Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma Universe: Alpha and Omega ❯ Chapter 14: Training with Happosai ( Chapter 15 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: ST Pika

Chapter 14: Training with Happosai

Thanks to Smokin'Oken from Fanfiction.net for their ideas for a possible Akane attack, I've put those to good use in this chapter. Note that Part A was not preread, so forgive me if any mistakes slipped through. Part B was preread by Luke/Ranmasaotome103 on ff.net and deviantart.

Part A

Inside Akane's room, Akane and Ranma's study session is interrupted by a gentle but insistent knock on the door.

“Come in…” Akane calls out and the door quickly opens.

“You're not going to believe what I just found…” Nabiki says while closing the door behind her. “Does this look familiar?” she says while holding up a bra.

“Hmm… yeah. It looks like one of mine… did the old man drop it downstairs?” Akane says with a nod.

Giving the bra back to her sister, Nabiki decides to get right to the point. “Look at the tag…”

Taking the tag in her hand, Akane takes a closer look. Ranma also peers over her shoulder and begins reading it as well. “Okay… let's see…” Akane goes silent as the realization of where this bra came from hits her.

Ranma also remembers the fight like it was yesterday and remembers talking to Akane about it… `She was missing her underwear after that first fight, this has to be it!' He exchanges a glance with Akane and then begins speaking. “Fightin' fiancée? That means this is that bra that went missing… when you and the others fell asleep durin' the first fight…”

“Ranma's right… this is what I was wearing that day…” Akane says with a nod.

“I thought it was… and I bet he has the rest of the girls underwear, too. We've should've known it was him… Sleeping Beauty Sickness… sounds like something way out there that he would use…” Nabiki adds.

“What do yah think, Akane?” Ranma asks, wondering what she wants to do next. He gets no answer, however…

Nabiki waves her hand in front of Akane's face. “Hey, Akane, are you okay?”

A bright purple aura suddenly fills the room… giving the other two their answer.

“No, I'm not okay… I'm getting tired of this…” Akane says as the anger continues to build. “He's gone too far this time… he steals all of our underwear, ruins the fight… takes advantage of me while `training' me for the second fight…”

“Akane… I had no idea… I mean, I saw the moves you used but you didn't tell me that he…”

Akane raises her hand and Ranma stops speaking. She walks over to her closet and the glow gets even brighter…

“Where's that suit?” she mumbles to herself. “I'm going to take care of this right NOW!”

After hearing that, Nabiki decides to beat a hasty retreat. “I don't know why Kasumi sowed that damn thing back up… but I'm not hanging around if you're putting it back on…”

“Akane, hold on a sec…”Ranma says while moving closer to Akane.

“Ranma… you know how to handle this… I'm leaving it up to you…” Nabiki says before leaving the room and heading to her room and locking it behind her.

`Damn Nabiki…' Ranma thinks while thinking of a quick way to calm Akane down. `Maybe this will work…'

Akane is about to reach for the suit when she feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

“Akane… hold on a sec here…”

“Why should I?” Akane says while lowering her arms.

“Cause you need a plan to beat the old man for one thing… and I don't wanna see you get hurt… or anyone else…” a soft sigh escapes Ranma's lips, emphasizing his last point. `I hope Akane gets what I'm trying to say- I don't want her to get hurt or anyone else around her…'

“Ranma… I…” Akane begins taking deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself down. She focuses on the fact that Ranma has his arms around her waist… and how that feels. `I feel… comforted by what he's doing. Maybe he's right… he's fought Happosai more then anyone else here…'

Slowly, Akane turns around, her battle aura quickly dissipating. “Ranma… I don't want to be controlled again by that suit… I still remember what I did the last time I wore it…” she lowers her head sadly and recalls the last time she donned that suit…

Akane goes into Kasumi's room and she sees the bandage on her face... she knows she is responsible for that too.

"Little sister... is this what you want... to hurt everyone when you're angry." Standing up the girl holds her reddening cheek. Akane just stares at her older sisters' face in horror.

"You've hurt Ryoga and Ranma very badly."

"B-but t-they deserved it!" Akane sputters out.

"Then I guess I deserved this" Kasumi tells her sister and pulls her hand away from her face allowing Akane to see the dark spot forming.

"N-no!"

"I have to go fix dinner now little sister." Kasumi says softly and turns to leave.

"No! Kasumi wait I..."

"Do I deserve more?" Kasumi asked sweetly which caused Akane to flinch back.

"I'll see you at dinner," the eldest Tendo said before leaving the room.

Akane looked at the door as it closed behind her sister then looked at her fist.

"It... it wasn't my fault... I... I..." but even as she tried to deny it, she could picture the red mark on her sisters face. "Oh gods..." Akane finally said softly.

Dropping to her knees she crawled to the corner and tried to hide. "What have I done?"

“You know what, Ranma… you're quite the strategist.” A light blush forms on Akane's face. “Thanks for stopping me…”

“Oh, it was no problem. I've seen yah get crazy when you're mad before… and wit' that suit on, it'd be a million times worse…”

Akane sighs. “Yeah…”

Ranma gently pulls his arms back and motions towards the desk. “Let's figure out what we're gonna do… I think we need to get everyone involved in this one…”

“Hmm… okay. This does involve all of our Amazon sisters, so why don't we ask tell them about this on Friday. That gives us tonight and three more days to figure something out.”

Ranma sits on Akane's bed while she sits at her desk, jotting down ideas on their impromptu break from studying. While this is going on, Nabiki slinks back over to the door and presses her ear against the door.

`I guess Ranma got to her before she put that suit on… sounds like they're plotting something against Happosai. With those two working together, they have a chance… should make for an interesting event. I'll have to make sure my camera is ready… it's been a while since I've gotten some good pics of them.'

Satisfied for her safety, Nabiki returns to her room and continues practicing her lines for the play “Merchant of Venice”.

`I hope that Kuno will come up some good costume ideas, especially for my attire. I'm sure I could convince him to make something elegant for me…'

Back in Akane's room the pair take a break from their brainstorming of ideas and engage in small talk…

“Exciting day, huh?” Ranma says with a grin.

“Oh yeah, it's been fun… it's not everyday you get to join an Amazon tribe and gain three sisters…”

“Or see the Kuno's acting normally… I still ain't one hundred percent used to it.”

Akane nods her head. “I know what you mean… but it's a good thing. It was nice talking with Kodachi, I think we can become good friends now that she's not trying to kill me to get to you…”

“I'm glad all of that business is done… I only want to be worryin' about one fiancée, not four…” Ranma says with a grin. “I got my hands full wit' this one…”

“Hey!” Akane says in protest. “I could say the same thing with you!”

“I'm just kidding, Akane. You're kinda cute when you get all feisty, you know…”

Akane grins. “That reminds me of what you told me after that cursed doll incident. You said you liked the evil me better then the regular me…”

“Well, the regular you is getting a lot better…” Ranma says with a shrug. “Either way works for me…”

Akane says nothing but moves to sit next to Ranma. She silently rests her head on his shoulder…

“Stop teasing me… you just need to admit you have a thing for me and for tomboys…”

“Well… I ain't gonna lie… it's true. I guess I'm just trying keep my mind busy… that's why I ain't distracted about what I saw a few hours ago…”

A red blush covers Akane's face. `He must mean seeing me in the lingerie I'm wearing. He has been good… except for the teasing. It must be his coping mechanism. There's no rule saying that I can't tease him back, though…'

”I never did get to ask you… did you like what I was wearing? I mean… wearing stuff like that is pretty new for me…” Akane says softly.

“You looked great, Akane. Stuff like that is good on yah… you got the body for it…” the embarrassed Ranma answers, spilling his guts so to speak, about his feelings and desires for the woman sitting next to him.

“So I'm not built like a brick?”

“No… but I heard gramps say something in English once with that word in it… hmm. What was it?”

That gets Akane thinking… she tries to think of a word that goes with “Brick”. Ranma snaps his fingers about a minute later and remembers the answer.

“Brickhouse, yeah, that's it. Can I call yah that?”

“I'll think about it…but only call me that in private, okay?” Akane says teasingly. `I know what the term means… but him thinking I'm one means that he thinks I'm really good looking, so I'll let it slide if he calls me that, at least in private…'

“Okay…”

Akane starts rubbing her right hand across Ranma's back, relieving some of the tension she's feeling inside. Ranma closes his eyes and enjoys the moment…

“We're having fun just talking together… Ranma, this is one of the things we were missing before. We couldn't get into a conversation without going after one another with words… or mallets…”

“Yeah, I remember those days.” Ranma says, remembering the many times he got hit by the woman sitting next to him. “It's still hard sometimes, yah know, not to want to yell at you… but it's getting easier to resist openin' my mouth…”

“Same here… and the same goes for the other girls. I'm glad Ukyo is your sister now, she's a very nice person…”

“You two didn't fight as much as the others, I think yah respect each other. Ukyo's pretty smart, so she does know when to quit, she isn't too stubborn…”

“Unlike a certain martial artist that happens to be her brother…” Akane says with a grin.

Ranma doesn't like the sound of that. “Hey, that stubbornness saved yah a couple times!”

“And so did mine, Ranma. We owe each other… so it cancels out.”

Ranma silently acknowledges that fact. The young man suddenly has an idea… and then another…

While taking a glance at Ranma's face, Akane cannot help but notice an ever-growing grin forming on it…

“You're up to something… tell me what it is…”

“I think I've figured out what we need ta do to get some payback…”

“Okay… tell me…”

“Well, the first thing I thought of is using one of your umm… abilities to our advantage…”

“What do you mean by that?” Akane asks, wondering why he hesitated for a moment.

“Your cooking… we can use it to paralyze him…” is the reply back in a serious tone.

That comment earns Ranma a quick “bop” on the head by his now irate fiancée.

“And just what is that supposed to mean? You're lucky I didn't mallet you just now… I thought we agreed to stop the insults. Ranma, I know my cooking is horrible… you don't have to rub it in…”

Ranma goes on the defensive. “I ain't tryin' to get yah mad… but if we say it was somethin' Kasumi cooked, he'll eat it. Add some of Kodachi's paralyzing powder and we're in business…”

“You know what… that sounds insane enough to work. I still think we need more, though…” Akane says with a sigh. “We need to be distracting him so he won't even think twice about eating that food…”

“Hmm…” Ranma pauses and thinks about that for a few moments. “What about training? What kinda stuff did you have ta wear when he trained yah before?”

“Just my normal gi, nothing special. Ranma… are you suggesting we wear something suggestive? That pervert would be all over us and anyone else that happened to be there…” Akane rolls her eyes. “That'd be exactly what he'd want…”

“He won't be able to resist a training offer… especially if he gets all of us at once. Think about it…”

“Maybe we could say… the other girls want to learn the techniques that I used to beat them. I could use a refresher myself… though I'll pass on any more groping…”

“Good idea…”

“Okay… we got that settled. There is something else I wanted to talk to you about, Ranma…”

Ranma gently moves his left hand and places in on the back of her shirt. He begins gently rubbing her back, just like she has been doing to him…

“Yeah… what is it?”

“It's about Shampoo… I think we're in for some real fights in the future. Those people don't give up so easily… you remember how dedicated Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung were about beating me… and you…”

“Well, yeah, I remember that…” Ranma says with a shrug.

“I want to become a better fighter… without the suit. That's something I'd only want to use if it was an emergency…”

“Okay… did you want me to help you train then?” Ranma says, coming to the obvious conclusion.

“Sure!” is the happy reply back. “How about we start on Friday, once this test and the Amazon business is out of the way?”

“Sounds good to me…”

Wanting to thank Ranma and continue this enjoyable break from studying, Akane takes the initiative and pulls Ranma into an intimate embrace…

“Akane…” the blushing Ranma stammers while looking into her eyes.

Akane cannot help but blush herself. She softly utters the word “Ranma…” before moving in for a kiss. The pair exchange slow but passionate kisses…

After about a minute, Ranma feels Akane getting a little more insistent and lets his body ease back onto her bed. It isn't long before the pair stop to catch their breaths…

“I never thought… that we'd be doing this here…” Ranma says while reflecting on the situation.

“You never fantasized about being in my room?” a curious Akane asks.

“Well, umm…” Ranma blushes and admits to it without saying another word.

“To tell you the truth, I've wanted to have you in here. Now that Ryoga isn't around pretending to be that swine P-chan… I feel like it's more… private in here.” Akane pauses to place her right hand on Ranma's chest. “I'm happy that you keep on visiting me here…”

“No problem… I like your room… it's… nice…”

“One of my favorite parts is the bed. I never was fond of the Japanese way of sleeping on the floor…” Akane admits.

“Oh, you get used to it…” Ranma says, recalling his past experiences on the road.

Akane is about to say something in reply when the door opens and Nodoka walks in.

“Sorry to interrupt… but I just heard that you two have joined the Amazons and their tribe…”

The now very red-faced Akane and Ranma quickly sit up and look at the Saotome matriarch.

“Yeah mom, we did. Akane and I, then Ukyo and Kodachi too, all four us joined them. Shampoo got married yesterday to Mousse… there was a lot going on there when we stopped by…”

“I see. What was the reason the Elder Cologne gave you for wanting you four to join. I'm really curious… I thought that she was trying to get Ranma to marry Shampoo before…”

Akane fields the answer to that question. “Well, since I won, that's kind of come to a halt. She actually worried about the consequences of the fight… even though Shampoo is now married, it's not to Ranma. Her Amazon sisters could come after her… and all of us. Two of them have used the “kiss of death” on her and on me before…”

“I had no idea it was that serious. So the idea is to join forces then…” Nodoka thinks about that while Ranma and Akane exchange some quick glances.

“I know I should've talked to you and pops before agreeing to that… but it just felt like the right thing to do…” Ranma says, explaining his actions.

“Me too, I feel the same way…” Akane adds, showing her feelings on the matter.

“I've already discussed the matter with your father and my husband, Akane. You don't have to worry… all of us agree that this decision is for the best. Nerima isn't always the friendliest place, I've heard stories about all of the trials you two went through…”

“Yeah, this place ain't no cakewalk sometimes… but I think it's getting a little easier…”

Akane catches the reference to her and their relationship and smiles. `Ranma's right, at least some things are getting easier. We're pretty open with each other now… and we trust each other. That's really important…'

“I'm glad to hear that. I'll leave you two alone so you can get back to your studying… of each other…” Nodoka says that last part with a giggle and then closes the door to the room.

“Just great, now my mom thinks we were up here doin' somethin'… you know…” Ranma says with a sigh.

“Perverted?”

“Yeah…”

“All we were doing is communicating… to each other. Let's get back to our study session before it gets too later, okay?” Akane says, noting the time on the nearby clock.

Ranma stretches his arms towards the ceiling and then yawns. “Sounds good to me… I'm startin' to get tired anyway…”

Ranma and Akane return to their study session and continue to make progress. Akane can see Ranma's determination as the reviewing continues…

Across town at Uc-chan's Café, the dinner rush starts to come to an end and Ryoga walks over to Ukyo, who's cooking up one of her specials on the grill…

“I didn't get to ask you… how did your meeting go?” Ryoga says while leaning against the counter.

“Not bad. Actually, a couple of interesting things happened. For starters, I'm now part of the Amazon tribe…”

Ryoga's eyebrows rise up after hearing that. “You joined them? Why?”

“Cologne explained what the current situation is… it's possible that we could be in danger in the future from Shampoo's other sisters or her former tribe back in China. She wanted us all to work together…”

Ryoga begins to put the idea together but wants more information. “Who else joined?”

“Akane, Ranma, and Kodachi… all of us that were in the two fights with Shampoo and of course, Ran-chan. He's been a target for a long time, and with him being involved with Akane, who beat Shampoo- I don't think he's on their popular list right now.”

“Well, it sounds reasonable to me… but I'm worried about you and everyone else. Those Amazons can be ruthless…”

“I'll be fine, sugar. I have you to help me out after all…” Ukyo says with a wink. She flips the Okonomiyaki she's grilling in the air and then catches it with a plate. “Can you deliver this to the back?”

“Sure…” Ryoga says while taking the plate. Ukyo decides to talk more about this topic and waits for Ryoga's return.

“Maybe we should… you know, train together or something…” Ryoga says when he gets back. “You're a great martial artist, don't get me wrong…”

Ukyo smiles and nods her head. “Don't worry, I understand what you mean. We'll figure something out… maybe we could practice over at the Tendo's in their dojo. I'm sure mom would love to see us visit more often…”

“But what about… Akane…” Ryoga utters that last word softly, afraid to even speak her name.

“As long as you don't piss her off, I'm sure she won't bother you…”

“Or so you say…”

The brunette chef snaps her fingers together. “Oh, there was one more thing. We're all getting special dresses for joining, you know, like the red one Shampoo wears all the time. Kodachi already got hers… and Shampoo's making them for the rest of us…”

“Hmm… a Chinese dress… on you…” Ryoga takes the image of Shampoo in her red dress in his mind and replaces her with Ukyo. `That'd look hot on her…'

A slight trace of drool can be seen on the edge of Ryoga's mouth as he continues to think about Ukyo in that form-fitting Chinese dress. Ukyo notices this and rolls her eyes.

`At least I know what he thinks of the dress… I just hope he's not thinking about anything too perverted…'

Ukyo leaves Ryoga to his fantasy for a few minutes while she cooks up her final order for the time being. After the Okonomiyaki is ready, she clears her throat.

“Ahem. Bring this over to table ten, please…”

“Huh?” Ryoga rubs his eyes. “Oh, okay… sorry about that…”

Ukyo passes the plate to her boyfriend, who carries over to the waiting customer. When he returns, the topic of conversation turns to another subject and the evening continues…

After all the goings on across Nerima, it isn't long before Tuesday arrives, full of bright sun and semi-warm temperatures. This morning finds Ranma and Akane off to school earlier then usual, due to the warmer weather and a general urge to relax and enjoy the weather.

When the pair arrive at Furinkan High School, they're immediately approached by Tatewaki Kuno…

“Well if it isn't Kuno…” Ranma says as the older student stops in front of them. “How's it going?”

“Good morning to thee and Akane Tendo…” is the courteous reply back.

“How's the play preparations coming along?” Akane asks, wanting to see if there's been any progress yet.

“I have all of the costumes and props already planned out, it will be magnificent. I would have a word with thee, Akane, in private…”

Ranma looks at Akane and then at Kuno before shrugging his shoulders. “I'm going on ahead… I'll meet you in class…”

“Okay Ranma…” Akane says while Ranma heads to class, all the while thinking about what Kuno's up to.

Akane somewhat nervously moves over to the side of the entranceway and asks: “Okay… what did you want to talk about?”

“I need… some information. I am trying to make a special costume for your sister and I need…” a red blush forms on the kendo master's face. His voice drops to a near whisper before he continues. “I need her measurements…”

“Her measurements? I don't know if I should tell you that…” Akane says in a semi-shocked manner, though inside she knows that he's really interested in her sister now.

“'Tis not for something perverted, but for a dress…”

“Well… maybe I can tell you… if it's for a dress. Let me see…” Akane takes out a pen and paper and jots down the numbers that Kuno needs. “There… but don't tell her you got that from me…”

“I am in your debt…” Kuno says with a bow. “I will talk to thee later…”

Akane watches the “Blue Thunder” walk away and cannot help but grin. `Looks like he's really got the hots for Nabiki now… I wonder how she'll respond to this gift of his…'

The youngest Tendo heads off to class, not noticing that her older sister is approaching Kuno at that very moment…

“Kuno-baby, I have a quick question for you…” The voice catches Kuno off guard and causes him to stop in his tracks.

“Yes, how can I help you?” is the somewhat eager reply back as the young man turns to face the middle Tendo daughter.

“My costume… are you picking something… elegant? Something to suit my character and my tastes? Please say yes…” Nabiki says, winking at the end of the statement.

“Of course… it would be my pleasure…”

“Great!” Nabiki says happily. `He said yes! I knew a little charm would work wonders…'

The sound of a bell in the background causes both teens to look at the clock.

“We better get to class…” Nabiki says before walking towards the entrance to the building.

“Indeed…”

While walking into class, Kuno cannot help but praise the luck that has yet again, worked out in his favor. `I will make sure that I find the best costume possible for this woman…'

End part A.

Part A Omake:

"It... it wasn't my fault... I... I..." but even as she tried to deny it, she could picture the red mark on her sisters face. "Oh gods..." Akane finally said softly.

Dropping to her knees she crawled to the corner and tried to hide. "What have I done?"

"You're fulfilling your destiny, Akane..." Happosai said as he adjusted his cloak. "Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth... Mallet..."

Part B

Tuesday continues to go by at a rapid pace in Nerima. Over at the Cat Café, Shampoo works on her new sisters dresses between orders while Mousse waits tables. Cologne alternates between the two tasks and notices the zeal that the pair are showing for the tasks at hand…

After the lunch rush, Cologne takes advantage of the slower pace in the restaurant to ask a few questions of the newly married couple.

“I take it everything went well last night? You two are in quite a good mood today…”

“Yes… it was quite… fun.” Mousse says while trying not to blush.

Noticing her husband's reaction, Shampoo decides to show some discretion with her answer. “Airen make Shampoo very happy last night…”

“I see…” Cologne says, knowing full well what her great-grand daughter meant by that. “I'm glad to see that you two are getting along so well…”

“I guess all it took was an open mind… umm… and a little courage…” Mousse says while glancing at his wife.

“Shampoo still no believe it… married with loving airen… is like dream come true…” the young Amazon woman says softly, causing Mousse to blush.

`She called me a loving husband… I like the sound of that. I'm glad she appreciates my efforts…' is the thought passing through the young male Amazon's head as he continues cleaning the tables.

Wanting to bring up another topic of interest, Cologne decides not to press the couple with any more questions about their relationship- she can see that they're making great progress with each other and Shampoo even said being with him was `like a dream'…

“Are you two ready for your trip on Saturday?”

Shampoo is the first to respond to that question. “Shampoo looking forward to trip, even though trip is secret…”

“I can't wait… even though it'll be for a short time. Thank you for your help in this matter…” Mousse bows in front of Cologne out of respect for her help.

“After receiving another one of those letters, I couldn't resist. Your dream finally came true, so now's the time to go back, despite the current situation.”

“Shampoo need to finish dresses for sisters before trip, too. Be very busy next three days and nights…”

“Your husband can help you relax and unwind then…” Cologne says with a cackle, making a joke at Mousse's expense. “He needs to get used to your habits… and vice versa…”

“Yeah… umm… that's right.” is the reply back from the embarrassed Amazon.

After that, Cologne drops the marital advice rant for the moment and begins cooking up a new order. `I can't mother them too much, they need to figure each other on their own…'

The next three days pass by without incident. Ranma and Akane continue their studying and preparations for the test and for the impending assault on Happosai. Akane places her notebook with the battle plan in her secret hiding place to keep out of “harms way” until the time arrives to use it.

Friday is test day for Ranma… the day seems to pass by at a snails pace in his eyes. Akane does her best to keep him cheery and focused on the test, which will be given after school is over.

“Don't rush… we'll head over to the Cat Café after you're done.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know…” Ranma says, both nervous and annoyed by the forthcoming test.

“Let's just eat our lunch and not think about that, okay?”

Knowing that Akane is trying to keep him cheerful, Ranma decides to do his best to play along. “Sure… let's eat…”

In another part of the schoolyard, Nabiki is eating lunch with her friends Sayori and Yuki and discussing recent developments in the class, especially the play…

“You're so lucky… you won the lead role! I wanted that…” Yuki says before taking a bite of her roll.

“I sent in some nice pics myself… I got a decent role in this. A girl can't complain…” Sayori says, content with her lot.

“He's invited me over to look at the costumes for the play- they just came in last night. I can't wait to see what they look like…” Nabiki says, eagerly anticipating the end of the school day. `I want to see what he got for me, I bet it's pretty nice…'

“With him paying for them, I'm sure they'll be pretty nice. The play itself is new for this school… I'm sure we'll draw a big crowd and the school will make some money off of it…” Yuki says enthusiastically. “You're lucky, though- first peek at the costumes is yours…”

“Don't worry, I'll make sure that you two have good costumes.” Nabiki says with a nod. “It's nice to have something else to work on that's in character for me…”

Yuki and Sayori know that Nabiki means a non-monetary endeavor and are happy to hear their friend mention something besides making money, even if it's playing a role of a money orientated character.

“Have you been practicing your lines? I've been working on mine…” Nabiki asks before polishing off the last of her lunch.

“A little bit… I've been busy with family stuff… and I don't have many lines anyways…” Sayori says with a nod. “I'm not too worried about it…”

“Me either. I'm ready for rehearsal, whenever we have one…” Yuki adds.

The middle Tendo takes out a small notebook and starts jotting down a few notes. “I'm sure that'll be soon… we should have the costumes taken care of tonight, and then the props come next… maybe by Monday or Tuesday we'll be ready…”

“Sounds good to me…” is the reply back from both of Nabiki's friends before they focus on finishing their lunch- the lunch break is nearly over.

Up on the roof of the high school, Ukyo is eating her lunch and meditating on some of the things that have happened in her life recently.

`I got a new father, mother, brother, boyfriend and three sisters- all in a short length of time. It feels nice to have people to talk to… and to be part of a family again, instead of being alone. Something's bugging me, though… that dress I'll be getting today. I've only worn something revealing like that a few times before and some of those were forced, like on Toma's Island. Can I handle it?'

As the young brunette chef eats her lunch, she tries to come to terms with her own femininity. She looks down at the school uniform she's wearing and returns to eating. `I spent ten years living my life in the pursuit of revenge, shunning my body and most anything female. I'm wearing a male school uniform right now… about the only time I wear anything `girly' is when I'm swimming. Why is this so hard? I want to be more feminine, more girly. For me… and for Ryoga… hmm.'

The sound of a bell in the distance interrupts Ukyo's train of thought. `Damn, lunch is over already! I better get back to class…'

Resigning the problem until later, Ukyo quickly gathers her things and heads down to class. She notices Ranma's nervousness as the day nears its end. `He must be worried about that test… I hope Akane was able to get him up to par…'

It isn't long before the school bell rings, ending the school day. Ranma cannot help but think of the bell as the start of a symbolic match…

“Good luck Ranma…” Ukyo says while giving him a reassuring pat on the back. “See you over at the Cat Café when you're done…”

Akane waits for Ukyo and the other classmates to leave before talking to Ranma.

“It's time… are you ready?”

“I hope so… all that studying wit' yah hopefully will pay off…” Ranma says, trying to sound confident.

“Just pretend like it's one of your fights and you'll be fine.” Akane leans over and kisses her fiancée on the cheek. “Good luck…”

Ranma blushes. “Thanks… I'll see yah later…”

Akane nods and then leaves the room. A few minutes later, Ms. Hinako shows up with the test materials…

“I hope you're ready, Mister Saotome. You have two hours to finish this test…”

Reaching for his pencil, the young martial artist motions towards the teacher. “Bring it on, I'm ready…”

Impressed by his confidence, Ms. Hinako puts the test down on the desk. “I can see that you've been studying… that's good. That's the mark of a true student, not a delinquent…”

“No delinquents here today…” Ranma says softly as he immediately starts on the test. The teacher sits down at the front desk and takes out a book to pass time until Ranma's done…

The end of the school day finds Nabiki walking with Kuno back to his place to check out the costumes for the play. The young man cannot help but notice the good mood of his schoolmate and love interest, Nabiki Tendo.

“I can't wait to see these costumes…” she comments offhand as the pair near the Kuno Estate.

“You will be pleased, trust me…” is about all the information Tatewaki will give out, wanting to keep the surprise a surprise.

Nabiki takes that comment as a good sign and a few minutes later, they arrive. She follows the young man in front of her through the grounds… anticipation builds with every step.

“In this room…”

“Okay…”

Nabiki slides the door open and finds a long metal rack stretching across the length of the room. Every six inches or so, there's a costume with a tag on it. Each costume represents the character and the time period that is “The Merchant of Venice”…

Heading for the nearest costume, the curious Nabiki takes a closer look. “They look great…”

“Thank you… please inspect the rest and see if they meet your qualifications…”

Nabiki starts with the furthest costume from the door and works her way back towards the front, checking out each tag and then the costume attached to it. She's impressed by the quality and workmanship of each one… and keeps an eye out for her own costume.

After reaching the last costume, the middle Tendo is confused. “Hey, Kuno-baby, where's my costume for the play? I didn't see it…”

“Ah, there is one more costume. I wanted you to see the others first… and I see they meet with your approval…”

Nabiki nods her head. ”Of course, they look fine to me…”

“Good. Follow me…”

Tatewaki leads the young woman back to his room. On the outside of the door is a wrapped garment bag with Nabiki's name on it.

“There is your costume…”

Eagerly, Nabiki rushes up to the door and takes the costume down. “Can I try this on now?”

“Be my guest, you may use my room. Please inform me when you are finished… there is a mirror in the back of the room…”

“I won't be long…” Nabiki says with a wink before heading into the room and closing the door behind her. The seconds feel like hours to the nervous young man, who awaits the verdict on his gift. `I do hope she likes the costume… it was tailor made to her exact measurements…'

“Kuno-baby… you can come in…”

After gulping and taking a deep breath, Kuno opens the door. He finds the brunette modeling in front of the mirror, clearly enjoying herself.

“It's perfect! How'd you get it to my exact measurements?”

“”Tis a secret…” is the reply back.

Nabiki turns around and faces Kuno. “I see… hmmm. I'll let that drop… because you did such a good job. This costume is definitely from the same era as the play… but I see you've added some other touches just for me…”

“Other touches?” a confused Kuno asks, wondering what she means by that.

“Well… the reason why I took so long wasn't because I had a problem changing into this costume… I was checking out all of the photos of me on your walls…”

Caught by surprise, Kuno cannot help but feel very nervous all of the sudden. “Eep. I had forgotten I had those up…”

“It looks like good photographic work… did your ninja take these pictures?”

“Aye, Sasuke did…” Kuno says with a slow nod. “You are not… mad at me?”

Nabiki shakes her head. “Not exactly… I am an attractive woman after all. I'm actually kind of flattered by all of the pictures… and I see you've dropped going after my sister and the pig-tailed girl…”

“Yes… I am aware now that those were false feelings. My old self was truly eager to get either… or both of them. I now have clarity of thought when it comes to that area…” Kuno admits, revealing some of his feelings in an indirect way.

Nabiki catches what he means and a slight blush colors her face. “You're serious… you like me? This isn't some joke, is it?”

“No, it is not. I know of your preference for… showing off your body so I umm… changed the costume slightly…”

“I can see that. You lowered the neckline… you can see a lot of my cleavage with this… not to mention how much this showcases of my butt…” Nabiki decides to tease the young man by bending over and then turning around, giving him a look at the modifications.

Not knowing what to say, Kuno goes with a standard compliment. “You look umm… great…”

Appreciating the compliment, Nabiki feels an urge to give one of her own. “You're smarter then you look… with someone like me being the lead, and showcasing this costume… we're really loading up the sex appeal. Sex does sell after all… we'll make a lot of money on this play.”

“Indeed. You do not mind the modifications? I hope it's not too much of a distraction…”

“No need to worry, I'll wear it.”

After that statement, there's an awkward silence in the room. Nabiki has several ideas floating through her head, the biggest of which was the admission by Kuno a few minutes ago. `He does like me… and to tell the truth, this new personality of his isn't bad at all… but what do I say to him? I've never done this for real before…'

Kuno is also thinking about what to say next. `She likes the costume and the modifications… and she looks beautiful in it. She did not seem repulsed by my admission… but what to say now? `Tis a difficult dilemma…'

“Umm… Kuno… is there… something you want to ask me?”

“I… well…” Kuno takes a deep breath. “I would like to… date you. Would you… go out with me?”

Hearing those words come from Kuno's lips cause Nabiki to freeze up again. Some of her deepest feelings and desires are brought to mind… like the need not to be lonely. Several fantasies involving Kuno and him complimenting her looks also come to mind. `Is this real? Is he asking me out?'

“Are you okay, fair Nabiki?”

“Huh?” Nabiki blinks. “Oh, sorry…”

“As I was saying… would you like to go out with me?” Kuno asks courageously again.

“I…” Nabiki looks up and sees the sincerity in his eyes. `This is no joke… he's serious. He wants to go out with someone like me… and I'm not even selling him anything…'

For some reason, Nabiki feels an urge to “come clean” before answering his question. “After all I did to you… all of the money I took from you… you're still interested in me?”

“Yes… I know I was not myself… and was partially responsible…”

“But I…” Nabiki says, trying to explain. Kuno cuts her off, however…

“You admitted to it just now… your honesty proves that you regret it as well. If you did not care, you would not have said anything.”

The feelings of being sorry and regretful hit the young woman for one of the few times in her life, just like he stated. `This feels so weird…'

Seeing that Nabiki is blushing and nervous, Kuno decides not to press the issue. “I see that I have caught you off guard. Perhaps you can give me an answer next time we meet, perhaps Sunday? The props will be arriving in the morning…”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nabiki nods her head. “Sure… I'll stop by around noon and you can show me the props. I should have an answer for you by then…”

“That sounds good. I will leave to allow you to change back into your regular clothes.” After saying that, Kuno turns around and starts walking towards the door, he takes a quick glance behind him at Nabiki and then leaves the room.

After hearing the door shut, Nabiki walks up to the mirror and gazes at her reflection. `I'm so confused… he really caught me off guard today. A girl can't complain about a costume like this… but it was more then my request that caused him to make this. I'll have to go home and think about this…'

The middle Tendo cannot help but glance at the other pictures of herself on the walls as she changes out of the costume and back into her regular clothes. The debate running through her mind as she leaves is a simple one. `Do I want this? This new Kuno may be my type after all …'

As Nabiki heads home, she takes her time and thinks about the latest development in her life. She immediately heads up to her room and flops down on her bed. It isn't long before she falls asleep, lost in thought…

Across town, over at the Cat café, four of the five “Amazon” sisters meet up in Shampoo's room. Kodachi and Shampoo are already in the traditional Chinese dresses and help the other two sisters out with putting on theirs…

“Sisters look great for their own airen with these outfits, no?” Shampoo says to Kodachi while helping Akane.

“Yes… I'm sure they'll be quite happy with the results…”

Ukyo and Akane blush after hearing that. After a few more minor adjustments, all four are now dressed in the Chinese fashion. Ukyo and Akane walk up to the mirror and look at the results…

“Akane and Ukyo like dress, right? Shampoo spend lot of free time working on them…”

“It's very nice…” Akane says as she gently touches the fabric. “I really like the design and the fit…”

“Yes, it form-fitting… all sisters have full figure to tease airen…” Shampoo says with a wink and appreciating the comment on her handiwork.

“The little spatulas are a nice touch…” Ukyo says while looking herself over in the mirror. “I've never worn anything like this before… normally I umm… have support up there…”

“I understand what you mean, Ukyo… this style of dress is foreign to me as well… but it is flattering of my figure…” The Black Rose says proudly.

Wondering why Akane had not commented on the “added touch” that she had put on her dress, Shampoo addresses the youngest Tendo. “Akane not notice extra graphic on dress?”

“Oh… I didn't even take a close look at that… hmm.”

The other three women watch Akane as she takes a closer look at her dress. Her expression changes to that of surprise and a red blush covers her face. After rolling her eyes and silently shaking her head, the other women burst into laughter…

“Looks like you got the bonus design, too…” Ukyo says with a grin.

“Sister too too famous with mallet, Shampoo had to put it on dress…”

“Gee, thanks…” is the reply back to that comment.

“It is a trademark… like the Black Rose with me…” Kodachi concedes. “I can see why Shampoo would be obliged to put it on there…”

A moment later the door opens and in steps Ranma-chan. She cannot help but wondering what's so funny after seeing the goofy expressions on everyone's faces, except for Akane of course…

“Somethin' wrong, Akane?”

“No… it's nothing.”

“Ranma just in time for dress fitting… other sisters just put theirs on…” Shampoo says before opening a box on her bed. “Here Ranma's dress. See if Shampoo get it right…”

“Sure…” Closing the door behind her, Ranma-chan makes her way over to the bed and sits down on it. “Let's see what we got…”

As Ranma-chan changes into the dress, Akane remembers the reason behind her delay and asks about the test.

“How was the test?”

“It was no problem… it was kinda easy, actually. All the studying we did paid off…” is the warm reply back. “Thanks for your help…”

Akane is very satisfied with that answer and appreciates the compliment. Ukyo has another question for the red-headed martial artist…

“Did she grade it already? You got over here pretty quickly…”

“Yeah, it was graded.” Ranma's typical confidence kicks in as she announces the results. “I passed, had like a 92% or somethin'… no challenge is gonna hold down Ranma Saotome…”

“Congratulations…” Kodachi says with a nod.

“Good work, sugar… your hard work paid off…” Ukyo says with a smile.

Shampoo has a more humorous comment to share. “Sister Akane help you study… but you no distracted by lingerie from Monday…”

Akane blushes and Ranma-chan just shrugs her shoulders. “Naw… I just put that outta my mind and you know, focused on the task at hand.”

After making that comment, Ranma-chan finishes getting into the dress and stands in front of the mirror. Akane silently is very happy at what Ranma did and accomplished but decides to tell him that later in private. Instead, she looks at the mirror and watches Ranma model the dress…

“Hi-yah! Ranma look too too good in that, get lots of male attention…”

“I ain't interested in no guys…” is the reply back from the redhead, who pushes Shampoo's joke out of her mind.

“At least there's no buttons bursting on this one…” a grinning Ukyo says while admiring the dress and the little red roses sewn on it.

Ranma-chan is not amused. “Ha-ha. Still… for a girl, I can't complain… this looks pretty good…”

“I agree…” the Black Rose says to the new “Red Rose” Ranma.

Appreciating all of the feedback, Ranma-chan looks down and checks out the red roses on her dress. `That's a nice touch, goes with my hair. Hmm… I heard somethin' about the dress from the other three but not from Akane, I wonder what she thinks. I better ask her…'

Turning around, Ranma-chan addresses the silent Akane. “Hey Akane…”

“Yes?”

“What do yah think? Is it me?”

Akane happily nods her head. “Ranma… you look fine. Shampoo did a great job with your dress… and everyone else's…”

That comment makes Shampoo glad inside. “Shampoo very happy to hear that!”

The purple-haired Amazon proceeds to hug each of the other girls and then sits down on her bed. “Shampoo have announcement to make…”

All eyes are drawn the young woman sitting on the bed as she continues. “Airen and Shampoo leaving tomorrow for special visit to China…”

Ranma-chan has a question come to mind right away. “But I thought you weren't goin' back, because of the tribe and stuff…”

“Mousse mother want to see him, she no in good health. Shampoo want to meet mother-in-law…”

“Oh, I see…” Akane puts “two and two” together. “That's a good idea… but you two still need to be careful…”

“No worry about Shampoo, airen's mother live distance away from Amazon tribe… and we be careful…”

Suddenly remembering the notebook she brought with, Akane asks another question. “When do you get back?”

“Hmm… be back early next week. Why sister ask?”

“Well…” Akane walks over to her satchel and takes out a notebook. “Ranma and I found out something important that we need to share with all of you…”

“Yeah… we need ta talk about this…” Ranma-chan says, agreeing 100% with what Akane just said.

Those pair of comments get the other women very curious. They watch Akane flip through her notebook and then stop on a page about halfway through…

Kodachi is the first to ask- “What's this news you speak of?”

“Yeah, what did you two find out?” Ukyo says, voicing her curiosity.

“Thanks to Nabiki… we found out about a theft. Do you guys remember our first fight against each other… and what happened at the end?”

Akane's words make her former opponents think back to that time… and the result of that first battle.

“Shampoo and others all fall asleep… and wake up with kiss from Ranma…”

Ranma-chan blushes. “Yeah… that was me…”

“Do you remember something being missing when you woke up…” Akane says, leading into her main point.

“Hmm…” Ukyo snaps her fingers. “It was the weirdest thing, my underwear was gone…”

“That happened to me as well…” Kodachi says, remembering that details as well.

“Happen to Shampoo as well…” the Amazon chimes in.

“The same thing happened to me… but I happened to get this back recently…” Akane opens her satchel and takes out the bra Nabiki found. She tosses it to Shampoo and says “Look at the tag.”

The three Amazon sisters look at the tag and moments later, a menacing glow begins to fill the room as the three women extend their battle auras. Ranma-chan is the first to see this and tries to calm the group down…

“Yah see that it was the old freak that sabotaged that fight… and stole your underwear… but Akane and I got a plan of sorts…”

“Plan?” Ukyo takes a few deep breaths. “What kind of plan?”

“A plan to use his own techniques against him… and to get all of you some special training, like I got. I'm sure you three want to see the techniques I used against you…” Akane says, trying to be the voice of reason. A few seconds later, she can see the results of her idea taking hold in her sisters' minds as the auras slowly dissipate…

“Here's the plan…” Akane says while grabbing her notebook. “Let me know what you think…”

The youngest Tendo eagerly explains the plan for revenge that she and Ranma had developed and argue against immediate action against the powerful old man. The three women listen intently and after the plan is explained, give their approval of it.

“Is very cunning… and Akane's cooking very powerful indeed…”

“Yeah, good point…” Ukyo adds with a nod. “Having Kasumi bring it out is perfect, the old man will think she made it…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know my cooking is horrible…” a downcast Akane says to herself softly. “It'll get the job done…”

Seeing how depressed Akane has become all of the sudden, Ranma-chan takes some initiative and whispers a few words in her ear. Within a few seconds, Akane's mood brightens a little and she looks forward to Ranma fulfilling the promise he just made to her.

Ukyo has an important question about the plan. “One question, when do we do this?”

“As soon as possible, after Shampoo and Mousse return. I've already drawn up a formal request in the notebook, so I'll just slip the paper under his door when it's time. I'm sure he won't be able to resist…” a grinning Akane says while imagining the five pummeling the old pervert.

“Shampoo like idea, will be back next week to help sisters. Stop by on Thursday, Shampoo should be back by then…”

“That settles that. I am looking forward to implementing some… justice. I will have the necessary powder handy as well…” Kodachi says with a glint in her eye.

“Sounds good then. We'll meet here again on Thursday…”

Akane begins packing her stuff back into her satchel and after discussing a few more things, the Amazon sisters go their own separate ways. On the walk back to the Tendo house, both Akane and Ranma-chan get some curious looks and some whistling, which both play off and ignore, though Akane does blush a little.

Upon arriving back, the pair find Soun, Nodoka, and Genma waiting for them at the dining table.

“Sit down you two, you're just in time for dinner…” Nodoka says, motioning to the empty seats next to her.

Akane and Ranma-chan do just that and watch Kasumi bring several plates of food into the room. Happosai comes bounding in and sits down at the table, his eyes taking glances at the tight fitting outfits Ranma and Akane are wearing as he eats.

The two Amazons are not oblivious to the old man's stares but do their best to ignore them. One question does come to mind, however…

”Where's Nabiki?” the youngest Tendo asks, wondering where her older sister was.

“I'm bringing her food up later, she said that she was tired…” Kasumi says, remembering her younger sisters' words from earlier. “She'll be fine…”

“I must say, Ranma, you look like quite the lady in that dress…” Nodoka says after getting a better look at it. “I hope you're going to be acting properly when wearing that…”

“Of course I am…” is the immediate reply. “Akane and I all ready had that guys whistling at us on the way back, but we ignored `em…”

“I guess mine is an eye-catcher, too…” Akane says before returning to her meal. `I wonder what Ranma thinks of it? I'm going to ask him after dinner…'

“That's a very nice dress, Akane…” Soun says, wanting to complement his daughter. “Shampoo did a really nice job… same goes for yours, Ranma…”

“Thanks, Dad…”

“Yeah, for the girl me, it's pretty good…” Ranma-chan says before finishing the last of her food. “I'm done… I'm gonna take a shower and change out of this dress…”

“Sweeto!” the old man exclaims and hops at Ranma-chan as soon as she stands up… but is elbowed down to the ground by the redhead. “I didn't say you could come with me!”

“But Ranma!” the old man says while struggling to raise himself off the floor.

“No buts!”

With that, Ranma-chan quickly takes her leave. Akane finishes eating a few minutes later and takes her leave, waiting upstairs in her room for Ranma. It isn't very long before the martial artist makes his appearance known with a series of knocks on her door.

“Hey, can I come in?”

“Sure!” Akane says, not wanting to sound too excited.

Ranma enters the room and closes the door behind him. He's surprised to see Akane is still wearing her new dress… and cannot help stare at her some more because of it.

“I see you like the dress…” she says, noticing his stares.

“Yeah, it's nice…” he says while moving closer. “I know Shampoo must like yah if she took the time to add these mallets…” Ranma gently tugs on the sleeve of her dress and feels the fabric with his fingers. “That dress was comfortable, I could handle that when I'm a girl…”

“I like my dress… and you like it… so it works for me!” the youngest Tendo says before looking up at Ranma. “There's something else I wanted to tell you, Ranma, besides that you looked good in that dress before…”

“Yeah, what's that?” is the reply back from the curious Ranma.

“Good work… I knew you could do it…”

“Of course… Ranma Saotome never backs down from a challenge!” Ranma says with pride. “I did have some help, though… from a certain tomboy…”

“Hmm… looks like I saved you again, huh?” a grinning Akane says in response to that.

Ranma suddenly remembers something. “You did tell me that you wanted a partner that was good in school, right?”

“That's right…” Akane says with a nod. “You remember…”

“Of course… and I promise to help yah out in return. It was kinda fun workin' with yah this past week…” Ranma admits aloud.

“I liked it too… and I want to congratulate you so…”

Before Ranma can ask “How?” Akane makes her move, pressing her lips against his in a deep, passionate kiss. Ranma feels her deliberately pressing her body against his, especially her chest.

`She's really getting into this… this is definitely worth all of the studying that I did…' is the thought passing through Ranma's mind as he wraps his arms around her. His hands gently massage her back as the kissing continues, which is a bonus for Ranma, since he gets to feel the soft fabric of the dress against his fingers.

“Good job…” Akane says softly after pulling her lips away from his. Ranma doesn't want to let go quite yet, however, and gives her behind a gentle squeeze.

“What was that for?” the blushing Tendo exclaims out of curiosity, secretly enjoying the bold move by her fiancée.

“That was my thank you for your help…” is the blushing reply back. “I think you look very… sexy in that dress…”

“I'll keep that in mind…” Akane says with a wink. “I don't mind the mallets being on the dress after hearing that from you…”

“Speakin' of that, just how do you summon that thing?” Ranma says, referring to Akane's ability to summon the mallet out of thin air.

“A girl can't spill all of her secrets, even to her fiancée…”

Ranma is not happy to hear that. “Aww man…”

“It's really not important, Ranma. We've got other problems to deal with… but I'm glad everyone agreed to the plan.” Akane grins. “You and I are pretty sneaky, you know… first we get Nabiki and Kuno interested in each other… and now this…” The last words are said softly, in case anyone is listening.

“I think he asked her out or somethin', your sister ain't one to skip a meal…”

“It could be that… or she really liked the dress he ordered for her… or maybe both. Love… is a topic that was new to me… and I'm sure is new for her…”

“Yeah, she probably needs to figure things out, yah know, like we did…” Ranma says softly.

Akane says nothing but rests her head against him, enjoying the intimacy of the moment. The pair are silent for a while and then Akane reminds Ranma about school- “Don't forget, you have to keep it up, you don't want to waste your hard work…”

“Don't worry, I ain't gonna let you down…”

End Part B.

Begin Part C.

Later that same evening, across town at Uc-chan's café, Ukyo is wrapping up business for the night. She begins clearing the last tables in the back while Ryoga clears the front tables. The brunette chef catches him glancing at her several times during the course of the clean-up… with the attention seeming to focus more on her behind then her front side.

“We had some pretty good business tonight, huh?” Ukyo says happily. “I haven't had a profitable night like this in a long time…”

“Yeah, it was pretty busy. I think I know why, though…”

Ukyo grins. “Tell me then…”

“It was you… all the guys were staring at you… and all the women were giving you compliments on the dress…” Ryoga admits, holding back some of his feelings. Ukyo sees right through his comment, however.

“It was me, I suppose… but you aren't jealous of all the attention I'm getting, are you?” Ukyo says as she puts the last of the dishes into the sink.

“Well, yes… I mean no… I mean…”

“Oh come on, I know you like what I'm wearing too… but let's cut to the chase. You know I'm not the type to cheat on anyone… you are my boyfriend, right? I'm faithful to you one hundred percent…” Ukyo says with a nod. “Never doubt that, sugar.”

“I believe you… it's just hard, you know… to not notice the other guys staring, that's all. You're my girlfriend…”

“Aww… you're being protective of me, that's sweet…” Ukyo leans over and gives Ryoga a kiss on the cheek. “Can you start on these dishes? I'll change real quick and come down and help you out…”

“Sure… but before you go… umm…” Ryoga blushes and then nervous turns away.

That response makes Ukyo curious. “What is it?”

“Can I… give you a hug?”

Ukyo shrugs her shoulders. “Ryoga, you don't need to ask permission for that…”

“Okay…”

The lost boy moves closer and then pulls the young woman into a very close, intimate embrace. She lets out a soft sigh and lets her body relax and enjoy the feeling of being close to her boyfriend.

“That feels good…” she exclaims while he begins rubbing her back.

“Your dress… it's so soft… it feels like silk.” Ryoga observes as his hands wander around her back.

“It probably is… this is one of the most comfortable dresses that I've ever worn… and I look good in it, too…”

“You can say that again… err, I mean… you look nice…” a blushing Ryoga says.

`He really likes me in this dress… it is very girly. I'm starting to get used to this `girly' stuff… thank you, Ryoga.'

“Thanks…” Ukyo moves in for a kiss and plants one right on his lips. “I'm glad you like it…”

“It even has the little spatulas on it… Shampoo really went the extra mile for you on this one…”

“Yeah, she did.” Ukyo gently pulls away from Ryoga, who lets go of her. “I have an idea! Why don't have some kind of formal night once a week? It'd bring in some new customers… I'm sure word is already going around about the cute chef… and we could have you dress up, too…”

“Hmm… not a bad idea.”

“Maybe a suit for you? I remember seeing you in before… and you looked pretty sharp.” Ukyo says with a slight blush.

“Yeah, a suit. That'll be great… and then maybe afterward we could dance together or something…”

“That sounds romantic, sugar- I like it.” Ukyo then winks at Ryoga. “Be back in a minute…”

Ryoga decides to start cleaning up the nights' dishes in her absence. Upstairs, Ukyo carefully removes the dress and hangs it up in her closet before quickly donning a T-shirt and some pants and returning to the lower level.

“Thanks for starting without me…” she says before joining in. “Let's work together and get this done and then we can go to bed…”

“That sounds like a plan to me…” is the enthusiastic reply back from Ryoga. He has an idea for something they could do together tomorrow, but waits until the dishes are done to share it…

“Whew, that's a lot of dishes… but we're done…” Ukyo says while admiring their handiwork and the full dish rack.

“Yeah, I was getting tired anyway…” a small yawn interrupts the Lost Boy's thought. He then brings up his idea. “Say… did you want to go for a walk tomorrow morning, before we open shop? I haven't been out in a while and I could use some fresh air…”

“Good idea- you've been in this place for days and I'd love to take a walk with you… and then could eat out for breakfast. After all, we did make a nice amount of yen tonight…”

A smile forms on Ryoga's face. “Yeah…”

“Let's get some rest so we can get up early tomorrow… I'll change in the bathroom, you let me know when you're done…”

“Okay… I can't really get lost that way, can I?” Ryoga says with a shrug.

“I hope not…” is the teasing response back from the brunette chef before she dashes upstairs and grabs her pajamas. Ryoga follows about a minute later, after taking a moment to ponder his luck.

`It's not Akane… but Ukyo is one wonderful woman. I think this will work out better… she's sure got a sharp wit and she's a little less dangerous to boot. I hope Ranma knows what he's getting into…'

Ryoga heads upstairs and changes, then once again takes note of the bedroom setup. `There's only one bed… the spare is in the closet. She must really trust me… and want to be with me…'

“Ahem, I'm done…”

Ukyo decides to play the “tease” again. “Good… I was getting tired of waiting…”

Opening the door, Ukyo finds her boyfriend already lying into the bed on the right side. Their gazes meet and then he motions her to come closer.

“Umm… I'm umm… waiting for you…”

Saying nothing, the brunette walks over and gets under the cover. Just being next to Ryoga like this in close proximity makes Ukyo blush and realize the full scope of what she's doing, even if it just sleeping and nothing else.

“I umm… don't want to have any nightmares…” Ukyo admits. “You umm… help keep them away…”

“Same here… umm… and this is umm… more comfortable this way.” the Lost Boy stammers back. Feeling a little bold, he puts his right hand in her left hand and holds it. “Thanks… for giving me a chance…”

“It's no problem, sugar. I knew there was a good, reasonable guy inside… it just took a little coaxing to bring him out, that's all. How are you holding up… I mean with me an Amazon and a Saotome…” a curious Ukyo asks.

“Umm… pretty good so far. It's gonna take some more time before it all sinks in… these last few weeks have been crazy…”

“They sure have, they sure have…” Ukyo says before gently squeezing his hand. “See you in the morning…”

“Good night, Ukyo…”

“'Night, Ryoga…”

And so the day ends, full of many surprises. Saturday soon presents itself and the crack of dawn finds Akane and Ranma awake and talking at the entrance to the Tendo house.

“Ready to run?” Akane asks while tightening her gi.

“Oh, you bet I am. You're wearing one of my favorite outfits to see you in, too… a guy can't complain…”

Akane just shakes her head. “Of all the things that I have… you're attracted to me in a gi… go figure.”

“Hey, you look good in that… I said you looked good in other stuff, too, you know…” Ranma says, protesting her last comment.

“But the first thing was the gi… even before Toma's island… it all comes back to this.” Akane makes a victory pose. “I didn't have the black belt when we first met… but I'm a lot better then before…”

“Yeah, you got a lot better at the martial arts for one thing and you umm gotten…” Ranma's face turns red. “Never mind…”

“Gotten what?” Akane says, catching his partial comment.

Ranma decides to be sly. “Tell me about your mallet and I'll answer your question.”

“Nice try, Ranma… but I'm not giving up that secret.”

To tease Ranma even more, Akane sticks out her tongue at him and then takes off. “Catch me if you can!”

“Oh I'll catch you all right…” Ranma says to himself softly before giving chase. “Feisty tomboy…”

Some distance away, on the patio, the three adults watch the pair take off and then exchange comments about what they just witnessed.

“Looks like Ranma and Akane are getting along just fine…” Nodoka says before placing a “Go” stone down on the board. “Your turn, Soun…”

“I think you're right Nodoka… they're even joking around with each other and staying on friendly terms…” the Tendo patriarch says before playing one of his stones down on the board. “What do you think, Saotome…”

“Oh, I say they're doing fine… just look at all the time they're spending together… and no one's getting hurt…” Genma says with a laugh at the end.

“That's true… but someone failed to teach him how to deal with women in the first place… we wouldn't be worried as much if he was trained right before…” Nodoka says while eyeing her husband.

Genma begins to sweat and feel uncomfortable.

“Well, it all worked out in the end…” he says with a nervous chuckle.

“Luckily…” is about Nodoka will say back to that. “Our son is amazingly talented- that's about the only good that came of your training. Most everything else was negative…”

“Now, now…” the bald man raises his hands defensively. “Let's not jump to conclusions here…”

Soun decides to say a few words and interjects a comment. “It wasn't all Ranma's fault… that the two didn't get together at first. My daughter is very… energetic.”

“She's full of energy, but with a little help, Ranma was able to connect with her. They really are two of a kind… seeing them together makes me happy…” Nodoka says before placing another “Go” stone down on the board. “I do think he needs a little counseling about acting like a proper woman when he's in female form, though… I've heard of him being a little too… frivolous with that body…”

Soun cannot help but chuckle. “Well, there have been times… though they all aren't his fault… the master has a certain… attraction for the female Ranma.”

Unbeknownst to the trio, the “Master” was listening on their conversation with interest.

`Sounds like Ranma needs a little counseling as a female. Hmm… this will work out just fine. He wants to learn about the `special arts', just like Akane did. They all want to learn… this is going to be so sweet! I think it's time to order up those special shirts, just for this learning session. I can't wait!'

Happosai quietly tiptoes away and makes a quick phone call, setting his plan in motion. `Thanks for the invitation to teach you again, Akane… and your friends, too… Thursday will be so fun…'

“As I was saying, the `Red Rose' will need some training… and I think it's time for the two of them to go another trip together, when the time is right. What do you think, Soun?”

The Tendo patriarch thinks about his daughter and how things are going with her and Ranma. “Hmm… sounds reasonable. What did you have in mind?”

Genma says nothing but moves closer and listens with interest as Nodoka conveys her plan. Both fathers listen attentively as Nodoka explains her new “idea” to them…

Elsewhere in Nerima, at a local park, Ranma and Akane are taking a breather while sitting on a bench. Akane takes this opportunity to ask Ranma yet gain about what he said earlier. She moves her face right in front of Ranma's and says:

“I've gotten what, Ranma? Tell me…”

“You tell me first…”

“No, I'm not telling you my secret. You may be my fiancée… but I don't have to tell you everything. This isn't something that you need to know…” Akane says, not relenting her position.

“Fine, then I won't tell you how good you look when you're all hot and sweaty… oops.” Ranma quickly puts his hands over his mouth but it's already too late.

Akane cannot help but grin at that admission. “Hmm… no wonder you like me in this gi… it's because I work out in this, isn't it?”

“Mmmhmm…” Ranma says, still keeping his hands over his mouth.

“I'm flattered, Ranma… and since you've confessed something to me… well, I guess I can tell you something, too…” Akane's voice drops to a near whisper. “I like you the same way… when you're working out… especially without a shirt on…”

Ranma slowly lowers his hands as Akane's face turns red as a beet. “Really?”

Not believing that she just admitted that out loud, Akane silent nods her head. The pig-tailed martial artist gets a real ego boost upon reflecting on that comment and smiles. “I'm glad to here that… I am good lookin' guy after all…”

Once again, Akane nods her head and says nothing.

“There ain't nothin' to be embarrassed about, Akane. I look good… and so do you…”

“Thanks, Ranma… for being honest.”

“Hey, we gotta talk things out, that was one of the problems before, right?” Ranma says while remembering his mothers' advice.

“Yeah, it was… too much yelling and not enough… listening…” Akane says while leaning against Ranma. “Let's sit here and enjoy the weather together, Ranma…”

“Okay…” Ranma says before closing his eyes. “It is a nice day…”

The two spend nearly half an hour relaxing and just enjoying each others' presence before taking off again. On their return route back to the house, a special alleyway grows ever close, both teens see it coming and stop… though it's Ranma that takes the lead and gently pulls Akane off the street and into the relative privacy that this particular place offers.

“Someone wants a hug… or a kiss…” Akane teases.

“What about both?” Ranma says while pulling her into a hug. “I don't know what it is about yah… but you really got a hold of me, tomboy…”

“Same here, my baka… my life has been one adventure after another since we first met…”

“Ain't that the truth…”

The two move in for a passionate kiss and then silently hold the other. Ranma decides to answer her question by whispering in her ear.

“About what I said earlier, umm… I was saying that you've gotten cuter and ummm… more sexy since I first met you…”

Both teens blush at that admission, Akane in particular is very happy to hear that but is a little embarrassed about it. `He thinks of me in that way… and I do the same for him… he is handsome and strong…'

“Ranma… I think the same thing about you…” Akane whispers back. “Do you remember the day you first arrived?”

“Of course…” Ranma grins. “Yah know- we accidentally saw each other naked… twice.”

“Yeah, ummm… we did… I guess we're both perverts, huh?”

“I guess so… right from the start…” Ranma says with a sly grin. He then gently runs his fingers through Akane's hair and makes a note of the change in hairstyle from the past…

“I think yah look better like this, with the shorter hair…”

“Yeah… that was part of my past… and my crush on Doctor Tofu. When you entered my life, well, I guess I gave that up. I just traded one crazy guy for another…” Akane says with a giggle.

“Yeah, yeah…” Ranma says, slightly annoyed.

“Come on, let's get back. I'm getting hungry… and I want to see if he accepted our offer…”

“Oh, I don't think we have anything to worry about… I know that pervert is probably jumping for joy at the chance to “train” all five of us.”

“Hmm… good point. I'll race you back…”

With that, the youngest Tendo takes off, with Ranma following close behind… both realizing the simple pleasure of a morning job and a little conversation.

Upon arriving at the main doors, both teens touch it and pause to catch their breaths.

“Damn, you run fast.” Ranma says while his attention is drawn to the way Akane's heavy breathing makes her chest look bigger.

“You too…” Akane then notices where Ranma is staring- instead of getting angry, she decides to play the tease once again.

“I'm certainly not flat-chested, am I?”

“No…” Ranma says while diverting his gaze into her eyes instead of her chest.

“Of course she isn't…” a voice exclaims from nearby. Both teens stop and look around for the source of that comment.

“Who's there?” Ranma exclaims, going on guard.

“Your new teacher…” Happosai says before bounding over the wall and landing front of the pair. “I've decided to accept your offer… and Ranma, I had no idea you wanted to work on the female only martial arts as well…”

Ranma shrugs his shoulders. “It is “Anything Goes” martial arts after all… and since I got that curse, I might as well us it… ain't nothin' wrong with learning new techniques.”

“Glad you agree. I've already made arrangements to use the dojo here on Thursday… and I've even ordered up some special training outfits for you five…”

Akane and Ranma don't like the sound of that at all. Ranma is the first to protest. “I ain't wearing anything perverted or any lingerie for you, so don't even try!”

“Yeah, this is supposed to be martial arts, not a groping session!” Akane adds.

“No no… nothing like that. Trust me, you'll like the outfits, I've already ordered them up.” Happosai says, trying to allay their fears and not lose this chance.

Ranma stands firm on his point. “Well… okay. But if it's anything over the line, I ain't gonna do it.”

“I understand. Ranma my boy, you'll love these techniques. You could even use them to have some fun with Akane here…”

Akane rolls her eyes and knows that he's probably going to be teaching them some really perverted stuff. `It's all for the cause… it's all for the cause.'

“Well, I have to go… I'll see you two around…” Happosai says before bounding off down the street. `Those two will appreciate this training… maybe not at first, but they will…'

After the old man disappears, Akane and Ranma head inside and find Kasumi waiting for them. She heads into the kitchen and brings out some rice and tea for the famished pair, who ravenously devour their breakfast. Kasumi cannot help but notice how the two are even eating alike these days… a smile forms on her face as she watches them eat and wonders if she'll get the chance to bond with Doctor Tofu like Akane has bonded with Ranma.

Upstairs, Nabiki sits at her desk and relaxes… letting her breakfast digest as she ponders tomorrow. She picks up the picture of her taken on Toma's Island and sighs.

`I go back over there tomorrow… and he'll want an answer. I guess I'll look at the props first and then let him know. What the hell… I'll give it a shot. Let's see how this `new' Kuno treats a lady…'

To be continued in Chapter 15: Girls Just Want To… Learn Martial Arts

Hope you the reader liked this “Ginormous” sized chapter… over 13200 words in this one… definitely one of the longest chapter I've ever written, period. New chapter will be coming soon…