Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma and Akane - A Saiyan Story ❯ Responsibility ( Chapter 9 )

Ranma and Akane - A Saiyan Story

A Ranma/DBZ/AMG Crossover Fan Fiction

By Michael Ivins

 

I don't own Ranma, DBZ or AMG. I wish I did.

 

This takes place before the start of either anime or manga for Ranma and DBZ before the destruction of planet Vegeta. To be truthful you won't see any of the DBZ cast, I just want to make Ranma and Akane both Saiyans. The characters will speak of the DBZ anime and Manga. As to where this falls in the timeline of AMG, you can pick your own time.

 

Chapter 9

Responsibility

 

The following morning on the way to school Ranma and Akane discussed some possible solutions to the Kuno problem. Mostly it revolved around getting the boy to see that the girl he was obsessing over was a Saiyan just like Ranma's girl form. Ranma's male form didn't have a tail to serve as a visual aid, but he thought maybe powering up to super Saiyan would do as an alternate demonstration. That should be sufficient proof and maybe get the foolish boy to back off.

 

When they got to school they were met by the Horde o' Hentai who were not garbed in their usual sports uniforms. Their leader, the captain of the soccer team, came forward and said, “We have talked among ourselves. Since Akane and Ranma are engaged and obviously close already, we won't try to get between you. Besides, Saotome is too strong a fighter for us to beat him to get to Akane.”

 

To celebrate this victory Ranma and Akane shared a kiss. One of the boys elbowed another and said, “I told you they've already done it.”

 

Ukyo walked up and said, “Whether they did or didn't isn't your concern. It's strictly between the two of them.”

 

There was much more elbowing and laughing, but no one said anything. They didn't want Saotome getting angry. They knew he was a much better fighter than any of them.

 

When a rose came flying through the air, this time it was Ranma who caught it. He looked at and in a theatrical gesture took a sniff. He looked over at Kuno and said, “I'm sorry but you're not my type.”

 

Kuno wasn't having it. “Saotome, you ignorant lout, that was meant for the fair Akane, not for you.”

 

With a casual flip, Ranma tossed the rose back to the startled kendo champion. He walked closer to Kuno. Looking over to a PE equipment shed, he said, “Do you have a moment? I need to speak to you in private.”

 

The kendo champion's eyes narrowed. “What nonsense are you speaking? What makes you think you have anything to say that I would want to hear?”

 

Ranma leaned closer to Kuno and said low enough that only the kendoist could hear, “You spoke to Zoe yesterday. She is a friend of mine. She told me of the meeting.”

 

Kuno's eyes went wide at the mention of the Saiyan girl he had met. What a beauty she was, so strong, so vibrant. It was a pity that she was beyond his reach. What did Saotome have to do with that vision of loveliness? He felt a sense of dread for what he was going to hear. They moved toward the equipment shed.

 

When they were inside the small building Ranma told an edited version of the truth. “I recently was told the truth about myself. I don't know how long ago it was, but on the planet Vegeta some Saiyan families were concerned over the way Freeza was treating Saiyan children. They didn't want their babies to be used to destroy the lives on other planets as Oozaru. So they got together and sent their babies in a special space pod to earth. Zoe, who you've already met was one of them. Akane and I were also on that ship.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Kuno demanded.

 

The pigtailed boy gave the upperclassman a measuring look and said, “I was told that I was the son of a member of the Saiyan warrior elite and so was Akane but from different families. Our tails were cut off when we were babies. Akane and I were promised to each other from birth by our parents back on Vegeta-se. Oh, and for your information I've found out that the warrior elite are about the same rank as lords here.”

 

The kendo champion looked like he was wavering. Surely such a story would explain the fighting skills demonstrated by Saotome. “Have you any proof of this?”

 

Ranma grinned. “I could show you the stump of my tail, but I think I can make a somewhat more impressive demonstration. Besides, you might get the wrong idea if I dropped my pants.” He then took a wide legged stance and stood with arms in front of him, fists clenched and muscles tensed. He began as quietly as he could to give the kind of shout that he used when powering up.

 

It was like a wind was blowing inside the equipment shed. Random pieces of sports equipment began to levitate off the ground and shelves. A glowing aura manifested around Ranma. Before long Ranma's hair came undone out of the pigtail and rose up in spikes, then turned blonde.

 

The Super Saiyan said, “I hope you find this an adequate demonstration. I am a Saiyan and as you see, I have achieved the level of Super Saiyan. I'm sorry that your love life must suffer, but Akane is my Fated Mate. The only magic involved in our relationship is the spell she has cast on my heart. I love her more than life itself. I would fight to the death to defend her, even against unwanted romantic overtures. Must I fight you with all the power and skills of a Super Saiyan?”

 

The upperclassman waved his hands in negation. “No, noble warrior, that won't be necessary. But if you weren't sent here to destroy the Earth…”

 

Ranma let out a sigh. “Akane and I are refugees. If the need should arise we will fight to protect our adopted home.”

 

Kuno bowed and said, “Then I am honored that you chose to reveal yourself to me.”

 

With an irritated scowl, Ranma said, “I wish I could say honor was my intention. By chasing after my Fated Mate, you forced my hand. I'm trusting you to not tell people about us. If this became known, it could make life difficult for Akane and me.”

 

“Your secret is safe.” Kuno fell silent for a time. He looked a little embarrassed to be asking, “I wonder if you could tell me… Is Goku a real person?”

 

With a shrug, Ranma replied, “I don't know. I think the author of the manga may have had some kind of psychic vision or something about the Saiyans and maybe about Goku. If the guy does exist it is not on this Earth, but some other version of it. The problem I have is that I don't know how much of the manga and anime is plain truth, how much is poorly seen or distorted truth and how much of it is fiction created for the sake of a good story.”

 

“I understand,” Kuno said, sounding disappointed. “I knew that the world of the anime wasn't this world, but I hoped that it might exist somewhere.”

 

“It probably does,” Ranma speculated. “But wherever it is, I'd be willing to bet that not as much interesting stuff happens for real as there is in the anime or manga. I don't know that I'd want live in a place like that.”

 

Trying to contain his disappointment, the kendoist said in a wistful tone, “I know I will probably never see a place like it. Still I like to imagine fighting the good fight in a desperate battle against overwhelming odds and implacable foes.”

 

More proof of Kuno's mental instability. No sane person would want that kind of life. Shaking his head, the Saiyan boy said, “I've fought demons and I can tell you that whole `fighting against overwhelming odds' is not as much fun as you seem to think.”

 

“Perhaps,” Kuno said, looking unconvinced. There was something else there in his eyes. Ranma wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a bit of hero worship. He hoped that revealing that he was a Saiyan wouldn't come back to bite him on the butt (Or tail in the case of his girl form.)

 

Changing back to normal, Ranma said, “Let's get out of here before people start to wonder what we're doing. If they come to any of the wrong conclusions, my reputation or yours could take a major hit.”

 

When they exited the equipment shed they found the schoolyard empty except for Akane. All the rest had gone inside to class. The Saiyan boy shook his head and said, “I guess it's bucket duty again for me.”

 

The kendo champion shrugged. “It won't be the first time, and likely not the last for me. I will bear it gladly.”

 

As they walked into the school and Kuno went off to his own class, Akane asked, “Did it work?”

 

Ranma glanced at the retreating back of the upperclassman. “I think it might have worked a little too well. I didn't really figure on what meeting a real live Super Saiyan would do to a DBZ otaku. I think you may have lost a wannabe boyfriend and gained a fan.”

 

“A fan?” Akane frowned. “That might be Ok. I suppose a lot would depend on how obsessive he is about it.”

 

With a sigh the Saiyan boy said, “I guess we'll have to wait and see.”

 

At the Saotome home in Juuban, Tendo Soun rang the doorbell. Shortly Genma came to the door. “Welcome old friend. Come in. Nodoka is out shopping right now, so we have privacy. What did you want to talk about?”

 

As he walked into the house, the black haired martial artist said, “Saotome, we must act quickly. Ranma and Akane have declared their love for each other. Ranma has moved into Akane's room. They've had sex. We must get a priest and get them married immediately.”

 

Genma shook his head. “I can understand why you would feel that way. Sit and make yourself comfortable. I think I need to tell you a bit more about the character of the boy you want to force into a marriage.”

 

The Tendo patriarch stood for a moment in shock. He had expected instant agreement, not an invitation to chat. Soun frowned but sat as invited.

 

When his friend was seated, Genma started, “I suspect Akane is the same, but I will start by saying that Ranma is a martial arts prodigy. In fact he's a prodigy at pretty much everything. I suppose he would qualify as a genius if tested.”

 

He paused in thought. “The boy surpassed me in skill a long time ago. By the time he was eight he had learned everything I knew including the Sealed Techniques. You could say that at that point I stopped being a sensei for him and started being a travel planner and training coordinator. From being a teacher for the boy my job changed to finding him masters to train with.”

 

With a shake of his head, Genma continued, “The boy can learn any martial arts move by just seeing it. Usually with one or two tries he will master it and shortly after that he will be adapting it, modifying and improving it.”

 

Soun nodded thoughtfully. “Akane is much the same way. The only difference for her is that the masters she learned from came to my dojo on invitation. In a few cases we went to visit the masters who wouldn't make the trip. I fail to see how this relates to the question of getting our children married.”

 

“I told you that as a sort of introduction to what I mean to tell you,” the bald martial artist explained. “Part of the point I'm trying to make is that I am unable to enforce my will on the boy by any kind of physical punishment. The worst punishment I could inflict on the boy he could shrug off as if I were hitting him with pillows.”

 

“Added to that is the fact that the boy won't be pushed, bullied or coerced. If I tell him to do something that he doesn't want to do, he will simply refuse. Sometimes argument or persuasive words can get him to agree, but rarely. I would also point out that he knows about the tactic of arguing against what you want him to do to try and get him to do it. He is simply too smart to be fooled that way.”

 

Tendo nodded. “I think I start to see what you are getting at.”

 

“I'm not done yet,” insisted Genma. “When I'm around Ranma I can't use the methods the Master trained me in. With him around there is no stealing, no cheating and no peeping on unsuspecting women. He has his own definition of honor and won't compromise it for anyone, even if they say theirs is the honorable position. If someone else has a definition of honor that agrees with or compliments his, then he may bend enough to include their form of honor into his own.”

 

He went on, “A case that illustrates this is the girl, Ukyo. I told her father that Ranma would marry her and for that he put up their yattai as a dowry. I tried to leave the girl behind when we left with the cart. Ranma ran back and fetched the girl and she's been with us ever since. When they decided they were more like brother and sister than fiancés, Nodoka adopted her.”

 

“What exactly does this mean as far as getting the children married?” Soun demanded.

 

Genma explained, “With Ranma you must not demand, you must not try to push him. Even if you are trying to push him into doing something he wants to do anyway, he will dig in his heels and resist you.”

 

The mustachioed martial artist scowled at that. “The way they are with each other and the fact they are already having sex almost demands they marry. What would you suggest?”

“Talk to them. Find out what they want,” Genma replied. “If they are interested in getting married right away, then offer to help them. After all they are under the legal age and can't get married without parental consent. If that is what they want to do, then they will accept your help with gratitude.”

 

“What if they say they aren't ready?” Soun asked.

 

“Then ask when they think they will be ready,” Genma reasonably suggested. “If the time they say isn't too far in the future then try to talk them into moving up the time to now. In your arguments you should point out advantages, don't give orders or tell them `honor demands it.' That approach won't work.”

 

Looking thoughtful, Sound replied, “Hmm. I will think about that.”

 

Saotome shook his head. “I can predict how the argument will end. Ranma will likely say that he already considers himself and Akane married and that a marriage certificate won't make him love her any more than he already does. Likely when they can legally get the certificate without needing parental consent, they will make the formal arrangements.”

 

“But…”

 

Genma shook his head. “Just talk to them. Don't be demanding. Go to them as a concerned parent and ask what their plans are. Approach Akane as if you simply want to find out what is happening in your child's life and wish to support her in her decision. You can point out disadvantages to whatever course they have chosen, and they will likely listen. If you are sufficiently persuasive they may agree to what you want.”

 

“But I'm the parent!” Soun protested. “Akane should do what I tell her to do.”

 

The bald martial artist laughed. “If that's the way you want to approach it, I wish you luck. If Akane is in any way like my Ranma, you will guarantee that she will do what you don't want her to.”

 

Scowling, Soun tried another argument, “You might not feel so forgiving when you hear what they were doing last night.”

 

“Oh? What were they doing?”

 

The man with the mustache said, “They got hold of some magic water that will temporarily turn someone into a sex changer. Ranma claims that `goddess' friend of his gave it to them. Last night they were having sex where Ranma was the girl and Akane was the man.”

 

Genma's eyebrows went up. “That is… disturbing.”

 

“What are you going to do about it?” Soun wanted to know.

 

Taking a few moments to think about it, Genma finally said, “I suppose I'll have to send Nodoka over to give Ranma the girl's lecture on contraception and responsibility. I never thought Ranma would be in need of it.”

 

Soun looked at his friend as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “How can you be so calm about it?”

 

Genma sighed. “I tried to turn Ranma into my ideal of the perfect martial artist. Instead he turned into his own conception of a martial artist. I was shocked and alarmed when he got the curse, but after just a few weeks, he seems to be coping with it. Some boys getting that kind of curse would be constantly fondling their own boobs and masturbating their female organs. Ranma is trying to treat it as if it were not a big deal and he seems to accept the idea. Her having sex with a male Akane I would rate as disturbing, but not really surprising.”

 

“I don't understand you,” Soun wailed.

 

“I've tried to love the boy as if he were truly my own son,” said Genma. “But I understand that not only is he not my natural child, but he is an alien as well. From the way he fought me on some of the things I tried to make him do, I've come to realize that he will grow up different from a `normal' child. That makes it necessary to approach his upbringing in a different way.”

 

“But he's having sex as a girl!”

 

Nodding with a thoughtful expression, “Then I must make sure that my… child knows the risks of an unwanted pregnancy and takes the proper precautions to prevent one. Since he's been a boy all his life before this, I doubt it's something he's considered.”

 

Looking at his friend, Genma offered some advice, “Tendo, if you keep on the way you are, you'll give yourself an ulcer or a heart attack. You should try to take a more relaxed approach to Akane's upbringing and her relationship with Ranma. You'll avoid a lot of stress that way.”

 

“Does this mean you approve of such behavior?”

 

Genma's expression turned sad. Why was his friend having so much of a problem with this? “No, I don't approve. But my disapproval won't stop Ranma from doing those things. If I were to forbid it, they would just find some way to do it anyway. By asking Nodoka to give the lecture on contraception, I show that I still care for the boy… or girl (depending on the temperature of the water.) I don't even know if his girl form can get pregnant, but it is safest to assume it can.”

 

“So you're not going to insist they get married?”

“No. Since it's your daughter, you should ask if they want to.” Genma pointed out.

 

“You're not going to tell Ranma to stop having sex as a girl?”

 

Shaking his head, Genma answered, “I'll ask him… uh, her to stop. If she refuses, then I'll ask her to be careful.”

 

Soun was feeling really confused. He knew he couldn't look for support from his wife on this. She had already given Ranma and Akane the go ahead to proceed with their peculiar love affair even if she had made it clear that she had reservations about it.

 

When Soun left he was feeling really unsatisfied. He just didn't know what to think. It was true that Akane was an alien, but she had grown up on earth. Didn't that mean that she would act the same as any other human? Maybe he was in the wrong for thinking he could force Akane to act like other girls.

 

When Nodoka returned to the Saotome home bearing shopping bags, Genma told her of Tendo Soun's visit. She asked, "You say Ranma's only been able to change into a girl for a few weeks?"

 

"That's right," confirmed Genma.

 

Shaking her head, Nodoka said, "I wouldn't have expected someone who had been raised as a boy to adapt so quickly to having a female side to the point of having sex with a boy."

 

After a pause for further thought, Nodoka asked, "In the time between Ranma's fall into the spring and your arrival back here, was she female the whole time?"

 

"No, not the whole time," supplied Genma. "Because we were out in the back country there wasn't a lot of hot water readily available. We could only get what we heated up ourselves. It rained a lot and that made it harder to spend much time in our birth forms."

 

"In that time did you see any evidence that Ranma's girl form was experiencing a menstrual period?" Nodoka inquired.

 

Genma shook his head again. "No, nothing. I saw no bleeding or blood on any of his... I mean her clothing."

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nodoka explained, "A girl doesn't become fertile until she's had at least one period. If Ranma hasn't had one, she can't get pregnant. That still doesn't mean she shouldn't take precautions. If she gets into bad habits she might fail to take precautions after she has her first period and get pregnant when she's not ready for it."

 

"I don't think Ranma has spent enough time as a girl to even get to that point in her cycle," Genma said.

 

Frowning, Nodoka admonished, "Don't even pretend you know how the magic works. Yes, it is possible that the 'clock' resets every time Ranma changes gender. However, for all you know the clock could just as easily stop when he's male and resume when she's female. If that were the case Ranma's menstruation wouldn't be as regular as a normal girl's and her periods would be farther apart, but she'd still have them."

 

Sighing, the bald man nodded. "I understand. When dealing with something this uncertain, it would be safest to assume Ranma could become pregnant at any time and take precautions to prevent it."

 

Nodoka also sighed. "I will go to the Tendo's house and talk to Ranma right after school. I trust you gave him the talk about taking precautions when he is the man in such situations?"

"Of course I did." Genma was indignant. "I'm not so great a fool as you seem to think."

 

Nodoka patted her husband on the cheek and, With an indulgent chuckle, she replied, "No, not always. Sometimes you are a worse fool and at times you can be quite clever.”

 

Genma grumbled at that.

 

As the Saiyan kids were heading home Nabiki caught up with them and demanded, "What did you do to Kuno, Ranma? He announced that he is ending his pursuit of Akane and that the boys that used to attack her are to leave her alone or 'face his wrath.'"

 

Ranma shrugged. "I had a talk with him this morning. I guess I made more of an impression on him than I thought."

 

Shaking her head, the brunette Tendo sister said, "Impression... I guess. I would have thought it would take a sledge hammer to make an impression on that granite skull of his. What did you say to him?"

 

Frowning, Ranma said, "I'd rather not tell you. What I told him was sort of private to me and Akane."

 

That annoyed Nabiki. "You can tell your secrets to Kuno and you can't tell your future sister-in-law? I'm hurt."

 

With another shrug, Ranma told her, "Sorry about that, but you do have a reputation as a gossip. If I told you, I'd worry that the whole school would know soon."

 

Indignant, Nabiki protested, "I'm not that bad!"

 

Looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow, Akane responded, "Yes you are, Sis. If you think the story is really juicy, you can hardly ever wait to share it with your friends. Given the way your friends are, that's almost as good as publishing an article in the school newspaper."

 

For the rest of the way home, Nabiki pouted. She hadn't told anybody about Ranma's sex changing, had she? She could keep a secret when she thought it would hurt her friends or family to reveal it. It wasn't her fault that kids at school had seem Ranma transform.

 

When the teens arrived at home they found Ranma's mom there. Since they hadn't been expecting to see her except on weekends, Ranma and Ukyo rushed forward to hug her. The red haired mother accepted the attention but shortly said, "Ranma I need to talk to you. Akane, since this involves you as well, I think you need to hear this too."

 

Ukyo snickered. "Busted!" She teased her brother. She was pretty sure she knew what Mom wanted to talk to the fiances about. She headed off to the guest room that was now her bedroom to get a start on her homework.

 

From the serious tone of his mother's voice, Ranma could guess at the subject she wanted to discuss. He figured that Auntie Eiko or maybe Uncle Soun must have talked to her about what she and Akane-kun had been doing the previous night. Well, she better not be telling them to stop, because Ranma wasn't about to do that for anyone.

 

When they were in Akane's room Nodoka took the chair from the desk to sit in while the teens sat on the bed. When everyone was comfortably settled, Nodoka started, "I'm sure you can guess why I'm here. It seems Tendo Soun paid a visit to our home earlier today. He was very concerned about what you were doing and wanted to insist that Genma help him arrange an immediate wedding."

 

"What!" The two teens looked angry.

 

The older Saotome woman made a placating gesture. "Genma talked him out of that. He knows you won't take a step like that until you feel ready. He also knows that you won't be pushed into it prematurely even if you both wanted it."

 

Noting the look of relief on both of the children's faces, the older woman was glad that she had read the situation correctly. She did want to learn more about it. "I'm glad at least that you chose your fiance to give the virginity of your girl form to, Ranma. I hope you know that every girl wants her first time to be special. The trouble is that with many girls they are in so much of a hurry that their first time is anything but special."

 

Ranma looked thoughtful. "Well it was pretty special. But there is something about it that I'm not sure of. From what I've heard of it, the loss of virginity is supposed to come with pain and blood. I had neither of those things. I'm wondering if maybe Saiyan girls don't have virginity the way Earth girls do."

 

"What do you mean, dear?" Nodoka needed clarification.

 

Looking slightly troubled, Ranma explained, "For my first experience of sex as a girl with a man, there was a little discomfort, but there was no pain, no bleeding. I mentioned that to Akane and she told me something about her first female exam."

 

The black haired girl nodded. "Yeah. The OB/GYN who examined me said I didn't have a hymen. At the time I thought he meant that mine had torn from all of the hard exercise I did. Ranma's experience makes me wonder."

 

After a moment to think, she continued, "I don't remember ever feeling any pain in there that could have been caused by my hymen being torn. I never bled from my vagina before my first period. The doctor didn't say my hymen was pierced, torn, shredded or anything like that, he just said I didn't have one. He acted kind of strange when he said it too. He wanted to do more examinations on me, but Eiko-mama said no."

 

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. When she told me about that, I started to wonder if Saiyan girls don't have a hymen. I've only been able to change into a girl for a few weeks. If my hymen had torn in that time I'm sure I would have felt the pain and noticed the bleeding. There was nothing. When Akane entered me for the first time there was none of the pain or blood of 'deflowering' that I've heard described. The little bit of discomfort that I did feel was more like someone who hasn't had sex in a while than a girl who never did before."

Frowning, Nodoka said, "It's a pity that we can't talk to your birth parents to ask them about it."

 

Ranma frowned now too. "Pop said the image of my birth father told him the hologram was interactive but with limited responses. The way he talked about it, I don't think he ever asked it any questions. If we were to dig up the pod now, I wonder if we could ask the computer some questions about how Saiyan anatomy is different from Earth people."

 

"Would the machinery still work after being buried all of these years?" Nodoka wondered.

 

"If the pod draws its power from the stars like the recording said," Ranma said. "Then it would probably draw power from the Sun while it's on earth. That would explain why the stasis device would keep working for as long as it was plugged into the ship. By the way, what did Pop do with the stasis device?"

 

"He took it back to the ship and set it back on the seat before he buried the whole thing," Nodoka explained. "He figured he'd have too much temptation to sell it if it was where he could get at it easily."

 

Ranma nodded. That did make sense. He asked, "Do you suppose Pop could remember where it was well enough to show me? I'd like to dig it up and see if anything still works. Even if I couldn't get it to do more than replay the recording, I'd at least get to look on the face of my birth father."

 

"I can understand that, and you can talk to your father about it later," Nodoka said with some sympathy. "However, I wanted to talk to you about the risk you took. I know that an 'earth girl', as you put it, must have a period before she can become pregnant, but we don't know if that is absolutely true of a Saiyan girl. I'd prefer if the two of you didn't have sex at all. But if you insist on doing it, you must agree to taking all of the precautions as if either one of you could become pregnant. Does either one of you feel ready to take care of a child right now?"

 

Both teens looked at the floor and muttered almost in unison, "No ma'am."

 

"Then if you insist on being sexually active, please promise me that you will use protection," Nodoka pleaded.

 

Looking duly chastened, they both agreed, "Yes ma'am."

 

“You do know what kind of protection I'm talking about, don't you?” the older woman asked.

 

Ranma said, “Urd gave me and Ukyo the complete lecture. She explained the methods and showed us the products and showed us videos of the products being used.”

 

Nodoka sat back in her chair and considered that with both eyebrows high on her forehead. Finally she said, “Well, that may be a bit more thorough than I would have expected.”

 

With a sheepish expression Ranma explained, “I didn't think I would need to worry about it if I changed back to a guy right after.”

 

The redheaded mother sighed. “I suspected you would say something like that. Your transformation into a woman is magic. I would be willing to bet money that you don't know all there is to know about how it works. Changing gender may be sufficient, it may not. Even if that is effective birth control there might be other factors involved. How soon after sex would you need to change? How long would you have to stay in your birth form to completely negate the risk?”

 

He nodded. She was right, he hadn't thought of all of that. He commented, “Maybe we should have talked to those Amazons. It's just that it didn't seem to be a good idea to stay around them when one of them was trying to kill me.”

 

After giving the children a close scrutiny, the red haired mother decided they meant what they said. "Very well. I will trust you in this. I should get back home. I leave with you with some advice I remember hearing when I was young. 'Be good, but if you can't be good, be careful.'"

 

"Yes Mom/Auntie Nodoka," the teens chorused.

 

"Hey mom," Ranma said.

 

"Yes, dear?"

He replied, "Ukyo and I want to go shopping this Sunday. I was wondering if you want to come along."

"Shopping?" Nodoka asked, "Shopping for what?"

 

"Clothes." Ranma explained, "Both of us only have what clothes will fit in a backpack. Since we're going to be settling down (for a while at least) we want some more. Besides that I don't have any clothes at all for my girl form. Boy's clothes don't look all that good on me when I'm a girl and don't fit comfortably."

 

The red headed mother nodded. "I understand. You want to dress properly masculine when a man and feminine when a girl, is that it?"

 

"That's right," Ranma agreed. "Ucchan is too much of a tomboy to give good advice on feminine clothing. I was hoping you could advise us both."

Nodoka wasn't sure she felt comfortable with the idea of Ranma exploring her femininity. Yet she has sworn that she would let Ranma go the way he... she wanted and not try to force him into a mold that fit the concept of what a normal child was supposed to be like. The fact that there was no known cure to the curse meant that her child was likely to have to live with changing gender for the rest of his/her life.

 

"Of course, I'll advise you," Nodoka promised.

 

"Uh... how much money do Ucchan and I have to spend on this?" Ranma wanted to know.

 

"Actually, you're doing pretty well in that regard," the red haired mother assured her child. "The fact that you turned all of your treasures, rewards and bounties over to me to invest is a trust that I took very seriously. You should be pleased to know that your college fund is full and has enough to support you through regular college and graduate school up to a doctor's degree."

 

"Cool," Ranma responded. "How is the spending money account?"

 

With a grin, Nodoka said, "I was fortunate to get some good investment advice. There is actually more in the spending money account than there is in the college fund. You would have to buy an awful lot of clothing to make a serious dent in the account."

 

Akane asked, "Can I come along too? Maybe I can also help you pick out some nice outfits."

 

The older Saotome woman laughed and said, "Sure, the more the merrier. I'll come over Saturday night so we can plan the shopping trip. I figure that we'll want to get an early start so we can get to the stores right as they open."

 

"Sounds like Mom is really liking the idea," Ranma thought.

 

The elder Saotome got up and said, "Well, I've done what I came to do. You have promised me that you will act responsibly and I believe you. I believe you have schoolwork to do, so I will leave you to it."

 

Author's Note: Yes, Genma is very OOC in this. The main reason for that is that he learned early on during the training trip that Ranma wasn't going to be his ticket to a cushy retirement as he believed in canon. Ranma wouldn't bend to his will so he had to adapt. Ranma wouldn't let Genma get away with stealing or his other illegal activities, so he actually became a more decent person than the canon version.