Ranma lay on the roof for a couple more minutes just star gazing, contemplating how comfortable she felt in her female body. Where before there had always been this undefined need to turn back into a guy. The need was gone. All of a sudden Ranma heard Kasumi walk out onto the patio calling.
"Ranma, dinner's nearly ready, come set up the table, the stuffs all there" Kasumi gave Ranma a smile before heading back to her kitchen to make sure Akane didn't do anything.
"Coming Kasumi" called Ranma before jumping off the roof to go set the table. Little did Ranma know that this night would start off a chain of events that would have far reaching consequences.
As Ranma walked inside from the patio to set up the table for dinner that night she found the sights she had come to expect to see these past few weeks. The Panda and Soun Tendo were sitting in the Dojo playing at the shogi table drinking sake and cheating horribly. Akane was sitting in the corner silently fuming away to herself about something, and seemed to only get angrier when she saw Ranma-Chan walk in.
Nabiki was sitting in the lounge muttering something about Shares and Microsoft and taking notes in her notepad while Happosai was sitting in front of the TV watching some sort of pornographic show giggling lustfully.
Ranma-Chan smiled softly when she saw Kasumi in kitchen stirring a pan on the stove and as she started towards the table to set it up she started thinking about how beautiful Kasumi looked. Ranma gave a start and nearly fell over.
Where the hell did that come from! thought Ranma as she stood there looking at Kasumi shaking her head in wonder. Kasumi apparently noticed Ranma looking at her because she turned around to give a cute smile and a small wave.
Kawaii Thought Ranma blushing furiously, before catching herself and then lightly hitting her forehead. Come on Ranma, don't just stand there goggling at her like some sort of groupie, you've got a job to do. Ranma finally moved off towards the table still blushing slightly while thinking about Kasumi.
Kasumi turned backed back to the beef stew she was slowly stirring, still smiling from when she had smiled and waved at Ranma-Chan and seeing her blush bright red before turning away abruptly to go and set up the table.
Kasumi continued to stir the various pots and pans on the stove before looking over her shoulder, and seeing that Ranma-Chan had finished setting the table she turned off the stove and started moving the various foods to the table, before sitting in her usual spot at the table on the floor before calling out "Come and get it!"
Dinner was the usual affair, only difference being that Ranma was female at the time. Ranma and Genma were having a sparring contest with chopsticks trying to out do each other and get the most food (they called it speed training). Ranma was winning hands down and not spilling a drop even at such high speed. Akane was just being her usual self and being angry at Ranma for one reason or another, looking like she was going to burst a blood vessel at any given time. Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun were just eating quietly and Happosai was eating while continuing to watch TV at the same time.
It was at this time that Genma finally noticed that Ranma was in his girl form, and he also noticed how comfortable she appeared to be in her girl form. Now most people after noticing this and remembering all the beatings they got from demanding that Ranma change back, would have left well enough alone but of course we all know that Genma was not Most people.
"Boy! What do you think your doing?" shouted Genma at Ranma. Everybody stopped eating to watch the spat between Ranma and Genma
Ranma confused, looked up at Genma, chopsticks still in her mouth "Whadya mean, what am I doing Pop? I'm eating!" asked Ranma a little agitatedly with a frown on her face, hating having her attention being pulled away from her food.
"I mean change back to your real form boy, I didn't raise you to be some weak little girl!" shouted Genma instantly earning the ire of every present female especially Ranma.
Ranma was beginning to get angry "I'm comfortable as I am right now thank you, I'll change back later and even when I am in this form I am anything but weak, now shut up old man" shouted Ranma before booting Genma into the koi pond.
Nabiki watched this little interaction between Genma and Ranma with interest What did Ranma mean when she said that she was comfortable as she was, this bares looking into!
thought Nabiki.
"What exactly did you mean by that Ranma? For the whole time you have been here you have always been eager to change back into your guy form as soon as you could, would you care to explain that to us?" said Nabiki with a calculating look on her face, she watched as Ranma-Chan's face changed from annoyed to troubled, but what caused Nabiki's Eyebrow to raise was a small, gentle, happy smile that lit Ranma's face up, taking the emphasis away from her former troubled look.
When Ranma finally answered she appeared to be in deep thought and therefore her answer was slow to come "I'm not really sure what to make of it really or how long it has been coming about, all I know is that usually whenever I've transformed into a girl, I have always felt extremely annoyed, and I also felt like I was someplace that I shouldn't be, and that I should transform back as soon as possible."
By now everybody had finished eating and was listening intently to Ranma's answer, even Happosai and the Panda who had finally dragged himself out of the koi pond. Little did they know that there were others who were also now listening. Ranma continued on slowly still in deep thought.
"Along with that there was this constant itch that came along with the transformation, man it was annoying. But recently" this was where Ranma's face scrunched up into deeper thought. "I have slowly been becoming more comfortable in my female form, and the itch has slowly been fading away, if I had to guess I'd say that it started way back when I got my first period, because that's when I first started to accept my curse, heck that's when I started growing out my pigtail on my girl form" said Ranma fingering her hair, Genma's face twitched at this point but to his credit he didn't say anything.
Ranma pressed on "and just a few hours ago I was up on the roof thinking, I was a guy at the time, but all of a sudden rain passed by and I was transformed, and I was surprised to find that I didn't feel any annoyance at all from the transformation, I also found that I was just as comfortable in this form as in my guy form" said Ranma gesturing at her large breasts and feminine figure to emphasise her point.
Genma's Eyebrow was wildly twitching by now and he was having trouble to avoid speaking, knowing that he would be in a world of hurt if he interrupted now.
"Even the itch has gone, I can probably honestly say now… that I have fully accepted my curse and I have also come to admit to myself that I like my curse now, I like being able to be a woman as well as a man" Both Genma's and Akane's Eyebrows were now furiously ticking in extreme annoyance
Ranma went on to give the crème alla crème of her speech "I am now quite happy and content to be both man and woman, and if something were to happen which I hope it wont, I can happily live in either form for the rest of my life"
Ranma finally looked up to see how all the others were taking it she hadn't really planned to reveal this so soon but sooner than later she guessed. Genma and Akane of course were sitting there angrily eyebrows twitching furiously. Soun and Happosai where looking extremely surprised with both eyebrows well above their foreheads although Happosai had a gleam in his eye.
Nabiki was looking intently at Ranma as if she was trying to figure out a complicated puzzle and her stare was starting to make Ranma nervous, but the one that mattered most to Ranma was that of her only friend Kasumi.
Ranma looked over cautiously and saw something that she found very reassuring. Kasumi was just sitting there happily, with her hands clasped before her with a great big smile on her face beaming brightly and Ranma suddenly felt a lot better knowing that she had support from Kasumi.
Nabiki finally chose to speak up again "What about the other half of your comment, the part where you said and I quote 'and even when I am in this form I am anything but weak' are you meaning to say that you no longer believe in your old philosophy, that girls are weak and shouldn't fight, and are good for nothing but to be a good house wife, and that they are to be defended at all times?" This caused Akane's head to perk up in interest as she listened intently for Ranma's answer.
Ranma simply laughed "What are you kidding! Of course I have! I just freely admitted that I like being both a girl and a guy and if I still held to those values I would have just admitted that I am weak, something which everyone knows I would never say, if I have learned anything over the past two and half years that is that girls are anything but weak, both guys and girls are just as weak and strong as the other, it just depends on their upbringing. I Hate to admit it but I must say it, I used to be quite a chauvinistic pig when it came to what I thought about girls and how I believed that men are superior to girls and that was all my pops fault"
Ranma glared at Genma before continuing on saying "but my curse has all but beaten all of that out of me otherwise I couldn't have come to like my curse the way I have, I have definitely learned my lesson. No, Pops teachings are all but gone from my mind, he can no longer control me that way. Although I will say this now, I may have accepted my curse and I am able to live happily in either form, I am anything but a lady and I am definitely not going to be a Girly Girl but more of a Tomboy more than anything else!".
Nabiki had to admit that Ranma was right, and when Nabiki looked at Ranma-Chan's big blue eyes and infectious smile, all Nabiki could see was honesty and amusement. Nabiki suddenly found herself smiling and a small giggle spouted from her lips, when she thought about how Ranma had called herself a chauvinistic pig. Ranma's smile just got bigger as she watched Nabiki giggle, causing Nabiki to giggle all the louder before regaining control of herself, but the smile didn't go away.
"Don't you tell anyone about this Ranma or the damage to my reputation could be irreparable" warned Nabiki but still unable to stop smiling and Ranma just grinned
"What ever are you talking about Nabiki, I didn't see anything" said Ranma grinning and turned to talk to Kasumi and Nabiki just smiled again unable to help herself.
Is this what it is like to be friends? Nabiki thought as she watched Ranma and Kasumi talk to each other about this and that and about Ranma's change of heart. Just two close friends enjoying each others company. Nabiki felt a familiar hollow open up in her heart, a hollow that appeared whenever she secretly watched various peoples and their companions talk to each other.
I have no friends they're always driven away by the Ice Queen, which I have become. Why can't I get friends, even my business partners are just that, business partners. All of a sudden as she watched Ranma and Kasumi, she felt the hollow get bigger than ever. She felt invisible tears slide down her face, unseen by others due to her Ice Queen façade and she started to wonder if she could be friends with Ranma like Kasumi was.
No, Ranma can never accept me not after all the stuff I've done to her just to get money, she could never forgive me……… cant she? Nabiki thought about Ranma about she was actually quite a nice person, when she wasn't being insensitive. But she has been getting better, thanks to Kasumi's help. Maybe she can forgive me, maybe she could be willing to be my friend and with that Nabiki resolved to speak with Ranma later, when she got the chance.
Genma could no longer take it, he had been sitting for the past half hour watching his dreams go up in smoke and after watching Ranma behave like a girl chatting endlessly with her friends and throwing away all that he Genma Saotome had taught him, he was now going to do something about it.
"THAT'S IT BOY!" everybody looked up at Genma in shock and Kasumi exclaimed with of her patented "Oh Mys!" Putting up her hands. Ranma got up and put herself between her father and everybody else, taking special care to be between Genma and the two elder Tendo sisters. Genma continued on with his bluster
"YOU WILL STOP THIS NONSENCE AT ONCE AND TURN BACK INTO A MALE NOW AND STAY THAT WAY, I DIDN'T RAISE YOU TO BE A WEAK AND PATHETIC LITTLE GIRL, I RAISED YOU TO BE A MAN AMOUNST MEN, AND IF I HAVE TO BEAT THIS INTO YOU ONCE AGAIN THEN SO BE IT!" Genma used his own version of Soun's Demon Head technique to further emphasise his point.
Ranma merely quirked an eyebrow apparently amused and not impressed by Genma's tirade. Deciding to add insult to injury she faked a big yawn and covered her mouth before looking at him and finishing by saying "Oh I'm sorry were you saying something Pops?' in a fake innocent voice, but anybody could see that Ranma's eyes held a very angry but wary gleam them. Ranma's body language was tense like a spring, ready to react at any given moment.
Genma's eye twitched even more by Ranma's apparent dismissal and, he had seen the gleam in her eye and her body language was clear, but he decided to dismiss it. Now a smart man would not have dismissed as it clearly mean danger with a capital D. While Genma isn't really a stupid man he continues to prove to the world that he is. Today wasn't an exception, and he continued to ignore the warning signs of an obvious righteously angry female.
"YOU WILL OBEY ME BOY! CHANGE BACK OUT OF THAT WEAK FORM NOW OR I'LL…."
"OR YOU WILL DO WHAT OLD MAN?" shouted Ranma angrily. Ranma had finally had enough with the old fool, and decided to stop him before anything happened. Genma stoped his foolish tirade to splutter tongue-tied at Ranma and she took the chance to continue on.
"I thought that we had clarified the matter when I said earlier that even when I am in this form I am anything but weak and that I am very comfortable in this form" nudging her breasts to show which form
"But seeing as that you are still as stupid as ever I guess that I have to explain more thoroughly." Ranma took a deep breath before continuing.
"When I got my first period, it was a life changing experience for me as I had never known that girls went through that every month as my Pops had never given me 'The talk'" Everybody's eyes went to Genma eyebrows raised in disbelief.
Nabiki was the first to recover saying "You never gave her the talk! How could you! No wonder Ranma always seemed to be oblivious, and never reacted to all the sexual stuff that was going on around him. I should have been able to see it, it was so obvious." Nabiki was hitting herself on the head by the time she finished. Akane was just as shocked as the others but unlike the others she was also very ashamed.
Genma decided to speak up for himself "It was not essential to the Martial Arts. I set out to make Ranma the Strongest Martial Artist in the world and I didn't want him distracted. So I never told him knowing that…" only to be stopped by a fist in the face and a flight to the koi pond courtesy of Ranma.
Akane looked like she had been struggling with something and finally asked "Are you meaning to say Ranma that all the stuff that I put you through?" she said only to be interrupted.
"That it was all based in your own mind, that it was all unfounded, that I didn't deserve any of it then yes Akane it was" said Ranma angrily "and I can't forgive you right now so don't ask but maybe later if you are somehow able earn my respect again" she acquiesced.
Everybody looked ashamed with themselves at this and they all opened their mouths.
Ranma raised her hand to stall any more conversation "Back to where we were, yes I had never been given the talk, and my period was an eye opener to all the wonders I never knew.
But when Kasumi told me that every girl in the world went through this when they hit puberty. It started me thinking that maybe females weren't all as weak as I thought, that maybe they were a lot stronger than my Pops ever made them out to be" Everybody glared at him at this and Genma felt his life shorten by ten years.
Ranma went on to say "So I decided something, probably the most important decision I have ever made thus far, I decided to give my female form a chance, and to see how strong I could be" Ranma paused at this to get her breath "So when I made that decision I started training in my girl form in secret, training to make it as strong as my guy form.
Kasumi felt herself growing curious and voiced the question she knew was on everybody else's lips "How strong are you now Ranma-Chan?"
Ranma shot Kasumi an appreciative glance "I'm glad you asked Kasumi and the answer is that I am now as strong a martial artist in this form, as I am in my guy form. I also worked on making my guy form as fast and agile as my girl form. So I am equally strong, fast, endurable, agile and resistant to hits in either form."
"I'm actually quite pleased with myself, I can't believe I didn't do this way back then, my life would have been much easier. This is probably another reason why I'm so comfortable in this form as well" finished Ranma with a wide but defiant smile on her face looking around at the others in the room.
Ranma looked at Genma "Now are we finished with this stupidity to get me to change my mind or am I going to have to teach you a lesson, painfully?" said Ranma flexing her fists.
Genma looked up at and Ranma and all of sudden he saw how much Ranma resembled Nodaka; even the angry gleam in Ranma's eye was the same. Genma started remembering all the punishments he had gotten when Nodaka had held that particular gleam if he didn't do what she wanted.
Damnit, half the reason I don't like it when Ranma is in his Girl form, is because I hate remembering Nodaka's punishments, and because Ranma is a true Saotome she probably inherited the Saotome female ability to inflect pain. I have never been so terrified in my life as when I am in the presence of Saotome Female. They are absolutely terrifying, more terrifying than even Master Happosai, even HE fears them! screamed Genma in his mind.
Genma knew that if he pushed it any further that he would be getting a one-way ticket to the intensive care unit at the hospital and seeing as Genma is such a coward, he took the less painful way out "Yes I'm finished" he said with a composed face not giving anything away.
"Good!" said Ranma "Nice to know you see it my way" she finished with a smug face.
By now Ranma has actually had tremendous luck being able to get through all this without being bashed through the wall. Or some other form of incapacitating injury and Ranma was feeling very pleased with herself, but fate had other plans.
Akane spoke up hesitantly "Did you mean what you said before about how you had forgotten about all that crap, about girls being weak and useless when it comes to fighting? If you did mean it then you should be able to fight girls, at least in your female form" Akane looked up at Ranma with a hopeful face "Would you be able to train with me now Ranma?"
Ranma sat there looking at Akane with a blank face, calling on the soul of ice to hide her emotions. As she looked she came to an answer although she knew it would hurt.
"No I wont train you Akane" said Ranma with a little regret and wariness.
"Why not?" shouted Akane angrily "Were all your words back then complete bullshit?"
Ranma looked a little hurt "No, none of my words were false and the reason I wont train you is because you are not yet strong enough to train with me" Akane opened her mouth again but Ranma interrupted her with a finger "Yet"
Akane looked up with a bit less anger to listen to the rest and Ranma pressed on hoping to get it done and out of the way "You are not yet strong enough yet, but if you train properly by practicing your katas and your, speed, agility and balance and I might eventually train with you."
"All you do to train is smash bricks all day, and that accomplishes nothing" Ranma continued on "you must and I repeat must, also learn to control your anger, because it is severely limiting you, and it makes you constantly almost loose control"
"I'm surprised that you haven't hurt someone yet although you have come close to doing so, and if you continue to let your anger get control of you… I will never train you full stop" finished Ranma with a sense of finality that everybody could pick up on.
Akane looked down with shame knowing that Ranma was right, she was still fairly angry that Ranma wouldn't train with her but knew that she was right.
Soun looked around and saw that nobody was going to say anything and cleared his throat to gain everybody's attention he had some concerns of his own to clear up "This is all very nice Ranma and I'm glad you have solved some of your problems, but I have to know how this affects you engagement to Akane?"
Everybody looked at Ranma eager to hear the answer. Ranma looked like she was thinking very hard and when she finally looked up everybody held their breath "I sorry Mr Tendo but I cannot marry Akane now. All the beatings have just beaten out all the love that I have for her" said Ranma with a regretful expression on her face.
Soun looked devastated at this and started crying waves of tears that resembled Niagara Falls and Genma also looked like he was going to burst into tears and Soun looked at Ranma and asked loudly "But what about the engagement, you must marry one of my daughters, the honour of the schools depend on it!" Soun was starting to look desperate.
Ranma just looked at Kasumi and Nabiki "I will allow the engagement to stand, I could still marry one of your other daughters but that's up to them" Kasumi and Nabiki could see from their point of view that Ranma wasn't really looking at Nabiki when she said this but rather at Kasumi.
Kasumi started to feel her face warming up when she saw Ranma looking at her with a faint look of suggestion and hope on her face and looked away blushing. Akane did not look pleased at this turn of events but held her tongue determined to get back Ranma's respect, but Soun and Genma looked happier.
Then fate finally decided to show her face and Ranma just went out and said, "Besides I could never marry an uncute tomboy like Akane" and that comment just did it in for Akane. She brought out her trusty Pervert basher (Mallet) and smashed Ranma into the floor with a huge shout of "RANMA NO BAKA!" sending Ranma into unconsciousness, just as well she was as strong as her guy form.
Kasumi got up with a sigh and went to pick up the unconscious small form of Ranma from the floor "Oh Ranma you were doing so well too, I'll have to talk to her again about speaking at the wrong time"
She picked up Ranma and started to walk to her room and called over her shoulder "Ranma will be with me tonight, she'll need someone to look after her after that blow to the head"
All of a sudden Nabiki got up as well saying "I'll come to!" and started walking towards them to help Kasumi carry Ranma.
Kasumi wanted to protest but when she looked at Nabiki she saw the pain that Nabiki was in so she held her tongue and nodded.
With that Kasumi and Nabiki disappeared leaving everybody in shock where they would stay until much later, which at that time they could finally go to bed. They had a lot to think about tonight.
Two presences sat in a tree digesting all that they had just heard and one said in an old wizzened voice "This complicates things, it appears that Ranma has matured a great deal, become much more powerful than before, and she has accepted her curse, and she appears to be very proud about her dual sexuality, that also complicates things"
The other one spoke now in a far younger and clearly feminine voice "What should we do?
The old one spoke again "We will head back to the restaurant, we have a lot to talk about"
With that final comment the two presences vanished into the night.
Meanwhile a presence was stirring at Jusenkyo in China, it had a mission to accomplish tonight, a mission it got to do much too rarely but was overjoyed to be doing. It was going to visit one of its students tonight to offer a gift and a choice. Ranma Saotome was in for a pleasant surprise in the morning.