Chapter 26 Secrets Revealed
The following morning, Nabiki wearily made her way downstairs to the family room. Her father was crying buckets of tears by the door overlooking the yard, while Nodoka was trying to console him. Genma was still passed out on the floor, from the copious amount of alcohol that he had consumed in celebration of Kasumi's wedding. The consensus of opinion had been to just leave the large tub of lard where he had dropped, as no one wanted to attempt to move him into one of the bedrooms. Nabiki remembered Nodoka just looking at him in disgust and then heading off to sleep in Akane's old room.
"Daddy, what's the matter?" Nabiki asked, waspishly. While she hadn't had too much to drink last night, the sound of his crying was really beginning to annoy her, and she was beginning to regret not going straight into the kitchen to find her coffee. His wailing was at just the right frequency to cause the slight pounding in her head to begin to feel worse.
"I've lost my daughter!" Soun replied, the tears continuing to flow, "Kasumi has left us!"
"Oh, for crying out loud, Daddy!" Nabiki exclaimed, "You haven't lost Kasumi, she hasn't left us, she's just on her honeymoon with Tofu. She'll be back on Monday." Then she asked, "If you're in here, Auntie, then who's fixing breakfast?"
Nodoka laughed and replied, "I got chased out by Ranma and Akane. They told me that they would take care of things. After all, the only reason I'm here this morning is because my idiot of a husband had too much to drink last night, and it was more trouble than it was worth to try to get him home."
Soun began to cry again. "My daughter is trying to kill me! Why did you have to leave, Kasumi?" Soun wailed.
Akane walked into the family room, carrying a portion of the meal, one of Kasumi's floral printed aprons protecting her clothing. Her eye was twitching in anger and she hissed, "I heard that Daddy." The coldness of her tone instantly dried up Soun's tears as he stared at her in fear. She placed the tray on the table, and went back into the kitchen for one last trip.
Ranma walked out, another one of Kasumi's aprons protecting her clothing. She also placed her tray done on the platform, and then walked over to her father. The smell of the food was beginning to rouse him from his drunken stupor, but just to be on the safe side, Ranma tossed him into the koi pond.
The shock of landing in the water quickly roused Genma from his slumber. The additional body mass of the panda soaked up the remnants of the alcohol in his blood stream, sobering the panda up. Unfortunately, it didn't dissipate the effect of the massive hangover that Genma was feeling. The panda growled warningly as it made its way back to the family room. 'Why'd you do that, boy?' the sign read, FLIP, 'And why are you a girl?'
Ranma handed her father a towel, and then poured hot water over the panda, triggering the change. "Wanted to make sure you were awake, old man," Ranma replied, her eyes dancing with mirth, "and that was the easiest way to do it. I didn't want you to miss out on breakfast, especially with all of the effort that Akane put into it. As to why I'm a girl, let's just say I lost a bet with Akane and leave it at that."
"Besides, what boy would be caught dead in one of Kasumi's frilly aprons?" Akane asked as she brought in the last of the food, including a cup of steaming hot coffee, which Nabiki grabbed instantly. Nabiki closed her eyes and began to drink her coffee, waiting for the onrush of the caffeine.
"Akane cooked?" Genma asked, trembling in fear, remembering all of the special meals that she had prepared for him on the trip. He turned to Nodoka and asked, hopefully, "Isn't it time for us to go home?"
Nodoka looked at him coldly and replied, "No, I don't have any need to run home yet. Besides, I'm hungry and can't wait to see what Akane has fixed for us. Sit down, dear."
Genma gulped as he took in the cold stares coming from both Nodoka and Akane and promptly collapsed to the floor. The rest of the family gathered around the table, as Ranma began passing around the food.
"What is this?" Soun asked.
"I decided to try some Western dishes. We fixed omelets, and bacon," Ranma said, "Akane made them all while I supervised. The bacon got a little crispy, I'm afraid, but that's because she distracted me."
Soun and Genma gazed warily at the food in front of them. The aroma coming from the omelet seemed to indicate that it was edible, and while the edges on the bacon looked a bit crispy, they too seemed to be okay. However, neither of them so much as even touched their chopsticks, waiting to see which one would break first under the combined gaze of the two women who had prepared the meal. Or as Genma thought to himself, 'the girl and his son who was for some unknown reason parading around as a girl.'
Ranma finally shrugged her shoulders and began to daintily eat her food. Well, daintily for her at least. The other women present dug in also, while the two men seemed to be in a state of shock watching them eat. Soun seemed to expect all four of the women to keel over from food poisoning, while Genma appeared to think the food was planning on eating him, instead of the other way around.
Nodoka said, "This is very good, you two. Though the omelet could use just a touch more salt, I think."
Akane turned to look at Ranma and deliberately stuck her tongue out at her as if to say, 'I told you so.'
Ranma had the decency to blush and said, "Okay, you were right, Acchan. But I still say it's a matter of taste."
"What's the matter, Daddy?" Nabiki asked with a smirk, "Aren't you hungry?"
Finally, emboldened by the fact that no one had collapsed from eating the food, Soun picked up his chopsticks and started eating the bacon. His eyes widened in disbelief and he began to wail.
"Now what!" Nodoka snapped.
"My daughter can cook!" Soun cried, "She will make Ranma a wonderful wife!"
Akane and Ranma rolled their eyes. "Daddy," Akane growled, "Stop that. Besides there's a lot more to being a wife than knowing how to cook."
"True," Genma said, puffed up with self-importance, "There's housekeeping, sewing, laundry, gardening, that kind of thing."
Akane snorted in disgust and said, "That wasn't what I was talking about, but then I should have known that you of all people wouldn't understand."
"So when did you learn how to cook?" Genma asked, "I mean the stuff you made for me during the trip was horrible."
Akane said, her voice saccharine sweet, "I've been able to cook quite a few meals for several months. Between Kasumi, Nodoka and Ranma, they've been working with me in the kitchen for a long time. I was deliberately making your meals bad."
Soun looked bewildered and asked, "Why would you do that?"
Akane gave him a withering look, as Nabiki chuckled. "Because she wanted some time alone with her fiancé," Nabiki said, her voice filled with scorn, "Isn't it obvious?"
"My son is so manly!" Nodoka said happily as she looked at the blushes being exchanged between her, well, daughter at the moment, and Akane.
"MOM!" Ranma exclaimed, "Would you stop that!"
"Come on Ranma, we don't want to be late today of all days," Akane yelled as she ran down the sidewalk, dragging her reluctant fiancé along with her. Today was the first day of the new school term, and the day that the real Ranma would be introduced to the rest of the class. At Nabiki's suggestion, Ranma was going to school as a girl, and then would explain everything to the homeroom during the first period.
To their relief, they got to school early, and made it into the building without encountering Kuno. That was a situation that neither of them wanted to face, at least not first thing. As they entered the classroom, Akane squeezed Ranma's hand, and then headed toward her seat, while Ranma approached the teacher, who looked up irritably at her.
"Sir," Ranma began, "I need to talk to the class about something."
"Fine," the teacher said. Then raising his voice to be heard over the hubbub, he said, "Attention, class. We have a student who wishes to make an announcement."
Ranma stood there nervously. She rubbed the back of her neck, and glanced over at Akane.
Akane smiled in encouragement and mouthed, "Go ahead."
Ranma sighed and thought, 'Well here goes nothing. I hope they all don't hate me for this.' She said, "Gomen nasai. I have been misleading all of you. What most of you believe is that I'm a girl."
Her classmates looked at her in confusion, murmuring softly. Reluctantly she continued, "Actually, I'm not; I was born the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. Unfortunately, I picked up a weird curse a few months ago, and I'm now a girl, sometimes."
The class fell completely silent at this announcement. Ranma pulled a thermos of water out of her bag and poured it over her head, triggering the transformation. The class as a whole looked shocked, except for the five people currently in the room who already knew the truth. Several people gasped in surprise. In front of their eyes, the attractive, red-haired girl that they had spent the last several months getting to know had turned into the young man that they had last seen some weeks ago in a passionate kiss with Akane Tendo. As one, they all turned to look at Akane, who turned a bright red under the disbelieving stares of her classmates. Several of the boys looked positively green as they realized that the girl they had been secretly obsessing over was a boy, and many of the girls were looking at Akane with a speculative look in their eyes.
"The reason that I pretended to be a girl for the previous term is because of Akane. Our parents had arranged a marriage for us before we were born, but neither of us was ready for that. When I came to her house to meet her, I went in my cursed form, so Akane asked me to help fool her father. He thought I was a girl. Hiding the truth from him allowed the two of us to become friends without the pressure of being forced into an unwanted engagement," Ranma said.
Akane giggled and the class looked at her in surprise. She said, "Of course, we then promptly fell in love and he asked me to marry him."
Ranma grinned sheepishly and added, "Now that we are engaged, there's no reason for me to hide what I really am. I hope you can forgive me for the trick I pulled. If you want to know more, check with Nabiki at lunch. And that's all I'm gonna say about this!" He turned to the open-mouthed instructor and said, "Thank you, sir. I'll let you have your class back now, though it may be a while before you can start the lesson." He walked over to his desk, and sat down, trying to ignore the buzz of conversation that started up.
Akane smiled at him, and then added, "Please don't let Tatewaki Kuno know about this. He is trying to get over his obsession with Ranma and myself, and his doctor believes that if he finds out that one of the girls he was obsessed with is actually a boy, that it would have a bad affect on him. While I can't say I like him very much right now, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
Fortunately for Ranma and Akane, there was a slight commotion at the door that dragged the attention of the class away from them. There, standing in the doorway, was an attractive, brown-haired girl, wearing a modified version of the girl's school uniform, her face surprised by the fact that Ranma was in class as a male. The class quickly recognized her by the trademark small spatulas displayed in two bandoliers across the girl's chest, as well as by the large handle jutting up past one shoulder. Ukyo walked over to her desk and sat down. The teacher simply put his head down on his desk and gave up. "Go ahead, get it out of your system," he said as he banged his head on the desktop, again wondering why he ever decided to teach.
Quickly several of the girls gathered around Akane and began asking her questions. At first, Akane was okay with answering them, but the rapidly spreading blush appearing on her cheeks was evidence that she was quickly becoming embarrassed. Then she slammed her hands down on her desk, and said, "That's enough! Just leave me alone!"
Ranma was also getting interrogated by several of his classmates, or at least, an attempt was made. One glare from his eyes, however, cowed all but the bravest of the questioners. That unfortunate boy, who forgot that sometimes discretion is indeed the better part of valor, Ranma took care of. He began to glow, his battle aura showing. The poor lad suffering under that attention suddenly realized that he was all alone, and had to ask permission suddenly to head to the boy's bathroom.
Ukyo was left mostly alone, since all of the students knew that she was actually a girl who just liked to dress in a boy's uniform. That had been discovered her first full day, first by the off-hand remark that Ranma had made about her being a girl. That comment had flashed across the homeroom, with all the speed that rumors normally had, helped along of course by Nabiki and her band of agents, and was later confirmed when she showed up in the girl's gym class. Several of the boys did pass her notes, all of them asking her out for next Saturday. She merely wadded them up, getting her message across.
Finally the instructor had enough, and stood up. "Attention," he said loudly, "Anyone who can't get ready for this lesson will have detention." The class immediately stilled. "Thank you. Now if there aren't any more surprises awaiting us, let's get started," he said in the quiet. He turned to the blackboard and began his lecture.
Fortunately for the two of them, the day had turned out to be a spectacularly gorgeous, sunny day, without a cloud in the sky. Ranma and Akane headed out to the schoolyard for lunch, finding their favorite tree, where their friends quickly joined them.
Ukyo walked up to Ranma, who frowned slightly at her approach. She said, softly, "Ranma, I'd like to apologize for slapping you the other day. My only excuse is that I was tired and became overwrought."
"I understand, Ukyo," Ranma said, "I knew you weren't gonna like hearing what I had to say. I really wouldn't blame you if you hated me just now."
Ukyo grimaced, and replied, "You were just telling me what you've told me all along. It just hurts to realize that you don't want me as your wife, in spite of the agreement between our fathers and him taking the dowry."
Yuka turned an accusing eye on Ranma and asked, "How could you do that to her? Or to Akane for that matter? How could you get engaged to Akane if you were promised to another?"
"It's not like that, Yuka," Ranma said angrily, "Pop and Mr. Tendo had the agreement first. I was promised to one of the Tendo girls before any of us were ever born. We didn't meet Ukyo or her father until I was six; Pop should never have done what he did, and I didn't know anything about it. Hell, I thought Ukyo was a boy, a friend, up until she showed up here. You can't imagine how shocked I was to find out that not only was Ukyo a girl, but that my idiot of a Pop had arranged a marriage to her, and worse yet accepted her dowry."
"And by the time she showed up, Ranma and I had already fallen in love and become engaged," Akane said, "When Ukyo arrived, and we found out what Mr. Saotome had done, Ranma made it perfectly clear that he was not interested in Ukyo that way."
"So the person I should be upset with because he screwed up my life is his father, not Ranma," Ukyo added. She sighed bitterly and added, "And it's my fault for listening to that idiot when I found him in jail."
Ranma looked carefully at Ukyo and noticed for the first time that she was attempting to hide some bags under her eyes, and some signs of strain. "Have you been sleeping okay? You look like you're exhausted," he asked.
"Sugar, I haven't been sleeping well all break. Between running the restaurant by myself, and well, you know, you, I've been tossing and turning all night," Ukyo replied, quietly. She sighed again and said, "This isn't what I imagined happening when I came to Nerima."
"Sorry, Ukyo, I didn't know," Ranma said, sadly, "We did kind of desert you all break, what with the trips we took. I never stopped to think that you wouldn't get much of a chance to relax while we were gone. Mom enjoyed working at the Nekohaten while we were gone, so she was planning on stopping by and seeing if you could use some help. It's the least we can do to make up for what Pop did to you. She would have asked when you first showed up, but what with helping with the wedding and all, she didn't have time until now."
"I know, we talked some at the reception before I went to find you," Ukyo said, "She starts today, though she's making me expand my menu. Said something about man can not live by okonomiyaki alone. Not sure I understand what she means by that, but." She shrugged her shoulders. She turned to Ranma and said, "I'm still not okay with this, Ranchan, but I don't want to lose the friend I had. If all I can be is your friend, then I'll have to settle for that." 'Anything else I say will drive him away from me altogether and I'll never be able to win him back,' she thought.
Ranma's face relaxed into a smile and he said, "I do want you as my friend." He reached out tentatively with one hand, and asked, "Friends?"
Ukyo grabbed his hand and pulled him into a brief hug, and said, "Yes, friends. And remember, my friends call me Ucchan." She turned to Akane and hugged her also.
"Not that I'm complaining, Ukyo, but why did you decide to start wearing a dress to school?" Hiroshi asked. He received a death glare from his girlfriend, as well as a sharp poke in the side from her elbow.
"A couple of friends told me the other day that they thought I looked attractive in a dress," Ukyo replied, her face heating up in what looked like a painful blush, "So I, uh, decided to change. Especially after the talk I had with Ranchan."
Akane smiled at her and said, quietly, "See, we were right. You should wear a skirt more often. Just look at all of those guys who wrote you notes in class. Give yourself a chance with one of them, you might surprise yourself."
The relative peace and quiet came to an end as several more of their classmates came to join them. One of them evidently had been elected to serve as their spokesman, and asked, "Can we talk to the two of you?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and looked at Akane. She bit her lip in indecision and then nodded her head. "Sure, go ahead, Hitome," he said.
"What's it like?" Hitome blurted out.
Ranma sighed and replied, "It's hard to describe. Think about it yourself though. What do you think it would feel like if all of a sudden you changed into a boy? When body parts disappear, and others show up, your body chemistry changes some, and you change size drastically. And through it all, your personality doesn't change."
"We've talked to Nabiki and found out why you hid who you were," Hitome's friend Kaori said, "I guess I understand why you did it."
"What do you mean? It was so romantic," Megumi gushed, "Pretending to be a girl just to be with the woman he loved."
"And it certainly explains the strange looks, and touches, which caused all of those rumors back in the spring about you two," Hitome said, "While we haven't been the closest of friends, Ranma, you stood up for the Rhythmic Gymnastics team and helped us out. We don't care that you're really a guy. We just think that Akane is real lucky."
Ranma smiled and said, "I think I'm the lucky one. Thanks for accepting us."
Hitome looked a little worried and said, "Some of the guys aren't real happy. I guess finding out that one of the girls that you'd been drooling over was really a boy has got to be a bit disconcerting. There was a few that made a beeline to the boy's restroom, and came out looking pretty pale. And of course, a few of them are making the usual rude comments because you're a girl sometimes and engaged to Akane."
Ranma looked a bit disgusted as he replied, "Well, you know that a lot of boys have perverted thoughts." 'And if I find out who's making the comments, they're dead,' he thought, his face taking on a feral look for a second.
Akane squeezed the hand she was holding and said, "Don't worry about them making comments. Some of them are just angry that we're together."
Kaori replied, "Well, now the girls will have someone they can drool over." She giggled.
Ranma looked blank.
"She's talking about you, baka," Akane said.
Ranma looked pained and said, "Just so long as they realize that I'm taken."
"You've got that right," Akane said happily, as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
The lunch period came to a close, so the group stood up and headed toward the school building. All conversations ceased as the students scattered around the school yard saw Akane walking toward the school building with the young man that they had seen near the end of last term, followed by their friends. The fact that she was engaged had become widely known, but the name of her fiancé had strangely been unknown until now. As soon as class had been over, the members of their homeroom had scattered and told everyone they met the odd tale. And then the information that Nabiki had provided (at a nominal fee, of course) had told anyone who was curious the full details of the bizarre tale, as well as warning to keep it from Kuno. The look that Nabiki had given them had promised untold harm would befall anyone who did tell the kendoist.
Ranma sighed in relief as they neared the building. He had worried all morning that they might run into Kuno, but so far there had been no signs of him. Just as they were nearing the door, however, Kuno stepped out of the building. However, this was a different Kuno. No longer wearing his Samurai robes, instead he was dressed in the school uniform, granted a well-tailored version of the same, and his once haughty manner appeared to be missing.
"Kuno," Ranma hissed under his breath. His eyes flashed angrily for a moment.
"Hello, Tendo-sama," Kuno said, bowing his head as a measure of respect, "Where is your companion, the beauteous Saotome-sama? I wish to speak to her."
"Kuno, I'm afraid that she won't be coming around here often," Akane replied carefully, "The events of the last several weeks have affected her greatly, and she decided to leave this school."
A pained look flashed across Kuno's face as he said, "Alas, I had feared that I might have driven her away. I could tell at our last conversation that my presence was causing her great discomfort. When you see her again, tell her that I apologize again for my misdeeds, and that the counseling that I am undergoing has caused me to realize that I have been a fool for many months. As to my actions toward you, Tendo-sama, again, I apologize for what my foolish actions did to you, also." He turned to Ranma and said, an odd look on his face, "You must be Tendo-sama's fiancé. I am Tatewaki Kuno, upperclassman. Congratulations on your engagement. All I ask is that you prove to be worthy of her."
"Yes, I'm her fiancé, the other Ranma Saotome," Ranma replied, a surprised note in his voice, "And yes, I certainly intend to try to be worthy of her."
"Are you perchance related to the wondrous Saotome-sama?" Kuno asked.
Akane giggled.
Ranma paused for a moment and then replied, "You could say that. We share the same parents. And she's also the reason I was able to meet Akane. You might say it's because of her that Akane and I are engaged. And yes, I know what happened between the two of you. I doubt I need to spell it out to you what would happen if you tried again. Assuming she left you alive."
"She is your sister!" Kuno exclaimed. His face froze and then he bowed, "Then I have wronged you as well, Saotome-sama. Please accept my humble apology, and be assured that she has nothing to fear from me in that regard. I will never again attempt to force my attentions on someone."
"I have been told that you weren't completely responsible for what happened that night," Ranma said.
"Ranma, we're about to be late," Akane interrupted.
"We shall talk later," Kuno said, "I wish to avoid angering the spirited Tendo-sama any more than I already have.
Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and ran upstairs to their homeroom.
That afternoon, Ranma went to the class the he was actually dreading. Surprisingly, since he actually enjoyed gym class more than any other. But this would be the first time that he was attending gym as a guy at Furinkan, and he just knew that he was going to have problems with all of the boys in his homeroom. Even Hiroshi and Daisuke still hadn't quite gotten the message that he wouldn't show them what he looked like as a girl. He smiled somewhat ruefully as he thought, 'Yeah, I can just imagine Akane's reaction if she found out that I had flashed my breasts at the guys. Calling me a pervert would be the kindest thing she would say. Not going down that path, not if I can help it.' As he approached the door to the locker room, the coach met him.
"Mr. Saotome, I just had an interesting meeting with your homeroom teacher, the assistant principal and Miss Nabiki Tendo. They told me that you are the same person who has been going to school as Miss Ranma Saotome," the coach said, "Is that true?"
Ranma rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and replied, "Yessir, it is. I have a curse that turns me into a girl when I get splashed with cold water. And the change is complete. It reverses with hot water, and I return to the gender I was born with."
"That presents a problem. The first is of course that while the male students of this high school are by and large honorable, they are still male," the coach began.
Ranma looked at him and then said, wryly, "Teenage males at that, with plenty of hormones."
"Er, uh, yes.. And because of that, more than likely they will try to get you wet when you are undressed," the coach said, "And I can't see you attending the girls' gym class anymore. Even if you continue to bypass the girls' locker room, it still would make many of the girls uncomfortable. Now that we know about the curse, I do have to commend you for not attempting to take advantage of it and sneak into the girls' locker room."
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Thank you. It wouldn't have been honorable to try." He chuckled and then said with that same wry smile, "Not to mention hazardous to my continued good health, since Akane always knew my secret, and I did have every intention to come forward. So I didn't want any of the girls to think I had done something perverted and seen them undressed."
"True, I can understand you not wanting Akane Tendo angry with you," the coach agreed with an understanding smile. He hesitated and then said, "The only solution that we came up with is for you to attend the boys' gym, but use the teacher's locker room. There are private showers and changing rooms in there. I trust that you will not abuse the privilege."
"Thank you, sir," Ranma replied, with a great deal of feeling, "It will be difficult enough to deal with the guys in my class without having to worry about dodging cold water in the locker room."
"Okay, then enough about that, go get changed for class," the coach ordered.
Ranma turned and walked over to the door marked, 'Teacher's Locker Room,' and opened the door and walked in.
As Ranma came out of the locker room, he saw the rest of the class had appeared and were standing around waiting for the gym coach to line them up and take roll. The boys were talking amongst themselves, with Hiroshi and Daisuke doing much of the talking. He headed over to join them, and as he approached, the buzz of conversation stopped. He saw that they were all exchanging wary glances, and said, "Okay, why don't we get all of the questions out of the way. There will be a lot of things that I won't answer though because they're none of your business."
The boys exchanged uneasy looks, except for his two friends Daisuke and Hiroshi. Finally, one of them said, "We've talked with Daisuke and Hiroshi. They've answered a few questions, but you have to admit, this is kinda weird. I know I'm having a hard time with this."
Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and replied, "I can sort of understand that. If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't have believed it myself."
"I guess the hardest part was you made such a believable girl," the boy continued, "It's embarrassing now when I think about some of the things I was thinking."
"Well, I was trying pretty hard to be a girl. I guess by now you've found out the reasons why, but Akane is worth everything I did," Ranma said, "And I wouldn't worry about what you were thinking. I imagine it was what most red-blooded teenage boys would be thinking about a good-looking girl." He smiled wryly and added, "Just don't think those thoughts any more, is all I ask."
"Well, what's it like?" a second boy asked, from the back of the crowd.
Ranma asked, "What's what like?"
"Being with Akane," the boy responded, "I mean, she is one of the hottest girls in school, and you won her."
"First of all, she's not a prize to be won. She's a person with feelings. That's why she would never have gone out with any of the ones that were trying to fight her every morning. She is a lot of fun to be with. We spend a lot of time together training in the art, though I still have to hold back some, but given enough time she'll be better than most anyone I've seen," Ranma replied.
"No, I was actually asking about the romantic part," the boy replied.
"Yeah, have you two done it yet?" a third boy asked.
A wave of cold air came swirling around them, and Ranma's eyes flashed angrily. He asked, biting off each word, "And exactly why do you think you need to know that? It's none of your business. We haven't and won't until we are married. And that is the last question on that kind of topic that I will answer. If someone asks another one like that, he will need to eat his next several meals though a straw, and then once he heals, he'll be acceptable as a harem guard for an Arabian Sheik." The cold menace in his voice caused all of the boys to gulp and take one step back.
Ranma made his way home from his afternoon at the clinic, realizing that he still had not talked to Cologne about working at the restaurant. 'I wonder if she's even made it back from China,' he thought. As he passed by one of the houses on the street, he felt the familiar transformation occur as the aged woman watering her sidewalk splashed him. Looking up into the sky, she cursed under her breath at the old lady who had successfully sprayed her. After a moment, her mouth quirked in a brief, rueful, smile as she thought, 'Oh well, it's not like I didn't spend a lot of time as a girl last term, but it's still no fun being a water magnet.'
As she neared her house, her sharp ears heard the sound of someone crying in the walled lot she was passing. Her curiosity aroused, Ranma leapt to the top of the wall to see a young woman, with her back to the street, her long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail on one side of her head. The young woman was weeping uncontrollably.
Never one to be able to see a girl cry, Ranma hopped down to the ground and hurried over to the huddled figure. "Miss," she said softly, "Can I help you?"
The girl started in surprise, as she had been so lost in her misery that she hadn't heard Ranma's approach. She turned to face Ranma.
Ranma gasped as she recognized the pale face of Kodachi the Black Rose, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders heaving with her crying. "Kodachi, what's wrong?" Ranma asked, as she sank to the ground next to the young woman, her voice filled with concern.
Kodachi began hiccoughing, as she tried to talk. "It's Msu Tse," she wailed.
"What's happened between the two of you?" Ranma asked, "I thought the two of you were happy together. Did he dump you?"
Kodachi hesitated and then replied, "No, it's worse! He was hiding a secret from me! And I panicked when I found out."
Ranma gulped and said, "What secret was that? I thought you knew he kind of liked Shampoo?"
Kodachi angrily dashed the tears from her eyes and replied, "That brainless bimbo! No, that wasn't it; he picked me over her weeks ago. No, I found out that he -." She stopped and then said, "You won't believe me. You'll think I'm a lunatic if I tell you."
"You'd be surprised at what I'd believe, Kodachi," Ranma said dryly, "I've seen and heard many strange things."
"Promise me that you won't think I'm crazy," Kodachi begged, her eyes pleading for understanding.
"Sure, I promise to listen and not think you're crazy," Ranma agreed.
"We were, uh, in my bedroom last night, and uh, well, things got a little carried away, and we knocked over a glass of water which spilled all over us. Before my eyes, my beloved Msu Tse turned into a white duck. I panicked and ran away. When I came back, he was gone, and I can't find him," Kodachi said, daring Ranma to laugh at her.
Ranma thought quickly and said, "I believe you, Kodachi. I knew that Mousse had a Jusenkyo curse, but it was his secret to tell you. I wish you had found out a better way. That's got to be a horrible way for you to find out."
"What do you mean a Jusenkyo curse?" Kodachi asked.
Ranma replied, "There's a valley in China called Jusenkyo that is an ancient martial arts training ground. The problem is that the valley floor is filled with cursed springs. If you fall into one of them, you are cursed to turn into whatever drowned in the pool. Cold water triggers the curse, and hot water restores you to your original form. And of course, you become a cold water magnet, at least until you embrace the curse."
Kodachi looked at her with eyes filled with hope, and asked, trembling, "You mean there is a cure? Msu Tse isn't lost to me?"
"There's not really a cure, at least not for men. They don't have a location for a spring of drowned boy. But, I can assure you that Mousse is still the same person, whether he's human or duck. Believe me, I know that for a fact," she said, with a gentle laugh. "You just have to decide if you can accept him the way he is," Ranma replied, her voice gentle. She hesitated, and then asked, "But why are you here?"
Kodachi started. She began trembling as she remembered the despair she had been feeling as she fled her empty bedchamber, her eyes filling with tears again. "I searched all over for him. When I went by the Nekohaten, that bimbo was there and was very hateful and refused to help me. I just started wandering aimlessly after that, and then ended up here," Kodachi replied. She turned to Ranma, bitter tears still falling, and cried, "But I don't know how I can face him after what I did!"
Ranma, seeing that, reached out tentatively with both arms. Kodachi fell gratefully into her arms, and began crying on her shoulder. Ranma asked, softly, "Do you love him that much, Kodachi?"
"Yes, I do. I don't think I can bear to live without him," Kodachi replied, through her sobs.
"Then you need to tell him that, and that you accept him in spite of his curse. You'd be surprised at just how much hearing those words from you will make things right," Ranma said firmly, "If you can do that, you can work out the rest. He'll forgive you, I think, for bolting on him when you first saw the curse. After all, what normal person wouldn't be shocked at something like that happening? Now, why don't we go look for him?"
"You would help me?" Kodachi asked, "I haven't been the nicest person towards you or your friend Akane."
Ranma chuckled briefly and replied, "Kodachi, you'd be surprised at how much I want to see the two of you together. Come on, let's go find your boyfriend." She rose and pulled Kodachi to her feet. Then, holding her hand, she led Kodachi away from the vacant, overgrown lot, and headed towards the Nekohaten.
"I thought we'd start at the Nekohaten, Kodachi," Ranma said calmly.
"I told you that I went there. That bimbo said she hadn't seen him," Kodachi protested.
Ranma smirked, and replied, "It's still a place to start. I need to talk to Cologne; that is if she's back from China. And he doesn't have that many friends here in Nerima. Besides, Shampoo might be a bit more interested in helping you when she finds out that you're my friend."
"Friend? Are we friends, Ranma?" Kodachi asked softly.
Ranma quirked a smile and replied, "There's no real reason why we shouldn't be, Kodachi, aside from you being just a little bit crazy. I'm used to craziness in my life, so a little more won't be a problem."
Kodachi asked, suddenly remembering something, "I thought you left Nerima. Brother dearest said that you weren't going to Furinkan anymore this afternoon when he came home from school."
Ranma giggled, and replied, "No, I'm still around. He just doesn't recognize me anymore."
"How could he not recognize you? You look the same to me," Kodachi asked.
"Because I won't be going to school looking like this," Ranma replied, "He just hasn't made the connection yet."
"What do you look like then, if not like this?" Kodachi asked, puzzled, with a look that said she hadn't quite made the connection.
"Think about it for a while, Kodachi. You're a bright girl," Ranma replied, having fun with Kodachi.
Then they reached the Nekohaten and Ranma politely opened the door.
As they entered the café, Cologne hopped over to greet them. "Hello, sonny boy," she said.
"Hello, Elder. I'm glad to see you're back from your trip. I'd like to know what happened when we have a bit longer to talk," Ranma began.
"Actually, I haven't gone yet, though we put Happosai in a safe place," Cologne replied, "I wasn't about to miss Kasumi's wedding. And I don't believe I've had a chance to go through the old perverts backpack yet. It seems to have disappeared."
"That's odd, I didn't remember seeing you there," Ranma said.
Cologne cackled and said, "Sonny boy, I don't think you were looking at anyone but Akane."
Kodachi looked puzzled for a moment, and then the frown lines in her forehead disappeared asseveral of the things she had heard and seen suddenly made sense.
"Kodachi was hoping that Mousse had returned. Have you seen him?" Ranma asked.
Cologne replied, "Yes, he's here, but I'm not sure that he wants to see her."
Kodachi fell on her knees and pleaded, "I need to see him. I have to apologize for my reaction."
Ranma pulled her to her feet and said, "Don't grovel, Kodachi. Amazons don't respect people who do."
"I don't mind a little humility, sonny boy," Cologne said with a cackle.
At that moment, Mousse walked in from the back. His eyes narrowed in jealousy as he saw Kodachi holding hands with Ranma.
Kodachi's face lit up as she saw Mousse.
"Saotome," he growled, "Let go of my girlfriend."
"Hey, duck-boy," Ranma taunted. Then she relented and said, "It's not like that. She was wanting help to find you is all." She released Kodachi's hand.
Kodachi ran over and hugged Mousse, crying on his shoulder, and said, "I'm sorry Msu Tse. Please forgive me for running out on you like that. But how could you have hidden something like that from me?"
Mousse turned her face toward him and gazed at her, his beautiful eyes expressive and replied, "I'll forgive you so long as you forgive me for not telling you about my curse. I was so afraid that you would reject me, and then when it happened, and you ran, I thought my worst fears had come true."
"It was just the shock of finding out the way I did," Kodachi said sadly, "I handled it very badly."
"Saotome, thanks for bringing her here," Mousse said.
Kodachi walked over to Ranma and hugged her. She said, "Thank you, pig-tailed boy. Tell Akane she's lucky to have you."
"What? You know?" Ranma said in shock.
"I may be a bit crazy, Ranma, but I'm not stupid like my brother. You knew entirely too much about a Jusenkyo curse for it to be a casual interest, and you kept your name. Then the Elder confirmed it when she kept calling you 'sonny boy.' That's entirely too many clues," Kodachi replied, "I think it's only fitting that my deluded brother can't face the fact that he was in love with a man."
"Don't remind me, Kodachi," Ranma said, in disgust, "It's amazing how clueless he really is."
Kodachi giggled and replied, "I don't know if he's really clueless or just in denial. It would be a blow to his concept of masculinity to think that he had feelings for another man, even if at the time he thought you were a girl." She hesitated and then asked, "Now that I know the truth, do you still want to be friends?"
"I meant what I said, Kodachi," Ranma replied, "I don't know if you have many friends, but I would be honored to be one of them." Then she smirked, and added, "Just don't start chasing after my guy side again, that's all I ask."
Kodachi laughed richly and replied, "You flatter yourself, Ranma darling. I was never that interested in you; it was more just to annoy Akane. And that's just not worth doing anymore. I have the man I want, and chasing you to irritate Akane would just anger him. I heard the jealousy in his voice when he walked in and saw you with me. That's good enough for me." Kodachi leaned in and kissed Ranma, and whispered, "But it would have been exciting, the two of us." She broke out laughing at the expression on the other girl's face and said, "Just teasing, you're too easy. Now go back home to your fiancée. You should be holding her, not me."
Ranma smiled and said, "If you're sure you're all right now."
Kodachi walked over and grasped Mousse's arm, and replied, "I am now."
"Cologne, could I trouble you for some warm water?" Ranma asked.
Cologne handed her a teakettle and replied, "Certainly, Ranma."
Kodachi watched in fascination as Ranma poured the warm water over her head and saw the transformation for the first time. "That is so weird," she said.
"You should see it from where Mousse and I sit," Ranma said, dryly. Then he added, "I'm not sure your brother is ready to take the truth, yet, Kodachi. His doctor knows about this and is afraid that it might send him completely over the edge."
Kodachi smiled and said, "I won't tell him then. Believe it or not, I do care for the idiot."
Ranma grinned and said, "I think I do believe you, Kodachi. See you around then. Take good care of her, Mousse." He turned to Cologne and asked, "I need to ask you another favor, Elder. It's a bit delicate, so could we get a little privacy?"
Cologne looked at him in some surprise, and replied, "Certainly, sonny boy. But the tribe owes you a great debt of gratitude for capturing Happosai. Just come into the kitchen, Shampoo is up in her room, probably flirting with son-in-law, and I'm sure we can leave Mousse and Kodachi to their own amusements."
Ranma chuckled as both Mousse and Kodachi blushed bright red. Then Kodachi asked, "Is that a command, Honorable Elder?"
Cologne cackled and said, "You found a spirited one there, Mousse." She led Ranma into the kitchen. "Okay, spill it, sonny boy. What do you need? Potions?"
Ranma smiled and said, "No, actually I need a better paying job than the one I have right now. Doc can't really pay me any more than he is; he takes in a lot of charity cases, or gets paid in barter. You know how he is, he can't turn anyone away."
"That's one of the things I like the most about him," Cologne replied. She asked, "But why do you need to earn some money?"
"Well, I spent a lot of what I had saved up on Akane's ring, which was well worth what I spent. But now, I need to pay for a mortgage on a building," Ranma said. He frowned, and added, "I can't give Ukyo back her yatai, since I have no idea where Pop got rid of it, so I want to buy the building that her restaurant is in and give it to her."
"I heard the story from your mother. She wasn't too happy with Saotome," Cologne said. Then she asked, "Are you willing to work as a waitress?"
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The tips would be better as a waitress, so yeah, I can do that. Ryoga's gotten comfortable with seeing me as a girl, so that shouldn't be an issue anymore."
"All right, I can use some one else," Cologne said, "Especially since I think I'm about to lose what little service Mousse provided, and I really shudder to trust Ryoga and his sense of direction."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. I can start next week if that's okay with you," Ranma said.
"That would be fine," Cologne said.
Ranma grinned and said, "Thanks, again. I'll bring over the backpack tomorrow, if I remember. It's in a safe place, where Pop can't get to it. Goodnight, Elder."
"Good, if our treasures are indeed in there, it would be bad for them to fall into the wrong hands. I just hope that Happosai never figured out how to use any of them," Cologne said.
Ranma nodded his head in agreement, shuddering as he remembered some of the things that Happosai had tried to do. He was just glad that because of the change in the timeline, the old pervert would never get the chance to try. He bowed politely, and then turned and walked out the door.
'Good, Shampoo never chased me, Kodachi is done chasing me. Now all I have to do is be sure Ukyo has given up one me, and no more unwanted fiancées. I think she's just changed her tactics. Happosai is taken care of. This weekend, we don't have school, so maybe I can go looking for Konatsu,' Ranma thought as he raced through the streets of Nerima heading for the place he had come to call home.
The next day at lunch, Ranma and Akane were again joined by their friends beneath the shade of what had become known as THEIR tree. Ukyo again was dressed in her version of the girl's uniform, and was quickly cooking several okonomiyakis. As they were about to eat, Ranma looked up to see the young man from the beach approach them.
"Hello, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Souta Higurashi," the young man said in introduction.
Akane smiled and replied, "Yes, I remember you. My sister Nabiki said that you were in her class and had something to do with the Drama Club."
"It's nice to see the real you, Ranma. I have to admit it was quite a surprise to find out that the attractive red-haired girl that I met sunning on the beach was really a boy. The bulletin that Nabiki was selling however was very persuasive," Souta said. Then an attractive smile appearing on his face, he asked, "And who is this vision of loveliness?"
Ukyo blushed and she mumbled, "Uh, Ukyo Kuonji."
"Well, Miss Kuonji, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm glad you decided to join our school," Souta said pleasantly. He smiled warmly and asked, "I was wondering if I could persuade you to give me some training in martial arts, Ranma? I understand from Nabiki Tendo that you might be in a position to start taking students soon."
Ranma looked thoughtfully at the young man. "I really haven't had a chance to give it much thought. I just became the Grand Master of the school, so while I'm able to take students now, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to teach," Ranma finally replied.
"Why are interested in learning our school?" Akane asked.
Souta tapped his fingers together in a nervous gesture and then replied, "I believe I told you I did some kendo. Well, it struck me that I ought to learn some unarmed fighting techniques to add to my acting repertoire. That would help me stand out when I start actively trying out for roles later on. From what I have heard, you are one of the best, and I only want to learn from the best."
Ranma smirked and replied, "Well, I have to admit, in all modesty, that I am the best."
Akane giggled and asked, "In all modesty, huh?" Ranma rubbed his side where she had elbowed him.
"Don't worry," Souta rushed to assure them, "I do not want to learn anything that you wouldn't willingly want a student to learn."
"I'll have to think about it, Higurashi," Ranma said, "And get back to you. I'm going to be busy for a little while, so I don't have a lot of free time, and I doubt you'd like it if I inflicted Pop on you."
"Well, just let me know," Souta said, "I'll see all of you around." He smiled warmly at Ukyo, who again blushed.
"Hm, I think someone has an admirer," Sayuri teased.
Shampoo grinned hugely, and said, "Spatula Girl go on hunt, catch boy."
"Wait, it's not like that," Ukyo stammered, "He was just being friendly."
"Oh, I don't know," Hiroshi said, "I think he liked something he saw, and since you're the only unattached female, I bet it's you."
"B-b-but, I'm," Ukyo said, flushing. Then she sighed, and said, "I guess he's cute. But I'm not interested in him." 'Besides, I AM TOO taken,' she thought, 'He's just too blind to see that I'm the one for him!'
Ranma walked into the Nekohaten, carrying the backpack he had retrieved from the cave. "Hi Cologne," he said, "I brought this by. Sorry I forgot to give it to you last week,"
"That's okay, sonny boy. I know you had a lot on your mind, and I was busy with Happosai, anyway. No harm done, at least so long as your idiot of a father didn't get into it," Cologne replied.
"He didn't have a chance," Ranma replied, "I had Kasumi hide it in her room. That's about the only place he wouldn't go in. Well, he wouldn't go in Nabiki's either, but I wasn't sure she wouldn't look in it. She probably didn't need to see any off this either."
Cologne motioned him to follow her as she led him upstairs to her room. Ushering him in, she said, "Okay, let's see what's in there."
Cologne watched in anticipation as Ranma began to explore the contents of the old freak's backpack. He undid the flap on the top of the pack, and started pulling out the contents. After digging through more women's underwear than was in most lingerie shops, Ranma finally found a few things that looked odd to him. One he recognized as the Nanban mirror, and he handed that to Cologne.
Cologne saw the flare of recognition in Ranma's eyes as he handed her the mirror. She found that curious, but put it aside as Ranma handed her a jeweled girdle that she recognized as one of the lost treasures, the famous girdle of Hippolyte. Then she saw a golden circlet that she grabbed quickly out of Ranma's hands. After he pulled out several more items, that Cologne rapidly removed from his hands, he finally emptied the pack of all of its contents.
"Is that everything?" Cologne asked.
Ranma scattered the lingerie,scrolls and booksaround the bed, and replied, "I don't see anything else. Is there a treasure missing?"
"There should be a small bracelet," Cologne replied.
Ranma looked again, and shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't look like it's here," he replied, "Maybe the old freak lost it." He picked up the several dozen scrolls and handful of books that had been mixed up in the underwear, and placed them back in the pack. Ranma held his breath, hoping she had missed his reaction when she talked about the bracelet.
"Thanks for bringing this by. Again, my people are in your debt, sonny boy," Cologne said. She looked thoughtfully at the young man and then said, "I'm a little curious about the match with Happosai. You seemed to beat him a lot easier than I expected you to. I know you're good, but he's better."
Ranma looked embarrassed as he stared at the floor for a few moments. Then he looked at Cologne and replied, "Well, you see, it's like this. It's called the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts for a reason. I sorta cheated. Well, maybe that's a bit strong, but I deliberately challenged him as soon as we freed him from the cave. I definitely didn't want him to be able to regain whatever strength he might have lost from being cooped up in that cavern for however many years it was."
"But where did you learn the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion point?" she asked.
Ranma smiled at her and said, "I knew I needed an edge against the old freak. It's not like I haven't been thinking about confronting him, and I did work a bit of a plan out with Nabiki. I mean if Pop and Mr. Tendo were that scared of him, I knew he had to be pretty tough. I studied shiatsu points with Doc, and that was in one of his books. I just forgot that's where I learned it from until I talked to Doc. He reminded me about him showing me the page in one of his books of exotic pressure points. When you taught me the Splitting Cat Hairs technique and I was able to merge it with the ki-masking part of the Umi Ken Sen, I thought I could get close enough to use the moxibustion point."
Cologne grumbled for a moment and then said, "I should have realized that. The good doctor and I really need to have a conversation. I think he has much wisdom to share, and they're a few things that I can teach him in exchange for it. But why were you so prepared for him? You didn't even blink when he taunted you about the Hiryű Shōten Ha."
"Oh, uh, well," Ranma stammered, "I just figured that he had to know about it. I mean he's been fighting your people for a long time. But after listening to you, Pop and Mr. Tendo talk about how perverted he is I just knew that he couldn't control his lust if I showed him girlie pictures. And I couldn't ask anyone to pose for them, so I used my own female form." He smiled briefly, and asked, "I can just imagine what her reaction would be if I asked Akane to pose. Changing the subject, just where is the old freak, anyway?"
"Oh, I have him in a cage down in the basement. Now that I have these treasures, I'll go on back to the village where he can be judged. After that, I'll be coming back. I haven't had this much fun in years, so I figured I'd stick around for a while just to see what else happens to you," the elder replied.
"Now I know my function in life," Ranma said with a smile, "I'm here to provide amusement to an old woman."
"And what's wrong with that?" Cologne asked.
Ranma chuckled and said, "Well, I'm glad I'm good for something. I'd better head on home, Cologne. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, sonny boy," Cologne said. She watched him leave with an odd speculative look on her face. 'He's still hiding something,' she thought, 'I'll have to think about that some more after dealing with the old man.'
Nabiki sat down next to Ranma and Akane in the family room, her usual impassive demeanor missing as she said, "Ranma, I want to thank you. I haven't earned this much money in a long time, and it's all because of you."
"What?" Ranma asked in surprise.
"All of the kids at school had to find out all about your story," Nabiki replied, "And since you sent them to me, I was able to clean up." She handed him a small stack of bills, and said, "This is your cut."
Ranma looked surprised for a second and then took the money. "Thanks, big sis. So what's the scoop on how things are going at school?" He thought, 'What's with Nabiki? She never cut me in on any of the money she made off of me before. Of course, she's not the same person either.' As he pondered the differences between this Nabiki and the one that had destroyed his wedding, his eyes widened as he realized, 'How many times did she have to sell a piece of her soul to earn enough money to pay for all of the damage that happened because of me and Pop? Is that what the difference is? She hasn't had to work as hard because the Nerima Wrecking Crew! That's got to be it!'
Nabiki replied, "Well, of the students that are actually in your homeroom, most of them seem to be okay with the fact that you're really a guy that changes into a girl." She thought for a second and then continued, "Maybe okay is a bit strong. They all think it's weird. There are few, mostly guys, that aren't very comfortable with it. I suspect those are the ones that were having interesting dreams about the female you. And one or two of the girls were a little squeamish about it, though they admitted you never took advantage of being a girl and wandering into the girls' locker room. The other homerooms, since they really didn't have much interaction with you, are kind of neutral on the whole thing. After all, with the exception of the pig-tailed girl facing off against Kuno most of the term, you didn't make that much of an impression. Well, other than some of the guys looking for pictures of you.I remember them beingpretty disappointed when I told them that they weren't getting any from me. And then with the exception of some of the guys that used to fight Akane. There were a lot of rude remarks about the two of you, but then you sort of put a stop to that with what you said to the guys in your gym class."
"Oh, what did you say?" Akane asked.
Ranma rubbed his neck and replied, "Well, some of the guys were asking about how far we had gone." He looked a bit worried as Akane began to glow with anger. "I, uh, basically told them it wasn't any of their business, and that the next guy who asked a question or made a remark like that would regret it. I, uh, basically said that I'd break their jaw, and then once that was healed, they'd be missing a certain portion of their anatomy," he said quickly.
Akane looked blank as Nabiki said, "What he means is he'd castrate them, sis."
Akane looked at her sister, then at Ranma, and then to their surprise, started laughing in glee. Finally, she brought herself under control and said, "Well, that's one way to get them to quit."
"So it sounds like most of the school will accept me for who I am?" Ranma asked.
Nabiki frowned for a moment and then replied, "As far as I can tell, aside from everyone looking at you a bit oddly, most of them will let it go. You haven't really been at the school long enough, but most of the students are used to weird things happening. After all, what school would have allowed the hentai horde to exist for as long as it did? Then there's the whole Kuno thing, he wanders around in his hakima and carries his bokken wherever he goes, and no one gives it a second thought. The occasional explosion in home economics, usually when Akane was attempting to cook. And some of the things that happened before the old principal left, if the rumors I heard about are true, are even stranger. Things like that have given this school a reputation where strange things are supposed to occur. So what's one more weird thing among all of the other weird things?"
Author's Notes: I'm glad everyone has had fun with this story. I hope the rating change has not scared anyone off. I can assure you that it won't get any more graphic than what has been previously written. I know that my prose can not compete with the imagination of the reader in those kind of scenes, besides I believe that those are best left up to the imagination anyway. All comments are welcomed, and definitely encouraged. Please read and review. We authors thrive on those. Specific comments are below:
Hououza: That's okay. Ranma let slip something. VEG. I wonder what she's thinking. As to other problems surfacing, most definitely, though I fully intend to warp them to my own devices.
Xero Reflux: I was hoping that was the case. I try to keep these characters as much in character as I can, though of course, by definition any fanfic will be OOC.
Bobthebigfatbovine: In the canon, Shampoo picked up her curse because she failed to bring back the head of the pigtailed girl, or alternatively, Ranma himself. In this story, she had her airen, so there's no need to punish her. As to her getting a curse later, I don't know if it will happen.
Shinigami: I think it was relative. IIRC, all Kodachi did was show up in the wedding gown. Shampoo and Ukyo came with explosives. I would consider that a bit more insane. In this story, I do have something in mind for Ukyo, but it is still several long chapters in the future. Don't worry, she is one of my favorite characters in the manga, so I won't leave her in the lurch too long. I just can't let things run too smoothly for Ranma. As to Happosai, I had that plotted from the very beginning. I just had to finally get to it in the storyline.
Jakethesheepy: Thanks. That would be telling about Ukyo, but yeah, there's a light at the end of her tunnel.
Isumo1489: He went Neko a few times in the anime also. The one I remember the best is the anime episode that introduced it to the story. It was fairly close to the manga episode with the major difference that Sasuke the ninja servant was the spy, instead of Gosunkugi. I went with the manga version in my story.
Daouid: Well, at least put his problems with Kuno on hiatus. I have several different conflicting ideas on how to resolve Ukyo. When I write them up, I'll see which way it goes. Yeah, it will be interesting on how Ranma handles Cologne when she finally has "The Talk"
Wonderbee31: I basically knew how I wanted the fight to go from the beginning. I was afraid that it might have ended up being a little anticlimactic. Maybe that's what you picked up on, though I did pretty much use the big fight at the end of the Ranma is Weak arc as the skeleton for this one. I have several different paths I have considered taking the whole Ukyo situation, some that cause a great deal of trouble. I just haven't decided which way to go yet.
Materia-blade: Well, Konatsu doesn't show up in this one. He's in the next chapter though. So I guess that means half a cookie. Of course, canon Akane baked them so….
Dragon man 180: Cologne's reaction was scheduled for this chapter. The other one had gotten entirely too long, so some things had to be moved. As to whether Nodoka can just adopt Ukyo to satisfy the requirement. Well, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I'm looking at trying something different, and it's a bit hard to adopt someone who already has a parent.
Sean Malloy-1: Eventually. But it will be a while before Ranma feels that he can trust Ukyo. He will be friendly to her, but it won't be easy completely between them. After all, he's still sure that she won't give up, no matter what she says, at least, not easily.
Innortal: Don't worry, no psycho Ukyo in this story. Depressed yes, at least for a while. Talking with Nabiki is a good idea, expensive, but good. And there will be some more heart to hearts with Kasumi.
Silverbullet23: I hope you enjoyed it. Taro shows up much much later. There's really no reason for him to show up until when he would in canon. The Amazons teaching Ranma, maybe. And I had to have someone pick up a pig curse. VBG.
Psycho King: Definitely get ancient Amazon curious. The only question is what will she do when she finds out the truth, and just how much Ranma really has to tell her. Ukyo does need friends. She will get some, though Konatsu and Tsubasa do have to show up.
Dennisud: Thank you. I will try to make it believable. VBG and yes, there are several possibilities. I'm glad you liked the fight with Happosai, and hope this chapter lives up to what you expected. Plus, a little Kodachi and Mousse.