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The characters of the Ranma 1/2 universe are the creation and possession of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Shogakukan Inc., Kitty-Fuji TV, Viz Communications Inc.)
No copyright infringement is intended.
As most students made their way to their favorite lunchtime spots, Yuka ran around searching for Ranma.
Just after the teacher had dismissed the class for lunch, Daisuke jumped up and tripped over his desk. This caused him to spill his drink over Ranma. Ranma responded by cursing the poor boy out in front of the entire class, punctuating the end by planting her right fist into the wall behind him missing his left ear by about two centimeters.
A flash of red helped her to find the neo-girl sulking in the light grove behind the school.
"Ranma," Yuka prompted timidly.
Ranma jerked toward Yuka and took a half step back. Yuka couldn't help but to flinch at the sudden movement.
"Ya shouldn't be here," Ranma mumbled.
"I thought you might like this," Yuka replied, holding up her thermos.
"Tea?"
"No, hot water, dummy," Yuka said. She winced at her own unintended Akane-ism.
"Oh, thanks," Ranma replied as she accepted the thermos.
"Ranma, are you okay?" Yuka asked as Ranma returned to his true gender.
"I hate my life," Ranma whispered.
Before Yuka could respond to that Akane came storming up.
"Just what do you think you were doing, Ranma!" Akane demanded.
"What makes you think a big tomboy like you would ever understand!" Ranma returned vehemently.
"This is the thanks I get for trying to help you!"
"I don't need or want any help from a sexless uncute...."
Yuka watched shock and hurt hit Akane's face like a slap. Akane's form trembled for the second and a half it took for her to boil over.
"Ranma! You jerk!" Akane cried out as she slammed her fist into Ranma's jaw.
"Akane!" Yuka exclaimed. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"
"H-he deserved it!" Akane proclaimed. She was still shaking and looked like she couldn't decide whether to break down crying or storm off looking for things to break.
"No he didn't!"
"Oh please! He's been begging for that all day. I'm more surprised I didn't nail him during class!"
"Well, considering what he's going through right now, I'm not surprised!"
"And just what's he going through, right now?" Akane angrily shot back. Yuka slapped both her hands over mouth as her brain finally caught up to what she was saying.
"I guess you two are getting rather cozy," Sayuri interjected. "If Ranma can tell you stuff he can't tell his iinazuke."
Yuka could feel the blood drain from her face as realized Sayuri had also approached. She knew the other girl wouldn't let this go.
"So you're the one," Akane hissed and took a menacing step toward Yuka.
"I can't tell, I promised," Yuka whimpered. 'How did I get myself into this mess?' she wondered to herself.
"Fine." Akane's eyes narrowed, causing Yuka to take an involuntary step back. "I guess I'll have to beat it out of him!"
"No please! You don't have to do that," Yuka pleaded. 'This is getting way out of control!'
"Then talk."
Akane crossed her arms over her chest while tilting her head slightly forward. That seemed only to add to the weight of the accusation and hurt in Akane's eyes.
Except for her eyes, Sayuri's face was completely devoid of emotion or expression. Her eyes, though, reflected Akane's look of betrayal.
Things were becoming incredibly complicated. Yuka had promised not to tell. She had promised because Ranma thought it would only make things worse. Closing her eyes, Yuka tried to gather her thoughts. She wasn't a martial artist, but she knew how much Ranma's promises meant. If she told, she would be breaking a trust. If she didn't, then everything Ranma hoped to achieve by not telling would get blown to kingdom come. She knew Akane would never get the truth from him. That would drive a deeper wedge between the two. A wedge that she was beginning to doubt could ever be crossed. Ranma didn't want Akane to think any worse of him. By not telling, Yuka would be implying much worse things.
"Come on, Akane," Sayuri broke into Yuka's thoughts. "She isn't going to tell us anything."
"Wait!" Yuka held up a hand to stop them.
Yuka looked between Akane and Sayuri. The look on Sayuri's face told her she wasn't about to leave.
Taking a deep breath, Yuka decided the only thing she could do was to try to honor the spirit of the promise, if not the promise itself.
"Promise me you will not tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." The irony of that statement wasn't lost on Yuka.
"We promise," Akane answered.
Akane and Sayuri looked at her expectantly.
"Remember Saturday night?" Yuka asked rhetorically. "The reason Ranma was hiding in the bathroom wasn't because of the clothes she brought."
= = = = = = = = = =
"Nabiki," Sayuri called out. School was just letting out.
"Yes?" Nabiki replied in one of her more playful tones. She was very happy.
"Did Myako talk to you about the pictures she took this weekend?"
"Yes, I believe she mentioned something about them. Why do you ask?" Nabiki smirked. "Are you interested in a print?" She asked while patting her book bag.
"No!" Sayuri almost growled. "Of course not."
"Uh huh."
"Anyway," Sayuri started again. "I was wondering if we could talk about reducing my debt?"
"Oh, I think I might have some time." Nabiki smiled inwardly. Today, Myako had come to her with pictures of a Ranma-chan that she wouldn't have recognized without being told who it was. Today, her aid and best friend had found the first real lead to where Dr. Tofu moved. Now, Sayuri came to her to pay off her debt. 'Oh yes, this is a good day,' she thought to herself. 'And I haven't even had to do anything yet.'
= = = = = = = = = =
"I'm home!" Ranma called out. 'This is not my week,' Ranma thought grumpily. School was out, but he hadn't returned after his impromptu dip in the pool.
His thoughts still revolved around his reaction to Daisuke splashed him at lunch. While he had always found it annoying, he hadn't blown up like that since he first stepped out of the pool in Jusenkyou. He was loosing it, and he knew it. Yet another unwanted surprise that he would have to learn to deal with. 'I hate this curse,' he hissed in his thoughts.
"Oh, Ranma!" Nabiki cheerfully called out.
Ranma cringed when he heard the tone she used. It meant he was about to lose another pocket full of money.
"We need to talk," she added.
"Uh, what about?"
"Follow me." Nabiki shot him a catty smirk while her eyes glinted with raw hunger.
Ranma shivered briefly until she turned toward the stairs. He just knew he wasn't going to like this.
Against his better judgment, he followed. Nabiki headed straight for her room. He hesitated at the open door. Nabiki quickly snatched something off of her bed and threw it at him. Before he knew it, his hands shot out and deftly caught the items.
"Change and put those on," Nabiki ordered. She picked up her camera and began checking it.
"What?" Ranma replied more than asked. "No," he declared once he saw what the items were.
"Why do you always have to do things the hard way?" Nabiki asked in a teasingly rhetorical way.
"There is no way you're gettin' me into this!" Ranma barked as he held up the lacy feminine garments.
"Well, of course not," Nabiki retorted. Ranma blinked then smiled at the perceived victory. "Those wont fit you. You'll have to change first."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
"You had better hurry if you want to be through before Akane sees you in those."
"I said there is no way you're gettin' me into that, and that's final!" Ranma turned to leave.
"Oh, I wonder if Kasumi has started dinner yet? Because I'm sure she'd like to make something extra nice for your special day, Ranma."
Ranma had the door open and one foot out in the hall when he stopped. Every part of him was screaming to run and not listen to Nabiki, but he stood rooted to his spot.
"Wha- what do you mean?" He didn't turn around.
"Why, your blooming into womanhood, of course!" Nabiki exclaimed far too cheerfully. She stepped forward and scooped up the discarded unmentionables.
"Uuuhhhh," Ranma responded meaninglessly. He racked his brain for a way out of this, but he was cornered. Mentally, he cursed Yuka.
= = = = = = = = = =
"And one more," Nabiki announced, just before another flash covered Ranma-chan.
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.
"Here, now put this on." Nabiki handed the smaller neo-girl some white cloth.
"What?! You said that was the last one!"
"No, I said one more of what you're wearing. Now change quickly."
Ranma unfolded said garment. It was a one piece white bathing suit. It even looked a little more decent than what she had worn to the beach before. She spun toward the door to go change. She might not have been happy posing for Nabiki's pictures, but if Nabiki wanted to lighten up, she wasn't going to give Nabiki a change to change her mind.
"Why don't you change here?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you do want to get this over with, don't you? You're already a girl, so it isn't like you don't have anything I haven't already seen."
Ranma hesitated.
"Well, if you want to waste time running up and down the hall, that's fine with me, but do you really want to risk someone seeing you like that?"
With a sigh, Ranma turned around and draped the suit across Nabiki's bed. She just wanted to get this over with before Akane came home, and she was already on borrowed time.
She stretched her arms behind her, trying to reach the clasp to unhook the bra. Just as the clasp came undone, a flash went off from the side.
"That's it!" Ranma shouted while shooting a glare at Nabiki.
"Calm down, Saotome," Nabiki smoothed. "Here, I'll even put the camera here on my desk." She reached over and set her pride and joy down lightly on her desk. The lens rotated slightly and a red light blinked, but nothing more seemed to come from the camera.
Ranma looked at her uncertainly.
Nabiki smiled and moved further away from the camera. Ranma stood there for a before deciding to just get it over and done with.
Dropping the bra to the floor, she reached down to grab the waistband of her panties. As she pushed them to just below her knees, the flash went off again. She shot a quick panicked glare at the camera, but it was still sitting on the desk looking quite harmless.
"Oh my! How did that happen?" Nabiki stated with a knowing smirk.
She looked up, but only saw the after image from Ranma's speedy departure.
"Oh well, guess the bathing suit will have to wait till next time."
= = = = = = = = = =
"Ranma," Kasumi inquired as the aforementioned boy walked into the living room.
"Wha-!" Ranma exclaimed, momentarily surprised.
"Have you seen Akane?"
"Naw, haven't seen her since she kicked me outta school for no reason," Ranma huffed. Though he was more upset about Yuka betraying him and what had just happened upstairs.
"Well, could you go look for her? Dinner is almost ready."
Ranma looked up at Kasumi, the denial already on his tongue. If their fathers had heard and jumped in, it would have been easy to protest, but turning down the elder Tendou girl was not an easy thing to do. 'Besides,' he thought to himself. 'you don't really wanna be here right now anyway.'
"Sure, Kasumi." Ranma turned to marched off.
"Oh, and Ranma?" Kasumi asked.
"Yeah?"
"I have another letter...." Kasumi trailed off.
"Sure," Ranma answered with a bright smile.