Ride The Wild Wind

by Asami_T

Summary:

Ranma Saotome is an interesting young man, Kasumi thinks. What follows, is the winds of change blow through the lives of everyone around her. Nothing in the Tendou family will be quite the same.

Chapter 1: Procession

Kasumi wasn’t sure how to categorize this Ranma Saotome yet. He’d shown up carrying an umbrella, trying to fight off the attack of a giant panda-- a giant panda who had turned out to be her father’s best friend, Genma-- and apparently Ranma turned into a girl with cold water, and that’s why he was walking around with an umbrella trying to avoid getting wet?

It was all terribly confusing.

And then Kasumi’s father had to drop the terrible bombshell that the two old men had agreed to marry two of them together? Without knowing each other? Kasumi was a very gentle woman at heart, she tried to be a gentle soul, but sometimes her father really tested her patience.

She had a moment of thought of simply shirking off Ranma on her baby sister-- Akane needed someone to push her to realize her compensatory lusting for an older man was not evidence she was straight… but Ranma was clearly already damaged enough because of his father, and the last thing Akane needed was an albatross around her neck.

As the silence settled on the table, Kasumi gave her father a firm look before sighing.

“If it would satisfy the honor of the family, I will accept the engagement. However, I do have some stipulations-- merely… for the sake of everyone’s mutual benefit?” She said sweetly. One of the things she was certainly good at was getting Father to agree to anything she wanted.

Her father nodded vigorously, while Ranma’s father looked weary.

“Ranma is still very young-- I think he should finish school before we consider holding the wedding. I wouldn’t want our relationship to… create a problem for his academic development.”

Genma and Soun exchanged a look, and Soun nodded quietly. “I think that can be an acceptable stipulation. Erm, what else?”

“I must insist that Ranma and I be able to take our relationship as slowly as we need, as an addendum to my previous point. Ranma is clearly struggling from a poor upbringing-”

“HEY!” Genma protested, but was quelled by a glare from everyone in the room, including Ranma, who seemed to agree with Kasumi.

“- and will need more time to get comfortable with the idea of having a fiancee-- then again, I also need to get used to such a thing myself,” She finished.

Kasumi reached over and gently placed her hand on Ranma’s hand. “I don’t mean anything against you with these stipulations, I just don’t know you yet.”

“No, ‘sfine-- I didn’t… really want this anyway, I have no idea what it even means to be engaged to someone I just met,” Ranma said, flushing.

“We’ll learn together,” Kasumi said with a bright smile.

…

The first few days were a bit rough—Ranma was enrolled at Furinkan High School, and almost out of the gate, fell ass-first into the chaos.

At least, that was what Akane told her.

“Well, first, there was the hentai horde, you know, those boys who follow Kuno-senpai in trying to get me to date them?” Akane said quietly. “Ranma did what I asked and stayed back while I dispatched them, only he got into it with Kuno-senpai,”

She would have to write a seriously worded letter to Tatewaki’s father. The boy’s behaviour was getting increasingly unacceptable, and now it was involving someone who wasn’t accustomed to his… uniqueness. If he continued, he could end up getting seriously hurt, or in trouble with the law.

Akane explained that there had been a brief spar, it had rained, making them late to class, and apparently Nabiki had sold information about Kasumi’s engagement to Ranma, and Kuno had attacked Ranma outside of the classroom, triggering a full-on brawl that concluded with Ranma swan-diving out of a third story window into the pool below.

To make matters worse-- Kuno had seen Ranma’s cursed form, but merely assumed it was “a pig-tailed tree-borne kettle girl”, and thus another subject for his affections.

Kasumi felt the panging onset of a headache, before she looked at her youngest sister carefully.

“Where is Ranma right now, Akane?” She asked carefully.

“I think he’s trying to get a nap-- he went up to his room,” Akane said sympathetically. “I didn’t intend for him to get caught up in this nonsense.”

“I’ll have to have a talk with our dear sister about the information brokering she does,” Kasumi said, frowning.

“Good luck with that one-- Nabiki is ruthless,” Akane said with a sigh. “I’ll be upstairs studying, I guess.”

…

“Ranma?” Kasumi asked carefully as she knocked on the door. “May I speak to you?”

She opened the door carefully and took in the sight of her fiancee, sprawled out on the thin camping bed, dead asleep. She snorted at the sight before making a couple mental notes-- firstly, to see if she could arrange Ranma having a room of his own; there was a second guest room on the lower level that was right next door to Father, it would suit Mr. Saotome quite well.

Also acquiring a proper bed for Ranma, she knew he’d been sleeping on a camp bed for years at this point, and he’d probably be less cranky if he had proper support.

“Ranma, please wake up,” Kasumi said, dropping to her knees at Ranma’s side. “We really need to talk.”

She reached out and shook Ranma carefully and the boy’s eyes shot open. “K-Kasumi?!”

“Yes, Ranma-- I’m sorry for interrupting your nap, I just feel we need to have a conversation before our fathers and my sister come home,” Kasumi said apologetically.

“Uh, sure,” Ranma said, sitting up, and resting on his elbows. “What about?”

“The chaos at Furinkan today would be a good start. You need to learn a bit more control when it comes to Tatewaki. The young man has… many issues that are caused by his rather damaged family.”

Ranma winced. “He just… he attacked me first because I said I was a guest here. I said I was friends with Akane and he wigged out on me!”

“He’s had designs on Akane since they were little,” Kasumi said with a sigh. “You know that large horde of boys that attacked her this morning? That’s another one of Tatewaki’s creations-- at the end of last year, he made a speech in his campaign for student council president and insisted that the only way someone would be able to date Akane is to defeat her in combat.”

“The entire male population of the school fell for that?” Ranma asked, awed at the stupidity. “What if she wants to date someone who isn’t part of that horde of losers?”

“You see the problem,” Kasumi said. “I try to be as protective of my little sister as I can, but I can’t… look out for her at school. I know it is a lot to ask you, but could you please help keep her from getting hurt?”

“She handles herself pretty well, I’d just get in the way,” Ranma said.

“I know she is a talented martial artist, but… she’s still a young girl. Do you know what I mean? Even a talented young woman can be… overpowered by a man insistent enough.”

Ranma remembered a couple times in China, on their journey back from Jusenkyo and gave an involuntary shudder. Kasumi knew she’d gotten the point across.

“Why does that Tatewaki guy still go to school if he’s an insane jerk?”

“His father is the principal, as a matter of fact,” Kasumi said with an exhausted sigh. “But there’s no other options! It’s either Furinkan and their insane principal and martial arts duels every day, or it’s St. Hebereke and their… melange of problems…”

“Look, I’ll do my best,” Ranma said with a smile.

“That’s all I ask, Ranma. That’s all I ask,” Kasumi said with a smile, before leaning in and planting a kiss on his forehead. “It’s okay to nap, but I expect you to do your homework and study later. Remember the stipulations of our engagement.”

“I remember, and I will,” Ranma said, grimacing.

Kasumi gave him a serene smile before getting up.

“Oh, and one last thing-- swan diving from a third floor window?” Kasumi asked, frowning.

“He wanted to have a fight in the middle of the hallway with innocents in the classrooms! I wasn’t about to have the school get damaged in a duel between the two of us. I thought we could take the fight outside, and that was the easiest way out. I didn’t realize the pool was directly below!”

“You should be a little more thoughtful about how you’re going to lead off in a fight, Ranma,” Kasumi said, giggling some. “Also-- the tree-borne kettle girl?”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Ranma said, burrowing his head in his knees. “That’s the last thing I wanna think about right now!”

…

Kasumi sighed as she listened to the gentle hum of the street lamps and the sounds of dogs barking in the night. She hated it when the plumbing broke, it caused her no end of annoyances having to lug up buckets of water up and down the stairs for various purposes. Then again, it could always be worse, they could have no water at all, and wouldn’t that be a pain?

She idly wondered if Ranma was doing alright tonight, he’d only made a brief appearance at dinner, and then adjourned back to the bedroom again. She hoped she hadn’t put him off with her protective bit, but, then again, he seemed amicable to the idea of looking out for Akane’s well-being.

Her concerns kept her preoccupied through her usual gauntlet of chores the following day, feeling a distinct concern for the two youngest members of the household. She had put off talking to Nabiki yesterday, but if things continued the way they were, she might have no choice but to say something.

That evening, as everyone settled down to eat dinner, Nabiki conjured up a blue envelope with To the Tree-Borne Kettle Girl written in overly prosaic and flowery kanji, and dropped it in front of Ranma.

“What’s this?” Ranma asked, eyebrow raised.

“Seems Kuno wants to meet girl-half,” Nabiki said. “He has no idea you’re one and the same. Read it!”

“To the tree-borne kettle girl, come to the… second baseball field of Furinkan High School tomorrow evening at… 5:36pm?” Ranma said, confused.

“It must be a challenge letter!” Akane said, awe in her voice.

“How exactly did Kuno know you would be able to deliver a letter to the, uh, kettle girl, Nabiki?” Kasumi asked neutrally.

“He asked me if I had any information about her, so I told him I knew her,”

“You should really be more careful about what information you distribute so freely, you know,” Kasumi admonished. “Haven’t your little information leaks caused enough trouble? Ranma was forced to skip class yesterday because of the chaos your leak of our engagement caused.”

The assembled Tendous goggled at her-- this was the most she’d admonished anybody in quite a long time.

Kasumi, ever the unbreakable rock, simply took a drink from her tea. “Ranma, I suppose there is minimal harm in showing up to this challenge. That way it may at least put it all to rest, and prevent any further issues from popping up, you know?”

Ranma nodded mutely, eyebrows furrowed.

…

Kasumi was once again preparing dinner the following afternoon when the sound of the door to the house slamming open and the sound of someone quickly running into the house and up the stairs. She quirked her eyebrow at the sound, and looked at the clock upon the wall.

Was Ranma home already? She furrowed her eyebrows a bit.

She set the food to simmer, made sure it didn’t require anything further from her at the moment, and made her way upstairs, towards the bedroom the Saotome duo shared. As she neared, she heard quiet sniffling coming from within.

As soon as she knocked on the door, she heard panicked rustling and winced. Ranma wasn’t very strong with the emotional stuff, was he?

“Ranma?” Kasumi asked. “Are you okay?”

“J-Just fine, Kasumi! No worries!” Ranma’s voice came back, strained.

“Ranma, please. If there’s something wrong, we can talk about it-- it might make you feel better.”

“I-It’s nothing!” Ranma came back again. “Um, please. It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

Kasumi sighed. “Okay… I won’t pry, please don’t bottle up your negative emotions. That’s unhealthy.”

There was no response, and Kasumi heaved another sigh. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

Again—silence.

…

When Ranma came down for dinner, he was in better spirits-- or at least, very good at pretending. Kasumi side-eyed the Saotome patriarch, and wondered if Ranma’s stoicism and very fine emotional control stemmed from an unpleasant upbringing. She played her role-- ever the gracious hostess, but her pursed lips betrayed her irritation.

It was only made worse by the sight of Genma picking food away from Ranma in the name of martial arts training. It took almost all of her self-control not to get an attitude with a house guest, but she knew she’d have to have a serious conversation with her father soon.

Add it to the list of people she’d need to give a thorough admonishing, she guessed.

As soon as dinner was done, everyone in the family disappeared from sight to do whatever it was they did to digest the food-- that was, everyone except Ranma, who was standing up and gathering up dishes.

“Oh, Ranma, you don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” Kasumi said.

“Do you usually do all the cleaning yourself?” Ranma asked, eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not right.”

“Ah, well, I’ve been doing it myself for quite some time. I don’t think it’s intentional malice on everyone’s part, they just… got used to it, is all.” Kasumi said with a slight frown.

“Well, Pops and I have no excuse for taking advantage of your kindness,” Ranma said with a grunt. “Lemme help.”

“Oh, alright,” Kasumi said, smiling some. “Thank you!”

The dying hours of the evening were spent with Ranma giving her help in the kitchen, but again, nothing was said between the two. Later, as she was preparing for bed herself, she had heard Ranma’s father lecturing him about doing unmanly things like cleaning house.

Kasumi fumed.

She made her way downstairs to her father’s bedroom and rapped her knuckles on the wooden part of the screen door.

The door opened, and her father blinked.

“Kasumi?”

“Do you mind if we talk, Father?” Kasumi asked tightly, gesturing into the sitting room.

“Ah, of course,” Soun said, before sitting at the kotatsu.

“I am concerned about… Mr. Saotome,” Kasumi began. “I don’t mind the idea of being Ranma’s fiancee, but I don’t like Mr. Saotome admonishing his son for helping me clean up after dinner. Poor Ranma already has enough of a hard time with being social with others, the last thing he needs is a negative male influence.”

Soun blinked in surprise. “You care for him very deeply, I take it?”

Kasumi sighed. “I think I could—he has a lot of potential. He’s still a bit young, but I think in a few years, I could get used to the idea. But I don’t think I could marry a man anything like your friend.”

Soun winced. “Point taken. What would you have me do, Kasumi?”

“First, I do not want to see Mister Saotome stealing food from Ranma at my dinner table. Dinner is not a time for martial arts training, it is a time to unwind and enjoy the presence of your family. As well, teenagers, particularly physically active ones like Ranma, require a large amount of calories to maintain their weight and muscle mass. I’d rather he not sneak away to eat fast food because he can’t get enough nutrition at home.”

“I see your point,” Soun said, a grimace on his face. “What else?”

“I believe Ranma would be better suited with a room of his own. The spare room next to yours would be appropriate for Mr. Saotome instead.”

Soun blinked in surprise, and Kasumi gave him a sharp look.

“I have good reasons for insisting on this,” Kasumi said, rubbing her eyes in annoyance, again. “Ranma is a sixteen year old-- there are quite a few reasons why a teenager should have some form of privacy… also, Ranma is a girl half the time, and I think it quite inappropriate for Genma to share a room with Ranma when he is in that state.”

Soun blinked in surprise.

“Oh my,” He murmured. “You’re right, of course, Kasumi,”

“Thank you for listening to my concerns, Father. I know Mister Saotome is your best friend, but…”

“He has his moments where says or does questionable things. That’s Genma in a nutshell,” Soun said with a sigh. “And from what Genma has told me of Ranma’s mother…”

Kasumi’s eyebrows shot up. “What about Ranma’s mother?” She hissed, voice low.

…

That night, as she lay in bed, she couldn’t help but bunch her blankets up in her fists, knuckles tight and turning white from how hard she was gripping her sheets.

Oh, she wanted to kill Genma Saotome-- and maybe kill Nodoka Saotome while she was at it. Forcing a four year old to sign a suicide pact?! Telling the child that his mother was dead because you had no idea how to handle the consequences of that pact? And then trying to fill his head with man among men nonsense?

Her father had been clear he didn’t endorse such nonsense—and that had been one of the driving factors for him supporting the marriage arrangement. It was a good way to get Ranma out of the direct clutches of Nodoka and Genma, and provide him a great deal of autonomy. He had also given his subtle encouragement for her to continue working to turf out Ranma’s parents as influences.

Kasumi let out a breath and reminded herself of her mother’s words to her-- patience was a virtue, and even if she had long promised to give up the more martial arts of martial artistry, she had learned quite a bit from Mother, and from Tofuu that made her not helpless.

As she lay there trying to get her bearings, and take deep breaths, she eventually was startled by the sound of someone knocking on her door. Who would knock on her door at this hour?

Opening the door, she came to face the diminutive redhead that was Ranma’s girl-half. Ranma looked conflicted and lacking any of the usual confidence he exuded on a daily basis.

“Kasumi, you said I could… talk to ya if I had any problems, right?” Ranma asked carefully, fidgeting with his pigtail.

“Of course, Ranma. Come on in,” Kasumi said warmly.

Ranma shuffled into the room and sat on the corner of her bed, still looking vexed and fitful.

“Why are you up so late, Ranma?” Kasumi asked carefully.

“I had a bad nightmare… um, about earlier today,” Ranma said. “Remember that challenge Kuno gave me?”

“Oh, yes, quite,” Kasumi said with a nod.

“Well, it turned out to not be a challenge. He… said some really poetic crap about the sunset being the most beautiful at the exact moment he and I met, and then… he confessed to me!” Ranma said, horror on his face. “It was so creepy, I didn’t… know what to do, and it’s been bothering me all night. I just had a terrible nightmare all about it.”

“Oh, dear,” Kasumi breathed. “Ranma, how long have you had your curse? If you don’t mind my asking,”

“Since we left Jusenkyo, so… about three weeks or so?”

“Tatewaki’s attitude toward you… in your girl form, and the reaction you’re feeling… they’re not unnatural, unusual even. Even though you are a boy at heart, those times when you’re a young lady, you probably feel unsafe around someone like Tatewaki. His… confession of romantic attraction is not something you’ve ever experienced before, is it?”

“No,” Ranma said faintly.

“Then you’re perfectly entitled to have a nightmare about it. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“I just can’t get it out of my head. Ugh, what a creep!” Ranma exclaimed, shivering.

“Tatewaki…” Kasumi said with a sigh. “He was a childhood friend of Nabiki, once. When they got older, he started trying to proposition Akane, and started dressing and talking like a samurai from one of those period dramas on television, and it… has kind of gotten a bit out of hand.”

“Out of hand is an understatement. Ugh,” Ranma said.

Kasumi gently hugged Ranma. “Being a girl is definitely not easy, Ranma. Even if you’re only one half of the time. With your… diminutive stature, and your… generous physicality, you’re likely to get a lot of attention. It’s up to you to figure out how you want to treat that attention.”

“How do you mean?” Ranma said, cocking his head in question.

“Well, let me… be upfront-- are you attracted to boys?” Kasumi asked.

“Absolutely not!” Ranma protested, shooting to his feet.

“Being attracted to boys doesn’t mean you can’t like girls either-- I certainly like both,” Kasumi said with a small smile on her face.

“You do?” Ranma asked, surprised.

Kasumi nodded, and Ranma looked thoughtful, deflating some. “I don’t think I do, the idea of dating a boy is… kinda weird to me.”

“Okay, let me ask you in another way-- what about dating a girl while being a girl? What if you and I went to dinner together as girls?”

Ranma blinked. “That…”

He swallowed. “I could do that.”

“Even if it meant wearing something feminine?”

Ranma flushed. “I… I don’t know if I could do that,”

Kasumi smiled at him. “I don’t think we’re ready to do anything like that yet, but I want you to keep an open mind about how the other half lives. If there’s no cure for this, well, you could expect to see this lovely young lady for the rest of your life.”

“For the rest of my life,” Ranma muttered, looking horrified.

Kasumi furrowed her brows. “What about it is so bad, Ranma? It could be worse, you could turn into a panda like your father.”

“I… ever since I was a kid, I’ve been trainin’ to be a Man Among Men, but, how can I be that if I’m a girl? Pop was just yellin’ at me the other day ‘cause I was helpin’ you clean.”

“Does cold water make you forget all those martial arts moves you’ve learned in your life? Your katas?”

“Well, no,” Ranma said lamely. “I guess you have a point.”

“I think you should be trying to aim to be something other than… whatever strange thing your father wants you to be,” Kasumi said primly. “You’re very intelligent, otherwise how could you have learned as much as you have already?”

She hugged Ranma again. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Some,” Ranma said wanly.

“Would you like to sleep here tonight?” Kasumi asked, giving Ranma a serene smile.

Ranma looked at her in alarm, took in her smile and then nodded reluctantly, giving her a smile of his own.

…

When Kasumi awoke the next morning, she realized she and Ranma were snuggled together, with her being the big spoon to Ranma’s little spoon. Seeing as how he’d managed to sleep through the rest of the night without a peep, and that he had a face of serene contentment… Kasumi was quite satisfied.

She woke Ranma up and ushered him out of the room, saying that it was best as so to avoid problems like nosy people, and just in case Genma tried to wake Ranma up rudely only to find him not in his bed. As well, it was still a little unseemly for her to change around him, and vice versa.

Kasumi was in the midst of preparing breakfast when the sound of Ranma screaming cut through the air and he came splashing down into the shallow koi pond in the garden. Ranma emerged from the water, sputtering and spitting.

Genma landed in the grass near the koi pond. “You’re getting sloppy, boy!” He proclaimed, earning him the glares of most of those present.

Soun cleared his throat. “Genma, I understand the need to keep up training for Ranma, but throwing him from a second-story window into a koi pond is not the way to go about it. We have a dojo for a reason. Those koi fish aren’t cheap, and Ranma could get seriously hurt. Would all this training be worth it if your son broke his neck?”

Genma looked at his friend strangely, and Soun didn’t waver from staring his friend down.

“Now,” Soun said. “In the future, you two should set aside time in the mornings to train in the dojo. No surprise wake-up calls.”

Kasumi welled with pride at her father’s assertion—and hoped that it would mark the start of a decided improvement in everything where Ranma was concerned.

Genma grumbled as he trundled up to the table and sat down. Ranma took his place and the family began to eat. Before long, food began to disappear from Ranma’s plate faster than usual. Soun cleared his throat again, and with a simple reach of his hand, he came up with Genma’s wrist in mid-theft.

“Genma. Stop stealing the boy’s food,” Soun commanded.

“This is a time-honored training tradition! How else will the boy get fast enough to deal with his enemies?” Genma protested.

“Find a method that doesn’t involve starving your son! We only have so much budget for meals, and it is quite disrespectful to the hard work Kasumi does to deny someone their three meals a day.”

Genma muttered darkly as he went back to eating his own food, while Ranma shot a thankful look at Soun. Where Ranma had been shoveling food into his maw as fast as he could, he was now beginning to slow down, now that there was no threat to his meal.

…

“Kasumi,” her father’s voice interjected in the midst of her tending to the garden.

Kasumi glanced up at her father, who was looking uncertain, his jaw tightening and untightening.

“I’ve been thinking,” Soun said quietly. “You’ve… you’ve been putting a lot of your life off for us, haven’t you? The way you talked about Ranma’s well-being and… his health… and then all the stuff with Genma...”

“Father,” Kasumi said with a sigh. “I… accepted that this was what life was going to be like, at least until Nabiki and Akane went off to college. I was willing to accept that for everyone’s sake.”

“I should’ve never made you take that option,” Soun said, shaking his head. “What… what do you need to do to apply to university?”

Kasumi stared at her father, rendered speechless for a moment. She swallowed the lump in her throat and set the trowel down on the wet dirt.

“I need to probably take some entrance exams, and make sure I have my transcripts. But, father, university is a very long and expensive educational option.”

“I want you to succeed, Kasumi, I want you to do what makes you happy. I… I think I’ve forgotten you’re not your mother.”

Soun shook his head. “At least for now, even if you’re not actively going to school, I think I can probably do a bit more around the house, so can everyone else, actually. Do you ever get time to yourself?”

“Mostly in the evening once I’ve finished all the things that have to be done,” Kasumi said.

“Compile a list of all the tasks you usually do in a single day, and I… I can have it divided up among everyone, so everyone has something they’re responsible for.”

“As long as Akane isn’t in the kitchen. She’s not the worst cook ever, but she gets distracted whenever she gets in the kitchen and has a bad tendency to burn or overcook her food,” Kasumi said idly. “You know, I wonder what Ranma’s skillset in the kitchen might be?”

Soun gave her a smile.

Chapter 2: Scandal

Summary:

Change is one of those things that can be expressed in many forms. This was probably the most drastic of them.

Kasumi stood in the doorway, arms folded as she watched her younger sister take photographs of Ranma in a state of near total undress. Just as the girl prepared to pour a kettle of warm water over the boy, Kasumi cleared her throat loudly.

Nabiki nearly jumped out of her skin as she swung around to see her sister’s very sharp disapproving glare.

“Just what were you intending to do with those photographs, Nabiki?” Kasumi asked very innocently.

Nabiki’s face reddened as she began to stammer. Kasumi had always taken a very lax response to Nabiki’s hijinks, mostly because they weren’t that bad. She was an information broker, but she never did anything illegal to coerce the information out of people. It was the manner of doing business when you were the Gossip Queen—something Nabiki had readily inherited from Kasumi the minute she’d stepped out of the gates at Furinkan.

“I should hope you aren’t about to sell those photographs to somebody who will use them inappropriately, like Tatewaki?” Kasumi asked serenely, eyebrow raised at her younger sister.

“It’s only a little harmless fun,” Nabiki said, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Besides, it’d get him off of Akane’s case, wouldn’t it? And it’d be a nice extra bit of cash into the household budget too.”

“You do remember this is my fiance, right?” Kasumi deadpanned. “And don’t you say a word about the household budget. How often does any of the money you get from gossip farming end up in our father’s ledgers? I know for a fact Father did not get you those pearls for your birthday.”

Nabiki squawked in outrage.

“Ranma is off-limits to you, do you understand me, Nabiki? You’ve already made a fine mess of things with Tatewaki as it is, don’t irritate them any further by making Ranma’s life miserable. Now, give me the camera,” Kasumi commanded.

Nabiki reluctantly placed the camera in Kasumi’s hand, and Kasumi pocketed it into her apron.

“You know, Ranma just might be okay with modeling for you if you asked politely and did everything the proper way. Don’t be a smut peddler, Nabiki. It’s beneath you,” Kasumi said primly, as she shooed Nabiki out of Ranma’s room.

As Kasumi went to close the door, she heard quietly from within the room.

“Thanks, ‘sumi.”

Kasumi smiled.

“You’re welcome, Ranma. Don’t forget to do your homework when you get up.”

…

Life in the immediate aftermath of that confrontation began to settle into a rhythm. The living arrangement rotation had been completed with minimal protest (only minor grumbling from Genma about picking the wrong girl for the engagement, which Kasumi took in stride as her doing something right) and various glares she got from Nabiki, who was no doubt fuming over the lost yen from being denied the glamour shots of Ranma.

Everyone was taken a little off-kilter by the introduction of the chore wheel, but Ranma had been one of the first to take to it like a fish to water. He had gotten first crack at cooking detail, which he had found he quite enjoyed.

After a particularly enjoyable, if a little spartan breakfast consisting of rice and some seared fish, Kasumi beamed at Ranma.

“That was excellent, Ranma! Thank you for cooking!” She said. “It was a little spartan, but I imagine that comes from all the time you’ve spent on the road with your father. If it’s okay with you, would you like my assistance with dinner tonight?”

“Uh, sure thing, Kasumi!” Ranma said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his apron. “When Pop and I were out on the road, we had to scrape and scrounge for most of our staples, so I learned how to cook a lot of rice dishes.”

Dinner went far better-- Ranma was actually quite handy when given a few pointers and some help. They ended up producing a very hardy beef stir-fry that everyone seemed to enjoy thoroughly, if the pleased hums and silence at the table were any indication. Once dinner was done, Kasumi decided that it was worth keeping up the positive reinforcement.

“Good job, Ranma,” she said warmly.

“Thanks,” Ranma said, grinning all the while.

With all the new free time she found, Kasumi found herself studying her medical texts more, and spending more time on walks through the park and things like that. She still took care of the shopping—that was one chore she never minded doing.

She also didn’t mind making bentos for Akane and Nabiki, and now Ranma too. She was home during the day, taking more time for herself or not, it didn’t take that long to pack something up for them. Those two, at least, were sacraments she wouldn’t give up.

...

Early in the next week, she noticed currently-female Ranma home early with a stormy, clouded face; a very irate Akane in tow.

“What happened?” Kasumi asked as the two carefully, hoping not to invoke their already turbulent moods.

“Those… those perverts!” Akane proclaimed, glowering. “Ranma was getting changed for PE, and those perverts splashed him with cold water! In the middle of the boys’ locker room!”

Ranma flinched at Akane’s raised voice, and the fire went out of her baby sister immediately.

“Ranma, I’m sorry-- I’m not trying to yell, it’s not your fault,” Akane said quietly. “It’s just… this is the kind of shit they do! Pardon my language.”

“No, no, you’re right-- I didn’t even think about how the boys at Furinkan would… would handle that, did I?” Kasumi said thoughtfully.

“The PE teacher was mortified at the whole thing, but she doesn’t know how to handle it. I know the girls probably won’t be comfortable having Ranma change over on our side, and the boys aren’t likely to stop any time soon,” Akane explained.

“Ranma, how are you feeling about this?”

“Dirty. Kinda violated. I thought about what you were sayin’, Kasumi, about the attention I’d get? I just… it hit me once they were all starin’ at me… that it was me they were starin’ at. It didn’t matter that just a minute ago I was a guy. All they saw was a stacked little redhead. I… I didn’t like that,” Ranma said, clear tension in his neck and shoulders.

“How’d you find out this happened, Akane?”

“We’re only on the other side of the wall. We heard a girl let out this guttural, throat-ripping scream, and a whole bunch of us ran to the boys locker room to find out what was happening in there, only to find Ranma laying most of the dudes out on the ground with a mean right hook.”

“Might’ve bruised my knuckles on Tadashi’s chin,” Ranma muttered.

“Furinkan may as well be a free-for-all brawl, which how much fighting goes on that nobody does anything about,” Kasumi said with a scowl.

“I’ll talk to the girls in the class and see if they’re… you know, maybe willing to look the other way for Ranma’s sake, but we might have to figure something else out,” Akane said, grimacing. “The only two boys to come to Ranma’s help were Hiroshi and Daisuke.”

“Hiro and Dai aren’t bad,” Ranma said. “They’re at least respectful about it. They’re horndogs, but they’re my friends and they wouldn’t do that to me… Too bad they’re terrible in a fight. Daisuke got shoved into a locker, and Hiroshi got a black-eye from Kentaro,” Ranma muttered darkly.

“Well, hopefully we can come up with something. I doubt Ranma wants to have to fight the entire male population of Furinkan every single day-- we have enough of that with you, Akane.”

…

Kasumi was very pleased with her father’s very sudden turn. He had cut down heavily on the drinking and smoking he’d fallen into after her mother’s death, and with it, he was starting to get more vim and vigor in his step. He and Akane had taken up to sparring every morning again, sometimes with Genma and Ranma joining into the fray-- and he seemed to smile much more, and cry much less.

Of course, she wasn’t a fool. When everyone was gone for the day, she was certainly still the audience for screaming matches between the two ornery patriarchs. It always seemed to revolve around her influence on Ranma.

“She’s making the boy soft!” Genma would grouse, and Soun would inevitably bludgeon Genma’s argument so thoroughly into paste, it couldn’t crawl out of the misogynistic hole it died in.

“I don’t know where the hell you and Nodoka pulled this Man Among Men bullshit from, but you’re going to need to stop it, Genma! You’re doing damage to your own son for the sake of a free meal ticket! That’s not right!”

“Oh, like you’re not doing the same, Mister I Treat My Eldest Daughter Like A Substitute Wife?”

“At least I didn’t make my son sign a fucking suicide pact when he was four years old to prove to my wife I was a man!”

“That’s a low blow, Tendou!”

“Well, why else would you be trying to stamp out any sort of it out of Ranma? Still afraid of those nights where you’d get smashed and sweet little Yumiko would come out to play?”

“Fuck you!” Genma said. “You’re one to talk with that fucking trophy on your dresser!”

“Mariko accepted me for what I was! I had to be a father to my daughters, you jackass! Was the suicide pact even Nodoka’s idea, or was it you trying to prove to her you were some kind of man?”

The arguments usually tapered off after a few minutes, and the loud bumping noises she occassionally heard against the walls after they’d screamed enough gave her an inkling of an indication about what her father and Mr. Saotome were up to.

Though the overt comments about ‘sweet little Yumiko’ and something her father did before he married her late mother had her… quite curious. She might have to do a little snooping of her own. It wasn’t her business, but she wasn’t the retired Gossip Queen of Furinkan for nothing.

...

Things settled down again—much to Kasumi’s pleasure. She understood that Nerima was never a peaceful ward, it was always so full of mass chaos, but those times where the worst chaos passed her and her family by, she was very content to sit and enjoy it as best as she could—and settling into the humdrum day-to-day habits with minimal disruptions was an excellent means-to-an-end on that front.

Though, she still had a ways to go before things would be settled in the household itself—Nabiki was still fuming at her assertion of authority, Genma and her father were tense and not speaking to each other at the moment, and something seemed to be bothering Akane. Kasumi knew better than to wade into meddling in her sisters’ lives and affairs, but she was definitely concerned.

Ranma seemed concerned to, and Kasumi caught him watching her with a rather sympathetic expression on his face numerous times. One evening, after she was certain Akane had gone off to bed, Kasumi managed to catch the martial artist as he was heading upstairs after his evening bath.

Pulling him into her room, she gave him a wry smile.

“What’s going on with Akane? Is she alright?”

Ranma blinked. “Oh, she’s fine—uh, well, I guess it won’t make a difference if I tell ya or not, but she’s kinda conflicted over this... I guess it’s a crush or somethin’ like it—for that doctor friend of yours, Tofuu? But she was tellin’ me lately she’s been having the same feelings about her friend Sayuri.”

“Oh, poor dear,” Kasumi said, wincing. It had been hard enough for her to come to terms with her bisexuality, she wondered if Akane even knew where to begin to finally solve her problems. Though, something else dinged on her radar just now...

“She has a crush on Tofuu?” Kasumi asked. “Why?”

“He’s... her hero, I guess. The way she talks about him, she just kinda looks so taken, like a love-sick puppy,” Ranma said. “I can’t just tell her she’s barkin’ up the wrong tree, but, you know.”

“If... if she likes him, why hasn’t she said anything?” Kasumi asked, confused.

“She says it’s ‘cause he’s gaga for you.”

“But she knows you and I are engaged. I wouldn’t... go out with another man like that,” Kasumi said, frowning.

“The issue, Kasumi, is that he sees you as a goddess, and he sees her as a little kid,” Ranma said, shrugging. “Why d’ya think she emulates you all the time? The long hair, the frilly bow, her tryin’ to be all prim and proper outside of kicking a bunch of butt? She’s the biggest tomboy I know of, but she tries to act all girly-like.”

Kasumi rubbed her forehead. “I suppose it would be too much to ask my family to realize that my overly floral personality is just an act,” She said. “I’m more than just a cookie-cutter Yamato nadeshiko. I do enjoy doing a lot of household things, they’re quite relaxing, but I’m more than just Miss Prim-and-Proper. Akane emulating that isn’t exactly... fuck,”

Ranma’s eyebrows had shot up at her use of profanity.

Kasumi glanced at Ranma and started laughing. “Okay, I guess I need to get Akane to stop trying to emulate me.”

“Or convince her that her relationship with that Tofuu guy is a waste of her time. She’s going to spend most of her time pining for him and miss everythin’ else that flies by,” Ranma said. “I can’t be the one who tells her that, it ain’t any of my business.”

“You’re right,” Kasumi said softly. “When did my family get so broken?”

“Well, yer mom died, right?” Ranma said, gently taking Kasumi’s hand in his. “I bet everyone got so lost in how much they were hurting that they kinda forgot to live,”

“That’s remarkably wise of you, Ranma,” Kasumi said, surprised.

“I might be a little road-worn and rough, Kasumi, but I ain’t dumb, ya know?” Ranma said with a smile. “And now I’ve got someone lookin’ out for me so I can get some of this bullshit the old man put into me.”

Ranma’s expression darkened. “Did you know he used to tell me that girls were weak? Why would he teach me that if I was gonna marry into a martial arts family of girls?”

“Your father, Ranma, has done a great deal of things that make no sense,” Kasumi said, reassuringly. “Have you ever known him to be sensible about anything?”

“No,” Ranma said, thoughtfully. “He’s always been a big idiot.”

“Well, then there you go,” Kasumi said with a giggle.

...

“Well, we’ve managed to get the Hentai Horde off our backs,” Akane said happily as she sat down at the table with Ranma and Kasumi. Kasumi had fallen back into her old habits of being invested in the goings on of Furinkan High School. Once she’d graduated, she had been very resolute in leaving all of her information-gathering contacts to Nabiki, and left the game entirely.

Though, with new stakes in the game, she had to do at least a little light recon now and again.

So, afternoon tea with Ranma and Akane was a thing now.

“How’d you manage to do that?” Kasumi asked, eyebrow raised.

“Well, after that incident in the boys’ locker room, Vice Principal Tanaka was very... apoplectic and apologetic at the same time. Ranma’s curse should’ve been given special considerations beyond merely a uniform exemption... and the hentai horde problem was going a bit above the usual lax attitudes about non-violent fighting.”

“Ah, Tanaka-sensei,” Kasumi said with a smile. “She was always very fair.”

“Right!” Akane said with a nod. “The girls in our PE class took a vote and agreed that Ranma changing on our side wasn’t that big of a deal. Honestly, once it got around he was engaged to you, it kind of took a massive weight off everyone’s shoulders. You... um, still have kind of a reputation, particularly among the older girls.”

Kasumi grinned to herself—it was good to know that her name still carried some quarter in the halls of Furinkan, and she hadn’t been completely forgotten in favour of her mercenary baby sister.

“To quote Sayuri, Ranma isn’t the first person in the girls’ locker room to like girls, so as long as he doesn’t do anything perverted like try to grope us, it won’t be a problem,” Akane said.

“They make me sound like a perv just by saying that. I’d never grab a girl like that,” Ranma said, grumpily.

“It’s not an indictment of you personally, Ranma,” Kasumi said soothingly. “They’re just covering all their bases. You know, more than anybody else, how some of the boys at Furinkan can be.”

“Right,” Ranma said, sourly. “Though as part of it, I have to attend PE with the girls now, includin’ wearin’ the girls’ uniform.”

“Is it that bad?” Kasumi asked.

“No, I guess not. I had fun playin’ softball today,” Ranma said with a small smile. “I hammered a ball deep and got us two runs.”

“I swear, they were fighting over who’d get Ranma on their team. I won,” Akane said with a grin of her own. “But he was also an excellent outfielder. You should’ve seen the fly-ball he caught, and the heat behind the throw to first base!”

The two teens started laughing.

“I guess being around others who’re... okay with me being me makes it a little easier to get used to the change,” Ranma said quietly. “It could’ve been way worse, I could’ve fallen into like, the spring of drowned piglet or panda.”

“That’s a good positive spin on it, Ranma!” Kasumi said with a smile. “So, Ranma takes PE with the girls now, what of the hentai horde?”

“She threatened to take away all of their clubs unless they stopped harassing me and the other girls,” Akane said brightly. “Kuno was the first one to be apologetic about it, I guess he shaped up when faced with losing his position as student council president and having the kendo club shut down.”

“Hopefully that will put all of that crap to bed so we don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Ranma muttered darkly.

Something in Kasumi’s gut told her that it was a false hope.

...

Kasumi was actually enjoying a day off from the chore wheel, walking through one of the parks that dotted Nerima and her neighbouring wards. Life could get quite boring when you weren’t actively involved in chaos that seemed to revolve around the area—mostly involving little invasive species of Other Things that were often the headache of the local magical girl brigades.

Not that such nonsense ever made its way into this neighbourhood—no, even before Ranma had come around with his amazing prowess and skill, the neighbourhood had been host to its fair share of martial arts crazies, a big reason why the Tendou Dojo was the only remaining martial arts dojo in the ward—the others had shut up shop after repeated martial arts challenges and chaos had shredded their ability to keep afloat.

At this point, everyone had some of the best insurance in Japan, and kept a close eye to make sure collateral damage didn’t get out of hand.

Just over a week ago, Ranma had come home ranting about an old friend of his—a boy named Ryouga Hibiki, who apparently had some kind of blood vendetta against him. They had scheduled a kind of rematch to satisfy... whatever it was they wanted to satisfy, and Ranma had been racking his brain without end trying to figure out why.

Kasumi was... unamused, to say the least, when she found out that Ryouga’s anger was motivated entirely by bread theft. She was even more unamused when nobody in the family got her Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert joke.

Alas, nobody appreciated her comedic prowess.

She had encouraged Ranma to go gather up as much varying types of bread as he could for their rematch, just so he could at least try to satiate Ryouga’s... questionable ethical demands.

So, when the day came, Kasumi had set herself up on a hillside bench where she had an overlook of the scheduled battle site.

Much to the surprise of everyone, Ryouga had, in fact, shown up on the right date and time. Kasumi watched through her binoculars as Ranma gave him melonpan, yakisoba pan, anpan, Cream pan, agepan, curry pan, katsu sando, shoku pan, and just about every type of bread you could get in a standard grocery store or 7-11.

Eventually Ryouga had let out a shout and thrown the bread all through the air, before levelling an accusing finger at Ranma. Kasumi only wished she was closer so she could hear exactly what they were talking about.

She hissed to herself as Ryouga then tried to cave Ranma’s face in with his umbrella, only narrowly missing the innocent bystanders when his umbrella impacted the dirt and caused a small explosion.

The subsequent fighting was... amazing, if Kasumi could put a word to it—and even describing it that way didn’t do it justice. Her mother would’ve been over the moon to take notes all about the amazing acrobatics Ranma was capable of. The Anything Goes martial arts school that her father had taught was very rooted to the earth, and the student very infrequently left the ground to engage their opponent in the air.

It had been a big reason why Kasumi had fallen out of her father’s school and embraced that of her mother’s school with enthusiasm—the type of art that her mother taught was very light-touch.

‘Like a viper in the grass, one must wait until the opportune moment to strike, and strike hard.’

That was probably the polar opposite of Ryouga, who seemed to be more like a lancer than an agile swordsman—and it was very close to Ranma’s own style, albeit far less confrontational and offense-heavy, which Kasumi attributed to the nature of the Anything Goes style and Ranma’s father. This was genuinely the first time she got a chance to watch Ranma cut loose and not… restrain himself against his opponent, like he did with his father and Akane.

It wasn’t out of malice or thinking them inferior, it was just proper safety sense, something any martial artist worth their salt is taught from a very young age.

Clearly—a lesson Ryouga had missed, given the fact he continued to aggressively pursue Ranma, with no regard for people around them.

Their fight carried them through the park and one of Ryoga’s strikes destroyed a water hydrant, soaking Ranma down. Ryouga expertly deflected most of the water with his umbrella.

Kasumi rose from her vantage point and began to make her way down the hill towards where the two were.

“That is a curse?” Ryouga was saying, pulling his yellow-and-black bandanna off, and growling. “That isn’t a curse, you shouldn’t be whining about your misery when you have… that figure,”

He suddenly let loose the bandanas at Ranma like shuriken. They went wild, slashing their way through the crowd, who shrieked and ran in order to avoid getting hurt or embarassed by the wild, sharp fabric weapons.

“Ranma, you need to regroup!” Kasumi said, causing the redhead to turn in surprise.

“Kasumi? What’re you doin’ here!” Ranma said.

“Trying to put an end to this before it gets out of hand!” Kasumi said firmly, glaring at Ryouga. However, Ryouga was far from cowered.

“Is this what you’ve turned into, Ranma? Cowering behind a girl to avoid meeting your destiny like a man?” Ryouga scoffed. “So be it!”

Kasumi grimaced as Ryouga shoved his umbrella in their direction, and realized almost too late that he had thrown it at them. He also set loose another barrage of bandanas, and before the umbrella could impact into them, Kasumi shoved herself and Ranma out of the way, the umbrella careening clear out into the distance.

She suddenly felt herself being picked up, and Ranma began to bounce away from Ryouga, using trees and buildings as a means to get away.

Unfortunately, even their retreat was weakened as the bike shed they’d landed on nearly collapsed. Kasumi took over, grabbing Ranma around the waist and vaulting off the collapsing roof and landing on her feet.

Ranma blinked in surprise. “Woah,” he said, awe in his voice. “You didn’t- you never said you were a martial artist!”

Kasumi snorted. “When we get a chance, I’ll tell you later,”

“Quit ignoring me and fight like a man!” Ryouga’s voice came. Kasumi’s anger began to boil over, and she turned to her and Ranma’s mutual target, only when she heard the SHING of something sharp fly just by her head.

“Oh shit,” came the duet of Nabiki and Akane.

Kasumi blinked, and patted herself down, before reaching behind her head and finding that her trademark ponytail was gone. Glancing around, she noticed the majority of her hair now laying on the ground in the dirt.

The anger that had been coursing through her blood went cold, and she furiously turned towards Ryouga.

“You…” she hissed.

She closed the gap before Ryouga could put out a hasty escape, and he found Kasumi’s dainty yet powerful hand around his throat, and found himself being driven into the dirt.

“YOU. COLOSSAL. ASSHOLE!” she screamed, pounding her fists into Ryouga’s face. After a few hits, her hand had gone completely numb, and she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and haul her off.

“Kasumi! Come on! He’s down! That’s enough!” Ranma’s voice was in her ear, pleading with her to stop. The rage, as quickly as it had filled every inch of her, boiled off, leaving her starting to tremble once the realization set in of how much she’d lost control.

Silence reigned, and Kasumi felt nothing but a gnawing void in her chest. It was so silly, to be emotional about a ponytail, but… it was part of her. It was something she’d cherished so very closely since her mother died, a tradition that was unchanging unlike everything else.

There was really only one thing she could do. She wrapped herself tightly around Ranma and started sobbing. Nothing was said as Ranma gently picked her up in his arms and carried her all the way home.

…

Ranma shifted Kasumi in his arms as he managed to slide the door to the house open.

“We’re home, Sumi,” Ranma said calmly. Ranma made eye-contact with Soun, who gave him a look before glancing at Kasumi. He raised an eyebrow at Ranma and Ranma gave him a look before turning and walking up the staircase. Opening the door to Kasumi’s room with his foot, Ranma carried her through the door and set her down on the bed and gently ushered her under her covers, before slipping in himself, gently cuddling up to her, like she had to him when he had his nightmare.

“It’ll be okay,” Ranma murmured in her ear. “I’m here for you, Sumi.”

Ranma didn’t always have the best grasp of emotions, he knew that from his life with an emotionally distant father. But he… kind of understood the emotional attachment to hair. Ranma gently thumbed at his pigtail and allowed his mind to wander down the road of how he’d feel.

He knew he’d be just as catatonic, and angry as Kasumi had been—maybe even more so. Growing your hair and styling it in a ponytail or a pigtail was a lot of commitment and time spent fussing with it. Ranma adored his hair and would be shattered if something bad happened to it.

He shouldn’t have let Ryouga bait him into such a big fight with innocents-- and he shouldn’t have let Kasumi get involved.

Though, she… the power she had shown in just the few moves she made was amazing. Ranma hadn’t realized just how much power she has hiding behind her serene personality. He hadn’t been very pleased at the idea of being engaged to a girl he didn’t know, but…

He thought he might be able to get used to it.

They laid in companionable silence for some time, before Kasumi gently shifted in bed and turned to face Ranma.

“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time, before Kasumi giggled quietly and Ranma snorted in amusement.

“Why are you sorry?” Ranma asked quietly. “I’m the one who let Ryouga bait me into a fight.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten involved. You’re a strong martial artist in your own right, and it was improper of me to get involved,” Kasumi said.

“If you hadn’t, I likely would’ve gotten gored by that stupid umbrella. Believe me, I’m not mad at you for getting involved! I just hope you can forgive me for…”

Kasumi sighed. “It’ll grow back, I guess. Or maybe this is a sign of the changing times?”

“One of the things Pop always said to me, and honestly it’s one of the few things he’s said that’s actually intelligent-- the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or the willow survives by bending with the wind.”

Kasumi snorted and started laughing.

“What?” Ranma asked.

“Your father got that from Bruce Lee!” Kasumi said between gasps of air. “That’s one of his most famous quotes.”

“Well, as far as things to live your life by, it ain’t bad,” Ranma said, grinning. “A little change isn’t a terrible thing.”

Kasumi nodded and looked at Ranma through tear-rimmed eyes. “You know,” She said, a smile on her face. “When you first showed up and our parents told us that one of us would have to marry you-- and vice versa, I thought this was going to be a disaster. I wanted to protect my sisters from meddling in their lives, and maybe help you become a better person.”

“I wasn’t happy ‘bout it either,” Ranma said with a sigh. “Pops has always had this bad habit of makin’ my life hell, even if I don’t know it yet. I… think that you should be aware of the kind of commitment you’re making, even bein’ associated with me.”

“You deserve better,” Kasumi murmured, gently stroking his cheek.

“So do you,” Ranma said quietly.

“Do you think that… us, this, whatever this is, will work out?” Kasumi asked.

“Sumi,” Ranma said, suddenly very serious. “I couldn’t tell ya if we’re destined to love each other. We don’t know each other that well yet. But I can tell ya that suddenly the idea of being engaged to you, of being married to you some day, ain’t nearly as bad of a punishment as it was that first day.”

He took a deep breath. “I could, one day, see us in love. But I really don’t know what love is-- you know how my old man is. Love is getting to eat dinner and not getting forced to go on a ten mile hike with a full pack. I’m pretty useless at this kissy shit.”

Kasumi snickered. “You’re doing just fine, Ranma,” She assured.

“Thanks,” Ranma said.

Kasumi and Ranma laid there in further companionable silence before Kasumi nestled closer to him, before gently placing a kiss on his lips.

Ranma blushed nearly red, and Kasumi grinned at him.

“You should go and make sure nobody’s losing their shit,” Kasumi said. “I’m sure everyone wants to know just what happened.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they do,” Ranma said.

“Nobody’ll blame you for anything, Ranma. And if they do, tell me and I’ll tell them where they can stick it!”

Ranma laughed and planted a kiss of his own on Kasumi’s nose. “I think I like this cutting-loose-Kasumi.”

“Shut up, brat,” Kasumi groused before pushing Ranma off the bed. Ranma was left laughing on the floor. She merely rolled her eyes and shot him a look as he left the room.

…

Ranma reached the bottom step of the staircase and sighed at the sight of the assembled family waiting for him.

“Ranma,” Soun said. “Akane and Nabiki were just telling me about what happened. Is Kasumi alright?”

“She’s fine. She’s hurting, but I think she’ll be alright,” Ranma said with a small smile.

“How could you be so reckless as to allow your fiancee to interfere in your fight!” Genma immediately barked at Ranma.

Ranma didn’t flinch however, and merely locked Genma with a hot glare.

“Of all the people to lecture me on my responsibilities, old man, you are literally the last person who should be sayin’ anything. Kasumi got involved in the fight ‘cause Ryouga was causing a bunch of collateral damage and nearly hurting several people, includin’ Akane and Nabiki! I was tryin’ to distract him as much as I could, but he ain’t exactly an easy opponent!”

“No excuses! Oh, how dishonorable my so-”

“Genma, shut the fuck up!” Soun shouted, splashing his friend in ice water, turning him back into the panda. “If you would just shut your fucking mouth for five minutes, we might actually be able to figure out how my daughter is doing!”

The panda growled, but did nothing.

“As I was sayin’. Kasumi’s a little shook up, but she’s fine. She got involved in the fight ‘cause Ryouga was causin’ a bunch of collateral damage and endangerin’ a lot of innocent people, even if some of them were bettin’ on the results of the fight,” Ranma said, glancing at Nabiki, who flushed.

“Kasumi says that I shouldn’t be blamin’ myself for her getting involved, and that it could’ve been much worse for someone who wasn’t strong like her. I… didn’t know she was that strong, or that she was a martial artist like that.”

“She’s a martial artist, but until today, without the martial bit,” Soun said. “You see, Ranma-- the Tendou family of course, are one of two doctrinal schools of the Anything Goes teachings. But my dearly departed wife, Mariko, was a martial arts scion in her own right. She was the heiress to a school of martial artists who thrived on subtly manipulating their enemies into thinking they were weak. Kasumi, as the eldest daughter, was my wife’s heir, and after I trained her in the fundamentals of the Tendou school, was handed over to learn her mother’s style.”

“What about your Anything Goes school?” Ranma asked.

“Well, I haven’t actually gone through the process of proclaiming an heir. Originally, when we made the agreement with your father to marry one of his children to one of mine, we planned on naming his child the heir to both schools so that they may be united once again, but that has become… complicated.”

Soun shifted. “Frankly, I’m not sure I want the Saotome and Tendou schools to be unified at this point-- it has been nearly twenty years since they split, and I am quite pleased with how my youngest has taken to a style all my own.”

Genma, who had been mollified by turning into a panda, began to roar and rumble at the very idea, only to get bopped on the top of the head and knocked unconscious by Ranma.

“Thank you,” Soun said simply. “I rather like you, Ranma, you’re a smart young man with a good head on your shoulders. Genma has a lot of problems, and he’s made life for you and your mother terrible.”

“I’m sure if she were still alive, Mom would hate the old man for the shit I went through,” Ranma grimaced, glaring at the unconscious lump of panda flesh.

“Well,” Soun said, grimacing. “That’s just it, Ranma, I think it’s time you knew the truth.”

“What?” Ranma asked, eyebrow raised.

“Your mother is still alive,” Soun said.

“What the fuck?” Ranma exclaimed, looking alarmed.

“Ranma, you probably don’t remember, but your parents were very young when they had you. Your mother was only fifteen, and your father seventeen,” Soun said. “One day, Genma just up and disappeared from your childhood home, carrying you with him.”

Ranma looked pensive. “I remember when I was four or thereabouts, Pops made me leave my finger prints on this sheet of paper. He placed it on the kitchen counter and then he picked me up and we walked out the house. I… remember cryin’ and askin’ about my mom, and he said she was gone and I needed to get over it. I had nightmares about that for years. Of a woman, my mom, dyin’ and I can’t help her.” He said, his voice thick.

“Are you tellin’ me this entire time, this… shithead has been hiding the truth from me? Why would he do that?”

“That’s a very good question, I have no idea,” Soun said, sipping his tea. “Genma came from an abusive household, so his ideas of love and care are so fucked up beyond belief…”

“Not that this isn’t a fun soap opera to watch, but what does this have to do with Kasumi?” Nabiki asked impatiently.

“Nothing, but it’s just how the conversation went,” Soun said simply. “I suppose while we’re on the subject of what happened to Kasumi, would you mind explaining to me why you were selling bets on a fight between two martial artists?”

“A girl’s gotta make some money somehow,” Nabiki responded, looking offended. “It wasn’t like I was encouraging them to keep fighting!”

“Creating an audience for their revenge match certainly qualifies as encouraging it,” Soun said smoothly. “I expect you to give at least half of your earnings from that fight to Kasumi.”

“Half?!” Nabiki screeched.

“It’s either half or all of it, daughter,” Soun said. “I make a lot of tolerances for your behaviour, but I’ll tell you it wears thin when you bet on the welfare of our family, and yes, before you interject, Ranma is part of this family now too. He is your sister’s betrothed!”

“Betrothed sounds so creepy, like an old fashioned movie,” Ranma winced.

Soun shot him an apologetic look.

“Okay, fine,” Nabiki said with a huff. “I’ll give her half.”

“At least she wasn’t hurt,” Akane said thankfully.

Chapter 3: Kodachi

Kasumi was still very much out of sorts in the days to follow. The chore wheel largely went by the wayside as everyone (save for Genma, who continued to stew in his own self-loathing and loathing from everyone else) worked on chores as they popped up. Ranma had taken to trying to help Akane improve her craft in the kitchen, which had hit-and-miss results.

That said, nothing she made was ever inedible, even if it wasn’t always the most palatable and enjoyable meal ever.

After a couple days of largely keeping to herself in her room, Kasumi eventually emerged, a little subdued, but in well-enough spirits. She didn’t return to work right away, and Ranma spent a lot more time in her presence—which was mostly spent in the garden by the koi pond or on the roof.

“I’ve got a whole list of things I need to do,” Kasumi said, one of those evenings she and Ranma sat on the roof watching the stars. “At least if I do wanna mark this as a change in my life,”

“Like what?” Ranma asked.

“Well, I need to go to the salon and see if they’ll at least even all this up for me. It’s apparently the hottest vogue right now for girls to cut their hair short? I’ve been so out of the game on fashion…”

“You’re telling me?” Ranma asked with a grin. “At least the whole Chinese martial arts look hasn’t gone dead yet, so I don’t get too many weird glances.”

“The silk shirts suit you,” Kasumi said wryly. “I think they’re quite handsome on both forms.”

“Well, thanks,” Ranma said.

“Have I ever told you the story of the last time I got weird looks for my attire?” Kasumi asked, propping herself up on one elbow. “Akane’s a big Sega fan, and Father got enough money scraped together to put a preorder down on the Sega Dreamcast. So it’s late November and we’re waiting in line for the shops to open so we can grab it. That was probably the first time I’ve ever looked at a crowd of people and felt so thoroughly out of my element. Everything I was dressed like was at least a decade out of date, and I just felt so… bizarre!”

“Well, they suck,” Ranma said, eyebrow raised. “You’re pretty, regardless of what kind of dress or top you’re wearing. If you wanna go out and get a new wardrobe to celebrate a new you, go right ahead. I ain’t complaining. Hell, it ain’t even my choice if you wanna dress differently either.”

“I appreciate how respectful you are of my independence, Ranma, but you can at least give me your opinions, if you have them,” Kasumi said gently. “I value what you have to say.”

“Well, I think you’d look good in both—you’re very pretty in those long dresses, but I think you’d also look good if you dressed like Sailor Uranus.”

“Sailor Uranus? Are you a Sailor Moon fan, Ranma?”

Ranma blushed and seemed to shrink into himself. “Pops doesn’t like it, but yeah, a bit. I don’t just like a bunch of sausage fest anime, you know,”

“Sailor Uranus, eh?” Kasumi said, thinking, running a hand through her hair. “I think I could get behind that.”

Ranma shot her a look, and Kasumi rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to hide the stuff you’re into around me, Ranma. I wouldn’t care if you were the most masculine man to ever man in the world, or if you were trans. It wouldn’t make a lick of difference to me.”

“Hmpf,” Ranma said. “I’m still a guy-- but I’m trying to get used to my girl side. It’s been getting easier ever since you came into my life.”

“Well, if you ever need help with anything in the realm of womanly things, you know where to find me,” Kasumi said with a grin.

“Duly noted,” Ranma said with a roll of his eyes.

They eventually parted and went to bed, but both still had quite a bit on their mind.

…

Kasumi couldn’t help but laugh a little at Ranma’s misfortune. Ranma had been complaining about stomach cramps over the last couple days, and this morning she had been woken up by Ranma, looking scared and confused.

“Sumi! Hey, wake up!”

“Ranma?”

“You said I could come to ya if I had girl issues, right?”

“Of course, what’s wrong?”

“I’m… bleedin’, down there.”

Kasumi had gotten up and walked Ranma through the laborious seminar that she had been given by her mother, and the same seminar that she had given Akane-- “What It Means to Start Your First Period”.

Though it did satisfy a piquing curiosity on her part about if Ranma was capable of having a menstrual cycle at all-- it turned out, yes. Yes he was.

After all was said in done, Ranma was sitting in Kasumi’s bedroom with a mug of tea, looking rather dour.

“It’s one week a month, Ranma,” Kasumi said with a roll of her eyes. “Are you telling me you can’t handle that?”

“Well, yeah, I can, I just don’t want to. I’m s’posed to be a guy,” He grumped—though his objections were very much lost in the fact he was currently a damp-haired redheaded girl with a towel wrapped around his buxom chest. A guy at heart, perhaps—but physically, absolutely not.

“How many weeks has it been since Jusenkyo?”

“Six,” Ranma said.

“Well, hopefully your period will be a little more regular. There are birth control pills you can take to make your period a little less frequent, but,” Kasumi trailed off, shrugging.

She looked at Ranma carefully. “Do you want me to treat this traditionally? You probably don’t know, but there’s a tradition when a young woman has her first period, the family celebrates with this meal, ahem, sekihan, it’s a bean and rice dish.”

Ranma winced. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“Then you’ll have to settle for some Midol, tea, ice cream and chocolate,” Kasumi said with a grin. “You’ve been very attentive to me since that idiot butchered my hair, and I think it only fair I do the same for you, Ranma.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Ranma said, blushing.

“I insist,” Kasumi said brightly.

...

As quickly as it had come, it was gone again, and Ranma got back to some normalcy. Kasumi had been super helpful through the whole process, taking great lengths to explain a lot of the mechanics behind it, and to play interference for when people questioned why he was spending such an extended period of time in his female form.

Ranma had also been quite pleased to note the turn in treatment from the female population of his class. His… condition hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he found several girls being quite friendly to him over the days to follow. Ranma was a little weirded out by the whole prospect, and uncomfortable still over the idea that he was… having a period, though. He didn’t think that would ever change.

His old man continued to be a pain in the ass, but after the revelation that his mother might be alive, Ranma had been barely able to say anything good to his father without losing his temper. He was grateful that Mr. Tendou seemed to be keeping his father on a short-leash, particularly after his last blow up after Kasumi got her hair chopped off.

Much to Ranma’s surprise, Ryouga deemed it a requirement to show his face again once he’d patched up his nose and face. Ranma had been awoken in the middle of the night to see Ryouga on top of him, umbrella poised.

“Ranma Saotome! Die!”

Ranma had rolled out of the way before Ryouga launched himself into the ground, puncturing a hole through Ranma’s futon and shattering the floor of the bedroom he now had to himself. The noise was certainly loud enough to wake the house up, and while Ranma played “dodge the asshole’s heavy weapon”, the door to his door was ripped off its tracks by Kasumi, who had fury in her eyes again.

“You!” Kasumi said, levelling a finger at Ryouga, who paled before digging in his feet and bracing himself, umbrella at the ready.

Unfortunately, even for Ryouga, he had little chance against the assembled martial arts prowess of Ranma, Kasumi, Akane, Soun and Genma (though the latter was mostly conscripted into helping by an irate Soun). He found himself without an umbrella and being thrown through the window into the rainy night. Everyone was surprised, to say the least, to see Ryouga disappear beneath a pile of his own clothes, and a little black piglet emerge, squealing in anger.

“He’s got a Jusenkyo curse,” Ranma muttered. “The idiot followed me to China?!”

“Oh, that would explain why he keeps trying to kill you,” Akane said airily. “I guess I’d be pretty pissed off too if I turned into a pig.”

“I didn’t ask him to follow me to China, neither did I ask him to get a curse in the process. It’s his own damn fault!”

As if taking pity on the poor wretched asshole, Ranma snatched the piglet up by his bandanna and dragged it and his stuff into the house.

“Unlike you, Ryouga, I’m not going to hold a grudge for the shit you’ve done,” Ranma said. “But I’d watch out for Kasumi, she might kill you in your sleep.”

The piglet looked at Kasumi and squealed in terror.

Ranma helped get him a hot kettle to get back to his human form, but then immediately shoved his bag at him.

“Now get lost.”

“What?”

“You hurt Kasumi, you’re tryin’ to kill me, what makes you think I’d want you anywhere near the Tendous, let alone sleepin’ under the same roof?”

Ryouga flushed and went to furiously retort, before Kasumi cleared her throat.

“Ryouga, I can’t trust myself not to strangle you while you sleep,” she said serenely. “It is for the best if you just left.”

“Fine,” Ryouga said. “Whatever,”

And that was the last they saw of Ryouga for quite a long time-- he had said he was going to Hakodate to learn a new technique, only… he went in the wrong direction entirely, earning the collective facepalm of literally everyone in the house.

Once it was all said and done, Kasumi, with her face schooled into the most straight expression she could muster, spoke.

“Well, I suppose Ranma will have to stay with me, won’t he?”

…

Kasumi was terribly amused as she watched her boyfriend turn on the female charm to get a bunch of free buns for them. She had been surprised and delighted beyond belief to learn that Ranma was a natural at the art of flirting relentlessly with clueless men. It was one of those kinds of things where Kasumi marveled at the fact that this was someone who, until a couple months ago, had been a boy.

Maybe Ranma was meant to be a little bit of both, after all? Wouldn’t that stick a potato right up Genma’s tail-pipe!

“Here,” Ranma said, offering her the bag of steamed, fresh snacks.

“You’re talented at that,” Kasumi said, snickering.

“It’s kinda easy, you just bat your eyelashes at them, and talk in a real high sweet voice,” Ranma said, before his already high voice became cutesy. “Gee, thanks! You’re the best!”

Kasumi snorted in amusement. “One of the benefits of being a girl, I take it?”

“I guess so, yeah,” Ranma said with a grin. “I used to be able to do it as a boy too, back when I was really little. It’s how Pops and I got most of our camping supplies half the time. But once I started getting older, it stopped working nearly as well.”

“Good to see you haven’t lost your touch.”

As the couple walked down the street towards the Tendou Dojo, Ranma spotted a group of three people in bandages staring down a fourth person in a billowing school outfit.

“Kasumi, am I crazy or is there a Mexican standoff goin’ on in the field over there?” Ranma said, pointing at the confrontation. The confrontation didn’t last long, as the three quickly got their clocks cleaned by the dark-haired girl, who seemed to cross the line of “noble victory” into “sore winner” territory.

Before Kasumi could say anything, Ranma had leapt away and grabbed the girl’s ribbon weapon in his hand, glaring at her with all the heat he could muster.

“You know, it’s not very polite to keep attacking people after you’ve won,” Ranma said with a sniff.

“How- how were you able to catch my ribbon like that?” The girl asked, surprised. Her eyes narrowed. “Hmm, you’re no ordinary girl, aren’t you?”

“I suppose you could put it like that, sure,” Ranma said.

“Good, because I hate to treat girls with ordinary courtesy,” the girl snarled before charging at Ranma with a baton. Ranma dodged out of the way and swept the girl’s leg, sending her tumbling to the dirt, though he was quite surprised at her acrobatic skills as she took the tumble into a backflip and landed on her feet.

She dusted herself off and looked at Ranma with a contemptuous, imperial look.

“You’re quite good,” she said. “But you have made an enemy which you can’t afford to have. The Black Rose of St. Hebereke-- Kodachi, will have her revenge!”

She then threw a black rose at Ranma, before jumping away, laughing like some kind of ojou anime character.

“What the hell was that about,” Ranma muttered, before glancing at the defeated warriors, realizing who they were.

“Miku? Michi? Tomi?” Ranma asked, blinking.

“Oh, Ranma! It’s terrible, she’s an absolute nightmare!”

“Who, the crazy black rose girl?” Ranma asked.

“Yes! She’s Tatewaki’s little sister, she’s on the Rhythmic Gymnastics team at St. Hebereke! We were supposed to play her in the national finals, but… we can’t like this!”

“So you charged after her in bandages hoping to take her out too?”

“It wasn’t our finest plan,” Michiko muttered to herself, grimacing as Kasumi helped her up. “But what were we supposed to do?”

“Ranma, I know it’s a lot to ask-- but we all saw you during that fight you had with that bandana guy! Could you… could you help us?” Miku begged tearfully.

“You want me to… compete in martial arts gymnastics?” Ranma asked. “As a girl?”

“You’re the only person who could do it,” Tomi chimed in, joining in the begging.

“Oh, okay, alright, I’ll do it,” Ranma said, frowning. “I can’t let that crazy girl get away with this.”

“Oh, thank you, Ranma!” the girls exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

“Do you need help getting home?” Ranma asked. “You three are really out of commission.”

…

After helping all three gymnasts get back to their houses, Ranma and Kasumi had put their heads together on how to prepare for the tournament. Miku had given Ranma the rulebook, and Kasumi was currently glossing over it.

“So it seems it’s an aerial combat spectacle, with a lot of emphasis on using gymnastics tools, like ribbons and batons as weapons. There are some conduct rules, such as no hitting certain areas of the body, but the remainder of it is pretty free-for-all. The first person to leave the ring loses.”

“But she’s a Kuno, you know she won’t play fair,” Ranma observed.

“Given the fact she’s willing to take her competition out before they even enter the ring? Absolutely,” Kasumi said. “We’ll have to factor that into our plans.”

“When did she say the match is?” Ranma asked, twirling the ribbon around experimentally.

“Two weeks from now,” Kasumi said. “Fortunately, I think you can do it.”

“You think?”

“You already have a very flexible and air-oriented style. You have a natural advantage, you just need to get used to fighting with ribbons and batons, is all,” Kasumi said. “You’ll also need to develop a good method of neutralizing her methods of attack.”

Of course, this didn’t stop Kodachi or Tatewaki from being general nuisances. After an evening where Kodachi attempted to attack the Tendou Dojo, she had nearly gotten a currently-male Ranma ensnared in her ribbons before Kasumi had turfed her out of the Dojo.

From then on, she seemed to make random sporadic appearances, harassing Ranma when he was in girl-mode, and trying to seduce him when he was in boy-mode. Tatewaki made it worse by giving Ranma ‘his blessing’ to marry his sister. The grand delusions of the two Kuno teens was sending both Ranma and Kasumi to new heights of frustration.

Though, Kasumi urged patience-- Kodachi came off as a classical case of a spoiled rich girl who’d never lost or been told no in her life, and her brother certainly wasn’t helping matters with his grand delusions.

“You have to understand, Ranma, that Kodachi and Tatewaki weren’t always like this,” she said. “When we were younger, Tatewaki and Nabiki were very close friends-- and Kodachi was a very sweet young lady, the few times I met her. The way they’ve turned out has more to do with their father than anything else. You can understand that, right?”

“Ah,” Ranma said, looking concerned. “How do we… make it better, then?”

“Work actively against the delusions, and hope for the best. They’ve been a bit funny since their mother died,” Kasumi said, grimacing.

“Doesn’t mean they have any right to be the way they are,” Ranma grumbled, folding his arms.

Kasumi waved it off. “Come on, let’s get back to it, Ranma. Time is wasting.”

With all the critical eye of a sensei, much like her mother before her, Kasumi watched and critiqued her fiance’s methods over the following days, frequently reminding him that he wasn’t allowed to throw punches or kicks, and he had to rely on the tools he had with him-- and she was very pleased that he was becoming increasingly versed in those tools.

She also had to admit that the limber and diminutive Ranma bouncing around in a leotard wasn’t exactly an unpleasant sight either. She giggled slightly in thought about the night she’d told Ranma about what he’d needed to wear for the competition.

“A sports bra and a leotard,” Ranma had said, disbelieving as he looked at the two garments with distaste.

“Yes. I figured this was far less obnoxious for you than prancing around in tights,” Kasumi had replied smoothly. “Also, do you want people staring at your nipples through the fabric of the leotard? These things aren’t exactly thick woolen garments.”

Ranma, who was currently male during one of their breaks, reached up and pressed his palms against his chest and shivered. “No, I guess you’re right, I don’t.”

And now, back in the present, Ranma was slowly getting used to the idea. Between the use of the ribbon, baton, hoop and the ball, Ranma was developing a firm strategy for dealing with Kodachi on her own home turf.

Though, Kasumi certainly had her own ideas—and with a few suggestions, she and Ranma prepared for… any contingency.

When the day of the challenge came, Ranma, Kasumi and Akane had gone to St. Hebereke, while Nabiki (much to her chagrin) and Soun played interference in keeping Ryouga (should he show his unwanted face) and Genma from fucking everything up.

Both of them had expected underhanded tricks, and had caught Kodachi not only trying to hurt Ranma with sharp tacks on her hand when offering a handshake, but sleeping powder-infused roses in the dressing room.

Fortunately, no incidents occurred, and they made it to the school’s secondary gymnasium.

“Today, the champion for St. Hebereke’s School for Girls, the Magnificent Black Rose, Kodachi Kuno, will be facing the challenger from Furinkan High School-” The judge thundered.

“Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Ranma Saotome!” Ranma finished, stepping into the ring, giving a blood-thirsty grin at Kodachi.

“This is a standard Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts match. The first student to touch the floor outside the ring, or be knocked out is the loser. No barehanded or barefooted attacks. Keep it as clean as possible,” the judge said quickly, running through the rules for everyone’s benefit.

Ranma and Kasumi had realized pretty early on that Kodachi was going to play dirty-- the girl immediately went on the offensive with spiked batons and a rod disguised as a rope. Despite objections from the large crowd of Furinkan students, the judge ruled that anything goes as long as it isn’t barehanded.

Ranma gave the judge a sharp glare, before smirking.

“Seeing as how the champion of St. Hebereke has seen fit to violate the spirit, if not the rules of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics… and seeing as how the Judge has said that Anything Goes so long as it isn’t barehanded...”

“Kasumi! Now!” Ranma shouted, and his fiancee jumped into action.

Suddenly, tip-over-tail, a wooden baseball bat came flying into the ring. Ranma grabbed it with one hand, and rolled out of the landing, squaring off with Kodachi, grinning maliciously.

“A baseball bat? How barbarian,” Kodachi said mulishly.

“Says the woman using a baton with spikes,” Ranma spat.

Kodachi attempted to ensnare the baseball bat with her ribbon, though Ranma gripped the ribbon in his fist and yanked hard, forcing Kodachi to either let go of it, or go tumbling over onto her ass. She leapt back and unleashed yet another attack, this time with razor-sharp hoops.

Ranma ducked underneath several of them, hissing in anger.

“You’re no better than that fucking asshole Ryouga!” Ranma said, angrily, before picking up one of the balls from the mat and hammering it with the bat directly into Kodachi’s face, sending her bouncing into the ring.

From there, Kodachi let loose her own reservations, and began to use nearly anything that wasn’t nailed down, including her own brother and a bell.

Ranma felt smug satisfaction when he cleaned Tatewaki’s clock with the baseball bat, before changing tactics.

“Akane! Let ‘er rip!”

Ranma and Kasumi had been talking about methods a few days ago, and Kasumi had mentioned something important.

Apparently, Akane was really talented at pitching in baseball.

Turned out, she could throw a real good fastball.

Ranma laid into the fastball, and the bat shattered into pieces as the ball was driven directly into Kodachi’s head, causing the delusional gymnast to collapse to the ground—where she didn’t get up.

Ranma took a deep breath and slowly lowered his guard, glaring at the woman.

“By… a technical knockout,” the judge said, voice dry and in shock. “Ranma Saotome is the victor?”

“Hmpf,” Ranma said. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Worry not, fair maiden,” Tatewaki said imperiously as he entered the ring and picked up his sister. “My dear sister knew the cost of her cowardice. I assure you, I will see to it she is taken care of.”

“Alright then, you do that, Kuno,” Ranma muttered.

“Congratulations on your victory,” Tatewaki said, bowing deeply before jumping out of the ring and running off with his sister in his arms.

With that, the Furinkan half of the crowd, particularly Kasumi and Akane, went wild with cheering for Ranma’s victory, much to the stunned shock of the Hebereke crowd.

While being jostled and congratulated by the assembled crowd, Ranma suddenly felt himself being spun around and dipped. For just a moment, he saw a glint of mischief in Kasumi’s eyes before she kissed him deeply.

Ranma felt like it lasted forever, but it was really only a few seconds before Kasumi yanked him back up and grinned.

“Congratulations, Ranma,” she said warmly. “You did wonderfully.”

“T-Thanks, Sumi,” Ranma said, stunned.

“You’re welcome,” Kasumi said brightly. She then offered Ranma a coat and a pair of flats, which he accepted graciously, shrugging on the coat and slipping his small feet into the flats, and following Kasumi out of the demolished building.

“I must look like the epitome of masculinity right now,” Ranma commented sarcastically.

“Ranma, my fastball clocks 90 miles an hour,” Akane cut in. “You just knocked a girl out by slamming a baseball into her. Trust me, you don’t have to worry about anybody thinking you’re soft, except maybe your asshole Dad.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m not counting him—who cares what that old man thinks,” Ranma said with a sniff.

“Good, because your feelings are the only ones who matter when it comes to how you express yourself,” Kasumi said, gently roping her arm around Ranma’s waist and pulling him into her. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re a wonderful person no matter what form you’re in.”

“Thanks, Sumi,” Ranma said, blushing. “I appreciate you saying that.”

“My pleasure!”

As they neared the Tendou Dojo, Ranma sighed.

“I can only imagine how irritated Pops is gonna be when he sees me like this,” Ranma muttered. “I just wish he’d fuck off already and stop trying to turn me into his little mini-me.”

“Your dad thought he was getting a pliable yamato nadeshiko in Kasumi, I can tell,” Akane said, matter-of-factly. “The fact she’s helping you get your independence from him is pissing him off to no end. I’m so glad I didn’t get stuck with the engagement promise, no offense, but I think if I had Genma as a prospective father-in-law, I’d kill him.”

“No offense taken, my dad sucks,” Ranma said with a snort. “But you and I? Engaged? Oh god, we’d be trying to kill each other first. I’m much happier with the idea of you being a sister, to be honest. I think I got the best possible deal I could with Sumi.”

They were greeted to the sight of a frazzled Nabiki and sour-faced Soun standing over an unconscious panda-Genma, who had a large tranquilizer sticking out of his neck.

“Not that I’m upset at all, but how the hell did you get a tranquilizer dart?” Ranma asked.

“The internet is an amazing thing,” Nabiki said. “Your old man is hard to get when he doesn’t want to get caught.”

“Don’t feel too bad if he gave you the slip a few times-- he’s spent so many years ripping people off and running, it’s kind of his nature. I’m surprised he ended up a panda, he should’ve been an ostrich or something,” Ranma commented dryly, gently nudging his unconscious father with his foot.

“How did it go?” Soun asked, looking curious.

“I won, I knocked her out with a fastball grand slam right to the head,” Ranma said with a grin. “She cheated first, so I decided that since the announcer said anything goes, I’d whip out the art and show her just what she was dealing with.”

“Good job, Ranma,” Soun said with a grin of his own. “You do your school proud, even if this lump would say otherwise.”

“Thanks, Mr. Tendou,” Ranma said. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna go upstairs and change, I’d really like to get out of this stupid leotard.”

“Aw,” Kasumi said.

Ranma waggled his finger at her. “Down girl,” He said good-naturedly. “I’d just like to get back into something normal, is all.”

“What are we going to do with Genma?” Soun said, morosely. “If he keeps this up, he’s going to end up destroying every relationship he has.”

“Couldn’t your master discipline him?” Nabiki asked sarcastically, though she inched away from her father’s dark expression.

“No, our master… is gone. For good. However… I think there might be somebody who… could do something about him. It’ll take a few days, but I think I know what to do.”

“Why don’t we dump him off at the Tokyo Zoo?” Nabiki said.

“Oh, you’re too much, Nabiki. Let’s do it,” Kasumi said, her eyes lighting up.

Soun let out a barking laugh. “Okay, fine. He’ll be okay, the first time he accidentally gets hit with warm water, they’ll just assume he’s a crazy animal rights activist.”

…

“You’re amazing,” Ranma murmured as he lay in bed with Kasumi. “I couldn’t have done this without your help.”

“Ah, it was nothing, Ranma,” Kasumi said with a smile. “Though most of it was your own abilities, I merely helped you plan for when she inevitably cheated.”

They laid in silence for a little while, and both were thinking about how their relationship had been evolving.

Kasumi had been thinking that as the seasons were beginning to change, so was her life-- Ranma had come into her life in late August, and here they were, in late October, growing closer together than she had thought possible. She hoped she had been inspiring him to blossom into his own as a young adult, just as he had been slowly encouraging her to leave her comfortable shell of a caretaker and become her own woman.

Ranma, on the other hand, was wondering when he had earned someone so kind and supportive like Kasumi. After Jusenkyo, he had been nearly ready to die after all the bullshit that his old man had put him through, and when he was told he had to marry someone he’d never met, he’d been ready to throttle his old man and run away to China to find a cure.

But now, he was kind of happy he didn’t. It had only been eight weeks since he and his father had landed in Tokyo, and they had already been through a bunch of nuisances and annoyances, and she stood by his side through the issues, with the patience of a saint.

It was still too early yet for the ‘L’ word, but both were very fond of each other, and knew that this temporary sleeping arrangement was absolutely going to be permanent, and neither one minded at all.

…

Somehow-- with no small deal of effort, Ranma was convinced it might not be a terrible idea to go see a therapist. Ranma was incredibly reluctant to start digging into bad memories that he had probably long-suppressed, but Soun had insisted it be the healthy thing to do, and Kasumi had offered as much support as she could muster.

So, each Friday afternoon, once he was done with class, Ranma would hop on the train and through a couple transfers, be deposited in Naka-Meguro. The offices of Dr. Okumura were tucked away in a street full of restaurants and bars. Ranma wondered if it wasn’t an intentional thing-- it was unassuming, yet calming at the same time.

Dr. Okumura was a diminutive looking woman in her own right, only slightly taller than Ranma’s girl form with a tightly-coiffed bun of mahogany hair. She had mentioned she was an old friend of Soun, and was multi-disciplined in the world of personal psychiatry.

The first question she had asked was simple: “What is your first memory?”

Ranma was taken back by the question at first, and felt a bit… lost at having to think about that.

“I guess my first memory…” Ranma started, and trailed off. “I think it’s of my mom.”

A very faint memory it was, but a smiling woman looking down on him, loose strands of reddish-brown hair and blue eyes.

“What’s your relationship with your mother?”

“I don’t know her,” Ranma said honestly. “I’ve been told my entire life that she’s dead, but I found out a couple weeks ago that she’s actually alive. I don’t know how to feel about that,”

“Well, tell me what you’re feeling when you think about it.”

“I feel… angry-- like I’ve been betrayed. My old man lied to me for my entire life,” Ranma said, clenching his fists and taking a deep breath. “I feel sad, that she’s missed out on my entire life, and I feel like I don’t know if I want to meet her, like it might break the fragile image I’ve built in my mind of her.”

Those sessions were very slow, but with the intent of slowly unwinding the problems Ranma had in his head that were caused by his father. Each time Ranma would leave, he would feel much lighter on his feet, smiling to himself as he took the train rides back to Nerima.

When he got home, after a couple rounds of sparring against Akane and Soun, dinner, and doing his homework, he would spend time talking about his sessions with Kasumi as a means of further catharsis, mostly while they cuddled together in bed, enjoying the warm intimacy it provided them.

Even the return of Genma some three weeks after he’d been dumped off at the hands of the local animal control hadn’t been enough to break Ranma’s spirits. Genma had taken to glaring at his son as he contributed to the chore wheel, but knew that he was walking on thin enough ice as it was. Genma stewed in sullen silence, playing shogi with Soun and continuing his habit of heavy drinking.

One night, Ranma was walking back to the train station from his therapy session, when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone closing in. Just before whatever it was impacted him, he jumped out of the way, up onto a brick wall. He blinked in surprise as it turned out to be a rather steely looking woman.

“Ah-ha, excellent,” she said with a grin. “It’s okay, kid. I won’t hurt ya, I was just testing your reflexes.”

“You shouldn’t, I might end up hittin’ ya,” Ranma said.

“I’m sure I’ll be alright. You’re livin’ at the Tendou Dojo, right?”

“Uh, how did you know?” Ranma asked, feeling a little creeped out by the woman’s strange knowledge of his life.

“Name’s Nanami,” she said with a grin, shoving her hand out. “Grandmistress of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.”

Notes:

So, what you see here is what I've written so far as part of my personal "Late May Writing Marathon". I started with the goal of writing a total of 20,000 words in ten days (a fair goal for me considering I did Nanowrimo in ten days). This fic plus a little bit extra ended up coming out of the first four days. Today's my break day, so I figured I should post what I have so far so everyone can enjoy it.

Chapter 4: Girls Run The World

Ranma wasn’t quite sure what to make of this woman claiming to be the grandmistress of his martial arts school. He made sure to be respectful, but didn’t say much as they rode the trains back to Nerima.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Nanami said. “Why am I here, and what do I want from you? Well, I’m not really here for you. As Grandmistress, it’s sorta my job to make sure everyone who practices our school keeps to the rigorous standards all students are expected to keep. Soun contacted me about your father being quite religiously attached to the misogynistic garbage my great-grandfather taught him.”

“Pop never mentioned his master much-- every time the conversation came up, he would shiver and say that didn’t matter and that he was in charge now.”

Nanami snorted. “Soun also told me a bit about what yer goin’ through, with this curse thing you’ve got. I’m gonna go show your old man just what a girl is capable of, and knock his dick in the dirt.”

“Oh my god, that’s amazing,” Ranma said, grinning like a loon. “I can only kick his ass so much-- he needs someone to get the point across, doesn’t he?”

Nanami smiled and nodded. “I’ve met men like him before. The best way to deal with them is to show them that they’re not the hottest shit on the block, and then make their continued tuition contingent on them getting some fucking help.”

Ranma started laughing.

“My old man? Get help? He’d sooner die.”

Nanami merely smirked. “Hm-hm, I’ll be looking forward to this.”

…

As they’d made their way back to the Tendō Dojo, Ranma had explained quite a bit of his life to that point, which had Nanami frowning deeply.

“I’m not one to be critical of a chance to expand your learning in the art, but it sounds like your old man took it too far,” Nanami muttered.

“Something you should understand is that modesty and humility are important aspects of a martial artist’s duty to themselves and others. Being willing to admit you don’t know everything, and denying your enemies a chance to identify all the aspects of your combat skill are important. If you lack those two pieces, then your training will never be complete.”

“Pop never taught me anything like that-- he said that I should never deny a challenge when offered, but never about like, admitting weakness like that.”

Nanami sniffed airily and didn’t say anything at first. “Accept challenges, sure—but don’t accept them blindly. The terms dictated to you by your enemy are always going to be out of your favor. The last thing you need is to be put into a position you can’t get out of.”

“Pop always said that stuff like that was for the weak, and that a good martial artist can come out on top of anything.”

“Admitting you don’t know everything there is to know about everything in the universe isn’t a weakness—refusing to admit such things and pretending you’re the prime authority on the matter is weakness, because it is a terrible display of hubris and arrogance,” Nanami said, matter-of-factly.

“I guess so,” Ranma said. “But why would I not want to show my enemies just how powerful I am?”

“Wouldn’t you want to have surprises for your enemy? Secret tactics they have no idea they can expect from you?” Nanami asked. “If your enemy knows what you’re capable of, that just gives them all the chance to formulate a strategy to eventually defeat you.”

“You’re right,” Ranma said. “I guess that’s what Kasumi’s been tryin’ to get into my head—be a little more clever about everything and not just show off for the sake of showing off.”

“Wise words,” Nanami said with a smile. “Soun was telling me a little bit about your fight with some boy in the public park, but said he wasn’t there and couldn’t tell me much more than it had been quite a spectacle. Mind telling me a bit about that?”

Ranma blinked and began to explain just what had transpired in the park that afternoon with Ryouga. The Anything Goes matriarch listened carefully, occasionally making a note of where Ranma could use some improvements, and where a style like Ryouga’s was weakest.

“Strength, brute force… these things are always nice to have if you want a quick and easy end to a fight. But even the most capable martial artist only has so much energy, and so much muscle, and they’ll wear themselves out quick if you can avoid their heavier hits,” Nanami instructed.

“That’s what I did when he came after me at the Tendō Dojo one night-- I just dodged his attacks until the cavalry could show up and help me kick his butt.”

“Very intelligent decision-making!” Nanami praised, giving Ranma an appreciative nod.

…

As soon as they had arrived back at the Tendō Dojo, Nanami had given Ranma a smirk and had immediately gone over to where Soun and Genma were playing shogi.

“So!” She barked as soon as her eyes had fallen on the two patriarchs, shocking Ranma at the almost militant way she spoke-- a massive far cry from her much softer manner of address on the train ride home.

“This is what the epitome of Anything Goes is doing with their lives?” She thundered.
“Drinking without a care in the world, smothering their lungs with cigarettes, and sitting on their asses playing shogi?”

Genma fixed her with a sneer. “What’s it to you?” He asked sardonically.

“What’s it to me?” Nanami said, her voice low and dangerous. “If I were you, I’d watch your tongue when speaking to the Grandmistress of your school.”

Genma snorted. “Impossible—the Master would’ve never let a woman inherit the school,” He said, arrogance tinting his voice. “Soun and I are the grandmasters.”

“Is that what you think?” Nanami said with a grin. “Okay then, Saotome. How about we make a little bet? You and me, one on one match. If I win, you forfeit your students and your school to me-- if I lose, I’ll accept your mastery and leave for good, out of your lives like I was never here to start with.”

“Hmpf,” Genma said. “This won’t exactly be a challenge, it feels a bit like taking advantage of a woman of your… soft nature,”

“Keep talking, fat boy. Let’s see just how good your mouth works when you’re in traction,” Nanami said, giving Genma a shark-like grin.

She glanced at Soun. “Do I have to administer similar discipline to you, student?” She asked icily.

“Of course not, Grandmistress. The Tendō School respects and acknowledges its parent school in all things. I would, in fact, be honored if you were to examine the skill of my heir, Akane.” Soun said, bowing his head.

Genma looked betrayed, and glared at his friend.

“Oh, and by the way, Genma?” Nanami said, addressing the Saotome patriarch with a smile.

“If you should attempt to injure yourself or find some other way to force your son to take your place in our little duel, I will consider it to be an automatic forfeit. Your son, from what I can tell is, an incredibly honorable young man, a worthy student of our school. It is not him I am testing to see if he is worthy to remain a student of the art. We will have our match tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”

With that, she rose to her feet and smiled. “Tendō, I presume you have a place for me to sleep tonight?”

“Ah, yes, we’ll make arrangements for that. Would you care to join us for dinner? It’s Nabiki’s turn on the chore wheel.”

“I would be delighted,” Nanami said with a placid smile of her own.

…

Ranma thought that dinner was incredibly awkward, what with Genma giving spiteful glares at Nanami, who merely ignored him and make friendly conversation with everyone at the table.

“Kasumi,” she said after taking a drink of tea. “I’ve been told you’ve been an exemplary strategic help to Ranma in his most recent challenges-- your father mentioned you were a student of your mother’s style, is it one I might be familiar with?”

“I’m not sure, mother never gave me a formal name for it-- it tries to combine several offensive styles with some defensive doctrine to make an art whose entire goal is to create a screen of obfuscation. She emphasized to me the importance of tactical and strategic planning before getting into simple fist-fights.”

“I can respect that. My great-grandfather never had much sense for things like that, and a lot of what he taught revolved around throwing yourself into fighting without rhyme or reason,” Nanami said with a dry chuckle.

She then fixed a look at Nabiki. “I understand you’ve largely abandoned the art?”

“Martial arts really aren’t my thing, particularly with how frequently challenges seem to fly around this neighborhood,” Nabiki said dryly.

“I understand-- though I am always an advocate for young women to learn the Art to protect themselves and other young ladies from unwanted advances from young men who have never learned the meaning of ‘No’. You wouldn’t even need to learn any of the advanced moves that your father or Genma or Ranma know, merely enough to defend yourself from those who wish you harm.”

Nabiki blinked-- Ranma could tell she hadn’t thought it over like that before.

“You might be right,” Nabiki murmured, brow furrowed. “I’d just hate to get caught up in all the martial arts crazy, is all.”

“All the more reason to learn-- that way you won’t be the sitting duck in a room full of raging bulls,” Nanami said with a smirk.

“Shit,” Nabiki said.

“Language,” Kasumi admonished.

Nanami then looked at the youngest Tendō, and gave a nod. “I can tell just by looking at you, your strength training is very advanced. You’ve been learning the art since you were a child, correct?”

“I started with basic kata when I was five, and Daddy has been teaching me ever since, though after Mom died, we’ve kind of put it on the back burner.”

“I hope this is no longer the case, Soun?” Nanami asked, flashing a look at Soun, who choked on something. Ranma noticed him wince as he swallowed whatever it was that had lodged itself in his windpipe.

“Yes, I’ve taken to trying to make up for the lost time with Akane on her skills-- the last few weeks I’ve been going over what she’s already aware of, and help her with some of the places she’s lost a bit of touch in. Ranma has been a wonderful help, as the two styles of the Tendō and Saotome branches are very polarized to allow for intense training exercises.”

“Indeed, the Saotome branch is… more acrobatic, correct?” Nanami asked, looking at Ranma who nodded.

“And the Tendō branch is very earth-rooted?” Nanami asked again, glancing at Soun, who gave a confirming nod.

“Wonderful, then,” Nanami said, looking pleased. “As bad as great-grandfather was, I am glad to see that his school hasn’t been completely abandoned in the wake of his perverse dealings. Hopefully, we can ensure that the Anything Goes school blossoms and grows to new heights, and can be celebrated by all of its students for years to come.”

...

The following morning saw the entirety of the Tendō family plus guests congregating in the dojo. The air wasn’t thick with tension per se, but it was thick with curiosity. Nobody knew just how to quantify the woman. Her unassuming appearance was betrayed by her firm words and steely eyes.

Genma wasn’t concerned—he’d always been firm in his belief that women weren’t anywhere near strong enough to properly handle the art. The Master had taught him well, and he’d prove that by showing this woman her proper place, deferential to that of the master. His honor would demand no less.

Ranma, on the other hand, as the scion of the Saotome school, was feeling nothing but irritation towards his father. Could Nanami have made it any more obvious that she was stronger than she let on? The way she spoke about martial arts, the way she gently taught him the philosophical sides, and the way she took great concern for all students under the umbrella of the Art—it was undeniable that she was who she claimed to be.

But more than that—he was irritated that his father seemed to be gambling their very branch and all that he had learned on a whim of his insatiable ego.

The only thing that buoyed his sour mood was the dream of seeing his father eat a big fat slice of humble pie, and even all of his concerns were swept away at the very thought.

Kasumi was in much the same vein—she was terribly concerned for this woman exerting undue influence on Ranma if Genma should lose, but she was also incredibly eager to see Genma get his dick knocked in the dirt. She couldn’t stand the man, and seeing him eat every sexist and misogynistic word he’d uttered against her and other women like her would be the subject of many good night’s sleep.

“It’s time,” Soun said nervously, glancing between his friend and the Grandmistress.

As the two stood face-to-face in the middle of the dojo, Soun took a deep breath and began.

“This is a standard challenge duel, one on one. There will be no substitutions. The first person to be rendered incapable of continuing to fight will be considered the loser. As per the tradition of our school, anything goes. However, as owner of this property and dojo, I ask you please don’t destroy my house.”

“Naturally,” Nanami said with a smile.

“Bow to your opponent,” Soun said.

The two bowed to each other, though Genma did so incredibly reluctantly.

“Step six feet apart, and when I blow my whistle, begin,” Soun said.

They stepped six feet apart, facing each other, looking pensive.

“Begin!” Soun said, and blew his referee whistle.

Immediately, Genma sprang into action, leaping through the air and attempting to launch a flying kick at Nanami. The woman smoothly dodged out of the way, bouncing lightly on her feet.

This pattern went on for a few minutes—she would allow Genma to launch a strong offensive attack, before dodging out of the way.

Ranma identified what she was doing right away-- it was the same thing she had described on the train. She was using her opponent’s strengths against them-- she knew that his father had a temper, and because he had shown that to her, she could use it against him in a fight.

“Are you the Grandmistress or not! Fight me!” Genma roared.

He rooted himself to the ground, spread his arms apart and kicked with a single hand. Nanami ended up soaring through the air and skidding on her feet. She raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, ha, I was wondering when you’d tap into your special moves,” Nanami said, grinning.

Suddenly, a rope came flying towards her, and she deftly dodged out of the way. Gripping the rope, she grasped it and tugged it hard, sending Genma off his footing. She delivered a sharp kick to his ribs, sending him careening through the air into the nearby wall, which he slumped off of before getting to his feet, wincing.

“Nice hit,” he muttered. “But not good enough!”

Ranma watched this tango go on for awhile—his father would use some kind of special technique he’d never seen before, he’d either barely manage to get in a hit, or he’d miss completely because of Nanami’s adeptness at contact avoidance. Then, Nanami would get in and manage to get a solid hit in on him, further sending his father into an emotional whirlwind.

“Is this all you’re capable of doing? Hit and run tactics like a little girl? It just further proves the Master was right all-along! Women are weak!” Genma raged, trying to slug Nanami across the face with a hook, which he telegraphed from a mile away.

She gripped his fist, and twisted his arm. Ranma winced as he heard the his father’s shoulder pop loudly. Genma fell to the ground with a screech of pain, and found himself pinned to the floor of the dojo with Nanami’s arm pressing into his neck.

“You’re weak,” Nanami hissed. “Submit.”

“Never!” Genma shouted, finally managing a hit on Nanami with his other hand, sending her stumbling back.

She cracked her neck and grinned. Forgoing her previous defensive strategy, she charged straight ahead, plowing into Genma with every ounce of her weight, sending him crashing into the wall again. This time, he did not rise once more.

Soun walked over to Genma and looked him over.

“He’s unconscious,” Soun said, snorting in amusement. “By technical knockout, the victory goes to Grandmistress Nanami.”

Nanami smiled serenely before bowing.

“Thank you,” She said. “Now, I believe we’ll need to reset my student’s dislocated shoulder—would you terribly mind taking care of that, Soun, while I speak to Ranma?”

Ranma blinked in surprise, and dutifully followed Nanami out of the dojo.

“The terms of our challenge mean that the Saotome school has been forfeited to me. I just wanted to assure you that you will still be allowed to practice the form of the Art to which you are so accustomed, in fact, I want to encourage you to continue—I look forward to teaching you some new and interesting things to add to your current repertoire.”

“What exactly are you gonna do to my old man?

“He’s a talented martial artist, certainly,” Nanami said, waving her hand dismissively. “However, he lacks humility, he’s let himself go in his adult years, he drinks too much, he smokes, and he has some very unhealthy views on women. I plan to address most, if not all of these concerns in his training.”

“Good,” Ranma said, folding his arms. “He’s an asshole.”

“I understand completely,” Nanami said with a chuckle. “So, this curse of yours? I’m curious about how it came around.”

Ranma flushed-- he had forgotten Nanami was staying with them and had come downstairs this morning in his female form, which had been the subject of some confusion from the Grandmistress before a short explanation had been given.

“Pops dragged me to these mythical training grounds in China. Turned out they were cursed springs. I got knocked into the Spring of Drowned Girl. That’s the short version, anyway. The long version involves a village of female warriors, accidentally getting a death sentence, and other shenanigans on the way back to Japan. I’m still workin’ through it with my therapist, though.”

“I’m glad you’re not beating yourself up over it,” Nanami said with a nod. “You and that Kasumi girl, you’ve been working through it together, right?”

“Yeah, she’s… I guess my betrothed, intended, whatever you wanna call it—I’m slowly getting’ used to the idea of being half-and-half for the rest of my life. It’s not as bad as I thought it was, but it’s still kinda uncomfortable to explore.”

“I think you should explore it to your heart’s content. It’s an interesting opportunity that so many people would fall over themselves to explore. Your father no longer has any power over you, so long as I’m around, and I intend to be around for some time to come. You have my blessing, for what it counts, to be your very best self. Self-actualization and self-realization can do wonders for strengthening your discipline and giving you the proper motivations to continue excelling in the Art.”

“Thank you, sensei,” Ranma murmured, and Nanami ruffled his hair with a grin.

…

“Nabiki, dear sister, you got photos and video of Genma getting his ass beat, right?” Kasumi asked carefully, glancing at her younger sister.

“Well, of course I did,” Nabiki said with a snort. “You think I would’ve let this fight happen without something to make sure his humiliation was immortalized?”

“Of course not, I was just checking,” Kasumi said, grinning. “Do send me copies, would you please?”

“Can do, Kasumi,” Nabiki said idly. “I wonder what this Nanami woman is going to do for all the chaos around here. She seems like she doesn’t tolerate it.”

“Oh, I think she’ll be a wonderful addition to life here,” Kasumi said mischievously. “I think we’ll have plenty of opportunities to get laughs at Genma’s expense in the days and weeks to come.”

“That’s an understatement,” Ranma said, coming back into the room, with a wry grin. “Pop’s gonna have to go on a diet, stop drinking, stop smoking, and learn a bit of humility about the fairer sex. She’s deadly serious about it too.”

“Oh, he’s screwed!” Nabiki crowed happily. “Serves him right for being a misogynistic asshole. Did you hear the kind of things he was saying about girls? It’s a miracle China boy over here turned out as well as he did.”

“He did a fair number on me as a kid,” Ranma said, folding his arms. “But after Jusenkyo, you can’t really take his sexist bullshit seriously when everything he says about how weak girls are is invalidated every time you get splashed with cold water. Then you know, there’s Akane, Kasumi, hell, even you…”

“Me?” Nabiki asked, eyebrow raised.

“You act like you’re this cool, collected girl but you’re just as much of a hot-head as the rest of the Tendous. Martial arts is in your blood, you just don’t wanna admit it,” Ranma teased.

“So I’m discovering,” Nabiki said with a sigh. “I just didn’t want to be involved in the nonsense.”

“Well, you don’t have to. Kasumi, Nanami and I can take care of everything that crops up. Akane too, once she gets all the rust worked out.”

Akane looked down at that, and Ranma gently tapped her arm.

“Don’t feel bad when I say that, ‘kane. It’s just ‘cause your Dad let your skills stagnate for as long as he did, is all. Grief does shitty things to people. You can bench press a Toyota and break rebar with your fist. You’re plenty strong, you just need to get your finer skills up to par.”

“Always a charmer, Saotome,” Akane said sarcastically.

“Oh yes, he is a charmer, isn’t he?” Kasumi asked, wrapping her arms around Ranma. “It’s been awhile since I’ve met a man or woman as sexy as he is.”

“Me? Sexy? C’mon, Sumi. You’re just flattering me,” Ranma said.

“No, no, she’s right,” Nabiki said. “I keep my ears pretty close to the temperament of the school. Ranma is at the top of Both Lists.”

“Ranma’s on the List?! Both of them?” Akane asked, shocked. “No way!”

Kasumi seemed smug, and Ranma was confused.

“What are the lists?”

“Oh, that’s right, you… you’re technically a guy,” Akane said with a laugh. “The lists are these… lists of the hottest people at Furinkan-- at least, among the girls. There are two lists, one that talks about boys, the other for the lesbians.”

“It’s a very old tradition,” Kasumi said wisely. “It’s been going on at the school since before the war. Do we tell him the whole truth?”

“We may as well,” Akane said. “Nabiki, it’s your call.”

Ranma looked at Nabiki, who was considering him carefully, before she nodded.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Nabiki said. “Ranma, you know how I am referred to as the Gossip Queen, correct?”

“Yeah?” Ranma said, confused. That was a term he heard quite frequently in the locker room, but never outside of it.

“Well, there’s more to being the Gossip Queen than just being a broker of information. The girls of Furinkan have been harassed and treated like shit by the boys for so long, that we’ve formed this… I don’t know, massive coven, I guess you could call it? Each year, one upperclassman girl is appointed Queen, and has a set of lieutenants. These lieutenants are to help her look after the girls, broker information and basically keep the girls, and whatever they do, under the radar.”

Nabiki rolled her shoulders. “Every new girl at Furinkan is given an orientation and inducted into the group… except for, well, you.”

“Because I’m not a girl,” Ranma said.

“Half the time, no, you’re not, but there has been some of the girls advocating bringing you in. You’re pretty good muscle for us to have in our pocket,” Akane explained.

“So okay, this massive like, coven of girls, they manage two lists?”

“Okay, so,” Nabiki said. “One of the duties of my court is to help keep track of like, which boys are most acceptable to pursue, and which girls are most acceptable to pursue for our lesbian and bisexual girls. The list kind of serves as a massive popularity marker, to show just how much you’re liked among the population of Furinkan.”

“And your name is at the top of both,” Akane said with a grin. “You could technically be in the running for Gossip Queen if you were inducted.”

“I could?”

Nabiki nodded, and placed her hand on Ranma’s shoulder. “Look, I was wrong about you at first. I thought you were a freeloading bum just like your Dad. But I’m starting to warm to the idea of having you around as a brother or sister-in-law. You’re incredibly noble and are probably the exact opposite of a creep.”

“Thanks, Nabiki,” Ranma said with a chuckle. “Love you too.”

“You know what I mean, Saotome,” Nabiki said dryly. She stepped back and looked pensive. “Look, Monday. After class, like, immediately afterwards. Meet me by the lockers.”

“Can do, Nabs,” Ranma said, with a smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, you three. That… means a lot.”

“Of course—and look at it this way, being a member of the Coven is sort of like belonging to a college sorority in America. If you should ever run into a girl who was once a member of the coven, it could do wonders for your future academic and professional prospects. We’ve had several girls go on to do pretty amazing things,” Nabiki said smugly.

Later that night, Ranma had slipped back into his male form and lay in bed with Kasumi, though his unusually pensive state was an easy indicator to Kasumi that something was amiss.

“I can tell when you’re troubled, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “What’s wrong? Did we go a little far with that coven talk?”

“No, well, I don’t know. I feel like I’m being tugged into the realm of girl stuff,” Ranma said, sighing. “The guys at Furinkan are such massive horndogs, that I feel like I’ve got nothing in common with any of them. They just look at me and see the girl I turn into, and not the guy I really am… the girls have been so nice, but I feel like I’m turnin’ more and more into one and less and less a guy.”

“Oh, Ranma,” Kasumi murmured. “That’s not the intent behind it at all. All of us just want to give you a support system to explore what it means to be you and stuff like that. I’m sorry if we’re making you feel like we’re pressuring you to be more and more of a girl.”

“It’s just easier sometimes to… just roll with it, I guess,” Ranma said, wincing. “Maybe it just has to do with the people I’m surrounded by.”

“It could be—you’re absolutely nothing like the boys at Furinkan. Most of them don’t even use their heads, and let their dicks to do most of the thinking for them. You, even as a boy, don’t act like that. I promise, nobody’s asking you to start sashaying around like you’re the biggest femme on Earth-- unless you want to, of course.”

“It’s just a lot to take in,” Ranma said. “But honestly, I’ve never really connected with guys at school. It was like this at the school I went to with Ryouga back in the day.”

“Oh?”

“I was always soft-spoken, even if my old man wasn’t happy ‘bout it. Ryouga and I were sorta the outcasts. I thought we were friends, and that’s why the whole bread thing never registered to me like I was botherin’ him about it. It was a free-for-all and the two of us were the only ones who managed to get through it without lookin’ too roughed up at the end of each day.”

Ranma sighed again.

“I’m still tryin’ to get past my Dad’s garbage. Embracin’ the girl side of me a bit more might not be a terrible idea, but I really need to talk to Dr. Okumura about it before I can really make sense of it.”

Kasumi hugged Ranma tighter and nuzzled him. “You’ll figure it out, Ranma. You’re only sixteen. You’ve got years to figure out just what makes you happy.”

“True,” Ranma said. “But I know at least one thing that makes me happy,”

“What?” Kasumi asked.

“You do,” Ranma said, gently craning Kasumi’s head towards him and kissing her lightly on the lips.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Kasumi said, happily. “Most of the boys I went to school with would’ve never thought to be that suave and smooth about it. They would’ve made some shitty joke and then tried to chew on my tongue.”

“Pigs,” Ranma said dryly.

“Good night, Ranma,” Kasumi said.

“Night, Sumi,” Ranma murmured, smiling.

…

Ranma felt a little better when he got up the next morning. The words that he’d shared with Nanami and with Kasumi made him feel a little more on firm ground. Kasumi had actually stuck with him this morning, seemingly making it every bit her business to keep him occupied and happy.

Just after her alarm had gone off to wake both of them up, she had gently guided him through a brief makeout session right there in bed, before letting him get some of his pent-up energy out by sparring with him in the dojo.

Of course, it didn’t help when she immediately suggested they take a bath together, though the companionable silence and close proximity between them kept him floating on cloud nine all morning, though he did find time to be a bit amused at his father’s expense.

After their spar, Kasumi and Ranma had gotten to witness Nanami drag his father out of bed and into the dojo, thoroughly run him through the ringer, before shoving him off to clean up before breakfast. It was a satisfying amount of schadenfreude, seeing his father being treated like a white belt.

When breakfast had come around, Genma had complained about the size of his meal, only to be loudly admonished by Nanami for being an ungracious guest, and that this was only until he lost some weight and regained some muscle mass. If he continued to be disrespectful, he could go on a ten mile hike with a high colonic instead.

The day had turned out to be quite lazy—any plans anybody had was spoiled when an out-of-season rainstorm moved in and soaked the city to the bone. Ranma had spent the majority of the day making sure his classwork was taken care of, and cuddling with Kasumi.

“Do you think my dad will change much with all the shit Nanami’s gonna put him through?” Ranma asked.

“Maybe,” Kasumi said. “It’ll take more than just making him work out a bunch to change him. I think the diet and probably some of the behavioral corrections will do the most work. I think I heard her talking with Soun about some of his neuroses, and if she should consider forcing him to go to therapy as conditional to being allowed to continue training in the Art.”

Ranma grumbled. “Can she make him move somewhere else? He still gives me nasty looks every day.”

“That’s because you’re starting to think your female half as not a curse, and just an extension of you. He doesn’t like that, or maybe he’s jealous.”

“Why on Earth would he be jealous?” Ranma asked.

“A few weeks ago, I caught him and my father arguing over my influence on you, and my father mentioned something about your dad getting drunk and ‘sweet Yumiko’ coming out to play. I think your father might have a little bit of a repressed queer side.”

“No way, really? Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure,” Kasumi said. “Also, apparently my father has a trophy on a shelf in his room that’s related to it.”

“God, that’d be so weird,” Ranma muttered. “I’ve never known Pops to be like that, ever.”

“Ever?”

“No, he was always super anal about being manly and doing manly things while we were in China. There was one time I helped save this old lady from getting run over by a truck and she offered me this dress as a symbol of her gratitude. I accepted it to be polite, ‘cause you know, you don’t wanna insult someone’s traditions or sensitivities by being rude… but Pop blew his lid, and made me throw it into the campfire,” Ranma said, shaking his head.

“I think the lady doth protest too much,” Kasumi said with a chuckle.

“Ugh, stop—could you imagine Pops in a dress? No thanks!” Ranma said, shivering.

“Oh, I don’t know, I think he could pull it off,” Kasumi said, teasingly.

“Shut up!” Ranma said, covering his ears.

…

“Saotome.”

Ranma turned, shoes in hand, to see Nabiki standing in front of him, her arms folded.

“Nabs,” Ranma said with a grin. “Time to meet your girls?”

“Yeah,” Nabiki said with a smile. “It’s really not anything super special, we meet at an old office building a few blocks over.”

After a quick splash of water, Ranma and Nabiki set out for the building where this supposed ‘coven’ met.

“I know we made it sound like some secret society, but it’s really not. We usually hang out for a few hours a week, talk about what needs to be talked about, help each other out where we can, and stuff like that,” Nabiki said. “A lot of the girls who’ve gone on to greater things keep in touch, though, and that provides a lot of benefits.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, like sometimes we get free movies and free food from various places. Girls paying dues back to the organization that kept them safe during their high school years.”

“Is this why St. Hebereke went all-girls?” Ranma asked.

Nabiki looked a bit caught off-guard by the question and glanced at Ranma. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Though, I can’t imagine Furinkan as an all-girls school would work out in the long-term. We have a common thing that unites us, and without the boys, we’d end up bickering over really stupid things.”

“Not to mention a lot of girls would be sad at being separated from their boyfriends,” Ranma contributed.

“That too,” Nabiki said with a nod.

They arrived outside of a small office building, and Nabiki gestured for him to come in with her. When they walked in, Ranma was kind of surprised at how comfortable it looked. There were couches and a TV, and computers and all sorts of other amenities.

“We try to be multi-purpose,” Nabiki said.

“Who owns this building? Do you squat here?” Ranma asked.

“Nothing like that-- actually, the building is owned by Daddy,” Nabiki said. “We moved in here during Kasumi’s reign after Daddy got the real estate for very cheap. The neighbors don’t complain because we keep the building maintained and don’t make a bunch of noise.”

“We’ve had to put some money into it to add a block of showers, but there are several beds for girls to sleep in if they’re having a hard time at home. A couple of them are actually here permanently because they got kicked out by their parents. We usually let them live here rent-free if they take over the stewardship roles.”

“That’s awful, how could a parent do that to someone?” Ranma asked, disgusted.

“Not everyone is super understanding of being bisexual or gay,” Nabiki said with a shrug. “We at least try to help them find some kind of reprieve from that.”

“Now come on, let’s get you introduced to everyone.”

And so Ranma went on the social circuit-- or something like it. Ranma recognized the vast majority of the girls from his classes, but Nabiki had ensured he was introduced to several others as well, including her lieutenants and some friends of hers.

After a couple hours of this, Ranma, Nabiki and Akane went home for the night.

“You did a good job, Ranma,” Akane said. “It’s a little weird at first, I know, but I promise all the socializing will pay off. We all take our promise to watch out for each other very seriously. You’ll find that anybody trying to mess with you will have an entire school full of very unhappy girls ready to kick their ass.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess,” Ranma said with a snort. “I suppose it’ll help if Ryouga shows his mug around here again.”

“Oh, you bet,” Nabiki said darkly. “If nobody else does it, I’m going to kick that loser’s ass.”

“Nabiki? Being the violent one? Stop the presses! Alert the media!” Akane said dramatically.

“After what he did to Kasumi, and the fact he’s tried to nearly kill Ranma twice, I say fuck him, he deserves an ass-kicking.”

“Testify, sister,” Ranma said, grinning.

Notes:

Here's another 6,000 or so words, enjoy chirren!

Chapter 5: The Spirit of Healing

Summary:

Some people figure themselves out, and the spirit of healing continues to work its mighty magic.

As the weeks progressed through into December, and the bluster of autumn graduated into the chilly bite of winter, the mood in the Tendou household was turning with the change of the seasons—a renewed sense and spirit of healing was shared among all of them as the new year, new century and new millennium lingered on the horizon. Though that wasn’t to say there weren’t gloomy days—even in winter, Tokyo saw only minimal snowfall, most of it turning to a slippery slurry before it could be properly enjoyed by everyone.

In late November, Nanami had caught Genma binge drinking one night, wailing incoherently about his own father and muttering about some of the psychological trauma and abuse he had been subjected to in his youth. It had softened the woman’s usual harsh attitude towards the man, and the following day she had instructed him that therapy was no longer a non-optional component of his training, and that she expected him to get his mental health in order—that was a priority now, more so than ever.

Similarly, Genma’s own breakdown and subsequent retreat to actually go to therapy had lead Nanami to approach her concerns with everyone else in the Tendou household about it. With Ranma getting his psychological abuse organized and filed away to where he could cope—and Genma doing similarly, it probably would not be a terrible idea for Soun and his girls to find means of coping with their latent grief and trauma that stemmed from Mariko Tendou’s death.

Soun had demurred at first, saying he’d really like to try to work through everything as a family first—but thanked Nanami for the suggestion, saying he would do his best. As a sign of good faith, and as a first solid step, he and the family threw out all the liquor in the house, and Soun made a concerted effort to quit smoking for good, moving to nicotine patches almost immediately. It wasn’t easy, and in the days and weeks that followed, Soun had been incredibly irritable and melancholic.

However, everyone in the family showed a remarkable restraint and consideration for the grumpy patriarch, going so far as to give him positive reinforcement so he’d stay clean. But for Soun, there was a bit more to it. The fact his lungs had gotten stronger, and he didn’t wheeze nearly as much doing minor things had made Soun realize that he had been heading straight down the path that would’ve left his daughters without a single parent. Cancer had already taken one parent from them, what was he doing, risking his life like that?

It didn’t hurt that everything tasted so much better now, either.

Nabiki had picked up the art for the first time in years-- after considering the advice Nanami had given her about protecting herself and not letting herself be a sitting duck if things got hairy, she had decided the time was right for her to pick it up again-- not just for the sake of protecting herself, but also as a means of honoring the legacy of both her parents. She had been missing her mother terribly, and remembered that her mother was just as much of a martial artist as her father had been, and by rejecting that part of her, she was creating a gulf between herself and her family.

It was easy to let the cold emotionless necessities of being a leader creep in, but Nanami had reminded her that she was human still, and that it wasn’t a terrible weakness to embrace that which she shared with her whole family.

Nanami and Ranma had promised to go as easy as they could on her; focusing primarily on giving her the building blocks she needed to slowly get back into the swing of things, and from there she could decide where she wanted to take it, either as a basic defensive art, or learning and becoming an intermediate or master of the skill itself.

Nabiki’s physical acumen had already passed consideration by both Ranma and Nanami, in large part due to her regular tennis matches with some of the girls from school.

“Now, Nabiki,” Nanami instructed during one of the earliest lessons. “I want you to follow Ranma through his kata, and when you do, with each step, take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a moment, and pass it out of your mouth. Fill your lungs with oxygen, hold, release.”

“Got it,” Nabiki said, and that’s just what she did. Through each step of Ranma’s kata, Nabiki mirrored her friend and future sibling-in-law, and took deep hearty breaths. After they worked through the kata a couple times and straightened out where Nabiki had been drawn too tense, or not been fluid enough, Ranma worked her through a couple basic punches, kicks and blocks, mostly as a means of showing her the range of movement she needed to aim for.

“You’re doing a good job, Nabiki,” Nanami said.

“Yeah, you seem to remember at least some of the stuff your Dad taught ya when you were a kid,” Ranma said, doing his cool-down stretches.

“This wasn’t as bad as I remember it being,” Nabiki said. “I remember hating this a whole lot more as a kid.”

“Well, I think it has a lot to do with your age,” Ranma said. “Given the kinda stuff you do at school, you’re pretty disciplined right now. It ain’t easy, I imagine, runnin’ an empire with all the moving parts like you do. So, you’re not going to quite have that same level of discipline when you’re a little kid. It comes easier for you, as someone who is nearly an adult, to control your breathing and motions and not get all antsy when you have to stand in one place for something.”

“Being able to control my emotions is important for the kind of things I do. Some of my girls go through hell and back getting out of the bad situations they’re in, and I end up having to look out for them when nobody else will. If I do let my emotions dictate to me what I need to do, I’d be ruined,” Nabiki said.

“You do have remarkable control over your emotions,” Nanami said with a nod. “However, my question is: are you able to find a time and place to let those emotions go? If you don’t let out all that you’re bottling up, it can have disastrous effects.”

“When I play tennis, I guess sometimes I get a little aggressive about it,” Nabiki said wryly. “Should I be looking for other outlets?”

“That might be wise, but I’m far from an expert in human psychology,” Nanami deadpanned. “Your sisters, do they have ways of letting their stress out?”

“Akane breaks concrete blocks,” Nabiki said. “Daddy tells me he usually gets them super cheap from construction scrap, Akane breaks them down into gravel, and then Daddy can usually end up selling it back to someone.”

“Sounds at least somewhat productive.”

“He says any lost money in the process is usually worth helping Akane get her frustrations out. She used to have a nasty temper as a little kid,” Nabiki said, recalling the past. She sighed.

“I don’t know what exactly I should do to let it out. I don’t think I could go around breaking blocks like that-- and I have no idea what Kasumi does to get her frustrations out.”

“She meditates, toils in her garden, or as of late, she’ll just try to make me swallow her tongue,” Ranma said nonchalantly, earning him flabbergasted looks from the other two people in the room. He blushed. “Sorry.”

“All is forgiven, Saotome-- but please, don’t tell me about how much my sister is trying to jump your bones. I might need to gouge my ears out with scissors,” Nabiki said with a smirk.

…

By mid-December, even Genma had been in the spirit of healing. A notable change in his demeanor had followed his extensive visits with a therapist. Gone was the obstinate, hostile and down-right mutinous glares and quips from his often-intoxicated lips. Now, he was a member of the household, contributing to the chore wheel and being extraordinarily (for his standards, anyway) polite and courteous.

It had been an uneasy thing at first, everyone merely assuming the other shoe was preparing to drop, and he’d revert back to his usual unpleasant state of being, but as time passed and it never did, everyone merely assumed and took it for what it was-- a concerted effort on Genma’s part to turn over a new leaf and start the new millennium with a proper attitude and friendly disposition.

He even stopped complaining when dragged out on long runs or workouts with Nanami or anybody else in the family. The results had been palpable in just the few weeks he’d been at it, he looked much better than he had in months.

But on one mid-December day, he decided he needed to do something that his therapist had been pushing him to think about doing for quite some time. But first, he needed to get out of his usual day-long exercises.

“Ah, Master?” He asked, nervously. “Would it be possible to get Saturday off from training?”

“I’m not going to deny you a day off every once in a while, Genma,” Nanami said dryly, looking up from the book she was reading. “Might I inquire as to the reason why?”

“The therapist I’m going to, she suggested I take a day away from the house and try to get a good grasp on my emotions. At least, she wants me to try it. I don’t know if it will work, but it is entirely worth trying, I think,” Genma said, not making direct eye contact.

Nanami looked at him carefully before nodding. “I think that’s a great idea, then. It’ll be good for your discipline. Go ahead, and enjoy yourself, Genma.”

“Thank you,” He said, almost full of relief.

On that following Saturday, Genma had left early, begging off a quick breakfast, saying it was best he just follow his therapist’s instructions right away, and not leave anything specific to chance. It had earned a concerned eyebrow from Nanami, but nothing more was said as he’d quickly made his departure.

First stop for him had been to the back-alley behind the Tendou Dojo where he recovered a small dufflebag full of things he’d been slowly collecting using some of the left-over money he’d had in his bank account, and on his person after he’d returned to civilization with Ranma.

He knew nobody there would understand it-- hell, he himself barely understood it. There was certain things he had to do, had to try while he was completely sober that would either make or break the psychological breakthrough he was nearly on the cusp on with his therapist.

The therapist was very firm in her belief that there might be something to the feelings he was having-- and their relationship to the guilt that he carried about the abusive life he’d created for his own son out of his insecurities, and their connection to the abusive life he’d had at the hands of his father and the original Master-- and a good way to combat that was to go through and over some of the things he liked to do when he was tipsy.

One of those things specifically had been the center of more than one self-hatred session, and even some arguments with Soun. He was terrified at the prospect of doing it when he wasn’t completely sloshed.

His therapist had been very specific in that it may very well clear some of the emotional roadblocks he’d been hammering against, and give him a clarion call of what he wanted out of his life. If he didn’t feel anything at all? No shame, he could put it all away, never do it again, and say nothing to anybody and they would go right back to work finding a good way to help him process why he was always so miserable.

If it ended up proving something? He’d have a whole lot of crow to eat, and he’d need to beg on his knees for his son’s forgiveness, and he wasn’t sure Ranma would ever be willing to give that to him—not that he deserved it, he knew he didn’t.

He took a deep breath and popped open the duffel bag and looked at the sight inside and closed his eyes.

You’re not being shameful. It’s okay. You can do this, he tried to reassure himself before opening his eyes again.

It was like putting on an old pair of pants, or riding a bike. It just… kind of fit, somehow. It just worked. A lot of old muscle memory from his days of moonlighting at far-too-young of an age came right back.

The wig, properly fixed with the right kind of cap, matching the bone structure of his face and not looking too garish or ugly. The right kind of makeup to accentuate certain features and conceal others, a little dab of this here, or there-- and the right outfit to make him look the very best he could.

Once he was done, he checked his watch carefully and sighed.

“This took far longer than I’m used to. Either I’ve gotten rusty, or I’m just getting old and have to do a little extra,” He muttered, grimacing.

Though, as he admired himself in the mirror-- he still had it. The woman who stared back in the mirror wasn’t quite the porcelain beauty she was when she was 15 and moonlighting, drinking underage and lying through her teeth about her age to the matrons in order to perform with all her might on the stage, dancing and parading for drunk women in order to earn every yen she could, everything to avoid his father and his vengeance.

But she wasn’t a wrinkled old spinster either, was she?

A pang of guilt, and a pang of almost… illicit excitement spread through him. When was the last time he’d… done this sober? Before Ranma was born?

He felt a little light-headed, and clutched the hand-rail of the toilet as he sat on the closed lid and thought about it. The familiar pain was probably why. Every time he looked… her in the face, it was just another sharp, painful reminder that it was all an act. A hot shower later, he was back to being a boring man with so many fucking traumatic problems in his life that he barely knew how to function.

“Fuck it,” Yumiko said, half to herself. “I need to settle this once and for all.”

She recalled exactly what she had always taught Ranma: When presented a challenge, never back down, and win.

With a bolt of confidence from deep within the well of pain, she resolutely slipped her feet into the heels she’d brought with her, fastened them, and cracked her neck.

Fuck it. She was going to have fun today.

Dr. Iwata was present when she stepped out of the bathroom door, and the older woman gave her a warm smile and a flash of a thumbs up.

When she stepped out into the world at large, it was like taking breath for the very first time. Here she was, standing in public-- dressed very much the part of any other woman. She felt like she was going to be dizzy. She so desperately wanted a stiff drink, but the fact it was so early in the day, and her promises to Nanami and Soun kept her from pursuing that line of inquiry any further. She quashed with every fiber of her being.

She shivered. You know what would be a good first stop? Some fucking coffee.

For the first time in her life, Yumiko stepped into a ‘Starbucks’. The world passing her by hadn’t gone unnoticed. She and Ranma had left Japan proper when Ranma was eleven-- even in those five years, Japan had changed so much. Cellular phones, the internet, Starbucks.

It was all terribly confusing to her, she had to admit.

After waiting in line, she got to the front and gave the female barista a soft smile before speaking in the voice she had practiced so many times quietly in front of a bathroom mirror. She ordered her coffee of choice, paid, waited patiently for it to be ready, and then stepped out onto the sidewalk again, smiling happily as she enjoyed her warm drink.

Nobody was staring at her, judging her, nobody knew her secret. She felt like she’d died and gone straight to heaven.

She winced though, as the tucking she’d done was straining a bit at how much all the sensory overload was turning her on. That was another problem she was confronting—for so long, she’d merely assumed she had a sexual obsession with cross-dressing, or at the very least, the idea of women’s clothing.

Her therapist had been very vocal about that-- she expressed that in all her years dealing with members of the transgender community, a lot of them had felt similar to her, only to realize that the connection between the euphoria they experienced of being their true selves for the first time was met with sexual arousal. It wasn’t uncommon, and it was nothing to be ashamed of.

She was thankful she was wearing a long enough skirt and tights that made sure nobody would notice it, because she might literally die of embarrassment if that was the case.

She dug through the purse she’d borrowed from her therapist and looked at the small sheet of paper that had some things to do written on them—there was some new shopping centers in a neighboring ward she might want to visit. It would be another great test of if this would actually work out or not, getting on a train and heading to another ward, and going shopping.

She winced some, another twist of guilt in her chest. She was enjoying this too much.

Pervert. Degenerate.

She shook her head, taking a deep breath, and making her way to the train station. The ticket kiosk worker had been very friendly, perhaps a bit too much—she was rather pleased and annoyed that he’d been staring at the false breasts she’d chosen. Were they a bit big? Sure, but that was something she’d always liked.

Sighing to herself as she fit herself into the crowded train, she waited patiently as it jumped from stop to stop. Fortunately avoiding the mounting pandemic of public groping on the Japanese train system, she made her way from the train station to one of the nearby shopping centers. It merely threw her sensory overload into hypermode as she stepped through the doors.

Though, the euphoria quickly made that taper off and replaced it with a vigorous pursuit of a good time. At first starting with a passive look through various clothing racks, pursing her crimson lips a bit at some of the options and mourning the fact she wasn’t as small as she used to be.

Making her way through the shoe section of the store, she grinned as she found much better luck.

As she turned a corner to search for a rack that had more shoes in her size, she bumped into somebody.

“Sorry!” she said, cringing.

“No, no, it’s okay, it’s my fau-” came a voice that Yumiko LITERALLY DID NOT WANT TO HEAR RIGHT NOW.

“Pop?” Ranma asked, shock in his voice.

Yumiko couldn’t take her eyes off her feet, wiggling her toes, anxiety pooling like hot molten lava in her stomach. She was gonna throw up. This was a terrible idea. What the fuck was she thinking? She didn’t deserve to simply get away and do this without paying a terrible penance. That was the price she paid for being such a terrible, fucking asshole-

A dainty hand placed itself on her chin and she found herself being forced to look at the aqua-blue eyes of her son’s cursed form.

“Pop,” Ranma said, in a low murmur. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Yumiko choked out.

Ranma grimaced before nodding his head and looking around. Backtracking a few feet, Ranma shouted. “Hey, Akane! Sayuri! Yuka! You three go ahead, I’ll catch up!”

“Are you sure, Ranma?” Akane’s voice filtered back.

“Yeah! Don’t worry ‘bout me!” Ranma said with a flash of a grin. His grin vanished before he turned back to face Yumiko. Yumiko took in her son’s current state of appearance. He too, was seemingly experimenting with life on the other side of the fence, given his feminine apparel.

“Come on, uh-” Ranma said, trailing off.

“Yumiko,” she said automatically.

“Pretty name,” Ranma said softly. “Come on, Yu, I think you and I’ve been puttin’ off a conversation for too long. My therapist was right,”

Yumiko found herself sitting in a food court across from her son- daughter- child, who was looking like he was trying to piece together something to say. She sighed.

“I… I’ve been terrible to you, Ranma,” Yumiko said softly. “There’s no way I could ever apologize for that.”

Ranma nodded and stirred his drink. “For all these years, you’ve been tellin’ me I need to be a man among men… but… here you are, wearin’ lipstick and tights and all that. Why put me through all that if you’re…?”

“My father,” Yumiko said darkly, sneering. “Something I need you to understand, Ranma—I grew up in a terribly abusive household. My mother died very young, and my father was a drunkard tyrant. He frequently beat me and made me feel like I was worse than nothing,”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “I’ve always hated myself, even as a kid, and I thought a lot of it had to do with the bullshit he put me through, but I think it was more than that. When I was 15, I… lied about my age and signed up as a drag performer with a male revue. I was trying to make every yen I could to get away from my old man, and when I wasn’t doing that, I was running around being a little deviant with The Master and Soun.”

“You were doing what at 15?” Ranma asked, surprised.

“I was a drag performer at a male strip club, Ranma,” Yumiko said, her cheeks reddening. “It was money, okay? I didn’t have many choices, and I at least got to delve into my… intense curiosity about dressing up. But the pain wouldn’t go away, so I started drinking a lot to numb the pain. That ended up starting a life-long dependency on the shit.”

Yumiko sighed and frowned deeply.

“When I was 17, I met your mother when she started high school in the same school as me. She was this tiny, pretty girl who reminded me a lot of… what I used to be,” Yumiko said, blushing. “The two of us had a fling, it was so dumb-- something so very stupid, but… then I… I knocked her up. At fifteen. It was terrible, she was inconsolable, her parents were furious, my father was furious, it was a nightmare. We both had to drop out of school and run away from home, and… we had you. I was so angry at myself and the world for doing something so stupid, and I think it manifested into resentment for you.”

Yumiko felt the tears welling in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Ranma. I’m sorry, and I know you’ll never forgive me for all the shit I’ve done, but I’m sorry.”

She bit back another choking sob. “Our relationship, so hastily arranged, fell apart almost immediately. We fought constantly, and I was so obsessed with proving myself to be a better father and man than my old man ever was. I got this really stupid fucking idea of making us sign an honor contract. I would raise you to be the best man ever, the manliest man who ever existed among men, and if I failed… I would clear the world of the last of the Saotome family, and erase our filthy stain from history.”

She sighed. “I put you into a position you shouldn’t have been, and all the things I’ve done on our training trip merely made it worse,” She said, her voice miserable.

“Yes,” Ranma said, nodding. “I don’t think I can forgive you yet, P- Yumiko. But, it makes a lot of sense, and if this is who you really are, and who you wanna be, then I’ll support you. For better or worse, you’re still… my parent.”

Ranma looked uncomfortable for a minute before sighing. “We’re gonna need a long time before you and I are on good terms like that,” He said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t still love you, but between both of us being in therapy and the fact there’s still probably a whole bunch of shit you’ve done that we barely know the consequence of, and… the fact you lied to me about my mother being dead…”

Ranma took his head quickly. “Now is not the time, I can’t… I can’t forgive you yet. But your secret is safe with me.”

Yumiko wrung her hands. “What if I don’t want it to be a secret anymore?”

Ranma looked at her with surprise, before taking a deep breath. “I’ll be standing right there with ya. If this is what’s going to make you better, then that’s fine.”

“I’ll do anything I can to make amends, Ranma. I promise,” Yumiko said.

“I’m sure you will,” Ranma said. “I’ve gotta get back to Akane and her friends. Are you going to be alright, Yumiko?”

Yumiko sniffled some and straightened herself up. “Yes, I think I’ll be okay,” she said softly. “Go have fun with your friends, Ranma.”

Ranma gave her a soft, if a bit wan smile, and gently squeezed her hand before he stood up and walked away. Yumiko quickly made her way to the nearest women’s restroom and freshened herself up.

“That went better than I thought it would,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. Nobody knows me here, they can’t make it hurt any more than it already does.”

Afterwards, she spent some more time puttering around the mall before making her way back to the train station. She decided that now was the only time she’d have the courage to go through with it and let the real her shine through a bit.

Stepping off the platform at Furinkan, she weaved her way through the roads towards the Tendou Dojo, and stopped at the gate, grimacing and hesitating. What if they rejected her? She’d been so terrible to them, how could… she ever look them in the eye?

“Fuck this,” she said, gritting her teeth, and pushing through the gate doors. She wasn’t going to give up now—she needed to fucking grow a pair and just do what made her happy, and damn the bitterness that had creeped into her heart for so long. The distance between the outer gate and the front door of the home was almost like a thousand yards, but she knew it was far less. Every click and clack of her heels made her heart jitter just a bit more.

What if Nanami called her weak, just like the Master had? Threatened to ban her from practicing unless she put it all away again?

The next thing she knew in her stupor, was her collapsing to her knees in front of Nanami.

“I can’t pretend anymore. I can’t… please forgive me,” she sobbed. She grew increasingly incoherent, much to the surprised shock of the entire family.

Nanami gripped Yumiko’s shoulders. “Saotome, please stop crying. It’ll be okay,” She murmured quietly. “Come on, there’s a girl.”

“I’ve disgraced myself and the Art.”

“Have you?” Nanami asked quietly.

“The Master told me I was… a degenerate, a pervert,” Yumiko said, keeping her eyes shut. “That I was a disgrace,”

“Saotome,” Nanami said. “You disgraced yourself by taking out your anger and frustration out on a child. However, mistakes are made, and can be healed with enough time and effort to do the right thing. I… will admit I am a little surprised to meet the real you like this, but I’m sure you had your reasons.”

Nanami gently picked Yumiko up and set her back on her bare feet, and, from seemingly nowhere, conjured some tissues for her. Yumiko dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose and sniffled.

“Are you happy this way?” Nanami asked, resolutely. Yumiko nodded miserably.

“Are you going to be a better person?” Nanami asked, and Yumiko nodded again.

“Then so long as you are true to yourself, and you make an effort to amend that which you have damaged, you will always remain a student of my discipline.”

“I’ll- I’ll make you proud, sensei,” Yumiko murmured.

“I know you will. I wouldn’t have come this far, and given you such mercy in our challenge if I didn’t see the good person you were underneath. Again, I didn’t quite expect this, but I’m happy you’ve found your happiness.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Y-” Yumiko said with a hiccup. “Yumiko,”

Nanami grinned. “Yumiko, I’m proud of you for doing what is right, rather than what is easiest. I think today is the start of a whole new life for you, one that’ll be a lot less painful than the one you left behind.”

Yumiko was nearly to tears again, feeling all the years of repressed emotions finally starting to let loose. She knew that she wasn’t well-liked still, but she could work with that.

Ranma gave her a small, but encouraging smile, with a nod—as did Kasumi.

The elder Tendou daughter walked over and gently took Yumiko’s hand and grasped it in between hers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Auntie Yumiko,” Kasumi said softly. “Welcome home.”

Nothing more was said as Yumiko bawled her eyes out on Kasumi’s shoulder. It was catharsis, everyone realized—well-deserved and well-earned catharsis. Maybe now, things would settle down for good, and everyone could get on with life.

In the days that followed, everyone noted that Yumiko’s pleasant attitude was now even more pleasant, though she spent hours on end doing research on the family computer trying to come up with information about what her next steps were—though she did get frequent favorable comments from Nanami and Kasumi about her makeup.

“Auntie,” Kasumi said a couple days later. “I was thinking about it, and with how much you’ve slimmed down lately, there might be a few of my old dresses that might fit you?”

Kasumi was the tallest person in the family, standing head and shoulders above everyone except for Ranma when he was in boy-form. Much like her mother before her, Kasumi stood well above average for a Japanese woman of her age-- standing at a commanding 178 centimeters in a nation where the average woman stood 158 centimeters.

“You… you’d give them to me?”

“Of course I would,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “I can’t imagine you’ve got a wide selection of fashion to pick from, and Ranma has already picked through some of what I have for himself, so…”

“I’d be honored,” Yumiko said quietly. “Thank you, Kasumi.”

Of course, despite her habit of wearing Kasumi’s old dresses every day, her newly discovered femininity absolutely did not deter Yumiko from her training. Most mornings before she started her morning ablutions and transformation, she took to sparring with Ranma with new vim and vigor. She had even helped contribute to Nabiki’s sparring practices, walking her through some of the most basic fundamentals of the Saotome school (with Nanami’s blessing and supervision).

Just before Christmas, as the family settled down for an early lunch cooked by Ranma, their musings were interrupted by two individuals vaulting over the wall of the Tendou Dojo.

One of them was a tall, buxom blue-haired woman. She had a large yellow flower ornament in her hair, along with a red hairband piece that divided her bangs and her long, voluminous locks-- she was wearing a long green and red dress with armored pieces reinforcing her outfit. She was joined by a much shorter woman with lavender hair done up in buns that parted her hair like curtains on both sides of her face, plus some pink-and-white tunic and trousers with armored pieces too.

“Ha, finally! By the creator, do you know how hard it has been to track you down?” the older of the two women said, shaking her head.

Everyone looked at each other uncertainly.

“I’m being rude, my apologies,” the woman said, bowing deeply. “My name’s Cologne, and this is my niece, Shampoo.”

“Ni hao!” Shampoo chirped happily.

“It took some time, but we eventually figured out that a certain Ranma Saotome lives here, which means that… Genma Saotome lives here. He has to,” she said, eyes scanning the group of people, still stunned, sitting at a table. Her eyes locked with Yumiko, who had gone pale, tears in her eyes.

Cologne blinked. “You’re…?”

“Gen- uh, Yumiko, what exactly is going on?” Nanami asked, furrowing her brow. “Who are these people?”

“I promised I’d… fix the problems I caused,” Yumiko said quietly, before standing up.

“I… I’m Genma Saotome, or well, I used to be. Um… you see, I’m… I’m a transwoman,” Yumiko said nervously.

Cologne blinked again, before she started laughing, her voice sounding to Yumiko’s ears like melodic bells ringing. She darted forward, wrapping Yumiko in her arms and spinning her around, laughing.

“Oh, you perfect, perfect idiot! I could kiss you!” Cologne crowed.

“You- you can?”

“Of course I can!” Cologne grinned. “It was never the Kiss of Marriage I had a problem with, you idiot! It was marrying a man, and being stuck in that dead-end village! I’m free now, and you… you’re a woman! This is perfect!”

Yumiko was still confused, as was everyone else.

“Um, could someone please explain what the hell is going on here?” Nabiki asked, looking confused.

“As I said, my name is Cologne-- I come from a village deep in the heart of Qinghai, part of a tribe of warrior women called Joketsuzoku,” she began. “Every year, we have a Festival of the Sun, where the finest warriors in the tribe compete for great honor, plus a literal feast of food we just harvested.”

She snorted. “So while the tournament is going on, I’m finishing up the last round. Just as I knock the last person off this big log we have in the center of town, I look over at my prize, and I see a man and a teenaged girl eating it, looking like they hadn’t had anything to eat in years.”

Ranma and Yumiko looked sheepish.

“I… I understand now, thinking about what they might have just gone through to get as far as they had, but I was so angry at them stealing my prize, I challenged the outsider male to combat, as he was the elder of the two. He accepted, and… well, he beat me. Only because I made a foolish mistake and left myself exposed. In any case, because he defeated me, custom in my tribe dictates I give him the Kiss of Marriage. However, before we could be wed, he and the girl, escaped.”

She sighed dramatically. “The Elders were understandably pissed off, and ordered me to go catch my husband and bring him back to the tribe. I’ve hated living there for so long, I figured now was the perfect time to get away. I grabbed my niece and we both left to fulfill this mission, but we’ve mostly just been following behind these two at a leisurely pace. They lost us in Hong Kong, and it’s been hell trying to figure out where they went.”

“What exactly do you want, now that you’re here?” Nabiki asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Honestly?” Cologne said. “A new life. Something to break free from what my life used to be. Shampoo and I have been talking about getting into a restaurant or something. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, even as a little girl.”

“What do you want from me?” Yumiko asked carefully.

“Well,” Cologne said. “I don’t know. By customs of my tribe, we’re technically engaged to one another, but I know it doesn’t work like that in Japan. However, that said… you’re quite… fetching like this,”

Yumiko blushed red.

“You have a… panda curse, right?” Cologne asked. Yumiko nodded, grimacing.

“I might be able to reach out to the Guide and see if he can’t send a cask of Nyannichuan for you,” Cologne said with a grin. “You’d be quite a perfect wife, if you’d give it a chance.”

“Oh my god,” Yumiko said quietly, face turning red.

“I’m sorry, I’m being flirty-- I should be a little more respectful,” Cologne said, stepping back. “I can’t help it. I come from a people who are very sensual, even if they can’t understand not wanting a fucking husband.”

Cologne took a deep breath. “Could we… go on a date, you and I?” She asked.

“You want to date me?” Yumiko said.

“Of course, I do,” Cologne said, as if it were a universal fact.

“I think you should go, my old friend,” Soun said with a smile. “Find yourself a little slice of happiness. It’ll be good for you. Besides, I think Cologne is very genuine in her interest.”

“I am, so very much. Just look at these muscles,” she said, gently wrapping her hand around Yumiko’s arm and squeezing her bicep. “When I thought she was a man, I was almost willing to grudgingly resign myself to it with a little bit of getting him into shape, but… now? I’m so very eager to see what becomes of this beautiful creature.”

“Okay, you win,” Yumiko said.

“Shampoo and I have already found a place to set up, so we need to go take care of the arrangements of settling into that first, but shall I pick you up this evening? Say, around seven?” Cologne asked, and Yumiko nodded meekly.

“Do you have something… dress-y to wear?” Cologne asked, and Yumiko nodded again.

“Wonderful! Then in that case, my love, I will see you at seven. Until then,” Cologne said, gently closing in the distance between herself and Yumiko, and kissing her deeply. The kiss lasted a few moments before she pulled back.

“Bye!” she said, her and Shampoo leaping over the wall and disappearing from sight completely.

“Holy shit,” Yumiko murmured. “What just happened?”

“You just got yourself a girlfriend,” Nanami said with a shit-eating grin on her face. “Good job!”

…

Yumiko was feeling a little tingly at the prospect she had a date as she patiently waited for her… betrothed? Wife? Intended? What was the proper wording for that? To arrive.

“How does my wig look? Is it on straight? How about my makeup?” She asked nervously.

“Yumiko, calm down,” Soun said gently. “You know as well as I do that there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I know, but… I have to make a good impression,” Yumiko said. “She thinks that I’m pretty, and I have no idea how to deal with that.”

“I’m so happy to see you like this,” Soun said with a chuckle. “A little confidence to start being yourself and you’re a whole new person.”

“It’s the fact I’m not constantly drunk and wanting to claw my skin off,” Yumiko said gruffly.

“There ya go,” Soun said, grinning. “I’m sure she’ll adore you.”

“Thanks,” Yumiko said, gently adjusting her padding and looking at herself critically in the mirror. The dress was one of Kasumi’s nicer hand-me-downs, a black number that came to just above Yumiko’s knees. It flattered her as best as it could, and she only hoped she was pretty enough for Cologne.

She heard knocking on the front door and gasped. She made her way to the door and opened it, revealing Cologne standing in the doorway.

“Well, hello, darling,” Cologne said. “You look positively delicious!”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Yumiko said, blushing. “Give me just a moment, would you please?”

She stepped into the same pair of black heels she’d been wearing earlier that day, and fastened them. She then stood in front of Cologne and posed. “There, the whole ensemble.”

“Radiant,” Cologne said with a grin, offering her arm.

They ended up at where Cologne would soon be open for business-- it was a sizable restaurant building with a kitchen and an upstairs apartment setting. The dining room of the restaurant was open, and there was one set table that hadn’t been shoved off to the side, with two chairs. The room was dimly lit, and candles were set on the table, giving a perfect romantic illumination.

“Oh my goodness,” Yumiko said.

“It was a little sudden to get reservations at a restaurant, but Shampoo and I do quite well at cooking up something nice,” she said warmly, before pulling out Yumiko’s chair and gently letting her sit down and pushing her chair in for her. Yumiko was bewildered—she was getting the most delicate and loving treatment she’d ever gotten on a date in her life.

She was the woman! On a date! With another woman! Holy shit!

She started chuckling to herself, squeezing her arms around her chest.

Cologne simply gave her a smile.

“I’m sorry,” Yumiko said between stifled giggles. “I’m… just so happy… it just hit me, I’m a woman! On a date with another woman! That’s… that’s just amazing!”

“Oh yes,” Cologne said dryly. “I have found that dating other women is very much the more pleasant experience than dating men.”

“Oh?” Yumiko said, curious.

“Yes, women are so much more pleasant to look at. Even in our tribe, men… just don’t pique any little bit of my curiosity,” she said with a chuckle. “I could wax poetic about how much I adore women for some time, but I won’t bore you with my ramblings.”

Cologne leaned forward. “So, your name is Yumiko?”

“Yes,” Yumiko said blushing. “It’s the name that… I first used on the stage. It’s a very painful story, I’m not sure I really want to rehash it right now, it’s been a rather tiring few weeks where the whole therapy thing is concerned. Suffice it to say, I… first called myself Yumiko when I was working the stage at a hostess bar when I was 15, and leave it at that.”

“Understandable, well, it is a very pretty name for a girl like you,” Cologne said softly. “I won’t pry much into your life, since it’s so painful. Do you have any hobbies or things you like to do?”

Yumiko winced. “I guess I don’t, other than my passion for martial arts. I think I might like to get into modeling or something later on, but I’m getting older and some of the logistics of transitioning just seem very daunting. It’ll be years before I see any results once I go on the proper medication.”

Cologne gently reached out and patted Yumiko’s hand. “We’ll fix that, baby, don’t you worry one bit,”

Yumiko blushed. “Thank you.”

Shampoo served their meals, it was a very delectable dish, native to their village.

“Oh, it smells divine!” Yumiko said happily. “Your niece is an impeccable cook.”

“She’s quite talented,” Cologne said with a grin. “She doesn’t quite share the same passion in the culinary arts as I do, but she certainly enjoys spending time in the kitchen with me. After her parents died, I took care of her and tried to do my best to raise her without the harmful influence of the village elders. I ended up becoming a mother without even trying,”

“Oh, I had Ranma when I was young myself,” Yumiko said wincing. “I haven’t spoken to his mother in… many years,”

Cologne nodded. “I’m sure you’re trying your best to clean up the mess of all that, did you two ever form a legal union?”

“No, she was too young,” Yumiko said with a sigh. “But I still need to have some kind of closure with her so I don’t have to deal with the fact that I left this little girl to rot on her own.”

Cologne nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“How are you so okay with me… with all my problems? I’m a wreck, and a terrible human being,” Yumiko asked, surprised.

“It’s not always impossible to form a good person out of a troubled person. I’m sure you’ll get much better with time, and I’m more than willing to be by your side the whole time, if that’s what you want,” Cologne said with a smile. “I like you, Yumiko. Simple as that-- you’re strong, and very pretty.”

“Fuck,” Yumiko said, biting her lip. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to constantly cast doubt on it, it just seems very surreal someone like you would follow me all the way from China just to… tell me you like me. It just kinda blows my mind?”

“Good!” Cologne said with a grin. “That’s exactly what I want,” She gently reached across the table and ran her hand down Yumiko’s cheek, earning another very sharp blush.

After dinner was finished, and some light wine was consumed, Cologne smiled and stood up from the table, walking around the table and gently offering a hand to Yumiko who accepted. Cologne helped her up from the table.

“How about you and I retire for the evening?” Cologne asked wryly.

“Oh, my,” Yumiko said. “Are you sure?”

“We’ll see how it goes,” Cologne said happily, before wrapping her arms around Yumiko’s waist and kissing her deeply, earning a squeak of surprise and a happy moan from the other woman.

…

“I’m so happy we’re all getting better,” Kasumi confided in Ranma as they lay cuddled together in the nude. It was a big step for them, a new form of intimacy they had been debating about for some time now, but both had gotten the confidence to advance to this stage.

“Yumiko is finally out and might just have a new wife, my father is taking his health more seriously, you’re in much better spirits than you’ve ever been since you moved in… it makes me so happy!”

“I know what you mean,” Ranma said, gently smiling.

“Maybe soon Akane and Nabiki will both get their romantic lives untangled and figure out what they want,” Kasumi said with a giggle.

“They deserve some happiness too,” Ranma said.

“Mmm, you know,” Kasumi said, nuzzling closer, gently draping her arm over Ranma’s hips. “You’re so very pretty,”

“So are you,” Ranma said as Kasumi gently nuzzled his neck.

They both sighed and enjoyed the physical contact. Ranma loved the feeling of Kasumi’s breasts pressing into his back, and Kasumi loved having a hand draped over Ranma, able to gently grope anywhere she wanted to. They had been so cautious at first, uncertain on if their relationship would go anywhere, and now, just a scant few months later, Kasumi was certain what she and Ranma were feeling was blossoming into love.

“I feel love drunk sometimes,” Kasumi admitted. “Life can get kind of boring and then it’s like, there’s nothing more to do than dote on how much I like you.”

“I feel the same way,” Ranma said with a snort. “I guess it’s just because we’re in a rhythm and we see so much of each other. You’re working on your entrance exams for university, I’m working on high school, we eat meals together and we just kind of coast through our days like that. These Amazons will shake things up a bit, even if it means I have… like, a new step-parent or something weird like that.”

“Cologne seems nice—even if she might be a bit of a nymphomaniac,” Kasumi said with a laugh. “I think having someone who is willing to look past the worst bits of your… parent, and be able to show them the unbiased affection they need that most of us can’t because of our colored experiences, then well… all the power to her, it’ll be a nice healing mechanism, probably.”

“Maybe,” Ranma said with a hum. “I like how chill she’s become about me experimenting.”

“Well, it’d be terribly hypocritical of her, wouldn’t it? She gets to run around in a skirt and tights and you’re not allowed to?”

“Yeah, fair enough—but at least we didn’t have a shouting match about it!” Ranma said.

“Speaking of, there is a thing at Christmas that you might be interested in. Every year, my sisters and I do a sort of performance at our annual Christmas party. We were wondering if you were interested in joining this year.”

“Me? Oh, I can’t sing for shit,” Ranma said, blushing. “At all.”

“Don’t worry about that so much, it’s just for fun,” Kasumi said with a grin.

“Hmm, fine—I guess I could participate,” Ranma said. “I dunno about prancing around on a stage, but I guess if it makes you happy, I’ll do it.”

“You’re such a devoted boyfriend,” Kasumi said playfully.

“Yeah, and you’d better not forget it,” Ranma muttered, snorting.

…

Akane never thought she’d look at another girl like that, but that Shampoo girl… it was like something straight of Akane’s most vibrant fantasies. She didn’t even know the girl and yet here she was unable to stop thinking about that girl’s strong arms around her. She’d never met a boy that gave her nearly that kind of feeling, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. It was both terrifying and amazing all at the same time and it twisted her guts up in a big knot.

Was the other girl even into other girls? If she was, then maybe Akane would have a chance with her, if she asked. But she had absolutely no confidence in asking that very pretty girl out. Sayuri and Yuka made it look easy, with how well they clicked together as a couple, but Akane felt like she was adrift at sea with no life preserver.

“I need to call Sayuri and ask her about it,” Akane grumbled to herself. “She’s always been a well of good advice for dealing with this stupid crap. I’ve got too much to deal with, preparing for the Christmas party to worry about it.”

Looking at the clock on her nightstand, it was still early enough to expect Sayuri might still be up.

After a bit of ringing, the phone was picked up. “Hey, Akane, what’s up?”

“I’m gay, Sayuri.”

“… Congratulations, so am I?” Sayuri’s voice was mirthful.

“No, I mean like, I’m gay, Sayuri. I just met an amazing girl today, and she’s been occupying my thoughts all day.”

“Oh you got the gay hard, didn’t you?” Sayuri’s voice was sympathetic. “Well, go ahead, gush about her.”

“She’s this really well-built Chinese girl… lavender hair, really tight muscles, and just the way she filled out her armor… it made me a little weak,”

“Ooh, so you’re into the big strong type? Can’t say I’m surprised,” Sayuri giggled. “Akane, if there’s anybody at Furinkan who has been the most obvious about their sexuality, it was you. I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to realize it.”

“I thought it was just like, crushes! I’ve had a thing for you and Yuka for years, and I’ve never acted on it.”

“I’m flattered that you’d jump my bones, but yeah, it sounds like you’re smitten in the most lesbian way possible—you’re flailing around over it.”

“What do I do?”

“What do you do? Just ask her out, you dork,” she said. “The girl can’t be Miss Aloof Ice Queen if you’ve already met her.”

“I dunno who she is, other than that her… mom, or whatever, came to talk to Ranma and his… parent,”

“Ah, well, then ask them about the girl. Maybe they’ll help get you two together?” Sayuri suggested. “It’s not impossible for you to find her, I’m sure of that.”

“But then what do I do?”

“Ask her out. Hi, random Chinese girl. I think you’re hot. Lesbian gremlin brain is telling me to date you. Will you take me out to dinner and maybe go muff diving afterwards. Please take pity on this poor dyke’s heart.”

“Sayuri, you’re not taking this seriously!”

“You’re taking it too seriously. Just get to know her, ask her out, and then smooch her! That’s how lesbianism works. You can worry about the sex part much later. Even Yuka and I haven’t quite gotten past clumsily touching each other, and I am far from a sex guru.”

Akane closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You’re right, I’m just being super weird about it because she makes me feel funny inside. Like… I’ve never felt this way about anybody before.”

“That’s good, maybe she’s your one. That’d be really cool!” Sayuri suggested. “Just, trust me. Find out who she is, and then go ask her out. Take her out to dinner, or to the park or something. Be yourself, don’t try to be Miss Suave, you’re too much of a dork for that anyway.”

“Fuck you!” Akane said, laughing.

“Sorry, my ass is already claimed by my girlfriend, can’t,” Sayuri said, laughing.

“Well, thanks for your help, Sayuri. I feel better,” Akane said.

“You’re welcome, Akane. Good luck!”

“Bye,” Akane said, hanging up the phone. She stood silently in her room for a minute and stretched. She’d really have to ask, uh, Miss Saotome about Shampoo. Maybe she could give her some idea of where she lived and… how she could ask her out. But in the mean time, she was feeling really pent up, and the dream of the muscled Chinese Amazon touching her all over kept Akane distracted for the rest of the evening.

Notes:

I will note that I am at the end of my Late May Writing Marathon. I will... likely be taking some time off to recuperate and get my bearings back before starting writing again. Don't worry one bit about it c:

Chapter 6: Turn the Gay Up To Eleven

Summary:

And this is the part where we crank the gay up to eleven

When Yumiko woke again, the feeling that settled across her almost felt like an ecstasy-driven haze. How… had things gotten so good so fast? Only a couple months ago she had been in a terrible fugue of drunken self-hatred and vindictive cyclical toxic masculinity, and now here she was, cuddled naked into a tall, buxom warrior’s arms, feeling every part of the woman she truly was, and always yearned to be seen as.

“I’ll send a letter out today,” Cologne said assuringly, gently tracing her fingers along Yumiko’s sun-kissed shoulder, before curling her arms around Yumiko’s flat torso. “A cask of Nyannichuan is exactly what you need.”

“But I have that panda curse,” Yumiko said, grimacing at the thought of being a big female panda. “Won’t that interfere with it?”

“Jusenkyo magic isn’t completely understood, but the Joketsuzoku use animal curses as a punishment for failure—we’ve seen that using gendered springs can cure animal curses. It’s not a perfect science, but magic isn’t science,” Cologne responded.

“You’re too kind to me,” Yumiko said, softly, not looking Cologne in the eye, instead keeping her eyes to an indeterminate spot on the wall. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do with myself now. Do I keep practicing the art and eventually regain my mastery, or do I throw in the towel, leave that sort of thing to Ranma and find something else to do with my life, or what?”

“You can do whatever you want—what do you like about being a martial artist?” Cologne asked curiously.

“It feels… freeing,” Yumiko said thoughtfully. “I think that’s the best word to describe it.”

“I could speak to your grandmistress; see if she’s willing to be flexible on your training. If we’re going to commit to this whole engagement thing, I have some things that you might be interested in learning,” Cologne said with a satisfied smirk. “That’ll really stick an ear of maize right up the Elders’ tailpipes.”

“You don’t get along with them?” Yumiko asked, glancing up at Cologne’s tight facial expression.

“So-so. I’m technically a Junior Elder myself, but I’m kind of the runt of the litter, and they treat me like that, never mind that I’ve been Village Champion since I assumed the duties of head of my household,” Cologne said bitterly. “They’re stuck in their old ways, and the world is passing them by with no remorse, and they’ll realize that one day when the village all leave for greener pastures, or die off.”

“Nanami has said something similar about Anything Goes,” Yumiko said with a nod. “Her grandfather’s methods were stagnant and… were driving away a lot of really good potential talent.”

She took a deep breath. “I really can’t disagree with that, either. The old man trained me and Soūn. I think Ranma, for his part, probably would have walked away from it all if pushed down that same path that we’d been pushed, and as it is, the Tendō girls had all effectively given up Anything Goes before Nanami’s intervention. She’s even managed to convince Nabiki to pick it back up again. Some change has done us good. The stagnation was choking the art to death.”

“Martial art doesn’t have to be blood-feuds and death battles all the time, nor does it have to be purely blood, sweat and questionable decisions. It can be… your form of physical therapy, it can be a hobby, it can be whatever you want, as long as you have the discipline and learn to practice regularly,” Cologne said. “The last thing someone should do is fall face-first into the warrior ‘my art is my life’ dilemma because then, down that path, lay throwing yourself into peril and getting killed.”

Yumiko looked thoughtful about that before nodding in agreement. “Some of the learning methods I’ve seen on the road with Ranma should be banned forever,” she said quietly. “About ten years ago, when we were making our way across Shikoku, I came across this man who promised to sell me the most powerful training technique ever. It was called the Cat’s Fist.”

Yumiko’s face darkened. “Obsessed with power and making my son the strongest, of course, I decided that I would teach it to him. One of the first steps is to have the learner dig a large hole, taller than they were, and about six feet in diameter. While Ranma was digging it, I re-read it to make sure I had the instructions correct. The last two pages were stuck together, and… the descriptions of the exact price you’d pay in penance for learning this technique were so haunting and horrifying.”

She choked a bit and took a deep breath. It took her a moment to find her words again, but when she did, they came out very slowly and softly. “That was probably the first time I felt… genuine remorse for what I was doing to my son. I’d nearly lost him to this stupid fucking idea. So, I threw the pamphlet in the fire, and swore never to tell Ranma the truth. To this day, he merely thinks he failed to dig the hole fast enough. I haven’t had the heart to tell him just how much of a terrible person I nearly was.”

“You should tell him,” Cologne said impassively. “Honestly, I think he’d understand it, particularly with you trying to turn over a new leaf? It’d probably be good for the two of you.”

“I’m a terrible person,” Yumiko said listlessly, staring at nothing. There were no tears to shed, only an admission of a truth she’d come to accept.

“You’re a human being,” Cologne said. “You’ve made a lot of mistakes, sure, but you can learn from them, can’t you? Is there anything else you’ve done to Ranma that’ll come haunting your door?”

Yumiko sat up, a jolt of fear in her eyes. “Too many things. The Tendō family wasn’t the last family I promised a marriage proposal with.”

Cologne gave her a raised eyebrow and a gesture to continue.

“There was… this Kuonji kid in Osaka. We were almost out of food, and I was really desperate. I promised Ranma’s hand in marriage to his kid in exchange for his okonomiyaki cart. Then there was this couple who were on a spiritual journey to the Ise Shrine. I promised Ranma to their daughter in exchange for a rice-and-pickle dinner.”

“Are arranged marriages common in Japan?” Cologne asked, curiously.

“Not really. At least… not these days, you know, it’s the nineties,” Yumiko said thoughtfully. “Omiai are far less common now than back when my parents would’ve been born, and there’s really no legal standing for any of the arranged marriages I’ve made. They might claim honor is involved, but…”

“Honor is relative,” Cologne said with a huff. “I’d say out of the two of those scenarios, the okonomiyaki cart people might have a stronger case to make against you in the grand scheme of things. That was probably that man’s livelihood, and his child’s future away from poverty. It could be construed as theft if nothing else.”

Yumiko sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I sold the yatai to someone else a few weeks later for wood scrap, and to pay for another week’s worth of rice and some really awful meat. How much does a yatai cost anyway?”

“Well, if the situation ever comes up, there are some options. I won’t let you deal with it alone, and I doubt anyone else will either,” Cologne said firmly. “We’ll get everything sorted out.”

“Think of it this way, Yu,” Cologne said softly. “If he tries to press charges against you for stealing his yatai, there could be concerns about his fitness as a father, and he could lose custody of his child.”

“That might be why he’s never filed anything about it,” Yumiko murmured, rubbing her cheek thoughtfully, grimacing at the prickly stubble that was beginning to crop up there.

The sooner she got a cask of Nyannichuan, the better.

…

“Akane, it’s just a telephone,” Nabiki admonished her sister. “You’ve been staring at it for twenty minutes.”

“But what if she-”

“Then you’ll have to move on,” Nabiki said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “You’ll never know if she’d date you or not unless you actually ask her out. You can’t just go around assuming nobody wants to mack on your face.”

“Nabiki,” Akane whined.

“Akane,” Nabiki retorted, tapping her foot. “Do it! She’s from a matriarchal society, she’s either super gay or she’s not. It won’t kill you to find out.”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Akane said, pouting as she picked up the phone. Yumiko had added the number for Cologne and Shampoo’s upstairs apartment into the address book—along with a folded up menu for the Nekohanten. She dialed the number to her crush’s apartment and waited patiently.

A voice popped over the line. “Hello?”

“Hello, this is Akane Tendō. Can I speak to Shampoo?”

“Ah! Hello, Akane! Of course, you can speak to her. Let me go get her,” Cologne said.

There were a few beats of silence before another voice came over the line.

“Hello?”

“Shampoo!” Akane said, a blush crossing her face. “Hi, um, it’s Akane. We met when you came to visit Auntie Yumiko the other day.”

“Oh yeah! Hi,” Shampoo said brightly. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering, um,” Akane said, twirling her finger up in the telephone cord. “Would you want to go see a movie tomorrow night?”

“Oh! A movie! Yes, please!” Shampoo said. “I think the last time I saw a movie was many years ago when Auntie took me to one of the big cities for the weekend. What were you thinking about seeing?”

Akane grinned some—the hardest part was over. “I was thinking about either going to see The Phantom Menace, Austin Powers or the new Pocket Monsters movie. The former two of those are American movies, and the last one’s a big franchise here in Japan. Have you ever heard of it?”

“Pocket Monsters?” Shampoo said, confused. “I haven’t had much exposure to… pop culture. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s alright. We’ll see either Austin Powers or Phantom Menace then. I’ll introduce you to Pocket Monsters another time,” Akane said, smiling softly to herself. “Would you mind if I surprised you?”

“Sure,” Shampoo said. “I’ll meet you at your place? Around seven?”

“Sounds good to me,” Akane said, her smile growing into a grin. “See you then! Bye!”

She placed the phone in the receiver and turned to her sister. She wrapped her up and a hug and lifted her clean off the ground. “I have a date with her!”

“Akane I was standing right here, I could hear your entire conversation! Please put me down!” Nabiki said, flailing wildly as Akane lifted her in the air. After being set back down, she flashed Akane a look before straightening herself up.

“I hope you both have a fantastic time,” she said with a wink. “Don’t spend the whole movie smooching.”

“Nabiki!” Akane said, flushing red with a blush.

…

“Nabiki told me that Akane asked Shampoo out,” Kasumi said as she slowly got dressed for the day. “Poor thing was so nervous about being turned down.”

“Good for her,” Ranma said, still sitting in his fiancée’s bed, clearly staring at her body with a smile on his face. “Given how nice Cologne is, I bet they’ll have a wonderful time together.”

“No doubt,” Kasumi said with a snort. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Can I help you, Mister Saotome? Staring at me like the little pervert you are?”

“Me? A pervert? Why, ma’am, what an insult,” Ranma said wisely, sticking his nose up at her. “I’m not a pervert, I’m merely a… fine enjoyer of women.”

“If you want a free show, go take a cold bath.”

“No, that’s for you to get a free show, Miss Tendō,” Ranma said smugly.

“The more comfortable you’ve gotten, the cheekier you’ve become,” Kasumi observed. “I like it, but don’t get cocky. I can still kick your ass.”

“You say that like I have a problem with that. I love a woman who can beat my ass,” Ranma said with a grin. “You should’ve met my first girlfriend.”

“You had a girlfriend? Bullshit!” Kasumi said, spinning on heel to look at her fiancé. “You were practically catatonic the first time you saw my tits.”

“Well, we were thirteen, so it wasn’t like there was a whole lot of anything going on in that department,” Ranma said with a snort. “No, so, back when pig-breath and I were having our bread feud, there was this school on the far side of town that only accepted girls. Well, the place where our renter was at the time took me right past it every day. That’s where I met Natsuko.”

“Natsuko?” Kasumi said, amusement in her voice. “Should I be jealous?”

“It was a short fling when I was thirteen on the other side of the country. Of course you shouldn’t be jealous. Natsuko could kick my ass, but she was such a tsundere. One minute she’d be offering me flowers and prosaic poetry, the next, she’d be slugging me in the jaw and running off calling me an idiot. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since Yumiko threw my ass over her shoulder and booked it out of town.”

“So you have a thing for strong women, then?” Kasumi said with a snort as she buttoned her blouse up.

“Yeah, but I also have a thing for tall, leggy girls with big-”

Ranma’s statement was smothered when Kasumi pressed her hand over his mouth.

“You can talk about how much you love my tits another time, Ranma. Now come on, we were supposed to visit the museum today, and I’m not going to wait around for you to figure out what exactly you want to wear. Boy or girl day today?”

“I think today’s a boy day,” Ranma said idly, before standing up and walking over to the closet he was sharing with his fiancée. He dug around a bit before pulling out a sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. It was a very casual outfit, but it wasn’t too casual. It had been the new paradigm of Ranma’s fashion sense ever since he’d been converted to the altar of shopping trips—one of the many small adjustments he’d made since he’d been increasingly domesticated after so long on the road.

The late December day was chilling everyone to the bone, the skies above a dreary grey overcast. The weather report had said something about a minute chance for precipitation—though for now, the skies held. The young couple sought refuge from the sharp chill of the day in the heated train compartments on their way to the photography museum in Shibuya.

After a thirty-five-minute train ride from Nerima to Ebisu in which they warmed their hands together and enjoyed each other’s closeness, it was a trivial ten-minute walk together from the train station down to the museum in question, which stood attached to a large shopping center.

“I saw the news report when they first opened it,” Kasumi said happily as they paid and made their way into the museum. “It wasn’t convenient to get to, and I never had time. But once they moved it to the Garden Place, I’ve been dying to go.”

“I’ve never actually been to a museum,” Ranma admitted sheepishly.

“They’re a nice way to burn a few hours,” Kasumi said. “Not as lively as an arcade or a club, but nice enough. Besides, it gives us time to hang out in a stress-free environment. You get to walk around, look at a lot of really neat things, in this case, photography— and it’s quiet and thoughtful, almost serene, even.”

“Serenity can be nice sometimes,” Ranma said with a sigh. “I’ve had my fill of chaos, I think. Domesticity is kind of nice.”

“I feel like there’s a balance to be reached, or something like that. Too much domesticity and you get the absolutely mind-numbing life of a housemother-in-training, and not enough domesticity and you get… the great therapist bait that you call your childhood.”

Ranma snorted in amusement– that was the best way he knew of to describe his childhood.

“When was the last time you celebrated Christmas, Ranma?” Kasumi asked not too long afterwards as they looked at a beautiful colour photograph that adorned the wall of the museum.

“Oh, man, I don’t even remember. I think the last time I celebrated Christmas was back… I think when Mom was still around. So we’re talkin’ at least twelve years or so,” Ranma said, nodding.

“Twelve years? Why so long?” Kasumi asked, curious.

“We never had much money growing up, particularly after Yumiko moved us out of the apartment I remember from when I was little. Not havin’ no money for stuff was a big reason why we kept movin’ around while Yumiko was teachin’ me the art,” Ranma said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess Yumiko didn’t want ta disappoint me with nothin’ under the tree on Christmas Day. As it was, we were mostly livin’ by campfires and on the road by the time I finished middle school, and this is the first time I’ve actually lived in the city since I was a kid.”

“You should love Christmas here then,” Kasumi said with a bright smile, gently taking her fiancé’s hand and squeezing it. “Father puts on a massive neighborhood christmas party, a big to-do. It’s what everyone looks forward to every year.”

“You were telling me about that– you invited me to join your sisters to perform?” Ranma asked, eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t explain that well, did I? Every year the three of us sing some songs for everyone– it’s a tradition that’s sorta grown with us? At first it was just me singing Christmas songs I learned in school and from Mom… then it was Nabiki joining in because she always wanted to be right with me whenever I did stuff, and then Akane joined in. Mom used to tape them and keep copies of them every year. She really adored the fact that we got up there and were cute little kids for everyone. Ever since she died, we’ve been kind of keeping the tradition alive, by trying to entertain and make everyone happy and in a festive mood. I think if she were still around, she’d want you to join in too.”

Ranma blushed and scratched his cheek. “Are you sure? This sounds like a really personal kind of thing. I’m not a very good singer, either.” He said, his voice slightly wavering.

“I know that’s a lie because I’ve heard you singing in the bathing room. You’re just shy about it,” Kasumi said matter-of-factly, earning a squawk of protest from the cursed boy. “Besides, you promised already.”

“I did, didn’t I? Damn, you’re clever,” Ranma said with a roll of his eyes before he gently leaned in and kissed Kasumi on the cheek. “Are you going to make me the prettiest girl there, Miss Tendō?” He said lowly to her, earning a blush and a grin from the woman.

“If that’s what you wish,” Kasumi said quietly back, gently resting her head on Ranma’s shoulder. “You’ll look radiant. Not that you’re ever not radiant.”

“Shut up,” Ranma muttered, blushing.

…

“You want me to what?” Yumiko asked Soūn with wide eyes.

“I want you to be the hostess of our party,” Soūn said seriously. “I wouldn’t call it tradition or anything silly like that, but for years, Mariko served as the hostess of our parties. She was always a very lively person, keeping everyone engaged, coordinating the music and deejaying, and just being a very lively person. As much as I try, I’m really not that kind of person. I do best when I’m keeping an eye on things and intervening when people get a bit too sauced… and even then, Nanami can do that job if she wants to.”

“But, if your wife was the one who…” Yumiko trailed off, her voice still thick with shock.

“There is nobody I trust more to fill such an important role than you,” Soūn said honestly. “You’ll do a great job of it.”

“You don’t think people will be a little… unhappy with that? Japan isn’t exactly the most progressive place on Earth.”

“The Tendō Family Christmas Party isn’t held for the rest of the world, it’s a celebration of Furinkan every year. All of the neighbourhood comes around and enjoys a night free of conflict, and has a good time. There’s a little chaos, but chaos is good for the soul. You won’t be the first woman born a little different to be there, and if anybody has a problem with that, it’s at their own peril. There are plenty of martial artists who’ll be there that will turf their ass right out of my house.”

Yumiko gave him a bright smile. “I’d… I’d be honoured, Soūn, my old friend. I… thank you.”

Soūn rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave her a smile. “I’m happy to see you happy, Yu-chan. You’ve been lost in the haze for so long.”

“So-kun,” Yumiko said softly, recalling the nicknames they’d once shared in their intimate moments. “I’m glad to be home.”

“I am too,” Soūn laughed. “So, tell me, Cologne?”

“Nosy, aren’t you?” Yumiko said dryly, giving her best friend a glare. “If you must know, she is very gentle, and treats me like a princess.”

“As you so deserve, your highness,” Soūn said with a snicker.

“Watch your ass, Tendō. I can still beat your ass in every way under the sun,” Yumiko threatened.

“Care to back that threat up, Yu-chan?” Soūn said, gently twirling his mustache. “Shall I break out the Shogi board so you may prove your mettle?”

“Hmpf, arrogant little boy. I’ll go get some tea. Don’t break your hip, old man.”

“Old man!” Soūn exclaimed in disbelief. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, Saotome!”

Yumiko’s tittering was all he got in response, earning some rolled eyes and a snort of amusement.

…

Akane barely paid attention to the Phantom Menace, spending most of the evening stealing glances at her date. It wasn’t a very good movie, Akane realized early on. Between the… really stiff acting from the various actors translating into stiff vocal performances from the Japanese dub voice actors, the two girls found themselves bored stiff by the time little Anakin Skywalker flew a starfighter and blew up the droid control platform over Naboo.

Even the tremendous CGI performances that enraptured Shampoo couldn’t completely retain her interest, and Akane winced at the thought of her going home feeling disappointed. Deciding to do something she’d swore that only cheesy boys did in romance films, she reached brushed her hand against Shampoo’s inside the large tub of popcorn they were sharing, earning a blush from the girl in question.

Akane then leaned and gently draped her arm over Shampoo’s shoulder, earning a muted snicker from the girl in question, who glanced at her with a smirk. Ah– from the rural backwater she may be, but she was clearly aware of the ‘strategies’ many people used to smooch.

As Akane tried to pull her arm back, Shampoo’s iron grip came on her wrist and she was tugged back into the position. Shampoo clearly knew what she was doing, but didn’t seem to mind it at all.

The rest of the movie was spent with Akane hanging her arm over Shampoo’s shoulders, the other girl cuddling in as close as possible, leaving Akane in a perpetual state of heavy-blush. How had she managed to turn the tables on her so well?

When the movie finally let out, Akane let out a groan and covered her face. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it would be that bad. I should’ve taken you to see something else.”

“No, no, it’s fine. it was… an experience,” Shampoo said brightly, grinning ear to ear.

“The first trilogy was so much better,” Akane muttered.

“Honestly, I just enjoyed going to the movies with you,” Shampoo said. “Though you certainly seemed distracted enough,” she said softly.

“I might’ve been,” Akane said, looking away with a blush on her face. “You’re really pretty.”

Shampoo let out a small giggle. “You sound like you’re in awe about it. Is this the first time you’ve ever gone out with a girl?”

“Um… yeah, actually,” Akane said, turning red with embarassment. “I guess you’ve been out with girls before?”

“A couple times, not very often,” Shampoo said softly, gently taking Akane’s hand in her own. “We never had anything quite like this in the village. A proper date there was going to one of the nearby clearings and doing some stargazing. Here, there’s just so much to do.”

“Do you like it here in the city?” Akane asked.

“I do,” Shampoo replied, nodding. “But even though Āyí hates life in the village, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t like a lot of the traditions and the way things were just constantly the same, but I liked the Festival of the Sun and the tournaments and weekly ritual bonfires. I’ll miss those and maybe some of my friends but… life here’s more exciting! I’m excited to be part of all this.”

“Maybe some day soon I can convince Dad to let us all go to Disneyland,” Akane said brightly. “I haven’t been there in years. I think you and… probably Ranma too, now that I think about it, would have so much fun there.”

“I’ve seen pictures of Disneyland, but… actually going there?” Shampoo said, awe in her voice. “I think that’d be loads of fun!”

Eventually, they walked their way back to the local train station which took them back to Furinkan. After getting off the train, Akane walked with Shampoo to the front door of Cologne’s new restaurant– the Nekohanten. Akane thought that under the flashing neon lights of the Nekohanten, Shampoo’s already very soft cheeks and lips looked even better than they had when she’d first laid eyes on her.

“Come visit sometime,” Shampoo said, seriously. “I had a very good time tonight.”

“I’m glad you did, even if the movie was bad. Uh, I’ll… I’ll call you? If that’s okay?” Akane said nervously, earning a nod and a grin from Shampoo.

Just as Akane went to leave, she felt Shampoo grab her arm.

She found herself spun around and pulled into a kiss. The few moments in which the kiss was happening felt like almost an eternity to Akane, but as soon as they had kissed, it was gone again. and Shampoo was giving her a bright smile as she disappeared inside the Nekohanten.

Akane pressed her fingers to her lips, feeling the ghostly tingle of Shampoo’s lips on her own– and tasting the other girl’s flavored lipgloss. It made her feel a little weak in the knees, and she could feel her blush settling in at full blast.

Letting out a giggle of her own, Akane made her way back towards her house, feeling like she was floating on cloud nine.

On the walk home, she bundled her hands into the pocket of her coat and realized there was a slip of paper in them. ‘How did that get there’, she wondered. Pulling the slip of paper out, she noticed it was a small note.

“You can either call me or add me on AIM,” Shampoo had written hastily, and had included her screenname as well. She wondered if Shampoo had been planning to give her this all night, or if she was just that fast that she could scribble her details down quickly.

Tucking the paper back in her pocket, she couldn’t help but grin ear to ear at the butterflies flying around her stomach.

Nabiki was the one waiting for her as she returned home. Nabiki was waiting, cup of coffee curled in her hands, a smirk resting lightly on her face.

“Judging from your face, you had a good time. Tell me how it went,” Nabiki said, her smirk spread into a shark-like grin. It would almost seem malicious if Akane didn’t know her sister as an incredibly nosy gossip.

“Oh, Nabiki, it was wonderful,” Akane said, giving her elder sister a broad smile. “The movie wasn’t very good, but I think with how awkward I was being, she took pity on me and was very straight forward. She kissed me right outside her door.”

“She kissed you?” Nabiki asked, surprised. “Good for you, ’kane. How was that?”

“Like you couldn’t even imagine,” Akane said dreamily. “We didn’t make any concrete plans for a second date, but I figure I could invite her to the party.”

“I think she’s going to be showing up anyway. Auntie Yumiko’ll probably be bringing Cologne,” Nabiki pointed out. “But I’d call and make sure. Is she gonna sing with us?”

“Sing with us?” Akane asked, eyes wide. “I- how could I even ask? We’ve only been on a single date, and even then…”

“Ranma’s going to be performing with us,” Nabiki pointed out. “also, Auntie’s actually playing hostess this year, instead of Daddy trying to do it all himself.”

“What?” Akane asked. “Daddy’s letting her do that?”

“Yeah, I guess both of them want the Saotomes to feel welcome in the family,” Nabiki said. “I don’t see why we couldn’t invite Shampoo to join in too, since she’ll be part of the family in one way or another at some point.”

“Wow,” Akane murmured, blushing some at the double meaning behind her sister’s words. “Okay, I’ll ask. She gave me her screenname so I can add her on AIM…”

“Oh, she’s on the internet? Good, sometimes that’s a heck of a lot easier than a phone call sometimes, even if there’s only one computer with a high-speed connection in the house,” Nabiki mused.

“Hmm, I’ll go send her a quick message, I guess… or an email,” Akane said, wringing her hands. “Hopefully she’s interested.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Nabiki said fondly, before taking a drink from her coffee as Akane left the room to head to the computer.

“Good luck, little sister,” she murmured, tapping her finger to her cheek.

Chapter 7: Yoi otoshi o!

Summary:

Christmas and New Years Eve! Ranma finds some cute stuff! Nabiki is a good big sister! All sorts of cool shit!

Christmas was that time of year where everything seemed to be suffused with the spirit of kindness and charity. For the Nerima ward, particularly Furinkan-cho, it was also a time for an annual tradition. The Tendō family had been hosting Winter parties for the local families for well over three generations by now. The tradition had begun during the dying days of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Soūn’s great-great-grandfather had held the first “winter party” as a means of discussing politics and the changing winds of the country just after the death of the Komei Emperor and the rise of Meiji. This winter party had quickly turned into tradition, though it soon lost relevance after the end of the daimyo and genrō. The last time anybody of ‘importance’, so to speak, attended the party was during Soūn’s grandfather’s infancy. The war and subsequent reconstruction of Japan had relegated the Tendōs to anonymity.

Which just made it all the better to Soūn’s eyes.

Now, it could be a celebration of the year’s accomplishments with his neighbours and loved ones. His own daughters had even added to the tradition thanks to Mariko’s urging– now, the three of them sang for their guests, the one time of year he could count on his girls to stand together instead of drifting apart. They weren’t very alike in temperament or worldview, and so those times he could keep his family together were precious, much like diamonds.

He had become aware that he was effectively the patron of a large network of young ladies trying to avoid some of the more unseemly parts of life in Japan, and it had the result of generating some influence for him and his party in the community, but it still wasn’t a political event, it was a family event.

More so now, with his family being even larger! Yumiko had come home and brought her son with her, Nanami was now involved and acting sort of as a clan matriarch to keep him from shouldering too much of the emotional burden, and there were also those smart yet beautiful ladies from China. Cologne and Shampoo were ingratiating themselves well into the family dynamic, and Soūn, frankly, had never been happier with the results.

It had warmed his heart even more so to see his best friend of many years serving as the hostess. With kids of their own and long lives of trauma behind them, it was nice to see that Yumiko could heal and grow. He watched her patiently as she drifted around the room, gently speaking to the various guests and thanking them for showing up, before flipping the switch entirely and expertly coordinating the various neighbourhood boys who had been looped into volunteering for the party by their parents or relatives.

Many of them had volunteered for it though, if only for a chance to try to mercilessly hit on his youngest daughter. Of course, with the sheer number of incredibly dangerous martial artists in the room, very few stray hands tried to grope his little girl as she too did the circuit of seeing familiar faces of friends and relatives. He had every confidence in the world that someday she’d be doing these sorts of parties too with her family, spreading the good tiding and cheer with her radiant personality.

He took a sip from his warm spiced nog and grinned with contentment. Life was never better.

…

Ranma was a little in over his head. There was a lot of people to meet, many of whom had apparently close ties to the girls of Furinkan. Kasumi and Nabiki were right at just how deep the network of alumni went and how much of a quid-pro-quo was sort of going on in the backgrounds. The local police chief, the mayor, several key industrial executives in neighboring wards and other things all seemed to know Ranma’s fiancée.

“This is weird,” Ranma commented after they’d gotten away from meeting the Mayor of Nerima. “Why is our high school so… influential?”

“It’s just a matter of the right people making the right contacts. Not everyone who came here attended Furinkan. A lot of them didn’t, it’s just that they found themselves in common cause with someone who did. Women, girls– we’ve all got to stick together because society isn’t going to look out for us. A lot of men want to go back to the idea of women being nothing more than baby factories. We’re making strides, but… it isn’t easy.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Ranma said. “I don’t actually know much history.”

“I’ll explain to you a bit about what I mean later,” Kasumi said gently. “I know you’ve been at a great disadvantage tonight, and I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner what tonight would entail.”

“I think I’d be uncomfortable no matter what we were doin’,” Ranma murmured, gently snatching a drink off of one of the trays that Hiroshi was carrying around. “How the heck did you get all the boys at Furinkan to be servants for the night?”

“Between their parents forcing them to after what they tried to pull on you, and the high-profile nature of tonight’s festivities, they couldn’t afford to offend Dad,” she said with a grin. “Clever, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say,” Ranma murmured. “As long as I don’t have to kill none of them for getting frisky with any of you.”

“You shouldn’t– they’re dumb but they’re not that dumb,” Kasumi murmured, looking around the room. “Too many dangerous martial artists here who could bend their spine into a pretzel.”

Ranma snorted in amusement.

…

“I hope I remember my cues,” Ranma muttered half to himself as he shimmied into the cute mint green dress he’d been given by Kasumi. “I’d hate to be the weakest link in the chain, ya know.”

“You’ll do fine, Ranma,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “Have a little faith in yourself.”

“You’ve been doing this for years, I’ve never done this kinda stuff before,” Ranma grumbled, wobbling a bit on his heels but giving a huff as he managed to get sure footing.

Ranma and Shampoo had been roped into participating in the pagentry part of the Christmas party, and had been given a couple of songs to practice in the lead-up to the party. Ranma had been quite self-conscious about parading around on stage singing, but Kasumi had been quite helpful in assuaging most of those concerns.

“Are you ready?” Yumiko asked, poking her head through the curtain they’d set up.

“Yes,” Nabiki said. “We’re ready.”

“Take your places and I’ll announce you,” Yumiko said, before disappearing again.

Ranma remembered where he needed to be for the first number and took his position to Kasumi’s left, and Shampoo’s right.

“You’ll do fine, Ranma,” Kasumi murmured, rubbing the small of Ranma’s back. “Have fun.”

“Welcome everyone to the Tendō Christmas Party!” Yumiko called out to the crowd with a bright smile. “For your musical pleasure, and to share in the holiday spirit, we’re proud to present a special performance for you tonight. For those of you who have been here in previous years, you are familiar with the musical stylings of the Tendō Trio, of course– but tonight, for the first time, I present to you the musical quintet, DoCo!”

The curtain rose and Ranma took a deep breath.

The music began– a lively jazzy number. Ranma wasn’t sure how he pulled it off, but he remembered every cue and line from Kiyoku Tadashii Kurisumasu without fault, somehow managing to fit quite well into the choreography they’d put together for the song.

There were a couple places where Ranma felt like he was going to take a spill onto the floor because of these damn heels, but he managed to go a few minutes without making an ass of himself.

After the song came to an end and the applause had thoroughly deafened him, he locked arms with Kasumi and the others and bowed.

“Thank you very much for your applause!” Nabiki said buoyantly. “For our second number tonight, we’d like to live up to our name! Ready, girls?”

Ranma snorted but took his position as the lights in the room were lowered to match the new music’s tone. The song was one that Ranma recognized from their practices– Equal Romance was a pop song that had gotten very big about a decade ago, and during the rehearsals, Nabiki had belted it out and claimed it had been an old standby of theirs. The three Tendous had decided to revive the song this year for some reason.

Ranma even had a solo line in it, which was putting a lot of faith in him.

Once Equal Romance had finished, everyone but Akane left the stage briefly to allow her to perform a number called Heart Naisho/2. Ranma was a little stunned to realize that the song itself was actually an original composition by Akane, a poppy expression of frustrations about her romantic problems. She had actually kicked around the idea of dropping it completely from the performance, but Shampoo had waved it off.

“Your anger and frustrations are valid–plus it works as a supreme irony,” she had said during rehearsal, smiling all the while.

When that song had concluded, they had come back out together to sing a song called Ritoru Deito that had apparently been one of their mom’s favourite songs before she died. That song had been the last of their set, and had been received extremely well, with everyone cheering voraciously as they left the stage and the curtain finally fell for good.

“You did an excellent job, Ranma,” Kasumi said with a grin as she helped the cursed martial artist into one of the chairs. Ranma immediately popped off his shoes and massaged his ankles with a grimace.

“I might need to get some practice in with heels,” Ranma muttered darkly. “I nearly snapped my ankle off twice.”

“Still, you managed to keep up with us. That’s not half bad, Saotome,” Nabiki said genially, looping her arm around Ranma’s shoulder. “We’ll make a Tendō sister out of you yet.”

“Nabiki,” Ranma said warningly.

“Brother-sister?” Nabiki offered, though the red-haired martial artist merely gave her an unimpressed look.

…

The day after Christmas brought rare seasonal snowfall to Tokyo. When many woke up on the morning of the twenty-sixth, they found the streets and sidewalks dusted white. The snow was projected to continue falling through the day, with an accumulative three inches into the next day.

Some closed their blinds and returned to bed, curling in their blankets in search of a missing dream.

Some however, sighed, and prepared to start their day. The Tendō compound was home to people in the latter camp. Despite the snowfall, things that needed to be done were still present. The first people to wake up were Ranma and Kasumi. Despite the latter no longer bearing the cross of the household’s integrity on her back, she was still an early riser, and took great joy in some of the tasks she typically did on any given day.

Kasumi patiently got the coffee maker slowly filling with the liquid gold that kept her father and sister afloat, and began to prepare breakfast.

At the same time, Ranma made his way to prepare the ofuro. The small note card hanging on the door to the inner wash room had indicated that Soūn had taken it upon himself to wash the ofuro as he had been the last person to use it the previous night.

Making sure the drain was empty, Ranma turned the hot water tap on and waited patiently for the water to become hot before plugging the drain and beginning to fill the furo with water. Once it was at its proper level, Ranma turned the water off and made sure that the tub was recirculating the water at the right temperature. Nodding to himself, he left the room again.

“Bath should be ready when we’re done with our spar. You almost ready?” Ranma asked his fiancée with a smile on his lips.

“Just about– I think everything should hold while we’re practicing,” she said softly. After one last check of the breakfast assortment, and once she made sure everything looked set and would finish without her needing to fuss over it like a mother hen, she followed Ranma to the dōjō. Swapping her nightdress for the offered gi, she and Ranma both stepped through their katas before they launched into hand-to-hand combat, testing the very limits of each other’s defensive and offensive capacity.

Once they’d begun to break a sweat, they called a halt and made their way to the ofuro together.

“Would you like me to wash your hair, Ranma?” Kasumi offered.

“That sounds wonderful,” Ranma said warmly. “I’ll wash your back.”

After the two had scrubbed down and washed their bodies, Kasumi expertly untwisted Ranma’s hair braid and helped him with scrubbing his shiraz-colored hair clean, running a quick wet-comb through it, and properly rebraiding it back to its usual state.

The young couple soaked in the steamy heat of the ofuro for awhile, content to take advantage of the quiet morning, only interrupted by the occassional gust of wind, and the sound of ice clattering against the window above them.

By the time the two young partners emerged from the furo, dressed and made their way back into the sitting room, Nanami was seated at the kotatsu. The martial arts matriarch was staring at the flickering television screen with a slightly vacant expression, a steaming cup of coffee clutched in her hand. As bad as Nabiki often was before she had caffeine in the morning, Nanami was worse– she was practically the walking dead in the morning.

The woman broke eye contact with the TV, which was at a low murmur playing Mezamashi TV, to glance at Ranma and Kasumi.

“Morning,” she muttered before taking another deep drink of her coffee and moving her eyes back to the tube.

“Good morning, Auntie,” Kasumi said brightly. “Breakfast should be ready before too long.”

“I’m in no rush,” Nanami mumbled. “At my age, eating too early ends up causing more problems than it solves. Besides, I still need to rouse my apprentice and get in some sparring before we sit down and eat. She still needs to learn proper discipline.”

“Don’t go too hard on her, sensei,” Ranma commented. “She spent all of yesterday preppin’ for that party and was on her feet for at least five hours.”

“I promise I won’t,” Nanami said with a faint smile. “If she can’t handle minor conditioning exercises, then she should just give up martial arts.”

Neither could find much fault in that.

“Let me go check on the breakfast,” Kasumi said before rising to her feet and disappearing into the kitchen. Nanami glanced over at the young martial artist again.

“You two spar today?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s why we were in the furo together,” Ranma said with a slightly goofy smile on his face. “She’s amazing.”

Nanami laughed and then grinned at Ranma. “Young love is intoxicating, isn’t it?”

“You can say that again,” Ranma murmured.

“Ranma?” Kasumi’s voice came, and she emerged from the kitchen. “I need to make a trip to the market. I know it’s a little nasty outside, but would you be willing to join me?”

“Sure, but I’d think the open air market would be closed today, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, but there’s another market that’s a little further away that’s closed in– it should be fine if we go to that one, I think,” Kasumi said lightly. “It’s a short train ride.”

“No problem,” Ranma said lightly. “We’ll go after breakfast?”

Kasumi nodded and grinned at him before disappearing back into the kitchen again.

Eventually, Nanami left the kotatsu (reluctantly) and went to go gather her student for practice. She was soon replaced by a tired Nabiki wearing a big fluffy bathrobe. She wasn’t even paying attention to whatever was on the television. She was instead sitting stone still, eyes shut.

“Do you ever get a good night’s sleep?” Ranma asked her.

“No,” Nabiki said dryly, briefly opening her eyes to stare at Ranma before closing them again. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in months.”

“Why?”

“There are many reasons, Saotome. Many of which are personal,” Nabiki grumbled.

“I’m just trying to be sympathetic, Nabiki– no need to bite my head off,” Ranma said with a roll of his eyes.

“Fine,” Nabiki bit out. “I stay up all night worrying about the stupidest things. Did I get all my homework done, do I have enough money if something happens to Daddy, that kind of stuff. I spend far too long on my computer arguing with idiots in America over bulletin board systems and IRC, and I’ve been trying to quit smoking for the last six months.”

“You’re a smoker?” Ranma asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Nabiki said, rubbing her eyes in irritation. “I picked the habit up when I was fourteen. I was stressing out about exams, and my friend Noriko got me started on the damn things and I’ve been trying to stop but I can’t. Every time I try to quit, I end up smoking more.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Nabiki,” Ranma said softly. “There’s probably a buncha reasons why you’re having a hard time quitting. I wish I could help.”

“It’s alright, Saotome– your sympathy is helpful enough,” Nabiki said wryly. “I’ll be honest, it’s just sort of one of those things I do that I try not to share with anybody else. Please don’t tell anyone if you can help it. Kasumi knows, and that’s it.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone else, Nabiki. But if you want someone to talk to, I guess I’m always around. I can’t promise I’ll be super great at offerin’ up advice, but I’ll at least listen to ya.”

“Thanks, Saotome,” Nabiki said gently, grinning at him. “What’re you doing today?”

“Kasumi’s asked me to go shopping with her,” Ranma replied. “After breakfast– but we’re going to an indoor shopping center rather than an open air market.”

“Oh, mind if I tag along? I actually need to go shopping for some things, and I don’t want to go by myself.”

“Sure,” Ranma said with a nod. “I bet Kasumi wouldn’t mind.”

“Good,” Nabiki said with a grin, before her smile faltered and she let out a tired sigh. “Shit, I want a smoke.”

She stuck her hand in the pocket of her robe and pulled out a slim pack of cigarettes. She stood up and walked out of the room, ostensibly to go do… that sort of thing away from prying eyes. Ranma felt a pang of sympathy for her before he sighed and went into the kitchen.

Kasumi was alone in the room, though she turned and gave him a soft smile as he entered the room.

“I didn’t realize Nabiki smoked,” Ranma said as he leaned against the counter. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me much.”

“Yes, she’s had the habit for a couple years now,” Kasumi said with a sigh. “I’ve tried to convince her to quit, but… she’s just as much in need of help as the rest of us are. We’ve all been coping very poorly with our mother’s passing, and the stress of school hasn’t helped. I can only imagine how stressed Nabiki has been recently with our father taking the effort to kick the habit wholesale.”

“I wish there was something I can do for her, but, well, I think she just needs to go see a therapist.”

“Probably,” Kasumi murmured.

“Speaking of Nabiki, she actually wants to go with us to the market,” Ranma commented. “She says she’s gotta buy things for herself, and doesn’t want to go alone.”

“That’s fine, but if she’s tagging along, she could at least help carry some of the bags back,” Kasumi said. “Fair’s fair, after all.”

…

After a breakfast of fresh steamed rice with egg, and some pan-cooked fish, the three whom volunteered to go shopping that day set out on their journey. The first leg of it was from the Tendō Dōjō to the train station. It wasn’t far of a walk, but the biting wind and snowfall made it certainly difficult.

Nabiki had corralled them into making a brief pit stop at one of the coffee shops along the way, being uncharacteristically charitable in buying hot chocolate for her sister and future-brother-in-law. A little warmth in their bellies and a pep in their step, the trio arrived at the train station.

“We’re going to the shopping center in Kamisenkawa, right?” Nabiki asked, glancing at the train schedule with calculating eyes.

“Yes, it’s not the local market but… sometimes the bigger shops are nice,” Kasumi said thoughtfully. “Ranma, do you still have the list I gave you?”

“Yeah, right here, ’sumi,” Ranma said, patting the pocket of his coat.

The train eventually stopped at Toshima station, and the trio disembarked and made the rest of the distance on foot. Nabiki and Kasumi ended up getting caught up in a conversation about something, and Ranma walked behind them, looking at the various shops they passed along the way. Most of them weren’t things that attracted his attention too much, until something did catch his attention.

While waiting to cross the road at an intersection, Ranma found himself looking at a cute sapphire blue furisode. The embroidery on it was incredibly cute-looking, and he found himself actually seeing himself wearing such a lovely kimono. He needed one for New Years, and nobody in the Tendō family had a spare one for him. The tag underneath it indicated that it was a like-new (albeit used) furisode, priced at… 20,500 yen?

Ranma sighed. That was basically his whole savings– assuming that whatever bank he went to didn’t charge him outrageous fees for exchanging Chinese yuan for Japanese yen. Tucking his hands into his pockets, he decided to let the furisode go and follow the girls to the market. Of course, it lingered in the back of his mind.

Ranma was a little gobsmacked at Kamisenkawa’s market– and how many things there were. He’d expected the grocery store, but there were multiple floors with various shops and other things?

“I’ll be upstairs getting some shopping done,” Nabiki said. “We’ll meet up down here in a half-hour?”

Kasumi glanced at the list in her hand. “Forty-five minutes, I think. Last night’s party really drained our supplies.”

“Alright,” Nabiki said with a nod. “Did Daddy give you enough cash?”

Kasumi nodded. “We should have enough. Call me if you need anything, Nabiki.”

Nabiki disappeared up the stairs to the second floor, while Ranma and Kasumi went into the food market. Watching Kasumi at any kind of grocery or farmer’s market was mind-boggling because it was almost like watching her do her katas. She was fluid, weaving in and out of crowds, basket in hand, plucking items off the shelf and quickly discerning which was the better deal or better quality item. Ranma hung back with a second basket, occassionally helping her with making selections.

Bread, a few cups of ramen, fresh tuna, fresh salmon, fresh prawns, powdered milk, butter, cheese, eggs, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, carrots, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, soybeans, seaweed and a whole kilogram of canned coffee that cost an eye-watering 4000 yen by itself.

They managed to escape the market with a bill of 19,000 yen, leaving Ranma feeling curious.

“Do most people spend that kinda money on food?” Ranma asked.

“No,” Kasumi said as she handed him some of the bags. “Six advanced martial artists plus Nabiki who is working towards that, this means we eat a lot more than most people do– plus, we’re privileged in that we have a larger western-style refrigerator. If you lived on your own in an apartment, or we were a small household, or if Father made less money, we’d probably rely a lot more on konbini to get by.”

Nabiki was waiting for them by the entrance to the shopping center. She ended up taking a few of the bags as the trio walked back to the train station. On the way, they passed by the second-hand shop again, and Ranma managed to glimpse the telephone number and name of the shop. Quickly committing it to memory, he smirked and hurried to keep up with the girls.

…

While Nabiki went to help Kasumi unpack the groceries, Ranma quickly bounced to the furo, splashing himself with cold water, and then to the telephone and dialed the phone number he’d memorized from the building. After a few rings, an older voice answered.

“Hello, Hina’s Exchange– Hina speaking, how can I help you?”

“Hi, I was in the area earlier today and noticed that furisode you had in the window. I was wondering if you could hold it until tomorrow for me. I’d like to purchase it.”

“I believe I can do that for you, Miss,” the woman, Hina said. “What time will you be by?”

“What time do you open?” Ranma asked.

“Six o’clock,” the woman replied.

“I’ll be by early then,” Ranma said. “Thank you very much.”

“Of course. May I have your name, Miss?”

“Um, Ranma,” Ranma said.

“Got it,” the woman replied. “Have a good evening.”

The woman hung up and Ranma set the phone back down in the cradle. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he realized that he needed help if he was going to make sure he had enough money so soon.

So, that evening, while Kasumi was busy with something, Ranma dug around his pack and pulled out a wadded up handful of money and counted through it. He had sixteen-hundred Chinese yuan, twenty US, and five-thousand Japanese yen to his name. He had absolutely no idea how much it was– or how close he was to the cost of the furisode. Grimacing, he decided he had to ask the girl who knew all there was to know about money.

Nabiki answered his knock rather quickly, and she gave him a strange look.

“Saotome, what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Can we talk privately? I need your help,” he said seriously.

“Enter,” she said, moving aside and letting Ranma come into the room. He sat on her bed and dug out the wadded money from his pockets.

“When we were shopping earlier today, I… I saw this really cute kimono in the window of a second-hand shop, and I… think I want to buy it. I want to surprise Kasumi with it too, because she’s been really nice to me and all that stuff, and I… I just wanna have something of my own, you know?”

“I understand completely, Saotome. A second-hand kimono isn’t going to be cheap though,” Nabiki said, glancing down at his wad of money. “How much have you got there?”

“Five-thousand yen, plus sixteen-hundred Chinese and twenty US.”

Nabiki tapped her finger thoughtfully to her chin, before she reached for a notepad and scribbled down what he’d said. She then rose to her feet.

“Stay here,” she ordered. “I have to go downstairs and get on the computer there to check how much the exchange rate is, then I’ll tell you exactly how much you’ve got here.”

She disappeared from the room and was gone for awhile, leaving Ranma stewing in his own anxiety. After a minute, Nabiki returned and gave him a wry grin. Setting tore the first sheet of the notepad off and handed it to him.

“27,000 yen?” Ranma asked, surprised. “I have that much?”

“The exchange rate is 102 yen for every American dollar, and 12 yen for every Chinese yuan,” Nabiki responded. “How much is the kimono?”

“20500,” Ranma replied. “Um, do you know where I can exchange it at?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Nabiki said. “I always keep a small nest-egg handy in case I need to pay for information, or cover costs for my girls. We’ll do a fair trade.”

She stood up and made her way to her dresser. Opening the top drawer, Ranma briefly blushed at the sight of Nabiki’s unmentionables before she reached in and pulled out a metal lockbox. Unlocking it briefly, she drew something out before closing it and tucking it back into the drawer.

“I usually keep most of my money in the bank, but the hidden box in the panty drawer is always a good way to keep people on their toes,” Nabiki said with a smirk. In exchange for the 22,000 yen, Ranma handed her the Chinese and American money he’d had, and she grinned at him.

“As easy as that, Saotome. Do you have a normal place you store your money?”

“I usually store it in my pack, or in my sock– that’s if I have any money at all,” Ranma commented lightly, scratching his cheek.

“Remind me after the New Year, we’ll talk to Yumiko and Daddy about getting you a proper bank account,” she said. “You’ll need one eventually.”

“Thanks, Nabiki,” Ranma said softly as he tucked the money into his pocket. “You’re a life-saver.”

“That’s what sisters are for, Saotome,” Nabiki said with a grin as she lit a cigarette. “Go get your cute furisode.”

Ranma blushed. “How’d you know?” he asked.

“I’m not blind, I saw you fall behind looking at that thing in the shop window. You’re allowed to like cute things too, you big dummy. If you need a place to hide it until New Years, you can stick it in my closet.”

“Thanks, Nabs,” Ranma said with a grin. “I dunno what I’d do without you.”

“Suffer, I’m sure,” she said, blowing a stream of smoke from her lips.

…

The following morning had Ranma riding the train to Kamisenkawa with Nabiki. The girl had insisted on accompanying him so she could at least make sure he wasn’t making a big mistake in buying something that didn’t fit him well– or getting fleeced by a shopkeep taking advantage of a naïve, cute girl. That and, Nabiki admitted, if she could maybe take a couple candids of Ranma looking pretty in a furisode, she could guarantee that Ranma would get a good chunk of his investment into the furisode back by the end of January.

“Think of it this way– a girl in a furisode is one of the most pure things you can think of. I bet you that most of our clientele would be girls more than boys,” Nabiki said with a grin.

“Alright, fine,” Ranma said with a roll of his eyes. “How do you want to do it?”

“We’ll set up a photoshoot in the dōjō either after ōmisoka or before hatsumōde,” Nabiki replied. “That way you don’t have to get all dressed up unnecessarily.”

Once they’d arrived at the station, they quickly disembarked and retraced their steps from yesterday to reach Mina’s Exchange. Opening the door and stepping inside, the curious little shop was full of odds and ends– things that people once owned but had given up for whatever reasons.

“Miss Ranma?”

Ranma looked to see a woman probably in her early 30s approaching, a smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Mina, right?” Ranma asked, and the woman nodded.

“I have the furisode tucked behind the counter for you,” Mina said. “You can try it on if you wish.”

“Would you mind?” Ranma asked.

“For such a polite young lady? Of course not,” Mina said with a smile. “Right this way, we have dressing rooms in the back.”

Ranma followed Mina to the dressing room and went through the meticulous process of putting on the furisode. Nabiki flashed him a look of smug triumph when he’d ended up stripping down to his underwear. She had talked him into putting on a sports bra today, and jeez wasn’t he glad he’d listened.

Once Mina and Nabiki had finished helping Ranma with the furisode, the young shiraz-haired martial artist observed himself in the mirror and gave a hum of approval.

“What do you think, Nabiki? D’ya think I look good?” Ranma asked.

“I think Kasumi will have kittens with how cute you look,” Nabiki said with a grin. “I wasn’t sure that blue would work on you, but it absolutely does. It compliments your eyes.”

“Yes, it fits her very well. I’m sure my friend No-chan would be very happy to know that someone was treasuring her old furisode.”

“This belonged to your friend?” Ranma asked.

“Yes,” Mina said, nodding. “We were friends in high school. She brought it in a couple weeks ago saying that she’d found it in a box of stuff in her attic and didn’t want it anymore. She told me that her grandmother fashioned it for her when she was young and she stopped wearing it after she got pregnant. So it’s been rotting in a box for sixteen years.”

“Well, if you see her, tell her thank you for me,” Ranma said softly. “I love it.”

“I’m glad,” Mina said with a grin. “and I will.”

After changing back into his normal clothes, Mina boxed up the furisode for Ranma, and accepted the teenager’s cash. Tucking the box under his arm, Ranma and Nabiki made their way back to the Tendō Dojo.

“I’ll take this,” Nabiki said, taking the box from Ranma. “Go stick the rest of your cash back where you usually hide it. On New Years Eve, when Kasumi starts to get ready, meet me and Akane in my room and we’ll get you dressed up. Alright?”

“Got it,” Ranma said with a nod.

…

The days leading up to the much anticipated end of the millennium were spent in relative peace after those hectic two days. Ranma went around his day with a little more pep in his step, grinning like a madman at the prospect of surprising Kasumi with something new and exciting– and cute!

Checking his wristwatch, Ranma noted that it was just about time to begin getting ready. He had been doing some extra sparring with Nanami and Yumiko to kill a few hours.

“We’ve gotta get ready for ōmisoka,” Ranma commented, wiping his forehead with a towel. “I didn’t spend a bunch of money on a kimono to not use it for nothing.”

Yumiko nodded. “I feel you. I don’t want all the yen that Cologne spent to get me that kimono to go to waste,” she muttered, frowning. “I just wish she’d get me the Nyannichuan soon. Wigs are itchy.”

“I’m sure she’ll come through eventually, Yumiko,” Ranma said reassuringly. “If it’s any consolation, your wigs don’t look that bad?”

Yumiko rolled her eyes and pushed Ranma. “Go on, make sure the furo’s ready,” she ordered. “Nanami-sensei and I will be along.”

After a thoughtful soak in the furo (as was to be expected on New Years’ Eve, as part of the tradition of trying to relax your way into the New Year), Ranma wrapped his currently-female form in a towel and made his way upstairs to Nabiki’s room. When he poked his head in the door, Akane was already in the middle of trying to fuss with her long hair to get it right, while Nabiki was sitting in the corner by the window, smoking.

“And here’s the lady of the hour,” Nabiki exclaimed. “I hope you don’t mind but I showed Akane what you’re wearing tonight.”

“I think Kasumi will like it a lot,” Akane said idly.

“I was actually wonderin’, ’cause Yumiko and I never did much in the way of ōmisoka stuff on the road. What exactly are we doing?” Ranma asked, curious.

“Now that you, Nanami-sensei and Yumiko are done with the dojo, Daddy will move the TV and one of our tables in storage into it for the night. We usually have a family dinner of sukiyaki and watch Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Then tomorrow we dress up again and go do hatsumōde, mostly because that was something Mom always liked to do before she passed away. We used to go to the temple before midnight, but the lines are really long.”

“You might think it’s kinda boring, but it actually isn’t. The local temple has a bunch of food vendors set up and games and it’s basically a festival to ring in the new year,” Akane said.

“After that we usually visit Mom’s grave,” Nabiki said. “I know Kasumi is looking forward to bringing you there, because she wants to introduce you.”

Ranma nodded, bowing his head. “Alright, let’s get started, then?”

…

Kasumi hummed as she closed the doors and windows of the Dojo and turned on the small space heater they’d set up. It was still rather cold outside, and if she was honest, kimono and tabi socks were not exactly the warmest things to wear in the dead of winter.

The family began to filter in– Yumiko, Soūn and Nanami came in first.

“I haven’t had a proper New Years since I was a kid,” Yumiko said warmly as she settled down at the table. “And even then, only when Dad was out of town at the time.”

“Or when the Master was on a drunken binge and forgot we existed,” Soūn contributed.

“Ah, yes, grandfather’s idea of a New Years celebration involved panty raids,” Nanami said with a sigh. “I don’t miss that one bit.”

“Well, at least we have a family tradition to keep this way,” Kasumi chimed in helpfully.

Nabiki and Akane entered the room wearing their furisode, though the smirk on their faces had Kasumi raising an eyebrow at them.

“What has you two looking so smug? Where’s Ranma?”

“Oh, he’s right behind us,” Nabiki said smugly. “Ranma, c’mon!”

The door opened again, and Kasumi’s jaw briefly went slack. The shiraz-haired martial artist was grinning at her, his aqua blue eyes sparkling mischievously. He was wearing a lovely sapphire blue kimono with golden embroidery, and… she wasn’t sure there was enough poetry on Earth to describe how radiant he looked.

“Oh, Ranma,” she murmured. “You look lovely. Where did you get that?”

Ranma sat down and smiled. “A second-hand shop we passed by when we went shopping. You’ve been so nice and everything, and I just wanted to surprise you with something of my own that you’ve never seen before.”

“Well, I think you look lovely. What do the rest of you think? He’s certainly cute, isn’t he?”

“The cutest,” Nabiki said with a smirk.

Yumiko on the other hand, looked a little haunted. “Ranma, you… said you got that from a second-hand shop, right?”

Ranma nodded. “Mmhm,” he said. “It was kinda pricey but for a hand-me-down kimono, I gotta admit it wasn’t too bad.”

“Did… the shopkeep mention who the previous owner was?”

“Yeah, she said it was a friend of hers named No-chan, or somethin’ like that. Said it used to belong to her before she got pregnant. It was rottin’ in a box for sixteen years ’fore it ended up in that shop! Talk about crazy! Who would put this in a box?”

“Someone who had a terrible husband and not enough money to celebrate any holidays or festivals,” Yumiko muttered. “Someone who had their life ruined by an idiot.”

“Yumiko?” Ranma asked, concern coloring his face.

“That kimono… unless I’m mistaken, belonged to your mother.”

“What?!” Ranma exclaimed. “Are you serious?!”

“It’s been a long time, Ranma, but I’m pretty sure. That kimono is the one your mother wore the day we got married. It originally belonged to her grandmother and she stole it when we ran away, and wore it for our impromptu wedding ceremony. We couldn’t afford a proper Shinto wedding so… she wore that instead.”

“Wow,” Ranma murmured. “Wait, the lady at the store said that her friend had brought it to her a couple weeks ago. That means… Mom lives somewhere in Tokyo, doesn’t it?”

Yumiko rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It may very well be true.”

“I’ll have to go back and ask about her friend,” Ranma muttered, half to himself. “I can’t believe it!”

“I’m glad you ended up buying it,” Yumiko said brightly. “Cherish it well, Ranma.”

…

Shampoo and Cologne eventually joined them for the evening, and as the night wore on towards midnight, everyone tended to drift towards their significant other, with the exception of Soūn and Nanami presiding over everything, enjoying the family vibe that was suffusing everything.

“Hey, um, so there’s an anime convention coming soon,” Akane spoke suddenly. “I was wondering if you two would like to come along, Shampoo, Ranma. I bet you’d have a lot of fun.”

“Ooh,” Ranma said, brightening. “I’d love to! But um, how much are tickets? Also, I don’t… have a cosplay for it.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Akane said brightly. “Maybe if you and Shampoo go I can finally convince Kasumi and Nabiki to come along.”

“Ooh, my girlfriend dressed like a Senshi?” Ranma said with a grin. “I’d like to see that. Sumi?”

“Oh, alright,” Kasumi said with a light laugh. “You’ve worn me down at last, I’ll come with. Nabiki?”

“How can I argue with the majority?” Nabiki asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Let me guess, Akane, you’ve already got ideas about what our costumes should be?”

“I have some idea,” Akane said, eyes glowing with ideas.

As the clock wound down to midnight, Kasumi gently wrapped her arms around Ranma.

“Three! Two! One!”

At promptly midnight, Kasumi leaned in and kissed Ranma deeply, causing the redhead to blush profusely, squeaking at how forward Kasumi was.

The remainder of the New Years evening was spent enjoying food and drink and close proximity to loved ones– the standard stuff really. Ranma felt all kind of warm fuzziness, not just because of Kasumi being very affectionate with her kisses, but also the fact he had his mom’s kimono– something tangible that belonged to a woman he long thought to be gone.

What a great way to start 2000.

Chapter 8: Trials and Tribulations In A New Year

Summary:

Kasumi introduces Ranma to someone special, Ranma and Nabiki continue to bond over money, The Family Kuno continues to be a mighty nuisance, and Yumiko gets some new perspective on her own life.

The very next morning saw the assembled family preparing for hatsumōde¹. Before getting ready by putting on their kimono, Soūn and Nanami happily handed out otoshidama² to each of the teenagers. The joint leaders of the assembled mass of family had gone through the painstaking effort of decorating each of the pochibukuro³ with custom designs tailored to each person.

Kasumi’s was decorated with rose and flower patterns, Akane’s had a repeating pattern of little baby ducklings, Nabiki’s was modeled after The Great Wave off Kanagawa, and Ranma’s was actually decorated with blue and white abstract shapes. In each envelope, Soūn had packed 5000 yen. For Ranma, it was a nice “boon” to his wounded savings.

After that, the family went to the gathering at the local shrine. For Ranma, an almost child-like captivation had spread across his face the minute he saw all the food stands and games in the courtyard. Kasumi ended up spending much of the morning following the jubilant Ranma around, while the rest of the family slowly made the circuit.

Ultimately, the mirth of the hatsumōde wouldn’t last. After they’d gotten their fill of fun and food, the family made their way to the graveyard nestled behind the shrine. Ranma followed the example set by Kasumi and the others by washing his hands and accompanying them to the grave. The Saotomes, Nanami, Cologne and Shampoo watched as the Tendō family cleaned the grave marker that belonged to their family.

After everyone but Kasumi had returned, Ranma was gently nudged by Nabiki to go to Kasumi.

“Mother,” Kasumi said gently. “I want you to meet someone special.”

She gently took Ranma’s hands in hers. “This is Ranma. He’s my fiancé. I was skeptical at first of our relationship going anywhere, but I really am starting to love him. I think you’d like him a lot, he’s kind, and caring, and attentive. He always knows how to cheer me up when I’m feeling sad, and he’s responsible for a lot of the changes that have made us start to heal from your passing.”

“Ranma, do you want to say something?” Kasumi asked.

“Um, sure,” Ranma said with a nod. “H-Hi, Mrs. Tendō. I, um, I guess that I want to say that for all the bone-headed things Yumiko’s done, this engagement is probably one of the only things she did right. I’ve been real happy living with Kasumi and Akane and Nabiki, and they’ve been very nice to me and have been treatin’ me like one of their own. I suppose I have you and Mr. Tendō to thank for that. Havin’ a fiancée was not somethin’ I was expecting to have at sixteen, but I think of all the people in the world, havin’ Kasumi as a fiancée is probably like winnin’ the lottery.”

He laughed some and fidgeted with his kimono.

“I dunno what else to say,” Ranma said, glancing at Kasumi, whose eyes were starting to tear up.

“You did just fine, Ranma,” Kasumi said, gently hugging Ranma. “That was beautiful. I’m so glad you’re here with us now. I meant every word I said. You’ve been a tremendous catalyst for bringing changes– good changes to our family. Thank you so much for that.”

Ranma blushed profusely at the high praise.

…

“Give your parasol a bit of a twirl,” Nabiki ordered as she watched Ranma through the viewfinder. The shiraz-haired martial artist did a bit of a feminine twirl and winked at the camera. With a flash and SNAP, Nabiki grinned.

“Excellent touch there, Saotome,” she murmured. “A couple more and I think we’ll have a good New Years’ set to sell.”

“Mmmhm,” Ranma said, closing the parasol and setting it down. “What now?”

“Just look real cute,” Nabiki said, waving her hand. “I got in a couple snaps of you at the festival being super cute, so I just need a couple basic poses to finish everything up.”

“I think I can do that,” Ranma said, taking up another pose. Once Nabiki had snapped the shot, he looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “What kind of haul are we expecting, money wise?”

“Well, I’ll probably sell a copy of each photo for 2000 yen a piece,” Nabiki said, gently rubbing her cheek. “I think all said and done, I think you’ll end up pocketing close to 30,000 yen⁴.”

“30,000 yen!?” Ranma exclaimed. “That much?”

“Well, figure it this way,” Nabiki said as she took another picture of Ranma. “Each photo is 2000 yen. I guarantee at least thirty people will buy a picture. If not multiple pictures from each person. I’m giving you half of the earnings, so, you make out like a bandit.”

“2000 yen seems like a lot,” Ranma commented. “Am I really worth that much money?”

“Of course you are, Saotome. You’re a model right now. Your time is worth money, and since I’m getting half the profit I usually do, prices go up. If there’s a single lesson you take from this kind of thing, it’s that you have value and people should be expected to compensate you for stuff like this.”

“I yield to your knowledge, o wise one,” Ranma mumbled.

…

“It’s a bit later than I’d have wanted,” Cologne said as she lifted a heavy box into the Tendō household. “but it finally arrived last night.”

“Is this-?” Yumiko asked in awe, placing her hands on the wooden crate almost reverently.

“It is,” Cologne said with a nod. “I got my friends in the village to send me a pretty nice care-package.”

In a demonstration of her sheer strength, Cologne pried up the wooden cover, ripping the nails straight out of the wood. Setting the lid of the crate down, she dug out a large cask with Chinese script on it.

“A cask of Nyannichuan so you can override your curse,” Cologne said, before she reached in and drew out a large wooden box, roughly the size of a large housecat. “and enough waterproof soap for you and Ranma to use until the cows come home… plus, for other people…”

She reached in the box again and drew out a second box. “Instant nyannichuan. For those who want to spend a little time as a woman but not commit to it full-bore.”

“Shit,” Yumiko murmured. “You didn’t pull any punches, did you?”

“Nope,” Cologne said sing-songingly. “Only the best for my girlfriend and her family… plus I might get some comedic value out of the instant nyannichuan. We’ll see how that pans out.”

“Okay,” Yumiko said with a nod. “How’re we going to do this?”

“Very simple, dear. You just splash yourself with the cask and it should take effect. Like I said, human curses overwrite animal curses,” Cologne said.

“What happens if you have say, a girl curse like Ranma? What would a cask of male spring do?” Soūn asked, curiously.

“I can’t honestly say. Either it’d make him a hermaphrodite, or it would simply fizzle out and not work. We’ve never really experimented with that because Nannichuan has been considered lost for centuries– and it would be an unconscionable action to forcibly take away someone’s femininity in our tribe. Some have voluntarily forsaken it– but never have we used it as a punishment.”

Yumiko set the cask down and placed her hands on the cask lid. She grimaced before sighing. “What if I take this and I… I still look like a man?” she asked miserably. “Under the wig I’m bald, I’ve got terrible eyesight and I just…”

“Yu,” Cologne said chidingly. “You’re letting your anxiety take control. Relax. You’re beautiful now, and you’ll be beautiful after you do this.”

“You’re just saying that,” Yumiko said hoarsely. She blinked and sighed. “I’m sorry, I just… I’m not feeling super confident. I can’t thank you enough for this, Cologne.”

“Go on, dear,” Cologne said softly. “Once look at yourself and you’ll feel so much better. You know that, right?”

“Still doomed to be a man every time I get splashed with warm water,” Yumiko muttered in annoyance.

“It’ll be alright, darling,” Cologne said soothingly. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here for you. I promise.”

…

Yumiko still hated herself. Oh, she was feeling a lot brighter about her future, sure, but she still absolutely hated herself and the person she’d become. A weaker person would’ve merely shrugged their shoulders and proclaimed loudly that their fucked up childhood was the main impetus to becoming a shithead, drunken, layabout waste of a father… however, she refused to accept that for herself. Or at least– she did now that she couldn’t numb the pain with booze and self-loathing.

She and Ranma didn’t have a relationship– that was fine. She knew that her son, despite the things she’d done to make his life a living hell, was a strong kid that could handle a lot of bullshit– and that he’d survive their damaged relationship.

She sighed to herself. So, now she had Nyannichuan. She could be a woman.

It still felt like half-assed bullshit to her. Someone who didn’t deserve a happy ending getting one.

How the hell was she going to make this terrible guilt go away?

A small part of her pointed out that she knew the things she had to do. Earn her mastery again, work honestly and tirelessly, make amends to everyone she’d wronged– from the Kuonji kid through to her ex-wife. That in itself was going to be a tremendous pain in her ass. Cologne would help, but Yumiko was thinking that she didn’t really want Cologne to put so much time and effort into helping her.

Not that she didn’t appreciate it, but why should she expect someone else to clean up her mess?

The dull throb of a migraine was beginning to pool behind her eyes, and she grumbled as she stripped down naked and stepped inside the furo. Setting the cask down, she dropped onto the nearby stool and simply stared at it for a few moments. This was it. No going back. This would either put her to rights or be a cruel joke for someone who didn’t deserve any kind of happiness.

After taking the lid off the cask of Nyannichuan, she picked the cask up and dumped it all over herself, bristling at the the sudden waves of cold that registered on all of her nerves.

After a couple moments, she finally looked down at her body. A manic giggle bubbled from her as she took in the fact that yes, now, at last the sight of her own body didn’t drive her to want to chug liquor.

She wasn’t as well-endowed as her son was sometimes (that, he got from Nodoka, Yumiko figured.), but she was definitely not unattractive either. Standing up and slinking over to the mirror mounted on the wall, she looked at herself critically.

Her hand rose to the top of her head and she gently ran her fingers through her hair. For the first time since she was in her early twenties, she had a full head of hair.

“I can do it,” she muttered, half to herself– and half to nobody. “This is the universe telling me I need to do better.”

The very next day, Yumiko was already busy on the first of her multi-front offensive. After getting up earlier than her sensei, she’d drilled herself ragged through several katas, putting every ounce of effort she had into it before throwing herself at the Grandmistress.

As soon as that had finished, she’d adjourned to the newspapers and computer trying to find a job of her own.

She had two possible leads thus far: Cologne had offered her a job as a waitress if she wanted it, and the local physician/chiropractor, Doctor Tofu Ono, had an open listing for a personal secretary. Both jobs paid roughly the same, and she felt like she’d rather work for a stranger than rely on her girlfriend to sign her paychecks at the end of each week.

…

Her first day on the job as Tōfu-san’s personal secretary wasn’t all that involved, when it came down to it. Some of it involved absolutely bullshit housewife-esque tasks: preparing tea, making sure the waiting room was clean, and being a presentable hostess. But other parts involved making sure the patients were signed-in for their appointment, taking payments, among other secretarial tasks.

Most of the clients turned out to be local retirees and older folks– many of whom recognized her from the Tendō holiday party.

“Ah, Yumiko,” Old Mr. Enagawa said with a wry grin. “Didn’t know you worked here, missy– I’d have thought Soūn’d do the decent thing and make an honorable woman out of you.”

“Oh, Mr. Enagawa,” Yumiko said lightly, wincing. “Soūn and I are more like siblings than anything else. Besides, he’s far too devoted to his late wife.”

“Ah, well, it’s alright dear– there’s no shame in being an old maid,” the man patted her arm condescendingly. “Not every girl is capable of attracting a proper husband.”

It was this way that Yumiko learned just how misogynistic and casually sexist many people in Japan were– even women! The amount of comments she got on not having a ring on her finger, or otherwise appearing as a “single” woman was staggering, as were all the strange looks she got for being such a close associate of the Tendōs and working what was admittedly a menial day job.

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Tofu expressed his sympathy over a cup of tea. “Most of them mean well, they’re just…”

“Incredibly backward?” Yumiko asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yes,” the doctor responded with a nod, adjusting his glasses. “My last practice had similar problems, though the patients often threw the questions at me rather than my PA.”

“You?” Yumiko asked.

Dr. Tofu nodded and took a sip. “Oh, Emiko,” he said in a mocking voice. “why haven’t you gotten yourself a husband? You work too hard for someone as pretty as you. You shouldn’t bother with this man’s work.”

Yumiko blinked, before her eyes widened in understanding. She gave a short snort. “Considering the circumstances it must’ve driven you absolutely up the wall.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the man chortled. “Even if I hadn’t transitioned, the last thing I want is a husband.”

“Women are great, aren’t they,” Yumiko murmured. “Have you found someone suitable in your life since you moved to Nerima?”

“There was a young woman, but she’s far too young for me,” Tofuu said with a grin. “Besides, I believe she’s quite smitten with your son.”

“Oh, Kasumi?” Yumiko murmured in surprise. “That doesn’t surprise me, I guess. She has a nice effect on people.”

“Yeah, but it was inappropriate for a man like me to be seen trying to flirt with a girl like that. So I just keep putting as much distance as I can between us– she thinks I’m weird, but… small price to pay. Maybe I’ll eventually get the courage to just accept that there can be nothing between us but…”

“Don’t let yourself suffer forever, Tofuu-san,” she murmured. “I guess it’s really up to you– do you want to marry anyone?”

“Maybe, if I met the right person,” he murmured. “But I’m happy to just be me and be here.”

Yumiko laughed and clapped her boss on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, Tofuu.”

“Thanks, Yumiko,” he said with a grin. “Good work today, by the way.”

“Oh,” she said, startling some. “Thank you, I guess. It’s not the hardest work I’ve ever had to do.”

“Oh?” Tofuu asked, surprised. “I guess being a martial artist, you’ve had your fair share of hard labor.”

“Plus they don’t have many secretarial jobs in rural China,” Yumiko murmured, grinning at the man.

“Well, for someone who has little experience working in a medical office, you did a great job. I’m actually wondering if you’d be interested in being a little more than just a PA?”

“That depends… what do you need me to do?”

“I could use a nurse,” Tofuu said simply. “It pays rather well, but I would need you to study rigorously things like shiatsu techniques and basic triage. Do you think you can do that?”

“I- jeez,” Yumiko murmured. “Sure, why not?”

“Excellent,” Tofuu said with a grin before standing up. “Tomorrow we’ll start training.”

“I look forward to it,” Yumiko said imperiously.

…

School started again, returning everyone to a sense of normalcy. Or it would have, if not for the shock that rippled through the school that first day back.

“Good morning, everyone,” their homeroom teacher murmured, adjusting his glasses. “I hope your holiday was full of joy and mirth, as could be expected. We have a new student joining us. I want you to give her your warmest welcome to Class 1-F.”

The door opened, and Ranma startled. Kodachi Kuno entered the room demurely, curtseying to the teacher before looking at the assembled class.

“It is a pleasure to meet all of you,” she said, bowing deeply. “I am Kodachi Kuno– some of you may know me as the former Black Rose of St. Hebereke’s School. I look forward to getting to know each of you in my own special way.”

“Thank you, Miss Kuno. Please take the seat behind Mister Saotome,” the teacher said dryly.

Kodachi came down the aisle and settled into the seat behind Ranma. Ranma turned to look at his one-time-adversary and gave her a disbelieving look. She fixed him with a look of her own and mouthed ‘later’, before dismissively glancing at her schoolbooks. Ranma then turned to look at Akane, who merely shrugged and gave him a bewildered look.

When the lunch bell rang, Ranma took a deep breath and stood up, turning to face Kodachi.

“I’m sure you’re curious why I am here,” Kodachi said, pre-empting Ranma’s words. The cursed martial artist nodded, causing the gymnast to sigh.

“I was told over the holiday that I was no longer welcome at St. Hebereke’s,” she admitted. “I visited a psychotherapist and was told that I suffered from a few various things that made me a little… unhinged sometimes. St. Hebereke’s headmistress turns out to be quite the arrogant, evil shrew.”

“What do you mean?” Akane asked.

“As you are no doubt aware, our family are Catholic. St. Hebereke’s is a Catholic private school,” Kodachi said, earning nods from the other two.

“As it stands, the Headmistress is very strict about her interpretations of scripture and Pontifical declarations,” Kodachi continued with a sigh. “She informed me that she could not allow me to be an unhealthy influence on her other students where my medications are concerned. She offered, in the name of all that I’ve done for the school’s trophy case, to let the whole thing go if I stopped taking my medications and let the nurse do a full examination to confirm such things.”

“That’s horrible, Kodachi!” Akane exclaimed, looking shocked.

“Yes, it is,” Kodachi said with a nod. “I pray that the Lord will show her the error of her ways some day, but obviously, I declined to let her push me around. So, here I am now– my brother hasn’t helped much with this change, but it isn’t so much that he’s unsupportive, merely that he seems unconcerned with his own mental health in the long-term.”

“Is he giving you trouble?” Ranma asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, the usual things– don’t humiliate me, don’t shame me, stay away from me you insolent brat– all things I have become more than accustomed to hearing from my dear brother on a daily basis since our mother died and our father started spending his time overseas with women of ill-repute instead of being with us.”

Ranma felt a pang of sympathy for the young gymnast. “I’m sorry to hear that. Nobody deserves to be treated so poorly by their family.”

“It’s what it is, Ranma,” Kodachi said simply. “I hope we can work past our previous difficulties, and start new?”

“Of course,” Ranma said with a nod. “I’m sorry for beaning you in the head with a baseball.”

“It is no less than what I deserved, my arrogance staggers even me sometimes,” Kodachi said with a sigh.

…

“Your sister transferred to Furinkan?” Nabiki asked with a gobsmacked look at her fellow upperclassman.

“Yes,” Tatewaki said sagely, folding his arms. “I don’t like it, Nabiki Tendō, but I am afraid there is no choice in the matter. Father insisted on it. I would have rather sent her to a convent, but that’s morally wrong, Tatewaki, and how could you SAY that, Tatewaki. As if I have time to babysit her every minute of the day.”

“Who said you have to babysit anyone?” Nabiki asked, confused.

“She’ll inevitably get herself into trouble– she always does,” Tatewaki said with a snort. “And then I have to clean up after her.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Nabiki muttered. “You shouldn’t worry so much about her well-being.”

“I hope she’ll take this opportunity to learn her place. She cannot hope to compare to the majestic power of the Blue Thunder!” Tatewaki proclaimed smugly. “She has tried with all her might to surpass me but she cannot, no matter how much she wants to.”

Nabiki fixed him with an annoyed, half-lidded look before shaking her head and returning to her lunch. She wondered idly when she’d get good enough at martial arts to kick Kuno around. If Ranma and Akane could do it, what would it take for her to get that good?

“We are talking about the same girl who used you as a combat weapon, right?” Nabiki asked dryly. “It seems to me like she’s more than talented to stand toe-to-toe with the mighty Blue Thunder.”

“Pfeh, gymnastics is nothing compared to the time-honored art of kendo,” Tatewaki said dismissively. “It’s a girl’s art at best, and a child’s flight of fancy at worst.”

“You keep thinking that, Kuno-baby. All you’ll end up getting is beaten around by your sister– or Ranma, for that matter. He takes a rather dim view of such casual sexism.”

“I am not concerned about the likes of Saotome. That wretched cur is no more a man than you are, Tendō.” Tatewaki said with a grunt. “I am not going to recant what I said. It is the simple truth.”

Nabiki could feel the twitch coming on. Tatewaki just signed his death warrant, didn’t he?

…

“He said what?!” Ranma said, clenching his fists in anger as Nabiki relayed Tatewaki’s words to the three underclassmen. “That… asshole! I’ll kill him!”

“Ranma,” Kodachi said gently, placing a hand on Ranma’s arm. “The performance you put on during our match was inspired. My brother’s plainly sexist ramblings are complete nonsense and you shouldn’t permit him to drive you to anger. Besides…”

She glanced over at her brother who was exiting the school. “He’s mine.”

With a leap, she took off after her brother. The kendoist was blind-sided by his sister’s dropkick, which sent him flying into a nearby tree. “You crazy shrew!” he shouted angrily as he stumbled out of the dent in the tree. “I knew you could not be trusted to not make a scene!”

“What, dear brother? I believe most of your yearmates heard the spurious words you used to describe myself and Ranma Saotome. That he is not a man, and that I am weak and unable to best you in combat. So, my dear darling brother, prove your own manhood and fight me!”

“Gladly!” Tatewaki barked back, charging at the young woman with his wooden bokken. The two fighting in the schoolyard quickly drew crowds of curious students and a few curious (albeit completely apathetic) teachers, all of whom took advantage of Nabiki’s bookie services to wager on who would win. Most people seemed convinced that Tatewaki was the superior opponent.

Nabiki wasn’t convinced, and she hadn’t even seen Kodachi’s performance at her match against Ranma. However, given the facts as they stood, she was completely convinced that Tatewaki was about to have his clock cleaned. Poor bastard.

As those in the know expected, Tatewaki’s brash and daring attack was quickly countermanded as Kodachi used her silk ribbon to leverage her brother’s weight against him, sending him spilling ass over kettle again. He recovered and narrowed his eyes at his sister.

“Enough games!” he proclaimed, before launching another direct offensive, dancing out of his sister’s reach and penetrating into her defenses. As his bokken came down, he found himself blocked by a large gymnast’s baton.

“Oh, Tatewaki, do you not remember our fencing classes?” she cooed sweetly. “Who took the trophy home every championship?”

“Shut up!” he barked, slashing down and sending Kodachi tumbling in the dirt. She rolled on her back and sprang up again, dusting her shoulders off. The two squared off for a second before letting loose, the cacophony of fighting becoming a blur of chaos as the two launched attack after attack against each other.

“What observations are you making right now, Nabiki?” Ranma asked gently, briefly drawing the brunette’s attention away from the fight. He was using his sensei voice, the way he spoke to her when they were training in the dojo. Watching the fight closely, she hummed.

“Tatewaki isn’t being strategic, he’s doing a lot of aggressive offense,” Nabiki pointed out. “Kodachi is being patient with the exception of getting in periodic hits when he’s exposed. She’s testing him, or hoping to use his larger size and lesser flexibility to her advantage.”

“Yes,” Ranma said with a nod. “She’s using what works about her style to her advantage in a situation where she would not ordinarily have the advantage in close quarters combat. She can pirouette and twist and turn where he can’t.”

Ranma’s words proved prophetic as Kodachi feinted her older brother with a twist, before slamming into his side with her baton, sending him to the ground with a ‘oof’.

“Had enough, dear brother?” she teased.

“You will pay for this,” he spat as the crowd jeered at their fallen upperclassman.

As he left, Nabiki saddled up next to Kodachi, handing her a small slip of paper.

“If you have any trouble from him that you can’t take care of, get out and go to this address. The girls will help you out.”

“Thank you, Nabiki Tendō. I appreciate that,” Kodachi said with a nod.

…

“So, Kodachi got the better of her brother?” Kasumi asked. “Good– anybody who brags like that has no business winning anything.”

“I agree,” Yumiko said, taking a drink from her cup of tea. “I… will be the first to admit that my own arrogance has gotten me into many sticky situations over the years. Tatewaki is probably suffering from much the same delusions of grandeur, though as to why…”

“Being a trust-fund baby with no accountability,” Nanami said with a snort. “Though I am willing to bet his father was certainly a negative influence in his life.”

“Actually, his father was hardly in his life at all. His mother died when we were in kindergarten, and then his father started disappearing on long trips for whole months at a time. The last time Principal Kuno has been seen around here was when Kasumi was a student.”

“He was a weird man,” Kasumi recalled. “Obsessed with Hawaii, but very removed from day-to-day operations. He would sometimes come up with a stupid idea, but Vice Principal Tsukuda was always good at talking him down or overriding his whimsy. I don’t know why he’s still in charge, but I suppose it could very well be that nobody wants to bother with the process of having him removed yet.”

“We went to high school together,” Soūn commented with a shrug. “Keisuke was one of the kids that got picked on a lot and struggled with health issues. Between being a devout Catholic and having rather serious mental health issues that often had him out of class, he… certainly struggled a lot. It makes sense that his children would have similar problems.”

“Poor Tatewaki and Kodachi,” Kasumi murmured.

Just then, Nabiki’s cellphone rang, and everyone twitched at the shrill sound before glancing at the middle Tendō. The young girl blushed gracefully before looking at it briefly. A grimace spread on her face as she caught sight of the number. “It’s Etsuko– the Steward. She never calls this late unless it’s an emergency.”

She answered. “Hello, Etsu?”

She blinked before nodding. “She just… showed up bawling her eyes out? Have you checked to make sure-”

“Right,” Nabiki said shortly. “I’ll be right there.”

She snapped the phone shut before looking at her expectant family with a grimace. “It seems that Kodachi has showed up at our safehouse in tears. Etsuko says she was carrying a bag full of clothes. I think Tatewaki threw her out of the house.”

“What a scumbag,” Ranma said, folding his arms. “Rat fink bastard.”

“I need to go see her,” Nabiki said firmly. “If for no other reason than to make sure she’s alright.”

“Go ahead, Nabiki,” Soūn said with a nod. “Will she be alright there?”

“That office space has all the amenities they need. It may not be fancy, but it should be alright. There’s a public bath not far from it, and there’s plenty of muscle to keep anybody from poking around too much.”

“I’ll take a couple rotations if it helps,” Ranma contributed.

“So will I,” Yumiko said firmly. “No girl should have to live in fear of someone hurting her.”

Nanami looked a bit surprised at Yumiko’s fierceness at such a thing, but nodded her agreement.

“I appreciate that, you two. You may not need to. I’ll see how things are and report back, okay?”

…

That was how Nabiki found Kodachi, in the presence of the few girls who lived in the relative comfort of the Coven home– the young gymnast was curled up, looking glassy-eyed and listless.

“Kodachi,” Nabiki murmured. “What happened?”

“Tatewaki… threw me out,” she said. “When I got home, he’d already had Sasuke– that’s our butler, throw out all my things. All my clothes, personal possessions, everything scattered across our front lawn. I would never have imagined my brother to be capable of such… wanton cruelty. I just… I’ve never had the safety of my life taken from me so suddenly.”

“What about your father? Couldn’t he talk some sense into Tatewaki?”

“Daddy?” Kodachi asked, before she started laughing. “Oh, God, no. Of course not. Daddy hasn’t been in regular contact with us in… five or six years? He’s dropped completely off the face of the Earth and it’s just been me and Tatewaki taking care of ourselves since. When he needs to do something for us, he just... does it. He reads our message, sends what needs to be sent, and then goes back to radio silence. I haven't had a conversation with the man since I was a little girl.”

“That’s awful,” Nabiki murmured. “Tatewaki can’t just throw you out!”

“It’s alright,” Kodachi said with a sigh, wiping the latent tears from her eyes. “It’s… I’m just upset because the relationship I had with my brother is… in ruins. My reputation and all that I’ve worked for St. Hebereke’s is ruined. I’m… getting better, but what do I do now?”

“You’re still the same person you were before– you can carve out a new reputation at Furinkan, and you can show Tatewaki that he’s a tremendous…”

“Chode?” Kodachi offered with a snort.

“What’s that?”

“American slang term. Picked it up the last time I was in California,” Kodachi murmured. “Means he’s a dick.”

“Ah-ha,” Nabiki said with a grin. “Yes, he certainly is. Well, Kodachi, you’re more than welcome to stay here. That’s sort of the whole purpose of this place. A safe space for girls, just like you– thrown out of their homes for stupid reasons that boggle the mind and stupefy the intelligent.”

Kodachi started laughing again before giving Nabiki a soft smile. “Thank you. I’d be honored to stay here.”

“Etsuko,” Nabiki said, glancing at the slightly older woman next to them. “If you wouldn’t mind showing Kodachi the facilities, and getting her a bed?”

Etsuko bowed her head and grinned. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you something hot to eat and a nice bed to climb into. Tomorrow’s a new day and you’ll feel a lot better.”

Watching Kodachi and Etsuko leave, Nabiki let out a sigh. She was going to have to deal with Tatewaki soon. Somehow. But she figured that having him beaten up by a bunch of vindictive martial artists probably wouldn’t work. As she thought about her problem, an idea popped into her head.

She let out a low cackle. Oh yes.

That’ll work.

Notes:

1. hatsumōde - first visit to the Buddhist temple in the New Year.
2. otoshidama - monetary gift to children given by parents at New Year's.
3. pochibukuro - the envelope used to enclose the otoshidama.
4. 30,000 yen in early 2000 would be roughly $294.

Chapter 9: Much Ado About The Kunos

Summary:

The continuing chronicle of the Kuno family moves towards conclusion, and with it, some more changes cascade into the life of our young protagonists.

“How’re you doing, Kodachi?” Ranma asked with concern as he set his bookbag down at the foot of his desk.

“About as well as can be expected,” Kodachi replied. The normally demure-looking Kodachi was far from her usual glamour this morning. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, her hair was tied up in a messy set of buns, and it was rather clear she’d barely slept the night prior. “I can’t complain, however. Hot meals, a public bath not far from the facility, my doctor being very willing to move my prescription to the konbini a couple blocks over, and I’m getting all the emotional support I could ask for– it’ll just take some getting used to.”

“It was a little weird for me to go from livin’ as a nomad to livin’ in a house that wasn’t quite my own,” Ranma admitted, a little bashfully. “You live your life one way your whole life and then things change and you spend so much time on the backfoot.”

“Exactly!” Kodachi said with a smile. “I didn’t know you were a nomad, Ranma?”

“Well, sorta,” Ranma said, furrowing his eyebrows some. “I was born here, but I went on the road trainin’ in martial arts for most of my life. Got to see a lot of people, and a lot of places, but never stayed in one place for too long. I guess the longest I ever stayed in one place was at this tiny rental house back when I was in middle school, and even that… we didn’t have running water or electricity, so most of the time it was just like roughin’ it.”

He gestured at Akane, who’d just stepped into the room. “Livin’ with the Tendōs has been like stayin’ at a really nice hotel,” he said with a light, nervous laugh. “Sometimes I feel kinda bad, like I’m takin’ advantage of their hospitality.”

“You’re not taking advantage of anything,” Akane said primly. “It isn’t your fault you grew up living like a wandering sengoku-jidai samurai. Besides, I’m sure there’ll be money-making opportunities in your future. After you did that cute little photoshoot for her, Nabiki’s been practically watching you with yen signs dancing in her eyes.”

“Plus, I bet I could pick up some work for Cologne,” Ranma murmured, tapping his finger to his chin.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Akane said wryly. “Daddy thinks about it this way: you’re currently looking like his future son-in-law, and the person who’ll help Kasumi carry on Mom’s martial arts tradition. He’d never ask you to pay for anything other than your own fun– and even then…”

Ranma chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, still. It’s a big change from how my life was like before Yumiko dragged me here.”

Suddenly, the air was pierced with a loud deafening feminine shriek from the floor above.

“What the heck was that?” Ranma asked.

“It sounded like a girl getting murdered,” Hiroshi said. “There must be a serial killer on the loose!”

“If there was a serial killer on the loose, don’t you think it would’ve been a little more obvious?” Akane said, glaring at the boy.

“Not if one of the serial killers was a second-year student,” Daisuke provided.

“Why wait until now to do it, though?” Sayuri pointed out. “It seems like a rather wasted effort when the person could’ve done it at any time before now.”

Above them, the ceiling rattled from the sound of something slamming into it, along with muffled shouting and the sound of desks and other objects crashing. Eventually, the ceiling ruptured, and the familiar shape of Nabiki Tendō dropped through, only barely avoiding crashing into the desks by Ranma suddenly appearing under her, catching her and setting her back on solid ground.

“Nabiki? What the heck’s going on?” Ranma asked.

“I might’ve done something a little stupid,” Nabiki said flatly, looking up at the new hole in the ceiling.

“What the hell did you do?” Ranma asked, before another person jumped down into the hole, landing on one of the desks and sliding it down to the floor. The figure was wearing a dark blue gi and white t-shirt that was incredibly baggy and ill-fitting. They turned and glared at Nabiki.

“Holy shit, it’s Kuno,” Daisuke whispered. “But he’s a chick!”

“Nabiki Tendō! You cannot escape heavenly justice!” the voice proclaimed. “You will pay for what you’ve done to me!”

“Instant nyannichuan,” Ranma murmured. “Nabiki, you didn’t.”

“Enough talking! Die, Tendō!” Kuno said, moving to strike Nabiki with his bokken. Ranma glowed with pride as Nabiki slipped underneath the kendoist’s strikezone and slammed her fists into his ribs.

Though clearly this wasn’t nearly enough, as it did very little to deter the kendoist’s furor.

Fortunately, it didn’t need to be enough. In the time that Kuno was slowed, he found himself pinned to the ground by the fifty-five kilograms of fury in the form of Akane Tendō, who wrapped her arms around Tatewaki’s now-slender waist and suplexed the kendoist to the ground like an AJPW heavyweight champion, knocking Tatewaki’s lights out.

“Damn, was that a suplex?” Ranma said in awe.

“Yup,” Akane said smugly, before turning to Nabiki. “Are you alright, sis?”

“I’ll be fine,” Nabiki said, though she sounded a little… vacant. “I probably should’ve thought that out better, huh?”

“I don’t think it was the idea of throwing some instant nyannichuan on him that was the problem, it’s underestimating how much of a violent maniac he is. The fact he’d try to maim you with his wooden stick of all things.”

“I’m a little surprised my punch to his ribs didn’t work,” Nabiki said with a frown.

“Your stance and power was fine,” Ranma replied with a wave of his hand. “It’s just that some martial artists, like me or Tatewaki, or that asshole Ryōga, we all can tank punches a little better than most people can.”

“You people are unnaturally strong,” Nabiki muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “This presents sort of a problem for me. None of the other students in my homeroom are as freakishly strong as you two are, so what’s going to stop Tatewaki from coming after me every day like he did Akane? I won’t be able to stop him like you can!”

“We’ll talk to Nanami and have you started on some strength training. She’ll know what to do in a way that is…” Ranma trailed off, before snorting. “More intelligent?”

“Oh, joy,” Nabiki murmured. “I think I already feel the stress migraine setting in.”

…

The story of what transpired that morning had been told over the dinner table that night.

“… and so I decided that the best revenge against his sexist ramblings was to splash him with some treated water. Instant nyannichuan and the like,” Nabiki murmured. “I figured it would be at least a little… humbling, almost?”

“Ha,” Nanami barked, throwing her head back and belting out a thundering laugh. “Excellent use of Cologne’s little party favors, Nabiki. So, Tatewaki didn’t take it well I assume?”

“Not well is an understatement. He tried to cleave my head off with his bokken. Destroyed three desks before tearing a hole in the floor and causing me to fall down into Class 1-F. If Ranma hadn’t been there, I might’ve busted something on a desk, or hit my head.”

“Eh,” Ranma said. “It was no big deal, Nabiki. You’ll get better at landing on your feet with time, but you know, no shame in needing assistance.”

“After that, he jumped down into the hole and tried to hit me with his bokken. I did what Ranma taught me, to slip under his attack and hit his vulnerable midsection with a punch. All it did was slow him down, and he would’ve definitely gotten me if Akane hadn’t suplexed him into the ground.”

“Not every combatant you’ll face will be as ridiculously… durable as Tatewaki,” Soūn said with a sage nod. “But that young man certainly has a thick skull– and thicker ribs.”

“We could get you on some strength training,” Nanami said thoughtfully. “With any luck, you won’t have to wait long before it really starts to pay dividends. Consider your sister and Ranma. Akane, what is the most you’ve been able to lift?”

“… one time I was able to lift a Toyota Celica,” Akane said, rubbing the back of her head. “Not over my head, but enough to lift it at least a few feet off the ground. That’s about a thousand kilos.”

“I can bench about 1500 kilos,” Ranma said.

Nabiki stared at everyone in disbelief. “How?!”

“Honestly?” Nanami asked. “We don’t know. It starts with being able to bench a normal amount of weight, like, 100 kilos, but then it quickly escalates to insane proportions. At my physical peak, I was once able to lift an entire Zero and flip it end-over-end with one hand.”

“I never did much strength training,” Yumiko said. “But when Ranma was a little kid, I was able to move a bunch of boulders without breaking a sweat after a landslide took out a road we were hiking on.”

“That’s actually terrifying,” Nabiki said. “Kasumi?”

“I’m nowhere near as strong as anybody else probably, but I’ve been able to lift basically anything I’ve run into without a problem,” Kasumi said.

“You think that’ll help me with Tatewaki?” Nabiki asked.

“Definitely,” Ranma chimed in. “He can take a lot of hits, but if you’ve got enough strength, the number of hits it’ll take to knock him out is… much less.”

“What exactly does strength training involve?” Nabiki asked, scratching her neck idly.

“It… really does depend,” Ranma said idly. “It depends on what your sensei considers to be proper training or not. My training involved a lot of death-defying situations to quickly build my tolerances, but I bet there’s a smarter way to do it.”

“Yes,” Nanami said with a nod. “We’ll begin tonight, Nabiki. It’s time for your training to step up, if you’re going to be able to stand your ground against a young man like Tatewaki.”

…

“I’m worried that Nabiki might’ve gotten in a bit over her head,” Ranma said to Kasumi as he laid in their bed, looking up at the ceiling. “She doesn’t have nearly the experience we do. She’s definitely smarter than him on a good day, but I still worry about her ability to fight him without being able to evade.”

“She’ll be alright,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “When it comes down to it, Nabiki is as stubborn as the rest of us are. She’ll learn everything she needs to hold her own against someone like him, and then she’ll use her cleverness to disarm him with words and cunning. She’s good like that.”

“I’m just worried,” Ranma muttered.

“I know, me too,” Kasumi said. “She’s my sister– I hate to see my sisters having to fight or confront anyone, but I learned a long time ago that I can’t… fight their battles for them, as much as I’d like to.”

Ranma nodded idly and sighed. “Why this stuff has to be so damn stressful, I don’t know.”

“Life is all sorts of sheer lunacy, and we’re just playing our roles, dear,” Kasumi said reassuringly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ranma said. “I just hope that Nanami’s methods of teaching strength training aren’t as violently insane as Yumiko’s were, though I guess in her case she was just rolling with whatever the Old Man taught her, and had little input in those methods.”

“Probably– though that’s being rather charitable to her, I think?”

“Nah, she was a victim of circumstance too, as much as I wish she wasn’t so I could hate her,” Ranma snorted.

“You don’t?” Kasumi asked, eyebrows raised.

“No,” Ranma said, shaking his head. “I could never hate anyone, really. Not even Ryōga, I think. Hate is such a waste of time, energy and emotion. I’d rather everyone get along for more than five minutes so I don’t have to look over my shoulder and hope I don’t get my skull caved in by some testosterone jockey, or some other nutjob!”

“I understand,” Kasumi said, tapping her finger thoughtfully to her chin. “that’s a very kindly view to take. I guess I sort of harbor grudges, like Akane and Nabiki do. I don’t like your… parent, very much. For all the things she did to you… and I don’t like Ryōga either for much the same reason.”

“I respect that, Kasumi– and I appreciate you not… trying to interfere in how I live my life,” Ranma said, smiling at her.

“I could never,” Kasumi said. “You deserve your independence.”

“Thanks,” Ranma murmured, leaning in and kissing his fiancée on the lips, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re the best.”

“You are too,” Kasumi responded, returning the kiss with equal passion.

…

Over the days which followed, Nabiki found herself alternating between having bodyguards during school hours and struggling to keep up with the rigorous strength training. It involved having weights attached to her arms and legs and trying to do basic exercises before escalating to things like trying to move large stones and weights between two points in the dojo.

Tatewaki hadn’t been seen or heard from since the day he’d been splashed with instant nyannichuan, though the mood at Furinkan was certainly simmering with some kind of emotion. Nabiki, despite her mercenary preoccupations, was rather well-liked among her classmates, and many people felt that Tatewaki’s reaction to her ‘modest prank’ was a drastic overreaction.

The Saturday after Nabiki and Tatewaki’s fight, the Tendō Dojo was surprisingly quiet. Everyone was either out of the house doing something to enjoy the strangely warm day, or upstairs in their bedroom. Soūn was the only one in the living room, currently reading through the newspaper.

The sound of someone at the door had Soūn looking to see just who was paying them a visit. When he opened the door, he let out a low whistle.

“Keisuke?!” Soūn exclaimed.

“Soūn! How are you, bruddah?” he asked with a grin, his Japanese accented with a light trace of something that sounded vaguely like it came from Polynesia. Keisuke was wearing a pinstriped grey suit and still looked very much the position of an affluent man, though his salt-and-pepper hair was tied up in a large mass of dreadlocks behind his head, and he was wearing a golden chain with a cross hanging from it. He was very tan, clearly he’d been spending a lot of time in a tropical paradise of some kind, basking in the sun.

“I’m doing alright. What brings you here?” Soūn asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Tcha, my son keeps complainin’ to me about what your daughter did to him. I just wanted to come here and talk to you and get the facts straight before I go deal with that pilikia,” Keisuke said, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“Did you know that he threw your daughter out onto the street?” Soūn asked as he let Keisuke into the house. “And that she got kicked out of St. Hebereke’s?”

“What?” Keisuke asked, glancing at Soūn.

“Your daughter was thrown out of St. Hebereke’s for seeking medical help for her schizophrenia. You know, the same thing that killed your wife?”

“Yeah, I remember what Maria went through, thank you,” Keisuke said, taking off his sunglasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation. “And then Tatewaki threw her out?”

“After she humiliated him, yes,” Soūn said with a nod. “She’s been living at that one all-girl’s facility.”

“The one your little kaikamahine run, right? I’m glad she’s at least safe,” Keisuke said with a frown.

“Are you back for good, or are you just stopping in because of what’s going on?” Soūn asked pointedly, and Keisuke shrugged.

“It all depends. I may stick around for a few weeks, see what’s going on here or there, but you know how I am. Tokyo is too cold and too depressing for me, bruddah. Maybe it’s time to take them to meet their stepmom.”

“You married? And didn’t tell your kids?” Soūn asked, shocked.

“It was sort of a spur the moment kind of thing, you know? I met her when I took a cruise to Jamaica. She was this beautiful little ebony number and… I don’t know, I haven’t met someone that excited me like her since my Maria died.”

“You’ve always liked foreign women,” Soūn murmured as he served them some tea. “Would you like to speak to Nabiki about what happened, or?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” Keisuke said with a nod. “Your kaikamahine have always a good head on their shoulders. Kasumi sent me a couple letters too warning me that Tatewaki was gettin’ a bit out of line. Should’ve listened,”

“Thank you for saying so,” Soūn said with a smile before he called out. “Nabiki! Come down here, please!”

“Coming!” came his middle daughter’s voice, from the dojo. After a couple minutes, Nabiki entered the room, joined by Ranma, who was currently in girl form. Both were wearing gi, and it looked like Nabiki had just finished her day’s training. She stopped when she noticed the additional person in the room. “Oh, Principal Kuno! Um… hello!”

“Aloha, little Nabiki. Are you still at the top of your class?”

“I am, yes sir,” she said courteously. “Oh, Principal Kuno– this is Ranma Saotome. They’re Kasumi’s partner. Ranma, this is Principal Kuno.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ranma. I can’t believe Kasumi’s got a significant other! I remember when she was just tall enough to reach my knee!” Keisuke said, looking back at Soūn.

“She’s almost twenty,” Soūn said proudly. “I’m very proud of her.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Ranma said evenly, accepting the handshake from Keisuke.

“Strong grip. Of course you’re a martial artist,” Keisuke said with a nod. “Are you a Furinkan student?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you considered joining one of our sports teams? I’m sure even with Tanaka in charge, their quality hasn’t improved much.”

“I have, but I’m a recent transfer and… it’s just a little too much to worry about sports. Maybe next year?” Ranma offered, and Keisuke grinned.

“It was worth a try, keiki. I need to speak to Nabiki alone, if you don’t mind?” he asked.

“Sure. Nabiki, I’ll be upstairs if you need me for anything,” Ranma said, patting the middle Tendō sister on the shoulder and dashing upstairs.

“I just want to get your side of the story,” Keisuke said without preamble. “Honestly, I will be the first to admit that I am not a great father, but when Tatewaki blows up my phone day and night with screeching ramblings about sorcery from Nabiki Tendō and retribution, I have to wonder just what went down.”

“Kodachi had to transfer to Furinkan because the bitch Headmistress at St. Hebereke’s threw her out of the school for getting medication for her illness,” Nabiki said. “Tatewaki was being a huge sexist prick about the whole thing, and after he threw her out of your house, I decided to get a little revenge on her behalf. So, I used this stuff called Instant Nyannichuan to temporarily turn him into a girl until he bathes in hot water.”

“Ah, that might be the problem. The boy doesn’t seem to believe in hot baths. Thinks he’ll live true to the samurai way if he always takes cold ones,” Keisuke muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“He’s still…?”

“Yeah,” Keisuke said, shaking his head. “Clearly, the boy can barely be trusted to take care of himself, even with a butler looking after his every beck and call. Your father mentioned to me that Kodachi is currently living in a safe place?”

“Yes, sir,” she said with a nod. “I’m sure you remember that organization my sister Kasumi was running?”

“I do, and I remember your father buying them an office space. Alright, good. If she wishes to stay there, she may. I’ll… make sure she’s taken care of. Thank you for being honest. I’m going to go visit Tatewaki now and see just what can be done to fix my son’s problems.”

“Good luck, sir,” she said.

“Thanks, keiki.” Keisuke grunted, placing his sunglasses back on. “Make sure that Ranma kid lives up to the standard you three Tendō girls have set.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will, sir. Kasumi wouldn’t let Ranma fall short in any regard, particularly anything academic.”

“Good,” Keisuke said with a wry smile.

…

That Monday, as Nabiki, Ranma and Akane were walking into school, they were met by the dour-looking Tatewaki, who seemed to still be in his female form.

“Nabiki Tendō,” he said firmly. “I… I have been made aware that my behaviour toward you has been most unacceptable. You are clearly a warrior in your own right, and the… aspersions I have cast upon you and the fairer sex have been utterly unfounded.”

“Are you saying that or did your Dad make you say it?” Nabiki challenged.

Tatewaki frowned. “You would throw my apology back in my face?”

“Tatewaki,” she said. “I have tried to be your friend since we were kids. I have looked past every stupid thing that has come out of your mouth, and I’ve tried to be patient. You need help. You need to stop being an idiot whenever someone offers that help. Do you get me? When you stop masking the stupid things you’ve done behind this wall of pagentry and floral samurai worship, come find me and apologize to me like my best friend would have done. Until then, we have nothing to say to each other, Kuno.”

She brushed past him, with Akane and Ranma following suit.

“Nabiki,” Akane said.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she replied tersely, cutting off her little sister. “He has to know the consequences of his actions. For better or for worse. I can’t keep an eye out for him anymore when he’s just become such an unlikable tool.”

“I’m sorry, Nabiki,” Akane murmured. “I remember when you two were friends.”

“That was a long time ago,” she said wryly. “People can, and do change, Akane.”

With that, she left the two freshman to their own devices, leaving to go to class.

“Is she going to be okay?” Ranma asked, glancing at Akane who bit her lip.

“She’ll be alright,” Akane said. “Though she’s definitely hurt more than she lets on– she really has reached the end of her tether with Kuno, and I think if he keeps putting his foot in his mouth, he’ll ruin the last friendship he has.”

“Never a dull moment, then,” Ranma said.

“Never a dull moment,” Akane agreed.

“Attention students,” came the deep accented voice of Principal Kuno over the PA system. “There has been a problem with the school boiler, and there will be no available hot water until the issue is resolved. Thank you for your patience.”

“Think that has something to do with the fact that Kuno’s still a girl?” Ranma asked.

“Sucker bet, Ranma. Even Nabiki would tell you that’s got shit odds,” Akane said with a snort.

When Akane and Ranma stepped into their classroom, they were met by the sight of Kodachi and her father in an embrace.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with so much, my little pua,” he said. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Daddy. I… I don’t think I can move back home with Tatewaki, but I’m happy where I am now. I hope you’re not mad.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe,” Principal Kuno said, earnestly. “You could have ended up somewhere far, far worse than where you ended up. Do you still have your card?”

“I do. I… do you want it back?”

“No, not at all. I want to make sure you’re able to take care of yourself. I know I’m not the best father, I admit that, little pua. But I… I want to make sure you don’t need anything.”

“I’m alright, Daddy. Thank you,” she mumbled.

“Good,” he said brightly. “I’ll be around for a couple of weeks before I go back to Honolulu. I want you to come visit some time and meet Jannah. I think you would like her. She can never replace your mother, but…”

“She makes you happy, Daddy. I understand completely,” Kodachi said soothingly. “See you tonight?”

“Of course, my dear. I’ll see you tonight,” he said before turning and moving to exit. He noticed the two and bowed his head.

“Miss Saotome, Miss Tendō,” he said graciously, before leaving.

“He called me a ‘miss’,” Ranma muttered, furrowing his eyebrows.

“He’s a little distracted,” Akane said with a wry grin. “Don’t worry too much, Ranma.”

“Well, I’m glad things worked for Kodachi. Tatewaki’ll probably take some more time to unfuck himself, but that’s for the better probably.”

“Probably,” Akane agreed.

…

Nabiki watched as Tatewaki and his father talked at each other rather than to each other, both trying to assert their worldview as just and right. She didn’t know what they were saying, but between Tatewaki’s almost petulant expression on his face, and his father’s irritation, she knew they weren’t getting much headway. Eventually, Tatewaki caught her eye and turned bright red before turning back to his father.

She turned her head away and sighed. She couldn’t help him. She felt guilt for leading him down this path in her own way, constantly taking advantage of his obvious problems to line her own wallet. It used to be fun, now it just made her feel a little nauseous.

Eventually, Tatewaki returned, and seemed content to simply ignore her for the rest of the day– though she did keep a general eye on him as he tugged on his kendo robes to keep them on, and she frequently warded off people who might want to approach to needle the self-titled Blue Thunder. She did spy him doodling in the margins of his paper, which to her was a sound indication that the goofy little happy-go-lucky friend she’d had once upon a time wasn’t completely gone beneath a sea of… whatever bullshit.

She would give Tatewaki some time to look at himself carefully. Maybe he wasn’t too far gone yet. Maybe it wasn’t even his fault he was this way. The wheels in her mind turned, inch by inch and she soon came to a realization, and growled.

She’d need to pay the principal a visit.

…

“That’s… actually a rather interesting theory, Nabiki,” Keisuke said thoughtfully. “What do you think, Chiyoko?”

Chiyoko Tanaka gave her boss an unimpressed look before snorting. “If I had the power, I would’ve dissolved most of the school’s clubs as soon as I could, particularly after the two incidents.”

“… Incidents?” Keisuke asked, surprise in his voice.

“Ah, I haven’t mentioned it yet. Hang on, here,” she said, reaching into the filing cabinet next to her and handing it to Keisuke. The older man opened it and leafed through it’s contents for a few seconds.

“My son orchestrated a mass harassment campaign against Akane Tendō?” he said.

“Yes,” Nabiki and Chiyoko both said, simultaneously.

“He’s actually caused my sister quite a lot of emotional trauma from how many times she’s had to fight off legions of boys every morning,” Nabiki pointed out. “Furinkan’s always been a little chaotic, that’s just the nature of Nerima in a lot of ways, but they’ve been more aggressive than the usual pervs and creeps.”

“Plus, the attempted sexual assault of that new kid, Ranma Saotome?” Keisuke asked. “I see the notes here that… Ranma has a magical curse?”

“Yes. He’s actually a he, but he turns back and forth with hot and cold water,” Nabiki explained. “The boys found out pretty quickly and uh… tried to splash him with cold water. He’s quite a strong martial artist, but it’s a pretty intimidating experience, having a room full of boys try to assault you.”

“I see he has special exception to attend PE class with the girls,” Keisuke said with a nod. “You cleared this, Chiyoko?”

“Yes– Saotome is no threat to maidenly virtue,” she said, waving her hand.

“I believe we’re going to need to hold a all-school assembly. I think it’s time for some changes around here.”

…

“Mister Saotome,” Chiyoko said, gently grabbing the arm of Ranma as he went towards the school assembly hall. “You are not required to attend this afternoon’s assembly. If you’ll follow me, I will be privately debriefing you about the subject.”

Ranma blinked and noticed Nabiki and Akane standing by, the former looking rather nervous, and the latter looking at her elder sister with suspicion.

After following their Vice Principal into an empty classroom, they sat down at the desks available while their sensei leaned back on the teacher’s desk.

“The Principal is… shall I say, quite displeased at what’s been going on here over the last few months. Many students bringing a sort of… ill-repute upon our school and our community, and enforcing a lot of outdated concepts that have no place in a modern, realistic era. To that end, Principal Kuno has decided to promulgate a few changes that will take place with immediate effect.”

“The first, he’s removing his son as President of the Student Council, and in fact, is reorganizing the entirety of student government. Nabiki will be appointed the new Chairwoman of the Student Association, and will preside over the meetings of elected representatives from all of the classes. This will be done in a democratic manner so as to prevent the most egregious nepotism from taking place.”

She sighed. “Until further notice, the classes will be reorganized– with boys and girls having separate classes. Boys are having additional mandatory lessons added to their daily schedules to deal with the problematic developments we’ve had. To that effect, Ranma, you will be included in the all-girls first year class.”

“I’m what now”

“You already take your PE class with them,” Chiyoko said gently. “In this case, you’ll simply take every other class with them as well. You are a completely innocent victim in all this, just as Akane has been– and I personally don’t see the point in including you in these disciplinary actions.”

“I don’t have to wear a uniform, do I?” Ranma asked, nervously.

“No, in fact, that is one of the carrots to go with the stick,” Chiyoko said happily. “Starting next Monday, uniforms will no longer be compulsory at Furinkan High School– it seems that our dear principal has been encouraged by American schools and their… sense of individuality, that he feels it’s time for us to step into the twenty first century and get rid of them. There will remain a dress code, of course, but we’re hoping this will improve student morale.”

“He shows up and… massive changes,” Akane murmured. “I always thought he was kind of crazy?”

“He’s had his moments, but he seems to be getting better. Hopefully this should be the start of some positive changes over the long-term,” Chiyoko admitted. “But we’ll see. These sorts of changes always run into some snags here or there.”

Chapter 10: Obligatory Shopping Trip Chapter

Summary:

School life seems fit to change, and Ranma goes out with friends for tapiru and some shopping.

“The following assignment will be issued in lieu of our normal classes for the next week,” their homeroom teacher said, adjusting his glasses as he peered out at the students of 1-F, or at least, the female students of 1-F. “The young men are receiving a separate assignment from Principal Kuno, so it’s up to the discretion of each of us homeroom teachers as to what your assignment will be, ladies.”

He leaned back against his desk and hummed. “Your assignment is to write an essay on self-discovery. A time in your life where you learned something new about yourself. Something along those lines. You’ll be giving a brief presentation about it on Monday to your classmates, whomever those people may be.”

He glanced at a hand that shot up from the crowd. “Miss Matsui?”

“Is there a particular word limit or requirement, Itō-sensei?” Hiroko asked, gently scratching her cheek.

“No, not particularly. Just don’t write something silly,” Mr. Itō replied with a snort. “As long as it’s long enough to give a brief presentation, and it comes across as well-thoughtout and not rushed, you’ll receive full credit. We just have to do something to keep you kids occupied while school is adjourned for an entire week. Of course, with a full week to do it, I can’t imagine any of you will have a problem with the subject, right?”

“No, sensei,” the class chorused.

“Good,” Mr. Itō said happily, clapping his hands together. “Now, to talk a bit about what’s to come. As you all heard today at assembly, starting on next Monday, the school will begin segregating between boys and girls– primarily for your safety after a number of incidents over the last year. I understand that this may not be the most… popular decision ever made, but I assume some of you can at least understand the reasons why.”

He cleared his throat. “So, I want you to look around and get to know your neighbors. Some girls from other classes will be joining you, but what you see here will make up the majority of the students in your homeroom. But I assume most of you know each other already?”

“We do, sensei,” Asami said with a nod. “Most of us actually hang out on the weekends, or volunteer at Nabiki-senpai’s youth center.”

“That makes things far easier on us all,” Mr. Itō said with a nod. “And to address a question you may certainly be thinking, the reason why Mister Saotome is still with us…”

“We know why, sir,” Kodachi spoke up. “I don’t think we need to rehash that and torment poor Ranma.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Itō said with a nod. “Yes. But that is the primary reason why Mister Saotome will be remaining in your class.”

“I don’t think anybody here has issues with that,” Yuka chimed in. “He’s practically Akane’s brother as it is, and he’s dating Kasumi Tendō, literally the reigning Queen of being mellow.”

After Mr. Itō had taken pity on the poor students and let them go for the day, several of them made their way to the train station to head to one of the neighbouring shopping districts to hang out for the afternoon. While they waited for the train to arrive, Akane noticed Ranma rocking back and forth on his heels.

“What’s bothering you, Ranma? You’re fidgeting,” she asked curiously, giving her future sibling-in-law a concerned look.

“I was just thinkin’ about something Nabiki told me once,” Ranma admitted with a sigh. “that without boys around, all the support network that she had with takin’ care of y’know, girls livin’ on the streets and stuff, it’d fall to shit. What if that happens now and it’s my fault?”

“Oh, Ranma,” Akane murmured, hugging the cursed martial artist tightly. “Don’t think like that. It isn’t like the boys are being shipped to Siberia or anything, they’re just probably putting up some walls and not letting them be around us during the day. They’re right, it’s safer for us if they’re kept away from us. They’re… not bad people, just horribly mislead and undisciplined. Nanami would even say that the drastic measures that Principal Kuno is taking are good ones.”

“I just can’t help but worry,” Ranma admitted, wringing his shirt in his hands. “I don’t want to bother anybody, you know?”

“You’re not a bother,” Akane said reassuringly. “Trust me, okay?”

“Yeah, Akane’s right. Honestly I’m relieved that we don’t have to put up with those sleazebags anymore,” Sayuri spoke up. “Some of the boys were nice enough but the sheer number of them that were harassing Akane, and then they think that just because you have a curse that you’re a free peep-show?”

“Yeah,” Ranma murmured. “I like, try to feel bad for people like Daisuke and Hiroshi, but at the same time…”

“It’s not a bad thing to concern yourself with your own well-being sometimes,” Hiroko contributed. “Those two will survive, they’re good at weasling their way out of bad situations. It’s sort of their MO.”

“Alright,” Ranma conceded. “I guess you’re right.”

The friends sat in companionable silence for a few moments before Yuka let out a hum.

“Hey, if we’re going down to the shopping centre,” Yuka asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why don’t we stop and get some tapiru as well? That new place that just opened is delicious.”

“Tapiru?” Ranma asked, curiously.

“It’s this… kind of tea from Taiwan,” Yuka explained. “It’s got little balls of tapioca in them. You’ll like it, I promise.”

“Oh, that sounds weird,” Ranma commented, wrinkling his nose. “But I can give it a try, I guess.”

“Mmm,” Sayuri hummed. “How’s your wardrobe looking right now, Ranma?”

“I think I’m okay, honestly? I mean, I’ve got a good mixture of outfits for both forms and I think if I buy anything else, Kasumi’s closet will be full to bursting,” Ranma said thoughtfully, twirling his red pigtail in between his fingers. “I… might want to buy some more sports bras, probably… and maybe stop at cosmetics department.”

“That’s fine,” Hiroko commented. “I actually need to buy a new thing of concealer anyway, so I’ll tag along with you if you want.”

“We can all tag along,” Akane commented pointedly. “If you want, Ranma. That way it’s not so daunting to be seen by people?”

“If you want to, you can. I mean… you all can do your own thing if you want,” Ranma murmured.

“We just want to hang out with you, Ranma. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what that hanging out involves,” Sayuri commented with a grin. “Life around you is just far too fascinating to ignore.”

She turned to face Akane. “Did Kodachi give you a reason as to why she didn’t want to tag along?”

“She said she’d catch up with us later,” Akane said, waving her hand vaguely. “She wanted to go back to the shelter to clean up and change her clothes, plus she said she and her Dad wanted to talk to Nabiki about something to do with funds, I don’t know.”

“Probably more money to run the shelter, I’d guess,” Ranma replied. “I can’t imagine it’s the cheapest thing in the world, running a safe space for girls like that, and I know your Dad isn’t exactly swimmin’ in Nintendo money.”

“Oh, definitely not. I don’t think we’re poor per se, but we’re definitely not that loaded,” Akane said with a grimace. “Though I wish we were, sometimes. It’d be kind of nice to never have to worry about working. I’d love to spend my whole life doing martial arts and writing music.”

“You do realize your girlfriend is from a tribe in China, right? You could do that for the remainder of your life… you’d just have to move to China, probably,” Ranma replied with a smirk.

“I don’t think I’d want to move out there permanently. It seems like a nice place to live, sure, but… I’d miss so many of the things we take for granted here,” Akane said with a grimace.

“Like what?” Ranma asked.

“Cell phone reception, for one,” Akane said, deadpan.

“You could probably live without that. Most of the people you’d need to talk to at any given time all would live within a few miles of you,” Ranma replied with a raised eyebrow. “I guess if you wanted to keep in touch with your sisters, but you don’t know that they don’t have cell phones, or landlines for that matter.”

“Okay, fair enough, I’m probably being uncharitable,” Akane admitted. “But still– not having to find a job some day. Not having to deal with Japanese sexism. That’d be the dream.”

“I guess I’ve never really given a lot of thought as to what I’ll be doin’ in a few years. After spendin’ years on the road, it was never really something we had to talk about on any given day. The last thing I want is ta end up doing boring office work for the rest of my life.”

Akane reached and gently patted Ranma on the shoulder. “Don’t get too anxious about the future, Ranma. We’ve still got years before that becomes a major concern to us. Just do your best now and everything’ll fall into place.”

Ranma let out a slightly annoyed sound from his lips and buried his head in his hands. “Sorry, I’m trying not ta be like that. That therapist tells me it’s one of the natural responses to unpackin’ all my traumas and shit… not tryin’ to dump my anxieties on you, Akane.”

“Don’t sweat it, dummy,” Akane said with a gentle nudge of Ranma’s shoulder. “Now come on, let’s go have a good time with our friends, okay?”

…

“’sho good!” Ranma exclaimed as he swallowed another mouth full of tapioca. “This was a great idea, Yuka!”

“I’m known for good ideas every now and again,” Yuka said happily. “With how cold it’s been lately, hot tapiru sounded like just the right combination.”

“Yeah,” Akane murmured, savoring the flavor of her drink. “Thanks for paying for it, Yuka.”

“No worries, Akane,” Yuka said gently, patting the shorter girl on the head. “I’ve still got some of my otoshidama left, so…”

“Still,” Akane said with a sigh. She hummed and turned to look at Ranma. “Did Nabiki ever pay you for those pictures she took of you in your furisode?”

“She gave me an advance on it,” Ranma responded, sipping another bit of his tea. “She said she was working on it but hadn’t quite gotten all the buy-ins yet. I’ve got more than enough cash for today and then some.”

“Good. I only ask because I’m worried she’ll take advantage of you,” Akane admitted. “Nabiki has always been ruthless with money and… I don’t know, she just can’t always be trusted to be honest with it.”

“She’s been very straightforward and helpful for me so far,” Ranma murmured. “She helped me consolidate my money so I could buy Mom’s kimono, an’ she’s been super nice to me beyond that, so…”

Their conversation kept up the whole time that the gaggle of teenagers made their way into the shopping plaza.

“So, where to first?”

“I just want to run over to the record store and see what they’ve got on sale,” Hiroko said, gesturing towards one of the music stores. “It’ll only take like, fifteen minutes?”

“That’s fine,” Yuka said, waving her hand. “We can go there first. There’s a shoe shop on the second floor that I want to stop at, and I think that’s right next door to where we can grab Ranma’s sports bras, and then on the third floor is where they keep most of the cosmetics brands. We’ll work our way up, yeah?”

Everyone chimed their agreement, and the teens went over to the music store. It was playing some up-tempo Western arrangement.

Hiroko wasted no time in combing through the racks of CDs and casettes that dotted the salesfloor, though she kept looking up at something every few seconds. Sayuri was the first to notice her nervous tic and followed Hiroko’s line of sight to whatever it was she was staring at.

“Oh, Hiroko, you funky little lesbian,” Sayuri gently teased. “Now I see why you’re so interested in this shop.”

Everyone’s attention turned to who Sayuri was staring at. It was, in fact, the store clerk. A short girl with dark skin, honey eyes and colorful hair who was boredly leafing through a rock-n-roll magazine.

“Hiroko, just go ask her out!” Asami hissed at her friend.

“No way! She’s way out of my league! Besides, I… what if my parents have a problem with dating her?” Hiroko asked with a grimace.

“Hiroko, your parents were fine with you being a lesbian, but they’ll throw a fit if you date someone who isn’t Japanese?” Akane asked sarcastically. “Is it because of her skin-tone?”

“It’s neither of those things, you jerk!” Hiroko hissed. “My parents aren’t racist, I don’t think… but it’s still a concern! She’s also probably too old for me, and we’d have nothing in com- Ranma, where are you going?”

…

Ranma tucked his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the counter.

“Excuse me,” he said gently. The girl looked up from her magazine and blinked before quickly pushing the magazine away.

“Um, yes! Can I help you, miss?” she asked.

“I’m sorry for askin’ such a personal question, but um… I have a friend who thinks you’re really cute?” Ranma said questioningly, before glancing back at his friends. “And she’s not really able ta build up her courage to ask ya out.”

The girl glanced over at where a rather obvious gaggle of young girls were whispering by one of the CD racks, staring in shock and awe at their redheaded friend. She snorted in amusement. “They’re kind of obvious, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Yeah, but they’re nice people,” Ranma said with a grin.

“Which one’s lookin’ to ask me out?” the clerk asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hiroko, she’s the one with the short hair and the freckles,” Ranma said with a nod.

She laughed and smirked, before grabbing a pen and a slip of receipt paper. She scribbled some information down on it and handed it to Ranma. “Give that to her and tell her I expect her to call me.”

“I’ll do that,” Ranma replied, his grin widening. “Um, I didn’t ask you your name?”

“Satomi,” the girl introduced herself, and stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet ya.”

“Ranma Saotome. Likewise,” Ranma replied, shaking the girl’s hand.

“Can I ask where on Earth you get your hair done? That color is so vibrant,” Satomi asked in awe.

“Actually, it’s… um, natural,” Ranma admitted. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“Well, damn,” Satomi said with a whistle. “That’s kinda impressive, is what it is.”

“Thanks again, I’m sure she’ll call you.” Ranma said, flashing another grin at the girl before he walked over to where Hiroko and the other girls were waiting.

“I can’t believe you just walked up to her like that!” Hiroko exclaimed with a squeak.

“There’s very little that phases Ranma,” Akane said with a chuckle at her flabbergasted friend.

“Here,” Ranma said, forking over the slip of receipt paper to the flustered Hiroko. “Her name is Satomi by the way.”

“Satomi,” Hiroko said dreamily, before blushing. “Um. Let me just. Buy some stuff. And then we’ll go, yeah?”

While Hiroko continued her frantic search through the piles of music, Ranma wandered over to the “Recommended!” section and started picking through the albums there with a curious look on his face. He’d never really, you know, been invested in music, but… maybe it was worth a try to see if he found anything he liked?

He picked one out of a stack that looked interesting.

“… A Kind of Magic?” Ranma murmured. “Hey, Akane, ever heard of this album?”

Akane wandered over and looked at it carefully before humming. “Oh, It’s a Queen album, Ranma. They’re a British rock band. Not quite my taste, I’m more into punk rock, but you should ask Asami, she’s a massive Queen fan.”

“Hey, Asami!” Akane called out. “Come here, Ranma needs your opinion.”

“What’s up?” Asami asked as she wandered over from the CDs she’d been poking through.

“Is this album good? Akane says you’re sort of an expert on the subject,” Ranma asked, showing Asami what he’d grabbed from the rack. Her eyes lit up as soon as she caught the cover of the album.

“Literally my favorite album ever made,” Asami gushed. “Then again, Queen sort of never really had any bad albums. Except maybe Hot Space.”

“Hot Space?” Ranma asked.

“You’ve… you’ve never listened to Queen before?”

“I sort of spent most of my childhood running around China,” Ranma defended. “I didn’t have enough time to really absorb anything cultural.”

“Oh no,” Asami said, eyes wide. “Okay, um. Right! So. Yes, this is a great album to get. But… um, if you want a good diverse look at Queen’s discography, I’d see if they have any copies of Queen II, A Night at the Opera and The Works here as well.”

“Are those albums of theirs?” Ranma asked, glancing back at the cover of the album in his hand. “I guess I could start gettin’ into music. Might be nice to have a soundtrack when I’m workin’ out.”

“That’s basically what I do with all the music I have, though I mostly have casettes,” Akane chimed in. “Music’s fun, Ranma.”

“I guess I’ll get this and… um, those albums you mentioned? If they have ’em here,” Ranma said, giving Asami a smile.

“Hell yeah! Lemme see if they’ve got ’em in stock!” she gushed before dashing off towards the cashier girl, Satomi.

“She’s enthusiastic about music– particularly bands like Queen,” Akane commented.

“I see that, though that’s cool,” Ranma said with a shrug. “I mean, I think my therapist told me once that having really strong interests like that’s actually a good thing. Something about accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative.”

“Oh, yeah, that’d actually… huh, I’ve never really thought of it that way,” Akane commented, tapping her cheek.

…

They ended up leaving the record store behind, each of them several yen poorer and several albums richer. Ranma had been practically pushed by Asami into buying the album he’d picked out of the pile of recommended releases, while she insisted on buying him the other three albums that she wanted him to give a try.

As they went up the escalator, he made a mental note to borrow Nabiki’s CD player for a few days, or something like that, so he could actually listen to them.

“This plaza is huge,” Ranma commented as he looked up towards the ceiling. The shopping centre was at least five or six stories and had so many shops he wasn’t even sure where to begin with all the crazy things you could buy at a place like this.

“This place is modeled after American shopping malls,” Akane commented. “Apparently the guy who owns most of the businesses in this district went on vacation with his family to the American Disney World once, and got super fixated on the culture. That’s why this place is decorated like it is.”

“I thought he was just obsessed with the 80s, but I guess I can see… um, Disney World’s in Florida, right?” Hiroko asked.

“Yeah, it’s in Florida,” Asami responded. “It kind of explains why there’s so much Americana everywhere, and palm trees, and beach aesthetic, and all that kind of stuff.”

“I’d ask if Principal Kuno owns this place, but he’s obsessed with Hawaii, so it can’t be him.”

“No, but could you imagine? Selling hula skirts and stuff?” Hiroko asked, snorting. “That’d just be nuts. So, I guess the shoe store’s first.”

“Yeah, if everyone doesn’t mind?” Yuka asked.

“I don’t mind,” Ranma commented. “I have to… get some sports bras, but I don’t really know my size. Nabiki got it pretty close, but it’s not perfect. I also might need to get an idea for sports bras as a guy too, so, we might be in that store for awhile.”

“No problem, Ranma,” Akane said, patting the redhead on the shoulder. “Hopefully you shouldn’t need to spend so much money on clothes now that you’ve pretty much got everything you need.”

“I hope, my wallet can’t keep up with civilization. It was so much easier when wearing a gi all the time was acceptable,” Ranma bemoaned with a frown.

As soon as they got into the shoe store, everyone split up to go do their own shopping. Ranma and Akane had stuck together as neither particularly needed or really wanted anything footwear-related.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything you want while you’re here?” Akane asked as they wandered the various racks of women’s shoes.

“I don’t think so,” Ranma said uncertainly before humming. “I… you know what? Maybe I should buy a pair of heels, get some practice wearing those. Between the Christmas Party thing every year… and if I have to go out to something fancy in girl form, it might… not be a terrible idea? Also, don’t heels make you taller?”

“They do,” Akane said. “I can’t say I’d have expected you to volunteer up to buy a pair of heels for yourself, but you’ve been full of surprises lately. Let’s go see what they’ve got in your size.”

As it turned out– yes, they had quite a sizable selection of shoes in Ranma’s size. The shiraz-haired martial artist was thankful for Akane’s help because otherwise he’d have been way in over his head with no idea what kind of shoe to buy. Akane had given him a quick run-down of what each type of shoe basically did.

Ultimately, Ranma ended up settling on ankle boots, of all things.

“If it was spring or summer, I’d see some sense in buying something a little more fashionable I guess, but they’d rot in Kasumi’s closet for a few months anyway. At least with these, I can go outside in the snow or cold without runnin’ into any problems.”

“It’s a smart choice. I’m sure if you want to try out more proper heels, like for a formal dinner or something, I think Nabiki’s got plenty of those in her closet that are about your size.”

“I’ll keep that mind– I just don’t like borrowin’ her stuff all the time. I’m sure she gets tired of it after awhile,” Ranma murmured.

“I bet she doesn’t,” Akane replied. “Honestly you’ve been the closest thing to a friend she’s had around here in a long time, so don’t feel too bad. Hell, she enjoys spending time with you, so…”

“Huh, I guess you’re right,” Ranma said, furrowing his brow. “Did’ya wanna look around yourself, or…?”

“Nah,” Akane said, waving her hand. “I’ve got plenty of stuff at home that I don’t even wear half the time. I’m just here to be your moral support, Ranma.”

Ranma couldn’t help but blush from the praise.

…

Now, Ranma was getting into uncomfortable territory.

Bras and panties everywhere. He felt like a filthy perv standing just on the precipice of being caught out as a man.

“Ranma, are you alright?” Akane whispered in his ear, gently hooking her arm in his.

“N- No, I’m not,” Ranma responded warily. “I… I don’t know if I can do this. Nabiki got my sports bras for me the first time but- but I feel like a massive perv here.”

“Girls, just give us a minute,” Akane said before she dragged Ranma in the middle of a bunch of racks of padded bras. She gently slapped his shoulder. “Ranma Saotome, you are not a perv. This is a purely pragmatic kind of thing. You, Ranma, are going to have this body for at least half your life, right?”

“As far as I know, yeah,” Ranma murmured, rubbing his neck.

“Okay. You have… larger breasts than I do, and it hurts when I go without a bra or any kind of ample support for any period of time. Coming to a store to have your size measured so you can buy proper support is not a perverted thing. Hell, even if you wanted to wear bras as a guy… who’s fucking business is it anyway?!”

“Yeah. Yeah! You’re right,” Ranma said, furrowing his brow. “Fuck anybody who’s gotta problem with this.”

“Now come on, Ranma. The sooner we do this, the sooner you’ll be able to relax.”

“Fuck it, I can handle it. Ranma Saotome don’t lose to nothing,” Ranma proclaimed dramatically before he turned on heel and walked over to the counter.

“Excuse me,” he said quietly. The long-haired woman at the counter looked up at him and gave a Customer Service Smile.

“Yes, what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Is there someone who can do fittings? I haven’t been fitted for a bra in some time and ah, I need to know what size I am now.”

“Certainly, ma’am. I’ll have Emiko take care of you in just a few minutes. We’ll set you up in dressing room 16.”

The woman handed Ranma a small key, and Ranma accepted it with a smile. “Thank you,” he said evenly.

“Hey, girls? I’ll be in Dressing Room 16,” he said, before heading over to the various stalls. Unlocking the door and stepping in, he sighed and unbuttoned his shirt and hung it on one of the hooks. Humming to himself, he wondered when he started caring so much about feminine modesty. He… used to not care nearly as much. Pulling his sports bra off, he hung it on the rack as well.

He caught his own reflection in the mirror and hummed appreciatively. Perhaps it was when he started actually seeing this body as himself. It was… different, he guessed, when it was you they were staring at, and not just a magical construct of a curse.

He was interrupted from his reverie when a knock came on the door.

“Miss? Did you request a fitting?” the voice asked.

“Um, yeah, here,” Ranma said, crossing his arm across his breasts and opening the stall door. A kindly, older looking woman with a tape measure hanging around her neck stepped into the stall with him.

“I’m Emiko. What I’m going to do is measure you in a couple different places, and from there we’ll be able to tell what size bra you’re fitted for, alright?”

“Sure,” Ranma murmured. “Um… I guess you’ve seen a lot of breasts.”

“Oh yes, young lady. I know it’s a little awkward for you, but it’ll be over quickly. I do my measurements, I go and grab some things for you to try on, and then you know exactly what works best for you.”

“Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad,” Ranma said with a slight smile as he reluctantly moved his arm away from his breasts. He actually was quite impressed at how smoothly this woman operated. She measured three different numbers and quickly disappeared from the stall, murmuring about potential size matches.

She soon returned, carrying a handful of colourful bras.

“Well, young lady, you’re certainly more developed than most of the girls I do fittings for,” Emiko joked, a wry smile gracing her lips, before she forked over a basic black bra. “Try this on, if you don’t mind.”

Ranma accepted the offending object and blushed. “Um. I don’t… know how to… put one on,” he said quietly.

“You don’t?” Emiko seemed surprised.

“My, um, family was very traditional,” Ranma said quickly. “I’ve never worn a bra before until very recently, and even then it was a sports bra.”

“Oh, you poor thing. Well the good news is that these will help you with keeping the back pain to a minimum. Ah, how old are you?”

“Sixteen,” Ranma responded. “Why?”

“Oh my. Well. You’re… still in puberty, so… they will get bigger with age,” Emiko responded gently. “I’d say your mother or grandmother is a good measurement for your bust size.”

“Good to know,” Ranma murmured. “Um, so, putting a bra on…?”

“Well, you’re used to a sports bra which you pull down over your head. In this case, you’d put it on sort of like a vest. Slip your arms through the straps, fix the cups over your breasts, and then affix these hooks on the back,” Emiko explained, showing Ranma the various parts of the bra.

“Okay,” Ranma murmured, following Emiko’s instructions before glancing at himself in the mirror. “Oh, that’s not too terrible.”

“How does it feel?” Emiko asked.

“It feels like it fits right,” Ranma said.

“Good!” Emiko said with a grin. “Now, that’s a very basic kind of bra. The sort of thing you’d wear around the house or at school, if you so chose. Now, I have this one here…”

She handed Ranma another bra. “This is a padded bra. You certainly don’t need it, in my opinion, but if you’re trying to entertain a gentleman caller… or a lady caller, if that’s your preference, it is the twenty-first century after all, and you want to draw some attention, you could wear one of these to do it.”

Ranma, with a little bit of struggle, unhooked the basic black bra and accepted the cream-colored padded bra from the lady. He eyed it warily for a moment before putting it on. She was right. The padding… sort of pushed up his breasts and made him look even more stacked than he already was. This… actually might be sort of nice to have if he wanted to give Kasumi something to stare at… or troll people. Plenty of opportunities for that.

“I like it. Is it a bit much?” he asked, turning to look at the woman.

“Not if you’re using it for the right purpose,” Emiko said with a smile.

“What else have you got?” Ranma asked.

“Well, we’ve got strapless bras for when you’re wearing a formal dress, wireless bras if you’re not a fan of underwire digging into your skin, which can happen sometimes after wear and tear… plus we do have proper sports bras in both a normal strap and a racerback style.”

“Are there really that many types of bras?”

“When you wear them every day, yes. Makes life so much easier that way.”

“Huh. Um, Emiko, can I ask ya somethin’?” Ranma asked, curiously.

“Sure, dearie. What’s on your mind?”

“I have a guyfriend, so to speak. He doesn’t have breasts, obviously, but he… sometimes likes to wear bras. Just for the feeling of security it gives him. What would you recommend he get himself so he could, you know, wear one without it being obvious that he’s wearing one?”

“Well, probably something like a sports bra, or if he wanted to go for something far less androgynous and more obviously feminine, a standard bra in the lowest size we have available.”

“Oh, alright, I think I might buy him some as well, he’d probably like ’em,” Ranma said with a nod.

After Emiko had finished giving Ranma an impromptu crash-course in all the various types of top support available to him, Ranma finished up in the dressing room and stepped out and went looking for his friends. He found them over in the slightly fancier, more girly stuff.

“Done already?” Akane asked as he stepped over.

“Yeah, and somehow ended up grabbing more bras than I originally anticipated,” Ranma murmured, showing her the stack of them that the woman had convinced him to get. “For every occassion, I guess.”

“Hey, no shame in that,” Akane teased. “Anything else you want to look at while you’re here?”

“Ranma, you should get something sexy for Kasumi,” Hiroko said. “I’m sure she’d be thrilled.”

“Something sexy…?” Ranma asked, trailing off as he looked around at the sea of frills and lace he was standing in.

“Hiroko, please, that’s my sister,” Akane said, pulling a face. “Not that you’re wrong but I don’t need to hear about that.”

“Um,” Ranma stammered out. “I… I guess? But I can’t really afford it, these bras are going to eat up what’s left of my money from Nabiki.”

“As a gift for getting me a date with Satomi,” Hiroko said proudly. “I’m paying for your undies and cosmetics. Don’t even try to debate with me, just take a look around and see if something piques your interest, you big nerd.”

Ranma huffed and folded his arms before looking around. Okay, so. If he wanted to… have something girly to seduce Kasumi with, assuming she even liked that kind of stuff from him (he actually didn’t even know where her line was drawn in terms of like, how comfortable she was with that)… what would he pick?

He flipped through a few racks of bras and panties in his size categories before stopping on something. “Oh, wow. That’s cute.”

He pulled it out and gave it a look. It was a soft baby blue colour, and was a combination of a push-up bra and… some kind of panty, he didn’t know the names. It was the kind of panty he liked though, when he actually wore panties and not just boxers. He wasn’t sure about the frilly lacy bits along the edges, but he figured it was less for function and more to just show yourself off to your partner.

He wondered if Kasumi would like it on him.

…

“You know, you didn’t have to buy that stuff for me,” Ranma protested as they rode the escalator once again, this time to the third level to go to the cosmetics store.

“You weren’t going to be able to afford all that anyway,” Hiroko said gently. “Particularly the bras for guy mode.”

Ranma blushed. “I’m just curious to see how that works. You shouldn’t have bought those, though. I’d hate for them to be wasted if they don’t work out.”

“Eh,” Hiroko said with a shrug. “Don’t worry about it. My parents give me way too much money to be reasonable.”

“I’ll never understand wealthy people,” Ranma muttered.

“Hey!” came a female voice as they reached the third floor. Ranma blinked to see Kodachi flagging them down, a smile on her face. “Finally found you girls.”

“Oh, Kodachi! You should’ve called and let me know you were here. We were downstairs at the lingerie shop,” Akane said. “Ranma needed some bras and… we got kind of carried away.”

“Eh, it’s not a problem. I was able to do some personal shopping anyway,” Kodachi said dismissively. “Where are we headed next?”

“Cosmetics,” Ranma supplied. “I wanted to see if I could get some… things… there.”

Kodachi gladly tagged along with them as they shopped for makeup. While Akane helped Yuka with making some crucial decisions, Kodachi had ended up with Ranma as the genderfluid boy was looking at various eyeliners.

“Royal purple looks like it might be a cute color,” Ranma murmured. “Nabiki told me that black is a little passé and makes you look like one of those Harajuku goths if you don’t do it right. Not quite my vibe, I just like the idea of having a bit of colour.”

“You definitely want something that compliments your eyes,” Kodachi said. “Maybe a dark eyeliner and a purple eyeshadow? Purple-on-purple might be a bit much.”

“I don’t know if I want to do black,” Ranma said with a hum. “It might also be a bit too obvious if I’m, you know, in boy mode.”

“Oh… good point,” Kodachi murmured. “Then purple-on-purple might be just a little abstract enough where most people won’t notice. I’d do that, then.”

Ranma let out a laugh before grabbing an eyeliner and an eyeshadow off the shelves. “Okay, sounds good.”

“Ooh, what about nail polish?” Kodachi said eagerly.

“I’ve never- I mean, I’m a martial artist. It feels like having painted nails is sorta counter-intuitive,” Ranma said, confused.

“Ranma,” Kodachi said flatly, showing her hand. Each one of her fingers was painted bright red, and, save for her index finger and her middle finger, had perfectly manicured, sharp and pointed nails.

“Oh. Doesn’t that make it difficult to, you know, do the Rhythmic Gymnastics thing?”

“Not really– my biggest problem is the fact that my fingernails are grown out,” Kodachi said, looking at her own nails with pride. “The paint part isn’t even that big of a deal. If anybody makes a big deal out of it, so what? You’re an incredibly talented martial artist. I think you can handle any thug who wants to attempt to make you feel like shit for your interest in things that are outside the normalcy of gender.”

“I guess you’re right– again,” Ranma said, furrowing his brow. “I… guess I could pick a colour. I kinda liked the colour of my kimono, so maybe that colour?”

He ended up picking out a cobalt-coloured nail polish and a clear top coat.

When he walked up to the checkout, he spotted Kodachi trying to pull out a credit card.

“Kodachi, no,” Ranma protested. “You’re not payin’ for my stuff.”

“Ranma, please. You and the Tendō girls have been… more than supportive of me despite our short history. Allow me to do this for you,” she insisted.

“I’m just… not comfortable with people paying for my stuff like this, I guess. I’ve spent my whole life, you know, not gettin’ stuff from people unless I was stealin’, but here I am with people practically fallin’ over themselves to give me things.”

“What about the times you flirt for food?” Kodachi asked.

“That’s just… me takin’ advantage of dudes and their hormones. It’s different than one of my friends payin’ for my stuff.”

“Please, Ranma, I enjoy doing this,” Kodachi said soothingly.

“You and Hiroko are incorrigible,” Ranma grumbled.

“Yes, and proudly so,” Kodachi said, shoving Ranma playfully. “If you want to make it even, buy me lunch.”

“Alright, deal,” Ranma said brightly.

Chapter 11: Defining Self-Discovery

Summary:

Self-discovery, and self-examination can be a rigorous, and sometimes irritating process. Good thing everyone here is so in touch with their emotions now.

Notes:

Oh, hello again. Well, it took an entire fucking year, but I finally have an update to share. Please enjoy it for what it is. I'm still struggling to get the muses for anything.

Ranma sipped on his drink and let his mind wander elsewhere. Not that he wasn’t having a good time with all these girls, he just… needed some time to himself, or something stupid like that. His therapist seemed like she really wanted him to do stuff like that– taking stock of current situations and workin’ through them. How had things changed in just a few months.

Back in August, he’d been thinkin’ about running away from his Pops to go find his Mom after months of wandering the Chinese countryside. Then, he’d suddenly dragged Ranma back to Japan and set him up with a daughter of his friend.

Hadn’t that been like winnin’ a lottery. He’d gotten the prettiest girl in Furinkan without even trying. Kasumi was this unyielding rock of patience and kindness that always seemed wanting for him to do his very best, even if he didn’t always feel like he could do his best when it came to certain stuff. Like school, he considered. Martial arts and him went together like… rice and soy sauce, but when you threw school in the mix, it may as well be like oil and water, or something dumb like that.

“Ranma, are you alright?” Akane’s concerned voice interrupted his thoughts, and Ranma startled before glancing over at the youngest Tendō.

“Oh, um, yeah, I’m fine Akane. Just lost in thought, is all,” Ranma said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Did I miss anything important?”

“No, nothing that important,” Kodachi said idly, snatching one of the french fries off his tray. “I was just being regaled about how you were an expert wingman in netting the hottie at the record store for your friend.”

“Ah, well, y’all kinda know that I’m really blunt and direct. I figured that’d probably be the best way of goin’ about it,” Ranma said, blushing. “If I can help ya get over your fears, then that’s what I’m gonna do. I don’t like to see people hurt by not bein’ able to make decisions out of fear.”

“Isn’t he just a big softie,” Hiroko chimed. “Akane, I think your sister might be the luckiest girl in town.”

Akane clapped her hands over Ranma’s ears and made a dramatic ‘hush’ noise. “Don’t say that!” she said theatrically. “You might inflate his ego and ruin him!”

Ranma laughed. “Oh, stop it,” he said playfully, batting the girl’s hands away. “I think if I grew too large of an ego, someone’d let the air out of it. Probably Nabiki. She’s good at that sorta thing.”

“Probably,” Akane said with a snort. “But I don’t think that’s really a worry. We’re just teasing, Ranma.”

“I know,” Ranma said with a grin. “What’re y’all interested in doin’ once we’re done eatin’? Some more shoppin’ or what?”

“I’d like to look around a bit more,” Kodachi said thoughtfully, taking a sip from her drink. “Might be fun to see what sort of weird stuff they’ve got here.”

“We were sayin’ it reminds us of your Dad,” Hiroko said. “Kinda obsessed with Americans.”

“Oh, you know what, it does sort of feel that way, doesn’t it?” Kodachi murmured, grimacing. “Though my father is more obsessed with Polynesia and Hawaii more so than America itself.”

“I mean, at least he’s not running around with pineapples on his head or pretending that he’s something he isn’t,” Ranma commented. “There was this dude that Yumiko and I met in China. He claimed to be the rightful Emperor of China but he was some dude from Scotland who liked to parade around in one of those Mao suits. He was a total scam artist, but his mistake was runnin’ into Yumiko. He wasn’t shit compared to her.”

“Your time in China sounds… well, honestly, it sounds weird,” Akane replied, shaking her head. “I’m glad I never went on any training trip like that.”

“It had its good moments, and its bad moments. Not the worst thing ever, I promise,” Ranma said with a grin. “Plenty of beautiful sights an’ stuff like that.”

“Yeah, but still.”

“Yeah, but still,” Ranma replied with a nod. “Believe me, I’m glad to not be doing that anymore.”

…

Kasumi hummed, flipping another page in her book - if she was being completely honest with herself, she was absorbing maybe every fourth or fifth word in each paragraph. She was too busy thinking. Thinking about how things had changed so quickly since that Saturday in August. She had been content, if not happy with the situation in her life. The family was regimented and ordered in just such a way that they had been floating by, treading water and trying to not upset the precarious balance much.

Yet, Ranma Saotome and the others that had surged through their life like a bolt of lightning had certainly changed things. For the better, she thought. He and Nanami - and Yumiko to a degree (though she was loathe to admit it) had been the shot in the arm her family needed to work through their trauma and grief, and start doing more for themselves. She had so much free time now compared to this time last year that - mercy - she was getting a bit bored!

Sighing, she snapped her book shut and returned it to her bookcase. She walked over to her desk, and popped open one of the drawers, pulling out a slightly dusty black leather booklet. When she had passed the reigns of mutual aid to her baby sister, she had given up so much of herself - including her dreams.

The Plan had been the culmination of what her grandest aspirations were - and oh were they aspirations. She had wanted to use her mutual aid network to get into a highly accredited university, become a doctor of medicine, then eventually a member of the House of Representatives, and then from there to become Prime Minister and finally “slay” the hydra of the 1955 System that had been rotting Japan from the inside out since before her father was alive, instituting sweeping reforms to provide hope and health to all the people who languished from Kyushu to Hokkaido.

It was the sort of thing they expected from Nabiki, but please. Her sister was ambitious, and calculating, but she was a creative spirit.

Her mind floated back to not long after Ranma had arrived in Furinkan and her sister had been trying to get into the business of peddling questionable photographs of Ranma to the teenagers of Furinkan. Perhaps Nabiki had some rough spots that would eventually sand themselves down - and she had bad habits from the stress, but they were healing and that was what was most important.

All things considered, at the current rate she was going trying to reacclimatize herself to some of the things she’d let slip over the years, she’d probably be ready to go back to school at roughly the time Ranma graduated high school.

Maybe they could go to the same school… if he even wanted to go to college.

This was the only thing about dating people younger than her, and was one of the reasons why she had been so hesitant at first. People younger than her were even less likely to have their lives together, and so she couldn’t rely on that to be a “rock of stability” for her as well.

That wasn’t to say she wasn’t happy with Ranma, quite the opposite, but she did feel it put a lot of onus on her to be the put-together person. She’d already slipped once when that… Ryōga person had slashed most of her hair off, and she wasn’t likely to do that again without severe provocation. She needed to be Ranma’s rock of stability to help him come out of that massive hole that his parents had dug for him.

She sighed and looked at the details of The Plan. That was most certainly never going to come to pass now - too much time had passed - she had changed, as had everything else in her life. She had been reading medical texts since she’d had that conversation with her father back in August and she found herself… focusing on other things.

She still needed to get into college if she wanted to have any chance of impacting any changes, but now she had found a new motivator to move herself along. Ranma’s infectious “never back down from a challenge” attitude was so… envigorating, brilliant, exactly what she - and her sisters, and him, too, really - needed to finally map their way out of the mire.

Grabbing a pen from the nearby cup, she flipped to a blank page and started writing.

The Plan 2.0 was going to come together - and she was going to absolutely find a way to help everyone in her family become their best selves. Even Yumiko, even if she wanted to tee off on Ranma’s mother’s head for being such an idiot in the past.

…

The aforementioned idiot sneezed, nearly braining herself with her own arm as she flinched away from Cologne.

“Bless you,” Cologne quipped, giving Yumiko a bright grin. “You know someone’s talking about you, right?”

“Knowing me, they’re probably cursing my name,” Yumiko said, sniffling. “Um, hey, have you given much thought to what you want to do for your birthday?”

“How’d you find out about that?” Cologne said, rolling her eyes. “Is ‘nothing’ an option?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Yumiko asked, giving Cologne the driest look she could muster. “Of course we’re going to celebrate your birthday. You and I haven’t been together that long, and I will take any chance I can get for us to spend time together.”

“Oh, you romantic,” Cologne gushed, tapping Yumiko on the cheek. “You say that like you’re not naked in my bedroom, straddling me, looking like the sexiest woman alive.”

“Are you complaining?” Yumiko shot back, eyebrow raised. “You didn’t spend that money - and have Nyannichuan shipped from China - for me to not show off what I can, right?”

“I got you that to help you with your body image issues,” Cologne said plainly. “If you had decided that this relationship wasn’t worth it after that, I would’ve been mad beyond belief, but I would have gotten over it.”

“Oh,” Yumiko said, deflating some, but huffing with irritation. “Well, still. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had a body I like the look of. You’re my girlfriend. You do the math.”

“I’m not complaining - or objecting, for that matter - I’m just saying that you don’t need to take me out on dates to be romantic,” Cologne said, grinning at Yumiko as the latter folded her arms under her breasts in an attempt (which was failing horribly) to look put out.

“It won’t be a proper date,” Yumiko insisted. “We’ll throw a little party at the Tendōs. Soūn would have my ass if I didn’t insist you spend your birthday with us as a family. He’s always been weird about birthdays, ever since we were young.”

“Alright, if you insist,” Cologne said as she sighed. “I just don’t see what’s to celebrate about it. I’ll be thirty. I’m getting old.”

“You’re not getting old,” Yumiko tutted, leaning forward to get closer to Cologne’s face. “Am I old? I’m thirty-three, after all.”

“That’s different,” Cologne sniped, refusing to let the other woman get the better of her.

“Is it?” Yumiko challenged, running her hands along some very sensitive areas. “Age is just a number, and you’re only as old as you feel. Believe me, right now I feel like a woman ten years younger, and it feels fucking fantastic. So shut up and let us cherish you and celebrate your special day.”

“As you wish,” Cologne purred.

…

Yumiko fastened the hooks of her bra while Cologne lay in the bed, watching her with that cute little smirk on her lips. Honestly, she was feeling better than ever right now. Oh, sure, that lingering self-hatred still floated like a fog just on the edges of her waking mind, but the fact that so many people had been willing to show her a degree of… acceptance and kindness was really helping out.

Nanami didn’t have to accept her again as a student - Ranma didn’t have to forgive her, or at the very least be willing to make amends with her - and Cologne didn’t have to insist on staying by her side, even after finding out just what kind of person she’d been once.

Genma Saotome was a greedy, drunken, lecherous bastard. Yumiko Saotome, on the other hand. Well. She was hoping that she could do better this time.

“You’re getting caught in your thoughts again,” Cologne sing-songed from the bed. “Is it anxiety?”

“No,” Yumiko replied, sighing as she picked up her shirt. “I’m just - caught up in my own thoughts, I guess. You know, all the things I’ve done that I still need to make amends for.”

“We’ll work on those things as they come. You forget that you have multiple people - people with real power and real motivation to help you - in your corner. Let the issues come, we’ll conquer them together.”

“You’re the best, d’ya know that?” Yumiko said, grinning. “And here I thought you just liked me for my looks.”

“Are you kidding? I love you for all of you. Even the dumbass parts,” Cologne replied, grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she said the last bit.

“Oh, thanks, so kind of you,” Yumiko said, rolling her eyes. “Jackass.”

Cologne nodded her head. “You’re welcome,” she replied, before glancing over at the clock. “Aw, shit. I’ve got to open the restaurant soon. That means Shampoo will be back from her errands. Are you working today?”

“Tofuu told me not to worry today,” Yumiko replied. “I was actually thinking about heading back to the Tendōs and getting in some sparring practice. I’m still not happy with my kata as of late.”

“Not a bad idea. I’d offer to let you hang out at the restaurant, but I might be too busy to entertain you.”

“Nah, you’ve got a business to run,” Yumiko said, buttoning her shirt up. “Besides, maybe Soūn or Kasumi has something for me to do.”

…

It was fortunate that the Tendō Dojo wasn’t that far from the Nekohanten. While Yumiko wasn’t like Ranma where she could walk on the canal fences or run the entire length without stopping, the walk was a nice exercise. She was glad that she’d chosen trainers today and hadn’t tried to go full-femme. Then she might be cursing the whole experience.

“I’m home!” she announced as she arrived at the Tendō Dojo. She wasn’t sure if there was anybody even here, it was only the early afternoon. Ranma and Akane should still both be at the mall, the former had rang the house right after they’d been released from school with the news that school was out for an entire week while the Principal did some renovations; she assumed Nabiki was off doing something of her own, probably at that shelter she was running, and then Soūn and Nanami were both off doing their own thing…

Kasumi was probably here, but they didn’t get along well for reasons… well, reasons that Yumiko understood.

Unfortunately for Yumiko, the only person in the house - Kasumi - happened to be seated at the kotatsu.

“Welcome back, Auntie Yumiko,” Kasumi said, only briefly glancing up at her. Yumiko’s stomach did a weird little twist and she frowned. She really hated that she didn’t get along with her son’s fiancée. With a sigh, Yumiko ignored the strangely terse greeting of the elder Tendō daughter and went into the kitchen. She started to prepare herself lunch before stopping. What was it that her mother had used to say, a very long time ago?

‘Kill them with kindness’?

She poked her head out of the kitchen.

“Hey, Kasumi?”

“Yes, Auntie?” Kasumi asked, turning to look at her.

“Are you hungry? I’m going to make myself something to eat, and I- I figured you might want something too,” Yumiko said, a bit lamely.

Kasumi gave her an intense, calculating look before nodding. “I would appreciate that, thank you.”

Yumiko returned to the kitchen and blew a breath of air out of her nose. Alright, well, civility was going to have to do for now. Tying her hair up, she cracked her knuckles.

“Let’s get down to business.”

Cooking was not something she was the greatest at; Ranma had always been far better at it than her, but she knew her way around a kitchen from the few times she’d had to take care of it when the boy was sick. In fact, speaking of Ranma, she’d have to show Kasumi that she did care about him. She knew exactly what to make to show that fact off. It was a cynical thing to do, but she wanted to - do something. Show that she wasn’t going to lapse back into carelessness.

Some rice, some white onion, green onion and beef - along with dashi, and poached eggs.

When all was said and done, Yumiko felt rather pleased with herself. Classic Saotome family gyuudon.

It wasn’t a special recipe or anything, but. It was something she could make, and make well. It kept Ranma’s belly full on many nights where they had no business being out in the wilderness scrounging supplies.

“Here we are,” Yumiko announced, coming back through the curtain with the two bowls of food. “I hope you like gyuudon. It’s an old standby I used to make to keep Ranma fed.”

“Oh?”

“Well, supplies weren’t always the easiest to come by in China,” Yumiko murmured, seating herself down across from Kasumi and helping herself to some of the tea the younger woman had prepared. “But we were never short on the bare staples. Whenever I was able to get the money to buy some extras for the dish, I would make Ranma gyuudon. The kid loved the stuff. I wish I had been able to give him more, but money, like supplies, was rare.”

“Then why did you continue on the trip?” Kasumi asked, crossing her arms. “If you didn’t have money, wouldn’t staying in one place have let you save money and provide for your child?”

“I was unwell,” Yumiko replied. “I kept running from myself - and that, of course, was a mistake. As was taking out my own insecurities out on my son and forcing him to play part in this hypermasculine ideal. Look, Kasumi, I- I don’t want us to be enemies. I would hate what that would do to Ranma.”

Kasumi blinked, before shaking her head. “I’m sorry - I- we’re not enemies, Auntie. I don’t mean to come off that way. I mean, it’s true that I don’t like you very much, but I think you’ve come to expect that from many people, considering what you’ve done in the past.”

“Yeah, I know,” Yumiko said, rubbing the back of her neck with a wince. “I just don’t want this to cause any problems for you and Ranma. He’s a good kid - and you two are very good together. I want to have a relationship with you - and him - and I want to be there in the future, no matter what happens.”

Kasumi was silent for a few moments before she sighed. “You’re trying your best, I suppose,” she said. “I just want to be mad at you for everything, but I know most of it wasn’t intentional. You weren’t ready to be a parent. I couldn’t imagine having a toddler at my age. That doesn’t mean you’re blameless, but I think… I can understand making mistakes when you’re overwhelmed. But I think you need to get Ranma in touch with his mother.”

“What?”

“Ranma deserves the right to meet his other mother - face-to-face, and get to know her,” Kasumi said firmly. “Yumiko, me and my sisters will never get to see our mother again. But Ranma can. His mother is out there, somewhere in Tokyo right now. She deserves to know that her son is here, and Ranma deserves to get to meet his mother.”

“I can’t ruin Nodoka’s life that way,” Yumiko said, frowning. “She was so young and I stole her life from her.”

“They deserve to know each other. Think about it - if it had been Nodoka who took Ranma, and you didn’t see him for over ten years, how would you feel if you knew he was alive? And not that far away?”

“I’d feel terrible,” Yumiko muttered. “I can try to find her, but there’s really no guarantee that I’ll be able to.”

“Then try,” Kasumi said sharply. “Because this is the bare minimum of what Ranma deserves. That sweet, lovely person deserves so much more, but this is something we can at least do, so you’ll just have to get over your misgivings and do it.”

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Yumiko replied.

…

“You two certainly seem to have had a busy afternoon,” Kasumi said amusedly as she watched Ranma disappear upstairs with several bags. “I take it he had a good time?”

“He actually did,” Akane confirmed. “It was a bit touch-and-go for awhile, particularly when the subject of buying bras came up, but he actually got out of his comfort zone and got some really cute things. I think you might like what he got.”

Kasumi laughed. “I hope he isn’t trying to seduce me, because I already love him more than enough.”

“No, but he’s at least wanting to try to get something that’ll get your attention, I know that much. But I can’t tell you exactly what it is,” Akane said smugly. “You’ll just have to find out.”

“Brat,” Kasumi said affectionately. “So, Nabiki told me that all the students got an assignment to write an essay about self-discovery.”

“Yeah, a time in our life where we learned something about ourselves. It’s nothing too involved, but since we have a whole week to write it, Itō-sensei really wants it to be good. I don’t know what to write about.”

“You’ll figure it out, Akane,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “It’s just a matter of giving it some good thought and writing what comes to mind.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m going to go upstairs and think about it,” Akane replied. “Who’s cooking dinner tonight?”

“Auntie Yumiko volunteered to do it this evening,” Kasumi replied. “I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”

“Thanks, Kasumi!” Akane exclaimed happily, hugging her and giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek (earning a smug grin from the sixteen-year-old and a put-upon yet good-natured scowl from Kasumi). She bounded up the stairs quickly, leaving Kasumi to roll her eyes at her sister’s overly excitable nature when she wasn’t seething about something she had no control over. Seventeen types of passion all bottled up looking for an exit, that girl.

After checking in on Yumiko - who was doing just fine, it seemed - Kasumi decided to head upstairs to pay her boyfriend a visit, and see how he was doing on the assignment. It was one of those things that was just vague enough where she was worried it might be giving him trouble.

She found him sitting at her desk, tapping a pen on the paper - he had written something, but it seemed to be an incomplete thought.

She knocked on the door and grinned sheepishly. “Am I disturbing you, Ranma?”

“Mm, nah, Kasumi, you’re not. I’m just thinkin’ about what I’m gonna write for this assignment,” he said, giving her a look before going back to his paper. “I’m havin’ a hard time thinking of how to word this. I’m also worried that whatever I write’s gonna be damn near illegible.”

“I think your handwriting is just fine - you’re just out of practice is all,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “Do you mind if I read what you have so far, or is it private?”

“No, you can read it if you want, I guess. It isn’t much so far, but it’s something,” Ranma replied, handing her the sheet of paper.

Kasumi sat on the bed and read it over. The grammar wasn’t the best, but she knew that Ranma was trying - and that was worthy of commendation.

‘I don’t know how best to talk about stuff like this. A time in my life where I discovered something new about myself? I’m doing that constantly now. Ever since I got back to Tokyo - to Japan, it’s been one new discovery about my life after another. Starting with one of my parents being someone completely different inside, to having a girlfriend who genuinely cares to… all sorts of other things…’

“It’s a little stream of consciousness,” Kasumi said gently. “But that isn’t a bad thing. I think Itō-sensei would like something genuine and from the heart.”

“I just don’t know if I wanna talk about what’s going on now, or some of the other times I found out somethin’ new about myself,” Ranma said thoughtfully. “’cuz I’m not sure I know what this is going ta look like when all is said and done. I mean, it’s been four months and things keep changing, constantly. I wouldn’t want to write something down that ain’t gonna be true before long.”

“I think… that you shouldn’t think about it that way. What you write should reflect where your mind is right now. If you want to talk about your current journey, then do that. But if you’d rather talk about just one instance, then I think that works too. Really, let it be a reflection of your own personal growth, rather than sanitizing it for the sake of others. This is your life, not theirs.”

“Yeah, I guess - I just don’t know what to say about it all,” Ranma said, furrowing his brow. “I guess I have a whole week to write it. I might stop for now.”

“Well, dinner is almost ready,” Kasumi said reassuringly. “You don’t have to complete it right away.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ranma muttered, picking at his pigtail. “Thanks, Kasumi. You always know what to say ta make me feel better.”

“You’re welcome, Ranma,” Kasumi said, gently pressing her lips to his forehead. “I’m always glad to help.”

…

After a rather enjoyable dinner, Ranma got first dibs on the furo, followed by Kasumi. She had initially wanted to join him, but he had demurred, saying he had something to show her and that he wanted to take a bath first before he did it. This of course, tracked with Akane’s mysterious little comments earlier. Furthermore, the little smirks she’d seen from Nabiki had her wondering too. Just how had she gotten roped into whatever little conspiracy was going on?

She had spent the entire time in the furo wondering just what Ranma had cooked up to surprise her. The inquisitive “gossip queen” that she used to be was chafing at the idea of being left in the dark on something that was clearly interesting to everyone, but frankly, she trusted Ranma to give her a proper surprise. After finishing off, toweling off as methodically as she could, and putting on some clean underwear and a bathrobe, Kasumi made the trip back up to her bedroom.

She opened the door and her jaw went slack.

Ranma was standing in the middle of the room, looking like he’d just stepped out of a gravure mag. His crimson hair was pinned up lazily, and he was very much filling out the light blue laced bra that was decorated with little strawberries and vines. He even had a pair of matching panties to go with it.

“Hi,” he said nervously, rocking side to side, hands behind his back. “What do you think?”

Kasumi made a noise and crossed the room, wrapping her arms around his small frame. “I think you look radiant,” she said, honestly, before pulling away and giving him a good once-over with her eyes. He did look very fetching. “But I have to ask… why?”

“I don’t know,” Ranma said, thumbing the strap of his bra. Kasumi noticed that he’d even gone as far as painting his nails. “I guess I wanted to look good for you. I know that some people wear stuff like this to show their partners that they wanna look good for them, so I thought maybe you’d like to see me like this too.”

“I’m certainly not complaining,” Kasumi said gently. “I think you’re the prettiest person in the world right now. Even I wouldn’t be able to look this good.”

“You’re kidding, right? I mean, even if I look good, you’d look twice as good!” Ranma protested. “Don’t you start.”

“This isn’t really my thing - at least not anymore, but I think I like you in cute things like this,” Kasumi murmured. “But - we can’t. At least not yet, you understand, right?”

“Kasumi, I may be a bit of an idiot, but I’m not dumb,” Ranma said firmly, taking her hands gently in his. “I’m not ready fer anything like that yet. I enjoy what we have now, kissin’ and cuddlin’ and huggin’. We ain’t gotta go any further. This was just one of those spur the moment things.”

“Well, like I said - not complaining,” Kasumi said, gently kissing Ranma on the lips. It was a bit of a struggle, considering how tall she was compared to the short redhead, but she liked it. “You know something? I’m only wearing panties underneath this robe.”

Ranma blushed bright red. “Oh - oh!” he exclaimed, looking like steam might come shooting out of his ears.

Kasumi giggled. “It’s okay, Ranma. Breathe,” she said gently. “Did you spend a lot of money on this lingerie? I hope you didn’t.”

“No, actually, Hiroko bought it for me,” Ranma said. “I got her a date with this girl she’s been crushin’ on, and she decided to treat me to this for bein’ a good friend. It isn’t the only bra I got though, I even got some for my guy form if I wanna, you know, try them out.”

“Oh?” Kasumi asked.

“Yeah, nothin’ too you know, like this, but just to see if it’s something I wanna wear on regularly,” Ranma said nervously.

“I bet you look cute in them,” Kasumi said teasingly. “Why don’t you model some of what you got today for me? It’s still early, and I would like to see what you bought, if you’re willing?”

Ranma blushed. “I mean, sure, of course. I’d love to,” he said. “You like this, though?”

“I adore it, and I hope you keep and wear it more often,” Kasumi said earnestly. “But I want to see what else you bought today. If this little number is any indication, you’ve got quite a few cute things to show off, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. You’ve seen me naked before, so I guess I ain’t really hidin’ anythin’,” Ranma murmured. “Alright, sure, there’s a couple’a things I got for my girl side that you might like. Not much, though…”