Akane woke up with a smile on her face, for today was a Sunday, and Sunday meant no school, no stupid boys to harass her early in the morning, no Kuno-senpai to hypothetise about her sexuality, and no damn possible excuse for Ranma to refuse a rematch. Her plan was to challenge him the moment he was out of bed! She jumped out of hers and rushed into the upper floor landing… Only to hear that the Saotome dad and son were already at it in the garden.

“Yeah, right, rub it in that you’re okay with fighting everyone but me, jerk,” she thought.

With a shout, Ranma ran up to his old man and sent a few blows, before dodging some back, then blocking Genma’s fists in his hands. They jumped back away from one another again, and Ranma used a tree to propel himself with a jump. A frontflip later and his foot collided with his pops’, they retreated to each side of the pond once more. Jumping high above the water, they traded kicks and punches, when Genma suddenly grabbed onto Ranma’s gi and threw him into the pond, retreating safely on dry ground.

Ranma had already pulled his head out of the water by the time he felt the usual prickling sensation. “Maaan, ya always go for the cheapest tricks…”

“And I shall continue to until you understand the rule 1 of Anything Goes!” Genma replied, following it by his signature guttural cackle.

Ranma swam to the edge of the pond and got himself out, then pulled off his drenched shirt. He headed for the living room, and was surprised to find Akane was already up, sat, and grumpy. “Hi,” he tried, only managing to make her turn her head as far away from him as she could. What did he even do to make her mad this time? He rolled his eyes and sat at the edge of the hallway, wringing the water out of his top.

“Have you no sense of feminine modesty?” Akane finally muttered.

Ranma cackled. “Yeah, right, the tomboy’s gonna lecture me on that.” He looked down at his chest with an almost self-satisfied feeling.

Akane stood up suddenly, clenching her hands. She walked up to Ranma ready to punt him for using the word again, but she stopped as she saw his expression was shifting to something more self-conscious the longer he looked at his bare chest.

“On second thought, I think I will go grab a new shirt.” He stood up and headed upstairs towards his room.

She certainly hadn’t expected such a quick change of heart.

By the time Ranma had come back down with one of his usual chinese tops on, the rest of the Tendo household had dragged itself out of bed and into the living room, and discovered with glee Kasumi had already been toiling away on making breakfast for everyone.

Soun was slowly sipping a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, not noticing the rest of his food was getting raided by Genma. Kasumi and Nabiki were making small talk about Nabiki’s grades, and Akane was facing away from him.

Ranma sat himself next to her, muttered a “thank you for the food” and picked up his bowl of curry rice, picking away at it one small bite at a time. Out of curiosity he turned his eyes towards his reluctant fiancée, only to discover she was devouring her own food while glowering. He averted his eyes to avoid making her mood worse.

She firmly set, almost slammed, her empty bowl back on the table, before grabbing Ranma by the collar. “You, me, dojo, no excuses, no pulling any punches. Got it!?”

“W-wait, Akane, can I please finish my food first—”

She lifted him out of his seat and carried him away under the concern of the elder daughter and the indifference of the rest of the table.

Akane finally let Ranma drop on his own two feet once they reached the tatami of the small wooden shack.

“Look,” she started, “you’re in your girl form, you had no issues fighting your dad not even twenty minutes ago, so I don’t want to hear any excuses. You’re fighting me right now.” She hopped in place to warm herself up then took on a fighting stance.

“Akane, I don’t wanna do this… You know how much I hate fighting…” Ranma retreated, holding his hands tight.

“Just yesterday you wanted to help me fight the boys at school!” She shouted.

“I know! I know, okay, I…” He turned his gaze onto his feet. “I don’t like how sometimes the idea of fighting excites me. But I can’t control it, I swear...”

Akane decided it was time to stop beating around the bush. “Are you holding back on me because I’m a girl?”

His head shot back up. “What? No! That has nothing to do with it!”

“Then fight me!” Akane said.

Ranma didn’t reply.

“Fight me, you jerk!” She repeated.

His expression instantly switched. He raised his hand to his chest. “Who ya callin’ a jerk, ya half baked man-hatin’ tomboy!?”

Akane’s eyes twitched. She ran towards him and attempted to pommel him with the palm of her left hand. He grabbed her arm and deflected her hand above his shoulder. She tried to swipe at his legs, he hopped and avoided the kick. He let go of her arm and jumped backwards to avoid a punch from her other hand.

Akane went on the offensive once more, taking a running start and aiming a kick straight into his chest. In an instant, he put his hand on her leg and hefted himself on it, then used her momentum in his favor to direct a punch of his own straight towards her face. She barely had time to realize what had happened and to brace herself for the impact… Only to see his fist come to a sudden stop one centimeter away from her face, trembling.

Ranma’s feet hit the ground and Akane’s leg was allowed the respite of doing the same. His fist was still holding the exact same position. His expression seemed incredibly sour. “Just… lemme…” He mumbled to himself.

He retracted his fist with a loud “No!” and turned away, holding his arm tight against his chest.

Akane let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding in, then started panting. “Ranma…?”

“Please…” He turned himself back towards her. “Please, I don’t want to fight you, Akane. I’m sorry about this. I’m sorry about the mean words too, I don’t… know where they came from.”

“Do you ever feel like you are not alone in your head?” Ranma’s words from last night appeared in Akane’s thoughts as she looked at the meek, embarrassed girl in front of her (even if that girl was in fact a boy). Was that what he had meant? Is the Ranma in front of her the real one, and the fight loving antagonistic jerk was trauma-originating wicked compulsions he constantly struggled against?

Ranma didn’t like Akane’s look on her face. He felt small and scrutinized, like she was treating him as a puzzle to figure out. He didn’t say anything, though. What could he even say? It’s not like the comparison was that off-mark. He felt that way about himself often, too.

“Oh my goodness!” Kasumi said, having just opened the door to the dojo, her eyes fixated on Ranma’s face. He raised his hands to his eyes, finally noticing the tears that had pooled there. “Akane-chan, what did you do to Ranko-chan!?” She ran up to Ranko and gave her a hug the poor girl couldn’t deny recomforted her a lot.

Akane’s thoughts came to a sudden stop. Her head swam in a confused slurry of platitudes about her proneness for anger. She knew now wasn’t the time to say any of them - her voice latched onto the first safe-seeming thing she thought to say. “His name’s Ranma, you know.”

Kasumi seemed offended. “So you all say, but I’ve yet to hear Ranko-chan say it herself without the threat of coercion.”

Ranma shifted in Kasumi’s grasp, pulling himself out with a self-conscious look on his face. “A-Akane’s right. I’m sorry for the confusion, Kasumi.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kasumi’s face turned pained. She looked at Ranma for a second, grabbed his hand, then turned her head towards Akane with a serious expression. “Akane-chan, could you leave Ranma-ch… Ranma alone for the rest of the day? And, please, promise me you will never force anybody to fight you again.”

It was Akane’s turn to feel small. “I’m sorry. It just, it felt like he was avoiding fighting me because I was a girl, and, and… And I let it go to my head.”

“Are you even sure that was what they were doing?” Kasumi asked.

Akane sighed. “No…”

“Now, apologize to Ranma.”

Both of the younger teens’ eyes shot wide open. They shared an awkward glance. Ranma’s mouth opened first. “I’m sorry if my weird quirks made you feel like I was ignoring you for being a gi—”

Kasumi stopped him with another hug. “No. Never apologize for who you are.” She looked back towards Akane, her expression making it clear nobody was leaving until Akane apologized.

Akane took a deep breath. She tried to get her thoughts in the right order. The least she knew is that Kasumi was right. She had gone too far. She sat down on her knees. “Ranma, I… I’m truly sorry. You’re a guest in this house and I never should’ve pushed you into doing something that makes you uncomfortable.” She prostrated herself in apology.

Ranma looked away, raising his hands behind his head. “C’mon Akane, ‘s’kinda takin’ it a bit far now…”

She raised her head in surprise. That accent… She felt like by taking note of it she was onto something.

“Y’know, havin’ a girl apologize when I’m the one that made her feel like crap… Ain’t the man amongst men way.” Kasumi blinked at hearing Ranma’s words. “Get up. You’re fine. Sorry for all a’ that.”

Kasumi put a hand on Ranma’s shoulder. “What did I say about not apologizing when you’re not at fault?”

He rolled his eyes. “‘Aight, ‘aight, pretend I said nothin’, jeez!” He headed for the door, muttering to himself.

Akane raised herself back onto her feet, looking at him leaving. Kasumi ran after him, leaving her alone in the dojo.

Maybe she should let out some of her energy by training today, instead of taking the risk of creating another mess.

“Ranma!” Kasumi called out, running towards him. “Ranma!”

Man, he could already tell today was gonna be a bother - even beyond what had just happened, that is. “What, d’ya need me for something else?”

Kasumi thought for a second. “Hmm… Say, would you mind accompanying me to Dr. Tofu’s clinic? I borrowed a book from them that I finished last night. I thought you could keep me company?”

He thought the offer through for a second. He considered for a second the peace of mind from not running into his pops nor Akane again for a few hours and that made the decision easy. “Y’know what? I’d love to.”

Kasumi gently clapped. “Great! Let me get the book and we will be off.”

Walking alongside Kasumi was definitely a different pace than with Akane. It was a more relaxed stroll through the town, with some starting-and-stopping to admire a flower box or to pet a friendly dog.

And, to Ranma’s dismay, this only made him grow restless.

“Say, Ranma…” Kasumi started, breaking the twenty minutes long silence, “Well, first off, are you okay with me calling you Ranko-chan still?”

He felt an odd warmth at the back of his mind, but beyond that, he had no attachment to the idea. It wasn’t his name. Why had Kasumi fixated on it? Ah well, he had no intention to get confrontational about this. “I ain’t gonna stop ya.”

Kasumi gave him a smile. “Thank you, Ranko-chan. Say, I can’t help but think, were you ever taught to apologize on behalf of others?”

Ranma thought about the odd question, hands in his pockets. “I ain’t gonna say taught, but what with my dad n’ all, I had to do my share a’ it...”

She nodded. “I see. Don’t worry about doing this with Akane-chan, Nabiki-chan, my Father nor I, Ranko-chan.”

“...I’ll try,” he shrugged noncommittally. The silence resumed for a few more minutes, before he decided he needed another conversation topic. He leaned forward to look at the book Kasumi was carrying, trying to read its title, unfortunately obscured by her arm. “So what’s this book?” He asked.

Kasumi seemed startled. “It’s a…” She lifted the book out from under her arm and looked at the cover, then threw a glance at Ranma. Was she planning something? “It’s a story about a young girl.”

He eyed her suspiciously, straightening himself back up.

“About a young girl who...” Kasumi looked around, making sure they were alone, then whispered into Ranma’s ear. “...used to be a boy.”

It’s as if the world around him went silent, all the ambient noise suddenly shut out as he focused on Kasumi’s every word.

Kasumi coiled back, fidgeting with a strand of her hair. “When we first meet her in the story, she was just born. She grows up quickly, starts picking up on the words used around her. She’s still very young when her parents have two other children one after the other. Her parents refer to her as a ‘boy’, but her siblings get to be called ‘girls’.

“She doesn’t understand the difference between the two yet, but she already knows she’s not a boy. Kindergarten makes it very clear that boys play with miniature cars and girls play with dolls, but she always moves to the dolls. She guessed that made her a girl.

“So she told her parents as much. They were confused, definitely, a lot. They tried to explain being a girl or a boy wasn’t a question of what toys you played with or what hobbies you had, but she was having none of it. So, they thought, what harm in treating her as a girl and see if she would ever change her mind?

“She didn’t. She grew up, slowly learning that what made boys boys and girls girls was indeed more vague than mere stereotypes, yet her heart continued to sing to her that she was a girl. She was fine with that. Her sisters grew up, never knowing she had been born a boy, the Mother passed away… And the Father, in his grief, forgot that she had ever been a boy, his mind concerned with matters that worried him more.

“She took on the household chores on behalf of her Mother, learning along the way. She got good at them, and even enjoyed them a lot. It made her feel like Snow White, and she loved Snow White. She took care of her sisters and her Father, though she didn’t forget to nudge them towards learning cooking and cleaning up after themselves either - she wanted to care for them, but she also looked forward to the day a prince of her own would come. They had to be ready to take care of themselves for when she would leave the nest.

“It wasn’t exactly a prince that came. They preferred simply being referred to as royalty. The girl learned there was a bit more to the world than just boys and girls…

“...And the story ended on that note.” Kasumi finished.

“What? Why?” Ranko, who now held her hands behind her back, asked.

“Well, because it’s only the first book! Who knows when the next one will come.” She smiled. “Ah, here we are, Ranko-chan.”

Ranko was confused as the world faded back in. How long had they been walking? She placed her hand on her chest, and was surprised to find her heart beating at a much calmer pace than before.

The story continued to bounce in her head for a while. If the girl had been born a boy, then she probably still… had the equipment, right? Ranko thought that a girl like that would probably be jealous of her curse.

Maybe for some people it wouldn’t even qualify as a curse.

“Do you wish to come in with me, Ranko-chan?” Kasumi asked, stopping in front of the door to Dr. Tofu’s clinic. “You seem a bit shaken up. Maybe you should head home and rest?” She continued with the most innocent of smiles.

“I…” She tried to focus her vision, but everything came out blurred. She rubbed her eyes and discovered that at least, most of it seemed to be due to tears - though she could still feel a bit of a fog at the corner of her mind. “I will do that. Thank you for the walk, Kasumi.”

Kasumi bowed a bit. “Any time you feel like taking a break, don’t hesitate to come talk to me, okay Ranko-chan?”

Ranko smiled, waved, and turned away, heading to the Tendo residence.

Kasumi finally let out a breath as Ranko walked away. She pressed the doorbell, then waited for Dr. Tofu to open the door.

“Oh, hello Kasumi dear!” They said with the brightest of smiles, then looked down to what she was holding. “Oooh, and my copy of ‘Throes of Passion’, too!”

“Thank you for the read, Ono dearest. It was very…” she blushed like a schoolgirl. “Well, you know.”

“Do you wish to borrow anything else from my collection?” They asked with a seductive wiggle of their eyebrows.

Kasumi giggled. “Oh, stop it, you charming royalty.”

“Heheh… It’s merely an offer, it’s on the lovely Snow White to decide whether she wishes to satisfy her personal desires… and how.”

“Oh, c’m’here you~!” She jumped into their arms and kicked the sliding door closed with her foot.

Meanwhile, back at the Tendo residence, Nabiki had just seen her little sister gloomily walk from the dojo back to her room.

It was bad news when even after spending hours at the dojo, Akane was still gloomy.

Maybe the whole situation with the boys every morning had to stop, let at least that bit of pressure off of her.

Nabiki walked to her room, closed the door carefully and pulled her private mobile phone out, the one even her dad didn’t know she had. She punched in the number to a certain knucklehead and waited for the person at the other end of the line to pick up, leaning against the wall.

“Hi!” She started speaking as soon as the call was picked up. “It’s me, Nabi-

…

Oh. Yeah, can you get me your brother?

…

Yeah, thanks.” She waited a bit, twiddling her fingers while looking at her nails. “Hey, sup? It’s Nabiki.

…

Attaboy, you’re getting smarter. Of course I’m not calling you randomly.

…

Do you want the long or the short version?

…

Good, that makes my job easier. It was kind of a secret, but my dad and Ranma’s dad tried to engage Akane and Ranma together. Didn’t work out.

…

Oh, it’s just that Ranko being a lesbian was juicier to tell you, in my opinion. And speaking of, since it didn’t work out with Ranma, they’re trying with the other sibling now!

…

Yep yep. You heard that right. Ranko and Akane are together, as decreed by my dad and the siblings’ dad. What you do with that information is your choice.” She smirked, satisfied by another plan coming together. “Well then, see you tomorrow at school, Tatewaki.” She closed the call and stretched. That kind of good will meddling definitely deserved a nap.