DISCLAIMER: Remember to brush and floss after every meal. Oh, and yeah, these characters aren't mine. If they were, I would've done a much better job on the ending of the manga.

"Adventures in Womanhood"

by Ranchan2k3

Chapter 11

At the first opportunity, I'm going to put in some research to try and figure out what I did in a past life to warrant all this bad karma.

I fully expect to stumble across some grainy old photo from World War I where I'm clearly in the back row kicking a puppy.

Let me explain. See, roughly a decade ago, Soun Tendo and his training partner, Genma Saotome, got together and got their master, Happosai, completely drunk, then sealed him inside a barrel of sake. Which they put in a cave. Which they blocked with a boulder. Which they covered with mystical seals. Then they left, congratulating themselves on finally getting rid of their dreaded master and moving on to raise their children in peace.

It seems their celebrations were premature. Guess who finally broke out and paid the Tendo Dojo a visit not too long ago...

It was a peaceful afternoon at the Tendo Dojo in Tokyo's Nerima ward. In the training hall, Ranma was putting Akane through her paces with a spar, finding holes in the other girl's guard and hitting the same spot progressively harder until Akane got the hint and closed up that particular hole in her guard. Akane's father, Soun, sat nearby, tears running down his face as he observed the spar, his emotions torn between rage at Ranma for striking his baby girl, pride in Akane's skill at picking up what Ranma was teaching, and regret at not being able to bring himself to hurt Akane enough to continue teaching her the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. All in all, a very pleasant moment in the home and dojo of the Tendo family.

It wasn't to last.

"SWEETO!"

Soun visibly paled at hearing that aged voice. 'No, not him!,' he mentally wailed to himself. 'How on earth did the Master get free?! Oh, Saotome, my old friend, if only you were here...!'

Ranma and Akane paused on hearing that voice, neither one noticing Soun's reaction. Neither of them were prepared for what happened next: a shriveled up form, vaguely resembling an old man in a brown kenpogi, blurred into the dojo and latched onto Akane's chest. "Hey!" Akane took a swing at the old pervert, but he was already gone, leaping towards Ranma.

However quick he may be, though, Ranma was quicker.

THWACK!

The old man smacked into the wall, upside-down and dazed. Ranma interposed herself between Akane and the old man, visibly annoyed. "Oi! What's the big idea?! Ya can't just go invadin' somebody's personal space like that, you old lecher!"

The old man got back to his feet, shaking off the hit. "You surprised me, girl. It's not every day I meet someone with that amount of skill. Tell me your name."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Ranma Saotome."

The old man blinked. "Genma's brat? But that can't be. I was there for the birth, and I know for a fact that Genma and that lovely wife of his had a son."

You could have heard a pin drop after that announcement. Ranma swallowed audibly. "You...were there...?"

Understanding soon replaced confusion on the old man's face, followed by sympathy. "Jusenkyo?"

Ranma flinched. Happosai nodded. "I thought so."

Soun tentatively spoke up. "Um...h-hello, M-M-Master..."

Happosai glanced over, then waved him off. "Oh, don't worry yourself, Soun. I'm not here for revenge. After all, I'm supposed to be the Grandmaster of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. If I let my guard down enough for you and Genma to take advantage of me like that, I deserved what I got. Pay it no mind. It's forgiven and forgotten." Soun sagged in relief. Happosai continued. "No, what concerns me more is young Ranma here."

Now no longer quite so intimidated, Soun asked, "Um, why are you concerned about Ranma?"

"Because, my dear boy, Ranma-chan here visited Jusenkyo, the legendary training ground of accursed springs. They are responsible for making her what she is today."

"Er...and what was she before then, Master?"

"Isn't it obvious? She, before Jusenkyo, was a he."

The atmosphere in the Tendo living room was tense. The explanation had taken a bit, with Happosai's help, and while the Tendo girls were not inclined to believe the lecherous old man at first, Soun had quietly informed them that the Master had never been known to lie about things of a mystical nature. And so it was that Ranma was sitting across the table from the assembled Tendo family, her gaze directed downward as she awaited judgment.

Akane was the first to speak up. "So, let me get this straight. You, Ranma, were originally a boy."

Ranma meekly nodded.

"Then you went to this Jusenkyo place, where your father was turned into a...a panda...and you were changed into a girl."

Another nod.

"And to the best of your knowledge, these changes are permanent."

Again, the red-head nodded.

"Then...why didn't you tell us this before?"

Ranma looked up to meet Akane's gaze. "I had no way to prove it!" She turned her gaze downward again. "And...I didn't know you well enough to know how you'd react, or if you'd even believe me."

Soun finally spoke up. "Well, this problem isn't completely insurmountable. We can still go ahead with the joining of the schools. All you have to do is choose one of my girls to be your fiancee, and then we can go to Jusenkyo and-"

"No."

The interruption came from Ranma, and it jerked Soun to a halt. "No?"

Ranma glared at the man. "No. I'm not going to force one of your girls to go through the same hell I've gone through just so you can have your stupid joining of the schools. And to be perfectly frank, I think you should retract the suggestion right now and forget all about it, because it looks to me like your daughters want to play a round of Dog Pile On The Father."

Soun blinked, then looked at his girls, paling as he noticed that all three of them - even the normally sweet and loving Kasumi - were all glaring at him for even attempting to suggest that one of them should be changed into the opposite sex just to marry Ranma and join the schools. If looks could kill, Soun would be a very unpleasant smear on the floor right now.

Cue the Tendo Patriarch Waterworks. "WAAAAAAAAH! MY DAUGHTERS HATE ME! WAAAAAAAAAH! NOW THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED! WAAAAAAAAAH!"

There was a collective rolling of eyes at that reaction.

Happosai sighed, looking back over at Ranma. "You have my deepest sympathies, Ranma-chan. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to have your very identity stripped from you in such a fashion."

Ranma just nodded.

Akane stood up. "I'm sorry, but I'm just...not at all sure what to think about this. I'm so used to thinking that all boys are perverts, and now I find out that you used to be one. I know you're nothing like them, but still, I just...need a little time to think it over. I'll see you at school tomorrow and let you know then." She then hurried from the room.

Ranma looked stricken. Kasumi sighed, gazing sympathetically at Ranma. "I don't believe she'll end your friendship with you over this, Ranma-chan. Little sister...has a few problems to work out. She just needs to figure out how she should think about you."

Nabiki nodded. "Yeah. It's not every day you find out magic is real and waiting to change you into something else the first chance it gets. I'll be sure to avoid making any trips to China in the future."

Ranma glanced around at the family, then stood up. "...I'm goin' home now. I think...I need to be with Mom right now." She then hurried from the dojo.

After I got home, I found Mom and explained what happened. She just held me. That simple gesture broke my restraint and I cried. Long and hard. Despite Kasumi's assurances, I'm not convinced I didn't just lose Akane's friendship today. My eyes are all red and puffy now.

The only reason I'm not still crying is because I made myself sick and tapped into the Soul of Ice after that.

Akane did say she'd see me at school tomorrow, so I guess I'll find out then what her decision is.

God, Akane, I'm sorry.

Please don't think I'm a perverted freak.

...The Soul of Ice isn't working. I'm going to end this here, because I think I need to go cry some more.

I'll let you know what happens.

End Chapter 11.

Author's Note: A little bit more depressing than the previous chapters, but as I wrote this, I just couldn't see it coming out any other way. They all needed to find out about the curse, and Happosai seemed like a convenient way to accomplish that. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a little more cheerful. Read and review, because those are the fuel that urges me to write more. Look forward to Chapter 12! Bye! ^_^