Chapter Five: White Night Fantasy

        After Ranma had trudged upstairs, Akane said, ““Forgive me, Mrs. Saotome, but aren’t you being a bit harsh on Ranma?”
        “Harsh? How is forcing a girl to dress and act as a girl in any way harsh?”
        “But Ranma’s not really a girl....”
        “Akane, you’re in denial as much as Ranma is, and I’m afraid that what you say and do only makes things worse.” Nodoka held up a hand to forestall Akane’s protests. “No, Akane, hear me out. Ranma is of course a young man first, but he is also a young woman part of the time. This you can not deny, and I intend that she also learns what it means to be a young woman. Her father has clearly drilled many misconceptions into her head regarding women. She thinks we are inferior. She fears showing your emotions. She fears anything vaguely feminine.”
        “Oh my!” Katsumi exclaimed. “You know your daughter so well!”
        “And, might I add, having you, Akane, call her a pervert whenever she does anything remotely feminine only exacerbates the problem. That’s why you have much to learn as well. You need to learn to treat Ranma as a girl, when she is a girl, and to be comfortable with her acting as a girl.”
        “But... but that’s....”
        “What? Perverse?” Nodoka raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you see how such language destroys Ranma’s self esteem, how it prevents her from embracing her female half?”
        “Well... but I don’t want him to....”
        Nodoka grasped Akane’s hands in hers. “Akane dear, you must understand, this is also for your benefit. Once Ranma understands what it means to be a woman, he will make a better man, and in the future a better husband. Unlike some husbands I could name.”
        “But, Mrs. Saotome... it’s just... aren’t you asking too much of Ranma, this time?”
        Nodoka smiled. “My son has worked very hard and has become one of the best martial artist’s I’ve ever known. That ability to focus and learn can be channeled to other tasks, I’m certain of it. I have faith that my son can do anything he sets his mind to.”
        Akane sighed. “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Once he sets his mind to something, Ranma never gives up.”
        “That’s not entirely true,” said Nabiki as she stepped into the room. “Ranma’s failed or given up on any number of things that he intended to do. What you mean to say is that once he’s accepted a formal challenge, he never gives up.”
        Akane frowned. “Yeah. You’re right.”
        “I wonder if Ranma sees this in that light?” Nabiki said. For a moment she stared off into space, a thoughtful look on her face. Then she turned and headed for the stairs.
        Akane watched her sister go, wondering what she might be up to now. But Nodoka interrupted her thoughts. “So tell me, Akane. Have you considered my offer to you?”
        “I... yeah,” Akane replied. “I accept it as well. I think I can help Ranma, and... I could use a change of scenery as well. My grades have suffered, since Ranma came .”
        She paused, and then added, “But Mrs. Saotome, is it really going to be as easy as all that? Chaos follows Ranma everywhere... Ukyo and Shampoo will certainly follow us, and then others as well. I’m afraid switching schools won’t really change anything....”
        “Don’t worry about that, dear. I already have some ideas on that score....”

XXX

        Ranma stepped out of the room she shared with her father, wearing the dress and other clothing her mother had brought. Before she took two steps she was blinded by a bright flash. Ranma blinked, then glared at Nabiki, who stood in the hallway with her ever-present camera.
        “Oh, my, Ranchan,” Nabiki exclaimed. “don’t you just look precious! What an adorable little girl you make!”
        “Can it, Nabiki. I ain’t in the mood.”
        “But you’re so cute in that flouncy dress! Oh, but that pigtail has to go – you should ask your mother style your hair, some bouncy curls would be fabulous! Just a little makeup and some lavender nail polish, and you’ll have all the boys after you.”
        “Nabiki...” Ranma growled.
        “But you really should get your ears pierced. No self-respecting girl your age would be caught dead with unpierced ears.”
        “Never! I ain’t no girl!”
        Nabiki smirked, placing her hands on her hips. “Good grief, Saotome. It takes so little to get to you. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, it’s not even sporting.”
        “You got a point?”
        "Of course I do. Here you promised your mom to live as a girl and inside of a minute I’ve got you swearing that you aren’t one. Face it, Saotome, you can't do this," Nabiki said. "Give it up already."
        Ranma’s face grew red. "Shut up! I can do this! I can do whatever I want!"
        Nabiki suddenly reached out and lifted the skirt of Ranma’s dress. Ranma yelled and jumped back out of reach.
        “Oh my! Matching yellow panties, how lovely!”
        Ranma’s face went red. “Nabiki,” she growled, “You’re really treading on thin ice here....”
        Nabiki rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, Saotome. There’s nothing special about one girl seeing another girl’s panties. You do realize, don’t you, that if you attend St. Hebereke, you’ll have to change in the girl’s locker with the other girls? Have you even considered that?”
        “I...” Ranma’s face went pale. “I... um.....”
        “Obviously you hadn’t considered it.” Nabiki laughed. "Give it up, Saotome. You, attend a girl's school? Graduate with straight A's? Never gonna happen. Give me a break. You know it isn't in you. It is, in a word, impossible."
        "No it ain’t! If I put my mind to it, I can do anything!"
        "Ranma, if I set my mind to it, I could easily be the top student at St. Hebereke. But you? You couldn’t possibly get better grades than me if you tried."
        "That sounds like a challenge."
        Nabiki smirked. "If you like."
        "Fine!” Ranma growled. “I can out-girl student you any day of the week!"
        “Very well,” Nabiki said. “I formally accept your challenge.” She extended her hand. Ranma shook it without a second thought.

XXX

        The full Tendo clan, along with two-thirds of the Saotome clan, rode a train across town to where Nodoka Saotome lived.
        Only Genma Saotome was absent. He had not returned for dinner, a clear indication of how upset he was by the current turn of events. Most figured he would lay low for another day or two, avoiding his wife and son-turned-daughter completely.
        Akane sat between Mrs. Saotome and her father, who still had tears flowing down his cheeks, as he had for several hours now. Akane wondered if he would become dehydrated from all of that crying. On the other side of a large stack of suitcases and boxes sat her eldest sister Kasumi, while Ranma and Nabiki sat a ways apart, talking in low tones.
        Akane wondered about that. Normally Ranma had as little to do with Nabiki as possible. She was also wearing that ultra-girly sun dress her mother had brought her, and acting completely unselfconscious about it. Something else was on Ranma’s mind, something more important than going out in public in a flouncy, flowery cotton dress.
        Those two were up to something, but what?
        Akane glanced down at the envelope in Nodoka Saotome’s hands. Before they’d left, Ranma had signed a formal agreement sealing the deal between mother and daughter. There really was no backing out now – Ranma was going to be a girl for the rest of high school. Akane would have to get used to thinking of him as a girl. She wasn’t sure she could do that, just yet.
        Also in there was the document she’d signed with Mrs. Saotome. She’d been surprised at that – that she’d also been expected to sign a formal agreement. But it was more involved than just living with Ranma’s mother and attending school at St. Hebereke. Akane had also agreed to work hard and graduate with good grades. That was fine with her, she wanted nothing less than that for herself. She’d also agreed to treat Ranma as a girl and support her in her “goal to embrace her female self, and to become a fully-round young lady” and to help and support her primary goal of graduating high school with good grades. Akane wasn’t really sure what she thought about all of that, but she’d signed anyway.
        The last bit had been the most personal. Akane had agreed to become Nodoka Saotome’s temporary daughter. It wasn’t anything as formal as adoption, but Nodoka wanted to act as Akane’s mother for the year and a half that She would be attending St. Hebereke and living at Nodoka’s house. That had taken Akane completely by surprise.

        “I’m not trying to replace your mother,” Nodoka had said. “You must realize that. It’s just... you seem as if you’ve been missing a mother for so long, and there are a lot of things that I can teach you that only a mother can teach.
        “Of course, should you and Ranma marry one day, I will become your mother by law. But I want you to think of me as your mother regardless. Even if it should come to pass that for some reason you and Ranma do not marry – I still want you to think of me as your mother. I’ll always be here when you need me. It would make me very happy to have you call me mother.”
        The lump in Akane’s throat had been so large it was painful. She’d hugged Nodoka, tears flowing down her cheeks, and had finally managed to choke out, “Thank you! I’d like that very much, Mrs.... Mother.”

        Thinking about it again, Akane couldn’t keep the tears from her eyes once again. Nodoka noticed immediately. “Is something wrong, daughter?” she asked.
        Daughter, Akane thought. If only Ranma’s stupid dad weren’t around, then maybe... well no, that was a stupid idea. A really stupid idea. But still, after all these years, to have someone she could call Mother... and since it was Ranma’s mother, it somehow didn’t feel like a betrayal of her own mother, whom she could just barely remember....
        “I don’t know why, but I can’t stop crying,” Akane said. “I’m as bad as Father....”
        Nodoka pulled Akane into a tight embrace. “That’s not true at all, Akane,” she said. “Yours are just tears of happiness, and you should never be afraid of being too happy.”

XXX

        “So what’s the rules, exactly?” Ranma asked.
        “We’ll keep things simple,” Nabiki said. “First, you must get better grades than me, either this year, or else by the time you graduate. I’m giving you two chances there – your grades this year versus mine, or your grades for your Senior year, again versus mine for this, my own Senior year.”
        Ranma frowned. “Okay. But St. Hebereke has higher standards than Furinkhan. Comparing your grades at Furinkhan to mine at St. Hebereke ain’t fair.”
        “You have a point.” Nabiki paused, looking thoughtful. “Tell you what. I’ll ask your mother to let me into St. Hebereke too. How does that sound?”
        “Uh... sure, I guess,” Ranma said. “You think you can convince her?”
        “I’ll do my best. If she doesn’t allow me in, then it can’t be helped, we’ll just have to compare grades regardless of which school handed them out.”
        Ranma nodded. “Okay, fair enough I guess. Is that it?”
        “No, I think there should be a little bit more than that. We need to test your ability to act and react as a girl in some way... let’s say, I’ll provide three tests before the end of the year that you must pass – things that any normal girl would have no problems doing.”
        Ranma studied Nabiki warily, aware that she was almost certainly walking into a trap. “Things that you have to do too?”
        “Sure. It’s not a competition otherwise.”
        Ranma continued to watch Nabiki in the way one would watch a tiger after stumbling upon it in the wild. “I ain’t kissing or hugging any guys,” she said. ‘Or going on any dates with guys. Nothing like that, got it?”
        Nabiki rolled her eyes. “Sure, Saotome. I’m sure I can come up with something that doesn’t involve kissing guys....”
        “Okay then,” Ranma finally said. “If you can do it, I can do it.”
        Nabiki smiled. “You’re on Saotome. And may the best girl win!”
        “Wait,” Ranma said. “What’s the prize? What do we win?”
        Nabiki raised an eyebrow. “Must there be a prize?”
        “No,” Ranma said, “but I’ve never known you to do anything if there wasn’t money involved somehow.”
        “Your lack of faith in me wounds me deeply,” Nabiki said, “however, I did have something in mind. Let’s say, the loser will award the winner an all-expenses paid day trip to Cesare’s Salon and Spa... you know, the place West of downtown? They offer an exciting assortment of services including manicure, pedicure, facial, skin treatment, body wraps, mud bath, body massage, sauna... oh, but it would be a terrible shame to experience such a lavish beauty treatment if you had nowhere to go afterwards, so let’s say that the deal includes a trip to a hair styling salon, a new dress of the winner’s choice -- price can be negotiated, we want to keep things within reason here -- and dinner for two and tickets to a movie, or perhaps to the theatre or opera house.”
        Ranma nearly choked. “What? Now just wait a minute, Nabiki. I don’t even know if I could afford that....”
        “You’ve got a year or so to save up the money,” Nabiki said.
        “But more importantly,” Ranma continued, “why would I want something like that? I’m a gu....”
        Ranma suddenly clamped her mouth shut. Nabiki cupped a hand to her ear. “Yes? You were saying something?”
        “Nothing,” Ranma muttered.
        “I suppose you want to say that such a reward is too girlish. But, Ranma, This is a competition to see who can be the best girl student, is it not? Naturally, the prize should be something a girl would like. And I might add, if you’re not interested in the prize then you’ve already lost the battle.”
        Ranma glared at her with a look of pure loathing. “You fight dirty, Nabiki.”
        “Of course,” Nabiki said. “It’s a girl thing, you know....”

XXX

        Ranma’s gaze swept the room. She was impressed -- her mother had been busy. Apparently convinced that both Ranma and Akane would accept her offer, she’d moved her own things into the guest bedroom at her house, and then had remodeled the much larger master bedroom. A massive row of shelves divided the room in half, floor to ceiling, with a study desk built into each side. There was a bed on each side, and a chest of drawers, and Ranma’s half of the room contained a large wardrobe, while Akane’s side inherited the closet. This meant Ranma’s half was a bit more cramped.
        Akane pulled aside the curtain that now separated her room from Ranma’s.
        “Well?” Ranma asked. “What do you think?”
        Akane grimaced. “I’m not exactly thrilled about it. I mean, it’s a nice room, but sharing with you, even if it’s divided like this... well, as long as you stay on your half, it should be okay.”
        “Hey now, I have to deal with you walking through my room to get to yours.”
        “That’s different, you’re a bo...” Akane caught herself just in time.
        “I’m a what?”
        “You know what I mean. It’s just different, is all.”
        “Because I’m not really a girl.”
        “Don’t bait me, Ranma. You’re a girl, I know that. But you’ve been a boy before and you’ll be one eventually again. I’ve always been a girl. That’s the difference.”
        Ranma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Point taken.”
        Akane studied Ranma’s half of the room. “Well, my stuff is all moved in. How about you? Your side looks pretty bare.”
        Ranma shrugged. “I don’t own much, and Mom insisted that I leave all my guy clothes behind. There’s some things -- socks and underwear -- in the top drawer, and another dress in the wardrobe. I managed to talk her into letting me keep one outfit to work out in -- one of Shampoo’s silk outfits that I used when I was waitin’ tables at the Cat Café, so it’s a bit flowery and girly -- but that’s it. Oh, and a frilly nighty...”
        Akane blinked. “Really? Your – I mean Mom seems to be going completely overboard on the whole girl thing.”
        “Yeah. I think she’s trying for some sort of shock therapy or somethin’. Like makin’ everything extra girly will make me adapt faster, somehow.” Ranma made a face. “And we’re supposed to buy more girl clothes for me tomorrow.” Then Ranma suddenly smiled. “Well, actually, I don’t mind. If I’m gonna be a girl student then I’m going to be the best girl student there is!”
        Ranma began to laugh maniacally. “Ranma?” Akane asked, suddenly worried. “Ranma? What’s up?” But Ranma was lost in her own world, cackling like a demon in hell and muttering under her breath.
        “Think she can out-girl student me, does she? He he he... well she’s got no idea who she’s dealing with... ha ha ha!”

XXX

        Nodoka sat in her livingroom with Soun Tendo and his two elder daughters, Kasumi and Nabiki. On the wall was placed the family heirloom, the katana that Nodoka was fond of carrying around. The sun was setting in the West. It had been agreed upon ahead of time that the Tendos would spend the night here, before traveling back to their Dojo on Saturday.
        “My apologies for taking your youngest daughter away from you,” Nodoka said solemnly.
        Soun, who had already spent many hours crying over his loss, was finally putting on a brave face. “Think nothing of it, Mrs. Saotome. I know it’s all for the best. Akane will do well at St. Hebereke’s, I’m sure of it. And after all, you were separated from Ranma for so many years... I’m sure I can manage somehow....” Tears began to fall down his face once again. “Oh, my Akaaaane....” Soun wailed.
        “As for your request,” Nodoka said, turning to Nabiki, “It has been hard enough to talk the Principal into waiving tuition on two girls. Three would be difficult indeed."
        "Please, Mrs. Saotome. I can help you.”
        Nodoka’s eyes narrowed. “You can? From what I’ve heard, you were more than a little responsible for the chaos that plagued my daughter at her previous school....”
        Nabiki flinched. “Well... that’s partly true, I guess. But trust me, I know what motivates Ranma. And... it would mean a lot to me, personally. Something you said struck home. You said that girls are better students than boys, especially when there are no boys around to distract them. I've been distracted too long, Mrs. Saotome. I have less than a year left to get ready for college entrance exams, and being at an all-girl's school will help me focuse on my studies more."
        Nodoka nodded. “I can understand that.”
        “Even if my grades don't improve that much, a graduate from St. Hebereke has better prospects than one from Furinkhan."
        "Oh, I hadn't considered that,” Kasumi exclaimed. “St. Hebereke is a fairly prestigious private school, isn't it?"
        "It is indeed,” Nodoka said. “So then, this is for your own benefit, Nabiki?"
        "Not just that. What I said about Ranma is true. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that he – forgive me, she -- responds to a challenge. Because of that, I’ve already formally challenged her – to see which of us can be the better girl student in the next year and a half.”
        Nodoka raised an eyebrow. Kasumi exclaimed, “But sis, that’s not very fair! You’re already a much better student than Ranma – and much better at being a girl, I should think.”
        “No doubt that’s true,” Nabiki said. “But don’t count Ranma out. I’ve seen her in competition before. Once she's focused on a challenge, she keeps going until she succeeds, or dies trying.”
        “That’s... very noble of you, I suppose,” Nodoka said.
        “Well, I don't want to see Ranma fail at this any more than you do. I mean, it's not that I love the boy-girl or anything... but ritual suicide?"
        Kasumi wrapped her arms about Nabiki. "You do have a good heart, sis."
        "Yeah, I know, damn me. Just don't let others hear about it...."
        "I see. But it's more than that, Nabiki. My house is not large. There are only the two bedrooms. I have no room for you to stay here. If you were to attend St. Hebereke, it would mean quite a commute for you.”
        Nabiki did the calculations. It was true of course. Kodachi Kuno had a long commute to her school, and her brother had a long commute to Furinkan in the opposite direction, and the Tendo dojo was on the other side of Furinkan from the Kuno's. It would be several miles each way, which mean a train commute, which meant time and money....
        “I... understand,” Nabiki said. "But I'll manage somehow, if I’m allowed to attend St. Hebereke’s.”
        “Well, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll let you know when I have news, good or bad.”
        Nabiki nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Saotome. “That’s all I can ask.”

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