Steel Hearts
Chapter 1: Crucible
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is owned by Vis Video, Rumiko Takehashi, and the respective companies associated therein. I do not own this work, and am using it purely for the joy of writing. Furthermore, I do not own any other works, games, and/or characters that may, or may not, appear within this story. All original characters will be noted at the end of the chapter.
The attic was, as far as attics go, a fairly typical representation of them. Dry, dusty, poorly lit, and cramped for space. All in all, perfectly suited for clandestine meetings, shady deals, and an assortment of mystical nonsense (1). Akane Tendo had never really put much thought to being up here for any length of time, the attic being entirely too close to the roof, and thusly Ranma's nightly haunts, for her personal comfort and sanctity. Akane knew, deep in her heart, that Ranma wasn't nearly as bad as she made him out to be, but her feelings on him, the engagement, the fiancés, rivals, and challengers were more than a bit muddled. Her introspection was cut short by the very topic of her thoughts entering the attic. Once again, she took the time to drink in his appearance. Shaggy black hair worn long in the back and pulled into an upper-back length braid topped a ruggedly handsome face with a pair of expressive blue-grey eyes. His body was toned, hardened muscle rippling under skin marred with countless scars, with hands that could crush steel beams(2) one moment, yet be as gentle as a spring rain the next.
Ranma finished ascending the stairs, a small tray of snacks and tea balanced in one hand, and looked directly at her. To her perception, his face and eyes were unusually closed today, not revealing anything while putting forth an air of determination. With deliberate carefulness, he crossed over the attic to sit a short distance from her and place the snacks in between them.
"Ranma…" she began.
"Akane. " he interrupted. "I have been here for almost two years. In that amount of time, many of Genma's mistakes have come to haunt me and placed us in one untenable situation after another. In that amount of time, I will admit, I haven't made things much easier, but you need to understand a few things before we begin this little heart to heart. For one, I am stuck in a tangled web of obligation that makes anything a daymio could come up with look like grade-school mathematics. I literally can't pick any one of you three fiancés without dishonoring the other two and starting a blood feud between our clans and theirs. To continue, I will most likely never be free of this curse, Akane. That means that at some point, whomever I end up with, will have to face the possibility of being intimate with me while I am like that. Think about that for a while."
Ranma poured Akane and himself a cup of tea and took a moment to reflect.
"I want you to know something, Akane, "he began "In spite of your doubts and insecurities, I have never, even once, done anything with any of the other girls. I have remained as faithful to you as a person in my situation could be, and every time you've accused me of practically raping every girl I set my eyes on, no matter what the situation, proof, or bystanders say. I have streatched my honor to the breaking point for your sake, I have fought for you, challenged for you sacrificed my pride and morals for you, I've even killed for you, and you still act like I'm some sort of deviant. I want to know, why? Why do you keep accusing me of these things? Why do you keep calling me a pervert, when you know I've never done anything like that?"
"I call you a pervert because you're a teenage boy with a girl's body ready and willing to be used whenever you want it. I call you a pervert because instead of telling all of those girls to leave you alone, you just let them do whatever. I call you a pervert because you're always walking in on me in the bath, not leaving the sign out so I end up walking in on you in the bath, or something similar. I call you a pervert because you're always right there whenever Happosai does his panty raids, and you never stop him before hand, you always swoop in at the last second, just so you can look like the hero! That's what makes you a pervert, Ranma!"
Ranma looked at her, hurt and resignation clear in his eyes. He took a breath and visibly pulled himself back under control. It was clear, even to Akane, that she'd struck a nerve.
"You know, Akane. That makes this so much easier. First off, that 'girl's body' you're oh-so concerned about? That's me. It's not some random chick that Jusenkyo decided to stick onto me, or some weird cosmic sister-thing; that's my own body, just as if I had been born a girl instead of a guy. Nothing more, nothing less. I've never 'molested' myself in that, or any other, form either, primarily because I've never had any privacy or time to even think about such things, let alone act on them. I'm too busy trying to stay alive, unmarried, and unmolested, to attempt to feel myself up. Furthermore, do you have any idea what happens to me at school? After gym class I have to either wait out every guy in the class in order to have a shower to myself, or threaten to beat them all to within an inch of their lives just to keep the idiots from turning on the cold water. If I wasn't as good as I am there's no telling how many times I would have been raped, Akane. Not groped, not molested, not even ogled; full on raped. That happens every day of school, Akane! Not only that, but at night, when I should be able to sleep, I have to stay on guard from Happosai, Shampoo, Kodachi, Ryouga, and every other psycho in the area with an axe to grind! "
Ranma paused to take a breath and sip some tea.
"You and your sisters stay as safe as you do, because I'm always keeping an eye or ear out for you. If you honestly think you don't need me to do that, than say the word. " Ranma counted to himself, doing everything to try and stay calm.
"Here's the deal, Akane. I'm going to give you a week, one week, to start treating me better. If you can't do it, then I'll cancel this engagement and let Genma deal with the fall-out. And, as a further incentive, I'm going to treat you just like you treated me, complete with the accusations, blame, attitude, everything. The only thing I won't do is hit you. Be ready, Akane, this will start in the morning."
Ranma got up and left, leaving Akane to her thoughts, and the realization that she may have just put her foot squarely in the mess.
Akane should have seen this one coming, to be honest. She knew that it was what she did to Ranma every day, but she'd never imagined just how unpleasant getting woken up with a bucket of ice-cold water in the face could be, or how badly it could mess up her bed, sheets, even her night clothes. It wasn't even the icy wash of cold water that made it really suck, it was Ranma standing in her doorway yelling at the top of his voice for her to get up and get ready or there wouldn't be any breakfast left.
From there, Akane's day got progressively worse. Ranma would pop up at random intervals, scream about how unfaithful she was being whenever a compromising situation would come up, he would ignore any and all objections that she made about it, and even in the instances where it was obvious that she was right, he'd just snort in contempt and walk off.
Akane fianaly caught up with him at the school gates, her friends Yuka and Sayuri in tow, and demanded to know what today was about.
"Honestly, Ranma!" she yelled, "You're acting like-"
"Like you?" he responded. "That's what you do to me every day, Akane. Regardless of the situation, regardless of the bystanders, regardless of everyone and everything that could, would, and does paint me as innocent. That's how you treat me, Ranma's always at fault. Ranma's the deceitful, arrogant, perverted jerk who hangs off everyone. Sucks when the shoe's on the other foot, doesn't it?"
Rnma pushed off the wall and turned a little to face Akane. "I'll admit to the arrogance, Akane, it's something that I'm working on. But after almost two years you should know me better than to assume that just because something looks bad, that that's the way it is. Remember this, you still have seven days." And he walked off, leaving Akane and her friends at the gate.
"I can't believe that jerk!" Yuka said "He's acting like he's completely blameless in this! If it wasn't for him, none of the things that had happened here would have!"
"Yuka's right, Akane," Sayuri continued, "It's not like he doesn't bring the chaos here in the first place."
"I know," Akane said, "But he is right about how I react to things. I don't know, maybe he's right about the way things are…" Akane paused for a moment and started walking, Yuka and Sayuri flanking her and falling into step alongside. "You know, Ranma and I talked last night. Well, mostly he talked and I listened, for a change. One of the things he said keeps echoing, and it's really making me think about things."
"What did he say?" Sayuri asked.
"He told me that his cursed form is really him, just him if he'd been her from birth, you know? How if he wasn't as good of a martial artist as he is, he'd have been raped countless times in the showers after gym class. It really made me think, how would it be if it was one of us in his position? Would we be in the same boat after gym class?"
Yuka looked aghast. "Akane! Girls would never do something like that! How could you even think such a thing? "
Sayuri looked worried, arguments between her friends were never pretty, but they did sometimes happen.
Akane shook her head." I don't mean the rape, Yuka. But everything else, you know? The ogling, the groping, the comments, the looks, the whispers, the mistrust, all of that, that's what he goes through every day after gym. Could you do it, Yuka? How about you, Sayuri? I honestly don't think I could handle it, myself. Thinking back on it, none of us made it any easier for him, either." The conversation lapsed into a pensive sort of quiet until they got to a corner and went their separate ways.
Meanwhile, back at the dojo, Ranma and Nabiki were sifting through a rather large pile of swimwear. Ranma was selecting modest one-pieces, and Nabiki was selecting very racy bikinis, and neither of them wanted to give any ground.
"Ranma, you have a killer body, why don't you show it off? This two-piece is perfect for you! It's a flattering color, it'll show off all your curves, and I bet it'd feel great, too!" The two-piece in question was composed of jade-green triangles of fabric held together with black strings. It would have covered a life-sized Barbie Doll nicely, but left far too much exposed on Ranma.
"How about a compromise, Nabs? One-pieces for the colder months and two pieces for the warmer ones, but nothing that skimpy, or anything see-through, alright? And for every piece I put on, you have to put on one like it!" Ranma smirked a little. Maybe this would get her to pull back-
"Okay." She said.
Before Ranma could do more than blink, Nabiki had a flame-scarlet high-cut racer-backed bikini in Ranma's hands, and the very same green one she was trying to push off on Ranma earlier in hers. What really floor Ranma, though was Nabki stripping down to nothing and donning the bikini before she had a chance to squeak out a protest. Ranma was made uncomfortably aware again of just how attractive Nabiki was, and the tiny swatches of green material straining against her body did nothing to conceal that fact. It was just as well that she was currently in female form, as the reactions would have made fitting into anything close or clingy… awkward at best. As it was, Ranma was hard pressed to convince her nipples to soften up and her nethers to stop leaking long enough to get changed.
The photo shoot went on for the better part of an hour, Nabiki coaching Ranma on the poses and them both changing in between. Several shots later and they were about to start on the male-type calendar when Ranma suggested some fresh air. Now, Nabiki was no fool, and knew the signs of female arousal as well as anyone else and readily agreed. It wouldn't do for Ranma to model a Speedo with a stiffy poking out the top, after all. However, before Ranma could change back into his clothes, she pounced. Nabiki wrapped her arms around Ranma and pulled her into a warm, passionate embrace, making sure that their breasts pressed and rubbed against each other. Ranma, quite naturally, was shocked at this sort of contact, but the overload of sensation and the almost pure passion and desire emanating from Nabiki made it impossible to move.
Nabiki sealed the poor girl's fate by planting a soul-searing intense kiss on Ranma's lips, causing both of them to moan out in want and need. Reluctantly, however, Nabiki pulled back and looked Ranma dead in the eye.
"I just want you to know, Ranma-baby, that no matter what skin you're in, I'll want to be with you. Maybe its love, maybe its lust, but your body doesn't matter as long as your mind doesn't change, okay?"
Ranma nodded dumbly, still overloaded by the sensations.
"Now, let's get dressed and clean up this place so we can look over the pics before we put the calendar together, okay?"
Rnma pulled herself together and agreed, getting dressed quickly and efficiently. Nabiki followed suit, missing seeing a tiny bit of green material vanishing into Ranma's pocket. Cleaning the dojo was done quickly and the doors were unlocked in order to let some fresh, cool evening air in.
"We got some good pictures today, didn't we?" Ranma asked.
"Yep, but we'll have to go through all of the ones we took so we can pick the ones for the calendar." Nabiki replied.
"you're making a calendar? That sounds like fun!" Cane the voice of Kasumi.
"You want to join us in this, sis? It is a swimsuit calendar, after all." Nabiki responded.
The idle banter stopped as Kasumi walked into view. Gone was the traditional housewife attire, and in its place she was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts combo. Rather plain and understated, to be sure, but for a normally reserved girl like Kasumi, it was practically screaming "look at me!"
Kasumi nodded, her loose hair moving in a graceful countermotion, and smiled. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Personally, I think it'd be a lot of fun, and maybe we could get the rest of the wrecking crew in on it as well?"
Nabiki and Ranma blinked. Why hadn't THEY thought of that?
"You know, Nabs, with your eye for form and attention to detail, we could probably start a modeling agency out of the crew. Make some of the shoots into challenges, where you look better than your opponent within the limits of the scene instead of attacking them. It would probably save a fortune in repairs, too." Ranma commented.
Nabiki nodded, and excited smile crossing her face. "That would work, too! I could even make posing a sort of penalty for the damages to the house when they come to blows!"
"Also," Kasumi chimed in, "they'll be even less likely to damage the house and grounds if you explain that the cost of repairs comes out of their salary!" Ranma smirked at the skill Kasumi displayed by sneaking that caveat in. Nabiki's face took on a slightly pained expression at the thought, but then brightened as it revolved to one of the laws of entrepreneurism: happy employees are productive employees, and productive employees make for better profits.
"It'd take some work, and more than a little time, but I think we could do it. It's just a question of getting the rest of the crew to agree. Let me think about it for a while and come up with a plan."
Akane walked in shortly after then, her face set in a pensive expression. Now, it is mostly common knowledge that the inestimable Dr. Tofu loves Kasumi more than he knows what to do about, but that because of the almost 13 year age gap and being her family doctor he can't do anything about it. Akane knew this, the ward knew this, and even Tofu himself knew this. The only person in that particular equation, who seemed unaware of it, was Kasumi. However, what was not known was that Kasumi was aware of that fact and had decided long ago that demure and polite weren't going to cut it with the good doctor, and she defiantly felt the need to re-affirm to him that she wasn't interested in age, only love, reliability, and his ability to "perform".
Perhaps,Kasumi thought, afewpicturesinthiscalendarwillhelptoloosenhimup…
There is little more dangerous in this, or any, world as a person with a lethal weapon that doesn't realize what it is.
At any rate, however, Akane's pensive expression did serve to dampen the air of joviality that was floating about the yard, and instantly drew everyone's attention. Akane, for her part, didn't seem to notice and continued her way into the house. About five minutes later, however, she came storming out of the house and looked at Kasumi with an air of shock, admiration, and envy.
"Ohmygod, Sis, you look gorgeous! What's going on? Did Tofu ask you out? Are you going to ask him out? Was Ranma doing something perverted again?" About three seconds after the last question Akane's brain caught up to her mouth and her eyes bugged out as she realized, she'd done it again.
"Sorry, Ranma…" she squeaked out.
Ranma sighed and shook his head. AkanewillalwaysbeAkane,he thought, Ishouldn'texpectmiraclesovernight,right?