Ranma's Litte Furry Problem

by Lottie8o8

Summary:

After discovering that she was now a girl, Saotome Ranma in her frustration understandibly gave chase after her father. The only problem was that he had somehow disappeared, leaving Ranma wandering around the nearby forest.... after that Fate does what it knows best.
Now Ranma has to deal not only with her curse, but also with a small fiery red fox that just won't let her go....

Notes:

"normal speach"
[amazon speach]
telepathy/panda talk

Chapter 1: Foxes in the Bushes

Saotome Ranma was fuming. It was, without a question, one of the worst days of her life. The man responsible for everything was nowhere to be seen. It just like Pops.

I still can't believe that turning into a giant panda didn't mess with his skills to vanish into thin air... He must have some technique he doesn’t think he should share… Stupid Pops and his stupid ideas…

Still damp, a red haired girl was wandering through the woods, her thoughts replaying the moments before falling into the cursed springs. It was her father, who caused it all, in his usual rushed stupidity, a fact that made her more and more frustrated by the minute... and she didn't even have a living target to vent her anger onto.

Don’t slow down, boy… We’ll go back to Tokyo in a few weeks, boy… I know what I’m doing, boy… Ranma felt like her head hurt while she recalled all her fathers words on the rush to this whole Jusenkyo place. He claimed that it was one of the most mysterious and probably the last training ground they would see on this whole trip.

Well, he was right about one thing, the redhead swore to never again go with him on any training trip. It was one thing to make sacrifices for the Art, but sacrificing her manhood was completely different.

Looking down on the two large mounds of flesh barely held by her gi, the young girl felt a sudden pang of sadness. Her whole life she was trained to be a ‘man among men’ and that the women were inferior in practically every way imaginable… just to turn into a girl herself. She didn’t know how to process this fact. It was a depressing line of thought.

She was now small and petite. She knew her strength didn’t really diminish that much, but the way her muscles were arranged was subtly different, even more lean than her old body’s, similar to how her previously broad shoulders and big hands were now much smaller. She felt different, her center of gravity shifted slightly because of the astounding size of her new breasts. She thought that with so many things being so different, she would also feel like a stranger in her own body.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the case at all. It was like the curse came with a hidden perk of making her completely in tune with the new body. It almost felt like she was born in this body, so naturally she moved in it.

She hated it. The idea that she could feel as used to her new female frame made her really uncomfortable. She was inherently a man and she shouldn’t have felt that way. It was strange and wrong.

But even with all that, her new body gave her a really different perspective.

I'm not inferior and definitely not weak just because of how I look, she thought, trying really hard to convince herself that it was true; fighting years of hearing that stuff over and over. It wasn’t that easy to reject it completely. Even if she suspected that all of that mental baggage was just from her pops spewing some useless crap…. She just couldn’t help the traitorous feeling that she was somehow lesser now; and couldn’t shake it off.

If there wasn’t a cure or a way to reverse this curse, she would be like that for the rest of her life. A shiver went down her spine when she thought about it.

I really should go back and ask the guide about all this. Pops was stupid and just ignored him, but that guy seemed to know quite a bit about that place, maybe he knows how to deal with this stupid curse, too…

The constant pounding in her head intensified, while she was walking deeper into the forest. A strange mental buzz was getting louder and louder when finally she could hear a faint ethereal voice calling for her, Help!

Ranma froze. The sudden voice in her head wasn’t her own. It was weak and feminine, filled with fear and despair. The years of training and her own Code woke her up from the daze and pushed her to action. She didn’t know how exactly, but she could sense the direction from which the strange voice had come. The redhead ran through the thick undergrowth, jumping between trees and a few small clearings until she froze again.

She must have found exactly the right place. And yet, she was not prepared for the sight when she accepted that first mental call for help. This newest clearing Ranma had just arrived at was completely new. The earth was ripped up, and the fallen trees had been thrown about in what had to have been a carnage of the fight. Ranma looked in horror at the bloodied bodies of strange beast-like men lying on the ground. There were four in total, but only one was upright.

Her attention focused on the final wounded man. Not only was he still up despite heavy wounds, he was towering over the biggest fiery red fox the girl had ever seen, literally having stepped onto the fox with one leg, pushing it into the ground. The fox was much larger than Ranma, but its giant body was pressed deep into the ground, crumpled on its side, defeated.

Ranma had no doubt it was some kind of yokai - but was that also true of the strange, bestial man? She watched, seemingly in slow motion, as the man snarled in anger, lifting an already bloodied sword high above his head, aiming for what could only have been a final blow. The giant fox's head was near-motionless, laying tiredly on the ground, but its eyes were darting about in terror. Then it caught sight of Ranma and riveted into her a visage full of pain and terror.

Help! Please! the feminine voice rang once again in her head, even more urgently than before. A massive tail twitched pathetically behind it.

The redhead shifted her position, preparing for a dash, but hesitated… She had never once seen a yokai before, how could she know if it was innocent? Most of the stories about them depicted them as evil tricksters, why would she risk her life to save something like that?

The small martial artist pondered all this, and then suddenly a small tear appeared, glistened and sank into the creature's furry cheek, disappearing. A quick painful whine escaped from her mouth when the man’s leg added a little more pressure.

The sword was at the highest point, and the final strike was coming. Ranma’s instincts kicked in once again, previous hesitation giving way to pure action.

In a blur of motion, the redhead launched herself at the back of the still oblivious opponent. The beast-man was caught up off guard, noticing her approach entirely too late. He started to turn around, but Ranma’s fist connected with the enemy’s jaw. There was no time for the man to even try to resist or defend himself. The attack sent him flying into the nearby tree, slamming into it with a loud, sickening snap that made the redhead wince.

She felt her mouth dry out at the sight of the man’s face. Even with strange tiger-like features, it was completely frozen in shock; his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. His eyes were clouded, looking at the sky, as if he was asking the heavens why did it all ended up like this.

Ranma shook her head aggressively to stop all of these strange thoughts from running rampant in her head. It didn’t work - she reeled back, realizing just what had happened. She just killed a person. It wasn’t even a proper fight, there were no real stances, no techniques nor even a decent exchange of blows like with all the sparring with pops. In a span of a second she punched the man and now he was laying there, frozen and unmoving. And he would never get up again.

She felt sick, that was not the way of a martial artist. It was unclean and wrong and she didn’t want any part in this. She didn’t even want to think about it.

“You have my thanks, for saving this foolish fox's life.” The giant body of a red fox shifted slightly, moving slowly. Ranma turned to the side and looked at the yokai, who was trying to steady herself into a sitting position. The girl focused her attention on the fact that the strange creature just spoke to her - in Japanese no less - glad to be able to focus on anything other than the guilt that had begun to build up inside her.

The young martial artist saw many small and deep cuts all over her red furred body. Her body shifted to one side and suddenly a shiver went through her entire body making her groan loudly. “Or not, but it isn’t your fault, I was just too proud for my own good.”

Ranma didn’t say anything, and just looked at the imposing visage of a yokai - most likely Kitsune - realizing that they were the same height just while the creature was sitting. She didn’t want to know how large she could be if she could stand up.

The giant fox tilted her head slightly to the side and sniffed the air, looking at the redhead with gratitude and curiosity. “Tell me, little one, what is your name?”

The young girl looked into her large copper eyes and pulled herself together. It was her first time talking with the actual yokai and when the realization sank in, the previous feeling of unease was outshined by her almost childish excitement.

“I’m Saotome Ranma, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts,” she said proudly, even if her father's recent blunder made her statement a bit sour.

The giant fox looked into her eyes and pricked up her ears. Ranma couldn’t really read her expression but for some reason she was sure that that creature was smiling.

“There is a lot of pride in your voice, child. As it should be. It’s good to know that you are proud of your skills” Her tail swept the ground next to her paws while she looked at the redhead expectantly. “Please, sit next to me. We need to talk and time is of the essence.”

Ranma hesitated, but quickly calmed down and, feeling no form of hostility, moved toward the fox.

“My gift for you,” The yokai said before the young girl could ask any questions, she leaned her neck forward, touching the redheaded girl’s forehead with the tip of her nose. Ranma froze as a strange but surprisingly pleasant current went through her entire body. She shuddered trying to shake out the remnants of the feeling while the two big and warm copper eyes were watching her intently.

She was mesmerized by these big, expressive eyes that seemed to peer deep inside her own soul. There was something magnetic about them, something that made it impossible for Ranma to look away.

“You are now a friend of Kitsune, child. While not by blood, thanks to my touch every other creature you’ll encounter on your journey will know with whom your allegiance lies. There will be no doubt that you’re part of my family.”

The redhead was looking into this fox's big copper eyes full of gratitude and warmth and didn’t really know what to say. She felt a strange fuzzy feeling in her chest and a warm feeling spreading from her belly. She never heard anyone saying something like this before, no one ever was genuinely thankful for anything she did. Even her own father never acknowledged her martial arts prowess and dedication.

Not until now, from the mouth of the barely living Yokai who just said that she was a family.

I guess it would be much better than my previous family. At least she’s sincere and actually talking to me, Ranma looked at the fiery fur splashed red in so many places, the fox’s breath sounded tired and raspy. Too bad that it couldn't last a little longer.

“Umm, t-thanks for that… It really means a lot to me.”

She didn’t lie. With a shocking realization she discovered that she really meant what she just said. She just met this creature but already felt miserable at the thought of leaving her like this. It just doesn’t feel right to leave her like this. She just calls her a family…

“Say, you wanted to talk to me about somethin’…”

“Keiko,” she said, pushing out her breast slightly.

Ranma suppressed the giggle, she wasn’t the only one here who was proud of who she was.

“Keiko-sama. Do you need something else? And who…. who were these guys anyway? Why did they want to hurt you?”

Ranma looked at the bodies of the strange beast-like people around her - avoiding looking in the direction of her own previous opponent - and her brown frown. She never saw anyone looking like this, except for some manga in the rare instances that she was able to see one. She was lucky enough to defeat one but looking at how big and strong they looked, they could give her a run for her money. She really hoped that there weren't many more people out there or things could turn really ugly for them.

“It’s a mystery to me too.” Keiko said baring her teeth at the corpses around them. Her breath became a little more strained and erratic. “They seem to be from the Musk Dynasty, a very nasty people who hunted all kinds of magical and non-magical creatures. But that was in the past, they haven't done that in a long time which is really troubling…”

The Fox shook her head and her eyes once again focused on the anxious redhead standing right beside her.

“I guess it’s not that important right now. Little one I’m forever in your debt but I need to ask you for one more favor and I really hope that you’ll agree with my selfish request.”

Ranma blinked a few times, caught up with worry about Keiko’s condition and was about to ask what she meant by 'request‘ when suddenly she froze.

The young girl watched as the yokai twisted her neck to reach a nearby bushes cousin, something that was hiding there to start squealing and crying in distress. Suddenly Keiko’s head was visible once again, with a tiny red fur bundle squirming in her mouth. Ranma silently accepts the little cub, too stunned to say or do anything else and hugs it to her bosom.

It was really young, the redhead estimated that it couldn’t be older than a week or two, with its eyes and ears still closed. Its fur was the same color as Keiko, clearly showing who the kit was. It shivered slightly and sniffed greedily, trying to wiggle its way even closer to the nearest source of heat, which unfortunately was the young girl's breast. It made her really strange. She wished that she could put it away but she tried to rationalize that it didn't mean anything. It was just a cub that was desperate for warmth.

It didn’t make her embarrassment go away but it made it at least bearable.

Don’t get me wrong, you’re still a pervert, she thought not taking her eyes from the little furball. But I guess I’ll let it slide today… You’re lucky you’re so small and c-cute.

Keiko looked at the small creature and nudged it with affection. “She’s my one and only cub and from now on your kin. Saotome Ranma as a martial artist you have an obligation to help and protect the weak. I hope that you’ll hear and agree to my wish and take her with you. You’ll protect her, feed her and raise her with the utmost care and affection. That is my only wish.”

She stared at the little bundle nestling itself into her arms overwhelmed by the implication of her decision. Ranma wasn’t exactly sure to what extent but she was sure that she was now put in charge of protecting this little furball, no matter what she said. She knew she should be really worried about all of it later but one look at the little cub was enough to snuff it down. It was so small and vulnerable.

The young girl sighs, thinking about how crazy this seemingly ordinary day was getting crazier and crazier by the minute. She knew, just by one glance at the little vixen in her arms, that the decision had already been made and she couldn’t really do anything else but accept.

“Keiko-sama, I… I’ll do it.”

Ranma cleared her throat and continued, "I vow on my family's honor. She’ll live a good life, better than me at least. And I’ll keep her safe, I swear. Don’t know about raising her properly, I don’t have particularly good role models but I’ll do my best too…”

Keiko made a series of strange-sounding barks that the redhead was almost certain was her version of laughter and looked at the younger girl with amusement and gratitude. The redhead watched as a yokai once again stretched her neck a little bit to get closer to them. She gently touches the top of the cub's head and then proceeds to do the same with Ranma’s forehead. The young girl tense up feeling a warm sensation spreading throughout her whole body and shudders. Magic felt really weird and she doubted that she would ever get used to it.

“It is done. You’re not this kit birth mother but with that, your body will be able to respond to any of the child's needs, so you don’t need to worry. Just trust your instincts and everything’s going to be fine, little one. I’m sure you’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

Ranma froze her mouth slightly open in a gape after realizing that something went really, really wrong. The giant fox was looking at the redhead with sympathy and gratitude, completely unaware that there was a big misunderstanding all the while the young girl started to panic. She wasn’t ready to be a parent, let alone a mother! She wasn’t even a real girl, for kami sake!

And worst of all, she already swore to do it. She swore on her and her family’s honor that she will do all of it and she knew that she couldn’t just walk it back.

Ranma fucked up big time.

The redhead swallowed loudly trying to find a way from this seemingly hopeless situation, but no matter how hard she would rack her brain nothing would come to mind.

“Keiko-sama… I’m flattered and all but… but I really can’t be a mother! That is impossible for me!”

“Nonsense child.” She said looking at her with amused understanding. “I know that you’re young but I assure you that you will be ok. I can recognize a human with a pure and gentle heart and I’m sure that you’re exactly that. You are exactly the kind of person that child would ever need.”

Ranma shook her head “No, you don’t understand. I can’t be her mother. I’m not even a real girl! I’m a guy!”

She saw a look of confusion on the fox’s face. Keiko seemed really puzzled by the girl's words but after a few moments her whole body stopped moving. Her eyes seemingly for the first time took notice of her surroundings and she started urgently sniffing the air. Ranma watched as the yokai’s previous confusion changed into uncertainty, surprise and finally shocking realization.

“Impossible… are we really so close to Jusenkyo?” She muttered to herself before once again focusing her attention on the present. “Saotome Ranma, did you really fall into the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo?”

She swallowed loudly and nodded. “Yes, the Guide said that I fell into the Spring of a Drown Girl. I may look like a girl right now but I was originally a guy.”

Keiko once again looked at her and the little cub still nestled in her arms. The fox’s face looked troubled and tired, her whole body shook a little bit, forcing her to lay down. Ranma was really anxious, realizing that if the yokai dies right now she would be stuck as this little kit mother without any knowledge of what to do or where to go. She felt her heart starting to beat quicker and louder as she watched Keiko’s struggle.

“I… It doesn’t change anything, Child.” She finally spoke, even though her voice was quieter and exhausted. “I know that it must be a lot to take in, especially for you, but I know that you’ll get through this. You can see that I don’t really have much time left, I can’t take care of her on my own. She’s your kin now, and I know that you’ll protect her and will care for her no matter what. Please…”

Ranma looked at the creature looking crestfallen. She didn’t want to do this, she wasn’t a woman, she couldn’t take care of a child… in that way. It was simply impossible! And even so she knew that she couldn’t refuse this request, she would lose all of her honor and deep down she knew it would be far worse for her than being this little kit m.. parent.

“I don’t know what I should do,” she tried one last time. “I never take care of anyone but me, I know jack about foxes let alone kitsune… who knows if these guys aren’t still out there to get us…”

“Spoken like a true mother,” Keiko said, making a tired, amused bark that made Ranma feel strangely embarrassed. “It’s understandable that you’re afraid of this little cub, but don’t worry. I know that you’ll be fine.”

“And about Musk… actually there is a way…” was thinking about something continuing. “Child, take her to Jusenkyo, and carry her into the very same spring you fell into, make her human. No warrior of Musk would be interested in a lone woman with a child. They wouldn’t suspect anything.”

The redhead shudders, the idea of once again getting close to the Springs makes her sick. She looked pleadingly at the yokai but the only thing she saw was the tired, hollow eyes that were already halfway from closing.

“Everything will work out for you in the end, trust me,” she said weakly. It was apparent that she was struggling more and more to stay awake but she was determined to see this one through to the very end. Keiko looked once again at the young martial artist. “You should go now, I'm tired and you have a long way to go. Be well, Little Kin.”

Ranma didn’t argue anymore, she drooped her head, sad and defeated realizing that there was nothing else she could do. She looked at the little cub feeling her steady, quiet breathing and sighs heavily.

She nodded and tightened her grip on her little charge and turned around. She gathered her bearings and decided to honor the last wish of the dying yokai. She started walking back, her feet felt strangely heavy and her instincts were telling her to at least look back at the giant fox but she forced herself to ignore it. She looked at the little cub in her arms to distract herself and tried not to think too far ahead. She’ll be worried about it when she gets there.

---

Ranma was right, going back to Jusenkyo so soon was nerve wracking. She didn’t realize this then because of the loud and obnoxious behavior of her father but now when there was no one else around the atmosphere of the Springs of Sorrow was just as depressing as their name. She was getting slight goosebumps from the eerie silence and the realization that every step she took could turn out to be really dangerous for her and the little cub.

She scanned the area, trying to remember which way they should go, berating her pop silently for not even trying to not only let her but also not bothering to learn chinese. It would make searching for the right Spring so much easier.

“Let’s hope that the Guide will be somewhere nearby” she said walking by some really narrow path between two ponds. The cub stirs a little bit in her arms, sniffing her gi and snuggling a little bit closer to her. Ranma, despite her initial opposition to the idea, felt a surge of affection towards that cute creature.

“Come to think of it, you need a name, right?” she thought out loud looking at the little fox. “Let’s see…” Ranma observed the baby yokai in her arms, her spotless fiery fur, that was shining brightly in the scarce ray of sunlight like a literal fire, shimmering with the soft wind. “Aki-chan? What do you think about it?”

The little cub’s answer with a little yawn and a flicker of her tail. THe redhead smiled at her oblivious charge and nodded. “Aki it is… Saotome Aki.”

“Alright then, Aki-chan, let me see if I can…” the young martial artist went silent when she realized what she had done. As far as she knew it was a mother’s job to name their kids. She groaned a moment later, feeling frustrated that Keiko who either didn’t bother or didn’t tell her the name she chose for Aki-chan which could save her from this embarrassing duty. It’s like I really am her mom now… there’s something seriously wrong with this whole situation…

Whatever that was, Ranma’s irritation didn’t last for long. She wasn’t sure if that was thanks to this whole ‘connection’ that the older kitsune established between them but as she walked she could feel a strange, warm closeness towards the little cub. She was glancing at the furry bundle from time to time and a slight smile was dancing across her face every time she did so.

Yup, it was definitely magic. No real creature could have such an effect on the man among men. Or at least, former men among men, she thought feeling a pang of shame. She was sure that when her father inevitably came back he would be fairly disappointed.

“Serves him right,” she told herself with an angry huff that quickly changed into that of amusement. That was actually true. If he wasn’t as short tempered and thoughtless none of this would happen and so the only person that should be angry and ashamed by this whole situation should be no other than her pop. She was just going with the flow… mostly.

“Your gramp’s a baka, you know, Aki-chan?” She asked her dau- her charge even if only so that she could kill the heavy silence that was suffocating her from all directions. The little fox’s tail twitched slightly at the redhead's voice, she didn’t really care about it though. She was too busy stealing the young martial artist's warmth.

After a little over half an hour of searching, Ranma decided to face the facts - she didn’t know which pool was the correct one. That realization made her feel useless and depressed until she caught the glimpse of something familiar in the corner of her eye.

Near the bushes a few pools away lay her old trusted backpack. The relief she felt when she said it was overwhelming.

With a clear landmark, the redhead was able to easily find the right place. A tad bit disappointed that she still couldn’t find the Guide she walked towards the eerie calm water of the Spring of a Drown Girl and sighs, trying to calm down the sudden feeling of unease from the back of her mind. She bent down and started to bathe the whining cub in the curse water, seeing the previously furry body shimmer and transform before her own eyes.

The redhead flinched a little bit, sensing a strange tingling running through the tips of her fingers up to her arms and further, she felt a fresh wave of panic washed over her but didn’t back down. Fortunately whatever it was came to pass relatively quickly, leaving her feeling slightly heavier and more sensitive to the touch. It was disturbing, but nothing alarming, so the young girl decided to investigate later.

Ranma pulled Aki-chan back up, appraising the newly cursed creature with a stunned expression. The now human girl opened her eyes for the first time, revealing a pair of expressive, clear copper eyes identical to the ones of her original birth mother. They were looking at her caretaker intently with her head adorned by the strands of wet, fiery red hair, the same shade as the Ranma’s new hair.

Both girls were looking at each other, with Ranma inversely and begrudgingly giving up her previous denial. She couldn’t run away from the fact that was now the sole parent of this child. Especially since she was sure that no one would think twice if they saw her holding Aki-chan in her arms. The resemblance was uncanny.

“But your eyes are just like Keiko’s,” she said strangely glad that the girl didn’t look identical to her. The girl sends her an adorable gummy smile at the sound of her adoptive mom’s voice. Then it hit her. “Wait, aren’t foxes supposta’ to be blind and deaf for a few weeks after birth? Shit I hope that this damn magic spring didn’t screw you up or somethin’...”

Ranma wasn’t an expert but she assumed that her new daughter was looking roughly as a six months old baby girl, so in the case of a human it was normal to be mostly aware of your surroundings. Nonetheless, she was still worried about her charge, as she was in fact still a kitsune, a species about which the young martial artist knew almost nothing.

Aki didn't understand the anxious face her mom was doing and decided that knowing it wasn’t as important at the moment. Instead she clumsily used her new body to hug the redhead’s bosom and made a few muffled baby noises. Just looking at her makes Ranma smile slightly.

“I guess that no matter the form, you’re dead set on stealing my heat, aren’t ya?” She asked her daughter with an amused giggle. Deep down, she was a little shaken up by the changes in her behavior. For years her pop was basically harping at her every time she would act unmanly in any way, to the point that putting on a hyper masculine act basically became her second nature. At least that was the case until now.

I can only imagine this damn panda’s angry face at the sight of his ‘manly’ son acting all soft and motherly, she thought, snickering a little bit but forced herself to calm down soon after. Making her pop angry was fun, but she couldn’t forget that no matter what she was still a man. Just because she was cursed to look like a woman and was now sort of a mother figure doesn’t mean that she wasn’t a man. Even if everyone else would probably disagree…

“Alright, Aki-chan. With that out of the way I think that we should get out of here…”

But where? She thought. Her pop said something about his friend in Tokyo, so it was the safest bet for now. She didn’t see a glimpse of the panda anywhere, not even his backpack so there wasn’t really any sense to wait for him. Especially since she was still angry with him at the moment.

And how do I take care of Aki-chan? The only thing she knew about babies was that they sleep a lot, they drink milk and are in constant need of diaper change. She could let her sleep in her arms just fine but she didn’t have any milk on her - she dreaded the possibility - not that she had any diapers on her. She was wracking her brain trying to find a solution, when once again her eyes spotted something far ahead.

A little bit further into Jusenkyo, Ranma saw a hut. As far as she knew the Guide was the only person living in this area, so she figured out that it must be his. She beamed at the thought of the presence of another human being and maybe an answer or two. She quickly walked towards the shabby but big structure.

Unfortunately even though it was clean and clearly used not so long ago… it was completely empty.

She was disappointed by the lack of other people but the redhead knew that she couldn’t afford any mopping. She knew what she had to do even if she wasn’t looking forward to it. She and Aki needed to go but were lacking the necessary supplies. Things that she actually saw laying around the house, waiting for the taking.

Ranma’s body started moving, picking out the most necessary items with precision born from years of involuntary acts of ‘borrowing’ things for her pop. She hated it but tried to convince herself that this time it was necessary. She wasn’t doing it so her useless father would be able to waste it away. She needed it so she and Aki would survive.

She moved swiftly, taking all the necessary things she could think of. She snatched one of the large pans; a few basic spices and dried fruit for herself also quickly found its way into her trusted backpack with the exception of milk, the only thing she actually desperately wanted.

She cursed under her breath and started going through other things she knew were needed.

Thanks to the constant moving and her pops' chronic laziness, Ranma was able to learn a fair amount of survival skills. One of the less conventional but life saving for her was the ability to repair and sew basic things and materials. She started fumbling between Guide’s clothes finding ones that were warm and sturdy and began to piece together a few pieces of clothing and makeshift diapers for Aki-chan.

With every new piece of shirt or pants that she ripped apart she was silently praying that the Guide wouldn’t be angry at her too much. She didn’t even have that much choice to begin with. He would understand why she was doing this, I'm sure…

Or he’ll think that I’m a dirty thief and decide to curse me once more or something… She thought and sighs with resignation. There’s no need to think about it now… I just hope he won’t hate me for it… he seems like a really nice guy…

An hour and a few more destroyed shirts later, Ranma and Aki were ready to leave the house. The redhead checked on her daughter's new blanket, making sure that she was nice, warm and good to go. When she was finally satisfied she nodded and started walking.

She was walking rather quickly while scanning the area for any kind of movement. “Hung in there, Aki-chan. I may not have any milk on me at the moment, but I’m sure that I saw a goat or two earlier. I’m sure that we’ll be able to find them soon if we look hard enough, ne?”

Aki-chan shifted in her blanket and made a few more baby noises.

“Right… less talkin’ more movin’... I really hope that we’ll find some people soon.”

---

That’s why we shouldn’t allow outsiders during our celebrations, thought Kě Lún looking at the damage that her granddaughter Shanpū and the other Amazon warriors make after chasing this infuriating panda and the Jusenkyo Guide. After the panda decided to gorge himself with the food they set aside as a price and the hastily worded apologies and explanation they knew that the panda wasn’t really panda at all but a man cursed after falling into the curse spring.

[I really don’t know what he wanted to accomplish with that,] she said to herself while shaking her head in disappointment. [The fact that it was a man and not a dumb panda makes our warriors even more angry… This Guide is too foolish or naive for his own good…]

An Amazon Elder was looking at the young girl that was delegated to cleaning up the mess made by their older sisters. Kě Lún’s heart felt a little bit warmer at the sight of the younger generation of her tribe still strong and upholding their secret traditions even in a face of the modern world that slowly but surely was trying to interfere in their life relentlessly.

At the same time she felt a familiar sense of anxiousness after realizing that the numbers of the young children in Joketsuzoku was smaller than the generation before. She lived a little more than three hundred years by now and she was able to see the steady decline of her tribe firsthanded. And it was worrying her.

We need to welcome more children in our tribe. Doesn’t matter if they will be born naturally or we’ll need to search for some fresh blood outside of the Joketsuzoku… I’m a little too old for that kind of thing. Maybe I really should retire…

Kě Lún giggled to herself. She frequently thought that she should do that. But just as frequently there was something that made her reconsider that decision.

Sensing a sudden change in the ki flow, the elder sighs close her eyes. Here we go, just like clockwork, she thought with a crooked smile. Fate works in a strange way, never letting her take a break for some reason.

The Old Amazon jump onto her wooden stick to turn around and saw one of her brightest proteges, Tǐ Shǐu running towards the village in a hurry. Kě Lún smiled at the sight, a little pale purple haired girl was the young warrior with the greatest potential from all other girls in her generations. The Amazon Elder was monitoring her growth very closely. Especially growing aptitude to sensing and dealing with all things supernatural like yaoguai and other magical phenomena. Even among the Joketsuzoku where magic was much more common than in the rest of mainland China, someone like that was really rare.

Needless to say that Kě Lún was really pleased by the girl. It was really tragic that this one wasn’t directly related to her so that she could have more direct control over her training.

Her musings were interrupted by the girl who finally was close enough to be heard, and she was shouting.

[Great Elder! *huff* Great Elder something happened!] Tǐ Shǐu yelled, gasping for air when she finally arrived before the older amazon.

She glanced back at the damage that was still being taken care of and snorted. [If you want to warn me about the panda then you don’t need you to tell me anything, child. This is a real disaster.]

The girl blinked several times seeing other kids working all over the place. Kě Lún saw the slight smile dancing across the small warrior's face. The Elder frowns and sighs to herself. It must be amusing to her, seeing other girls who would often whisper behind her back to work while she could just stay and watch. The old woman lamented the childishness of the younger warriors but knew that she couldn’t really do anything about it.

Kě Lún shook her head and looked down at the little girl. [Never mind that Tǐ Shǐu. You better say what you were up to today. I send you to find the missing goat but I don’t see it anywhere. Did you wander off again and forget about your duty to the Joketsuzoku? You know that we can’t afford to lose too many of our food sources at this time of a year.]

Tǐ Shǐu became visibly flustered, revealing that she actually really did wander off again. The amazon elder shook her head, making a mental note to make sure that the younger girl will have a companion from now on. She was really talented but didn’t have the mind for specific tasks which could be really troubling for the tribe.

The girl bowed her head deeply before Kě Lún [I’m sorry. I really did find the goat! B-but then I saw thisstrangegirlwithredhairandshewasholdingayaoguaiandIwasjust…]

Old Amazon jumped up and struck the little girl lightly on the head. [Wait! Slow down, girl!], she said. Tǐ Shǐu was easily agitated but not to this extend. Whatever happened must have shaken this young warrior quite a bit. The brief mention of yaoguai was particularly interesting to Kě Lún. Their tribe was rather powerful and known around the area so the only yaoguai that could go near them must have been quite old and powerful. This matter requires thorough investigation.

The girl started to inhale and exhale in a steady rhythm until she finally calmed down enough to talk at a normal speed, even if her eyes shone brightly with worry and excitement. The older amazon chuckled at the sight. Ah, the youth…

[I’m sorry, Elder,] said Tǐ Shǐu bowing one more time. [As I said, I found the missing goat. I needed to go all the way near Jusenkyo but I found them! And… and I was about to take them back to the village when I saw this strange looking girl with red hair walking towards the Springs…]

Kě Lún frowned at that information. There were a lot of warriors that have hair in all sorts of colors but red was without a doubt one of the rarest of them. Not only that but Jusenkyo was one of the areas forbidden for them by the Council. The girl was definitely an outsider. But what was she looking for in the Spring of Sorrow?

[Is there something unusual about that girl?]

Tǐ Shǐu looked at the older woman with barely contained excitement. [Oh, lots of things, Elder! There was all sorts of strange magic on her. And she was holding some sort of small fox who’s magic was very similar to the girl… I think they might be the Huli Jing’s!]

The older woman froze for a second. Huli Jing… if one of those spirit foxes was really so close to their village it could be a disaster. She shudders remembering that one time a little over two hundred years ago when one of them actually infiltrated their village. The damage that thing caused for Joketsuzoku was so great that even now so many years later they still were dealing with the fallout.

I really don’t know why other Council Members are so adamant about keeping these damn Kisses in the law… they are just a recipe for a disaster, nothing more…

[Tǐ Shǐu, are you sure that they were Huli Jing? Maybe that girl was just some magician who wondered near Jusenkyo by coincidence?]

This theory was a long stretch but it shouldn’t be left out as a possibility. Kě Lún herself wasn’t really a mage herself. She knew a little bit of magic and her hut was filled to the brim with magical artifacts but even so she wouldn’t really like to anger some really powerful magician. They were all crazy lunatics, all of them.

Tǐ Shǐu shook her head immediately.

[You know that my nose never lie, Great Elder.] She said with absolute certainty. [Magicians and magical creatures have a very distinctive smell around them. They were quite far away, that's true but they smell almost identical. I’m, sure of it.]

If that’s true then we’ll need to take some protective measures around the village, she thought with a sigh. Or maybe… maybe we should do a little bit more than that. Nothing really happened around here for quite some time and our warriors became much less sharp and quite lazy recently. And with that situation at the Tournament they would need something to do other than getting angry because of the damage…

Kě Lún started to hop around, looking at the sight before her. She already started to think of a way to protect their community and distract the girls. They would need to check the territory around Jusenkyo and around their village. There were a lot of places where someone could hide itself and a lot of ambush spots that could be used to attack them if that strange red headed girl would turn out to be an enemy of their tribe.

The old amazon’s mind was working in an overdrive thinking about the identity and objective of that creature. She didn’t doubt that the girl saw her towards the Springs but if it really was the Huli Jing then it should be able to shapeshift without something as inconvenient as Spring of Sorrow. What could her objective really be?

Maybe she really stumbled on Jusenkyo by accident? she ponders for a second but quickly dismisses that notion. That place was under care of the Guide practically all the time, the possibility that this girl stumbled upon the Springs at the same time that man wasn’t there is too much of a coincidence. It must have been intentional.

But why…

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of of the senior warriors approaching her and Tǐ Shǐu with great speed. Kě Lún narrowed her eyes and saw that the expressions of all of them were a mixture of anger and shame. It was enough to tell her exactly how their chase went down.

Normally she would be really disappointed but right now she actually was glad that the search party went back this quickly. There could be something much more important than some idiotic panda stealing a little food. The older amazon had a bad feeling about this whole situation and she longed for answers.

A few heartbeat later her favourite great-granddaughter Shanpū appeared before her, almost huffing with anger. Kě Lún needed only a single look into her eyes to know what happened but even so she decided to ask anyway. She quickly learned that her granddaughter worked much better after she let off some steam and the only way to do this was to let her talk.

[So, how did it go, Shanpū? Where's the panda?]

The purple haired girl crossed her arms under her breasts and frowned. The Elder saw that her outfit was torn in a few places and there were sticks and dirt on her skin and hair, it looks that even if she let her enemy escape at least she didn’t do that without a fight which pleased the older woman very much.

[This stupid panda used some strange technique. We were chasing it down through a forest when he suddenly turned to the side and vanished. I didn’t even feel anything with my ki reading.]

Kě Lún’s eyes went wide at that information. She didn’t doubt her granddaughter’s skills in reading ki - she taught her that herself - so the fact that this cursed person was able to hide his ki this perfectly was really impressive. And worrisome.

She just hoped that whoever that was was scared by them enough so that he would never be back again. She has too much on her plate already.

[And the Guide?]

The purple-haired girl shook her head with disgust.

[He was just a weak, stupid male, barely any challenge at all and full of pathetic excuses. I know that you don’t like us to bother him too much so I let him go after we caught him… shouldn’t I bring him to you too, Great-Grandmother?]

Kě Lún relaxed a little bit when she heard that. She also didn’t really like that man, but he was under protection of that stupid ‘Preservation Society’. The group of men was really weak - in amazon standards - but right now, when she still didn’t know all the facts it would be foolish to add another variable to the current situation.

[I doesn’t matter anymore.] She said, waving it off and hopping closer to the girl. [It’s quite fortunate that you’re here and now. There is a work to do, Shanpū.]

She smiled a little bit when her flesh and blood stopped sulking and looked at her, giving the old amazon her full attention. She was really pleased with Shanpū’s ability to completely focus on the task at hand and this time wasn’t an exception.

If only she could say the same thing about the other members of her party who still looked tired and irritated. But the old woman knew that it was the sin of youth. They were always so impatient and were really sore losers, most of them.

I don’t say that I’m not the same as those youngsters, Kě Lún smiled inwardly to herself. But I didn’t suffer any defeat for a hundred years or so. I work really hard to be in the place I’m now. I’m sure they will grow out of their impatience. They’ll have to or I’ll beat it out of them with a stick.

[What do you need me to do, Great-Grandmother?]

She got back to reality and looked into Shanpū's eyes to make sure she still had her granddaughter's undivided attention.

[I’m going to send you and Tǐ Shǐu after somebody. A girl with red hair. She was last seen near Jusekyo. I don’t know where she’s headed but she’ll probably travel with a small child, possibly her daughter. I need you to track her down and learn as much as you can about her, but be careful. She can be much more than we think she is.]

Shanpū nodded but still was looking a little sour and confused by her Elder orders. Kě Lún couldn’t really blame the girl. It wasn’t even a few minutes since she returned from her failed chase and she was about to be sent away again without practically any information on her target whatsoever.

But it needs to be done and Shanpū was the best tracker in Joketsuzoku and Kě Lún needed to know what that red haired girl was. The Elder Amazon always trusted her guest and they were telling her that it was something really important. She will get into the bottom of this, she’ll make sure of it.

[Grandmother, I think I can do this alone. Why you want little Tǐ Shǐu to tag along too?]

Kě Lún and Tǐ Shǐu exchanged glances. The younger girl looked a little dejected by the comment of the older amazon, not to mention the looks of a few other senior warriors that came back with Shanpū. It was another thing that was worrisome for the older amazon, there was a time that no matter how flawed a member of their tribe was there was always the will to include them and find some things for them to do for the mutual benefit of the Joketsuzoku.

Now looking at the women around them all she could see was irritation and aversion to the younger girl. Most of the younger amazon warriors in this day and age were just too fast to cast judgement on the less proficient members of the tribe, especially the ones that didn’t have a talent for martial arts or hunting. Kě Lún was worried that this line of thinking heralds a bad future for them as a whole, and she caught herself looking back with increasing doubts and worries.

She sighs and smiled at Tǐ Shǐu. It wasn’t the time to be feeling this way. Right now she needed to be an Elder who knew the value of every individual in the tribe and is capable of showing everyone that she was believing even once that even if they don't look too bright on the inside, they were in fact invaluable treasures.

This and she needs to show a little bit of authority. These bold youngsters need to know that they can’t do or show whatever they want and to respect their Elders.

[You’ll do it because I said so, child. Tǐ Shǐu will be a great help to you in this endeavour. After all you’ll be hunting yaoguai.]

Chapter 2: Tendos Incident

Summary:

After weeks of traveling, Ranma and her daughter finally arrived in Tokyo. Ranma knew that her father wanted them to return and meet his friend there, now she just had to find him.

Notes:

"normal speach"
[amazon speach]
telepathy/panda talk

Ranma sat down with a gasp, only now feeling the day's tension throughout her whole body. Looking up at the slowly setting sun the young girl wanted nothing else more than just a good stretch and something warm and comfy to lay down. The last few days were hard on her and she really longed for any real form of comfort.

Mama! she heard a childish yell just behind her ears. She chuckled, still not used to the fact that a few weeks old toddler was already able to sort of communicate with her… in her head. Kitsune sure are different from regular babies, aren't they? Not that I know how it goes with normal babies anyway. She thought with a soft smile.

Ranma looked down on a little redhead who was nestled in her arms, partially wrapped in a blanket. A little girl held out her arms towards her with singular need in her shining copper eyes.

The young mother chuckled at the sight. “Alright Aki-chan, you really don’t want me to rest even a little bit, dontcha?” She asked and reached behind her neck to grab her pigtail. The little girl’s eyes lit up when her guardian put the end of her hair in the baby's little hands. Aki didn’t waste a second and started fiddling it clumsily in her hands with a big smile on her face. Ranma watched her daughter for a few minutes before once again looking up to observe the sun.

She sat with content, despite the constant tension and the craziness of their journey back from China, things didn’t look that bad for the two Saotome girls. The older redhead was actually kind of proud of herself for being able to do this, despite all the unexpected difficulties that seem to appear one after the other as the time goes on.

Ranma winced when she heard the squeal of tires some distance away. A sharper hearing was another thing she still has a little problem to get used to. If I only knew what Keiko had in mind when she said ‘everything that she needs’... How could I be so stupid to not ask at least one question about it? Moron. She shook her head slightly to not take her pigtail away from the little girl. At least I don’t seem to grow fur or anything. It's bad enough that no matter where I go everyone is treating me like a woman. Or that I’m pretty sure I got used to it too much already.

The redhead’s attention focuses on the little girl in her arms who apparently decided to remember that she was in fact a fox turned into a human. She began wriggling in her blanket and stretching her arms as far as she could with an adorable sigh.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself, Aki-chan. You’re the main reason why no one would even think that I was a guy in the first place,” Ranma told her daughter with a grin. She couldn’t really be angry at her, it all just turned out that way and that was it. She didn’t even know if the curse was reversible or not and she promised to raise Aki as her own. There wasn’t really any reason to fight it now, she just needed to shift her perspective.

After all, doesn't the whole idea of Anything Goes revolve around adapting to every situation? She still was haunted by her pops words every once in a while but it was really hard to pay them that much attention when there was nothing she could do to deal with the fact that she was a woman. Even worse, she actually needed to be a woman to take care of her daughter, there was no way around that.

Just as she was musing over her own situation she felt a gentle nudge on the edge of her mind. Aki-chan started to feel a little hungry, which once again shifted her focus to the problem of her slowly changing body.

It wasn’t even that bad. She could live with really sensitive hearing or smell. However there were different kinds of changes that started happening from that day at Jusenkyo that really made her rattled. It was hard to believe that it was only two weeks since that day at the Springs of Sorrow.

Mama!

Another nudge, this time with a little more urgency, makes Ranma once again focus on the sudden crisis. “Now, Aki-chan. I know that you’re hungry but I can’t just feed you on the street, ok? Let me think of somethin' real quick.”

Ranma really regretted that she never really pressed her pops for more information regarding his friend they were supposed to meet with. The only thing she knew was that he was most likely in Nerima. Even that was only thanks to the fact that he was still keeping a few photos of him and his friend from ages ago, judging by the fact that her father still had some hair on his head.

I wonder if that whole ‘Tendo Dojo’ is still standing, she wondered with a grimace. The day was almost over when they arrived and she was really doubtful that they could find this place before nightfall. She would once again try to find some place to sleep for her and Aki but she didn’t know what would be acceptable in a big city like this. It wasn’t like she could sleep in the park with a baby.

“Umm, excuse me,” a female voice snapped Ranma out of her reverie. The young martial artist looked in the direction of the sudden sound, feeling startled and ashamed that she let someone sneak up on her like that.

When she finally looked up she saw a very pretty girl with both hands full of groceries. She was wearing a yellow loungewear dress. She had long brown hair styled into a simple ponytail with a white ribbon and was looking at the Saotome girls with her big brown eyes currently looking curious and worried at the same time. At least it looked like it.

Why do I get the feeling that she’s evaluating me or something?

“Are you new here, miss? I'm sorry if I startled you but I never saw you around here and you look a little lost.” The brunette looked at Aki-chan with a really pretty smile before she once again looked at Ranma. “If you need help with directions maybe I can help you? It's getting dark, and I don't think you and your daughter should be outside when it gets cold.”

Ranma looked at the girl one more time, trying to decide what she should tell her. Besides the feeling that the brunette was evaluating her , Ranma didn’t detect any ill intent and seemed to be genuinely concerned about them.

Looks like she’s from here, maybe she would be able to help me find this whole Tendo Dojo?

Once again, a strange feeling crawled up her spine. Before Jusenkyo and thanks to her pop, Ranma didn't really have too many opportunities to talk to girls her age or frankly women in general. She suspected that her father had his reasons but never really managed to defy him in that regard in any meaningful way. Because of that every time she was forced to interact with any other member of her current sex she was really nervous. It was like trying to interact with something she was told only bad things about but never actually interacted with it. She felt clumsy and out of her element.

Even so she couldn’t show it to the girl in front of her.

The redhead checked her daughter's blanket, knowing that this side always makes people drop their guard. “It would be great, thank you,” she said with a coy smile. “You’re right, we’re not from here. Actually my pops should be with us, but we were separated in China and now I’m looking for him.”

“Oh my,” said the brunette, cocking her head just slightly to the side looking at Ranma quizzically. “But why are you looking for him here instead of China? It's quite far away from here.”

“Before we were separated, he told me that we would come back to Tokyo to visit his old friend. Who knows, maybe he’s here already?” The redhead’s smile turned into a scowl when she thought about her pop. Walking with a baby took her much more time than when she was traveling with her pop so it was entirely possible that he could already be in Tokyo “Does the name Saotome Genma ring any bells? Normal height, glasses, quite a large belly, and bald with a white scarf on his head?” Ranma started describing her father when she realized that right now that description would be useless right now and scratched the back of her neck from embarrassment. “Or have there been any pandas here recently?”

Actually… How did pops get here? People wouldn’t react well to seeing a giant panda in the city, would they? Did he even leave China? Ranma's mind starts to spiral regarding his father’s situation. This whole Tendo Dojo was the only clue she had regarding a place her pop COULD go but there wasn’t any guarantees he actually would do that.

“No, unfortunately I can’t say that I saw any pandas in Nerima,” the other girl shook her head. “But that surname…I think I actually heard it before…Did you say Saotome?”

“Yeah, Saotome Genma”, the young martial artist knew that it was a long shot but she couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement. Maybe that girl actually knew something!

She suddenly realized that she didn’t even say who she was and felt a little embarrassed for her lack of social awareness. You should tell who you are at the beginning of the conversation, right? Damn you, pop. You really could let me learn even a little bit about being social, so that I don't make gaffes like this!

“Sorry, I guess I forgot to tell ya,” she said, trying to hide how flustered she was behind a smile. Unfortunately she only managed to make a crooked one with, she was sure looked really bad. “My name’s Saotome Ranma and this is my daughter, Saotome Aki.”

Aki who for once actually seems to pay attention to the conversation smiled at the two older girls.

She wondered if her daughter could really understand what they were talking about. Until now she only ever talked with one or two word sentences and only when she really needed something. Sometimes however she seems to instinctively understand what Ranma wanted from her and would do it without any real instruction. She was either much more intelligent than her guardian thought she was or she was a natural scammer and Ranma was ok with that. She just wished Aki wouldn’t want to scam her own mother too.

The girl looked a bit surprised, probably realizing that she also forgot to introduce herself. “Oh my, how could I forget about it? My name is Tendo Kasumi. Nice to meet you, Saotome-san.”

Ranma froze, staring blankly at the girl. For a moment she wondered if she heard her wrong but she knew that wasn’t the case, since her hearing was even better than before. She couldn’t believe that she, who had so little luck for most of her life could score such a huge jackpot.

The young girl looked at the brunette trying to calm herself. Just because she has the same surname doesn’t necessarily mean anything. She needed to make sure. “Tendo? Like the dojo?” She asked prying to whatever kami was there that she was right.

“Oh yes, my family has their own Dojo,” Kasumi nodded but her previous smile dimmed a little bit when she said that. “It belongs to my father, unfortunately he is no longer taking any students so if you were counting on…”

“No, not that!” Ranma stopped Kasumi and practically jumped from the bench still holding Aki in her arms. “That’s exactly the place I was looking for! My pops has this old photo with him and some other guy standing in front of that Dojo!”

Tendo girl blinked a few times at the redhead and for a moment, Ranma once again felt the same sensation. She was almost sure that Kasumi was evaluating her but that feeling disappeared a moment later.

“That’s really fortunate that I’ve met you, then!” she said, smiling once again. The redhead started to suspect that this was the girl's default face, it was exactly the same every single time. “Would you join me, Saotome-san? As I said earlier, I don’t like the idea of you two staying here and we have a guest room in our house. No one has visited us in a long time but you could stay with us and wait for your father.”

Ranma was stunned. Just like that? She didn’t need to ask, make up stories or sneak into the dojo? Throughout her whole life if she wanted something there was always a catch. She never gets anything for free and was really taken aback by Kasumi’s selflessness. She never experienced that before.

She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She quickly took her new ‘borrowed’ backpack - which she got after her old one was stolen in China - and smiled at Kasumi.

“You don’t need to ask me twice, Tendo-san. I really appreciate this.”

---

Kasumi didn’t really know what to do about Ranma. Her friends told her a lot of things about all sorts of magical creatures big and small. She knew that some of them were visible only to the select few while some could be seen by anyone. She even knew a lot of them by smell alone.

And right now both Saotomes smelled like wet foxes.

Normally, the older Tendo wouldn’t do much. It was Nerima, lesser yokai were a common occurrence and she learned to ignore most of them. The problem was that a Kitsune wasn’t any lesser spirit. They could be very powerful and not all of them were harmless. She had to be sure.

But really, who would have thought? She thought, pondering if the fact that the cute redheaded yokai was looking for her home was really a coincidence or there was something else at play. There’s no harm in being polite, right? And if something goes wrong, Father and Akane could deal with it.

For the time being, Kasumi was happy to have company on the way home.

Kasumi looked at the younger girl in time to notice that she twitched slightly. She looked at her little girl with clearly visible love, even if she looked a little troubled herself.

“Soon kiddo, I promise.” She said before starting to make cute and silly faces trying to distract her little girl from something. The brunette remembers that Ranma was talking something about feeding her daughter just before she walked to her in the park. The little one was probably hungry.

But why did she twitch like that? she wondered looking at the pair.

Kasumi giggled seeing some of the faces the redhead was doing. Looking at these two there was no doubt they were mother and daughter. The eldest Tendo wondered if she would be able to have this kind of relationship with her child in the future. The mother-daughter dynamic she was seeing almost made her a little jealous.

“Aki-chan is so precious.” She said beaming at the adorable creature. “How old is she?”

Ranma stopped making silly faces at her daughter and looked at Kasumi with a very happy smile; it was very similar to the one Akane made after winning her first martial arts tournament years ago. The redhead looked really pretty smiling this way.

It was very difficult to stay vigilant around such a creature when everything Kasumi wanted to do was to hug her with all her might. She really started to wonder if it was safe for her to stay near the teenage girl.

“Right? Took after her mom!” She said but a moment later her face shifted strangely and her eyes looked like they were about to fall off. She was clearly shocked by something. but recovered quickly. She even managed to smile slightly but there were no traces of previous excitement. “She’s six months old”

Kasumi suppressed a sigh, she was too used to the sights like that. Both of her sisters were in this age where they have so many secrets and troubles they didn’t want to share with anybody. She knew they probably had their reasons and it wasn’t her job but she really would like to help them somehow. Not only her sisters but Ranma too.

The brunette frowned for a moment, realizing what just happened. Once again, she caught herself being too gullible. She knew the redhead for not even an hour. And she was a yokai, for the kamis’ sake! She needed to stay vigilant around Ranma, not thinking about how to fix everything that bothered her.

And yet she found herself drawn to the redhead. She really wanted to get closer to this exotic girl. She was like a breath of fresh air in her otherwise bleak everyday life and Kasumi had to admit that she didn’t want to let it go.

They were walking between the oldest residences of Nerima in complete silence. The young mother was following the brunette, too deep in thought to pay any attention to anything around them. Kasumi quickly calculated how far they were from the Dojo and realized that they weren’t really that far away.

She knew that it would be gnawing on her until she wouldn't ask, so the oldest Tendo steadied herself and stopped walking. She looked at Ranma with the best defense she got. Her usual gentle smile. Alright Tendo Kasumi, you got this.

“Saotome-san.” She said, looking closely at the girl's face. “You’re a Kitsune, right?”

Sure enough, the redhead froze in shock like a deer caught in the headlights. Kasumi watched the girl squirm, with a pale face and a host of different emotions flashing in her eyes, so fast that the brunette couldn't recognize any of them. In the end Ranma looked at her with an anxious, crooked smile plastered on her face.

“W-what are you talkin’ ‘bout, T-tendo-san?”

Kasumi’s face softened when she looked at the redhead. That reaction was everything she needed. If the yokai was malicious, he would have attacked her the moment she revealed what she was, at least that's what her friends said. But Ranma wasn’t in any way aggressive towards her. She looked terrified, like she was caught red handed. That wasn't the reaction someone with malicious intent would have. It actually made Kasumi feel like she was the one doing something bad instead.

“Saotome-san, I’m from a family of martial artists.” She started explaining, trying to do so as calmly as possible. She didn’t want to scare the girl even more than she did. “Well, to be honest I’m not really good at them but I can do some other things. For example I know and can sense or smell different kinds of yokai. And I’m sorry to say this but you, Saotome-san, have… a very specific kind of smell.”

For a split second Ranma looked kind of offended by her. I guess every girl would feel offended if someone would tell her she smells, though Kasumi didn’t really know what to do with that. She probably would be able to phrase it better. She thought, still observing the stiff redhead feverishly thinking about how to keep this conversation going.

Well, that didn’t go so well. She really should think more before she acts. Every time she wants to know something, she does something like this, and someone ends up sad or angry at her for it. Maybe she really should listen to Fudo-san's suggestion? ‘Don’t ask too many questions and don’t pry too much’ was it? She could just do housework and not interfere in anyone's business, at least then she wouldn’t cause any misunderstanding and no one would feel hurt? She frowned, displeased by the fact that she even thought about it. I have dreams too, you know? She scolded herself.

Her musing here was interrupted by Ranma’s long sighs. She slumped her shoulders in defeat. If she were Akane, she would be angry that things didn’t go her way, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The brunette was relieved that the other girl didn’t become violent like her little sister, but it really looked sad for Kasumi to see that girl who just a few minutes ago was so energetic and vibrant looking like that. “Well I’m not Kitsune.” She said to her with a shrug. “You could say that I was… adopted recently.”

Adopted? Really? She thought while looking at Aki-chan in her mother's arms doubtfully. Was there even really a way to ‘be adopted’ by yokai? It doesn't seem plausible, Yinti-obachan said that she also was ‘part of the family’ but she didn’t smell like her or have any special powers.

Kasumi didn’t really buy it and it must have been obvious because Ranma shifted uncomfortably. She looked at Aki-chan who stirred restlessly in her arms, unsure of what’s going on. The oldest Tendo didn’t know what happened at that moment, but the redhead seemed to murmur something to the little girl. After that she looked up at her once again and sighs.

Her face looked defiant. Just like Akane when she asked her if she couldn’t just ask all these boys to just stop attacking her each day before school. And something was telling Kasumi that what she will hear will be really similar to.

It was really strange just how similar these two were at times, but Kasumi would think about it later.

“Really, I’m telling the truth.” She said, sounding a little tired, but without hesitation, as if she didn't care anymore whether Kasumi believed her or not. “I didn’t lie to you or anythin’. And we look like this ‘cause I thought it would be better than just carrying a little kitsune all the way here from China.

“Or that was the idea anyway…” She added. “...but I guess a teenage girl carrying a baby attracts lots of attention anyway.”

Hard to disagree, a teenage mother stands out like a sore thumb, she thought but decided to not say that out loud. She already did too much damage just by asking one question. Now she knew that Ranma could be really skittish and easily offended and so she shouldn’t be too blatant with her. Kasumi didn’t want to make the redhead feel even more anxious AND stupid.

But still, it was really impressive that she was able to get to Tokyo with a 6 month old baby just like that. She couldn’t deny that Ranma must be a really resourceful and skilled martial artist to do something like that.

“But you’re both here now, right? If you made it work then it isn't stupid, don’t you think?”

Ranma shrugged, clearly having a different view of the matter. At least she calmed down a little bit from before. Kasumi smiled to herself, grateful for this victory, even if it was a small one it was a step to undo the damage she caused.

She really wanted to lift her spirits a little bit. If Nabiki was here she probably would disagree but Kasumi really felt responsible for this whole situation. The eldest Tendo really wanted to be more outspoken - that fact didn’t change no matter what - but not at the expense of someone else. It wasn’t the way she wanted to do things not now or ever. The fact that the person she upset had a baby in her arms made her feel even more awful about it.

That’s why the damage control was in order.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you Saotome-san. I shouldn’t ask you about things you didn’t want to tell me.” She apologized, smiling sincerely while bowing her head as much as she could with her hand still holding groceries.

“Oh, p-please, you don’t need to do that Tendo-san.” Ranma suddenly looked really flustered. “I mean it, you don’t need to apologize for anything.”

Kasumi was really fascinated by the redhead. She seems so wild and chaotic with all her emotions on her sleeve. It was completely different from everything she knew. She was expressive, to the point she wasn’t really able to hide what she was thinking. Additionally it seemed like she was able go from happiness to sadness and back in a matter of seconds.

Compared to her family who tend to hide or mask their true feelings it was really refreshing, to say the least.

I really want to know her better, she thought and scolded herself a little bit for almost jeopardizing herself a few moments ago. It was really fortunate that Ranma seemed to really want to go with her to meet her father and was able to look past her careless blunder.

“If you really think that’s ok, Saotome-san.” She was feeling really glad that she was able to prevent things from escalating any further. “Shall we go then? Our dojo isn’t far from here.”

Ranma nodded and slowly joined her once more. Kasumi was relieved but the redhead really didn’t seem to hold any bad feelings towards her, though the previous relaxed atmosphere was all but gone. Even Aki-chan didn’t make any sounds at all, snuggling into her mother's breasts.

Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, the brunette was quite used to silence but that wasn’t the familiar, comfortable lack of other sounds she experienced at home. This was heavy and oppressive, hanging over them and making every step towards home uncomfortable for the oldest Tendo.

“You say that it was only you two all the way here from China? It must have been hard.” She said, trying to find any topic they could talk about. Anything to kill this unnerving silence. That and the truth was that she really was curious! The world was a dangerous place, especially for people like Ranma, even if they were martial artists and she would love to hear any stories the redhead could tell.

She was sure that they could top every recap of Akane’s ‘fights’ at school. Those were all the same, with only the names of the boys changing from time to time. But she could never tell this to her little sister.

Ranma glanced at her suspiciously, which hurt her a little bit. It was fair though, the last time she asked her a question it didn’t go well for them so she didn’t blame her for it. She just needed to do better next time, that’s all.

Fortunately it really seemed that Ranma quickly got over her suspicion because she shook her head with a proud smile.

“Well, it wasn’t that bad.” She started but her smile quickly turned into an irritated scowl. “Until some jackass stole my pack…”

Oh my, that’s horrible! Stealing from a mother with a child… someone really has the nerve… she thought, looking at the girl with concern. She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. It really must have been horrible.

The eldest Tendo thought back to her little sister. Even if she sometimes had her doubts about the way Akane did things, she really was concerned for her well-being. She could be a brash girl who dealt with her problems using violence, but she always had her family to lean on. Ranma didn’t have that and was put in such a tough spot, it made Kasumi want to cry. It really was unfair that something like that happened to her.

Ranma continued not looking at Kasumi. “It was a little rough after that. I needed to get all the things we needed from scratch…” She recalls it with a grimace. “Now all we have is mostly stuff for Aki-chan since she needs it more than me. Mostly stuff like clothes, some spare diapers or her favourite stick.”

Kasumi blinked a few times.

“Stick?”

It didn’t seem like something appropriate for a baby. But maybe it’s different for a yokai? She thought, wondering about the differences between the human and magical offsprings. Maybe she could convince Ranma to let her babysit Aki-chan some time. She still didn’t completely believe the redhead that they weren't yokai and the opportunity to observe the baby of one was something that she'd probably never get to do again. She really hoped that she would be able to convince the young girl at least once.

“Mhm. When we passed through a forest one day we found this strange glowing tree in the clearing. It was really weird, when I looked at it…” She shuddered slightly. ”It was like it was emitting a battle aura or somethin’. I didn’t want to get too close because of Aki-chan, but there were a lot of sticks lying around so I took one. Aki-chan really likes it, it doesn’t bend or break, I couldn’t even cut it or burn it in the fire… It's almost like it’s indestructible!”

Kasumi looked at the smiling face of the teenage girl. She leaned her head back as she laughed, and her hair waved slightly. The last rays of the setting sun made her red hair look like genuine fire dancing on the wind. She was really beautiful, carefree, expressive… everything Kasumi wanted to be, but didn't know how to get there without hurting anybody.

She really envied Ranma the way she carried herself, the places and things she was able to see. She really would like to see it too. And it would be even better if someone like the redhead would be there with her. The eldest Tendo was sure that it would be much better if she could experience it with someone else.

She blushed a little bit, realizing what she was thinking. She just met her but already thinking about going somewhere with her? The brunette was glad that Ranma didn’t seem to notice changes in her expression. It would be really embarrassing.

That's silly of me, I hardly go outside Nerima, she felt a little depressed about the fact how much of the world she would never see. But maybe if I ask her?

“Saotome-san, would you mind telling me about some of the things you saw sometimes? I never really leave Tokyo so I’m a little curious about the world.”

Kasumi didn’t really expect anything. Over the years she got used to prioritizing her family over herself. It also meant that she rarely had the time or opportunity to enjoy something other than her day to day life. She didn’t have any reason to believe that this time would be different and yet she still held her breath waiting for the answer.

Ranma looked at the sky above with a soft ‘hmm’ pondering Kasumi's request for a few seconds. A moment later she glanced at her with an adorable smile, which made the other girl’s heart skip a bit. It surely was illegal just how cute it was.

“Sure I can! But on one condition.”

Kasumi felt a swell of emotions rise up in her chest. She felt almost giddy at the thought that there was - even if only temporary - escape from her day to day routine and the redhead just handed her a key. For a moment she didn’t even think about the other thing she said, but her more pragmatic, anxious side awakened a moment later, cooling down her excitement.

“What condition?” She asked cautiously. It was true she was really happy that the younger girl agreed to her request but she couldn’t forget that they still were practically strangers. Ranma’s foxy smell once again tickled her nose, reminding her of her previous suspicions. There was no telling what the supposed kitsune would want.

She really hoped it would be something reasonable.

“Can you just call me Ranma?” She asks with a straight face. “Normally I wouldn’t mind but you’re clearly a little older than me. It just feels weird.”

Kasumi almost fell over at the redhead’s request. She couldn’t believe just how anticlimactic it was… Granted, Kasumi wasn’t really sure what it would be but for sure she didn’t expect something so simple. Part of her even felt a little disappointed at the triviality of it all. I guess even yokai could want simple things once in a while, she thought with a giggle.

Kasumi smiled and nodded. “I think I can do that. Then you can call me Kasumi, Ranma-chan”

Maybe that’s for the best? At least we’re a little closer now, she thought, letting her inner opportunistic side show for a moment. Just then something caught her eye and she looked around, realizing just how far the three of them had walked during this whole conversation. They were practically in front of her family Dojo.

Oh my, I almost missed it!

Kasumi smiled nervously to hide just how embarrassed she felt at that moment. She wiggled her hands as best she could while firmly grasping her groceries and gestured at the familiar old building in front of them.

“And here we are, Tendo Dojo. We are a little late, but I think no one will complain if dinner is a little later than usual. Come on, Ranma-chan, let’s introduce you to everyone.”

She wondered how her family would react. I hope everyone will be on their best behavior… It wasn’t every day that they had guests, especially as unique as these two redheads seemed to be.

---

Ranma was relieved. This part of Nerima was a real maze of big old houses. She really would have struggled to find this place on her own. Spending most of her life on the road didn’t really help her navigating skills, she frequently was losing her way in any major city they came across. That was one of the reasons she was so thankful that Kasumi was with them, even if the girl was…interesting to say the least.

The Tendo girl was not only really pretty but also surprisingly easy to talk to. Probably would be easy to tease too, judging by her strange reaction when Ranma freaked out…but she wouldn't do that to her. Ranma didn’t have the heart, for some reason even thinking about it felt dirty and wrong.

But man, how is it possible that she knew about Kitsune? I really thought that no one would figure that out…Did I change even more than I thought? Nah, I couldn’t. I check myself regularly… it’s not even as embarrassing as it should be anymore…

So there are people who can sense yokai and other magical creatures…that actually makes sense. It would be weird if there wasn’t anything like that.

It was just her strange luck that she would stumble upon someone like that. Figured.

She stopped pondering about it after she heard the sound of the door opening in front of her. Kasumi was leading them into the Tendo Dojo and Ranma swallowed heavily, feeling his nervousness kick in. This was it, they were finally where they should be.

The only problem was that the redhead didn’t have any idea what to do when they finally got here. She was walking after the eldest Tendo completely unprepared for whatever was in there.

“Tadaima!” Yelled Kasumi before she even walked through the door.

“Okaeri!” Some feminine voice yelled back. Ranma stiffened and hugged Aki-chan a little more strongly at the sound of the two pairs of feet hitting the floor somewhere outside of her field of vision. Great, there are even more people here.

“Onechan, what took you so long?”, “Kasumi-neechan, where have you been?! Dad is talking some nonsense about engaging us to some boy we don’t know anything about and you weren-, hmm, we have guests?”

Ranma observes two girls, one with a brown bob cut and the other with long raven black hair with a dark pink ribbon tied in a bow near the end. They both looked quite surprised by the two redheads.

Uh, why wouldn’t it be just Kasumi! It would be so much easier without so many other people… the redhead lamented in her head not really paying attention to what those two girls were talking about.

“I’m Saotome Ranma and this is my daughter, Saotome Aki. Sorry for intruding,” said Ranma trying to be polite. True she would prefer if those girls wouldn’t be there but since they were she shouldn’t be rude. It was their house not hers, right? And she was sure that Kasumi would be sad if she didn’t at least try to be nice for - apparently - her two sisters.

Both Tendo sisters glanced at each other before once again focusing their whole attention on Ranma's small body frame. They blinked a few times with eyes so wide the young martial artist started to wonder if they ever left the house or so another human being. Isn’t staring like that extremely rude? I’m starting to feel really uncomfortable.

The slightly taller girl with a brown bob seemingly pulled herself together and started to look at the redhead thoughtfully. “Um, I’m Nabiki and this is Akane,” she said, pointing at herself and the slightly smaller girl next to her. “Say… do you know a man named Saotome Genma?”

Now it was Ranma who blinked, taken aback by the question. She looked at Kasumi who mirrored her back. The redhead saw a similar puzzled look in her eyes before she looked back to the other Tendos. Both girls were still waiting for an answer.

“Y-yeah, that’s my Pop's name, why?” She said but before she could say anything else she felt her daughter’s body shudder. Ranma’s alarm bells started to go off when she heard Aki-chan start to make sniffing noises which very quickly turned into the full time crying and tugging desperately onto her red shirt.

Mom! Hungry!!!

Ranma instantly switched her focus. She let go of the bag she carried and started bouncing the crying redhead making cooing noises before glancing apologetically at the three other women in the genkan.

“Can we talk about it later? Aki-chan is really hungry.”

Before Nabiki or Akane could say anything, Kasumi put her arm on Ranma's shoulder, “Of course, Ranma-chan, come with me.” She said and started to guide her deeper into the house.

---

Today was the day when Tendo Soun’s courage and strength was put to the test, and he failed miserably. Even so he wasn’t really discouraged by this, he knew that not many things were meant to be easy and with enough perseverance and will anything was possible. Even appeasing his daughter to do what was necessary to uphold the family's honor.

He wasn’t always like this. Back in his prime, before everything started to fall apart before his very eyes, he was a different man. But after his best friend left with his child on a training journey over a decade ago and when Sora left him after losing her fight against her illness…he was the only one left behind. He was stuck with grief and the responsibility of taking care of and raising their three young girls. It was his duty not only as their father but also as a martial artist and he knew that. Unfortunately at that time he was nothing but a broken man.

He stopped teaching in his dojo and since he was a man he didn’t know anything about taking care of the children and so with great shame he left this job to Kasumi. He barely supported his family with the meager paycheck he got from Sora’s insurance and from his council position.

His daughters never really forgave him, he was sure of that. Even though he still was picking up the pieces left because of his neglect, he knew that his screw up was just too great. He promised himself that he wouldn’t neglect his family ever again and finally it seemed that the long awaited opportunity was finally around the corner. And its timing was horrible.

He was overjoyed when he found out that his best friend would finally come back and their long awaited dream would finally be achieved. He was even more happy that finally he wouldn’t feel so alone and useless. Soun’s mind looked back to his past with Genma, their laughter and hardships, and was almost moved to tears at the thought that this living piece of his past would once again sit next to him. Maybe even across their favourite shogi board he hadn’t touched in so long.

The only unfortunate thing was that he wasn’t the one that picked up the postcard. It was Nabiki. His middle child always was the one that couldn’t live without knowing everything that was going on around them to use it to her advantage… and suddenly she was really curious to know who exactly was this Saotome Genma.

It wasn’t like I had any choice but to tell them the truth, He lamented to himself, sitting in the empty dining room. And why couldn’t it wait until Kasumi returned? Now I would need to explain everything one more time and I don’t think that she will have a different opinion on that matter than Nabiki or Akane… How could they not see that this is the best for our family?

Not only that but now he needed to figure out the way to somehow get Akane to understand her situation. No matter how much fuss she would make, she couldn’t be the heir to the Tendo Dojo. They needed a male heir.

If only Saotome-kun was here…

Soun sighed, bracing himself for another round of explaining things to Kasumi who fortunately finally came back from the store when he realized something strange. In addition to the three familiar voices of his daughters, Tendo Patriarch heard another voice he did not recognize. He perked up thinking that maybe his prayers were answered and his best friend finally arrived. But the voice didn’t sound masculine at all. What is going on?

The middle aged man raised an eyebrow when out of nowhere his quiet dining room was swarming with people. There she was, his little angel Kasumi leading a strange girl with a crying baby in her arms. Nabiki and Akane were walking just a step behind and all of them were looking right at him with mixed expressions, making him strangely uncomfortable. Like he was doing something wrong just by staying there.

He looked at the redhead trying to decide what to do with the situation. Anyone who trained a little bit could easily see that she was a martial artist. Her muscles, despite her lean physique, were dancing under her skin with every move and her movements were effortlessly fluid and graceful. It was easy to see that this girl spent a long time practicing the Art but what kind and for how long he couldn't tell.

She must have been on the road for quite some time. It was impossible not to notice how dirty and hastily patched up her tad too big chinese red shirt was hanging over her body. The little kid who looked identical to the young woman - surely her mother - was crying her lungs out while throwing a fit in her arms, making his eardrums hurt. They had clearly gone through a lot of hardships on their way here.

Just who exactly Kasumi had brought into his household?

His eldest daughter looked at her father with her usual serene smile and made a short bow to him without stopping. “Hello, Father. Could you please go to the backyard for a moment? I promise to call you for dinner when it’s ready.”

Soun blinked a few times, a little stunned by his daughter's suggestion. Something like that never happened before. Why would he, the patriarch of the house, be dismissed from the heart of his family stronghold? Did it have something to do with the strange woman? He felt a little offended that his kids brought in a complete stranger without any explanation.

“Kasumi, who is… “ he had at least a basic understanding of what was going on here but was immediately cut off by his middle child.

Nabiki looked at him with this ‘trust me, you better do what they ask for you to do’ kind of smile and said. “Kasumi’s right, Daddy, you may wanna leave for a moment”, she said, making Soun even more hesitant and anxious about the whole situation. Suddenly he thought that maybe leaving would be the best course of action after all. His two daughters were already not pleased with him because of the engagement so maybe if he complied a little bit they would calm down faster. Then they would have another conversation and maybe finally see his point of view.

He was about to stand up and leave when the redheaded girl looked at all the people in the room, stopping at the Tendo Patriarch for a moment longer than his daughters and shrugged. She bounced her crying daughter a few times before sitting down with her back leaning against the wall and shifting her body slightly to make herself a little more comfortable.

“Um, guys… I don’t really mind.” she said and smiled sheepishly to Soun with a short nod. “Hello sir, my name’s Saotome Ranma. Sorry about this.”

He froze up for a moment. In his stunted state he didn’t react when the redhead casually loosen her shirt and started nursing her daughter. She focused all her attention on the little redhead and ignored the Tendos. Soun needed a few more moments to realize that he was just staring at the young mother with her breasts on full display and instantly turned away. As a man there were a few things he knew he should avoid and one of them was definitely looking at a young girl’s body.

His mind was still a little shaken and he needed a few more moments to realize what just happened and what kind of information he had been given. The Tendo Patriarch was still standing with his back to the other girls in the room when he asked with a strained and anxious voice.

“Say… are you really Saotome Ranma?” He felt really weak when he asked that question. She couldn’t be, right? Genma told him clearly that he only had a son, the future of Anything Goes. This surely was a mistake, their dream couldn’t come true if it wasn't.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry that I came here like this, but I saw this place in one of the photos my pop had and… well he told me this whole thing about going to Tokyo to meet his friend... I thought that maybe he would be here by now…”

He couldn’t see her face but he didn’t hear even a hint of a lie. He felt his legs starting to wobble, when he started to ponder on the repercussion of that fact. The fact that even after all these years of waiting their school couldn’t be joined slowly was creeping into his mind. With the last bit of effort he had he wanted to deny the reality that was mocking him and his dreams.

“B-but wait a second. I was sure that Saotome Genma had a son! Why are you a girl, then?”

There was a long pause, during which Soun was tensely waiting for any kind of response, any answer. When it finally came it was quiet and soft, sounding tired and hollow.

“Well…pops did try to raise me as a man among men…and you can see how it turned out.”

Patriarch Tendo closed his eyes, letting her words reach him, then lowered his head, shocked and defeated.

“No kidding.” Said Nabiki behind his back. “Great job, Daddy! You tried to engage us with a girl!”

“What?!” Ranma and Kasumi shouted, both mimicking the same tone his two younger daughters made when he told them about it a few minutes ago. Unfortunately Soun couldn’t answer the question, a moment after he heard it his body finally gave up and he passed out.

---

Akane watched as Kasumi was putting the cold compress on their still unconscious father feeling embarrassed. It was really just like him, crumbling under a little bit of pressure but why must he do that in front of the guest? Especially when this guest was as important as she seems to be? Dad, you’re a little too much, sometimes…

While the Patriarch of their family was out cold the rest of the girls sat down near the still nursing Saotome Ranma and were trying to digest the current situation.

She glanced back at the redhead who was looking at their father with an embarrassed look, slightly shifting while still holding her infant close to her breast.

”Is that my fault?”

Nabiki shook her head and smirked at their Dad’s pathetic display. It wasn’t uncommon to see him behaving strangely from time to time, and - contrary to Akane who was often embarrassed - the middle sister often would find this display quite amusing.

“Probably. But not in the way you think.” Nabiki said, smiling at the redhead. “I guess that the fact that you’re a girl and not a boy he wanted must have really shaken Daddy up. He seems to have been really looking forward to this whole engagement thing.”

Oh yeah, so much that he never even thought about telling us about this until today, Akane thought bitterly. She really couldn’t understand her dad. Did he really think that they would just nod and accept something like this? She hates boys! She didn’t want to deal with them at all, especially now that basically every day they were forcing themselves on her like some damn animal in heat. Thank Kami that Ranma is a girl, I would hate it if she was a boy.

The redhead frowned at Nabiki “What engagement? Pops didn’t tell me anythin’!”

Kasumi spared a quick glance at Dad and turned her attention to the girl sitting in a circle next to each other. She was especially focusing on the middle sister which made sense, somehow Nabiki always knew much more than everyone else, even if all of them would hear the same thing. It was kind of scary, but Akane would never admit that.

“I also would like to know. What engagement, Nabiki?” The eldest sister asked, standing up and joining them after she was sure that their Dad was safe and sound.

Akane felt the anger flare up in her at the sight. It was his fault that they were in this situation. He was the one that decided to arrange the marriage for them before any of them was even born and now that the plan backfired, he had the audacity to be so shocked that he fainted. And Kasumi is even worried about him! He should be the one giving them explanations and apologising for something so old-fashioned and completely disregarding their own dreams and wishes. Instead he’s being pampered like some terminally ill patient.

I’m really glad that it turned out like this. I would really hate to break to Dad that he's stupid to even think I would go through with this whole engagement.

The youngest sister turned to Ranma before Nabiki could open her mouth.

“Apparently our dads promised each other that they’ll marry their children to unite their schools of Anything Goes. He said something about perfecting the styles and wanting to let us ensure the future of…”

Ranma cut her off seething with frustration that Akane could easily understand. “Oh, hell no! I’m not marrying anybody!” It was clear that she wanted to do something more animated than that but her daughter was keeping her firmly in place.

Akane nodded, happy that she wasn’t the only one that was offended by the idea.

“That’s what I said when Dad told us about it. I’m not marrying any stupid boy, especially one that I never saw in my life!”

The redhead flinched at her angry declaration, probably because she wasn’t accustomed to Akane's emotional outburst. The youngest Tendo took a deep breath to calm herself down a little bit. She didn’t want to scare the nursing mother or her kid, that would be awful. After all, as a martial artist the black haired girl was obligated by honor to protect the weak, not bully them.

Wait, what am I saying? She’s a martial artist too! Even if she has a daughter now… I wonder if she’s any good…

Nabiki, ever so reluctant to sit in one place without anything to hold, stood up from the floor. Akane watched her older sister walking towards the bowl of nuts on the table which she attacked almost immediately with impressive speed.

“Well, it’s not like that would be possible anyway, since Ranma’s a girl.” She said while munching her snack. “Besides, aren’t you already seeing somebody? That little girl of yours couldn’t pop out on her own, didn't she?”

Akane cocked her head, glancing at the nursing girl with interest. Actually, why didn't Ranma come here with the father of her daughter? Aren’t men supposed to protect their partners? She didn’t mean these losers from the hentai horde she was dealing with everyday, but the real, honorable men.

The youngest Tendo raised an eyebrow when the redhead suddenly became really anxious and her eyes started to wander everywhere but on the other girls. Akane felt a pang of pity for the girl. Don’t tell me…

“Nabiki.” Kasumi said, looking at the middle sister with visible disapproval. “Asking about private matters like that is really rude.”

Akane raised her eyebrow even further at that. Her sister rarely if ever showed any negative emotions to their sisters and now she was doing it openly and with a guest present? Something else was going on here but she couldn’t exactly figure out what it was.

“Hey, that’s important, right?” Nabiki doubled down, glancing between her older sister and the redhead. “If Ranma already has a partner…”

“I don’t!” Ranma cut her off, looking almost as red as her hair. “There’s no partner, alright?” She looked around, pleadingly at all of the Tendo sisters, wordlessly asking them to drop the issue. “Aren’t you saying that we can’t marry anyway? All of us being girls and stuff?”

Akane couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the redhead. She looked to be around her age but clearly she went through some really tough times which the youngest Tendo probably couldn’t imagine. She really felt sorry for Ranma but at the same time the young mother started to fascinate her. She really wanted to hear her whole story but she also felt like she shouldn’t pry any further. At least for now.

She glanced at Nabiki, wondering what her sister would do. Her older sister didn’t have the same principles as Akane and absolutely could decide to dig deeper into this.

Contrary to her expectations, Nabiki didn’t press the issue. She looked thoughtful at the redhead and just nodded before getting back at the remaining nuts.

“Right.” She said without looking at anything in particular. “Two girls can’t legally marry in Japan. But still, what was Daddy thinking really… keeping me in the dark like this…”

Akane wanted to follow the conversation but frankly she didn’t care much about what Dad was thinking. She was listening to Kasumi and Nabiki speculating about it half heartedly for a few more minutes but she quickly lost interest when it started to be clear that they started just walking in circles. In the meantime, Ranma's daughter finally has enough. Akane watched the redhead shifting the little girl in her hands skillfully burping. The show continues as she starts to make some cute, stupid faces earning some really adorable smiles and laughs from Aki-chan.

It was a cute display of mother-daughter relationship that made Akane’s thoughts drift to the hazy memories of her own mom. There weren't that many of them to begin with, her mom passed away when the youngest Tendo was only five years old.

Watching this heartfelt show of affection, Akane felt a little jealous of Aki. She didn’t really remember having this kind of motherly love and seeing it on display was a little painful to watch. She sighed, trying to shake this feeling away. Getting hold of her emotions was never easy, even if she knew that was really childish and she shouldn’t feel that way at all.

Akane moved closer to the teenage mother and her slowly dozing child, trying to not think about how jealousy she was a moment ago. She sat right next to Ranma and watched Aki-chan stretching out in her mom’s arms and yawning, opening her mouth into a perfect ‘o’.

Akane smiled, admiring the show of absolute cuteness. “She’s really pretty.”

Ranma didn’t look at her, completely absorbed with watching her daughter.

“She really is, isn’t she?” She said, robbing off some moisture from the corner of the girl’s mouth. “Aki-chan definitely gives me a ride for my money, but I guess that’s how it is with kids. ”

“Must be great to be a mom…” Akane murmured looking at Ranma, who giggled in response before looking at her with an amused smile.

“More like pain in the ass, really.”

Akane furrowed her brow slightly, feeling really irritated. If she didn’t like her kid then why would she have it? That girl is really…

“Didn’t have much choice, really.” Ranma continued, once again looking at the little redhead snuggling into her breasts. “I didn’t plan to have kids any time soon, but… well let's say I can’t really imagine myself without that little gremlin.” She grinned and once again looked at Akane. “Didn’t mean that what I said wasn’t true, she can be a real pain.”

The youngest Tendo could feel her anger fading away replaced by embarrassment. She did it again, she almost freaked out without a real reason. A part of her was really disappointed in herself. She left a simple comment to make her worked up like that. At the same time she still blamed Ranma a little bit. If she said it differently she wouldn't have any misunderstanding!

Akane pondered about how to tell a newly met girl what she was feeling when suddenly she realized that Kasumi was standing over them, trying to get their attention.

“Ranma-chan, I am going to start making dinner.” She said, looking at the both redheads with her signature smile. “Maybe you and Aki-chan should wash up and join us later? I’m sure you would love to freshen up a little bit after all that time on the road.”

Ranma’s eyes went wide at the mention of the bath. The youngest Tendo snickered at the other girl's comical reaction while wondering how long it has been since she and her daughter have a normal bath. Looking at the state of the redhead’s clothes, it must have been some time ago.

“It would be great! Thanks Kasumi!”

Akane wanted to talk a little more with Ranma but she said nothing of it. Even if she decided to do so, sudden rumbling from her own stomach silenced every word of opposition she could think of. That and the fact that the redheads really smelled. A little, but it wasn't easy to ignore, especially so when she was so close to them.

“Come one then,” She said, standing up and reaching out to the still sitting Saotome girl. “Let’s put your stuff in the guestroom for now, then I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”

---

Ranma sighs once again, lamenting on the fact that her backpack was basically empty. She was able to take spare clothing for Aki and was grateful that she had one extra outfit for herself… The problem was that that was it. She was in desperate need of new clothing and didn’t know how she would get it.

I guess I will need to ask Tendos for some hand-me-downs or something. I hope they have something gender neutral, I don’t want to feel even more feminine than I already am…

After finding the change of clothes, Ranma took her daughter and left the guest room. The redhead hoped that they would stay until her pops showed up. A solid roof under their heads beats all the campsites they've been through, especially with an infant to care for.

She heard the sound of running water even before she entered the hallway. Akane left the bathroom at the exact same time as the Saotomes. Both girls looked at each other and smiled. Maybe that was the fact that they seemed to be the same age but Ranma instantly felt some sort of connection to the youngest Tendo sister. Not attraction per se, even if the redhead thought that she was really pretty but some sort of kinship.

Looking at the scene downstairs probably the fact that we both have kinda shitty dads, she thought with a grimace. She still couldn’t believe the nerve to just engage them before they were even born. I mean, what age is this?!

“I’ll go back down there to see if Dad wakes up.” Said the black haired girl when she walked to them. “If you need anything just call me. I’ll come right back.”

Ranma gets back to all the times when she needed to watch out for her pops various tricks he counted as ‘training’. She needed to be vigilant at all times, even during bathing and so, the prospect of uninterrupted bath was one of the most luxurious things she could think of at that moment. To call someone to interrupt the quiet, relaxing soak with her daughter? Unthinkable.

“Thanks but I think we’ll manage.” She said with an amused smile, already thinking about the steaming hot water in the furo.

Akane just shrugged at the redhead.

“If you say so.” she started and then trailed off, pondering something for a moment before she looked at the young mother one more time. “Listen… we didn’t really have a chance to properly introduce ourselves so… I’m Tendo Akane. Would you like to be friends? I don’t really have a lot of friends that know martial arts...”

Ranma smiled at that, she really started to like the Tendos. The eldest daughter was great to talk to and now the youngest wants to be friends… she didn’t even remember when was the last time someone wanted to be her friend! Well, that wasn’t technically true, Ucchan was her first and best friend but frankly. She didn’t remember how much time has passed since they saw each other though and she really would like to have a friend right now.

“I’m Saotome Ranma. I’d like that.” She said with a genuine smile on her face. She wanted to do a handshake or something but her hands were occupied so a smile would have to do.

Akane didn’t seem to mind, her face got all excited and her whole posture became a little more animated than a moment ago, making the redhead a little bit confused. Did her accepting the offer was such a great deal to the other girl? She didn’t get it.

“Great!” The raven-haired girl started to check Ranma from side to side before glancing at her hopefully. “Say… how are your martial artist skills? I understand that you have a daughter now…”

What is she saying? Just because I have Aki-chan doesn’t mean that… she thought feeling a little offended but after a moment realized that the other girl must have thought that Ranma actually gave birth! That sudden realization makes Ranma feel a strange fluttery sensation in her stomach in addition to the enormous embarrassment. She couldn’t believe that someone could think that she could do something like that, there was no way…

Ranma shook her head to stop thinking about it, she shouldn’t look so flustered at the thought of… this. She was Aki-chan's mother after all. Everyone who saw her with her baby probably thought the same as Akane does and she shouldn’t break that illusion. Even if she was about to die from embarrassment just thinking about it.

“Why don’t you see for yourself? I would be up for a little spar,” she said, trying to look as boisterous as possible. She started to really consider cutting this conversation and shutting herself in the bathroom. She really needed a break from other people.

“I was about to suggest the same thing! What about after dinner? I’d love to have a sparring partner! Dad doesn't want to help me and no one around here is a real challenge anymore…”

Ranma really could sympathize with that. It's been a long time since she had a proper spar with anyone other than her pops. She couldn’t really complain about that, the challenge was still there but she could feel herself stangating more and more as the time went on. She really needed to change and maybe Akane would be able to help her with that.

But not before I’ll get my deserved moment of relaxation!

“I totally get that.” She nodded with understanding. “When you don’t have anyone to challenge your limits you eventually hit the wall. I’d be happy to spar with you but first I need to bathe this dirty girl right here.”

Akane seems to be happy with her answer. She looked at the two Saotomes and nodded back, like she was agreeing with Ranma that the two of them really needed the wash. The redhead didn’t know if she should feel relieved or insulted by that.

“Alright, call if you need anything.”

After that the black haired girl turned around and a moment later disappeared down the stairs. Ranma sighed, relaxing a bit as she and her daughter remained the only people in the hallway. She walked into the bathroom, welcoming the steamy mist feeling with a sigh of relief. It must have been ages since she had a nice warm bath, she couldn’t even remember it.

Sudden change in the air makes Aki stir in her mother’s arm. Little redhead blinked a few times, still half asleep and started to look around the unfamiliar room with moderate interest.After wandering around the bathroom with her eyes she once again focused her whole attention on her mother.

Alone?

“Yeah, Aki-chan. Just you and me.” She said smiling to her daughter who snuggled a little closer to her chest with a content smile. Ranma never would have thought that this would turn out this way. A few weeks ago she would love the idea of just ditching her father for some time and wandering through China or Japan all alone. She was tired of the constant nagging of her father, his looming presence and stupid training ideas. She really wished for some time alone.

And now she was walking with a baby girl practically glued to her hip all day long. This was really something she would never have expected to happen. Especially with all of this ‘men among man’ crap her pops was constantly drilling into her head. She still didn’t feel entirely comfortable with that. It felt wrong to enjoy all of this motherly stuff constantly thinking that she should be ashamed of herself for doing that.

Ranma started to disrobe herself and her daughter methodically, trying to not think about it. This is supposed to be her time to relax, not to ponder about how much her pop would be disappointed if he sees her like this.

She took Aki-chan deeper into the bathroom and started to gently and slowly wash and scrub her daughter’s tiny body. Ever since she adopted her, the little girl didn’t really have that many baths, so all of that was really known and uncertain to her. The redhead tried her best but she also didn’t have that much experience with washing a toddler. It took a little more time than she expected but she succeeded in the end.

After that she quickly finished cleaning herself, constantly trying to adjust herself so she could still hold her child while washing her own body. After she dealt with that she didn’t waste any more time. She scooped her daughter firmly into her arms and walked towards the steaming furo.

“Alright, Aki-chan,” Ranma glanced at the baby girl she was holding. She already knew that her daughter understands much more than she looks like. “See that water? It’s warm. It’s much warmer than mom’s skin but there’s nothing to be afraid of, ok? I’m sure you’ll like it.”

The little girl looked at the furo with an anxious look on her face and buried herself deeper into Ranma’s breasts. The redhead sighs at the sight and shakes her head and walks towards the tub. She stepped into the water, quickly submerging herself and her daughter into the pure warm bliss. A moment after she touched the bottom of the furo, she felt a strange tingling sensation going through her entire body and suddenly everything shifted.

She felt that she suddenly became bigger, her stature enlarged and her curves disappeared. He noticed that briefly focusing more on the small fiery red fox that started thrashing and making loud screeching noises looking around with panic.

“Aki-chan, wai…” He yelled at his daughter who jumped violently, bouncing off the pigtailed boy’s body. He watched as his kit landed clumsily on the wet bathroom floor and rode over puddles left over from their earlier bath. Ranma watched with wide eyes as Aki-chan’s body shimmered briefly and turned back into that of a human girl.

He froze in place, still half submerged in the water, with the other half of his body leaning forward, his hand extended toward the little girl. He has no idea what just happened, his brain going into an overdrive trying to process everything that happened in these few seconds of absolute chaos. Time seems to have stopped for a moment, until Aki-chan started shaking and crying out loudly. Young man winced at the sound and fell out from the furo face down into the cold wet floor.

Ranma felt the tingling sensation, his body shifted once again. She felt herself shrinking slightly while her breasts swell up. She didn’t have time to wonder about any of that, focusing on the crying baby. Cursing to herself, the redhead pulled herself up and snached Aki-chan from the floor. She started bouncing lightly on her hip and cooed in her ear, trying to calm her down.

After some time Ranma was standing in the middle of the bathroom with her daughter still sniffling and trembling slightly into her breasts. She was stroking her wet hair gently while still talking quietly to the little girl when she heard knocking on the door.

“Everything ok, it's there, Saotome?” She heard the voice of the bob-cut Tendo girl… Nabiki.

“Everything’s ok! Aki-chan was just surprised by the hot water!” She yelled back hoping that the girl would leave them alone. Now that her daughter was safe, Ranma finally realized what exactly happened and was really excited to try it out one more time.

“If you say so, I just wanted to check!” Nabiki yelled back before adding. “Kasumi said that dinner is almost ready so you better hurry. You don’t want to let my sister’s cooking get cold.”

“Sure thing, we’re almost done!”

Ranma waited for a moment, listening as the middle Tendo sister footsteps were fading away until they disappeared completely. She made a sigh of relief and relaxed when she was sure that both Saotomes were alone, once again.

She glanced at her daughter, still desperately clinging to her breasts. Aki-chan looked back at her with eyes filled with confusion and distress. Ranma’s heart clenched, realizing that it was the first time she saw herself as a fox. She still remembered her first time seeing herself as a girl, and she was a teenager! Ranma felt sorry for her little girl, it must have been very difficult for her young mind to understand what happened.

“It’s ok, kiddo, everything’s fine,” she said, trying to sound reassuring. Unfortunately, looking at the big, copper eyes of her little girl she was failing miserably.

“Sweetie,” She started, trying not to cringe at her own words. “Mummy needs to check what and why it all happened, ok? Everything’s gonna be fine. I promise.”

Aki-chan still didn’t look convinced but at least she stopped clinging to Ranma as much as before. That’s probably the best I can get, she shifted her grip on her little girl. Her heart was pounding when she turned around.

Ranma walked cautiously towards the furo and steadied herself to what she was about to do. She knew what she saw, but deep inside she was worried. What if that was just some sort of the fluke? She looked forlornly at the water trying to not think of that kind of scenario, it would be too much for her.

She glanced at her daughter who was actively watching the water like it was a viper, about to strike at her at any moment. The redhead sighs and shakes her head, hugging her little girl a little closer to her chest. She knew exactly what Aki-chan was feeling.

Trying to control her slightly shaking hand, Ranma reached out and touched the still warm surface of the water. Almost immediately she could feel the same strange sensation while her body began to enlarge slightly. He could sort of see himself in the water, his black hair, and broad shoulders he thought he would never see again… the relief he felt at that moment was like anything he ever experienced. It was like the huge weight suddenly disappeared from his shoulder. So, the warm water reverses the curse and the cold water activates it, she thought, looking back a moment ago when they both landed in the cold water puddles on the floor. It was really problematic, not nearly as bad as being locked as female for good but still problematic.

Aki-chan put her small hand on his flat chest looking distressed, almost scared at the fact that she looked so different now. She looked at him, like one could look at the stranger, with anxious confusion before she looked down and withdrew her hand from him. Ranma’s face squirmed in pain when his daughter started trying to move away from him while still in his arms. He began to panic when he heard a slight sniffing sound coming out of her small body.

Mummy…

“I-It’s ok, sweetie, I’m still here,” said Ranma instantly looking back at the sink near the furo. He quickly rushed to it and turned on the water and put his whole hand into it. She felt her whole body changing once more, watching with sigh of relief as Aki-chan watched her body turning back into the familiar redheaded shape. The little girl clumsily hugged her chest, almost like she thought that her mother would disappear at any moment.

Mummy’s back, she said happily into her mothers head. She sounded so relieved that the redhead felt almost guilty that she shocked her like that in the first place. I wonder what would pops say, if he knew that I willingly turned into a girl… Maybe something about betraying my own masculinity or something like that? She couldn’t really tell.

Ranma closed her eyes and sighs deeply before she mustered a slight smile. “Yes, Aki-chan. Mummy’s back,” she said, trying to come to terms with the fact that even if she figured out how to turn back into a guy it was useless now. Her daughter was scared of her male form and Ranma would rather stay a girl full time than risk Aki-chan looking like that ever again. I guess I’m stuck like this for some time… just my luck, I suppose… She lamented her fate, trying to hide her true feelings before the little girl that was clinging to her with all her might.

Ranma looked at her daughter and walked over to the furo once again. There were once more things she needed to check.

The redhead pushed her daughter away from herself and gently lowered her so that only her foot touched the water. Aki-chan shifted in her hands and a second later Ranma was holding a really confused and restless kitsune in her hands.

She smiled as her fiery red pup immediately started sniffing the air and looking around, seemingly forgetting everything that happened before. She lost herself in the new sensations and when Ranma put her down on the floor, she once again continued to investigate everything around her. The redhead noticed with strange satisfaction that even though she looked really curious, she was still hesitant. She seems to walk only as far as her tail touches her mother's ankle.

She shook her head, she was stuck as a girl for now, but it wouldn’t mean that Aki-chan would be stuck as a human as well. It was a problem that they would need to figure out soon, especially if they seriously considered staying with the Tendos for a longer period of time. What if her daughter suddenly will have something hot, like tea on her, or someone would walk on them by accident? Ranma didn’t know if they would be able or even if they should keep this a secret but she knew one thing. Aki-chan would need to get used to her kitsune form.

She was much more mobile as a fox, it would be useful if they would need to run or need to hide from something. She was seriously considering going clean before the Tendos when the Aki-chan froze with her ears perked up. She turned her head around and looked at Ranma with her copper eyes, somehow still as expressive as ever. The redhead instinctively crouched over to her little girl who put her two little paws on her knee, sad and confused.

Different from Mom, she said, sounding sad and deeply disappointed.

Ranma winced, confused that her daughter who was still so young could express so many emotions. Isn't she supposed to not want anything else than food and sleep? How could not even a month old girl do so many things that were clearly too complex for her age?!

She wondered when once again this strange deep pain in her chest made all those thoughts go out the window. She couldn’t stand the sight of Aki-chan hurting. She scooped her kit into her arms and hugged a little furball closely to her chest.

“Don’t worry ‘bout that, kiddo,” She said, smiling at the little vixen, who watched her with lowered ears, clearly unhappy. “You are my daughter and you’re very pretty, fur or not. Who cares if you’re different? We're both weirdos anyway I guess…”

She didn’t have any real experience with foxes or kitsune. The only thing she knew was that most people like compliments - she likes them too - and she would shower her little pup with all the compliments she could think of. The redhead started to gently stroke Aki-chan’s head, wondering how it must feel touching her daughter’s fur when it wasn’t drenched in water. Even as wet as it was now it was really great, how much better would it be if it was dry and fluffy? Ranma couldn’t help but wonder while she was scratching her kit behind the ear.

Aki pretty? She asked sheepishly, with her head cocked to the side under her mother’s continued ear-scratching.

“Of course! Aki-chan’s the prettiest!” She said with absolute conviction. “You’re so pretty that I’m jealous sometimes, you know?”

Aki-chan made a few strange barks that her mom now was sure were the fox’s version of laughter and snuggled a little more closely to her body. Ranma sighs, only now realizing that the whole bathing experience was now wasted, she would probably smell like a wet fox anyway.

“Alright, I think that’s enough”, she said and put her daughter’s wagging tail into the sink, triggering the transformation once again. The little redhead looked at her human hands with slight confusion before smiling widely at her mother.

Ranma sent one last glance at the still furo. She felt a slight pang of disappointment, she really was looking forward to the long soak in the warm water. Unfortunately it looked like, as long as Aki-chan was too little to leave her alone for some time it would be quite difficult.

Shaking her head, she makes her way into the steamy mist trying to focus on the present. They still have a dinner ahead of them and who knows what Mister Tendo will say when he’ll finally wake up?

---

Walking down the stairs freshly out of the bath made Ranma feel really invigorated, even after all the water related chaos. She just hoped that the dinner with the Tendos would be a little more peaceful, she really was looking forward to Kasumi’s warm home cooked meal. She had enough dried rations and instant cups.

The delicious smells that attacked her nose promised a feast she didn’t have in a long while. Even Aki-chan starts sniffing the air and looking around for the source of the strange but enticing aroma.

When the Saotome’s finally arrived at the salon she saw that the whole family - except Kasumi - was already there. Even the Patriarch of the family was finally conscious.

For a brief moment Ranma was able to see Akane fondling her chin on her hand while sitting at the table, but she quickly perked up when she saw the redhead.

“So, Ranma, you managed to survive the bath”, said Nabiki, grinning with amusement from beneath the magazine she was reading. The redhead looked at the middle Tendo and wanted to say something but she didn’t want to make any slip ups in front of the entire family.

Why are they just sitting like that? Shouldn’t they help with dinner preparations or something? She thought, briefly thinking about her pops who also often just sit there waiting for her to prepare the meal for them. Don’t tell me that they want to talk to me about this whole engagement, family meeting style or something… right?

“Ah, there you are, Ranma-kun,” said Mister Tendo, still half-laying on the hastily prepared futon. He still has a cold compress stuck onto his forehead but otherwise he looks fine. “Come, sit with us. I would like to discuss some things with you while we are waiting for dinner.”

The redhead then knew that she was right on the money. She wasn’t really in the mood for difficult and long talk, especially with that many people involved. Especially not before the meal, it was the rule she wasn't going to break, no matter what.

She looked around the room trying to find a plausible excuse to ditch them for as long as possible. Then she smiles when she realizes that she has the perfect one right in front of her eyes.

“I’m sorry Mister Tendo but I was going to see if Kasumi needed some help, is that ok?” She asked, pretending to check on Aki-chan so she wouldn’t need to look at the middle aged men.

“You chicken out, Ranma?” Nabiki sends her a long look. Ranma was ready to defend herself but realized that the middle sister wasn’t mocking her. Her face expressed more understanding than ridicule which made the redhead a little less wary. She recalled that Nabiki was also not too happy with this whole engagement deal. Maybe she isn’t that bad after all?

“More like I’m starving” She replied to the brunette with a simple shrug.

Her tactic wasn’t well received by the Tendo Patriarch. His lips turn into a line under his mustache and his whole body tense a little bit. He looked at the redhead with a worried frown like he was pondering something really important. “Ranma-kun, but…”

“Come one, Dad.” Akane cut him off with a huff, clearly fed up with her father's persistence. “You promised to wait with all this talk until Kasumi joins us. Just let it go.”

“But Akane, it’s really important! I…”

Ranma stopped listening to the daughter-father bickering any longer than she had to. She was really grateful to the youngest Tendo for the distraction which she used almost immediately to retreat into the kitchen. The ever present smell of food was the strongest here and the redhead caught herself drooling at the thought of the upcoming feast she was about to indulge herself in.

“Hi, Kasumi. Need any help? Anything to not get back in there,” she said to the oldest sister who was breezing through the kitchen. The redhead didn’t know how it was possible but the whole area was surprisingly pristine even while someone was actively using it.

“I’m sorry Ranma-chan, but I just finished,” Kasumi said, smiling apologetically towards the other girl. “I was about to go out and serve dinner… but you and Aki-chan can help me to set out the plates, that would be nice.”

Ranma felt a little dejected when she found out that all the work was already done. Fortunately there was something she was able to do. Everything would be fine, as long as she could say that she was busy.

“I’m on it!” she said and was ready to turn on her heel and go to set up the table… until she realized that she didn't have much of an idea where everything was. “Umm, where do you keep your plates, exactly?”

Kasumi’s smile grew a little bit at the silly redhead display before she opened the cupboard above the countertop. “Here they are.”

The redhead's face changed color to match her hair as she realized what she had just done. She didn’t say anything and got to work, skillfully balancing five sets of tableware on her one hand and forearm. She was using the skills she learned when she was forced to help her pops work out the unpaid bill in one of the fancy restaurants they pass during their journey. It was really nice to be able to show off from time to time.

She set up the table really quickly and when that was over she wanted to help Kasumi move the dishes. She stopped half way through to the kitchen when the familiar feeling crept up her spine. At first glance, nothing changed, the wind was blowing slightly through the shōji, the rest of the Tendos were sitting around the table chatting about some unimportant things and Aki-chan was shifting on her hip.

Everything was normal, but the unsettling gut feeling she grew accustomed to having during her training trip came back to life and was going off once again. Instinctively she tense up and discretely looked around the room but couldn’t sense anything suspicious. And yet…

“Ranma-chan, everything’s alright?” Kasumi stood by the redhead, looking at her with worry. Ranma looked back, unsure what she should say to that, when suddenly she sensed movement on the edge of the vision.

A lone figure leaped into the sky only to land into the backyard. Ranma froze, recognizing her father - Saotome Genma. He was wearing his dirty gi and white bandana just like usual. He looked spent, dragging his large backpack in one hand and a medium sized wooden barrel in the other. His face was looking very serious, almost like he was in a hurry despite - as Ranma understood it - reaching their planned destination.

Ranma’s mind was in disarray, she didn’t know what to do. They didn't see each other for two weeks and she couldn’t say that she didn’t miss him from time to time during that time. Even if he was stupid and selfish most of the time, he was still her father and she couldn’t bring herself to hate him for it.

The problem was that he rarely was listening to her and even if he would, she didn’t know how to explain everything that happened after they were separated. She hugged Aki-chan closer to herself and took a step backwards from the shōji.

“Tendo-kun! I’m sorry that I’m arriving in such a hurry but we have a problem!” Her father said looking at the surprised Tendo patriarch, “Through some unfortunate accident, I was separated from...”

Genma stopped, suddenly realizing that they weren’t the only people listening to him. His gaze flew over all of them and then abruptly stopped when she noticed the redhead standing in the middle of the living room.

Her pops eyes shone brightly for a moment and a bright smile appeared on his face. She couldn’t decide if he was really happy to see her or that she spared him the trouble of looking for her. No matter what it was, she was really bemused by the fact that his smile really felt genuine. “Ranma! Thank the kami, you’re got here safely. Now, stay still boy, I found the remedy for that little problem we picked up in China.”

Everybody, including Ranma, was too shocked by Genma's sudden appearance to react in time. The redhead watched as her father opened the lid of the wooden barrel and with one fluid motion tossed its contents directly in her direction.

Ranma’s body moved on its own, her legs tense up when she made a sideways dodge away from the flying water. A split second later her eyes widened when she remembered that she wasn’t the only one standing in the splash zone. The redhead glanced back only to see the content of the barrel hitting Kasumi directly in the chest.

Time seemed to stop at that moment. Everyone’s eyes were glued to Kasumi, who was still standing in the same spot as before, drenched from head to toe. Ranma swallowed loudly looking at the oldest Tendo sister- or rather brother who suddenly towered over the redhead, being at least three inches taller than her. Kasumi’s face got noticeably more angular, his shoulders more broad. His whole body seemed to look more muscular than before, with his dress ripped at the waist seam. If Ranma was attracted to guys, she was sure that she would not be able to take her eyes off him. Which she was able to do. No problem.

Kasumi was the first to move, he blinked a few times and looked down, checking out his new, masculine body with horrified fascination, clenching and unclenching hands that were at least one size bigger than before. He did that a few more times until he realized that the other people were still present in the room. His face turned pale and his whole body trembled slightly when he exchanged glances with the shell shocked members of his family.

He didn’t say anything before he fled the room. Ranma watched as the Tendos eldest daughter-turned-son ran up the stairs as if he was chased by the devil who was breathing up his neck. The last thing everyone was hearing after that was a sound of doors shutting down and then… silence once again.

Only that it didn’t last very long. Kasumi’s absence was like a flip of the switch. Instantly everyone's attention was focused on Genma who still was standing, paralyzed. The barrel of cursed water was still in his hands, dripping the last few remaining droplets onto the floor. Suddenly the whole room flared up with killing intent directed towards the Saotome Patriarch, who flinched and took a step back towards the backyard.

Ranma’s father discarded both his pack and the barrel before he took a sort of crouching stance. His eyes squinted while looking at everyone’s faces before focusing solely on the Tendo Patriarch. It felt like time had stopped again for these two, but then her pop finally made a move.

“T-Tendo-kun… I... I didn't mean to... I…” He started stammering before he started bowing and clasping his hands together. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!”

The remaining Tendo sisters and Ranma looked at this display with absolute embarrassment. Their killing intent dissipated while Ranma started to feel a sudden urge to deny any and all allegations that they both were even related. Aki-chan was looking at her grandfather with a small giggle, probably thinking that he was playing some sort of game.

“What the hell…” Nabiki murmured, too stunned by the whole situation to move a muscle.

The only person that reacted to this whole spectacle was Tendo Soun. The middle aged man’s face twisted in rage before he seemed to disappear from the place he stood. Ranma blinked when the Tendo Patriarch appeared again above her pop and started kicking him furiously with one leg. Genma - still in his crouching position - was forced to protect himself with his hands while he continued his bowing motion.

“Saotome, you damn fool!” Mister Tendo was yelling, angrier and angrier with every kick. “How dare you use the Crouch of the Wild Tiger against me! I was there when you created it! And who the hell are you apologizing to?!”

N-no way, that pathetic thing was a technique...? Ranma was at loss for words at this point.

She watched with immense satisfaction as her father was finally facing the consequences of his stupid actions. And the best part of that was the fact that they were both clearly well acquainted. her father wasn’t using any real technique to defend himself and that was really telling for the redhead.

“I really didn't mean for that to happen, Tendo-kun!” Genma said, jumping away from the place his friend was attacking just a second ago. “If only Ranma didn't dodge…”

Of course it’s somehow my fault again, Ranma thought with a sigh of exasperation.

“You turn my daughter into a MAN!” Yelled Mister Tendo, going after the other men with angry glare. “Don't you dare to shift the blame on someone else, Saotome!”

Ranma watched for a few more moments as two martial artists were fighting with each other in the small space of the Tendos living room. The pattern was mostly the same, with Genma evading or deflecting every blow that would come his way while Soun would be on constant offensive. For a time it was actually quite entertaining, some techniques Mister Tendo was using were really interesting and worth incorporating into her own battle style.

This was only a small problem. There was someone else right now that needed much more attention than two deadbeat middle aged men fighting each other.

“I don't have time for this crap…” she murmured to herself and turned around in the direction of the kitchen. “Come one, Aki-chan, we need to help Kasumi... Kami knows that she'll need it.”

She needed to think fast, what should she do? Her pop was back and since he was in his original body, he knew how the curse actually works. It only means that the whole ‘I always have been a girl’ story she thought of using wouldn’t hold up very long. Not when Saotome Genma was involved.

She sighs thinking about the lack of justice in the world. Her father could be quite skilled and dedicated to martial arts, but he was also lazy, stupid and greedy. Not only that but by his sheer luck or some kind of divine intervention he was always able to wriggle himself out of trouble. It was only a matter of time before he and Mister Tendo would somehow talk it all out between themselves.

And then the curse will be brought up for sure. I guess it would be better to come clean now than trying to play the ‘old man is crazy’ card with Tendos. I already can see how great this all will play out. Damnit.

Ranma looked throughout the kitchen, took an empty cup from the counter and looked around for some warm water. Fortunately someone from the family must have had a cravings for tea. Ranma filled her cup to the brim from the still hot kettle and walked quickly towards the stairs.

While she was leaving the living room she noticed that the situation didn’t really change at all. The only thing that was concerning the fact that Akane seems to barely be holding herself before jumping into the fray. THe redhead thought for a moment of intervening but decided against it. She didn’t have time and frankly she didn’t care. It wouldn’t be the first time when her pop would need to fight multiple opponents at once. He would be fine.

Ranma and her daughter hurried up the stairs, while the sound of fighting seemed to fade away slightly. She was wondering if maybe they would finally take their fight outside where both of them could really go all out. Her train of thought was stopped once she arrived at the end of the hallway. She noticed that the first time she got there to take a bath, all three Tendo sisters had a plaque with their name on it. She didn’t care about it then but now with the vision of the curse brought up into the daylight she was really grateful for it. She wouldn’t like to be caught walking into Akane’s room when she finds out that he was a guy.

What ‘was’? I am a guy! Really, this whole staying as a girl the whole time is messing with my brain or something… But I can’t change with Aki-chan near me or she’ll cry again… that sucks. She thought while standing before the door with the cat plaque. It has ‘Kasumi’ written on it.

“Kasumi? Are you there?”

Silence. Ranma waited for some time, hoping for an answer but deep down she was always a little impatient. When no answer was given, she decided that she waited long enough and used her elbow to open the door.

“Hi, Kasumi,” She said walking into the small room, whose owner was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the back of his bed. For a moment the redhead thought that the Tendos oldest child was currently curled up in a ball, but the truth was different. Kasumi didn’t cry like she thought she would, no. He was spacing out looking into the empty space with an unreadable expression on his face.

Ranma stood there, looking at the guy version of the girl she walked to Tendo Dojo with and didn’t know how to feel. It was a really strange situation when her instincts and her mind were telling her completely different things. From experience she knew that to wake up a guy from a state like that, the best course of action would be to just flap him in the face or annoy the hell out of him to get his attention. She wouldn’t be able to do that though, she knew it was in fact Kasumi and she would probably be really disappointed if Ranma decided to use violence against her. This and for some reason the redhead just couldn’t stop staring into his face. It seems to make her forget what she was doing at the moment and it was really distracting.

A minute or two of silence, Kasumi finally blinked a few times before realizing that there was actually someone in his room. His eyes were filled with panic for a brief moment before he noticed who exactly was the intruder. She relaxed a little bit after that but didn’t still refuse to meet the redhead’s eyes.

Sh…He must still be really shaken up inside by the sudden change. I still remember this alien feeling when I got out of the spring with these two fleshy balls attached to my chest…

“I got you this” said Ranma, pulling a cup of hot water in front of her. She didn’t exactly know how to cheer someone up in this kind of situation so she opted for a more practical approach. “ For the curse.”

Kasumi flinched at the mention of the curse. She glanced suspiciously at the cup Ranma was still holding but didn’t say anything else. The redhead sighs, feeling a little restless. She was handing him a way to turn back into a woman! Sure it was temporary but it was still better than being stuck as a crossdressing guy, right? She didn’t understand why the eldest Tendo was so wary of her, she didn't do anything to lose his trust, did she?

The only thing she could think of was being related to her father and that was… actually that could be enough reason wasn’t it? Shit.

“Just trust me, ok?” She said once again, trying to look as genuine as possible. She didn’t exactly know how to do that so she just tried to smile as natural as possible.

Kasumi looked deep into her eyes, probably trying to decide if he was ready to trust her enough to touch the water that - for better or worse - might as well have been cursed as well. Ranma quietly curses the fact that they all probably would be dealing with some sort of aquaphobia for the rest of their lives because of this. She really liked water before, but now she couldn’t say that she didn’t understand Kasumi’s hesitation.

After a few more excruciatingly long seconds he finally shook his head and nodded to the other girl. The redhead watched the brunette close her eyes for a moment before she poured at least half of the cup's contents over her head .

Kasumi’s frame shimmered briefly before his whole body shrunk considerably and her body returned to her previous proportions. Ranma could see the eldest Tendo taking a deep breath and shifting from side to side, much more animated and comfortably than before. I guess that the sudden growth in a too-small dress must have been uncomfortable, she thought briefly while watching the fellow cursed girl once again getting used to her normal body.

Ranma smiled. “Feeling better now?” She asked, looking at the older girl who seems to have stopped paying her any attention. The brunette was looking with fascination at her suddenly smaller arms and fingers, exactly the same as when she realized she had turned into a guy. It looked kind of strange to the redhead, the other girl was acting much different than she was when she got cursed for the first time. She wasn’t terrified by it, she was intrigued by it.

Kasumi is a strange girl for sure…

Finally after some more ‘inspecting’ the eldest Tendo daughter focuses her attention on the redhead once more. The previous hesitant, distrustful girl from a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. Her previous serene smile was in place again while her eyes shone brightly with interest when she looked at the younger girl.

“Ranma, how did you know…”

“...How does it all work? Well you see…” Ranma trailed off, panicking. She didn’t really want to talk about it that much. Truth be told she started to get used to the idea that the curse was permanent and there was no going back. Now she knew that wasn’t the case and it all got really confusing for her again. Even so, Kasumi was cursed because of her and she deserved the truth. Her honor as a martial artist wouldn’t allow her to do it in any other way.

Ranma looked at her little girl who was silently observing all of this with visible interest. She looked back at her, probably curious why she stopped talking in the middle of the sentence. Well, that’s because the redhead has an idea in mind.

“What do you say, kiddo?” she said, pinching her daughter on the cheek lightly. “Wanna show Kasumi how pretty you are?”

Yeah! Ranma winced at the volume and excitement of the voice suddenly ringing inside her head. She smiled at her little girl's reaction and brought the cup of water closer to her daughter. As she gently poured a bit of the remaining water over her head, a familiar scene played out and the small adorable fox started wiggling herself out of Ranma’s grip.

“You’re not the only one with this kind of curse, Kasumi-chan”, she said, letting her little cub on the ground. Aki-chan once again in her kitsune form started sniffing and looking around excitedly. She was getting bolder and bolder each time she was changing into this more mobile form and Ranma was slightly worried that one day she just wandered off and got lost without her. That sudden thought made her blood turn cold and she needed to fight herself to not just scoop Aki-chan’s small body into her arms once again.

Fortunately her little girl wasn’t as brave and reckless as the redhead feared. The pup was steadily but surely walking towards Kasumi but her head constantly was glancing back, to make sure her mom was still there, watching. Ranma felt a strange but pleasant warmth in his stomach, which helped somewhat melt the previous icy feeling. It was really nice.

Kasumi looked at the fiery fox’s body moving towards her with a mixture of surprise and fascination. She shifted herself into a kneeling position and smiled at the little creature.

“Aki-chan? Is that really you?” She beamed and showed her right hand to Ranma’s daughter. Pup sniffed the hand curiously, only to start licking it energetically a moment later. “Aki-chan that tickles!” Kasumi said between giggles.

Ranma was in awe of how quickly her daughter was able to win over the eldest Tendo’s affection. She suspected that it was thanks to the fact that her behaviors and energy levels visibly differ depending on her current form. Now when she was a fox, she was much more mobile and more energetic than when she was a human. She was sniffing, licking and running around excitedly playing with Kasumi and Ranma without care. She wouldn’t even stop for a second if her mother didn’t start rubbing her on her belly, an unexpected weakness that she discovered by chance and was sure to exploit it as much as possible.

Both girls smiled as they watched the cub smiling and twisting on her back.

Kasumi glanced at the redhead curiously “So, if Aki-chan is a kitsune… then who are you?”

Ranma sighed and drooped her head slightly. She wondered if the brunette even believed her if she told her the truth. She could say it just fine, she wouldn’t be lying if she said that she was really a guy. And yet she felt uneasy thinking about it. She was a guy before but now she was Aki-chan’s mother, right? Guys couldn’t be mothers so she wasn’t a guy anymore. Or not? She was confused and lost in all the different thoughts and emotions that were going through her. No matter how much she wanted to get the answer everything felt more and more twisted and hard to comprehend.

She knew that she wasn’t just a guy anymore, but wasn’t sure she wanted to be one hundred percent girl all the time either. It’s all a little too much to just get the other girl one simple answer here and there.

“I’m a guy,” she finally said. It wasn't the full truth but also not a lie either. She was a guy a little over two weeks ago and still felt like a guy at times. She knew that was true but at the same time she felt dirty saying it. Maybe because Aki-chan was with them and she was scared that her daughter will start once again looking at her with this distressed look on her face? She didn’t know.

Kasumi also didn’t seem to believe her. Not really.

“Ranma-chan, it’s not that I don’t believe you but I saw you nursing your daughter not that long ago…” she said, clearly trying to choose her words carefully.

Ranma didn’t blame her, she herself, she also has a hard time believing herself about it lately. Damn Keiko and her strange kitsune magic…

“Yeah I bet it’s confusing.” Ranma nodded. “I get it, that scares the crap out of me too. The first time that happened I mean.” She cringes at the memory. To think that I was scared that I screwed up Aki’s body at Jusenkyo… I really should have worried more about my own body being screwed instead… she felt flustered when the memories became more vivid and harder to ignore.

Kasumi was silent for a moment, wondering if it's worth pursuing the topic or not. Ranma could clearly see her face changing slightly while she was waiting for a question to drop. She was hoping that the eldest Tendo would drop the issue but something was telling her that it wouldn’t happen.

“So.. what happened?”

Of course she wouldn’t drop it, she thought, looking miserably at the brunette. She was looking at her with those curious brown eyes. There wasn’t a hint of ridicule in them, only this endless wonder and curiosity she had during their walk to Tendo Dojo. Maybe…

“N-no way, it’s too embarrassing!” She said before she could tell anything else. She still has her pride as a man. Sure, she still didn’t feel too good letting other people see her nursing but she’s able to power her way through it. It was like training, Aki-chan needed to eat and a little bit of shame couldn’t force Ranma to just not feed her daughter. And she was getting better and better at it.

But this was different. Telling anyone about something like that was too much.

“Please…?” Kasumi insisted, now even more curious than before. “Don’t worry Ranma-chan, I promise I won’t laugh at you.

Ranma sighs, sending her last pleading look towards the brunette. She knew she had promised to tell her more stories about her and what she had gone through in the past, but did it really have to be something so emasculating? It was a little too much, no matter how you look at it.

She shook her head in defeat and focused entirely on the fiery pup under her hand. She refused to look at Kasumi during this. And she’ll be sure to make it as short as possible!

“Ok… but don’t say that to anyone else, ok?” Ranma sensed more than saw the brunette nod then cleared her throat before continuing. “It happened when we were trying to leave China. It was raining pretty bad that day and somehow I lost my footing. I slip and we fell down a cliff really fast.”

“You fell from the cliff with Aki-chan?!” Kasumi gasped.

“Yeah, that was really scary.” She said, scratching her kit behind the ear. “I hit the ground hard and black out soon after. When I woke up we were in some small hut and that little furball…” She poke Aki-chan lightly in the belly, “... was sucked into my chest pretty hard. Not only that, a few old Chinese hags were watching us the whole time! We stayed with them for a few days, they taught me a few things about taking care of my girl… and then we left. There, that’s it.”

She wasn’t planning to say anything about the way that grannys were looking at her, while talking between themselves in mandarin. She didn’t understand anything but it was clear for the redhead that they were openly judging her naked body that was at their full display at that time. It was the first time she felt objectified as a woman and it still was making her feel icky. No need for even Kasumi to know that.

Ranma felt herself getting redder and redder as she spoke. When she and her pops were staying at one of the temples in China she heard someone say that sharing an embarrassing moment with someone would make it less embarrassing. Now she knows it was bullshit, she didn’t feel less embarrassed, if anything she felt it even more.

The redhead waited for the brunette to say something. Ever since that happened she thought that if anyone would know they would laugh at her for it. Her father definitely would, after he stopped yelling at her for losing consciousness from a simple fall.

Kasumi kept her word, she didn’t laugh at her. Quite the opposite, the other girl didn’t say anything. She joined Ranma and both of them played a little more with Aki-chan who was barking happily at the undivided attention she was getting. None of them said anything for some time after that.

“So,” the eldest Tendo daughter started, after the little kitsune curled herself into a ball on Ranma’s lap. “Could you show me how you look as a man? I’m curious.”

The redhead grimaced at her question. It was absolutely fair, both her daughter and Kasumi showed both of their forms and Ranma didn’t. Even though she was reluctant to do it, a simple thought touching warm water with the little pup still on her lap made her remember the scene in the bathroom. It made her wince and shifted uncomfortably.

“Better not. Aki-chan’s scared when I’m a guy. Maybe later?”

Kasumi’s gaze was bouncing between both Saotomes a few times before she nodded. Ranma felt herself relaxing when she realized that there was no blaming or suspicion in the other girl’s eyes. She accepted her answer and didn’t want to press the issue further than it was necessary. She smiled, happy that she had finally managed to win back the brunette's trust.

The eldest Tendo daughter relaxed too. The heavy atmosphere from before was completely gone, with the three of them just sitting on the floor, chatting about unnecessary things. Ranma was bringing up some silly anecdotes from her training trip while secretly feeling bad for Kasumi, who seemed to be able to only tell her more and more about her daily chores. She vowed to herself that if Saotomes won’t be kicked out from this Dojo, she would take the brunette somewhere, anywhere just so she could experience something more than just housekeeping. But that would need to wait until she was certain that Mister Tendo wouldn’t kick them out on the spot after her pops screwed up.

After both of them felt a little tired from talking - even if, for once, Ranma was the one that did most of the talking - Kasumi smiled gratefully at the redhead “Thank you, Ranma-chan. For the warm water and for sharing that story. I really appreciate this.”

Aki-chan let a few short barks to once again get the room's attention. Both girls giggled at the pup wagging tail.

“You too, Aki-chan, Thank you very much,” she added.

“Any time,” Ranma said with a coy smile. She meant it. Once again she realized that talking with Kasumi was surprisingly easy and even kinda relaxing for her. No matter how many times her body would unconsciously prepare itself for laughs or ridicule, it never came. It was so different from her fathers reaction that the redhead had a hard time adjusting to the fact that different people could actually react differently to the same kind of situation.

She really felt like she was living under a rock. There were so many more things and people than just pops and martial arts, and now that Ranma was aware of that, she felt really excited. She really wanted to experience more in life and was hoping that she would be able to do it here. It would be really nice to finally stop moving and have actual relationships with other people.

Of course the curse was still an issue but she would deal with it somehow. Eventually.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted by a sudden realization. During most of her talk with Kasumi, even when they were in her room they could still hear the muffled sound of the thief father fighting and shouting at each other somewhere in the courtyard. But now it all felt silent. The brunette also seems to notice that and sighs with an unhappy expression on her face.

“We should probably go back and see what everyone’s doing.” She said, looking thoughtfully at the door.

Ranma’s previous smile turns into a scowl. How much time do they actually spend talking in this room? And just how much damage to the house had those two made during all this time? They really should check it out.

“I guess we should. I don’t know how much time we’ve spent here but dinner’s probably cold already... It’s a shame, I really wanted to try your cooking.”

Kasumi smiled slightly, pleased by the comment.

“Don’t worry Ranma-chan. I can do more tomorrow.”

“It’s a promise then.” She said, grinning at the brunette.

Both of them were looking at each other, waiting for the other one to make a first move. Ranma knew that that’s what they should do but couldn’t force herself to move a muscle. She looked at Aki-chan’s curled body, realizing that the little furball managed to doze off during their conversation and she didn’t even notice.

She would need to get some cold water for her little girl before they go down there. She was about to say that but the other girl was faster.

“I want to stay like this for a little longer if that’s ok.” She said leaning back slightly and leaning more firmly against the bed frame. She looked up at the ceiling with a mixture of reluctance and fatigue painted all over her face. “I don’t think I’m ready to deal with… whatever is waiting for us down there yet.”

Ranma nodded, since it made perfect sense to her. She also didn’t feel ready to wake up Aki-chan from her nap. This had nothing to do with the fact that she much preferred to spend time alone with Kasumi instead of being forced to deal with the situation downstairs. Not at all.

“Sure thing Kasumi, I’m sure they can wait for a little longer.”

Notes:

Here it is, the second chapter :>
I hope it wasn't too long, I got little carried away... I plan to make future chapters of similar length, but only slightly shorter.

Chapter 3: Fallout

Summary:

Genma and Sound “talk” about what happened at the Tendo Dojo when Patriarch Saotome first arrived and so the proper first “meeting” of families can finally begin.

The intense red of the evening sky slowly gave way to the purple of early night. A moment's concentration allowed one to see the first stars shyly twinkling among the sparse clouds flying across the sky. If this view had been witnessed by some woman or child, they would undoubtedly be in awe or say it's beautiful.

It was one of the reasons that Genma Saotome would never consciously decide to watch it. What would he gain by doing that? Would it make him richer or better in the Art? He didn’t think so and that was enough reason for him to not care about it. The only reason he even registered the sight was because he currently laid face up in the grass, pummeled there by his best friend's fury.

A fury that was for sure a slight overreaction. He did say sorry and if he could be honest he kind of did his daughter a favor. Who wouldn’t like to be a man if given an opportunity, right?

He was still watching the stars with a stony face when the sound of heavy breathing started to be more and more audible. “Are you cooled down enough to talk, Tendo-kun?” He asked, grimacing a little bit as he felt the dull ache across his entire body.

The middle aged martial artist turned his head towards his approaching friend. Thanks to him being cautious, Genma was able to retreat a little bit further from the Dojo and into this small park. No one in his right mind would like to damage property he wanted to live in and seeing his old friend's reaction that’s what would happen if he did.

Looking at the destruction around them, he could congratulate himself on his foresight. Tendo had clearly slacked in his training but was still strong enough to beat him up. It was intense enough to scare off everyone in a few hundred meter radius from the clearing. At least they wouldn’t be interrupted.

“What are you talking about Saotome-kun?” Asked Soun Tendo, still looking furious but his ragged breath showed just how spent he was. “How could you even ask me this after what you've done?”

Genma began to get up slowly with a painful groan. Shucking the dust from his gi, he inspected his glasses for any trace of damage. Thank the Kami, they were intact, he wouldn’t know what he would do if they weren’t. Glasses weren’t cheap!

“It wasn’t my intention, my friend.” He said, trying to sound conciliatory. “You know that I never have any ill will towards you or your family”

What he said was true. He didn’t really have a lot of friends and to lose one would be an unimaginable thing. Unfortunately Tendo clearly didn’t seem to realize that, choosing to turn a little more red than before instead.

“You cursed my daughter, you fool!” He said, pointing at Genma with an accusatory tone, which to be fair - he deserved. Even so, his pride as a man wouldn’t allow him to admit to that. Instead of admitting any wrongdoing, he fell back on familiar instincts he'd picked up from his many years of travel.

He decided to put the blame on someone else.

“I was aiming at Ranma!” He said, shifting his tone to make it sound as if he were the one being treated unfairly in this whole situation. He sat down tiredly on one of the nearby benches that had miraculously remained intact. “I’m sorry for your daughter, I really am! None of this would have happened if my ungrateful child wasn’t so cowardly as to dodge the water.”

Old habits die hard. This was evident in Tendo Patriarch who, even if still visibly angry, joined his old friend on the bench while shooting daggers in Genma’s direction with his gaze. However it all changed the moment the bold martial artist finished his hasty explanation.

“Wait, you wanted to turn Ranma into a man?” Soun asked when he fully understood what his companion was saying. His gaze turned from fury to absolute shock and disbelief. “Saotome-kun, you and I did some very questionable things in our past, but this is just too despicable. Your own daughter… How did you even turn out like this…”

Genma blinked, and his mind struggled to process the information given to him. Sure, it was regrettable that his son turned into a girl, but all the training he went through and his father's teachings should make this poor illusion of femininity into just that - an illusion. His son shouldn’t be mistaken for a girl, no matter what form he would appear to be.

It seemed not to be the case however and it scared Genma immensely. All these years of training couldn’t just go to waste. Ranma needed to be a man among men, the stakes were just too high for it to not be true. Their survival depended on it.

“I swear to you Tendo-kun. Ranma was a boy for his entire life.” He said to his old friend looking him in the eyes to show how sincere he was about this. “That girl you saw in there was a curse made flesh, she was not a real thing.” He insisted even more strongly. A quiet sound in the back of his head was whispering to him that Soun Tendo was not the only person he wanted to persuade while doing so.

The Tendo Patriarch glanced at him with all thoughtfulness but also confusion and hesitation. That look hurt Genma a little bit. They both went through so many things together; they fought against adversity, made plans for the future, and defeated the greatest evil they had ever encountered… all of that they achieved together. All of this and he still gave him that look.

He couldn’t be mad at Soun, though. They both were trained by the same master, and distrust was an essential tool to survive that both of them took to heart. It was still disheartening that even after all that time together, his friend still would point his finger in the wrong direction.

“Well Saotome-kun, she looked very real to me,” he said carefully, watching Genma. “Real enough to give birth to a child at least.”

Genma was about to say something to that ridiculous claim but froze just before he could say anything. An image flashed before his eyes, a glimpse of an event that played out no more than half hour before. When he tried to splash his son with nannichuan water, he WAS holding something. He hadn’t really paid much attention to it at the time, but now that Tendo mentioned it, he realized what exactly the thing Ranma had been holding was. A very small child with red hair. Hair that was identical to Ranma’s.

“That’s impossible.” He said, subconsciously clenching his fists with his head hung low, suddenly feeling much less confident, “the boy got his curse not even a month ago. Even if he were to do something so shameful as sleep with another man… it’s still impossible.”

Yes, it was impossible, that was the only acceptable answer. Every other explanation would have been too hard one to swallow and too dangerous for both of their lives to to be true.

Genma was saying these things to himself but his old friend’s gaze seemed to be enough to make his convictions waver with ease. He swallowed loudly hoping that his fellow martial arts practitioner would see just how silly what he was saying was. Unfortunately what awaited him wasn’t an apologetic smile, but Tendo avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of his head looking quite uncomfortable while doing so.

“She was breastfeeding her daughter in my living room. I’d say that’s her baby, especially with how both of them look so alike.”

Somehow these few words were much stronger than every punch Soun had aimed at him. His friend didn’t have any reason to lie to him as he never even saw his son until now either. Genma hid his face in his hands for a second trying to protect it from the world. Showing weakness wasn’t something real men should do, and right now, even if he didn’t exactly know how he looked, he was sure it wasn’t very manly.

He didn’t understand it at all. The Saotome Patriarch was sure that his training methods were perfect. They had molded Ranma into a man among men, exactly what was required from him to fulfill that damn contract they both signed so many years ago.

How two weeks of separation and a curse could do so much damage was mind boggling for him. He didn’t even try to figure out how his son-turned-daughter got himself a baby, that wasn’t that important at the moment. What was important however was the fact that it didn’t take long for Ranma to forget basically everything that Genma tried so hard to instill in him. It was incomprehensible.

Should he blame Jusenkyo? He didn’t really feel anything for his own panda-form but who knows what kind of effect the Spring would have on a boy.

Was he really that incompetent as a teacher? Or had his son been a lost cause to begin with? These questions circled in his head for a while, but unfortunately no matter how long he thought he was unable to figure it out.

“How could this happen…” he murmured to himself, struggling to come to terms with the facts before him. “I don’t understand how Ranma could… after all I did for him…”

Looking back at the ten years both of them spent on the road, Genma suddenly felt exhausted. He had this dream of having a son that would surpass him, go where he couldn’t and do what he was now unable to do. He knew that he wasn’t the best teacher in the world, he had his own shortcomings and was mistaken more than a few times during his son's training. Even so, he did it all because he believed that his son would be able to achieve his father's hopes and dreams. Because in the case that he failed, both of them would be dead.

He thought back to the face he hadn’t been able to see in so long. No-chan’s face looked at him with that ever present frown, clearly displeased by something he did. She was like that very often, and always was sure to say that to him loud and clear. With both her words… and her fists.

He often wondered how it was possible for him to still be alive after disappointing his wife time and time again during their relationship that had been rocky at best since the very beginning. It was a miracle for sure, but clearly his luck had finally run out. With the contract in place and Ranma’s… situation it was highly possible that he would never be able to see his wife again.

It was very tragic, he really would love to see that familiar frown again. After all, Nodoka was the only woman he would admit was on par or even better than any men out there, even if not out loud… or in public.

“I guess our dream was destined to fail from the very start, Saotome-kun.” Genma stopped his depressing musing, and looked at Soun who looked tired and hollowed out similar to himself. “I mean, who would even respect the notion of arranged marriage in this day and age anyway? But the Schools…”

The joining of the schools. Saotome Patriarch sighs thinking about their dream project. Ever since they started learning the Anything Goes under their master, they both know that their individual fighting styles were different with Soun preferring a more grounded approach while Genma having uncanny talent in aerial combat. The idea of one letting the younger generation to inherit both of their styles was such a brilliant idea at the time. It was genius! It let both of them polish their respective styles and let their own children handle the rest while both of them would happily retire, watching the fruits of their hard labor.

It was also his plan B in case Ranma would turn out to be unable to become the man among men that he was required to be. Nodoka wouldn’t do anything to their son and his father if he would start his own family. But so too was this plan finished, turned to ashes by Genma’s own hands.

Or at least that was his initial thought. Now he was put in a difficult position and his survival instinct was making him desperate for a way, any way out of this nightmarish situation.

After a moment of feverish thinking he realized that even now, there was still a way.

“...The Schools must be joined.” He finished his friend’s sentence absentmindedly before he looked to the side at the other man. “Tendo-kun, maybe… maybe not all is lost.”

He didn’t know if he would be able to stomach this or even look at himself in the mirror if his plan succeeded but he had found a way out. Pathetic and heartbreaking for the middle aged martial artist, but a way nonetheless.

“What do you mean, Saotome?” His friend's eyes lit up slightly, grasping at the faintest hope he could find to make their dream a reality.

Genma sighed and waited for a moment before answering, still contemplating if there was any other way. He quietly lamented all the steps that would be necessary for his plans to succeed.

“From observing my own curse, I’d say that it makes staying in your birth-form for an extended period of time extremely difficult.” He said, fiddling with his hands, as he felt a strange and uncomfortable lump form in his throat. “But with your daughter and Ranma… as much as it pains me to think about it, in the end it could work out.”

The Tendo patriarch wasn’t always the brightest man, but after all those years together on the road he was able to understand what Genma meant almost instantly. Soun’s face abruptly changed when the realization of the other man’s plan finally sank in.

Mirroring Saotome’s own feelings about this contingency plan, his old friend did not look very happy. In fact he looked like he was about to oppose the plan on the spot if not for the fact that it was clear he didn’t have any alternative ideas.

It didn’t stop him from complaining about it though.

“You can’t be serious. My Kasumi is not… I mean she knows only the basics of the Art!” He contested with a strain face. “How could she inherit the Dojo? Also, what do you mean, you’re cursed as well?”

“Then she’ll learn!” Genma countered, ignoring his friend's question entirely. “It won’t be easy but it’s possible. At least with her curse she could at least have potential for it. At least much more than the Boy… especially since, from what you’re saying, the Ranma I knew and raised is as much as gone.”

He never did very well with emotions. They were for women and children, while men needed to be much more practical. They needed only to think and to act, not to feel. It’s what he had done for all those years on the road with Ranma, but even he sometimes had moments of weakness.

Moments like right now, when he realized the truth in his words. He had been blind to not see that the hopes and plans he made for his son were only a pipe dream that had vanished the very moment he stopped looking. He felt a pang of regret. A dream is a dream and as a man he needed to wake up and do what was necessary. Even if it felt like hell.

“Ranma choose hi-her path.” He continued hating every word he said. “It’s weak, distasteful and hurts me deeply, but if we engage you ‘son’ and… and my d-daughter… then our lifelong dream could finally be achieved.”

A daughter, he never thought that he would use that word to describe his only child in any other way than as an insult but here they were. For their future and Genma's sweet retirement plan, Ranma would need to become his daughter while he and Tendo would need to work on this Kasumi-girl.

It was regrettable that Ranma’s potential as a martial artist would be wasted but as everyone involved with the Art knows - martial arts life is fraught with peril. Who knows, maybe Soun’s kid even had a hidden potential? They would just need to wait and see.

The Saotome Patriarch glanced at his friend once again. Tendo looked like he just ate a whole lemon and some. His impressive brow was frowning while his eyes were riveted into Genma’s. Bold martial artist knew this look very well, his friend right now was thinking if he should agree to his proposal or insult him. It actually felt kind of nostalgic.

“Look at just how convenient your ‘mistake’ turns out to be a good thing, Saotome-kun.” He said, his voice dripping with mockery. “You always were good at seeing an opportunity in even the biggest failure.”

Genma smiled slightly, pretending not to notice the tone of his friend's voice.

“The core part of Anything Goes is the ability to adapt to every situation.” He said raising a hand with one finger sticking up trying to look wise and insightful while citing their master's words, some of the very few that actually made sense and were worth repeating.

Soun didn’t seem to be in the mood for their usual friendly banter. He sighs and looks into the sky, thoughtful and deflated. They stayed like that for a moment, both contemplating the fact that once again, nothing was working in their favour. The only solace for Genma was the fact that at least now he was no longer alone with his misfortune.

“Tell me, Saotome-kun.” His friend asked once again, sounding quite hollow. “Are you sure that this cursed water you brought with you would really lift Ranma’s ‘curse’?”

Genma was a little taken aback by the sudden shift in the conversation, but his face didn’t change a bit. A part of him hoped that maybe now with their new goal set, his friend would forget about this unfortunate mistake. Looks like he had no luck with this either.

“I have no idea.” He said, deciding on being truthful. There was nothing to gain by omitting the truth from his old friend, at least when it comes to Jusenkyo.

Soun rise one brow, clearly wasn’t expecting that answer from his old friend.

“What? Didn’t you use it first to deal with your own curse?”

Saotome Patriarch crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. It was true that he was and would forever remain a hopeless opportunist, but there was a line that should never be crossed.... at least not by yourself.

“I’m not a fool, Tendo. I wouldn’t try anything this dangerous on myself before I make sure that it’s absolutely safe.”

He was already starting to get old. It was reasonable that if something was potentially dangerous it should be left for the younger generation to deal with. Especially since back then he realized that he didn’t really mind his panda-form as much as he thought he would while his Ranma was supposed to be a man among men. It was clear which one of them needed to be cured more severely.

If the cure really did work, he could always get back to China for more. The Springs weren’t going anywhere soon after all.

Soun shifted on the bench and slowly turned around towards his friend. Saotome looked at Tendo whose current expression was making him very uneasy.

“So, if I understand it correctly, for the curse to manifest I just need to throw you into this fountain?”

It was then that Genma realized that his old friend not only didn’t forget about this regrettable incident with nannīchuan but he was clearly still pissed about it.

---

Ranma smoothed a little lump of hair on her daughter's head. Aki-chan, once again in her human form, looked at her face and giggled trying to avoid the inescapable hand of her mother. She was failing miserably every time, being at the mercy of the larger redhead.

“Ready to face the music?” She asked the taller girl next to her. The eldest Tendo sister was still wearing the slightly torn dress she had been wearing previously, arguing that she preferred not to risk losing another one in case she was splashed again.

“As ready as I can be,” said Kasumi, looking a little tense but determined nonetheless. “I’m sure Akane and Nabiki are worried about me and I would like to see how much damage our father did to the house. I would probably be the one who would need to clean it up after all…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” said the redhead, feeling quite bad at the amount of resignation in the other girl’s voice. “It’s all my pop's fault after all and you can be sure that he won’t lift a finger to fix anythin’. He’d probably just go on about it being a woman’s job or somethin’ like that.”

The living room didn’t look that bad, she didn’t really see any serious damage except for the smaller items lying around here and there. It really showed the mastery of the art, two middle aged man’s achieved. Ranma knew that if that was a fight of the less adept martial artists this place would be a ruin by now.

Ranma saw two other Tendo sisters already waiting for them at the table, with the middle one - Nabiki, reading some kind of magazine again while the youngest was tapping on the wooden surface with an irritated expression.

Both girls' heads perked up when they heard the sound of footsteps coming into the room, with Akane practically jumping from her seat towards the newcomers.

“Oneechan!” She said, hugging Kasumi’s mid-section. “You’re ok?”

The redhead watched this show of family affection feeling strangely out of place. She never really experienced anything like that, if she would get lost or hurt her father wouldn’t really do anything indicating that he was worried about her. She would probably get scolded for being weak instead.

Watching someone else getting something that she never got herself was a little painful. She embraces Aki-chan a little tighter while watching Akane crushing her sister into a hug without care in the world.

Soon after Nabiki chimed in from her place at the table.

“So… you’re not our big brother, anymore?” She asked, looking up from her magazine and glancing at her older sister. “Shame. I wanted to get to know him a little better.”

Nabiki sounded uninterested and sarcastic but looking closely at her, Ranma could see that her eyes were watching them closely with worry. The redhead was pretty sure that it was genuine, even if any traces of it disappear the moment Nabiki realized that she was being watched too. That didn’t matter much to Ranma though, it was clear that the middle sister really cared.

Kasumi didn’t catch that, too busy trying to free herself from Akane’s clutches.

“Not gone,” She said, shaking her head slightly. Her face made a thoughtful face before adding. “Just… away for a moment.”

Both sisters looked at Kasumi strangely, not really understanding what she was saying. Ranma quietly wondered what kind of relationship the three of them have with each other. Being raised with almost no long lasting relationship with anyone else but her father the nuances of this kind of interactions were really fascinating and maybe a little sad to see, when she thought about the fact that she never had that.

“What do you mean, Kasumi-neechan?” Asked Akane, looking at her from head to toe like she was trying to see if she didn’t hide the other Kasumi somewhere behind her back. It was kind of cute and silly looking for Ranma.

“It’s a long story.” She said, temporarily getting the black haired girl's attention. “What happened to pops and Mister Tendo after we left?”

The youngest Tendo frowns, making Ranma giggle internally. It was really funny to see another person making this kind of face at the mention of her father. She was a little disappointed that she lost her notebook. She started keeping scores on that some time back but couldn’t really remember the last number.

Whatever the number was, she was sure she could add at least two new faces to it.

“Your father ran away and dad went after him some time ago.” Said Akane with a huff. “I wish that we knew when…”

“We’re home!” The sound of Mister Tendo's voice caught everyone’s attention. The redhead looked at the walkway to the living room and saw a little worn out Tendo Patriarch walking towards them with a familiar wet and battered panda in tow.

Understandably the gaze of all the sisters was directed at the giant animal. Even Aki-chan shifted slightly in her mom’s arms to better see the strange creature.

Big, she said and Ranma nodded with a smile. Her little girl was picking up words with surprising speed. She would need to watch out so her father wouldn’t screw up her speech like he did with hers. She makes a mental note to ask someone, probably Kasumi, to help her to learn to speak properly. She didn’t want to teach Aki-chan to speak like a country bumpkin.

“Welcome home, Daddy…” Said Nabiki cautiously standing up and walking away from the upcoming pair. “So, who’s the panda?”

Looking at her father’s worn out expression Ranma couldn’t maintain the mask and start waving at him while grinning widely.

“Hi, pop! Got your ass kicked or what?”

All three sisters looked dumbfounded at her still grinning face, while the panda was sending her a nasty glare.

“That’s your father?” Kasumi asked after glancing from her to the panda and back a few times. Ranma nodded.

“Yeah. Don’t let him fool you. He’s just hiding under all that fat and fur.”

Suddenly, her pop reached behind his back and pulled out a wooden sign. His arms became a blur of motion when he hurriedly started to write angry words for everyone to see, flipping the sign from time to time when he ran out of space to rant.

“Quiet boy! Show some respect. To you father!”

Ranma was really impressed by the pandas' speed. Judging by his size and body shape she would expect him to be more on the lazy side but he actually has a little trouble keeping up with her father’s speed.

“Wow, that was neat pop!” She said with a whistle. “What’s that, Saotome Secret Technique, Quick Writing, or somethin’?”

There wasn't much to do on the road besides training, but Ranma was always resolute. If there's nothing else to do, you just have to figure something out. So with nothing else to do, she decided to dedicate all of her free time to get any kind of reaction out of her father.

Needless to say, she has become extremely talented in pissing him off really quickly.

She could swear that she saw a building vein popping out under the pandas fur. Her father was about to jump at her but was stopped by the hand of Mister Tendo who looked a little vexed by the whole situation. Ranma could hardly blame him, this whole thing was quite a mess.

“Let us sit down and talk.” He said with a sigh, looking at everyone around him. “There's much to discuss, you see. Kasumi, could you please get us some warm water?”

---

Kasumi wasn’t gone for long, but enough so that everybody could take their seats and observe one another in uncomfortable, stony silence. Mister Tendo and pop were sitting next to one another on one side of the table, with the Tendo Patriarch trying to maintain the aura of a man firmly in control of the situation. Panda on the other hand was locked in some tense, glaring contest with the youngest Tendo sister but it was very clear that her father wasn’t very thrilled about it.

Which was good since he clearly deserved it. Ranma was already accustomed to receiving the shorter end of the stick when it came to his pop, but when someone else was hurt because of it.... that was a different matter. It was actually quite exciting to see him getting what he deserves for once.

Akane was too busy trying to kill Patriarch Saotome across the table with just her gaze to care about anything else. On the other hand Nabiki’s eyes were constantly moving, jumping from one person to the other with a thoughtful, calculating expression. Occasionally her face would be distorted by almost palpable irritation flashing in her eyes from time to time. All in all her very presence made the redhead a little on edge, every time she would glance her way.

Ranma decided to not pick any side and sat a little away from everyone, shielding Aki-chan from any potential danger that could break out at any moment. Her little girl also must have realized that the atmosphere wasn’t good, because she was trying really hard to be as close to her mother as physically possible.

Tension eased out only after the eldest Tendo came back with a kettle of slowly steaming water.

“Are you sure it’s hot enough?” Mister Tendo asked, eyeing it hesitantly.

“I’m sure. It must be hot, not scalding,” said Kasumi as a matter of fact and without skipping a beat she poured a generous amount of water on the panda, reverting him back to his grumpy, human form.

Two younger Tendo sisters watched with wide eyes as her pop suddenly shrunk to half his size, losing any visible signs of fur or hair.

It was a much more bizarre change than Ranma, so she couldn’t make fun of them for that. She also was a little taken aback by just how smooth and strange it was.

Her father corrected the glasses on his nose before he cleared his throat. “Well, now that’s out of the way - I’m Genma Saotome.” He said before he bowed deeply before the oldest Tendo. “Kasumi-san, I would like to say that I’m sorry for this unfortunate incident. It wasn't my intention to put a curse on my dear friend's child, and for that I apologise.”

Ranma, being a frequent observer of similar performances, remained unimpressed by this. Her father would do something like this quite a lot, often co opting her to fix the mistakes he made along the way. The amount of times she needed to clean the dishes or do other odd jobs because of this was staggering.

Kasumi however wasn’t accustomed to this and became flustered by Saotome Patriarch's performative humility.

“ That’s alright, Saotome-san.” She said standing awkwardly in place, with both hands still holding the kettle. “I… I don’t mind this actually. It’s just a minor inconvenience.”

The redhead raised his eyebrow a little bit, hearing this. She remembered her own first moment of realization that she turned into the opposite gender, her reaction was totally different from Kasumi’s. She was much more… furious and confused than the eldest Tendo daughter. Ranma glanced at the girl one more time, curious and maybe even a little bit impressed. She may be much more resilient than she looked

“It’s not alright, Kasumi-neechan!” Akane objected to slamming her fist on the table, gritting her teeth while shooting daggers in the direction of the bold martial artist.

“Is there a cure for that at least?” Asked Nabiki, looking serious for a moment before breaking that image by smirking into Genma’s direction. “Seeing that you’re a panda, I’m sure that you know something.”

This was something that Ranma was really curious about too. She leaned slightly wondering if maybe, this time her father didn’t put all his eggs in one basket and had some way of curing Kasumi.

“There’s no cure as far as I know of.” Genma said, shaking his head sadly, snuffing out the redheads' hopes in the process. “Ever since me and Ranma got our curses I tried to search far and wide for it but all I could find were dead ends.”

The redhead’s mouth twitched slightly, and she glared at her pop angrily. Of course he would drag her into this without a second thought. Ranma wasn’t stupid, she knew that her own curse would turn up eventually but she wanted to be the one who brought it up.

She watched grimacing as the faces of the two younger sisters instantly turned towards her, even more shocked than when her father transformed into a human, mouth agape.

“Wait, Ranma’s cursed too?!”

She winces at the volume of their shouting, barely fast enough to cover Aki-chan’s ear from the same fate. Reluctantly she sighs and looks at Akane and Nabiki, trying to not flinch at the youngest Tendo crestfallen expression. Suddenly she felt like the worst scum on earth and needed to fight the urge to lower her gaze shamefully.

“Yeah…” she said, trying to seem as apologetic as possible.

“You didn’t talk to them, boy?” Her father asked, looking disappointed. The redhead scoffed, knowing that he was already disappointed at her since he got here. The only reason he actually looked like that was so he could make a show out of it and punished her for not meeting his expectations.

Ranma shot him with a very nasty glare, which seemed to shut him up for a moment. A momentary victory that made her feel a little better about herself, even if the feeling disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. It didn’t even do her any good, since the damage was already done and her ears were assaulted once again.

“BOY?!”

Nabiki looked at her father as if he had just tried to insult her intellect while pointing a finger at the redhead.

“But Ranma has a daughter, how could she be a boy?” She asked, trying to sound cool and collected but she was visibly thrown off balance by this sudden revelation. “I don’t think that even magic can fool basic biology…”

The redhead was silent, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to reveal anything more than necessary about her little girl. She was entrusted to her, Aki-chan was hers now and that was what really mattered. At least that’s what she was thinking, the others could have different opinions on the matter.

Ranma felt chills going down her spine, when everyone’s eyes focused on her, especially Nabiki. Throughout all her life, she thought that she enjoyed the attention but right now she would really prefer to just disappear.

She sighs, looking back at her pop who looked at her like a hawk, frowning from behind his glasses. The redhead shook her head, realizing that shit already hit the fan and it would be foolish to hold back just because Tendos were here. They didn’t seem to hold back either so why should she?

“Ranma, since we’re all here, explain yourself.” He said looking sternly from one redhead to the other. “Spit it out boy, what is the meaning of this? Who is this?”

She instinctively hugged her child closer, sending her father a murderous glare that - she hoped - would put Akane’s previous one to shame. She didn’t mind taking the heat herself but when her little pup was involved… there was no way. No way in hell that someone will look like that at her.

Her daughter was actively looking around, not really knowing what was happening but getting anxious by the minute, especially after she realized that the big meanie in glasses was looking at her in a strange way. Ranma could feel her little body shiver slightly, which made her feel even more on edge.

“This is Aki Saotome.” She said with a chilly smile, showing her little girl for a second before hugging her even closer. “She’s my daughter and that’s all you need to know.” She cocked her head to the side looking at her father. “So, pop. How does it feel to finally be a grandpa?”

Grandpa? Aki’s question echoed in the back of the redhead’s mind. She ignored her father, who’s eyes suddenly started twitching and looked down at her little girl and nodded with a smile. Her big copper eyes shone with curiosity before she looked to the side, directly at the Saotome Patriarch. This move turned out to be strangely effective, making him flustered by her gaze alone.

“Bo-Ranma, stop with this foolishness.” He said, gawking at the little girl in her arms. He was trying to be assertive and bossy like he always does but it looked like he was struggling to do so right now. A moment later he collected himself enough to look at her again, unflinching and firm. “Turn back into your proper form right now. You’re breaking your father’s heart staying in that weak, foolish form and I forbid it to continue any longer.”

Any semblance of a smile disappears from the redhead’s face. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to be a guy again, even if only for half a time, or less. Granted when she still thought that her curse was permanent she practically made peace with it and was trying to get used to the idea of being stuck this way… but now it was different. Now she has options, and it should completely change the game for her.

Except it didn’t, not really anyway. The look on Aki-chan’s face when she turned back into her male-form was still very vivid before her eyes, like a very bad dream she didn’t want to remember. Getting back her manhood wasn’t worth seeing that kind of thing again.

Maybe when she gets older, Ranma could finally turn back, even if only temporarily. But until she’ll be sure that her little girl understood what’s happening, she didn’t want to risk it. She looked back at her father with a defiant look.

“No.”

Her pop blinked a few times.

“What do you mean, no?” He growled, clearly not pleased by her answer. He wasn’t really pleased about her that much period, so she didn’t particularly care about it. Even so she decided to answer his question, he wasn’t the only one listening after all.

“Aki-chan doesn't like it when her mom disappears.” She said ignoring her father's accusatory gaze and trying to smooth her daughter's unruly strand of hair. “Making her scared is the last thing I want to do, so… I refuse.”

“Good. Don’t you dare change in front of me.” said Akane, whose face was crooked in anger, yet in her eyes Ranma could see a multitude of conflicted emotions, which made her really guilty and uncomfortable. Looking at her, she felt like a traitor and she didn’t know how to deal with that.

“Not planning to, don’t worry.” She lashed back a little harsher than she wanted to, which made the youngest Tendo send her a nasty glare.

Not really interested in the drama between Genma and her younger sister, Nabiki looked at her father thoughtfully, already trying to think a few steps ahead.

“But if Ranma’s like this then what about the engagement, Daddy?” She said curiously. Suddenly the focus of all people shifted.

The redhead felt a little uneasy, with all the other things piling up, she completely forgot about that. They have enough drama already and now the brunette decided to add even more on their plate. She wanted to object immediately and be done with it but Mister Tendo was a little bit faster.

“About that…” He started crossing his arms on his chest. “Originally I planned to let Ranma here to choose which one of you to be his fiancee, but now the situation has changed…”

The redhead perked up, excited that maybe her pop friend wasn’t as stubborn and she feared him to be.

“So you are canceling the engagement?” She asked with hope shining in her eyes.

“…so we decided to engage Ranma with Kasumi.” He finished nodding to himself with Genma mirroring him just a moment later. “They both share the same affliction and this is the only way to ensure that our honorbound promise between families could be fulfilled.”

Ranma’s head hangs down with resignation. She cursed under her breath, pondering how one’s luck could be as terrible as hers. There wasn’t justice in this world and no one could convince her otherwise, especially after today.

“Right. I should have known that’s how it’s gonna be…” She murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose with exasperation. Of course it was them they would dump matters of family honor on them. That’s said she didn’t even know if there was anything at all left of Saotome family honor to begin with.

Even so she knew that she would have to do it. Family honor was one thing but she wouldn’t want to lose her own honor too, even if that meant to humor her father’s ridiculous ideas and screw ups along the way. She only hoped that it wouldn't bite her in the ass more than it already did.

Kasumi also didn’t look particularly pleased by this arrangement.

“Father, do we really have to do it?” She asked with a tense expression on her face. She was looking back and forth between the redhead and the Tendo Patriarch, trying to find the right words before she continued. “I don’t have anything against Ranma, but an arranged marriage… it doesn't seem like something people would do in this day and age. I know our family honor is very important, but…”

“Kasumi, I know that it is sudden but this is the only way for Saotome and the Tendo family's honor to remain intact.” Mister Tendo cut her off, looking really uncomfortable under his daughter's gaze. “Don’t worry about it too much, for now you two are only engaged to each other. First you have to get to know one another… I won’t be a fool who’ll invite a priest here right away like some madman. We’ll take it slow for now.”

Kasumi and Ranma exchanged glances, at least they would be left in peace until they figure out how to get out from this dumb arrangement their father’s made. It didn’t mean that she didn’t like Kasumi, she seems like the best bet from all of the other sisters as far as the redhead was concerned. It was just that she didn’t like to be put in front of the fact without being able to decide by herself. Her personal freedom was one of the few things she valued and taking it away from her… didn’t feel very good to say the least.

After a moment of silence Kasumi closed her eyes and nodded. “I… I understand, father.”

“So who will be who?” Nabiki asked out of the blue, the corners of her mouth slightly raised when she looked around the table. “This whole curse could be really confusing, legally speaking. I don’t even want to think about the real life aspect of it.”

Ranma frowned at the question, she didn’t understand what she meant by that. Both of them were cursed, true. Even so it doesn’t mean that Ranma stopped being a man and Kasumi being a woman. All it took was just a glass of water, so why even ask this question?

She noticed their fathers exchanging strange looks between each other, suddenly making her feel really uneasy. Her father cleared his throat before correcting his glasses again.

“After studying the curse very nature for a while, Soun and I decided that Kasumi will act as a groom and Ranma… Ranma will be a bride.”

Ranma was looking shell-shocked at the two middle age martial artists, her mind stopped working for a moment, unable to comprehend what she just heard. A part of her was waiting for some kind of snarky comment or a snicker, indicating that it was some kind of lame joke, but it never came.

Aki-chan wiggled in her arms, snapping her out of her stupor, she shook her head slightly and looked at her father like he just proclaimed that the sun rose up from the west or something.

“You can’t be serious,” she said, still too taken aback to think of any other kind of comeback.

“I am serious… girl.” He said, his voice which she guessed was supposed to drip with mockery felt strangely flat, like he himself was trying really hard to stay in character. “How dare you even talk back to me after choosing this… this weak and pathetic form of yours? You made a choice and now you’ll need to live with it.”

All of this didn’t feel real to Ranma. Her pop didn’t sound like himself, yes he was rude and yes he mocked her for being a girl but… it didn’t really add up. Something different was at play in this situation, she was sure of this. She was sure but at the same time she got really angry. So much that only the fact that she was holding Aki prevented her from going after her father. He had no right to insult her decision, he wasn't there, so he should shut up and mind his own business, instead of constantly butting in and complaining about her.

“Again with this ‘weak girls’ stuff?” She growls, looking back at him, a promise of a challenge in her eyes. “Cut the crap old man, you know that’s not true! I am a girl right now and I could kick your ass right now!”

“Don’t get cocky, girl. You still have a long way to go.” He snapped back at her, angrily leaning towards her.

A loud bang stopped Saotome Patriarch from moving. Everyone looked towards the source of the sound - the youngest Tendo who slammed her fist against the table with a look of outright hostility mixed with irritation directed at the bold martial artist. Genma swallowed hard and leaned back, caving under pressure.

After sending her father one more heavy look, she then turned to the side and glanced at Ranma. Her previous hostility eased up a little bit, though the redhead didn’t let it fool her, she was sure that the black haired girl was still angry at her. Simply put, her pop was now much easier to dislike and shout upon than she was.

“Ranma, do you remember what I asked you earlier? What about a little spar?” She asked in a normal, almost inviting tone. “I think I need a change of space.”

Ranma sighs, trying to clean her head a little bit and consider the offer. Normally, she avoided fighting with girls, he fathers voice still echoed in her head, whispering all this bullshit about then being weaker, not considered a real challenge… a distraction from the Art.

But after two weeks of thinking that she would be a girl for the rest of her life and doing nothing but taking care of her daughter she didn’t care about that at all. The prospect of finally being able to spar with somebody, anybody and let loose a little bit was just too big of a deal. She ignored her pop completely and turned towards the other girl, grinning widely.

“You don’t need to ask me twice. Let’s go.”

---

Ranma was in the middle of a quick warm-up, and Akane observed her from the other side of the Dojo. She wasn’t the only one, with the whole family and her father tagging along, completely forgetting the previously prepared and now rather cold meal. Even so, Kasumi didn’t really mind, in all the craziness that happened today it was the last of her worries.

She looked up at the little redhead nesting gently in her arms. Aki-chan was looking in awe at her brown hair looking back and forth between her and her mother. It was really cute and she was really happy that she was able to see the little kitsune in such a vulnerable and heartwarming moment.

She was also glad that they were able to separate both redheads from each other without much fuss, even if the little one was on the verge of tears any time that Ranma disappeared from her field of vision otherwise all hell would break loose.

Kasumi still didn’t know just how much the little fox could do, no matter how small yokai were magical creatures and she didn’t want to underestimate one just because she was too cute for words.

“She really likes you.” Said Nabiki, sipping her from the side, sipping her still steaming tea. The youngest Saotome turned around at the sound of the other girl's voice and looked at her curiously with wide copper eyes. “Yes, I’m talking about you, squirt.” She added with a slight smile.
Little girl smiled shyly at Nabiki but quickly looked away, focusing once more at her mom. Kasumi smiled at the adorable baby girl, noticing that her younger sister was still observing her charge with interest. She wondered if Nabiki was suspecting something, but didn’t dare to ask, knowing that doing so would only exacerbate the problem.

Instead, she would just play along.

“Yes, she’s wonderful. She’s such a sweet girl.” She said, smiling gently. All of them watched as Akane began the spar by charging at Ranma with a fury of blows. The redhead was easily evading all of them, casually hopping back and dodging any attack her youngest sister would throw at her.

“I guess that’s good for you.” Nabiki continued, not really paying that much attention to the sparring girls. “When you and Ranma get married, she’ll be your daughter too.”

Kasumi flinched slightly, at the comment. She was more focused on her own curse and the chaos Ranma’s father brought to their household to even consider that. If she actually goes through with her father’s wishes, the little fox-turn-girl she was holding would be hers. The thought was so strange that she blanked out for a moment.

Being a parent at nineteen… wasn’t really something she envisioned herself to do. But she also didn’t think that she would be stuck as a housewife too for that matter. Then what does it mean for Ranma? How old was she… sixteen? What about her dreams or ambitions? They both were in this together now, she needed to remember that.

Kasumi watched as Akane once more tried to grab the redhead, who moved away with an impressive backflip, visibly smirking at the youngest Tendo. Her sister gets even more agitated and starts yelling at Ranma to fight her seriously… and to everyone's surprise she did.

A girl who only did blocks and dodges from the beginning of the spar became a blur of motion. Akane, taken by surprise, almost tripped and fell, forced to defend herself from the fury of blows, struggling to keep up. Kasumi watched all this, captivated by the fluidity and ease in which Ranma was moving, going from one form to the next, methodically attacking her sister without letting her any time to breath. It was really impressive.

Then she froze, feeling foreign and strange sensation at the back of her head.

Mama fly! A childish, girly voice reverberated in her mind, making her heart stop beating for a second. She looked down at the little redhead clumsily waving her arms with a gummy smile on her face. She was looking back at Kasumi, happy to get her attention and start wriggling, trying to turn his body towards Ranma, probably to see her better.

The oldest Tendo was still shocked, suddenly aware of the fact that her suspicions were correct - that little girl already has some powers. When the initial shock subsided she looked at her once again, her instincts screamed at her to be extremely cautious, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the little fox laughingly stumbling around her room out of her mind. Fiery little menace for sure, but dangerous? No way.

In fact she actually felt a little proud of the little pup, so young and already able to speak - sort of - with clear meaning and purpose! She leaned down towards the girl smiling brightly at her.

“Yes, Aki-chan, mom is really cute, right?” She said, poking her gently in the nose, causing the little one to giggle.

In the corner of her eye, Kasumi noticed that Nabiki was watching them intently the whole time, but decided to ignore that fact. If she asked, she could always say that she figured out that Aki wanted to show her Ranma, which was true. And there was so much to see.

Akane finally regains her footing and starts fighting with Ranma for real, at least that’s how it looked to Kasumi. The redhead clearly preferred staying in mid-air, jumping all around the dojo, attacking Akane from all sides, while she still tried to grapple her or at least punch the elusive martial artist hard enough to slow her down.

For now she didn’t have much success in doing that, she landed a few solid strikes but nothing powerful enough to stop Ranma’s momentum.

She and Nabiki observe their spar without any commentary. The martial art prowess they both presented was at the level that you wouldn’t see every day and Kasumi really enjoyed watching them go against each other. She was happy that her little sister finally had someone else to spar with, even if her face didn’t really show that much joy at the moment.

On the other hand, right next to them, both fathers did not hold back with their comments. Sitting side by side with deadly serious faces they observe every little detail of the match, their previous conflict totally forgotten.

“Ranma’s form is sloppy.” Said Mr. Saotome as a matter of fact, his eyes riveted into his daughter. “He really was slacking off without me keeping him in shape, that’s for sure.”

Her father didn’t even look at him, also focused entirely on the two girls exchanging blows with one another.

“But his speed is really impressive” He noted with approval.

“It’s only half baked at best.” Mr. Saotome replied with a wry smile. “Just look at this. Normally, Ranma could do at least a few more kicks at the same time. And he didn’t even try to go for the undercut right there. Really, it’s just embarrassing to watch just how much his skills deteriorated in just two weeks.”

Kasumi wanted to object but knew that both martial art masters wouldn’t listen to her. She didn’t really know the art, the only time she ever practiced was when she was very young and her father still had some fire for teaching him. Right now the only thing she did was some easy exercise and a few katas she remembered to keep herself in shape.

Even so for her, Ranma was excellent, probably the best martial artist she had ever seen. She felt a little bad for her little sister by thinking this but it was the truth. Kasumi wondered just how much better she would be if father didn’t stop teaching them anything after their mothers passing, but quickly banished the thought. If she would dwell on it for too long she could start resenting him and it was the last thing she wanted to do. He was her father, after all.

“Akane’s really angry, isn’t she?” Said Nabiki, getting her back to reality. She blinked a few times and looked closer at Akane, quickly realizing what her sister meant.

“Now that you mention it… Ranma curse must have hurt her really badly.” She said, noticing the determination and hurt in her little sister’s eyes. Akane didn’t have many friends, and recently started really detesting boys in general. To find out that the girl she thought would be her friend and sparring partner was a boy - though Kasumi still didn’t really believe it herself - it all must have felt like a cruelest betrayal.

“No kidding.” Nabiki nodded, still watching their youngest sister, who at that time started breaking the floorboards. “She didn’t even say anything about you inheriting the Dojo.”

Kasumi looked at her, slightly confused. “Dojo?”

“I mean, Akane’s the only one who actually uses it, but now Daddy said that you’ll inherit it after marriage.” Her middle sister took one more sip of tea, before she finally looked at her. “He basically makes you an heir.“

The oldest Tendo opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She wanted to say that she didn’t really care about it, but the truth is that it doesn’t really matter. Her sister was right, if Akane would want to be angry at her, she has every right to do so. The only thing she really did at the Dojo was to clean the floor and their mother’s shrine, nothing more.

“Are you ok with this, Kasumi?” Said Nabiki, pressing further. “Marrying Ranma… as her husband? Do you really want to be a man in this relationship?”

Once more, she wanted to say something but didn’t actually know what to say. She realizes just how many things her mind just glazed over during today's chaotic events. When she was talking with Ranma she really thought that her life was quite boring and she would really like to know how it is to have something exciting happen to her at least once. Now she felt like she was in some kind of strange dream and everything was happening so fast that she didn’t even have time to register everything. It would be even funny if it wasn’t so serious.

“I don’t have anything against having a big brother, mind you.” Nabiki continued, smirking at her, half jokingly before getting serious once again. “I just don’t like the idea of you being forced to do it against your will.”

Kasumi looked back to the moment when the water hit her. She remembered the shock when she realized that so many things just… shifted. She suddenly gained at last an inch in height, some things were missing, some appeared… all of that happened instantly, she didn’t even have time to register the fact that she was wet.

It was really disorienting to find herself, then himself in a male body. Strangely though, she didn’t really feel wrong or strange about it, just… different. She was still Kasumi, but taller and stronger and firmer, at least that’s how it felt at that moment.

It was just a body though, something that didn’t really define her for how she is… not in her mind anyway. But the idea of not only looking like a man but being in a relationship as a man was another matter.

She thought about Ranma, the girl that was carrying the distinctive smell of a yokai… was actually a guy. Kasumi still didn’t believe it fully. A guy that became a woman and a mother at that and she was happy. Or at least she looked happy, content. At least it looked that way.

She couldn’t change the fact that she was cursed, Mr. Saotome said that there was no cure. She was fated to live as a man at least half the time, there was no way around it. Her mind started to wonder around the changes she would need to make to make her condition easier to manage. New clothes would be a must, maybe she should give up on the dresses? They were impractical, especially since her male body was much more dense and muscular than her female body. Should she think about a new name? But that would be a hussle and she liked her name…

Her mind was busy pondering about her new situation up until a moment when she realized that Nabiki was still looking at her. She was waiting for an answer, and at last, Kasumi was able to find a voice to give her just that.

“I… I guess I don’t mind it, really.” She said, realizing that what she was saying was actually true. She didn’t really mind her curse that much, it would be just another chore, something to get used to. At least once in her life something would change, Kami knew she needed it. “It’s not like I can’t change back with a little bit of water. Besides, we are in the twentieth century, gender roles aren’t as strict as they used to be.”

“Sure but you’ll be a man on paper then.” Her sister pointed out, still not convinced.“ That would mean that Dad would expect you to take over a Dojo. You’ll need to learn martial arts, Kasumi. I don’t want to be this girl but most of your life revolves around housework. Do you think you'll be ok?”

Kasumi winced, she really didn’t like when someone would point that out. It wasn’t like she wanted to get stuck as some housewife, she did that because there was no one else to do it and even after so many years no one even thought about asking her if she would need any help. No father, no Akane or Nabiki, no one. They all just kind of… assume that was something she would do.

Then it struck her. This was her ticket out of it, to something new and exciting, even if strange and difficult. She looked at Ranma and Akane, their moves looked insanely difficult for her, she doubted that she would be able to do something like them, no matter how hard she tries. But even if so, she really wanted to try. She didn’t want to be stuck in the same place forever, watching everyone else go forward, leaving her behind.

“Yeah, I can do it.” She said, for the first time in… she didn’t even remember since when, she felt determined to prove something to herself. No matter how strange or hard it would be, somehow she was presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to change her fate and she wanted to see it through.

Nabiki looked at her for a moment, with a strange glint in her eyes. She sighs deeply and shakes her head before glancing back at her with a half-smile. “Then I guess what’s left for me is to hope that Ranma is at least half as good at cooking as she is at martial arts.”

A loud thud makes them both look to the side, on time to see Akane getting plastered on the floor. For a moment it looked like their youngest sister would rise up again with a sheer will but after a few failed attempts she just gave up and lay there breathing heavily and defeated.

“Alright, I think we can wrap this up.” She said when Ranma reached out her hand toward Akane to lift her off the ground. “Now, before we go I would like to know one more thing…”

Kasumi didn’t even register what happened until she felt the still warm tea flowing off Aki-chan and soaking into her dress. In place of a little girl she was holding, a little red fox tried to disentangle herself from the clothes she was dressed in just a moment ago. The little kitsune leaned her head out of the fabric, her large ears perked up in confusion.

“Who are you, squirt?”

Notes:

I've decided to shorten the chapters in the future, the previous one was a bit too big for my (and some readers') taste, so I'll try to keep it at a moderate length

Chapter 4: Foxing around with the Piglet

Summary:

The dust has settled after a rather violent first meeting between the Saotome and Tendo families, but not for long.

The first thing Ranma sensed was disorientation. The firmament was gray, completely covered by the ominous dark clouds rushing through the sky. She was standing at the clearing of the forest, the multitude of different kinds of trees packed next to one another so densely packed next to one another that it felt almost impossible to move between them. The gloomy atmosphere of this place made her want to turn around and run away, the forlorn sense of impending doom creeping down her spine was urging her to move.

The only problem was that she couldn’t move.

Suddenly a wave of panic washed over Ranma’s mind, the inability to move a single muscle, the sense of dread coming from the forest before her and the claustrophobic feeling made her double the effort to move, to breath, to do anything instead of just standing there.

Her head looked down, her paws scratched the grass and she sniffed the earth, smelling a scent she couldn't recognize, but which made her fur stand on end. At that moment the redhead realized something very important. She wasn’t a human, the fiery paws she saw looked more like a big wolf or a fox, the sense of familiarity which feeled her mind confused her to no end but it wasn’t the worst of it. It was the fact that she didn’t intend to look down. She wasn’t in control of her body, she was just a passenger.

And it made all of it even more terrifying.

The overwhelming feeling of entrapment and dread made Ranma mind freeze, unable to comprehend what was happening, her instincts screaming to do something, but the body refused to comply, set to do its own thing, outside of the redhead’s control.

And then, the breeze she didn’t even register before stopped.

Everything went into a dead, bone chilling silence for a few heartbeats, only to get completely destroyed by the deafening screeching that shook the forest ahead. Ranma’s body crouched looking straight ahead, noticing that the sea of trees she saw earlier suddenly started to tremble, big chunks of it started to move, tumble on each other, pawing the path for some gigantic creature heading towards her clearing.

The redhead’s body trembled slightly and whimpered, taking a few steps back and for the first time since Ranma found herself in this situation she was in sync with it. She would do exactly the same but much faster. The alarm in her head was going off in every passing second, and the rising panic made thinking rationally harder and harder.

Until IT finally comes into view.

Both Ranma and her body froze, seeing the enormous figure squeezing through and toppling trees in its path. A strange looking humanoid creature with unnaturally thin limbs and pointy cat ears entered the clearing, its frame easily three times larger than the redhead’s current body. It was entirely black with no visible facial features, and yet it was moving its body in a manner that clearly shows that it knew where it was. It shifts and checks everything around it, as if it was looking for something.

The redhead was trashing, and screaming inside of her own body, trying to somehow make it move, but she was powerless to do so. She could do nothing but helplessly watch as her canine body did the only thing it shouldn't do. It moved back slightly, toppling a rock with her hindpaw.

The noise was minimal, barely registered in Ranma’s ears but it didn’t really matter because for that thing it was loud enough. Its big, black eyeless head snapped in the direction of noise making the redhead feel like it was able to pierce her soul.

Then its head started cracking. She watched as the single smile formed on the lower half of the creature’s body starting at one ear and ending at the next. Suddenly two lines split open and the two rows of needle sharp fangs were on full display in the biggest and most terrifying cheshire smile she had ever seen.

And then it pounced.

---

Nabiki had a rough few days. At least she thought that it would be only a few days but she started to get a little exasperated when the few days turned into two weeks. Now she doesn't care anymore, deciding to just go through the motions and try to not disturb the new strange family dynamics that were established ever since the Saotomes showed up on their doorsteps. It was a very crappy day for her and she didn’t want to add to her already tattered reputation in the house.

She knew that this little brat was suspicious ever since Ranma walked in with her in her arms and after the matter of the curse was revealed, she just couldn’t help herself. She hated when someone would hide something from her and yes, she knew that she was a little out of touch by just pouring the warm tea on a baby but she got a feeling that something was not right with this one. Well she was right, but no one appreciated the fact that the mask was off.

In fact it was the first time she was actually scared for her life. After watching her spar with Akane, Nabiki thought that she knew just how skilled the redhead was that fast. All she saw was a blur and if not for Kasumi sitting next to her she was almost certain her head would have been blown off right there. She suppressed the shiver and got back to nursing her cup of coffee trying to forget to look at Ranma's face, or the commotion that followed suit.

There was a lot of shouting, name calling and choosing sides. The fact that Aki-baby turned out to be a kitsune didn’t really sit well with Genma Saotome who started switching between looking like he was a moment between having a full blown panic attack and being a moment away from having a heart attack and almost calling his daughter a slut and worse. It was really ugly and she still couldn’t believe just how much colder everyone was towards each other for the first three to four days after.

She didn’t even care about it then, she was too preoccupied with her ‘punishment’ Ranma and Kasumi decided to unleash upon her after blowing the little brat’s cover.

The sudden commotion from top of the stairs allerted the middle Tendo sister, with a groan she turned her head slightly to the back letting her coffee mug stay safe on the table. A moment later the fiery red blur collided with her stomach with a quiet thug, making Nabiki wince slightly before she looked down on the tail wagging little devil who as always looked back with the same amount of energy and excitement.

Aunty Biki! The little girl’s voice sounded in the back of her mind. She couldn’t help remembering the first time Aki spoke to her all those days ago, it was actually really horrifying. She thought that she started losing it or something. Now it was just a little bit annoying, especially when the little pup gets her name wrong, as usual.

“It’s NABIKI you brat, I know you can get that right, you can’t fool me like your mother,” she said to her temporary charge who decided to ignore her aunt’s nagging and curl up in a ball in her lap. “Seriously If I knew that you’ll be that high maintenance I would have never tried to splash you with that damn tea. At least then I wouldn’t end up as your babysitter… I think.”

She still felt like an idiot for not contesting her eldest sister, or brother -depending on the weather - idea of her repenting for making Ranma’s daughter upset by taking care of her. It was simply too much and the little gremlin was just too comfortable with this whole situation. She didn’t listen to her at all and just did what she wanted, knowing perfectly well that she couldn’t really scold her or anything without risking her mom’s glare. If she wasn’t so little Nabiki would have had a real problem with keeping her from doing some really stupid shit. Even so she didn’t sign up for this. It was not repentance, it was torture.

She was supposed to babysit the little gremlin whenever Ranma was learning the ropes of the work around the house or when Kasumi was off to be ‘trained’ by their fathers, which was basically around the clock if she was unlucky. And no one seemed to be even a little surprised that not even a year old baby was behaving more like a few years old child! Minus the speech, which was still pathetically bad but was improving at a terrifying rate. The redhead was delighted instead. Maybe that whole talk about Ranma being a Kitsune the whole time was actually true? What kind of mother wouldn’t freak out seeing her daughter developing so fast? But then again, Genma was adamant that Ranma not only wasn’t a yokai but wasn’t really a girl at all so who knows. The only people in this household who was said to actually see the redhead’s male form was her father and Kasumi.

Whatever was true it didn’t change the fact that the fiery red menace was now sitting on her lap and was stretching happily and yawned widely and content. She arched her back slightly, waiting for Nabiki’s hand to start stroking it like usual. A deep, pulsing vein popped up on the middle tendo forehead.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up, it would be you or Akane,” the familiar and tired voice of the redhead sounded from the direction of the stairs. “You really think she’ll be able to talk even better that fast?”

“Of course, you’re just one of those stupid kinds of parents and can’t see that,” said Nabiki with a huff of exasperation before looking up at the mother of the little furball. “You look like hell, Saotome.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration, the young martial artist looked like crap, her hair was messy, her eyes were tired, with two big dark circles under them and she was practically dragging herself towards the living room. She wore a chinese red shirt and black pants, clothes that supposedly was the right size for her male form but right now looked rather buggy. She was almost the exact copy of early morning Nabiki which was something unusual. Ranma was one of those people that was up with the sun, something that the middle Tendo considered masochism.

“Tell me about it,” she said, shaking her head while walking into the kitchen. Nabiki observed the redhead as she started to pour the fresh water into the kettle before putting it on the stove. “It’s nothing, just a bad dream that’s all.”

“If you say so,” said the middle Tendo, looking suspiciously at the girl. Ranma started putting on one of the aprons - baby blue with frills on the sides - and started rummaging through the cupboards. “Where’s everybody? The usual?”

“Pretty much,” said Nabiki, feeling the weight of the little kitsune finally disappearing from her legs. Fiery red fox jumped from her and started walking towards her mother, happily wagging her tail the whole time. “I’m pretty sure Akane’s on her morning jog while our dads took Kasumi for some morning exercise in the Dojo. I can say that he wasn’t happy about it…”

“No kidding, they are really pushing it. Kasumi barely gets the hang of the basic stuff and they want to teach them some advanced techniques, exactly like pop did with me…“ Ranma murmured to herself while chopping some vegetables the middle Tendo couldn’t see.

Nabiki observed the redhead, wondering how it is possible that so many things have changed in their lives in such a short time. It was day five of Ranma making breakfast for everybody. It was really hard for her to start eating something that wasn’t as good as Kasumi’s cooking, but because of Dad and Genma’s decision she didn’t have a choice, none of them have. Which didn’t mean that the redhead was hopeless in the kitchen, far from it. It just wasn’t the same anymore.

For a few more minutes the only noises in the room were the chopping sounds and the quiet splashes of things being thrown into the water. Nabiki took a sip of her lukewarm coffee, realizing with a pang of irritation that once again the little gremlin distracted her enough to make her forget about it.

“Have you talked with your dad yet?” She asked, standing up with her half full cup and walked towards the kitchen sink.

“Not really, he is still avoiding us like a plague,” Ranma replied, looking upset for a moment, before once again looking focused on the task at hand. “He rarely even tries to spar with me anymore… ”

“I always thought that it was a pain in the ass, you know?” She continued, finally turning her head towards Nabiki. “He would always wake me up with some stupid sparring, never let me sleep longer than five-six hours a day or so. Now he doesn't even propose to spar with me anymore, I can technically sleep as much as I want… and I miss this freaking morning spars. It’s dumb.”

The middle Tendo didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t really that much into physical things, so she didn’t understand what’s so important about hitting each other every morning. Of course both father and a child were martial artists so it must be something that they were bonded over with or something.

There were a lot of things she still didn’t get when it comes to the redhead, but one thing was clear. She was starved for physical and emotional connections, probably because she spent most of her life with her father and him bluntly ignoring her was really getting to her over time. That she could understand and even sympathise with a little bit.

Ranma took the empty glass, filled it with some cold tap water and poured its content on the little fox that was sitting on the ground next to her, turning the little furball into a small, smiling girl. The middle Tendo watched as the larger redhead picked up the smaller one. Saotome checked one more time if whatever she was cooking on the stove was shimmering and after a few nods of approval walked towards the table in the living room.

“I agree, your father is dumb,” said Nabiki, sitting next to the redhead as the other girl started nursing her now human daughter. The fact that she was doing it made it even harder for the middle Tendo to believe that the person next to her was really a boy. “He’ll come around eventually. For now you should focus on something else, like the whole going to school thing Daddy was talking about.”

The redhead frowned slightly and looked down at her daughter who was probably too focused on nursing to know what was happening around her. Nabiki copied the redhead, she also was anxious about the whole thing. There was no question that Ranma should go to school, it wasn’t even a question to begin with. The problem was the little brat that was stuck to her mother’s breast without care in the world.

This whole idea of a two week ‘adaptation period’ all of them thought of was for Aki to slowly but surely change her eating habits and get her used to at least the bottle. It was an uphill battle, since the baby was practically glued to her mother’s hip most of the time and didn’t like the idea of drinking from something else when drinking stations were at an arm's reach. They did have some progress but it wasn’t as much as they hoped for.

Nabiki knew that the little pup was able to eat ground meat, but she didn’t tell that to anyone. For one the kid didn’t really like it as far as she could tell and for two she was sure that Ranma would kill her if she knew that she purposefully dared her little girl to try the raw meat when no one was looking. Looking at it now she would agree that it wasn’t the best idea, but at least she knew that the little kitsune was more or less like a normal fox.

Which only further justified the decision to send the redhead to school. It wasn’t that Nabiki was thrilled that she would see Ranma even during her school day but she could see that she was quite miserable, not having anyone to spar with and only taking care of her kid and doing chores in the house. She even tried to ignore that but being forced to spend much more time that she would like around the Saotome was slowly making her miserable too.

If sending her somewhere where she could have a break from all of this would make her less of a pain in the ass to deal with, the middle Tendo was happy to assist with that.

“Schooling, right… do I even need that? Our dads want us to open the Dojo anyway.” Said the redhead, looking at her daughter with uncertain expression. ”I don’t know if Aki-chan will be ok, maybe two weeks were too short to…”

“Two weeks is fine.” She cut her off, already feeling exasperated. “The kid will be fine and you know it. So just as I told you yesterday, we’ll leave Aki-chan with Kasumi after breakfast and we’ll enroll you at our school. Got it, Saotome?”

“Listen, I don’t know if…”

“Got it?” Nabiki cut her off once again, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Sometimes talking to the redhead was just like fighting windmills and she really didn’t have the energy to do that so early in the morning.

Ranma looked torn and reluctant for a moment but under Nabiki’s tired glare she finally relented and sighs before shooting a quick look at Aki who finally seems to be full and realize that there was some sort of conversation going on. She looked at the two women curiously before her mom shifted her in her arms and moved to burping.

“Yeah, I got it,” she finally said, and even if she looked doubtful, the middle Tendo didn’t miss the momentarily glint of excitement in her eyes. Nabiki smiled slightly as she saw that the spark of life she had seen while sparring with Akane, which had begun to dim in recent days, had returned, even if it was just for a moment.

“I don’t know how much longer my pop will want to keep Kasumi in the Dojo, but I'd better get back to breakfast,” she said, standing up with her daughter still in hands and grimacing, before striding towards the kitchen. “What happened to your tamagoyaki pan anyway? I wanted it today but when I took it out yesterday I saw that it had a few holes in it…”

“Oh, that! Akane wanted to make tamagoyaki some time ago. It didn’t go as planned.” Nabiki said, remembering the time Kasumi nearly had a heart attack and the black smoke that took a few days to clear up.

Ranma looked back at her, not fully believing her explanation but both of them were there a few times her little sister was trying to cook something after school since the Saotomes arrived.

After a few more seconds, the redhead just shrugged and get back to breakfast.

“I just use a different pan, then.”

---

Aki-chan really liked to watch others, it was always very funny to see all of the people in the house eating things that Mama did. She also wanted to try it but Mom said that she was still too little and she would need to wait. The little redhead wanted to say that she was big enough but wasn’t sure if she would be allowed to eat all of these funny smelling things Mom wouldn’t stop feeding her milk. That couldn’t happen!

And so, she nodded and decided just to watch, it was actually really fun.

Aunty Kane would often look funny at all the food on the table then look at mama then at food again and make her cheeks all puffy before she started to eat. aunty Biki would snicker at aunty Kane, say something about ‘cooking lessons’ and praising the food using some words Aki didn’t learn yet, but they must be good words, because Mom smiled after hearing them.

Sumi would often praise the food too, even if she seemed very tired lately and didn’t say much more than a few words about it. Sumi was just like Mama Ranma and Aki so she needed to be careful how she talked to them, at least that's what she was told. Today it looked like it was uncle Sumi, he was much larger than Mom but he looked really spent and uncomfortable. Aki wondered if he would be able to play with her later. She was told that she’ll be staying with Uncle for a little while when Mom and Aunty Biki go to do something without her. She didn’t like that at all, but she wanted to show Mama that she could do it. Then she’ll get praise from everyone!

She wondered if maybe grandpa Panda would praise her too? The bald man who also could turn into a panda with water that Mom said was her grandpa always avoided her or looked at her funny. He and grandpa Soun looked funny at Mama too but only when she wasn’t looking. Aki didn’t really understand why but thought that maybe they were shy? She was just like that too when they first got here. She was a little scared too but she was with Mama so it wasn’t THAT scary. Even aunty Biki turns out to be a nice person, even if she was nagging her a lot.

But no one was better than mommy! Aki pressed herself a little more to her mom’s belly, feeling her familiar, warm scent. Recently Mama Ranma was often waking up when it was dark, she was scared and was hugging her tightly. It looked like hugging Aki made mama feel better, so she was trying to be next to her as close as possible.

She looked up and saw that the larger redhead looked down at the same time. Mom smiled at her and ruffled her hair a little bit, making her giggle. Aki snuggled a little closer to her, feeling warm and safe.

“Kasumi, you look awful,” said aunty Biki, looking sideways at uncle Sumi. “Are you sure you’ll be able to take care of Aki-chan when I and Ranma are gone?”

He squinted his eyes while looking at her and swallowing some white sticky thing. “Thank you for worrying about me, but you don't have to Nabiki,” he said looking at the little redhead with a warm smile. “Me and Aki-chan will wait for you, no problem.”

She didn’t really want to wait, she wanted to be with mama, even if uncle Sumi was nice and she liked to spend time with him a lot. Mom liked him too, she smiled a lot more when the three of them were playing together, even if grandpa Panda was sometimes looking at them funny.

But it would be the first time she would stay with uncle without mama and she was really nervous, but she didn’t want anyone else to notice it. She needed to be brave for mom!

She nodded and smiled at uncle Sumi.

Grandpa Soun drink his ‘tea’ as they all call that steaming drink aunty Biki pour on her a few days before and clear his throat.

“Nabiki, don’t tease Kasumi,” he said with a stern glance before looking at mom. “You can trust Kasumi, with your daughter, Ranma. Taking care of your family is important but so is your education.” He and grandpa Panda exchanged looks before he continued. “Me and Saotome-kun have something to do in the city, so we'll be gone as well.”

Aki wondered why everyone was leaving the house and why. No one was bothered telling her but from the suddenly much more lively face of uncle Sumi she guessed that it was a good thing. She didn’t know why but as long as they were smiling it must be fine.

“So no more training for the day?” He asked, leaning over the ‘table’ with shining eyes.

“No more training for the day.” Said grandpa Soun with a nod, which made uncle Sumi really happy. She even started eating a little bit more cheerfully!

Aunty Biki asked grandpa about something, but Aki didn’t know what it was, she was distracted by suddenly being lifted. She looked up at her mother who was smiling at her cheerfully, at least she wanted to look like that, but she knew that mom was anxious about something, she could tell. Mom was always trying to hide when she was sad, anxious or tired, but Aki always knew, she wondered why mom would even try to hide it if she was so bad at it. She didn’t want to make her mommy sad however so she just played along and smiled back happily, finally able to hug her mother's neck. It was her favourite spot for their cuddles.

She wasn’t able to stay there as long as she wanted, however, mom moved her back a bit and poked her nose. “What do you say sweetie?” She asked, stroking her hair. “You’ll be ok with Mama away for an hour or two?”

Aki remembered all the times she was playing with uncle, how he somehow knew what she wanted to do and when she had enough and just wanted to cuddle. He wasn’t as good as mommy, but it was close. And they’ll be alone in the house, so maybe they could do something funny, just the two of them! The thought of doing something new makes her giddy and excited.

Hi! Aki play with Sumi! She giggled a little at the thought of all the fun stuff she could do with uncle.

“I'm sure you’ll,” mama said before hugging her tightly and kissing her on the forehead. She nestles herself between her neck and shoulder and not caring about the persistent buzz of the others talking around the table

It didn’t last as long as she would like though, after some like this everyone was done eating and started to stand up and leave. Aki shivered slightly when mom poured the warm water on her, turning her into her furry body. She didn’t like it that much, when she was like this she didn’t look like her mama and everything felt different and confusing. The only good thing was that she was able to move better, something her mama-like body still couldn’t do.

She hopped down on the floor and started watching the bigger redhead cleaning the table to aunty Biki and uncle Sumi. She knew that she couldn’t touch anything - mom said so when she broke a big round thing earlier - so she decided to help by being close to mama. Who knew if she suddenly won’t be scared, like when she woke up today? If so, Aki will be there to make it all better.

Nothing like that happened, though. The three women moved quickly and cleaned everything before she even noticed. Aki looked anxiously as her mom started to prepare to go out without her, suddenly the idea of her staying in the house only with uncle Sumi wasn’t as exciting as she thought it would be. She didn’t want her mommy to go!

But even if she whined or whimpered, it didn’t change anything, except making mama’s face more and more sad as she was walking towards the door. Even so, she didn’t stop, even after she disappeared and closed the door. She didn’t want to stay here without mom, even with uncle Sumi holding her tightly and saying something, trying to stop her from wiggling free. She didn’t listen to him, nor did she care about what he was saying to her.

She just wanted to be with her mom.

---

Ryoga felt incredibly miserable. His resolve to pursue cursed Ranma Saotome so that he could face judgement after his runaway from their duel was gradually melting away. He didn’t even know where he actually was, since before he was able to ask someone some old lady splashed him with a ladle, turning him into this damn useless form.

He hated his cursed piglet body.

Well it has its upsides, like his better sense of smell and the ability to eat any garbage he could find, which was very useful in the wilderness, especially when he would get lost far away from civilization. But it also made him vulnerable, pathetically weak and small, which was an absolute hell for martial artists such as Ryoga Hibiki. And it was all Ranma’s fault.

If only he wouldn’t be such a coward to take him by surprise, if only he wouldn’t shove him right down into the cursed spring then maybe Ryoga’s life wouldn’t end up like this. But it did and Ranma needed to pay, that was the only thing that kept him going.

He just finished stashing his backpack into the safe place and was about to start a search for some hot water when suddenly something smaller hit him from the side, making him squeak and roll over onto the ground, surprised and disoriented. He quickly jumped back up and shook his head, getting ready for the fight with the unexpected enemy who was sneaky enough to strike the first blow.

It was a small red fox. Really cute, baby vixen that was sitting on its butt whining painfully and sending him hurtful looks. Ryoga was stunned for a second, not really knowing how to proceed. Both creatures looked at each other for a moment until some unintelligible cries came to them from the direction from which the fox came, which made it panic and scramble on its feet.

Quick! Hide! Ryoga froze, hearing an unfamiliar childish voice in the back of his head. He was so startled that he didn’t even react when the little pup shoved him into the bushes with its whole body and only got back into reality when a particularly nasty tore started digging into his back.

Stop it! Ryoga thought, wishing that the fox could understand him and just stop shoving him deeper and deeper into the brambles, but didn’t get his hopes up.

He was really surprised when the fiery furball actually stopped in his tracks and looked at him with a mix of curiosity and cautiousness. You understand Aki?

At that moment the cogs in Ryoga’s brain start moving again, helping him realize what was that creature he was talking to, a yokai.

He instantly became suspicious, there was no way of knowing what the magical creature like that would want from him. It might as well be tricked again, like the last time he decided to trust that damned tanuki after asking for direction. There was no way of knowing what something like that would do.

Even so, that voice, full of hope, almost pleading, made him feel really sad for the little pup. She looked really desperate and she must be young and vulnerable, all alone in the city. Ryoga looked at her for a few more seconds before he sighed or made a sound similar to a sigh, as much as his piglet-like body would allow him to do.

He just couldn’t refuse such a delicate creature, his honor as a martial artist wouldn’t allow it. Plus this girly voice would hunt him in his dreams if he just left her now.

Yes I do. He ‘thought’ towards her. He still didn’t exactly know how it worked but her eyes suddenly looked much more lively than before and how her ears went up excitedly, so he must have done it right. Why should we hide?

All the excitement the little fox just showed disappeared in an instant, her ears slumped down and her tail layed down on the ground. She looked sad and lost, a feeling that Ryoga knew too well.

Aki-chan ran away, she said to him, looking at her paws, a little whimper escaped from her body. Was trying to find mommy…

He could feel the pain in his chest, the sad and longing tone of that little red fox was making him tear up. He himself hadn't seen his mother in a few years now, it wasn’t anything unusual in his family, they were lost all the time and to find one another more than a few times a year was a cause of celebration. But he still missed his parents from time to time and he was almost an adult. Just how much it must have pained this little girl to not know where her mother was?

He walked towards the sulking fox and touched one of her legs with his snout, trying to show that she wasn’t alone. You can’t find her?

Aki-chan’s ears raised up a little bit before she glanced at the black piglet, looking like she was trying to guess if he was trying to comfort her or make fun of her. After a few heartbeats she must have decided that it was the former, because her tail started wiggling slightly.

Followed mommy’s scent! She said with a little bit of pride in her voice, sniffing the air and looking in the direction on the right from where they stood. She was about to move forward when a pair of legs suddenly moved along the bushes in which they were hiding, scaring her a little. C-can you h-help? She turned around and asked him pitifully, glancing nervously at the sidewalk. I-I want to see mommy…

Ryoga was very weak against the cries for help, especially someone so young so it didn’t take long before he was next to the girl, comforting her with his snout again. He wished he could pat her head or hug her but his small piglet body didn’t let him do the thing he wanted to do. He wasn’t feeling discouraged though, instead he tried to look as determined as possible to help raise the little one's spirits a little.

Sure, I’ll help you, he said and smiled internally when he got the idea to distract her. He dived under Aki-chan’s body and using all his strength he tossed her up so that she landed on his back. He knew he was useless with directions but if she could tell him where to go, then maybe they could find the little one’s mother together. So, can you smell where your mommy is?

A little cub whimpered surprised and dug her claws deep in Ryoga’s skin and clung to him tightly but after a moment of hesitation he could feel the pain disappearing and the body that he was carrying relaxing a little bit. I-I C-can.

Aki-chan sniffed the air and leaned slightly on the right, pointing him in the opposite direction from where he came from. He was a little hesitant about this whole idea - especially since he left his pack nearby - but he couldn’t back down now, with a yokai on his back. He trotted forward, hoping that the little fox had a better sense of direction or better sense of smell than him.

He knew that a small piglet carrying a little red fox on his back would be an extremely strange sight and judging from the girl’s reaction on the passerby earlier, Ryoga decided to go slowly and keep them hidden from view. At least as much as the path Aki-chan’s showed him allowed for stealth that is.

He realized very quickly that it wasn’t really the case, because even if the girl didn’t have his direct curse, it was plainly visible that she had never been in the city before and was looking around abandoning her fear of being seen by other people very quickly. A few times Ryoga was just walking in a straight line, waiting for a new direction, only for Aki to tell him where they should go next, only for her to suddenly panic and tell him to go back.

He lived through that enough times to know when he was lost. The only difference was that this time at least he wasn’t alone.

Uncle, who are you? Aki-chan asked him after a prolonged period of silence when she realized that she got distracted again and almost lost her mother’s scent. She was moping for at least ten minutes making Ryoga incredibly anxious, so to hear this strange voice in the back of his head was really comforting.

I’m Ryoga, he said slowly, going along the fence separating them from the canal.

You’re not angry? I make us lost, she said, sounding extremely guilty, which wasn’t too surprising considering their situations.

No, I’m used to it. I tend to get lost quite a lot, you know? He said, trying to comfort and distract the girl enough so she wouldn’t notice that he sped up his pace a little bit. At first he thought that they were lucky and there was no one else around as far as he could see. He wanted to slow down a little bit and let Aki-chan look around a little bit to cheer her up, but after a few meters down the canal he realized that he couldn’t stop glancing back, feeling a strange itch on the nape of his neck. As if they were being followed.

Another look at the house behind them proved him right, when a few slick silhouettes jumped back from the roof and started following them, balancing on the fence skillfully. An unnerving eyes of at least four felines followed him every move making him shiver down his spine. Ryoga picks up the pace even faster.

If they don’t find Aki-chan’s mother fast things could get pretty ugly.

Notes:

I thought that I will be able to keep rather strict schegule with this and the other fic that I'm working on but it turn out to be impossible. Therefore, although I'm focusing on another project I'm working on, I'm not abandoning this one, but more chapters (at least until I'm done with my fixation on Yoiko's Howl) will be published irregularly from now on. I apologize for this, but I prefer to deliver chapters of higher quality, and I can't do that if I don't feel satisfaction from writing this fic... thank you for comming to my Ted Talk.

Notes:

So, I decided that I want to write something 'Mama Ranma' related but with much more characters having an impact on the story and with much more sheneningas than in my other works so... I hope you'll enjoy it?

I'm grateful for everyone who help me with my spelling problems but especially to InaNewmoon and ClericalError87 for helping me put the very idea of this fanfic together.