Genma finished his order at the small yakisoba restaurant in Kitakyushu, the cook nodding as he began to prepare the request. Both Saotomes were glad to be able to casually order food like this again, no longer having to juggle around Mandarin phrase books just to get some food.
"And how about your daughter, has she decided what she wants?" the cook asked.
Genma's face turned to a scowl. "I'm not sure about my son. Well, boy. Have you decided what to order?"
"Um… the beef and mushroom one?" Ranma offered weakly, shrinking a little under Genma's gaze.
"Make it a large, too. He's a growing boy," Genma added, glaring at the chef before the confused man could ask any questions about the redhead's gender.
Ranma and Genma were walking through the Kanmon Strait Pedestrian Tunnel, the claustrophobic nature of the nearly kilometre long tunnel starting to get to both of them. Genma was almost regretting not paying for a ferry, when Ranma spoke up.
"Why d'ya gotta do that every time?" the redhead asked as they stepped over the marked border of Yamaguchi Prefecture.
"Do what?"
"Always callin' me 'boy' or 'son' or whatever when I look like this," Ranma said, gesturing to a rather feminine looking body. "It makes everybody look as us all weird."
"So let them look," Genma grumbled, tightening his grip on the straps of his backpack. "Don't fall for society's obsession with keeping your head down. It leads to a lack of spine."
"It still seems like a pointless thing ta pick a fight 'bout," Ranma grumbled. "Ain't a martial artist supposed ta know how ta pick and choose one's battles?"
"It's unpleasant when they use the wrong words for you, though, isn't it?" Genma replied. "When they think your cursed form is who you really are… maybe not as bad as people treating me like I'm an animal, but the point is the same. I don't like seeing them do that to you."
The redhead's mouth opened for a moment, before closing again. The pair walked in silence the last few hundred metres of the tunnel, before grabbing an elevator up to the surface.
"Maybe I don't mind it," Ranma said as they rode the elevator up.
"What?" Genma asked, frozen in confusion as the elevator door opened to the surface.
The redhead shrugged, stepping off the elevator and into the fresh air again. "Maybe I even like it."
Genma hurried after Ranma, barely getting out before the elevator door closed again. "What?"
Ranma's shoulders were scrunched up as she pulled her backpack around herself. "M-maybe I like it… maybe I even liked it before! When I was a kid! And people thought I was a girl 'cause a' my long hair."
Ranma stopped, turning to her father with tears in her eyes. Genma opened his mouth, no idea what he could do. The young teen in front of him looked like a girl in every way he could judge, like some aspect of the child he'd thought was his son had just cracked and crumbled, revealing a girl inside.
"I know yer always tellin' me 'bout the 'joys of manhood' an' everythin', but, I… it ain't never been… I don't…" Ranma managed to say, before waving her arms to admit defeat in her effort to find words.
Genma stepped forward, prompting Ranma to take a step back, looking up at him with those still wet eyes.
"I know I'm a failure as a man. I ain't never gonna be the 'man among men' ya wanted," Ranma said.
Genma shook his head, before taking another step forward and pulling Ranma into a hug. "It's not you that failed. It's me…"
Ranma made a confused noise, but otherwise melted into the hug.
"When you—when you were little… you followed your mother everywhere like a baby duckling or something. You asked her to paint your nails for you and always wanted to play dress up with girl clothing," Genma said, breaking the hug to look into Ranma's eyes. "I thought it was the lack of a male role model, because I was never home. When I wasn't working my old master was dragging me off on 'training' exercises. Which just meant I had to pull longer shifts when I did have work… I thought… I thought my absence meant you just had no idea what being a man meant."
"… Pops?" Ranma asked, as Genma paused to fight back tears himself. Ranma had rarely seen her father like this.
"Gods. I just didn't want you to get bullied. Or to end up like your mother's one friend when we were young. Kid was raised by a single mother. What was his name… Hikaru-kun, I think? He put up with the bullying fine, a strong kid. But then middle school and puberty happened and the bullying got worse… well, he ran away in the end," Genma said, sighing as he sat down on a nearby bench, years of buried emotions hitting him. "I didn't want that for you, and thought I could give you the masculine influence you'd need to learn the joys of being a man."
"S-sorry I was too—"
Genma's eye refocused, turning to Ranma. "No. Either I messed up as a father and failed to actually show you, or I failed as a father by taking you away from your mother, who's guidance you needed more than mine. I might talk my way out of a lot of things, but a father should own up to his children, if no one else. I… I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm sorry."
"Pops… you really… I thought this was gonna be a big fight," Ranma said, her voice going soft. "If I'd a known it'd be this easy, and that I'd been so ready ta be girly as a kid, I shoulda said somethin' right at Jusenkyo. When my body suddenly felt right… thought it was just the curse. Messin' with my head."
"Trust me, my cursed form does not feel right," Genma said, looking at his hands and shivering. "Not even close."
Ranma walked over and sat down beside her father on the bench. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, Ranma leaning against Genma as they watched the water flow past.
"So… what now?" Ranma asked.
"I guess we'll go home," Genma said. "Let's just hope your mother doesn't want to kill me for this."
"Is she the type ta?" Ranma asked, sitting up to stare at her father in surprise.
"Let's just say she loves you very much, and that there may have been some thrown furniture involved in the conversation we had, when I convinced her to let me take you on this journey," Genma replied.
"Like, foot rests?" Ranma asked.
"Like a dining room table."
Ranma nodded. "Well, maybe we can show off that she's got a full and proper daughter as a result of the trip and that'll make her happy?"
Genma turned to Ranma again, smiling before tears began to roll down his cheeks again. "Yeah. A daughter… I'm bringing her daughter home."
Nodoka was confused by the knocking at the door. She wasn't expecting any company, nor any deliveries. Having ruled out a few options in her head, she hurried over as a second round of knocking started. She opened the door to a sight she'd not expected. Her husband stood on the doorstep with a nervous grimace. An expression he'd normally wore when he came home. Beside him, though, was a young woman with red hair, a firier colour of red than Nodoka's had ever been, but a face Nodoka remembered from photos of herself as a teen.
The girl stared up at her with nervous blue eyes, while Nodoka's brain circled an answer that didn't seem to make any sense.
"M-mom?" the redheaded girl asked.
"Ranma?" Nodoka replied.
The redhead nodded, and gave a small smile. "H-hi."
"What happened to you?"
"Uh, well, there was this cursed spring in China, and, uh, w-well…" Ranma began, before stammering on her reply, eyes darting to her father.
"I was wrong. Ranma fell into a spring that turned her into a girl, and, uh, well, she likes it," Genma explained. "I hope you can forgive me for my efforts to train her to be a man."
Nodoka's eye twitched, before tears burst from her eyes and she began wailing on her husband with flailing fists. "She's a girl! You took her away for ten years and she's a girl! I was alone!"
More anger flowed out of her as she released a decade of built up pain. Her shouted outrages also devolved into being rather less coherent, sliding towards primal shouts than actual words. While stammering a threat even she wasn't sure the actual meaning of, she sidestepped over to Ranma, turning and then pulling the girl into a sobbing hug. Ranma grabbed back, with a desperation and strength that almost felt painful. A stammered flow of 'I love yous' and 'I missed yous' spilled forth from both female Saotomes.
"Well, that went better than I expected," Genma said, removing his now completely mangled glasses and sliding them into a pocket. "Just have to deal with Tendo-kun and the engagement promise next."
"The. What," Nodoka and Ranma both replied, turning to Genma.
"Ah, Nabiki, I didn't expect you to be in the dojo," Soun said, a postcard in his hand.
Nabiki and Akane both turned to their father, Akane in her gi, Nabiki with her notebook out. Soun decided to pretend he didn't know they were discussing Akane's recent fights. He was proud of his youngest daughter's skill as a fighter, and supposed the fights she was getting into were drawing in new students for the dojo, but… he wasn't sure how to feel about Nabiki running a betting ring around them.
"What's up, daddy?" Nabiki asked, closing her notebook and letting her eyes sparkle in faux innocence.
"Nabiki, you—well… hmm, I suppose this will also have some impact on Akane. Not as much, but, all the same. Kasumi is already in the living room. You two should come in as well," Soun said.
Both girls shrugged to each other, before following their father. Kasumi was pouring over a psychology textbook as they arrived, as she tended to do when left unattended for more than a minute. Soun sat down at the chabudai table, the younger Tendo girls following his lead.
None of the girls were prepared for what their father said next. An engagement promise. To a boy their father had never even met. Akane stared in mild shock as her father happily announced he'd just gotten a phone call from his old friend, saying that he was bringing his kid over to discuss the engagement.
Akane was also shocked at how willing her sisters seemed to be to accept this, if Ranma met each one's criteria (Kasumi wanted him to be at least her age, Nabiki just cared about looks). Akane rolled her eyes, just glad she wasn't about to be dragged into this nonsense herself.
Her father was attempting to placate Nabiki with the assurance that Genma's training likely would ensure Ranma had 'strong abs game' when there was a knock at the door. Soun hopped to his feet and hurried off. Nabiki and Kasumi followed him, the former looking more excited than the latter. Akane followed out of a vague obligation to be polite to the new family guest.
She had moved slow enough that the door was already open and her father was already talking to someone, while her two sisters blocked the hall (and her view of whoever was at the door, causing Akane to once again curse how her sisters had hogged all the height).
"As you can see," a woman's voice said, "Ranma is quite incapable of fulfilling any marriage promise to carry on the family lines."
"B-but, Saotome-san, your husband said that—" Akane heard her father stammer.
There was a strange 'arf' noise that sounded animalistic.
Curiosity winning her over, Akane nudged her way between her sisters, wanting to see just what the issue was. As well as what kind of creature had made the strange noise. Her sisters, however, were quite firmly rooted to the spot, apparently in a state of mild shock.
"I'm real sorry, Tendo-san," a younger female voice said. "But marryin' one a' yer daughters is really off the table, with this major complication, no?"
Akane squeezed her way past her sisters, stumbling forward to catch a sight of the girl about her age who had been talking. A girl with firetruck red hair, beautifully large dark blue eyes, a face that could launch an idol career even if it belonged to the worst singer in Japan, and a figure that stood out as amazing under baggy clothing that did its best not to flatter her. Akane blinked, staring for a moment and the feminine perfection before her.
"I'll marry her," Akane found herself saying as her poor gay heart was aflutter at a pace which would no doubt have left a doctor concerned.
Her cheeks then felt like they'd caught fire as she realised what she'd said.
"What?" the perfect girl asked, turning to her with those big and beautiful eyes.
"Akane…" her father began.
It took every fiber of her determination to take her eyes off the angelic form before to turn to her father.
"…Yes?"
"I… you've made your father so proud!" Soun declared, grabbing her and pulling her close (and closer to the redhead). "This is Akane, my youngest, the fighter of the family, and a proudly out young lesbian."
"Les-bi-an," the redhead said, slowly enunciating the word, as if she'd never heard it before.
"I, uh… I mean, I would marry you if you're interested in marrying girls. I wouldn't force you to get engaged to another girl if you don't swing that way," Akane said, her cheeks still burning as part of her wanted to die of embarrassment.
"Girls marryin' girls," the gorgeous redhead mumbled, cheeks going red as she stared off into space. "I didn't… that's…"
Realising that Ranma was lost in a moment of awakening, Akane turned to the other girl's mother.
"Please, ma'am, allow me to take the engagement with your daughter," Akane said, dropping into a deep bow.
"I, oh my… well, normally I would have some worries for the future with two women, but… I suppose in Ranma's case those are unfounded… very well, I think it should be acceptable. What do you think dear?"
The woman then turned to a—
"Was that panda here the whole time?" Akane asked, staring up at the creature.
The bear held up a sign, which read #The girl has my blessings#
Soun hugged Akane tighter, letting out a cry of joy. Her father then let her go and started leading the panda into the home. He began singing something confusing about the joys of 'Jusenkyo', whatever that was as he pushed past a still stunned Nabiki and Kasumi, who continued to mutter about the panda. Ranma's mother followed, leaving Akane with the redhead.
"You know kempo, right?" Akane asked, trying to remember what her father had said about Ranma while claiming they should be expecting a boy. (And, as such, Akane hadn't really been paying attention.)
The redhead nodded. "Some, yeah."
"Come on, then, let's spar in the dojo!" Akane said, grabbing the shorter girl by the wrist and leading her off.
The spar had been quick, all but completely one sided, and possibly the most beautiful thing Akane had ever seen. Ranma had moved with a grace that didn't seem human. Akane had struggled to keep up, and could only giggle with joy after Ranma had poked her on the forehead, ending the match. Ranma had ended up joining her in giggling, the other girl seemed to relax at last.
"That was amazing," Akane said, with a smile. "How did you learn to move like that?"
"Pops dragged me over all a' Japan and half a' China trainin' me," Ranma replied in her cute tomboyish tone.
"I bet you have all sorts of cool stories," Akane said, smiling at the redhead. "I'm so glad you're a girl."
Ranma's mouth opened, before she closed it again, hugging herself and leaning against a pillar. "Y-yeah… um…"
Akane felt her heart fall at the lonely look from the other girl. She was so cute, and seemed so in need of reassurance. Akane supposed it might be a side effect of her still realising her sexuality, and decided swift action was needed.
"Let's go wash up!" Akane declared, grabbing the other girl by the wrist once more.
"W-wait, whaaa?" Ranma replied, being dragged along towards the house. "B-bath?"
"Mhm!" Akane said, hurrying down the hall to the bathroom. "Nothing better to affirm a new friendship than bathing together."
"I—that, uh—" Ranma began, while Akane got to work undressing in the changing area.
The redhead's cheeks turned a shade of crimson that could stop traffic, which left Akane wondering how the other girl ever thought she was straight.
"Don't leave me the only one naked here," Akane said with a smirk.
"Uh, r-right. Yes," Ranma said, starting to pull off her own practical and tomboyish Chinese clothing.
Akane helped Ranma wash her back, and got a wash of her own in return, though the other girl remained stiff and blushing the whole time. It wasn't really helping them bond further the way Akane had hoped. Though, there was still the more relaxing part left, and she hoped that would help.
"Come on, let's hope in the tub and soak our muscle pains away," Akane said, smiling at the other girl.
"I, uh… th-that's okay. I shouldn't. Really," Ranma muttered. "You don't want me to."
Akane stared at her. "What? Why not?"
"Well, I…" Ranma stammered, hugging herself again.
Akane raised an eyebrow, wondering about what that might mean, before scooping up the smaller girl into her arms. Ranma let out a yelp before Akane plopped her into the tub itself. There was a splash, and the small redhead transformed into a taller, more masculine, and dark haired form.
"Oh," Akane said, looking down at Ranma's new form as the dark haired teen scrambled to cover herself.
"I… I swear, I do wanna be a girl," Ranma muttered. "B-but, well… I'd understand if you don't—I'm sorry. I was going ta find some way ta lock my curse before I tried anythin' romantic…"
Akane opened her mouth, not sure what to say, when there was a knocking on the furo door.
"Akane, dear, are you in there?" a feminine voice called out.
Akane turned to the door, nodding before realising that couldn't be seen through the door. "Yes."
The door slid open, revealing a woman who looked like Akane and her eldest sister (who Ranma had only briefly seen). Though her similarity to Akane just served to worsen Ranma's mortifying levels of embarrassment.
"Oh, you poor dear," the woman said, before turning to Akane. "Did you put her in there?"
"Well, when she was worried about the hot water, I thought…" Akane said, as her eyes fell. "I didn't think she'd be this upset."
The woman slowly shook her head. "You shouldn't have forced it. Now, turn around and give her some privacy while I get her some cold water."
Akane nodded and both her and the woman turned around, letting Ranma feel slightly less uncomfortable. Still self conscious, the currently black haired teen shuffled awkwardly over to the shower faucet, still trying to cover herself as she did. Turning the tap on and shrinking again was a massive relief, no longer stuck in the body that she'd hated for years.
She let out a sigh of relief, prompting the other two to look her way again.
"Better now, dear?" the woman asked. When Ranma nodded, she turned to Akane. "Do you have something to say?"
Akane gave a quick nod before leaning forward in a bow. "I'm sorry for not thinking about your comfort. Mom has always been fine changing around me, so I didn't realise it might be different for you."
Ranma shook her head. "Nu-uh, I should be the one—wait, what do you mean your mom changes?"
"Tendo Hikaru, Akane's mother," the woman said with her own quick bow. "I have the same 'curse' as you, and I'm happy to provide you with any advice you might need. I also can't believe my old friend Nodoka is married to my husband's old training buddy. If I'd known, I would have met up with her again years ago…"
Ranma blinked. "The same… You mean you're…"
Akane's mother nodded.
Ranma's eyes then turned to Akane. "So, then ya, uh… you…"
"Still see you as the girl I'm happy to one day marry? Of course," Akane replied with a grin.
Ranma blushed, still amazed at the other girl's certainty in her attraction. She definitely admired it. Tendo Hikaru being able to offer her guidance in her womanhood in ways her mother might not be able to understand). It was an amazing day.
She'd prefer to spend more of it with pants on from here on out, though.