[Fanfic][Ranma] Parting Gifts - Part Five.

  This tale grew in the telling, as Dr. Tolkien wrote famously in
the foreword to "Lord Of The Rings". I started off to write a
short, and it got bigger before my eyes. Enjoy.

  What has gone before: Ranma's engagement to Shampoo has been
dissolved, and Cologne has promised to teach Ranma and Akane some
things they need to know; Akane is to learn to control her temper
and Ranma is to come to terms with his feminine side. The lessons
have gone well in the main despite some rough spots, and the two
pupils are visiting Cologne one last time before the Amazons
leave for China. After the lessons, Cologne has sent her two
pupils out to be examined on what they have learnt. Akane and
Ukyou have talked about Ranma and Ranma has driven off an assault
by Master Happosai. Now read on.

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Parting Gifts - Part five.  by Robert Sneddon.
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  In the ladies restroom Ranma refastened the bra back into place
with an easy dexterity that did not escape her notice. *This
stuff ain't too hard to learn. I just had to get up the guts to
start.* She buttoned the blouse back up, fingers hesitating near
the neckline. *Four buttons, or shall I make it five?* She tilted
her head quizzically at the mirror. *Five looks good. Five it is
then.* She smiled at the mirror and her reflection naturally
smiled back.

  "Finished primping, girl?" came Cologne's ascerbic voice from
outside the washroom.

  "Yes, Sensei. Coming." The girl called Ranma turned away from
the mirror towards the door, pausing only for one last
over-the-shoulder glance at her reflection.

  As Cologne and Ranma left the cafe, they had to dodge around
some traffic cones and roadwork barriers blocking the sidewalk
just outside the door. In the middle of the flashing lights,
still blissfully unconscious, lay Ryouga, the focus of attention
of a small group of fascinated onlookers.

  "What's with all this stuff?" Ranma-chan asked one gawker.

  "Oh, hello Miss." He bowed jerkily. "Ah, the ambulancemen came
by and tried to pick up the lad there, but for some reason they
couldn't budge him. They've gone to get a crane or something, and
they were worried about people tripping over him."

  Ranma glanced down; she had totally forgotten Ryouga had been
wearing his travel pack with the Umrella of Doom wedged through
the shoulder straps. She debated for a second whether to pick up
the unconscious boy then giggled. Girls didn't do that sort of
thing; picking up boys that is. She turned and followed Sensei
Cologne back to the Nekohanten, leaving Ryouga where he was,
oblivious as ever. On the way Ranma mentioned that Ryouga might
come around to ask Cologne about his curse. Cologne nodded. "I
owe the boy something for his help in the past year. I can only
hope he can locate the Nekohanten again before we leave for
China."

  Back at the Nekohanten Akane was standing outside the front
door with Ukyou, an arm around her shoulder. Ranma could see no
obvious bloodstains or gaping wounds on either girl and relaxed,
suddenly aware of the niggling tension that had been circulating
in her mind all afternoon. What if Akane's test had gone wrong?
but the sight of the two girls together settled her mind.

  "Hi Akane, Ukyou." She waved at them cheerfully. "How'd it go?"

  "Okay, Ranma." She shot Ranma a look that she instantly girl-
translated as "We've got to talk and soon." Ukyou's face was
frozen, her eyes locked on Ranma's slight form, unreadable. What
the heck had happened between those two? No violence, sure, but
Ukyou was hurting. Ranma almost reached out to take her hand but
hesitated. She needed to hear Akane out before making things
worse by opening her big stupid macho mouth. Damn, this girl
stuff was *hard*. Akane seemed to have things under control; best
leave her to cope with Ukyou.

  Akane smiled and hugged Ukyou's shoulder again.

  "It went fine, didn't it Ukyou?" Ukyou nodded, looking down and
still saying nothing. "We had icecream and a nice long talk."

  "And you didn't end up hitting each other?"

  Ukyou's free hand clenched and Ranma's heart sank. Uh-oh. That
had been the wrong thing to say somehow but Akane saved the day.

  "No, we didn't do it the Ranma way." she said sharply. Ukyou
looked up into Akane's face and smiled for the first time.

  "Uh, well..." *Change the subject, idiot!* "Cologne's told me
I've passed my own test."

  "Where's Ryouga then?" asked Akane.

  "Uh, he had a slight accident."

  Akane's face reddened. "You dumb... You ended up in a fight
with poor Ryouga, didn't you? You, you..."

  "No, no, it wasn't like that Akane! Honest!" Ranma started
backing off but Akane brought herself up short as Ukyou pulled
away from her. She deflated before putting her arm around the
cook again, pulling her close. Ukyou's tension faded as Akane
drew a deep breath.

  "Sorry Ranma, we've had a stressful time. Too."

  "We ran into the old lech at the cafe." explained Ranma. "I had
to fight him off. Ryouga got to see something, well, he shouldn't
have, and you know Ryouga."

  "Oh dear. Nosebleed?" Akane smiled as Ranma nodded. "He's
almost as bad as P-chan in that regard. Poor Ryouga. I do hope
you didn't hurt Grandfather too much."

  Ranma-chan laughed. "About as much as you would have if he'd
done the same to you. Tell you later, OK?"

  There was a cough and the three girls turned to face Cologne.

  "I will soon be leaving to take Shampoo and Mousse back to the
village. I have given you, Saotome Ranma and Tendou Akane, my
parting gifts. I now give you my blessings and my good wishes."

  The couple bowed respectfully as Cologne turned her attention
to Ukyou. "Kuonji Ukyou." The okonomoyaki cook stiffened as
Cologne's gimlet gaze fixed on her. "To you I offer the
hospitality of the Joketetsu. If you come to visit us in China I
can perhaps help you as I have helped these two."

  "But you can't..." Ukyou suddenly stopped, glancing at Akane
and Ranma with scared eyes.

  "I cannot give you what you want." Cologne finished Ukyou's
thought. "It is not in anyone's gift, what you want, who you
want." Ukyou's eyes dropped again. "What I can perhaps teach you
is how to come to terms with the way things are."

  Ukyou started as Ranma rested a hand on her shoulder. "Take her
up on it, Ukyou. It'll hurt like crazy, I guess, but..." Ukyou
remained downcast but Akane weighed in on the other side. "Sensei
Cologne has performed miracles for me, for us. You might want to
give her the chance to do the same for you."

  Ukyou stood up straight, then bowed to Cologne. "Thank you
Sensei. I will... think on your offer."

  Cologne waved a hand. "No hurry. You have responsibilities here
that require your attention. The offer will remain open for as
long as you need to decide."

  Shampoo appeared from the Nekohanten carrying a large wicker
cage which shook wildly. "Quiet, stupid birdbrain." she said to
it crossly before turning around and catching sight of the group
around her grandmother.

  "Test is over?" she asked, moving forward. She was wearing one
of her tight-fitting Chinese silk brocade dresses, the sort that
enhanced her charms to the fullest. Ranma-chan goggled
appreciatively until Akane's elbow caught her forcefully in the
ribs.

  "Uh, Akane..." the girl's glare was laser-hot. "I, um, was just
wondering where she got that dress. Um." The glare continued for
another heartbeat and then suddenly all the females present
excepting Ranma were laughing. After another moment even she
joined in.

  "Riiiight. Suuure." said Akane when the laughter had died down.
Ranma scratched at the back of her neck in embarrassment.

  "Well... It's not exactly an excuse, Akane. Shampoo looks good
in that outfit," *and she looks unbelievable out of it, as I know
from my biology lesson but Akane's never ever going to hear about
***that*** or I'm one dead martial Artist* "and I sorta wonder if
I would look as good in something like that."

  This caused Ranma-chan to suddenly become the focus of some
very hard stares. "Uh..."

  "Ex-husband would look good." said Shampoo firmly. She made a
decision, putting the cage down then carefully rotating it so
that the open-meshed front pointed away from the group. The
squawking noise from inside increased in volume. She bent down,
annoyed, and said in a quiet no-nonsense way "Duck tape." The
squawking ceased. She stood again, then dusted her hands.

  Suddenly Shampoo's strong arms were wrapped around Ranma-chan
as she attempted to suck Ranma's stunned brain out past her lips.
Ranma's legs turned to jelly and she made the mistake of opening
her mouth to object, giving Shampoo's tongue the chance to boldly
go where it had never gone before. When it got there...

  Ranma-chan came back up from the dark pools to find herself
leaning on Akane's shoulder, her belly glowing with an unfamiliar
fire. A sudden fugitive thought told her she was in deep trouble
but Akane's glare was aimed instead at the Chinese girl who had
the biggest grin on her face Ranma had ever seen.

  "What sort of perverted Amazon kiss was that then?" demanded
Akane, her rage rising.

  "That Amazon kiss of Fun, lucky girl." said Shampoo. "Shampoo
recommend lucky girl try it sometime. Do both of you good."
Akane's glare faded as her face turned red, then she looked away.
Ranma couldn't quite hear what she muttered, but was that a
"Maybe..."?

  "Akane? Let's get back home. I want to get changed." *In both
senses of the word.* She thought back on the day's events; it had
been shocking and revealing but not *bad* as such, just unusual
and her life was unusual most of the time. Even now she wasn't
uncomfortable dressed as a girl, being a girl, not as
uncomfortable as she would have been a few weeks ago. It was just
time for her to be Ranma-kun again. For a while.

  Akane turned her attention back to her companion.

  "What do you want to try on next?" she asked, raising an
eyebrow in surprise.

  *Great. I'm going to become Akane's dress-up doll.* "A hot
bath, Akane. It's been a tough day for me, for all of us and I
need to be myself again." She paused for a second. "The other me,
I mean. The real me. Uh..." Her eyes crossed in concentration.
"You know what I mean."

  Akane's answer was slow in coming. "I think I do. Do you?"

  "Nope. Let's go home anyway."

  Akane nodded, then her gaze fixed onto Ranma-chan's chest.

  "Five buttons?"

  "Five looks good." said Ranma-chan defiantly. Akane looked at
her fiance contemplatively, then nodded.

  "You're right. Five looks good." Ranma sighed, relieved, until
Akane went on. "Six might be better, though." She reached for the
blouse's buttons...

  As the two girls ran off, Akane in hot pursuit of the
protesting redhead, Cologne sighed, then turned to Ukyou.

  "Remember my offer, girl. You could learn much if you wish."

  "Teach us okonomiyaki, too." said Shampoo, sticking out her
hand. Ukyou stared at her rival, ex-rival, then down at the
outstretched empty hand. No bonbori, no sword, not even a
bicycle's handlebars, no weapons at all. Her own battle spatula
was propped up against the Nekohanten's wall, out of reach. She
felt suddenly bereft; the noises of Akane's pursuit of Sugar, her
beloved, faded in the distance. What to do?

  She took the soft white hand before her in a firm grip and
shook it.

  "I'll remember, Sensei." she said to Cologne as Shampoo smiled
again.

  "Good. Spatula girl and Shampoo have fun together back in
Amazon village, yes?"

  Ukyou wasn't sure but was that a capital F in front of the word
"fun"? The thought raised certain feelings in her mind and
elsewhere which, she decided, she needed to think about very
hard.

  "Maybe we will, Shampoo, maybe we will." she said. And smiled.

  [End of Parting Gifts].

  I hope you enjoyed this story. Comments and compliments to
nojay (at) nojay (dot) fsnet (dot) co (dot) uk. Thank you for
reading.