Chapter 31: Lost in Love
The summer holidays had turned almost every day at Ucchan's into a rush day. While there were still more girls than guys the balance did shift noticeably whenever Rie was on staff. Right now they were between meals, but the freeform schedules of teenagers unrestrained by school meant there were more than a few tables full.
Much of Ukyo's attention was focused on the grill adjacent seats. Specifically the one seating a handsome boy with trademark pigtail and red silk shirt. Ranma was not there to flirt today, having sat quietly for quite some time (possibly lost in thought, or possibly just enjoying that Ucchan's had a good cross breeze that kept it cool during the summer heat), but was watching Ukyo's cooking. Feeling a bit inspired, the okonomiyaki chef had begun to get a little showier than usual, attracting attention from more than a few diners who had moved from their tables to watch the cooking.
A quick sprinkle of seaweed and tempura flakes, added with dramatic flair, finished the dish to a polite applause. Ukyo could help giving a quick smirk and a bow while handing the plate off to Rie, who ran it off to the correct table.
She was just about to start on the next order when she noticed a handsome guy who looked maybe a year or two older strole in. Rie moved forward, nervously asking him if wanted a table or not, but he ignored her. Instead he walked up behind Ranma, a look of hatred on his face.
"You! You're Saotome, aren't you?" Mikado demanded.
The black haired boy spun around on the stool, and gave an air of cold rage the moment Ranma realised who this was.
"Y'know, I was kind of hoping to see ya again," Ranma said, hatred filling the martial artist's voice. "There was somethin' I owed ya."
"It better have been to give me an apology," Mikado announced. "Galavanting around in a twisted disguise, looking like some innocent girl... deceiving a chivalrous young man such as myself."
"CHIVALROUS!? Ucchan, hand me a glass a' water. I want ta beat this guy to a pulp properly," Ranma seethed, holding a hand out.
Ukyo was quick to respond, and Ranma quickly upturned the glass to transform.
"I was thinkin' beatin' ya up in guy mode'd hurt ya more, but this is a pretty feminine anger I've got," Ranma said, before slamming into Mikado's gut with a sucker punch.
The lithe figure-skater doubled over, shock on his face that the blow hurt as much as it did. This was followed by a burst of blows that even Ukyo had trouble following, most of the amaguriken blows hitting Mikado in his precious face. The assault had been fast enough that he'd not had time to fall over, onto his rear, until after Ranma had finished. Sanzenin opened his mouth to shout some insult, but froze in terror as he felt two teeth come loose. The horror at having his perfect smile ruined, especially after the expenses of having a plastic surgeon repair his nose, was simply too much for him. As such, Mikado promptly fainted.
"Yeesh, I was hoping to get a bit more stress relief offa beatin' the snot outta him," Ranma grumbled.
"W-what did he do?" Rie asked, not used to seeing Ranma look so angry.
"That's private!" Ranma blurted, yanking Mikado's unconscious body out towards the nearest trash pick-up site.
Hibari and Tsugumi were arriving home from grocery shopping when they caught sight a rather grumpy little redhead entering the Oozora compound just ahead of them. Hibari quickly excused herself from putting the groceries away to run up and check on Ranma.
Sliding open the divider to Ranma's room, Hibari found the redhead pouting on the bed.
"Hey there Ranma, what's got you so down?" Hibari asked, plopping herself down on the bed beside the pigtailed cutie.
"I ran inta San-whatever his name was. The figure skatin' jerk. The guy didn't even have the dignity ta let me beat him up properly before passin' out," Ranma replied, using a tone that almost indicated a suspicion Mikado had passed out on purpose.
Hibari nodded and thought the issue over a moment. How Ranma was in female form, and seemed be striving for cuteness (going by the redhead's body language). Hopping to her feet and swing her face down a mere centimetre from Ranma's.
"He insulted your femininity, didn't he?"
"I... yeah," Ranma sighed. "Acted like I was just doin' it ta put on a show or somethin'. Which felt like a reminder I didn't need that I don't really know what I'm doin'... Or even exactly who I am."
Hibari lightly brushed a stray strand of hair from Ranma's face, and gave a large smile. "I think I know a good way to help with that: makeover time!"
"A makeover? Like, with makeup and everythin'?" Ranma asked, doing a bad job at hiding a bubbling sense of excitement.
"Mhm. You're pretty good with wigs and such, but makeup and styling your actual hair seem two points you haven't quite mastered. And you tend to overdo your outfits. So let me handle it," Hibari declared boldly.
The girl staring back at Ranma from the mirror was just as cute and impressively feminine as the last time Hibari had snuck makeup onto her face. The way her hair flowed loose around her shoulders, held in place behind one ear with a cute heart hair clip and the fashionable outfit that was feminine, but not overstatedly so (as usually happened when Ranma came up with disguises) made her look like a quite typical high school age girl. In fact, the oversized bowtie and the quitely patterned blouse had a distinctive 'school' look to it, but was cute enough Ranma didn't mind.
Confirming that the girl in the mirror's movements did indeed copy Ranma's own, the redhead felt more like a girl than she had since the day she'd hit her head.
Turning to Hibari with a massive smile she froze a moment, deciding that if she was going to look this girly she'd use speech to match. "Thank you! This helps... so so much."
"It was no biggy. Like I said, I don't get to use that purple eyeshadow enough anyway, and it looks good on you," Hibari replied. She still prefered Ranma looking rather more butch (or fully male), but knew some days you needed to go all out when someone was being particularly obnoxious about one's status as a girl.
"I should go show Suzume," Ranma said, smiling widely. The youngest Oozora was certainly a fan of Ranma modelling outfits.
"I think she'd be down in the kitchen working on homework," Hibari said after a moment's reflection. "She likes to ask Tsugumi for help."
"Thanks," Ranma replied, giving Hibari a quick hug. On some level Ranma wanted to also give the taller girl a peck on the cheek, but she still felt rather nervous when it came to being forward with affection.
Hurrying off down the stairs, Ranma heading off towards the kitchen. As she reached one of the main sitting areas she grew nervous at the sound of her father's voice conversing with Ibari, and decided the best solution was to book it past the open doorway (hoping Genma wouldn't notice her outfit).
Zipping forward, Ranma was definitely a blur, and Genma had been too focused on the shogi board to notice either way. Unfortunately, Ranma wasn't very used to wearing socks, and the sight of Tsubame rounding the corner left her sliding wildly, until she slammed into the taller girl.
The pair tumbled into a pile of limbs and grumbling.
"That's my boob, you pervert!" Tsubame hissed as she tried to extract herself. Wiggling a bit, she managed to push Ranma off her.
"Ow... you didn't have to squish my boob as vengeance ya know," the redhead grumbled.
"It wasn't on purpose!" Tsubame snapped back as she stood up. After the rumours one of her friends had told her about, she was feeling a bit particularly defensive about that sort of thing... it was only then that she realised a likely cause of her latest problem. "It's your fault, isn't it?"
"What is?" Ranma asked, hopping to her feet and fixing her bow tie.
"The rumours I might be a lesbian."
Ranma took a moment to figure out how on earth she could be to blame for that, before the scene in the ice cream parlour hit her. The small redhead blushed a bit at the memory. Taking the lead had been thrilling, especially with how it had caught Hibari by surprise.
"I, uh... yeah. Sorry 'bout that," Ranma replied with a shrug. "I'm sure they'll stop soon enough. Just try ta talk about guys ya got a crush on, maybe?"
Tsubame's eye twitched briefly and she crossed her arms and started to walk away. "Sure, yeah. Boys I have a crush on... umm."
Ranma watched her go, unable to read the taller girl's mood. Maybe a compliment would help?
"I, uh, like your haircut?" Ranma offered.
"Pardon?" the brunette asked, subconsciously touching her new short soft pageboy style.
"Girls are supposed ta complement each other's hair and stuff, right? And short hair is cute," the redhead replied, worrying she'd made a mistake.
"I... I just thought it was hot this summer, so wanted a trim... You're disqualified as an option anyway, so don't bother flirting," Tsubame fumed, storming off.
Ranma watched the girl storm off, feeling completely confused. Shrugging, Ranma turned and headed towards the kitchen.
Suzume and Tsugumi were in the middle of discussing something that Suzume clearly found quite important. Not wanting to interrupt, Ranma waited patiently as Tsugumi explained what was apparently some rather tricky long division. As the the sisters wrapped up, Suzume looked up, realising Ranma was there.
"So cute!" Suzume declared, forgetting her homework to run up and give Ranma a thorough inspection. "Your hair is a little messy, but the makeup is really good. Hmm... Hibari picked out the outfit, didn't she? It's so stylish."
"It's that obvious?" Ranma asked. "I thought my fashion sense was pretty good too?"
"You're not bad, but big sis is an expert," Suzume declared confidently.
"I can't argue that," Ranma replied.
"You do look very cute, Ranma," Tsugumi added. "Since you're here, I was wondering, could you run to the store to grab some kombu? While I was putting groceries away I realised I had less than I'd thought. Enough for breakfast, but it won't last until the next grocery trip."
"Sure thing," Ranma replied, in a peppy and feminine tone. "Did I sound girly enough there?"
"Definitely," the eldest Oozora daughter replied, trying not to giggle. Ranma's need to go all in on (often contradictory) gender matters amused her to no end.
Ranma was on her way back from the store, lost in a debate about whether or not she could get away with skipping or not, when a voice called out.
"Miss, this wouldn't be Tokyo, would it?"
Spinning around Ranma was left looking up at Ryoga's confused face. Ranma braced to get yelled at, but saw no recognition in Ryoga's eyes.
"Yes, it's Tokyo. We're... we're in Suginami," Ranma offered, wondering if Ryoga would believe it.
"Suginami... Hmm, so I'd have to cut across Arakawa and Fussa to get over to Nerima then," Ryoga muttered to himself. "Thank you, miss."
Seeing that Ryoga really had no clue it was Ranma, her mind realised there was an opportunity for a little vengeance here.
"You're very muscular... are you an athlete?" the redhead asked, leaning into Ryoga's personal space.
"I... I'm martial artist actually," Ryoga replied nervously, unsure how to handle this attractive girl getting so close to him.
"Oooh, that's even cooler! I bet you've got all sorts of girls in love with you," Ranma said, hoping she wasn't hamming up the schoolgirl act too much. "What a shame..."
"No! Nope, I'm totally single!" Ryoga blurted, overwhelmed by flirtation. (And starting to suspect he had a weak spot for redheads.)
"Really!? Wowie... A chance to get a real life martial artist boyfriend," Ranma said, batting her eyelashes.
"Well, uh, y'know," Ryoga stammered.
Ranma struggled the urge to bury her face in her palms at Ryoga's 'smooth' response. It was time to resort to more direct methods.
"Y'know, there's a little sushi place a couple blocks from here that I've always thought would be the most romantic place for a first date," Ranma explained, hoping Ryoga would catch her intentions.
"That's nice," Ryoga replied, breaking Ranma's cool as the smile redhead turned away a bit to silently yell in frustration. "I... wait, did you want me to go with you?"
Ranma spun around with a large, only mildly strained, smile. "Oh yes! I'd be thrilled!"
Ranma had spent the brief meal flirting shamelessly with Ryoga, in large part as that was the only level of flirting Ryoga seemed to actually process. The redhead made constant efforts to extract stories from Ryoga, both to seem like an interested date and an honest curiosity about what had happened between middle school and Ryoga showing up at Wakaba (other than Jusenkyo). She was beginning to wonder if the vengeance was going to be worth this level of effort, but reminding herself of how it felt to be dumped filled Ranma with resolve.
"I'll pay the bill!" Ryoga declared, as Ranma finished up her second deluxe platter.
"That'll be 3 900 yen for the sushi, and 1 600 yen for the broken plates and cups," the chef stated flatly, holding up the glass Ryoga had been drinking out of earlier to show the chunk missing from where the fanged boy had nervously bitten it.
"S-sure. Sorry again, sir," Ryoga replied with a quick bow, before digging through his backpack to fish out the change.
Ranma was a bit disappointed the meal was over so soon, but followed after Ryoga, not quite sure how to spring the finishing blow on him.
As the pair walked quietly, they soon found themselves at the bank of a river. Ryoga sighed, and sat down on a concrete protrusion that's use in civil engineering Ranma couldn't begin to guess at (but it seemed designed to be highly functional, for whatever that function was). Ryoga hadn't made any effort to understand his seat, and instead was watching the water absently.
"Heh, I bet you can guess why I'm single now," Ryoga muttered. "I'm just such a nervous wreck around cute girls."
Ranma struggled to hold down a blush, and utterly failed, at being sorted honestly under the descriptor of 'cute girl'.
Ryoga sighed, and added a half whispered thought, mostly to himself. "It's really for the best that I've found out I'm probably gay..."
A flurry of confused emotions welled up inside Ranma. Part of her said this was the best moment to strike, to ensure total victory. Part of her wanted to reassure someone she'd once considered a friend, hoping to regain that camaraderie. And yet another part wanted to take Ryoga by the collar and shake him about, demanding recognition for both her own and Hibari's femininity.
In the end a mixed of all three approaches seemed best to Ranma. She'd deal with what the varying emotions meant later.
"I'm not sure a guy who tried broke his plate in half with his chopsticks due to nerves over a date with a girl he couldn't stop checking out sounds very gay," Ranma said, sliding up next to Ryoga. "If you want to go on another date or three whenever we cross paths again on your nomadic lifestyle, we could maybe test things a little further?"
Ranma began to blush once she realised what she'd just said. The redhead internally insisted that further dates were both just to make the victory all that more total in the end, when the reveal was made... and also, an effort to enjoy hanging out with Ryoga in a situation where he wasn't feeling murderous.
Those two goals were deeply contradictory, but for now Ranma could postpone having to choose.
"I... really? I'd like that," Ryoga replied happily as he turned and grabbed Ranma's small hand. "Thank you... I don't even know your name! How did I not ask that."
"Uh... Yoiko," Ranma replied with the first name to pop in her head. "Fujinami Yoiko."
Ryoga smiled gently, "What a lovely name."
His puppy dog eyes. That soft expression. His muscular frame... Ranma soon found herself blushing.
"I would love to stay, but, my mum would probably get worried about me if I'm gone much longer. I hope to see you again soon!" Ranma announced as she hopped to her feet. She gave a quick wave before running off.
Once she'd made sure there was a good distance between the two of them Ranma lightly rapped herself on the head with her knuckles. "Good work Saotome... what on earth are ya thinkin'... I guess it's no surprise. I know I was basically his boyfriend in middle school... gah!"
Ranma slumped her small frame against a property wall and let out a sigh, before a realisation struck. "Hibari does prefer boys overall though... if we're gonna bring anyone else in, he might be her top choice... Bleh. We should just stick to the two of us. That's how normal people do it, ain't it?"
"Is everything okay?" Tsugumi asked as Ranma handed her the packet of kombu. "You took quite a while. Hibari already started hi-her homework."
"Fine, fine. Just got a little distracted," Ranma replied casually. "I'll go up and join her."
Ranma spat out the bit of grass that landing face first into the dirt generally left lodged in one's mouth. It was a bit embarrassing that Genma had managed to land such a good blow, but Ranma did have a number of distractions on the mind.
The black haired teen was ready to stand up and continue the fight, when a certain little piglet wandered into view. That filled Ranma with more confusion, but also a determination to show off, and so the pigtailed teen sprung to standing position in one fluid motion.
Swinging around with a roundhouse kick, Ranma caught a charging Genma off guard. The younger Saotome then pressed the advantage with a flurry of rapid strikes, leading the elder up onto the stone bridge that crossed the koi pond. A well placed leg sweep left Genma tumbling from the bridge and into the water below.
Unfortunately the splash from Genma was large enough that Ranma was soaked as well.
Still, glad to have won, Ranma turned to see if the piglet had watched that little display... only to find him looking the opposite direction and munching away on some food Suzume had brought out on a plate.
The redhead let out a sigh, and walked over to grab one of the towels sitting not far from Suzume and her pet. The young girl seemed deeply content to give the pig a scratch behind the ear and tell him how worried she'd been. Patting away water, a thought occurred to Ranma.
"What's with the name 'Co-chan' anyhow?"
"I was reading through one of big sis's books... I think it was an art book," Suzume replied, pausing a bit to make sure she had the facts straight. "I saw that the French word for pig is cochon, and thought it sounded cute and close to co-chan."
"Huh, that makes sense."
Suzume gave a proud smile, before scooping up Co-chan and running off with him. Ranma didn't quite hear what the girl was explaining, but couldn't help smiling at her childish innocence. In a good mood Suzume was adorable... honestly, in a bad mood her little grumpiness was cute too.
"Sadly, it doesn't work as well as she thinks it does," Tsugumi said, stepping out from the kitchen nearby. "The 'cho' in French is more of a 'sho' sound... but she was so proud of her little pun, I didn't have the heart to tell her."
Ranma tried to stifle a giggle, and mostly failed. The redhead was about to ask if Tsugumi needed any help with setting up lunch, when Ibari's voice bellowed out from down the hall.
"Saotome! Why didn't-Where is he?" the mustachioed Yakuza boss demanded of a passing thug, before noticing a rather annoyed looking panda drying himself near the koi pond. "Saotome! There you are!"
The solidly built Yakuza boss barrelled past Ranma and Tsugumi, marching up to the other father in the home. "Why didn't you tell me about your friend Tendo's new position on the city council?"
#I hadn't heard yet myself,# Genma's sign protested.
"Oh-ho, I guess I just have ears in the right places. I should invite him over for a party! He's got some girls doesn't he? Maybe we should invite them over too," Ibari mused, stroking his large chin in thought. "Mhm, have a proper family meet up. Oh! Ranma, there you are. What are Tendo's girls like? Do you think they'd get along well with my daughters?"
Ranma offered a nervous shrug. "Probably for most of 'em?"
Ibari was practically beaming. "Excellent! Saotome, you should phone him up, see what day works for him."
#I'll see what I can do,# Genma offered.