Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Memoirs of being in the Saddle ❯ ...and the battle begins ( Chapter 24 )

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The tape that night was interesting. After she'd briefly hugged me and dashed towards the bathroom, Ranma walked in, only slightly drunk, and stopped directly in front of the mirror. Still in her damp dress.

A minute would pass, then another, with Ranma silently facing the mirror, facing me.

Almost routine now.

But her gaze was different now, almost challenging her reflection instead of wary of it.

Slowly her hands came up to the first button.

Then the second.

By the fourth the dress was clinging on her only because of the dampness of the cloth and her lush curves. 

Slowly her hands tugged at the neck of the dress, and with a quiet whisper of cloth it fell and pooled at her feet.

Completely naked, her gaze roamed up and down her body. This time she hid nothing, in fact she seemed to thrust her chest out slightly. Her hands were on her hips, but this time there was no trepidation. Only anticipation.

Her nipples were hard, the cold water she poured on herself no doubt helped. 

She smiled and turned towards the furo. A quick dousing of hot, then cold, then hot a final time, and a completely sober man came out, dried off, put his clothes on, and put the Girl's dress in the washing machine.

-=-=-=-

Naturally things cropped up, work for me, and people trying to bash in Ranma's skull for him, so we couldn't begin right away. In the end, it took ten days before we could talk again, four more before we had another session.

And if you think she was suddenly leaping into my arms in nothing but a thong and a smile, you really weren't paying attention. 

Given a few days to cool off, and especially the fact that she was sober, as well as all the stress that is in the everyday life of Ranma's, and a lot of my work had been undone.

But not all of it. 

Yes, there was trepidation when she saw that first outfit after the dry spell, but she put it on, she examined herself carefully, practiced her smile, and came out regardless.

The foundation was there now. 

I didn't need to coax her, or cajole her, or use her pride, she just did it. That was the first critical point.

The outfits, they came off her body without a problem, which was the second critical point that stuck. 

And Ranma sincerely believed that this was all in my efforts to help her. That was the final critical point.

That meant I could push things a little further.

Therefore when the next two sessions we had that week did not to push boundaries in the slightest, even went back a half-step, you'd think me a coward.

You'd be foolish to think so, but then you didn't have the insight I had. Maybe it's something in the air in Nerima, you had to be there at that time to understand it.

The goal of the next two sessions wasn't to immediately push, they were just to make things routine again.

Back in the saddle, as it were.

Girl's outfit and underwear lay in the metal box, she'd wear it and clean, or watch a movie with me, and just get used to it.

Relax.

Lower her guard.

Then strike on the third.

-=-=-=-

The third one was the result of a weird sort of synchronicity. I had an initial plan Saturday morning aiming for a Monday, but then things just started coming together.

Kumo had come through with something for me, and while I was picking it up I found out that with the forecast for the weekend being a right scorcher, loads of beach work was going to be done to get the new girls on display. 

Naturally, that meant I had the weekend suddenly free from work.

Well, naturally for me anyways, I'll explain a bit later.

As I've said before, it's got to be a crime somewhere to not take advantage of Serendipity. Especially in Nerima.

As Saturday is a half day for school in Japan, Ranma went by my place a little after noon, off to score (or even purchase as she had some money now) some ice cream in the increasing heat, and found me on my bench, sipping my tea.

Yes, I sipped tea in this weather, I had an image to maintain.

I was a surprise, you see we'd never actually interacted on a Saturday like this. And so when I offered an extra session to Ranma as a break from the 'routine', and the heat, to my delight, she accepted. 

Sunday.

-=-=-=-

There's a reason I didn't suggest going to a public indoor pool in a different district, well naturally I had several reasons, but the only legitimate one I will explain shortly. Patience now.

Hence, when the forecast proved accurate and the heat tried to set Buddhist monks on fire for daring to wear that much cloth in the presence of the glowering sun, well, you keep indoors. 

And if you can't go to a pool, you make do.

Thus, my bathroom was re-purposed temporarily into a pool. And a pool needed things.

A spare little living room corner-table joined my own little table but on the opposite side of the "pool". Ranma had to put her drinks and books somewhere nearby. 

Very important: It had to be casual, and mirrored across from me, item to item, as that was how I'd apply the pressure.

Next, the stuff I didn't have in my house. Thankfully, Kimura was free with his truck, as I had a bunch of running around to do. Things to get.

To relax when we wanted out of the pool I had bought a couple of long folding lounge chairs, those beach ones with the ability to fold from upright to flat back to sunbathe in, not that there was any sun, but I'd been pushing for as many things that people did at the pool or beach as I could. 

Sturdy ones, thanks to where I worked I knew the brands that could take a real pounding, both literal and metaphorical. Then I had to add a little rubber to the metal bottoms to prevent the scraping from being incredibly annoying.

It's the little details that matter, a metal chair scratching and scraping my bathroom tiles would just ruin things.

After that I needed some thick colorful beach towels, an extension cord that I confirmed was waterproof for the cassette player, a script stand converted to an umbrella holder, and a light cover that would take the harsh white halogen bathroom light and make it more... sun-like. Japan had a bunch of ways around their cramped and hard lit interiors, mostly in their love hotels yes, but still available to someone with a discerning eye.

Finally, the pool itself. On the day in question I would disable the water heater in the cool-ish hours of the dawn. My furo was the passive flow type, so in the hours to come it would be as cool as it could get.

And that was our pool.

Then came the drinks.

Since Ranma wasn't a fan of Vodka, I'd be drinking that straight, well 'straight' as in three parts water to one part vodka. Ranma with her sweet tooth would be getting a large jug of piña colada.

It took a little bit of practice to incorporate the traditional recipe with extremely high proof grain alcohol, but with the white rum and pineapple juice and coconut cream instead of coconut milk...

I tried a shot. Too sweet for me. 

The initial kick was subtle, the coconut cream masked most of it as it coated the palette. 

Then it really hit me, and a I had to take a deep breath and let it out through my teeth. 

If the alcohol percentages where right, well it wasn't bathing entirely in sake, but it should do the trick, even for a martial artist.

So, I had a bottle of diluted vodka and a few lemons to slice for myself, and a large pitcher of extremely potent piña colada for Ranma. And if it took more, I had a bit of a backup ready, though much lower in potency.

Snacks would be chips, cold cut sandwiches, and I'd order takeout for dinner. And no, not from the Cat Cafe or Ucchan's, I'm not fucking retarded, from a place known for it's delivery by scooter, and not bicycle flying over a wall. Or ninjas.

Now for the final step: Her bathing suit. 

The 'BOY' one was just too conservatively cut. 

Too modest. 

Too low on the hips. 

It just would not do.

Have you any idea how much Kumo could talk about his work while he was working? Or when he wasn't working? Or when he was in an elevator with you? It's why we kept him in the basement, any higher and he'd blab every damn secret he had away to the masses.

Thanks to him I knew the 'art' of the rape-rip, be it on an office gal, a school uniform, or a swimsuit. And others, but that last one was the important one.

Now I was no tailor, but I could flip the suit inside out and work on the shoulder seams a fair bit. After all, she had fought Cologne in it, got hurled around a fair bit.

What was it Cologne used? Shark Fist, Polar Bear Fist? I can't remember...

And her tits had gotten bigger. That would also help.

I smiled as I tugged at the straps and watched as they gave, just a little.

Ranma would be by around noon.

-=-=-=-

By Noon, the heat was firmly in the sticky sweaty stage if you stood for more than a minute in the sun, and that's the perfect time for heading to a pool.

I suspect that the sticky weather also reminded boys about sticky shorts, and thus lead them to the conclusion that sun = sticky = girls = pools, but I might simply be a bit biased. 

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get a good script going for a porn shoot. You'd think people didn't really care.

But I digress.

Ranma snuck away easily, as in this weather, the first hot spell of the many that Japan would be subject to, people split into two camps; the ones who wanted to go out and do things, which kept many of the fiancess busy with their respective businesses, or, do nothing and beat the heat, which kept the Kuno's and others with occasional fur at bay.

Thus Ranma arrived without incident, and we quickly retreated inside where it was marginally cooler. Japanese homes, particularly old ones, are not really designed to keep heat out, but let air flow. And with my AC off and all the windows open on the main floor, the whole house was pretty muggy.

I affixed the velvet choker, Ranma became Girl, and we retreated to our respective rooms to change. Her to the WC just outside the 'Pool', and I to my bedroom above it on the second floor.

It was hard getting dressed, I had to be ready, and I couldn't be seen hopping down stairs with my pants half on. Thus, I had finished putting on my large, full-sleeved, dark red Hawaiian shirt(Couldn't look too similar to the Principal, who preferred brighter and bluer ones) and was quietly listening carefully when I heard the yelp from the bathroom coming up the vents.

I strode downstairs, already carrying my parcel in one hand.

"What happened?" I called through the door. 

"The straps on the the suit broke!" 

"Have you got any spares in the box?" 

She was swearing under her breath. "Nope."

I smiled and tsk'ed loudly. "What did I tell you about backups?"

I tapped the box against the door and placed it on the ground. 

“I'll be in my room.”

Now I could put on my shorts with no risk.

-=-=-=-

“How is it Girl?” I was immensely glad I could stare now.

It was a one-piece swimsuit. 

But unlike the BOY one-piece, this wasn't based on the modest schoolgirl style. It didn't hug the hips, it hugged the waist, leaving those lovely hips bare. 

It was sky-blue and had a white ‘V’ starting on each shoulder strap, down over each breast, coming to a point over her navel. 

The fabric shimmered slightly in the WC's halogen light.

She looked down, surprised at how... chaste it appeared from her angle. Ironically, since it was tailored specifically for her, it actually covered her tits better than the 'Boy" suit, which had been cheap, off the rack, and had naturally been insufficient in the chest area, causing spillover on the side and a bunched up and uncomfortable rack.

"It fits all right, but the fabric feels different."

I nodded. “Thats a studio suit, for filming. Regular swimsuits fabric looks really muted and drab under studio lights. The fabric in that shimmers in this light, but is designed to be vibrant for a camera's overhead spotlights."

And most of that was actually true. The bits I didn't mention was which studio it was from, and what the suit was actually used for. With the fabric being flexible enough for hands to slip inside it, the bottom to be tugged aside without chafing either occupant, and... other things. 

"You got it from work?" She looked surprised. 

"Well," I drawled. "Thanks to someone letting me know a certain set of numbers," She smirked at the memory. "A card got added to the wardrobe management orders. It happens all the time there, it keeps the tailors busy during the quiet times, and happy when they can make a little bit extra on the side."

Kumo was indeed happy, and crying, when he handed it to me.

He already had a custom mannequin in Ranma's dimensions to work on, and man it was eerily close, even if he had to wedge a small piece of wood on the bottom to keep it from tipping forwards.

I had kept it casual, but Ranma had caught on that I'd paid money for the suit. The subtle shift in her shoulders and back gave it away.

"How do I look?" She asked at last, turning from her reflection in the sink's mirror to look at me. Her first challenge towards me that day.

I stared at her for a moment, just long enough for her to feel it.

"Like it was made for you." Never was there a more honest answer.

Thank you Kumo.

Stepping past her, I opened the door to the bathroom-turned-pool, making sure to hit the camera stop button while I did. It couldn't aim at anything interesting today, we'd be at the far end of the room, and I didn't want anything of myself in the videos. 

Call it a phobia of mine.

"Take a look in the big mirror." I told her. She nodded and went on in, turned, and froze.

"Whoa..." The sink mirror didn't really let her see the lower half of the suit, neither did her tits in the way for that matter. Her gaze swept down her legs, then up and back at how much of how much a difference there can be in the subtleties of cuts and seams. 

Me, I was enjoying the rear view. "Turn around."

She turned, looked over her shoulder, and almost let out a gasp. 

Almost. 

Just a quick controlled indrawn breath. 

But I heard it.

From behind, the suit was more daring than her BOY one. Her back was bare, showing off her shoulder blades and plunging into what was known in the business as a "Rio Brazilian" bottom. No thongs or G-strings, but much less than what any Japanese School would ever declare "school acceptable."

And yes if you are wondering, the bare back does make it much easier to slip a hand in, top or bottom. Imagine that.

With all the attention she got with her front, I don't think Ranma realized she had that desirable an ass. 

She did now. 

"Do you like it?" I asked. My voice held the slightest hitch to it, one that I didn't need to pretend to have. 

I could see her hesitate, then she remembered that I'd paid for it. A present for her. A debt.

She smiled at me, and I could see it was a tiny bit forced. 

Just a bit though.

"Yeah. Like it's made for me."