The striking of the muse takes one in curious directions.
I have included a number of author's notes at the end of
this part explaining the direction I have taken.  I would
have included them at the start but they include spoilers
for what one will find herein.

I should say, however, that this part is more or less a
prelude to the inclusion of more 'normal' plot for a Ranma
universe, planned for the following part.  Assuming it
ever gets written, which at this point I do plan to.

Commentary is invited.




Honorable Father - Part One
by Dave Eddy <dje@progress.com>


A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series,
Ranma 1/2.  (See also the Author's Notes.)  The
characters of Ranma 1/2 are the property of Takahashi
Rumiko and her licencees.


    
    The postcard arrived two weeks before the start of
summer.  Nodoka's eyebrows raised as she read the
missive:
    
    
    
          Dear Mother,
    
          I must meet with you before returning home.
    
          I will meet you in the evening of the 10th at
          Nishiyama Onsen.
    
                    Ranma
    
    
    
    Nodoka nodded to herself.  The Nishiyama Onsen in
Hayakawa-cho, Yamanishi prefecture, was not far away,
perhaps fifteen kilometres.  It had, once upon a time,
been a part of the family's fief, and the clan had even
been honoured to host the legendary Ieyasu Tokugawa there
at one time during the years of his Shogunate.  For that
reason the clan had been careful to maintain its
ownership of what was now a moderately well-known resort
even through the turmoil of the Meiji restoration and the
"reforms" which followed.
    
    Checking the date on the postcard once more, she
nodded again to herself.  Moving over to a low bureau,
she opened a panel and lifted the receiver of a telephone
concealed there.
    
    "Shibito?... Yes, you and seven others.  We will meet
Ranma at the Nishiyama Onsen tomorrow evening... Yes...
Yes, I expect he will be there too... Good.  Well done."
    
    Hanging up the telephone, Nodoka wondered whether
Genma knew that the place was owned by the Saotome clan.
She was quite certain that *Ranma* knew - she had told
him three years ago, and that boy never forgot anything.
If Ranma was bringing his father - and the meeting point
away from the main compound suggested as much - he was
clearly trapping him into a *world* of hurt.
    
    Smiling coldly but with a trace of concern for her
boy, Nodoka wondered what Genma could have done that
would make Ranma want to do *that* to him.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    The Nishiyama Onsen Resort was, as always, fairly
busy.  It was never actually *quiet* as such, but during
the major holidays, it was always packed to overflowing
with people who wished to take in the pure, hot waters of
the springs and the spectacular views to the south and
west.
    
    As with most onsen resorts, Nishiyama consisted of a
number of pools of varying temperature, some tiny, some
more than large enough for a double football team to
bathe in comfort.  Some pools had natural privacy
provided by the hillocks and dips of the landscape; these
were typically fenced off if they were small and made
available for private parties for an extra charge.  They
tended to be popular with honeymooners.
    
    One in particular was in a small, private dell at the
opposite end of the pools from the main resort
accommodation.  The onsen itself was small and largely
unimproved, consisting mostly of a deep, U-shaped basin
in the living rock about two metres in diameter, but
nearby the rock gave way to shrubs and grass, and a small
house nestled against the base of the rise backing the
area.  Most importantly of all, the water was pure and
clear with a gentle but persistent flow, and a hot but
comfortable (to habitual onsen users) forty-five degrees
Celcius.
    
    This was the private onsen of the Saotome clan,
although use by staff members of the resort when the
family or their retainers were not in attendance was
permitted.  Now, in the evening of this 10th of June, it
appeared deserted.  Oil lamps sitting in simply-carved
stone vestibules provided a low light over the entire
area, and two rows of four oil lanterns on stakes
illuminated an area of the grassy sward located between
the house and pool more brightly.  There, between the
rows of lamps, had been placed twelve tatami to form a
large rectangular 'floor'.  Four zabuton - the flat,
broad cushions used by the Japanese when extended
kneeling or sitting is required - were set out on the
tatami.  To one side, also on the matted area, sat a
small, low table and tea-making things.  A charcoal
brazier glowed to itself, casting heat but no smoke.
    
    The ever-present sound of Cicadas stilled, and there
was a creak as the gate in the surrounding fence was
opened.  A large, misshapen figure slipped through the
gate and closed it before proceeding to the tatami-matted
meeting area.
    
    Now in the light, the walking figure resolved into a
hooded and caped person carrying another over one
shoulder.  With a slither then a thump, the standing
person dropped Saotome Genma to the mat.  Unconscious,
his hands and ankles are tied.  Quickly the cloaked
figure knelt and cut the ropes, then knelt in seiza on
one of the zabuton facing the house.
    
    One of the shoji that formed the walls of the house
slid back and Saotome Nodoka, coiffed and kimono'd,
stepped out onto the engawa surrounding the house.  A
sword-wearing guard followed her.  Quickly she slipped
sandals on her feet and stepped across the grass to the
mats, where she once again doffed them and slipped
smoothly onto the zabuton opposite the cloaked figure.
The guard followed, kneeling behind and to the left of
Nodoka.  A glance at the still-unconscious Genma, a quick
hand motion, and seven more guards slipped out of the
house and ringed the meeting area at a distance.
    
    Nodoka smiled, and the cloaked figure reached up and
pulled back the cowl of the cloak.  It was Ranma, and
quickly he bowed deeply from seiza, hands flat on the mat
in front of him and forehead almost touching it.  "Good
evening, mother.  It is a pleasure to see you again," he
said.
    
    Automatically Nodoka returned the bow, and sitting up
again she sat back comfortably on her heels and drank in
the sight of her son, cataloguing the changes that the
last ten months had brought.  The most obvious change was
his hair... shockingly, it appeared he had dyed it, and
it was now a pale, translucent blue-green.  Frowning
internally whilst maintaining her smile, she mused that
the colour was almost exactly that assigned to water, an
odd choice for a rebellion she would have thought.  More
likely would have been a wild cherry pink, or perhaps
brilliant lime green, or a strong, royal blue.  But the
colour of water?  Odd, even though as she reflected on
it, she admitted to herself that it appeared to suit him
very well.
    
    His cheekbones had changed too, more pronounced.  His
eyes, the same as ever.  Still no sign of a beard, she
mused, then stopped, shocked.  Was the boy wearing
lipstick?  His lips were darker and looked... feminine.
Hastily Nodoka double-checked to make sure no fraction of
her feelings was leaking onto her face, then she
addressed him.
    
    "Ranma, my son," she said at last with a smile,
"welcome home.  Have you been well?"
    
    Ranma grimaced, and Nodoka reminded herself that she
would have to give the boy more training in schooling his
expression.  "I have been well, mother, but..."
    
    A pregnant silence stretched, and Nodoka felt her
heart sink.  Was that why the boy was wearing that cloak
tonight?  He had been maimed somehow?  At last she could
resist the pressure no longer, and prompted him.  "But?"
    
    Ranma tipped his head forward, shadowing his eyes.
"But... something happened at a training ground in China.
I fear it has changed my life forever... and...," Ranma
added with a gulp, "it may render me ineligible to fulfil
the family pledge.  Mother... I asked you here tonight to
discuss the matter with you, and to beg of you your help
in deciding how to proceed."  He bowed formally once
again before resuming his upright kneeling posture.
    
    Nodoka felt her heart sink.  If Ranma was correct in
his assessment, it may mean that her only son would be
forced to commit seppuku... as well as her husband,
worthless waste of flesh that he was, and herself.
Steeling herself, she said, "What is it that has
happened, Son?"
    
    Ranma said nothing, but turned his head, indicating
the guards.  Nodoka saw and realised he wanted the guards
dismissed.  She turned her head to Shiboto and nodded.
Moments later, the pair were alone except for an
unconscious Genma.
    
    Reaching out of his enveloping cloak, Ranma drew a
teacup full of cold water from the bucket near the
brazier and, with a flick of his wrist, tossed it onto
his unconscious father's head.  After a brief moment,
Genma was replaced by an absolutely enormous example of a
Giant Panda.
    
    Without a sound, Nodoka fainted.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    Ranma gazed across the seemingly endless pools of
Jusenkyou, smiling as he enjoyed the simple pleasure of
the mild morning sunshine of this lovely spring day.  The
lumpy, near-vertical mountains so typical of the Chinese
landscape made a picturesque backdrop to the scene, with
some light mist still clinging to the ground shrouding
the far side of the valley and making it appear as though
the pools went on forever.  There was not a breath of
wind, and the crystal waters of the pools looked inviting
despite the likelihood that they were icy cold.
    
    Sticking out of the pools were bamboo poles, in some
pools two or three poles; in others only one.  As a
training ground, the objective was clearly to balance on
the poles and move between them without getting wet.
    
    "I've gotta tell you, old man, this looks like a
pretty nice place.  Looks like pretty easy training,
too."  He grinned.  "I wouldn't've thought you had it in
ya, old man.  You must be getting soft in your old age."
    
    He turned to see how his father had reacted to this
sally to see that Genma was paying him no attention.
Instead he was staring at a figure in a Maoist uniform
running towards them, yelling incoherently.  Curious,
Ranma wandered over to stand by his father.
    
    "<Stop!  What are you doing here?!  This is a very
dangerous place!>" the Guide called in Mandarin as he
approached.
    
    "What did he say, boy?" asked Genma after a glance at
Ranma to confirm that he had come over.
    
    "He said this is a very dangerous place."
    
    Genma snorted.  "Of course it's dangerous.  I
wouldn't have brought you here otherwise, boy.  We're not
here for a rest holiday you know."
    
    "It looks like a balance exercise to me."
    
    "Yes, well, we'll spice it up a little by fighting
each other as we go, boy!"  Genma smirked.  "That water
looks cold."
    
    The Guide came puffing up.  "I Junsenkyou Guide, this
very dangerous place!" he said in broken Japanese.
    
    "<What's so dangerous about this place?>" asked Ranma
of the Guide.
    
    "<This is the valley of sorrow; almost every spring
here bears a curse.>"
    
    "<Curse?  What kind of curse?>"
    
    "What are you jabbering on about, boy?" interrupted
Genma.
    
    "He says these springs are cursed."
    
    Genma snorted again.  "Good.  That makes it better
training."  With that he grabbed the collar at the back
of Ranma's gi and flung him in the direction of the
nearest cursed pools.  He leaped to follow, yelling,
"Fight, Ranma!"
    
    "<Argh!  What are you doing?!>" yelled the Guide.
"<If you fall in you'll get a curse!  Each spring has a
very tragic story!>"
    
    Heart thumping and with adrenaline coursing through
his system, Ranma reached out and snagged a bamboo pole
as it went by.  Nimbly he scrambled up to the top and
took a Crane stance - very basic and somewhat restrictive
of options, but just the thing for when you only had room
for one foot to balance on - just in time to fend off an
attack from his father.
    
    "<Be careful, that's Spring of Drowned Dog, if you
fall in-->"  *SPLASH!*  "<Oh no, Mr. Customer fell into
Spring of Drowned Panda, now he's going to become a Panda
whenever-->"
    
    The Guide cut off his commentary as the massive panda
flung itself out of the spring, water flying everywhere
from the violence of its passage.  Ranma jumped
frantically to one side to avoid the flying water and was
off-balance when the panda attacked.  The huge animal,
easily twice the size of a normal panda, smashed a blow
into his ribs with stupendous force and he found himself
bearing down on another spring.  With a frantic stretch
he grabbed for the spring's sole bamboo pole, but it was
in vain as his fingers slipped on the slimy surface of
the pole near the water and he splashed down into the
spring.
    
    He was right, the springs were numbingly cold.  Odd
that his balls hadn't painfully retracted into his...  Oh
boy.
    
    Standing up in the shallow spring, Ranma was relieved
to see that he at least had hands.  A quick check - but
not frantic, never frantic - showed that he had a set of
breasts far larger than any he had seen before except in
some imported magazines.  He looked up to see his father
the panda still balancing on a pole, waiting for the
battle to continue, eyes just now bugging out in
surprise.
    
    "<You've fallen in Spring of Drowned Girl, young Mr.
Customer,>" said the Guide sympathetically.
    
    Ranma turned to the Guide, then hauled himself -
herself - out of the pool.  With a sigh, she turned to
face him.  "<I don't suppose there's a cure, is there?>"
she asked quietly.
    
    "<Yes, the Spring of Drowned Boy, but-->"
    
    Her heart leapt.  "<Where is it?>"
    
    The Guide pointed to a nearby spring.  "<That's it
just there.  But-->"  The Guide cut himself as Ranma
flung herself into a leap towards the indicated pool.
"<What are you DOING?!  If  you jump in now the curses
will... Oh, no!>"
    
    Ranma blanched as she fell towards the Nanniichuan.
She had a baaaaaad feeling about this.  Seeing that she
was going to land in the water with a pole safely out of
reach, she closed her eyes and mentally cursed herself
for her impetuousness.
    
    Again the sensation of numbing cold, and the pressure
of the water as it closed over her head.  This time,
however, there was a sensation from the curse itself;
unlike when she fell into Nyanniichuan, which hadn't felt
of anything in particular, she could feel a distinct
tingling all over her body.
    
    No, Ranma decided, *his* body.  I'm a guy again, I
can feel my penis, and my balls.  The water was cold
enough to *hurt* on that sensitive part of his anatomy.
    
    With a huge grin, Ranma burst out of the spring to
lie on the lightly-grassed ground between two pools.
'I'm a guy again, I'm a guy again!' he thought to himself
as he lifted his head to look down at himself.
    
    A gentle, rustling puff of breeze underscored the
sudden, utter silence that fell.  For a long moment Ranma
stared down at his (now somewhat smaller) breasts, and at
the bulge in his - her? - wet gi pants that betrayed a
penis.  But something felt odd down there, something...
    
    Nervously he slid a hand down, past his penis and
testicles (Hmm, something's not right there) to where the
frenum would be if he were normal.  With a sinking
feeling approaching utter certainty of what he would
find, he crooked a finger and found folds of flesh where
instead he should have found almost-flat skin.  But it
was the surge of sensation that surprised him, caught him
unawares.
    
    Ranma's head hit the turf with a thud as he passed
out.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me,
Ranma," said Nodoka hesitantly.
    
    Without a word Ranma nodded and turned to the now-
singing teakettle.  Checking to see that the water was
hot but not boiling, he lifted the kettle and poured it
over his father, who promptly changed from a panda back
to a human, but did not otherwise stir.
    
    "Why does your father not wake, Ranma?" asked Nodoka.
    
    "I hit his unconsciousness point.  He won't wake up
for a bit no matter what I do.
    
    "Anyway, Pops has the curse in its ordinary form.
Cold water transforms you, and hot water changes you back
to normal until the next time you get hit with cold
water."
    
    Nodoka's heart sank anew.  "Ordinary form?  Then,
you...?"
    
    Ranma nodded.  "We enquired at a nearby village,
which happened to be a tribe ruled by women, sort of like
Japan reversed..."
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    Cresting the pass, the small party - the Guide, in
his Maoist uniform, and Ranma, in a ratty gi tied with a
black belt leading on a leash a massive Giant Panda which
had its forepaws securely tied with rope - saw that in
the valley below there was a village.
    
    "<There you go, young Mister Customer,>" said the
Guide.  "<The village of Joketsuzoku.  This is where you
might find more information about the springs.>"
    
    'Hmm, woman righteousness tribe,' thought Ranma to
himself as he looked down at the scene below.  Frowning,
he noticed that there was a large crowd in the centre of
the village surrounding a suspended log of some kind.
    
    "<What's going on down there?>" he asked, puzzled.
"<Looks like a gathering of some kind.>"
    
    The Guide shook his head.  "<I don't know, young
Mister Customer.  The village is a blur to me.>"
    
    "<Oh.  Well, let's get moving.>" he said.  Suiting
action to word, Ranma stepped forward, yanking sternly on
the leash.  Switching to Japanese, he said, "Let's get
moving, old man.  You better hope this ain't permanent,
or I'm gonna be wearin' a panda skin coat pretty soon."
    
    
    
    
    
    The old, old woman shook her head sadly.  "<You
should have listened to the Guide, young lady.>"
    
    "I ain't no girl!" snarled Ranma, speaking in
Japanese out of habit.
    
    "Oh yes you are," returned the old woman sternly.
"This has happened to us before, young Ranma.  We have
lived by the springs for millennia, and we know their
ways.  This happened before... until we learned better."
Ranma shivered at the doom that seemed to fill the old
ghoul's voice.
    
    "The Guide did not lie to you, young Ranma.  The cure
to Nyanniichuan - spring of drowned girl - is indeed to
go for a swim in Nanniichuan.  But only if two things
happen first.  You must be thinking of a cure when you
enter the pool, *and* you must have first left the
vicinity of Jusenkyou before returning.  If you do not do
both of these things, the curses merge instead of
cancelling, which is what happened to you.  You became a
hermaphrodite."
    
    A cold shiver ran down Ranma's spine.  'That's it,
I'm dead,' he thought to himself.  'All I can do is go
out with dignity.'
    
    "What has happened to you is similar to what happened
to others who shared your fate.  You are both male and
female... but to all intents and purposes, you are a
woman.  You have breasts and functional female sexual
organs; you can have a baby.  True, you also possess
functional male sexual organs, so I see your point of
view, but there are two critical points that make you
female, not male."
    
    Ranma waited, but the old lady said nothing.  Finally
realising what was required, Ranma bowed his - her - head
and said in Mandarin, "<What points are those, honoured
elder Ko Lon?>"
    
    She grinned wickedly, a truly daunting sight.  "<You
look like a girl - that monster tool of yours
notwithstanding - and you have to sit down to pee.>"  She
broke into a cackling laughter as Ranma fought to keep
her, his, her self-control.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    Nodoka looked at Ranma, her eyes round.  "You said
she told you that you have *fully* functional sexual
organs?"
    
    "Yes."
    
    "*Both* kinds?"
    
    "Yeah," Ranma sighed, depressed.  She was having
trouble reading her mother's attitude.  "We stayed there
for a coupe of months, and she taught me what I need to
know about my new body.  You know, periods and such."
Her voice was resigned, then she smiled and lifted her.
"But it wasn't all bad, Cologne also taught me some
useful stuff, like the pressure point I used to put the
old man out."
    
    Another long pause during which the whoops of playing
teenagers came briefly, faintly in the momentarily still
air of the night.  Then the breeze picked up again and
carried the resort noises away, and all was quiet except
for the faint bubbling of the water outflow and the
stirring of the night animals.
    
    Finally Nodoka spoke again.  "Ranma, I... I need to
see what you look like before we can discuss this
further."
    
    Ranma nodded.  "I expected that you would, Mother."
She stood, dropping her voluminous cloak, to reveal that
she wore a yukata - a short robe which was almost
universal wear at an onsen.  Quickly Ranma undid the belt
of the yukata and slid it, also, from her shoulders.  Now
nude, she stood still and bore her mother's inspection.
    
    Nodoka looked at her son turned daughter.  As always,
Ranma's build was very athletic, but now it was expressed
as that of a woman, not as a man.  But looking more
closely, she saw that even that was wrong.  As a woman,
Ranma's arms, shoulders, and chest were more muscular
than even most body-builders - kind of a half-way house
between male and female athlete's anatomy.  Yet she now
saw that Ranma had lost the 'ripped' look that she had
noticed on his, no her, previous visit home.  Instead he
seemed to have normal body fat for a woman, which was
good as Nodoka had never liked the appearance of female
body-builders.  The breasts which surmounted her
pectorals somehow failed to look out of place, high and
round and somewhat large considering it normally takes a
fair amount of body fat to muster a decent breast.  They
sat smoothly atop her pectorals, lovely to look at, a C
cup she estimated, which she decided would make Ranma
suit a number of modes of feminine dress very nicely
indeed.
    
    Looking further down, Nodoka saw the subtle outline
of her abdominal muscles, again shaded by a partial move
towards feminine structure and a major change from
previously rippling bulk there.  She was reminded of the
look of gymnasts she had seen on television.  Lower
still, her hips were not broad but not slim, just good
for her overall body shape, the stomach dead flat and the
muscles of her hips and buttocks making a perfect,
attractive shape.  Her thighs were more rounded, having
lost the masculine angularity and ridges but still
looking very powerful.  The major thing that attracted
her attention, however, was her son's absolutely enormous
penis.  Fully flaccid, it hung down from her pelvis at
least 10cm, and it looked to be at least 2cm wide.  He
did not at first appear to have testicles, but looking
more closely she saw that they were there, but not as
prominent as her husband's.
    
    Ex-husband's, she suddenly decided.  She would appeal
for a divorce - based on what had happened to Ranma, she
felt now had ample grounds.
    
    At last she returned her gaze to Ranma's face, and
she noticed that the poor girl was looking quite nervous,
almost ill.  Her mother's heart reached out to her child,
and almost without thought she stood and started untying
her obi.  "Won't you please join me in the onsen, Ranma?
The evening grows chill."
    
    Ranma smiled, her first of the evening, and nodded.
"Of course, Mother.  May I help you with that?"
    
    As Ranma helped her undress, Nodoka reflected that
she was already thinking of Ranma as her daughter, not
her son.  She wondered to herself what that would mean
for the pledge, for in spite of his conversion to female,
Ranma was still capable of fulfilling the pledge if she
had a mind to - and if one of the Tendou daughters was
bisexual or lesbian then perhaps the change would be for
the best.
    
    
    
    
    
    With catch of his breath then a sigh, Ranma sank into
the hot waters of the onsen.  At her mother's quizzical
look, she said, "It's been a while since I've been in
water this hot, mother.  It's been hard findin' ways of
keepin' clean for me since I came back to Japan, ya
know."
    
    Nodoka nodded, but said, "Ranma, please watch your
language."
    
    With a start, Ranma realised that she'd been slipping
back into her old habit of road talk, following her old
man's example.  She shook her head, mentally switching
her speech into 'proper' style and pronunciation, and
furthermore reminding herself to speak in the feminine
mode.  "I'm sorry, mother."
    
    "That's better.  I hope you don't mind me asking some
blunt questions?"
    
    Ranma nodded.  "Of course not.  That's one reason why
I asked you here."
    
    "I take it from you use of female speech that you
plan to live as a female?"
    
    Looking off to the side, Ranma considered the
twinkling lights in the far distance, taking in the view.
After a long moment, she sighed and seemed to deflate.
    
    "Yes, mother, you're correct.  Elder Cologne was
right - to anyone who casually encounters me, unless I'm
naked then I'm a girl.  If I go around insisting I'm a
guy, they look at me like I'm some kind of weirdo... or
they pity me.  I'm not sure which is worse, to tell you
the truth.
    
    "The thing is, though, that I can't really be
*accepted* as a girl.  You shoulda - should have - seen
all the stares I got the first time I tried to use a
public bath here in Japan.  The customs are different in
China, but here, unless I'm *really* lucky, there ain't -
isn't any way I can hide the one thing that makes me
*not* female."
    
    Nodoka smiled.  "I noticed that.  Have you *always*
been that...?"
    
    Ranma shook her head.  "Nah.  I reckon it's easily
half again as big as it was before... Jusenkyo.  Elder
Cologne said she thinks it's some kind of compensation by
the springs.  It's a real pain."
    
    "And... what of your preferences?"
    
    Blushing a raspberry hue, Ranma examined the ripples
in the onsen meeting her sternum.  "Girls," she whipered
at last.  "I like girls.  I've been doing some reading
since we got back, and I... I guess that makes me a
lesbian.  But I... I sure don't know what kind of lesbian
would want a girl with a *prick*, since ac... accordin'
to what I've read, most of 'em can't stand the thought
of... of..."
    
    Nodoka moved over and took her trembling daughter
into her arms.  "Shh, Ranma, it's okay.  Everything's
going to be okay.  Where did you find this out?"
    
    Ranma looked up, her face no longer at all happy but
she no longer seemed about to break into tears.  "I asked
at a shop the other day.  I snuck away from the old man
and found a... book shop and I asked if they had anythin'
about girls who like girls.  The... girl who served me
looked at me like I was... like I was some kinda... f-
freak, then showed me where they had books on that kind
thing.  She gave me a book and then directed me to the
checkout.  I wanted to tachiyomi ('standing-reading') it,
it only woulda taken a minute or two, but...  The g-guy
at the checkout looked at me, like, I felt all... d-
dirty.  I was so embarrassed, I just got out of there as
quick as I could."  Finishing the last in a rush,
mortified once again at reliving the memory in all its
excruciating detail, Ranma clung onto her mother, still
trembling, looking away but unable to let go.
    
    Nodoka's heart reached out to her son turned
daughter.  She had tried her best, but Ranma who had been
such an excellent scholar throughout her life had
apparently not done her research properly despite a
lifetime of habits to the contrary.  Ranma did not appear
to have any concept of bisexuality, or the infinite
variations of lesbianism that existed.
    
    A sudden flurry of activity interrupted Nodoka as she
was about to say as much.  A series of rapid thuds
sounded, and Ranma suddenly jerked herself out of
Nodoka's hands and seemingly levitated to stand,
glistening nude, at the side of the onsen.
    
    "Old man," she growled, her voice filled with hate.
Looking around Ranma's legs - and what fine calves she
had, so powerful yet shapely, she noted in passing -
Nodoka saw that Genma was free of his bonds and facing
Ranma in a challenging pose.  She could see limp bodies
scattered about behind him.
    
    Genma yelled at Ranma.  "You sound like a weak girl,
boy!  Sobbing to your mother like that.  'I'm such a
freak, nobody loves me, nobody will ever love me!'" he
finished in falsetto.
    
    "This is all your fault, old man.  Tell me why I
shouldn't just kill you now," snarled Ranma as she moved
into a stance.  Nodoka followed the rapid and almost
unnoticeable tensing and relaxing of Ranma's muscles,
even her buttocks and back, readying for she knew not
what but certainly for fast, hard violence.
    
    "Even assuming you could - which you can't, boy,
you're too weak and girly for that - you couldn't touch
me in a million years in a *serious* fight.  *Boy.*"
    
    "Oh yeah?  Well let me tell you, shit-daddy, you're
about ten seconds away from findin' out for real what I
learned at Joketsuzoku, an' you'd better believe it
wasn't all hygiene an' herbal lore."
    
    Genma narrowed his eyes at Ranma, and they stood in
silent, hateful tableau for about ten seconds.  Then
Genma relaxed and turned his back.  Looking over his
shoulder, he said contemptuously, "I knew you were too
weak, *boy*.  I guess you've become a girl for real,
Jusenkyou was just the final straw, makin' your outer
form fit your inner nature.  Your books, your drawin',
you're too namby-pamby to be a *real* martial artist."
Facing away again, Genma made a tossing away motion.
"You make me sick, *boy*.  You and your half-assed family
have been wastin' my time.  If you're so all-fired
curious to find out how things work, why dontcha ask
yo'momma, I'm sure she'll be only too happy to spread her
legs for you and show you how to use your *equipment*.
You came outta there after all; I'm sure she'd love to
let you back in."
    
    Stunned, Ranma stood, jaw working in disbelief as
fury at the depth of the insult rose in herself.  But
before she could move, before she could drive a spear
hand through her father's chest from spine to sternum and
show him his still-beating heart before he died, she was
drenched by a spray of hot water and passed by her
mother.  Even to her highly-trained senses, Nodoka was a
moving blur as she drew her katana in a glittering arc
and hamstrung Genma before he even realised the source of
the attack.
    
    "Shibito!!" she yelled in fury over Genma's scream of
pain and surprised betrayal.
    
    A groan answered, and she saw that her guard force
had all been laid out, some just unconscious, some with
disabling or crippling strikes that included broken bones
and joints.  Snarling in fury, she pulled a phone from
nowhere and made a call.  Ten seconds later she hung up,
and ninety seconds after that two paramedics had arrived
on the scene and were stemming the bleeding from Genma's
wounds and triaging the injured guard force.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    In his study, Saotome Hayao blanched as he read the
secret report of his chief enforcer, Shibito.  It was
still only eleven at night, and he decided that he had at
most twelve hours to make his decision before his
daughter contacted him and asked for a determination.
    
    He studied the photos which Shibito had attached to
the hasty report he had e-mailed from his iMode phone.
Shaking his head, he found himself agreeing with Ranma's
own conclusion, a conclusion that Nodoka appeared to
agree with - that Ranma was now, to all intents and
purposes, a girl.
    
    Nevertheless, the fact that young Ranma could still
technically fulfil the pledge meant that there was no
good reason to order the boy, girl, whatever, to commit
seppuku to clear the way for another branch of the
family.
    
    Not that he wanted to issue such an order.  He should
be above such considerations, but Ranma had thoroughly
wormed his way into Hayao's heart without even meaning
to, with his unfailingly cheery demeanour, eager
learning, and amazing achievements.
    
    That was the other part of the equation - there was
nobody else anywhere near as prepared for the merger as
Ranma was, whatever he had told Nodoka and Genma.  So
superior was Ranma to any other possible candidate that
this issue even overrode the issue of any potential
complaint by the Tendou clan about Ranma's gender and
resulting incompatibility with the likely sexual
preferences of the Tendou girls.  He had disliked having
to mislead his daughter, but if she had not believed that
Ranma could easily be replaced she would, all
inadvertently, have passed the knowledge onto Genma, and
that he could not have afforded.
    
    Still, it looked very much as though now was the time
to make a clean break with the boy's - no, girl's -
father.  The insults the man had issued were sufficient
cause for a blood feud, but perhaps it would be far
better to simply have him disappear, or die of his sword
wounds.  He would have to have some expensive paperwork
done in preparation to having Ranma's official sex (and
name) changed in case it was needed.  Also, he had
absolutely no doubt that Nodoka would be petitioning him
for a divorce from Genma, with this latest infliction to
her son, now daughter as the final straw.  But now it
could be said that the purpose of the original pledge had
been fulfilled so no dishonour would attach to dropping
Genma like a hot potato, if he could keep from killing
him outright that is.
    
    Then a thought occurred to him, and he grinned
nastily as he realised how to ensure that Genma had
passed absolutely everything on to his son.
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    Dawn at Nishiyama Onsen brought a chorus of birds
greeting the day and a gentle susurration of low-voiced
conversation of early-rising onsen-goers to accompany the
ever-present sounds of gently flowing water and
occasional burps from the hot springs.  On this day, in
the private Saotome area of the resort, dawn also found
Ranma, freshly risen and dressed in loose Chinese kung-fu
style trousers and tang, practicing alone on the grassy
area that lay between the small house there and the
spring itself.
    
    She was watched by four guards, replacements for
those injured last night.  These were present simply as a
precaution, more to keep curious resort visitors out than
for any actual protection since the main danger the boy
faced was now safely locked up in a secure hospital ward.
Eventually, with the sun now a finger's width above the
horizon, she stopped, bowed, and padded inside.
    
    Ranma made her way to her room, quickly doffed her
clothing and donned a yukata, and collecting her bath
things went to the outdoor-facing bathroom that was
normally used to wash before entering the onsen itself.
Entering the bath, Ranma took off and hung up her robe
and slipped into the bathroom proper.
    
    Nodoka was there, using a brush to scrub her back.
"Good morning, mother," said Ranma with a smile as she
put down her bathing things and moved to her mother's
back.  "Let me do that for you."
    
    "Thank you, Ranma," said Nodoka with a smile.
    
    Ranma took Nodoka's washcloth and took over scrubbing
her mother's back.  "That was something else, what you
did with that sword last night, mother," she said as the
ran her hands over Nodoka's back.  "I've got some
questions...?"
    
    "Of course, Ranma.  Do you want me to wash your
back?"
    
    "Please."  Ranma turned, as did Nodoka, and Nodoka
took Ranma's soap and washcloth and began plying the
cloth slowly over Ranma's shoulders.  Ranma slumped
forward a little, smiling happily.
    
    "You had some questions?" she prompted eventually.
    
    "Yeah.  Just lemme wash my hair."
    
    "I'll help you."
    
    Ranma nodded and reached back to deftly undo the tie
that bound her hair, then after dropping it into her
bucket she quickly ran her fingers through to disassemble
the braid.
    
    Nodoka took her bucket and filled it, dumping it over
Ranma's head.  She then began to shampoo her daughter's
hair, her fingers massaging the scalp strongly.
    
    "I like your hair, Ranma," she said, apropos of
nothing.  "The colour is so unusual.  I think you could
wear it in a different style, though."
    
    Ranma shrugged.  "I guess.  Though if I'm going to
masquerade as a boy the style can't be too girly."
    
    "Feminine, Ranma, not 'girly'."
    
    "Feminine, then.  I... I didn't know you were a sword
master."
    
    Nodoka nodded, and smiled in satisfaction.  "Yes.  I
think the time has come to broaden your martial
education, Ranma.  Now that your father's training has
all but reached its end, do you think you could benefit
from some additional styles?"
    
    "I don't know," said Ranma after a long pause.  "The
old man has trained me in a whole lot of different
styles, you might be surprised."
    
    "He did?"
    
    "Yeah, particularly in the last two years.  He said
he did it so I could defend against them, and also as
part of building my own integrated style."
    
    Nodoka was stunned.  "He did?"
    
    Ranma snorted.  "Yeah, it sure doesn't sound much
like him, does it.  Even so, I've noticed some areas we
haven't spent much time on that I'd like to explore.
Elder Cologne introduced me to some really odd
techniques, almost like magic but she said it was just
manipulation of ki energy, and I feel there's a whole new
world there to explore.  Thing is, it's the kind of thing
people don't talk about, and I've never seen anything
written about it except in the most general terms.  I
might have to go back to Joketsuzoku to study if I want
to learn more; even though I feel the old man might know
a bit about it he won't talk about it... and after last
night, I don't want to have anything more to do with him
even if he does have something more to teach me.  Not
after the way he insulted you."
    
    "Thank you, Ranma.  I love you too," said Nodoka with
a smile as she continued to work on Ranma's long hair.
"Even so, I can show you how I was taught speed in combat
and we can see if it will help you."
    
    Ranma nodded, then quickly soaped herself as Nodoka
finished her hair.  A quick rinse with cold water later,
and the two of them were in the furo which was fed by a
feeder from the onsen.  Ranma spoke up again once again,
her face thoughtful.
    
    "I was thinking last night, mother.  The clan has put
a lot of effort into training me, and I think that if
there's any chance at all the Tendou daughters might go
for me then I think I'll find myself still being put
forward to them as part of that agreement.  So that's
probably going to mean I'll be masquerading as a guy at
least part of the time."  She sighed as her mother sank
deeper into the hot water.  "I wonder how Ucchan's doing?
What's she going to think?"
    
    It was Nodoka's turn to sigh as the water lapped at
her chin.  "I don't know," she said honestly.  "Your
sister really wanted to come out here with me, but I
forbade it, and as it turns out I think I was right to do
so.  We have to decide how we are going to introduce this
change to the clan as a whole."
    
    "Do they have to know?" asked Ranma plaintively.  "I
can appear as Ranma for a short time easily enough - I
mean, I fooled you for a while, didn't I?"
    
    Nodoka shook her head.  "Only for a few seconds at
close range, Ranma.  Your lips have changed shape and
colour, they're the female shape now, and of course your
larynx does not protrude as a man's does.  I knew
something was wrong almost as soon as you took off the
hood of your cloak.
    
    "Still, the idea is worth considering, since it would
mean that there would be less likelihood of the story
leaking out and embarrassing you.  Some people would have
to know, of course - your grandfather, Ukyou of course,
and the Tendous - but for day to day living I can see
that your idea has merit.  And perhaps we can hire
somebody to teach you how to disguise yourself better."
She raised herself again, her shoulders, pink from their
immersion, peeking out of the hot water.  "Do you have a
name you would want to go by as a woman, Ranma?"
    
    "I guess Ranma really is a guy's name, isn't it?"
Ranma turned to look out at the view to the south, the
mountains falling away to the fertile flatlands in the
far distance.  The sky was a pellucid, pale blue,
promising a spectacular day to come.  "I dunno, maybe
Ranko?"
    
    Nodoka smiled tolerantly.  "Do you really want to be
known as 'wild child' or 'orchid child'?"
    
    Ranma snorted.  "'Wild child' would kinda suit me,
wouldn't it?"
    
    Nodoka shook her head.  "But I would never have
chosen it as a name for my child, Ranma dearest.  Boys
should have strong names like yours; girls should have
elegant names."
    
    "I refuse to be called Kikuko, Hanako, Nadeshiko, or
any other kind of flower."
    
    "How about we name you after your hair?  It's the
colour of water... how about Uzumi, water beauty?"
    
    Ranma grimaced.
    
    "Yoshiko, perhaps?"
    
    "Perfumed child?" asked Ranma with raised eyebrows.
    
    "I had in mind 'beautiful child'," said Nodoka with a
small moue.  "Still, I suppose the final decision will
really be up to father."
    
    
    
    *    *    *
    
    
    
    Ranma knelt next to her mother, facing the head of
the Saotome clan, her grandfather Hayao.  The formal
receiving room with its tatami of the finest quality,
ancient lacquered cabinetry and the calligraphy hanging
on the walls was highly intimidating to the unfamiliar;
to Ranma it was simply the Chamber of God, from where
pronouncements that affected his life for good or ill
were handed down.
    
    Outside this chamber, Hayao-ojiisama could be a nice
old coot, very personable and approachable.  However all
decisions were handed down in here, and in here the rules
were to be followed strictly.  That had been a stern
lesson of one of his earliest summers after he began his
training with his father, one he had never forgotten.
    
    Still, as disciplinarians, the Saotome clan had
nothing on his old man.  Privately, he thought they
possessed too much compassion to do a really good job.
Not that he was complaining.
    
    Ranma wore formal clothing whenever possible when
summoned to this room - another early lesson, this time
from her mother.  So it was that he now wore a kimono of
grey silk, with the Saotome mon emblazoned in white,
black, and red on his upper chest (both sides), upper
arms (both sides), and in the centre of his back.  A
simple black obi tied the kimono closed over his simple
under-kimono of grey silk and white hadagi; white tabi
adorned his feat.  His mother sat to his right wearing a
kimono of pale blue silk textured with herons.
    
    Hayao cleared his throat, then spoke.  "Ranma, I have
reviewed your situation with your mother.  Let me begin
by saying that I am very pleased with your handling of
the situation to date."
    
    Ranma bowed.  "Thank you, honorable Grandfather."
    
    "I agree that from this point forward, you will be
forced to live your life mostly as a woman.  However you
still fulfil all criteria of the union with the Tendou
clan, and as you know we have had you earmarked to fulfil
our obligation to them since early childhood, so you will
still be advanced as a marriage candidate to the Tendou
family.  An omiai will be held in eight days' time at the
house of Tendou Souun, the member of the Tendou clan who
has been selected to provide the distaff side of the
agreement.
    
    "A tutor has been employed starting tomorrow who will
train you in the arts of disguise so that you can
believably pass as the male Ranma.
    
    "Arrangements have been commenced for you to adopt a
female identity.  I agree with your mother that Ranma is
not a suitable name for a girl, and she related to me the
difficulty encountered in selecting a new name to you.
Therefore I have chosen your female name for you.  You
have been registered as Saotome Kanomi."
    
    "Yes, honorable Grandfather."
    
    "Now, as to the details of the arrangements that have
been made in your regard..."
    
    
    
    
    
    **********************
    
    
    
    Author's Notes:
    
    As I said in the prologue, the idea for "Honorable
Father" came to me one night when I asked myself, "What
would it take for Genma to be an honorable person?"  This
story bears little resemblance to that premise, but that
was the starting point.
    
    The prologue was published with little hope of the
story going anywhere.  I had no idea what actual story I
would like to tell; it was merely a neat idea.  Some time
after that I was exposed to the work of the manga-ka
Toshiki Yui.  Some of you may be familiar with some of
his work, which is prolific.  The comic "Hot Tails" and a
large number of others published by Eros Comics in the
USA are his work.  In this comic series, he has a number
of stories featuring a girl named Kanomi who is a normal
- if well-endowed - girl who happens to have a functional
penis.  In other words, she is a "dick girl".  Dick girls
appear frequently in Toshiki Yui's work, especially in
those which have not (yet) been translated by Eros; he
seems to have a fascination with them.
    
    So anyway, I wondered if I could somehow make Ranma a
"dick girl" like Toshiki Yui's Kanomi, and what it would
mean for him.  How would he function, what choices would
he make, and so forth.  The first question was, "how do I
make it happen?"  It seemed natural to have Ranma take a
dip in the Nanniichuan whilst still wet with Nyanniichuan
as a result of being too smart for his own good... which
in turn suggested to me that this might be a suitable use
for the Honorable Father universe.  Obviously there will
be those who feel that this is a waste, but those people
can write their own stories based on the Honorable Father
prologue if they feel strongly about it, with my
blessing.  Certainly this is not the course I originally
had in mind for the story... but that's life.
    
    I don't plan to make this a crossover or fusion with
any of Toshiki Yui's stories - I think the universes are
too dissimilar for that to work unless this story were to
be a pure lemon, which it will not be as that would
restrict the audience too much.  On the other hand, the
use of slapstick humour is similar in the two series,
although of course Toshiki Yui's humour is much more
overtly sexual than is the norm for Takahashi Rumiko's
stuff.
    
    
    
    On onsen temperatures:  To most Westeners, 42C is
quite hot but not unbearable (in fact my wife prefers her
showers at that temperature); 45C is considered scalding
by most right-minded people :).  But familiarity breeds
contempt - or in this case, content. :)  To the Japanese,
45C is regarded as hot but by no means unbearable; some
Japanese can tolerate spas which are seriously hot, 50C or
more... but most people regard people who *enjoy* such
temperatures as somewhat strange.  Thus the comment
about Tokyo Grandfathers early on in the Ranma 1/2 manga.
    
    Next time, Ranma returns to a more normal plot as he
travels to Nerima to attend high school in the company of
his would-be fiancee.
    
    
    
--
David Eddy - dje@progress.com
http://www.nabiki.com/deddy


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