Chapter 7 Ukyo's Choices
A few weeks later
Ukyo was walking slowly through the streets of Nerima, heading toward the Saotome residence. The day, while overcast, wasn't quite as gloomy as her mood, she was still not sure that she was doing the right thing. She walked up to the front door, and stood there for a moment, gazing at the house. It was obvious that Ranma had spent some time fixing it up, the paint was new, flowers were planted on either side of the entry, she could hear the sound of water gurgling in the background. She hadn't noticed how pleasant this house actually looked. She reached for the knocker on the door, and then hesitated. Even now it wasn't too late to change her mind. Then her face firmed up, she squared her shoulders and knocked on the door. She waited for what seemed forever, and then sighed. She turned to leave, but as she did so, the door opened.
"Hello, Ukyo," a pleasant voice said, "It's so nice to see you, dear. Ranma has missed you, he will be glad to see you."
Ukyo turned back to the door, she said, "Actually, I really came to see both of you. Could I come in, please?"
Nodoka smiled, and led her into the house. She stopped to take her shoes off in the entry, and followed Nodoka into the living room.
"Ranma, could you come here, please? We have some company," Nodoka called.
Ranma came running in from the dojo, her pigtail streaming out behind her, wearing one of her cuter dresses. "Hey, Mom, what's up?" she asked, as she entered the living room. Her mother was in sitting on the couch, talking to Ukyo. Ukyo looked a little nervous, and then she paled as she saw Ranma.
"Hi ya, Ukyo, how've ya been. I've been by the restaurant several times but Konatsu said you were out," Ranma asked.
"Uh, Ranma, why are you a girl? You're wearing a bra and makeup!" Ukyo exclaimed.
"It's my idea. I'll tell you about it later if you're still curious," Nodoka answered.
Ukyo stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. 'I guess that answered that question' she thought to herself. Taking a deep breath to settle herself down, she said "Uh, ok, maybe later. That's not why I'm here of course. Ranma, I have been thinking about what you asked me awhile back. After we talked and you told me you didn't think of me as a fiancée, but as a friend, and maybe sister, I needed some time to myself. When you told me that, it hurt, but I realized it didn't hurt me as much as I thought it should. I also realized that I was scared to lose you as a friend. After I figured that out, I found out what I had really been looking for was acceptance, a family to care for me. Maybe that was why I was too blind to see what you really felt for me. I was fooling myself, I guess, and you were too kindhearted to tell me until now. Did you really mean that you wanted me to become your sister, cause if you did, then I think that's what I want too?"
"Ucchan, you have always been my best friend, what I want is for you to be happy. I know that if I had a sister, I would have wanted her to be just like you. So sure, if that's what you want, I would be honored to call you sister," she said. "Besides, I think Mom would like another daughter to spoil anyway," she added with a giggle.
"Are you sure about this, Ukyo?" Nodoka asked gently.
"Yes, I really would like to have a mother again. You have treated me kindly the past years, and I always thought that one day I would be your daughter," she replied. "This isn't quite the way I envisioned it, but …" Ukyo started crying a little.
Nodoka reached over and hugged her, Ranma joined them in the hug, saying "Ucchan, please don't cry."
"No, you don't understand, these are tears of happiness, Ranma-honey. Oops, I better come up with a different nickname for you I suppose," Ukyo said with a giggle.
"It will take some time to handle all of the paperwork, but as far as I'm concerned, you're my daughter as of now. Would you like to move in here? We have several bedrooms if you want to, and I need to get to know my daughter better," Nodoka asked.
Ukyo replied, "That's a good idea. I could stand some lessons in how to be a girl myself, I suspect. I need to get back to the restaurant. Konatsu can't handle the rush by himself. I'll need some help moving my things over."
"Not a problem, sis. I can come by tomorrow if you want." Ranma said with a grin, as she looked down at herself. "What are big brothers for after all?" she said.
As Ukyo got up to leave, Ranma followed her out into the hall. She could tell that Ukyo was just bursting with curiosity. Ranma smiled, and then said, "Go ahead, Ukyo, ask."
"Ok, what's going on with you and the dress?" Ukyo asked, "Aren't you worried about your mother?"
"Like she said, it was her idea. How many times have I tried to find a cure for the change? Every time I thought I found one, it didn't work. I can't just continue to ignore the fact that I turn into a girl, so I asked Mom for some help. She came up with the idea that I needed to spend time as a girl, and become comfortable with who I am. I decided that she was right, so for the next several months, I will spend most of my time as a girl," she said.
Ukyo looked concerned, "If I can help, let me know, ok?" 'I can't believe that he can go through with this,' she thought.
"Thanks, Ucchan," Ranma said. Ukyo hugged her friend goodbye and left.
After Ukyo left, Ranma went back in to her mother. Nodoka looked at Ranma. "Are you really comfortable with what we are doing?" she asked her daughter.
"Mom, I don't see that I have much choice. The chances of me ever getting rid of my girl side aren't very good. I need to accept this as a part of my life now. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I have proven to myself that I haven't changed who I am just because I turn into a girl. I'm still the same person; it's only the outside that's different. If nothing else, maybe if I understand myself better, I can understand Akane and Ukyo better too," she replied.
"Ukyo just needs some time to adjust. She's already begun to heal, today was a big step for her. You do know one of the things that would help with Akane don't you?" Nodoka asked, "She would really like you to train her in the art. You know how much pride she has, and you refusing to train her is really hurting her feelings. Every time you do that, she reacts badly."
"Yeah, Mom, I know, I am just so afraid that I will hurt her if I spar with her for real. I know she isn't that weak in my head, but still, my heart keeps telling me no. Though, maybe, yeah, I'm not as strong in my girl form, so if I work with her as a girl, I can probably not hurt her too much," Ranma said with a slight frown, thinking about it for a change.
Nodoka replied, "Bruises heal a lot faster than hurt feelings, Ranma. If you want to stay friends with her, you need to show that you take her seriously as a martial artist. There was also no excuse for some of the insults you used."
Ranma blushed, "Yeah, Mom, I know. Most of that is the famous male Saotome foot in mouth disease. I guess I was so skittish about the engagement, that every time we started acting nice to each other, I panicked, and started pushing her away again. Of course, our fathers pushing us to get married every time we smiled at each other didn't help. I'll call her now to see if she's willing to do that. The one thing that still concerns me is the Amazons. It looks like they are leaving the Tendo's alone, now that the engagement is over, and I've moved away. And Mousse figured out that I was never his competition for Shampoo, though I had to beat that into him, but I am surprised that Cologne backed off like she did. Maybe she realized I wasn't kidding."
Author's note: Again, thanks for all of the reviews. Many of the comments have been helpful in updating the story. I hope you have enjoyed it so far.