Chapter 19

Ranma roared as his hands blurred into the fire. He grabbed the chestnuts that he had thrown into the flames. He managed to grab them all and did not get hurt as much. He could feel that he was getting closer to mastering this exercise. He was happy that he was. It wasn't that he found it troublesome; it was just that he couldn't wait for this technique that Cologne wanted to teach him. He got a preview of that technique. It was called the Yashi o Hasai (Crushing Palm). It was a devastating technique as he witnessed when Cologne demonstrated with a couple of trees. He couldn't wait to learn that move and he was happy that he had the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (Imperial Roasting Chestnuts in the Fire Fist) even though it wasn't an official technique. He would usually test his with Shampoo's. He would beat hers eventually.

He laid back and looked at the sky. The air was warmer as the summer season was about to begin. School was out and Ranma was going to use the summer to train and search for more styles. His plans would be put on hold as the Tendos invited him and his father to the beach. It was an annual thing that they did at the beginning of summer. While he wouldn't mind, he was a little depressed as he would be spending most of it as a girl. It was embarrassing going shopping with Nabiki for swim wear. It didn't help that Nabiki would laugh at him and the saleswoman comment about his 'bust' size.

Still, he could use the break from training and from Nermia for a while. He sat up and put out the fire. He made his way inside the house to pack for the trip.

XXX

Ranma sat down with a sweater covering her. She had a small frown on her face as she enjoyed the breeze and sun. Nabiki was lying next to her sunbathing, Akane was fitting an inter-tube around her waist and Kasumi was cutting up some watermelon. Kasumi turned to offer Ranma a piece but frowned when she saw her face.

"Ranma, can't you just enjoy the beach a little?" Kasumi asked. She was wearing a one piece with a bow at the chest.

"Come on Ranma, show them what you got." Nabiki added with mirth. She was wearing a concretive two piece.

"You think this is funny? I'm a freaking boy!" Ranma snarled.

"Not at the moment Ranma. I know that you are uncomfortable but just bear with it. It's only for a week." Kasumi said. Ranma sighed and stood up. She removed the sweater to reveal and black and yellow one piece with the word 'boy' on her chest. She sat back down with a huff. She looked back to see the piece of watermelon and took it with a small smile. She ate it and enjoyed it.

As she ate, a shadow fell over her. Ranma growled slightly because she believed that it was a boy who wanted to ask her out. She looked up to tell the guy off but was surprised that it wasn't a guy. It was Shampoo.

"Nihao Ranma!" Shampoo greeted. She was wearing a one piece, floral bikini and some jewelry.

"Shampoo? What are you doing here at the beach?" Ranma asked.

"We moved our business here to the beach for the first week of summer. I just finished making a delivery, so I'm free at the moment. Do you want to walk around?" Shampoo asked.

"I don't know. I'm not really comfortable in this form." Ranma said.

"Oh, it's fine. Let's go." Shampoo said and dragged Ranma to her feet and dragged her along the beach. Akane, who was wearing a stripped one piece, glared at the two as they walked away. She was disgusted with how they were acting around each other because they were both girls. She needed to release some steam and noticed a watermelon breaking competition. She stomped over and signed up.

XXX

Ranma and Shampoo were walking along the water and had some icicles with them. Both were getting some looks from the males on the beach and some were brave enough to hit on them. Shampoo found it funny that Ranma was so un-comfortable about it.

"You need to relax Ranma. You know that you're a boy and I know that you're a boy. You don't need to be so tense." Shampoo said.

"I'm trying but it's not easy. I know that I'm a boy but I look down and see 'these'," Ranma grabbed his chest, making a few boys faint or crash into something. "I see that I'm a girl."

"Is that such a bad thing? If I recall, you didn't mind using them to get the price reduced for these treats." Shampoo mocked.

"Hey, that wasn't my idea. You started it and challenged me." Ranma said. This made Shampoo giggle and Ranma joined her. After getting the laughter out, Shampoo stared at the ocean.

"I've never really seen the ocean before. It's vast and beautiful." Shampoo said.

"You've never been to the beach back in China?" Ranma asked.

"We live in the jungle Ranma. It would take three weeks of travel to reach civilization to see a beach. We did have nice lakes and hot springs so I didn't mind. It's a shame that I can't ready enjoy it because of my curse." Shampoo said with a little frown.

"Man, I feel like a heel. I'm complaining about my curse and with your curse you can't enjoy swimming in the water as a human." Ranma said. She turned and saw something and got a grin on her face. "Or maybe not." Shampoo was confused and was wondering why Ranma was running over to a stand.

XXX

Cologne was searching for Shampoo who had yet to return. She was wondering where that girl was when she saw a small crowd of people near the water. She moved closer and saw her smiling great granddaughter. And it wasn't her usual smiles; it was a full blown smile of enjoyment. She saw that she was standing on the back of a female Ranma who was on a surf-board. She heard her let out a happy cheer as she and Ranma rode the wave. Cologne smiled at the two and decided to give Shampoo a little more time with her future husband.

XXX

Ranma returned to the lodge that everyone was staying at. She shook out the water in her hair and grabbed a towel. She wrapped it around herself before stripping off the bathing suit. She grabbed the teapot that was on a small heater and poured it on herself. Now back as a male, Ranma grabbed his clothes and changed before entering. When he did he saw Soun, Nabiki, Akane and Kasumi who was in the kitchen.

"Where's my old man?" Ranma asked.

"The kids on the beach were giving him free stuff and still are." Nabiki said. She then noticed that Ranma wasn't as gloomy as before. "It looks like you were having some fun. What did you a Shampoo do?"

"Oh, we walked around and talked. Then, we went surfing. I was on the board and she was on my back. We did that for a while before she realized that she had to get back to work. It was pretty fun." Ranma said.

"Well, I'm glad that you had fun Ranma." Kasumi said. "And you weren't the only one. Akane won the watermelon smashing contest that they held on the beach." Ranma saw the trophy. Ranma just nodded and sat at the table. Nabiki looked at him as he sat down.

"So, who do you like more Ranma?" Nabiki asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Ranma asked with confusion.

"I asked who do you like more. Do you like Shampoo or do you like Kodachi? You can't sit here and tell me that you don't have any type of attraction to either one of them." Nabiki stated.

"Nice try but that a private question that I'm not going to answer. Besides, I know what you will do with that information and that will not bode well for me or Nermia knowing those two." Ranma replied.

"Okay, let me rephrase the question. If you had a way out of this engagement, who would you like to be with?" Nabiki asked. Ranma looked at her and was actually thinking about it. It wasn't that he didn't think that both girls were ugly but he began to look pass looks of people. Just because they acted a way on the outside, didn't mean that they were like that on the inside.

"Well, I… I don't really know. I mean, yeah they are both good-looking but the reason that we're such good friends is because I got to know them. I'm not going to tell you anything about their lives but let's just say that there is more to them that they present." Ranma said. Nabiki nodded at the question but it was too vague for her taste. She decided to tease him a little more.

"Okay, here's another question for you. Out of the three of us, who would you marry if you agreed with the pact our parents made?" Nabiki asked. She smirked at him, knowing that he wouldn't answer the question.

"Kasumi." Ranma answered. That shocked everyone, Nabiki and Kasumi mostly.

"Say what? You actually answered the question?" Nabiki asked.

"Well you did ask and it isn't like I'm agreeing to their stupid pact anyway. You were asking me as a 'what if' type of situation, right?" Ranma asked with a little confusion.

"Uh, yeah, that's right." Nabiki said quickly.

"I'm flattered Ranma but wouldn't you want someone closer to your age?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, that would be the norm but if I was to accept the engagement, I would still choose you." Ranma said.

"Can you clarify why?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, she's a great conservationist, she's funny and she's caring. Her interest in medicine is appealing and how she can do most of the things for just reading books is amazing. She could even help out when I get my own dojo. Not to be insulting to you and Akane, she just seems more interesting." Ranma said.

"Interesting? Kasumi?" Nabiki asked in shock. Kasumi turned to her and looked at her with 'what's that supposed to mean' face.

"Well yeah, it's probably buried under her homely personality but I bet you that there is someone under that who is interesting. Come on, you've never considered that Kasumi has a wild side to her?" Ranma asked. Nabiki looked at Kasumi as if she was searching for something. Kasumi blushed at all the attention. Nabiki turned back to Ranma.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Well, she very pretty. I'm surprised that she doesn't have a steady boyfriend. Any guy would be lucky." Ranma said.

"YOU PERVERT!" Akane roared and slammed the table down on Ranma's head. She stormed out of the beach house, leaving a downed Ranma, surprised Nabiki and a very flustered Kasumi. She didn't know why but she liked the fact that Ranma thought those things about her. It was nice to hear someone compliment her once in a while. She happily went back to cooking dinner, remembering to give Ranma and bigger portion and an ice pack.

XXX

Ryoga was in Nermia and was searching for his mortal enemy. It took him a week to get back to Tokyo but it didn't matter. He had been training in the mountains for a while and he was prepared to destroy him. He thought back to how was brought back. He had gotten splashed earlier and cursed. That's when he was picked up by an old woman who said that she was going to cook him, which happened a lot thanks to this curse. He tried to get free but the woman was pretty strong. When she dropped him in the boiling water, he instantly transformed. He tried to pound her but she easily defeated him. After a while, he was dressed and preparing to leave. He had told her the reason for him being here and the woman actually scoffed at him. She offered him some training but he ignored her request. He didn't need the help of some old woman.

He searched around when his eyes landed on Ranma who was running across the fence with ease. Without warning, he attacked Ranma. Ranma saw it coming and dodged with ease. The two landed near a fountain and faced each other. Ranma looked at him with annoyance.

"I was hoping that you would just stay lost but I guess I'm not that lucky." Ranma said.

"What's wrong Ranma? I gave you time to get your things in order. You should be grateful that I gave you such a reprieve." Ryoga said with a smirk.

"I would if it was someone else but since it is you, I know that it for the same stupid reason as always." Ranma said.

"Stupid reason?! Because of you I've seen hell!" Ryoga roared and attacked Ranma. Ranma, still holding the bowl with the eel, easily ducked and dodged Ryoga's attacks. It was like he was seeing each punch and kick coming for a mile away. Having enough and having the need to get back to his work, Ranma launched a quick jab with the arm he held the bowl with. He was able to catch it in a second. Ryoga was staggered and Ranma capitalized by using his Boxing with both hands. Because of the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken training, he was able to catch the bowl every time. Ranma landed a finally uppercut which landed Ryoga into the fountain. The change was immediate and a black piglet appeared out of the water. Ranma just looked at him.

"It's been fun P-chan but I got to get going. Perhaps you should get some more training in. You were pretty slow." Ranma said and took off. The piglet snarled and let out a loud squeal. How the hell did Ranma get so fast? He was dodging his punches and kicks as if they weren't there. What kind of training did he do that made him so strong? He was then found by Akane who was happy to see him. She picked him up and took him home. He would get to the bottom of this if it killed him.

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Authors' Notes – These chapters just seem to be coming out easier for me. Anyway, here's the new chapter.