Work Text:
Chindu County, Qinghai
Two young men sat at the gate to the Joketsuzoku village as celebrations went on deeper in the city. Mousse was visibly bored, never the best at hiding his emotions. His shorter, but more muscular, companion was doing a better job of watching the approaching path to their village.
“Hopefully next year we’ll both be married and able to attend the festivities,” Mousse muttered. “I’m not sure about myself, but... almost surprised you’re not married already, eh Shampoo?”
“Focus on the job, Mousse,” the other lad replied flatly.
“You know pretty well any girl in the village would marry you. Toughest guy in the village and handsome. I’m envious.”
Shampoo rolled his eyes.
He knew it was true. There’d been one or two girls who’d approached him already, that he’d shaken away from with the statement he was still training. Sure, he wasn’t making much progress lately, secret techniques more useful than the breaking point generally closed off to men, but... if he called an end to his education that meant the ceremony of manhood.
The ceremony meant things he didn’t want to think about. Husbanhood and fatherhood followed. And... it wasn’t really the domestic part of them that bothered him, he quite liked cooking and didn’t mind cleaning, but... something else.
He’d never been able to put his finger on the why, but true manhood intimidated him.
So he would keep training, until his father’s questions about when he’d get married became obnoxious.
“I hope we get some food brought out soon,” Mousse said, breaking the silence again. “I’m starving.”
Shampoo was about to chide him again when a motley trio emerged from the darkness: the caretaker of the forbidden pools, a young red haired girl, and... a panda.
“Good evening!” the guide called out.
“Good evening,” Shampoo replied flatly. “What brings you to our village?”
“My guests were hoping to find shelter for the night on their trip back to the highway at Qingshuihezhen. We hoped to arrive earlier, but heavy rains delayed us,” the guide replied.
“It is the Evening of the Champion. We can’t allow outsiders into the village, I am sorry,” Mousse explained.
The man nodded and turned to explain things to his friends. Shampoo recognised the language as Japanese, and saw Mousse intently trying his best to follow along. Shampoo was more distracted by the way the panda seemed to interject into the conversation.
Unless... was that panda a cursed man? He’d heard that Jusenkyo’s springs could turn you into an animal. Was it the girl’s parent? A friend?
He found his eyes drifting down to the girl. There was a fire in her eyes that could pass for a warrior woman of his village. She was also exceptionally cute. As she spoke, saying something to the guide in Japanese, he found himself even thinking she had a lovely voice. The guide explained something that made him look nervous, and then the girl interrupted him. There was a little bickering, the guide seeming to want to finish, but the girl kept interrupting.
-b-
“Young customer, I think you want—”
Ranma felt his eye twitch. “You said fightin’ him would let me in the village if I win, so lemme fight him! If I gotta look like a girl right now I might was well use that to get in to see this festival a’ woman warriors.”
The guide’s shoulders fell in defeat. “I really—”
Ranma glared at him and gestured to the two guards. “Issue the challenge!”
The guide let out a sigh and turned to the two lads with hair even Ranma thought was long for guys. The guide then explained things in... Mandarin? Tibetan? Ranma was a little embarrassed that he couldn’t tell them apart, let alone speak either, while so deep in China, but... he couldn’t allow that to show. Especially not while stuck a petite little redhead.
The more muscular of the two local boys stepped forward having pulled a pair of chui from behind the gate, and slid into a fighting stance. Ranma stepped forward and slipped into his own relaxed stance. The local boy charged, swinging a chui high enough it was almost above Ranma’s head. Ticked off that it felt like the other guy was teasing him, Ranma slipped under the swing before exploding forward to strike the muscular boy’s soft underarm with a finger strike.
The boy’s eyes widened as his arm folded in involuntarily from the strike to the inside of a muscle group. His opponent thrown off kilter by the inertia shift, Ranma slipped lower for flurry of strikes into the boy’s side. The foe responded with a more direct swing of his chui, which Ranma jumped above, landing on the chui itself to kick the muscular lad in the face. The kick, and the added weight of Ranma’s small form, caused him to drop the chui as he stumbled back.
The opponent regained his footing a moment later and dropped the other chui before sliding in with a fast jab to Ranma’s gut. Without the weight of the iron club his blow was faster than Ranma expected and sent the small redhead flying back, gasping for air when he landed. Ranma couldn’t help smiling though. He’d wanted the fight to be a bit more fun.
There was a bit of a back and forth, Ranma cautiously testing his opponent’s true speed for a minute or so. Then he offered a faked opening, the muscular boy falling for it, and letting Ranma use some classic Aikido style redirection to toss his larger foe onto the ground. Following the spin, Ranma picked one of the chui up from the ground and brought it to a halt mere centimetres from his opponent’s prone form.
“I win,” he said with a grin.
The local lad glanced to the guide, who gave a translation. The boy then nodded and held up his hands in defeat. Ranma set the chui down beside him, and was ready to head into the village, hoping for some tasty grub, when his opponent grabbed his hand. For a moment he thought it was some sort of dirty trick to get him into a grapple, but the hold was so gentle it confused him. Then the other boy... kissed his hand?
Ranma stared down in confusion while the boy in glasses let out a cheer, saying something in a happy tone to Ranma’s defeated opponent, before turning to Ranma himself with a grin.
“He will make good husband for you,” the bespectacled fellow said, a goofy grin on his face.
Confused, Ranma glanced down at his opponent, who was blushing something fierce. Panic mounting in his gut, Ranma then turned to the guide.
“Is what I was trying to explain. Winning fight would let honoured guest into the village... because honoured guest would now be set to marry one he defeated and would get to join tribe. You did not let me explain,” the guide said with a shrug.
“Well, ya coulda been a bit more forceful explainin’ daaaa—,” Ranma said, before finding himself yanked off his feet by the collar of his gi. Turning, he saw it was his father, who was now breaking into a full on run back into the dark wilds of Qinghai. “Pops! Ya don’t gotta drag me!”
-b-
4 days of walking through the rough empty plains of the Tibetan Plateau was something Ranma never wanted to do again. He’d had enough of it walking out to Jusenkyo.
Right now he tried to just focus on lighting the fire he’d set up. His father was off hunting for more water, so... at least he would get to escape the complaints about him being in girl mode. Water was in short supply until they found a proper river, and he was still human, so he wasn’t going to waste any on turning back.
Especially with them now being out of matches, leaving Ranma struggling with the emergency flint.
“Shampoo have lighter,” a voice said, as a hand passed him a small butane lighter.
“Thanks,” Ranma replied, putting the flint in his pocket and lighting a patch of kindling.
It was only once he saw the small fire start to grow that Ranma properly processed what had happened and he turned to the young man beside him.
It was the boy from the village... just sitting there and smiling, watching Ranma with burgundy eyes.
Ranma leapt to his feet, sliding into a combat stance. “Listen pal, I don’t want any trouble, but I ain’t gonna let you drag me back to your village and make me your wife, got it?”
The boy looked confused. Ranma wondered why, until he realised he’d probably spoken too fast and used too many terms the other lad didn’t know.
He took a breath and rephrased his statement, speaking more slowly. “I am going home to Japan. You can not stop me.”
Shampoo’s eyes lit up with understanding and the boy nodded. “Shampoo will follow. Husband goes where wife goes.”
“Pardon?” Ranma asked, unsure why this tank of a lad was acting so passive.
“Shampoo’s village is...” the boy paused to pull out a Chinese-Japanese dictionary, flipping around a bit before he found whatever he was after. “Is matri-archy.”
“What-y-what-chy?” Ranma asked, not sure that word was actually Japanese.
“Women make decisions,” Shampoo said.
“Ooohhh.”
Ranma let out a sigh of relief, and took a seat, glad he was unlikely to be kidnapped and forced to be a housewife in some backwards village.
“Wait... that still doesn’t fix the main issues!” Ranma said, jumping back to his feet. “I ain’t a girl and I also ain’t marryin’ a guy!”
Shampoo looked confused again, having sat down beside the fire himself.
“I... here, I’ll show ya,” Ranma said, pulling out his canteen from his backpack and putting it down beside the fire.
It wouldn’t boil there, but... it would heat up enough in a minute or two.
Shampoo watched the canteen for a few moments, before looking back at Ranma, something going on in his burgundy eyes, though Ranma wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking about. (Maybe he just thought Ranma was crazy?)
Opening the canteen, Ranma poured a little bit onto his palm, confirming that it felt reasonably warm. He then poured most of the rest onto his head, stopping when he felt the tingle of transformation (he wasn’t about to use all his water on this just yet).
Shampoo watched him change, mouth sliding open as the boy processed it.
“See? I’m really a guy. I just got a girl curse at Jusenkyo. So... you don’t need to marry me,” Ranma explained, grabbing Shampoo’s upper arm and pulling him back to a standing position. “You can just go back to your village now, and... explain what happened? Or... if ya gotta, you can say I died in a rockslide or something. Whatever lets you go home.”
“A girl curse,” the boy muttered, followed by something in his native tongue.
“Yeah, exactly. Like how my pops turns into a panda. Well, have a safe trip,” Ranma said, all smiles as he lightly pushed the boy’s backpack to send him on his way.
Ranma did kind of feel bad for the lad, with how shocked and dazed he seemed to be. He hoped the boy would get his wits about him again before he sprained his ankle on a steep hill or something... though, it wasn’t really Ranma’s problem if he did.
-b-
Nerima, Tokyo
“I don’t control what my cat side does!” Ranma protested as he and Akane walked home from school.
That she was still upset with him over what happened yesterday seemed a bit much to him. He was as much an innocent victim of the rumours his cat side had started as she was.
“Well... find some way to tell your cat side to not go kissing girls without their permission!” Akane huffed, picking up her pace for the last few metres to the Tendo home.
Ranma was about to shout something back at her (he hadn’t quite figured out what, but... it would have been a real zinger, he was sure), when a feminine voice called out his name from up ahead.
There, standing at the entrance to the Tendo home was a girl in Chinese clothing. She had long indigo hair, a wide smile, and... well, he supposed there was no harm in silently noting to himself that she was adorable. Maybe a bit more than adorable, with the figure hinted at under her loose fitting travelling clothes.
“H-hi?” Ranma said, as Akane gave the girl a once over.
“It has been too long,” the girl said with a grin. “This is where you live now?”
“Uh, yeah?” Ranma replied, while Akane shot him a judgmental glare.
“Who might this be, Ranma?” Akane asked.
Ranma gave a shrug. “Not a middle school friend, I know that much.”
“Am Ranma’s fiancée,” the girl said, still smiling away.
“Pardon?” Ranma and Akane said in unison.
“This has gotta be pops’ fault,” Ranma added, opening the door to the Tendo home. “Oy! Pops! Where are ya, you lazy panda?”
“I’m playing shogi with Sou—hey! I saw you trying to move that piece!” Genma shouted.
Ranma nodded, grabbing the mysterious girl by the wrist to bring her to the living room. Akane followed after them, not looking overly impressed. The girl’s burgundy eyes just looked filled with confusion.
There was something familiar about them, Ranma realised, but... he couldn’t place them.
“So, pops,” Ranma said, ignoring the way Genma and Soun were glaring at each other. “This girl here says she’s my fiancée. Any idea what that’s about?”
“F-fiancée?” Genma asked, turning to Ranma with a dumbfounded look on his face.
The girl gave a quick nod. “Yes. Shampoo will marry Ranma.”
“She sounds Chinese. I’ve never gotten you engaged to any Chinese girls,” Genma replied.
“Are ya su—wait,” Ranma said, turning back to the girl. She looked at him with adorably hopeful eyes. He realised where he’d seen burgundy eyes before, but... “Shampoo? Like... that Shampoo?”
The girl nodded.
Ranma felt his cheeks go hot. This adorable girl was... and if the Tendos found out who Shampoo really was... and... and...
Ranma grabbed Shampoo’s hand. “We need a private discussion. Follow me.”
He stormed off, dragging the indigo haired girl along behind him, as he made a beeline for the dojo. Arriving, he closed the door behind them, then pressed her shoulders so that she sat down. He took a deep breath, turned and opened the door again to find the entire household ready to eavesdrop.
“I said private,” he hissed. “Please.”
Apparently Kasumi could sense the genuineness in his tone and nodded, shooing everyone back into the house. Genma was quickly threatened with a missed meal when he looked ready to sneak around.
Feeling confident that Kasumi could keep everyone in place, he then turned back to Shampoo, who was just patiently sitting cross legged on the dojo floor.
“You got a girl curse then?” Ranma said as he sat across from Shampoo.
Shampoo nodded happily. “And Shampoo is cute, yes?”
“I, well... yeah,” Ranma muttered, his cheeks warm. “Jusenkyo was pretty generous to both of us, I guess... ‘specially in the chest departments.”
“Mhm. Is very nice,” Shampoo replied with a grin.
“You didn’t... like... I said you didn’t have to marry me. Trying to make yourself live as a girl and a wife... that ain’t right. You should have just gone back home,” Ranma said, squirming a little as he thought about his own fears of somehow getting trapped as a girl. Unable to be there for Akane. “Don’t you have any girls you like back home?”
“Shampoo did not get cursed to marry you,” the girl said, a determined look on her face as she carefully chose her words. “Shampoo... Shampoo never wanted to become a man. Growing up to feel like the face in the mirror was less and less Shampoo. When Shampoo heard about girl curse from Ranma, it sounded so good.”
Ranma blinked, not completely sure he was following everything. “If... if you didn’t get cursed to marry me, then... why are you here now?”
Shampoo’s eyes fell. “Getting a curse on purpose from Jusenkyo is punished by exile.”
“Then why did you go get one?” Ranma asked.
“Shampoo would rather be a girl without a home than a boy with one,” Shampoo replied.
Ranma found the idea strange. He’d spent his life a nomad, and had only just found something that felt like home. It was such a wonderful thing. The idea that someone would give that up willingly... the other part of the trade off had to really matter to anyone who’d do such an exchange.
“Folks Shampoo met said that Shampoo is pretty, though. So... Shampoo thought maybe she could regain a little honour by tracking down the one she was promised to marry. Does not hurt that Ranma is also very cute,” Shampoo said, a rather playful smile slipping onto her face.
Ranma felt himself blush a little. It was dangerous just how cute Shampoo was.
“I, uh... normally I’m not sure how I’d handle an ex-guy saying that to me,” Ranma muttered, finding himself struggling to look in Shampoo’s direction. His heart was definitely reading her as a girl. “But... uh... you did say before you came from a village where the girls have the guy role and the guys have the girl role, so... maybe I could try it, I guess?”
Shampoo lit up and proceeded to tackle him with a hug. Her body pressing against his rather erased any ability to think of her as anything but a girl.
It was only as her lips pressed against his that some part of his brain pointed out he was supposed to be happy with the idea of marrying Akane.Unfortunately is was only a small part of his brain, the rest overwhelmed by how nice Shampoo’s lips felt and deciding to return the kiss.
He had no idea how to get out of this.
-b-
Shampoo had happily volunteered to help Kasumi with preparing dinner, insisting she needed to earn her keep and giving Ranma a moment alone to try to work out what on earth to say to Akane.
Then again, Akane had been pretty mad about his cat side kissing her. Maybe... maybe she didn’t actually like him as much as he liked her. It wouldn’t surprise him. He knew he was amazing looking, but he also knew he wasn’t great at people skills, so was probably driving Akane nuts by now. Maybe it was better to go for the certainty Shampoo offered. Like they said, fifty now was worth more than tomorrow’s one hundred.
And, Shampoo was both cute and a pretty good martial artist. She wasn’t exactly a bad choice, if he had to pick a wife now.
“Why haven’t you chased that Shampoo girl off?” Genma asked, having not knocked as he entered their shared room. “You’re supposed to marry Akane, boy.”
“I’m figurin’ it out, okay?” Ranma grumbled, not bothering to look at his father.
“There’s nothing to figure out. You send her back home and focus on the girl I’ve told you to marry,” Genma countered sharply.
Ranma felt his temper rising. Akane on her own was nice, but... his father’s obnoxiousness about the marriage promised he’d made before either of them was even born drove Ranma up the wall.
“She can’t go home! I’m not about to just toss her on the street, alright?” Ranma shouted, hopping to his feet. “What kind of a man would do that to a woman? Especially one who’s in that situation because of him?”
Sure, it wasn’t totally Ranma’s fault Shampoo had gotten exiled, and... he still felt weird accepting someone who’d been that muscular of a guy as totally a girl now, but... well, he was pretty darn sure he wasn’t gay, and he was attracted to Shampoo now, so... Shampoo had to be a girl now.
“You’re too soft, boy,” Genma replied.
Ranma rolled his eyes and walked past. “Whatever...”
Before Genma could say anything more, Kasumi called them both down to dinner.
The table was a little more crowded than usual, especially for Ranma, who found Shampoo almost sitting in his lap. The new girl was practically glowing as Kasumi complimented her help in the kitchen.
Akane and Soun both looked rather annoyed with that compliment.
The meal started soon after, Ranma and Genma sliding into their normal battle for food... until Shampoo slipped in, focusing totally on defending the plates in front of Ranma.
“You do not steal food Shampoo prepared for airen,” she said sharply, glaring at Genma.
“A husband’s father is the head of a family and deserves respect, girl,” Genma replied, eyes narrow.
“In Shampoo’s village it is not like that. Is mothers who are in charge.”
“What kind of village would do things so backwards? Are you from that Joketsu—”
Ranma broke into a cough, interrupting his father as he nearly choked on a bit of egg. Shampoo seemed ready to give him a heimlich maneuver before he managed to dislodge it.
“There’s, uh, there’s lots of unique villages in the Tibetan plateau. You missed some of them because you kept trying to follow that map that was clearly wrong,” Ranma announced, hoping he sounded convincing.
Genma grunted something unintelligible before diving in to try to steal more of Ranma’s food. Ranma countered by going on the offensive as Shampoo ran defence. Genma rather quickly found the plates in front of him emptied and Ranma smiling smugly.
“Shampoo-chan, have you had a chance to get a decent bath with all your travelling?” Kasumi asked, as Genma pouted.
“Shampoo has kept clean?” the girl replied, sounding nervous.
“Oh, yes. I had not meant to imply otherwise,” Kasumi replied. “I merely thought a soak in a proper furo could help you shed some of your travel stress. I was planning to go in myself, and thought I could show you how everything works.”
Shampoo grew pale in response. “Uh... Shampoo’s people are... very—very private about bathing. Will go alone.”
“And, uh, I’ll keep guard for her,” Ranma added.
He knew he’d never live it down if Genma found out about Shampoo’s little secret. Or if Akane or Nabiki found out either... it would be worse than getting caught in a dress in boy mode for the allegations of being a pervert.
-b-
Watching the washroom as Shampoo bathed was more boring than he’d expected, but... Ranma had his reputation to think of. He decided to slip into a wide kiba-dachi stance and run through some punching drills while he waited. At least until he heard the splashing noise of Shampoo sliding in to soak.
Curiosity got the better of him at that point. After all, she said she was Shampoo, but... well, he didn’t know for sure. A quick peak would confirm. Stilling his breath, Ranma carefully and silently slid the dividing door open just a crack. Sitting in the tub was indeed the muscular boy from Qi—
“I knew you’d peek!” Akane’s voice called out from behind him.
Ranma spun around, slamming the dividing door shut firmly behind him, and holding it tight. Akane was standing at the outer door of the bathroom, which she had slammed open. Kasumi and Nabiki were peeking around the frame themselves.
“I-I-I thought I heard her askin’ for somethin’!” Ranma blurted.
“A likely story. Just having this shy foreign girl honour bound to marry you wasn’t enough for your ego, was it? You just had to violate her trust and privacy!” Akane shouted.
“It wasn’t like that in the least!” Ranma protested, hating that revealing the truth would go even worse than this misunderstanding.
“Honestly, it is pretty scummy, Saotome,” Nabiki said. “You kiss Akane, and then find a second fiancée the next day. And then you even peep on her in the bath.”
“That—it... I...” Ranma fumbled, having nothing to defend himself with.
At least until the furo door opened from the inside, revealing a female Shampoo wrapped in a towel. The girl shot the Tendos a haughty look.
“Husband is allowed to look. Advantages of being a couple,” she said as she walked forward.
Halfway between Ranma and the sisters, Shampoo spun around to face him and... pulled her towel open, giving him a full view of her current form while the Tendo girls only got to see more towel.
Ranma felt his cheeks start burning and was sure that steam was escaping from his ears. Sure, he was used to female bodies in a casual circumstance, with his own body helping, but... the open free show Shampoo was giving him, right in front of an audience... that was something else.
There was definitely a little bit of impact from Shampoo’s transformation too. That Shampoo had previously been a guy with muscles to make Ryouga envious, and was now a girl looking like that and flirting with him...
He did realise that she definitely still had muscles though.
“Uh, that’s... you can, uh... close back up,” Ranma finally muttered, stepping forward to help Shampoo cover herself back up.
There was a slightly fragile look in her eyes that he didn’t know how to interpret.
Glancing up, though, he saw that Akane looked... broken. She was clearly overwhelmed past the point of functional emotions. Nabiki looked impressed, for her part, and Kasumi deep in thought.
“I suppose cultural differences are to be expected,” the eldest Tendo girl said as she led her two sisters off.
Ranma hurried out himself, closing the door behind him.
He took a few breaths to calm himself. At least until Soun walked up to him from the living room.
“Would you follow me for a moment, Ranma-kun?” the man asked.
“Uh... okay?” Ranma replied, turning to walk behind Soun towards the yard.
Soun stopped beside the koi pond, so Ranma did the same.
“I don’t appreciate you violating the Tendo-Saotome marriage promise,” he said. “You need to send that Shampoo girl off on her way.”
“She can’t go home,” Ranma replied. “She’s been exiled from her home village because she—because a’ somethin’ I did.”
“The strange customs of her village don’t really matter to the honour of the Tendo or Saotome families,” Soun said. “Breaking the marriage promise would.”
“And I ain’t marryin’ anyone just yet,” Rana countered. “In case ya forgot, guys can’t get married until they’re 18 in this country. I got two years ta figure this out. At least let Shampoo stay for a bit until I can find her somewhere in town?”
“She can stay as long as she helps me out with the family chores,” Kasumi said, from the engawa.
“Kasumi!” Soun said, turning to her with tears glistening in his eyes. “How could you betray your own father?”
“I heard about some of Shampoo’s situation while we were cooking together. It’s quite tragic. And... the outdated marriage promise between you and uncle Genma is clearly putting a great deal of stress on Akane,” Kasumi replied, the smile on her face never wavering. “It’s really quite archaic.”
Soun visibly deflated at his eldest daughter’s protest, drifting off aimlessly to another part of the yard.
“Th-thanks, Kasumi!” Ranma said, smiling back at her.
Sure, he wasn’t actually certain what all this meant for his feelings about Akane, but... he could take a couple days to figure everything out, couldn’t he?
“Shampoo will be sleeping in my room, though. A girl like her sharing a room with a boy like you would be... inappropriate,” Kasumi said, nodding a little at the end.
“That’s—” Ranma nearly agreed, before realising the more time Shampoo spent away from him was more time for her secret to get out. “W-what if I sleep in girl mode, though? Then it’d be fine for us to share a room, right?”
“Even in girl mode you still have the mind of a boy, Ranma,” Kasumi said, turning and heading off.
Ranma grumbled, but supposed there wasn’t too much risk involved in agreeing. Looking up at the sky, he realised it was also starting to get rather late. And remembered that he had a homework assignment due the next day.
Well, that was the evening then.
Turning to head back to his bedroom a thought struck him, which he whispered to himself:
“I guess even in boy mode Shampoo must have the mind of a girl?”
-b-
Ranma wasn’t really sure how long he’d been asleep when he woke in the dark. There was someone above him.
For a moment his mind thought his father was trying an ambush, but he could still hear his father’s snoring.
His eyes coming into focus, he realised it was Shampoo who was straddling his torso, her adorable face no more than thirty centimetres from his own.
“Why you peeked?” she whispered.
“I... I wanted to make sure you were you,” Ranma whispered back. “Since your face is definitely a little different now... I wasn’t completely sure.”
Shampoo tilted her head from side to side for a few moments, processing it.
“Fair. It does not ruin anything? Seeing... Shampoo’s other face?” she asked, her whisper so soft.
“No. It... confuses me a bit, but... there was nothin’ masculine with the show you gave me after,” Ranma replied, his cheeks a little hot. “Hard for me to not like having someone who looks like you bein’ interested in me.”
Shampoo smiled, before sliding a hand onto either of Ranma’s cheeks. She held his face still for a moment, before sliding in and placing a kiss on his lips. He felt his cheeks burn as she finally lifted her lips away.
“That is proper kiss for a future husband,” she said, letting go and standing back up.
Ranma was left flustered as he watched her leave.
-b-
Ranma stomped on the head of the panda that was his father, still dripping from falling in the koi pond, but feeling smug about his victory in the morning spar. A grin on his face, the redhead headed towards the Tendo living room, to enjoy some of the breakfast he’d just been called to.
That plan was slightly derailed when a smiling Shampoo hug-tackled him, nearly knocking him off his feet, now that she had the inertia advantage.
“Such good fighting airen,” Shampoo declared, leaning into the hug.
His brain was rather distracted by the way certain parts of her Jusenkyo enhanced form were rubbing against his own and... well, he didn’t know how to process that properly.
“Sh-Shampoo! This ain’t—if we’re both... lemme breath!” Ranma protested, not really used to so much... attention.
Akane, for her part, looked ready to erupt. “That’s not... he’s a girl right now! It’s, just... wrong for a girl to be so snuggly when he’s like that.”
Shampoo looked honestly confused as she broke the hug. “This is the Ranma that Shampoo saw first. Shampoo likes both.”
Akane managed to somehow turn redder, and began shoveling breakfast into her mouth as a means of distracting herself.
Ranma’s breakfast was fairly peaceful, Genma’s few probing efforts to steal some of Ranma’s food getting him outflanked by Shampoo’s defenses and Ranma’s offense. Though, Ranma did find himself getting a bit distracted as the meal went on, without having to worry about going hungry. Once the plates were emptied, the redhead grabbed Shampoo’s hand and pulled her off to the dojo again.
“Uh... when you say you ‘like both’ that means that, uh, you, uh...” he stammered once they were in the dojo. “I figured you wantin’ to live as a girl meant you liked guys and wanted a husband?”
Shampoo stared at him for a moment. “Many women in Shampoo’s village like other women. They have husbands too, because the village needs babies, but... Ranma can be both, at least a little? So... Shampoo is happy.”
Ranma nodded. “Both my forms are pretty nice on the eyes. As long as you don’t try to talk me into livin’ full time as a girl too, I don’t mind you enjoyin’ the view.”
-b-
Things slid into a routine. Shampoo would spend the days helping Kasumi cook and clean, learning about what the Japanese thought of femininity. It seemed rather more restrictive than her own village’s rules for masculinity, but she’d managed to extract promises from Ranma that he didn’t mind her breaking the ‘rules’ a bit.
She’d tried to discuss how the gender norms she’d grown up with compared, but Ranma became a bit awkward about the conversation. At first she’d worried it meant she was still on sort of thin ice for her being accepted as a girl in his eyes, but... seeing how his father constantly complained about Ranma not fitting what seemed like odd rules of masculinity even in Kasumi’s eyes, she wondered if he just didn’t care for gender matters in general.
Her bigger concern still seemed to be that Akane girl. As awkward as she was with Ranma’s curse, and as much as both her and Ranma complained about their fathers meddling to try to get the two of them married, her and Ranma both did seem to steal glances at each other.
Shampoo had to wonder sometimes if the kindness Ranma showed her was merely pity. Though, making full use of the gifts Jusenkyo had given her as she’d press against Ranma and flutter her eyelashes, she was pretty sure there was some genuine interest there.
Apart from Ranma, the two fathers seemed to dislike her, but appreciated her cooking and cleaning efforts. Nabiki was quite nice to her, buying her all sorts of excitingly feminine clothes, and all Shampoo had to do was model in the clothes. Why Nabiki wanted so many pictures of her, especially in her underwear, she didn’t totally know, but it wasn’t really Shampoo’s place to judge.
It was Kasumi she spent the most time with, though. Today was no different, as Shampoo helped prepare a pot of soup stock. It was coming along well enough when she felt the ground beginning to shake. For a moment she thought it was a large truck driving past, but it quickly got worse.
An earthquake.
Shampoo slipped forward, turning off the stove (just to be careful). As she did so, the shaking mostly ended, and she began to let out a sigh of relief. Until the pot of soup, having wobbled towards the edge of the burner, fell, splashing her with hot broth.
It wasn’t enough to burn, having been at a slow simmer, but... it was enough to deactivate her curse. She winced as she heard the fabric of her shirt rip with her increasing height and musculature.
“Oh my,” Kasumi said softly behind her.
Shampoo turned, sure her cheeks were bright red at this point.
“I-I can...“ she muttered, barely able to make herself speak.
“Is everything okay in there, Kasumi?” Soun’s voice called out from the hallway.
Kasumi was out in the hall a moment later, her hands raised up to shoo her father off. “The stock spilled on Shampoo. She took her shirt off to try to wring it out. If you and uncle Genma can go wait in the dojo I’ll take her around to the furo to wash off.”
Shampoo watched Kasumi’s back in confusion.
“Oh, s-sure. Of course,” Soun stammered from the hallway.
“Thank you,” Kasumi said with a smile.
Shampoo heard Soun head off, and watched Kasumi turn back around, still smiling.
“Let’s go get you washed up then, shall we?”
“You—but I’m... don’t you...” Shampoo stammered, struggling to find the Japanese words for what she wanted to say.
“I am curious about the full story, and have some theories. Those can wait until after you’re washed up and back in the form you prefer us to see,” Kasumi replied, her voice still soft.
Shampoo nodded and followed Kasumi carefully to the bath. Kasumi left her alone in the changing area, where she stripped and hurried into the bathing section, thrilled by the cool embrace of the shower. She returned to her preferred form, and got to work cleaning up.
When she finally left some of her clothing was folded carefully on a shelf. She changed and headed out, finding the fathers returned to their shogi table. To her surprise, Soun asked if she was alright, sounding genuinely concerned. She assured him she was unharmed before heading off to the kitchen. Kasumi was finishing up with mopping, and so Shampoo stood quietly.
“Well, I think we should order something in tonight,” Kasumi said, mostly to herself.
Shampoo nodded, not sure how to reply.
Kasumi then took the mop and bucket outside, pouring a bit into the drain they had out there, and rinsing everything with the hose faucet. She brought the things back in, opening up a closet to store them away. Her hands free, Kasumi gestured towards the stairs. Shampoo turned and headed up, letting Kasumi lead her into the room they had been sharing.
Kasumi sat on her bed and Shampoo down on her futon.
“So...” Kasumi said. “Where should we begin?”
Shampoo started with when she’d first met Ranma, and had gotten engaged by the rules of her people. Then, how she’d found out about his curse. How finding out that was an option had made her heart race. That it had slid everything wrong with her life into place.
“I can certainly see why Ranma has been so secretive,” Kasumi said, nodding to herself.
“Oh?” Shampoo asked, worrying her own fears might be confirmed.
“Well, many people would both have issues with two guys dating and struggle to accept you as a girl, so... I can certainly guess his father wouldn’t take kindly to finding out who you were,” Kasumi replied.
“Oh...” Shampoo muttered. Was that why Ranma slipped into Akane’s arms whenever she let him? Was he just housing her out of pity, with no interest in things going any further? “W-what about Ranma himself?”
Kasumi looked thoughtful for a moment. “He knows about having a body that doesn’t fit his heart. I think he can understand you... If he didn’t care he would have probably tried to chase you off by now. Your secret coming out today proves him keeping you around is something he knows is a risk to his reputation.”
“Then why does he also spend time with Akane?”
“I think the problem is that he’d already fallen in love with her when you arrived, with a story to tug at his heart strings as well as a face he couldn’t ignore... a figure few boys could say no to as well. So... he’s fallen for you, but hasn’t ‘un-fallen’ for her,” Kasumi replied. “At least that is how I read it.”
Shampoo nodded. She knew a woman of her village was supposed to fight without mercy for what she wanted, and that a proper Joketsuzoku warrior would have challenged Akane to a fight by now. Maybe pulled out the Kiss of Death. But... that wasn’t how she had been raised. Unlike Mousse she’d taken the lessons about accepting defeat to heart, and... well, it fit the Japanese views of womanhood that Ranma no doubt expected from her.
“Does... does Japan allow open walking marriages?” she asked.
There were worse futures she could see than sharing Ranma.
Kasumi proved unfamiliar with the term, which made Shampoo nervous, but she did her best to explain the visiting style marriage. It was uncommon with her people who placed such value on bloodlines, but not unknown.
“It sounds a bit like an old rural custom,” Kasumi said, “but that custom has largely died out. Monogamy is law in Japan.”
Shampoo let out a tired sigh. She wasn’t ruthless, but... she wasn’t going to just be a pushover. She’d have to keep fighting for Ranma’s heart.
“If Ranma chooses Akane, know that you’ll still be my friend,” Kasumi said, her smile very comforting.
-b-
Akane stomped down the street, too ticked off to care where she was going. Seeing Ranma and Shampoo grappling like that in the dojo... and both of them in girl mode. It was scandalous. How Shampoo could lack modesty so, Akane didn’t know. She also didn’t think she wanted to know.
“Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me with something,” a long haired boy asked in a mild Chinese accent. His glasses were so thick she couldn’t even begin to guess what his eyes might look like, and wondered how he saw through them.
Akane swallowed her anger, shifting into a smile as she tried to readjust into socialising mode. This guy deserved none of the anger she felt, after all.
“I can try?” she offered.
“Thank you. I’m looking for my friend. He should have arrived in this neighbourhood a little while ago,” the lad said. “He’s a little shorter than I am. Long dark hair. Built like a tank. He was the strongest guy in our village... could lift a yak for fun. Oh, and he’s rather handsome. All the girls liked him.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen any guys around who would fit that bill... why did you think he’d be here?” Akane replied.
“He’s supposed to be marrying a cute Japanese girl, and the Jusenkyo guide overheard that she and her father were heading to this Nerima,” the boy replied. “His great grandmother got concerned, since he’s not sent us any letters or anything.”
“Jusenkyo? I know a couple of people who’ve been there. Maybe they’d know her,” Akane replied. “It’s not to far if you’d like to follow me?”
“Oh! Thank you!” the boy said. “The name is Mousse, by the way.”
“Ah, good to meet you. I’m Akane.”
Ranma hadn’t mentioned knowing any girls who had been to Jusenkyo and lived in the area... then again, he wasn’t the most reliable source of information.
“What’s the girl like, anyhow? Maybe I’ve seen her,” Akane asked as they walked.
“Ah! She was very cute. Pretty short. Moved like lightning, though, so could more than make up for her lack of reach. Bright red hair, tied back in a ponytail. Um, also—”
“Wait, bright red hair?” Akane asked.
Mousse nodded. “Mhm. Quite the beauty. Honestly, I’m envious of Shampoo, having a cute girl like that set to be his wife.”
“Sh-Sh-Shampoo?”
“Mhm, that’s my friend’s name. It means ‘Mountain Fortress’. Fitting, since he’s grown up to be built like a mountain,” Mousse explained.
“The... the guy you know, who’s set to marry a cute little redhead, is Shampoo?” Akane asked, staring at him, hunting for any signs of lying.
“Yes?” Mousse replied.
Akane felt like the world was starting to spin around her. It kind of made sense. That’s why Shampoo was so shameless around Ranma. They were both—Kasumi! Her sister had been having a boy in her room the last three weeks!
Akane broke into a run, barely noticing if Mousse followed her as she made her way back home. Reaching the front door she tossed her shoes off in the genkan before shouting for Kasumi’s name. Her sister called back from the kitchen. Akane burst in, eye twitching as she found Shampoo and Ranma both in there with her, aproned up and helping to cook.
“You! Get away from my sister!”
“Me?” Ranma asked, looking quite confused.
“No, not you... though I’ll be watching you too. I’m talking about the pervert boy who’s been sneaking into her bedroom!” Akane shouted.
Shampoo looked shocked and confused, until Mousse arrived beside Akane.
“Mousse?” Shampoo asked.
“Yes? I... do I know you, miss?” the bespectacled boy replied.
“Uh... no?” Shampoo said.
“The game is up, pal,” Akane hissed, as the rest of the household showed up to check what was happening.
“Akane, there’s nothing to be so upset about,” Kasumi said.
Akane ignored her, storming over to the sink and cranking on the hot water. She grabbed a glass, filled it up, and spun around to splash Shampoo. The girl shot up about as much with the change as Ranma would have, though the increase in muscle mass on her arms was rather bolder. The loose shirt she’d been wearing was now tight on thickened arms.
Chaos erupted immediately. Genma and Ranma burst into an argument, Genma apparently having been aware of Shampoo’s male side, but not connected the two. Mousse hurried over to talk to Shampoo, and a second argument started, Shampoo far less happy to see him than he was to see Shampoo. A worried looking Soun started talking with Kasumi, though what they were saying was utterly drowned out by the two arguments.
Akane didn’t process most of it, though. The volume had simply become too much to process. Well, that and the feeling she’d felt, seeing Shampoo all this time, that she’d assumed was her blood boiling with anger and jealousy was still there... but, now, with Shampoo in a male form that she could process differently, she realised what it had really been: a crush.
But... she couldn’t ignore what Shampoo had been doing to Kasumi. Or... or how intimate Shampoo got with Ranma... who was another boy.
Overwhelmed, she made a break for it, running up to her room and locking the door. She buried herself in her blankets, confused and angry about her terrible taste in men.
-b-
Akane had fallen asleep at some point, crying in the dark. She hadn’t noticed, but did realise the soft knock at her door, that could only be Kasumi, had woken her up.
“C-come in,” she said, not wanting to get out of bed just yet.
Kasumi slipped in, closing the door behind her. She walked over and sat at the desk, turning the chair to face Akane’s bed.
“Are you feeling okay?” Kasumi asked.
“I guess? What about you though? You’re the one who had... who had him in your bedroom,” Akane muttered.
“It was something I’d learned about already,” Kasumi said.
“What!?”
Kasumi smiled. “There was an incident last week while we were making soup. We discussed matters quite thoroughly. I believe her when Shampoo says she was born with the heart of a girl.”
Akane felt her cheeks go hot. “B-but... a boy is a boy, no?”
Kasumi shrugged. “Shampoo seems much happier in girl form, and being treated like a girl. With a curse like she and Ranma have, I don’t think there’s any point in arguing about them being anything other than the one they say they are?”
Akane found herself struggling for words. She didn’t feel convinced, and... well, if Shampoo was really a boy then that just fit her earlier theory of having terrible taste in men. If Shampoo was a girl, then... then...
“Come on, let’s head down. You can talk things over with Shampoo yourself if you feel like it,” Kasumi said, still smiling softly.
“I... I guess,” Akane muttered.
“I do have to say, I’m impressed that you managed to sleep, considering what Ranma and uncle Genma got up to downstairs,” Kasumi said, wiping a little sleep from Akane’s left eye to respond to her confusion.
-b-
Shampoo sat beside Ranma, carefully applying an elastic bandage to Ranma’s left hand and wrist. Things had gotten rather rough with Genma, the Tendo kitchen now quite thoroughly destroyed. While Shampoo had helped Ranma to win, Ranma had rather hurt himself by accidentally punching the fridge. Still, they’d won in the end, and Genma had limped off to find a bar and cool his head.
“I still can’t believe you’ve done something that carried the punishment of exile, Shampoo,” Mousse muttered, sitting across from them.
“It was a slightly impulsive choice,” Shampoo admitted. “Am happy with the result, though.”
Mousse nodded, and left it at that.
Shampoo returned her focus to the redhead in front of her, applying a small bandaid to Ranma’s cheek. He blushed at her touch, there being something soft in his eyes, though he didn’t say anything. He’d done enough, though, fighting his father for her. She was happy just getting lost in his eyes for now.
The moment was broken as Akane joined them, sitting down near Ranma and Shampoo. Shampoo was less than thrilled with her, after what she’d said, but had had enough of fighting for today.
“I... Kasumi says I’ve misunderstood you,” Akane half whispered. “I just... I had just wanted to protect her.”
“Mhm?” Shampoo replied, not hearing an apology just yet.
Akane took a moment to visibly swallow her pride before dropping her eyes in something vaguely resembling a bow. “S-sorry.”
Shampoo took a moment before she nodded. “Apology accepted.”
It did not surprise Shampoo in the least that questions followed. Akane had many, though most were more or less the same as what Ranma or Kasumi had asked her over the past few weeks. Mousse joined in at points, and explaining things to her childhood friend made the repeat of the process a bit less boring. Especially when Mousse remembered things she’d forgotten that now made much more sense in hindsight.
That reminiscing with Mousse had distracted Shampoo from Akane for a bit, as the girl went quiet. Ranma had been happily engaged in the discussion, though a bit awkward about any specifics where Shampoo had been engaged in masculine activities. Or he’d simply been confused why those would be considered masculine, when they were seen as feminine in Japan.
“Y-you’d had your first kiss already?” Ranma blurted at one point.
Shampoo nodded. “Cream was very cute and she asked. We were twelve, though. It was not serious.”
“Was I, uh... was I at least the first guy you’d kissed?” Ranma asked, blushing a little.
“Oh! Yes. Airen is first boy for Shampoo in general,” she said, tapping the redhead on the nose.
“Wait, though... if you really do like girls, then... then...” Akane muttered, having turned bright red herself. “You... do you still... I...”
Shampoo turned and leaned towards Akane, smiling as the other girl’s eyes grew wide at the proximity. “Shampoo thinks that is maybe something we share?”
As Akane stammered some sort of reply, Shampoo decided to have a little fun, and leaned in closer, kissing Akane quickly before sliding back away from her.
She was pretty sure she saw steam coming out of Akane’s eyes at that point.
“Wish I had noticed her blushes earlier,” Shampoo said, grinning away to Ranma.
“W-wait, what was that?” Ranma blurted.
“Shampoo fixing your indecisiveness, airen,” she replied, kissing him on the cheek.
Ranma joined Akane in flustered blushing.
Mousse broke into laughter across the table. “You end up a girl, and still get yourself one and a half girlfriends. I’ll never not be jealous of your luck with women, Shampoo.”
Shampoo just smiled.