Genma frowned in confusion as he looked around the Tendo house. He had expected to have to sneak in and hide from whoever would happen to be at home. This was just a scouting mission, to get a look at the lay of the land, see if it would be safe to contact Soun, but he hadn't expected it to be so easy. "Where is everybody?" he wondered. He frowned and looked for a calendar-clock to check the date. He had been losing track of the days over the last year or so on the road. "It is a weekday, so Ranma and Akane should be in school. Soun and Kasumi should be home though." He wasn't certain if Nabiki was even still living at the dojo or not. Genma scratched his head and walked into the kitchen. It was as pristine as usual, though there was an extra set of knives apparently. A lot of things were kept lower to the ground than he remembered, as well. If he didn't know better, he'd say that the kitchen was used by two separate cooks. He returned to the living room and passed through it on his way to the dojo. There was a new trophy sitting next to the small ones Akane had collected from local tournaments. She had apparently won the all Tokyo competition of late. Genma wasn't overly impressed, such above board competitions never seemed to possess adequate opponents. He saw the name Akane on the trophy's plaque, and simply failed to register the Saotome next to it as he glimpsed past it. Of more important note was the fact that more of the training equipment was out of storage. Genma shrugged at that, Soun must have gone back to teaching on a more regular level. There couldn't be that much attention on the dojo, though. If the Tendo dojo's most well known fighter had been thoroughly humiliated, nobody would want to train there. "Probably just Akane," Genma thought, leaving the dojo. He headed upstairs and walked down the hall-way, intending to check the guest room to see if he had left anything behind. He was surprised to see a wooden plaque on the door. A red horse with Roman letters carved into it reading "Ranma and Akane." "What-" he glanced back towards where Akane's room was and noticed for the first time that the duck plaque was no longer on the door. Instead there was a white cloud with the word "Nursery" engraved on it. He blinked and then walked into the former guestroom and looked around. It had more or less been converted into a second master bedroom, with Akane clearly as the decorator. That made some sense, the two guestrooms were larger than any of the three girls' rooms. What had Genma confused was the mere fact that Ranma and Akane were sharing a room. The fact that Ranma was still alive was surprising enough. In addition to the large western-style bed there were a few other pieces of furniture that Genma did not recognize. A large desk with two chairs, papers and books neatly stacked and organized. He picked up one marked in clear calligraphy that, while not exceptional, was still better than Ranma used to be able to achieve. "Musabetsu Kakuto Saotome-Ryu Revised Training Techniques?" Genma read aloud, questioningly. He flipped through a few pages and frowned. "How can you teach the Ja Jinku no Apache without the rattlesnakes?" He was flipping through the pages a little further when he heard activity downstairs. He moved to the door in a near panic. Listening at the top of the stairs he heard a lot of feminine carrying on, though he couldn't hear what the topic was. He edged forward a little incautiously to try to catch something of what was being said. Which is how he heard someone coming up the stairs. Thinking quickly, and in his normal cowardly manner, he shut the door quietly and moved to exit out the window. In a moment he was safely out of the building on the roof. "Hey, Pop," a quiet voice said. Genma turned to see a familiar young woman sitting there on the roof. She was wearing a light sweater over a t-shirt, the neck of which Genma could barely see, and a pair of black sweats. She had long red hair and watched him in a nervous manner. It was a moment before Genma recognized Ranma past all the changes. "I shoulda known you'd show up just ta make somethin' like today more nerve-racking. I've had a coupla tiring days, Pop, more tiring than my fights even." Ranma said quietly. She looked him over and noted the book in her father's gi. Suddenly her expression turned hard, though her voice remained smooth and quiet. "I probably should be resting." "Ranma," Genma said, surprised. He quickly gained his ground though, falling into the old act. "What are you doing dressed like that? You're sitting like a girl, and your hair. Have you done nothing to fix that lock?" "Pop..." Ranma started quietly. "Never mind," Genma said. "Let's get out of here before your mother discovers I'm back and goes through with the contract." Ranma sighed and looked down at the roof, keeping Genma visible from the corner of her eye. "That's all you care about, isn't it? I didn't really understand that til I saw you sneaking away from us with my book in your gi." Ranma pointed at the object in question. "What would you do with me after we get outta here? Sell me off to some brothel in Hong Kong?" "How dare you disrespect your father like that?" Genma demanded quietly, remembering that Ranma wasn't the only one home. "You come to the house," Ranma said looking up and glancing away, still keeping Genma in sight though. "And after what ya had ta see you think you can start right up like we never came here?" "Stop this..." "Quiet, Pop," Ranma said softly. "Somebody else'll know yer here, an' some of 'em would really like to hurt you. The only reason yer makin' any move is 'cause I caught ya. You'd rather have left with my trainin' manual an' never even dealt with your son, right?" Ranma looked toward him. "These are my techniques boy," Genma protested. Ranma's eyebrows arched in cool disbelief. "I don't remember you training in them," Ranma said. The sound of a baby crying drifted up to them and Ranma looked down at the roof standing up. "Take the manual and leave, I can make copies." She turned away from her father down towards the courtyard. "You don't understand anything, Boy," Genma protested. He advanced on the girl and then suddenly felt himself flying across the roof. Genma rolled to his feet, he hadn't even seen a hint of Ranma moving. "I got more important things than you to worry about," Ranma said returning to a relaxed stance. "Leave now, don't come back. Ever." Then she dropped down to the courtyard and walked into the house. Genma weighed the pros and cons in his head, and took the opportunity Ranma offered him. Besides it was already painfully obvious that Ranma wasn't the manly young man he had raised. And now he had this book of techniques revised by his son, certainly there would be some of those Amazon techniques within. He really was coming out of this ahead. He didn't notice his wife watching him leaving from the front gates of the complex. Nodoka watched him leaving and frowned. ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Yer thinkin' too much," Ranma said in a cautionary tone. "Just do the techniques, don't think about it." Akane looked up from the mat at Ranma and sat up, looking at the gymnastic equipment they had borrowed from Kodachi. "When do we move on to the next technique?" Akane asked stretching out sore joints. Ranma shook her head. "Sorry, Akane," Ranma said. "Not til' you get this one down." They both looked to the obstacle course, Akane had hit three of the five targets. One of the contacts hadn't exactly been intentional. "This last add on is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Akane said. "Yeah, well you gotta get used ta that," Ranma said. "Things ain't always as easy as they look. Hardly ever." Both had their attention pulled to the side of the dojo as Shizu let her parents know that she wanted something. "Is something wrong, Mom?" Ranma asked anxiously as she hurried over to where Nodoka was trying to comfort their infant daughter. "I'm sure she's fine," Akane assured Ranma, but the expression on her face, looking over Ranma's shoulder at Nodoka was just as nervous. "I think she's just hungry," Nodoka said calmly, remembering how she and Genma had been just as jumpy when Ranma had first been born. Genma had seemed like such a caring father at the time. "She's definitely my kid," Ranma said, in mock annoyance, relief coming through clearly. She turned to Akane, who carefully tried to hide her own former worry from Ranma. "I guess just try to run through it a couple of times while I take care of her, kay, Akane?" "Just," Akane repeated, turning to look at the acrobatic obstacle course again. "If you need any help just say something." Ranma smiled as she took Shizu from Nodoka and walked into the house. There was no way she was going to nurse Shizu in a room as open as the dojo. "I think I can handle this myself," Ranma said. "Well, like you said, she's your daughter," Akane said. "And as hungry as you used to get..." "You're not practicing," Ranma said as she left the room. "Excuse me," Nodoka said, following Ranma, leaving Akane to her practice. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Do you mind if I sit in the room with you?" Nodoka asked as Ranma turned into the nursery. Ranma looked up and hesitated a moment before answering. "Uhh, no," Ranma said. "I...uh guess that's fine." She sat down in the western rocking chair Kodachi had given them for the bridal shower and started to unbutton her shirt. That was a somewhat unwelcome change. Ranma preferred shirts and sweaters that didn't have buttons or zippers or such. Given the choice of having to completely take off her clothes to nurse and wearing clothes that could be opened, however, she went with the latter. "Does that make you uncomfortable?" Nodoka asked sitting down on another chair. She herself was analyzing the way Ranma was going about this definitely female task. "No, no, I'm fine," Ranma protested. Shizu cried in her arms, and Ranma turned her attention back to her daughter. "Ssssh, Mommy hasn't forgotten you." "'Mommy?'" Nodoka repeated as Shizu started nursing. "Well, I am her mother," Ranma said, hesitantly. "And what will you tell her while you're male?" Nodoka asked. Ranma shrugged but didn't answer, looking away from her mother and carefully watching her daughter. "Incidentally, shouldn't the lock be coming off your curse within the next few days?" "Well, maybe," Ranma said. Nodoka frowned. "You don't sound either enthusiastic or concerned," Nodoka said. "It has been nearly a month since Shizu was born." "A little more," Ranma said. "You have been keeping track," Nodoka said with a little hope. "I know Shizu's age to the second," Ranma said softly, smiling down at her little girl. Nodoka sighed as she recognized the same wonder she had possessed in first year with Ranma. "She's a lot of work, like everything else I got worth something." "Shouldn't you have been able to change by now?" Nodoka asked. "I don't know," Ranma said. "I haven't been thinking about it." She frowned slightly, she had known this was coming. "Haven't been thinking about it?" Nodoka repeated in surprise. "Why not?" Even if Ranma wanted to stay a woman, she had to consider the unlocking curse. "Mom," Ranma said, she hesitated and looked down at Shizu. She was certain that the little girl understood a lot more than everybody thought. She seemed like such a clever little girl. Ranma smirked a moment. ~Hungry too.~ "Yes...dear?" Nodoka said. Ranma sighed and turned serious again. "I can't even remember much of what being a guy was like," Ranma admitted quietly. "'Cept I was never good 'nuff an' I had no friends, an' too many people wanted a piece o'me..." She sighed and continued. "One way or another." "Well, certainly your current situation won't change by going back to what you were," Nodoka said. "Do you really think that people are your friends because you have a female body now?" "No," Ranma said after a long moment. "It won't get any better to change either." "You'll be a man again," Nodoka said. Ranma shook her head. "Nah, I'll be male half the time again," Ranma said. She looked up at Nodoka nervously. "I'm Shizu's mother, not her father." Nodoka looked to the walls of the nursery. The wallpaper was very active with Chinese style paintings of clouds and suns in lively colors. "You're certain about this?" Nodoka asked seriously. "I suck at being a man," Ranma said. "I could never figure out what I was supposed ta do, an' everybody was tellin' me different stuff. Now, I don't talk right, an' I ain't a soft little flower, an' I'm kinda a tomboy. But at least I understand being a woman." "And you want to stay that way?" Nodoka asked. "Do you enjoy it?" "Other than the jerks that think they can push me around because...you know," Ranma said. "Or the people that think I just can't handle stuff any more 'cause of the same thing. Other than that it's fine. I ain't confused no more." "I see," Nodoka said. Ranma looked down at her daughter and sighed. "Sorry, Mom," Ranma said softly. "You'll have to settle for a daughter in love with another woman." "And married to her," Nodoka said, she sighed and looked around. "You've discussed this with Akane?" Nodoka asked. "Yes," Ranma said. "It'll take some work..." Nodoka said after a moment. "But Kasumi warned me you might make this choice. I think I can handle this." "Thanks, Mom," Ranma said quietly. She looked down and smiled. "An' it looks like someone has their fill for now." Shizu blinked and yawned, sleepy after nursing. Ranma burped the baby as she had been taught and then held her until she fell asleep. Then Ranma was lying Shizu down into the crib and buttoning her shirt up again. "I have everything I need," Ranma said. "I don't need to change." "I suppose not," Nodoka said. "You should check to see how Akane is doing, I'll watch Shizu." Ranma nodded, lingering to watch her daughter sleep a moment longer and tuck her in. "Hopefully, I can correct the method mistakes on the next technique before she learns this one," Ranma said shaking her head. She idly wondered if Genma had yet figured out that the copy of the manual he had was just notes on how to correct Genma's mistakes. "Night night, Shizu," Ranma said quietly. She ruffled her daughter's mop of red hair gently, so as not to wake her up, blew her a kiss and then walked to the door. "Thanks again, Mom." "Your welcome," Nodoka said, pausing a moment. "Aijou." Ranma blinked in surprise and then smiled brightly before heading for the dojo. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Note: "Aijou", according to my sources, translates to "beloved daughter"...of course since my sources are Japanese-English dictionaries there is plenty of room for error.
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