Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used here
without permission.

------------------------------
newRanma 15: Kissing

by Chris Jones
------------------------------

	In grainy, faded color, the film began to play.

	It was shot inside a featureless white room. Around the room,
there were many young children. A good portion of them were wearing
worn-out clothing and none looked too clean, especially in the poor
contrast of the aged eight-millimeter film. There was no sound to
accompany the picture, but Tatewaki Kunou needed no audio. He could
hear the voices almost as clearly if he was there.

	The picture panned until it came to rest on a beautiful woman
in a long, flowing kimono. She had short, curly hair and a loving
smile. At her side were two young children, a boy of about five years
old and a girl of three or four. Kunou couldn't help but notice that
they were dressed much better and were probably cleaner than the
other children in the room. They looked much less comfortable, but
most children are uneasy in any sort of formal clothing.

	The beautiful woman with short, curly hair knelt down on the
floor, holding her two children close to her, one loving arm around
each of their shoulders. The camera lingered on the trio but
eventually made its way to the front of the room where it focused on
a middle-aged man who was dressed in an extravagant tuxdeo. After a
few minutes of soundless speech, as recorded on the old film, he
pulled a dove out of his sleeve. Then he began to produce
handkerchiefs from his nose.

	The camera panned briefly to the children. The little girl
was howling with laughter and glee, but the little boy stared at the
stage as if in shock. His face was a picture of disbelief.

	Back up at the front of the featureless room, the magician
held his hands out, calling for volunteers. Kunou heard the man's
rich, melodious baritone in his mind's ear, and felt the gentle nudge
on the back of his arm.

	The boy in the film raised his hand, looking back at his
mother to see why she had poked him. The magician pounced upon him
and led him to the front of the room by the hand.

	With a little bit of fear on his face, the little boy watched
the magician tie a complicated-looking knot in a piece of white rope.
Then he handed the rope to the little boy and gestured to the
audience.

	With his hands on either end of the short rope, the little
boy pulled to demonstrate to the audience that yes, indeed, the knot
was solid.

	Then the magician put his hands around the knot and shouted
his magical words. When his hands came away, the knot was gone and
the rope was suddenly slack.

	The little boy stared in amazement, examining the rope. He
pulled it again, unbelieving. He couldn't understanding how something
so magical could have happened right in front of his eyes.

	The film continued for some time. Many, but not all of the
children in the audience got to volunteer to take part in the
illusionist's show. Each of the man's stunts were painfully visible.
His tuxedo-jacket was crawling with mice and birds. His pockets were
full of playing cards and foam balls. After the film ended, Kunou
rewound it and started it playing again. As he neared adulthood,
Kunou had no trouble understanding how each and every one of the
magical tricks was performed... except for that wondrous rope
illusion.

	Kunou remembered that after the magic show, but not in the
film, the little boy cried into his mother's lap in confusion. She
held him closely, and told him that it was just a trick. Then she
kissed his cheek. For some reason, that motherly token of affection
stood out in his mind.

	A single tear coursed down his face.

	Kunou tensed as he heard footsteps. He turned around to see
Kodachi standing in the doorway behind him and his projector. Her
normally lustrous, full hair was in disarray and her eyes lacked the
dark makeup with which she usually decorated them. Kunou's eyes shied
away from the fact that the silk negligee she was wearing was
indecently short, and altogether more translucent than he was
comfortable with.

	"Have you been watching that forsaken film all night?"
Kodachi asked in irritation.

	Kunou wiped his moist eyes. "I... I still cannot understand
how the rope illusion works," he admitted feebly.

	"Mother only explained it to you a dozen times," Kodachi
said. "Have you really been up all night?"

	"I couldn't sleep," Kunou admitted.

	"Dreaming about your pigtailed wench again, no doubt."

	Kunou's face darkened, but the usually eloquent young man had
no response to his sister's words.

	"She hates you, brother," Kodachi said. "I've heard the words
from her own lips. She's sickened by your twisted affections. For the
sake of God, leave her alone."

* * *

	The next few days after the incident at Kasumi's church were
tense for Ranma. Life resumed its normal course, but neither Ukyou
nor Akane wanted anything to do with her. Ranma was grumpy about it,
since she really didn't feel like it was her fault.

	Well, mostly not her fault. She may have been kissing back
when Nabiki jumped on her, but Akane and Ukyou had both really
overreacted. At least Ranma thought so.

	After several days, both girls finally quit glaring at her
nearly so much. By that Friday, Ukyou was making lunch for her again,
and Akane was speaking to her once more. In Akane's case, it probably
helped that Ranma was avoiding Nabiki so thoroughly.

	That weekend Ranma decided to try to smooth things over with
all her friends. She had a really great time the weekend before when
she had been invited to Hiroshi's house for a movie marathon. Both
Ranma's parents and the Tendous' father were still gone on their
respective trips so Ranma had a certain leeway in planning a similar
event. When she suggested having a get together of some-kind, both
Nabiki and Akane agreed that it would be a great idea.

	"But there will be boys *and* girls here, Ranma!" Kasumi said
in exasperation when she heard about the plan. "You mustn't! You
remember what we talked about, don't you?"

	"Sure I do. You'll be here, though. You can chaperone,
right?"

	"Ranma..."

	"Please, Kasumi?" Ranma pleaded, putting on her best 'cute as
a thousand kittens' look.

	"Oh, come on, Kasumi," Nabiki chided her sister from across
the room. "Don't be a such a stick in the mud. Live a little."

	"It will be fun!" Akane said. The last of her grudge against
Ranma seemed to have faded with the red-head's suggestion.

	"Well..."

	"If you're worried about... *consequences*," Nabiki said in a
naughty tone, "I can always stop by the junior college clinic and
pick up some condoms."

	"Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped, her hands going to her mouth in
horror.

	"They give them away free to students," Nabiki explained.

	"Absolutely not!" Kasumi screeched. Ranma had never heard her
use quite that same tone before.

	"She's just kidding, Kasumi!" Ranma assured her. Well, she
hoped Nabiki was just kidding. It was hard to tell with Nabiki any
more. "I don't think anything like that will happen if you're here."

	It took some time, but eventually the three girls persuaded
Kasumi that there would be no 'misbehavior' of any kind at any party
they threw.

	Saturday was a half-day at school, so Ranma took the
opportunity to tell all her friends to come over. Hiroshi and Daisuke
both agreed readily. Ukyou was hesitant, since she would be losing
her Saturday-night business, but agreed to come anyway. Akane told
her that she had invited Sayuri and Yuka. Ranma nodded happily.
Everything was coming together!

	After classes let out for lunch, Ranma sprinted upstairs to
Nabiki's classroom.

	"Do you mind if Taiyoko comes?" Nabiki asked.

	"No, that would be great. I was going to invite Kunou,
but..." she trailed off, glancing at his empty seat.

	"He called in sick today. You can probably still get him at
home, but are you sure you want to do that?"

	"I'm still trying to decide, honestly. I'd rather not have
him act like he has for the last couple weeks, but if he acts like
he's going to start pawing me again, I'd rather not deal with him at
all."

* * *

	Kunou didn't look very sick. A little sleepy, perhaps, but
scarily competent and alert as he sliced a practice dummy into fine
ribbons.

	Ranma was perched high in a tree behind the Kunou mansion
watching the kendoist practice. She was going to jump down and tell
him about the event she had planned, but watching his kendo forms
melt into more chaotic, destructive attacks was almost hypnotizing.
He had improved in the weeks since Ranma's surgery. She had to admit
that much.

	Suddenly, a large rock, about head-sized, came whizzing out
of the brush at Kunou's unprotected back. Ranma was about to yell out
to the kendoist, but he turned and batted the stone aside with his
bokken. Ranma had to duck as pieces of the stone came whizzing up
through the foliage toward her tree.

	Wordlessly, Kunou advanced on the shrubbery that had attacked
him. She slashed viciously at it, dislodging his sister. Kodachi
lashed out at Kunou with her ribbon, and followed with a barrage of
gymnastics clubs, each of which he knocked aside, or cut into pieces
with his lightning-fast bokken.

	Ranma watched the two spar for some time. Their attacks were
brutal and deadly, but she sensed that they really were just sparring
and not dueling to the death.

	Kodachi pressed her brother hard, using most of the dirty
tricks in the book. Worse, Kunou fell for most of them, leaving
himself almost entirely open to her tricks. Only his endurance for
punishment saved him, and eventually allowed him to overpower his
sister.

	In what Ranma thought was a rare move for him, he swung low,
feinting at Kodachi's legs. The gymnast leapt automatically, taking
advantage of Kunou's apparent lack of defense.

	The Kendoist soaked up the blows she dealt out with her
clubs, but was already in process of swinging one extended leg across
her trajectory. He swept her feet out from under her just before she
landed, knocking her on her ass. With a whip-like motion, he brought
his bokken to bear, lifting her chin with it.

	Kodachi froze, apparently unsure of how to proceed.

	"Do you yield?" Kunou asked, his breath coming quickly.

	There was no answer from Kodachi but the girl instead
directed a fleeting glance towards Ranma's tree. "Did you enjoy our
show, pigtailed-girl?" she called out. "Did our antics amuse you?"

	"The pigtailed girl?" Kunou said, lowering his weapon and
looking around him. "Where?"

	Still lying on her back, Kodachi took advantage of her
brother's distraction and swept his legs out from underneath him. He
fell with a grunt, and rolled.

	Ranma rolled her eyes and leapt down from the tree.

	"Hey..."

	"It is most... *wheeze*.... kind of you to visit me,
Pigtailed-girl," Kunou greeted her, staggering to his feet.

	"You two do that all the time?" she asked.

	"Attack each other for no reason whatsoever?" Kodachi
replied. "I sometimes get bored in this horrible house. It keeps my
idiot brother on his toes if nothing else."

	"Would that I could send you away, or that you would board at
that forsaken school of yours," Kunou said. "Then I could concentrate
fully on my studies... and winning the heart of my love."

	"Would that my Ranma-sama finally put you out of my misery,
Brother."

	"Please, please, please, let's not go there today, Kunou,"
Ranma groaned. Then she thought up another tactic. "You don't want to
me to be upset again, do you?" she asked in a threatening tone.

	Kunou paled while Kodachi snickered into her hand.

	"Seriously," Ranma said. "I was planning to get all my
friends together tonight and watch movies or something. You two can
come if you won't attack the other guests."

	"I would be honored to come!" Kunou said, dropping to his
knees, but not grabbing Ranma's hands.

	"You keep your hands to yourself, then," Ranma warned. "And
you," she gestured to Kodachi, "You can leave all your powders and
sleep gas and stuff at home."

	After Ranma left, Kodachi put a finger to her chin in
thought. "The pigtailed girl considers me a friend?"

* * *

	People started showing up around four in the afternoon. Ranma
had already discussed the situation with Hiroshi, and found that the
boy's parents had given him a new DVD player upon their return from
their trip. Together, the two rented several movies they thought the
people Ranma invited would enjoy. They started an action-comedy movie
playing on the Tendou's TV. Daisuke also brought over a few of his
own discs.

	He also brought over Saya, the girl he had met when he stayed
the weekend at Hiroshi's house. According to Hiroshi, the two had
spent quite a bit of time together of the last week. The girl was
nervous, apparently having been informed about the violent things
that tended to happen around Ranma and his friends. She kept a tight
grip on Daisuke's hand.

	Daisuke kept a firm grip on her shoulder with his other hand.
Occasionally, it became a firm grip on her waist, or even her hip, at
least up until Kasumi started to scowl darkly at the both of them.

	Akane's friends, Sayuri and Yuka, both came with snacks. So
did Ukyou, who also had her portable grill strapped to her back.
Ranma's mouth watered at the thought of so much Okonomiyaki. Taiyoko
showed up, nervous as always, and stammered at Daisuke for almost a
minute before Ranma took her by the hand and led her inside the
house. She greeted the Tendou girls warmly. Finally, Kunou and
Kodachi both arrived, obviously a little unsure of how to behave.

	Ranma was ready for this, however, and set them down near the
television with sodas and paper plates full of snacks. It was
something that would keep Ranma occupied, so she reasoned it had a
fairly good chance of distracting the siblings as well.

	After the first movie ended, Daisuke pulled out a copy of a
sci-fi action-adventure film that had been very popular a few years
ago. Ranma hadn't seen it before, and was really impressed with the
martial arts choreography. The acting was a little wooden, but the
quick-paced story and computer-aided special effects more than made
up for it. Ranma wasn't the only one who was enthralled with it,
since she noted that both Akane's and Kodachi's fists started to
clench up every time the female lead in the movie started to fight.
Kunou also started to shout encouragements to the protagonist.

	Ukyou was busy whipping out custom okonomiyaki the whole
time. She seemed only marginally interested in the movie, but was
watching it out of the corner of her eye while she cooked.

	After the climax played and the credits started to roll,
Sayuri pulled a disc out of her bag. "Okay! It's our turn now, guys!"
The disc she had produced contained a syrupy romance anime. After
just a few minutes into the show, Hiroshi and Daisuke had filtered
out of the main room, out into the back yard. They took up positions
near the Tendou's koi pond.

	Kunou followed them after just a few seconds. Ranma gave up
on getting into the slow-moving show after not much longer, and
decided to join them.

	"So, Ranma," Hiroshi asked. "Do you think our dear, dear
friend Daisuke is going to get his ass kicked for dating a junior-
high school girl?"

	"She's fifteen!" Daisuke protested. "And she'll be
transferring to Furinkan next year anyway."

	"Well, it's only about two year's difference," Ranma said.

	"Is it truly a problem of magnitude?" Kunou asked. "My father
and mother were wed with almost a decade of difference in their
ages."

	"And how old was your mom when they got married, Kunou-
sempai?"

	"Seventeen years."

	"Well, we knew the principal was a pervert," Daisuke said.

	"It was an arranged marriage," Kunou noted, but not really in
any kind of defense. "She did seem to truly love him, but love does
blind people some people."

	"Don't even talk to me about arranged marriages," Ranma said.
"Sometimes I think that my pops and Akane's dad were on drugs when
they decided we should get married."

	Kunou looked at her with a troubled expression, but held his
tongue.

	"Well, Saya-chan hasn't told her parents yet, but I think
they'll be okay with it."

	"Oh, she's 'Saya-chan' now,' Hiroshi observed.

	"So what do Saya-chan's parents do," Ranma asked curiously.

	"Her mom teaches first grade, and her dad's a cop."

	Hiroshi almost doubled over with laughter. "Not only is
Daisuke going to get his ass whipped, he's going to get arrested
afterwards!"

	"Cut it out, dammit!"

	"In all seriousness," Kunou advised him, "your age difference
will probably not cause problems for the two of you. It is only when
the difference is extreme or one of the parties involved is still not
considered an adult that problems start to arise."

	"Kunou's right," Hiroshi said. "We're messin' around with you
and all, but you're pretty lucky to have snatched a girl that cute.
You better hope Ranma doesn't steal her!"

	"You wouldn't, would you, Ranma?"

	Again, there a pained look from Kunou, as if he believed
everyone around him was making a fool out of themselves.

	"I have more woman problems than I can possibly deal with,"
Ranma noted sadly. "Just tell her to avoid pigtailed martial artists
and you should be okay."

	The boys went back inside when they heard a knock at the
door.

	Ranma was still halfway expecting Shampoo to show up, and
thought she smelled ramen. When she and Kasumi opened the door,
however, she was disappointed to see that it was a different Chinese
girl waiting for them. She was wearing a Nekohanten tee-shirt and
short silk pants. She was slender, but had the casual grace of a
warrior. Ranma realized that she was probably another Joketsuzoku
girl.

	"Nihao! This Saotome House?" she asked in atrocious Japanese.

	"It's the Tendou house, but I'm Ranma Saotome."

	"You Ranma? Goodgood! Shampoo-sister give!" The girl handed
the tray of ramen take-out she was carrying over to Ranma. Ranma
staggered, trying to keep her balance, and walked the tray inside to
set it down in the kitchen. When she made it back to the front door,
the delivery girl was already a dust-cloud a hundred meters down the
street.

	"She left this for you," Kasumi said, handing over a plain
envelope.

	Ranma opened it and peeked inside.

	"Ranma," the short letter read, "I really wanted to be with
you tonight, but I just couldn't get away from my responsibilities. I
hope you enjoy the ramen I sent. Love always, Shampoo."

	Shampoo had responsibilities? Responsibilities that were more
important that being with Ranma?

	Ranma was surprised and more than a little hurt. Still, there
were several dozen bowls of ramen to be considered. She tried not to
let it get to her.

	The shoujo anime was just ending, so she and the rest of her
friends ate ramen while 'Drunken Monkey Master 5' played. There were
compliments on the ramen all around, and even a few indications that
it was a shame that Shampoo couldn't have come.

	About halfway into the movie, Ranma and Taiyoko started to
chat.

	"You havin' fun?"

	"Oh, yes!" Taiyoko answered, tearing her attention away from
the movie. "I was really happy when Nabiki asked me to come."

	"Really? I figured your parents would have been really tense
about it."

	Taiyoko blushed slightly. "Well... actually, t-they seemed to
think going to a boy-girl party was a good idea."

	"Ah..."

	After the movie, Nabiki suggested getting the Monopoly board
out again. It was one of her favorite games after all.

	"That sounds like fun," Taiyoko said.

	"Ohnononononono!" Ranma shouted. "Let's not get into that
again."

	Everyone stared at her with curiosity or worry.

	"What?"

	"What about Charades?" Akane suggested.

	Everyone glared at her darkly.

	"That's never a good idea, Akane," Ranma said.

	"I brought a trivia game," Ukyou announced. "Is anyone
interested?"

	The trivia game was a good compromise. Ranma did miserably,
but not a lot worse than most of the other players. Kodachi did well
in 'Arts and Entertainment' questions and Hiroshi did particularly
well in sports trivia. Kasumi, Nabiki, and Kunou led the game.
Surprisingly, Kunou was in first place, simply on the merit of the
sheer number of history questions he answered correctly.

	"So that's what you keep up there," Nabiki kidded the
kendoist.

	Ranma smiled. Despite her almost definite last-place finish,
she was having a great deal of fun.

	Kunou was about to win when Sayuri decided to try to stump
him with an "Arts and Entertainment" question. She pulled the card
out of the deck and began to read. "Which action veteran directed
'Run, Tiger, Run', 'Hard Boiled', and 'Broken Arrow'."

	Kunou pondered the question for several seconds. "John Woo,"
he announced.

	Ranma blinked. She wasn't sure, but she had seen 'Hard
Boiled' at Hiroshi's house and thought that Kunou might have been
right.

	Sayuri nodded, a look of shock on her face. "He's right.
Kunou-sempai wins."

	"'Twas but a lucky guess," he admitted. "John Woo is the only
action director whose name I know."

	Since Kunou won, they let him pick the next movie. He chose
what Ranma thought was a boring movie upon first inspection, but
turned out to be a political thriller with a large amount of action
involved. The plot was convoluted, and sometimes hard to follow, but
the actions scenes were fluid and well directed. Her attention
wandered, however, when Kunou started to shift his seat so that he
was sitting directly behind her.

	Grimacing, Ranma announced that she was going to fetch some
more snacks. When she came back in, she made sure to give Kunou a
wide berth.

	It was getting pretty late by this point. Ranma noticed that
Taiyoko had dozed off, her head leaning against Nabiki's shoulder.
Kasumi was also starting to doze. She started awake every few
seconds, but was not paying very good attention to anything around
her.

	Out of the corner of her eye, Ranma saw Daisuke gesture
towards his new girlfriend. He winked, and pointed out the open shoji
to the darkened area of the yard towards the back of the dojo.

	Taking his cue, Saya yawned and stretched. "Wow, I'm sleepy.
I need some fresh air."

	"I'll come with you," Daisuke said in a tone that was almost
entirely unbelievable. He glanced once at Kasumi to make sure she was
still out of it. He had already gotten in trouble a few times, and
didn't want to repeat the experience. He and Saya got up and wandered
out into the darkness. They disappeared behind the dojo.

	"Wow," Ranma whispered under her breath. "Kasumi was right!"

	Kunou was also starting to wear down as the movie built to
its climax. He stretched and rolled his head from side to side,
yawning deeply.

	He put his arms back down, but accidentally reached far
enough to hit Ranma's soda. He sent it spinning, dumping most of its
contents in her lap.

	"Wonderful." Ranma stood, trying to estimate the damage. She
sighed. The wet splotches on her pants made it look like she had wet
herself.

	"By the gods, Pigtailed-girl! I'm dreadfully sorry!" Kunou
stood, and approached her, as if to help, but paused at the last
second. His expression was uncertain, and he looked up at Ranma with
a mixture of concern, embarrassment, and fear. Ranma realized that he
was still afraid to touch her.

	It was irritating, but at the same time, she really didn't
want him touching her.

	"It's okay, Kunou. Don't worry about it. I'll go rinse off
and get changed. Sheesh, you think being stuck as a girl for three
months would mean I wasn't nearly such a water magnet, but no...."
Ranma rolled her eyes and ran upstairs to get some spare clothes. She
went back down to the furo and started to strip.

	She was down to her panties when the door opened behind her.

	"Dammit, Kunou! Are you trying to convince me to start
kicking your ass again?"

	"Why, Ranma, what a thing to say to me!" It was Nabiki and
she was wearing only slightly more than Ranma was.

	The redhead gulped, seeing the brown-haired girl advance on
her in only her bra and a pair of panties.

	"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

	"You looked so uncomfortable," Nabiki noted. "I thought I'd
help you change."

	Ranma was frozen once again. Part of her mind was calculating
how to get out of the room without making it evident that she and
Nabiki were so close together in such a flagrant state. A much larger
part of her mind was locked very firmly on the firm swell of Nabiki's
breasts and the way they seemed to fill the girl's brassiere so
perfectly.

	"Eeep..."

	"You like?" Nabiki asked.

	As the girl's bra hit the floor, Ranma hastily amended her
thoughts to focus on how bouncy and pert Nabiki's naked breasts were,
and how firm and erect her nipples appeared to be.

	"Oh man... oh man... Kasumi was right. We shouldn't--"

	"Shouldn't do what, Ranma?" the girl asked. "Surely my
prudish older sister isn't making a big deal out of a close
friendship between two girls, is she?"

	"How close?" Ranma asked, her teeth beginning to chatter.

	Nabiki closed the distance between them, and put her hands on
the wall on either side of Ranma, trapping her. Slowly... almost
painfully slowly, Nabiki leaned against Ranma, pressing her breasts
against the redhead's. Ranma could feel the hard points of Nabiki's
nipples dragging across her own naked flesh.

	"Close enough," Nabiki answered.

	"Nabiki... we really shouldn't--"

	"Shut up, Ranma. Less talk, more action."

	With that, Nabiki leaned her head in close to Ranma's. Ranma
didn't resist. In fact, she responded, eagerly opening her mouth to
accept Nabiki's. Once again, the girl's tongue began to probe against
her own.

	Ranma's cares and worries quickly began to evaporate. Her
world turned the same rosy pink shade it had the last time Nabiki
kissed her.

	She felt Nabiki's flesh under her fingertips, and realized
that her own arms had wrapped around the taller girl's waist. The
palms of her hands were against Nabiki's back. One was so low that
Ranma could feel the top of her satin panties.

	"Heavens, Ranma," Nabiki noted in a quiet, husky voice. "Your
panties are soaked straight through."

	"Kunou spilled soda on me," Ranma explained lamely. She was
fairly certain that everyone in the room who was still awake had seen
that.

	She gasped out loud when Nabiki hooked her thumbs into the
elastic band of Ranma's cotton panties and pulled them down over her
hips. Her whole body was shaking but she didn't make any move to stop
Nabiki from sliding the panties down over her thighs. They fell
limply around her ankles.

	"Much better," Nabiki noted. She leaned up against Ranma,
pressing the redhead's naked back against the cold tile wall.
Forcefully, Nabiki ground her hips into Ranma's. She could feel the
brown-haired girl's satin panties crushing up against her thin, red
delta, compressing the hair against her skin. Her entire front side
was incredibly warm. The other side was cold from being pressed
against the wall. Ranma did her best to keep from groaning at the
powerful sensation. It was easier once Nabiki began to suck on her
lips once again.

	Her left hand slid sinuously up Ranma's side. With feather-
light touches, she began to toy with the sensitive surface of Ranma's
breast. Her fingertips orbited around the lower swell of Ranma's
breast, sending a cascade of lightning down the pigtailed-girl's
spine.

	Ranma moaned into Nabiki's mouth, but the taller girl did not
break the kiss. Instead, her fingers began to play across Ranma's
erect nipple. The sensations were intense. Ranma found herself
suddenly grounding her hips back against Nabiki's.

	As Ranma's bucking intensified, Nabiki's right hand slid down
Ranma's other side and in between them.

	Ranma's eyes opened wide as Nabiki began to gently probe at
her folds.

	It apparently took a few seconds before the girl holding her
so closely was sure of what she was doing, but when she was sure, she
began to gently slide her finger between Ranma's folds.

	The touch was like lightning. It felt more intense than when
Ranma touched herself. It was almost more than she could stand.

	Ranma realized that she was quite damp between the legs, and
that Nabiki's motions were doing nothing to stop that. Really, she
didn't care. She just wanted to make sure that Nabiki never, ever
stopped touching her. Ranma bucked harder, trying to encourage her.

	Nabiki broke their passionate kiss. "Take my panties off,"
she commanded.

	Ranma glanced down, her fingers already sliding into the
waist of Nabiki's panties...

	Polka-dot panties.

	The pattern of the satin fabric hadn't really registered in
Ranma's mind before. For some reason, it stood out very clearly all
the sudden.

	Ranma remembered one of the very first times she, he at the
time, had fought Kunou. Ranma rolled with one of Kunou's blows,
landing on the ground in front of Akane. He could clearly see up the
girl's skirt, and made a rude, stupid comment about her polka-dot
panties... panties that looked almost, but not exactly like the ones
Ranma was about to pull down over Nabiki's hips.

	She was shaking like an off-balanced washing machine now, but
suddenly she couldn't help but think how close Akane was to where she
was. The girl could walk in at any second to see what was keeping
Ranma. So, for that matter, could Ukyou, Kodachi, or even Kasumi.
There would be no shrugging off or eventual forgiveness for what
Ranma was engaged in.

	Ranma suddenly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she
pulled off Nabiki's panties that they were going to have sex. Not
that they weren't doing something pretty close to that already, but
it would be... irreversible. She would have tossed her engagements to
the wind. She would have completely and irrevocably abandoned Akane
and Ukyou both, not to mention Shampoo and Kodachi.

	She would lose her virginity.

	As a girl.

	Still shaking, Ranma pulled her hands back up to her chest
and pushed Nabiki away from her.

	"What?!" Nabiki demanded in surprise and growing outrage.

	"Just... I can't do this..."

	"Why not?" Nabiki asked angrily. "Don't you want--"

	"Of course I want to!" Ranma said. "More than anything else
in the world right now. I want to keep on doing exactly what we were
doing."

	"Then why don't you?"

	"Because if I do... then everything will happen at once,"
Ranma said. She was having a hard time trying to keep from crying in
frustration. "I'll lose everything!"

	"But you'll be getting me," Nabiki protested, leaning against
Ranma again, and trying to caress the shorter girl's face.

	"Please... please don't do this to me, Nabiki."

	Nabiki's eyes narrowed, her fury growing.

	Not able to face the young woman, Ranma pushed her way free
and ran out of the bathroom.

	She grabbed her spare clothes, and vaulted onto the stairway
so that no one could see her nakedness. Ranma ran into her room and
quickly pulled her clothes on. She tried to will the shaking to stop,
but it just wouldn't.

	By the time she made it back downstairs, Nabiki was gone from
the bathroom. She was nowhere to be seen.

	She walked back into the main room to see that most everyone
was dozing in one manner or another. She happened to glance at Kunou,
who had fallen asleep in front of the television. His sister was
curled up in front of him, her face nuzzled into his chest. It was an
incredible contrast to their antagonism earlier in the day, but the
odd appearance of intimacy between the two only made the feelings
churning inside Ranma's body worse.

	Kasumi set up in her chair, her eyes wide and staring, but
apparently not seeing anything.

	"Oh my! It's almost one," she said in a sleepy, dreamy voice.
"I can't stay awake any longer. Everyone has to leave now," she cooed
in a sing-song tone.

	Ranma noticed that Daisuke and Saya were still nowhere to be
seen.

	"Mmm..." Hiroshi seconded. "Yeah, I better get home. Let me
unplug the video player..."

	Ukyou started to stir. She looked up and smiled broadly. "I
shouldn't have stayed up this late anyway. I have to open the shop
early."

	Ranma suddenly remembered what happened the last time, and
turned away from Ukyou. She wiped at her lips with her sleeve and
came away with Nabiki's lipstick. Luckily, Ukyou and everyone else
was still too asleep to notice.

	Nabiki suddenly came down the stairs, dressed very nicely.
She was wearing a short dress and heeled pumps. Ranma wondered if she
was still wearing polka-dot panties. She stopped wondering when she
saw the killing glare Nabiki directed at her.

	"I'll walk Taiyoko home. She has a long trip and doesn't need
to make it alone this late at night," she announced.

	"Thank you, Nabiki-san!" Taiyoko said, getting to her feet.

	"Verily, 'twas nothing fair maiden," Kunou said sleepily as
he sat up, apparently trying to include himself in the conversation.
"Only the house Kunou has such lemon drops to sakura gasoline. Can I
see the rope trick again, Mother?"

	"Kunou's out of it," Ranma noted as her friends began to
leave.

	"I really don't want to carry this lump home," Kodachi
complained.

	"I'll walk the two of you back to your place," Ranma offered.
She helped the still-dreaming Kunou to his feet.

	"Come right back," Kasumi commanded as she drifted towards
the stairs.

	"And don't forget to lock up when you come in," Akane said
after she had seen her friends out the door.

	Ranma felt a fresh stab of guilt looking at her fiancee.
Still, it would feel good to get out into the cool night air and let
her hot feelings loose on the wind.

	With one of them holding either of Kunou's hands, Ranma and
Kodachi managed to lead the Kendoist back across the neighborhood at
a fairly rapid pace. It was just after they passed Furinkan high that
Kodachi spoke.

	"Really, was it necessary not to let me see my Ranma-sama all
evening? I really did expect to see him at least once."

	"Kodachi, how many times do I have to say it?" Ranma asked,
her mood dark and angry because of what she had been through. "Why
won't you admit it?"

	"Whatever could you mean?"

	"You know damn well what I mean. I *am* Ranma Saotome. I've
always been Ranma Saotome. I know that the both of you--" she nudged
Kunou roughly in the ribs, "--have seen me change before. Why can't
you just accept it?"

	"You act as if you believe your own lies," Kodachi said,
refusing to face Ranma.

	"And you act like you believe whatever story you told
yourself to explain how this damned curse works," Ranma snapped back.

	"Prestidigitation. Illusion. Magic... It's all a sham. I
might as well believe in Santa Claus. Maybe my brother is right," the
gymnast said sickly. "Maybe Ranma does get some perverse thrill out
of forcing you to assume his identity."

	"You're a fucking moron, Kodachi. You know that, right?"

	No further words passed between the two. Ranma left them both
at the gate of the Kunou mansion and ran back home.

	She knew that no matter how quickly she made it home that
sleep would not come easily that night.

* * *

	Ranma woke the next morning feeling cranky and irritable. She
didn't particularly feel like spending any time with the Tendou
girls, so she got dressed in her room and walked down stairs to make
her way from the house, hopefully unnoticed. Maybe she'd go see what
was up with Shampoo and why the Chinese girl hadn't come over the
night before.

	Her plans flew out the window when she opened the door up,
just before Nabiki was about to let herself in from the other side.

	"Oh, hello," Nabiki said in surprise. Ranma noted that she
was wearing the same clothes which she had worn to walk Taiyoko home.

	Ranma really wasn't sure what to say to her. What do you tell
a girl after you've refused to take her panties off?

	"Oh, did you spend the night at Taiyoko-chan's house?" Kasumi
asked, poking her head into the hallway.

	Nabiki nodded. "It was almost two when we got there."

	"Her parents must have loved that," Ranma commented dryly,
remembering how paranoid and easily-angered her friend's parents
were. They usually didn't want her to have anything to do with other
girls at all.

	"You should have let Taiyoko-chan stay here," Kasumi said.

	"I don't even think they noticed I was there," Nabiki
explained. "They were asleep when we got in and hadn't got up by the
time I left."

	"Well, that's something at least," Ranma said. She walked
past Nabiki, not looking back at the girl.

	As she walked towards the Nekohanten, Ranma couldn't decide
if she was more angry, disappointed, or turned on. It was probably
some miserable mix of the three. How could Nabiki be so thoughtless
as to try to get her in trouble with *all* her fiancees?

	She put the thought out of her head when she entered the
Nekohanten. Business appeared to be slow, but steady. Ranma began
looking around for Shampoo, but was distracted by a shout.

	"Nihao! Welcome to Nekohanten!" It was the delivery girl from
the night before. This time, she was wearing a short, Chinese mini-
dress similar to the kind Shampoo preferred. "Is Ranma!" she shouted
back towards the kitchen.

	"Uh yeah. Is Shampoo around?"

	The girl shook her head. "Shampoo? Shampoo no here." She
gestured to herself and the two other Chinese girls who just emerged
from the kitchen. "Soda, Cola, and Tea here! Ranma want too-too good
spicy-pork ramen?"

	"Uh... well..."

	"On house for free!" The girl encouraged.

	"Well..." Ranma was always a sucker for free food.  In
seconds, the three Chinese girls had ushered her into a booth and had
a bowl of ramen in front of her.

	"This is really good!"

	"Ranma have good hungry!" Tea, the delivery girl Ranma met
the evening before said.

	"I haven't had breakfast yet," Ranma explained, eagerly
consuming her meal.

	Soda or Cola, Ranma wasn't sure which, made a quick comment
in Mandarin. The Chinese girl blushed, and all three girls started to
giggle naughtily. Ranma thought that it was probably something fairly
scandalous.

	"What?"

	"Forgive, Ranma. No speak Japanese good yet," Tea explained.
"Soda say very pretty. Pretty as Amazon."

	"Oh..." Ranma said. Perhaps she was like Taiyoko in that
respect?

	"Soda say if handsome man as pretty girl... want to see man
Ranma!" Tea finished. All three girls dissolved into giggles again.
Ranma sighed. It just figured that all the Amazons knew about her
curse.

	After a little while she thanked her hosts for the meal,
saying that she was going to try to find Shampoo. She decided to take
the train ride to Minato ward and see if she could get any
information out of the embassy.

	She stopped in front of the guards on duty in front of the
embassy and asked if she could see Shampoo or Soap. The guards
apparently recognized her, because they called the embassy via two-
way radio. After a few minutes, Ranma was escorted up the landscaped
path and into the building.

	She was taken into a sitting room where Cologne and Soap were
apparently having morning tea.

	"Hello, Ranma," Soap greeted her. "I was just speaking with
my grandmother about you."

	"Oh?"

	"We were discussing something that concerned you rather
personally. Here it is," Cologne said, reaching down beside the deep
chair she was sitting in.

	Ranma's jaw tightened when she the old woman presented the
Kaisufu, the magical kettle that would unlock Ranma's curse and allow
her to change back into a boy once her medical restrictions had
expired.

	"Well, I'm glad you didn't forget," Ranma said.

	"Yes," Cologne noted with a wicked smile. "But can you defeat
me to get it?"

	Ranma's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Her fists clenched, and
her shoulders bunched, ready for battle. Doctor's orders be damned!
If Cologne meant to keep the kettle away from her then--

	"Just kidding!" the old crone laughed. "You've had quite
enough punishment, I think." She handed the kettle to Ranma. "I would
rather you not take it home with you," she suggested. "I don't think
it can be damaged, but I've witnessed the kinds of things that happen
at the Tendou Dojo. I'd rather not take the risk."

	Staring deeply into the ancient surface of the artifact,
Ranma nodded. She wondered how far she could get if she decided to
run from the two. Maybe she could find a bathroom with running hot
water?

	"Since it is a cultural treasure originally belonging to our
nation," Soap informed Ranma, 'I'll keep it here in the embassy. I'll
bring it back to the Nekohanten when you're ready to change back."

	Ranma nodded sadly, and handed it over to the ambassador.
Soon, she thought. Only two more weeks.

	There was a polite cough behind Ranma. The red-head turned,
suddenly remembering the reason she had come to the embassy.

	It was Shampoo. She had come in through the sitting-room was
wearing a conservative dress suit and subtle make-up. She looked
really incredible. There was, however, a look of apprehension on her
face.

	"We had a good time last night," Ranma said. "It was too bad
that you couldn't come. We all really liked the ramen."

	"I'm sorry," Shampoo apologized, "but this is a very busy
time for me right now. I'm about to leave for China again."

	"What?"

	"I may have a chance to save Mousse from his own stupidity,"
Shampoo explained. "There is going to be a hearing on his actions. If
he goes by himself, then he will almost certainly be dealt with in a
harsh manner. If I go with him, the presence of the ambassador's
daughter may soften the resolve of whatever tribunal gets hold of
him."

	Ranma couldn't help but wonder at how much Shampoo's Japanese
had improved. She was also stunned by how responsible the Chinese
girl suddenly seemed.

	"Do you think you can get him off?" Ranma asked seriously.

	"Probably not entirely." Shampoo sighed. "I can almost
certainly save him from a long sentence. I may even be able to keep
him from condemning himself with his short temper." She paused for a
few seconds. "I may be gone for some time. Months. Maybe as long as a
year."

	Ranma was stunned by Shampoo's announcement, but smiled at
her friend. "Do a good job, Shampoo. I'll see you..." There was a
tone of finalness in her words. Ranma realized that she was saying
good-bye.

	"I'll do my best," Shampoo replied, her voice catching a
little bit. She leaned over to Ranma and wrapped her arms around the
girl. Ranma could feel Shampoo's tears against her face.

	Shampoo pulled back gently caressed Ranma's cheek. She kissed
Ranma lovingly, once on the lips.

	"Was that the Kiss of Death, or the Kiss of Marriage,
Shampoo?" Soap asked seriously.

	"Ranma has made it clear that she wants to be my friend,
mother," Shampoo said. "So that was a kiss of friendship." She paused
for a second, and turned back to Ranma. "It could have been
wonderful," she whispered.

	Ranma closed her eyes, not wanting to see Shampoo's smile
breaking into a grimace of pain and grief or the tears that were
coursing down her face. After a few seconds, the light pressure from
Shampoo's hand was gone from her face. She could hear Shampoo's slow,
clicking footsteps receding down the hallway.

	"Goodbye, Shampoo," Ranma whispered, her voice catching in
the throat.

	Then the tears came. Ranma didn't try to stop them this time.
She let them run down her face. She turned away from Soap and
Cologne, and slowly walked out of the embassy for the very last time.

-----

~to be continued...