Chapter Thirty – Waterproofing
[A/N] Brace, brace…
Ranma
There were six of then now – Konatsu had a small panic attack over Ukyo's safety when they had tried to leave without her, so Ukyo had declared the okonomiyaki shop closed for the day and asked her to join them. Now Konatsu and Ukyo trailed behind Ranko, Akane, Ryoga, and Shan Pu, talking to each other in low voices as Shan Pu led the group toward her great-grandmother's cafe. Shan Pu hadn't given many details about the cafe, only that it was located in Nerima – "Very important to be close to Airen's family, of course" – so Ranko had no choice but to follow her into the unknown, a lump of anxiety building in her throat at her lack of control over present circumstances.
"Ranko," Akane said, drifting toward her with her hands clasped behind her back. "Are you sure about this?"
Drifting away from Ryoga and Shan Pu, Ranko fell into step next to Akane.
"No," she said. "No, I'm not."
Akane reached down to take her hand. Ranko swallowed – if she stopped moving now, if she allowed the anger to pass and let the reality of how close she'd just come to having her curse unmasked sink in, there was no chance she'd be able to keep herself from breaking down. All of her illusions would dissolve in an instant. The fake identification, the double life between home and school, the near brush with exposure at Kodaichi's hand… Ranko was terrified. Akane had gotten burned. Her chest ached from where her bra had cut her. One wrong move, one last straw, and Ranko's whole house of cards would come tumbling down around her.
"Darling…" Akane whispered.
She squeezed her hand. Ranko clung to it with a death grip.
They made their way swiftly through Nerima – past the neighborhood shrines, the river, the little parks, the quiet residential blocks. Shan Pu walked with a swift purpose, never letting go of her iron grasp on Ryoga's wrist. The closer they got to her family's restaurant, the more regally she held herself: back straight, eyes hardening, head held high so her twin blue buns caught the sunlight. She really is a princess, Ranko thought, watching her in quiet wonder as she contemplated how bizarre it was that Ryoga had somehow gotten himself engaged to the great-granddaughter of a Chinese matriarch. From the way Ryoga stuck faithfully to Shan Pu's side, allowing her to drag him along without a protest, however, it didn't seem like Ryoga minded.
"Is up ahead," Shan Pu announced, turning a corner to bring the restaurant into sight.
Her restaurant was down a commercial block, a lovely little red and brown storefront with a model menu display box and geometric white and gold patterning across the windows. "Ooh," Akane said, letting go of Ranma to skip ahead to the display case. "Ramen." Konatsu was quick to join her, where the two of them looked over the menu together; Ukyo hung back by a paralyzed Ranma's side, scowling up at the restaurant with crossed arms as though seeing her restauranteering competition had personally offended her. But it was all lost on Ranko, who was paralyzed in place, staring up at the sign in sudden terror.
"C-c-cats?" Ranko stuttered. "This is a Cat Cafe?"
Shan Pu turned back and raised a cool eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"
Ranko let out a little wheeze.
"Ranko?" Ukyo asked in concern.
She laid a gentle hand on Ranko's arm. Ranko flinched away, and tried really, really, really hard not to hyperventilate. Her distress attracted the attention of the others; Akane frowned in confusion, her brow furrowing, and Ranko wondered in some distant part of her mind how she had managed to keep her crippling fear of cats hidden from her fiancee.
On the edge of a nervous breakdown – or worse, an episode – Ranma managed to make out, "Don't like cats."
"Don't like cats?" Ukyo said. "Ranchan, you look ready to topple over!"
"Are you okay?" Akane asked, hurrying to Ranko's side.
Ranko managed not to flinch again when she was surrounded by the concern of her best friend and fiance. She closed her eyes in surrender. "Really don't like cats," she said.
Everything went fuzzy for a bit. There was a commotion of blurred sound around her, and she waged a silent war against herself, fighting to keep her claws in – no, she didn't have claws, what? She wasn't anything. There was nothing to fight against. Ranko gasped for breath, hunching forward against her knees – her knees? How did she get on the ground? But she was – sitting on the pavement, surrounded by a concerned group of her friends and loved one. Her back was to the wall. Shan Pu was kneeling down in front of her.
"Listen to voice," Shan Pu murmured. She rested a calming hand on Ranko's shoulder, and Ranko looked up at Shan Pu in terror, though she wasn't certain what she was scared of. Shan Pu's gaze softened. "In, out. In, out. Please breathe for Shan Pu."
Tilting her head back against the wall, Ranko stopped trying to understand what was happening and focused on her breath.
"Good job," Shan Pu said. "Are no cats at the Cat Cafe, Ranma. Is only good food and Great-Grandmother. You see? Don't worry, only cat is the Lucky Cat by the cash register. You can look away, promise."
Ranko slumped back against the wall, reaching up with a tired hand to touch Shan Pu's arm. "Xiexie," she murmured, exhausted beyond her wits.
"It's nothing," Shan Pu said softly in Mandarin. She slung an arm around Ranko's waist and helped her to her feet, letting Ranko lean into her side to stay upright. "We are a warrior tribe, Ranma, and though we may not see combat as often as we did in ancient times, many of our warrior still fight, and some return home with deep scars of the mind. There's no shame in it. I will not ask why you bear scars from the mere mention of cats-" Somehow, the word felt less terrifying in Mandarin, and oddly helped Ranko to settle herself. "-but we can speak of it another time, yes? Come, you must see Great-Grandmother."
She steadied herself, and found Akane and Ukyo both staring at her wide eyes. Akane especially seemed bewildered by the whole course of events. But their concern was too much to handle, so Ranko swallowed and allowed Shan Pu to lead her into the Nekohanten.
The inside of the Cat Cafe was normal enough – a bar, some cute little booths, a few late-lunch patrons slurping ramen at their respective tables. A man at the bar lit up at the sight of Shan Pu, and Shan Pu let go of Ranko to wave back. "My father," Shan Pu explained, leading her straight to the back. "In our village, the Joketsuzoku, it's the men who often occupy the domestic roles while the women fight. Father helps to run the restaurant while Great-Grandmother tends to our family affairs and I pursue my engagement." Ranko stared at Shan Pu's kindly father, who gave her a kind smile. She hesitantly smiled back.
"He seems nice."
"He is," Shan Pu agreed.
They came to the back of the restaurant, and Shan Pu disengaged from Ranko, stepping up to part a red curtain with her hands. Shan Pu turned back and glanced at Ranko, nodding her head toward the back room. Then she stepped inside.
Taking a deep breath, Ranko followed.
Beyond the red flaps of the drapes, there hung a curtain of beads which separated the back office from the rest of the restaurant. Ranko slipped through the curtain, her heart catching in her throat, and filed quietly after Shan Pu into the room. On the far side of the divider, an old woman, short to the point of comical absurdity, sat behind a desk, her lips pinched as she poured over a business ledger. When the rest of their friends piled into the room after them, Shan Pu's great-grandmother (and boy, did she look it) looked up with a sharp quizzical expression.
"Hi, Great-Grandmother," Shan Pu said sheepishly.
"Ah, Shan Pu," Shan Pu's great-grandmother said, leaning back in her chair. "And Son-in-Law, you're both back in Tokyo. I see that you've brought back friends."
"I hope they don't talk in Chinese for this whole meeting," Ukyo muttered to Akane, who giggled.
Shan Pu's eye twitched, and Ranma had to hold back a groan.
Really, guys?
Rising from her seat, the ancient woman stooped her way around the desk to stand before the six of them, sweeping a critical eye over their ranks. She straightened to her full height, and Ukyo and Akane both gulped at her sudden gravity. Ranko hadn't truly gone all out in her martial arts for a while, but she still knew how to recognize power when she was it. She'd known the true capability of the woman before her from the moment she'd stepped into the room.
"I am Ke Lun," Ke Lun said in a silencing tone, instantly commanding the respect of everyone in the room. "Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, and Shan Pu's great-grandmother. And fluent in Japanese. I pardon my great-granddaughter's efforts if she has confused you; she is, after all, only still learning to better communicate with my son-in-law. May I help you?"
The silence that followed was embarrassing for everyone.
"Great-Grandmother," Shan Pu said, stepping to the front of the group. "This is Ukyo, Konatsu, Akane, and Ranko, Airen's friend from old school. Akane is Ranko's fiancee, Ukyo is Ranko's friend, Konatsu is Ukyo's partner." Ukyo and Konatsu both choked at the description, but Shan Pu merely shot them a wicked smile. "Ranko has a Jusenkyo curse and needs help concealing it from her school. Shan Pu hopes you can help her."
Ke Lun clucked her tongue in consideration, giving Ranko an assessing once-over. "I see," she murmured. "Yes, this may very well be our business. You've done well to bring this to my attention."
Shan Pu preened. "Is least I can do for Airen's friend."
"Girl!" Ranko startled when Ke Lun whipped a walking stick out of nowhere and rapped it against the ground before her. Ke Lun glared up at her. "How did you find your way into one of the cursed springs? Answer, quick!"
"My father!" Ranko squawked, reflexively dodging a rap of the kneecaps. "He's an idiot, Honored Elder! He took me to the springs and he kicked me into a pool!"
Abruptly, Ke Lun stopped trying to hit Ranko. "What do you mean, kicked you?"
Ranko opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"He's an abusive piece of shit," Akane said darkly when Ranko couldn't muster an answer. "At least she got him back. He turns into a panda now."
Ke Lun frowned, looking over Ranko with new eyes. "I see," she said.
"It ain't a big deal," Ranko said.
"Yes, it is," Ukyo said.
"No, it-"
"Yes, it is," Ukyo, Akane, and Ryoga all chorused, and Ranko shrank into herself in the middle of the room. Konatsu stayed silently, but her gaze was full of worried sympathy.
Tapping her walking stick between her feet, Ke Lun frowned, lost in her own thoughts. She went over to a chest in the corner of the room, which she opened and started shuffling through things inside. "Tell me," she called over her shoulder. "What is your cursed form, girl?"
Ranko tried to answer. She wanted to answer, but the words wouldn't come.
It seemed like such a simple thing, to name the true nature of her curse.
And yet.
"You see it now," Shan Pu said once it became obvious that Ranko wasn't going to be able to answer the question. "Was born boy. Is girl now. She likes it better that way, she is-" The next word was given in Mandarin, and though Ranko didn't know it, Ke Lun barked out a laugh.
"Is she really."
"Yes, Great-Grandmother."
Ke Lun shook her head, looking back at Ranko with a wry disbelief. "Incredible. Even after all these years, I'm still surprised by those springs. You have been incredibly lucky, young lady, to land in the Nyannichuan – or perhaps the fates are smiling down upon you. The Spring of the Drowned Girl. Well, that will make things easier."
"It will?" Ranko asked in disbelief.
"Of course it will," Ke Lun said dismissively. "They are curses, child. It is far easier to keep someone in a cursed form than it is to keep them in their original one. This is why among my people we teach those afflicted by the cursed waters of Jusenkyo that the best curative for their curse is to embrace their cursed form, no matter how dehumanizing. Accepting the form which Jusenkyo has bestowed upon you can turn a curse into a blessing. Do not think that you are the first boychild I have seen who has 'accidentally' taken a tumble into that blessed spring. Of all of Jusenkyo's waters, the Springs of the Drowned Girl and Drowned Man are perhaps the kindest."
"Her father won't accept it," Ukyo said in a blunt tone, ignoring the immediate glare she received from Ranma. "She never turns back anymore. He's in denial."
"Bah," Ke Lun scoffed. "Then he is a fool. Does she have a mother?"
Yes, Ranko thought with a deep stab of guilt.
Akane shook her head. "We don't know. She's not around. The two of them have been living with my family."
Ke Lun looked at Ranko like she knew, but didn't press the subject. "You're a martial artist, girl. Yes?" Ranko nodded. "Good. If you do not have a place to live, come to our Cafe. We will take care of you – you are a child of Jusenkyo and a warrior. You will find a place among our people."
Even as Shan Pu gaped at her great-grandmother, Ke Lun brusquely moved on from the subject. She rummaged around in the trunk and pulled out a brown paper bag.
"You need something to keep yourself from reverting to your birth form?"
"Yes, Elder-san," Ranko said, too taken aback by the abrupt offer of asylum to articulate a more coherent response.
A white object flew through the air – followed by three more white objects, which required a little juggling, but Ranko caught them. Ke Lun chuckled at the sight. Ranko stared down at the white bars in her arms, taking a deep sniff of the jasmine-scented soap. It was hard to believe that Shan Pu had actually meant her offer of help. In fact, it was so unbelievable that Ranko had to search her mind for every possible secret technique which might be attached to the unassuming bars. Poison? A sealing technique? A worse curse?
"What's the catch?" Ranko asked, clutching the soap protectively to her chest.
Ke Lun rolled her eyes, glancing at Shan Pu. "I take it you already explained how it works to her? Good. Apply that every morning, head to toe, even on your hair. A thin layer should do – it's magical, and it will spread itself across your skin, so don't worry about catching every spot. Just get all of the main areas and don't drink any hot liquids. It'll work even if you don't apply it perfectly. I do not require anything of you at the time, Ranko. Merely use the soap if you require it, and stop using it if you no longer wish to remain a woman. And come back to me if you run into any… difficulties, with your father or otherwise. A friend of my great-granddaughter is a friend of the Amazons."
Ranko stood in the center of the room, blinking at Ke Lun and her clear dismissal. She'd walked in and just… gotten the soap? Just like that?
"It can't be that easy," she said dumbly.
With a critical expression that spoke to more life experience than Ranko knew how to comprehend, Ke Lun leveled Ranko a cool look, raising an eyebrow. "Would you prefer that I gatekept your necessary treatment from you?" she inquired. "Or that I left you up to the mercy of your father?"
"N-no," Ranko stammered. "Of course not."
Ke Lun returned to her original seat and sat back in it. "Then do you mean to suggest that I am incapable of kindness? Or benevolence?"
Ranko squeaked a little.
"She's telling you to thank her, idiot," Akane hissed to Ranko.
Oh, right! Ranko sank into a low bow, her eyes wet with disbelief. "Thank you so much, Elder-san, Shan Pu. I have no idea how I could possibly repay you."
"No payment," Shan Pu said. "Right, Great-Grandmother?"
Ke Lun chuckled. "So spirited, all of you. Let's consider it a favor, shall we? Don't worry, I won't ask anything objectionable of you lot. You'll know when I call to collect."
The terms were more than acceptable to Ranko. All that mattered to her in that moment was the bars of soap in her arms, the promise of safety and freedom from her constant fear of exposure and her father. Maybe there was a way out of this mess. Ranko could only pray, walking out into the cold December day, her gaze fixated on the delicate omamori hanging from the straps Akane's backpack, that she would be able to find the strength to take it.
The soap was everything that she had wanted since she'd accepted her curse. It was also terrifying in ways that Ranko had not even begun to express.
Akane
It was cold outside. They'd had a couple warmer days that week, so the snow had mostly melted, leaving behind motley patches and muddy brown earth, now frozen, in its wake. Akane sat on a rock beside the frozen koi pond, her coat drawn tightly around her as she stared into the translucent depths of the black ice. Her mind was awhirl, and after the day she'd had, Akane didn't know what she could do to calm herself. She wasn't even angry before. Her fury had turned into a muted rage, a fatigue so bone deep that the steady infusion of winter around her wasn't even enough to chill her.
She'd been so angry for so long, and it had blinded it, hadn't her? Akane had been so fixated on her anger issues and her budding love for Ranko that she'd entirely forgotten the real issue: the fact that Genma Saotome had walked into their life with his comatose son, his son in a magical coma that he had put him/her into, and they had all taken it out on Ranko instead of attacking the root of the problem. It had always been Genma fucking Saotome who had deserved Akane's anger. How could she have been so stupid? Watching Ranko slump down the side of the Nekohaten, enveloped in the grips of a panic attack at the mention of cats, of all things, had been a real wake-up call for Akane. How much more was there to Genma's abuse than Ranko had told them?
And more importantly, how could Ranko continue down her path of self-discovery so long as Genma was there?
That was what, her second panic attack in as many days? Akane thought angrily, jabbing at the ice with a stick. Rock solid. Her hands were getting cold. It can't stay this way. She's going to have a complete breakdown if it does.
What could she do? What could she do?
"Akane?"
Nabiki picked her way across the yard, hands thrust into the pockets of her puffy jacket. When she reached the koi pond, she stood a few paces away from Akane, staring down at her like there was something she was supposed to say. Akane scowled and jabbed the ice again. "I'm not in the mood."
"Ranko told me everything," Nabiki said, genuine worry in her tone. "Are you okay?"
Akane laughed and stabbed the stick down again. It broke the ice, wedging itself into the spiderweb cracks. "Yeah," she said. "I'm fantastic, 'Biki. Never better."
"You don't have to lie to me."
"Don't I?"
Nabiki scoffed, settling down on a different rock. "Ouch, sis."
They sat there in the cold for a while – Akane picking at the ice, Nabiki lounging on her rock like she were sunbathing in the middle of August. A cold breeze blew through the air. If she thought about it too hard, Akane knew she felt cold, so she didn't think about it. She didn't think about anything. She just sat there on her rock, ruining the lovely plane of the ice's smooth surface, and brooded over how badly she wanted Genma to suffer from the consequences of his actions.
"So, how about the weather? Nice and cold. Great day to be outside."
"Leave me alone," Akane snapped.
Nabiki shook her head and rose to her feet, holding up her hands. "Fine, be that way," she sniffed. "I'll leave you alone. But your girlfriend needs you right now, you absolute doofus. Can't you, I don't know, save the teenage angst for after Ranko isn't having a crisis anymore?"
Akane sighed, gripping her stick tighter to wrench it free from the ice. "When is she not having a crisis?"
"My point exactly."
"You're a teenager too!"
Rolling her eyes, Nabiki gave Akane an infuriating little wave, then walked back into the house. Akane forced herself to follow her inside. The warm air buoyed her, which was half the reason she'd gone outside in the first place, and Nabiki looked relieved that her little gambit had worked. Akane glared at her on the way past – but she was right, of course. There would be a time and a place for her own crisis. Right now, Ranko needed her help.
The inside of the house was darker than the pale bleak of a December evening. The mats were soft beneath her feet. Akane tread the well-worn path to her bedroom and slipped inside, where she found her. Ranko was sitting on their bed criss-cross applesauce with her back pressed into the corner of the room, staring at the four bars of soap laid out upon the mattress. Four inconspicuous simple bars of soap. That contained magic. Akane wanted to scoff at the prospect, but she'd seen Ranko too many times to deny it.
Magic is real, Akane told herself, standing awkwardly in the middle of their room. It's all magic. All magic's fault.
But if it weren't for magic, then Ranko would never have gotten to be a girl, right?
How did that explain Konatsu though?
Akane frowned. Maybe Konatsu is a magical girl.
"Hey, 'Kane," Ranko said, managing a tired smile for Akane. Akane couldn't help but smile back, no matter how strained it was; Ranko was so damn cute when she tried to put up a brave front. Drifting to their bed, Akane settled down on the opposite side. She picked up a bar of the soap.
"So," Akane said, testing the waters. "A cure, huh? No more shifting."
"A cure," Ranko echoed.
The bar tumbled through her fingers back on the pile.
"You haven't tried to put it on yet."
Ranko took a deep breath, shrinking deeper into the corner. "It's too good to be true," she said quietly. "I can't- I can't just use some soap and have all my problems go away, can I? This solves one problem but makes another. What about- What about Pops? What happens when he dunks a kettle on my head and gets nothing but a wet burnt girl for his efforts?"
"You think he'll find out."
"I know he'll find out," Ranko said. "I can't do this the way things are now, Akane. It's not going to work. If I wanna wear the soap, if I wanna protect myself at school, I have to- I- I-" Shaking, Ranko wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I have to tell him. I can't not tell him. He has to know."
The problem became quickly apparent.
"So you think that if you want to use the soap, you have to- to-"
"Come out," Ranko said. "Yuka and Sayuri called it 'coming out.'"
"Oh."
A long silence.
"And that's absolutely no way that you can lock yourself into girlmode without him-"
"No."
"Oh," Akane said.
"I have to tell him," Ranko said, wringing her hands in visible terror. "I have to tell him that I'm not a man-among-men, that I'm a girl, that he's completely failed in his one goal for my life. I have to tell my father that I- I'm changing and that there's nothing he can say or do to change my mind. And I don't know how he'll respond – or I do know, which is even worse. I know he's going to freak out. I know he's gonna want to punish me. Or- or worse. He's going to want to fix me. But I don't- I don't- I don't, I don't, I don't-"
Ranko began to rapidly shake her head.
Akane swallowed. "You don't need to be fixed."
When Ranko practically collapsed into the pillows in haggard relief, freed from the burden of articulating her own desires, she laughed hollowly. "No," she said. "I don't."
It became rather evident to Akane in that moment that Ranko was entirely correct: both about what she needed to do to put the soap on her body, and about how Genma would react to it. There was no way out except through the web of lies and half-truths they had woven around Ranko's curse. Akane was still scared, though. What if Genma hurt Ranko? Or worse; what if Genma took Ranko away from her? The man still had legal guardianship over her fiancee. Akane sucked in a breath when she comprehended that Ranko was probably struggling with the same worries, and felt an immense wave of empathy and sorrow for her girlfriend. Fucking hell, it wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Nobody deserved to live with that stress on their shoulders. Nobody deserved to doubt whether or not their parents would love them or not if they failed to live up to their expectations.
Struck by a sudden need to be closer to her girlfriend, Akane crawled across her bed and snuggled in next to Ranko, pulling the smaller girl in tight against her body. Ranko let out a soft noise and allowed herself to be snuggled.
Akane hushed Ranko when she started shaking with quiet tears. "Hey," she whispered, dropping little kisses on Ranko's shoulder. "Hey, I'm here. It's okay, Ranko-chan We're going to get through this together."
"Okay," Ranko whispered back.
"Are you gonna use the soap?"
Ranko sniffled, shaking her head against their pillows. She was so damn beautiful even when she cried. She had no idea how she had gotten so lucky. It was a blessed feeling. She wanted to cherish the newfound girl in her arms for the rest of her life. Holy shit, Akane wanted to be engaged to Ranko. She wanted it right at the moment when she was most afraid that it would all get taken away. And just maybe, Akane thought as Ranko rolled over to stare at her, her beautiful blue eyes filled with such desperate longing, just maybe a real engagement was something that Ranko Saotome wanted to.
Ranko smiled helplessly at Akane through her tears. "I don't know," she said.
And that was enough for today.
[A/N] Last chapter to go before the end of the third arc… Expect a big one next time.
Akane is starting to figure out how to be a good partner. Also, Ranko has been through a whole hell of a lot in a very short time, and it's all starting to catch up to her.
Ke Lun is following my trend of "Let's make the Amazons less obnoxious and stereotypical" lol. I didn't expect her to be so fun to write, but honestly she's a very malleable character, so I had a lot of fun with her once I nailed down the basics. Also, Shan Pu and Ranma speaking in Mandarin together is such a fun trope to write. I love playing with languages and cultures, and it really opens up Shan Pu as a character is such a nice way.
Other than that, not much to say about this one. I hope y'all are looking forward to everything hitting the fan next time :)). I certainly know that I'm excited to write it. It's been a long time coming.
Thank you as always to everyone who took the time to comment and review! Thank you to urukuduk, GenderlessDetective, classicalgal, NobleHeroine, irisvirus, Witch_Of_Chickens, Lukkai, LavMana, FastTurtle, 21, Mizuno Tenshi2, Ryo Oh Ki7, James Birdsong, Cyde, and Katt1848 for reviewing! As always, you guys are the reason that I've continued to love writing for this fandom, and what keeps me coming back year after year. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter.
Also, because I have the absolute worst timing on posting: Mother Time Chapter Four is out right now! You may have missed it because I posted in the middle of the AO3 DDOS attack like a dumbass, but it was like a 14k chapter and I slaved my ass off on it, so it would mean the world if you went and checked it out. It's my other Ranma fic about trans parenthood, for those who aren't aware. It's pretty damn good! Check it out on AO3 or FFN, though obviously I prefer AO3 these days.
Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter out this fall. Please leave a review or comment to tell me what you thought!
Love, Allie