Ranko sat in one of the barroom chairs, though it had been moved into the kitchen for her. She wore her black gi pants, her red Phoenix logo T-shirt, and the pair of pink sunglasses Izumi had bought her. Light was still a challenge for her, as was particularly loud sound, and that meant that while she had returned to the bar, the few square meters along the back wall, the stage that was her true home, was still off-limits to her. It had been more than a week since she’d sung, and she missed it terribly, especially after how hard everyone had worked to get her back up there.

“Ranko?”

The redhead snapped her eyes up. “I’m here, mama.”

The bar’s matriarch pushed a sizzling fish filet around on the flat-top grill, keeping an eye on her youngest charge. “Sorry. The doctor said we should watch out for you sort of drifting off on us.”

Ranko smiled. “I know. You’ve all been so amazing. I’m glad you’re taking a shift though; Izzi’s gonna fall behind on wedding prep because she’s been spending so much time watching over me.”

“I think she feels like she owes it to you after the way you protected Hoshi.” Hana gave a wide grin. “Besides, I think Izumi’s been planning her wedding for four years now, and she’s only known Kaito three. You know how that girl is; never met something fancy she didn’t like. She’s even trying to get me to wear a dress now. Can you believe that?”

If you only knew how much of a transformation that was for me, Ranko thought to herself. “Hey, it’s a refreshing change, seeing her try to doll somebody else up for once.” She thought back to her first few days at the Phoenix; how each of the women had taken her under their wing in their own different way. How different she was because of their aid and support. And love. Love most of all.

“Mama, I don’t know if I’ve ever properly said thank you to you, and everyone, for everything you’ve done for me. If I haven’t, I want you to know that it’s not because I don’t feel gratitude, but because I can’t find any words big enough to express it. You have all changed my life in so many ways. A good many of them, I might never have wanted, but I didn’t know I needed. I don’t know what you saw in me to take a chance on me like that, but you’ll never know how much better I am because you did.”

Hana looked up from her grill, a happy tear forming in the corner of her eye. She decided to blame it on the onions. “Baby, you’re so welcome, but all I need from you is to keep doing what you’re doing.”

Ranko blushed. “Is my singing really helping out that much? If so, I’m glad.”

The barkeep laughed and shook her head. “Yes, it is, but that wasn’t what I meant. What I want you to do is to keep growing. Keep learning. Keep smiling. Keep loving and being loved. Keep discovering who you are and chasing what you want. That’s all any mother can ask of her daughters.”

Ranko’s face flushed to the point that she was worried she’d get lightheaded again. There was that word again. Daughter. Hana couldn’t see her eyes through her sunglasses, but a trickle of water ran out from under the right lens.

“That. Right there.” Hana motioned to her youngest daughter with her spatula. “That smile right there.”

The teen looked up, confused. “Huh?”

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“That’s what I saw in you. I saw that you were a great kid on the verge of becoming an amazing woman. I saw a good heart that was carrying too damn much weight. I saw that you could blossom beyond your imagination if you just had a little bit of support. I saw a beautiful girl with a beautiful soul, who just needed a little reminding of how incredible she is.”

“Y… you did? It wasn’t just because I was the one who answered the job ad?”

Hana smiled. “Do you have any idea how many people came in to apply for that job? But I couldn’t hire just anybody, because we’re a family first.” She reached over the counter, wiping the stray tear from Ranko’s cheek with the back of her finger. “I was never looking for a waitress, Ranko. Not really. I was looking for you.”

Ranko started to stand, and Hana made an admonishing sound. “Not so fast, young lady. You are supposed to take it easy, remember?”

“Well, I don’t care what that doctor says, I need to hug you right now.”

Hana turned off the griddle, setting down the spatula and beginning to round the counter. “Now, that, we can do.” She wrapped her arms around Ranko’s shoulders, mindful not to touch her head. “I love ya, kiddo.”

Ranko squeezed her back. “I love you too, mama.” She had said those three words more in the past eighteen days than the previous eighteen years, and she’d been asleep for four and a half of them. What a difference they had made for her.

Hana let her go, nudging her back toward her chair. “Now, sit and eat. After four days of living on fluids, you need some real food.” As Ranko sat, Hana plated a piece of salmon and set it between a bowl of rice and a larger bowl of miso soup.

Ranko’s eyes widened a bit as she picked up her chopsticks. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was. This smells amazing.” She resisted the urge to rush through her meal; she’d been trying to be more cognizant of that habit since living as a woman, and besides, the doctor had told her to take it slow.

She moaned quietly as she finished chewing. “I gotta tell you, I don’t know what magic you use on this fish, but it’s out of this world.”

Hana shook her head. “Nah, it’s nothing special if you know what you’re doing.” She smiled up at her daughter. “I could show you sometime, if you want. I know Mei’s been teaching you the menu here, but that’s mostly pizza and fried foods. You can’t live on that stuff forever.”

Ranko blushed. She mostly had been doing exactly that since she’d lived here, and she’d put on a kilogram or two between the bar food and getting less workout time, though it had only gotten her back to the weight she’d been at before she spent two months homeless and broke.

She thought back to Kasumi’s bridal training attempts. As if she’d have ever considered marrying a guy – not that she didn’t live in dread that her father would try to force it eventually. She spent months knowing that it was only a matter of time before he’d hang a price tag around her neck and sell her off to the highest bidder. Worse still, she knew a certain wealthy kendo champion who would have gladly paid any price for her hand, willing or otherwise.

Something felt different now, though. She was with Akane, and she wanted to take care of her somehow. Plus, about the only thing that could be worse for their long-term health than eating bar food every night was letting Akane try to cook. She blushed as she chewed another mouthful of fish. It was one thing to consider that they were two girls in a relationship, and quite another to realize that, after having been a guy for the first two years they’d known each other, at least some of the traditional duties of being a wife would fall to her if their relationship continued on its course. The thought scared the hell out of her, but it didn’t necessarily sicken her like it once had. Whatever Akane needed her to be, she wanted to be as good at it as she possibly could.

Hana’s offer didn’t have to be the death sentence Kasumi’s training was. This was a daughter learning from her mother. Nothing could be more normal than that.

“I’d love that, mama.”