Chapter 3: A New You

"Miss Ranma? Miss Ranma, are you awake?"

"Yeah, 'f course. Can never sleep much the night before I get new training. It's too exciting, ya know?"

"Oh dear, I do hope you won't be too tired. Father's methods can be somewhat harsh."

"Nah, I can handle anything. 'Specially after…uh…hey, how 'bout you, 'Natsu? Too excited to sleep too?"

"Oh, it's not that. I just wanted to make sure you were no longer angry at me."

"What? Oh that. Nah, I wasn't mad, just surprised. Guess I should have checked before walking in, huh?"

"And you are not upset with me about it?"

"Nope. Your dad explained it to me. I totally get it."

"You mean it? You do not find it wrong or disgusting?"

"No way. Heck, I…um…"

"What is it, Miss Ranma?"

"Hey 'Natsu, can you keep a secret?"

"Oh, a secret? If you wish me to, I suppose I can do so."

"Nuh uh. No 'maybe' about it. You gotta promise me you won't tell anyone that I told you this. Not even my momma can know I said it. Got it?"

"Right, I understand. I promise on the honor of my family that I will not let anyone else know about what you are about to tell me."

"Okay good. The truth is, sometimes I-"

X

"Ranma, dear. Wake up. We're almost at our stop."

Ranma slowly shook herself awake and sat back up in her seat on the train. She blinked a few times as she thought about the dream she just had.

Wait, was that another memory? Why do these things come out of nowhere? And why can't I remember what I was going to say?

"Is everything alright, Sister?"

Ranma looked over to Konatsu and realized there was something about her new sister that she couldn't quite recall. Although she also felt that it was something ultimately not really important, so she decided to dismiss it for now. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Oh, but I must worry," Konatsu said with complete earnestness. "As the elder sister, it is my solemn duty to look after the well being of my baby sister."

"I-" Wait, she's older than me?

"Ah, see there, dear sister. I can see that something is troubling you."

"You called me your baby sister and, uh…" Oh shoot. I'm supposed to already know that. "Oh! I'm not a baby! I'm si-twelve already! Right, Mom?"

"Well," Nodoka said with a hint of amusement, "there really is not much of a difference between your ages. Hmm, Konatsu is March 3rd and Ranma is August 5th." She quickly counted off on her fingers. "About five months, so baby sister might not be the correct term." She smiled and gave Ranma a quick hug. "You know what though? To me, you'll always be my precious little baby."

"Mom!" Outwardly, Ranma complained, but she still leaned into her mother's hug slightly. Before she could do anything else, they reached their stop and had to get moving. She walked slightly behind her mother and soon to be sister and kept silent with her head down as they went to their destination.

Inside the government office, Ranma continued to be quiet, this time mostly out of sheer boredom. There really wasn't anything for her to do as her mother worked on getting Konatsu added to their family registry. Part of her wondered why she couldn't have just stayed home, but she knew that her mother would want her to be here to support her new sister. With the snippets of memories she received so far concerning time spent with the other girl, she also knew she would want herself here too.

"Well, Mrs. Saotome. The paperwork is all set. Although, about the correction you wanted made."

"I assume there are no problems with fixing such an obvious error, ma'am. Oh, and it's Miss Saotome, by the way."

"Ah, of course, Miss Saotome. No, there are no problems. I only find it interesting that this isn't the first time such a correction needed to be made for your family registry."

"Well, the first time was due to the actions of my former husband. The less said about that, the better. For Konatsu, I can only assume it was a simple clerical error."

"Yes, well, everything should be in order now. If you would just apply your seal here, we can go ahead and finalize it for you."

Nodoka quickly did so, and as the clerk went off to complete the documentation, she stood up and smiled down at Konatsu. "There. Now I am able to officially call you my daughter."

Konatsu stood up as well and looked to be beside herself with joy. A puff of smoke later and she was beside herself in reality.

"Oh my goodness," Nodoka said in amazement. "Konatsu, you did it!"

The two Konatsus blinked and then looked at each other. "I did?" they both said, before developing a huge grin on each face. "I did!" Konatsu then managed to hug both her new mother and sister at the same time, even though they were currently several feet away from each other.

"That, that's the Split-Body Technique," Ranma said in shock.

The Konatsu that was with Ranma broke her hug and, seeing the expression on the other girl's face, let out an eep and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The remaining Konatsu went over to her with a reassuring look. "Do not worry, little sister."

"What?"

"I know how hard you've been working to master this technique, but you'll get it down soon. I did it, after all, and my being a once in a generation genius kunoichi probably had nothing to do with that."

"Yes, I'm sure you'll have it complete in no time," Nodoka said with a smile. "Why, after seeing Konatsu perform it, you'll probably have it figured out by tonight."

Ranma gave a big smile to both of them, but didn't say anything. She continued to stay quiet, keeping her head down even as they left the government building towards where her mother was taking them next, hoping it wasn't an unusual thing for the herself of this world. Unfortunately, that apparently wasn't the case.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Nodoka asked, looking back with a worried expression.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I…just have a lot on my mind. That's all." Should have more though, right goddess? Maybe don't just give me bits of stuff way back when I was…how old was I even back then?

"Yes, that is certainly understandable," her mother responded. "Well, hopefully where we're going next will help take your mind off things. At the very least, it will be a nice start for the new you."

Ranma almost face planted on the sidewalk, but just barely managed to keep her footing. "WHAT…um, what do you mean?"

Nodoka looked back with a knowing expression. "Oh, you'll see soon."

"Oh. Alright, Mom." Ranma tried her best to keep the panic off her voice and face. Does she know? Is she suspecting something? Should I tell her? How the heck do I explain that I'm her daughter, but not fully her daughter yet? Wait, what even happened to-

"Okay, we're here!"

Ranma's current thoughts evaporated into the ether as she saw the place her mother was indicating. "A salon?"

Nodoka turned and gave a big grin with her hands on her hips. "Yup. A perfect chance for the two of you to get hip new hairstyles for your first day of school tomorrow."

At the sight of her two daughters staring back in silence, her grin faltered slightly. "Um, I heard that's what the cool kids are doing nowadays. So I thought you might like it too."

Luckily for Ranma, Konatsu was the one who spoke up first. "School? Tomorrow?!"

Their mother seemed to recover a bit at that question. "Oh yes. Honestly, it's already a bit into the school year, but I wanted to make sure your registration was finished before you started at Furinkan. Plus, with the training trip finished and finally getting settled in our new house, it's basically a new phase in our lives. New us's so to speak. So, as part of the occasion…" She made another grand gesture towards the salon.

Ranma felt a bit of relief for a moment, before something else her mother said suddenly hit her. "Wait, Furinkan?!" She blurted out.

Nodoka's gesture slowly morphed into a sheepish expression and she started to rub the back of her neck. "Yes, sweetie, I know you were interested in that elite all-girls school. Unfortunately, with it being so short notice and already late May, Furinkan Middle School was the only one I could get for you. Maybe we can get in a transfer for the next semester. For now, you can at least make a good impression for them, so…" She gave a weak motion with her hand towards the building.

"Oh, but mother," Konatsu said, "paying someone to take care of my hair for me. That must be such an extravagant-"

"Konatsu, dear, I can afford to get you a haircut. Let's…let's just go inside, okay?"

Ranma was deep in thought, barely paying attention to her mother talking to the receptionist and the three of them taking seats in the waiting area. At the moment, her mind was focused on one thing.

Furinkan Middle School. Akane will be there. Neat, I'll get to see her again and find out what she was like before we met and…oh right. Akane hasn't met me here yet.

Ranma thought back to the first time she met Akane in that other world. Her being basically dragged to a new place by her stupid panda of a father. Everyone there being upset or disappointed that she was a girl. Everyone, that is, except one girl with long, black hair that shined slightly blue in the light. A girl that had the cutest smile when she offered to be friends.

But then, there was the look when the girl walked in on him in the bathroom, getting out of the hot bathwater. After that, it was the screaming, the explanations, the throwing into the pond, the accusations, the forced engagement, the snide remarks, the table being slammed on her head…

"Ranma, sweetie. Is everything alright?"

Ranma turned to see her mother's worried expression. "Yeah, mom. I was just thinking about meeting my classmates at school tomorrow for the first time."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do just fine." Nodoka handed over a magazine. "Here. I bet you'll find something that will wow them all for sure. Make sure to think about it though. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression."

Ranma gave a little nod and began looking through the various hairstyles within. Yeah right. This time I actually get one. A chance to start over. No awkward bath moment. No stupid engagement to ruin everything. No worries about…well, about me not actually being a girl and messing everything up. It can be like it was at the very start and-

Her thoughts trailed off as she flipped through the magazine and spotted a model sporting a very familiar short hairstyle with split bangs in the middle. She smiled at the image for a moment before her smile faded a bit. Oh yeah, Akane had really long hair when I first met her. She only cut her hair short because…right, she wasn't the one to cut it. I guess there's no real reason for her to get that style again, especially if I can keep Ryoga from acting like an idiot. It did look really cute on her, though. Hmm…

Ranma studied the various short hairstyles featured on the page she was looking at, and another smile appeared on her face, growing into a full on grin. First impressions, huh?

"Hey, mom. I know what I want to get."

Ranma was practically floating down the street as she followed her mother to their next destination while grinning at her reflection in the store windows. She couldn't remember ever having hair this short. As a bonus, the pixie style cut wasn't the same as what Akane had (maybe will have? Or not?) No, this was all hers. The brand new her that she now got to be. "I feel so light!" she proclaimed.

"Yes, your hair is quite lovely, sister. Oh, I do hope that everyone will like mine as well."

Ranma looked over and did her best to suppress a giggle. It wasn't about the length, as Konatsu ended up getting just a little trim. No, it was about the style she decided to put her hair in. After all, wasn't it supposed to be the younger sister that tried to copy the older one? Although Konatsu really didn't have a way of knowing, did she?

"I think your pigtail is amazing, big sis! You'll wow them for sure! Right, mom?" Ahead of them, their mother continued to walk, apparently not hearing her. "I said right, mom?" she called out a bit louder. "What do you think of our haircuts?"

Nodoka stopped and for some reason her own ponytail seemed to twitch slightly. She turned and smiled down at Konatsu. "Yes, your braid looks great, dear." She turned to her other child, and Ranma noticed something in her mother's expression that seemed off, but she didn't know why. "And Ranma, your hair looks…very nice as well.

"Yeah, I think it looks really cute."

"Oh, of course. You are definitely my cute little girl for sure. It's…oh, we still need to get your school supplies." Nodoka quickly stood up and turned back around. "Come on, we should get going."

Ranma paused for just a moment before quickly following again. From her time as Ranko Tendo, she was familiar with her mother's ability to instantly move one from one thing to another with barely a change in her expression. However, there was definitely something about this that didn't seem right to her.

She didn't get much of a chance to think about that as they arrived at their destination, which quickly turned into a whirlwind of bookbags and pens and stationary and other needed school items. Finally, they arrived at the counter, where her mother was talking to the person there about the uniforms needed, going over which school it was and the sizes, and also asking if the gym uniforms still had those annoyingly tiny red shorts.

Ranma couldn't help but roll her eyes a little at that last part. Right. Definitely not looking forward to that one. Although gym class might actually be fun if I get to do it with Akane. While the clerk went to the back to get the uniforms, she noticed a poster off to the side featuring several students displaying the various school uniforms in the area. She couldn't help but smile at a particular boy in a familiar gakuran that reminded her a little of a certain pig-headed idiot.

Well, not literally pig-headed this time. Unless he gets in a bread feud with another boy who gets dragged off to Jusenkyo and then follows him. Nah, I doubt anyone else has a dad as stupid as Pops. Huh, hope someone will at least get him to and from school.

"Ranma, what are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Ranma turned to see her mother with that same look as before. "Oh, um…I was just, you know, seeing what the boy's uniforms look like. No big deal," she said as nonchalantly as she could.

"I see. Well the girl's uniform looks really cool, right?"

Ranma studied the image of the Furinkan Middle School uniform, a black seifuku with a white sailor style collar. It felt a little familiar, but she couldn't quite place why. "Yeah, I guess."

"Now, now. I think it looks very nice. Don't you think so, Konatsu?"

"Oh yes, it is so extravagant," Konatsu replied. "I can hardly believe I will get a chance to wear something so lovely."

"There, you see? I'm sure you'll love it too."

"Well, I-" As Ranma looked at the picture of the uniform, suddenly she remembered why it seemed so familiar to her. She saw Akane wear it once before, back in that other universe, when they visited her mother's gravesite. Which was right before Ranma's mother came back into her life, and she had to hide, and…

"Ranma? Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah of course, mom. Everything's just fine. Just, uh, thinking about school tomorrow. That's all."

"Ranma, dear?" Nodoka asked with a hint of hesitation in her voice. "Do you want to-"

"And here we are, ma'am," the clerk declared with a grin while coming back to the counter. "Let me get that all totaled up for you."

"Yes, thank you." Her mother's expression changed completely again as she quickly went about paying for the new school items. After that was done, she turned to Ranma and Konatsu and gave a warm smile. "Alright then. Let's hurry back home so I can get lunch started for us."

Lunch was just as Ranma remembered from her mother. That is, the best food that she's ever tasted. And the fact that it was her mother's cooking definitely had nothing to do with that. Probably. Maybe. A little bit.

At the very least, her enjoyment of the meal helped distract her from thinking about her mother's behavior at the store. It wasn't like she couldn't ask about it, since that could reveal her still missing a bunch of memories of her current life which would just worry her mother more. No, she just needed to get by until she remembered everything, then she'd do whatever was needed to make sure her mother would never need to worry about anything ever again.

After lunch, Ranma and Konatsu tried on their new school uniforms so their mother could check for any adjustments that would need to be done. Even though she was a girl and Konatsu was her sister, Ranma found herself more than a little embarrassed when they needed to take off the uniforms so their mother could make the modifications necessary. She made sure not to look over as she hurried up to her room.

Now having a chance to actually look through her wardrobe, she initially dreaded that she would be stuck with a bunch of frilly dresses covered in ruffles and bows. To her pleasant surprise, what she actually found was a wide variety of outfits. Dresses, skirts and blouses along with more than a few pants, shorts, and t-shirts. Some of them managed to remind her once again of a certain tomboy she'd be meeting tomorrow. Smiling at that thought, she did a quick search to see if a certain pair of pink overalls was in the mix. Sadly, that wasn't the case, although she did find a shirt with 'O.D. Of Bourgeoisie Milk Boy Milk' on the front. She put that on along with a simple pair of shorts and headed back downstairs.

Next came a study session as Nodoka wanted to make sure both Ranma and Konatsu were fully prepared for middle school. At first, Ranma thought it would be a cakewalk as she'd already been over this stuff before. Very quickly though, she realized there was also a decent amount of her former life she couldn't recall. Particularly, a good chunk of her schooling. So, she found herself struggling more than a bit as she went over the names and dates of various important samurai and emperors, reviewed the whole deal with the laws of motion thing, and tried to actually figure out what the heck English letters were doing in her math equations.

Ranma would have probably just asked Konatsu to help her out as a good big sister should (telling her the answers), but the poor girl was having her own issues. In addition to finding out that the ninja raised girl was also schooled at home until now, her previous family's living conditions meant she wasn't able to get a very extensive education. On top of that, she was also going to be in Year 2, which meant she had a whole additional grade to go over. She even tried using the Split-Body Technique, but apparently trying to read two things at once didn't work out as well as she hoped.

After what felt like the entirety of middle school all over again, they were able to stop to have dinner. Once again the meal was quite heavenly and Ranma basked in the joy of it. Unfortunately, the reprieve ended up being short lived. After trying on the uniforms again to make sure the alterations were successful, the two girls were given makeshift exams. Ranma was nervous at first, but a quick glance over to her mother caused her to steel herself. She made a promise and there was no way she'd break that. No, this wasn't just schoolwork anymore. This was a challenge. And she was not going to back down from a challenge.

About an hour later, they turned in their exams and Nodoka let them go to do some martial arts training before bedtime. Ranma was ecstatic as finally she got to do something she was the best at. She quickly went up to her room to change from her school uniform to her gi and met Konatsu in the backyard. However, she quickly found herself in another dilemma. While she did receive the memories of her ninjutsu training, she was still missing a lot of what she should know. And perhaps more importantly what she shouldn't know. Before she could think about what to do, Konatsu spoke up.

"So sister, would you like to try practicing the Split-Body Technique?"

"Oh, um, yeah sure. Hey, can you show it to me again?"

"Yes, of course."

Ranma made sure to closely observe this time as Konatsu focused and was once again in two places at one. And it was definitely two places as she could feel the girl's ki in both of her bodies. So it wasn't an illusion then, which made sense as the Konatsu that hugged her earlier definitely felt real. No, this seemed more like when someone like Happosai would expand their ki outwards to make themselves seem much larger. Except in that case, the ki was still continuous and the user ended up quickly exhausted from the act. This was the third time Konatsu had performed this technique today and she did not look the least bit tired. In addition, the two ki signatures were completely separate.

Or were they? Looking closer, Ranma could just barely sense something between the two Konatsus. A gossamer thin thread of life force connecting the two together. Was that the key then?

"Do you think you understand it now?" the once again single Konatsu asked.

"Yeah, maybe." Ranma couldn't help but let a bit of irritation leak into her reply. This was probably stuff she figured out already and if she could just get the rest of her memories back, she could easily skip ahead to the next step. Why does everything have to come in such a slow trickle? I'm ready now, just give it to me. I really don't want to get any more big surprises.

"Oh," Konatsu responded, clearly picking up Ranma's tone. "I'm sorry that you are having such difficulties with it. I did not mean to upset you further."

"No no, it's alright. I'm sure I'll get it no problem now. Just give me a minute." Ranma closed her eyes and concentrated on her ki, focusing and projecting it outwards. Trying to move some of it away and having it manifest into another complete version of her. However, she was finding a large amount of resistance as she tried pushing along such a narrow pathway. Frustration building, she pushed as hard as she could until she suddenly felt a pop in her ears. Opening her eyes, she realized she was now in a completely different spot in the yard.

Smiling at her apparent success, she felt out for her other self, but nothing came up. Confused, she looked back to find just Konatsu there. Before she could comment on her failure, she noticed the look of amazement in her sister's eyes.

"Miss Ranma, did you just teleport without trading places with something?"

Ranma blinked and looked at the place where she was before, which had nothing there. "Yeah. I guess I did."

"Oh, that is so amazing! Can you do it again?"

"Sure, I can give it a go." Ranma concentrated once more, this time keeping her eyes open, and with another pop she found herself in another place in the yard, right next to the small koi pond. The sudden change in perspective and a feeling of exhaustion caused her to be slightly off balance and she almost fell in.

"Are you alright, sister?" Konatsu asked while running up to help steady Ranma.

"Yeah. I guess this technique is really draining though."

"I see. Maybe that is why everyone just uses the Substitution Technique instead."

Ranma couldn't help but force a smile. "Nah, they're just not as awesome as I am. I bet I'll master this thing in no time. Um, maybe we should just practice some katas for now though."

The two proceeded to do just that, Konatsu commenting on some of Ranma's that she'd never seen before and Ranma coming up with the excuse of trying out new ones in her spare time, which amazed Konatsu even more.

After a while, their mother called them back in to go over the results of their practice exams.

"Konatus, I must say I'm very proud of your results. A 93, very impressive. Are you sure you've never received formal schooling before?

"No mother, I have not. But my father made sure to impart on me the importance of studying as much as possible, and I wish to honor his memory in that regard."

"Yes, your father was a very wise man, indeed. Alright, go ahead and wash up and get ready for bed."

"Okay, mother." Konatsu rushed upstairs.

Ranma looked on as her mother took a deep breath to apparently prepare herself to give her results. "Ranma, sweetie. First, let me say I am proud of how you did. I know things haven't been the easiest with me trying to give you an education while on the road. So let's go ahead and call it a good start." She then showed Ranma's exam with the 76 on the top.

"So, you're not disappointed in how I did?"

"No. No." Nodoka put the exam away. "Ranma, dear. I don't want to talk about your test results. It's…" She looked away and seemed to be trying to gather her thoughts. "When…when we were at the store getting your uniform…" She paused and took a deep breath, then turned and looked into Ranma's eyes. "Did you want to get the boy's uniform also?"

Ranma stared back and blinked a few times. "What?"

Nodoka gave a reassuring smile and put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Look, with everything that he did, I understand why you'd be worried about feeling like this. Admittedly, I am a little too. And maybe I did try to push you too hard in the other direction, even if you said it was what you wanted. But I've been talking with Fumiko at the teahouse, and then today with the new haircut you were so excited to get…"

"No, mom, it's fine," Ranma quickly retorted. She didn't really know what was going on at the moment, but all that mattered was that her mother was starting to worry and she needed to fix that immediately. "I got my hair cut like this because of a girl-I mean I want to impress the girls at school! And, um, the boy's uniform. Uh, well…I mean…it's still a uniform, Mom."

Nodoka let out a laugh, relieving the tension in the room. "Yes, I was never really a fan of the school uniform myself back in the day." She then pulled Ranma into a hug. "Listen, don't be afraid to talk with me about anything, okay? No matter what, you're still my little gi…you are my child and I am here for you."

"Yeah, okay."

"Good." Nodoka broke the hug. "Now, go and get washed up. You have a big day tomorrow." She then gave a slight smile. "And I'm sure you want to look nice for all those girls at school."

"Yeah, that's the idea." Ranma gave a big grin before heading upstairs to her room. She took a moment to study the school uniform now hanging on her wall, ready for the next day, and couldn't help but smile a bit. It was a nice uniform. Better than the Furinkan High one. At least she didn't have to worry about that uniform for another 3 years.

She shook her head, then took a deep breath to prepare herself. Getting stuff ready for tomorrow included her underwear. She steeled herself for whatever stupid cutesy designs she was to find. I swear, if I find one with a pig on it, I'm burning it immediately.

Fortunately, when she checked her drawer, she found no cutesy animal designs anywhere. Just plan, simple underwear. Along with some black shorts that were very stretchy. Shrugging at that, she was about to move on when she noticed something stuffed in the very back corner, mostly hidden from sight. She pulled out the bundle of cloth and unfurled it to reveal…a pair of boy's boxer shorts.

She froze, just staring at the boxers as the things her mother said earlier came pouring back. Wait. Is this…? Do I…?

"Sister! The bathroom is free for you now!" Konatu's voice called out from the hallway.

Ranma could almost see herself from the outside as she rushed into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind her. She jumped out of her gi into the shower and quickly turned it on. Cool water immediately started to course over her body and she tensed herself in anticipation, waiting for the temperature to adjust. As the hot water started to come, she prepared herself, looked down and…saw no change at all.

The adrenaline started to fade away and she let herself collapse on the shower floor. Sitting back, she looked up at the still pouring showerhead and tried to understand the feelings going through her right now. Disappointment and frustration mixed with…relief?