Ranma Nibunnoichi - Reflections
A. V. Morgan
Part Thirty-Six: To See the Naked Truth
Unnoticed through the morning battle and the long period of gathering reinforcements and negotiating with Happosai, the sun had ascended upon its natural arc in its usual, stoic fashion. In a week of unprecedented disruption, this morning had seen such disturbing changes it was almost impossible to believe the world had not stopped on its axis. Ranma did not know if she took comfort in seeing the shadows shift and shorten, heralding the approach of mid day. In the wake of Nodoka's declaration, the witnesses discretely excused themselves from the presence of Ranma, Ryouga and Akane, who remained lost in a shell-shocked silence, unable to look at each other. As Soun and Genma busied themselves with shipping Happosai out of the country, Kasumi had proceeded outside to gather the clothes discarded in, and beside, the koi pond. Ranma was one of the few cursed individuals fortunate enough to be able to wear the same clothes through transformations. No one really understood the slight of hand Genma used to shed and resume wearing his usual dirty gi, but the likes of Shampoo, Mousse and Ryouga always left a sodden heap of clothes they could not resume wearing until they had been dried.
It had become so common for them to lose complete outfits in or around the Tendo compound that they usually snatched an outfit Kasumi had washed and stored for them. This had been the case when Mousse was returned to human form by Nodoka's curiosity and a hot kettle of tea. However, since Mousse could never retain his entire arsenal during the shift from human to duck, his discards were significantly more trouble for Kasumi to deal with. Mousse was not unusual in taking Kasumi's laundering service for granted, but after watching Kasumi labor to pick up hundreds of discarded weapons that Mousse deployed in the morning battle, Shampoo took an atypical interest in helping Kasumi in the yard. Her work as a waitress had made Shampoo adept at working around water without getting wet enough to change to her cat form, so she sorted through the odd assortment of objects Kasumi shook out of his damp robes.
One object, in particular, caught her attention. A bottle of water. A bottle of very special water. A cruel smile played at her lips as she thought of locking certain male obstacles in their smaller, more vulnerable forms. Pocketing the bottle, while these evil thoughts were pondered, she continued to sort weapons. Because of his curse, Mousse had duplicated his entire arsenal numerous times, so he had probably reequipped himself when he got dressed and the weapons Shampoo was sorting would just go into storage in the Tendo Dojo. It would probably be a while before her unwanted paramour realized he had lost the chisuiiton water flask.
By the time she was done with her task, Shampoo had realized that there was only enough water to lock one individual, and had begun the difficult task of trying to decide if Mousse or Ryouga was the greater threat. It took only a second to realize that it was Ryouga who now stood as her greatest rival. While it was true that his involvement was with Ranma, she knew how the council of elders thought. They would look at the situation involving the mirror and conclude that it was Ranko, not Ranma, who had consummated the marriage. The issue was confused enough that it would take a while to reach that conclusion, but as far as Shampoo was concerned, it was a forgone conclusion. The only thing Shampoo could do now to make her claim stronger than Ryouga's was to have sex with the real Ranko before the council deliberated—and of course, Ranko was currently female.
With a small growl, she gathered the pile of weapons in her arms and delivered them to the storage closet of the dojo. As she put them away, she fumed over the way things had gone. Because of Mousse, Ranko was cured. Her male side completely erased. That severely weakened Shampoo's position. Only the fact that Ranko had been a boy, because of Togenkyo water, exempted her from the law forbidding amazons to deliberately assume a sex changing curse. Shampoo doubted she would have much of an opportunity to bed Ranko between visiting Jusenkyo and their return to the village. If only she had some nanniichaun water now!
The heart ache was tearing her up inside. It was the same agony she had suffered the night she had first confronted the mirror split Ranma. What she had believed, after confronting Copy-chan in the bath, was true this time. In fact, it was even worse. Instead of a boy trapped in a girl's body, Ranko was a girl trapped in a girl's body. If Fa Shen's memories were taken into consideration, and they should be, since Ranko had made it known that they were surfacing, she was an amazon girl to boot. Not exactly prime husband material, Shampoo chuckled morosely, but thanks to that original misunderstanding, she had been forced to accept that she loved the person and had long since accepted that person could be as female as herself. She had been forced to understand that a big part of "Ranma's" attraction for her was the fact that he could be a she. In "Ranma" she had the hope of a friend as well as a husband—a sister in arms, as well as a lover.
As the situation unfolded and Fa Shen became part of the picture, even as Ranko declared herself a completely independent entity from Ranma, and a girl, the attraction had only grown. Shampoo knew how a reincarnated amazon fit into her native society, especially one who crossed over from male to female. Ranma had been the perfect man for Shampoo from the beginning. Ranko was simply perfect. A woman legally entitled to take a wife, and with everything she had absorbed from Ranma, more than man enough to fulfill Shampoo's hopes, dreams and desires.
It hurt a lot more, now that she had confronted them, to see those hopes, dreams and desires shattered by the loss of that male form. Not for the first time, she wished she had not restrained herself in her efforts to seduce the boy. Even though she had invested the time and trouble to use instant nanniichaun on herself, to find out exactly how males ticked and what buttons to push, he had proven immune to her subtle manipulations. As the woman, it was her prerogative to consummate their marriage, and she could be as aggressive as she wanted. The problem was, she wanted him to want her. She wanted him to love her. She enticed and encouraged, she threw herself at him shamelessly, but silently demanded him to make the critical move. She would have been content to wait forever if it had not been for Ryouga. If she had slept with the boy-girl just ONCE, nothing could have threatened their union. If Shampoo was not terrified that the transformation would kill Ranko, Shampoo would grab a packet of instant nyanniichaun and use it right then and there. If Shampoo did not hold back, there was no way any male could resist her. Not even one who had become female in her own mind.
"Shampoo want break something!" Shampoo snarled.
"What are you so upset about, Sugar?"
Shampoo spun around at the sound of Ukyo's voice. The girl was paused in the act of entering the dojo, one hand gripping the shoji lightly, the other flipping her long, dark pony-tail off her shoulder.
"What not to be upset about?" Shampoo challenged, dismissing her rival as a threat for the moment. Shampoo wondered how serious the okonomiyaki chef was about continuing her pursuit of Ranma. She had flung that challenge mostly to irritate Genma, but in the wake of Nodoka's declaration it would be quite a battle to actually win him. After hearing about what had happened between Ranma and Ryouga, it was unlikely she would even want to. Even discounting the fact that they all the fiancées had some difficulty with transferring their affections from Ranko to Ranma, the one attraction Ranma held for all of them was his fierce masculinity. But, why turn away from the girl you love to pursue a boy who was girl enough to do THAT?
"Well," Ukyo smirked, "Akane's staked her claim to Ranma. She probably wasn't thinking, but she challenged Ryouga and Ranma's mom took her seriously. I don't know if you caught the look on Ranko's face when she went all psycho-possessive over Ranma, but I think she just blew her chances with Ranko big time."
"That so?" Shampoo perked up. One less rival was good news, especially with the addition of male competitors for Ranko's love. Still, if Ukyo thought it was good news, then it was not all good news for the amazon. "What you do? You also engaged to Ranma."
Ukyo waved that off. "Well, Ranma can't marry both Ryouga and Akane, so it's pretty obvious he can't marry me too. I won't just drop it, but I am sure, one way or the other, I will lose Ranma. It's so tragic," she posed dramatically in grief, holding the back of one hand to her forehead. Shampoo eyed her suspiciously, but Ukyo was not going to point out little details that would come out, which would suggest the perfect way to satisfy her family honor through marriage to Ranko. With the life Ukyo had led, there was sufficient documented evidence for Ukyo to be proven either male or female. A nanniichaun curse would see to it that she was a perfect match for Ranko, whatever she chose to be officially. A good strategy was like a good recipe, she just needed to get all the ingredients right, keep an eye on the temperature as things heated up, and make all the right moves at the right time.
"Spatula-Girl plan on lose?" Shampoo glared.
"Sometimes it's better to get the consolation prize," Ukyo shrugged. It was more than a hint, but it was not as if the other girl did not know her intentions inside and out. Ukyo already knew she had one incredible advantage over Shampoo. She could get a boy curse. She also had, ironically, spent over half her life living as a boy. Taking her charade one step further was a bit frightening, but for Ranko, she would not hesitate to do it. She saw the anger creeping into Shampoo's eyes and sighed. "Stop it, Shampoo," she snapped sternly, but without malice. "I know you want her too, and yeah, it means we're still rivals, but things are a lot more complicated now that the boys are in on this too."
Shampoo blinked in surprise. "What you get at?"
"I think it's kinda obvious, Shampoo. Nodoka's really hung up on honor. If Ryouga wins Ranma, she's going to think of marrying Ranko to Akane, girl or not, to honor the families' pact. If Akane gets Ranma, then Ryouga will go after Ranko, and thanks to your amazon laws, he has a good chance of getting her," Ukyo frowned in frustration. "I'm not even going to go into what Mousse is up to. Ranko's still a fiancée magnet, so the only way to improve the odds for you and me is to work together to make sure no one else gets a shot at her."
Shampoo considered what Ukyo was proposing very carefully. Thinking aloud, she found herself returning to the thoughts Ukyo had interrupted. "Shampoo could weaken Lost Boy's claim to Ranko if stupid mirror no make fatal for Ranko to transform. Maybe make possible for Ranko defeat stupid Mousse in challenge, too," she muttered.
Ukyo scratched her head in thought. "I don't understand. I thought Ranko was freed from the mirror's effects when her curse was cured."
Shampoo paused. "Shampoo thought, Ranko need have full ki to close self off from mirror. Cure curse just mean no can transform, so no give mirror chance to suck off last ki," she countered.
"I thought the reason she still had ki was because it was locked in her curse so the mirror could not get it unless she changed. She was completely paralyzed until Cologne cured her and let that ki free. If the mirror was still able to drain her, wouldn't it be draining her now?" Ukyo braced her hands on her hips. She thought carefully about what Cologne had said about it. The curse had stored up ki like a battery, so Cologne had tried to lock it to keep any of that energy from coming out. Only, she had not locked it, she had cured it. Ranko had been able to start moving after that, and when her ki was boosted by Ranma, she had been able to move much better. Why had the mirror stopped draining her? "There was nowhere for the mirror to send the ki," Ukyo realized.
"What?"
"Ranma and Fa Shen had all the ki they needed when they took over the reflections. They each had enough to seal themselves off from the mirror and Ranko, so the mirror didn't have anywhere to send more energy and stopped draining. The curse protected Ranko just long enough for them to break the circuit," Ukyo concluded, feeling proud of herself for figuring it out.
"We go check with Great-Grandmother and Doctor. It sound good, but Shampoo want be sure!" the purple-haired girl insisted, dragging Ukyo along as she ran out of the dojo and into the house. If Ukyo was right, Shampoo knew how to make a man out of Ranko. As soon as she could do that, it was well past time her husband made a woman out of Shampoo.
Shampoo and Ukyo noticed that Ranma, Ryouga and Akane were still frozen in place as they passed the entrance to the Tea Room in search of Cologne and Tofu. Ukyo quickly guessed where they would find Cologne. The chef had attempted to corner Nodoka and bring up the matter of her own engagement while Shampoo was helping Kasumi, and had looked on as Nodoka supervised Genma and Soun carrying out the exile of Happosai. Thus, Ukyo had overheard as Nodoka commanded, and Soun delegated to Cologne, the removal of Happosai's belongings from the Tendo home. Nodoka wanted to ensure the old master would never be welcomed back into the house her children resided in and Cologne was probably the only person who could safely handle the dangerous artifacts certain to be found among his more mundane possessions. Since many had been stolen from her tribe, she had been eager to clear out the room, and had conscripted Mousse to assist her. Doctor Tofu, however, had taken Nodoka aside as soon as Happosai was shipped off. They had gone together to his clinic, Nabiki informed Shampoo and Ukyo, to discuss the gender issues faced by Ranma and Ranko.
"Is fine, Great-Grandmother can answer question best."
"Thanks, Nabiki. Come on, Shampoo."
Nabiki watched as the rival fiancées entered Happosai's former room and continued down the hall to check on her little sister. Just the fact that Shampoo and Ukyo were up to something together did not bode well for the future, but Nabiki was much more concerned about what Akane would do to Ryouga once she got over the shock of Nodoka's declaration. When it had come up, the idea of Ranma ending up married to Ryouga had been perversely funny, but seeing the boy hug her to his chest and profess his love, and not seeing Ranma even twitch, let alone brain him for it, simply shocked Nabiki to the core. Akane's plan had worked all too well, and once Akane came down from her tower of outrage and disbelief, she would be quick to forget this was her own fault and lash out at Ranma and Ryouga with every ounce of spite she possessed. Nabiki had picked up a yukata before encountering Shampoo and Ukyo and, finding the lover's triangle still rigid with brain lock, draped it over Ryouga's naked back and shoulders when she entered the Tea Room.
Pausing beside all three, she waved a hand in front of their eyes and decided none of them were ready to come back to reality any time soon. Glancing outside, she saw Kasumi hanging laundry. The fathers had left right after Nodoka, no doubt headed to a bar to celebrate the banishment of Happosai, so there were only two people left to account for. Nabiki vaguely remembered Fa Shen dragging Ranko upstairs while Nabiki was calling the freight company to send a truck to pick up Happosai. She headed upstairs to the guest room to find out what they were up to.
For their part, Fa Shen and Ranko had spent the time since excusing themselves distracting themselves from everything that was going on. Fa Shen had taken one look at Ranko, dressed in an oversized shirt and panties, and insisted on finding her something more appropriate to wear. Fa Shen herself wanted to change out of the pajamas she had fought in, after trading outfits with Ranma. Ranma's wardrobe was eclectic and limited, but she found a collection of matching outfits Ranko, as Ranma, had used as a waitress at the Cat Café. Naturally, when it had been necessary to dress the part, during the Cat Tongue ordeal, Ranma had purchased multiple sets of the same feminine, Chinese silk outfit. Once they had changed, Fa Shen assisting Ranko, they were just grateful that they had something comfortable to wear. Fa Shen had proceeded to primp and polish their appearance, introducing Ranko to some of the feminine arts she was sorely lacking in her upbringing. By the time Nabiki walked in on them, the pair had become so identical that only Ranko's weakness gave her away.
"You know, I would think the two of you would be trying to accentuate your differences," Nabiki commented after her first appraising glance.
"Oh, hi, Nabiki," Ranko greeted.
"Hey, I just thought, after a year of being stuck as Ranma, she might wanna try being like me for a change," Fa Shen grinned. She put a finishing touch on the cosmetics she had been applying to Ranko's face, using the supplies Nodoka had provided the night before for the date, and leaned back to admire her work. Considering the primitive materials she had used in her own time to enhance her natural beauty, Nodoka's simple make up kit was a treasure trove. She turned to study their reflections in the mirror and smiled at her new twin. "Now we look like a respectable pair of amazons!"
"Speaking of amazons," Nabiki coughed politely. As they turned to regard her, Nabiki continued, "Did either of you plan to let Nodoka know that Ryouga might be Ranma's husband by amazon law?"
Ranko stiffened instantly, but Fa Shen closed her eyes thoughtfully for a moment before staring wide eyed at Nabiki. Confronted by Nodoka, she had thrown herself into the memories she acquired during her awakening to pass as Ranma. She had not entirely shifted back to her normal way of thinking until Nabiki pointed out what she should have already concluded. "I can't believe I didn't think of that!"
"Well, before Happosai let the cat out of the bag, we told Nodoka about Ranko and her twin being amazons, and Cologne explained how that effected Ranko and Ranma when she explained what was really going on. Your mom kind of overlooked all of that when she made her declaration, Ranko," Nabiki pointed out.
"I don't think this is a good time to bring this up to her," Ranko flinched.
"I don't know," Nabiki waved her off. "I mean, Nodoka seemed to find the whole amazon thing interesting at first. It's just possible that she might actually respect their laws and customs. Wouldn't it be better to find out now, before you're all dragged before the amazon council?"
"Gyaaa! From what Cologne said, the only way Ranma can get out of bein' married to Ryouga is if they decide he's really married to me!" Ranko stuck out her tongue. Her disgust was less toward the thought of ending up with Ryouga, and more toward being forced into a relationship period. She was still angry about Mousse's challenge, and the laws that were pushing her into it. The whole idea of her being an amazon was not one she cared to take seriously, but she was not being given any choice. Shaking her head, she argued, "That's not gonna happen any time soon. Mousse won't take us to Jusenkyo until he's fought me, and Ranma would have to get to Jusenkyo before he can, ah, er, heal me."
Without even mentioning how it worked, the thought of what Ranma and Fa Shen had been willing to do to heal Ranko brought blushes to the girl's faces. Even Nabiki could not help herself. "I still can't believe you two were thinking of doing that," she chuckled, nudging Fa Shen in the ribs. "For one thing, you're practically the same person, but you were both the wrong sex! How could you even THINK of doing that?"
Fa Shen cleared her throat and blushed a little harder. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, it was a lot easier to think of doing it as a boy than as a girl. I'm not, ah, really that comfortable about letting a boy…" she cut herself off. How did she explain the problems she had with men challenging her from the very onset of puberty? How could she explain how Ranma being a girl would have removed the threat a male partner presented to her.
"You mean you wanted to do it as a boy!?" Nabiki and Ranko gaped.
"Well, that's a hell of a lot better than doing it WITH a boy!" Fa Shen shouted in instant embarrassment. The way they stared at her did not help her regain her cool. Crossing her arms, she glared at them, "Just look at Ranma! She did it with a boy and now he's practically her husband! And she's really a BOY inside! What do you think it'd do to a real girl like me, if sex is really that good!"
"Uh…" Ranko's mind balked at trying to answer.
"You know, this is the modern world, guys. You don't have to marry someone just because you have sex with them," Nabiki rolled her eyes. Fa Shen settled back, about to point out that even in her tribe sex did not require marriage, but Nabiki cut her off with her next comment. "I suppose you just thought, if you were a guy at the time, it wouldn't really count, Fa Shen?"
Fa Shen swallowed the argument she had been poised to deliver and thought about the question. Nodding her head, she answered, "I suppose that's part of it. I mean, I could tell that Ranma wasn't exactly scared of doing it, and that it would probably be a lot of fun, but the whole point was that we wanted to help Ranko. If I was still a guy now, I'd be willing to do it for that reason."
Ranko looked at her oddly. There was something hesitant in how she said that, as if there was something that went unsaid. Curious, and suspicious, she pressed, "Are you sure that's all it was? You just wanted to help me?"
Fa Shen gazed back at her, unconsciously giving her a look similar to the one she gave Ranma once she got used to the proposition. To her shock, Ranko seemed to recognize the look and swallowed hard.
"It's the memories, isn't it?" Ranko demanded.
Fa Shen stiffened. "What are you talking about!?"
"I know that look. Copy-kun and Copy-chan both gave me that look when they were puttin' the moves on me. Even when they were just thinkin' of it. Because of me, you can remember a whole year of tryin' to be a guy, thinkin' like a guy havin' all these girls chasin' after you!" Ranko accused.
Fa Shen sighed and her shoulders sagged. After a moment she nodded in defeat. "You have no… Actually, I guess you do have an idea. This was Copy-kun's body and… he really, really wanted Copy-chan. He even wanted you, Ranko. His head was full of naughty thoughts. After he got your memories, and became a cured Ranma, he… those feelings changed," Fa Shen confided. She stood and went to the window. Looking out, and speaking over her shoulder, she continued. "As a matter of honor, he was trying to take the engagement with Akane seriously. He wanted to delay getting married, since he wasn't sure how they felt about each other. He didn't know if he loved her because… well, he didn't feel the same about her as he did about you and Ranma."
Ranko and Nabiki exchanged glances, half wondering if they wanted to hear more, unable to resist listening for it.
"It was totally perverted, how much he wanted you. He thought some of it was just Copy-kun, and some of it was feeling cut off from his female half. Because Cologne warned him how dangerous it would be, he never seriously thought about having sex with either of you, but he couldn't stop fantasizing about it. He was afraid of what would happen if anyone suspected, so he hid all these feelings. Could you imagine what Akane would do if she thought her fiancé wanted his girl half more than her?" she challenged.
Ranko and Nabiki cringed.
"I never suspected," Nabiki mused, in disbelief.
"I should have known. I can remember it. It hit me when I took a bath with the other Ranko the next morning. Copy-chan was just as bad, and I had to fight off being attracted to that Ranma. Copy-kun almost got me that first morning, so I knew I had to be careful. If I dropped my guard when I thought I was a guy, I was doomed thinking I was a girl and having her feelings inside me," Ranko admitted.
Fa Shen turned to face them, relieved to know that Ranko understood exactly what she was going through. "It would be so easy, and it would be for such a good reason. I'm glad I'm back to normal, but, it's kind of a shame that it happened too soon. It's an itch I can't scratch and I'm afraid it'll drive me to get cursed too," she finally revealed her real fear. She covered her face, "I don't know how to deal with it. I'm turned on by my own body."
Ranko stared at her. She understood the feeling, but she had kept the impulses under control in her own case. Apparently, her male reflection had really fed the fire to leave Fa Shen in this insane position. "I am really sorry about this, Fa Shen," she blushed, taking responsibility for her projection.
Fa Shen forced herself to smile, dropping her hands to show her face, "Hey, it's not so bad. I mean, I didn't really think I could come back from the dead and not have to pay some kind of price. At least I don't have all that testosterone in my system making things even worse."
Nabiki blinked. "I didn't think anyone knew about testosterone when you were alive," she commented idly.
"One of the good sides to having Ranko's memories. I can understand the world I am in now and can think in its terms," Fa Shen shrugged. She thought for a moment and grinned, "By the way, Nabiki. She's a whole lot smarter then you ever gave her credit for. Ranma too."
Nabiki frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did you ever wonder why Ranma found school so boring?" Fa Shen's grin widened to show all of her brilliant, white teeth. It did not take long for Nabiki to get what she was implying.
"You have to be kidding! Ranma's a complete idiot! He's utterly clueless about anything besides martial arts! No offense, Ranko, but it's true," Nabiki declared hotly. Fa Shen and Ranko exchanged looks and then gazed back at Nabiki, smiling innocently. Nabiki sniffed. She was not going to buy it. She knew that Ranma had potential, but he was too single minded and lazy to have the kind of intelligence Fa Shen was implying. Maybe the ancient amazon was smart, but Nabiki refused to believe she had ever underestimated Ranma. How could anyone raised and educated almost entirely by Genma possibly be smart? It was ridiculous.
Rather than argue with the pair, who were smirking with absurd self-confidence, Nabiki excused herself to check up on Akane and the love birds once more. As she came down stairs, Kasumi noticed her and informed her that Cologne had returned to the Cat Café with Shampoo and Mousse and would return with lunch for all of them. Nabiki smiled to herself, wondering what treasures they had retrieved from Happosai. It was a shame to let all of Happosai's legacy go like that, but it was definitely safer for everyone in the house to have it gone. Poking her head into the Tea Room, she sighed in exasperation. The three teens were still frozen in place.
On some level, Akane had been aware of what was going on around her. Like Ranma, she had turned her attention to Nodoka when she made her announcement, and froze staring off into the back yard. With the image of Ryouga possessively hugging Ranma to his chest, and her relaxing back into his grip, seared into her mind, she had no desire to return her gaze to the couple. It was bad enough to know that it was her own fault those two were together, and worse still to remember that she had spoken up to suggest Ranma might want to remain a girl to preserve her relationship with Ryouga. In both cases, she had acted in the interests of a person she wanted to consider her friend, with whom she had not expected to be romantically entangled. Neither the girl she had set up with Ryouga, nor the boy who woke up in her, was not the person she thought she was in love with. Those feelings, she had been positive, were attached to Ranko. Even though she accepted the idea that Ranko was really a girl, even if she had an interest in being male, Akane had accepted her feelings for her and proceeded to ponder how far she would go to be with Ranko.
Unfortunately, time to think was a luxury she had not been afforded. Instead of having the day at school to mull over the situation, Nodoka and Happosai had clashed and everything had come completely unhinged. In the mirror trap, watching Ranma panic and fall into despair when her father proposed marrying her to Ryouga, Akane had felt her heart go out to her. If there was anything she understood, after watching what Ranko had gone through, it was that nothing could injure a person like Ranma more than the loss of her identity. Ranko had made it clear how she felt about being a boy and a girl, and it had been easy to see the difference it made to Ranma when she learned of the plan to go back to Jusenkyo. However well she adapted to being a girl, Ranma HAD to be a boy for her own sake. For various reasons, she needed to be a girl too, and being forced to be one or the other was certain to harm her. Unfortunately, that seemed to be what her parents demanded. Ranma had to be a perfect son, and failing that, a perfect daughter. Akane had instantly objected, and argued that Ranma had every right to be who she… he… wanted to be.
Even though it diminished her chances with Ranko to suggest that she was better suited to assuming the obligation of Nodoka's daughter, she had pointed it out to encourage Ranma. Even though Ranma reminded her that even as a half man, their fathers would still expect a male Ranma to marry Akane, she supported "him". At that point, after seeing the same pain in Ranma she had seen in Ranko, it had become clear to Akane that Ranma could be just as worthy of her love as Ranko. She had learned that lesson on her date. In a moment of self honesty, she even admitted she would prefer to love the one who was at least a man in his own mind. She just did not have it in her to become the man in the relationship, to take a curse that would let her be a suitable mate for Ranko. Akane doubted she would ever love another girl the way she loved Ranko, and it was not even that she expected Ranko to be a man for her. Akane would be happy to have her just the way she was, uncursed and all. She was just afraid she could not be what Ranko wanted, needed.
When Ranma perked up at her suggestion, rallied around her support for his manhood, Akane had allowed herself to believe part of his motivation was to escape from a possible marriage to Ryouga. A willingness to pursue her instead. It had seemed like there was a chance for things to go back to normal, but this time without the fighting and misunderstandings between them. She was prepared to stand by Ranma and argue against Nodoka, to preserve Ranma's manhood. She had been shaken when the "message" from Nodoka to Ranma broke the girl's spirit. Akane had been unable to understand what had happened, and began to worry when Nodoka took Ranma aside to talk to her. She fought to keep herself calm, waiting for them to come inside, so she could find out what Nodoka's plan was. She was ready to step in and champion Ranma in spite of her unexpected submission, but Nodoka had done something completely unexpected.
Nodoka had revealed P-Chan's real form. In that instant, all rational thought had been blown out of Akane's mind. Taken separately, Ryouga and P-Chan were two of her best friends in the world. In hindsight, she could see the similar qualities that had endeared them to her. They were both loyal and attentive friends, trusted companions, fellow victims of Ranma's insensitive goading and insults. The problem was, P-Chan was her trusted pet and confidant. She told him her secrets, let him sleep in her bed, anguished over his prolonged absences and loved him in an innocent and uncomplicated fashion. For all his good qualities, Ryouga was not entitled to that degree of intimacy with her, so it came as a double blow to learn that he was P-Chan. In one instant, she lost the security blanket that little pig had been for her fragile heart, while at the same time realizing that a friend she trusted with her life had abused her trust and innocence on a scale she could hardly comprehend. Worst of all, she suddenly remembered all the hints Ranma had dropped from the beginning and realized what a complete fool Ryouga had made of her!
One harmless splash of hot water, and Akane had suffered the greatest betrayal of her entire life. Without a single thought, she reared up and attacked with every intention of killing the bastard on the spot. Blind rage was not enough to get through four of the best martial artists of her generation, and deadly threats lashed out to strike the abomination she could not reach. She did not even hear Nodoka's soft question to Ryouga as she raved in absolute fury. When Nodoka repeated the question, she heard it, but it did not register until Ryouga embraced Ranma and answered. All of her rage died at the proclamation of love, as Akane realized the full extent of the betrayal. She did not need Ryouga to remind her how she had set herself up, as she shouted her disbelief. One look at Ranma's reaction to the protective embrace had ripped out her heart. A faint, new hope, a mere glimmer of a possibility glimpsed in Ranma, had opened the tiniest chink in her armor, and the sight of Ranma's relief at Ryouga's declaration of love punched through to slay Akane on the spot.
All the rage and hatred awakened toward Ryouga turned inward on herself, and the horror of realizing that she could hurt this bad and not just die forced her to try and spit the fatal arrow back at Ryouga. There was a time when Ryouga had prompted her to say she hated him, to unlock the full potential of the shishihokodan. She obliged, not meaning it in the least. This time, when she said she hated him, she wanted the words to consume his soul. After that, all there was was her pain, her confusion, her loss expressed in such weak, stunned words. It was so horrible to realize what a monster Ryouga was, and know that she had betrayed Ranma into his embrace. Without even thinking about it, she asserted her own claim, dropping the gauntlet over Ranma. Nodoka had picked up her challenge and made it official, shocking them all by announcing that Ranma's very identity hinged on who or what she chose: Be a man with Akane, or a woman with Ryouga.
Akane realized at once that there was something she had missed. Some reason why Nodoka had declared she could not see Ranma as her daughter unless she married Ryouga. She had been locked up trying to understand this irrational decree, unable to even summon up the exact words Nodoka had used. Her mind had darted around, trying to come to grips with Ryouga's curse, Ranma's hints, the damning question of why he had not told her, but seeing how hard he had tried to keep the pig away from her. It would have been so simple to turn her head and ask. Except, she could not bear to see the person she had decided to love in HIS naked embrace. She could still see them from the corner of her eye, and knew neither of them had moved a hair since Nodoka dropped the bomb. If she so much as glanced in their direction the odd calm brought on by shock would dissolve into a rage that truly frightened her. For the first time in her life, she realized she was capable of murder, and Ranma stood between her and her chosen target.
She did not want to be a murderer. She did not know how to control the hate and anger waiting for her to slip out of her trance. She wished her mother was there. She hurt so bad.
Balanced on a knife's edge, her mind desperately trying to distract itself from the blood lust howling inside her, she focused on the missing piece, straining for the elusive key to Nodoka's rationale. Unfortunately, she did not realize that she had been protecting herself from that very understanding. Thus, when she finally succeeded in pinning it down, it was really the failure of all her efforts. As clear as a bell, she heard Nodoka's words ring in memory. "To preserve your honor as a girl, as MY daughter, you must marry Ryouga." Akane frowned in confusion. More words, from before that, "… you would HAVE to marry Ryouga after last night." A trembling started as Akane's hands fumbled in her lap. It spread from there to claw up her arms and legs to gnaw at her stomach, as she noticed a faint motion that drew her attention to the couple across from her. Unable to stop herself, her eyes drifted over and Akane realized that she had caught Ranma shifting the something into Ryouga's hand. She focused on the panties clutched in Ryouga's fist. The message from Nodoka, delivered by Nabiki, which had so deeply puzzled Akane, had been a pair of black, silk panties. The very panties "Ranko" had worn for her date. The blinding, enraged hatred that had gnawed on her soul poured through her, doubling and redoubling in intensity as she realized what had happened on that date. Akane was on her feet, lunging for Ryouga, hands clawed to rip his heart out of his chest—even if they had to tear through Ranma to reach it—before she knew what was happening.