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"Hey, Ranma baby." Nabiki stood on the edge of the engawa, hands behind her back and definitely hiding something. Ranma couldn’t see it, but he knew that Nabiki had something there. It was probably blackmail. It was usually blackmail material.
Ranma landed on the balls of his feet first. The grass beneath him rustled but otherwise Kasumi’s carefully maintained yard was untouched by the practice of the martial artist. “Nabs,” he greeted brusquely. He rested one hand on his hip. “Whaddya want this time? I know ya used tha last favor I owed ya.”
She rolled her eyes, brushing off the mere idea that she would forget how many favors were owed to her. Granted, she was the type to keep that stuff in her record book. “Just looking to make a deal, Saotome.”
His eyes narrowed on instinct. His shoulders tensed as well, betraying him in the face of his most dangerous foe. “What kind of deal?”
“Oh, just a simple exchange really. You do me a favor and I strike out some of your debt. Sound good?” So far, yeah. Not that he would ever give her any confirmation before she finished telling him all the details. It was like dealing with those things that Sayuri always read about. Some fairy what’s-it things.
“How much of my debt?” He glanced around, hoping for any witnesses. Of course, there weren’t any. Akane was off studying with her friends, like she’s been doing for the past month. Kasumi always goes out in the middle of the day for errands regardless of whether her family had school or not. “And what kinda favor are we talkin’? I’m not gonna just do whatever ya want for a couple thousand yen.”
“Aww, baby bro’s picked up a few things.” The immediate scowl on his face only increased Nabiki’s amusement. She slid down and sat on the edge of the engawa, letting her feet rest against the cool grass. “Guess you’re not just rattling around a raisin in that skull of yours.”
“Are ya gonna explain this deal a’yers or not?” Ranma flexed his fingers for a semblance of control over his agitation. However, years of living under the same roof as Nabiki had instilled some knee-jerk feelings that he couldn’t hold back. Just like the ones he had about-
Nope. Not the time. Business mode. It was time to focus on this deal and nothing else.
Rolling her eyes, Nabiki kept up an easy smile. She conveyed nothing but confidence compared to Ranma’s guarded form, no matter how many years he had spent learning to control his body. “A couple boys paid me to find out what kind of boys their crush liked. Normally, I’d do it myself, but it’s a bit of a hassle for me to do it.”
“And that’s where I come in?” deadpanned Ranma. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to deal with a bunch of guys and all the slimy feelings that came with hanging around them.
“Bingo.” Nabiki snapped her fingers. “She’s going to a party on Friday and I’m oh so terribly busy that night. So I need you to get in, find out what’s her type, and report back to me. After that, I’ll strike out half of your tab.”
“H-Half?” His voice cracked but he didn’t care. Even the imagined image of the thousands of yen that Nabiki had marked him up for brought a smile on his face. All the money he borrowed, all the clothes he had been loaned and ruined in a fight, even the times he asked for he simplest of information from Nabiki because Kasumi was missing… half of it would be gone. He never even imagined being able to pay off a single yen. All these years, he imagined that Nabiki would come to him on his deathbed and take out every single coin she could get out of him. “Who am I looking for?”
Nabiki held out a hand and pushed Ranma back. He didn’t even realize he had taken a single step. “I’ll let you know Friday at noon. Just knock on my door and I’ll get you all dolled up for the party.”
“Dolled up?” His heart skipped a beat and he willed his pulse to remain steady.
“Course, Ranma-baby. What? Did you think I’d just let you waltz around with your normal disguises?” Maybe a little. He didn’t see anything wrong with his wardrobe. “It’s a Halloween party. Everyone’s going to be in costumes, and luckily for you, I’m feeling generous enough to provide one free of charge.”
He stared at her dumbfounded. “Free of-”
“Saotome Ranma, prepare to die!” Ryoga jumped over the wall of the Tendou compound, umbrella raised over his head.
“Aw, c’mon!” groaned Ranma. He leaped away, dodging the announced attack. Whatever it wasn’t like he was in a very important discussion or anything. “Ugh, let’s get this over with.”
“Good luck, kitten!”
Nabiki slammed the door shut before Ranma could yell back at her face. The muffled indignant cries were like music to her ears. But she knew that Ranma would realize it was a lost cause and get going to his little party.
She sighed and wiped away a tear that wasn’t on her face. “I’m gonna miss that little freeloader.”
As if summoned, Akane hurried down the stairs and up to her dearest sister. “Wait, where’s she going? You promised she’d be coming back after this. We had a deal, Nabiki.” Akane’s fists clenched at her sides, an easy tell that she never grew out of. Not that she would need to when half the people she spoke with weren’t threatened by her and the other half were too oblivious to notice it. “Ranma’s coming back, right?”
“Oh ye of little faith.” Brushing off whatever threat Akane imagined she was putting up, Nabiki walked past her sister and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, your fiancée’s coming back one way or another. Just trust the process.”
“Yeah because everything else I’ve tried totally worked,” grumbled Akane. Which, truthfully, wasn’t really any of Nabiki’s business. So the brunette grabbed a bag of chips and plopped herself down by the table in the dining room. “Do you really think this plan of yours will work?” Nabiki wouldn’t be going through with it if she didn’t think it would work. That wasn’t how she ran things around here.
Really, Akane’s impatience would be her downfall. Which was entirely why Nabiki slowly chewed her chip and made her little sister wait for an answer. “Of course it’ll work. Just have a little faith in your dearest sister.” She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Or have faith in your money.”
“Nabiki, be serious right now.” Akane sat down on the opposite side of her sister. “Ranma’s going to be fine, right?”
“Well, fine is relative-”
“Nabiki!”
“-but hey, either you’ll have a cat or a kitten in your bed tonight. Or tomorrow morning if she’s a tougher egg to crack than I thought.”
“That’s really not reassuring.” Akane’s hands were balled up in her skirt now. The poor little thing was expensive too, yet it received the same treatment all of Akane’s clothes received when dealing with her gender switching betrothed.
“You’re not paying me to be reassuring.” Nabiki pressed a chip into her mouth and swiftly chewed it up. Just that small bit of waiting had her sister fidgeting. “Look, that party’s filled with people who’ll be better suited to help than you or Kasumi. You’ll have your little fiancée one way or another, be it as a little princess, a kitten, or something out there… like a doll or something.”
Akane hurried to wipe her nose, trailing a red streak across her hand and cheek. “Good,” she muttered, voice trembling at the ideas Nabiki just pushed into her brain. Clearing her throat, Akane said, "So long as she's happy with it. I wouldn't want to, you know... do anything perverted to her."
"Perverted," Nabiki snorted. This sweet summer child. Though if anyone was going to be a pervert after all of this, it would probably be Ranma. Did she tell Akane that or did she just wait for Akane's genuine reaction to it? "Don't worry, sis. You'll have your girl tomorrow."
The doorbell rang.
While most of Azusa's guests milled about, ignoring it or not hearing the gentle chime, Azusa hurried over. Azusa’s heels made that a bit of a bigger hassle than usual, but Azusa was used to walking on odd footwear. Azusa swung open the door with a bright smile on Azusa’s face. “Hello! Are you here for the party?”
Standing on Azusa’s doorstep was a buxom little cat who hid her human ears behind her hair so it looked like the only set she had were the ones resting on top of her head. Her outfit was a fuzzy leotard that had a tail on the back. Attached to the end of the tail was a pair of bells that rang from just the swaying of the cat’s hips. Unfortunately the gaping surprised expression was not cute at all. “Azusa!?”
“Oh, you recognize Azusa? Have you and Azusa met before?” Azusa leaned in close to the kitty and grabbed her by the chin so Azusa could twist her around. “Azusa would remember a pretty little kitten like this one.” A grimace crossed the kitty’s face and everything clicked. Azusa knew that look of pain. It was the same one as that boy when she took the couple cleaver for her fiancée. “Oh, you’re little Ranni!”
“Huh? Rannie?” The cat looked confused. Azusa couldn’t blame her, it was always weird for pets without a name to suddenly have one.
“No, no. It’s Ranni, not Rannie.” The enunciation there was very important. Otherwise, this kitty would get confused for the little redheaded doll that Azusa kept in Azusa’s plushie pile next to the blue one. That simply would be too much for a kitten to wrap her little head around.
“I don’t really see the difference. Besides my name is-” Azusa clapped a hand over Ranni’s mouth.
“Uh uh. While Ranni is dressed up all cute and pretty, she’s Ranni. Got it?” The kitten’s face scrunched up in indignation. Oh, Azusa really didn’t want to have to punish a bad kitty so early in the night. “Got it?” An exaggerated exhale blew out of Ranni’s nose before she nodded. “Good! Ranni can come in and join the party then. Just remember, everyone has name tags for their character and if you don’t call someone by their name, then Azusa will kick you out.”
Providing the best example, Azusa gestured to the brooch Azusa was wearing, engraved with “Princess Azusa” curving around the edge. It was unfortunate that everyone else couldn’t be as cutely coordinated as Azusa, but at least Azusa made sure that everyone who came in was in a cute costume.
“Oh, Azusa knows! Wait right here, Azusa has the perfect accessory for Ranni.” Before Azusa’s newest guest could get a word in, Azusa hurried upstairs to retrieve a proper name tag for the kitten. She may just have to settle for marker instead of an engraving.
Ranni, left at the door, was still processing the new name and all the compliments that Azusa had for her.
Ranma pulled a face as soon as Azusa was out of sight. She wasn’t stronger than him, far from it really. He could overpower her and get out of this ridiculous party whenever he wanted. He just didn’t want to cause a scene when he was trying to infiltrate a college party and actually blend in.
Not that the kleptomaniac made that easy. She had pulled a Charlotte and locked a collar around his neck. He grimaced at the thought of the tiny heart-shaped padlock around the back of his neck. Combined with a tag of the same shape and the stupid name she insisted to call him, he was starting to see why this scam was worth erasing half of his tab.
It wasn’t going to last long. All he had to do was find some girl with light brown hair and a camera, make some small talk with her, get her to spill what kind of guys were her type, and then he could find Azusa and be done with all this stuff. Short, simple. An easy scam. It'd be no problem for a professional like him, even if one person recognized him in this entire party. Azusa never actually used someone's actual name anyway so it wouldn't be an issue.
All he had to do was look out for a brunette with a camera. That was all. Ranma scanned the room, glossing over the college students in miscellaneous costumes. He catalogued the princess and prince costumes in his head, noted the oddly high amount of them for a costume party, and moved on.
"Oh mah gosh! Ish ah kibby!" Some girl in a ballerina outfit grabbed Ranma, pulling him against her chest. She smothered his head, petting him a bit too heavy-handed to be any amount of comfortable. "Sooo cute."
"Hey, whaddya think yer doin'?" Ranma shoved the girl away, sending her sprawling into three of her friends. Thankfully they caught her before they crashed into the ground. Unfortunately, the three other girls looked at her a little strangely. "Ah, I mean—please don't do that. I'm not good with, um, hugs."
"You're friends with Azusa and you're not good with hugs?" asked the one in the blue sailor fuku. Although why they would wear skimpy uniforms with giant boots was somewhat beyond Ranma. The blue one sauntered over to Ranma and gave him a once over. "Oh, you're one of those friends." She hinted at something that Ranma had no hope of playing along with.
But he wasn't the best scam artist in Nerima for nothing. Shaking off any surprise he had, he pushed his pointer fingers together and looked shyly at the ground. "Yeah, Azusa's a real good friend." He wanted to hurl saying that. "I've known her for a couple years and she always has the cutest outfits. She's always, like, the most adorable person in the room, you know?"
"Definitely one of Azusa's," giggled the blue girl. Slinging an arm around Ranma's shoulder, the girl dragged him closer to her friends who were wearing a similar costume to her except in green and red. "C'mon, you just got here, right?"
"Y-Yeah." Ranma didn't know if he was faking that stutter. He just had to lean into the kind of person who would be friends with Azusa. Super easy. He could do it. "Sorry I'm late. I got a bit turned around on my way here. There was just the prettiest dress on display and I couldn't not look at it."
Blue giggled again. "Oh really? You'll have to tell us about it on the couch." She gestured toward a plush leather couch sitting against the wall. Being that the Shiratori house was brimming with party guests, it was no surprise that the couch was filled with costumed couplings. "Makoto, mind grabbing a drink for the new girl?"
The girl in the green fuku flashed a piece sign and disappeared into the crowd. The one in red hoisted up the drunk ballerina until she was wobbly on her feet. "I'll drag her over to Gustave. Be back in a bit."
Gustave? Makoto was a pretty regular name. Gustave seemed like one of the names that Azusa would give someone or something. Maybe Gustave was an object and everyone else merely wrote their own names and went along with Azusa's naming thing. Wait, Azusa gave him the name Ranni so did that mean-
"Oh, hey! A Luna!" A girl wearing a blonde wig tackled Ranma into the couch, snuggling her face into his chest. "So warm," giggled the twintailed assailant. She nuzzled her face against the fuzzy leotard Ranma was wearing.
He wanted to throw her off, but this was ostensibly a regular person. What was with people trying to hug him?"Do you mind?" he hissed instead. At least the couch was comfy. The cushions were way bigger than any of the pillows at the Tendou's place, not that a man like him needed them. The floor was good enough for him.
"But you're so warm and cuddly. I could stay like this all night." The blonde melted into Ranma's side and sagged in relief. "C'mon Luna. You're so soft and huggable."
"Who are you calling soft?" he scoffed.
"You, cutie!" The blonde reared back and adjusted herself so she was firmly on Ranma's lap. "Oh my gosh, you've got a collar too. Aren't you just the most precious wittle itty bitty kitty ever?"
"And that's enough of that." The blue fuku girl grabbed the blonde by the shoulders and tried to pry her off. However, the blonde remained firm, grabbing onto Ranma with her hands and twisting her feet as best she could.
"Ami," whined the blonde. "She's so cute though."
"I know she is, but there's a time and place." No matter how hard she yanked, Blue was hopelessly outmatched in terms of raw strength. "Come on. You don't even know her, bunhead."
"Fine," she huffed. The second she loosened her grip, Blonde and Blue tumbled on top of each other in a heap. Blonde ended up on top, her legs spreading open her skirt to show off a curious bulge sitting in her striped panties. "But I know my people when I see one!"
Her people? Ranma wasn't whatever her people were. He was just in a costume that showed off his hot bod because he needed to get into this party. That was all. No matter how cute he looked, it was just a disguise. He'd used plenty of disguises before.
"Yeah, yeah. Just get off of me, would you?" groaned Blue. Ranma blinked and hurried to help the two back up to their feet.
Azusa was having the time of her life. The party was a massive success and everyone was enjoying themselves. At least, it seemed everyone was enjoying themselves. After a little liquor, Azusa heard a lot of giggling all around the house and only one person was crying.
Jean-Claude was a bit of a jerk though so he deserved to be rejected by Penelope. It wasn’t like a frog belonged with a shrine maiden anyway. Maybe if he asked out a princess, he’d have a chance. Nothing could make up for a lack of sense though. Frankly, he was lucky Azusa didn’t kick him out for almost ruining someone’s night. Azusa supposed that made him twice lucky. First for being a boy invited to the cutest party across Japan tonight. Second for being able stay amongst all of Azusa’s cuties.
“Ish tha ish cream?” Someone’s breath hitched and Azusa couldn’t help the smile on Azusa’s face as Azusa watched little Ranni make grabby hands for the kitchen. The kitten was surrounded by Sailor Scouts, a very special group that were allowed to have slightly less cute names because they had coordinating outfits. See, Azusa could be reasonable. “I luv ish cream so mush.”
“We should totally get ice cream!” cried Usagi. She tried to squirm away from the couch but was firmly squashed between Ami and Rei. “C’mon, ice cream! If kitty can have some, then I can too. It’s only fair.” Ranni’s face fell in an instant. Her dopey grin shrank into a small pout.
When the tiny black cat went limp in the middle the couch cuddle pile, all the magical girls looked at Ranni. “Pops says I can’ hab ish cream… Ish naht manly.”
“Who cares if it’s not manly, it’s ice cream!” Ranni didn’t look convinced by the blonde’s words. If anything, she shrank in on herself more in an attempt to stop touching Makoto and Minako.
Ranni mumbled something that Azusa couldn't hear over the din of the party. When Azusa saw Makoto grabbing the drink out of Ranni's hands, Azusa knew that something was going wrong. Skipping over, Azusa hoped that Azusa wouldn't be kicking someone as cute as Ranni out of the party soon.
"Ya don' understand. Men can' hab ish cream. Ish ah weakness." Ranni groaned and pulled her feet up onto the couch so she could hug more of herself. "I gotta be a man fer 'Kane. I gots ta."
Makoto wrapped her arm around Ranni's shoulders and ignored the kitten's shudders. "You don't have to be anyone but yourself."
Joining in, Minako leaned against Ranni. The warmth of the blonde had Ranni's breath hitching. "And hey, if this 'Kane person really loves you, then she won't care about how manly you are. She'll love you for you."
"Buh but if 'm not a man. Then I can' marry 'Kane," whimpered Ranni.
Maybe Azusa should go and grab some ice cream for the kitty. Some hot chocolate would be good too. A steaming cup of sweetness always cheered Azusa up, after all.
Akane perked up and twisted around to look in the direction of the door. Unfortunately, the sliding announced the return of a drunk Genma and Soun instead of the person she wanted to see. The two bumbling old men wobbled into the washitsu and dropped down next to where their shogi board was usually set up. Genma waved a hand, expecting it to slam down and clap against the top of a table. Instead, he toppled over into a heap against Soun. The rusty martial artist fell back, his portly friend laying on top of him.
Nearly two hours had passed since Ranma had left. Two hours since Akane had last seen her fiancée. Hours since Nabiki sent Ranma off on an errand that was supposed to simultaneously fulfill Akane's request and make Nabiki’s life easier. Knowing her sister, she had no reason to doubt that this scheme would work.
Akane was just worried. She wanted one thing about Ranma to change and that was her accepting that she liked being in her spring form more. Every sweet treat Ranma suckered someone out of, every disguise that she only made as a girl, and just the times that Ranma was too lazy to heat up some water. There was more to it than convenience or laziness, Akane knew that with every fiber of her being.
Nabiki knew that with the month's worth of allowance Akane had bribed her with. Kasumi knew it with the little gestures that changed between forms. Heck, even their dads didn't care until the topic of marriage actually came up.
So why did she care? Why was it so important to her that Ranma could be happy in her own skin? After all the pain that Ranma put her through, Akane didn't owe Ranma anything. She saved Ranma just as much as Ranma saved her. Yet she couldn't bring herself to regret getting Nabiki to do this. She only regretted that she didn't know what Ranma was going through.
"Still sulking down here?" Nabiki popped her head around the sliding door with her hand curled around the edge. "You know it's getting late and you've got school tomorrow. Probably not a good idea to sit around here waiting for Ranma to get back."
Akane's gaze drifted down to her hands. Clasped on the table, her calluses were neatly hidden away but the way the rough skin rubbed against her palms and fingers marked her long years of training all on her own. "She would do the same for me."
Nabiki gagged. "God, sucker punch me with sugar, why don't you? You know, Doctor Tofu always said that sugar late at night was bad for your body." Akane hummed in acknowledgement. Her thoughts swirled around in her head, compounding into imagining something nefarious happening to Ranma. Any number of her other fiancées could try and steal her away. "Getting a full night of sleep is going to help you study for your exams. Ranma doesn't have any hope of getting a degree, so you have to make up for whatever dojo chump change he can scrounge up."
"I know." Akane had only started thinking about it extensively when she realized that Ranma wasn't putting any effort into studying. Which was fine. Ranma had an easier time picking up recipes and if she intended to run the dojo, it would be smarter for her to know how to run the household since she'd be around the house more often. Purely hypothetically speaking, of course.
"Wow, he's got you down bad. I never thought I'd see the day you were willing to put up with living with Ranma of all people. He isn't freeloader supreme over there." Nabiki stepped further into the room so she could point at Genma. The portly man was falling asleep on top of Soun without a single hint of shame. "But I guess things can change around here. Who would have ever thought?"
Ignoring her sister, Akane got up and padded toward the kitchen. The curtains dividing it from the washitsu were drawn shut, allowing Akane to keep her back to Nabiki and only shadows were left tosee her face. "Do you have anything important to say, Nabiki?"
"Ooh, testy. Guess that's my cue to go. Have fun waiting for your girlfriend, sis," Nabiki called out over her shoulder as she slunk back to her room.
Akane flexed her fingers. Ranma would be back soon. She just had to be patient, that's all. In the meantime, she would wait and get herself a drink. Maybe she could drag down one of her textbooks too if Ranma intended to take any longer.
"Ooh, so that's how it works." Azusa stood up and playfully slapped the person who made Azusa’s trip with a mug of hot chocolate in Azusa’s hands. The spill was truly dreadful. It was all over Papa's fancy imported couch.
Papa's going to be so mad at Azusa. The couch was ruined and Ranni's costume was going to stain. Apparently a splash of beer brought by the dozens of other party guests plus the hot chocolate that Azusa favored was enough to turn Ranni from a queen to a tomcat.
Ranni gripped her legs tightly against her now flat chest. The leotard stretched and was undoubtedly uncomfortable for the poor kitty to wear. "Sorry 'bout this," she mumbled.
"No need to be sorry. It's Azusa's fault. Azusa was not looking where Azusa was going." Despite her words, Ranni remained a bundle of anxiety on the couch. She didn’t even move away from the spill, she just let herself soak in it. “Azusa has back up costumes if you need some. Azusa bets that Ranni would make a very cute witch.”
“Nah, s’okay. I gots ta get home ‘fore ‘Kane thinks ‘m a perv or somethin’.” Before the kitty could take one stumbling step, four pairs of hands grabbed her, pulling her back into the couch cuddle pile. She must be really out of it if Azusa and three ordinary girls dressed like magical girls could restrain her. Azusa was fairly certain that Ranni was a good martial artist when she wasn’t wearing skates. “I can’ stay like this. Ain’ manly ta be so… so affeshonate.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be manly here, I’ve got you,” whispered Minako. She patted Ranni’s exposed leg and her hand came back sticky from the odd mixture soaking Ranni.
“Buh Pops,” sniffled the kitten. On her other side, Makoto held her tight in a one-arm hug. “Pops says ‘Kane won’ marry me ‘less ‘m a man.”
Azusa blinked. “Akane was Ranni’s skating partner during our match, yes? The girl with the blue hair and the cute leotard?” Ranni wiped her nose against her knees. “Ranni better not be crying about Charlotte. He was no good even if he could be a cute little piggy. All he did was butt heads with Ranni. Bleh,” spat Azusa. The act was unbecoming of Azusa, but after seeing that display, Azusa had no interest in having a pet piggy.
"Yeag." Ranni swallowed something thick sitting in her throat. "She's so pretty. I don' deserve 'er." Well, Azusa would be the third to argue against that. Ranni and Akane looked cuter together than separated. "Buh I can' be tha man she needs..."
"Who cares about that?" Usagi loudly shouted as she flopped across the couch. She laid across Minako's and Rei's laps before having to reach across to grab onto Ranni's legs. "If she really loves you then she won't care whether you're a stupid guy or a happy girl. She should be happy that you're happy!" A chorus of agreeing hums echoed the bunhead's words.
"Buh Pops said-"
"Who cares what your daddy said?" Azusa snarked, surprising even Azusa. "He must not be a good daddy if he doesn't see that Ranni isn't happy as a boy. So why listen to him? If he doesn't care about your happiness then you should just ignore him."
"I don' know," Ranni mumbled, clearly lost in thought. She looked up at the girls surrounding her, some of the finest that Azusa had invited to this party personally. "Maybe, um... Could I get a cold drink?"
"Of course. Azusa will be right back!" Rather than grab a beer or plain old water, Azusa decided to grab a root beer float and a small bowl of ice cream. Ranni, although confused for a moment, gratefully took both and her sweet teeth practically moaned in appreciation.
Akane jolted at the sound of the door sliding open. She jumped to her feet, rushing over to the hallway with a name on her lips. "Ran... ma?" Almost stumbling forward, Akane came face-to-face with a brunette in a safari outfit, fitted with a camera hanging from her neck. The brunette was reaching into Nabiki's school bag with one hand prying open the side pockets. Immediately, Akane's hackles were raised and her muscles tensed at the ready. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I-It's not what it looks like, I swear. I was just dropping something off for Nabiki." Raising her other hand, the brunette held up a canister of film. Undoubtedly, every picture on that film had been taken with the camera hanging around her neck. "Sorry, I didn't think anyone was awake and Nabiki said it'd be fine if I just stopped by to drop it off. I swear, I didn't mean to wake anyone up."
Despite how much Akane wanted to pinch her brow and tell the girl to hurry up and leave, she ended up sighing. "It's fine. Here, I'll give it to her in the morning." When she offered her hand, Nabiki's lackey plopped it into her hand without a shred of caution.
"She'll know it's from me. I'm pretty sure I was the only one there who was sober enough to take decent photos." The brunette smiled gently as she made for the door.
Akane's had snapped out grabbing the girl’s arm before she could leave. “Do you…” She gulped, ashamed that the question was even flicking to the top of her head. Ranma could never know about this. "Do you know where Ranma is? It's just getting really late and she was supposed to be home by now."
"Oh, um, yeah." For some reason, the lackey's cheeks flushed with color. "I think she fell asleep at the Shiratori's. Nabiki never said anything about bringing her back, and well, I can't really carry her all that way. So I figured she'd be safe with a bunch of other people."
"A bunch of other people?" Akane repeated, scandalized by the very thought. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. Ranma was supposed to have some thought-provoking experience and then slowly chip away at the wall of masculinity keeping her away from being herself, being comfortable in her own skin.
The brunette winced as Akane's grip grew firm. "They all just fell asleep drunk. I doubt anything happened."
Her word's fell on deaf ears. Akane heard that Ranma was with a bunch of other people and stayed there. That was good enough to set every alarm in her head off, in both worry and anger. She slipped her shoes on and dragged Nabiki's lackey outside. "Tell me how to get to her."
"'Kane?" Ranma stirred awake, eyes barely cracking open. Her arms were draped over someone strong and her body was pressed against a firm wall of muscle. The hands digging into her thighs were covered in calluses that rubbed against her skin and tickled her. That must've been what made her stomach feel so fluttery.
"Hey there, sleepy head." said Akane softly. She didn't look over at Ranma, instead Akane focused on walking them home. At least, Ranma thought they were going home. It was hard for her to concentrate on the path ahead of them. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeag," Ranma hiccuped. "S'much fun. Did'ja know they made one o'them magical girls look like ya?"
"Sayuri and Yuka have said it a few times. Were there a lot of magical girls?" Since when was Akane so warm? Or was Ranma just too cold? She didn't remember this last time Akane did this piggy back ride thing.
Ranma mumbled something vaguely affirmative. "They were so good ta me. Kept sayin' all 'ese nice things." Raising a clumsy hand, Ranma yawned loudly before snuggling back into Akane's hair. It was so soft and fluffy, she could stay there all night. "I think I wanna be like 'em."
"Oh, how so?" Maybe Ranma was too sleepy to tell how enthusiastic Akane was, but she was pretty sure her fiancée was listening and being attentive. Like usual. Like every time that they weren't yelling at each other over something stupid. Like each and every time that Ranma didn't stick her foot in her mouth because she refused to take any kind of insult lying down.
"I don' think I wanna be manly no more." Akane flinched and tried to stifle it by walking faster. If Ranma had any energy, she would've poked at it. But right now, it was just nice to feel Akane's hands grip onto her so tightly. "I dunno if I wanna be a girl. I just wanna... be myself, yanno?"
"Yeah." Akane swallowed thickly. "Yeah, that's good, Ranma."
Ranma giggled drowsily. "I was gonna do it no matter what ya thought, tomboy." Those broad shoulders grew tense and Ranma stuffed her face into one of them. She rubbed her cheek against the top of Akane's left shoulder and mumbled into her hair, "Thanks fer bein' 'ere. I missed ya."
"I... I missed you too." Akane slowed down her march into a lazy crawl, allowing both martial artists to soak in the other's warmth before they dragged themselves back home. It was nice to just exist, for once. Ranma only wished she was a bit more awake to enjoy it. Before long, her eyes drifted shut and sleep took over her mind.