The last piece prepared for the list. 

Deborah informs me that Part 4 is under construction, so please be patient.

FYI, these stories will be linked onto my page this weekend, along with
some other goodies. If you need a back copy of the story until then, you
can get an ASCII copy, as it was sent to the FFML, at the following
addresses:

Part 1: http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime/daughter-1a.txt
Part 2: http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime/daughter-2a.txt
Part 3: http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime/daughter-3a.txt

Also, please don't archive any version of this story until after it has
been released by Deborah. I haven't checked with her about this, so she
can contradict me if I'm wrong, but I know she is revising the work still. 

As always, all rights to Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi and
Shougakukan

Genma's Daughter
Part 3

Original concept and sketch by Steve Pardue
Story by Deborah Goldsmith and Steve Pardue

Steve Pardue <spardue@zebra.net>
Deborah Goldsmith <dgoldsmith@mac.com>

http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ranko headed for the girl's restroom between classes, and her
hands were shaking. Would... would she have trouble inside? She
took a deep breath, and went in. Her eyes looked around. There
were a number of girls inside; it almost looked like... they were
standing in line?

One girl was at the sink washing up, and turned to glare at
Ranko. "What are *you* doing in here?" Ranko turned bright red,
and turned her eyes to the floor.

Another girl who was standing in line said "Megumi-chan, didn't
you hear the news this morning?" Megumi shook her head.
"Ranko-san is really a girl. The school verified it and
everything. She's registered as a girl, and she's *supposed* to
be in here."

Megumi's glare faded, to be replaced by confusion. "You're... a
*girl*? Since when?"

Ranko looked up, still very nervous. "Since... since I was born.
It's... it's a long story." The other girl nodded. "It sure is,
Megumi-chan. I'll tell you later. Trust me, it's OK."

Megumi looked at Ranko's face, and saw the embarrassment and pain
there. She sighed. "I... I'm sorry... Ran... Ranko-san. I didn't
mean to hurt your feelings." Ranko smiled a small smile.
"Th-That's OK. I... I understand." Megumi nodded, and smiled
back, then left.

Ranko turned back to the business at hand. "Ummm... Is... is this
a line?" She looked at her watch; she didn't have a lot of time.

Several of the girls giggled. The girl who had defended Ranko
spoke. "I can tell you haven't been a girl very long, Ranko-san.
This happens sometimes, and it always seems to happen when you're
in a hurry. You'd better get used to it." She smiled. "I'm
Matsuura Remi. I think we met once before, when you were... in
your other form." She giggled. "Of course, everyone at Furinkan
knows you, but I don't know if you remember me."

Ranko smiled. "I... I think I remember. Thank you for sticking up
for me just now, Remi-san."

Remi smiled back. "This must be hard for you, Ranko-san. I think
a lot of the girls feel that you deserve a break." Her eyes
became sad. "And... I was there that day in the locker room, when
Akane-san brought you in. Now I understand what happened to you.
I'm sorry."

Ranko felt embarrassed, but grateful for her support. "Thank you,
Remi-san."

The line moved quickly enough, and Ranko was able to make it back
to her class in time, though just barely. She felt encouraged;
one more step taken successfully.

The news spread through the school like wildfire, and at
lunchtime Ranko and her friends were surrounded by a mob of
mostly girls. She had thought she'd have a quiet lunch with her
four closest friends -- Akane, Ucchan, Sayuri, and Yuka -- but
Furinkan's female population had other ideas. Ranko found herself
telling her story over again for the benefit of students from
other classes who hadn't heard it directly. There were gasps, and
tears, and righteous anger in her audience at all the appropriate
places. Ranko felt the support and acceptance coming from the
other girls, and that gave her a very warm feeling.

In the middle of this, another girl walked up in a Furinkan
uniform, and Ranko and Akane did a double-take. It was Shampoo.

"Shampoo! What are you doing here?" asked Ranko, smiling.

Shampoo smiled too. "Great-Grandmother make good on threat, send
Shampoo to school." She stuck her tongue out. "Shampoo not sure
she like." She giggled. "Shampoo in different class from Ranko
and Akane, but Shampoo hope see between classes, OK?" Ranko and
Akane nodded and smiled. Shampoo sat down, pulled out her lunch,
and ate as she listened to Ranko speaking with the other girls.
They seemed to be accepting her. Good.

Soon enough, the bell rang, and they had to file back inside, and
class resumed. At one point, Hinako-sensei handed out a form so
that the students could select an elective class for the term.
Ranko looked through the list, and noticed the entry for "Music".
She thought back to her conversation on the train home from
Harajuku, and on impulse checked the box next to it.

As she walked to PE, still her last class of the day, she was
lost in thought. Maybe picking music was a mistake. She loved
music, though her father had never let her spend much time
listening to it. Maybe she didn't have any real talent in it.
Perhaps she should have picked something else.

She was still lost in thought and was about to push open the
locker room door when Akane called out "Ranko! Not in there!" She
looked up, and gasped. She had been about to go in the boy's
locker room out of habit. She scooted over and followed Akane
into the girl's locker room, her face bright red. That had been
close. As she went in, she braced herself for possible reactions.

She couldn't brace herself for what she found. When she came in,
a cheer went up, and she saw that almost all the girls were
standing around smiling and cheering her on. Once again, Yuka and
Sayuri were standing on a bench, holding a banner. This time, it
said "Welcome, Ranko-chan!"

Ranko couldn't help but laugh. "How many banners do you guys
have, anyway?"

Yuka struck a silly pose. "Why, we've one for every occasion, of
course!" Everyone laughed.

Ranko looked around and found herself starting to cry. "Everyone,
thank you... I can't tell you how much this means to me." She
tried to wipe her tears away, in vain. "I... I was so scared
about today. I was so afraid you'd be angry at me for being in
the restroom, being in here. You guys are wonderful." She kept on
crying.

Akane came over and gave her a gentle hug. "You deserve it,
Ranko." Many of the girls nodded.

Akane said "Come on, let's get ready for PE. Let's show those
boys what Saotome Ranko can do!"

Ranko giggled and wiped her eyes. "OK!"

For the first time, Ranko was with the girls instead of watching
them wistfully from across the field. PE was the same, for the
most part -- the bloomers they had to wear were incredibly
uncomfortable, and she missed the loose clothing she had worn as
a boy -- but the feeling of belonging, the group aura that the
girls exuded, was something she had never experienced. Why hadn't
she ever noticed this when she had been watching them from afar?

In boy's PE, she had always felt pressured to show off, to
overpower the other boys. Competition was everything. Rather than
enjoying her superiority as an athlete, that had made her feel
apart from the others, alone. There was competition here too, of
course, but it was... different. The girls knew how good an
athlete Ranko was; they let her exercise her skills, but made her
feel part of the team, too. She found herself enjoying the
teamwork as they played soccer, and for the first time enjoyed
the passing as much as she had the scoring of goals. Here, they
could compete, but still be a group. Most importantly, she never
felt apart, alone.

When PE was over, she looked up at the sky and sighed. Why had
she hesitated so much to do this? She knew, deep in her heart,
that this was where she belonged -- had always belonged. She
couldn't believe how happy she was. She shook her head in wonder,
and headed inside.

Someone had other ideas. Hirota stepped in front of her. "Hey,
*Ranma*. I wanna talk to you." His pals surrounded him, though
they didn't look particularly interested in being there.

Ranko looked up. She could clobber all of them easily, even with
her reduced training regimen. But they did not know the Art, and
it would be dishonorable. Besides... she didn't enjoy fighting
any more. Sparring, yes, fighting, no.

She tried to remember her mother's encounter with Ryouga. "Oh?
And what is it you want to talk to me about, Hirota-kun?"

Hirota started at being addressed as "Hirota-kun", then scowled.
"I always knew you were a sissy."

Ranko's blood started to boil, but then the absurdity struck her,
and she laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm a girl, and you're trying to make me mad by calling me a
sissy? Doesn't that strike you as a little... strange?" One of
Hirota's friends started to snicker, and he turned and glared.
The snickers died.

"Who says you're a girl? You're just fakin' it, like you always
do."

Ranko was about to earnestly defend herself and launch into the
whole explanation about birth certificates and her mother, when
inspiration struck. Hirota wasn't looking for proof, not really.
He'd been in the classroom that morning, after all.

She fluttered her eyelashes. "Why, Hirota-kun, I'm shocked. I
would think you're old enough to know the difference between boys
and girls." She drew herself up. "Surely you're not expecting me
to educate you?" She hmphed. "I'm not that kind of a girl."

This time there were multiple snickers. Hirota turned bright red.

Behind the bushes, one of the girls said simply, "Wow. How long
has she been a girl?"

Akane turned and spoke. "Only four weeks, but Ranko has always
been a really fast learner. And her mother is a good teacher."
She turned back to watch.

Hirota was incensed. This was not going according to plan. "Why,
I oughta..."

"What? Hit a girl?"

"You're not a girl!"

Ranko shook her head and tsked. "Really, Hirota-kun, I think you
might need glasses."

Ranko was keeping her cool and having fun, but Akane wasn't. She
came out from behind the bushes and stormed over. The other girls
scrambled to follow her.

Hirota winced as Tendou Akane came up and gave him The Glare.
"Ranko, is this *boy* bothering you?"

Ranko dropped the cute act and looked straight at Hirota. She
pierced him with her glare; Hirota felt like a butterfly on a
pin. "No, Akane, he just doesn't seem to know the *difference*
between boys and girls. He seems to be implying I'm not a girl."

Hirota started to backpedal. "Ummm, well, uh... I... I didn't
mean to..."

Akane was in his face. "Let's get one thing straight, Mister.
Saotome Ranko is a girl. Do you think we'd let her in our
restroom, in our locker room, if she wasn't? I don't know what
your problem is, but get over it!" She turned to Ranko. "Come on,
let's leave this jerk and go change."

Ranko looked at Hirota one last time, her glare ice cold. She
turned her back on him and walked away with the other girls.
Hirota and his friends watched them go.

One of the boys whistled a long, low whistle. "Wow." He walked
over to Hirota and hit him on the head with his knuckles. "Man,
you are so dumb. You still think she's not a girl?"

Hirota was still speechless, his eyes on where the girls had gone
into the locker room. He slowly shook his head.

*****

As soon as they had entered the locker room, the story had made
its way around, and the other girls made a point of
congratulating Ranko on the way she had handled the situation.
There had been a lot of laughing and joking over the incident.
Some of the girls still held back a little, but Ranko noticed
that when she turned on the hot water in the shower, these girls
seemed to relax. I guess they didn't believe me before, she
thought. She enjoyed her shower immensely. It was such a pleasure
to get wet without having to worry about hot or cold. Finally,
after all these months, it was just water again.

Akane and Ranko were still laughing about Hirota as they turned
into the street where the Tendous lived. "Oh, Ranko, could you
believe the look on his face?"

Ranko nodded, snickering the whole time. "That was fun..."

They walked up the path and into the house. "Tadaima!"

Nodoka and Kasumi came to meet them. "O-kaeri! How did your day
go, dear?"

Ranko's huge smile was answer enough. "I... I don't know where to
start..."

Nodoka smiled back. "Why don't you come in the living room and
tell us?" They all went in, and Ranko and Akane proceeded to tell
them about the whole day: Ranko's being accepted by most of the
girls, the classes she had attended, Shampoo, the locker room,
and her encounter with Hirota.

Nodoka shook her head. "Ranko, dear, you need to learn to be more
careful. Some boys have fragile egos, and you can provoke them
easily by teasing."

Ranko bristled. "I'm a martial artist, Mother. I can defend
myself."

"Yes, you can, but do you really want to have to? Where's the
honor in provoking a fight through words?" Ranko looked down,
chastised, and nodded.

"It's all right, dear. It sounds like this boy was angry at you
to start with. Sometimes those fragile egos need to be deflated a
little bit." She smiled, then stood up. "Kasumi and I are
preparing something special for dinner, to celebrate. Why don't
you go take off your uniform while we get busy in the kitchen?
It's been a busy day for you, so just relax." Ranko nodded, and
Nodoka and Kasumi went into the kitchen.

She and Akane went up the stairs, and Ranko stopped to open the
door to her room as Akane went past. She wasn't looking forward
to this old room again, with the memories of her father...

Akane was about to open her own door when she heard a gasp from
Ranko down the hall. She hurried back, asking "What is it, Ranko?
What's wrong?" Ranko was staring into her room, and Akane turned
to look in.

The room had been completely redecorated. It wasn't the spartan
place it had been, but was now clearly the room of a teenage
girl. The furniture had been completely replaced, there was a
bed, there were lacy curtains, and the walls had been repainted a
soft, pastel color. There was a small vanity with a mirror. The
martial arts posters on the wall had been taken down for the
repainting, then carefully put back up.

Ranko wandered over and plopped on the bed, still a little in
shock, trying to take it all in. She saw that Kasumi, the doll,
had been brought here from her room at home. There was another
doll, a new one, sitting next to Kasumi; it had bright red hair,
which made her smile. I wonder what I should name you, she
thought. Maybe... Ranma-chan? She giggled. I'd have to get you
some Chinese clothes for that. She noted something stuck behind
one of the pillows, and moved the pillow to look at it...

Akane wandered around the room, and noticed that the photo of
Genma, Nodoka, and the child Ranko had been transported from
Ranko's dresser at the Saotome home. She smiled; Auntie clearly
knew how important Uncle was to Ranko. She hoped the photo would
be enough for Ranko after Akane murdered him. She was startled
out of her plotting by a strangled noise coming from the bed.

She whirled around and found Ranko sitting on the bed, bent over
nearly double, her arms around her middle and wheezing pitifully.
She seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Akane rushed over. "Ranko, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
Ranko nodded, but kept wheezing. Akane scratched her head.
"Whatever is the matter with you?"

Ranko didn't straighten up, but an arm came out from around her
middle, and she pointed over at her pillow. The wheezing noises
continued. Akane looked over at the pillow, and her jaw dropped.
Sitting there was a stuffed animal. It was a panda, about a half
meter tall. It had crossed eyes.

Akane sank to her knees and joined Ranko in helpless laughter.

*****

Nodoka came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Dinner's just about ready, girls." She looked around; Nabiki was
sitting in a corner reading a magazine, and Akane was watching
TV. "Where is Ranko?"

Akane turned around and smiled. She got up, walked over the the
sofa, and pointed. Nodoka came over.

Ranko was asleep on the sofa, her arms flung carelessly over the
side. She had changed from her uniform to a pair of cutoff jeans
and a sleeveless top. She had a peaceful smile on her face.
Nodoka smiled herself. Kami-sama, how she had missed her little
girl. She shook Ranko gently. "Ranko, dear..."

Ranko startled a little bit, and her eyes opened halfway.
"Huh?... Whazzit?"

"You need to get up, sweetheart."

Ranko rolled over. "Mama, jus lemme sleep..."

"Dinner is ready."

Ranko's eyes shot open. "Did you say dinner?" Akane burst into
giggles. Ranko roused herself, and they went over to the dining
table, where Kasumi was just setting the last dishes down.

Ranko and Akane sat next to each other, as they always did. Ranko
looked around. Kasumi and Mother had outdone themselves. Her
mouth started to water. There was everything she liked to eat,
and...

"Red beans and rice?" she asked.

Kasumi smiled. "You've passed a huge milestone, Ranko-chan. I
thought we ought to commemorate it." Ranko beamed; she knew red
beans and rice was a dish served only for special occasions.
"Kasumi-neechan, thank you. And... thank you for redecorating my
room. It really means a lot to me."

It was Kasumi's turn to beam. "You're very welcome, Ranko-chan.
It's our 'welcome back' gift to our little sister." Nabiki was
smiling too, though it might have been a little forced. After a
quick "Itadakimasu," they began to eat.

Akane smiled. Ranko was enjoying herself thoroughly, and a summer
with her mother had civilized her eating manners to the point
where they were reasonable, if not exemplary. Akane was serving
herself some red beans and rice, when something caught at her
mind. It reminded her of something, and she couldn't quite
remember what it was. She had a feeling of deja vu but couldn't
place it.

She was still trying to figure it out ten minutes later.
Something... about the red beans and rice. Now, when was the last
time Kasumi served red beans and rice? Wasn't it when I...
Akane's eyes widened and she dropped her chopsticks. Everyone
looked up.

Nodoka looked at her. "Akane-chan, is something wrong?"

Akane looked around. She didn't want to blurt this out, even
though they were all girls; she didn't want to embarrass Ranko.
She said "Auntie, it's... it's a little private. Just a moment."
She walked around the table and whispered in Nodoka's ear.

It was Nodoka's turn to look surprised. "Why, no... I hadn't
thought of it. She is well past the usual age, after all. But
you're quite right." She turned to look at Ranko. Suddenly,
Nabiki's eyes widened, and she was looking at Ranko too.

Ranko looked around. "What is it?" She was starting to get
nervous.

Nodoka cleared her throat. "I'll tell you after dinner, dear.
It's just something you need to know now that you're a girl."
Kasumi dropped her own chopsticks at that, and Ranko sighed. Why
does everyone know about this but me? It must be some girl thing.

After dinner, Nodoka took Ranko by the hand and led her into the
Dojo for some privacy. Twenty minutes later they came back, and
Ranko was white as a sheet. She had thought that fainting in
baths was the last surprise her female body had in store for her.
She should have known better. She had heard rumors about this
from the boys in the locker room, but it hadn't been important to
her at the time -- she had been a boy, after all -- and she
hadn't thought about the fact that it now applied to her.

Nodoka and Ranko sat on the sofa, and Akane joined them. Nodoka
put an arm around her daughter. "Don't be so frightened, dear.
It's not that bad." Akane took Ranko's hand, and nodded. "You get
used to it. It's a pain in the neck, but you cope. Auntie's
right, it's not that bad."

Ranko shook her head. "I... I'm not thinking about that so much
as... as..." she swallowed, "the implications. Being... being a
moth... a mother." There. She'd said it.

Nodoka gave her another squeeze. "You don't have to be a mother
if you don't want to be, dear. You don't have to have a family."
Kami-sama, please let her change her mind. I want
grandchildren...

Ranko blushed. "But... but I do want a family. I like children.
I... I'm just not sure I'm ready to do what's required to... get
them." She shuddered. "And... boys... I just can't imagine..."
she trailed off.

"Of course not, dear, you're still too young. Don't worry about
it until you're older."

Ranko thought about that. Her mother was right, but she knew she
would be forced to think about it at least once a month.

*****

Ranko and Akane were on their way out to lunch the next day when
Hiroshi and Daisuke walked up. "Ranma... I mean, Ranko-chan?"
Ranko and Akane looked at each other, and Akane looked at the two
boys. She turned back to Ranko. "I'll be in the usual place, OK?"
Ranko nodded, and Akane went on by herself.

Ranko turned back to her two friends. She felt very nervous, for
some reason. "Y-yes?"

Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each other. Hiroshi spoke. "I... I
just wanted to say... we... we can still be friends, right?"

Ranko tried a smile. "Of course, guys. W-why wouldn't we be?"

Hiroshi looked uncertain. "Well, we... we thought maybe... that,
you know, you disliked being a boy so much, and we heard about
what happened with Hirota yesterday, and..."

Ranko felt her heart tighten a little. "No, guys, that's not it
at all. I don't hate boys. I... I'm just not a boy, that's all.
There's nothing wrong with being a boy, but I'm just... not." She
smiled. "D-don't worry, I don't look down on you or anything."

Hiroshi and Daisuke seemed to brighten. "Gee... that's... that's
great! I guess we can still be pals, huh?" Ranko nodded, her
smile broadening.

Daisuke smiled. "I knew we could count on you, buddy!" He clapped
a hand on Ranko's shoulder. Ranko froze.

She looked up into Daisuke's eyes, and felt afraid. His hand on
her shoulder was causing feelings she had never had before; she
felt... she felt... She kept looking into his eyes, and shivered.
Daisuke's eyes widened, and he quickly removed his hand. "Uhh,
well, ummm, see ya around, right buddy?" She nodded, her eyes
still on his. They turned and walked away.

Ranko felt the tears come. Her friends... she could feel the
distance between them, the gulf that had not been there before.
The gulf that she had crossed, but they had not. She treasured
her new friends, but the old ones... She walked over to where
Akane was sitting.

Akane, Ukyou, Sayuri, Yuka, and Shampoo were there, as well as a
handful of other girls: Remi, Megumi, and others who wanted a
chance to chat with Ranko. Ranko's hot shower the previous day
had erased most of the remaining reservations the girls had. The
conversation died when they saw Ranko was crying.

Ukyou spoke first. "What's wrong, Ranchan? What happened?"

Ranko sat down. "It's... it's Hiroshi and Daisuke. I never really
had too many friends as a boy, but they were good ones. Just now,
they... they thought I must hate boys, because I became a girl."
She paused. "I told them that wasn't the reason I changed, but
still..." she trailed off. "Then, Daisuke put his hand on my
shoulder, you know, just like a buddy would? But... it... it made
me feel... strange. Frightened. And... and I had other
feelings... I... I never felt before." She swallowed. "He could
tell. It put them both off." She started to cry again as she
spoke. "I... I wonder if I can ever be friends with any boy
again."

The other girls all looked at each other. Yuka leaned over, and
put a hand on Ranko's arm to comfort her. Ranko smiled sadly.
"It's funny, isn't it? When you put a hand on my arm, or Akane
does, I feel comforted. I feel friendship. I feel... safe. But
when he did it... I... I..." she trailed off.

Sayuri spoke up. "Ranko-chan, you're a girl, and... they're boys.
That doesn't mean you can't be friends, but... there is going to
be something there that you... you might not have felt before.
It... it sounds to me like... like you probably have the...
normal feelings you would expect a girl to... to have about
boys." Ranko nodded, a frightened look on her face. Sayuri took a
deep breath. "If... if you're aware of that, and understand it,
then... then it's possible to be friends with a boy. You just
have to understand that the chemistry is different, now." Ranko
seemed lost in thought.

Akane leaned over and put her own hand on Ranko's shoulder. "You
have so many new friends now, Ranko. We're all going to be here
for you, never forget that. I'm not saying to throw away the old
ones, but... now that you're a girl, people are going to see you
differently, and you'll see boys differently than you did before.
That can't help but change things." She sighed. "Give it time.
I'm sure the three of you will find a new way to be friends."

Ranko nodded morosely. "I... I know. I'm just not happy about
it."

Akane said, "Come on, Sis, cheer up." She grinned.

Ranko couldn't help but smile at being called Sis. "OK. I'll stop
moping."

They spent the rest of lunch talking about other things, as the
girls made a concerted effort to get Ranko's mind off the
incident.

"Ranko-chan, what elective did you sign up for?" asked Sayuri

Ranko brightened. "I decided to try music. I don't know, I just
like it, and I thought maybe I might enjoy the class."

Sayuri was excited. "That's great, Ranko-chan! I worked up my
nerve and decided to try it again myself. We'll be in that class
together!" She beamed. "I want to try the piano again."

Ranko turned a little pale. "You... you mean you *play*
instruments in that class?"

Sayuri laughed. "Don't worry, Ranko-chan. That's only part of the
class, and most people are beginners. They're not expecting you
to sit down and play a concert or anything." She giggled. "It's
just to try things out, and see if you like it. It's more like
music appreciation."

Ranko relaxed. Maybe... maybe this would be fun after all.

On the way home, Akane noticed that Ranko seemed to be thinking
again. She had a brooding look on her face. As they passed the
street which led to the bridge over the canal, she paused a
moment, then turned to Akane. "Akane... Sis... I... I think I
want to... to think for a while. By myself." She smiled sadly.
"Don't worry, I'll be home soon."

Akane looked at her for a moment, then nodded once. "Don't go and
cry by yourself, you hear me? If you feel a cry coming on, come
on home. OK?"

Ranko nodded. "OK." Her smile brightened a little bit, and they
just stood there for a moment before each went her own way.

Akane smiled. They were so close, now. This... this was what she
had had a glimpse of that night so long ago, when a panda had
delivered a red-haired girl to her home. She had had an intuition
that the two of them would be very close, that they would share
everything, like sisters; no wonder the curse had shattered her
trust so badly.

A few minutes later Ranko was at her favorite spot again, under
the bridge. She went to sit down, but had to search for a dry
patch; she didn't want to stain her uniform. She finally settled
on a discarded cinder block and looked out across the canal.

The children were playing again; it was a favorite spot for them,
too. She looked at the two separate groups: boys, and girls. Each
kept to themselves. She sighed.

What had happened to her? She knew she had to be a girl, wanted
to be a girl, but... but it was so alien, sometimes. So different
from the way she had lived before. And living as a girl, there
was a whole package of other things that came along with that.
Like... she could tell that she was starting to find boys...
attractive. She felt overwhelmed by the differences.

She thought back to her life before. It seemed so far away, she
could hardly remember what it was like. She... she had disliked
it, but it had been familiar. She thought about the black-haired
boy she had been... Suddenly, she gave a little gasp.

I'm not him any more, she thought. I'm not Saotome Ranma. He...
he's dead. He's gone. I'm... I'm a different person, in so many
ways. Ranma... Ranma is dead. Tears came to her eyes, and she
cried.

Hibiki Ryouga squinted. Funny, this looked too small to be the
Yodo River. But he was in Osaka, so it had to be. He hadn't known
it looked like a canal.

He looked up the river bank, and saw a girl wearing a school
uniform, crying. That's odd, he thought, that's the same uniform
they wear at Furinkan. Oh well, I guess there aren't too many
different kinds. He walked up to her. "Is something wrong, Miss?
Can I help?"

Ranko looked up at him with her red eyes. "Ryouga?"

Ryouga did a double take. "Ranko-san? What are you doing in
Osaka?"

Ranko shook her head. "Th-this isn't Osaka, Ryouga. We're in
Nerima, on the canal."

He looked around. Now that she mentioned it, the place *did* look
familiar. Ranko started to cry again.

He sat down next to her. She had changed so much! He couldn't
find any traces of the boy he had known. She was just another
girl who went to Furinkan. No, not just another girl. A very
beautiful girl, with stunning, silky red hair that blew slightly
in the wind... "Ranko-san, what's wrong?" He shook his head. He
had to stop staring at her; it was rude.

She looked at him. "I... I feel funny talking to you about it,
and that's just the point! I... I just realized... I'm not Ranma
any more. He... he had to die for me to be me. He didn't deserve
to die, but he had to!" She cried harder.

Ryouga tried to decipher what she was saying, and failed. "What
do you mean, Ranko-san?"

"I... I mean... I'm a girl now, and... and... it's so far away
from what I was... the boys who were my friends... they... they
see me as a girl now, and I... I see them as... as boys. When
they t-touched me, I felt... I felt... It's so different, so
alien, it's... it's just hard sometimes. Everything in my life
has changed." She was sobbing now.

Ryouga felt powerless to help her, and that made him feel
miserable for some reason. He... he wanted her to be happy. He
reached out, tentatively, and hesitated. It sounded like being
touched by a boy had... unsettled her. A particularly loud sob
escaped her, and his courage firmed up. He reached out and put an
arm around her.

Ranko noticed Ryouga's arm drape over her shoulder. It... it felt
strange, like Daisuke's hand had felt, but she felt something
else, too. She... she felt like...

Suddenly, Ranko spun around and buried her head in Ryouga's
shoulder, sobbing. Slowly, he reached around with his other arm,
and held her as she cried. He wondered at what was going on. Who
would have imagined this scene two months ago? His glass heart
went out to her as he held her gently in his embrace.

Ranko felt a million conflicting emotions running through her.
Being held by a boy frightened her, but... but it also made her
feel safe, made her feel stronger. She felt... protected. She'd
never felt that way before. She couldn't believe Ryouga, of all
people, was holding her. She knew she was strong, she knew she
could stand on her own without having to lean on anyone else, but
somehow, being in his arms was... she couldn't put words to it.

Ryouga held her and stroked her hair. He noticed the scent; it
smelled of flowers. Her body felt so soft against his; she was
such a sensitive, beautiful, sweet girl. He leaned his head down
on top of hers, the better to smell her hair. He sighed; holding
her was so... Suddenly, his eyes went very wide. No... no... I
can't be... no! I... Akane-san...

Ranko seemed to be collecting herself; she separated from him and
stood up. She was sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Ryouga... I...
I am so sorry. I didn't mean to go to pieces on you like that."
She smiled wanly. "Th-Thank you. I... I guess I needed a shoulder
to cry on. I feel a lot better." She looked at his shirt. "With
all those tears, it's a wonder I didn't turn you into P-chan!"
She made a face; she really was feeling better. She realized that
with all the changes she had gone through, it was no surprise if
she was overwhelmed from time to time. She managed to smile at
him.

He rose to his feet, a little unsteady. "N-n-no p-problem,
R-ranko-san. R-really! I... I was glad I could help."

Ranko looked at Ryouga. He seemed very nervous for some reason.
Probably he still thinks of me as a boy, she thought. That
probably made him really uncomfortable holding me...

"Well, I really appreciate it. I know you probably still think of
me as a boy, somewhat, so I hope that didn't make you too
uncomfortable."

Ryouga's voice was squeaky. "No! No! Of course not! No problem!"

How sweet of him to deny it, she thought. "Oh, I promised Akane I
wouldn't take too long." She pulled a mirror out of her purse.
"Look at my eyes! You can tell I've been crying. Well, I hope she
doesn't get too mad at me. I promised not to go off and cry by
myself." She put the mirror away. "I... I've got to go, Ryouga...
kun." She blinked, but it had seemed like the natural thing to
call him. "Again, thank you. You're very sweet." He gulped and
nodded without saying anything, and she turned and walked off.
Ryouga watched her, mesmerized, as she climbed the bank, holding
her slender arms out for balance, her red hair and the skirt of
her uniform ruffling gently in the late summer breeze as she
picked her way among the weeds. She reached the top, and
disappeared up the road.

Slowly, Ryouga sank to his knees. He whispered "Akane-san...
Ranko-san..." Then he put his head in his hands and howled, "Oh,
Kami-sama, I'm turning into Kunou!"

*****

Akane looked up from her book and called "O-kaeri" in response to
Ranko's "Tadaima!" She smiled, but the smile died on her lips.
"You've been crying."

Ranko looked embarrassed. "Well... yes. I... I was just a little
overwhelmed by what happened today." She sighed. "Things have
changed so much for me. I... I realized that Ranma... the person
I was... it's almost like he died. I... I don't want to go back
to being him, not ever, but still..."

Akane nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I can see what you're saying."

Ranko looked at herself. "Let me go change out of my uniform,
OK?" Akane nodded.

A few minutes later, Ranko came back downstairs, wearing her jean
skirt and floral top. It was starting to get to be a little too
chilly for sleeveless fashions, and the sundresses were put away
until next summer. She sat on the sofa next to Akane, sat back
with her hands in her lap, and sighed.

Akane leaned her elbow casually on the arm of the sofa, her head
on her hand. "I told you not to cry by yourself. Why didn't you
come home?"

Ranko blushed. "I know. I... I wasn't planning to cry. It just
sort of... happened."

Akane shook her head. "Crying by yourself is a lonely thing, Sis.
I would have been happy to come with you and keep you company."

Ranko squirmed. "Uhh... I didn't exactly cry by myself."

Akane straightened up a little. "What do you mean?"

Ranko sighed. "Well, the funniest thing happened. There I was,
crying, when who should show up but... Ryouga? He thought he was
in Osaka." She giggled. "Anyway, when he saw I was crying, he...
put an arm around me, and the next thing I knew, my face was in
his shoulder and he was holding me..." she trailed off.

Akane sat up straight. "And... how did that feel?"

Ranko looked at the ceiling as she thought. "Well, it was a
little scary, like when Daisuke put his hand on my arm, but it
was also... comforting. Like when you put your arm around me,
but... different." She blushed. "I... I felt... protected." She
laughed. "I would never have thought I would ever say something
like that." She sobered. "And... that just made it even more
clear that I wasn't Ranma any more." She sighed. "But it helped.
I felt better."

Akane smiled. "That's all normal; I'm glad he was there. How did
he react?"

Ranko looked bemused. "I think he still must think of me as a
boy, somewhat. He was so nervous afterwards!" She giggled. "He
was so nervous he was stuttering."

Akane's eyebrows went up. "Really? Are you sure that's why he was
nervous?"

Ranko nodded. "Well, he denied it, but I think he was just being
nice. What else could it be?"

Akane's eyes widened. "Ummm... yeah." Inwardly, she worried.
Ranko was so pretty and had such a nice personality that Akane
knew that it was only a matter of time before boys became very
interested in her. She hadn't expected Ryouga to be one of them,
given the history between them, but she had to admit it was
really hard to see Ranma in Ranko, unless you knew what to look
for. She knew her best friend/twin sister very well, and knew
that at the core, she was the same person, just much happier. She
worried for her sister; she was still a fledgling, so to speak,
and just barely used to being a girl. Still, Ryouga was a very
nice boy, and just maybe, if things were handled right... She
decided to keep an eye on the situation.

Ranko was sure of the cause for Ryouga's stuttering. After all,
she knew he was in love with Akane, so it couldn't be that.
Besides, until recently, he had been trying to kill her. Really,
how could he fall in love with her?

*****

The next day, Akane and Ranko were walking through the gates of
Furinkan, when their luck finally ran out. Kunou was waiting for
them, and they both sighed.

"Fair Akane! Pig-tailed girl! I have but just returned from my
family's private isle! Oh, how my heart has ached to see you, my
loves!"

Ranko's face was dark. "I have a name, *Senpai*. It's Ranko.
Saotome Ranko. Could you *please* use my name?" She turned her
head to the side to show him her hair. "There isn't a pigtail any
more, anyway."

Kunou beamed. "Ah, beauteous Ranko! How your fair visage doth
shine! And yet, still you take the same name as that foul
sorceror, who I see has bolted, like the coward he is. What will
free you from his grasp?"

Akane noticed that Ranko's battle aura was glowing to match her
own. "Don't you dare talk about Ranma like that!" screamed Ranko.
"You have no right!" Kunou was instantly unconscious in the dirt,
the footprints of two angry girls on his face.

Ranko was scowling as she and Akane walked into the building. She
checked her uniform for dirt. "And I promised Mother I wouldn't
fight in this..."

Akane smirked. "Extenuating circumstances." They both giggled.

At lunch, Nabiki was enjoying her ramen when Kunou walked up. She
sighed. "What is it, Kunou-chan?" She noticed he had
footprint-shaped bruises on his face. Both girl-sized, one a
little smaller than the other. Yup, she knew who'd made those.

Kunou offered a wad of bills. "Verily, five weeks have not yet
passed, Tendou Nabiki, but I desire to know the truth about the
sorceror Saotome. Why is he not attending school? Why do fair
Akane and the beauteous pig-tailed... I mean beauteous Ranko
defend him so?"

Nabiki looked Kunou over critically. The truth would never do.
Many people had tried to drill the truth through that dense
skull, but it had proved impervious, displacing diamond as the
hardest substance known to man.

Still, maybe an edited version... "Very well, Kunou-chan. I
suppose I don't need to wait." She motioned to the chair opposite
her. "Have a seat." The kendoist sat at the table and waited.
"Payment in advance, Kunou-chan." He scowled, but handed the
bills over.

Nabiki thought. "Kunou-chan, there is something you must know
about Saotome Ranko and Saotome Ranma. They share the same name
because... they had the same parents."

Kunou's eyes widened. "Brother and sister?" He considered this.
"How could that be so? He has so vilely enslaved her." He paused.
"And yet, are not brother and sister close, each protecting the
other? Verily, this would explain the beauteous Ranko's defense
of him."

Nabiki nodded. "They were even born at the very same time."

Kunou stroked his chin. "Twins! Indeed, no wonder one was never
found far from the other." Nabiki's eyes widened, but she said
nothing. He scowled again. "And yet, it still does not excuse his
unwarranted attentions to the fair Akane."

Nabiki shrugged. "They were engaged by their parents. Neither of
them really wanted it, though they were good friends."

Kunou, uncharacteristically, noticed something. "You say 'were'
-- has this grievous error been rectified?"

Nabiki nodded. "That's right, Kunou-chan. They're... not engaged
any more."

Kunou practically shouted with joy. "Ah, righteousness triumphs!
And so the fair Akane is no longer trapped by the foul..." he
trailed off, noticing Nabiki's sad expression. "There is
something more, is there not? Pray, tell me."

Nabiki sniffled, and was glad acting blood ran in the family,
though Akane had more of it than she did. "You don't understand,
Kunou-chan. The engagement ended because... Ranma is... no longer
with us." She sighed. "He left us this summer, forever." She
wiped a tear away. Brava!

Kunou was stunned. "You mean, Saotome Ranma is... no more?"

Nabiki nodded. "He... he learned of his destiny shortly before
summer break. Though he tried, there was nothing he could do to
escape it." She wasn't even lying, technically. She really ought
to get a job writing advertisements; she'd do very well. Or maybe
product labels.

Kunou sagged in his seat. "Truly, then, their defense of him is
explained... he was already fading."

Nabiki nodded. "Exactly."

"And this morning, I... I besmirched his name... to his own
grieving sister." He looked grim. "Truly, I have erred."

"Speaking ill of the... departed is typically frowned upon, yes."

Kunou rose. "There is only one thing I can do. I must... console
them with my bountiful love!" And with that, he strode off.

Nabiki watched her family's largest source of income walk away,
then turned to counting her profits. She had a satisfied smile;
this would easily pay for Ranko's new room, and more.

Akane and Ranko were eating lunch with the other girls when Kunou
walked up.

"Fair Akane, beauteous Ranko, I must apologize to you for my
ungentlemanly behavior this morning."

The assembled girls peered at him in shock. Was... was this
really Kunou?

Ranko managed to squeak out, "Senpai?"

Kunou went on. "I have just recently learned from the mercenary
Nabiki of the sad fate of your twin brother." He paused. "I am
afraid I let my rivalry with the departed get the better of my
manners. It was only because I was driven by visions of you, my
loves, but still, know that I grieve with you for your loss. He
was... a good man."

Understanding started to dawn. "Ummm... Th-thank you, Senpai..."

"You may rest assured that I will honor his memory. And what
better way -- than by showering my affections upon you?" He moved
to embrace them.

As Kunou lay there in the dirt, the pain of a dozen girls' blows
clouding his vision, he reflected that Ranma's untimely end
seemed to have brought him no closer to the objects of his
heart's desire. He sighed as he lost consciousness.

*****

Akane and Ranko detoured through the Furinkan shopping district
on their way home, just to window-shop a little. They chatted as
they strolled.

"I'll have to thank Nabiki later -- if I heard 'foul sorceror'
one more time, I don't know what I'd do. The truth never worked,
but this seemed to." Ranko sighed. "Too bad he isn't going to
leave us alone."

Akane giggled. "That would be too much to hope for, don't you
think?"

Ranko giggled as well. "I guess so." She sobered. "I guess I
still have Kodachi to deal with, too." She looked pensive.

"You're right," said Akane. "She isn't likely to be as
tractable." She pondered that, then looked around; Ranko wasn't
there. She looked behind her; Ranko had stopped a few paces back,
and was looking in a store window. She retraced her steps.

Ranko was looking at some earrings. They were silver, the dangly
kind. She sighed. "I really like these, but... they're for
pierced ears." When Akane didn't say anything, she looked up.
Akane was looking back at her with her arms folded, her head
cocked at an angle, and a smile on her face.

Ranko was confused. "What?"

Akane still didn't respond, but pointed at the sign in the
window. Ranko turned to read it. "Free piercing when you buy
piercing set!" She turned back to Akane, and smiled herself.
"You're... you're right..."

Fifteen minutes later, Ranko and Akane walked out of the shop.
Ranko had gold piercing studs in her ears, and held a bag with
the earrings she had liked and a kit to care for her newly
pierced ears. She was blushing and smiling at the same time.
She... she didn't have to worry about things like this, not any
more...

When they came home, Kasumi and Nabiki noticed the huge smile on
Ranko's face. Kasumi looked between Akane and Ranko; they were
obviously sharing a secret.

"What?" she asked, smiling. It was wonderful to see the two of
them so happy, and getting along so well. Just like they had as
children...

"Do you notice anything different about me, Oneechan?" Ranko was
beaming.

Kasumi shook her head, until Ranko moved her hair aside. "Oh!
You've gotten your ears pierced! How nice!" She looked on and
made the appropriate noises as Ranko showed off both ears. Nabiki
couldn't help but smile; Ranko was going through all the same
stages she and her sisters had, just a little... delayed.

The next day at school, Ranko was showing off her ears to her
friends at lunch. They were all a bit old to be excited at that
kind of thing, but knew how Ranko felt. Later that day, Sayuri
drew Ranko aside in the locker room, as they were getting dressed
after PE.

"Ranko-chan, I... I have something in my locker for you."

Ranko's eyebrows went up. "You... you do?" Akane came over to
listen.

Sayuri nodded, and pulled out a small package. "Here. I've wanted
to give this to you for a while, but I was waiting for... the
right opportunity."

Ranko opened the package, and gasped. In it were the green jade
earrings she had so admired on their trip to Harajuku. She looked
up. "How... why...?"

Sayuri was beaming. "I knew you liked them, so I bought them for
when you were ready to wear them. They're my way of saying, 'I'm
glad you're my friend.'"

Ranko felt tears coming. "But... but how did you know I'd get my
ears pierced? How did you know I would even stay a girl? Your
money could have been wasted!"

Akane and Sayuri looked at each other and giggled. "Ranko-chan,
when I spent that first day with you, I knew. I knew you were a
girl. The way you looked at those earrings, I thought it was a
pretty safe bet, and... here we are, aren't we?"

Ranko nodded, unable to speak, and suddenly threw her arms around
Sayuri, who hugged her back. "Th-thank you. I... I'm glad you're
my friend, too." Sayuri nodded, and Akane wiped a tear from her
eye.

Friday came, and it was time for Ranko's first music class. She
looked around at the other students sitting in the music room;
most of them were girls, including Sayuri, who sat next to her.
There were a few boys, including -- to her surprise -- Hiroshi
and... Hirota! She never would have dreamed someone like him
would have an appreciation for music. Maybe it was just her...
him... that Hirota had picked on. She knew a lot of the boys had
resented... him for his many fianceees and martial arts prowess,
and... she hadn't ever really seen Hirota pick on anyone else.
Maybe it had just been bad blood between them. She decided to
give him another chance to show what kind of person he really
was. Their eyes met, and they both looked away, embarrassed.

The teacher cleared her throat, and the chattering ended. "Good
afternoon, class. My name is Kobayakawa Yuriko. I'm the new music
teacher, and I hope we'll all get a chance to enjoy some good
music together this term." She smiled. "In this class, we'll be
both listening to and discussing music, and trying our hands at
playing some." She waved her arm around the room; there was a
piano, a clarinet, a violin, and several other instruments. Ranko
swallowed nervously.

She started to relax after Kobayakawa-sensei had them all
introduce themselves, then launched into her first lecture. She
would play a composition, either popular or classical, and then
discuss the structure of it, how it was put together, and what
musical techniques were used to produce it. Ranko found herself
fascinated.

She grew nervous again, about halfway through, when Sensei
announced that now they were going to try out various
instruments. Each student had a few minutes with each instrument,
and Sensei evaluated how they did, trying to discover anyone with
aptitude.

Ranko found that she simply could not deal with the piano; her
hands were too small, and she couldn't reach to make the chords
which Sensei showed her. When she tried the clarinet, all that
came out was a faint, hollow whistle.

Maybe... maybe I don't really have the talent to play an
instrument, she thought. At the end of the period, Sensei had
Ranko try the violin. She held it under her chin, and drew the
bow across it, yielding... a raucous screech. She sighed and her
head drooped.

Kobayakawa-sensei's gaze softened. "Don't give up, Ranko-chan."
She was a bit less formal than the other teachers at Furinkan,
and called students by their first names. "Everyone does that the
first time. You have good arms and fingers for this. Try to keep
the bow on just one string, and draw it across with only a little
bit of pressure. It may take you days just to hit a good note."

Ranko nodded, and concentrated. She thought of the Kachuu Tenshin
Amaguriken, and the delicacy of control that had required. She
tuned her senses, closed her eyes, and once more drew the bow
across the violin.

She was startled when a pure, beautiful note echoed from inside
the instrument, and seemed to cause something to resonate within
her. She looked up, a surprised smile on her face. "Did I... did
I do it right that time?"

Kobayakawa-sensei looked a little shocked herself. For a beginner
to hit a note that clearly was nearly unheard of. Usually it took
weeks of practice. "Yes, Ranko-chan, that was excellent." The
bell rang. "Would you... would you mind coming here again after
school is out, just for a few minutes? I would like to evaluate
you a little more."

Ranko nodded, surprised. "Of... of course, Sensei." Sayuri,
Hiroshi, and Hirota all looked on in surprise as well.

As they walked to PE, Sayuri nudged Ranko. "See? You just have to
try. You may be surprised at what you find inside of yourself."

Ranko shook her head. "One note doesn't mean I have a talent for
it, Sayuri-chan."

Sayuri smiled. "Sensei seemed to think you were worth looking at.
Don't sell yourself so short, Ranko-chan."

Ranko nodded, lost in thought. She didn't notice Hirota watching
her from a distance.

After PE, she came again to the music room with her briefcase in
hand, her hair still damp from the shower. She had told Akane not
to wait for her.

Kobayakawa-sensei smiled. "Hello, Ranko-chan. Thank you for
coming back. If you don't mind, I would like you to try a few
more things on the violin. All right?" Ranko nodded.

"Can you read music?" Ranko shook her head. "All right, then, let
me show you the notes. Try to memorize them, it's important."
Ranko watched as Sensei demonstrated the notes on the violin,
showing how it was important to only touch the bow to the strings
you wanted, how to finger the strings, and so on.

"Now you try it, all right? Try the scale I just showed you."

Ranko placed the violin under her chin, and closed her eyes
again. Once more, she focused herself on the violin and the bow
she held, forgetting everything else. It was just like an
intricate kata in the Art. She tried to copy what Sensei had
shown her.

Sensei gasped as Ranko executed a flawless scale, the tones pure
and sweet. Ranko opened her eyes, and smiled a dreamy smile.
That... that had touched something inside her, as before. There
had been a direct connection between the violin and her emotions.
She felt strangely moved.

Sensei took several moments to find her voice. "Ranko-chan, could
you... could you do that again?"

Ranko nodded, and with more confidence put the violin back to her
chin. Her feelings seemed to radiate into her arm and hand, as
she played the scale again.

Sensei was astounded. "Ranko-chan, have you ever played a violin
before today?"

Ranko was confused. "No, Sensei. Why?"

Sensei shook her head. "For someone who has never picked up a
violin before, you did very well. When you played that scale a
second time, I... I felt some of your emotion coming through. You
put feeling into a simple scale." She shook her head again. "I
have seen students struggle for years and never achieve the
control you have."

It was Ranko's turn to shake her head. "But... I'm just a fast
learner. It's just technique, and I'm good at picking things like
that up. Besides, I'm a martial artist, and I can control my
movements very carefully."

Sensei shook her head again. "It's not just technique,
Ranko-chan. I heard soul in that. That's a very rare, very
precious gift." She looked closely at Ranko-chan. "I think you
may well be gifted at this, Ranko-chan. I'd like to keep working
with you, to evaluate your potential. Would you mind spending an
hour with me every Friday, after school? Just for the next few
weeks?"

Ranko looked doubtful. "You... you really think I might have a
gift for this?" Sensei nodded. "All... all right."

Half an hour later, Kobayakawa-sensei watched out the window as
the redhead walked home. She had had Ranko play more scales, even
very simple pieces. She was sure that Ranko had a talent for the
violin. She resolved to call Murata-sensei when he returned from
his overseas trip.

Ranko walked home by herself, lost in thought. She had known she
liked music, but... gifted? Could she become a violinist? The
thought caused a pleasant feeling to radiate through her. And...
what about the Art? Could she practice that and still pursue the
violin? What did she want to do? She shook her head, and
wondered. Doors had closed in her life, but new doors had opened;
so many, she didn't know which way to go.

She almost didn't see the descending shadow. She suddenly dodged,
and a spiked club struck the sidewalk where she had stood an
instant ago. She didn't need the insane laugh to know who she
would face when she turned around.

"Hohoho, you redheaded hussy! Stand still and let me deal you
what you deserve." Her face twisted in anger. "You should die for
what you have done to my Ranma-sama! I heard it all from my dear
brother."

Ranko was nonplussed. "What... what did I do to him? He... he's
gone... He was... my brother..."

Kodachi shook her head. "I can't believe that my sweet Ranma-sama
was related to a harridan like you. You drove him to his death!"

Ranko shook her head, though she knew there was no use arguing
with a madwoman. And the scary part was... she was right. Ranko
*was* responsible for Ranma's "death".

Kodachi shouted "Enough chatter! Now I will deal with you once
and for all, peasant!" She attacked.

Ranko dodged, trying desperately to keep her uniform clean. It
was all she could do to avoid the clubs, razor hoops, and whips.
When she had been at her top form, it was a snap, but now, trying
to dodge and not ruin her uniform, it was barely within her
capacity. And she knew she would start to tire soon. Either she
would ruin her uniform, or she would be hurt.

She had just barely dodged a razor hoop when Kodachi was
broadsided by a bonbori-wielding Shampoo. The crazed gymnast sat
dazed on the sidewalk, rubbing her head where it had been struck.
Shampoo stood between Kodachi and Ranko and fumed.

"Crazy girl leave Ranko alone! Ranma's death no... not her
fault!" She growled. "Crazy girl want Ranko, must go through
Sham... me, first!"

Ranko watched in amazement. Two incredible things had happened:
Shampoo was protecting her, and was apparently finally starting
to learn proper Japanese.

Kodachi got to her feet, glaring. "You haven't seen the last of
me, harridan!" She turned and bounded away over the rooftops, her
insane laughter trailing behind her. They watched until the
echoes died.

Ranko turned to Shampoo. "Shampoo... thank you." She ran over
and, without warning, threw her arms around the Chinese girl.
Shampoo was amazed, but overcame her surprise, and hugged Ranko
back. This was the first time *she* had ever been on the
receiving end. They separated and smiled at each other. "Ran...
You are welcome."

"How... how did you know?"

"Shampoo... I hear you tell Akane, you walk home by self." Her
expression hardened. "I no think that good idea. You have many
enemy, very powerful. You need you friends."

Ranko nodded thoughtfully. She looked at Shampoo, and cocked her
head sideways, grinning. "Someone seems to be working on her
Japanese..."

Shampoo blushed, and nodded. "I guess school good idea after all,
ne?" They both laughed.

*****

Akane was surprised to see Shampoo come home with Ranko. "Hello,
Shampoo. What brings you here?"

Shampoo and Ranko looked at each other. "Kodachi attacked me on
the way home. I was getting tired when Shampoo came in and
clobbered her with a bonbori."

Akane looked shocked. "Oh, Ranko, I... I shouldn't have let you
go alone. I'm so sorry. Shampoo, thank you."

Shampoo smiled. "I no mind. If you can no go with Ranko, call me,
call Mousse, we come, OK?" Akane nodded. Shampoo turned and left.

Ranko plopped down on the sofa, looking miserable. Akane came
over and put an arm around her. "What's wrong?"

Ranko started to cry. "Look at me. I can't even defend myself any
more. I need you and Shampoo to look after me. I feel so
humiliated. I... I didn't know being a girl would make me
dependent like this..."

Akane tried to keep her temper in check. "Ranko, Shampoo and I
are girls, too, you know. And you can still defend yourself; you
should know that no mugger or molester would last ten seconds
against you. It's just that you don't spend all your time on it
any more. Kodachi does; she's mad, and she does nothing but
practice her gymnastics and concoct her poisons. When you spent
hours a day training, you could deal with her easily. Do you want
to go back to spending hours a day on it?" Ranko shook her head,
tears dropping off as she did so.

Akane tightened her embrace a little. "See? Yes, there are a few
opponents you used to be able to battle, but maybe can't any
more. If you don't want to pay the price, then what's wrong with
getting some help from your friends? It's not because you're a
girl, Ranko. It's because you are opening up, trying new things."
Akane thought. "So tell me more about your violin lesson today."

Ranko tried to collect herself and sit up straight. "Well,
Kobayakawa-sensei had me try different things out." She smiled,
Kodachi fading from her attention. "She had me play some scales,
some simple pieces. I... I like it. A lot." Her smile turned a
little dreamy.

Akane smiled back. "Really? What else did she say?"

Ranko blushed. "She... she told me she thought I might... might
have a gift for the violin. She wants me to spend an hour after
school with her every Friday for a few weeks, to evaluate me."

Akane hugged Ranko fiercely. "I'm so happy for you, Sis!" Ranko
hugged her back.

Days passed, and life at Furinkan settled into a routine once
more, as the novelty of Ranko's change faded. Unlike last term,
Ranko was surrounded by friends, and school started to hold more
appeal for her. More and more, she was paying attention in class.
Soon, it was Friday again, and Kobayakawa-sensei had a surprise
for her.

"A... a violin? For me?"

Sensei nodded. "I'd like to loan this to you, if you are willing
to practice at home. Do you want to learn badly enough to spend,
say, twenty minutes a day practicing?"

Ranko thought. She spent more time than that on her martial arts,
and she... she felt excited about the part of herself she was
discovering through the violin. Like a hidden city uncovered by
the American film hero Indiana Jones, she had never known it was
there. She smiled. "Yes, Sensei, I... I'd like to learn more
violin. I don't know where I want to go with it yet, but I'm
really enjoying it."

Sensei beamed. "Bring it with you on Fridays, for class, OK?"
Ranko nodded.

When Ranko left that day, she had some music books, and her
borrowed violin in a case. She had another surprise waiting for
her when she got home.

"Mother!" Mother and daughter rushed to embrace each other in the
entrance hall. Ranko was beaming. "What's the occasion?"

Nodoka laughed. "Do I need a special occasion to see my
daughter?" Ranko giggled, and shook her head. Nodoka noticed the
items Ranko was carrying. "What's all this, dear? It looks like a
violin."

Ranko nodded. "It is. My music sensei wants me to practice at
home. She says she thinks I... have some talent for it." She
blushed.

Nodoka smiled. "That's wonderful! I would love to hear you play!"
Ranko was aghast when the Tendou sisters all piped up and
demanded the same.

"But... but I just started! I... I can't play that well yet!"

Nodoka hugged her daughter again. "I don't care, dear. I just
want to hear this, if it's something so special to you; I want to
share it."

Ranko nodded, uncertainly. "O-OK. Let me... let me take off my
uniform, first."

She came back down a short while later, wearing a green blouse
and jean shorts. She had her violin and her bow. "I... I don't
have a music stand, but I think I can play a few things from
memory."

Nodoka and the Tendou sisters assembled in the living room. Ranko
looked around. "Gosh, I guess this is my first concert." She
giggled nervously.

Nabiki spoke up. "Don't worry, Ranko, these critics will go easy
on you." Everyone laughed.

She tried once more to put herself in the same frame of mind she
had when practicing a kata. She brought the violin to her chin,
raised the bow, and shut out the world. Her universe was her and
her violin. She played a few scales to warm up, then two of the
simple practice pieces she had learned. Once again, she felt
joined to the music, just as she felt joined to the Art when she
practiced that.

After a minute or two, she was done, and lowered her instrument.
She looked at her family.

Kasumi, Akane, and her mother smiled and clapped. "That was very
good, dear! Your sensei is right, you do have talent." Nodoka was
beaming.

Nabiki was too stunned to say anything at first. She had a taste
for the finer things in life, and she knew them when she saw
them. Ranko was a beginner, and yet clearly had a gift. She could
probably play professionally, if she wanted to, and spent a few
years becoming proficient. She wondered what other facets of her
little sister's personality were waiting to blossom, now that she
was free to be herself. She shook herself, and clapped as well.

Ranko was blushing from the attention. "Sensei loaned me this
violin so I could practice at home. I'm supposed to practice for
twenty minutes every day."

"Well, we'll just have to go out and get you that music stand,
won't we?" Kasumi nodded in agreement with Nodoka.

*****

One day the following week, Kasumi, Akane, and Nabiki noticed
that Ranko was dragging a bit, and picking at her breakfast. She
seemed very moody.

Kasumi asked, "Ranko-chan, is something wrong?"

Ranko snapped "Nothing!", then looked down at her food, and
sighed. "I... I'm sorry, Oneechan. Ever since I got up this
morning, I... I just feel edgy, and... and I feel a little funny,
like I have indigestion or I ate too much. I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to snap at you." She looked morose.

The Tendou sisters looked at each other. Kasumi said gently,
"Ranko-chan... I think this is probably... what your mother told
you about that first night after school."

Ranko's head snapped up. "You... you mean..." Kasumi nodded. "You
get moody and upset for a few days before it starts, and your
symptoms definitely sound right." Ranko nodded, and looked a
little frightened. "Don't forget to... be prepared." Ranko nodded
again. "Don't worry, in a few days it will be over."

On the way to school a couple of days later, Ranko was looking
morose again. She turned to Akane. "Akane, how do you put up with
this? It's... it's... gross."

Akane giggled. "You just get used to it, I guess. After a few
years, it just becomes part of life." She smiled. "I remember,
before I started, I used to think it was such a special thing,
such a mystery. My girlfriends and I were all jealous of girls
who had started already." She laughed. "What a rude awakening! I
guess the old saying is true: be careful what you wish for!" They
both laughed.

Ranko's good humor died when they walked through the front gate;
Kunou was waiting for them again. "Oh, my beauteous Ranko, fair
Akane, let me console you for your grievous loss!" He rushed
forward to embrace them.

A few seconds later, as they were stepping over his unconscious
body, Ranko said, "I think I liked it better when he attacked me
with the bokken." Akane giggled.

Unfortunately, Kunou seemed determined that day. He pestered them
at lunch, he pestered them in the hallways. And right in the
middle of her first period, too! This was the last thing she
needed right now. Ranko was fit to be tied by the time school was
over.

As she and Akane were heading home, Hirota walked up to them.
Ranko tensed, but he didn't look angry or belligerent; in fact,
he looked contrite. "Ranko-san, I was wondering... if I could
have a word with you?"

Ranko looked at Akane. "I'll wait by the gates, OK?" Ranko
nodded.

As Akane walked off, she turned to Hirota. "Yes, Hirota-kun? What
is it?"

Hirota swallowed nervously. "I... I just wanted to, y'know, sorta
apologize for... for all the mean things I said and did to ya,
you know, before." He looked down. "I... it was wrong, really
wrong. I never did nothin' that mean to someone else before, and
I feel really bad. I was just kinda... well, jealous, I guess, of
how lucky you were with the girls." He laughed, and put a hand
behind his head, embarrassed. "I feel kinda, dumb, now!"

Ranko smiled. "Th-that's OK, Hirota-kun. I... I think it's very
big of you to apologize like this. Thank you." She blushed. "I...
I'm sorry I teased you the other day."

Hirota nodded. "Anyway, I was thinkin', ya know, we... we kinda
started off on the wrong foot, and... and I was wonderin'... if,
like, maybe, you... you wanted to... like, go have some... some
coffee and talk about it?" He looked at Ranko hopefully.

Ranko was standing there with her jaw open, and shock on her
face. He... he was asking her for a date! "You... you..." she
trailed off. At that moment, she was intensely aware of what was
going on with her body right now.

Hirota's face fell. "It's... never mind." He turned to go.

Something made her speak. "Wait! Hirota-kun..." He turned back, a
questioning look on his face.

She swallowed. "I... give me a few days to think about it, OK?"
She managed a small, frightened smile. "I... I'm flattered,
really."

He smiled, and nodded. "OK." He turned and walked away.

Ranko walked slowly over to where Akane was waiting at the gates.
"He asked you for a date, didn't he?"

Ranko nodded. "Y-yes."

"How do you feel about that?"

Ranko sighed, and tears started to gather in her eyes. "I don't
know, to be honest. He was really cruel to me before, but he did
apologize sincerely, and... and I just don't know what to feel.
I... I'm not sure I want to go out with him with our history.
I... I'm not sure I want to go out with anyone, yet! And with
Kunou hitting on us all day, and I'm right in the middle of my
p-period, and... I'm just overloaded. I didn't want to think
about it, so I asked him to wait a few days." Tears were
streaming down her face. "I don't think I can deal with anything
else today."

Akane put an arm around her. "Come on, Sis. Let's just take you
home, where you can relax." Ranko nodded.

As they walked up the path to the front door, Ranko started to
relax. She'd take a nice hot bath, practice her violin, take it
easy, and regain her equilibrium. They slid open the door and
called out "Tadaima!" No one answered. Akane and Ranko looked at
each other. "They must be out." They didn't notice the extra
shoes in the genkan.

As they turned the corner into the living room, Kasumi and Nabiki
were there looking at them, and so were Soun and...

Ranko gasped. "F-father?" Genma was staring at her too, his eyes
wide. Soun looked like he was about to take root and sprout
leaves.

Oh, Kami-sama, when it rains, it pours, thought Akane.

Ranko dropped her briefcase unceremoniously on the floor.
"Father?" Suddenly, she dashed forward and wrapped her arms
around him, sobbing. "Oh, Father, where have you been? I've
missed you so much!"

Soun's jaw would have hit the floor if it wasn't attached.
Genma's eyes were about to pop out of his head. He looked down at
the girl who was hugging him. "Ran... Ranma?"

Ranko let go and backed away. Her expression turned from anguish
to fury. "You... you son of a bitch!" She reached back and
slapped him resoundingly across the face.

Hoo boy, thought Nabiki.

*****

There was a grim tableau in the Tendou living room. Genma and
Soun were still in shock, staring at Ranko. Akane was glaring
daggers at them, and had her arms around Ranko, who was sobbing
long, drawn-out sobs. They sat on the sofa, opposite their
fathers. Kasumi looked on, worried, and Nabiki regarded the whole
scene impassively, as always. There might have been a harder edge
in her gaze when she looked at Ranko's father.

Ranko choked out her words between sobs. "I... I th-thought you
luh... loved meee. H-How could you have luh... lied to me l-like
that? H-How could you have duh... done all those things? You took
me from muh... Mother, you turned me into a buh... boy..." she
lost the ability to speak.

Genma wanted to speak, but couldn't. What had happened to Ranma,
his strong, manly son? How... how could he possibly be this girl?
Well, OK, but that was so many years ago... Memories floated up
from twelve years before, painful memories. He swallowed.

Soun spoke for him. "What... what on Earth happened? We've been
gone less than two months. Ranma was a boy when we left. How is
this possible?"

Ranko looked up, fury in her face. They wondered at her neatly
styled hair, her pierced ears. "I *wasn't* a boy! And my name is
Ranko! You two should know that, more than anyone!" She started
sobbing again.

Akane spoke, ice-cold fury in her voice. "What you *didn't* know,
Daddy, is that Ranko has hated being a boy, all along. It made
her miserable. You should have seen how happy she has been since
she stopped trying to be one." Her voice took on a withering
tone. "Once *he* stopped forcing her to be one!"

Soun was in shock all over again. "Wh-what?..." he asked. He
turned to Genma, only to find a horribly guilty look on his face.
"You... you knew?!" Genma nodded.

Kasumi shook her head. "Uncle Saotome, in Kami-sama's name, why
did you push her that way?"

Genma managed to speak. "After... after what had happened... I
thought it was for the best."

Ranko's aura flared. "For the *best*? After what *happened*? What
happened happened because of you! If you hadn't taken me to
Jusenkyou by mistake, I'd still be a b-boy now!"

Genma hung his head in shame. "I know. It... it wasn't a
mistake..." he whispered.

It was Ranko and Akane's turn to be shocked; Ranko was so
startled she forgot she was crying. Even Nabiki sat up, her eyes
wide.

Akane found her voice first. "What... what did you say?"

Genma looked up. "I said, it wasn't a mistake. I took her... him
to Jusenkyou on purpose." He swallowed. "It was the first thing I
could find to undo what... I had done. It took me twelve years to
find something."

Ranko felt light-headed. "But... but... all those years... you
told me being a boy was hard, that I should be manly, that women
were weak and stupid and silly. If... if you wanted me to be a
girl again, why did you do that?"

Genma looked grim. "I had no idea if I would ever be able to help
you become a girl again. I wanted you to be able to live as a
man, since it looked like that was what you were going to be for
the rest of your life. You needed focus and discipline to be able
to deal with it. I gave you that. I... I was surprised. You
seemed to be coping, making a life for yourself." He hung his
head again. "I guess you just stopped talking about it."

Nabiki spoke. "Why should we believe you? What proof do you have
that you took Ranko to Jusenkyou on purpose?"

Ranko started, then dug in her purse. Wordlessly, she handed the
Japanese Jusenkyou brochure to Akane, whose eyes widened.

Genma nodded. "I finally heard about the place. I didn't know if
it would work against Happosai's magic, but I wanted to try."

"Why didn't you tell me then, after I fell in the Nyannichuan?
Why didn't you tell me before, for that matter?"

Genma sighed. "You were so adamant about your manhood. I didn't
know whether to believe you or not, and I thought you might not
like the idea. Why do you think I interrupted the Guide every
time he tried to tell us about the springs? When you came out of
the Nyannichuan so angry, I thought it was too late for you to
change back, that I had just made your life even worse. That's
when Tendou and I put Plan B into effect."

Stares abounded. "'Plan B'?"

Soun nodded. "We knew how close Akane and Ranko had been, so we
thought we would make it up to them by... engaging them."

Akane and Ranko both put their heads in their hands. "I... I
don't believe this..."

Ranko looked up, accusing. "Why should I believe you? You were
the one who wanted me to be a boy in the first place!"

Genma winced. "Not exactly."

Akane and Ranko looked at each other. "What do you mean?"

Soun and Genma exchanged guilty glances. "Well, we were out
drinking one night..."

"Bartender! Another sake!"

Soun and Genma clinked their glasses. "To our children!"

"Ah, Saotome, we are truly blessed. My three daughters are
wonderful."

"Indeed, Tendou. Our Ranko is a joy to us."

"And she and Akane are such friends. The family ties will
continue into the next generation. Kanpai!" They clinked and
drank again. They were starting to get a little unsteady.

"You know, Saotome, our joy would be complete if we only had sons
to carry on the Art, the family line."

"You're right, Tendou. But we have tried, and failed. Nodoka
cannot have another child, and your wife is not well."

"A shame."

"Indeed." They both grew morose.

"Bartender! Another sake!"

A half hour later, they were very, very unsteady. "Oh, Saotome,
if... if only we could be granted a magic wish, to have the sons
we want." He squinted at his sake cup.

Genma weaved uncertainly as he waved his cup. "Perhaps... perhaps
the Master... knows a way."

Soun looked frightened. "The Master?! Is... is that wise?"

Genma tried to look stern, but just looked inebriated. "Do you
want a son, Tendou? It may be the only way!"

Soun nodded. "You are right, Saotome."

Some hours later, they had managed to find their way -- after
repeated detours -- to the cave where the Master was
incarcerated. They pushed aside the boulders blocking the cave,
falling over in a heap in the process.

A second later, Happosai rapped them both on the head with his
pipe, and was perched on Genma's head. "You boys have been very
naughty. It's about time; it was quite damp in there."

They prostrated themselves, easily since they were already lying
on the ground. "Oh... oh Master! Forgive us!"

He sighed. Pathetic, as usual. And did they smell of sake...
phew. And they hadn't brought any for him! "Oh, I suppose. Are
you ready to resume your training?"

"Forgive us, Master. We have families now, and cannot leave
them."

He nodded. "I see. I assume you didn't come to let me out from
the goodness of your hearts?"

They looked at each other. "Well, Master, we... we were hoping
you could help us with a problem."

He sighed. "Oh?"

"We have only daughters, Master. We... we have no sons to carry
on the family lines."

Happosai licked his lips. "Did... did you say daughters?"

Soun nodded. "Yes, I have three, and Saotome has one." He wept.
"And we cannot have any more children!"

Happosai was still focused on one thing. "How... how old are
they?"

Genma had to think a while; thinking was kind of difficult at the
moment. "The... the oldest is... seven, I think."

Happosai's face fell. "Rats. Oh well, have to come back in a few
years. Anyway, how do you think I can help?"

Soun looked up. "We... we thought that maybe... you knew some
magic that could give us the sons we want!"

Happosai thought. "Well, I do know one little trick, but I'm not
sure you're going to like it... I know I sure don't." He sighed.
"What a waste..."

Genma and Soun weren't attending very well. "Oh, thank you,
Master, thank you! We knew you could help us!" They sobbed on him
in gratitude.

Happosai brushed them off. "Yes, yes... Well, if you *really*
want to do this, you must each bring me one of your daughters."

This almost penetrated the drunken haze the two were swimming in.
Almost. "Our... our daughters?"

Happosai nodded in irritation. "Yes, your daughters! Do you want
a son or not?"

That was enough. "Oh yes, Master, right away!"

*****

Tendou Keiko couldn't sleep. This "condition" her doctors refused
to discuss with her sometimes kept her up at night. She was
trying to read a book and relax, when she heard a noise coming
from down the hall. It... it sounded like a window being opened!
Oh, where was that fool husband of hers when she needed him?

She gulped, and hoped she remembered enough of the martial arts
her husband had tried to teach her to cope with a simple burglar.
She crept down the hall, and stopped. The noises were coming from
Akane's room! Her baby!

She slowly slid the door open and peeked in, then slammed it open
the rest of the way and turned the light on. "Dear! What on Earth
are you doing in here?!"

Soun was holding the sleeping Akane in his arms, and was weaving
to and fro. The window was open, and he had clearly come in that
way. "I... I need to take her to... the Master."

Keiko showed the temper Akane had inherited. "The Master?! Are
you insane? Don't you dare take my baby to that perverted gnome!
Why in Kami-sama's name would you do that?"

Soun looked down at the little girl sleeping in his arms, and his
head seemed to clear a little. "Maybe... maybe you're right." He
gently laid her back in her bed, leaned over to kiss her, and
promptly fell on top of her as he passed out. Akane started to
cry.

Keiko rolled her eyes. "Men..."

The next morning, Genma woke slowly. His head was throbbing, and
from the taste, he was sleeping face down in the dirt. He spit it
out and tried to open his eyes. Morning light flooded in; that
was a mistake. He snapped them shut again.

After a few minutes, he groaned, and sat up, opening his eyes. He
hadn't been that drunk in a long, long time. What was he doing
out here, anyway? Suddenly, his heart nearly stopped. Ranko!
Where was she? Why had he been stupid enough to take her out at
night when he was drunk? He looked around. She... she wasn't
anywhere to be seen! Nearby there was a small boy sleeping, but
where was his daughter?! He got up in a panic and started to
search, then stopped. Blurry memories from last night resurfaced,
and he whipped around to look at the boy...

The black-haired boy who was the spitting image of Ranko. He
slept fitfully, and his face showed that he had been crying,
hard. He squirmed and moaned in his sleep. Genma sank to his
knees. He looked around; the Master was nowhere in sight.

"Oh... Kami-sama... Ranko... I..." His baby girl... what had he
done?

Nodoka. Her katana. Nodoka would... would... Genma's heart felt
like it turned to stone. He knew in that moment that he and
his... son could never go home again.

Genma looked up from recounting his tale. All of the daughters
were staring at him, except Akane, who was looking at her father.
"D-daddy? Are you saying... that if... if Mother hadn't been
awake that night?..."

Soun nodded in shame. Akane's eyes rolled up, and she fell over
against Ranko in a dead faint. Ranko put her arms around her.

Nabiki tried hard not to laugh. How typical of these two, to have
it all be a huge bungle. She looked at the brochure, which had
made its way to her. "Why did you circle both springs, Uncle?"

Genma shook his head. "I knew I couldn't knock him into the one I
wanted if I didn't distract him. That one was right next to the
Nyannichuan; it was perfect."

Ranko's eyes went wide. "You... you fell in the Shonmaoniichuan
on purpose? You... you became cursed in order to try to help me?"

Genma nodded.

It was a good thing Ranko was holding the unconscious Akane, as
she served as support when Ranko fainted, too.

*****

While Kasumi was ministering to Ranko and Akane, Genma took his
pack upstairs to put it away. He slid the door open...

Slowly, he looked around. The pastel walls, the lacy curtains.
Stuffed animals and dolls on the bed, including one doll he
remembered from his daughter's childhood. A vanity, a makeup kit.
A hanger on the closet door, waiting for a uniform.

He opened the closet, and looked at the array of dresses, skirts,
blouses and slacks. He closed the closet, pulled open a dresser
drawer at random, and took a look inside, then slammed it shut,
his face red. On top of the dresser, a photo of their family in
happier times. He looked at the desk; there was a notebook. On it
was a tiny picture, a sticker: Ranko, Akane, and two of Akane's
friends, all crowded into a photo booth and wearing goofy smiles.

He looked around again, and spotted the music stand in the
corner. He walked over, noted the violin case sitting next to it,
the music books. She was taking violin? He shook his head.

He walked over and sat on the bed, snorting when he saw the
stuffed panda. He looked around the room once more. No, he
wouldn't be sleeping in here any more.

He had told himself for years that he would do anything to get
his daughter back, even as he tried to make his son a man, so he
could survive and deal with the situation Genma had put him in.
Now, it looked like his daughter *was* back... except, he didn't
know this girl, and the son he had loved and reared was gone. He
had grown used to having a son... He felt guilty, knowing he had
no right to have a son, but he couldn't help the way he felt. He
put his head in his hands.

Moments later, the door slid open, and he looked up. His daughter
was standing there, arms folded, looking him over. She still wore
her Furinkan uniform. Once again, he looked over this girl: the
styled, unbound hair, the pierced ears. He had seen this body a
hundred times, but not the person who wore it now. And yet, this
girl was his child, the same person who was that boy he had
raised. He just didn't understand this at all.

She walked in, closed the door, and leaned back against it, her
hands behind her back. "I came up to change."

Genma nodded, and started to get up. "That's OK. It... it can
wait a minute." He sat back down.

She looked around the room. "It's pretty different, isn't it?"

He nodded. What else could he do? "Yes." He wondered if he should
say it, then went ahead anyway. "So... so are you."

She nodded, a neutral expression on her face. "Yes. I... I'm not
Ranma any more, Father. I'm me." She lost a bit of control, and a
tear escaped. "I never knew how wonderful it could be just to say
those words: I'm me." She took a deep breath. "And I had to go
through a lot of changes to be able to say them."

Genma shook his head. "I... I know you're the same person, but...
I just don't understand. What happened?"

She laughed humorlessly. "All I did was stop pretending to be a
boy and start acting the way my feelings told me to, Father." She
shook her head. "It may sound easy, but letting go of being Ranma
was one of the hardest things I've ever done, the hardest battle
I ever fought. You did a good job drilling all that stuff into
me. You know, about how girls were weak, stupid, silly, an
obstacle to the Art? Remember all that?" She was glaring. "Do you
know how all that... garbage made me feel about myself, when I
felt like a girl inside?"

He looked down. "I... I thought it would help you feel good about
being a boy. I thought if you thought being a girl was worse,
then maybe... it wouldn't bother you so much."

She was still glaring. "Well, it didn't help. And when I arrived
here, and spewed all that back at my dearest friend, my sister,
she nearly killed me! And you had the nerve to engage us to each
other on top of that! When we were both girls!"

Genma looked surprised. "But... I thought... you were a boy...
wouldn't you?..."

Ranko nodded. "Yes, I was a boy. But I was still me inside, and I
sure knew there was something about that engagement I didn't
like. Besides, by that time, I was already spending time in my
girl form. That made the engagement even worse! I was so
confused." She sighed.

Genma closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I ruined your life, and then I
kept making it worse."

Her gaze softened. "Father, I..."

"I don't even have the right to be your father. I've been telling
myself all these years how happy I would be if I could get my
little girl back. Now you are back, but I feel like you're a
stranger, and... and the boy I raised is gone." He sighed. "I
miss him."

Ranko stared at her father for a few moments, then shook her
head. "Father, in one sense that boy *is* gone. I... it's a long
story, but Happosai's spell and the Jusenkyou curse are both
gone. I'm just plain Ranko again. I'll never be a boy again as
long as I live. *Especially* if I have anything to say about it."
She paused. "But... in another way, I'm still me. I'm still your
child. I haven't forgotten our years together. I'm not Ranma any
more, but... I'm still me."

He nodded, and once again put his head in his hands. "I... I
understand. I think."

He was surprised when he felt slim arms wrap around him. He
opened his eyes, and found his daughter sitting next to him on
the bed, hugging him as best she could given their relative
sizes. She smiled. "So don't you think it's time you started
getting to know your daughter?"

Genma felt the beginnings of hope, and nodded.

*****

After almost two months of neglect, the shogi board was in use
again, as Genma and Soun played a game. It almost seemed like
everything was back to normal, which of course was hardly the
case.

Akane glared at Genma from behind her book. His explanation of
the situation had dissuaded her from killing him, but she still
had not forgiven him for the ordeal he had put poor Ranko
through. And her own father had almost done the same thing! The
revelation earlier still sent chills up her spine.

Nabiki was more forgiving. She had always known that Genma was an
irresponsible fool, and frankly, this was just par for the
course. Ranko was now in the care of her mother and of her de
facto sisters; the past was the past. Nabiki was focused on the
future: helping her little sister recover from what had happened,
and build a normal life for herself. As usual, she was reading a
business magazine in an armchair.

Kasumi, of course, could never think such uncomplimentary
thoughts about Uncle Saotome, or anyone. She was simply glad that
he and Father had returned, and that he seemed to be trying to
reach out to his daughter. She shared Nabiki's focus on setting
Ranko's life aright. At the moment, she was in the kitchen,
making dinner.

Genma was wondering how he was going to train his daughter, and
whether he could still outrun Nodoka when she was wielding her
katana. Being around here now that Nodoka knew was dangerous,
but... he couldn't stay away from his child.

He was trying to figure out how best to cheat on his next move
when music started emanating from somewhere in the house. He
looked around, not noticing as Soun palmed a few pieces. "Could
someone turn that radio off? I'm trying to think."

Akane cleared her throat. "That's not a radio, Uncle Saotome.
Ranko is practicing her violin."

Genma looked up at the ceiling, jaw agape, as Soun palmed several
more pieces. Ranma had never touched a violin when Genma had
left. How could he... she play so well now?

Twenty minutes later, Ranko came down, wearing jeans and a cotton
top with a bright print. She looked around and smiled at the
shogi game. She felt better after practicing. She stretched,
tilting her head first one way and then the other. "Ahhh... that
felt nice. I feel better." She shook her head. "What a day!" She
went over and sat next to Akane on the sofa.

Genma looked up. "Did something else happen today?"

Ranko rolled her eyes. "What didn't happen today? Kunou was
hitting on Akane and me all day, a boy who hated me before summer
break asked me out on a date, and as if *that* wasn't enough,
I'm..." she stopped suddenly, and exchanged glances with Akane.
She wasn't ready to discuss this with her father yet.

Genma continued playing. "You're what?"

"I... I... it's a girl thing."

Genma's eyes widened, but he said nothing. "I trust you taught
the boy who asked you out a lesson." When there was no answer, he
looked up, to find his daughter glaring at him.

"Why should I, Father? He's a boy, and I'm a girl! He has every
right to ask."

"But... you're engaged!"

Ranko couldn't quite believe this. "Father, the engagements are
all over. That was the first thing Mother did after we were
reunited. I'm a girl, for goodness' sake! Legally, I can't marry
any of them. Besides... I don't *want* to marry another woman."

Genma stuttered. "But... you..."

"Father, do you want grandchildren?"

"What? Of course! But you and Akane..." suddenly he stopped.
"Uhhhh..."

"There isn't going to be a 'me and Akane', Father, not that way.
If you want grandchildren, I am going to be their *mother*." She
paused in wonder; she could actually say it now. "They'll need a
father, too, you know. That's how it works." Akane was watching
this exchange and trying hard to keep from laughing. Nabiki
wasn't bothering to; she was snickering over in the armchair.

Ranko thought his eyes were going to pop out. "You... you...
boys..." He couldn't say it.

She nodded. "Yes, Father, I... I do." She shuddered; admitting
this was harder than she thought it would be. "I... like boys.
That way." He was still looking at her in shock. "Father, I'm a
girl! Girls usually like boys! Is there something wrong with
that?"

He stared at her a long time. "Before... did you..."

She shook her head. "I wasn't interested in anyone then. Boys or
girls. They both felt wrong. I... I just didn't care."

He nodded. "And... this boy... are you...?"

She sighed. "I haven't decided yet. He wasn't very nice to me
earlier. I don't know if I'm going to give him a second chance or
not. I... I don't know if I like him that much." Akane thought,
Ryouga is much more of a gentleman, Ranko, but didn't say
anything.

Genma's head was spinning as he nodded, then looked back to the
shogi board, expecting to find it rearranged after he had been
distracted for so long. Fortunately, Soun was distracted too; he
had followed the whole exchange in equal disbelief. Genma smiled.
Saved!

After playing for a while, he asked "And the Art? Have you kept
up your training?"

Ranko cringed; this was going to be ugly. "No."

Genma's head snapped up. "Wh-what? Why not?" He grew angry. "How
can you expect to be a great martial artist if you don't
practice?"

Ranko glared back. "I don't want to *be* a great martial artist,
Father. Not when the price is devoting my entire life to it. Now
that I *have* a life, I don't need a distraction any more to keep
me from noticing I *don't* have one!"

"So, you've given up? You've turned your back on our family's
school?"

Ranko's temper went up like a Roman candle, and she shot to her
feet, her hands on her hips. "Our family's school? And who
founded that, Father? The pervert who turned me into a boy?!" She
paused, fuming. "No, I haven't turned my back on it, because I do
enjoy it. It's just not my whole life any more. I spar with Akane
for 45 minutes every morning. That's it. That is all the time I
am willing to put into it, Father." She was starting to cry and
practically shouting now. "I want to live my life, not turn it
into a monument to the Art! Monuments are for DEAD PEOPLE!!" She
spun on her heels and stalked off into the kitchen. Akane sighed;
Uncle Saotome could not have picked a worse day to come home. She
heard crying noises coming from the kitchen, and Kasumi murmuring
something comforting. She got up to go help.

Genma felt a chill run up his spine. The way she talked, the look
in her eyes... she was just like her mother. He hoped she didn't
have a katana hidden away somewhere. He heard the crying from the
kitchen, and closed his eyes. He... he didn't even know how to
talk to her any more. He had no idea how to be the father of a
teenage girl. This was what he had wanted, wasn't it? To have his
daughter back, to undo the disaster he had caused? He had told
himself that, but his son had been there. It had been so easy to
get lost in the dream of finally having a son, a son who would
follow in his footsteps. But that was the problem, wasn't it? It
had been just a dream, and it was time to wake up. He turned his
attention back to the board. It had been completely rearranged,
and Soun was innocently looking off into the garden. Genma
scowled.

A few minutes later, Kasumi called everyone in to dinner. Genma
looked over at Ranko, but she was still glaring at him. He took a
seat a little further away.

Katana or no, he had looked forward to Kasumi's cooking. He cast
his hungry eyes over the dishes; so many! Suddenly he stopped.
"Red beans and rice? What's the occasion?" He didn't notice Ranko
and Akane looking at each other in shock.

Kasumi beamed. "Today is a very special day! We're celebrating
Ranko-chan's menarche."

There was complete and total silence in the dining room. Ranko
was beet red, and Akane had an arm around her. Nabiki rolled her
eyes. Oneechan definitely continued to surprise her... in many
ways. She knew Kasumi was simply thinking of Ranko as if she were
any other girl; this was what was traditional, and what Kasumi
had done for herself and for Akane. But Ranko was still getting
used to the whole idea... Genma and Soun looked a little pasty.

Genma finally found his voice. "M-m-menarche?"

Kasumi looked confused. "Don't you know? Her first period!"

Genma turned white. "Oh. Yes, that's what I thought you meant."

*****

After dinner, Genma and Soun were back at the shogi board, to
finish their game. Kasumi had brought them tea, and they took a
sip every now and then as each pondered how to pull a fast one on
the other. Normally, it wasn't quite as easy as it had been
before dinner, when Ranma... Ranko was producing revelation after
revelation.

Genma had felt guilty ever since unintentionally causing Ranko to
be transformed into a boy, and he had searched for a cure for
years, but he found himself troubled by the actual achievement of
this goal. He knew that he had a daughter again, instead of a
son, but... he didn't quite know how to deal with it. He had
thought that if Ranma became Ranko again, she would be pretty
much the same person, just... a girl. But Ranko seemed very
different from Ranma.

Akane came down from her room, where she'd gone after dinner to
finish a last bit of homework. She looked around. "Where's
Ranko?"

Nabiki looked up from her textbook on accounting. "She's in the
bath. She said she needed a good long soak after today."

Akane brightened. "That sounds wonderful! I think I'll join her."

Suddenly there was a spitting sound, and Akane turned to see
Uncle Saotome wiping tea off his face while giving her father a
dirty look.

"Akane! How can you do that?" wailed Soun.

Akane was confused. "Do what?"

"Waaaah! My little girl is taking a bath with her fiancee!"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Daddy, she's not my fiancee! Ranko's
mother ended all the engagements!"

Soun thought for a moment. "Oh. You're right. Waaaah! My little
girl is taking a bath with a boy!"

Akane was starting to get angry. "Daddy, she's not a boy!"

Soun paused. "Oh. That is true, isn't it?"

"Besides, it's hardly the first time I've bathed with her."

The two men looked at each other. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that we did lots of things together this summer. Auntie
took us along to Hakone when she went to meet a classmate, and we
used the hot springs. Some other girls came over and sat with us,
too. It was good for Ranko, it helped her get used to being
around other girls in situations like that. And Auntie also took
us to a beach cottage in Ibaraki with Sayuri, Yuka, and Ukyou,
and we all slept and changed in the same room. Besides, she's
attending school as a girl. She uses the girls' facilities there.
So it's not a big deal at all."

Soun nodded his head, stroking his chin, while Genma was trying
to get his jaw to close. Somehow, the abstract knowledge that she
was a girl didn't quite compare to details like this about her
life. Akane shrugged, and went off to the bath. Genma swallowed.
Ranko was right: he had to try to get to know her again. He had
thought he knew who his child was, but...

Ranko was trying hard to relax. This had been one of the most
stressful days of her life. She sank a little deeper into the
water, trying to get her muscles to loosen up.

Suddenly the door slid open, and Akane was standing there. Ranko
sat up straight with a start. They paused and looked at each
other for a moment, then laughed. Ranko shook her head. "Every
time you come in like that, I still can't help remembering the
first time you walked in on me in the bath." Akane nodded and
smiled. "At least I don't try to brain you any more!" They
laughed again.

She went to the stool, sat down, and started washing. "Our
fathers are having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new you. I
guess I can understand it. We had weeks to get used to it, but
they're getting it all at once."

Ranko brooded. "I don't know what to do about Father. It's like
we don't understand each other any more. He doesn't know what to
do with me, and I... I guess I don't know how to deal with him."
She sighed.

Akane rinsed herself off. "You may just have to give it time,
Sis. I... sometimes I think I knew you better than he did. All he
ever seemed to do was lecture you about martial arts. But I... I
always felt that connection with you. Somehow, when this all came
out, it... it wasn't really a surprise to me." She walked over to
the bath, and put her hands on her hips in mock indignation. "Are
you going to give me some room?" Ranko giggled, and scooted over.
Akane got in. Ohhhhh, did that feel good... she could feel the
tension starting to leave her muscles. She sighed and leaned
back.

She frowned for a second as she tried to recover her train of
thought. "I mean, it was a surprise in one sense, but... somehow,
it seemed... I don't know, right." She shook her head. "I don't
think your father sees you the same way."

Ranko looked sad. "He told me that he misses his son. It's...
it's almost like he doesn't know me. Like I'm someone else to
him."

Akane shook her head. "But you're not a completely different
person. Your father will understand that eventually."

"I hope so..." said Ranko, and sighed.

*****

Genma lay on his futon in the Dojo, trying to sleep. He hadn't
felt it right to sleep in Ranko's room, and everyone else seemed
to agree; no one had so much as mentioned that as an option.
Kasumi had apologized, saying they would work out new sleeping
arrangements the next day. He rolled over on his side and stared
at the "i-ro-ha" sign on the wall.

He was still somewhat in shock. Ever since Ranko had come home
from school, it had been driven home time after time that she was
no longer Ranma, his son. The way she behaved, the relationship
between her and Akane, her activities over the summer, even the
expressions on her face. Ranma could never have done the things
this girl did. And yet, he knew she *was* Ranma, was his child,
born a girl, raised a boy, and now a girl again. He had always
loved her/him, and now he felt a gulf between them. He didn't
quite know where to begin crossing that gulf. He sighed.

A tentative knock came at the Dojo door, followed by a soft
voice. "Father? May I come in?"

Genma rolled over and sat up. "Sure." He couldn't sleep anyway.

The door slid open, and Ranko turned the lights on. She stood
there, wearing light green pajamas with satin trim, her red hair
now cascading past her shoulders after growing out all summer. It
looked a little unruly; she must have been having trouble
sleeping, too.

She walked over to his futon and sat down. "I... I wanted to say
I'm sorry for yelling at you that way earlier. You made me angry,
but still... I felt bad..." She cast her eyes down.

He nodded. "I guess I was... expecting you to still be Ranma,
and... you're not." He paused. "Tell me... I want to hear what
happened to you while I was gone. The whole story, from the
beginning."

Ranko nodded, and looked off into the distance. "I... well, when
Mother was telling me I was her daughter, I... I just couldn't
believe her. At first I thought she must be mistaken, that she
wasn't my mother after all. But even after she convinced me she
was, I thought she must be... you know... crazy or something."
She blushed. "I mean, I knew I was a boy until Jusenkyou. I... I
had forgotten about being a girl." She looked pensive for a few
moments. "Even though I... I felt like I wanted to be a girl,
that I didn't like being a boy, I thought those feelings were
wrong, bad,... perverted. You... you taught me to prize my
manhood, to hold it up over everything else." She smiled
uncertainly. "You taught me well; I fought back against what she
was telling me as hard as I could.

"She showed me photographs, she even showed me home video of
Akane and I having a tea party with our dolls." She giggled, and
memories drifted up from the back of Genma's mind: he had taken
that video. "But then... she showed me my room, from when I was a
little girl, and there was this photograph of me holding up this
big c-cat, and I remembered. I remembered that, and I remembered
her constantly telling me not to do that, because it got... hairs
all over my dress." She shook her head. "I... I couldn't deny the
truth any more. She might be crazy, but... but now I remembered
being a girl myself. I couldn't deny that.

"Well, after that, I went to pieces really quickly. I had all
these bottled-up feelings inside, about hating being a boy,
wanting to be a girl. I could keep them under control when I
thought I was a boy, but once I found out I was really a girl,
I... I just couldn't do that any more." She started to sniffle a
little.

"I... I decided to tell Akane everything. What I was feeling, how
I felt about being a boy and being a girl. I had to tell someone,
and somehow, I couldn't imagine telling anyone else. Not even
Mother." She smiled through her tears. "Bless Akane's heart, she
showed me that she and Kasumi really are sisters after all. She
took me by the hand and never let go. She took me to Cologne and
Dr. Tofu, who showed me that I was lying to myself about how I
felt." She sighed shakily. "I tried holding out for another week,
until school was over. But I couldn't look at myself the same way
any more. When I saw my female form in the mirror, it stopped
being 'my cursed body' and started being 'me', just because I...
I knew it *was* me. I dreamed about being a girl. Finally, the
last day of school, the boys in the locker room pulled that
stupid stunt they sometimes do, turning cold water on me..." She
trailed off, and a look of fear came over her face.

Genma had never worried about Ranma being able to take care of
himself, but somehow, this revelation was making him very
nervous. "What... what happened?"

She broke out of her distraction, then gave a short laugh. "I...
I screamed my head off. This time, they weren't looking at some
cursed form, they were looking at *me*." She shivered. "I never
felt so violated before in my life."

Genma found himself nodding, saying "Yes? Go on..."

Ranko giggled. "Akane came to the rescue. She came right into the
boy's locker room to get me. She took me back to the girl's
locker room, and she and Ucchan finally got me to calm down." She
shook her head. "That forced me to face the truth; I wasn't going
to be able to close Pandora's box. All my female feelings were
coming out, and I couldn't stop them. Dr. Tofu had suggested I
spend summer break as a girl, and that night I decided to try it.
I wore some of the clothes I already had, and Kasumi styled my
hair. The next day I went shopping with Mother." She giggled. "I
thought we were going to buy out the whole store. I *still*
haven't worn that green formal dress..." She paused. "Akane and I
moved in with Mother for the summer. Mother... being with her
again, living at home in my old room, seeing her every day,
feeling her love... I... I never realized how much I had missed
M-Mother." Suddenly, there were tears in her eyes, and she
stopped speaking.

After a while, she wiped her eyes and continued. "She's even
teaching me how to cook." She thought for a few moments more.
"You know, after that, I never looked back. Cologne locked my
curse for me, temporarily, so I wouldn't change. Sayuri and Yuka,
Akane's friends from school, managed to find out what had
happened, and we spent time with them, and now... now they're my
friends, too. We went with them to Harajuku, we went to Hakone
and met some new friends from Yokohama there, we went to Ibaraki
with Sayuri and Yuka and Ucchan." She laughed. "Ryouga managed to
find us there, and after trying to kill me again, he found out
what was going on. He calls me 'Ranko-san' now." She smiled. "We
even went with Shampoo to Tokyo Disneyland."

His eyes bugged out. "With... Shampoo?!"

She nodded. "Yes, Cologne told me the Kiss of Death and the Kiss
of Marriage were both nullified, though she wouldn't say why.
She's helped me a lot, and Shampoo is attending Furinkan now.
She's my friend, too." She smiled. "Anyway, I... I never had such
a wonderful time in my life. I have so many friends now,
wonderful friends. The whole summer was like a dream, and I
didn't want to wake up. Being a girl, spending time with Akane
and other girls, I... I don't know why it made such a big
difference. I used to think it didn't matter. You know, if you're
a boy you're a boy, if you're a girl you're a girl; you just live
with whatever you are, and you could be happy either way."

She shook her head. "But that's not true. I learned this summer
that I had to be a girl to be really happy. I'm still not sure I
understand why, but I know it's true. Dr. Tofu says it's because
I was still a girl inside. Anyway, when the temporary lock on my
curse wore off, I discovered I couldn't stand being a boy any
more. I hated looking at myself in the mirror that way. And it
was a good thing, too. Cologne's magic had messed up Happosai's
spell, and within a week all the spells on me had broken. I was
just an ordinary, unenchanted, uncursed girl again." Her voice
became soft, and he could hear the emotion in it. "And that made
me so happy." For a minute, she didn't say anything.

"After... after that, it was time for school. Mother
re-registered me as a girl, and I stood in front of my class the
first day and told them my whole history. I thought I was going
to die, but I was surprised. A few people still didn't believe
me, but almost everyone has been wonderful. The girls have
completely accepted me, and almost all the boys, too. And... and
I like school, for the very first time. I like being with my
friends, with the other girls." She smiled a dreamy smile. After
a few moments, she said "I guess... that's about it."

He nodded. "What about the violin?"

Ranko smiled again. "I decided to take music as an elective this
term. During the first class, Sensei had us try out various
instruments, and when I tried the violin..." her voice trailed
off. "I... I felt something special. I really like playing the
violin. It's like it's playing me while I'm playing it." She
looked up at him. "You should come by and meet Kobayakawa-sensei
some time. I see her Fridays, right after school."

She was silent for a few moments, then giggled. "You know,
Father, if you hadn't trained me to be a martial artist, if you
hadn't eaten the prize that day in the Amazon village and set
Cologne and Shampoo on our trail, I never would have learned the
Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken and all those other techniques. And
those are what gave me the skills I need to play the violin." She
smiled up at him. "Isn't that funny?" Her smiling face provoked
further memories from long ago...

Genma was in a bit of shock. Ever since the incident with
Happosai, Ranma had been a tight-lipped child. He responded when
spoken to, or when provoked, but he just hadn't talked much. He
had kept his feelings to himself, except on rare occasions when
he had confessed how he felt about being a boy, and those had
ceased after he passed the age of 10. Once more, Genma was struck
by the difference between Ranma and Ranko. Had all this feeling,
all this passion, all this love and friendship, all these smiles
and giggles, really been bottled up inside Ranma? He felt even
more guilty for what he had done. No, Ranma wasn't gone. Parts of
Ranma that he hadn't seen in twelve years were visible again, and
they were overshadowing the reticent martial artist and son, the
only facet of his child that he had known.

He smiled. He'd have to get to know these parts of his child, the
parts he hadn't seen in so long. "I... I think I'm starting to
understand, Ranko."

She smiled a happy smile. "I'm glad."

He shook his head. "I... I'm so used to thinking of you as Ranma.
It will take me a long time to forget that."

Ranko shook her head. "You don't have to forget Ranma, Father.
I... I haven't. I was him, and... he was me, too. Saotome Ranma,
man amongst men, was a girl." She giggled, and he nodded
thoughtfully.

She got up from her sitting position and kneeled. "We should both
probably get to sleep." He nodded, and she began to get up, then
hesitated. "Never forget something else, either." She leaned
forward on impulse, and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you...
Daddy. I always will." She blushed, rose quickly, and walked out,
turning out the light and closing the door.

Genma rubbed his cheek. More memories floated up... a four year
old face, surrounded by a halo of red hair, kissing him and
saying those very same words: "I love you, Daddy." He smiled.
Maybe he knew who this girl was, after all.

*****

Saotome Genma, master of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes
Martial Arts, sat on the porch and sulked. His daughter had
informed him that morning that she planned to continue sparring
with Akane. She had apologized, saying she would work out
something with him this weekend, but her mornings were planned
now, and she didn't want to throw her schedule off. He watched as
the two girls sparred. He was relieved to see that Ranko hadn't
slacked off completely. Something about the way they were
sparring bothered him, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Akane and Ranko both had smiles on their faces, and they talked a
bit in between moves. He couldn't quite make it out, but it was
about school, about their friends; small talk. He shook his head.
Ranma had always been intently focused on his Art.

Suddenly, Ranko took Akane down with a leg sweep. They were both
still smiling, and Ranko reached down to help Akane up. Instead,
she yanked on Ranko's hand and pulled her down too, the two of
them tangled in a heap. They both shrieked with laughter, before
getting up and continuing their workout.

Images floated up in Genma's mind, images of two little girls
playing together. When he had brought Ranma to the Tendous, he
had thought the two would resume their close relationship. It had
been a bitter disappointment when they had fought constantly; it
was one more thing in his child's life that he had ruined. Now,
though, he couldn't watch them without constantly being reminded
of their childhood. They seemed as close as they had ever been;
maybe closer. Clearly, Ranko being a girl had made all the
difference, just as she had said last night.

Akane and Ranko finished and bowed to each other. Ranko walked
over to her father, and smiled. "Really, Father, I'll spar with
you tomorrow, OK? Today is Friday. I'll redo my schedule for
school days, too, for next week." She gave him a wink and put on
a stern look. "Don't sulk, it's not manly!" Genma spluttered, and
she giggled and ran off to clean up. He shook his head and
smiled.

A few minutes later, cleaned up and in their school uniforms,
Akane and Ranko came to the breakfast table, and they all sat
down to eat. They both had their briefcases, and Ranko had her
violin. Once again, he watched as she ate politely and neatly;
clearly Nodoka's doing. She and Akane talked about the day's
classes, about their friends, and tried to come up with a plan
for what to do this weekend. They finished, and Ranko looked at
her watch. "Oh my! I think we're going to have to hurry, Sis!"
Genma's eyes widened; obviously, she'd been picking up things
from Kasumi, too. They both stood, picking up their school
things. Ranko turned to her father. "Don't forget, Father, please
stop by some Friday and meet my violin sensei, OK?" She smiled,
and he nodded. They headed for the door, called out "itte
kimasu!" and were on their way, "itte 'rasshai" following them
out.

They walked quickly while talking. "Ranko, you seem to be getting
along better with your father today."

Ranko nodded. "I went and had a long talk with him in the Dojo
last night. I... I think he's starting to understand what
happened. He's starting to see me as his daughter again." She
smiled. "By last night, I... I felt better, too. Not so angry."

Akane smiled. "Usually once it starts, your emotions level off
again. It's something to keep in mind when it's that time of
month." Ranko nodded.

The gates of Furinkan came into view. "I wonder if Father will
come to school today..."

As they walked through, Kunou presented himself. They sighed. "My
loves, now that you are both unattached, why will you not date
with me? Surely there can be no man worthier for both your hands!
Come, accept my love!"

Moments later, Ranko turned momentarily to look at Kunou's
unconscious body as they proceeded into the school. "You know,
I'm getting pretty good at doing that in a dress." She smiled at
Akane. "Thanks for the tips!" Akane giggled and nodded.

One of the girls spotted Ranko taking something out of her purse
in the restroom that day, and the word spread among the girls at
Furinkan like wildfire. In the locker room after PE, many girls
came by and commiserated with her. It was odd, despite the
universal agreement about how bothersome it was, she could tell
that there was an undercurrent of congratulations and respect.
Sayuri had winked at her: "Welcome to the club, for what it's
worth." They had both giggled. Ranko felt truly accepted; she
shared something with them all that was definitely girls-only.
Too bad it had to be *this*...

She dressed, and hurried to the music room for her lesson with
Kobayakawa-sensei. She slid the door open, and Sensei was there
waiting for her, but her father was not. She sighed.

Sensei frowned. "What's wrong, Ranko-chan?"

She smiled sadly. "I... I was hoping my father might be here
today. I told him about the lessons, and I asked him to come meet
you some day, but... I guess he didn't want to come today..."

Sensei smiled. "I'm sure he will eventually." She glanced at the
window. "You know, now that you mention it, there was a
middle-aged man standing out there a while ago, at the gates. I
wonder..."

Ranko had rushed to the window. Sure enough, Father was standing
just inside the gates, watching as students passed him by on the
way home, looking as if he were unsure whether to come in or not.
She turned excitedly to Kobayakawa-sensei. "That's him!" She
opened the window, and was about to yell to him, then stopped.
Shampoo and Ucchan were stealthily approaching him from behind,
bonbori and spatula at the ready! What... what were they doing?
Ranko saw Shampoo preparing to spring. "Father! Look out behind
you!" He turned, in time to dodge Shampoo's first blow, barely.
He twisted as Ukyou's spatula whistled through the space where he
had been a moment before. She couldn't tell what they were saying
to him, but she could tell they were very, very angry and were
shouting. Her father was very skilled, but she didn't know how
long he could hold up against two martial artists like Shampoo
and Ucchan.

Ranko turned to Sensei, who had rushed up to the window next to
her. "Sensei, excuse me a moment, I'll be right back!" She leapt
out the window, praying she still knew how to land after a jump
from the third story. She landed fine, but her face turned bright
red as she realized she didn't know how to do this properly in a
dress. Thankfully, there hadn't been any boys watching; all the
students were watching the fight. Akane seemed to have already
gone home.

She charged across the schoolyard. "Shampoo! Ucchan!" she yelled.
"Stop! Please stop! What are you doing?"

Shampoo turned to see Ranko running full tilt across the cracked
asphalt schoolyard, her school dress whipping against her legs.
"Good. Ranko coming to help us finish him off." As Ranko drew
closer, however, Shampoo and Ukyou could hear her shouting "Stop!
Please! Don't hurt Father! Please!!"

They backed off, confused, but still kept a wary eye on Genma to
keep him from escaping. Genma was breathing hard; he hadn't been
in a battle like that in a while. Ranko dashed up and wrapped her
arms around him. "Father! Are... are you all right?"

Several of the girls who had been watching looked at each other.
"That's her *father*? The bastard who turned her into a boy?!"
They grew angry, and murmurs ran through the crowd. Genma
swallowed nervously.

Ranko turned to Shampoo and Ukyou, a little out of breath.
"What... what were you two doing? Why did you attack him?" Her
eyes showed her confusion.

Her two friends looked perplexed as well. "Ranchan, after what he
did to you... why are you protecting him?" Shampoo nodded.
"Pervert panda hurt Ranko very badly. Amazon law says I must
punish those who hurt sisters."

Tears started to gather in Ranko's eyes. "Because... because he's
my father, and I love him, that's why! Besides, he... he didn't
mean to hurt me. It was all a stupid accident." She turned around
and hugged her father as she cried. Slowly, Genma brought his
arms up around his daughter, and held her. Old feelings stirred
within him...

Ukyou and Shampoo looked at each other. "An *accident*? He turned
you into a boy by *accident*?" Ukyou folded her arms, and looked
skeptical. "Would you mind telling me how *that* happened?"

Ranko was calming down, wiping her eyes and sniffling a bit.
"He... he and Uncle Tendou got really, really drunk one night,
and told Happosai they wanted sons. They meant they wanted sons
*in addition to* their daughters. Happosai told them he could do
it if they each brought a daughter to him. They... they were too
drunk to realize what that meant. Uncle Tendou never made it back
with Akane, and when Father woke up sober the next day, he
finally realized what had happened."

Shampoo looked Genma in the eye. "Is this true?" Too ashamed to
speak, he nodded.

Ranko continued. "He took me to Jusenkyou on purpose. He cursed
himself to be a panda on purpose, so he could knock me into the
Nyannichuan!" She sniffled again. "I... he was stupid to take me
and run away from Mother, but... but he really didn't mean to
hurt me. He raised me as a boy because he didn't think he had any
other choice. He may be foolish, and irresponsible, and... and
really really stupid sometimes, but he loves me and I love him!
Please don't hurt him!" Genma winced, but decided to let it
slide. Any port in a storm.

Ukyou continued to look skeptical. "Do you have any proof of his
story?"

Ranko nodded. "When I was moving in with Mother this summer, I
accidentally spilled one of his drawers in our room. I found a
Jusenkyou brochure -- in Japanese. He knew about the pools
beforehand."

Ukyou sighed. Why did Genma always manage to evade her revenge?
She really wished she could just kill him and be done with it,
but if Ranchan loved him, she couldn't. Rats. How would she ever
get her honor back?

Shampoo had other things on her mind. "Old Pervert listened to
them, do *that* to you -- when they *drunk*?!" Ranko nodded.
Shampoo fumed. Vengeance was not denied, just... redirected.
Fools were not punished; their folly was punishment enough. She
knew she could not take away Ranko's father if she loved him. She
would have to talk to great-grandmother; Happosai was a
formidable opponent. She couldn't take him on alone.

She nodded curtly. "Very well. Amazon vengeance called on Old
Pervert." She glared at Genma. "You is just fool and bad father,
is all." Genma winced again. "Be better father now, yes? Or I
punish still!" Genma nodded vigorously. He didn't want the
Amazons after him.

Though several of the girls continued to glare at Genma, the
crowd dispersed, and he and his daughter were soon left alone. He
looked at her. "Th-thank you, Ranko." She just smiled up at him,
and once again feelings from many years ago surfaced in his
heart. That look...

"Come on." She tugged at his sleeve. "You were going to meet my
music sensei." He nodded and followed her inside.

A half hour later (the lesson had had to be cut short since it
had started late), they were walking home together. He had
watched as Ranko had played under the tutelage of her sensei. He
could tell from the contented smile on her face as she played
that it was very special to her, and he could tell from the way
Kobayakawa-sensei had behaved around Ranko -- and from his own
ears -- that his daughter had great talent. He felt confused. He
was excited for her, and proud, but he still wanted her to be a
great martial artist. It didn't seem possible for her to do both.

Ranko broke his train of thought. "What did you think of Sensei?
Did you like my playing?"

He smiled. "Well, she clearly thinks you have talent, Ranko. And
I have to say after listening to you, I agree with her. You play
very well. Have you really been at it for just a few weeks?"

Ranko blushed and nodded. "Yes. I've always liked music, but I
never tried an instrument before." She looked off into the
distance, her eyes unfocused. "And to think I might never have
tried it, if I hadn't become a girl again..." she trailed off.
They walked in silence for a few minutes.

She turned her head up at him and looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry,
Father. I was... very angry with you this summer. I didn't know
what had happened. Everyone heard the story, and... I guess
that's why Shampoo and Ucchan attacked you. Akane was ready to do
the same thing, I think, until she heard what you had to say."
She looked sad. "I'm sorry, it was my fault..."

He smiled down at her. Being the father of a teenage girl might
not be as hard as he had thought. "It's all right. I... you were
right to be angry. I did a very foolish thing." He sighed. "I'm
sorry I hurt you so badly... sweetheart."

She stopped, and he noticed and stopped too. She smiled up at
him, the happy, loving smile he remembered from the little girl
so many years ago. She came over and wrapped her arms around him,
though they didn't reach very far. "I forgive you... Daddy." She
took his arm, and they walked the rest of the way home that way,
she carrying her briefcase, and he her violin.

As they turned in at the Tendou's gate, he spoke again. "I
certainly didn't expect a workout like that when I just came to
meet your sensei!" He laughed. "A quiet evening at home will be
nice. I'll listen to you practice your violin while Tendou and I
play shogi." She nodded. They stepped into the genkan, and took
off their shoes as they called out "Tadaima!" They stepped up,
and walked into the living room...

Where Genma found himself staring at a razor-sharp steel point,
an inch from his nose. "O-kaeri nasai... Dear."

*****

Nodoka was still boiling mad as she sat across from Genma in the
Tendou living room. Ranko had pleaded with her not to hurt him,
and she had reluctantly agreed to sit down and talk. The Tendous
had gone out to a movie to give them some privacy, except for
Akane, who had stayed to lend Ranko support. The whole story of
how Ranko had become a boy had come spilling out, as Nodoka
looked on, implacable resentment etched on her face. Ranko
watched them both, her nerves frayed.

"How could you?" was all Nodoka said.

Genma winced. "I told you, it was an accident. I didn't mean
to..."

"I don't mean that! Insanity like that is a given where that
perverted freak is concerned! How could you have even thought of
taking her to him, no matter how drunk you were?! Our precious
baby, our only child!" Tears started to fall from her eyes. "And
then you did the worst thing of all. You took her away from me!
Do you think I wouldn't have loved her just as much as a boy?
Girl or boy, you took my baby away from me for twelve years! On a
training trip, no less, when I told you I didn't want you to push
her into the Art. You knew full well that she was never
interested in it the way Akane was." Those two girls' eyes grew
wide at that. "I might have been able to forgive you for being
idiot enough to take her to the Master. How could I ever forgive
you for taking her away from me..." She put her head in her hands
and sobbed. Ranko got up and went over to embrace her.

Genma didn't think he could feel any lower than this. He had been
sure Nodoka would kill him for getting Ranko turned into a boy.
In his haste to escape, he had committed an even worse crime. He
put his head in his hands.

After a moment, Nodoka hugged Ranko back, then released her and
straightened up again. Her eyes were red but her face was tightly
controlled. "Do you know how betrayed I felt? Do you know what it
feels like to have your own husband, the man you trusted with
your life, the father of your child, abandon you and steal your
only child away? Can you imagine what I went through? I was
beyond devastated. It tooks me four months before I could even
function again. Two years before I stopped crying every single
day, before I started to take any sort of interest in life again!
And on top of that, Keiko died not long after you left. I didn't
even have the Tendous to fall back on. If my sister and my cousin
had not been there to take care of me, I might not be here right
now." Akane and Ranko looked on silently, both crying, holding
each others' hands tightly.

All Genma could do was whisper hoarsely, "I'm sorry..."

Nodoka shook her head. "Sorry won't do. There is nothing you can
say, nothing you can do that will make up for what you did to me,
what you did to our child. You are not fit to be a father!" Genma
cringed. "Thank goodness she is old enough not to need protection
from you; I only wish I had been there to protect her from your
folly earlier." Nodoka shook her head. "She used to love cats,
now look at her. And that's only one thing out of many that you
did to her." She leaned forward slightly, her gaze intent. "You
listen to me. From now on, you are not making any decisions in
her life. Not where she goes to school or college, not what she
does with her life, not who she associates with, not who she
marries. Those will be between me and her."

Genma boggled. "But... but Nodoka... you can't do that!"

Nodoka glared. "I most certainly can, and I will. I've checked
with my cousin's husband, the lawyer, and if I pressed charges I
could have you sent to prison for abduction and child
endangerment. What court would sympathize with a man who would
throw a child into a pit of hungry cats? You've proven your
judgment is awful. But I won't do that, if you stop hurting her."
Her voice softened. "I... I won't keep you away from her. I know
she loves you, and I know," her voice faltered momentarily, "I
know you love her. You took a curse on to free her from hers."
She bowed her head and put her hands over her eyes. "It's just
that you are a fool, Saotome Genma, and I cannot stand seeing our
child suffer from that, not one more minute. I cannot let you
guide her any more." Genma was speechless.

Ranko felt that she had to say something. Anything. "Mother, I...
you... you don't have to do this. I know he has stupid ideas
sometimes... well, OK, a lot of the time," Genma winced, "but I
know when to ignore him." Genma winced again.

"I'm glad you have learned to ignore your father's foolishness,
dear, but I want him to know he cannot boss you around. I will
not allow it. Do you want him to come up with another crackpot
scheme like the engagement to Akane? Suppose he decides you
should be engaged to that Kunou boy? The boy is rich, after all,
something your father is easily swayed by. He could engage you
against your will, just as he did before."

Ranko shook her head, shocked. "He... he wouldn't..." she trailed
off, and looked at her father; he smiled sheepishly. "Oh, my..."
Akane's battle aura flared.

"So I am sending him the message, loud and clear: he is not
making any decisions like that about your life. He is not making
*any* decisions about your life." She turned to Genma. "I would
rather handle this informally. I prefer to stay married for the
sake of convenience. However, you are not welcome in my home, and
you are not welcome to meddle in our daughter's life. If I get
even a hint that you are doing so, I will have you in court.
Believe me, my cousin's husband is ready and waiting. He saw what
you did to me first hand." Genma paled.

Ranko looked back and forth between her parents, tears running
down her cheeks. "But... but Mother... what about our family?
Won't... won't we have a family?..."

Nodoka's face was stone. "We may still be married, but I cannot
live with this man."

Ranko stood up, tears streaming down her face. "No... no...
please, Mother, not this... please..."

Nodoka shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear. I..."

Ranko shouted "NO!", turned, and ran from the room. She ran up
the stairs, and a door was heard slamming.

Nodoka glared at Genma one more time, then turned to go upstairs.
She went to her daughter's door, and paused when she heard the
sobbing inside. She knocked gently. "Ranko... Ranko, dear, it's
me. May I come in?" She heard a noise that sounded like assent,
and slid the door open. Her daughter was face down on the bed,
her face in a pillow, sobbing deep, hard sobs. Nodoka sighed, and
went over to sit down. She put her hand on her daughter's back,
which stiffened, then relaxed. Ranko sat up, still sobbing, and
accepted Nodoka's embrace. Nodoka stroked her hair as she cried.
"It's all right, baby... it's all right..."

Eventually Ranko spoke. "Why?... Why d-does our family have to
fall to pieces? Why? I... I want to have a family..."

Nodoka sighed. "Dear, I... I just can't accept your father as my
husband any more. I can't ever trust him again, after he stole
you away from me. I've tried, but I don't think I can forgive
him."

Ranko pulled back a little while still in Nodoka's embrace, and
looked up into her mother's eyes. "Are... are you sure? Won't you
give him a chance?"

Nodoka looked down at her and smiled. "Why are you defending him
like this, after what he did to you?"

Ranko shook her head, slowly. "Be... because he's my father, and
I love him. I can never stop loving him. Yes, he did all those
things, but... but he loved me."

Nodoka frowned. "How can you forgive him when he taught you the
Nekoken? When he engaged you to Akane? When he did all of those
other things?"

Ranko flinched. "He... well, all right, he's an idiot sometimes.
Maybe a lot of the time. Maybe he *is* too irresponsible to be a
father. But, he still loves me, and he's still *my* father." She
took a deep breath. "I'd rather have an idiot father than no
father at all."

Nodoka shook her head. "That's precisely why I can't trust him to
have any say over your life. He *is* an idiot, and he'll just
hurt you again." Ranko nodded, reluctantly. "He ruined my life,
and worse yet, he ruined yours. Maybe things are more or less set
aright now, but I still don't think I can forgive him."

Tears spilled from Ranko's eyes again. "But... our family..."

Nodoka smiled. "Ranko, dear, nothing will change, really. We
don't have a family and haven't for twelve years. You have your
father, and you have me, but he and I are almost strangers."

Ranko swallowed. "Maybe... maybe you should try to get to know
him again first? Give him a little time?"

Nodoka sighed, a little exasperated. "It won't change anything."

"Please? For me?"

Nodoka bowed her head. "If I could do it for you, sweetheart, I
would."

*****

Dinner was a very subdued affair. Genma and Nodoka were both
grim, and Ranko was terribly depressed. Kasumi tried valiantly to
cheer everyone up, to little effect. Afterwards, Akane and Ranko
sat out by the Koi pond, trying to enjoy the last of the summer
evenings before fall's chill really took hold. Nodoka had gone
into the kitchen with Kasumi, and Genma and Soun were trying to
concentrate on their shogi game, with limited success.

Ranko looked on morosely as a koi leapt out of the pond, then
fell back. Akane had an arm around Ranko, and was trying to do
anything she could to cheer her up. "You know, things... things
aren't really going to change that much. Your mother and father
live separately already. You've learned to ignore your father
when he has those crazy ideas. You can still see him just as much
as you ever did, and now you've got your mother, too." She
smiled, hoping desperately that it was catching.

Ranko picked a pebble up and tossed it in the pond; the fish
scattered, then resumed their torpid swimming. "I just hoped...
we could be a family again. The three of us." She drooped
further. "In less than two years, I'll be going to college." She
snorted. "Especially now that I'm paying attention in school.
Unless it's really close, I'll be moving out. I hoped I could
just have this one last chance at having a normal family." Her
eyes grew wet, and she leaned on Akane's shoulder. "But... but
Mother can't stand Father, and the Ministry of Education says I
have to live here. I guess I could do my senior year at the high
school in Mother's district, but... I could never leave all the
friends I have now at Furinkan. I... I guess my wish isn't going
to come true." Akane hugged her tighter.

"Look at it this way, Sis. At least you're you again. At least
you have a mother again. I... I think it's a miracle that you
survived what happened to you, and you're not even cursed any
more. And we're like sisters again, they way we were when we were
little. So many good things have happened to you."

Ranko nodded. "You're right. I... I just wanted life to be
perfect." She laughed. "I guess it doesn't work that way, does
it?" Akane smiled. For a while they sat, until the gathering
chill drove them indoors. Ranko looked around the living room.
Her father was playing shogi, but still looked grim. A dismal
mood still hung in the air. "I... I haven't practiced my violin
yet. I... guess I'll go do that." She turned to go upstairs.

"Ranko-chan, won't you practice down here?" She turned, and
Kasumi was standing at the doorway to the kitchen, smiling, a
dishtowel in her hand. "I'm sure everyone would love to have your
company." Nabiki looked up from her magazine and tried not to
smile. Kasumi could be quite clever at times.

Ranko stared a second, then nodded. "O-OK. I'll go get my
things." A minute later she came back down, her violin case in
one hand, her music stand in the other, and her books balanced on
her head. She set the music stand up, and placed her books on it.
She opened one of them to a page covered with Kobayakawa-sensei's
handwriting.

The Tendou sisters and Nodoka watched, fascinated, as Ranko got
out her violin and prepared it for play. The fathers appeared to
be engrossed in their game, but they watched out of the corners
of their eyes.

Ranko tuned up her violin, turning the pegs and plucking the
strings. Finally satisfied, she started on some warmup scales,
then moved to her practice pieces. She tried to lose herself in
her playing, as she did with the Art, and to put her feelings to
music. She started to relax as her playing crowded out everything
else in her mind. Her eyes were closed, and her music was her
world.

Everyone in the room couldn't help but notice the melancholy
undertone in Ranko's playing. The pieces in minor keys
practically radiated her sadness. Nodoka sighed. Her daughter had
suffered so much, to finally find happiness again, but now that
happiness was being eclipsed by the dissolution of their family.
She happened to glance towards Genma, who had forgotten about his
game as he watched his daughter play. She could see the guilt on
his face, mixed with hopelessness; knowing that ultimately he was
responsible for the sadness that Ranko was feeling, and that
there was nothing he could do to make it better. She sighed, and
thought, Genma, if only you weren't such a fool...

Ranko would pause between pieces, flipping the pages in her music
books to find new ones. As she did, she noticed the attention she
was getting, and hoped that the music would be as cathartic for
them as it was for her. It came time to practice the pieces she
had committed to memory, and she simply closed her eyes and
played one after another. Everyone watched, rapt, even Nabiki,
who was constantly amazed at the progress Ranko was making.
Finally, Ranko's bow drew the last few notes. She paused for a
moment, her eyes still closed, then opened them and lowered her
violin. Everyone in the room applauded, and Ranko turned bright
red. "Oh quit it, you guys! This isn't a concert hall, and I'm
just playing beginner pieces!"

Nabiki shook her head. "They may be beginner pieces, Ranko, but
they don't sound that way when you play them. Your sensei is
right, you have a gift." Ranko was stunned that Nabiki would make
such a comment to her. "Th-thank you, Oneechan..."

Somehow, the mood in the Tendou living room was lightened, as if
the music had absorbed some of the sadness that permeated both
families. Ranko thought back to what her mother had said; the
situation hadn't really changed, except now her father couldn't
force her to do anything stupid. The two of them seemed to be
settling into an uneasy truce, though their interactions hovered
barely above the minimum level of civility. Maybe... maybe things
could only get better from here. Maybe some day, if they were
still legally married...

She looked at her father and Uncle Tendou, who had suspended
their shogi game to attend to her playing. Her father smiled back
at her, and she ventured a small smile to him. The two men got up
and went back to their shogi table. Ranko went over and sat with
her mother and Akane on the sofa. At least her parents were in
the same room now. She wondered how long it would take before
they could look at each other without glaring, and sighed.

Her mother knew what was on her mind. "Things will be all right,
dear. You'll see. I don't want to sound like it's not important,
but I hate seeing you so caught up in our disagreements. You have
so many wonderful things happening for you right now: your new
life, your new friends, your violin. I hate to see you distracted
from those when they make you so happy. And aren't things better
now anyway, now that you have both of us instead of just one?"

Ranko nodded, slowly. "I... I guess..." She didn't sound
convinced.

Akane thought a change of subject was in order. "Sis, where would
you like to see things go with your violin? Have you thought
about it? Would you like to be a professional violinist?"

Ranko smiled sheepishly. "I guess I don't know, really. I really
like my violin, and I've only just started to see what I can do
with it. I... I guess I was so focused for so long on being a
martial arts sensei, I... I mean, I've never really thought
seriously about doing anything else. But now... now I don't know
if I want to be a martial arts sensei any more... Maybe I could
be a violinist... or maybe something else..." She sighed. "Now
I'm all confused."

Her mother smiled. "Don't worry, dear. Most young people your age
don't know for sure what they want to do with their lives. Give
it time, explore your talents, and see where they take you. I
would be very proud of my daughter Ranko, the martial arts
sensei, or my daughter Ranko, the world famous concert
violinist." Ranko blushed, and Akane giggled. Nodoka continued,
"Or my daughter Ranko, the office worker or housewife or
professor. Because I'm proud of you, period." She reached over
and hugged her daughter, whose eyes were more than a little
teary.

Akane made a face. "Or your daughter Ranko, the world famous
martial arts concert violinist!" Ranko burst out laughing, and
Nodoka looked confused. Akane continued "Hey, if there are
martial arts rhythmic gymnastics and ice skating, you never
know..." Nodoka decided she'd better not ask.

*****

The next morning, Ranko was up early, though it was a Saturday.
She had promised her father to spar with him, and she intended to
keep that promise. She found him waiting for her. Akane -- always
an early riser -- and Nodoka looked on. Nodoka had questioned
Ranko about this but her daughter had assured her she wanted to
spar with her father.

They bowed to each other and began. Genma grinned. "Let's see how
rusty you've gotten, Boy! Er, Girl..." He attacked suddenly with
a kick, and was pleased to see that Ranko had indeed been
practicing. She wasn't where she had been, though, and after a
minute or two he saw an opening. He delivered a mighty kick, and
Ranko flew over to hit the wall of the Dojo, hard. She slid to
the floor. He smiled. Some serious practice would do her good. He
waited for her to leap back into the fight.

Except she wasn't leaping, just lying there. Finally, a moan
came: "Owwwww...", as she pushed herself up into a sitting
position with one hand. Nodoka jumped to her feet, anger in her
face, but Ranko held up a hand. She had clearly had the wind
knocked out of her. "S... S'OK, Mother. I'm OK. Really." Nodoka
sat back down, but still didn't look pleased. Genma looked on,
astonished.

Ranko pulled herself up the wall so she was standing again, and
turned to face her father, pain and confusion on her face.
"Father? Why... why did you hit me so hard? Yes, you penetrated
my defense, but... but you didn't have to hit me that hard to let
me know that!" He looked at the pain and hurt in her eyes, and
flinched. She... now he understood what he had seen yesterday,
what had bothered him when she and Akane had sparred. His
daughter was not fighting like a warrior, she was sparring like
an athlete. It was no longer an all-out, life-or-death battle for
her, but a sport, something she did for enjoyment. She hadn't
expected him to hit her hard, because... it wasn't a sporting
thing to do.

He spoke. "Ranko... if you were in a fight with a powerful
enemy... they would be trying as hard as they could to hurt you.
You have to be ready for that, and the only way to do it is to
experience it when you're training, by fighting as if your life
depended on it; some day, it will. This is something I taught you
when you were young; have you forgotten it?"

Ranko looked pained. Yes, her father had taught her that. But she
had gotten used to the sparring with Akane, and she was no longer
used to the no-holds-barred approach her father took. Suddenly,
she remembered Ryouga's face when he had attacked her on the
beach. The anger, the aggression... the hate. She shivered. "I...
Father, I... I'm not sure I want to fight like that any more.
I... I don't like it." She looked down. "I never really liked it.
I like sparring, but I don't like fighting..."

Genma's mind flashed back a dozen years...

Nodoka looked on with pride as her husband showed Ranko the
basics of the Art. She didn't want him to train her as a martial
artist, but thought it appropriate that Ranko understand this
important aspect of her father's life. If her father was an
aspiring martial arts master, she should learn a little bit about
it. Akane-chan was already eagerly learning from her father.

Genma went through the motions of several attacks, each time
showing Ranko how to defend herself. He repeated this several
times, then smiled at his daughter. "Now, sweetheart, are you
ready to try it for real?

Ranko nodded and smiled a huge smile. "Uh-huh! I'm ready, Daddy!
I can fight good, now!"

Genma attacked as gently as he possibly could, moving slowly so
she could react. Things went well for a few minutes, and then he
broke through her beginner's defenses and hit her lightly on the
side, just enough so she would feel it a little. He stepped back,
expecting to explain to her how she had left an opening, but was
stunned to find that she had collapsed on the mat and was
sobbing. "Sweetheart... what's wrong?"

She looked up at him. "You... you hit me, Daddy! You really hit
me! It... it hurt! Why did you hit me? Did I do something bad?
Are you mad at me?" Genma's heart twisted in knots.

Nodoka hurried over to her daughter and scooped her up. "No,
sweetheart. Daddy was just showing you how to fight like a
martial artist. When you practice that, sometimes you hit each
other. Daddy was just practicing with you; he's not mad. He loves
you." Ranko kept sobbing, as Nodoka gently held her. She looked
up at her husband. "Dear... I just don't think she has the
temperament for this. She's too sensitive, and she's not as
aggressive as Akane-chan. You know she never starts a fight."

Ranko looked up. "I hate fighting, Daddy! I don't wanna do it any
more!"

Genma swallowed, and walked over to his daughter where she stood,
looking down at her feet, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I
understand, Ranko. We'll... we'll just spar today, OK?" She
looked up at him in relief and nodded, and they continued.

Genma focused on keeping it to the level of aggression she was
expecting. As they fought, he worried. She was plenty skilled
enough to defend herself against any common criminal or attacker,
even another martial artist, even if they were a black belt. But
Ranma's enemies had never been common. And his child was no
longer following the path of the warrior. His heart sank.

After an hour or so, they stopped. He supposed he should be proud
of her; she was very skilled and an excellent student of the Art;
she could likely teach at an ordinary Dojo. But... he was
comparing her to Ranma, her previous self, and by that measure,
she fell short. Still, he couldn't make her into something she
didn't want to be any more; he would have to settle for what she
was willing to give. The thought of trying to drive her to do
better occurred to him, but then he remembered Nodoka's
ultimatum, and sighed. At least this way, he and his daughter
were still together, and... his head and his torso were still
together.

He made his decision. "You did very well. I'm glad to see you
have been conscientious in keeping up your training."

Ranko beamed. "Thank you, Father. That means a lot to me." She
blushed slightly. "Thank you for sparring with me. I'm still
trying to think of how to manage to spar with both of you,
without spending a lot more time on it. I guess I could spar with
Akane on weekdays and you on the weekend. What... what do you
think?"

I think it sucks. "Maybe that would work, child."

She smiled. "OK! I'm going to go wash up now. See you at
breakfast!" She turned and walked away.

And Genma couldn't help feeling she was walking away from the Art
as well.

*****

After breakfast, Ranko and Akane hung out in Akane's room as they
tried to plan our their weekend. Akane sat on the bed, and Ranko
sat on the floor, leaning on her knees, which were drawn up.

"It's too bad Yuka and Sayuri are busy..." sighed Ranko.

"Well, we have Yuka's birthday party next weekend. We'll see them
there. How about Ukyou?"

"I called her already. She says she's too busy with her
restaurant today. She thought maybe we could go see a movie
together tomorrow."

"Shampoo?"

"Same thing. Cologne is off somewhere tracking down some herbs,
and she and Mousse are up to their ears holding down the
N-n-nekohanten."

Akane nodded slowly, then suddenly brightened. "I have an idea!
Why don't we have lunch there? That way we can at least say
hello."

Ranko smiled. "That's a great idea! Maybe we'll have a chance to
talk after the lunch rush." She got up and started to wander
around Akane's room, her eyes settling on Akane's manga
collection. She started looking over the titles.

Akane smiled. "Do you like to read manga, Sis?"

Ranko shook her head. "Not... not really. You know, shounen manga
never really appealed to me that much, and... and reading shoujo
manga was out of the question." She grinned.

Akane giggled. "I guess I could understand why you wouldn't like
shounen now, but why then?"

Ranko sighed. "I guess... they're mostly full of fighting, and
killing, and... that kind of stuff. It was boring, and it didn't
really interest me." She giggled. "Besides, my real life was
weird enough. I didn't need to read anything to get that!"

"But... I thought you liked to fight back then?"

Ranko was still looking through the titles. "Well, it's not that
I *liked* it. When I was the one fighting, it... it was a matter
of pride, of the values Father raised me with. In the heat of a
battle, I was totally focused on winning; I ignored the fact that
I was trying to hurt someone. And I was so angry at everyone all
the time. It made me aggressive." She became somber, and stopped
her browsing for a moment. "But when it wasn't one of *my*
fights, I... I never really liked it. And now I don't like it at
all. When I fought Ryouga at the beach, and I hit him, it... it
hurt. It hurt to hurt someone. I just can't do it any more unless
I have to, to protect myself." Akane nodded, thoughtfully.

There was a knock at the door, and Kasumi popped her head in.
"Akane, could you help me for a moment? I need to move some
furniture and Father and Uncle Saotome are out." Akane got up,
smiling, and turned to Ranko. "I'll be back in a minute, OK?"
Ranko nodded.

When Akane returned ten minutes later, she found Ranko lying on
her stomach on the bed, feet in the air, and deep into one of her
shoujo manga. She looked very intent. Akane peeked; it was "Hana
Yori Dango". Akane smiled. "You can borrow them if you want."

Ranko didn't seem to hear for a moment, then finally stopped and
sat up. "Did you say something?"

Akane laughed. "I guess you like it. I said, you can borrow them
if you want."

Ranko smiled, embarrassed. "Sorry to be a space case. Thanks,
Sis!" She got up, and collected the next few volumes from Akane's
shelf.

Akane looked at the clock on her desk. "Wow, it's getting close
to lunchtime already! I told Kasumi we'd be eating out. I guess
we should get going."

Ranko had an arm full of manga. "Let me drop this off in my room
and grab my purse, OK?"

Twenty minutes later, they walked into the Nekohanten. Shampoo
spotted them from the cashier's station. "Akane, Ranko, hi!" They
walked over.

Ranko smiled. "We thought we'd come have lunch and visit, since
you were too busy to leave."

Shampoo's face lit up. "Thank you!" She shook her head. "Place is
crazy today. We very busy." She hurriedly made change for a
customer.

Ranko's mind drifted back several months, and her eyes widened.
She turned and whispered in Akane's ear. Akane grinned and
nodded.

Ranko turned back to Shampoo. "Would you like two extra
waitresses for lunch today?"

Shampoo laughed her musical laugh. "Would I ever!"

Two hours later, Akane, Ranko, Shampoo, and Mousse sat at a table
upstairs, finally getting a chance to eat their own lunches. The
lunches were on the house; they had definitely earned it.

Ranko tried to unstiffen her neck, stretching it first one way,
then the other. "Wow, that was harder than I remembered..." She
went back to slurping her ramen. Was she hungry!

Akane nodded. "I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my
life." She shook her head. "You guys have it harder than I
thought. I... it just amazes me you can run a place like this
with just the two of you."

Shampoo giggled. "You right, not very easy. I glad
great-grandmother be back soon!" She smiled. "Thank you so much.
Today very crazy, you help a lot."

Ranko grinned. "And we got a lot of tips, too!"

Akane swatted her on the arm. "You're just saying that because
you got the biggest ones!" They all laughed.

Mousse shook his head slightly as he listened to the three girls
chat. To look at them, you would never have guessed that three
months ago one of them was a boy and the other two were ready to
kill each other fighting over him. He couldn't help it; he
chuckled.

They turned to look at him. Ranko looked embarrassed. "What?" she
asked, blushing.

He smiled. "You three. I was just thinking back a few months.
Things sure have changed." He shook his head again.

Shampoo laughed. "Do you miss it?" She ran around the table and
hugged Ranko. "Oh, Airen! You come take Shampoo on date?" Akane
stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Ranma! How can you let
her hang all over you like that!" Ranko tried to looked
embarrassed but was grinning. "Hey! It isn't as if... I mean, it
ain't like I want her to!" Akane said "Ranma no baka!", summoned
her mallet, and tapped Ranko lightly on the head with it. They
all burst out laughing, Mousse included.

"No, I can't say I do. Thanks for the flashback, though." They
laughed again, and Shampoo went back around to sit down. Akane,
Ranko, and Shampoo exchanged glances, and smiled. Shampoo shook
her head, and said "I always wonder where mallet come from." She
giggled.

Akane saw Ranko's eyes lose focus. I wonder what she's thinking
about...

Later that afternoon, Ranko and Akane stood facing each other in
the Tendou Dojo.

Akane asked, "Are you sure you want to learn this today? We
worked pretty hard at lunch. Learning a new move is hard work."

Ranko nodded. "Yes, Sensei. I... I have always admired this
technique of yours. I would like to learn it, if you will teach
me."

Akane gravely inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Very well,
Student. You realize that this technique is only to be used
sparingly, in response to the worst transgressions? It can be
dangerous if misused."

Ranko nodded solemnly. "Yes, Sensei."

Akane went over to the Dojo's storage closet, and reemerged with
the practice dummy. Ranko noted that the clip-on pigtail had been
removed, and black circles had been filled in around the eyes,
along with two triangular ears on top. She suppressed the urge to
laugh.

Akane placed the dummy in front of her. "OK, let's say this is
your... target." Ranko nodded.

"Now, I want you to concentrate. Remember what I told you while
we were walking home. Envision it in your mind, OK?"

Ranko nodded, and closed her eyes. She held out her right hand,
and furrowed her brow in concentration. There was a brief flicker
of ki in her hand, then nothing. She blew out her breath in
frustration.

Akane smiled. "That was very good for a first try!"

"I could feel it, but... but I couldn't get it quite right."

Akane pondered that. "It helps to be angry. Let me think a
moment." She thought, then nodded. "OK, let's try this. Close
your eyes. Let's pretend the dummy is your father." Ranko nodded,
and closed her eyes.

Akane dropped her voice as low as she could and used male speech.
"Ranko, on the honor of the Saotome family, I have promised that
you will marry Kunou Tatewaki! It's for your own good!"

Ranko's battle aura flared, and the ki in her palm began to take
shape. Sweat popped out on her brow, then her battle aura
flickered out and the ki disappeared. She dropped her head,
dejected.

Akane gave her a hug. "Don't give up, Student. That was very
close. You're doing very well." She put her hand to her chin in
thought, then snapped her fingers. "OK, let's try again." Ranko
nodded, and once more closed her eyes, concentrating.

"Ranko, on the honor of the Saotome family, I have promised that
you will marry Gosunkugi Hikaru! It's for your own good!"

Ranko's battle aura glowed brightly, and ki grew quickly in her
hand and took form. She strained, as if reaching for something,
then blew out her breath as her ki flickered out again. She
looked at Akane sheepishly.

Akane shook her head. "You almost had it that time. You forgot to
use the words, though."

Ranko blushed. "Oops. You're right. OK, one more time." She
prepared herself.

"Ranko, on the honor of the Saotome family, I have promised that
you will marry... the Master! It's for your own good, and he
promised me a keg of sake!"

Ranko felt ki take form in her hand. This time she remembered the
words.

"Panda no baka!"

WHAM!

Ranko opened her eyes. In her right hand was a mallet, which had
just smashed the practice dummy into the floorboards of the Dojo.

"YATTAAA!" She and Akane high-fived, then started jumping up and
down and hugging each other.

Genma was sitting on the porch reading the newspaper, when he
heard shouts of "I did it! I did it! I did it!" coming from the
Dojo. What are those two up to now? he wondered. Akane and Ranko
walked out a minute later, arm in arm.

Akane said, "I knew you could do it! You were always a quick
study." Ranko nodded and blushed. They walked into the house.

Genma stared after them, then shrugged.

On Monday morning, as Ranko and Akane walked through the gates,
Kunou was waiting for them. "Fair Akane! Beauteous Ranko! Today
will surely be the day that you open your bosoms to my love!
Come, let me embrace you!" He ran forward.

The two girls gave each other an evil grin.

"Kunou no baka!"

WHAMWHAM!!

In the second story hallway window, as the other students looked
on in shock, Nabiki nodded in appreciation. "Whoa, pretty good.
Stereo."

At lunch that day, Ranko and Akane were headed outside; the
weather was starting to get chilly, and they wanted to enjoy the
last days before they had to start eating inside. They found
Hirota waiting by the doorway, and stopped.

He looked very nervous. "Have you... thought long enough?" He
looked up, hope in his eyes.

Akane looked at Ranko, who blushed and looked down for a moment.
When she raised her head, she was smiling. "Hirota-kun, I *have*
thought about it. And I think that... before I could think about
you as a boyfriend, I have to be able to think of you as... a
friend. Considering what's happened between us in the past, I
feel like I need to see your friendship before I can think about
dating you."

His face fell, but he nodded. "I guess that's fair." He looked up
and grinned at both of them. "So, can friends all go out for ice
cream together after school?"

Akane and Ranko looked at each other, and smiled. "Sure!"

*****

Days passed, and then weeks. Akane watched, bemused, as Ranko
steadily devoured her shoujo manga collection. Ranko's mother
still came over most weekends, though relations between the two
elder Saotomes were very frosty. Sometimes, she and Ranko would
spend the weekend at Nodoka's house, and Akane would enjoy her
home away from home. Ranko's skill with the violin continued to
grow, and she was starting to practice real compositions, not
just practice pieces.

The weather grew cold as fall took hold in earnest; winter was
fast approaching. Ranko was glad for the switch to the winter
uniform at school, for she had a new problem that had never
worried her as a boy: she was cold. She was so petite, her body
lost heat quickly, and as the temperature dropped she found
herself shivering. Her wardrobe grew a little more as her mother
took her to buy a hat, a warm coat, warm tights, a warm scarf,
and some gloves. She found herself, for once, envying the boys
their trousers.

She and Akane were walking home one day, both bundled up against
the unseasonable cold spell that had gripped Tokyo that week, and
talking about the day's classes.

"Can you believe that novel we read in Western Literature today?"

Akane stuck her tongue out. "The one by Kafka, about a guy who
turned into a giant cockroach?"

Ranko nodded. "You know, the scariest part was thinking, 'this
could be someone I know!'" They both laughed, as they turned a
corner. At that moment, a shadow flashed across the sidewalk and
someone landed in front of them: Kodachi.

Akane and Ranko exchanged glances. "Talk about surreal..." They
dropped their briefcases, and assumed their ready stances. But
Kodachi just stood there and stared at them. She scowled.

"You're not who I was looking for. Do I know you?" She furrowed
her brow.

Ranko and Akane relaxed their stances, confused. "Kodachi? I...
I'm Saotome Ranko..."

Kodachi continued looking at her, no recognition in her eyes.
"Saotome? Saotome... Oh, yes. You're that peasant Ranma's sister,
now I remember. Pah, I cannot believe I was once so enamored of
him. Well, I can't stay and chat. I must search for my
Toshi-sama!" And with that, she leapt to the rooftops and ran
off, the dying echoes of her mad laughter coming from all
directions.

Ranko and Akane both stared after her. "I... I can't believe
her!"

Akane nodded. "I guess... she has a new, um, victim. It sounds
like she's just about forgotten you."

Ranko shook her head. "No, I mean I can't believe she runs around
in weather like this in a leotard! Why doesn't she freeze?" She
shivered, and Akane giggled. "Come on Sis, let's go home."

Kasumi heard the front door open. "T-t-tadaima!" She giggled, and
went down the hall to the front door. "O-kaeri..." She smiled;
all that was visible of Ranko were two mournful blue eyes peeking
out from between her scarf and her hat. Kasumi helped Ranko
unbundle herself, and soon she was back down to her winter
uniform. She hugged herself to warm up.

"Would you like to take a bath, Ranko-chan? It's hot." She found
herself speaking to empty space, and laughed. Akane smiled and
went to follow Ranko.

She finally caught up with her in the bath. Ranko was sunk down
to her chin in hot water, her eyes closed and an expression of
utter bliss on her face. Akane smiled, and went to wash off. "And
you used to make fun of me when I said I was cold all the time."

Ranko smiled. "I guess I'm being punished... It's karma."

Akane giggled as she soaped herself. "It looks like you don't
have Kodachi to worry about any more, doesn't it?"

Ranko nodded, her eyes still closed. "One less crazy thing in my
life."

Akane was struck by a thought. "You know, things have been
awfully... calm around here, lately..." She rinsed herself off.
Brrrrrrr...

Ranko opened her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Akane walked over to the tub and got in, shivering as the hot
water drove the cold from her body. She relaxed, sagging against
the side of the tub. No wonder baths were considered an essential
of civilized life here...

She collected her thoughts. "Well, before this summer, your life
was, how do I say it, complete anarchy. You know, crazed martial
artists coming to challenge us constantly, me getting kidnapped
all the time, ridiculous contests, the new-fiancee-of-the-month
club, some crazy scheme by our fathers to push us together." She
furrowed her brow. "I can't remember the last time something like
that happened. This is what it was like for me before you showed
up. You know, quiet." She shook her head. "We never had martial
arts takeout races around here before you came."

Ranko nodded, lost in thought. "You're... you're right. I wonder
why?"

"How long has that kind of thing been happening to you, anyway?"

Ranko tilted her head as she thought. "Hmmm. I... well, as long
as I can remember. The whole time Father and I were on the road,
at least." She shook her head. "It's odd to have things be so...
normal. I'm not used to it."

Akane grinned. "Do you need some craziness in your life?"

Ranko shook her head violently. "No, believe me, I'm not
complaining." She smiled. "It's... nice."

That evening, Ranko had to practice her violin while sitting in
the kotatsu, but Mother Nature showed mercy as the cold spell
broke the next day. She enjoyed the relative warmth as she and
Akane walked to school.

As they walked up to the entrance, they noticed that Kunou hadn't
been there to meet them. At the door, as they changed into their
indoor shoes, they noticed a poster plastered on the wall:
"Special Assembly, All Students. First period."

Ranko looked at Akane. "I wonder what it could be?" Akane shook
her head, bewildered. They headed for the auditorium.

There weren't too many seats left, so they had to sit in the
first row. As the bell rang, Kimura-sensei and Vice Principal
Takano walked out to the podium. Kimura-sensei turned on the
microphone.

"Good morning, everyone. The school has an announcement to make
this morning." She pulled a paper out of her pocket. "We have
received word that Principal Kunou has been seriously injured in
an accident with a pineapple canning machine on Maui. He is
expected to make a full recovery, but the Ministry of Education
has placed him on indefinite Medical Leave." Akane noticed that
Kimura-sensei was struggling mightily to keep from smiling.

"Vice Principal Takano has been named the new Principal of
Furinkan High School." The Vice Principal bowed deeply to the
assembled students. "I hope you will join me in giving him your
support. And now, Principal Emeritus Kunou's son, Tatewaki, would
like to say a few words."

Kunou rose to his feet; he had been sitting a few seats to the
right of Ranko. He turned to face the crowd, his face grim. "It
is with great emotion that I received the news of my father's
injury. I humbly implore you all to join me in expressing the
proper sentiments on this fateful occasion." He thrust his arms
into the air. "Banzai!"

The auditorium erupted into cheers.

*****

At lunch, Ranko, Akane, and their friends were having an animated
conversation when Shampoo walked up. "Hi, Shampoo!"

Shampoo smiled. "Hi, everyone!" She sat down and listened as she
unwrapped her lunch.

"You know, Akane, this is getting positively eerie. Not only has
nothing weird happened lately, but the weirdos are dropping out!"

Akane nodded. "It is kind of... strange, isn't it?" Ukyou,
Sayuri, and Yuka all voiced agreement.

Shampoo's interest was piqued. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Ranko thought for a moment. "Well, yesterday Akane and I ran into
Kodachi. She acted like she barely knew me; it was clear she had
latched on to some new guy -- poor thing -- and was busy
forgetting her 'Ranma-sama'. We were talking about it last night,
and realized that none of the crazy things that used to happen to
me -- you know, challenges, kidnappings, et cetera -- have been
happening lately." She shook her head. "Then today, poof!
Principal Kunou is out of the picture. And you know, the school
has been pretty... normal this term." The other girls all nodded.

Shampoo thought for a while as she ate her lunch. "Ranko, how
long this kind of craziness been going on in your life?"

"As long as I can remember. It was happening all the time on the
road with Father."

Shampoo finished chewing. "Hmmm. Maybe great-grandmother know. Do
you want to stop by Nekohanten on way home? I think she maybe
have an idea."

Ranko and Akane looked at each other. "Sure, why not?"

That afternoon the two of them walked Shampoo home. They went in,
and found Cologne fiddling with the thermostat. She smiled at
them. "I wish the weather would make up its mind... What brings
you here, girls?"

Ranko and Akane explained about the strange normalcy in their
lives, including Principal Kunou's retirement as Principal of
Furinkan that morning. Cologne listened and nodded. When they
were done, she thought for a while. "It sounds like the level of
chaos in your life has decreased tremendously."

Ranko nodded. "You know, this kind of thing has been going on as
long as I can remember. I don't think I've ever had such a long
normal stretch in my life."

Cologne thought some more. "I wonder... Wait here a moment,
girls." She hopped off on her stick.

Ranko looked at Shampoo. "Do you have any idea what she's
thinking of?" Shampoo shook her head, looking confused.

Cologne returned a minute later, with a large reference book. She
placed it on the table and started leafing through it. She spoke
in a distracted way as she searched. "You know, Ranko, I've been
trying for some time to figure out just what spell it was that
Happosai cast on you. I couldn't think of anything that would do
the trick, and it was nagging at me." She looked up and smiled.
"I hate to have the old goat be one up on me." She went back to
looking. "What you've just told me has given me an idea." She
kept flipping, then stopped. "Ah. Here we are." She read for a
few minutes, then her eyes widened. "I can't believe even *he*
would use that!" She shook her head.

The three girls looked at each other. "What do you mean,
Great-Grandmother?"

Cologne leaned back in her chair. "Ranko, it appears that
Happosai used a spell which was... how do I explain this?" She
thought for a few moments. "Well, the best analogy is it's a
spell like a very old house with lots of drafts... or, a rattly
old used car that leaks lots of oil." She frowned; this was a
hard concept.

Ranko's eyes were glazing over. "Huh?"

Cologne sighed. "Magic is, essentially, controlled chaos. That's
a gross oversimplification, but it will do. I couldn't find the
spell Happosai used because I never thought he'd use a spell like
that. But here it is, right here." She pointed to the page. "No
one uses these types of spells any more, because they... well,
leak."

Three pairs of eyebrows shot up. "Leak?"

Cologne nodded. "Yes, they leak... chaos. Magic is controlled
chaos, but these spells don't control it very well, and they
leak. You were leaking chaos everywhere you went, and it made
your life... chaotic." She thought again. "You know, like an oil
spill. Or Chernobyl."

Ranko was flabbergasted. "You mean... not only did he turn me
into a boy... his stupid spell was what was causing all the
insanity in my life?! A challenge every other day, ten thousand
fiancees, Akane getting kidnapped constantly -- even Principal
Kunou?"

Cologne smiled. "Very good, child! That's exactly right." Three
battle auras flickered on, and Cologne continued. "Now that I
know which spell he used, it's no wonder it disintegrated so
easily when I used the Chisuiton water. It's like one of those
cheesy umbrellas that turn inside out the first time you try to
use them. I'm amazed it stood up to the Nyannichuan at all." She
shook her head. "Anyway, now that it's gone, you're not leaking
chaos any more, and so your life is becoming... sane."

Ranko put her head in her hands. "I don't believe this. He turned
me into a boy, and he turned my life into... into... " She groped
for words, then remembered Western Literature class; "into a
Kafka novel!" She slumped on the table, her face buried in her
folded arms. Akane was busy shredding a paper napkin into
microscopic bits.

Ranko sighed, then laughed. "Well, at least he didn't turn me
into a giant cockroach." Suddenly she looked up at Cologne.
"Please tell me there isn't a spring of drowned..." Cologne
nodded silently, and Ranko shivered. Maybe Kafka had visited
Jusenkyou...

Shampoo smiled a nasty smile. That sounded like a good idea to
use on the old freak.

*****

End Part 3

Well, that's that. Hope you enjoyed it. Please email and let us know. 

Later,
Steve
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
spardue@telocity.com
(spardue@zebra.net for not much longer)
http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime


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