The Journey is the Destination Chapter 28 By poetheather The aftermath of the night before. And what is Ryoga doing disturbing their discussion of parfait? Doesn't everyone love parfait?

The morning came to Nerima early and painfully. With a groan, a bleary eyed Akane blinked himself awake, reaching up to rub his head.”­ Given how he felt h”¬e needed to wash his face and go for a run to clear his head,”­ ”¬of that he was sure. He stretched, feeling the muscles in his back and arms move. A yawn split his face and he exhaled, his chest rolling slightly inward.

Akane then realized that something was wrong with his body and that everything that had happened last night had not been some sort of drug induced nightmare. She shuddered in disgust at the memories.”­ ”¬Two large, strong hands grabbed his now muscular but flat chest in hopes of finding something that should have been there and then they explored downward and discovered morning wood which was not supposed to be there.”­ ”¬This was too much for Akane,”­ ”¬who had been hoping he had been sick or delirious or something,”­ simply ”¬hallucinating this whole thing.”­

His stomach churned and he threw up in his mouth a little. With effort born of desperation he scrambled to his feet and bolted downstairs to the bathroom,”­ ”¬blazing past Kasumi who had been exiting the kitchen who let out a startled,”­ “”¬Oh My”­!”

After dry heaving several times,”­ ”¬Akane said a prayer to Kamisama and shakily held his hand under the faucet until the water ran hot,”­ ”¬returning her to her proper form.”­ ”¬She shook and stripped off her father’s now baggy clothes,”­ ”¬tossing them at the hamper, repulsed by the fact that she had worn them.”­ ”¬She felt dirty,”­ ”¬unclean and needed to wash herself, to scour this incident from her.”­ Looking over her body, she noticed that t”¬here was a small,”­ ”¬slightly yellowish crusty patch matting part of her pubic hair and she shuddered,”­ ”¬gagging slightly in realization of what it had to be.”­ She retched slightly as she dumped the first bucket of cold water over herself. ”¬Bucket after bucket of cold water were dumped on her,”­ ”¬each one bringing a sigh of relief at her body remaining her own, at her body not transforming back to what it had been.”­ ”¬She nearly scrubbed herself raw as she soaped up, desperate to remove all traces of the event from her flesh.

Some of her stress fled as she rinsed,”­ ”¬again the cold water failing to transform her body back to that...”­ ”¬that form, and Akane leaned her head against the tile.”­ Being able to see her breasts and the joining of her legs where nothing dangled was a balm to her jangled soul. ”¬Once clean, she lowered herself into the water of the furo,”­ ”¬the heat burning slightly on the abused flesh.”­ ”¬Akane looked up at the ceiling and sighed as the heat untangled her muscles.”­

Was the lust guys felt really as powerful as what she felt last night”­? If it was, h”¬ow did they do anything? How did they stop themselves”­? ”¬She couldn’t see how they didn’t rape everything or masturbate everywhere.”­ How did they manage that? ”¬The feelings that rose up in her when she saw Ranma had overwhelmed her senses and she had almost felt drunk under its influence.”­ ”¬Could that be why boys were perverts”­? Because”¬ if it was, even she had to admit most of them showed incredible restraint.

That led her thoughts fairly naturally to how Shampoo and Ukyo had thrown themselves at Ranma, well more Shampoo than Ukyo in all honesty.”­ ”¬Kodachi as well,”­ ”¬truth be told.”­ ”¬Shampoo and Kodachi had certainly tried for arousal and overwhelming of his senses and he had not given in.”­ Ranma”¬ had restrained himself every time when those trollops rubbed themselves all over him.”­ ”¬Her anger over the perversion of boys spilled onto Ranma and she had blamed him rather than believe that he could resist their advances. Akane hadn’t realized how much he had resisted them,”­ ”¬how hard it had to have been.

She blushed when she realized what she had thought and hid under the water,”­ ”¬in case someone had been around who could have read her mind.”­ ”¬It took some effort but she calmed herself and she rose from the water with a gasp, sucking in air as her lungs had begun to ache.”­ ”¬Feeling a bit lightheaded,”­ ”¬Akane got out of the tub and reached for her towel.”­ ”¬As the bathroom door slid open,”­ ”¬she froze,”­ ”¬eyes wide in surprise and with a touch of fright.”­ ”¬Ranma stood in the doorway,”­ ”¬a towel held in front of her,”­ ”¬barely protecting her modesty.”­ ”¬She also froze, her eyes wide.

A bright blush filled the red head’s cheeks and Ranma closed the door to the bath, nearly silently.”­ ”¬Akane was still blinking trying to process what had just happened. It seemed so familiar.

Ranma turned her back on the bathroom door and sighed.”­ ”¬Seeing Akane naked had a powerful effect on her in light of the... activities that had filled her evening last night.”­ ”¬Male Akane had majorly struck a chord”­ w”¬ith her, the muscles and build, the planes of his face, making such a familiar visage stronger, and once the panic and surprise had settled down,”­ ”¬the lust had arrived in a big way.”­ ”¬But this Akane,”­ ”¬this naked young woman was the Akane she had fallen in love with and this was the one she wanted even more than the powerfully built man of last evening.”­ ”¬She splashed some cold water on her face to bring down the burning in her cheeks. They felt so hot as if the skin was going to crack.

As the door to the bath slid open,”­ ”¬Ranma eeped in surprise.”­ She had been so focused on what was going on in her head she had failed to pay attention to her surroundings. ”¬Akane was blushing as she stood there in the doorway, wrapped in her towel.”­ ”¬She smiled at Ranma and playfully stated,”­ “”¬That was really cute.”­”

Ranma looked down at the tile floor,”­ ”¬her face burning again.”­ Surely the skin on her face was cracking and charring from the blaze. ”¬She could not get thoughts of last night out of her mind,”­ ”¬thoughts of her,”­ ”¬of him,”­ ”¬of them together. She had spent a while playing those fantasies out in her head and on her body and there was no way she could meet Akane’s eyes.”­ “”¬Th... thanks.”­”

Akane giggled, finding this embarrassed Ranma rather adorable. She wanted to hold and cuddle the girl.”­ “”¬Who would ever have thought that the great Ranma Saotome would ever be shy”­?”

Ranma lifted her head to protest and then dropped it back down,”­ ”¬unable to think of anything to retort with.”­ ”¬She simply scampered past Akane and into the bath,”­ ”¬shutting the sliding door.”­ The red head”¬ shuddered and then shook her head,”­ ”¬trying to clear it.”­ ”¬She couldn’t afford to be this distracted by anyone or anything.”­ ”¬If the Amazons came after them now then the fight would not be in their favor.”­ ”¬They would lose and she might lose Akane in the process.”­ ”¬That was not an option she was willing to entertain. She had to clear her head and stay focused.

Once clean and out in the dojo, the two of them began training with a great deal of focus,”­ ”¬Ranma trying to get Akane completely caught up to where she felt her love needed to be.”­ ”¬Since the Tomboy did not use a weapon like Ukyo,”­ ”¬her hand to hand skills had to be greater than they already were in order to survive.”­ ”¬Weapons were great to have and Ranma had to admit she was loving the sword training her mother was giving her,”­ ”¬but weapons were almost easier in a way, almost a cheat.”­ ”¬Unarmed combat took greater skill, especially unarmed versus weapon and she valued that sort of skill highly.”­ ”¬Adding the sword to her already impressive skills was not a bad thing,”­ ”¬but Akane had no weapon skills of her own and she really needed to gain more proficiency in her unarmed skills before figuring out what weapon would work best.”­ ”¬Though Ranma did suspect that the mallet might be the chosen weapon, but memories of her aching head hoped that something else would be chosen instead.

Akane’s form was getting better in her katas, her movements surer and more precise and as a result her power was actually growing.”­ ”¬She was getting stronger as her form improved and her body moved more efficiently,”­ ”¬and that was almost scary when she thought about it.”­ ”¬In a little while, if her strength continued to grow at the same rate she would probably be as strong as Ryoga if not a touch stronger,”­ ”¬which gave her pause.”­ ”¬But then the image of Akane and Ryoga fighting as equals entered her mind and she smiled.”­ It made such a pretty picture.

Akane noticed the smile and the slightly goofy look on the red head’s face.”­ ”¬That made her pause in her practice as stare at the girl.”­ ”¬She waved a hand in front of the girl’s face, trying to get her attention, which got no response.”­ A small trail of drool began to flow out of Ranma’s mouth. ”¬With a roll of her eyes,”­ ”¬she swatted Ranma in the back of the head saying,”­ “”¬Baka.”­”

Ranma rubbed the back of her head as she was jolted from her daydream and looked at Akane sheepishly, blushing instantly,”­ “”¬Sorry.”­”

Before they could get into any more trouble Nabiki came in to the dojo and said,”­ “”¬Breakfast is ready.”­”

Without Genma there to devour everything not nailed down, the meal was peaceful and happy,”­ ”¬with pleasant chattering going on.”­ ”¬Soun sat there,”­ ”¬a bit dazed,”­ ”¬almost mechanically eating.”­ He seemed to still be in a state of shock from last night. ”¬Once they were done eating,”­ ”¬Ranma and Akane excused themselves, ran upstairs and quickly changed into their school uniforms.”­ ”¬Ranma decided to do something different with her hair, putting it into twin tails,”­ ”¬giggling as she did so.”­

Akane giggled as well when she looked at her girlfriend. It looked juvenile, but with Ranma’s body everything balanced out.”­ “”¬That looks cute.”­”

Ranma grinned, “I thought it might be fun.”­”

“I think the others will like it.”Ž ”Now come on,”­ ”¬we gotta get going. We don’t want to be late.”­” ”¬The two of them took off and raced to school,”­ ”¬grabbing their bentos on the way out from an always prepared Kasumi.”­ As they hustled down the street together, t”¬he two girls talked about their plans to see Yuka and Sayuri that afternoon in order to chat and get some ice cream.”­ ”¬They agreed that it would be just the thing to erase last nights misadventure.

School went well once Akane kicked Kuno into LEO, as he had again tried to accost the both of them as they entered the school grounds.”­ ”¬Ranma took plenty of notes in her classes as she really did want to do better on her tests.”­ ”¬Besides,”­ ”¬if she could beat Akane on a test she would feel pretty great.”­ ”¬This was an art she had yet to master and she was determined to do that or die trying.”­ ”¬Besides,”­ ”¬her father hated school and to do well in it would make the panda squirm uncomfortably.”­ ”¬Of course,”­ ”¬the next time he showed might just be his last given what he had done last night.”­ ”¬Between the severely irritated Tendos,”­ ”¬her, and well once she told mom,”­ ”¬Pops was going to be lucky to avoid being turned into a rug. That made her giggle some.

She was kind of on edge though,”­ ”¬expecting Shampoo or Mousse to attack them while at school, but nothing happened.”­ ”¬That was nice but it was a constant distraction to her.”­ ”¬Every time there was a loud noise Ranma,”­ ”¬Akane,”­ ”¬and Ukyo all spun from their seats,”­ ”¬ready for anything, expecting the Amazons to burst through the walls with violence in mind.”­ ”¬Thankfully they never got bucket duty for it as they sat back down equally as fast when they realized that there was no danger.”­ ”¬Yuka and Sayuri just giggled at their antics.

As they were leaving school once the very long feeling day ended,”­ ”¬the five girls were talking about which ice cream parlor to go to,”­ ”¬as different ones were better at different at different things.”­ ”¬The talk had turned to parfait when a familiar voice called out angrily from behind them,”­ “”¬Ranma Saotome,”­ ”¬prepare to die.”­”

Ranma dodged to the side,”­ ”¬taking Yuka and Sayuri with her,”­ ensuring that the two of them”¬ were safe from any possible fallout.”­ ”¬Ukyo and Akane squared off against a clearly upset Ryoga,”­ ”¬glaring angrily at him.”­ ”¬Ukyo narrowed her eyes and spat out,”­ “”¬What do you want”­?”

Ryoga growled, showing his fangs and snapped out, I am going to pound on Ranma until he takes back what he said about me.”­”

All the girls shared a look,”­ ”¬trying to figure out what Ryoga might be talking about.”­ This was news to them. ”¬Ranma looked at the ground and muttered to herself,”­ “”¬Why does this always happy to me”­?”

Ukyo held her battle spatula ready, unwilling to give Ryoga an opening and asked,”­ “”¬Just what was it that Ranma-chan supposedly said”­?”

“Ranma’s father told me that you said that even as a girl you were more manly than me.”Ž” ”spat Ryoga.

There was silence that hung between them for a moment as the various combatants processed that sentence.

Ranma stepped forward,”­ ”¬put her hands on her cocked hips and asked in a very frustrated voice,”­ “”¬Ryoga,”­ ”¬just how is a girl like me supposed to be manlier than you”­?”

Ryoga looked like he was about to reply angrily, when everything stopped and he looked suddenly confused looking between Ranma and the other girls and the ground.”­ “”¬Uhm...”­ you know... ”¬I'm not really sure.”­”

“You do know that it is never a good plan to believe anything my crazy father says”Ž?” ”continued Ranma,”­ ”¬hoping that this tactic would work,”­ ”¬as she really did not want to fight Ryoga.”­ ”¬She had other worries on her mind and a fight with pig boy was not one of them.

“I... uh... er...”Ž” ”Ryoga blushed brightly and looked really sheepish, scuffing the dirt with his shoe.”­ ”¬He looked between the girls and his embarrassment only grew almost to the point of his cheeks glowing red.”­ He tried desperately to hold onto his dignity, “I”¬...”­ ”¬uhm...”­ ”¬Ranma...”­ ”¬I...”­ ”¬know this is your fault...”­ ”¬somehow.”­”

Ranma gave a very dramatic sigh of exasperation that had Yuka and Sayuri giggling at the melodrama of it all.”­ “Honestly Ryoga, h”¬ow is it my fault”­? ”¬I was at school and had not talked to you in weeks. Now I am now going to get ice cream with my girlfriends.”­ ”¬You attacked me...”­ ”¬remember”­?”

Ryoga was unable to meet the eyes of any of the girls.”­ ”¬It was clear that his thoughts had gotten all turned around somehow and he had no idea what was going on. It seemed eerily similar to his trouble with his sense of direction.”­ “”¬Ah...”­ ”¬uh...”­ ”¬sorry Ranma.”­ I... erm... I guess ”¬I'll be going now.”­”

The Lost Boy turned away from the girls and headed out, heading towards the school. They just watched him go,”­ ”¬just in case a surprise attack was planned, still ready to defend.”­ ”¬Once Ryoga turned a corner and was out of sight,”­ ”¬Ranma began shaking her head in disgust while the others giggled.”­ ”¬Ranma moaned,”­ “”¬It's not funny.”­”

The others only laughed harder at her expense.

Ranma harrumphed and headed off towards one of the ice cream parlors,”­ determined”¬ to drown her sorrow in hot fudge and maybe caramel but definitely sprinkles regardless of other toppings.”­ ”¬Right now she wanted the girliest and tastiest sundae there was in the whole shop just to show them.”­ ”¬She was a little vague on who she was showing what to but was steadfast on the ice cream. There was no deterring her on this point.”­ ”¬Ice cream solved most everything.