Chapter Text

Rivals’ Kiss

PART I

Furinkan

Omiai

“Hey. Join me in the dojo?” The girl with long, dark blue hair smiled with a cute smile as she beckoned Ranma to follow. “I’m Akane. Wanna be friends?”

“Sure!” Ranma beamed, but dashed with lightning speed to fetch her travel pack first, and only then followed after Akane towards the Dojo. Her excitedly swaying black ponytail danced with every step taken.

Akane gestured towards the heavy backpack. “Have a gi you’re gonna change into?” she guessed.

“Nah,” Ranma said. “I can’t leave my stuff alone like that, what if something goes missing?”

Akane crossed her arms and her face hardened even as she didn’t stop walking. “Are you accusing my family of something?”

“No, no way,” Ranma hurried to explain. “It's just a bit of bad luck has been following me this month and I really, really don’t wanna give my pops any chance to throw anything else away!” Ranma gritted her teeth. “He’s the worst, most irresponsible and an absolutely horrible father with no understanding of what is valuable in the world! An eternal criminal and monster is what he is! I wouldn’t wish him on anyone!”

“I- I’m sorry,” Akane said, taken a little off guard by Ranma’s fervor against her parent. “But he’s not here yet, is he?”

“As if being away has ever stopped the guy from getting in my way!” Ranma growled, and clenched her traveling pack even closer to herself. “I look away for one second and the old ass has already torn off a few pages from my Ranmaru’s doujinshi and used them as kindling! Oh, I’ll never forgive him! So what if it was stained a little! That’s what happens when you travel so much! All to get some fire for boiling a kettle - and it wasn’t like it mattered, we still got soaked in the rain soon after!”

“What?” Akane blinked a few times, trying to understand the agitated girl, even as they finally entered the dojo proper. “Ranmaru? Who?”

“Yeah, they’re the best.” Ranma sighed wistfully, her rant diffused near-instantly. “No chance of getting anything of theirs abroad, but now that I’m back in Tokyo… Maybe I’ll catch them at the next Comiket! I’ll have to save up a little, but if we stay here long enough, I’m definitely going. I’ve heard they’re working on a new story right now and I’m not missing it, even if I have to crawl all the way there!”

Akane let out an awkward chuckle. “If you’re around Furinkan by the end of december, I can spot you the train fare. A few of my classmates go each year. We could even go together, if you want.”

Ranma all but disappeared from where she stood, and reappeared holding onto Akane’s hands, eyes sparkling with glee. The pack was suddenly secured on the girls back, too. The gust of wind from the sudden movement was strong enough to lift up Akane’s hair for a second. “You would do that for me? Even if we just met?” Ranma squeezed Akane’s hands twice and smiled. “I would be in your debt!”

Akane’s eyes narrowed. “Wow, you’re a fast one,” she said, clearly re-evaluating the other girl. “I wanted to ask if you know any kempo, but I guess now I’m sure you can move.”

“Yeah, I train a lot,” Ranma said and let go of Akane. “Sorry, I got a little excited, I didn’t have anyone to speak about this for almost two years! Well, there was that woman in this little shop in Korea, but she barely spoke any Japanese so I don’t think that counts.”

“We… don’t have to spar, you know,” Akane said, and sighed. “We could go to my room, instead. I don’t really read that much, but Yuka just gifted me a first volume of Kashimashi-”

“No, no,” Ranma waved her hands, interrupting Akane. “You wanted a spar, it could be fun, let’s do that. We can talk and fight at the same time, right?”

Akane thought about it. “You’ll have to do most of the talking, then,” she said. “I want to focus so I don’t hurt you by getting distracted or something.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine,” Ranma said, glancing at her bulging backpack and back at Akane. Didn’t take it off, keeping the whole weight on her shoulders. “I’m ready.”

Akane’s eye twitched as she realized Ranma wasn’t planning on taking the backpack off at all. However, she swallowed the little insult and offered a tiny grin of her own. “So what’s Ranmaru known for?” she asked. “I think I’ve heard the name before, but I’m blanking a little.”  

Just as soon as Ranma opened her mouth to reply, Akane charged in.

“Well, the one pops ruined, Torakoko… ” Ranma ducked and evaded the first strikes with ease.“It’s their very first published work, you know?” 

Akane took a few quick steps back as Ranma got suddenly closer, chattering intensely but not actually attacking.

“So there's this down on the luck thief that can steal just about anything,” Ranma continued talking at lightning speed, all while beckoning for Akane to go on the offensive. “He gets challenged to steal a noble samurai's heart by a demon in disguise - and takes up the challenge, because he thinks he can steal literally anything!”

“That's - a little - familiar-” Akane barely managed between a flurry of powerful kicks that Ranma leaped over with seemingly little effort, even while weighted down by the heavy looking backpack. She even pushed off her highest kick to leap over head, landing on the other side of Akane. The dark blue haired girl snapped around quickly to raise her guard up, but there was no attack yet. “You like - adventure-?”

“Oh, it's an adventure alright!” Ranma said, eyes sparkling. “So!” Her hand dashed forward suddenly, slipped through Akane's hastily put up defences and delivered a quick but strong push right in the middle of her torso, sending Akane sliding back on the floor. “He slips into the castle undetected, sneaks past all of the guards and protections. Attacking from the shadows he snatches the heart right out of the samurai's chest in one attack, and holds it in his palm!”

Ranma posed all dramatic and proud as if holding something in her hand.

Akane shook her head, grinned and charged back, putting all she could into the attack

Instead of dodging, which Ranma clearly could have done, she blocked. The strike was powerful, and even though it was deflected, it still pushed Ranma back.

“Ow. Good punch,” Ranma quipped quickly, before suddenly grabbing onto her own chest as if in sudden pain. 

Akane's face blanched and she lowered her guard. “Oh no, was it too-”

“But the samurai knew that a demon was hunting him!” Ranma announced theatrically. “He had prepared a technique that reflected every attack back to its source, long before the thief was in the castle! And so, the sly thief was suddenly defeated by his own greatest attack!”

“You little-” Akane grumbled, but the smile returned to her face. She didn't return to a fighting stance. “Sounds like a very short story, that.”

“No, that's when the demon revealed himself and bound them both to servitude with an evil spell!” Ranma said, dropping the dramatic heart-clutching pose. “So to get their hearts back, they have to serve him together for a hundred years! And that's just the first chapter!”

“It does sound kinda interesting,” Akane allowed. “I give up.”

“Why?” Ranma tilted her head to the side. “You're alright. A little slow, but strong! Not as strong as my Ryo was, but you know, nothing a bit of extra training wouldn't fix!”

“You’re pretty good, to be able to toy with me like that.” Akane grumbled, even as she looked a little curious. “I’m just glad you're not a boy. Who's this Ryo?”

“Ryoga Hibiki,” Ranma said, growing a little still as she tried to formulate a better response than just a name. “He's kinda my- a little- he’s… Look, it's complicated. He's strong, has a cute brooding face, and let's leave it at that for now. What have you got against boys?”

“I hate them,” Akane said, a little blush creeping into her face, as she clearly was imagining something based on Ranma's little response. “Why are-”

“That’s great,” Ranma interrupted. “If a cute girl like you doesn’t want any boys, that just means they’re gonna be all sad and will have to look for comfort in each other’s arms! It all works out for the better!”

“Oh.” Akane rubbed her eyes. “I… see?”

“So,” Ranma took off her backpack into her hands, and started rummaging inside for something. “What now? Want me to show you the masterpiece?”

“I-” Akane sighed. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“You did say it sounded interesting!” Ranma grasped onto something inside her pack. “Ha!”

Suddenly, in Akane’s hands there was… something that might have once been a book.

It was a mangled, darkened mess of paper that had to have seen better days. There was a puncture hole though the whole thing. At some point, the book had to have taken a swim in something , and while it had been dried up and cleaned up, it still sported damage and discoloration that made the back cover indecipherable. The front cover and a good chunk of the first few pages was missing entirely.

“Kami, what happened to your book? Is that all your dad’s doing?” Akane looked horrified.

Ranma rubbed at the back of her head. “I told you we swam to China from Japan - I packaged it wrong, and some water seeped in, and I couldn’t get it to look right, as much as I tried to dry it in the sun! I don’t remember when exactly I lost the front cover - it should say ‘Wager the Stolen Heart of Honor’...  The hole is from an arrow - there’s this weird Chinese warrior girl-” Ranma stopped. “You know, it doesn’t matter. Open it, look at the art!”

“If there’s anything left to look-” Akane mumbled before opening it at the least damaged looking spot and froze.

Neither of the girls spoke for a bit, as Ranma was throwing glances in turn to the open page and Akane.

“Well?” Ranma asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Akane’s face flushed redder than Ranma had ever seen. The little banged up book slipped and fell from her hands.

Ranma dove to catch it before it touched the floor.

“It’s… porn?” Akane stammered out weakly.

“It’s all about love!” Ranma corrected, cradling the book close to her chest. “It’s all about reigniting the stolen flame of their hearts! Did you notice how well they drew the muscles? Almost popping out of the page! And you should look at how Ranmaru handles the fights, they really know their stuff!”

“I remember now.” Akane slapped a hand right into her face. “That’s why I thought I'd heard the name before. I’ve seen one of their books before.”

“You have? Which one? The Honor Blade is my favorite! Did you like it? Have you read anything else of theirs?”

“Kami give me strength,” she said instead of replying to any one question, rubbing her temples. “Ranma and Ranmaru, huh? Any relation?”

“I wish!” Ranma replied, smiling. “Haven’t met them. Don’t even know if they’re a girl or a boy. But I think about them every time I write my name in hiragana! I really hope to get something with their autograph one day! So, did you like any of their works? I’ve got two more in the pack-”

“Not really my type,” Akane said, the flushed cheeks still not fully recovered. “Sorry.”

Ranma shook her head, but she didn’t look insulted. Instead, she was beaming a bright, cheerful smile back at Akane. “I guess that means you’re like my rival now.” She giggled, undercutting her own announcement. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you train as long as I’m around. You’ll catch up in no time.”

Akane’s eyes lit up. “You will? It’s been so hard to find anyone willing to spar who’d be anywhere close to my level!”

“Sure, sure, I told you I would.” Ranma grinned. “Can I ask for a little favor in return?”

“Go ahead.”

“Could I stash my backpack in your room for a while?” Ranma asked. “Pops would think twice about stealing from another girls’ room like that, and I’m gonna take a leap of faith here and trust you to keep it safe.”

“Sure.” Akane nodded. “Let’s go back to the house then, my room’s on the second floor. If you want, you can browse what little manga I have, while I’ll pop back down for a bit. I just don’t know if anything will be to your… taste.”

“Ooh,” Ranma clapped her hands together and grinned. “I’m sure it beats the selection I had in the middle of Tibet! Got any manga magazines, maybe?” She crossed her fingers. “Oooh, maybe you’ve got an issue or two of Dear Plus? I’ve missed it so much!”

Akane shook her head and chuckled. “Nope, sorry.”

Reunited

“Who was that guy?” Ranma asked, running leisurely on the top of the fence.

“Dr. Tofu, the chiropractor.” Akane replied while matching Ranma’s pace on the ground. “He’s an excellent doctor.”

“And a martial artist, too! Is he, by chance, dating any cute tall boys? He would look real good with-”

“Ranma!” Akane shouted out angrily. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

“Isn’t he a man? I thought you said you hate men! Why would you-”

“Ranma!” Akane repeated. “You’re already on thin ice with me, after what you pulled last night! Don’t start now! Dr. Tofu is not for your… entertainment, alright?”

“I said I was sorry!” Ranma replied even as she winced. Yeah, I could have handled yesterday better, she thought. “I’ll get pops to break it off - I promise! But this way I get to stay in one place for a bit, and I really, really don’t wanna miss this year's Comiket! If I flaked on his scheme, he’d drag me somewhere abroad again, I know it! Please, Akane, just for a few more months!”

“Fine.” Akane said and growled. “But if you let anything about the engagement slip at school, we’re no longer friends, you hear?!”

“Yeah, yeah, I said I’d keep my mouth shut, I swear. Thanks again for having my back there, I’ll be sure to pay you back,” Ranma said. “I didn’t think it would be such a big deal if people knew. It’s all just in our parent’s heads anyway,” she added quieter.

“Easy for you to say, since you have absolutely no shame.” Akane grumbled. “If it gets out that I’m engaged to a girl, I-”

“But- er-” Ranma pointed at herself, very much boy-shaped. “Did you forget why we went to Dr. Tofu in the first place? To turn me back into a boy!”

“Yeah, no one's gonna buy that you’re a boy, Ranma,” Akane chuckled. “Not after you open your mouth. Our parents don’t count, they’re… their own kind of frustrating.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that when I want to, I can make for a pretty convincing boy!” Ranma protested.

“Cha!” Akane let out a short laugh. “Pretty convincing? Maybe, but not for long.”

“I was born as one!” Ranma protested. “I’ve gone to an all-boys school! You can’t just-”

“I’m sure you were in your little dream world while there!” Akane bit back angrily. “Surrounded by all the damned boys all the time!”

What did I do now? Ranma thought, but she was soon given proof that Akane’s anger wasn’t really directed at her. What’s that noise ahead? Sounds like a crowd, running towards us?

“If you like boys so much, you can take all of them!” Akane shouted, suddenly breaking into a sprint. “Because I really - despise - MEN!”

A torrent of boys poured out of the school gates, and Akane charged right into the middle of them. A whole lot of them started shouting something about defeating Akane first.

“Out of the way, I’m late,” Akane bellowed back right as her fist connected with the first boy's face, and the intense beat down started.

Ranma hesitated. “What a waste,” she said and jumped on the fence to watch.

“Ranma! Come ahead to school!” Nabiki shouted from a balcony above. A handful of students were spectating the fight from it, probably from Nabiki’s class. “Don’t worry about Akane!”

Ranma gave her a quick wave “In a bit,” she shouted back, and then turned her attention back to Akane’s fight.

This won’t last long. Ranma spent a little time scanning Akane’s opponents one by one. It was way too early to say if any of the boys were worth anything outside getting their asses kicked. Maybe there were a few with potential, but the willing participation in an assault like this was a clear black mark against them anyway.

“Akane, throw him a drop more to the left,” she shouted out suddenly, and watched with satisfaction as her friend listened. The throw, adjusted at the last second, propelled the boxing club member right into the welcoming grasp of a slightly taller black-haired wrestler.

Rannma dashed to stand by the two boys' side as they fell down and watched as they unsuccessfully tried to disentangle from each other. “Why are you wasting your time with this?” she asked, looming over the two prone boys. “You’re not beating Akane anyway, why not just look for someone much closer?”

“What?” The wrestler grimaced and tried to grab onto Ranma’s leg, so she vaulted over to sit on the boxer’s back, pressing both boys into the ground and each other.

“Hey, I’m just saying you could be cute together,” Ranma explained matter of factly. “Save yourselves some heartache and all.”

The two boys grunted something incomprehensible.

Ranma shrugged and leaped off from the two to stand next to Akane, who was just about done. “Wow, boys at your school are really something else,” Ranma offered just as Akane knocked out the last boy standing. “And I thought my old all-boys school was bad.”

“Same thing every morning,” Akane huffed out, slightly winded. 

The field was completely cleared of able challengers. Those who could, were crawling away, those who couldn’t were recovering on the ground. No one beside Akane and Ranma was standing.

Ranma’s gaze lingered on the impromptu couple she’d nudged together on impulse, and noted with a tinge of satisfaction that the boxer was helping the wrestler stand straight and limp away from the epicenter of the carnage.

She was so distracted by that line thought, she almost completely missed the arrival of the new opponent. Akane and… Kuno exchanged a few words that Ranma didn’t fully catch. Something about asking Akane on a date? Ranma was a bit distracted by the fact that the boy was playing with a rose next to his lips. He wasn’t bad looking, tall and well-built, but the pompous tone of voice was a little grating on her. 

“You there!” Kuno suddenly pointed towards her, still holding a rose in his extended hand. “Why are you snooping around me and fair Akane?”

Oh! Ranma was caught pacing around Kuno without thinking. Now that she was in the spotlight, she understood just what exactly was wrong. Right. Think like a boy. Let’s do it.  

Ranma blinked twice and when he opened his eyes next time he was ready. He snatched the offered rose in a blink of an eye, and repaid with what he knew was his most charming smile. “Thank you,” Ranma said out loud, affecting a slightly rougher and lower voice than his natural one.

The weird boy’s eyes widened.

“Ranma. What are you doing?” Akane hissed at him.

“I can’t say no to a rose from a boy, Akane,” Ranma explained, matter-of-factly. “Even if he’s not my type, a rejection could break his heart, and he might stop trying to find true love in another boy's arms.”

“Stop trying?” Akane barked out a short laugh. “Him? Yeah, right.”

“That rose was for my dearest Akane!” Kuno shouted out, this time brandishing the sword right at Ranma. “Thief and scoundrel! Your crimes are mounting by the second! Being this familiar with Akane without explanation, and stealing a trinket of my affection for her…”

Ranma glanced quickly at Akane and winked, before turning back to face Kuno. “I do not think she wants your little trinket,” he said cheekily, and quickly pinned the rose behind one of the decorative straps of the frog button on his silk shirt. The red-on-red didn’t look striking enough, but it was the gesture that mattered. “Your affections would be better served when directed elsewhere,” he tried to match Kuno’s tone a little.

“Who are you-? You lowlife! Who do you think you are to talk to me like this?” Kuno roared, as dark clouds gathered overhead. “I am Tatewaki Kuno, Captain of the Kendo Club, the Undefeated New Star of the High School Kendo World. My peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!” Lightning cracked in the sky. “As the Descendant of the Noble Samurai, I cannot let your insults stand.”

Kuno darted forward, his wooden sword swishing through the air in a powerful strike.

Ranma jumped and somersaulted backwards, dodging the strike and making quite a bit of space for himself. “My name is Ranma Saotome,” he announced mid air.  Right before landing, he wiggled out of his backpack and threw it towards Akane. “Here, guard it for a bit! Thanks!”

Akane caught on instantly, snatching the backpack from the air with a loud fwap. “Wow. What do you even have in there?” she asked, as she tested the weight of the bulging backpack. “Weren’t you complaining that you don’t have any textbooks yet… during breakfast?”

“Just the essentials,” Ranma replied, shrugging. He turned most of his attention to Kuno. “Descendant of the samurai?” he repeated the claim, and grinned, remembering a little quote from Torakoko. “No true samurai seeks the touch of the woman before finding honor in a man’s embrace,” he quoted the thief, speaking on an even lower note than before.

Thunder cracked overhead once more, and Kuno recoiled as if wounded by the words.

In the school building, more and more students were gathering by the windows, and Ranma could hear little bits of and pieces of excitement from the impromptu audience. It seemed that Kuno was at least thought to be a strong opponent. Maybe this will be a fun challenge.

Ranma was growing excited about the fight. And if he could get this Kuno to consider broadening his horizons somewhere away from Akane - all the better.

Then, he heard it. A faint, but very familiar gasp somewhere above.

“Ranma!” a voice he… A voice she hadn’t heard for years echoed in her head. The girl shouting wasn’t loud, but Ranma recognized her all the same. “It’s you!”

Ranma’s eyes snapped up - and there, on the third floor a window was open, and a girl in Furinkan’s girls uniform was waving at him, a pair of binoculars dangling from a strap by her hand.

Kuno said something.

Ranma didn’t listen.

She darted towards the school, ducking under Kuno’s blade, and then jumping over a follow up strike. Annoying. As she landed on the ground, her leg lashed out close to the ground, and even as Kuno tried to block the kick, she was much faster. No time for playing.

The lightning fast leg sweep robbed Kuno of his balance, and Ranma delivered a swift elbow strike as Kuno fell, with her second and final high knee kick ensuring the boy was denied his weapon. The wooden sword flew over the brick wall, outside of the school grounds.

“Akane,” Ranma shouted out without looking back, gesturing for her backpack, even as she returned to the mad dash towards the school. “I’m coming!” she shouted loudly towards Makoto, letting her excitement bubble up in her voice.

“Dummy,” Akane said softly, and tossed the backpack so it would sail overhead, towards where Ranma was running to. “Of course they’d know each other,” she added quietly to herself.

Ranma jumped, caught the backpack in the air, and then started leaping up. First, she landed on Nabiki’s little balcony, barely had the presence of mind to throw Nabiki a quick wave, and leaped off again.

A couple more bounces, and she overshot the window she wanted to get to, but it was an easy fix. She let herself go, fell for a short and exciting moment, then caught the top frame of the window at the very last moment, and let the momentum swing her right inside. She almost barreled into Makoto, evading the girl by a hair’s breadth.

Sometime in that whole mad dash to reach her best friend, she lost the flower stolen from Kuno, but she didn’t care.

“Hey,” Ranma said awkwardly, smiling brightly, opening her arms for a hug. The backpack dangled from her right hand.

The other students were staring. Ranma didn’t care.

Makoto tackled her. She didn’t have much space to get a running start, so it was more like she fell forward and bumped into her embrace.

Ranma spun her around twice, and then placed her down.

Both of them giggled.

And then they both tried speaking at the same time. Each talking fast and excited, as if trying to win a race against time.

“I looked for-”

“I was afraid-”

“You in Itabashi-”

“The postcard-”

“The second I got-”

“From Korea was-”

“A chance-”

“The last time-”

Neither understood each other. They both were exactly on the same page.

Outside, it started raining. 

Ranma didn’t even try to hide her tears. “Hey, we’re in the same school this time,” she said and chuckled. “Easier to sneak into your class, when I’m an actual transfer student.” 

The whispers were getting louder, and the other students were moving closer by the second. Neither Ranma nor Makoto paid them any attention yet.

Makoto grabbed onto Ranma’s left hand, and clutched it in both of hers. “What about Ryoga? Tell me you found each other!”

“Not a single sign of him in almost two years,” Ranma sighed. “Face it, Makoto, he basically stood me up. It was a nice dream, but it wasn’t gonna happen and I’ve-”

“He didn’t!” Makoto shouted louder, her hands trembling, sending shivers up Ranma’s arm. “I was there - it was so romantic, he was ready to search heaven and earth for you! He set out after you that very same day!”

Akane burst in through the classroom door, almost barreling aside the homeroom teacher, making it in just as the chime announced the start of the period. She was slightly winded, having run up the whole three floors inside the building.

“Ryo-was?” Ranma exclaimed. “You need to tell me everything!”

Only then she suddenly became aware of how close everyone had gotten, listening in to every word, eyes wide.

Akane’s arrival had worked like a signal for action. No one pretended they were gonna prepare for a lesson in an orderly fashion. Instead, the little crowd had gone feral being ignored for so long, and surged forward as one. The majority of the students rushed to Ranma and Makoto, but some even chose to go and bother Akane. Everyone had a dozen questions. All at once.

Ranma twisted her palm - before, Makoto had been holding onto her hand, but now when everyone was being pushy, she didn’t wanna risk being pushed apart and grabbed hold of her hand more firmly. This is such a mess.

“Makoto, didn’t you go into an all-girls school before this one?” a classmate asked.

Makoto’s expression grew worried too.

“Are you a couple?” one boy asked, all but shouting into Makoto’s ear, and the brown haired girl flinched.

We need to get out.

Ranma tugged Makoto’s arm very gently but it was enough to get her attention, even in the bubbling mess of questions. “Do you still trust me?” she said, mouthing the question more than saying it aloud.

“Who’s Ryoga, your boyfriend?” A different girl cooed.

Makoto caught Ranma’s eye and nodded.

“Akane, did you actually come with them?” a boy demanded. 

“Did he really win against Kuno?” a girl wanted to know.

Ranma blurred into action once more.

“You’re a girl, right?” someone asked the empty air where Ranma had just stood. “Or a b-”

Moving as fast as she could, Ranma swooped Makoto into her arms and jumped right out the window she had just come in though.

Into the rain.

It took a second for the whole class to surge back to the windows. In that time, Ranma had already successfully stuck the landing, slid to a stop on the ground, even as she grew a little shorter, transformed by the rain.

Her black hair from a distance was all the classmates saw - and then she and Makoto disappeared behind the corner of the building.

“I don’t know where I’m headed,” Ranma said, as he took a few big leaps with Makoto in a cradle carry, not even taking them out of the school territory yet. Wow, this school is big. “Got any ideas before we get completely soaked?”

“There,” Makoto pointed to a separate building. “Get in through the bottom window. The P.E. equipment room should be empty for a bit!”

A short while later, Ranma was furiously taking out everything out of his school backpack. She had never let go of it and now needed to check each book for any damage the rain might have caused.

Well, for any additional damage. The rain hadn't really had time to soak through the sturdy backpack, but that didn't mean the books were in a remotely good condition.

“Oh, Ranma,” Makoto said, voice shaking in sympathy as she surveyed the extensive long-term damage on display.

Makoto had just finished drying her face on the inside lining of Ranma’s old jacket. They didn’t have any towels and Makoto had left her things in the classroom, so Ranma had offered the backup jacket. It wasn’t perfect, but it was clean and thus the best thing they got. The jacket was the single piece of the old all-boys school uniform that Ranma had kept, and was clean enough for the job.

“What happened to your books?!” Makoto asked.

“Almost two years on the road, that's what!” Ranma grumbled, dejected. “Quite a bit of bad luck, too. I try to keep them with me all the time - it's not my fault my life’s a mess!”

“Think you're gonna be moving again soon?” Makoto asked.

“Probably. I'm trying to keep pops happy and convince him to stay at least until the end of the year, but you know how he can be.”

Makoto nodded. “Say, Ranma…”

“Yeah?”

“Weren't you a little taller, before?” she asked. “Did you do your outfit trick and hide some platform boots you had been wearing? And wow, your girl disguise is so perfect this time, I didn't even catch it when you changed.”

“Oh, that,” Ranma shrugged. “Just a little curse I picked up in China, not a disguise.”

“A curse?! Are you gonna be alright?” Makoto asked. “You're not in danger from it? Can it spread?”

“Fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl,” Ranma said, still not done taking out all of the damaged treasures hidden in the backpack. “Turns me into a real girl whenever I get splashed with cold water. It's perfectly safe, but a little annoying sometimes. And no, it can’t spread - and even if it could, you’re already a girl.”

“A real girl?” Makoto stared directly at Ranma’s face, then glanced at Ranma’s chest, then, a tiniest hint of a blush appeared on her face and she quickly turned her attention back upwards. “Oh wow, I have so many que-”

“Found it,” Ranma said, interrupting her best friend’s impromptu question session before it even began. “I’ll tell you all about the curse later.”

Makoto looked back down, at the little manga booklet with two pretty men drawn on the cover, one tall and dark haired, and the other shorter, silver haired and with animal ears, barely visible though the blooming red tree branches above their heads. 

It was wrapped in a see-through plastic bag, and was in a much better state than all of the other books. Didn't have any holes in it at all, unlike most of the others.

“Falling Snow Becomes White?” Makoto read the title, curiosity spiking in a different direction.

“I wanted to get you something, for when we actually met again,” Ranma said, giving the book to Makoto. “I didn’t know if you were getting my postcards at all, so when I originally got you the Kiss Me Princess in Korea… I didn’t dare send it out, but… I should have - it got banged up with everything else. There was this annoying Chinese martial artist girl - Shan Pu. She kept chasing me and Pops and trying to kill us…”

“Kill you?” Makoto  asked, eyes widening, as she shuffled her grip on the wrapping, too distracted to tear off the little piece of duct tape holding it together.

“A big mess of a misunderstanding, mostly,” Ranma waved her hand, trying to calm Makoto down. “It was honestly fine, only a little dangerous, and good awareness training! Except this one time she had a bow, and ambushed us at a bad time - made a pincushion out of my travel pack! I couldn’t bring you a book that was in pieces!”

Makoto covered her mouth. “Oh no.”

“Yeah. I was so angry, I knocked her out with her own dumb bow.” Ranma grimaced at the memory. “She kept a little more distance after that one, and we finally lost her when we swam for Taiwan. So…” She pointed at the book in Makoto’s hands. “Didn’t have as many choices or time to be picky in Taiwan, but I still got you a little something. I even managed to keep it dry through the whole swim back home!”

“Thank you, Ranma,” Makoto said, eyes glinting. “I don’t have anything for you here, but I’ve tried to always get two copies of each of the books I liked, you know, for when you get back.” She finally unwrapped the book, opened it and giggled. “Oh, this takes me back.”

Ranma chuckled too. “Yeah. That’s kinda why I picked it. It’s in Mandarin, but we should be able to read at least some of it anyway. I’ve picked up a few words on the road, too.”

“Gonna help me, then?” Makoto asked, as she gestured towards a pile of sports mats by the window. The sparse light from outside coupled with a little ceiling lamp was strong enough to read it inside. “Until the rain stops?”

Both girls plopped on the top of the mat pile, getting comfortable with the little book.

“You won’t have any issues?” Makoto asked, as her eyes skimmed the first couple of pages.

“Hey,” Ranma protested. “So what if our first time wasn’t the best. I was… a bit desperate to like whatever you showed me. You know, first real friend and all. Besides, there’s no missing memories in this one. Just a little silliness. I’ll be fine.”

“I- meant,” Makoto pointed at the fox demon boy’s ears. “You’ll be fine with those?”

“Oh, that.” Ranma shrugged. “I’m way better about… cats than I was four years ago.”

Makoto looked at her.

“Fine. Whatever. Cats are still evil and terrible!” Ranma said. “But I did get a little better, that bit is true. I’d probably be all fine with just cat ears, and these aren’t cat ears at all! He’s a white demon fox, that’s totally different!”

Makoto chuckled. “Sorry. I didn’t want you to be secretly uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine, honest.” Ranma offered a smile back. “Let’s just read it. I really wanna enjoy it with you. Like old times.”

It didn’t take them too long to get through the first few chapters. Even if neither of them were fluent, enough of the kanji matched in meaning to get the gist of the story. Sometimes, Ranma would know the actual Mandarin words, and other times, they just outright discussed and made up the dialogue or narration themselves.

All the while, the rain outside was slowly giving way to the sun.

Makoto flopped onto her back, still very much side by side with Ranma, chuckling. “What a weird first kiss,” she said as she got her laughter under control. “Does it even count as one?”

“It totally does,” Ranma propped herself higher on her elbows, looking at Makoto from the above and sideways. Their hips were touching. “He turned back into a fox boy while the kiss was still going!” She swayed her legs behind herself, kicking into the mat below them a few times, because the excitement of the love experienced together with Makoto just didn’t fit inside. “Pretty boys kissing get the heart racing every time.”

“Yeah,” Makoto said, and sighed wistfully. “Ranma?”

“Still here.”

“Why didn’t you ask me about Ryoga yet?”

Ranma fell silent, her legs stopping mid movement.

Makoto was looking at Ranma expectantly.

“I’m scared,” Ranma said. Most of the giddiness near-instantly left her, and yet, this was probably the best moment for Makoto to hit her with the question. “It’s been two years, Makoto. Even if he set out to find me, he might have forgotten me by now. Maybe he even found himself a different boy or something - now that could be fun, too.”

“But what if he didn’t?” Makoto asked, touching Ranma’s hand. “Ryoga’s strong and stubborn, he’s definitely still looking for his rival . He has to be.”

“Then… I’ll feel even worse about it,” Ranma replied, gesturing with a finger at her own face. “Some days, I feel like I forget how to be a boy,” she said. “Akane made fun of me about it today, and then, not five minutes later I blanked on being a boy until I spent a good few moment’s staring at Kuno’s rose. I had to remind myself to boy properly! Can you imagine?”

Makoto sighed, wiggled herself into a sitting position and took Ranma’s hand into her own, forcing Ranma to also sit up in the process. “Well… if you wanna date him as a girl,” Makoto started. “Don’t worry about me, I’d understand. You don’t really have to stay as a boy for-”

“No, that’s not it either!” Ranma shook her head, the words pouring out of her like a whirlwind. “Ryoga’s my friend and rival, he definitely deserves a boy that really loves him! Loving a girl would ruin his life - there’d be no balance to it! The worst thing I could ever do to him would be to go full girl for him. No. A girl dating a boy has so much… baggage! Ew. No one cares if a girl is dating a boy! Where’s the forbidden romance? Nonsense. If I ever go full-girl, I’m swearing off boys altogether!”

Makoto chuckled humorlessly. “Someone’s stealing the words of their best friend.”

“I had two years to think about it. Those were - good words, even then.”

“I’m sorry.” 

Ranma tried not to look at Makoto’s lips. The old memory had a bitter aftertaste.

“Where’s the forbidden romance?” Makoto whispered to herself, before raising her eyes back to Ranma’s face. “I’m so sorry, Ran-”

“Never was your fault,” Ranma said, interrupting the apology. “I was really hoping Ryo would show up then, and swoop me off my feet. Light my heart on fire. All that.”

“He showed up,” Makoto added. “He did his best.”

“Yeah, I know that now.” Ranma rubbed at her face. “I do get pretty excited about the thought, but…”

Makoto gently brushed a tear off Ranma’s cheek, and didn’t say anything.

“I wish it was that simple. When I wanted to be a girl in junior high, it was fun playing pretend, but that’s all it ever could be! I would have gotten a boyfriend as a boy and sworn off whatever girl side I talked myself into having!”

Makoto kept her eyes on Ranma, palm still cupping her cheek, fingers occasionally twitching as a stray tear touched them.

“But it’s never gonna be simple now!” Ranma bit at his lip to keep it from trembling. Took a hitching breath and continued. “I fell into the cursed spring, and now I don’t even know! How much of a girl am I? Half? More? Less? Was I leading Ryo on?”

“You weren’t,” Makoto asserted quietly. “He fell in love with a rival. It’s plain to see. Ryoga’s all about you .”

“Remember what Sakae says near the end of Color?” Ranma asked. “‘It would have been better if you were a girl.’ What if Ryo thinks that? What do I say to that?”

“Then you hit him back with Takashiro’s ‘If you say that, you should have been a girl!’ Remember to be naked. That part’s kinda important for the line to land.”

Ranma giggled, despite the tears, but then bit down on it, as a different thought occurred to her. “Ryo would probably want all that.”

“All what?”

“You know, all the naked bits.” Ranma said, voice suddenly shaking. “When we were waiting for him to show up for our date, that was just about the only thing I wasn’t ready for.”

“Oh, Ranma,” Makoto breathed out, her palm on Ranma’s cheek tensing. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I used to think I was incomplete,” Ranma explained. “Everyone else at my old class would talk so much about things like that, just, you know, mostly about girls. Maybe I always had a tiny bit of a girl in me, and that’s why I never got it? I already feel like I’m lying to Ryoga about being a boy, and now this. It’s definitely leading him on.”

“It’s not just boys that think about it - you’d be surprised at what some girls… It doesn’t matter. What matters is that this, right here, is exactly why I prefer the manga I read,” Makoto started to explain. “Why it’s always about boys loving each other, and never anything about me. You’re no less complete than I am, Ranma.”

“Oh.” Ranma said, as she slowly caught up to just what Makoto’s word really meant. “Oh.” She breathed out. “You too?”

“Yes. I love the way reading about it makes me feel,” Makoto said. “But even if I was a boy, I’d never want to experience that for myself. Manga and reality aren’t one and the same, you know. They don’t have to be!”

Ranma nodded, slowly. “I like how Ranmaru draws it,” she said, vividly recalling how Akane recoiled from the page in question. “Part of it is definitely because it feels so mind-numbingly real, but…” she began, but struggled to think of a good way to finish the thought out loud.

“...but we know it’s not actually real for us.” Makoto finished for her. “That makes all the difference.”

“Yeah,” Ranma rubbed under her eye. “You get it.”

“Dummy,” Makoto giggled, through her own tears. “You don’t have to do anything like that with anyone, even Ryoga. It’s not a manga, you can say no to things!”

“But if Ryo’s still after me, he definitely deserves something for the trouble,” Ranma said, rubbing out the last of the tears out of her eyes. “I hope he’s up for boy kisses and boy cuddles.”

“I’m sure he is!” Makoto chuckled merrily. “Great! So we’re back on?”

“Oh yeah.” Ranma clenched her fist dramatically. “If Ryoga wants a boy, I’ll give him the best half-boy he could love! I’ll be a better boy than a real one, you’ll see! I can be a girl in my free time, he doesn’t even have to know!”

They bumped their fists together.

“Perfect.” Makoto said. “Now that the rain’s over, I know a perfect place to plan - we just need to freshen up a little first. I need to wash my face.”

“Any reason we can’t stay here for a while longer?” Ranma inhaled sharply through her nose, feeling how the tears had made her nose a little runny. Makoto didn’t look much better. “On second hand, washing up is a great idea, let’s go do that first.”

“There’s gonna be a lesson here eventually, and they’ll need the P.E. stuff for it,” Makoto added. “It’s one thing to ditch some classes, and entirely another for us to get caught hiding like this. Especially if you want to go to Furinkan as a boy.”

“Then… let’s not get caught,” Ranma laughed. “And… I still need to think about that ‘Furinkan as a boy’ bit. Your school’s boys don’t really seem like they’re worth the trouble.”

“That’s where we’re gonna start,” Makoto said. “I need to catch you up to the local boys and their prospective crushes. It’s not a long list, but there’s a few cuties out there! Alone, I couldn’t do much, but with our team back together, there’s definitely some positive change coming their way!”

It was the first day the two girls ended up conspiring while up high in a tree with a perfect view of the school grounds.

It wouldn’t be the last time.

「まこととらんま、木にいています、腐・女・子・しています」

Introduction

The school day was almost over, and Ranma and Makoto had already spent most of it catching up in a somewhat-secret spot in Makoto’s favorite tree on school grounds. There had been a few little hiccups before getting comfortable - and some close calls dodging the attention of the nosy students, but it all worked out.

Makoto had to ask a friend to smuggle out her school bag from the class, and Ranma had met up with Akane who was a little angry about being left to face everyone’s questions alone.

Apparently, Ranma had missed Kuno barging into the class looking for her and Akane, demanding to know the truth about the engagement. It turned out that Nabiki had sold them out, despite their plans to keep it secret from everyone else.

At least Akane had the presence of mind to dismiss engagement rumours as nonsense - sending the whole class into a flurry of speculation and guesswork. Denying everything wasn’t a foolproof plan, but Akane didn’t stay to debate it, as she didn’t want to skip the classes nor interfere with Ranma’s time with Makoto.

In the end, it would be Ranma’s call on attending class in cursed or uncursed forms, or just outright coming out clean about the whole thing. Which was why Ranma was throwing occasional glares to a borrowed hot water thermos.

The old jacket of the old boy's school uniform was also on the branch, taunting Ranma a little. She’d originally packed it just as a backup. Sometimes, approaching a cute boy with a formal uniform was a much more exciting scene than just keeping the exotic china-inspired look she usually had going for her boy side. It gave her more options. But these thoughts were from before she realized Makoto would also be in this school.

Before Ranma learned Ryo was on his way... She had to keep the jacket safe for their first reunion now.

“Yeah, I don’t think going to school as a boy is worth the hassle,” Ranma said, after Makoto had finished relaying her little ongoing plan of getting Hiroshi to finally be brave enough to ask Daisuke out. “Especially with the way all of the free boys are already on a path to get a boyfriend.” She giggled. “I’m always up to slip into the disguise of a jealous ex-boyfriend if you think that will help nudge them together, but I don’t need to be attending the school every day like that, do I?”

“Sure, we can work with a little push here and there,” Makoto agreed. “For you, we should focus on looking for Ryoga instead. There’s got to be some way to help him find us.”

“Yeah.” Ranma stretched her arms, then reached for the old uniform jacket and quickly crammed it back into her already overflowing school backpack. “I think I should at least say hi to my new classmates, before the day is over,” she said and slapped her own cheeks. “I can do this.”

“The teacher's probably gonna make us stand outside for most of the lesson anyway,” Makoto said.

“It’s fine,” Ranma shrugged. “Holding buckets of water has to at least count as a decent warm up. I’ve promised Akane we’d train a little after, so that’s perfect. And… we’ll get even more time together! I can’t believe we’re finally at the same school!”

Makoto laughed and packed away her notebook, preparing to get off the tree herself. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more,” Ranma replied cheekily, and leaped down to the ground. “Come, I’ll catch you.”

Makoto followed suit.

A few minutes later, both of them stood before the furious homeroom teacher. The tall man with the glasses gave them a short verbal dressing down, before the whole class.

Ranma winked at Makoto, causing the girl to fight a bout of giddy giggles.

Eventually, the teacher understood that being angry wasn’t really scaring either girl and gave in, sending Ranma to the blackboard to introduce herself to the class.

Ranma grabbed a piece of chalk and quickly wrote out her name in hiragana. “I’m Saotome Ranma, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts,” she said. “My name’s easy to remember, because it’s just one kana less from Ranmaru - that’s my favorite author. They’re a true genius!”

Judging from the muted reactions the name got out of the class, barely anyone knew who she was talking about.

“Pops and I recently came back from China, where I’ve picked up a little transformation curse - I’ll show how that works some other day.” Ranma grinned and winked at everyone. “Makoto here is my best friend, and I’m staying at the Tendo Dojo for the near future. Any questions?”

Akane groaned and slammed her head down, right into her ready palms.

There were a lot of questions.