Sadly, I do not own the roller coaster that is Ranma ½ or have any affiliation with the creator Rumiko Takahashi. Please enjoy Chapter 5 of The Lost Daughter.

Chapter 5: Problem

Evening in the cargo hold of a ship somewhere between China and Japan…

Ranko sat in front of the cage that held her father in his cursed form. It was so ironic to her that she said so.

"This is a perfect metaphor for how I've been my whole life. Stuck in a cage of another's making while in a form not of one's identity." Ranko said to the panda. "I want to hear the rest of your story Father, before I decide my next action."

She had a small kettle of hot water preparing over a portable burner beside her. When it began to steam, she looked around to make sure she was in the clear and poured some of it over her father.

She'd made a request before coming down here to be alone with the panda so that nobody would get hurt. While it was true, she wanted to be alone with the panda, she lied about why.

After her father had transformed and gotten dressed in the clothes Ranko had brought down, Genma said "Ranko, the thing about why you were changed was to protect you from the master."

"What do you mean" Ranko asked with a pit in her stomach. She thought she knew based on the conversation earlier but was unprepared for the answer.

"Ranko, the master had an unhealthy obsession with women AND their undergarments. I knew from the look that the master was giving Nodoka that he was making plans for you if you were born a girl, I had to ensure your safety and the only way I could do that was by using a spell I learned from the master long ago. Albeit in reverse. The master taught me and my training partner many things over the years, yet he always asserted his dominance to ensure we would never move against him. One of the things he taught us was how to change little boys into girls. While I never actually used the spell, I somehow retained it all these years.

When the master had reappeared all those years ago, I realized the only way to protect you from the master was to turn you into a boy. However; when you were born, the master noticed that you were male and said something worse."

"Genma, your son will be my student when he is 16. And when he does, I'll train him to do everything that I taught you and much more. I'll be sure to make him suffer for the same amount of time you and your partner put me in the cave for. When that is done, you'll have a broken beyond belief man back in your life, but I'll always keep making sure he doesn't get back up. That is my punishment for you."

Ranko stared at her father in horror. This was a possibility she had not thought of. "Okay, father. Tell me one more thing, why did you agree to making me sign that seppuku pledge, if you knew I was a girl this whole time?"

For a split second Ranko saw shock and something else she couldn't quite identify, before it all vanished and Genma said. "It was so you would be dedicated to becoming the best man possible, so you'd never crack under the master."

Ranko didn't know whether to believe him or not, but it seemed to hold together. For now. She decided she'd had enough answers for the moment and splashed the remaining, now cold water on her father. After he transformed, she gathered his clothes up and said. "Well, we need to do something else now. I am a woman and if this 'master' is still around, I'll need to be careful. But with all the crazy training you've done for me, I believe I'll be okay."

Packing up the portable burner and kettle, Ranko ascended the stairs and went into her cabin. 'He's lying about something, but what exactly, I don't know.' Laying down, Ranko pondered all the angles that could be looked at given this new information. She pondered whether it was all a lie or all truth. Or was only some a lie? She couldn't decide without more info. Shaking her head, Ranko rolled onto her side and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning…

Ranko woke up after sleeping much longer than she normally does and immediately sensed something was off. The ship was rocking too much for a calm day. Getting up proved to be trouble in and of itself. After several attempts to get out of bed Ranko managed to right herself.

Stumbling to the door, Ranko looked out the open door and immediately regretted it as a wave splashed her. Shaking it off the best she could, she looked out and saw that it was a thunderstorm. A crewman went by and she asked how far to Japan. He replied saying that they'll be there tomorrow and that it wasn't safe to come out of the room as she could go overboard. Ranko reluctantly agreed and went back inside. Maybe it was for the best.

She went over to her bed and sat down on it. Taking out her pack, she looked at the picture of her mother that she'd stolen from her father's pack and wondered if her mother was looking for her at all. Ranko had been on a training trip with Genma for 12 years and was certain her mother would be wanting to see her. Though she was still uncertain how her mother was going to react when she learned about what had happened to her. Thinking of the best way her mother could take this news, Ranko fell asleep with a smile on her face.

A few hours later…

Ranko awoke to the sound of somebody pounding on her door. Getting up, Ranko went over to the door and opened it to find a crewman holding a small platter of food. "May I come in?" he asked. Ranko was unsure how to react but said "sure" without thinking.

The crew member brought her food in and placed it on the bedside table. After that, Ranko expected him to leave. But, he didn't.

"Miss, um, I was wondering where you're from? We're heading to Japan from China, and I was curious…" Ranko didn't see any harm in answering so she told him that she was from Japan.

"Ah, I see. Well miss. I was wondering if you'd like to err, well, maybe, go out? But only if you want to…" To say Ranko was taken aback would be putting it lightly. She was getting asked out on a date? Looking at the obviously nervous and slightly embarrassed crewman, she didn't quite know what to do.

Thinking quickly, she replied, "Oh, well, I'm flattered, really, but I um, have a boyfriend back home. So, I don't think I can, sorry." She looked up at him and genuinely felt a little sorry for the guy. But she still hadn't looked at how she felt towards men or women in that way yet. Therefore, she needed more time before dating anyone.

He looked a little crestfallen, but said "Oh, okay. I'm sorry to have bothered you then. Have a good day miss." And then he left. Leaving Ranko alone and strangely feeling a little guilty for lying to the guy. But what other choice did she have? Realizing that this was likely to happen more often when she arrived tomorrow, she decided she should think about her orientation.

Sitting down, Ranko began to think of what she found attractive. She tried to think of her ideal guy but didn't get much response. Just on a whim, she decided to try thinking about her ideal woman, and her body reacted quite vigorously, enough to make Ranko surprised. She'd never felt that kind of arousal before, even when she thought thoughts like that before Jusenkyo.

Ranko thought about the implications of this and was not as happy as she thought she would be. While she could find a true love and be truly attracted to them, she would be stigmatized by society. The implications for being this way were bad in Japan. But Ranko decided that she could handle it. After all, she was a martial artist, right? Martial artist's never back down from a challenge.

After settling that, Ranko could accept being a lesbian, for that is clearly what she is. Smiling sadly, Ranko wondered how she would ever find her soulmate, the one Kon Lon had called her other half. Thinking about the vial and the note, Ranko realized that an important decision must be linked to whatever was in the vial and that was why Kon Lon said to wait until she had her other half.

Ranko finished the rest of her meal in silent thought. The only thing on her mind being how she would find her ideal woman and looking forward to being truly happy with somebody she loves and can trust.

Just as Ranko finished her meal, she heard a knock at the door and assumed it was the crewman again to pick up the dish. Getting up and opening the door, she saw it was a different crew member and felt sad that it hadn't been the same one. Handing the dish to him and thanking him, Ranko closed the door and went over and sat on her bed.

Thinking about Kon Lon, she hoped she had survived and made it out safely. She could sense that she wasn't the type to go down without a fight. But those Musk were something to fear alright after what she'd seen in the village as they were fleeing. As far as Ranko was concerned, the Musk were demons incarnate.

Thinking about how Kon Lon had been there when she had woken up from her interdimensional trip, she suddenly remembered something. Genma had tried to do magic on her while she was in the other timeline. How could she have forgotten that?! Horrified, she replayed the story her father had told her and there wasn't any reason she could come up with to do so. Something was wrong with his story, but what?

Racking her brains for answers and not coming up with any, Ranko began to feel uneasy. What if her father had completely lied to her? Ranko didn't know where to turn for help in this matter. Until she remembered her timeline trip. Dr. tofu…What if there's a Dr. Tofu in this timeline? Maybe he could help. Looking at the clock, Ranko saw it was getting late enough to go to bed. So, she turned in for the night. When she woke up, there would be answers. When she woke up, she'd be home.

Thank you all who have read my story up to this point. I'm happy to say that I'm learning my style of writing and I hope it's showing already. If you have feedback, as usual I'm always accepting feedback. Since I'm learning writing skills still, anything helps.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am going to have to take a hiatus from this story for the foreseeable future. I want to emphasize this story is not abandoned and that I will finish it. It's just that I have a personal issue that needs to be resolved first.

Published: 3/1/19