Genderfluid Mechanics
By: JaquiK

Chapter 7: Preparations

Tuesday evening found Aki giving a haggard sigh while getting into yet another staring contest with the mirror for what must have been the dozenth time that day. It really was amazing how time could simultaneously rush by and slow to a crawl when an important event was upcoming. Especially when said event was being approached with both anticipation and dread.

The previous night got very close to blowing up right Aki and Ran got back. Genma was unfortunately in his human form and immediately looked to be ready to berate his child. Probably for slacking off on training or 'being in that weak girl form' or whatever stupid thing he'd come up with. Surprisingly to Aki, the man wasn't able to get more than three words out before Ran (or, as Aki quickly realized, Ranma) gruffly interrupted him, saying that it was none of his business before marching off in the direction of the furo, grumbling all the way.

Ranma seemed to calm down a bit during dinner, although he stayed rather quiet and shrugged off any attempts at conversation. That attitude continued as he worked out a bit in the dojo, his only words on the matter declaring to his father that he wanted to train by himself. Aki wanted to object, but a quick look from Kasumi quelled him. At the very least, Ranma opened up a little more as they took care of their schoolwork together.

The second day of school for Ranma went by with surprising smoothness. The only real bit of action was the standard horde of idiot boys blocking the entrance, but that went by extremely quickly as both Aki and Ranma rushed through them together. Kuno wasn't even able to get his normal speech off since the two just plowed right over him. Classes went by with very few questions from their classmates, and even Sayuri and Yuka mostly behaved themselves during lunch. There was a moment where Sayuri was about to pry when Ranma accidently let slip about going out with Aki on Wednesday, but Aki was able to quickly spin it as just something to sate their parents. Ranma managed to get through the entire school day as a guy, in both ways as Aki couldn't help but take note of.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any real time to dwell on that as there were much more important things to focus on. Namely the preparations for Wednesday. As such, once they got home, Aki immediately headed upstairs while Ranma went over to the dojo. Fortunately, neither father was there and Nabiki had some sort of business she was up to, which meant there was no one to bug either of them. Well, there was one person that was trying to be helpful, but not really succeeding so far…

"I think that combination looks good as well, Little Sister."

Aki broke eye contact at the same time as the girl in the mirror, resulting in yet another tie, as she turned around to face Kasumi, who was calmly sitting on the bed. "That's the problem," she lamented while indicating the black long sleeve shirt and sunflower patterned skirt. "It can't just be good. It needs to be perfect!"

Kasumi flashed a gentle smile, which meant she was very much in diplomacy mode. "Oh, I'm sure Ran will be perfectly happy with whatever you decide to wear on your date tomorrow."

"It's not a date, Kasumi," Aki corrected as she started to change clothes again.

"Little Sister," Kasumi said with a tiny hint of frustration in her voice, "both of us should be quite aware by now that two girls are perfectly capable of going on a date together."

"I know that!" Aki huffed out as she put on a black skirt and searched through her closet for a good shirt to go along with it. Perhaps one of the ones that had English words on it? The 'Earth: Love It' one always seemed to match well. "This is more important than a date. I promised Ran that I will help her learn more about being a girl, since she obviously hadn't had much of a chance before. Tomorrow will be the first lesson, so I have to make sure everything is perfect for it." She put on the shirt and stared down the girl in the mirror once more before giving a frown. "Still not enough."

"Why don't you try your pumpkin jacket?" Kasumi offered. "You always look very cute in it."

Aki shook her head. "It's not cool enough for it yet. Besides, I don't think it quite matches up for 'girl teacher'." She went back to her closet and started digging around again. "Come on…come on…something has to work…oh, there's the white dress I stumbled across in that store. I almost never get to wear it. I mean, it might be a little too much to walk around an arcade in, but maybe that's the point. Or…since we're going to an amusement park, maybe I should wear my yukata? That would definitely show femininity and it's basically a festival, so…"

She stopped her ramblings as a gentle hand fell on her shoulder. "Aki, you don't have to be me."

"Yeah, I already know." Aki simply tried to shrug off her older sister, definitely not feeling any bit of frustration at listening to this damn lecture once-

"Aki, please look at me," Kasumi said, her voice now much more firm.

The younger Tendo girl hesitated for just a moment before turning around, the gentle and caring expression on the older girl's face dissipating the growing anger that was building in her.

Kasumi placed both of her hands on her sister's shoulders, her voice remaining firm but also kind. "Aki, you don't have to be me, and neither does Ran. Let that be the first lesson."

Aki didn't respond at first, just looking up at her older sister for a few moments before she turned once more to her closet. "Thanks, Kasumi. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kasumi gave a warm smile to those words. "Well, I'll do my best to make sure you never need to find out."

"Right." A smile of her own grew on Aki's face as she gave a quick nod. "I think I know what will work for a teenage girl that likes martial arts and cute animals and amusement park rides who will be spending a fun evening out with another teenage girl that also likes martial arts and…" Aki's smile started to fade, but she quickly recovered with a small laugh. "Well, I guess we'll just have to find out what else she likes, huh?"

"Indeed, we will," Kasumi responded in agreement. Then she walked by Aki and reached into her closet. "Although for now, there is one particular outfit I think you should focus on."

"Huh? Which one is…" Aki trailed off at the sight of her yellow martial arts gi.

"Why don't you work out a bit of those nerves before dinner," Kasumi offered, although the eyes behind her calm expression indicated it was more than a suggestion.

"Yeah, okay," Aki acquiesced, quickly changing into her gi. She was just out the door of her bedroom, when Kasumi called out to her.

"Oh, and if you can, please let…Ranma know that I wish to speak with…him right now."

"Okay, Kasumi," Aki called back as she headed down the stairs towards the dojo to first get Ranma. Her trip was cut short, however, as she decided to hurdle across the last part of the stairs into the hallway, only to nearly land on top of the dark haired boy, who was in the process of hanging up the phone. While she managed to avoid a collision and landed perfectly on her feet, said feet ended up slipping out from under her, causing her to fall unceremoniously on her butt.

"Woah!" Ranma called out, hopping a half step away, then looking down at Aki almost analytically. "You know, you really need to make sure to…um…" He flinched slightly and looked away with red building in his cheeks. "I mean…" After a couple of seconds, he slowly offered a hand while avoiding eye contact. "Are you okay?" He asked, slowly enunciating each word in a soft voice.

Aki started back for a bit before accepting the hand and being pulled up to her feet. She put a reassuring smile on her face as she responded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to remember to look before I leap, right?"

"Heh, yeah. You got to watch out in case a rogue swimming pool suddenly shows up." Ranma chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, then turned to look at Aki with a matching smile on…his face?

Aki looked up at that face for a few moments before deciding to take a shot in the dark. "Ran?"

"Yeah?" It took a moment for the taller girl to realize what the question actually was. "Oh! Um, yeah. Guess I am in more of a girl mood right now, you know?"

"I get that," Aki responded with a quick laugh of her own. Wow, this must be how Kasumi feels. "So," she continued, quickly trying to change the subject, "who was calling?"

"Calling what?" Ran asked in confusion.

"Calling here. The phone…" Aki said, indicating the cordless phone that was still in Ran's hand.

"Oh, that!" Ran quickly put the phone back in its receiver. "Um, don't worry, it was nothing. Hey, are you going to the dojo?"

"Yup." Aki nodded. She could tell there was something more going on, but decided to drop it for now. "Thought I'd get a quick workout in before dinner."

"Sounds fun." Enthusiasm started to build behind Ran's smile. "Maybe we can get a little spar in. I promise I'll even try to hit you."

Aki perked up at the suggestion, then remembered her older sister's request. "Oh, Kasumi wants to talk with you upstairs first."

"Really? What about?"

Aki gave a shrug. "She didn't say."

Ran thought for a moment before giving a shrug herself. "Well, I better hurry. It's never a good idea to keep the person that makes your food waiting."

She was part way up the stairs before something else occurred to Aki. "Wait, Ran!"

Ran halted on the steps and leaned over the railing. "What?"

Aki hesitated a moment before asking her question. "Do you want some cold water?"

Ran looked down at herself, then to Aki's surprise shook her head. "Not yet. I should check what Kasumi needs first. Maybe I need to get something off a high shelf for her."

"She's almost as tall as you," Aki pointed out.

"Yeah, but those extra few centimeters can make all the difference. I'll see you in the dojo." Ran flashed a quick smile before heading upstairs.

Aki flashed a quick glance to the phone resting on the little side table, but it provided no answers for her, so she hurried along to the dojo. She quickly went through her warmups, her attention focused to the now patched up hole on the far wall the entire time.

The spar from Sunday played through her mind as she moved to the center of the dojo and got in a ready position. Okay, think about what she said about telegraphing and focus on that. It won't be the same this time.

She focused on her imaginary opponent and the image of a red haired girl appeared in her mind's eye. She was wearing black pants and a red shirt and had her hands folded behind her back, a neutral expression on her face.

Hmmm. If Ran decides to spar in her boy form, maybe I should prepare for that.

The vision of the girl in front of her shifted into a taller, black haired boy. He was still wearing the black pants, but now the shirt was missing. His arms clasped behind his back caused the slightly wet and shiny muscle on his upper torso to ripple-

Yeah, maybe I should just practice with the girl form for now

The boy shifted back into the shorter redheaded girl. However, the red shirt was still missing…

Aki slammed her eyes shut and rapidly shook her head. Dammit, focus girl! She looked again and the redhead once more appeared before her, this time fully clothed. A confident smirk was now on her face though. Aki returned that smirk with one of her own as she repeated the start of Sunday's spar with a straight punch. As expected, her imaginary opponent leapt up in the air with plenty of time to avoid the strike. However, instead of continuing the motions from a couple of days before, Aki just stayed in the follow up of her strike. The redhead above her was now frozen in place, like a paused image on a videotape.

Brows furling, Aki stepped back into a standing position. The imaginary Ran then continued her movement, dropping down and once more waiting for her action. Aki repeated the exact same punch and once more, the memory of Ran jumped away in plenty of time. She pulled back with a frown as the vision of the redhead landed once more. Another punch, another dodge with ease, and the girl still had that cocky smirk on her face.

Frustration built up once more and Aki was ready to smack that smile right off the girl's face when a loud clicking sound drew her attention. She quickly spun around and assumed a defensive stance, eyes scanning all over, but she couldn't find anyone else in the dojo. Finally relaxing, she turned back to her annoying opponent about to be clobbered, only to find empty space in front of her. She just stared for a few seconds before a small chuckle escaped her lips, followed by another, until it turned into a full on giggle fit. What the hell, Aki? You're shadow boxing and you let yourself get completely flustered by the shadow!

Once she was able to calm down, she decided to switch her focus a bit. Okay, forget about the opponent for a second. The main point is that I need to work on my speed if I want to deal with opponents that don't blindly charge at me. Start with a punch and keep working at it. Don't have a lot of time, so let's see just how much faster we can get before Ran comes back.

"Aki, dinner is almost ready. Please go and get cleaned up."

Aki blinked and slowly lifted her head from where she was sprawled out on the ground. "Okay. Thanks Kasumi." She very carefully got back to her feet and stretched a bit to help with the soreness of her muscles. Wow, I didn't even notice I was going for that long. And where the heck was Ran anyway? She tried to shake off the frustration of her…sparring partner no showing as she first went up to her room for a change of clothes before heading to the furo.

Unfortunately, getting out of her gi in the changing room only allowed that frustration to succeed in building up within her. So what? She's trying to avoid helping me now? Yeah fine, it's not like I want to be trained like she was, but she could at least maybe offer advice while I practice. That jerk, where the heck did she even-

Aki opened the sliding door to the furo room proper, only to immediately slam it shut again as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were in there!" She dropped her towel and covered her eyes, even though there was a door blocking her view. Luckily, she only caught barely a glimpse of Ran before looking away. More luckily (she made sure to remind herself), there was a towel wrapped around the waist of the girl's taller form. Most luckily of all, Ran was too busy looking in the mirror to see her.

"Aki?" called out the voice from the other side of the door. "Right, sorry. I'm almost done here. I'll be out in a second."

"Wait!" Aki quickly called back. "Let me leave first so you can get dressed." She rushed to get her gi back on as fast as possible then dashed out to the hallway, slamming the door behind her. She leaned against the wall next to the door, working to get her heartbeat to slow back down.

About a minute later, the door opened and Ran stepped out in the same outfit she wore on Sunday. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck as she looked over to Aki. "Sorry about not locking the door. Guess I'm still not used to living with people other than Dad."

"No, it's okay," Aki responded, looking up with an apologetic smile. "I should've made sure to knock first before just barging in like that."

Ran gave her own smile back, which suddenly turned mischievous as she reached up and gently rapped the top of Aki's head.

"Hey!" Even though it didn't hurt, Aki still rubbed her head. "What was that for?"

"Well, that's the whole cliche, right?" Ran said with a slight teasing in her voice. "You walk in on someone in the bath, and you get clobbered for it."

Aki felt the blood filling her cheeks as she couldn't decide whether to slug the other girl back or pull her down into a kiss, when a voice off to the side interrupted things.

"You got it backwards, Saotome."

The two immediately jumped away from each other and turned to find Nabiki standing at the end of the hallway with her dad and Mr. Saotome peeking around the corner.

"The cliche is that the girl is the one that's meant to clobber the boy," Nabiki continued.

"Hey, that's what…I mean…" Ran started to protest, but quickly trailed off. "Um…but she was the one that walked in on me." Aki caught her giving a quick apologetic glance her way.

"Doesn't matter," Nabiki said with the slightest hint of mirth. "Even if it's stupid, it's still always the girl that pounds the guy. Want me to get your shinai, Akane? Cause there's no way I'm hauling the dining table over here."

"Hey! I'd never do…um…" Aki trailed off, feeling shame wash over her. She looked up at Ran to see that the girl was giving a harsh glare to Nabiki. That helped her focus her emotions back towards her sister. "Look, that was just a misunderstanding. We've already made up and forgotten about it."

Nabiki took a moment to look Aki up and down and raised an eyebrow. "I see. So I take it you're now interested in a different kind of pounding then."

Aki was confused for several seconds before the words finally clicked and her eyes widened. "Woah woah woah," she said, waving her hands in front of her. "It's nothing like that, okay? We're just being friends with each other, not even thinking about the whole engagement right now."

"If you say so, Little Sister." Nabiki then turned and walked away. As she went around the corner, she casually called out behind her. "Oh, by the way, your pants are on backwards."

Aki looked down and felt her entire face heat up. "Ummmm…I'mgonnagetcleanedupnowseeyouatdinner," she quickly blurted out as she rushed back into the furo and slammed the door behind her.