Ranko made a wide sweeping motion with the stick in her hand, dragging it across the floor in an arc before pulling it closer to herself with both hands. She was humming to herself, her eyes halfway closed and still lost in her daydream. She couldn’t get the night before out of her mind. It had all been so… magical.
It wasn’t that Akane had been pretending to be a boy, and that was the only part of it that still felt a little weird to her. It really didn’t feel strange at the time, but now, the thought that she could be so happy about a date that, to all the world, looked like it had been between herself and a strapping young man was a lot for her to process. Especially since that “man” had gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry “him,” and she had said yes without a second’s hesitation.
Never, in a million years, if Akane had come to her and said, “I will dress up like a guy and take you for a date,” would she have gone along with it. Never, in a million years, if Akane had shown her that blue ball gown on a store rack, would she have even tried it on. Never, in a million years, would she have agreed to go slow dancing in a fancy club on Valentine’s Day in front of hundreds of people. Never, in a million years, would she have asked for a diamond solitaire on her hand, just like any other girl who was in love and about to be married.
And now that it had all somehow happened anyway, never, in a million years, would she trade it for anything else in the world.
Akane always made her feel special. Always made her feel joy inside and out. But having had a whole day with her - even costumed as she had been - where she could feel Akane pull her into her arms and kiss her and not care who was watching was a whole new level of bliss. She hated how much of herself Akane’d had to hide to make it happen, but for about eighteen hours yesterday – from the cameras of the video shoot, to the dress and the way Izumi helped her get ready at the Phoenix, to the men in tuxedos waiting on her every need at dinner, to the dancing, to the proposal, to the way Akane had doted on her emotionally and physically at home until they passed out in each other’s arms – Ranko had felt like the most important person on the planet. She suspected that had been Akane’s goal, and she was unfathomably amazed with how completely she had achieved it.
If there was one thing Ranko was sad about, it was that she was awfully young to have already completed what couldn’t possibly not be the best night she’d ever experience in her lifetime. That, and how sore her body was, but after hours of physical torment followed by hours of unimaginable romance, she had needed everything she got and then some, and she could grant no pity for her self-inflicted exhaustion.
While Akane studied for her upcoming economics exam in the bedroom, Ranko moved her arms around in a wide circle in the kitchen, waltzing with the mop, that pretty love song they’d danced to right after they’d come in from the balcony last night playing on repeat in her head. She could still feel Akane’s hands on her shoulders. Akane’s breath on her neck. Her heart had never felt so full in all her life. Yui had always told her to recite that mantra out loud on the bad days – I am wanted, I have worth, and I have people who care about me. Her sister had never told her just how completely and utterly satisfied all three of those conditions could be on the good days. I am desired, I am treasured, and I have someone who loves me more than all the world. And Akane is gonna have all of those things, too. I’ll make sure of it. Always. It’s my duty as her wife.
She sang quietly, giggling as she bent forward and dipped the mop gently over the edge of the countertop in her arms, as Akane had done to her the night before. “Don’t tell me it’s not worth fighting for. I can’t help it, there’s nothing I want more. You know it’s true. Everything I do, I do it f…”
She was snapped out of her daydream by a rapping at the door. Blushing, she straightened herself, propping the mop in the corner and looking at her reflection in the glass door of the microwave. Her loose-hanging hair was only just beginning to escape the white headband with the little lace bow that held it out of her face, shaken loose by her chores and her dancing, but not bad enough to be concerned about. She smoothed the peach-colored sundress she wore, and started to untie the white lace apron from around her waist before thinking better of it. Eh, screw it. I look like a housewife. Today, I’m not ashamed of that in the least. I am going to be Akane’s wife, and there is nothing I could ever be prouder of than that.
Needing no effort to summon a bright smile on her face, she turned the knob of the front door and pulled it open. “Hello, and welc…” Her mouth fell open as her sentence died in her throat.
The aging man in the corridor, perhaps sensing her sudden dread, smiled, offering a slight bow. “Hello, Ranko.”
“Mis… mister Tendo. Please, please, come in.” Ranko’s mind raced as she stepped clear of the doorway to admit him, trying frantically to reconfigure her thoughts for her new situation. Okay, snap out of lovesick girl mode, back into strong-enough-to-be-a-husband, ready-to-fight mode. Come on, Ranko. Focus!
Soun Tendo kicked his shoes off at the door, stepping into the little apartment. Ranko watched him cautiously, trying to get a read on him. Did he come to argue again? To fight? To say he’s sorry?
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“Please, watch your step, sir. I was just mopping the floor, and it’s still slippery.” Ranko lowered her eyes respectfully. She stood, silently, waiting for him to speak. Waiting to learn what type of conversation was about to be sprung on her in the middle of the evening on a Friday night.
“Princess? Who was that at the…” Akane emerged from the bedroom in a gray Minato University Athletics Department tee shirt and a pair of denim cut-off shorts, her eyes widening as she made eye contact with her father. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
Soun nodded. “Hello, Akane.” His voice was quiet and reserved.
Ranko blushed shyly at being called princess in front of her reluctant future father-in-law, but otherwise remained silent. What do I even do? What do I even say, beyond what I already did? Was it enough? Was it too much? Slow down, brain!
With a quiet sigh, Soun nodded his head as if building resolve for a difficult endeavor. “Akane…” He shook his head, thinking better of how he was about to begin his sentence. “Girls…”
Ranko beamed, still not lifting her eyes. He called me a girl. He called me by my name.
After a moment to recollect his thoughts, Soun continued. “I came here tonight to say something I should have said the last time I was here. Something I should have said a hundred times since, and this old man couldn’t figure out how to say.”
He raised his eyes to his youngest daughter. “When you told me that you wanted to be with a woman – not that it was the person I knew as Ranma, just, any woman, I was hurt. I was confused, and I was afraid for you. For what it would mean for your life. I was afraid that no one person could ever love someone else enough to make up for everything difficult that could come from all this. That a person couldn’t possibly be special enough, good enough for you that I, as your father, could allow you to walk that hard road for them.”
Akane opened her mouth to speak, but Soun raised his hand to encourage her to stop. “I always believed that what it meant to be strong was to decide who and what you were, and stand by it, no matter what. That, no matter what the world threw at you, the important thing was to plant your feet and never move, never shift, never waver. To stand your ground, never admit defeat, never change your perspective. That it was cowardice to choose a new path – an easier path, a safer path, no matter how much you might want to. No matter how much better it was for you.”
He turned to his left, reaching out his right arm and placing his hand on Ranko’s shoulder. She lifted her eyes to meet his, and he could feel her trembling as a tiny drop of water lingered in the corner of her eye debating whether or not to attempt an escape.
“On both counts, I could not have been more wrong.”
Akane rushed forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her father. She found no words, but buried her head in his orange polo shirt, feeling the piece of herself she’d traded for Ranko’s pride that October day flooding back into its rightful place in her heart.
Ranko’s face exploded into the broadest smile that would fit on her face. I did it. I’m sorry it took so long, Akane, but I finally fixed the last part of you I broke that night on stage. She stole a quick glance down at the tiny heart-shaped diamond that sparkled brightly on the third finger of her left hand. I am finally worthy of being your wife.
Akane clung to her father tightly as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Dad, I missed you so much. I love you.”
Soun sighed contently, and Akane could feel his body relax. “I love you too. I’m so happy to have my daughters back.” He looked up, over Akane’s shoulder, at the other woman in the room.
“All four of them.”
Ranko gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “You… you mean it? Really?”
Soun tapped Akane on the shoulder, lifting his arm to release her from the hug. Akane stepped back, wiping her eyes as her father took a step forward, reaching for Ranko.
Ranko closed her eyes, sighing happily as she was pulled into the tall man’s embrace. She did not speak. She did not move. She just allowed herself to be enveloped in his welcoming arms, letting the warmth and the tranquility of it wash over her.
The Tendo patriarch held the redheaded girl for nearly two minutes in silence before releasing his grip on her. “In any case. I know I’m intruding on you girls tonight, but…” He looked down into Ranko’s eyes. “I was recently reminded by someone far wiser than I am that my first responsibility is to my girls, and I couldn’t wait any longer to thank her for her advice.”
Akane blinked. “Ranko… did you…”
The redhead spoke up tentatively. “I… I was about to start some pork dumplings. Would you care to…” Her sentence trailed off before she reached the telltale rise in inflection indicating the end of a question.
Akane smiled, making eye contact with her lover and nodding her head reassuringly. “Go ahead,” she silently mouthed.
Ranko blushed, speaking softly through her bright smile in her most tentative, demure voice. “Would you like to join us for dinner, father?"
~~~ END BOOK SEVEN ~~~