Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:

Ranma ½: When you are lost in a sea of grief, look for a light to guide you home.

Chapter 6: Baby Steps.

Two young women sat across from each other at the ice cream parlor, and seemed to be trying their best to not actually look at the other. Several bags and boxes were piled onto the seats next to each of them. The lavender haired girl cast yet another subtle glance at her companion as the diminutive redhead polished off another parfait.

Xian Pu had decided that after the lingerie store, that Ranma-chan had earned a bit of a break, and enough ice cream to worry your average dairy farmer. She had been a real trooper, up until they had seen Kimiko's picks for a few things. The sleepwear had been picked out with very different ideas in mind. Xian Pu's had been a tasteful nightgown with a fair bit of lavender and lace. Xian Pu had fallen in love with it almost immediately, and had picked it up as a separate purchase. Now, Ranma-chan's piece from Kimiko had been definitely picked out with activities other than sleep in mind. The jade green babydoll had been adorable, yes. And would have been truly fetching on Ranma-chan, even if it might have not been the best for Xian Pu's libido. The panties in particular had been much more lace, and a lot less cloth. In fact, Xian Pu had been able to confirm that Ranma-chan was, in fact, a natural redhead. And it made her wonder if she should teach the sometimes girl the joys of shaving...

Xian Pu and Ranma-chan had ended up picking out each other's sleepwear for the other. Matching sets of silk pajamas, one in a nice jade green and the other purple and black. Xian Pu had to say that she had been surprised that both of them had chosen similar outfits for each other. And Kimiko had seemed to be more than a little amused, for some reason.

Underwear of several sorts now filled the packages that sat near them, and Xian Pu eyed a box speculatively that sat next to the awkwardly blushing edhead that bore an uncanny resemblance to the one that she had hid in her own stack as well. The one that contained the ensemble in lavender and lace, as Kimiko had put it. In fact, Xian Pu was fairly certain that the sales lady had almost certainly sent the rather risque outfit home with Ranma-chan, in spite of her seeming to want Ranma-chan to not dress so provocatively for older men. It was something that Xian Pu found hard to contemplate, for some reason.

No, Xian Pu found that watching her companion wage war with the frozen treats was a much more entertaining pastime, and sat easier on her own mind. "Shall we get going, Ranma? I think the person behind the counter surrendered some time ago." Xian Pu quipped, and smiled as Ranma-chan gave her a somewhat guilty look.

"You did say I could have as much as I wanted…" Ranma-chan said in a not quite pout.

Xian Pu laughed and nodded as she stood up. "I did, and I still intend to uphold that. That said, we should get the rest of the shopping done, or we won"t be able to make it to dinner."

Ranma-chan bit her lip, then sighed and nodded as she stood up and stretched in a way that showed that she was, in fact, wearing one of the new outfits. Not that Ranma-chan had ever needed any enhancing, but what it did to her figure was, if Xian Pu was going to be perfectly honest with herself, rather unfair to anyone that had eyes and a pulse.

Xian Pu was more than honest enough with herself to admit that she might have stared just a bit. Not all of the outfits that they had picked up were special, in fact they both had several sets of rather plain underwear and bras to wear for day-to-day occasions. Even if Xian Pu had no illusions that Ranma would be wearing his not nearly as often as Xian Pu would be wearing hers. Still, THAT particular ensemble had been one of Kimiko's choices, and it was something else…. The bustier did provide excellent support, but what it did for Ranma-chan's cleavage was mind-blowing. And the thought of the high-cut lace briefs that covered her companion's curvy and taut rear… Might have made Xian Pu squirm a bit when she saw Ranma-chan wearing it, and might have sparked the thought of teaching the aqua-sexual how to shave… Maybe even show her the difference of having her mound shaved smooth…

Xian Pu blushed and slapped her cheeks, while she pointedly ignored the curious look from the object of her obsession, while she definitely did not let herself linger for even a moment on MALE-type Ranma shaved and bare…

Xian Pu gritted her teeth as she grabbed the hand of the oblivious distraction and pulled her along behind her towards their next stop. It had been one of the places she had been excited about, and mostly for what it implied.

The sporting goods and clothing store was what she had expected, since she had been here before. But now that they were picking out clothes to exercise and spar in? It was definitely more interesting. The fact that Ranma-chan In skin-tight biker shorts and sports bra was as delightfully distracting as expected didn't hurt. Then throw in the fact that she felt the need to test her range of motion and flexibility in the outfit on top of that… and it was no surprise that Xian Pu found herself dealing with a very particular problem at the moment

Xian Pu had never really understood the other's fixation on just Ranma's male form. Even her own flipping back and forth on 'female-type, you I kill!" and "Male-type! You I love!" Had been more about Dealing with the alternating attraction and aggravation that his very existence caused her.

Then you throw her tribes viewpoints on sex,love and companionship on top of that, and it's even more of a mess. Men existed for one thing, really. Allowing a warrior to have more strong, capable daughters. You didn't take a man out of love or companionship. For companionship, you sought out your peers. There were many who had warriors they loved, either as family or a more intimate manner, and then had males they kept at home to take care of their duty to the tribe. You would think that more warriors would just use Jusenkyo to resolve the issue, but the pride they took in their forms made that unlikely. It had been why she had been cursed as she had been, after all.

Xian Pu chuckled and sighed as Ranma continued her stretches, unaware of the eyes on her. When you considered basic stretches something that an Olympic gymnast would hang up their leotard in shame over not being able to execute as well, it was hardly a surprise.

Xian Pu watched with amusement as a little girl, no older than eight or nine, walked up with her little pink leotard clutched in her tiny hands and looked up at the diminutive redhead Xian Pu couldn't help but smile as Ranma looked down at the little girl and smiled, which seemed to help the little girl muster up the courage to say what she had wanted to enough to pull her away from the safety of her mother's side

"Are you a gymnast too?" The little girl asked. "You're so good! I wanna be good like you someday!"

Ranma squatted down to be on eye level with the little girl, and smiled warmly. "I'm not a gymnast, I'm a martial artist. There are some similarities, and some differences. But, I am sure that if you practice hard and dedicate yourself to it, you will be an amazing gymnast someday." Ranma said as she smiled warmly at the little girl, then nodded to the young mother who had walked up and bowed to the redhead, before she collected her daughter and took her away, while the girl waved energetically at Ranma until they had moved to another part of the shop.

"You know, Ranma-chan…" Xian Pu said in a contemplative tone of voice."

Ranma looked up, then bounced back to her feet with a curious little hrm?

"You could teach, you know…" Xian Pu said, then stopped when Ranma-chan sighed and her shoulders slumped.

"You know I can't teach the family school without the Master's permission, Shampoo." Ranma-chan said in a dejected tone of voice.

"I wasn't talking about the Saotome school, or even the Tendo school. How many exercise forms do you know? How many of the martial arts that are used for exercise are you considered a master of? I know Tai Chi for sure." Xian Pu said as she turned to regard the shorter woman.

Ranma-chan stopped and had to think about it for a minute as she started mentally ticking them off, and flicked out one finger after another.

"And right there you have an answer, Ranma. You could easily teach any of those, or gymnastics. You can find a future without that perverted Master's permission. And there is nothing stopping you from doing what that disgusting little troll did, and developing your own school, either. You are at least as talented as he ever was." Xian Pu said with confidence in her voice.

Ranma-chan seemed to think about that for a moment, then looked aside at Xian Pu. "I'm gonna have to give it some thought, 'kay Shampoo?"

"I'd hope that you would, Ranma. It's a serious decision, and just one of many possible choices. You need to start to think that you still have a future, and not just… Give up." Xian Pu said as she wrapped her arms around herself for a moment.

Ranma hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "So, where else did you have in mind?"

Xian Pu smiled as she gathered her bags and led Ranma out of the shop. "One last stop, then we will run home and get ready. We need to get some outfits for you, and if you want, I will let you pick out something for me, as well."

Ranma narrowed her eyes as she regarded Xian Pu. "And nothing too girly?"

"I promise, Ranma." Xian Pu said with a relaxed smile.

The shop was another specialty store. They would pick out the basic day to day stuff later, but everyone needed a variety of clothes that stood out, even just a bit. Ranma had always had his Chinese clothes, and Xian Pu had her pantsuits. Xian Pu had figured on three or four outfits, just like they had done for his male side. She would also be leaving with at least one new outfit, picked out by Ranma herself.

Xian Pu would be lying if she said that she didn't have an odd sense of anticipation regarding what the cursed martial artist would pick out for her.

The pair left their boxes and bags on the benches outside of the changing rooms as they circulated around the store to start collecting potential outfits to try on.

Xian Pu tried to avoid anything that she thought would be too girly for Ranma-chan's vision of herself. It meant that she had to avoid a lot of things that she had felt would look great in the aquatransexual, but she would not let Ranma down again. She would make the most of this second chance, and not take her companion for granted again.

A fitted pair of jeans with a button-down shirt matched with a jean jacket went into the basket. She decided that the sweater and dress slacks would not be offensive, or at least she hoped so. The last thing that went into the basket was the most risque piece. A nice, conservative dress. Xian Pu had done her best not to pay attention to what went into Ranma's basket. She wanted to see how they looked on Ranma-chan, and really wanted to be surprised by what she had picked out for her.

A short time later, the two young women stood across from each other as Ranma-chan eyed Xian Pu's basket with a skeptical look on her face. "You sure there isn't anything too girly in there? No, frilly pink dresses or anything?"

Xian Pu smiled and nodded as she held out the basket for Ranma-chan. "I promise. No frilly pink bits of nightmare fuel." She said while she noted that Ranma-chan had not said dresses in general, just overly girly ones.

Ranma nodded as she looked at the basket, and then raised an eyebrow as she looked up at Xian Pu. "I guess I can try these on… Did… You want to try on what I found for you?" She asked in an almost nervous voice.

"I would love to, Ranma." Xian Pu responded as she held out her hands, and then looked down at the outfit that had been placed there. It was a nice pair of slacks, a dress shirt and a woman's blazer. It was tasteful, and not nearly as feminine as what she had expected to be given.

"Well… What'cha think" Ranma-chan asked without looking up.

Xian Pu smiled as she noted that there was just a hint of pink about Ranma's ears. She seemed like she had been nervous about Xian Pu's reaction. Not a bad thing, in Xian Pu's consideration. "Would you like to see how it looks on me?" She asked.

Ranma-chan once again pointedly looked away and fiddled with her pigtail. "Well, it would be a shame not to at least try it on."

Xian Pu smiled and nodded as she walked into the changing room. "One moment, then."

A few minutes later, Xian Pu walked out and took a slow turn in front of Ranma-chan, and she had to admit, she liked how it looked on her. It was a simple outfit, really, but she had to say it fit her well. Ranma had always been oddly perceptive of things, and it seemed to literally size people up with a look. She suspected it had to do with one of the many odd and esoteric martial arts that his idiot of a father had subjected the impressionable and talented young martial artist to.

"Well, what do you think?" XIan Pu asked as she stopped in front of Ranma-chan with her hands tucked behind her back.

"It would seem… That my choice in clothes for you wasn't bad." The oddly red-faced redhead said before she took the outfits that Xian Pu had chosen, along with her own, and made a mad dash into the changing room.

Xian Pu watched her companion go with a bemused smile on her face as she rested one hand on her hip. She figured she would change back between Ranma's outfit changes, but for now… She would wear what Ranma had chosen for her.

The jacket around her almost felt like a hug from the elusive martial artist, after all.

Inside the changing room, Ranma-chan placed a hand on her chest and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. She didn't know why, but the sight of Xian Pu in that outfit had brought a warmth to her cheeks, and had set her heart racing.

She wasn't even going to contemplate the warmth she had felt in other places