Gahei
Have you ever met one of those people where no matter what happens it's never their fault?
"My wife failed to give me a son, and my daughter failed to give me a heir."
I grew up believing that.
My dad often told me that my mom had died after giving birth to me, just to spite him.
His useless wife gave him a useless daughter. But he was going to make me into something he said. He said he'd make me into a great chef and a great fighter who could take over the family business.
He tricked himself into believing I was a guy.
And I was fine with it. I had his love and his acceptance. What did it matter that it wasn't really me he was accepting?
Then came Ranchan. We had good times. But he tore down the fragile illusion my dad had when Genma started talking. They arranged a marriage. And dad was proud. He told me he would love me forever if I married my best friends. I was never happier. And Ranma was nice, and even at that young of an age I knew he was cute.
They stole the business.
They stole my dowry.
They stole my fathers' love.
And I hated them for that.
I never saw dad after that day.
Oh, he left me with enough to survive on. Enough for school. Enough for living.
But he left me. He didn't want to face his failure.
The child who lost him his heir.
I couldn't stand school. I was enough of an outcast before, but I was usually able to slip under the radar.
But then…
Everyone pointed. And laughed. And teased. And pushed. And hit. And tortured. And. And told the truth.
"Ukyo's husband left her." A small, childish voice came out.
"Right by the side of the road." A different tone, and a silly giggle.
"Stole her dowry right out from under her noise." The first voice rang out.
"Her own father doesn't even want to see her anymore!" This time a male sounding voice, followed by a crazed snicker.
I wouldn't waver in front of them. I showed them no tears, only my anger. I could defeat anyone on that schoolyard. In the end I was the one who left.
"Another loss for me, huh dad?"
So I went to the sea to train, because in all the old stories that's where the warriors went to become strong.
I wish he had read me one of those stories.
I trained so I could become strong in everything dad had said he would make me strong in. So I could defeat Ranma, get back my dowry, and have my fathers' acceptance. I could go home. I would be anything he wanted me to be if it meant he'd approve of me.
So I fought Ranma, who found out I was a girl, when I had already thought he had known.
He told me I was cute.
I remember my dad telling me that once, when I was engaged to Ranma. When I heard that, I accepted. My father would be happier with a male heir. And with such a strong martial artist. And I have become a good (great according to my customers) cook.
There was still a chance that my father would accept me back. And Ranma was everything I remembered him to be. Some may say that's a bad thing, but to me that was part of his charm.
And he had trained all his life in order to be accepted by his dad, just like me. We had something in common.
I had a chance to be happy.
That didn't work out either, now did it dad? Just another failure for you to hold against your useless daughter.
And ya know what's worse? Around this time I was beginning to doubt everything I had ever known. My father always told me it's my moms' fault that I am a girl…
But in one of my brief stints in school I found out different. It's the male that chooses that gender.
You lied to me dad. You made my life hell out of a lie. And I tried everything I could to deny this fact. I even entered into Kuno sized delusions. For a while I had actually convinced myself that my mom must have used magic to turn me from the guy I was suppose to be to the girl I am.
I am such a fool.
So many tricks. So much heartache. So much hatred. I was getting upset at Ranma because he wasn't being what I wanted him to be, just like you use to do to me.
The team ups, the betrayals, the hurt…
Oh, kami-sama.
The wedding.
I bombed their wedding for you dad.
Because if he married her I wouldn't be able to go to you with the man you told me would be my husband on my arms. Neither would I have obtained the vengeance that would allow my father to accepted me back.
So I bombed the wedding.
"Is that vengeance enough?"
And now he hates me. We'll never meet my father as a couple.
And he's too strong to defeat. I'll never be able to face my dad, claiming to have gotten our vengeance.
Kami-sama….
Dad, you once said you would make me into something…
"Daddy. Look at me. I've done all of this for you…"
Yeah. You made me into something all right….
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.
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I need to start writing more comedies; they don't make me feel depressed. Unless I've written a bad one, then I crawl in a corner and cry.