Kasumi gently knocked on Akane’s door. “Akane? Dinner’s ready,” she called softly.
“Thanks, big sis,” she heard Akane call back. “Ranma and I will be down in a minute.”
“All right, I’ll see you downstairs,” she responded, and turned away toward the stairs, her expression grim. For a change, she was not looking forward to dinner.
Inside the room, Akane sighed and gathered up the homework she’d been studying and put it back in her schoolbag, then swiveled to the right and gazed at Ranma. The redheaded girl had sprawled out a bit and was softly snoring. Akane smiled wistfully at the sight, then her smile turned impish. Standing up, she leaned over Ranma and laid a gentle kiss on Ranma’s slightly open lips.
Ranma’s eyes shot open, and with a yelp she rolled against the wall as an outthrust arm knocked Akane back a few steps. Sitting up and frantically looking around, Ranma relaxed as she realized she and Akane were alone in the room, then noticed Akane rubbing her breastbone. Blushing, she reached up to scratch the back of her neck. “Uh, sorry ‘bout that,” she muttered. “Guess I’m a little … nervous.”
Akane just chuckled, shaking her head ruefully. “I suppose I shouldn’t blame you, after the way we … I … treated you.”
“Hey, that was a better way to wake up than a bucket of cold water,” Ranma said lightly, then flinched as Akane tensed.
Akane closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then forced herself to relax. “It’s time for dinner,” she said in a forcibly light tone, opening her eyes and reaching out a hand.
Ranma nodded and took the offered hand as she got off the bed. “Sorry,” she muttered, then stiffened as Akane pulled her into a hug, relaxing after a moment when nothing else happened.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Akane whispered. “If anything, I should be the one to apologize. You’re right, it is a better way to wake you up — much better.”
Ranma was completely lost, at sea in a totally new situation, but she finally hesitantly returned the hug for a long moment, then pushed them apart and forced a smile. “Let’s go eat — and remember, let me do most of the talkin’ afterward, ya don’t want to lose your temper.”
Genma put down his chopsticks and looked around at the rest of those sitting on the floor around the table, his eyes flinching away from the diminutive Grandmaster of his Anything Goes style of martial arts. Seeing that everyone else other than Ranma and Akane across the table from him seemed to have finished their meals, he growled, “All right, boy, dinner’s over. Now, why are you still in your girl form?”
“Yes,” Nodoka, sitting beside her husband, added with a frown, fingering the Saotome honor blade by her side. “And why have you changed your hairstyle? It doesn’t seem very manly.”
“Mom, this is the way I wore my hair for years, until the Dragon Whisker,” Ranma responded, rolling her eyes. “I’ve seen plenty of men wearing their hair long and tying it back exactly the same way. Not that it matters, since the seppuku contract is no longer valid.”
Genma froze, blanching, as Nodoka’s grip on the sword’s hilt tightened. “And how is it no longer valid? Such honor pacts cannot be simply cast aside!” she asserted firmly.
Oout of sight beneath the table Akane’s hand gripped Ranma’s tightly as she took a deep breath and braced herself. “Simple,” the youngest Tendo responded. “Yesterday evening, I told Ranma I’m a lesbian, and Ranma’s agreed to be a girl that spends some of her time as a guy instead of the other way around from now on. Oh, and she’s moved into my room, too.” Looking over at Nabiki, she said, “Hey, big sis, how about getting a bigger bed?”
Hiding a wince, Nabiki forced a smile. “I don’t know, little sis, money’s going to be a little tight for awhile, but we’ll see.”
“So,” Ranma finished nonchalantly, “no son to be manly, no seppuku contract.”
Then, as Soun joined Genma in white-faced shock and Nodoka started to draw her sword, the redhead added coldly, “And if ya want that blade ta remain in one piece, you’ll leave it in its scabbard.”
Nodoka instantly stopped her draw, then after a long moment slid the half-drawn blade back. “Ranma, have you lost all honor?” she managed to whisper in a strangled voice.
In a voice cold as ice, Ranma said, “No, I’m just done letting others define my own honor for me. From now on I decide what my honor requires, not you, definitely not Pop, not anybody. If you decide that makes me unfit to be a Saotome, then go ahead and declare me ronin, maybe you’ll have time to have another kid to carry on the Saotome line.”
As Nodoka opened her mouth to reply and paused, searching for something — anything — to say to change Ranma’s mind, and with Soun still reeling from the blow, tears like a waterfall pouring down his face, Genma spoke up. “And what about the family agreement, boy, are you going to throw that aside just as easily?” he asked harshly.
Ranma shook her head. “No,” she said. “Maybe we’ll get married once I reach legal age, maybe we won’t, we haven’t really talked about it, but Akane’s agreed ta have my kid, and we’ll train it in both our styles. That’ll satisfy the agreement ta ‘join the schools’.”
“And what if the child is a girl?” Genma demanded, and Ranma shrugged.
“Then the child’s a girl,” she offhandedly replied, and Genma seemed to swell, face turning red, as Soun finally found his voice.
“WAAAAAAAAAH!!! My daughter and her fiancé are perverts, now the schools will never be joined!”
Nabiki and Kasumi exchanged angry glances across the table. Nabiki gave a slight nod and Kasumi opened her mouth to intervene, when Happosai’s voice cut across Soun’s wail. “Enough!”
Soun’s wail of anguish cut off as the two fathers stared in horror at their old Master. “But, Master … !” Genma started.
“I said enough!” Happosai said, then looked over at Ranma from his place beside Kasumi. “So, my boy — sorry, my girl — you’ve finally grown a backbone. I was hoping your opposition to my little amusements might eventually spill over into other areas, but this works just as well — even better, actually,” he added, giving Ranma and Akane a happy leer.
Everyone at the table stared at the shrunken gnome, until Ranma finally said, “You mean all this time, all the panty raids, it was all an act?!”
“Oh, no,” Happosai disagreed. “No, my delight in my pretties and taking comfort from warm embraces is real enough — when you get my age you need some harmless diversions to keep life interesting. But I hardly needed to pursue them here, did I? I could have just as easily moved to another ward, or city, and been able to enjoy myself in peace. And now that you’ve finally taken your future in your own hands, I may do just that. Though the opportunities around here have just gotten even more attractive,” he added lasciviously as Akane blushed and Ranma tensed up, beginning to snarl. “But first, how about your other fiancées?”
“Already handled,” Ranma said, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down. “I spoke to Ukyo and Cologne this afternoon. Ukyo says she’ll be fine, and Cologne’s come up with a way ta get me out of the Kisses now that I’m going girl — I just need ta become a battler sister ta Shampoo and an ally of the tribe, and we’re good.”
“Hmmm. So you’ll be headed to China to bathe in the Spring of Drowned Champion?” Happosai asked, but Ranma shook her head.
“No, some other Elders will be coming here with a barrel of water.”
“I see — good, you should stay away from that village as much as you can.” Happosai nodded approvingly, but Akane shivered as she felt a chill run down her spine at the cheerful speculation she thought she saw in the old pervert’s smile.
“But Master, the schools!” Soun half-wailed, only to shrink at Happosai’s glare.
“Whether and how that agreement is kept will be up to Ranma to decide for herself — after all, ‘anything goes’.” Then, a malicious smile crossing his face, Happosai added, “And to keep you two morons from interfering while Ranma and Akane are settling in, I think a training trip is in order — say, a month?” he asked, glancing at Ranma and Akane.
The two exchanged a look and a now grinning Akane gave a slight nod. “Sure,” Ranma said cheerfully. “Pop’s been getting’ lazy lately, he could use a good workout!”
Then, looking around the table, Ranma said, “I think that about covers it for now. I didn’t get any sleep last night, so I’m headed to bed.” Blushing and glancing over at Akane she added, “Join me?”
Akane blushed but nodded and the two rose, still holding hands, her blush deepening as Nabiki gave a little whistle.
“Remember,” the middle Tendo called out, ignoring Kasumi’s slight frown, “sleep does mean sleep, don’t stay up too late and keep the noise down!”
Ranma’s blush joined her fiancée’s, but the two wisely ignored the jibe as they walked out of the room and headed for the stairs.
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(Posted Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:37)
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