The first unpleasant feeling was the slap against Ranma's skin as he slammed into the water's surface. The second was the bone-chilling sensation of the water enveloping his body, which was immediately followed by the third and worst feeling - the tingle throughout his body as the curse morphed it into a feminine form.
This was bad. This was very bad. The whole school, or at least the whole class, was watching. He knew it was almost inevitable that his secret would come out, but he'd hoped it wouldn't have to be so soon. Already, though, his lungs were beginning to burn. He couldn't stay under the water much longer.
A shadow passed overhead; Ranma looked up to see Kuno floating at the pool's surface, face-down and apparently unconscious. Couldn't people drown like that? He was pretty sure he'd heard that somewhere. Regardless, he knew he shouldn't leave her… he could get her out of the water, at least.
Pushing up beneath the unconscious 'new star of the high school kendo world,' Ranma poked his head above water, realizing in that moment that carrying Kuno also served as decent cover from the onlookers above.
Kodachi's breath near Ranma's ear hitched for a half a second, followed by a small vocal noise. Crap, was she waking up? The edge of the pool was so close, if Ranma could just- But Kodachi began to stir, her arms lowering into the water at Ranma's sides.
"Ranma Saotome..." she said, her normal bravado slightly dampened. "I-" Her arms wrapped around Ranma, one hand coming to rest on his breast. "I fight on!" She squeezed her arms and hand, presumably trying to grapple, but also copping an uncomfortable feel.
"Wha-?" she muttered, her grip loosening suddenly.
"THAT HURT!" Ranma shouted, his hands moving up to grasp the back and top of Kodachi's head. He flung her over his shoulder, smashing her body into the concrete lining the pool. Then he leapt out of the water, using Kuno's stomach as a makeshift bounce pad to fly higher into the air, managing to get up and over the fence that lay between the pool and the school grounds.
There were 'oohs' and other noises from the students, but Ranma couldn't make out words, and had no intention of stopping to listen. He sprinted away as quick as his feet could carry him, not stopping until the sound of their squacking was completely inaudible.
A shiver shot up his spine. There was a light breeze, which was pretty much the worst thing when one was sopping wet and in clingy, baggy clothes. He had to squeeze some of this stupid water out or he was gonna die of hypo-therma-whatzit.
Climbing a nearby tree, he took refuge on a strong-looking branch and started pulling his pants off. A hand floated over to his chest, lightly grasping his recently-assaulted boob. It was still sore from how hard Kuno had grabbed it. What a jerk! And a perv. He sighed. I guess she knows my secret now…. No one seems to like her much, though, so maybe they won't believe her if she says something? I might be able to keep this under wraps for a little bit longer…
Just as he got the second pant leg off, a voice called out, causing him to jump and nearly fall from the tree.
"Excuse me!" Kuno had already caught up with him, and was looking up at his perch from a few meters away. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he was pantsless, prompting him to hastily cover his bare legs with the soaked pants.
"What'a'ya want?" Ranma shouted, glaring.
Kuno moved a bit closer, her eyes staying on Ranma's, rather than drifting lower. "You are the person that was in the pool just now, yes?"
Ranma grit his teeth. There was little point in denying it. "...Yeah, that was me."
Clapping her hands together and bowing, Kuno said, "My apologies, dear woman, for my unintended groping of your person! I mistook you for someone else, but 'tis no excuse for such reprehensible action! I humbly beg your forgiveness!"
Blinking in surprise, Ranma lowered his arms, mind not focused on covering his legs anymore. She doesn't realize…? "I, uh… thanks. 'Pology accepted."
A smile overtook Kuno's face for a moment before quickly fading. "While I am here, might I ask - did you see where that black-haired boy, with a pigtail much like yours, ran off to?"
Ranma shook his head from side to side.
Scowling, one of her hands balling into a fist, Kuno said, "That coward - running away in the middle of a fight!"
Ranma's eyes narrowed.
"No doubt he feared my prowess!" she continued, shouting to the heavens. "Bah, he is no man! He is no woman! He is but a scared child!"
Damp pants smacked into Kuno's face, then fell to the ground in a heap. Ranma leaped down from the tree, striking a ready position as soon as his feet hit earth.
Kodachi blinked. "That was quite rude. I thought you accepted my apology."
"You thought I was gonna sit there and take that!?" Ranma said, gritting his teeth and shouting. "I can kick your butt any time, any place! Bring it on!"
Utterly surprised, Kuno said, "You… you wish to fight me?"
"Exactly! Let's hurry up and do this!"
Surprise shifting into amusement, Kodachi brought her bokken up and let it rest on her shoulder. "Interesting. So you, too, wish to prove your love!" Ranma grimaced. "Well, I will allow you the chance! I shall fight you, and if you are able to best me, I shall grant you a date!"
As the final word left her mouth, Kuno swung her sword, which Ranma dodged with a leap. "I didn't say a damn thing about a date!" He kicked his foot out, smashing it into Kuno's face, instantly knocking her to the ground. Once his feet touched earth again, he flipped Kuno's sword into the air, grabbed it, and pointed it at her shocked face.
"And Ranma Saotome's even better'n me!" she said with a smirk, dropping the weapon like it was a mic. Appropriately, Kuno only response was to gape in awe.
"There you are!" a pleasantly familiar voice said. Ranma looked to the right to see Akane running toward him, a kettle cradled in her arms.
Turning away from Kuno, Ranma walked toward Akane, still grinning.
"I've been looking all over!" Akane said, pouting a little. Her eyes glanced down at Ranma's legs. "...You know you've got no pants, right?"
Warmth grew in Ranma's cheeks. He shrugged. "Oh, uh, yeah. Didn't need 'em anymore."
Raising an eyebrow, Akane said, "So this is... purposeful."
"Of course!" He put his hands behind his head, trying his best to feign nonchalance.
Akane's eyes roamed again, in a different direction this time. "You know, I'm not sure why I didn't notice it before, but… you've got no armpit hair."
Ranma's arms immediately clamped against his sides, his face heating up even more. "Wh- I- What's your point!?"
She shrugged. "Just observing a fact."
His feet shuffling in an odd quick walk, Ranma moved past Akane, making a grab for the kettle. She moved just far enough to make him miss, but followed him as he kept walking away.
"You gonna hand that over?" he said, glaring.
Another shrug. "Probably." A few seconds passed. "That was stupid, you know, jumping out the window without even looking."
"Don't remember askin' you."
"Hm…" she said, tapping her lip with a finger. "Guess you don't really want this water, then."
Ranma stopped in his tracks. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, okay?" He reached for the kettle again, fingers wiggling, but she kept it out of reach.
"Apology accepted! But one more thing, first." Her eyes moved to his upper arms. "How come you shave your pits?"
"I-i-!" Ranma sputtered for a few seconds. "It's part of the curse-"
Akane smirked. "Hah, no, they're like that when you're a guy, too! It just didn't hit me until now."
Was his face on fire? He was pretty sure it was. "It's just... people expect it when you're a girl, so I keep it like that all the time, since I never know when I'm gonna-"
"Jump into a pool," Akane finished.
Ranma glared, holding out a hand. "Water now?"
Giggling, Akane handed it over. She didn't stop laughing for quite a while, as they walked. It wasn't the worst sound.
{}
"Hey, Ranma," Nabiki said the next day, catching him as he was walking toward the washroom.
"What's up?" he said, coming to a halt.
"Kuno-chan wrote this for you." She handed him a small envelope, addressed to 'The Tree-Borne Pantless Girl.' "Pretty sure she thinks you're two different people."
Ranma rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, I've noticed." His eyes scanned the letter, a frown forming as he reached the end.
"What's it say?"
Crumpling it, Ranma said, "It's a challenge letter. She wants to meet at the school on Sunday."
Nodding sagely, Nabiki said, "Yeah, sounds about right. Kuno-chan hates to lose, and Akane mentioned you beat her..." She smirked. "She left the pantsless part out, though."
Ranma sighed, and continued on to his bath.
{}
Sunday couldn't come fast enough. When it finally arrived, Ranma was only too eager to get dressed and make his way over to the school grounds. Even if Kuno thought his two forms were different people, if he could beat her soundly enough in both forms, hopefully she'd stop bothering him all the damn time.
He wore another set of clothes from China, and not ones fitted for his female form. Ranma didn't actually have any clothes specifically for girl-mode, but he was at least able to roll the pant legs up and tie a sash around his waist ahead of time, to mitigate some of the bagginess.
The field Kuno called him out to was a big, flat, grassy area on the edge of school grounds. The light breeze was stronger out here, with no trees or buildings to buffer it.
Despite Ranma arriving early, Kuno was already there, waiting near the center of the field.
"So, you have come, my tree-borne pantsless girl!" she called out, saying the words far more solemnly than seemed appropriate.
"I got pants now," Ranma said, glaring. He stopped a meter or two from Kuno, taking note of her suspicious lack of a sword. There was a hand kept behind her back… maybe it was there? But she'd never bothered to hide it before, didn't make much sense to do so now. "You ready to go? Where's your sword?"
Waving her free hand, Kuno said, "I've no need of such things. Not today."
Ranma didn't look impressed. "Pretty confident for someone I dropped with one kick the other day."
Far from looking insulted, as Ranma had expected, Kuno seemed pleased. "Such a show of strength is what inspired my missive! As for confidence, let me show you confidence of a different sort, by giving you… this!"
With the last word, Kuno threw whatever she'd been holding behind her back with surprising speed. Ranma was barely able to catch it, especially since it went a bit high - well over this form's head. The light 'crunch' it made when he grabbed it surprised him - what kind of weapon was this? Pulling his arm down, his eyes bugged in his head to see that he was holding a bouquet of black roses.
"Pig-tailed girl," Kuno said softly, a light tint to her cheeks, "I love you."
It felt as though Ranma's heart had gone into overdrive. It hammered in his chest, almost painfully, like it was trying to escape his body. Legs giving way, he collapsed to his knees, staring wide-eyed at Kuno.
She smiled down at him, then turned and walked away. Her ponytail and her gi's sleeves danced in the breeze. She didn't look back.
{}
It sure was dark in this room. Ranma couldn't see a thing - it was as though he was surrounded by nothing. If he could find a wall, maybe he could find a light switch... Suddenly a light from high, high above flicked on, shining on him like a spotlight.
"Ranma!" a voice called out, prompting him to swivel around. Behind him, Kuno stood, holding a bouquet of black roses. Except she was taller than usual - a giant, even. She stared down at him menacingly, unmoving.
"K-kuno!?" Ranma said, horrified. "What's going-"
"I love you!" the giantess shouted, the force of her voice shaking the very earth itself. Ranma struggled to stay on his feet.
"Look, you idiot, I'm a guy!" he said, pointing at himself with his thumb.
A smile grew on Kuno's face. "Then why are you wearing such a cute dress?"
Ranma's breath hitched. He looked down at himself, body still in guy-mode, but covered by an adorable blue dress. "W-wait, I-"
"That one is cute as well!" Kuno bellowed. Ranma was now wearing a form-fitting red dress that showed off the cleavage his body now had.
A mirror appeared in front of Ranma, forcing him to take in his girly form in all its glory. Except… it wasn't 'girl-mode', at least not like it normally was. His hair was still black, and he was still his normal height.
"You're such a pretty girl," Kuno's voice boomed.
In the mirror, Ranma saw himself smiling. Kuno was right… she was pretty, wasn't she?
Screaming, Ranma awoke in a cold sweat. His father, currently in panda form, shuffled a little in his sleep, but didn't seem to wake. Ranma glanced about the dark room, which was not so dark that he couldn't make out his surroundings. He was back in the real world; the dream was over.
'Dream'... more like nightmare. What the hell was that about? This whole Kuno business had apparently shaken him up way more than he'd first thought. A shiver went up his spine, as he recalled the words he'd heard in both his dream world and the real world: "I love you."
Pulling the sheet over his shoulders, Ranma tried to get himself to fall asleep again. But his mind instead drifted back to the dream, this time focusing on the end, when he'd looked into the mirror. He'd smiled… he remembered it clearly. Why? Even in a dream, why would he have enjoyed any of that? He sighed, shuffling on his tatami mat. Chalk it up to weird dream logic, that was the only thing he could figure. It was the only thing that made sense.
As sleep finally found him, the last image to flit through his waking mind was of himself, wearing that red dress. He smiled.
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Just take the hints already, Ranma. They're not subtle.