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They were all gathered in Ucchan’s: the Tendo sisters, Ranma, Shampoo, Ukyo, and, of course, herself. She and Ukyo had made sure the windows were shut and the door was locked, as Ranma apparently had an announcement that required the highest levels of secrecy. They’d given the all clear about a minute ago, now, though. Yet the tiny redhead hadn’t managed to say anything yet.
“I…” Ranma half whispered. Those big nervous eyes glanced at Shampoo, but then Ranma let out a soft sigh. “I’m a girl.”
It seemed that Akane and Nabiki had already known, judging by the way they’d stared at the others with a protective glare. Akane having known was to be expected, but Nabiki? Konatsu could only guess she had been spying. And had then found she had some morals about her.
Shampoo muttered something to herself in her native tongue, before looking up at Ranma with hopeful eyes. “You… you still like girls, no?”
Ranma and Akane shared a glance that had more weight behind it that most glances managed, before the short girl gave a small shrug. “Not sure.”
The reply caused Shampoo’s lips to thin slightly, but she gave a small nod.
“Ya—ya ain’t gonna have ta try ta kill me now or anything, are ya?” Ranma asked.
Shampoo’s eyes fell, the muscular girl managing to shrink in on herself. “I… by the rules of my people, yes. But… by the rules of my village I must also marry a man, and…”
There was a pause before she looked up again, pleading in her eyes visible even from where Konatsu was standing.
“I do not want to do either,” she said, before throwing herself forward to hug Ranma.
The small girl seemed frazzled by the contact. At least, Akane and Ukyo didn’t seem as upset as they often got. Konatsu felt sure that something had happened between Akane and Ranma to cement their relationship. Ukyo, meanwhile… perhaps she was still in shock.
“Well, that’s one possible murder attempt cleared up,” Ranma said in a somewhat tired voice.
“Oh. Oh yes. Your mother?” Kasumi asked in a soft voice.
Ranma nodded, as Shampoo broke her hug.
“Any smart woman should prefer a daughter to a son.”
“Where you’re from. Not here in Japan,” Ranma replied. “Besides, with the seppuku pledge…”
Nabiki placed a hand on Ranma’s shoulder. “Give Kasumi and me a few days, and we might be able to talk her down.”
Ranma seemed surprised by that, but Nabiki was able to provide a persuasive argument that she was good enough with contracts to hopefully make a dent in Nodoka’s logic. While Kasumi was enough of a model of traditional womanhood that she would be able to provide an insight into Nodoka’s thought process.
Though it left them with a question about how to get Ranma away from the dojo for a few days. Without taking her camping gear and making people suspicious. Until Ukyo offered that they could go to her uncle’s. He had a small family inn up near a ski resort, and, well, it was the off season. Ukyo was pretty sure she could get a cheap room for them to stay in for a few days.
Which led to a brief argument over who should go. Akane didn’t see a reason for Ukyo to go with Ranma, but Ukyo pointed out it was Ukyo’s uncle, so she’d probably need to go for the ‘family discount’. So Akane insisted she go too. Which led to Shampoo refusing to get left out of another trip with the two of them.
Konatsu, then, had surprised herself by asking to go as well. She wanted to help Ranma with matters of gender. She wasn’t planning to push, but Ranma seemed to light up at the offer, while both Akane and Shampoo seemed happy to have her brought along.
The inn was a bit of a walk from the train station, but none of the martial artists present were going to complain about that. They’d all gone on much longer walks. Even if it was a good way up a mountain, making it closer to the ski slopes in winter, but simply inconvenient in early autumn.
Ukyo’s uncle proved to be an absolute bear of a man. The kind that made Konatsu quietly thank her father for passing on what most would call ‘bishonen’ DNA to her.
“If you wants us to do anything around the place, just lets us know,” Ukyo said, as her uncle led them to their accommodations.
“Oh, please. The employees I’s got is barely earning their pay as it is. Don’t makes it even more foolish for me to be paying them,” the large man said with a laugh, before opening up the door to a single traditional style room. “I’ll be’s downstairs if you needs me, but just rest for now, ladies.”
They all nodded, waiting for him to leave out of earshot. At which point they were left with the elephant in the room. Or… rather the elephant that was the room.
“It’s just the one room,” Akane half whispered.
“I could only gets my uncle to gives us so much for dirt cheap,” Ukyo replied.
Akane nodded, eyes glancing at the rest of them.
“You don’t’s got a problem with Konatsu does you?” Ukyo asked, crossing her arms.
“If she does I am sure I can find somewhere else to sleep,” Konatsu offered. “There is probably an attic.”
“No. No. You’re as much a girl as Ranma is… as any girl is,” Akane replied. “That wasn’t… it’s just there’s a lot of us.”
“Ah. Well, yeah. We ain’t on vacation,” Ukyo said with a shrug.
They’d all ended up deciding not to spend much of the evening in the room. Ukyo had dragged Akane off to go shopping for some supplies. She’d not wanted to mooch off of her uncle too much, so they were going to grab cup ramen and snacks. As well as some playing cards and whatever else they could scrap together. Konatsu had then excused herself to scope out the inn.
A good ninja made sure to know her surroundings. Especially if she was going to be staying put for a few days. Maybe as much as a week.
The inn was isolated. Several hundred metres of light forest separated it from any surrounding homes. The road was also at least fifty metres away. Apart from a few rocks there wasn’t much overly interesting in those surrounding woods. The trees were mostly small, probably due to the rocky soil and high elevation.
The inn itself offered fairly few interesting routes for a ninja to sneak through, but Konatsu noted what she could. Even if she had to use regular hallways and rooms, like some sort of… non-ninja, it still paid to know the layout of those rooms. To memorize the quickest routes from point a to point b, as well as then point g to point h.
Eventually, though, she ran out of obvious places to explore, so decided to return to the room.
Stepping in, she found Shampoo curled up in one corner, wrapped up in a housecoat. Confused, Konatsu quietly closed the door and walked over to her side. Crouching down, she placed a hand on Shampoo’s upper arm, meant to reassure her before asking her what was wrong.
However, it seemed her attempt at ‘gentle quiet’ had accidentally been imperceptible silence once again, as Shampoo jumped at the touch, spinning to something of a crouching fighting stance. A maneuver that revealed the other girl was wearing nothing underneath her robe.
Konatsu blushed furiously at the sight, covering her eyes.
“Ninja girl?” Shampoo asked, sounding surprised and confused, but… not angry.
“I am very sorry. I did not mean to—would you… would you like me to leave so that you may dress?” she replied, cheeks still hot from what she’d seen.
She was not one to consider herself strongly sexually motivated. Especially since she had started taking those delightful little pills Doctor Tofu had been giving her. But… well, Shampoo’s form was beautiful in ways similar to European or Indian sculptures. A perfection Konatsu wished to marvel at in envy.
“I… I am fine as this,” Shampoo said, Konatsu hearing the swish of fabric to indicate the other girl had closed her robe.
Opening her eyes, Konatsu also noticed a redness about Shampoo’s own. Beyond the colour of her irises. It was clear the other girl had been crying.
Shampoo apparently noticed the concern from Konatsu, and she gave a small nod.
“I am a fool. A true bèn dàn,” she said with a sigh. “Tried seducing her one more time. Should have known it would not work. Never worked… probably just insulted her femininity too.”
“Why would you have insulted her femininity?” Konatsu asked, not quite following that part.
“Assuming she would like a girl,” Shampoo replied softly. “When she is how she is.”
“I… I like girls?” Konatsu offered, trying to reassure the other girl.
“You do?” came a soft reply, Shampoo looking up at her with confusion. “But then… why wouldn’t you want to be a man? So that you can love girls without… without— difficulties ?”
The last bit was said with a wave of her arm as Shampoo was clearly struggling to put her thoughts together in Japanese.
“One chooses to like being a man or woman as much as one chooses to like men or women… which is to say not at all,” Konatsu replied.
Shampoo blinked, staring at her before nodding. It seemed that was enough to cover her confusion.
“So… I was not a fool?” Shampoo asked. “Thinking maybe Ranma always rejected me before for saying I wanted a husband and not a wife? That maybe now she would accept me?”
Konatsu offered a soft smile, before slipping beside the smaller girl and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“No. Well… no more than love makes any of us foolish,” Konatsu said, her voice still soft. “Though… perhaps doing somewhere where you and Miss Ranma must share a bedroom was a bit… less than optimal.”
Shampoo leaned against her, before rolling and splaying across Konatsu’s lap. Almost like some sort of oversized house cat. Unsure how to respond, Konatsu tried lightly running her fingers through the other girl’s hair. Shampoo seemed to like that, going by the soft sigh she let out.
Dinner, which was mostly instant noodles heated by electric kettle, proved tense. Ranma kept her distance from Shampoo, while Shampoo kept silent. Akane, though, had questions for Konatsu that filled the space between them. Ranma also seemed a bit curious how Konatsu had worked things out, having needed to have her actual body changed to work things out (and still taking over a year after that).
Konatsu had been left a bit unsure how to precisely explain it. She’d been the lucky sort who had simply known. She’d had temper tantrums as a toddler until her parents had listened and let her live as a girl. Followed by her step family constantly berating her as selfish for not living the way she was ‘supposed to’.
Still there were things she could explain. Such as the way thinking about the idea of having to grow into a man had given her nightmares. Ranma quietly muttered about how she’d not really understood gender enough to have understood what a ‘man’ was. It wasn’t until puberty that she’d started to properly grasp it wasn’t simply a synonym for ‘martial artist’ or ‘honourable person’.
An admission that left the tiny redhead blushing furiously at the looks Ukyo and Akane gave her.
“Pops raised me in the woods half my life, alright? I didn’t spend alotta time around adults back then,” she mumbled.
“I suppose that’s fair,” Ukyo replied.
“We really need to do something about Uncle Genma…” Akane added.
“He would be a tricky target, but I could likely manage,” Konatsu offered.
The other three turned to stare at her, before something clicked in Akane’s eyes.
“W-we don’t mean actually kill him!” she yelped.
Ukyo seemed less horrified by the idea and Shampoo seemed downright enthusiastic, but Ranma joined Akane in on protesting.
“He’s garbage, but he’s my pops!”
“I merely wished to offer my services if they were needed,” Konatsu replied.
The others nodded slowly, but decided to change the subject to how school had been going. Something that left Konatsu as lost as Shampoo.
Sleeping arrangements have been based around keeping Ranma and Shampoo apart. Konatsu didn’t know if Ranma had shared what had happened (logically, she’d have surely said, but… apparently Ranma also hadn’t told Ukyo that Shampoo existed until they met by accident, so she wasn’t exactly the best news source). Konatsu had decided to set her futon out beside Shampoo, allowing Ukyo and Akane to argue over the last three options.
In the end, Ranma had decided to sleep between them, ostensibly to keep Akane from starting any fights in her sleep.
That all sorted, Konatsu had drifted off to sleep in the luxury of a proper futon. Something she still wasn’t used to. To think that just a few short months ago the best beds she found were usually made of leaves she’d gathered. It didn’t take long for her to slip into sleep while enjoying the decadence of it all.
When she awoke in the morning, however, she could tell something was odd. She felt warmer than she expected. And like the blanket had wrapped around her in a strange way. It was really quite confusing.
Oh, and there was something tickling her nose and lips.
Opening one eye cautiously, unsure what she’d see, she found herself looking down on a head of purple hair. Beneath the hair there was someone snoring. Very softly, though. Gentle and quiet and, honestly, quite adorable.
She also, slowly, realised that the odd pressure around her mid area was the result of Shampoo hugging her. Something no one had done for her in years. The result left her blushing furiously as she processed it. She felt that she should wiggle out, before Shampoo woke up and was upset to discover whom she was hugging. Yet… she couldn’t bring herself to move. The physical proximity was so wonderful. The touch of another person…
“Mhm?” Shampoo mumbled, shifting a little before turning her head and blinking her eyes open to look up at Konatsu.
“I… I believe this is my futon, Miss Shampoo,” she whispered.
“Mhrm,” Shampoo mumbled, before nuzzling her head back into Konatsu’s chest.
“M—Miss Shampoo?” she whispered again.
“Mnnh?” the other girl mumbled, before stiffening and looking up again, this time with brighter eyes. “I… I am awake now… aren’t I?”
Konatsu nodded slowly.
“Oh,” Shampoo mumbled, taking another moment to process things. Then she hurried back over to her own futon, laying down and seeming to try to go back to sleep. Though she then took a moment to whisper, “Sorry.”
It was all quite odd, and Konatsu wasn’t sure how to respond. So she did her best to get back to sleep as well. Though that only lasted a few minutes as Akane and Ukyo both got up not long after.
The morning was fairly uneventful, however. They had breakfast, which was rice crackers and a few convenience store onigiris. Akane had phoned one of Nabiki’s friends to find out if there was any news. They then had to wait about twenty minutes for a return call, the girl serving as relay having to give bad news. Nabiki had asked for more time. At least two extra days.
Not what they wanted to hear, but at least Nodoka apparently hadn’t started swinging her katana around yet.
Everyone was too restless to stay cooped up in the room all day, however, and so folks trickled out after breakfast. Akane had been the first to go, wanting to do a jog. Ukyo had then wanted to talk to her uncle. Ranma had decided to go stretch and run through some katas outside. Which left Konatsu to head for a washroom, looking for a mirror and a sink to shave.
Something she hated having to do, but… those hairs that grew in were worse than the process of removing them. It did make her quietly wish for her own Jusenkyo magic, though.
She was about halfway done with shaving when Shampoo slipped in, leaving her quite flustered.
“Sha—Miss Shampoo,” she stammered, having to be caught with shaving cream all over her face. Something of a beard of foam.
Shampoo stared at her intently, leaving her even more self conscious, before the other girl gave a small nod. “It is cute.”
“P—pardon?”
Shampoo gestured towards Konatsu’s face. “The foam. It looks so out of place that it… reinforces you are a girl.”
Konatsu felt her cheeks go hot and had no idea how to respond.
Shampoo decided to take that as a cue to continue talking. “I would like to go hiking. Get away from the inn. Would you like to?”
“I… with you?” Konatsu asked.
Shampoo nodded.
“I…” Konatsu began, before realising she had no idea what to say.
Looking at Shampoo, there was a sadness about her that tugged at Konatsu’s heart, but… well, she had promised to be here for Ranma as the other girl first came to understand her girlhood. And… Ukyo and Shampoo did not generally get along the best. So, Ukyo may be upset with Konatsu for spending time with a rival (both romantic and commercial).
Though, on the other hand, it would be helping to keep Shampoo away from Ranma. Which seemed good for Ranma right now and was something Ukyo would surely approve of.
“Allow me to finish getting ready and I would be happy to join you,” Konatsu said at last.
Shampoo lit up with a smile that made Konatsu’s heart flutter. How could anyone be as beautiful as that girl?
The hiking trails through the foothills were quite lovely. Various small ravines and gullies cut through the sides of the hills, though most were little more than a trickle with it being early October.
Shampoo had generally been quiet as they walked, but Konatsu was quite used to such quiet. Her step family had only really acknowledged her to make demands or insult her. Silence was to be enjoyed. (Ukyo was more talkative, but Konatsu was still adjusting to that.)
“Can I tell you a secret, ninja girl?” Shampoo asked as they reached the top of a larger hill.
Konatsu paused, turning to look at Shampoo, as well as the impressive view behind her. “I will do my best to keep it to the grave.”
“It is not that secret of a secret,” Shampoo said, smiling slightly.
“Oh… well, still,” Konatsu mumbled.
Shampoo continued to smile quietly, watching her for a few moments. Then her face returned to the more serious expression she had worn.
“I am… my birthday is in a few days. And I…” she trailed off.
Konatsu, however, was filled with concern. “That should not be a secret, Miss Shampoo. If you must be here, away from your family, then we should have a celebration for you. I am certain the other girls would be happy to.”
Shampoo blushed slightly, shaking her head. “The birthday itself is not the secret. The secret is… my age.”
She turned to Konatsu, looking deeply embarrassed by what she was about to say. “It is embarrassing to admit when I have been so much more the fool than the rest, but… I am… I am turning nineteen. I am two years older than the others, but act the most like the love struck puppy.”
“Oh!” Konatsu replied, blinking. “We’re the same age! I… well, my birthday is not for… a little while longer. I remember it was a bit before Culture Day, though not the exact date… but it shows that you are not alone as a lovestruck romantic chasing after one who does not return your affections at our age.”
Shampoo watched her, seeming quite surprised.
“I… I have realised that Ukyo does not return my feelings… I am trying my best to move past them. Though I do not know where to place my fo—”
Anything further Konatsu tried to say was cut off by Shampoo kissing her. A kiss that proved passionate, long and… deeply intoxicating for Konatsu as she found herself returning it, and trying to follow Shampoo’s retreat lips when the other girl at last broke for air.
She was left a blushing mess as the other girl smiled.
“How is that for another target?” Shampoo asked.
“I… I… that…” Konatsu stammered, only now processing what had just happened had really happened.
Shampoo, a girl as beautiful as any goddess or bewitching kitsune, had kissed her. Her legs gave out, and she found herself flopping into a messy cross-legged position on the ground. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular, visual stimulus a step too far for her brain right now.
“But… but… so soon…”
“I may have been chasing Ranma for long, but… that does not mean no others caught my eye,” Shampoo said, crouching beside her. “Spatula girl interested me for a short while, but… I was too shy to admit it. Lately, I wonder if maybe… well, you are very much a girl. A Japanese girl, which is a gender I still do not fully understand, but… a girl.”
Konatsu stammered, still not finding sentences in her reach.
“You are also both beautiful and fierce,” Shampoo added.
That was too much. Konatsu let a squeak escape her before reality followed it.
Konatsu wasn’t unconscious for long, but apparently it was long enough for Shampoo to have picked her up and started walking back towards the inn. Which left Konatsu furiously flush as she felt just how strong Shampoo’s arms felt as she carried her.
“Ah, you are awake. Good,” Shampoo said, still carrying her.
On some level Konatsu felt she should protest about that. That she should have more dignity than to be carried about. But… the physical contact was so nice. Especially with the muscles she felt in Shampoo’s arms.
So, instead, she focused on the other matter that needed addressing. “This still feels like such a quick change of targets.”
Shampoo gave a nod. “I had staked my honour on Ranma. My heart, though… it was not focused after the wedding. I saw no alternatives, though. There were many beautiful girls about. All single… but also seeming taken, no matter how muchI—I think the word is ‘pined’? Well, until when you said you knew Kuonji did not return your feelings.”
It made sense. Konatsu had to admit that. It felt a bit… well, an odd mixture of impulsive and calculating. But, she supposed, that was how Shampoo was. Her feline curse suited her, for, like a cat, she was always plotting, but was also quick to jump at something that caught her attention.
It might take some getting used to, but Konatsu felt sure she could. Especially with Shampoo being so impossibly cute, yet also exceptionally strong. It made her heart flutter in multiple ways at the same time.
“I… I was not wrong, yes? To think you were ready to move on?” Shampoo asked.
“Oh. Oh, no. I just had not realised you were so ready yourself,” Konatsu replied.
Returning to the inn, Konatsu had been quite unsure how to act. Her worries about how the others might react were front and center in her mind. So, she had awkwardly offered to play cards with Shampoo when they returned. Shampoo did seem interested in the games Konatsu knew, but all focus was out the window when the others returned and Shampoo decided to announce she was dating Konatsu as soon as the others were through the door.
An announcement she had punctuated with another kiss that left Konatsu weak in the knees.
The others had been surprised, and odd emotions had played across both Ranma and Ukyo’s faces, but they’d all at least said they were happy for the two of them. They all insisted Shampoo had to behave herself as long as everyone was sharing a room, however. Shampoo gave a nod, promising her best behaviour.
The afternoon had, as such, generally seen her snuggling against Konatsu, but in ways that generally were not scandalous. Or, at least, not scandalous by comparison to what Shampoo was known to do.
To everyone’s surprise, Nabiki phoned that evening. She had apparently managed to get a breakthrough with Nodoka earlier than expected. The Nerima library system had had tapes of a Takarazuka Revue performance, and, apparently, tapes had been all it took to help her and Kasumi get Nodoka discussing the performance side of gender. They’d pointed out a woman being convincing as a man took a greater understanding of manhood than a man doing it, which they had then been able to massage towards Ranma’s gender.
In the end, Nodoka had agreed it was more truly impressive for a girl to be as manly as Ranma could manage. And had then grabbed her katana to go chase Genma around, threatening to murder him for putting their poor baby girl through such harsh training.
“Did she calm down?” Ranma asked, as they all crowded around the phone, everyone wanting to hear what they could.
“Mmm… no. Not yet. I think she’ll get tired before him, though. So he’s probably fine,” Nabiki replied.
“Father and uncle Genma may be a bit upset for a bit, however,” Kasumi added, somewhere near the phone and just barely audible to Konatsu’s ears. “At least while they think you and Akane can’t get married.”
That comment seemed to confuse Shampoo and Ukyo as much as it confused Konatsu, as the three of them turned in unison towards the youngest Tendo. Akane blushed in reply.
“That’s… um… that’s still not a certainty yet,” Akane replied cryptically.
Konatsu saw something in those brown eyes that left her wondering, but Shampoo gave a simple shrug, having apparently only had so much interest. As the phone conversation continued, she pulled Konatsu away, deciding to give Ranma and Akane some privacy… at least as much as Ukyo was going to offer them.
Or, perhaps, her concern was more her and Konatsu’s privacy, as she looked up with a soft blush. A blush followed by a kiss.
“Do be ready, though. Stupid Mousse will not be happy about this,” Shampoo whispered.
“I am sure that I am quite ready,” Konatsu replied.
She was not the best at confidence in many things, but fighting was one place she felt certain of her skills. Certainly against someone as easily distracted as Mousse.
Shampoo lit up, and offered her another kiss.
It had been too late to head back to Tokyo that evening, which had led to another night at the inn.
That night, however, Shampoo and Konatsu shared a futon from the start. Snuggling as they drifted off to sleep was a new level of heaven that even the luxury of a soft warm bed paled against.
Konatsu hoped to do more of that.