WARNING: While there will be no actual 'Lemon' content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence, and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.
Disclaimer: The rights to 'Ranma 1/2' are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. The rights to 'Gold Digger' are owned by its creator, Fred Perry. The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators. This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.
Notes: While drawing primarily from the original 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series, some elements and characters from the 'Ranma 1/2' Anime series may also be utilized. This is BOTH a 'Continuation' and an 'Alternate Universe' fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of 'Ranma 1/2' and 'Gold Digger', meaning: the characters WILL be 'Out-of-Character' to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree. This fan-fiction is also a 'Crossover', combining elements from the two aforementioned sources. For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry's 'Gold Digger' series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon, and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.
Furthermore, it is 'presumed' that the events of the 'Ranma 1/2' Manga series take place over a span of less than one year, as there is little if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon. Therefore, Ranma and Akane are still freshmen at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kunou are juniors.
Timeframe: Right after Battlemage Book 1, Ranma arrives in Paris, France as he was invited to the wedding of Lisette and Jean-Paul. (Gold Diggers referenced will become apparent when shown.)
WARNING: This is self-beta'd if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, please PM me with the paragraph and fix.
BATTLE MAGE
By
Ryan Slicer
(original story concept, writing and guidance)
Book Two: Journey
Part One: The Wedding
The taxi slowed to a stop in front of a lavish and bright building, neon lights decorated the front of the building with the label Auberge Cousteau. Ranma looked up at the lights and turned to Lisette. "I thought you said this was Cousteau Bordello."
"It is, Monsieur Saotome, but you don't think we would advertise it as a bordello now do you?" Lisette grinned walking toward the building. Ranma followed suit until he felt a bit of water on his head that then was drenched in water, causing her to change. Lisette turned back as she heard Ranma curse, only to find a short red-head almost swimming in a Chinese tang shirt and black silk pants. Luckily, Ranma was used to the change and tightened the rope belt that was around her waist to keep her pants from falling down.
"Of course, I go somewhere new and the curse activates." Ranma groused as she shook her head and wrung out her hair a bit. She looked up at Lisette and saw her stare at her. "Oh, right, new to the curse. It happens at the most inconvenient time."
"When you said curse, Monsieur Saotome, you didn't really explain, did you?"
"Well, it didn't happen on the plane, and it didn't rain on the way here, so I wasn't expecting it," Ranma mentioned as she shifted the large pack to a better hold over her shoulder. The pack being over half her size caused Lisette to watch her with curiosity. "But I guess this might not be a bad idea to start as a girl first instead of a guy this time." Ranma chuckled. Lisette just nodded, almost dumbfounded at the strength of the slip of a girl in front of her as she walked up and stood next to the other woman.
"Yes, I guess so," Lisette remarked before opening the door. As soon as she stepped into the bordello there was a loud, "Welcome!" from a group of girls before they saw who it was. "Lisette!" most of them called out, as they ran up to the woman and hugged her. Each one spoke rapidly in French as they asked her, what seemed to Ranma, a bunch of questions until one of them looked over at her.
"Who is this? Someone to replace you?" The brunette asked as she looked over the red-head with an appreciative look, licking her lips at the thought of fresh blood into the bordello.
"No, she isn't my replacement. She's a guest for the wedding." Lisette replied back, looking at Ranma before speaking to her in Japanese, "I'm sorry, Monsieur Ranma, I know this must be a wired thing for you to hear someone talking about you without your understanding. But they asked if you were my replacement. I told them that you were here for the wedding."
Ranma waved her dainty hand slightly, brushing off the remarks. "It's alright. I had the same problem in China before and after I got my curse." Then she blinked, "Your replacement?"
"Oui, they think you are here to replace me as one of the girls." That caused Ranma to blush brightly and the girls laughed
"What did she say?" The brunette asked, very interested in the red-head. Lisette translated what she was telling and what Ranma replied before the girls all spoke out.
"What? A curse?" Lisette looked at Ranma and translated for him. "What curse?"
Ranma just shrugged and shifted the backpack around to her other shoulder, 'Lisette will explain.' Ranma thought before looking over at Lisette, who then turned back to Ranma to ask for permission to explain. He gave her a nod and started explaining the curse, to which most of them scoffed at it before telling Ranma to prove it.
"Ranma, they want proof. Should we get you some hot water?"
"It doesn't matter to me. But showing them now instead of an accident later would help." Ranma nodded as Lisette asked the girls for cups of hot and cold water.
"Hot and cold water? That I must see." The same brunette that had been eyeing Ranma was now piqued with interest. Ranma watched her for a moment before looking at Lisette for a translation.
"She said, hot and cold water? This I have to see."
It took a few minutes for them to get a few cups of water that were hot and cold before the girls sat around Ranma, who nodded to Lisette and she poured the hot water over the red-head, turning her back to his male self. This caused the girls to gasp as he showed he was in fact male. Some of them came up and gently rubbed his chest, causing them to almost purr in enjoyment of his strong pecs and toned abs. Ranma blushed again, not used to having someone else touch his male form like they would his female form to confirm that he was male.
"It can not be." The same brunette who kept eyeing him said, "She is now a he. how can it be?" Ranma looked to Lisette for a translation.
"It can't be. She is now a he. How can this be?" Lisette responded to the questioning look from Ranma.
"Just tell them the short version," Ranma said as he reached over to grab a cup of cold water. He splashed it over his head, turning him back to her red-headed form. Those who were fondling his chest and abs felt the change as she materialized breasts from those strong pecs. This caused most of them to jump away or remove their hands from her generous bosom.
"He grew breasts. Oh, he's going to be so much fun." Another girl responded, this one blonde with an ample bosom that rivaled Ranma's own. This caused Lisette to snicker and look back at the girls.
"Now what's so funny?" Ranma groused at the laughter Lisette was displaying.
"Oh, she was saying that you would be such fun, Monsieur Saotome." Lisette smiled, "Just like I said the other day." This caused Ranma to pout cutely and the girls all giggled at the look.
"She is so cute, like a cute soft teddy bear." The brunette smiled, "My name is Joan, by the way."
"Hey, take that back!" Ranma grumbled, still causing her to look cute which set the girls off again. "I know that was something about me, Lisette, what did she say?"
Lisette tried to stop giggling and took a deep breath before she looked at Ranma. "She said you looked like a cute teddy bear." She giggled. "She also said her name was Joan."
Ranma frowned at that before looking at the brunette named Joan. She then stuck out her tongue and pulled down her lower eyelid. "Biida" she said as she did her insult, causing Joan to laugh out loud.
"You are so beautiful, you will make someone a great partner," Joan said, and pointed to Ranma. "I hope the partner is me."
Ranma once more looked at Lisette for translation, "Joan said you're a handsome cutie, you'll make someone a good partner, to which she hopes it's her."
"Well, tell her thank you for the compliment, but I'm not looking." Lisette nodded, knowing his history with the fiancées, and responded to Joan's comment before looking back at Ranma.
Lisette turned about and was ready to show Ranma the rest of the area when a handsome man came down the stairs. Light brown hair cut short and waved a bit on top of a slim, masculine face, which sat on a thin neck and willow, muscular torso. Long legs brought the man to a five-foot-eleven stature, causing Ranma to look up to face him.
"Ah, the love of my life. How are you?" the man said, as he gently kissed Lisette's cheeks before turning towards Ranma. "And who is this pretty flower you brought with you?"
Lisette smiled and kissed the man on the lips for a second before replying back to the man. "Jean-Paul, I'm so happy to see you. This is Ranma Saotome, who I told you I was going to stop from accepting our initial engagement." She turned to Ranma and explained, "I just told Jean-Paul, my fiancé, that you were the one I was trying to get to not accept our parents arranged marriage."
"This is Ranma Saotome? I thought she was supposed to be a boy." Jean-Paul remarks, "Well, she surely doesn't look like a boy to me." he looks down at Ranma, to which she just waves and looks at Lisette.
"He says I thought you were supposed to be a boy, and that you certainly don't look like a boy to him." Lisette translates for him. This caused Ranma to laugh at that, remembering a certain Tendo sister saying the same thing, except without the groping of her breasts to prove the point. "What is so funny, Monsieur Saotome?"
"Just remembering someone said the exact same thing when they thought I was supposed to be a boy when I arrived as a girl." she chuckled softly and got her act back together.
"Lisette!" An older woman spoke as she entered the room from the front door. "You're home. I'm so glad. Did Mr. Saotome agree to the annulment?"
"Mama." Lisette smiled and went over to hug the woman, whose blonde hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, her own outfit was casual and comfortable, a long dress that looked like a sundress, but was resting just below her shoulders. The light blue dress tapered off with a few ruffles and the outfit was finished with a pair of heels that brought her up to be almost five-foot-six. After the women separated, Lisette gestures over to Ranma.
"Mama, this is Ranma Saotome. And he has agreed to annul our pact with you and his Father."
"Well, I can see why the marriage had to be annulled? Did she come to replace you as part of the deal?" Lisette's mother responded, having remembered the other part of the deal if they had daughters.
"No No, Mama. She is under a curse. She is actually a he."
"A likely story, but I'm glad that the pact was annulled. I don't want anyone's daughters anyway since I stopped managing the bordello." The woman smiled and gently caressed her daughter's cheek, "Since I have you and your brother, I have all the children I need."
"Oh, Mama." Lisette cried softly and hugged her mother once more, to the coos of the other girls who smiled at the pair.
Ranma also smiled, but gently got rid of the tears flowing down her face quickly, 'I wish Mom would have acted like that.' She quickly got rid of any more tears that started to fall before sucking it up and prepared to meet the woman that got the pact started between his father and her. She stepped forward after the women separated once more. "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."
"You need to forgive me. My Japanese is rusty." The older woman spoke in a highly accented and medium-pitched voice, even though her Japanese was very rusty and hardly spoken much of. "Do you speak other languages?"
Ranma took a moment to think of an easy language that they both could speak before coming up with the English language, 'I do remember Nabiki explaining that English is becoming a global language.' She thought to herself before speaking in American accented English. "How about English? Do you know it?"
Lisette frowned before punching Ranma in the arm, to which her mother laughed, "This whole time I've been speaking Japanese to you and you could have started with English. You meanie." Lisette huffed, causing Ranma to slightly chuckle.
"Well, we didn't get into what languages we speak on the flight." Ranma grinned, making her face even cuter as she tried to pull that suave smile. This caused Lisette to punch her in the arm again, causing all the girls to laugh.
"Well, we can at least understand her now." Joan smiled before grabbing onto Ranma's arm. "Though I believe we can have better introductions than before."
"I still don't believe she is a he. I mean she clearly has the parts of a woman." The woman looked at Ranma up and down before smiling, "Unless you can prove otherwise." To which one of the girls came up with some hot water behind Ranma and poured it over her. Once more proving that she was able to become male. This caused the woman's jaw to drop as another person walked into the establishment.
"Camile, is Lisette here? I know her flight came in today." A balding man spoke up in French before he noticed his wife gaping at a handsome young Asian man next to Lisette and Jean-Paul, who was also gaping at the young man as well. He walked over to his wife and gave her a teasing smile. "Now Dear, I know how you used to like them young, but this is a bit much, don't you think?"
"Pierre Cousteau! This young man wasn't here before you just came in. He most certainly was a very voluptuous young girl." His wife mentioned as she turned and placed a manicured hand on Ranma's chest, gently caressing and squeezing his well-carved pecs.
"Don't molest the poor young man," Pierre said, as he walked over and pulled his wife's hand away from Ranma, causing said young man to blush at the way Camile had blatantly felt him up. Not that he wasn't used to it, but having a fully adult woman caressing him who would be as old or even older than his own mother doing that to him made him more self-aware of what was happening. "But are you sure you're not seeing things? I know I joke sometimes about your eye-sight, but this is taking the joke too far." Which got Pierre a quick, but light, elbow to the gut from his wife.
"Speak English for Monsour Saotome, Papa." Lisette remarked, "And Mama was right, He is sometimes a voluptuous girl." Lisette stated as fact, now trying to convince her father that her mother was correct in her earlier statement.
"Dear Lisette, please don't tell me that your mother put you up to this joke to get back at me." Pierre looked over at Jean-Paul and Joan. "Do you not see this young..." He paused as a glass of cold water was poured over Ranma, causing him to change back to her red-headed, short self. "Sacre bleu! Where? How?" So once more, Ranma and Lisette explained Jusenkyo to the group, sitting down at a table where Ranma opened up more about his martial arts journey to the sacred springs and some of the tragedies that he knew about, including the springs of drowned panda, pig, and duck.
"You must be very tired, Monsieur Saotome. Let's get you into a hotel close by and we can continue our discussions for another time." Camile said as they finished up their discussion at one of the tables in the main room of the bordello. This caused both Lisette and Ranma to yawn at how long the jet lag was from Japan to France.
"Of course, Monsieur Saotome came all this way to actually see the wedding, even though he didn't need to." Pierre countered before Joan made a recommendation, she was apparently fast enough to grab the seat next to him which caused the other girls to gather around the Saotome heir in other chairs and such. Because of such an event with Lisette and her family arriving at the bordello, it closed its doors for the day to allow the group to catch up with Lisette. Joan frowned at the fact that she couldn't get Ranma to stay with her in her small apartment, but she did realize he was here for the wedding and they would be able to spend some more time together.
Ranma nodded to both Pierre and Camile's suggestion and got up slowly to make sure that he would be able to get to the hotel without too much assistance, having gotten used to sleepless nights way before Nabiki took him out on some of their dates. Once he was stable, without the help from more than one girl in the parlor, he picked up his pack and slid it on his shoulder as easy as a small bag of flour. He followed the Cousteau's and Jean-Paul, who had become slightly jealous of the young man before Lisette whispered into his ear. This caused Jean-Paul to give the young man an assuming nod at what Lisette whispered, which Ranma didn't understand as he was way too tired to really get any hints of anything, even most of the girls wanting to drag the young man to their beds or even into the other parlor for larger groups. The group of five walked out of the bordello with the girls promising to leave the young man alone, for the time being on the strict order from Camile, whose demeanor still carried weight within the bordello from her time as a Madame.
The group walked down the street to one of the closer hotels in the area, a nice one at that, but nothing expensive for Ranma. They got him into the hotel and booked him into a room that would allow them to get in touch with them. Pierre helped the young man to the bed and let him sit down on it.
"Good night, Monsieur Saotome. We'll talk more tomorrow morning."
"Good night, Mr. Cousteau." Ranma waved at the group as they left his hotel room. He gave a quiet sigh before laying back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I wonder if Nabiki told anyone about me leaving." He spoke out loud to himself, he looked out the sliding glass door towards the balcony and gave a quiet smile, knowing that Nabiki wouldn't do so before he closed his eyes and drifted off.
-LINE BREAK-
Morning arrived and Ranma woke up with a yawn. He took a moment to look at his surroundings and found that he wasn't at the Tendo-ke, which meant he was away from his father and mother, along with the rest of the chaos. He stretched a bit as if to work the kinks out of his body, but decided that since he had a morning where he could sleep in without the issue of being forced to wake up for anyone else. He looked over at the clock and noticed it was a few minutes after five. Ranma groaned before rolling over and decided to go back to sleep for another hour, or at least until the sun rose and woke him up.
'This is the first journey I've made, where no one knows where I'm at.' Ranma thought to himself as he lay in bed, waiting to fall back asleep. 'I might be able to figure out what I want to do with the situation back home.' He then furrowed his brow a bit before they rose up slightly at the previous thought. 'I wonder when I started thinking of the Tendo home as home to me. I know I don't think of Mom's home as home.' Ranma continued to think about his thoughts as he drifted back off to sleep.
The morning did arrive for the Saotome lad a few hours later, causing him to roll over and get out of bed. A quick shower and a fresh pair of clothes before he went down to the main lobby. There he met the Cousteaus in the lobby.
"Ranma, over here." Pierre Cousteau spotted the young man and motioned for him to come closer before they headed to the hotel restaurant next to the main lobby. When they arrived, they were promptly seated and given menus, with Ranma being given a menu with English explanations of the menu items. As they looked over the menu, Camile set her menu down and looked over at Ranma.
"Ranma, I never expected you to even come with Lisette to Paris, let alone agree to come to her wedding. I would have thought that you would have stopped the wedding to fulfill your obligation to be her fiancé."
"Funny story about that. You see I have multiple fiancées that are currently vying for my attention. Ones that I left in Japan to get some much-needed time alone to figure things out."
"Multiple you say?" Pierre interjected, "Sounds like your father was a real piece of work."
"You don't know the half of it." Ranma responded, "Anyway, they're back in Japan and Lisette gave me an option of leaving so I could find myself and get things sorted out back home."
"Well, I'm glad that you didn't want to uphold the agreement. I wouldn't have accepted it in the first place. It's been almost 17 years since that pact was made." Camile replied as she flagged down a waiter. After their orders were taken, Camile continued, "Besides, Lisette and Jean-Paul deciding to get married made that pact become, how you say, null and void."
"So either way, you wouldn't have accepted it if I came over to try and disrupt the wedding."
"Oui." Camile said, "I would have pulled you aside and talked it out to resolve the issue."
Ranma nodded and took a sip of the water. "Well, I won't push the issue further as we did make an agreement. If I came, she wanted me to be a part of her bridesmaid party. Since she figured out I was a girl." Ranma looked at both Pierre and Camile. "But with the wedding so close, I don't think I have an appropriate dress for the occasion." Ranma shrugged his shoulders slightly. "All I brought were a few skirts and tops just in case."
"That's okay, Monsieur Saotome. I'm sure the girls can find you a dress within their closets." Camile smiled. Their food arrived and they ate their breakfast quietly. Once they were done, Ranma made to pay for his meal before Pierre stopped him.
"This one is on us. You've proven that you're not your father by trying to not come in the way of Lisette and Jean-Paul." Pierre remarked, paying for the bill. They all stood up and walked out of the restaurant before walking towards the bordello.
"So it's alright for me to be part of the wedding? I really don't want to intrude on Lisette and Jean-Paul's special day." Ranma asked as they reached the bordello.
"If Lisette and Jean-Paul are okay with it, then I don't see any problems." Camile smiled at the young Saotome. "Besides, it'll give you a chance to see a wedding and maybe get some ideas for your own, if you pick out one of the lovely ladies chasing after you." Camile winked at Ranma, who blushed and nodded.
"I think I would like that. After my first wedding attempt was a disaster."
"First? You were almost married before Lisette?"
"Yes... But it wasn't something I had planned for by myself and Akane, one of my fiancées."
"She must be very special to you," Pierre commented.
"She was. It's not been good since the wedding attempt and I don't know if I do love her anymore."
"Young love, even a first love, never can withstand a partnership if you don't love each other and trust each other." Camile frowned. "But there are others who you can be together with, no?"
"Yeah, but even those others, I just don't love them. I like them as friends, but not enough to want to get together with them." Ranma shook his head. "Sorry about that. I don't want to dump all my love problems upon you two, and I just met you."
"Considering that you trust us enough to do so, we must be held in some high regard for you to divulge such information. I'm glad that you are willing to even talk about it with us." Pierre gently patted the Saotome heir on the shoulder. "Maybe after the wedding, we can talk some more. Maybe give you some advice on what to do?"
"I would appreciate that. Especially since you've gone through this with your own children."
"Well, not both children. Louis still has not found a lover he enjoys." Pierre chuckled softly as they walked into the bordello. Once more the girls all welcomed them and when they saw who it was all the girls there were smiling at the Saotome heir who blushed more under their attention than anything else. A few of the girls got up from their seats and grabbed the young man's arms and guided him to a seat, with Pierre and Camile right behind them. As they sat Ranma down, the two women cooed and rubbed his arms gently before Camile gave them a look, which caused them to straighten up and just gently squeeze his hands.
"Now girls, I know I'm not the current Madame in the bordello, but he is a guest of Lisette and Jean-Paul. What I need from you all is a dress that would fit him..." Camile paused before shaking her head. "Not in his current form, but in his girl form." She mentioned as she remembered that he does have a different form. "So please go easy on him."
"Yes, Ma'am." All the girls responded before Ranma was gently splashed with some cold water. She shook her head and looked at the one who did it.
"You know I'll get you back for that." She said as she growled at Joan, who gave an unrepentant shrug of her shoulders.
"I'll hold you to it, my dear sweet Ranma." Joan giggled before walking away with the glass that held the water. "Come on lover boy, let's get you a dress to match that color of hair."
The girls holding onto Ranma got up and helped drag Ranma towards Joan and followed her up to one of the dressing rooms. They gently pushed Ranma in there and started grabbing dresses that they picked out for the wedding, but didn't fit right, or were too much. Ranma was handed dress after dress until they found a nice-looking light blue dress that laid across her shoulders and gently cupped Ranma's bosom, trailing down her body to a long skirt that ended just above her ankles. Her feet were bare until Joan passed a set of heels that were the same shade of blue as her dress, Ranma looked at the woman before grumbling. "I hate heels." As she slid her feet into the shoes, she stood up and felt a bit taller than she usually did. The only issue that she had was she couldn't fight in the dress or in heels.
"Honey, we all hate heels, but it's part of being a woman." Joan smiled, realizing that Ranma must have dressed up in heels at some point to say that she hated them. "At least you're not wearing them eight hours a day, every day."
"At least the dress I had worn on Toma's island was flexible." Ranma turned around in the dress and started walking around a bit in the heels and dress. "I could at least fight in it."
"Toma's island? Sounds like an adventure."
"You don't know the half of it." Ranma smiled and started remembering how much fun she had on the beach, even though she was a girl at the time and could only swim in the ocean like that. "But it was a good time too. I'll tell you all about it after the wedding."
The girls all groaned at the missed opportunity to get more stories out of Ranma as they got busy and got ready for the day. Ranma finally realized where she was at and blushed a bright red, even though she saw just about as much as he had when he was wearing lingerie himself, but this was a bit more 'relaxed' as you could get. Most of the women were half-dressed with them putting on makeup and styling their hair just right. The others around Ranma dressed up already but took a few minutes to make sure their makeup and hair didn't fall out of place before they left the red-head and Joan to their devices as she was brought over to the vanity and mirror.
"Well you don't need much makeup, so let's get that hair out of that nasty tail you have and start to clean it up, no?" Joan said as she sat Ranma down and gently pulled on her pig-tail.
"Might as well. The wedding is tonight right?"
"Oui, Lisette, and Jean-Paul wanted to have an evening wedding because the stars above Paris are very beautiful."
"I know. The stars are always beautiful wherever they are seen. Especially out in the wilderness." Ranma looked behind her at Joan before reaching back and untying the string holding her pigtail. Ranma shook her head and ran a hand through her hair to untangle it before Joan grabbed a brush and started straightening her hair.
"You have such beautiful hair, Monsieur, why do you keep it tied like that?"
"Would you believe my hair would magically grow so long that it would reach the end of the room in a few minutes?"
"I don't believe it, but then I didn't believe you were a boy when we first met so who knows. I might believe all these fantastical stories you have." Joan commented as she continued to brush the red hair in her hands, noticing that there were hardly any tangles in it. "You must take good care of your hair. It feels so smooth."
"You wouldn't say that if you felt my male side's hair. It feels like a rat's nest half the time." Ranma chuckled softly before closing her eyes at the ministrations that she was being given by Joan. "I think it may be part of the curse, keeps me looking pretty even though I could be dragged through the mud or hurt."
"I see," Joan remarked, finishing up brushing out Ranma's long hair. "Now what we can do with it. Do you like it up or down?"
"I prefer up, but I've had it down before and didn't like it when it was down past my butt." Ranma chuckles at the thought.
"Let me guess, Monsieur, it kept you from fighting right?"
"Right in one." Ranma chuckled again. "Though I do remember a style I had at Toma's island. The brat had enough dresses and clothing to keep a hundred women satisfied."
"Ohh la la. Might have to come back with you and see if we can find this island together." Joan grinned as she pulled Ranma's hair up into a high ponytail. "So something like this?" Joan remarked and looked at Ranma through the mirror.
"Yeah like that. Just need to curl it and fluff it out a bit more so it has volume." Ranma remembered the style she had used when she had changed into the dress and heels she had on Toma's island. Joan started to work on the curling and adding more volume to the girl's hair. Each time Joan asked if she was liking the style, to which Ranma continued to acknowledge each change before Joan stopped and turned the girl around to face the mirror after curling Ranma's bangs.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I think that looks very good, Joan." this brought a smile to Joan's face before she leaned over Ranma's shoulder and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for letting me do this. It's fun to dress someone else up for fun versus doing it for work." Joan squeezed Ranma's shoulders and turned her around. "Now let's go show Madame Cousteau what you look like so we can get ready ourselves."
Ranma nodded and walked down to the parlor, taking her time to get used to the heels, which was easy for her as she was used to walking on a small chain-link fence. As she came down the steps, Camile looked over and gave a smile.
"That looks wonderful Monsieur Saotome." She exclaimed before getting out of her seat and walking towards her. "Please spin around so I can see the dress fully." Ranma acknowledged by twirling around, holding the skirt up a bit before doing a little curtsy for Camile. "Magnifique. I'm sure that the girls did a wonderful job getting you dressed up for tonight."
"Joan did all the work. She does deserve at least most of the credit." Ranma looked over at Joan, who was behind the young Saotome. She gave a smile to the redhead at the compliment and nodded to her.
"You would think that someone who changes sex by water would be appalled by wearing makeup and getting dressed as a woman, but you handled that like you were a woman."
"I've had a year to get used to being a girl. Even Nabiki was a bit surprised that I can dress up like the best of them." Ranma puffed up, causing the dress and her bosom to rise slightly. This caused Joan to giggle at her antics.
"Still you do look wonderful, Monsieur Ranma." Camile smiled once more, gently patting her on her shoulders as she looked her up and down once more.
"Please, call me Ranko when I'm like this. Less confusing in the long run." Ranma replied. She gave a soft smile to the older woman and readjusted her dress. "Besides, if I think of this as Ranko, I just get used to it more and more."
"Well then, Madame Ranko. I believe we found what you needed for the wedding." Pierre replied. "Unfortunately we need to leave to make sure everything else is set up and ready for the wedding." Pierre walked up to his wife and the both of them waved their goodbyes to the women of the bordello as they left. Ranma looked around and saw some of the girls were also getting the bordello ready for the night. It was only a quarter till noon, so Ranma had some time before the wedding was to start. She went back up the stairs to the dressing room and quietly took off the dress and bra she was wearing. She knew she would have to wear a bra for the wedding, but she wanted to be a male while he wandered around Paris. She shimmied out of the dress and put on her Chinese tangs again.
"I'll be back before the wedding," Ranma said as she grabbed a glass of hot water before pouring it over her head. The cascade of water down the back of her head caused her hair to go back to a flat look and changed her sex from female to male once again. Ranma quickly tied his hair into a low ponytail with a black hairband that was nearby.
"Where are you headed to?" Joan asked as she heard that Ranma was leaving as he was walking down the steps from the dressing room.
"Just walking around, might see the Eiffel Tower or the waterways."
"If you're interested in artwork, you can go see the Louvre and see some of the priceless works of art."
"I might just do that." Ranma smiled, giving the woman a light blush on her face at how handsome he looked.
"Maybe if you stay longer than the wedding, we can both go to the museum?" Joan gave the young man a smile and a flutter of her eyes.
"Sure, I'll save that for later," Ranma remarked, as he was leaving the bordello, he slightly heard the girls all talking in rapid French to Joan. Ranma began walking down the alley and turned to see the Eifel Tower in front of him. It looked like it would take him most of the day to walk there, but Ranma wasn't a normal person. As usual, he took to the skies as a proper Saotome would do and began roof-hopping across most of the buildings towards the tower.
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma hops off the last roof and lands about a mile away from Eifel Tower. He starts to walk towards it and notices something peculiar about the monument. "This sort of looks like the Tokyo Tower. I wonder if there's an observation deck." He spoke quietly to himself as he continued towards the tower. Once he reached the base of it, he found an information booth in front of the entrance.
"Excuse me."
'Yes?'
"I'm sorry, do you speak English?"
"Yes, my apologies." The man behind the counter said as he looked at Ranma.
"How much is it to get in?" He pointed to the tower.
"To the second floor, 17 francs to use the lift or 10 francs for the stairs."
Ranma scrounged around his pockets and found a 20 franc coin he got from Pierre to exchange for some of his yen. He paid at the information counter and received a ticket to access the tower. He took his time to look up at the Eiffel tower before walking up to the entrance gate. He showed the young woman there his ticket, which she took and tore in half.
"Enjoy your time at the Eiffel Tower," she said as she pointed toward the lift. Ranma nodded and headed towards the lift with a few other tourists.
They arrived at the second deck observatory and Ranma took a few steps out of the lift. When he did, he saw all over the Paris landscape. The buildings and other monuments and museums dotted the landscape. He walked over to the edge and looked down. 'This almost looks like Tokyo Tower with the same view.' Ranma smiled as he looked over the cityscape. 'I'm sure that Nabiki would say the same thing, except she would probably have us go in the evening.' Ranma's smile turned into a slight frown, 'Of course, we gotta get away from the fiancées before we could even fly out to Paris." Ranma walked around the observation deck as he watched the sun slowly move across the sky.
'Kasumi would definitely like this. If we can get her out of the house more often.' Ranma thought as he focused on the skyline. 'I think both Tendo sisters would like this view.' Ranma pictured in his mind both sisters looking out over the observation deck with smiles on their faces. I'll ask Nabiki if there's a way to get us to come out here again.' He looked down and saw a clock. "I guess I'll have to wait to go to the Louver." He said to himself before going down the elevator and hopping back over to the bordello.
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma meandered back to the bordello just two hours before the wedding was to start. As soon as he entered the bordello, he was splashed with some cold water. She groaned before staring back at the woman, who happened to be Joan and she once again gave an unrepentant shrug.
"Come on, Ranko." Joan started. "You've got to get ready for the wedding."
"You could have just poured enough to get me wet, you know that right?"
"But where would the fun be in that?" Joan smiled teasingly before she sashayed up the stairs towards the dressing room. This caused Ranma to grudgingly acknowledge what Joan said before following her up the stairs. She ignored the way the woman in front of her moved her hips, as she was blushing enough to understand that Joan did want her in some form or fashion.
Ranma slipped into the dress and sat at the vanity so that Joan could help her get her hair done up. Once she was ready, Joan sat next to the redhead and started on Ranma's makeup. She made sure it was a light foundation, lip gloss, and eyeliner as Ranma didn't need too much makeup to finish her looks.
"All finished, you can head down and wait for everyone else," Joan told Ranma before winking at her. "Or you can stay and watch us all get dressed." This caused the redhead to blush once more, causing her face to become as red as her hair.
"I... I think I'll wait downstairs until we're ready to start."
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma sat down at the parlor waiting for everyone to join her. As the girls came down, she noticed Joan and gave a smile to the woman who was also a bridesmaid in the group. Ranma stood up and walked over to the group and was greeted by everyone there. Joan took her arm and guided Ranma to the front of the bordello where a fleet of taxies was waiting to take them where the ceremony was to take place.
"So what am I supposed to do? This is a western wedding right?"
"Oui, it is. So you stand there with the rest of the group for the bride to support her in her choice of husband. You don't need to do anything else but be pretty and smile."
"I think I can do that," Ranma replied to Joan.
"Just stand next to me, I'll be near the end anyway." She gently squeezed Ranma's arm, "You'll be just fine there."
"You seem to want me wherever I am." Ranma gave a half-hearted joke before chuckling softly.
"Of course, lover boy. You tell such amazing stories, I can't help but want to hear more." Joan remarked as they reached the hotel where the ceremony was to take place. Most of the guests were still arriving and finding places to sit. Along the front of the seating areas were Pierre and Camile making sure everything else was in place, along with another couple on the other side of the seating area helping ensure guests found their seats. When Joan gently dragged Ranma to the front, Pierre and Camile smiled at the two before Camile came up and grabbed Ranma's hands.
"You look so beautiful, Ranko."
"Thank you, Mrs. Cousteu." Ranma blushed, still not used to such praises of his girl form.
"Non, you shall call me Camile." She gently chided Ranma. "You may be only here to get away from everything, but you came to our daughter's wedding. You're a friend, even if we just barely know each other."
"Okay, Mrs... I mean Camile-san."
"I guess that'll have to do," Pierre said as he gently patted Ranma on the back, being careful not to ruin her hair. "You can also call me Pierre as well."
"I'll try, Mr... Pierre-san." Ranma stumbled in acknowledging Pierre's request.
"Well now, let's get you into position and wait for the wedding to start," Joan remarked as the rest of the bridesmaids walked to their places at the left of the altar.
-LINE BREAK-
'Looks like she's really ready for this.' Ranma thought as she watched Lisette walk down the aisle, her smile being bright and beautiful in the wedding gown she wore. The off-the-shoulder dress flowed over her body with the veil covering her face. The train followed behind her a foot from her feet as she walked slowly up the aisle. 'I wonder if I'll be ready for this someday?' She questioned herself as she paid attention to the wedding, watching the bride and groom say their vows to each other. Ranma looked next to her at Joan, who looked like she was about to cry as the wedding continued.
"If anyone has any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold their peace." The pastor looked about the crowd before nodding his head. "Then I present Mr. and Mrs. Lebeaux." The crowd around Ranma and the witnesses stood up and clapped as the couple walked down the aisle. They continued to clap as they left, giving well wishes and congratulations as they met the couple. Once the couple left, everyone started to pick up chairs and head down to the parlor, where a reception was being held.
The rest of the night was a blur to Ranma, with her enjoying her time with Joan and the other bridesmaids, getting to know them all as they told stories of Lisette and Jean-Paul. The best man also told a few stories along with his congratulatory message to the bride and groom. Ranma frowned at that, as she didn't have any male friends that she could trust to be the best man for her wedding if she lived through everything to even marry someone.
Ranma smiled at the couple before being yanked up by Joan to dance. "Come on, don't be a sourpuss and dance with me," Joan said as she dragged the Saotome heir up out of her chair and onto the dance floor. Joan grabbed her right hand and placed it on her hip, while she placed her other hand up in Ranma's left hand. "You know how to formal dance, right?"
"Trust me, I know." And Ranma started to guide Joan in a traditional waltz dance, taking the time to get used to the height difference before really going out with a personal waltz that she made up on the fly. Giving Joan a chance to get used to her leading, she kept her steps at a normal pace and Joan started to enjoy herself even more within the redhead's arms.
"You're very good, Ranko," Joan remarked at her skills.
"I had a good friend work with me on my dancing skills." Ranma smiled as she dipped the taller woman for a few seconds before lifting her back up. "Besides, I think she would appreciate it if I used the skills I learned from her."
"You had a good teacher then," Joan responded by leaning in and kissing the Saotome heir on the cheek. "You give her my regards when you see her next time."
"I will." Ranma blushed at the kiss for a moment. She was then interrupted by another girl who wanted to cut in. Joan nodded and they split apart and Ranma started dancing with her new partner.
The night continued until the bride and groom left for their honeymoon destination, thanking all of their guests as they left. Ranma stood next to Joan, who was leaning up against her as they waved the couple off. "Come on, you can lead me home, lover boy."
"Sure, and get cleaned up as well."
"Oh we're not done yet, we've got a party to get to after we get comfortable."
"And you sure you want me at your party?"
"You were one of the bridesmaids, you are 'required' to be at this party."
Ranma shrugged. "A last-minute bridesmaid."
"But a bridesmaid nonetheless." Joan gently grabbed Ranma's arm and started walking the redhead out of the reception area and out of the hotel.
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma and Joan walked back to the bordello with Joan hanging off her, who began playing with Ranma's hair by running her fingers through Ranma's red locks. "You do know you're beautiful, right Ranko?"
"I know I'm cute when I want to be, but I don't think I'm very beautiful, considering you girls are more professionally beautiful."
"Aww... you say the sweetest things." Joan smiled and hugged the redhead with a side squeeze. She then opened the door for them and they entered the bordello. The main lobby was empty for the moment as they both walked up the stairs to the dressing room. "No wonder all the girls can't get enough of you, lover boy."
"Now that's a total BS line right there." Ranma poked Joan in the ribs, who jumped away and tried to poke Ranma back. Said girl jumped away and ran up the flight of steps with Joan chasing after her.
"I'll get you back." Joan laughed as she chased after the redhead.
"You'll have to catch me first," Ranma responds as she strips out of her dress and grabs her clothes. She wore her boxers underneath so all she needed was her tank top, shirt, and pants.
"I'll have you know I was second in all my track meets in high school," Joan yelled back, kicking off her heels to run better, the heels landing underneath her vanity that she ran past.
Ranma turned around, bearing her breasts at the woman, sticking her tongue out and pulling down her eyelid from her free hand. "Biida." Ranma replied before slipping on her shirt. She turned a corner and found herself trapped at the end of a short hallway. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right, missy," Joan said at the beginning of the hallway. Joan stalked the petite redhead as slowly as she could so she could at least grab her prey. "I've got you cornered."
"But you still have to catch me first." Ranma slipped into her pants and slipper shoes as she waited for Joan to make the first move. Joan then lunged at the girl, who jumped up and over the woman, using her head as a balance point to flip around. Joan stopped herself against the wall and turned around to see a smirking Ranma looking at her. "Now, who's cornered?"
Joan just laughed and leaned up against the wall as she slid down to the floor. "Okay okay, you got me good there, Ranko." She looked up at the redhead who had her hand stretched out to help her up. Joan grabbed a hold of it and was pulled up by Ranma with ease. "Thanks," Joan said, and then she wrapped her arms around the redhead. "Now I've got you." She chuckles once more at the look on Ranma's face.
"Oh geez, oldest trick in the book, and I fell for it." Ranma blushed and looked up at Joan with a heavy blush.
"Now, you'll come to the party with the rest of the bridesmaids? You can stay in this form if you want."
"I'd like that." Ranma smiled, feeling like she was gaining friends that she could meet up with if she traveled to other places later in life.
"Let me get out of my dress and we can meet the rest in the parlor. They'll be coming up shortly."
-LINE BREAK-
The parlor doors opened up and all the bridesmaids entered the room with a few bottles of alcohol and a few decks of playing cards and chips. Others brought in food with them and the rest brought some pillows and chairs into the parlor. Ranma and Joan helped move some of the tables out of the way and they all set themselves on the floor. The drinks were poured out and all the girls had a glass in their hands. A blond hair woman stood up and tapped her glass with a polished fingernail to get everyone's attention. The group all turned and looked at her before she spoke.
"To Lisette and Jean-Paul. One of the happiest couples to leave this bordello." A blond-haired woman raised her glass. The chorus of "Here Here." in English and French came out as they drank from their glasses. "And thanks to our new friend from the East, Ranma." Another chorus of whistles and cat-calls came out from the women before they took one more sip before the blond continued. "May she find her own happiness by the end of her journey." Another cat-call was given by Joan next to the redhead, who blushed heavily at the attention once more. "Now let's start this party." The blond grinned and sat back down.
The party went on through the night, Ranma's bad calls in poker caused giggles among the other girls before they began to play strip poker.
Ranma bowed out and so did Joan as they went to play other games. Twister was also brought out to be played and whenever someone slipped up they had to take a shot. It took Ranma a few tries to get it but by then she had a few too many shots, and she kept collapsing on the playmat.
She slid out from the combined pile of girls before Joan grabbed her hand and helped her up, only for Joan to give her a quick kiss on the lips. Ranma took a step back and almost fell back on another body that managed to get out from the twister body pile.
"Easy there, lover boy," Joan remarked as she pulled Ranma back, only for Ranma to grab her head and kiss her back. Ranma noticed a few things around the room were a few of the girls were also kissing and feeling each other up.
"You've been giving me looks all night. Thought I would take part in the party." Ranma leaned against Joan as she was taken to a pile of pillows and blankets. The sounds of moans and ecstasy from the pile sounded like more than a few others were enjoying the company within.
"Then let's enjoy the night, ma chérie." Joan laid Ranma down on the pile and started kissing her gently to let the girl know she was able to stop her at any time. Ranma began to moan as the woman continued to kiss her way down.
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma wakes up with a few girls laying on top of her on the floor. One of the girls is Joan, she notices that she's nearly naked, with only her shorts still on. She gently squirms her way out from under the two women, who are as naked as the day they are born, and starts to search for her shirt when she hears something very familiar, but not in a masculine voice.
"Now where am I?"
She looks around and spots a girl with a familiar bandana just outside the room. She wore a t-shirt of red underneath a pair of overalls that kept her look a bit tomboyish, and her hair was in pigtails that came down beyond her shoulders. As the girl turns, she sees the pile of bodies and their nakedness. She blushes hard and turns away.
"Why am I here? What's going on?" the girl, speaking in Japanese, frantically looked for any way to tell where she is.
"Are you related to Ryoga?" Ranma asks, going back to her native tongue, and wondering if she should take the chance of revealing herself to the lost girl.
"I have a brother named Ryoga. Who are you?"
"My name is Ranko, are you lost?"
"I'm not lost, I'm finding the love of my life, I just happen to not be in Tokyo." the girl exclaims before blushing again, "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yoiko Hibiki."
"Do you know where you're at?"
"I know I'm at a brothel with all those women in there." She blushes and points to the room. "But I just don't know how to get to Tokyo."
"At least you're not like your brother."
"Of course, I'm not like my brother," Yoiko puffs out a bit, "I don't go blaming all my problems on Ranma." She blushes at the mention of Ranma's name, and Ranma groans softly to herself, "So are you with one of them?"
Ranma blushes. "No I'm not with anyone, I was just part of the bridesmaid group from a wedding yesterday." Ranma plays with the bottom of her shirt before gently grabbing Yoiko's arm and walking her towards the front parlor and helping her sit down. She takes Yoiko's pack and sets it next to her before sitting down herself, "We just had a little too much fun last night."
"I see." Yoiko didn't really, but she acknowledged that there was some adult fun happening here. "Still if you're not here with anyone, then maybe you could help me get to Tokyo?"
Just then Pierre and Camile came in, along with Louis, Lisette's brother came into the room and saw Ranma and Yoiko. Pierre walks up to them and gestures to the table if they can sit next to them.
"So, Ranko, did you enjoy your time last night?" Pierre asks after getting his wife's chair out for her, before sitting down himself.
"I don't remember much, but I must have," Ranma said in English before one of the girls walked out of the room that Ranma just vacated with Yoiko. The girl was dressed in a light robe that was almost see-through. She stumbled slightly before walking into one of the other rooms that looked like a kitchen.
"That much, huh?" Louis said, looking at Ranma for a moment before looking at his parents.
"Yes, well it was a girls-only party so I expected she would be involved," Camile said. "So who's your friend?"
"I'm Yoiko Hibiki." The black-haired girl with a bandana wrapped around her neck. She was also speaking English as well. "And I'm supposed to be in Tokyo, Japan."
"So how did you end up in Paris, France?
"I don't know... One minute I'm in a place called Albuquerque turned right and suddenly I'm here." This caused a few looks from the three Cousteaus as they couldn't quite believe it. Pierre and Camile looked at Ranma, who nodded.
"I've heard of her brother, Ryoga," Ranma stated. "The only thing about him is that he does keep popping up near the same place so he's not lost half the time."
"At least I make it home usually once a month," Yoiko remarks, "But I never get the chance to see Ryoga, Mom, or Dad." Yoiko frowns as she remembers only a few times she was able to meet her entire family.
"Why not take a plane or something else to keep you from going to the wrong places?"
"Last time a Hibiki did that, the plane disappeared around a place called the Bermuda Triangle."
"Ahh." Ranma nods and pats the Hibiki on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be able to meet with everyone at home someday." This caused the Cousteaus to nod in sympathy.
"Well, what are your plans now, Ranko?" Camile asked.
"Right now I'm trying to find something related to a martial arts manual, that isn't a manual," Ranma replied, "From what my friends were able to find out, it came from an Egyptian scroll found in the Tomb of the Kings.
"Well, I've been keeping up on some historical artifacts that I would like to see," Louis stated as he leaned over and placed his chin on his hand, "There's a new museum exhibit at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology." He said. "Maybe you'll find what you're looking for there?"
"Thank you, that might be just the right place to look before going to Cairo, Egypt." Ranma smiled at Lisette's brother.
"It is nothing really," Louis said as he looked over at Yoiko. "Instead of a plane, can you take a boat?"
"As long as I'm not driving the boat, I think I'll be okay," Yoiko responded.
"If I remember, as long as you're guided, you'll be fine, but if you are guiding, you guys get lost easily," Ranma stated as fact. This was further acknowledged by Yoiko.
"I remember that my brother was walked to school by Ranma when he went to middle school. It was after Ranma left that he had trouble finding school again." Yoiko remarked as she played with her shirt collar.
"Well, I'm sure Ranko can help you get to where you're going," Camile stated as she saw more girls coming out of the parlor they were all partying in. Most were still in such states of undress, while others managed to find something to cover themselves up until they got to the dressing room to get their regular clothes on. "She's been very friendly with our daughter."
Pierre nodded and gestured to Ranma, "I think Louis is right. To find that manuscript, you might be able to see if it's there at the Petrie Museum."
"Thank you. That brings me one step closer to what I'm trying to find." Ranma says as she accepts some water from Joan, who just walked over to her to hear the basics of what was going on.
"So you're just leaving us after so much fun?" Joan pouted as she looked at Ranma.
"Not right away," Ranma said as she took a soft gulp of water, Yoiko, having also gotten a glass from one of the girls that also had water in it, took a sip of her drink as well while listening with rapt attention. Maybe tomorrow so I can get some rest and see the Louvre while I'm here." She smiled at Joan's recommendation the day before. "Might be something worth wild to see before leaving."
"If you're going, today would be a good day." Joan remarked before looking at Yoiko, "That is if you don't mind staying for another day before you leave for London?"
"No, I don't mind. It's kind of hard to visit places like museums and other landmarks before." Yoiko smiles at the thought, "Maybe I'll get to tell my big brother all about it and it might help him head home."
"As long as he doesn't run head first into something that's not a boulder." Ranma smiles at the enthusiasm that the girl had about seeing something her brother hadn't noticed. "Just stay here while I get changed and we'll head over to the Louvre."
Yoiko nodded and continued to drink her water before a plate of croissants, butter, and jams were set on the table. "Okay, Ranko, I'll stay here and wait."
"All right, I'll meetcha here in twenty minutes okay?"
"Right, twenty minutes," Yoiko repeated and took a croissant and some jam.
Ranma grabbed a croissant as well and took a quick bite before leaving the bordello towards her hotel, before stopping and for a moment as she realized something, 'So there was a Yoiko Hibiki.' she thought, 'I hope that this doesn't bite me in the ass like last time.'
-LINE BREAK-
Ranma twirled a bit in the yellow sundress that clung to her curves nicely. While not usually one into wearing a dress, this one seemed to speak out to her as she window-shopped a while back. She looked over herself in the mirror and nodded, smiling to herself as she saw that she was good-looking in either form. 'And the fact that I get to flaunt it without anyone at home getting on me about it, I might come to enjoy being a girl once in a while.' Ranma sighed as she thought about it. She shook her head and flattened the dress a bit before slipping on a pair of flats that she brought with her. She stepped out of her room and headed back to the bordello. As she walked down the street, she got a few men and some women looking at her figure with appreciative glances. She blushed slightly at the attention, but she put a bit of a bounce in her step.
As she neared the bordello, she saw Yoiko and Joan just outside it. Yoiko had her pack on while Joan wore a blue and white sundress with matching flats. Ranma waved at the two and Joan gently wrapped her arm around Yoiko's arm as they met Ranma halfway. "You ready to see the Louvre?" Joan said as she slipped her other arm around Ranma's to keep them all together.
"Sure," Ranma started, before looking at Yoiko. "You ready?"
"As long as you keep me in a straight line, I'm ready." Yoiko smiled as she became excited to sightsee one of the places that she sometimes visited on her journey.
"Then let's go," Joan said as the guided the two towards the Louvre Art Museum.
-LINE BREAK-
The trip took only half an hour, as Joan hailed a taxi and the traffic was light for that morning trip. As they stepped out of the taxi, Ranma was in awe of the architecture in front of her. The building that stood out to her was three angled buildings that faced her, opening up to a front courtyard that had a small fountain in front of it. Yoiko also had a similar feeling as she stepped out of the taxi, with Joan following behind to make sure Yoiko didn't wander off.
They made their way through the courtyard and into the museum where they viewed some of the most famous paintings and sculptures ever to be seen. Ranma looked over at Joan and Yoiko, who also appreciated the tour of the museum.
"I never would have thought to see something like this in my life. We would only catch glimpses of museums and landmarks as we traveled, but if we went there we could get lost and not see anything." Yoiko gushed and smiled even more as they continued the tour with either Ranma or Joan guiding her after each exhibit.
"Well, I'm glad you're having fun, Yoiko." Ranma stated as she guided the young girl to the next exhibit.
After a few hours of going through the exhibits, they found the Mona Lisa painting. Yoiko and Joan took several minutes to look over the painting while commenting on it. Ranma looked at the painting as well but didn't comment, 'I wonder if Nabiki would enjoy this? It's pretty famous. I'll have to mention it when I get back.' Ranma thought as she looked at the two women next to her.
"Ranko, what's on your mind?" Joan looked over at the redhead as she saw the thoughtful look in her eyes.
"Just wondering what one of my friends would think of this place." Ranma absently remarked.
"The same friend, who taught you how to dance?" Joan said as she gently pulled Yoiko closer so she wouldn't disappear.
"Yep. She is a really good friend, and I hope to bring her here to see the sights."
"Make sure to bring her over to the bordello. I'd like to thank her for keeping you sane."
Ranma nodded and they continued their tour. Joan explained several of the painting to them as they continued. She would point one out and describe its history. Ranma looked over at Joan, who blushed slightly at her enthusiasm. "I love art and the history behind each painting. I've always wanted to be an artist and paint a good enough painting to be featured here."
"That's nothing to be ashamed about," Yoiko stated as she squeezed Joan's hand, "I think that's a good dream to have."
"What's your dream, Yoiko?"
"I don't know exactly what my dream is. But I want to be able to do it while I'm traveling." Yoiko looks at the two women next to her. "Something that I can take with me without worrying about trying something and then getting lost the next minute."
Ranma and Joan nod at that. "Have you thought about martial arts or something that you can accomplish, like tea ceremonies or something of that nature?"
"My brother is the martial artist since he wanted to beat up Ranma." Yoiko grumbled, "But Daddy made sure that each of us knows enough Kempo that we can protect ourselves in case we are in the wrong place."
"That's always good to have," Joan remarked, nudging the young girl a bit. "But I think you're right, you do need something else to focus on aside from being a martial artist."
This line caused Ranma to blink at the thought. 'Joan is right. I've only been taught martial arts from Pop. But I had to learn other things myself when I was away from him.' She took a moment as they continued to walk through the museum, 'What do I want to focus on besides being a martial artist?' Ranma thought to herself.
They spent the rest of the time contemplating the art and their inner thoughts before leaving the museum. Joan guided them to a little cafe down the road from the Louvre where they sat at the outdoor tables. A waitress came up and gave them menus. Joan quickly ordered them some water first so that they could decide what to drink.
It took Ranma a moment to figure out the drink selections and looked at Joan for help on what was what, before just settling on a fruit drink that sounded different. Yoiko picked from the same selection, but a different fruit, and Joan got a glass of red wine.
"So what do you have planned on this trip of yours, Ranko?" Joan asked, looking at the redhead with a questioning look.
"Well, I guess I'll see that museum that the Cousteaus mentioned and then go from there." Ranma shrugged as she answered Joan's question.
"That doesn't sound planned enough." Joan frowned. "Aren't you going to see some of the sights and enjoy your trip?"
"I'll figure it out along the way." Ranma took a sip of her water before looking at Yoiko, "What about you? I know half the time Ryoga just keeps getting lost when he's upset."
"I'll just try to follow you. I don't have much money on me for a flight to Tokyo. But I'm sure I can find my way back if I'm with someone." Yoiko frowned and looked down. "I promise not to be a burden."
Ranma reached over and grabbed Yoiko's hand, squeezing it gently before smiling at the young girl. "You're not a burden, you'll be fine if you're with me."
"Oh thank you, Ranko." The young Hibiki looked up at Ranma and smiled. "I promise I won't forget this."
"Naw, don't worry about it. I know your brother, it's the least I could do to help you out."
With that, they got some lunch and continued to talk about little things, like Yoiko's trips all over and where she thinks she had been based upon landmarks and what she was told in English. Ranma brought up some temples he had been to, while Joan was mesmerized because of all the places the two had been to.
Lunch was finished for the three and they all headed to the hotel Ranma was staying at. Yoiko sat down on the small couch that was in the room, while Joan and Ranma talked quietly for a moment before Joan left.
"Yoiko, you can stay the night here and we'll head out to London."
"Really? It's not going to bother you?"
"It'll be fine. We will get dinner and then head to bed so we can catch the ferry in the morning."
"Thanks again, Ranko."
"You're welcome." Ranma replied before sitting down on the bed.
-LINE BREAK-
The next morning, Yoiko and Ranma headed to the bordello and met up with Camile and Pierre, as that was the only place that they all agreed to meet up at.
"Good morning, Ranko and Yoiko." Pierre greeted them as they approached the bordello, "Let's sit down and plan the day to get you both onto a ferry to England." They all found a small restaurant a few blocks away and sat down at one of the tables. "So, we're going to drop you two off at Calais and the ferry there can take you to Dover. From there, you should be able to get a train from Dover to London." Pierre said as he opened a map for the two. He followed the A1 road as he showed them the highway they would be taking to get to Calais. "The ferry runs multiple times a day so you shouldn't have any problems catching a ferry," Pierre said as he pointed to Dover. "From there, you should be able to catch public transportation over to London, and then you'll be able to find the museum."
"That's great, Mr... I mean Pierre," Ranma said as she looked over the map with him, nearly forgetting that Pierre had asked him to call him by his given name.
"It's not a problem, Ranko." Pierre and Camile smiled at the young Saotome. Camile looked over at Yoiko and stood up.
"Why do you and I get you some fresh clothes, Yoiko." Camile said, "I'm sure we can get you something other than those shirts and pants you're wearing."
"That would be great, I can pay you back for them as all I have on me is yen." Yoiko smiled back as Camile helped her out of her chair and took her down the street towards the clothing stores. Ranma looked over at Pierre with a questioning look.
"I figured you didn't want to have her find out you're actually Ranma." Pierre nodded toward the two that recently left them. "That and I wanted to get to know more about you."
"Well, there isn't much to know, aside from the last year where I lived in with the Tendo's. One of my fiancees lives there." Ranma started as she told Pierre the last year that everything started to go crazy for him, even after the curse. As Ranma continued to talk about all of his fiancees, Pierre's smile at some of the adventures started to lose its pleasant look before he was frowning outright.
"Ranma, I think that this trip will really help you see what's wrong with all your relationships. Especially the one with the youngest Tendo." Pierre said as he flagged down the waiter for the check. "But I can tell you right now, your relations with all the girls you know are all bad."
"They're not all that bad," Ranma started before he was interrupted by Pierre.
"Your relationship with Akane is almost borderline abuse, Ranma." Pierre flat out told her, "Your other relationships are almost just as abusive." He gave Ranma a flat look, making him look like a parent whose child was making a mistake and he was trying to head it off at the pass before any more damage could be done, "The only ones that seem to be positive is the relationship you have with Nabiki and Kasumi."
"But, I've had some good times with all of them." Ranma started out before he saw the flat look given to her. "That should mean something, right?"
"Those good times don't outweigh the bad times." Pierre reached out and patted her hand, "I know we don't really know each other, but I feel I need to help you with this." Pierre gave her a kind smile. "And this journey might help you see that."
'This is different from what Gina told me. But then I didn't tell her about how my relationship with all the girls are. Just that I had a few of them.' Ranma thought to herself as she looked back at Pierre. "I just don't know anymore," Ranma said as she squeezed her hand into a fist, "I know I need to make a decision about this, but at the same time I don't know if I can."
Pierre sighed before he got up and patted Ranma on the shoulder, "Any decision is going to have consequences, and those consequences will always hurt someone. You just don't know how much it will hurt." Pierre squeezed Ranma's shoulder. "I would think that you need this journey a lot more than what you expected."
"Thank you. That's a lot more advice than my own old man gave me." Ranma acknowledged what Pierre was trying to do.
"You shouldn't have to ask for any advice, at least nothing that shouldn't be fixed by your own father." Pierre remarked, "Considering that he was the primary instigator of that mess called your 'Love life'."
Ranma laughed at that and nodded. "I think you're right as well. I did need to get away before something happened and I did something I would have totally regretted."
"Take this to heart, Ranma," Pierre looked at the young woman, as she stood from her chair, he placed both his hands on her shoulders and looked squarely in her eyes, "Your life is yours to do with as you please. No one else has that much control over you that you can't just walk away from it all." Pierre took a quick breath before continuing, "Your relationship with the two older sisters of Akane is what you're supposed to be experiencing, not everything that you've experienced within the last year. Keep them close."
"I..." Ranma started before she wiped her face to keep the tears from falling down, "I'll take that to heart. Maybe I'll do some self-discovery while I'm out here."
"That's all I ask, Ranma. I would hate to see the world lose such a kind and honorific man." Pierre smiled once more. "Or woman for that matter." This caused both Ranma to smile at Pierre with an honest smile of calm.
"I guess I needed to hear that. It sometimes feels like my honor has been beaten down so much this last year that I almost forgot myself." Ranma replied.
Pierre nodded and smiled before paying the bill and walking out of the restaurant. Yoiko and Camile saw the two exit and they called out to them. Yoiko wore a light yellow blouse with a pair of jeans that looked rugged enough to keep up with her travels.
"So are we off to Calais?" Camile asked her husband, who nodded.
"We'll grab their stuff and check out of the hotel for Ranko."
"What are we waiting for?" Yoiko cheerfully let out, "I'm ready for my next trip to find Ranma!"
Camile and Pierre smiled at the young Hibiki before they got to the Cousteau's car, where they drove over to the hotel Ranma was staying at. Ranma and Yoiko got out of the car once it was parked in front of the hotel. They got to the room with Yoiko holding onto Ranma's hand to keep from being lost. Ranma grabbed her pack as did Yoiko before they went down to the front desk and checked out.
"Put everything into the boot." This caused Ranma to blink before Yoiko went to the back of the car and opened the trunk, placing her bag in there before getting into the car. Ranma followed suit and placed her backpack down into the trunk and got it.
"It'll be a few hours before we're at Calais. You two can take a nap so you can get ready for the ferry." Both girls nodded and as soon as they were on the A1 autoroute, the two girls were asleep, their heads resting against the other while keeping them upright in the car.
"Were you able to talk to her?" Camile said in a quiet whisper.
"Yes, and you were right, she definitely needed to get away from that situation," Pierre said. "Lisette was right to have us talk to her."
"I hope that you got through to her. She's such a bright light." Camile reached over and patted Pierre's arm, to which he took his hand off the steering wheel to clasp his wife's hand.
"That she is too."