Whiptail
By: JaquiK
Even though it was quite late at night as Ranma Saotome performed another complex kata in the middle of the Tendo dojo, sleep was the farthest thing on the currently redhead's mind. At least, keeping her focus on her martial arts meant she didn't have to think about that evening. She could totally not think about how, after everything they've been through together the last three years, getting through high school, dealing with the Kunos, resolving things with the Amazons, finally revealing the truth about Ryoga and coming out of it somehow intact, restoring her friendship with Ucchan, understanding and accepting all of both himself and herself, possibly finally admitting their feelings to each other. All of that, and now…
"Oh hey, you're up pretty early."
Ranma paused mid move and turned to see Akane standing in the doorway in her yellow gi, the still complete darkness of predawn visible behind her. The red haired young woman gave a shrug and continued her kata, casually commenting, "So are you."
"Yeah, well, maybe I just wanted to get in a little workout of my own," Akane said while crossing her arms as she walked into the dojo proper. "Is that a problem?"
"Eh, whatever. It's not like I care." Ranma probably should have just left it at that. However, old habits really do die hard as she just couldn't help but also get a quick jab in. "Might as well make use of the dojo while you still can, huh?"
"Hah! I knew it was bothering you," Akane said with a grin, pointing an accusatory finger.
"It ain't bothering me!" Ranma gave a quick straight punch, pausing in her kata as she turned towards Akane. "Guess it ain't bothering you either."
Akane's brow furled at that. "Don't you start being an idiot about this now. There's still a few weeks left, you know. Besides, it's not like I'm moving to Europe or something. Heck, I bet you already have a plan to follow me to Nagoya, don't you?"
Ranma stared at Akane for several seconds, giving an appearance of almost contemplation before going back to her kata. "Nah," she drawled out. "College just ain't my thing."
"You know, it can be if you want it," Akane commented, her voice becoming softer for a moment before shifting into a more teasing tone. "I was under the impression that Ranma Saotome doesn't lose."
Ranma didn't show any reaction to those words, instead just continuing her sequence. Akane gave a small huff, then looked around the dojo, a somewhat nostalgic expression growing on her face. "Hey, you know what today is, right?"
"Oh course I do," Ranma said with a cocky grin. "It's Thursday."
"No! Well, it is, but that's not what I meant. There's something much more important."
Ranma stopped her kata and looked over at Akane again, slight worry on her face. "Crap, I didn't forget your dad's birthday again, did I?"
"No, not that," Akane said with an eye roll. "It was three years ago today that a cute little red haired girl first entered my life on the shoulder of a very annoying panda."
"Oh, wow that's right." Ranma also looked around the dojo with her own nostalgic expression. "Three years, huh? Yeah, I can still remember that day. There was this very pretty girl with long dark hair that asked if I wanted to be friends with her, and she even knew martial arts, and we had a little spar in her family's dojo. It was the happiest I felt in a long time."
"Oh, and then…" Akane pulled in on herself slightly and looked away.
Ranma watched Akane for a moment, then a little smirk grew on her face. "Hey, you know kenpo, right?"
"What?! Of course I-" Akane's flash of anger instantly dissipated when she turned and saw Ranma's expression. "Oh!" Her eyes widened a moment before a matching smirk appeared on her face. "Yeah, a little."
"Okay, then let's have a little match," Ranma casually offered while walking towards one side of the dojo.
"A match, huh?" Akane replied, moving to the other side.
"Y'know, just for fun. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Ranma took up an only somewhat casual attack stance. "Well, not a whole lot at least."
"Hey, I didn't say that last part," Akane complained while taking up her own stance.
"Gotta add some flair to make it cooler, Tomboy," Ranma said with a laugh. "Unless you want me to just dodge the whole time like before."
"Sorry," Akane said with a wicked grin. "I'm way too fast for you to pull that now."
"We'll see," Ranma teased, although she already knew the answer.
After…well…everything that happened in Jusendo, Akane became very insistent on Ranma giving her extra training, and Ranma agreed to it. Well, eventually anyway. First, she tried to give the excuse about not fighting girls, but Akane was immediate to shoot that down and even came prepared with a list. Kodachi, Azusa, Mariko, Rouge, Kiima, Herb before they learned the actual truth about him, Akane during that super soba incident. At that point, Ranma was forced to pull out her final special move for this argument: she just didn't want to see Akane get hurt. However, Akane was also quick to provide a counter, that the whole point was to keep her from getting hurt when it mattered. And, of course, Akane ended up being entirely correct even if Ranma was never going to admit it out loud.
So here they were, three years after their first little spar, and things would be a little different. For one, there was the growth spurt they both received. Ranma's girl form managed to get slightly taller than her mother and only a centimeter or two off from where her guy form ended up. She also filled out a bit, thanks both to the regular meals and her father no longer able to steal her food. While not lanky in any sense, she still fit into what could be considered an acrobat physique, appropriate considering her fighting style.
And yet, she still ended up quite a bit shorter than the woman standing across from her. Akane managed to shoot up well past Kasumi height, almost matching her own dad. On top of that, her extra training caused her to buff up immensely. At first, she was more than a little self conscious about her growing bulk, but then one day Ranma accidentally blurted out how she thought Akane's muscles were cute, and that seemed to erase any self doubt. Now the youngest Tendo daughter resembled a tank, which worked perfectly with her preferred grounded style.
Indeed, this fight was going to be nothing like the one from three years ago.
Ranma decided to take the initiative this time as she charged in and delivered a lightning fast straight punch that Akane just managed to avoid. The redhead had a playful smile on her face as she could already envision the sequence that would play out. Akane would perform a snap kick, which she would duck under. She would follow up with a leg sweep that Akane would jump and flip over, immediately going into a falling axe kick that she would need to roll out of the way of. They would then continue like that, back and forth, in a beautiful dance of martial arts that-
Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken!
Ranma's eyes widened at the dark haired woman's sudden cry and she found herself having to block several hundred rapid fire sledgehammer-like punches coming straight for her. While she was mostly successful, a few stray shots managed to connect with her torso and arms and she was forced to retreat back several meters.
"The heck happened to warming up, Tomboy?" Ranma accused, surprise still present on her face.
Akane responded with that annoying confident grin that she recently picked up from who knows where. "That was the warm up, Dummy."
"Oh, is that how we're gonna play it?" Ranma gave a smirk, knowing she had the perfect counter attack ready to go. She allowed that confidence to well up within her, and then simply let it go, straight at her opponent.
Mokō Takabisha!
As Akane dived out of the way of the ki blast made out of pure emotion, Ranma's grin appeared once again and she leapt back in. It looked like the battle would be over quite soon, as she clearly had the advantage. Not that Akane didn't now have her own ki attack, of course. In fact, it was quite the day when the tomboy finally figured out that her true key emotion was not actually anger. No, it was something a lot closer to Ranma's own. While the redhead based her attack on the feeling of 'I'm just that good', Akane's more followed the line of 'I'll show you just how good I really am'.
Akane's true power was determination.
However, she ended up doing something quite interesting with it. While Ryoga's and then Ranma's attacks involved blasts of their emotional ki, Akane went about it a different way. Perhaps it was the occasional times she clashed against Kuno in kendo (with Ranma acting as cheerleader for several of those times). Perhaps it was the training offered by Ranma's mother. Either way, Akane was able to manifest her determination into a weapon in more of the literal sense, as a concentrated blade of ki that was capable of cutting through almost anything. It was something Akane was extremely proud of, even with Nabiki's constant jokes about Star Wars and some manga Ranma hadn't gotten around to reading yet.
Of course, that also meant Akane's little ki weapon was something not safe for a simple spar, while she was perfectly free to use her own-
Manchou Kokushoken!
Ranma's eyes grew wide mid leap as the bright blue blade made of pure determination was swung straight at her. She only had enough time for her life to momentarily flash before her eyes (How did it take me so long to realize I'm part girl?) as she was struck in the abdomen and knocked back. She managed to remain standing on wobbly legs, looking down at herself in shock. While she definitely felt the force of the blow and had most of the wind knocked out of her, she wasn't sliced in half, no blood was staining the blue of her shirt, there wasn't even a cut on said shirt.
"Did…did you just hit me with the flat of a ki sword?!"
The grin on Akane's face somehow grew even wider. "You're not the only one that can modify moves." She then held her arm straight out and the column of ki extended from the other side of her fist forming a full sized staff. "I'd like to see a Jedi try and do that."
She twirled the ki staff around in an overly showy flourish. Almost immediately, it slipped from her grasp and clattered away, dissipating on the other side of the dojo. She stared at the spot where the staff vanished, then turned to Ranma with a scowl. "That never happened," she growled out while manifesting a new ki staff in her hand.
Before Ranma had the chance to reply, Akane charged in, this time keeping a much better grip on her weapon as she swung it at the redhead. Ranma quickly found herself on the defensive, doing everything she could to simply dodge out of the way. Blocking a ki weapon with bare hands was a terrible idea, and trying to disarm the other woman was pretty much pointless since Akane already demonstrated she could make a new one anyway.
Soon, a lucky shot managed to push Ranma down to one knee and Akane smirked, spinning around and ready to deliver a fast jab with her staff to end the match. However, that little extra set up gave Ranma just enough time to perform a counter to win. And she would win, because she was just that damn good. Placing her hands out, she manifested that feeling forward.
The generated ball of confidence in Ranma's hands intercepted and halted Akane's strike. The dark haired martial artist was surprised for just a moment, but persisted, trying to push forward with her staff to get past the redhead's improvised shield. Ranma responded in kind, pumping out more of her ki to push Akane back, as she knew the result of this clash would determine the ultimate victor.
And that was when the most unexpected thing happened.
Ranma felt a surge of energy course through her, and then something inside broke free. She wasn't sure what it was at that time. A motivation, a drive, an instinct. Whatever it was, she pushed that energy, that feeling outward. Suddenly, the clashing ki between her and Akane glowed a bright white and exploded, the flash momentarily blinding the two of them. She felt a sudden weight in her arms that she automatically made sure to be very careful with.
The flash of light faded out and Ranma blinked away the spots from her eyes. She looked down, and froze, wide-eyed in shock.
"Ugh, what happened?" Akane groaned, shaking her head before looking down and also seeing what Ranma was holding. "Is…is that a…"
"Y..yeah. I think it is," Ranma managed to stammer out.
Indeed, cradled within the red haired woman's arms was a newborn baby.
Despite the very unusual circumstances, the atmosphere in the Tendo family room that morning was quite subdued. Ranma and Akane were sitting together at the low table, Ranma in a full seiza position and Akane sitting cross legged, both still recovering from their shock. The fathers were silently watching the situation from the corner of the room, although occasionally one would whisper something to the other. And Kasumi was being, well, Kasumi.
"Well, from what I can tell, she seems to be a perfectly healthy baby girl," Kasumi noted as she handed the infant, now bundled in a little blanket, back over to Ranma. "We should make sure to get her a full medical checkup as soon as possible though."
"Y-yeah. Sounds good," Ranma finally managed to reply while very carefully holding her…daughter?
"Maybe we should try and see Cologne afterwards," Akane cautiously suggested. "Maybe she'll have an idea where this girl came from."
"Well, I think the bits of red hair might be a clue," Kasumi said, gently rubbing the head of the infant girl who turned and gave a big smile to her. Kasumi gave a warm smile in kind. "She's so well behaved too. I bet she gets that from her grandmother."
"Her…oh." Ranma's eyes widened as she finally snapped out of her stupor. "Maybe we should hold off on telling Mom about this for a bit."
"Oh dear, that might be a problem," Kasumi said while bringing a hand up to her mouth, "since I already called her earlier."
Ranma paused and turned to Kasumi, then to the entrance of the family room. As if on cue, her mother rushed in and stopped to look over to her. Although the older woman's breathing was a bit ragged, her kimono and dark red hair still looked immaculate with not a bit out of place.
"Ah, welcome, Auntie Nodoka," Kasumi said with a smile. "How was your trip here?"
"Ranma, dear," Nodoka said, her breathing starting to return to normal. "Is that…"
"Uh…" Ranma looked over to her still human father as the man tried to look innocent and held up a sign saying [I'm just a cute panda]. "Yeah…well…you see…"
"Ranma and I were sparring in the dojo, Auntie," Akane said, quickly taking over. She held her hand out away from Ranma and the baby and manifested her ki staff for just a moment before dissipating it. "I was using my new weapon, and Ranma blocked it with her own ki, but then a big flash happened and then…well…a baby just appeared."
"I…I don't believe it," Nodoka responded with shock on her face.
"Yeah, Mom. It's-"
"No woman in our family line has ever performed the Mankaishin Kajitsu before the age of 23," Nodoka finished.
"I know. I…what?" Ranma blinked and looked at Nodoka with the same expression as everyone else in the room.
Nodoka sat down next to Ranma and put a hand on her child's shoulder. "I was planning to give you this information on your 20th birthday, although I didn't originally think I'd need to do it at all. You see, the women in our family have an ability we have called Mankaishin Kaijitsu. When one of us reaches our mid twenties, the ki in her body will start to build up. Once it reaches a certain point, it will then fully blossom, and she will manifest it out as a baby, as her daughter. That ability has continued for our family line for generations. Most will only have one girl, though a few that are more adept with ki are capable of having more. However, when it was my turn, instead of a daughter, I ended up creating a son. You. I thought that must have been a sign. At the very least, I knew I would need help to raise you as a true man like the great samurai and heroes of old I admire so much. So I married the manliest man I could find."
Ranma blinked a few times, processing this information. She then looked over to her father, and back to her mother. "Couldn't you have maybe searched a little harder?"
"Wait, hold on," Akane interrupted. "Are you saying Genma isn't actually Ranma's father?"
"Hey now," Genma protested. "I did marry Nodoka, so that means the boy is still my child in the eyes of the law."
"Oh, so now you care about the law," Akane said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, well," Nodoka continued, "since you were born a boy, I believed you wouldn't possess this ability. But it seems with this curse of yours, you do. I'm so proud of you, Son."
"You are?" Ranma asked in surprise.
"Of course, dear," Nodoka said with a loving smile. "Creating life is the manliest thing a person can do after all."
Ranma managed to avoid facefaulting only by the fact she was still holding her child in her arms. "Oh. Of course, Mom."
Nodoka's expression then turned back to slight confusion. "Although, I still don't know how you were able to do it now. The youngest person in our history to perform this was a master of ki unparalleled by any other, and it still took her until age 23 before she manifested her first child. Even considering all the training you went through, this still shouldn't have been possible for a few more years."
"I don't know," Ranma admitted, looking down at both the baby and herself. "I did feel that surge in my body, but it felt kind of different. Like…oh!" She gasped and turned to Akane. "That was your ki!"
"What? How?" Akane asked in disbelief. "You blocked my attack."
"Yeah, but think about it," Ranma said, her voice filled with the excitement she had when figuring out how a new technique worked. "I designed my Mokō Takabisha specifically to stop Ryoga's attack, since confidence counters depression. But yours is based on determination, and confidence and determination don't cancel each other. They build on each other. When our attacks met, it must have connected our ki flows together. It kind of felt like…um…that we became one person for a moment." Ranma gave a smile to Akane before quickly turning away with a slight blush on her face. Uh, anyway, I think that extra ki must have triggered the Mankaishin Kaijitsu."
Akane gave her own smile back. "Yeah, I think I felt that too." Her eyes then widened as she looked down at the child . "Wait, does that mean she's also…my daughter?"
"Oh my, I'm an aunt now," Kasumi said in wonder. "Oh, Ranma, have you decided on a name for her yet?"
Ranma looked to be deep in thought for a moment, and then she had a big grin on her face. "Well, she was made from me and Akane's ki, so her name can be Kiko. It's perfect!"
"Perhaps you should take a little more time to think about it, dear," Nodoka gently offered.
"Hold on, I can't have a kid!" Akane exclaimed with panic in her voice. "I'm supposed to be going to college. Now what do I do?!"
Ranma looked from Akane to her daughter and then back to Akane. "Oh darn," she said with a lowkey voice and a slight shrug. "Looks like I don't have a choice. I'll just have to go to Nagoya with you."
"Before that, you two will have to be married," Soun declared, suddenly appearing between the two. "We can have the wedding ready by tonight. Oh, isn't this wonderful, Saotome?"
"Indeed, Tendo," Genma responded, sidling up next to his longtime friend. "At last, the schools are now joined!" he called out as the two started to dance around the table.
It was that moment that the baby in Ranma's arms began to loudly cry.
"Look what you did," Ranma chastised the two fathers. "Your dumb marriage crap upset little Kiko." She then rocked and made cooing noises to her daughter. "Hey now, it's okay. Your grandpas are just idiots."
"Oh, I think she might be hungry," Nodoka noted.
"She is?" Ranma started to also panic. "Do we even have any food for babies? How are we gonna feed her?"
Nodoka gave a wistful smile. "I think you have the answer right there, dear."
"Huh? What do you…" Ranma looked down, finding two wet spots now on her shirt. "Uhhhhhh…"
"Come on, Son." Nodoka helped the shocked young mother to her feet. "Let's go to a private room and I can show you how to properly feed your child."
"Uhhhhh…." Ranma eloquently responded as she was gently led out of the room with her daughter still in her arms.
"Um, perhaps we should go and get the preparations ready," Soun nervously said.
"Yes, we definitely should," Genma added as the two men quickly left.
"Oh, I suppose I should start making breakfast for the rest of us," Kasumi said, getting up herself and moving towards the kitchen.
"Huh?" Akane asked, snapping out of her stupor. "Oh Kasumi, I can help you with that."
"Actually," Kasumi very quickly responded. "I need you to go to the store right now. We'll need a lot of supplies for your baby."
"Right, we will." Panic appeared on the young woman's face once again. "Oh, I'll need to find a way to support Ranma and my daughter now."
"It will be okay," Kasumi said as she reached up to put a reassuring hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "I'm sure it must be strange and confusing, suddenly being a young father like this, but you have your family here to help you out."
"Thanks, Kasumi. I…wait." Akane blinked in confusion. "Why am I the father in this situation?"
Kasumi responded with a gentle smile. "Well, with the way you described how little Kiko was made, it just seems like the obvious choice." She then quickly left for the kitchen, leaving a deeply crimson faced Akane alone in the family room.