Chapter Text
Once again, Ranma fumed in the furo. His spar against Akio started great, Ranma was excited, he felt some energy come back to him as he danced around Akio’s strikes. Turns out the Tendo boy wasn’t having as much fun. After sliding under Akio’s wide stance to avoid an attack — an objectively awesome dodge by any metric — he finally had enough and clocked Ranma with a cheap shot in the back.
From there the spar turned into a full-on brawl which required both boys’ parents to come in and break them up. Dinner, which was once again bland — through no fault of the Tendos — was quiet and awkward. All the emotions of the day roiled around in his head and eventually he asked to be excused before seconds, so he was still hungry. He tried stretching in his room, running around the block a few times, and after a half hour of directionless meandering decided all he could do was take a bath and turn in early.
He shouldn’t have asked his dad or Mrs. Tendo about school. The curse would be weird to deal with and he’d probably be lonely, but some guys probably wouldn’t care, right? His best friend in middle school never cared once the rumor mill started going so he’d be able to find new friends like that, especially given how charming he could be.
But he did ask them, and they were both supportive, and he was actually considering it. When Mrs. Tendo told him he’d probably have to — or at least want to — wear a bra when he went to school it made him question how mad he’d gotten at Naoki. Wasn’t the other boy basically suggesting the same thing but for fighting?
Dad mentioned he’d have to use the girls’ locker room. While that did give him some anxiety, it scared him far less than the alternative. Boys’ locker rooms just creeped him out now. Two years on the road learning martial arts hadn’t dulled the panic he felt thinking about going back.
What if he just made the curse public? Still go to school as a boy, but explain and demonstrate the curse to the staff, and make a case to be sent to the nurse’s office or something when he needed to shower instead? Would they go for that? Maybe, though it wouldn’t address any of his other reasons for wanting to try school as a girl.
A quick, loud knock at the door echoed through the bathroom and broke him out of his introspection. “It’s Katsumi, may I come in?”
People around here — other than Akio — sure were considerate about stuff like that, huh? “Sure thing, I’m almost done anyway.” He replied.
The eldest Tendo stepped through the door and Ranma realized he was just gonna have to get used to how tall this family was at some point, wasn’t he?
In addition to being tall though, Katsumi was jacked . Akio’s chest was broad, Naoki’s was thin, Katsumi’s was somewhere in the middle. While Akio had bigger shoulders from working out, Katsumi was more…filled-in. Ranma found himself imagining Akio with Katsumi’s strong chin, broader core, thicker thighs, and…annnnnd nothing else. Yep, Katsumi was objectively a good-looking guy, he could respect and admire that.
He didn’t say anything or pay Ranma much attention, which was fine while he showered and washed himself off, but got awkward after he sank into the furo. His eyes were closed and he groaned as he stretched out, practically filling the tub with his long limbs.
The silence didn’t seem to bother him so Ranma eventually realized he had to be the one to break the tension. “Long day, huh?” He chuckled, echoing Akio’s question from earlier.
Whether Katsumi was waiting for Ranma to ask or just needed to vent, he basically unloaded. Not just about the stuff that frustrated him either, he relayed almost every minor detail about his day to Ranma without ever seeming to take a pause or a breath.
And he did it so fast! Was he always bottled up so tight? Is that why he was such an ass yesterday? Ranma realized he couldn’t even remember most of the details and worried Katsumi would think he zoned out. After the nerd comment earlier today — which he skipped in his recap — Ranma didn’t want to hurt his feelings again if he could avoid it.
Without his glasses, Katsumi’s eyes were fully visible for the first time since Ranma met him. Like Akio he had big, expressive brown eyes that danced as he spoke.
Once he was finished, Katsumi chuckled. It was a pleasant, relaxed sound that put Ranma at ease. “Sorry to talk your ear off, I don’t get a chance to just vent like that. Double sorry if I went too fast to keep up with.”
He gave Ranma a smile and the younger boy was grateful that the heat of the bath had him red already. “D-don’t worry about it. Did you say something about my dad asking about a job?”
Katsumi nodded. “Yep, before my mom showed up. Dr. Tofu told me he was considering it since he seemed to know first aid. Said you both were pretty good at roadside medicine. Bragged about you doing CPR today.”
Pride gave Ranma an something to focus on besides the butterflies in his stomach. “Yeah, Kodachi Kuno. Accidentally threw her out the window into a pool, I had to save her.”
“Oh wow, Kodachi, haven’t seen her since last summer. Thanks for doing that, I’m sure Akio and Naoki appreciate it.” Another smile which meant more butterflies for Ranma.
“U-uh-huh, sure would be nice if they’d said something. So far the only one who has was Kodachi.” He remembered how she looked at him again, and wondered if there was attraction there, even though he was a girl at the time.
“Hah, sorry about my brothers. I think they’re still coming to terms with how much they like you.” He said while rubbing his own shoulders.
It was like he’d commented on the weather. He said it so casually, in fact, that Ranma didn’t parse it at first, it was conversational filler.
“...Wait, what?” Hot water couldn't explain the shade of red he turned as he squeaked and sunk down to his chin.
Katsumi chuckled again. “Oh yeah. I’m pretty sure Akio fell in love with her when she first walked in the door, Naoki once she sat down for dinner.”
None of his words made sense. This family was as nonsensical as they were tall. “H-how…w-why…H-h-her?”
“Oh…oh I’m so sorry!” Katsumi sat up and blushed, and Ranma breathed a sigh of relief that he’d just fallen victim to some sort of prank. “In my head it just makes it easier to think of your forms as…not different people but different…roles? I didn’t mean to offend you.”
…No, that wasn’t the part Ranma took issue with! Now he was blushing like a girl in front of her cru-friends’ brother over the idea that one of them—both of them— liked her. The idea that Naoki- sensei specifically was into her especially didn’t track, he’d helped her look like a boy! …Because sh— he was a boy! That was the kind of human he was. The boy kind. Yes.
Katsumi at least looked appropriately mortified by what he’d done to Ranma and rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, I’m real sorry Saotome, that just sort of slipped out.”
Ranma decided his bath was over so he stood up, stepped out of the tub, and began to dry off. “H-how…how sure are you that they feel like that? Did they say something to you?”
Realizing he needed to be careful here to protect his brothers, Ranma’s ego, or Ranma’s sense of self, Katsumi pondered his answer for a moment. “I am not an expert at analyzing peoples’ faces or body language, and have been wrong about what I believe people are feeling based on assumptions in the past.”
He was exaggerating a little. He’d lived with and partially raised his younger siblings so he was very good at reading their faces and hadn’t made a mistake about how they were feeling in over five years.
It was what Ranma needed to hear though, and he nodded and walked out to get changed.
Katsumi sank until only his face remained above the water. Glad I didn’t say I thought she was cute too .
After a night of dealing with his dad’s snoring while trying to quiet the conflagration of feelings Katsumi had dropped on him, Ranma woke up with the dawn. His dad was still asleep. Morning sparring would have to wait until after his arm was fully recovered.
To work off some of his nervous energy he went out for a jog which turned into a sprint which turned into vaulting across rooftops. He was glad for the privacy because he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, but it meant that he had to quiet the embarrassing thoughts somehow.
As the wind whipped through his hair he told himself Akio didn’t really like him, he liked the pretty girl he turned into sometimes, which made perfect sense. Ranma knew he was good-looking in either form, he’d probably have lots of suitors seeking him as a boyfriend, and Mrs. Tendo confirmed the boys would be pursuing him as a girl. Katsumi had to be wrong about that.
He also had to be wrong about Naoki. If Naoki had “fallen in love” with him during dinner, that was when Ranma looked like a boy. Unless Naoki liked his red-or-maybe-pink hair? He had just helped Ranma get dressed in girl form, maybe he was more affected by Ranma’s figure than he let on.
Almost an hour later he returned to the Tendo house, breathing hard but not too hard, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He’d need to stretch before doing anything serious with Kodachi. As he leapt over the gate (he should to ask Mrs. Tendo for a key) he nearly landed right on top of Akio, who was already dressed for school.
“Ah! Sorry, sorry!” He threw his hands up, hoping to avoid getting kicked again.
“Holy—! Saotome we gotta stop meeting like this,” he laughed as his heart rate came back down.
Ranma wished it didn’t sound so nice. “Hah hah, more like your mom needs to give me and my dad a key,” he said brusquely as he headed inside. “Do you have time to wait? I’m just gonna take a quick shower.”
Springing up to his room, he paused for just a moment while he grabbed his clothes. He told himself he hadn’t made his decision yet, that he still had another half hour before they got to school, and then another few minutes waiting to hand the paper over to the receptionist, but he was already picking out his favorite long sleeve red tangzhuang jacket that he knew was big enough around the chest to accommodate his other form. He also grabbed the sarashi wrap; it might come loose during the fight but he wanted to give himself as much of an advantage as he could.
The shower only took a couple of minutes and he was dressed and wrapped in five. He took a few exploratory bounces and felt like things were as secure as she was gonna be able to manage. Something inside her was excited to figure out sports bras if they were gonna help even more than the sarashi.
He couldn’t do anything about the shoes so he shrugged. He’d toss them to Naoki or Akio when the fight started and just go barefoot. She wasn’t as comfortable with that as her dad but it was better than fighting with shoes that didn’t fit.
Less than ten minutes after she’d run into Akio she popped through the front door. He and his brother were chatting but stopped as soon as they saw him. “Thanks for waiting, hope it doesn’t make you late.”
Expecting them to move he stepped forward and almost slammed into Akio’s arm. “Aren’t you gonna change?” Naoki asked.
“I’m not actually starting school today, I’m just turning in my registration.” He said, holding up one of Katsumi’s old bags Mrs. Tendo let him borrow. “It’s just in here to keep it from getting all crinkled.”
Akio continued his brother’s line of questioning. “Aren’t you gonna go as a boy?”
“Oh, that. Look, Kodachi is expecting a girl so I’m not gonna disappoint her. Imagine if she called off the fight ‘cause I showed up all black hair!” She flashed a confident smile which thoroughly ended any protest from Akio as his heart melted.
Naoki wasn’t so easily mollified. “You’re gonna fight her?”
“That’s what her apology letter was! First an apology, said I was honorable, blah blah blah, then a challenge if I felt like it. And I do feel like it! Your fight yesterday was really cool, Akio, but I was a little disappointed I didn’t get a piece of the action.”
Shit . Naoki started sweating. Oh no, ohhhhh no. Okay, there’s still time for Ranma to just turn back into a guy before his actual first day. That’s when I told Kodachi they were “announcing” it. It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.
They didn’t have to sprint to school this morning but they maintained a brisk jog, Ranma barely able to contain her excitement. “Thanks again Naoki- sensei . I know I freaked out a little but if sports bras are half as good as these band things I’m gonna be set .”
For some reason that just made Naoki feel more nervous. “Uhh…you’re welcome!”
Akio blushed and hoped nobody expected him to help shop for anything.
They reached the gates of the school by 8:10, plenty of time for Ranma to stretch a little before they headed into the courtyard. A surprising number of people stopped and said hello to her, mostly girls, and she turned into a chatterbox. She surprised herself with how well she remembered people from yesterday, by face if not by name.
She almost leapt out of her own skin when someone let out an unearthly squeal and rushed over to her. It was Sayuri, followed closely by Yuka. “Ranma! It’s so exciting to see you again!” she exclaimed, wrapping the martial artist up in a hug.
“Ah-hah-hah-hah!” Ranma laughed nervously, not sure where to put her hands. “H-hi Sayuri! Hey Y-Yuka! How’s it going?” She sent Akio a pleading look.
Akio shook his head with a grin. You asked for this, buddy , he thought. “Hey Sayuri-san, Yuka-san, Ranma’s registering today. Officially decided to come to Furinkan High.”
Another squeal made Ranma wish she had earplugs. “Yay! We were worried Kodachi gave you a bad first impression and you’d end up at St. Bacchus or Kolhotz or Seisyun. Not that we wouldn’t have visited you at the dojo.”
Yuka seemed irritated that Sayuri was still clinging to Ranma and pulled at her collar to get her to step back. While Sayuri was distracted the reddish-pinkish-haired martial artist mouthed “thank you” to her rescuer and got a smile and nod in response.
“Nah, as a wandering martial artist Kodachi made me feel right at home,” she grinned, flashing a V with her fingers. “She actually challenged me to a proper duel this morning, I’m just stretching a little first.”
The girls gasped excitedly and wished her well before heading in.
Naoki snuck in behind them to avoid Akio and Ranma’s attention and immediately began scanning for Kodachi. It didn’t take long to spot her, she was kneeling next to a statue of the school’s founder.
If her kimono yesterday morning was fancy, the one she was wearing now was downright ostentatious, extravagant even. It was made of red silk embroidered with her signature black roses. Instead of a bow it was held in place by a shimenawa that made her look like a mythological figure. Her hair was done up in a knot and kept in place with a very nice looking black comb that continued the black rose motif. The only thing that seemed wrong with the picture was the hockey stick in front of her.
“H-hey Kuno-san!” Naoki approached nervously. “S-so you challenged Ranma to another fight, huh?”
Without moving, Kodachi replied. “Yes. I intend to have it out for thy brother’s hand today. I will respect thou fathers’ wishes, of course, but I refuse to give up mine Akio without a fight. Ranma Saotome has proved herself an honorable woman and a skilled fighter. Should I fail today I shall rest easy knowing the Tendo house is in capable hands.”
Naoki nodded, muttered something noncommittal, and began running back to his brother and Ranma, hoping he could try and stop this before they came into view. He thought he was gonna get away with it, too, but when he was mere steps away from the gate they came around, Akio almost running right into him.
“Whoa! Hey man, is everything okay?” Akio queried helpfully.
Before Naoki could respond, Kodachi bellowed across the courtyard. “Ranma Saotome! Thank you for answering my message!”
Wielding her substitution naginata, she walked to a spot in front of the school’s front door and bowed at the waist. Ranma grinned, handed her bag and shoes to Akio with a nod of thanks, and approached her challenger.
Students began to gather, and already Naoki could tell this was going to be big, loud, and messy.
Ranma figured Kodachi just wanted a clean rematch. It’s what she would want if their roles were reversed. It was big of her to apologize and Ranma was incredibly excited to see what she would bring to a proper fight instead of two quick, anger-driven assaults.
“You kiddin’? I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” Everything felt right. She wasn’t exaggerating when she told Sayuri it felt like home: for the last 13 years, martial arts was all she’d known. Something about this fight felt even better than her previous ones. The sun was perfect, everything seemed vibrant, her senses were reaching out and noticing little details she’d never noticed, and her body was rested and primed.
Kodachi couldn’t help but blush a little. The joyous confidence the girl exuded was obviously warranted, she practically glowed. If Kodachi won the fight she’d try and convince the girl to join the Tendo household as a consort. If she lost the fight…well she wasn’t going to lose.
“Dost thou intend to accept my challenge, then? I have a condition I did not mention in mine letter.”
That tempered Ranma’s excitement a little. She guessed the condition had something to do with Akio: Kodachi probably got the wrong idea about Ranma staying with them.
“What’s your condition?”
“I have pursued Akio Tendo, the Lion of Tendo, too long to let him be taken from me without a fight, despite the promise made between two noble warriors.” She was nervous. She hadn’t been nervous in a long time. Saotome was a skilled, powerful fighter, and Kodachi was risking everything she’d worked towards in this fight. “Should you defeat me I shall renounce my claim on him and allow your engagement to continue!”
The school erupted with excitement, gasps, cheers, and wild speculation. Nobody expected this was how the morning would go.
Least of all Ranma and Akio, who both immediately turned red. Ranma was suddenly facing a dilemma: he could refuse the fight, truthfully deny there was an engagement, and reveal his curse. There were two major cons to that choice: the first is that Akio would, once again, be the subject of daily harassment from Kodachi and the small army of boys she apparently commanded. Most importantly, Ranma’s pride would be bruised. He didn’t like to concede.
The first con was why he didn’t consider revealing his curse, the second was why he didn’t want to refuse. He turned to get Akio’s reaction but the boy was surrounded by curious, gossip-hungry students.
“I apologize for pre-empting your announcement. If I fail, then you will have the perfect occasion to make the announcement official.” Kodachi saw Ranma’s hesitation and mistook it for worry.
Another thought occurred to Ranma. This was an opportunity to display her family’s martial art. The Tendo school was established in Nerima, but the Saotome school was unknown. If she was gonna get people excited about a unified school, they’d need a demonstration of both halves.
She switched on the charmer, the showman, the crowd-pleasing Ranma, the one who loved an audience, who dreamed of crowds cheering her name. “I am Ranma Saotome, Fierce Tigress of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!”
Pointing to the sky and cocking her hips to affect a victorious pose, her smile caught the morning sunlight. “I don’t put much stock in what my old man had planned for me, but I accept your condition and your challenge! Not for the gallant heir of the Tendo School, but for me!”
She gave the crowd a moment to absorb her speech and begin cheering as she fell into Akio’s stance from their first spar. Kodachi was doubtlessly familiar with it, maybe some of the more martially-inclined students who’d seen Akio fight before. She was starting with something familiar so she could wow the audience when she pivoted to something new and unexpected.
Now that everyone was focused on the fight, Naoki took a small step back so he could start sneaking away before a gentle but firm hand grabbed his shoulder from behind.
“Hey bro?” Akio whispered. “You got any guesses where Kodachi, your classmate, got the idea that our dads arranged a marriage between us?”
The middle Tendo son gulped. “I h-have a few, yeah.”
Kodachi knew she had the reach advantage, but Saotome was fast. She’d need to keep her at a distance before the tigress could disarm her. Fortunately, she was familiar with the basic tenets of Anything Goes Martial Arts: specifically, that anything was fair game.
Ranma expected her to charge. She did not expect her to drop a hockey puck from the sleeve of her kimono and fire it so fast that Ranma barely had time to dodge. Her ears picked up the smacking sound it made on the wall behind her and she ducked to avoid the ricochet.
More pucks hit the ground as Kodachi began rapid-firing, her form perfect as she launched each one. Ranma boggled at her speed and accuracy, she had to scramble to avoid both the frontal attack and when it bounced. Sometimes Kodachi even targeted her own projectiles mid-flight to create even greater chaos, but never randomly: each move was precisely calculated to target Ranma. Somehow she even avoided hitting other students, though the crowd was quickly retreating to a safer vantage point.
The unarmed fighter could only dodge so many, and even though Kodachi seemed to be out of new pucks some of them bounced back to her, giving her a renewable source of ammunition. A puck zinged past her ear and she realized she needed to get above ground level. Kodachi could probably aim up but at least Ranma wouldn’t have to worry about dodging each one twice. She rolled over a pair of pucks that criss-crossed beneath her and sprung up the founder statue, leaping at least 3 meters into the air.
As expected, Kodachi angled her shots as Ranma dove down toward her. Twisting helped a little, but being unable to change her trajectory gave Kodachi the ability to predict where she’d be. Two pucks grazed Ranma’s thigh and collar and she let out a yelp. Kodachi stopped firing and drew a red and black fan from her sleeve. With a flourish she snapped it open and furiously waved it around.
Somehow this generated enough wind that Ranma landed several strides short of her goal and Kuno had her naginata at the ready. “Wow! You’re craftier than I gave you credit for upperclassman!” Ranma practically giggled. She was struggling and having the time of her life.
“Quit the chirping, Saotome!” came the gruff response. Kodachi’s elegant onna-bugeisha schtick was gone, replaced by the unstoppable captain of the Furinkan High girls’ hockey team. She refused to let Ranma get any closer and alternated swings of her stick with flaps of her fan to drive Saotome back toward the wall.
Ranma either wasn’t paying attention to where she was being driven or didn’t care, and Kodachi was going to take advantage of her carelessness. What she failed to notice was how Ranma used her hands as she dove and ducked around Kuno’s naginata.
“See I’ve only been studying in China for the past two years,” Ranma managed to keep smiling and talking while dodging. It reminded Akio of their first spar two days ago and he couldn’t help but grin.
“But I’ve been training basically my whole life!” Kodachi’s blade sliced millimeters away from her face but she kept going. “So, you know, I’ve seen a lot of different styles! But you’re over here making stuff up and I’m super impressed!” She leapt up and spread her legs to avoid a wide swing from Kodachi. If the upperclassman had tried to press she’d have brought herself into kicking range but she stepped back with a counter-slash to punish the rush Ranma didn’t perform before returning to jabs and quick strikes.
“Don’t patronize me, Saotome! You’re all talk and style, no substance whatsoever!” If she could just get the reddish-pinkish-haired girl to overextend a little bit she’d hit her with a hidden technique, she just had to take the bait.
“Hey there we go! See, just gotta get into the spirit of it! Have fun with it!”
“I’m not going to have fun when you’re the last thing to stand between me and Akio!” Kodachi roared with an overhead attack. Buy it you flea, buy it! She pleaded for Ranma to take the bait. It was risky given her speed, but if she pretended to leave an opening maybe she would—YES!
Ranma rushed in to punish Kodachi’s powerful swing only to realize too late the upperclassman had trapped her. In quick succession Ranma felt the handle of the stick slam into her temple, then the blade slashed across her belly, then the handle caught her left wrist as she brought it up to block, and she realized Kodachi was spinning the hockey naginata like a propeller.
Somehow, instead of being blown away from the strikes, Ranma was being pulled toward Kodachi. “Hah! Got you! My Axial Box Fan Blade Technique generates low-pressure airflow that I can direct toward or away from me! You’re mine!”
At that moment, Ranma desperately wished she could be Kodachi’s student. But she had a fight to win. “Upperclassman! That’s so cool! I’m sorry to spoil its weakness in front of everybody!” So fast was Kodachi’s attack Ranma’s voice was distorted into a vibrato.
Kodachi couldn’t let the other girl’s taunting get to her, she needed to land a decisive strike. Her technique’s only weakness was that it was hard to stop once it got going and she’d be vulnerable for almost a second if she did. There was no doubt in her mind that Ranma was fast enough to capitalize on that gap.
When she didn’t respond, Ranma just shrugged. “Thank you for providing all the ammunition, by the way!”
She hadn’t chosen the long-sleeve tangzhuang for any particular tactical advantage, she just liked how the big sleeves looked when she fought. She didn’t plan to hide handfuls of hockey pucks up her sleeves when she left the house this morning, she just made use of what was available.
Kodachi felt at least four pucks slam into her arms and legs plus five that struck her hands and fingers at the center of the whirlwind. Ranma flicked them at irregular intervals to make sure they would pass through the whirling blades and the airflow accelerated them to incredible speeds. Crying out in pain, the hockey stick flew out of her hands and embedded itself in a nearby tree.
Ranma came in for a finishing blow and was surprised and impressed that Kodachi hadn’t given up the goat. She blocked Ranma’s first punch, grabbed the second, and would have pulled her into a judo throw except for the intense pain in her stomach from one final puck Ranma literally had up her sleeve.
With a wheeze she doubled over in pain and fell to her knees. Both girls were panting from the effort, but the fight had taken less than two minutes.
Akio heard Ranma laugh and thanked whatever kami was looking out for him that he got to hear the sound again. Hadn’t he been mad at her for something? He couldn’t remember.
“Hey, upperclassman, do you yield?” Ranma asked softly while extending a hand. Kodachi looked up at her, blinking away tears of pain and loss.
“Nggghhh…yes, I yield.” She took Ranma’s hand and stood, then brought the other girl in for a hug.
Ranma didn’t expect that, to be hugged twice in a fifteen minute span. “Uhhh…okay, yes, hugging.” She didn’t know what to do with her hands so she kept them locked to her sides.
Wincing, Kodachi released Ranma from the hug and bowed to Akio. “I hereby withdraw my claim of you, dear Akio, Lion of Tendo. Your fiancée is as strong as she is honorable, and you have my blessing to wed.”
That snapped Ranma back to reality: his reality. “Hey, no, that was just something our dads set up before we were ever born! We’re not even honoring it, arranged marriages are so old-fashioned!”
“Nonsense! A vow between warriors is not so lightly thrown away, and having witnessed the wit of House Saotome and the will of House Tendo first-hand I declare that your union is myth in the making!” She raised her fists skyward as her fantasy overtook the narrative Ranma tried to spin and was joined by the applause of a large number of students who were apparently invested in the legend of Ranma Saotome and Akio Tendo.
How had he let this happen? Why’d he do something this stupid? His dad and Mrs. Tendo both said he’d have to deal with attention from boys but he expected it to be a bunch of dumbasses like Kodachi’s Horde, not…the whole school trying to get him together with Akio. Flustered, he rushed over to grab his things from the youngest Tendo before bounding up and away from the crowd before it swarmed him. He shot an apologetic look at Akio as he did, sorry to leave him to face the students alone but he just…couldn’t.
Akio didn’t pursue Ranma immediately, he had to keep an eye on Naoki to make sure he didn’t run his mouth again. The only thing he could think to do was cup his hands around his mouth and shout. “You heard the ladies! That’s all we’re gonna say for now!”
He grabbed his brother’s wrist and sprinted away, leading the two inside and up the stairwell. They collapsed against the door leading to the roof where he suspected Ranma had gone.
Naoki stared at the wall while he rubbed his arm. He wasn’t gonna complain, not to Akio.
Neither said anything for a few minutes, even after the bell rang.
Akio didn’t know who he was madder at. Naoki for making up the engagement, Kodachi for challenging Ranma and announcing the engagement, or Ranma for accepting the challenge. She didn’t have to do that! She could have just refused, nobody would think less of her… of him . “Dammit!” The wall shook as he slammed his fist against it in frustration.
“I’m sorry,” Naoki muttered. “You don’t deserve this. Neither of you do.”
Akio scoffed. “He’s the one who accepted Kodachi’s stupid challenge. So far as I can tell all three of you planned this to screw with me.” Visions of ever having a normal high school experience vanished into nothingness. Once Ranma came to school as a guy everything would change.
Naoki shook his head. “No, this was all because I wanted to screw with Kodachi a little. It’s not fair that your freshman year was dominated by her obsession, and after yesterday I thought Ranma taught her some humility. But it was stupid and now I’ve ruined both your lives.”
When Akio didn’t immediately disagree with him Naoki knew he was right. It would be impossible to walk everything back. People would talk, make assumptions, spread rumors that some idiot would act on, maybe teachers would get involved.
Meanwhile, Akio was replaying the morning's events in his mind. While the engagement was unexpected, to say the least, it had serious positive effects on his life. Kodachi wouldn't bother him anymore and like half the student body was fascinated by him and Ranma. Maybe it meant that he wouldn't be able to have a "typical" high school boy experience, go on dates, or get as many love letters as he used to before Kodachi started Messing with him, but he was basically attached to the most popular "girl" in school.
Grunting, Akio stood up. “Let’s be honest, neither of us was gonna have a normal high school experience.” He said as much to himself as to Naoki.
Naoki raised an eyebrow. Where did this Akio come from? A second ago he was punching the wall.
Then he blushed and tapped his fingers together. “And…did you see Ranma’s face during that fight?”
His brother nodded. The cursed boy couldn’t have possibly looked happier, even when he was getting slammed by sports equipment. “There are worse places for a fight-happy idiot to be than Furinkan,” Naoki agreed.
Akio shook his head, “Nah, I don’t think that’s it. At least, not all of it, and we’ve only known him for, like, two days, but do you get the sense that he likes…being her?”
There were a few different explanations for why Akio was thinking like this, Naoki figured. He hadn’t gotten over meeting Ranma as a girl and was projecting. He was mistaking Ranma’s love of fighting for gender euphoria. Or, and Naoki didn’t want to give the thought too much credibility, Ranma really was happier as a girl.
The last thing didn’t make much sense to Naoki: he saw Ranma’s face after their first fashion lesson, he was so happy to learn how to boy even if his body wasn’t the right shape. If his laundry was any indication his previous style was either figure-hugging Chinese shirts, tank tops, or communism.
Plus he was a very good-looking boy in either form, Naoki couldn’t see someone working that hard being willing to just give it up.
“I think you’re projecting man, sorry.” Naoki would take Ranma at his word no matter what. If he said he was a guy, he was a guy.
Ranma was sitting on top of the fence around the roof, staring at his registration paper, when he heard the roof door open. Two pairs of feet approached him and he heard Akio first. “Hey Ranma, I promise I’m not upset about you taking off like that. I don’t know if I would do any different if I was in your situation.”
That made Ranma smile. Akio really was a sweet guy. Some actual girl deserved that, not Ranma.
“Hey Ranma, I’m the one who told Kodachi about our dads’ stupid promise.” Naoki sounded nervous. “That was stupid of me, I just did it to get back at her and didn’t think about how she would respond.”
“Pfft, dunno how you thought it was a good idea though. I’ve known her for a day and I would have told you it’d be messy.” Ranma didn’t want to be mad at his new friends, he didn’t want to leave, and he didn’t want to change his plans.
“Before I decide what I’m gonna do,” Ranma sprang up to his feet and did a backflip off the fence onto the roof. “Akio: I was thinking of staying a girl at school, even before today. You can ask your mom if you don’t believe me, I asked her what she thought.”
Both Tendos’ eyes went wide. Naoki immediately began second-guessing everything he knew about Ranma.
“I’m still actually a guy, of course, it’s just…” Akio hated it when Ranma got that troubled blush on his cheeks, it was hard to resist the impulse to pick him up and hug him.
“I don’t wanna go into detail, but I had a real bad time in middle school. It’s why my dad took me to China. And the idea of going back as a boy…feels bad.”
Naoki felt like he finally understood. “Oh, I’m sorry man. When people found out I was gay I didn’t want to go back to school for a month, I totally get it.”
Ranma’s confused look spoke volumes before he even opened his mouth. “You’re gay?” He asked incredulously. Ranma had never knowingly met a gay person before, his only experience with the term was having it shouted at him before the punching started. “Like…you like boys instead of girls?”
The silence was deafening. “Yeah, man. Shit, do I read as straight? Akio you’d tell me if I came across as straight, right?” Naoki looked at his brother with enormous, wet eyes before he cracked up and giggled.
“I think Ranma is just incredibly sheltered despite being well-traveled, bro.” Akio chuckled.
“You can just…do that? Be gay and nobody cares?” Naoki felt like he was getting frighteningly accustomed to Ranma’s revelatory face.
“I mean, not nobody , but yeah most people know by now. Kodachi definitely knows and while she’s not a gossip she’s also not good with subtle.”
Ranma tried to process this new information but decided he’d figure it out later. There were more urgent matters to discuss.
“Okay, well, anyway. Akio. Me, girl at school. This affects you now so I don’t wanna make that choice without your input.” Finally, someone would tell Ranma he was being silly, or even yell at him for screwing up his life, or just think it was weird.
“That makes my life a whole lot easier honestly, as long as you’re okay with it.” Akio replied. If Ranma had asked him ten minutes ago his answer probably would have been different, but the break he took with Naoki gave him a chance to think things through. And if his new best friend wanted to spend most of his time as the cutest girl he’d ever met while the two of them pretended to be engaged he didn’t think that sounded too bad either.
“O-oh…okay, glad to hear it.” Three people independently told him it was okay, that he wasn’t weird, that he wasn’t a pervert or a creep or…well he’d have to excise “gay” as an insult from his vocabulary, because Naoki- sensei was the coolest person he knew.
“I’ll go…uh, turn this into the office then. Sorry if I made you late to class.” He started walking while staring at the paper. He could change his mind. Just because three people told him it was okay didn’t mean he had to do it. It just meant they were okay with it.
A month ago he would never have thought to do something like this. Before he got the curse. Was Jusenkyo affecting him mentally? Did it want him to enjoy his cursed form? That wouldn’t make any sense for a curse though, right? Dad didn’t seem to enjoy his cursed form after all.
Before they got to the office, Naoki stopped him next to the boys’ bathroom. “I want you to know I’ve got your back if you decide to go through with this,” he began. Ranma couldn’t believe he hadn’t even asked the guy first and he was already telling her it was okay. “But I know people who force themselves to live as something they’re not and it tears them up inside.”
That wasn’t being told no, or that he was wrong for doing it. One more time he tried to picture going through the day as a boy. He did fine for a couple of classes but then he thought of recess, or gym, or whatever, and then he thought of the locker room and having to share the space with a bunch of boys and everything got cold and dark. Then she was in the next class hanging out with her friends and making plans, and even Kodachi was there because they were steadfast rivals who pushed each other to new heights. After school she walked with Akio to the Tendo house where they taught classes together.
“I appreciate it Naoki, but I’m gonna stick with it.” His heart beat so fast. He was gonna go through with it and it was going to be okay.
The secretary looked up and smiled as he walked in. “Well hello, you must be the girl everybody’s been chatting about.” She was cheery, which bothered Ranma a little. Yesterday she seemed like she barely registered his existence.
“Probably, if it involves a really awesome fight outside.” Ranma grinned. She slid the paper onto the counter, making a show out of looking it over one more time for any—
“Whoopsy, pops forgot one little detail,” she pointed to the blank space for gender.
“Well don’t worry about that, I’ve got you covered, hun.” She quickly made a mark and double-checked everything else, then invited Ranma to take a seat.
He did it… she did it. Ranma reminded himself to try and think like a girl while in school from now on, to make sure he… she didn’t slip up. With the curse it was entirely possible a rogue bowl of ramen or tea or burst water pipe would make it impossible to hide, but she wouldn’t make any mistakes.
Ranma must have looked like she was in trouble, the way she was sitting ramrod straight and fidgeting with her bag. Doubt crept in again. He did it . Now if somebody found out they’d know he did it, he couldn’t take it back, couldn’t undo the choice.
“Saotome!” came a husky voice he didn’t recognize. He opened his eyes and saw Kodachi, wearing a school uniform and sporting bandages. Ranma decided he did not like the uniform. It looked fine on Kodachi and the other girls, but it wasn’t for him. He was probably expected to wear one himself, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do that yet.
“Oh, hey Kodach—uh, upperclassman Kuno.” She nodded but didn’t stand. Part of her was worried she’d be wobbly and show weakness in front of her new rival. Plus she just realized that Kodachi was yet another giant in this town, she was probably the same height as Naoki.
Thank the gods he’d met Sayuri and her friends, Yuka and Asami weren’t any taller than her.
In response, Kodachi bowed low. “Saotome, I apologize once again for broadcasting your engagement during our fight. There’s no excuse for my behavior. I hope…I hope we can still be friends.”
Did…did Kodachi just blush? Ranma nervously shot up to her feet and bowed in return. “N-no! I mean, I hope so too! I was r-really impressed by your naginatajutsu.”
Another new expression, Kodachi flashed her a huge smile. “Oh I’m so happy you knew what that was! I have to explain that to so many people!”
Ranma realized she was smiling too. Kodachi seemed so…friendly, and excited. But he eyed the bandages on her hands and grimaced. He might be going to school as a girl but he knew he was a…boy. He was a boy who’d hurt a normal girl. One more reason not to reveal the curse.
“Saotome…don’t worry about me.” Kodachi said softly. “I’ve lost Akio but…if I had to lose him at least it was to someone like you.”
Oh, right, she was sad about the Akio thing. Ranma felt a little swell of pride that she’d defended her school and won Akio’s hand. Or rather, the schoolgirl Ranma was proud of that. Real Ranma was proud because he’d demonstrated how talented he was, and how powerful the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts was, and how much she deserved someone like Akio.
“Look, Kodachi, I’ve only known them for a couple days but all the Tendos seem to miss you.” Ranma reached out and patted Kodachi’s arm, making sure not to touch the bandages. “I’m sure they’d love to see you again as a friend.”
Kodachi’s lip quivered and for a second Ranma was worried she’d go in for a hug, but the secretary interrupted their moment and called Ranma over. “Thank you Saotome. I don’t think I can handle that right now, but I’ll consider it.” She gave Ranma a sad smile before heading back to class.
Ranma approached the counter and was handed a manila folder full of papers. A quick scan confirmed they were orientation documents, a schedule, uniform requirements, and other administrivia.
“Welcome to Furinkan High, Miss Saotome.”