Chapter Thirteen – PANIC!
[TW] Homophobic language and rhetoric.
Ranma
Ranma stared at Ukyo. Ukyo stared at Ranma. Akane's head swiveled from one to the other, flushing as pink as Ranma's shirt. Then, everyone started talking at once.
"Oh my god Ranma I had no idea! How did you-"
"Aaah Ukyo wait, I- Uh- Uhhhhhh!"
"I'm sure what Ranma meant- I-"
Akane blushed deeper when they all stopped talking at the same time, caught in an awkward game of shared glances and confusion. Ukyo, in particular, looked like she was ready to shrink down in a corner and hide.
"Uh-"
"No, wait-"
Ranma was blushing deeper than Akane. What did I do? Why did I say that? I- I didn't mean it! Why did it- I- Aah! I just told U-Chan I'm a girl! Wha- But- I didn't- "I didn't mean to say it so directly!" he blurted out, and blessedly both Ukyo and Akane stopped trying to talk. "I just… Ahhh..." Can't backpedal now! "It's, uh, embarrassing? You know?"
"Embarrassing?" Akane and Ukyo echoed together.
Luckily, Ranma was a master in the art of Anything Goes, Secret Technique #2 – Bullshitting. "Well, you know, I was kinda a total, uh, tomboy-" (His eyes flicked to Akane, who suddenly looked downright murderous) "…uh, growing up? And I, uh, figured, that since you never asked, that you already… knew? Right. And, yeah. Here I am?"
Akane looked ready to die from second-hand embarrassment. "Smooth, Ranma," she mumbled under her breath.
Ukyo stumbled away from the bar and leaned back against the wall, scratching her head. "I think I need to sit down..." A burning smell started to fill the air, and his eyes widened. "The okonomiyaki!"
The moment the chef ran out of the room, Akane grabbed Ranma's collar and yanked him toward her. "What the hell was that?" she hissed.
"I don't know!"
"What do you mean, I don't know?"
Ranma blushed and looked down at her hands. "What was I supposed to say, 'Oh, I'm actually a… well, you know, and I just got this ancient curse-"
"Yes! That's exactly what you're supposed to say!" Akane exclaimed. "Do you want to lie to your old friend?"
Lie. I'm a liar. "I don't know," Ranma mumbled, his blush turning from embarrassment to shame. All he could see was Ukyo's face twisting in disgust before turning away. He's going to hate me.
Akane watched him for a long moment, a sigh at the edge of her lips, before shaking her head. "You have the worst case of Foot-In-Mouth Syndrome I've ever seen," she said. The comforting hand on Ranma's back did nothing to make him feel better.
Ukyo came back in from the kitchen holding two plates and looking distinctly frazzled. Setting them down in front of Ranma and Akane, he settled at the counter across from them. "Sorry they're a little burned, I was… distracted."
"Sure," Ranma said, mortified.
They ate their okonomiyaki in utterly embarrassed silence, all three teens too busy stealing looks at each other to say anything. To Ukyo's credit, it was delicious. Ranma knew top quality food when he saw it, no matter who cooked it. If Genma had taught him one thing, it was to never turn down a good meal.
Ukyo's expression seemed to be getting more and more dismal – he went from looking shaken to holding his head in his hands to just flat out lying despondently on the counter. "All these years," he moaned.
"Of what?" Ranma asked.
Ukyo shook his head, smiling moronically. "Man, I knew your dad swindled the hell out of us, but really, the nerve! Taking our cart and running away from the engagement was bad enough, but really? To a girl? What a scumbag." Suddenly, his tight grip on the razor sharp spatula didn't seem so innocent. "He's going to have hell to pay, I swear."
Ranma and Akane exchanged a look and spoke at the same time.
"Engagement?"
"You don't even know? He- She- Fuck, you don't even know." Ukyo barked out a laugh. "Your father made a deal with mine. In exchange for our family okonomiyaki cart, you and I would be engaged. That's when your dad ran away and took our cart with him. Bastard. I've been training for years to exact my revenge and take back what's rightfully mine, and it turns out I can't even do that."
Rightfully mine. It took Ranma a moment to realize Ukyo was talking about him, but when he did, a deep shiver ran down his spine. He didn't like the possessiveness in his voice, not one bit. For the first time since entering the okonomiyaki shop, Ranma questioned whether Ukyo was a friend he really wanted back in his life.
No, he realized, I don't think he is.
"So the panda has a thing for bad engagements," Akane murmured, almost to herself.
"What?"
Ranma's fiancee looked up at Ukyo and shrugged. "You're not the only one who's in a bad engagement because of Genma Saotome."
Ranma flushed bright pink. Ukyo looked from him to Akane and back, matching Ranma's blush. "You're kidding."
"Nope."
"Does he have a fucking lesbian fetish or something?"
"He's a pervert, so probably?"
For a moment, Ukyo was in deep thought, seizing Ranma up as Ranma and Akane shifted uncomfortably across from her. Something in her expression cracked, and she sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, honey, I couldn't do it. I'm not a dyke."
A chopstick snapped in Akane's hand. "Don't say that," she snapped.
"What, it's the truth?" Ukyo said, unrepentant. For a long moment, the two girls stared off, Akane's temper flaring dangerously. Ranma had fallen into something of a daze, trying to put the situation together in his head. Finally, Ukyo backed down. "So if Ran-chan's still here, that must mean your engagement is still on. God. Are you close to getting out of it, or do you need me to kill him for you?" She bared her teeth. "I can make it look like seppuku, if you want. Nobody mourns a pervert with a sword in his chest."
Ranma flinched, narrowing his eyes, the bitter rhetoric enough to jolt him back to the present. "Who said we were calling it off?" he snapped. "And he's a pervert and a bastard and belongs in a zoo, but Pops is still my dad. If you try to kill him, you have to go through me."
Akane shifted closer to Ranma, gritting her teeth. "Just cause you don't swing her way doesn't mean nobody does," she said.
"So you're a lesbian, then?" Ukyo asked.
Akane's cheeks flamed red, and she looked away. "I don't know. Maybe I like both. And maybe it's a shit engagement, but I still care about Ranma, so I- I won't break it off."
Ranma knew jealousy when he saw it, and he didn't like seeing Ukyo look at Akane that way one bit. "Lay off her, alright?" he snapped. "We're making it work."
"It's not even legal!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Brow furrowed, Ranma held up a hand. "I don't get it. Why would you liking me be all lesbian-y if I'm a girl, Ucchan? Cause if I'm a- a girl, and you're a guy, then..."
Ukyo and Akane both turned to stare at Ranma. "A guy?" Ukyo asked blankly.
"Ranma..." Akane started carefully. "You don't think that Ukyo is a guy, do you?"
There was a long silence.
"You know, at this point, I'm not even surprised anymore," Ukyo muttered.
Barstools clattered. Getting to her feet with a sigh, Akane put a handful of yen on the counter and massaged her temples. Ranma could feel her disappointment; it was tangible, rolling off of her in black waves. "Thanks for the meal, Ukyo," she muttered. "Sorry to be a bother. C'mon, Ranma."
Ranma stared at his half eaten okonomiyaki. Stared at Ukyo. Slowly, he rose to his feet as well and shot him- her a regretful glance. "Thank you, Ucchan."
To her credit, Ukyo looked somewhat regretful as well. "Maybe I'll see you guys around," she said. "Nerima's been good for business. I'm starting high school in two weeks, some place called Furinkan..."
Furinkan.
Shit.
If Ukyo noticed Ranma turned bleach white and freeze like a statue, she didn't comment on it, already busying herself with cleaning up the bar. Cursing madly under her breath, Akane grabbed Ranma by the collar and dragged him out of the store.
Akane
"Of all of the stupid, pig-headed, reckless, foolish things I've seen you do, this has got to take the top! Why, Ranma!?" Akane cried.
They were back in her bedroom. Ranma sat morosely on Akane's bed, curled up in his redhead form, hugging her stuffed piglet to his chest. Akane paced back and forth, trampling over his futon and discarded clothes alike, knocking her possessions off of her dresser and onto the floor at random. She knew she was losing her temper. She knew this was exactly what her therapist had instructed her not to do. She KNEW she shouldn't take her anger out on Ranma.
But God was Akane angry.
At Ukyo, for knowing Ranma and having her stupid engagement and being a stupid awful bitch. At Genma, for being the sleaziest asshole who would fuck up someone's life for a food cart. At Ranma, for- for-
Ranma was trembling.
Akane paused and closed her eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. It's not his fault, don't take it out on him… She inhaled, forcing her fists to unclench, then let her breathe out. When she opened her eyes, her stomach sank; Ranma looked genuinely afraid of her. In all fairness, it was justified; Akane must have looked like a madwoman, standing on a discarded futon in the middle of the chaotic mess of her destroyed room.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking away out the window. "Can I sit down?"
Ranma jerkily nodded his head.
Clambering onto her bed, Akane leaned against the wall next to Ranma, close enough that their arms brushed against each other every time one of them moved. She let her head fall back, stared at the white ceiling.
"I don't know why," Ranma whispered. "I didn't mean it. I didn't. It just came out like that. I'm not a- a- I just- I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't just tell Ucchan-"
"It's okay," Akane said on instinct, even though she really wasn't okay, and she didn't think Ranma was either.
"Do you really think I'm a liar?"
At that, Akane buried her face in her hands. "No. I don't. I was angry, I lashed out. If you need to be a girl, then who the fuck cares? It's your curse. You don't need Ukyo in your life if she's going to be awful like that."
Ranma didn't deny what she said, and that was confirmation enough from her.
On some level, Ranma really believed he was a girl. She'd known it. Honestly, it seemed like he did too. Acceptance, though, was a different problem.
Stupid magic. Stupid Jusenkyo.
That Ranma didn't immediately respond just went to show how affected he was. "What do we do now?" he finally asked in a small voice. "If Ukyo isn't lying about this engagement, then it sounds like she'll… I don't even know, fight you for it?"
"I would win," Akane muttered.
"Of course you would." Ranma froze and they both blushed. "But that's not the point. She's coming to our school! When she gets there..."
Akane's eyes widened.
Slumping down the wall, Ranma put his hand to his forehead. "We're screwed."
Two minutes of thinking about how screwed they were later, Akane groaned and clambered to her feet. "Look, we have like two weeks, right? Let's just… chill, for right now, and do homework. We can come up with a good plan later."
Nabiki
In the hallway, Nabiki exhaled a shaky breath and stepped away from Akane's door, her head spinning. Another engagement? Ranma needing to be a girl? If this Ukyo girl ever made it to Furinkan, she might disrupt whatever fledgling romance she could see coming together between Ranma and Akane. Not to mention the effect it could have on their family honor.
What if Daddy closes the dojo back down again?
There was too much to lose. Nabiki would come up with something, no matter how mad Akane still was at her. Her family had to be protected, at all costs. And hopefully this time, she could help without ruining her relationship with Akane more than it already was.
Slinking away, Nabiki began to plot.
Akane
"Welcome all to the Tendo family dojo, home to the school of Anything Goes!"
A crowd of little kids sat in neat rows across the dojo floor, cross-legged and fidgeting at attention. For the first time in years, the dojo was spotless. Targets were lined up along one wall; a pile of uniforms, ready for purchase, sat on a table along the other. Soun stood at the head of the room, head held high, a faint smile gracing his lips. Behind him, Akane could barely contain herself from beaming in pride, Ranma stoic at her side.
For a moment, she could forget all of her problems: Ranma, Ryoga, Ukyo, school, anger, life. One of her lifelong dreams, that one day the family dojo would come back to life, was finally happening, and she couldn't hide her joy.
"To everyone who comes to train here, you come to better yourself! To learn how to fight and to defend yourself! You will learn the art of discipline and form, and someday you might become a master of our school, just like my two assistants behind me."
Wide eyes turned to Akane and Ranma. Ranma gave the kids a sloppy grin and a wave, while Akane bowed, smiling as well.
Soun smiled, looking across his captive audience. "I am Soun Tendo, but you may call me Mr. Soun. Behind me, my assistants are Ranma and Akane. Now, to get started, why don't we have a demonstration? Akane? Ranma?"
Straight to the point and direct. Akane's father had never been one to mince words when he meant business, no matter how emotional he got otherwise.
Head held high, Akane stepped onto the open mat to the applause of the kids and turned to face Ranma, who smirked at her. "You ready?"
"Bring it on," Akane shot back with a grin.
Soun nodded to give them the ok, they bowed to each other, and the first class at the Tendo Dojo for Anything Goes Martial Arts in over a decade was underway. To Akane, getting pummeled by her fiance in front of other people had never felt (and probably never would again) feel so sweet.
[A/N] Ayy betchu didn't expect a late July chapter huh?
So, as it turns out, writing on the internet gives you a hard skin. Workshopping with other writers face-to-face is very different than getting feedback online. I went into the program I'm at right now with expectations set by you guys and everyone else who's ever loved and hated and flamed and critiqued my stories, and I made the mistake of going too far and too direct with my critiques of other people's work. It's a tough lesson, especially went you have to come to terms with the person who took your comments on that work bad because of how you presented them, but a necessary one I think.
I know Ranma's an older fandom so most of you reading this have probably learned this or never will, but here's my two cents: there's a human factor behind all writing. When you're offered an opportunity to help other people grow, you've gotta give them what's good for them, not what works for you. I may love hard criticism and very blunt internet comments, but most people don't. So anyone who gets into a workshop environment, make sure you know what the people around you are looking for, and be more positive than negative. I made the mistake of going into a workshop with my editing hat on and not my workshop hat, and I intend never to do that again.
And hey, I think it's pretty tough that I can pass this on and share the wisdom rather than just bursting into tears and being dysfunctional for a few days like I would have even a year or two ago. Score one for publishing fanfic online lol.
Anyways.
Nabiki's cooking something up again, and that can't end well. Plus, Ranma sticks his entire leg up his mouth and Akane loses her temper a lil. Tune in next time for "Hey, Pops, I'm going to school as a girl thanks bye!"
Mad cheers to James1996, XIIIroxasKOD, Lord of Memory, Katt1848, Siatru, taimu shu, DeepFriedMabel, Aurarara, Hannahtheseeker, Binaryrecord274, taimu shu (again 3), The Keeper Of Worlds, dialga9182, and one guest for reviewing! You guys get to join my new exclusive squad, which I like to call "my new exclusive squad." Food is included!
Love y'all, Allie