Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Genmas Daughter ❯ 13 ( Chapter 12 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Imported From: RAAC
From: Deborah Goldsmith <dgoldsmith@mac.com>
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Genma's Daughter, Chapter 13: Too Much of a Good Thing

As always, all rights to Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi and
Shougakukan

Genma's Daughter
Chapter 13: Too Much of a Good Thing

By Deborah Goldsmith
Original concept and parts of Chapter 1 by Steve Pardue

Deborah Goldsmith <dgoldsmith@mac.com>
Steve Pardue <spardue@zebra.net>

http://www.zebra.net/~spardue/anime

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ranko's bow drew the last note, but she continued to hold it and her
violin at the ready, her eyes half-closed as if she were in a trance.
She was far, far away, in a place of unearthly beauty, and she was
reluctant to return. For she had made that place herself, following the
blueprints of one Johann Sebastian Bach.

The applause shook her out of it, and she lowered her instrument. Her
Sensei and Murata-Sensei were both clapping their hands furiously.
Murata-sensei stood. "Brava! Magnificent!" Ranko blushed furiously and
studied the floor.

The two teachers came over, and Murata-sensei was still excited.
"Ranko-chan, that was superb. You've mastered it." He shook his head.
"No, not just mastered it. You've even explored it a little on your own,
put a little of yourself into it. That wasn't just Bach by the book, it
was a little bit of you, too. That's the beginnings of what could make
you a great artist." Ranko was a little dazed, but also blushed with
pride.

The professor went and sat down again, still shaking his head.
"Ranko-chan, if you want to come study under me, just say the word. I
would love to work with you."

Ranko wandered over to a desk herself, and sat down. This kind of talk
wasn't terrifying her as it had before; far from it. She didn't know
what she wanted to do yet, it was still a bit overwhelming, but she
found all this... exhilarating. Like the Art, it just went on and on;
there was always something new to learn. She felt it beckoning her to a
lifetime of exploration. Being a martial arts sensei was seeming more
and more like a dream of childhood, something she was outgrowing. She
had changed, and what she wanted out of life had changed, too.

Kobayakawa-sensei brought the conversation back to earth. "Now
Ranko-chan, you need to keep practicing this until the performance. Now
that you've got it mastered, that shouldn't take much time." She thought
a moment. "I would like to give you something new to work on over the
New Year's holiday, too, but you've already gone far beyond the lessons
I had planned out. I'll have to replan where we should go from here.
I'll have something for you after the recital, so for now just practice
the Gavotte en Rondeau and relax a little. You've earned it."

Murata-sensei was beaming. "Yes, indeed." Suddenly he seemed struck by
inspiration. "We should celebrate! I think Ranko-chan deserves a reward
for all that hard work." He smiled at the teenager. "Is there anything
you'd like to do this afternoon, my dear? Just as a little celebration?"

Ranko took a few moments to focus on the question and think; she was
still euphoric after playing. Slowly, a grin split her face. "I would
*really* love a hot fudge sundae right now."

"Hot fudge it shall be!" proclaimed the professor. He shook his head
again. "I still can't believe it. You play like a second- or third-year
student now! Amazing. It must be those martial arts you've been
practicing all your life. I'd love to see you demonstrate them some
time."

Ranko smiled. "How about now?" Both the adults looked at each other,
then back to Ranko. She suppressed a giggle; they looked like children
who had just been invited to the circus.

Ranko looked around the room briefly, then said "Kobayakawa-sensei,
would you mind getting that can of pencils on that desk over there?"
Ranko's teacher complied, her face awash in curiosity. "How many pencils
would you say are in it?"

The older woman looked at the can for a moment. "I'd say around thirty."

Ranko stood. "OK, I want you to throw it at me."

"Throw it at you?!"

"Yes, please. Hold onto the can so only the pencils come at me. Stand
about where you are now." She was about twenty feet from the older woman.

Sensei blinked. "Won't you be hurt? Surely you can't catch them all?"

"If I was still training hard I could catch a few hundred. This should
be OK."

Kobayakawa-sensei boggled, and Murata-sensei leaned forward intently.

Ranko nodded her head. "Whenever you're ready, Sensei."

Kobayakawa-sensei lobbed the can of pencils underhanded, but held onto
the can so the pencils came flying at Ranko in a loose agglomeration,
spreading out like the shot from a shotgun. Ranko shouted "Kachuu
Tenshin Amaguriken!"...

....and both adults gasped as, for all intents and purposes, her arms
disappeared. There was just a vague blur, and then suddenly, Ranko was
holding two fistfuls of pencils. She grinned and curtsied.

Both teachers' jaws hung open for several seconds. Murata-sensei finally
found his voice. "Amazing..." He swallowed. "It's starting to make
sense... You have incredible control over your arms, hands, and
fingers... No wonder..." He smiled. "'Roasting Imperial Chestnut
Attack?' Who taught that to you? Your father?"

Ranko laughed. "No, a one hundred fifty year old Chinese Amazon
matriarch." Their jaws dropped again.

Finally, Kobayakawa-sensei spoke. "I'm think I'm starting to understand
some of the stories I've heard about you, Ranko-chan." She shook her
head and laughed. "What do you say we go for that ice cream?"

Ranko smiled and rushed to put her violin away.

Half an hour later, both teachers were grinning indulgently as Ranko
worked methodically on her second hot fudge sundae. She seemed to be as
intent in attacking it as she had been when playing the violin. No
droplet of ice cream, hot fudge, or whipped cream was so small that it
could be allowed to escape. The spoon scraped every square millimeter of
the dish clean. The adults worked on their rather more modest
confections as they watched.

Finally, Ranko sat back, satiated. It was a good thing she was still
working out in Anything-Goes for an hour every day, or she could never
get away with this. Even so, she'd had to scale back her eating quite a
bit: she just wasn't burning enough calories anymore. She smiled
blissfully, and carefully suppressed a burp that would have been most
unladylike, eliciting laughter from her teachers.

Kobayakawa-sensei suddenly seemed distracted for a moment. "Oh,
Ranko-chan, I almost forgot. If you don't mind my asking, what are your
three sizes? I want to rent a formal gown for you to wear to the
recital. All of my students will be wearing formal wear; it's
traditional." She blushed. "If it embarrasses you you can write your
sizes down rather than say them out loud."

Ranko started to respond, then stopped, a strange look in her eyes.
Slowly, her face broke into a wry grin. "Actually, Sensei, I don't think
you'll need to rent a gown for me..."

*****

It was late afternoon at the Nekohanten, and the dinner rush hadn't
started yet. Shampoo sat at one of the tables doing her homework, her
attention tightly focused. She wrote steadily, pausing occasionally to
look something up in one of the textbooks strewn across the table.
Occasionally, she would put her head in her hands, stare at her work for
a while, then erase something and resume writing.

Cologne watched her great-granddaughter from behind the counter, a
bemused smile on her face. After some initial resistance, Shampoo had
started taking her studies seriously. She was already pestering Cologne
to invest in a computer so she could work on her assignments more
easily. Maybe there was hope for the girl yet.

Cologne looked up as the door chime signaled, and smiled. Ranko was
standing there, still in her Fuurinkan uniform, carrying her briefcase
and violin. She had a shy smile on her face.

Shampoo looked up and smiled as well. "Ranko! Hey girl, what's the
occasion?"

Ranko grinned; Shampoo's Japanese had improved immeasurably, and was now
not only mostly correct but colloquial as well. She and Ucchan had been
hanging out together recently, and it was starting to show in Shampoo's
speech. "I wanted to ask Great-Grandmother something."

Cologne hopped around the counter and into the dining room. "Come in,
child. Have a seat." Ranko joined Shampoo at her table, and Cologne sat
down as well.

"What is it, my dear? Do you need help with something?"

Ranko blushed and shook her head. "No, Great-Grandmother. I... I was
just wondering... if... if you were planning on..." she paused, and took
a deep breath, "on coming to the talent show at Fuurinkan next Tuesday
evening?"

Cologne and Shampoo looked at each other, and Shampoo giggled. "Yes, I
had been planning to attend. Shampoo will be participating."

Ranko was both astonished and happy. "Really?! What are you going to be
doing?"

Shampoo grinned. "That... is a secret."

Ranko was intrigued, but decided not to press. "Anyway... I... my music
sensei is having a recital for her students as part of the show, and...
and I'm going to be one of the students performing, and... I... I wanted
you to be there." She blushed and looked down.

Cologne smiled warmly. Ranko might not be a warrior any more, but she
most definitely had a place in Cologne's heart. "Thank you, my dear. Of
course I'll be there." She thought for a moment. "Why did you want me to
come?"

Ranko looked up at Cologne. "I wanted you to come because if it weren't
for you, I wouldn't be playing the violin."

Cologne laughed. "How could that be? I'm no music sensei!"

Ranko shook her head. "Yes, you are. Let me show you." She opened her
violin case, took her violin out, and prepared it for play, as Shampoo
and Cologne watched intently. They'd never heard her play before.

Finished with her tuning, Ranko raised her violin to her chin and took
up her bow. She wasn't going to play her Bach piece; she wanted to
surprise them with that at the recital. Instead, she ran her mind over
the Tchaikovsky piece her Sensei had originally wanted her to play.
"Watch."

She played the short piece as the two Amazons watched carefully. When
she was done, she lowered her instrument. "Well?"

Cologne nodded thoughtfully. "I see. You've applied the skills I've
taught you to your music. Very interesting." She laughed. "Isn't that
the precept of your family's school? To press any technique at all into
service as needed?"

Ranko's jaw dropped. "You're... you're right. I never thought of it that
way." She smiled. "I guess this counts as 'Anything-Goes', too." She
laughed. "Maybe I'll turn out to be a martial arts violinist after all!"
Shampoo and Cologne looked confused, then shrugged.

"Ranko, is that what you're going to play at the recital?" asked
Shampoo. Ranko shook her head. "Then what *are* you going to play?"

Ranko grinned. "That... is a secret." Both girls burst into giggles.

*****

Ranko smiled at her assembled family. "You're sure you don't want to
wait for the recital?"

Akane shook her head. "I told you I wanted to hear you master this from
beginning to end. You've been holed up in the Dojo, and I've been too
busy with play rehearsal to come out and listen to you." She grinned. "I
want to hear it. Now." There was a loud chorus of agreement from the
rest of the family.

Ranko smiled in resignation. She wished her mother were here, too, but
she'd get to hear it this weekend, since Ranko would be practicing
straight through.

"All right..." She spent a few moments entering the calm state of mind
she needed, then lifted her bow to her violin, and began to play.

There was no movement in the Tendou living room for the next three
minutes or so, and no sound but that of Ranko's violin.

When she was done, her family sat for a few moments, somewhat awed,
before bursting into applause. Akane rushed over and hugged Ranko. "I
knew it. I knew you could do it! Didn't I tell you?" She beamed. "I'm so
proud of you!"

Ranko smiled and blushed, a little teary. She whispered in her sister's
ear, "Thank you for pounding some sense into me when I was ready to give
up," and hugged her back, fiercely.

Inwardly, she worried a little as well. She had come close to losing
control at a few points, though not quite. She definitely still needed
more practice before the recital to get it absolutely perfect. And that
was something she was determined to do.

Kasumi, Nabiki, and Ryouga crowded around her as well, and Nabiki caught
Ranko's gaze. Nabiki was looking at her in a way she had never seen
before. Ranko had seen Nabiki look at her with contempt, with
irritation, with indifference, with avarice, and more recently, with
amused affection and -- amazing given their history -- the love of a big
sister. But this was new: Nabiki was looking at her with respect. Ranko
didn't quite know what to make of that. She blushed, and Nabiki grinned
at her.

"So what now, Ranko?" asked Nabiki. "What's next?"

"I'm not sure. Sensei said she would come up with something for me to
work on after the new year."

Nabiki shook her head. "I mean, where do you go from here, with your
violin?"

Ranko's eyes looked past Nabiki, at nothing in particular. "I... I'm
thinking pretty seriously about becoming a violinist. I'm still not
sure, though." Inwardly, she chided herself for being so indecisive.

The amused smile on Nabiki's face told Ranko that she was not fooling
her big sister. She looked around at the rest of her family, and noticed
the one person whose face held some pain...

Later that evening, Ranko knocked on her father's door. "Come in," she
heard from inside.

She slid the door open, and looked around. The room was not nearly as
intimidating without Happousai's bizarre belongings, most of all his
enormous collection of ladies' underwear. Kasumi had smiled a little
brighter the day she had collected it into a huge pile and burned it.
Ranko was rather looking forward to seeing the old pervert's reaction
when he found out. Assuming he lived that long...

Her father was sitting on his futon. He smiled when he saw her. "What is
it, sweetheart?"

Ranko went over and knelt across from him. "Father, I... I wanted to
talk to you." She gathered her courage. "About the Art."

Genma's face became grim. "Yes?"

She blushed and looked down. "I know you're disappointed. I know you
wanted me to be a great martial artist and a sensei, and I know...
that's not going to happen now." Genma looked away for a moment, trying
to hide his feelings.

"I just wanted you to know that even though I'm not practicing the Art
the way you might want me to any more, I haven't forgotten it. I haven't
put it behind me. It's still a part of everything I do."

Her father looked confused. "I don't understand..."

She moved to sit beside him, and put her hands on her knees. "I'm
talking about my violin. It's not the Art, but somehow, it still is.
Everything I learned from you, I've needed to play the violin. If you
hadn't taught me the Art, I couldn't play it the way I do.

"I stopped by this afternoon to invite Cologne to my recital, and we
talked about it. I asked her to come see me play because she helped me
learn the violin, by teaching me those Amazon techniques. She pointed
out that adapting those skills to the violin was an example of taking a
technique and using it however you could to your advantage. In other
words... our family's school." She tilted her head, and her father's
expression grew thoughtful.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, taking his arm. "I know you feel
like I've forsaken everything you taught me, like all the years you put
into training me are going to waste, and I know that's hurt you. I
wanted you to know that... that I don't think that's the case. I'm not
applying it to martial arts, but I'm still using it, every day. Father,
you, more than anyone else, taught me what I needed to know to play the
violin. And playing the violin is... is what I think I want to do with
my life." She smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Genma smiled back at her, and felt a little bit of his disappointment
leave him. "You're really using what I taught you?"

She nodded. "All of it." She winced. "Well... except the... the..." She
couldn't even say it.

He winced, too. "Right."

They both sighed.

After a time, Ranko started looking around the room once more. It was
rather sparse; like her, her father had not had the luxury of carting
many possessions along on their travels. Her eyes paused on some
photographs on top of the dresser which was the sole piece of furniture
in the room.

She smiled as she saw that they were mostly photographs of her. Her at
age three, peering at the camera with that intensity that seemed
peculiar to small children, a goofy grin on her face. A picture of her
playing her violin, which she hadn't remembered being taken (probably
Nabiki's doing...). The photo Nabiki had taken of she and Ryouga heading
off on their first date. Ranko sighed; it had seemed so innocent, just
one date, to see if they liked it...

Her eyes found the next photo, and she frowned. "Who's..." She stopped.

"Who's who?"

Ranko swallowed. She had been about to ask who the boy was that her
father had a photo of, when she realized it was her. Him. Ranma. She
hadn't even recognized who it was for a few moments. The photo had been
taken less than a year ago, while they were still on the road, shortly
before Jusenkyou.

Though she knew intellectually that she had been a boy, she found she
simply couldn't get her head around the idea any more. As she looked at
the picture, her skin started to crawl. That... that used to be *me*...

Genma was about to repeat his question, but followed her gaze to the
photo, and decided to hold his tongue. Ranko's emotions were always easy
to read, and right now she was radiating discomfort and unhappiness. He
bit his lip as he once again reflected on whose fault that was.

Ranko tried to remember being a boy, and had great difficulty doing so.
Learning the Neko-ken, meeting Ucchan, traveling with her father,
meeting Ryouga, attending Fuurinkan, even Jusenkyou; when she thought
back over her life, she remembered herself as a girl. It made no sense,
but there it was: she even remembered falling into the Nyanniichuan as
Ranko! She could remember everything she had seen, done, and felt as
Ranma, but she couldn't remember *being* him.

If she thought really hard, she could just barely conjure up a memory of
being male. She was sure that in a year or two she wouldn't be able to
do even that. She shivered slightly. Ranma wasn't just dead, he was
being erased. She was glad she hadn't known her memory would play tricks
on her like this, or she would have been even more terrified by the idea
of becoming Ranko again.

She shook herself, and looked up to speak to her father, then stopped:
he was regarding her with a sad, penetrating gaze. She looked at him,
questioning, and he seemed to come to some kind of decision. He reached
one arm around her and held her, her head again leaning into his
shoulder.

"I'm very proud of what you've done with your violin, sweetheart. As
long as you always do your best, I'll always be proud of you, no matter
what you do. You will never disappoint me." He squeezed her a little and
smiled.

Ranko relaxed into his embrace, her worries fading. "Thank you, Father.
That... that means a lot to me." She smiled up at him, and he smiled
back.

They sat that way for a while, until Ranko finally made a motion to get
up. "It's late, Father. I have school tomorrow, and I should let you go
to bed." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you again."

She went to the door and paused, as they smiled at each other one last
time. "O-yasumi nasai." Ranko went out and closed the door behind her,
Genma's "O-yasumi" following her out.

Genma stood and went over to the dresser, and angrily snatched the photo
of Ranma off the top. He stalked over to the wastebasket and held the
picture over it, as if to drop it in. He stood there for a minute, still
holding the portrait, but not moving.

Finally, he seemed to slump a little, his anger leaving him. He walked
slowly back to the dresser, opened a drawer, and gently placed the
photograph inside, face down. He closed the drawer, and leaned on the
dresser, his hand over his eyes.

*****

"Ryouga-kun, come quick!"

Ryouga hurried his pace as he headed towards the Tendou dining area.
Akane's voice had called out in excitement, not alarm, so he wasn't
worried. He was running a little late this morning -- he was still
getting used to the routine of school mornings again.

He had spent so much time in the Tendou home he could even find his way
around, for the most part. As he came down the hall he heard the
television, and Ranko and Akane's voices.

"Oh, look at them!"

"They are sooooo cute!"

"Ryouga, hurry!"

He hurried to the doorway and took in the scene. Ranko, Akane, and
Nabiki were dressed for school, and were watching the TV along with
Kasumi as they ate breakfast. He turned his eyes to the television...

His jaw dropped. "Shirokuro!" His family dog was on TV!

Ranko turned to him. "It *is* your dog, isn't it? I thought I remembered
her, and they said the family name was Hibiki." She turned back. "They
have this program where people can make requests, and Shirokuro was on
it! She had puppies, and they're asking the family to come home." She
sighed. "They're soooo cute... I'd love to hold them." Akane sighed, too.

He looked at the puppies on TV, and felt a pang of homesickness. If only
he could live at home, so he could be there for things like this. But he
couldn't find his way...

Everyone jumped when Ryouga suddenly shouted "YESSSS!!"

Ranko tried to get her nerves back under control. "What... what is it?"

"I can go home! I can live at home! I don't have to be a wanderer any
more!"

Nabiki snorted. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to
figure that out."

Ryouga shrugged. "I'm not used to thinking this way." He slowly broke
into a smile. "But now, all I have to do is put in the address..." He
trailed off, a horrified look spreading over his face.

All four girls were staring at him. "You don't know your own address, do
you?" asked Nabiki.

Ryouga slowly sank to his knees, shaking his head.

Ranko giggled. "Don't worry. I used to take you home all the time in
junior high. I'll take you there after school, and then you can put it
in your gadget." She smiled. "I want to see Shirokuro's puppies, too!"
She turned to Akane. "How about you, Sis?"

Akane shook her head and sighed. "I'd love to, but I have play practice
this afternoon."

Ryouga's heart beat a little faster. There was practically no chance his
parents would be there. He and Ranko could spend some time alone, just
the two of them! He'd show her his home, his room, the souvenirs from
his travels, h-h-his b-bed... He wrenched his mind away from that train
of thought just in time to avert a major nosebleed.

He swallowed. "Thanks. It... it'll be nice to go home. I don't think
I've been there in a year."

The girls peered at him in shock. "That long?" whispered Ranko.

He moved to the table, and Kasumi started to serve him some rice. "Yeah.
Usually I can make it there every few months, but not this year. I
didn't even know Shirokuro was going to have puppies. Haven't seen Mom
or Dad in a while, either." He sighed. "They're not likely to be there.
They have the same problem I do with my sense of direction. Most of the
time when I make it home, there's no one there."

Ranko felt her heart ache in sympathy. "You must be lonely."

Ryouga shrugged, and picked up the rice bowl which Kasumi had placed in
front of him. "I got used to it." He lifted a bite with his chopsticks,
but paused, grinning. "Besides, I'm not as lonely these days."

Ranko blushed furiously as her sisters grinned.

*****

Ryouga was standing at the school gates, his patience wearing a little
thin. He had just checked his watch -- again -- when he saw Ranko come
out the doors of Fuurinkan with her friends. She waved to them, and
hurried in his direction, a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry... I got held up."

He shook his head, smiling. "It's OK. It's been a year. Five more
minutes won't hurt."

They turned and walked out the gates. Ranko furrowed her brow and looked
up and down the street. "Let's see..." She nodded to herself. "This
way!" They set off.

As they walked, their hands found each other. Ranko smiled up at Ryouga
and he smiled back; she briefly pressed her head against his shoulder.
For a few blocks, they didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Ranko came to a stop. "Uh oh."

"What is it?"

"I... I only remember the shortcut."

"Is that a problem?"

She blushed. "It's a problem if you're wearing a dress. It's over the
rooftops." She grinned. "I never had to worry about what I was wearing
before."

He bit his lip. "You don't remember the way through the streets?" She
shook her head.

Suddenly he smiled. "I have an idea."

"What?"

Without another word, Ryouga scooped her up, holding her in his arms.
Ranko let out a shriek, nearly causing him to drop her.

"What's wrong?" I can't believe how *light* she is...

Ranko gulped. "N-nothing. You just caught me by surprise, is all." She
felt overwhelmed; she had never been held like this by anyone, not since
she was a small child. Instinctively, she put her arms around his neck.
As she overcame her shock, a rather nice feeling started to spread
through her. A dreamy smile came over her face, and she nestled a little
closer to him.

"Which way?"

She shook herself out of the pleasant distraction, and took one arm off
his neck for a moment to point to the rooftops: "That way." With that,
he leapt, and Ranko found that being carried through the air in
someone's arms was nothing like doing the acrobatics yourself. Not being
in control made it a lot more nerve-wracking. No wonder Akane had
complained all the time...

Still, something about being in Ryouga's arms prevented her from
protesting... She tried to focus on giving him directions and not on the
strong arms that cradled her gently as they flew over the rooftops of
Nerima. She wasn't entirely successful, and found herself being
mesmerized by the experience.

Despite this, they stayed more or less on course, and eventually came to
a series of pilings crossing a canal. Ryouga scanned them warily. "That
way?"

"Yes. Sorry about this..."

He grinned his fang-toothed grin. "No problem." With that he started
leaping from piling to piling. Ranko wasn't worried; she knew Ryouga was
as good as she had been. Something started nagging at her mind, though...

Suddenly she gasped. "Ryouga, the fifth piling! It's..."

There was a crack as the piling collapsed under their combined weight
and they both landed in the river.

Ranko spit out some water. "...rotten."

Ryouga tugged at the sleeves on her suddenly oversized, very wet school
jacket and snorted. "Yeah."

Ranko flushed and lowered her eyes. "Gomen..."

Ryouga shook her head. "It's OK." She noticed that Ranko was starting to
shiver. That's right, she gets cold really easily. Come to think of it,
I'm getting colder than I usually do as a guy. "Come on, let's get out
of this river." The two waded over to shore.

They spent a few moments squeezing their clothes out a bit. Ryouga bit
her lip as Ranko started to sneeze repeatedly. "We'd better get moving.
That will warm you up."

Ranko nodded, and they set off running. After a short while, Ranko came
to an abrupt halt, leaning heavily against a wall and holding one of her
calves. "Owwww..."

Ryouga flashed to her side. "What is it?"

"My... my leg. It's cramping up from the cold." She shivered again, and
looked like she was turning pale.

Ryouga was starting to really worry. "I'll carry you again." With that,
she once again swept Ranko up in her arms, noting that she didn't seem
quite as lightweight as before. She was somewhat waterlogged, and Ryouga
wasn't as strong as she was as a boy.

Still, they were not far from the Hibiki home, and as they came up the
street a black and white blur came charging to meet them.

Ryouga gently set Ranko down and kneeled with her arms open. "Shirokuro!
Here girl!" Shirokuro leapt into her master's embrace, seemingly not
even aware that he was currently a girl. Ryouga hugged her dog fiercely,
quiet joy on her face. Ranko forgot her chills for a moment and enjoyed
the reunion. He's been away from home so much... She wiped a tear away.

Ranko's sneeze caused Ryouga to break the embrace and stand up. "Let's
get inside." With Shirokuro trotting beside them, wagging her tail
furiously, they walked up to Ryouga's front door.

"Just a minute." She pulled her GPS receiver out of her pocket; thank
goodness Nabiki had gotten the water-resistant model. She punched the
button to record her current location, and entered a name for it: Home.
Ryouga suddenly found herself fighting back tears of her own. Home...
I'm home...

A short, happy bark from Shirokuro shook her out of it. She slid the
door open with a huge smile on her face, and as they stepped inside to
take off their shoes she called out "Tadaima!"

She turned to Ranko. "I just like saying it, really. There's almost no
chance Mom and Dad..." She stopped, her eyes bugging out, when a call of
"O-kaeri!" came drifting back down the hall. Soon thereafter, a
middle-aged man and woman appeared, the woman carrying a dishtowel; she
must have come from the kitchen.

Ranko's suspicions were confirmed when Ryouga stepped forward, shock on
her face. "Mom? Dad? What on Earth are you doing here?! And at the same
time!"

Ryouga's father turned to her mother. "Aneha? Does Ryouga have a little
sister?"

"No, dear."

Her father nodded. "That's what I thought, but I wanted to check.
Thought I might have missed another kid while I was gone." He turned to
the two girls standing in the genkan. "I'm sorry, young lady, but I
think you have the wrong house. This is the Hibiki residence." He looked
thoughtful for a moment. "At least, I'm pretty sure..."

Ryouga sighed in exasperation. "I know! It's me, Dad! Ryouga!"

Ryouga's father frowned. "Aneha, was Ryouga a girl?" His wife shook her
head. "Didn't think so." He turned back to the visitors, and was about
to ask what was going on, when Ranko sneezed again.

Ryouga's mother took a closer look. "Why, the two of you are soaking
wet, and in this chilly weather!" She noticed Ranko's color. "You poor
thing! You'll catch cold." She turned to her husband. "Youshi, dear..."

He sighed. "I suppose so."

Aneha clucked as she ushered them into the living room, and rushed to
and fro, wrapping them in big fluffy towels and warm blankets as her
husband watched silently. In short order they were seated, and she came
hurrying back with a steaming basin of hot water. She set it gently in
front of Ranko, who was shivering uncontrollably. "Now dear, I want you
to put your feet in there this instant."

Ranko was all too happy to comply, and let out an involuntary sigh as
warmth started to flow into her. She shivered once more, hard, then
stopped. She clutched the towel more tightly about herself, and smiled
in deep gratitude to her hostess, who beamed in return.

Aneha went to fetch another basin, which she set in front of Ryouga.
"You too, young lady."

Ryouga bit her lip. "Yes, Mom." This was going to be interesting.

Youshi shook his head as Ryouga put her feet in the basin. "Young lady,
it's more than a little rude to be calling us..." he trailed off as he
noticed what was happening.

After a long, long pause, Ryouga's mother whispered "Ryou-chan? Oh,
Kami-sama, what has happened to you?"

Ryouga sighed. "It's a long story, Mom. The short version is, I was
cursed in China. I turn into a girl when I get splashed with cold water,
but hot water turns me back into a boy."

His parents looked to be in shock. His mother came over to embrace him.
"Oh, you poor thing!"

Ryouga shook his head. "It's OK, Mom, really. I've learned to live with
it."

Ranko smiled. This was a long way from "You've made my life hell!" She
was proud of him.

She sneezed again, which drew the Hibikis' attention. She saw Ryouga's
mother scrutinizing her; you could almost hear the gears whirring as the
older woman realized that this redhead was not a girl who had been
accompanying another girl, this redhead was a girl who had been
accompanying her *son*. Ryouga's curse receded somewhat in the face of
this vital information.

"Ryou-chan, won't you introduce us to your pretty young friend?" Ranko
blushed.

"Ummm, Mom, Dad, this is Saotome Ranko. She's... she's my, ummm,
girlfriend. We're... we're dating."

Ranko felt the level of scrutiny ratchet up several more notches, now
including Ryouga's father. She shivered again as she realized she was
being introduced to her boyfriend's parents while looking like something
that had been dredged out of a river. Literally.

Ryouga's mother smiled a smile which Ranko thought had a touch of the
predatory about it. "How nice! Ranko-chan, I'm so happy to meet you!"

Ranko felt like a frog facing a classroom full of fifth graders. She
bowed her head politely. "It's very nice to meet you, Hibiki-sama."

Meanwhile, Youshi was thinking, his brow furrowed. "Saotome...
Saotome... I know I've heard that name..."

Aneha's face lit up. "Oh, I remember! That boy who was a friend of
Ryou-chan's in junior high. Saotome Ranma, wasn't it? Such a sweet boy!
He always used to bring you home." Her face clouded. "But you always
seemed to be so mad at him over such trivial things." Ryouga looked
down, ashamed.

Aneha peered at Ranko. "Are you related to him? Now that I think of it,
there's quite a resemblance, and your names are so similar."

Ranko turned bright red and stared at the floor. Ryouga looked to his
embarrassed girlfriend, then turned to his parents. "Mom? Dad? Remember
how I said it was a long story?" They both nodded. "I think it's time to
tell it."

*****

A half hour later, Ryouga's parents were still struggling to take in
everything their son and his girlfriend had told them.

"Now let me get this straight. You used to turn into a duck?"

Ryouga shook his head. "No Dad, that's Mousse. He turns into a duck. I
used to turn into a little black piglet."

"And Ranko-chan here used to be a boy, your classmate, Ranma. And her
father turns into a panda."

Ranko nodded, embarrassed. "Y-yes, Hibiki-sama. I was a girl when I was
born, but when I was four I got turned into a boy."

"And you thought you were a boy who turned into a girl, but you
discovered that you were a girl who turned into a boy."

"Th-that's right. And now I'm a girl all the time. I don't turn into a
boy any more." Ranko's stomach was churning. What if Ryouga's parents
saw her as some kind of perverted boy, rather than a girl?

Youshi rubbed his eyes. "I think I have a headache."

Aneha had been quietly watching Ranko the entire time. The revelation
that Ranko had spent twelve years as a boy had shocked them both, beyond
even their shock over the curses, but as she watched, she couldn't see
that Ranko was anything but a girl, and a very sweet girl, too. On top
of that, she was quite a beauty.

Aneha was a pragmatist.

She hadn't missed the glances between her son and his girlfriend. Ranko
seemed shy and uncertain -- which certainly made sense given her
background -- but they clearly cared for each other. Their behavior said
they were well past the stage of casual dating. Plans started to form in
her mind. The two teenagers were still a little young, but this looked
promising.

Ranko was currently holding two of Shirokuro's puppies in her lap, and
stroking them nervously as Ryouga told his story. Shirokuro sat by her
side, apparently approving of her master's taste. Aneha smiled. Ranko
was so shy, she was still tinged pink from embarrassment.

Suddenly, her gaze narrowed. It wasn't embarrassment: Ranko was
shivering, despite the fact that she was dry and warm now.

Ryouga was in the middle of telling how he had attacked Ranko on the
beach when Aneha got up and went over to the diminutive redhead.
"Ranko-chan, are you feeling all right?"

Ranko looked up at her with a slightly dazed look in her eyes, and Aneha
put a hand to her forehead. "I thought so. You have a mild fever, dear."

That brought Ryouga up short. "What?" Ranko was sick? Ranma had almost
never gotten sick! He felt a pang of guilt, even though he knew it
wasn't his fault they had fallen in the river.

Ranko shook her head. "I'm fine, really." She put down the puppies,
stood up, and swayed as the room swam about her.

Aneha took her firmly by the arm. "You're ill, dear. You should at least
lie down for a while."

"O-OK..." It seemed like a good idea; some time lying down would let her
focus her ki and fight off the illness. She allowed herself to be led
upstairs to Ryouga's room, where Aneha helped her undress and get into
bed. Ryouga's mother watched surreptitiously, and noted with relief that
Ranko was definitely a girl.

Shirokuro and some of the puppies had followed, and Ryouga's dog lay her
head on Ranko, looking up into her face. Ranko smiled and stroked her a
few times. Shirokuro whimpered and lay down on the floor next to the
bed. Aneha smiled at all this, and went out to fetch some things.

Ryouga came in as his mother went out, and reflected wryly that while he
had thought about Ranko being in his bed, this wasn't what he had had in
mind. He sat next to her and took her hand. He gave it a squeeze, and
she squeezed back; they smiled at each other. Ranko mused over how much
she and Ryouga could say to each other these days without uttering a
word.

She looked around the room; it was filled with souvenirs from all over
Japan. "Somehow, I thought it would be a little more like the room of a
warrior." She smiled.

"It seems like the only times I'm here are to drop off souvenirs." He
smiled. "I guess now that I'll be living here the room needs some work."

Aneha returned with some tea and cold compresses, and set about
ministering to Ranko.

Ranko smiled gratefully; she felt much more comfortable, and was sure
she'd feel better with a little rest. "Thank you, Hibiki-sama. You're
very kind."

Ryouga's mother shook her head. "Think nothing of it, dear." She winked.
"You're practically a member of the family, anyway." Ranko turned pale.

Aneha paused for a moment. "And please call me Mother."

Ranko's eyes rolled up, and her head lolled to the side.

Aneha turned to Ryouga, who had his hand over his eyes and was shaking
his head. "My, I guess she was feeling worse than I thought. The poor
dear just passed out."

*****

Ranko walked slowly up the aisle, clinging to her father's arm. She
blushed as the crowd made appreciative comments on what a beautiful
bride she was. She was glad she had found the gown she had seen on page
110 of Graceful Wedding. As they approached the altar, she saw Akane,
Nabiki, and Kasumi, her bridesmaids. They were all smiling at her and
crying, even Nabiki.

And there was Ryouga. He was standing there, elegantly dressed, but
still wearing one of his ratty bandannas. His face was filled with
wonder as he watched her walk the last few steps; his eyes were full of
love. She felt her heart beat a little faster. He looked so handsome...

She handed her bouquet to Akane, her maid of honor, and a look passed
between the two of them, a look of love and friendship and
understanding. A look that said they would always be sisters.

She turned to face the minister, and the ceremony began. "Do you, Hibiki
Ryouga, take Saotome Ranko to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to
hold, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

Ranko didn't think Ryouga could look any happier. "I do."

The minister turned to Ranko. "And do you, Saotome Ranko, take Hibiki
Ryouga to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love
and to cherish, and to be the okami-san, until death do you part?"

"What?" asked Ranko, confused.

Suddenly she was wearing an apron and standing in a shop. The wedding
had disappeared, and she was facing Ryouga's mother.

"To be the okami-san, of course! We have a family tofu business, and
Ryou-chan is our eldest son. Naturally, he'll take over the business,
and you'll be the okami-san!"

"But... but..."

"It's certainly hard work, getting up at 4 AM to make tofu every day! Of
course, you'll have to take care of the children, too."

"What? What children?"

Suddenly, she was surrounded by what seemed like a horde of little
red-headed, fang-toothed children, clinging to her apron. "Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy!"

One of them, a little girl, tugged on her sleeve and said urgently
"Mommy? I need to go to the bathroom... but I can't find it!"

Ranko looked around, even more confused. "But... but what about college?
What about my violin?"

"College? You don't even need to finish high school!" Ryouga's mother
held up the instrument in question. "And this? You won't be needing it
any more."

"What?..." whispered Ranko.

And with that, Ryouga's mother snapped the violin in two over her knee.

"NOOOOOO!!" screamed Ranko, rising partway out of the bed. Weak and
disoriented, she fell back down on the pillow, and looked wildly about.
She was in a strange room, in the dark. She was panting and covered in a
cold sweat. Where... where am I...

Suddenly the door slammed open and the lights came on, and Ryouga was
standing there, his hand on the light switch. "What is it? What
happened?" Ranko looked at him, and he gulped; there was terror in her
eyes. He rushed over to the bed and sat down next to her, taking her
hand.

"Ryou... Ryougaaaaa...." Suddenly, she was sobbing, clutching at him,
and he took her in his arms, stroking her hair and murmuring comforting
words. He was relieved to note that her temperature seemed to be back to
normal.

"Shhhh... it's OK... I'm here... I'm here..."

"Where... where am I?"

"In my room. You passed out, and we decided to let you sleep a little."

"How long... ?"

"A couple of hours. It's not quite dinner time yet. I called the Tendous
and let Kasumi and your mom know what was going on." Ranko seemed to be
calming down. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare?" He'd heard
about Ranko's nightmares from Akane.

Ranko nodded shakily.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Oh sure, Ryouga, I had a nightmare that I married you. "N-no... not
really. I don't want to think about it." But I ought to...

"Do you feel up to coming down to dinner?"

Ranko focused her attention on her body, and decided she was well
enough. The sleep had allowed her to recover somewhat, nightmares
notwithstanding. "Yes, I think so."

Ryouga nodded towards the closet door, where her Fuurinkan uniform was
neatly hung. "My mom cleaned it for you already." He grinned. "She's
ruthlessly efficient."

She managed to smile. "OK, I'll get dressed." He nodded and got up to
leave. "Ryouga?"

He stopped at the door and turned around. "What?"

She swallowed. "What does your father do for a living?"

Ryouga blinked. "Ummm... He's a salaryman." He grinned. "He makes
surprise inspections. No one ever knows when or where he'll show up.
Even him. Why?"

Ranko sagged in relief. "Just curious." Ryouga nodded and left, looking
puzzled.

A few minutes later, all eyes turned to Ranko as she descended the
stairs, and Shirokuro got up and trotted over to nuzzle her hand. Ranko
smiled and scratched her behind the ears.

"Are you feeling better, Ranko-chan?" Ryouga's mother was leaning out of
the kitchen doorway, all concern.

"Much, thank you."

"Won't you have dinner before you go home? You're welcome to spend the
night, too, if you like."

"I'd love to stay for dinner. You're very kind, but afterwards I really
should go home and practice my violin. I have a recital next Tuesday
evening, and I still need to work on it a bit more. Plus I haven't done
my homework yet."

Aneha furrowed her brow. "Are you sure you're up to going home tonight?
I'd hate to see you get sick again."

Ranko nodded. "I don't stay sick for long. I feel fine, really."

Aneha smiled in resignation. "Well, why don't you all come in and sit
down, then? Dinner is ready."

They took their places at the table in the kitchen, Ranko sitting next
to Ryouga. Ranko felt a little nervous; she had come over to see
Shirokuro's puppies, not to meet and have dinner with Ryouga's parents.
Though they seemed nice enough...

Ryouga's mother served everyone, and after a quick "Itadakimasu!" they
began to eat.

Ranko thought of something. "I hope you won't think me rude, but I'm
curious. Ryouga said you all have the same problem he does with your
sense of direction. He wasn't expecting you to be here. I'm curious
about what happened."

Ryouga and his parents looked at each other, and burst out laughing. His
father stood, and walked over to a table under the telephone. He opened
a drawer and pulled out two small boxes, and held them up.

"GX-750. Last year's model." He grinned, and Ranko giggled. "I just have
to remember to take it with me. Forgot it once and didn't make it back
for two months." He put the units away and returned to the table.

Ryouga's mother spoke up. "We were hoping Ryou-chan would find out about
these little gadgets and come home. They've been a lifesaver for us."
She beamed. "It's so wonderful to be a family again."

Ranko's smile remained, but the life went out of it, and she lowered her
eyes. Ryouga gave a pointed look to his mother, and her face fell. "I'm
sorry, Ranko-chan. Ryou-chan told us more about you while you were
sleeping. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

Ranko looked up again, a small but genuine smile on her face. "There's
no need to apologize. I'm happy for all of you. I know Ryouga's been
lonely, living on the road all the time."

Youshi grinned. "He doesn't seem to be lonely any more. I don't think he
stopped talking about you the whole time you were asleep."

Ryouga exclaimed "Dad!", and both teenagers blushed and looked down.

Aneha chimed in, "You're obviously a very special young lady, dear. I'm
glad that you and Ryou-chan were able to overcome your history
together." Ranko was blushing furiously.

"Ryou-chan told us all about your violin. I would love to hear you play!
Would you mind if we came to your recital next Tuesday evening?"

Ranko perked up somewhat. "Of course not! I'd love for you to come."

"Ryouga tells us that your teachers think you are going to be a great
violinist."

Ranko blushed again, and looked down. "I... I don't know... I do like
it, though. Right now, I'm thinking very seriously of becoming a
violinist, though I don't know if I would be great or not."

Aneha shook her head. "In my day, women rarely had careers. I'm glad
younger women have the opportunity these days." She laughed. "I never
thought my son would be a stay-at-home father, though."

Ranko stopped eating, holding her chopsticks in midair and staring at
nothing in particular. Ryouga stared at his mother, and prayed silently,
Mom, please shut up.

"Well, I think it would be wonderful to have a daughter-in-law who was a
famous violinist. I'm not one of these stuffy middle-aged ladies who
would be offended by their daughter-in-law being successful." Ranko
still hadn't moved a muscle. "You are a wonderful girl, dear. Ryouga's
father and I are very impressed with you." Aneha was beaming.

Ranko spoke, her voice somewhat flat. "Thank you, Hibiki-sama. You're
very kind."

"Please call me Mother, dear."

*****

"We're married."

"Huh?" Ryouga was confused. He had been walking Ranko home, and she had
been uncharacteristically silent up until now. He was a bit worried; he
knew his mother had unnerved her.

"We're married. We haven't had a ceremony, you haven't even proposed to
me, we're still only 16, but we're married. At least, as far as everyone
else is concerned. You, your parents, my friends, even Akane and my
mother. We haven't even gone on a second date yet, but we're married!"

Ryouga shook his head. "I'm not going to push you into anything."

"You don't have to! Everyone else is doing it for you. I'm sure they're
already picking out dishtowels for us."

"Why is this bugging you so much? Let them think what they want, and
we'll do what we want to."

She shook her head. "Don't you see? It's the pressure."

"Pressure?"

"It's just like the engagement to Akane. I thought we were just visiting
my father's friends, and the next thing I knew I was engaged. I thought
you and I were just going to try dating, and the next thing I knew we
were practically engaged. Why does it have to be like this?"

Ryouga was getting seriously confused. "It doesn't have to be like
anything."

"Oh, really? Then let's prove it. Let's take a break from each other.
Let's try dating other people."

Ryouga stopped. "What?" he whispered.

Ranko swallowed. Suddenly, this didn't seem like such a great idea. "I
said, let's try dating other people. If... if we're not already engaged,
th-then that should be OK, right?"

Ryouga was staring at her. "I don't want to date anyone else. I love
you. Not anyone else, you. I... I couldn't love anyone else." He
swallowed. "Do... do you want to date other people?" He looked crushed.

Ranko's heart wrenched. She tried to fight down the feeling that she was
making a horrible mistake. Something inside her was screaming for her to
stop, to apologize, to tell him that she... that she... "I... I don't
know. M-maybe..." Her eyes darted to and fro, avoiding his gaze. "For
once, I want to feel like I have a *choice*."

Ryouga felt himself getting angry, and felt powerless to stop it. "You
mean like when you had three fiancees? That kind of choice?" He
regretted the words the instant he uttered them, and he watched,
horrified, as surprise, shock, and pain played out across Ranko's face.
He could see each distinct emotion take form in her expressive eyes. It
was kind of like watching a train wreck in slow motion. And knowing you
were the one who caused it.

Tears started to spill down Ranko's cheeks. "Do you think I *wanted*
that? They were all *girls*! I didn't want *any* of them as fiancees! I
couldn't tell any of them that because I didn't want to hurt their
feelings, and... and because I couldn't admit to myself that I felt like
a girl inside!" She shook her head slowly. "And... and you think that
I..." She choked up. "Ryouga no baka!" she wailed, then turned and ran.

Ryouga sank to his knees, and watched her go. "You're right," he
whispered. "Ryouga no baka."

*****

End Chapter 13