It took Akane a moment or three to put together a few little facts, like how fast her heart was beating, the fact that she was crying into Ranma's shoulders and how strong and comforting his arms were around her back. It then took another moment to realise her family was right there, and another moment for her brain to go, oh yeah, I'm not supposed to like Ranma, and then in the next moment she was rushing off towards the training hall to try get a little breathing space.
Leaving Ranma standing there like a big doofus staring after her with a worried expression.
"Ranma, this is your chance," his father proclaimed. "Go after her! Comfort her in her time of need!"
"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "Why me?"
"Because little sis has some freaky transformation curse?" Nabiki sighed. "Maybe someone she knows that's going through the same sort of experience <i>might</i> be able to help her adjust."
"Oh Nabiki, please don't try to guilt trip him into doing something he doesn't feel comfortable doing," Kasumi admonished. "I'm sure his father would be equally capable of providing that sort of emotional support, and would in no way make this extremely traumatic event worse for all involved."
You know, it struck Ranma about then that it was a good thing Kasumi didn't practise martial arts. She'd probably be able to make him whoop his own ass while gently smiling and pointing out where he was going wrong. Then make him not feel so bad about the experience by means of cake offering. Put like that he didn't really have much of a -
"RRRRRRannnnnma!" yelled the demonic entity blotting out the sun. "Why are you not following your father's sage advice! Why are you not by my daughter's side?!"
Man, he really needed to learn how Mister Tendo did that with his battle aura. Later. After he'd spent some time having an awkward conversation with Akane that he really didn't want to have, but he would still rather have than being stared at by that face, Nabiki's guilt trip, Kasumi's gentle passive aggressiveness or his own pop's bad advice. Compared to that he could handle an uncute tomboy bawling her eyes out.
As Ranma ran to the training hall, he quickly thought through how it might well go. Heh! That chick really probably was bawling her eyes out at this very moment. He'd confidently saunter into the room and she'd throw herself at him again. He'd pat her head, tell her it was alright, then give her some sage advice for how to handle this transformation thing based on his own experiences. Then, at last, she'd listen to him. Treat him with the respect he deserved.
"Kya! Kya! Kyaaaaa!"
Or she could be beating the stuffing out of a punching bag. Yep, no changing it. Even with an inexplicable transformation curse, once a violent uncute tomboy...
What Ranma wasn't paying special attention to though was the fact that she was trembling. Trying to stop herself, but still shaking nonetheless. Right now her emotions were in turmoil, and the last thing she wanted to have to deal with was the boy she had confusing feelings about.
"You feeling okay?" Ranma asked.
"I'm fine," she answered, noncommittally, not entirely sure whether she wanted him to leave her alone or stay.
Ranma wandered into the room feeling a little less confident about how this would go than he had on the way here. "Do you know what caused it?"
"No."
Ranma frowned. Akane hadn't even turned around to look at him yet. So he jumped around her, and then she turned away again. Why, that cheeky - Just when he's trying to help!
"Whatever it is, you're probably not outta the woods yet," Ranma warned. "You might turn back into that Shampoo chick anytime."
"I know! You don't have to rub it in."
"I'm not rubbing it in," Ranma said, patiently. Remember. She's just a little shocked. "We should try to figure out what made you change, then made you change back in case it happens again."
"Well, I haven't the faintest idea! I barely even remember what that - That bubbly bimbo bitch did while I was her, I can't work out what made me change, I don't know why I changed back -" She finally turned around to look at him. "What did you... Think of her? Shampoo, I mean?"
And now it was Ranma's turn to be confused about his feelings. It wasn't really fair putting him on the spot like that. So he did the same thing he always did in this situation, and let his mouth run off. Unfortunately, it tended to run off towards his feet.
"I guess she was kinda pretty?" Ranma began, unwisely. He suddenly found great interest in the ceiling above them. "Decent martial artist, charming, affectionate, friendly -"
"Ranma really think Shampoo pretty?"
Ranma looked down again. Saw the purple hair, gulped, and then barely avoided a diving glomp from Akane's overly affectionate other half. Shampoo landed gracefully regardless, then smoothed her hands down her rather splendid curves while looking at Ranma the same way a starving man might a feast.
"Shampoo not just look nicer and fight better than ugly tomboy," the girl continued. "Also better cook, better wife." She licked her lips suggestively. "Better lover. Ranma give Shampoo try, much prefer to dumb, dumb girl not know what good thing she got."
Well, that certainly sounded nice enough when said by that voice, that face and that body... But Ranma really wasn't the kind of guy that tended to think with his libido and, in spite of his various personality quirks was still kinda, sorta a romantic at heart when it came to things like this. That's why, instead of happily pursuing the opportunity open to him, instead Ranma went for the more noble option of trying to figure out how to help Akane get back to her normal self.
His only problem was, Shampoo had the kind of body and mind that could wear down a guy's nobility and integrity given enough time to work at it. So begins a battle of wits and wills, intercut by two idiots that don't want to admit they're attracted to each other.
- Ranma works out how to change Akane back: By making Shampoo want to be Akane.
- Ranma does the above by accident, remains oblivious for the time being.
- Nabiki pokes her head in to see how things are going.
- Shampoo tricks Ranma into going on a date, in exchange for becoming Akane again.
- Something else
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