Why she had to go
I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday

Yesterday,
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Saotome's Choice
by JP Buckner
ajaff@poky.srv.net
http://onewest.net/~ajaff/manff.htm

Chapter Two - Ranko and Consequences

I had nothing to do with the creation of Ranma 1/2 Wasn't me,
nope.
"Yesterday" lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (you may
of heard of them)

Thanks to Chris Stassen, who has provided valuable assistance in
fixing some grammar errors and typos in this chapter.

Also, thanks to the many fanfic writers out there whose work
helped inspire this idea. Works like "Ranma's Secret",
"Rejected", "The Bitter End", "Iris", "Genma's Daughter", many
of the works of Richard Lawson and Gary Kleppe, not to mention
Jim Lazar. Bits and pieces of these works all gave me ideas or
concepts which ended up working themselves into this story.


Saotome Nodoka looked down at the young girl standing in her
doorway. For so long, Nodoka had wanted... no, needed, a person
in her life. She needed someone to share her home, her life,
with. Ever since her husband and son left all those years ago,
Nodoka's life had been one big waiting game. Waiting for her
family to return to her.

Now, for at least a short period of time, she would not be
alone. She would have a child to look after, someone to guide
and help. Someone to be a mother to, the way she had wanted so
desperately to be towards her son.

"Come on in, dear. I have a spare bedroom that you can use."

Ranko nodded and smiled at Nodoka. Nodoka smiled back. This girl
was such a beauty, the warmth in her smile could melt any heart.
If only she didn't act so tomboyish. Maybe, just maybe, Nodoka
thought to herself, I can do something about that. 

'Ranko' stepped into the house. She was still a little unsure
about this, but she knew she needed the love she always felt
from her mother whenever she was around. She only wished she
could come to her as her son instead of a 'niece,' but
circumstances as they are. The katana wouldn't hurt as much,
Ranko figured, as the rejection she would get from her mother.
She didn't want her own mother to hate her the way so many other
people did.

The young girl looked around the room. "This is Ranma's home?
It's really nice. I'm sure he must have hated leaving here."
Even though she didn't remember many of the details from her
childhood, Ranko felt safe and warm just being inside her family
home. Once again, for the umpteenth time in his/her life, Ranko
silently cursed her father for taking her away from her mother.

"Thank you, dear. I've tried to keep it a home, even though it's
been only me all these years. I wanted it to be just right for
when Genma and Ranma returned."

Ranko could see a touch of melancholy in her mother's face as
she said this. She reached up and gently put her hand on
Nodoka's shoulder. "I'm sure that Po...Uncle and Ranma miss
you very much. I've heard Ranma say so. He wants nothing more
than to be with you."

Nodoka looked down and could see the concern and sadness in
Ranko's eyes. This is a bond here, Nodoka told herself. There is
something about this girl that I can't help but feel connected
to. I can feel it, and I'm sure she can feel it as well.

Gathering herself together, the Saotome matriarch responded.
"Thank you dear, you don't know how much it means to me to hear
that. Now come on, and I'll show you your room. You don't seem
to have much to unpack, but I'll help."

"Uhh... that's not necessary. I can handle it myself."

Nodoka shook her head. "Nonsense, dear. I want to help."

Ranko shrugged. She couldn't bear to say no to her mother. "All
right, I guess."

"Good, dear. Now come this way." Nodoka proceeded to lead Ranko
down the hallway, and into her new life.

****************************************************

"He's what?????? This is...inconceivable! There is NO WAY my
son would live as a girl!" The news from Kasumi had managed to
give Genma a second wind, and he was now on his feet, yelling
right into Kasumi's face.

Kasumi's face took a look no one in the room could remember
seeing on her in some time. She began to look uncontrollably
angry, and returned Genma's tirade tit for tat.

"Maybe if you weren't such a lousy father, and treated Ranma the
way he deserved to be treated, he wouldn't feel the need to do
this!" Kasumi was now quite livid.

Nabiki eyed her elder sister in shock. "Kasumi...I...I
haven't seen you like this since... " Nabiki just couldn't
finish the sentence.

Kasumi turned to Nabiki. "Get used to it. I'm tired of holding
back, of not expressing myself the way everyone else around here
does at the drop of a hat! No, I've had to keep everything in,
because this family needed someone to stay calm and keep
everything together. Well, I'm tired of it! I've been at this
for ten years now, and I can't hold it in anymore!"

Kasumi turned back to Genma. "That is especially true ever since
you and Ranma came into our lives. There have been so many times
I've wanted to skin you alive for some of the stunts you've
pulled. It's amazing Ranma has turned out as fine as he has,
considering the fact that you've been raising him alone all
these years. The way your foolishness has affected Akane, not to
mention Ukyo and the others... in some ways you are worse than
Happosai!"

"Kasumi, that is a bit harsh, don't you think?" Soun couldn't
quite believe his oldest daughter was acting like this. "Genma
is a guest in our home, and he's my closest friend."

"Quiet, Father!" The genie was out of the bottle, and Kasumi
wasn't hesitant to lay into her father as well as her 'Uncle.'
"Considering some of the things you've done since this so-called
father arrived, you don't have much right to defend him."

"Waaaahhh, my sweet Kasumi is yelling at me!" As if on cue,
tears began to escape Soun's eyes.

"Father, please!!" Kasumi had enough of her father's emotional
outbursts. Once more she addressed Saotome Genma. "Your son is
gone. He has gone to his mother, in order to find the compassion
and love he never got from you.

"Yes, he went to her as Ranko. It was far too dangerous for him
to go as Ranma. You know what a water magnet he is. He wouldn't
last five minutes with his mother before cold water came from
somewhere, and poof, say hello to Mr. Katana. Ranma figures it
will be easier to try to avoid hot water, although he knows that
will be a chore in itself. You remember how hot water seemed to
find him before, when he was hiding from his mother here as
Ranko."

With a sheepish nod, Genma agreed. As a cursed individual
himself, he knew all about the problems of water seeming to come
from anywhere, always at the worst possible time.

"But, Kasumi," Akane had collected herself just a bit. "Ranma was
always so adamant about his manhood. It doesn't make sense to
me. How could he willingly be a girl?"

Nabiki muttered to herself, "Methinks he doth..." Noticing that
her muttering was loud enough for the others to hear, she
stopped. "Don't mind me, I'm just babbling."

Akane once again asked Kasumi, "How could he do this, how could
he try to live as Ranko, just like that?"

Kasumi shook her head. "It wasn't just like that. As I said
before, this has been on Ranma's mind for some time, and frankly
the thought terrified him. He desperately wanted to make things
work out here, with you. But he was afraid to tell you straight
out how he felt, he was so afraid you would reject him."

Akane's eyes shot up in surprise. "He was afraid *I* would reject
*him*? All this time, I was afraid he would reject me." Tears
began to form around Akane's eyes. "I was just waiting for him
to say something..."

In a split second, Akane's face went from despair to hope. "It's
not too late. All I have to is go to Auntie's house, and talk to
Ranma. We can work this out, I know we can."

Kasumi lowered her head. "Akane, do you really think it will be
that easy? By leaving here, Ranma thinks the rift between you
two is irreversible. He would have stayed if he could see a
chance.

"And do you think it will be easy to talk him away from his
mother? You know what she means to him, and how much he misses
her. Now that he has her back in his life, do you think you can
ask him to leave her again?"

Akane's eyes flared. "It's not that I would be asking him to
leave her for good! She can always be a part of his life, you
know that! I need to tell him how sorry I am, and how much he
means to me. I'll get my point across even if I..."

"Even if you what, Akane?" Kasumi interrupted. "Even if you beat
it into him? Akane, if you go to Ranma now, you will lose your
temper like you always do. And things will get worse, trust me,
sis."

"I will not lose my temper!!" Akane shot back, screaming at the
top of her lungs. A second later a scared look came over her
face. "Oh, kami! I'm losing it, aren't I?"

"Now, now, Akane, don't worry. Everything will work out just
fine, I promise you." Soun stopped his crying and went over to
his youngest daughter. Taking her into his arms, he tried to
soothe her. "Don't worry, I would never let anything bad happen
to you. You know that."

"Right, Father." Kasumi couldn't take it anymore. "You wouldn't
let anyone or anything hurt Akane or Nabiki or me, right?"

Soun nodded. "Of course, you're my daughters, and you mean the
world to me."

Kasumi retorted, "Riggggghhhht. That explains why you allow
'The Master' to live here among us, never putting your foot down
when he's about to do something to one of us. And that explains
why you have not stopped Ryoga from what he was doing. And why
you had made Nabiki and I promise not to tell Akane about it."

Soun's eyes went wide as saucers. "Kasumi, now is not really a
good time to talk about..."

Akane looked up at her father. "Talk about what, daddy? What is
this about Ryoga? What is it you haven't told me? What did you
make Kasumi and Nabiki promise?"

Soun went back into full tear express mode. "Waaaahh, I can't
tell you, you'll hate me!"

Akane's aura rose leaps and bounds. "Dadddddyyyyyy!!!! I'm
starting to hate you right about now! Tell me, now!!!!!"

But Soun was sobbing too much to talk. He looked up at his
daughters, then his face turned towards the floor and he started
to cry even more.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on here?" Akane had
long since passed the end of her rope. Genma started to cower,
staying far away from Soun. Genma was worried because Soun's
tears were coming so fast and hard, a change from those tears was
very feasible.

Nabiki decided to speak up. "Okay, Akane, I'll tell you. I'm not
quite as stubborn as Kasumi when it comes to keeping promises.
Sit down, please. Akane, trust me on this."

Akane nodded, and slowly sat down. She looked up at Nabiki with
expectant eyes, wondering just what this secret could be.

"Well, you see, Akane, Ryoga is, well, how can I put this?"

Nabiki scratched her chin for a moment. Then she resumed. "Ryoga
is cursed, Akane. Just like Ranma and the others. Ryoga was
cursed at Jusenkyo."

"That's it? That's the big secret? I don't see what the big deal
is. So Ryoga's cursed? Why is everyone making such a big deal
out of this?"

There was a long pause. Akane was starting to worry. Eventually
she asked one more question.

"What does Ryoga turn into?"

Nabiki started biting her lip. Once more, she was just a little
hesitant to spit this out.

"Well?" Akane was getting impatient.

"He turns into...he turns into a pig, Akane."

Akane's eyebrows raised. "A pig? So, what's the big deal with
that?"

Nabiki sighed. Akane could be so dense sometimes, and it's
Kasumi who unjustly gets that rap. "He turns into the cutest
little pig. The cutest little black pig.

"Complete with bandanna."

Nabiki watched Akane's face with concern. It took a moment, but
soon she saw the gears begin to work inside Akane's brain.
Slowly Nabiki noticed another change in Akane's face. It was
changing into pure fury. Even worse than she ever saw it
whenever Ranma was involved.

"Ryoga...that...that...that..."

Everyone took a number of steps back, except for Soun who was
already crouched in a corner. The aura around Akane began to
glow and it glowed hot. Kasumi could swear she felt the
temperature rise ten degrees.

"that...that...BASTARD!!!"

A blinding light surrounded Akane, and before you know it...

Well, it's known that Ranma has a ki blast based on confidence.
And Ryoga, he has one based on depression.

It that one moment, Akane found a powerful blast all her own.
The blast charred a major portion of the Tendo living room. It
was a blast based on pure righteous anger. Akane was in no mood
at the moment to come up with a fancy name for her new attack.
Maybe later. Right now, all Akane could think about... 

"He used me! He used his curse to get close to me and to..."

Akane began to take long, deep breaths. "And you knew, all of
you knew! And you all let him..."

Akane turned to her father. "Daddy, how could you? You let a boy
sleep in my bed! You let him see me get undressed!"

Akane gasped as if realizing something. "Ranma, he knew too,
didn't he?"

Soun simply nodded. Right now he was incapable of a more
detailed answer.

"He knew and...he tried to keep Ryoga away from me. That's why
he never got along with P-Chan! That's why he was always calling
Ryoga 'P-Chan.'

"That's why..." Akane gasped. "That first night that I took
P-Chan into my bed with me. That's why Ranma came into my room.
He wasn't trying to do anything perverted, he was trying to
protect me from that pervert!"

Her anger flushed out of her, and Akane found herself filled
with sorrow. Dropping to her knees, she began to sob. Slowly
some words came to her.

"All the time, I gave Ranma grief for picking on P-Chan. I
always yelled at him for 'picking on poor Ryoga.' I treated
Ranma like a pervert and Ryoga like a perfect gentleman, and
all along..."

"Oh, Ranma, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't understand. I
just didn't understand." 

Akane got off her knees, and approached her father. "Why, Daddy,
why did you keep it a secret from me? Why didn't you tell me?"

Soun looked up at Akane and stopped crying for a moment. "I
could see how Ranma was acting. I could tell he cared for you by
the way he was protecting you from him. I figured that by
letting Ranma handle this, it would help bring the two of you
together."

"Daddy..." Akane shook her head in disbelief. "It didn't help
bring us together. If anything, it hurt. A lot. I could
understand the way he acted with the other girls. I knew he
really didn't care for them, except as friends. He just didn't
want to hurt them, and he wasn't comfortable enough to break
things off gently. Like one could break up with Shampoo or
Kodachi gently.

"But I could never understand the way he acted with P-Chan or
with Ryoga. The way he was always picking on P-Chan made me
think a lot of bad things about him. And I could never
understand why he was always so hostile towards Ryoga.

"And Ryoga, he sure didn't help. As P-Chan, he heard all my
secrets. And as Ryoga, he used them against me, to try to poison
my relationship with Ranma. And it worked, Daddy, it worked. I
trusted Ryoga so much, I believed all the horrible things he
would tell me about Ranma.

"When I see that perverted little pig again. I'll...I'll..."

Akane paused for a second before finishing her thought. "All of
a sudden, I've got a hankering for the great taste of bacon."

Kasumi worried for Ryoga. She hated what the boy had been doing,
but she wasn't sure she wanted to see him suffer from whatever
Akane ends up cooking up for him. Especially if it's cooking
him. If the Eternal Lost Boy was smart, he'll stay lost. For
good.

"Akane, I'm so sorry. I'm a bad father, I'm so sorry." Soun's
tear ducts once again worked overtime.

"You can say that again." Nabiki, like Kasumi, was close to her
breaking point. "Not just with Ryoga, but with that little freak
too! How could you let him stay here, knowing him like you do?"

Soun looked up. "The Master? He's just too powerful. I wanted to
get rid of him, but there's no way I could..."

"Daddy!" Nabiki couldn't take another word. "It just wasn't that!
You always kowtowed to him, always apologized to him for things
that no right-thinking person should ever apologize for!

"You gave him the go-ahead to do anything he wanted to the four
of us, Ranma included! You and that sick panda just turned your
backs whenever he threatened us!"

Genma came to Soun's side, and his defense. "Now, Nabiki, The
Master is just too strong for us. If we could deal with him, we
would. It's best to try to appease him, so he doesn't get too
upset. Ranma never understood that... "

*THWAP* In one second, maybe even quicker, Nabiki's hand
exploded upon Genma's face.

"What was that for?" Genma asked.

"Do you have any idea the kinds of hell that perverted little
freak put us through? Do you?"

"A little glomping here and there, a little discomforting I
admit, but nothing to get worked up over..."

*THWAP*

Genma was stunned. Twice, Nabiki had managed to hit him. Twice,
this girl had gotten her attack through to him, and twice he
could no nothing to stop it.

"A little glomping? That's all you think went on?"

Soun came over, ashen-faced from Nabiki's words. "Nabiki, we
hated what was going on as much as the rest of you, but there
was really nothing we could have done to stop..."

*THWAP* Same hand, different target. Soun stood there, stunned
from too much happening in too short of a time.

"That pervert terrorized us, Daddy! He glomped us, yes, but he
didn't stop at that. Some of things he did to us when you
weren't paying attention..."

Soun's mouth opened in abject horror. "Nabiki, no. Please tell
me he didn't..."

Nabiki shook her head. "It never went THAT far, fortunately. But
he did plenty of things I'd rather not talk about.

"And the ONLY reason he never went that far was because of Ranma.
Because Ranma did what you two should have been doing. He
protected us, Daddy. He fought tooth and nail to keep that
pervert away from us."

Soun's mouth opened, and began to move. Nothing but silence.

Genma, however, was vocal. "What did you want from us, Nabiki?
How could we possibly go against The Master? The true martial
artist knows when he's overmatched. It is best to avoid such a
battle, in order to fight again some other..."

Nabiki's right hand flew out, aimed at Genma's face. This time,
he caught it before it reached its destination. Unfortunately
for him, he didn't notice Nabiki's left hand.

*THWAP*

"Will you stop doing that?"

Nabiki's eyes burned with contempt. "Only when you stop giving
me reasons to do it."

Genma huffed. "What are you talking about, girl?"

Nabiki clenched her teeth, and asked one simple question. "What
is the sworn duty of a true martial artist?"

Genma stared at Nabiki before answering. "To protect the weak."

Nabiki nodded her head in assent. "Then wasn't it your SWORN
DUTY to protect us, and the other girls and women of this
neighborhood?"

"Bah, of course, but we could protect everyone better by keeping
The Master content. Riling him up would only make matters worse.
Ranma fought him, as you said. And how many times did all of us
suffer because Ranma irritated him?"

"And he is just too powerful!" Soun added his own words to the
discussion. "A true martial artist knows when he's outmatched."

Nabiki took a deep breath. "It is the sworn duty of a true
martial artist to protect the weak. Period, end of story.
Nowhere does it say it is the sworn duty to protect the weak
against an easy enemy.

"A true martial artist doesn't fight a foe just because they can
beat them. No, a true martial artist does not pick his battles
based on the strength of the opponent. A true martial artist
fights a battle because the battle is important to win. Because
there is a purpose, a need for the battle to be fought."

Nabiki paused for a second, catching her breath. "That is the
very basis of honor, you two. Honor means you fight for
something that deserves to be fought for. If means you fight,
even if you're outmatched and outgunned.

"How many fights has Ranma fought where it seemed he was
outmatched? Against Happosai, against Cologne, against Ryoga,
against Taro, and so many others. But did he stop and not do
battle? Did he give up, and admit he couldn't handle it? No, the
battles were important, and rather than give up, he focused on
what needed to be done. He won battles no one thought he could
possibly win."

Nabiki looked over at the two practitioners of Anything Goes
Martial Arts. "The point is, dealing with Happosai and keeping
away from us was and is an important battle. Before, Ranma dealt
with him. Now Ranma is gone. What do you think is going to
happen once Happosai comes here and sees that the one obstacle
to him having his own way around here is gone?

"The Master is your responsibility. He always was. It was
cowardly for the two of you to drop him in Ranma's lap like you
did. Now if you have any honor at all, if the two of you really
believe that you follow the path of the warrior, then figure out
a way to get rid of the freak once and for all. Or I guarantee
you this, Ranma will not be the last to leave this house."

Soun and Genma looked out and saw Akane and Kasumi standing
behind Nabiki as she finished her rant. The looks in both of
their eyes told them that Nabiki wasn't making a idle threat.

"The three of you wouldn't leave me, would you?" Soun was too
stunned to even start crying. "Where would you go, what would
you do?"

Kasumi answered for all three. "I don't know where we'd go,
Father. Just away from here. Away from him." Both Akane and
Nabiki nodded, backing up Kasumi's statement.

Kasumi turned, and headed for the stairs. "It has been a long
day. We all need a bit of a rest. I'm heading upstairs. If
anyone else has anymore to say, say it now."

No one said a word. The events of the afternoon had simply worn
everyone out. Without a word, the Tendo sisters all headed
upstairs. Soun and Genma went over to the shoji board, and sat
in contemplation. They had a lot to think about.

****************************************************

Nodoka looked sternly at her charge. She knew the young girl had
some problems, and could be stubborn about them, but there were
certain things that had to be cleared up. Now.
 
"Dear, we need to sit down and have a little talk."

Ranko looked sheepishly at her mother. She thought she had a
good idea of what was about to come. One of the things that
bothered her most about coming to live with her mother was that
she was sure that her mother would force her to act more like a
'girl.' Ranko had hoped to put this off as long as possible, but
she knew where her mother stood on how young girls should act.

"Yes, Auntie?"

Nodoka took a seat on the guest bed, and motioned Ranko to
follow suit. Trying not to show her fear, Ranko found a chair in
the room, and proceeded to make use of it. Pulling it closer to
her mother, Ranko nervously sat, preparing herself for the
worst.

"Ranko, dear, I know young girls of today are different from
when I was growing up. But it is high time for you to outgrow
your tomboy phase, and start acting like a proper young lady."

"But, Auntie..."

Nodoka held out her hand, quickly silencing the redheaded girl.
"I don't expect you to change overnight, dear." Ranko inwardly
flinched at her mother's choice of words. "But there are some
things that must change, and change now. Do you understand?"

Ranko looked at her mother curiously. "What things do you mean,
Auntie?"

Nodoka reached over to one of the items she unpacked from
Ranko's bag. Picking it up gingerly, she held it between herself
and Ranko and simply asked, "Boxers, dear?"

Ranko gulped. She should not have let her mother help her
unpack. Once again, her folly was coming back to haunt her.

"Err, I just find them more comfortable, Auntie. I just don't
feel so constricted wearing them."

Nodoka gave Ranko a glare that made the young girl shudder. "Not
only did I not see a single panty, dear, but no bras as well.
And don't tell me about comfort. Someone as 'healthy' as you
needs the proper support the bra gives you."

Nodoka noticed a blush creep across Ranko's face at this
comment. She also noticed a quick look of something else in the
young girl's eyes. It seemed to Nodoka like pride. Good, she
thought to herself, she's proud of way she looks. Perhaps there
is hope after all.

"Dear," Nodoka continued, "girls wear bras and panties out of
necessity. Boxers are fine for boys, they don't have the same
problems we women have."

Ranko's eyes shot up. "What do you mean, Auntie?"

Nodoka sighed. "I'm talking about the support the panties give
you for hygiene purposes."

"Hygiene????" Ranko was now completely lost.

Nodoka replied, "Of course, dear. Come to think of it, I didn't
notice any hygiene items among your things. Perhaps you left
them with your cousins?"

"Huh? I don't know what you're talkin' about."

Nodoka shook her head in confusion. "You know, for when you..."

****************************************************

That's odd, Akane thought to herself as she sat in her bedroom.
I thought I could hear someone screaming for a second. She
shrugged her shoulders and returned to her thoughts.

Yes, Akane told herself, she and Ranma could work it out. Akane
didn't care what Kasumi thought, she knew she could keep
control. She mused that now that she knew everything, now that
she understood why Ranma was acting the way he was most of the
time, they could work it out.

Akane lay down on her bed. She wasn't really tired, but it
helped relax her, helped her think. When Ranma first came here,
Akane had felt something special about the red-haired girl who
seemed so shy at first. She felt a closeness she never felt,
even with her friends at Furinkan. And then...

Akane shook her head to herself. Then she walked in on him in
the bath. It wasn't really Ranma's fault, he did leave the
occupied sign out. Akane had long realized that she was as much
to blame for what happened that day as Ranma was. 

No, Akane told herself, it's time to stop the childish spats.
It's time the two of us grew up. Both of us. Akane looked around
for something to hold, and found a stuffed pig that Ryoga had
once given her. It was to remind her of P-Chan when he was gone.
Part of her wanted to tear that stuffed animal into little
pieces. Another part of her wanted to hold it, to find comfort
from it.

It was the latter part of her that won this day. Taking the
animal into her arms, she squeezed it as hard as she could
without doing any damage. It's just a stuffed toy, Akane
realized. The real pervert is out there. That's who would get
the stuffing knocked out of him. Not this innocent little toy.

Grasping the animal almost as if she were grasping for her life,
Akane started to rock back and forth on her bed, the tears
falling hard. Only one word would escape her lips for the rest
of the night, no matter if she was awake or in a restless sleep.

"Ranma?"

****************************************************

Ranko began to hyperventilate. Her eyes got wide, and her face
was as white as a lazy child's drawing of a cow eating grass in
a pasture.

"Ahhh, ahhhh, ahhh... you mean girls... ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh." The
words just would not come out.

Nodoka was in shock. Ranko was acting like she had never... but
that couldn't be right. The child is certainly well past the
normal age, and surely someone must have told her about this
before.

Collecting her own thoughts before trying to calm the young girl
down, Nodoka took one of the deepest breaths she had ever taken
(not counting her son's birth, of course).

"Dear, calm down. Everything is going to be all right."

"All right?" Ranko slowly tried to catch her breath. "How can
you say that everything is going to be all right? You're sayin'
that I'm going to... down there... every month... that's
disgustin'!"

Nodoka had to calm Ranko down. Taking her by the hands, Nodoka
looked her straight in the eyes, and gave her a look of warmth,
of love. "Dear, I won't lie to you. Yes, it's disgusting. It's
messy. It's a pain in the neck."

Ranko shook her head at that. "Neck? A pain in the neck I could
take. But this..."

Nodoka brought her right hand up to Ranko's face, softly
caressing it. "Dear, this is a normal part of being a woman.
It's just a normal function of your body. There are other things
your body does that could be seen as just as gross as this, but
you deal with it because it's normal."

"But... but..." Ranko was still beyond rational thought. "A
normal part of being a woman? But why?"

Saotome Nodoka looked at her guest in wonder. She just couldn't
believe that a girl this old could be so clueless about her own
body. Well, the girl needed to know, and it was best to get it
all out now. Hopefully, she'll be able to stay calm through
this.

"Well, dear, it all has to do with the differences between men
and women."

****************************************************

Tendo Soun and Saotome Genma were sitting at the shoji board,
but no game was being played. Each was in deep thought, thinking
hard about what had happened, and more importantly, what to do
now.

Soun looked over to his old friend and asked, "So, Saotome, any
ideas on what we should do?"

Genma nodded with a thoughtful purpose. "Yes, Tendo. I've
thought it over, and I don't see any other way."

Curious at what his friend had decided, Soun asked, "So, are you
going to your wife's home to retrieve Ranma?"

Genma shook his head. "No, that won't work for a number of
reasons."

Soun was ready to ask what that meant, when Genma continued. "If
Nodoka were to see me, it would be all over for both Ranma and
me. I can't go as a panda; this neighborhood has gotten used to
seeing my panda form around, but I would draw too much
attention over there."

Genma paused, and crossed his arms before him. "Worst of all,
there's Ranma. He's stubborn, and he's not going to change his
mind about this easily. Even if I could get him away from her,
he's become too strong for me to keep him from going back. He's
my son, I just can't keep him locked up for who knows how long."

Soun nodded in understanding. "Yes, plus he's gotten too strong.
It's unlikely he could be locked up for very long. So, what are
you doing to do?"

Genma's eyes narrowed. "It's this damn curse that's the cause of
all of our problems. If it wasn't for this curse, he could be
with his mother as a man, not as a girl."

You mean it's the fault of that stupid promise you made your
wife all those years ago, Soun thought to himself, knowing
better that to say such words aloud. Soun knew Genma was totally
blind to his own faults and follies.

"Yes, the best chance I have, the only chance to get my son back
is to find a cure." Genma stood up, and spoke with purpose, as
if he were a king making a grand proclamation. And of course, in
his own eyes, he was. "In the morning I will leave for China. I
swear I will not rest until I can find a cure for Ranma, and
reunite him with his mother as a man!"

Soun rose up and slapped his old friend of the back. "Wise plan,
Saotome. I will look forward to your return. And when young
Ranma is cured, then there will be no reason why he and Akane
can't be married, and take over the dojo."

Plus, Soun told himself, it will be good to get Genma out of
here for awhile. He is my closest friend, but ever since he
arrived, life here has been too chaotic. It will be nice to have
things return to normal for a little while.

"Come, Saotome, let's us drink to your success in finding a cure
for you and your son."

Genma began to chuckle. "Yes, Tendo, let us celebrate. Soon all
will be well."

****************************************************

Nodoka smiled to herself. Ranko seemed to take this news better
that the other.

Ranko was once again cursing her father. Stupid old man, she
thought, spending all of that time trying to tell me what it
means to be a man among men, and never even telling me the
slightest thing about this.

It wasn't that Ranko was completely clueless about... certain
things. She had picked up a little here and a little there about
sex and the relationships between men and women. Of course, she
picked up such things from living off the road, and certainly
not from her father. And the nature of her curse helped put
certain concepts together. In a manner of speaking.

Ranko knew, as an abstract concept, a little. She even knew her
curse could make her a mother. The dream, that nightmare that
she had on Watermelon Island told her that. But she was
completely in the dark about the details. Until now.

"A moth...a moth...I could become, I could carry..." Though
she wasn't as frazzled as she was earlier, Ranko still had
problems getting her thoughts out.

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, dear. You can be a mother one day. You can
have your own children."

Ranko looked down and brought her right hand up to her stomach.
"I could carry a life in here."

Nodoka gleamed at this. Yes, she thought, there is hope for her.
If I handle this right, there is hope.

All of a sudden, a voice in Ranko's head spoke up. "Hey,
Saotome, whatcha doin'? You're a guy, remember, and guys don't
have babies. Guys don't want to have babies."

Nodoka frowned as Ranko shuddered, lowered her hand and began to
look nervous again. Well, Nodoka told herself, this won't be
easy. The life of a mother is often fraught with peril.

"Now, dear, you can understand now why it is necessary for you
to wear the appropriate female undergarments."

"Yes, Auntie, I guess you have a point." Ranko didn't like this
turn of events, but with what her mother just told her, she
couldn't argue the point too hard without revealing her secret,
and she wasn't going to do that.

"Honestly, though, I can't believe that no one talked to you
about this before. I find it hard to believe that you've never
experienced a period before."

Nodoka thought for a second, then she asked, "You are a martial
artist. Right, dear?"

Ranko nodded. "Ummm, yeah?"

Nodoka smiled. "Perhaps that's it. I remember reading a story
in the paper about a study of female athletes. It said something
about all the training that these women do mess up their body
chemistry, and affect their cycles. That could be why you
haven't menstruated yet."

Or the fact, Ranko thought to herself, that I was a boy most of
my life, and I haven't spent enough time as a girl to finish a
cycle. The voice in the back of her head added, "But if you stay
a girl for your mother, you will, 'Ranko,' you will."

"Still, surely your mother talked to you about this before."
Nodoka was still amazed at Ranko's lack of knowledge about this
subject.

"Well, I never really knew my mother." Just as the words escaped
Ranko's lips, she chided herself mentally. Idiot! There goes the
Saotome foot in mouth disease again, opening my mouth before
thinking.

Nodoka gave Ranko a look of concern. "I'm sorry, dear, I didn't
know. Is it something you want to talk about."

Not really, Mom. Still, after opening my big mouth, I can't
really leave this hanging, can I?  But what do I tell her?

Then Ranko remembered something she overhead Nabiki say once.
That it is best to hide a lie within the truth. At the time, she
didn't quite understand that, but now she had an idea.

"Well, you see, I...lost my mother when I was very young. I
don't even remember much about the time I did have with her."
And that much is true, Ranko assured herself.

"My father raised me by himself, trying the best he could."
Which wasn't much at all, Ranko added to herself.

"Oh my." Upon hearing her mother say this, Ranko thought that
she was back in the Tendo home for a second. But just a second.
"That must of been very hard on both of you. I'm sure it was
hard on him to raise a daughter by himself."

"Well," Ranko picked up her story, "he didn't have the slightest
idea of how to raise a daughter. And he had always wanted a son,
an heir. So he raised me as if I were his son, as though I were
a boy. Once, he even enrolled me in an all-boys school."

"You're serious?" Nodoka was beginning to think she understood
her 'niece' just a little better. At first, she had thought it
was some kind of tomboy phase, but she realized it ran much
deeper. "I can't believe he would do such a thing to his own
daughter. Why, I need to have a few words..."

You and me both, Mom.

"That's not possible," Ranko murmured. For one, Ranko thought,
you'll never catch him. Ranko then paused for dramatic effect.

"What happened, dear?" Nodoka was saddened by the events that
had occurred in this young child's life. Yes, she would do
everything in her power to assure this girl a normal life. She
would do everything to make up for any damage that was done.

"We went on a trip and..." A tear began to form at Ranko's eye.
Damn, I have been hanging around Nabiki too much. I'm getting
too good at this kind of thing. "And he fell into a pool... and
he didn't come..." Ranko stopped, leaving the thought
unfinished. And technically, the story was true. Her father did
fall into a pool. He didn't come out of the pool, but a panda
did.

Nodoka was close to tears herself now. Getting off the bed, she
went over and hugged Ranko, giving her comfort. Ranko felt nice
and warm inside. This is what it's like, she thought to herself.
This is what it's like to have someone give you love. Why didn't
I do this sooner?

After a moment, Ranko continued. "After that, I went to live
with Akane and her family. They were really uncomfortable with
having me live there, but Uncle Tendo once made an arrangement
with my father in case... so I stayed with them as a matter of
family honor."

Stroking the hair on the young girl resting in her arms, Nodoka
wondered, "Are you sure about that? They seemed to like you well
enough, Ranko. Akane especially. The two of you seemed so close
to me."

Ranko shook her head. "You never saw the way Akane acted towards
me when you weren't around. We constantly argued, and Akane took
out all of her frustrations on me, being the stranger in the
house."

Ranko sighed, and looked to the floor in sadness. "I so wanted
to be her friend. For awhile we got along okay, but then Ranma
and his father showed up, and the strain between us went deeper.
I think she was kind of jealous because Ranma and I got along so
well, sorta like brother and sister."

Okay, Ranko stopped herself, that's stretching it. But looking
up at her mother's face, it seemed to work.

Nodoka was saddened by this news. Now she understood why Ranko
seemed so lonely when she was with a nice family. Well, she
would not make that same mistake. Nodoka would treat Ranko with
the love and caring she deserves. Other ideas began to come to
her. If Ranko and the Tendos really didn't get along that well,
then perhaps...

"Dear, I'll be right back. I want to make a phone call. I'll be
back in case you want to talk to me about this some more, okay?"

Ranko nodded and gave her mother a small smile. This brought joy
to Nodoka. This child has such a sweet personality, she told
herself, and that smile...How could anyone not get along with
this girl?

Before leaving the bedroom, Nodoka turned around and looked at
Ranko once more. She wanted to be sure the child would be all
right. The girl had just shared some very personal pains, and
she didn't want to leave her alone too long. But she had to make
this call.

A neat and organized woman, Nodoka had all the phone numbers of
her friends catalogued by the phone. Finding the one she wanted,
she dialed the number.

"Yamamoto residence."

"Naoko, this is Saotome Nodoka."

"Nodoka? How nice to hear from you. How are you doing?"

"I am doing well, Naoko. I called because I have a favor to ask
of you."

"What do you need, my friend?"

"Remember the young girl I told you about? The one that was
staying with the old friends of my husband?"

"Yes, I remember. Ranko, her name is, right?"

"That's right. Well, she's here with me now. She left the Tendos
and she wants to stay with me."

"I see. Well, what can I do to help you?"

Nodoka paused for a second. "Well, I would like to have her get
a complete physical as soon as possible. Is there any way I can
get her to come see you soon. I know you must be booked solid,
but I'd like to get this taken care of as soon as I can."

Naoko, who was not only Nodoka's friend, but her doctor,
replied, "Normally, Nodoka, it would be awhile until I could
schedule her in, barring an emergency of course. But you're in
luck. I had a cancellation for tomorrow and I could fit her in
at, say 9:30 in the morning?"

"That would be perfect, Naoko!" Nodoka was pleased, this was
working out splendidly.

There was another pause. "Is there a reason in particular you
want to do this so quickly? What's wrong with her?"

Nodoka frowned. "It's nothing I want to talk about on the phone.
It may not be anything, but I want to be sure. I'll talk to you
tomorrow, before you see her, okay?"

"I understand."

"Thank you, my friend. Now I must go. I don't want to leave her
alone longer than I need to."

"All right. I will see you tomorrow, then."

"Until then."

Finishing her call, Nodoka hung up the phone and went back to
Ranko. Tomorrow, she would have her examined. Then she would
take her shopping, so she could have some proper clothes. And
then...well, we'll take this one step at a time. Nodoka knew
she still had the Tendos to deal with, and she wasn't sure on
how that was going to go.

****************************************************

The young woman sat alone in her room, close to tears. She
looked over at a mirror, and was shocked at how ragged she
looked. This was new to her. Normally, she was the one who kept
control, the one who didn't let the world see how she was
feeling. Right now, she wasn't sure if she gave a damn if the
world saw her or not. Certain people, however...

A knock came at the door. Not sure if she wanted this person to
see her this way, she tried to compose herself before answering.
She wasn't entirely successful.

"Yes? Who's there?"

The voice came from the other side of the door. "It's me. Can I
come in? I would like to talk to you about Ranma."

Well, the girl thought to herself, it could be worse. Just how,
she wasn't sure. She checked her face and straightened out her
clothes before she gave permission for her sister to enter her
room.

Kasumi walked in and looked at her younger sister. It was
obvious to Kasumi just how hard she took this. Her face was
tear-stained. Her clothes, usually her clothes would not dare
get a wrinkle in the wrong place, but now everything looked
disheveled.

"Nabiki, are you okay?" Kasumi had not seen her sister this bad
in quite some time. Seeing this was almost as much of a shock as
what had happened earlier that day.

"Frankly, no, I'm not." Nabiki spat her words out, as if they
were shot from a cannon. "Or maybe I'm better than I've been for
some time. I'm not sure which."

Kasumi went over to the bed, and put her arms around Nabiki. She
looked at her carefully. She could see something in her eyes
that had been missing for awhile. This surprised her. She
expected Akane to react badly to this, but Nabiki? Kasumi kept
quiet, waiting for Nabiki to open up to her.

"You were right, Kasumi, you were right." Nabiki finally spoke,
in a low tone. The words came slowly, but they came. "I did take
pleasure in making him suffer. I just couldn't help myself. I
thought I got over that, I thought I was okay with it, but..."

"What do you mean, Nabiki? I don't quite understand."

Nabiki smiled at this. She knew her older sister knew more about
the goings-on than she had let on, but obviously she didn't know
everything.

"Ever since Mom died I..." Nabiki couldn't finish her thought,
as tears formed in her eyes from thinking about her mother.

"Damn, even after all this time, even after the sessions, I
still have trouble taking about her, I still can't..."

"Sessions?" Kasumi was now totally confused, completely unaware
of what Nabiki was talking about.

Nabiki looked over to her sister's face, and smiled. Kasumi was
stunned. This was not the normal smug look of her sister, it was
not the normal 'cat playing with a mouse' smile that she
sometimes saw on that face. No, this smile was almost a
reflection of the one she knew was on her own face. One of
warmth, and of love.

"When Mom died, I changed. Hell, we all changed, didn't we?
Before, I was such a emotional child. I know it was a long time
ago, but you remember, right, sis?"

Kasumi nodded. She was just nine at the time, but she still
remembered how her family was then, and how they all changed.

"After she died, I couldn't deal with my emotions anymore, so I
just tried to lock them away, deep inside. I became Tendo
Nabiki,  Ice Queen. I never let anyone or anything touch me."

A sob escaped from Nabiki. "At first, it was fine. My emotions
were buried deep, and I felt like nothing could ever hurt me.
But as I got older...

"Soon, I became trapped. Eventually I wanted more from life, and
I was trapped. When you mentioned how Ranma had no friends, I
could understand where he was coming from, because that's me as
well. Oh, I have 'lackeys,' I have customers, I have victims.
But me, Tendo Nabiki, I have no friends. If I was in trouble,
would anyone, outside of my family, come to my aid? Or would
everyone sit back and laugh, saying it serves the bitch right."

A quiet sob escaped Nabiki's lips. "In time, I knew I was
trapped. I knew I needed friends, I needed someone to...love
me. But my role was already set. I couldn't change myself, and
everybody had their opinions of me set in stone. But then, out
of the blue, I saw a way out.

"Remember when Father first told us about Ranma? Remember that I
was the only one that was excited about the prospect of having a
fiancee? You know why? Because here was someone who didn't know
me, someone who didn't know about Tendo Nabiki, Ice Queen. I
thought, this is my chance. I could start fresh with Ranma, and
maybe I could have someone who didn't see me as a super-bitch."

Nabiki sniffled, and continued. "And then I blew it. When Ranma
came to us in his girl form, I treated her like dirt. It was
Akane who befriended her. Akane, who hated boys, but had nearly
every boy at Furinkan lusting after her, was the one who
befriended Ranma.

"I had my chance, and I blew it. So I took it out on Ranma. I
looked down on him, seeing him as an arrogant, macho jerk, and I
took pleasure in taking him down a step or two. And then..."

Kasumi's arm came around and embraced her sister. She glanced
down at her sister's face and finished her sister's thought.
"You fell in love with him, didn't you?"

Nabiki nodded and sobbed. She wasn't too surprised that her
sister could tell. As she thought before, Kasumi was far more
observant that anyone gave her credit for.

"Yes, he is arrogant and macho, but he is also kind and
selfless. I've seen him put himself in one embarrassing position
after another just to help someone. He's even helped me. And
Ryoga. Hell, even Happosai.

"I saw the way he always protected Akane. And I wanted, oh kami,
I wanted him to always protect me the same way he protected
her."

A small smile graced Nabiki's lips. "Then Akane gave him to me.
She GAVE him to me, and for a moment I was so happy! It didn't
last long, but I was happy. Because I could see she loved him,
and more importantly I could see he loved her. I knew I never
had a chance, so for their sake I...I did everything I could to
get them back together. It worked, but still they refused to let
each other know how they felt.

"That was the last straw. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed
help to deal with everything I was feeling, but I was afraid to
bring it out into open so I..."

Kasumi gently squeezed her sister. "What? What did you do,
Nabiki?"

Nabiki took a deep breath, and finished her thought. "Ever since
then, I've been seeing a therapist. Twice a week. Yet another
expense for the Tendo clan that Ranma has helped pay for. I
haven't told anyone about this, and you can't either Kasumi. The
funny thing is, today I think I had what my therapist would call
a breakthrough."

Kasumi was stunned. "A therapist? YOU are seeing a therapist?"

Nabiki nodded. "A pretty good one, as a matter of fact. At first
he didn't believe me about the Jusenkyo curses, I could tell.
But after a week of sessions, I started noticing a few books
dealing with Jusenkyo in his library. I liked that, he didn't
totally blow off my story, and looked into it. You know, he
could probably do you some good too. Father and Akane as well."

"Me? And Akane and Father? Nabiki, you can't be serious?"

Nabiki smiled, this time with a hint of mischief. "Like I said
before, when Mom died I changed. And so did you. Father and
Akane changed as well. It's been ten years, and all of us are
different than what we were. Different than what we should be.

"It's funny, you know, Kasumi. When Mom died, I buried my
emotions, while Father embraced his. You used to be a forceful
person, much like Akane, and then you became docile. You denied
your strength, while Akane relished in hers. What a crazy,
mixed-up, dysfunctional family we've got here, Kasumi. And all this
time we've gone on as though nothing was wrong."

Kasumi sat there for a moment, holding her sister tightly.
"Perhaps that would not be a bad idea, Nabiki. I know would like
to try. It might take some time to convince Father, and we will
definitely have to tread lightly around Akane about this, but I
think you are right."

A gleam came into Nabiki's eyes. "And maybe we can get a family
discount rate." Both sisters shared a laugh at that.

Nabiki got serious quickly. "Maybe what Ranma did can help us.
Maybe there's hope for us." The two sisters sat there quietly.
For a few minutes, they did not share a word. They did not need
to.

****************************************************

"Are you sure I can't help you, Auntie?"

"No, dear. You are a guest in this house. You sit back and
relax. I'll take care of this."

Ranko sat back and waited. Food was something Ranko took a great
pleasure in. If it was remotely edible, of course. Ranko was
thrilled at the thought of a meal cooked by her mother. She knew
what a good cook her mother was. Not that Kasumi was bad, but
Ranko had her preference. Whether that opinion was touched by
bias, who could say?

"I do feel kinda like I'm imposing, Auntie. I like to cook.
Isn't there something I can do?"

Nodoka turned her attention from her chore, and glanced towards
Ranko. "You can be patient, and just sit back and relax. It will
be ready in a moment. If you enjoy my cooking, that's more than
enough for me."

"Really?"

Nodoka nodded. "Of course. Part of the joy of cooking, is having
someone you care about enjoy what you prepare for them. It is
one of the greatest experiences in the world."

This was a new concept to Ranko. She remembered the time she
cooked for her mother over at the Tendos. When her mother
complimented her on her cooking, she had felt something inside
of her. For a moment, until her mother had stated that Ranko
would make a good wife.

Nodoka came over to the table, and placed a plate of food in
front of Ranko. "There, dear. I hope you like it."

Ranko sat back and lost herself in the aroma coming off of her
plate. It seemed heavenly to her. Raising her chopsticks, she
was about to dive into her meal, when she stopped herself.

I have to be careful, she thought. I don't want Mom to see me
eat as quickly as I usually do. I know she wouldn't think it
ladylike. This will be hard, I must try to concentrate and eat
at a pace that I've seen Kasumi eat at. Yes, that should be
okay.

Ranko began to eat her meal. Slowly. After a couple of bites,
she gave her mother a look of utter bliss.

"Auntie, this is wonderful. Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Now eat up. I don't want to see any of
that food go to waste."

Ranko grinned. "That ain't no problem."

****************************************************

Nabiki broke the cone of silence. "Kasumi, you came in here to
talk about Ranma, not me. What's on your mind?"

Kasumi nodded. "What are we going to do about Ranma, Nabiki?"

Nabiki thought for a second. "If this is what Ranma really
wants...then we should support him. Her. She needs to know that
she does have friends. Akane was right about one thing, she
deserves an apology. I have to tell her that."

Kasumi nodded in agreement. "That would be a good idea. It would
help Ranma, I mean Ranko, a lot to know she has our support.
Perhaps you and I can go over there in the morning and visit
with her."

"What about Akane?"

Kasumi frowned at this. "She's not ready to see Ranko yet. You
saw the way she was downstairs. If she were to go to Ranko
now..."

Nabiki sighed. "Yeah. But Akane's stubborn, how are we going to
keep her away from Ranma, err Ranko?"

"Let me deal with that. I'll have her promise me that she won't
see Ranko without my permission. That should buy us some time."

Nabiki looked unconvinced. "She's broken a promise to you
dealing with Ranma once, and quickly at that. What makes you
think this will be any different?"

Kasumi sighed. "I don't know. But it's the only way of keeping
her away, at least for now."

"You know, Akane is the least of our problems concerning Ranko."

"You mean Father and Uncle Saotome? I'm sure we can deal with
them."

Nabiki shook her head. "No, not those two idiots. You're right,
any stupid thing they come up with, we can deal with. We just
have to keep a close eye on them. No, the real danger is
elsewhere."

Kasumi wondered for a moment before understanding. "Oh, you mean
THEM!"

Nabiki brought up her hand to support her chin, losing herself
in deep thought. "Yeah, them. The way I see it, there is danger
from four fronts. The Kunos. Ukyo. Pig-boy. And the Amazons.
Once word of this gets out, things are going to get messy."

Kasumi wondered, "Is there a way we could keep this from getting
out?"

Nabiki shook her head in response. "Trust me on this, Kasumi. A
secret this big won't stay hidden very long. When Ranma stops
showing up at Furinkan, stories will spread like wildfire. No,
we can't keep this hidden. The best we can hope for is damage
control."

Kasumi's eyes shot up in curiosity. Part of her was amazed at
watching her sister's thought processes at work. "Damage
control?"

"Yep. Now the Kunos, they won't be too hard to deal with. They
are totally clueless about Ranma's curse, so the truth has as
much chance of sticking to them as it does to Teflon. I'm sure a
halfway decent cover story will work for them. It's the others
that worry me."

Nabiki continued to think. Kasumi just sat back and watched her
sister try to work her way through this. Eventually Nabiki spoke
again.

"There is no getting around it, they are going to have to know
the truth. And it should be from us. If any of them hear this
secondhand, it will only make things less manageable. Maybe if
I tell each of them directly, I can keep things from getting out
of control." Fat chance of that, Nabiki added to herself.

"You are going to tell them?"

"Yep. It's the best way. Now as to who gets told when...

"Ukyo's out of town right now, on restaurant business, so she
will have to wait. Ryoga, who knows when we'll see him again,
not even Ryoga has a clue on that. Of course, if he's lucky,
we'll never see him again, but I don't think luck and that boy
ever went hand in hand."

Kasumi agreed, on all counts. Hopefully they could get to Ryoga
before Akane did. Otherwise... "That leaves you with the
Amazons, Nabiki. You sure you want to do this? They can be awful
hard to deal with. They are unlikely to listen to reason."

"I agree, they are quite stubborn. Of all of them, they are the
most dangerous, in my opinion. Well, not Shampoo or Mousse. Like
Ukyo and Ryoga they have their weaknesses that can be dealt
with. No, Cologne worries me the most. She's shrewd, and clever,
and used to getting her own way. I can't see her giving up on
Ranma easily."

Nabiki stood up and began to pace. "Yes, the Amazons should be
first. I should talk to Cologne, directly. Tomorrow, before or
after we go see Ranko. I am going to need tonight to figure out
how to do this."

Nabiki gave her sister a big grin. "Don't worry, I have a trick
or two up my sleeve, enough at least to keep them off-guard.
This will work out, you have my word."

Kasumi got up and went over to hug Nabiki. "Sometimes, I am so
proud to have you as a little sister."

Giving her best Cheshire Cat impression, Nabiki gave Kasumi the
biggest smile she could muster. "Thanks. Now if you don't mind,
I'd like to be alone to think all this through. We've got a long
day ahead of us tomorrow, and we both need our rest."

Kasumi headed out the door, and left Nabiki alone. Once alone,
Nabiki fell like a sack of rags into her bed. I really hope,
Nabiki thought to herself, I really hope this works out. For
all of our sakes.

****************************************************

The girl frowned at herself in the mirror. The sight was
beginning to make her squirm inside.

I'm wearing a bra and panties, she told herself. I'm wearing
girls' pajamas. I can't believe Mom went over to a neighbor's
house to borrow these until we went shopping tomorrow. And she
took all of my boxers and put them away.

The girl was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Why did I do this?
Am I so eager to turn my back on my manhood?

Then she remembered the feeling she got while being comforted by
her mother. That's why, Ranko told herself, that's why I did
this. It has nothing to do with being a girl, or being a guy.
It's about being with my mother, about sharing her love.

She went over and laid down in her bed. It was so unlike her
futon. She could get used to this part. There was still a part
of her that was unsure about this. But she felt that she had no
choice.

Suddenly the voice in the back of her head spoke up again.
"There's always a choice, Saotome. No matter what, you always
have a choice."

"Yeah, right." Ranko spoke, not aloud, but inwardly, towards the
voice. "Like I've had a choice in any of what has gone on in my
life."

"You've always had choices, even if you never wanted to admit
it. You could have told the Tendos the truth right away, instead
of waiting for Akane to surprise you in the bath. You could have
apologized to her right then and there. You could have broken
things off with Shampoo and Ukyo any number of times, and you
didn't. The reversal jewel was perfect for you, all you had to
do was nothing, and Shampoo was out of your life for good.

"You could have chosen to tell Akane the truth about Ryoga. You
could have broken off with Akane any number of times. Heck, you
could have said something before Kasumi and Nabiki dumped Akane
on you. Even the act of not making a choice, Saotome, is a choice.
You've had many choices in your life, Saotome. Who's to say what
might have happened had you made different choices? But you've
made and lived with your choices, for good and for bad."

"I've made some good choices, too?"

"Sure, plenty of times. And you've made plenty of bad ones. The
point is, Saotome, is even when you thought you had no choice in
the matter, you always had choices. Like now for instance."

"What do you mean?"

"The way I see it, you have four options in front of you. You
can choice one of these four.

"First, you tell your mom the truth."

"No way." Ranko wasn't ready for that. "Maybe if I had told her
the truth from the beginning, but now after all the lies...it
would hurt her too much."

"Second, you can run back to the Tendos, or maybe to China, or
someplace else. You can leave here."

"No I can't!" Even though she was just talking internally, her
voice was strong, forceful. "I can feel the loneliness that
lives here. Pop left Mom all alone all those years ago, and I
won't do the same thing to her. She's lonely. She needs me, as
much as I need her. Maybe even more. I can tell, I can feel it.
I won't leave her all alone ever again."

"Okay." The voice seemed sympthathic to Ranko. "I understand.
Third, you can take the occasional hot bath. You'll still live
as a girl, but at least you won't have to worry about those
things your mother was telling you about earlier."

"No." This time the response was less forceful, but had equal
meaning behind it. "When she learned I hadn't... bled yet, she
was worried. I could see the concern in her face. If I don't
soon, it's going to worry her too much. She already thinks
there's something wrong with me, I can tell. If I don't start
physically acting like a real girl, she'll start getting
suspicious. No, I have to keep away from hot water."

"You could try to trick her, maybe cut yourself and put a little
blood on a pad. There's no reason to go through that."

"I wouldn't know how much to put. I lied well to her earlier,
but I'm no good at that kind of deception. She'd see through
that in no time."

"Okay, that leaves us with the fourth choice, Saotome. And
that's to stay here and live as a girl, to live as Ranko, and
everything that comes with it. Are you prepared to do that? And
don't say you have no choice, because as I just told you, you
do. If you do this, it is by choice. You had better understand
that now."

Ranko paused a second before answering. "Then I choose to stay.
It won't be easy, but I need this, and so does Mom."

There was no response to that. Eventually Ranko asked. "Just who
are you?"

There was a low chuckle from the back of her head. "Who do you
think I am, Saotome?"

"Are you her? The girl that died in the spring all those years
ago?"

The voice started to laugh vigorously. "Is that what you think?
Is that what you really think?"

"If you aren't her, then who are you?" Ranko was getting worried
now.

"Saotome, have you ever heard that one of the first signs of
losing your mind is talking to yourself?"

"Uhhh, you mean, you're..." Ranko didn't want to finish the
thought.

"I don't believe that wives' tale, by the way."

"You don't."

"Nope. I think the first sign of losing your mind isn't talking
to yourself.

"It's having a meaningful conversation with yourself."

Ranko began to shudder. She brought her blanket up closer to her
face, as if it would comfort her.

"Don't worry, Saotome, you're not going crazy. At least not yet.
And we'll talk again. Until then, pleasant dreams."

And then there was silence in Ranko's head, as all she heard was
the sounds of the night around her. She tried to fall asleep,
but it wasn't coming too easily.

Eventually, she fell asleep, and headed towards another day.

End Chapter Two