Girl Days

	A Ranma 1/2 fanfic

	By Robert Haynie

	(And here we go with the disclaimer thing again!)

	part Six, section two:  Life's a beach-- let's hit it!

	####

	It was a beautiful morning.  Just beautiful.  The sun rose like
the very eye of God, the sky was an intense sky-blue (a good thing,
since if it had been an intense sky-green we'd have an entirely
different sort of fanfic, wouldn't we?) and the breeze from the
mile-away beach held the tang of the ocean.

	And Ranma couldn't decide which swimsuit to wear.

	Oh, sunbathing was something easy, of course.  That was the teal
and gold-chain bikini.  If she wanted to sunbathe she'd just change
in one of the change booths that dotted the beach. She intended to
swim first, which meant one of the one-pieces.  But which one?

	There was the black one.  Well, actually it was black with a
single inch-wide green stripe running vertically down the left side
of the front.  It was high cut on the hips and low cut in the front
and back, and fit her like a glove.  You could swim in it.

	Then there was the other one.  This one was actually what Ranma
thought of as a one and a half piece.  It was technically a one
piece, but was made of blue mesh, with panels in bikini-coverage
places.  Smallish panels.  Somehow she felt more naked in that suit
than in the bikini.  There was little to no doubt that it was meant
specifically to make the wearer look one hundred percent HOT.

	Then again, the black one did the same on her.  No matter which
suit she wore, she was going to have problems with many many boys
hitting on her.  Which meant that she'd likely have to hit many many
boys.

	The life of a Martial Artist is fraught with peril, her father
had said for years.  Turning down lewd propositions was one peril
that had never been a factor before Jusenkyo .

	She couldn't ask the others, of course.  Kasumi wouldn't suggest
either-- too "risky" for her tastes.  Nabiki would suggest the mesh
and Akane would say the black.  And Mom wouldn't understand the
problem.

	She flipped a coin.  Tails.  The mesh.

	Well... time to get with the others, she mused, after donning the
revealing suit and slipping one of her Chinese shirts over it as a
coverup.  Mom couldn't object this time, could she?

	Nodoka, actually, didn't.  In girlform, Ranma + Chinese Shirt -
Chinese Pants = Cute Girl in sleeveless minidress.  Especially when
she was wearing a revealing swimsuit and not boxers.

	And the party headed to the beach.

	As did others.

	####

	"Hibachan, we go now?"

	"Of course, Shampoo.  Come on, mister Part-Time."

	Mousse shrugged.  He may have been wearing trunks under his
robes, but he was wearing robes right now nonetheless.  There was no
way he could carry all that the old mummy wanted him to carry without
them.  

	Especially the portable cabana.

	####

	"Konatsu-chan, hurry!  We want to get a good spot at the-- oh my
GOD.  I knew you crossdressed, but..."

	"I don't look right, Ukyo-sama?"

	"You... you look great.  That's what's scary.  Well, come on..."

	####

	"Brother, Speedos and a bokken don't go together."

	"..."

	####

	"Where on earth am I NOW?"

	####

	"Ah... gather your strength, Happy, gather your strength.  Soon
enough you will have your greatest adventure ever!"  

	Evil laughter abounded.

	####

	It was a short bus trip to the beach.  It was also, in the view
of most of the passengers, a weird one.

	Genma had been to the beach post curse, and was always unhappy
that he would inevitably go panda.  Not so much being a panda, but
rather that he didn't really fit in at a beach as a panda.  Well,
this time he had an idea about that.

	His idea was to start off as a panda.  Now, this sort of made
sense, since it was sure to happen anyway.

	But pandas don't usually wear really really oversized swimtrunks
and tie-dyed t-shirts.  Genma was the world's first beach panda.  He
was even wearing flip-flops.  BIG panda-sized flip-flops.  

	Ranma sighed.  Panda no baka.

	As the bus arrived at the beach,  a lifeguard stared at the
disembarking panda.  "Hey-- no pets allowed.  Not even trained ones."

	"That's not a pet," Nodoka retorted.  "That's my unworthy
husband."

	"Huh?"

	"That's my husband."

	"You're married to a panda?"

	"He's not a panda.  Not usually.  Well, actually he is fairly
often.  Shameful, isn't it?"

	"It-- he's not a... Look, I don't understand.  What are you
trying to pull, lady?"

	"Ranma, thermos."

	Splash.

	"It needn't be quite THAT hot, boy!  EEEP!"

	Mixed gasps and giggles began to emerge from the bus crowd.
Genma was not a small man, but he was a damn sight smaller than his
panda form.  The result was that his panda-sized trunks decided to be
law-abiding.  Law of gravity, that is.  

	In the past Genma had been exposed as a fool, exposed as a thief,
exposed as a buffoon, and exposed as a greedy scoundrel.

	Now he was just plain exposed.

	While Akane flushed, Kasumi averted her eyes, and Ranma and
Nabiki did their best to keep from exploding in mirth, Genma quickly
gathered the trunks up as best as he could, and growled, "Cold Water.
Please."

	"So you see, he's not a--"

	The lifeguard had a sense of impending doom.  "Whatever.  Go on.
I don't want to think about it."

	As the party passed on, a thought entered the lifeguard's brain,
lagging behind the shock.

	(Boy?)

	####

	Nabiki slipped off her beach robe, revealing one of her standard
bikinis.  Small.  Daring.  Black.  And barely there.  She'd slip into
a one-piece if she decided to go into the water.

	Akane wore a simple red and black striped one-piece, and swore
that this time she would learn to swim.

	Kasumi was in a blue and modest one-piece. 

	Nodoka was in a suit similar to Kasumi's, except it was grey.

	And Ranma--

	Caused a commotion as soon as she slipped off the Chinese
"dress".

	A small group of boys, out for that time honored sport of
girl-watching, were just plain in heaven.  THAT many cute females...
in one group?  The gods must be kind.

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"The one in the red suit is pretty cute, too."

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"They're all cute.  Even the older one."

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"Aw, she's probably their mom.  Good looking mom, though."

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"That one in the blue suit ain't bad either.  Or the one in the
black bikini."

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"I dunno, she looks kinda scary in a way.  But scary ain't bad
with a body like that!"

	"Look at the redhead!"

	"You know, Koji, I think you kinda like the redhead."

	"Look at the-- well, damn, she's got to be the most beautiful
thing I have ever seen... "

	"It's getting better."

	"How could it get better?"

	"Look what's coming to join them."

	"Oh... GOD..."

	The night before, the Ranma Happiness Preservation League had
decided to meet, and to protect Ranma from unhappiness.  Part of that
was to stay close but not to actually join up with the Tendo-Saotome
party.  

	But the beach was pretty crowded, and by the demands of
synchronicity, the only open spaces with a reasonable distance were
right next to that same group.  

	So the Nekohanten crowd set up to one side and the Ucchan's duo
set up to the other.  And Ranma began to sweat.  Not from the heat,
either.

	"Whoa-- look at that!"

	"Yeah, THREE more babes!"

	Three?

	Well, to the uninformed eye, yes.

	Ukyo wore a yellow two-piece with blue trim of fairly modest cut.

	Shampoo, who quite frankly had little concept of the idea of
modesty, wore a bikini that was as tiny as Nabiki's, only red.

	And Konatsu-- looked like a girl.

	It should be understood that there was one major difference
between Konatsu and Tsubasa, the crossdresser kings-- or was that
queens?-- of Japan.  Tsubasa only dressed like a girl because he was
convinced that Ukyo liked it.  Konatsu, on the other hand, had been
raised as a girl, held a self image as a girl, and likely would have
happily leapt in the Nyannichuan if the opportunity had ever
presented itself.

	Konatsu was GOOD at looking like a girl.

	As the modest green skirted one-piece attested.  Had the Nerima
contingent not known that she was actually a he, they... well,
wouldn't have known it.

	Ranma stared.  (As did a lot of other people.)  And said,
uncertainly, "Nice swimsuit, Ko-chan?"

	"Arigato, Ranma-san.  Ukyo-sama liked it too."

	Shampoo peered at Ranma.  "Ranma wear very... um..."

	"Sexy?" interjected Nabiki, grinning.

	"That word."  Shampoo was NOT happy with Girl Days.  Even if
Hibachan DID approve.  Not only was she interested in the male
Ranma-- and only the male Ranma-- but it was somewhat disturbing that
Ranma was wearing a suit that even she would think twice about.
(Only twice.  Third time around, the suit's on.)

	"Thanks, Sham-chan", giggled Ranma, deciding to go into full
kawaii-as-a-bucket-of-plush-toys mode.  "Mom picked it out."

	Shampoo began (like many others) to severely wonder about Nodoka
Saotome.

	Meanwhile, on the girl-watcher's front--

	"Whoa-- check out the one with the purple hair!"

	"Yeah, SERIOUS babe!"

	"Almost as good as the redhead!"

	"Koji, she's BETTER."

	"I like the one with the yellow two-piece.  She's CUTE!"

	"Hmm... the one in green is kinda cute also."

	A long pause.

	"There's something about her, though..."

	"She looks the real shy and ladylike type, yeah."

	"Look at the red--"

	"We get the idea, Koji!  We get the idea!"

	"Hey, Ichiro, what are you staring at?  All the girls are over--
whoa."

	The new distraction was a private pavilion with an adjoining
change room.  There Tatewaki Kuno was idly dozing, dreaming of
infinite glories and inevitable victories (especially over
you-know-who), while Kodachi was stepping out of the change room
in... 

	This one was hard to describe.  Basically it was ribbons.
Carefully wound silver ribbons-- yes, gleaming metallic silver-- that
concealed the parts that had to be concealed while revealing enough
to be revealing period.  It was carefully planned for a maximum
effect on the male libido.  It was meant to ensnare the heart of her
Ranma-sama.

	If it wasn't for the fact that her Ranma-sama, contrary to what
many believed, wasn't a suicidal maniac, it might have had a chance.
As it was, Ranma caught it out of the corner of her eye, deduced it's
purpose, and shuddered.

	The pack of boys were in girl-watcher's heaven.  Somehow they
were flanked by amazing amounts of feminine pulchritude.  This, as
any normally hormonal boy can tell you, is a Good Thing.
	
	Well, usually.

	That's when Cologne decided to take off her robes and appear in
HER swimsuit.  

	The author refuses to describe this one because the image of
Cologne in a swimsuit is too hideous for even HE to envision.  You
should all be very thankful for that.

	The pack of boys suddenly passed out.

	They weren't as lucky as YOU, Honored Readers.

	As the day moved on, Ranma and company did a bit of swimming
(Except for Akane, who did a bit of sinking before being convinced
that maybe this wasn't her day to learn how to swim after all), a bit
of playing, during which Genma's experience with a beach-ball when
impersonating a panda paid off, and a lot of careful not fighting.

	The three members of the RHPL were incredibly careful to be
polite to each other, to not fawn over or assault Ranma, and to
generally just treat her like one of the gang.  This was beginning to
get on Ranma's nerves in much the same way that calming and peaceful
things don't.  Ranma was convinced that someone would say something
that would start, if not World War Three, then at least a healthy
local police action.

	She expected it to happen at lunch.  

	As lunchtime rolled around, Kasumi began laying out the
sandwiches and cold rice and pickles and sushi and-- well, lots of
other Kasumi-ish picnic type foodstuffs.  To Ranma's dread, she also
smelled from one side the odor of Okonomiyaki in preparation and to
the other a spicy aroma of some rapid Chinese preparation.  She
expected another bout of "Ranma will eat MY cooking!"

	But, to her absolute astonishment, Shampoo carried a bowl of
heavily topped ramen over to Ukyo, who served Shampoo an elaborate
okonomiyaki, and nodded.  

	"This is pretty good, Shampoo.  Guess even I can use a change
from okonomiyaki once in a while."

	"Shampoo think same about ramen.  This have shrimp in it?"

	"Sure does, girl.  And bonito.  What's this spicy flavor?"

	"Szechuwan bean paste, make spicy broth Chinese style."

	"I have to admit, I like it.  Hmm... where do you get that bean
paste?  Could make a new 'yaki sauce."

	It was beginning to look like the other shoe that Ranma had been
dreading all morning wasn't going to drop after all.

	Bit by bit the three groups had melded into one, and food began
to be shared all around.  Cologne was impressed by Kasumi's special
sandwiches and the thermos filled with Nodoka's special Shrimp and
Rice soup.  Akane got a weird idea which Shampoo and Ukyo decided to
try.  Which was how Ranma taste-tested the first ramen okonomiyaki.
(It was actually pretty good.)  

	And Ranma was relaxing.  There was a LOT of food.  And she was
getting enough.  Even the one thing that Akane had prepared-- a
simple salad-- had turned out to be edible.  This was possibly one of
the best days of her life.

	After such a meal, the next thing was to relax it off.  Just lay
back and sun.

	Ranma changed her swimsuit to the teal bikini, (causing much joy
from the pack who were still watching) and laid back.  What a nice
day!  The Fiancee Front was getting along-- maybe even making friends
a little bit-- Mousse hadn't attacked her at all, no weirdness, no
food poisoning, no grand battle for her life... She was feeling
something unfamiliar.  Something she hadn't felt in a long long time.
What was the word, again?

	Oh, yeah.  Contentment.

	####

	Ryoga was in a state of near panic.  Water.  EVERYWHERE water.
Ocean and pools and a lagoon-like thing and coolers filled with
melting ice and ocean (yes, he'd thought about that once, but there
was a LOT of ocean) and...

	And he KNEW all of it was waiting to pounce on him and once again
rip him of his humanity.  And since he'd seen no less than twenty
barbecues while here in this hellish place, a small black potential
pork roast was NOT something he wanted to be.

	If only he had some tiny idea WHICH accursed beach he was at.  It
could be any in Japan.  On any island.  He sometimes suspected that
some of the places he'd been weren't actually IN Jap