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 20: Girl's Day

Xian Pu licked lips that had suddenly gone rather dry before she reached for the shave gel with a hand that trembled just a bit. She took a slow breath before she let her eyes meet the intense blue eyes of her companion. "I'm going to start now, okay Ranma?" Xian Pu said as she let her gaze linger on the bounty before her.

Ranma-chan was seriously going to kill her.

Ranma-chan took a shaky, trembling breath as she met the gaze of the woman between her spread legs, all too aware that her most private and forbidden of parts were on full display. She couldn't deny the odd exhilaration that she felt, the boiling ball of embarrassment and excitement that seemed to have settled in the pit of her stomach.

Or the throbbing heat that seemed to spread in tingling waves from her core.

Ranma let her gaze move to where Shampoo was looking so intently and shivered. She found that she couldn't look away as she took a breath and answered her roommate. "Okay Shampoo. I'm in your hands.". She said then blushed even harder as she realized just how true that statement really was.

Xian Pu nodded and gently stroked her fingers through the tangle of fine red hair before her. She couldn't help but smirk at the sudden intake of breath from Ranma-chan. She had always wondered if Ranma had ever actually explored her female body, but the incredulous look on the red head's face kind of answered that question. Honestly, she had doubts about how much Ranma had explored either of her forms in that way. Probably something about it not being manly, or it being a sign of weakness. It was the kind of stupidity she had come to expect from Genma.

And it had denied Ranma some of the more basic understandings of why people interacted with each other as they did. Why people pursued those that they were attracted to with such ardor and fervor.

Why she was having to fight squirming or partaking of the delicious bounty before her.

Xian Pu cleared her throat and kicked her lips as she gently lathered Ranma-chan up, being careful to not overstimulate the bashful person before her. She didn't need to deal with the Saotome secret technique right now. She looked up at Ranma-chan as she picked up the razor. "You want to be extra careful here. It's very sensitive skin, so be sure to use gentle pressure and not go against the grain of the hair.". She said as she put action to words. She moved with the sure confidence of someone who had done this many times before. In a lot of ways, it was easier to do this for someone else.

It was also incredibly erotic. Watching the smooth, soft skin as it was exposed little by little. The soft little noises that slipped from Ranma-chan as she worked. The scent of her companion. The slick that seeped from the delicate flower before her. It was all intoxicating, and frustrating because she knew that no matter how much she was tempted, this was one treat she could not sample.

Not yet, at least. They both had a ways to go, and that was even if they ever became intimate like that. For now it was best to just focus on what they had, what Ranma had allowed her to become. Anything more was just being selfish and greedy at this point.

But did she ever want to be selfish and greedy right now. She would have to take matters into her own hands, maybe while she had Ranma-chan cleaning up in the shower. How worked up she was, she didn't think it would probably take her all that long to at least find enough of a release to take the edge off.

Ranma-chan closed her eyes for a moment and suppressed another shiver before she looked down once more at what Shampoo was doing to her. She could trace every little brush of Shampoo's fingers over her skin, and the gentle glide of the razor against her skin. When Shampoo changed the head on the razor for a fresh one, she leaned down to get a better look with her legs splayed open to a degree that would have a gymnast left in jealousy. She had never really looked at herself before, and had touched it no more than was necessary for hygiene.

What she saw was… Not what she had expected. All of the outer hair had been removed and exposed soft, tingling skin. The delicate folds of her most private of parts were on full display, and the tingling that swept over her body seemed to emanate from this one spot. She didn't realize how intently she had been staring at herself from close up until she heard a slightly stifled sound come from Shampoo. When she unfolded herself and sat up, Shampoo had turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Are ya feelin' okay, Shampoo?" Ranma-chan asked innocently as she watched the former Amazon.

Xian Pu cleared her throat as she quickly wet the razor so she could continue. That particular image, of Ranma-chan folded basically in half with her nose so close to her own exposed sex was something that the worked up Amazon would probably be revisiting often in the future. She knew that Ranma was flexible, and even more so in this form, but there is a difference between KNOWING and SEEING.

"Yes, I'm fine Ranma. Now, pay close attention to the next part. If you want to be completely smooth, then you will have to be able to tackle this next part without nicking yourself. This area is the most sensitive, after all " Xian Pu said as she very carefully started to shave the most challenging area, especially with the state she was in herself right now.

The little sounds that Ranma-chan made were really, really not helping with her concentration right now.

Once she had finished her task, Xia Pu gently wiped the area down with a cool washcloth. It would have been better to use a warm one, but she really didn't want to have a turned on male Ranma literally in her hands right now. She looked up at the gasping and breathless Ranma-chan and swallowed hard. "Okay, rinse off in the shower. Make sure you get any leftover hairs washed off, okay? And .. make sure that you wash carefully down there, okay? I'm… going to my room for a bit, so take your time.". She said and hurriedly cleaned up and wrapped up the towel that she had used to catch the hair. She would take care of that later.

Ranma-chan slowly got up on wobbly legs and looked at the rapidly retreating back of her roommate. "Erm Shampoo? Thank you."

Xian Pu waved over her shoulder as she hurried to her room. Even before she made it into her room she had started to strip her suit off of her body as she shut the door behind herself. In her hurry, she didn't notice that the door had not fully shut, leaving it open just a crack as she practically threw herself onto the bed as her suit hit the floor.

She had to take care of things before she did something rash.

Ranma-chan cooled off rather quickly once she got into the shower and the little trembles that had been running through her body started to die down. She still felt…. Funny, though. A warm, pulsing tingle that raced through her belly and still seemed to pool between her legs. She leaned her head back as she let the cool water run over her, then looked down and swallowed hard before she reached for her luffa and started to wash herself off. The first time the loofa passed over her clean mound, she practically jumped out of her skin. That… Had been an unexpected sensation, that was for sure. Not… Unpleasant, no… But it instantly made her think of how Shampoo had been touching her earlier, and she was not quite sure she was ready to think about THAT again, not right now.

So, she hurried and finished her shower, biting her lip as she washed her lower half clean, and made sure that there were no stray hairs, just like Shampoo had told her to. That finished, she quickly got out and dried off before she wrapped the smaller robe that she had bought with Shampoo about herself and started to head towards the rooms. She froze as she heard a breathy, low sound come from Shampoo's room, and a strange almost liquid sound. She slowly moved closer as her heart thundered in her chest for some reason, and once she noticed the door was slightly open, she hesitantly took a peek, all too aware of the LAST time something like this had happened.

What Ranma-chan saw was something that she would not forget anytime soon.

Xian Pu laid on her bed with her knees bent and her legs splayed wide as she touched herself with almost reckless abandon. The image of Ranma-chan was firmly locked in the front of her mind, and she was working herself with gusto. Still, for some reason she just couldn't seem to climb past the peak. She had been hovering here, on the edge of ecstasy for some time now, and it just seemed that things built more and more, like she was hovering at the edge of a cliff, and one little push would send her plummeting down to oblivion. She tossed and twisted as her back arched and her hips lifted off the bed, then her eyes crossed over the door, and she froze for a moment. The door was opened a crack, and she could see telltale red hair and a wide blue eye that was locked on her nethers. A sudden surge of embarrassment and a giddy exhilaration washed over her and she gave in to an impulse. She shifted just a little so that her core, her most lewd and wanton parts, were fully exposed to the stunned young woman on the other side of that door.

She made sure that she didn't meet Ranma's gaze again as she put on a show for her roommate. Still, she couldn't help but steal little glances, and the fact that Ranma hadn't taken her eye off what Xian Pu was doing to herself just seemed to drive the former Amazon a little more towards the edge.

When Xian Pu finally reached that peak and fell over the edge, some part of her wondered how she would meet the eyes of Ranma-chan once she had recovered.

Another part of her thought that something new might have been added to the little games the two of them played as they avoided admitting anything to each other that neither was brave enough to face yet.

A stunned and wide-eyed Ranma-chan slowly and carefully closed the door after Shampoo had pulled her fingers away from where they had been… Doing all sorts of things to herself. At one point she had started to let her own hand drift downwards, but she had stopped that quickly. If.. Touching there could do that to Shampoo… There was almost no chance that she wouldn't be a quivering heap when Shampoo walked out, and that was not something she could face. Not now, and maybe not ever. She couldn't believe how much Shampoo had seemed to enjoy it, or just how… Exhilarating it had been to watch THAT. Ranma-chan leaned against the wall for a moment before she decided that maybe she needed another cold shower.

Just to make sure that she had, in fact, gotten all the hair off her body.

It was well after noon before either of the girls made it out of their respective rooms and exchanged a shy look before Xian Pu laughed softly and smiled at Ranma-chan. "So, are you getting used to how it feels?" She asked as she walked over and got herself a glass of tea.

"Ummm.. Kinda? I mean… It feels kinda… You know… Weird?" Ranma-chan said as she tugged at her shorts a little.

Xian Pu laughed and nodded. "You will get used to it, trust me. You might want to put on one of the skirts we bought you, though." Xian Pu nervously fiddled with her hair. "You know, if you still want to go shopping…"

Ranma-chan blushed and nodded. "That… Might be a good idea. Since we are going shopping as girls an' all." She said before she hurried back into her room, and made sure that the door had closed before she started to change into one of the skirt and blouse sets that Shampoo had picked out for her. As she glanced down while putting the skirt on, she blushed and decided she had best ask Shampoo about something, before she inevitably ended up getting splashed and swapping genders suddenly.

Ranma walked back out and the pair met eyes, then looked away in embarrassment. The silence held for a long moment before Xian Pu broke into giggles. "To be fair, it's not the most embarrassing thing we have experienced. So, shall we?". She said and impulsively held out her hand.

Ranma-chan looked at Shampoo's hand and blushed for a moment as she clearly remembered just what that hand had been doing not long ago. She looked up and noticed that Shampoo was still a bit red, then laughed a little and took the offered hand and nodded. "You know, you're right. Let's go."

Ranma-chan paused for a moment and looked at Shampoo. "Ummm…. I do have one question, though…."

Xian Pu paused and blushed a little, afraid that Ranma was going to ask about the little show she had given them earlier. She breathed out a little sigh of relief when Ranma-chan finally got around to asking what was on her mind.

"Shampoo…. If I .. switch back …. And then to girl again…. Will…. I have to shave it all again?" Ranma-chan asked as she found the wall very interesting. She gave Shampoo an indignant look as the former Amazon broke into peals of laughter. "It's not that funny! It's…. It's a legitimate thing to be worried about!"

"It should be fine, Ranma. I know that I don't when I end up in my other form. And I'm not hairless in my other form.". Xian Pu said as she made sure she did not say the banned word around Ranma-chan. She smiled as Ranma-chan visibly relaxed a bit. "One less thing in your mind, then? Xian Pu said as she gave their linked hands a gentle tug to get Ranma-chan moving again. "Oh, and what was it you needed to pick up today?"

"Yeah, I guess so? I'm still not used to… all this, ya know?". Ranma-chan said as she walked along and tried not to think how the pair of them probably looked like to others. Shampoo had put on her jeans and vest combination, and she cut a rather dashing figure. Then there was herself, dressed in one of the more girly casual outfits she owned. Their roles had been reversed again, it seemed. "And…. I want to find something a bit more…. Neutral I guess? For this form to attend the meetings in?". Ranma-chan said nervously.

Xian Pu nodded and smiled with a relaxed expression on her face. "Decided to go as a girl-type, then?" She asked, and smiled when Ranma-chan nodded and blushed.

"I always seem to end up like this, and…. It's easier to talk 'bout things that are emotional when I'm like this…" Ranma-chan said and fiddled with her hair nervously.

Xian Pu nodded and smiled as she gripped Ranma-chan's hand a little tighter. "Hopefully we will get you to where you can talk about whatever is on your mind in either form."

Ranma-chan bit her lip and smiled before she let the taller woman lead her around. She looked at their joined hands and blushed a little. 'It feels almost like a date…. But that is just stupid. We aren't like that. We are just friends, after all.' Ranma-chan thought to herself and let herself be drawn along behind Shampoo.

Xian Pu could hear her heart thundering as she held onto Ranma-chan's hand and was glad the redhead could not see the almost manic grin on her face. She was also more than just a bit sheepish, she had to admit. All that time she had wanted to get closer to Ranma, but had instead just driven a wedge between them. All it had taken was both of them losing everything to find something that she had always wanted.

Something that was precious enough to risk everything for.

The pair made their way to the same clothing store that they had visited on their first outfit excursion, and quickly lost themselves in selecting outfits for the other to try on. After an hour, they had finally settled on two that they liked, a more gender neutral outfit for the stacked redhead, and a subdued outfit for the former Amazon. As the pair exited the shop, Xian Pu looked at her watch, and decided to take a little leap.

"So, how does dinner and a movie sound, Ranma?" Xian Pu said as she looked away, then took a breath and looked at her friend.

"I…. I think I'd like that…. You know…. Since that sonethin' friends do, right? Not like a date, but…. Friends hanging out…" Ranma-chan said nervously.

Xian Pu smiled a little and took a breath before she grabbed Ranma-chan's hand. "Exactly. Not all that different from our movie nights at home, right?"

Ranma-chan nodded and blushed a little before the pair started to walk, both pointedly ignoring the fact that their hands were still linked.

Meanwhile, in a nearby restroom an argument had been taking place. One sounded angry, the other meek. The voices were similar sounding, but vastly different in tone.

"I thought you said that your little plan would ruin his life!"

"It… should have…. He's been trying to hide it so much …"

"But it didn't, did it? Instead he seems to be doing better! Why did I ever trust someone like… you."

"But…. I'm doing all I can…."

"Do more! Do better! Don't I deserve revenge? Doesn't HE deserve to suffer? Do better! I'm done. Let's go." A loud crash sounded as a mirror was smashed, and a falling shard of the broken mirror caught a flash of blue-black hair.