Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan
A Not So Simple Ending – The conclusion inspired by Ebiris' A Not so Simple Wish
Chapter 23
"...so I ended up body slamming him and just leaving him there in a ditch," Ranko said, breathing out a melancholy sigh and stirring the remains of her half melted sundae as she recounted this morning's episode with Ranma.
In her fit, the cursed martial artist had abandoned the campsite (without even bothering to gather up her pack) and sprinted all the way back to town. From there, she'd wandered aimlessly until running into her psuedo confidant who had coaxed her into revealing the source of her distress via a known weakness – ice cream. Of course, since Ranko couldn't bring herself to reveal the real truth, she'd been forced to stumble her way through a heavily edited and slightly modified account of events.
Kodachi set her spoon down and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before reaching across the cafe table to give Ranko's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I really think you're being much too hard on yourself. It seems quite normal for people to get strong doubts about things they've spent so much time dedicating themselves to. Perhaps, deep down, you know you'll be happier walking a different path? Take me, for instance. Now that I've given up on rythmic gymnastics, I can appreciate running around in a leotard purely for what it is."
Ranko looked up, startled by the admission, only to see Kodachi's facetious expression. "Oh, ha ha," she replied, giving her a grudging smile. "I wish it were as simple as that."
"And why shouldn't it be?" Kodachi replied, turning just a bit more serious. "You've yet to even experience the best that life has to offer. As admittedly handsome a specimen that Ranma is, can you say that that is enough to prematurely sign your life away? Adventureous ladies of culture such as ourselves need not settle for the first man, or even just one, who catches our fancy. If you get my meaning."
Ranko suppressed a shiver as she briefly saw a vision of Tatewaki professing that he wouldn't limit himself to just one of his "loves". When it was abruptly replaced by Kodachi paralyzing and hog tying both Ranma and Ryoga, she couldn't help breaking out into a belly laugh. Those two really were brother and sister!
She wiped a stray tear from her eyes when her mirth finally died down. "Thanks, 'Dachi. I needed that."
"In all seriousness, though," Kodachi continued, "you wouldn't be the first to refuse upholding a marriage contract. It's the nineties, after all. There are plenty of people who have recognized just how out of fashion such old traditions are. Besides, Ranma already has that Tendou girl to fall back on so I doubt you'd even incur serious consequences with his family. That's quite the convenient situation, if you ask me."
Ranko sighed, pondering her friend's words.
Accepting a life that wasn't originally her own had been simply unfathomable to this point. Even if she could resolve to abandon the most important task she'd ever been faced with, she wouldn't know what to do with herself afterward. She definitely couldn't see herself living as a traditional Japanese woman in any way shape or form - even the modern version. Seppuku was always an option but, honestly, she'd rather die trying to find an alternative way to break this spell than go out like such a wuss.
Now that she thought about it, though, the latter might actually be feasible. She had been told that she couldn't use magic to make Ranma fall in love with her but, if that wasn't her goal, would something else still work? Based on the obvious leap backward in time that had accompanied the mysterious sorcerer Xiawang's twisted scenario, she was almost certain there were a few magical artifacts with just the sort of juice she needed that hadn't been destroyed yet in this timeline. That was assuming said sorcerer hadn't disposed of them all somehow in an attempt to force compliance with this little love contest he'd setup. It would definitely be worth investigating, at least.
If, however, he actually had taken those kinds of precautions, she'd have no choice but to complete the mission as originally intended (something she still wasn't sure she was up for anymore). Which, of course, meant she would need to continue to string Ranma along until she knew one way or another - if only to keep that door open. Ugh… she was going to have to go to his house and humbly apologize for her outburst now.
"I'd better get going," she said, pivoting in her seat, before pausing to look back at Kodachi. "You're a good friend, ya know that?"
Kodachi smirked in that 'tell me something I don't know' way and made a shooing gesture with her hands. "Go on, then. But be sure to keep me updated."
"Count on it," Ranko said, giving her a half hearted grin. "Ja ne," she added with a wave on her way out.
Ranko stood just outside the front door of the Saotome residence wondering if it was too late to change her mind while simultaneously attempting to steel herself for what was sure to be a awkward encounter. She wasn't even sure he was home. For all she knew, he had decided to stay out there with Kasumi. Then again, not having a training partner was kind of a waste of a trip so it was likely he'd have returned. Even if he had, what if he'd gone home with Kasumi? Would she have to go embarrass herself in front of the Tendous?
With her fingertip hovering mere millimeters away from the doorbell, she took a deep calming breath and yelped as soon as she saw the door swing open of its own accord. Nodoka Saotome caught her standing there like a dear in the headlights and a smile quickly blossomed across her face.
"Oh! Hello there, my dear," the woman said with all the warmth of a summer day. "I hadn't expected to see you up and about so soon. Are you feeling better?"
'Feeling better?' Ranko was completely unprepared for this kind of development. "Uh…"
"Goodness, where are my manners," Nodoka said, chastising herself. "Would you like to come inside? I was just on my way to check the mailbox and here you are. I'm almost done preparing dinner, if you'd like to join us. Ranma will be so relieved to see that you're doing alright."
Ranko nodded her head, managing to overcome the full body flinching, and allowed herself to be ushered inside.
She proceeded cautiously into the dwelling while absently acknowledging Nodoka's "Be right back!" Her feet immediately carried her toward the sound of sparring taking place in the backyard. She recognized those noises. When she reached the sliding door, she saw the climax of Genma and Ranma's fierce clash. Her 'fiancé' got cratered into the grass for the second time in one day.
"You're slacking, boy," Genma said, dusting off his gi, as Ranma picked himself up. "Where's your focus?"
"As if I don't have other things on my mind," Ranma grumbled, glaring at his father.
"I'm sure I've told you this before, but you can't let women get inside of your head and affect your actions. A real man stays above that sort of thing."
"Says the guy so afraid of his own wife that his spine disappears the moment she utters a word in his direction," Ranma quipped, shaking his head.
At that moment, Ranko could hear Nodoka return from her short jaunt to the mailbox and call out for her husband. "Genma, honey, can you do me a favor and drag the garbage can out to the street? The city picks up this neighborhood Monday mornings, remember?"
"Coming, dear!" the old panda-man replied before darting off to the side portion of the yard where the garbage can sat near the gate.
"Some role model he is..." Ranma muttered as he watched him go.
Ranko took that moment to clear her throat and draw his attention. "Hey..." she said, giving him a small wave.
"Ranko!" he said, completely caught off guard. "I uh... hi..."
"Hi..." she replied, her gaze fighting between making eye contact and staring at the grass. "About this morning..."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Ranma said, suddenly inside of her personal bubble of space.
Ranko blinked, her expression betraying her confusion. "Wait, what?"
"Kasumi explained it to me after you left. I had no idea you were dealing with... well, that," he said, wearing a slightly haunted expression. "It was definitely educational, although I think I could've done without the detailed explanation of what a heavy flow day is. Anyway, I'm sorry for being so insensitive and stuff. We can still train together, right?"
Ranko was white as a sheet, her mouth nearly gaping like a fish out of water, as she processed his apology. That Kasumi! Was she really that devious or had she simply been trying to cover for her? If it were her in Ranma's shoes hearing something like that for the first time, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd be disgusted enough to second guess any ideas of sharing intimacy with her. Not that she actually wanted that from him but, if it came down to it, she'd appreciate having the ability to entice him with little to no effort. With a major setback like this, she definitely needed to pursue that back up plan and hope it worked out.
"Did I say something wrong?" Ranma prodded, worry growing across his face.
"Huh? No, no, you're fine. I just... well this is probably one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had," Ranko admitted, breaking the ice with a wan smile.
"You're telling me," Ranma replied, seeming to perk up a bit. "If it's any consolation, I just told my parents you ate some bad berries at the campsite and had to run home. It was more or less to save me from having to rehash a traumatic experience, though. Describing fountains of diarrhea is surprisingly easier to stomach than the alternative."
"Thanks... I think," Ranko said, suddenly feeling like someone had let the air out of her. "So... are we okay?"
"That depends. Are you planning on continuing to hold out on me or not? Now that I know for sure you're such a badass, it'd be nice if the kid gloves came off."
Ranko, matching his playful energy, replied in kind. "Are you sure your male ego can handle it?"
"I'm more worried about my body than my ego, to be honest," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "You slammed me so hard I actually thought twice about getting up."
Ranko surprised herself by involuntarily showing him the first genuine laugh he'd ever seen from her. She doubled over, slapping her knee, before letting it taper off naturally. "The look of shock on your face was priceless, by the way. If only I had a polaroid handy. I'm sure your old man would get a few jollies. Then again, it's pretty clear your mom has him sufficiently neutered, so maybe not."
"You saw that?" he asked, getting a laugh in.
"Oh yeah. It was pretty cringy too," she added. "But it totally suits him."
"One hundred percent," Ranma agreed.
A moment passed where they both laughed at the old panda's expense.
"Ya know... you ain't so bad when you're not trying so hard to be something you're not," Ranma said.
Ranko looked up at him, suddenly realizing how their proximity had steadily decreased until they were only centimeters apart. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Most of the girls in school act like how you've been acting; extra bubbly and almost always going out of their way to please others or do anything that might make them more popular. I didn't see it at first but, now that I've been there for awhile and then seen you so relaxed like right now, its pretty obvious. And I just wanted to say that you should have more confidence in being yourself because...well, I like this version of you best."
'Oh shit,' Ranko thought, as he put his hands on her shoulders. 'Is he gonna fucking do it? Is this actually happening? Why is my heart beating so fast? I'm so confused!'
"Ranma! Ranko! Dinner is ready!" Nodoka called from inside the house.
"Coming, mom!" Ranma called out before turning to look back at her. "Hope you like karaage curry," he said, dropping his hands and backing away. "If we hurry up and finish, maybe there'll be enough daylight for us to get a quick spar in."
Ranko watched as he ran inside ahead of her. 'Holy fuck am I in deep shit.'
