Preface

This story diverges at the end of the story involving the mushrooms of time. The idea for it started with a simple, "what if," regarding Nodoka seeing Ranma while he was a six-year-old boy. From that, it grew into a story that will span ten years without any significant time skips, and will include around two dozen other series in minor, major, temporary and permanent ways. Unlike the majority of my stories, I even intend to make a pairing happen.

Obviously, it's a big undertaking. It is guaranteed to be the longest story I'll ever write by many times, assuming that I ever get to finish it. I want to finish it, of course, but it will greatly depend on how much attention I give it. That will — in turn — depend on how much attention others give it, since I'd rather focus on stories that I'm confident I can complete this century.

Now, mind you, Ranma will grow up as a girl this time around. Fair warning for those who don't care for that sort of thing, regardless of the reason. For those who can stomach it if the focus of the story is far and away from any significant feminization of Ranma's character, rest easy: the main point of this story is adventure, action, friendship and maturing in general. So, I can say that Ranma won't be a girl forever, but it will feel like it since he will be one until the end of the story.

Now, if you're curious about the kind of series that will appear in this story, I've made a post in my forum that shows the ones that become relevant in the first several years.

Growing Pains

Ranma found himself walking around the neighborhood while in a daze, not knowing or caring where he was going. It wasn't a wise idea, what with only being six years old, but he simply had to escape the attention of the Tendo's patriarch, who took joy in treating him like the young boy that he appeared to be despite his actual age.

He was still in shock over the fact that he was stuck as a six-year-old and would need to grow up all over again, since he and Ryoga had accidentally destroyed the last of the age-altering mushrooms. Having to adapt to his change in status was an unwelcome and daunting prospect, one that he hoped to avoid if at all possible. Unfortunately, the only person who "knew" of the mushrooms' location, Ryoga, had a sense of direction that was practically nonexistent. The aforementioned individual was nearly as bad when it came to recognizing the places that he had visited before, confusing towns and cities no matter how often he had visited them, so it was essentially up to random chance if Ryoga ever happened upon the mushrooms' location again, because he certainly wasn't going to be able to tell one group of trees apart from a myriad of others.

It was that uncertainty that had really taken the wind out of Ranma's sails, regarding his chances of resolving his problem in a timely manner. While he didn't have the same problem as his "friend," and could conceivably comb all of the wooded areas of Japan, there was no telling how long that would take. He was confident that he could find the mushrooms that way, but there was a good chance that it would take years of searching, even with help, and he might end up so far behind everyone else that he would be no better off than if he had simply allowed nature to take its course: his peers would be older, possibly changed as people, and maybe even out of school and making headway as adults. Should that turn out to be the case, and especially if certain people moved on, he would end up going through all of that effort to find the mushrooms for nothing.

Sure, he could ask certain people — the ones that mattered to him — to put a hold on their lives until his problem was taken care of, so they could pick up things where they had left off at instead of moving on without him, but even he knew how much he would be asking for if he did that, and of one individual in particular. Besides which, he wouldn't even be in his current position if not for his own behavior and decisions, so it wasn't like he could expect sympathy to do him any good.

That was the impression that he had gotten from Akane, when she had told him and Ryoga to start their lives over as friends. She might have been willing to put her life on hold for him when he had thought that the only known cure for the ultimate weakness moxibustion had been lost, since he hadn't been afflicted with it through any fault of his own, but she had too much to sacrifice for the kind of juvenile behavior that had led him to his current predicament.

The sad thing about his situation, upon reflection, was that he didn't really lose out on much — personally — by having to grow up again. While there were plenty of undesirable things to be gained, he didn't have many good things to lose. He didn't have the respect of his peers, was more infamous than famous, didn't have much in the way of friends, or have any future prospects beyond settling down and running a dojo. With the exception of Akane, despite his still-unresolved feelings for her, he wasn't exactly sure how much he would be affected by the loss of anything else.

That revelation was what had hit him the hardest, because it had really gotten him to see the length and breadth of his life for what it was, which wasn't much. Even the one future that was expected to become a reality one day, of running a dojo and raising a family, held no real interest to him. While he hadn't exactly been raised with such a future in mind, or for any future of a similar nature, he hadn't even cared to warm up to the idea ever since the day that its likelihood had been revealed to him.

When he got right down to it, he had to admit to himself that he had to grow up in more than just the literal sense. He did so grudgingly, not liking anything about what that would mean for him, but neither did he like how poorly he had done for himself outside of his accomplishments as a martial artist. If for no other reason than to feel good about himself, he wanted to be liked, respected and admired by the time he was sixteen again. Maybe, by then, he would also figure out what he wanted to do with himself once he was an adult, especially if he was lucky enough to get out of the arranged marriage.

Although he had overcome most of his shock by the time that he had formed some idea of what to do with himself, as the sobering weight of resignation settled upon him, he was still too preoccupied with his thoughts to hear someone address him by name, and had his head bowed too low to see the source of that voice until he was about to walk right into it. While his reflexes were quick enough to prevent a collision, the person with whom he had nearly walked into had assumed otherwise and laid a hand upon one of his shoulders to arrest his movement at roughly the same time.

When he looked up and opened his mouth to apologize, he ended up gaping at the person who was leaning over him instead, because they weren't just any person: they were none other than his mother, Saotome Nodoka. Then, his surprise turned to panic when she worriedly asked, "Ranma? Are you alright?"

He considered running away, hoping that his mother would think this moment a figment of her imagination, or lying his way out of his predicament somehow, but the genuine concern on her face interrupted the part of his brain that should have been telling his legs to get a move on, and his throat to do more than release a croaking sound in a failed attempt at speech.

Eventually, however, his emotion-addled mind was able to produce a question that he would not have asked if his mental faculties hadn't been so compromised. "H-how could you tell it was me?"

Nodoka smiled sadly and knelt before him, setting her wrapped-up sword aside in the process. "While you're not as young as you were when you left with your father, you're not so old that I wouldn't recognize the only face that I've known you by for so many years." Her look of concern returned as she added, "Is this why I couldn't make contact with you?"

Before Ranma could reply without thought, since his mother had offered him the perfect excuse, she pulled him into an embrace and spoke with a voice that was strained by emotion. "Oh, I'm just so happy to be with you again."

Between that, and hearing his mother weep softly with joy, the words that he had been about to say died on his lips. He couldn't lie in light of this, although — now that he had the presence of mind to think about it — it wouldn't have done him any good anyway, since the discovery of his curse would have likely been inevitable. Besides which, he realized that this could be his opportunity to come clean with her, since he had always intended to be honest with her if the circumstances ever gave him the chance.

So, reluctantly, he pulled away and somberly admitted, "Look, mom, this isn't the reason why I've been avoiding you. The real reason is, well," he tried to find the right words to explain himself, but ended up looking askance and lamely finishing with, "complicated."

Nodoka stared at him for a moment, then glanced around and noticed that they were making a scene in front of a restaurant, in addition to whoever happened to be out and about on either side of the street. With that being the case, she nodded to herself, retrieved her sword, rose to her feet in a dignified manner, then softly said, "I understand. Why don't we find a more appropriate setting for this conversation?"

After nodding his head in agreement, he didn't expect his mother to offer her hand to him, which he looked at with confusion before turning his attention to its owner. Seeing the hopeful yet expectant expression on his mother's face spurred him to take it, with some embarrassment, and he fell into step beside her as she guided them to a new locale.

He looked upward after a moment, first to regard his mother, then to observe the hand that engulfed his own. It was an odd position to be in, and it certainly felt awkward, but... there was a nice feeling that he got from the experience as well.

The "more appropriate setting" turned out to be his family's home, which he had only visited a few times before. He sat at the chabudai in the living room, where he waited for his mother to return from the kitchen with some beverages and snacks, including the glass of water that he had requested apart from the tea. Every once in a while his gaze would nervously gravitate back toward his mother's sword, which now rested horizontally on a special sword stand. Above it, on the wall, hung a banner that bore the word "seppuku" on it, which did nothing to allay his nerves.

He certainly hoped that he had made the right decision. However, he couldn't really think of what else to do, now that he had exposed himself. It wasn't just the threat of seppuku that concerned him, but he also wished to avoid having to cut ties with his mother. Running away or trying to hide the truth until it was uncovered was liable to necessitate such an action, since he didn't think that she would consider anything of the sort to be manly, so he had to hope that what he had intended to do from the start, ever since his mother had entered his life, would suffice.

Once his mother returned from the kitchen, she sat down on the opposite side of the table and placed a tray upon it. On the tray was a teapot that had steam wafting from its spout, two cups, a glass of water, and a plate of anpan. Taking the teapot, she calmly poured him a cup of tea before doing the same for herself. The anpan remained untouched by both of them for the time being, though he wondered why she had them, since they weren't the sort of thing that he would have expected to see on such an occasion.

Seeing where his attention was focused, Nodoka's cheeks flushed slightly as she admitted, "I got those from a friend, and planned on giving them to Ranko, but with you like this... I can bring out some senbei, if you would prefer that instead."

Ranma smiled wanly and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, mom. You won't have to worry about Ranko missing out on them."

"What do you mean?" Nodoka queried, confused.

Ranma took a deep, calming breath and looked into the depths of his tea before he said, "It's about the reason for why I've been avoiding you. It's not that I haven't tried to approach you, because I have, but... Stuff happens. And pop thinks you'll want to kill us on sight, so he's often gotten in my way."

Still confused, but also a bit upset over her husband's actions, Nodoka asked, "Why would he do a thing like that? Did he not raise you to be a man among men?"

Despite the situation being what it was, Ranma's response was a bit self-deprecating. "Honestly? I thought I was manly, but now..." He sighed, and swirled the tea in his cup a bit. "I'm not so sure."

"I see..." Nodoka softly voiced, before taking a sip of her tea. When Ranma glanced up at her, he saw her gazing upon him with a face void of expression. "Is your current condition the reason for your doubt?"

Ranma shook his head and continued to be candid, despite the dangerous territory that he was treading in, and said, "Not directly," before he explained the events that had led up to him being unable to return to his natural age, regarding the childish behavior that had — fittingly — sealed his fate as a child.

Considering the timing of the aforementioned events, Nodoka had to conclude, "If this wasn't the reason for why you have been avoiding me... There is something else?"

Ranma nodded his head once and sat quietly for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, in order to figure out exactly how to say what he wanted to say. When he felt that he was ready, or as ready as he would ever be, he made eye contact with his mother and spoke in a calm yet determined manner. "While I was training in China, I was cursed: whenever I come into contact with cold water, I transform into something else."

Ranma wasn't sure if his mother's look of concern was anything to be worried about, so he continued. "My curse... isn't the sort of thing that brings "manliness" to mind. Still, I figured that it would be alright if I could make my case as a man, so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings. At least, I had hoped that you would understand if you saw me as I really am first, but..." His gaze fell to the tabletop, and his shoulders slumped. "My curse kept getting activated, or pop got in the way... Among other things."

With obvious sympathy, Nodoka leaned forward and softly said, "I think I understand. What curse have you been afflicted with?"

After steeling himself for what he would do next, Ranma reached toward the glass of water with a moderately shaky hand and quietly stated, "It's best if I show you..."

After he poured the water over his head, his mother's eyes widened with realization upon recognizing the six-year-old girl that now sat before her. "Ran... ko?"

Ranma nodded his head once and left it lowered, awaiting judgement.

With Nodoka's mind awhirl with the implications of what had been revealed to her, her first impulse was to obtain her sword, which was within reach from where she sat. It wasn't until she was about to grasp it, with her upper body supported by an arm, that a particular thought caught her attention, which caused the others to slow and become more coherent. After a few seconds of introspection, she pulled her hand back and settled into her seat.

As she gazed at her currently-female child, the one that had felt so much like family to her as Ranko, she remembered all of the times when he had pretended to be that girl in order to hide from her. That kind of cowardice and dishonesty wasn't manly at all, of course, but his words from before helped her to understand that he'd had a good reason for doing it. His reason had been based on an assumption, but it had nevertheless been made with good intentions.

She was sure of it because he had spoken honestly about his actions. Not only did she remember all of those times that she had been expecting her son to meet her, or had seen Ranko when she had expected or hoped to see him, but one occasion — in particular — came to mind. She had been waiting for Ranma in a restaurant, with Akane, when a hand had settled upon her shoulder. She had been so sure that it had belonged to a boy, yet its owner had turned out to be Ranko. Between hugging Ranko around the waist, which had blocked her view, and her disappointment at not seeing her son, she hadn't really registered — at the time — that Ranko had been doused by cold beverages, but she vaguely recalled feeling some of it splash on her hands and seeing an upended glass on top of Ranko's head. It was proof that that her son had tried to meet her.

Of course, she couldn't forget the time that her son had saved her when that water pipe had burst and ejected her into the air, which had truly been a display of manliness. Again, thinking — hoping — that it had been her son, she had discovered that it had been Ranko upon being awoken by the rain. Now, however, she knew the truth, as well as the rain's role in that encounter, so she now understood that her son hadn't tried to hide himself with his curse after saving her.

The real quandary was what she was being presented with right now, because her son had expressed doubt over his own manliness. While it was certainly brave to admit it, especially considering what was on the line, the fact remained: she had tasked her husband with producing a manly son, and by their son's own words he had failed. That wasn't to say that their child was completely removed from being manly, because what she saw was promising, but for him to have misgivings about his manliness at this age...

That last thought made her pause. While it was true that her son was — in reality — sixteen years old, he appeared to be a decade younger at that precise moment. It was then that her upbringing in a martial arts family, and the hold that giri had on her in particular, took a step back and allowed the mother in her to have a say in the matter, and that side of her was quite keen on being with a live child rather than joining them in death.

As a mother, she could scrutinize the seppuku pledge to see how much room it gave her to act as she saw fit before she had to uphold it, and it turned out to be plenty. Ranma was still being raised, after all, so it would be premature to follow what was dictated until that period ended, unless there was enough evidence to suggest that he was unredeemable. While he could conceivably be at fault for extending the time that he could be raised, she saw no reason to believe that he had done it on purpose, much less for the sake of avoiding any deadline.

Considering how much she had missed her son, and how flexible the seppuku pledge was, she saw an opportunity to take advantage of his regression in age. However, she couldn't demand what she wanted from him, or suggest exactly what she desired: it was something that he would have to decide on his own, considering its significance, and because it would be an appropriate way to herald the start of a new chapter on his journey to manliness.

With that in mind, she returned her attention to her son, who was fidgeting nervously due to how long she had been silent, and addressed him in a solemn manner. "Ranma. What do you plan to do?"

Ranma had expected her to say something in relation to his curse, if anything at all, so it took him a moment to form a response, during which time he had regarded his mother searchingly. "Uh... Well, I don't really like my prospects of finding more of those mushrooms any time soon, so..." He trailed off and looked away, not liking having to admit what he was about to say, but knowing that it wouldn't be any worse than what he had shared with his mother already. "I was thinking that it would do me some good to grow up again."

He must have said something right, somehow, because his mother pressed her hands together in delight, smiled and said, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. How would you feel about being raised by your mother, this time?"

That question helped him to figure out the reason for the response that she had given to him after he had shown her his curse. Of course, it wasn't surprising that she would want him to live with her full-time, since she had made it quite clear that she had missed him. While she wouldn't get back the time that she had spent living alone while his father had taken him on that training journey, she would at least get a chance to raise him from a child to some degree.

While his mother wasn't perfect, he held her in a much higher regard than his father, especially now that the main problem between them seemed to be resolved. It was a great relief to know that his mother didn't judge him based on his appearance alone, or else her response would have been very different from the one that would lead them to starting a new life together. Aside from that, his mother seemed more likely to do something to benefit him, whereas his father could only be counted on for being selfish and self-serving.

Having a good feeling about this arrangement, even though he still didn't look forward to reliving ten years of his life, he returned his mother's smile and said, "Sounds good to me."

His mother was on his side of the table before he knew it, hugging him and nuzzling her cheek against his in her excitement — much to his embarrassment. To his relief, she didn't do it for long, because she got up and paced about as she spoke aloud of the things that she would need to do, now that this arrangement had been decided upon, which she was eager to see realized. As such, it wasn't long before she was rushing out of the room, in order to take care of the first of many tasks that would help to accommodate this change in their lives.

He wasn't sure what he could do right then to help her, so he decided to try out the anpan. As he took his first bite, and enjoyed the chestnut filling, he reflected upon his situation with some apprehension. While he would avoid the awkwardness of living with the Tendo family, due to his current age and being unable to fulfill the engagement, it wasn't going to be fun breaking the news to them, and to a certain individual in particular. He could only hope that they would all understand, since it wasn't like he could return to being sixteen on command.

Well, at least he would likely get to enjoy his father's reaction to this development.

That evening, Ranma and Nodoka joined the Tendo's for dinner. Their arrival had been unannounced, with Ranma still in his cursed form, so they wouldn't clue anyone in about the situation — especially a certain panda who was liable to run away at the first sign of trouble. Instead, Nodoka told them that she had bumped into "Ranko" on her way over, who had explained what had happened to "her." It was true enough, technically, since Ranma and Ranko were the same person.

Fortunately, since Genma's place at the table was forfeit while he pretended to be a panda, Kasumi didn't have to go through any trouble to accommodate Nodoka by providing an extra portion, much to the dismay of the aforementioned panda. So, after greetings were exchanged, and Ranma and Nodoka were seated at the table together, everyone said, "Itadakimasu," and began to eat.

Ranma made an effort to act natural, since he didn't want to give away the fact that he and his mother had something planned once dinner was over, so he pretended to still be down in spirits because there were no more mushrooms that could return him to his proper age. It wasn't hard to do, of course, since he was still feeling more down than up about his situation in general: because he really didn't look forward to repeating an entire decade of his life.

It wasn't long before Akane, who had been too focused on what she wanted to say to pick up her chopsticks, addressed Ranma in a somewhat hesitant manner. "Ranko, about those mushrooms..."

"Yeah?" Ranma replied, after chewing and swallowing a bite of his tonkatsu, wondering why Akane would bring that particular subject up.

"There are still some left," Akane informed Ranma, before helpfully adding, "They're in the kitchen if you want to check and see if any are the right size... Is something wrong?"

Akane had been inspired to ask that question at the end due to the fact that Ranma's chopsticks had fallen from his now-nerveless fingers, and it was with a great deal of dread that he decided to confirm what he had just been told. "There's... more?"

"Of course," Akane replied, with a frown, and somewhat defensively. "How else was I supposed to stop you and Ryoga from fighting over them? At the rate that you two were going, there really wouldn't have been any left if you had carried on like that."

Nabiki, who believed that Ranma's frozen form and unfocused gaze was not the kind of reaction that she would have expected from him upon hearing such news, had her curiosity piqued. "I'm surprised you aren't already in the kitchen." She stole a glance at his mother. "Did something happen?"

Ranma did his best to regain his bearings as he recovered his chopsticks and made an effort to continue eating his meal like nothing was wrong, but wasn't all that convincing when he avoided eye contact and nervously — and somewhat hastily — said, "Happen? Nothing happened. Why would something need to happen? I was just... surprised, is all."

"Uh-huh..." Nabiki voiced her disbelief, but she let Ramna's response slide since she was confident that the truth would come out before too long, whether intended or not.

Ranma found himself fortunate that most either took his response at face value, didn't press the issue any further if they hadn't, or made dinner their priority. Akane looked at him speculatively, however, so it was obvious to him that his behavior had caught her attention in addition to Nabiki's. Soun and Kasumi seemed to be minding their own business, so he couldn't be sure what they were thinking, but figured that the Tendo patriarch would have said something if he had picked up on anything particularly worrisome. Considering how his father was staring at the food being eaten with an expression of anguish, while a line of drool issued forth from the side of his mouth, there was a good chance that he may not have been paying enough attention to register what had been said. As for his mother...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her eating as if nothing of consequence had happened. She must have heard them, surely, so her lack of reaction didn't sit well with him, especially since she had clearly been happy about the arrangement that they had made. At the very least he would have expected her desire for him to see his decision through to be expressed in some way, yet that didn't seem to be the case. It made him wonder if backing out now and returning to the path that his life would have naturally followed, instead of growing up with his mother, would be considered unmanly.

He felt so conflicted over what action to take. What he wanted to do the most was within his grasp, but going after that could cost him his life, or — at the very least — drive a wedge between himself and his mother. While those things were certainly issues, however, they weren't the only ones: despite the scenario that he had based his decision on being a lie, which had been a consequence of his own behavior, none of that changed the fact that his self-assessment had been real. After some soul-searching, he had come to acknowledge his shortcomings. While growing up again wasn't necessary for a lot of the self-improvements that he could make in his life, it would certainly make many of them easier to accomplish. It wasn't that he wanted to grow up again for that precise reason, but because he had felt that it would be a good idea after deciding that growing up would be the lesser of the evils out of the choices that he had supposedly been restricted to.

Of course, at the crux of this dilemma was his relationship with Akane. Even if he wasn't ready to commit to a romantic relationship with her, he still had enough feelings for her that he couldn't deny the existence of his attraction. Once, when he had felt that his only options were to either risk being killed by Herb or escape and live out the rest of his days as a girl, he had preferred the latter since he had believed that Akane would not be affected as negatively by that than if he had died. For her, he could have tried to live with that, because she mattered that much to him.

While his current situation also involved the threat of death, his choice was more about himself than it was about Akane, especially since the choice that didn't risk any endangerment to his life would be the one that would set him back by a decade. If he stuck with his decision to start over with his mother, it would be left up to Akane to decide whether they should move on or not. Now that he knew that more mushrooms were available, however, he began to worry that the engagement would be perceived as being salvageable, which would likely mean that their parents would force Akane to join him as a six-year-old. In the best case scenario, they could insist on him returning to his proper age without that coming into conflict with him becoming manly, but he doubted that things would resolve themselves that nicely.

By the time that his mother had finished eating, and was thus ready to announce the real reason for their visit, he had been too preoccupied with his thoughts and concerns to eat more than half of his own meal. However, since his reduction in size hadn't been taken into account, he had still eaten enough to stave off his hunger until bedtime. It would have been even better if filling himself with food had done something about the knot that had formed in his stomach, but such was life.

After setting her chopsticks aside and wiping her mouth, Nodoka spoke up and said, "There is an announcement that needs to be made." Once she had everyone's attention, which included her husband's, she turned to regard her son with an expectant look.

Everyone's attention shifted to Ranma, who gulped, knowing that this was the moment of truth. It wouldn't do him any good to not go along with his mother regarding what he was expected to do next, since it would only reveal an already-established fact, but it was what would follow that worried him. Not only did he not know for sure how things would turn out, but there was a good chance that the outcome would not be of the welcome variety.

Using the table to hide the thermos that he now held within his hands, in order to prevent any kind of preemptive action that might stop him from using it, he made quick work of the thermos' top before he dumped the hot water that was inside of it over his head. The wide-eyed, shocked expressions were both expected and amusing, in a morbid sort of way, but his father's impression of a specific painting by Munch was — appropriately — priceless.

When Genma recovered, he held up a sign in a pointlessly-dramatic fashion, one that said, "I can't die here," before he tried to make a break for it.

Taking out a second thermos, Ranma quickly opened it and threw it at the back of his father's head, with enough force to make him lose his balance and fall due to his transition from panda to man. "It's too late for that, you idiot!"

"Dear," Nodoka said, in a tone that made the person being addressed freeze in their tracks, "I'm very disappointed in you. How could you allow my faith in you to be misplaced?"

Genma turned about and nervously tried to entreat his wife with, "Nodoka, I can—"

"Spare me your lies," Nodoka calmly interrupted, with evident disappointment, which made her husband cringe and shrink into himself. "You had unlimited access to our child for more than a decade, so keeping your word should have been the least that you could have done for me."

"That said," she continued, as she turned her attention to those at the table, "Ranma and I have come to an understanding, so no one will be dying today."

Upon hearing that news, everyone was relieved to one degree or another. Well, everyone save Nabiki, who was more intrigued about the situation than anything else, as she rested her head upon the heel of her hand and watched the proceedings. Genma was the most relieved, which wasn't a surprise, although Soun wasn't that far behind him.

"How did you find out?" Akane asked Nodoka out of curiosity, now that any concern for Ranma having to commit seppuku had passed.

"It's probably because Ranma is young enough for her to recognize him," Nabiki idly deduced, before locking gazes with Nodoka and adding, "What I'm waiting for, though, is for the other shoe to drop."

"What other shoe?" Soun voiced his concern, beating Genma and Akane to the punch.

Instead of Nodoka telling those not in the know that her son would live with her and grow up normally, via the passage of time, she turned to the person in question and asked, "What do you wish to do?"

Being put on the spot like that, and once again being the center of attention, made Ranma freeze up and break out into a sweat. While he and his mother hadn't established exactly how they would convey their message, he had assumed that it would have been a straightforward affair rather than him actually being given a choice and making a decision before an audience.

Whether or not it was due to the ongoing existence of the mushrooms that the method of conveyance had taken this form, he was pretty sure that he was expected to say what they had planned on saying despite being given a choice. It wasn't because his mother had given him that impression right at that precise moment, but because her question was very similar in nature to the one that she had asked him earlier, regarding what he had planned to do: she had wanted him to make his own choice, and now she was testing his resolve.

If his mother was anything, she was dedicated to the things that she believed in, and it was a trait that was at once admirable and damnable. While she wasn't perfect, she was still a lot better than his father, whose thoughts only seemed to be about himself. If not for him, he wouldn't have been on the wrong side of his mother's sights to begin with, much less put into a position where he'd had to handle two engagements, neither of which expected and one due to an attempt to resolve the bad blood with an old friend. And that was just scratching the surface: he had a long list of grievances against his father after living with the man for over a decade.

However, choosing to live with his mother, over his father, wasn't the real issue. Although there were some things that he would like to keep about the life that he had made for himself in Nerima, even if just for familiarity's or stability's sake, those things paled in comparison to his main concern: Akane. It wasn't just about his feelings for her, but how his choice would affect her. Unfortunately, either way he chose had the potential for affecting her in a negative way, to one degree or another.

"Well, boy?" Genma demanded, who had grown impatient. "What is your mother asking you?"

After briefly closing his eyes and taking a deep, calming breath, Ranma looked around those looking upon him, who were expecting him to say something, before he gathered enough nerve to stop his gaze on Akane as he said, "I've decided to live with my mother... And grow up the normal way."

The reactions that he got from saying those words were pretty much what he had expected, but only until the initial shock had worn off. While his father and Soun were quickly — and predictably — up in arms about the engagement, and Akane's face clearly expressed a conflict of emotions, he hadn't expected Nabiki's chin to slip from its perch and hit the table, or for Kasumi to look at him as if she were wondering about something.

While he could conceivably answer Akane while their fathers were making a fuss, not only did it not feel right to say something of such importance while trying to speak over someone else, but he was reticent to say it in front of others, especially whatever words that he could put together for her in particular. It wasn't that he didn't want to explain himself, but because he'd never been all that great or comfortable with sharing things on a personal or intimate level, and the day's events had pretty much worn him out mentally and emotionally on top of that.

In the meantime, Nodoka had waited patiently for her husband and Soun to expend the heat of their objections, so she could get a word in edgewise. When that time arrived, she stared at her husband and calmly posed, "So, dear, you wish to obstruct your son's path to fulfilling your vow?"

Understandably, that made Genma pause, in addition to making him confused. "...Huh? What do you mean?"

"As a man, one must stay true to their word, even in the face of adversity," Nodoka lectured her husband, as if the answer should have been obvious to him. "While Ranma may have made his decision while under the impression that no more mushrooms of time remained, it wasn't a decision based purely on circumstance."

When Ranma received questioning looks from most of those present, he avoided direct eye contact with them since it hadn't been easy to admit what he had to his mother and he'd rather not share those thoughts with just any of the people who happened to be there. He stole looks every now and again, however, and that's how he was able to notice the difference in Kasumi's expression in relation to everyone else's: because it was more scrutinizing, as if she were trying to see something that wasn't immediately obvious. He couldn't imagine why she would give him that kind of attention, so he figured that he had to be mistaken about the meaning of her expression.

Eventually, Genma and Soun turned to regard each other, nodded their heads in unison, then convened in a corner of the room, where they began to converse in hushed tones. There was little doubt in anyone's mind that they were trying to figure out how to fulfill the engagement while the threat of seppuku obstructed the most obvious and immediate means of doing so. Once they were finished, they returned to the table and sat down at the same side, solemnly, with Genma not doing much to hide how unhappy he was about the situation.

Fortunately, it was Soun who spoke, who focused his attention on Nodoka as he said, "While waiting another decade will be difficult, it's better than the alternative. However, since it would be... odd for a sixteen-year-old boy to marry a twenty-six-year-old woman," he directed his gaze toward Akane, "we feel that it would be for the best if they grew up together."

That idea wasn't received well, especially by Akane, who was quite astounded by the gall of their fathers as she rounded on them and shouted, "Wh-what!? Do you have any idea what you're saying!?"

"But, Akane," Soun tried to reason with his daughter, "you heard Nodoka. Are you suggesting that you'd be willing to marry Ranma despite the age difference?"

Akane blanched at the thought: marrying Ranma as soon as possible would likely be all sorts of awkward for them, both personally and socially, and there was no telling just how much the circumstances of the future would affect how things would play out. Aside from that, though, was the fact that she had plenty of things at stake, such as friends, her social life, and even a few things that she wanted to pursue once high school was put behind her. Not only would repeating the next ten years be bound to make a mess of whatever security she had among those aspects of her life, she really didn't want to go through another long period where she was confused for a boy — especially if she still had to attend school.

When Soun failed to make any immediate headway with his youngest daughter, he began to petition Nabiki about being the one who would match ages with Ranma, although he didn't do it with any serious intent: the aim was to get an impulsive reaction out of Akane that could serve as her assent, since she seemed to be having a problem trying to form a response or protest.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Kasumi very clearly stated, "I'll do it."

The silence that followed was all-consuming, to a degree that Kasumi had never experienced before, much less as a result of her own actions. It was understandable, of course, since she had essentially volunteered to become Ranma's fiancée on top of becoming a six-year-old, even though she had never shown any interest in him before. At one time she had even voiced a desire for her fiancé to be older, and not only had Ranma not matched that description upon entering her life, but he was now — to all appearances — even further away from that image. Considering all of those things, she would have been more surprised if anyone hadn't been stupefied by her statement.

However, while Ranma didn't exactly match what she was looking for in a companion, she would have to be blind to not see the qualities that she liked despite the ones that repelled her. It wasn't just that he was strong and talented at what he did, but he was generally helpful and considerate, and his morality could usually be counted upon when it really mattered. His immaturity, indecisiveness, lack of purpose and inadequacy when it came to intimacy were more than enough to trump those qualities, as far as she was concerned, but now there was an opportunity to fix that, which — in turn — gave her the opportunity to resolve some of her own issues.

Akane finally broke the silence, expressing her confusion and the slightest hint of betrayal by saying, "Kasumi... Why?"

"Yeah," Nabiki chimed in, who was no less mystified by Kasumi's decision than Akane. "You're not doing this for our sake, are you?"

Genma gripped Soun's forearm hard enough to make him wince, who shared the same concern as his friend but wasn't about to address it directly as he nervously said, "Let's not be hasty, Kasumi... Why not allow Akane to give us her answer, first?"

Seeing her father looking at Akane hopefully, and knowing why, Kasumi regarded her youngest sister and spoke in answer to everyone in a matter-of-fact way since gaining sympathy wasn't her intention. "I haven't made any plans for my future, many of my friends have moved on, and most of the people that I socialize with are already much older than I am." Speaking directly to Akane, she added, "Can you say the same? Or give up what you have?"

Akane couldn't have foreseen her sister directing questions of that nature toward her, and the surprising words that had preceded them had already pushed her off balance, so she was struck dumb for a time. On some level, she also realized that her answer would serve the same purpose as if she had answered her father, so she was even more reluctant to say anything in response.

However, as she looked out of the corner of her eye and caught Ranma gazing between her and Kasumi with a lost expression on his face, as he awaited the outcome of this development, it was with resignation that she decided on her answer. She would like to think that her decision was for Kasumi's sake, since she could probably stand to have another shot at childhood, or for Ranma, because she figured that Kasumi would be so much better for him, but — the truth was — she didn't like Ranma enough to be certain if joining him as a child would be worth it, much less to the extent that she could admit whatever feelings that she did have for him in front of others.

So, in the end, she lowered her eyes and quietly admitted, "No..."

While Nodoka was satisfied that the matter had been settled, she sympathized enough with Akane to keep her excitement in check, so she clapped her hands deliberately and solemnly said, "It's decided, then." Turning to regard Kasumi, she added, "Why don't we check the mushrooms and see if any are of a suitable size?"

The room fell silent as Kasumi and Nodoka made their way out of the room. Soun had reached his hand out toward his eldest daughter as she left, and opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't muster the guts to say anything that might see his most reliable and helpful daughter out of the new arrangement that he himself had proposed. Once she was gone, he turned to Genma, who felt the same about losing their main provider of food and doer of housework, and began to mourn with him in relative silence. Nabiki had wisely chosen to remain quiet as she observed Akane and Ranma staring at each other with a storm of emotions within their eyes, and wondered if they were getting anything of benefit from communicating in that fashion.

Eventually, Akane rose from the table and began to leave the room quietly, in order to hole herself in her bedroom, while Ranma struggled to do more than watch her go. Once she was gone, Ranma stared at the empty doorway, unseeingly, before he turned back toward the table and bowed his head, cursing himself, and wishing that he could have been the sort of person who not only knew what to do in such a situation but had the courage to do it.

When his mother and Kasumi returned, he was reminded that he had a new fiancée on top of everything else. She was his apparent age now, and it seemed like his mother had shed a few years off of her own age for some reason. He wanted to ask the once-older Tendo sister the reason for why she had volunteered to become his fiancée, because he had never once been under the impression that she had harbored any feelings for him, or would make such a sacrifice for Akane, but decided that it would be best to approach her about it in private... If he could work up the nerve to do it, anyway.

More importantly, however, was when and how to talk to Akane. He didn't want things to end like this between them, if things had to be this way, but he couldn't even begin to figure out a good course of action. Akane was usually unapproachable during times like these, though, so he hoped that he would have enough time to get back to her later, when she was more likely to be receptive and he had at least some idea of what to do.