Chapter Twelve: Normal Tastes a Lot Like Okonomiyaki

Ukyo

Storm clouds made burn marks along the sky as lightning lashed down from the heavens, illuminating Nerima Ward through the downpour. Atop a conveniently placed mountain, one fierce warrior with a massive metal spatula strapped to her back was miraculously achieving the herculean feat of not being struck by lightning, despite being a very convenient conductor at the highest point for miles around.

This is it, she thought, clenching her fists and looking over the landscape with grim satisfaction. It's time to finally take my revenge on Ranma Saotome for abandoning me.

Making sure that all of her okonomiyaki supplies were with her, Ukyo Konji jumped off the mountain top, thunder crashing around her, and began her long descent into the city. Behind her, the letter and its envelope that had guided to her query drifted to the ground face up. It had only on sentence - "Ranma Saotome is living in Nerima Ward and attends Furinkan High School."

A single black rose petal drifted out of the envelope and blew away in the wind.

Akane

After Ryoga got kicked out of the dojo, Akane was tense for an entire week, waiting for the Lost Boy to show his face or Ranma to explode. But, to her surprise, nothing happened.

Living around Ranma Saotome could never be normal, persay, she fell into a rhythm of school and sparring with her fiancee that felt natural. Ranma was quiet a lot; Akane still noticed the same daily changes as before, but they were muted. Maybe the curse just needed time to settle, she told herself. All of the hormones and stuff, it must take a while to get used to. Akane didn't mind the curse much, either. Some nights, Ranma slept as a girl, others as a boy. He sparred in both forms, but still fled every time water got near him at school. Still, Akane couldn't shake her conviction that Ranma was more than just a boy (and found that honestly, she really didn't mind that at all).

The rest of the dojo's inhabitants left the two of them alone, mostly. Nabiki and Akane still weren't on speaking terms and she still couldn't believe that Kasumi has sided with Ryoga over Ranma. She had trouble remembering another time where the three of them had fought so bad. It meant that she and Ranma were left to themselves, with only terse family dinners to remind everyone of the tensions nobody had tried to mend yet.

At least Genma had gotten himself stuck in the zoo again, and wasn't around to cause more trouble.

"Akane!" Soun called from the dojo one afternoon. "Come over here, will you?"

Akane and Ranma shared a long glance, and Ranma shrugged, his pink shirt rippling over his muscled chest. "Dunno what he wants. I gotta go do history homework, so I'll be in our room."

"Alright." Akane dropped her bag in the kitchen as Ranma ran into the house, wondering where Kasumi had gone. She's probably out getting groceries, she was complaining about it this morning. Sliding the screen open, she stepped into the backyard and picked her way across the backyard over to the dojo.

Inside, Soun stood with his back to her, arms crossed as he contemplated the piles of stuff in front of him. Stacks of big targets were pushed against the far wall and sparring gear was scattered all over the floor. Soun's attention was focused on the uniforms at his feet, still carefully folded inside their plastic bags. "What do you think?" he asked her without turning around.

Akane smiled wistfully at her father, putting her hands on her hips. "You really are starting classes back up, Daddy."

"Yes." He nodded, scratching his cheekbone. "I got everything out of the old closets, bought the new gear… You know they've changed the safety regulations? We've got at least one class of kids, and I've been in touch with a few other parents who are still considering. It's time to start teaching Everything Goes again."

"Mommy would be proud."

Soun turned around and hugged Akane, manly tears streaming down his face. "Oh, Akane, whatever would I do without-"

Akane shoved him off, but couldn't quite lose her grin. "Shut it, you know the only reason this is happening is because your stupid engagement plan hasn't crashed and burned yet."

"My little daughter is getting married!" Soun wailed.

"I said yet, don't push your luck!"

"Still." Soun calmed down, and picked up a black gi off the ground, considering it thoughtfully. "With Ranma around to help, we should be able to run classes easily. It will be good practice for when he runs the dojo someday."

Suddenly, Akane's heart plummeted. Joining the schools… This dojo will be Ranma's? Those were the terms of her engagement, after all. It made perfect sense that he would, but somehow she had never made the connection. And… Wait, I would be his- oh, god. An unpleasant image of her in one of Kasumi's dresses passed through her thoughts, and she shuddered.

Nope. I don't care how close Ranma and I get, there's no way I'm marrying him! Not with all his stupid macho bullshit! I'd rather die than be a housewife!

At least the engagement was doing some good for her family (sort of).

"So that gi is for him, then," Akane said flatly, eying the black robes. Soun shook his head, and she frowned. "You, then? Isn't that a bit small?"

"No, Akane." Soun looked her straight in the eyes and extended the wrapped gi to her. "This is for you."

For you.

It was just an unassuming set of master's robes, factory black, still wrapped in the low quality plastic it had been shipped in. Akane stared at it as if she had never seen a gi before. "For me?"

"You mother taught classes with me before she died. She loved interacting with the student more than anything – you girls especially. After she died, I-" Soun sighed. "All these years, I couldn't bear to teach, Akane. For you to become as strong as you are today even without me there to guide you… It is more than I could have possibly hoped for. If Ranma had chosen Kasumi or Nabiki, then they would have assisted with the dojo, but I know neither of them will ever become masters, but someday, this will be your dojo just as much as his. To teach is your right." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I know your mother wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

Akane took the gi with trembling hands, her fingers crinkling the plastic as they desperately dug into the black cloth. Somehow, she found the daring to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue for years. "Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean you'll start teaching- teaching me again?"

Soun smiled sadly at her, then nodded. "Yes. Next time you and Ranma spar, why don't you call me in, and I'll see what we can do. It wouldn't do to let Saotome's side of the school dominate Everything Goes, after all!"

"You mean it? You really mean it?"

"Yes."

Akane swayed in place for a long moment, then a bright teary smile broke out and she nodded. Too overwhelmed to stay in the dojo, she spun on her heel and ran back into the house. Ignoring a questioning look from Kasumi, she darted up the stairs and burst into her room. Ranma jumped to his feet when she entered. "'Kane?"

She sniffed, then tackled him with a desperate hug.

Ranma went full tomato. "A-Akane? What happened, did Soun say somethin'?"

"Idiot," Akane mumbled into his chest, trying and failing not to cry. This is so stupid. Why is everything in my life so stupid? I don't get it. The gi slipped out of her fingers and fell to the ground, covering their bare feet. "You better learn to cook in your girl form, cause there's no way in hell I'm doing it for you!"

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

Akane let go of Ranma, nearly snorting at how much he looked like a moose caught in headlights, then turned away. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out sooner or later. I'm going to take a bath, don't you walk in on me!"

Ranma slumped, blinking cluelessly at her. "Huh?"

"Later!"

Closing the door behind her, Akane pressed her back against the wood and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Inside, she could hear Ranma muttering something about how weird girls were, but her temper didn't even flare at him. I'm going to teach Everything Goes, she thought, exhaling another shaky breath. Daddy's going to start teaching me again, and I'm going to get to do it with my best friend. From the moment Ranma's comatose body had been dragged into the Tendo household from the rain, Akane's life had been turned upside down, but things were finally starting to feel normal again, even if normal was nothing life what it had been before.

Marrying Ranma was out of the question, but maybe, just maybe, running a dojo with him someday?

Now that, Akane could do.

Ranma

"Kasumi, I'm going for a walk!"

It was a few days after Akane and Soun had had their mysterious conversation, and Ranma was no closer to figuring out what had made Akane hug him like she had. He had been puzzling it over, but drawn a total blank. Maybe I can figure it out if I walk with her!

"I'll come too!" Ranma cheerfully said. Pushing off the table, he folded his hands behind his head and gave Akane his most convincing grin.

Akane raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Damn, it didn't work. "What are you up to?"

His flawless disguise may have failed, but Ranma Saotome didn't give up that easily! "What, I can't go on a walk with my cute fiancee?" he asked, his grin growing wider.

One punch later, and Ranma cowered beneath Akane's violent temper. "What was that?!"

"I meant uncute fiancee, jeez-"

Akane's roundhouse kick sent him flying into the yard. Ranma yelped as he barely missed the koi pond, red hair whipping in his face as he backflipped onto the fence. "Ranmaaaa..." Akane growled, demonic aura swirling around her as she stalked into the backyard.

Ranma held up his hand sheepishly. "Hey, not the koi pond, okay? I just took a shower. Besides, we're already outside, see? This is a great walk, really!"

Akane smouldered in the middle of the yard for a long moment, then stalked over to grab a handful of Ranma's shirt (which was really her shirt – he was wearing one of her old t-shirts) and started dragging him toward the gate. "Just shut up and walk." Ranma laughed nervously, silently grateful that Akane hadn't really attacked him. She's been getting way better at sparring! When she's angry…

Well, Ranma always had the Anything Goes secret technique up his sleeve – running away!

"Ranma dear, Akane, wait!" Kasumi walked out of the house, holding a teakettle. "You have to change back first!"

Ranma and Akane both stopped, the former getting back to his feet and looking down at his ample chest. Oh, right. I completely forgot I'm still a girl right now. From the surprised look Akane shot him, so had she.

Kasumi looked between them and frowned. "Ranma..."

"I don't wanna."

"HUH?!"

Oh, come on… Ranma shifted awkwardly at the gobsmacked expressions he was receiving from both sisters and scratched his head. "Kasumi, you just heard me, right? I just took a shower, I don't want to get wet again! Besides, I, um… like this shirt?"

Akane stared at the Flower Power Summer Camp shirt and snorted. Kasumi's frown deepened. "Ranma, honey, you can't go out in public like that."

"Why not? What's the big deal? It's my body, and it's not like anybody from school knows anyways," Ranma said, feeling more and more defensive for every second Kasumi gave him that look. "I just don't wanna change back right now. Do ya even know how annoying it is to-"

"But-"

"It's fine." Akane cut them both off with a shrug. "Ranma's right, you don't have a curse, sister. Nobody's going to find out, it'll be fine."

Disapproval. Ranma knew it the moment he saw it; Kasumi disapproved of him going into public as a girl. Why does she care? 's not even a big deal! He turned to Akane, almost worried he would find the same expression there, but breathed a sigh of relief when he found only mild annoyance.

"I suppose so..." Kasumi said doubtfully, letting the tea kettle fall to her side.

Suddenly Ranma was eager to get away from the dojo. "Great, see ya!" Before Kasumi could muster another word, he ran out the back gate, Akane hot on his heels. They stood in the alleyway for a long moment, catching their breath, until they heard the slide of the screens being shut. Neither one of them said anything for a few seconds.

"Flower boy."

"Uncute fiancee."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just walk."

Akane

He didn't want to change back.

Nerima was beautiful that Saturday afternoon. Sunlight reflected off the river, families playing together at the park along the water's edge. Akane and Ranma walked side-by-side, bantering about the dojo and school, Ranma's red braid swinging back and forth as she walked. Nobody gave the two girls a second look, aside from a few boys that gave them an obnoxious twice-over until Akane shot them a glare. Ranma was oblivious as always, and acted exactly like his usual self.

Akane kept her turmoil well hidden, but it was too great to just write off.

It's not a big deal, right? It's his curse, it's a part of him. If he wants to leave the house as a girl, who's going to stop him? Nobody knows they're the same person.

But what if Ranma decided one day he never wanted to change back? The engagement would be off, obviously, but what about the dojo? What about joining the schools? Would Soun not want to train her anymore? Akane wasn't sure if she would be able to lose that again. Would Ranma leave? If Ranma left, what would she do?

Why did her fiance have to fill out her shirts better than she did?

Akane walked straight into Ranma's finger poking her nose. Ranma squinted at her. "You're being moody again, 'Kane."

Moody?! I'll show him moody! "Idiot! What kind of this is that to say to a girl?" Akane yelled, pushing him backward and blushing.

Ranma backflipped to avoid falling, landing on one foot and crossing his arms. "Really, though, what is it? You aren't usually this, uh..."

"Moody?"

"...Yeah?"

Akane shook her head and started walking again. "Look, it's nothing, alright? I just..."

"Is it because of that dumb argument at the dojo?" Ranma asked.

"Maybe."

"It ain't a big deal, okay?" Ranma scowled. "I don't get it. Why does everybody care so much? It's not like they're the ones who got cursed."

"Do you like it?"

Silence.

Akane and Ranma awkwardly stared at each other for a long moment, stopping in their tracks. Idiot! Why did you ask so bluntly? she berated herself. If Ranma takes it the wrong way…

"What do you mean?" Ranma finally managed to spit out.

Too late to turn back now. Akane shifted closer to Ranma and dropped her tone. "I mean, uh… I know that you didn't want the curse, and all, but… sometimes you don't seem to mind it. Do you- do you like it?"

A young couple walked past them wheeling a stroller, and they jumped apart to let them pass down the side of the road. She could feel the blush on her face, burning. Ranma looked lost, palms against the river fence, a loose strand of red hair drifting into his face. He looked like a girl. He acted like a girl, sometimes.

"I-" Ranma's eyes darted around wildly, searching for any escape, then he pointed across the road. "Look, a new restaurant! 'Kane, let's go try it, okay? Okay! Let's go!"

Before Akane could react, Ranma had already scamped across two lanes of moving traffic, vaulted over a barrier, and threw the door to the restaurant open. Akane blinked – did she even like okonomiyaki? - and walked after him. That's not an answer, Ranma.

Although, if Akane was being honest with herself, she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

The inside of the okonomiyaki shop was brightly lit, with a long stove bartop and booths. Akane nearly bumped into Ranma, who was staring petrified in the doorway. "Ranma? Is something wrong?"

"I- uh- um-"

A very confused boy stood at the hostess stand, wearing an oversized spatula on his back. "Uh, are you with her? Do you know what's wrong with her?"

Ranma seemed to register her, because he looked down at his chest and turned red enough that steam could have come out of his ears like a tea kettle. "Uh..."

Akane held back from facepalming and gave the boy an apologetic smile. "Two at the counter, please?"

"Sure thing, just grab a seat. I'll, uh..." The boy glanced at Ranma. "Bring her a water, or something."

The moment the boy disappeared into the back room, Akane dragged Ranma to the bar and sat him down, tapping his cheek with her palm. Ranma didn't react, absently grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "What the hell was that?"

"I know that boy."

"You what?"

"I know that kid. That's Ukyo Konji!" Ranma's eyes lit up in excitement. "We were childhood friends! I knew I'd seen him somewhere before!"

Akane raised an eyebrow. "A childhood friend made you short-circuit like that?"

Ranma shook his head and waved a discrete hand at himself, the light dimming but not going out. "What am I supposed to say? It's not exactly like I can-"

"You know my name?" Ukyo emerged from the kitchen holding two glasses of water and wearing a furrowed expression. "Have I met you before? You do look kinda familiar..."

On the other side of the bar, Ranma and Akane shared a panicked look. What do we do? Do we tell Ranma's friend? Do we- "Uh, yeah. You're Ukyo Konji, right?" Ranma said, plunging ahead. "We used to play when we were little sometimes, y'know?"

Blinking, Ukyo leaned forward over the counter. "Really?" For some reason, his voice sounded higher than before. "I… Gosh, I feel like I should know you. I'm sorry, what's your name?"

And there it was.

Ranma hesitated for a long moment. "I… It's Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

A clock on the wall ticked off the silent seconds. Somebody's okonomiyaki began to burn, and Ukyo moved to flip it, eyes training in blank confusion on Ranma. Akane fought to keep her face expressionless, her mind spinning. This is Ryoga all over again. Please tell me she won't say something insensitive that'll send Ranma spinning again.

"...You're Ranma Saotome."

"Yeah."

Ukyo leaned in a bit too close and squinted at Ranma, who looked deeply uncomfortable and tried to pull away. "You're Ranma Saotome."

Ranma laughed, nervous. "Uh, yeah. I said that, didn't I?"

For a long moment, Ranma's childhood friends stared intently at him, then his mouth dropped. "You really are Ranma. Holy shit. You've got his nose, his style, everything."

"Uh," Akane said smartly. Huh, I guess his nose does stay the same. That's… something.

"Yup, it's all… me." Ranma scratched the back of his neck. "So I guess you do recognize me?"

Confirmation bias, Akane's mind supplied. My therapist blabs about that one.

Ukyo looked really, really lost. "But I, uh… I thought you were a, uh, a guy. Like, when we were kids, you were a guy. I thought. I guess. Uh..."

Akane wanted to cut the tension with Ukyo's spatula. Moment of truth – would Ranma tell Ukyo about the curse? It only made sense, right? After all, Ranma told Ryoga, and he had been fine with it, sort of. All Ranma had to do was tell the truth-

"I'm a girl."

Line Break

[A/N] Just when things were starting to calm down, everything gets a little spicy~

I haven't forgotten this story, don't worry – I've just been sucked into an awesome original project that's taken up most of my attention. All of your feedback on the last chapter was lovely - I hope everyone reviews this one as well.

To ValdraDK – I totally started writing this story when I started figuring things out myself, and It's been a lot of fun to see how it changes as I get older and more open. I totally get you!

Love to all – hopefully next chapter won't marinate for so long ;)

Allie