Technical Virginity
Ranma went down from her toes, breaking the kiss with Kentaro.
The puddle of water splished, when her feet came down fully. They
should mop up the water, she knew - but at the moment her thoughts
were going into an entirely different direction.
'Kentaro?'
He was still a little baffled by the kiss - considering that he
had thought their relationship dead for the last six weeks, that
was probably not so surprising - so he was a little slow in
reacting. He nodded an open-mouthed 'Uh-huh?'
'Um...' Ranma was rather hesitant to bring this up now. Perhaps
they needed more time to get over the events that lay just behind
them. she thought 'Do you remember that day when... when Akane
came back? When we came home and there she was?'
Kentaro just nodded, a little puzzled by the sudden non-sequitur,
perhaps.
'We-e-ell, it's like this: That afternoon I had more in mind than
just, um, making out like we did before.'
Kentaro smiled, bemused - so that was the connection. 'I had
suspected as much. So, why do you ask? Does that mean...?'
He left the question open, but it was clear that he had caught
Ranma's meaning. She nodded enthusiastically, thankful for his
perceptive nature. At least she hadn't needed to spell it out too
directly. She was fighting down a flush as it was.
'Yeah. I, err, I kinda had to think of it, when we were kissing,
just now.' The flush won the battle and coloured her face. thought Ranma,
Kentaro was strongly aware of Ranma's body, standing so near his
own. They were both sopping wet and he knew that it was probably
just his imagination, but he was sure he felt the warmth of her
body through the air. Did she really mean that? Or was it
another test? No, he decided, Ranma was not the type for such
'testing' games, despite what had just happened with the fake
Nyanniichuan water. He was sure she meant what she said and the
colour of her cheeks spoke a clear language. Oh god, how he had
waited for this. He had to fight himself, not to hug Ranma too
suddenly. This was going to be her first time *ever*.
'Well, I have a bedroom, where we could... see what we can do.'
Ranma flushed again. Kentaro's circumspect way of expressing the
fact that they were very probably going to have sex very soon did
not help her at all. She needed to be level-headed right now, but
he made it sound so... she didn't know what it sounded like.
Naughty. Something like that.
She walked over to the door that Kentaro had indicated, and he
followed close behind, carefully watching her. He frowned a bit
at the stiff way she walked. If she was forcing herself to do
this, perhaps it was still too early. She wasn't likely to enjoy
it any in that case.
added a little devil at the back of his
brain.
When both of them were in the bedroom, Kentaro looked at Ranma
closely. He could clearly see the traces of uncertainty, perhaps
even fear, in her eyes. And something else he couldn't quite
place. She clearly was struggling with herself.
'Ranma,' he began, 'We don't have to do this right away. We could
just try out things that we did before, and see how they feel now,
or something like that. You don't have to do anything for me -
you have done more than enough. We can always do *this* later.'
'No!' Ranma surprised Kentaro with the forcefulness of her reply.
She noticed this and repeated it a little calmer. 'No. I have to
do this now, 'cause I feel that it's the right moment.. You know
me, Kentaro - if I say 'later' now, it's gonna be 'later' forever.
I always put off confessing to Akane 'til 'later', and suddenly
there *was* no 'later' anymore - just 'too late'. I don't learn
my lessons easily, but some mistakes I don't make twice.'
Kentaro smiled warmly at her and took her hand. 'Don't worry,
Ranma. I'll be with you all the way.' He squeezed her hand
reassuringly.
~*~
It was a beautiful summer in the foothills of the Kii Sanchi,
where the two of them were hiking through the semi-wilderness.
Ranma was standing on a medium-sized boulder and pulled Kentaro up
after her. The boulder was at the top of of the largest hill for
several miles around and they had a truly marvelous view from up
there. The climb up to it had been exhausting - well, at least
for Kentaro it had been - but well worth it. The rocky
outcropping they were standing on stood out several yards above
even the highest trees below and thus they had clear sight right
unto the horizon, the woodland below them rolling outwards in
giant waves like a green ocean.
It took Ranma a while before she noticed that Kentaro had not let
go of her hand. With the sudden realization, she instinctively
shook off his grip, before she could stop herself. She looked at
Kentaro and cringed.
'Aw, man, Kentaro. Don't look at me like a kicked puppy. Sorry,
I coulda done that a bit friendlier. But you know how it is.'
Kentaro gave her a small smile. He *did* know how it was. 'Don't
worry, Ranma. I understand.'
'Sure you do, Kentaro, sure you do,' sighed Ranma, in a way that
meant 'That's what *you* think'.
Kentaro's smile didn't change. 'Well, I understand that you are
in a situation that you didn't want and that my attraction to you
is a reminder of it. I don't take offense when you react this
way, because you feel it is contrary to your 'real gender'.'
Nothing in his speech or behavior indicated the quotation marks
around 'Real Gender' - but both of them knew they were there, in
his mind. 'I may look like 'a kicked puppy', heh, but it doesn't
really hurt me that much. I *am* attracted to you, simply because
I would have to be blind and probably dead not to - but the reason
I am staying with you, the reason why I go on trips like this with
you, the reason why I try to help you cope is another. It's
because I am your friend; first and foremost your friend.'v
He waved an arm, encompassing the magnificent vista from their
location. 'Doing things like this and sharing experiences with
you as a friend gives me so much. And I think it also gives
something to you, to be able to share things again. I know that
some of my desires can't be met by a simple friendship like this,
but I can live without that. Friendship is what *you* are ready
for, and that is certainly good enough for me. I will wait and be
your friend as long as you want me around. I hope you can forgive
me, if one part of me keeps hoping that one day it will become
more than friendship. Until then I'll always be there for you.'
~*~
Ranma could not remember what she had answered back then.
Probably 'Dream on, bud,' or something of the kind. Now, when she
thought back to those days, she felt only love for that man who
had been more than patient with her, had been been her friend when
she desperately needed one and had helped her come to terms with
the fact that she was female and would likely have remained so
forever. She gripped his hand more tightly and pulled, gathering
Kentaro in a passionate embrace and kiss.
Kentaro was caught off guard by this. He had not expected a
reaction like that from her at this stage. When she broke the
kiss he was a little confused and more than a little aroused - but
he refused to show the latter too much; this was about Ranma and
her feelings towards having sex, not about him. With her
passionate kiss still on his lips he asked 'What was that for,
now?'
Ranma smiled lovingly. 'Just for being there.'
Kentaro looked into her eyes. 'You are serious about this, aren't
you?'
Ranma nodded. Not saying a word, she began unbuttoning her shirt.
Kentaro watched her fingers work their way down the front of the
garment. He almost shuddered with excitement, thinking of the
beauty that lay still hidden beneath the cloth, soon to be
revealed. But sudenly Ranma stopped.
'Ooops,' she said, 'I'd better... Err, wait a moment, Kentaro.'
She turned and ran from the bedroom quickly before Kentaro could
say a word. Puzzled, he stood, waiting for her return. He heard
water running from the direction of the kitchen, then Ranma's
footsteps came hurrying back. When he saw her enter, she was
carrying the cask again, which she had apparently filled anew with
water. She set it down on the nightstand beside the bed and
turned back to him. Seeing his questioning look, she simply said
'Just in case.'
Kentaro raised an eyebrow, but Ranma forestalled any questions.
'You never experienced my curse in its unlocked state - trust me,
*you never know*.' With that she resumed the unbuttoning of her
shirt. Kentaro's pulse quickened immediately, as slowly, Ranma's
breasts were revealed. She was not wearing a bra. said a tiny part of him, but the rest of his mind found it rather hard to
concentrate on that fact, in the light of the visual evidence to
the contrary.
Ranma had beautiful breasts, Kentaro always thought. They were
full, yet not large, and round without sagging, topped by the tiny
erect nubs of her nipples. Just perfect. Seeing these two lovely
mounds revealed, a shudder raced through Kentaro's body. His
whole chest tightened with desire. He had the strong urge to just
*grab* Ranma and squeeze her for all she was worth, kissing like
crazy. But he couldn't do that, he told himself, clenching his
hand frustratingly, this was Ranma's first time and he had to keep
his reactions under control to make this as easy and pleasurable
for her as possible. God, this was hard! And so was he.
Ranma saw the look of wild lust that crept into Kentaro's eyes, as
he gazed over her breasts, and a feeling of pleasure mixed with
hints of fear raced through her mind. She had always been
secretly proud of her... healthy body, but sometimes the looks
that men would give her gave her the creeps - but this was
Kentaro, the man she loved, the man she planned to have sex with.
She knew he would do his best to make her feel good about it.
She dropped her shirt on the ground and took a step nearer to him,
thus enabling him to touch her, which he did. But he did not
reach out for her breasts, as she had expected from the looks of
desire he gave them. Instead he brought a hand up to her face and
softly caressed her cheek. It was a simple gesture, but it meant
the world to Ranma - instantly a lot of her hesitation dissolved
to nothing. She loved him and he loved her. He took a step
towards her and they embraced each other, once again kissing
passionately. Their tongues darted in and out each other's
mouths, probing and exploring like they seldom ever had. Ranma
felt her breasts pressed up against Kentaro's. It felt...
interesting, the way her nipples rubbed against his clothes. She
found herself imagining what it would feel like against his bare
chest.
As if reading her thoughts, Kentaro breathlessly broke the kiss,
took a quick step back and hastily pulled off his top. Still
breathing heavily, he stood before her, the piece of clothing
dangling from his hand. His eyes locked with hers and they
resumed the kiss, Kentaro dropping the top in the process.
It *did* feel better with both of their chests naked. She could
feel his heart beating furiously while their tongues wrestled and
she was able to run her hands down his spine, feeling his warm
skin. She had never really been attracted to him physically. The
male anatomy as such did nothing for her, her sexual preference
being what it was. But their relationship wasn't about sexual
preference - or perhaps it was, in a way. She had found that once
she admitted that she loved him she was able to find pleasure in
touching or kissing him. It was more than sexual attraction that
made her feel this way - it was a manifestation of their love for
each other and that's what made it pleasurable.
Kentaro's hands were not idle either. While one of them remained
behind her back, wandering up and down her spine, not unlike hers
on his own back, he brought the other hand to her front and
started caressing her breasts, applying just a bit of pressure to
them. Ranma almost sighed into their kiss, which surprised her.
It was astonishing how her reaction to the same sensation had
changed only through the admission of her love for him.
~*~
'All right, class,' Ranma called, 'that's enough.'
With a collective sigh of relief her students stopped their
workout and sagged to the ground. All of them were in top
condition, but you had to be, just to keep up with Sensei and her
demands. Now they waited for her to impart today's final lesson.
Sensei had always made a point of it to include a theoretical part
in her teachings. Sometimes it would be a tale that contained a
valuable lesson, sometimes it would be a rule to be understood by
the students and sometimes...
'OK,' Ranma said, 'Hypothetical situation. You are up in the
mountains, trying to cross a deep chasm. You find a bridge that
leads across, but just as you approach it, you see a fighter at
the other end; a big samurai with a huge sword on his back. He
also wants to cross the bridge and steps on it, coming towards
you. How do you deal with the situation?'
'Hmmm,' made Morisato, 'if he's a Samurai, he's probably used to
formal battles, so I'd try some form of Suiken ['Drunk Fu'] to
confuse him and get into his guard.'
'Sounds good,' Ketoboshi agreed, 'The sword means that he is
limited in his fighting style by the weapon of his choice. If you
know his weapon, you know his weakness.'
'Oh, sure!' snorted Hiroshito, the only woman in the room apart
from Sensei herself, 'The sword means that he is carrying a sword.
Nothing more, nothing less. Don't go assuming that you know how
he fights just because you saw him carrying a sword. In fact, if
it is *really* big, it might be intended to fulfill the purpose of
intimidation rather than fighting. You'd best be prepared, if he
turns out to know unarmed combat.'
Ranma smiled. That was Yoshie, to be sure. She always tried to
cover every angle and be prepared for everything. She had yet to
learn that the unexpected - yes, even *unexpectable* - had a way
of turning the best laid plans over. Being prepared for
everything, most of all meant being prepared to have your
expectations and assumptions turn out completely wrong. She was
definitely on the right way, though. Ranma listened to the debate
for a little while longer. She always encouraged these open
discussions, because they served an important purpose. They made
clear that there was not one perfect solution to every problem,
not even one perfect way for dealing with *one* situation. She
wouldn't want her students to think that they only had to know the
'right' answer. There were always different ways, all of them
valid, all of them 'right'. They hadn't found the real lesson
behind the question yet, though.
She looked over at Kentaro, who was not participating in the
lively debate. 'So, Marumoto,' She called out to him, 'I haven't
heard any suggestions from you, yet.'
Kentaro raised an eyebrow. 'That's because I am still standing on
this side of the bridge, waiting for the Samurai to cross, so I
can cross it after him. It's only a bridge, after all.'
That stopped the discussion short. Ranma grinned broadly, as she
saw all the other students mentally whack themselves over the
head. They immediately understood the nature of their error -
conventional thinking. They had simply assumed that the situation
would *have* to lead to a fight.
'Well, I guess that's it for today,' Sensei said, 'Think about it
until next time.'
Thus dismissed, the students stood up and left for the locker
rooms of the university's training hall. Only Ranma and Kentaro,
whom she had signaled to stay, remained.
'Well, well, well,' Ranma remarked, 'Good thinking, Kentaro.
We'll make a martial artist of you, yet.'
Kentaro smiled happily, appreciating this as one of the greatest
compliments Ranma could make. She smiled back at him and nodded
her head in the direction of the showers. 'Well, off you go,' she
said, effectively dismissing him, 'See you later tonight.'
As he went off towards the locker rooms, Ranma followed some
distance behind, on her way to the women's lockers. She passed
the men's door just a moment after he had entered it. She could
hear the conversation taking place, and stopped when she noticed
what it was about.
'So, Kentaro,' went Morisato's voice, 'What did Sensei have to say
to her 'favourite student'? Going on a date with her again?
Finally gonna score tonight?'
She heard Kentaro laugh at Morisato's teasing. 'Ha, I wish! As a
matter of fact, I *am* going out for dinner with her tonight. But
that's as far as it goes between us. *You* know that Sensei is
not interested in *that*. Didn't she dunk you head-first into the
punch on the last New Year's party for what you tried?'
Morisato just coughed at that, embarrassingly.
'As for me,' Kentaro continued, 'I'll just wait until she's
ready.'
'And what if that's never? Ever thought that you could be waiting
forever?' asked Ketoboshi.
Kentaro sighed. 'I have, Shutaro; I have. And I've come to the
conclusion that I'll gladly wait forever - as long as I can be her
friend in the meantime.'
Ranma didn't hear him react to the catcalls that erupted now,
calling him a wuss, but she didn't have to see him to imagine that
patient smile on his features that she knew so well. With a smile
of herself she went on her way, shaking her head. Kentaro never
ceased to astound her. What was it that powered this man? What
gave him the energy to stay with her for all this time, helping
her every time she was falling into depression again, being her
friend at a time when she desperately needed one, yet did her
level best to keep everyone away. She knew that he was attracted
to her, but still...
Later that evening, when they came back from their dinner in a new
restaurant that they had tried, she let Kentaro into her flat.
The food had been good, if a little expensive, and they had
decided to have some coffee back at Ranma's place. She knew very
well that Kentaro was hoping for more than just coffee and she had
already decided that she was going to let him. She was feeling
very good today and Kentaro had been wonderful company that
evening... and she knew that it would feel better in this mood
than when she had to force herself. When he held her hand,
sitting across her at the table, she squeezed it a little back,
letting him know that she was ready to do more.
He smiled warmly back at her and never let go of her hand while
they were sipping their coffee. Afterwards, he got up and led her
over to the futon, where they sat down. Ranma had gone completely
passive, as she always did when they were doing anything physical.
She had learned to kiss back and did not feel bad about it
anymore, as she had when their strange relationship had begun.
Other things were still problematic for her, but she always did
her best to supress any aversion she had. Kentaro was her best
friend, and he was right about what he had said to her those few
years ago - she had to come to terms with her new life and that
included having a relationship. She was thankful for his near
inexhaustible patience and sometimes she felt horribly guilty
about all the time he spent with her, even though it often looked
as if she would never be able to really adjust fully.
When Kentaro bowed forward to kiss her, she leaned in and kissed
back. Her eyes were closed and she concentrated on the feeling of
her lips on someone else's - that way she could actually derive
some pleasure from it, sometimes. Just kissing somebody felt
good, once she shut out the fact that Kentaro was a man. His
hands roamed over her back, while she simply locked hers around
him, unmoving. She noticed his kiss growing more passionate and
his breathing increase. She wondered what this meant, when
suddenly she felt his hand on her breast.
The sensation alone was enough to make her shudder and break the
kiss immediately. Kentaro knew at once what was wrong, as soon as
his head began to clear. 'I'm sorry,' he apologized to Ranma who
had scooted back a foot or two, her arms clasped before her chest.
She wasn't looking a him directly, but staring off into space. 'I
shouldn't have done that, Ranma,' he continued, 'I'm sorry. We'd
better stop here...'
'No,' Ranma interrupted the surprised Kentaro. 'It's... We can
try that if you want. You just... surprised me and it felt wrong
because I wasn't prepared for that.' She stopped herself and set
her jaw. Resolutely she pulled her top over her head, baring her
breasts to him. These breasts, she thought to herself, they were
part of what her body was now. An important part; one that made
it female. If she ever was going to come to terms with her new
body, she would have to begin accepting them. Tonight was as good
a place to begin as any. She looked into Kentaro's eyes, seeing
them settle on her two prominent mammaries. She saw the desire in
them and saw the hesitation.
'Thank you, Ranma,' he finally said, 'This means a lot to me. I
know how hard that must be for you, accepting these female parts
of your body.'
It was not the first time that Kentaro had practically read her
mind, and she was astonished anew every time. She relaxed
considerably in the knowledge that he understood her so well. She
braced herself when he gently reached out and simply touched her
right breast. It felt weird. No other part of her body reacted
this sensitively to mere touches. She closed her eyes and
concentrated, trying to derive pleasure from it, the way she could
do with kisses.
Kentaro was now cupping her breasts in each hand, still not doing
much more than just keeping skin contact. Slowly he began to move
his hands, not moving her breasts, but sliding them over her
delicate skin. When the first finger came in contact with one of
her erect nubs, Ranma grit her teeth. The sensation was far too
strong for such a little touch. It felt all wrong to receive such
a jolt of sensation just from a slowly brushing finger.
Kentaro now applied just a little pressure, increasing the
friction between his fingers and her skin. Her breasts were now
pulled this way and that for a short distance, as his hands moved
over them. He seemed to pay special attention to regularly touch
her nipples, and everytime he did, Ranma received another jolt of
sensation. Finally she could not go on anymore. She grabbed his
wrists lightly and pulled the hands away.
'I... I'm sorry, Kentaro. This is still too much for me. I *try*
to feel pleasure, but it's just too strange; too alien. I have to
get used to this before we can try again. Please, let's just
cuddle tonight.' She was sure that Kentaro would be very
disappointed, but when she opened her eyes and looked up at his
face, he was smiling at her.
'That's okay, Ranma. You went farther tonight than you have ever
before and perhaps you'll get used to it with enough time. Right
now I'm very happy that you were ready to try at all. It shows
that you really want to develop, no matter how hard it is. I
admire that about you, Ranma, and I hope that I can ever repay you
for this.'
He leaned forwards and kissed her on the cheek, while she was
looking at him, wondering. What *was* it that powered this man?
Where on earth did he get this much patience?
~*~
Still not breaking the kiss, Ranma pressed into him, increasing
the pressure of his hands on her mounds. She couldn't believe how
far her perception had changed. The very same sensation that had
once freaked her out - well, it still freaked her out, only
differently. Nothing physical had changed, only her attitude
towards it. And that made all the difference.
As they pressed into each other, Ranma felt Kentaro's erection
through his trousers. This had happened a few times while they
were petting and she had always had a creepy feeling about it.
She had tried to avoid such close contact, so that she wouldn't
have to become aware of his arousal this way. Now that she had
thrown away her habit of keeping a distance, she felt it again,
and wondered what to think about it. On the one hand she was
theoretically aware that if she was going through with this, this
part of him was going to play a major role - on the other hand she
had a lot of trouble to get her mind around the very concept. Her
mind just... veered away whenever her thoughts went into that
direction.
It *did* feel satisfying somehow, though, to think that his
hardness was her work; that it was her body that had this effect
on him. She had a... unique perspective on how he felt. She knew
exactly what made a man aroused and how it felt to *be* aroused.
She had used that knowledge sometimes to get other boys confused,
back when she was still freshly cursed. She had stopped with
that, when being female was not a game anymore, just like she had
worn a dress more often before she was locked than after.
She wondered if she could still do it. She would have to adapt,
of course, since the 'Cute Girlie' routine from back then would
certainly not work on Kentaro. Hmmm...
Kentaro's head still swam from their kisses and the skin contact,
when he felt Ranma push away and take a step back. She gave him a
look that he couldn't quite place. He had never seen that
expression on her. Only when she flashed him a wicked smile and
teasingly turned half around, he realized. he
thought, gulping, And she was
succeeding, too.
She raised her arms and reached behind her head to undo the
pony-tail, deliberately pushing out her breast and slowly turning
from side to side, thus giving him a perfect view of them. When
she had loosened the ribbon she tossed her raven hair, bringing
out the coppery glint against the backlight of the bedroom lamp.
Kentaro was overwhelmed by this development. She had never *ever*
been active in their physical encounters (apart from those on the
mats of the training hall), but now that the barrier of hesitancy
was finally broken down, she displayed the same playful
inventiveness that made such a big part of her charm. And it
worked. Oh god, it worked.
Ranma turned sideways and bent over straight at the hips,
displaying the suppleness of her martial-arts-trained body. With
her head in the vicinity of her knees, she reached down and undid
the tied bands that held her pant legs closed. Kentaro's breath
caught, because he knew what *that* meant. Indeed, just a moment
later Ranma straightened up halfway and quickly shrugged off the
baggy trousers. Still bent at almost a right angle, she turned
just a bit more away from him and went for the finale.
She took the waistband of her underpants and slowly, sensuously
began sliding them down. Her derriére was turned just so that all
Kentaro got to see were the alluring curves of her behind and
legs. The whole maneuver was very sexy - and calculated to be so.
Only one slight thing marred the effect. The underpants in
question were a pair of male boxer shorts.
The jarring contrast between Ranma's underwear and the routine she
was trying to pull on him, finally allowed Kentaro to snap out of
his daze. He chuckled. Ranma's head snapped around at this
unexpected sound and the expression on her face said 'What? Why
is he laughing? Oh no, I must have made a blunder!' Her
crestfallen look made Kentaro laugh even more, which in turn made
Ranma flush angrily.
'Well, what's so funny, then?' she snapped.
Kentaro, still giggling, pointed at her boxers that were still
hanging halfway down her hips. When she didn't comprehend, he
calmed down some more and said, 'Ranma, that was really a great
attempt and you had me going pretty strongly there for a moment -
but Strip Tease and Boxer Shorts don't traditionally go together.'
Looking down at her underwear, Ranma finally realized and was
forced to chuckle, too. She pushed a strand of hair out of her
face. 'Heh, I guess I'll have to practice a bit before I go
professional, eh?'
Kentaro grinned and hugged her. 'You're professional enough for
me.'
They kissed again, slowly this time; a kiss of tender love, not
wild passion - although one could certainly lead to the other.
By unspoken agreement, they moved over to the futon and sat down
there. Ranma unceremoniously removed her shorts completely, while
Kentaro took off his trousers. He kept his own underpants on,
though. When he turned towards her again, she had lain down on
her back with arms and legs very slightly splayed, as if
presenting herself to him. Kentaro gulped at the sight of her
nakedness. In that way this was his first time, too. He simply
knelt before her, drinking her sight for as long as he dared - and
could endure.
With iron self control he kept from following his impulse to just
*pounce* on her and gobble her all up. Instead he went back to
where they had left off - Second base. Ranma watched him
interestedly, as he brought his hands back to her breasts and
resumed the slow stimulation. He cupped each mound and began
stroking them all over, not yet applying much pressure or kneading
them - just touching with a bit of friction. He took care to
visit every square inch of her chest with his roaming hands,
paying special attention to her nipples, which he visited
repeatedly. Ranma's nipples were always slightly erect and
jutting out, as is the case with some women, but now they were
fully aroused and hard as tiny pebbles.
Kentaro heard her laboured breath and knew that his manipulation
of her breasts was stimulating her like it never had before, even
on their most pleasurable sessions. Now he bent down and brought
his head near her soft mounds.
As she felt his warm breath on her body, Ranma looked down again
and saw him waiting with his face poised over her breasts, looking
back up at her, as if waiting for confirmation. Almost
imperceptibly she nodded, giving him her approval to go ahead.
One second later her head flopped back to the mat, as the
incredible feeling of what Kentaro was doing hit her.
Not able to restrain himself, Kentaro had gone straight for her
right nipple and had given it a gentle kiss, softly sucking on it.
Ranma's gasp and shudder showed him that this was as pleasurable
to her as it was to him. He went on to shower her right breast
with kisses, beginning at the base and working his way up and
around. When he passed her nipple again, he opened his mouth and
gave it a playful lick that made Ranma jerk. Reaching the top of
her chest, he leaned over and continued down her left breast whith
the same procedure.
As he reached her other nipple, he suddenly felt Ranma's hands on
his head. She grabbed him by the hair and roughly pressed his
face against her chest, burying it deep into her soft and pliant
flesh. A second later she released the pressure, but kept her
hands on his head, ruffling and stroking his hair. Kentaro
continued downwards without a word, but surreptitiously brought
his hand up to her right breast. Just when he planted the last
kiss on the base of Ranma's left breast, he pinched her left
nipple.
Ranma had to cut short a scream that would otherwise have alerted
neighbours up to a city block away. Grinning broadly, Kentaro
pushed himself up and looked into her face.
'Well, Ranma, seems like you *are* a mammal after all. No, really
- I've checked.' He ducked the pillow that came for his face.
Ranma propped herself up on her elbows and slowly regained her
breath. She looked down her body and then back up at Kentaro.
She bit her lip and then asked somewhat nervously, 'Aren't you...
um, going somewhere else, too?'
Kentaro knew what she meant, of course, but he also had stayed
away from there and let her regain her composure for a reason.
Slowly and very seriously he spoke. 'I will, Ranma, but not until
you tell me to. This is going exactly as fast and as far as you
want it.'
Evenly, Kentaro looked at Ranma, hoping she would understand his
meaning. He saw the struggle in her eyes and knew that he had
guessed right about what was going on in her mind.
Ranma was confused. For some reason she felt disappointed that
Kentaro wouldn't take charge of the situation, that it was up to
her to make things happen. But why? She should be glad that he
was still so patient, even in this situation, should be thankful
that he left the power of decision to her. Suddenly it struck
her. Of course! The power of decision - and the responsibility.
By forcing her to make the decision what happened when, he also
made an important difference. If she just lay back and left all
of it to him, sex would always be something that he did to her,
not something that they did *together*, or something that *she*
did. Yes, once she understood this, it wasn't hard to figure out
which part of her didn't want her to take an active role in this.
Well, that part was in for a rude awakening, if she had anything
to say about it.
She looked Kentaro right into the eyes and nodded just a fraction,
letting him know that she understood. 'Well, in that case...'
She spread her legs further apart,in a slightly overplayed
gesture, baring her genitals to him. 'Down, boy. Down.'
Kentaro had to chuckle. He scooted down and knelt between her
splayed legs. There he bent forward and for the first time ever
looked at her exposed sex. It was pretty unremarkable, if such a
word could ever be applied to anything about Ranma. Kentaro was
a bit surprised that Ranma's pubic hair was rather sparse and
orderly for someone with such strong and wild hair as she had.
Most of it was in a thick muff above the actual genitals while
only a light, downy fur grew along the soft V of her virginal
labia.
'Well, let's see,' Kentaro said, 'How familiar exactly are you
with your female genitalia?' He had to force himself to keep
talking reasonably about this, just to keep the tenuous grip on
his rationality that threatened to sign off for the day.
'Uh,' said Ranma uncertainly, 'Not very?'
Somehow this didn't surprise Kentaro. Ranma could be very
experienced, even wise, in some concerns - but with some things
she was extremely naive. 'Well, okay, then we'll just explore
them together. First thing outside are the outer lips. They are
normally closed, but open a bit when you are aroused. Why, look!
It seems you *are* aroused. You wouldn't have had sex recently,
would you?' A swat over the head with the recovered pillow
brought him back on track. He gently placed two fingers next to
Ranma's lips.
'There's a lot of erectile tissue down here that should be pretty
sensitive to touch, and it's pretty warm, too. In medical courses
you learn a lot of interesting facts about this area of the body,
none of which should be mentioned during actual intercourse
unless, of course, you *want* to stop.' This time he dodged the
pillow.
'I want you to *start*,' admonished Ranma.
Happily, Kentaro complied.
He lay down between her legs and supported himself with an elbow,
while he brought the other hand to Ranma's exposed sex. He began
by teasingly stroking her thighs, getting ever nearer to her
labia. When he looked up, he saw that Ranma, too, had pushed
herself up on her elbows, so that she could see better what he was
doing. She was biting her lower lip nervously, but when they made
eye contact, he saw no hesitation - only encouragement.
Kentaro turned his attention back to his hand on her thighs.
Finally he reached out and made contact with her genitalia. He
simply laid his hand over her pubic area, cupping her mons and
slightly parted labia. From the way Ranma expelled her breath,
not quite gasping or sighing, he could tell that she liked being
touched there, so he went on to rubbing her venus mound. Some
women did get stimulated by this, but Kentaro could not tell if
Ranma did from her reaction. In any case he went further down and
now slowly stroked Ranma's swollen outer lips, parting them more
and more with his caressing motion.
He had to forcibly keep himself from licking his lips, when the
unmistakable fragrance of Ranma's female juices increased
noticably. He had to keep a clear head; he *had* to. Still, it
wasn't easy with Ranma's now open sex so invitingly splayed before
him and the scent of her arousal in his nose. So he fell back to
talking as a way to keep a grip. It was better, anyway, he
thought, because this way Ranma was always informed of what was
happening.
'I-I have opened your outer lips now, Ranma, and I can see the
inner folds and the clitoris.' He carefully left out the urethral
opening, because there *are* some things you shouldn't talk about
during sex.
He carefully brought a single finger into the vicinity of the
clitoris and started slowly rubbing her flesh, gradually
apporaching the tiny nub that was already poking out of its hood.
Gently, very gently he finally laid two fingers on both sides of
the sheath and began stimulating the clit itself. This time Ranma
*did* gasp and sagged a bit, as her elbows threatened to go weak
beneath her. Ketaro smiled to himself and continued his soft
manipulations. He knew that the small knob was packed with nerve
endings and, unlike its male equivalent, did not like strong
pressure.
'Oh- Oh god,' he heard Ranma say, 'Why don't men have something
like that?'
'Oh, but they do,' Kentaro grinned, looking up, 'It's just a bit
larger and more visible.'
Ranma needed a moment to understand Kentaro's meaning. 'You
mean... that thing you're rubbing is what women have instead of a
penis?' she asked incredulously. Her speech was rather laboured
and gasping now.
'Same thing, basically,' Kentaro explained, 'It even looks
similar, only smaller. And,' he added mischievously, 'you can do
more with it than just rubbing...'
With that he relaxed the arm that had kept him propped up all this
time and lay down flat before her, his face right abover her
loins. As an example of what he meant, he bent down and placed a
light kiss on her mons directly above the cleft of her nether
lips. The next kiss was placed directly to the right of her
opening, the next after that on the opposite side. Finally he
extended his tongue and slowly, teasingly dragged it along the rim
of Ranma's sensitive, swollen outer labia.
There was no denying that his teasing got to Ranma, because her
juices were flowing now more than ever, and the tangy taste was
not lost to Kentaro as he let his tongue dance closer and ever
closer to its goal. When he finally gave in to his own desire and
directly touched Ranma's clitoris, he heard and felt a muffled
impact. This time Ranma's arms *had* given out beneath her.
The thought of pleasuring Ranma like this stirred him on and he
applied what limited knowledge he had about how to pleasure a
female to its fullest. Ranma gave off little sounds and he could
hear her tossing her head. Smiling, he lifted his head to look at
her. Her breast was heaving with the deep breathing and he saw
her hands digging into the futon and pulling at the cover. Before
she could calm down, he dove back immediately and resumed his work
on her sweet smelling sex.
This was getting to him just as much as it was to her. All
thoughts besides sex fled his consciousness as her delirious scent
filled his nose. Nothing mattered besides pleasuring Ranma, that
heavenly feminine creature before him. He brought his fingers
back into play and began stroking her thighs, then let them wander
up and play through the dark curls upon her pubic mound. One
finger strayed down and rested on top of her clitoris' hood,
working a counter rhythm to his tongue. The small sounds that
Ranma gave off took on a more frantic note.
His head swam with the musky smell of sex and desire. He brought
a finger of his other hand up to her labia from below and began
tracing it along her lips in the desire to drive her to even
higher levels of pleasure with the stimulation. He let the finger
stray further inwards and now followed the outline of her inner
opening with the tip, until he gently parted it and slowly slipped
the finger in.
The very second his finger entered her opening, Ranma just
*locked* up. As if she had turned to stone by the very same magic
that let her switch genders, all movement ceased, as did all
sounds.
Kentaro thought, immediately realizing what this
meant,
~*~
'Dammit, Kentaro,' Ranma cursed angrily, 'Why'd you have to do
that?'
The two of them were standing a little way from the campus
cafeteria that they had just left.
Kentaro blinked; he had no idea what Ranma was talking about. She
was clearly furious, though, and it wasn't like her to play mind
games, so she must be thinking it was obvious to him. Oh well,
there was but one way to find out. 'I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm not
sure what you're talking about. What was it I did?'
Ranma's eyes flared, but then she realized that he wasn't being
defensive - he was really just asking. 'I mean the way you just
took my hand. Right there in front of everybody.'
'I- I'm sorry, Ranma,' stuttered Kentaro, 'I didn't think you'd
mind. We've been holding hands so often, I just did it without
thinking. But still, I mean it's not like I forced you - you
could have told me to stop and I would have.'
'Oh sure,' Ranma snorted, 'And make sure that *everybody* notices,
in case anybody overlooked it? Besides that's not the *point*.
The question is not what I could have done to stop you, but why
you did it in the first place.'
'I told you: I didn't think you would mind, since we've been
holding hands for quite some time.'
'But not like this! Not so... *casually* and in front of all
those people. I don't want others to see this; I don't want them
to think of me as 'Kentaro's Girlfriend'. Damn, *I* have trouble
thinking of myself like that. I don't want this and I'm not
*ready* for it. You told me you would wait for me and be patient.
Whatever became of that promise?'
Kentaro had no answer for this. She was right, he should have
remembered that. He should have remembered that gestures that
were natural for him took on an entirely new significance for
Ranma. He should not - *could* not - take her for granted. There
was nothing he could say except, 'I'm sorry, Ranma.'
'Well, you'd better be,' Ranma said haughtily and turned. Kentaro
watched her as she walked away towards her dorm.
That evening while he lay in bed he could not find sleep easily.
The thought of Ranma turning her back on him and walking away
would not leave his mind. He knew that this did not mean she was
breaking off their relationship, but he could not help worrying
that maybe one day it would; that one day he would make an error
that would lose him the most precious thing in his life.
Ranma *was* the most precious thing in his life. He could not
even imagine a life without her company anymore. Her natural
energy and exuberance had a way of bending all that happened
around her, like a black hole bends space, and giving it a whole
new quality. If you were in her company, you weren't just doing
things - you were doing things *with Ranma*. And if she wasn't
there, you weren't just alone - you were alone *without Ranma*.
He knew it wasn't just his own feelings for her. He had seen it
happen all around him. After some time in his company and at his
urging, Ranma had tentatively begun integrating herself into the
social life at college, and it was fascinating to see how social
circles, groups and clubs automatically realigned themselves to
make room for the phenomenon that was Ranma. He knew he never
wanted her to slip away and prayed for strength so that his
stupid, thoughtless mistakes would not one day cost him her
presence in his life.
Eventually, Kentaro sank into dreamless sleep and awoke reasonably
refreshed. He awaited his meeting with Ranma that afternoon with
quite some trepidation. He hoped he could make up with her and
make good his mistake from yesterday. He was rather nervous the
whole morning.
'Hey, Kentaro!' Ranma called out with a big smile. She approached
him swiftly. 'Wanna grab something to eat? I've got an appetite,
I could eat a horse, and I found a marvelous place right near the
campus, last week.'
Caught off balance, Kentaro just nodded agreement and fell into
step beside her, as she marched off, animatedly talking about the
meeting of the women's soccer club that day. He had no doubt that
she would be the captain before long, even though she probably did
not know that yet. There was no trace, not a hint, of yesterday's
incident in her behavior. All her behavior showed was her normal
casual friendship.
The afternoon at the restaurant and after that was quite simply
wonderful. Ranma was magnificent company, lively and energetic,
friendly and all-round happy. When, on their way home, their
hands met, there was no hesitation in Ranma. She accepted the
contact as if nothing had ever happened. She parted with a
friendly smile and a wave, and like the day before, Kentaro
watched her vanish into the distance.
His emotions were a turbulent mix. He had not spoken of their
conflict yesterday, simply so as not to stir up negative emotions.
Ranma had not spoken of it, he was sure, because the thought had
never crossed her mind. So forgiving was her nature, so rooted in
the present her consciousness, that harboring resentments was
almost an impossible act for her. She was always ready to forgive
and forget and give others a second chance. Silently Kentaro
swore that he would always strive to be worthy of her friendship
and never hurt her thoughtlessly so that her open smile that
greeted the world would not vanish.
~*~
At once Kentaro pulled his finger back out of the rigid Ranma. He
could only hope that Ranma would recover, that he had not ruined
everything with his *damn* impatience. And so shortly after
promising that this would go only as far and as fast as she
wanted, too. He sat up on his knees and looked down at Ranma, who
was staring unfocussedly into space. Kentaro held his breath.
Slowly, very slowly, life seemed to flow back into Ranma's body.
First came a shuddering, gasping breath that told Kentaro that
Ranma, too, had not breathed. Then came a blink and Ranma's eyes
unglazed. Immediately they focussed on Kentaro with a stare that
was not exactly accusation - but accusation was certainly part of
the mix of emotions that played over Ranma's face. Then, with
another laboured gasp, Ranma relaxed and sank back against the
futon.
Kentaro expelled the air from his lungs with a heavy sigh. 'I'm
sorry, Ranma,' he apologized urgently, 'I was getting overexcited
and forgot to warn you. I should have thought of what this would
be like for you.'
Ranma raised a hand to silence him. Her eyes were closed in
concentration and she said wearily, 'S'okay. Let- Let me just
get a grip on myself.'
Kentaro watched as Ranma pressed her hands together and went
through a breathing exercise that Kentaro knew. It was meant to
focus the mind and remove it from all distracting troubles.
Finally she opened her eyes again and sat up, so that they now
knelt opposite each other.
'That was pretty thoughtless, Kentaro,' she said calmly, and
Kentaro cast down his gaze. 'But I guess I can't hold it against
you. God knows I've gotten carried away a few times, myself, in
my life. I just want you to know that this is still quite an
effort for me. I mean, I'm joking with you and I certainly feel a
lot of pleasure - but when you get right down to the bottom of it,
we are fighting a battle here.' She reached over and squeezed his
hand. 'I need you to be on my side. On *our* side.'
When Kentaro heard these words he automatically squeezed back
Ranma's hand, and Ranma smiled at that. She leaned forward
towards him and Kentaro met her half way. They shared a tender
kiss that reassured both of them. When they parted, Ranma seemed
back to the state she was in when they started. She brought an
arm up to her brow, as if wiping away sweat.
'Phew, that was pretty heavy stuff just now, I can tell you. I
don't know if *anything* could have prepared me for feeling this;
feeling something actually *inside* of me. That must have been
the absolutely weirdest experience I ever had - and that's saying
something, considering the kind of life I've led.' She grinned.
'Well, I got used to a lot of weirdness... I can do it again.'
Kentaro's nervousness ebbed when he heard her determined tone.
Suddenly he remembered something that he wanted to ask her about.
'Err, Ranma? When I just... was inside, I felt something. Or
rather, I *didn't* feel something. You see, normally there's this
thin skin inside-'
'I know that,' interrupted Ranma, pleased to know *something*
about her 'female parts', 'The hymen, right?'
'Err, in fact the hymen is the term for a fold in the mucous
membrane of the vagina - but you mean the right thing. It's the
extension of this fold that is commonly called 'hymen'; and that
one is gone.'
'Ohh, you... *physician*!' Ranma playfully chastised.
'Anyway,' Kentaro continued, 'I just wondered about it. Perhaps
it is something to do with the nature of the curse - on the other
hand there are a thousand reasons why it could be broken,
especially considering some of the things you have been through.
It can quite easily break all by itself under rough treatment of
the body.'
'Oh yeah,' Ranma said, scratching her head, 'I've been through
some pretty rough stuff in female form, beginning with...'
Ranma stopped in mid-sentence and grinned amusedly. Slowly, she
began laughing. Kentaro looked on bemused, as Ranma laughed
harder and harder, gasping for breath and convulsing with mirth.
Finally she calmed down somewhat and Kentaro asked her, 'What's so
funny?'
Wiping tears of laughter form her eyes she answered, still
chuckling, 'A-he he heh. I just thought about all the stuff I've
been through after I got cursed and when I thought about all my
fights back in Nerima, I had to think of a certain upperclassman
with a crush on a pigtailed girl.' Here she paused, waggling her
eyebrows. 'I may have lost my maidenhead to Kunou's Bokken.
Waaaaahahahahahahaaa!' She broke down with laughter again, while
Kentaro winced.
'Well, you may have lost your anatomical virginity, but the
*technical* virginity is still intact,' he said.v
Ranma stopped, looking at him in disbelief. 'You mean you
actually have *terms* for these things?'
Kentaro had to grin. 'You wouldn't believe what kind of things
we have terms for in medicine.'
'I couldn't really care less,' replied Ranma, 'Less words, more
action, Kentaro. Take off those shorts, already.'
Kentaro struggled to his feet and reached to slip off his last
piece of clothing, when Ranma suddenly leaned forward and grabbed
it by the waistband. With a mighty pull she ripped the pants
right of his body. Kentaro's eyes bulged and he barely managed to
keep his reaction down to a wince.
'Ranma...' he said, 'warn me when you're going to do that. In
fact, I think I'd like it if you never did that again.'
'Sorry, Kentaro,' said Ranma sheepishly, 'I just thought we oughta
get serious, now.'
'That's what you do when you're being serious? Gee, I guess I
should count myself lucky that I didn't catch you in a *funny
mood*.'
'Sorry,' Ranma repeated.
'Don't worry, Ranma,' smiled Kentaro and went to kneel beside her
again, 'I know you are anxious to get this over with and I also
know that a bit of humor can help through a difficult situation,
but-'
'Oh, can the lectures,' interrupted Ranma. She put on a
know-it-all expression and leaned over to look at his now exposed
sex as if dispassionately studying an interesting specimen.
'This is,' she said, imitating Kentaro's lecturing tone from
before, 'what we experts call a 'penis'. It's generally
considered a pretty nifty toy by those who possess one - and quite
probably by a lot of those who don't, but know someone who does.'
Kentaro almost fell over.
Chuckling, he conceded, 'Okay, Ranma, I get the hint. No more
lectures. I can use my mouth for better things.'
An unexpected tingle of anticipatory joy raced along Ranma's spine
at these words. With a shiver, she quickly lay down and opened
herself to him. Kentaro wasted no time and began by stimulating
her breasts. Ranma felt his hands as they cupped her mounds and
basked in the sensation. Soon his mouth joined in on the fun and
he alternately sucked her nipples or showered her breasts with
kisses. The wonderful feelings this gave her spread until all of
her breast was tingling with constant pleasure.
Then she felt him kiss his way downwards, leaving a trail of hot
marks on her chest leading down to her stomach, where he spent
some time circling her belly button. He kept his hands on her
breasts, fondling and kneading a bit. Only when he continued on
downwards, he let go of them and Ranma felt a small pang of regret
for a second. She could not think about that, however, because
now Kentaro brought his hands to her sides and tickled her. This
sent her hyper-sensitized body into convulsions.
By the time she had caught her breath again, he was already down
between her legs, hard at work, making said breath rather ragged.
He was swiftly licking all around her vagina, touching her
clitoris every so often. The regular jolts of excitement that
shot up from her groin were rapidly driving her back into the
state of arousal she was in before - and beyond. She was now on a
higher level of arousal than she had ever been before in her life.
She knew that Kentaro was only waiting for her signal to continue
on, and she felt that this was the time for it.
'You can... p-put it in... Kentaro,' she managed between her
gasping breaths. She braced herself and concentrated on the
pleasure and arousal she was feeling. Gently, ever so gently a
finger began probing her cleft. Two fingers joined it and pulled
her lips apart, while the first slowly made its way into her
entrance. She knew what to expect this time and her arousal never
ebbed. If anything it was enhanced by the incredibly strange
feeling of this digit that so slowly made its way into her.
The finger was just in past the first knuckle, when Ranma again
felt Kentaro's tongue against her clitoris. The unexpected
sensation made her jerk. Kentaro kept on pushing slowly and every
now and then he would let his tongue dart out towards her
sensitive nub, always when she was least expecting it. It was
driving her mad. She reached down and ran her fingers through his
hair, not quite grabbing his head, but also not letting it stray
far from where it was.
When the finger was finally fully inserted, as it had once before,
Kentaro held it there for a moment, completely motionless. The he
began moving it and Ranma's world turned a cartwheel. The
pleasure was overwhelming, but still something inside of her was
not satisfied, demanded more, demanded something *besides*
pleasure. The realization dawned on Ranma what it was. She took
a deep breath.
Kentaro looked up, when Ranma suddenly took his head between her
hands and lifted it from her groin.
'Kentaro...' Ranma said slowly, 'When I said 'put it in', I didn't
just mean your finger.' She let that statement sink in for a
moment. 'This feels good, no question about it, but it *could* be
better - and I know what's missing.' She reached down and gently
put her hand under his chin, lifting it. 'I want to see your
face; I want to hold you; I want to kiss you. Come up here,
Kentaro. Please.'
Wordlessly - for what could he have said? - Kentaro climbed up on
his hands and feet and moved up over Ranma until he was eye to eye
with her. 'Are you sure, Ranma?' was his only question.
Ranma nodded. 'Do it.'
She felt the tip of his penis as it rested on her pubic mound.
Kentaro moved backwards and she felt it drag across her mons and
graze her vagina before it lost contact. When she felt it again,
the tip was pressing against her opening. She looked up at
Kentaro, who was supporting himself on one hand, while holding his
erect genital ready with the other. He only waited for her
signal.
'Do it,' she repeated.
And he did.
Like a sudden splash of cold water, Kentaros's entrance shocked
Ranma's whole system and rattled her deeply. This was no mere
finger, this was a man's penis. *Another* man's penis. You are a
man, Ranma, shouted a frantic part of her mind, how can you allow
this?
Because it feels good, said another, larger part of her. This is
the most pleasurable experience in my whole life.
But he is a man. And you are a man. You were born a man and
raised to be one. Men don't do this.
Ranma thought,
But *inside* you are a man, insisted the oldest part of her.
And inside I'm *also* a woman - so's everybody. And I can make
love to a man with this body, answered the other voice in her
head.
A woman's identity. You are a man.
And what's so bad about being a woman?
At this moment, Kentaro moved his head down, and began suckling
her breasts. She felt his mouth on her skin, and it was good and
awful, gross and pleasureable, wrong and right and to some part
of her brain it just *was*, completely apart from good or bad.
The 'male' and 'female' parts of her mind were shouting at her,
trying to drown out each other. This three-way conflict was
tearing her apart. Her mind was beginning to fracture. And yet,
throughout all of this, there was incredible pleasure radiating
from her groin, as if the disintegration of her mind was the
greatest of aphrodisiacs.
She heard herself moaning, except it wasn't her, it was some
strange, weird part of her that had taken over her body. She was
a man. She should take this other man and throw him naked out the
window, humiliate him so that he'd never do this again, and yet as
he lifted his head from her breasts and began to shift positions,
she found herself spreading her legs, knowing that it would make
it easier for him, and she felt him touch her down there with a
hand, rubbing her, giving her pleasure, and he was inside and it
felt good and it felt bad, and he was tearing her, her mind was
tearing, her body was tearing, and she was a man and he was inside
her and it hurt and it felt good and please stop please give me
back my masculinity....
It wasn't until Kentaro stopped that Ranma realized she was
screaming.
Kentaro cautiously pulled out of her and scooted out from between
her legs. He watched as Ranma sat up and hugged her knees to
herself. He did not know, could not imagine what was going on in
her head, but he *did* know that she needed comfort right now. He
knelt by her side and put an arm around her shoulders, holding her
while she calmed down.
~*~
Kentaro woke to the sound of Ranma's screams.
He jumped off the couch and tried to get his bearings in the dark.
He had slept over at Ranma's place quite regularly, ever since she
got it. So he was able to get over to the futon where Ranma was
sleeping - or *had been* sleeping - without bumping into what
little Ranma had in the way of furniture. Within seconds he was
kneeling by her side on the futon and held her, murmuring soothing
words to her.
'It's all right. It's all right, Ranma. It was only a dream.
You know it was a dream, and it's over now.'
He knew from experience that Ranma needed some time before she got
coherent. This was not the first time that she had risen from
nightmares, screaming. Not the first time by far.
'Kentaro...' Ranma managed to breathe. She hugged him tightly,
something she never did otherwise, but then she would have hugged
a grizzly right now if it had promised comfort.
'It's okay, Ranma,' Kentaro repeated, 'Tell me what it was. You
know you always feel better when you talk about it.'
Ranma gulped and drew a shaky breath, but forced herself to begin
talking. 'I- I was home, I mean *really* at home - with my mother
and father. And... and it was different. I was a boy again and I
didn't even remember ever having been a girl. Pop and me never
left on that training trip, but stayed at home with Mom and
trained in the Dojo. Uh, there was a Dojo behind the house, just
like the Tendo's. And I had never heard of Jusenkyo or
*anything*. I was just a boy who was happily living at home with
his parents. And then suddenly there's a panda walking into the
room and I know it's Pop. And I am so confused that my Pop is a
panda and I look down and see that suddenly I'm a girl. Then I
look up again and in the doorway I see my Mom, looking at us. And
in her hand she holds that katana of hers and she's just looking
at us like that.'
Ranma lost her voice again at this point and just squeezed
Kentaro's ribs. He kept himself from grunting. If he was not in
prime condition - thanks to Ranma's own training - she could
easily have broken something in her current state. He just
embraced her lightly and continued his soothing murmur.
'I want it to stop!' Ranma said, after a while of this, 'I want to
stop remembering it. I want it to stop hurting. Why won't it
stop?'
Kentaro raised an eyebrow at this. A year and a half ago, when he
had first witnessed one of Ranma's nightmares, it was being female
that Ranma had wanted to stop. He wondered whether she was aware
of this change, but wisely decided not to comment.
'I wish Shampoo was here with her formula 110 to make me forget I
was a boy, but I'm so afraid that the nightmares would never stop,
I just wouldn't understand why they hurt me so. And she wouldn't
do it anyway, even if she was here...' Ranma trailed off into
barely coherent tales of Shampoo and Akane and some kind of memory
manipulation that the Chinese girl apparently could perform.
Kentaro just held her, while Ranma slowly slipped back into a
calm, peaceful sleep. At least as peaceful as was possible with a
psyche like Ranma's.
~*~
Ranma was not crying; she never did. Even at the worst times
Kentaro had never witnessed more than some dry sobs from her. Now
she was just sitting there with her knees hugged tightly to her
chest, almost curled into a fetal ball. She had her eyes closed
and was slowly rocking back and forth. She showed no reaction to
his comforting arm around her shoulders.
'What's wrong, Ranma?' Kentaro asked soothingly, 'Tell me.'
'What's wrong?' Ranma asked back, clearly agitated, surprising
Kentaro a bit, since he had not expected such a fast and direct
response in her current state. 'I'll tell you what: It's me!
That's what's wrong!'
Kentaro opened his mouth, but she shushed him and went on, 'I've
got this little voice in my head that tells me I'm a man and I
can't do this with you, and then there's another voice that says
I'm a woman and making love with a man is okay because I have the
right body for it. And they are shouting at me in my mind and
they're both right and both wrong. I can't get them to shut up,
no matter what I say, because they are both parts of myself.' She
shuddered in remembrance of the tearing struggle that threatened
her sanity. 'Yep, I have met the enemy and he is me.'
'Do you think so?' asked Kentaro, 'So this one voice says you are
a man and the other one says you are a woman. And what did *you*
say?'
'I...' Ranma was puzzled, 'I said...'
Ranma stopped and looked at Kentaro, who was calmly, encouragingly
gazing back.
'I say let's get started again,' Ranma said resolutely, 'And this
time we'll get it right.'
Ranma unrolled and lay down once again. Kentaro went down to
stimulate her sex again, but Ranma grabbed him by the shoulders,
signalling him to cut out the foreplay. This was more than just a
physical act to derive pleasure - this was the final sealing of
their love. It would eradicate the last remnants of doubt about
her future with Kentaro.
The female voice was gone from her head, as if it saw no use in
insisting any further and had taken her love for Kentaro as good
enough for the moment. Only the small, nagging murmur of the male
side remained, telling her to stop this madness. She told it to
shut up.
But you need not be female anymore. You went through so much
trouble to be a man again. Was all that for nothing?
The male voice would not accept that, she knew. But somehow she
also knew that what she was doing with Kentaro right now would
make an end of that, would free her from its influence. She
needed to do this; needed to do this very badly.
You're on the right track, then, came the sardonic reply from the
rational part of her brain. You *are* doing this very badly.
And she was, Ranma noticed. She was just lying passively under
Kentaro, letting him pump away at her unresisting body - not
exactly stimulating for both parties. Keeping her eyes closed,
she concentrated on the feelings from her crotch and strove to
rekindle the flame of arousal.
This proved to be easy to do. The flame had never gone out
entirely, and as soon as Ranma began moving it sprang up again.
She rocked her hips in time with his thrusts, and almost shouted
when this brought up her clitoris against his organ, rubbing it
against his hot, almost burning flesh. Jolt after jolt of pure
electric pleasure shot through her, and before long she felt her
own juices of arousal flowing over her sex. Deep inside her loins
something was building; something big; something fiery, straining
for release.
Stop! screamed the male voice with all of its remaining strength.
This was wrong, it told her, she could not do this. The thought
alone - that somebody was inside her own body. That somebody was
invading into - *penetrating* in the truest sense of the word -
the most private space she called her own...
No! It was *not* 'somebody'. It was Kentaro. The man she loved.
He did not - *could* not - invade; he was *invited*.
'Ranma, are you okay?' Kentaro's worried voice pulled Ranma out
of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and saw Kentaro looking down
at her sympathetically. Obviously he had seen her inner struggle
reflected on her face. 'We can stop,' he suggested, his worry for
her showing clearly. He was fully prepared to stop at once,
purely out of concern for her.
That cinched it. Kentaro was surprised when Ranma reached up and
pulled him down with irresistible force. She kissed him violently
and then hissed, 'Don't you dare,' pressing him close to herself
in an unbreakable embrace. Kentaro did his best to keep his
rhythm in this position, but fortunately it didn't take much to
keep Ranma going right now.
Her breath ragged, her pulse racing, her leg muscles bulging as
she forcefully bucked against Kentaro with her hips, Ranma strove
for a goal she could not even describe, except in terms of desire.
Suddenly there were words, without a hint of where they came from.
Perhaps they were a last present from her waning rationality,
given before it winked out with a metaphorical smile, dissolved
into the wave of feelings that overwhelmed her. No matter what
their origin, these words she had to speak, could not *help* but
speak. They were forcing their way to her lips in the way that
rare truth wants out, no matter what. She did not fight them. On
the contrary - as if she was in a race with the all-encompassing
fiery ball of sensation that was building deep inside of her, she
concentrated all of her energy on saying these words, meaning
every one of them.
It was building.
'I-I...'
Coming closer.
'...love...'
Almost there.
'...you...'
And it was upon her.
'Kentarooo!'
As if triggered by the word - or perhaps bringing forth the word,
Ranma could not tell which - the feeling that had been building
shot up her spine like a trail of fire, to explode in her brain,
and back down where it exploded again in her loins.
Kentaro felt Ranma's body seize in orgasm. The feeling that her
reflexive tightening gave to his penis and the look on her face
was all he needed to be pushed over the final brink himself. With
a joyous moan, he too experienced that blissfull jolt of pure
pleasure while he watched Ranma shudder and convulse with a
release that was four years in the making, possibly longer.
When he came down, his fluids spent and intermingled with Ranma's,
he felt the wave of relaxation wash over him, as every tightened
muscle in his body released at once. Had he not been lying on top
of Ranma already, he would have sunk into her embrace now. For
some time both of them just lay there, soaked in sweat, but happy,
just enjoying the feel of the other's body against their own.
Finally Kentaro rolled off of Ranma with a groan. Ranma watched
him. Spent as he was, he still kept alert and looked at her
questioningly, wanting to ascertain her well-being. Ranma thought
about it and realized that she herself did not feel spent at all.
If anything she felt ready for more.
This was great, she thought. She had just had an orgasm, but the
heat was still there, just waiting to build again. Her whole body
was still sensitive - actually she felt close to another orgasm.
Wow. This was *definitely* great. She could have many of these
and not ever feel tired. She looked over at the exhausted Kentaro
again. Oh well, perhaps there *was* a limit to how many orgasms
she would be able to achieve.
On a sudden impulse she reached for his hands and he took hers
immediately. One silent moment long they just enjoyed the
feelings they shared and basked in the warm afterglow of their
lovemaking. Ranma loved the feel of his body next to hers and all
that it implied.
It was Kentaro who spoke first and a look of panic crept into his
eyes, 'Oh no. I forgot. I- I was so worried about how you were
feeling, and how much I wanted you, that I forgot to put on....'
Ranma grinned. 'Don't worry. Nothing a hot shower won't fix.'
He blinked. 'Oh, yeah? Are you sure it works that way?'
She snorted again. 'I won't bore you with the details of what I
learned about how this curse affects both of my bodies, but yeah,
I'm sure.'
Kentaro smiled at her, half relieved, half worried. 'Well, I
should still have remembered it.' He grinned. 'I mean, if I
begin to act irresponsible *too*, we're doomed for certain.'
Ranma made a playful swat at his head, but she laughed with him.
As she did, she was overwhelmed by a wave of warm affection for
him. She knew she had found the person she wanted to spend her
life with.
Just looking at him made her whole chest tighten so much that it
ached. Her hands squeezed his. 'I don't ever want to let go of
you; I never want to leave.' She cast about for words to describe
her desire. 'I want us to be like this forever. Oh, Kentaro, I
want to believe in some kind of... unseen link between us that
ties us together so we're never apart.'
Kentaro smiled lovingly back at her. 'But there *is* such a link,
Ranma. Don't you know? It's love.'
For a second Ranma could do nothing but stare at this man; this
wonderful, wonderful man. The she swept him into her arms,
irresistible like a force of nature, a hurricane. She put her
mouth over his and kissed him for all he was worth.
Which, she decided, was quite a lot.
THE END.
Now it is time to give honor where honor is due.
vWhen I read his first draft of Richard's lemon, I found the
central motive - Ranma's doubts and inhibitions and her struggle
to overcome them - very intriguing, but agreed with him that he
had somehow gone about it the wrong way.
Thus, when I went and wrote this, I lifted quite a few pieces out
of his first draft and integrated them in this story. The pivotal
scene (Note the clever avoidance of the word 'climactic') wherein
Ranma's internal struggle culminates is one such example. It's
almost entirely Richard's, as are a lot more scenes and sentences
towards the end and a few other phrases throughout the text.
He and Zen helped me a lot in getting the bugs outta this text. I
owe both of them lots of thanks for their help and their
friendship.
Sebastian
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