Leifker (nwl9354@unix.tamu.edu) presents...

Clothes Make The...

A work of anime fanfiction by Nicholas Leifker

All characters property of Rumiko Takahashi.  All rights reserved.  I ask 
that you not do anything with this work or any part of it without the 
author's permission.

Warning: This is a reactionary 'fic, and does contain mature themes. 

*****************************************************************************

     "See ya later!"  Akane's cry echoed through the house, causing
Ranma's ears to perk up.

     "Take care, you two.  And have a nice time!"  Kasumi wished her
sisters goodbye, and returned to the house...all under the watchful eye of
one.

     Ranma had been waiting for this night for weeks.  The other men of
the household went out for a long night of drinking (and panty-thieving).
Of the girls, Akane and Nabiki had just gone to stay the night with
friends, and Kasumi...well, Kasumi usually just went to her room at night,
read a book, and turned in early.  Licking his lips in anticipation and
nervousness, he waited...he could afford to be patient, and in this case
had to be.  He looked outside to the hallway, where Kasumi made her
rounds.  

     "Hello, Ranma-kun.  What are you going to do tonight?"  Her cheery
smile beamed to the young martial artist.  He shrugged, in an attempt to
look casual.

     "Oh...I'm kinda tired, so I figured I'd turn in.  And you?"

     She held up a book in her hand.  "Tofu-sensei let me borrow this
book, so I'll be busy tonight.  Goodnight, Ranma-kun."

     "Goodnight, Kasumi."  He watched as she opened the door to her room,
and slipped inside.

     Now...now he was free.

     He first stripped off his clothes quickly, as though the garments
were burning his skin.  Next...the glass of cold water, the instrument of
his change, came pouring over his head, causing her to come alive.  She
ripped open a wall panel, and pulled out the stash that was inside.  If
they knew about this...

     The clothes she pulled out were like nothing she had worn before...at
least, not 100% willingly.  Her blue eyes dazzled as she beheld the
forbidden objects, fear and desire nearly overwhelming her.

     The panties came on first, black lace and silk that felt so cool
against her hot skin.  Next...the matching bra, a beautiful object that
felt a little tight around her chest...but would have to do.  She put on
the garter belt, then indulged herself in the feel of sheer, taking her
time to put on the black stockings.  She untied her pigtail, and let the 
scarlet locks flow about her.  She took a look in the mirror, a strange 
mix of emotions rising in her at the sight.

     The creature on the other side was by no means the martial artist she
had been born, nor the man she was raised to be.  If she were still a man
at the moment...she would have taken his breath away.  The lingerie hugged
her curves tightly, leaving just enough to the imagination...but not much
more.  The hair that flowed to her shoulders framed her face just so,
leaving her looking seductive...dangerous...sexy.  If Happousai could see
her now...she continued posing in front of the mirror, allowing herself to
forget the guilt and fear...and be mesmerized in herself.

     "Ranma-kun, I thought you-"

     The door to her room slid open.  Kasumi stood there, mouth agape, her
face a strange mix of surprise...and slight disappointment.  Ranma's face
turned several shades of crimson.  Strangely, she felt no shame...only
guilt.  Kasumi relaxed her shoulders, and smiled gently.

     "Ranma-chan, I'll be back in a moment."  Ranma sat down on the futon
and pulled her dark legs to her chest, waiting for the judgement from this
kind soul.  She had feared this was going to happen...but there was no
fighting it now.  She just hoped this wouldn't cause too much friction
within the family.

     A couple of minutes later, the door slid open again.  Kasumi laid a
small bundle of clothing on the floor, and walked back to the door.  
"Ranma-chan, if you want to talk, I'll be in my room."  She slid the door
closed once more.

     Ranma picked up the bundle, eyes wide in curiosity.  She had brought
in a beautiful black silk-and-lace blouse of Akane's, as well as a
checkered skirt.  Unsure of what to do, she held the garments in her hand,
weighing them as though wearing them would be a point-of-no-return.  

     After a couple minutes of this, her features hardened, into a
near-masculine parody of her former self.  She picked up the clothes and
determinedly put them on, tired of hiding this side of herself for so
long.  She took a last look in the mirror to check her features, and went
to Kasumi's room.   

     The eldest daughter of the Tendo clan sat patiently on her bed.
Though her expression seemed as neutral as ever, there was a touch of
strain in her features.  She looked at Ranma carefully, noting the beauty
of this former man.  

     "Would you care to sit down, Ranma-chan?"  She offered her hand over
to an empty chair.  Ranma knew better than to argue...a suggestion like
that held the force of command.  She sat down and crossed her legs
demurely, as she saw women do plenty of times.  The new woman sighed,
trying to come up with words to explain her actions.

     "Kasumi..."

     "Yes, Ranma-chan?"  she spoke innocently, though making sure she
heard the feminine suffix.

     "Kasumi...I know this looks pretty bad...but please let me explain."

     The woman's smile broadened.  "Oh, there's no need for you to
explain, Ranma-chan.  I understand."

     The redhead's eyebrows shot up, incredulous.  "Do you?"

     Kasumi's face fell.  "Truth to tell...no.  I don't think I ever
could...then again, I can't change like you can."

     Ranma took a deep breath, letting the bra cut deeper into her chest.
"I...When I first found myself...changed, it was the most frightening day
of my life...up until a few months ago.  Up until that point, my life, my
future, everything seemed so clear to me.  I would grow up, become a
martial arts teacher, marry some girl, and raise a family."

     "All of that disappeared the moment I hit the water.  When...when my
body became an uncertain thing, so did all of that.  I was angry at Pop
for taking that future away from me, but I was also afraid...afraid that I
would like being a girl."

     "Do you?"

     Ranma looked confused for a moment.  "I...I'll get back to that.
During the first month of my curse, there was no problems.  I was running
far to much to worry about it, and I didn't have time to think about being
a girl or a guy or anything like that.  A crazy Amazon chasing after you
will do that to you." 

     She sighed.  "All of this changed the moment I came here.  I wasn't
running anymore; I had a home.  I could relax, and actually feel what it
was like to be a human being, rather than a migratory animal, always on
the run."

     "Despite this new freedom, I still was bound and determined not to
act like a girl, that I would never wear a dress or anything like that.
Unfortunately, fate...fate wanted me this way, I guess." 

     Ranma's eyes turned slightly accusatory.  "Less than two weeks after
I arrived, someone decided that, since all of my clothes were in the wash,
that I had to wear girls' clothes for the time being.  I...I put on the
cute little shirt and overalls...and felt guilty for it.  But, I just had
to do it, 'cause someone said I was heating them out of house and home."
Her anger relaxed.  "I never quite forgave Nabiki for that."

     "Well, after that, I drew another line into the sand.  I vowed that I
would never wear women's underwear, no matter what.  That one I actually
kept for awhile...after all, people rarely see what kind of underwear you
have on, right?"

     "That lasted until Happousai made me...weak.  All of a sudden, I was
helpless, as frail as a...as a girl.  That humiliation...knowing a small
child could beat the stuffing out of you...in a way, it steeled me for
what was to come.  I had been taught the 'Hiryuu Shouten Ha', but couldn't
lure Happousai into attacking me to perform it.  I tried almost
everything...and nothing had worked."

     "That night, I crept into Nabiki's room, and talked with her.  Even
now I can taste the bile in my throat from what I was saying.  I asked her
- ASKED HER - to take pictures of me wearing lingerie.  I still remember
the feelings I had as I put that first nighty on...fear, mainly... 
revulsion...but something else, too.  There was a tiny amount of
pleasure...of anticipation...to finally become something other than what I
was.  I didn't realize it was at the time...but it was there.  I quickly
went through the photo shoot and got the pictures, and went into the fight
with the old lech."

     The redhead shrugged.  "It probably would have ended there...if it
weren't for all the other things to come.  Picolet was probably the bit
that pushed me over the edge.  I was locked, quite literally, as a girl,
due to that damn corset they made me wear.  To top it off, I had to act
ladylike for all the guests of the house.  I...I really started to slip,
then.  I was losing it.  Then came other things...Pantsuto Taro...Mom...
Herb..."

     "About a week or two after the Herb incident, Hinako-sensei came into
town, and I was willing to do about anything to foil her technique.  I..."
Tears started to roll down the redhead's cheeks.  "I put on the girls' gym
shorts and top...and looked in the mirror.  I...I looked beautiful.  I
felt good, I looked good...it took me a minute to realize what I was
thinking.  When I did...it took an hour to keep from shaking."  

     The blue eyes raised to meet Kasumi's brown ones.  "That was the
worst day of my life.  In that moment, I realized that all my struggles,
all my fighting...wasn't working.  A good portion of who I was died that
day."  

     She straightened back up, and fixed the placement of her skirt.  "The
descent was a slow one from there...but it was a painful one.  First came
the occasional offers to Nabiki for photo shoots.   I only did it when I
needed the money...but I didn't only do it for the money.  I...I think she
suspects, but she isn't sure.  Then the occasional 'shopping trips' to buy
this swimsuit or that set of stockings....all done at places Akane doesn't
normally shop, so that she wouldn't know.  One time Kunou spotted me, but
he doesn't count.  Tonight...tonight was the first night I tried it on my
own."

     "Really?"  Kasumi seemed surprised at this news.

     Ranma nodded her head.  "Really."

     "And how did you feel?"

     Ranma stood up, and started sobbing into Kasumi's chest.  "IT...IT
FELT WONDERFUL!  I LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL...AND...AND FEMININE...AND...."

     "And it hurt, because you knew how disappointed your family would
be." Kasumi said, without smiling.

     "Uh-huh..."  Ranma continued sobbing.  Kasumi brought her chin up,
and tried to dry her eyes.  She moved Ranma's head around, a glint forming
in her brown eyes.

     "Tell you what, Ranma-chan...let's do something about that face of
yours.  You've never learned how to do makeup, right?"

     The look on Ranma's face was of sheer disbelief.  "Are...are you
sure?  I mean...what if..."

     "The men won't be home for hours, and Akane and Nabiki won't be home
until dawn.  It'll be just us girls until then, okay?"

     Ranma stiffened at the feminine classification, then smiled.  "Okay."
She sat down in the chair, and waited for Kasumi.  The elder girl brought
out her makeup kit, and started applying base to Ranma's face.  

     "Ranma-chan...I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions...First
of all, how do you feel about Akane?"

     The redhead winced as if struck.  "Akane?  I...I love her.  I wish I
knew what to do...I like girls, and always will, but...but I also want to
be one sometimes.  I know it sounds crazy, but..."

     "Not necessarily.  Who you are and who you love don't necessarily
match, you know."  She finished the base, applied a hint of blush to the
cheeks, and started on the lips.  

     "Ranma...I have to know this.  Are you a girl or a guy?"

     Ranma waited for Kasumi to finish with the lipliner, then spoke, her
lips pouty from the makeup.  "Honestly...I wish I knew.  I don't exactly
look like a guy anymore, do I?  But...still...I've never really lived as a
girl.  I wish I knew what it was like...Right now I'm a guy in a dress, I
guess."

     "Ranma-chan, put your eyes like...this."  Kasumi exposed as much of
her eyelids as possible, to demonstrate for Ranma to do the same.  The
girl complied, allowing Kasumi to put shadow on them.

     "Ranma...I've been thinking.  Right now you have these ideas about
what it would be like to be treated as a girl, but don't know what it's
really like, right?"  She carefully brushed Ranma's eyelids.

     "Yeah...Are you saying you know a way that I could?  This had better 
not be a permanent thing..."

     The housewoman went to her jewelry box and picked out a pair of gold
clip-on earrings.  "No, it's not permanent.  However, you will have to act
the part at all times while it's going on." She put the earrings on the
girl, and turned her to face the mirror.  "Not bad, huh?"

     The goddess' eyes sparkled.  "Thanks, Kasumi...I...I look...I look
stunning."  She turned back to her friend, gave her a big hug, and looked
her in the eye.  "Now...what do I need to do?"

     A sly, mischievous grin crept up on Kasumi's face.  "Well..."


1/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/21/2


     Ranma got up later than usual that morning, as the previous night had
not been what he'd expected.  The morning call from Kasumi echoed in his
ears, calling him from his slumber, as well as bringing his plan to mind.
With a strange anticipation, he dressed in his usual Chinese outfit, and
headed down to the table.

     As expected, the family was there, all...looking at...the dinner
table.  Breakfast was there...but the consistency and look of it suggested
that the morning's chef was not Kasumi.  All of them, especially Akane,
waited expectantly for him, as fiance, to take the first bite.  He sat
down, forced the sludge into his mouth...and winced involuntarily.

     "Ugh!  What'd you do this time, Akane?  Rob a toxic waste dump?"

     The tomboy's eyes showed hurt - but only for a moment.  Red anger
flared as Akane brought out a frying pan.  "I...worked for an hour on that
breakfast, Ranma...and all you can do is insult it?  Die, Ranma!"  She
started swinging for her fiance with all the fury she could muster.

     Ranma dodged the first couple of blows, purposefully leading her out
into the backyard...and the fish pond.  He waited until he was in just thr
right position...then let her hit him, sending him flying into the pond.

     Now all she had to do was wait...and act.

****************************************************************************

Hello.  Bet you weren't expecting this...I know I wasn't.  If you had told
me I was going to write this 48 hours ago, I would have told you you were
nuts.  However...I noticed a number of Ranma-acts-like-a-girl fics since I
returned to the ML ("Her", "Hello Again", "Cursed"), and decided to post
my reply.

Anyway, thanks to Rumiko Takahashi for creating these much-maligned
characters, and to all those who have sent in their comments about my
work.  I'm just glad the Revenge stuff is over...I'd really be in trouble
then.

(looks back to see redhead in lingerie ready to kill)

er...help...

Nicholas Leifker
nwl9354@unix.tamu.edu (I think...someone's been playing with the mail
system here)
http://http.tamu.edu:8000/~nwl9354
January 16, 1997