Chapter Text
Ranma woke up and stretched. Ever since he mastered the Tenshin Amaguriken technique and his father realized that he couldn’t get any value from sparing with him, Ranma’s training lightened up considerably, and that meant not getting woken up with a spar, a Luxury he hadn’t known for as long as he could remember. And that was just one of the things that was going well for him. He reunited with his childhood friend Ukyo (Though there were some hiccups with that.) He was making friends (Though they weren’t particularly close.) And he had a really cute fiancée (Though he would never admit it to her, or anyone else for that matter.) People might think he was just trying to pretend he liked how his life was going with how the previous events were phrased, but he wasn’t. For as long as he could remember this was the first time so much was going good for him. Though there was one thing going good for him he absolutely had to keep secret that it was good for him. He was cursed. Cold water would turn him into a girl and hot water would turn him back, but that wasn’t the secret. At this point everyone in Nerima, save for some particularly idiodic and obnoxious rich kids, knew about Ranma’s curse. The real secret was, his whole life he had this feeling that made him feel… just not great honestly. He had his whole life and expected he would have to deal with it his whole life. It was like a mixture of dread, despair, and an inherent wrongness. But, bafflingly, turning into a girl made it go away, and it was replaced with a kind of glowy giddy feeling. He didn’t even know that the bad feelings were why it was so hard for him to use ki until he got to experience life without it, though he didn’t really realize that being a girl was making it go away until he was forced to dress up in his fiancée Akane’s clothes and took a look in the mirror. Regardless it wasn’t something he could afford to admit to ANYONE. He was raised to be a man among men, so if people find out that he preferred life as a girl, it wouldn’t go well, especially with his dad who loathed his curse form. He did try to find excuses to turn into a girl. His favorite was recently when his buddy Ryoga was up to some funny business with his fiancée, so he pretended to be the idiot’s little sister. He was away from home so much and was such an idiot that he didn’t question it. It was the best though. He was talked to in a girly manner, and called a girly name, and as far as Ryoga was concerned he was his little sister. That was a good day. Maybe he would make Yoiko his default fake name for when he was a girl. Girlhood was his sacred temple where he could be safe from the misery being a guy brought him. Anyway, ever since he got his curse, things have been steadily improving for him, and tonight was new years eve. He was confident that this next year was going to be his year. He exited the guest room and went downstairs.
“Ah. Ranma-kun,” Kasumi said. “Breakfast will be ready in just a bit.”
“Thanks Kasumi-san.” Ranma stepped outside and took a moment to enjoy the fresh air. After taking a moment to do that, Ranma began running through katas. He caught a glimpse of his dad drinking tea while sitting back in his cursed form. Lazy hypocrite panda. Always talking about strength and weakness, but since he stopped training me I haven’t seen him train himself once. Ranma continued going through kattas until he heard Kasumi’s voice.
“Everyone! It's time for breakfast!” Ranma walked in and sat down.
Once everyone was there a chorus of “Ittadakimasu” echoed through the room. Ranma ate far more slowly than when he first got to the Tendo home. Once his food wasn’t at risk of being stolen (Another boon of learning the Tenshin Amaguriken) as an excuse for training, he was finally actually able to savor his food. After eating he put his chopsticks down.
“Thanks for the food, Kasumi.” Ranma went upstairs and into his room. He opened his closet and looked through. Normally he’d be fine with just his normal clothes but since it was new years, something special was in order. Ranma looked through until he saw them. The ‘China’ overalls that once belonged to Akane, and were given to him when he ran out of clothes to wear. Akane never wore them so she had no real attachment. They were a bit tight in the chest (A problem that seemed to get slightly worse over time) but it was nostalgic for Ranma as the first real girl clothes he ever wore. He slipped out of his tanktop and shorts before pouring some cold water on himself and putting on the shirt and overalls. He took a look in the mirror and smiled. This was his secret temple. A sanctuary where he was safe from the horrible feeling, and she loved every part of it, even the messy parts, like periods. She put on her shoes and jumped out the window. (There was no way she was letting her old man spot her like this.)
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Normally Ranma would spend her ‘girl time’ scamming vendors out of food using her undeniable cuteness, but she knew the afternoon would probably be a bit busy and most such vendors weren’t open at this time. She could think of somewhere she wanted to visit though. She arrived at Okonomiyaki Ucchan’s and opened the door.
“Ucchan!” Ranma looked at her, currently not crossdressing, childhood friend, (And also another fiancée, but she elected to ignore that most of the time.)
“Hey Ranchan. Why are you all girled up-” Ukyo noticed Ranma’s clothes. “-and wearing something like that?”
“I don’t wear this normally, but it's new years and these clothes feel kind of special so I thought I might as well.” Ranma sat down at the bar.
“Okay, that doesn’t answer my first question though,” Ukyo pointed out.
“Well I mean, isn’t it the same reason you dress as a guy sometimes?” Ranma quickly tried thinking of a way to describe her feelings without giving away the fact that she liked being a girl better. “Just being different than you actually are, that refreshed feeling that comes with it, you know?” Ranma at least assumed that Ukyo’s reason for crossdressing was similar to her own reason for being a girl sometimes.
“No… I don’t know.” Ranma assumed wrong. “Ranchan, do you know why I still dress as a guy sometimes?”
“I… thought I did.”
“Ranchan, I hate dressing like a guy.” Ranma stared for a minute.
“Th… why do you do it then?”
“Because well, you know the initial reason, but now… I was dressed as a guy for so long, that even though I prefer being me… most of the time I’m too scared to. Being a guy feels safer yeah but it also feels… I don’t know how to describe it, like a pit growing in my stomach, like this wrongness whispering in my ear.” Ranma was quiet. Yeah for her it was more like screaming, but that could be chalked up to Ukyo still being a girl under everything, but what Ukyo was describing was shockingly similar to what Ranma felt when she was a guy.
“Guess, being a guy just sucks then,” Ranma said.
“Yeah, guess so.” The two were silent for a moment. “Uh… Hey Ranchan?”
“Yeah?”
“If you ever want a break from being a guy, and you’re worried about people giving you crap or something, you can hang out here.”
“Really?
“Yeah, I know how much being a guy sucks and I imagine it probably wasn’t much better for you, actually being a guy instead of just dressing as one.”
“You know my whole life I didn’t realize what they were until I saw myself in the mirror in these clothes. That’s why I wanted to wear them for special occasions. Between getting my curse and that moment, anytime I was a girl I was just so panicked. I didn’t realize that the feeling finally went away.”
“I… think this throws a wrench in my whole, ‘Marry you and regain my honor goal.’”
“Not really. I mean I’m still a guy. I just got a lucky curse.”
“Well, we can pretend you’re a real girl if you want.”
“Wait. Seriously?” Ranma looked at the okonomiyaki chef, who put her hand forward.
“Hi. I’m Kuonji Ukyo. When I was a kid I made the stupid decision of forsaking my femininity and now I’m scared to be myself.” Ranma immediately realized what her friend was doing.
“I’m Saotome Ranma. My old man raised me as a boy, but now I can finally be the girl I want to be.”
“It’s nice to meet you Ranchan.”
“You too Ucchan.” The two girls smiled at each other gleefully.
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Ranma expected chores when she got home after dressing into less conspicuous clothing, but apparently Akane had gone out at some point and they didn’t know where she was so now she was looking for her. At least it gave her more time before someone, probably her old man, would question why she was a girl and she had to grab a kettle.
“Woah! That chick is strong!” Ranma turned her head to the voice and noticed the crowd. She jumped up onto a pole and looked around.
“What are all these people here for?” She spotted a booth where Akane was going against an arm wrestling robot labeled middle. She easily beat it, and the man carted out a larger robot labeled heavy. At this point Ranma jumped down and joined the crowd in watching from the ground. Akane clasped hands with the robot. For a few seconds neither moved. Then a voice came from the robot.
“You are one hundred years too early to defeat me.” The Robot then immediately won. Cracks began forming in the Robot as a purple haired delivery girl emerged from the robot. “Shan pu has won the last battle of the year!”
“An even stronger chick was inside it!” Ranma watched as Akane began fuming.
“Akane is weak as always.”
“One more time!” Akane yelled.
“Aiya, Shan pu does not have time for this.” Shan pu got on her bike and used Akane as a ramp to get back down to ground level. “Shan pu has wasted time on this pointless contest.” She then turned back and yelled out. “If we are fighting for Ranma, Shan pu will fight any time! Zai jian!” Akane seethed as Shan pu disappeared into the city. Ranma walked up to Akane.
“Hey. Are you alright?” Akane screamed to the sky in frustration. Ranma backed up. Akane turned to her.
“Ranma! Train me to beat her!”
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Ranma, now in boy form, was easily dodging Akane’s attacks, but not throwing any of his own.
“Fight me for real!” Akane yelled out. “You said you were going to train me!”
“Why are you so upset about it now?” Ranma asked. “You always loose to Shampoo.”
“That’s why I’m upset!”
“Well yeah but why now?”
“It was that last battle of the year stuff.”
“I mean you’re fighting over me right? Just tell her-”
“What makes you think we’re fighting over you, pervert!?”
“I don’t know, maybe it's the fact that she literally said you two were fighting over me today!”
“Maybe that’s why she’s fighting, but it’s not why I am!”
“Well that’s just fine because I didn’t like you that much anyway!”
“Pervert!”
“Uncute tomboy!”
“Everyone!” The two martial artists heard Kasumi call out. “Come get your new year's noodles before they get cold!” The two walked into the house.
“Alright, all that exercise made me hungry,” Akane said as she sat down. Ranma prepared to sit at the other end, but a panda got in the way.
“What’s the big idea, Old man?” Genma pulled out a sign in response.
“Sit next to your Fiancée.”
“What? No way in hell old man.” Genma spun the sign around.
“You shouldn’t be cold to her, even if she makes you mad.”
“I don’t want that pervert sitting next to me,” Akane said.
“I don’t want to sit next to an uncute tomboy either.” Genma hit Ranma in the head with his sign.
“Fine, I'll sit next to her.” Ranma sat down and not long after everyone was at the table. A chorus of slurps filled the room. Tastes kind of weird. Ranma thought. Saltier than normal and a bit bitter. Kasumi probably just adjusted the recipe for new years. Ranma continued slurping his noodles. Suddenly, the ever present feeling of wrongness began to grow. Ranma’s eyes widened.
“Ranma-kun, are you alright?” Soun asked.
“Y-yeah, I’m good.” Ranma ate more of his noodles. As the meal went on the feeling within Ranma grew and grew.
“What’s with that look on your face?” Akane asked. “You look freaked out.”
“It’s nothing,” Ranma said. He kept slurping up more and more noodles in an attempt to distract himself. He wished his dad hadn’t stopped trying to steal his food when he mastered the Tenshin Amaguriken. That would be distracting him from the feeling more than just eating, and that was something he needed at the moment. After a few minutes Ranma had finished eating. He had nothing to distract him, and it was getting too much. His breathing was becoming faster. He held his hand to his chest and squeezed.
“Hey Ranma, you’re freaking out,” Nabiki said. Everyone had turned to Ranma except Happosai who was still turned towards the TV.
“Some-something’s wrong.” Ranma’s eyes begged to cry but the tears just wouldn’t come. The dread filled his body, slowing down his ki. He felt like puking. “I… I need.” Ranma stood up from the table and started running. He stopped at the furo and threw the door open, but it wasn’t stopped by the wall. The door of the furo went flying out of the wall, and crashed into the table, embedding itself in the floor.
“Ranma!” Kasumi called out.
“What the hell was that!?” Nabiki yelled. Happosai finally turned around, but Ranma was already in the furo.
“My super Soba!” he yelled out. Ranma rushed over the shower, and turned on the cold water, accidently ripping off the nob, but he wasn’t processing that. He just needed the feeling to go away. The cold water ran over him, washing away the black in his hair, shrinking him down, smoothing out his corners, as it turned him into a girl.
It’s not going away, Ranma thought. Why isn’t it going away? Being a girl always made it go away. The horrible feeling was lessened but not gone. His sacred temple had been violated before, Vandalized by an old martial arts masters squeezing his face into his breasts, being forcefully kissed by egotistical skaters, and the occasional other incident, but in the end, that was more akin to vandalism, graffiti that could be washed off with some time and effort, but this wasn’t vandalism, this wasn’t just violation, no, his sacred temple of safety had been destroyed, and now he was just hiding from the wind and rain in the rubble.
“Ranma!” Happosai yelled. “You ate my super soba!”
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Ranma backhanded Happosai. Happosai was sent flying crashing through the walls.
“Ranma-kun.” Ranma flinched upon hearing ‘kun’ be used to refer to him. “Are you alright?”
“What the hell Saotome,” Nabiki said. “Why’d you suddenly decide to break everything?”
“What?” Ranma asked looking up. He looked up and saw the door thrown off its hinges, and the nob on the shower thrown across the room and embedded into the wall. He took a moment to realize the destruction he caused accidently.
“He ate my super soba!” Happosai shouted, crawling through the hole his involuntary exit made.
Wait. Super Soba? Maybe that’s why the feeling is so much worse. Ranma ran past everyone, careful not to run into everyone. He ran to the kitchen sink and began hitting his stomach. If I puke it out, this feeling will go away. After 4 hits, Ranma felt the noodles being forced up his throat, and he let them out. A foul mixture of noodles and stomach acid escaped his mouth and landed in the sink. He expected the burn of acid against his throat, but shockingly he didn’t feel it. All while the feeling of wrongness didn’t get any better. Ranma kept hitting his stomach.
“If you think puking up the super soba will make me forgive you, you’re sorely mistaken!” Happosai yelled as he appeared in the kitchen. “Even if I was willing to eat puke its power has already been absorbed into your body!” Ranma stopped hitting his stomach. “Maybe I can forgive you if you let me have a good cry on your bosom.” Ranma screamed as he grabbed Happosai and threw him out the window.
“Ranma!” Soun yelled. “How far did you throw him?” Ranma walked past them.
“I’m going to bed.” He went into the guest room where he and his father had been staying for approaching a year. He was careful in every movement. The last thing he wanted was to break something. He slowly opened the drawer and pulled out his tank-top and comfy pants. He carefully took off his clothes, and put on his night wear. He laid on top of his futon, scared of moving around and ripping it apart in his sleep. He gave his breasts a squeeze. Reminded himself of his body. Anything to escape the torment. The door opened.
“Hey Ranma?” Akane asked. “Are you okay?”
“G-go away,” Ranma responded.
“Ranma I’m just asking if you’re okay.”
“I said go away!” Ranma grabbed his head as Akane looked almost shocked. “No, no, no, no, no. I’m-I-I’m sorry Akane. It. It won’t go away,” Ranma wined. “It won’t go away.”
“What won’t go away?”
“Y-you wouldn’t understand. Yo-you’d call me a pervert and- and-”
“Boy! This is fantastic news!” Genma shouted, evidently having gotten hot water. “This super soba that you’ve eaten has made you an invincible warrior! You’ll be the greatest martial artist of our time!” He walked up to Ranma and shook him.
“Shut up!” Ranma swiped and blasted Genma through the wall. Ranma looked at his hands in panic. “Nonononononono.” He squeezed in the fetal position.
“Ranma. Is… is there anything I can do to help?” It was silent for a minute.
“Can… can you rub my back and call me Yoiko?”
“Um…” Akane was confused by the request. “Sure.” Akane walked over to the red head and began stroking his back. “So uh… Do you have any ideas, Yoiko?”
“U-Ucchan. She’ll understand, and she knows food. M. Maybe she’ll know how to fix this.”
“Alright. Tomorrow we’ll go to Ukyo’s” The new year's bells began to ring.
“This was a pretty shitty start to the year.”