"How'd you do on the test, Ranma?"
Akane and Ranma were headed back home through the streets of Nerima. Ranma groaned. The cloud of doom that had surrounded him yesterday was back in full force. "Do you even gotta ask, Akane?"
Akane's face fell. "That bad, huh?"
"I never had a chance. I didn't even get ten free minutes to study all day! And I tried, I really, really tried this time!"
"Oh well," Akane said. "Maybe you'll do better next time."
"No," Ranma said. "Face it, Akane. I got no chance. Even when I tried my very hardest, I got nothing accomplished. I think... I think I've had enough."
"Had enough of what?"
"Of this. Of a school where the teachers attack me, where the principal decides to waste half the day in an all-out brawl with the students, where even my so-called friends 'accidentally' splash water on me every day in the locker room, where challengers and fiancees feel free to interrupt whatever I'm doing at any moment of the day... I mean, Mom's right. I can't win in this environment. If I don't make some major changes, I'm never going to graduate."
"Ranma, you don't mean...."
"Yeah. I'm taking Mom up on her offer."
"But Ranma! That would mean living as a girl... dressing as a girl... attending a girl's school...."
"I know. It's not like I want to do it, but I think it's my only chance if I want to get good grades and graduate. And it's not so bad, being a girl, if it's only part time. I mean, it's never really bothered me all that much, except that Pops is always on me about being as manly as possible... but Mom doesn't see it the same way. And I'll get to live with Mom, and get to know her. After all these years of living with Pops, it'll be a nice change of pace."
"Ranma," Akane said, "if that's what you really want, then I'll come with you."
"You don't have to do that, Akane."
"No. I can help you. It'll do me good to get away from all this craziness too. And... I'm sure your mother can teach me some things, too. I'd really like the chance to get to know her better, too."
XXX
“Are you sure about this, Ranma?” Kasumi asked as she set the table for the evening meal. “I know you don’t like having to dress as a girl...”
The shori had been slid back to reveal the side yard and koi pond. The sun was warming the grass and the wooden engawa. Ranma listened to the hum of cicadas, the splash of a koi, the tinkle of the wind chime as a light breeze caressed it. He closed his eyes for a moment, soaking it all in, aware that he might soon be moving away from the only real home he’d ever known.
“I’m sure, Kasumi,” he finally said. “If I seriously want to get good grades, then I need a change of scenery. It’s only for a while, I’ll get to know my mother better, and I think it won’t be nearly so bad at a school with no boys.”
“Kodachi Kuno attends school there, remember,” Akane said as she walked into the room.
Ranma shuddered. “Don’t remind me! At least that’s one good thing about being a girl though, she won’t be chasing after me as much....”
“Only trying to kill you,” Akane said.
“Fighting I can handle,” Ranma replied. “It’s the other stuff...” He shuddered again.
“How’s father?” Kasumi asked.
“Still bawling like a baby,” Akane said. “Honestly, it’s not as if I’m moving to another planet or something. I’ll be just across town....”
“Poor father! Your moving out is going to be very hard on him.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Are you sure about this, Akane?” Kasumi asked.
“I... not completely, I admit. But I do think it’ll be for the best. As much as this is for Ranma’s benefit, I need to concentrate on my schoolwork more. And getting to graduate from a prestigious school like St. Hebereke will only benefit me in the long run.”
“It just makes me sad to think of you leaving here, even if you’re not that far away,” Kasumi said. “I’m going to miss you terribly...” She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. “Oh, look at me, crying just like father....”
“I don’t want to talk about it, or I’ll start crying too,” Akane said.
Ranma smirked. “Just like girls to get all weepy....”
“Ranma!” Akane growled. “Knock it off!”
Kasumi embraced Ranma in a warm hug. “Don’t worry, Ranma, I’m going to miss having you here too. But whatever happens, you can count on my support. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask!”
“Thanks, Kasumi. I... that means a lot to me. I’ve always felt like... well, if I had an older sister, that is... I’d want her to be just like you....”
“Don’t be silly, Ranma. I’ve always thought of you as the little brother I never had. And you are going to be my little brother one day, if and when you and Akane marry.” Ranma smiled at that, and Kasumi added, “And you’ll also be my little sister into the bargain....”
Ranma’s smile faded. He sighed. “I’m not your sister, Kasumi. I’m not a girl....”
Kasumi pulled back and looked Ranma in the eyes. “Ranma, I know that someday you might find a way to break the curse. But until then, you are a girl, part of the time. I think your mother wants you to admit that and accept that, because denying it does you no good.”
“Yeah, I know. But I don’t want to be a girl... it’s just that I.. I...”
“Are you afraid that you might like it?”
“What? No!”
Oh, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “There’s nothing wrong with being a girl, you know.”
“Easy for a girl to say! But I ain’t a girl, I’m a guy!”
“Of course you are,” Kasumi said. “No matter your outward appearance, deep down, you’ll always be a guy. That much is obvious to anyone willing to look. Even if you learn to like being a girl some of the time, that’s not going to change. You’re not going to stop being who you are, you know. Don’t be afraid to embrace your girl side, it’s just another part of you.”
Ranma had no reply to that. Akane sat nearby, fidgeting but saying nothing. For several moments the room remained silent, and then Kasumi stood. “I’ll just finish getting dinner ready then,” she said, heading back to the kitchen.
Moments later, Genma strode into the room shouldering a backpack. He tossed a second one at Ranma, who caught it and groaned.
“Just great,” he muttered. “Here we go again....”
XXX
“Come, boy!” Genma exclaimed. “There’s no time to lose, we must escape! Your mother will be here soon! It’s now or never!”
“Don’t be stupid, Mr. Saotome,” Akane said.
“Forgive me, Akane,” Genma said, “but this has nothing to do with you.”
Akane’s face grew red. “It has everything to do with...”
“No. Ranma needs no advice from you. It’s listening to the advice of weak-willed women that’s gotten us into this mess....”
“I’m not going anywhere, Pop.”
Genma stared at his son, anger evident in his face. “Don’t you understand, boy? She’s going to try turning you into a girl!”
“No she’s...” Ranma paused, glancing toward the kitchen where Katsumi was. A knowing gleam appeared in his eyes. “So what if she does?” he asked. “What’s wrong with being a girl, anyway?”
“You little sissy!” Genma bellowed. “Haven’t I taught you better? Girls are weak and stupid! No son of mine will ever....”
Ranma had been ready to leap up and seize his father, but instead, Akane stepped forward. Grabbing her potential future father-in-law by his dirty gi, she heaved and threw. Moments later there was a loud splash as the heavy-set martial artist landed in the koi pond. A familiar panda surfaced, bellowing angrily, and brandishing a wooden bucket filled with water.
“Thanks Akane,” Ranma said. “I was just about to do that...”
“Figured it was my turn,” she replied curtly.
Ranma stepped out onto the grass. “In case you’ve forgotten, old man, you’re the one that turned me into a girl. Remember?” As if to demonstrate, the bucket hit Ranma right at that moment, drenching him and instantly transforming him into her.
The panda held up a sign that read, “It was all in the name of the art! I take no responsibility!”
“That’s beside the point now. If I’m going to live up to that stupid oath you made with Mom, then I gotta do this. Why did you make such a stupid agreement anyway?”
The panda held up another sign that read, “Everything I have done was necessary to teach you the art!”
“This is never about me, is it? Even when it’s about me, it’s really always about you. Well, pops, has it occurred to you that in doing this, I’m saving your neck as well as my own?”
The panda held up another sign that read, “You may be saving our lives, but at what cost?”
Ranma just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever, old man,” Ranma said.
“How does he write those signs so fast?” Akane asked.
Ranma shrugged “Dunno. But I bet that trick would be really useful during a test....”
“Hello! Is anyone home?” The voice coming from the front gate was that of Nodoka Saotome.
Genma held up another sign that read, “Too late! Now, son, be prepared to lose every last scrap of your dignity!” He turned and fled down the street.
Ranma turned and walked back into the dining room, where her mother was already waiting for her.
“Good evening, Ranma. Is your father about?”
“You mean the panda, last seen fleeing East?”
Nodoka sighed. “I had hoped to have him present for this; this decision affects him as much as you. But never mind. I am told that you have an answer for me?”
Ranma nodded her head solemnly. She knelt at the table, water still dripping from her forehead.
“I accept the conditions of your offer,” Ranma said. “I.. I don’t think I have any other choice, if I want to graduate with good grades.”
XXX
Nodoka Saotome did not smile. She looked upon her with the heavy, steady, all-knowing gaze of a budda statue. “This is a very serious decision, my son,” she said. “You will live with me as my daughter and attend St. Hebereke School for Girls as my daughter, for the next year and a half, until you’ve graduated from high school. You will study under my tutelage, and will act and react in all ways as my daughter. If you agree to this, I can have the paperwork submitted immediately so that you can start school at St. Hebereke on Monday. Do you agree, then, to become my daughter?”
Ranma looked frightened. “I.. you said it was only for a few weeks... being a girl full-time, I mean....”
Nodoka stared hard at her currently female son. “I know exactly what I said, daughter. Five weeks, at a minimum, after which I may allow you to dress and act as a boy when not attending school or school related activities.”
Ranma glanced up. “Huh? Now wait a second... that’s not what you...”
Nabiki smirked. “Oh dear, Saotome. Weren’t you paying attention the other day? Those were your mother’s exact words.”
“The point of that part of the agreement is for you to become as comfortable in your female form as you are in your male form. As I said before, your father has hardly raised you to be a proper young man, let alone a proper young lady. He’s planted many misconceptions about women into your head, and about what it means to be a man or a woman. All of that must change. Therefore, you will promise to remain a girl until I’m convinced that you’ve fully embraced your feminine side.”
“What if you’re not convinced? How long would I have to remain a girl?”
“The contract is in force until you graduate from high school, of course.”
“You mean... I’d have to stay a girl for a year and a half?”
“Potentially, although I certainly hope not,” Nodoka said. “Honestly, I can hardly envision you remaining a girl for a full year and a half and somehow not adjusting to being a girl at some point. But you will remain a girl until I’m satisfied that you have adjusted.” She smiled and added, “When that point comes, Ranma, it will hardly matter to you whether you are a boy or a girl, because you’ll be comfortable in either role.”
“But – I can’t. I’m not a girl!”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a girl, Ranma. That’s the first thing you need to learn. If you approach this as some punishment to be endured then we will accomplish nothing.”
XXX
“Honestly, Ranma,” Akane said. “It’s not like being a girl is a jail sentence.”
“Yeah,” Ranma said. “I know. And I already agreed on this.” She sighed heavily and added, “Okay. I accept the terms of our agreement. I... agree to become your daughter.”
Nodoka smiled for the first time. “And I accept. From this point forward, until your graduation, you shall be my daughter.” She leaned forward suddenly and embraced Ranma in a fierce hug. “Oh, Ranma-chan, I know you won’t regret this!”
“I... thanks, Mom. I sure hope so.”
Nodoka produced a large package wrapped in brown paper. “Here, Ranma. Take this....”
Ranma accepted the package nervously. “What is it?”
“Open it and see.”
Ranma shredded the brown paper. Beneath it was bright yellow cloth printed with lavender flowers. Ranma held up a strapless summer dress with white lace trim and a full, billowing skirt. Beneath it were light yellow bra and panties, socks with lace trim, and some brown leather pumps.
“I do hope I got the measurements right,” Nodoka said.
“Oh Ranma, it looks lovely!” Kasumi exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight.
Ranma stared at the clothing as if it contained some deadly plague. “W-w-what do you want me to do with this?”
“I want you to go upstairs and change into it, of course. What did you think?”
“But... mom... I....”
Nodoka raised an eyebrow. “Ranma, did you not just agree to become my daughter?”
“Well yeah, but... school doesn’t start until Monday. Why do I gotta change now?”
“Because the terms of our agreement start now,” Nodoka said. “I was afraid of this reaction. Honestly, Ranma, if a little thing like wearing a dress makes you flinch and complain, then how can you be ready to live as a girl or attend school as a girl?”
“I...” Ranma started, and then bowed her head. “Okay, Mother. I understand. I’ll go put this on now.”