Girl Days
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction
By Robert Haynie
(Gomen, I can't think of a good disclaimer joke-- hey, that's one
right there!)
Part Six: Life's a Beach
####
"Slacks!"
Ranma and Akane were returning from a short trip to the market,
where Kasumi had sent them to pick up a few items for a planned trip
to the beach tomorrow. Akane stalked along the sidewalk, glowering,
while Ranma fairly danced along the top of the fence.
"I love slacks!" the red-headed girl chortled. And right now she
did-- simple green slacks and a yellow blouse that allowed her to do
something she'd missed for a while--
Fencewalking without having to worry about one of the myriad
hormone-driven boys in the neighborhood trying to sneak a peek up her
skirt at her panties. Not that that mattered THAT much to Ranma--
who was still developing what her mother referred to as a proper
sense of feminine modesty-- but since Nodoka HAD said that was
important, then so be it.
"Show-off," growled Akane.
"Aw, you should try it sometime, Akane! It's fun and it's great
balance practice! As your new sensei, I'd recommend it."
"Not in this sundress, thank you," retorted the reluctant
fiancee. "Unlike SOME girls I understand a proper sense--"
"Of Feminine Modesty, yeah, I know, I KNOW. So, next week, we're
getting you into one of your overalls or something and starting you
on balance practice."
Akane acked. She knew Ranma meant exactly what she said. Ranma
was taking the sensei thing very seriously, to her surprise (and
frequent discomfort). She even required Akane to refer to her as
sensei during formal training.
And, to the surprise of most, Ranma was actually pretty good at
it. Using a mix of methods she'd picked up from various teachers
along her long training journey with Genma (and avoiding most of his,
to be sure) Akane was slowly but steadily improving in her regular
spars with Ranma.
"Well, that's... that's next week, right? We're spending the
weekend at the beach first."
"Yep! I know! Cool water and I don't have to worry about it!
It's almost making this Girl Days stuff worth it!"
Two weeks. Had it been that long since the Girl Days project had
begun? Since Nodoka Saotome had decided that her son was both man
and woman, and thus needed training in her feminine aspect? Even if
it was only in how to be a proper tomboy?
Yes. And Nodoka had been pleased at her 'daughters' progress.
She was learning how to be, if not a lady, at least ladylike when it
was needed. She was becoming more comfortable with feminine attire.
She wasn't despising her body anymore-- she just didn't like it a
lot.
Also, her fears of actually "becoming a girl" seemed unfounded.
True, she did seem to feel somewhat different-- nothing she could
actually put in words-- but she certainly didn't find herself reading
shojo manga or mooning after cute boys. She was still Ranma.
She was looking forward to the trip, too. Sun and fun and
ice-cream on the beach and the watermelon game and especially no
weirdos! She could just pretend that she was an ordinary girl, relax
for once, and tease the panda. (Genma was highly annoyed that Nodoka
and Cologne refused to allow him the use of Ranma's supply of
waterproof beauty soap.) It was going to be simple, ordinary fun!
What could go wrong?
####
There's this theory called syncronicity. Something, the writer
believes, that Carl Jung thought up. Basically, it's the idea that
really really weird coincidences aren't exactly coincidental. Yeah,
that sounds weird, but that's how it goes.
Much of Ranma's life was positively ruled by synchronicity.
For example, a certain okonomiyaki chef discovered that her grill
was malfunctioning, and that it would not be fixed until Monday. Oh,
well... she'd not had a free weekend in a while. Surely she could
find something to do...
Hmm... the beach looked good.
Cologne, the matriarch of the Amazons, and restaurateur, was for
once very pleased with Shampoo and even Mousse for their surprisingly
good efforts to keep the Nekohanten from being decimated a few days
ago when, for reasons she doubted she would ever fully understand, a
raging Kuno had chased a terrified Tsubasa into the restaurant,
screaming some incoherent nonsense about shapeshifting demons and
accusing the crossdresser of being -- apparently-- either a washing
machine or a Saotome.
Fortunately, Mousse had been wearing his glasses for once, and so
failed to mistake Tsubasa for Shampoo, instead managing to get the
two combatants-- well, one combatant and one wildly dodging victim--
out of the restaurant with a minimum of damage while Shampoo defended
the furniture and crockery. (Why not declare a company picnic at the
beach as a reward,) thought Cologne, breaking out the waterproof soap
and deciding that even Amazons needed a break now and then.
Kodachi was gloating over a new swimsuit. It would enhance her
already amazing beauty to an infinite degree, she decided, and
certainly that would finally win the heart-- or at least some organ--
of her beloved Ranma-sama... when he returned. But such a thing
should be road-tested, she decided, so a trip to the beach was in
order.
Hmm... her brother was acting even more erratically than usual,
come to think of it. Why, the fool now seemed to believe that that
pathetic crossdresser Tsubasa was actually her Ranma-sama in
disguise! Best to get him away for a while, so that his fevered
brain could rest. Not that she actually cared-- much-- but she
supposed it was the sort of thing a good sister should do.
A wandering-- as usual-- Ryoga had no actual intention of going
to the beach, himself. But the fates and his incredibly bad sense of
direction-- he had been known to cause global positioning devices to
malfunction by merely being within ten meters of them-- decided
otherwise. Unlike the other cursed individuals, he had no waterproof
soap.
Poor Ryoga. Sent by the cold whims of a cruel destiny towards
one of the largest sources of cold water on the planet. It just
never gets any better for him, does it?
And one other thought longingly about the beach. But not because
of surf and sun. Not... exactly, anyway.
Chaos needs no recipe. But if it did, there was an ingredients
list in place.
####
The train trip to the beach was uneventful. Well, sort of.
Akane had only had to pummel two perverts who had tried to grope
her in the train station. Ranma had only had to pummel three.
No-one tried to grope Kasumi, maybe because she was too pure. Same
for Nabiki-- who might have seemed too scary. And since there were
no reports of bodies found slashed repeatedly with a sharp object
that day, we can assume no-one tried to grope Nodoka.
The family party took their seats on the train, Akane and Ranma
in one seat, Kasumi and Nodoka in another, Soun and Nabiki in a
third, and the panda had a seat all to himself, while growfing
bitterly about stupid kids with Super-soaker 3000 brand waterguns.
(For some reason, people were reluctant to share a seat with the
panda.)
In another car, Ukyo relaxed with Konatsu, reading a copy of
Okonomiyaki Quarterly.
In still another car, Ryoga Hibiki was trying to figure out how
the hell he'd gotten on a train, where was the train going, and where
on earth was he this time anyhow?
In yet another car Shampoo sat next to her great-grandmother and
occasionally stuck her tongue out at a sulking Mousse who had wanted
to sit next to Shampoo instead of the strange girl who was giggling
and calling his glasses "Antoine".
The Kuno's took a private automobile to the beach. It's good to
be rich.
And in the baggage car...
He sat in anticipation. Imagine... all that female flesh
exposed... all those bikinis, one-pieces, maillots, v-kinis, strings,
thongs and whatever new fascinating concepts that the swimwear
industry had thought of lately.
Not to mention that in the various changing rooms at the beach
would be vast amounts of panties and bras and stockings and other
such things just waiting for his caressing touch. And head,
occasionally.
He wondered why the girls got so angry with him. What was wrong
with an old man giving a young lass an innocent hug?
Or grope?
Or fondle?
Or-- no. Keep in control. As the boy would put it, a soul of
ice. Wouldn't do to be discovered here. Wait for the beach. The
beach with all those young lovelies, and silky darlings, and nearly
unlimited avenues for fun.
Best of all, the beach wasn't Nerima. So this time, no
spoilsport Ranma or annoying Cologne or any of the rest of them to
interfere with the innocent pleasures of an old man's fading years.
So, Happosai waited patiently for the bounty to come.
####
One would think that one of the groups would have noticed another
group disembarking from the train. One would be wrong. Somehow
everyone got to their respective hotel rooms, cabins, or--In
Happosai's case-- cave (He was used to them, after all, and they were
cheap) without being noticed by anyone else. In the case of most of
them, it was uneventful. In the Tendo-Saotome case, however--
"Mom, you gotta be kidding me!"
"Honestly, Ranma. It's a perfectly normal arrangement. Your
father, Mr. Tendo, and I will take one cabin, while you girls take
the other one."
"But I'm not really a girl! I can't change in front of them!"
protested Ranma.
"And I'm SURE not going to change in front of that pervert!"
snarled Akane.
"I'm not particularly happy about it either," added Nabiki.
"Oh, MY," flushed Kasumi.
"My decision is made. Remember, Ranma at the moment IS a girl,
and will remain one for slightly more than six weeks. Since she will
have to spend at least a month changing in the girl's locker rooms
when school begins again (multiple winces abounded) this will be good
training for all of you."
If looks could puree, Nodoka would have left in a one-pint
Zip-Loc bag. As it were, the three girls and one girl in training
entered their cabin.
"If you peep at me even once--"
"Like I wanna do that. Just you don't peep at me."
"What?!?"
"What I said."
"Why would I want to peep at YOU?!?"
"Well, Shampoo thinks you want to..."
"RANMAAAAAA!"
"Okay! Okay! Geez, you can't take any joke at all, can you?"
"It's not funny--" And then Akane broke off at the sight of
Nabiki rolling on the floor, laughing. "Well, I don't think it's
funny. Hmph."
"That's because you have the sense of humor of a brick, sis!"
replied the sniggering Nabiki.
Kasumi just blinked. Shrugged. And began to undress.
Ranma freaked. "Wh--what are you DOING, Kasumi?!?"
"Changing clothes for dinner. We're going out tonight, and
should be dressed nicely. Why?"
"But... but not in front of me? I mean..."
"Like your mother said, we're all girls, right? Honestly, Ranma,
Akane, I don't see why you're so upset. You've both seen each other
in the nude before. So it's not as though there's anything new to
see. And Ranma is a perfect gentleman, when she's not a lady. About
things like that anyhow." Kasumi finished removing her skirt and
blouse, folded them neatly, and picked a conservative gray and blue
dress, and began to clothe herself again.
Ranma and Akane stared at each other for a moment. Each had the
same thought-- (If Kasumi can be casual about this, then so can I.)
The first Anything Goes Martial Arts
Taking-Off-Your-Clothes-While-Keeping-Your-Cool match began.
And Nabiki dearly wished she knew who had been stealing all her
film during it.
Ranma and Akane carefully disrobed, staring into each other's
eyes the entire time, refusing to give an inch-- or a blush. Soul of
Ice indeed-- the room temperature practically dropped 10 degrees.
Finally the two were down to their often-mentioned
unmentionables.
Still staring.
"OK. I guess this doesn't count as peeping."
"Nope. Like I said, I don't wanna peep at you. Or anyone."
Akane couldn't decide weither to be angry or pleased. Refusing
to peep meant not-pervert. That was a good thing. Refusing to peep
at her suggested implications of uncute, unsexy, and the like. That
was a bad thing. Ranma's sudden calm was... confusing.
So Akane just stood there in her bra and panties and stared into
Ranma's eyes.
Ranma was feeling rather weird. Akane was cute-- in a way--
almost sexy-- but it didn't matter. She was just another girl,
technically, at the moment. Unlike most boys her age, Ranma was VERY
familiar with the female body in all it's states of dress or undress.
Somehow it didn't affect her the way it would, say, Daisuke, or
Hiroshi, or Kuno, or Ryoga (Especially Ryoga). For her it was a
matter of embarrassment. And right now, somehow, she wasn't
embarrassed. Which was confusing.
So Ranma just stood there in her bra and panties and stared into
Akane's eyes.
"Are you two going to get dressed?" asked a highly amused Nabiki.
A pause, a long pause.
The silence was broken by Akane saying, in a near total
non-sequitur, "Nice bra."
Ranma blinked. "Well, it's one of Mom's feminine days, so I
can't wear my simple ones. I never saw Sailor Moon print panties
before."
Akane replied evenly, "It's my favorite show. I like print
panties."
"I prefer plain ones. Guess it's a matter of taste."
"If you two are through discussing the merits of undergarment
decorations, Miss Sailor Moon Panties, and Miss Black Lace Bra, you
could get dressed," Nabiki snickered.
THEN it hit them... they were standing in front of each other,
well, not NAKED, but damn close, and they had been... CIVIL about it.
Akane reddened and dashed to her suitcase. Ranma stood there for
a moment in her scanty black lace bra and panties (Yes, they
matched), reddened more than Akane, and dashed for hers. In an
instant Akane was in a yellow skirt and pink blouse and Ranma was in
a blue knee-length skirt (one of the fighting variety, of course) and
a black lace-trimmed top.
Nabiki grinned, and after they left the cabin, dressed herself.
And to her chagrin was chided gently by Nodoka for being tardy. Thus
is the balance of justice maintained.
####
"What's Italian food?"
"Food from Italy, of course, Ranma," sniffed Akane. "If you paid
more attention in Geography class-- or any of the rest of school--
you'd be able to gue--"
"I know THAT," interrupted an annoyed Ranma. "I mean what's it
like?"
Akane began to respond-- and froze. She suddenly realized that
she didn't know the answer to that one.
"Mostly pasta and sauces, dear," interjected Nodoka.
"Oh. What's pasta?"
"Ah. Noodles of many shapes and sizes."
Ranma thought, carefully. "So, it's a ramen joint?"
Nodoka chuckled. "No, it's not ramen. Although some Italian
dishes are a little similar. You'll see."
"Okay..."
The restaurant, while not a four star type, was very nice indeed.
Ranma hadn't been in a restaurant as nice as this since... actually,
she wasn't certain she had ever been.
Perusing the menu, a barrage of questions were directed at
Nodoka, the only one of them who knew what anything other than pizza
or spaghetti was. (And Ranma hadn't ever heard of spaghetti.)
(Author's note. Pizza is in fact very popular in Japan.
Although the Japanese like toppings that most westerners would
consider eccentric. Such as corn, mayonnaise, and bonito flakes. If
you order the special in Japan, you have been warned.)
"What's lasagna?"
"Ravioli? I don't know that."
"Oh, Calimari is squid? But why do they fry it?"
Nodoka began to wonder about her choice of restaurants.
Especially since Ranma was apparently thinking of ordering everything
and trying it. Which was NOT in the budget.
When the waiter came by, he found himself in a quandary. A very
very pretty red-headed girl began to ask him about EVERY item on the
menu with an intensity usually reserved to food critics.
"Ah... a bread-stick is a stick of bread, miss."
"Pepperoni is a sort of dry sausage, miss."
"No, Spaghetti is NOT Italian ramen, miss. Would you like to
order?"
Eventually, the inevitable happened. Everyone ordered, and then
the last order was Ranma's. She ordered both lasagna AND
ravioli...and pointed out that she expected both salads, both soups,
and both everything else that came with them.
"Miss? Are you sure? That's rather a lot of food..."
Nodoka began to object to Ranma's order, when Genma laid a hand
across her wrist. "Trust me, No-chan... when Ranma does this in
girltype it ALWAYS works out."
And for once, Genma was right. A familiar voice came from a
nearby table. "Indeed, I find myself intrigued as well. The
fire-haired goddess has ever had an appetite for the feminine
victuals, sweets and the like-- but can even one as robust and
spirited as she consume such a quantity of such rich and, indeed,
manly food?"
Nabiki grinned. "Kuno-baby. What are YOU doing here?"
"Oh, great," Ranma whispered to Akane. "That moron followed us."
"I am here with my sister," replied Kuno. "She is at the moment
entranced before a mirror with a rather ludicrous amount of swimwear
that she hopes to ensnare... bah, 'tis such a pleasant evening I
cannot bring myself to speak his name."
"Guess he didn't... but it's still a pain, Ranma," whispered
Akane.
"Still-- Pony-tailed one, do you truly think one so delicate as
you, even with your formidable spirit, can truly consume such a
repast? I think not, for you are far too fair and sylphlike for
that."
"Bets?" grinned Nabiki.
"A wager? Against you? Hmm... for once, I can win. Surely such
a delicate flower cannot eat in the manner of a trencherman. What
stakes?"
And THAT'S how the Tendo/Saotome party got dinner, dessert, and
drinks free while Kuno missed out on a week of free photos. NEVER
underestimate the appetite of Ranma Saotome-- unless Akane's cooking.
####
"Told you so, No-chan."
####
"I like that food. I like that ravioli best. It's like
backwards ramen in sauce."
"I can't believe you ate all that, Ranma. You're such a pig."
"Hey-- I ate ladylike. Even Mom said so." Ranma carefully
repressed a burp. Burps, Nodoka had emphasized, were NOT ladylike in
public.
"Ranchan!"
Blink. "Ucchan? What-- what are YOU doing here?"
"Oh, my grill broke down, so I decided that me and Konatsu could
use a break. Did you know that the Italians make okonomiyaki?
Except they call it pizza and bake it. It's pretty good."
(Author's note-- Yes, Ukyo IS rather okonomiyaki focused. But
that's not her fault, really.)
"Um... I did. Funny to see you here at the same restaurant,
though..."
"Airen? What you do here?"
"SHAMPOO?!? ACK!"
"Why are you here, Shampoo?" asked Akane and Ukyo in chorus.
"Hibachan think we need rest. Was happy with us-- even stupid
Mousse-- when stop stick-boy and dress-wearing-boy from wrecking
Nekohanten. So we take time off. Airen know Italian people make
ramen? Only no broth and have funny sauce."
(Any second now, it's an explosion of insane violence and I'll
get blamed. Someone will say something about fiancee's, or I'll slip
and say something stupid and Akane will get mad, or a freaking ALIEN
will land and call them all names, or something--I just know it. And
if I say anything-- ANYTHING-- that'll set it off.) Such were the
thoughts of Ranma.
So, without any warning-- she sped off like a very fast thing
going, well, very very fast, leaving three fiancee's in the dust
without any warning.
Akane stared at the speeding martial artist. "What's got into
her?"
"Airen scared of violent girl! Shampoo find and comfort him!"
"If he's scared of anyone, it's you, Miss Kitty," Ukyo
interjected. "But it's weird that she ran off like that..."
"We probably should find her," added Akane, contemplatively. She
wasn't sure WHY Ranma had dashed off, but she was almost certain that
she had seen a look of sheer dread on her face before she had.
####
Ranma stopped when she had got to what she considered a safe
distance. And waited.
Sure enough, three girls had pursued her. Well, it was
inevitable.
She spread her arms wide, and proclaimed, "All right, let's just
get it over with."
Three pursuing girls stopped and stared.
"What are you talking about, Ranma?"
"Yeah, Ranchan-- what ARE you talking about?"
"Shampoo not understand Airen..."
"Look," Ranma explained, "Almost every time you three get
together something happens. And I get blamed. Then I get pummeled.
Well, I decided that for once I don't wanna be part of wrecking some
innocent place-- especially since they had such great food and I
might wanna eat there again-- so go ahead and pummel me and get it
out of the way."
Three girls looked at one... and reacted in a manner completely
unlike what Ranma had expected.
They fell to the ground and began to cry.
"You... you can't think that of us, Ranma...."
"Airen hates Shampoo..."
"Ranchan.. I never meant to..."
For the first time, the three rivals were united in a single
emotion-- guilt. Because even if they didn't believe that Ranma's
statement was the case, it was damn clear that RANMA did.
"I don't hate anyone. Well, not anyone here. I just thought
that we could get the inevitable fight out of the way so we could
have a nice weekend. I heal fast, after all--"
That last statement bought the crying up to sheer unlimited
bawling.
"I'm sorry, Ranma! I didn't know you thought we would do that!"
"Shampoo not want to make Airen's weekend unhappy! Shampoo
sorry!"
"God, Ranchan-- I never wanted to make you unhappy!"
It slowly sank into Ranma's head that she had three virulent
rivals all apologizing to her for something they hadn't even done
yet.
"It's... it's not like that... I'm supposed to be learning how to
be a girl sort of, and I wanted to be just a normal girl this
weekend-- well as normal as I can be, and just have fun, and well...
past history and all... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt your
feelings..."
There have been strange alliances in history. This was to be one
of the stranger.
Three girls looked at each other.
"No fights," Ukyo said. It was not a suggestion.
"Hai," Akane concurred.
"Shampoo agree."
Ranma blinked.
"Ranchan get's to have fun."
"Hai."
"Much fun."
Ranma stared.
"This weekend, Ranchan doesn't have to fight anyone."
"And if anyone starts one, WE'LL finish it."
"Amazons protect other amazons, Ranma training to be amazon."
And the three girls stood, and linked hands. While Ranma stared
in shock.
"United to protect Ranma's happiness this weekend!"
"Ranchan will have a GREAT time!"
"We work to make Ranma have happy time!"
And in a weird unison-- almost synchronistic, in fact-- the three
girl chorused--
"Ranma Happiness Protection League!"
And at this, Ranma passed out.
####
When she woke up, there was a concerned face meeting her bleary
gaze.
"Ranma... are you all right?"
"Um... I think so, Akane... I thought... I thought I heard you
say that you and Ucchan and Shampoo weren't going to fight..."
"Shampoo did say that."
"Ack!"
"Ranchan, this is going to be a happy weekend for you! We won't
let anyone get in the way of your having a fun time!"
"ACK!" The only thing worse than evil intentions were GOOD ones!
"We're... we're even going to leave you alone, if you want,
Ranma..."
Acks were no longer an option. The idea that ANYONE would leave
her alone was... well, damn near alien.
"Um... thanks?"
"No prob, Ranchan! Glad to do it!"
"The Ranma Happiness Protection League won't fail you, Ranma!"
"Ai-- Ranma have VERY nice time at beach!"
Ranma had a sudden sense of dread. Severe dread. World
shattering, gut wrenching, mind bending dread.
Of course, she was right.
####
Bedtime.
Which Ranma had been dreading no end.
As Kasumi laid out the futons that were kept in a closet in the
cabin, Ranma debated on a difficult choice--
Bra or no bra?
If it hadn't been a "feminine" night, the question would have
been a no-brainer. Pajamas were opaque, after all. But Nodoka had
decreed that one night out of three Ranma would sleep in "womanly"
garments. And since Nodoka had at times somewhat skewed ideas about
womanly (nearly as skewed as her ideas about manly, in fact), that
meant... wearing THAT.
Which Ranma wouldn't have minded as much if she was alone in her
own room, but with the three Tendo sisters here...
"Ranma-chan, what's wrong?" asked Kasumi. "You seem disturbed."
"Only 'cause I am. Kasumi, you really think there's nothin'
wrong with me being undressed in front of girls while I am a girl?"
"Well, I'll be honest-- I was a little uncertain at first, but
your mother is right. You'll have to get used to it, and we probably
should too. I've seen you wander around without a shirt in girltype
before, though-- why are you so embarrassed now?"
"I... I ain't sure. I guess part of it is this." And she held
up THAT.
Kasumi STARED. "Oh MY..."
"Yeah, weird, isn't it? In almost everything else, Mom's pretty
conservative-- you know how she reacted to my leathers. But get to
swimwear or sleepwear and she get's kinda... weird."
Kasumi stared at THAT. "Um... I suppose so?"
"And wearing that ain't really the problem... it's... well..."
"What, Ranma-chan?"
"I can't get to sleep wearing a bra. I don't mind wearing it
during the day, it's actually more comfortable, but somehow I can't
sleep while wearing it. It get's kinda twisted in my-- well, I toss
a lot when I sleep, and..." The trainee girl was blushing furiously
now.
"Oh, you too?"
Ranma's jaw dropped. About a meter. "HUNH?"
Kasumi shrugged. "I never can sleep in a bra myself. Well, all
there is for it is to just accept it."
Ranma was still trying to rewind her jaw.
"And if you're worrying about Nabiki and photographs, I've taken
care of that already."
"You've... huh?"
Kasumi giggled. "Your mother thought that it would be easier on
you if someone kept my sister's financial impulses in check during
the more personal parts of your training. Honestly, though, I don't
know what I'm going to do with all that film..."
Ranma blinked. "Arigato, Kasumi..."
"Anyhow, we better get ready for bed. You might as well get
ready now so that it's over with when the others get here."
And without further ado, Kasumi began to undress. Again.
Ranma flushed. "Ka--kasumi..."
"Oh, Ranma... it's just us girls." She had decided that Ranma
was for now just another girl-- never mind how she did it, she just
had-- and was casually unsnapping her bra.
(It's just us girls. Kasumi says it's just us girls.)
(Then... so be it, it's just us girls.)
And Ranma began to undress as well, keeping cool. Keeping in
control. Refusing to panic, refusing to be embarrassed.
Soul of ice. Hell, soul of liquid nitrogen.
A little later Nabiki and Akane returned to the cabin. Nabiki
had managed to find a late-open shop that had one single precious
roll of Fuji film for sale. Akane had finalised the agreement with
the other members of the temporary RHPL. Both froze at the sight in
front of them.
Kasumi was in her usual understated white cotton nightgown. Very
modest, very subdued, very Kasumi.
Ranma, on the other hand, was in a powder blue nightie, that had
spaghetti-straps, barely reached her hips, and was damn near
transparent. Except for the black lace panties, that was all. It
was terribly obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra.
That wasn't the freezing part, though. What was was the phrase
that had greeted them.
"Well, actually, it feels kinda nice. It's all smooth and soft
on the skin, see? I mean, when I'm a boy, it wouldn't feel the same
way, but this body has different feelings. I can't really explain--
Oh, konbanwa, Akane, Nabiki."
Ranma turned back to Kasumi with apparent unconcern, and
continued, "It's really more how it looks, see? More feminine than I
like."
Kasumi nodded wisely. "I can see that, Ranma-chan. I'm not
certain I'd ever have the nerve to wear something like that..."
"Well, Mom says I have to get used to my feminine side-- and you
don't get much more feminine than this, I guess. Well, the teddy
comes close."
Akane simply sat down next to the pair and stared. With very
wide eyes. And some confusion.
"Akane," commented Kasumi, "You know how recently Ranma stays in
her room every third night and is reluctant to come out?"
Akane nodded.
"This is why. Because Ranma and I share a problem."
"You... you have multiple fiancees too?"
"No, Akane. That's silly. No, it's--"
"You have a Jusenkyo curse?"
"NO, Akane. Neither Ranma or I can sleep well in a bra, and
since her mother says that one night out of three she has to wear
very feminine sleepwear, she was understandably embarrassed. We were
having a talk about it, and-- oh dear."
Nabiki was frantically fumbling with her camera. THIS photo
would sell for-- huh?
At the sight of Nabiki's photographic preparations, Akane went
into full RHPL mode. Taking and selling pictures of Ranma in that
outfit definitely went against the plan to make certain that Ranma
had a happy and fun weekend. Which was why the camera was suddenly
not there.
"You aren't going to sell any pictures of Ranma in that outfit,"
said Akane coldly.
Nabiki stared at the wreck of what had been a camera. "But...
but... all that yen..."
"This is Ranma's happy weekend. NO photos. Or... or I'll
evaluate you."
Nabiki began to regain control. "And what does that mean, little
sister?"
"You have been lax in your training. You used to train with
Daddy and me. I think your skills have slipped. I should find out
how much."
Nabiki froze-- again. Akane was DEAD serious. And no amount of
yen would be worth the pain that the youngest daughter was apparently
willing to inflict.
The status quo had changed somehow and Nabiki had missed it.
"But... but... "
"You can take a couple of pics of me in my swimsuit tomorrow if
you like, Nabiki," interjected Ranma. "But I get half of whatever
you take in. Modelling fees."
"But... but... but..."
"That seems fair," Kasumi said. "Really, Nabiki, taking pictures
of girls without asking them first isn't very polite."
"But... but... but... but..."
Nabiki was, basically, experiencing something that until now had
only happened to others. Near total brain crash.
"Anyhow, I'm tired," added Ranma. "Let's just go to sleep,
'kay?"
"I agree," Akane said.
"**yawn** Hai, Ranma-chan. Tomorrow will probably be a very
active day, ne?" suggested Kasumi.
Four girls went to sleep. One of them kept saying the word
"But..." all night.
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