said quietly.

"You don't?"

"No," Ranma sighed. "I didn't feel anything in that kiss – "

"N-n-nothing?"

"I guess that even if I am attracted to guys, that doesn't mean I'm attracted to every guy. Just like how I'm not attracted to every girl. That energy I felt when I was fighting you really was just the thrill of a great battle," Ranma said, and his mood lightened up. He smiled. "You know, you're the only fighter I truly consider to be my rival. And for good reason! You put up a hell of a fight, man. But I guess we're just friends."

"Now wait a minute," Ryoga protested, his mind buzzing as he remembered that amazing kiss Ranma had blessed him with a few minutes ago. "Both as your rival and your friend, it's my duty to help you grow as a person. And if that involves me helping you master the romantic martial arts of tongue lashing, so be it. I'm here for you."

Ranma shook his head sadly. "Thanks, Ryoga. But there's no point."

"Y-y-you're sure?" Ryoga asked.

Ranma smirked. "Oh, wait a minute. Did pig boy like his little kiss?"

"No!" Ryoga shouted. "Maybe? I mean, no, certainly not!"

Ranma put his hand on his hips and cocked his head in a playful manner. He gave his rival a wink.

"Well, it's understandable. I've got a hot little bod here, don't I? It would only be natural for me to get your motor running."

Ryoga was unsure whether to admit to his attraction or to deny it and merely sweated in response.

Ranma took a few playful steps towards Ryoga. Gosh, he enjoyed flirting with Ryoga for some reason, even if he didn't quite feel an attraction to the other martial artist. He'd have to figure out what the hell that meant later. He stood up on his tippy-toes and slowly leaned in for a kiss. Ryoga closed his eyes and pursed his lips. Ryoga waited with increasing frustration for a kiss that never came. Finally, he opened his eyes.

Ranma was nowhere in sight.

Ryoga waited for a moment, hoping that perhaps Ranma would come back. But a lightbulb went off in his head, and he realized this was his rival's idea of a joke.

"Ranma, I swear to the heavens above," he bellowed, "that the next time we meet, I'll kill you!"

He wasn't certain if he imagined Ranma's laughter or if he heard it echoing distantly on the wind.

Ranma was hungry. He had been roped into that "discussion" with his father and Mr. Tendo before he had even had a chance to have breakfast. Intense battles like the ones he regularly had with Ryoga melted away the calories, so his stomach was running on empty at this point Some of the best places to eat in town were way on the other side –- and were also run by people who considered themselves to be his fiancé. He knew a pretty good ramen place near the park, though. After another stab of hunger pains, though, he checked his wallet and realized he was going to have to settle for something cheap.

There was an outlet mall that he had walked by this morning that he had never been in before. Ranma wandered over to it and was thankful to find that it did indeed have a small food court. Business was a little slow at the mall, but that was to Ranma's advantage here – he was able to get a bowl of noodles and sit down and eat without delay. He wolfed the contents of the bowl down in a wild manner that earned him stares from passersby. Not that Ranma noticed, of course. But the meal left Ranma a little bit unsatisfied. Now that he was thinking a little more clearly, this might have been a good time to flirt his way into getting a free meal at a better restaurant.

"Not exactly lady-like, there Ranma," a voice called from behind him.

Surprised, he spun around in his seat and saw a towering young woman in jeans and a baggy black magical girl T-shirt. The sword at her hip confirmed that there was only one person this could possibly be.

"Takara?" Ranma asked.

"That's me," Takara said and took a seat next to him.

Takara was surprised, but pleased when Ranma glomped onto her in a surprise hug in response. After a warm moment, they both sat back down at the table.

"I figured you were long gone, out training somewhere," Ranma said.

"No," Takara sighed. "It looks like I'm going to be stuck in Nerima for a few years."

"Really?" Ranma breathed.

"Yeah. Aunt Ruby wants me to go to school."

Ranma's eye went wild. "That's great! So you're going to be going to Furinkan High?"

Takara rolled her eyes. "I wish. I'm going to St. Herebeke's. All the women in my family have gone there for generations."

"I can't imagine your aunt Ruby enjoying it."

"It's not tradition to enjoy it," Takara said. "It's tradition to endure it. It's supposed to build character."

"Still, that's great," Ranma said. "It'll be great to have a real friend around town."

Takara smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad we'll be able to hang out more."

But she didn't look entirely happy about the situation. Ranma might not be the best with emotions and how to handle them, but he was observant. He could see that Takara's posture was stiff and full of tension.

"What's up?"

"It's kind of embarrassing. St. Hebereke'sdoesn't have any uniforms in my size, and it's going to take their tailor a while to get me anything. So I've got a few days to buy some formal clothes that resemble the uniform, but…"

She trailed off and grimaced. Her eyes narrowed and she looked away.

"Oh," Ranma said. "It's hard to find stuff in your size, right?"

"Yeah," Takara said. "That's why I usually just wear giant baggy T-shirts and jeans. I usually get them in the men's section. But I'm not going to find a skirt there."

It hurt Ranma to see Takara so self-conscious like that. Her height made her stand out in a crowd, but it also made her unique, and beautiful in his eyes.

"There's plenty of girls that would sell their souls to be as tall and model-like as you," Ranma said.

Takara glared at him. "Really? Girls would sell their soul to be 180cm tall?"

"Err, I dunno," Ranma admitted, deflated. "I just think you're beautiful the way you are."

Takara rested her chin on her hand and her demeanor relaxed. She smiled and took in the sight of her old friend.

"I see that you're in your girl form again."

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"I'm guessing it wasn't because of a lack of hot water, either."

"No," Ranma said.

"I'm glad you're exploring that side of you more."

Now it was Ranma's turn to look uneasy. "I have no idea what I'm doing anymore, Takara."

This playfulness in her demeanor was replaced with concern. "Oh?"

"I was super attracted to your boy form," he admitted quietly. "I don't think I've ever really experienced that before. So I've been wondering if maybe I'm attracted to guys, too. I just ran into this rival of mine, and tried to kiss him, seeing if maybe I was into guys."

"And how was it?" Takara asked quietly.

"Eh," Ranma shrugged. "I didn't feel anything. Not like when I was with you. God, when I was with you, it was like my whole body was burning and – "

Ranma froze and slowly met Takara's gaze. She had an evil grin.

"No, no, go on. I'm enjoying this. Your body was burning, and… "

"Well, I think I only see Ryoga as a friend."

"And what does that make me?"

"Uhh," Ranma stammered and quickly tried to change the subject. "Things have gotten weird with me and Akane, too."

"Oh?"

"Last night, after you left, she came to me, and she was really sweet. She held me, and – "

Ranma hesitated.

"You can tell me anything, Ranma."

"Well, I was in my girl form, and she felt me up."

Outwardly, Takara smiled and raised an eyebrow in response. Inwardly, she panicked a little bit. Akane had gone from denying that she was attracted to Ranma to getting to second base with him so fast it gave her whiplash. Not only did Akane have Ranma's heart in her hands, now she had her greasy hands all over Ranma's perfect breasts.

"And how was that?"

"Like, amazing. Stupid amazing," Ranma said breathlessly. "I had no idea I could get that feeling from my breasts. I thought they just got in the way and hurt when I walked into stuff."

"You never experimented with your own body before?"

"Err, no," he said and struggled to maintain eye contact with Takara. "Is it like that for all girls when they're touched like that?"

"It varies a lot depending on the girl," Takara said.

"Is it like that for you? When someone touches you...there?"

"Nobody has ever touched me like that," Takara said, her sadness evident in her voice.

Though I wish you would, Takara thought to herself. Ranma had been too shy to try anything back when they were younger, and now he had that damned Akane on his mind. She'd spent the night with her warm body pressed against his feminine form, but he had stayed true to his promise and did nothing more than cuddle. She respected Ranma's boundaries but found herself wishing that more had happened that night.

"I'm sure it's just a matter of time," Ranma said.

"Mmm."

"Now Akane wants to talk to me about what happened, and I've been avoiding the conversation."

"Why?"

"Well," Ranma said. "I like it. So much. But it scares me. Because I feel like if I let myself get into it, I'll lose control. And who knows what I'd do then."

Takara took Ranma's smaller hand into hers. She relished the softness of it.

"Ranma, you and I were raised to be fighters. Whether it be martial arts or a contest of blades, you have to be in control," she started softly. "But sex is something different entirely, and it's not a battle. You're supposed to let yourself go, and be in the moment with your partner. Well – that's what those teen magazines I've read said, anyway."

Slowly, Ranma said, "But to let yourself go is to let your guard down. Y'know…to make yourself vulnerable."

Ranma said the word "vulnerable" with such venom that it practically became a swear word.

"You have to learn how to be vulnerable if you want to learn the art of love, Ranma."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, and Takara noticed that Ranma was squeezing her hand back.

"I'm really bad at that. I can barely even let my guard down when I'm alone with my thoughts. Like, when I try to think about gender stuff…"

"Yes?"

"It's like there's this – "

Ranma stood up, spooked.

"Ranma?"

"Akane's here," Ranma said.

Takara started to turn to look, but Ranma put his hands on her sides and turned her back around.

"If she sees me talking to you about feelings, she'll be more jealous than if we had been making out. She'll send me into the next millennium with her mallet! I'm sorry, but I gotta run."

Ranma dropped to his knees and crawled out of the food court at lightning speed. Takara, on the other hand, felt her body tense up. She didn't really want to talk to Akane right now, either. Takara was still digesting the fact that her rival was starting to touch her love interest in private places. The tall young woman hunched over the table and prayed that for once in her life she could just disappear into the crowd.

"Takara!" Akane shouted.

Takara turned to face her rival and gripped the hilt of her sword...