While Ranma was indulging in some unusually feminine activity and greatly enjoying her amplified sex appeal, four other girls of similarly enhanced beauty were warily backing away from one another. If a gun were to be placed to a random man's head, and he was forced to try to choose just one of these girls to spend the night with, you might be able to see the facial expressions of a man whose brain was gradually shutting down. All four of them held an irresistible allure, to the point that Buridan's ass seems a much weaker metaphor than it might otherwise.
Still, they were exhibiting their sex appeal in a quite different manner. In that sense, it might come down to preference. A decision made entirely by the kinks and fetishes of an individual, and there are as many of those as there are adults walking the Earth.
Let's start with the girl that honestly had the least chance with Ranma, as this was the one that he genuinely disliked the most: Kodachi Kuno. You had to feel sort of badly for her in that sense, but then on stepping back you might realise that the dislike was a little bit justified. That shrieking, soul-piercing laugh of hers could not be blamed any longer, for the wish had transformed it into a melodious chuckle that could make a man erect at twenty paces. Her problem was, and is, personality.
This was a girl who would gladly, eagerly lie, cheat and steal her way to victory. She was extremely petty. Cunning. Ruthless. Indeed these were traits shared with the other three in some measure, but in Kodachi's case it was amplified to the point where theirs seemed rather trivial by comparison. Any man that chose this particular girl as dating material would be physically and psychologically exhausted very rapidly, and learn what exactly it meant to have a "sadistic streak."
A legs man would probably choose this girl out of them, because that was the nature of her martial arts speciality: Flexibility, ability to jump, be quick, be nimble. Gymnastics is rather demanding of the entire body, but her legs in particular were already on the verge of flawless. Now they were supernaturally so. In addition, her sadistic streak played to a rather obvious audience, but now that she had undergone this specific kind of enhancement she could very nearly cause a person to develop that fetish with, oh, about five minutes alone with them. Not that she was aware of this, and all the men and many of the women in Furinkan could easily breathe a sigh of relief at that particular thought!
Kodachi's strategy for this little game was a simple one. Take to the roofs! No only would it be the most efficient manner of travel, but it would also give her a more broad view of the surrounding area. From here, she could easily catch sight of her darling Ranma and snap him away before any of the other girls knew what had hit them!
Of course, the idea that she should eliminate the competition had occurred to her... But that would only happen if she, by chance, encountered them on her way. A quick little ambush and then she would show them what it meant to win the battle before it takes place!
Following this we move onto the girl with a rather undeserving third place in consideration, and frankly that's rather insulting because it implies she had only a slightly higher chance than Kodachi when the difference was like an ocean's depth. Why then did she earn third place? Well, a first impression matters a lot, and it's quite difficult to come back from the first impression of "I kill you" spread out over the course of a month, and that's even before the whole "cat curse" deal comes into play.
Let's not mince words. Shampoo was hot. She knew she was hot. She loved that she was hot. This was a girl with everything to offer Ranma. She was pretty <i>and</i> strong! What young martial artist could say no to a total package like this? She had the body. She had the brain. She had the talent. She had the passion. She had the exotic appeal that boys often find so alluring. Really, if not for that lousy first impression she might have landed him already.
But the bed had been made and now she had to lie in it. No point complaining about the past when the future was still unwritten. Besides, she was never the kind to balk at a challenge like this! Especially for someone like Ranma, who was a super-rare catch so far as she could tell. He learned martial arts tricks like a sponge absorbed water, he was cute, he was strong and he liked to brag about both. The perfect match! Really!
And now she felt she had an even better chance of getting him to understand that than she ever had previously. Her exotic appeal had been tremendously enhanced, giving her a sort of otherworldly edge even over the other three, who still looked as though they were extremely sexy Japanese girls. Shampoo's distinctive hair was more vibrant. Each strand felt like it had a life of its own. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief. As for her body?
The word "damn!" springs immediately to mind. If anything of her body stood out from the others it would have to be her breasts. As big as they all were, Shampoo's had the edge, and the way she moved made it quite obvious to anyone looking where exactly they should be devoting their attention. This was the kind of girl that made you think anything you were doing together was your idea, when in truth it was hers all along. She was manipulative to the point that even if you noticed you wouldn't even care.
You could call it a warrior's instinct developed over an entire lifetime towards sex appeal. Attack the enemy's weak points while deflecting their own "attacks". Control the flow. Use your body to make them do what you want them to do. And in the end Shampoo was really quite excellent at doing that. Especially with the changes made to her body of late.
Her strategy was a much more concentrated search pattern. After all, she'd already hunted Ranma across China through unfamiliar streets; she'd spent the better part of a year delivering to houses all throughout the area by bike. Shampoo knew all the shortcuts, all the hiding places, and her tracking skills were second to none. Silly challenge, really. The other girls didn't stand a chance against her superior martial arts skills, so they made it into a game! Hah! She'd trounce them on this as well, then enjoy her winnings. A well-earned night with Ranma Saotome.
Second place, and this is truly contentious territory, was Ukyo Kuonji. Really, she had one major roadblock preventing her from actually getting what she wanted. Consider her for a moment. Believing herself tossed aside by the Saotome family and rejected by her first love, she cast off her femininity for ten whole years and lived as close to being a boy as one realistically can while remaining a completely straight girl. And she fooled everyone. School officials, classmates, regular customers at her restaurant, people she met in passing, close friends she had in her all-boys school. The only exception was a boy called Tsubasa, who everyone basically ignored anyway. Not, it should be noted, because he tended to wear cute dresses and behave in extremely effeminate ways (to the point of being mistaken for a girl relentlessly) but because his personality made it just about impossible to remain friends with him.
Friends. There's the problem plaguing Ukyo's advancement. Ranma thought of her as a friend. He was intellectually aware that this was a cute girl, but didn't quite have the emotional reaction to that fact one might expect. They might hang out together sometimes, but it never felt like a date. Just two best buds chatting and chilling out. No romantic atmosphere at all.
Still, a girl can dream! I mean, sure, she was a little out of practice with that whole "femininity" dealie, but she was picking it up pretty quickly. Or at least it felt like she was. The other girls she knew were sort of trying to help her out a little bit, but old habits break hard and she honestly found trousers so much more comfortable than skirts any day, and she would much rather bind her boobs to her chest than wear a bra simply because she was used to it.
Not that she'd have any luck binding them now. Anyone that mistook Ukyo's new body for anything but a sexy, sultry female was blind or insane. She had an oddly tomboyish charm about her, and it felt as though she could just slide right into any gaggle of guys and fit right in, bewitching them all with cutesy charm and effortless charisma.
In terms of who might pick her over the others? Ass men would home in on her like a beacon. Which was funny because she walked just like a man would, and yet did so in a way that somehow made her seem even sexier. Like she was completely open yet aggressive at the same time. It was the kind of walk that said, "Go ahead and stare, sugar. I don't mind." Which in her new state of mind, she honestly didn't. And why not when her butt was a work of art?
While the other three rushed off in separate directions, Ukyo just sort of smirked to herself and produced a portable grill seemingly out of nowhere. Then, without another word, she set up shop right there and then. Cooking away an okonomiyaki in just about the most erotic manner one can accomplish such a feat. A casual observer might think that she'd simply given up the chase, deliberately allowing the others to lay their claims upon Ranma for whatever reason. But no. Her strategy was more in depth than that.
You see, she knew Ranma better than any of them. She had, of course, heard that the fastest route to a man's heart was his stomach, and she believed earnestly that this was the case with her future sex partner. Why go to him when he would so readily come straight to her?
And then there was Akane Tendo, the girl out of the four with the best chance to win him over. Now, now, this isn't merely preference speaking here. Maybe a little. But really, consider the fact that they'd already had sex before this mess really kicked off and you'd be hard pressed to argue against that point. Besides which, Ranma and Akane had pretty much always had a remarkably potent mutual attraction towards one another. So obvious anyone could see it.
Well. Except either of them. They had a complicated relationship at the best of times. Not helped by the fact that Akane is a complicated girl. On the one hand, she's extremely gentle and pleasant and nice and girly. On the other, she's a highly destructive, clumsy, short-tempered tough chick that is just so infuriating to deal with sometimes because what did I even say or do this time?!
She was also pretty enough to merit all the most athletic boys at her school attempting to beat her up every morning for an opportunity to date her, and in the process having each and every one of their faces forced to meet the concrete. Day after day after day. For all of Ranma's little insults, that doesn't happen to an ugly chick with thick thighs and a flat chest. His insults related to her personality, on the other hand...
Things were different now. She had embraced her sex appeal, even the newfound heaping load dumped on her out of nowhere. The lack of confidence holding her back from trying anything with Ranma was gone. Shrunk infinitely. She knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was some of that wild horse man meat stuck right inside her, right here, right now!
And when Akane Tendo wants a thing, she goes after it full pelt. No holding back. That's just the kind of girl she was. Some might mistake that mistake for "tomboyish", but no, that was a misconception born of her temper and martial arts training. The truth was, her interests were absolutely towards the girlier end of gender stereotypes. Ukyo was a tomboy. Akane was absolutely not. Another problem was that Akane was too clumsy to do things typically ascribed to girls, while having a high level of athleticism compounding the false impression even further.
Her athletic tendencies had been greatly emphasised by her transformed body, though it hadn't been able to completely get rid of her clumsiness. If you wanted a tough athlete with a bit of a clumsy streak, well, here you go. Everything you could ask for was right here. A pretty face, a taut stomach, a toned physique and renewed self confidence in herself combined to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
As for Akane's strategy, she didn't have one. She was simply rushing quickly through the streets, going entirely on instinct. She knew what she wanted, and that's what she was going for. Straight to the finish line. No nonsense. Ranma could be anywhere by now doing just about anything when Akane's preference was that he be doing her, pretty much any time he had the strength.
So there they were. Four girls taking their own ways towards victory. Each of them certain they were going to win this little game they'd arbitrarily set up. Each of them forgetting that at the moment Ranma probably wasn't even a boy.
<hr>
Under normal circumstances it is a ninja's duty to obey only their master in all thought and deed. Under exceptional circumstances, please refer to normal circumstances for guidelines. This was not normal. This wasn't even exceptional. This was... Something else entirely.
"W-Well, the transformation happened quite suddenly," Sasuke said, swallowing nervously when Nabiki's index finger began to trail a figure eight on the side of his neck. "One moment she was her - Her normal cackling self, the next she was - She was... Ahem!"
"It's alright," Nabiki whispered in his ear. Her hot breath made his brain feel like it was melting. "You can tell me. Can't you?"
"Yeah," Sasuke sighed. "I can tell you anything you want."
It was funny. He vaguely recalled that just a few minutes ago he'd been quite resistant to answering her questions about business that wasn't hers, but right now he was having a lot of trouble figuring out why that was.
"Like the Kuno family's financial details?"
"Well, that's a little too much creamy cleavage without end what was your question again?"
"We'll get back to that one," Nabiki said with a triumphant smirk. She pulled herself away and dusted herself down. "For now, I need a change in attire. Something that fits my new body a little better. Do you think you could help me out?"
She's playing you. She's playing on your libido, with the way she's stretching, the tone of her voice, the expression on her sexy face. She's playing you like an instrument, and the only instruments associated with the Kuno family caused massive destruction whenever they were played.
Still. His imagination was rather running rampant about what sort of things she might want to wear. Maybe she could be convinced to try out a skintight ninja costume...? Only one way to find out!
<hr>
This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined practising making use out of her newfound sex appeal, but you have to start somewhere. Sasuke was beneath her attention normally, but with nobody else here what was she to do?
Besides which she could hardly even help herself. It wasn't like she was even going to let his hands get anywhere near her body, never mind his dick, but being a sexy manipulator was such an ingrained part of her now that even thinking the thought "I could play him for what I want" had set her into motion.
In the process she had learned a few things. Interesting what had happened to Kodachi, but it provided no further explanation for the cause. If she could figure out that much, at least... Well, no point in planning ahead. The cause could be anything, and trying to develop a plan around something you don't understand is the sort of thing those other idiots that called themselves martial artists might attempt. Not her.
"You seem lost in thought," Nabiki said, startling the ninja manservant away from staring at her chest while leading her down the corridor. "Give me a yen, and I'll let you tell me what you're thinking about."
"W-Well," the ninja stammered. "I was just considering how appealing you might look in kunoichi garb! Ah, I am terribly sorry. I don't have any change on me."
Nabiki took to inspecting her fingernails before responding. "That's alright. I'll put it on your tab. After all, I'm sure you'll have <i>other</I> suggestions for me to try. Costumes you'd like to see me put on. Costumes you'll pay me to have." Which would have to be put on the Kuno family's account, of course. And then the next time she met that idiot Kuno, he'd wind up paying her all over again for certain privileges...
But in the meantime. The best way to take control over a wealthy family was either to start from the top or start from the bottom. Because the people at the bottom have much, much more access to things than the people at the top ever seem to notice. Then from there...
First thing's first. She needed new clothes. Could hardly be an effective seductress without the attire to go with the body and the attitude.
- Ranko continues shopping, meets a boy she knows.
- One of the girls hits a stumbling block in their quest for Ranma.
- Nabiki continues toying with Sasuke, gets some new clothes.
- Kasumi sets about her mission to help people by being sexy.
- Something else
How about a mix of 1 and 2?
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