Disclaimer: . . . Maybe some other time. Just read the story for now.

Not A Dirty Word

Chapter Eight - Singing in the Rain

By Michael Fetter

Being lost most of his life, Ryouga didn't get to school much and even then he would be hesitant to read a story about love. Those sorts of things make all guys squeamish. He also had a bad experience with his mother when she told him a bedtime story about some gaijin named Rapunzel who let down her golden hair. He didn't need someone to explain that to him. He knew exactly what was really being asked. After all, a guy was asking a girl to let down her hair. Yeah, damned hentais!

Still, that didn't help him figure out how to deal with Ranma-chan. He couldn't believe he'd gone on a voyage of vengeance just because she was kind to him in middle school. Ryouga could remember it all clearly now. The watery sheen in the redhead's eyes each time he was mean to her when all she wanted to do was help him.

The fact Ranma hadn't gotten his curse until years later didn't come up in his mind.

"Oh, Ranma-chan, what a fool I was! The pain I must have put you through, but I swear I will make it better!" Ryouga pledged with a fist to the moon.

Actually it looked like a mirror ball.

"But what do I do now?" Ryouga asked rhetorically. "I won't let some little girl steal you from me, but how can I oppose such a sweet girl like Kasumi?"

"Sounds like a real problem."

"Huh?" Ryouga looked up and found he was sitting at a bar where the bartender had placed a free margarita in front of him. The man spoke with an odd lisp, probably from all of the lip-gloss he wore. "I guess."

The man nodded, his dangling earrings clacking. "You want to tell me about it? Maybe between the two of us something would pop up?"

Ryouga took a hesitant sip of his drink after pushing aside a few umbrellas. "Just this girl I went to school with a few years ago?"

"Girl?"

"We went to an all-boys school together and she would always help me out," Ryouga answered with a faraway look.

The man nodded in understanding. "What happened? Did she break your heart?"

"No. I just didn't realize what a wonderful person she was until now. It's too late though. She's got someone else now."

"Pish-posh," the man snapped and slapped Ryouga with a limp wrist. "Don't you know the saying, 'Nothing's over until someone pays the bill'?"

"Huh?"

"I mean," the man sighed dramatically and leaned in closer, "Love doesn't have a time limit and whoever your man is with right now it's the guy that's with him at the end of the day that counts."

Ryouga bit his lip and took a long sip of his drink, wiping away a little salt. "You mean, I shouldn't give up? But they're engaged."

"So? All's fair in love and war as they say."

Downing the last of the drink, Ryouga stood up, somewhat unsteadily. "You're right! I haven't lost Ranma yet! I didn't track her for two years just to come away empty handed now!"

One of the men at the bar watched the young Japanese boy rush out, waving about a large umbrella. "What was that about, Buddy?"

"Just had to set a few things straight with the new generation," Buddy responded with a smile. At the man's incredulous look, he sniffed and wiped at his leather corset. "Not literally, you fag."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Something on your mind, Saotome?" Nabiki asked idly as she noted the new attitude of her younger sister. The little heart to heart yesterday seems to have changed Akane's outlook quite a bit. Unfortunately, her little sister had forgotten certain things.

Ranma stopped beside Nabiki on his way to class. He'd been sullen since last night, trying to figure out what he had done wrong to get Kasumi to slap him. The two of them might be sparring partners, but Kasumi had never struck out in anger. She always smiled, until he kissed her.

"I guess," Ranma pouted. "Hey, Nabiki, what's a sexy, little victim?"

Nabiki was blank. Where had that come from? "Where'd you hear that?"

Ranma blushed. He wasn't too certain he should be talking about this, but was sure this was where the problem was. He wasn't good with customs and slang, so he thought he should ask about it. "Kasumi."

Nabiki's confusion deepened as she tried to place the question within some sort of context. Victim? "She said this to you? When?"

Normally red was something people associated with Ranma's cursed form, but his face was about to go supernova and Nabiki was sure this was going to be amusing. She leaned in closer when he said something. "What was that, Ranma? You were where?"

"Furo," Ranma mumbled. "Kasumi was getting changed and was talkin bout me before she walked in on me."

Nabiki smiled, amused. "Getting bold, are we? Only engaged a month and already bathing together?"

"It's not like that!" Ranma looked panicked and glanced about the area to see if anyone else had heard. Most of the people left in the courtyard weren't looking at them and Nabiki's friends were spread out amongst the crowd. "It was an accident," Ranma continued. "I was just washin up after sparrin with pops and I didn't hear nothin and she walks in, still tired. We didn't do nuthin except stare at each other a second. I didn't even stare. Not that she ain't pretty or nuthin, but I ain't some kinda-"

Nabiki raised her hand. "Alright. Alright, Saotome. Chill. So she called you a sexy little victim." She smirked; figuring that Ranma probably misheard. Maybe she could play with his mind just a little bit more. It's not like it would hurt anything. It might even help Kasumi out a bit. "Well, she did tell me she thought you were cute."

"Huh?" Ranma's ramblings had been derailed as Nabiki spoke. Cute? Him?

"Oh yeah. Couldn't stop thinking about you since you arrived. It's just too bad."

Though he would rather think of himself as handsome or manly, Ranma found some pleasure in being called cute. He wasn't vain, but it was good to know that Kasumi didn't hate this engagement. Ranma was sure the whole affair would blow up in his face considering how he and Kasumi were being pushed together. Actually, only he was being pressured really. Kasumi somehow controlled her father with ease.

Ranma was still preening himself when the rest of the conversation caught up with his brain. "Too bad? Whatcha mean by that? What's too bad?"

"Well, I mean," Nabiki glanced at the ground demurely, "You heard her. She was so happy to have such a nice, young man for a fiancée; she doesn't get out much so she doesn't meet many guys. And then here you are and you're almost perfect, but you could never really accept her."

Blink. "Huh?"

"Don't you get it, Ranma?" Nabiki asked with a sad sigh. "If it weren't for you she'd be the happiest girl in the world."

Blink-blink. "What do ya mean, Nabiki? What'd I do? First ya said she was happy and thought I was cute and now yer sayin she's upset bout somethin. Yer not makin any sense. Kasumi's happy, ain't she?"

Nabiki shrugged non-commitally. "I suppose. There's nothing you could do about it really. After all, Kasumi does the cooking, cleaning, and helps you deal with school, but she really shouldn't expect anything from you. It's her duty as the older person to take care of the little boy. But don't worry, Saotome, Kasumi's been taking care of Akane and me for a long time, so she's used to it. I'm sure she's prepared to remain at home for the rest of her life. While you have all of these adventures without her, she'll be happy to hear about them when you get back and just dream about having a real life. Nothing you could do for her."

Nabiki watched as Ranma's blank expression ran through several changes from concern to anger and finishing off with determination. "Hey," Ranma growled, "there ain't nothin Ranma Saotome can't do. Kasumi's done a lot for me since I got here, and I can do something for her too. You just tell me what it is that'll make her happy and leave it to me. I'm her fiancé, right?"

"Well," Nabiki bit her lip and looked him over. "If you think so, Ranma. That's why she called you that though. A sexy, little victim. Someone she liked, but who couldn't do anything for her."

"Don't you worry, Nabiki," Ranma patted her shoulder soothingly. "You just tell me what I gotta do and everything will be okay."

Nodding her head slowly, Nabiki pinched her side to keep from smiling. "If you're sure, Ranma. Meet me after school and I'll try to explain."

"You bet," Ranma smiled happily, already believing things would be better in no time. It was a good thing Kasumi slapped him or he'd never realized something was wrong.

As Ranma started to leave a cry rose up amongst the crowd as a familiar, young girl approached the school. Ranma tuned it out as he usually did since the first day. Akane didn't like him getting in her way. He was glad he wasn't engaged to her after seeing what she was really like. While they got along okay, Akane was a bit too violent for his liking.

As Ranma left, Kuno approached Nabiki from the opposite direction. There had been a brief 'dispute' over who Akane was engaged to, but Nabiki cleared things up since this was Kasumi's fiancée.

"Nabiki Tendou, was that not the cur Ranma Saotome that had just departed," Tatewaki asked, staring back at the school doors.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. After the Akane dilemma, Kuno found something new to fixate on that happened to include Ranma in order to get in a few fights. Unfortunately, the 'pigtailed goddess' was Ranma's and there wasn't much they could do about it. "You know it was, Kuno-baby. Something I can do for you?"

Tatewaki turned fully to Nabiki and stared at her intently. "How is his engagement to thine older sister proceeding. His eyes do not stray to the fierce Akane, do they?"

Nabiki laughed and slapped him across the face in the guise of innocence. "You don't have to worry your pretty head over it, Kuno. Ranma and my sister have been getting along rather well, I think."

Still trying to decipher why Ranma hadn't gone after Akane, Tatewaki shrugged. "That is fortunate. I quite remember your charming, older sister and would not wish to hear of some abuse."

"Now, now. You know that I take care of my family. If I thought something like that was happening Ranma would be in the poor house before he could pull out his wallet. Besides, he's a puppy dog and I've got my leash securely on his collar."

"Verily," Tatewaki stood uncomfortably in her presence at the mention of collars. She wiggled her eyebrows and he could not stop himself from blushing. Setting those thoughts securely to the side, he regained some of his composure. "Tell me, Nabiki Tendou, hast thou secured information on my pigtailed goddess, who I long to see?"

There was a thought. Nabiki took a moment to consider her answer for Kuno. She had originally planned to let Ranma pay for what she had planned after school, but it might be more entertaining to have Tatewaki foot the bill. "You could say that, but it will cost you. Let's say five thousand. It wasn't easy to get a hold of her."

The money was handed over quickly. "A paltry sum to bask in her vision," he said with a certain loss of intelligence in his eyes and a little drool at the corner of his mouth.

Pocketing the money first, Nabiki nodded. "I'll be meeting her after school at the Orient. She's got a thing for Chinese style."

Eyes wide, Tatewaki stood tall and pointed his bokken at the open blue sky. "And I shall be there to ensure her loveliness is wrapped in the finest silks!" Lightning flashed and ran down his wooden sword. A moment later Akane passed by, not missing a chance to crack him one in the balls.

"You are so easy, Kuno-baby," Nabiki smirked at the groaning boy and then skipped off to class. A happy Nabiki was cause for alarm in Furinkan and people got out of her way quickly. "Talk about getting my cake and eating it too." She smirked.

One of her debtors went pale and fainted on the spot.

"I feel like making some money!" Nabiki chortled to her frightened underlings. "Go round up some debtors."

Shrieks of terror sounded throughout the school day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Love is an irrational thing, Michael theorized. Not in the traditional sense that love chooses its victims, but from a different direction.

Before his banishment, Michael had a few off and on relationships. There was usually a common theme among the girls: short, dark hair, and could stand to be around him when he got moody. Sometimes it was like lightning and when it struck his heart would beat like an epileptic on steroids. Other times it crept up on him.

Yes, love could be random at times, but it could also be conditioned. Place any two people in a room long enough and they will either kill each other or fall in love. There is that thin line between love and hate after all. But Michael thought that even if they killed each other, some bond would have sprung up between two people.

Take Kasumi and Tofu for instance. The doctor was a gentleman: intelligent, well spoken, and levelheaded. For many years now he had been falling in love with Kasumi, probably since she was ten and first took Akane to the doctor after she got into a fight.

There was nothing wrong with the man physically either. Tofu was a martial artist with a strong, lean body. He was handsome and maybe a little bishounen. Though he was reaching his mid thirties, Tofu could have passed for someone in their twenties.

Kasumi's only theory for why he was in love with her was that he was a pedophile. While Kasumi would try to overlook such a shortcoming, Michael had a need to abuse the man.

"Swing, Betty, swing!" Tofu cried happily as he launched his skeleton into the air and caught it like a gymnastics routine. Patients had already vacated the area of his practice and quivered in fear behind any solid object they could crawl to.

Just behind him, Kasumi was running in little, delicate steps after him in her housedress.

"Oh, doctor Tofu! I think I have a fever! Maybe you should stick your thermometer in my mouth!"

Steam was pouring out of Tofu's ears as he pranced gaily into the middle of traffic. "La lala la, lala!"

Kasumi put the back of her hand to her forehead and nearly swooned. "I'm feeling faint! Perhaps a protein shot will help?"

Tofu hugged Betty so tightly the plastic ribs were about to break. "Hehehehehe!"

Kasumi tried to follow as the doctor jumped on top of a nearby fence and performed a series of pirouettes. "It hurts when I bend over like this. Could you examine me?"

Tofu balked and fell onto the fence. When Kasumi looked back he was hopping up and down on his crotch, somehow still spinning on the fence.

She placed a hand to her cheek. "Perhaps that was a bit much." After watching for a few more minutes, Michael shrugged and Kasumi decided it was time to continue shopping like she planned. "Well, that was fun."

Without the amusement of following Tofu around any longer, Kasumi thoughts drifted back to the night before on the roof. It was an innocent thing really, but it bothered her deeply, especially the body's reactions.

Kasumi hummed when Michael tried to hiss in annoyance at how tight the bra felt. Kasumi's mind was bringing up images of the kiss, some more imaginative than Michael would have thought possible for Kasumi. She slapped her thigh as a distraction. "Oh, I do not like him that much. Knock it off Kasumi. I'm not a real girl." The image continued to persist. "God, I hope I'm not turning bi. Stupid, traditional, Japanese housewife types."

It didn't matter, Michael told himself. When the fun was over he . . . she would be out of here. There was no way he planned to stay in Nerima as the Tendou's maid. The Ranma universe couldn't be limited to just Nerima and Jusenkyou. There had to be other things to see out there.

This wasn't the first time Kasumi thought of travel. If this 'life' was Michael's punishment then there would probably be other animes or something intertwined. He'd been pretty abusive of the Sailor Moon series as well. It might be fun to run into those girls and mess with their minds. Maybe Sailor Moon could even get him back his own body.

Still, he probably would have heard something about them if they did exist in this world.

Sighing, Kasumi realized she had to make more practical plans since it was likely she'd be stuck here the rest of her life. "What should I do when this is all over. I hadn't really thought that far. I'm definitely not staying. Taking care of father the rest of my life sounds rather dull and he'll probably try to marry me off to some guy."

Kasumi's body decided to flush at the thought and bring back the image of the kiss that had now somehow occurred in Paris with two glasses of wine between her and an older Ranma. "Oh, knock it off!"

Grumbling, Kasumi clenched her hand around her purse and continued towards the mall. "I could travel. Make some more money and see what else there is in this world. There has to be more in this Ranma universe than Nerima and Jusenkyou."

Kasumi paused when something sleek and powerful caught her eye.

"Hmm." She smiled.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma didn't fear many things in his life. In fact, he'd say he didn't fear anything. Well, he was a she at the moment and the building standing before her scared the blood out of her cheeks.

Ranma tugged at the hand holding her wrist. "Wait, I'm not sure about this anymore."

Nabiki grinned and pulled the redhead through the door. Ranma nearly passed out when they walked by a mannequin in a teddy. "Don't back out on this now, Ranma. You're the one that wanted to do this and it is for Kasumi. Are you saying you want to disappoint her after everything she's done for you?"

Wiping at her nose, Ranma stared at the floor with a pout. ". . . No."

"Then let's go."

"Hello, welcome to the Orient. Can I help you?" The counter woman smiled at the two girls. She was dressed in a nice skirt and blouse to make people feel comfortable while she folded some underwear.

Nabiki presented Ranma-chan to the lady. "Yes. We're looking for something that will make my friend look . . . womanly."

Ranma winced.

She winced more when a windbag started playing.

"So it is true," Tatewaki proclaimed as he stepped into the Chinese clothes store with his bokken out, "my pigtailed goddess wishes to peruse such feminine affects to catch my eye. See what you will, my fiery temptress, and I shall afford these delicate garments for thee!"

". . ." Said Ranma.

Nabiki and the cashier grinned. Tatewaki passed off his credit card and the woman nearly whooped when she gazed upon the platinum exterior. Not a card with platinum paint, actual platinum. She took his arm and Ranma's then led them deeper into the store. "Well, in that case, let me show you something very special."

It was pure hell. Girlie things surrounded Ranma. Some made her blush and others made her gag. Did dresses have to be so disgustingly feminine? They were all patterned and so tight she wouldn't need a bra. Only tramps would wear these sorts of things. There was not a respectable piece . . .

Ranma examined the silk garment with a slit riding up towards the hip. "This should be good."

Over the next half-hour the sometimes girl went in and out of the dressing room with a number of items 'helpfully' picked out by the cashier and Nabiki. Tatewaki was shaking too much to grab something, which was a good thing. He did offer his opinion whether people wanted him to or not.

Ranma walked to the mirror and spun like Nabiki asked. She was starting to get tired from all of the walking between the mirror and changing room. "How about this one?"

A wad of Kleenex shoved up his nose made Tatewaki sound a little whiny. "Your form becomes more splendid with every moment."

Ranma grimaced, but at least he wasn't touching anything. The girl in the mirror was pretty hot though. So she wouldn't hit him for being truthful.

Circling the redhead and pulling at the dress in a few places, Nabiki weighed her decision. She checked the running total and noticed Tatewaki was unknowingly purchasing about twenty thousand-yen worth of clothes for her and twice that for Ranma. "How about something that shows a little more back?" Nabiki suggested. Tatewaki was good for a few thousand more yen.

Ranma sighed and returned to the dressing room. The last dress was tossed over the screen and landed in a pile atop the others.

Tatewaki rubbed his hands together while his eyes glazed over. "Heeheehee."

The boy was leaned over in his chair, gurgling copious amounts of saliva that dribbled down his chin in thick ropes. The dressing room attendant had slipped several times already. Nabiki grabbed one of the dresses Ranma had discarded and waved it in the boy's face. "Bib?"

Tatewaki buried his face in the scent and nearly fell out of his chair.

Shaking her head, Nabiki waited for the next item up on display. She blinked when a new voice came from the dressing room.

"Where in the world am I now?!"

"EEK!"

Nabiki winced at the sound of a hard slap and then Ryouga falling into the room.

"Ack! Ranma!" The boy got up on his knees bowed his head down to the floor, smacking it against the ground several times. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't see anything, I swear!"

Full feminine fury, Ranma-chan can pounding out of the dressing room with a shirt held up against her chest. Her hands flexed like they wanted to tear someone's throat out. "Ryouga what were you doing in my dressing room?!"

Ryouga couldn't find a good excuse so he tried to be honest. "Looking for Calcutta?"

". . ."

When he wasn't hit, Ryouga peeked at her through his hair. "Nice breasts-DRESS! I said dress." Ranma's face started to turn red and Ryouga backed up nervously. "Is it getting hot here? Did someone turn on the hooter? I'm going out for a breast of fresh air!"

Throughout this, Tatewaki was dividing his attention between the half-naked Ranma and the words coming out of Ryouga's mouth. Coming to the right conclusion for once, Tatewaki grabbed for his long stick. "Knave! You dare enter my pigtailed goddess's presence unasked?! Only I should be permitted to witness her naked glory! Have at thee!"

Ryouga was busy shoving bandannas up his nose as he was chased out of the store. "Tits wasn't like that!"

The door slowly shut as the shouting died out. The cashier nearly screamed when she noticed the damage done to the store, but then remembered the card Tatewaki had left with her. Picking up a few of the garments, she told Ranma the dress did look nice and would ring it up with the others.

". . ." Ranma stared at the door for several moments and then sniffed. "Pervert." Snagging the next dress from the pile, she headed for the dressing room. A second later her head poked back out and Ranma glared at the girl howling on the floor. "Stop laughing!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Some new sweat pants and t-shirts were placed into Kasumi dresser when she returned from her day of shopping and wandering around town. By some stoke of luck she passed nearby a home that probably wouldn't be standing for more than a few more months. It was a little weary looking anyway.

"Kasumi," Akane whined as she returned home from school. Kasumi wondered where Ranma was.

"In my room," Kasumi called back. She finished putting away her things to receive her sister. The young girl moped into the room and sat on her bed without asking. "Something wrong, Akane?"

"Those jerks at school are still bothering me. I like the martial arts, but this is getting ridiculous. They didn't even listen to me when I said I didn't want to fight."

Kasumi frowned. Michael stuck out his tongue and pulled down his eyelid. "I'm sorry to hear that, Akane. What are you going to do?"

"What can I do?" Akane complained and tugged at her new necklace. "All boys are perverts anyway. If I talk to them they'll just think I'm coming on to them or something. Boys are such pigs."

P-chan walked by, pulling at his backpack.

Kasumi smiled. "I'm sure everything will work out in the end, Akane."

"How?"

Holding the girl's shoulders, Kasumi thought. "Baby steps. Nothing happens because you want it to. You have to make it happen. The more complicated the problem, the more practice one needs."

Akane thought hard about that. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to her considering she didn't need to work that hard to make a perfect meal. "I don't understand."

Kasumi pat the girl's shoulder. "You don't have a lot of experience with preventing fights, do you?"

Akane flushed. She did usually hit first and ask questions later, but boys were perverts and they deserved it. "How do I do that, oneechan?"

Kasumi noticed a few scrolls lying on the floor and kicked them under her bed. "Baby steps, imouto-chan. Baby steps."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Baby steps? Michael snorted. God, what was he going to think of next?

Kasumi sighed and considered the likelihood of Akane retaining her calm, rational mind when it next came to dealing with the morning mob.

Michael again collapsed in laughter.

It was a nice new day out. With the kids off at school, Kasumi was free to continue on her merry way. Yesterday she'd gotten a few things she'd need for training and now she was ready to pump some iron! Michael would stop to flex if he could, but there wasn't enough testosterone to get his body moving like that.

Instead, Kasumi hummed a merry tune that could have been a Pantera song.

"Good morning, miss."

Kasumi smiled at the nice receptionist and showed the girl her pass card. It was a nice training center. Kasumi had checked it's cleaning record before joining.

All of the assistants wore white polo shirts and tan shorts. Of course, being a random background character meant your description was going to be stereotyped.

The young woman smiled pleasantly in return after checking the card and handed Kasumi a towel. "Enjoy your workout."

"Thank you."

Ah yes, the Nerima Fitness Club, home to hundreds of different workout machines, free weights, yoga room, sauna, track, and an Olympic size pool. There was enough convenience here you'd hardly know you were working out.

Kasumi took a quick look around and headed over to the treadmills for a nice jog. Maybe some of those nice looking Nordictracks afterwards.

"Hey, I know you."

Blinking in surprise, Kasumi looked to her left to a tall man running beside her. He was another stereotype, but this one was a body builder. He was beefy with a crew cut and the IQ of Kasumi's tennis shoes. "Do you?" Kasumi wondered.

The man grinned and glanced at her treadmill speed. After adjusting his to her level and puffing a few times he continued. "I saw you . . . at the . . . fight."

Finger on her chin, Kasumi thought and could not remember meeting anyone.

"I wasn't . . . fighting . . ." he explained. "Had a . . . cramp."

That seemed odd to her but she didn't comment. It would be rude after all. "How nice. We're coworkers."

He chuckled and glanced at the lack of heavy breathing on her part with trepidation. "You did . . . great. . . . And that . . . guy . . . you were with."

"Thank you for saying so." She turned sideways to bow slightly and then continue jogging. "My name is Kasumi Tendou."

He tried to do the same and ended up slipping off of the machine. A moment later he was back up with a large red mark over his face. "Honzo Achijio, a pleasure."

That seemed to settle things for a little while. They both returned to running and staring at a few TV's hanging from the walls in front. When Kasumi hit the five-minute mark a sweat was starting to hit her so she hit the off button. No reason to tire herself yet.

The man, panting like a dog, smacked his head against the emergency stop and couldn't agree more with stopping just then. With shaky legs he stepped off of the treadmill. "So, Kasumi-san, will you be attending the next fight at the towers?"

"The towers?" Michael grinned. There was another fight?

Honzo nodded without thinking. "That twin tower hotel in Tokyo on the penthouse level."

Kasumi only considered it for a moment. She really did have a lot of fun the last time and she met so many interesting people. She wondered if Miyu would be there and if her nose was healed. Or maybe Dandruff, the one she suspected of being an Amazon, would still be chasing down Geese-san. They were all such helpful people, telling her where she could stick things.

"It sounds wonderful, Achijio-san," Kasumi smiled sunnily. Perhaps Ranma would go with her again. It would be like a second date.

Fortunately, Honzo missed Kasumi twisting her own nipple in anger. Taking a deep breath he stood straight and nodded his head. "Then I will see you there. I'll be betting on you!"

"How nice."

Neither saw the conveniently situated thug quickly slip out of the training center to relay this bit of information.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure about this?"

Nabiki smirked at the redhead walking beside her. Nothing gave her greater pleasure than to help her fellow classmates. Especially when monetary compensation was a part of the equation. Yesterday had been a rather successful day of shopping, replacing almost half of her wardrobe with new and expensive silk outfits. And the lingerie, oh my!

"Trust me, Ranma. Think of this as a practice kata."

The redhead frowned slightly, but swayed her hips just a bit like she was told and tried not to pull at the hem of her short skirt. Thankfully, she'd been able to avoid the fathers this morning.

Akane stared at the two girls suspiciously. Nabiki had told her this was somehow to repay Kasumi, but something still smelled fishy.

"Hey, who's that?"

"Didn't we see her yesterday after the fight between Ranma and Kuno?"

"She's hot."

Ranma blushed and at the same time tried to talk her fist of death out of pulverizing the male student body. Akane might be able to get away with it, but she wasn't like the tomboy.

The comments were affecting Akane as well. She didn't like the attention Ranma was drawing. "How is this supposed to help Kasumi again?"

"Oh, sister dear," Nabiki smiled saucily, "This is for Ranma as much as her fiancé. She needs to get a little experience with the field to properly appreciate Kasumi the way she deserves."

That didn't clear up anything. Akane wanted to ask again, but she didn't want to admit to Nabiki that she didn't get it.

Nabiki smirked again as the line was accepted. She couldn't believe how much bull she'd been giving. Martial artists are so naive.

Kuno frowned as he watched the three women walk through the courtyard, ignoring the wolf-calls from the students. That had been his pig-tailed goddess, but what was this talk of a fiancé? He'd heard the name Kasumi before, but from where?

"Hmm, mayhap this cur is naught but the lecherous dog who did force his way into the pigtailed girl's changing room the day before." His face turned stern and he pulled out his bokken, waving it threateningly in the air. "Thou miscreant, feel terror before the gaze of Kuno for his anger has been brought down upon thee!"

With that declaration, the school bells rang, signaling his lateness.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Something had been going on with Ranma recently. Kasumi tried to think of what it might be, but couldn't quite place her finger on it. They still sparred a little together in the evenings, but he had been spending a lot of time in his cursed form, not that she minded.

Perhaps Ranma was just finding it easier to get along with Kasumi's sisters as a girl? They did go to school together and there wasn't any engagement tension between Ranma and Akane so it was possible they were friends this time.

She wasn't dressed in her workout clothes this time, having a different purpose in mind for her day. She took care of most of her chores before leaving as the body mandated and now she was out for a little fun.

People smiled and waved to her as she past. It was weird how many people Michael knew in this world since he was more private in his old world. It wasn't just men either. Some women and young girls recognized her as well and would stop to chat. While Kasumi may enjoy the contact, Michael was becoming not just a little annoyed with the delays.

"Well, look who it is. It's Miss Pool Girl, boys."

Kasumi turned around to regard the men that had stepped out of a black Honda Civic. Gora must not be that high up in the Yakuza if he's driving a piece of crap like that, Michael thought.

Indeed it was Gora and two of his bodyguards, one of whom seemed especially pleased with himself.

"Good afternoon, Gora-san," Kasumi returned pleasantly.

"My boy tells me that you fancy yourself a fighter, girl."

She nodded. "Oh yes. I've been learning from my father and his friends. It's very good for the lower back."

The men blinked and Gora's eyebrow twitched with annoyance. "They say your good. You won the last tournament you were in."

"That's right, boss," one of his men jumped in excitedly. "She and some guy really wailed on a bunch of veterans and it was a huge take if you got behind her. Man, the stuff she did was-"

"Yes!" Gora cut in, annoyed. "Yes, so I've heard. And you plan to go to another fight this Friday. Is that so?"

"You hear quite a lot, don't you, Gora-san," Kasumi commented, tilting her head slightly. "Did you need directions?"

Michael was slightly concerned about what Gora wanted, but it didn't sound like he wanted to hurt her.

"No, I know the way." Gora flicked at the shoulders of his jacket and smirked.

"Flakes?" Kasumi asked. The man paused with his mouth open. "Dandruff is really easy to take care of with the proper shampoo, you know. Your hair is so greasy though. Have you missed a bath for the past few days? Mother always says cleanliness is next to godliness, you know."

Gora was openly growling now. "Money is closer. I plan to make a lot of it off of you in this next fight to make up for what I lost at our pool game. Understand?"

"So you'll be there?" A sparkle entered Kasumi's eyes. "How nice. Will you cheer me on in the audience then? It's so nice of you to come support me. Things can get rowdy though. Maybe you should bring your little friends along too. I'm sure they would enjoy it."

"Hey! Can we boss? That would be fun."

The other nodded along with the first. "Yeah, I don't get to see too many of dem fights. Awful nice a ya to invite us along, boss."

"We can make a day out of it! Start on the strip to picks us up a few girls, eh?"

"Girls! You betcha, man. The boss gets a lot of them prime pieces o'tail all da time."

"Wow, that's generous of you, boss."

Gora screamed and pulled out large tufts of his own hair. "Shut up, you numbskulls! I didn't say anything about you coming along!"

"Gee," the first thug pouted, "that's not very nice."

"ARGH!" Gora smacked both men in the back of the head. "Morons. I'm a bad guy. Of course I'm not very nice. It wouldn't fit with my image! Now just- . . . Where did she go?"

The three men looked about and discovered Kasumi had disappeared. Gora grit his teeth and rubbed at his temples to hopefully stave off the coming headache.

"Where did who go, boss?"

"ARGH!"

A little further off, Kasumi had finally arrived at her destination and was given a set of keys and a helmet to borrow. The salesman looked on bemused as the young woman hopped onto one of the sleeker motorcycles in his lot and kicked the throttle. They had a small track to test the bikes out for such people.

"WHEEEEE!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Nabiki watched her younger sister while waiting for Ranma to exit her walk-in closet. "Depressed?"

Akane sighed and played with her freshly painted toenails. "Sort of. I'm trying to get the guys to forget about the whole morning fight, but it's not working very well."

"Telling them you'll beat them to a pulp if they don't stop is certainly a unique approach," Nabiki commented. It had been kind of fun, spending time like this with her little sister. They had done each other's hair and make-up after teaching Ranma. Now they were waiting to see if those lessons had taken hold.

Waggling her multicolored toes, Akane looked about for the redhead. "So what are you and Ranma doing this time?"

Nabiki turned to the closet door as she heard some shuffling. "See for yourself. Ranma?"

"Comin," came the tremulous reply. Ranma-chan stepped out, wobbling slightly on her heels. "Well?"

She tried not to laugh too hard, but Nabiki was afraid she might bite through her bottom lip. Thankfully, Akane finished gawking and spoke, "You're heading to the circus?"

"What?" The cursed boy looked bewildered, which went well with the heavy blush and mascara. There had to be three coats of eyeliner on the girl and green was not an attractive color.

After a few moments, Nabiki composed herself and tsked. "Ranma, you're supposed to put it on lightly so it gives the effect of not being there at all."

"Then why do I have to put it on at all?" Ranma asked petulantly. He really didn't like the make-up. It felt like his face was going to slide off. The underwear and dress were also bad, but the make-up he really, really didn't like.

"To look better," Nabiki began with a sigh of frustration. "A girl can do a lot of things with her looks alone."

Ranma stared at her instructor with a little annoyance. This wasn't how she imagined things going. "I don't get it."

Taking a moment to consider, Nabiki snapped her fingers. Ranma and Akane were both watching her with obvious disbelief. "Here's an example. Tofu-sensei is a respected chiropractor for his calm hands and professional demeanor. But once he gets a look at Kasumi he's putty in her hands." Not that Kasumi had ever realized, she thought

Akane stared at her sister hard. "Is that how you got that family discount, Nabiki?"

Moving on, Nabiki swatted Ranma's butt. "Oh well. Let's see how you walk."

"How I walk?" Ranma did as she was told, slowly getting a hang of high heels. "What's so tough about that?"

Nabiki held her still after watching a few laps before her bed in embarrassment. "Tut tut, young pupil. A woman moves with grace and delicacy as if she weren't walking at all." Parading herself in example, Nabiki watched to see Ranma studying her movements closely. "Also, a woman needs to have manners as though they came naturally to her. Don't forget, clothes must compliment the figure to seem that anything you put on would make you attractive."

"It seems like a lot of work for doing nothing," Ranma grumbled sourly.

"That is the point. Making things look effortless hides the cunning mind of a woman. It's brains, not brawn that wins our fights."

Akane froze like she had run straight into a brick wall. For a moment she stared at her sister like she were a messiah of femininity.

Grimacing, Ranma pulled at the straps around her ankles holding the pumps in place. "Can we move on to something else? My feet hurt and I'm starting to get a headache."

Giving in, Nabiki nodded and picked up a few outfits. "Sure. We'll come back to that some other day. Why don't you go try some of these on for now?"

"I've already tried on a bunch of clothes, Nabiki," Ranma complained.

"These are special. So hurry up." Nabiki smiled indulgently as Ranma sulked back into the closet. "Men."

Still pondering what she had heard, Akane turned when something prodded foot. "Hey, isn't that Kasumi's pet pig she brought home last week?"

Nabiki blinked, wondering how the little pig got into her room. The door was still closed. "Haven't seen him around much lately."

"Come here, P-chan," Akane called sweetly. She was surprised when he turned to look at her and picked him up gently with both hands. "He's a pretty smart pig." She thought about getting her own pet after Kasumi came home with the pig the first time. Stroking his ears, Akane frowned at the bandana around his neck. "Nabiki, does this bandana seem familiar to you?"

The pig froze.

Leaning in, Nabiki couldn't help but feel the same as her sister. "Hmm? I think it-"

The closet door opened again. Ranma-chan came out in something made up of . . . very little. "Uh, is this supposed to be how it goes?"

Lacy bra, thong, garter belt, Ranma would be darned sexy if she weren't still wearing all of that make-up and hadn't attached the garter belt to the cups of her bra. Nabiki cackled and stepped closer. "Here, let me help."

Ranma blushed brightly as she let Nabiki pull at the straps, giggling things about. Taking her mind off of the negligee she stared at the piglet in Akane's hands that had passed out from blood loss.

"What's wrong with P-chan?"

Akane was starting to wonder about that as well. Maybe a pet wouldn't be much fun.

"Nabiki, Akane, little Ranma, dinner's ready!" Kasumi called from downstairs.

Ranma's eyes bulged, not wanting to be late for dinner with her father around, but also not walking around like she was. "Ack! How am I supposed to get out of this?!"

Nabiki smirked and opened the door. "Guess you'll just have to wear it."

Akane stood and passed the pig over to the redhead. "Here, Ranma. I think he wants you to hold him."

"Huh? P-chan?" Ranma stared at the pig for a moment, wondering why it was trying to crawl into her cleavage. "Whatever." Quickly donning her regular clothes she sprinted for the table.

Kasumi smiled at the pig and let little Ranma take care of him for her. The food was good as always, enchiladas as it was, and the conversation was interesting. Eventually Kasumi suggested Ranma take her out again on Friday, working out perfectly for Ranma's plans

Afterwards, Ranma headed back to Nabiki's room and continued her lessons and Kasumi cleaned up, humming pleasantly.

Nothing had been said about the ungodly amounts of make-up on neither Ranma's face, nor the pumps on her feet. Mainly because the father's were still in shock.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a good night. Despite Gora being in the crowd, Kasumi and Ranma had a fairly good evening in the fights so far. After a good dinner out, they had taken the train to downtown Tokyo and then walked to the hotel.

The ring was set near the top floor in a large open area that looked like it was set aside for conventions most of the time. Getting in was a lot easier than last time.

Kasumi wore a simple gi with a change of clothing in her duffel bag. Ranma kept to his usual Chinese outfit though he had abstained from some of the fights. He was watching her closely, but Kasumi didn't mind. Ranma was probably reviewing her improved skills.

"Hey, Kasumi!"

The girl blinked, but kept her eye on her opponent. "Yes, little Ranma?"

"I think I'm ready."

Kasumi ducked several punches and returned with some of her own. The man was dazed for a moment so she looked over at Ranma questioningly. "Ready for what, little Ranma?"

"To do this girl thing you want." He missed her stumble as he stared at his hands while a massive blush spread across his cheeks. "I'll show you how feminine I can be!"

People in the crowd started backing away.

Kasumi had stumbled to a complete stop and was unable to avoid the punch streaking straight for her face. She fell to the mat hard and did not get back up. Whether she fainted or got knocked out first is a matter of conjecture.

In the back, Gora screamed and stomped on what was supposed to be his winning ticket.

End Chapter Eight

* * *

In case you couldn't tell, that was a 'Kids in the Hall' cameo in the first scene.

Send C&C to [email protected]

Or visit my website at www.geocities.com/jehtek

Ja ne.