Oyu No Ranma

by Zorknot

Ranma gets himself stuck as a girl early on. Now she's got completely new problems. In ch. 21 Ranma teaches Akane a lesson and then takes a nap, Nabiki tries to escape Azusa's frilly prison, and the ladle lady finally accomplishes what she was practicing for all this time.

12. Slow but Sure

Oyu no Ranma

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction by Zorknot

Chapter 12: Slow but Sure

Disclaimer: If you have not already, please purchase the original source material by Rumiko Takahashi, Kitty Shogakukan and Viz media. This story is written without permission on kilobytes stolen from passing gnomes.

~~~~~Ch.12: Slow but Sure~~~~~

~~~~~?~~~~~

She has resurfaced, hasn't she?

Do not look so alarmed. I have been your husband these last seven years. I regard the well-worn paths your mind makes with affection and awe. Of course I know their topology, their seasons.

Shall I tell you, my love, my savior, why it is that you must kill me? Why it is that you must kill our child as well?

Oh I know you are aware of your own mind. I know you could tell me with no hesitation why you've spent these years with us, why you have even suffered the indignities of pregnancy and birth so that you could act on this moment. But I know also that this night, nay this very hour may be the last chance I have to speak to you, to thank you for the life you've given me. So let me speak, my love. Indulge me for a few moments while you prepare for your transformation.

I know that you do not love me. How could you? Me a worthless, Amazonian male. You a being so tremendous in power that the heavens quake with every change in your attitude, a being so cunning in subterfuge that even the gods are made impotent in the shadow of your artifice. You could have left me to die under that boulder and it would not have bothered you. The only reason you saved me was the amusement you felt when you thought I had called out your name, only to discover that it was not "Kosuke" I called, but "Tasuke!" "Help me!" I cried plaintively in Japanese, my weak voice breaking quaveringly over the mountainside, for as wretched as I am now, I was even more so then, before I met you.

I had already called out in Mandarin and Cantonese, and if Japanese had not worked I would have tried Russian and then English, for languages have always been a passion of mine and I spent many hours as a boy studying with the elders while my peers learned more violent skills. I had always considered even the practice of hidden weapons as being far too womanly. I never aspired to be anything other than a good husband to the woman I would eventually marry, and I knew when you lifted that boulder from my leg with such ease- using only one hand, with your eyes so fierce, so full of fire as too diminish the light of the sun- that you were that woman.

I did not know then that you had bathed in Jusenkyou's waters, and that the creature of such power and grace was not the form you were born to, but something you looked at as a curse. You were aware as I was that Jusenkyou picks its warriors at the moment of their birth, and that the forms it imparts are reflections of their hidden hearts. But you had a destiny that had to be fulfilled and that form made your path more treacherous.

This woman, Kazehito Kirika, she is such a fool. How could she think her marriage to Tendo Soun was valid? Was she not promised to you by your parents and ancestors, by all the spirits in attendance at the ceremony? Does she think something as mercurial as a heart's desire can change that destiny?

I know my place, my savior. I know that my time with you is short, but I have treasured our time together all the more because of it. I live on the edge of a rumbling volcano, warmed by the turmoil that seethes under the surface. I will welcome the lava when it comes.

You were so clever to use your connection to Jusenkyo to preserve Kazehito Kirika's soul in the body of Saotome Ranma. It proves you are as much a force of nature as Jusenkyo, ensuring that she will be yours. This restaurant that we have built and ran together, right along the path from the Bayankala Mountains that cradle the Jusenkyo springs, to the city of Shanghai that provides the most direct freight route to Japan, you have made it inevitable that any Jusenkyo victim from the land of the rising sun will be drawn to this place. And just as you had planned, Saotome Ranma arrived.

How could the child know that the vial you gave her, and I say "her" for her maleness is an unfortunate obstacle that you have expertly overcome, was the same vial you filled with Kazehito Kirika's blood? How could she know that the potion you gave her was carefully prepared to coax Kazehito Kirika out of her hiding place more quickly? Yes, despite Kazehito Kirika's attempts to delay her own ascension, you have found a way to bring her back to you in months instead of the years it would have taken otherwise. The male energy that has been keeping her dormant must have finally been subsumed.

And now I will share in your triumph as you plunge your blade into my heart.

But, my love, my savior, please grant me one request? Please kill me as you are now, as a woman, for as an Amazon it would make my death more honorable. Beyond this, my only hope is that Kazehito Kirika will finally be yours…and that she hasn't been stifled again in some way.

Please, do not put the knife down! I do not deserve your mercy! Why do you look into your sphere? Surely there can be no developments that have changed your course of action?

Your eyes are wide now in disbelief. Your brow furrows and it is like a dark cloud passing before the sun. The image in your sphere is of Saotome Ranma, but she is in her male form. Impossible!

No, my love, do not be angry. Even if she is male again, it will only grant her a temporary reprieve. Your will is inexorable and certain. She will not escape you.

Your hair is so cool and silky underneath my hand. Relax, let me massage your neck using the techniques the elders have taught me.

Yes, forget the kettle for now, my love. I will relieve your tension.

Come with me… to bed.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~~

In some ways, the house was something of a letdown. It was fairly large, but modest in almost any other respect. It wasn't a mansion, nor was it some abysmal pit in an otherwise abandoned slum. There was a door in the western style, and he and Genma were in front of it. Eventually, one of them would have to knock.

What kind of person was Nodoka, Ranma wondered. His father had told him she had gone crazy, forcing them to leave and sign the contract. But surely she couldn't have been that crazy when he had first met her, or for the five or more years they were together. Maybe she was okay now. She sounded nice on the phone.

Ranma still couldn't bring himself to knock and his father seemed equally nervous.

What if she wasn't nice? What if she looked at him and could tell right away that he was only nine tenths of a man. Or what if when she saw him…she didn't see a boy at all.

I'm a guy now, Ranma told himself, a guy. But he felt uncomfortable, even vaguely irritated. Shouldn't he be doing cartwheels right now? Singing some made up song? Instead he kept thinking about Akane, and about school, and even about Kuno. How likely was he to step in front of Ranma and make orations about fiery hair and beatific countenances if he knew he was really a boy? Nabiki, strangely seemed to be the one most likely to accept him as a boy, but even there, would she still lend him her Sparrow cds? Would she still talk to him so freely about relationship stuff?

Ranma took a shaking breath. He should have given himself some more time to acclimate. Plan things out better. She'll still be my friend, he told himself, It's not like she doesn't know about me. She's not that shallow. It wasn't a convincing argument, though. Really Akane was that shallow. Maybe it was one of her faults, but damn it, Ranma had faults too. She was his friend and it wasn't fair that he'd probably lose her if he showed up male.

Another breath. The door loomed in front of him. Did he really want to see his mother? Did he really care that much? He didn't even remember her. She hadn't apparently cared terribly much about where he had been all this time. And she was going to want him to be a man. Just like his father had all his life. Be a man, Ranma. Stop acting like a girl. He wouldn't have minded so much, except he didn't see the point in it anymore.

He was here now, though, and he was not a coward. He swallowed, raised his hand, and watched his knuckles hit the wood of the door.

Ranma chuckled nervously to himself. It would really suck if she wasn't home.

He was just about to knock again, when there were sounds of lock disengaging and the door opened, slowly at first and then rapidly. The woman in the doorway gasped, her wistful, sad features moving quickly to surprise and then warming into a bright smile. "Ranma?"

Ranma nodded, a smile curving his lips as he saw bits of himself in the lady's eyes, her darker yet undeniably red hair, her nose. "Hi mom."

Saotome Nodoka turned to Genma, her eyes filling with tears. "You brought him home. After all these years you're finally back, and you brought him home!"

Ranma looked up at his father's face. He seemed oddly nervous. "We're staying somewhere else for now. I wasn't sure if…"

Nodoka's expression darkened for an instant, but then she smiled and turned to Ranma again. "Come inside and give me a hug sweetie. Oh it's been so long."

Hesitating for a moment, Ranma did as his mother asked, wrapping his arms around her thin frame, feeling the smooth silk of her kimono. He felt like he was an empty container, finally being filled. This hug was something he had missed without know he was missing it. He breathed in her faint smell of cinnamon and vanilla, trying to make the moment last forever .

Suddenly, Nodoka stiffened and Ranma released her frowning. "I'm glad you're back, son, but you mustn't hug me so desperately. It's unmanly."

Ranma's frown deepened as something turned to acid in his stomach.

"Did you fulfill our agreement, Genma? You should not have come here if you have not."

"I'm right here, mom," Ranma snapped. "And Pops told me about the contract. He also told me you were batso. I didn't think that was true."

Nodoka gave Genma a withering glance. She turned slowly back to Ranma, her face serious. "Are you a man among men, Ranma?"

Ranma felt a rush of adrenaline as he looked his mother in the eye. Then Ranma smirked the way he always did before a difficult battle. "No," he said, "I'm not. Whatcha gonna do about it?"

Nodoka tensed, her hand going suddenly to the hilt of her sword.

Ranma adopted a fighting stance.

A moment passed.

Nodoka swallowed visibly. She let out a shaking breath. She took her hand off her sword and turned away. "Have a seat, Ranma. I'll make you some tea. You too, Genma."

Relaxing slightly, Ranma found a low, Japanese-style table surrounded by cushions. He chose a seat at the corner nearest the door and sat. His father sat across from him.

The main dining room was roughly the same size as the Tendos, but where theirs had a bright, homey, lived in feel, Nodoka's was musty and dark. The darkness came from there being only one working bulb in the ceiling light. There was a roll top desk on the wall opposite the table, the wood it was made out of looked weathered and gray. Everything was clean, but at the same time it all looked old and lifeless. "Mom lives here?"

"It was a lot nicer when we were here," Genma assured Ranma.

He nodded somberly. "She must have been pretty lonely all this time, huh?"

Genma grimaced. "We should probably go, Son."

"She doesn't seem too bad so far."

"Was it true, what you said? Or were you just seeing what she would do?"

Ranma rubbed his thumb on the corner of the table. "I don't know. What does 'man among men' even mean? I just spent two weeks being a girl. It hasn't been too bad really." Ranma shrugged. "Mostly it was that she didn't think I should hug her. Damn it, Pops, if being a man means I can't hug my own mother than I don't want to be one! I'd almost rather have her saying I should commit seppuku then have to act like some unfeeling asshole every time I see her."

"Ranma, lower your voice! She can probably hear you!"

Ranma winced eyeing the kitchen where Nodoka was making tea, but he took a breath and shook his head "Good. Way I figure it," Ranma raised his voice, "she's either my mother, or some older lady who wants to kill me. Either way she should know where I stand."

Nodoka came in from the kitchen. She stood by the table, her eyes downcast. "I am your mother, Ranma. When I made you and Genma sign that contract, it was for your protection." She looked away. "And it was part of a promise I made to a friend."

"What?" Ranma stood up. "You made a promise to a friend to kill me if I turned into a girl?"

Nodoka's eyes drifted to Ranma's. She frowned in apparent confusion. "How could you turn into a girl? No, the contract was just to ensure you would be as manly as possible. I never thought my husband would take so long to fulfill it." Her eyes darted to Genma in a spike of anger.

Genma stood up himself. "You were threatening to kill me and my son! Did you think I was going to come rushing back into your arms?"

"I told you what happened, didn't I? I couldn't let that creep have Kirika. I couldn't let my son's soul get subsumed by a dead woman. His manliness was the only thing that allowed her to keep from possessing him completely. What should I have done?"

"No-chan, surely you have to know how you sound. It makes no sense!"

"How did you find out what happened to her? Did someone call you? Did you get a letter?" Nodoka crossed her arms. "No. I told you. And I heard about it through Kirika. She was talking through my baby's mouth. Her voice was coming out of his mouth, Genma. You have no idea how scared I was. How scared I still am."

Ranma's mouth was hanging open. Was he really hearing this?

"I have spent the last decade here, alone. And every year, every day I've spent waiting for you to return, I've had such terrible nightmares. Of you returning without him. Of Kirika speaking through his mouth again only this time unable to go away. I've tried to track you down several times. I found out you went to China. So far away. I wanted to follow you there. To be a little closer at least. To maybe see Ranma from afar, to know that he was okay. But I didn't have money for the ticket. And I was too scared of what I might find."

"No-chan," Genma closed his eyes in a mix of pain and confusion. "I've never heard Ranma speak with any voice other than his own. There's never been any trace of what you're talking about ever happening."

Ranma swallowed. For some reason he was thinking about the black outs. On the stairs with Nabiki. In the bath with Kasumi. He had felt so scared after the second black out. So scared it had triggered his nekoken. Why? He flinched at a fragmented memory of metal cutting into his side. Kasumi had been about to tell him how her mother died. Nabiki…had been talking about her mother as well.

Ranma backed away from his mother until his back reached the wall. He had a flash of memory. A disjointed scene from a nightmare. He was small and his mother was looking at him, frightened. His body was moving without him. A strange voice was coming out his throat. Ranma blinked. That was real. That was his mother. It hadn't just been a strange dream he had as a child. It was the scariest thing. Being helpless, unable to move, unable to speak, feeling parts of himself breaking away…

"Look at him, Genma! He remembers! Look at how scared he is!"

"I ain't scared!" Ranma snapped back in anger. "I was just a kid back then," he said, more quietly. "I ain't weak like that anymore."

Nodoka smiled sadly. "Then you have fulfilled the contract. You've become a man." She turned away. "I think the tea is ready. I'll go get it."

After his mother went into the kitchen, Ranma realized his father was staring at him. "What?"

"She wasn't hallucinating? Kirika actually…?"

Ranma grimaced. "I don't know,okay? It's just…I remembered something from back then and…I think it has something to do with the black outs."

Genma frowned. "You've been acting more like a girl recently." He spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I know!" Ranma winced. "I know," he said more quietly so his mother wouldn't hear. "That's probably part of it." He sat down, closing his eyes. He had to stop being a girl. He had to go back to being a man full-time. "Damn it, it ain't fair!" Ranma hit his knee with his fist.

"What isn't?"

Ranma's eyes went wide for a moment. He looked away from his father. "Nothing."

It wasn't that different than the other times he had to move. Once again he had just made friends, he had just about started something approaching an actual life, and he had to leave. Big deal, he had done it before. He wasn't going to just run away this time though. He owed it to Akane and the Tendos to say goodbye. He would be a girl for just one more day, and then he would be a man again full-time, for good. It was perfectly understandable that he would be upset about leaving the Tendos. Even though technically he didn't really have to leave. He didn't really even need to turn into a girl again. But no, that would make things easier and it would be better to have a clean break.

He was a man. He could avoid hot water without much problem at all. The curse was as good as gone. This was a good thing. So what if Tofu said that his curse was inverted, so that his girl form was the default and his male form was the curse. That didn't mean anything. Besides Tofu said that it was what he saw himself as that counted. So there was no problem, right?

Ranma took his cup of tea when his mother gave it to him and tried not to think about upending it over his head. He sipped the hot liquid gingerly and set the cup carefully on the table.

"So tell me, Ranma," Nodoka began as she sat down, "Do you have any girlfriends?"

Ranma's eyes went wide again. "Not really," he said.

Nodoka laughed. "What do you mean, 'not really?' You either have a girlfriend or you don't."

"Well, I have friends who are girls, but uh… they aren't, I mean I'm not…er…"

"That's fine, dear. Just be open to it. You can find love in the oddest places. Did your father ever tell you how we met?"

Ranma shook his head.

"It was at Soun and Kirika's wedding. He was the best man, I was the maid of honor…"

"Your mother was beautiful. I wouldn't tell Soun, but I thought she was even prettier than the bride. She had her hair longer then. Deep, dark red, but she had such delicate features."

Nodoka blushed a little. "My mother and my grandmother both loved red-headed gaijins. I used to dye my hair black to fit in better, but Kirika…"

Genma swallowed his tea. "I never knew Kirika that well, but she and your mother were very close. She had these striking, pale blue eyes. I used to think they were creepy."

Nodoka nodded. "She was bullied a lot as a child, and she couldn't just dye her hair like I could. She actually joined a street gang. One of the only girls in it. We had to work together in home ec and after we became friends, I learned to accept myself for who I was. I stopped dying my hair. I even took up Kendo, though I'm afraid I was never any good at it. I started too late."

"How come none of the Tendos has blue eyes then?" Ranma asked.

"It's genetics," Genma explained. "Having blue eyes is a recessive trait. Like red hair."

"Then how come…"

"I don't know, Ranma. Magic." Genma gave him a look of warning.

"I had a fifty percent chance of getting it and I won the coin toss," Nodoka said. "I'm not sure how you got it. I've never seen hair like yours."

Ranma took a sip of his tea. He studied his father for a moment, but he couldn't find anything on the older man's face but grim stoicism. Finally, he took a breath. "I got a curse in China. You should probably know about it."

"Oh?" Nodoka asked, looking at Genma pointedly.

"Actually," Ranma said, looking at his tea, "There's a lot of stuff you should probably know about."

~~~~~Ryoga~~~~~

Ryoga followed the prison guard down the hallway of metal bars. "Saotome Ranma is here. You're sure of it?"

The guard nodded. "Like I said, he doesn't have a ponytail or nothin' but otherwise he matches your description. He's a real punk that one. Took ten of us just to get him into his cell. He's calmed down since then, thank the spirits. I almost feel sorry for him. Prison food's the best he's had in months, I'd wager." The guard unlocked the gate area and pulled it to the side with a grunt. "You got ten minutes. He's a crafty bastard, so watch that you don't get too close."

Ryoga cracked his knuckles in a mix of anticipation and frustration. He would enjoy seeing Ranma in a cell, but he wanted more. He wanted the bastard's blood on his fists. He wanted to hear the sounds of Ranma's bones breaking underneath the onslaught of his attack. He would just have to wait a little longer, just until he got out, and then he could relish the sound of Ranma's last gurgling breath as he looked up at him and knew that he had been defeated.

Ryoga walked up to cell 6b. A muscular man with unruly black hair tamed only partly by a white bandanna was doing one-handed pushups on the floor. When Ryoga stood before him, he rose to a crouch and then to a standing position in one easy motion. The kid was a machine. Even Ryoga was impressed. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked, a sour expression on his face. He had the look of someone who wore that expression a lot.

"I'm the man who is going to kill you," Ryoga told him.

The kid barked out a laugh. He crossed his arms and looked Ryoga over, slowly becoming more wary as he saw Ryoga's muscles and how he carried himself. "What, did I hit your parent's house or somethin'? I got no beef with you."

"No beef? You ruined my life!"

The muscular kid in the prison jumpsuit frowned more deeply. "I don't even know you, man. Get lost."

Ryoga struggled to control himself. "I know EXACTLY where I am, you coward! And you're lying if you say you don't remember me. Junior high wasn't that long ago."

"Junior high? Shit, I never went to no junior high. Certainly not whatever poofy dick up your ass school you went to." The crude prisoner, who Ryoga increasingly suspected was not Saotome Ranma, casually began doing pull-ups from the top of the wall of bars.

"You never went to Junior high?" Ryoga asked, letting the aspersion against his sexuality go for the moment.

"Fuck no. Haven't been to school since sixth grade."

Ryoga was fully confused now. He stifled a yawn. He had spent a lot of time and energy trying to find the prison where they were keeping Ranma. This had to be it. This had to be Ranma. Was this just a trick? "Don't think you can fool me, Ranma. Just because you don't have that stupid ponytail anymore, and your face looks different, doesn't mean…"

The prisoner paused halfway through a pull-up. "Wait. You're looking to kill Ranma? Saotome Ranma?"

"Yes!"

The man in the cell rolled his eyes and lowered himself to the floor. "My name's Kumon Ryu. I'm just using that punk's name to try to throw some of my shit his way. I'm after his daddy."

"My name's Hibiki Ryoga," Ryoga said slowly, still not sure this wasn't some prank. "It seems we may have a common enemy."

Ryu gave a dark smirk. "Looks that way." He looked around, stretching his arms. "Well, I guess I've been in here long enough. Time to bust out." The prisoner backed up a few steps, then, in a voice that was unnaturally loud, he yelled "MOVE!"

Ryoga was unable to follow the command, stunned by the sheer volume of it. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, a circular section of heavy prison bars on his chest. The prison guard reached for his mace can and stepped forward, but Ryu nailed him in the temple with a haymaker and the man slumped to the ground like an open sack of salt.

Kumon turned to Ryoga, who was just getting back to his feet. "You coming?" he asked.

Ryoga nodded but he wasn't at all sure it was a good idea. He took a moment to check on the prison guard. He was breathing. "Sorry," Ryoga whispered, and then left before he could lose track of Kumon.

They were already out of the building before the sirens started wailing.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

They were in a department store amidst a small copse of circular clothing trees when his mother held it to Ranma's chest."Mom!" Ranma protested in horror.

"What? I think you would look very nice in this." Nodoka held the garment beside Ranma as they both looked in the mirror that hung from the column in the store.

Genma was innocently looking at the prices of things a meter or so away.

"Mom, that's a turtle neck. It's not even cold anymore. And it looks stupid." Ranma winced at how mean he sounded. He didn't mean for it to come out like that, he just wanted to be done with all this.

"No son of mine is going to run around town looking like a ragamuffin. This would give you a sophisticated look. It is a little out of season, but that's why it's on clearance."

Ranma looked up in exasperation for a moment. Who's bright idea had it been for them all to go shopping? "Fine," he sighed, "Maybe I can use it for a disguise or something."

Nodoka seemed to be inordinately pleased as she added the turtle neck to the growing pile of clothing in her cart. Ranma didn't know why she was so happy. It wasn't like she could afford any of it. The only reason she still had the house was because of friends paying her bills for her.

Last night, Ranma had told her all about the Jusenkyo curse and the other curses. She had taken it fairly well, considering. She insisted she cook dinner for them, even though she didn't have much in the refrigerator save for some random vegetables and some rice. It tasted great regardless. Then she insisted that they stay the night. Breakfast had been better than supper had been. Nodoka had gone out early to go to the market for some eggs while Ranma and Genma trained. After they ate, Ranma had felt too anxious to stay in the house, but he also didn't want to leave his mother yet. School was out of the question unless he turned himself back into a girl, which he wasn't going to do with Genma watching all the time, so Ranma suggested they all go out, and that's how they wound up in a department store, looking at clothing.

And here Ranma thought he wouldn't have to worry about that crap if he stayed a guy.

"Red's your favorite color?" Nodoka asked as she perused through another rack. "I notice you wear it a lot."

"Yeah, I guess," Ranma said. "Never really thought about it."

Nodoka smiled softly. Her expression drifted a little, though as she said, "Kirika always wore a little blue somewhere. It called attention to her eyes."

"You don't have to worry, Mom," Ranma assured her, "I'm just going to say goodbye to my friends, then I'll be a guy full time."

"You're a lot like her," Nodoka said. "I know why her soul found itself in you. But you aren't her, and I'm so glad for that."

Ranma got closer so he could hear her as her voice got softer.

"I wish I could have been there for you these past ten years. But I'm glad for that too, now. If Genma hadn't taken you away I wouldn't have had the perspective I do now. I would have been so worried about all the similarities that I wouldn't have appreciated the differences." Before Ranma knew, Nodoka had an arm around his shoulders and was pressing her lips into his hair.

"Mom!"

"I'm not worried anymore. You are your own person, Ranma. That was all I ever wanted from you." Nodoka sniffed, touching the corners of her eyes gingerly. "If she ever talks to you. Please tell her I forgive her."

Ranma nodded slowly. A lump was forming in his throat and his eyes were beginning to burn, but he was damned if he was going to cry in his guy form.

They eventually got out of the department store, and after checking out a few other places, they ate at the Hot Dog and Coffee for lunch. When they were done, Ranma got up from his seat across from his parents in the booth. "I have to go. I'm going to be late for work."

"You're going to work?" Genma asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ranma grimaced. "I'm going to change first, Pops. If I show up like this, the guy will think I'm nuts."

"You could just say you're your brother or something."

Ranma thought about it for a second, but shook his head. "I got friends at work too, Pops. I just want to say good bye to them, and I can't do it like this."

Genma swirled a french fry around in his ketchup as he grumbled, "Fine. But you better be back to normal by tomorrow. I don't want to see any more red in your hair."

"I know, I know." Ranma turned to his mother, "Bye, Mom. I'll be back tomorrow okay?" And with that, he left to go.

"Wait! Ranma?" His mother called.

Ranma stopped and turned around. "What?"

Nodoka managed to scoot elegantly out of the booth and stood, straightening her kimono. "I want to see it. Your other form."

Ranma checked Genma's expression, but he was a study in stoicism. "Mom…I…"

"As much as your father might not like it, your other form has obviously become part of your life."

"Yeah, but after tomorrow I…"

"I already missed so much, Ranma. I just want to see what you've been going through."

Ranma sighed. "This ain't some sneaky trick to try to get me to commit seppuku is it?" he half-joked.

Nodoka closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, Ranma. I won't do that to you again."

Ranma shrugged. "Fine. Actually it would help out a lot if you could check the restroom for me to make sure no one's in there."

Nodoka nodded slightly, and Ranma followed her to the restrooms, waiting outside the door as the older woman checked for occupants. After a minute or so she opened the door smiling softly as she said it was all clear.

"What is it?" he asked as he followed her inside.

Nodoka shook her head. "When you were younger, before you left, I didn't want lose track of you, so I would take you with me into the women's restroom. I remember when you first realized there was a separate place for boys. You threw such a fit."

Ranma felt heat come to his cheeks. "Yeah, well, I didn't ask for this." He went to the sink and turned the hot water on, feeling with his hand to make sure it was hot enough. It wasn't quite there yet so he had to wait. He leaned back on the sink and looked at his mother underneath the fluorescent lights. She looked younger than he would have expected from how old his father was. She looked thin though. Even frail. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Sorry? Why should you be sorry?"

Ranma looked away. "It ain't like it was my fault or nothin'. But I wish I could have been here for you. Maybe if I raised more a fuss with Pops beforehand…"

Nodoka put a light hand on Ranma shoulder. "Ranma, don't. We're together now. There's only one person who's truly at fault here and he's hidden away in China somewhere."

"Who's that?"

"Oka Kosuke. The man who killed Kirika." Nodoka looked as if she tasted something bitter. "He fled Japan after an assassin started tracking him."

Ranma felt the heat coming from the water in the sink, but he wanted to know more, so he turned off the tap. "He's still alive?"

Nodoka sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything. I just don't want you to feel guilty."

"Mom, this is the guy that killed Akane's mother! Maybe I can do something."

Nodoka shook her head. "It's just gossip. Things I heard from people at the market. They were saying he had ties to three rival street gangs, that he was doing some kind of drug trade. I don't know how much if any of it was true."

"What about the assassin? Could they have gotten him?"

"It's possible," she said in a way that suggested she didn't believe it was possible at all. "What I heard was that Oka had sent someone to pay somebody off with a suitcase of money and an assassin mistook the courier for the man himself. It was something of a story since no one knew for sure where the suitcase had gone off to. Everyone was looking through dumpsters like it was buried treasure." Nodoka crossed her arms. "After that there was a news report about one of Oka Kosuke's known aliases being used at the airport. Apparently he had gotten on a plane to China using a forged passport. A flight attendant made the connection, but it was too late to stop him. He was wanted by the police for Kirika's death, but apparently they didn't want him that badly."

Ranma turned on the tap again. He cupped his hands under the stream and splashed the water onto his, now her head. She looked into the mirror. "I want to kill him," she said.

"No, honey, you don't. That man, if he's still alive is too powerful, and…"

Ranma turned around.

"Oh! You're gorgeous!" Nodoka brought a hand to her mouth in astonishment.

Ranma frowned, feeling mixed emotions at the praise when she really wanted to argue more. Finally she smiled though. "Of course, I am. I got good genes."

Nodoka touched Ranma's pigtail. "I remember when my hair was this bright."

Ranma looked at her shoes. "I thought it was from the curse."

"It must have just brought it out somehow."

Ranma looked up at her mother. "Were you short too?"

"No, honey," Nodoka smiled, "That's from your father's side of the family. You should see his mother. Tiny woman."

"I'd like that." Ranma said a little wistfully.

Nodoka nodded, then she frowned. "Your eyes are blue though. Like hers."

Ranma looked down, feeling a little weirded out by that. "I have to go, Mom. I need time to talk to Akane before work."

Nodoka nodded and let Ranma rush past her, but just as Ranma got to the door, she heard "Ranma, wait."

Ranma turned around. "Yeah?"

"Nothing. I just... have a good night tonight okay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Mom." Ranma left the bathroom. She stopped in the outside hallway though. Was there something else her mother wanted to say? She turned. "I'll call her after work." Turning back she left, saying a quick goodbye to her father before she left the Hotdog and Coffee.

~~~~~Ryoga~~~~~

Kumon knew where he was going, and so Ryoga was obliged to follow him, even though he was sure they had made a few wrong turns. "Shouldn't we have taken a boat?" he suggested.

"No, dumbass. Why the fuck would we take a boat? You said the Tendos were in Tokyo, right?" Kumon had broken into a sports and apparel store and stole himself some camouflaged trousers and a black tank top along with some combat boots and some supplies. He walked right in the front door, stole what he wanted off the rack and when the owner protested he just yelled something impossibly loud, and cold cocked the poor guy. Ryoga had no choice but to run after him as the police gave chase behind them. They had lost them in the woods and Kumon changed in the quiet afterward. Now they were on their way to the Tendo Dojo.

"I always take a boat to go to Tokyo."

"We're on Honshu already! You like the ocean or something?"

"No, but…it's a short cut."

Kumon whirled around and smacked Ryoga across the temple, too fast for him to dodge. "Shut the fuck up. Were almost there now anyway."

Ryoga rubbed his temple as he walked past the last copse of trees on the hill they were on. The lights of Tokyo shone in the night like restless spirits keeping vigil. He didn't like Kumon. He didn't like that the kid was so rude and seemed almost without morals. He liked even less the fact that he was faster and stronger than him. The last twelve hours or so it had felt like he had been tethered to a launched missile. He wasn't sure anymore whether he was just following Kumon to find Ranma or if he was hoping to minimize the damage of the inevitable explosion.

Kumon started running toward the city again, and Ryoga followed him down the slight decline. Soon their feet were hitting concrete instead of grass and they were racing the cars through the intersections.

"Where in Tokyo are these people, man?"

"Nerima ward," Ryoga answered, feeling oddly as if he were betraying somebody. He didn't know who that could be. Not Ranma surely. He wanted to kill him, right? Maybe it was himself. Usually it took so much longer to reach his destination. There was more of a build up of anticipation. It seemed less…rash.

"You got a street address?"

Ryoga told him, still not liking it at all. He wasn't stupid. He knew how to use a phone book. The only way he knew to get there, though, was to follow Kumon through the byzantine Tokyo streets. Several times he was tempted to keep running in the same direction when Kumon turned left or right, missing the feeling of autonomy he was used to. Kumon stopped to consult a map only once to find a path to the Tendo dojo, and then he just moved. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to tell where he was and how to get to where he wanted to go. Ryoga was really beginning to hate the bastard.

When they got to the entrance of the Tendo residence, Kumon let out a low whistle. "Nice place. The Tendos must be loaded."

Ryoga had to admit, it was impressive. Although the house itself wasn't much larger than his own childhood home, the yard was spacious and well kept. The koi pond in particular, with its souzu knocking periodically against the stone, gave the place a marvelous air of tranquility.

"Shit, this place might be worth it even if the Saotomes aren't here!"

Ryoga wanted to punch the disgusting smile off of the bastard's weasely little face. He was going to steal from them! "They never did anything to you," he grumbled out loud before he could stop himself.

"YES THEY DID!" Kumon yelled. Ryoga found himself in shock, unable to move as Kumon's hand wrapped around his throat. "That bitch you spoke to? Nabtitties? She's covering for them. And if they are staying here then that can only mean her whole family's harboring those murdering bastards. They all deserve to die. ALL OF THEM!" Kumon's eyes were deadly fierce for a moment. Then he seemed to calm down. He let go of Ryoga, brushed off his clothes and looked to the house. "That's too troublesome though. I'm just going to rob them. " Kumon looked back over his shoulder. "That okay with you, officer?"

Ryoga didn't say anything.

Kumon grinned and strode toward the house.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

"Don't lie to me, Ranma," Akane nudged her as she put away the dishes from her last table, "you're a little happy about this, aren't you?"

Ranma felt some heat rush up to her cheeks. "Maybe. I'm just not sure how I'm going to break it to Pops."

Nishikigi, in his typical stand-offish manner, had informed Ranma that if she wanted to quit, she had to give two weeks of notice or she would have to pay for the lost income as stipulated in their contract. He then asked her what she wanted to do.

Ranma said she'd have to think about it.

Akane was giggling about it through their whole shift. "You know, if you really wanted to leave, you could just do something to get yourself fired," she said, smiling as she glanced at Ranma askance.

Ranma stiffened, pausing before leaving to put up the chairs. She swallowed and continued her trajectory. The idea of trying to get fired was anathema to her. She wasn't sure how much of that was pride and how much of it was because Akane had a point. She had been so sure that this was going to be her last day as a girl. But all that assurance went away as soon as someone gave her the lamest of excuses. She should at least go ahead and file her notice, she thought, but if she was going to work for two more weeks why not more?

She realized she was putting the chairs on the tables at a normal speed instead of her usual frenzy and decided that she had another reason to quit. The job was beginning to bore her. It was somewhat fun when Akane was making mistakes all the time and Ranma had to think fast to save her from one debacle or another, but now things were getting depressingly easy. Not to mention she was missing out on the classes her father and Soun were teaching .

Nodding at having reached a decision, she finished putting up the chairs at her usual pace. Akane met her on the way to the lockers. "I'm giving notice," Ranma said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'll stick around for the next two weeks, but that's it."

"Mmm-hmm." Akane didn't seem too impressed.

"Look it's not just Mom, it's the black outs. What if they happen at a really bad time, like during a fight or something?"

Akane shrugged. "If I were having black outs and the only sure way I knew to stop them was to turn into a man and leave all my friends, I kind of think I'd rather deal with the black outs."

Ranma pulled off her uniform and pulled a hanger from the locker. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, Ranma." Akane said doing the same, "I guess you're in a completely different situation." She still seemed to be incredibly amused.

Ranma's cheeks felt flush again. "It doesn't matter. I'd quit anyway. I'm getting bored here."

"Oh, I know!" Akane enthused with a sly hint of sarcasm, "it's almost as if it's a job or something!"

"Do you have to keep mocking me, you big tomboy?"

"I wasn't mocking you, you ditz. This is mocking you:" Akane puffed out her chest and lowered her voice. "I can't keep working at this job because I'm a man and I've got to go do manly things like leave to go live with my mother."

Ranma couldn't help but chuckle at Akane's rendition. "It's not like that, Akane, I haven't seen her in ten…"

Akane held up a hand, her face suddenly serious. "I get it, Ranma, I do. But don't you think you're making this harder than it needs to be?"

Ranma shook her head, "The curse from the vial…"

"The one that Tofu might have already broken?"

"He might have, but I don't know, and if it's still in effect it's going to feed off my male form every time I'm like this. If it goes on too long I might be a girl forever."

In a small voice, Akane asked, "Would that be so bad?"

Ranma frowned, not finding the words to answer right away.

"I mean, if you just chose to be a girl, wouldn't that make your life easier?"

Ranma shook her head. "Akane, if you chose to give up cooking, wouldn't your life be easier?"

"That's different!"

"How?"

"Because I want to know how to cook!"

"Yeah? Well I want to be a man, so there!…I mean I want…to continue being a man." Ranma tried to correct herself.

Akane took a breath through her nostrils. "Then why, in the nine hells, didn't you just quit and walk away?"

Ranma didn't know what to say.

"Ranma, honestly, being a girl or a boy shouldn't be a goal you're trying to achieve. It should just be part of who you are."

"Yeah, well part of me is a guy. And I don't want to lose my guy part."

"Are you listening to yourself? If part of you is a guy, then what is the other part? And why are you so ready to get rid of it?"

After a moment of trying to reply Ranma settled with "You still can't cook."

To which Akane came back with, "And you're still a ditz!"

As they left the restaurant, Ranma let the conversation marinate in her brain. It fit with what Tofu had told her. It even fit with what Tasuke had told her back in China. Yes, part of her was guy, but could she really deny that part of her was also a girl? Maybe at first it was just a curse, but now? And she was going to give it up why? Because her parents wanted her to? Because she was a martial artist and she was used to pain? Because she was used to being alone?

And what right did Genma have to tell her who she could be? She was actually getting herself angry over this and she only barely knew why. "Crap, I really am a girl," Ranma muttered.

"What's that?" Akane asked. They were on the last stretch before home.

"Nothing, just thinkin' out loud."

"Oh, is that why you've been so quiet?" Akane stuck out her tongue.

"Hey! I'm still your sensei, you know."

"Sure," Akane allowed, "but you're one of those cool senseis that let me get away with stuff."

"Well, I'm going to lose my cool pretty soon if you keep giving me lip, young lady."

"Okay, I'll be good, Mrs. Saotome, I promise."

Ranma chuckled lightly. Her mood cooled again though, when the house came into view. She would have to come up with a new plan soon so she could face her father with it. And she just realized she had forgotten to give her notice at Yui's Yakitori. And who were those two strange-looking guys having tea with Kasumi and Nabiki?

Ranma asked Akane, but all she could do is shrug. "Friends of yours maybe?"

Ranma crossed her arms. "I don't have any friends, remember? Other than you and maybe some of the people we know."

"Maybe it's Ukyo, or that guy you knew in junior high."

"Hmm, they're both male; so that rules out crazed, homicidal Amazons." Ranma shrugged. "How bad could it be?"

~~~~~Ryoga~~~~~

This was shaping up to be the worst day of Ryoga's life, and he had been keeping track. Of course there were different criteria he could use. If he went by how miserable he was, the top contender was the day he got cursed. But if he was measuring by the day with the most momentous unfavorable consequences it was the day he showed up to his challenge with Ranma, only to find out that he had gone off to China. This day was climbing the charts on both rubrics and it seemed like it was only going to get worse.

Kasumi was obviously a nice person. An angel as far as he could tell. And Nabiki, well, she wasn't nice but she was nice-ish. And both of them were extremely attractive. If he could just get Kumon to leave, he could maybe convince one of them of how rotten Ranma was and how all he wished was to right some of the many wrongs done to him by the smarmy punk bastard.

But there was Kumon using crude gangster language with almost the same kansai twist that Ranma used to use, only worse. And he looked like he might lash out at any minute and kill somebody. And Ryoga wasn't at all sure if he could stop him. He kept thinking that maybe he should attack him preemptively, but he felt like he didn't have any momentum. He couldn't just lash out at the man without provocation he had to work up to it. Also he wasn't sure if his hosts would approve of such violence in their dining room. He might also end up dying himself for his troubles, and, while he wasn't at all, in any way, the least bit afraid of that, it wasn't something to take lightly.

Currently his strategy was to attempt to convey to Kasumi through various facial expressions that Kumon was a bad guy and that she should find a way to poison him, preferably with something untraceable, but really anything would do.

"Oh would you like some more tea?" she asked him.

"No," he started, "I mean…I guess… sure. Yes please." Ryoga hoped that she didn't poison his cup of tea by mistake. But then who was he kidding, she probably wouldn't be poisoning anybody.

"Look, this is real fucking swell. Honest it is. But my associate and me, we ain't gonna leave until you tell us where to find the Saotomes."

"I'm afraid we don't really have much room," Kasumi told him. "You'll have to sleep on the floor somewhere. And I'm afraid we are low on money so we would request that you pay for room and board."

"You're not hearin' me. I ain't paying shit, bitch! I know you're hiding them somewhere. Where the fuck are they?"

There was a loud –TAK- as Tendo Soun placed a piece on the Shogi board. Drinking his hopefully unpoisoned green tea, Ryoga eyed the suspiciously familiar looking panda the man was playing with to see what its move would be. It looked like knight to rook seven. A risky maneuver, but impressive for a zoo animal.

"Listen," Nabiki spoke coolly. "I don't have my sister's patience. We're not telling you anything so just leave, or will call the police."

"HA!" Kumon barked a little too loudly, but not with the full effect of his technique. "You think I give a shit about some dumbass cop?"

"We're home!" A cheery voice called from the front porch. Ryoga turned to see two more beautiful girls walk in. One with long hair so black it almost looked blue in the light, and the other, shorter, but shapelier with red hair in a pigtail. What was this, a beauty convention? Ryoga would have thought that having this many pretty girls in one space would have broken some law of the universe or something.

"Welcome home!" Kasumi called out in response.

"Hey, Akane," Nabiki greeted them, rising to a standing position. "Did you and Megumi have a fun time tonight?"

Both girls looked confused.

"Yes, we have some guests tonight," Nabiki explained, "This is Hibiki Ryoga and Kumon Ryu. They both have vendettas against the Saotomes and were hoping we might help them."

The dark-haired girl's eyes widened, and then she smiled, hugging the red-head closer to her "Oh right. Me and Megumi had a blast. Though we mostly spent the time in a restaurant talking."

"Who's Megumi?" the redhead asked.

"You are, you ditz!" The long-haired girl, who was apparently Akane, pushed Megumi playfully.

"Oh! Okay. Right. Yeah, we had a blast." Megumi had a slightly crazed look about her though. Maybe the girl had too much alcohol or something. "Hey, I…er… know the Saotomes. What's your problem with them exactly?"

"Saotome Genma killed my father," Kumon spat.

Not to be out done Ryoga said, "Saotome Ranma ruined my life."

"Did I, now? I mean did she…he." Good grief, the girl sounded like she was having a stroke or something! She had to be really soused.

"Are you okay?" Ryoga asked. "Do you need some water or anything? Your sister has tea made."

"Yeah, some tea would be good. You have enough for both me and Akane…big sister Kasumi?"

Kasumi nodded.

"Cool." Seeming suddenly completely sober, Megumi sat down across from Ryoga between where Nabiki and Kasumi had been sitting. Megumi's eyes were a deep blue and seem to bore holes into Ryoga's soul as she spoke. "Alright. Now how about telling me a little more about these vendettas of yours. If your stories are good enough, I might even help you."

"We already wasted enough time explaining ourselves, bitch. Just tell us where to find them."

Megumi leaned back and yawned as Kasumi placed a cup of tea in front of her. "There's something this guy I know from school keeps saying. This kind of reminds me of it. 'The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure.' I don't know. Maybe you guys should just let heaven take care of this one."

Kumon stood up, "Maybe we should just kill you, and let heaven take care of your face!"

Ryoga had enough. In one motion he rose and punched Kumon in the solar plexus with a heavy left hook. The idea was to leave the bastard breathless and stunned, so that Ryoga could attack again before Kumon could use his special move. Before Ryoga could attack again however, there was a loud -SMACK- and a wooden sign smashed into Kumon's head, creating a small shower of splinters. Kumon crumpled to the floor.

Ryoga looked up to see that it was the panda who had wielded the sign."Uh...thanks?"

The panda seemed to make a thumbs up gesture and then sat back down to its game of shogi.

"Oh, the poor boy must have been exhausted!" Kasumi exclaimed, grabbing Kumon by the wrists. "I'll just take him into the kitchen and tape him up so he doesn't hurt himself when he wakes." The tall, willowy girl then dragged Kumon into the kitchen as easily as a child might drag a sled.

Ryoga sat slowly back down trying to come to terms with what he just saw.

"So you going to tell me what your deal is," Megumi asked through a yawn, "or should we just call it a night?"

Ryoga looked up at the beautiful red-headed girl asking him about his story. He let out a breath, relieved that, at least for the moment, he didn't have to worry about what Kumon was going to do. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"No," Ryoga said, "I'll tell you." And he did. At first he faltered, but eventually his story picked up pace once he found the right place to start. He started at the beginning, when he was first bullied for knowing Rhythmic Gymnastics and he continued, because there was something in Megumi's eyes that told him that what he said mattered. That she cared.

~~~~~End of chapter 12~~~~~

-Author's Notes-

4/16/11

First, as always, thanks to everyone who reviewed this fic. You guys are awesome.

What follows is a sort of behind the scenes bit. If you like to look behind the curtain read on, but if you're one of those people who like things mysterious, or you just don't give a crap about what I think, feel free to skip.

STORY LENGTH

I did try to make a ten page chapter, honest, I did, but it just doesn't work for me. I suppose I could split this into two parts and release them a week apart or something, but that seems kind of silly. And I didn't feel right about posting the first half until I was sure it would fit with the second half. I consider each chapter a sort of stand alone story and until I knew how it was going to "conclude" it just didn't feel right to let the first part go. So sorry to those of you who like smaller chapters, but that's how it is.

Slow but Sure

The title from the chapter comes from the Kuno quote of course, but it also relates to each of the pov characters...sort of. I suppose the fact that each character is ironically going against what they have ostensibly set out to do isn't quite "vengeance" but I'm taking the the interpretation that perhaps the vengeance of heaven is the way that life takes our plans and uses them against us without us even realizing, and that sometimes, this is a good thing.

Kosuke "Tasuke" Oka

So just to make it perfectly clear, this story is actually from the perspective of Kosuke Oka, the main antagonist of the story. Kosuke can see anything that any Jusenkyo victim sees, and if they are in hot water, he/she sees it in real time (AKA present tense). This makes this fic a bit like Inspector Gadget. Kosuke is like the Claw, and Kosuke's husband is like the Claw's cat.

Nodoka

I'm glad I can finally reveal what happened here. Ranma's parents are both somewhat enigmatic. Genma seems to genuinely care for Ranma, and yet he does some awful things. It's the same really with Nodoka. In canon, she never sees Ranma in male form except for glances. She think "ranko" is a completely different person and is constantly wanting Ranma to be manly. But as soon as he reveals his situation, she says he's manly enough. What gives? And why would Genma be so worried about her if shes really so reasonable? One of the ideas of this fic is to give some reason for all of this. Nodoka knew that male energy would keep Kirika's female soul suppressed (probably because Kirika told her, though I haven't written that yet) and she was thoroughly freaked by what happened. People who are freaked out tend to freak others out. It created a big ole' batch of no good.

Ryu Kumon

I call him by his family name because Ryu looks too much like Ryoga and Ranma and things are confusing enough without that. More of an issue is my interpretation of his character, which I admit might be a tad off. I've kind of exaggerated some of his faults a little and base him off my impression from the manga rather than on the things he did in the manga. Some might take issue for example with me having him threaten women and innocents with death. I was originally going to have him actually attack, before I went over his canon storyline and realized he actually saved Nodoka from getting hurt; so he's not a complete jackass. If you notice, he's actually having tea with Kasumi and Nabiki, and as much as he talks about killing folk, he doesn't ever actually kill anybody. At least not yet.

I apologize if any of you are offended by his cursing, but he's on a different level of rude than even Ranma or Ryoga is, and there just aren't enough ways to show that. Maybe you can offer an alternative?

Akane and Ranma

Akane's issues with Ranma and vice versa are basically settled for now. You didn't get to see the part where Akane was upset that Ranma wasn't back and worried about her. She had a small tirade, then a talk with Nabiki, and then when Ranma tried and failed to quit her job, she felt like she knew what Ranma's problem was. There was a time in canon when Akane thought she understood Ranma...a little after her hair got cut and Ranma wanted to cheer her up. Happy Akane is observant, playful, and even graceful. The problem here, of course is that she's still trying to make Ranma into a girl and Ranma isn't exactly fighting back. Here I'm completely in fanfiction land. I think Ranma's attitude is pretty consistent with what's happened before. I think everyone who goes to high school has the experience of joining a group of friends and taking on new habits and personality traits from the group. With Ranma it's a bit stranger maybe, and I admit things have happened rather more quickly than they normally would, but Ranma has led a lonely life, and sometimes life changing events can happen quickly. I could be wrong, though. What say you, readers?

Japanese and English

The plural of sensei is actually just sensei...if you are speaking Japanese. Which I am not. Also Japanese houses have engawas, not porches. And they get blown about by kazes not winds. Anyway at some point using the japanese words becomes ridiculous, and I've decided its also silly to try to use Japanese grammar rules in a story written in English. Exceptions would be something like a souzu, for which there is no English word for. You could say it's a deer scarer, but that just seems dumb. I'm sure many of you will disagree with me on some or all of these points, but that's my current feeling on the issue. I'm still tempted to use Japanese in some occasions, such as when Ranma and Akane come inside the house. I know what they are "really" saying is "Tadaima!" and what Kasumi is "really" saying is "Okaerinasai!" but does it really make sense for me to suddenly shift to Japanese there? I don't think it does. These are fictional characters I am writing about in English and if we all agree to pretend that everything they are saying is in Japanese, then my job is already done. I'll try to use cultural quirks when I know about them, but even that is a losing battle. A kansai accent is not exactly the same thing as a Brooklyn or Southern accent and Japanese cursing is more like bragging excessively rather than using curse words. But how do you translate that? I don't really know for sure. This is just my attempt.

Megumi

I have a personal distaste for the name "ranko." If you pronounce it correctly it sounds like a food dehydrator and if you don't, it's like calling someone Smelly. Or Decomposette and the way it came about in canon was kind of dumb imho. So I've organized things to have Nabiki name Ranma's girl side so she can have a name that's slightly less likely to make me want to vomit. Where does the name come from? Well, fem Ranma's seiyuu is Megumi Hayashibara in the anime. Also I read in a manga (Cheeky Angel) that Megumi could be used for a boy or a girl, so Ranma would kind of like that.

In conclusion

I'm happy to discuss any of this with any of you. In the end, I just hope you are still enjoying the story and I hope to keep it up with the next chapter.