Broken Chains

by Hoyo476

Two rivals becoming more than friends, achieving what seemed impossible. But to have a sought happiness they'll have to face the prejudices and traditions of Ranma's family and the intolerance of his own classmates. Will they cross paths with a misterious organization that kidnaps young girls? Who is behind it, and why are they taking this girls away? Warning: Adult themes

9. Chapter 9 Turning the Page

AUTHOR NOTES

Hi folks! Back again with a new chapter, and a long one again. In fact, a bit longer than the last one. Very little angst this time, because I think it's the moment for our favourite couple to get some deserved peace and fun (lemon goodness included ;) ), after Jiro has been dealt with by Ryoga.
About the next chapter, it's going to be a flashback. I've been thinking for a while that I want to write about something it's probable many of you miss in this story: how Ranma and Ryoga's friendship improved and how they became so close friends. I can't go into excessive detail since it's going to be just one chapter, but I'll try to show some key moments in the last months of their relationship. I hope you like the idea, and as always, I hope you enjoy this new chapter 9, Turning the Page.
Take care everybody. Kind regards.

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Ranma took a look at his surroundings. An ample room with desks and chairs ordered in lines. It looked like a school classroom, he thought, but something was off. The room was dimly lit even though he could clearly see through all the open windows that the sun was out, and stranger still, he was surrounded by dozens of students staring at him. He couldn't see their eyes, obscured by the lack of light. Despite that, he knew they were staring at him. And they were whispering. "Weirdo… Freak… Pervert" They kept repeating those words over and over.

"Shut up!" Ranma yelled at them. "Stop, please!"

But they didn't stop. "Freak… Weirdo… Fag… We don't want people like you here…"

Ranma felt a pressure on his chest. The anxiety growing stronger each passing moment. He couldn't stand it anymore and run away from there. He went through some of the students like they were made of thin air, and headed to the door. When he exited the classroom, he was expecting to be in a corridor, a school corridor, but it was another room. It looked like it belonged to a traditional house, with paper and wood doors. Like in the classroom, the illumination was poor, and made hard to see the details, but despite that, it looked a lot like the Tendo Dojo's waishitsu. It had to be, in fact, because his family was seating in front of him, with their faces covered in shadows. His father and mother were seated one next to the other. And to their left there was the whole Tendo family, with Soun, Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi. All of them were staring at him, but he couldn't see their eyes, and yet again, he knew their eyes were pointing at him.

"What have you done?! You're a disgrace boy." Spoke his father. "You have stained our family's honour, and ruined the chance to unite the schools."

"But I never wanted that responsibility!" he cried. "Mother, I thought you understood. I thought you loved me!" His mother remained silent, but tears were falling down her cheeks.

"Son, you have to go. You can no longer live here. From now on, you're a stranger to us." Soun said.

"But I thought we fixed things between us. Why don't you understand that it's my life we're talking about? Akane, please, tell them!"

The Tendo girl remained as silent as his mother. Ranma lowered his head, and turned around to get out of that place. The double doors of the waishitsu that opened to the backyard with the pond were completely open. Ranma saw the familiar backyard, and a few meters away from him, in front of the pond, a familiar figure, with black hair and a bandana so well known to him.

"Ryoga!" he said, and run to him. He wanted to embrace him, to kiss him. With him, nothing else mattered. The Lost Boy was staring at him, smiling. Ranma could clearly see his face, his handsome face, and he was smiling at him.

When he was about to reach him, Ryoga disappeared, and Ranma stumbled with the rocks of the pond and fell in the water.

When the pigtailed boy emerged from the water again, he was now female, and no longer was in the Dojo. Even stranger, she was not in the pond, but in a tub, inside another room. She got out of the tub and took a look at the room. It was big, at least as big as the Dojo, with very few windows, which was odd for a room so big. The light from them was weak, like if it was cloudy outside, giving the place a sombre ambient. When she looked again at her front, she could see five guys carrying baseball bats and pipes. What was Jiro's gang doing here?

"You again!" she yelled. The pigtailed girl tried to attack them, but couldn't move. Her body didn't obey her will, and stayed there, soaked, standing and staring at the men in front of her. They approach her, and one of them hit her with his bat in the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel. Then a man walked on either side of her, and held her in that position by her shoulders.

"You know why I hate you?" said a familiar voice from behind her. "It's not because you punched me in front of the class, which that alone would be more than enough… Actually, it's because I can't stand faggots, like you." Said Jiro, walking to her, his voice sounding closer with each step he took.

"But why? You provoked me. I never did nothing wrong to you before!" tried to argue Ranma.

"Yeah, you did. You were born. That's your crime. But you are a freak, and you have your pros. Now that you are a girl, we're going to have fun with you…"

She tried to break free from her captors, she tried to struggle, but all her strength abandoned her. She suddenly felt dizzy, her head aching, and felt really tired. Her period again. Jiro appeared in front of her. He took her chin roughly, and turned her face to one side and the other. "You're really pretty, for a freak. I'm going to enjoy this. Now I'll give you something to play with…"

She was terrified, and tried once again to break free from the guys who were forcing her to remain kneeling, but she couldn't. All her strength abandoned her like when Happosai turned her moxibustion point, and she felt terribly sick. Jiro got closer, his crotch right in front of the redheaded girl. Then he reached his hands to his belt and unbuckled it, pulling his pants and boxers down revealing his…

Ranma woke up screaming and sweating, breathing heavily. She looked around. She was in their bedroom, Ryoga's and hers, wearing her summer pajamas, consisting of top and shorts. It had been a nightmare, but what a nightmare. She moved wet bangs of hair from her eyes. The room was dimly illuminated through the window because Ryoga had closed the window's curtains before he left, giving the room some semblance of the one she just dreamed of. She turned on the lamp on the bedside table, and the room had better visibility. The redheaded girl got up from the bed, and walked to the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water, and felt a bit better. She felt the need to pee, so she sat down on the toilet, and while mother nature did its thing, she looked down at her panties and realized she needed to change the pad. She still couldn't believe she was wearing pads, but if she wanted to embrace her female side, she had to accept everything that came with it. When she finished peeing, she changed the pad with a new one from the box her mother gave her, and once she was done, she exited the bathroom.

She heard the noise of keys and how the front door opened, and had a burst of happiness realizing Ryoga was back. But strangely, he didn't say tadaima as he always did. She went downstairs, and while she was coming down the steps of the stairs, she could see Ryoga with his back to her, and Nabiki next to him. Shirokuro was walking around them happily, wagging her tail and looking at Ryoga, trying to get his attention, but failing. The mercenary girl saw her, and opened her mouth startled. What was doing Nabiki here?

"She is awake." Said Nabiki looking at Ryoga.

"Oh Kami, I hoped that at least she didn't see me like this." Said Ryoga in a defeated tone.

Ranma was already in the living room, not understanding what was happening.

"Nabiki, what are you doing here? Ryoga, did something happen? Asked confused the redhead.

The Lost Boy turned around, and Ranma's heart almost jumped out from her chest when she saw him. He had blood on his clothes, on his hands and on his face.

"Ryoga! What happened to you?!" she cried running to him.

"It's not my blood, Ranma. Don't worry." The Lost Boy said, trying to calm her.

"Don't worry? Then whose blood is it? What have you done?" She said still don't understanding what was happening, and then, suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. "Oh my! Ryoga, did you went after Jiro?" she asked, understanding now why was Nabiki with him.

"Yeah, I did." He said, not daring to look at her.

"Ranma, I think you should let Ryoga change his clothes and wash up a little, and we'll explain everything to you."

"O… ok." Conceded the redheaded girl beginning to feel a little angry because this was some sort of plan carried out behind her back.

"Come kiddo, will sit here while we wait for him." Said Nabiki grabbing Ranma's hand and leading her to the living room's couch, sitting down there with her.

Ryoga went upstairs directly to the bathroom and took off his pants and his t-shirt and threw them into the laundry. Then, with only his boxers on, he washed his hands thoroughly with soap and hot water, removing all the blood from them, and doing the same with his face.

'This is the second time I have to wash the blood of someone from my hands…' he thought. "Am I turning into a psycho?'

Five minutes later Ryoga was coming down the stairs with fresh clothes, a yellow sleeveless t-shirt and black pants. The boy picked a chair and placed it in front of the couch, and sat down.

"Ok, out with it." Said Ranma impatiently and angry.

"Ranma, I want you to know that I did this because it was the only way to make them stop attacking you, but things got out of hand." Ryoga started to explain to his girlfriend.

"Please tell me that you didn't kill anybody." Said Ranma worried.

"No, I didn't kill anybody."

"Ok, but why you didn't tell me? You did this behind my back, with Nabiki's help. You trusted her, but didn't trust me?" she said hurt.

"Nabiki was the only one who could locate where they gathered after school."

"I insisted in coming with him. He didn't want to, but I convinced him, so that's on me." Explained the mercenary girl.

"They weren't going to stop Ranma. I had to do something. I couldn't just sit and let them hurt you again." He explained with pained eyes.

"I can defend myself Ryoga. I'm not a defenceless weak girl. I can beat those idiots. You only had to trust me, to trust in my skill as a martial artist, but you didn't." she said lowering her gaze, sad.

"No! Of course I trust your skill as a martial artist. That wasn't the problem. It's just that you are wounded, and you have the problem with your period. Right now you are in a bad condition to fight. And they… they wanted to kill you Ranma."

"Yeah, it seemed so, but I don't think they really intended to..."

"Ranma," The Lost Boy interrupted her. "Jiro pulled out a knife, and said it himself. He wanted to stab you and kill you. I heard it all while I was walking to them. At the beginning I thought he was bluffing. But then I called them, and Jiro turned around, and he showed me the knife. Then he repeated it again to me. He was serious. I lost it. All I wanted was to hurt them so badly that they wouldn't be able to harm you anymore. To make sure he couldn't threaten your life ever again. I turned into a demon, and I tore them to pieces." He said placing his hands on his face, covering it.

"It's true Ranma. When Jiro and Ryoga started to talk, he had that knife in his hand and said he was going to kill you. I myself was horrified by what Ryoga did to them, but then I saw his face, his pain. He didn't enjoy doing that to them. And I understood, it had to be this way. Jiro would have not stopped otherwise." Explained Nabiki to the astonished redhead.

Ranma was conflicted. She was angry with Ryoga for doing this without telling her. He did not trust her. He did not believe she could defend herself, and that hurt her. Yes, she was wounded and with a period, but didn't mean she was defenceless. And as soon as her period ended, which was going to be very soon, she could handle those idiots herself, without Akane or Ryoga's help. But on the other hand, he did it because he wanted to protect her. And she couldn't imagine that Jiro hated her so much to get to the extreme of wanting her killed. On top of that, she could see that Ryoga was tormented by how the fight ended up. He had to lose control badly when he attacked them. She knew him. Ryoga knew the same as her that they as martial artists had a responsibility to normal people, because their skills could be very dangerous to them, and it would be dishonorable to use full force on them. But, at the same time, people as despicable and evil as Jiro and his gang, did they deserve that consideration from them?

Ranma got up, and approached her troubled boyfriend. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and Ryoga raised his head to look at her, with tears in his eyes. She made him to stand up, and hugged him, filling the Lost boy with a comforting sensation.

"I'm sorry Ranma. I know I disappointed you, but I couldn't… I couldn't let them…" Ryoga said.

"You didn't disappoint me. I don't like what you did, but I understand why you did it. I want you to trust me, and trust my judgment. You should have talked to me at least. Please, talk to me next time." She said to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I promise." He said, squeezing her and taking a deep breath, feeling the warmth of her body, the smoothness of her skin, the nice smell of her hair, and the calmness that all brought to him.

Nabiki smiled at the scene, and got up as well. "I think I should go home now. One does not get bored with you, Ryoga boy." The two lovers looked at her, and Ryoga smiled. "Take good care of him, kiddo. You don't know how lucky you are of having him with you."

"Yes, I think I know." Ranma said smiling and looking at him.

"Ok, bye bye, love birds." Said the mercenary girl and then left.

Ranma went back to the couch, and had Ryoga lay on the sofa face up, with his head resting on her lap, so they could see each other's faces. Then she started to stroke his hair, now without his beloved yellow and black bandana. She guessed it got stained in blood too.

"You must be tired." Said the redheaded beauty to him.

"Yeah, a little." He said with his eyes closed.

"What did you do to Jiro? What did he say when you beat him up?" she asked with some curiosity.

"Ranma, do you really want to know?" he replied.

"Yeah. I think at least you owe me that."

"Ok…" and then he sighed. "After arriving at the park and confronting him, when he showed me the knife and threatened you, I was so mad that I started to expel ki like a steam engine. My battle aura ignited, and his friends just stared at me, frozen, not doing anything. Jiro, who I guess knows nothing about ki energy or what it means, launched himself at me willing to stab me with the knife. I grabbed his arm a second before he could stab me and I broke it. I said to him that we are even now." That last part made Ranma smile. "Then I punched him in the face to get him out of my way, and went for the others. When none of them was standing anymore, I went to talk with Jiro. I grabbed him and told him that from now on, he's out of your life, forever. In class, he won't look at you, he won't talk to you and he won't get close to you. And outside of school, I told him to stay away from you as far as he can, he and his friends. That if I ever learn that you saw him outside of school because he got too close, I'll come back to finish what I did to them today…" Ryoga paused for a few seconds, remembering what he finally said to him, his final warning to Jiro. "And if he ever tries to get revenge on you, if he ever tries to harm you or threaten your life again, I swear I'll kill him. And I'm sorry Ranma, but nothing you say to me can make me go back on that promise."

Those last words left Ranma speechless for a moment. "No, I won't say anything…" she finally said.

"But you think I went too far, right?" asked the Lost Boy not averting his gaze from her.

"I do. But I do understand too that this was something you didn't intentionally seek. I get that you got mad when he threatened me, because of what I mean to you. It's weird that that makes me feel good, but it's nice to be so important to someone. I'm so used to only rely on myself, that sometimes it's hard for me to ask for help, or accept help from others. I know that must be frustrating for you, that I can be too stubborn to listen, and I'm sorry."

Ryoga sat up, moving himself to be next to her, and grabbed her hand.

"You being so stubborn is one of the things I like the most about you, no matter how many headaches you may give me", he said softly, smiling at her. "It's part of your character, and it's one of the things that makes you so strong. You never give up."

Ranma felt moved by Ryoga's words, and had the irresistible need to kiss him. She approached her lips to his and they kissed tenderly. A few moments later, they parted lips.

"You know how to cheer a girl." She said smirking playfully.

"It's the only thing I want to do. To cheer you up, to make you happy." Ryoga took a long look at her face, fascinated by her petite nose, her intense blue eyes, her long eyelashes, and added. "You are so beautiful, that it hurts." He said, with his eyes filled with love, making the redheaded girl to blush intensely.

"Ryoga… kiss me again." she said in a demanding tone. He approached his lips to hers, and kissed her passionately, none of them wanting to stop. She moaned softly, enjoying the feel of his lips on hers, and she leaned to rest her back on the couch, pulling him over her, while stroking his raven hair. Then she spread her legs so he could accommodate himself over her body. The Lost Boy was very careful of not letting most of his weight to rest on her, supporting himself over the redheaded girl with both arms on the couch. She felt his hardness poking her groin, getting aroused by the feeling. Then he stopped kissing her and looked at the pretty girl, his cheeks pink and breathing heavily.

"Ranma, I want you so much, but I don't want to hurt you." He said, with his face showing some concern.

"You won't hurt me. Trust me. You promised to trust me." She said with desire in her eyes and feeling an insatiable need of him.

"Ok, I trust you." He said smiling. And then kissed her again, desiring every centimetre of her body. He slid his tongue in her mouth, and she responded equally, rubbing their tongues against each other with passion. Meanwhile, Ryoga moved his hips, scrubbing his hard member through the pants against Ranma's groin. This made the girl to interrupt the kiss to moan, feeling a deep pleasure each time Ryoga moved his hardness against her sex. She started to notice a wetness in her groin, but remembered she was wearing a pad, and that was not letting her get the full feeling of Ryoga's movements. She stopped Ryoga for a moment so she could reach her hand under her shorts and panties, grabbed the pad and tossed it to the floor. Then she made a gesture to her boyfriend to resume what he was doing. A moment later she was moaning again, her pleasure increasing, feeling her orgasm building up.

"Ryoga, I didn't know this could feel so good…" she said gasping.

"Yeah… me neither." Said the Lost Boy, moving his hips faster each time, making the scrubbing of his member against her more intense.

"I'm almost there… Please don't stop. Don't stop now Ryoga. I want to get off…" moaned the redheaded beauty, resting her hand on his neck.

"Me too Ranma. Oh Kami, I'm about to…" he said groaning too. His member was about to erupt inside his pants, and could feel how wet was Ranma, because she was wetting his own pants too.

A second later they both came, groaning in unison, and the lost boy releasing his seed inside his boxers. Ranma's body tensed at the intensely eruption of pleasure, squeezing her grip on Ryoga's neck. He kept moving a few seconds more, and then stopped. They looked at each other while gasping.

"That… was… nice." Said the Lost Boy between gasps.

"Nice? It was… great." Ranma said gasping too. Then she kissed him affectionately. After that, the redhead added. "See? You didn't hurt me, silly."

"I know. You were right, as always." He replied smiling.

"But I want more. Ready for a round two, handsome?" She asked caressing his hair.

"Of course, but not here. I want you to be comfortable. Let's go to our room." He told her while caressing her cheek.

"Ok. Lead on. Oh, wait." She said, going to where the pad landed and picking it up, then walking to the toilet and tossing it in the trash can. "Ready."

Ryoga smiled and grabbed his girlfriend's left hand and led her upstairs, to their room. Once there, with both standing, he kissed her again eagerly, using once more his tongue. He slid his hand under her top and fondled tenderly her right breast. It felt soft and wonderful in his hand.

"Does it hurt?" Ryoga asked her interrupting the kissing.

"No, it feels good. I told you, you're not going to hurt me. Help me take off the top." She asked him, looking at the Lost Boy with desire. Ryoga obliged, and with great care, he removed the garment and tossed it to the floor. Her beautifully shaped breasts were now uncovered for the enjoyment of her boyfriend. He noticed that the bruises now were barely visible. He was blushing furiously, but he didn't feel like he was going to have a nosebleed, luckily. Ryoga resumed his caressing of Ranma's breasts, now doing it with both hands, touching them in small circular moves, squeezing them softly, which made the redheaded girl to whimper, so excited that she was wetting again her panties, getting ready for what was about to come.

"Remove your clothes." She whispered while gasping. "I want to see you nude." She asked with lust in her eyes.

"Yeah, ok." He replied timidly, and pulled up his yellow t-shirt and threw it to one side of the room, revealing his muscular and well defined torso and arms. Ranma stopped him there, and rested her hand on his chest, feeling his pecs, caressing his strong abs, while biting her lower lip. This was making her really horny. She then started to pull down his pants with desperation, but it was a bit difficult with just one hand, so he helped her to finish the job, pulling down his boxers too. "Agh, it's a little sticky down here." He said.

"Then we'll have to do something about it." She said with a naughty smile. She got down to her knees, with Ryoga's erected member in front of her face.

"Ranma…?"

She winked at him, and then grabbed his member covered in semen with her hand. She started to lick it along his length, using her tongue to clean and swallow his seed, ending in the head, where she put special care licking and tasting all the salty and dense liquid that remained there. The girl then sucked the head, rubbing her tongue on the tip skilfully, making Ryoga to let out loud moans, who still wasn't believing what Ranma was doing. She then entered more of his shaft inside her mouth, moving her head back and forth, using her tongue along the way to lubricate and excite the sensitive organ. She inserted more of his member inside her mouth, until it was all inside, and had to repress a gag reflex when the tip touched her throat. Then moved her head back, until most of the shaft was outside, and then tilted her head forth again all the way in, using her saliva and tongue to easy the task she was doing, feeling each time that the gag was lighter. She was enjoying this, feeling Ryoga's member inside her mouth. She didn't know why, but it made her feel a satisfaction and an excitement she wasn't sure she could accomplish with her male form. But that thought made her curious. Would she dare to do the same, give Ryoga oral sex while being a male? More than that, would she try to have sex with Ryoga while being male? How would it be? How would that work? Would Ryoga be ok with it, or would he be uncomfortable with the idea? This has been something they've been avoiding since they were together, but they would have to talk about it sooner or later. But in any case, if Ryoga refused the idea or he wasn't sure, she was more than ok with just having sex with him in her girl form, which was already incredible.

The sheer pleasure was making Ryoga going nuts. He started to feel his orgasm getting close again, enjoying the sweet mouth of his girlfriend. Sweet, sweet Ranma. Her lips could heal a dying man. What she was doing was amazing. Not even in his wildest fantasies (and all his fantasies since he started to feel something for the redhead had been with her) he imagined something so good and crazy. He was getting closer and closer with each movement of the beautiful girl kneeled before him, giving him a pleasure so delicious and incredible that he thought for moments he was dreaming.

"I'm about to cum Ranma!" he exclaimed.

The redheaded girl then took his member out of her mouth but she wasn't quick enough, and he released part of his seed inside her mouth, and the rest spurting on her chest and breasts, covering them with the dense fluid. The Lost Boy let out a loud moan, almost a scream, while releasing his load on her. The redhead swallowed what was ejected in her mouth while jerking off his rod until no more seed came out of it.

They both were breathing heavily, staring at each other with the fire of passion still not extinguished.

She licked the cum from her fingers and wiped then her mouth with the back of her hand, all while staring at her boyfriend. "Did you like it?" she asked playfully.

"It was incredible." he answered, still a little stunned by the amazing experience she just gave him. "Now it's your turn."

"Do you mean you're going to suck my pussy?" she asked.

"If that's what you want, but I was thinking in going 'deeper'." He said, now his time to show a naughty smile.

"You're making puns now?" She said while chuckling. "I'd love to have you inside me. But are you sure that after two orgasms you can get to a third one? I never got more than two in a row in my male form."

"With whom?" asked Ryoga, feeling a pang of jealousy.

"Masturbating, you baka. I lost my virginity with you, remember?"

"Ok, sorry." The Lost Boy said, feeling like an idiot.

"Answer the damned question." She insisted.

"Ok, ok. Yeah, I think I can. I'm still hard. Anyway, there's no harm in trying." He replied. The redhead looked down at his member and had to agree with him.

"Ok. Can you give me a few tissues to wipe this stuff on me off first?" she asked looking at her stained tits.

"Sure." He said, then opening a drawer from the bedside table and picking a few tissues. He gave a couple to Ranma and used the others to help her wipe her chest. Once finished, they tossed the tissues to the floor and the redheaded girl pulled down her shorts and panties, kicking them out of the way. She then moved the Lost Boy by grabbing his arm towards the bed. Once he was touching its side, she pushed him, making him fall on top of the bed face up. She climbed on top of him to straddle on his hips. She giggled, while feeling his erected member poking on her butt, and Ryoga moaned when it rubbed against her skin.

"Wait Ranma." He said, and the pretty redhead stopped, guessing what he was going to do. Royga reached his hand to the bedside table again, and blind searched for a few seconds. Finally, he got what he was looking for, and approached the condom wrapping to his mouth, bit the wrapping and opened it, picking the condom. Ranma took it from his hand, tried to put it on his member, and within 30 seconds, it was correctly placed, just with one hand.

"When did you learn to do that?" Ryoga asked astonished.

"It's an Anything Goes secret technique." she said trying to keep a straight face, but failing after a few seconds.

The Lost Boy laughed loudly at her answer. She couldn't help but joke even at times like this. He loved that from her, her cheerful attitude, even if sometimes it meant making fun of him.

Then she leaned, approaching her lips to his, French kissing him again. Ryoga placed one hand behind her head, stroking her hair, and the other one on her shoulder. When they parted lips, she added. "I knew you would laugh." Said smiling.

"That was a good one." He replied.

"Hold me for a second." She then asked him. He didn't immediately understand what she intended, but held her by her shoulders while she reached her left hand behind her, looking for his cock, which she grabbed and checked that it was still hard, and then she positioned it at her entrance, ready to be inserted. She then moved her hips back and his member entered easily thanks to how wet she already was. She let out a long moan as Ryoga's shaft penetrated her womanhood.

"Oh fuck!" exclaimed the Lost Boy, placing his hands then on her hips.

"Hey, that language." She said softly while gasping. "You're killing the romanticism."

"Sorry." He quickly said.

"I'm just… pulling your… leg… aaahhh." she said while groaning, moving her hips back and forth, letting his member to move through her vagina, while rubbing her clit against Ryoga's groin.

"So even… now… you want to tease me..." He said between moans, amused by his girlfriend's joking attitude. He then grabbed tightly her hips, and then, instead of passively let her move against him, he started to thrust into her, all his length allowed him inside her, then pulled back, and thrusted again. The red head arched her back, tilting her head back, barely standing the pleasure. Ryoga increased the speed of the thrusts, making Ranma moan louder. Both lovers felt their orgasms building up once more, Ranma being the closest, the waves of pleasure reaching every part of her body. Ryoga sat up, and moved his right hand to Ranma's left buttock, reaching with his other hand one of Ranma's big and beautiful tits, with she using her left hand to hold to his back, balancing herself that way.

Ryoga used his tongue to lick the nipple on one of her breasts, feeling how hard it already was, and biting it softly.

"Yes, Ryoga. Suck my tits. I'm so close!" she begged to her boyfriend.

Ranma's sensitive breasts were increasing the pleasure she was feeling inside her groin, with the aid of Ryoga's member entering and exiting her womanhood. She couldn't hold anymore, and came, her second time, letting out a long and loud groan squeezing tightly her boyfriend, and tensing all her body.

"Oh Kami, so good!" she moaned, stopping her movement and breathing heavily, with drops of sweat running down all her body. "Ryoga, keep moving, keep thrusting inside me. You have to cum too." She said while gasping.

"Yeah. I'm very close now." Ryoga said, and laid down his back on the bed again and grabbed Ranma by her hips, and then started to thrust again. He felt how wet Ranma was, that his member entered her without any effort. She started to moan again, his rod back and forth inside her, knowing that if Ryoga kept making love to her after he came, she would reach another orgasm for sure. Just a few more thrusts, keeping the flow a few seconds more and he would come. He moved one of his hands to grab one of her breasts, caressing it while thrusting his hips, and then…

"Ooooohhhh fuuuck!" he said while unloading his seed inside the condom, feeling the voluptuousness that came with the burst of the white fluid. The pleasure was running through all his body, making him tense up, and a few seconds later, he collapsed on the bed, with his girlfriend doing the same on him. Both were exhausted, breathing heavily from the physical effort, and covered in sweat.

Ranma's head was resting on Ryoga's chest, and she could feel his penis still inside her, but was starting to become flaccid. She moved her hips so it could slide out of her vagina.

The couple stayed like that for a couple of minutes, trying to catch their breath. They said nothing. There was no need. Just to cuddle to each other was enough to enjoy the aftermath of the sex. When their breath steadied enough, Ranma kissed Ryoga with passion, breaking the kiss a few moments later.

"Mmmm, that was intense." She said purring, while resting her head on his chest again, enjoying the strong arms of Ryoga embracing her.

"Yeah, it's been amazing. You are ok, right?" he asked.

"Of course I'm ok, silly. Stop asking, I'm not made of glass. However, I have to admit that if it weren't for the remedy Cologne gave you, I might not have felt so comfy doing this."

Ranma then moved to her left so she could rest on her left side next to Ryoga and be able to look at him.

"Then I was right to wait a little." He pointed out, saying to her with his eyes 'I told you so'.

"Yeah, well, maybe, I don't know. Oh, shut up." She said chuckling seeing his expression.

"Oh, I'm gonna take off this thing." He said, picking the filled condom and making a knot in the open end, wrapping it with a few tissues and throwing it to a trash can they had in the room. Then he got back to the bed and laid beside his girl.

Ryoga was looking at the ceiling with a satisfied and happy expression, but Ranma was looking at him with thoughtful eyes, like pondering something. She finally talked. "You know, I had a nightmare just before you came back with Nabiki." Ranma started.

"A nightmare? What was about?" Ryoga asked curious. Ranma never had talked to him about her dreams or nightmares.

"I was in my classroom, in male form, surrounded by classmates. I couldn't see their faces, but they were calling me names. Freak, fag, that sort of names." She averted her gaze from his face, feeling a little embarrased.

"Ranma, that's horrible." He said, and he knew that dream was based on real experience, which made it more painful for him to hear it.

"Yeah. I yelled at them to shut up, but they kept repeating those words. I couldn't bear it anymore and run away from the classroom. But when I exited the door, I was at the Tendo's, in the waishitsu. All my family was there, sitting in front of me, just like they did the night they found out about us. My father told me that I was a disgrace to the family, and Soun casted me out. My mother, Akane, all the rest remained silent. No one defended me. I was alone." She explained.

"Could you have dreamt that because you may still have… you know, some regrets about not marrying Akane and not uniting the schools?" Ryoga asked her, wondering if deep down, she still missed the chance of inheriting the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.

"Of course not. That life was leading me to an unwanted marriage and a huge responsibility I never asked. The terrifying thing about it was that it could have come true. If you hadn't shown up in my life again, hadn't become my friend, and we hadn't fallen in love, it could have happened." She reflected.

"I'm glad that I went after you seeking revenge then." Ryoga said smiling.

"Even when it meant to you to get cursed?" she asked him.

"My curse was a small price to pay for being with you. You are the best thing that has ever happened in my life, and I have no regrets." He said looking at her. Ranma then turned her head to look at him, and smiled to him. She had a beautiful smile, and he closed the distance between them and kissed her with care. Then they parted lips and Ryoga asked. "Keep telling me about your dream. What else happened?"

"I looked at the pond, and you were there, next to the border. I could clearly see your face. You were smiling at me. I run to you. I wanted to hug you, to kiss you. But a moment before I could reach you, you disappeared, and I fell into the pond." Ryoga felt a sting in his heart. What did that mean to Ranma? That he let her down? That couldn't be. Since they were together, he had always been by her side. Except the two times Jiro attacked her, he remembered, and felt a deep guilt.

"When I raised from the pond, I was female, and I was now in a tub. It was in a different place. A big room. I got out of the tub and looked around. There was nothing there, and then they appeared…" continued the redhead.

"Who?" asked intrigued Ryoga.

"Jiro's friends. They had the same weapons they used when they attacked me. I tried to fight them, but I couldn't move. Then they immobilized me, holding me by my shoulders." Ryoga didn't liked a bit where this was going. "Jiro appeared too, and started to talk. I can't remember all he said, but I do remember the last." Tears started to fall down Ranma's cheeks. "He said that since I was a girl in that moment, he was going to have fun with me, and then he pulled his pants down."

When Ryoga saw Ranma's tears, he sat up immediately, force her to do the same, and embraced her in a tight hug, trying to comfort her. "Ranma, stop. It's just a bad dream. That will never happen. Don't cry, please."

"No, it's not a dream. Not entirely at least." She said sobbing.

"What?!" exclaimed Ryoga, breaking the hug and staring at her.

"The first time he attacked me, when I was alone and after turning me into a girl, he said the same thing after he tore my shirt. That once he beat me up, he would have fun with me." She said with tear in her eyes.

"That son of a bitch! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. Maybe I was too embarrassed, because when he said that, I felt very vulnerable, and… dirty, disgusted, and scared. I was weakened by my period, so he might have made true his threat if he had beat me. I didn't want to talk about it because it frightened me how he made me feel." she said, still not being able to contain her tears. "Just like I'm feeling right now remembering it… And I feared that if I told you, you would do something stupid."

"Yeah, I should have killed the bastard." Said Ryoga, feeling an intense rage.

"I don't know why it had affected me so much. Is it because now I feel like a woman? I never felt like this before, so vulnerable, when I only thought of myself as a man." She reflected.

"Yeah, it might be that, Ranma. But that maggot will never harm you or threaten you again. I made sure of that. Besides, you won't see him for a good while. He'll spend some time in the hospital, along with his buddies."

"And that's a relief. I hope I never see him again. Hold me tight Ryoga. Only you make me feel completely safe." She asked him. Ryoga then hug her again, tightly, and kissed her neck.

"I promise I will always do everything in my hand to protect you, Ranma. No matter how far you are, or how lost I am, I'll always find you and keep you safe. And I know you're more than capable of protecting yourself, but you don't have to rely on yourself alone anymore. You have me. I'm your ally, your partner, your friend. And I say this because I'm sure you will do the same for me." Ryoga said while embracing her.

Ranma felt encouraged by Ryoga's words, because they weren't some macho crap about a man protecting a woman because she was weak. He'll do it because that's what you do with the people you love. "Of course I will do the same for you. You're my world now." She reassured him.

Ryoga kissed her cheek, feeling her soft, warm skin under his lips, and then Ranma reach a hand to his nape, and made him kiss her in her lips. It wasn't a normal kiss. It was a kiss loaded with love of course, but with partnership and friendship too. They were together in this journey, and they knew how much they needed each other. It was a new feeling that both were discovering, because all their lives they had been alone, relying only on themselves. But not anymore. It was a feeling that made them vulnerable, but at the same time it made them feel stronger.

---

"Oh my, then Ryoga beat up those bullies?" asked Nodoka surprised but feeling some satisfaction she would not dare admit to just anyone. Ranma had called her by phone to tell her what happened this afternoon since the school day ended and to tell her that she was ok.

"He did more than to beat them up. He pummelled them to a pulp. Most of them probably have ended up in a hospital." Ranma explained. She omitted the detail of Jiro threatening her life to not worry unnecessarily her mother. He wasn't going to threaten anyone in a long time anyway.

"I don't like to say this, but those boys had it coming harassing you that way. Are you sure they won't seek revenge once they get better?" Nodoka asked concerned that this could reinforce the determination of those bullies to continue to go after her daughter.

"I doubt it mom. If the beat up would not dissuade them enough, Ryoga threated them to kill them if they tried anything."

"Kami Sama. That boyfriend of yours doesn't fool around."

"No, he doesn't. He's always been my strongest opponent, and to have him as an enemy, is frightening." Then she chuckled. "And at the same time he's the sweetest boy I have ever met, and very shy. I always liked that contrast in him."

"Yes, I can tell he's a very sweet boy, dear. That's why it's surprising to know that he is such a fierce warrior. In any case, I think he did what he had to do to keep you safe."

"Yeah. I guess. I understand why he did it and I appreciate it, but I wish he would have let me handle those guys my way. It doesn't matter now. Jiro won't bother me anytime soon." Ranma concluded.

"You are right. We won't talk about this delinquent anymore. Well, you must be tired and it's very late already. I'll let you get some rest. I'm sure you'll want to go to bed soon." Said Nodoka.

"Ok mom, thanks. Yeah, I think I'll go to bed soon. I have to go to school tomorrow, and Ryoga wakes up really early to go to work, and I have to get up with him so he can help me to dress up for school. Good night mom. I love you."

"Good night dear. I love you too. I hope you sleep well." said Nodoka and hanged up.

Ranma walked to the couch, where Ryoga was seated, watching TV.

"She's ok with what I did?" asked Ryoga while watching his girlfriend seating beside him.

"Yeah. In fact, I think you have a new fan." Answered the redhead.

"Ranma… I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" Ryoga started, still feeling guilty.

"Sssshhhhh…" said Ranma, placing tenderly her hand on Ryoga's lips. "Don't say it. You have apologized more than enough. And I forgive you. So let's turn the page, ok? C'mon, let's go to bed. I'm dead tired, and tomorrow is going to be interesting when the school learns about what you did to Jiro and his friends. I'm sure Nabiki will certainly not miss the opportunity to make money out of it." Said the pigtailed girl smiling to her boyfriend.

"Of course. She's a business woman after all." Said the Lost Boy smiling back. "Ok, let's get some sleep. It's getting late."

---

News travels fast. It's what Ranma thought as soon as she saw her classmates gathering in groups, gossiping between them when she entered her classroom. When she had taking a few steps into the classroom, she stumbled with Eiji Koyama, one of her classmates that was close to Jiro.

"Hey, watch… Saotome! I'm very sorry, I didn't see you. Please forgive me!" he said, almost pleading.

"Don't worry man. It was just a misstep." Said Ranma a little perplexed.

The guy walked quickly to his desk, looking at her one last time with fear in his eyes. Still astonished, the redheaded girl went to Ukyo's desk, where Akane was talking to the chef girl.

"Hi guys. Seems everybody already knows. I stumbled with Eiji Koyama and he almost kneeled asking forgiveness." Ranma said to the two girls.

"Yes, all the school knows by now. Nabiki told me yesterday, and I just updated Ukyo." Explained Akane.

"So Nabiki spread the news?" asked the pigtailed girl.

"Yes. She wanted everybody to know what Ryoga did to Jiro and the others so any other possible bullies think twice before bothering you." said the Tendo girl.

"Honestly Ranchan, they deserved what Ryoga did to them. Besides from stopping bullying you, they will probably won't harass anyone else ever again." Said Ukyo to her redheaded friend.

"I know Ucchan. I don't feel any pity for them. But Ryoga did this on his own, with the help of Nabiki, and it pisses me off a bit that he didn't tell me until it was done. In any case, what's done it's done, and I understand why he did it. I'm not mad at him, not anymore at least. I just made him promise me that he will talk to me before doing something like this again." Explained the redheaded girl. She was tired of being always the focus of gossiping in the school, and she knew that this incident was going to be in everybody's mouths for weeks, maybe months.

Daisuke and Hiroshi joined them after been talking to a few friends and classmates.

"Ranma, Akane told us Jiro attacked you again yesterday. That idiot is completely nuts. Glad that Akane was with you and they didn't harm any of you." Said Daisuke as soon as arrived.

"Yep, and the better part is that Ryoga had enough of those pricks and pummelled them to a pulp. If what they say around here is true, Ryoga had to be pretty pissed off." Commented Hiroshi.

"Yeah, he was." Replied Ranma. "Jiro pulled out a knife and threatened Ryoga saying he was going to kill me."

"No way!" exclaimed the two boys at the same time. "That crazy son of a bitch. They got what they deserved then." Said astonished Hiroshi.

"They did." Said Ranma, looking at the floor.

"Ranma, are you ok?" asked Akane, seeing that the pigtailed girl's answer looked forced.

"I'm ok, Akane. It's just that I'm tired of Jiro. I want to forget that he ever existed. He has caused me nothing but pain and trouble. And I'm tired of the rest of bigots in this school that don't want to talk to me, that call me names behind my back, that don't want to play with me in the same team in PE or shower after class if I'm with them because they think I'm going to peep on them. I'm tired of all this shit."

"I'm sorry Ranma. It wasn't my intention to upset you." Said Hiroshi, feeling guilty.

"No Hiroshi, you don't have to apologize. It wasn't because of you. It's just that since everybody knew about Ryoga and me, we've been under a lot of pressure. Jiro's attacks have been the straw that broke the camel's back. And on top of that the idiot says he wants to kill me? I want to move on. I want to have some peace. You and Daisuke have been good friends to me from the beginning, and I really appreciate all the support you have given me." Said Ranma, smiling to her friends. The two boys smiled back blushing, nodding to the redhead.

---

It came the time for lunch break, and Ranma and her friends went to their usual spot in the school yard. On their way there they met Nabiki, who was counting a wad of bills.

"Hey Nabiki! Have you found a new way to make some money?" asked her Ranma.

"Yep! The photos of Ryoga pounding Jiro and his gang are selling like hot cakes! I didn't expect he could become such a good source of income." said smiling the mercenary girl, putting the money in her skirt's pocket.

"What? You took pictures of the fight?" asked Ranma bewildered.

"Umm, let's say I took a few. And I have to confess that it wasn't easy for a pacifist like me to photograph what Ryoga was doing to those guys."

"Yet you did it." Said Ranma with a look of reproach.

"Nabiki, don't you have any shame?!" asked Akane feeling embarrassed by her sister's lack of scruples in all that had to do with money.

"Hey, it was a win-win situation. Those idiots get punished and I make some money out of it." Said Nabiki like if that was the most logic thing to do. "Some of the photos are amazing, by the way, with all that ki emanating from your boyfriend.

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, I didn't see any camera on you when you came to Ryoga's home with him, and I'm sure you didn't tell Ryoga that you were going to take pics of the fight. Where did you hide it?" Ranma asked suspiciously.

"That's a professional secret, kiddo." Replied the mercenary girl with a proud smile.

"Yeah, professional secret my ass…" murmured the pigtailed girl low enough so Nabiki couldn't hear her.

"Let me tell you something that might improve your mood, kiddo. Many students are glad of what Ryoga did to Jiro and his friends. That idiot has quite a reputation as a bully here in the school, and many people hate him. And believe or not, quite a few have told me that Jiro deserved it for what he did to you. See? Not everybody hates you or is a bigot here."

"Well, that's a relief. None of them supported me when I needed it though. It doesn't matter. I don't care about what other students think anymore. At least they will leave me alone." Said Ranma cynically.

"It's a good sign Ranma. Many students didn't support you out of fear to Jiro and the ones like him. Now bullies like him at school are cowering in fear." Nabiki was tried to comfort the pigtailed girl. "Well, I have to go. There's still a few more who asked me for the photos. Never keep your clients waiting." She said winking at Ranma. "Oh, by the way, what do you say if I take a few sexy pictures of you, like in the old times. The splinted arm will add to the exoticness. I know Kuno would pay me dearly for them. I will share the profits with you, 80% for me, 20% for you."

"No thanks, Nabiki. I'm done with that, and the last thing that I want right now is for Kuno having more pictures of me." Said Ranma, knowing too well that she was always on the losing end of the deals with Nabiki.

"Oh! Pigtailed goddess!"

Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other, thinking the same: 'Crap!' Akane and the rest who were waiting for Ranma a few steps away facepalmed in unison.

"Pigtailed goddess, it came to my knowledge that a band of villains attacked you and hurt you." When Kuno saw Ranma's arm splinted, he started to shed some tears. "What despicable bunch of scum, daring to hurt my beloved goddess. Tell me who they are and they'll taste my vengeful fury!" said Kuno, tenderly taking Ranma's left hand in his.

"Thank you for your concern, Kuno-senpai, but Ryoga already took care of them and taught them a lesson. They won't trouble me anymore." Said the redhead, trying to keep her cool and not kick Kuno into the sky.

"Ryoga? Who's that with such a vulgar name?" said the kendo prodigy, scratching his chin.

"He's the boy I'm dating, you moron! The boy I love! So he's the opposite to you, thank goodness!" exclaimed Ranma starting to lose her temper.

"Oh! Now I remember him. He's the one who casted a spell on you. Don't despair, my precious flower. I will save you from his clutches!"

"There's no spell… You know what? Whatever. I have to go Kuno. Nabiki, I'll see you later."

"Ok kiddo. Think about my offer!" said the mercenary girl while walking away.

"Guys, let's go." Said Akane to her friends, and they started to walk to their spot, ignoring Kuno completely.

"I'll gift you tomorrow with a token of my eternal love in the form of a bouquet of flowers as beautiful as yourself! Oh, my sweet Akane, I'll bring another one for you. Don't be jealous. My love for you is as strong as always!" he ended up shouting as the group left him farther and farther behind. When Kuno realized he was being ignored and that he was shouting to the wind, he sighed and lowered his head, staring at the ground in defeat.

---

The sought peace Ranma was asking for finally came with Jiro definitively put out of business by Ryoga, literally, because he sent him and his friends to the hospital, and several of them had to stay quite a while in there. Jiro, Youta and especially Daigo needed surgery to fix their broken bones, and Daigo had to eat with a straw until his jaw would be strong enough to be able to move it and chew. Haro had several broken ribs done by the knee he received from the enraged Lost Boy, and Haruka had to receive tens of stitches throughout his body from deep cuts caused by the Bakusai Tenketsu. The beat up administered by Ryoga to Jiro and his gang had been so brutal, that any other detractor of Ranma, especially the friends Jiro had in the school, didn't dare to even look bad at her. They would keep speaking ill of her behind her back, for sure, but at least now they were too frightened to say something ugly about her out loud. So Ranma could enjoy again peaceful days in school (aside for the occasional encounter with Kuno), and concentrate in her classes, being the martial artist very motivated to finish High School before summer holidays.

Wednesday was the last day she had a period, which was a huge relief for the pigtailed girl, and not having to feel so sick for at least the next three weeks improved a lot her mood. On top of that, her bruises had practically disappeared thanks to the amazon's remedy. Her broken arm didn't hurt as long as she didn't bend the elbow. Her back injury was still causing her some pain, but it was pretty bearable, and only accentuated when she was too much time standing. All things considered, the redheaded girl felt quite good. So she decided to speak with her mother and ask her to celebrate the awaited dinner this coming weekend. Nodoka was delighted, especially because Ranma was well enough to come to the event. The Saotome matriarch called Soun Tendo, and the three parts involved decided to have the dinner on next Friday evening.

In the meantime, Ranma visited Dr. Tofu so he could check on her injuries, and when he saw the improvement on the bruises, he was quite shocked, especially when Ranma told him it was thanks to the amazon's remedy Cologne gave her. She assured him she was using all the medication he prescribed her, except for the anti-inflammatory gel, which she replaced with the remedy. Dr. Tofu wasn't upset about it, being himself well versed in traditional and magical healing remedies, and he knew some of them actually worked. But he told Ranma that it was more probable that the quick healing of her bruises was a combination of the anti-inflammatory pills he prescribed her and the amazon's remedy working together. After that, he proceeded to check her back injury. The bruise there was almost gone too, and after a careful exploration, he concluded that the fissure in her vertebra was healing well, but he gave her some chiropractic therapy to improve the process. After half an hour, the doctor finished the massages, making Ranma's back feel much better. The pigtailed girl thanked him, and Tofu appointed her a new visit for the following week.

---

It was finally Friday, and Ranma had arrived home half an hour ago. She was waiting for Ryoga, ready to fulfil the promise she made to her mother that she and her boyfriend would go a few hours earlier to her house to aid in preparing everything. Ryoga would take another thirty minutes to arrive, and she was thinking about what she should wear to dinner. She wanted to wear something feminine and cute. Something that should fit in with a family dinner.

To get a clearer idea of her options, she headed to their bedroom and began rummaging through her closet, choosing or discarding dresses or combinations of garments depending on how appropriate they would be for dinner. After a good while, she reduced her options to three: a colourful elescat sleeveless sundress they bought the day Shampoo attacked Ryoga, a combination of a short loose red skirt and a white blouse, and a blue denim short dungarees her mother bought her when she was Ranko along with a white t-shirt. She presented them laying the garments on the bed, and observed them during a long time, trying to choose one. She liked each one of them, and knew that any of them would look nice on her, so she couldn't decide. When she was starting to lose her patience for not being able to pick one, she heard the front door opening.

"Tadaima!" exclaimed Ryoga, while closing the door behind him.

"Okaeri-nasai!" the redheaded girl shouted from the bedroom. "Ryoga come here, please!"

"Something wrong?!" yelled the Lost Boy concerned and running up the stairs.

"No, baka! I just need you to help me choose what to wear for the dinner!" she yelled back.

A moment later Ryoga appeared at the bedroom's door. "Love, you scared me."

"Sorry Ryo. It wasn't my intention. C'mon, come here." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him to be in front of the bed by her side. "What do you think?" asked him the pretty redhead, looking at him still doubtful.

Ryoga took a look at the garments. They all were cute and pretty, but he wasn't sure about the dungarees for the dinner. To him it wasn't too formal.

"I like the three of them, but the dungarees don't go well with a dinner event. I think the sundress is the more fitting one, and I already saw you wearing it and you looked beautiful." He told her hoping to clear her doubts.

"Yeah, I wasn't convinced about the dungarees either, but you're sure you like the sundress more than the skirt and the blouse?" she asked still undecided.

"Both will look great on you, and they're formal enough for a family dinner, but I'd love to see you again in that sundress." Ryoga said looking at her with a confident smile.

Ranma stared at him for a moment, then looked at the sundress, and smiled too. "Ok, handsome. You convinced me. I'll wear the sundress." She said, and kissed his cheek in a cheerful way. "What are you going to wear?"

"I'm thinking about my yellow tunic and black pants." He said looking at the redhead, which mouth went agape.

"You're going to wear that to a family dinner?" asked Ranma incredulous.

Ryoga could not maintain the act anymore and laughed. "You should see your face." Said the Lost Boy between laughs.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. Now you're the one teasing me." The redhead said pouting.

"I'm sorry Ranma…" replied the Lost Boy more serious but still smiling "I couldn't resist to tease you for once. I'll wear some formal black pants and a formal shirt. I have them in my room."

"Ok, I like it. And I don't recall you wearing formal clothes since I know you, so I'm eager to see how you look with them. Can you help me to undress? And I'll need your help to get dressed and put on my shoes too. You can get dressed while I'm putting on some makeup."

"You're going to wear makeup? Your father will be dumbfounded when he sees you." Ryoga said chuckling.

"Maybe that's what I'm seeking." She said with a mischievous smile. "It's time to normalize how I feel now with my female half. I don't want to hide it anymore. Ok, help me out, will ya?"

Ryoga nodded and took off first the sling that held her splinted arm to her neck. Then unbuttoned her red Chinese shirt, helping her to take it off, being careful when removing the sleeve from the splinted arm. Then he undid the knot of the black pants and she pulled them down. This left Ranma only wearing her panties and a bra that she started to use since the bruises on her breasts didn't hurt anymore. She then noticed that Ryoga was blushing again.

"Ryoga, I'm not even topless and you're already blushing and starting to sweat." She scolded him.

"Sorry, I can't help it Ranma. You're beautiful."

Then it was Ranma's turn to blush. "Thanks, that's really cute…" she said with some pink on her cheeks. "But we'll need to fix that shyness of yours eventually. C'mon, let's try the sundress."

Ranma gave Ryoga the dress. It had the back zipper open so she could step in it, and while Ryoga held the dress, that's what the girl did. Then he closed the zipper on her back. The sundress fitted her perfectly, making her splendid figure to shine. It had a pretty floral pattern, very colourful, with the skirt falling down to mid thighs, and having no sleeves left Ranma's slender arms and the upper part of her back exposed. The front of the dress showed some cleavage without being provocative.

Ryoga took a few steps back to take a look at her. She was stunning. The colours combined perfectly with Ranma's eyes and hair. "I told you, it looks great on you."

The redheaded girl smiled, satisfied and happy, looking at her reflection in the full body mirror Ryoga's parents had in the bedroom. She then asked him to help her take off the dress so she could shower. Ryoga needed to shower too, so once the dress was again resting on the bed, she went to the bathroom, while Ryoga picked a plastic bag and tape to isolate her splinted arm from the water, willing to shower with her.

With Ranma's arm taken care of with the bag, the couple showered together. They were in a hurry, because they had to be in Nodoka's home in less than an hour, so there was no time for hot stuff. Ranma didn't tease her boyfriend as usual, and Ryoga on the other hand, tried to concentrate solely on the task at hand, to just have a shower. 'It's perfectly normal for a couple like us to see the other naked without implying anything sexual.' He told to himself. 'I just need to focus on that. This isn't about sex. We're just having a shower.' To Ryoga's astonishment, it worked. He didn't feel any nosebleeds coming, and didn't have an erection seeing his girlfriend naked. The redhead was also surprised not to see his usual 'reactions' when she was naked in front of him.

After the shower, Ryoga helped Ranma to get dressed, and to top the beautiful sundress, she picked an ankle strap medium heel sandals, again, a present from her mother trying to make the tomboy Ranko into a more feminine girl, buying her lots of girly clothes and complements. Back then she couldn't have imagined she would end up using them for anything other than disguises.

Ryoga went to his room to pick up his clothes. He looked for a pair of pants that could look formal enough, just to discover that he had just one, grey clamp pants, not black. Luckily, he had a few more shirts to choose from. After a few seconds browsing, he picked a blue one that he thought it would look good on him. He just wondered if Ranma would like his choices.

Meanwhile, Ranma picked her makeup box she had in her backpack. Ryoga's mother had a vanity table with a mirror in the bedroom. She preferred to use her own make up, thinking that using Ryoga's mother makeup would be disrespectful. She would use the mirror though. The redheaded girl sat down on the chair in front of the vanity, and placed her makeup box on the table. She had used makeup many times, for her disguises. This time was different though. Just like with wearing girly clothes, this was not for some scheme, to scam or seduce someone to get something from him. She would use it just for her own vanity as a woman, because she wanted to look more feminine, and look prettier for Ryoga.

Nabiki and Kasumi had taught her how to apply makeup correctly. She knew how to use it just to enhance her face a little, or to look stunning and seductive. She would opt today for the former. Ranma picked a glossy light red lipstick and applied it skilfully, even with just her left hand, making her lips stand out just enough. Then she used an eyeliner with the same philosophy, accentuating her lovely sapphire eyes. A final bit of blush completed the work. Finally, she brushed her beautiful red hair, since she was going to wear it loose. She took a look at the woman in the mirror. She feared she would look too much like those parodies of girly girls she did in the past, but this time, she looked nothing like them. A beautiful, feminine woman was looking back at her. She felt content.

"You are so beautiful Ranma." Ryoga said from the door, already dressed. "I know I already told you a moment ago, but I'll never get tired of saying it. With the dress, the shoes and the makeup, you look stunning. You're going to leave your family speechless." He said smiling.

Ranma blushed again at the compliment. "Well, that's one of the two reasons I'm wearing all of this."

"And the other reason?" asked Ryoga.

"The other reason is you. I want to look beautiful for you. I'm still freaking out a little that I'm ok doing this, but being for you, it just feels the most natural thing to do." She explained looking at him.

"You are beautiful no matter what you wear or even what form you are. You will always be beautiful to me." Told Ryoga to the redhead, getting close and grabbing her hand. He approached his lips to hers, and kissed her lovingly, letting go her hand and wrapping her back with his arms. She reached her hand to his cheek and kissed him back moaning softly. When they parted lips, they stared at each other, and the redhead giggled.

"What's funny?" asked the Lost Boy a bit baffled.

"You have lipstick on your lips." Ranma said smiling. She picked a tissue from the vanity table and wiped the carmine from Ryoga's lips. "Now that's better… Kami, you're so handsome." She said while taking a good look at his face. Then she blushed intensely, surprised for having said that.

"I think I'm going to get lipstick on my lips again…" said Ryoga to his girlfriend, with his eyes filled with love.

---

The cab stopped in front of the Saotome Residence. After paying the driver, Ryoga and Ranma got out of the vehicle, and walked towards the entrance of the house. The residence was a single-family house, just like Ryoga's, and had two floors, again, like Ryoga's. The exterior walls were painted in cream tone, and the frames of the windows were made with wood, showing in one side of the second floor a small terrace. All the house was surrounded by a green iron fence, having a petite courtyard, smaller than Ryoga's own backyard, in the right side of the house. The front door was made of wood, with a narrow elongated window in the centre with the glass darkened. To Ryoga it was a nice house, and it looked very cosy.

"This is the first time you've been here, right?" Ranma asked him.

"Yeah. It looks nice. I like it." Replied the Lost Boy.

"I barely remember it. I was only a little kid when my father took me with him, and mom and I got separated." She said with certain sadness.

Ryoga looked at his girlfriend with sympathy. It had been many years since she had her mother by her side. She must have missed her badly, in the same way he missed his parents so many times when he had been alone and lost. And this house must remind her that emptiness that represented her separation from her mother.

"Let's go. Your mother must be waiting for us." He finally said resting his hand on her shoulder, trying to encourage her.

Ranma nodded, and walked to the door. Then she rang the doorbell and waited. After a few seconds, Nodoka opened the door with a broad smile, wearing an elegant kimono.

"Ryoga! Ranma… How nice you came." Nodoka greeted them, not expecting the looks of her child.

"Hi mom, you look beautiful with that kimono." Ranma greeted back, well aware of her reaction.

"Oh, thank you dear." She said, recovering from the first impression. "And you look delightful with that sundress. And those nice sandals look familiar to me."

"Because you bought them for me, when I was pretending to be Ranko, remember?" the redheaded girl told her mother.

"Of course! Yes, I remember. Ryoga, you look so handsome. You two make a lovely couple." She complimented them, making the two youngsters to flush. "Oh, please, don't stay at the door, come in." she invited them, which they gladly obliged. They passed to a short corridor with a clothes rack to leave your coat, and there was an umbrella holder too. No need for them, since the weather had been excellent for weeks now, being summer so close, and today's broadcast announced a clear day and night. The corridor gave way to the living room, a medium size room with a long table at the centre that it would be used to host the dinner, which already had the seven needed chairs for the two families placed around the table.

"Mom, where's dad?" Ranma asked.

"He's in the backyard, doing a kata I think. Or that's his excuse for not helping me with the preparations." Nodoka said, a little resented.

That was partially true. Genma was unwilling to help, but the main reason he was outside doing a kata was to mentally prepare himself for what he knew was coming with this dinner.

What should he do? That was the question that was mortifying him since his wife told him that a dinner with the family was going to be hosted here, in his home. He already admitted that he cared for his son despite what he did when he presented himself to everyone's astonishment in the clinic, a few days ago. Should he go a step forward and forgive what his son did? And had he any responsibility on his actions? Did he pressed Ranma too much, like Nodoka said to him during a heated argument?

"That fist should be a little higher, don't you think Pop?" A feminine voice said to him from the back door. This took Genma out of his thoughts and brought him back to reality.

The veteran martial artist turned his eyes to the door and saw a beautiful girl with gorgeous loose and brushed mane in a colourful sundress, with a discrete but fine work of makeup on her face that accentuated her beauty. Had it not been for the red hair, he would not have recognized his child.

"Ranma? Why are you… dressed like that? And is that makeup on your face?" he asked, still puzzled.

"Well, I'm dressing like this because this dress is comfortable and pretty, and looks great on me, and yeah, I'm wearing makeup too." She answered him, walking to a wooden bench on one side of the backyard and sitting down on it, crossing her legs in a feminine way.

"You didn't understand me. Why are you dressed so feminine and wearing makeup?" he tried again.

"I understood you perfectly. Are we going to have this discussion again Pop? Right now I'm a girl, and since some time now, when I'm in my female form, I feel like a girl and I'm ok wearing girly clothes or putting make up on me. You don't have to understand it, but at least I hope you respect it. It's the only thing I'm asking."

"You're right, I don't understand it. I don't understand why now you feel like a girl, or why you liked girls and now you like boys. But… I won't say anything bad about it." Genma said, looking down and sweating a little, while walking to the bench and sitting down beside Ranma.

"I don't know why, Pop. I don't know if it was something I already had before Jusenkyo but I wasn't aware of it, or if it has something to do with the curse. I really don't care. I'm happy feeling this way, and that can't be something bad, right?" The redheaded girl reflected, and smiled for a moment, like remembering something pleasant. "With Ryoga, we became very close friends. I saw something in him that I didn't saw in Akane. When we left behind our rivalry I started to see in Ryoga his cute shyness, his sweetness, how easy was to speak with him, his loyalty and sense of honour. And the most important thing: he listened me. We had lots of conversations in the last months, and I felt that he really cared about how I was feeling. I realized how important I became to him, and he became very important to me as well. In the end, I guess it happened the inevitable; our relationship took one step further and we fell in love. I'm not sure if I like boys in general. I only like Ryoga, and he's the only boy I'm attracted to. Sorry, but I can't be more specific than this."

"Ok." It was the only thing Genma could say. If this change in his son was because of the curse, that would mean that he was directly responsible. In that moment, he wished more than ever to have never heard of the Jusenkyo training grounds. Without the curse, the friendship between his son and Ryoga would have remained that, a friendship. At least that was Genma's thinking.

None of them said anything more, and there was an awkward silence between them.

"I should go inside and help mom." Ranma finally said, getting up.

"Ok boy. I'll go in later." Replied the veteran martial artist, and saw how his child walked to the door. Ranma was about to ask her father if he could stop calling her "boy" while she was in girl form, but decided against it. She knew him, and he was so used to call her boy, no matter the form she was in, that it wasn't worth it to try to change that. Besides, she didn't really mind.

When Ranma entered the house, Ryoga met her, wanting to ask about her conversation with her father. He had been observing them from a window in the kitchen.

"How it went?" he inquired.

"Fine, I guess. He didn't get mad when he saw me with a dress and makeup and he promised me to not say anything bad about me liking to be a girl or loving you. Baby steps. For now, we can consider it an improvement." The redhead said.

"Well, there's still all the evening for him to put his foot in his mouth. Just wait until the sake starts to move around the table." Ryoga said sarcastically.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't be a killjoy." Ranma said punching his shoulder, making the Lost Boy to chuckle.

"I think Ryoga is right. We must keep an eye on your father not letting him to drink too much alcohol. He could ruin the evening saying something improper." Said Nodoka concerned.

"Don't worry mom. We'll watch him closely." Ranma said resting her hand on her shoulder, making her smile. "What are we going to cook?"

"I thought about chicken katsu sandwiches, sushi rolls and takoyaki for starters. Then, as main dishes, tonkatsu pork, and a salad with lettuce, soy beans, carrots and radish. What do you think, dear?

Ryoga made a grimace when he heard the tonkatsu pork, and Ranma noticed it. "It sounds great mom, except for one detail. Ryoga hates pork. He can't eat it. Can we change that dish for another?"

"Of course. I bought different types of meat so we are well supplied. I'm sorry Ryoga. I didn't know you had a problem with pork." Apologized Nodoka to the lost boy.

"It's a long story Nodoka, but you don't need to apologize. Thanks for changing it." Said Ryoga laughing nervously while scratching the back of his head.

"Don't mention it. What if we make miso steak? Is beef ok to you, dear?" asked Nodoka hoping that Ryoga would be ok with it.

"Beef is perfectly fine. Thanks." Replied the Lost Boy, making Ranma's mother to feel relieved.

"Ryoga, why don't you help mom cutting the veggies? I'll get the table ready with the dishes and rest of stuff." Told him the redheaded girl.

"Ok, I can do that." said the Lost Boy. Nodoka already had the vegetables sorted in different dishes, ready to be cut, so Ryoga got down to work.

Ranma asked Nodoka where she kept dishes, glasses, chopsticks, that sort of stuff. Once she knew where they were, she went from the kitchen to the dining room several times bringing things to the dining table.

"How do you want me to slice the veggies, Nodoka, and where do I put them once sliced?" Ryoga asked looking around something to use, like a bowl.

"We'll begin to prepare the starters, so you can chop the cabbage finely and leave it in a dish. It will be used for the sandwiches. The avocado will be mashed, and along with the chives, they will be used for the sushi. After all that, we'll prepare the takoyaki. But first, grab an apron from behind the door. It would be a shame if you stained that nice shirt."

Ryoga picked the apron and put it on, and while he sliced the cabbage, Nodoka placed a medium size pot with water in one of the stove's burners and waited for the water to boil, before pouring the rice for the sushi rolls.

"Nodoka, why don't you prepare the takoyaki batter while I take care of the katsu?" asked Ryoga.

"You know how to prepare a katsu Ryoga?" asked surprised the Saotome matriarch.

"Yeah, I've done it a few times during my travels." He said confident.

"You can trust him mom! He knows how to cook, and he's really good!" Ranma yelled from the other room to back her boyfriend.

"Ok, I'll let you do the katsu, dear. You have the flour, the eggs and panko bread crumbs all ready." Explained Nodoka.

"Thanks. I'll get to it right away." Said the Lost Boy.

While the rice cooked, Ryoga sliced the chicken breasts for the sandwiches in halves. Once done, he dipped each chicken slice into flour, then into beaten egg and finally into panko bread crumbs, having them well coated. The next step was to fry the chicken while Nodoka was keeping an eye on the rice and preparing the takoyaki.

The kitchen was buzzing with activity. Once Ranma finished preparing the table, she served in bowls snacks like caramel corn coated with almond powder, or potato rings. Then she joined Ryoga and Nodoka to help them slicing the veggies for the main dishes. Ranma picked an apron too to not stain her dress and grabbed a knife. The redheaded girl took care of the vegetables while Ryoga kept preparing the katsu, and even with just one hand, she could slice so fast that it wasn't a handicap for her.

After 2 hours and a half everything was ready to be served. Everyone took a look at the food and smiled satisfied. Nodoka looked at a needle clock she had in the kitchen to check the hour.

"Oh my, the Tendo will arrive soon. We barely prepared everything in time. Without your help I wouldn't have been able to make it. Thank you." Said the older woman.

"Don't mention it. It's been a pleasure Nodoka." Replied a happy Ryoga.

"No problem mom. I wish I could have helped you more though." Said Ranma, timidly apologizing.

"Dear, you've done more than enough considering your arm. Don't worry." Said Nodoka in a comforting tone.

In that moment, Genma came back to the house, covered in sweat and gasping.

"Thank goodness you decided to honour us with your presence, husband. You won't intend to present yourself at the dinner with that look, right?" scolded him Nodoka, visibly angry. Ranma and Ryoga looked discretely at each other.

"Of course not, Nodoka! I was going to take a bath!" tried to defend himself Genma.

"Then I suggest you to go now, before the Tendo arrive. And don't dare to put on one of those gi you always wear. Put on something appropriate for a dinner." Said to him Nodoka in a commanding tone.

"O… ok." Replied embarrassed Genma, and walked quickly to the bathroom.

When they heard Genma closing the bathroom's door, Ranma giggled, but not too loud trying to avoid to be heard by her father.

"Mom, you know how to firm up a man." She said chuckling.

"Your father is a lost cause, dear. Instead of helping us, he spent the afternoon doing katas and training. Probably because he considers a man in the kitchen unmanly. The only thing that man can cook is instant ramen." Ranma and Ryoga felt the resentment and weariness in Nodoka's words. It was clear that she and her husband did not get along, and they were sure that Genma barely helped Nodoka with the house chores.

"Forget about dad for today, mom. You have us here to help you." Said the redheaded girl, trying to ease her mother's agitation.

Nodoka smiled at what Ranma said. "You're right dear. Sorry to show my frustrations in front of you."

"Don't worry, mom. I think I know pretty well how much a pain in the ass dad can be." Replied the redhead to her mother.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and everyone looked to each other excited.

"Here they are." Said Ryoga smiling.

"I'll get the door. You two follow me. We'll greet our guests." Said Nodoka, then walking to the front door. When she opened it, Soun and his daughters were in front of the door.

"Good evening Nodoka, glad to see you again." Greeted Soun, who was wearing a grey sweater and formal pants and shoes.

"Good evening Soun. Glad to see you too. Please, come in." said Nodoka.

Then Soun walked inside the house and he first saw Ryoga, who he greeted formally, with the Lost Boy greeting him back in the same manner.

When Soun saw Ranma, he went speechless for a moment. "Ra-Ranma, good evening. You look so di-different. Please excuse me. I'm not used to see you so…"

"So feminine?" replied Ranma smiling. "I know. I just wanted to try… something different.

"Ok son… Ranma. If you say so." Retorted the Tendo patriarch laughing nervously.

After Nodoka greeted the three Tendo sisters, Ryoga did the same with them, and then the girls noticed the redhead and her looks.

"Oh my, Ranma, you look absolutely beautiful!" complimented Kasumi with her signature kind smile.

"Thanks Kasumi." Replied the redheaded girl blushing a little.

Nabiki wasn't surprised at all. In fact, she had expected something like that coming from Ranma. With the redheaded girl embracing her female side, this was something that was very likely to happen, she being more girly. For the moment, it could be seen in her tastes in female fashion, but her body language remained more or less intact, with some little details here and there where she acted more feminine. "You look good kiddo. I like your style." She complimented her. Ranma smiled timidly and thanked her.

"Hi Ranma." Greeted Akane. "That's the sundress you picked the day we went shopping. It looks great on you. And I love your makeup." said the black haired girl surprised with the skill Ranma showed applying makeup on herself.

"Thank you Akane. I have to thank Kasumi and Nabiki for that all the times I needed makeup for my disguises." Explained the redhead flushed.

"You were an applied student kiddo. I think that back then you already enjoyed a little being a girl despite not wanting to admit it." Said Nabiki sardonically.

"Oh, c'mon Nabiki." Replied Ranma embarrassed.

All the girls laughed, and Ryoga smiled seeing Ranma's reaction. She was having fun, something she needed since this Jiro problem started.

"So you two have been helping auntie Nodoka to prepare everything?" asked Akane to the couple of martial artists, who nodded. "Kasumi and I told Nodoka that we wanted to help too, but she politely refused saying that you already offered her your help and that the kitchen would have been too crowded with so many people. Shame, I'd love to have helped her to cook some of the meals." The Tendo girl explained, looking sad at the floor. Ranma and Ryoga looked at each other and gulped, knowing all too well that they had dodged a bullet. If Akane had cooked, dinner might well have ended up in the hospital.

"D-Don't worry Akane. Maybe in the next one you can cook something." Said Ranma smiling nervously.

"Why don't you all sit down? There are snacks on the table. And I'll bring the drinks. What do you want?" asked Nodoka, who then made a mental note of what each guest wanted to drink as everyone began to sit in the chairs around the table.

"I'll help you bring the drinks, mom." Offered the redhead to her mother.

"Let me help too, auntie." Said Kasumi.

Between the three women, all the drinks were sitting on the table. A bottle of red wine for Nodoka and Soun, and different soda drinks for the youngsters.

Then Soun noticed that Genma was nowhere to be seen, and asked about his absence.

"Nodoka, where's Genma? I thought he would attend the dinner too."

"He's taking a bath after being training all the afternoon. I guess he'll show up eventually." Replied the Saotome matriarch.

"Yes, that's typical of Genma." Said Soun, chuckling.

Nabiki couldn't avoid being Nabiki, and tried to tease Ranma with something she wasn't entirely joking.

"Hey Ranma, did you think about my offer?" asked the mercenary girl after taking a sip from her soda drink.

Ranma rolled her eyes, thinking: 'here we go again'. "What offer Nabiki?" the redheaded girl asked.

"About the photo session. C'mon kiddo. My income has decreased since you are officially out of the market. And I can't take good photos of you while in girl form since you moved to Ryoga's. My offer stands. 20% benefit for you. Kuno has been desperate for photos of you lately, since he knows you're dating Ryoga." Nabiki explained with a smirk.

"That's over Nabiki. Ranma's out of that business for good. Much less if the photos are meant for that creep of Kuno." Said Ryoga jealous.

Ranma didn't expect this pang of overprotectiveness from Ryoga, but she couldn't blame him. If she was in his position, she wouldn't like either that some pervert had suggestive photos of her girlfriend. A bit of jealousy even accentuated Ryoga's attractiveness for her.

"Don't worry handsome. I already told Nabiki that I was out of the photo business, and I was serious. Besides, I know that this is mostly to tease me, right Nabiki?" said Ranma, trying to ease her boyfriend's uneasiness over this topic.

"Ok, guilty of charge. I'm mainly teasing you, kiddo. You know me well. But if in the future you need money, you could do some model work, serious model work. I would be your manager and we would split the benefits. I'm not talking about photos for perverts. I'm talking about professional model work. With that body and that face of yours, you are top model material Ranma. Think about it." Told the mercenary girl, seeing from Ranma's reaction that she wasn't totally against it.

"Ok, I'll give it some thought, someday." Finally replied the redhead.

"Ranma! Are you serious? You just said you were out of this!" said astonished Ryoga.

"And I mean it! I'll never pose for perverted photos ever again, I promise. But working as a model is totally different. It would be photo sessions done by a professional, and nothing naked. I would work for fashion magazines, brands that need advertising, that sort of things. We could make some serious money Ryoga." Explained the redheaded girl, placing her hand on Ryoga's cheek, trying to sooth his concern. "Besides, I didn't say yes. I said that I'll think about it, someday, so hold your horses cowboy." She said, showing a comforting smile.

"Ok, I'm sorry. It's just that I don't want that anybody uses you for filthy things."

"Don't worry, they won't." she said, and gave him a tender quick kiss. Then she noticed that Akane was looking at them, and felt a pang of guilt inside her, regretting having showed affection to Ryoga in front of her. She looked down embarrassed.

In that moment Genma appeared in the room, wearing blue formal pants, a dark green sweater and a white shirt under it. The only familiar element was his bandana he used to cover his baldness. Everybody's mouth went open in surprise.

"Hi everyone." He said, his face turned an intense red.

"Pop, I never have seen you so formal. I didn't even know you had that type of clothes." Said Ranma still finding hard to believe how her father looked. All her life she had always seen him wearing his gi.

"You look great uncle Genma." Complimented Akane, surprised like everybody else, but wanting to encourage the veteran martial artist.

"Glad you took my advice husband." Said Nodoka smiling.

"Well, it wasn't an advice, Nodoka. It was more like an order." Replied Genma grumbling.

"Everyone wore formal clothes to come to the dinner. Even Soun is dressed up. Did you intended to use that trashy gi you always wear? Not today." Said Nodoka, in a tone that indicated the argument was over. Everybody smiled, except Genma of course.

"It's not the end of the world Saotome, hahaha. Come and sit here by my side old friend. A coup of wine will make things easier for you." Said to him Soun with a warm smile, with Genma accepting the offer grateful to his friend.

Different conversations were flowing among the guests, while enjoying the drinks and the snacks, but Ranma realized that it was time for the next step in the party. "Mom, we should bring the starters, don't you think?" said Ranma to her mother.

"Yes dear, you're right." Replied Nodoka, getting up, doing Ranma the same.

"Wait Ranma!" exclaimed Akane. "Let me help auntie to bring the dishes, please."

Ranma noded smiling and gladly let the Tendo girl to go with Nodoka to the kitchen. In a couple of minutes both women served the katsu sandwiches cut in smaller portions, the sushi rolls and the takoyaki. The dinner could officially begin.

Soun picked a portion of katsu sandwich and took a bite. It tasted good. No, more than good, it was delicious. The crunchiness mixed with the soft bread and the flavour of the chicken combined perfectly.

"Nodoka, this katsu chicken is amazing. My compliments. Saotome, you have to try it. It's really tasty!"

"Thank you Soun. But your compliments must go to Ryoga. He made it."

"Ryoga? Boy, I didn't know you had cooking abilities." Said Soun astonished.

"Well, I… I learned a few recipes from my mother, and few others during my travels, working as a cook in some inns to pay for my stay. Katsu chicken was one of the dishes they served in one of those inns near Osaka, where I worked as a cook assistant." Explained an intensely flushed Ryoga, not used to being complimented.

"Yeah, and you should try his crepes with strawberry and cream. He did it for breakfast some time ago and they were amazing." Said Ranma with pride for her boyfriend, making the boy laugh nervously.

"Not bad." Said Genma while chewing a portion of katsu sandwich, while holding another.

Everyone noticed that Ranma was eating in a more calmed way than how she had them used to. Instead of stuffing her mouth with food, she was eating small portions, giving time to taste them, chew them well and swallowing them before picking another portion. It was a more feminine way of eating.

Akane especially noticed this, and together with her new way of dressing or how she behaved now, she could tell how far from the Ranma she had always known the redheaded girl in front of her was. She thought that maybe the two of them being drifted away had something to do not only with their constant fights and lack of communication, but with a change in Ranma's personality and identity she failed to notice until her ex-fiancée started to tell that she had finally accepted her female half.

Genma, seeing that there were no more sushi rolls on the big tray, scouted the guest's dishes for some untouched portion. Then he spotted one on Ranma's dish, and noticing that she was eating at that moment a takoyaki bun, he quickly thrusted his chopsticks at her dish to steal the sushi. When she realized what was going on, Genma already had picked the sushi, and laughed.

"Pop!" she exclaimed launching her chopsticks to empty space, too late.

"You are getting sloppy boy, hahaha." Mocked the veteran martial artist.

"Hey, return that sushi to her!" said angrily Ryoga.

"I won't! Anything Goes rule number one, always stay alert, especially when eating!" replied Genma while stuffing the sushi in his mouth.

"Genma you have no shame! There's more sushi in the kitchen!" Reprimanded her husband Nodoka.

"It's ok. Don't worry. I don't mind." Said the redheaded beauty. "Next time I will be ready, Pop." She said smiling to her father.

"That's the spirit!" said Genma smiling back.

Ryoga didn't understand his girlfriend's reaction, not getting why she wasn't angry. "Ranma, why do you tolerate him doing that? I thought you hated it when your father stole your food." Whispered Ryoga to his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I know, and I do, but you have to understand what this means. It means my father is treating me like he always did before we drifted apart. I think my father is finally accepting all of this. And that makes me happy." Ranma explained to Ryoga whispering too.

"Oh, I didn't think about that. Yes, you're right. Your father would have never done that if he still held a grudge against you. In fact, he would had boycotted the dinner already." Reflected the Lost Boy.

"Exactly. That's why I don't mind. Despite hating it, I consider it a little price to pay if my father finally gets along with me and he sets aside his stupid pride."

"Well, as long as you're ok with it, I'm ok too." Ryoga said smiling.

She smiled back, and squeezed his hand.

The conversations continued and the starters were nearly depleted. Same with the wine, which Genma and Soun were having a bit too much. It came the moment for the main dishes, and this time it was Ryoga's turn to help Nodoka bring the meals, while Ranma brought more drinks, including sake. Kasumi and Soun made room in the centre of the table for the tray with the miso steak, which was placed by Ryoga, and a big bowl with the salad, which Nodoka laid beside the steak. They looked fantastic, having a cared presentation, and it gained an awe look from the guests.

"Nodoka, this miso steak looks delicious." Said with an ample smile Genma, a little tipsy.

"There's more than enough for everyone, so don't dare to steal food again from Ranma or I'll bring the katana." Scolded the Saotome matriarch her husband.

"Oh, come on, hon, I wouldn't do that, I promise!" quickly said Genma, laughing stupidly.

Portions of the miso steak and the salad were shared among every guest, and after Nodoka's threat to Genma, Ranma could enjoy peacefully her meal. But she kept an eye on her father, just in case.

Nodoka took a look at everyone, seeing their happy faces, chatting animatedly between them, like they should, and for the first time, she felt that everyone had gotten over Ranma falling in love with Ryoga and thus, calling off her engagement with Akane and not joining the schools. She felt relieved, hoping that finally everyone buried their distrust and pain. And Ranma looked really happy with Ryoga. One must not force their own dreams over their children, she concluded. Their children must choose their own future, and it's a parent's duty to support them. Her outdated views about honour and tradition took away her son for 14 years, and once she met again with him after so many years, she nearly lost him again because she tried to impose on him those views again. But not this time. This time she would be doing things right, and support her child's dreams, not impose on him her own.

Ranma was talking with Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi. The redheaded girl was curious about Nabiki's idea of her working as a model, and the mercenary girl explained her gladly what she had in mind, with her two sisters listening with equal curiosity. Ryoga was seated beside Ranma, and was paying attention intermittently to their conversation, because he was not totally sold on the model thing. Too fresh in his memory the photos Nabiki usually took from Ranma in female form naked or half naked and then sold to perverts like Kuno. With his interest in the conversation progressively decreasing, he needed some fresh air, so he took his soda and excused himself, telling Ranma that he was going to go the backyard to enjoy the fresh air of the night. The Lost Boy walked to the kitchen and went through the open door to the backyard. The sky was crystal clear. Not a single cloud at sight, with the last quarter moon bathing the yard with its dim light. Ryoga took a deep breath, and raised his eyes to the stars. He was no expert in astronomy, not even qualifying as amateur, and his troubled sense of direction didn't allow him to correctly identify the stars. A shame, because more than once it could have helped him to orientate in night-time. But he could admire the beauty of the constellations and the majesty of the moon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" someone said from the shadows.

Ryoga turned his eyes immediately to the source of the voice, startled. He didn't expect to have company there. The Lost Boy saw Genma seated on the bench, looking at him through his glasses.

"Genma, you gave me a start. What did you say?" asked Ryoga.

"The night sky. It's beautiful. But it's even more spectacular in the countryside, without all this artificial light from the city." Replied the veteran martial artist.

"Yeah, I know. I've had my fair share of nights in the wilderness." Said Ryoga getting closer to him. "Did you need fresh air too?"

Genma nodded. "I wanted to ponder certain things. Things regarding my son… and you." He paused for a few seconds before speaking again. "I came to hate you, Ryoga. I thought that you somehow corrupted my son and turned him into this new half girl-half boy he is now."

Ranma already was half a boy and half a girl. Didn't you notice up until now?" replied Ryoga.

"Yes, but only in his body. His mind was one of a proud man, not matter his form. He could have inherited the Anything Goes school, keep our legacy."

"Yeah, you had everything well planned, since he was a boy. The only problem was that you never asked him what he really wanted. You forced him into an arranged marriage that he always refused from the beginning. And you didn't consider or didn't care what kind of love Ranma and Akane had between them."

"I know, but it was tradition. The firstborn must carry on our school of martial arts, and the best way to secure his future was to join the schools with the Tendo inheriting the dojo. The Saotome family is poor. We have no big properties, no money to left to our child. Just this little house. Soun was well aware of our situation and it was him who offered us joining the schools. We secured our son's future, Soun gained a male heir, and Ranma and Akane would continue the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Everybody wins. We did what we thought was the best for him." Explained Genma, looking at the Lost Boy.

"Even having the best intentions, you can hurt your loved ones. This responsibility you burdened him with was suffocating him. He told me many times in the last few months, and I felt powerless to help him. But I'm no saint myself. For a time, I hated Ranma so much that I wanted to hurt him, badly. I blamed him for all my misfortunes, and that wasn't fair. It's a relieve that my hate went away little by little the more time I spent with him. And finally realized the amazing friend I was missing because of my short sighting. He's the most incredible person I have ever known." Confessed Ryoga, surprising Genma with such honesty display.

"You really love him. This is not a crush, or a fleeting love. You love him for real. And he must love you with equal intensity, because he renounced to his heritage for you."

"Yeah, I love him with all my heart. And I would do anything for him."

"Ranma told Nodoka what you did to those bullies, you already know that. But he didn't tell her that they intended to kill him. Nabiki told us. I can't understand why someone would want to kill my son just because he loves another man. It made me rethink some prejudices I had. I'm… grateful, Ryoga. We are grateful, Nodoka and I. Ranma was in bad shape with those wounds and the problem with the period, and things could have gone really wrong if they had attacked him with murderous intent. Nabiki told us that it troubled you what you did, and I know why. They were normal people. They didn't stand a chance against you, and you held back very little. But you must not regret your actions. They didn't deserve your consideration. Thanks to you, my son is safe." Genma never had been so sympathetic with Ryoga before.

"I don't regret what I did, Genma. I know it wasn't honourable to have been so ruthless with them, but I wanted to make sure they wouldn't threat Ranma's life ever again. I let them live, and I hope to not regret my decision. If they try anything again, I'll kill them, without hesitation. I won't give them a second chance."

The veteran martial artist nodded at Ryoga's words, thinking about them. "I see now that if this was meant to happen, no matter what we did, I mean Ranma loving another man, I'm glad he chose you, Ryoga Hibiki." Said Genma with a serene expression. Then he got up from the bench and went inside the house, leaving Ryoga there, pondering Genma's words.

Meanwhile, Ranma was in the kitchen, bringing some empty dishes and leaving them on the counter. Then her father entered the kitchen and greeted her.

"Hey son." He said nodding.

"Hey Pop. You went to take some fresh air too?" asked the redhead.

"Yes, I think I had a little too much sake and wine. I needed to clear my head. Ryoga is there, by the way."

"I know, he told me he needed some air too. But he didn't touch the alcohol." Said Ranma scratching her chin.

"Maybe he needed some quiet place to think." Replied Genma.

"Yeah, probably, but to think about what?"

"You'll have to ask him directly. Well, I'll get back with everybody."

"Ok, Pop." Said Ranma a little puzzled.

A moment later after her father left the kitchen, Akane came bringing more dishes. The two girls looked at each other, smiling.

"Hey Akane, are you enjoying the party?" asked Ranma with interest.

"Of course. I'm having a lot of fun. The food was delicious, and everyone is having a good time, even your father, I think." Replied the Tendo girl. "And I know this was something your mother desperately wanted, to have the family together again. In reality, I'm sure this was something everybody wanted."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you say that. I'm sorry that I created this problem in the family. I had no choice though. I love Ryoga, and it was something I could not give up." Said the redheaded girl, lowering her gaze.

"Ranma, please stop apologizing. You have done it too many times. I'm more or less over it. Let's just put the past behind us. And besides, you don't need to repress yourself or feel guilty when showing affection to Ryoga in front of me. I'm perfectly ok with it." Said the black haired girl to her friend with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Thank you Akane." Replied the redheaded girl moved.

"Come on. Let's return with the people." said the Tendo girl placing her hand on Ranma's shoulder, with the redheaded girl nodding and following her to the dining room.

Ryoga was seated on the bench, looking at the night sky. The words of Genma still resonating inside his head. 'If this was meant to happen, Ranma loving a man, I'm glad that he chose you.' It was a relieve that Genma finally accepted him. What Ryoga most wanted with Ranma's parents was a healthy relationship, be in good terms with them. This must have been a hard decision for Genma, if Ryoga knew him well, and he did. But those words made him think about something else, something darker. If they had not fallen in love, Jiro and his gang would have not targeted Ranma. What would had happened if he had not acted against them the moment he did? Could they really have killed Ranma? If she had been killed, would he be responsible too? He didn't want to think about that. The idea made him feel sick. Losing her, forever. It was something he could not stand. No, that wasn't going to happen. He made sure of it. Despite no killing them, he was sure Jiro had some appreciation for his own life, and he made it very clear that he would kill him if he dared to try to hurt Ranma again. Even if he tried again, by that time Ranma would be fully recovered, and he was sure she would be more than capable of defending herself. In any case, he would talk with Nabiki to keep an eye on Jiro, just in case. What really mattered right now was that she was ok, and seeing her today, she was happy to have the family together, especially to have her father back.

"Ryoga?" a feminine voice suddenly called him, taking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes? Ranma?" asked the Lost Boy, looking at the direction of the voice.

"Yep, it's me. You've been here for a good while. Everything ok?" asked the redheaded beauty with some concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Said Ryoga to her, getting up and approaching her. When he was a step away from her, he embraced her, squeezing her softly, and then kissed her with passion.

The kiss was demanding and intense, getting a soft moan from the redheaded girl. When they parted lips to get some air, she stared at him, gasping and with surprised eyes.

"Wow, that was nice, but unexpected. Are you sure that you're ok?" she asked.

"Yes, I promise I'm ok. In fact, I'm better than ever. It's just that I'm so happy that you are fine."

"You're saying that because of Jiro's threat, right? He won't hurt me again. You made sure of that, so don't think about it anymore. Forget him. Let's forget him, ok?" Said the pretty redhead, grabbing his chin to get his absolute attention.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's not talk about him ever again. Your father and I had a little chat, and something he told me made me think about how happy I am that we're together, about how lucky I am. We had everything against us ending up as a couple, the first thing in our way ourselves, but we managed to do it, despite all those obstacles. You could have kicked me into orbit when I first kissed you, but you let me. You kissed me back. You chose me. And I can't be more thankful to you for that." he told her, not averting his stare from her beautiful sapphire eyes.

"You chose me too, handsome. This couldn't have worked neither if you had not liked me. You took the first step, and made me realize how much I loved you. It was a cooperative work." She told him sliding her index finger seductively across his cheek.

They brought their lips together again, with Ryoga reaching his hand to her loose mane, moving his fingers through her hair, feeling its softness. It was like touching silk. She placed her hand on his chest, feeling his pecs through his shirt, caressing the muscles.

"Hey, don't you have a better place for that?" said Nabiki playfully while leaning on the frame of the backyard door with her arms crossed under her chest, startling the couple of lovers and making them stop immediately.

"Nabiki… sorry, we got a bit carried away." Tried to explain Ranma all flushed.

"You don't need to justify yourself, kiddo. It's a shame I don't have my camera with me. That photo would have been worth a few thousand yens." Replied the mercenary girl with a mischievous smile.

"Well, lucky us." Said Ryoga still blushing.

"We're going home. The party's over, and dad is about to drop on the floor asleep in any moment, so we better call it a day." Said the Tendo girl.

"Oh, ok. We're leaving too then. Let's go and say goodbye to everyone." Said Ranma, grabbing Ryoga's hand and both youngsters entered the house again, following Nabiki.

Everyone had already got up from their chairs and were waiting for the couple.

"Finally, everybody is here. Nodoka, it's been a delightful evening, and everything was excellent. Thank you for the party." Said Soun a bit tipsy, with a tired but happy expression. A little red could be seen on the tip of his nose and his cheeks.

"Thank you Soun. I'm glad that we could have a family reunion again. You all have been very kind to come."

"Of course we would come, and I'm glad too. We have to repeat this dinner again, but next time it will be in our home." Replied the Tendo patriarch.

"Of course Soun. That would be really nice." Said Nodoka grateful.

"Saotome! We have a Shogi game pending, so I hope to see you soon, old friend." Said Soun to his friend.

"Of course Tendo. I'll visit you in a couple of days and we'll resume our game, hahaha." Replied Genma cheerfully.

Ranma hugged each one of the Tendo sisters, and she and Ryoga said goodbye to them and their father. When the Tendo left the house, it was time for the young couple to say goodbye to Ranma's parents too.

"Mom, why don't Ryoga and I stay a little longer and help you clean up?" asked Ranma to her mother.

"That won't be necessary, dear. Most of the dishes and glasses are already in the sink. Besides, Genma here can help me, and I don't intend to do all the clean up now. It's really late, and it will be better to do it tomorrow morning. So don't worry. Go home. You must be tired." Said Nodoka with a comforting smile on her face.

"Ok, mom. As you wish." Said Ranma, not wanting to be tiresome by insisting too much.

"Thank you for this evening Nodoka. Your idea of having a dinner with all the family have been great." Said Ryoga smiling.

"Yes, everybody had a great time. Even my grumpy husband." She said, looking at Genma who was beside her, making him blush. Ranma and Ryoga laughed cheerfully.

"I didn't say anything bad about it. It was a good party." Replied Genma, frowning.

"Yeah, it was nice to gather together again. And Pop, thanks." Ranma said, looking at her father.

"Why?" the veteran martial artist asked confused.

"Because you didn't ruin it. I was afraid that you would still hold a grudge against me and that we would start a fight, but that thankfully didn't happen. It was good to have my old Pop back." Explained the redheaded girl, showing him an affectionate smile.

The veteran martial artist timidly smiled to his child. "It's good to have you back too. And don't think that because you now feel like a girl I'm going to go easy on you. You're still a martial artist and I won't let you go soft. Having a boyfriend is not an excuse for not keep training."

Ranma smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to abandon the art. Me and Ryoga have been sparring and training together up until those idiots broke my arm, but as soon as I can get rid of this splint, I'll train again, and train hard. I promise."

"That's what I like to hear, son." Said the veteran martial artist satisfied.

Nodoka was smiling too, happy to see Genma leaving behind his grudge against Ranma and Ryoga. She couldn't be happier with how the dinner had ended.

Suddenly, they heard a car's engine outside, and then the driver honked the horn.

"Oh, that must be the cab." Said Nodoka. "I took the liberty to call one to take you home."

"Thanks Nodoka. You don't miss a thing." Said Ryoga to the Saotome matriarch smiling. "Ranma, let's go."

Ranma nodded. Then she approached her mother and hugged her. "Thanks for this evening mom, and for everything you've done to fix things between us."

"It's the least I can do dear. I'm your mother after all." Replied Nodoka smiling and squeezed her child. "Go home now. You must be tired. Rest, and enjoy the rest of the weekend."

END CHAPTER NOTES

You will see that in this chapter it's mentioned that Genma took away Ranma from Nodoka for 14 years, while in another chapter, chapter 4 I think, they mention 10 years. It wasn't 10 years. A mistake I made, so I apologize. Here is corrected, and it's also corrected in chapter 4, stating 14 years too.