Call Me Ranko

by thesweeper1957

Ranma went to the accursed springs in China. But who returned to Japan? Akane and most of Nerima believed it was Ranma with a changed personality. Ukyo and the person in question, however, believed it wasn't Ranma at all. Who was right?

Call Me Ranko

[1]

"There's nothing on." Ukyo whined, while flipping through the channels on the TV with the remote. "I'm so bored I can't stand it."

Restless, she tossed the remote onto the sofa, stood up, walked over to the window, pushed the curtain aside and looked out. The rain was pouring down with a strong wind blowing it sideways. "What a storm." she murmured. "Not a good night to be out."

She lingered at the window for a while and watched the rain pelt the ground and the wind blow the trees around. "I wonder if Ranma has come back from China yet. Not that he would call me," she said, then added with a chuckle, "unless he was hungry."

Walking back to the sofa, she sat down, picked up the remote and flipped through the channels until she found a program sort of interesting. Sighing, she sank back into the sofa and put her feet up on the coffee table.

Ukyo was twenty years old and lived alone in a small two bedroom house a short walk from a restaurant she owned and operated. Her restaurant was called 'Ucchans' and her special dish was Okonomiyaki, but she also served a wide verity of other meals.

If you saw her you might mistake her for a boy, a skinny pretty boy, but a boy nonetheless. She never cared much for girly things. Her hair was short (she cut it short after high school), she never wore makeup and she liked to wear chef's clothes while working and what some might call boys clothes when not.

While mindlessly staring at the TV, she thought she heard a knock on her front door. Perking up her ears, she listened for another knock. It came a few seconds later and she thought, "Who would be coming here at this hour?"

Hesitantly rising from the couch, she warily made her way to the door. Then opening the door a crack and peering through the slit, she saw a girl of about her own age standing outside soaked to the skin and sobbing. Surprised, she swung the door all the way open while exclaiming, "What's the matter Ranma?!"

The girl on the stoop didn't answer; she just stood there shaking and crying.

Ukyo reached out, pulled the girl inside the house and closed the door.

"U-u-ucchan," the girl whimpered, "w-will you let me stay with you?"

"Yes, yes, of course," said Ukyo, scratching her head, "but what's the matter?"

"Um…" the girl said, sniffing and rubbing her eyes, "Ryoga confessed to Akane and she lit into me so I ran away."

"Ran away? But you and Akane fight all the time."

"I can't take it anymore."

"Okay, okay," said Ukyo, "s-stay right there and I'll go get a towel to dry you off."

Ukyo ran to the hall closet, grabbed a towel, ran back to the girl and began to vigorously rub her face and hair.

"U-ucchan," said the girl, still shaking and shivering and hugging herself, "do you have any clothes I can borrow?"

"Yes, yes, of course." said Ukyo. "Why don't you take this towel and go into the bathroom and I'll go get you some clothes, alright?"

The girl nodded her head and took the towel out of Ukyo's hand.

Ukyo went to her bedroom and pulled some pajamas out of her dresser drawer. "There has to be more to it than that." she said, to herself. "There just has to be."

As Ukyo approached the bathroom she heard water running in the tub. "You decided to take a bath?" she said, dropping the pajamas on top of the hamper just inside the bathroom door. "Good idea; I'll be in the living room."

"Please stay," said the girl, while kneeling beside the tub and testing the water with her hand, "there's something I have to show you."

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to stay."

"Please?"

"Um… o…kay."

Ukyo watched the girl shed her wet clothes and step into the tub and wondered what it was she wanted to show her.

"Ucchan," said the girl, sitting in the hot water, "Ranma is dead and I killed him."

"What are you talking about?" said Ukyo. "Ranma's not dead; you're Ranma."

"Don't you see?!" said the girl, earnestly. "I'm sitting in hot water and I'm not changing. I'm a girl; boy Ranma is dead. Don't you see? I'm a girl, a girl, don't you see?"

"Well, yeah, but that's happened before."

"It's different this time; please believe me; Ranma is dead; I'm not Ranma; I swear I'm not; Ranma is dead."

"Ranma is dead?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Ukyo began to feel sadness overwhelming her.

"Yes," said the girl, her lower lip quivering, "I'm sure."

Ukyo sank to her knees and began to cry.

"You're not Ranma?" she said, tearfully.

"No, I'm not." said the girl. "I swear I'm not. Ranma is dead."

Ukyo covered her face with her hands and wept.

"I'm going to have to leave." said the girl, solemnly. "I'm sure you don't want a killer staying in your house."

"What are you talking about?" said Ukyo. "You're not a killer. You haven't killed anybody."

"But I did, I did." said the girl, adamantly. "I jumped in that spring. I didn't have to but I did. I killed him! I killed him!"

"You didn't know that was going to happen." Ukyo pleaded.

"I didn't have to go there." said the girl, becoming hysterical, "I could have been happy with the way things were. Now Ranma is gone." The girl began to wail, "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead and it's my fault. It's all my fault!"

"No!" yelled Ukyo, vehemently. "It's not your fault! Anybody would have done the same thing in your place! No more of this nonsense! I won't have it!"

Stunned, the girl stared at Ukyo wide-eyed and gulped.

Ukyo stood up, turned around and walked toward the door, then stopped and said, quietly, "I'll go make something to eat. Oh, um… I don't know your name. What do you want me to call you?"

"Ranko," said the girl, "c-call me Ranko."

"Okay, Ranko, come to the kitchen when you're done with your bath."

[2]

Ukyo was at the stove sautéing some vegetables when Ranko timidly shuffled into the kitchen in her oversized borrowed pajamas.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, walking over to the girl and putting her hands on her shoulders, "I want you to think of this home as your home. You can stay here as long as you want to."

Ranko clung to Ukyo and wept. Ukyo hugged Ranko and stroked her hair. They held each other until Ukyo remembered she had food cooking on the stove. "Ran-chan," she said, "I have to get that food before it burns." Ranko let go, rubbed her eyes and nodded her head while Ukyo rushed over to the stove, checked the food and breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. It's alright." she said, mopping her brow. "Ran-chan, have a seat at the table."

Ranko sat at the table while Ukyo portioned some vegetables and rice onto two plates. Then Ukyo sat down opposite Ranko and the girls began to eat.

"Thank you, Ucchan, this is very good." said Ranko, with her mouth full.

"It's just vegetables and rice." said Ukyo, with a shrug. "Here's some sauce for it if you like."

"Thanks."

When they finished eating, Ranko jumped out of her chair, quickly grabbed all of the dishes and rushed over to the sink. Ukyo found this amusing.

After the dishes were washed, dried and put away, Ukyo and Ranko went to the living room and sat together on the sofa.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, "tell me what happened in China."

"Okay," said Ranko, "let me think, um… five of us went to China to Jusenkyo."

"Five of you?"

"Yeah." Ranko counted on her fingers. "Me, Ranma, Ranma's dad, Ryoga and Moose."

"Wait a minute, you and Ranma?"

"Yeah, we both went."

"In the same body?"

Ranko nodded her head.

"You mean you shared Ranma's body with him?!"

"Yeah," said Ranko, pointing at herself, "but only this body."

Ukyo stared at Ranko.

Ranko waited nervously for Ukyo to say something.

"You, you, you mean," said Ukyo, "you shared his female body?"

"That's right," said Ranko, "but I didn't share his boy body."

"Where were you when he was a boy?"

"Um… I guess the best way to describe it would be sleeping."

"Did he know?"

"I… I'm not sure."

"Were you like, in his head or something?"

"Um… no, I felt everything like I do now."

"When he turned back into a boy you fell asleep?"

"Right." said Ranko, nodding her head.

"O…kay." Ukyo took a deep breath and blew out her cheeks. "Why don't we move on to China." she said. "What happened in China?"

"Well, okay," said Ranko, nervously wringing her hands, "um… I-I don't actually remember going to China. I just remember waking up and we were standing next to Nannichuan."

"Nannichuan?"

"The Spring of Drowned Man."

"Oh, I see." said Ukyo. "How did you know you were there?"

"Because Ranma said something like, 'Oh great, we finally get to Nannichuan and it starts to rain' and I looked around and saw a panda, a pig and a duck standing next to me."

"What happened then?"

"Ranma said, or it could have been me because it was coming out of my mouth, 'It's now or never' or maybe it was 'bonsai' or something like that. I don't remember exactly but we all jumped in."

"You all jumped in."

"But, but, but, but only me, the panda, the pig and the duck climbed out. Ranma was gone."

"How do you know?"

"I-I felt empty." said Ranko, looking at Ukyo with a face full of sorrow. "I felt so empty. I-I-I stared at the other three and I didn't know what to do. I've never had to make a decision before. I didn't know what to do. Ranma always decided. I felt so lost and so, so alone. I didn't know what to do. Somebody ran over and poured hot water over us and the others became men but I didn't fall asleep like I usually did. I actually felt the hot water pouring over me. I knew then that Ranma was dead and that I killed him. Ranma is dead, Ucchan, and I killed him."

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, trying to keep her voice steady, "I don't know why you think you killed him. It sounds to me like he killed himself."

"What do you mean?" said Ranko, earnestly. "I killed him. I jumped in that spring."

"You just said you've never had to make a decision. Who decided to jump in that spring?"

"But…"

"Stop blaming yourself."

"But Ranma is dead and it should have been me who died."

"I see." said Ukyo, frowning. "You were trying to kill yourself."

Ranko looked at her hands and bit her lip. "Yes," she said, quietly, "yes, I wanted to kill myself. It would have been better for Ranma if I had died."

"Why would it have been better?"

"He hated being a girl. I-I was in his way. I thought if I was gone he'd be happy." Ranko put her hands over her face and cried, "But it all went wrong. Why did Ranma have to die? Why, Ucchan, why?"

Ukyo put her arms around Ranko, pulled her close and tried to comfort her.

"It should have been me who died." Ranko wailed, burying her face in Ukyo's chest and sobbing. "It should have been me. It should have been me."

[3]

Ukyo woke to the smell of bacon. "Mmm," she thought, "I love the smell of bacon." Then her eyes flashed open. "Wait! Why am I smelling bacon?" She threw her legs over the side of the bed, jumped into her slippers and struggled into her robe as she marched to the kitchen.

Ranko was standing at the stove in her too large pajamas, too large slippers and an apron. "How do you like your eggs?" she said, without turning around.

"Um…" said Ukyo, still feeling a little groggy, "over easy?"

"Sure thing, have a seat."

Ukyo took a seat at the kitchen table, gazed at the pretty little woman cooking at her stove and thought, "So she really is here. I didn't dream it."

Ranko brought her a cup of coffee and smiled. "Here you go, Ucchan." she said, placing the cup on the table. "Your eggs will be ready in a minute." Then she walked back over to the stove and said, while cracking a few eggs into a pan, "Ucchan, will you let me work at your restaurant? I promise I'll do a good job."

"Yes," said Ukyo, "of course."

"Thank you."

Ranko put some eggs, bacon and toast onto two plates and carried them over to the table.

"Are you okay, Ucchan?" she asked, setting a plate down in front of Ukyo.

"Huh?" said Ukyo, looking up at the girl. "Oh, yes, I'm fine; I'm just not quite awake yet."

"Not a morning person?"

"No, no, I'm not."

Ranko sat down in another chair and the girls began to eat.

"Mmm," said Ukyo, rubbing a napkin over her mouth, "these eggs are perfect."

"Thank you." said Ranko, with a smile.

Ukyo's alarm clock started beeping so she ran to her bedroom to turn it off then stopped in the bathroom on her way back to the kitchen. Ranko had finished eating by the time Ukyo returned to the table. She was relaxing in a chair sipping her coffee.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, spreading some jam on her toast, "I meant to ask: When did you return from China?"

"Last night."

"You mean you just got back?"

Ranko nodded her head and said, "Um hmm."

"And Akane started yelling at you as soon as you got back?"

"Well, no, only after Ryoga told her that he was P-chan."

Ukyo scratched her head and asked, "Why would she yell at you about that?"

"Ranma never told her."

"Why didn't she yell at Ryoga?"

Ranko shrugged and answered, "I don't know. She always blamed Ranma for everything."

"That's not right." said Ukyo, indignantly.

"That's just the way it was."

"That just ticks me off. You were already traumatized enough."

Ranko stood up and cleared the table. "She didn't know." she said, with another shrug.

"That's no excuse."

Someone knocked on the front door of the house, so Ukyo got up, wrapped her robe around herself and went to see who it was. When she opened the door, Akane Tendo was standing on the stoop.

"Hello, Ukyo," she said, "is Ranma here?"

"Yes, Ranko is here." said Ukyo, motioning for her to come inside. "Have a seat in the living room and I'll tell her you're here."

"Thank you."

Ukyo walked back into the kitchen and told Ranko she had a visitor.

"Who?" asked Ranko.

"Akane."

"Oh." Ranko said, with a frown. "I suppose I'll have to talk to her."

Ukyo patted her on the back while saying, "I think that would be a good idea" then Ranko went to the living room and Ukyo went to her bedroom.

"Hello, Akane." said Ranko, gingerly sitting on the edge of the sofa in the living room.

Akane stared at the floor and said, in a quiet voice, "I came to apologize and ask you to come back to the dojo."

"Thank you, but I want to stay here."

"I understand."

Akane turned her face toward Ranko. "Ryoga explained to me what happened in China, Ranma." she said, with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Ukyo changed her clothes and when she opened her bedroom door and saw Ranko and Akane hugging, she quietly closed the door again and sat on the bed, trembling slightly. "Get a grip, Ukyo." she muttered. "You don't own her. She can do as she pleases. What are you thinking anyway?" She stood up, made her bed and organized her room. Later, when she had finished in her room, Ukyo found Ranko in the kitchen cleaning the stove.

"I made a fresh pot of coffee." said Ranko, rushing over to the coffee-maker sitting on the counter by the refrigerator. "Let me pour you a cup."

Ukyo sat down at the table and said, "Thank you" while Ranko poured coffee into her cup. Then Ranko poured a cup for herself and sat in another chair.

"What did Akane say?" asked Ukyo, while stirring some cream and sugar into her coffee.

"She asked me to go back to the dojo but I told her I wanted to stay here." said Ranko; then she looked at Ukyo with a worried expression and asked, "That's okay, isn't it?"

"Yes." said Ukyo, giving her a reassuring smile. "I want you to stay here. I really do."

"Thank you."

The girls sat quietly sipping their coffee.

Birds chirped outside in the trees.

The morning sun shone through the kitchen window and the shadows from the trees outside played on the wall next to the table but the girls didn't notice.

"Akane doesn't believe me." said Ranko, gently placing her cup on the table after taking a sip. "She thinks I'm Ranma."

"Really?" said Ukyo.

"She thinks it's something like what happened one time before when Ranma knocked his head and my personality took the lead or something like that."

"I don't think I heard about this."

"Now that I think about it, it was the one time I can remember being in a boy's body. It was a real shock, let me tell you."

"I can believe it."

"Eventually, I fell and knocked my head and everything went back to normal."

Ukyo shook her head and chuckled, then said, "Normal is not the word I would use."

"No, I suppose not." said Ranko, with a little giggle.

"So…" said Ukyo, "what does this have to do with her not believing you?"

"Well…" said Ranko, "she gets the part where I'm always a girl and never ever changing into a boy, but… she still thinks I'm Ranma, just with a changed personality, you know?"

"Oh, I see."

When they finished drinking the coffee, Ranko took the cups to the sink and washed them.

"Listen, Ran-chan," said Ukyo, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs, "why don't you just take it easy for a while? You've been through a lot and maybe you should just rest."

"Thank you," said Ranko, drying the cups and putting them in the cabinet, "but I think I'd rather stay busy. Besides, I want to help you. I don't want to be a burden."

Ukyo stood up, walked over to Ranko, put her hands on her shoulders, looked into her eyes and said, with a smile, "You don't have to worry about that, okay? I'll take care of you; I promise."

Tears welled up in Ranko's eyes and the girls hugged. Ranko couldn't believe her good fortune after all she endured on her journey from China to Japan. She sighed in Ukyo's arms.

Later, they shopped for clothes and other items Ranko needed. Then they went to a hair salon because Ranko wanted a new hairstyle. After that, they went to lunch, did some more shopping, walked around a park, ate some ice cream and had fun together.

It was, to quote a popular old movie, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[4]

Ukyo stayed awake nights thinking about Ranma and how much she missed him. She still found it hard to believe he was really gone. Sometimes when she saw Ranko, she thought she was Ranma and it sent such a jolt through her system she had to sit down for a few minutes to recover. She never mentioned it to Ranko because the girl was still apt to cry at the least little thing.

Ranko doted on Ukyo and that was something Ukyo had never experienced before. She liked it a lot. The house was always clean and Ranko was becoming a wonderful cook.

Ukyo took her friend everywhere: shopping, out for ice cream, to the movies, any number of places, just to have fun together.

One afternoon they went to Tokyo to do some shopping. As they were standing together on a crowded train a man near Ranko fell over unconscious onto the floor. Ranko acted like nothing had happened while some people knelt by the man to see if they could help him. When they got off the train, Ukyo found the closest bench she could find and sat down.

"Sit down, Ran-chan." she said, patting the bench.

Ranko sat down.

"What did you do to that man?"

"Me?" said Ranko, feigning innocence.

"Ranko Saotome!"

"He, he, he was groping me," said Ranko, defensively, "so, so, so I just gave him a little tap in a s-soft spot."

"How…?

"Ranma taught me a few things."

"Ranma did," thought Ukyo, "o…kay."

"Are you mad at me?" asked Ranko, nervously.

"No, no," said Ukyo, shaking her head, "I'm not mad; the guy deserved it."

"Good, I'm glad you're not mad."

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

Ranko looked at her hands and bit her lip. "No, no, I didn't." she said, wondering if maybe she did.

"I bet a lot of women would love to know that technique."

"It's not something they teach in normal martial arts classes. I don't think so anyway."

"No," said Ukyo, "I wouldn't think so either. Can you do everything Ranma could do?"

"No," said Ranko, "I'm sure I can't. I was surprised by what I did on the train. I didn't know I could do that and, and I don't know if I could do it again."

"So you don't know what you really know?"

"You're right. I… I don't know what I know."

The girls sat quietly together on the bench while a crowd of people moved by. There was something exciting about being in Tokyo with so much going on. They tried to take it all in and just enjoy the moment, but Ranko was still preoccupied with thoughts about Ranma.

"You know," she said, "there were times when Ranma was a girl for long extended periods; times he couldn't change back into a boy. Those were good times for me; I really learned a lot."

Ukyo stood up. "Let's go get some lunch." she said. "You can tell me all about it."

They found a little restaurant near the train station and as they were eating, Ranko told Ukyo about some of the adventures she had experienced with Ranma. Ukyo found it interesting and asked her many questions. She also remembered being a part of some of those adventures and added her perspective to the stories, but Ranko did most of the talking.

"And…" said Ranko, while they were eating dessert, "I would wake-up sopping-wet in the strangest places."

"Mmm?" said Ukyo, with a mouth full of pie.

"You know, like, the pond behind the dojo, the canal, the pool at the school, on the street, all over the place. I didn't know where I would wake-up next, but I was always wet."

"How did you cope with that?"

"Cope? Well… I didn't really have to cope really. I was more of a watcher, I guess. Ranma was in control of everything. I felt kind of like… um… a puppet, yeah, like, like… Pinocchio. That's right, I was a puppet like Pinocchio."

"Only your nose is little and cute."

"My nose?" said Ranko, touching her nose. "My nose is cute?"

"Everything about you is cute."

"Really? Thank you."

Ukyo chuckled, shook her head and said, with a smile, "No problem."

Their conversation continued in the light-hearted manner of best friends as the finished lunch and set off to do some shopping.

"What do you think?" asked Ukyo, standing outside a dressing room in a boutique. "Does it look okay?"

"You look so beautiful!" said Ranko, excitedly. "I could kiss you!"

"Please don't." said Ukyo, her face turning red. "At least, not in front of everybody."

Ranko giggled. "I'll kiss you anyway." she said, enjoying her friend's reaction.

Ukyo pointed at her cheek. "Kiss me here." she said, turning her head.

Ranko threw her arms around Ukyo's neck and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, Ucchan!" she said, enthusiastically.

Ukyo shook her head and said, with a smile, "You're incorrigible."

Ranko let go, stepped back and giggled.

"Do you think I should buy this?" asked Ukyo, looking down at the dress she was wearing.

"Oh yes," said Ranko, "I think you should. Let's go out tonight and show off our new clothes."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I don't know, someplace with a lot of men so they can all swoon when they see you."

"As if." said Ukyo, laughing. "They won't even notice me standing next to you."

"Oh yes they will." Ranko said, grabbing Ukyo's hand. "I've had so much fun today. Let's keep it going into the night."

"Alright, let's do that."

Sometimes Ukyo would lay awake at night and wonder: "Who is Ranko? Where did she come from? Did her spirit enter Ranma when he fell into the spring? Is she the girl who drowned in the spring a thousand years ago? Is that possible? Why do I care about her so much? Why did I open my house and heart to her so readily? Why…?"

She knew she would probably never know the answers.

She also knew, she had no regrets.

[5]

With trepidation and fear, Ranko knocked on the door. She didn't want to be there. There were thousands of places she would rather be. She almost walked away. Before she could, the door opened and a woman said, "Hello Ranma, come in."

Ranko walked into the house and sat on her knees on a tatami floor facing the woman. A small table was nearby with an arrangement of flowers in a vase on the top. Other than that, the room was bare.

"Mrs. Saotome," said Ranko, while bowing, "I've come to tell you that Ranma is dead."

"Ranma?" asked Mrs. Saotome, surprised. "What are you saying? Are you trying to be funny?"

"Mrs. Saotome, I'm not Ranma; I'm Ranko; Ranma is dead."

"Explain yourself, please."

"Very well," said Ranko, nervously and quickly, "it's like this: Ranma and I went to China and only I came back; Ranma died in China; that's why I'm saying Ranma is dead; I'm alive but I'm not Ranma; I'm Ranko; Ranma is dead; please believe me because it's true."

Wind chimes tinkled.

Crickets chirped.

A small plane could be heard flying overhead.

"So…" said Ranma's mother, slowly, after several minutes of contemplation, "you're saying that the male form of Ranma is no more?"

"Yes," said Ranko, "that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Then you must fulfill the vow."

"Fulfill the vow?!" Ranko exclaimed, with anger and indignation welling up inside of her. "You just find out your son is dead and the first thing you think of is some silly vow?!"

"It's not silly." said Mrs. Saotome, noticeably perturbed. "Seppuku is an honorable and fine tradition."

"It's silly."

Mrs. Saotome's face turned to stone. "Fulfill the vow," she said, sternly, "or you'll disgrace the family name."

"I refuse." said Ranko, angrily. "I didn't make that vow; it has nothing to do with me."

"Fulfill the vow!"

"I won't!"

"Coward!"

"Yes, yes," said Ranko, placing a hand on her chest, "perhaps I am a coward, but your son, your son Ranma was no coward." Ranko waxed poetic. "He was brave and heroic; his mighty deeds would fill volumes; his legend will go on; people will…"

"Enough of this nonsense!" yelled Mrs. Saotome, indignantly. "I don't believe this for one minute. You are Ranma and you came here with this ridiculous story trying to shirk your duty, the duty you owe to your family. That, to me, is cowardice."

Ranko stood up and said, sadly, "Mrs. Saotome, I hope someday you'll come to realize how you've wronged your son's memory" then turned around and walked to the door with as much dignity as she could muster.

When she stepped outside the house and closed the door, she burst into tears and ran down the street.

Being upset, she didn't watch where she was going and ran right into Tatewaki Kuno's arms.

Looking up at his face, she thought, "Oh crap!"

"What's the matter, my sweet?" said Kuno. "You seem upset."

"Do I know you?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You're such a kidder."

"I didn't know that." she said, while trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! My sweet, I love your sense of humor."

"I'm not your sweet or any other such thing."

"I could listen to your wit all day long." he said, with a big smile on his face.

"Um…" she said, still struggling to free herself, "would you mind letting go of me?"

"Will you date with me?"

"Date? What do you mean? Like what?"

"I'll treat you to lunch."

Ranko thought it over.

"Okay," she said, "that would be fine; but no kissing or any icky stuff like that."

He appeared to consider her words for a moment, then said, "Okay, fair enough" then dropped her, grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

Ranko tried to free her hand but couldn't.

"You're not keeping up." said Kuno. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"No, no," said Ranko, panting, "I'll just run beside you."

He pulled her into a restaurant and whisked her into a chair by an empty table.

Ranko looked around and thought, "It would have to be here" while viewing her all too familiar surroundings.

"This is a very trendy restaurant." said Kuno, smiling and taking the seat next to her. "I hope you like it."

"Well hello, Ran-chan." said a girl, approaching the table while carrying a tray. "I don't usually see you here on your day off."

"Yeah," said Ranko, slightly embarrassed, "I usually try to avoid it."

"Do you want me to tell Ukyo you're here?"

"No, no, I'll tell her myself."

The girl asked them what they wanted to drink, they told her and she walked away.

Ranko smiled at Kuno and said, cheerfully, "I'd like to freshen up."

Kuno smiled back at her and said, with a wave of his hand, "By all means."

Ranko got up and walked into the restaurant kitchen to where Ukyo was cooking at the grill.

"Hey, Ucchan." said Ranko, standing beside her friend.

"Ran-chan?" said Ukyo, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Kuno."

"Kuno?"

"Yeah, he's treating me to lunch."

"That's… unexpected."

"Yeah, I think so too. We kind of ran into each other… literally."

"Is that right?"

"I went to see Mrs. Saotome."

"How did that go?"

"She wants me to kill myself for the honor of her stupid family."

"You're not going to, are you?"

"No way!" said Ranko, exasperated. "It's just so stupid; nobody believes me; they think Ranma is making up some kind of story; it's so frustrating!"

"I believe you."

Ranko threw her arms around Ukyo and hugged her. "Ucchan," she said, while giggling, "you are so awesome!"

Ukyo just smiled while Ranko giggled some more and hugged her even tighter.

"Well," said Ranko, sighing and letting go, "I guess I'd better get back to the table. Talk to you later."

"See you later, honey." said Ukyo, while deftly handling ten orders at once.

Ranko made her way to the table by way of the bathroom.

Kuno was reading a menu when she returned.

"Welcome back, my sweet." he said, peering over the menu. "I trust you are suitably freshened."

"Yeah," she said, "I suppose I am."

"You know, I was admiring the way you wear your hair now. It's very cute. I particularly like the bows."

"Oh yeah, the bows," thought Ranko, while sipping her drink, "and this dress. Maybe I shouldn't have gone over to see Ranma's mother dressed like this."

She gave Kuno a sunny smile and said, "Thank you sir."

"Please call me Tatewaki."

"Okay, Tatewaki, you can call me Ranko."

"Ranko is it?" he said, rubbing his chin. "I've often wondered what your real name was. So it's Ranko. I like that name."

"Yeah, I like it too."

The girl with the tray walked up to the table and took their order. Tatewaki and Ranko ate lunch and talked together. Ranko let him hold her hand and walk her home. There was no kissing or icky stuff involved.

[6]

Ukyo scheduled their days off so she could spend time with Ranko. They went to amusement parks, the beach and many other fun places. Ranko would tell everyone she was Ukyo's best friend, knowing for sure, in her heart, they must be very jealous. Ukyo, on the other hand, enjoyed having a close friend for the first time. She had always been and loner and never fit in with the other girls.

One fine sunny day they decided to go to the zoo. They wore sundresses and floppy hats with flowers and held hands as they walked around looking at the animals. As they were making their way around the zoo they noticed a panda sitting alone in a cage. Ranko walked up to the cage and asked, "Is that you, Mr. Saotome?"

The panda looked up at her with sleepy eyes; then his eyes flashed open and he looked startled.

"I think it is." said Ukyo.

"Mr. Saotome," said Ranko, "what are you doing in there?"

The panda pulled a small chalkboard and a piece of chalk out from behind him, wrote, "Staying alive" then erased what he wrote and wrote, "Your mother is very determined."

Ranko put her hands on her hips and said, petulantly, "She's not my mother."

The panda wrote, "So you say."

Ranko looked up at Ukyo and said, sadly, "Mr. Saotome and I talked on the way back from China but he just wouldn't understand. He picked on me the whole way, calling me wimp, girly and a disgrace."

"Why did you go with him?" asked Ukyo.

"Where was I supposed to go?"

Ukyo didn't have an answer.

A crowd was gathering around the cage when Ukyo and Ranko looked back at the panda and saw him writing on the chalkboard again. He turned the board around and, "Hello Ukyo" was written on it.

"Oh, hello Mr. Saotome." said Ukyo.

"Pretty dress." wrote the panda.

"Thank you."

"Hey," said Ranko, holding out her skirt, "don't you like my dress?"

"Aargh!" wrote the panda.

He literally wrote 'aargh' on the slate.

"Aargh!" he wrote. "My son does not wear dresses!"

"I'm not your son!" yelled Ranko.

"Yes you are!" wrote the panda, angrily.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

The panda jumped up, grabbed the cage bars and roared.

Ukyo, Ranko and the rest of the crowd took a step back.

The panda slumped down despondently onto the floor of the cage then rolled over and faced the wall.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Saotome." said Ranko. "I'm so sorry."

Ukyo took hold of Ranko's hand and said, "We'd better go."

They heard voices in the crowd as they walked away:

"Have you ever seen a panda do that before?"

"The big bear roared, Mommy."

"Were those girls really having a conversation with a panda?"

"I wonder who taught that panda how to write on a chalkboard?"

"That was the strangest thing I've ever seen."

And so on…

Ranko and Ukyo walked silently down a path until they found a bench in a secluded spot and sat down.

"Poor Mr. Saotome." said Ranko, sadly.

"You know," said Ukyo, "it's his own fault for making that vow with his wife."

"You're right, of course, but I can't help feeling sorry for him."

"Yeah, me too, but let's not let it spoil our day. We still have another half of the zoo to see."

"Alright."

Ukyo stood up, pulled Ranko up off of the bench and they spent the rest of the day at the zoo having fun with the animals and each other.

[7]

Sluuurp!

"Oops." said Ranko, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry."

She had just rather noisily finished sucking a milkshake through a straw.

"Think nothing of it, my sweet." said Tatewaki Kuno, with his most charming smile. "Did you enjoy the milkshake?"

"Yes." said Ranko, giggling nervously. "It was very good."

"What about the movie? Did you like the movie?"

"I liked it a lot. What did you think of it?"

"I thought it was cute and funny and sentimental and… um… I liked it, it was good."

"I'm kind of surprised you liked it."

"Why?"

"Well…" said Ranko, doodling with her finger on the table, "because you're so strong and you fight and stuff; I thought you were more of an action movie guy."

"It's true," said Tatewaki, "I do like action movies, but… I have a sentimental side too."

"That's nice."

"Would you like to take a walk along the river?"

"Okay."

They left the café and walked together hand in hand down a street which followed along a river. The full moon reflected on the water. They felt a cool breeze and watched the flower petals and leaves swirl around in the air. It was a perfectly romantic evening.

"Pigtailed girl…"

"Call me Ranko, please?"

"Of course… my sweet."

No more words were spoken for several minutes as they wandered near the river.

"Is there something you wanted to say?" asked Ranko, softly.

"I was just thinking," said Tatewaki, "you're much friendlier than you used to be."

"Well… I'm older now and, and I have a steady job and stuff, you know? I-I guess I'm settling down a bit. Do you like me this way?"

"Yes, I do. Would you like to sit here for a while?"

"Okay."

Tatewaki laid his coat on the bank of the river and they sat together on it. The moon was big. Ranko thought it looked like it was sitting in the river.

"Pigta… um, I mean, Ranko," said Tatewaki, looking at his hands, at the water, at the moon then back at Ranko, "since the first day I laid eyes on you, I've loved you with all my heart. Do you think maybe you could love me too?"

"I-I-I don't know." said Ranko, shyly. "I-I like you and, and I care about you and stuff like that but… I-I'm not even sure what love is."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced you to answer a question like that."

"No, no, it's okay, really." said Ranko, wondering if she had messed things up. "Really, it's okay."

Tatewaki looked into her eyes and asked, "Will you go out with me again?"

"Y-yes, I-I would like that."

He leaned over and kissed her and when she didn't resist, he kissed her with more passion. Ranko wasn't sure what she was feeling but she liked it. She hadn't been kissed since the time at the skating rink and this kiss was so much better than that kiss that she began to think, "Kissing isn't so icky after all."

Tatewaki walked Ranko home and kissed her again before she went into the house.

Ranko went to bed happy.

[8]

Ukyo was already having a bad day. Seeing Mrs. Saotome on the front stoop of her home was the last thing she needed.

"Hello, ma'am." said Ukyo, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "What do you want?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" asked Mrs. Saotome.

"No ma'am. What do you want?"

"You're going to leave me standing out here?"

"Yes ma'am. What do you want?"

"That is so rude!"

"Yes ma'am. What do you want?"

"You're the rudest person I've ever met." said Mrs. Saotome, angrily. "I refuse to let my son stay here one minute longer."

"Your son doesn't stay here." said Ukyo, trying to keep her voice steady. "Your son is dead."

"My son is not dead! He's staying here in this house!"

"Sorry ma'am, no men here."

"Don't play that game with me! You know what I mean! The girl staying here is my son!"

Ukyo stared at the woman, blank faced, and said, quietly, "Prove it."

Mrs. Saotome was so angry she sputtered, "P-p-prove it?! Everybody knows she's my son!"

"What everybody knows isn't always true." said Ukyo, stepping back into the house and starting to close the door. "Is that all you wanted?"

Ranma's mother glared at Ukyo and clenched her jaw.

"Okay," she said, "I'll play your game. Is little Ranko here?"

"No." said Ukyo, leaving the door barely open and peeking at Mrs. Saotome through the crack.

"Do you know where she is?"

"Out."

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Later."

"Oh!" said Mrs. Saotome, stomping her foot. "You're no help at all."

Ukyo quickly opened the door again. "Help?" she said, angrily. "Why should I help you when you want to murder her?"

"Murder?" said Mrs. Saotome, shocked. "I'm not going to murder her."

"What do you call it then?"

"It's called, for your information, 'Ritual Seppeku' and it's a fine and honorable Japanese tradition."

"What's the difference if you murder her or force her to murder herself?"

"Well," said Ranma's mother, haughtily, "I would never expect the likes of you to understand."

"Your right; I'll never understand. This whole thing is ridiculous."

"I'll see to it that Ranma does his duty and I won't let you stand in my way."

"Are we back to that again?" said Ukyo. "Goodbye ma'am."

"You think you've won but you haven't. You think…"

Ukyo closed the door and leaned her back against it.

She could still hear Mrs. Saotome yelling outside while she took a deep breath, shook her head and thought, "Poor little Ranko. What did she ever do to deserve this?"

[9]

It was a beautiful sunny day in Nerima. Ukyo was outside in her garden watering the flowers when she heard sobbing and running feet. She turned to see what was going on and saw Ranko sprinting toward her with her face drenched with blood and tears.

"What happened?" asked Ukyo, placing her watering can on the ground.

"R-r-ryoga slugged me." sobbed Ranko.

"Oh dear, let me see that eye." Ukyo tilted the girl's face up to get a better look. "We'd better go see Dr. Tofu." she said. "But first, let me clean you up a bit."

Ukyo ran into the house, grabbed a clean washcloth, wet it, then ran back outside and wiped Ranko's face. After throwing the bloody washcloth in the trash, she took hold of Ranko's hand and they walked quickly toward the doctor's office.

"How did it happen?" asked Ukyo, along the way.

"Um… said Ranko, "I-I went to the dojo to visit Kasumi and Ryoga was waiting for me outside when I left. He, he, he was pounding his fists and saying, 'Fight Ranma fight' and then I said, 'I'm not Ranma and I can't fight' and then he yelled, 'Don't give me that' and then he hit me and I went tumbling backwards onto the ground. He, he, he just kept pounding his fist and saying, 'Fight Ranma fight' then I ran away from him and he screamed, 'Come back here and fight you coward!' that, that's what happened.

Ukyo was livid.

"What's the matter with these people?" she yelled. "Can't they see what's right in front of their faces?"

The crowd on the street turned to look at her but she was too angry to care.

When the girls reached the doctor's office, Dr. Tofu took care of Ranko right away.

"What happened?" asked the doctor.

"Ryoga slugged her." said Ukyo, still seething.

"Fighting with Ryoga again, Ranma?"

"Doctor, this isn't Ranma, this is Ranko."

"Aren't Ranma and Ranko the same person?"

"No doctor." said Ukyo. "They used to be but they're not anymore."

"Huh?"

Ukyo proceeded to tell him what happened to Ranma and Ranko in China while the doctor tended to Ranko's face. Retelling the story helped her settle her nerves.

"I'm sorry to hear about Ranma." said the doctor. "I was fond of that boy."

Akane ran into the office out of breath. "I heard what happened." she said, excitedly. "Is Ranma alright?"

"Ranko has a black eye and a bloody nose." said Ukyo. "Ranma is dead."

Akane frowned at Ukyo. "I wasn't talking to you." she said, turning toward Ranko. "Are you alright, Ranma?"

"I'm Ranko."

"Oh, I hope you snap out of this soon." Akane said, stomping her foot. "I miss the old Ranma."

"I see how it is." said Ukyo. "I bet you sicked Ryoga on her."

"Wha…? I-I wouldn't do that. What do you take me for?"

"A thick-headed nit-wit."

"Wha…?"

Ukyo shrugged and said, with a mischievous little grin, "You asked."

Akane glared angrily at Ukyo.

"She has a black eye and a bloody nose," said Dr. Tofu, "but no broken bones, I'm happy to say."

"Ranma," said Akane, turning to look at Ranko, "you used to be able to dodge Ryoga's blows."

"Ranko can't fight like Ranma could." said Ukyo. "Maybe you should stop sending thugs after her."

"I'm not talking to you!" Akane snapped. "Ranma, how can you live with her? Don't you see how she is? Snap out of it and come back to the dojo."

"But I love Ucchan." said Ranko.

Ukyo smiled and said, smugly, "See? She loves me."

"Doctor?" Akane growled. "Isn't there something you can do to change him back to the way he was before?"

"Have you tried pouring hot water over her?" asked the doctor.

"She takes a hot bath every night." said Ukyo.

"We already know hot water won't change him." said Akane, irritably. "Maybe Dr. Tofu knows some other way."

"This is beyond my powers I'm afraid." said Dr. Tofu, with a shrug.

"I guess we'll have to wait for him to snap out of it on his own."

"You'll be waiting forever." said Ukyo. "Ranko is not Ranma."

"Will you shut up?!"

"No."

"I've got things to do!" said Akane, stomping out the door. "Goodbye!"

They jumped a bit when the door slammed shut.

"Were you having fun, Ucchan?" asked Ranko, with a little smile.

"Now that you mention it," said Ukyo, "that was fun."

"She means well. She just refuses to accept Ranma's death."

"I didn't even think she liked the old Ranma."

"You don't think so?"

"It was hard to tell sometimes."

"I thought we got along pretty well." said Ranko. "Except for the insults, name calling and occasional slap to the face that is."

Ukyo laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Ranko," said the doctor, "all set. I want you to be careful, get plenty of rest and come back in a week so I can make sure your eye is healing properly."

"Yes, doctor," said Ranko, "and thank you."

Ukyo handed Dr. Tofu some money and thanked him on the way out the door. The doctor smiled and waved and wished them well.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, as they walked toward home, "isn't there something you could have done to defend yourself?"

"Like what?" asked Ranko.

"You know, like that thing you did on the train."

"Against Ryoga?!"

"Yeah, your right; silly me."

"The guy is like a walking rock. That would never work. Maybe when he's a pig I could do something but only if I could catch him which is doubtful. No, no, the best thing to do with Ryoga is to run away or find a hose I suppose; hose I suppose, he-he-he. The thing is: I didn't know he was going to hit me or I would have run away right away; by the way, there wasn't any hose nearby. Of course, I should have known. I mean, he is a big jerk after all. I remember him beating me up pretty good a few times. I mean, he never held back because of Ranma; that's what I mean. I do feel sorry for him though. You know, nobody was more disappointed in China than he was. The poor guy will have to be a pig for the rest of his life. That…"

Ukyo interrupted by asking: "Would you like to help me in the garden?"

"Um…" said Ranko, "I would, but I got a new recipe from Kasumi that I wanted to try. I thought I would make it for lunch."

"Why don't you help me for a half an hour and then we'll make the recipe together?"

"Okay. I'll be right back after I change into some old clothes."

Ranko ran into the house and Ukyo got on her knees, donned some gloves and began to weed.

[10]

"Ucchan?"

Ranko peeked into the restaurant office where Ukyo was dealing with paper work at her desk.

"Ucchan," said Ranko, "are you busy?"

Ukyo looked at the paperwork on her desk and then looked at her friend. "I always have time for you, Ran-chan." she said, with a smile.

Ranko walked into the office and dropped into the chair next to the desk.

Ukyo continued her writing.

"Ucchan," said a bubbly Ranko, "I think I'm in love."

"Oh?" mumbled Ukyo, only half listening. "Who are you in love with?"

"Tatewaki."

Ukyo was stunned.

She sat back in her chair and stared at Ranko.

"Tate-kun is so strong and handsome," said Ranko, joyfully clasping her hands together, "and I just love his sense of humor."

Ukyo heard the last nail being hammered into Ranma's coffin.

Ranko noticed the look on Ukyo's face and asked, "What's the matter, Ucchan?"

"You know Ranma hated Kuno." said Ukyo, immediately kicking herself.

"I know," said Ranko, pouting, "but I don't know why. He's such a kind man and he treats me like a princess."

"If you love him, that's all that matters." said Ukyo, trying to recover. "I want you to be happy."

"Oh, I am happy, but… I want you to be happy too, so… if you're against it…"

"I'm not against it, honey. You just caught me by surprise, that's all."

"If Tate-kun and I get married," exclaimed Ranko, exuberantly, "you'll be my maid of honor."

It was all Ukyo could do to keep smiling. "It would be an honor too." she said, half-heartedly.

"Well," said Ranko, bouncing out of her seat, "I know you're busy so I won't take up anymore of your time. Tate-kun is taking me to a movie later. I'll see you tonight at home."

She hugged and kissed Ukyo then skipped out the door.

Ukyo stared at the wall.

"This is going to take some time to digest." she said, to the wall.

[11]

"It's a pleasure to meet you." said Tatewaki Kuno. "Ranko speaks very highly of you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." said Ukyo, shaking his hand.

"I understand you own this restaurant."

"Yes I do."

"It's a fine restaurant. You should be proud."

"Thank you."

"Ranko tells me we went to the same high school. I'm afraid I don't remember you. I'm sorry."

"We didn't run in the same circles."

"No, I suppose not."

"If you'll excuse me, I must get back to the kitchen."

"Very well."

"Enjoy your dinner."

"Thank you, we will."

"Bye bye, Ucchan." said Ranko, with a smile. "I'll see you later."

Ukyo smiled in return and gently patted Ranko on the back while leaving the table.

"Ranko," said Tatewaki, staring at Ukyo's back as she walked away, "I thought you said your friend was a woman."

"She is." said Ranko, with a giggle. "She just looks kind of boyish in her work clothes."

"Oh, I see."

"You should see her in a dress; she's actually very pretty."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Or a kimono; I bet she would look great in a kimono; I'll have to get her one."

"Do you buy clothes for her?"

"Sometimes."

"I see."

"She is my best friend after all."

"Perhaps I should get to know her better."

"That would be great!"

Tatewaki just smiled and nodded his head because he didn't really want to get to know Ukyo better. In fact, once he and Ranko were married, he planned to keep her away from her old friends and introduce her to the 'right' kind of people. It wouldn't do for the wife of a Kuno to associate with ordinary people.

Ranko, of course, didn't know what he was planning. She was naïve and taken in by his charm. He was strong and handsome and showered her with affection and that made her very happy. It never occurred to her that he could be snobbish and selfish. The rose colored glasses were firmly in place on her nose.

So they had fun together that evening as they laughed and talked through dinner. Then afterwards, walked hand-in-hand to Tatewaki's house.

"Come inside and have a seat." said Tatewaki, opening the front door. "I'll go ask the cook for some tea and cookies."

Ranko sat in a chair in the living room and watched him walk through another door. As she was looking around the beautifully decorated room she heard a voice. The voice said, "How dare you show your face in this house, pigtailed girl!"

Ranko looked up to see an angry young woman standing in a nearby doorway. Then she glanced around the room and back at the woman and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course I'm talking to you, you dolt! What are you doing here?"

"I came here with Tatewaki."

The woman groaned, "It's just like my idiot brother to bring a tramp home with him."

"Excuse me?"

Ranko was beginning to get upset.

"You heard what I said!" yelled the woman.

Ranko stood up, put her hands on her hips and yelled back, "I don't appreciate that kind of talk."

"I don't care! This is my house and I'll say whatever I want to say. Now get out!"

"But I'm here with Tatewaki."

"I said get out!"

"No."

"You dare defy me?!"

The woman pulled a rhythm gymnastics ribbon out from somewhere and began to lash at Ranko.

Ranko put her hands and arms up in front of her face to ward off the attack.

"Sister." said Tatewaki, coming up behind the woman and grabbing the ribbon. "Stop that."

"Give that back, brother." yelled the woman. "I'm not done teaching this pigtailed tramp a lesson."

"Don't talk about my sweetheart that way."

"Sweetheart? You must be joking. That tramp? That cockroach? That…"

"That's enough! Leave the room before I get really angry."

"I'm not done with you, pigtailed girl." said the woman, with a sneer. "You won't worm your way into this family if I have anything to do with it."

She left the room in a huff.

Tatewaki walked over to Ranko and took her by the hand. "I'm so sorry, my sweet." he said. "Please excuse my sister Kodachi's rude behavior."

"Your sister?" said Ranko, with tears in her eyes. "What's her problem? Why is she mad at me?"

"She's still holding a grudge."

"A grudge? What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember the rhythm gymnastics competition?"

"Oh that, but that was so long ago; I barely remember it."

"Nobody holds a grudge like my sister. Come, we'll get a snack somewhere else."

"Oh, okay."

Tatewaki led her out of the house and down the street to a café where he bought them both some ice cream. At first, they were bothered by the encounter with Kodachi, but soon they were laughing and having fun together as usual.

[12]

It was a nice quiet morning at the law offices of Suzuki, Suzuki and Suzuki. Mr. Suzuki (the third Suzuki) was working hard at his desk when his assistant showed the woman into his office. She was an attractive woman in her mid-forties wearing a kimono. "Have a seat." said Mr. Suzuki, motioning toward a chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?"

The woman placed a piece of paper on the desk in front of him and said, as she was sitting, "I need to find a way to force my husband and my son to do their duty for the honor of our family."

Mr. Suzuki picked up the paper and looked it over.

"Nothing can be done." he said. "Ritual Seppeku is illegal."

"But they've brought shame to the family name." said the woman, indignantly. "The Saotomes are the laughingstock of Nerima."

"What exactly have they done?"

"My son, it pains me to even call him that, has turned his back on his calling, his noble calling. He's a martial artist but he's discontinued his training. And…" she was clearly distraught, "and he's living with some, some woman I don't approve of, a rude low-class woman, some kind of deviant, it seems to me, not at all suitable." Mrs. Saotome shuddered. "He, he's wearing frilly dresses and bows in his hair and running around with men doing who knows what, acting shamefully."

"Is he…" said Mr. Suzuki, perplexed, "homosexual?"

"No, he's a girl."

"A transvestite? A cross-dresser?"

"No," she said, petulantly, "he's a girl. Some kind of accident in China turned him into a girl."

A file cabinet drawer slammed shut in the next room.

Screeching tires interrupted the calm outside.

Mr. Suzuki sat back in his chair.

"I see," he said, pursing his lips, "and what about his father, your husband?"

"My husband?"

"Yes."

"The sniveling coward is hiding out at the zoo."

"The zoo?"

"Yes."

"Why is he at the zoo?"

"Because he's a panda."

"He's a panda?" said Mr. Suzuki, looking around to see if someone had hidden a camera in the room. "I take it he had an accident in China as well?"

"Yes," said Mrs. Saotome, "that's right."

Mr. Suzuki leaned forward and asked, "Wouldn't you say some sympathy would be in order for these two unfortunate men?"

"I beg your pardon, you of all people should know, if someone is in breach of contract they should face the consequences."

"Ah yes," said Mr. Suzuki, picking up the piece of paper in front of him, "the contract. These signatures are…?"

"Mine, my husband's and my son's."

"I only see two signatures."

"My son's is right there."

"Right where?"

"There!"

"You mean that little hand print?"

"Yes."

"I hardly think a small child's handprint would be admissible in court."

"My son," said Mrs. Saotome, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, "promised his mommy he would grow up to be manly. He broke his promise and refuses to do what is right."

"You don't need a lawyer." said Mr. Suzuki, pushing a button on his desk. "You need family counseling."

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" asked Mrs. Saotome, ignoring his remark.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Mr. Suzuki's assistant walked into the room.

"Katashi," said Mr. Suzuki, "please escort Mrs. Saotome to the door. Have a good day, ma'am. Sorry I couldn't help."

Mrs. Saotome stood up, bowed, said, "Thank you for your time" then followed Katashi out of the room.

Mr. Suzuki shook his head and sighed then went back to work.

"I'm not crazy, you know." said Mrs. Saotome, when Katashi opened the front door for her.

"Ma'am?" he said.

"I'm the one who's right."

"I'm really not familiar with the situation."

She turned around, walked outside and said, "I'll find someone to help me."

"Good day, ma'am."

She gave him a little nod.

He closed the door.

[13]

Everything was wonderful between Ranko and Tatewaki; at least, Ranko thought it was. As days went by, she became more and more convinced that he would soon ask her to marry him. She had many happy dreams about her future life as Mrs. Kuno while she anxiously waited for him to finally pop the question.

One evening Tatewaki invited Ranko over to his house. When she arrived and saw him standing at the door, she immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"Come in, Ranko." he said, motioning toward the inside of the house. "Come in and have a seat."

Sitting on the couch in the living room, she noticed a worried look on his face.

"Ranko," said Tatewaki, sitting next to her, "I won't be able to see you anymore."

"Why?" asked Ranko, stunned.

"My family has told me that I can no longer be seen with you. They say you have a bad reputation but they won't tell me what that means. Do you know what that means?"

"No." said Ranko, shaking her head. "I assure you, I'm still a virgin."

"It is just so vexing."

"Do you have to do what your family says?"

"Yes, I must." said Tatewaki, as if trying to convince himself. "My grandfather is a very powerful man. He could make both of our lives miserable if he wanted to."

"Haven't you thrown that tramp out of the house yet?" yelled Kodachi Kuno, flouncing into the room.

Tatewaki stood up and faced his sister. "She is not a tramp." he said, angrily.

"Oh yes she is and so much more. She's a gold-digger trying to weasel her way into this family."

"No, she's not. She's a sweet innocent flower."

Kodachi's laugh rang throughout the house. "You are so blind, dear brother." she said, arrogantly. "She's just using you. All these years she's been playing you for a fool."

Tatewaki clenched his fists and glared angrily at his sister.

Kodachi laughed, looked at Ranko and said, with a sneer, "It seems I get the last laugh after all, pigtailed girl."

Ranko stood up, took hold of Tatewaki's hand and said, softly, "Tate-kun, I hope you can find happiness in your life."

"Thank you, my sweet." he said, dejectedly.

Ranko hurried out of the house

Kodachi's annoying laugh echoed in her head as she ran home crying.

Tatewaki screamed at his sister, "You've ruined everything! I finally had her! I finally had the girl of my dreams in the palm of my hand. You've ruined everything, you petty, pathetic witch!" Then he turned around and stomped toward his bedroom.

"You'll thank me later." said Kodachi, with a smirk.

Tatewaki slammed his bedroom door and gazed at his wall sized picture of Ranko. "Pigtailed girl," he said, with anguish in his voice and tears in his eyes, "we were so close, so close, now all my dreams are shattered."

He plopped down face first onto his bed and sobbed.

Ukyo was enjoying a cup of tea when Ranko came into the kitchen and stood next to her. When she looked up and saw the girl was crying she asked, "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

"Tate-kun broke up with me." whimpered Ranko. "He said his family doesn't approve of me. I think his sister told his grandfather that I was a bad person or something like that."

"I'm so sorry, honey."

"You're not sorry!" snapped Ranko, bitterly. "You're happy because you hate him!"

Ukyo was shocked by the outburst. "Ran-chan, that's not fair." she said, earnestly. "Your happiness means more to me than that."

Ranko covered her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry, Ucchan." she sobbed. "I don't know what I'm saying. Please forgive me."

Ukyo stood up and wrapped her arms around the girl. Ranko clung to her and wept. Ukyo held her friend and felt ashamed because she really was relieved.

[14]

Rumors were flying all over Nerima. Rumors about Ranma and Kuno, Ranma and Ukyo, Ranma the coward, Ranma the mentally unstable and so on…

That wasn't the only problem. Ranma's enemies and rivals came after Ranko (He had made a lot of them by the time he was twenty). If they saw her in the street or at the Tendo dojo; they would challenge her and when she ran away; they would chase her; calling her names and yelling obscenities. Many times Ukyo heard the front door slam and entered the living room to see Ranko with her back to the door looking frightened and crying.

It was almost as if someone had put a notice in the newspaper saying that Ranma was weak and vulnerable. Maybe someone did. Living in Nerima was becoming unbearable. Ukyo decided enough was enough; something needed to be done.

Ranko was asleep on the couch with the TV still on when Ukyo came home from work. Ukyo leaned over and kissed the girl on the cheek before heading to the bathroom to take a bath.

After she finished her bath and walked out of the bathroom she noticed the light was on in the kitchen so she went to investigate. Ranko was at the kitchen table pouring two cups of coffee.

"What are you doing?" asked Ukyo, crossing her arms and leaning her head to the side.

"I made a cheesecake." said Ranko, smiling. "Would you like to try it?"

"A cheesecake?" said Ukyo, quickly sitting in a chair by the table. "Sure, that sounds good, I'll try it."

Ranko cut a slice of cake and placed it in front of Ukyo. "Here you go." she said, then cut a slice for herself.

"Mmm," said Ukyo, after taking a bite, "so good."

"Thank you."

"Maybe we should put this on the menu."

"You think it's that good?"

"Mm hmm."

Ukyo devoured the slice of cake and asked for another.

Ranko happily obliged.

"I've been thinking." said Ukyo, sitting back in her chair and patting her stomach.

"Thinking?" said Ranko, looking curiously at her friend.

"Yes. Why don't we move somewhere? Somewhere nobody knows us, maybe, you know, Okinawa or somewhere like that."

"Okinawa?" Ranko raised her eyebrows.

"Or anywhere. What do you think?"

"I think no."

"No?" said Ukyo, surprised.

"Ucchan, you can't be serious." said Ranko, adamantly. "You built your business from a little okonomiyaki stand to a very successful and popular restaurant. You did it with a lot of work and dedication and talent. Are you going to ditch all of that just because I'm having a few problems?"

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, shaking her head and smiling, "it's not a big deal to sell a restaurant and buy another one somewhere else."

"It's not?"

"No, it's not. Listen, honey, I only stayed in this town for one reason and that reason is gone. You're being persecuted and that makes me angry and upset. Let's go somewhere and start things fresh together."

"You would do that for me?"

"Let's do it for the both of us. Come on, you don't have any reason to stay here and neither do I."

"Does it have to be Okinawa?"

Ukyo laughed. "No," she said, "and it doesn't have to be tomorrow either. We can take trips together and find a place we both like. We'll make it fun."

Ranko stood up, cleared the dishes off of the table and took them to the sink. Ukyo watched her and gave her time to think. Ranko finished washing the dishes and put what was left of the cheesecake into the refrigerator. "Ucchan," she said, closing the refrigerator door, "I'll go wherever you go. I just want to be with you. It doesn't matter where."

Ukyo stood up and hugged her beautiful friend. "Ran-chan," she said, "I'm sure we'll both be happier when we get out of Nerima."

[15]

Actually, it is a big deal to sell a restaurant and buy another one somewhere else, but Ukyo was determined to get Ranko to a safer place. The girls moved east to the city of Ichikawa and bought a restaurant and a house. It took a while to renovate the restaurant and house and get them just the way they wanted, but they didn't mind, they had a dream they were pursuing together.

The people in their quiet little neighborhood were friendly and accepted them. Ranko and Ukyo worked very hard in the restaurant and it became popular and successful. As time passed, the troubles they experienced in Nerima became a distant memory.

Ranko and Ukyo, being pretty girls, garnered a lot of attention from the men in their new city. This was a new experience for Ranko. In Nerima, all of the men (except one) thought she was a boy in a girl's body and either left her alone or tried to beat her up. In their new city, however, both the girls dated frequently. Neither of them found anyone they liked well enough to be a steady boyfriend but they did have a lot of fun.

Their next-door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Yajima, were very friendly and helpful. It was normal to find Mrs. Yajima chatting in the kitchen with one or both of the girls. The Yajimas two sons had married and moved away and Mrs. Yajima's maternal instincts kicked in when she met Ukyo and Ranko. She watched out for the girls but knew enough not to be overbearing. The girls appreciated her help and soon grew to love her. They looked forward to her visits and learned a lot about their new city and the people in it by talking with her. Since neither of the girls had a mother of her own they sort of adopted Mrs. Yajima and she was happy to fill the role.

Mr. Yajima was retired and loved to work around the house tinkering with this and that. He very happily helped the girls renovate their house. They were pleased with his work and made sure they paid him though he said they didn't have to. He was very kind to the girls and because of the way he treated them, they thought perhaps he had wanted a daughter at some point in his life.

The Yajimas were two of the many friends they made in their new city. They hired people to work in their restaurant and most of their employees were fond of the girls and worked hard for them. Of course, they had some problems to overcome and troublesome customers and employees to deal with but for the most part, living in their new city was a pleasant experience. Time passed and they settled into a comfortable routine.

One day, in the middle of the afternoon, someone knocked on the front door of Ukyo and Ranko's house. When Ukyo answered the door, Akane and Mrs. Saotome were standing on the stoop.

"Hello." said Ukyo.

"Is Ranko here?" asked Akane. "We would like to speak with her."

"Yes, she's here. Have a seat on one of the benches in the garden and I'll bring her out."

Akane and Mrs. Saotome turned around and headed toward the garden while Ukyo went to the kitchen.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, "you have guests."

"Guests?" said Ranko. "Who?"

"Akane and Mrs. Saotome."

"What do they want?"

"They didn't say."

Ranko was unsure of what to do.

"Come," said Ukyo, taking Ranko's hand, "they're in the garden."

Oh… okay." said Ranko, a little scared.

The girls walked outside the house and down a path then sat on a bench opposite Akane and Mrs. Saotome. Ranko looked at them warily and wondered if they had any weapons.

"Hello Ranko." said Mrs. Saotome, sweetly. "I hope you are well."

"Yes ma'am, I am." said Ranko. "How are you?"

"I am very well, thank you." Mrs. Saotome said, then cleared her throat. "Ranko, dear, I was wrong about you and I am very sorry about how I treated you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Um, oh, okay." said Ranko, taken by surprise. "Th-thank you, of course I forgive you."

"I would also like to apologize." said Akane. "I'm sorry I didn't believe your story."

"That's okay. I understood why you didn't believe me."

"This is all very nice." said Ukyo. "What made you change your minds?"

Mrs. Saotome stood up, motioned toward the street with her hand and said, "Will you come with us?"

The four women took a short walk through the front gate and down the street. Three men were sitting on a bench by the side of the street. When they heard the women approaching, Mr. Tendo, Mr. Saotome and a young man stood up and faced them. Ukyo gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "What's the matter, Ucchan?" asked Ranko. Ukyo was too stunned to speak. The young man stepped forward, held out his hand and said, "It's very nice to meet you, Ranko. I've heard a lot about you."

"Um, hello." said Ranko, shaking his hand and looking up at his face. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ranma Saotome."

[16]

During the confusion at Jusenkyo, Ranma climbed out the other side of the spring unnoticed. Being disoriented, he wandered aimlessly until a Chinese farmer found him and took him into his home. He lived and worked with the farmer and his family for two years before deciding to return to Japan.

As he walked through the streets of Nerima, people stopped and stared. Some friends he had known asked him: "When did you change back into a man?" The question confused him and he responded with: "What are you talking about? I've always been a man." A crowd gathered around him. One of the people in the crowd said, "You've been living here for a while as a girl and you just recently moved away. We were told that you could no longer return to your man form."

"Have you all gone mad?" said Ranma. "I've been living in China and I just now got back."

As he walked toward the Tendo dojo, the crowd of people followed him and increased in number. "Look," he said, when he stopped outside the dojo, "I don't know what any of you are talking about. I've been gone. I've been in China. I haven't been a girl in years. Why are you following me? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Ranma heard a familiar voice say, "What's going on out here?" so he turned around and looked toward the dojo and saw Akane was standing in the doorway. "Hey, Akane," he said, "this whole town has gone mad."

"Ranma?" said Akane, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "When did you change back? I thought you said you couldn't change back."

"Has everybody gone mad?" said Ranma, exasperated. "Several years ago in China I changed back into a man for good. I've been living there ever since. I just returned today and everyone is telling me some crazy story about how I've been living here as a girl this whole time. They're even arguing with me about it."

Akane briefly stared at Ranma, then said, quietly, "So she was telling us the truth after all."

"What?"

Akane smiled, grabbed hold of his hand and said, happily, "Welcome home."

[17]

Ranko stared at Ranma in disbelief.

"U-u-u-ucchan?!" she said, panicking.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, finding her voice, "this really is Ranma."

"B-b-b-but how?"

"Why don't we all go back to the house and he can tell us?"

Ranko broke into a run and sprinted toward the house while yelling, "Okay, I'll make some tea."

They watched her disappear through the front gate.

"She runs fast." said Ranma.

"Yes," said Ukyo, "she's had to do a lot of running the last couple of years."

"So I've heard."

Ukyo, along with the Tendos and the Saotomes ambled toward the house and chatted along the way. Ukyo's heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. She was actually walking next to Ranma again and having trouble believing it wasn't a dream. It was a surreal experience; perhaps, like seeing a ghost.

"Come inside and have a seat." she said, when they arrived at the house. "I'll go see how Ran-chan is doing."

"I'm doing fine." said Ranma, with a mischievous grin.

"No, I mean… oh you silly…"

Ukyo shook her head and smiled as she walked to the kitchen.

Ranko grabbed her as soon as she entered the room. "Can this really be true?" she said, excitedly. "Is Ranma really alive?"

"Yes, honey," said Ukyo, "it is true."

"Oh, I'm so nervous; I don't know what to do; I don't know what to say."

"Is that why you ran away?"

"Ran away?" Ranko said, with the same grin Ukyo had just seen on Ranma's face. "I was just, just, in a hurry to make tea, that's all."

"Of course you were."

"I was, honest." Ranko said, with a giggle. "I want to be a good hostess, you know."

Ukyo smiled and said, "I'll carry out the tea and you bring the cookies and cakes."

"Um… I don't know if I'm ready."

Ranko's hands were shaking.

"Don't you want to hear Ranma's story?" asked Ukyo.

"I do, but…"

"I won't force you."

Ranko walked over to the counter, picked up the tray of desserts and rattled the dishes a bit. "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath, "I'm right behind you."

Ukyo picked up the tray of drinks then the girls made their way to the living room and placed the trays on the coffee table. Their guests must have been hungry because they devoured the treats very quickly.

Ranko sat close to Ukyo and peered anxiously at Ranma as he told them all about what had happened to him in China.

"What's the matter, Ranko?" asked Ranma, when he finished his story. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Well," she said, biting her lip, "you must be very angry with me."

"Angry? Why?"

"Because I ran away from fights and people were calling you a coward and, and, and I totally messed everything up and I'm so sorry."

Ranko put her hands over her face.

"I'm not angry with you, Ranko." said Ranma.

"You're not?" she said, peeking at him through her fingers.

"No, I'm not. None of that was your fault."

"I thought you would be angry."

"Ranko, I'd like to talk with you alone. Will you take a walk with me?"

Ranko looked at her hands and bit her lip. "C-can Ucchan come with us?" she asked, nervously.

"I'd rather we were alone."

"I-I don't know."

"Why?"

"I-I don't know how to say this, but… I-I-I always thought you wanted to kill me."

"Oh, I see."

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, surprised, "Ranma doesn't want to kill you."

"Wait a minute, Ucchan." said Ranma. "She's right."

"She is?!"

Everybody sat up straight in their seats, startled.

"No, no," said Ranma, raising his hands in the air, "I don't mean I'm going to kill her right now, I mean, back then I wanted to get rid of the girl body in the worst way."

"Oh."

Everybody slumped back into their seats, relieved.

"Ranko," said Ranma, "I'm sure you have just as many questions for me as I have for you."

Ranko stood up, turned toward Ranma, put her hands together, bowed slightly and said, "I would be very happy to accompany you, sir" then turned around and headed toward the door.

Ranma looked around at everybody, shrugged, got out of his chair and followed her. The rest of the group silently watched them leave.

"I hope all of you will stay for dinner." said Ukyo, leaving her seat and heading for the kitchen.

"Do you need some help?" asked Mrs. Saotome.

"Thank you. That would be nice."

[18]

"I'm taking little Ranko home with me."

Mrs. Saotome was helping Ukyo prepare dinner in the kitchen.

Ukyo put down her knife and stared at Ranma's mother. "You've got to be kidding!" she said, emphatically.

"No." said Mrs. Saotome, shaking her head.

"Why in the world would Ranko want to live with you?"

"I'm her mother."

"You are not her mother."

"Of course I am."

Ukyo picked up her knife and vigorously chopped some vegetables. "This is ridiculous!" she said, adamantly. "There is no way she would ever agree to live with you!"

"Why not?" asked Ranma's mother.

Ukyo lost her cool.

"Are you serious?!" she yelled. "You've given her nothing but trouble since she got here." Ukyo turned toward Mrs. Saotome and said, in a sassy sing-song voice, "And now you come here with a little apology and think everything is just going to be fine and dandy. She's going to just come running to you like nothing happened. Are you insane?"

"How dare you talk to me that way?" said Mrs. Saotome, indignantly. "Don't you have any respect for your elders?"

"I have respect for people who deserve respect." said Ukyo, pointing a finger at Ranma's mother. "You don't deserve respect."

"Well!" said Mrs. Saotome, haughtily. "I've heard you want to marry my Ranma. You can get that idea out of your head. I could never approve of such an uncouth, rude and disrespectful woman. You will never be my daughter-in-law."

"Fine!" said Ukyo, pointing at the door. "I don't want to be your daughter-in-law. Get out of my kitchen!"

Mrs. Saotome turned on her heel and left the room.

Ukyo muttered to herself as she chopped the vegetables.

Akane came into the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Ranma's mother left in a hurry." she said. "Did something happen?"

"We had… words." said Ukyo, still trying to compose herself. "She thinks Ranko should live with her. I told her Ranko would never agree to it… among other things."

"Of course Ranko would never agree to that. What is she thinking?"

"I don't know." Ukyo pointed a finger and her own head and twirled it around her ear. "I think she's missing something upstairs."

[19]

Ranko was still shaken by the news that Ranma was alive and wondered what he wanted to talk to her about. They strolled down the street side-by-side for a short while without saying a word then Ranma suddenly turned on her. "Who are you really?" he said, aggressively.

Struck by his sudden vehemence, she took a step back. "I-I-I-I'm Ranko." He stepped toward her. "How did you get in that spring?" She took a step back. "I-I-I-I-we-we- j-jumped in." He stepped toward her. "Were you inside my head?" She took a step back. "S-s-s-sort of." He stepped toward her. "Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain?"

"You should know me, Ranma." said Ranko, angrily standing her ground. "You looked in the mirror often enough. I remember how you used to admire yourself. You were proud of this body." She began to unbutton her blouse. "Here," she said, "you should recognize these; you used to play with them."

"Wait, wait," he said, frantically trying to block anyone from seeing her, "don't take your shirt off."

"Don't you want to see them?" She reached for the back of her bra. "Oh darn, the clasp is stuck."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ranko." said Ranma, panicked and red faced. "Please button your shirt."

"Why are you embarrassed? You used to run around naked all the time. You weren't embarrassed then."

"This is different. Please, people are looking."

He reached for her shirt.

She slapped his hand.

"I'll do it." she said, turning around and facing a wall. "It's not your body anymore."

"I'm really very sorry, Ranko." he said, meekly.

"You don't know what I went through." she said, with tears streaming down her face. "I cried for you every night. I took so much abuse for you. I pleaded with people. I told them what a brave and wonderful man you were but they wouldn't listen. If it wasn't for Ucchan and Tate-kun, I never would have made it through."

"Tate-kun?"

"Yes." she said, defensively. "Tatewaki Kuno, the man I love."

Ranma was shocked. "Kuno?" he said. "You love Kuno?"

"You don't really know him, Ranma." A little smile flickered on Ranko's wet face as she remembered the precious moments spent with Tatewaki. "He's sweet and kind; he's gentle and considerate; he treats me like a princess. Yes, I do love him."

"We're talking about Kuno?"

"Yes, and I would be his wife if it wasn't for his wicked sister."

"You were going to marry him?"

"Why not? It has nothing to do with you."

"You're right." said Ranma, turning around, ashamed. "I was way out of line."

Wind rushed through the trees.

The laughter of children could be heard in the distance.

A man rode by on a bike.

"Maybe we should start again?" said Ranko, quietly.

"It's just that…" said Ranma, searching for the right words, "I mean… how can you even exist? How can one person become two people?"

"How can one person be both a boy and a girl?"

"Um..."

"I don't know how it happened but it happened." Ranko moved close to him. "Ranma," she said, softly touching his shoulder, "we had some great adventures together. They were thrilling. I know I was only along for the ride but I'll never forget. Remember all those times we fought Cologne to get that special pill, or, or that time we went after those animal people from China?"

"I had no idea you were there." said Ranma.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll have to think about that."

"Weren't you just a little bit different when you were a girl?"

"I… I suppose."

"Do you want me to tell you some of the things I know?" said Ranko. "Some things you won't tell anyone else?"

Ranma grimaced, then murmured, "No, no, that's okay."

Ranko whispered something in his ear.

"I said I get it." Ranma turned around and faced Ranko. "I'm convinced," he said, "and, and I'm very sorry. Please, let's be friends, okay?"

"I want nothing more." said Ranko. "Shall we head back to the house? I bet Ucchan is preparing a great meal."

"Yes, yes, let's go back."

Ranko smiled and took hold his hand.

[20]

Chatting, laughing and catching up on old times, Ranma and Ranko slowly made their way back to the house. Along the way they noticed Mrs. Saotome walking purposefully toward them.

"Ranko dear," she said, when she came up close to them, "you're coming home with me."

Ranko frowned and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You're going to come home and live with me."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"A dutiful daughter will take care of her mother." said Mrs. Saotome, grabbing Ranko's arm. "You're coming with me."

"First of all," said Ranko, angrily shrugging out of Mrs. Saotome's grip, "I'm not your daughter. In the second place, you're the last person I would ever want to live with."

"Don't talk to you mother that way." said Mrs. Saotome, indignantly.

Ranko yelled, "You're not my mother!"

"Of course I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not, and even if you were my mother, I wouldn't go with you."

"Why not?"

"You really have to ask that question after all you've done?"

"You mean you would rather stay here with that rude, uncouth, disrespectful, low-class woman?"

"How dare you talk about Ucchan that way!" Ranko screamed. "You nasty old woman!"

Mrs. Saotome gave Ranko a hard slap across the face.

"Oh, now you've done it." said Ranko, balling her fists and shaking angrily. "I used to think you were just misguided and I felt sorry for you. But now, now, now… I HATE YOU! Ranma, take your mother home; she's not welcome here."

Ranko brushed Ranma's mother aside and started for home.

Mrs. Saotome grabbed Ranko's arm and said, "Where do you think you're going young lady?"

Ranko yelled, "Get your hand off me!"

Ranma reached over and removed his mother's hand from off of Ranko and Ranko ran home.

Ranma looked at his mother and shook his head. "Who are you?" he said, sadly. "I don't even know you anymore."

He turned around.

"Ranma?" said Mrs. Saotome. "Are you against me too?"

"Don't you see what you're doing?" said Ranma.

"But I'm right."

"No, you're not."

Ranma gazed down the street. He was still feeling guilty about the way he had treated Ranko. The man on the bike was coming back the other way. He waved. Ranma gave him a half-hearted wave in return. Reaching back toward his mother, Ranma said, "Come, I'll take you home."

She took hold of his hand.

[21]

Ranko ran into the kitchen and threw her arms around Ukyo.

'Ucchan!" she wailed. "She tried to kidnap me!"

"What?" said Ukyo. "When?"

"It happened just now when we were walking home. We had an argument and she grabbed me."

"How did you get away?"

"Ranma freed me and I ran home." Ranko looked up at Ukyo's face and said, "She called you some horrible names; I was so angry."

"Why is the side of your face red?"

"She slapped me."

"Where is she?!" yelled Ukyo, stalking toward the door. "I'll give her a piece of my mind!"

Ranko grabbed her friend and tried to hold her back. "Don't do it Ucchan."

"Why are you stopping me?"

"Please, just let her go." Ranko pleaded. "She's not coming back."

"She should be locked up!"

Akane had been standing off to the side listening to the conversation and chose that moment to ask: "Did Ranma come back with you?"

"No." said Ranko, shaking her head. "I left him on the street with his mother."

"I'd better go see what's going on. See you later."

Ranko and Ukyo watched her leave the kitchen then sat down at the kitchen table. Ranko poured two cups of tea. The girls sat quietly together, drinking tea and trying to calm down.

"You made a lot of food." said Ranko.

"I know." said Ukyo. "Who's going to eat all of this?"

"I think Mr. Saotome and Mr. Tendo are still here."

"Go see if you can find them and I'll take the food out to the dining room table."

"Okay."

After a few minutes of searching, Ranko found the men on the back porch playing a game.

"Dinner is ready." she said. "Will you come and eat?"

"Ranko," said Mr. Saotome, standing up and bowing, "I must apologize for the way I treated you. I was very harsh and cruel towards you. I was so very wrong and I hope I can make things up to you. Please forgive this hard-headed old man."

"Mr. Saotome," said Ranko, bowing in return and trying not to cry, "thank you for apologizing. I always understood your position and never held it against you. You were dealing with a lot of heartache. You lost your son, you couldn't be cured and your life was being threatened. My existence made your life harder. I ask your forgiveness as well."

"You are a very gentle and kindhearted young lady. It is an honor to know you."

"Thank you, sir."

They looked over and saw Mr. Tendo rubbing his eyes and sniffing. He looked up at them, embarrassed. "Did somebody say something about food?" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Yes sir." said Ranko. "Ucchan made a feast. Follow me."

Ranko led the men into the dining room.

"Where is everybody?" asked Mr. Tendo.

"Ranma, his mom, and I'm assuming, Akane, as well, went back to Nerima." said Ukyo. "Have a seat, there's plenty of food."

"Did they say why they left?"

"There was a… misunderstanding."

"Ranma's mother tried to kidnap me." said Ranko, bluntly. "I told her she had to leave."

"Are you sure she wanted to kidnap you?" asked Mr. Saotome, sitting next to Ranko at the table.

"It's not so hard to understand; she wanted me dead and now she wants me to be her slave."

"You make her sound evil."

"I'm just telling you the truth; make of it what you will. Have some of this chicken; it's delicious."

"Thank you, I will."

"She has her manly son back." said Ukyo. "She should just be content with that. Would you like some rice, Mr. Tendo?"

"This is a surprise." said Mr. Tendo, watching Ukyo spoon some rice into his bowl. "She gave us no clue on the way here that she was planning to kidnap Ranko."

"She's got it into her head that I'm her daughter." said Ranko, chewing earnestly on a piece of chicken.

"Are you not her daughter?"

"Uh uh, she gave birth to Ranma; she didn't give birth to me."

"That makes sense… I think."

"So who are you?" asked Mr. Saotome.

Ranko shrugged and said, "I'm just Ranko. Have some tea" as she poured some tea into Mr. Saotome's cup.

Soft music was playing on the stereo as they ate their meal. Mr. Tendo glanced around at the beautifully decorated room. "It looks like you are doing very well." he said. "You have a very nice house."

"Thank you." said Ukyo. "We like it."

"You must be very happy to finally leave the zoo, Mr. Saotome." said Ranko.

"I didn't leave the zoo." said Mr. Saotome.

"You didn't?"

"They offered me a nice salary to stay. They even gave me my own house behind the panda cage. It's great, I get days off and I come and go as I please."

"And they feed you."

Mr. Saotome laughed. "Yes," he said, "they feed me."

"Sounds like a great deal." said Ukyo, placing some more chicken onto Mr. Saotome's plate. "When are you headed back?"

"I suppose we'll go back sometime this evening."

"What's this?" said Ranko, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket. "Oh, Ranma sent me a text."

"What does he say?" asked Ukyo.

"He says, "Sorry I couldn't stay. Taking mom home. Will come back soon" that's what he says."

"Oh, okay, um, ask him if Akane is with him."

"Alright." said Ranko, pressing some buttons on her cellphone.

"When did you get Ranma's number?"

"We exchanged numbers when we were out walking."

"That's what I thought." said Ukyo. "Anybody want more tea?"

The men nodded their heads and Ukyo poured more tea into their cups.

"Is Ranma staying with you at the dojo, Mr. Tendo?" asked Ukyo, spooning more rice into his bowl.

"Yes," he said, "and I'm still hoping he will marry Akane. Oh, I'm sorry Ukyo."

"That's okay, have some more chicken."

"How does Akane feel about that?" asked Ranko.

"She's still the same old stubborn girl she always was." said Mr. Tendo.

"I suppose it's understandable. I wouldn't want someone forcing me to do something I didn't want to do."

"I didn't think I was forcing her." said Mr. Tendo, defensively. "I only made my wishes known."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tendo, I wasn't trying to insult you."

"It's okay."

"Oh, I got another text." said Ranko, looking at her phone. "Yes, Akane is with them."

"That's a relief."

"Save room for dessert." said Ukyo.

Ranko jumped out of her seat and ran to the kitchen.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, "you don't have to do that" but Ranko didn't hear her.

"She's so full of energy." said Mr. Tendo.

"Yeah she is."

Ranko came back into the room a few minutes later with cheesecake and coffee.

[22]

Akane ran down the station platform and jumped on the train as it started to move. "Just made it." she muttered. "I sure hope they're on this train." She pushed and elbowed her way through a crowd of people until she came upon Ranma and his mother sitting together. Luckily there was an empty seat next to Ranma which she jumped in before anyone else could grab it.

"Hey."

"Akane?" said Ranma. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to find out what was going on." she said. "I heard your mother tried to kidnap Ranko."

"Kidnap?" said Mrs. Saotome, indignantly. "Preposterous! I just wanted to bring my daughter home with me. Little Ranko and I used to have a wonderful relationship but that horrid woman has poisoned her mind towards me."

"That's enough of that!" said Ranma, angrily. "I've got something to say and you're going to hear me out!"

"Ranma?"

"Just be quiet and listen."

"Um, Ranma?" said Akane, tugging his sleeve.

"That poor girl stepped into a terrible situation when she came to Nerima." said Ranma, waving off Akane and facing his mother. "She was lonely, afraid, friendless and not at all equipped to handle what she was facing. Did you offer her food, shelter, clothing or even a shoulder to cry on? Did you? No, you didn't. You offered her an ultimatum. Ukyo, on the other hand, took her in and cared for her, loved her and protected her. So who poisoned who's mind against you? You did it yourself."

"Ranma?" said Mrs. Saotome. "You talk to your mother this way?"

"Didn't I say to be quiet and listen? It's about time somebody talked to you this way."

"Well, I never."

"Now that I think about it," thought Akane, "he should be yelling at me too."

"Who do you think the girl was going to choose," said Ranma, "the woman who was kind to her or that mean woman who wanted her to kill herself?"

"Mean woman?" Mrs. Saotome was aghast.

"Yes, mean woman, that's what I said, and I'm not done, so be quiet and listen. When I was living in China I had a lot of time to think about things and I came to this conclusion: The way you and Pops raised me was child abuse. You should have been reported to the authorities."

"Ranma?!" Mrs. Saotome was astonished.

"Nobody else I know was told they had to be a certain way under penalty of death. What kind of sadistic parents would do such a thing?"

"Sadistic?!" Mrs. Saotome was shocked.

"The family I lived with in China showed me how a real family is supposed to operate. That couple actually love their children and nurture them."

"I love you." whispered Mrs. Saotome, softly. "I only wanted to best for you."

"Now, I'm only going to say this once." continued Ranma. "You need to change or I'm not going to have anything to do with you. I might even go back to China. I don't like what I found here when I came back. I don't like it at all. That's all I've got to say."

Mrs. Saotome had tears in her eyes. "So manly." she said. "So decisive and manly. I'm so proud of you."

"Is that what you got out of that?" asked Ranma, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You have shown me my error." she said, humbly. "I will endeavor to change. Please give me another chance."

"That's better."

Akane tugged on Ranma's sleeve and said, "Don't you think you were a little harsh?"

Ranma shook his head and replied, "No, no I don't."

[23]

After Ranma and Akane left his mother at her home, with hugs, a few tears and some promises, they slowly made their way toward the Tendo dojo.

"Akane," said Ranma, "I have a question."

"Uh oh." said Akane.

"Uh oh? Why uh oh?"

"You're on a rampage."

"It's just a little question." He held his hand up with his fingers close together. "Just a little one."

"Okay." said Akane, not at all sure it was okay. "What is your question?"

"Well…" said Ranma, "what I want to know is: Why is Ranko living with Ucchan?"

Akane sighed, looked down at the ground and said, quietly. "That was my fault."

"Oh?"

"You see, I thought she was you and, and the last thing I expected was for you to burst into tears and run out into the storm."

"No, I can't see myself doing that."

"We looked for her that night but couldn't find her. I didn't think of Ukyo until the next morning. I went and apologized and asked her to come back but she wanted to stay with Ukyo."

"What set you off?"

Akane sighed again. "Um, well, you see," she said, "Ryoga told me his secret."

"And you yelled at Ranko thinking she was me."

"Yes, um, I'm afraid so."

"I see."

The sun burst through the dark clouds.

A woman stepped out of a doorway and shook out a rug.

She waved to them as they walked by.

They waved back.

"You know," said Akane, "it's funny, she still came to see us at the dojo at least once a week. It wasn't as if she didn't want to be around us or anything. She actually wanted Kasumi to teach her how to be a woman." Akane grinned and shook her head. "I really thought you had gone off the deep end."

"Teach her how to be a woman?" asked Ranma, with a wry face.

"Yeah, how to walk, talk and act like a woman. I guess after sharing that body with you she didn't know how."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't she ask you?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"No, not really."

"I didn't help her," said Akane, "and I wouldn't have if she had asked me. I kept trying to snap you, I mean her, out of it. I just wanted the old Ranma back."

"Well, I'm back." said Ranma, with a smile. "What do you think?"

"You're not exactly the same old Ranma."

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't insulted me once since you got back."

"Do you want me to?"

"No, no, I'm not saying I want you to; it's just something I noticed."

They turned a corner and could see the dojo off in the distance.

"Are you really going back to China?" asked Akane.

"No." said Ranma. "I was just trying to make a point."

"I see."

"All the time I was in China I wanted to come back here."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, there was somebody I wanted to see again."

Akane looked up at Ranma's face and their eyes met.

"Since I was all man again," he said, "I was hoping I could be somebody that person could be proud of." He reached out his hand toward her. "Are you happy to have the old Ranma back?"

She took hold of his hand. "Yes," she said, "yes I am happy to have the old Ranma back."

[24]

Ranko was walking on air. For more than two years she lived with the idea that she had killed Ranma. Now a heavy weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and she was finally free. She couldn't stop herself from dancing and singing and laughing and giggling all around the house. Ukyo was happy as well and sometimes even joined in the dancing. The Yajimas didn't know what to make of it and it took some explaining to get them to understand. It is quite an unbelievable story after all.

One morning, shortly after Ranma's visit, Ukyo and Ranko took a train to Nerima. Kasumi greeted them at the door of the Tendo dojo with a smile and a hug then led them to the back room by the pond. Ranma, Ranma's mother, Akane, Mr. Tendo and Nabiki were sitting on the floor around a low table waiting for them to arrive. Ranko and Ukyo stopped when they saw Mrs. Saotome and didn't want to go into the room.

"Come in." said Kasumi, coaxing sweetly. "Come in. It's okay."

They hesitantly walked into the room and greeted everyone at the table but cautiously sat a good distance from Ranma's mother.

Mrs. Saotome cleared her throat and said, "I found out, with my son's help, that I was wrong about a good many things…"

"What's she trying to pull now?" thought Ukyo.

"…so I would like to apologize to Ranko and, ahem, Miss. Kuonji; I made your lives harder than they needed to be. Perhaps we can make a new beginning and have a new understanding between us. If, if that's okay with you."

"Thank you, ma'am." said Ranko, with a nod of her head.

"Perhaps… Ranko," said Mrs. Saotome, "you would call me mother?"

"No ma'am," said Ranko, "I'm sorry, but you're not my mother."

"I understand." said Ranma's mother, with a sigh. "Perhaps we could be friends like we were before."

"That would be nice."

"Well," thought Ukyo, "I'm not ready to trust her yet. We all know what she's capable of. If she tries anything I'll…" and while Ukyo was thinking those thoughts, Ranko was saying, "Ranma, I'm really sorry about what I did to your reputation."

"Don't worry yourself about that." said Ranma. "I told you, it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," said Akane, "if we had believed your story there wouldn't have been any problem."

"I didn't believe it," said Nabiki, "and… well, I guess we don't need to rehash the whole thing."

"Well, I certainly can understand why you didn't believe the story." said Ranko. "I mean, the other guys weren't changed, right? Why would that happen to me and not to them, you know? I mean, it was such a strange story and everything. It was hard for me to believe, you know? I mean, I certainly don't fault anybody for not believing the story. It…"

As Ranko prattled on, Ranma was thinking, sarcastically, "They really couldn't tell she wasn't me?"

After an hour or so of tea and friendly conversation, all of those assembled at the Tendo dojo decided it was time to get some lunch. On their way down the street to a nearby restaurant, people began to notice Ranma and Ranko walking together and ran up to ask what was going on. The crowd grew in size with everyone talking all at once. Noise and confusion was all around. Ranma and Ranko tried to explain but everyone was talking and no one seemed to be listening. Some of the young men were kicking themselves when they realized Ranko was a real girl. Everyone was amazed when they finally heard the story. The clamor was suddenly interrupted when someone screamed: "Sao-to-me! Unhand the pigtailed girl!"

A hush fell over the crowd and everyone looked up to see Tatewaki Kuno standing nearby with his sword raised in a threatening manner.

"Oh great." said Ranma, thoroughly disgusted.

"Get ready, Saotome!" yelled Kuno. "I will make you pay for your villainy!"

"I'm ready."

Ranma struck a karate-type pose.

"Wait, wait, wait," said Ranko, walking toward Kuno with her hands in the air, "Tate-kun, put the sword away. I'm not being held captive. I don't need to be unhanded or any such thing."

Ranko took Tatewaki by the hand and talked earnestly with him.

"She told me she loves him." said Ranma, with a shake of his head.

"Yes," said Ukyo, "she does."

"How can that be?"

"What do you mean? People fall in love all the time."

"But he's Kuno!"

"Just because you hate him doesn't mean everybody has to."

"But…"

Ranko and Tatewaki came walking toward the group holding hands.

"Now," said Ranko, "I want you and Ranma to shake hands and let bygones be bygones."

Tatewaki hesitantly offered his hand and said, "Sao…"

"Tate-kun?"

"Er… I mean, Ranma," Kuno said, with a grimace, "let's let bygones be bygones."

"Very well," said Ranma, "Ku…"

Ranko raised her eyebrows.

"I mean, Tatewaki, bygones are bygones."

The two men shook hands.

"Now we can all be friends." said Ranko, smiling her happy bubbly smile.

"Wishful thinking." Ukyo thought, but held her tongue.

Tatewaki joined the group and they all went to lunch. The restaurant manager and his staff were frantically trying to take care of such a large group of people all at once. Ukyo couldn't help noticing how close Ranko and Tatewaki were sitting together and how intimately they were talking. Ranma was noticing too and Ukyo thought she saw steam rising from his head. She wondered how he could feel that way about a girl he hadn't known existed a week before. "Maybe," she thought, "he just hates Kuno that much."

The girls stayed and visited with all of their friends until early evening. Ranko seemed preoccupied on the train going home. She gave only vague responses when Ukyo attempted to engage her in conversation. Ukyo figured the excitement of the day had exhausted her friend. She was mistaken.

[25]

The house was dark when Ukyo returned from work. She thought at first that Ranko must have gone out somewhere but a feeling of dread began to creep up on her. Something was wrong.

When she went to her room to change her clothes she saw the note on the bed and rushed over to pick it up. The note read: "Ucchan, I have gone away to marry Tatewaki. He is leaving his family for me. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. Please don't hate me. Ranko."

Stunned, Ukyo sat on the bed and stared at the wall. Tears came to her eyes. "Why didn't I see this coming?" she said, to the empty space.

It was the most awful night of her life. She didn't know what to do. Should she chase after the girl? Should she let her go? Should she call her? What should she do?

She tossed and turned. She looked at the clock. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She chastised herself. She called herself every name in the book. She looked at the clock again. Her mind was racing. "What should I do?" she said, over and over again. She tossed and turned then somehow fell asleep. She dreamed she was trying to find something but kept taking wrong turns and getting sidetracked. Her ringing cellphone woke her in the morning.

"Hello?" she said, groggily.

Ranko's hysterical crying jolted her fully awake.

"Try to calm down, honey." said Ukyo, sitting up on the bed. "Tell me what happened."

"Some, some, some men broke into the hotel room and took Tatewaki away." Ranko wailed. "They, they, they were wearing dark suits and dark glasses and they looked mean and scary. They just grabbed him and took him away. They took him away. They took him away and I'm so scared. What do I do? What do I do?"

"Okay, okay, calm down, honey. Are you hurt at all?"

"N-no, I'm not hurt, but, but one of the men said, he said, 'Don't follow us and don't try to find him.' that's what he said. Ucchan? What's wrong with me? Why am I not good enough?"

Ukyo shook her head, wiped some tears from her eyes and thought, while sighing, "She thinks she's the one who's not good enough."

"Ran-chan, honey," she said, aloud, "tell me where you are."

"I, I, I don't know where I am."

"Ran-chan, listen, the first thing I want you to do is go wash your face."

"Oh okay."

Ukyo listened to the water running and splashing and a minute later Ranko got back on the phone.

"Now, Ranko, honey, are you dressed?"

"Yes." Ranko whimpered.

"Don't hang up, just go down to the hotel lobby and ask the clerk where you are, okay?"

Ukyo could hear Ranko snuffling and crying as she made her way to the lobby. Then she heard the girl ask the clerk where she was and she heard the answer.

"Stay where you are." said Ukyo. "I'm coming to get you."

Ukyo jumped into some clothes, rushed out the door and ran to the train station. On the train, she tapped her foot nervously and wondered, "Can't this thing go any faster?" She paced and muttered and got strange looks from the other passengers. The train ride seemed to take forever.

When she finally arrived at the hotel, she saw Ranko sitting on a bench with a very sad forlorn look on her face. Taking a deep breath and trying to control her emotions, Ukyo walked up to the girl.

"Ran-chan," she said, "let's go home."

"You hate me, don't you?" said Ranko.

"Would I be here if I hated you?" Ukyo held out her hand. "Come on, let's go home."

"Aren't you angry?"

"Yes, yes I am, and I'm hurt too."

"I'm sorry."

Ranko covered her face with her hands and cried.

Ukyo sat down next to the girl. "Ran-chan," she said, tenderly, "I understand what happened. You were swept off your feet. The man you love was going to sacrifice everything for you. That would turn any girls head."

"They took him, Ucchan." said Ranko, "They just burst into the room and took him."

"That's what you said on the phone."

"Why did they take him? Where did they take him? What are they going to do to him?"

"Well," said Ukyo, "it seems like they must be gangsters."

"Gangsters?"

"Did Ku… um, Tatewaki tell you anything about his family?"

"Very little."

"Did you tell him about yourself?"

"I… I told him I was Ranma's sister. Because, you know, my name is Saotome."

"That sounds like a good story."

"And Ranma always tried to keep him away from me when we were in school."

"What did you say when he asked about Ranma?"

"I told him Ranma moved away."

"All very plausible."

"He'll come back for me, Ucchan, I know he will."

"M-maybe."

"He loves me. He really does."

"I believe you."

"Last night was so wonderful." Ranko gushed. "I really felt his love for me."

A feeling of dread rose up in Ukyo's soul. "Please," she said, grimacing, "I really don't want to know the details."

"I… we…"

Ukyo put her fingers in her ears. "I said I don't want to know."

"Sweet innocent Ucchan." said Ranko, with a little smile.

"I can't hear you." said Ukyo, in a sing-song voice. "Lalalalalalalalalalalala…"

Ranko threw her arms around Ukyo's neck and kissed her.

"Wha…?" said Ukyo, shocked. "Don't do that. People are looking."

"I love you, Ucchan."

"Yes, yes, and I love you. Are we going to go home now?"

"You're just going to let me come back after what I've done?"

"Of course," said Ukyo, "it's not like you run off with a different man every week."

"I've only ever loved one man." said Ranko, sadly.

A tear ran down her cheek.

"Um, Ucchan," she said, "I think I'm going to have a baby."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Ukyo said, with a sigh. "It wouldn't surprise me at all."

"What will we do if I have a baby?"

"We'll raise the child together, that's all."

"What if Tatewaki comes back for me?"

"He'd better marry you in front of the whole world; that's all I've got to say.

"I hope he does." said Ranko, with a faint smile and a faraway look in her eyes.

Ukyo held her tongue.

The last thing she wanted to do was dash the girl's hopes.

[26]

Nine months later, Ranma and Akane were in a hospital waiting room. Akane was sitting and reading a book and Ranma was pacing.

"What a jerk!" said Ranma, waving his arms around. "She's giving birth to his baby and he's nowhere around."

Akane looked up from her book. "Ranma," she said, "nobody has seen him or his family for a long time."

"He's still a jerk!"

"Why is he a jerk?"

"Why?! Because he knew what was going to happen and he seduced her anyway, that's why! He took advantage of her good nature and innocence."

"You're right; he's a jerk."

Akane wondered who had seduced whom but kept it to herself.

"I'd like to get my hands on him." said Ranma, grasping at the air. "I'd tear him limb from limb."

"That would just upset Ranko you know." said Akane.

"What does she see in that guy anyway?"

"Who knows?"

Akane tried to concentrate on her book while Ranma continued to pace with his hands behind his back.

"I hate this waiting." said Ranma, irritably. "Maybe I should call Ucchan and find out what's going on."

"Please don't disturb them." said Akane, looking up from her book. "They're probably in the delivery room."

"How long is this supposed to take anyway?"

"There's no set time." said Akane, "Settle down Ranma."

"I can't." he said, wiping his brow. "I sure hope she's okay."

"Me too."

As time wore on, Ranma became more and more nervous (as if he wasn't nervous enough already). This was understandable because he and Ranko had developed a close relationship since he had returned from China. When Ranma found out what Ranko had done with Kuno, he was very upset and figured she needed someone to look after her and give her some guidance. So he took it upon himself to be that someone and made the trip from Nerima to see his little sister (that's what he called her) at least once a week to check up on her. Ranko was actually quite happy he was taking an interest in her welfare and always looked forward to his visits.

Finally, after about two hours, Ukyo entered the hospital waiting room. Ranma and Akane looked at her expectantly. "She had a little baby boy." said Ukyo, with a smile. "Mama and baby are both doing great."

Ranma was relieved.

"When can we see them?" asked Akane.

"Right now." said Ukyo. "Let's go."

They followed Ukyo through a maze of hallways and up several flights of steps until they found the room. Ranko was sitting up on the bed holding the baby when they walked inside.

"See little Tatewaki?" she said, smiling. "Isn't he beautiful?"

Ukyo sat down in the seat next to the bed.

"Are you okay, Sis?" asked Ranma.

"I feel fine." said Ranko. "The delivery went great, at least, that's what the doctor said. I think it hurt like hell. I'm so glad Ucchan was with me."

"I got the easy part." said Ukyo, beaming. "I just held her hand and tried to be encouraging."

"And you did a good job."

"Can I hold him?" asked Akane.

Ranko nodded her head and Akane reached down and picked up the baby.

"He's so cute." said Akane. "Look Ranma, what a handsome little boy."

"I didn't know you could be so maternal." said Ranma.

"You don't need to say stuff like that at a time like this."

"Sorry."

"Would you like to hold him?"

"Um…" said Ranma, nervously, "o… kay."

Akane gently placed the boy in Ranma's arms.

"He's so little." said Ranma. "So, so light."

"So helpless." said Akane.

"And precious." said Ukyo.

"I-I better give him back." said Ranma.

Akane took the baby out of Ranma's arms and gave him back to his mother.

"Thank you for coming to see us." said Ranko, smiling a sleepy smile.

A doctor and a nurse came into the room and tended to the new mother and her baby.

"You look so tired." said Akane. "I think we should go."

"Don't rush off." said Ranko. "I'm not going to sleep yet. The Yajimas are coming over soon."

"Okay." said Akane, sitting in a chair. "But tell us when you want us to leave and we'll leave."

"I will need to be alone when I nurse him again."

"When will that be?"

"Not for a while. I was nursing him when Ucchan went to get you."

"May I hold him again?"

"Of course."

Akane got out of her seat, walked over to the bed, took the baby from Ranko then went back to her seat and sat back down. She was entranced by the little boy and gently touched his face and hands and talked tenderly to him. Ranma was amazed. He had never seen this side of Akane before.

Mr. and Mrs. Yajima came into the room and made a fuss over Ranko and her boy. Mrs. Yajima held little Tatewaki and reminisced about her boys when they were little. Mr. Yajima discussed sports with Ranma.

Soon, all the guests left so Ranko could nurse Tatewaki.

Shortly after, mother and baby were sleeping.

[27]

Later that evening, Ranko awoke from her nap and noticed Ukyo sitting next to the bed reading a book. "Are you still here?" she said. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

"I'm not going to leave you alone." said Ukyo, primly.

"I'm not alone; there are all kinds of doctors and nurses here."

"I feel perfectly fine, thank you."

"You're going to hurt yourself if you don't get some sleep."

"It's not like my best friend has a baby every day." said Ukyo, with a sad face. "Do you really want me to leave?"

"Best friend," said Ranko, smiling, "I'm only thinking of your health. I'll ask somebody if they can bring a bed in here for you."

"Don't worry about me; I'll be okay."

"Right."

The baby started crying.

"I think he's hungry." said Ranko.

"I'll bring him over to you." said Ukyo, walking over to the crib, picking up the baby, carrying him to his mother and placing him in her arms.

Ranko smiled as the baby clamped down on her breast; then she murmured with a sigh, "If only his daddy could be here to see him."

Ukyo sat back in the chair by the bed and noticed the blissful expression on her friends face. Her mind wandered. She began to wonder if she would ever get married and have a child of her own. Her friend looked so happy. She had a dream. A family was sitting around a table eating dinner. Children were running around a park smiling and laughing. Students were wearing school uniforms and riding their bikes down the street. It was such a nice dream. She felt good inside.

She woke up and wondered where she was. "Oh yeah," she thought, "I'm in the hospital with Ran-chan." She turned her head and saw the girl sleeping in the bed next to her. "I must have fallen asleep in the chair. You're weak, Ukyo, weak."

The baby started crying so Ukyo climbed out of the bed, walked over to the crib and picked him up. He stopped crying. She began to talk to him and sing little tunes for him. She felt such joy holding the little child in her arms. Ranko's giggle snapped her out of her reverie. Ukyo turned around and saw the girl sitting up in the bed grinning ear to ear.

"You want one of your own, don't you?" asked Ranko.

"Someday." said Ukyo. "I think he's hungry."

"Wait," said Ranko, jumping out of the bed, "I've got to pee. Keep talking to him; he likes it."

Ukyo walked around the room singing and talking to the little boy. "I think we're going to get along very well." she said. "You're such a cutie."

Ranko climbed back into the bed and Ukyo placed the child in her arms.

Ukyo picked up her bag and went to the bathroom. As she was brushing her hair she noticed her face in the mirror. She was smiling. She tried to purposely frown but couldn't do it and that made her laugh.

After washing up a bit and changing her clothes she went out of the bathroom and sat next to Ranko's bed. She leaned over and kissed the girl's cheek. They smiled at each other and the baby.

Ranko, Ukyo and Tatewaki went home later that day.

[28]

Ranko was holding Tatewaki in her arms when she opened the front door.

"Good afternoon." said the man on the stoop. "I'm looking for Miss. Ranko Saotome."

"I'm Ranko."

"Miss. Saotome, I'm with the immigration service." He showed her his identification. "You're in this country illegally and you have twenty four hours to leave the country."

"What?!"

Ranko almost dropped the baby.

The man handed her an envelope and said, "This is the court order for your deportation."

"What's going on?" asked Ukyo, walking up behind Ranko.

"I'm being deported." said Ranko, panicking.

"What?! That's outrageous!" Ukyo yelled, walking up to the man and angrily waving a finger at him. "What's the meaning of this?"

The man took a step back. "I'm only delivering the paperwork." he said, defensively. "I don't know anything more."

"We're going to fight this!"

"Suit yourself."

He turned around and headed toward the gate, then stopped and turned around again and said, "Good luck" then opened the gate and walked out.

Ranko was standing in the doorway shaking and crying and saying, "What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" over and over again.

Ukyo led her over to the couch and sat her down. "We're going to fight this." she said, calmly, "I'm calling our lawyer right now."

Ukyo went to another room to call the lawyer because Ranko and her baby were making too much noise crying on the couch.

When Ukyo returned to the living room she grabbed some tissues and wiped Ranko's face. "Blow your nose, honey," she said, and Ranko blew her nose.

"What am I going to do?" said Ranko, still panicking. "I don't want to leave. I don't know anybody anywhere else."

"The lawyer said he'll see us right away." said Ukyo. "Pull yourself together and let's go."

"How can I pull myself together?"

"Honey, are you forgetting? You're not alone. If you have to go I'm going with you."

"You would do that?"

"Didn't I already?"

Ranko stared at Ukyo, amazed. "Yes," she said, ashamed of herself, "you're right, I'm sorry."

"Does Tate-kun need to be fed or changed?"

"No, he's fine for now… I think."

"Let's go then."

[29]

Ranko's court hearing generated a lot of interest in the town. The court was packed with observers. So many people wanted to see it that they moved it to a bigger room. Ukyo noticed Kodachi Kuno sitting front and center. "She's just here to gloat." whispered Ukyo, angrily. "She doesn't care if everyone knows she's behind this whole thing."

"I didn't think she even knew my story." said Ranko. "How would she have found out?"

The girls were sitting at a table in the middle of the room next to their lawyer.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo, "the story is all over Nerima."

"But nobody has seen her in Nerima for a year."

"Just because our friends haven't seen her doesn't mean she hasn't been there."

"Oh, I see what you mean."

The judge walked into the courtroom and the hearing began. Some of Ranko's friends testified on her behalf. Ranma told his story. Then Ranko took the stand.

"Miss. Saotome," said the lawyer for the state, pacing in front of her, "isn't it true you were born in China?" This was his first time in front of such a large crowd and he was making the most of it.

"No sir." said Ranko.

"No?"

"I wasn't born anywhere."

"Would you please explain?"

"I-I mean, there wasn't any woman who gave birth to me… that I know of anyway."

"I see," said the lawyer, placing his hand on his chin, "let me rephrase the question. Isn't it true you had your origins in China?"

"Yes sir," said Ranko, "just as Ranma told you, but I've never lived there and I don't know anybody there and I don't know what I would do if I had to go there."

"Please, just answer the questions."

"Yes sir."

"Isn't it true," continued the lawyer, pacing some more, "you were fraudulently using another person's identification?"

"Yes sir." said Ranko, timidly.

"Yes?"

"When I thought Ranma was dead I used his identification. I…"

"Stop this travesty!" yelled a man, slamming open the door to the courtroom with a loud bang.

Everyone in the room turned their heads to look at the man and started talking all at once. The judge slammed down his gavel and the place quieted to a low murmur.

"Ranko is a legal citizen." said the man at the door. "I can prove it."

"And just who are you?" asked the judge.

"I'm Ranko's husband."

The crowd erupted. The judge slammed down his gavel. Tatewaki smiled and waved at Ranko while he moved toward the center of the room and she smiled and waved in return.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ranko notice the inquisitive expression on Ukyo's face, so she said, with a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, Ucchan, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"So you've been married to him this whole time?" asked Ukyo.

Ranko nodded her head.

Kodachi stood up and yelled, "Don't listen to him; he's insane!"

"I'm insane?!" said Tatewaki, looking at the judge while pointing at Kodachi. "Your honor, this woman, my sister, and the rest of my family kidnapped me and held me captive in an asylum for over a year."

Kodachi charged through the crowd and into the middle of the room next to her brother. "It was for your own good." she said, like a mother scolding her child.

"My own good?" he said. "I hardly think so."

"Your honor, this man is not mentally competent."

"I'm competent enough to have charges filed against you, our father, our grandfather and the whole organization."

Kodachi looked at him, aghast, and said, "You won't do that."

"Oh yes I will." said Tatewaki, adamantly.

She pointed a finger at Ranko and yelled, "You would sell out your family for that tramp?"

"I won't let you speak of my wife that way!"

"Your wife?"

"Yes, my wife. She's sweet and pure and good. She's far above the likes of you, you evil conniving witch!"

"You really are insane!" screamed Kodachi.

"I won't be controlled by you and grandfather anymore." he said, passionately. "I'm taking control of my own life and you can't stop me."

"I can stop you." she growled.

"How can you? How can you when you're in jail?"

"Jail?"

"Yes, jail. The police already have all the evidence they need."

"I'll show you how, you traitor!"

Kodachi pulled a gun out of her purse and shot Tatewaki in the chest.

He fell to the floor.

Ranko jumped up and screamed.

The crowd rose to it's feet.

Kodachi pointed the gun at Ranko and fired but Ranma tackled Kodachi just as she was pulling the trigger and the bullet hit the ceiling.

Ranko fainted and fell to the floor.

Ukyo knelt down next to Ranko, put the girl's head in her lap and caressed her face as she listened to the commotion all around her.

[30]

He opened his eyes and saw Ranko looking down at him.

"Ah," he said, "an angel has come for me."

Ranko giggled and said, "I'm not an angel."

"I beg to differ, my sweet."

She leaned over and kissed him.

Her tears fell on his face.

"So many nights I dreamed of kissing you again." he said. "Now my dreams are coming true."

"Mine too." said Ranko, kissing him again.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. Kodachi shot you."

"Ah yes, I remember now. How long was I asleep?"

"Two days."

"Were you here the whole time?"

"Well, no, but I was here most of the time."

"You're here now, that's all that matters."

"And you're finally awake and I'm so happy."

"Are you happy?"

"Very."

Tatewaki sighed. "Do you still love me, my sweet." he said, with a worried expression on his face. "Do you still want to be my wife?"

"More than anything, but…" she looked at her hands and bit her lip, "what about you? Now that you know my real story, do you still want to be my husband?"

"Are you not the pigtailed girl I fell in love with in high school?"

"I am, but, then again…"

"Ranko," he said, reaching out and taking her hand, "it's who you are now that matters to me."

"I'm glad."

A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it away with her hand.

"Tatewaki," she said, "I have some news for you."

"Yes?"

"You're a father."

"I am?"

"Um hmm, your son, Tatewaki, was born just three months ago."

"Wow, I had no idea."

"Here's a picture of him."

She held her cellphone up to his face.

"What a handsome boy." he said.

"Yes," she said, "just like his father."

Tatewaki tried to sit up.

"Don't move, Tate-kun." said Ranko, placing her hand on his arm. "Your injury is very bad. You need a lot of rest."

"Well, well, what have we here?" said a nurse, walking into the room and up to the bed.

"He woke up." said Ranko, happily. "Isn't that great?"

"That is great."

The nurse began to check his vital signs.

Ranko's cellphone beeped so she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the message. "I have to go now, Tate-kun," she said, "but I'll be back."

Tatewaki whimpered, "You have to go?"

"I have to feed the baby."

"Can't someone else do that?"

"No, I'm nursing him, it has to be me."

"Okay," he said, with a pout, "if you have to."

"I'll bring him to see you when they move you out of intensive care."

"I can't wait."

"I just know you'll love him." said Ranko, enthusiastically. "He's very handsome; just like his father."

"You're very sweet, my dear." said Tatewaki.

"I love you." Ranko whispered as she kissed him. "I'll come back as quick as I can."

"I love you too, my sweet."

Ranko skipped out of the room, waving and blowing a kiss.

Ukyo was waiting in a room the hospital had provided for Ranko to nurse her baby.

"Great news." said Ranko, taking the baby from Ukyo. "Tatewaki woke up."

"That's terrific." said Ukyo. "Did you talk to him?"

"I did, and he was happy to see me."

"I should think so.

Ranko looked down at her little boy and smiled. "I can't wait for him to meet his father." she said. "I'm so happy."

Ukyo watched her friend nurse her baby. Something about the scene always gave her a pleasant feeling.

"Give him to me." she said. "I'll burp him. Hurry back to your husband and don't forget to button your blouse."

Ranko giggled and handed the baby to Ukyo then rushed out of the room.

Ukyo lingered in the room for a while with mixed feelings. On one hand she was happy because her friend was so happy, but on the other hand she was sad because Ranko and her boy would be leaving when Ranko's husband was released from the hospital.

"You're right, Tate-kun." she said, to the baby sleeping on her shoulder. "I shouldn't worry about things I can't control. Let's go home."

[31]

When Ranko arrived in her husband's hospital room a doctor and a nurse were standing by the bed. They turned around when they heard her come in. "We're sorry, Mrs. Kuno." said the doctor. "We did all we could."

Shocked, Ranko frantically rushed around the bed to her husband's side. The doctor mumbled something about damaged organs and infection while Ranko drenched Tatewaki's lifeless face with her tears.

"What happened?" she asked, slumping into the chair by the bed. "I just left him a few minutes ago and he was fine."

"I beg your pardon, ma'am," said the doctor, shaking his head, "he may have seemed fine but he was barely hanging on."

The nurse sat next to Ranko, took her hand and said, gently, "Is there someone we can call to take you home?"

The doctor apologized again and left the room.

"Can't I sit with him a while?" asked Ranko, with tears streaming down her face.

"We have to move him out of this room." said the nurse, as kindly as she could.

"I'll go with him. I just want to be with him a while longer. Please?"

The nurse patted her hand and left the room.

Ranko watched while two men lifted Tatewaki onto a gurney and followed them to a room in the basement. One of the men brought over a chair and placed it next to the gurney. The men bowed as they left the room. Ranko sat by the gurney and talked to Tatewaki's body. She told him everything she had wanted to tell him since they had been separated.

A little while later, Ukyo came into the room, pulled up a chair and put her arms around Ranko. They held each other and wept.

"How did you know where I was?" asked Ranko, when they had somewhat regained their composure.

"Someone called." said Ukyo.

"Where's Tatewaki?"

"Mrs. Yajima is watching him."

Ranko sighed and said, despondently, "I really wanted him to know his father."

"I know."

"I know what you're going to say but I can't help blaming myself for all of this."

"It's not your fault." said Ukyo. "You know it's not."

"If I hadn't run away with him; if he hadn't come back for me; if…"

"Now Ranko, he knew what was at stake when he ran away with you and he knew what he was risking when he came back for you."

"Yes, but…"

"What if he had told you that he wasn't going to come back for you because it was too dangerous and he was afraid? Would you have respected him after that? He would, in a sense, be saying you're not worth it. But he did come back. He treasured you, Ranko. You were worth everything to him."

"But now he's dead."

"Let's go home."

"We had so many plans, so many dreams, so much to look forward to. He was a good man, Ucchan. I know you didn't like him, but you didn't really know him, not like I knew him."

"When he came into the courtroom, I realized I had been wrong about him. I had a new respect for him right then. You see, I didn't really believe he would come back for you. I admit it, I was wrong."

"Thank you, Ucchan." said Ranko. "I'm sure he would be happy to hear you say that."

Ukyo stood up, walked to the door, put her hand on the handle, said, "I'll wait outside while you say goodbye to your husband" then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Ranko stood by the gurney, picked up Tatewaki's cold hand and kissed it. "Tate-kun," she said, with tears in her eyes, "I hope you are happy wherever you are. I love you. I will always love you; you know I will. I promise I'll do my best to raise our son in a way that would make you proud. I will. I promise. I promise."

She held his hand against her face. "Oh, Tatewaki," she said, lovingly, "I remember when you touched me like this and your hand was warm. It felt so nice. You were a strong warrior and your hands were calloused but you were always so gentle with me; so gentle and sweet and kind you were; yes, you were, so gentle and sweet and kind you were."

Ranko laid his arms over his chest and adjusted the blanket over him. She gazed at the face that she loved and thought about the injustice of it all. "Oh, Tatewaki, why?" she said, angrily. "Why? Why did this happen? It's so senseless and so wrong. It's just wrong; you know it is. You shouldn't be lying here like this. It's so unfair. We were supposed to be together forever; that's how it was supposed to be. That's how it was in my dreams; in our dreams, I mean. It's so unfair; you know it is. It's just so, so, so unfair.

Her anger quickly dissipated and the tears flowed again. She couldn't help thinking she had brought nothing but trouble to the people around her in her short life. The fact that she brought joy to many people as well didn't register with her at that moment. "What have I done?" she whispered. "What have I done?"

She reached down and gently brushed a stray hair off of his face with her fingers. "I know. I know." she said, with a sigh. "I'll try not to blame myself though it's going to be hard. I know you wouldn't want me to blame myself. That's how kind you always were with me. You were always so kind it's true. I know you loved me with all your heart. I know you did. No matter what anybody says; I know you loved me. And, and, and I will keep the memory of your love locked up in my heart forever and ever. I promise. I promise."

Sitting, arranging her skirt and folding her hands on her lap, she said, quietly, "I have to say goodbye, Tatewaki, but I'm just not ready yet."

In the hall, Ukyo waited. As she waited, she thought about that stormy night when she discovered Ranko on her doorstep. "The poor little thing," she said, to herself, "so lost and so alone." She paced in the hall and replayed in her mind the events of the past few years. "What could I have done differently? Should I have been firmer with her? No, I'm not her mother and she's not a child. Well, in a way she is, but no, she probably would have resented it. Besides, she's been a good girl overall; I really have nothing to complain about. She just fell head-over-heels for the wrong man, that's all. It happens to the best of us. Of course, I had a bad feeling about it at the time, but I had no reason to keep them apart even if I had a right to. But… I would have done anything to shield her from this kind of tragedy." Ukyo sighed. "And now she's blaming herself and that's the worst part of it. Oh, I hope she's going to be okay."

While Ukyo was musing, Ranko came out of the room looking very sad. "I'm sorry I took so long." she said, while she hugged Ukyo. "I just didn't want to leave him all alone."

"You don't have to apologize." said Ukyo, holding Ranko close and kissing her cheek. "I would have waited all night if that's what you needed."

"I wouldn't do that to you."

"Don't worry about it. Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so." said Ranko, trying to give Ukyo a smile but not succeeding. "I have a lot to live for. I have my son and I have you and all of our friends. Besides, I don't think Tatewaki would want me to give up; I know he wouldn't. Although, you'll probably have to put up with me moping around for a while."

"I'm sure I can do that, but don't try to deal with this alone; lean on me, okay?"

"Ucchan, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Are you ready to go? Tate-kun is probably hungry by now."

"Oh yeah, you're right."

Ranko turned and glanced at the door one last time and whispered, softly, "Goodbye Tatewaki" then grabbed hold of Ukyo's hand and the girls went home.

[32]

Ranko and her son were sitting on a bench near Tatewaki Kuno's grave. The Kuno family disowned him so Ranko buried him in a cemetery close to her home in Ichikawa. Over the years she visited his grave at least once a week. When her son grew older she brought him with her. It still depressed her that he would never know his father.

"Mama," said Tatewaki, "how did my father die?"

"He was murdered by your Aunt Kodachi." said Ranko, staring at the grave and frowning.

"Oh."

The boy looked down at his hands and bit his lip.

Some leaves were blown along the path by the wind.

A squirrel scampered up a tree.

"I didn't even know I had an Aunt Kodachi." said the boy.

"She doesn't know about you," said Ranko, "and even if she did, she would hate you."

"Why?"

Ranko sighed.

"Tate-kun," she said, turning to face him, "there are so many things I haven't told you. I'm sorry, but I've been waiting until you were old enough to understand."

"Mama," said Tatewaki, earnestly, "I'm eight years old. I'm practically grown up."

"Yes, you are."

Ranko reached over and brushed his hair out of his eyes with her fingers. Then she smiled at the boy and caressed his cheek. He looked up at her in adoration.

"Would you like to hear my story?" she asked.

He answered, "Yes I would."

"Okay, I'll tell you."

Ranko turned and looked back at her husband's grave.

She glanced up at the sky and the trees and noticed a bird sitting on one of the branches.

"My story," she said, "is like a fairytale."

"A fairytale?" said Tatewaki.

"Well, um, mostly like a fairytale, only…" she paused and said, softly, "only the handsome prince doesn't die in fairytales."

Ranko stared at the ground and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Tatewaki quietly watched her.

"Mama," he said, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, Tate-kun," she said, looking at him and smiling, "I do want to tell you. I was only trying to think of a way to begin the story."

Ranko reached over and took her son's hand.

"Let's see," she said, "since my story is like a fairytale, I'll begin like this: Once upon and time in a land far away…"

THE END