Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Of Mothers, Of Fathers ❯ Shattered Lives ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
Ranma and Akane arrive home to inform everyone of the cursed blessing.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Martial Arts / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 01.18.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed
Ranma and Akane arrive home to inform everyone of the cursed blessing.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Martial Arts / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 01.18.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed
Of Mothers, Of Fathers
By: Lord Archive
Characters are own Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan and are used without permission. All rights reserved.
While this is technically a sequel to 'Nekoken is Out of the Bag?!,' it is not necessary to read that series to understand what is going on here.
While I am working on finishing the first few chapters, this is still an incomplete series and is unlikely to be finished any time soon. It was posted to better complete Nekoken.
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Chapter 2 - Shattered Lives
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Kasumi was a little surprised to hear the front door open. She didn't expect any one to be visiting this early in the day, especially considering Ranma and Akane were still on their honeymoon and it was raining rather hard now. A frown formed on her face when she heard female Ranma sadly call, "We're home." They were a couple days early which meant something went wrong. She grabbed a teakettle and went to greet them at the door.
Kasumi stopped cold when she saw Ranma, Ukyou, and some guy with blue hair. She held out the kettle for Ranma to take, and nervously asked, "Where's Akane?"
Ranma hesitated before taking the teakettle and handed it to the man.
With a sigh, the guy took the kettle and poured it over himself. "I'm here, Kasumi," Akane said from where the man had stood a second before.
"Oh, gods!" Kasumi gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
Everyone followed Ranma to the dining room where the remaining members of the Saotome and Tendo clans were eating breakfast. The girl took one look at Nodoka before latching desperately to her mother while sobbing hard.
This startled everyone in the room. No one thought Ranma would ever cry like that.
"Ranma, what's wrong?" Nodoka asked, very concerned.
Ranma couldn't answer through her tear soaked sobs. When she felt Akane's hand touch her shoulder, Ranma jumped away, shouting vehemently, "Don't touch me!"
"Ranma, please," Akane said with tears in her eyes.
"Please what?! This is all your fault! My life is hell now. As bad as it was before, it's now a hell of a lot worse!" Ranma yelled.
"This isn't easy for me either," Akane retorted.
Ranma clenched her fists, looking ready to punch her new spouse. "How can you say that? It is easy for you!"
Akane's eyes first went wide and then narrowed in anger, not believing her spouse would even think that this situation would be easy for her.
Before another word could be said, a mighty blow to Ranma's head sent the hysteric girl to the ground.
Everyone stared at Ukyou as she hefted her combat spatula. "Excuse me. I need to have a little talk with Ranma." She picked up the unconscious girl and left.
Something definitely wasn't right, as Ranma was crying like a girl, and Ukyou had hit Ranma, not Akane.
Nodoka shook her head, trying to clear it. "Akane, what was that all about?"
Akane sat at the dining table and sobbed lightly. "I-I think it'll be better if we wait for Ranma before we explain." She knew this was hurting her spouse, but this was in no way easy for her to deal with either.
Kasumi was at a loss. Akane seemed to be cursed and Ranma had made no move to turn back into a guy.
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Ranma woke up in her and Akane's room, rubbing her head. "What did you do that for?"
"Because you were being a jackass," Ukyou remarked bitterly.
"How so?" Ranma scowled.
"You said it was easy for Akane. I have news for you, it isn't," Ukyou hissed out.
"Oh really. She's not the one who's pregnant. She's not the one who has to carry a kid around for the next nine months!" Ranma shout out.
Ukyou clenched her weapon tightly. "She's cursed now! Are you going to tell me that's easy for her?!"
Ranma deflated slightly, but not much. "Well, no. But she's got it easy compared to me. At least she was a macho chick before being cursed to turn into a guy. I got cursed to turn into a girl and I'm suppose to be a man amongst men."
"We both know better than anyone that changing ones gender isn't easy. Akane will now have to adjust to being a guy. It was hard for me to do that. I can't begin to think how hard it'll be for her because her change is more than just social," Ukyou pointed out.
"It's still easier for her. She isn't the one who's pregnant!" Ranma hissed out.
Ukyou sighed. "Tell me Ranma. What do you think would happen if it was Akane who got pregnant?"
Ranma folded her arms. "She'd blame me."
"Yeah, and she'd probably say it was easy for you too," Ukyou returned.
"Right." Ranma nodded smugly, seeing as the girl was now agreeing with her.
"But would it be that much easier for you?" Ukyou demanded.
Ranma almost said it would be, but the glare Ukyou gave her caused her to hold her tongue. She thought for a moment. "No. It wouldn't really be easier. I'd still have to help Akane through the pregnancy and raise the kid. But I'm a guy, this is worse than if she got pregnant."
"You're right, it is worse. For both of you. Akane would prefer it if she was pregnant," Ukyou told her.
"Yeah, right." Ranma huffed. "She's better off because she doesn't have to go through it."
"Is she?" Ukyou snarled. "Ranma, she was raised a girl. She was raised to be a mother. Wanting to have children is part of being a girl. Do you think she likes the idea of being a father any more than you like the idea of being a mother?"
Ranma stared at the floor. "She might."
"Look at these," Ukyou snapped.
Ranma glanced up and saw Ukyou pointing to some dolls and stuff animals. "What about them?"
"These dolls and stuff animals represent children. When Akane was a child she would treat them like she would a child." Ukyou turn her glare back at the girl. "How did Akane treat Ryoga when he was her pet pig? She was very protective of him, feed him, and pretty much babied him, didn't she?"
"Um, yeah. Now she gets the chance of being a mother without having to give birth," Ranma muttered out.
Ukyou was ready to smack Ranma with the spatula again. "Part of being a mother IS to give birth. No matter how much she cares for her child, she'll always be the father and not the mother. You may have your child call her mother, but Akane will know that's false."
"I'll always be the mother." Ranma started to cry.
Ukyou hugged her tightly, and started to cry also. The same might be said for herself.
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Ukyou and Ranma returned to the dining room to find everyone trying to get Akane to tell them what happened. She just sat there, still crying lightly.
"Akane... I'm sorry for saying it's easy for you," Ranma muttered meekly.
Akane stood up and approached Ranma. "It's all right. As bad as it is for me, this is harder for you."
Ranma hugged Akane, tears in her eyes.
Genma, grumbling about having such an 'unmanly son,' dumped hot water over her. Almost everyone gasped when Ranma didn't change.
"What happened? Why didn't he turn back into a guy?" Nodoka nervously asked.
"Shall I explain it?" Akane asked, still hugging Ranma.
Ranma nodded, releasing the hug but kept holding her spouse's hand.
Akane sighed, feeling very uncomfortable with everyone's eyes one her. "Ranma won't be able to change back into a guy for about the next ten months." She closed her eyes tightly. "The reason he can't is because... he's... pregnant."
"WHAT?!?" echoed throughout Nerima from a chorus of several voices.
"What do you mean Ranma is pregnant? Don't you mean you're pregnant?" Nodoka asked in disbelief.
Akane shook her head. "I wish I did mean that, but it is Ranma who's pregnant, not me."
"W-who's the father?" Genma stammered.
"I-I am," Akane answered.
"How can you be the father?" Soun demanded.
"Shampoo gave me some Instant Spring of Drowned Man as a wedding present... and... well... I used it during the honeymoon." Akane blushed deep red. "Ranma stayed in girl form long enough for conception to take place, and now he's pregnant. He can't change back until his body returns to a certain chemical balance, about a month after he gives birth."
Genma folded his arms. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a problem to solve. All Ranma has to do is get an abortion."
Ranma gritted her teeth. "As much as I want to, I can't do that. The Old Ghoul told us that getting an abortion wouldn't lift the lock on my curse. I have to give birth to be sure that I'll ever be a guy again." Ranma started to cry again, and was pulled into a comforting hug from her spouse.
Ukyou watched them, and started to cry too.
Nodoka was stunned, she wanted a grandchild, but not that way.
Genma was unnerved, his son, whom he raised to be a man amongst men, was going to be a mother.
Nabiki always had a little trouble grasping the magical events surrounding Ranma, since magic tended to avoid logic, but this took the cake. What a screwed up way to become an aunt.
Soun's mind was all mixed up, so he cried, "My little girl is going to be a father!"
Kasumi took this better than anyone, but still wanted to know something, "Akane, I thought instant spring powder was a one-shot use."
"It's supposed to be... but... for some reason... I ended up... cursed," Akane forced herself to say.
"WHAT?!?" was chorused again.
Akane picked up a glass of water and dumped it on her head. Everyone gasped as they saw her grow centimeters taller. Her body became very muscular and well defined and her hair was now dark blue. Most importantly, her body was now male.
Nabiki blinked and then stared at the hunk of a sister she now had.
Soun fainted.
Everyone else just shook their head in shock, disbelief, or sympathy.
Ranma slowly got up and left for her room. No one knew what to say or do. They just sat their hearing the unrelenting rain pound on the house.
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Nodoka sat in the kitchen. In her hands was a piece of paper that was rather old. Over twelve years old to be precise. On the piece of paper was an agreement that was signed and also had the hand print of a little child. This paper held the oath of ritual suicide that her son and her husband would commit if Ranma proved not to be a man amongst men.
Sometimes Nodoka wondered why she hadn't destroyed it already. Despite Ranma occasionally being a girl in body, he was still a man in spirit. Sure he had faults, but they were usually manly faults.
Nodoka started to cry. Her son, her manly son, had gotten pregnant, not his newlywed wife, but him. This was unacceptable. How could a man amongst men be a mother? This... this was just wrong.
Nodoka could correct this error. One word and Ranma would redeem himself as a man. But he would do so in a woman's body. Not only that, she would kill her grandchild. She might as well as kill her daughter-in-law too for the pain it would cause.
Nodoka shook her head. Ranma wasn't truly a man amongst men, but he was... unique. How many men are also a mother? Very few and they weren't born a man, they were only a man through surgery.
But Ranma had failed to be a man amongst men. And there were only two solutions to this situation: ritual suicide or...
Nodoka stood up and walked from the table.
Akane entered the room and asked, "Auntie Saotome, what are you doing?"
"Removing something which threatens to destroy everything I hold dear." Nodoka set the old piece of paper on fire using a stove burner. She felt an odd sort of relief as if a burden was released from her. "That was the pledge that Genma and Ranma had signed."
Akane's eyes widened in shock. "You mean you were thinking about...."
Nodoka rested her hand on daughter-in-law's shoulder. "Akane, Ranma isn't a man amongst men if he's also a mother. It makes him more than that. I am proud to call him my child, and I'm happy that I'll be a grandmother soon."
"You won't ask him to commit suicide?" Akane asked, wanting to make sure.
Nodoka looked away. "Not for this. I really don't know what Ranma could do to make me ask for him to do it now. He is my child, and I'll love him no matter what happens. Besides, if I asked him to do it and you fought against it, well, I really doubt he'd do it."
Akane nodded, tears finding familiar tracks down the sides of her face.
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Ukyou sloshed her way back to her restaurant, thankful the rain was finally starting to let up. She hated how quiet it was inside her home and business. No one waiting for her, needing her. Sure there would be customers later, but they did not necessarily need her, just wanted her delicious okonomiyaki.
With a sigh she penned a message of being closed due to illness and posted it on her door. She was in no condition to serve her customers. The flu was bad enough, but soon that would give way to morning sickness.
Now what was she going to do about that? Ukyou had no particular reason to keep Ryoga's bastard child. A trip to the clinic would take care of that issue.
Glancing at the phone, Ukyou could call her father to find out what he had to say about the situation, but considering that in the nine months she had been here she had called him twice and he phoned her once, and those were more of obligation than of any need or desire. Just a wish for happy birthdays and new year. He had not asked how she was doing, only how her mission was faring. She hadn't even called her father to let him know she had failed.
Now she had a chance to get something she always wanted, a true family. To have someone she could love unconditionally as a true parent should. The main problem with that was she had no one to help her with raising a child and running a restaurant. Kicking Konatsu out of her home was a huge mistake, possibly bigger than even getting pregnant.
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"What am I going to do now?" Akane muttered over some tea.
"I think you know the answer to that," Kasumi replied calmly.
Akane shook her head. "I feel so lost."
"You're scared, not lost," Kasumi corrected. "A lot will be expected of you, and the enormity of it has you justifiably worried. You still know what has to be done."
Akane pouted at her sister. "I... guess. There's still a lot I don't know about."
"You know that you need to be a good partner for Ranma, that you'll have to take care of your child," Kasumi pointed out.
"Yeah, but HOW do I do that?" Akane retorted. "I've already made so many mistakes just getting to this point. How can I do what's needed of me?"
"You start by learning from the mistakes you and others have made," Kasumi replied in a reassuring tone.
"If it was easy to do that, I'd know how to cook already," Akane muttered.
Kasumi giggled a little. "Well, you are learning. Maybe not as fast as you wanted, but your cooking has improved immensely from where it was a year ago."
"Maybe..." Akane sighed. "It's still not good enough. How were you able to take over the kitchen and cook for us yet I can barely make anything?"
Kasumi shook her head. "You forget those first meals were all chicken stir fry. It was the only thing that mother had a chance to teach me. I learned how to cook other meals as I went along. And when I tried to make something new, I had a back-up meal planned in case I messed it up."
Akane blinked. "You did?"
"My first attempt at curry ate the stirring spoon," Kasumi recalled sheepishly.
The image of Kasumi holding a stump of spoon just seemed so ridiculous, Akane couldn't help but laugh, nor could the person listening in.
Kasumi turned toward the hallway. "It's not nice to eavesdrop."
Ranma tenderly stepped into the room. "Sorry. Didn't exactly mean to listen in. It's just..."
"Just what?" Akane coaxed.
Ranma shrugged. "I... Well, you were saying a lot of the things I've wanted to."
Kasumi nodded. "Neither of you are alone in this. Remember you always have each other and the rest of your families."
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Nabiki was out window shopping. She had to get out of her house. It felt like someone had died, an experience she knew very well. What she really wanted was a distraction to keep her from thinking about the insanity her new sibling had once again brought into her life.
"Tendo Nabiki, I would have words with you," Kuno announced.
Nabiki turned and smirked at him. "Sure. Let's talk over lunch."
"You shall be the one to pay the bill," Kuno countered.
Nabiki wagged her finger. "You know my time doesn't come cheaply."
Kuno folded his arms. "Ah, but in this you are the one who owes me."
"And how do you figure that?" Nabiki returned.
"Without lies, deceit or half-truths..." Kuno paused dramatically. "I want you to tell me exactly who the pigtailed girl truly is."
Nabiki gazed at her classmate. His tone suggested he very well knew the answer to his question already. "Are you finally able to accept the truth that's been in front of you the entire time?"
"You still have not answered my question," Kuno insisted.
"Your beloved pigtailed girl is Ranma. Always has been. You even wrote down the name when HE fought your sister in rhythmic gymnastics. You've even hugged him when he transformed. You've claimed Ranma has used mind control magic and yet refused to accept the real magic of the curse that afflicts your hated foe and have seen in actions multiple times," Nabiki shot at him, a bit surprised he held no immediate reaction to her words. "It's not my fault you've got the hots for a guy who is sometimes a girl. You wouldn't accept the truth. I tried to explain it, for free no less, and you warped it to how you wanted to see it."
"And what do you have to say about all the money I have given you in the pursuit of a faux girl?" Kuno growled.
"You didn't have to buy the photos or information. You were the one that wanted them, I merely let you acquire them," Nabiki retorted.
Kuno took a threatening step forward. "Yet you still knowing fed the misconceptions I held."
"I did nothing of the sort." Nabiki poked her classmate's chest. "You kept deluding yourself that Akane AND Ranma had feelings for you. Convinced yourself that Ranma had some sort of mind control over 'himself' and a girl who was promised to be his wife when they were babies. You were the one who wouldn't let it go."
Kuno took a step back and clenched his fists. "How did Saotome acquire his curse?"
Nabiki smirked, taking the change in subject as a small victory. "There are set of magical pools in China called the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo. Fall into a spring and take the form of whatever drowned in it. Ranma fell into Spring of Drowned Girl, while his father landed in a panda one. There are over a hundred springs, each with their own cursed form. Hot water offers a temporary cure, but only until exposed to cold water."
"How was Saotome Akane cursed?" Kuno questioned.
Nabiki blinked. "How do you know about that?"
"You could say Ranma ran into me this morning," Kuno replied.
"There's a stupid company that made powdered instant spring water that's supposed to be a one-shot use and my stupid sister decided to see what it was like to be a guy, only the curse stuck and she knocked up her husband," Nabiki informed bitterly.
Kuno nodded. "I understand." He turned and began to walk away. "While I hold no sympathy for Saotome for what has befallen him, he is now paying for his part in the deception. You, however, I have not forgiven."
Nabiki folded her arms defiantly. "You know, I should thank Ranma. A year ago if you had chased me as you did him and my sister, I would've let you catch me. Now that I know how much of a blind idiot you really are, I've lost all interest."
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Genma and Soun played shogi well into the night. Both knew their trouble thoughts would not allow them to sleep peacefully tonight.
If Akane had returned with news that she was pregnant, they'd be extremely happy and would currently be in a drunken slumber. But the fact it was Ranma who was pregnant made them very uneasy. They'd get the heir to the school they wanted, but not exactly by who they wanted.
"You know, Saotome, a long time ago I wished for a manly child to father strong children and continue the arts. When I had all girls... I thought the wish wasn't going to be granted." Soun made a move in the game, and started crying. "I never thought that I had to say male child or son."
Genma shook his head, and said the only thing he could think of, "Be carefully what you wish for, it might come true."
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Author's Notes:
Really had not planned to add so much to these early chapters and scenes. Updates will now be slower as I've got more to write on these and I have other distractions (my new Xbox and Skyrim). I will be combining the remaining scenes into two chapters with some new material. I'm not sure when or if I'll get beyond that point.
By: Lord Archive
Characters are own Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan and are used without permission. All rights reserved.
While this is technically a sequel to 'Nekoken is Out of the Bag?!,' it is not necessary to read that series to understand what is going on here.
While I am working on finishing the first few chapters, this is still an incomplete series and is unlikely to be finished any time soon. It was posted to better complete Nekoken.
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Chapter 2 - Shattered Lives
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Kasumi was a little surprised to hear the front door open. She didn't expect any one to be visiting this early in the day, especially considering Ranma and Akane were still on their honeymoon and it was raining rather hard now. A frown formed on her face when she heard female Ranma sadly call, "We're home." They were a couple days early which meant something went wrong. She grabbed a teakettle and went to greet them at the door.
Kasumi stopped cold when she saw Ranma, Ukyou, and some guy with blue hair. She held out the kettle for Ranma to take, and nervously asked, "Where's Akane?"
Ranma hesitated before taking the teakettle and handed it to the man.
With a sigh, the guy took the kettle and poured it over himself. "I'm here, Kasumi," Akane said from where the man had stood a second before.
"Oh, gods!" Kasumi gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
Everyone followed Ranma to the dining room where the remaining members of the Saotome and Tendo clans were eating breakfast. The girl took one look at Nodoka before latching desperately to her mother while sobbing hard.
This startled everyone in the room. No one thought Ranma would ever cry like that.
"Ranma, what's wrong?" Nodoka asked, very concerned.
Ranma couldn't answer through her tear soaked sobs. When she felt Akane's hand touch her shoulder, Ranma jumped away, shouting vehemently, "Don't touch me!"
"Ranma, please," Akane said with tears in her eyes.
"Please what?! This is all your fault! My life is hell now. As bad as it was before, it's now a hell of a lot worse!" Ranma yelled.
"This isn't easy for me either," Akane retorted.
Ranma clenched her fists, looking ready to punch her new spouse. "How can you say that? It is easy for you!"
Akane's eyes first went wide and then narrowed in anger, not believing her spouse would even think that this situation would be easy for her.
Before another word could be said, a mighty blow to Ranma's head sent the hysteric girl to the ground.
Everyone stared at Ukyou as she hefted her combat spatula. "Excuse me. I need to have a little talk with Ranma." She picked up the unconscious girl and left.
Something definitely wasn't right, as Ranma was crying like a girl, and Ukyou had hit Ranma, not Akane.
Nodoka shook her head, trying to clear it. "Akane, what was that all about?"
Akane sat at the dining table and sobbed lightly. "I-I think it'll be better if we wait for Ranma before we explain." She knew this was hurting her spouse, but this was in no way easy for her to deal with either.
Kasumi was at a loss. Akane seemed to be cursed and Ranma had made no move to turn back into a guy.
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Ranma woke up in her and Akane's room, rubbing her head. "What did you do that for?"
"Because you were being a jackass," Ukyou remarked bitterly.
"How so?" Ranma scowled.
"You said it was easy for Akane. I have news for you, it isn't," Ukyou hissed out.
"Oh really. She's not the one who's pregnant. She's not the one who has to carry a kid around for the next nine months!" Ranma shout out.
Ukyou clenched her weapon tightly. "She's cursed now! Are you going to tell me that's easy for her?!"
Ranma deflated slightly, but not much. "Well, no. But she's got it easy compared to me. At least she was a macho chick before being cursed to turn into a guy. I got cursed to turn into a girl and I'm suppose to be a man amongst men."
"We both know better than anyone that changing ones gender isn't easy. Akane will now have to adjust to being a guy. It was hard for me to do that. I can't begin to think how hard it'll be for her because her change is more than just social," Ukyou pointed out.
"It's still easier for her. She isn't the one who's pregnant!" Ranma hissed out.
Ukyou sighed. "Tell me Ranma. What do you think would happen if it was Akane who got pregnant?"
Ranma folded her arms. "She'd blame me."
"Yeah, and she'd probably say it was easy for you too," Ukyou returned.
"Right." Ranma nodded smugly, seeing as the girl was now agreeing with her.
"But would it be that much easier for you?" Ukyou demanded.
Ranma almost said it would be, but the glare Ukyou gave her caused her to hold her tongue. She thought for a moment. "No. It wouldn't really be easier. I'd still have to help Akane through the pregnancy and raise the kid. But I'm a guy, this is worse than if she got pregnant."
"You're right, it is worse. For both of you. Akane would prefer it if she was pregnant," Ukyou told her.
"Yeah, right." Ranma huffed. "She's better off because she doesn't have to go through it."
"Is she?" Ukyou snarled. "Ranma, she was raised a girl. She was raised to be a mother. Wanting to have children is part of being a girl. Do you think she likes the idea of being a father any more than you like the idea of being a mother?"
Ranma stared at the floor. "She might."
"Look at these," Ukyou snapped.
Ranma glanced up and saw Ukyou pointing to some dolls and stuff animals. "What about them?"
"These dolls and stuff animals represent children. When Akane was a child she would treat them like she would a child." Ukyou turn her glare back at the girl. "How did Akane treat Ryoga when he was her pet pig? She was very protective of him, feed him, and pretty much babied him, didn't she?"
"Um, yeah. Now she gets the chance of being a mother without having to give birth," Ranma muttered out.
Ukyou was ready to smack Ranma with the spatula again. "Part of being a mother IS to give birth. No matter how much she cares for her child, she'll always be the father and not the mother. You may have your child call her mother, but Akane will know that's false."
"I'll always be the mother." Ranma started to cry.
Ukyou hugged her tightly, and started to cry also. The same might be said for herself.
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Ukyou and Ranma returned to the dining room to find everyone trying to get Akane to tell them what happened. She just sat there, still crying lightly.
"Akane... I'm sorry for saying it's easy for you," Ranma muttered meekly.
Akane stood up and approached Ranma. "It's all right. As bad as it is for me, this is harder for you."
Ranma hugged Akane, tears in her eyes.
Genma, grumbling about having such an 'unmanly son,' dumped hot water over her. Almost everyone gasped when Ranma didn't change.
"What happened? Why didn't he turn back into a guy?" Nodoka nervously asked.
"Shall I explain it?" Akane asked, still hugging Ranma.
Ranma nodded, releasing the hug but kept holding her spouse's hand.
Akane sighed, feeling very uncomfortable with everyone's eyes one her. "Ranma won't be able to change back into a guy for about the next ten months." She closed her eyes tightly. "The reason he can't is because... he's... pregnant."
"WHAT?!?" echoed throughout Nerima from a chorus of several voices.
"What do you mean Ranma is pregnant? Don't you mean you're pregnant?" Nodoka asked in disbelief.
Akane shook her head. "I wish I did mean that, but it is Ranma who's pregnant, not me."
"W-who's the father?" Genma stammered.
"I-I am," Akane answered.
"How can you be the father?" Soun demanded.
"Shampoo gave me some Instant Spring of Drowned Man as a wedding present... and... well... I used it during the honeymoon." Akane blushed deep red. "Ranma stayed in girl form long enough for conception to take place, and now he's pregnant. He can't change back until his body returns to a certain chemical balance, about a month after he gives birth."
Genma folded his arms. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a problem to solve. All Ranma has to do is get an abortion."
Ranma gritted her teeth. "As much as I want to, I can't do that. The Old Ghoul told us that getting an abortion wouldn't lift the lock on my curse. I have to give birth to be sure that I'll ever be a guy again." Ranma started to cry again, and was pulled into a comforting hug from her spouse.
Ukyou watched them, and started to cry too.
Nodoka was stunned, she wanted a grandchild, but not that way.
Genma was unnerved, his son, whom he raised to be a man amongst men, was going to be a mother.
Nabiki always had a little trouble grasping the magical events surrounding Ranma, since magic tended to avoid logic, but this took the cake. What a screwed up way to become an aunt.
Soun's mind was all mixed up, so he cried, "My little girl is going to be a father!"
Kasumi took this better than anyone, but still wanted to know something, "Akane, I thought instant spring powder was a one-shot use."
"It's supposed to be... but... for some reason... I ended up... cursed," Akane forced herself to say.
"WHAT?!?" was chorused again.
Akane picked up a glass of water and dumped it on her head. Everyone gasped as they saw her grow centimeters taller. Her body became very muscular and well defined and her hair was now dark blue. Most importantly, her body was now male.
Nabiki blinked and then stared at the hunk of a sister she now had.
Soun fainted.
Everyone else just shook their head in shock, disbelief, or sympathy.
Ranma slowly got up and left for her room. No one knew what to say or do. They just sat their hearing the unrelenting rain pound on the house.
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Nodoka sat in the kitchen. In her hands was a piece of paper that was rather old. Over twelve years old to be precise. On the piece of paper was an agreement that was signed and also had the hand print of a little child. This paper held the oath of ritual suicide that her son and her husband would commit if Ranma proved not to be a man amongst men.
Sometimes Nodoka wondered why she hadn't destroyed it already. Despite Ranma occasionally being a girl in body, he was still a man in spirit. Sure he had faults, but they were usually manly faults.
Nodoka started to cry. Her son, her manly son, had gotten pregnant, not his newlywed wife, but him. This was unacceptable. How could a man amongst men be a mother? This... this was just wrong.
Nodoka could correct this error. One word and Ranma would redeem himself as a man. But he would do so in a woman's body. Not only that, she would kill her grandchild. She might as well as kill her daughter-in-law too for the pain it would cause.
Nodoka shook her head. Ranma wasn't truly a man amongst men, but he was... unique. How many men are also a mother? Very few and they weren't born a man, they were only a man through surgery.
But Ranma had failed to be a man amongst men. And there were only two solutions to this situation: ritual suicide or...
Nodoka stood up and walked from the table.
Akane entered the room and asked, "Auntie Saotome, what are you doing?"
"Removing something which threatens to destroy everything I hold dear." Nodoka set the old piece of paper on fire using a stove burner. She felt an odd sort of relief as if a burden was released from her. "That was the pledge that Genma and Ranma had signed."
Akane's eyes widened in shock. "You mean you were thinking about...."
Nodoka rested her hand on daughter-in-law's shoulder. "Akane, Ranma isn't a man amongst men if he's also a mother. It makes him more than that. I am proud to call him my child, and I'm happy that I'll be a grandmother soon."
"You won't ask him to commit suicide?" Akane asked, wanting to make sure.
Nodoka looked away. "Not for this. I really don't know what Ranma could do to make me ask for him to do it now. He is my child, and I'll love him no matter what happens. Besides, if I asked him to do it and you fought against it, well, I really doubt he'd do it."
Akane nodded, tears finding familiar tracks down the sides of her face.
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Ukyou sloshed her way back to her restaurant, thankful the rain was finally starting to let up. She hated how quiet it was inside her home and business. No one waiting for her, needing her. Sure there would be customers later, but they did not necessarily need her, just wanted her delicious okonomiyaki.
With a sigh she penned a message of being closed due to illness and posted it on her door. She was in no condition to serve her customers. The flu was bad enough, but soon that would give way to morning sickness.
Now what was she going to do about that? Ukyou had no particular reason to keep Ryoga's bastard child. A trip to the clinic would take care of that issue.
Glancing at the phone, Ukyou could call her father to find out what he had to say about the situation, but considering that in the nine months she had been here she had called him twice and he phoned her once, and those were more of obligation than of any need or desire. Just a wish for happy birthdays and new year. He had not asked how she was doing, only how her mission was faring. She hadn't even called her father to let him know she had failed.
Now she had a chance to get something she always wanted, a true family. To have someone she could love unconditionally as a true parent should. The main problem with that was she had no one to help her with raising a child and running a restaurant. Kicking Konatsu out of her home was a huge mistake, possibly bigger than even getting pregnant.
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"What am I going to do now?" Akane muttered over some tea.
"I think you know the answer to that," Kasumi replied calmly.
Akane shook her head. "I feel so lost."
"You're scared, not lost," Kasumi corrected. "A lot will be expected of you, and the enormity of it has you justifiably worried. You still know what has to be done."
Akane pouted at her sister. "I... guess. There's still a lot I don't know about."
"You know that you need to be a good partner for Ranma, that you'll have to take care of your child," Kasumi pointed out.
"Yeah, but HOW do I do that?" Akane retorted. "I've already made so many mistakes just getting to this point. How can I do what's needed of me?"
"You start by learning from the mistakes you and others have made," Kasumi replied in a reassuring tone.
"If it was easy to do that, I'd know how to cook already," Akane muttered.
Kasumi giggled a little. "Well, you are learning. Maybe not as fast as you wanted, but your cooking has improved immensely from where it was a year ago."
"Maybe..." Akane sighed. "It's still not good enough. How were you able to take over the kitchen and cook for us yet I can barely make anything?"
Kasumi shook her head. "You forget those first meals were all chicken stir fry. It was the only thing that mother had a chance to teach me. I learned how to cook other meals as I went along. And when I tried to make something new, I had a back-up meal planned in case I messed it up."
Akane blinked. "You did?"
"My first attempt at curry ate the stirring spoon," Kasumi recalled sheepishly.
The image of Kasumi holding a stump of spoon just seemed so ridiculous, Akane couldn't help but laugh, nor could the person listening in.
Kasumi turned toward the hallway. "It's not nice to eavesdrop."
Ranma tenderly stepped into the room. "Sorry. Didn't exactly mean to listen in. It's just..."
"Just what?" Akane coaxed.
Ranma shrugged. "I... Well, you were saying a lot of the things I've wanted to."
Kasumi nodded. "Neither of you are alone in this. Remember you always have each other and the rest of your families."
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Nabiki was out window shopping. She had to get out of her house. It felt like someone had died, an experience she knew very well. What she really wanted was a distraction to keep her from thinking about the insanity her new sibling had once again brought into her life.
"Tendo Nabiki, I would have words with you," Kuno announced.
Nabiki turned and smirked at him. "Sure. Let's talk over lunch."
"You shall be the one to pay the bill," Kuno countered.
Nabiki wagged her finger. "You know my time doesn't come cheaply."
Kuno folded his arms. "Ah, but in this you are the one who owes me."
"And how do you figure that?" Nabiki returned.
"Without lies, deceit or half-truths..." Kuno paused dramatically. "I want you to tell me exactly who the pigtailed girl truly is."
Nabiki gazed at her classmate. His tone suggested he very well knew the answer to his question already. "Are you finally able to accept the truth that's been in front of you the entire time?"
"You still have not answered my question," Kuno insisted.
"Your beloved pigtailed girl is Ranma. Always has been. You even wrote down the name when HE fought your sister in rhythmic gymnastics. You've even hugged him when he transformed. You've claimed Ranma has used mind control magic and yet refused to accept the real magic of the curse that afflicts your hated foe and have seen in actions multiple times," Nabiki shot at him, a bit surprised he held no immediate reaction to her words. "It's not my fault you've got the hots for a guy who is sometimes a girl. You wouldn't accept the truth. I tried to explain it, for free no less, and you warped it to how you wanted to see it."
"And what do you have to say about all the money I have given you in the pursuit of a faux girl?" Kuno growled.
"You didn't have to buy the photos or information. You were the one that wanted them, I merely let you acquire them," Nabiki retorted.
Kuno took a threatening step forward. "Yet you still knowing fed the misconceptions I held."
"I did nothing of the sort." Nabiki poked her classmate's chest. "You kept deluding yourself that Akane AND Ranma had feelings for you. Convinced yourself that Ranma had some sort of mind control over 'himself' and a girl who was promised to be his wife when they were babies. You were the one who wouldn't let it go."
Kuno took a step back and clenched his fists. "How did Saotome acquire his curse?"
Nabiki smirked, taking the change in subject as a small victory. "There are set of magical pools in China called the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo. Fall into a spring and take the form of whatever drowned in it. Ranma fell into Spring of Drowned Girl, while his father landed in a panda one. There are over a hundred springs, each with their own cursed form. Hot water offers a temporary cure, but only until exposed to cold water."
"How was Saotome Akane cursed?" Kuno questioned.
Nabiki blinked. "How do you know about that?"
"You could say Ranma ran into me this morning," Kuno replied.
"There's a stupid company that made powdered instant spring water that's supposed to be a one-shot use and my stupid sister decided to see what it was like to be a guy, only the curse stuck and she knocked up her husband," Nabiki informed bitterly.
Kuno nodded. "I understand." He turned and began to walk away. "While I hold no sympathy for Saotome for what has befallen him, he is now paying for his part in the deception. You, however, I have not forgiven."
Nabiki folded her arms defiantly. "You know, I should thank Ranma. A year ago if you had chased me as you did him and my sister, I would've let you catch me. Now that I know how much of a blind idiot you really are, I've lost all interest."
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Genma and Soun played shogi well into the night. Both knew their trouble thoughts would not allow them to sleep peacefully tonight.
If Akane had returned with news that she was pregnant, they'd be extremely happy and would currently be in a drunken slumber. But the fact it was Ranma who was pregnant made them very uneasy. They'd get the heir to the school they wanted, but not exactly by who they wanted.
"You know, Saotome, a long time ago I wished for a manly child to father strong children and continue the arts. When I had all girls... I thought the wish wasn't going to be granted." Soun made a move in the game, and started crying. "I never thought that I had to say male child or son."
Genma shook his head, and said the only thing he could think of, "Be carefully what you wish for, it might come true."
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Author's Notes:
Really had not planned to add so much to these early chapters and scenes. Updates will now be slower as I've got more to write on these and I have other distractions (my new Xbox and Skyrim). I will be combining the remaining scenes into two chapters with some new material. I'm not sure when or if I'll get beyond that point.