Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma and Akane - A Saiyan Story ❯ Ryoga's Back ( Chapter 10 )

Ranma and Akane - A Saiyan Story

A Ranma/DBZ/AMG Crossover Fan Fiction

By Michael Ivins

 

I don't own Ranma, DBZ or AMG. I wish I did.

 

This takes place before the start of either anime or manga for Ranma and DBZ before the destruction of planet Vegeta. To be truthful you won't see any of the DBZ cast, I just want to make Ranma and Akane both Saiyans. The characters will speak of the DBZ anime and Manga. As to where this falls in the timeline of AMG, you can pick your own time.

 

Chapter 10

Ryoga's Back

 

After Nodoka left, Ukyo came in, bringing her books. She was ready to work on her homework with her usual study partners. Before that she said, "What did Mom have to say."

 

Ranma shrugged. "She was pretty cool about it. Basically she said that if Akane and I are going to have sex we have to remember the risk that one of us might get pregnant. We agreed that we'll use protection."

 

Ukyo looked in shock at that. "Wait a minute! Are you saying Mom was worried that you might get preggers, Ranchan?"

 

The boy nodded. "Well, if we assume my girl form has all the same plumbing as a natural born girl, then it at least seems possible."

 

Shaking her head, the brown haired girl said in disbelieving tones, "My brother getting pregnant... That's an idea that's going to be hard to get used to. I suppose I should have expected it when you started changing into a girl and all, but still... We've hung out together since we were five and you were a boy the whole time."

 

"Hey, knock it off! You say that like I was already pregnant," Ranma protested. "We're going to be careful like Mom said. We agreed that neither of us is ready to take care of a kid right now, so we're going to do what we can to prevent that."

 

Ukyo sighed and said, "I guess you're adjusting to sex changing better than I would if it happened to me.

She paused a moment then thought of a good parting shot to give before changing the subject. “You do know that the only totally reliable way of preventing pregnancy is abstinence, right? Anyway, let's get on that math homework."

 

Shortly before time for bed, girl Ranma and Ukyo donned blindfolds and let themselves be led into the yard to stand beside the koi pond. Soun held a bared katana while Eiko held a tanto. Both were poised and ready to strike to cut off a tail.

 

They made sure the teens were facing in the direction of the full moon. Akane watched from the back porch. If it did come to tail cutting, she wasn't sure she would be able to watch and was ready to turn her head away.

 

When everyone was in position, Soun told the young people, "You may take off the blindfolds now." He sounded very nervous.

 

Ranma and Ukyo complied and dropped the blindfolds to the ground, keeping their eyes shut for the moment. When they opened their eyes they looked up to gaze upon the face of the full moon. Both studied the pale gray orb and waited. Neither felt anything in the slightest bit odd.

 

After ten minutes had passed with nothing significant happening, Ranma turned her head and said, "I don't think we're going to transform. It looks like the rings work as we were told."

 

Sounding nervous, Eiko asked, "How long is the change supposed to take?"

 

From the porch, Akane said, "In the anime the actual transformation takes about two to three minutes, or at least it did the first time they showed it. Every time after that they just rushed through it so it only took seconds to show it. You know, sort of like a TV program would show someone falling from the top of a building and then cut to the scene of the person after they hit the ground. But the transformation always started just seconds after the Saiyan saw the moon."

 

Still sounding apprehensive, Soun insisted, "So you're saying that they would have started their transformation by now if they were going to transform?"

 

Nodding, Akane agreed, "That's right, Daddy."

 

Ranma offered, "If you wanted a more complete test, I could take the ring off and we could see how long it takes for me to start the transformation."

 

"NO!" Both adults shouted. After a moment Eiko continued in a more moderate tone, "I mean that isn't necessary. For now we'll conclude that the rings work and you aren't going to change into giant rampaging monsters."

 

Ranma looked over her shoulder and said, "If that's the case, would you mind sheathing those blades? You're making me kind of nervous." Ukyo seconded that, “Yeah.”

 

Soun looked startled but picked up the scabbard and sheathed the katana as asked. When they heard the sound of the tanto click into its sheath, the Saotome children breathed a sigh of relief. They all headed back into the house.

 

That night it was Ranma's turn to be the man to Akane's woman in their sexual encounters. As it turned out Akane was not so vocal in her responses as Ranma-chan. Still, there were enough sounds of passion coming from the couple's room that Eiko resolved that she would get in touch with a contractor in the morning to discuss installing soundproofing.

 

It wasn't so much for the volume of sound, but the character of the sounds that was getting Eiko herself aroused. This was the third night of hearing the two lovers indulge in their passions. It was having a cumulative effect.

 

Eiko and Soun had a more active night in bed than they'd had in quite some time. As a result, neither of the elder Tendos got much sleep that night. It was fun, but Eiko had to admit that neither she nor her husband had the energy they'd had when they were younger and didn't recover as quickly.

 

Saturday night Nodoka came over to spend the night. She planned to sleep on a spare futon set up in Ukyo's room. Naturally, Ranma and Akane slept in their shared room.

 

They had fun planning out their shopping trip for the next day. They would take a train to one of the bigger shopping districts and there they would visit many of the shops that carried women's clothing. They did plan to visit one shop that specialized in men's clothing. That was to get some basic stuff for Ranma's boy side. They were also going to stop at a martial arts shop to pick up Gis.

 

They were having almost as much fun planning out the trip as they hoped to have on the actual shopping expedition.

 

The following morning they got up early and boarded a bus that would take them to the train station. The group consisted of Ranma in girl form with the locking ring turned on, Akane, Ukyo and Nodoka. The first stop was a men's clothing store where they picked up the basics. Ranma got a school uniform along with a few pairs of pants and shirts. While Akane wasn't sure if she would ever appear in public in male form, it seemed prudent to get some clothing for that body just in case.

 

The next stop was a lingerie shop. Ranma gave Akane a dazzling smile and said, “What I get here will be mostly for your sake. I want you to pick me out some really sexy things that will really excite you.”

 

Akane couldn't help but smile in response. She picked out a pale green lace teddy along with a yellow baby doll style nightie and other items that she thought were really sexy on Ranma. When she went into the changing room with Ranma she found she had a hard time keeping her hands off her fiancé as they were trying on outfits.

 

The Black haired Saiyan girl also picked out some really sexy outfits for herself to wear with Ranma's approval. In addition to those things all three girls got basic panties, bras and hose. Ukyo also got some sexy items. The others looked at her with questioning expressions and she replied, “I may not have a boyfriend now, but that doesn't mean that I never will have one. I like to plan ahead.”

 

The others nodded. That seemed reasonable enough.

 

When they finished at the lingerie shop the next stop was a shop that sold kimonos. This one was at Nodoka's insistence. She had felt that they needed some nice ones for formal occasions. Akane already had one but neither Ranma or Ukyo did. In this Nodoka gave her advice and it was good advice at that.

 

The next stop was a dress shop. Ukyo got some basic dresses and a couple of really nice ones. Ranma picked out one dress that looked so beautiful that when wearing it, no one would possibly believe that she was anything other than a beautiful woman. She even picked out a couple of gowns to wear at events like dances. She didn't know if she would ever go to a dance, but wanted to be prepared for it if that happened.

 

For more practical wear, they went to a shop that had an assortment of outfits. There the girls picked out skirts in an assortment of colors and styles along with blouses. There they were careful to pick blouses that went well with most of the skirts so they could mix and match and create dozens of different outfits.

 

The girls also picked out a few jewelry items. With Nodoka's help they were able pick out items that were pretty and tasteful.

 

While they were out, Nodoka purchased a few items for herself. She didn't get anything major, just items she needed.

 

It was a good thing that the girls all had more than human strength because the collection of bags that each carried was huge. One thing they did do at their last stop for the day was to get a few of the larger bags that the store had so they could consolidate their purchases in a few large bags instead of a lot of little ones. On the way to the train station they had more than one man who stopped them to ask if he could help them carry their purchases. The offers were politely refused.

 

  When they got off the train, Nodoka took a bus to get back to the Saotome home and the girls took a different bus to go to the Tendo Dojo. Ranma and Akane went their room while Ukyo went to the guest room.

 

As they were stowing their purchases in closet and dressers, Akane commented, “You have good taste and a good eye for color. You're already beautiful in your girl form. Dressed up in one of the nice outfits, with jewelry and makeup, you would be really drop-dead gorgeous.”

 

“Thanks, Akane.” The redhead just stared at Akane for a moment. “You are gorgeous yourself. How did I get so lucky to get someone so beautiful to be my girlfriend?”

 

The black haired girl blushed. She had no real illusions that she was as beautiful as Ranma, but if the redhead thought Akane was beautiful, then she would simply appreciate the compliment.

 

The session of mutual admiration was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Ukyo. The brown haired girl came in and commented, “I got my stuff put away. That's more clothing than I've ever had. It's going to take more time just picking an outfit in the morning.”

 

Ranma had a thought. “I wonder about something. I bet if we asked, Urd might be able to get us some more clothes than these. Since they make them with magic, there would be no concern over money and we could set up closets in the XDTR.”

 

Ukyo grinned at the thought. “If there's anyone who knows how to dress sexy, it's Urd.”

 

“We'll ask her next time we see her.”

 

That evening Urd came to the XDTR. The couches that had been conjured the last time were still there. When Ranma mentioned clothing and having closets in the XDTR, the goddess said, “That's a good idea. The actual doorway that you carry in your subspace pocket is just that, a door. You don't carry any of the weight of this space as it is a pocket universe.”

 

She paused to think about it for a while. Finally she said, “Have you seen the anime, “Tenchi Muyo?”

 

The three teens all nodded. The platinum blonde smiled and said, “That helps. The space of this room is a little like the laboratory that Washu-Chan set up. She linked the door of a mop closet to a pocket universe like this one. This space was originally set up to just be your training facility. However, it could be much more. Do you recall from DBZ the room of Time and Space?”

 

When the kids acknowledged that they did, she said, “I was thinking that we could put in a kitchen like the one there. The refrigerators and cupboards would be magical and self refilling. By coming in here to eat you could take some of the pressure off the Tendo's food budget. There can be food that's ready to eat and we can have cooking facilities if you are feeling creative and want to cook.”

 

The youngsters all agreed that this sounded like a great idea. All of them knew how to cook at least the basics, Ukyo being the only one who had broader experience in more varied cooking. The long haired brunette preferred okomiyaki as her favorite, but even she got tired of having it all the time. Thus it was that she learned to cook almost anything and was always looking for new recipes.

 

Ranma could cook well, but didn't have his sister's genius for seasonings. Because of this what he made was good but not exceptional. Akane of this timeline was able to cook, unlike her counterparts in other timelines. Her cooking was adequate and edible if not a treat.

 

Ranma did voice one concern. “Will putting that stuff in here cut down the space available for training?”

 

Urd smiled. “No worries there. This pocket dimension is big enough that you could never fill it up. Now that I think about it, I think I will have some bedrooms set up here as well. I'm not saying that you should use them instead of your rooms in the Tendo home, but if you ever find yourselves out in some bad weather and have no available shelter, you could use the XDTR to get in out of the rain.”

 

Hmm. That would definitely be better than just a tent and a lot quicker to set up. They had never really thought about the XDTR for that kind of thing because it had always been just a big empty space before.

 

Urd said, “The clothing is a good idea. I can set each of you up with a wardrobe that will include every type of outfit, costume, uniform, formal wear, you name it. I will have your hero uniforms brought in. I think we could also provide you with powered battle armor. I know the Saiyans never use such things, but there might come a time when you face a foe that is stronger than you.”

 

Ranma thought about that. Normally he would prefer to test his own strength against an enemy but she could see the value of using big guns in some situations. She asked, “Could we get Gundams?”

 

“I'll have to check on that,” Was Urd's answer. “I can't promise.”

 

“That's Ok.”

 

They proceeded to training.

 

Time passed. In the XDTR Ranma trained Ukyo and Akane. The girls underwent a rigorous program of physical conditioning in an effort to bring their strength up to Ranma's level.

 

Ukyo already knew many of the ki manipulation techniques. Before, her merely human physiology didn't give her the ki reserves needed. Now that she was a Saiyan she found her ki reserves growing faster than she ever believed possible before. Techniques that had been difficult were becoming easy and the ones that had been impossible became possible to do.

 

The contractors came and went. All of the bedrooms were soundproofed. It seemed the safest route to follow. Ukyo didn't have a boyfriend yet, but seemed popular with boys at school. Nabiki wasn't happy about it because she was deprived of a source of juicy gossip about the activities of her sister.

 

Eiko found that she missed her period. At first this alarmed her because she had experienced her period as regular as clockwork for years. The last time there had been any disruption in the cycle had been when she was pregnant with Yoshi. She didn't think she could be pregnant again.

 

A visit to her OB/GYN proved Eiko wrong. She was able to track the time back to the "night of passion" she and Soun had enjoyed after listening to Ranma and Akane had aroused them so much. She was amazed.

 

Soun was stunned at the announcement. He was going to be a father again after so many years. He also figured out the timing and wasn't sure if he should thank his daughter or not.

 

Ranma and Akane studied some books on sexual positions that Urd loaned them. In their experimentation they found that they enjoyed male/female sex both ways. Sometimes Ranma was the man and Akane the woman, and sometimes the other way around. They also enjoyed girl-on-girl sex, but didn't like man-on-man. They didn't hate it, but for some reason it just wasn't fun for them.

 

One day about three weeks after Ranma had first come to the Tendo household, Ranma, Akane and Ukyo were leaving the school grounds when a shout of "Saotome Ranma prepare to die!" was heard.

 

Naturally the three Saiyans jumped out of the way of a boy who slammed the tip of an umbrella into the ground. So forceful was the attack that a shallow crater was blown out, bits of rock and chunks of dirt flying into the kids in the schoolyard.

 

An angry scowl on his face, Ranma protested, "Damn it! Hibiki Ryoga, what have I told you about random property destruction? It's going to cost money to fix that hole you just made. You put innocent bystanders in danger. What the hell is your problem?"

 

The boy wearing the bandana looked only slightly apologetic. "Ok, I'm sorry. If it helps, I'll fill in the hole myself."

 

Akane nudged her boyfriend with her elbow and asked, "Do you know this guy?"

 

Nodding, Ranma introduced, "Hibiki Ryoga, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Tendo Akane. Akane this is Ryoga." The tone that Ranma used to say the world "girlfriend" clearly said, "Hands off."

 

The Lost Boy bowed slightly to Akane and said, "A pleasure to meet you." He bowed again and said, "Hi Ukyo."

 

The brunette Saiyan girl bowed back and said, "Hi Ryoga. How've you been?"

 

The boy shrugged and said, "Oh, I've been Ok, I guess. It took a while catching up with you guys."

 

"You were looking for us?" Ukyo queried. She was hoping that Ryoga had been wanting to hook up with her. Her brother was aware that she had a bit of a crush on the lost boy.

 

"What's the deal with the umbrella?" Ranma was curious.

 

"Oh, that," Ryoga said. "I need an umbrella to stay dry in bad weather so I decided to get one that I could use as a weapon. This is the Mark 5 Battle 'Brella from the exotic weapons catalog."

 

Ranma nodded. It figured. If the boy had picked up a curse at Jusenkyo, then he would likely want to keep bad weather from triggering it. He said, "Alright, you can come back and fill in the hole later. I think we need to go someplace more private to talk about this."

 

Looking around, Ryoga noticed that a large number of the students seemed to be gathering around to watch and listen. Obviously these were people who didn't have much exciting happening in their own lives and they wanted to find out what was happening to the interesting people. At least none of them appeared to be hurt by the debris that had scattered from his impact crater.

 

The group left, with Ukyo holding Ryoga's hand to make sure the boy didn't get lost. Before long they came to a vacant lot. Ranma looked around to be sure that nobody had followed and pulled out the doorway to the XDTR. He applied it to the wall of an abandoned building and they ducked inside.

 

Akane asked, "Was it a good idea to bring him in here?"

 

Ryoga looked around. As time went on more and more stuff got put into the XDTR. There were the regeneration tanks and a fully equipped medical facility. There was a lounge area with comfortable furniture. There was a kitchen with a pantry and refrigerators that never ran out of food. Those places magically restocked themselves. There was what looked like a house. This was where the bedrooms and toilet facilities were located.

 

The most recent new addition was the library. The area was filled with books on martial arts, scrolls of ancient techniques as well as a collection of manga and anime. There was also a collection of sex manuals that Ranma and Akane spent a fair amount of time studying.

 

Ryoga turned from his study of the endless seeming space with his mouth open as if to ask a question. Ranma told him, "Just let it stand for now that it's magic. Depending on what you have to tell us, we may be allowed to give you more details."

 

The lost boy shrugged and sat down on a couch. He asked, "First, you did get to Jusenkyo, didn't you?"

 

When Ranma and Ukyo both nodded, he gave a date and asked, "What that when you were there?"

 

The siblings exchanged a look. Why was he asking this? He had been there at the same time and had seen both of them there. Ranma agreed, "Yeah, that's when we were there."

 

Ryoga explained, "I had arrived at a cliff that looked over the valley when a panda of all things ran by me, nearly knocking me over. I turned to look at it and took a step back, falling off the cliff. I thought I was a goner when a flying girl caught me."

 

His expression turned dreamy. "She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I know her hair was red, but I had the oddest impression that it was blonde when she first caught me and that it turned red. Since it stayed red after that, I guess that's her real hair color."

 

Ranma started to say that was him/her but felt Ukyo's hand on his arm. She was giving a look that said not say anything yet. He remained silent.

 

Still with the dreamy expression, Ryoga said, "I'm in love. Do you know her name? Did you meet her while you were there?"

 

Glancing at Ukyo and choosing his words carefully, Ranma said, "We know who she is."

 

"You're not dating her are you?" Ryoga demanded.

 

Ranma couldn't help a small snort of amusement at that. "No, I'm not dating her. That would be kind of hard."

 

A look of determination came to the boy's face. "I don't care what it takes. I have to date her."

 

Feeling disturbed, Ranma asked, "Uh, Ryoga? You do know what the curses in the 'Training Ground of Cursed Springs' are don't you?"

 

He nodded. "Yeah, I caught part of the Guide's explanation about it. I was sort of dazed by the girl's beauty and kind of came out of it back in the guide's hut. I had missed part of the story so I was having trouble following it. I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and got lost in the fog that was covering the valley."

 

Getting up from his couch, Ranma went to the kitchen and filled two glasses with water. He brought them back and set one of them on the table that was between his couch and the one where Ryoga was sitting. He said, "I'm sorry that I'm going to have to disappoint you, pal. That girl you're in love with is already dating someone. She's not what or who you think she is.”

 

Ranma threw the water from one glass in his face, triggering the change. She said, "I'm that girl."

 

The lost boy just sat and stared at the red haired vision in front of him. This was unquestionably the same girl who had saved him from his fall. Since he had witnessed the transformation, this was also unquestionably his friend from Junior High School. He took some time to process this before saying, "Uh, would you be interested in having a boyfriend, Ranma?"

 

By now used to getting proposals from both boys and girls, Ranma shook her head. "Remember when I told you Akane is my girlfriend? Well, thanks to something called Instant Naniichuan he's also my boyfriend. I'm honestly flattered that you would think of me that way. (Flattered and a little creeped out.) I'm fully committed to Akane in both forms."

 

Feeling a tug on her sleeve, Ranma looked over to Ukyo. Her sister was looking at her with a pleading expression in her eyes. Ranma rolled her eyes and nodded.

 

With a sigh Ranma commented, "You aren't always the most observant guy, are you?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

Glancing at Ukyo, Ranma said, "My sister has had a crush on you for a long time. I know she would like to see it develop into something more than just a crush."

 

The Lost boy did a double take and snapped his head around to look at the brunette. "Is that true, Ukyo?"

 

The girl in question blushed a little and admitted, "Yes. I've always thought you were a cute guy and really sweet too. The whole getting lost thing was sort of annoying, but I would be willing to be your guide."

 

Looking at the floor, Ryoga said, "You might not be so open minded when you hear about what happened when I got lost in the fog."

 

Akane asked, "You fell into one of the springs, didn't you?"

 

The boy nodded, looking embarrassed. "Actually I fell into two of them. The first one must have been the Spring of Drowned Tiger. When I got out of that pool I was down on all fours and I could see I had orange fur with black stripes and paws. I guess tigers have a pretty good sense of direction, but that didn't really do me any good. Even with a perfect sense of direction I shouldn't have tried to find my way around the springs in the fog. While my fur was still wet from the tiger spring, I fell into the Spring of Drowned Young Girl."

Ranma nodded. "The guide said the curses mix. So I'm guessing you either turned into a female tiger or maybe into some kind of cat girl."

 

"Cat girl," Ryoga agreed, nodding. He stood up and quickly shucked off his shirt. When he pulled down his pants, the girls cast an appreciative look at the boy's physique. He was wearing what appeared to be a pair of black, loose fitting spandex shorts. From the seeming nowhere of stuff space he produced a black bikini top. Everyone looked at the boy oddly as he put the top on. It also was very loose.

 

When Ryoga was done he picked up the glass of water from the table and tossed it in his face. The cups on the bikini top were filled quickly. The shorts that had been loose now were tight.

 

Where before there had stood a boy of muscular build and slightly above average height, there now stood a statuesque female figure 208 cm in height. She had bright orange hair with black streaks as well has having orange fur with black stripes over most of her body. The exception to that coloration was a white stripe of varying width that seemed to start somewhere under her shorts went up her abdomen, on the inner slopes her breasts and up the front of her chest and neck to the point of her chin.

 

When Ryoga had been taking off his pants, nobody had noticed the hole in the back of the black shorts. Now they could see there was a hole and through that an orange and black-furred tail trailed, swishing around. Ryoga's ears had become triangular in shape and had moved to the sides and top of her head. They twitched around a bit to show they were real. White whiskers projected from just beside her nose on both sides.

 

While Ryoga's male form was muscular in build, the tiger girl looked strong enough to crush rocks or bend steel bars in her hands. She still had broad hips and the bikini top strained to contain her ample bosom.

 

Ukyo looked over the tiger girl and said, "Oh, my Kami-Sama! You're gorgeous!"

 

The cat girl's eyes (which had slits for pupils) went wide. "Do you really think so? Most people who see me like this think I'm scary."

 

The brunette move over to stand beside the cat girl and reached out to stroke the fur on her back. Then she brought her other hand up to stroke the fur on her belly. Ukyo commented, "The white fur on your belly is so much softer than the colored fur everywhere else."

 

Ryoga's expression turned embarrassed when Ukyo bent down and began rubbing her cheek on the tiger girl's abdominal fur while still stroking the stripped fur on her back. Even though she felt embarrassed, she was enjoying the petting. Before long everyone could hear a rumbling purr escape from the big girl.

 

From stuff space, Ranma pulled a communicator and keyed it on. "Zenobia, if you aren't busy right now, could you come to the XDTR?"

 

Skuld's voice sound uncertain as it came out of the device, "Ranma?"

 

The redhead got a stern expression. "We talked about this. When I call you on the official channel, you are to call me Zoe and you are Zenobia

 

"You're right, Zoe." Zenobia apologized, "I'm sorry. Did you have some official business to talk about?"

 

"Yes, I do," Zoe agreed. "We have met Zora, the fifth member of our team. I'd like you to meet her. I think you'll like her. We're in the XDTR."

 

The reply came back, "Ok, run some water in the sink and I'll be right over."

 

A short while later the young girl appeared in the kitchen. When she saw Ryoga she shouted, "Oh wow! A cat girl!” and rushed over. She began to pet the cat girl like Ukyo had been and said, "Oh, you are so pretty and soft! So you're the new Z girl?"

 

Ryoga stopped purring and asked, "What are you talking about? What's a Z girl?"

 

Ranma struck a pose and said, "I am Zoe." Ukyo copied the pose and said, "I am Zeta." Finally, in a similar pose, Akane said, "I am Zula." In unison they said, “We're the Z girls.” Zoe added, “We will also answer to the Z Ladies.”

 

Not bothering with the pose, Skuld said, "And you already heard that I'm Zenobia. I'm like the science officer of this superhero team. I'm the one who invents new gadgets and weapons. I'm the one who digs up information on the villain so you can go into a fight with a better chance of winning. The other three girls are Saiyans, so they have the strength and power of an alien warrior race. I'm a goddess."

 

"Now we have a new girl with the strength, speed and agility of a tiger," Zenobia continued. "If you haven't figured it out, we want you on the team. To keep with the theme of all members having names that start with Z I'd like you to be Zora. What do you say?"

 

Ryoga looked at the others in bemusement. "You want me to be a member of an all-girl superhero team? But I'm a guy."

 

Zoe laughed. "So am I, but my alternate form is a girl. Even if my female form is really pretty, I'm also a kick-ass martial artist with alien powers. Your alternate form looks like she's way stronger than your birth form. I think you'd be an asset to the team."

 

Ryoga confessed, "Well, I don't really know how strong I am in this form. I've tried to avoid getting changed into this. Since I'm so big, normal people find me intimidating. I've never really tested my strength."

 

Zenobia nodded. From stuff space she produced a pair of bracers. She handed them to Ryoga and said, "These are a training aid. The rest of the girls call them G-bracers. They increase the force of gravity on you, making you heavier. These are a mix of technology and magic. By making yourself heavier you can make ordinary exercises more effective so they increase your strength faster."

 

She gave a quick rundown on the method of controlling the bracers. She next produced a ring and said, "This has a symbol of a padlock. When you give the command it will lock you in alternate form so you can't accidentally get changed, like during a fight. When you want you can command the ring to unlock your transformation. You can only lock your alternate form, you can't lock yourself into your birth form."

 

Zoe put in, "The magic wants you to be in your alternate form just about half or more of the time. The simplest way of avoiding water accidents at times you don't want them is to sleep in your alternate form. The magic doesn't know the difference and when you're sleeping, neither do you. That still doesn't stop rainstorms and the like, but it does stop you from getting rained on out of a clear sky or water from flowing uphill."

 

Zenobia resumed, "The other symbol is the image of a wire clothes hanger. What that means is the ring is also a clothing swap device. It can switch out what you're wearing for something you are carrying in stuff space. Is that going to be the outfit you want to wear as a superhero?"

 

Zora shrugged. "I want something that gives freedom of movement. I also found that wearing a lot of clothes over fur is not very comfortable. If I thought I could get away with it, I wouldn't wear the bikini top. The trouble with doing that is that guys always stare at my boobs, even if they are covered with fur."

 

"I'd bet your nipples don't have fur on them," ventured Zeta.

 

"No, they don't," admitted Zora. "What's the big deal, though? I never worried about people seeing my nipples when I'm a guy."

 

Laughing, Zeta said, "That proves that you are still a man inside even if you have woman's body right now. Just trust me that having those nipples exposed makes the difference."

 

With a speculative look, Zenobia said, "I'm guessing that the material of that outfit is just ordinary fabric you'd find in an ordinary bathing suit, right?"

 

Nodding, Zora pointed out, "What else would I be able to get hold of?"

 

"Exactly," agreed the young goddess. "I can make up an outfit of armor cloth that would take all the same punishment you could and wouldn't run the risk of leaving you naked in a battle."

 

"That sounds like a good idea," said Zora. "Is the clothing swap instant?"

 

Nodding, Zenobia explained, "It happens too fast for mortal eyes to see. I'm guessing your male clothing would be wrecked because your female form is so much bigger than the male."

 

"Yes," the tiger girl confirmed. "I'd probably have to switch clothes just before the transformation to avoid losing my guy clothes. I don't have too many spare outfits. Lucky for me my girl outfits don't take a lot of room in stuff space."

 

"How many girl outfits do you have?" asked Zeta.

 

"Three total," replied Zora. "Besides this black one I also have a blue one and a red outfit."

 

Zoe ventured the opinion, "The black goes good with your stripes. I don't know how good the red would go with the orange fur."

 

Zula said, “I guess I'll have to ask my daddy if he'd let Ryoga stay with us.”

 

Zeta offered, “If she's going to be sleeping in girl form, she can share my room. There's a spare futon in the closet.”

 

Zoe stepped over to her sister and asked the others, “Do you mind if I talk to my sister alone for a moment.” She grabbed Zeta's arm and pulled her a short way apart from the others.

 

She glanced at the others and then whispered, “I know that look on your face. You think Zora sleeping in your room will be your chance to seduce Ryoga.”

 

In a challenging tone, Zeta returned, “Can you blame me? With the way you and Akane are going at it every night, it's making me horny. I need somebody. My hands just don't do enough.”

 

Looking back at Zora, Zoe grimaced. “Did you forget how painfully shy Ryoga is? If he or she even sees you naked, there will be a huge nosebleed and he'll pass out. Right after that he'd refuse to share a room with you. If you want to stand any chance of success you'd have to take a gradual approach, break through that shyness slowly.”

 

“Uh.” She looked over at Zora. “She's so unashamed of her own body I forgot how she/he is about other women. I don't know if I can handle the frustration of having her in the room and not able to do anything right away.”

 

Zoe rolled her eyes. “You made the offer. Now you'll either have to hope she turns you down or learn to live with frustration.”

 

When they went back to the others Zora said, “I thank you for the offer, but maybe we should wait to see what Akane's Mom says. It is her house, after all. She might object to another mouth to feed.”

 

Zenobia said, “Food won't be a problem. The pantry and refrigerators in the kitchen of the XDTR are magically replenishing. With three bottomless pits like these it was necessary to put those supplies in. Saiyans are known for the big appetites. How about you, Zora?”

 

The tiger girl looked embarrassed. “Yeah, I need a lot to feed this body. I can eat anything, but I really like meat. I can eat it cooked rare, but my body seems to prefer it raw.”

 

Zenobia wandered over and looked in the refrigerator. “No problem there. We have beef, bison, pork, musk ox, wildebeest and mule deer. I also see chicken, turkey and ostrich. I can see whoever stocked this anticipated someone with an appetite like a wild cat.”

 

“Sounds delicious,” agreed the tiger girl.

 

Zenobia smiled and asked, “So, do you want to join the team?”

 

Zora looked at the other girls and said, “You make a tempting offer. I could get training that would let me test the limits of my new body. You have food that seems chosen specifically for this body. You also offer me the chance to hang out with people who take my curse in stride. I think I'd also like the chance to fight a few bad guys.”

 

She paused. Then she grinned, “I'm in.”

 

Zenobia shook hands with Zora. "Before you leave the XDTR you should probably change back to your male form. Once you are at the Tendo home you can change back to a cat girl. If you are going to be staying with them, they do need to know about your alternate form.”

 

Zora rolled her eyes. “Great, more people to share this with.”

 

Zula pointed out, “My parents raised a daughter who is actually a space alien. That same daughter has a boyfriend who is also a space alien. That same space alien boy transforms into a space alien girl (with a tail.) I think a boy who changes into a cat girl won't freak them out too much.”

 

Zora blinked. “Wait a minute. Super heroes, sex changers and space aliens? What planet are you from?

Zoe grinned, “Did you ever read Dragonball Z manga or see the Anime?”

 

Zora frowned. What did her TV viewing habits have to do with them being from another planet? She said, “I've seen some episodes of the Anime.”

 

“Akane and I are from the same planet that Goku is from,” Zoe explained.

 

The tiger girl just stood with her mouth hanging open for a moment. After another moment to think about it, she closed her mouth and shrugged. “Why not? My life has gotten really weird. Why should a little more strangeness bother me?”

 

She went into the kitchen and got some hot water from the sink. She supposed it didn't matter if the water was heated by electricity, gas or magic. The end result was the same. She threw the water in her face. At the same time she mentally projected a command to the ring she was told would magically swap out her clothes.

 

In less time than it takes to describe, Ryoga was standing there in his birth form with his usual clothing and a bandana tied in his hair. He looked down at his clothing and grinned. “Good, no more of that `guy in a bikini' thing. Say Ranma, why didn't you change clothes when you turned into a girl?”

 

Zoe shrugged. “Since we were in here I didn't want to bother. My guy clothes fit my girl body close enough. If you prefer to see me in girl clothes…” A moment later Ranma was wearing a dark skirt with black shoes and a cream colored short sleeved blouse. She had a pendant on a chain and a bracelet but no earrings. Her hair was now down out of the pigtail and in a loose, flowing style.

 

The boy let out a low whistle. “Damn Ranma! You looked beautiful as a girl in guys clothing. Now that you actually dressed for the part, you're gorgeous. Akane, you are a lucky girl... and guy.”

 

The black haired girl grinned and said, “I know. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to be sure I'm not dreaming that a girl like her is interested in me. It's also pretty awesome that a hunk of a boy like Ranma is in love with me.”

 

The redhead blushed. “Come on, let's go. There will be people who will wonder what's taking us so long.” She pressed a button next to the door and looked at a small monitor screen that flickered on beside the door. When it showed the vacant lot was still vacant, they opened the door to leave. Ranma pulled the doorknob from the wall, causing the door to automatically shrink down to a size that would comfortably fit into stuff space.

 

Author's Note: The Saotome siblings are greatly relieved they got to keep their tails. Ryoga challenges Ranma out of habit, more than having any real grievance. Being a cat girl is not so bad as being a pig. At least nobody is trying to cook him and eat him. Trying to keep this in the correct frame of reference, I listed cat-girl Ryoga's height in metric. I used a conversion program to look that up. In English units she would be 6' 10", making her tall but not gigantic.

 

If any of my readers has artistic talent a piece of fan art I'd like to see would be a picture of Ryoga in tiger cat-girl form in her black outfit.