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

Genma's Daughter
Chapter 4: Explorations

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

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

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

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

Nodoka scrubbed at a stubborn spot on one of the breakfast dishes. There
hadn't been very many, since she ate alone, but she liked her kitchen to be
spotless at all times. She held the dish up and inspected it; the bit of
food had meekly given up under her onslaught. She smiled, and went on to the
next.

As she scrubbed, she sighed. She hadn't seen or heard from Ranko... Ranma...
at all since the previous Tuesday, when she... no, *he* had finally
remembered to return the documents and video he and Akane had borrowed.

She finished the washing and started to dry the dishes with a towel. The
children had been in too much of a hurry to get to school, and hadn't had
time to chat. They'd mentioned stopping by on the way home, but Akane had
called that evening with a sheepish apology: things at school had been hard,
she'd said, and they'd forgotten.

As she started to put the dishes away, she frowned. Since then, she'd heard
nothing. She didn't have a very good idea of what was going on in her...
child's life right now. She knew Ranko was under stress, and Nodoka wished
she could do more to help her little girl. She bit her lip in worry.

As she put the last of the dishes away, the door chime rang. "Hai!" she
called out, and hurried over to the genkan. The door slid open of its own
accord, revealing Akane and... and...

Standing in front of her was her own most cherished dream, an image she had
held dear in her mind for a dozen long years. It was a young lady with fiery
red hair cut in a flattering (but plain) style, wearing a dress (somewhat
frumpy, her inner mother's voice noted critically), carrying an
outdated-looking purse, with a very nervous look that spoiled her pretty
face.

And that girl looked more beautiful to her than any other girl in the entire
world.

"Ran... Ranko?" Tears started to fall from her eyes.

The redhead nodded, tentatively, her eyes becoming moist as well.

Nodoka rushed forward into the genkan, still in her house slippers, and
crushed Ranko in a hug, and they were both crying. "Oh, baby... I... I never
thought I'd see my little girl again..." Ranko's head was spinning a little
from being referred to in such terms. Akane pulled a tissue from her purse
and wiped her eyes.

Nodoka held Ranko out at arm's length. "Let me look at you... Oh, you look
just the way I imagined you! You're such a beauty!" She sighed.

Ranko blushed and smiled a watery smile. Nodoka noticed where they were, and
blushed herself. "Where are my manners? Come on in, girls." Ranko wondered
again at being referred to that way. A... A girl...

When they were all seated in Nodoka's living room, she was still gazing
lovingly at her resurrected daughter. "Do... do you like it, Mom?" asked
Ranko.

"Of course, dear!" She frowned suddenly. "You didn't do this just for me,
did you? Is this something *you* want to do?"

Ranko looked at Akane, then nodded. "Y-yes, it is. I... I didn't tell you
before... I never told anyone... but I... I never really liked... being a
boy. I... I thought that was normal, just part of being that way, but... but
Dr. Toufuu said it wasn't. I also thought the curse is what made me feel
that being a girl was more comfortable." She blushed. "I... I feel kinda
dumb, now."

Nodoka shook her head firmly. "Why should you? After what you've been
through, you can be forgiven for thinking anything. Did you go to school
this way?"

Ranko looked nervous, and looked over at Akane. "Ranko, you have to tell
her." Ranko gulped and nodded.

Nodoka suddenly felt worried. "What is it, dear?"

Ranko turned back to her mother. "Mom... I... Dr. Toufuu suggested I...
kinda try out being Ranko, over summer break. I... I just started last
night, after school. I'm supposed to try it for four weeks, then..." she
trailed off.

Nodoka spoke firmly. "Then decide what you want. In other words, this may
not be permanent, correct?"

Ranko nodded. "I'm sorry, Mom. Your... your daughter might disappear again
at the end of the summer."

Nodoka shook her head. "Don't be. I've accepted what's happened to you,
sweetheart. I just want you to be happy, and I'll accept whatever you
decide. In the meantime, I'll enjoy having my daughter again." She smiled,
and Ranko smiled back. "Did you two come here just to visit me?"

Ranko shook her head. "I... I kinda need to go shopping, Mom. I only got one
set of underwear, and I already wore it once yesterday." She wrinkled her
nose and giggled. "Akane and me, we thought you might like to... tag along?"

Yatta! And I didn't even have to suggest it. "Of course, dear. I'd love to."

*****

Ranko felt dizzy. She had thought she would need some underwear, a dress or
two, and a couple of other things. Her mother had had other ideas, and Akane
seemed to agree. They had bought a ton of lingerie, several pajamas, summer
dresses, skirts, slacks, shorts, blouses and tops, more swimsuits, a hair
ornament or two, some jewelry (Ranko now wore a simple charm necklace), some
clip-on earrings (Ranko had refused to consider piercing when she hadn't
decided to stay female yet), several pairs of shoes, a new purse and wallet,
some very basic cosmetics ("You're so pretty, dear, you don't really need
it, but when you want to look extra-nice..."), and a staggering variety of
hair-care products (including Kasumi's requested shampoo and conditioner,
plus stuff she couldn't even identify; just what *was* a "triple bonding
reconstructor"?). And they were still going strong.

Ranko had no idea how they were going to get all this home. She didn't think
she'd ever get a chance to wear it all, even if she wore a different item
every day for the next four weeks. But she knew her mother was having the
time of her life, making up for twelve lost years.

At the moment, she was trying on a beautiful dark green formal gown her
mother had spotted in a store window. "Oh, dear, it would be just perfect
with your hair!" Ranko wanted to point out that she wasn't planning to go to
a formal dinner-dance any time soon, but refrained. She was in a booth in
the dressing room, trying to get into the dress, while Akane and her mother
sat just outside and waited for her to appear.

One of the salesladies came into the dressing room carrying a tray with tea
things on it; she offered some to Nodoka and Akane: "Would you ladies like
some tea?"

Nodoka was a bit surprised since the weather was so hot, but guessed it was
just a formality. She smiled and said "No, thank you," and Akane declined as
well.

The saleslady bowed slightly, and turned to go. Her heel caught on the
carpet, and the tray went flying. A cup of tea sailed through the air, and
directly into the booth Ranko was using.

"Oh my!" breathed the saleslady. "Miss, are you all right in there? I am so
sorry!"

There was a long pause. A squeaky falsetto drifted out. "I'm fine. Thank
you."

The saleslady started a bit at the voice, but shrugged, and left the room,
collecting the remains of the tea tray.

Nodoka was watching the departing saleslady when she heard a whisper, which
she didn't quite catch. She looked around. Akane was staring at the dressing
booth and looked concerned. The whisper came again, louder. "Mother!" Nodoka
got up and walked over to the booth. "What is it, dear?"

The whisper came out again. "Mother, please get me a glass of cold water.
Now."

Akane winced.

"What's wrong, dear? Are you thirsty?" Akane rolled her eyes. Obviously,
Nodoka hadn't lived around the curse long enough.

The voice rose slightly above a whisper, and sounded distinctly masculine in
tone. "No, I'm not thirsty, Mother."

Nodoka's eyes widened in understanding. "Right away, dear."

*****

Akane, Ranko, and Nodoka walked down the street with a dizzying array of
purchases. One of them was not a lovely green formal gown with a tea stain.
The proprietress had been so apologetic for dumping tea all over Ranko that
she had insisted on giving them the dress, and paying for the dry cleaning
as well. It would be ready in a few days. Ranko supposed she would have to
find a formal dinner-dance to attend.

Ranko was in a bit of a daze, and not just from the clothes. "I... I can't
believe it happened in a *dressing room*..."

"That really was quite an accident, wasn't it, dear? Thank goodness the
fabric had some stretch in it."

"I... I can't believe it happens with hot water, too..."

Nodoka looked puzzled. "What happens?"

"I... I mean cold water, that makes sense..."

Akane decided she'd better answer. "Ranko's curse seems to... turn her into
a water magnet. Before, she was constantly being splashed with cold water,
seemingly by chance, but always at the worst moments. I... I guess she
wasn't expecting the curse to have the same effect when she wanted to stay
in her cursed form."

They turned in to Nodoka's front gate, and struggled to get all the packages
through the front door. Eventually, they were collected in a pile in the
living room.

"Cold water is everywhere, but hot water... how can the curse tell?"

"Ranko, dear, is there anything you can do to keep this from happening?"

That was enough to snap Ranko out of it. "I could never keep from changing
when I didn't want to before..."

Akane reminded her, "Ranko, that was when you wanted to stay *male*."

Ranko's memory flashed back to the Cat's Tongue, and...

"Cologne."

Nodoka frowned. "Cologne? Well, I have some, but I never thought that it had
any magical properties."

Akane and Ranko giggled. "No, Mom, Kuh Lon. She is an elder of the Chinese
Amazon tribe. She's here in Nerima with her great-granddaughter, Shampoo,
and a boy who came with them, Mousse. Their village is right next to
Jusenkyou, so they know a great deal about it. Once, she... she locked me in
my female form for a few weeks."

Nodoka didn't miss anything. "They certainly have an interesting way of
naming people. Why did she do that, dear?"

Ranko looked embarrassed. "Well, uhh, she was trying to... to blackmail me,
I guess. Force me into marrying her great-granddaughter."

Nodoka grew angry. "Why on Earth would she do that?"

Ranko and Akane looked at each other. "Maybe we'd better sit down, Mom. This
may take a while."

Several minutes later, after explaining the whole of their history with the
Amazons, including Cologne's helpful attitude after their recent visit,
Nodoka nodded. "It sounds like she might be able to help you avoid changing
accidentally. Why don't we go see them later today? I'd like to meet this
woman." This latter was said in a slightly harder tone. "Meanwhile, let's
rest a bit and have lunch." She laughed. "I don't think I've shopped that
much in years and years."

Ranko still felt dizzy. Akane turned to her and playfully asked, "So, Ranko,
what did you think of your first major shopping expedition?"

Ranko thought for a while. "Actually, it was kinda... fun. When... when I
tried stuff on, or you tried stuff on, it was like... like..." she reached
for an analogy, "like tryin' out new moves in Kenpo, to see if they work or
not." Akane sighed slightly at Ranko's somewhat one-dimensional value
system. "And... and I liked the way I looked, even when we didn't buy
stuff." She blushed slightly.

Akane turned to Nodoka and said in a stage whisper, "Oh, she's a girl, all
right!" She and Nodoka laughed as Ranko turned a deeper red.

"Ranko, do you have closet space to put all your new clothes in?" asked her
mother.

Ranko thought a bit, and her face fell. "I guess... if I move some of..."
she trailed off.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"It's... the room I have at the Tendous I share... shared with Pop...
Father. It... it reminds me a lot of him, and it reminds me a lot of
being... a boy." She sighed. "It's kind of a constant reminder of things I'd
rather not think about right now."

Akane chimed in. "Last night she came and spent the night in my room; she
was having trouble sleeping."

Nodoka thought for a while. "Ranko, dear, would you like to come live here
with me over break? You can stay in your old room. I've already put the cats
in storage." She smiled.

Ranko thought about what her relationship with the Tendou sisters had been
like the past few days. She wanted to spend time with her mother, but she
would miss them... "I'd... I'd like that Mom, but I'm... I think I would
miss Akane and her sisters a lot. They've become my second family. I... I
don't quite know what to do. I'd like to be with both you and them." She
looked sad.

"Akane, dear, would you like to come stay here over break as well? You could
have that spare room we don't use."

Akane thought. There was no way she was going to allow Ranko off on her own
during such a stressful time as the next four weeks would be. She... she
hadn't stayed away from home for that long ever before, though. She knew she
would miss home, would miss her sisters. Maybe... maybe she could go
visit... "May I think about it for a while, Auntie? I want to stay with
Ranko while she's trying out being a girl, but I... I think I'd miss my
family. I also really ought to talk it over with Kasumi."

Nodoka nodded. "Why don't we leave all the clothes here for now? Ranko, if
you decide you'd rather stay at the Tendous, we can take them over later
today. Now, how about some lunch?"

"That would be great! I'm starvin'!"

"Ranko, watch your language. Try to speak a little more politely."

"Yes, Mother."

Akane was happy to see Ranko being enthusiastic about food again. It seemed
she was feeling better.

*****

Shampoo was cleaning tables again. She sighed. She cleaned tables a lot. At
least, during summer break, she would have a little time off since business
tended to drop off. Maybe she could spend some time with Ranma and work on
getting him to go out with her, help him get over the revelations about his
past.

The door chime signaled, and Shampoo turned to answer. "Welcome to
Nekohan..." she trailed off.

Akane, she recognized. There was also a middle-aged woman. But the other
girl...

The second-hand dress had been discarded at Nodoka's, and she was now
wearing a green sundress ("I always loved the way you looked in those,
dear"), a hair ornament in her neatly styled fire-red hair, some pretty
sandals, a charm necklace, clip-on earrings, and lipstick. This person
looked entirely female. The only giveaways were the red hair, and the eyes.

"Ran... Ranma??!"

Ranko smiled nervously. "Hi Shampoo. Ummm, it's... it's Ranko, at least for
summer break."

Shampoo felt like her heart was dropping down a hole. It had only been a
week! Ranma... Ranma was living as a girl? Was going to spend the summer
that way? He'd chosen to become Ranko again? Shampoo felt a little
light-headed, and leaned heavily on the table she had been cleaning.

Ranko didn't notice Shampoo's reaction. "Shampoo, this is my mother, Saotome
Nodoka." Nodoka bowed slightly. "Mom, this is Shampoo, one of the Chinese
Amazons I told you about." Nodoka wondered at the girl's purple hair.

Shampoo tried to collect herself, and bowed back. Ranma's... Ranko's...
mother had to be paid the proper respect. "Shampoo very glad to meet honored
mother of... of... Ranko." She tried to smile. She was about to ask what on
Earth was going on when Cologne hopped in, and the introductions were
repeated. When Nodoka was introduced to Cologne, she seemed to scrutinize
the Amazon matriarch carefully.

They sat down, and Ranko explained Dr. Toufuu's idea, and her decision to
try it. Cologne nodded. "I think it's a very good idea, Ranko. By the end of
the summer you should have a much better idea of how you feel about this."

Ranko nodded. "I... I'm still kinda not sure about this, but... so far, it
seems OK."

"Very good, child. I suspect, however, that you didn't come just to pay a
social call."

Ranko blushed. "Well, I... earlier today, when we were out shopping, I... I
had an accident -- with hot water. I... I didn't know that the curse worked
the same way with hot water. Anyway, I knew there ain't... isn't really a
way to stick me... uh, keep me in my male form, but I was wondering if there
was something I could do to stay female through the summer? I... if I keep
changing as often as I did before, it's gonna be hard to really see what
it's like being a girl. I... I thought you might know of something,
considering... how... how we met." Nodoka raised an eyebrow at this, but
decided not to press the issue here. She wanted to speak with Cologne about
what she had done to her daughter. Perhaps another day.

Shampoo looked on morosely. The rapidity with which this had happened, the
fact that Ranma... Ranko was asking to be locked in female form, even
temporarily, spoke volumes about her true feelings. She had misjudged this
situation badly, because of her attachment to Ranma. And Great-Grandmother
had known that.

Cologne thought for a while. "I think I might have something that will help.
Come with me."

They all followed Cologne back into the storeroom of the Nekohanten. Cologne
went over to a small trunk, and blew off some of the dust. She turned to
speak. "Shampoo, Mousse, Ranko, I think you had best stand well clear. If I
have an accident with what is in here, it might do you serious harm." The
three cursed individuals stood on the other side of the room.

Cologne opened the trunk. Inside were various bottles of what appeared to be
water, nestled in very thick padding. Cologne checked that they were all
intact, then nodded and turned around.

"Ranko, have you ever heard of the Musk Dynasty?" Ranko shook her head, but
Shampoo's and Mousse's faces grew ashen. "I won't go into the details, but
they have a magical artifact, the Chiisuiton. Water kept in this vessel,
when splashed onto a cursed person, will lock them in their cursed form,
essentially forever. The Musk use it in ways that... I'd rather not describe
right now." Ranko, Akane, and Nodoka felt a chill from the way Cologne
spoke.

She continued. "Water used directly from the Chiisuiton is full of its
magic, and the lock on the curse lasts far longer than any individual could
hope to live. But water that is no longer in the Chiisuiton starts to lose
its magic, and after a time, will only lock an individual as their cursed
form for a few years, or a few months, or even a few weeks. After hundreds
of years, the water loses its magic altogether. In these bottles, I have
some water from the Chiisuiton, stolen from the Musk. It is rather old, and
so only lasts about 3 weeks."

Ranko warily eyed the bottles from across the room. If she... if she used
this water, she wouldn't be able to become a man again until it wore off.
She wasn't sure she *wanted* to become a man again, but she wanted to keep
that option open for now. Still, 3 weeks wasn't too long... "I... I guess
that will work. Can I come see you when I need more?"

Cologne nodded. "I have a relatively large amount of it. However, Ranko, I
must warn you of one thing: due to the chaotic nature of magic, there is a
very slight chance when you use this water that it will act with its full,
original strength. The chances are low, less than one in a thousand for
water this old. But this is something you had to know: that this water might
lock you in your female form forever. Also, if you use the water repeatedly,
the chances will build up. Normally, it would take many years of use for the
random factor to occur, but it could always happen sooner by chance. Even
the very first time."

Ranko considered this. "Do... do you have anything else?"

Cologne shook her head. "I have various others, like the curseproof soap,
but they all have problems and are unreliable. This is really the only thing
that works well." She stopped and thought. "The Cat's Tongue wouldn't really
lock you in your female form; it just makes hot water painful. It wouldn't
prevent accidents at all."

Ranko stared at the bottles, which looked so innocuous. Three weeks without
the craziness of the curse, but... but maybe the rest of her life as a girl.
She might want that someday soon, but not right now. Still, the odds were
pretty good. She swallowed. "I'll... I'll do it." She hoped by the time
she'd used the water a few times she would have made up her mind once and
for all. Right now, being Ranko was too new for her to embrace it forever.

Cologne nodded. "Shampoo, could you fetch me a baster from the kitchen?"
Shampoo nodded mutely and left, returning moments later with an ordinary
roast baster. Cologne walked over to her, took it, and walked back. She
removed one of the heavy-looking bottles from the trunk, carefully set it
upright, and turned back to Ranko. "Come here, child."

Ranko nervously walked over to Cologne. "I'm... I'm ready."

Cologne removed the latched stopper from the large bottle, inserted the
baster, and carefully withdrew a few teaspoons of the contents. She
restoppered the bottle before turning back to Ranko. She raised the baster
over Ranko's head, and discharged the contents onto her; it soaked into her
hair. "There. It's done." Shampoo closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Ranko blinked. She didn't feel any different, just... wet, though that
feeling was disappearing rapidly. Cologne repacked the bottle and placed it
back in the padding.

When the trunk was closed, Ranko asked, "Are you sure this worked?"

Cologne nodded. "I'm sure. Let's go back into the dining area. Mousse, fetch
a kettle." Mousse nodded. A few moments later, they were all assembled back
in the front of the Nekohanten. Mousse appeared with a kettle, after a quick
detour into a closet. Shampoo took it, and poured more than enough hot water
onto Ranko to cause the change.

Nothing happened.

Ranko felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The curse, and all
the magic associated with it, still gave her the creeps. Even when that
magic caused the curse to appear to be absent. How could ordinary-looking
water do things like this? Despite the warmth of the water, she shivered.

Nodoka as well found her mouth a bit dry from all of this. "Well, dear, it
looks like your hot water problems are solved, at least for the time being."

We hope, thought Akane.

*****

Akane watched Ranko as they walked with her mother to the Tendou Dojo. Ranko
was looking around, her eyes wide, taking in everything. She almost looked
like a child, seeing the world for the very first time. In a way, she is,
thought Akane.

As they walked along the large shopping street near the Nekohanten, many
young men passed them, each taking time to give the two pretty girls the
once over, especially Ranko. This was not the first time Ranko had
experienced this, but it was happening much more often than it ever had
before. She guessed it must be because she now looked much more the part.
It... it didn't bother her as much as it had when it was a direct affront to
her manhood. Still, the pleasure of knowing she was pretty enough to be
worth looking at was offset by the thought of what was going through the
minds of the young men who looked at her.

Ranko worried about running into some of her schoolmates, but so far they
seemed not to have. "Akane, Mom, I... I think that I wanna... want to spend
less time here in the usual places during break. I... I'm not ready to meet
people from school yet."

Akane nodded. "Sure, Ranko. I know lots of places we can go, other places
right here in Nerima, or even downtown. Have you been downtown very often?
To Shinjuku or Shibuya or Harajuku?"

Ranko shook her head. "No, not really... where's Harajuku?"

Akane blinked, then offered a lopsided grin. "You and I are going on a
mission, girlfriend." Ranko nodded uncertainly.

Yuka and Sayuri were just finishing lunch in a little cafe on the main
shopping street near Fuurinkan High. Yuka was drinking her coffee while
Sayuri was indulging in a little French pastry.

Yuka was just taking a sip when she heard Sayuri's fork clatter to the
plate. She looked up, to find Sayuri's eyes bulging as she looked past Yuka.
Turning around, Yuka just barely caught a glimpse of a red-haired girl and
two other women passing out of view beyond the plate-glass window. Nothing
remarkable. She turned back to Sayuri, and found her mouth hanging wide
open. "What... what is it, Sayuri-chan?"

"Ran... Ran..." Sayuri trailed off.

Yuka started to look concerned. "Sayuri-chan, what's wrong? I just saw a
redhead and her friends, is all." She stopped. "A redhead?" she repeated to
herself.

Sayuri nodded. "Yuka-chan, how many Japanese girls do you know who have red
hair?"

Yuka shook her head. "It couldn't be. She was wearing a dress, and her hair
was styled. Maybe... maybe she was an American?"

Sayuri shook her head. "She was Japanese. I got a better look than you did,
Yuka-chan. One of the girls with her was Akane. And... and the girl was
about Ranma's height when he's female. Maybe seven centimeters shorter than
Akane. And she looked like Ranma's female form. They were with an older
woman who also had reddish hair." She sighed. "It was him... her... all
right. There's no doubt in my mind."

Yuka was mystified. "But why is he walking around as a girl? And... and he
was acting so strangely at school this week."

Sayuri shook her head slowly. "I don't know. But we're going to find out.
Something very strange is going on here."

*****

Kasumi regarded the cup of tea in her hands. "Move out?..." she asked again.

Akane flushed. "It... it's just for the summer break, Oneechan. I... I don't
want to leave here for good, yet. I'd like to be near Ranko during this
time, to help support her." She and Ranko smiled.

"And... what about after summer break? Will you be staying with your mother,
Ranko-chan?"

Ranko's head drooped. "I... I don't know. I want to be near Mom again, to
get to know her better, but... but I know I would miss all of you." Her eyes
misted over. "I don't know what to do..."

Kasumi thought a moment. She knew it was important to have Ranko near her
mother again, for the two to reestablish the ties between them. Besides...
she thought Father might be bringing Uncle Saotome home soon. It would be
much better if neither Ranko nor Akane were around when he arrived. Having
them not too far away, but not in the same house, might make it easier to
reconcile the family.

Kasumi was undoubtedly the only person in the room who thought this was even
remotely possible.

She smiled. "Why don't we worry about that later, Ranko-chan? You have so
much on your mind right now. Go live with your mother for a few weeks, get
to know her again. And I think Akane will enjoy staying with you. It will
help her start getting ready for when she goes off to college."

Nabiki lifted her eyes briefly from her business magazine to look at Kasumi.
She shook her head. Oneechan was always surprising her. She went back to
reading.

"Do please come back and visit us, though, OK?" Akane and Ranko both nodded
and smiled.

Akane looked nervous. "Well, Oneechan, I... I guess we had better get
packed."

Nodoka said, "Akane-chan, why don't Kasumi-chan and I help you get packed?"
Nabiki smiled as she read; there weren't too many people who called Kasumi
"Kasumi-chan". "Most of Ranko's things are over at my place already, since
we bought so much today."

Kasumi smiled. "I'd love to see what you bought some time, Ranko-chan."

Nodoka's face brightened. "Why don't I have you girls over to dinner some
evening? I'm sure you could use a break from cooking, couldn't you,
Kasumi-chan?"

Kasumi nodded enthusiastically. "I would love to come over and see your
home, Auntie."

Everyone glanced at Nabiki. "Fine by me," she said, not lifting her eyes.

Kasumi went to fetch some suitcases from storage while Nodoka, Akane, and
Ranko headed up the stairs. Ranko paused at the door to her room. "I'll see
you in a bit, OK? It won't take me long to collect things." She went inside.

The room was dark, so she went to open the curtains, and took a look around.
She went through the closet and the drawers looking for things. She had
precious little she needed to take with her: her other dress, her one
bathing suit, the school clothes. Ranma had had very few possessions, and
all the clothes were male clothes. He had not had the luxury of collecting
trinkets during the long hard years spent with his father.

Ranko had an eerie feeling as she went through the room, as if she were
rifling the belongings of a dead man. She shivered. As she was pulling out
one of her own drawers in the old dresser, it caught on her father's,
spilling its contents on the floor.

She sighed as she started picking up her father's items and replacing them.
A spare pair of glasses, some of his clothes, and... the Jusenkyou brochure.
Ranko smiled. If Pop... Father hadn't taken her... him there, she never
would have had the opportunity to try being herself again, as she was now.
It was a good thing the brochure had been in Chinese, which her father
couldn't read, or she never would have gotten the chance. Crazed as he was
about training grounds, even Father would have given Jusenkyou a wide berth.
She moved to put it back in the drawer, then stopped.

This brochure was in Japanese.

She flipped through it. It was all there: about the pools, about the curses,
some history, even a map of the pools, with... with...

With the Nyanniichuan and Shonmaoniichuan circled in pencil.

She was stunned. Father had had a Japanese brochure? He *knew* about the
springs? About the springs of drowned girl and drowned panda in particular?
Had he planned to go there? Why? Or was this something he had picked up
after their visit?

Ranko shook her head. It seemed her father had lied to her about a lot of
things. It would have to wait until she confronted him. She placed the
brochure in her purse, and continued picking up.

She came to a photograph. It showed a younger Genma, with a maybe 8 year old
Ranma. It looked like it had been taken on the road somewhere. Genma was
seated, and Ranma was standing next to him. Genma was smiling proudly and
had his hand laid on Ranma's shoulder...

Akane, Nodoka, and Kasumi were knee-deep in packing. Akane had sorted out
her summer clothes, since she would be back before the weather changed.
Still, she had several suitcases full of clothing and belongings, and it
would take all three of them to carry it back. She hoped Ranko didn't have
too much; if there were much more they would need to call a taxi.

Nodoka lifted her head, as if she had heard something. Akane and Kasumi
stopped, and strained their ears. There was quiet crying coming from down
the hall. The three women looked at each other, and Nodoka stood to go
check.

She found Ranko kneeling on the floor, the contents of a spilled drawer
around her, crying over a photograph. She gently took the photograph from
her daughter's hands and embraced her. How wonderful it was to be a mother
again, to be able to comfort her child.

"What is it, dear? What's wrong?"

"It's... it's Pop. I mean, Father. How... how could he have lied to me about
so much? I... I thought he loved me! How could he have done this to me if he
loved me? I miss him so much..." She continued sobbing into Nodoka's
embrace. The thought of how unmanly it was to cry this way flitted briefly
across her consciousness, then was dismissed. She didn't have to worry about
that for now, and... and she didn't really care. It felt so good to deal
with her emotions as they came, rather than bottle them up as her father had
taught her to. To hell with being manly.

Nodoka didn't know what to do about this issue. She had guessed that Ranko
would not be able to stand cutting off all contact her father. She had no
idea how it would be possible to reconcile Ranko's need for Genma with
everyone's anger at the atrocity he had committed, her own and Ranko's most
of all. She sighed.

*****

Yuka fidgeted. They could be shopping, or going to the movies, or any one of
a number of fun things. But no, they had to play Holmes and Watson.

"Sayuri-chan," she said, with more than a little whine in her voice, "this
is incredibly dull. How long are we going to stand here? Let's go do
something else!"

Sayuri once again peeked around the corner at the entrance to the Tendou
Dojo, then pulled her head back. "They have to come out some time or other."

"Assuming it really was Akane you saw."

"I'm sure of it. It was definitely Akane, and they were headed in this
direction."

"Sayuri-chan, someone walking down that street could be going practically
anywhere in Tokyo."

"Yuka-chan, please, just a little longer. Don't you want to find out what's
going on?"

Yuka tilted her head and thought. "I... I guess so. Ranma's life is so
weird, though, it'll probably turn out to be just another one of those crazy
things he does." She sighed.

Suddenly they heard a gate creak. They both peeked an eye around the corner.
Out of the gate, loaded with suitcases, came Akane, the middle-aged woman,
and... and...

There was no doubt. It was Ranma. He... she was in female form. Her hair had
been styled, she was wearing a green sundress and sandals, and she looked as
if she might be wearing lipstick. She was beautiful. Yuka sighed. Why did a
boy have to be the prettiest girl at Fuurinkan?

Voices came. "I don't know dear, this is a lot of luggage. Shouldn't we call
a taxi?"

Ranma giggled (?!). "Don't worry, Mom. Akane and me'll handle it OK."

The woman scolded, "Ranko, your language."

"I'm sorry, Mother. Akane and I will be able to handle the luggage. We're
both pretty strong."

Sayuri and Yuka looked at each other. "Mother?" Ranma was going around as a
girl with Akane and his *mother*? Who was teaching him to talk like a girl,
and was calling him "Ranko"? Yuka whispered to Sayuri, "Gomen, Sayuri-chan.
No movie could top this." Sayuri nodded in satisfaction.

Akane, Ranma, and her mother set off, and Sayuri and Yuka trailed them at a
discreet distance.

After about twenty minutes of walking (during which time their quarries were
stopped twice by men offering assistance, politely declined), the three
turned into a residential street. Sayuri and Yuka followed, and turned a
corner just in time to see them disappear into a house. They walked up to
the gate, and looked at the name plate. "Saotome".

Yuka turned to Sayuri. "I guess this is Ranma's family home. I didn't even
know his family lived in Nerima." She paused. "So what do we do now? I hope
you're not going to suggest we wait here until they come out again. It'll be
dinner time soon."

Sayuri had been thinking the whole time, but didn't have an answer. "Ummm...
let me think..."

She was still thinking five minutes later, Yuka tapping her foot
impatiently, when the front door to the Saotome home opened again; she and
Yuka quickly hid behind a pillar. All three women (well, two and a half,
thought Yuka) came out again.

Ranma's mother turned to the others. "I know it's been a long day, girls,
but I just need a few things for dinner. If you help me out a little, dinner
will be ready sooner."

Akane and Ranma chorused "Hai!" They turned to head for the shopping street
when one of the neighbors came out of her house and walked over to them.

"Saotome-san! How nice to see you again. And with two lovely young ladies!
Won't you introduce them to me?"

Nodoka bowed slightly. "Matsui-san, this is my daughter Ranko, and her
childhood friend, Tendou Akane." Each girl bowed in turn, and greeted the
neighbor.

Matsui-san seemed agitated. "Your daughter? You've finally found her again
after all these years? Didn't she disappear with your husband when she was
four?"

Nodoka nodded and smiled. "Yes, but recently we were reunited."

Matsui-san was fussing over Ranko. "How wonderful! She's such a beauty! The
image of you when we first met. You must be so happy to have your daughter
back."

"You are too kind, Matsui-san. Yes, she is a great joy to me."

The pleasantries continued in this vein for a few moments more, not that it
mattered: Yuka and Sayuri were too far gone in shock to hear anything else.
When they became aware of their surroundings again, Ranma's mother and her
two charges were gone.

"Sayuri-chan, could... could this be Ranma's twin sister? Maybe... maybe
it's not Ranma..."

Sayuri knit her brow. "Yuka-chan, this girl looks exactly like Ranma's
female form. Exactly. Even if Ranma had a twin sister, she couldn't be an
identical twin. She's been with Ranma's father since she was four, and we
know that Ranma and his father traveled by themselves. And... Akane has been
acting protective of Ranma all week. And you heard them in the locker room!
Ranma said it was the first time the boys had looked at *her* body. And she
said she didn't want to turn back into a boy."

She swallowed. "It... it sounds like... Ranma... Ranko... is a girl. And she
just found out about it. Oh, my..."

They stood there for several more minutes, digesting that, until mother,
daughter, and friend returned. They were talking. "Akane, what's so great
about Harajuku?"

"Well, it's just fun to visit. They have all sorts of little shops with all
sorts of cute things, and it's fun to watch the people. Mind you, one visit
goes a long way, but you have to see it once. Besides, I thought you wanted
to get out and around a bit."

"I... I guess so. Tomorrow morning?"

"Sure. Let's leave after the rush hour, OK? I don't want to have to stand on
the train."

"OK."

Sayuri and Yuka looked at each other. "Tomorrow morning, Watson. The game is
afoot." They giggled.

*****

Ranko wondered at the sea of humanity she was floating on. Every teenager in
Tokyo was out of school, and it seemed like they were all right here in
Harajuku. She hardly ever went downtown, and the sheer numbers of people in
Tokyo amazed her, just like any visitor from the countryside. At the moment,
she and Akane were working their way out of the Harajuku station of the
Yamanote line, which had been built to resemble a train station in the
English countryside, of all things.

They finally escaped through the exit gates, and stood on a sidewalk with
the train tracks on one side and a huge street on the other. Hordes of
people walked every which way. There were sidewalk vendors hawking all sorts
of items. Behind them, on the other side of the train tracks, was the Meiji
Shrine, an oasis of green in the middle of the urban chaos.

Ranko swept her gaze over the entire scene. "What... what do you think we
should do first, Akane?"

"Why don't we start with a little chat... 'Ranko-chan'." Akane and Ranko
froze, then slowly turned around.

They smiled nervously. "O-ohayou, Sayuri-chan, Yuka-chan..."

A half hour later four girls were sitting quietly on a bench on the grounds
of the Meiji Shrine. The mood was very subdued.

Yuka seemed close to tears. "I... I can't believe your father did that to
you, Ranko-chan." There was a chorus of agreement.

Sayuri thought back over the few months she had known Ranma. Always
obnoxious, macho, overbearing, and dismissive of women. And yet... there had
been the rare occasions when Ranma had shown some of his inner self,
tantalizing glimpses of sensitivity and vulnerability. It was amazing what
he... she had been hiding inside. She looked over at the redhead who was
looking off into the woods, her face pensive and her lips pursed. You really
can't judge a book by its cover, can you, she thought.

"So, Ranko-chan," she said, "you're going to try this out over summer break?
You're not sure you want to be a girl again?"

Ranko's head sank to her chest, and her voice dropped to a near whisper.
"I... I think I do want to be a girl again. But... but I've been a boy for
so long... I don't know if I can... and... what will everyone think of me?"
She shut her eyes tightly, and tears appeared at the sides.

Yuka took one of Ranko's hands. "Ranko-chan, I don't know what 'everyone'
will think, but I don't think that there is anything wrong with you being a
girl again. I... I think you're just a girl who's had some horrible things
done to her." Yuka smiled. "I... I'd be happy to help and support you. Even
if you decide you want to stay a boy."

Ranko's face lit up. "Really, Yuka-chan? You... you really don't think I'm
some kind of... of pervert?"

Akane and Sayuri looked at each other. What had they been doing to Ranko all
this time by calling her names? Calling her a pervert without understanding
what she was going through inside? Akane suddenly put her hand over her eyes
and bowed her head. Sayuri didn't feel too good herself.

Yuka scowled. "Of course not, Ranko-chan! You didn't ask for any of this to
happen to you."

Sayuri spoke up. "I feel the same way, Ranko-chan. I'd like to help. You...
you deserve it." Ranko was positively beaming, and Akane managed a smile.

She sure seems like a real girl to me, thought Sayuri. Ranko seemed to be
acting an awful lot like a normal girl, considering she had been practicing
for less than a week. Then again, maybe she didn't need to practice... Her
behavior seemed natural, unforced. Ranma's manhood had always seemed more
than a little exaggerated; he had always leapt to defend it.

Now, that shell was gone, and they were getting a look at what had been
inside it. Sayuri had never seen Ranma as relaxed as Ranko seemed now, even
though she had been upset recently. I... I guess "Ranma" was the role that
needed practice, she thought.

She stood up. "Ranko-chan, Akane-chan, I seem to remember that you were
coming to have some fun in Harajuku." She smiled mischievously. "Would you
care to make it a foursome?" Akane and Ranko looked at each other and
grinned.

*****

"What did you call it?"

"PU-RI-KU-RA -- that's an abbreviation of the English for 'Print Club'. You
get your picture taken and it makes stickers with the photo on it."

Ranko looked at the line of teenage girls in front of them, patiently
waiting to use the machine. She found it hard to believe it was worth
waiting this long for stickers with pictures on them.

Akane noted the skeptical look. "You do it with your friends. That way, you
have stickers with your picture taken together, and you can stick it in your
books and things, so you have your friend's pictures around all day at
school." The line moved forward, while Ranko thought about what it would be
like to have friends -- more than just one -- whom she cared about that
much.

Eventually, Yuka reached the front of the line, and turned around. "Hey
guys... want to see if we can get four of us in here at once?" She grinned.

The girls behind them in line rolled their eyes as all four of them crowded
in front of the machine. It was a very tight fit.

*flash*

"Sayuri-chan, your hand was in front of Akane-chan's face." "It's still in
front of my face!"

*flash*

"Ranko-chan, you had your eyes closed."

*flash*

"Please don't print that one of me. Please." There was giggling.

>From outside the curtain came a voice. "Are you planning to take all day in
there?"

*flash*

"Perfect!"

In short order, they were walking away from the booth with a set of printed
stickers, which they divided evenly among themselves. Ranko looked at the
photo. Akane, Yuka, Sayuri, and... herself. Four... four teenage girls, all
giggling like mad and having a great time. I'm... I'm wearing a dress, and
shopping, and giggling... and... and I thought I'd hate it but I'm having
the time of my life, thought Ranko. It's not at all what I thought it would
be like. I'm... I'm happy...

Akane noticed the huge smile on Ranko's face, and smiled herself.

They wandered up Takeshita street, a narrow alley with all sorts of
specialty shops. It seemed as if they were awash in a sea of teenagers;
making progress was like swimming. Ranko goggled at seeing people other than
Chinese Amazons with purple hair. Groups of girls like themselves were all
over, browsing through the shops. Clothes, old records and CDs, jewelry,
even a shop devoted to used blue jeans from America. Sayuri called out,
"Ranko-chan! Have a look at these earrings! They're perfect for you!"

Ranko looked at the earrings Sayuri had taken from a display in front of the
store. They were made of beautiful green jade, the perfect shade for her red
hair... and were made for pierced ears. She sighed. "I... I really like
them, but I... I'm not ready to pierce my ears yet."

"Oh..." said Sayuri, hanging the earrings back on the display. She saw how
Ranko's face had fallen as she looked wistfully at the earrings. "Well, over
there are some great scarves! You guys go ahead, I'll be right there.
There's something I want to look at." As the others moved off, she took the
earrings off the display once more and took them to the register...

Sayuri caught up with them as they were looking at the store that
specialized in Totoro merchandise. The other girls tried to get Ranko to buy
some Totoro pajamas, but she wasn't sure she was ready for that yet, either.

Eventually, they stumbled out the other end of Takeshita street.

"Hey, Ranko," said Akane, "I know just the thing. There's an ice cream place
just a few meters down this street."

"Ice cream?" Ranko's face lit up. They started walking. After a while, Akane
called out, "Here it is!"

Ranko looked around. She didn't see any ice cream place. "Where is it,
Akane?"

"It's right in front of you."

Ranko looked up. All she saw was an old bus up on the sidewalk, in front of
one of the trendy stores that lined the street. Its sign said "destination:
home town". On the windshield was painted the legend "Ice Cream, Sherbet".
People were lined up to go inside. "It's in the *bus*??"

Akane grinned.

*****

Several hours later, the four were headed back to Nerima on the train, after
squirming their way through the crowd in Harajuku station once more. None of
them had really bought very much, but they had tried on or looked at a
staggering amount of merchandise, talking the whole time. Ranko had heard
from Sayuri about her piano lessons, from Yuka about her interest in Western
poetry, from Akane about her interest in drama. They talked about the other
girls at school and what they were like, the social groups that had formed,
the school clubs and activities, the boy that Yuka was interested in. Yuka
tried to pump Ranko for "inside information" on him, but all Ranko knew was
that he seemed nice enough.

Ranko had talked a little about her martial arts. The others listened with
genuine interest, and Akane told a story or two about Ranko's adventures,
but afterwards Ranko fell silent, for she found she had nothing else in
particular to make conversation about. She... she didn't have any other
interests. Had martial arts taken up so much time as to exclude everything
else, or... had she used it to take up all her time so as to exclude
everything else?

Akane interrupted her thoughts. "So, Ranko, what did you think of Harajuku?"

Ranko crossed her eyes. "It was almost too much. I don't think I've seen
that much cute stuff in one place in my entire life. It's the cute center of
the universe." They all giggled.

Akane nodded. "I told you one visit went a long way." They laughed again.

After changing trains once, they disembarked at the Nerima station near
Nodoka's house. Ranko and Akane faced Sayuri and Yuka.

Ranko spoke. "Yuka-chan, Sayuri-chan... I... I was worried when I found out
you had followed us, but... I had a great time today. Being with all of you
was so much fun. Thank you."

Yuka and Sayuri smiled broad smiles. "We had fun, too, Ranko-chan," said
Sayuri. "I... we didn't know what to expect when we followed you after
spotting you yesterday, and when we found out about you, we... we wanted to
talk. I'm really glad we got a chance to meet and talk with you."

Yuka piped up. "Let's... let's get together again soon, OK?" Everyone
agreed.

Ranko turned to Akane. "We should probably be going, Akane. Mother is
probably working on dinner already."

A chorus of "ja ne!", and Ranko and Akane headed home. Sayuri and Yuka
turned towards their own homes, walking together.

"Want to give odds on her coming back to school as a boy?"

"No way."

*****

Over the next few days, Akane took Ranko all over Tokyo. Since Ranko had
spent so much of her life on the road, she hadn't seen very much of it
despite having been born there. In line with Dr. Toufuu's suggestion to not
hang around their usual spots, Akane thought it was a perfect opportunity
for Ranko to see more of her birthplace.

They traveled all over, visiting the sights that every Tokyoite was bored
stiff with by the age of 12, but which Ranko had never seen. They did the
tourist thing at the Tokyo Tower. They went to Shibuya and Ginza and the
other shopping areas and window-shopped. They browsed the bookstores in
Kanda, visited the temple at Asakusa, strolled through the gardens of the
Imperial Palace.

One day, Akane and Ranko were just finishing breakfast when the door chime
rang. Nodoka called "Hai" and hurried over to open the door, revealing...
Shampoo. Ranko and Akane looked at each other.

Nodoka smiled. "Why, Shampoo-chan, what a nice surprise! Please do come in."
The purple-haired Chinese Amazon girl bowed respectfully and stepped inside.

Ranko walked over to greet her, an uncertain look in her eyes. "He-hello,
Shampoo." Akane came up behind Ranko, frowning slightly.

Shampoo looked over Ranko from head to toe, and tried to smile. She answered
the unasked question: "Today Shampoo day off, want come see Ai... Ranko."
She bit her lip slightly at her slip of the tongue. Her eyes wandered around
the Saotome living room.

Ranko had not missed the slip, and swallowed nervously. She followed
Shampoo's gaze. "This is the house where I lived when I was born. Would
you... would you like to see it?"

Shampoo nodded, and they led her on a short tour of the Saotome home,
winding up in Ranko's room. Shampoo took in all the details: dolls on the
bed, lacy curtains, soft pastel colors. She wandered over to the dresser,
and noted the knickknacks and photographs of Ranko as a child. She moved to
the bed and sat heavily on it, looking around one more time. The man she had
thought she knew could never have lived in a room like this. Apparently, she
had been in love with an illusion. She looked at the floor, frowning, her
lips pursed.

Akane and Ranko looked at each other. Ranko turned to Shampoo and asked
"Shampoo? Are you all right? What's wrong?"

Shampoo looked up and found Ranko leaning down to look at her, concern on
her face. She has such beautiful, expressive eyes, thought Shampoo. You can
see what's in her heart just by looking into them. Before, they were like a
closed door. Shampoo looked into Ranko's eyes for a long time, as if she
were looking for something and having trouble finding it.

Ranko found Shampoo's gaze unnerving; she swallowed nervously, and
straightened up. Shampoo looked down again, embarrassed. When would she be
able to attain the emotional detachment Great-grandmother had, the cool
rationality necessary in one who was supposed to lead? She had listened to
her heart to the exclusion of her mind.

She tried to collect herself. "Shampoo OK." She stood up, and bowed.
"Shampoo sorry to intrude. Go now." She seemed very somber.

Ranko felt like she had to do something. "You... you don't have to go.
You're not intruding."

Akane looked at her watch. "Ranko, we were going to be leaving soon." Ranko
nodded.

Shampoo's curiosity got the better of her. "Ranko, Vio... Akane going
somewhere?" Shampoo winced. Old habits were hard to break. Akane didn't miss
this slip, either, and fumed silently.

Ranko looked nervously back and forth between the two of them. "We were...
we were going to go to Tokyo Disneyland today. We wanted to get there early,
to beat the crowds a little."

Shampoo nodded. "Shampoo go, then." She tried a smile and failed miserably.
"Have fun, OK?"

Ranko turned to Akane, pleading in her eyes. Akane looked cross for a
moment, then seemed to come to a decision, nodding a bit sullenly.

Ranko turned back to Shampoo. "Would... would you like to come with us?"

Shampoo, startled, looked up. "Really?" She turned to Akane, with a hopeful
expression on her face. "Akane, is OK?"

Akane wanted to be angry, but she'd never seen Shampoo this depressed
before. The normally effervescent Amazon was terribly morose. She didn't
think it could hurt: she was no longer worried about Shampoo fawning on
Ranko. If she did, she would just be making a fool of herself. Ever since
Ranko had shown up at the Nekohanten as herself, though, Shampoo had seemed
to back off from her physical affections. She seemed to be slowly coming to
terms with what had happened. Akane knew that Ranko liked Shampoo at some
level, and wanted to help cheer her up.

Akane nodded. "We're going in order to relax and have fun. I... wouldn't
mind if the three of us relaxed and had fun." She looked Shampoo straight in
the eye. "All three of us, together."

Shampoo nodded in understanding, and a genuine smile started to spread
across her face. "OK." Ranko smiled.

Many hours later, as dinnertime approached, they were on their way home,
chatting excitedly about all they had seen and done. Akane had been to
Disneyland many times before, but this had been the first time for Ranko and
Shampoo. Ranko had thought it would be like some kind of big festival, but
it had been something else again.

The had toured the attractions, filled up on junk food, and ridden the
rides. Akane had watched with quiet joy as Ranko laughed from pure,
childlike delight. Ranko hadn't screamed quite as much as Shampoo and Akane
had on some of the rides -- after the Nekoken, her threshold for fear was a
bit higher -- but they had all had fun together. The rivalries between the
three of them had seemed to take the day off, too.

Shampoo waved goodbye to both of them at the Fuurinkan station and turned
towards the Nekohanten with a smile on her face. This day had turned out so
much better than she had expected. She would never have imagined that she
could have that much fun with the two of them. To her surprise, she had
found herself growing to like Akane, now that she wasn't fighting with her
constantly. Her thoughts drifted back to her life at Joketsuzoku; she hadn't
had fun like this, just hanging out with girlfriends, in years--

Suddenly, she stopped short, as if she'd run into a brick wall. Shampoo
realized in shock that early on in their visit to Disneyland, the fact that
Ranko used to be a boy -- not just any boy, but Ranma, her Airen -- had
quietly faded from her mind. She'd been thinking of Ranko as a girlfriend
for most of the day, and she hadn't even realized it until now. Ranko's
behavior had seemed so... natural, that Shampoo had simply fallen into
thinking of her that way.

She resumed walking towards the Nekohanten in a much more thoughtful mood.

*****

One afternoon, Ranko and Akane were sitting in the living room watching TV
when Nodoka came out of the kitchen and stood over them.

"Ranko, dear, did you ever learn to cook when you were on the road with your
father?"

Ranko looked a little confused. "Well, he... I learned a little. You know,
camping-style food." She made a face. "We had a lot of meals which were just
rice. I sure know how to make that!"

Her mother smiled. "Would you like me to teach you how to cook?"

Ranko started to object that guys don't cook, but stopped. She wasn't a guy;
at least, not for the summer, and maybe... "I... I don't know. Is this
something I should learn?"

Her mother nodded. "I think it's something everyone should learn, though the
men seem to want to leave it mostly to us." She made a face herself. "If you
ever get married, your husband will probably expect you to do it."

Ranko's eyes started to glaze over. The idea of being someone's wife... of
cooking for them... of being a moth... being a moth... she couldn't imagine
it; she was still getting used to the idea of being a girl. She blocked
those thoughts out. But a tiny part of her felt strangely excited.

Akane piped up. "I'd love to help Ranko learn to cook!" Ranko instantly
snapped out of her mental dithering, her adrenaline surging. Daydreams had
to wait; this was an emergency.

Nodoka smiled. "That's very kind of you, Akane-chan, but my kitchen is
rather small, and I think there won't be much room in there if I am trying
to help Ranko. Besides, I'd like to teach her the way my mother taught me."
Ranko awaited Akane's answer, holding her breath.

Akane's face fell, then she smiled. "I... I guess so, Auntie..."

Ranko sagged in relief, her heart still pounding. That had been close...

Nodoka said gently, "Don't worry, Akane-chan, once I get Ranko started, we
can all three work in the kitchen!" Akane nodded, and smiled. Ranko turned
pale.

Nodoka turned to her daughter. "Well, dear?"

The tiny, excited part of Ranko's mind prodded her. "Sure... I mean, yes,
Mother, I'd like that." She got up and followed her mother into the kitchen.

That evening at dinner, Nodoka was beaming, and Akane was impressed; Ranko
seemed to have a talent for cooking. She blushed as her mother complimented
her on how well she had done for a beginner. Nodoka turned to Akane and said
"I think we'll be ready for you to join us soon, Akane-chan!" Ranko's blush
faded quickly. She wasn't looking forward to that.

*****

A few days later, while they were eating lunch, Nodoka suddenly looked
distracted, then clapped a hand to her mouth.

"What is it, Mother?" asked Ranko, concerned.

Her mother shook her head. "Nothing that bad. I've been having so much fun
having you two here that I completely forgot a date I had. I'm supposed to
go to Hakone tomorrow for a couple of days to meet a classmate of mine at
one of the hot springs. We get together there every summer."

Ranko looked perplexed. "Hot springs? In August?"

Akane chimed in. "Oh, they're up the side of the mountain, Ranko. It's quite
cool there at night, even during the worst of summer. We went a lot when I
was younger, but it's been quite a while for me."

Ranko nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I don't see why you shouldn't go, Mother.
I think Akane and I can take care of ourselves for a couple of days."

Akane beamed. "That's right! I can help with the cooking!"

Ranko thought frantically to come up with an escape; her mother saved her.
"Well, I'm sure you two would be fine, but would you like to come with me? I
would love to show you off to my classmate; she hasn't seen you since you
were a little girl. Have you ever been to a hot spring, dear?" She was
surprised when her daughter's face fell.

"Yes," she said sadly, "but hot springs and Jusenkyou curses don't really
mix well." Nodoka frowned. She hadn't thought of that.

Akane reminded her, "But Ranko, your curse is locked right now. You wouldn't
have any problem at all."

Ranko looked up in surprise. "You're... you're right." To actually enjoy a
hot spring, and not have to worry about her curse?... And, she would be
saved from Akane's cooking! She started to smile, and turned to her mother
"Yes, Mother, I'd love to come!"

Nodoka smiled. "You're invited too, of course, Akane-chan." Akane nodded
enthusiastically. "After lunch, I will call the inn where we have
reservations; I should be able to get a room for you two to share."

The next day, after an hour's train ride from Tokyo, they found themselves
in Hakone station, where they transferred to the cog railway that made its
way up the side of the mountain in a series of switchbacks. After about
twenty minutes of breathtaking views, they got off in the small town of
Miyanoshita, where their inn was located.

A short walk brought them to it. As they walked in the front door with their
bags, a middle-aged woman who had been sitting in the lobby got up and
rushed over.

"Nodoka-chan! It's so good to see you again!"

Nodoka beamed. "Reiko-chan! You look wonderful!"

Her friend noticed the two girls and smiled. "And who are these two young
ladies?" Before Nodoka could answer, she took a closer look at Ranko.
"Nodoka-chan... could this possibly be..." She seemed very excited.

Nodoka nodded happily. "Yes, this is Ranko, my daughter. Ranko, this is
Tanaka Reiko. We went to high school together."

Ranko thought that her mother's friend was going to fly apart at the seams,
she was so excited. "Ranko-chan, I can't believe it's you! Oh, let me look
at you!" She took Ranko by the shoulders and turned her from side to side,
as Ranko blushed. "My goodness, I haven't seen you since you were a little
girl! Not since your father ran off with you..."

Nodoka said, "We were reunited a couple of weeks ago, quite by accident."

Tanaka-san turned to Akane. "Oh, and I'll bet you must be Akane-chan! I
remember you, too; you two always did everything together!" She was still
bubbling. "I'm so glad to see that you turned out so nicely, Ranko-chan! Who
knows what your father might have done to you?" She noticed as the other
three's smiles became a little strained, and dropped her voice. "Did... did
something happen to you?"

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in Nodoka's room, the luggage pushed
off to one side. Tanaka-san was much more subdued. "He... he raised you as a
*boy*?!"

Ranko nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. He... he took me on a martial arts training trip,
all over Japan and China, and tried to teach me to be a boy." She omitted
the magic and curses; she wasn't ready to share that with everyone, and
wasn't sure she ever would be. A part of her wanted to forget it herself.

"How... how awful! How could he do something like that to his own daughter?"

You don't know the half of it, thought Akane.

Tanaka-san seemed to revive a little. "Please call me Auntie, Ranko-chan. I
remember you very well from when you were little. You too, Akane-chan." She
sighed. "Poor Nodoka-chan, I didn't think she would ever recover from losing
you. I'm so glad to see you back, safe and sound." She chuckled. "Don't
worry, I'm sure your mother will be able to help you overcome the way you
were raised." Akane was struck by how hopeful Ranko looked at that.

Auntie Tanaka stood up. "Well, why don't we go have dinner as soon as you
are all settled? Then we can all go soak for a while!" Ranko and Akane
nodded and smiled; a nice hot bath would be just the thing.

After dinner, they changed into their robes, and headed for the baths. As
she stepped inside and headed towards the entrance, Ranko was startled by
Akane's hissing behind her. "Ranko! Not *that* way." She looked up; she had
been about to go in the men's side.

At that point, realization hit her, the realization that she should have had
when her mother first said the words "hot spring". She was a girl now, all
the time. She was going to go in the *women's side*. She was going to sit in
a hot spring full of women who were... n-not wearing any clothes.

She had been on the women's side before, of course, but only as part of the
usual chaos that surrounded her curse, and then only for a short time. It
had always been terribly embarrassing when it had happened. Now... now she
was going to be on the women's side from start to finish. And possibly for
the rest of her life.

Akane reached over and tugged her sleeve, seeming to read her thoughts.
"It's OK... don't worry."

Auntie Tanaka turned to Nodoka. "My goodness, your husband really confused
her, didn't he?" Nodoka could do nothing but nod in agreement.

Ranko cautiously entered the women's side. Within moments, she was turning
bright red as Akane, her mother, and Auntie Tanaka all proceeded to take
their robes and slippers off, and put them in cubbyholes provided for that
purpose. Akane turned and found Ranko staring at her and trembling.

Akane sighed. How was Ranko going to be able to be a girl if something like
this terrified her? She had to help her get used to it, somehow. And there
was only one way to do that... She went over and took Ranko's hand. "It's
OK, really. See? I don't mind." She grinned. "I'm not going to pound you for
looking at me." Ranko smiled a tiny smile. "I'm a girl, and you're a girl.
It's OK, right?" Akane cocked her head.

Ranko slowly nodded, and took off her robe and slippers. Auntie Tanaka was
about to comment on her beautiful figure, but something told her it would be
wiser to keep quiet just now.

They headed inside, and Ranko found herself in a room full of women, washing
themselves in preparation for entering the springs. And none of them were
wearing a stitch of clothing. Akane noticed as Ranko's hands flew up to
cover her eyes, and she was trembling again.

Akane walked around to face Ranko, and gently took her hands, uncovering her
eyes. Ranko looked back at her fearfully. Akane looked around, then led
Ranko by the hand over to a full-length mirror on one side of the room. She
put her hands on Ranko's shoulders and turned her to face the mirror. Ranko
calmed down a little.

"Ranko, what do you see? In the mirror."

Ranko was confused. "I... I see me..."

"Look closely. Is that really you in the mirror, or someone else?"

Ranko did as she was told. She examined the petite, pretty, redheaded
Japanese girl looking back at her, and a wave of comfortable familiarity
washed over her at the sight; she felt a little better. "Yes... Yes, that's
me."

"Is that a boy or a girl?"

Ranko looked again. "It's... I... I'm a girl."

Akane smiled. "Do *we* girls go to the men's side?"

Ranko felt more relaxed. "No. *We* don't." She started to smile herself.
"Th-thanks, Akane."

They turned and went to wash off. Ranko was still nervous, but not
terrified. Akane led her by the hand again as they went outside to the
springs. The pools had a nice view from the side of the mountain, and as
promised, the air was quite crisp; Ranko shivered a bit. She heard male
voices on the other side of the wall that divided the two sections. I... I
may never be on that side again, she thought in wonder. Not that I
necessarily want to be... she thought back to the locker room incident, and
shuddered.

Her mother and Auntie Tanaka had picked out a pool, and Akane and she
followed, and climbed in. For a second, as she got in, she felt an icy chill
of terror run up her spine, but nothing happened; she sighed, and got all
the way in.

The hot water soothed her muscles and relaxed her, and she sagged
comfortably against the side of the pool, as her tension left her
completely. She looked up; the stars were faintly visible. The view from the
pool was wonderful. There was a faint scent of sulfur due to the volcanic
origin of the springs, but nothing so strong as to be objectionable.

She looked at her companions, and they also showed every sign of being much
more relaxed. She noticed there were several other women in their pool,
including a couple of girls the same age as she and Akane.

Her mother and Auntie Tanaka were catching up on each other's news since
their last meeting, so Ranko turned to Akane. "Akane... Thank you. This can
be... a little overwhelming sometimes." She looked around and dropped her
voice so only Akane could hear her. "I... I keep expecting everyone will be
able to tell I'm... I'm not a real girl."

Akane looked Ranko straight in the eye, and whispered her reply forcefully.
"Saotome Ranko, I don't know what makes you think you are not a real girl.
You are just as real a girl as I am! Stop running yourself down!"

Akane saw hope in Ranko's eyes. "Do... do you really mean that?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, silly! If you weren't a real girl,
would I be sitting here naked in a hot spring with you?"

Ranko gave a mischievous smile. "If our fathers had anything to say about
it, you would."

Akane made a show of mock anger. "Oh, you!" They both started giggling.

"What's so funny, girls?" Auntie Tanaka and Nodoka were looking over.

"Oh, nothing," said Akane. "Ranko is a little nervous about being here since
she was raised as a boy, and we're just joking about it to put her at ease."
The two older women nodded and went back to their chat.

Akane turned back to Ranko. "Ranko, I've been meaning to ask you. How... how
do you like being a gir... I mean living as a girl again, so far? Is... is
it what you expected?"

Ranko looked thoughtful. "I... no, it's not really what I expected." Akane
gave her a questioning look, and Ranko smiled. "Actually, it's much better.
I thought... I thought all the 'girl stuff' would bother me, but... but it
doesn't, not really. Sometimes I enjoy it." She looked up at the stars.
"And... I don't feel all tense and unhappy, like I did when I was... living
as a boy." They both glanced over at Auntie Tanaka. "I feel relaxed."

"Does... does that mean you're going to... keep living as a girl?"

Ranko felt a familiar wave of fear wash over her. "I... I don't know. Right
now everything is fine, but... but I still don't know what it would be like
to go to school this way. To spend the rest of my life this way. I'm still
thinking about it..." Akane nodded, lost in thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she and Ranko noticed the two girls their
own age making their way over to their side of the pool. Ranko slid down
into the water a little bit more.

The two girls came up, and they both looked nervous. "Ex-excuse me, Miss,
but... but I was wondering... if... if I might ask you..." She seemed
flustered.

Her friend interrupted. "My friend here is nosy, and wants to know where you
got your hair colored that shade of red." She grinned. "I think she'd like
to try it herself." Her friend blushed.

Ranko relaxed a little, but still felt wary. "I... it's not colored. Th-this
is just the color it is."

The tongue-tied girl seemed surprised. "It's natural?! Really? I don't think
I've ever seen a Japanese girl with red hair before."

Ranko nodded in her mother's direction. "That's my mother over there. See
for yourself."

The two girls turned, and sure enough, there was a middle-aged woman who had
reddish hair herself. She interrupted her conversation to call over,
"Akane-chan, Ranko, did you make some friends?" She and Auntie Tanaka were
smiling at them.

The two girls looked embarrassed. "I... I'm sorry for the intrusion." They
turned to go.

Something made Ranko speak out. "No... No, that's OK. Do... do you want to
sit here for a while?"

The girls looked at each other and smiled. "Sure!" They made their way back,
and sat down.

The one who had stuttered to begin with spoke. "I'm Yamaguchi Shiho, and
this is my friend Morisawa Yuuko. And you must be Ranko and Akane?" She
smiled.

Akane and Ranko smiled back. "I'm Saotome Ranko, and this is my friend
Tendou Akane. Did you come from Tokyo, Shiho-san?"

Shiho tilted her head. "Well, Yokohama. Does that count?" They all laughed.

The four of them started chatting, and time passed quickly. Ranko found
herself enjoying the talk; she didn't feel quite so much like an intruder,
someone who didn't belong. Until the two girls from Yokohama started
comparing notes on their boyfriends.

"Say, Ranko-san, Akane-san," said Yuuko, "do you have any boys you're dating
right now?" Akane and Ranko both turned red. Akane spoke first. "Um, I... I
did have a boyfriend, but... but the... relationship ended recently..." She
looked sad.

Shiho and Yuuko were all concern. "Oh, Akane-san, I'm so sorry. That must be
hard."

Akane managed a smile. "Don't worry. He and I are... very good friends. It's
OK." She and Ranko smiled at each other.

The two other girls nodded. "And you, Ranko-san?"

Ranko once again experienced that deer-caught-in-headlights feeling. "M-Me?
D-Date?" She didn't want to think about that at all. "I... I don't think I'm
quite ready for that yet."

Shiho and Yuuko giggled. "You must be the shy type! Don't worry, you'll know
you're ready when the time comes." They nodded sagely, and burst into
giggles again.

Ranko nodded. "I... I guess."

There was a call from the other side of the pool. "Shiho, Yuuko-chan! We're
going!"

The two girls excused themselves. "Well, the call of the parents," said
Shiho. "I hope we get a chance to meet you again."

Akane said, "We'll be here until the day after tomorrow." She smiled. "I'd
love to get together again, too." Ranko nodded in agreement, and the other
girls moved off.

Ranko sat back and sighed. "It... it wasn't so bad, was it?"

Akane knew what she meant. "Remember what I told you. You're a girl, and
people see you that way. They can tell better than you can."

Ranko nodded. The bath was so relaxing, it was hard to get nervous about
anything. She looked up at the stars, and noticed there seemed to be more of
them than before. And they were getting fuzzy...

The next thing she knew, she was lying on a towel in the wash area, with a
bath attendant applying a cold washcloth to her forehead. Her mother, Auntie
Tanaka, and Akane stood nearby, looking worried. "What... what happened?"
asked Ranko. She still felt woozy.

The attendant smiled. "Nothing to worry about, Ranko-chan. You're such a
small, light girl, the hot water got to you; your body temperature went up
and you fainted. But you're fine now." She stood up. "Try not to spend so
much time in the water in one sitting, OK? I think drinking some cold water
and going to bed now would be a good idea."

She smiled again, and left, and Ranko got shakily to her feet. She... she
had never had this problem before. Then again, she had never soaked in a hot
spring as a girl before, and her boy form was a lot bigger. She noticed her
new friends standing over in a corner; they came over.

"I'm glad you're OK, Ranko-san. Yuuko and I were worried for a while."

Ranko smiled. "I... I'm fine, thanks. I bounce back pretty quickly."

Shiho giggled. "I'm glad. You were almost as red as that hair of yours!" She
shook her head. "I can't believe it's really natural, but there's sure no
doubt about it." Ranko wondered why Shiho was so sure now when earlier she
had thought it was dyed.

"Anyway," added Yuuko, "See you tomorrow!" They turned and left.

Nodoka said, "We should go too, dear. You should rest."

Ranko nodded, and happened to catch her reflection in the mirror again. Once
more, she thought in wonder, I'm... I'm really a girl. She shook her head;
she could still scarcely believe it. She smiled at the red hair which had so
impressed the two other girls. Suddenly, as she looked at herself, she
realized how Shiho had known she was a natural redhead, and her knees
started to give way.

Akane was there to support her. "You're going to bed, young lady."

Ranko smiled weakly. "No... no argument."

*****

The next day, Ranko, Akane, and their two new friends explored the Hakone
area. They took the cog railway and visited the open-air art museum, then
took the cable car up over the volcanic crater, which constantly vented
copious quantities of sulfurous fumes. Everyone agreed that it was far too
smelly a place to linger for long.

Ranko found that, as with Yuka and Sayuri, she was having fun with friends
in a way she never had as a guy. For her, the way they interacted, and did
things together, was so much more fun. I... I guess I really am a girl, she
thought. Doing things this way just seems so much more relaxed to me...

After a day of roaming around they were all looking forward to a nice long
soak, and after dinner they were once more in the hot springs. The bath
attendant had thoughtfully given Ranko a basket of cold, wet washcloths, so
that she could last a little longer. Ranko felt the cold cloth on her head,
and thought, I look like Father this way. I... I wonder where he is and what
he's doing...

Shiho noticed Ranko's sad expression. "Ranko-san, what is it?"

Ranko's eyes were downcast. "It's... it's my father. He... he often wears a
washcloth like this on his head, and it reminded me of him..." A tear slid
down her cheek.

The other girls looked at each other in concern. Akane took Ranko's hand,
and explained. "Ranko and her father... have had problems in their
relationship. He... uh... wanted a son, and he... that got in the way of him
really accepting her as a daughter. He... he left recently, without saying
where he was going or when he would be back, and she hasn't seen him in a
couple of weeks." Whew. That had been a difficult editing job.

Yuuko nodded thoughtfully. "I... I understand, I think. I... I've been
having problems with my father, too. He... he seems to want me to be someone
else, the ideal daughter he envisioned." She sighed. "But I still love
him... he's still my father."

Ranko nodded silently, more tears streaming down her cheeks. Akane moved
over, and put her arms around Ranko, who accepted them gratefully, not even
noticing that neither of them were wearing any clothes.

After a while, she felt better. I... I don't know if I can take all these
emotions, she thought. It feels better than holding it all inside, but they
can be so overwhelming sometimes. I... I never used to cry all the time like
this... She sniffled a bit. Then again, I never used to laugh all the time,
either...

After that, the conversation turned to cheerier things, like the schools
they went to, and what interests they had, and where they lived. As usual,
they were spellbound by some of Ranko's (heavily edited) stories about her
martial arts adventures, and Ranko too found each girl to have an
interesting set of experiences and interests. As Ranko's time limit in the
bath drew near, they exchanged a promise to visit if she and Akane were ever
in Yokohama, or if Yuuko and Shiho were in Nerima.

The next morning, the four of them stood in the lobby of the inn,
frantically scribbling addresses and phone numbers on inn stationery. Akane
and Ranko waved goodbye as the other two girls went off to rejoin their
families, then went to join Nodoka and Auntie Tanaka, who were saying their
farewells.

"Nodoka-chan, you simply must bring them again next year. Perhaps I can talk
my son into coming; he thought it would be as dull as drying paint, but he
might change his mind if he knew there were two girls his own age here.
Especially two girls as pretty as you!" She winked at Ranko and Akane, and
Ranko blushed deeply.

A short while later they were riding the cog railway back down the mountain,
where they boarded different trains: Nodoka and her two charges one for
Shinjuku, and Auntie Tanaka one for Tokyo station; there she would transfer
for Chiba Prefecture, where she lived. Her train left a little later, and so
she waved at them from the platform as they pulled out. Ranko waved back,
enthusiastically.

As she settled back in her seat for the short ride back to Tokyo, she
reflected on the past two days. She had gone out in public as a girl, had
met strangers and made friends, and... and no one had had the slightest
inkling she had spent twelve years of her life as a boy, physically and
mentally, if not emotionally. It had been just perfect, except for fainting
in the bath. She shook her head and smiled; she had thought she was used to
this body after five months, but obviously it still held surprises for her.
Well, hopefully that's the last big one, she thought as she looked out the
window at the scenery.

Akane saw the calm smile on Ranko's face, and smiled herself. It was obvious
Ranko had had a wonderful time, and her fears about living as a girl had
diminished a lot. She seemed more and more comfortable with it, and Akane
had to admit that had she not known about Ranko, she wouldn't have had a
clue about her past. She seemed pretty much like a normal girl, if a little
shy.

Nodoka smiled at the two of them. She had been about to ask how they liked
their two days at the hot springs, but the expressions on their faces made
that unnecessary.

As their train pulled into Shinjuku, Ranko said, "You know, Mother, I... I
think I *would* like to go again next year. That was fun..." Nodoka smiled,
and they set off to change to their next train.

*****

End Chapter 4



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