Across the swaying grass blades surrounding Ranma and her family's home, was the long-haired suitor of Shampoo. There was a moment of pause and confusion as they watched a cloak-wearing Amazonian begin making his way over.
"Can we talk in private?" he asked at speaking volume instead of declaration like moments ago.
There was an intense look in the redhead's eyes, it looked as though they could bore deep into his soul with her gaze alone. "There's something I gotta' know before anything else bub," Ranma answered.
The mother of the abode and visiting cursed pig turned to Ranma as her gaze appeared extremely focused, though they could sense swelling ki reserves being expended. This confused and interested them as they awaited Mousse's response.
"Who are you again…?" Ranma asked as she put her hand to her chin, her other placed atop P-chan's little piggy head.
What nerve Mousse had to come at a time like this! If there was a sentence to describe P-chan's expression at this moment, it was thoroughly distraught! His wandering mind hadn't even been allowed time to imagine her in something wholesome; let alone lewd.
"Mousse?" Nodoka asked quizzically as she knew those glasses from anywhere.
In all the dramatic build-up he could muster, the long-sleeved master of the hidden weapon looked as he was about to call out by name at the height of it all. Only to see that he wounded up not even remembering his peculiar name.
The cursed fowl was so shocked that he almost ended up making a misstep and had to correct himself before falling flat on his face.
"Are you kidding me!?" Mousse cried as he slammed the sides of his closed fist on the ground in front of him.
"I've had a lot on my mind, so sue me!" Ranma defended, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth while she tempered her anger and hopefully kept P-chan calm, especially since he was in no position to fight.
"He's the boy with glasses I've told you about at work dear," Nodoka explained, closing her eyes as she wiped her hands with a damp washcloth.
"So he's that guy, huh?" Ranma quirked a slightly intrigued brow.
"Bwee?" the miniature pig oinks inquisitively.
Standing up with such speed he appeared blurry, Mousse straightened his glasses while his other arm was crossed against his chest. "Anyways, I think you know you're running out of time for that old crone's help…" Mousse's voice trailed as he stopped talking, the three figured it was so they could hear what Ranma had to say in response to the sudden intrusion.
"I guess that's true but…" Ranma's voice dragged out, weighing her options as the image of the three masters crossed her mind. "I don't think I have to worry about not being strong enough to take that Shampoo girl on again, no, it's more bout what comes after rejecting her offer that gets to me," The redhead muttered the rest of her response.
"Ryoga," Nodoka says in a defeated tone, her eyes falling on him.
After those words escaped their lips, P-chan looked down, looking to be fighting back some tears, 'I would have to accept my fate and do as planned, I should find my-' he thought before shaking his head and then looking his eyes onto Mousse's eyes.
"Pretty sure my friend here just said what we should have been asking," Ranma smiled smugly as she put her hand atop P-chan's head, hoping to comfort him from whatever nearly made his eyes water.
"If it's also why I'm here? Then let me explain…" Mousse closed his eyes and lowered his head.
"Please tell me you're not here for a fight," Nodoka commented, placing a hand on her cheek. 'Usually, I'm all for displays of manliness but Mousse can't even take Shampoo in a fight, so I'm not sure it'd end well for him,' the mother of the Saotome abode pondered.
"If that's what you're looking for then I'd be more than happy to oblige, pretty sure you and that nutjob were chasing Ryoga and me awhile back," Ranma said as she took her hand off the pig's head, causing him to squeal lightly and watch as her hands came together at the center, popping her knuckles.
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I'm not here for that," Mousse glared a little before rolling his eyes, 'Does all this guy ever think about anything other than fighting? Geez...' Mousse's inner voice groaned before shaking his head and reaching up his sleeve-covered hand to touch his face, gravity tugged the fabric downward, revealing Mousse's forearm.
"That's my girl-" Nodoka was about to finish but shook her head and corrected herself. "Boy!" she blurted out with a fake laugh that came out as nervous.
All eyes fell on Nodoka as she cleared her throat and closed her eyes, "You were saying?" she encouraged them to continue as she blushed in embarrassment.
"As I was saying," Mousse looked off to the side, the embers of tension still a little fresh in the air but figuring that it was night, he literally didn't have all day so he got over it quickly.
"I think it'd be better if we worked together, I happen to know all about that old fossil Cologne's plans to use the Pot of Liberation and Pail of Preservation," Mousse revealed his intentions.
"First off, what's the pail of preservation and pot of what?" the blue-eyed redhead looked perplexed.
"Please explain," Nodoka encouraged.
"Wee!" P-chan agreed with an animal grunt and nod of his head.
"Actually," the woman by birth put her hands together. "Would you rather he explain while you're human, dear?"
P-chan's eyes widened for a second before he looked away, thought it over briefly, then nodded his head in approval.
"I'll take him to change," the shortest of the martial artists offered.
"Alright, I'll be waiting…" Mousse responded, his voice trailed dramatically, something which was all too evident to his present company.
Ranma plucked P-chan up by his comfortable bandanna before taking him into her arms and leaving to go get the pig changed.
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Stepping inside the Saotome home, they journeyed over to the redhead's room. Inside a clean laundry hamper was Ryoga's clothes folded over neatly. Next to that was a clear water bottle, obviously prepared in the event Ryoga may need to change back.
"I'll get that for you," Ranma said, leaning down to open the water bottle and unscrewing the lid.
P-chan looked out in front of himself, looking to be contemplating the very nature of existence. In truth really, he was putting on a brave face. Before this, this wouldn't have been a problem, at one point he wasn't even sentient and as aware as he should have been as a person. Now? Ryoga was a cursed teen romantically interested in a cursed girl.
Who was just about to change back for the first time in front of girl Ranma. Imagining what it'd be like if Ranma saw his bare man cheeks, the idea left him in such a panic that as Ranma poured the water on him, he immediately reached out to cover his shame, though, since the water that hit Ryoga was icy cold to him, that caused him to move without thinking and before he knew what was happening, he had come to a stand.
"What are you!?" Ranma exclaimed that was until she noticed what Ryoga was trying to cover-up, although what Ryoga had failed to do was leave another hand to cover his front.
Ryoga had closed his eyes when he came to a stand, though, it didn't take long for the signals in Ryoga's brain to remind him that in his standing. he was completely exposing himself in front of the redhead he adored so much.
"Ah!" they shouted at the same time.
Looking as though they had both seen ghosts, they looked away from one another. Immediately Ranma covered her eyes, blushing as she quickly turned around to open her sliding door. It was only when she got outside her room, did she press her back up against her door, 'You're a guy too! Don't think about his, that's-that's, dammit! I guess I kinda am since everything that's happened but-but!' she thought, trying to put her thoughts together but only succeeding in causing her eyes to swirl in frustration.
"Everything okay in there, Ranma?" Nodoka inquired from outside.
"Y-yeah! No need to worry!" Ranma answered a little too quickly, even for her own liking, she really hoped they wouldn't pick up on that.
"I'm so sorry!" Ryoga apologized during the blue-eyed girl's departure, keeping his voice low enough for only her to hear.
Now though? It was infinitely more difficult for Ranma, true she had seen him without clothes a few times. In fact, the same could be said in the reverse, 'Must be because of all those kisses an-an-' some exceptionally sultry instances flashed by her mind's eye.
"Fight it..." Ranma's voice trailed as strained it to keep her sudden words low enough for only her to hear.
Inside the room while holding out a hand to the scurrying mouse that Ranma had suddenly become. The Lost Boy let his hand fall, at the very least he could change in peace now. Ryoga looked at his clothes and made his way over to the bin.
Letting out a deep breath, the redhead couldn't help but fight out the image that was assaulting her mind. The biggest question she could never answer when something like this happened was, how was looking at Ryoga's any different than looking at her own? 'We're both technically guys and just cause-cause, that don't mean…' the cursed teenage girl thought as she slapped the sides of her face to hopefully wipe the slate of her mind clean of such impure thoughts.
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Once Ranma and Ryoga were inside, that left a focused and intense looking Mousse outside with Nodoka. His arms tucked up into his sleeves.
"Do you mind if I ask how you know where I live?" Nodoka asked, it almost sounded as if it were out of the blue.
Mousse's eyes expanded several times larger than they should be capable of, the hexed hidden weapons master composed himself. "I'll admit, I looked through your records at the restaurant Mrs. Saotome, but trust me when I say, I am not your enemy…" Mousse's voice trailed, though he said that he knew that whether or not he'd be Ranma and Ryoga's ally all hinged on the results of their discussion.
"Tell me, does this have anything to do with Shampoo?" She gave a soft smile with her question, it was comforting.
"Y-yes and she doesn't know about it but I can tell that Ranma really isn't in-!" Mousse choked on his own words, finding it hard to swallow.
"Ah!" Both Ranma and Ryoga's screams filled the airwaves.
Nodoka and Mousse turned to look in their direction, not sure exactly what happened as they had been rather distracted by Mousse's response. Right before a dead silence happened, Nodoka and Mousse turned to each other, as if expecting the other to have any clue about what was going on with Ranma and Ryoga.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Opening the door with a focused demeanor, Ranma appeared to be moving efficiently as if she were somewhere she didn't want to be and was determined not to waste a single second. Expecting Ranma to say something, they waited patiently in hopes of her easing any potential worries.
Their study was broken by the sound of a different sliding door being shut. No doubt it was Ryoga, with that thought in mind they turned their attention back to Ranma, expecting her to shed some light on what might have transpired.
There wasn't much of a chance of that happening, given how Ranma refused to look up from the all too interesting front porch. No doubt she was actively avoiding their line of sight.
"Sorry about the wait," Ryoga's voice called over to them as he opened the front door as well, dressed in his usual attire.
Nodoka looked as though she were about to ask what happened, but went against it as she lowered her palm. Instead, she looked back over at Mousse and saw that he looked mildly intrigued from the looks of it, but he had had to get past this and to the point of his arrival.
"Okay, so, I should probably start by explaining what those artifacts I told you about, do exactly…" Mousse began by clearing his throat and lowering his head.
Together as a collective group, they all hummed in agreement. The fact that they managed to do that caught their attention for a second as they looked to one another with wide eyes before returning their study to the long-haired teen.
Opening his eyes, Mousse survived their surrounding area and narrowed his eyes beneath his spiral pattern glasses. "I don't wanna risk getting caught, so, is it okay if we continue inside?" the Amazonian male inquired.
All eyes fell on Nodoka, as it was more hers and Genma's home than it was either Ranma or Ryoga's. She immediately became aware when they did and looked down, closing her eyes as she nodded her head. "That's fine, come in..." she gestured to the house with her hand like some hotel door greeter.
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Gathered around the table in the living room, seated on some comfortable cushions. Mousse sat cross-legged with his hands in his sleeves, checking the room he was currently in, only for a second before looking back at the three other occupants.
"I'll start by saying the artifacts are related to Ryoga's, and yes, even Ranma's curse," Mousse started by saying, his eyes locking on Ryoga's and then Ranma's.
"Hmm…" Ranma hummed as she had put a hand to her chin and the other on her crossed knee.
"The names should be sorta' self-explanatory even," Mousse continued, narrowing his eyes, despite not many of them being able to see that thanks to the moonlight bouncing off his specs.
"What were those names again?" Nodoka asked, putting the tip of her index finger to her lips.
"The Pot of Liberation and the Pail of Preservation," Mousse answered her question, nodding at the end with his eyes closed.
"The Pot of Liberation…" Ranma repeated absent-mindedly with her voice trailing, taking her hand off her chin and placing it atop her other knee.
"And the Pail of preservation," Ryoga repeated before Ranma could get the chance, completely acting out of nowhere, as if the name of the artifact was calling to him.
"Can either of those artifacts remove a curse?" Nodoka asked, interest now thoroughly peaked, knowing that Ryoga would have some sort of reaction to this she looked at him with the corner of her eye.
Ranma's and Ryoga's eyes widened, both for different reasons though. Ranma, for the single fact, that she could be cured if Mousse's answer was correct.
"Not exactly," Mousse clarified while averting his eyes.
"Whatta mean, 'Not exactly'?" Ranma asked with a disgruntled voice from her.
"It means that it only benefits those who either had no choice or were those rare few that actually wanted to fall into one of the springs," Mousse said calmly and clearly.
For a bit, Ranma remained speechless. The simple prospect of getting rid of his girl side seemed too good to be true, 'Though, would it really be alright to cure it after everything we've been through?' the gender fluent martial artist asked herself.
"So if the names are self-explanatory," Nodoka started and thought about the names.
It was as if a sudden wave of understanding washed over them, now that they had all come to the same conclusion, they were still missing some pieces to the puzzle.
"So, I'm guessing they planned on using the Pail of Preservation on me once Ranma agreed to marry Shampoo…" Ryoga's voice trailed, almost sounding as if he were letting out some primal growl deep in his throat as he spoke.
"So let's find a way to bust in and borrow it for a little!" Ranma suggested, looking as though she were given a new ray of hope.
"If only it were so easy," Mousse shook his head.
"Before we go any further, why are you telling us all this?" Ryoga asked
"Yeah…" Ranma muttered, putting her hand to her chin and giving Mousse an accusing stare. "What gives?" she asked.
"I have a feeling it has something to do with that Shampoo girl you've seen before," Nodoka looked at Mousse for confirmation.
"That's right, she's the real reason I'm here, it's not to fight you or anything like that, it's the opposite really…" Mousse suddenly confused the room, except for maybe Nodoka.
"Huh?" Ryoga raised a brow.
"I want to work with you two to steal the Pot of Liberation," The glasses-wearing teen announced.
"Wait, ain't that the one that that would free someone from being stuck with a curse or sumthin?" Ranma pondered openly, not sure why he'd want that one.
"Ranma does make a good point but also, wouldn't it also be exceptionally hard for you, even with Ranma and Ryoga helping?" Nodoka asked, she wasn't aware of the security there but she knew that an entire village of highly-trained Amazon's was nothing to scoff at.
"That's the thing, we still need to figure that out and even then we'll need to prepare…" Mousse explained as his voice trailed, lowering his head, making his glasses frames slide down a bit.
The three in the room stared at him, all their expressions were uncertain. Though, what other options did they have left?
"Guess we don't have much of a choice then…" Ranma said, following her statement with a hum.
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After Mousse made his offer, he had left without saying much more. The fact that they could see someone, who at one point, chased them down into the forest. Now they had just finished a discussion with him and they actually managed to form a mutually beneficial team up? It was enough to make Ranma and Ryoga hopeful but also… worried.
How could they trust Mousse? They didn't know the extent of his love for Shampoo and given what had almost happened before, it wasn't helping sell the idea to them.
"Argh," Ranma groaned as she sat up from resting on her back with her hands behind her head. "I'm gonna get some water and maybe turn in for the night," she announced as she sat up from her futon.
It was a lot to absorb, especially as Ryoga sat in Ranma's room with his arms crossed over his torso. 'Is it normal for people to make uneasy team-ups like this?' Ryoga thinks to himself
Failing to hear Ranma's declaration, he only noticed Ranma opening the door to her room before stepping out. "Huh?" Ryoga blinked.
"Ryoga! Are you staying the night!?" Nodoka's voice asked from outside as she too had decided to clean herself up, only deep enough in the water to show off a little of her cleavage.
"Y-yes! If that's fine!" Ryoga put an open palm to the side of his mouth, answering her.
"Do ya even gotta ask!?" Ranma's voice echoed from the direction of the living room or the kitchen, Ryoga wasn't entirely sure.
Laughing in response Ryoga closed his eyes.
At that time, Ranma's room door slides open as Ranma starts untying her belt. This caught Ryoga's attention, although he hadn't seen her open the door he hadn't expected to see her start undressing in front of him, 'T-this is nothing new, I've seen what Ranma has under that outfit dozens and dozens of times before,' the cursed animal teen thought as an image of when he had seen Ranma's girl's side chest and the time she had hugged him up to her breasts in her sleep.
Looking over to her as she dropped her pants, with her back facing him as she bent over. Swallowing hard, Ryoga fought off his instincts and shifted himself to look away from her.
"You gonna' get the spare futon out or are ya planning on sleeping on the floor like old times?" Ranma asked with a small smile.
"S-sure," he mumbled as he avoided looking at her, especially since it was just her in her beater and boxer shorts.
"You alright?" Ranma asked cautiously, one of her brows tilted up.
"Of-of course!" he replied rapidly.
She tilted her head to the side much like a dog would, blinking in confusion.
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As the moon reached its highest peak, its faded light bled into Ranma's room as the two room's occupants supposedly slept. Nothing but the distant calls of animals and crickets chirping, their echos acting as the forest's natural serenade.
Resting on his back with his eyes squinted shut, shifting around in his bed before the teen woke up suddenly. Sweat dripped from his head like fresh dew on the morning blades of grass. He sat up, looking around he spotted his neatly folded shirt next to his futon.
Reaching for it he took it and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow, 'I don't remember my dream but I'm in a cold sweat? What does this mean?' he thought then looked around his environment, inspecting he looked confused before remembering the day's events.
"Guess I've been gone so long that I've forgotten I used to live here," Ryoga commented with a half-smile.
A soft snorting noise came from the redhead as she slept on her side, only her back visible to him as she rested.
"I know you're actually a guy, so why is it weird that I think you're so damn cute right now?" Ryoga commented in a soft whisper, looking to her sleeping form with a warm smile.
"R-Ryoga," Ranma mumbled out The Lost Boy's name as she rolled onto her back, one of her hands landing on her stomach and the other flopped onto her futon, to the side of her pillow.
"R-Ranma?" Ryoga inquired, wondering if she was actually awake.
"Don't go, man…" Ranma's eyes squinted tightly.
It was when she said that, did Ryoga realize that maybe he should have mentioned he'd be spending the night with the gender-changing martial artist. "I'm sorry to make your nightmare a reality Ranma but I should probably go ease my Master's worries," Ryoga whispered in a sad way.
Getting his shirt back on while sitting on his futon, the raven-haired teen put both hands to his sides.
"Please don't go, Ryoga…" Ranma pleaded softly, sounding half asleep.
Only when Ryoga felt Ranma tugging at his sleeve did he stop. He sighed heavily and shut his eyes, "Ranma's just dreaming, I still have to-" Ryoga muttered quietly to himself, about to come to a stand but stopped as there was more pressure applied.
"You ain't gotta go anywhere, you said you'd stay the night and I said I'd even stay as a girl for the night…" Ranma said, eyes opening while blushing bashfully.
"I-I really should go, I'm still really thankful for everything!" Ryoga tried to excuse himself but nothing was stopping the girl from holding on.
"Maybe you-you'll feel like staying if-if," Ranma tried to finish her sentence but choked.
"If what?" Ryoga swallowed thickly.
"If I give you some more, training..." Ranma's voice became hitched and trailed as she paused at her last word.
"What kind of training could be worth worrying my sensei's-" Ryoga began but stopped as he witnessed the girl he loved so dearly, scoot over closer to him.
"I'll show ya if you get back down here…" Ranma's voice trailed as she gathered her wits.
Looking unsure at first, Ryoga pursed his lips and then quietly and calmly leaned himself back down on his futon. "L-like this?" he asked.
"Yeah, just-just lift your arm a little," she instructed as she went back to her side but this time in Ryoga's direction.
Ryoga raised his arm and not sure if he was doing it right, he looked to the redhead who was staring at him with a deep blush and intense gaze. Not sure if he was doing it right, he raised his arm.
Immediately after the redhead shut her eyes as if she were bracing herself before grabbing onto The Lost Boy so she could cuddle the side of her face to his chest.
"If you stay like this for the night, we both get some training outta this…" The redhead's voice dragged out.
"H-how does this help us tr-train and what if Nodo-" he tried to account for everything in his questions but couldn't continue when a small dainty-looking finger reached out to silence his flapping lips.
"I locked the door so it won't be a surprise and-and It's training, for you, just, you know in case," Ranma said, pausing between words before suddenly becoming very timid.
"In case of what, Ranma?" Ryoga asked, looking into Ranma's eyes.
Their eyes met in the center, they were staring into each other's eyes as they had done other times before. Though something was different now, much different.
"In case we don't end up working out, you'll at least know-" she was cut off as she felt Ryoga's free hand placed on her cheek.
"I-I don't have eyes for anyone else," Ryoga confessed, feeling the powerful urge to defend his feelings for her.
"H-How can you be so sure, man?" Ranma asked, then looked to where she felt his hand and closed her eyes.
"I'm not," he shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead to hers.
There was nothing but silence from her, she was simply at a loss for words 'Why do I wanna give in so badly? Why do I gotta know if we can work when-when, but-but I shouldn't mislead em' especially after everything we've been through!' she thought, trying to fight back tears.
"It's just a feeling but," he explained.
"But?" Ranma opened her eyes, not noticing that some tears had fallen from her face.
"I'll never get to understand this feeling if I don't ever get the chance," Ryoga answered, having searched as deep into his being as he could.
"I wish I was born a girl for-" Ranma said until realizing how far that meant she could go for him.
"You don't have to be anything for me Ranma," he shook his head gently.
"Ryoga, I-I, thanks…" she replied, sighing heavily.
"You don't even have to decide right now," Ryoga offered with a sad smile.
Without saying anything, the redhead took the chance and pressed her lips against his. She allowed herself to melt into it, allowing her heart and brain the rush of intense romantic tension suddenly getting a reprieve.
Basking in the moment, Ryoga could feel the redhead's arms slide under his shirt and trace her fingers across his rigged but sculpted six-pack.
Ryoga on the other hand, his hands started to wander like hers, one of them was directly behind her chest and the closer to the small of her back.
As they kissed over and over again, their faces began to get closer, despite already being so close. This was their moment, the moment that grew in tempo as their kisses became more heated, getting to the point they were parting their mouths too far for some average kissing.
There was a pause, however, goosebumps spreading throughout their bodies as Ryoga's sturdy hands gripped the toned ass he had been staring at hours prior.
It was only when their lips smacked together loudly, did Ryoga become daring enough to go further. Slipping his tongue into the redhead's mouth, confronting her own slippery appendage.
You see, their attraction to each other was very much like gravity, eventually, they were bound to meet somewhere in the middle.
She groaned deeply and wantingly, allowing Ryoga to explore this feeling, all the while repeating his mantra.
'This is just training! This is just training! This is just…'
"Mmm…" Ranma moaned.